#lost and found x reader

[multifandomsimagine]

Imagine John confessing to you through song

Standing on the Bull Pen's stage, John's grip tightens on his guitar and he looked at everyone begin to surround the stage. It wasn't like he was getting stage fright. He had performed many times before in front of all the members of Lost and Found and he enjoyed being on stage. No, the reason he was nervous was because of the song he was about to perform. The one he had written for you.

He had been in love with you ever since the both of you joined Lost and Found and the interactions the two of you had only cause him to fall deeper and deeper. You had taken over his every thought and had been the inspiration for the last ten songs he had written. So what better way to confess to you than through song.

Seeing you stand in the front row, smiling encouragingly as you tried making him feel better, thinking that nerves had got the better of him, only made him feel more nervous. Taking a breath, he adjusted his grip before beginning the opening notes of his song.

"I slept alone in the van

You brought me breakfast in bed

I wrote it down in a song."

[kooktrash]

lost & found | jeon jungkook

summary:your college years have never been something you dwelled on for too long. you didn’t want to think of all the chances you lost and that’s why when the guy you had a crush on moves back to town, you try not to let it affect you again. but then he brings up old memories that didn’t go the way you thought they had and you’re thrown for a loop. you’re stuck between finding something new with him and falling back into old habits of never standing up for yourself. it probably doesn’t help that he dated your best friend, where everything seemed to go wrong.

➣ genre/au: jungkook x reader [she/her, female anatomy], mid-20’s friendships. what kind of au is this? smut, plot

➣18.7k words

warnings: heavy plot. smut. a little bit of angst if you squint. tae is oc defender. shy oc. jk is an old college classmate. oc and jk got complicated, misunderstood history :(. oc is kinda insecure? bathroom sex. teasing. foreplay [f and m receiving]. very neeeedddy, long time waited sex.. unprotected. jk fucks oc on the counter, on the door. jk is tatted up but not in his college days. heavy makeout. breast play. fingering. dirty talk. oc goes down on jk as a thx 🤧 jk dated oc’s bestie but there’s HISTORY. oc’s bestie is the real villain im sorry. took advantage of two insecure college kids >:( love lost, love found vibes. just read I swear it’s not that bad 😭 no cheating. FRIEND BREAK UPS. oc gets confident toward the end

song inspo: bff — jesse

As you settle into adulthood, you learn a few things about friendships. There tends to be a slight divide between those you’ve known since you were young and those you’ve collected over the years. Some might value the friendships they’ve held longer more than those that are more recent but for others, what matters is the trust that comes with friendship no matter with whom it might be with. You’re somewhere in between, you think.

You have people like Taehyung who you’ve only recently started to get to know and have had a chance to grow close with. He doesn’t know everything about you yet but he doesn’t need to, he seems to understand enough now to be an important person in your current life. He’s the kind of friend you're thankful you’ve met on some random occasion.

Then you have someone like your best friend, Miyoung. You’re not sure the last time you had ever been truly without her at your side. From your earlier school years to college, to now when you’re both settled into what would essentially be your careers and private lives. She’s… she's special to you in a way that you're not sure you could ever find in someone else—or at least that’s what she says?

There hasn’t been a time where it wasn’t the two of you practically glued together at the hip and you credit her for her outgoing nature that always seemed to balance with your more introverted demeanor. Of course it didn't mean you couldn’t make friends without her [take Taehyung for example] but she’s always seemed to gravitate people toward you with her energy. That’s why you're not at all surprised by tonight’s events and how everyone seemed surprised that you came alone.

”Honestly, I’m happy you made it, it feels like we haven’t seen each other in so long,” Your friend, Hoseok, pointed out as he led you to the private area of the lounge bar where it seemed like a reunion was taking place, “When Miyoung said she wasn’t going to make it, I thought you probably weren’t going to show up and—“

”Is that what you would have preferred?” You asked with a teasing smile as he began to stumble over his words, attempting to backtrack.

“What? Y/n, don’t you know I’ve been desperately enamored by you since your first year? Don’t make such crass comments,” He joked back, helping you out of your coat as you grew closer to the room filled with loud chatter. He led you with hands on your shoulders and said, “And between us, I’m a little happy she didn’t come. I wasn’t really in the mood for this to turn into a Battle of the Exes fighting ground.”

”What do you mean?” You barely had time to ask as you entered the room where an explosion of your name was heard by old college classmates of yours who all seemed on the border of tipsy and in a good mood. You couldn’t help but smile, looking at everyone at once till your eyes fell on the person in question.

He didn’t hesitate to meet your gaze with equal surprise as you sat across from him, just one person down the line. Immediately the people next to you tried sparking a conversation and you used it as a distraction to keep from gawking at him. When Miyoung told you she wouldn’t make it, you debated coming yourself but after some begging from Hoseok you decided to come along. Despite your best friend not joining, you're kind of glad she didn’t. Hoseok is right, it would have been a battlefield and you did not want to be caught in the middle of it.

“Y/n.”

Ignore, maybe? Just ignore and maybe he’ll forget trying to talk to you and your head won't be on the chopping block. You looked down the table at some of the other people you remember from campus activities or long lectures and tried to ignore the growing smile you could see on his face from the corner of your eye.

“Hungry?” The person next to you asked as he made you look his way. There were platters of hand food across the bar table and you happily took whatever Jimin offered. As much as you hated it, you couldn’t help but look across the table to make sure it really was who you thought it was,

Jeon Jungkook.

Better known as your best friend’s ex boyfriend.

Or worse, the first guy you liked when you started University.

”Hi,” he said in a low voice, catching you in the middle of staring at him. In your defense, he seemed so different—more matured if you will. Now he was covered in tattoos and piercings, he lost that sort of boyish charm but clearly gained something else along the way. He was buff and bigger, more intimidating yet alluring? Safe to say he didn’t look like the ‘Boy Next Door’ you had a crush on in your English seminar.

“You’re here,” was all you could think to say back, giving up on your sorry attempt at ignoring him for no real reason other than saving yourself from an awkward encounter.

”So are you,” Jungkook bit into his bottom lip as he looked at you closely. How is it that someone could look so different but the same all at once? In your gaze he could still see that curiosity in everything that he remembered from back then when he would spend lectures wondering what was on your mind. In your appearance, he can see how much you’ve changed physically. They were surely small differences in everyone else’s eyes but he always had a tendency to pay too much attention to you and it would get him in trouble.

You gave him a polite nod in response to his blatant observation that matched yours and attempted to shift your attention elsewhere but he didnt let it get too far. He cleared his throat, “How have you been?”

“Me?” You asked, “Okay, I guess. Busy with work.”

“So I’ve heard, you’re in marketing now, right? What happened to your writing?” Jungkook asked, seeming genuinely curious to know. He didn’t care for the conversations happening around him more than he did hearing your response now that you looked more willing to give him one.

“It wouldn’t have paid the bills—You remember my writing?” You asked, surprise evident in your features that he couldn’t help but smile.

It was hard for him to forget his biggest competition at the time. He let out a small sigh, ready to go on about being unable to forget a certain piece you wrote when a firm hand was placed on his shoulder. Yoongi stood over him, “Smoke break?”

Say no, he thought. Jungkook could easily reject the offer and continue what he was going to say. Without meaning to, he looked back at you, but you had excused yourself from the table in the blink of an eye. Nodding hesitantly, he grabbed his jacket and followed his friend out while he wondered where you went so suddenly.

You were hiding in the washroom when you got the call from Miyoung, like she had a sixth sense telling her to reach out.

“So how is it? Is it as boring as I said it’d be?” Miyoung asked as she waited in line for some nightclub she was going to with some of her various other friends.

“Um, kind of?” You said without much thought—knowing it was what she wanted to hear. In reality, it was fun. You were greeted warmly that it washed away your earlier worries and you’re being taken care of by old friends you didn't get to talk to as much. Not to mention, you’re seeing Jungkook again after a couple years of hearing and thinking of nothing about the guy, so you don’t actually think it's boring.

Miyoung snorted, “Figures, good thing I didn’t go. I could not sit through more than an hour of everyone going on and on about what they’ve been up to. I mean, yeah I miss Hobi and stuff but I could see him whenever, y’know? Who all showed up?”

“I think everyone,” You admitted with a nervous bite of your lip. It was now or never. You tell her that it seems like Jungkook has come to visit or has come back to stay and you’re not sure how she’ll take that. She might even march over here just to tell him how she's felt these last two years and chances are that’ll ruin the easy vibe for everyone else. You leaned against the stall door and talked with her.

“So you’re back,” Yoongi asked with a smirk as he took a drag from his cigarette, “My Golden Boy’s back? Someone pinch me.”

“Funny guy,” Jungkook said sarcastically as he looked out onto the busy street. Yoongi shrugged, turning toward the bar window looking around to see the group, “Aren’t you happy you came?”

“Yeah, it’s great seeing everyone again,” Jungkook told him casually, flicking the end of his cigarette and watching the ash fall to the cold cement of the street.

“Want to know who surprised me tonight?” Yoongi asked, looking over at him to see if his expression would change at all, “Y/n.”

Jungkook cleared his throat awkwardly, “What do you mean?”

He shrugged, dropping ash to the ground, “Y/n never comes out to these sorts of things, and if she does come it’s usually with Miyoung but she came by herself tonight.

“Yeah…” Jungkook zoned out a bit as he thought about it more, “Why doesn’t she meet up with you guys often?”

“You know Y/n doesn't really go out,” Yoongi said, “And she’s busy with work, at least that’s what Hobi says. I don’t know, when Hobi said Miyoung wasn’t coming tonight we both expected Y/n to not show too but… hey, aren’t you happy she isn’t here?”

“I don’t really care either way,” Jungkook confessed truthfully, “But do you know if… y’know, you might have heard something about Y/n and if she’s still seeing someone or—“

“Oh God,” Yoongi couldn’t help but laugh as he put his cigarette out, Jungkook doing the same, “It’s been like three years, man.”

Jungkook watched him laugh as he walked off leaving him to follow, “What?”

Yoongi held the door open for him, “You know what, but I’ll answer your question, anyway. Last I heard Y/n is single, so what now?”

He waited for Jungkook to respond but he wasn’t listening anymore. There were too many things on his mind that he needed to work out before you came back to the table.

“What do you mean you’re leaving? You just got here,” Jimin said to you as he held your hand in his to stop you from leaving, “One more drink.”

“It’s late,” You tried to say, “I’ve got to be up early.”

“Liar, it’s a Saturday night, Y/n. Sit your ass back down,” Hobi said with a firm voice making you sit down immediately. He flashed you a cute smile before asking everyone if they wanted another round of drinks.

“So, what were we talking about earlier?” Jungkook asked, trying to get you to talk to him again, “Your writing? Yeah, how can I forget it? Remember we used to read each other’s essays all the time before… well.”

Before he broke up with your best friend.

“Yeah, I remember,” You admitted, trying to find something to say. What kind of questions would Miyoung want to know? What do you want to know? What should you prepare your friend to know? “How long are you visiting?”

“Actually, I just moved back, I got a job doing graphic design for a local company,” Jungkook told you with the hint of a smile, “It’s my first time meeting up with everyone again.”

You let yourself indulge in small talk with him here and there but usually when he started it. The night had been fine, you enjoyed your time but after a while all you wanted to do was go home and Hoseok couldn’t make you stay any longer. You ended your night wondering if you should go out more.

Everything has a backstory, right? How it all started and yours seems pretty tacky. You spent the first couple years of University doing what you had to do in school and letting Miyoung drag you to whatever outing she had on the weekends. Some time in your third year, you joined this English class with the most boring, monotonous professor ever and that’s where you met Jungkook.

In all honesty, you thought he was cute from the get go. Sitting through three hours of a boring lecture led people to do odd things and one of those for you was staring at the cute guy who sat down a couple rows from you. It was just a little thing you did to pass time so you never expected anything to actually happen from it.

Then one day most of the seats were taken [naturally, it was a large class] and he seemed to have been running late because his usual cycle of seats were all taken except the one next to yours. Despite all those times you would find yourself ogling the stranger, when he was right next to you, you didn’t say a single word.

It was Jungkook who spoke first and it was just to ask if you could help him catch up. That day you were supposed to read someone else’s prompt and revise it and you chose each other which then trickled down to a routine of it. Without speaking much, he would sit next to you or silently save you a seat whenever you were running late and the one time you decided to switch it up and sit elsewhere…

Well, he was practically pouting the whole day.

It had been a nearly perfect set up to what could have been if you just allowed yourself to go for things but it didn’t happen that way.

One random Tuesday night, Miyoung wanted to go out for some cheap drinks and you found yourselves at a bar not too far from campus where you ran into a senior in one of your classes. Yoongi had come up to you first, just greeting you and making small talk when Jungkook who apparently had come with him, recognized you too.

They drank with you and Miyoung for a bit and you honestly thought it had been fun. You had never had real conversations with him outside of school work and it was nice to have more people to hang with that it just felt natural. Though at some point through the night Miyoung had gotten kind of flirty. She claims she assumed you had wanted Yoongi and not Jungkook and practically called dibs on him despite meeting him for the first time that night.

When she made her intents obvious, you couldn’t help but backtrack.

You always considered yourself pretty self aware about yourself. There was nothing special really and when you compare yourself to Miyoung there just isn’t much competition.

She was the perfect Prom Queen type who always had the nicest clothes or the cutest boyfriends, the best awards and most interesting stories. The amount of guys she would pull who you didn’t even have a chance with was insane. And though you might sound bitter, you’re not. You’ve never been the type to want the spotlight or attention and being best friends with someone so damn perfect was that you could always stay in the shadows.

So when she started flirting with Jungkook, you didn’t really notice his awkward glances or how he shied away from her proximity. You only saw how he smiled politely and listened to her go on and on about how great she is and assumed he was into her like all the others had been.

You tried to act normal after that, you would talk to him every now and then and never questioned why he stopped talking to you as much until he started dating Miyoung but you weren’t bitter. You were understanding.

It made sense he would date her. She was beautiful and smart and someone people pine for. It was a given that that would happen so once again, you didn’t take it personal.

They dated for a couple months [nothing serious at all] and then he dumped her which resulted in Miyoung practically forbidding you from even looking his way at all. You completed your last year without thinking about him despite the various mutual friends you shared and went on with your life when he moved.

That was the backstory and why you felt so awkward seeing him the other night.

You haven’t told Miyoung yet because there’s a high chance she won’t care at all and would get annoyed that you even thought to bring it up. Your friend is very pretty and she likes being in relationships so she’s been in quite a few since they dated and probably doesn’t care to be reminded at all.

The only person you’ve told is Taehyung.

“But did you at least have fun?” He asked as the two of you sat at a small restaurant for lunch. You nodded your head, “Yeah, it was alright. It was just weird, for me at least.”

“Why?” Taehyung asked as he dug into his meal, stuffing his mouth with no care in the world, “I mean it’s obvious everyone was happy to see you and didn’t want you to leave. Who cares if Miyoung didn’t go, clearly it didn’t matter to anyone else.”

You didn’t say anything, taking your time to enjoy your meal as you drifted off in thought. He is right, you know that sometimes it’s just in your head and you overthink things. You always feel like you’re boring to others so it’s natural for you to assume no one would be happy to see just you and not your bubble of joy best friend. There has to be a certain level of comfort between you and another person to show personality and it’s rare people get to see it.

“But how’d it go with that guy? Did he ask you about her?” Taehyung asked with a hint of curiosity.

“Not that I can remember. I don’t know, it was kind of awkward but we talked a bit,” You told him honestly, “He just moved back down so that’s cool I guess.”

Taehyung looked at you skeptically but you avoided his gaze, trying to distract yourself with your phone.

yoongi: throwing a welcome back party for jk this weekend, u coming?

you: idk, if I’m free

yoongi: … ur always free🤒

yoongi: just say yes, bring whoever u want

you: but is he ok with me going

yoongi: y wouldn’t he be

yoongi: he’s the one who asked me to make sure u come

you: okkkkkk 🥹

“Tae, can you come with me to this party please?” You asked, immediately showing your friend your text messages leaning across the table for him to see them clearly.

Taehyung’s brows furrowed as he read through the texts carefully, “Jungkook is the ex boyfriend, right? Why’s he so interested in you going?”

“He’s not,” you said, “He’s probably just doing it to be nice, since everyone I know will be there.”

“What if he’s… y’know, interested?” Taehyung asked curiously and you nearly choked on your drink.

“No, oh my god,” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, “We were just classmates and we stopped talking after he dumped Miyoung so—“

“Yeah but did you ever stop to think ‘hm, I’m the one who knew this guy first and then Miyoung went and snatched him from me before I even got a chance to explore’,” Taehyung said in a high pitched voice, presumably mocking yours. You reached over to playfully shove his shoulder making him grin mischievously.

“What? No, it wasn’t like that at all,” You tried to say, “Him and I didn’t even really talk until the night he met her at the bar and… no, that’s crazy. He liked Miyoung right away.”

Taehyung just sighed, giving up on trying to get through to you, “If you say so, but who’s the one he approached first? Because I can tell you right now it wasn’t her.”

Despite how he expresses himself when he talks about your best friend, he doesn’t dislike her. He thinks Miyoung is alright, maybe a little too much for his tastes but that doesn’t mean anything. He understands the two of you are really close and although he has had many chances to befriend her too, he just hasn’t.

He’ll talk to her if you force them to hang out together but he would never go out of his way to be her friend. It might sound bad but Taehyung is pretty protective over you and rightfully so, he feels.

He doesn’t want to badmouth one of his closest friends but you have a tendency to overthink things. You don’t realize how great you are and make yourself seem smaller and he thinks Miyoung and other people like her in your life are at fault. He’s heard some of the things she says to you and it’s like you hold her up so highly there’s no room for you to see how pretty, smart, and talented you are. And before anyone gets the wrong idea, he’s not in love with you or anything.

You’re too good for him so he gave up on that idea long ago.

Plus, now that he’s able to connect some of those pieces from when you were in Uni, some things are clicking into place for him. Miyoung tends to dim your light a bit, or copy something you do and claim it as her own and when he hears this little backstory between all of your old college friends… he just can’t help but wonder if Jungkook was one of those things she claimed for herself.

With that thought in mind, he agreed to go with you to this party and see for himself what is there and what could be. He just wants what’s best for you and for you to be able to go and get it without worrying you’re not good enough or stepping on anyone’s toes.

When Friday night came, your apartment was filled with loud music and even louder complaints coming from one person in particular. Taehyung was just listening to you and Miyoung go back and forth about tonight’s plans and it got to the point where you couldn’t say anything but the truth about what you would be doing tonight.

“It’s a welcome back party for Jungkook,” You said, trying your hardest not to let your voice sound strained.

“What? When did he get back?” Miyoung asked, sitting up from your bed and tossing your pillow off her lap, “Like he moved back?”

“Yeah, I guess not too long ago,” You said with a shrug, looking in your mirror to see if you liked the way you looked or not, “I don’t know, Yoongi is the one who invited me.”

“Why didn’t I know? Why wasn’t I invited?” Miyoung asked, turning to Taehyung like he would have the answers.

“Probably because you’re his ex girlfriend and you ditched out on their little reunion so you could party,” Taehyung said, not bothering to look up from his phone.

“Yeah but, why’d they ask Y/n? She’s not even friends with him,” Miyoung said with a slight scoff, “You’re not actually going right? We could go out, just the three of us. You already hung out with them, you and I haven’t gone out in weeks, let’s just do our own thing. Unless you’re trading me in for all of them.”

You looked at her with apologetic eyes. You’ve been busy with work recently and she is right. The last people you hung out with aside from Taehyung were all of them two weekends ago so it would only be fair to hang out with her this time. It shouldn’t mean anything that you were invited and that Jungkook wanted to make sure you were going. Miyoung was supposed to be your best friend so how could you go to a party she wasn’t invited to?

Just as you were going to give in and shoot Yoongi a text that you weren’t going to make it, Taehyung spoke up for you. “Why don’t you just come with? One of them said Y/n can bring whoever she wants and I’m already going so it’s not like you have to be by yourself. Plus, aren’t the rest of them supposed to be your friends too? Y/n already agreed.”

“Why didn’t you ask me first?”

“I didn’t realize I needed permission,” You couldn’t help but sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed to comfort her, “We can just stop by, have a drink or two and leave if it’s lame. Come on.”

After much convincing, the three of you arrive at Yoongi’s place which was a small house with good outdoor space and the inside was packed with people already. The amount of party goers made you anxious but at the same time slightly thrilled that surely the attention would never be on you with so many people around.

“Y/n! Miyoung!” Namjoon spotted you two first and he threw his arms around you both with a grin, “Surprised to see you here, Mimi.”

“Yeah, probably because I was the only one not invited,” Miyoung said bitterly, making Namjoon take a drink from his cup and look away nervously.

“Let’s get you guys drinks then,” He said with an awkward clear of his throat looking to Taehyung, “What’s up, I’m Namjoon.”

“Taehyung,” he said, following you to the drinks table. The music played loudly and there were a lot of people having a good time that it was somewhat easy to try and blend in and act normal. Miyoung had a pout on her face, looking around worried but Namjoon brightened her mood and every now and then another friend would stop by to greet her. Taehyung mostly clung to you and only drifted away when a friend would spark conversation with you but you were thankful he was around.

“Y/n,” someone called out to you from across the room. You couldn’t make them out through the crowd of people and it took a while before you spotted Jungkook making his way to your direction.

“Jungkook,” you said with a nervous breath, looking around for Miyoung but she was off with Namjoon talking about god knows what.

“How long have you been here? Why didn’t you say anything?” Jungkook asked, slightly more energetic than usual. His hair was messy, with strands out of place, he wore a basic black tee and baggy jeans so why did he look good? It’s still hard for you to wrap your mind around who this is.

He’s gotten so muscular and just… more intimidating with his tattoo sleeve and piercings and it’s so unexpected but in a good way.

“I, um, you know, I just assumed you were busy,” you lied, looking around for one of your friends. Taehyung was at the table getting a drink and he’ll be back soon to save you before Miyoung looks around.

Jungkook found himself looking around too, as if he could see what you did but he came up short, “Did you come with anyone?”

“Yeah, Miyoung and a friend of mine,” you rushed the words out in hopes of sounding casual but Jungkook didn’t even bat an eye.

“So what are you doing alone?” He asked with a raised brow, taking a step closer to you, “Actually, there’s something that’s been on my mind since last time I saw you and I uh… I haven’t had the chance to say it.”

You blinked nervously, looking up at him and how close he was to you, “What is it?”

He licked his lips, playing with his lip rings shyly, “Well, I was wondering if you would like to get together some time, just you and I. We’ve never had the chance to hang out.”

“We’re hanging out right now, aren’t we?” You asked, feigning naivety that almost seemed teasing. In truth, you could sense what he was possibly asking and you needed him to stop. There was no reason for you two to hang out alone, no matter how much the thought made you giddy.

“I guess,” Jungkook couldn’t help but let his eyebrows knit together in confusion. He took another step closer to you, hand on the wall behind you for support. , “But I was still hoping… I know it’s probably kind of awkward but we’re grown, right? We can get together without worrying about anyone else.”

“Who says it’s because I’m worried?” You asked with a hint of playfulness in an attempt to ease some of the growing tension caused by the way he looked at you, “Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

That made him crack a smile, “All of a sudden?”

“Yes, all of a sudden,” another voice added in from behind him and you jumped at the sound. Jungkook didn’t bother to turn around, he was more focused on the way you tried to look behind him and meet Miyoung’s glare.

“Where’d you run off to?” You asked, pushing past him making Jungkook slide his hand off the wall and roll his eyes at the disruption.

“Somewhere I felt wanted,” she said bitterly, eyes on Jungkook as she spoke to you, “Let’s go, I’m bored.”

“I thought you were having a good ti—“

“I’m not, Y/n,” Miyoung almost snapped, “You said we could have a drink and go. We’ve been here for like forever and I want to leave. That’s what we agreed on.”

“Okay, jeez, let’s go then,” You said with a sigh, “Let me find Taehyung.”

“Go, then,” Miyoung said, making you take a deep breath, trying to tell yourself she had a right to be upset. She didn’t want you [as her best friend] talking to her ex boyfriend. And you did say you didn’t have to stick around for long…

“What?” Miyoung asked Jungkook with a roll of her eyes as she caught him staring, “Did I interrupt something?”

“You still don’t know how to speak to people like they’re human beings,” Jungkook said simply, “And it’s sad to watch.”

“Screw you,” Miyoung scoffed, “You’re just mad I stopped you from trying to ask my best friend out. My friends are off limits.”

“She was my friend too,” Jungkook said as a reminder, “And I can do whatever I want. You’re just childish.”

She snorted, “Right, says the guy who fumbled me.”

He couldn’t seem to act mature anymore and before he stop himself he said, “Remember, you’re not the one I wanted anyway.”

He walked off without much care for how she felt and found his other friends, wondering who it was you ran off to find.

“Tae, can we go now?” You asked your friend. Taehyung had found himself a group of people to entertain with his stories and had nearly forgotten who he had tagged along with until you pulled him to the side.

“Uh, okay,” Taehyung cleared his throat awkwardly, “What happened? I thought everyone was having a good time.”

“Miyoung wants to leave,” You said with a small sigh, “She saw me talking to Jungkook and I just don’t want it to become this big problem so can we please just go?”

Taehyung placed an arm on your shoulder, leading you to Miyoung who waited at the door, “Yeah, sure let’s go.”

The car had only stayed silent for the first half of the drive to Miyoung’s apartment. Somewhere between the last red light and this short stretch of road, a fire had been lit underneath her which made her start up again.

“So what was that back there?” Miyoung asked from the backseat and you debated just acting asleep or like you were too drunk to listen properly. She leaned forward, looking at you closely.

“What do you mean?” You asked nervously.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Miyoun said with an annoyed tone, “First you get invited to a party for my ex boyfriend and next thing I know the two of you are whispering in the corner looking like you’re about to kiss and like I’m not even in the room.”

Taehyung had to bite his tongue from responding, worried that if he spoke too soon it would only make you seem more weak to her antics. He just tapped his fingers against the window trying to keep silent

“Miyoung,” You started with a sigh, “You’re overreacting. It was nothing, we’re friends—“

“Since when?” Miyoung scoffed, “You’re supposed to be my friend, Y/n.”

“I am,” You said defensively, “And if you want to talk about this tomorrow then that’s fine but right now it’s late and we’ve all been having a decent time so don’t ruin it…”

“Y/n’s right, let’s end the night on a good note,” Taehyung finally said but he seemed to go ignored by you two.

“You’re not though, real friends wouldn’t flirt with their best friend’s ex boyfriend—“

“You two dated for less than five months and it was years ago,” You blurted out, “I knew him before that so don’t act like I’m betraying you.”

“Oh my god, I knew you’d still be bitter I started seeing him,” Miyoung said, suddenly making you hide your face in your hand from exhaustion. “I didn’t know you had a thing for him back then. You should’ve said something instead of holding it against me like you do everything else.”

“What are you talking about?” You couldn’t help but scoff.

Miyoung’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, “You know exactly what I’m talking about and it’s not fair.”

Taehyung took a deep breath, fingers clenched around the steering wheel unable to bite his tongue any longer, “Miyoung I don’t think you’re being fair. You’re clearly drunk and you just want to arg—“

“Shut up, Taehyung,” She snapped, slurring on her words a bit and not even realizing the car came to a stop in front of her building, “I’m not even talking you and you can stop acting like Y/n’s bodyguard because last time I checked she’s a grown adult who could speak for herself. God, I swear everyone is the same. Just because Y/n is boring and insecure, doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to speak for herself.”

“Get out. We’re at your place so just go,” Taehyung said, annoyed with the harshness she was projecting on you, “Y/n might put up with you but I won’t.”

With an irritated scoff, she swung the back door open, “Fine, screw you guys too.”

The door slammed shut as she stormed up to her apartment and Taehyung waited till she was gone to say, “Fuck, what did that girl drink? Y/n, why do you put up with that? Hey.”

You stayed silent for a moment letting her words sink in. Whatever, she yelled and threw a tantrum, that’s fine, that’s normal. But she seriously thinks you’re just a bore and maybe you’re starting to believe it too. If it weren’t for you always being cautious over how she might feel about you and what you do, you wouldn’t seem so boring.

Or was that just how you were and now you’re trying to say it’s because of Miyoung? Jeez, you just can’t seem to make up your mind about anything but all you know is that… you’re not boring. Well, you don’t have to be. If she wants to think that always backing up whatever she says makes you boring, then maybe it’s time you just do what you want even if she doesn’t like it.

“Tae, can you do me a favor,” You finally said, making him look over at you curiously. The car is still parked in front of Miyoung’s place and he’s been waiting for you to speak anyway, “What?”

“Take me back to the party please.”

Miyoung was wrong, if you were boring it’s because she made you boring. Anytime you did anything on your own, she always had to ruin it and you just let her. You just let Miyoung monopolize your time and make you her right-hand in everything. You’ve never gotten the chance to truly put yourself out there because you firmly believed you didn’t compare.

Maybe you needed to stop overthinking and just do what you want, be confident—or at least act like you are.

“Y/n! You’re back?” Yoongi asked once you made it to the party again, “Let me tell you, I was mad because I thought you left before even talking to me.”

“I’m so very sorry,” You said playfully, “But do you know where Jungkook is?”

He seemed to freeze up, surprise written on his face and he looked down at you questioning. You held his gaze, watching the wheels turn in his head before he was blurting out, “I don’t know. The bathroom?”

You blinked nervously, letting him slip away from you when someone called for him and were left standing there. Your mind was racing with ideas yet you couldn’t think of what to do.

What did you expect coming back?

What does this prove?

You feel anxious and insecure and maybe she was right, you’re boring and you don’t even speak up or do anything exciting.

“Jungkook?” You called out to him as you walked down the hall of doors, knocking or opening whichever door you landed on. You got to the last door with a bated breath, realizing it’s a bedroom and closed yourself in.

Your sense of bravado had been short lived. Whatever burst of confidence you had was completely gone now that you sat alone in the guest room contemplating just going home or not.

In all honesty, this was stupid from the very beginning. You let Miyoung’s words get to you and you acted before you could think. You didn’t need to prove anything. Plus, you don’t want Jungkook. Maybe once before you did… but not… anymore?

God, you felt like an idiot.

“Y/n?”

Your heart dropped with a sense of disbelief as you looked up. The once pitch black room was illuminated by a block of light from the open bathroom door. Jungkook stood at the doorway, brows furrowed as he looked at who sat on the bed.

“Jungkook,” you cleared your throat awkwardly.

“You’re back?” He asked, looking you up and down with a hint of suspicion. You nodded your head silently, making him blink with confusion.

You stood up from the bed suddenly, “Are you done in there?”

“Uh, yeah,” he moved out of your way, watching you closely as you closed the door in his face before he could say anything else.

Maybe this had been a sign that you didn’t want to talk to him but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the privacy in the bedroom to go out where everyone else was. He could hear the faucet running but oblivious to how you wet your face to try and snap yourself out of this strange mood before drying off. When you opened the door, you didn’t expect to see him standing there right in front of you.

“Everything alright?” He asked, halfway in the doorway, walking forward making you step deeper into the bathroom.

“Yeah, everything’s great,” you said with a strained smile, backing away, “Just—what about you? Has it been fun, this is all for you, right?”

“I guess,” Jungkook shrugged, “But it would have been more fun if you stayed.”

“Good thing I came back then,” you couldn’t help but laugh nervously, leaning against the sink counter.

“Good thing,” Jungkook licked his dry lips, “Y/n, about what I was saying earlier… I would honestly like for us together sometime, just the two of us.”

A small, shy smile appeared on your lips as you thought about earlier and repeated yourself playfully, “We’re hanging out right now, aren’t we?”

“I guess,” he blinked in confusion, looking down at you and struggling to keep his composure. Your response was a bit of a let down since he hoped you had come back to see him and he should have known better. You would never take him seriously after his mess with Miyoung and he was always reaching for the stars thinking it could work out.

Plus, you’re too good for him. You always have been.

He can’t explain why, but he’s always felt a sense of ease with you, like everything was perfect. As shameful as it is to admit, Miyoung had reasons to be worried.

When they dated… well, it didn’t stop him from thinking about you from time to time. Miyoung was aware of it too and he looks back on it now and realizes how wrong he was then. It was wrong for him to think about you when he was never able to have you, and he will be much less now.

“Am I wrong? Is it not just the two of us now?” You asked, swallowing the lump in your throat and looking to the bathroom door which was closed some time ago.

“Y/n,” he said it softly but you could sense his warning tone, like you were going to get yourself in trouble. Jungkook wanted to believe you were aware of what this looked like yet he knew there was a chance you weren’t. He couldn’t just go for it.

He could not just go for it.

Not even if you looked up at him with a look in your eyes that said you might want him to…

He could be dreaming it up.

Would you want him to?

No. No way, you would never, that’s how this all started right? You wouldn’t want him the way he wanted you and you’ll go be with someone else while he beats himself up for another failed attempt. He’s not in college anymore, he can’t make the same mistakes.

You do not want him.

“Y/n,” he said with a sigh, “I think we should get out n—“

It was soft but sudden. One second he was giving up on everything he had been hoping for and was ready to go on once again without telling you how he really felt. The next, your lips were on his, barely giving him a chance to feel the tenderness of it before pulling away with a gasp.

“Jungkook,” you covered your mouth with your hand, “Oh my god. I’m s-sorry, I, that was not okay. I shouldn’t have done that.”

You were rambling, apologizing for doing it without asking him first but in all honesty, he couldn’t hear you anymore. There was a strange ringing in his ear that only seemed to stop when he grabbed your face in his hands, and pulled you into a real kiss.

To keep yourself from leaning back too far, you wrapped your arms around his neck and met him the rest of the way. You kissed him back with an equal sense of urgency that had his eyes falling shut and letting himself get lost in the moment. Your lips were soft against his own and his lip rings felt cold on your tongue the first couple times.

At one point you surprised him by nipping at his piercings with a soft tug and it had his hands tightening around your waist, using his strength to pull you onto the counter with ease. It made it easier to kiss you and he let the small sigh you let out guide his tongue between your lips. Your hands were in his dark hair, and you surprised him with the way you took lead of the kiss. It felt like he was melting into you and it was doing things to him.

“Y/n,” he mumbled softly, “I want you so bad.”

You pulled back from him with widened eyes. It was the first time you heard him sound that way and you knew he meant it. He looked at you with an intense gaze and it felt good to be looked at that way by him. You wanted him too, right? That’s why you came back. That's why you were so upset back then. Why can’t you have him now?

What was really stopping you?

Nothing.

The second time he kissed you, you didn’t hesitate from doing more and it had his mouth dropping when he felt your hand trace down his toned chest. He let that feeling motivate his hands to do the same to you and they ran along your sides till he could feel your front. His hands slipped under your top and found your chest, gently reaching to touch you as he kissed you with his tongue.

Your fingers trailed down his navel to the waistband of his jeans, tugging softly and teasingly that you felt the way he sucked in a shaky breath. When he didn’t pull away to tell you to stop, you took it as a sign to go a little farther and undo the button and zipper. Jungkook’s rough fingers caressed your breasts ever so softly but with an added pressure that made you let out a small sigh, especially when he ran his thumb over your nipples.

He released a light groan against your lips when you got more confident in your actions and slipped into the hem of his Calvin Klein’s. You barely touched his growing member but you felt it harden against you, the more attention you gave to it and it was all just exciting to you. His kisses were needy and his rough hands felt so good against your sensitive buds that you couldn’t hold yourself back. You wanted to make him feel good too and you could tell you were.

Jungkook helped you tug his jeans down enough for you to have more reign over him and you touched his bare dick so softly. The first touch was light and teasing, like you were still letting him get lost in the feeling before you actually did anything but it was soft that it made a tingle run down his spine. Goosebumps rose on his skin and blood ran straight to his cock making it easier for you softly palm him to full hardness.

You circled your fingers around his tip, softly running your thumb around the ring feeling him twitch with need and softly sliding down to his base.

His movement grew rougher, he was no longer softly caressing your breasts but more groping, never getting enough for the softness of them. When you began to stroke him gently, he found it hard to keep himself from digging his nails into your flesh to ground himself and it made a hand of his fall to your leg. His palm was wide and flat against your inner thigh, tracing his lips down your jaw and to your neck to try and distract himself from getting too lost into the feeling.

“Fuck,” he huffed, licking his dry lips as he began to slowly fuck into your closed fist, deaf to the sound of music just outside the bedroom you two were hiding in. The bathroom felt even smaller at this point yet he couldn’t bring himself to put a stop to it now. Especially not when your hand began to fuck his cock faster, with more vigor as he twitched in your hold making his nails dig into your thigh harshly.

Your skirt was scrunched up around your hips at this point and he could see the soft blue of your laced underwear and couldn’t stop himself anymore. He had grown too curious to have you and with his hand so close already, he let his thumb trace along your covered folds.

They were already sensitive at this point and his sudden touch made your insides tighten with arousal, your back straightened in surprise and a light moan left your lips. The sound snapped his attention away from his own pleasure and when he did it again, he swallowed your moan with his mouth on yours.

He couldn’t take thing slow anymore, especially not when his dick felt so close to the edge already and was trying not to cum all over your hand and so soon.

You were withering against him, squirming on the counter to feel more of his hand against your heat. Your fingers tightened in his hair when he reached under to the hem of your panties, pulling them down as far as he could. You wrapped your legs around his waist as he tugged them down your thighs. Jungkook pulled away from your lips with a slight groan as he brought his fingers to your lips. He pressed into your bottom lip watching close as you drew your mouth open and took them in. As you licked between two fingers, your hand’s stroking sped up with more pressure that had him pushing them deeper down your throat.

When he pulled them out there was an obvious line of drool connecting his fingertips to your lips and he brought his hand between your legs once more. The mixture between his rough fingers and the slick that now coated them made a tingle run down your spine when they ran along your folds. You pinched the fabric of his shirt as he circled your hardening clit with his middle finger while his index finger began to tease your sensitive labor.

He ran the longer finger down your slit, dipping into the puddle of arousal that formed at your center before using it to wet your clit and massage you gently.

You looked into his eyes as he finally pressed his middle finger into your waiting cunt, giving you a second to respond and he couldn’t help but let his lips slip open with heavy breaths. Your hand stopped its actions as you took in the feeling of him pulling out his finger before pushing it forward once more. Each time felt hotter than the last and it made him want to take things further. When he thought you adjusted enough, he teased the tip of his ring finger in with his middle one and kept a steady pace of thrusting.

At this point you began to stroke him again, rubbing against his mushroom tip where a thick vein was felt along the underside of it. Your hips had began to move with the motion of his hand and you were fucking his fingers into you while fucking his cock with a closed fist. The both of you were left speechless, unsure how long you had been locked away in the bathroom but not caring either.

You felt more impatient than him but you couldn’t help it. You can’t remember the last time you let someone else touch you and none felt quite like this. Jungkook seemed to know where to kiss, where to press or pay attention to and he never left a part of you untouched. Even now as he thrusted his fingers into you, his other hand was at your chest again, fingers pinching your nipple and tugging harshly but it brought little whines from your lips.

“Jungkook,” You were breathlessly calling for him and you’re sure that if your back wasn’t to the mirror, you would be able to see how desperate you looked to him. Your other hand was on his hips, pulling him forward in hopes of getting him to get the hint that you needed more, “Fuck me.”

“What?” He asked with heavy breaths, looking down at the way the tip of his cock pressed against your inner thigh now, “Really?”

“Please,” You found yourself begging, desperately begging for him to give you something and oh, how it worked.

His eyes rolled back at the soft sound of your begs and with a hand on your thigh, he pulled you harshly to the edge of the counter. He placed his hand over yours and stroked himself once, twice, to slick his member with your arousal and his own.

His cock was hot to the touch and pointed straight to your waiting entrance. He had made such a mess of you already that when he pressed his tip into your clit, it nearly slid down from how wet you are. You had to bite your lip to keep from whining too loud when he teased you with that repeated motion, wetting his tip more and feeling the way your walls tightened and released for him.

Your back was fully against the mirror now, legs open waiting for him and you were getting impatient. The anticipo had been building up for too long and you brought your hand between your legs. All it took was a soft push down for his cock to sink into your waiting pussy.

His jaw went slack at the sudden tightness of it, he hadn’t expected it to be so snug. His tip barely pushed against the ring of nerves and your facial expression matched his own when he kept going. He held your thighs open, guiding himself in with a deep breath.

“Fucking hell,” he growled lowly, hands trembling as he kept you open and ready to take him in. He looked up at your eyes, completely enamored by the way your features softened with pleasure. Your eyes were glazed over with obvious lust that made him want to just fuck you into oblivion.

“Oh my god,” your hand circled around his neck, pulling him into a sloppy wet kiss that left him biting your lip softly. He groaned against your lips as he picked up the pace of his thrusting, letting his cock drag against your puffy walls so that you could feel every juncture on his length. Your back was arched into him, your chest nearly pressed against his and he snuck his arm around your waist to pull you firmly against him.

“That’s it baby,” Jungkook groaned into your ear, gripping onto the counter with his free hand to fuck you better. You were on the edge of the sink and he bucked his hips up to reach that pleasure spot he had found with his fingers just moments ago and had you moaned loudly into his ear, “You sound pretty, tell me how it feels.”

“Feels good,” you whispered softly against his neck, lips teasing kisses against his skin that made the veins in his arms bulge, “Don’t stop, please.”

“Ngh, Y/n, beg for me,” Jungkook said with a deep voice filled with lust as he fucked you with all his strength. There were too many layers of clothing between you but neither of you seemed to have the time or energy to tear them off. You were both too focused on the pleasure that came from feeling his skin against yours.

Your legs tightened around his waist forcing more of his length into your sopping cunt and his fingers pinched your sides roughly. Without thinking, Jungkook lifted you off the counter. You clung to him as he stepped back and he needed a second to just feel the way your pussy tightened around his hard, thick cock. He wanted to dig into your guts and it was nasty how badly he wanted to have you cum all over him.

It was so unexpected because you always came off as a quiet, reserved person but here you were letting him tear you in two with his fat dick. Jungkook used his strength to push you against the door, letting you drop onto his length before backing his hips up and pistoning them back into you.

“Fuck, I can’t,” your legs tightened around him with your face digging into his neck, “Jungkook, baby, I can’t.”

“You can,” He whispered, pressing you firmly into the wall, “Come on baby, take it.”

“Too much,” You whined, squeezing your eyes shut as he picked up the pace and you searched around for something to hold. Your hand tightened around the doorknob, trying to anchor yourself as he fucked you so good you could barely focus on anything but the pleasure, “I’m so close.”

Jungkook’s hand held you firmly by the waist while the other cupped your ass, groping you harshly as he fucked you onto his length trying to make you cum, “Cum baby, for me. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you moaned, “Kiss me, please?”

He didn’t hesitate to do so, kissing you with tongue as you clung to him, moaning into his ear and shaking slightly. His knees buckled tightly to hold you up and just as he gave one final thrust to the hilt, he felt your orgasm hit you.

Your walls tightened around him, nearly bringing him to his own orgasm before feeling his tip get flooded with your release. His thighs shook with the pressure of it and he felt his strength leaving him. His abdomen grew tense and he pushed you back to the counter where you let your head fall back with pleasure. You swallowed dryly, panting heavily, “Oh my god.”

You were sweaty, tired and overall unsure what to think but your mind hadn’t cleared yet. All you could focus on was the way Jungkook’s dick throbbed painfully hard when he pulled out of you with a slight pop. You eyed his red member, slightly hypnotized by how pretty it looked and you dropped to your knees wordlessly.

Jungkook watched you slip down on your knees in front of him and it took him a moment to process what was going on. He was hard, so fucking hard he couldn’t think straight and it wasn’t until your hands held his thighs, eyeing his cock hungrily did he realize what you wanted to do. He brought a hand fo attempt and gently brush your hair back, “Y/n, baby, you don’t have t—oh fuck.”

His jaw went slack when your hands circled his base, your lips on his tip and taking him down your throat suddenly. Your nose brushed against the base of his cock, eyes watering as you tried relaxing your throat around him and he nearly stumbled back with surprise, “Y/n.”

You ignored his call of your name, and began to bob your head against his length, your tongue licking along the thick vein you discovered earlier and feeling his hands sink into your hair to guide you, “That’s it, fuck.”

Jungkook looked at his reflection in the mirror, turned on by the way your head was seen bobbing against his length and his body was overheating so much he had to pull his shirt over his toned chest to cool down. It gave him a perfect view of the way his cock disappeared between your lips.

The thought of having you like this hadn’t dawned on him yet but now he couldn’t forget it. The memory would always be ingrained in his mind and although he doesn’t know if he’ll never get a chance to do this again, he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

You gradually began to pick up the pace, using your hands to hold closed fists around his cock to help stroke what didn’t fit in your mouth. You swallowed and bobbed around his dick hungrily, moaning around him and hollowing your cheeks when you would pull your head back until only his tip was between your lips.

As ashamed as he was to admit it, he wasn’t going to be able to hold himself back anymore. Still wanting to warn you, he tried to guide your head off him, “I’m close.”

All it did was push you to take him deeper, stopping when he hit the back of your throat and sucked. Jungkook’s eyes squeezed shut with a loud growl as his orgasm hit him harder than it had in a very long time.

You coughed as his cum sprayed down your throat, thick and creamy with a bittersweet taste that you tried to lick up. You would’ve cleaned him off fully despite his legs shaking but he pulled you off. He pulled his softening dick out of your wet mouth with a huff, panting heavily as he looked down at you.

“Y/n,” his voice was dry, pulling you up to your feet, “That was…”

He couldn’t even get the words out as he watched you lick the corner of your lips and without thinking about it, he pulled you into a heated kiss. You kissed him back with need, moaning against him as his tongue circled around yours hungrily, not caring for the way he tased on you. You only broke away to catch your breath, realization dawning at you as you looked at his messy appearance that surely mirrored yours.

You sat against the counter for a moment, attempting to catch your breath as Jungkook did the same. The two of you were silently readjusting your clothes again and you needed just a moment to yourself. He looked at you, buttoning his jeans back up, “Is everything… okay?”

“Yeah, um, can I just get a minute,” You said with a hoarse voice trying to pretend like you couldn’t see the way his shoulders slumped down. With a short nod of his head, he left the bathroom to let you wash up and for a moment you just looked at yourself in the mirror.

Your reflection looked different, maybe because what you had just done was so out of character and with your best friend’s ex but… why did it feel right?

Jungkook wondered what would happen now, if you expected him to leave the room or wait for you but he wanted to be with you. He didn’t want to walk out and think that because he got something he’s been wanting for years now, he’ll just leave. He knows the others are looking for him, mostly because he’s gotten a few texts now asking where he’s at but he can’t bring it in himself to care. When you opened the bathroom door into the dark room, he looked like a deer caught in headlights, rushing to his feet, “Are you sure everything is fine?”

“Yeah, yes,” you nodded stiffly, “If you want to go out there with everyone else that’s fine. I won’t be upset or anything.”

“Well, I was kind of wondering if you wanted to come back to mine?”

The first thing you noticed the following morning aside from the sun shining down on your face was the heavy arm across your waist. It made your eyes flutter awake with a small huff leaving your lips as you attempted to stretch your limbs but it tightened around you, securing you closer to Jungkook’s naked chest.

“Morning,” he mumbled sleepily into your hair as he hugged you closer.

“What time is it?” You asked awkwardly, trying to sit up making his arm slide to your hips instead. You reached for your cell phone, eyes widening by the number of text messages.

miyoung: bye I was drunkkkkkk 😳

miyoung: did I 🤮 at all?

miyoung: r u alive

miyoung: helloooooooo

A quiet sigh escaped your lips as you read it over. Either she couldn’t remember how upset she was in the car or she’s going to pretend like nothing at all happened.

God, what did you do?

“Y/n,” Jungkook grumbled tiredly, “Lay back down.”

“I should go,” You bit your lip nervously. If Miyoung forgot what happened last night then maybe she forgot about Jungkook asking you and won’t know you… slept with him. Fuck, were you a bad friend?

He dated your best friend and dumped her out of the blue making it obvious he wanted nothing to do with her and here you are letting him fuck you in the bathroom. What did that make you? You had a poor lapse of judgment last night, you acted out of character and hadn’t been behaving like yourself at all.

“Why?” He sat up suddenly, “You don’t work today, right? Why don’t we go grab breakfast—well, brunch.”

You looked down at him, unable to stop yourself from taking in his appearance. He had bed hair, no shirt on and his blanket draped over his waist. He failed to take off his jewelry last night so he still wears silver chain necklaces around his neck and leather bracelets. You couldn’t possibly spend time with him still. It wasn’t right, right?

Just as you were ready to give him your answer, your phone began to vibrate with an incoming call. You looked down at the screen and a picture of you and Miyoung displayed on the screen that had Jungkook huffing quietly and laying back down, close to giving up.

In all honesty, you weren’t in the mood to talk to her. It still bothered you by how harsh she was last night but there’s a chance she doesn’t even remember and… “Hello?”

“Tell me why I have a raging headache when I barely drank last night?” Miyoung said immediately once the call went through, “It’s your fault y’know for upsetting me.”

You couldn’t see her but she was walking on a treadmill in her apartment acting like everything was completely normal. Jungkook didn’t care for your conversation either but he was focused on the way you looked first thing in the morning.

You looked cute, undeniably cute with circles under your eyes and a disheveled appearance. You wore an oversized shirt of his so you wouldn’t have to sleep in such uncomfortable clothes and he loved it. You looked good in his clothes.

Without thinking, he sat up and pressed his lips to yours in a short and surprising kiss. You flinched back with confusion, nearly dropping your phone in the process but he backed away with a small smile. You tried to glare at him but you couldn’t stop from smiling and it annoyed you when he placed a gentle kiss against your neck that made you feel flustered. You almost forgot you were on the phone when he leaned in for a kiss again and one you would surely grant.

“But I forgive you,” Miyoung said suddenly.

“What?”

“I forgive you, I’m over it,” Miyoung said with a shrug you couldn’t see, “Our friendship means more to me than Jungkook and I know you would never do anything that you know would upset me so… it’s whatever. In the past.”

“Wait,” You held up a hand to Jungkook as you said it to the both of them, “When did I apologize?”

He stopped immediately, looking at you with concern as Miyoung went on, “I mean, we both know you were going to. I’m just letting you know it’s alright.”

“No, Miyoung, I wasn’t going to,” you couldn’t help but scoff, “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Technically.

Jungkook raised his brows, surprised by your tone and a little turned on? Was that okay to say?

“I didn’t mean it like that, but you know… you were flirting with the guy who dumped me,” Miyoung said, “It’s fine, whatever, you want to flirt with Jungkook, I don’t care anymore I just thought I meant more to you as a friend.”

You didn’t say anything for a moment as you looked down at Jungkook who couldn’t seem to go more than a minute without attention. He had your free hand in his measuring your size difference and you released a sigh, “You know what, I’m kind of busy right now so I’ll call you later.”

Miyoung wasn’t able to get a word in before you ended the call, turning your attention to Jungkook, “You’re getting me in trouble, sir.”

“I’m terribly sorry,” he said, biting back a grin, “How should I make it up to you? Brunch?”

“You’re still thinking about that?” You asked with a slight laugh.

It was strange trying not to let your best friend’s feelings bring you down too.

“I’m hungry,” Jungkook said, hand on his toned stomach for detail.

“I don’t have clothes or, I don’t know, a toothbrush,” you couldn’t help but sound sarcastic, falling back on the bed with an arm on his chest.

“Don’t worry, I got you.”

In the end you caved to his incessant begging and found yourself dressed as casual as ever with an oversized tee and the skirt you wore last night clashing horribly. The only thing that had you regretting it was what stood [parked] in front of you.

“You’re not serious, are you?” You asked as you watched him walk up to you with a helmet in his hands, “I can’t get on that.”

“You can,” Jungkook said, putting it over your head, “I’m a very safe driver.”

“What about your car?” You asked nervously as he buckled[?] you into the head gear, “Can’t we just go in that.”

“We can but that won’t impress you,” Jungkook snorted a laugh as he got his own helmet on, “Come on Y/n, I won’t kill you, don’t worry.”

With a small sigh you nodded, letting him lead you to the bike and he swung a leg over to straddle it and patted the seat right behind him. Frankly, you didn’t care that you were in a skirt. You know that there’s an appropriate way for people in skirts to straddle something but you cared more about living so you straddled it the way he did. Jungkook couldn’t help but smile as he felt the softer touch of your hands on his waist and without saying a word, he pulled you into him suddenly. Your chest was pressed to his back and your arms snug around his waist.

“Atta girl, no time to be shy now,” he chuckled, feeling you smack his arm playfully.

If he were being honest, he liked this side of you. He’s never seen it before and it was breathtaking and enjoyable. Before when you were just classmates you were still stand offish from him and the only night he got you to open up was the first time he ran into you and met Miyoung. It was short lived and once he dated her, he rarely got to see you alone.

When he got back, you would barely even look at him yet whatever spurred last night’s events seemed to open up new possibilities for you two. You haven’t talked about what happened but he’s expecting it almost excitedly.

Jungkook’s hand ran up your thighs, securing you to him as he started up the motorcycle, feeling the smoothness of your leg and teasing the end of your skirt with a small tug, “Ready?”

He felt you squeeze harder before taking off.

The cafe was small and filled with warmth making this feel oddly close to a date… which is probably because it was? You’re still not sure how to take it.

“Did I really get you in trouble?” Jungkook asked as he cut his breakfast sandwich in half before doing the same with yours. When you looked at him he looked concerned by the notion. You didn’t have to ask to know what he was referring to and you couldn’t help but sigh, “Not really, sorry, it was more my fault than any—“

“Why though?” Jungkook cut you off, “Why is it always your fault? You can’t talk to me now?”

“You know we didn’t just talk,” you bit your lip nervously. You couldn’t meet his gaze and he didn’t like that.

He huffed in annoyance, “But she doesn’t know, or does she? I mean, what does it matter?”

“You dated. She’s my best friend and it bothers her, I already feel guilty for what happened last night—not that I regret it, don’t get me wrong but… well, it’s just confusing and it upsets her,” You rambled, still defending Miyoung even when she was slowly getting under your skin.

“We dated so long ago, it was such a short fling,” Jungkook said with a laugh as he went back to eating, “And she dumped me so why does it matter if you and I get together?”

“I don’t know, I just… she’s my best frie—wait, what did you say?” You met his stare suddenly making him set down his coffee cup to answer.

“She dumped me so why can’t you and I…” he stopped. Did you mean for him to repeat the part about being with you? Did you want him to say it again, maybe use the right words this time?

Why is he saying Miyoung dumped him? You remember the day exactly.

Miyoung called you while you were studying in the library late one night, not fully in tears but clearly under duress and she couldn’t stop herself from letting her emotions get to her. She went on to tell you how Jungkook dumped her suddenly over a phone call because he wasn’t interested anymore and was just using her or something.

You remember because you left the library to go comfort her and you almost ran into him on campus and he wouldn’t even look you in the eye…

He dumped her because he got bored, that’s why she asked you to stop talking to him. He was just like every other guy according to her and you owed her the promise to avoid him. It was you who introduced them anyway and…

Why is it that any guy you’ve ever thought you’ve liked would fall for her instead, only to dump her and in return make her ask you to not speak to them again?

Jungkook wasn’t the first so when she asked you to avoid him, it bothered you a little but you soon got over it and did as told.

You always do as told without questioning it.

“You broke up with her.”

He chuckled, shaking his head no, “I was going to but she beat me to it. I don’t know how honest you want me to be this early in the day.”

“Tell me,” you urged him on.

“I wanted to break up with her but I had this sick feeling that I wasn’t going to be able to talk to you as much anymore or it would be awkward so I stuck it out,” Jungkook said it with a shrug, “But then she dumped me and suddenly you won’t even look at me so it was worse for me, I guess.”

Your eyebrows stitched together with confusion, “What are you saying? Why did you care if I talked to you or not? You went for Miyoung the second you met her—“

“That’s not true, actually,” Jungkook confessed, deciding if you wanted honesty he would give it even if it embarrassed him, “I wanted you.”

“And when I met her, I was obviously there at the bar trying to talk to you but she kept butting in and next thing I know, you were off talking to Yoongi and ignoring me,” Jungkook went on, “To be honest, I was kind of insecure back then, like really insecure and I was trying to get you to notice me but everytime someone would cu—“

“Jungkook, stop, I just… no, you did not like me, you dated Miyoung,” You cut him off, fidgeting in your seat anxiously, “It’s fine, it’s in the past.”

“No it’s not fine and I asked how honest you wanted me to be and you told me to tell you so I’m going to,” Jungkook said more seriously, “I was insecure, alright? I had just moved to the city and I shared class with this pretty, incredibly smart girl who would barely give me any time of day. Honestly it was kind of depressing, I was kinda depressed at the time and I needed a boost to talk to you so I asked Miyoung and… she said you were into someone else so I was pretty bummed out. Then she’s kind of just everywhere and she actually tries to talk to me so when she asks me out, I say yes but I realize I still have to see you.”

“And I liked being around you even though I probably shouldn’t have because technically I was dating her at this point and I realized that I practically screwed up whatever chance I might have had with you,” Jungkook couldn’t stop himself anymore. He was saying whatever was on his mind, barely giving you time to process any of it before continuing, “Yes, I know it’s fucked up because whenever I thought it might work and I might catch real feelings for her, you would came around and they just went out the window. So it was getting harder and harder to keep pretending and I wanted to break up with her but I was worried you wouldn’t talk to me anymore.”

“She beat me to it and dumped me because she was bored and I was relieved, honestly, but then I see you on campus and you can’t even look at me anymore,” Jungkook cleared his throat, “Then life went on, I moved away, moved back, ran into you again and…”

“And what?” You asked breathlessly, lips dry and completely frozen in your seat.

He looked at you warmly, “I found you, everything just came back and I knew I didn’t want to lose you a second time. I wanted to ask you out the first night at the bar but you didn’t even want to talk to me so I tried again last night and you were so ready to blow me off when Miyoung came along. I don’t know what made you come back to the party and I don’t want you thinking I’m some sleazy guy who acts like that with just anyone. I was just… it was unexpected and I had been waiting years for something to happen between us.”

Suddenly, this didn’t feel like an easy brunch inside a warm and cozy cafe anymore. In all honesty, it felt a little suffocating now and you don’t know how to explain it, but you didn’t want to be here. So much has just been thrown at you and you don’t think you can handle it all.

What did he mean that he liked you first?

Why had Miyoung told him you were into someone else? You learned to stop sharing who you liked with her so long ago and had never once told her anything like that in school. Why couldn’t she just have asked you? Why did she ask him out after he made it known he wanted you?

You don’t care that he said yes, that really was in the past for you. Now you’re more focused on why someone who was supposed to be your best friend would act so sneaky? What did she gain from it?

Why did she lie and say he dumped her? Was it just so she can paint him as a villain and make you not want to talk to him anymore? Why would she do that?

“Y/n?” He called your name waiting for you to respond to him but you just sat there stunned, “I’m sorry, I know I was a piece of shit for dating her when I wanted you bu—Y/n.”

Your mind is filled with questions that you couldn’t answer and it was overwhelming. The cafe felt suddenly overwhelming and you just had to get out of there, so you did.

“Earth to Y/n, I don’t know how long you plan on ignoring the world but I know you’re not too busy with work to ignore your friends.”

Tacky, Taehyung was so very tacky leaving a concerning voicemail. Who left voicemails these days?

And he was being dramatic, he’s acting like you’ve fallen off the face of the Earth but that’s not true. You’ve just been holed up at either the office or your home for the past week, avoiding any call or text from anyone so you could be alone with your thoughts.

Alright it’s been over a week, almost two and maybe it is a little concerning but you’re telling yourself you’re just being dramatic.

“Y/n you better open the door before I break it down,” Taehyung’s muffled voice boomed from the other side of your front door and you begrudgingly went to let him in.

“Relax, I’m not dead,” You muttered under your breath as you let him in.

“Damn near!” Taehyung said loudly as he let himself through the door, “What is up with you? You haven’t responded to any text I was beginning to get worried.”

“Sorry,” you mumbled as you flopped down onto your couch, “I’ve just been tired.”

“Too tired to answer the phone?” Taehyung asked sitting down next to you, “Miyoung, I get. Ignore her all you want but me? What did I ever do to you? What’s up with you? I haven’t talked to you since the party. Did something happen?”

With a small sigh, you let your head rest against the back of the couch, “I slept with Jungkook.”

“Really?” Taehyung seemed genuinely surprised, “So fallout with Miyoung I’m assuming? Look, I personally don’t get why you try to make her happy but she’ll get over it. Did you like it? Like him?”

“Yes, I don’t know, I’m confused, I don’t know what to believe anymore,” you admitted, “And I feel so dumb because this shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“Alright well I need you to rewind and explain things better so my pea brain can handle it,” Taehyung made himself comfortable, “You’ve gone Ghost for over a week, I want to know why. Was it because of Jungkook? Miyoung? If you think sleeping with him makes you a bad friend the—“

“She’s a liar,” you cut in, “And it shouldn’t bother me so much because she’s my best friend but that’s why it bothers me, Tae. I’ve known her for so long, and I’ve always tried to be a good friend to her but it was never enough. So I tried harder and harder because who else would be there for me like her but… now that I’m looking back on it, I don’t think she’s ever cared about me as much as I care about her and it sucks, honestly.”

Taehyung wanted to tell you so many people cared about you but he wanted you to say whatever you needed to say first.

“You know what Jungkook said? He said Miyoung knew he apparently liked me before and still asked him out—and lied about how I felt about him,” You said, “And okay, why would I fight over a guy with my best friend but now that I’m thinking about it… it’s fucked up right? She lied that he dumped her and begged me to avoid him. You saw how she acted the other night just because he talked to me. What was that about?”

You weren’t going to go into full detail about the past because you owed Jungkook enough to not tell Taehyung about everything he said but he needed context.

“And I know it’s in the past so I should just move on but I can’t,” You admitted, “I still like him but if I… I get with him Miyoung would never let me forget that she dated him first, even if he liked me. It’s just all so confusing and overwhelming and it sucks that I’m letting it get to me like this but… it’s not fair.”

Once again, Taehyung didn’t say anything but he could tell you were feeling emotional by the way your voice began to shake.

“I like him, and not in the way I liked him before but I like this new him too, and it’s not fair that even if she lied or even if she snaps at me about shit that doesn’t matter, I will still feel guilty,” You finished.

“Y/n,” Taehyung cleared his throat, “Obviously I don’t know everything that happened back then but… I think that if you feel for him what he feels for you, it shouldn’t matter what she says. And honestly, I just… I wish you could see that there are so many people who care about you so much and you don’t have to put up with being belittled by someone who is supposed to be your best friend just because you have history. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the past, if it’s upsetting you now then clearly it still matters so don’t try to downplay your emotions.”

“But she’s my best friend,” your lip quivered.

“Then what am I?” He forced his lip to quiver as well.

“You’re my best friend too,” you sniffled.

Taehyung mimicked your expression, “Then as your best friend, I’m telling you to stop trying to make excuses for people who don’t treat you right—and go fix it with this guy.”

“Bu—“

“Y/n, I know you,” Taehyung sighed, “And I know that you’re not going to do anything if you think it upsets her but she doesn’t deserve a friend like you. You deserve to go be with whoever you want. I don’t care about what she says and at this point neither should you. I know that right now it’s confusing and you’re overwhelmed but if you’ve been ignoring me you’ve been ignoring him—I hope because if it’s just me that’s cold—and if the girl I had feelings for ghosted me… I’d be hurt.”

Jungkook was not hurt. He was… y'know, perfectly fine and that’s what he kept telling himself. It’s not like you made any real sign of feeling something for him too after hooking up and maybe that had just been a casual, one time thing. He can handle that, he’s grown.

Sure, he sort of spilled his damn heart out to you just for you to storm off on him and not reach out to him in days but he’s not bothered by it at all. That’s why when his two closest friends called Saturday night asking him to go clubbing… he said yes.

It was a chance to possibly let it go, forget it even, but it wasn’t easy. He was aware that he was possibly reading too into what happened the other night but could you blame him? You’re suddenly all about him and spend the night at his place where you wake up in his arms before going out to eat. It was like the perfect set up for a what if yet it went all wrong. Clearly it was his fault for being hopeful.

“So who else did you say is meeting us here?” Jungkook asked Hoseok for confirmation as he passed him a drink. The music played loudly in his eardrums that it was borderline painful and he wanted to leave more than anything but there was that stupid what if in his head.

“Jimin’s joining later on and so is Namjoon and his girl,” Hoseok said as he made sure everyone else had what they ordered, “Oh, and Y/n too, I think.”

“Y/n?” Jungkook tried clarifying. Hoseok smiled, “I know, it’s weird, Y/n seriously rarely comes out but all of a sudden she’s starting to more. I mean, lately she has, probably since around the time you got back?”

Jungkook let his friend go off to do whatever he wanted while he stood there seemingly frozen. Tonight would be the first time in days that he sees you—talks to you—and he’s not sure how to handle it. There’s nothing he can do about it either because he hasn’t confided in anyone yet but it’s painfully obvious that he’s waiting for you.

Yoongi noticed first, like he usually did, and tried talking to him, “What’s up with you? You’ve been antsy since the party, will you finally tell me where you ran off to?”

“Yeah man, don’t think we didn’t notice when you disappeared,” Jin said with a slight wink, “We just want to know with who.”

“Y/n.”

He could see you from the corner of his eye when you joined them at a table they had found. You came with Jimin by your side and a shy smile on your face. He assumed it was Hoseok who had screamed your name considering how he hogged your attention with a huge grin and Jungkook felt nervous all of a sudden.

As embarrassing as it was, Jungkook had nearly forgotten what he was asked until he looked back at Yoongi and Jin who looked at him expectantly. A nervous laugh escaped his lips as he shrugged, “Did you guys miss me too much?”

“Sneaky guy, don’t change the subject,” Jin laughed before letting Jungkook shift his attention back to you, making it painfully obvious where he was focused.

You felt a little nervous to be out tonight but after what you had talked about with Taehyung, you knew he was right. You acted strange with Jungkook after he opened up his side of things to you and it was plain wrong. Part of you isn’t even sure if he’s actually interested or not since he didn’t reach out to you this week and it made you wonder if he was really upset.

And if he was, would that mean that he didn’t want to speak to you?

“I need a drink,” you mumbled to yourself more than to the others but it made a good excuse to at least try. You looked at Jungkook for the first time since you got there and cleared your throat to awkwardly ask, “Jungkook, do you mind going with me?”

“Get me another, will ya?” Yoongi asked with a sudden wink that made Jungkook do a double take. Was he winking over the drink or him leaving with you?

He nodded his head in response and without question followed you to the bar once more. The bar was packed from all sides and Jungkook had to fight his way to the counter working as a barrier from people pushing at you. If he were to be honest, he wanted to skip the questions and get close to you again but he had to stay strong. He needed answers, right?

“Are we good?” Was the only thing he could think to ask.

You looked at him warmly, sitting down on the stool at the counter with him standing close to you, his hand itching to reach for you. Your lip caught between your teeth as you nodded, “Are we?”

For some reason he didn’t expect to be asked that back. It made him wonder if he thought you were. It was undeniably embarrassing to have you walk out on him like that after he thought it had been going good but did that mean he was truly upset with you?

“Yeah,” he nodded stiffly, blinking nervously and looking to the bartender who noticed them a while ago but had to attend to earlier customers first, “But uh, I guess I am just a little confused by it all. Did I do something to upset you? Was it what I said?”

“No, no, I’m sorry, it wasn’t you,” You blurted out, “It was me, I wasn’t thinking straight and I feel really bad about leaving like that.”

“Then why didn’t you just call or even text me?” Jungkook asked honestly, “I… I think that’s what bothered me the most.”

You looked down at your hands, “I'm sorry. I didn’t talk to anyone, seriously, and I did think about reaching out to you but I don’t know, I’m really bad at explaining things.”

“Well can you try? I know it was sudden but I thought it had been going good,” Jungkook said and the longer he tried getting to the bottom of this, the more annoyed he felt that you couldn’t just say it, “I think I’ve made it clear now how I feel about you and all I’m asking is for you to do the same.”

“I—yes,” you stumbled over your words, “I mean, I’m trying to be clear now but I’m doing a shit job at it. I did have a good time with you but it was honestly, really out of character for me to yknow… and then the whole Miyoung thing and I’m sorry but it was just a lot all at once. It’s definitely not fair to you that I acted that way, but I do have feelings for you.”

He let out a sigh, feeling unsure how to take it and stuck between wanting to smile in relief and wanting to be upset. You didn’t text him, nothing. How is that fair? He wanted to reach out to you but after the way you left he thought he would just make it worse if he kept bothering you. The bartender finally got to you two and he let you speak first as he tried gathering his thoughts a little more.

“But what does this mean?” Jungkook asked now, “I want you and you want me, right? So, what does this mean Y/n because right now I’m still confused by it all. If it’s because of Miyoung then—“

“No, it’s not, honestly,” You said, reaching for him, pinching the bottom of his shirt between your fingers to pull him toward you, “I don't care what she thinks anymore, I like you and I should have just said that from the beginning.”

The pull was harsh and had him looking down with his lips slightly parted in surprise, “Y/n, you’re not being fair.”

You knew it. You knew you probably ruined your chance now and coming to see him had just been a waste. You nearly let go of him when he continued, “You can’t ignore me and walk out on me and then just tell me you want me too, expecting everything to be fine.”

He had to be tough. He can’t just let it go even though you’re saying everything he wants to hear.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” you said with a slight frown, “I can leave if you want me to.”

“Ugh,” he groaned, unable to help himself anymore as he closed the distance between you two. He circled an arm around you and pulled you into a hug, “Why would I want you to leave when I’ve been waiting for you to get here?”

“What?” You asked, hands finding his waist as he held you, “I thought you were mad.”

“I was,” Jungkook said, “So you don’t know how annoyed I am with myself right now. All it takes is for you to sweet talk me a bit and give me those eyes of yours for me to fold, that’s embarrassing.”

“Jungkook,” you said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have walked out like that. I should have texted you and if you want to be mad, I get it. If you want to think it over an—“

“And what if I don’t?” He asked looking down at your pouty lips and glossy eyes, “What if I just want to let it go and be with you without any more problems? Can I do that?”

His tone was surprisingly firm and you couldn’t do anything but nod, “Okay.”

It didn’t change the fact that you still felt bad because it seemed like you were being let off the hook easily but what else could you do? Jungkook really did seem ready to move past it and that’s why you came here in the first place. You just hadn’t expected it to be so easy and it made you feel bad.

When your drinks were ready, you opened up a tab despite his protests to just put it on his and the two of you got back to the group like nothing had happened. There was still a lot that needed to be talked about before you told anyone about what happened but it’s not like they were all oblivious.

Jimin, for instance, had been keeping an eye on you two at the bar since you left and had seen the majority of your conversation but he didn’t bring it up. Instead he watched silently for your little glances in each other’s direction and shy smiles. It was obvious to Yoongi too that Jungkook was in a much better mood now than earlier and it wasn’t hard for him to figure out why.

Perhaps for the same reason you had suddenly started joining them more often, being more comfortable too.

It had been a slow start for the two of you after the night at the club. Neither one of you seemed to want to rush into things but at times there was a strong pull. Tonight was going to be your first official date but you were keeping that information to your friends until you figure out if this works or not.

Jungkook picked you up from your apartment and drove to a nice restaurant where the two of you sat for dinner. He was very attentive to you, making sure your glass was always full and all your needs met and it was a surprisingly good feeling to be taken care of this way. You’ve dated in the past but you can’t say you’ve always chosen the right ones. You had a tendency to lean toward the ones who were overly forward with you because in your mind there was no doubt they liked you.

At first it would be nice but then you would realize that it was more of a conquering feeling to them than actually wanting to be with you and you would be left heartbroken. That’s part of why you rarely put yourself out there.

Jungkook is different though, he always has been. When you first met him he was forward but aloof. You never expected him to actually like you because you couldn’t see the signs clearly and the way things turned out it just never worked. Now that he’s been back he’s almost like an entirely different person in the sense that he’s ready to go for what he wants and it’s sort of admirable.

If you had been able to do that back then maybe you would have had him sooner but there was no point in dwelling in the past. He was here now and so were you. Honestly, knowing that there's something that’s been brewing between you two for a long time made it easier to feel confident around him.

“Why are you so pretty?” Jungkook couldn’t help but ask even if his mouth was full. He was trying not to smile too as he said that.

“Oh my god,” You felt your face heat up, tempted to hide behind your hand. It took you a moment to think of a response and it was surprising for the both of you to hear you say, “Why are you?”

Jungkook cleared his throat awkwardly in hopes of not seeming too affected by your words. It didn’t work and he broke out into a grin, “I wasn’t expecting that.”

Dinner was filled with small flirting here and there. It’s crazy how well you and him seemed to get along when you stopped worry about other things. He made you smile, really smile and you made him feel giddy whenever he talked to you. He wanted to spend his night with you and nobody else.

“Are we going to meet with everyone else after this?” You asked as he pulled your chair out for you and you got up from the table. After some back and forth arguing, he eventually took care of the bill despite your protests and the night felt near its finish much to your disappointment.

It was the weekend and you’ve been trying to go out with your friends more and they had asked to meet up later—but both you and Jungkook had to tell them maybe.

“Do we have to?” He asked, taking your bag in one hand and holding yours with the other, “You think they’ll get a little suspicious if we’re both gone?”

You walked with him across the restaurant toward the entrance. You weren’t paying much attention to the people you passed, “I’m sure they know.”

Your response surprised him a bit and he couldn’t help but ask, “Really? Has it been that obvious?”

“Yeah, Jimin called me out on it the other night,” you shrugged, reaching for your bag to look for chapstick while he led you to the front. You couldn’t meet his eyes because you sensed where this was going.

“What’d he say?” Jungkook asked slowing his pace for you.

You blinked nervously, distracting yourself with your lipbalm as you tried sounding casual, “He asked why we were being so sneaky at the bar.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened slightly, opening the door for you as he said, “Damn, what did you say?”

“I said because we’re together.”

You tried being slick about it and slide past him without much attention but it was useless. He stood in front of you with a smile on his face, “Oh, we are? I don’t remember you clarifying that. Can you remind me when you asked me to be your man?”

“Oh god, don’t act like that,” you whined shyly.

“I’m sorry baby, I gotta hear you say it with your own words. What’d you tell him?” Jungkook blocked your path, hands finding your waist and keeping you from running. He liked making you flustered and you had no idea how you left him with a racing heart.

You pouted, looking at him seriously, “Jungkook.”

The two of you stood outside the restaurant looking like a playful couple that maybe had one too many drinks but it was all Jungkook’s fault. He wouldn’t let it go to rest and even had the nerve to smirk as he teasingly said, “That’s not how you say ‘Boyfriend’.”

“You’re ridiculous, we talked about this,” you said, focused on his chest to hide your embarrassment.

Jungkook just grinned mischievously, “What did you tell him?”

“I said you were my boyfriend,” you mumbled into his chest.

“Your what?” He asked trying to step back and get a good look at your face, “Come on baby, don’t get shy on me now.”

You whined, “Jung—“

“Your what?” He was laughing now, not caring for whoever might pass them and stare because he felt good. Too good to be affected by a stranger’s judgement.

“My boyfriend,” you sighed with embarrassment, “You heard me the first time, goof.”

“That’s what I thought, alright, you ready to go?” He asked with a chuckled as he took your hand in his ready to walk with you to the car.

“Y/n?”

You both stopped in your step, wondering if it really was your name you had heard. You looked back toward the rest, eyes threatening to widen with surprise as you looked at the person who stood at the entrance. She was with a group of people all headed inside but when she saw you, she stopped.

“Miyoung, hey,” You cleared your throat awkwardly, your demeanor changing completely.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” She asked as her eyes trailed behind you where Jungkook was looking at you with worry and confusion. He wanted to make sure everything would be alright, knowing how Miyoung would react. He didn’t want your good night to be ruined over something petty.

“What do you mean? I’m uh, I was just having dinner,” you said stiffly, looking back at Jungkook which proved to be a mistake because it seemed to solidify his presence to her.

“With jungkook?” She asked with a snappy tone. Miyoung shooed away her friends, telling them to go in without her as she approached you.

“Yeah.”

“Why?” Her brow arched with amusement, clearly ticked off and in disbelief by what she saw before her. Like usual, the situation seemed much worse than it really was.

It was time for you to be up front. What’s the point in putting yourself out there and letting yourself open up to him if you wouldn’t have the courage to make it known? You swallowed dryly, “Because we’re… dating.”

Jungkook had stepped back from the situation, not wanting to worsen it so he stood off by a light post not too far for a smoke break. He tried distracting himself with lighting his cigarette but he couldn’t help but freeze up when you said that. It brought a shy smile to his face as he waited for you to finish.

“No, you’re not,” Miyoung scoffed looking back at Jungkook as if betrayed by him too. You blinked with confusion, what did she mean you’re not? Did she expect you to be joking or back down? “We are.”

Miyoung stood in front of you now, slightly taller, “Y/n, you’ve been ignoring me for weeks and now you’re saying you’re dating my ex boyfriend? What kind of friend are you?”

This time it was you who scoffed lightly, looking away from her to try and process what you would say but you had spent too much time already trying to think it over, “The thing is, um, I’ve been kind of wondering the same about you.”

“Me?” She looked down at you genuinely taken back, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

You swallowed the lump that formed in your throat and tried to gather the courage to just say it. You could feel Jungkook around, listening but giving you space and it was like a push start for you to say what was really on your mind, “I’m just tired of feeling like I’m the only one who puts effort into being friends and I don’t see the point in always fighting. We’re not together, we don’t have to be friends if it always has to be some sort of argument. It’s getting tiring at this point and I think maybe it’s best we just distance ourselves from each other.”

“You’re kidding, right? I’m like the only person who really cares about you, Y/n. Don’t act stupid.”

Although that made Jungkook want to intervene and tell her how very wrong she was, he didn’t. He didn’t want to speak for you. He knew you could speak for yourself and he should let you, even if he was itching to cut in.

“No, I don’t think you are. I know you think you are so you always tell me you are, but you’re not. People like me for me and not just because I’m friends with you,” you said coldly and your tone was definitive it left her speechless. It had to be one of the first times you were ever remotely close to snappy with her and she didn’t expect it.

“I know it’s hard for you to think of me as my own person but I don’t have to do what you want,” You said, “And I think you only boss me around and act sneaky behind my back because you’re threatened by me.”

She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. What you said left her rendered quiet. You waited too, waited to see if she would tell you to stand down but she didn’t and you didn’t give her time too, “ But I think I should go, I don’t want to bother your dinner any longer—and uh, maybe we just shouldn’t contact each other anymore.”

Jungkook had forgotten about his smoke break, jaw nearly to the floor at how confident you sounded. It was obvious you had never spoken to Miyoung that way but she couldn’t even deny what you said. You did it so casually and like you couldn’t care less which made you seem mature compared to Miyoung’s tantrums.

“Why was that kind of hot?” Jungkook asked as you finally reached him under the light post. Miyoung had stormed off with an evil glare that he ignored telling you how “You’re done”.

He looked down at you with hazed eyes, amazed and enamored. You scrunch your face curiously, “What was?”

“You, right now,” He chuckled, reaching for your hand in his, “Kind of scary too. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“You’re exaggerating,” you tried to laugh it off, “I wasn’t mean, was I?”

It was so dumb of you to still be worried about it but you couldn’t help it.

“No, you were calm and casual but that was so scary,” Jungkook gasped dramatically, “Because I know you were mad at her—… it was mean but only a little and so very very hot, and you’re doing all this in that dress…”

Without meaning to be, Jungkook was sort of like your hype man. You were worried about being too harsh, you still are, but he made you feel better about it. Part of you will never not feel in the wrong for being with Jungkook but you’ve gotten the rest off your chest and it felt good. Maybe you were a bit mean or maybe you weren’t, you could never be entirely sure but Jungkook seemed to be on your side no matter what.

“You like my dress?” You asked him with a teasing smile as he held the car door open for you.

“I really do,” he played with his lip ring, looking down at you.

“Then take it off me.”

“Oh fuck,” Jungkook whispered to himself as he looked around the parking lot, “Here?”

You broke out into a laugh as you sat down. Your words got to him easier than you thought and he sighed, “You can’t say that shit to me, Y/n. I’ll actually do it.”

“Let’s go back to my place and see if you can keep your word then,” you told him, watching him close the door with a tense jaw just thinking about it.

You can’t do this to him. You can’t be shy and cute one second and then act like that. You can’t. That’s not fair to him. How is he supposed to not be affected when you say things that get his heart racing while looking so cute? Was this what it would be like dating you? Just constantly caught by surprise?

He did like the way you stood up for yourself. He liked that you spoke your mind more freely than before and he takes joy in hearing you flirt back. In the beginning it felt like he was the one always trying to get you to talk to him or notice him and now you’re saying things that make his head dizzy.

“You’re gonna be the death of me, yknow?” Jungkook asked after the painfully long car ride back to your apartment. He was removing his coat as you sat on the edge of your bed to undo your shoes.

You let out an amused laugh, “What do you mean?”

“I mean… you act all shy and innocent and then you say shit that…” Jungkook let out a groan, “I can’t explain it, you just drive me crazy.”

“In a good way or bad way?” You asked, following him with your eyes as he closed the space between you two until he was at the end of the bed standing in front of you.

“A good way,” he said softly, “I’m finding more sides of you I’ve never seen.”

“And you like it?” You asked shyly, feeling his hands curl around your jaw.

“I do, a lot,” he confessed brushing his lips against yours, “I don't know what I would’ve done if I lost my chance with you again.”

::.

NO PART TWO

oml yall this took me forever to come up with 😭 I went through at least six other ideas before deciding on this one and I can’t tell how happy I am with it yet but I tried my hardest not the disappoint 🥹 I miss being more active and taking to you all but life has been so busy lately

please let me know how you feel and I promise I’ll try to be more active 🫶🏽

permanent taglist: @notmyfaultbutours @rerefundslocals @fandems @sugaluvmyg @guvgguk @kimyishin @libra04 @kooromiwrld @classycreationcupcake-blog @cherrymonlightt @nikkiordonez12 @asking4-sanity @thvlover @saweetspoiled @shaybts-blog @babycandy111 @jeonninja @yellowcupid08 @02010802faves @skzthinker @unnatae @beautywine @lilliankoo @annenakamura @lesoleile @burnahtsw @kooloveys @ku-ku @chaelvrx @minnie-mouser22 @whoa-jo @marvelbun @sunnikthv @kochycooky @acielelyseen @giselleswifeee @ilikeitlikethatt @bangmechanpls @lvr2seok @badbyeyoongi @jaerisdiction @watermelonjuice15 @artmsmaid @xyahrinx @angeleen777 @jooniesxbby @dream-cvtcher @jksjx @kissyfacekoo @joyjunk @caro134340lina @hyunjinswifeee @oldermenluverrr @caro134340lina @olivialeesstuff [taglist is too long so I’ll have to make two versions of it]

[kxsagi]

the aisle be yours had be wheezing like an old man on his death bed😭 anyways, i have an idea!😼 What if it's the blue lock men (like bachira or anyone you find silly enough to do it) doing it to reader, but the reader just sighed, rolled her eyes and didn't even bother to chase them😭 then 15 minutes later the men grew worried so they try to find her but found her already paying for their groceries to the cashier😔

“𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐟, 𝐢𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭”

a/n: reader is so nonchalant here, i could never 😭

ft. bachira meguru, shidou ryusei, karasu tabito, nagi seishiro, isagi yoichi

bachira meguru

he was hyping it up like he was on ninja warrior or something. 

“alright, babe, three... two... ONE—" and he's GONE, sprinting full speed down the cereal aisle with a bag of frozen peas like it's a baton. 

you? you just blinked, sighed, and turned the cart around. 

15 minutes later, he’s crouched behind the paper towels, whispering to himself like, “okay, any second now, she’ll turn the corner and be like ‘bachiraaa~’” 

but you never did. 

eventually peeks out, realizes you’re not even looking for him. 

rushes around the store in a panic until he finds you at checkout, scanning his dumb snacks like the loving wife you are. 

“baby? you weren’t worried i got kidnapped? :(” 

“no, because no kidnapper would deal with your hyper ass for more than 30 seconds.” 

he smiles like you just told him you love him. 

shidou ryusei

sprinted off yelling, “CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, SEXY!” 

makes it a full-blown chase scene with sound effects, dramatic dives, and fake backflips in the produce aisle. 

you? you didn’t even blink. just kept pushing the cart. 

after ten minutes of hiding in the walk-in freezer, he peeks out and goes, “where’s my girl at?” 

sees you at self-checkout with that little bored lean and your phone in one hand. 

he’s offended. appalled. scandalized. 

walks up like, “you weren’t gonna hunt me down like a sexy panther in heat???”

“no, because i’m not dumb.” 

pouts the whole way home. 

“you hurt my feelings,” he grumbles. 

“good.” 

he falls more in love. 

karasu tabito

thinks he’s being hilarious. 

runs off but keeps yelling over his shoulder, “I’M BEING KIDNAPPED, BABY SAVE ME!” 

you shoot him the “i will leave your ass here” look. 

he disappears anyway. 

fifteen minutes later he’s crouched behind a discount bin of clearance granola, whispering, “is she mad? is she pouting? is she playing hard to get?” 

spoiler: you’re none of the above. 

he finds you coolly tapping your card like the unbothered queen you are. 

“ya weren’t worried about me?” 

“you’re too loud to kidnap.” 

mutters “damn, she’s got a point” and takes the bags without complaint. 

lowkey never tries that again because he doesn’t like being ignored by you. too humbling. 

nagi seishiro

did not run so much as he wandered off like a toddler. 

saw a shelf of limited edition chips and floated away mid-conversation. 

fully expected you to grab him by the hoodie and drag him back. 

instead, you let him go. 

he spent 20 minutes taste-testing free samples and playing on his phone. 

suddenly realizes you’re not near him and immediately goes 😐. 

“did she leave me. oh my gosh. i’ve been abandoned. survival mode: activated.” 

finds you calmly scanning items at checkout like nothing happened. 

stands behind you, lips on your shoulder, arms dangling. “i missed you.” 

“you left.” 

“i was lost. like a kitten.” 

you roll your eyes but kiss his cheek anyway. he takes that as a win. 

isagi yoichi

he was feeling mischievous. 

like, he watched a couple prank tik toks and suddenly thought he was a menace. 

you’re comparing yogurt brands, and he just grabs the cart and books it. 

looks back like, “haha she’s totally gonna chase me 😼” 

what he doesn’t expect is for you to blink slowly… sigh… and just turn around and walk away. 

not even a “yoichi 🙄” or a “bring that back.” 

ten minutes later: panic. 

fifteen minutes later: full-blown regret. 

“wait… she hasn’t texted me. oh no. what if she’s mad? what if she’s GONE?” 

starts speed-walking up and down aisles, whispering your name like a worried victorian husband. 

finally sees you at the cashier, already paying for everything. including the dumb snacks he picked. 

walks up with the saddest little pout. “you weren’t worried?” 

“yoichi, you ran away in an air-conditioned building with security cameras.” 

“… fair.” 

grabs all the bags to carry them himself as a quiet apology. 

doesn’t try to prank you again. 

instead holds onto the cart the whole time on the next trip like he’s afraid you’ll disappear now. 

© 𝐤𝐱𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢

[rivwritesiguess]

Lost and Found - Chapter 1: Lost

Chat I fell down the Task Force 141 rabbit hole a while ago and now this is here

Word Count: 8.6k Angst, like hurt no comfort angst Poly!141 x gn!omega!reader Chapter Summary: A mission goes wrong. The pack loses a member. What happens when that member isn't as lost as they though? Warnings: Character death, horrible attempts at doing European accents/dialects, probably a few plot holes, military inaccuracies Notes: It's an omegaverse fic, the 141 is a pack and they all love each other. Also reader is gender neutral, they/them pronouns. this story does not follow the Modern Warfare story whatsoever, none of the main people are gonna die (no headshots), and it will be filled with military inaccuracies because I'm just here to love hot men and babygirl-ify the men in a military propaganda video game :). As said in the title, this is chapter one, so the there will be more. The guys might be a bit out of character in this, oopsies. I might end up rewriting this in the future but for now this is it. I also made an entire sims 4 build of the pack house for this fic alone and spent way too long on it 💀 there will be smut (afab) in this fix at some point in the distant distant future Made the little banner thing with Canva and the divider with Photopea Navigation Series Masterlist (this is currently the only chapter) Also on AO3 next

  “C’mon up now and we might spare you. Make us come down there and your death will be a slow one.” It’s not good. None of this is good. It took such a turn. Everything had seemed to be going well until Kyle said that there were cars approaching the building. “Don’t be stupid. 15 versus 1 is not a fight you want to start.”

  “They think there’s just one o’ us.”

  “Could make use of that. Catch ‘em off guard.”

  “It’d be easier tae surprise them if we weren’t cornered in the damn basement.”

  “Didn’t seem like you had any better ideas.”

  “Anythin’ but a damn basement.”

“That’s enough.” John cut the conversation short with a sharp tone. It wasn’t like an actual argument, just playful bickering. Now, however, was not the time.

  John’s brain was going a mile a minute. There wasn’t much he could think to do at the moment. They were cornered. He didn’t know how this happened. The mission had gone well. It was only once they got to the safe house to rest for the night that things went wrong. 

  You were just getting ready to fall asleep with Johnny on the bed upstairs. John had taken the bed in the living room near the door. Simon was on the front porch while Kyle sat on top of the building, both keeping watch until it was their turn to sleep. You were pulling Johnny under the covers with a smile, ready for the cuddles the beta would offer you. However, then you heard the sound of Kyle coming over the radio. 

  “I’m seeing two cars coming towards us.”

  John had ordered Simon to come inside so you could all come up with a plan. It should’ve been easy, but the cars got to the house much faster than the group expected. There was no time to run, so Kyle suggested getting down into the basement to come up with a plan. With two cars, you all thought there would be at most 10 people. Not 15.

  There weren’t supposed to be any problems. No one was supposed to be anywhere near this safe house, no one was supposed to even know about it. Obviously, Laswell’s information was wrong.

  John was beginning to feel a bit anxious. It wasn’t much, but that underlying feeling that this wouldn’t be ending well was starting to set in the pit of his stomach. He looked back at you. You’d been quiet since the group moved down to the basement. 

  He never would’ve brought you on this mission if he saw this coming. It was supposed to be simple, something that wouldn’t put you in too much danger. He knew you could handle danger, but that didn’t mean he liked you being in it. But now you are. He let you come along, and now things are looking bad. You’re in danger. His pack is in danger. He needed to find a way to get you all out of it. It was not only his job as Captain, but also his job as the pack alpha.

  “Captain, if we go up there they might get overwhelmed. We’ve got a shot at takin’ them by surprise,” Johnny suggested once more.

  “A chance. It’s not guaranteed,” Kyle injected.

  “Is anythin’ ever?”

  “It’s risky.”

  “We only saw twa cars. They could be bluffin’, trying tae scare us.”

  “Not ‘us’. They only think one person is down here.”

  “They’re idiots if they can’t tell there’s more than ane person. Captain’s got blankets on the couch and Ace and ah had blankets on the bed. If they’re stupid enough to no’ notice that, it might be easy tae take them doon.” Simon shook his head.

  “Even if they’re all stupid, they’ve got weapons an’ we’ll all be coming out of a little door for them to point those weapons at. Stupid men and weapons are ne’er mix well. Even if there’s not 15, we’d still be outnumbered. People will get hit and hurt.”

  “It’s better we get hurt than stay stuck doon here waitin’ fer them tae come tae us.”

  “Or we could stay here an’ take up positions ‘round the room. They come down an’ we start firin’. It doesn’t risk someone getting hurt just ‘cause you wanted to rush in.”

  “Ah didnae say that.”

  “I never said you did.”

  “Stop it.” You were the one to speak up this time. You didn’t need a commanding tone like John. The group listened to you regardless of your tone or not. You were you. You were their omega. If you wanted something, they wanted to give it. And right now? You wanted them to stop arguing, so they’d do just that.

  The attention was directed back to John as he stood up silently. He glanced around the room, coming up with a plan. He nodded, more to himself than the rest of the group. He faced all of you, starting to talk.

  “Alright. Soap’s right. Those guys up there aren’t expecting five of us. We’ve got the chance to take ‘em by surprise. Ghost’s got a point as well. The door up there we’d walk out of probably has all their guns trained on it as we speak. They’ll shoot us down. But we can’t stay down ‘ere. It’s giving ‘em time to plan for any possibility. They might catch on that there’s more than one of us.” He took a breath. “I’ve got a plan, but it’s a bit dodgy. They think there’s only one of us, so one of us goes up. Plays at surrendering. Once those guys up there aren’t all holding their weapons at the door, the person who went up will say something to let the rest of the group down here know. Then, the four left will go out and start shooting.”

  The group was quiet. No one seemed to really like this plan, but John was right. Waiting down here only gave them time to realize what was going on, and going out as a group only gave them a large target. 

  “Ah’ll gae up,” Johnny said, starting to pull his gun out of his holster.

  “No, you stay down here. I’ll go.” Kyle put his hand on Johnny’s, stopping the other beta as he started to put his own weapons to the side.

  “Neither of you are doin’ that. I know how to handle this. I’ll be the one to go up.” Though Simon said this, he didn’t make any immediate move to disarm himself. He probably wouldn’t do so until the very last second. 

  “It was my idea. I’ll be the one to surrender,” John argued. 

  They were arguing about who would be putting themselves closer to death’s door. They didn’t want to let another member of the pack do it, not when there was no guarantee that the people upstairs would actually spare whoever went up. 

  You hated it. This argument wouldn’t end any way you wanted it to. Someone could die. That couldn’t happen. No one in your pack was going to be dying. You couldn’t let that happen.

  You quickly tried to think of something that could solve this issue. A plan better than John’s. You’d seen the blueprints of the house. The basement didn’t have an exit that would lead outside. There were, however, a bunch of weird rooms down here. There was even a small holding area with soundproof walls. There was even- 

  Wait.

  That’s it.

  “I think there might be a way out from down here. A different exit.” 

  Everyone’s head turned to you so quickly they could’ve flown off.

  “Why didnae ye say anythin’ earlier, Ace?!” Johnny asked. 

  “I- I’m sorry, I didn’t think of it till now.” 

  Lying was never something you enjoyed doing. Doing it to your pack made you feel disgusted with yourself. If you weren’t lying for a good reason, the omega inside of you might’ve been screaming and crying. But even it understood this was necessary. You had to keep your pack safe.

  John sighed.

  “It’s alright, sweetheart. Just show us where it is.”

  The focus was now on you. You turned around, walking out of the small room after making sure that the guys upstairs had stayed upstairs. Once seeing that they had, you walked quickly and quietly, occasionally glancing back to make sure all of your pack was still behind you.

  You debated if you were really going to go through with this. If your pack caught on to what you were doing, they’d stop you without hesitation. You’d have to deal with their disappointment and then have to deal with one of them going up and potentially getting themself killed. You couldn’t let one of them get killed. They were too important. Not just to you, but in their fields. To each other. You didn’t even know if this would work, but you had to try. You’d rather this than the world losing one of them. You could only hope it went how you wanted. You could only hope that your pack trusts you enough to listen.

  You got to the end of the hallway and opened the door in the left corner. It was a sitting area, but this time there were two doors on the far side of the wall. You took a deep breath before looking back at your pack, who all seemed confused.

  “That door, over there. Get in there.” You pointed to the door on the left side. You stepped out of the doorway so the rest of them could walk past you. They, however, hesitated. You sighed. “Just trust me here, okay? Please?”

  You didn’t want to exploit their trust in you, but there was no other choice right now. You had to get them into that room. 

  Another thing you had to do was control your scent. Sure, you were wearing scent blockers, but your scent was naturally pretty strong. When your emotions got too high, your scent normally pushed past the blockers. So you had to focus on keeping it suppressed right now even though you were full of fear. They wouldn’t go in first if that was the case. They wouldn’t think you were lying, but they’d want you to be closest to safety if you were feeling fear.

  “We’re following you, love.” Simon pulled the ‘love’ card. You weren’t hiding your scent well enough. He only did that when he was trying to keep you calm. They were following you to stay in between you and the danger that lurked upstairs. You needed to do better. Suppress your scent. It gives you a headache to do, but if they don’t walk into the room first, the whole plan would go up in flames.

  You couldn’t argue with them walking over now without looking suspicious. So, with a small nod, you turned and walked over to the door. You had to think. Think. Think.

  Once closer, you opened the door. It was a heavy one, which you suspected since it was supposedly soundproof. You hoped that was true. There was a small window in the door that slid open and closed from the outside. You stepped around and used your body to keep the door open, still trying to figure out a way to get them to go in without you.

  As the door was pressing against your back, you realized you could simply continue to hold the door as they walked in. That was the only way this could work. They just needed to listen to you.

  “Go on,” you said, motioning inside with your head. Johnny stepped forward, approaching your side to take the door from you.

  “Let me hold it, Bonnie.” You moved away from him slightly, stepping back and moving the door away from him as well. You shook your head.

  You saw the confusion on their faces when you did this. There was no exact reason for you to not give Johnny the door. He could hold it just fine. You had to think of something to make them not confused. Something natural. Something that said you were calm and not terrified.

  You rolled your eyes.

  “I can hold a door, Soap. Let me do one thing, won’t you?” You plastered a playful smile on your face, doing your best to get it to reach your eyes as well. You weren’t feeling playful. No, you were full of terror. Your senses had always been higher than others. Right now you could hear the people upstairs starting to pace. Their patience was running low. They’d be coming downstairs within the next few minutes.

  You couldn’t let your pack realize this. They could end up feeling cornered and decide to fight. Someone would get hurt during the fight, and that wasn’t what you needed. You couldn’t let them realize your terror either. If they did, they’d get suspicious. You shouldn’t be feeling such terror if you knew a way out. They’d realize something was off. They’d catch on. They’d never listen. They wouldn’t do what you wanted. They’d go through with John’s plan, or they’d go fight and then one of them would die and then you would lose them and you would’ve failed and then-

  “‘Right, ‘right, I get it. Ye’re independent an’ aw that,” Johnny said, hands raised in mock surrender as he smiled at you. It’s playful. You were starting to feel thankful for that one theatre class you decided to take back in school.

  You could tell the group felt a bit relieved as well. They were starting to be hesitant about your supposed ‘exit’. They were also worried you’d be panicking and doing this just to stop one of them from going up. But if you’re being playful and you’re able to joke around with them, then it’s fine. 

  Johnny walked past you and into the room with a smile in your direction. Kyle did the same. John followed behind. Simon went in last, and you seemed to follow.

  Once they went in, they realized something was wrong. The room was pretty dark, not able to properly be inspected from outside. But now that they’re in, they realize there are no more rooms attached to this one. This was a dead end. 

  John was the first one to realize this, but he was too late. He turned around to see you quickly stepping away and letting the door shut with you on the other side. He ran over, only to find that there was no handle on this side of the door.

  “Ace! What are you doing?!” He moved over slightly as Simon started to try and open the door. John looked through the little window on the door, trying to get an explanation from you. Simon had no success with the door. Johnny and Kyle were now standing behind them, confused and starting to feel a bit panicked.

  You were staring at the door with wide eyes, shaking slightly. You looked back at the exit door to the room you’d just come in from and then back to him. Your breathing picked up slightly as you pulled your bag around your front, pulling out a burner phone.

  “What are they doing? What’s gaun on?!” Johnny asked from next to John. He didn’t want to push, but he was trying to angle himself so he could see you through the window as well. He wasn’t able to, making his panic only start to increase. Meanwhile, Simon took a few steps back from the door, starting to pace through the room. 

  “Ace? C’mon, hun, talk to us, what’s going on?” Kyle asked, standing anxiously behind John. He couldn’t see you. He needed to see you. See what was going on in your head. Why the hell you’ve locked them in here. He needs to know your plan. He wants to trust you, but he needs to see you first. He has to,

  “I-... Laswell knows the safe house isn’t safe. She knows where you are. Once the people upstairs leave, then- then our people will show up to let you out. It’s- it’s gonna be fine.” Your voice was shaking. Your terror was full force now that you’d gotten them safe. The next part of your plan wasn’t a part you enjoyed, but it was a part you had to do. You glanced at the exit door of the room again.

  “Darlin’, whatever you’re doing, you need to rethink it. You need to let us out. We can’t do anything from here. Let us out. Now,” John said. It started soft, but his tone turned commanding towards the end. He might be your alpha, but he’s also your superior as well, and you weren’t listening. 

  “Look, this- this isn’t the best scenario, obviously, but it- it’s needed, and- and I know you guys won’t agree with me, but- but-”

  “Agree wi’ what?! What are ye tryin’ tae do?!” Johnny asked. 

  John saw the tears that gathered in your eyes. He was so confused. Normally, he could read you like a book. He could always tell what you were thinking and why you were thinking it. But now he had no clue what was going on in your head. What were you trying to do here?

  Simon’s thoughts were racing. There was no way out. You locked them in. Why would you do this? Why would you just lock them in here? Could you possibly be a traitor? Had you been one all this time? Were you about to call whoever was upstairs down here to turn them in? Did you tell them that the group was here?

  No. That wasn’t the case. Not only did he refuse to believe that you’d betray them due to his own bias, but there was also your scent that was in the air. When your panic slipped through the scent blockers during missions, it helped him push through the mission just to get you out of the situation. When you two were falling asleep in his bed, your scent helped ground him. It helped keep him calm. Now, your scent was anything but calm. There wasn’t any satisfaction that there would be if you were a traitor. There wasn’t any happiness. You weren’t feeling smug. No, he could smell it, you were feeling terror. Panic. Hesitation.

  And yet, underneath all of that, Simon could sense the smallest bit of relief. He was hurt at first, taking it as relief that meant you were a traitor. But with everything else on top, he was mostly confused. He couldn’t understand why you would be feeling-...

  When the realization hit him, he froze. He looked to the door where John, Kyle, and Johnny were still trying to get you to explain. 

  “Just tell us what you’re doin’, please.”

  “They’re going to risk sacrificin’ themself.” 

  The room froze once Simon had muttered the words. Johnny turned back with the same force that he’d looked back at you earlier when you mentioned a way out. That isn’t right. Simon’s wrong. You wouldn’t do that. Simon’s lying. It’s a joke. A cruel, cruel joke that was out of place and he had no right to be saying right now.

  Kyle turned around as well, looking at Simon. He needed him to take his words back. Just take it back. Why would he ever suggest that? You- you couldn’t- you wouldn’t- you wouldn’t-

  Meanwhile, John stayed facing you. He’d gone quiet the minute Simon spoke. He stared at you, trying to read your face. You stood on the other side of the door, staring back. Your eyes were sad, but your stance was set. You made no move to let them out. And that was all John needed to see to realize that Simon was right. This was your plan all along. You never knew a way out. You hadn’t brought them here with the intention of getting everyone out. You didn’t even have a way to get them all out.

  No, you’d brought them here with a different intention. You’d brought them here to save them. To trick them and keep them safe while putting yourself in the line of danger. You were having no thoughts about letting them out now, dead set on your own plan. 

  It wasn’t right. John had a plan. It would’ve kept you safe. None of them would’ve ever let you be the one to go upstairs. And John knew that you knew that. He knew that you knew if you suggested being the one to surrender yourself the others would have shot you down immediately and brushed you to the side before continuing to argue. You wanted to keep them alive, and this was your way of doing that.

  John didn’t approve of your way. Not at all. He would’ve changed the plan. Would’ve gone with Simon’s instead. Anything but this. Anything but you being the one to get hurt. He was desperate to try and get through to you, but just looking at your eyes told him you were set.

  “Don’t do this, alright? Don’t,” he tried. He knew it wouldn’t work, but he had to try. His voice was desperate. Quiet. He wanted you to listen. He’d be on his knees right now if you would still be able to see him.

  “I’m sorry,” was all you said in response to him.

  And those words were what told Johnny and Kyle that Simon was right. You were trying to risk sacrificing yourself here. Kyle couldn’t even talk. Maybe this was a bad dream. He’d had a few like this before, ones where you sacrificed yourself to save them. Maybe it’s just one of those.

  Johnny, on the other hand, no longer had the restraint that he had before. He lightly pushed John to the side, who was too busy trying to think of a way to get you to not do this to care. 

  “Bonnie, ma heart, hen, luvbug, please, dinnae dae this, ‘kay? Open this door. Ye dinnae have tae dae this for us, ye understand? This isnae what needs tae happen, what needs tae happen is ye openin’ this door, aye? Just open the door, let us oot, we can figure it oot! One of us will go up, follow through wi’ his plan, no’ this.”

  You shook your head.

  “I can’t let any of you do that. You’re all too important.”

  “No’ as important as ye! Let us oot! We can dae somethin’! Talk, come up wi’ a different plan, kick their sorry arses, an’ if we get beat then we go down kickin’ an’ screamin’ together! Anything but this. We cannae lose you. We can no’. Open this door, come on, please.”

  “Technically, I’m not. You are all more skilled than me. I offer the least amount to the team. I’m the loss that won’t cost as much compared to the rest of you.”

  “According tae who?! Nae one who actually matters thinks that way aboot ye, open the door!”

  “The people upstairs still think there’s only one person here. They are expecting someone. I’m going to make sure they don't stop thinking that it’s only someone. None of you have to go up there and get into a fight you might not walk out of.”

  “No, no. That’s not what we do. We’re a team. We’re a pack, we stick together. Ye don’t get to just decide this fer aw us! Open the damn door, Ace, please!”

  You took a few steps forward towards the door. For a second, they thought Johnny’s pleading had gotten through to you. They nearly felt relieved when you lifted your hand.

  But why would things ever go their way? Your hand kept moving up, grabbing the smaller door to the window on the door.

  “Luv, no, no please-”

  “I love you. All of you. You’ve been better to me than I ever thought any pack would be. I’m eternally thankful for the way you all welcomed me in and everything you all have done-”

  “Cut it out. Quit it, you’re not saying goodbye.” John took his place in the window again as Johnny was dealing with the fact that you were shutting them out. He nearly stumbled when John lightly pushed him to the side, mind racing.

  John was fuming. How could he not have realized this? How could he not have seen the signs? He should’ve gone over the blueprints with you. Then he never would’ve fallen for you saying that there was a way out. He shouldn’t have brought you on this mission. He should’ve kept you at home. His gut had told him to do that, didn’t it? Or was he imagining that feeling in order to give himself more of the blame? He should’ve realized. You were his omega. You were their omega. How could he not have realized?

  “I’m sorry, John. I’m sorry, Johnny. I’m sorry, Kyle. I’m sorry, Simon.” You whispered your apologies one after the other, voice soft. You never said their names on a mission. You were a bit paranoid in that regard, not wanting any enemies to potentially hear and use it to get any information. You saying it meant you had truly made up your mind. There was no swaying you.

  John felt helpless. Johnny couldn’t get through to you, and neither could he. How would this even work? If you went up there and died, how would his life be without you in it? How would he function, how would he live? How would he wake up in the morning and not be met with your happy smile when he left his room? How would he get through his day without your random short texts of encouragement? How would he go to sleep without having seen you curled up on the couch, cuddling with Johnny and Kyle? How would he eat breakfast without seeing you dragging Simon along to eat with them?

  He shook his head. He wouldn’t have to do any of that. This… This wasn’t happening. None of this was happening. You were all at home, in the pack house. You were in the living room; there was some sports game on the TV that he wasn’t paying attention to. Simon was poking fun at Johnny for his enthusiasm; Johnny was overreacting to it. Kyle was bringing over some snacks. You were leaning back on John, your back against his chest as you smiled watching the other three. He was watching you. Their omega. His omega. Safe. You were safe. You had to be safe.

  Simon stepped forward, a bit more aggressive than he meant to be when he pushed John to the side.

  “Open this door. You’re not doing this. You’re not allowed; you understand me? I am ordering you to open this bloody door.” You only shook your head. The tears that had been in your eyes were now starting to fall down your face. A growl started to form in Simon’s chest as his fist slammed on the door. “Open it!”

  “I love you, Simon. I love all of you.”

  “No, no, don’t you fucking dare, I can’t lose y-”

  You closed the window.

 Johnny moved back over, slamming his hand on the door as he called out for you. Simon let Johnny push him over, currently in a state of shock. You ignored him. You always listened to him. You always listened to him. Why didn’t you listen? Why didn’t you just fucking listen?! Why were you doing this?! You crawled your way into their hearts, into his heart. Their hearts had built new walls around you to keep you inside, and yet now you were breaking those walls down from the inside without warning. How could you?

  John was the first to do something. He stepped forward, grabbing Johnny and pulling him away from the door.

  “What the fuck, Cap-”

  “You need to be quiet. This room seems to be soundproof, but if it isn’t, then they’ll ‘ear you and come down here. They’ll catch Ace.”

  “They’re gonna catch them anyway! They could end up gettin’ themselves killed, we need tae stop them!”

  “No, no, they-” John shook his head. “They said they might show mercy. When Ace goes up, they’ll buy us time for backup to get here. They’ll get out before they get hurt. They’ll be alright.”

  John had to believe it. He had to believe it wasn’t your plan to get yourself killed. The thought of you dying made him feel like vomiting. The thought of you going up there with all those people, not even trying to fight. The thought of your body- no. No, there’d be no ‘your body’, you were going to be fine.

  “That was a goodbye. They don’t plan on coming back to us alive.” Kyle said quietly as if he’d just had the realization himself.

  “Exactly! We have tae get oot o’ here, stop them, shout at them, drag them oot of here, somethin’! We have tae-”

  Simon walked over, grabbed Johnny, and pulled him further away from the door as he put a hand over Johnny’s mouth.

  “We can’t. There’s nothin’ we can do.” Johnny struggled for a moment, muffled disagreements leaving him as he tried to get out of Simon’s grip. Simon shook his head. “We can’t do anything except shut up and wait. If we get the attention to come down here, then what they did is for nothing. They might have a chance of bein’ spared, but if the people up there figure out they’re lyin’ and hidin’ us down here, they could get pissed off and just kill them anyway.”

  Johnny managed to push Simon away, going back to the door. He wasn’t planning on listening to Simon. Not when you were still alive and he could be trying to do something.

  “We could stop them, we just-”

  “No, we can’t,” John said, his tone final. It wasn’t a realization he wanted to come to, but he had to. There wasn’t anything they could do. 

  John motioned for Simon to grab Johnny again. Simon did just that. He grabbed Johnny, pulling him and getting him against the back wall. The beta froze before crumbling to the ground, his head in his hands. He was speechless.

  John and Simon stood still, not knowing what to do next. They couldn’t look at one another. They’d failed as alphas. Their betas were suffering. You were in danger, and they hadn’t gotten you out of it. Their omega was going to get hurt and they couldn’t do anything to stop it. 

  It was quiet for a few moments before Kyle spoke up.

  “...maybe they did know a way out and we all just couldn’t go through. Maybe the plan’s to get out and draw the attention away from here. Or maybe they’ll be able to fight their way out. I mean, yeah, sure, they’re outnumbered, but they do well in training. Maybe- maybe they’re quicker than they let on and they’ll take them lot down.”

  “They are definitely cleverer than we thought. Underestimated ‘em. They managed to trick us down here without us even fully giving it a second thought,” John said with a sigh.

  “No, they didnae trick us. They didnae trick us, they just….. It wasn’t trickin’. They wouldn’t. They…” Johnny was speaking quietly, a big difference from the anger and action he had shown only moments ago. He couldn’t properly grasp this, but he knew he didn’t like the idea of you ‘tricking’ them. That made you sound like a bad person. You were not a bad person.

  Kyle walked over, sitting down next to Johnny, feeling a need to try and comfort the other beta. He put a hand on Johnny’s shoulder, nodding.

  “This… This is just a confusing situation. They’re gonna be fine. They’ll find a way ou-”

  Kyle was interrupted by the muffled sounds of gunshots echoing through the house. It went on for about five seconds before they stopped.

  The group went silent. They stayed silent for another five minutes, waiting for something. Anything. More gunshots. The sound of you fighting. Maybe it stopped because you had managed to get away. Or maybe you managed to handle the people firing at you and the gunfire would start up again with you handling more of them. Or maybe there’d be more fighting and that would be the rescue team who would have a medevac to get you out. Treat whatever wounds you received. Maybe the door would open. Maybe it’d be you, coming to let them out. You changed your mind, the gunshots upstairs were actually the group of fifteen fighting amongst each other, you were coming back to them.

  However, nothing came. No pounds of fighting. No gunshots. No door opening. Instead, there were just quiet footsteps above their heads. Footsteps that walked out of the house and never came back.

  It was about 30 minutes before the door opened. It wasn’t you.

  As they exited the basement, they saw there were discarded guns on the floor. Bullet casings on the ground. Holes in the basement door and the walls around it. Blood on the floor.

  The blood pooled right in front of the basement door. It trailed out the front door like a body had been dragged. The trail went outside, the blood mixing with dirt and grass. It stopped and gathered at a spot in the driveway as if someone had dropped a body there before throwing it into a car.

  If that blood all belonged to the same person, there’s no way that they lived.

  There was a lot the group noticed. The blood, the guns, the bullet casings, the holes in the wall and the basement door.

  The main thing they noticed was the one thing that wasn’t there. 

  You.

  You were gone. They had lost you.

  They failed.

  It’d been a year. One whole year.

  The first three months were the worst. They’d given a bunch of lies to the psychological evaluator, claiming they were fine to work. It was a lie, and everyone knew it, but taking one of the best task forces out of the playing field wasn’t a good idea, even if it was temporary. They were silent on base. They didn’t talk to anyone unless it was during training or mission related. They didn’t look at each other. They didn’t spend time in the pack building unless it was to sleep. They were silent on missions. There were no playful jokes, no joking jabs. Nothing. Dead silence aside from orders. The base watched the closest group of people there become the most distant from each other.

  It was worse behind closed doors. In their pack building, tensions were high. The air was thick with the smell of anger and hurt. When they had to be in a room alone together, it was terrible. They’d screamed and shouted at each other when it was just them, pushing the blame back and forth. It wasn’t until Laswell caught one of these screaming matches that she was able to get the team into therapy. She’d talked to John, told him that it was for the better of the pack. At first, she was understanding of the refusal. However, when she asked the third time and was met with nothing, she knew she had to take a different approach. When John tried disagreeing, she told him that the pack had no choice. Either they went through with the therapy or else they’d be put on an indefinite leave. It’d been two months since your death when they all had their first meetings.

  It was one month of therapy before pack counseling had started. All of them were against it at first, not wanting to see each other. However, each of their therapists managed to convince them eventually. When the group first got together, it was silent. The only person talking during the session was the therapist. This went on for the next few weekly sessions. That was until the therapist managed to push a button.

  “You all blame each other… isn’t the omega the one at fault?”   It had been chaos. The screaming and shouting went on for about ten minutes. It turned into them screaming at the idea of any of them being blamed for what happened. Then, the group realized that the therapist hadn’t reacted at all. 

  “You’re still a pack. You think your omega dying has torn you apart, but the way you all just jumped to defend them? To defend each other? You’re still close, you still want each other. You just need to let yourselves want that. You think there’s no way to recover, but this has the opportunity to bring you all closer together than you were before. You just have to let it.”

  The sessions changed after that one. It was still quiet in the beginning, but they ended up willing to talk to each other. Then they ended up wanting to talk to each other. They started spending time together outside of sessions, started doing more things in the pack house. About half a year after losing you, they found themselves sitting on the couch together again. Cuddling. Holding each other. Helping each other.

  They got their act together. They had to. You never would’ve wanted them to tear themselves apart. You’d given yourself up for a reason. For them. If they were to throw that away, they’d be betraying you. They couldn’t do that. Not after what you did for them. Not after the sacrifice you had done for them. You’d given your life to keep them together, and they didn’t plan to let anything come in the way between them again. Your memory kept the pack strong.

  Missions had gone back to what they once were. They were similar to how things were before you had joined, but never the same. They all felt more protective over one another. The idea of losing another member of the pack kept them on their feet. Some thought it’d be their downfall, that it would distract them. It was the opposite. It encouraged them to work even harder to return home. If they died, your sacrifice would be for nothing. 

  Their next mission had come across John’s desk a few days ago. It was one where they’d be working with someone not on the task force, something they had only done one or two times since losing you. The only information on the person was their abilities and skills. John tried to find more on the person, but there was nothing. When he asked Laswell, she had told him it was all classified information. They wouldn’t know anything up until the mission briefing the day of. So, when the group walked into the meeting room, it was safe to say their curiosity was piqued by the lone figure against the wall.

  The figure wasn’t looking at them. They weren’t looking at anyone. They had a hood up and their face down, making it impossible for them to make out their features. Along with that, they had no scent. It wasn’t that their scent was just bland, it was that it wasn’t there. Even when they’d met the rare person who didn’t have a designation, that person still had a scent. It was normally something bland and basic, but it was still there. However, this figure had absolutely nothing.

  There wasn’t much time to ask questions before the briefing started. The four of them listened, but ever since seeing the figure they had a strange feeling in their stomach. A feeling they couldn’t quite describe. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t feel bad either.

  “I’m glad all of you could make it. We’ve got some very important intel on the line here, so I need everyone to listen very, very carefully.” 

  The Colonel giving the briefing was British, but it wasn’t someone who John had met before. Laswell knew him, and when he was asking Laswell for assistance with a mission, Laswell had offered the 141. The Colonel had the scent of an alpha. He looked to be much older than John, maybe in his mid-50s. 

  “There’s an organization that is attempting to weaken the military to open up the space for a larger attack over the past five years. They’ve been attacking officers in their homes away from base, attacking actual bases, and stealing intel. We don’t know why they are doing it, but we plan to find out. There’s a safe house we’ve been watching for a while now. The organization has been using it lately as a stop between transporting illegal weapons. We’ve seen a few of their higher ups go through here. Hawk-” The Colonel motioned to the figure. “-has figured out the next time one of these higher-ups, Christopher Stone, is going to be passing through. It’s going to be today at 2200. Grabbing this higher up is the best chance we have at getting the information we need to finally bring these people down.”

  “So we’re going in and nabbing a guy?” 

  John looked over to the other side of the table. He recognized the soldiers on that side. He’d seen them around base. They were from one of the better platoons on base. The man who had spoken up was the sergeant. John could smell the alpha all over him. It was as if the man was purposefully pushing his scent out into the world, trying to establish dominance. His lieutenant sat next to him, right across from John. The sergeant was sitting across from Simon and there were two other soldiers sitting across from Kyle and Johnny. All of them seemed to be alphas. They weren’t a pack, but John knew they worked well together. Not as well as his team, of course, but well.

  “You’re not doing that. Lieutenant Evans, you, Sergeant Brown, Corporal Davies, and Corporal Walker will be leaving here at 1800. You will be sat in different lookout spots around the base. They have a routine they do every time one of the higher-ups is passing through. They clean things up, set up more lookouts, get more people on the roof of the building with weapons. You will be looking for these things to happen. If they aren’t happening by 2000, then the mission will be aborted. If they are, however, then you need to let us know. Once we have confirmation that it’s happening, Task Force 141 will head over with Hawk.”

  “Understood, Colonel.” Lieutenant Evans said with a nod. Sergeant Brown didn’t seem all too happy about his task, but he stayed quiet.

  “How are we goin’ about this once we head o’er?” Johnny asked. The Colonel nodded towards Hawk.

  “They developed a plan to get you all in and out without needing to fire a bullet.” The group looked over to where Hawk was still leaning against the wall. Their position hadn’t changed, but they did seem a bit more tense than before. Their head was moved slightly further down, something that Simon may not have even realized if he hadn’t been paying such close attention to them in the first place. It was when Johnny spoke that they changed so slightly. They’d been a still figure the entire time, up until Johnny said something.

  “Without a single bullet? How many people are going to be in this safe house?” John asked, skeptical of this plan.

  “Fifteen to twenty people. But Hawk is smart. The plan is for you all to drive about a mile away from the house. Then, three of you will get out, along with Hawk. One of you will set up a lookout spot about halfway to the house while the other two keep moving forward with Hawk. Once there, Hawk will move forward while the two of you will stay in the trees. Hawk’s going to go through an unlocked window. Hawk broke the window lock last time they snuck in. Hawk will sneak through the house to unlock the cellar door. They’ll give you a signal over the radio and you two will get to the cellar door without drawing attention. From there, Hawk will lead you through the house. Hawk will take the lead. They can get rid of any threats you come across without raising any alarms. Not only that, but they know the safe house better than any of us. They know where to hide the bodies so you won’t get caught."

"At 2300, Stone will be sleeping. Hawk will sneak into the room while you two will take guard outside the door. They’ll knock him out. One of you will need to carry Stone while the other watches their back. Hawk will be focused on moving forward and creating a clear path for you to carry him back out through the basement and through the cellar door. Once out, you will alert those who stayed behind. You will meet halfway between the house and where the lookout is set up and then you will get in the car and drive. By this point, it is expected for someone in the safe house to realize Stone is missing or to find the bodies. You all need to be in the car and driving away, no delays. Do you understand?”

  “We understand, Colonel,” John responded.

  “I asked for the 141 because Laswell speaks very highly of you. This is an incredibly important mission. It can not go wrong.” 

  It was a surprise to everyone in the 141 when a familiar alpha scent of a warm fire entered the room.

  “And I told you, it won’t.” Through the door walked Laswell. She walked around the table to stand next to the Colonel as she spoke. “The 141 has had a near 100% success rate on all missions they’ve been on.”

  “I’m allowed to be cautious, Kate Laswell.”

  “And I’m allowed to tell you you’re being overdramatic, Oliver Green.”

  The Colonel sighed, shaking his head slightly, but there was an underlying small smile on his face.

  “I told you I could handle this briefing. You didn’t have to fly out.” Colonel Green stood up, shaking Laswell’s hand as she took her spot next to him.

  “You know you’re going to need my help with this. It’s complicated.”

  “You’re the one who suggested-”

  “I know, I know. Just let me do the talking here, alright?” Laswell turned away from Colonel Green, looking to Evans, Brown, Davies, and Walker. “You four are dismissed. Take the files in front of you with you. They have everything you need to know for when you leave in four hours.” The other four stood up with a nod, saying words of acknowledgment before doing as told and leaving the room. Laswell looked back to the 141. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”

  John gave a smile.

  “‘Bout six months, I think.” He said as he stood up and leaned over the table, shaking Laswell’s hand. Laswell shook it, but she remained standing when John sat back down. There was an open chair next to Colonel Green, but they’d both been standing since Laswell walked in. Why hadn’t they sat down?

  “Six months too long. I meant to make it out here for your last mission but got held up at home. My omega seemed to be going into heat, had to stay back to make sure they were alright.”

  Kyle nodded.

  “We understand, no big deal. Your omega comes first, yeah?” Laswell smiled.

  “Thank you.”

  “Ah take it they’re doing better? It’s aw good?” Johnny asked. Laswell’s smile widened.

  “Definitely. It’d been a false heat that got triggered by pregnancy.” The group’s eyes widened. John returned Laswell’s smile.

  “That’s amazing, we’re happy for you.” Laswell nodded.

  “Thank you, again. We’re very excited.”

  Simon spoke up next, and it changed the mood in the room.

  “Why’s this mission so important that you left your omega to come here?” Simon asked. 

  No alpha would leave their omega in another country without a reason. Laswell only did it a few times during the year to come over and check up on the task force, something she didn’t technically have to do. For Laswell to have left her pregnant omega, something big had to be going on. Something huge.

   When Simon asked his question, the rest of the room seemed to realize this as well. Well, the rest of his pack. Laswell already knew this, obviously, and it seemed like Colonel Green did as well. Hawk stayed against the wall with no reaction. 

  John sat up in his chair slightly along with Johnny and Kyle. he narrowed his eyes at Laswell, suspicion setting over him.

  “Ghost makes a good point. Everything alright, Kate?” He asked, glancing between Colonel Green and Laswell as the two exchanged a glance.

  Laswell sighed. She looked back at Hawk and then back to Price.

  “This is about to get really weird. You and your team might be very upset. Enraged. I need you all to try your best to stay calm.”

  John looked at Hawk who was becoming stiffer. He glanced at the rest of his pack, meeting their eyes and seeing the same confusion reflected. He slowly looked back at Laswell.

  “...what’s going on?” He asked. He was hesitant. He looked at Hawk once more, who’d turned their head away from the group entirely. 

  Colonel Green and Laswell exchanged another look before he sighed, looking back at Hawk.

  “Come on, kid.” Hawk did not move. “Hawk.” Once again, no movement. Colonel Green turned fully. “We discussed this already. You can’t get through this mission without your partners knowing and seeing your face. Come on.”

  The pack watched as Hawk stayed completely still. Despite the Colonel’s tone of instruction, Hawk didn’t move. They didn’t even begin to move. Colonel Green sighed, looking to Laswell.

  Laswell nodded, patting Colonel Green on the shoulder before walking over to Hawk. She stopped a few feet away.

  “Come on. We’ve been getting ready for this. You have to let them see.” Laswell’s voice was soft. The only time John heard that tone of voice was when Laswell was first suggesting therapy for the pack. It was meant to reassure, to convey empathy. To convince. 

  Johnny went to say something. This person didn’t need to show them their face. Sure, it’d make things a bit weird, but Simon hid his face during missions all the time. And Simon had his reason, so this person probably has them too. Before he could say this, however, Laswell shot him a look, shaking her head. Johnny stopped and no one else said anything, beyond confused.

  “At least the hood, alright? You can keep the mask, but the hood has got to come off.” 

  Hawk was still for a moment before their shoulders slowly dropped with a quiet sigh. Laswell nodded, taking a few steps to the side so they weren’t blocking the 141’s view of Hawk. 

  Hawk’s head lifted. Through the shadow of the hood, they could see that Hawk was wearing black a surgical mask. Their eyes were shut before they took a shaky breath, lifting their hands and pulling their hood back as they fully lifted their face, letting the light hit them and revealing themself to the group.

  Half of their face is covered. There aren't many notable features that can be made out through the mask. The one thing that can be made out, however, is their eyes. Those same eyes that all four members of the 141 saw in their dreams. Those same eyes that all four members of the 141 saw in their nightmares. The same eyes that they had last seen filled with tears, pleading for forgiveness and understanding. The same eyes that had once looked at them with such adoration and joy, now filled with a deep darkness and sorrow that the boys felt sinking into their very skin. 

  The quiet sits for a moment before it’s broken by a quiet whisper of your name.

[ramshackle-lost-n-found]

tweel teeth anon here !! thank you very much for searching :3

i guess i'll settle for fics highlighting their teeth even if it feels like a heartslabyul vice housewarden third year *ahem* ... *fake dramatic sigh*

(btw, tbh i like my name i like them toothy)

heya~

this truly made me feel like a certain vice housewarden😹

crush has a thing for guys with sharp teeth (reblog)

eel toofies by mymainwastoocluttered (jade)

the cleaner shrimp brushes the eel's teeth by torikaku — two, three

cleaner shrimps and eels by mashed-potato101 — two

s/o jokingly asks to be bitten by writingfool001

biting as a love language by brainlessrot

15 with floyd by twistedwonderlandimaginesblog

lovely teeth by sweetieststars

—

sorry this took a bit! 🙇

forgot to include this

[queefsencen]

you said you were gonna grow up, then you were gonna come find me.

[i-heart-slashers]

Fur and Fangs

𝖕𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: The Lost Boys x FelineShifter!Reader

𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: You followed them for the thrill, a silent stray with secrets stitched into your fur—but when your truth is revealed, you become more than their pet; you become their heart.

Now, the cave is yours as much as theirs. You move between worlds—whiskers and skin, purrs and promises—and they let you. Because you didn’t just find them.

You chose them.

And they’ll never let you go.

𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 1.2k

𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘: mild language. implied sexual/intimate tension.

It began on a humid Santa Carla night, the boardwalk alive with neon and screams, the air thick with the scent of salt and sweat. A Ragdoll cat with fur like pale moonlight and smoky dusk, slipped through the chaos unnoticed. Eyes blue like sharp sea glass, tracked the world from alleys and rooftops.

Then there they were.

The Lost Boys. Four vampires cloaked in leather and rebellion, their laughter sharp as shattered glass. They moved like predators, all swagger and hunger, their presence a magnet for trouble.

You'd always been drawn to chaos, and they were its living pulse. So with small paws padding against the floor you followed, silent as a whisper, into the sunken cave they called home.

The cave was a cathedral of decay—stalactites dripping like wax, fairy lights strung through the gloom, and the faint hum of the ocean beyond. You sauntered in just before dawn, weaving between scuffed boots and trailing coats, your tail a proud banner. Marko spotted you first, crouched near a pile of salvaged junk, his curls catching the firelight.

"Yo, check it—a cat?" His voice was half-laugh, half-awe like he'd stumbled on a treasure. He reached out, then froze when you hopped onto a jagged stone seat, claiming it like a throne.

Paul sprawled on a couch, flicked his hair back, and squinted. "No way a stray looks that good. Bet she's someone's pampered princess."

You ignored him, locking eyes with David.

He sat at the cave's heart, cigarette smoldering between gloved fingers, his platinum hair glowing under the dim light. Those icy eyes studied you, unreadable but intrigued. You didn't flinch, didn't blink—just leaped into his lap with liquid grace, curling into the folds of his coat. His hand hovered, then settled between your ears, stroking with a confidence that bordered on possession.

"She's got taste," he said, voice low, a smirk ghosting his lips.

That was the beginning.

You became their shadow, their constant. The cave wasn't complete without your soft paws padding across stone or your purring weight in someone's lap. They didn't question where you came from—strays were common in Santa Carla, even ones as flawless as you. To them, you were a mystery they didn't need to unravel. You were simply theirs.

Marko, the wildest of them, took to you like a kid with a new toy. He'd slip you scraps of rare steak, grinning as you nibbled with dainty precision. "No eating animals, got it?" he declared one night, pointing at the others like a general. "Noodle is crew now. No one touches her." The rule stuck, a rare thread of mercy in their blood-soaked world.

Dwayne persistantly quiet, became your sanctuary. At dawn, when the others grew restless, he'd sit with you on a ledge overlooking the sea, his leather jacket warm under your fur. He'd read from tattered novels—Poe, Shelley, Stoker—his voice a low rumble as you dozed on his chest. He called you Luna, a name whispered like a secret.

Paul, ever the showman, dubbed you Sugarfluff with a theatrical wink, snapping his fingers as you passed. "Look at you, stealing hearts like a pro," he'd tease, tossing you a lazy salute. You'd flick your tail, unimpressed, but his laughter was infectious.

David never named you. He didn't need to. His lap was your domain, his gloved hand your summons. You'd leap up without hesitation, claiming the space as if it had always been yours. He'd stroke your fur in silence, his touch both command and invitation. In those moments, you were his anchor, the one thing in his endless nights that didn't demand blood.

You weren't just a cat. You were their center, their unspoken vow. They didn't know you were listening, watching, choosing them as much as they chose you.

But secrets don't stay buried in a cave full of vampires.

It was a rare early return from the boardwalk, the boys bursting in with the scent of blood and salt on their coats. You thought you'd have hours alone, time to stretch into your true self. So you'd shifted, letting your feline form melt away. Human again, you lounged in David's chair, legs draped over the arm, the firelight casting shadows across your bare skin. One of their long coats—Marko's, by the smell of paint and leather—hung loosely over your shoulders, a makeshift robe.

The cave door swung open, and they stopped dead.

Four pairs of eyes—gold-flecked, predatory—locked onto you. The air thickened, heavy with shock and something darker.

Paul broke the silence with a nervous laugh. "Holy shit, Sugarfluff? You're—you're a babe?"

Marko's mouth hung open, his hand still clutching a half-eaten burger. "I fed you steak."

Dwayne's gaze was steady, assessing, but not hostile. "A shifter," he said, voice soft but certain, like he'd pieced it together in seconds. He'd heard about them in the native stories back when he was young.

David didn't move. His cigarette burned, forgotten in his hand, ash drifting to the floor. His eyes, cold and piercing, held yours—not with anger, but with something deeper, sharper. Ownership.

You rose slowly and deliberately, the coat slipping slightly to reveal the curve of your collarbone. "I've been around longer than you think," you said, voice smooth as velvet, carrying the same confidence you wore in fur. "I chose this place. Chose you."

The silence stretched, taut as a wire.

Then David stepped forward, closing the distance in three measured strides. His gloved hand brushed a strand of hair from your face, his touch lingering at your jaw. "You've been ours this whole time," he said, not a question but a claim, his voice low and final.

You tilted your head, meeting his gaze without flinching. "And you've been mine."

Marko let out a whoop, breaking the tension, his arm slung around your shoulders like you were already family. "Hell yeah, she stays! Shifter or not, she's one of us."

Paul grinned, leaning against the wall with a mock swoon. "A hot chick that's a cat? I'm in love. Sugarfluff's still my girl."

Dwayne's lips curved, a rare smile softening his edges. "You kept our secrets. You're family."

David's hand settled on your waist, his grip firm but not forceful. His eyes searched yours, and in them, you saw the weight of his decision—not just to let you stay but to bind you closer. "You're not going anywhere," he murmured, and the words were a promise, a chain, a vow.

Now, the cave feels alive in a new way. You shift freely, one moment a Ragdoll curling atop David's throne, the next a woman laughing in Paul's arms or trading quiet words with Dwayne by the fire. They still hunt and still revel in their immortal chaos, but they come back to you. Always to you.

You are their secret, their heart, their queen in fur and flesh. And in the shadowed depths of the cave, where the ocean whispers and the fire burns low, you know one truth above all:

No one will ever take you from them.

[alarwynnwhispers]

✨ NEW STORY DROP ✨

(F1 x Reader | Lando Norris AU | Angst + Drama + Redemption)

Title: Where the Silence Took Her

Chapter 1: Cold Hands, Warm Lies

She was the wife who stayed in the shadows. He was the man millions adored, yet forgot who he had waiting at home. Zandvoort was supposed to be his win, But it became the day she found out.

She brought him his favorite food. She found him with another woman.

She dropped everything, then disappeared.

——————————————— 💬 "Why wasn’t I enough?" ———————————————

Now, she lives in a quiet town far from Europe’s chaos. No one knows her name. No one knows she’s the one he still aches for. But when fate gives Lando a chance to find her again, he’ll risk it all, even his career, just to ask for her forgiveness.

And maybe, if time is kind, to hold her hand again.

📖 Read now for a journey of heartbreak, healing, and the slow unraveling of a man who had it all, until he lost her.

📝 Note from the Author: This story is a love letter to silence, to regret, and to the fragile hope of second chances. It’s a slow burn woven through grief and grace, and if you’ve ever loved someone in quiet, or hurt someone in ways words couldn’t fix, this might be for you. Thank you for choosing to walk through the ache with me. Chapter updates coming soon. 🧡

[aureum-cordis]

Lost & Found, Part 6

A/N: I’m so sorry for vanishing for so long there! I’m going to try to be more active and definitely won’t just vanish off the face of the Earth again. Chapter 4 certainly gave me some motivation though, thankfully! Other parts here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5!

_________________________________________________

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when his eyes opened again, startled awake as he felt you shift in his lap. Your small eyes were still closed and your chest rose and fell with each breath that left your mouth.

As much as he wanted to let you and the others rest for longer, he knew that he couldn’t. In a place like this, anxiety and paranoia was the way you survived.

Gently, he nudged Crafty and Bobby to stir them awake. The bear flinched upon waking, to which he felt guilty for being the cause of, while the unicorn simply stretched as their unconscious state was disturbed. After muttering an apology to both, he turned to look down at you and carefully nudged you with just enough force to wake you.

Your bleary little eyes opened in a panic, clutching onto him tightly and balling your little fists with handfuls of his fur.

He watched as your heart quickened and could see how heavily you started breathing in an instant. “Kid, you’re okay. It’s just us, you’re safe. I promise.” DogDay’s voice was laced with sadness but his tone was strong and in your moment of fright, that was what you concentrated on.

Slowly, as your eyes focused and you were able to realize where you were then your grip lessened substantially but refused to let go. CraftyCorn placed a hoof on your small back, feeling your heart still race due to your moment of panic before.

“Poor thing.” Their voice was somber and sullen, sharing DogDay’s unspoken sorrow at just what you had been through before being found by them.

The red bear was quiet but gently placed a hand on your leg and allowed her eyes to soften for just a moment, trying to spare you from the melancholy air that settled in the room.

After a moment of hesitation, you removed a hand from being bundled up in DogDay’s fur and placed it on the back of Bobby’s hand. Your breathing wasn’t quite back to normal yet but had slowed, a positive sign for all of them. 

The unicorn had stood and walked over to the door, listening quietly for any sounds that might’ve been alarming. Wordlessly, the orange dog made a mental note to thank her for it later.

Allowing you to calm down for a few more minutes, he gently helped you stand before rising himself. He offered a hand down to Bobby BearHug, who accepted it and pulled herself onto her own feet.

With the way your eyes darted between all of them, it was clear that you were confused and didn’t understand why they were all so quiet. The two joined Crafty by the door while you followed closely behind. While staying close to DogDay, you also turned and looked up at Bobby, reaching out a hand.

The red bear seemed puzzled for a moment but met your hand as you held it out to her. Your hand was dwarfed compared to hers, but that only convinced her to be even more ginger with you.

As you squeezed her hand firmly and turned back to look at what Crafty was doing without letting go, she realized that you were holding her hand. At that moment, she felt as if she might’ve wept. From joy, sadness, or a longing for how things once were, she didn’t know.

DogDay was about to speak when he turned around and looked between Bobby and you. For a moment, he lost any semblance of words as he met her gaze. There was a warmth in her eyes, a vibrancy that he was afraid that he would never see again.

There was hope. Not a hope dimmed by falsehoods or built on an unsteady foundation that would topple with the slightest breeze of challenges not yet faced. But a true hope. A hope that there was a chance for a better future.

He cleared his throat for a moment, allowing himself to focus on the situation at hand. While he was welcoming of optimism in the best of times, he knew that he needed to be realistic and not allow his mind to wander to scenarios that might not occur.

Shortly after he had cleared his throat, the others as well as yourself turned to look at him. 

“We should get going, I fear we might be cutting it closer than any of us would like.”

DogDay looked between each of the remaining Smiling Critters and nodded, a certainty in his gaze as he opened the door and waited several long moments. His plush ears shifted in tandem as he pushed the door open further and stepped out into the hall, his form tense and alert as he gestured for the others to follow after him.

You clutched Bobby’s hand as she let you leave the room before she did, but made sure to remain close to you. The air was tense and you could pick that up even without a word being spoken, to say that you were afraid was putting it mildly.

Your other hand grabbed onto the arm of the red bear, wanting her to stay close to you. Crafty had since followed after the others and closed the door of where they had previously been hiding out.

They walked over to you and Bobby, placing a hoofed hand on your shoulder as the two of them essentially hid you while the leader made sure the area was clear. He was nearing the end of the hall by this point, looking over his shoulder at the others every now and then while his senses remained on high alert.

However, when the orange dog stopped suddenly before he had the chance to check the winding wings of the orphanage. His nose caught the scent before he heard a sound, the smell of lavender mingling with horrid chemicals that stuck to the walls like mold.

His fur bristled and immediately he turned to look back at the others that shielded you and the panic etched in his features made his permanent smile falter. The last thing he cared about was drawing attention to himself at this moment, the only thing he cared about was the safety of those that remained under his care.

“Get them out of here, now!” The desperation in his voice rang out in the halls as he shouted back at the others, the sound of large footsteps following the sudden announcement of their position.

Crafty was the one to pick you up in an instant, the tone in DogDay’s voice was enough to send the two of them running. He looked back at you as the others ran, stumbling and trying to not trip down the debris filled hall.

The last thing he saw of you before the three of you was your hand, outstretched to him as a frightened cry left you. It sounded much louder in his ears, a heart wrenching sound really, but he had far bigger issues than the desire to be by your side.

It was exactly why he braced himself as the footsteps grew louder as CatNap rounded the corner, barreling into him in the process as he darted into the hall. The impact sent DogDay stumbling, sliding into a quadrupedal defensive stance as his orange fur bristled and his hackles raised.

“You,” The word sounded almost accusatory as it left the cat’s gaping maw, the red smoke unfurling from his Cheshire grin and creeping slowly across the rotted wooden flooring. The sickeningly broken sound of the cat’s voice matched that of the decayed state of the Playcare, fitting for the one who had once been the attendant.

DogDay remained in his defensive position, snarls leaving him with a ferocity that even he wasn’t aware he possessed. His body was lowered and his ears were as far back as they could go, his tail tucked between his legs as he glared at the purple cat that stood before him.

He was fully prepared to stall for time, to allow for the others to get as far from here as possible. “Do you not see what that thing is doing to your mind?” He growled, eyes watchful of the other’s body language as the words left him.

At any other time, he would’ve never dared to challenge CatNap or the word of his “god” but this wasn’t just any time. The red smoke inched closer, spreading out amongst the floor as the cat took a step toward him and his claws pierced the wooden flooring, a clear sign of his intent. 

The leader flinched, backing away hurriedly but he hadn’t been able to move fast enough, the claws of the cat raking across the right side of his face in his retreat. They left four jagged marks in the flesh across his eye, tearing through fur and drawing blood upon making contact.

DogDay wavered for only a moment, the warm metallic scent of blood rivaling that of the suffocating red smoke as it ran down the side of his face in steady streams. A grunt left him as he shook his head, the crimson liquid falling to the floor as loose orange fur gathered near his forelegs.

His vision was blurred through his injured eye but he had familiarized himself with the building enough to traverse it regardless of his newly garnered setback.

Before CatNap had the chance to land another blow, he flung open a nearby door and hurried in, pulling a nearby locker down to block it to allow for some time to be bought.

His eyes searched the room for anything of use to defend himself, ignoring the toys that remained plastered to the floor in a pile of dried blood or the cribs that were overturned and long since abandoned, he finally found something of use.

Thankfully, it was a larger room and would keep him from getting pinned in a small and confined space. He had taken notice that the hall directly outside of the room he had entered was closed off with a pile of boxes and other miscellaneous junk. 

As CatNap clawed at the door and peered into the room, DogDay knew that he needed to find something to defend himself and fast. The wooden bed frames wouldn’t be effective nor would a crib. Blood still ran down his face and matted his fur from the lacerations caused by the beast that had nearly knocked over his haphazard barricade by this point.

There was an iron radiator in the corner but it was far too close to the door, a growl of frustration left him as his luck was dwindling and he was at a loss. Frantically looking everywhere and shaking his head to try to avoid the red smoke from affecting his mind, it was then that he noticed a metal bed that had been tucked into the far corner of the room.

It was rusting and falling apart but happened to be exactly what he needed. Scrambling over the splintered wood, dismantled toys, and shredded pictures of the children who once inhabited these halls, he reached the frame. Ignoring the fact that one of his hands was slick with his own blood, he grabbed onto a piece of the headboard that had broken over time and pulled.

The metal groaned in protest, creaking heavily but refused to give way immediately. However, he pulled once more, shifting his lower body to allow for him to use more of his weight as he yanked, forcing the bar to snap from its already deteriorating position amongst the others.

At that same moment, the door behind him had fragmented from the force of CatNap’s body slamming against it as the locker fell away helplessly to the floor. DogDay reacted quickly this time, swinging the bar with the full extent of his weight and putting as much force behind it as he could.

The pole made direct contact with the cat’s head and a sickening crunch echoed throughout the room, a heavy thud following shortly after as CatNap collapsed in a heap before the dog’s feet. He knew he wasn’t out of the clear though and didn’t take time to worry about the wellbeing of his assailant. 

The leader stepped over the body of the cat, the blood trailing down his face in steady streams and leaving red droplets in his wake on the rotting flooring. He stumbled slightly, adjusting his hold on the pole to use it as more of a crutch in the moment as he steadied himself.

It was firmly planted on the ground beside him as he scanned the room for anything useful, sticky red tracks already matting his orange fur. He needed to be quick, he knew that. Which was exactly why his attention was focused on finding something to stop the bleeding fast.

Wiping his eye with the back of one of his hands as he desperately tried to stop the blurring of his visions before he finally noticed a piece of fabric. It was just a glimpse, an edge of what seemed to be a bedsheet or a blanket.

It was stuck under a mess of broken beds and toys but it was better than nothing. Still leaning on the metallic piece of what once was a bed now turned crutch, he approached the mess of debris and reached out to grab the corner.

Glancing over at CatNap, who thankfully still seemed to be unresponsive, he set the metal pole down beside him and then lifted some of the larger pieces up to reveal more of the blanket.

It was dirty and covered in stains, several of which were a brownish red color that he had unfortunately become far too familiar with, but it would work for the purpose he needed it for. He realized that it had been white once and was covered in a myriad of paw prints that were all sorts of colors, almost in a sort of rainbow pattern.

A somber realization but a sobering one, he needed to regroup. DogDay wasn’t on his own, he had people depending on him. Crafty, Bobby, and you. This wasn’t the end, certainly not now. 

He tore at the fabric, ripping it into a strip that was thick enough to cover the wound and to tie it as a makeshift wrap. It wasn’t great and certainly wouldn’t be sterile but it was all he had at the moment.

It would have to do, for now. His sun pendant was a firm reminder of his dwindling time, the quiet sounds of protest it made against the metal clasp as it swung from his movements was enough to draw him out of his thoughts.

He wrapped the temporary bandage over his right eye in an attempt to staunch the bleeding before his attention shifted to the next task at hand, getting out of here in one piece.

With the way the floorboards creaked behind him and the presence that he felt approaching, that suddenly seemed like it was going to be a lot more challenging.

_________________________________________________

Taglist: @urminebutidontwantyou @rabiddogmax @jelapos @bloobewy @permanently-nothere @chibiduck @dead-sane-stuff

[jalicecookie]

Purple Haired Friend

You're visit the set of Squid Game 2 , to surprise your Father Ha-neul Kang. Unfortunately, you get lost while searching for him and end up near the men's toilets, completely shy and lost of orientation. Luckily for you, an Actor with black and purple hair and a big heart , is your savior. Or in short Words - Seung-hyun helps a Toddler to find her Father on the set of Squid Game 2.

⁓ A little Gift for the very talented @thanosscross. The Way you write Seung Hyun is super inspiring and made me try my very ever first Jump , into writing something, that is about the filming Set of an Series/ the Actor Career Focus Point. I can imagine that T.O.P// Seung Hyun as a very gentle soul , with a good Heart for Kids, so yeah i hope i could surprise you with this small Project <3 ⁓

Check out her Stories and her Works she wrote, it is very good and i enjoy every Post from he that shows up on my Dashboard :-)

TW: None, just a lot of Cuteness and Fluffness (at least i tried to write it so ^^)

⁓⁓⁓⁓⁓⁓⁓

"….Appa will definitely be happy to see us, it will be a great surprise! Sometimes there are a lot of people on a set, he said, so we have to be good and not cause any trouble, okay? And when we see Appa, we'll shout "surprise" really loudly, okay?" - the words of your big brother Min-Jun come into your field of vision, as does the face of the 9-year-old, while your mother parks the car in the studio's visitor parking lot and puts on the handbrake.

It was a special day and, unlike your older brother, you still can't understand the bigger picture , behind your father - Ha-Neul-Kang's - public life and the man's associated success as an actor in film productions and television series.

For you, since you have better understood the rough structure of the day, it is completely normal that your father comes home earlier or later due to the working day and the overtime during filming.

Sometimes you visit him as a family on the set of different productions and in most cases you hardly notice the hustle and bustle and the crowds of people on the studio premises.

In the past , you usually slept through the whole drama or shyly fled into your mother's arms and avoided all eye contact… it was strange to often see your father under makeup and with a different haircut, it always took a lot of convincing for your father to really convince you that this stranger was not a strange person but still your Appa.

You were always more of a shy, timid toddler and your third birthday, which you celebrated together with the family a few days ago (Ha-Neul specially blew up the balloons on the decorated dining room table himself and hoped that they would blow out the candles on the chocolate cake for you!) didn't really change much… well… apart from the fact that your big brother seemed to somehow lure you out of your shell with his euphoria about the surprise visit.

"Surprise!" you say, giggling and clapping your hands once.

"Not until we see Appa and are allowed to go to him, Silly," your big brother replied and helped you to unbuckle the seat belt of the child seat before your mother picked you up and took Min-Jun's hand to go through security together and then let one of the nice crew members lead you through the long corridors and hallways of the set.

"Mommy? Down? wanna walk like Min-Ju" - you say as you make a short stop and are near the cafeteria, where your mother and brother meet a family friend (mother and daughter) whose father also stars in the Netflix series Squid Game and they start talking.

"You stay with Mommy and Min-Ju, okay? Don't run away or walk off okay", - your mother said to you as she slowly put you on the floor. You obey…for a period of 2 minutes…the adult women talk, your big brother and the big girl talk too and…oh does that one adult look like your dad? In the suit…sometimes your dad wears a similar suit.

You tug on your mommy's sleeve once but she is so engrossed in the conversation with the other adult, that she didn't notice for the moment…and your big brother started playing rock paper scissors with the other girl and then a mini version of tag…what if the man in the suit was Appa and wouldn't hear if they all shouted surprise?

You look away from your mother and big brother, the man in the suit is talking to another adult and then walks away from the hallway…you can still hear the parting words of the suit wearer's conversation partner echoing over to you.

"…..you should go to the mask trailer - Gong-Yoo"

Gong-Yoo….wasn't that the last name that Mommy and Appa sometimes use to answer a phone call - Kang….Gong-Yoo…..that sounded kind of the same and since you couldn't see the man's face for the moment, you decided to do the most sensible thing your little 3-year-old brain was capable of - follow the suit man who could possibly be your father. Great idea right?

Maybe it was because the set of a series production was so crowded that several people were bustling around the aisles and a school class was visiting that no one noticed how clumsily and shyly you were simply following the man in the suit, like a little duckling blindly following its mother duck… until you lost your bearings because the man whose name sounded so similar to the name your parents always use to answer boring adult calls, of course didn't know or notice that someone was following him.

(How were you supposed to know that the actor playing the salesman/recruiter would just take a quick bathroom break before going to the make-up room and that he just happened to wear a similar suit to your father at premieres and press conferences/interviews was really mean of fate, wasn't it?)

In any case, you lose sight of the man because you quickly lose sight of your father and find yourself completely clueless and shy in front of the men's toilets in the studio. You look around uncertainly, but there is no sign of the suit wearer or your father anywhere…where were Mommy and Min-Ju again?

You stumble somewhat aimlessly into the area of ​​the sinks in the men's restroom in the hope of spotting the suit there, but here too there was a gaping emptiness…you became afraid and were about to cry quietly when the footsteps approached and suddenly stopped.

"Hello - are you lost, young lady?"

You flinch and look up for a moment…not far from the sinks stood an adult in a green suit and purple-black hair. His look seemed to be confused and surprised at the same time to find a young child completely alone in the bathrooms…but your overwhelm and fear made this question and the appearance of the strange man, even more threatening for you…where was your family?

You shake your head, sniff fearfully and shyly take a few steps back towards the toilet cabines.

Now the first tears are running down your cheeks and a quiet whimper escapes you.

"Mommy! Appa! Min-Ju!" - you cry quietly and of course you don't trust the strange adult one bit.

You have always been shy around strangers and just wanted the safety of your family around you.

"Did you got lost? Were is your Family? Oh no, we can look for them together?" - the voice of the man with the purple hair took on a very cautious and calming tone as you keep backing away and land backwards on your bottom in your fear of this overwhelming situation.

"You don't need to be afraid…actually…I think I'll just sit down for a litle while as well okay?" - the tone was still calming and you still watched with fear and uncertainty as the purple adult man simply sat down cross-legged on the floor a few steps away from you and gave you space…he didn't go any further towards you and with this gesture he put himself at eye level with you…which in this case was not only very sensitive, but also the right decision for your shy nature.

There was silence for a moment and your quiet crying echoed off the high ceilings of the bathroom.

"Is orange your favorite color? Look, two of my fingernails are orange too," said the man in a now shy tone…just like you feel, shy and unsure.

You briefly look down at the color of the orange jacket you are wearing.

It is your favorite jacket…and one of your favorite colors. At home you have orange rubber boots with little ducks on them.

Mommy said you can't wear those rubber boots today, because it hasn't rained.

"Orange?" - you say carefully and tap your T-shirt once and then you cast a very cautious glance at the purple adult , who is still sitting cross-legged on the floor and holding out his hand to you so that you can see that one of his fingernails is also orange.

Then the stranger held out his other hand to you, one of the fingernails was also painted orange.

"One…two…two orange" - you say, looking from the stranger's hands back to your T-shirt and lowering your gaze again.

"Do you know the other colors to? My Fingernails very colorful today aren´t they?" - the adult said kindly, somewhat in his shy tone, and the fact that he stayed where he was and made no attempt to simply pick you up or even grab your hand or otherwise pressure you, made you look up in dismay… and crawl very carefully closer to the man, at arm's length of course - to look at the other colors on his fingernails.

He was right… there were other colors besides orange. What colorful fingernails.

"That's right, it really does look like a rainbow, hm? May I ask what your name is, young lady? My name is Seung-Hyun," - the adult replied with a quiet laugh at the rainbow comparison.

It took a moment, until you could come out of your shell a little further and shyly answer the question…but the interest in the dark colors on the back of Seung-hyun's hand captured your interest.

"Me - Nali.....Ouchie on Seung hand?", was your reply.

A gentle smile creeps onto the adult's face as he answers your question.

"This one? Oh no, it's a tattoo… well, not a real one, it's just color, but shhh, don't tell, okay Nali?", he said playfully and a few moments later he makes a shhh gesture by holding a finger in front of his mouth.

You imitate him and carefully do the same.

Then your gaze slides back to the adult's hair and you tilt your head for a moment.

"Hair too, shhh - secret?" - you ask, pointing to the man's purple-black hair.

"Not really, but I know a magic trick - what do you have behind your right ear, Nali?", said Seung in surprise and his right hand went once in the direction of your left ear before you heard something jingling and looked surprised into Seung's still closed hand.

"What's behind Nali's ear? Magic trick?", you said now, a little curious.

"Hm… it sounds like… you can't find a coin? But… oh, I can't open my hand, the magic trick was probably too difficult for me… can you maybe help me?", said Seung to you in surprise and when he tried to open his fist, he couldn't do it even with all his effort… that must have been a pretty difficult magic trick!

You nod, thawing out a little more with every passing minute and Seung's calm, level-headed and slightly shy manner suits your own insecure character, he is just right when dealing with you and the fact that he can do magic is a great bonus.

"Nali help Seung… but how?" you ask and nod once.

"Okay Nali… we'll both say the magic spell now - and then you have to tap my fist once, OK?"

You nod again and after your new friend whispers the magic spell to you very quietly, you do exactly what he told you and oooooh it worked! After you carefully tapped Seung's closed fist, the adult was able to open it very slowly and one of the rings appeared (which he had previously taken off without you noticing)

"Magic! Ring! Nali helped!" - you say in surprise and clap your hands once.

"Well done Nali… would you like to hold the ring for me for a moment? I don't want to lose it… if you want to hold my hand, we could see if we can find your family?" - Seugn suggested and you very slowly and carefully take the ring and nod slowly.

Your haired purple friend was nice to you and you slowly stand up, bridge the last few steps and very carefully reach for the hand - or rather the little and ring finger of Seugn's right hand, while your free hand holds the ring proudly and importantly.

Seugn slowly stands up too and nods at you in praise before you leave the sanitary facilities of the men's toilet together.

In the hallway, Seugn makes sure that you don't get lost, but you continue to hold onto his little finger and ring finger, as you walk on the adult's right side and repeatedly make cautious eye contact with him.

He asks you, among other things, if you know where you last saw your family, if you know the names of your mommy and your appa and how old you are.

You know the answer to some of the questions, but you just shake your head to the others and when a group of crew members pass you, you press yourself closer to the man's leg for protection.

"Oh, thank God! Nali!" - your father's voice echoes across the hallway and both Seugn and your steps stop - you don't let go of your new purple-haired friend and look in the direction from which your father's voice echoes to you.

A short exchange of words followed between Seugn and Ha-Neul before your mother and big brother joined the group and expressed their relief at finding you.

You, still holding Seugn's hand, cast a long, critical look at your Appa… before you burst into a childish giggle and utter the following unfiltered words.

"Appa long hair! No purple ! Appa look funny!"

Your parents told you again , that it wasn't okay to just run away like that (they worried a lot) and that they were very grateful to , Seugn for finding you and bringing you back.

And yet you were a little sad, when you had to say goodbye to your new purple-haired friend - because he had to shoot a new scene with the other actors very soon.

Seugn forgot to take the ring back, though.

By pure Coincidence.

Of course.

THE END

[laneywrld]

things lost and things found | Lewis Hamilton

part two

word count: 10k

warnings: smut, smut, more smut, fluff.

A man not made for commitment also doesn’t know how to communicate

It's safe to say that since that night in Cannes nearly two months ago, the lines have blurred.

Every night Clem spends with Lewis ends with her falling asleep nestled in his arms.

Some nights, they don't even have sex; he just calls her up to see him. 

Their outings are no longer limited to his bedroom or whatever hotel he's shacked up in. They're often found all over tabloids and fan pages, seen out at clubs or dinners or even on simple excursions such as shopping or taking walks.

Clementine tries her hardest to remember that Lewis was noncommittal. He would never ever even think about dating her or taking her seriously. That realization and his vocally telling her to not make things weird every time he can see that he catches her off guard keeps her on track. 

Clem knew what she signed up for; quite literally, the NDA she signed entailed every component of their relationship.

Besides the weird butterflies she got around Lewis, life was only getting better and better.  

Being around someone who understands her fully and allows her to completely unravel herself to them has really been good for Clem socially and career-wise.

She was less awakward around people, less reserved and she felt like hey, this man has accepted me for my every little flaw, why wouldn't other people. 

She was moving up in the world, and people loved her for who she was, and for the first time ever, she did too.

She's won an emmy for her netflix show, her movie was breaking records, and she was finally stepping out of her box and showcasing other skills she had.

Along with this new burst of confidence came new relationships. 

She's been trying to go out on dates to see if now was finally the time for her to try to settle down and find something serious.

That what she was doing currently, at dinner sitting across from some NBA players as he rambles on and on about different shots he couldve taken during the game, that he most definitely lost.

Clem hums, eyes feigning interest as he describes how he actually wasn't open when he tried to go for a three-pointer. Shocker, he missed.

When he excuses himself to run to the bathroom, she whips out her phone, seeing that Lewis texted her. 

Lewis 🏁

How's your date?

She shakes her head, typing out her response.

dense. how's silverstone? 

Lewis 🏁

Nerve-wracking, my car is still shit.

i'm sorry 😞  

Lewis 🏁

I'm going to need you tonight.

Lewis, i'm on a date.

Clem scoffs, but the smile on her face as she presses send is misleading.

Lewis 🏁

Is he getting lucky tonight?

NO!

Lewis 🏁

So why can't I?

Clem feels the familiar tingle in her core and places her phone face down on the table just as her date takes his seat in front of her again. 

She can't help the incredulous eyebrow raise she gives him as she sees a powdery substance painting his nostril.

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you, love." She smiles politely as she stands and motions for him to wipe his nose. He lifts his camera just as Clem drops enough money to cover her bill and tip the waitress generously. 

She hops into the black SUV, thanking her driver for helping her into the back. She unlocks her phone and sees another message from Lewis.

Lewis 🏁

My jet will be waiting for you.

That is precisely how Clementine ended up in Lewis' hotel room, waiting for him on the bed as he took a quick shower. 

When he emerges from the bathroom she can only offer him an uplifting smile, he looks so tired and so stressed. 

It helps, it always does which is why Lewis wanted her here in the first place. She was like sunrise after the darkest of nights.

"Hi," she coos, opening her arms for the muscly man.

He falls into her arms, his torso bare and his bottom half swaddled in a towel. He lays his head in her lap as she sits against the headboard. He looks up at her face as she stares down at his, and she physically pouts as she brings her fingers up to massage the stress lines from his face.

"That bad?" she whispers as his eyes flutter closed. Lewis sighs, grumbling out a faint "Yeah."

"You don't have to go through it much longer, at least." She tries and she knows it does nothing to take the heavy weight of mercedes off of his shoulders.

"You feel like you're carrying the weight of the world." She hums, her hands traveling down to rub the tension out of his neck. Her fist rubs up and down from the sides of his neck to the crook of his shoulders.

Lewis lets out a relaxed sigh, letting her work on him. 

She doesn't know how long she sits there with him snuggled into her lap as she kneads the tension from his body. 

After a while, she connects to his speaker and plays music. She has Lewis turn over onto his stomach as she slips from underneath him.

She hums as she sits on his bottom and begins massaging his back. "Your back is bruised."

"I was bouncing around like crazy in that fucking car." He curses.

Clementine bends down, pressing kisses around his back on the purple and red marks adorning his skin. 

Lewis closes his eyes, relishing in the comfort she gives him.

Lewis has noticed it, too, the turn their dynamic has taken. He is aware that he has given slight leeway to the emotional part of their relationship. 

He finds himself thinking about Clem plenty throughout the days. Buys things he thinks she'll like. He's grown accustomed to placing delicate pecks on her lips and face randomly throughout their time together; he can't help it.

Something about her has him wanting her all of the time, not even in th physical way. He just wants her to be with him.

"Can you come out to the race tomorrow?" He rasps.

She sits up, her legs still encaging his body. "Hmm, I don't think your publicity team will like that, people are already speculating about us."

"I don't care." Lewis argues, "It's about time you come to a race, wanna see you immediately not wait to get to the hotel and then see you."

His words make her heart thump harsher, and suddenly, all of the warnings from her publicist dissipate.

"Okay." 

Lewis didn't initiate sex between them that night. He simply turns over with her still on top of him and places his hands on her thighs.

"Come here," he whispers, reaching up to tug her head down to his face.

Their lips lock and it's not rushed or leading to anything. It's like how he kissed her in France. It's just sweet?

She can feel his heart against her chest as she is pressed against him, beating rampantly. "Thank you for showing up for me." He mutters against her lips. She grins against him as she remembers the words she scribbled onto the note she'd given him with her gift.

"Always." she breathes, diving back in to kiss him. One hand travels to her waist, and the other has a soft grip on the back of her neck. 

She feels his member poke against her thigh, and she sits up as much as she can with his hand on her neck, ready to free him from the towel, but the hand he had on her waist stops her actions with a grip on her wrist.

"I just want to lay with you tonight, if that's okay?"

Just when she thought she was safe from her tom-foolish thoughts, she felt her suppressed feelings for Lewis take light again. Don't make it weird, she thinks to herself. "Okay." 

Lewis sits up, his hand returning to her hip; she is sat in his lap, legs folded, and his body pushes her slightly back as he tugs on the comforter. He falls back taking her with him and pulls the thick comforter over her body which lays against his chest.

"What's one thing that surprised you about me?"

Clem traces her fingers on his chest in deep thought, "that you don't do relationships."

"Why that?"

"You're a lover boy at heart." Clem chortled, "Literally just a sweetheart. Most men who can't see themselves being with someone don't act as affectionate with women."

Lewis lets out a hmm sound, his hand still gliding up and down her back beneath his t-shirt that she wore.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Good, there's nothing wrong with being a sweetheart; bad if someone gets the wrong idea; I have a feeling you're an easy man to fall in love with."

Lewis presses a kiss to her hairline, butterflies doing summersaults in his belly. 

-

They wake up the next morning in the same position, with Clem's face nestled in the crook of his neck. Lewis smiles as he reaches over to turn off his alarm.

"Gotta get up, Clem." He soothes, rubbing up and down her back. 

"Mhmm." She moans in denial, cuddling deeper into him. "No."

"Come on, beautiful."

He sits up, forcing her up with him.

She flutters her eyes open and wraps her arms around his neck. 

He chuckles at her defiance, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and standing. He taps her thigh and she gets the message, wrapping them around his waist.

He walks her into the bathroom and sits her down on the bathroom counter. "Sit here, be careful." He orders, unraveling her from his body. He almost gives up and tucks her back into bed as she whines at him.

He leaves the bathroom and returns with a small bag of hers. She slumps against the mirror as she hears him rustling about. When she hears the faucet turn on and then feels his big hands massage circles into her cheeks, she opens her eyes.

There, she sees Lewis standing there with a cheeky smile, his hands lathered in her face soap as he massages the suds onto her face.

"Going to have to get my girl ready myself, huh?" He questions.

She only smirks at him and closes her eyes, letting him work through her skincare routine step by step, laughing as he inquires about every product.

When he finishes, he washes his own face and then passes her toothbrush to her. He stands between her legs as they both brush their teeth. Both of them stare at each other with googly eyes, laughing as foam bubbles from their mouths. When she leans over to spit into the sink, he follows shortly after and then pours a capful of mouthwash for her and them himself. And again, they stare into each other's eyes, giggly and gleaming, as they swish the liquid between their puffy cheeks.

This is where Clementine struggled with the status of their agreement. These weren't the actions of a man who didn't intend to be in a relationship. But she had heard of Lewis and his many flings and "friends" and she knew that he was a very affectionate person so once again she willed away the thought that there was any chnace of Lewis ever straying away from his bachelor lifestyle. 

She pats his shoulder beckoning him to step away, when he does she hops down and releases the last of the contents from her mouth into the sink and stepping aside so Lewis can do the same. 

"I'm going to grab my clothes." She informs.

As she lays her outfit options across the bed, she hears a vibration beneath her shirt, and she leans over the bed, patting until she finds the culprit. When she feels the device, she pulls it from underneath and sees that it's not her phone but Lewis'.

The screen lights up with notifications. 

One catches her eye from, Natalie.

Lewis did feel comfortable enough to disclose his other flings to her, and she nearly shit herself when he associated them all with cities. She remembers the way he laughed when she asked if she needed to get tested. Then she asked if he had referred to her as Clementine, NYC.

Natalie, Silverstone. She recalls.

It wasn't like she was intentionally snooping, but as the screen lit up in her hand again, she couldn't help but read the message as it appeared.

Still on for tomorrow?

At first, she feels a pang in her chest, but then she remembers her place, and she gently sits his phone on the nightstand, allowing the screen to turn off.

"Hey, you okay?" Lewis questioned, poking his head from the bathroom, realizing that she had stopped responding to him. 

She is stood facing the bed with her hands on her hips, scanning her oufits. "Yeah," she smiles though it doesn't quite meet her eyes. 

He eyes her quizically, but when she chuckles at his facial expression, pulls her outfit from the bed, and saunters into the bathroom with him, he relaxes.

Clem is in her head, and she hopes it's not obvious to Lewis.

But she can't help but wonder why he would fly her out just to make plans to sleep with another woman in the span of two days.

She's hurt, and she's jealous, and she knows she shouldn't be, but a part of her wants to slap the shit out of him. 

Instead, she refrains and plays into whatever sick bullshit he was playing with her heart unintentionally.

-

She arrives to the paddock with Lewis and she tries not to grimace as he tells a journalist that he brings friends with him to races all of the time, as they pass by.

He opens the door to the Mercedes motorhome like the proper gentleman he is and directs her into his room.

"I'm just going to change into my suit, and then we can head to the garage, okay?"

She nods and pulls out her phone. Already, she sees that they are trending. 

Lewis steps out of the room and leaves the door open. A few minutes pass before she hears an audible gasp.

When she looks up, she sees a bright-eyed George Russell.

"Hello, Hi! I'm George, I'm a big fan." He enters the compact room, his hand outstretched before him. She stands from Lewis' bed and accepts his hand.

"Hi, George, I'm Clem."

"I know who you are. What are you doing here?" He wonders.

"I'm a friend of Lewis'. I wanted to see you guys race today."

George stutters out a wow, beginning to ramble on before he is interrupted by a throat clearing at the door. There stands Lewis, with a burning look on his face that makes George immediately drop her hand.

"Lewis." He gasps, "How do you literally know everyone, man?"

She smiles, raising her eyebrows behind Lewis as George rambles about her.

Lewis claps his hands against George's shoulder before speaking, "I love you, kid. But we've got to get going."

And then he reached his arm around George and latched onto Clem and pulled her from behind him.

George stammers out a quick bye, and Clem waves sweetly at him as Lewis pulls her from the motorhome and towards the garage.

"He's so sweet," Clem coos, and Lewis only grunts out a "yeah."

"He looks like a literal prince charming." She extends.

Lewis doesn't want to hear her call his teammate any more kinds of cute, so he opts not to respond.

When they finally reach the garage, he is sitting her down beside Toto, who introduces himself with a warm and welcoming smile.

She accepts his hand, gently shaking it, and in return, Lewis gets whisked away.

She enjoys her time in the garage, whilst Lewis talk to his strategist she is sat beside Toto and a few engineers and she feels like she is on a field trip as they explain the many different parts of their setup. Finally Lewis appears at her side again, beckoning her to follow him. She accepts his hand, lifting from her seat and walking hand in hand with him to his car.

"Wow." she gasps as she studies the racing car.

"You want to get in?" Lewis questions. She turns to him with wide eyes, and Lewis can see the excitement in her dark orbs.

"You don't like people in your car." She reminds, peering back down at it.

"I said I don't let just anyone in my car, are you just anyone?" He is staring at her so intensely it has her body on fire.

She felt shy underneath his gaze as he stepped closer to her.

She stands tall, looking up at him through her lashes. He's nearly bumping chests with her as he looms over her.

"There's an entire team in here, Lewis, and cameras." She whispers only loud enough for the two of them to hear.

He doesn't care. He leans down, his mouth near her ear, "Are you just anyone to me, Clementine?"

She swallows nervously as he takes a step back, "No."

"Then get in the fucking car."

Toto watches on from his seat in amazement as Lewis lifts her frame into the car. He then turns and looks into the camera with his eyebrows raised as to show his impressment. 

He put two and two together that she was a personal guest for Lewis. It was obvious since Mercedes had already planned for Tom Cruise and Damson Idris' arrival for the race today.

Lewis leans into the car as he motions to different parts on the inside of the automobile. 

Clem honestly couldn't give two fucks about the car, but she was relishing in how passionate Lewis looked and sounded as he spoke about every aspect of it. She hadn't moved her eyes from his face not once, and Lewis froze as he turned to face her and saw the wanting look adorning her features.

It has him hard instantly.

"Behave." He warns, turning his head to survey their surroundings.

"You're fine as fuck when you're talking cars."

Lewis chuckles, and a blush comes up to cover his cheeks. He lifts his hand, his knuckles skimming along her jaw.

"I want to kiss you, but people will see."

She drops her face against his hand, puckering her bottom lip out at him.

"Aw, too bad." She whispers seductively, and Lewis whispers out a quiet "fuck." as she tugs her bottom lip between her teeth. His thumb reaches up and drags it back out.

"Gotta be nice to me right now, Clem. Hmm?" He hums, not bothering to remove his thumb from her lip. He smears his finger across, watching as it pops back into place. 

"Help me out of this car." She smirks, lifting her arms, "Before you do something you'll regret, there are cameras around."

"I don't give a fuck about the cameras." He rasps and breaks out into a grin when she bursts into a fit of laughter. He smacks his teeth, standing up straight, preparing to get her out.

"You like fucking with me." He declares.

Lewis helps her from the car, his hands probably lingering on her lower back for far too long once she's back on the ground.

"Lewis." He hears, and when he turns around, he sees Tom and Damson.

He pulls Clem with him, introducing her to the pair. He instantly regrets it when he sees the way Damson eyes her down like she's a refreshing tall glass of water.

 Tom starts up a conversation with Lew about the business they need to handle for his upcoming movie, but his eyes can't leave Clem's frame, and how Damson brings her hand up to his lips. 

He feels like a suicidal maniac when he watches her laugh and smile at whatever he is saying.

He'd met him before, and trust, whatever he was saying couldn't possibly be that funny.

Lewis wants to rip Toto's head off as he directs the two of them into a set of empty seats. He was less than present during the conversation with Tom, and he hoped he hadn't noticed. His arms are folded over his chest, and his foot is tapping the ground anxiously. He tries not to make it obvious when he directs Tom to his spot and takes his in order to keep an eye on Clem.

When the time for the start of the race gets closer he is thankful to see Tom take his place beside Toto. 

He saunters over to the still chatty pair and stands in front of Clem. He waits for her to notice him, and when she doesn't, he clears his throat rather dramatically. 

She stands when she notices him, shooting Damson an apologetic smile that has him ready to drag her off. Which he does.

He pulls her to a corner of the garage and up the stairs into a random office and locks the door. 

"You okay." Clem questions, stepping towards him and placing her hands on his waist. "Lewis." she tries again when he doesn't answer.

He looks stressed and zoned out.

"I- uh yeah." he coughs and suddenly he feels better having her away from Damson. "i'm fine, pre-race jitters." He lies.

Her hands slide up his chest until they settle on the sides of his head.

She tilts his head so that he's staring into her eyes. 

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"I'm regretting this." He admits and her eyes squint, "bringing you here, I mean."

That does nothing to alleviate her hurt expression, so he continues, "My car is still shit, I don't want you to watch me lose."

She scoffs, gently slapping her hand against his shoulder before returning it to its place caressing his beard. "Would’ve watched you lose at home too, what's the difference. I'm going to support you all the same."

Lewis leans down and presses a short, soft kiss to her plump lips.

Her eyes flutter closed as he stares down at her, and finally, his hands raised to her hips, pulling her into him. "I don't think that I tell you thank you enough for all of the ways you help me, Clem."

"You don't have to," she whispers, dropping her forehead against his chest. He rests his chin on top of her head, putting his arms over her shoulders as hers wraps around his torso.

Lewis likes this. He thinks he can start every race for the rest of his career like this. When he hears a knock on the door, he groans but shoots Clem a warning look as she chuckles at him.

"Big baby." she teases, moving around him to unlock the door. He maneuvers behind her, reaching to open it, and when he does, he sees Toto there with a knowing smirk.

"Time to race, Lewis."

She allows Lewis to pull her from the office hand in hand, and she knows her publicist is probably in New York and stressed running through cigarettes. She always joked that this Lewis rendezvous would result in her smoking her stress away.

Lewis knows something is wrong with him for sure when he realizes that he doesn't care about the camera or who's watching him show Clem his affection. He knows they're going to be the main topic of every tabloid tomorrow, and he just doesn't care.

She stands in front of him beside his car as the crew bustles around them.

When it's time for Lewis to finish his preparation, he motions his head towards Clem, and suddenly, her hands are stuffed with a balaclava and a pair of gloves. 

She turns to the man who handed them to her and he offers her a small smile. 

She turns to Lewis, and he can tell she's trying to fight off the grin that desperately wants to appear.

She reaches for his right hand, tugging the glove onto his hand gently, she checks each finger and pulls to make sure the fit is snug. She repeats her actions on his left hand and then Lewis firmly places his hands on her waist. He's looking at her with those sparkly eyes and a loving smile.

She turns the balaclava in her hands, trying to figure out which way to pull it over his head. When she sees the opening, she lets out an "Aahh" that has Lewis chuckling at her.

She stands on her tiptoes, freeing his braids from the ponytail and pushing them back. She hums to herself as she pulls the balaclava over his head. 

She settles back on her feet, and she can only see his eyes, but it does something to her. 

She reaches between them pulling the upper half of his suit up his body, giggling when he grunts realizing he's got to let go of her to push his arms through the sleeves.

His hands are back on her in an instant, like by not physically touching her he'd fly away.

Clem reaches between them again; this time, her fingers latch onto the zipper, and she tugs it up from his pelvis all the way up his chest until it's set in place. 

"I don't know, Lew. I think we've at least got a podium." She whispers, accepting the helmet.

She steps back, allowing his hands to fall, and then hands him the helmet.

"I can feel it in my bones." 

"Oh," Lewis laughs, "Can feel it in your bones?" He sticks out his free hand, tickling at her.

Clementine laughs, stepping back and gripping his arm, "Stop!" 

He listens, pulling on his helmet and looking back at his car.

"Well, that's me."

Clem feels like a lovesick puppy as she watches his eyelashes flutter with every blink of his eyes.

"Podium." She reminds him, lifting her pinky.

"Podium." He declares, wrapping his own against hers. He lifts their conjoined hands and places them against his helmet where his mouth would be, and she swoons.

"Get in the car, Hamilton."

She's a giddy mess as she steps away from him and finds herself accepting a seat from one of the crew members.

She sighed while watching the screen as Lewis started in P5. He is quickly into P4. She feels her adrenaline kick in as the crew cheers excitedly watching him overtake into third. When he overtakes two other drives all in the same lap the garage erupts in shouts of excitement, just for that to be taken away just as fast when they see a car barrel through off od the track and into the fence.

Clem gasps, her hand coming up to cup her mouth.

She knew Formula One was a dangerous sport, but watching a wreck like that happen in real-time has her mind reeling on just how much danger Lewis puts himself in.

"Is he okay?" She hears as the crew all talk amongst themselves.

"George is out of the race. The other driver is okay." Toto announces, "We're restarting."

Lewis is back in the garage, and he is irritated.

Clem stays back and out of his way as she watches him angrily rant. "That is not right, Toto." He snaps, "back in fifth?"

She watches as Toto nods at him, and Lewis turns to his assistant, rolling his eyes. He looks so frustrated as he throws his hand out, "fucking fifth."

Clem knew that when she was angry that she didn't like to be bothered, so she stayed in her seat. She feels a body plop down beside her, and she turns to see Damson.

"Intense, yeah?" He questions.

"Most definitely." She sighs, "My adrenaline is off the charts right now."

"First time coming to a race?"

She nods, returning the question, "Nah, this is like the NFL to Brits."

She laughs, "Right."

The two chat whilst the rest of the garage is in shambles, and Lewis watches the two with slits in his eyes. 

He knows he shouldn't be jealous. Clem was nothing to him but a friend who he enjoys fucking. It's what he tells himself as Damson passes his phone to her. She was just his friend. He'd even encouraged her to get out there and find her person.

But that was before he realized how differently she made his heartbeat.

Lewis doesn't bother going over to her before the race restarts, he can feel her lingering eyes as he manuevers around the garage, avoiding her.

Lewis feels a bit enraged. Initially, it was just the FIA and their stupid fucking rules, then it was the car, and now it was Clementine and the stupid British actor drooling over each other in his face.

It was all piling on top of him, and he hadn't felt so unsettled ever before a race. 

He hops back into his car, not sparing Clem a glance, and rolls out into P5.

This time the only thing on his mind is how fucking mad he is. 

That anger got him P3. 

He doesn't know why he doesn't approach Clem as she waits for him patiently in her seat. He goes around and thanks the crew and the engineers and has a brief talk with Toto and Tom. And then he leaves to go to the podium, all without even glancing at her.

Clem, always aware, remains silent and tries to keep the pout from taking place on her face.

She tries not to take Lewis' actions personal, it's obvious he's wound up. She doesn't know if it's something she did or if he's still frustrated by the race restart. Logically it's the second, she's learned that not everyone's behaviors have to do with her. It's taken years of her enternalizing other people's moods to realize that 9/10 people are just feeling things. She hasn't done anything, she's sure of it.

She is directed into the motorhome whilst Lewis handles other business and she sits in his room on his bed waiting patiently.

When Lewis had brought up the idea of bringing her to the race yesterday, he raved on and on about how she'd be able to walk the track, wait with his team whilst he's on the podium (if he got one), and get the classic guest experience. She hadn't gotten that, which was a letdown since she really wanted to experience Lewis' world, but she understood why that wasn't possible today after seeing Lewis' mood.

But still, it would have been nice not to sit in his motorhome and then the garage all day, just to end up back in his motorhome alone for hours. 

When Lewis emerges into the tiny room he is clean and dressed in comfortable clothes. He had been on the phone in the office preparing a few arrangements for the past hour. He sighs as he sees her frame sprawled across the tiny bed. 

There are soft puffs of air escaping her, and her phone is clutched loosely in her hand.

He can tell she fell asleep scrolling through her phone.

He sits on the foot of the bed at her feet and drops his head into his hands.

He doesn't know what he's doing. But he does know he can't keep going on like this. Lewis didn't like relationships, he didn't like being tied down, it wasn't fair of him to only want Clem to himself when she would never get all of him. 

"C'mon Clem, let's get you back."

Like the sleepy girl she is, she whines as Lewis pulls her body from the bed, placing her on her feet. 

"Can you walk?" 

She only nods, reaching over to grab her bag and her phone. She doesn't speak to Lewis quite yet, still unsure of his mood. She lets him direct her from the motorhome, his hand tight in hers as he leads her through the paddock. It is so late at night that there are rarely any people hanging around. When they exit and get to his car, the flashes from the cameras wake her up even more, and she uses the back of her hand to block the lights. 

Lewis walks her to the passenger side, waiting for her to slip in before he closes the door gently and goes around to his seat.

He pulls out cautiously and begins their trek to the hotel.

Clem forces herself to stay awake, knowing that it's only a short drive.

Still, she is waiting for Lewis to speak, but he doesn't. 

"I had fun," she announces.

"I'm glad."

"You got podium." She cheers lowly.

Lewis only offers her a small smile, and uncertainty settles in her gut. Something's not right.

She gives up trying to talk to him after that. 

The car is filled with tension and awkward silence. It's so unlike them.

When they pull into the hotel, Clem doesn't wait for the valet to open her door. She clambers out and thanks god as the night breeze fills her lungs. She's never felt so suffocated around Lewis.

As Lewis exchanges formalities with the man she rushes into the hotel and onto the elevator, when she reaches the room she unlocks it with the secondary key taking a moment to gulp down a glass of water.

Lewis follows in behind her shortly after, paying her no mind as he goes to the bathroom and emerges with his shirt and jewelry off.

"You got an attitude?" Lewis questions, standing in the doorframe.

"No, I don't." 

"I know you, Clementine." Lewis rasps, coming to stand over her as she sits on the bed.

"You're the one with the nasty ass attitude." She huffs, reaching up to nudge him away from her. He doesn't budge.

"Lose the attitude, Clem." He orders, and she rolls her eyes. 

"Or what, Lewis?" She pushes.

Lewis' hand is at her neck in a second. His grip is not tight at all, just holding her in place as he ravishes her mouth. Just as frustrated as he is, she returns the kiss.

"Got something for that attitude," Lewis grunts, pushing her onto her back.

She gasps as he roughly pulls at her pants.

He has them off before she knows it, and his hand lets go of her neck and travels down to pull at her panties. He rips them off of her with a hunger in his eyes like no other. 

"Gotta fuck it out of you, Clem?" He asks. 

He doesn't give her time to answer as he sinks down to his knees at the end of the bed and pulls her down with him. He lifts her legs over him and wraps his arms around her thighs. His hands settle on her thighs, keeping them apart, and he stares up at her one last time before connecting his mouth to her clit.

She jumps, but his hands hold her in place.

He removes his lips from her bundle of nerves, his tongue traveling down to swipe through her crease. She moans lightly as she fists at the sheets. His fingers travel up to replace his mouth, and he digs them deep into her core, his tongue flicking against her clit before he presses it flat and moves up and down.

Clem gasps as he curls his fingers inside her and suckles extra hard on her. Her hand shoots down to push him away, but he catches her wrist in his free hand, holding it against the mattress. 

He stares up at Clem, the whole scene naughty and erotic. He lets her other hand come down to rest in his hair. 

Lewis moans into her, his mouth sending a wave of vibrations through her body. Lewis never took his eyes off of her, watching as she writhed above him. He was showing her no mercy as the gushy sounds filled the room. 

She tasted so good.

Lewis worked his tongue around her clit, teasing her only for a minute before he smushed his mouth over it again and suckled just the right amount, his fingers still thrust in and out of her, driving her absolutely insane. He moans into her pussy and trails his mouth down to swallow where she is oozing. 

Lewis lets her captivating moans egg him on as he devours her like a starved man. He can feel it when she comes when her tight, spongy pussy constricts around his fingers. He happily licks up the juices she releases as she comes undone. 

He pulls his fingers from her core and stands, quickly turning her body over. She lands on her stomach with a slight "oomph" noise and turns to look back at Lewis.

He wastes no time hammering into her from behind. He grabs her arms pulling them behind her back and crossing her wrists; with one hand, he holds them against her back, and with the other, he swats at her ass. Groaning as he watches it ripple.

"Fuck."

Clem can do nothing but pant underneath him and let out pathetic mewls as his hand repeatedly strikes her ass. It hurts so good.

Lewis keeps pounding into her hard, his heart racing as he chases his own orgasm. He sees her phone light up beside him, and a message from Damson appears. 

When he sees this, he speeds up his thrusts, gliding his thick member in and out of her suffocating walls. 

She can only blubber out useless moans as he plummets in and out of her.

He lets go of her wrist, pulling her up onto all fours. 

"You get a thrill out of pissing me off?" He grunts, his hand going up to grip her hair.

"No!" she whines, gripping the covers.

"I think you do." 

His other hand is gripping her waist, pulling her back to him every time she falls forward.

"Nuh-unh." He orders from behind her, letting go of her hair and holding on to her waist tightly with both hands now.

"Don't run from it, baby. You wanted this, huh? This what you want?"

Clem rasps out a choked yes, her head falling at the intense pleasure running through her veins.

Lewis sounds like a beast behind her, all strangled up and growling out praises at her. 

He feels so possessive as his hand lifts and smacks at her ass again. "Fucking, mine." He growls, and Clem falls forward. He doesn't stop as her legs give in, and she drops to the bed again. He climbs behind her, still keeping his pace, and throws his head back as she quivers around him like a candle on fire. 

He can feel the heat building in his core, and it eggs him on as he places his hands on her ass, holding her in place.

Clementine spasms beneath him, never experiencing an orgasm like this before. Her heart feels like it's beating outside of her chest as her ears ring and her eyes roll to the back of her head. She can only curse over and over as she feels Lewis drag out of her and return again with much more force. 

This was the best sex she'd ever gotten in her life.

Her walls clenched around him, her breath hitching as he moved aimlessly in and out of her.

Lewis shuddered at the feeling, sucking in a sharp breath at the sensation. She is face down, panting into the mattress as he pants above her.

She can't count how many times she has come undone underneath him, but as she feels another orgasm approaching, she can't help the way her thighs tremble underneath Lewis. 

Lewis is an incoherent, mumbling and moaning mess above her as he allows himself to succumb to her squeezing cunt, clamping over him. Lewis falls into the abyss, pleasure washing over both of them as he spills into her.

He pulls out with a hiss, shuddering at his sensitivity, and falls over beside Clementine, who rolls onto her back.

"Woah." she pants.

Lewis feels her phone vibrate and he watches as she scambled down the bed to get it, he feels green as he watches her smile at the screen.

Just as she moves to lie beside him again, he speaks up with words that make her feel dismayed.

"I booked you a room."

He turns away from her, staring at the ceiling.

"I- What?" She stutters, turning to face him.  

"It's just a floor below, suite 909."

Clem is distraught, and it shows on her face as she jumps away from the bed as if Lewis has burned her. "Lewis, what-"

Her words are cut off as her phone vibrates in her hand. Lewis chuckles dryly, finally tilting his head to face her. Suddenly Clem feels like a little girl again, wondering why her parents never made an effort in her life, wondering why it was so easy for them to push her aside like they didn't care that she existed.

"What's the matter? Are we okay?" She rambles.

Stop talking, Lewis. He thinks to himself as he watches Clem's eyes flash with wetness. Even sad, she has doe eyes, still shining, but this time, there are tears in her eyes and an intense sadness. 

"Yeah," he should’ve stopped there, but he kept going. "I'll probably see you tomorrow. If not, it'll be the next time I need you." He motions to the bed.

Clem frowns, letting out an exhale as she bends down to tug on her pants. As she maneuvers around the room collecting her suitcase, Lewis calls out to her. "I put the room key beside your toiletry bag."

She slips into the bathroom, picking up her small bag, and sure enough, the keycard is there. She grasps it in her hand and walks out. She wants to scream at him, tell him how big of a dick he's being, but she's not that kind of person.

She is graceful. But it's taking everything in her to channel the lessons her grandpa has taught her when she is this mad, this hurt. 

Clem avoids looking at Lewis as she latches onto her suitcase. 

 "Maybe you should start considering finding someone who's serious, Clementine."

Is this what this is about? She knew the blurred lines would come back to bite her in the ass eventually.

She freezes, her back turned to him as her hand pauses on the door handle. And her body shakes slightly as a her frown deepens, she feels a stream of tears flow down her cheeks.

And just when Lewis thinks that Clem is going to turn around and argue with him, probably throw something at him and shout at him, she doesn't.

She lifts one hand, swiping at her face, and then softly opens the door and leaves without so much as looking back at him. The door clicks shut behind her, and she walks on down the hallway towards the elevator. 

The words don't react, echoing over and over in her head, but as she hears the wheel rolling on her suitcase, she can't help but feel the trembling in her body. She presses her lips together, stepping onto the elevator, and as the doors close, she lets out a gutwrenching sob. 

She sniffles as she steps into the suite. Rushing to the bathroom to shed her clothes, she showers wiping all traces of Lewis Hamilton from her body the way she wishes she can erase him from her mind. She scrubs harshly, eyes still full with tears, between the scorchingly hot water, steam and the tears she can barely see anything as she scrubs severely.

For the first time since agreeing to this arrangement, she feels used by Lewis. She's never felt so dirty in her life. As she sank down to her knees, feeling the wails rip through her body with force, she realized why exactly his words and actions hurt her so much. 

It didn't matter how much she showed up for him or how much she allows herself to be his shrink and him hers, it'd always be a bad religion, loving someone who'd never love you back.

Lewis is in the same position he has been in since she left, flat on his back with his hands covering his face. His body is quivering as sobs rack through his body.

It was a tough decision, but it was one that had to be made. He could never give Clem what she deserved; he wasn't a committed person. Seven years on and off with the same person is proof of that. He could never be okay with putting her through that.

-

Lewis wakes up the next morning with a pounding headache and lingering loneliness. 

He always felt like this when he woke up without Clem in his arms. As he sits up and swipes his hands over his face, his heart aches when he notices her ripped panties thrown on the floor.

He regrets his actions. 

He wishes he would've sat her down nicely and explained how things were getting too deep for him. It's Clem, she would've understood. 

He realizes just how bad he fucked up when her giddiness to lay beside him last night flickers through his mind like a clip from a movie.

"What if we lay in bed after every meetup and we just talk?"

He feels like he's been shot when her hurt face replays over and over. He treated her like shit last night, all because he was scared of what she made him feel. 

He was a mess during yesterday's race; all he could think about down every straight and around every curve was how much he liked Clem, how good she made him feel, and bad she could make him feel just as easily.

He realized that the woman had too much control over his heart yesterday, and he couldn't take that. This was supposed to be fun, casual fun. He never inteded to catch feeling for Clementine Russell, but she was the kind of girl who made you drop to her feet.

He never stood a chance against her charm.

He scrambled from the king-sized bed, rushing to his phone.

-

When he hears a knock on his door, he opens it in a rush; he sees the butler there and offers him a finger to signal to hold on. He rushes to his table, picking up the bouquet of flowers, an array of red, yellow, and orange orchids, dahlias, and marigolds. 

"Can you take these down to suite 909?" Lewis pants pushing the boquet towards the man, there is a note nestled between the pedals.

The man tilts his head, pushing the flowers back towards Lewis.

"I am sorry, Sir Hamilton, Ms Russell has checked out already in the early hours of Midnight."

Lewis feels his heart crumble as he steps away from the man, the giant bouquet firm in his hold.

Lewis says nothing as he closes the door and walks away. 

-

Clem had left that night, not long after leaving Lewis' room. After her shower, she was on the first flight home, and she hadn't spoken to Lewis since. 

Lewis misses Clementine. It's a realization that he came to rather quickly but refused to admit.

Lewis pulls himself out of the leggy woman he picked up at the end of his race. She drops down beside him in heavy pants. 

"That was fun." She exhales.

He doesn't know why when he turns his head, he expects to see Clem staring back at him with her dark eyes and cute smile. 

This woman is no Clementine, and that's for sure. 

He doesn't know why he tries it, but he does. "You can go anywhere in the world under one condition. You'd have to stay there forever; everything is unchanged, and nothing new will ever come. Where do you choose?"

He watches as her eyes scrunch momentarily in confusion.

"I don't know. It's probably Paris. I'm obsessed with their lifestyle, honestly."

Lewis turns his head back to the ceiling.

He wants her to leave. And he wants Clementine to be in her place.

It's quiet and awkward, and she doesn't even try to ask him. 

He already knows his answer. He'd be with Clem in his bed, hands connected as they lie naked underneath his covers, heads turned to each other as they talk. He'd watch on as the moonlight supersedes the darkness and the moonbeams are replaced with sun rays. And he'd listen to her feel things like she made him. And he'd be happy and content with spending eternity like that.

Everything unchanged, nothing new.

Lewis begins to think that maybe casual sex isn't for him anymore. Perhaps he's taking Clem's absence extra hard because he yearned for the other form of intimacy, the emotional aspect of being with a woman.

So he tries dating. 

And he comes to the same conclusion, date after date.

Their eyes don't gleam like hers.

They don't understand his humor.

They don't care about why losing his favorite toy as a kid was an integral part of the man he became.

They can't carry on discussions like Clem or even talk like Clem.

They don't have her precious smile and her deep dimples. They're not gracious and benevolent.

They aren't Clem, no one ever will be.

Lewis craves Clem; he misses her with every fiber of his being.

And he regrets letting her up from his bed. He regrets telling her to pursue another man. 

When Lewis returns to New York, his thumb lingers over the send button.

clemmy 🪂

I need to see you, where are you?

He doesn't send the message; he drops his phone with a sigh, knuckling at his eyes. Why was it so fucking hard? He'd never felt this troubled in his life, especially over a woman he'd never even dated.

He sighs in distress, picks up his phone, stares at the message begging to be sent, and clicks off of the app. Instead, he opens his Instagram. As he goes to search for Clem's name, he sees that she is still his top search, and he feels like a loser as he enters her profile.

He'd take any sight of her he could get.

-

Clementine wouldn't say she was necessarily religious. Her grandpa would probably drop dead of a heart attack if he heard that. But it was the truth. She thought it was fairytale-like sometimes. Yes, she had faith, but she wasn't as devout as many people. 

If she was being honest, she thought religion began as something beautiful, putting your complete trust and faith into another person, with the idea that they were quite literally the holy grail. Over time, it's been skewed and manipulated, some for great purposes and others for very wrong reasons. 

She thought most religious people were hypocrites. Lewis was a hypocrite for sure, giving her an inch and then taking a mile. Now that she has had time to ponder over it, Lewis Hamilton is actually a sick man. Pouring affection into her and poisoning her heart. 

How did he expect her not to fall for him when he treated her the way he did? She feels like a fool herself, too, thinking back to the conversation she had with him the night before it all went to shit. 

"You're a lover boy at heart." Clem chortled, "Literally just a sweetheart. Most men who can't see themselves being with someone don't act as affectionate with women."

Lewis lets out a hmm sound, his hand still gliding up and down her back beneath his t-shirt that she wore.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Good, there's nothing wrong with being a sweetheart; bad if someone gets the wrong idea; I have a feeling you're an easy man to fall in love with."

Lewis was a hypocrite, and she was too.��

But the truth is religion gave people purpose. She'd never felt it firmly in a spiritual sense, but she had experienced that strong urge to follow someone's every command. She's believed every word that tumbles from his mouth. Given the opportunity, she would surely drop to her knees at his feet. She's only ever felt the need to praise and put her limited faith and her secured trust into one person. Sure, she had faith, just in a bad religion. She admired one man, Lewis Hamilton, but there was one problem, she could never make him love her the way she loved him.

Clem took his advice. She branched off, presented herself in new ways, made new friends, developed herself, and found someone who would take her seriously, though that didn't last long at all. 

clementine

liked by feliciathegoat, pharrell, and 12,898,465 others

clementine so, they've helped me make an album? Clementine, NYC out now on all streaming platforms !! 

view all comments

feliciathegoat Cool kids doing cool shit 🏌🏿

clementine the coolest 😎

lilyachty ALBUM OF THE FUCKING YEAR

clementine 🤸🏾‍♀️🤸🏾‍♀️🤸🏾‍♀️🤸🏾‍♀️

user no bc who did my girl like that

clementine no really, it's okay though builds character 😃

user builds character my ass, go beat his ass

user A MOVIE AND MUSIC IN THE SAME YEAR ASVJHKHK WHEN DO WE GET SEASON 2???

clementine yk im filming girl 🙄

clementine

liked by danielricciardo, justinbieber, and 10,898,465 others

clementine two post in one day bc why not, what's everyone's favorite song from Clementine, NYC?!?

danielricciardo In your hands slaps

clementine you sir, have great taste 😘

user daniel what are you doing here 😭

user No really, weird ass crossover episode

user the blue hair to match the album cover the movie * chefs kiss*, your creativity is unmatched queen

clementine you noticing the small details >>>

justinbieber posting us arguing over the order is killing me

clementine no bc we both look so over it 😂

user I love her and Tyler's friendship sm

feliciathegoat i love my bestie

clementine and I love u T 🥹

-

Lewis instantly throws in his airpods and starts the album, one by one he listens to each song. Sure enough every song has small anecdotes about their time together that only he'd know.

He was aware that he was blurring the lines between just benefits and true feelings, but he didn't know that he wasn't the only one feeling strongly about it. He never took her feelings into account.

Just when he thought he couldn't feel any worse about the situation, that realization dawned on him. Clementine Russell loved him and he threw her to the curb like a bag of trash. 

He's throwing on whatever clothes he sees first as he rushes from his door. 

He doesn't bother calling his driver as he treks block after block; he has one destination in mind, Clem's townhome. 

He's there before he knows it, his fist urgently banging against her door. 

He sees a light flicker on through the window, and then her door swings open.

She's in her nightshirt with her hair wrapped in a scarf, and her eyes are puffy from sleep. When she sees Lewis, she begins to swing the door back closed, but his hand pushes against it.

"No, Lewis." She snarls, swinging the door open again. She is looking at him like he's the devil himself. "I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you, I don't even want to think of you."

"Clem, please." He begs, "Please, I can't take it."

She pauses at the door, taking her time to study the man in front of her. He looks bad, simply put.

His eyes are bloodshot and droopy with bags, his braids are disheveled and clearly in need of a touch-up, and he just looks all around miserable.

She almost gives in until she thinks back to the last eight months where she had been miserable herself. She smacks her teeth swinging the door closed until she hears Lewis shout out three words that take her back to when the roads got foggy, Cannes. When she realized the difference in how she actually felt for Lewis.

"I love you."

She peels the door back open and stares at him intensely. "What did you say?"

He looks like he's watched his whole world get taken away from him as he repeats himself, "I love you. Don't shut the door, please."

"It's not fair, Lewis." She fumes.

"I know." He whispers, and his voice cracks.

"You don't get to do this to me." Clem snapped. "You can't just make me feel things for you and then push me away. You can't make me love you and then hurt me and tell me you love me when it's too late."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry, isn't enough." She hissed angrily, approaching him and poking his chest. 

He reaches up and grabs her hand, holding it close to his chest. She feels him shudder underneath her touch, and his body begins to shake.

"Clem, I'm sorry." his voice is hoarse and thick as he peers down at her, and she cracks when she feels a teardrop against their connected hands. "I'm sorry."

Her forehead drops against his chest, and he wraps his arms around her. "You didn't deserve that; I should have just told you; I was scared; you broke all of my walls, Clem; I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to hurt you in the end."

"But you did, " she cries.

"I know, I did; I was scared of commitment, was scared I would ruin us further down the line." He presses a kiss to the top of her head, "I'm not scared of commitment, Clem, not anymore. I just don't want to be committed if it's not to you."

"You don't mean that." Clem breathes. 

"I promise I do, Clem."

She steps back from him, letting his arms fall to his side. "You made me feel dirty."

He opens his mouth, and she puts up her hand, "Let me talk. I let you disrespect me, Lewis. I should be done with you. I should be over you. I don't care how much I feel for you; if you ever, and I mean ever, speak to me that way or treat me like I'm nothing ever again, all gracefulness is out of the fucking window."

"I understand." He breathes, "I will never, Clem, and I mean never treat you like that again."

It's ironic, the two of them standing infront of each other as the sky illuminates in yellow and orange hues. 

"It's six in the morning." Clem sighs.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"I wasn't supposed to be here today; you almost missed me," Clem informs.

"I would've found you. Lost you once already. I didn't know how much I cherished what we had until I no longer had it. Until I lost it. I don't want to lose you forever, too."

"It's almost spring," Clem announces. 

"Gonna take you to that mountain, Clem." He promises, pulling her into his arms again.

"I've missed you so much. There were so many things I wanted to talk to you about. I missed talking to you." She admits and Lewis holds her tighter.

"I missed listening to you. Swear I did." 

"Are we still friends?"

"No, we're more than that. We should’ve never been friends. Always meant to be more." 

"I wrote an album about you." She sighs.

She feels Lewis hum against her. "It's beautiful."

"I talked so much shit about you, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry for feeling Clem, I was a shit person to you." 

"My hair is blue." She announces, and he chuckles; there she was, his Clem talking his head off.

"Starting over, right?"

"Yeah, starting over."

Although they weren't laying in bed on their backs hands connected and staring through the ceiling like it was their sky. Things felt familiar to the two as the sun rose and light beamed around them.

Lewis was her sunset, the beauty that comes after a hard and blaring day. To him, she was the sunrise. After the darkness, it will always be light again. She was his light source, and he knew that now. He could never lose something that's always shining. 

"Thank you for showing up for me."

Not proofread

the album:

bad religion - frank ocean

in your hands - halle

i think- tyler, the creator

saturn- sza

broken is the man- jorja smith

everything is gonna be alright- infinity song

everything- kehlani

mine- beyonce ft drake

poison- beyonce

are we still friends- tyler, the creator

eternal sunshine- jhene aiko

<3

[theartofwoompwoomps]

As long as we’re together 

Sonic, Shadow, and Silver x reader (separate)

requested by @mewnekoice-mecha

Summary: Hello! Me again! Ok, I saw this on a post however I can’t remember who originally asked for this prompt that got denied but I’m gonna write what I remember.

So the request was Human’s have been gone for a very long time, i think it was like hundreds of years or something

Anyway apparently one day Sonic, Shadow, Silver are in a unexplored area and get caught in a trap and out pops a female human child. The last of her kind, how do the boys react?

Cuz this is kinda a HUGE deal.

———————————————————————

Sonic

Now this wasn’t something he had expected when he went on his daily run. 

This part of town was usually isolated, just nature from that point on forward. Which is why this place was unnatural.

He hadn’t noticed at first, but someone’s doohickeys were definitely out to get him. 

Having to dodge and swerve many close calls. He was surprised it was making him break a sweat. But ofc, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle.

Quickly disarming many traps and setting them off for good, they were many of these things.. but, they had no logo.

Definitely not eggman’s then. Then who’s could it be?

Looking around, trying to find anything, there was nothing more than the usual. Oh, and the traps of course.

In fact he was considering that whoever left these had indeed left them for good.

Just when he was about to run off again he heard a creak. Tilting his head towards the source, he could feel his ears twitch.

someone was there.

They took small breaths and clearly made barely any movements. Taking slow steps forwards, creeping toward them he hears their breath fasten before abruptly stopping.

Speeding behind them, leaving dirt the air, he saw a tiny creature. They tripped forward from the impact.

Tbh he couldn’t see them to good thanks to all the dust he lifted. But that didn’t stop him from reaching out his hand towards them.

Finally having a hold of them, the saw face to face… those big eyes, facial structure,… and small body.

It was a human….a.human.child.

They didn’t blink once, breath halted in fear with tears threatening to spill. They were scared.

Quickly pulling a smile, trying to make them feel safe as positive he whispered to not startle you. “hey little one.”

You’re breath still a bit fast paced, but you were no longer cowering. That’s good. It means you’re warming up.

After finding out you were on your own out here he had already decided to take you. 

Though it seemed you had different plans. Clearly escaping every time you were almost in his grasp. He had to give you credit, you clearly knew how to use the forest to your advantage.

It’d take time to get your trust so he had to leave eventually, but he’d visit you every time he could. Bringing food, some games, and from time to time his friends like tails.

For a fast lived guy, he didn’t mind taking his time with you. Knowing you might be the last he was going to make sure you’d continue on.

———————————————————————

Shadow

One of the sad things about being an immortal was the immortality itself. 

Times were a lot different from back then. 

After everyone had officially slept in the forever slumber he decided it was worthless to make any connections again.

But, maybe.. he should’ve made more time for the humans. He never thought he’d see the day when they were no longer around.

It broke him to even think about it.

Was he truly alone on this planet now? The thoughts have eaten him up various times by now.

That’s why when he first encountered you he thought he was hallucinating. Especially since you were a child. He must have really missed Maria if his own brain was this cruel.

Only until he feels a small hand holding his own does he realize you’re not made up. You’re real. And he’s crying. 

Pulling you into a hug. Craving physical affection, company, and comfort. He hold you close, taking in all your warmth, and you do the same, your small arms wrapping around him.

Almost as if you understood the exact pain he was feeling.

He doesn’t know where you came from, or why you’re here, but he’ll be damned to let you go on your own.

He was going to make sure your tiny life was the best with him around now.

———————���———————————————

Silver

The future was strange to say the least. Thanks to traveling back in time it was much better than what it used to be.

But one thing he noticed different from the the now to the past was the fact humans were no more.

He was indeed surprised, glad to have been able to meet some the few times he’s been in the past.

Which os why from the moment he met you he bombarded you with questions. Your small brain couldn’t keep up. 

Regardless, he was determined to be a good guardian for you when he found out you were completely alone.

In fact, he’s so serious about it. He even went back to the past to know how to take better care for you and bring you some stuff like food and toys.

He was prepared to do anything if it meant you’d live a long healthy life, as it should have been.

———————————————————————

masterlist

[skellymom]

"LOST AND FOUND"

The BAD BATCH x READER (NO gender) Fan Fic

(Put YOURSELF into this story!)

The Batch are lost and land on EARTH!

NO WARNING: ALL AGES, some mild flirting with Hunter.

Word count: 3K

“Place is all clear.”  Echo reported as Hunter approached the large old farmhouse.  “Wrecker and Tech swept the residence.” 

“About time we found a shelter with food.”  Hunter nodded to his brother quietly following behind.  “Crosshair’s gonna disappear soon.” 

“I HEARD that.” Cross snarked as he led Omega along by the hand. 

Hunter chuckled under his breath. 

The Batch had parked the Marauder in a densely forested greenspace under the cover of darkness as the sun rose in the east.  So far, the inhabitants of the unknown planet hadn’t noticed a strange ship descend into the atmosphere and land. 

They had embarked on a mission outside their known galaxy, and the rarely used hyperspace lane spit them out somewhere Tech hadn’t expected.  After some backtracking, his calculations were off by one decimal point. 

And one decimal point got them completely LOST. 

The oddly random interstellar electrical anomaly might have contributed as well... 

There was PLENTY of whining and complaining aboard the Marauder...except for Omega.  

 She was hoping for an ADVENTURE! 

Omega squeezed Crosshair’s hand as she smiled up at him.  He squeezed back and she caught the tiniest upturn of his lips at her reassuring gesture.   Cross continued to chew aggressively at the toothpick in his mouth, SO HUNGRY he considered eating it at one point. 

Hunter, Crosshair, and Omega followed Echo across the backyard, onto the back patio, and through the sliding glass door of the house.  They entered a large open concept kitchen and dining room.  The place was clean and inviting... 

Like coming HOME. 

“WE LUCKED OUT!”  Wrecker excitedly greeted them.  “ENOUGH ROOM FOR ALL OF US!!!” 

“Attempting to unearth the name of this planet and it’s system...”  Tech’s fingers danced over his datapad with no success.  “At least we’ll have refreshment and accommodations for the night.” 

Wrecker IMMEDIATELY made a beeline for the fridge.  Omega let go of Crosshair and wandered over to kitchen’s pantry. 

Echo perused the kitchen counters and found EXACTLY what he was looking for.  He whipped the home-made quilted cozy off a coffee maker. 

“Ahhh!”  smiling and catching the scent of fresh beans already loaded into the top.  “Haven’t met who owns this house, but I like them already!!!” 

Omega grabbed a HUGE box of crackers and immediately brought them back to Crosshair.  He sat down at the kitchen table, slightly weak from hunger.  She pulled out a handful and they both snacked voraciously. 

Hunter chose to stand and take in EVERYTHING. 

Something seemed off. 

NOBODY was paying attention...they were FAMISHED and TIRED of course.  He couldn’t fault them for that... 

Single-mindedly Echo hit the START button on the coffeemaker.  It came to life LOUDLY grinding the beans for a FULL 5 minutes...an ETERNITY to Hunter. 

Tech tap-tapping away...trying to correct his decimal error and find intel. 

Wrecker loudly naming EVERYTHING he saw in the fridge, then tucking it under his strong arms to bring to the table... 

“You swept the WHOLE house?”  Hunter inquired. 

“That’s what Tech reported.”  Echo quirking an eye at Tech while watching the fresh caf descend into the glass carafe. 

Tech glanced up from his datapad and deadpan stared back at Echo.  Then his eyes ROLLED as Tech slowly turned toward Wrecker sassing “You DID sweep THE WHOLE HOUSE as directed, did you not?” 

Wrecker pivoted to fully face Tech, both arms comically CRAMMED with food and sassed back.  “YEAH.  What of it???” 

Hunter slowly and quietly took Omega’s hand leading her behind him.  She tucked the full cracker box under her arm to keep.  “Did you check the BASEMENT???”  He rumbled quietly. 

Wrecker’s eyes went wide realizing his mistake “Oops...” 

“Someone’s coming up the stairs.” Hunter warned. 

Tech’s eyes bugged out. 

Echo spun around and waited on Hunter’s order. 

Wrecker froze in place, holding onto the food like a lifeline. 

Crosshair crammed the handful of crackers he had left into his mouth, rose from the table and went for his rifle. 

Hunter put his hand on Cross’s arm “Let’s SEE how we’re received.”  He advised “We’re in THIER home without permission.” 

The Batchers quieted and listened to the slow ascending steps of WHOMEVER was coming up from the basement... 

A door opened. 

Then closed. 

Someone shuffled down the hall towards the kitchen. 

They heard a loud yawn. 

Hunter heard the person scratch their bum. 

A very disheveled human rounded the corner rubbing their eyes.  Hair extremely messy dressed in sweats and fuzzy animal slippers. 

“Oh man...thought y’all were gonna come back next week...”  They yawned loudly again, stretching with eyes closed.  

The front of their sweatshirt rose up with the stretch.  A skull tattoo peeked out from their hip to disappear again as both arms dropped... 

Eyes opening...”OH!” 

EVERYONE in the room stared at the homeowner. 

The homeowner scanned the room, taking in each person standing IN THEIR KITCHEN! 

“Uh...hello?”  The person seemed really unimpressed.  “Thought you were my roommates.” 

“We meant no harm.  Thought the place was empty.”  Hunter put both hands palm up to placate.  “We’ll just be going.” 

The homeowner noticed Omega hugging the box of crackers while hiding behind Hunter, Crosshair’s skinny frame, Wrecker’s arms FULL of food.  Echo next to the coffee machine he had turned on to brew... 

And Tech just standing there staring. 

They clearly carried guns and knives.  But NOBODY was reaching for their weapons...well, almost nobody.  The long-haired guy seemed to speak for everyone else while holding the HANGRY skinny guy at bay. 

Had they meant to steal valuables, they would have left as there were none.  Had they meant to kill anyone, they would have done so already. 

Plus, they had a CHILD with them. 

This group of people were literally starving.  How could the homeowner turn them away? 

A packaged ham dropped out of Wreckers arms and clattered loudly onto the floor. 

Everyone stood still, the tension in the room palpable. 

The homeowner shrugged and smoothed their messy hair down.  “Eh, y’all can stay.  Was gettin’ lonely without the roomies here anyway.” 

The Batch glanced at each other in dismay. 

The homeowner picked up the ham, set it the counter, and motioned to Echo.  “Since you started ‘er up, the mugs are in the cupboard above the coffeemaker.  I’ll take some coffee in the purple moon mug.  Half coffee, half creamer, LOTS of sugar.” 

Echo chuckled as he opened the cupboard “Thought I’d like you.” 

The homeowner grinned and turned to Wrecker “Go have a seat and eat hon, your arms are gonna fall asleep.” 

Wrecker nodded and shambled over to the dining table. 

They nodded to Tech “You too and everyone else.  Get comfy.” 

“Much thanks for your hospitality.” he nodded. 

“Ooh...MR FANCYPANTS.  I could get used to that!” 

Crosshair spoke before Hunter could “You’re...LETTING US STAY?” 

“Lookie there...it speaks.”  The homeowner chuckled as they walked over to the large table.  “Hey, BIG GUY give SKINNYBONES a sandwich.” 

Wrecker obediently handed one over to Crosshair who snatched it out of his hand.  Cross greedily unwrapped the sandwich and bit into it suspiciously. 

Echo brought heaping mugs of caf to the table, handing them out. 

“Thanks, COFFEEDUDE” The homeowner gulped from the heaping cup.  “Perfect.  You’re hired.” and giggled. 

“You and I take our cafe the EXACT same way.”  He winked. 

Hunter pulled out a chair for the homeowner. 

They stopped, stared at Hunter “Y’all are TOO GOOD to have just broken into my house on a whim.  Did the roommates put you up to this?” 

Hunter sensed an infodump incoming...and was unable to stop it. 

“We embarked on a mission to an off-galaxy planet, entered hyperspace and found ourselves with no option but to land upon your planet.  Our rations being low... 

“TECH...”  Hunter growled. 

“Well...the cat is out of the bag currently...”  Tech trailed off. 

Wrecker and Omega watched the interaction while eating.  Crosshair yoinked another sandwich out from the food pile on the table. 

“Let’s be honest, Hunter” Echo swallowed the warm brew “We’re out of options.” 

The homeowner laughed out loud “You can drop the act.  Who put y’all up to this?” 

Hunter gently led the homeowner to the back sliding glass door, pulled out the scope from his pack and held it up to see through. 

The homeowner eyed Hunter skeptically, then glanced into them. 

“If you look past your property...under those trees...”  He adjusted the scope “Can partially see our ship.” 

The sunrise provided enough light for the scope to enhance the homeowner's vision. Whatever was under that thick canopy of trees was VERY REAL. 

The coffee mug slipped from their hand.   Hunter caught it before it broke on the tiled floor. 

“OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD...”  Shock, dismay...” You’re...ALIENS???” 

“Well...technically...” Tech chimed in, index finger up “we are interstellar humans who have become lost in a...” he squinted at his datapad “possible time-space continuum from another galaxy long ago far, far away.” 

“Wut...?”  More shock. 

“I... struggle to explain it ANY CLEARER.”  Tech added. 

“Have a seat, this is A LOT.”  Hunter steered the homeowner to a chair, where they plopped down heavily.  He went to refill their cup of caf. 

“WE’RE LOST, HUNGRY, AND HOMELESS.”  Wrecker blurted out, then pulled the cling wrap off a bowl of salad, reached in, and stuffed the contents of his fist into his mouth. 

“Straight to the point, Wrecker.”  Crosshair shoved his arm into the cracker box Omega had in her hand. 

Echo got up and rifled through the pantry, came back, and set down a bottle of rum on the table in front of the homeowner.  “This might help.” 

Hunter returned, sighed as his efforts were thwarted and set the caf mug down next to the bottle, then returned to his seat. 

Omega uncapped the bottle of rum and poured a shot into the caf cup. 

Hunter almost missed this until he sat down “WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOUNG LADY???” 

Omega shrugged “I see Crosshair and Echo do it ALL THE TIME.”  She sassed.  “They call it their medicine.” 

“Gimme that!”  He leaned over the table and yanked it out of her hand.  Then took a swig and capped it. 

The homeowner knocked back the coffee-rum in several swigs, slammed the mug down, and slid it over to Hunter. “Hit me again.  Gonna need more to fully process this...” 

Omega harrumphed, got up and stalked over to the pantry.  She came back with several juice drink boxes, dropped them onto the table announcing with angst “I’m drinking early too!” 

“So...do you abduct people and...anal probe them?”  The homeowner addressed Tech.  

“I BEG YOUR PARDON???”  Tech seemed VERY offended. 

Wrecker stopped chewing and the rest of the Batch stared in horror. 

“You know.  Like those long tall aliens with big eyes?”  The homeowner inquired. 

“The...Kaminoans?”  Echo blurted out. 

“Uh, sure...we call them Alien Greys here on Earth.” 

Crosshair snickered “Eh...wouldn’t be surprised if they buggered people for...science...total freaks.” 

“You mean instead of for FUN.” Echo joked. 

“Well, at least THAT’s consensual.”  Cross shot back with a slight grin. 

“Your planet is named Earth?”  Tech rolled his eyes.  “That’s NOT very imaginative.” 

“Well...MR FANCYPANTS you’ll love we named our moon The Moon and our sun The Sun.  All the other heavenly bodies have much more interesting names.” 

“My name is NOT MR FANCYPANTS.  It is Tech.”  He sniffed. 

“Ok...Tech...” 

“I’m Omega!”  Omega took over the conversation while sipping the drink box.  “This is Echo, Wrecker, Hunter, and Crosshair.” 

“Helloo everyone...you’re a little firecracker, aren’t ya, kiddo?”  The homeowner grinned. 

Omega grinned back.  “What’s your name?” 

“Y/N” 

“HELLO!”  Wrecker thundered, then went back to stuffing his face. 

“Omega’s been quite sassy since...”  Hunter leaned back in his chair, crossing arms over his chest while staring a hole through Crosshair “SOMEONE’s been back with our family.” 

“You’re ALL related???” 

“We are all clones of a Mandalorian bounty hunter who sold his DNA to The Kaminoans to produce millions of clone troopers for The Grand Army of The Republic.”  Tech spouted while tapping away at his datapad.  “Since the fall of The Republic and rise of The Empire, we defected and are on our own, losing contact with most of our brethren...” 

“Oh...ok.”  Y/N grabbed the bottle of rum, uncorked, drinking it straight without coffee. 

“Might want to pace yourself...” Hunter warned. 

“Let them be, Hunter.”  Cross poked his brother. 

“Yeah...”  Y/N swigged again.  “All this was a bit more than I was expecting today...” 

There was a loud scratching at the sliding glass door... 

A large blue animal pressed it’s face against the sliding door, teeth bared in a silly grin, tongue out, leaving a large streak of saliva upon the glass. 

“Uh...we have a dog too...” Hunter mumbled. 

“Of course you do...”  Y/N stared at the strange looking thing. 

 Crosshair leaned back in his chair, opening the sliding glass door.  The blue “dog” bounded into the kitchen, booping Y/N with her nose as she ran by.  Then made a beeline for Wrecker where she begged for food. 

“That’s Batcher.” Omega added while chewing.  Her little legs swinging back and forth while she sat. 

Y/N CHUGGED several large mouthfuls of rum, then set the bottle down on the table.  The alcohol gave them a rosy glow. 

Crosshair grabbed the bottle, uncorked it, sniffed, shrugged, then drained the remaining couple of sips. 

“Well...I’mma gonna need a bit more time to process this...”  Y/N’s hand swept around the room to indicate EVERYTHING.  “Gonna go lay down now...” 

They got up from the table, swooned, nearly falling over. 

Echo quickly grabbed Y/N “Woah there...” and steadied them.  “Where do you need to rest?” 

“Basement...Can’t believe Imma cook dinner for SPACE ALIENS...” Y/N wondered fantastically out loud. 

“We are human clones NOT space aliens...” Tech corrected. 

“Just...” Echo putting a hand on Tech’s shoulder, advising him “Ignore that.  They’ll come around...eventually.” 

Hunter got up, make his way around the table and took Y/N from Echo. 

“Don’t eat THAT HAM!”  Y/N pointed to the thawing package...still sitting on the counter as Hunter led them down the hallway.  “THAT’S DINNER!!!” 

“OK!”  Wrecker answered.  “Batcher, NO!”  The rest of The Batch’s voices could be heard as Y/N and Hunter reached the basement door. 

Echo intervened.  Thud of the refrigerator door closing as he placed the ham in it for safe keeping.  Tech discussing side dishes with Crosshair.  Wrecker and Omega requesting dessert... 

Hunter’s silly grin as he clearly listened to all this while assisting Y/N... 

“You’re the eldest, huh?  The responsible one???” 

“Oh...”  Hunter chuckled.  “Maybe.  Well...mostly.” 

“Me too.” Y/N sighed.  “Hard job.  Not been very rewarding...hell, mostly heartbreak in my family...” 

“Sorry to hear that.  But I understand.  Not all sunshine and rainbows for me, either.” 

“They have those on your planet?” 

“Yep.  My home planet looked a lot like the ocean off the coast of your continent.  Very stormy.  The sunshine and rainbows were VERY rare for us.” Hunter carefully helped Y/N down the stairs. “Few times they appeared I treasured their beauty in the moment...never knowing if or when I’d see them again.” 

Y/N and Hunter shared a bittersweet moment as their feet took the last step onto a plush rug covering a concrete floor.  The basement an unfinished cinderblock construction, however, Y/N had hung tapestries and patterned curtains over the cold white painted concrete.  Warm wooden furnishings with plump comfy pillows formed a sitting room.  Bookcases containing books mixed w/whimsical keepsakes cordoned off the sitting room, containing a work desk, computer, artist’s easel with paints, and small dry kitchen with mini fridge.  Cordoned off again with fancy paneled screens sat a queen-sized bed. 

“What made you decide to reside down here?” Hunter queried 

“It’s quiet, cool, dark...private.”  Y/N went to sit and bounced onto the bed, falling back onto it.  “Not so overwhelming.” 

“Smart.  Nice place you’ve put together.” 

“You...” Y/N teased “Get overwhelmed a lot too, huh?” 

“Perceptive” 

“You’re welcomed to crash down here on the couch.  Your brothers and sister can take the roommates beds on the first and second floors.  Also have the couch upstairs...and possibly an air mattress...”  Y/N motioned with their hand.  “Someplace...” 

“We don’t want to impose...” 

“Oh no...y’all are QUITE welcome to stay here.  Honestly...”  The homeowner trailed off.  “The roomies will be back next week for their stuff.  Relocating to another state for work.”  Y/N sighed heavily. 

“That’s VERY kind of you.”  Hunter replied appreciatively.  “To open up your home to us...and notice my...sensitivity.” 

Y/N blushed and grinned. 

“’Mi casa es su casa’ My home is your home.  But if you all stay over a week, your names go on the lease.  There will be...responsibilities.  Everyone pulls their weight...you get me?” 

“Loud and clear.”  Hunter smiled broadly, winking. 

“Are you...no...”  Y/N shook their head, then stared back at Hunter “...flirting with me??? Or is it the rum?” 

“Well...”  Hunter chuckled.  “Who has the better chance?  Me or the rum?” 

“OOOOhhhh, a friendly AND handsome space alien.”  Y/N snorted  

“So... I MIGHT still have a chance.”  Hunter joked. 

“Take me for a spin in that spaceship, show me how beautiful my planet is at night with all the cities lit up...and what stars look like from space...might just marry you...” 

Hunter giggled and blushed.  “Let’s not get too carried away." 

“Too late...I’m tipsy...” Y/N getting sleepy. 

Hunter covered them up.  “Relax and sleep it off.” 

“I’m gonna wake up and this will all be a dream...or you guys will just make off with all my furniture...” 

“We’re real” Hunter chuckled “You can trust us...promise.” 

Y/N sighed and dropped off to sleep. 

Hunter squeezed Y/N’s shoulder, ascended the stairs, making his way back to the kitchen. 

Tech had a cookbook in his hands.  Wrecker stood behind him discussing the recipe. 

Echo busied himself by cleaning out the coffee maker and dutifully setting it up for the next morning. 

Crosshair and Omega pulled ingredients out from the pantry, setting them on the kitchen island. 

Batcher curled up and snoring under the dining table. 

“Looks like they approved our stay, lads and young lady.”  Hunter announced.  “At least for a week.  Past that...well, we may have to sign the lease and earn our keep.” 

“OH YEAH!” Wrecker pumped the air with his fists while Omega jumped up and down with glee, ran to Hunter and hugged his leg.  He tousled her hair. 

“That is fortuitous” Tech quipped “and will give me the opportunity to plot the correct coordinates for our galaxy.” 

“Going to need more alcohol.” Crosshair dryly added. 

“YOU need to eat more, not drink...” Hunter ordered. 

“NOT for me, Hunter” Cross shot back “Our host.  We all tend to be rather...EXTRA in a group setting.  Possibly some for YOU too...due to that fact.” 

Hunter smiled at his brother.  Cross inserted a fresh toothpick into his mouth and slyly smiled back. 

“We’ll work it out.” Echo reassured them.  “Be nice to stay here where it’s quiet and we have enough space for all of us.” 

“Gonna cook that ham and surprise Y/N as a thank you!”  Wrecker beamed. 

“Just...”  Hunter joked “Don’t set fire to the kitchen...ok?” 

Beneath their feet Y/N slept soundly...never suspecting the shenanigans they would all get up to in the future... 

To read Chapter 2:

https://www.tumblr.com/skellymom/789376908999737344/lost-found-in-amish-paradise-chapter-2?source=share

Please let me know if you wanted to be added to my taglist or removed! Thanks so much for your support!!!

@arcsimper5

@arctrooper69

@badbatchbeau

@billybatsonmylove

@blueinkblot

@bmarino

@cassandrasfairytale

@ci-avmovies14

@cloneloverrrrr

@clone-simper

@cornfowercowboy

@crosshair-lover

@crosshairs-dumb-pimp-gf

@dangerousyetexhausted

@doublesunsets

@dystopicjumpsuit

@echo-lover

@emmaveale123

@everybirdfellsilent

@ex0genmultifandom

@falling-among-the-stars

@feral-ferrule

@fionajames

@floraseasbee

@freesia-writes

@genericficerblog

@giga-nonyx

@gonky-kong

@graciaramirez

@groguandthebadbatch

@gun-roswell

@heiress-prime

@heyclickadee

@holocrondreams

@hugmekenobi

@idoubleswearimawriter

@incognito-lezbean

@jedipoodoo

@kaleidoscope1967eyes

@kanenas

@kitsolo06

@knightprincess

@ladykagewaki

@legacygirlingreen

@lizartgurl

@lucifidious

@marymunchkiin

@melymigo

@mistress-of-the-empire

@momojedi

@nika6q

@notavalidusername

@n0vqni

@ollietheshark0

@omglisalithium

@oporayamm

@ovaa-bi-bia

@phantom-of-the-keurig

@purgetrooper77

@random-chaotic-bitch

@sayrvne

@scarelitt

@shadowphantomreaper

@sleepycreativewriter

@spacemagicandlaserswords

@starrylothcat

@summerfall21

@sweet-carolinevl

@talesfrommedinastation

@tbnrpotato

@techs-goggles9902

@thecoffeelorian

@the-bad-batch-baroness

@thebadbatch2022

@the-hexfiles

@the-rain-on-kamino

@thiswitchloves9904

@vanyaluxz1007

@violinrox15

@woswasi3006

@x-galactic-star-x

@zahmaddog

[anastasiayeh]

“Lost & found- part 2” shy to sassy

Part 1 / part 3

==================================

Shy and sweet reader needs to evacuate out of her own house, just because the enemy has found them. She figures soon enough that Simon is not the Simon she remembers. He’s ghost now, if he could change his personality so can reader.

Violence, threats, danger, “harsh” language, loss mention of family member, controlling behavior

==================================

The knock shattered the moment.

Ghost pulled away instantly, his breath still lingering on your lips. Your heart pounded—half from the kiss, half from the sudden urgency in the air.

Another knock, louder this time.

Ghost muttered a curse and yanked the door open.

Price stood there, his expression unreadable but his voice sharp. “We need to move. Now.”

Ghost’s entire body tensed. “How bad?”

Price exhaled. “They know we’re here.” His eyes flickered toward you. “And they know about her.”

Your stomach dropped. “What?”

Price didn’t sugarcoat it. “They’ve been tracking us. You were seen with us. That makes you a target.”

Ghost turned to you, jaw tight. “Pack a bag.”

For a moment, you wanted to argue—this is my home—but the severity in their expressions made it clear this wasn’t up for debate. You rushed to your room, grabbing only the essentials. Clothes, a few personal items—then your eyes landed on the small jewelry box by your nightstand.

You hesitated before opening it, your fingers brushing against the delicate necklace inside. Your mother’s locket—the last thing she ever gave you. You fastened it around your neck, feeling its cool weight settle against your skin. A reminder of where you came from, even as everything was being ripped away.

By the time you stepped back into the living room, the team was already in motion. Soap gave you a reassuring nod, but Ghost wouldn’t meet your eyes.

The drive to the safe house was silent, tense. You sat with Riley’s head resting on your lap, your fingers idly scratching behind his ears as your thoughts spiraled.

Your childhood sweetheart—Simon—was sitting across from you, but the man before you wasn’t the boy you once knew. He wasn’t just Simon anymore. He was Ghost.

And that realization settled deep in your bones.

____________________________________________

The Safe House

The new location was nothing like your cozy home—it was sterile, cold, built for survival, not comfort. You didn’t complain. You didn’t ask questions. You simply followed.

When Price finally addressed you, his tone was all business. “You’ll stay here until we clear things up. Understood?”

You nodded. “Understood.”

Ghost lingered in the doorway, watching. For a brief moment, you thought he might say something. Might offer you some reassurance.

But he didn’t.

That night, as you lay in the unfamiliar room, you came to a decision. Simon Riley was gone. Ghost was who remained.

He wants to treat you like you’re not even there so will you

Two can play that game

If that was how he wanted it, so be it.

____________________________________________

The Shift

The next morning, the change in you was immediate.

You no longer sought out Ghost. No longer tried to read between the lines of his silence. Instead, you treated him like you would any other colleague—efficient, professional, distant.

And it killed him.

At breakfast, you sat beside Gaz instead of across from Ghost like before. When the team talked strategy, you listened with analytical precision, your mind sharp, assessing.

And when the conversation turned legal, you leaned forward. “Actually, depending on the country’s jurisdiction, certain military operations could be considered acts of aggression, meaning—”

Ghost blinked. “How the hell do you know that?”

You arched a brow. “I’m a lawyer, remember?”

Soap whistled. “Damn, we got ourselves a genius here.”

Gaz grinned. “Could’ve used her during some of our past ops.”

Price nodded approvingly. “We might be able to use that.”

Ghost’s entire body stiffened. “No.”

Everyone turned to him.

You crossed your arms. “Excuse me?”

Staring in his soul like he does to others

Ghost’s voice was firm. “You’re not getting involved.”

You met his gaze, unflinching. “I already am.”

The tension between you could have cracked stone.

Price cleared his throat. “She would be an asset. Having someone with legal expertise—”

“She’s not a soldier,” Ghost cut in.

You huffed a laugh. “And you’re not a lawyer. We all have our strengths.”

Something in his expression darkened. “It’s not safe.”

You leveled him with a look. “Safety isn’t exactly the luxury I have anymore, is it?”

He clenched his jaw, but you didn’t back down.

The message was clear—you weren’t asking for permission.

Ghost’s hands curled into fists at his sides. You were slipping through his fingers, treating him like just another soldier—and the worst part? He had no one to blame but himself.

The room was silent, thick with unspoken tension.

Ghost’s hands were still clenched at his sides, his frustration barely restrained. You had spent years remembering Simon—the boy who once adored you. But now, you saw only Ghost—the man who refused to let you in.

And you refused to chase him anymore.

You smirked, leaning back in your chair, eyes sharp with challenge. “Face it, You don’t get to make decisions for me.”

His gaze darkened. “It’s not about control, it’s about keeping you alive.”

You shrugged, entirely unfazed. “I’ll take my chances.”

Price exhaled. “Alright, that’s enough. We’ll discuss this later.”

But you didn’t miss the way Ghost was still staring at you, like he was trying to find a way to stop you from slipping further into the very world he lived in.

You just smiled sweetly. “Better get used to having me around, Lieutenant.”

And then you turned on your heel and walked away.

Ghost’s fingers twitched.

God he loved it when call him lieutenant, but he hated that he is slowly losing you

Soap nudged him with a grin. “Mate, I think she just outranked you.”

Gaz chuckled. “Better luck next time, yeah?”

But Ghost wasn’t listening. His gaze was locked on you as you disappeared down the hall, your confidence unwavering, your presence undeniable.

You weren’t his anymore.

And for the first time, he realized—maybe he was the one being left behind.

____________________________________________

[rivwritesiguess]

Lost and Found - Chapter 2: Hawk

Word Count: 11.5k Still just angst, gonna be like this for quite a bit Poly!141 x gn!omega!reader Summary: The mission must go on despite reunions. The 141 is realizing just how different you've become. Warnings: Killing, reader is a meanie, military inaccuracies, bad attempts at European accents Notes: The POV changes so much in the last part, I'm moving between Price, Gaz, and reader too often lol my bad. Reader is referred to with they/them pronouns and will continue to be throughout the series. I know reader is a bitch but I promise it's for a reason, bro went through it the past year. I've been spending so much time establishing exactly what happened to them and I still don't have it fully thought out so there might be some inconsistencies I have to fix in the future when I write future chapters but that's a future me type of thing to deal with so I'm just gonna keep having fun typing away on my laptop. Made the banner with Canva and the dividers with Photopea Navigation Series Masterlist Also on AO3 previous - next

  Johnny stared ahead. He couldn’t look away from you. You were here. You were standing in the same room as him. That was you. How the hell was that you? He knew you had died. He watched you close the window. He heard the bullets fire. He saw your blood on the ground. You were dead. You were supposed to be dead. And yet, here you were.

  You had your face covered. Why? Was it simply to hide from enemies? Something you got used to wearing on the field that you stopped taking it off? Or was it to hide from them? Had you known you’d be seeing them today? You had to have, you weren’t confused and lost like the rest of them. Maybe you were wearing the mask with the hope that they wouldn’t recognize you. But how could that ever happen? You were you, of course they’d recognize you. Or maybe there were other reasons that Johnny couldn’t think of. Johnny doesn’t know exactly what it might be, but he does know that he wants to storm over there and rip the mask off your face. He wants to see your face again. He wants you to smile at him. He wants to feet his heart skip a beat when you do, and he wants to watch you tell them that everything is fine. You were fine.

  Kyle’s jaw was slacked. There’s no way. This isn’t real. No way. It’s impossible. It didn’t make any sense. This couldn’t be happening. It’d been a whole year, if you’d been alive you would’ve come to see them. You would’ve. You definitely would’ve. Maybe it isn’t even you. Maybe their minds are just playing a horrible, evil trick on them.

  Your scent wasn’t in the air. You had always sucked at hiding your scent, the act of suppressing it giving you a strong headache. During missions, you needed full gear in order to hide your scent. Even with that full gear, your scent would seep through when your emotions were really high. But you didn’t seem to have any of that gear on right now. You were wearing normal clothes. No gear. He couldn’t see any patches covering the scent glands on your neck. There’s no way you would’ve been able to hide your scent from them without patches. This couldn’t be you. Right?

  Simon was unnaturally calm. He sat completely still, looking at you. His eyes dug into yours. He knew it was you. But it wasn’t his you. You weren’t the same. He could already tell. You were no longer their Ace, you were a Hawk. Whatever happened from when you walked away from them to now had changed you, and he could see that in your eyes. The playfulness that he had always found looking back at him was gone, replaced by something he saw in his own eyes when he looked in the mirror. Something that had started to fade away when you had come along, only to come back once you had died. 

  Seeing that look in your eyes made him angry. It made him enraged. He wanted to hunt down whoever caused you to have that look. Whoever took away the hope that you always had. Whoever made you think you had to wear a mask. Whoever made it so he couldn’t smell your scent. He wanted to make them pay. He needed to make them pay.

  “What… what’s going on? How- how…” Price couldn’t even think of anything to say. He looked between you and Laswell as he asked the question, not wanting to take his eyes fully off you. If he did, you might disappear. You might leave. Again. Just like last time. You would shut the door and leave them there. Alone. Without you. 

  What… what were you doing back? How were you back? How were you standing in the room with them? And why were you so… different?

  “It’s a complicated situation, John-”

  “That’s fer damn sure,” Johnny interrupted, looking at Laswell. His anger was seeping into the room. 

  A beta’s anger was never a good thing. It was infectious. Betas’ scents were meant to be used to calm, so when their scent gets more negatively intense, it can make others in the room start to feel that anger. Simon wasn’t arguing against it, his anger starting to seep into the air as well. Price was ignoring it, trying to understand the situation. And Kyle…

  Kyle was looking at you still. He thought back to before. You always hated it whenever one of them got angry. You’d project your scent, trying to get people to calm down. You’d end up tired, the process of projecting your scent taking a lot out of you. But you did it anyway. You’d want to help them. Now, you just sat there. You were simply looking at them. You hadn’t moved since you took down your hood. You hadn’t moved an inch.

  “This can all be explained-”

  “Like bloody hell it can!” Johnny shot up in his seat, hands slamming on the table. “What the actual fuck?!”

  “There’s no need to get aggressive. You need to calm down.” Kyle shook his head.

  “You can’t be telling him to calm down when you thought this would be a good idea.” He stood up next, leaning forward on the table. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s a long story and it would do you both better to calm down. Everyone in the room will benefit if you just-”

  “Oh, can it, Laswell, you knew damn well that wisnae how this would go, didnae start wi’ this bullshit!”

  “Johnny.” Price said. It was said in the way he’d normally use to scold one of his pack members, but his tone showed he wasn’t entirely feeling it. There was definitely a part of him that wanted to watch Johnny tear Laswell and this Colonel a new one. How long had they known? How long had Laswell known? How long did she keep their omega away from them? Had she known this past year? How did she allow them to nearly tear themselves apart? How could she put them into therapy knowing the real solution was alive and well?

  “Ye better tell us what the hell is gaun on before we-”

  “Johnny.” A bit more authoritative than before. Threatening wouldn’t get them anywhere. 

  The scents in the room were mixed. Hurt, anger, confusion. 

  And yet, with all these scents, all these high emotions, Simon noticed one that was still missing. Yours.

  “Look, Laswell, if this… if this is some kinda sick joke, it ain’t funny, alright? They’re scent- it- it’s not even here, you havin’ people who look like Ace showin’ up to mess with our heads?” Kyle said, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself more than trying to call this out as some trick even though he knew it wasn’t. Laswell wasn’t cruel. And he knew that was you, even without your scent. Your eyes were enough to tell him that.

  Laswell shook her head.

  “It isn’t a joke. That’s them. That’s Ace. I know you are all confused and angry, but if you don’t calm down-”

  “Quit telling us to calm doon, god dammit! How long have ye known?! How long have they been alive?! Did ye ever even think tae tell us this?!” The Colonel spoke up now, turning to Johnny.

  “Sergeant, you need to sit down and stop yelling. This isn’t-” 

  Price didn’t like that. This alpha that he didn’t know taking a tone with his pack member? His beta? After hiding one of their pack members from them? Who the hell does he think he is?

  “Don’t you start tellin’ one of my men what to do, not after this.”

  “Maybe if you’d control your Sergeant then it wouldn’t be needed.”

  That was something Kyle didn’t like. This other alpha was getting to be too much. His tone was not one Kyle liked hearing directed toward one of his alphas. This guy asked them for their help and then chose to reveal you to them this way. He can’t be mad at them for their reaction. He should be glad they have yet to tear him a new one. 

  “Oi, watch it. You don’t get to mouth off at us when you’re the one that asked for our help.”

  “I asked for your help as soldiers. I didn’t ask for you all to scream at us over something like this.”

  “Like this?! Like this?!”Johnny slammed his hands on the table once again. “There’s nothin’ fucking like this! This shouldnae even be a thing!”

  There wasn’t much that could stop it now. The screaming started, shouting back and forth. 

  You and Simon were the only ones who hadn’t said anything. You both stayed quiet and still. Simon kept his eyes on you while you had brought your gaze back to the ground. You didn’t seem to be affected by this situation. You weren’t reacting at all. 

  Simon stared at you, trying to get some idea of what you were feeling. You used to be so easy for him to read. One look and he could tell exactly how you were doing, what you wanted, what you needed. Now? He couldn’t pick up a single thing. You were a true soldier, not letting your emotions show. Not letting your scent show. Is that what you’ve been doing this past year? Training? Away from them? Without them? Why?

  Colonel Green seemed to know you. He’d called you ‘kid’ like the two of you were close. Why did he get the right to see you but Simon and the others didn��t? Why had you stayed away from them? Did you think they’d be mad? Were you scared? What had happened in that building after you left them? Did you get knocked out? Were you captured? Were you forced to run? Have you been recovering for the past year? Maybe you were in a coma?

  Or worse, did you leave them voluntarily? Had you stayed away from them for the past year all in your own will? Did you not want to see them?

  “Screaming isn’t fixing anything!”

  “Maybe if you’d actually bothered to think this through, there wouldn’t be screaming!”

  “Maybe if you’d be an actual professional, there wouldn’t be screaming!”

  “Professional?! Ye want us tae be professional?! A member o’ our pack died! They died! They were dead! We watched them die!”

  “No.”

  The room went silent. The attention was back to you in an instant when you spoke your first words. You looked back up once again, looking between everyone in the room. 

  Your voice was different. Painfully different. It was different in the same way your eyes were. This wasn’t the voice that traded playful remarks with Johnny over comms. This wasn’t the voice that asked Kyle genuine questions about the games he was watching, trying to engage in what he enjoyed. This wasn’t the voice that coaxed John out of his office to make him take a break. This wasn’t the voice that reassured Simon that he was safe and that you loved them. 

  And yet, they still found their hearts skipping a beat when you spoke. It’d been so long since they heard you in real life. Sure, they heard your voice when they watched back videos. Those stupid videos you always insisted on making to ‘capture the moment’. You laughed from behind the camera, explaining what was going on as you all ate dinner, or explaining what you had all decided to do for vacation, or talking about what it is that Johnny had made the group watch. 

  You always had a way of bringing them back to the moment. Even after being gone for a year, you could still do it without even trying to.

  “...what d’ye mean, ‘no’?” Johnny asked. He had nearly forgotten you were in the room. You were so quiet. You were never so quiet. 

  You sighed, uncrossing your arms and pushing yourself off the wall.

  “I mean ‘no’. You didn’t ‘watch me die’. You were locked in a room.”

  “That- That ain’t- We heard-”

  “Well, you heard wrong.” 

  Your tone was so flat. You still showed no true emotion. You’d interrupted Johnny. Interrupted him. You had never interrupted him. You always let him talk. You always let him get his thoughts out. 

  For only the second time in his life, Johnny was speechless. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to react. He couldn’t shout. Not at you. He wanted to shout. He wanted to scream. He wanted to break shit. But not around you. He couldn’t around you.

  “You heard wrong, and I didn’t die. I’m here, and there’s a job to do, a pretty damn important one. So, we could either sit around here and keep screaming at each other like a bunch of babbling idiots, or we could get our shit together and focus on the task at hand. It’s up to you.” 

  You’d walked forward, standing next to the Colonel on the other side of the table. Away from them. On the opposite side as them. You stood there stiff. You stared at them with nothing in your eyes. No adoration. No love. Just business. That’s what you were now. You were just business. Focused.

  Simon remembered a time when he was like that. Even after joining the pack, he was still like that. It wasn’t until you had come along that he finally felt like he could fully relax. He had an omega, and he could keep them safe. They were safe. He could let himself rest at night with you in his arms.

  Seeing a past version of him reflected on you hurt more than he could ever describe. How had this happened? Where did they go wrong? Who hurt you so badly that this was who you now were? Why didn’t you come to them to heal instead of closing yourself off? Had they ever done anything to make you think they couldn’t? He couldn’t think of anything they’d done. 

  He doesn’t understand you, and it kills him. He always understood you. He always knew you. He knew that you always crunched your face up when you didn’t like something but quickly stopped when you realized you were doing it because you didn’t want to insult anyone. He knew that when you were standing around doing nothing you would feel a need to move around somehow because you couldn’t be doing nothing for too long. He knew that you pulled them to bed at night not just to make them rest, but also because you hated sleeping unless at least one of them was next to you.

  He can’t see this ‘new you’ doing any of that. This you isn’t his, and he doesn’t know if you ever will be again. You might be alive, but you’re not back.

  “Ace… how could you-” Kyle had started, his heart currently shattered in two. This wasn’t you. You wouldn’t be focused on work right now, no, you’d be happy. You’d be smiling at them, enthusiastically pulling them into tight hugs and reassuring them that you’d never leave again. That’s what you always did when this happened in his dreams. That’s how this scene was supposed to play out. Not whatever this is. 

  “That’s enough.”

  John didn’t know what had happened to you. He didn’t know how you’d survived. He didn’t know when Laswell had known you were alive. He didn’t know how you managed to stay away from them for so long. 

  But he did know that you were right. There was a mission to do. You weren’t supposed to be the one reminding them that. He was supposed to. He was supposed to be telling you and the others to stop goofing off. To focus. And yet you had reminded them. 

  You were different. Price didn’t know why. But he knew that standing around here and screaming at each other wasn’t going to change whatever had happened. They needed to do this mission. Price needed to see you in action. See if you were as skilled as your file and the Colonel made you out to be. Maybe, just maybe, that could explain something.

  And then, maybe, you’d talk to them. Once this was all done. Maybe.

  John took a deep breath. He had to focus. Get back to the mission.

  “When we leavin’?”

  “You should be ready to leave by 2000. You will wait in the car until we get confirmation from Lieutenant Evans and his men that the man we are looking for is going to the safe house. Once we have it, you will leave. You should get there about thirty minutes after Stone does. Then, you will take the walk. By the time you get in, he should be sleeping.”

  “Understood. Is there anything else?”

  “Price, we cannae just-”

  “Not now, Johnny.” It wasn’t the time. John didn’t look back at Johnny as he shut him down, keeping his gaze on Colonel Green.

  “No, Captain. That is all. As of now, everyone in this room is dismissed.”

  There wasn’t even time to say anything before you started moving, heading straight for the door. No one made a move to stop you.

  You left the room without a glance back at them.

  The car ride to the safehouse was deadly silent. You could hear a pin drop. Soap had tried talking to you a few times, but you ignored him. You didn’t have time for this. There was a mission to focus on, and it needed your full attention. Catching up on past relationships wasn’t important right now. 

  Soap stopped when you had allowed your scent to seep into the air ever so slightly, allowing those in the car to sense your annoyance. They knew you’d done it on purpose, but it worked nonetheless. Soap stopped bothering you, and you ran over the plan in your head a few more times before the car was pulling to a stop.

  You double-checked your gear for the fifth time since leaving before getting out of the car. You checked that the radio was working, responding curtly to Green when he asked if you and the 141 had arrived.

  You took a few steps away from the car before looking back at the group. They were whispering something. You probably should’ve tried to pick up on it, but you didn’t want to. You didn’t want to hear their voices any more than you had to.

  You had to focus on the mission. The mission is what is important. Growing close again would throw you off your groove, affect future missions. You couldn’t let that happen. 

  “I’ll stay with the car.” Ghost voice ended the small argument they seemed to be having. He didn’t wait for a response before he got back in the car. It probably wasn’t the best idea. You remembered his driving. He was… he could drive, with the basic meaning of the word. Best way to describe his driving was reckless. He would get from point A to point B, not being quite safe while doing it, but still getting it done.

  But that wasn’t for you to focus on. It was his job in the mission, he could do it how he seemed fit. 

  The other three turned to you. Price nodded, signaling for you to lead the way.

  You knew these woods better than all of them. You’d been surveying out here for the past five weeks, keeping track of everything that happened. You knew when the predators hunted, you knew when the prey scrounged for food. You knew when the animals slept. You knew when the birds sang, where the fish would swim. You knew everything about this area of the woods.

  You also knew everything about that damn house. It’d been your main target. Green had sent you out here after you figured out the organization was hiding out around here. You stalked, hiding high in the trees or low on the ground. You memorized the schedule of everyone in the building. You eavesdropped on as many conversations as you could. You kept them asleep by projecting a calming scent as you snuck through the house, gathering information. 

  You’d set up microphones in the walls the third time you managed to get into the house, which definitely made your job a bit easier. The only time you went in after that was mainly to see if they’d changed the layout or to move around the microphones. 

  The most recent time, however, you had broken the lock on a window in the back of the house. The hallway it was in led straight to the basement. You had lubricated the hinges of the door to make sure it wouldn’t creak. You’d hidden a lockpick so you’d be able to unlock the door in the basement that led outside next time you came around. You had prepared so much for this mission, and you weren’t planning on letting it fail.

  You’d hoped the walk to the halfway point would be silent. However, Soap and 15 minutes of silence could never possibly mix.

  “So, ‘Hawk’, what’s yer life like? Got a special pack?” There was a hint of venom in his voice, but you ignored it. You ignored him. You weren’t here for small talk or arguments. You were here for the mission.

  “Sergeant…” There was Price, that same warning tone as always. It always made you feel guilty before. When it was directed at you, it was normally because you and Soap were hogging comms with meaningless chatter. 

  There was no chatter now though, despite Soap’s ongoing attempt. You saw no need. Before, you had needed it to keep yourself calm. Hearing Soap’s voice helped you get through your part of the mission. Hearing any of their voices helped you get through your part of the mission. Now, however, you didn’t need that. You didn’t need to hear them. In fact, you didn’t even want to hear them. It would only distract. You didn’t need to be distracted.

  “What, Captain? Ah just want tae know more aboot this ‘Hawk’ fella we’re s’possed tae be workin’ wi’.” 

  Soap definitely wasn’t taking all this well. You had never met a beta like him before. Even in the past year away from them, no beta ever reminded you of Soap. For a beta, he was very hot-headed when the time came. Sure, he was soft and kind most of the time (or at least that’s how you remembered him), but when something really pissed him off, it pissed him off. He could probably even be mistaken for an alpha if his scent didn’t give him away. 

  “Especially since, by the looks o’ it, we’ve never met them before. Or at least that’s how they’re treatin’ us.”

  You noticed how Gaz stayed quiet. He hadn’t said anything to you. The last time you heard him talk was in the briefing when he was arguing with Laswell and Green. Ghost was silent as well, but Gaz’s silence was different. With Ghost, you couldn’t quite pinpoint where his silence was coming from. With Gaz, on the other hand, you sensed confusion. Hurt. Pain. He wanted answers, but you weren’t willing to give them.

  You had smelled their scents before they put their blockers on. Price was trying to stay professional, but you could sense the hurt underneath. Soap was just pissed off. Ghost was hiding his scent, suppressing it just like you’ve been doing. Gaz, on the other hand, was all hurt. So confused. You knew he wanted to hold you, but you didn’t let him. The mission needed your focus. 

  “Soap, knock it off.” Price demanded. Soap huffed. Before he could possibly argue, you recognized the marking on the top of the tree.

  “We’re halfway.” You stopped walking, turning back to the group. They froze for a moment. It was the first words they’d heard from you directed towards them since the briefing. “One of you stays here and goes over to watch the road. Stay on the lookout for any cars. There shouldn’t be anyone coming this way at this time.”

  “What about other cars from the organization?” Price asked. You shook your head.

  “No. Not unless something happens. They like their sleep.”

  “What aboot ye, Hawk, ye like yer sleep? How dae ye sleep? Yer bed comfortable? Mebbe a bit empty?” 

  Soap couldn’t come with. He was too upset to take the mission seriously.

  “Stop it, Mactavish, that’s enough.” Soap turned his head to Price, about to argue.

  “You should stay back.” Soap’s head whipped back to you, the confusion on his face evident. “If you can’t be professional, you shouldn’t come to the house. It’ll only slow us down.”

  “Ye think ah cannae remain professional? What’s professional aboot not talkin’ to yer team members? What's professional aboot projectin’ yer scent to shut ‘em up? Think it's professional tae-”

  “I said that’s enough, Sergeant.” Price was angry now, but not at you. His anger seemed to be directed at Soap. Maybe he thought Soap was doing too much. That he might hurt your feelings. Or maybe he wanted Soap to stop out of fear of ruining chances of reconciliation. That wouldn’t be happening, even if all four of them wanted it. You weren’t planning on building a bond again.

  Maybe he was trying to focus on the mission. That’s what needed to happen. You all needed to focus, and petty arguments weren’t going to help.

  “You’ll stay back, just like they said.” Soap seemed like he wanted to argue, similar to how that one Sergeant had been during the briefing after hearing what his team’s job was. However, just like the Sergeant, Soap didn’t argue. Soap wasn’t going to argue with Price. You could tell he wanted to keep being petty, but he knew they still had a mission to get through. 

  Soap gave a curt nod to Price, unsuccessfully trying to hide the small glare creeping onto his face before turning and walking in the direction of the road, preparing to do the job you had described. 

  With that, you turned and kept walking, not wanting to waste any more time. 

  Price and Gaz didn’t try to start conversation with you in the 15-minute walk. They didn’t even talk to each other. Before, you would’ve felt awkward about the silence. You would’ve filled it with your own talking, ranting about whatever you could think of. Now, however, you kept your mouth shut. Talking wasn’t needed to complete the mission right now. Even if it had felt awkward, you wouldn’t have talked. Not to them. You couldn’t. 

  It wasn’t allowed.

  Soon enough, you were at the treeline near the house. You looked ahead, seeing the window you were planning on sneaking in. You focused for a minute, trying to catch the scent in the air. 

  It was coming from the rooftop. You looked up to see two men quietly talking. They weren’t really paying attention, but you didn’t want to risk it. You didn’t make a move until you saw them move to the other side of the house. 

  You shook your head with a scoff under your breath. The organization was far too confident. They thought they had nothing to worry about, so they didn’t take their security seriously. Those two on the roof were meant to be lookouts, but they were just chatting away and not even actually checking when they were looking out. It was foolish, but it did make your job a bit easier. Not that you would treat it as if it were any easier.

  You took a deep breath before quietly moving and taking off your gun, handing it over to the closest person to you, which happened to be Price. He looked at you confused.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I need to be silent. Having that on won’t help me.”

  “You can’t go in there without a weapon. It’s not safe.”

  “Give it to me when I let you in.”

  “You need a weapon.”

  “I have one.” 

  You didn’t leave room for any more argument before you were quickly moving out into the open, forcing Price to stop his argument so he wouldn’t draw attention to you. There wasn’t time to argue about something so stupid. You’d done this tons of times, you weren’t going to stop just because Price was worried. This wasn’t the time to be worried, not when there was a mission to get through.

  You moved quickly and quietly to the side of the house. Once there, you pushed your back against the wall and squatted down, slowly moving over to the window. You lifted your hand only slightly, grabbing the very edge of the window to avoid your hand being seen from the inside. You listened intently for a moment before slowly opening the window ever so slightly. 

  You then focused on scent, trying to recognize if there was anyone in the hallway you were about to go into. You didn’t smell anyone, so you slowly opened the window a bit more. You heard a few footsteps on the roof and paused, glancing up. You were covered by the overhang of the roof, you’d be fine. However, you didn’t want to risk them hearing you climb in, so you waited until the footsteps stopped on a different side of the house before opening the window even wider and sliding in.

  John and Kyle watched you from the treeline. John held your gun, still not liking the idea of you going in there without it. Sure, you had your combat knife and a pistol, but the weapon he’s holding is the one that you can do the real damage with. The Colonel did mention you’d get them through without needing to fire a shot, but what if something went wrong? What if you got caught? What if you got cornered and a pistol wasn’t enough? Would he and Kyle be able to get there in time before you were hurt? He couldn’t let you get hurt. Not you.

  John knew you were different. He didn’t know why, but he knew you were. Even just from the briefing, he knew you’d changed drastically. And watching you sneak into the house right now further proved it. You never would’ve been able to do that before. 

  Or maybe you could’ve. Maybe the only reason he thought that was because he didn’t see you trying. He didn’t see you trying because he never let you do this kind of thing. Was that why you’d stayed away this past year? Did you think he and the others held you back? Did you stay away from them so you could build your skills? Did you leave them for the past year so you wouldn’t have to deal with them trying to protect you? Did you hate them for that?

  “They’re good,” Kyle whispered to John, snapping John from his thoughts.

  John nodded.

  “They definitely are.”

  He watched you pause and smell for scents before going in. You were so… professional. That was the best way to describe it. You knew what you were doing, and you moved with a purpose. You did everything with a purpose. You hadn’t spoken a word to them when it wasn’t needed. You didn’t fill the walk with pointless talk like you would’ve in the past. You spoke when you had to in order to complete the mission. 

   John knew Johnny wasn’t taking this well. In the few hours before leaving, the beta had been storming around the pack house before Kyle managed to calm him down. Johnny was not happy about all of this. He wasn’t happy with John either, not appreciating how his alpha refused to let him try and get answers. He didn’t seem happy with you. You had shot him down at every turn whenever he tried to bond with you. It was as if you didn’t care about the bond you and the pack ever had in the past.

  But John knew that wasn’t the case. And he knew that Johnny knew deep down it wasn’t the case as well. But Johnny was still going to be angry. The petty comments would continue, and John would have to keep shutting them down, or you’d end up projecting your scent again.

  That was definitely a new skill of yours. Sure, you’d projected your scent in the past, but only in private. And you were only ever able to do it very softly before it took too much out of you. You’d done it a few times to try and calm people down, and John had seen how it affected you. He shut it down, telling you not to do it anymore out of fear of what it was doing to your body. 

  Now, however, you did it so easily. You’d projected your annoyance to the group without breaking a sweat, and it definitely worked. Johnny was too uncomfortable with the feeling of making an omega annoyed, so he shut up, and if he hadn’t, the others would’ve shut him up in an attempt to get rid of the smell in the air. How many times have you used your scent like that in the past year? You had to get good at it somehow, and you’ve obviously been on a lot of missions in the past year. You had to have been in order to build up a file as good as yours. Had you used your scent to your advantage in those missions? Did it exhaust you in the beginning? Why’d you start doing it? How’d you start doing it? 

  You were an omega. Omegas were never seen as threats. They normally stayed away from the military. If they did join, they didn’t get far before leaving to join a pack or pursue a different career. When omegas left, it was no big deal. No one expected them to get very far in the first place. John had only met a few omegas who stuck with the military, and they normally were in the medical field. Nurses or medics. 

  You were different. The first time John met you was on a mission. He had smelled omega in the air before you put on your scent blockers. It was a mission where he was put in charge of about 10 other soldiers. He had thought you were just a medic tagging along, but when you got fully geared up, he realized he was wrong. You were great with a gun, it was the only thing you used throughout the mission. Not an expert like him or the other members of the Task Force, but still pretty great. You stayed at the back during fights, which some people saw as being cowardly. However, with the way you continuously popped up from behind your cover to try and help the unit, Price knew what the others thought wasn’t the case.

  You also didn’t let things get to you. Throughout that mission, John heard a few of the other soldiers shit-talking you in regards to you being an omega. You had simply ignored them. Then, later that day when it was time for dinner, you had shared some of your food with one of them as if nothing happened. You’d done it with a smile on your face.

  That was when John knew that he needed you on his team. Not because of your shooting, or your smarts, or your combat. It was your smile. The way you smiled at a man who said such rude things about you despite having heard every word. He couldn’t let you go. Not when you could be going to another team that would say things just as rude purely due to your designation. Not when he wanted you to stay near him, not so he could force you into his pack and get you to retire, but so he could give you an environment where you could thrive at your work and not be dealing with alphas and betas who refused to take you seriously.

  John started working on getting you on his team the second he got back. He couldn’t exactly tell command he wanted you on his team because you smiled, so he told them the team could use someone different. He also told them that you had potential, which was true. He spent about an hour or two trying to convince them. Someone accused him of just wanting you to be his pack’s omega and he shot that down. He didn’t want you because of that, it was your ability to face someone cruel and still choose to be good. He needed someone like that on the team.

  Of course, now, a few years after that, John realizes he did want you to join the team with hopes of you joining his pack. Then, he couldn’t admit that to himself. But now? He knows that was the case and wouldn’t be able to deny it if he tried.

  Laswell probably knew at the time, even if he didn’t realize it. When he was talking to her and explaining the situation, she was looking at him with a ‘do you think I’m stupid’ type of look. He had ignored it, telling her the same reasons he told everyone else. Despite probably knowing, Laswell didn’t say anything. She read over your file, commenting how she didn’t see anything that made you stand out for the Task Force. There was nothing that qualified you to be considered. However, she must’ve known John’s unconfessed intentions, because she pulled strings on her end to get you on the team.

  John remembers feeling so relieved. He didn’t know why he was relieved, but he was. He lied to himself, saying he was just relieved because another person would make missions easier to complete. But deep down, even then, a part of him knew it was more than that. A part of him was relieved to have an omega around him. His alpha was relieved at the thought that he’d be able to protect this omega. 

  But he’d failed at that. He failed at protecting you, and for the past year, he thought you were dead. You had to have gone through so much in the past year, and that was his fault. He was to blame. He didn’t keep you safe. The omega he pulled onto his team, let into his life, and swore to himself to protect. He failed you. And now… you were different. 

  “Open.” Your voice came over comms. When John looked up, he saw the cellar doors open ever so slightly before shutting. 

  “They in, doors’re unlocked,” Kyle said. 

  John could hear the relief they both felt in Kyle’s voice. Sure, John had read through your file. He saw how skilled you were, but it was still strange and confusing to him that the file was talking about you. 

  He remembered how your file looked when he first got you on the team. It didn’t have much on it aside from test scores and a few missions. Your current file, however, was filed with field experience and a long list of classified missions. How have you done all that in the past year?

  “Followin’ your lead, Captain,” Kyle said, his voice going back to his usual tone when they were on missions.   John nodded, carefully putting your weapon on his back. He glanced up, checking for the lookouts. When he didn’t see them, he nodded to Kyle and the two quickly moved forward to the cellar door. John opened it quietly as Kyle climbed in. John followed right behind, shutting the cellar doors behind him.

  You came up behind Price once they were both in and put the lock back around the handles. You didn’t actually lock it, but you made it look like it was locked, holding it still for a moment before slowly pulling away to make sure it didn’t fall off. 

  Price handed you your weapon and you swung it on your back, not giving it much mind. Instead, you pulled out your combat knife from the pocket on your chest. You couldn’t use the gun in this house. The second you did, your presence would be made known. The knife was your best bet to keep this mission going well. You pulled out your pistol, double-checking that it was still loaded in the case where you’d need to use it. After doing so, you put it back in its holster before nodding towards Gaz and Price, motioning for them to follow you as you walked forward.

  You saw the small moment where Price wanted to protest as you got to the basement door. He didn’t want to let you go first. You didn’t give him the chance to speak before you opened the door quietly and poked your head out. 

  You took in the smell of the air, trying to pinpoint where people were in the building. There seemed to be about three people in the living room, which was towards the front of the house. Luckily, the stairs that you needed to take to get to the Stone’s room were closer to the back. 

  You’d argued about doing the mission on your own with Colonel Green. You probably would’ve been able to. You would’ve been able to carry the Stone out and simply avoid the other people in the house, but Green had said he didn’t want to risk it. So, you begrudgingly agreed to being on a team with people.

  When Laswell called you and told you that she wanted you to work with the 141, you were not willing. You didn’t want to see them again. They’d distract you. And then there’d be all the questions, all the talking. All the feelings. It wasn’t something you wanted to do. You’d argued for about an hour before Laswell finally put her foot down.

  You were even more upset when Laswell and Green told you you’d have to show your face. That wasn’t something you’d agree to at all. You covered your face for a reason. The deep scar that stretched across the bottom half of your face was something you didn’t want to ever acknowledge again. You didn’t even look at your face. You avoided mirrors. You hated your reflection and what looked back at you whenever you weren’t wearing your stupid face mask. It was a reminder of your weakness, something you never planned on showing again.

  You didn’t want to show the task force your face. You didn’t want them to question. You didn’t want them to react. Would they pity you? Would they be angry? Would they be unable to look? Would they think you were ugly? Would their memory of you be scorned? Would they hate you?

  A part of you knew you shouldn’t care. They weren’t part of you anymore. Who cares if they hated you? That wasn’t your problem. It’s not like they’re still your pack or anything. You don’t need them anyway. You don’t need a pack. 

  And no one in the world got to see your face. Not anymore. And that includes your old pack.

  So you had stormed out of the room, never once agreeing with Laswell or Green to lower the mask. You didn’t want them to know it was you. They’d want to talk. To bond. However, when Laswell had used that tone, you knew she was done with you refusing. You didn’t want to get into any disciplinary trouble, so you had reluctantly taken off your hood.

  They recognized you. A part of you had hoped they wouldn’t. That would’ve made the mission much easier. You could get through, not say a word. The mission would be over and they’d be none the wiser, still under the impression that you were dead and buried. The way you wanted them to think. You obviously didn’t get what you wanted.

  A part of you, the part you’d been keeping buried for so long, thought about doing things differently. Thought about running up to them the minute they walked into the room. Their scents were overwhelming, so familiar and yet so unknown. You stood still and focused on them while Green had talked, taking in every little thing you’d spent the past year missing. 

  But you weren’t allowed to miss them. You were a soldier. You had to focus on the mission.

  Right. The mission.

  You took yourself out of your thoughts, realizing you were actively walking and leading Price and Gaz down the hallway. Taking a left, you ducked down as you guys crept through the kitchen, making sure you all wouldn’t be seen through the back door. 

  It was going well until you smelled a scent approaching. You quickly held up your hand, stopping the crawl through the kitchen on one side of the island. You’d contemplated going back the way you came, but you wouldn’t have gotten out of the kitchen in time. So, you stayed still, keeping your hand raised to tell the two to stay quiet. 

  Someone came down the stairs and walked into the room. An alpha. They smelled like tires and coal with a hint of gasoline. They were relaxed, casually walking on the other side of the island to get to the fridge with no knowledge of the three intruders in the kitchen, the scent suppressors that Price and Gaz were wearing working wonders.

  You didn’t have one. The control you had over your scent made it so you could suppress it automatically. If you did wear one, then you’d lose your advantage of projecting your scent to make your enemies vulnerable. Which is what you are doing right now.

  Very lightly, you let out the scent of fear. You heard the alpha freeze. Nobody liked the scent of an omega fear, especially an alpha. They’d want the scent gone. Some would comfort, others would try and stomp it out.

  This one wouldn’t live long enough for you to find out what type he was.

  The alpha started approaching the island slowly, now having a hint of curiosity and concern in his scent. You saw Price and Gaz tense up, ready for a fight. They raised their guns, not looking much at you as they started to move forward. 

  You rolled your eyes slightly. They fire those things and the whole operation is a bust. You shook your head at them, motioning for them to get back against the island. Price didn’t seem entirely willing to listen, but Gaz did when he saw the look on your face.

  Price started to stand up. You were running out of time before Price would give away your position. You stopped letting out your fear, worrying that it was messing with him and clouding his judgment. You could handle this. You knew what you were doing. You wouldn’t lure him over here if you thought a gunfight was going to need to happen. 

  You replaced the fear with a sort of pleading. This made Price pause. 

  Then, you were able to take your shot. 

  The alpha started to turn around the island and you quickly stood up, combat knife in hand as you threw your hand over his mouth and stabbed him in the neck. You moved too quickly for the alpha to react. His eyes widened as he tried to call out for help with his voice but your hand stopped him. 

  You pulled the knife out and quickly stabbed him on both sides of his neck where his scent glands were, stopping him from projecting his scent and alerting the others in the house about the danger. Then, life drained from his eyes and he started to slump forward. You allowed this, sitting down as you held his body, quickly taking the cover of the island to hide from the back door once again.

  You quickly pulled the alpha’s jacket off, wrapping it around his neck to try and stifle the heavy scent of blood in the air. You wiped your hands off on the jacket as well so the blood wouldn’t be smelled as the three of you kept going through the house. Now, you just had to hide the body for at least ten minutes.

  You glanced around and your eyes landed on the pantry. You nodded to yourself before looking over to the two next to you, motioning for Price to grab the alpha’s legs and for Gaz to open the pantry door.

  Kyle didn’t know if he was horrified or turned on. He’d seen death before, obviously. He’d been the cause of death before. And he’s seen you shoot people before, but that was always from afar. He had never before seen you with blood on your hands. On missions, you always stood back and fought with a gun. Sure, it was your best weapon, but Kyle knew there was more to it. He knew it was so you didn’t have to get anywhere near the actual person. So you didn’t have to feel their blood splattering onto you like blood typically did in close combat. He understood a part of you hated blood, never willing to touch any of the pack when they had blood on their clothes.

  And yet… here you were. You acted so… efficiently. Like you’d done this hundreds of times before. How many people have you done that to this past year? How many other alphas have you gotten rid of? It had to be a lot. You did it so effortlessly. The only thing you seemed to stress about was if he and John would act.

  A part of Kyle wishes he did. He wishes he had blown the mission. Then, he wouldn’t have had to see you do that. He wouldn’t have had to have the image of your innocence killed so brutally. You hit that alpha’s scent glands with the precision of an expert. You wrapped his jacket around his neck without any hesitation. You moved with a purpose, and everything you did had a reason. It was so different from how he once knew you. You’re an expert now, unlike before when Kyle had gotten used to having to help you learn.

  When you looked back at him and John, his heart stopped for a moment. You made solid, full eye contact with him. You hadn’t done that yet. Sure, your eyes would meet his in quick glances, but you looking at him for over a second? That hadn’t happened yet. He hadn’t seen that in a year.

  And sure, there was no look of care like there might’ve been before. There was no love in that look. Obviously there wouldn’t be, you’d just killed a guy and you were trying to get help with hiding the body. But you still looked at him. You looked at him.

  When John started moving, Kyle did as well. As John grabbed the man’s legs and helped you quietly carry the man to the pantry, Kyle opened it and moved things around to make some room. 

  You walked backward into the pantry, maneuvering the man so his back was against the wall before letting him sink to the ground. Then, you stepped over his legs to exit. You turned around, wiping your knife on his pants leg to get rid of some of the blood.

  Kyle and John squatted down again as you did, taking a quick glance at the backdoor and feeling lucky that the guard out back wasn’t really trying to actually guard. He hadn’t seen a thing.

  When you turned back, you had a bit of blood on your neck from when you’d stabbed his scent glands. Your mask hid the blood that had splattered there well due to its black color, but there were still small specks of blood on your face.

  Kyle wanted nothing more than to reach forward and wipe the blood off. However, you didn’t let him think on that thought twice before shutting the pantry and continuing to move through the house.

  Kyle and John followed behind you as you kept moving like you hadn’t just killed someone. In the past, you’d have needed a second before continuing. That’s why John didn’t let you come on missions where enemy interaction was unavoidable. He’d tell you to stay back while they went ahead. Help them out over comms by guiding them through the building they were in or letting them know if enemies were approaching.

  Kyle knew that was only part of the reason John had you stay back. He told command it was what you were best at. You’d do more once you had more training. 

  The main reason, however, was concern for your safety. It was always out of concern for your safety. After all, you were their omega, it was only natural for him to want to keep you safe. 

  Every other military pack whose omegas were also in the military did it. They’d give their omegas the safest job on a mission, even if their omega was better qualified for something else. Sure, it wasn’t ‘technically’ allowed, but no one said anything. Command accepted the excuses that were made, even though they knew the real reason. They wouldn’t tell a pack what to do with their omega. Most of command was fine with omegas staying back, still having the stereotypical belief that omegas were too weak for the more dangerous aspects of the job. 

  None of the team ever held this belief. They knew you were strong, but they still wanted to keep you safe. They didn’t want you to have to use your strength. Not when there were moments where you flinched at unexpected gunfire. Not when you always hesitated to pull the trigger till the last second. Making you use your strength didn’t keep you safe. They had to keep you safe. At least until you could handle yourself better on the field.

  What was hitting John was the fact that you truly didn’t need them to keep you safe right now. You were able to handle yourself perfectly fine. Better than fine. You had just taken that alpha down without any help. You’d been trying to stop them from helping, and you did. When he recognized the pleading scent in the air, he froze. That was vulnerability directed towards him. It wasn’t like the fake fear you were putting in the air to lure the alpha. It was meant for him. Even if it was fake, you still did it for him. He’d gone so long without having your scent being there for him, so when he finally had it again, he froze. An experienced military captain like him froze. Sure, it was only for a split second, but it still happened. No one had ever managed to make him do that. And yet you did. And you had meant to.

  The second he froze, you took action. You only needed that split second. You’d stopped him from attacking the alpha and giving away the position, so you had pulled back your scent entirely. And then you attacked. And John could only sit and watch as you did something he could never have seen you doing.

  And then you kept moving after it. And now you were all approaching the bedroom that you say the man is in. You turn back to them.

  “Stay out here. If you hear someone starting to come up, come in and do it silently.” 

  You didn’t elaborate before opening the door. The target was lying on the bed, passed out. His scent was in the air. It was similar to the earlier alpha, sharing that same scent of tire. He had a smell of gasoline as well, but it was much heavier. There was also smoke. He smelled… dangerous. And you knew he was.

  Christopher Stone. He had been responsible for several attacks on military personnel across the country. He wasn’t the head of this organization, but he was definitely an important part of it. Taking him back and questioning him could finally reveal the reason for everything the organization had been doing. What their true motive was. 

  Why they did everything they did to you.

  You projected a calming scent before taking another step towards him. It would keep him asleep. It was in an alpha’s nature to feel more relaxed when an omega was calm. So, if the floor were to creak, it’s less likely he’d wake up. 

  Of course, you watched your steps very carefully, so no creaks would be happening. Whenever you stepped on a floorboard that felt a bit too wrong, you moved to another. Soon enough, you were right next to the bed.

  Here’s where keeping him relaxed really helped. He didn’t wake up when he heard the quiet sound of something unzipping. He didn’t wake up when he felt the bed shift. He only woke up when you were on top of him, but by that point, it was too late. You already had the syringe going into his neck. You were already injecting the fast-acting paralyzing agent. You already had your hand covering his mouth and had a towel across his neck, covering his scent glands and stopping him from projecting his scent for help. 

  You injected the drug in less than half a second before tossing the syringe to the other side of the bed. You moved your free hand to his neck, pushing down to keep the towel there. He lifted his waist in an attempt to sit up, but you put all your strength into pushing him down. He tried kicking his legs and swinging his arms to get you off, but you took the hits without a flinch. He tried peeling your hand off his mouth, but you were stronger. He tried pulling off the towel, but you were still stronger.

  After about three seconds, the drug was already kicking in. His movements slowed rapidly, and after another five seconds, he was limp. His eyes stared up at you, a glare set on them as you lifted yourself slightly, removing your hand from his mouth. 

  His glare didn’t affect you. You kept moving, pulling out another syringe with a drug to knock him out. You saw his eyes widen before you pushed the new syringe into the other side of his neck. He couldn’t do anything but watch as you injected the drug and then got off of him, grabbing the other syringe and pulling the needle off of both of them. You put the needles inside a tiny plastic case, something they wouldn’t be able to stab through when you put them back into the small bag on your hip. You put the syringes in a plastic bag together before putting them back in the bag as well. 

  As Stone passed out, you quietly went back to the door, opening it and motioning for Price and Gaz to come in. 

  Kyle was surprised at how quickly you had managed to knock out the target. When he heard the door open, he was half expecting to see the target there and you in the background, dead on the ground. 

  Luckily, that didn’t happen. You opened the door and stepped aside so he and John could go inside. They quickly did so, looking to the bed. There was the target, passed out. You’d done it, and you hadn’t even needed their help. 

  Kyle was a bit confused as to why they were here in the first place. You’d gotten through the house without trouble. You’d killed that alpha downstairs without trouble. You knocked out the target without trouble. You didn’t need them. If anything, them coming along puts you at more risk of being caught. It was easier to notice three people sneaking around the house instead of one. 

  “One of you grab him and then follow a few seconds behind me. I’m going to make sure they still don’t know we’re here.”

  “I’m going to make sure they don’t stop thinking it’s only someone.”

  Kyle hated that. He hated hearing those words ‘I’m going to make sure’. Anytime anyone at the time had said it the past year he’d stop them from doing whatever they were doing, even if it was just something as simple as making sure the food wasn’t burning. It was an automatic response at this point. He had to stop them because he hadn’t been able to stop you.

  He quickly stepped out, grabbing your arm.

  “I got it, Ace, you don’t have to.”

  It was an accident. He hadn’t meant to let your old code name slip, but he did. When he’d thought of the sentence in his head, he used ‘Hawk’. But that felt so wrong. It felt beyond wrong. You weren’t a hawk. You weren’t some haunting predator. You were their Ace. Their lucky Ace, always getting them through their missions and making them come out on top. Not a hawk.

  But you didn’t like it. Kyle saw that from the flash of bitterness on your face when he said it. He didn’t understand why it was there. You never hated when they called you Ace before. You smiled when they called you the name outside of missions. You laughed when they’d tease you with it, and blush when they reminded you of the reasoning. 

  There was none of that now. You pulled your arm out of Kyle’s grip. You didn’t do it harshly, but just the action of pulling away from him made Kyle feel like someone had just stabbed him in the gut. His hand now felt empty, having held you for only a moment before you were ripped away from him.

  “No. One of you needs to watch the other’s back.” 

  Once again, you left no room for argument, moving out of the room before Kyle could say anything. He stared at the open doorway as you moved out of his sight, frozen. 

  You had pulled away from him. You hadn’t listened to him. You left him. 

  It was exactly what you did to the others the day he lost you.

  He couldn’t move, feeling as lost as he did that day. He felt such regret over that day, knowing he was the only one who didn’t say anything to you. He didn’t try to stop you. He didn’t get to say goodbye. He’d been frozen, just like he was now. He only talked when you were gone. How could he do that? How could he not say a thing to you? Did you leave thinking he didn’t care? How could he let you think that? How could he just sit there and not try anything? How could he only talk once you were gone? What kind of packmate was he?

  The only thing that unfroze him was the feeling of John’s hand on his shoulder. He was pulled back to the present as he looked over, feeling so hurt and confused.

  Kyle’s face showed his hurt and confusion. It made John want to hold him. Reassure him everything was alright. You’d come back around.

  But now wasn’t the time. There was still the mission, and you didn’t seem like you were willing to let them take a quick mental health break. They didn’t have time.

  “Pick him up, Gaz, I’ll watch your six,” John instructed, lightly pushing Kyle towards the bed. He watched as his beta stood still for a moment more before managing to get out of his own head, walking over to the bed, and throwing the target over his shoulders.

  A part of John wanted to be relieved that Kyle was moving. Kyle had been frozen like that lots of times in the past year, stuck in his head as he thought about the final moments they had with you. He brought up his self-doubt a few times in the most recent group therapy sessions. The group had fully accepted your death about four months ago. About a month after that, their group therapist suggested that they all talk about how they felt when it happened. Most of the talk had been about how they were feeling towards each other, but the therapist thought their acceptance would be a good time to change the talk and address other issues.

  John remembers the anger he felt when Kyle had first called himself a bad beta. How could he possibly think that? How could John have let Kyle think that for so long without realizing what was going through his head?

  He knew Simon was upset at himself as well. So was Johnny. They were all upset with themselves. How could any of them have been so selfish to not realize what the others were going through? To focus only on themselves while the others were suffering so greatly?

  John finally understood why Kyle was freezing up at times during that session. It was because he was playing the scene of you leaving them back in his head, imagining all the different things he could’ve done. John always did his best to snap him back to the present. Luckily, he’d done that pretty easily this time.

  Despite how easily he did it, he couldn’t feel the relief he wanted to. Not when he could tell that Kyle was still shaken. Not when he no longer had eyes on you.

  The second Kyle was by the door, John was ready to move. To get you in his sights again. However, when they stepped outside, you weren’t there.

  John and Kyle felt an intense sense of panic when they didn’t see you in the hallway waiting for them. They couldn’t smell you either. They didn’t hear anything. You hadn’t been killing another alpha. You hadn’t been in a fight. What if you were caught? Were you hurt? Were you dead? Not again, you couldn’t be dead again. That wouldn’t be fair, they just found you again. They still needed to work on winning you back.

  Their fears were put on hold when you poked your head around the corner, giving them a small gesture to tell them it was safe to move forward. They were pulled back to the mission and quickly listened to what you had said, moving forward and following behind you as you made sure the path was clear. 

  John kept looking behind, not wanting someone to sneak up on the group while Kyle was busy carrying the target. They’d be vulnerable, more vulnerable than they already were by being in enemy territory. It wouldn’t end well, especially since whoever it was would be able to alert everyone else in the base before Price or you would be able to take them down. 

  Luckily, they didn’t need to worry about any of that. You got them through the house with ease, using the scents in the air to tell when it would be safe to move forward and when it wouldn’t be. After about two minutes, the three of you, with the target on Kyle’s shoulders, got back to the basement.

  John knew you were planning on leaving first. He didn’t try to say anything to stop you this time. Instead, he quickly moved forward past you, getting to the exit before you and opening it quietly. He stuck his head out first, forcing you to fall back and wait for his signal that told you and Kyle it was good to move forward.

  John didn’t have as strong of a sense of smell as you. You were always more sensitive when it came to that thing, something the guys tried to accommodate for you. They’d spritz themselves with a bit of scent blocker, not fully blocking their scent but making it less intense so you weren’t constantly scrunching up your nose whenever one of them started to feel a bit more passionately. It was another reason John had you stay behind on missions, not wanting you to feel uncomfortable due to the intense smells that would be wherever they were going.

  Your sense of smell was why you’d been going first throughout all of this. You had the easiest way to check if the coast was clear, especially since no one in this building was holding their scent due to their guard being up. The people in this building thought they were safe. They’d been foolish.

  Due to not having a sense of smell like yours, John mainly relied on his hearing. He listened for the talking of the two men on the rooftop. He listened for their footsteps. When he heard their talking move further away along with their footsteps, he took it as the chance to act. He motioned to you and Kyle before quickly climbing out. 

  John stood by the door as you and Kyle pushed the target up to him. John took the target and picked him up, throwing him over one of his shoulders as he ushered you and Kyle out of the basement. You shut the doors behind the three of you before you all quickly moved for the cover of the trees. 

  Once back in the trees, John went to his radio. 

  “Ghost, start driving towards Soap.”

  With the mission being almost over, the pack could now redirect their focus to you. 

  Now came the hard part.

[ramshackle-lost-n-found]

Love discovering new fics on your blog since I just got into twst! Really enjoyed the double trouble Floyd fic and was wondering if you could suggest more fics where the characters meet their future kids?

i gotchu anon!

i already listed a few in body swapped anon's additional notes that you can check out but of course, here's a few more! 😼

from the future they came to the future they go by luzarya (floyd)

twst cast meeting their future child with reader by teashopwritingzz

housewardens meeting their future kid by twstmemories , first years

vice housewardens meeting their future child by chibiwritesstuff

meeting your future children by acey-wacey (i rlly fell into a rabbit hole w this one 😹) , two, three, four, five, six, seven

finding their future child by hazard-queen

twst index: fyuuture kid au by yuri-is-online

their kids say "papa" first by kimbap-r0ll (a lil bonus)

phew that was a lot more than i expected.. enjoy, anon! 😸

—

more recommendations below!