#let me orchestrate a plan to get my friend to fall in love with his nemesis

[dumbass---tm]

god the gender envy for shakespearean characters is real

[scoonsalicious]

10.3 Lily

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lily McIntyre, trainer for new SHIELD recruits at the Avengers Tower, has been in love with her best friend, Bucky Barnes, from the moment she met him. She's been content with her role of the #1 girl in Bucky's life, even if it means she has to sabotage a romantic relationship or two. It'll be worth it when he realizes that they're meant for each other, right? There's just one small problem: Lily McIntire never expected Bucky Barnes to fall for You.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, Lies, Machinations.

Word Count: 1.5k

Previously On...: Bucky found the envelope you were sent. And he did not take it well. He went running to Lily.

A/N: I have a job interview this afternoon! Wish me luck (although, by the time this posts, it will be over with already, but, you know, good vibes!)!!

If you ever feel so inclined to support my work, hop on over to buy me a coffee; it's much appreciated! <3

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Lily couldn’t believe her luck. When she had arranged to have that envelope sent to The WarZone, she expected Major to freak out, to be frightened and disturbed, maybe even disgusted, by everything Bucky had done in his past and decide to stop seeing him. 

But for Bucky to think that Major was running background on him without his knowledge, and for him to run out on her? Lily couldn’t have planned it better. And he’d come to Lily for comfort. Everything was going perfectly. She was even willing to eat this disgusting pineapple on her pizza, she was in such a good mood.

Currently, Bucky was sitting on the floor, back leaning against her couch while she massaged his scalp, the television playing some mind numbing comedy in the background.

“I don’t get it, Lil,” he said with a groan. “If she had questions, she could have just asked me. I would have told her anything she wanted to know.”

“Mmm,” she hummed, wishing he would move on to a different topic, any topic, other than that harlot. “I did tell you she was a bitch, Jamie.”

Bucky leaned his head back. “But why would she do it?” he asked her with a sigh. “She made such a big deal about saying I didn’t have to tell her anything until I was ready. So, why would she go digging?”

Lily scratched at his scalp, trying not to let her annoyance come through her ministrations. “She obviously lied to you, Jamie. Apparently, your past mattered more to her than she claimed. I hate to say this,” she said, struck with a jolt of inspiration, “but maybe she’s attracted to that kind of thing. Some people are sick, Jamie and, well, it wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened.”

She eyed him, hoping the memory would hit the way she had intended it to. She had been particularly proud of orchestrating that breakup. Bucky had been devastated, of course– but when he had confided to Lily that he had been planning on asking Jessica, his girlfriend at the time, to move into his room at the Compound with him, she had to take action. What else was Lily supposed to do, honestly?

So, she'd fabricated search histories on Bucky's laptop for all kinds messed up Winter Soldier porn while Bucky was away on a mission; the nastier, the better; and then conveniently "discovered" the history after asking Bucky to borrow his computer. Since Jessica had, "technically," been the only other person, aside from Bucky, with access to the device, convincing him that she had been the one to search for it all hadn't been difficult. Despite Jessica's pleas that she'd done no such thing, it was hard refuting the evidence Lily had manufactured, especially since Bucky was so technologically illiterate and never thought to check for dates and times of the searches, and Jessica had been out of their lives by dinnertime. Lily would be eternally grateful to Rule 34.

“Is this how it’s going to be from now on?” Bucky asked her remorsefully. “Girls are either going to be terrified of the Winter Soldier, or weirdly turned on by him? There’s no in between where they just see 'Bucky'?”

Lily rolled her eyes. Was he always this fucking dramatic? “Jamie, you’ve barely been dating her. Be thankful you found out about her now, before you got in too deep.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “It could have been a lot worse. At least now, you know the truth about her, and you can move on.”

“I don’t know why I’m surprised,” Bucky lamented. “I’m a fucking monster. How can I expect any good woman to fall in love with me, after all the shit I’ve done?” 

“Maybe,” she began, playing with the chain of his dog tags and hoping to get him off his pity train, “the problem is that you’re too caught up with girls who don’t really know you. Maybe you’d be better off with someone you already have a solid foundation with, you know?” Lily gently tugged his tags out from underneath his collar and began running her fingers across the metal, as she’d done hundreds of times before. It always made her feel connected to him, grounded.

Except, this time, they felt… wrong, somehow. The metal engraving where his name should be felt foreign, not the embossing she was so intimately familiar with. She felt her stomach plummet. 

“What’s with your tags?” she asked, not even giving him an opportunity to respond to her previous statement. “They don’t feel right.”

Bucky pulled away from her, reaching up to gently take the tags from between her fingers into his own. 

“These are Major’s,” he said softly as he ran his thumb across the engraving, looking at the tags almost longingly. 

“Why–” Lily fought for composure, “why do you have her tags?” she asked him. “Where are yours?”

“We traded,” Bucky confessed to her. “Fuck, now I’m going to have to figure out how to get mine back.”

“You gave her your tags.” Lily did her best to cover her disgust and disbelief by making it a statement, not a question. In all their years of friendship, she’d never, not once, known him to ever take those tags off, let alone allow someone else to wear them– and lord knows she’d tried to get him to let her. Bucky nodded.

“You just let some random slut wear your tags, Jamie?” There was no hiding the distress in her voice now as she stood up from the couch, the action so abrupt that it knocked Bucky forward on the floor. 

“You barely know her! That’s so… so… ugh, that’s so gross!” 

“Why are you so upset about it?” he asked her, standing up and looking at her with a curious expression. “They’re my tags, but you’re freaking out about them worse than I am.” 

Shit. Cover, cover, cover.

“Well,” Lily hemmed, “because, obviously, she’s awful. I mean, she did all that shady recon on you. I gotta say, I think you should probably be thankful for whoever sent her that envelope. They did you a favor in showing you her true self, right?”

Bucky froze, his expression staring off into the middle distance as if he’d just realized something of vital importance. “Shit,” he whispered.

“What?”

He made a beeline for the kitchen, picking up his discarded leather jacket and shrugging it back on. “I fucked up, Lil. I fucked up, big time.”

“Where are you going?” she asked as he made his way back toward the front door, and she could hear the desperation in her own voice. “Jamie, we’re having such a good night.”

Bucky paused to turn to her, his hand on the doorknob. “She was upset when she got that envelope, Lil. I was so taken by surprise when I saw the contents of it, I completely forgot about her reaction when she first recieved it. She didn’t even know where it had come from. There’s no way she was doing background research on me.”

Lily could feel all her opportunities slipping between her fingers like fallen sand. “Maybe she was lying to you. Covering her tracks so you wouldn't suspect,” she said, knowing the excuse was flimsy, but not being able to come up with anything else in the moment.

"But she didn't know I would even still be there," Bucky protested as he opened the door. "I got held up having a conversation with Nat. Major was surprised to see me still in the building. There's no way she made that bit up for my benefit."

“I don’t see how that changes her motives in the least. Maybe she saw you still there and came up with the lie on the spot.”

“Because that’s not who she is!” Bucky practically shouted, taking Lily aback with his tone. “You said she did me the favor of showing me her true self, and that’s just the thing– I don’t believe that’s who Major truly is. If, and that’s a big ‘if,’ she did look up information about my past, she probably had a damned good reason, and I–fuck– I never even gave her the chance to explain! I just stormed out of there like a fucking toddler! I have to go make this right while I still have a chance. I’ll let you know how it goes!”

And with that, he was out the door, running, once again, back to her, and leaving Lily all alone, and heartbroken. How could things have gone from so spectacularly wonderful to so awful, in such a short span of time?

More importantly, if, for some reason, Major did decide to forgive Bucky, what was Lily’s next step going to be to break them up for good?

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[astayinwonderland]

"Your surprise is here..." | minchan

pairing: bang chan x f.reader x lee know

genre: smut || a little plot || +18 MDNI

summary: chan is very observant and he just knows you have a thing for minho... [enjoy! (;]

word count: 1.7k

warnings: threesome (ish?), voyeurism, exhibitionism, pet names, fingering, oral (f-receiving and m-receiving), slight mention of degradation, praise kink...

also english is not my first language

You are in love with Christopher Bang. It was always hard to picture yourself with someone and not be scared of them leaving you in the future. But with him, it was different. Chan is a man who values honesty and communication. Since day one, somehow he has extended to you warmth and trust making it impossible not to like him. Now, loving him, that was something else. What didn’t you love about your boyfriend? Is he flawed? Yes, of course, so are you. But it is in his flaws and in his caring nature that you get to be unapologetically you, no secrets, no burdens. 

One of the things you have learned about Chan in the time you’ve been together is how observant he is. You have little tells when you’re excited, sad, joyful, horny, extremely horny, and he loves being able to tell so diligently. Even when sometimes you are not aware of how your body reacts. 

Chan had his suspicions, but just by looking at you, he confirms it. You have a silly little crush on his friend and bandmate Minho. It’s not just the way you giggle a little bit too much when he makes a joke, it is the way your hand touches his arm for a brief second, the way you seem to arch your back a little bit for him to casually look at your breasts for a second or two, the way you smile at him with that flirty spark in your eyes.  Yeah, you wanted Minho, and Chan was not jealous because at the end of the day, he wants what you want and to please you was his religion. 

So one night Chan makes all the pieces fall into place, he is a man with a plan. 

Spending the night with Chan is the definition of lovely. You can barely keep your hands off each other. Cuddling, playing pranks on each other, cooking together, having him inside you… you name it. However, you didn’t know what your man was orchestrating behind your back. 

So now you find yourself kissing him, one of your favourite things to do. Chan has a way of kissing you that instantly melts you, it is never enough, you want his lips on yours forever. It starts slow, he wants to just see if you’re in the mood… so he waits and observes as you are both sitting on his couch. His sensual lips caress yours, asking for permission to kiss you. When you do, he pulls you closer, making you straddle his lap so he can put his hands on your waist. You part your lips for him and the faintest moan leaves you and the way Chan’s tongue teases your bottom lip makes your hips roll against his. 

“Hmmm, are we impatient, my love?” he whispers. 

“You know I am…” you reply breathlessly. “Now please kiss me, Chris, fuck me.”

Chan chuckles as you leave wet kisses down his jawline and neck. 

The doorbell rings. 

“Your surprise is here,” Chan looks into your eyes. They are wide with excitement, and dark with lust. 

Your boyfriend carefully lets go of you. Your pajama shorts are wet from your arousal and your bralette leaves little to the imagination. 

“There’s someone here for you, but if you don’t want to do this… we can stop,” Chan runs his hands over his blonde hair that slightly curls at the top. 

“What do you mean?” your heart races as he opens the door and Minho’s eyes look right into yours, and then to your nipples hardening under your bralette. 

“Minho?” you look at Chan. You try to find something to cover yourself with, he shouldn’t see you like this. 

Minho walks in, his eyes glued to your figure and you can’t help but feel like a piece of meat for these two men. An unspoken fantasy come true. 

“Baby, you have a little thing for Minho, am I right?” 

You panic. It was always something stupid and innocent, you love Chan. You blink and your eyes go to Chan, then to Minho, and back to Chan. 

“I–” you start but he shushs you. 

Shit. 

“I just want you to have fun, Minho here wonders if you are an obedient good girl. Would you like to show him, baby?” 

Minho still says nothing and Chan smirks in a way you feel your clit throbbing in need of attention. Chan nods to Minho and they walk together closer to your figure. Chan kisses the back of your hand and draws little circles with his thumb over your fingers, reassuring you it’s okay and in that moment you know this is the man you are in love with. He is selfless, he is exciting, he is lustful, he loves to watch. 

“Kiss her,” Chan tells Minho, but it is you who pulls Minho towards your lips. Your needy fingers entangling on his purple hair, drawing a deep groan for him. 

“That’s it, good girl. You wanted him so bad, didn’t you, baby? Well… now it’s time to follow what I say, yeah?” 

You try to nod as you bring Minho with you to the couch Chan sits opposite of you. 

“Baby, strip for us, would ya?” 

Only then do you stop kissing Minho, his eyes half-opened, lips swollen, ears red. You slowly unclasp your bralette and toss it on the floor. Minho’s mouth watering at the sight of beautiful tits, an arm’s distance from his wanting tongue, but when you pull down your pajama shorts… shit. Is he in heaven or in hell? 

“She is beautiful, isn’t she?” 

And for the first time since he came into the apartment you hear Minho’s voice. 

“She’s exquisite, hyung,” Minho’s eyes never leaving your tits. 

Your eyes are glued on Chan, how he palms his very noticeable erection in an attempt to relieve himself a little bit. He winks at you, he is really enjoying himself. 

“Lick her tits, she will whimper if you blow on her nipples first and then suck them really hard.” 

You don’t have time to process the words coming from your boyfriend’s mouth when Minho’s mouth and hands are already on you. Just as Chan said, Minho first licks your tits, his flat tongue working wonders. Chan’s eyes encourage you to let out your majestic moans, the ones that drive him insane. 

“C’mon, my love, let Minho know how good he’s doing,” Chan says, but that’s when Minho blows on your right nipple and sucks hard, his crafty tongue switching between circling it and sucking while his fingers pinch and slightly pull your left one. 

“Ah! Fuck–mmhh, shit–” you whimper under Minho’s touch. 

You see Chan close his eyes in delight, finally freeing himself from his joggers. His perfect cock delighting your eyes, you want to suck him off, your adorable, perfect, boyfriend. 

Minho didn’t stop there, he had you arching your back for him, almost crying for him to give you more. His mouth moves to your neck, licking and kissing you until his fingers tease your fold. 

“Fuck, Minho, put your fingers in me already,” you beg. 

“No, baby, he has to taste you first. Your taste alone will make him, cum, believe me.” 

You moan at his words, so Minho puts his thumb in your mouth and you suck. You suck his thumb as the little needy slut you are because you want to suck Chan off so bad. Your brain can’t process the pleasure Minho is giving you and the sight of Chan jerking off to his friend going down on his girlfriend. 

Minho first rubs your clit with his nose and cries are leaving your mouth as your eyes shut in pleasure. 

“Make her cum. It’s the least you can do after she’s been so good to us, don’t you think?” The fact that Chan speaks as if you weren’t there makes your head spin and your pussy clenches, eager to cum for both of these men. 

So Minho gets to work. His tongue circles your clit as one finger slides into you, the squelching sound of your dripping hole making both men moan in unison. 

“Baby, how are you feeling, is Minho making you feel good?” 

“Yes… yes–f…uck, yes, Chris,” you moan. 

Chan smiles, he knows that when ‘Chris’ falls from your lips your brain is somewhere else. You are a goner. Head so plagued with pleasure your only aim is to climb higher and higher and get the mind-blowing release your body craves so much. This is Chan’s queue to finally stand beside you. He watches as Minho adds another finger in you, his motions quick, filled with lust as you pant and moan his name and Chris’s. 

“I need you in my mouth,” you beg, looking at Chan. “Please, Chris, please, fuck! Minho!” you can’t seem to finish one thought when another wave of unmeasurable pleasure washes over you. Minho flicked his tongue over your bundle of nerves his hand now fisting his erect cock that was trapped in his tight jeans. 

Chan obeys your command, he wants his baby happy and fucked out. So he thrusts inside your mouth as you moan for him. Hollowing your cheeks as you try your best to take him all in. Minho spits on your pussy and this is it, you are so close, his fingers moving so good in and out of you. Both men begin to talk you into cuming. 

“Baby, you are doing so good for–u-us… such a dirty, dirty little thing,” Chan pants, close to cuming as well. 

“Cum, please please cum, I want you all over my face,” Minho grunts and he is cuming on his hand. 

Chan pulls out and his hand work on his cock angling it to your tits as his eyes roll back, while he cums and cums all over you and fucking hell, you cum with him. You feel like you are ascending to a never-ending feeling of euphoria as you cum with a loud cry, making your head explode and see stars behind your eyelids. 

“Fuck…” is all you manage to say before your body lies limp on the couch. 

“Shit, baby, you are amazing,” Chan kisses you. 

You then reach for Minho’s adorable face which is buried between your legs and kiss him, tasting you in his mouth. 

“Next time, tell me exactly what you want, baby.” 

You nod. 

“Thank you,” Minho whispers and you run your hand through his hair. 

“Let’s clean her up,” and with that, the two men gather their strength to take you to the shower… but this was just round one of a steamy night that would not be easily forgotten.

___________________________________

a/n: this is pure ✨fiction✨ -- this idea wouldn't let me sleep so I just poured everything I got into this and it took a toll on my soul... totally worth it though.

let me know if you would like to be a part of my taglist :3

[elyssialumengard]

Alastor x Reader : Fragile Link ( Part 1 )

______________________________________________

Hello/good night ! This is my first post in the Hazbin Hotel universe, please bear with me. I'm French so if I make a mistake, tell me in a socially acceptable way. ^^

Summary : Alastor and Charlie travel to a mysterious location in Hell to get help against threats to the Hazbin Hotel. They are guided by Alastor and meet Taku, a demon who owes him one. Despite encounters with hostile sinners, they manage to approach “y/n”, an important figure whose help is crucial.

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The cobblestone streets of Hell were lit by a perpetual reddish glow.

Wisps of acrid smoke rose from the cracks in the ground in this corner of the Infernal Pentagram, further obscuring the tumultuous sky, bathed in a vivid red hue, creating a painting of macabre beauty. Among the ruined buildings, their decrepit walls decorated with graffiti, stretched a heavy silence, broken only by the distant echoes of sinners.

In the distance, mountains of debris and carcasses could be seen, where some damned souls were condemned to an eternity of futile toil. Others went about their business, their gazes full of lust, malice and despair.

In this inhospitable setting, two figures made their way, one following the other, their footsteps echoing. They were on their way to a mysterious place, a place where one of them hoped to find help in confronting the threats facing the Hazbin Hotel.

One of the two people was none other than Charlie, who was getting carried away by his own inner torment. The revelation of Vaggie's dissimulation, her love, as to her nature as an exterminating angel, had plunged her into an abyss of betrayal and perplexity. She wondered about the reasons that had pushed Vaggie to silence such a crucial truth, finding it paradoxical that the one she had elected to share her noblest ideals could indulge in such omissions. Tortuous thoughts, like poisonous snakes, coiled around his tormented mind, undermining the very foundations of his certainties.

Amidst this turmoil, a glimmer of panic arose from time to time, fueled by the imminent threat posed by Adam and his legions of exterminating angels.

As for the one who orchestrated this macabre dance, it was Alastor, the guide leading the princess to a place known only to him. Indifferent to Charlie's words, he focused exclusively on their destination, and on the powerful overlord he had not seen in seven long years. He knew that their reunion was going to be complex, marked by the shadows of the past, but he hoped to convince the suzerain to lend Charlie a hand in his fight against the angelic forces.

While he had initially planned to visit his friend Rosie in Cannibal Town, he had deliberately postponed this meeting, preferring to try his luck with the other liege. Because he knew that if their enterprise succeeded, it would constitute a more effective bulwark against Adam and his army.

And he secretly wanted to see her again for his personal pleasure.

As they moved deeper and deeper into one of the abandoned and forgotten corners of the Pentagram, where no sinner dared to dwell, Alastor abruptly interrupted the conversation, announcing that they had arrived. However, in front of them, there was only an oppressive void, devoid of the slightest sign of life or habitation.

- What does that mean ? Charlie wondered, a look of confusion and worry in his eyes.

An enigmatic smile appeared on Alastor's lips, a sparkle of excitement shining in his eyes.

- Patience, my dear Charlie. You will soon understand why we are here. He replied in a calm voice.

With one fluid gesture, he conjured a letter into his hand, which he then burned before letting the ashes fall to the ground. Charlie's eyes followed with fascination the strange spectacle unfolding before his eyes. The ashes of the letter, consumed by Alastor's fire, transformed into dancing shadows, swirling before taking the form of a massive door on the ground. A strange feeling of dizziness came over her as she stared at this mysterious door, the palpable magic emanating from it tickling her senses.

Feeling the pressure of Alastor's shoulder, she stepped back slightly, her eyes still fixed on the fascinating scene unfolding before them. The shadow gate suddenly burst out of the ground, solidifying into a towering structure. Charlie's heart raced in her chest as she realized where they were.

This door evoked the legends she had heard whispered, the one leading to an unknown territory, a place different from the Hell she knew, under the sovereignty of one of the most eminent figures of the underworld. She was stunned to find herself facing this legendary door, wondering what trials and revelations awaited them on the other side.

Before she could voice her thoughts, the door burst open, revealing a demon that emerged from the darkness.

The demon was imposing and slender, with slightly gray skin. Her hair is a deep brown, framing her angular face characterized by sharp, defined features. His dark, almost black eyes shine with a piercing light behind round, black-rimmed glasses. He wore a dark suit highlighting his elegant and professional figure.

Seeing who had summoned the opening, the demon frowned and said in a hostile voice :

-Alastor.

-Taku.

Despite Taku's cold reception, Alastor remained imperturbable, not letting the animosity of his interlocutor destabilize him.

- Tell me, my friend, how have you been since our last meeting ? He questioned, a hint of feigned camaraderie peeking through his words.

Facing him, Taku remained imperturbable, his arms crossed on his chest, his face unchanging despite the mischievous sparkle that sparkled in Alastor's eyes.

- It is none of your business. He replied in an icy voice. I thought you were dead. It would surely be better for everyone if that were the case. Or at least you could have stayed hidden in your hole, alone, if death doesn't suit you.

A cynical laugh escaped Alastor's lips, accentuating the tense atmosphere between them.

-Ah ! But that wasn't the case ! He replied in a mocking tone. My absence was just a little break, a parenthesis to savor life and let sinners worry, wondering when I was going to return with my emission.

He approached Taku, his teasing smile widening.

- But indeed, it would surely have been better for you if I had died. He continued in an almost whispered voice, leaving the shadow of a sinister secret lingering. I have no doubt that you would have greatly appreciated it. After all, that would have meant that I would have taken your sword of Damocles with me to the grave, right ?

A shiver of antagonism ran through the space between them as they eyed each other, their feelings of distrust and disdain barely concealed.

Under the influence of the anger which began to rise, Taku's teeth lengthened, accentuating his expression of displeasure. His fists clenched with increasing force as he stared at Alastor with a penetrating, almost murderous gaze.

-What do you want, Alastor ? He spat through clenched teeth.

- We came to see ( y/n ). He said with an indescribable look. This is a matter of the utmost importance.

Taku sighed in annoyance, shaking his head in disapproval.

- I don't want to hear anything about it. He replied dryly. My Lady has no time to waste on unimportant requests like yours. And especially not with someone like you.

Charlie, feeling anxiety rising within her, was about to intervene, to plead their case to Taku. However, Alastor beat her to it with a calm wave of his hand, telling her to stay back for the moment. With a sly smile he said :

- I think you owe me a favor, Taku. And that's why I was able to summon this door.. He announced quietly.

Taku glared at Alastor, his expression hardening even further.

- A favor ? He repeated suspiciously, his tone oscillating between distrust and curiosity.

- Yes. Alastor replied in a detached tone, but with a glint of determination in his eyes. And that's why we're here, thanks to the letter you gave me in exchange for our deal. To get back what you owe me. He announced, a green glow surrounding them.

Charlie watched the scene helplessly, overwhelmed by the events, but slowly realizing the magnitude of the situation. She could feel the tension between Alastor and Taku rising, their gazes challenging each other in a silent game of wills.

- You're playing a dangerous game, Alastor. You might get burned. He growled.

But Alastor didn't flinch, his teasing smile remaining unchanged.

- Oh, let me doubt it, we both know that you are weaker than me. We need to see ( y/n ). He repeated calmly. And I'm sure you can understand the importance of this meeting. Besides, I will hold my tongue regarding the content of our deal and I will no longer be able to force you to let us in, seeing as I burned the letter to do so. Does this suit you ?

Taku hesitated for a moment, seeming to weigh his options. Finally, with a sigh of resignation, he agreed with a slight nod.

- Alright. He whispered. But I don't owe you anything anymore. And know, miss, he said, addressing Charlie, finally considering her since the beginning of the exchange, you are nothing to us. Your rank is nothing where we are going. We are devoted to our Lady and compared to her, you are futile. And all the more so for a crazy person like you, Alastor. He finished, his teeth returning to normal.

Charlie doesn't respond, stunned. With a wave of his hand, Taku opened the door, revealing the darkness that lay on the other side. Alastor gave a mocking smile, ignoring Taku's jab.

- We expected no less from such hospitality in these infernal lands. He replied lightly, before leading Charlie after him towards the open door.

Once on the other side, the transition was instantaneous, almost magical. The oppressive red-tinged sky of Pentagram City dissipated, giving way to a clear blue celestial expanse, enveloping the landscape in a soft, soothing light. A breath of fresh air came to caress their faces, sweeping away the heaviness of Hell.

Charlie contemplated this astonishing change with a mixture of astonishment and perplexity. She felt transported to another world, a realm where torment and suffering seemed to evaporate. A light laugh escaped Alastor's lips, savoring the stark contrast between the two realities.

- Welcome to this less gloomy corner of Hell, my dear. He whispered to Charlie, his eyes shining with a mischievous glint.

Following Taku who walked in the lead, Alastor and Charlie embarked on the winding paths of this enchanting landscape. Charlie couldn't suppress his amazement at the peaceful beauty around him. Green meadows stretched as far as the eye could see, caressed by the soft light of the sun. In the distance, majestic trees swayed gently in the breeze, their foliage dancing in harmony with the birdsong.

Her heart leaped with excitement as she observed the inhabitants of this strange place, for a moment she could almost forget Vaggie's betrayal. Fishermen smiled happily as they brought in their day's catch. No violence, no murder, no blood. It was a stark contrast to the Hell she had always known. Maybe not as sumptuous as Heaven, but to her, it was a glimmer of light in the darkness.

Approaching Alastor, Charlie felt the urgent need to clarify the mysteries that hovered around their presence here, in this strange and enchanting world.

- Alastor, she began in a voice filled with a mixture of fascination and perplexity, how come that you know ( y/n ) ? And what is this place that seems so... Different ?

Alastor gave her a teasing smile, his eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint.

- Ah, my dear Charlie. He replied in a nonchalant tone. It's a long story, full of twists and turns and mysteries.

He winked at her, knowing he had piqued her curiosity. But before Charlie could ask any more questions, he added :

- As for this place, it's a kind of... Refuge, if you like. A place where time seems to stand still, where the torments of Hell ease a little. But don't let appearances fool you, my dear. Even here, there are secrets and dangers that await us.

Charlie looked at him with admiration mixed with concern. She knew that even in this relative haven of peace, trouble could arise at any moment.

-And why are we here ? She insisted, determined to get a clear answer this time.

Alastor gave him a knowing look, his smile widening slightly.

- Oh, my dear, are we not here to save our dear hotel from the clutches of adversity ? He replied in a cheerful tone, skillfully avoiding directly answering her question.

Charlie rolled her eyes, knowing she probably wouldn't get a more specific answer from Alastor. But despite her exasperation, she couldn't help but feel a spark of excitement at the idea of the adventure that awaited them. As they advanced peacefully, five other armed sinners appeared from the shadows, threatening and ready to do battle.

The leader of this group raised his weapon, pointing contemptuously at Alastor.

- What are you doing here you bastard ? He roared in a deep and menacing voice.

Charlie felt panic rising within her, her gaze turning to Alastor for a solution.

- Alastor, what do we do ?

Alastor smirked, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

- Well, this looks like it's getting interesting. He replied with a teasing tone, ready to spring into action.

As the sinners stood before them, their weapons brandished in a threatening gesture, Alastor couldn't help but let out a teasing laugh, his gaze shining with a mischievous glint as he approached one of them. 'them.

- My dear friends, is this how you welcome your guests ? He said in a mocking voice, openly defying their hostility.

The sinners stiffened, their expressions mixing bewilderment and anger at the demon's insolent attitude.

- You have guts to come here, Alastor. One of them spat contemptuously, his tone laced with menace. Do you really think you can come in here at will and wreak havoc ?

A smirk tugged at Alastor's lips, a spark of defiance in his gaze.

- Ah, but that’s precisely what I do best, isn’t it ? He replied with a mischievous wink. Bring a little spice to everyday life, shake things up. Besides, if I wanted to hurt anyone here, it would already be done.

His smile widened as red clock faces replaced his pupils, his face twisting into a demonic expression, his smile no longer able to contain his sharp teeth. Deafening, unpleasant sounds of radio whining surrounded the atmosphere, frightening or disconcerting those around them.

After this moment of theatrical intimidation, Alastor suddenly calmed down, letting out a musical laugh that echoed through the air, as if he had just told a particularly funny joke. His facial expression, once distorted by threat, returned to its usual appearance, although his mischievous look remained.

The sinners, meanwhile, stood stunned, looking at Alastor with a mixture of fear and perplexity. They were used to arrogant and hostile demons, but Alastor's combination of imperturbable confidence and playful mischief completely unsettled them.

- I see that you are having trouble following the dance. Alastor stated in a light tone, as if he was talking to confused children. But don't worry, I'm just passing through. No need to bother you further.

Before they can act, Taku abruptly intervenes, his piercing gaze fixed on the sinners.

- Stop your bickering. Stay calm until I give an order. He ordered in a firm voice, keeping them at a distance from any attempted aggression.

The sinners, disoriented, looked at each other, unable to understand why the right arm of their liege stood thus alongside these intruders, and even closer to Alastor, in particular.

- But Taku, they are foreigners. They are not welcome here ! One of them protested, his weapon still aimed at Alastor. Especially a perfidious being like him, whose sole purpose is to sow pain and destruction! It will only revive the suffering in the heart of our Lady !

The disdain in Taku's gaze was palpable, his icy silence echoing in the halo of tension that enveloped the group.

- I know what I'm doing. Don't intervene. He replied in an authoritative tone, putting an abrupt end to any discussion.

Charlie, silent observer of this scene, felt a mixture of relief and incomprehension at Taku's enigmatic attitude. Her grateful gaze rested on him, knowing that he had played a crucial role in calming the situation. Yet, despite this gratitude, she could not help but wonder about the hidden motivations of the mysterious demon, wondering what this pact constituted.

Alastor, although disappointed by the interruption to what could have been an exciting fight, narrowed his eyes warily, bracing himself for any unforeseen events.

- Where is Lady ( y/n ) ? He asked in a calm but firm voice.

The fishermen exchanged uncertain looks before one of them responded in a hesitant voice :

- She is on the top floor, in her tea room, Mr. Taku. She said no one should come and bother her, except you, of course. She is waiting for you.

Nodding, he resumed walking with a determined step, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

- We should continue so that you can leave as soon as possible. He stated in a calm but commanding voice, prompting Alastor and Charlie to follow him.

The five sinners followed closely behind them, their weapons always ready, keeping a watchful eye on the two strangers. Despite their threatening attitude, Alastor, for his part, still wore his eternal smile, taunting the sinners with undisguised amusement.

Meanwhile, Charlie watched the sinners curiously, noticing how happy they seemed in this environment. However, her thoughts were interrupted when she overheard a conversation between two sinners that made her frown.

- You should smile, you know. One of the sinners whispered to the other, his tone laced with a strange mix of gentleness and menace. We don't want to add to Lady's ( y/n ) suffering.

This remark sent chills down Charlie's spine, and he felt a ball of anxiety forming in his stomach.

Taku moved forward without worrying about the tension that reigned around them.

- We should hurry. He declared in a calm but determined voice, prompting the group to pick up their pace.

After walking through the beautiful garden that led them to a secluded building, Taku opened the door and Charlie and Alastor entered with him, leaving the five sinners outside. They advanced through the corridors, following Taku who seemed to know the way by heart.

They finally found themselves in front of an imposing wooden door, whose solid stature seemed to announce the grandeur of the being who resided behind. Taku, with a measured gesture, knocked gently on the wood, thus announcing his presence.

For Charlie, this moment was filled with palpable tension. Her mind repeated the words of her prepared speech, while she mentally prepared herself to face the conundrum that awaited them on the other side. She tried to draw on her determination, ready to defend her beliefs in the face of this mysterious figure.

For his part, Alastor quickly adjusted his outfit and stood up straight, confident, his teasing gaze barely hiding the growing anticipation building within him. He nevertheless approached Charlie, to whisper in his ear with a mixture of seriousness and mischief :

- Be careful of your attitude and your words once inside, my dear. The person we are going to meet is not easily impressed and does not take himself for just anyone.

Charlie nodded silently, appreciating Alastor's caution and advice. Although she felt nervous, she found some comfort in his presence, knowing that he was there to support her in this crucial meeting.

Crossing her fingers that she succeeds.

____________________________________________

Author's note : Here's the first part ! I had to split it in two because otherwise it would have been too long for you, exceeding 7,000 words. Tell me what you think in the comments, see you next time.

[ride-thedragon]

MAKING A CASE FOR GREGORY TO BE EVERYONE'S FAVOURITE BRIDGERTON.

(Jk, this is just an excuse, like who you want)

Is he my favourite?

Yes.

Why?

Well......

1. He wants love.

From the start of the book, we are made aware that he has nothing going on and genuinely wants to find love like his siblings.

2. Friends over food.

The way he meets Lucy is him falling in love with Hermonie Watson(👀) and asking Lucy to dance. She pities him enough to carry him to eat because he showed up late and had to go mingle. Basically, they become acquaintances and friends once they decide to set up Gregory with Hermonie.

3. Bro is in love with Kate.

One of the funnier themes in the book is that he goes from saying something he loves about Kate and then compares it to something Lucy does.

4. Alcohol.

He keeps stealing and drinking Anthony's alcohol.

5. Fist fights.

He fights Lucy's brother, Richard, after compromising Hermonie (deserved, earned).

6. The first time they kiss.

I kid you not, I was in shock, tears almost and the energy after this moment never changes. Like genuinely at any point they would've been wed to each other had one person saw them but what makes if crazier is that the only reason it stopped was because Lucy was engaged and she remembered before it escalated

7. Making it everyone's problem.

After he realises he loves her, he makes it everyone's problem. From comparing her to Francesca to embarrassing Violet publicly , even roping Hyacinth in on hijinks, his story is a family event.

8. The Second time they kiss.

Hyacinth is in the other room, they are in Daphne's home and he has orchestrated a plan to propose to her in a closet.

9. They sleep with each other.

To the TSPWL and WHWW girls, step aside for a moment. Gregory breaks into his unofficial fiancé's home in the dead of night, goes to her room, and is eventually seduced by her. They proceed to sleep together, THE DAY BEFORE HER WEDDING TO ANOTHER MAN. They do so three times holding each other, then sleeping together and so on. She's doing it under false pretences because she isn't going to marry him atp.

10. A love like Violet and Edmund's.

They break the Bridgerton record for most kids. At the time of the epilogue, they have 7 kids and are expecting the 8th, they have twins and end up with 9. It's to the point where the pregnancy impacts Lucy and Gregory let's us know that the amount of kids they have is genuinely due to their lack of restraint.

11. They name their kids after their siblings.

Lucy actually gets to name one after her best friend, but there is a little Daphne and Anthony running around. Also a Kate.

12. Guns.

There is a gun stand off.

13. Kidnapping.

Gregory breaks the law, again.

14. Gay.

Lucy is pinning over Hermione during the first half, her fiance is gay, the uncle never marries......

15. 9 CHILDREN.

I don't want to understate the fact that they have 9 kids in less than 20 years. It was never that serious. She is 33 when they have their last kid. He's 39. They met at 18 and 24 respectively. 9 kids in 15 years.

16. LUCY MY LOVE

Me 🫂 Gregory.

She's darling. Throughout the narrative, it's just her making sacrifices for everyone she loves. For her brother, her best friend, even Gregory, it's consistantly her trying.

17. Blue Mushroom.

Please read the book because Drunk Greg>>>

18. Last one.

My baby boy is a horrible shot.

Let me end it on a mood board for my faves.

We do be on the way to a wedding. It certainly was a journey

[kanmom51]

So guys, I guess this is it.

I guess this is the big public reveal of Taenni.

Make no mistake here.

This is not coincidental, they weren't caught by accident on camera by a paparazzi photographer who happened to be in the area.

This is planned and executed by them in correspondence and approval of their companies.

Tae and Jenni just strolling comfortably on the street holding hands, their managers five steps behind them, then being also filmed going to their car, together - that was their doing. That happened only because they wanted it to happen.

According to the paparazzi he was there by chance.

But they weren't. They weren't walking the streets hand in hand out in the open thinking they won't be recognized. They knew they would be. It was a given. Them being who they are, with the entourage and the security.

The manager, knowing they were being filmed, did not send him on his merry way, but only had him move a little further away, after confirming their identity and getting his permission to film them!!

And then you have the French paparazzi laws and regulations.

Oh, they were definitely aware they were being filmed, and showed no issues with it. No hiding, no letting go of hands, quite the opposite. A confident walk hand in hand down the Paris street, all being filmed, all while knowing this is going to spread like wild fire.

Add to that the speed in which Elle posted this:

They sure did get their confirmation real fast.

There is zero doubt in my mind that this whole thing was orchestrated (as in them knowing someone is going to get them on film and the whole thing will blow up) and is their way of going public. Not in Korea, in Paris, for the whole world to see.

To see them walking hand in hand on the streets of Paris, the city of lights, the city of romance and love.

To see them with their staff, just to make sure there is no mistaken identity and no "this is cosplay" or "it's not Tae, it's someone else" or "it's just a random Asian couple" (like seriously? A random Asian couple? Can we be any more racist? And that random Asian couple happen to have staffers and security following them and protecting them too?) or the rest of the delusional farts we've been hearing for the past few hours.

This was not a 2 second clip. This was getting them from several angles, following them as they walk down the street, go back to their car.

This, my friends, is what GOING PUBLIC looks like on their own terms, in their own time.

This happened now, in Paris, because that's what they wanted.

The two have been together for at the very least 18 months now.

My guess is that there needed to be some kind of clarity of intent from Tae's side before enlistment, as Jenni is expected to wait for him to finish his military service and I assume she expected some kind of commitment from him.

What surprised me was the timing.

I kind of thought Tae and Jenni would make it public before his enlistment because of the above mentioned, but I never in my wildest dreams expected him to do so before his solo album.

Fuck, man is brave.

Cause let's be real. He knows. He knows exactly how fickle and vile TKKs and his solos are. He knows that there will be a price to pay. And he surprised me, he really did. I admit so here fully.

I guess the cards are already starting to fall into place.

It's being discussed on K-media.

In an article published on Naver by reporter Hyun-deok YG AND HYBE chose not to make a formal statement only saying:

"We do not know because it is the artist's private life."

Come on now. This is as good as a formal statement saying they're together.

We saw how fast YG were to deny dating rumors attached to Rose, Hybe too when there were pics involved.

And there are definitley pics involved.

Also, I suggest you read the article. Because it as good as confirms them being a couple as is.

For example:

"V and Jennie were spotted traveling together on Jeju Island in May of last year, and dating rumors were raised."

Not edited pics, not people think they might have seen them. This is confirmation to the validity of those photos.

I guess now we wait and see.

I really do believe this was them saying "here we are and we are together" for the world, for their fandoms.

We will wait and see if the agencies do make official statements about it, but possibly they want to wait a little longer before doing so, or maybe, just maybe, this is a new era, where the companies just let their artists be (not betting on that one though).

There has been talk about a Dispatch couple reveal coming up. Idk where it's coming from or if there is any truth to it. If, by any chance this is true, it will be interesting to see if Dispatch got exclusivity on the big reveal, and that's where we'll be getting their own statements, coming from the companies, but the two of them confirming it out loud.

I've seen TKKs spaces, they are going absolutely feral. One thing I see repeated is that if Dispatch says it's true, then it's true. If there is something, anything, that can get them to just STOP, stop their vile behaviour, stop their hate, just stop, then I'm all for it, as long as it's on Taenni's own terms. And their night stroll in Paris kind of tells me that if it happens, it's their decision, it's them giving the green light to go ahead and let everyone know.

I would love to see a Cannes red carpet couple. Too much? Perhaps. But a gal can dream.

[thevegandarkelf]

Finding Myself, Finding You: Chapter Thirty-Six: Epilogue

Masterlist

AO3 link

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist <3 (18+ only, MDNI)

Thank you to everyone who has come along on Lydia's journey with me. Looking back on all the late nights and hours upon hours I poured into this makes me emotional. Thank you for every single note. They all mean the world to me. The fact that people were interested enough in my work to interact with it is still mind-blowing to me. Writing this healed something in me, and I hope, if you needed it, that it healed something in you too. Just because this story is over doesn't mean I'm done writing with these two. I have more planned for them.

I’ve had several people tell me they cried after reading this so maybe have a box of tissues nearby idk.

Story is 18+ for mature content/themes, minors do not interact please

TW/CWs for this story--implied/referenced past rape, canonical violence, non-canonical violence, blood, gore, referenced past suicide, swearing, surgery, excessive drinking, nightmares, panic attacks, mention of scars, vomiting, amputation, medical procedures, non-con medical procedures, referenced past medical torture, referenced past drugging, attempted sexual assault, panic attacks, mental health struggles, referenced sibling death, referenced parent death, PTSD

Each chapter will have its own TW/CWs listed

This story, Lydia Vector, her family & bestie (c) me, TheVeganDarkElf

TWD & its characters (c) AMC & Robert Kirkman, the writer of the comic series

Legolas & Lord of the Rings (c) J.R.R. Tolkien, Sleeping Beauty (c) Disney

TW/CWs for this chapter--swearing, mention of nightmares, mention of past rape, mentions of major character death (Glenn, Eric, Carl), mention of panic attacks, vomiting, there’s a dead body and a decapitated head in this one, mention of: scars, grief, blood, gun violence, maybe a little gore

Word count: 10k

Life in Alexandria was going pretty smoothly. We'd become friendly with some of the surrounding communities—Hilltop and the Kingdom, primarily—and our own community continued to grow stronger. Our food supply was steady, weapons were on hand, and more people had joined us. We were successfully preparing for the coming winter months, where getting food from the garden wouldn't be possible. I made new friends and became closer with the ones I had before. And I had the most handsome man on the planet all to myself.

Eventually, I had my first nightmare-free night of sleep.

I woke up the following morning feeling more rested than I had in a long time. I rolled over to see that Daryl was already awake, and he immediately told me I'd slept through the night without stirring even once. It came out almost like word vomit, like it was an exciting secret that he couldn't hold in anymore. He scooped me up in his arms and held me tight, telling me over and over again how damn proud of me he was. I cried a lot of happy tears.

Mine and Daryl's relationship continued to blossom. We spent a lot of time together, practically joined at the hip, as Aaron had put it. Wherever one of us was, you could typically find the other close by. It was a dream to come home to him each night and cozy up before falling asleep. I woke up every morning somehow more in love with him than I was the day before. I'd even written hypothetical wedding vows. I hoped to be able to read them one day, whether that was at the end of an aisle in front of our friends and family or across from each other alone at the kitchen island. And I learned that all of those Rick-ordered runs we went on back before officially getting together were orchestrated by Daryl, hence why I never heard about them from the mouth of our fearless cowboy leader. He had gone to Rick shortly after I arrived and asked if he could take me on a couple of runs under the guise of "she's a doctor, she knows what medical supplies to look for." And it snowballed from there.

I still worried about him every time he went out on the road for more than a day, maybe even more so now, but I knew he'd always come back. Daryl was tough, and the life he'd lived prior to the apocalypse had prepared him for it. If anyone was going to be the last man standing, it was him.

Our relationship wasn't perfect, of course. No one's was. We had our arguments, just like any other couple, but we prioritized never going to bed angry and staying up as late as we needed to to work it out. Sometimes we'd need space, but we'd always come together after and talk through things.

That took some getting used to for Daryl. Given the environment he grew up in, where people got in each other's faces and screamed until their throats were raw, I understood that he was used to handling conflict very differently than I was. It took a lot of practice and a lot of patience on my part, but over time, we cultivated an open line of communication, and it was a beautiful thing. It allowed us to become closer and get to know each other even better.

One aspect of becoming closer was continuing to learn new things about each other. The most surprising thing I learned about Daryl was that he was a virgin.

Part of my healing journey was getting comfortable discussing sex again. I was talking about my history before the world fell, sharing past experiences and being candid about how many partners I'd had, some of the things I was into, etc. When I asked Daryl about his, he danced around the question, dodging it every time I tried to circle back. Someone as gorgeous as he was had to have been very sexually experienced, I thought, so I didn't understand why he wouldn't even just share how many partners he'd had. Eventually, he came clean, saying he was worried I might think he wouldn't be able to satisfy me if I knew how inexperienced he was. Not only was he a virgin, but it had been quite a long time since he kissed someone before me.

"So when you said it'd been a while since you kissed someone..."

"Had a first kiss when I's a kid, if ya could even call it that. Was worried what ya might think if I told ya earlier."

Like any of that would change how I felt about him.

After lots of time working through my shit, a lot of talking, and a lot of tears, I was able to...give him what I never thought I could.

It was a long, slow process, and there were times when I didn't think I would get there. I beat myself up a lot, especially if we started and had to stop. I wanted so badly to experience him in that way, but my body and mind wouldn't allow it. I felt like a broken toy that would never work again, and I hated myself for robbing him of that level of intimacy and pleasure. Regardless of how frustrated I was with myself about it, Daryl was nothing but a saint. He never made a big deal out of it, never made me feel anything less than safe and cared for. He told me again and again not to push myself "just so's he could get his rocks off." Anything I needed, he was on it, never putting up a fight or making me think, even for a second, that I was burdensome in any way. He didn't care about having to wait or stop. All that mattered to him was that I was alright. His support was one of the main reasons I was able to make it through my healing journey in the first place.

Daryl even developed a plan for when I would get triggered. If I needed to stop mid-act, he'd ask if I wanted to climb under the covers or get dressed first, then ask if I wanted to cuddle or take a minute alone. If I wanted to get dressed first, he'd step out and give me space to do so. If I wanted to cuddle, he'd climb into bed with me and wrap us up in the covers, pulling me as close to him as physically possible. He'd either rub my back or massage my scalp, all the while reminding me that I was safe, he was there, and there was nothing to be afraid of. Since I found his voice so comforting, sometimes he'd tell me a story or bring up one of his favorite memories with me, anything to keep himself talking. If I was so overwhelmed that I wasn't sure what I wanted, he'd get me my blanket and some water, leave for a couple of minutes, then come back and check in with me again. He hadn't needed to step out and come back more than once a session, but I knew he would do it as many times as I needed.

It was a journey for him too. Everything we tried was a first for him, and I got to teach him how to do it all. And he learned quickly. One of the perks of teaching him was not having to work against some silly notions planted in his head by other men who thought they knew what women liked. Learn what women like from a woman, what a novel concept. It was beautiful to bond with him like that, to get to learn each other's bodies in the most intimate way and experience each other at our most vulnerable.

The first time we made it all the way through, I cried afterward. Not because I was triggered or anything bad happened, but because I was so proud of myself and, truthfully, just how amazing it was. Poor Daryl thought he'd done something wrong, only reassured once I was giggling and kissing him all over his face.

Unfortunately, life wasn't all sunshine and rainbows forever.

When the Saviors came, we lost a lot of good people...including Glenn. Maggie's cries haunted my dreams for weeks after, her screams permeating my most peaceful moments. My heart ached for her. I couldn't even begin to fathom the pain she was experiencing.

As we all waited with bated breath in those dark, eerie woods, the man called Negan snapped at one of the men on the sidelines, gesturing for him to hand something to him. The man stepped away and came back, handing something off to Negan. Negan held the thing up, asking "which one of us creatives was responsible for this little art piece." Upon seeing what he was holding, I involuntarily began vomiting, doubling over and spitting out chunks, some of it catching in my hair.

It was a head. Adam's head, with the vibrator still in his eye socket and his flesh so decayed, his jaw was almost falling off. Turns out Adam had been a Savior.

Negan took my reaction as confirmation that I was the responsible party, a sick smirk stretching across his lips as he snapped at another few men to bring out something else. "You do this too?" he asked as two men brought out Adam's body, the sleeves of his shirt and the majority of his pants cut off to expose his surgical scars. I continued to vomit, absolutely humiliated, both from having to see Adam's body again and from everyone having to see the word ‘rapist’ carved into his forehead and knowing I was the one that put it there.

He approached me, lifting my chin with the cap of his bat to look him in the eyes. He was...impressed. Really impressed. He saw what I could do, and he wanted me to join them. I would never join him, and despite him asking me to, I think he knew that. I was lucky my face didn't become closely acquainted with Lucille.

After Daryl punched Negan in the face and Glenn was killed, he was taken and thrown into their van. I screamed as I watched him get pulled away, falling forward as my body gave out and landing in my own vomit. My chest was on fire, and my eyes were so clouded with tears that everything in front of me was a blur. Had my body not felt gelatinous, I would've leaped off the ground and punched Negan myself.

"Thanks for getting rid of this one," Negan said, tossing the head behind him blindly somewhere in the dark.

After Daryl was abducted, I was a complete wreck, hardly able to eat or sleep, terrified that I would never see him again. I slept on the couch, as looking at the empty space in our bed next to me was too much to bear. Maggie and I spent a lot of time together, leaning on each other for support during our time of grief. There was one afternoon when I cracked a joke, not thinking I would get any type of reaction, but it pulled a small smile from her, and that warmed my heart to see.

When Daryl and I were reunited, we clung to each other and cried, afraid that if we let go, the other would slip away again. That was the first time I'd ever seen Daryl cry. It broke me to see him crumble like that, knowing how much pain he was in. I wanted Negan to pay, not only for the trauma he and his men had inflicted on my little Georgia peach, but for ripping my friend from this world in such a violent manner, and in front of his wife no less. I wanted Negan to suffer.

The Scavengers were a force to be reckoned with. Rick convinced their leader, Jadis, to ally with us to fight the Saviors, but they eventually went behind our backs and ratted us out to Negan and his men. We allied with the nearby communities, Oceanside being the most recent addition, and even some former Saviors, to form The Militia, joining forces with only one thing in mind—destroy the Saviors.

There was an all-out war, and with war comes blood. Lots of blood. Lots of lives lost, lots of damage done. Alexandria would have to be rebuilt, but our people were strong and I knew, ultimately, we would be ok.

Eric's death shattered Aaron. He'd caught a bullet and eventually succumbed to his injury. and poor Aaron had to come across him as a walker. I knew that pain all too well, and I tried my best to be there for him as much as I could. My friends were being taken out one-by-one. It wasn't fair.

Carl's death was another moment that tore everyone to shreds. He'd hidden his bite until he couldn't hide it anymore, and knowing that another precious, kind soul was taken from us was heartbreaking, though heartbreaking didn't seem like a strong enough word. Carl had written letters to some people before his death, and I was one of the lucky individuals who received one. He thanked me for everything I'd done, all the time I spent answering his questions, and for caring for his sister and making sure she was healthy. I added the letter to the collection at the back of my notebook, and Daryl held me while I cried hysterically all night.

Being a trauma surgeon, I'd treated many of the types of injuries people were dealing with. I beat myself up whenever we lost someone in a way that I could've prevented. Daryl always assured me it wasn't my fault, telling me not to blame myself for not being able to save everyone. I was only one person, I couldn't do it all.

And then, there was Rick's disappearance.

The silence that followed the bridge explosion was almost more deafening than the explosion itself. Michonne's screams and everyone's crying still haunt me, and it makes me emotional if I think about it for too long. We explored the area around the bridge, expecting to find his body, whether whole or in pieces, or maybe some of his belongings, but we didn't find anything. There was no sign that he had been there. I don't know how he could've made it out of there alive, but that was the only explanation.

After he went missing, Daryl made it his mission to find him. He tried to convince me to stay behind, wanting me to be safe by staying within the walls, but I wasn't going to let him look for his best friend by himself. Plus, Rick had become like a father figure to me. If he was out there, I wanted to help find him.

Six years. A total of six years we spent looking for him and found...nothing. The one thing we did find was Dog, a friendly German Shepard who joined us on our journey. He was a wonderful companion, making me smile whenever things seemed hopeless. Sometimes, when Daryl would actually sleep, which wasn't often as he preferred to stay awake to keep me safe, I'd sit and talk to Dog. I'd vent my frustrations and ask for advice, even though I knew he couldn't answer. Having a dog around was wonderful. However, he wasn't the only dog we acquired.

While out on the road, we came across a sweet little French bulldog. She was black as night with a small white patch on her chest. She was digging through a pile of something, probably scrounging for food. Upon hearing us, she poked his head up, intrigued when she laid eyes on Dog. Daryl held him back as he began barking at the bulldog, trying to calm him down as he only continued to get more excited. I knelt down, and she came bounding over to me, the tags on her collar jingling as she laid on her back and rolled around, demanding belly rubs. I flipped the top tag over, and my face lit up when I read her name.

"Daryl...her name's Delilah."

"Ain't that your childhood dog's name?"

"Yes! It's a sign, we have to keep her."

"Thought ya didn't believe in none o' that."

"Normally I don't. C'mon Daryl, please? Look at that face. How can you say no to that sweet little face?"

"Ya talkin' 'bout yours or hers?"

He was hesitant at first, as having one dog had proven to be a lot, but he had a hard time saying no to me. The way she and Dog were bonding so effortlessly, and how happy she was already making me in just the few minutes since finding her, he couldn't strip that joy away from me. So Delilah joined us, bringing our family to a total of four.

Amongst all the death, we were gifted with new life. Maggie had her baby, naming him Hershel Jr, after her father. He looked so much like his dad. It was like having a little piece of Glenn back with us. Michonne also gave birth to a little boy, giving Judith another brother and naming him RJ, Rick Grimes Jr. Aaron took on the task of caring for a baby girl named Gracie, treating her as if she were his own. Even Rosita had a baby, and precious Socorro joined the family as well. More kids that I got to be an auntie to. I had no complaints about that.

After returning to Alexandria, we discovered Negan had been captured, living in that tiny little cell I'd woken up in all those years ago. Good. Let the man rot in there for all I cared. Judith convinced Michonne to search for Rick, and she and RJ were put in mine & Daryl's care. They'd both grown so much in the time we'd spent away, and it was a pleasure to get to know these blossoming humans. There were curious things, Judith especially. She asked a lot of questions, and her curiosity knew no bounds. She asked medical questions, asked about my life before this, and even about my family.

"I know my mom's gonna find my dad. I hope you find your dad too," she'd told me.

One of my favorite memories was from an afternoon I spent with her and RJ. RJ was playing with some of the other kids, running around and playing tag or God knows what, and Judith wanted to stay on the sidelines with me while I picked flowers. I was surprised, as she was a feisty little thing and wasn't afraid to get down and dirty playing games with the boys. I learned later that she had an ulterior motive.

All these years later, everyone still only knew me as Vec or Vector, and Daryl still called me Vec in front of others. But there were a few nights where she overheard Daryl call me by my name, and being the speculative kid she was, she had to know why.

"Why does Daryl call you Lydia?" she asked, twirling one of the small flowers in her fingers.

"Because that's my name," I explained. She peered up at me from under the brim of her father's hat, and I could practically see the smoke pouring from her ears as the gears of her inquisitive mind shifted around.

"Why does everyone else call you Vec?" I looked up for a moment to make sure RJ was still in my line of sight before bringing my gaze back to hers.

"That's the nickname I like to go by," I answered. I could feel the series of questions that were coming.

"Why does he get to call you by your name?" she inquired, a hint of jealousy in her voice. I sighed and half-jokingly rolled my eyes. Kids sure ask a lot of questions, don't they?

"Because I love him." I could feel my cheeks turning a faint pink. Even after years of being with him, I still gushed and blushed when talking about him.

"Don't you love me too?" She hung her head slightly, sadness beginning to slip into her voice.

I laughed softly under my breath and squatted down to her level, picking a flower and handing it to her. "Of course I do, my angel. But there's different types of love." I picked a flower for myself, stroking the soft petals. "I love you the way your parents do, the way Maggie loves Herschel Jr. & Aaron loves Gracie. I love Daryl the way your parents love each other."

Her face lit up, and there was a curiosity in her eye. "How did you meet him?"

"Well, my dear," I said, sitting down next to her and crossing my legs, "you were just a wee baby when I showed up at Alexandria for the first time..."

The Whisperers might've been the most terrifying. "Skin jobs," as some had taken to calling them. They showed up around the time we returned to Alexandria, wearing walker skin and creeping around with the nasty things. Their horde was insane. They'd gathered thousands of walkers, keeping them on standby like some sick weapon. They terrorized us, one of them infiltrating our community and poisoning our water supply. Daryl took on a leadership role in Rick's absence. I was proud of him for stepping up and bringing people back together after Rick's disappearance tore everyone apart.

The war with the Whisperers was long and catastrophic. We lost Hilltop and the Kingdom, and ultimately, Alexandria. We would rebuild, just like we always did, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the peaceful days we had back when I first arrived there. Negan was even let out of his cell to infiltrate the Whisperers and take them down from the inside. I hated Negan, but he was a charismatic guy, I had to give him that. I could see why people might like him despite everything he'd done & everything, and everyone, his previous group had taken from us. And he was incredibly manipulative, so he was able to get close to them easily enough. The one good thing Negan did was kill Alpha, bringing her head to Carol once the task was completed. Alpha's daughter, Lydia, joined us, helping to take down her mother's horde once and for all.

It took a while for Lydia to get comfortable around everyone. She was most comfortable around Daryl, as they had similar childhoods & he could understand what she'd gone through in a way the rest of us couldn't. She didn't talk to me much at first, avoiding me as much as possible and hardly looking at me. I assumed she didn't like me, but when I told Daryl that, he laughed.

"She thinks you're super cool," he told me, "talks 'bout wantin' to be a badass like ya."

I racked my brain for ideas and came to the conclusion that finding a way to relate to Lydia, even a little, might help her. I didn't tell her exactly what happened to me before arriving at Alexandria, but I did explain that it was something awful. I assured her I wasn't perfect, I had my flaws and my history, but that didn't make me any less of a badass. I had one other idea up my sleeve that might make her smile and help her bring out the badass I knew she had lying within herself.

"Can I tell you a secret? You have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Umm, ok. I promise."

"My name's Lydia too."

Then, there was our arrival at the Commonwealth.

It was strange being back in my home state after so many years. We were interrogated by different people, asking about our history, where we came from, what we did before the outbreak, etc. Eventually, Daryl and I were pulled into an office together where we met the infamous Lance Hornsby.

Lance was the Deputy Governor, second-in-command to Pamela Milton. He was a charismatic guy, and for the most part, people seemed to like him. He had a sense of ambition about him, and he seemed to want the best for the Commonwealth and everyone in it, but I wasn't buying it. Something about him made my stomach queasy, but I couldn't put my finger on it. He gave me uncanny valley vibes.

"One of you is a doctor?" he asked. I hesitantly raised my hand and bit my lip, like there was somehow a correct answer and I was worried about getting it wrong, despite the fact that I was the doctor in the room. "What kind of doctor are you?"

"I'm a trauma surgeon," I replied, lowering my hand and steadying my voice to appear more confident than I was feeling, "amputations, bullet wounds, skin grafts, I've done it all."

Lance laughed. "What are you, 35? You're a little young to be a surgeon, aren't you?"

"That's flattering, but I'm 42. Smart of you to guess younger," I chuckled, "I had almost completed my residency when the world went to shit. I was a couple of months from board certification. You met Aaron, right? The guy with the fake foot and arm?" He nodded. "I did both of those with no medical equipment."

"She's done a hell of a lot more than just that," Daryl interjected.

"Get Tomi in here," Lance ordered, waving to a man by the door, "now!"

A few minutes later, another man was brought in, who I guessed was Tomi. He was wearing plain clothes, but given that it was so important he be retrieved, he had to be a fellow doctor, I presumed. My presumptions were quickly confirmed.

"Dr. Okumura, this woman is claiming to be a surgeon," Lance explained, gesturing to me, "test her."

"Test her?" he inquired, "ok, umm...Dr. Okumura, fellow surgeon. Thoracic. What kind of surgeon are you?"

"Well first, hi. I go by Vec," I introduced, offering him a handshake, to which he reciprocated, "would you prefer I call you Dr. Okumura, or is Tomi ok?"

"For a fellow doctor, Tomi's fine," he replied, a small smile crossing his face.

"Trauma surgery. Was almost finished with my residency at Johns Hopkins ER before all this."

He turned to Lance, seemingly impressed by my credentials. "Lance, that alone is amazing. She got into Johns—"

"I said test her," Lance demanded. Tomi rolled his eyes and sighed, turning back to me.

"You have a patient that shows up on your table. Bullet wound to the abdomen. How do you proceed?"

"Well, what's their history? Is the patient diabetic?" I wondered.

"Why does that matter?" Lance butt in, his impatience becoming ever present in his voice.

"It matters," I corrected. I held my hand up in his direction and closed it, indicating for him to shut his mouth. "Their sugar levels would need to be checked first to ensure they aren't hyper- or hypoglycemic. That would also need to be monitored throughout surgery. And they might need to take antibiotics for longer as they're at a higher risk of infection."

"She's right," Tomi confirmed, "as much of the patient's history as possible needs to be reviewed first before deciding how to proceed." I looked over Tomi's shoulder at Lance, who was pouting in his chair with his arms crossed. I raised my eyebrow and smirked at him.

"So when do I start?"

Everyone was assigned their jobs based on what they did prior to the outbreak. Daryl didn't have much in the way of a career prior to the world falling, but given his combat and survival skills, he was recruited to join the Commonwealth Army. Seeing as doctors were in high demand, I was quickly employed at the hospital, and we were given a cushier apartment. I could tell Daryl was already feeling out of place in such a, what he would deem, 'classy' environment.

"Hey," I assured, "you belong here. You deserve this. Just as much as anyone else."

"All I know's I belong wherever you are," he replied.

We settled into our new home and got the kids set up in school. I was excited that they were getting the opportunity to receive an education, something that I was sure would never be a possibility for them. I got to wear cute little sundresses nearly every day, a simple pleasure that I was grateful to partake in once again. And let's be real, Daryl enjoyed it as well. Many of our friends also made a home in the Commonwealth. It existed in its own bubble, like a little slice of the world that hadn't gone to complete shit. I got to wake up next to Daryl every morning, knowing that he, the kids, and our friends were safe. And after everything we'd been through, that was more than I could ever ask for.

*Third person perspective*

The autumn sun beamed down through the clouds, casting a beautiful glow on the red, orange, and yellow leaves that decorated the surrounding trees. There was a chill in the air, but given that he was always warm, Daryl wasn't concerned about being cold. As a gentle breeze came through, he looked at one of the trees, a small smile breaking out on his lips as he watched the branches sway to and fro. Lydia may have been his ray of sunshine, but this weather reminded him of her most. She's often talked about missing being able to go apple picking, spend an afternoon in a pumpkin patch, and drink warm cider by a campfire. "The most basic bitch thing about me," she would joke, but Daryl never thought it was silly. Lydia found joy in the small pleasures of life, and it was one of his favorite things about her.

Daryl was in his first week of basic training, preparing to join the Commonwealth Army. Not that he needed any training, though. His life out on the road, both pre- and post-apocalypse, had given him all the skills he needed to be successful in his duties. Today, they were out in an abandoned, desolate corner of the Commonwealth, filled with empty, run-down apartment buildings crawling with walkers. They were going to be teaming up and tackling the empty buildings with a single weapon like some sick obstacle course, the walkers being the obstacles.

A man in white armor approached him, giving him a wave before removing his helmet. He set it on the ground next to him, shaking out his hair. He looked familiar, but Daryl knew he'd never seen this man before. Still, there was something about him that he couldn't put his finger on. When he introduced himself, that was when it clicked.

"'Sup man?" he greeted, extending his hand to Daryl, "the name's Jay. Jay Vector."

Daryl froze. There was only one Jay Vector he knew of. This couldn't have been him, could it? But he kind of looked like her...it had to be him.

"Ya got a sister?" Daryl asked, the shock preventing him from returning the handshake. Jay looked stunned and coughed repeatedly, clearing his throat after having choked on his saliva.

"...yeah," he answered cautiously, like he was trying not to get his hopes up, "well, I did. Did you know her?"

"I know her," Daryl corrected. Jay's eyes looked like they were about to burst out of his skull, and he picked his jaw up off the ground. Tears were already beginning to well up in his eyes.

"Know her? Is she here? I—is she alive?" he asked, his voice beginning to quiver. His emotions were fluctuating between the relief that could come from hearing she was safe and alive and preparing for the heartbreak of hearing that she was dead.

"Wait—," Daryl instructed. Before he could finish, Jay took off running for the city center, the sound of his feet pounding the sidewalk drowning out the groans from the walkers in the abandoned buildings.

"Vector!" Mercer called out, but that didn't slow Jay down for even a second.

"I said wait!" Daryl shouted.

"I can't!" Jay shouted over his shoulder, raising his volume the further away he got, "our dad's here! I have to go get him!"

Not only was her brother alive, but her father was too. Lydia was about to be on cloud nine.

"Dixon!" Mercer yelled as Daryl took off toward home. Since he was still in basic training, he knew this stunt could get him in trouble, but he didn't care. At that moment, his only priority was to get to Lydia as fast as possible, to tell her that her family, whom she thought had been dead all this time, was alive.

*end of third-person, back to Lydia's POV*

Today was a day off for me, so I'd taken the opportunity to do some cleaning around the apartment and run some errands. Daryl was at basic training, and Judith and RJ had been asking for days now for a sleepover at Uncle Aaron's, so they were with him for the evening, which gave me the opportunity to work uninterrupted. I loved having them around, but I also needed my alone time now and then.

After returning from the grocery store, I took Dog and Delilah out for their afternoon walk. It was wonderful to have some semblance of a normal routine again after so many years of unpredictability and being out on the road. Being able to regularly go to work, go to the store, see friends, and come home to the love of my life and the kids and our dogs...after everything fell, I never thought I would live life like this again.

We returned from our afternoon walk, and I unclipped them from their leashes. They immediately ran to their respective water bowls, which Judith had decorated to have their names on them. As I hung their leashes by the front door, the sound of the lock clicking caught me by surprise, and in came Daryl, a subtle sheen of sweat on his face and lightly panting as he tried to catch his breath.

"Hey baby," I cooed, pulling him toward me by the collar of his shirt and kissing his jawline, "you're back early."

'Baby' had become a special pet name for us. We only used it in two contexts: one, to indicate to the other that we were in the mood. And two, in bed. Outside of that, Daryl preferred being called 'my little Georgia peach' or 'my love,' and I liked being called 'sunshine' and 'buttercup.' But in a sexual context, 'baby' just rolled off the tongue so naturally. Plus, there was something sexy about having a pet name reserved for the bedroom.

"Later." He picked me up by the waist and set me down in the hallway, eliciting a small, surprised yelp from me. "Someone ya gotta see first."

"What do you mean? The hospital didn't call," I asked as he locked the door behind us. He began ushering me down the hall, an urgency in his step that I'd only seen in true emergency situations. Which of course, admittedly, had me worried.

"Ain't a medical emergency," he said.

"Then where are we going?" I asked, nearly tripping over my feet as we began descending the stairs.

He ignored my question and coaxed me down the steps and out the front door of our building onto the busy street. It was the middle of the day, and everyone was hustling and bustling about, going to and coming from work and gathering their kids from school. The farther we got from our building, the less familiar everything became. I'd hardly had any time to explore all the nooks and crannies of the Commonwealth, so I didn't have a clue as to where we were going.

"Daryl, you're worrying me." I gently tugged on his shirt sleeve to get him to stop, and he turned and looked at me. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

He took my arm and pulled me to the side of the walking path, taking us around the corner of the nearest building so we were secluded in its shadow. Whatever he was going to respond with, he wanted privacy for. Whether it was for the nature of the topic or my potential reaction, I wasn't sure.

"I think ya brother's alive."

The ringing in my ears began before my brain fully processed what he said. My heart rate was escalating quickly, and my skyrocketing blood pressure caused my head to spin. I was almost certain I would pass out. My knees caved in, and I would've collapsed had Daryl not already had his arms around my waist to catch me.

Guess the privacy was for my reaction.

"My what?" My voice was shaking, and tears were already beginning to well up in my eyes and pour over onto my face. I was certain I must've misheard him. "A—a—are you sure?"

"Any other Jay Vector's ya know?" he asked as he helped me steady myself back on my feet. He wiped a few tears off my cheeks and kissed my forehead. "C'mon."

We went back to the walking path, his hand on my lower back as he guided me through the crowded street. I had no idea where to go, but had my legs not felt like jelly, I would've taken off running.

We ended up in a desolate area of the community filled with abandoned buildings, their windows broken open and doors pulled off their hinges. Vines crept up the sides of some of the brick structures, creating beautiful patterns as they worked up and around the textured surface, and the overgrown grass tickled my ankles.

There was a crowd of people up ahead, most of them dressed in casual clothes like Daryl. There were a couple of people in white armor and one man in bright orange armor, who I guessed was the one in charge. I figured this must've been where Daryl was doing his basic training, and everyone, minus those in armor, were his fellow recruits. As we made our way toward the group, some of them turned to us, ignoring the orders of the man in the orange armor. One particularly tall man in white armor caught my attention, and his familiar features immediately sent comfort washing over me. My sharp inhale caught in my throat. and my eyes quickly welled up with tears and clouded my vision. Daryl was right.

There he was, my big brother, in the flesh. Despite seeing him with my own eyes, I almost couldn't believe it.

He was in his mid-40s now, and his usual dark hair had taken on a salt & pepper appearance as he aged. He'd grown a beard, which had the same salt & pepper look as his hair, and he looked well-fed, well-rested, and happy. He clearly had been here for some time. He towered over nearly everyone in the group, aside from the man in the orange armor. Jay was the tallest in our family, even outgrowing his twin. No one knew where his gigantic stature came from.

And next to him was our dad.

He had gone fully gray, the wrinkles on his face telling a story of someone who'd been to hell and back. He was in his mid-60s, but he didn't look frail or fragile by any means. He'd been able to take care of himself. My father wasn't often a man who cried. Not because he thought it wasn't masculine to do so, it just wasn't how he processed his emotions. But upon laying eyes on me, he burst into tears.

I sprinted for them, first nearly tripping over my own feet, then some sidewalk cracks and God knows what else. At the speed I was moving, I was sure I had started floating, no longer feeling my feet as they pounded the sidewalk. I didn't care if I face-planted and ate shit in front of all of these strangers. My brother was alive. My dad was alive. I had already grieved them both years ago, accepted the fact that they were both dead, or if they weren't dead, that I would never see either of them again. But here they were, safe and sound and alive.

"Jay!" I cried out, tears flying off my face as I ran and soaking my hair, "Dad!" Jay ran toward me, arms open and ready to catch me like he'd always done growing up.

I nearly toppled him to the ground as I ran straight into his arms, squeezing him tighter than I ever thought I'd be capable of. Overwhelmed by the familiar comfort of his hug, my legs gave out, and we both fell to the ground. We buried our faces in each other's shoulders and sobbed openly. The cries that came out of me were almost heart-wrenching, but they were cries of joy. Of happiness. Of relief.

"You're alive," Jay whispered, unable to speak louder without his voice breaking, "I can't believe my baby sister's alive."

Another person came and knelt next to us, wrapping their arms around us both. "Lydia, sweetheart," the voice said, "we've missed you." I knew that deep, soothing voice to be that of my dad's, and hearing that nickname he'd only ever used just for me sent me careening into more fits of sobs.

I released one of my arms from around Jay and wrapped it around my father, bringing him in for a group hug. "I thought you were dead," I sobbed, "I thought you were both dead."

In the time we sat there, huddled in a group hug and sobbing into each other, the world outside of us didn't exist. All that existed was our familial bond, the love we had for each other, and the grief that was washing away being replaced with relief and joy and excitement. Years ago, I had accepted that I would never see them again, but that didn't mean I ever lost hope that maybe, just maybe, we would cross paths again. And damn, I was grateful I never gave up that hope.

Jay was the first to pick his head up, wiping tears off his cheeks. He got onto his knees and helped our dad to his feet before doing the same. I followed suit, slowly rising to my feet and steadying myself on my dad's shoulder. The adrenaline pumping through my system was beginning to wear off, and my muscles felt like jelly.

"When did you get here?" Jay asked, rubbing his eyes with his fists, "where have you been?"

I ran my hands through my hair and cleared my throat. "I only got here recently. I was in Virginia for a long time. I wandered around looking for this safe zone and eventually found it. I was hoping maybe I'd find you there, Jay, if you had come out to Maryland looking for me."

"Did you have people with you?" he asked.

"I found...some of the best people I've ever met," I explained, "a lot of them are here now or in other nearby communities." I dropped my eyes to the ground and smiled. "I don't know if I would've made it this long without them."

"Leave it to you to find the best of the best, even in a fallen world," my dad complimented, laughing softly under his breath. He had always admired my ability to surround myself with good people, regardless of the circumstances I found them in.

"Dad, how did you even get back? What happened up there?" I asked. He wiped a tear from my cheek, then his own.

"When we didn't hear anything from our command station for several hours, we knew something was wrong. We reached out again and again and got nothing. It took a lot of effort and thinking on our feet, but we were able to land successfully back in Florida. By that point, everything had fallen, and we had no idea what was going on." He patted Jay on the back. "I was hunkered down at the base with my crew until Jay showed up."

"God, that's scary. I'm so sorry." I couldn't help but think back to the story Rick had told me, how he woke from being in a coma after everything fell & trying to find help in an empty hospital. Being up in space, having no communication with anyone down on Earth, all while knowing something seriously wrong had to be happening...I couldn't imagine the fear he'd experienced.

"We've been here at the Commonwealth since its formation," Jay cut in, "I went to Florida, hoping I could find him, then we made our way back home, hoping we'd find you and Eli."

Upon mentioning home, my father's face lit up, looking hopeful. He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me gently. "Eli! What about Eli, is he with you?"

The smile on my face quickly dropped, overtaken by a somber expression. I locked eyes with my father and shook my head, my heart breaking at having to crush his hope and deliver the news that Eli didn't make it.

"No," I choked out, reaching into my jacket pocket, "he, uh...he never made it out of the house that day." I turned my gaze to Jay, my eyes clouded with tears. "I went home to look for you both. He'd...already succumbed to a bite when I found him." I decided to spare them the details of the axe in his shoulder and me having to finish him off.

I pulled a folded-up piece of paper from my pocket, handing it to Jay. "He wrote this before he died. Guess now we can say we fulfilled his last wish." The end of my sentence came out through broken sobs, the words barely coherent. They read over Eli's note, the one I'd kept in the back of my notebook all these years and had recently started carrying on my person.

Jay, Dad, Lydia,

Do what you need to stay alive

Find each other

I love you

Eli

The paper shook in Jay's hands as they scanned over Eli's last words, tears falling from their faces and soaking the letter. My father buried his face in his hands, taking a few deep, shaky breaths. He had a brief moment of hope that his youngest son was alive, and it was crushing to have to destroy that hope. Jay folded the note and handed it back to me.

"I had a feeling he was gone," Jay sighed before a small smile broke out on his face, "y'know, twin telepathy and all that." Jay was the master of comedic relief in tense moments in our family.

I looked back over my shoulder and waved for Daryl to come over. He hadn't moved an inch from his spot, giving me space to reunite with my family, waiting for me to give him permission to join us. He came over, approaching slowly, and stood beside me, placing a hand on my lower back. Daryl was clingy with me, but it wasn't just because of how much he loved me and loved touching me—it was also a comfort thing for him, a grounding activity that helped him when he was feeling hesitant, overwhelmed, or anxious.

"Two of my children are alive," my dad cried, his voice trembling still as he tried to regain his composure. He wrapped one arm around Jay's back and the other one around my shoulders. "In this world, that's more than I could ever ask for." Jay was the first of them to acknowledge Daryl's presence.

"Hey Lydia?" he asked, using his head to gesture to Daryl, "how do you know this guy?"

When Daryl told me Jay was alive, I hadn't even thought about how I would introduce him to my brother. We hadn't gotten married, as up until arriving at the Commonwealth, marriage wasn't a thing, not in the way it used to be at least. There was never a need to refer to each other with titles, as we normally spent our time around people who knew we were together, so introductions weren't necessary. Anytime they were, Daryl had only ever referred to me as his woman, and his introduction of me didn't require any introductions of him on my part. But now it was necessary, and I had to make a split-second decision.

"This is Daryl," I introduced, "he's my—"

"I'm her husband," Daryl interjected.

My what?

I bit the inside of my lower lip to keep my jaw from unhinging onto the ground. I blinked repeatedly, hoping it would stop my eyes from bugging out of my skull. Both my brother and father's faces lit up, and Jay looked like he was about to start jumping for joy.

"Took the words right out of my mouth," I said, gently nudging Daryl with my elbow and smiling to conceal the utter shock coursing through me.

"Oh sweetheart," my dad gushed, bringing me in for another hug. He tilted his head up and spoke to Daryl as he hugged me. "It's wonderful to meet you, Daryl. Thank you for caring for my daughter."

"The honor's all mine, Mr. Vector," he replied.

"Please, call me John. Mr.—"

"Mr. Vector was my father," I mocked in a deep voice. He laughed and playfully elbowed my arm. That was the response my dad always gave any time someone called him Mr. Vector. If I had a dollar for every time I'd heard him say it, I could pay off my, now non-existent, medical school debt.

"How did you two meet?" Jay asked. He was giving Daryl a look-over with his eyes, scanning over him from head to toe. While he was happy for me, I could already feel the protective big-brother energy radiating off of him.

"I cut a guy's foot off," I replied. Daryl chuckled softly under his breath, and Jay and my father each cocked an eyebrow at me. I realized I sounded a little too elated for what I was talking about. "Not Daryl's foot. My friend Aaron's. He got bit. I didn't do it for no reason." I rested my head on Daryl's shoulder and smiled big, reflecting on the happy memories of my early days at Alexandria. "Aaron and Daryl lived in the same community. That's how we met."

"Daryl, do you mind if I take a moment with my daughter?" my father asked, and Daryl shook his head. My dad coaxed me a few steps away, just out of earshot of the others. I knew exactly what was coming.

There was a series of questions my father had made a habit of asking my siblings and me when we started dating someone knew. He started doing it with Preston when he got his first girlfriend in middle school, and it'd been a staple since. He looked at me and smiled, knowing full well that I knew exactly what he was going to ask & there was no need to preface anything.

"Does he treat you well?"

"The best any man ever has."

"Does he make you happy?"

"More than I thought I ever could be."

"Is he good to other people?"

"Yes, unless they don't deserve it."

"I can't wait to get to know him," he replied as we stepped back to join Jay and Daryl. That was the response we always hoped to receive from Dad after he asked his questions. It was his way of giving his blessing, and even as a grown, hyper-independent woman, the little girl in me was still pleased to have my father's approval.

"You two are very similar," I said to Jay, "you're gonna be calling him your new best friend in no time."

"Aww hell yeah!" Jay beamed, holding his hand up for a high-five, which Daryl reciprocated.

"Well, we need to get together. Got a whole decade of life we need to catch up on. Are you two free for dinner tonight?" my dad asked.

"What do you think, Daryl? Can we do tonight?" I inquired, "the kids will be with Aaron." I was immediately kicking myself for my wording choice, my cheeks turning beet red and nearly stumbling over my words as I tried to correct where I imagine their trains of thought were going. "They're not our kids. Well kind of. Not biologically. I didn't birth them."

"Tonight works," Daryl confirmed.

"I can tell you about the girl I'm seeing," Jay said confidently, running a hand through his hair.

"Jay William Vector," I gasped, placing a hand over my chest to feign shock, "a girl?"

"I know, a girl that's into me. Crazy, right?" he laughed, "her name's Rosie. I know you'll love her."

"Dixon! Vector!" the man in the orange armor bellowed.

"Surprised Mercer ain't said shit 'til now," Daryl commented. Ah, so this is the infamous Mercer, I thought.

"Should get back." Jay pulled me in for another hug, this one tighter than the last. "I missed you so much. I'm so glad one of my siblings is alive."

"I missed you too," I echoed.

"I should get back too," my dad said, "I've been helping the science teachers with their curriculums. You should see how the kids' faces light up when I tell them I've been to space."

I chuckled and pulled my father in for another hug. "We'll see you tonight. I can't wait to hear all about it."

"I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, dad."

"I look forward to getting to know you, Daryl." My dad extended his hand to Daryl for a handshake, which Daryl reciprocated. "My daughter's always been a great judge of character. If she chose you, you must be a good one." With a nod, my dad was off, headed back to his scholarly duties.

"Hey, guys! I have a brother-in-law!" Jay called out as he ran back to the group. He was the goofball of the family, the class clown if you will, and oh, how I'd missed having that energy around.

Once they were both out of earshot, I turned to Daryl, locking eyes with him and folding my arms across my chest. "My husband, huh? When were you planning on telling me this?"

"We'll talk when I get back," he replied, his fingers tracing down my arm to my hand and taking it in his. I could sense he was feeling a bit anxious. I'm sure meeting my family impromptu like that was a little overwhelming, so I didn't press the issue further.

"Well don't be too long now, handsome," I said, giving him a flirtatious smirk and gently squeezing his hand, "your wife's gonna be waiting for you."

Once I was home, I tossed my jacket onto the back of the nearest chair and went to the bathroom. I took my glasses off and set them on the bathroom counter, rubbing my eyes with my fists. I splashed some water on my face and used my dress to clean my glasses before putting them back on. I ran my hands through my hair, fluffing it and brushing the flyaways back in their place.

"Maybe I'm gonna get to read those wedding vows after all," I said to myself.

Daryl returned sometime later, immediately greeted by Dog and Delilah. They bounded over to him, Dog jumping onto his hind legs and Delilah dancing around his feet. He scratched behind Dog's ears as he licked his face. Delilah sat on Daryl's foot, a little habit she had picked up whenever she wanted someone's attention. She'd pop a squat on their foot and stay there until she received the attention she was looking for. He coaxed Dog back on all fours and knelt down to give Delilah some pets. She rolled over onto her back, demanding belly rubs, which were her favorite. I chuckled softly as I watched him play with her, thinking back to how hesitant he was for us to take her on when we first found her. Now, they were the best of friends. After a minute, she rolled over, walking away now that she was satisfied.

"Hey handsome," I greeted, leaning back against the wall and crossing my arms over my chest, "did you get in trouble with your commander?"

"He cooled off once he realized what was happening. Jay didn't get in trouble neither," he replied. He came over to me and closed the space between us, pressing his body to mine and kissing me with such fervor that you'd think we were reuniting after several years rather than just a couple of hours.

"So, that talk we need to have...you've never called yourself my husband before." His hands wandered down my back and around to my hips, his thumbs drawing circles on my hip bones over my dress. I was already beginning to turn red. Even after all these years, Daryl still managed to make me blush the same way he did over a decade ago.

"Once my job got settled, wanted to ask you proper," he explained, kissing my cheek and then my jawline, "save up to get ya a ring 'n whatnot. Ya deserve it." My heart was singing so loud, I was certain Daryl could hear it.

"My love, you could've asked me to marry you with a twig fashioned into a ring and I would've said yes," I smiled, snaking my arms around his neck.

"Get to call ya my wife...kinda hot." One hand remained on my hip, the other traveling down and into the slit of my dress to caress my thigh. He continued to plant sweet, sultry kisses on my jawline before working down my neck, and had Daryl's body weight not been holding me to the wall, I would've crumbled. The man knew my weaknesses.

"Should I start going by Dr. Dixon now?" I asked, biting my lip to contain my fits of giggles.

"Dr....Lydia...Rae...Dixon," he said between planting soft, open-mouthed kisses on my neck, "has a nice ring to it, don't ya think baby?"

"Yeah," I gushed, "I like it." He abruptly stopped the series of kisses and wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me and coaxing me to wrap my legs around him. I ran my fingers up into his hair and buried my face in the crook of his neck. "Daryl, where are we going?"

Like I didn't know the answer.

"Gotta consummate the marriage, right? Ain't that how it works?" he teased.

I leaned back and looked deep into his eyes, my signature big, silly grin spreading from ear to ear. I continued to twirl his chocolate locks in my fingers, playing with them as he carried me to our bedroom.

Way back when everything first went to shit, I thought I would be lucky to find a community of half-decent people. Hell, I thought I'd be lucky to just survive. But I did find a community, one made of the best people I could've asked for to go through this hell with. The best of the best, of course, was the man in front of me holding me around his waist. I wasn't looking for romance after the world fell. Truthfully, I'd given up on that being a possibility. Given all the shit I'd dealt with before walking through the gates of Alexandria for the first time, I was hesitant to even consider it. But then Daryl came into the picture, and everything changed. He'd sat with me while I cried, comforted me after my nightmares, listened to me yap on about the same things over and over again, and was beyond patient with me on all fronts. He'd been there through it all. He'd loved me through it all. I'd found myself again, and in that journey, I found Daryl as well.

"I love you."

"I love ya too."

Taglist: @raddydaddydude @lovenormandixon @angeldemoncrowley

[saintmurd0ck]

moth to a flame

masterlist

pairing: charlie "lucky" luciano x f!reader

summary: time, space and even circumstance aren't enough to separate the two of you. and when you do eventually reunite, the plans are set into motion in the best way.

warnings: yearning, charlie luciano's pretty mouth, alcohol, cigarettes, kissing, m!receiving oral, unprotected p in v, creampie, all the good things

a/n: based off of that one scene in s1 ep6 (iykyk) that i cannot get out of my mind. dedicated to @murdock-and-the-sea for getting me caught up in this bullshit 💗

glossary: dolcezza = sweetheart

There was always something wondrous about Charlie’s girl.

The exclusivity, the lack of labels for whatever that relationship became never mattered. Because even on days where things took a turn at every second, when sleep — or life — was never guaranteed, she was the kind of solid permanence that’d ease his mind. And, in almost all cases, make him hard, but that’s a story for a little later.

Lucky Luciano, they called him. He earned that goddamn nickname, but it was ironic, because it only really stuck when you were around. It wasn’t clear as to how you made this happen, or if it was some kind of recurring fluke, but you just had that effect on him: the kind where all of a sudden his operations would go down without a hitch, where law enforcement happened to look the other way rather than come knocking at his door. His pockets would become heavier, his enemies would come crawling out of the woodwork, and things just worked out. Even Lansky agreed — you were good for business, and Charlie’s spirits. 

As much as you were a tether in his life, the fractal patterns began to fall into place. Simply put: you’d go through the motions, things would get rocky, and then you’d pull away. It wasn’t that being with him was bad for you, per se, but rather a constant whirlwind of emotion, with so much left to the unknown. You never knew if he’d come home that night, because he was probably out doing Rothstein’s bidding three cities away, or, and this scared you most of all, if he’d realise the true power he possessed deep within. He had the makings of a great leader; an orchestrator, a divine influence, rather than a foot soldier. Charlie wasn’t made to be muscle, or a gunman in some boss’ grand scheme. You knew that when push came to shove, he’d one day call the shots. You were terrified of being left in the dust — stranded, abandoned — with nothing but a broken heart and feelings for a man who would have the world at his fingertips.

And, to your consternation, you couldn’t actually figure out what kept you coming back for more. 

You weren’t sure if what you had was love; at least, it wasn’t the kind you’d read about in books, or heard discussed in hushed tones amongst your innocent friends. You weren’t even in it for the money, the status, or the protection he could provide. That had always seemed so trivial to you.

Maybe it was the sex. It definitely wasn’t solely sex, because Charlie did make you laugh, and make you feel all the things you thought were supposed to happen when it came to courting. It was consistently the best sex you’d ever had, and he made sure you knew it. Your pleasure became his native language, and even so, he grew impossibly more fluent as time passed on.

It’s like he could read you; not the superficial mask you put on every single day, but through to the molten core underneath. It was the same the other way around. Charlie had Meyer, the perfect partner-in-crime, but only you understood his motivations. His intentions. His desires. Charlie could be safe around you; perhaps the only person with which he could let his guard down.

You could forget about sleeping with anyone else; you wished they were Charlie anyway. Sure, it made you feel like you were a bad person, but no-one compared. Nobody made you feel as good as Charlie Luciano. Whatever it was, you could never get him out of your mind. That was an impossible task, one that with the mightiest of efforts was still rendered futile. 

Hell, he didn’t even have to tell you where he was, because somehow, you’ve always found your way back to each other. 

And tonight was no exception.

Somewhere along the grapevine, you’d heard that he was back in Atlantic City, and all it took was one well-placed telephone call to confirm what you’d already known.

So when you find yourself traversing the halls of the Traymore Hotel, the door to the Executive Suite looming larger with every step, your decision is made in a split-second. There isn’t more to contemplate or to consider. You’re sure of it, the same way you’re sure that if you hold a flame to the end of a cigarette, it’ll catch alight. 

It’s clear now that neither of you are going anywhere anytime soon; at least, not from each other. Life with Charlie would be wildly unpredictable, and involve more running for cover than you wanted to admit, but saying he’s irresistible is an understatement in itself. That, and the fact that you’ve proven your worths to each other more times than you can count. There’s no need for deliberation. Not when you’ve got him, right in your grasp.

Your palms turn clammy at the first instance of the door swinging open, and you feel your eyes tear away from the opulence of the hotel — diving from the ornate wall trims and plush red carpets to settle on him instead.

The corner of his mouth quirks to the side as he looks you up and down, his gaze pinned to the woollen coat belted tightly across your waist, as if he knows exactly what you’re trying to conceal. You’ve missed that stare. His stoic, almost-arrogant posture. The genteel expressions masking the white-hot fury beneath. 

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, sweetheart.” 

You breathe, willing your muscles to relax, doing your best to find your footing despite the fact that there is no way to calm your racing heart. Charlie has always made you weak at the knees, and it shows. “You’re back.”

“Yeah,” he nods slowly, taking a sip of amber liquid from the glass he’s been holding in his hand. “Ongoing business with that Darmody fella. You know the one.”

You swallow dryly, running your tongue along your teeth. “Are you here to stay a while?”

“I dunno. That depends, don’t it?” He arches a thick eyebrow.

“Hm?” 

He downs the last of the whiskey, setting the glass down on the hallway entrance table, before taking a step towards you. Soon he’s so close that you can see the crease in his brow, the hint of stubble along his jaw. He cocks his head to the side as he approaches, letting his tongue flick out to wet his lips. “I’ll be here s’long as I need to. And when I go back to New York, I want you to come with.”

Your breath catches in your throat. You don’t know exactly what you were expecting, but this is playing out far better than you could’ve envisioned. “You mean it?”

Charlie lets out a soft chuckle, thoroughly amused at the genuine surprise lining your features. “‘Course I do. And don’t you start talkin’ about it bein’ a bad idea.”

You smile furtively, feeling a warmth spread outwards from the centre of your chest. Out of all the things you’ve experienced in this life, one facet — one person — has always made sense, in its own way. “Wherever you go, I’ll go.”

Time seems to stand still for a moment. At your admission, your agreement, a glint appears in his hazel eyes — the kind that doesn’t need words to explain, but is communicated far better through actions. Biting down on his grin, and caring not to break eye contact, Charlie Luciano does as he has always done, and throws caution to the wind. 

His lips crash onto yours before you can think twice, his hands moving to cup your jaw, to tangle themselves in your hair. He steers you into the entryway table, impervious to the sound of it thumping against the wall, or the ornaments that get bumped out of the way. Gentleness is not an option right now, because you can’t get enough of him either. Not the faint scent of cigarettes and gunpowder, not the feeling of his solid body melding to yours. He closes whatever gap remains between the two of you as you slip your tongue into his mouth, relishing in the alcohol still coating his tastebuds. 

It feels good to kiss him. To be right here, where he is. 

Charlie nudges your chin upwards, trailing his kisses along the curve of your jaw to nip at your pulse. He moves with purpose, intending to touch every inch of bare skin that he can see, but he stops at your collarbone, stepping back with a smouldering look that promises nothing but trouble. 

“Say uh… you got somethin’ for me?” he smirks, hooking a finger into the knot you’ve tied at your waist.  

It’s the heat searing your face that tells all. 

He leans in to kiss you as he undoes the knot, deftly working to pull it apart. When the fabric goes slack, he doesn’t stop himself from yanking your coat open and pushing it off your shoulders. You wiggle out of it, letting the material fall into a crumpled heap on the floor. 

Charlie blows his breath out, surveying you like his life depends on it. “Dolcezza,” he grits, blinking at your naked body, save for a pair of lacy thigh high stockings. You sit back on your hands — as far as the shallow width of the table will let you — and spread your legs, moving your hips slowly until his eyes go glassy.

He sputters and shakes his head, moving right back to press his lips on yours. “You know,” he murmurs, brushing his thumb against the base of your neck, “I ain’t never met a broad as naughty as you.”

“Aw,” you croon, grabbing a hold of his vest and tugging him closer, “but you like it, don’t you?”

He groans into your mouth as you wrap your legs around his waist, allowing his hands to slide under your ass so he can hoist you up. It only takes him a few strides before he sets you down on the bed, climbing on top of you, bracketing your head with his forearms. His mouth doesn’t leave yours, and although he knows your body begs for release, to be touched anywhere else but this, he savours the sensation of your lips, of your body squirming underneath. Charlie isn’t a stranger to pleasure, but to savour it, to take his time, is a scarce luxury. 

You see the opportunity when Charlie relaxes his shoulders and releases the duvet crumpled in his fist. Using your hips for leverage, you roll on top of him, hissing as his erection makes contact with your pussy. Bracing your knees on either side of him, you lean forwards, leaving open-mouthed kisses along his neck as you unbutton his vest, and then the shirt underneath. He sits up, reaching to grip your thighs, taking a moment to flash you a playful grin while you get to work slipping his tie off, his vest, shirt and suspenders joining the pile of clothing on the ground shortly after. 

He grunts when your lips brush the hollow at the base of his neck, and the sound alone coils the tightness in your stomach to breaking point. You need him to fuck you, bad, but there’s no way you’re letting it happen before you take him in your mouth first. 

As you leap off of him and point to his slacks, it becomes a wordless exchange. It’s the careful tracking of your lust-blown pupils towards the outline of his cock, straining against the fabric, the pursing of his lips as you lean over him, naked and insistent. Your mouth goes dry at the sight of him, at the thought of how he’s going to feel inside you, and Charlie must be thinking the same, because it spurs you both into action. His slacks are gone before you can count to five, and along with them go your stockings, which he helps to remove while his teeth scrape your inner thighs. 

It feels like a dance; not something rehearsed, but a rhythm that falls into place in the most organic way. He leans against the bedpost with a hand wrapped around his cock, ever-aware of the precum gathering at the tip and the fact that you seem to be salivating already. You press yourself to him, leaving lingering kisses down from his neck to his torso, fingers trailing themselves in the dark curls that lead towards what you want the most. 

His hand reaches to squeeze your breasts, to swipe his thumb over your nipples, grunting in tandem with the moan you leave on his skin. You kneel before him, tracing patterns on his thighs with your tongue, working your way up until your mouth seals over his cock. He bites down on his lip as you start to move, his gold signet ring cool on your scalp when he cards his fingers in your hair. His eyes widen, almost uncomprehending at just how good you look with his length disappearing past your lips. 

Flattening a palm on his hip, you begin to increase the depth of your strokes, feeling the tip of him hit the back of your throat with a delicious ease. The grip in your hair tightens as you alternate the pressure, swapping between pressing your tongue against the sensitive underside and featherlight swirls on the head. His cock is heavy on your tongue in the best way, and with what your mouth can’t fit, your hand makes up for in synchronicity. Though your focus remains on his pleasure, you feel the heat of Charlie’s gaze burning down to your core. Despite his fluttering eyelids and the groans that grow in volume and frequency, he can’t tear away.

He’s always loved watching his girl work.

He feels a smug sense of satisfaction seeing you unable to fully wrap your fingers around his shaft, and at the fact that you’re so willing to spend this time making him feel good. It’s not that he doesn’t want to do the same for you — in fact, he’s dying to taste you, to lap you up with his tongue until you’re flooding his face with your arousal. It’s just that you were always the one to walk away first, so by having you here, choosing him and pleasing him without forethought… it feels as if it’s properly cemented the positions you now hold in each other’s lives, and what you’ve agreed to tonight.

“C’mere,” he rasps, breaking the string of saliva connecting himself to you, hauling you up to your feet. He plants his hand on your waist, driving you backwards into the bed, letting out a single taunting chuckle before knocking your knees apart with his leg. He stares at you, a wild and untapped look in his eyes, free from restraint. 

A mix of awe and undulating want runs through you, chilling you from your head to the base of your spine. “Are you gonna do something, Charlie? Or are you gonna make me wait all night?”

He raises his eyebrows at you, straightening at your comment. “You fuckin’ kiddin’ me?”

A grin splits your face. “Prove me wrong.”

Charlie drags his hand up your folds, as if he’s marking his territory, an unruly smirk dancing across his lips at the wetness he finds there. He’s purposely stringing you along now, delaying his own gratification just enough to see your guard drop.

He sees you, wanting to retort, your mouth parting to form the words, but before you can say anything, think anything, he leans down and buries himself inside you with one sharp thrust. Cradling your head with his arm, he shudders into your body, growling at the sensation of you stretching out around him. He moves at a steady pace, his hands finding their place in your hair as if they’ve never left. 

“Charlie,” you whimper, squeezing around him, eyes rolling back in delirium because his cock feels so goddamn good. 

“Yeah,” he groans. “Wasn’t such a bad idea, huh,” he adds, whispering it down by your ear. “Showin’ up, like this.”

Your fingernails latch onto his back, and you wrap your legs around his waist in response. The sound of your moans echo throughout the spacious room, his far more audible than yours as he turns you to putty. Each stroke drives into that spot inside of you, punctuating your thoughts until you’re all-consumed, with him and only him on your mind. You’re not drifting off; you’re present in this moment, aware of not just how he feels for you, but of how good your pussy is for him. 

Tipping your head backwards, you press your lips to his, running your tongue along his bottom lip before slipping it inside his mouth. He runs a hand along your collarbone, palm resting at the base of your neck, deepening the kiss with every subsequent snap of his hips. It doesn’t take you long to raise your hips to match every thrust, or for your fingers to fumble in his curls — needing to grip his hair tightly, if only to bring him closer to you. 

Charlie’s eyes squeeze shut, his body tensing at how tight you are, how you feel like you were made for him. It’s obscene; the sound of him sliding in and out of your cunt, knowing that each movement is designated to bring you both closer to the edge. 

You yank his head back as you cum around his cock, surging upwards to bury your face in the crook of his neck. His groan reverberates through your chest, abs tightening against your stomach, and you lay panting despite the fact that he keeps going; a man on a mission to get you to unravel as many times as possible before he gives into himself. 

You find your release a few more times, with his mouth roving along the contours of your face down to the sensitive spot by your shoulder, before he pulls out and flips you onto your stomach. 

“On your hands and knees,” he commands, his voice gruff yet as smooth as molten honey. 

You catch yourself flashing him an insolent smile, but your body does as he says, your hands finding the brass metal railing at the foot of the bed. Like the good girl you are, you stick your ass up in the air, shuffling backwards until you find stability. The mattress dips as he climbs on, and you sneak a peek behind you, swallowing a moan at his ruffled hair, the brows furrowed in concentration, the sweat beginning to shine on his chest. Your pussy throbs at the absence of him, from that fullness you’ve grown deviously accustomed to.

He meets your eyes, the corners of his lips tugging upwards, and guides himself into you. His hips jerk uncontrollably as he’s enveloped by your heat, unable to contain the dulcet moans spilling from his lips. He fucks you with languid strokes, hinging forwards to plant kisses down your spine, all blissed out yet with so much more to give. 

“Fuck,” you grit, your knuckles going white from squeezing the railing. With the way your back is arched, and the sharp angle of his thrusts that grow more forceful by the second, it’s a wonder you’re able to function at all. He fucks you like he means it, as if to make up for all the lost time, for all the incidences when he thought it was going to be the last time he was inside you. 

A growl escapes from somewhere deep in Charlie’s chest as he picks up the pace, unrelentless in the way he’s driving into you. He grips your waist with both hands, fingers digging into your soft skin, frenetically crazed because all he wants to do is lose himself in you over and over and over again. 

You clench around him, utterly incoherent at the snug fit of his cock, and the way he has you balancing on a tightrope; ready to fall over at any given point in time. In combination with the haphazardly strewn sheets, the bed begins to rattle, smacking loudly against the back wall. Frankly, you couldn’t care any less, because Charlie’s hitting so deep it takes all of your effort not to scream, not to wake the entire hotel. 

Your moans turn breathier, higher in pitch, as your muscles begin to tighten again, your next orgasm building in exponential waves. The string of noise turns to a repetition of his name, and pleas for him to go with you when you cum. With every grunt, his cock drags along your walls faster, harder. Charlie hisses through his teeth, his movements becoming erratic, surrendering control of his rhythm to the sheer desire of filling you up. 

He wraps a thick forearm around your stomach, driving both down onto the bed. He manages a few more strokes, sinking his teeth into your shoulder, before exploding into you with a cry half-muffled by your skin. He takes you with him, of course, and your pussy is a vice that milks him for every last drop he has to give. He bottoms out, panting as he fucks his cum into you, the new position dangerously euphoric.  

You both remain there for a moment, content and satisfied with each other’s presence, shivering despite Charlie’s hot forehead pressed to your back. He slides out of you with a final grunt, reaching backwards for the silver cigarette case perched on the nightstand. It doesn’t take him long to light it, or to lay next to you with the cigarette clamped delicately between his teeth.

He takes a drag as he props himself up on his elbow, and you lean in to kiss him — first on the temple, then on the mouth, being careful to let him exhale first. “So, New York City, huh? Where are we going to live?”

Charlie’s eyes sweep over your body, and he breaks out into a roguish grin. “Eh, we’ll find somewhere. Close to business, to A.R.” He pauses to kiss you. “What about you?”

You scoff. “What about me? You know I’ll support you, wherever you need to be.”

“You’re too nice f’your own good sometimes.”

“Oh?” You narrow your eyes, tilting your head to the side. “S’that so? ‘Cause I could give you hell, if I wanted to.”

The challenge in his tone pools between your legs. “Yeah?” 

He puts out the cigarette in an instant so he can focus on dragging a hand up your side, stopping only when he gets to your breasts. Charlie moves closer, planting another chaste kiss to your lips. 

“‘Sides,” you continue, “I don’t think it matters what I do.” You don’t try to bite down on the mischievous grin spreading across your face. “Not when I’ve got all the luck I need.”

[bardic-inspo]

All of my Fallout 4 writing in one place.

MacCready x F!SoSu Slow Burn Friends to Lovers | Chapters 29/43

Canon divergence/reinterpretation | Eventual explicit smut (achieved!) | More hurt & even more comfort

[READ ON AO3]

Fic Summary:

“Six months, huh? How much fast talking did you do to get here?” “Enough to keep me alive.” “Really? Cause you don’t act like that’s your goal half the time. Hell, you throw yourself at everything like you’re jumping off a cliff.”

Sole survivor Natasha Sokolova is burning through friends faster than she can make them. Robert Joseph MacCready needs all the caps he can get. Problem is, the smooth-talking woman with a pistol and a job offer turns out to be more trouble than he’s counting on. They’re a match made in hell, but their little partnership might be the only thing that can see them through it.

Deacon x MacCready x F!SoSu OT3 Series

Short fics & One-Shots set post-Institute | Domesticity | Smut | Hurt/Comfort

[READ ON AO3]

Series Summary:

After the Institute, MacCready and Natasha find a place to land. They find Deacon. And Deacon finds his way home. In which a couple becomes a throuple and learns to brave the trials and triumphs of life in a post-Institute wasteland together. Occurs within the same ficverse as Bring the Gasoline. Can be read as standalone oneshots, or as a sequel to that fic.

Series Fics Listed Individually Below the Cut

No Rest for the Wicked - Rated T, Pre-OT3

“So, let me get this straight,” Deacon asks him. “You’re begging me to sleep with your girlfriend?”

Missing Pieces - Rated T, Pre-OT3

Six months after defeating the Institute, Deacon finally took Natasha and MacCready up on their offer to stay at their new homestead. MacCready wants to catch up. Deacon would rather skip the middle. Natasha orchestrates a plan for a more harmonious household.

We Never Go Anywhere Nice - Rated T, Pre-OT3

Deacon, Natasha, and MacCready investigate a lead in a case of several missing ghouls and find themselves spending the night in a house hiding secrets in plain sight.

In the Name of Love - Rated M, Established OT3

Deacon, MacCready, and Natasha have been together for a few months. This isn’t the first time they’ve done this. An unexpected bedroom mishap leads to some teasing and reflection.

Follow Suit - Rated E, Established OT3

What starts as a game of cards turns into Deacon, MacCready, and Natasha showing more than just their hands.

Warm Bodies - Rated E, Established OT3

One close encounter leads to another.

Rest Easy - Rated G, Established OT3

Deacon dozes off. MacCready and Natasha have some fun.

Feline Feelings - Rated G, Established OT3

Natasha makes a new friend who isn’t so friendly to the rest of her household. A series of short vignettes featuring a new, furry addition to the MacCready-Sokolova residence.

Hungry Hearts - Rated T, Vignettes Over Time

A primer in finding your way to your lovers’ hearts through their stomachs. Or, kitchen table polyamory. Or, a collection of short vignettes featuring Deacon, MacCready, and Natasha making love, happiness, and food.

Safe Haven - Rated T, Established OT3, Post Duncan Arrival

Deacon, MacCready, and Natasha prepare their homestead for an incoming blizzard. The storm stirs up bad memories gifted to Nat courtesy of Vault-Tec. Her family helps her cope with and conquer some of the side effects of cryostasis.

Worried Sick - Rated T, Established OT3, Post Duncan Arrival

One minute, Duncan was playing out in the fields behind their house. And the next... MacCready struggles to cope as an old fear resurfaces.

Recollections - Rated M, Vignettes Over Time

Deacon remembers moments along the road that led him home to Natasha and MacCready. Or, Deacon’s retrospection on a handful of moments from Bring the Gasoline after falling for the best shot in the Commonwealth and the woman out of time. Or, a sample/appetizer-sized taste of my favorite OT3.

Misc:

Center of the Universe - Rated T, Toothrotting New Year's Fluff feat. someone else's SoSu

MacCready might have his holidays mixed up; gift-giving is a Christmas thing. But he’s got one last present for his partner in crime before the year is out.

Character/Ship Tags:

Natasha Sokolova

Mactasha

Spicy OT3

Reclamations

Bring the Gasoline

Credits:

Font

Molotov Emoji

[haikyuuuuuhypeeeee]

hey! im in the mood for some heavy angst. i love marriage angst. this may seem weird,, but tw: maybe like the reader has enough with how he’s treating her so she ~disappears~ if yk what i mean…

YOU LET HER GO

Miya Atsumu x Reader, Akaashi Keiji x Reader

WARNING: Angst, NO HAPPY ENDING, arguments, derogatory language, violence, fighting, neglect, a whole lotta hurt

A/N: Thanks for the request! I love writing angst but this made me so sad! But thank you so much for sending in your request! Take care, drink water! (The title was semi-inspired by Let Her Go by Passenger because as soon as I thought of it I thought of the song so enjoy that lol.) There is no happy ending in this, so read at your own caution!

MIYA ATSUMU

You love Miya Atsumu for his fire, for his passion.

His dedication to any and everything is apparent in everything he does.

He plays volleyball with a passion unlike any other, and well before he became a superstar on the court, you were captivated by his motivation.

And now, being married for over three years, you’ve watched first hand how his journey to stardom has changed him.

He’s even more passionate, and while that yields amazing results for his team and for his career, it’s detrimental to your marriage.

“God, can I even trust ya here alone?”

You roll your eyes so hard you’re worried that they’ll fall out of your head. “Atsumu, this isn’t the first time you’ve gone away for a stretch for a game. Why are you freaking out now?”

“Oh I don’t know!” Atsumu mock-asks. He’s angrily shoving clothes into his overnight bag, having to depart for an away game that will take him out of town for three days. “Maybe because you’ve been sneaking around me for weeks now, clearin’ yer history on yer laptop.”

“You’ve been going through my stuff?” You ask, incredulous. You had a perfectly good explanation for hiding your search history, but you couldn’t bring it up to your husband. It kind of ruins the whole surprise outing you’d been planning for weeks for your anniversary.

“Yer damn right I have!” Atsumu zips his bag shut, so hard you’re certain that the slider will fly right off the bag. “And makin’ secret calls to my own fuckin’ brother!”

“Jesus Christ.” You have been making secret calls to Osamu, but he was instrumental in pulling off your plan. After begging and pleading, your brother-in-law said he would help orchestrate the more elaborate parts of your plan, which included securing a reservation at Osaka’s fanciest restaurant through a connection and gathering their old high school team for a pick-up game of volleyball. You were indebted to Osamu, and he was sure to remind you every time you saw him.

“Atsumu,” You say now. “Please, I’m not cheating on you, or anything. I know you have to leave, but trust me.”

“How can I trust ya, when yer out whorin’ around behind my back!”

Atsumu’s response slaps you across the face as hard as a physical blow would. Even so, you stagger back, physically winded from the harsh words. You can’t even think of a response to your husband, who frankly has become so unrecognizable to you.

Gone is the man who sought no greater pleasure than being the best on the volleyball court, and treating you with the same love and devotion he treats his sport. You know that coming to the big league has changed Atsumu, since he wasn’t the only star player on the court anymore. He had to find alternative routes to get to the opposing team and, in his eyes, if that mean exploiting a nasty truth about a player’s personal life he had no problem utilizing that fact to dishearten them.

You hated it, and you told him it was malicious. He said it was part of the game. And despite your reservations, he never ever tried that with you.

But now, he did. Now, your husband of three years, boyfriend for three years before that, and your best friend for who knows how long, seeks to break you down like he does his opponent. Crush you and come out on top, for whatever asinine reason his brain is supplying him with.

You’re nothing more to him than a pawn in his game.

That’s the truth that keeps you from responding, that makes you sit down on your shared bed, feeling faint and nauseous at the charged and angry energy in the room.

Atsumu, still with a hard glint in his eye, smirks at you before shouldering his bag. He thinks he’s got you, and you can’t even begin to try and explain how wrong he is. “I have to go. Don’t think that we’re done talkin’ about this.”

With that he leaves, and from your spot on the bed you hear the front door open and slam shut. You can’t move, too stunned by the actions of the complete stranger you’re married to.

Maybe you’re too emotional, maybe you can’t think straight at the moment, but there’s really only one thing you can think to do.

~~~~~

Miya Atsumu unlocks the door to his apartment, tiredly shouldering it open before letting his bag fall at his feet. He sighs loudly, the events of the past 48 hours catching up to him - riding a cramped bus up north for six hours, playing a five-set match against the Adlers, after-party with fans and sponsors before a few hours of sleep, then a promotional camp held jointly with the Adlers for even more sponsors, before getting back on the bus for the ride home. He’s barely had any time to rest, nor any time alone from his loud and smelly teammates.

The only plus from the entire trip was pulling off a spectacular win against the Adlers, and Atsumu taking personal gratification from the murderous looks Kageyama sent through the net.

But now Atsumu is ready to take a long, hot shower and eat a delicious meal before collapsing in bed for hours. He’d prefer if you could join him for all three, but he’ll at least settle for dinner together before snuggles in bed. There are some things you both need to talk about.

Atsumu’s grown as a person to know that he owes you an apology. He flew off the handle last time you both spoke, and while his argument has solid proof he shouldn’t have gotten so angry. It’s almost instinct to him to seek weaknesses in his enemy and exploit them. But it took him the bus ride to Tokyo to realize how fucking dumb he was.

You weren’t his enemy, you were his wife. His partner, for better or worse. And yes, your secrecy is not shining a great light on the promises you made to each other in marriage, but he knows you would never cheat on him. Part of him thinks he’s just scared that he’ll be wrong, another part of him has no clue as to why he shuts down and becomes so angry he can barely think.

Although the idea of you sneaking off to be with Osamu is a pretty good trigger to cause a total Atsumu Meltdown, he reckons.

Now Atsumu just wants to be with you, share in your company and get to the bottom of this whole mess. And that starts with finding you and setting time to talk.

But you are nowhere to be found.

Atsumu has now circled the apartment several times, and it’s cold and lifeless. You’re not here, and it honestly feels like no one has been here for days now.

Atsumu sprints to the bathroom, and seeing an empty toothbrush cup confirms that you’re not here. Empty drawers in the bedroom confirm that you’re gone. A gold band sitting on the kitchen counter confirms that you’re not coming back.

Atsumu stands in the kitchen, starring down at the ring while his brain tries to process what’s going on. But instead of despair flooding his mind, anger fills in the vacant space. Red hot anger, the flames licking along his arms and legs, nearly consumes Atsumu. That fucking bitch is the mantra that echoes in his brain, compelling him to grab the ring and fling it across the room. It’s the feeling that fuels him to storm out of his apartment, run down the street and barrel into Onigiri Miya, ignoring the CLOSED sign hanging in the window.

Miya Osamu stands at the counter, wiping the surface with a rag, and becomes the perfect target for Atsumu to unleash his fury onto.

After all, he’s the one sleeping with his wife. His twin brother is the one who betrayed him. So why shouldn’t he get a nice punch to the face?

“Atsumu!” Osamu’s cry doesn’t stop Atsumu from propelling over the counter and tackling his brother, sending them both crashing to the ground. They struggle together, but Atsumu has Osamu’s confusion on his side and is able to land several good hits before Osamu shoves him to the ground.

“What the hell has gotten into ya?!” Osamu screams, working to grab Atsumu’s arms and slow his barrage.

“I should be askin’ ya the same think you piece of shit!” Atsumu snarls, working to release his arms from Osamu so he can continue his barrage. “What the fuck are ya doin’, sleepin’ with YN?”

“WHAT?!” Osamu’s caught off guard yet again and Atsumu is able to push him back to the ground and kneel on his chest. Atsumu punches his brother’s face several times, not satisfied with the blood pouring from his nose or the pained grunts coming from his face. Atsumu isn’t sure what will satisfy him at the moment, but pummeling his brother will help him find the answer.

“Yer fuckin’ YN behind my back! I know about the calls! I know about YN sneakin’ around! I know about her clearin’ her search history!” Every bulleted point is paired with a punch to Osamu, and Atsumu feels a small amount of satisfaction at the swelling already on Osamu’s face.

“I’m not sleepin’ with YN!” Osamu coughs out. Atsumu can tell Osamu is trying to yell back but can’t get out more than a hoarse shout. “I’m helpin’ her!”

“With what?”

Osamu struggles with Atsumu some more, but his movements are so weak that it doesn’t take much for Atsumu to shove his arms away. Osamu coughs out again. “M’ helpin’ her surprise ya! For yer anniversary!”

That brings Atsumu up short and he finally halts in his motions. His brother tries to push him off, but his arms barely move Atsumu off his chest.

But Atsumu is far away, not paying attention to Osamu’s feeble attempts to move him. No, he’s far far away, completely lost in the fact that you were trying to do something for him. An elaborate surprise to celebrate your shared anniversary. You weren’t cheating on him, you were going around with Atsumu.

He was wrong.

It’s happened before, but not like this. He’s made errors when calculating where to send a serve, or who to send a spike to. Those mistakes seem so insignificant, in comparison to this.

“How can I trust ya, when yer out whorin’ around behind my back!”

The disgusting retort, made in the height of his anger, was so wrong. Not just factually wrong, but so inappropriate for a husband to say to his wife. He was so sure he’d caught you, but he was so wrong.

What is wrong with you? Atsumu wants to scream at himself, the nasty part of him that spews such awful accusations to you, or beats his own brother bloody and bruised. He has to find someone to blame, someone has to be accountable for such heinous actions.

But it’s him. It’s Miya Atsumu who was in the wrong. He’s made a drastic error, one that he doesn’t think he can come back from.

AKAASHI KEIJI

Texts left on read, phone calls unanswered.

Your husband Akaashi Keiji is a workaholic.

Not necessarily by choice, definitely not by desire.

But he’s honored bound to work hard and finish a job.

It’s admirable, and he brings home a steady paycheck to contribute to your shared funds.

This is nice, but what would be nicer is some time and attention from your husband.

And on the one day it counted most, he disappoints you, and you’re at the end of your rope.

Akaashi pushes open the door, and it’s not until he closes it shut that he notices how quiet it is.

It’s weirdly quiet.

It’s strange, because when he comes home you’re either watching TV or finishing dinner. He’s caught you dancing around the house to your shared wedding song. He remembers wanting to join you but he was so tired that night that he went to sleep instead.

But maybe you were just finishing up dinner, so he wanders into the kitchen. A faint smell, still delicious, guides Akaashi through the house. He sighs in relief - it’s been awhile since you’ve put together a nice meal for the both of you. Akashi’s excited to sit and share dinner with you.

But to his growing confusion he comes across an empty kitchen. There’s a lot on the stove, upon further inspection shows a now-cold homemade curry. The rice cooker on the counter is still on, left in ‘keep warm’ mode. The table is set, the nicest dinnerware you both own set out - from the polished silverware to the stacked plates. Two candles sit on the table also, both slightly burned down but now extinguished.

Not only is Akaashi horribly confused, he’s growing concerned. There’s the smallest thought in his head, picking and poking at his brain. It’s quite annoying but for the life of him he can’t imagine what this little thought is trying to tell him. He decides to look for you and try to get some answers.

It’s not until he walks by the bathroom door, freezes in his tracks, turns around quickly and stops in the doorway that the confusion ebbs away into fear.

All of your toiletries from your side of the counter are gone. All of the products from your facial care regimen, your toothpaste, your toothbrush. Akaashi never had even half of what you had on the bathroom counter, but his few items scattered around look comical compared to the vast emptiness on the other side.

She’s g-

Akaashi doesn’t let himself finish that thought before he’s running to the bedroom. Even before flipping on the light he can see the gaping holes in the closet where your clothes once hanged. But he still sprints over to the small room to confirm that yes, all of your clothes are completely gone. His heavy breathing fills the space as his thoughts race past each other faster than before.

She’s gone, he thinks wildly. Why is she gone?

Were you finally sick of his long days at the office? Did he not pay enough attention to you? Akaashi just assumed that you were fine with his workaholic tendencies - it’s been like this for so long he can’t imagine you would have put up with it.

What was the breaking point?

Akaashi steps out of the closet, and a small object catches his eye. There’s an envelope on the bed, addressed to him. He picks it up, terrified by the weight it holds. Like it’s more than just a simple letter left behind. He pries it open and pulls out the paper. On it is two simple words that absolutely shatter his world.

Happy Anniversary.

He blinks. There’s no way it’s your anniversary. He wouldn’t have forgotten a day so important to you, to him. But sure enough, pulling out his phone to confirm the date, he did.

Ah, the breaking point. Akaashi thinks to himself madly.

He’s still holding the envelope in his hand when he realizes that the envelope isn’t empty. With a shaking hand he reaches in and pulls out the cool metal of your wedding band.

Dropping to his knees, Akaashi begins to cry as he realizes that he’s lost the greatest love of his life. The vows he swore to you on the day he put this ring on your finger were just empty promises. Unintentional empty promises, but preventable. And now you’re gone.

Taglist (Crossed out cannot be tagged): @psycho-nightrose @camcam1617 @kamalymaly @toobsessedsstuff @shookykookie30 @ara-mitsue @meianshugoswife @amarinthe @savantsoulfinder @iamapotat @myasaaaam @jellien @rntrsuna

[moonctzeny]

pairing: 90's college student!Xiaojun x fem! reader

genre: angst,fluff

warnings: alcohol consumption, mentions of smoking, profanity

word count: 7,040

summary: "When Hendery, a computer science freshman, sees your best friend walk past him in your university's park, he immediately falls in love. He finds out that you and your best friend have made a pact with each other: "Stay cellibate and date-free for the rest of the school year", a deal that you proposed after a series of bad relationships. One to always stick his nose in everyone's business, Ten agrees to help Hendery out by orchestrating a plan. Bribe Xiaojun, the new and hot international student from China with the failing grades and the infamous reputation, to convince you to go out with him and break the deal yourself."

tagging: @markresonates, @sirrenjun, @jaesqueso

a/n: This is my entrance for @quokkacore's 90's Love Collab! It's based on the famous 90's movie: 10 Things I Hate About You.

special thanks to @heephoria for letting me use her name as y/n's best friend!

songs in the fic: The Real Janelle, Against The Grain, Has anyone ever written anything for you

riot girrrl: a subcultural movement that combines feminism, punk music and politics. It is often associated with third-wave feminism, which is sometimes seen as having grown out of the riot grrrl movement. This punk scene is serving as an inspiration for a movement in which women could express themselves the same way men have been doing all along.

Hendery can’t remember the last time he was so anxious. Sure, the entrance exams to get to study Computer Science were tough, but this - this was the real thing. College. The large campus lays in front of him in all its grassy glory - a polyphony of different music genres blasting from boomboxes in the middle of a variety of social circles lying on the green.

The young, lanky boy feels even lonelier as he walks through the crowds of people that look like they know exactly what they’re doing. His uneasiness is evident in his open face, big eyes taking in his surroundings but he misses the shorter person that abruptly stands in front of him and in his way. Hendery almost trips in his JNCO jeans, stilling just seconds away from the smiling stranger’s face. He notices a patch of green paint drying up on the side of his jawline.

“Hi there! You must be Henry right?”

“Uhh Hendery, yes.”

“Sure, whatever. Welcome to college life, buddy! I’m Ten, and instead of spending my precious free time catching a nap to compensate for my immense lack of sleep, I have to show you around the campus! Yay!”

The taller boy raises an eyebrow at Ten through his round metal glasses, giving him a once over.

“You’re a Computer Science major?”

“Oh no, I’m not a masochist. And I’m also not good at math. I’m better with my hands if you know what I mean”. The wink he sends Hendery’s way makes the boy leave his first giggle of the day. “I’m an art major. Senior.”

“Why did they assign an art major to give me the tour?”

Ten playfully whistles a tune that got stuck in his head from listening to it on MTV that morning. He scratches his 5 o’clock shadow as he yawns, the sticky paint transferring onto his fingers now.

“I may or may not have fallen asleep during my last Baroque lecture and I may have promised my professor to do it so he doesn't fail me after I got caught”. Ten steers Hendery through the crowd, pointing to the various cliques. “These are the engineering majors. Notice how they’re laying under the shade because they haven’t seen the sunlight in weeks. These guys passing the football around in their hunky splendor and puka necklaces are the PE jocks. I’m trying to score that tall one with the long hair. That’s where the cafeteria is. And that is…”

“...An angel”

Ten turns his head around, confused to see what the hell the new guy is on about. Smitten and stuck in a pink, slow-motioned reality, he is riveted on a beautiful girl that passes by them without a glance.

“Oh, Vienna. Yeah, the whole campus has the hots for her.”

“She’s beautiful. Is she single?”

“Don’t even think about it”

“Why not?”

Ten sighs, taking a cigarette from his front pocket and lighting it. Hendery barely notices how long it takes for the answer to come. He is too preoccupied drooling after what he thinks might be the love of his life.

“Well first of all, you’re a freshman and she’s a sophomore. Also, your hair - frosted tips? Really dude? But mainly because she doesn’t do guys”

Hendery fluffs the mess of hair on the top of his head in insecurity. “She’s a lesbian?”

A string of rushed “no”s leave Ten’s lips along with a cloud of smoke. He gracelessly wipes his hand on the front of his shirt when he finally notices his green fingers.

“She and her best friend made a pact or deal or something like that. They won’t date or sleep with any men for the rest of the year. A lot of guys have tried to change her mind but to no avail.”

Hendery drops his head back, then proceeds to groan into his bucket hat, catching the attention of some passersby. It even startles Ten, who was busy flashing his coyest of smiles to the aforementioned jock. He sighs again at the miserable sight.

“Why do I have to be so nosy…”, he mutters to himself, and roughly pats the boy on his back. “Alright, quit crying. I will help you out with Vienna”

Hendery’s face pops out from the hat comically, shaking in joy. “Really?!”

“Yeah, I can’t let a freshman miss his chance of finally losing his virginity.”

“I’m not a virgin!”, he argues, his voice being drowned by the sound of joyful punk music coming from the group of jocks. The offspring or Sum 41, he guesses, but that’s not really his scene so he can’t be too sure. “But didn’t you say that she rejected the other guys?”

“From what I’ve heard, your lady isn’t too committed to the pact. She just agreed on it for her best friend’s sake. We find someone to convince her friend to break the deal, and the girl is yours.”

“That can’t be too hard right? Is she cute?”

“She hates the male species since a dude ghosted her right after getting in her pants. Can’t blame her.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Not important. Meet me at the cafeteria tomorrow at 1 pm. I have a plan.”

Ten takes another hit from his cigarette and turns his attention back to the noisy group. He notices them breaking off, leaving his favorite blonde alone. Hendery snickers as he watches him already making his way over, drawn to the tall guy like a moth is to a flame.

“Now if you’ll excuse me l have someone- I mean, something I want to do right now. See you Hendrix!”

“Hen-de-ry!”

“Yeah, that!”

Hendery waited for Ten at the meeting place, observing the people that entered the cafeteria in the meantime, some gossiping vivaciously and others rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. It didn’t take long for his own eyes to catch his new friend entering the big room, his colorful windbreaker jacket making him stand out.

“Henny, what’s up!” Ten greeted him, far more cheerful than he was during their first encounter, so Hendery guessed things with the blonde went well. He couldn’t tell, however, if ‘Henny’ was one of Ten’s many alternatives, or a nickname for his actual name.

“Good”, he responds, choosing not to ask him, and takes a look at the people seated on the evenly spaced tables across the room. “So, what's the plan?”

Ten grins and loops his arm around the freshman, pointing at the only guy who’s eating without company.

“Let me introduce you to our victim, Xiao Dejun”

The first thing Hendery notices about Dejun is his glare. He looks defensive, cold, scary even, yet his face is what one could only describe as a ‘pretty boy’. A group of girls point discretely to the boy’s direction, gossiping quietly but loud enough for the duo to hear.

“Isn’t that the international student from China? I heard his family is in the mafia!”

“Makes sense that he studies finance then. I heard that he pulled a gun on a guy for getting the last hotdog in the cafeteria last week!”

“Is this true?!”, Hendery whisper-yells at Ten, eyes bulging out of his head.

“Stupid rumors, don’t believe them”

“I’m from China as well! Do you think people assume that I’m in the mafia too?”

Ten looks at the younger boy up and down, his eyes landing on a mood ring on his thumb and a badly drawn tribal tattoo on the back of his palm. He’s hanging on to the hem of his shirt nervously as they make their way towards the loner.

“You’re good buddy”

Dejun’s deadly stare is now focused on Ten as they both drag a chair for them to join him. Hendery is begging him to drop the operation, yet Ten sports a big, bright grin.

After a second of awkward silence, Dejun gets up to leave.

“Hey, hey where are you going?”

“I’ve heard about you. You’re bad news.”

“Well that’s funny, coming from you. What have you heard about me?”

“That you stick your nose in everybody’s business. I don’t like people who know shit about everyone.”

“I know about that mandatory programming lab that you’re failing”. Dejun freezes at that, his thick eyebrows shooting up. “And I’m sitting next to a certain computer wiz that’s more than willing to help you out.”

Hendery immediately starts to stutter, struck by the sudden attention he’s getting.

“W-well I- I wouldn’t say I’m a- a genius but I can pass that lab f-for you…”

Dejun sits back down at the table, his leather jacket making more sound than the dragging chair.

“For free?”

Ten snickers at the question, crossing his legs leisurely. “Nothing’s free in this world, Junnie”

“Save me the philosophy. What do you want?”

“To take a girl out on a date. Or rather to convince her to.”

“That’s your payment? Is there something wrong with her?”

“She’s wonderful! Look, there she is!”

Ten points at you, coincidentally just walking in at the cafeteria, and Dejun’s attention immediately shifts at a sliver of skin that’s peeking out from your low-rise jeans. The way you smoothly take off your sunnies to rest them at the top of your head has him thinking he’s stuck in a slo mo montage. You look good. Suspiciously good.

“Something’s not adding up”, he murmurs with squinting eyes, “since when does a girl like this have an issue with getting a date?”

“She and her best friend have promised each other not to date guys until the end of the year. We want you to convince her otherwise.”

“And what’s in it for you?”

“The computer wiz over here has eyes for the best friend. You wrangle with the girl, and their celibacy is over.”

“I’m not fucking anyone for payment.”

“Wouldn’t dare to ask you to. Do you have a plan on how to approach her?”

“I’m just gonna go up to her now”, Dejun shrugs, before Ten pulls him back down.

“No, no, are you crazy? Are you trying to get rejected? You’re one of the creepiest guys on campus, dude, you can’t just ‘go up to her’!”

“Well what else am I supposed to do? I know nothing about her!”

Dejun’s eyes still follow you as you place your now full tray on a table of friends. Your smile makes something in his stomach feel funny.

“First off, she’s a feminist. A feminist-punk- band-loving feminist to be exact. Bikini Kill, Bratmobile. That kind of stuff.”

“I guess I can listen to a song or two. What else?”

“Literature major, Shakespeare lover. One of those who refer to him as ‘their first love’. And for the time being, that’s the only male she wants to have in her life.”

“Jesus. You got a police file open for her too? And you call me creepy…”. Dejun rips his eyes off of you for a moment, just to send his signature glare to the freshman once more. “Now, just to clarify, Johnny Mnemonic. I don’t need you to tutor me, alright? I just want my lab solutions, I don’t have time to spend on those dumb machines. Capisce?”

Hendery shivers in his seat, his knuckles white from the pressure he applies on his own hands, the sweat making the ink of his drawing bleed. The only thing he can do is nod furiously. This is the closest thing to The Godfather he will ever experience.

His friend, completely opposite in composure, laughs light-heartedly at the smooth sailing of his plan.

“We got a deal! Just one question. Is it true that you ate your twin in the womb?”

“He was delicious.”

Ten laughs nervously as he’s getting up, tugging Hendery along hurriedly as they make their way to the exit.

“W-we got to go, good luck!”

On this cool Wednesday morning, amongst the swarm of students that are grouping up cheerfully with their classmates, you truly feel like dying.

The pounding headache you’ve had since you woke up refuses to go away, drilling into your skull like an annoying pebble that mysteriously gets stuck in your shoe. You take a deep breath, trying to mute out the noise. The hot coffee you sip away only intensifies the pain.

And that’s when you feel a weight landing onto the seat right next to you.

“The seat is taken”, you state automatically, yet the person next to you doesn’t budge a bit.

“Oh yeah? By who?”

“My patience, that is running thin by the way”

The sweet sounding laughter that warms your left side makes you turn to the source finally.

Long dyed hair, beautiful thick brows, and a smile too innocent for the rest of his mien. You gasp a little at the handsome stranger, then quickly cover it with a cough.

“Haven’t seen you in this class before”, you observe, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Yeah, I’m a Finance major”

“Then what are you doing here?”

Dejun panics for a moment, his eyes shifting to every corner of the classroom frantically, before he sits back in faux composure.

“Is it illegal for a man to want to enjoy some Shakespeare on a beautiful Monday morning?”

“You like Shakespeare?”

“Big fan. Why?”

You can’t control yourself from eyeing the boy before you suspiciously. He defensively crosses his arms in front of his chest, flipping his locks away from his face so that you can clearly see his disapproval. The tips of his hair are still damp from what you assume was a morning shower, and the minty smell that hits you makes the urge of running your fingers through them hard to resist.

“No offense but you look like a greaser who at least discovered what shampoo is.”

Thankfully, he laughs at your comment, blessing you with his smile once again. You take his hand when he offers it to you, and a surge of electricity runs down your spine.

“I’m Dejun, international student from China.”

“I’m y/n, and William is my first love.”

Dejun bites back a laugh at how eerily good Ten is at impersonating you. He was planning on throwing you a pick up line and then asking you for your number, yet something about how good you look even in your messy hair and dark under eyes has his tongue feeling too big and stiff for his own mouth.

“Alright class, quiet down now.”

Everyone shuffles to their seat at the professor’s strict tone, his eyes scanning the entire classroom through his glasses.

“I hope you read the extract from “The Taming of the Shrew” like I assigned you to. Now, which one of you will tell me what Petruchio’s monologue reveals about him?”

As if rehearsed, every student’s glance in the room fixates on the floor. Dejun sinks in his seat, trying to find a way to seem too busy to answer, and settles on tying his shoes.

“How about the young man whose shoelaces are apparently more interesting than the question.”

Dejun points at himself dumbly, closing his eyes in despair when he gets a confirming nod by the professor. Just his luck.

“Uhh Pinocchio in this story is-”

“Petruchio…”, the professor corrects him with a sigh, rubbing his face with his palm to prepare for what’s to come. The classroom breaks out in muffled giggles and whispers, and Dejun’s natural blush turns a shade or two darker.

“Right. Petruchio. He’s a… A very uhh…”

“Badass”, you whisper from between your teeth and Dejun eats it up.

“A big badass”, he answers proudly, and your classmates can’t keep their snickers back anymore.

“No young man, you’re a big dumbass, and I see you failing this course if you don’t take your homework more seriously.”

You giggle quietly, scribbling something on a piece of paper you ripped from the corner of your notebook. Folding it up nicely twice, you pass it to the grumpy boy.

I thought you were a big fan?

Dejun smiles at your little note, adding his own message to the blank space. The exchange would go on for the rest of the lesson.

Confession time: I only got in this class because I saw you get in

You joined a literature lecture because you saw a stranger do it?

A pretty stranger

You refuse to turn to look at him, not until your heart stops beating so hard. You rip another piece of paper when you notice the ink has fully covered the previous one.

I’m not just looks you know

I know. Which is why I’m gonna ask you out.

Oh yeah? I don’t date

Alright. Don’t call it a date, then. Just keep your new friend company on a Saturday night.

Oh we’re friends now?

I don’t usually befriend girls that are this hot, but I can make an exception.

Ass, you think to yourself, but the small whisper of the word still escapes your lips. You’re not sure if Dejun heard it, but you don’t write him up an answer anyways. You think of this as the end of this conversation, until you feel a bunched up piece of paper landing on your hair.

Bratmobile is playing at Clockwork bar tonight. Wanna come?

Your eyes widen as you read the note, frantically writing back.

You listen to riot grrrl?

They ain’t no Bikini Kill but it will be a good show

Impressed and tempted by the offer, you force yourself to count to 100 before you respond. You have made a promise to your best friend, and not even a gorgeous leather jacketed stranger who listens to your favorite bands will get in the way.

The bell rings when you reach ‘82’, and you put your stuff back in your bag calmly, avoiding Dejun’s expectant eyes at all costs.

You manage to scoot past him, almost making it to the exit when he takes your wrist lightly, not pulling with any force but just enough to get your attention. He’s now walking next to you.

“So, will you come to the gig?”

You scoff at him with a smile, walking faster to ignore him.

“Is that a no?, he yells in your direction, startling the students next to him. You laugh lightly, amused.

“No”

Convincing your best friend to come with you at the live tonight had nothing to do with Dejun. You love Bratmobile and would have made it anyway. At least that’s what you tell yourself as you hand out your ID to the bouncer, convincing your mouth not to ask whether he’d seen a short blonde guy with a leather jacket walk in.

The atmosphere gets suffocating quickly as you walk further into the venue, and you notice that the band members have plugged in their instruments already and are ready to play. After grabbing a drink from the bar, you take Vienna’s hand so as not to lose her as you squeeze your way closer to the stage. Your head moves on its own accord, looking through the crowd while on your tiptoes.

“Are you looking for someone?”

“Me? No, I’m- just calculating how many people came, that’s all.”

“Why? Are you Bratmobile’s manager or something?”

You laugh, shrugging her off, and before she starts asking more about your weird behaviour, the lead singer’s voice echoes through the mic.

“Hey everyone. Before we start I would just like to say that the girl’s bathroom needs some more toilet paper.”

The crowd whistles approvingly, a loud ‘yeah’ coming from the back.

“Us girls always get short-toilet-papered. Also, why is the guys’ bathroom door always open? I can see everyone peeing and stuff. Anyways, let’s start.”

‘The real Janelle’ starts playing after three clicks of the drummer’s baguettes and you and your friend are already losing your voices. You down your beer in one shot so that you don’t have to worry about holding your can in the middle of the growing mosh pit, throwing it back to some poor person’s head. After the fifth song, the chords and the graffiti on the walls blend into one synesthetic mess, and you realize how poorly you handle your alcohol. You let your body get tossed around the sweaty strangers, falling into someone’s arms after a particularly strong push.

“Are you ok?”

You swear you have heard that accent before, so you whip your head around to find the source of the familiar voice.

Shaggy blond hair, plump lips, eyes lined with black greet you.

“Dejun?”

“Why are you surprised?”, the boy screams back, not once letting you go, “I invited you here.”

“I know, I was hoping I’d see you”

The surge of honesty shocks you both, but you know you have the alcohol running in your bloodstream to blame. You realize you can feel his bare arms embracing you, and that’s when you notice that he has replaced his signature jacket with a black tank top. Your eyes linger a second too long on his toned biceps, and when they lead you to the exit door you gladly let them.

“Let’s get you some fresh air”, Dejun tells you as he makes way for the both of you, and when you get that first whiff of the chilly autumn night you can finally place your thoughts in the correct order.

You lay your body against the walls of the small alleyway in the back of the bar, and whip out a black lighter from the front pocket of your plaid shirt.

“You smoke?”, the boy asks surprised, and stares entrancingly at your fingers that are pinching the flame.

“No, I just like doing this. It relaxes me.”

Dejun seems unconvinced but continues watching you nonetheless.

“You got rid of the butterfly clips I see.”

“Yeah. You don’t like it?”

“The clips are cute but you look better like this. You seem more comfortable dressed this way.”

He can’t take his eyes off of you, is what he really meant. You seemed to bathe in a certain glow tonight, the kind of glow people emit when they do something they love.

“I think my style is influenced by the music I listen to.”

“You really like riot grrrl, huh?”

“It’s really cool to see women in the scene. Punk is a voice for the outsider, the oppressed, the other. Yet the scene can’t see the irony of ostracizing women with the same aesthetic beliefs and philosophies of their male counterparts.”

“Then why don’t you embrace this aesthetic in school too?”

You contemplate your answer for a moment, pouting cutely. Your attention shifts momentarily on his arms again before quickly snapping out of it, yet Dejun’s small smirk indicates that he still caught you in the act.

“My classmates, besides Vienna, don't really get it. I didn’t have a ton of friends growing up so it feels good to be surrounded with people. Everyone wants to fit in, right? I’m not above that.”

“So you’d rather have friends because you’re hot and not because of who you really are?”

“Is this a personal attack?”

You feel frustrated, plenty sober now. In your intense staring contest with Dejun, you forget your fingers a second too long over the flame. And before the pain starts to kick in, he grabs the lighter out of your grasp, replacing it with his hand.

Intertwining your fingers with his feels oddly natural, but still has your heart running a mile per minute. This is the first time you think he truly looks cool, calm in composure and silently dominant. You can smell that minty shampoo again, and if only you took a breath deep enough your chests would surely connect. If only he didn’t steal that breath away from you.

“You’re awesome. Anyone would kill to be around you, butterfly clips or not. And if your ‘friends’ don’t accept you just because you listen to punk, then you need to find new ones. They don’t deserve you.”

“I don’t think you understand. Everyone’s replaceable.”

“I don’t think you understand how much you’re glowing in a room full of people.”

With that, he lets you go, taking a step back and resting his body against the brick wall again. You’re a little dumbfounded by the compliment, yet flattered nonetheless.

“And what about you? Why are you always sitting alone?”

“Haven’t you heard? Apparently I am a deliquent-spy-prisoner who has killed at least three men and dissected my professor’s hamster for fun.”

“Why don’t you correct people’s wrong guesses about you then?”

“Why bother? They've already made up their mind about me.”

In a moment of true clarity, you realize that the exterior you’ve built for yourselves is made from the same material. You chuckle at how pathetic you two must look for an outsider, two sad youngsters playing with a lighter outside of a punk bar. It almost sounds anecdotal, and you realize that you’ve had enough for tonight.

“Hey, I think I’m gonna get my friend and go. It was really nice talking to you though.”

“How are you guys getting home?”

“Oh we’re walking.”

“Alone? In the middle of the night? No way, I’m giving you a ride.”

Dejun had a battered, baby blue '75 Dodge Dart. After a short and awkward 5 minute drive, you reach your first destination, Vienna’s home. She’s telling you to ‘have fun’ before she climbs out of the backseat, and you remind her about your celibacy promise with an eye roll.

She doesn’t seem to care, and if Dejun was really invested in Ten’s deal he would’ve cut the night short there. Vienna’s disinterest in the pact was more than evident and enough of a green light for Hendery to proceed in asking her out. He could have dropped you off without a word, and never have to speak to you again. But as you beg him to wait until your friend has fully entered her house and locked before driving off, Dejun decides that he’s eternally jealous of anyone you deem worthy of your loving protection. He can only hope that one day you’ll treat him the same way; the dumb deal was the last thing on his mind.

While the silence you too shared was comfortable and pleasant, you always thought that life is better with a good soundtrack. You turn on the radio, and mess around with the frequencies until you hear ‘Against the grain’ by Bad Religion playing. You can’t keep yourself from singing at the top of your lungs.

Against the grain

That's where I'll stay

Swimming upstream

I maintain against the grain

Dejun is smitten by you and your little impromptu concert, each off-key note you scream making him even more deeply enamoured with you.

“I should do this”, you say seriously, pointing at the radio.

“Maintain against the grain?”

“Start a punk band. Fuck literature. This is better than Shakespeare!”

He laughs at your little rant, slowing down as he enters your driveway.

“You should. I’ll play the guitar for you.”

“You play the guitar?!”

“I don’t just dissect hamsters. I am a man of many talents.”

You shove him lightly and turn down the music, gathering your stuff but still staying seated. ‘Has anyone written anything for you’ by Stevie Nicks plays quietly from the worn out speakers. You don’t want to leave that car. Dejun would be the one to break the silence.

“Can I ask you something? Why did you decide on it?”

“On what?”

“The whole celibacy thing.”

“Why would I let a guy in just so they can pretend to like me, fuck me, then discard me like I meant nothing?”

“So you just cut everyone off from the start and you’re done? You don’t have to worry about how they’re gonna reciprocate your feelings anymore?”

“Yeah pretty much.”

“Well your plan failed.”

“What do you mean?”

“I really fucking like you.”

You didn’t say anything after that. There wasn’t much to say, really, but a whole lot of things you wanted to do. The tension inside the ‘75 Dodge Dart is now palpable, and the reasoning behind your year-long celibacy starts to get foggy in your brain. Fuck it.

Did you ever hear me sing?

Listen to me now

You know I'd rather be alone

Than be without you, don't you know?

You lean over the shift knob and kiss him. It takes him a moment to get over the initial shock, but when he does he moves his lips against your own slowly, matching the beat of the song. Your fingers dig between his locks, while his left hand finds its way on the side of your face. He rubs his thumb along your jaw and his tongue disappears inside your mouth. Your kisses taste like cinnamon candy, and Dejun thinks it fits you perfectly. He’d never felt anything as right.

You don’t know if you’ve been kissing for five minutes or five hours, but the realization that you’re currently parked right outside your house, for all the nosy neighbours to see, does make you break away from him. He whines a little in your mouth and you giggle, dizzy from the euphoria.

“I don’t want my dad to chase you away with his pajamas”, you explain and gather your things once more. Dejun grabs your wrist when you’ve almost exited the car, pulling the upper half of your body back inside.

“Come to my place this weekend, I have a record player. We can listen to all the punk you want.”

You nod in agreement, your stomach already jumping from excitement. He brings you back in for one last kiss, and he sure as hell made it worth it. The tips of his fingers dance across the length of your arm, and you shiver at the feeling.

Even as you walk away, you can feel an invisible rope tugging you back to him.

Dejun went back to his apartment with a weight over his shoulders. He wanted to laugh like a little kid, organize the records we would play for you in an order that felt right, but he knew there was something he just had to do first.

He finds Hendery’s number that he had written down on the back of one of his notebooks and waits for an answer. As expected for the lateness of the hour, it goes straight to voicemail.

“Hey Hendery, it’s me, Dejun. I just wanted to tell you that it’s cool if you want to ask Vienna out, she doesn’t care about their deal. Also, I don’t want your help for my lab, I’ll figure it out myself. Y/n is kinda nice actually, and it doesn’t feel right. Consider us even. That’s all, see you on campus. Goodnight.”

Dejun’s apartment is just as busy as you imagined it to be. It wasn’t anything big, but you were more than jealous that he got to live alone, in his own space. He welcomes you in with a big smile and an even bigger kiss, and you have to remind yourself to breathe. You walk through the unwashed dishes and dying plants in the hallway, and enter his bedroom.

The walls are covered from top to bottom with posters. Green Day, Nirvana, Blink-182. An acoustic guitar is propped up against one of the walls, between his dresser and the bed, that too is covered in stickers. There are a thousand little knick knacks that you want to get your hands on, yet Dejun still monopolizes your attention.

The evening you spent together was wonderful. You went through Dejun’s whole music collection, record after record, dreaming of a reality where he plays the guitar in your imaginary band and you sing lead and the world is a much simpler place. He even strums along with a few of the songs, hands shaking from the pressure to impress you.

For the past twenty minutes you’ve been rolling over the duvet, so tightly pressed against each other that you don’t know where Dejun’s limbs end and yours begin.

“How’s school going, sweets? Are you better at Shakespeare than me?”

“No offense, but pretty much everyone is better than you at Shakespeare”

Dejun inhales deeply in mock offense, dying a little inside at the sound of your giggles.

“It’s going well but I have to write my own version of Shakespeare's Sonnet #141 and present it to class.”

“That’s easy! Here, let me show you. ‘Oh professor, oh professor, why thee called my boyfriend a dumbass in front of the whole class?’”

“You’re an idiot”, you murmur, with a smile still stuck on your face. ‘Boyfriend’ fits him so nicely. “How’s school for you?”

“I have this programming lab that I’m failing at but I’ll find a way.”

You hate seeing his face turn from radiant to dull so quickly, so you peck his lips in an attempt to cheer him up. He gladly kisses you back, picking up right where you left off, until your stomach gurgles loudly, successfully ruining the mood.

“Someone’s hungry”, he muses and rubs your stomach lovingly. “I’ll go order us some pizza, be right back”

Dejun gets up from the bed then, and runs to the kitchen where the phone is. He shouts from across the house whether there’s any toppings you don’t like, and proceeds to look for the pizza shop brochure.

“Hey babe, can you grab me my wallet from my bag? I wanna see whether I have change or not for the delivery boy!”

You spot the backpack from under his desk, fully decorated in patches. You’ve been searching for his wallet, which must be hiding on the very bottom under all of his books, when you notice a white envelope sticking out from the pages of his notebook.

‘From your friend, Hendery’

Friend? Since when does the lone wolf have friends? Curiosity gets the best of you, and before you get to feel any remorse for being so nosy, you’ve already taken out the envelope’s contents.

It was two A4 papers full of code, and a little hand-written card by who you assume was this ‘Hendery’ character.

Dejun, my man, if you’re reading this it means that Ten found a way to give the envelope to you. Thanks to your help I got to ask Vienna out (she said yes!!!!) I know you said you didn’t need these lab solutions but since you took y/n out like we agreed upon I just had to repay you. I know how much you didn’t want to do this so I really appreciate it!

You hear what you assume to be Dejun’s voice approaching the bedroom, yet it all comes muted to your ears.

“Babe, did you find it?”

You throw the solutions on the floor, right between you two.

“What the fuck is this?”

Dejun looks at the piece of paper confused, as if he saw it for the first time.

“You tell me. I don’t know what this is-“

“It was in your bag, Dejun, how can you not know what it is?”

“I don’t!”

“Well maybe your ‘man’ Hendery can explain it to you!”

You shove the note against his chest, then furiously grab your jacket and bag from his bed. Dejun quickly reads Hendery’s message, eyebrows shooting up when he realizes how you must be feeling right now.

You charge out of the room, heading quickly to the exit. Dejun barely manages to stop you.

“Wait, y/n, I can explain!”

“Explain what? That it was all a lie? That it was all for some dude to fuck my best friend? Shakespeare, Bratmobile, liking me? That I am apparently so despicable that someone needs to bribe you to get me on a date?”

“Sweets, don’t say that about yourself-“

“Don’t you call me that! You know, I thought you were authentic. You’re just as rotten and disgusting as all those guys that have discarded me in the past. I hope your fucking lab was worth it.”

You sprint outside of his apartment before you listen to his excuses, or let him see the tears that are streaming down your face. When Dejun gets to your car, you’ve already started to drive away.

This Monday morning gives you deja vu. It all seems almost identical to the day you met him; from the weather, to your headache, to the taste of your hot coffee. You make your way to your usual seat, hoping that people don’t notice your obviously swollen eyes.

If anything feels different about today, it is the added agony you have to go through for standing in front of all those students and reading your stupid little poem. Well, at least you’re not sitting at home listening to ‘Has anyone ever written anything for you’ on repeat like you’ve done all weekend.

Your professor’s loud voice will soon resonate in the big classroom.

“Today is presentation day, everyone! I hope you’ve all prepared your poems! We’ll go through half of them today and the others tomorrow. I’ll start choosing randomly. Can miss y/l/n stand up please?”

Great, you’re first to go. You drag yourself on your feet and make your way next to your professor. It will be like ripping off a bandaid, you tell yourself. Quick, but will actually feel like an eternity. Painful too.

You stabilize your trembling hands, clearing your throat to win some time. Just as you get ready for the inevitable, you hear the main entrance loudly opening. And the person you wrote the poem for walks in.

“Ah, it’s the Pinocchio gentleman”, your professor recalls, and you try your hardest to keep your eyes from welling up with tears. “We’re about to start, take a seat.”

Dejun rushes to the seat he took that Monday morning, his eyes never leaving yours. He had to come here today, to try to make things right.

“Please proceed miss y/l/n.”

“ I hate the way you talk to me,

the way you cut your hair.

I hate the way you drive your car.

I hate it when you stare.

I hate your big dumb leather jacket,

And the way you read my mind.

I hate you so much it makes me drunk.

(It even makes me rhyme.)”

Your throat scratches from the effort of keeping your emotions at bay. Dejun still stares in awe.

“I hate the way you’re always right.

I hate it when you lie.

I hate it when you make me laugh—

Even worse when you make me cry.”

Hot tears overflow from the corners of your eyes, and you blink to make out the blurry words you’ve written. A couple teardrops fall on the paper, expanding the ink.

“I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call.

But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you—not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.”

Barely managing to finish that last word, you apologize to your professor and excuse yourself out of the classroom. You’re not sure where you’re going with all your stuff still in that room, but you don’t make it far before a loud set of footsteps catches up to you.

“y/n, wait, let me talk to you, please!”

“What do you want?”

Dejun is panting in front of you, hands on his knees. You’re surprised to see his eyelashes being damp as well.

“Yes, it all started with Ten telling me to ask you out in exchange of notes. It was wrong and I shouldn’t have said yes and I apologize.”

“You’re right, you shouldn’t have.”

“I know, but let me finish. Do you think they told me to go to your Shakespeare class at 9 am on a Monday morning? You think they told me to search everything about your favorite band to impress you? You think I would say yes if I wasn’t dying to take you out in the first place?”

“Just because you wanted to fuck me doesn’t make what you did right.”

“First of all, I would never sleep with you for a fucking lab. If you don’t want to believe me I understand, but the plan was to take you out so that Hendery has a chance with Vienna. But see, I screwed up, big time. I fell for you.”

His voice breaks and you take your eyes off the ground to look at him again. He’s shuffling through the contents of his bag, and takes out a cassette, then hands it to you.

“What’s this?”

“Pottymouth by Bratmobile for your Walkman. I tracked the girls down all over the city before they left for their tour.”

You look at the plastic container, covered in signs. A crammed note on the side: He’s a keeper.

You smile at the little gift, appreciating the gesture.

“I meant everything I said at that live, you know. I think you’re awesome. I think it’s awesome that you gave me the time of day, unlike all these people. I don’t think you know how much it means to me.”

You stay silent in contemplation and Dejun almost loses his mind. He angstily jumps up and down on his feet, running his fingers through his hair.

“I didn’t tell Hendery that I don’t need the lab solutions, I said that I don’t want them. I don’t know how I can make it right, so tell me. You want me to scream it? I LOVE Y-“

Your noses bump and teeth clash as you kiss him to shut him up. He immediately wraps his arms around you, bringing you so close that he doesn’t have to worry about you leaving him again. Your lips are salty from the tears, but the kiss tastes so sweet.

“You’re an idiot.”, you manage between the kisses, and your mouth mirrors the shape of Dejun’s smile.

“Does that mean that I get a second chance?”

“You’re lucky that I need a guitarist for my band.”

Dejun laughs lightheartedly, the vibrations from his chest making you laugh as well.

“I’m so happy to have you back. Even if you wrote a poem about how much you hate me.”

“Wow, you really suck at literature. Didn’t you pay attention at the last strophe? I love you too.”

author's note: I hope you liked this! It was so much fun going back to the 90's :) If you did, I would appreciate your feedback here!

You can also ask to be on my taglist here! thank you for reading!

[otaku4life16]

Ozai Put his Kid in Prison (ATLA Prompt Request)(Add Ursa)

So Ozai is a huge jerk and decides that burning Zuko's face off wasn't enough when Zuko does something stupid post Agni Kai. In his fever induced state Zuko decides to go back to Ozai and tell him what a cruel person he is and how this war is unjust. Ozai is fed up with Zuko and decides to wipe his hands of him by throwing him in prison.

There are a few different ways this could go. With Zuko being in either an Earth Kingdom prison, a Fire Nation prison within the Earth kingdom(like the one Haru went to) or the Boiling Rock.

Earth Kingdom Prison:

- They hate Zuko for being the fire nation prince and they make sure to show it(they disregard the fact that he is a thirteen year old kid with a giant scar). they make his life hell in the prison because they cant take it out on Ozai.

Haru's Prison:

-Its a lot like the Earth Kingdom prison but the guards try to help him out. While Ozai has condemned Zuko he is still their prince that spoke out for them and they respect him for that. They try to help him out by giving him extra food, medicine, and stuff like that when they can, but they are limited to the kinds of things that the can do. Because even though they want to help Zuko he is still a prisoner. Which just makes the Earth kingdom prisoners mad at him for getting special treatment.(they are already mad at him for being Ozai's son). The other prisoners pick on and hurt Zuko all the time (our poor turtleduck has no prisoner friends even though he tries so hard) and while the guards try to make sure none of this happens that cant always be there to stop it.

Boiling Rock:

-Since almost everyone at the rock is fire nation Zuko ends up having an okay life( he is still in prison, but its okay). They all know how much of a bastard Ozai is and they all greatly respect their little prince for speaking up for them. So they all pitch him to help raise and protect him from the world while he is there (everyone pitches in: the guards and the prisoners). Even prisoners from other nations that find out that Zuko is the prince gradually join the Zuko protection squad. they also make sure that he still get lessons because he is a kid and he needs to learn stuff so that he can be the fire lord when they are finally able to get him out.

zuko probable becomes friends with Suki and Hakoda later and leaves with them during the prison break. (and if all the guards and prisoners are involved in orchestrating a plan to get our turtleduck out of there then who are we to judge)

And in all of them there would be a prison break and somehow or someway Zuko would end up joining the gaang.

ADD URSA

-It would be really cool if in the story Ozai had actually sent Ursa to this prison before Zuko later shows up and joins her. there they can have mother-son time and at least the prison life wont be so bad. Plus it would be kind of funny and cute. just picture putting momma Ursa into one of the story ideas I have above. It sounds like it would be fun and a catastrophe to all involved. then when the gaang break them out of prison they all would finally have adult supervision. and Sokka and Katara can finally fell a mother's love again. It would be even better if Ursa and Hakoda fall in love, get married, and brings the two families together. (zuko would finally have a happy parental couple in his life). (maybe even have Zuko fall in love with Sokka so there is a double wedding LOL)

Let me know your thoughts on my ideas and if anyone of you are interested in adopting any of them.

[nastybuckybarnes]

Of Kings and Beasts  -  Eight

Pairing: King!Bucky X Princess!Reader X King!Steve

Summary: Born a bastard of the King of Orlen, you’re thrust to the West to marry the Kings. However, the greeting you get is anything but warm, and your life with the King is far from enjoyable. He knows it isn’t your fault his husband is gone, but that fact alone won’t prevent him from taking it out on you.

Warnings: Angst, Injuries, Fluff, 

Word Count: 3.6K

A/n: I’m alive! I know, it’s been like 4 months. I honestly didn't know how to ‘come back’ so this is it. I’ll be answering asks and messages tonight, but things are going okay. I work 54 hours a week so I’m not writing as much as I’d like to but I’m trying!!! I love you all so much, and I hope you enjoy this!

THIS SERIES CONTAINS SMUT AND DARK THEMES THAT MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOME AUDIENCES!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

Series Masterlist

The doctor lies unmoving on a medical cot, stitches across his throat to close the gouge that was meant to end his life.

“Do we have any idea who is behind this? Or why?” Steve asks quietly, eyes darting between his most trusted man and his husband.

“I do not know who is behind it, but I think they are aware that we know.” Steve’s brows pull together at his husband’s words, and he waits for him to continue.

James huffs out a deep breath, glancing around the small room as if checking for any listening ears.

“Doctor Banner found an incision on the base of my skull. Someone has performed an operation on me without my knowing. I’m assuming the Doctor found something out, and while on his way to find me he was ambushed.”

Steve’s still stuck on the fact that his husband has been tampered with.

“What do you mean someone performed an operation on you?” James shakes his head. “I’m not sure what they did, but I have reason to believe that it is why I have been so hostile towards... our wife.” He fears saying your name. He doesn’t want anything to trigger the beast.

“How long have you known this?” Steve demands, angry that James would keep something like this from him.

“Since the day she went out into the snow. I was not sure who I could trust. I still know not. But one thing is certain: someone means to kill our wife and destroy our marriage, and it is someone close to us.” Regret instantly fills the blond king and he excuses himself without another word, head swarming with thoughts that include nothing but pain and punishment.

His feet take him down the spiral staircase, his hands wrenching open the cell door and grabbing the prisoner by his collar.

“Who is it that sent you?! Tell me! Now!” The man is confused for a moment before a yellow-toothed grin splits his face.

“You will tell me now!” Steve pulls his fist back and slams it against the man’s face, but the prisoner only laughs manically.

“Who is it that intends on hurting my wife? On ruining my marriage?” The man shakes his head, blood dribbling down his chin.

“The only one who ruins your marriage and hurts your wife is you, your majesty. But from what I hear through the walls, your bloodline ends with you. The great Kings of the West will be nothing more than fairytales. Their whore wife, a forgotten name. And that will be your doing.” Steve’s vision clouds and he unleashes his fury upon the prisoner, beating him to a bloody pulp until his face is hardly visible.

The King stumbles back, chest heaving and fists covered in blood, while the man slumps to the floor, wheezing and gasping.

“Cut off one head... two more shall take its place,” is the last thing the man utters before collapsing in a pool of his own blood.

Steve stands there, furious and dumbfounded. He’s so lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t realize he isn’t alone anymore until a cool hand is on his shoulder, turning him around.

“What happened?” James asks, his eyes on the dead man on the floor and then on his husband’s bloody fists.

“Your assumption is correct. Someone has orchestrated this and we are being toyed with. Where’s (Y/n)?” The mention of your name has James squeezing his eyes shut as the beast bares its fangs.

“I know not. But you haven’t time for that. Thor and Anthony should be here within the hour. You need to make yourself presentable. We will tell them of our problem and see if they can offer any assistance.” Steve doesn’t want to meet with the other Kings. No, he wants to find you and get on his knees and beg for forgiveness, of which you may or may not grant, but he’s willing to beg and plead in front of his entire kingdom if he needs to.

“Come on. Let’s go get you cleaned up.” James ushers the blond out of the dungeon and to his chambers, his mind racing as he tries to piece the mystery together.

~*~

Your eyes trace over the trails etched in the book in your grasp, trying desperately to memorize them.

You’re so engaged in your reading that you don’t notice the man in front of you until you’re walking into him.

“Oh!” You stumble back, the book falling from your grasp as you lose your footing. The man is quick and grabs you around the waist to prevent you from falling.

“I am very sorry, Your Majesty. You must forgive me, for I was not paying attention to where I was walking.” The man has a deep, booming voice, his accent different than the ones you’re used to.

“It’s quite alright. I was hardly paying attention myself.” You look up at him and your eyebrows raise.

He’s an absolute Adonis of a man.

With beautifully kind blue eyes, a warm and inviting smile, and long locks of blond hair that are pulled back into a half-bun.

“It must be an interesting story that you were reading then?” He questions, hand dropping from around your waist as he stoops down to pick up your book.

“You could say that.” You’re nervous. You know not who this man is nor where his allegiance lies.

“This is a book of maps. Have you a journey planned?” He seems just genuinely curious but you’re defensive nonetheless.  

“Might I ask who you are and why you need to know?” He raises his brows then chuckles.

“I suppose we have not been introduced, although I have heard many things about you. I am King Thor, of Asgard. And you are Queen (Y/n). Born of Orlen but wed in Acadia. The Kings eagerly awaited your arrival, I must say. And you are every bit as beautiful as they said.”

You shake your head bashfully.

“May I know where your journey will take you? It will remain a secret between the two of us. You have my word.” You ponder this for a moment, but he looks so kind and so genuine, you can’t stop yourself from telling him.

“Well if you must know, I’m leaving.” He huffs a breath of surprise.

“Leaving? But for what purpose? You are a queen.”

You laugh softly at that, the tugging up of your cheeks making your cuts burn.

“A queen, yet I am treated like a prisoner. You must forgive me for speaking so plainly in your presence, but I fear that I have lost any sense of... propriety in this place. My husbands may have spoken highly of me, but that was before they met me, I suppose. Now... I am nothing more than a thorn in their sides.”

Thor shakes his head, not believing a word coming from your mouth.

“That cannot be.” You sigh heavily and tug the collar of your gown down, showing him the dark bruises around your neck.

“From his Majesty, King James. And King Steven gave me these.” You show him the bruises on your arms next.

He’s absolutely appalled.

“And I assume they are the ones responsible for these?” One of his warm fingers traces across the marks on your cheeks and you nod.

“I do not blame you for wanting to leave. You must feel stifled.” You nod, taking his outstretched arm and allowing him to lead you down the hallway.

“It... has not been an easy transition. I have not even seen my kingdom yet. I know not what it has to offer nor if it is thriving. I have not met my people or even seen my lands. This place is supposed to be home to me, but it is no more than a prison with hot water and soft sheets.”

Thor’s quiet for a long moment and you regret every speaking. Just as you’re about to tug free from his grip and lock yourself back in your chambers, he turns to you.

“We cannot simply allow you to not know what your kingdom has to offer! I am making it my duty to show you the beauties of Acadia.” Your eyebrows raise.

“But surely you’re here on business? You mustn’t have time for something as tedious as that.” He takes your hand and brings it up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against your knuckles. “A chance to get to know the Queen? Show her that her Kingdom is not all bad? That is not tedious. The Kings can wait. They have Anthony. I will take you through the Kingdom and show you all that there is to see.”

~*~

Thor is true to his word and shows you every nook and cranny in the Kingdom. From the poorest parts to the wealthiest.

“This is the village orphanage. I often come to volunteer my time, however business has kept me away for far longer than I’d like to admit.” You pull your cloak tighter around yourself at the biting chill of the wind, a frown on your face as you look at the run-down building.

“Do the kings not know the ruins of their Kingdom? Surely something can be done to fix this building. The children must be freezing.” You’re reminded of your own experience in the cold confines of the north tower in Orlen. The small chamber you were locked in whenever your adoptive mother did not want to see you.

“The Kings often busy themselves with their work. They are conquerors. They have not the time for such trivial tasks. It would be the duty of a queen to fix the Kingdom, here at least. They are my friends, and they are good at taking, however it seems they know little of giving back.” You nod at this, knowing firsthand how much they can take and not give back.

“I wish I had known that the kingdom was in such ruins. I would have made it my priority.” He looks at you for a long moment, wondering what on Earth could cause the Kings to treat you so poorly.

“If you would like, I can help you to arrange some repairs? Perhaps we can make it your project? Have you in charge of it. It could be your first official duty as Queen.” You smile but shake your head sadly, turning away from the orphanage and back towards your horses.

“I doubt the Kings would approve of something like that. I’m sure I will have their wrath to face for having kept you from your business for so long. I fear what they will do to me, if I am quite honest with you. Steven was lovely before but... he has... I know not how to explain it.” Thor comes up behind you and places a gentle hand on your shoulder.

“I will ensure that they do not bring any more harm to you, Petal. You have endured far more than should be expected of you. You have little to gain, and yet you remain here for them.” You shrug, walking with him to your horses.

“My situation were I to leave would not be very different. I have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. I am alone both in the Kingdom and outside of it.” Thor hates the truth behind your words.

“Come, let’s get you back to the Palace before you catch your death.” He helps you up onto the horse then gets on his, mind full of everything you’ve told him and all that he needs to discuss with the Kings.

~*~

He walks you to your chambers, having told Wanda to draw a warm bath for you. As he reaches the wooden door, he pauses and smiles warmly at you.

“I very much enjoyed our time today, Your Majesty. I hope to spend more time with you during my stay. But unfortunately, I must go.”

As he’s turning to leave, a voice calls your name. The way you stiffen has Thor grinding his teeth together in frustration.

“Your Majesty,” you greet, bowing your head to your husband while your hand inches to your door.

“May I speak with you? Please?” You open your mouth to reply but Thor cuts you off.

“Actually, Steven, I believe you and I have matters of our own.” And just like that, The booming blond ushers your husband down the hallway. Steve’s blue eyes stay on you, his head turned to look over his shoulder as much as he can until they round the corner and render you out of sight.

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and enter your bedroom, smiling tightly at Wanda as she helps you into your bath.

~*~

“You were with (Y/n) all day?” Thor shrugs, “would it matter if I was? It seems that I am the only friend she has.” Steve grinds his teeth together but huffs a breath out through his nose.

“I understand that I have been unfair, but all I want is to make things better between the two of us.”

Thor shakes his head, thick arms crossed over his broad chest as he looks between the two kings. “That can wait. What is it that you needed to discuss with me so urgently?”

Steve sighs and looks over at James as if trying to figure out where to begin.

“We believe that someone is trying to sabotage our marriage to break us apart and overthrow our rule. And it must be someone close to us. James has been... tampered with. And I was made to question the loyalties of my own wife. My anger and haste for answers have... brought forth a beast I had hoped to keep hidden from her. And I fear I have played my part in the sabotage of my marriage.” Thor thinks about how helpless you sounded, how absolutely broken down you seemed and can’t help but agree with Steve’s words.

“If someone is plotting to overthrow your rule, they must be close. Close enough to know of any decisions being made. It would be wise to deceive them.” James furrows his brows in confusion. “Make it seem as if they are winning. Send away your wife and tell no one the truth.”

Steve’s shocked at the suggestion.

“Send her away? To where? And with whom? We cannot very well abandon her when people mean to kill her!” Thor purses his lips for a moment before smiling.

“She won’t be alone.”

The other two Kings stare at him as if he’s grown a second head.

“You mean to stay with her? And protect her?”

“Your wife is a spitfire, that much I can tell. She may come across as a woman of few words, but she has a raging soul that cannot be so easily tamed. She wishes to leave you, plans to.”

James’ shoulders cave and Steve’s face crumbles.

“She told you this?” The brunet asks, voice hoarse and weak.

“Not in so many words, but the desire is there. She is unhappy. If she would agree, I would take her to Asgard to be a wife of my own, however, her heart is loyal to Acadia.” The two kings each glare at the big blond man, angry at the very thought of someone taking their wife from them.

Thor continues, unbothered by their anger.

“Which is why she should be sent away. I have a cottage at the border of Asgard and Acadia. My men will be around and you can send men of your own. I will stay with her until she is comfortable and then I will take my leave, but for her safety and her sanity, she must leave the Palace.”

The silence in the room hangs heavily over all three men for a long while before Steve nods.

“Very well. If it is truly in her best interests, then fine. But I will not shun her without giving her a proper explanation.” Thor bows his head as Steve rushes past him, heading towards your chambers.

He knocks once then slowly pushes the door open, desperate to see you and grovel at your feet.

You’re seated on your bed, a book in hand and a shocked expression on your face.

“Your Majesty,” you greet softly, bowing your head.

“No, (Y/n) none of that. I was... out of line. I will never be able to apologize enough for everything I have done to you.” You say nothing but your heart hurts at the fact that Thor clearly told him something.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Your Majesty,” you say stiffly, moving your gaze back down to the book in your lap.

He sits on the edge of your bed, his eyes on the scratches decorating your delicate face.

“We have been unkind and unfair to you, my darling. I hope that one day you will forgive us, but until then, there is something we must discuss.” You have no idea where this conversation could be going, and that thought alone scares you.

“You will be leaving tonight.”

Your face must display the confusion and fear you feel at his words because he’s quick to clarify.

“Joining Thor and staying in a cottage where our kingdoms border. There are people here, people close to myself and James that wish to do you harm.” He takes your hand gently between both of his and presses a soft kiss to your fingers.

“It pains me to do it, but I know you need it as well. You’ve been deprived here. No friends and no family. We’ve treated you terribly and not as Queen should be treated." You keep your eyes cast down towards your lap, unable to bear seeing the King so distraught in front of you.

He sniffles and places another kiss to the back of your hand.

“I hope that you will return soon, but if you must take time then I understand. When you do decide you are ready to return, we will both be waiting with open arms.” He pauses for another moment before speaking again, his voice softer than before.

“I had hoped that James would join me but he... he is not well. But he misses you dearly, of that I am certain. The days will darken with your departure.” He presses another kiss to your knuckles then slowly rises to his feet.

“No one is to know the true reason for your departure. You mustn't tell anyone, for I fear you will not be safe if you do. Can you promise me that?” He asks, his eyes full of desperation and sorrow.

“Yes, your majesty.” His heart cracks at the fact that you’re still not addressing him by his name, but he realizes it will take time for the bond to be rebuilt between the two of you.

“Wanda will pack your things then you will be met by Thor and he will take you somewhere safe.” He cups your cheek gently, sniffling and trying to fight tears.

“I am so very sorry that your own home is a place that causes you pain.” With that, he turns on his heel and exits your chambers without so much as another glance, the pain he’s feeling evident in the tightness of his shoulders and the stiffness of his walk.

It’s not five minutes later when Thor is at the door to your chambers, sliding a thick wool cloak over your shoulders and pulling the hood up to cover your face.

“Just a precaution, Your Majesty. And the wind has a bit of a bite to it. But a carriage is waiting.” You nod your understanding and follow him silently out of the palace that has been no more than a prison to you.

Steve and James watch from separate windows as you climb into the carriage, not sparing a single glance back at the palace. But they cannot find it in themselves to blame you. What you have been forced to endure is far worse than anyone should have to. Especially someone as delicate as yourself.

A dark cloud falls over the kingdom as their queen is whisked away, brought to a safe haven that their kings couldn’t provide, by a man who is not even a member of their kingdom.

~*~

The journey to Thor’s cottage is a fairly quiet one, far too many thoughts racing in your mind and feelings in your heart.

“You are unhappy to be leaving the Palace?” Thor asks, confusion evident in his voice. You sigh heavily and shake your head, turning to look at him.

“It is a relief to be able to speak freely, however, I cannot help the guilt that I feel. It is my duty to do what the require of me, regardless of whether or not I enjoy it.” Thor shakes his head, a frown on his handsome face.

“No human should ever have to endure that. Regardless of their duties. You will not be shunned by the kings and even if you were, I’m sure Orlen would accept you back with open arms.”

You chuckle once, the sound dull and lacking humour.

“Orlen could not care any less about me if they tried. I’m not a princess to them. Merely the bastard of a King. One who was convenient to use in a trade agreement. My father would have me beheaded if he knew I was running from the kings.”

Thor is rendered speechless by this new information, his heart heavy for you, the delicate princess who deserves a far better fate than the one gifted to her.

[shinjaeha]

bad buddy ep 10 (thoughts)

ep 10 completely wiped me out for a good few days. in the same way that ep 5 left me in a distracted daze the whole week, ep 10 kicked me in the chest at full force and i’m still reeling from the impact of it all.

phenomenal. idk how this show keeps exceeding my expectations, but somehow it keeps doing it. i thought ep 5 was going to remain my fave ep of this show forever bc of how much emotional it made me, but then ep 10 happened and made me feel emotions i didn’t even know i could FEEL and it just up and knocked the breath (and tears) right out of me.

anyway, i’m just SO GLAD that they postponed this ep bc i would have for sure spent new year’s crying my eyes out so that was a good move on gmmtv’s part for sure 😭

so in the excitement of the new ep, i almost forgot that we left off on pat’s parents seeing pran exiting his room and ngl...the way he got all flustered and left the scene to avoid confronting them is absolutely something i would have done as well. it would almost have been funny if my poor heart wasn’t beating so fast for him.

i love that pat’s gun excuse wasn’t even a lie (though a half truth, i guess, but understandable). kind of telling that his dad’s first question after seeing his son who was just SHOT wasn’t about his wellbeing but to ask why pran was there...talk about red flags...

i have such different feelings about his dad’s apology rewatching this than upon my first watch. the first time, i really thought that maybe his dad wouldn’t be that hard to win over after all...now i realise that it says a lot that pat told pran he’s never seen his dad like that before in his entire life. poor boy was SO excited :( only for the image of his father to be ripped to shreds at the end of the ep.

i like their conversation by the bins bc it really highlights how different their personalities are. pat, ever positive and idealistic about the rift between their families potentially being mended through this incident. pran, more negative and realistic about their situation. the characterisations are so consistent and have stayed the same since the start (look at the difference in their reactions after the rooftop kiss).

love that pat basically just lives at pran’s dorm now :’)

SO. LET ME TALK ABOUT WHY STAIRWAY ‘PROPOSAL’/CONFESSION SCENE IS EVERYTHING TO ME.

we get scenes like this in het rom coms ALL THE TIME, so it’s just so lovely and heartwarming to see this adorable, cheesy, public confession between two boys be such a normalised thing?? like to have the entire architecture crowd just cheering them on????? i am, and always will be, a hopeless romantic so i loved every single thing about this.

i specifically love that it was orchestrated by pran and his friends (and his mentor?? that guy was so drunk i thought he was gonna fall down the stairs omg). this was pran’s way of showing pat how much he loved him. even if he technically wasn’t the one that was declaring his love publicly like pat, he set the whole plan into motion bc he KNEW that this was what pat always wanted. for their relationship to be out in the open, no more hiding, no more sneaking around their friends and faculties. he gave pat the chance to express his feelings in a forum much more public than instagram...to announce to the world (or to pran’s faculty at least), that he’s taken like he said he wanted in ep 8.

and that in itself is a gesture on pran’s part too, since it proves how he's all in for pat now as well. he’s completely okay with their relationship being out in the open (aside from their parents for obvious reasons), and even encourages pat to confess to him. it lays the groundwork for the latter half of the ep bc this scene really solidifies their relationship officially. to me, it shows that they’ll be able to weather through whatever storm that comes their way together.

something else that makes me happy about this scene is that this is the both of them actually being vocal and public about their relationship on their own terms. they were outed against their will the first time, but now it’s all them. THEIR the ones choosing to turn this into a public declaration of their love for one another. i especially love that, like everything else, pran turns pat’s love declaration into a challenge for him, and as always, pat is up to the task.

pran changing his password to ‘praninlove’ he’s such a hidden SAP and i love it :’))) and pat saying pran likes origami is such a cute detail bc it brings me back to ep 2 during the secret admirer arc when pran folded the little origami crane for pat (even though he didn’t know it was pat back then). that’s so adorable.

everything pat mentions is something we already know about pran, and that makes me feel like i’m in love with him too 😂

i also really like that this is basically their big romeo and juliet balcony scene, but it’s not just pat walking up there to meet pran at the top (like how romeo climbs up the balcony to meet juliet in most stage/film adaptations). it’s pat ascending the stairs as pran descends them so the two of them meet halfway. always as equals. bad buddy shows us this time and time again. how the two of them are never too stubborn to give in/let the other ‘win’...they’re always making compromises for one another and meeting each other halfway (like how they literally meet each other in the middle of the stairway).

they’ve fist bumped at every stage of their relationship now. it’s been their thing since the beginning 😭

it’s not that i wasn’t expecting waikorn...but i also wasn’t really expecting it, if you know what i mean?? 😂 it was nice to see them share in on the product placement scenes too haha. and at least now we know that everything is fully reconciled with their friends. they won’t be holding them back anymore (and, if anything, i hope they’ll be there to support them when they need it most).

how much do i love that pat didn’t go down the stereotypical protective/possessive older brother route when wai asked if he could hit on his sister. he basically just told him that it was all her decision...and that he could shoot his shot if he wanted, but he had competition. it’s the bare minimum, but it’s so nice to see an older brother actually respect his sister and her decisions in her own love life for once.

speaking of paa’s love life, ink buying her a not so anonymous cake and making paa question her feelings!! THEY’RE HONESTLY THE CUTEST AND I LOVE THEM IN EVERY WAY.

chai coming with the tea (pun intended)!!!!!!! no, but fr i’m so glad that they could reveal their relationship to an adult who already knows about the feud between both their families, and who actually accepts their relationship, encourages them, and tells them that one day things will get better (my fave kind of foreshadowing). i also love that chai caught onto them pretty much right away when he’s only ever seen them interact together like three times. literally no one else that was around them ever figured our their relationship (aside from maybe ink).

i def knew that the animosity between their parents had to do with more than just the business, but i wasn’t expecting everything about the business to be a lie that they were keeping up.

i can’t believe i really got the paa asking pat for advice on her love life bonding scene i’ve been craving this whole time :’) and then pat just spinning her own love guru advice back onto her. their relationship is the absolute sweetest!!

inkpaa picnic/photography lesson date!!!!!!!!!! paa using her first two signs to test whether ink feels anything and getting virtually no response other than confirming to herself that SHE likes ink though 😭 esp when wai comes onto the scene and she can see him react (very expressively) to the first two signs, but she’s not feeling the same way AT ALL. all that does is make her compare how she feels for the two of them and solidify her feelings for ink once again.

okay but i laughed so hard at ink’s reaction the entire time wai was there. she was SO fed up with him omg. the way she literally only said bye to pran when they were leaving, and the final glare she shot wai (and his reaction to it)?? comedy gold.

at least wai was perceptive enough to pick up on it and give up on paa though!! i almost felt bad for him (and that’s on jimmy’s utter adorableness tbh).

ink finally showing the third sign without paa being the one to prompt her (thanks wai)!!!!! i don’t think you understand how i SCREAMED when ink asked paa if she was dating anyone and paa responded that she had someone she liked!!!!!!!!!!!! i’m so in love with them!!!!!!!!!

i think most of us called that whatever their feud was about, it was always between pat’s dad and pran’s mum...so it wasn’t really a shock that they both went to the same high school together (i knew they had to have some deep rooted history to have such animosity for one another).

i do think it’s nice seeing pat and pran do all their detective work together though. they’re so cute.

seeing them back at their old high school to find out more about their parents made me so excited bc i LOVE their high school flashback scenes. pran grinning with those dimples as he watched pat get punished?? and then not denying it when pat teased him about how he’d just confessed that he’s been looking at him like that since high school?? they have the strongest hold over my heart.

pat carrying pran’s bag JUST BOYFRIEND THINGS.

anyway, i just love seeing them be so out in the open about their love now. and having pat joke with their old teacher about how they’re a couple now. it’s the happiness they deserve :’)

not the my school president boys covering patpran’s song!!!!! so they really left a legacy at this school, huh.

pran was trying so hard to avoid even holding the guitar bc he knew it would make him want to start playing again...it makes me so sad that he has to suppress this part of himself and keep saying he’s quit (when he clearly LOVES playing the guitar) bc his mum doesn’t want him playing it :( but he played the song he was writing for pat bc pat asked him too and he really just loves him that much ;;;

i love how pat’s been encouraging pran's guitar playing since high school too bc he knows it’s something that truly makes pran happy (and brought them together).

idk this scene is just so BEAUTIFUL. pran singing the love song he wrote specifically for pat directly to him...pat getting to listen to the love of his life serenade him with a song meant only for him...and all of this happening in their old school, on the stage where they were initially torn apart. the softness and love in the expressions of their face as they gaze at one another. now this...THIS is romance. this is love in its purest form. they had bad memories the last time they saw each other at this school, but now they get to create a new memory. a good one.

i’m gonna need gmmtv to drop the full version of this song asap, but i don’t think it’ll happen until we see pran perform it in full on the show (prob in ep 12)...

that flashback of pat running after pran to give him his guitar only for it to be too late...and then he kept his guitar for YEARS on the off chance he’d be able to give it back to him 😭 and, in the end, he DID. i will never not be choked up about this.

it’s interesting to me that their teacher knew so much more about pat’s dad than she did about pran’s mum. i wonder if he had more sway bc of his status (since she mentioned that he was head of the class and basically participated in every school event), and that’s why he was more easily believed when he said that pran’s mum didn’t want the scholarship...

absolutely LOVE the noodle shop scene with pat and paa. it’s so sweet?? the fact that they fight one another on who gets to talk first instead of the usual “you go first” is SUCH sibling behaviour. and pat always gives in to his little sister :’)

you can tell that paa is more nervous about telling pat that it’s ink that she likes than that it’s a girl (which makes sense since pat likes a boy, so of course he would be accepting of paa liking a girl). the way they're constantly confiding in one another is so lovely to see. i don’t think i’ve seen that many sibling relationships in media that are this open and supportive (and it reminds me a lot of my own relationship with my brother, so their scenes always have a special place in my heart).

it’s nice that paa checked in with pat first to make sure he was okay with her liking ink (since pat liked her originally). even though pat’s feelings for ink never ran that deep, i still think it was a really respectful thing to do. i love that he was the first person she told too. this show gives us some of the best, healthiest relationships (barring their parents).

paa is legit sooooooooo adorable. the complete heart eyes she has for ink now????? she looks at her with so much adoration. like she’s just glowing in ink’s presence and it’s actually the cutest thing in the whole world.

THE DARK ROOM SCENE OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i want this scene tattooed onto the backs of my eyelids so i can watch it forever. i love everything about it.

paa not being able to take her eyes away from ink, and then looking on the verge of tears the entire time she thought ink was only being nice to her bc she was her peer mentor (i cannot praise love enough for her acting in this scene!! she just about broke my heart with how sad paa was).

“i like it so much that i thought i was special to you” and “it’s my fault to think of you as more than just a peer mentor” i knew that ink would step up, but even still, I WAS ABOUT TO CRY. i don’t ever want to see paa sad :((((((((((

what i love so much about pat and paa is that they’re both so honest in everything they say and do. when they feel something for someone, they can’t keep it in. they need to act upon it, or say it out loud, immediately. that gene is so strong in the both of them (and they didn’t get it from their dad, that’s for sure...).

when ink said that she had to fight the whole faculty in order to get paa as her peer mentee, my heart LEAPED. also, seeing how she shoos every boy in her path (esp wai) away, i 100000% believe her. idk how anyone would have the guts to fight ink 😂 AND THEN CONFESSING THAT SHE’S LIKED HER SINCE HIGH SCHOOL (even back before paa had her uni ‘glow up’). the first time i watched this, i could barely believe it was happening. like i thought they were happening from the get go bc of all the hints, but to have it actually confirmed fr is an entirely different feeling than just knowing but not being completely certain.

“Someone with the smiles I want to keep to myself only”. i would crumble into a million pieces if anyone confessed to me irl like this. it is legit my ideal confession. a relationship literally developing in a dark room with the perfect amount of cute and heartfelt. and then ink cupping paa’s face in her hands, the kisses, holding her hand. it has EVERYTHING. bless this show for giving us the GL we deserve (now we just need a full series...where’s the inkpaa spin off pls).

i get so giddy every time i even just think about this scene, okay. i love it to pieces :’)

pat and pran finally getting to go on their hot pot date in public!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pran constantly saying that he’s not going to play guitar anymore, but still getting it serviced anyway as if we don’t all know that he’s going to finish writing that song for pat!!

not pat and his “call my big bro” kink i- 😭

the ‘proposal’ scene...and now the talk about rings is giving me some big engagement/marriage vibes. why do i get the feeling they’ll either be engaged or married by the end of this drama. calling it now for ep 12!!

but first, the fall out :(((((((((

the whole last 16 mins of this ep was just heartbreak after heartbreak. they buttered us up with the fluff, and then everything came crashing down like we always knew it was going to, but it honestly still hurt me so much more than i was anticipating.

this was the worst place for them to be found out by pat’s parents. in public like this, and then for pat’s dad to lose all reason, charge at him, and immediately get physical like that in front of everyone????? imagine what he’d be like in private then... :///

what gets me is that pran...pran who HATES confrontation, who avoids it like the plague (like he did in the beginning of this ep, or after their first kiss), still stepped between them the second he saw pat’s dad push him. even when, in every scene we’ve seen them interact, he appears to be afraid of pat’s dad (and understandably so). he still put that fear aside and tried to protect pat the moment he saw that pat could get hurt...only for HIM to be the one flung to the ground by pat’s dad instead. and then pat immediately dropping to check if he was alright the moment he saw what his dad did :(

up until then, pat was trying to keep the peace...i don’t think he would have said anything more to his parents, but he got angry (and impulsive) as soon as his dad hurt pran...bc if there’s one thing he can’t stand, it’s when pran’s hurt in any way. and even in that anger, you can still see how scared he is to tell his parents that pran is his boyfriend. but it’s been bubbling up for so long that it all had to come out at some point, and in that moment through the anger and the hurt, i don’t think pat saw any other choice.

you can really see how terrified pat’s dad is as soon as pat brings up that he knows about the history between him and pran’s mum. you know he’s buried this secret of his deep, deep down somewhere and done everything in his power to make sure it never saw the light of day again.

god, and then pran feeling so overwhelmed by everything that’s happened...he’s been rejected in words by pat’s dad before (when he was hiding under the bed in ep 2), and now he’s been physically pushed to the ground by him. the unexpected confrontation pushing him over the edge and making him lash out at pat bc it’s all just too much :( and then the look on his face when pat listens to his request and walks away to talk to his dad...like he immediately feels bad for it. and like he’s absolutely devastated and terrified about what this might mean for them. about the possibility of pat being wrenched away from him once again.

honestly, bless chai. i really love how supportive he is of the both of them, the only adult that’s acting like an adult rn. how he offers to stay with pran when he confronts his mum is just really lovely of him.

pran hiding his guitar from his mum before he enters the house like he’s trying to hide away his feelings ;;; i’m certain he would have kept his relationship with pat hidden too if it hadn’t been for his mum pressing him so hard about what was going on between the two of them.

but just like pat in the scene before, and maybe that’s where he got the courage to say it out loud too, he admits the truth about their relationship to his mother. like i said before, pran tends to avoid confrontations at all costs, but the constant suppression has made him a ticking time bomb. when he confronts his mum, it hurts bc everything he’s telling her has been building up inside of him for years and years at this point. all the emotional trauma. all the pain. he’s pushed so much of it down for so long that it was only a matter of time before he erupted.

i’m so glad that pran called his mum out on the way she pushed all these expectations on him and how it wasn’t his job to upkeep her reputation for her. all of these parents not being able to accept that their children are individuals with their own thoughts and feelings. it’s so awful.

“because you raised me this way, that’s why i’m not like other kids” damn. that line is so powerful. not that she doesn’t deserve it bc of everything pran’s had to go through as a child till now, but it would absolutely kill me inside if i was a mother and heard my own child say that to me and mean it.

it in no way excuses the slap, but the heightened emotions are so real. and at least it looked like she regretted what she did straight after it.

the resentment and hurt on pran’s face though...the look in his eyes...i. am. distraught (both nanon and p’ple are so incredible).

as soon as she started marching over to pat’s place i knew shit was going to go DOWN, and this whole sequence of events was just so intense and emotionally draining...it was a lot to take in.

(i’m gonna use their parents names interchangeably here bc i find it easier this way).

so one of the things that i was always worried about with this series was that they weren’t going to make the family rift deep enough to justify why both the families despised each other so much (and kept trying to make their children compete/keep them apart). if it had been just a lover’s quarrel, i wouldn’t have been sold tbh. esp after sooooooo many years, and with the two having already married different people. but STEALING A SCHOLARSHIP?? now THIS is a good reason to me.

speaking from personal experience in my own family, my parents grew up in south east asia, and they grew up poor. bc of this, my mum was never able to go to university. my dad, as the only boy in his family, was. i can only IMAGINE how much a scholarship would have meant to a girl who wasn’t well off, living in thailand in the 90s. it would have changed EVERYTHING for her. like dissaya says, it was literally her whole future. by taking away her chance at this scholarship, ming stole her future and any opportunities that she could have had away from her. i would be LIVID. honestly, livid doesn’t even cover it.

this confrontation should have happened a long time ago, but the fact that she kept all of these feelings festering inside of her for over 20 years just proves to me that she really is pran’s mother.

no matter what dissaya has gone through, this will never excuse how pran’s been treated, but i can’t help but empathise with her at the same time. at least now i can understand why she has so much hatred for pat’s dad (and family by association). now i can understand why she freaked out and immediately made pran transfer schools the moment she realised that pat and pran had become close. she was projecting all the trauma she’d experienced from ming onto pat, and she was afraid that pat would do the same thing to her son.

it was fine before bc if they were always fighting/rivals, it meant that pat and pran would never be close enough for pat to jeopardise pran’s future. but if they became friends?? it hits much too close for comfort for her.

and the thing with pran is that he internalises his feelings so much that i don’t think dissaya ever realised just how much of an impact pressuring him, imprinting this mindset on him, and transferring him to another school (and taking him away from his only sources of happiness: his guitar and pat) really had on him. she prob never truly realised until pran finally told her how he felt during their argument.

but she did. she made him inherit all the anger and resentment she felt towards ming...she fostered the environment that gave him all this emotional trauma, manifesting in his need to keep things to himself, shut down instead of confronting things head on, and his need for control (his OCD tendencies). i’ve also mentioned this before, but pran is constantly being punished every time he allows himself to be happy/expresses himself (from having to transfer schools, to being pushed to the ground, to being slapped). it’s only natural for him to  continue to shut himself down and lock away his feelings from his friends and family. to keep everyone away except pat bc pat is the only one who lets him feel what he feels, and never pressures him into anything else.

idk i’m just heartbroken for both of them for different reasons. dissaya didn’t deserve what happened to her, but pran didn’t deserve all the expectations placed upon him bc of what she experienced. it’s generational trauma.

and don’t even let me get started on MING. so ming really was the bad buddy all along, huh.

i understand how difficult it can be growing up in an asian household where you’re constantly pressured by your parents, i KNOW it’s not easy to live up to parental expectations, but what he did was despicable. and to then place all that same pressure on your own son when you’ve experienced it all before?? this is obviously pretty common...that’s how cycles of abuse and trauma get passed down, but it’s just so vile to me that he made pat compete with pran (hate him) knowing FULL WELL that he was in the wrong. and it’s something that he can barely admit it to himself, let alone apologise for what he did.

it’s honestly amazing to me how caring and balanced his children grew up to be despite how selfish he is. hie ego was too big for him to even apologise, and instead he made everything so much worse. dissaya must have been seething this whole time. ming making his son compete against her son after everything that he did to her...like i don’t condone how she responded to it, but i can see why, clouded by her anger, she’d make pran compete against pat too to spite him. their children were just soldiers in the war that their parents were fighting.

and to take a scholarship that he didn’t even need from someone that actually NEEDED it, not use it, and then just end up running the family business instead?? it really makes it so much worse. like rubbing salt in the wound. fuck this guy.

you can see that there was some level of guilt that he felt (thinking that giving chai up and letting them run a business to compete with his would somehow make them even??), but it’s just so misguided. and so buried under his own pride and need to save face. no wonder ming wants to live vicariously through pat so badly...it feel like some sort of clean slate for him. and it makes the hypocrisy of him constantly being on pat’s case about lying make a lot more sense. it’s like he’s overcompensating bc he knows that HE’S the one that told the biggest lie of all. bc underneath it all, he knows that he’s the one in the wrong, but he just can’t admit it.

other than the rooftop hug, the scene where pat asks his father whether the reason he had to hate pran all this time was bc of him, hit me SO damn hard. remember at the beginning of the ep when pat was feeling so positive that their parents might be able to get over their feud?? compare how he was in that scene to how he is in this one. he’s devastated. it hurts so much bc, although pat’s an emotionally expressive person, we rarely see him cry like this. but his wavering voice, the way you can see his tears literally welling up, the utter disappointment on his face. you can pinpoint the exact moment when his heart breaks bc his father, someone he’s respected and looked up to his whole life, isn’t the person he thought he was at all. it’s the complete disillusionment (ohm tore my heart to shreds in this...everyone acted so well).

it keeps making me cry bc pat’s felt guilty this WHOLE time. for not thanking pran properly when he saved paa, for getting him transferred, and now, worst of all, for his father being the root cause of the whole rift in the first place. none of this is his fault, of course, but it’s like the guilt keeps following him around bc of the actions of their parents. it was one of the reasons he kept trying to make amends with pran in the first place, but they keep getting caught up in the mess created by their families.

and then to have his mum defend his dad after all that?? hell no. these boys deserve so much better.

finally, rooftop scene. what even needs to be said about this. i didn’t think anything could match the emotions of ep 5′s rooftop scene, but this scene is SPECTACULAR. heart wrenching in the best way. the first time i watched this, i didn’t even cry bc i was just feeling too many things at once, but every single time i’ve watched this since, i’ve bawled my eyes out. i think when you get to sit with the emotions more, it hits so much deeper.

the rooftop is truly their special place. they’re always meeting up here during a turning point in their relationship.

i love the parallels with the ep 5 rooftop kiss. the charged emotions, the intimacy...but i love the differences between both these scenes now that their relationship has changed and developed so much. instead of pran walling his emotions up again and walking away like he did in ep 5, this time he lets it all out. lets pat see him at his most vulnerable, and leans on him for support instead bc he knows pat will always be there to catch him. pat’s his safe space.

the hug is so incredibly beautiful and meaningful. when pat first sees him, he looks at pran with such love and care...such openness and surety, and the only thing pran can do is crumble and cry into the arms of the person he feels safest with. poor boy is so incredibly drained. i love that pran hugs pat like he’s his lifeline, latches onto him and locks him in place, but pat hugs him like he knows he needs to be his pillar rn. the reassurance and the comfort of pat stroking pran’s hair, holding him close, and making sure that pran knows that he’s there for him ;;; even when pran pulls away from him, he’s still got a hand on the back of his neck. it’s clearly tearing pat up inside too, but he only cries when pran can’t see his face bc he knows that pran needs to be consoled the most in this moment, and he has to stay strong and support him as best he can. he needs to be the anchor.

pran’s “i can’t take it anymore” is so devastating bc you know that pran would only admit it out loud like this if he was at the end of his tether. it’s taken such a toll on him (the both of them), and i’m so glad that they’ll be getting away from the toxicity of their environment again in the next ep bc they NEED it.

not to mention, it makes sense that they would go back to the first place they ever felt like they could exist together in peace. no external conflict for them to worry about, and nothing there trying to tear them apart. it’s only a temporary reprieve, but it’s a reprieve all the same.

anyway, i always find it interesting that their parents’ feud is what has constantly pulled them into each other’s orbits. at first bc they were forced to compete against one another, but now it’s bc they have no one else left but one other to rely on. their parents have made it so no one else has the same shared experiences as the both of them do, unintentionally tying them together, and all it’s done is made their bond and love for each other stronger than ever. it’s the thing that unites them against all odds, but instead of being pushed together by circumstances like all the times before, this time they’re CHOOSING one another over the war between their parents, finding the comfort and solace they so desperately crave in each other’s arms.

they gave us a bit of everything in this ep. from the highs of the stairway confession and inkpaa in the dark room, to the lows of everything exploding the moment their parents found out about them and the rooftop hug...this ep was SO jam packed.

i don’t think any drama has ever taken me on such an intense emotional rollercoaster of a ride for so long before, but i’m grateful for every second of it. i’m so grateful for this revolving door of every emotion in existence bc nothing has ever made me feel the way that bad buddy does.

only two eps left and i can’t wait for the next one bc i genuinely have NO IDEA how things are going to pan out for them (though i’m certain that we’ll get the happy ending we’re all rooting for, i just don’t know how we’ll get there).

i’m really going to be so lost when i don’t have this drama to look forward to every friday. the thought of it makes me so sad, but at the same time, i’m already counting down the days until i can rewatch it from beginning to end again.

[alicanta77]

NCT Dream Reaction: Dating Jaehyun’s younger sister

Mark:

ok this is probably his worst nightmare

like 7 billion people on this planet

7 BILLION

and mark somehow managed to fall for his bandmates sister

he 10000% did the biggest face palm in history when he realised he had feelings for you

takes him about a year to feel even slightly relaxed in a room with both you and jaehyun in at the same time

he just feels like he broke the bro code

even though jaehyun has said to him multiple times it’s okay

he can’t relax around him for a while

eventually tho he gets over himself with a LOT of convincing from you and jae

and things become much less tense

and it probably ends up with a really nice dynamic

it’s essentially the Ross, Chandler and Monica dynamic from Friends

when mark hadn’t seen you in a while cause of work, jae would be the one to invite you over

jae would be the one to help convince management to let you visit them on tour

and he would often offer to go out on your dates so that people didn’t question it if you were spotted

he essentially does everything he can to help your relationship cause he loves the both of you

Renjun:

would really love it if you didn’t tell him

like ever

but unfortunately you have at some point

so you drag a whiny renjun to the 127 dorms to tell him

jaehyun probably only annoyed that it took you so long to tell him

he wants to know what’s going on in your life so that he can support you

however happy jae seems to be for the two you

renjun still thinks that jaehyun is orchestrating his death for the next four months

‘why do you think he wants you dead???’

‘because i’ve corrupted his baby sister!!!! everyone knows he’s protective of you!!!! why wouldn’t he want me dead???’

‘because he can see i’m happy???’

this is basically how your conversation goes everytime

until hyuck causally drops into convo that jae was talking to the guys about how much he loves that you’re dating renjun

and renjun feels like he just got a blessing from god

feels the need to see you immediately

‘HE DOESN’T HATE ME!!!’

‘thank god you realised! if only someone had been telling you that for the past few months!’

yeah he just shuts up you sarcasm with a massive kiss

not that you’re complaining

Jeno:

goes straight to doyoung for advice on how to tell jaehyun

doesn’t appreciate doyoung laughing at him because jaehyun’s going to kill him for dating his baby sister

when doyoung realises it isn’t a joke he probably freaks out

‘YOU’RE AN IDIOT OH YOU ARE SO DEAD!!! YOU’RE DATING JAEHYUN’S SISTER?’

‘huh?’ *jaehyun walking into doyoung’s room*

both jeno and doyoung just sit there staring at him

‘jeno, are you dating my baby sister?’ 

jaehyun’s eyes start narrowing as jeno’s are widening in fear

‘possibly’ *voice crack*

‘oh thank god it’s you, i thought it was doyoung for a second and i would have hated that!’

jaehyun’s laughing and ruffles jeno’s hair while jeno tries to catch his breath as his soul returns to his body

the boy’s just realised he’s not going to be murdered

‘you- you really don’t mind?’

‘no i always thought the two of you would end up together, i’m just glad you figured it out quickly’

after this jaehyun can’t help but see how much jeno’s smiles around you

and how you always seem to be in a good mood around him

and he decides that he doesn’t want see the either of you any other way

Donghyuck:

as teasing as donghyuck is

i think it would take him a while to become teasing about this with jaehyun

he just cares about you so much and doesn’t want to lose you

so he refuses to do anything that may give jaehyun a reason to take you away from him

literally goes to the length of acting as jaehyun’s personal slave for a week until jae feels too bad to let it continue

‘haechan, i’m not going to make her leave you. you don’t have to do this’

hyuck relaxes a bit after that

but i think he would be one to avoid talking about your relationship as much as possible

jaehyun probably has to find everything out from johnny

he probably pretends to switch rooms with johnny for a night just to mess with hyuck

after that it becomes a slight war

that poor you becomes stuck in the middle of

you act as a mediator for their arguments too

every so often hyuck forgets you’re jaehyun’s sister and makes a joke or something

‘sorry boys, gotta spend some time with the old ball and chain’ *wink*

‘WHAT?!?!’

‘no wait i was joking please don’t take her away from me i love her so much’ *on his knees*

jae would definitely abuse enjoy this new found power over hyuck

Jaemin:

im pretty sure jaehyun is jaemin’s favourite hyung

they have a v cute dynamic and have mentioned that they were close in trainee days

so i think jaemin would be absolutely terrified for jaehyun to find out

like properly terrified

like, when he does find out jaemin just accepts that the relationship is over, terrified

so you have to calm him down and talk to your brother and bf separately

jaemin would probably also do some nice things for jaehyun leading up to when you’re planning to tell him

such as buying him food and stuff

poor jaemin’s really bricking it

but after jaemin realises that jaehyun isn’t going to kill him and you aren’t going to leave him

he relaxes into the ultimate bf material that we all know he is

isn’t shy about showing his affection for you around jae

but always makes sure to keep it respectful

jaemin easily proves to jaehyun how much he loves you

and it takes jaehyun very little time to become so damn supportive of your relationship

it’s probably jaehyun who argues with management about letting the two of you go out in secret

so now you’ve got both your brother and boyfriend who are willing to do literally anything for you

Chenle:

jaehyun has said multiple times that chenle is his favourite younger brother

so i feel like out of all the dreamies jaehyun is probably most relaxed about chenle dating you

the one thing that does send jaehyun through the roof however

is that chenle doesn’t live in the dorms

he is at his own apartment

alone

with you

and little supervision

his older brother senses are tingling

expect phone calls from him so that he can check you two are being appropriate

and god forbid you miss a call from him

‘WHY DIDN’T YOU PICK UP???’

‘YOU HAD JUST HUNG UP FIVE MINUTES AGO!!! YOU DON’T CALL ME THIS MUCH WHEN YOU’RE IN A DIFFERENT CONTINENT ON TOUR!!!’

you end up shutting your phone off and telling him off when you get back

other than that it’s probably surprisingly chill

like even the others members are impressed with how little of a deal it is

chenle and jae don’t deliberately avoid or talk about it when they’re together, they just continue as normal

overall a nice, low pressure, casual environment

and you best believe jae is your number one shipper

Jisung:

is probably too nervous to tell jaehyun himself

makes you do it by yourself even though you wanted to tell him together

but sung hits you with the pout and big eyes while he begs you

and of course you caves because who wouldn’t

but the first time he saw jae after he found out about the two of you, jisung was contemplating moving countries

HE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY

HE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO

HE DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO ACT

he just panicked went the most formal he had ever been in his life

bowed so low so quickly he thinks he cracked his back

spoke with every formality in the book

jaehyun was watching him in so much confusion

‘sung, you know i’m okay with you dating my sister right?’

‘HUH????’

‘yeah didn’t she tell you? i’ve been rooting for you guys for like two years now’

sung looks to the side

just to see you watching him laughing to yourself

‘why would you do that to meeee?’

‘make me tell him by myself and i’m gonna get payback somehow’

huffs and pouts into the night so you make sure to give him extra lil kisses to make up for it

[siswritesyanderes]

If it had been Jasper-Sadie or Alice-Sadie as the vampires and finding their third later, how if at all would any of the “prior” story (the Twilght saga proper) have changed?

This turns the timeline inside out, but Meyer was never great at those anyway.

(Hi, if you're from the Twilight fandom stumbling across this post without context, Sadie is my OC in a yandere Alice/yandere Jasper/OC fic that you can read here.)

Ohhh, so much potential there! I can't answer that in full, because doing so would spoil what Sadie's potential vampire ability is. (Super sorry about that. Feel free to ask again after that information has come up in Rule One!)

I can say that both Bella and Edward would take to confiding in her and seeking her counsel with regards to their relationship. Especially if it's a Sadie-Alice duo; Edward would be super close with both Sadie and Alice (like he's close with Alice in canon), and while he sometimes gets frustrated with Alice, he pretty much always respects Sadie. It's like, Alice would be Bella's best friend and Edward's partner in crime (since she's still the one who would agree to kidnap Bella, whereas Sadie would never), and Sadie would be Bella's confidante and Edward's moral compass. Both Bella and Edward would go to Sadie for advice about each other, and Sadie, though startled by their neediness, would always have something valuable to say.

(Picture Bella or Edward bursting into Sadie's room with a question, and Sadie, wide-eyed, putting down whatever she's doing and saying, "Alrighty then, have a seat.)

Edward trusts that Sadie wouldn't lie to him, so the urgency in having Bella run to him in Italy before he sparkles in front of people (lest he read Alice's thoughts and assume she's lying to him) wouldn't be a thing; Sadie just runs Bella to Edward with vampire speed and is subjected to that whole reunion as an awkward third wheel while Alice parks the stolen car.

Also, Sadie would tip every fight slightly more in favor of the Cullens, but she would also have a habit of really wanting to talk to the enemies instead of attacking them. This is good/useful with the Volturi but not so good/useful with Victoria and Riley.

Oh! Also, Sadie would realize that Victoria will probably follow Edward's scent, in Eclipse, and Sadie would accompany him and Bella in sitting the battle out, so that they have more backup against Victoria. Jasper and Alice wouldn't be privy to the fact that Victoria is coming; this is just a realization that Sadie has that Edward hears in her mind. (As far as Jasper and Alice are concerned, Sadie is sitting the battle out just to be safe, and they're happy that she won't be in harm's way.) This is where Sadie's need to talk to enemies would become a problem, because both Victoria and Riley are too far gone to listen to reason, but Sadie really believes in them and wants to convince them they don't have to die today. It still turns out fine, though. Sadie gets a little hurt, but she's fine. Alice and Jasper would be absolutely smothering, after. Victoria is lucky she's already dead, because they would make her suffer.

And Sadie would think to explain things to Irina before Alice realizes that Irina is going to the Volturi, so that whole misunderstanding never happens.

All of that being said, the thought of "Yandere Alice meets Sadie first" and "Yandere Jasper meets Sadie first" got really interesting to me. So I have to talk about those scenarios immediately.

I'm going to place Sadie sometime in the twentieth century in both cases, and I'm going to try to let the time period matter as little as possible, but feel free to imagine them in 50s or 60s attire, lol. (Or 70s or 80s; again, it doesn't matter that much; I'm just placing her in the twentieth century to keep the rough order of events the same, kind of.) I'm approaching this with the assumption that Alice and Jasper still become vampires in the same way/at the same time as they do in canon; they just meet at different times. I'm not dealing with the Confederate thing here, though, because I'll be dealing with it in Rule One.

I'm gonna go ahead and put it all under the cut. (And if your experience of Rule One is more invested in the potential for wholesome romance than the yandere aspect, maybe the rest of this isn't for you, because this is definitely more yandere-leaning, lol.)

Alice-Sadie

Alice knows three things: 1. Her own name. 2. That she is going to join the Cullens. 3. That Sadie, whom she has not yet met, is her soulmate.

Though she slips up every now and then, Alice does her best not to eat humans. She wants to fit in with the Cullens by the time she finds them, so she's accustoming herself to the animal diet. Anyway, she has a mate out there whom she will meet as a human, and she has to get herself under control before she can risk being around her.

The thing is, Alice knows about Sadie before Sadie is actually an option, so she has to kill time so that she doesn't meet Sadie too early. And Alice hates waiting, so she goes ahead and introduces herself to the Cullens before Sadie. She tells them all about how she'll have a soulmate soon, and how it's killing her to keep her distance but she knows things will be way better if she never meets Sadie as a child. She decorates her room with things that Sadie likes, anticipating that one day she'll be sharing the room with Sadie. Honestly, if it weren't for Edward's mind reading, the rest of the Cullens might think Sadie was an imaginary friend or something.

(Rosalie would normally take issue with Alice's plans to intrude on the life of a human she's never met just because of a potential future where they're in love, but she doesn't really take Alice's fantasizing seriously until it's too late.)

One day, Alice just sort of disappears from the Cullen house, and only Edward knows where she's gone.

Sadie is finally at the right age; it's time.

Alice appears in Sadie's life, and everything she says and does is perfect. She rockets from stranger to friend to best friend at an impressive rate, her precognition easily compensating for Sadie's hesitancy (and Sadie would start off more wary than she is in Rule One, due to the time period). Having left the rest of the Cullens, for the time being, there is nothing (read: no one) holding Alice back from being absolutely surgical about making herself important in Sadie's life and subtly isolating her. She gives expensive gifts, and comprehensive compliments, and she always knows what to say to make Sadie like and trust her more.

When Sadie starts to become suspicious about the evolution of their friendship, Alice drops the vampire bomb and the soulmate bomb all at once, showing Sadie her speed and strength and sparkles. There was no better way to do it. Alice checked; this was the absolute best set of circumstances for the reveal.

Sadie asks for time to process the information. She asks for space. Alice graciously allows it; she's practically living with Sadie at this point, anyway. (Not that Sadie knows it. But yeah, she's in Sadie's house pretty much 24/7 (minus her hunting trips), dodging notice with stealth and psychic powers.)

When Sadie is ready to talk again, Alice pours out every reassurance: how she will never stop loving her; how she would never hurt her; how she thinks about her all the time and loves her so much. Sadie isn't fully won over by the whole vampire lover concept, but Alice does convince her to come meet her family.

They go to the Cullen house. Alice shows her off to everyone, and Rosalie is stunned, and Emmett laughs incredulously. Edward and Carlisle make polite introductions, and Esme hugs her, just glad to see Alice so happy. (Esme has been so worried about her newest daughter, so flighty and constantly pining for someone who wasn't there. And then she disappeared, and anything could have happened to her! But now she's back, and she's brought someone lovely, and she looks happier than Esme has ever seen her.) Carlisle and Edward give Sadie a more in-depth explanation of how vampires operate and why the bond between mates is a big deal. Esme cooks her a huge meal. Before they know it, nighttime has come, and Sadie falls asleep in Alice's room.

She wasn't drugged or anything; Alice just perfectly orchestrated a set of circumstances in which she would be tired by this exact time.

When she wakes up, Alice is an utter angel, offering her breakfast and a bath and telling her that there's more to see, around the house. She hasn't seen Rosalie's garage, yet! She hasn't seen Esme's garden. And soon enough she's sleeping over again.

On that third day at the house, Rosalie pulls Sadie aside to say that she'll drive Sadie home, if Sadie needs her to. But Alice has done her job well; Sadie likes Alice, and she likes the Cullens, and most of all, she's so curious about vampires and the world thereof. She's willing to stay and learn, provided she can visit her friends and family, and provided Alice doesn't try to change her. She fills several journals with what she learns about vampires, all in the span of a single year. She learns so much, and she's never satisfied that she's learned enough.

When Alice asks her to let Carlisle change her, she chooses exactly the right conversation, exactly the right approach, and exactly the right time. Sadie agrees and becomes a vampire. (She kind of has to, for this prompt, lol.) Rosalie is annoyed, but she knows that Sadie thought the matter over thoroughly.

When the day comes that Alice sees Jasper in their future, she drags Sadie off to meet him, barely explaining herself beyond "We have another mate!". Sadie goes along with it because she's used to Alice's antics.

They meet this crimson-eyed, roguishly handsome vampire, and Jasper is pretty instantly enthralled with them both. He's curious about their golden eyes, charmed by Alice's forwardness, and amused by Sadie's mix of intrigue and wariness. The emotional flavor of Alice's joy and cheerfulness, and of Sadie's curiosity and uncertainty, are enough to pretty much have him wrapped around their fingers right away.

Sadie's reaction is more "Ohhhh, Alice, this guy eats people..."

Alice just goes, "It's okay. Jasper will be willing to change his diet if we ask him to. Won't you, Jasper?"

And it's so presumptuous, but also he's into it, because Sadie has already made it clear that eating humans is a deal-breaker for her, and he doesn't want this meeting to end.

He joins the family, and it feels like the best thing ever; he has two amazing soulmates, and he belongs to a large coven that will always be safe from strangers. The animal-eating thing is a downside, but there's no help for that.

The dynamic for the next little while is that Alice is already in love with both Jasper and Sadie, Jasper is already in love with Alice and Sadie, and Sadie is in love with Alice and polite to Jasper but isn't quite sure about him. Like, she's in a peculiar place of "We are soulmates, and I do like you and feel an attraction to you, and I understand how our personalities are good together, but I don't know how long it'll take me to become comfortable with your past", and Jasper is just falling over himself to earn her approval, but she's comfortable with allowing it to take time.

(Rosalie is secretly very entertained by the whole thing, and Emmett is not-so-secretly entertained.)

Unlike in canon, Jasper would never suggest eating any human ever again; even once Sadie is comfortable with him, he never wants to risk making her doubt him the way she did in the beginning.

Jasper-Sadie

So at this point in his life, Jasper is eating people. His eyes are bright red, and he is ruthless, and Alice isn't around to temper that side of him.

This is absolutely a kidnapping situation.

When he runs into Sadie (entirely by happenstance), he doesn't know immediately that he is in love with her; he just knows that he wants to follow her, so he does. He stalks after her like he has stalked lots of prey in the past. Her blood doesn't sing to him, though; after several hours of just tailing her, he realizes that he just likes to hear her breathe and speak and laugh. He likes to look at her. He likes to taste her emotions on the air. He likes this human.

Then he realizes that he's in love with her, as much as Peter is in love with Charlotte.

He never wants to stop looking at her, listening to her talk...

He manages to get her alone, and he introduces himself in a charismatic, gentlemanly fashion. He kisses the back of her hand (managing to ignore the feel and sound of her pulse so close; he shouldn't take a risk like that again) and says, "Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Jasper Whitlock. May I ask what your name is?"

She notices the coldness of his skin and the redness of his eyes (and again, time-period-wise, this interaction is very weird), but he is sending her the most powerful waves of comfort and calm that he can. She is dazed and perplexed, but not afraid, as she answers, "I'm Sadie Gilder."

It's the most beautiful name he has ever heard.

He abducts her pretty much then and there; he leads her away with a request that she accompany him and a heavy layer of mood control. Sadie is able to break out of the daze (through sheer overthinking) after they've walked together awhile; by the time she asks, "Wait, where are we?", they've reached the secluded mansion of an old widow.

(Jasper doesn't need a place to sleep, but his Sadie does, so he quickly identified this place as the best option.)

The order in which Jasper eats the occupants of the house and brings Sadie inside the house is up to your imagination, as is whether or not Sadie ends up seeing any bodies or seeing him with blood on his face and clothes. Either way, just the kidnapping itself is enough to have Sadie panicking, and he hates to feel her fear.

He holds her, gives her calming energy, and whispers to her. "Don't be scared. I won't hurt you, Perfect Sadie. I won't eat you. You're too special. Just gonna keep you right here." (He's just eaten a lot of people, so he's okay with breathing right next to her, so that he can keep whispering to her.) She falls asleep in his arms. He doesn't stop holding her, and he doesn't stop whispering. (Also, remember how the first thing he says to Sadie in Rule One is that she's warm and soft? Yeah, he still says that, pretty much verbatim, in this scenario. I'm not putting it in quotes, because it sounds dirty in a kidnapping context, but he for sure says it.)

The next day, since he's keeping up the comforting vibes to keep her from being afraid, Sadie asks Jasper a lot of questions. He tells her everything he knows about vampires. He isn't fully versed in vampire mating, so he isn't able to really inform her that his obsession with her is, to some degree, an inherent vampire trait, but he is very good at conveying to her that he is obsessed.

With no one to tell him to cool it with his power, and with his diet of human blood making his power more potent than it would be on animal blood, Jasper uses it at pretty much full capacity every time, instead of subtle shifts in emotion. So, while Sadie does notice that it's happening, she can't keep herself from the effects of his power by self-awareness alone.

He generally doses her with the same kind of peaceful calm he uses when he meets strange vampires for the first time, instead of the lethargic calm he uses to keep prey docile. He uses the latter when he wants her to sleep, but for the most part he just wants her to be unfearful and communicative.

She eats the food that's in the house. When he's able to convince himself to leave her unattended (usually after he's put her to sleep), he picks up more groceries and abducts some humans for himself. He keeps them in the cellar, far enough away from Sadie that she needn't know they're there but close enough that he can still hear her when he goes down to eat them. It's actually very convenient, not to have to hunt often; he just has to pop down to the cellar and enjoy a few of the already-injured occupants. Having a steady home has its upside. It's a shame someone will eventually notice the widow missing and he'll have to move with Sadie. But there will always be another empty mansion, or a mansion that can be easily made empty.

(When it's time to change homes, Jasper carries Sadie to the new destination while she's sleeping.)

Partially due to the mood control and partially due to the upfront-ness of everything, there's honestly very little tension between them. There's fear, sometimes (The one time Sadie tries to leave the mansion while Jasper is eating, he runs up from the cellar to stop her, and he's still covered in blood, and she's terrified, and it takes him a lot of soothing to get her calm again. It upsets him when she's scared.), but no tension. Sadie would like to leave, but she gathers that she can't, so all there is to do is maneuver within the new situation and learn more about her captor.

And neither of them is inherently a romantic. Jasper loves her, but even he isn't under the impression that they're dating or something. As far as he's concerned, he's keeping her; as far as she's concerned, she's studying him. Jasper is ecstatic with the arrangement, and Sadie is as comfortable as the situation allows.

Peter and Charlotte follow Jasper's scent at some point, wanting to hang out, and Jasper socializes with them outside the mansion, explaining that they can't go in because there's a human inside whom he is invested in keeping alive, and he can't risk them eating her. When they learn that he's in love, they ask if he plans on changing her, but he says that he can't yet. His control isn't good enough.

One day, Alice shows up.

She meets Jasper while he's in town, gathering food for Sadie and himself. They still have the little "You kept me waiting" "My apologies" flirtation, but he's a little more guarded, because he has to get back to Sadie, and as much as he is already beguiled by this weird-eyed stranger, he doesn't want her following him home. She's a vampire, and no vampires are allowed near his Sadie.

Alice really wants to skip the wooing; she's already seen herself with Jasper and Sadie. But she knows that mentioning Sadie too soon could make Jasper defensive, so she has to sprinkle herself slowly into Jasper's life, meeting him when he comes to town and letting his instinctive attraction and fondness for her grow into trust over a span of months (even moving towns when he does). She doesn't say anything about him switching to an animal diet, either; she tells him that she eats animals, but trying to influence him at this stage could alter her chances of seeing Sadie. Better to just let him murder.

Once they're at the right place, trust-wise, she tells him that she is already as in love with Sadie as she is with him, due to her psychic visions, and she asks to meet her. At first, Jasper isn't ready, but after she's asked a few more times, he allows it.

Alice has to be extra careful, because she wants to just run and hug Sadie as soon as she sees her, but if she makes a sudden move, Jasper will react badly. (Especially since the speed that comes with her small frame makes her a genuine threat to Sadie, even with Jasper there.) Not to mention, she has to endear herself to Sadie, whose only experience with vampires has been abduction.

"Sadie Lily Gilder," Alice says, barely restraining her excitement. "I am Alice Cullen. I'm your other soulmate."

Sadie is mostly perplexed and a little exasperated, but Jasper feels suddenly as if the sun has broken through the clouds. (Which means a lot, since he was already happy before.) Alice's joy at finally getting to see Sadie seems to fill the room, and this is his first time hearing Sadie's middle name, and...

"I like seeing you together," he realizes.

For the next few months, Alice is allowed to visit Sadie every now and then, under full supervision from Jasper. He can feel that she loves Sadie as much as he does, but he's still got to be careful. Humans are so fragile, and he's used to only trusting himself. When she comes, Alice brings Sadie little gifts that she never thought to ask Jasper before. She brings a new spritely energy to the house that Sadie comes to enjoy.

The following few months, (and after Jasper has watched her hunt animals) she's allowed to stay over full-time. They watch Sadie sleep, together. She's able to answer more of Sadie's questions.

Alice introduces Jasper to the idea of joining a family she's seen in their future. He doesn't want that many vampires around their Sadie, but as always, Alice says just the right things: they're all animal eaters; she hasn't seen a single future where any of them hurt Sadie; and the eldest of them could change Sadie for them.

(She also has to convince Sadie to want to become immortal with them, since she knows that Carlisle and Edward would be against turning her against her will. It helps that Sadie has been captured by a vampire for a while, now, and being a vampire herself would give her a chance of exerting some control over her future.)

When they meet the Cullens, Alice acts like they're already best friends. Jasper is more formal in asking the patriarch if he can change Sadie for them.

Edward calls them out on kidnapping Sadie, but Sadie points out that, unless things come to blows between the Cullens and Alice and Jasper, the only way for her to no longer be kidnapped is by becoming a vampire.

So Carlisle changes her, and she stays with the Cullens so that she can have someone to help her overcome her thirst during her newborn years without slipping up and hurting someone. Alice and Jasper stay with the Cullens, too (and the Cullens tell Jasper that he has to switch to the animal diet if he wants to stay). Eventually, all three of them are close enough to various members of the Cullen family that they just sort of become part of it.

Having been kidnapped at the start of all this, though, Sadie exerts her autonomy in pretty much every way. In her newborn years, in which she is more temperamental (though that isn't saying much; she's still pretty mellow by newborn vampire standards), she confronts Jasper for what he did, and he pretty much just takes it; things have worked out pretty great for him, so it's only fair to let her get it off her chest. Sadie can feel the bond between her and Alice and Jasper, but she can also feel that he didn't have to do what he did. She goes to visit her human family, once she knows that she won't eat them; she and Rosalie go on lengthy road trips; she and Emmett go to football games; she goes volunteering and home renovating with Esme; she learns languages and musical instruments from Edward; she learns vampire history from Carlisle and even joins him on a trip to Volterra.

She lets Alice buy her clothes but overall gives Jasper a wide berth.

Alice, having gained full trust from Jasper, is able to convince him to allow Sadie her space for a while, as she comes to terms with everything that happened. Jasper agrees, since Sadie isn't so fragile anymore and he knows that Alice is keeping an eye on her. So long as they know where Sadie is at all times, and so long as she is accompanied by at least one of the Cullens, he can bear to spend uninterrupted one-on-one time with his newest mate, especially if doing so will help Sadie to forgive him.

The diet of animal blood makes him less wild (but more tense, as he can feel that he is weaker), and the newness of everything in Sadie's life raises her spirits. Maybe eventually she'll be willing to hang out with him again, but it'll take a few years.