#my head was clear I had energy I wasn't coughing much

[phoenixiancrystallist]

Month 2, day 23, one more day of work until VACATION!!!!!! It's my birthday on Tuesday so I took the whole week off XD

Tonight I've tried to make the face a little more animated (hah), which right now is mostly reflected in the nose and mouth. I'll work on the eyes and eyebrows later

[skzhua]

if i leave, which i must do

MASTERLIST

pairing: han jisung x female!reader

genre: fluff, angst, isekai, portal universe, strangers-to-lovers.

word count: 29,083

warnings: swearing, car accident, mentions of death, mentions of sex, suggestive. (proofread-ish)

summary: a movie night by yourself turned out to be an unexplainable experience as you got stuck in the film you were watching. it was a true nightmare until you found jisung to help you.

a/n: one of my favourites ever! it took me so long to finish it but i can't be any prouder. i really hope you enjoy it!

Being sick was one of the things you hated the most, and there wasn't much you hated. Having a cold meant having to cough every five minutes to clear your throat or blowing your nose all the time to the point it got red from how irritated it was. One perk, however, was that you could use it as an excuse to skip work. Getting to stay at home to do nothing was everything your lazy nature would dream of. Plus, your love for movies and cinema came handy when all you could do was watch films all day.

So when you began to feel your throat getting dryer and your nose building up snot, you couldn't be any happier. The office you worked at had given you very strict deadlines and you'd been working your ass off for weeks to meet their expectations. By taking the next day off, it would give you a very much needed break since all of your documents would be given to someone else to finish them. 22 years old was too young to be doing this much, you thought. But you needed the money so you had to settle for that, only temporarily.

First thing you did when you got home that day was to open all the windows of your apartment, not considering your poor rabbit in her playpen who didn't ask for any cool air. It might not have helped much in making sure you would stay sick the next day but you gave yourself credits for trying nonetheless.

Afterwards, you hurried yourself to get changed into your pyjamas you loved so much and order food since you had no energy to cook. Once your order arrived, it didn't take you long to get settled on the couch to get ready for a movie night on your own. Before doing anything, you still made sure you had everything — meaning your food, water, your blankets, cutlery for your meal, etc. — and then grabbed your remote to turn the television on. As you browsed through Netflix's selection of recommended films for you, you realized how the movies on there became repetitive and you had seen most of them. Still, you continued to scroll in hopes something would be eye-catching enough to you. But none seemed good enough. Annoying, your food was getting colder by the minute.

You were about to move onto another streaming platform until you read a synopsis that grabbed your curiosity. It followed the journey of a struggling artist in his early 20s who can't seem to find the inspiration for his music, all while having to face his personal issues called becoming an adult. This was not the type of movies you would usually go for which made you wonder why it even caught your eye. The duration was an hour and fifty minutes and that was also not what you'd go for on a daily basis. Besides that, heavy subjects as these ones felt a bit much for a Wednesday night. However, you weren't going to work the morning after so fuck it. Happy with your choice, you grabbed your plate and brought it closer to you to dig into it and clicked on the play button.

The opening scene showed a young boy — not much older than seven if you had to guess — playing in a playground with a few friends. Some credits appeared on screen as the mellow score played in the background. As the children continued to laugh loudly, a woman's voice could be heard calling out a "Han Jisung". The boy turned around to see his mother walk up to him as she informed him that it was time to head back home. The boy shook his head violently, insisting on staying longer to play. The woman repeated herself but unlike what she would've liked, her son refused to budge and headed to the swings he was playing close to, holding tightly onto one of the poles. Sighing heavily, she asked him again but he did not move. Poor woman, she was obviously exhausted and wanted to go home to take a nap.

"You and me, girl," you commented in-between bites.

Growing impatient, Jisung's mother approached him and reached her hand out to him. Stubborn, he shouted he wanted to stay, and ran all the way to the other side of the street to get away from her reach. As any mother would do, she ran after him while telling him to slow down as he was much faster than her. He still ignored her demands. Sadly, she was not quick enough to catch up with him and, just as she was crossing the road, a pickup truck collided with her body right before Jisung's eyes. It took him a moment to process everything, he was left speechless. Mouth wide open, he stared at the figure of his mother on the ground in horror. He fell onto his knees, his legs too weak to support his body as he was still in disbelief of what just occurred.

You paused it.

Releasing an exhale you didn't know you were holding back, you stared at the screen in shock. You were barely ten minutes in and you could not believe this had to be how the film began. Setting your plate on the coffee table, you walked to your rabbit's playpen and picked her up, bringing her close to your chest. You jumped right back into your blankets and made sure both you and the animal were comfortable.

"Fifi, I won't be able to finish this if I don't have you with me," you said to your bunny in a child-ish voice.

The screen was still frozen while you debated whether you really wanted to continue it or not. In the end, you gathered all the courage you had and clicked on play, giving Fifi scratches to release your stress.

The next scene was a time skip to Jisung's 23rd birthday. When you thought he was all alone as he was staring longingly at a picture of him and his mother, one of his friends barged in his room as he shouted a "happy birthday". He responded with a smile and set the picture back on his desk before the both of them walked out to their dining room. There were only two other men with him who seemed to be living with him. The place wasn't that big but it was functional which is what mattered really. Jisung's other friend placed a cake in front of him as they sang the birthday song to him, all of them exchanging wide smiles. You learned that he is the youngest since his friends kept on teasing him for being a year closer to their own ages.

"Have we gotten any calls?" he asked after blowing on the candles.

From their reaction, they didn't receive any sort of call that they were expecting. This didn't make Jisung lose his joyful spirit and he went ahead with cutting pieces of cake for the three of them.

"Great, now I'm craving cake," you grumbled to yourself. "Should I get a cake? No, it's too late and the grocery stores must be closed."

The scene switched to an anxious Jisung in his room who kept on rewriting on a piece of paper while tugging on his hair, eyebrows furrowed as to show his focus on the task at hand. He bopped his head up and down and began to hum a melody. Unsatisfied, he shook his head and noted something down on his phone. Multiple shots of him doing the same couple of actions — rewriting, erasing, humming a beat, throwing a paper away, getting distracted by something he saw on his phone —played one after the other. It was like he was stuck in a loop and the more it went, the more he was getting discouraged. Finally determining he wouldn't get any work done that night, he grabbed his jacket and walked out the door.

The following shot was now set outside where the night was slowly settling, sunset on display. As a melodic score played in the background, Jisung walked down a small street as he kept on kicking on a tiny rock he found on the ground. Taking in the fresh air, he suddenly stopped and took notice of his whereabouts after having walked a decent distance. The camera panned out to a playground, the same one where his mother was hit.

You felt movement on your thighs and frowned, only to remember you had brought your bunny out of the comfort of her home. Since the movie didn't seem to be getting into anything as traumatic as the first scene, you stood up to get her back to her playpen. However, with having the screen as your only source of light in the room, you tripped onto the plastic bag that was used to wrap your takeout. You felt yourself fall onwards and let out a yell in panic. Your bunny was quick enough to get away from your grasp and hide underneath your couch. As for you, you kept on falling and closed your eyes shut in waiting of your head hitting something. Only, everything went black.

You didn't know what happened but one thing was for sure. You did not hit your head.

Everything was blurry when you finally opened your eyes after gaining a bit of consciousness. You tried to see better around you but a sudden eerie ringing was suddenly bursting through your ears, making it impossible for you to concentrate on something else. You shut your eyes closed again from how painful the ringing was and put your hands on your ears in attempt to diffuse some of it.

"Miss?" you thought of hearing faintly but nothing was vivid enough for you to be sure. "Miss?" you heard the voice say again, this time a tad bit clearer.

You began to hear again much clearer, allowing you to open your eyes properly. Needless to say you were stunned once your gaze fell upon the man in front of you. He had a concerned look on his face while analyzing your figure, making sure you were not injured in any way.

It couldn't be possible, no.

Looking around for a hint or anything, you realized you were exactly where the character of your movie was standing through your screen only minutes ago. The same character who was now all flesh and bones, standing tall (or short for some people) at 5'7ft in front of your very eyes.

"Miss," he said again. "Are you alright? Do you need help?"

You blinked slowly as you stared at him up and down, almost creepily. You hadn't realized he began to feel uncomfortable until he cleared his throat loudly, bringing your eyes back to his own. With one eyebrow raised, he repeated the question. No luck, you kept silent.

Jisung looked around and noticed the sun was about to get down completely, meaning it would be pitch black in this part of the city. Although he thought of you to be odd, he was humane. Never would he let a young woman — might he add as attractive as you were — on her own this late outside.

"Do you live nearby? I can walk you home," he offered.

Again, you didn't seem to find an answer. Well, how could you even describe that you believed to have gone through your television screen which caused you to travel into the movie's universe? Yourself couldn't believe it to be true. Nonetheless, you couldn't deny the man was very much real and that the cold was very much coming through your clothes.

Your clothes. You weren't in your pyjamas anymore, but rather in a business attire. You held a briefcase that you had no idea what it was for, and you felt an unknown phone in your back pocket. You could feel the blisters on your feet caused by the heels you were wearing and although the blazer was most definitely fashionable, you were freezing. You pondered the possibility of having transferred into a character's body unintentionally.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Jisung asked as he caught onto your oblivion.

The only thing you could do right until finding out what happened to you was say nothing and lead your own investigation on how you got here and how you can return to the comfort of your house with your bunny. Fuck, Fifi! Poor her, she must be so afraid without you around to take care of her.

"Hey," Jisung spoke again in a comforting voice. "You'll be okay, I want to help you. Did you forget where you live?"

How sweet of him, you thought. In your own universe it was hard for you to find caring men, you hit the jackpot when stumbling upon him. Still, you had to remind yourself that this person was technically a fictional character, he didn't represent reality. You made a mental note to yourself to check if this movie was directed or written by a woman when you would get back home.

"Do you know your name, at least?"

Oh, right. Maybe the guy deserved some sort of answer at the very least.

"Y/N."

You were taken aback when his face lit up to show his boxy smile. He had a very pretty smile, it was a reassuring smile.

"Miss Y/N, my name is Han Jisung. Now that I know you can speak, can you answer my questions from earlier, please? I would hate for something dangerous to happen to you and I genuinely want to get you home safely."

You chuckled at his words, feeling uneasy from his display of chivalry. "I-I don't remember a lot."

You had seen this in movies: in situations of travelling to an alternate universe, faking having amnesia was the way to go if you wanted to survive through this. People put their guards down usually instead of being wary of you.

Jisung nodded and looked up for a moment to think of what to do next. "I live nearby if you need a temporary shelter for the night. I have two roommates and the place might not be as tidy as what you must be used to, if you remember. I don't know if you are comfortable with it but I'd be happy to help you gain your memories back."

Seriously, why couldn't people be more like this in your world? Trying to ignore to storm of feelings, thoughts and emotions that was happening in your mind, you shyly agreed to stay at his place. For the night only. You should get back in less than 24 hours, no?

Jisung was right and his apartment was no further than a few blocks away from the playground. The building was rather small and a bit torn down but besides that, it seemed to be just fine for him. As long as the necessities were there, it didn't bother him if the quality was not one of a five-star hotel.

It took you three flights of stairs to get to his place which was so painful to climb up with your heels. You still managed through the pain all the way up to when Jisung opened the door wide to let you in first. To say you were startled when you walked in would be an understatement. Two men — you recognized as his roommates — were walking around the flat with no shirt on while they were preparing themselves what seemed to be like chicken sandwiches. The sight was not what you had anticipated, although this whole situation wasn't either, and you let out a scream without thinking first. The two of them shot their heads up and were obviously confused to see a young woman stand there instead of their younger friend.

"Can we help..?" one of them who had blonde hair asked reluctantly.

"Guys!" Jisung exclaimed from behind you before coming to stand next to you. "This is Y/N. Y/N, these two are my roommates. This is Changbin."

Changbin held his hand up, still lost about what was happening in his own home. "Hey?"

"And that's Chan."

Chan was kind enough to grab a hoodie that was laying on a chair nearby and put it on before shaking your hand. Your heart stopped from the contact with his skin and you seriously wondered what was up with the men of this world.

"Y/N is a bit lost, I think she had a some sort of brain injury when I bumped into her. She was holding her head tightly and she was visibly in pain. I asked her a few questions about herself and the only thing she could remember was her name," Jisung explained to the older guy who listened attentively.

"Amnesia?"

"That's my guess. Until we can help her find who she is, I offered her to stay here."

Chan nodded in approval while Changbin shrugged his shoulders. "As long as I can work on my stuff in peace, I don't mind. She's kind of cute too."

"Changbin," Chan sent him a look, making him mutter a quick apology. He then turned to face you which scared you a little. "I bet you're tired. Or hungry, maybe? Can I offer you something to drink?"

"Do you have green tea?"

He clasped his hands together and headed off back to the kitchen. "On it."

"I'll give you a tour of the place," Jisung informed. "It's not big but it's home. Here is the living room which we do not use that much. I'll sleep there tonight, though, so you can have my bed."

You held your hand up in disagreement. "I'll take the couch, it's alright. I'm lucky enough you're letting me stay."

He pfft at you. "Nonsense, take my bed. I insist." When he got a nod from your part, he moved on to continuing showing around. "This is the bathroom. Not that big but it does what it needs to do. Here's Changbin's room and I recommend you don't knock if the door is closed. Just wait until he's done. And here's Chan's room where he never sleeps, just works."

"Not true," you could hear from the kitchen, making Jisung smile, embarrassed.

"Yeah, uh, we can pretty much hear everything throughout the whole flat. It's not that bad from the rooms to the common areas because we tried to soundproof them as much as we could but yeah."

"Soundproofing for your music, or for other types of activities..?" you implied jokingly.

Damn it, the air in this universe was different, you couldn't even be yourself. Well, you did make a lot of bad jokes, sometimes related to sex, back home. Still, you really had no filter there. Noticeably, both of you were quite surprised from your statement and were a blushing mess for a few seconds before he answered.

"Music, but it is useful for these... things."

He cleared his throat and walked away shyly, and you most certainly thought this was adorable. Containing yourself, you followed his lead to the room at the very end of the hallway. Everything you saw from the movie was still at their exact spot, including the picture of him and his mother. While he was telling you about his room and cleaning it up a bit at the same time, you couldn't hear a thing he was saying. Your eyes stuck on the framed image for longer than they should but there was something in his mother's eye. A shine? A glow? Or something more mellow? You couldn't figure it out but it was enchanting, she was beautiful. It was crazy how much Jisung took after her, their features being so similar and yet so different.

"She's pretty," you spoke before thinking, yet again.

Jisung awkwardly walked to his desk and put the picture face down. "It's my mom," he said, clearing his throat and avoiding your look.

"She raised a very kind son," you added and he mouthed a small "thanks" as he kept his eyes on the floor.

You took the opportunity to get a good insight of his personal space. Even if cleaned a bit, it was a mess but not in a disgusting way. It was a comfort kind of messy, the one that screamed "this place was loved and well lived in". His bed had simple dark blue sheets with a single pillow, his desk and dresser were a matching set, and his bookshelf was filled with figurines, one or two books and many music albums. His entire desk was dedicated to his music, even the background displayed a guitar. It felt homey.

"Someone ordered tea?" Chan said as he came in with a mug. He set it on the desk while you thanked him kindly. "Be careful, it's still boiling hot."

Without adding a word, he left the two of you alone in your awkward silence. While you were still looking around, Jisung was biting his lip down, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt with one hand while the other was still on the picture. Eventually, he seemed to snap out of his discomfort and went to open one of his drawers. From there, he pulled a t-shirt out along with a pair of sweatpants before holding them out to you.

"I'm pretty small so hopefully it'll fit. You can use the shower as long as you need, the shampoo and soap are in the basket. Use any towel, we washed them this morning," he informed to which you nodded. The silence was slowly coming back but, decisively, Jisung wouldn't let this one through. "I'll be in the living room if you need anything."

"Thank you, Jisung."

He gave you one last smile before vanishing into the other room, leaving you alone to get changed. That was important, yes, but what you'd been dying to find out was what the fuck happened with you. You didn't waste another second to take the phone in your back pocket and turn it on. Obviously, it had a password unknown to you. What did help was the wallpaper: a picture of yourself hugging a bunny that looked identical to Fifi. At least, you knew you were yourself and not some random woman whose body you had to take over.

If this was your face with your bunny, did it mean it would be the same passcode as the one for your own mobile? You had to try at the very least, this phone was most likely your only chance to understand the situation better. You typed the first five digits and waited a second before typing the last one, tension growing in you. You closed your eyes, pressed it, and slowly opened them back. The sigh of disappointment that left your mouth would be indescribable but it was very discouraging. At least, you knew there was another Fifi waiting for her owner to get home in this universe too.

You quickly got changed, finally taking off these uncomfortable heels, and went to freshen up in the shower. Despite the fact the counter was a huge mess, the shower itself was kept pretty clean, more than you had expected for a boys apartment. You didn't wash for long, already exhausted from the day you'd had. After putting Jisung's clothes on, you walked out the bathroom, went to grab your tea, and joined the man who helped you in the living room.

When he got a good look at you, his eyes grew bigger while his plump cheeks flushed a little. The sight of a woman in his clothes was never something he though of ever happening. And yet, here you were. As beautiful as a model, you were in his clothes.

"Can I join you?"

Fuck, even your voice was pretty. He didn't realize it at first –probably because he only focused on helping you out– but you were drop dead gorgeous. All of the sudden, he could feel his hands getting sweatier and his heartbeat getting faster. What was happening to him?

"Sure," he mustered the energy to answer without stuttering. "How are are you feeling?"

"Calmer, but I'm still worried. I have no idea who I am and the background of my phone is myself with my rabbit who must be wondering where its owner went," you answered and pulled the phone out of your pocket to show it to him.

"Cute," he commented, not knowing if this was directed to you, the rabbit, or both. "Did you try getting in?"

You nodded. "The only password I could think of didn't work and I don't want to risk blocking it."

"I have a friend, Felix, he's studying in computer engineering. I can give him a call tomorrow and he could come to unlock it."

Your face lit up instantly. "That would really help, please."

"I'll do that first thing in the morning."

"Thank you."

He looked away and cleared his throat, your presence was making him so nervous. "It's no problem."

You got up and began to inspect the room, a little bit like you did in Jisung's. The couch wasn't aesthetically pleasing to the eye but it did the job and was the perfect amount of squishy. Their television was without a doubt second handed from someone else while the furniture that supported it was freshly new. You liked how they managed to organize everything to be functional without feeling cramped in the place, since it was very small.

"Do you always do this?" Jisung asked after watching you himself.

"What do you mean?" you frowned.

His face warmed up, embarrassed. "I meant, because you keep looking around like an investigator or something like that."

"Jisung, I've just lost all of my memory. I'm just trying to process everything and the very least of things would be to make sure I wasn't welcomed into an unsafe place, not like I think you're dangerous, but you know what I mean."

He nodded while pursing his lips in understanding. He proceeded to mentally flicker his forehead, swearing to himself to shush it around you. He really was trying to come off friendly and helpful but his reserved nature would force him to tell you stupid things like this.

"I'm done with my tea," you announced, showing him the empty mug.

He stared at you for a second until he snapped out of his thoughts, taking the mug and rushing to the sink to wash it. You chuckled at the sight. You were glad it was him whom you had stumbled upon. Although clumsy, he was being the sweetest.

"I guess I'll go to sleep," you said as he was still rinsing your remaining tea.

He raised an eyebrow at you. "Are you sure you have everything you need?"

"Don't worry, I'll call you if anything."

He nodded his head with satisfaction before wishing for you to sleep well. As he watched your frame disappear, he let out a heavy breath. He knew his social anxiety was bad but this was becoming an issue. He headed to the couch and settled himself to doze off. Still, his mind was on you, on how he had interacted with you. Meanwhile, you were staring at the ceiling blankly, wondering if you were even sure if you could get back home. That, and also thinking how it wouldn't be so bad to stay with these welcoming gentlemen.

To sum it all quickly, you didn't sleep much that night, and neither did Jisung.

If you thought you ever had a headache, the one you got when waking up was much worse than anything you'd had experienced. This was mildly due to the events of the previous day, but also to the screaming happening on the other side of the apartment. You felt safer leaving the door open to have easy access to help in case you needed any but this was not a good choice on your part. You had slightly forgotten men could be noisy as hell when it came to living with other men. And this, it was a confirmation you were not in a dream and still in a fictional character's home.

"Chan, give me the fucking eggs!" you heard Changbin shout angrily while the two others were uncontrollably laughing.

You yawned loudly before getting off the bed, rubbing your eyes in the process. Even if your body was telling you to get back into the soft bedsheets and sleep all day, your mind was screaming for you to not miss a moment to find a solution to your, slightly surreal, problem. Thus, you joined the three boys in the kitchen who were all still in their sleeping attires. By that, I mean Chan and Changbin were shirtless again while Jisung was wearing shorts with a tank top that was a bit too tight in your opinion. You unconsciously began to check them out in silence, standing like a poll.

Changbin finally noticed you and waved in a nonchalant way, visibly annoyed by his friends' antics. "Hey."

Jisung's head shot up from his breakfast to you and he didn't lose a second to join your side. "Hey, good morning. How did you sleep? Are you feeling better? Can I make you something to eat?"

His friends exchanging knowing looks didn't go unnoticed by you but you determined it would be better for the younger guy to be spared from such embarrassment and you ignored them. "I slept alright, although I do have a bit of a headache."

"I have Tylenols in the bathroom's cabinet. Do you want one or two?"

"I'll take two if you don't mind."

He hummed before sprinting to the said-bathroom, which left his friends struggling more to contain their cackles. You ignored them still and joined Changbin, whose body was quite distracting to say the least, and scanned the items displayed in front of him.

"What are you eating?"

The man left a frustrated sigh. "Toast and eggs if only Chan wasn't being a dick by hiding them from me."

"I told you I hid nothing, we just don't have eggs!"

"There were three left yesterday when I checked. How would they disappear out of nowhere?"

Jisung came back with two pills and a glass full of water, sheepishly smiling as he approached his friends. "Yeah, uh, I might have eaten them last night."

Both shut their eyes closed, clearly trying to not burst out at him. Meanwhile, you left out a small chuckle and joined him to get your pills.

"Thank you," you smiled at him and you saw his Adam's apple bop.

He returned the smile shyly to then focus back on the important matter of the day. "I didn't know you'd have an egg craving this morning."

Changbin shook his head. "It's not a craving, I need my proteins for my workout today," he huffed out as it this was the most obvious thing.

They continued to bicker for some time. It lasted long enough for Chan to remember you were still there and probably very hungry. He made two portions of his own breakfast, which was a bowl of cereals and fruits, and sat next to you while placing both dishes on the table. You gave him a thankful smile and the two of you savoured the food while Jisung was trying his very best to defend himself.

"You can just go buy some later," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I needed to eat them now, or it would fuck up my very precise diet."

You let out a grunt, and stood straight up. "Gosh, can you two shut up? I get that I'm bursting into your bubble by having slept here but I have a headache and memories to regain so can you please put your quarrel aside for now?"

To that, Chan pursed his lips and clapped quietly, obviously impressed. As for Jisung, he looked right into your eyes, unable to move. Day two and he was still fucking things up around you, great. He muttered an apology, not even loud enough to be heard, and embarrassingly walked back to his spot at the table to finish his breakfast.

"Sorry, Y/N. I guess I did overreact," Changbin admitted even though you could see it was hurting his pride.

The entire flat was silent for a few minutes with only the sounds from munching your food being heard. Eventually, Changbin went to get changed and headed out to what you presumed to be the gym. Chan was the next person to put his dishes in the dishwasher and lock himself in his room. That left a very quiet Jisung alone with you. He was hunching slightly and his eyes were focused on his phone, almost as to distract himself from your presence.

Feeling a bit offended, you called his name out. His doe-like eyes instantly found yours and you had to keep yourself from squealing at how cute he looked.

"Did you contact your friend for my phone?"

His eyes that were already big enough in your opinion got larger and his mouth opened agape. He most definitely had forgotten.

"I'll call him right now, I'm sorry."

He left the app he was scrolling through previously and dialed up a number before putting it on speaker. Nervous, he was nibbling on his lower lip while his legs were jumping up and down. Even with friends, having to call someone was a challenge for him.

"Han?" a deep voice answered the call.

"Hey, am I bothering?" Jisung asked, visibly uneasy.

"Never, what's up?"

"I got this... Uh, how do I say it? I met this girl yesterday-"

"Wait, a girl?" he cut him off with a gasp.

From the reaction of his friend, Jisung rolled his eyes before looking at you apologetically. He should have expected Felix to react this way by the mention of a girl. Jisung was too insecure and nervous to approach one, it was almost a miracle he even had the courage to even speak to you. Well, the context was much different. He was a man of principles and one of them was to always offer a helping hand to someone in need — you in this case.

"Where? How? What happened? Is she cute? Did you ask her out?"

For what seemed to be the hundredth time to him, he blushed and chuckled nervously. "She can hear you..."

There was a pause from the other side of the line for a brief moment. "Oh."

"Yeah, uh... So I was on a stroll around the neighbourhood and saw her having some kind of panic attack. She's calmed down since but she lost her memories. She has a phone but she can't remember her code so I was wondering if you could come by and unlock it for her, please."

"Sure, I'm with Hyunjin right now, though. Is it fine if he comes too?"

"Yeah, no problem. Thank you, I owe you one." He quickly hung up and smiled before looking at you. "Felix is an expert when it comes to technology, you'll see."

"I trust your judgement," you affirmed. "In the meantime, can I ask you a few questions?"

He was a mystery to you. Not only because he was from another universe, but also because of how he has been acting around you. If you had watched the entire movie before teleporting in it, you would've probably understood his being a lot better. However, his shy attitude and the way he acted when you were talking about his mother was something that bugged your brain cells.

"What kind of questions?"

You shrugged. "I know nothing about myself so I can't really tell you about me. But you have been so nice to me, it's only natural I'd like to know more about you."

"Good point," he let out a breathy laugh. "Alright, go ahead."

"Have you always been this introverted?"

With no hesitation, he shook his head no which wasn't the answer you expected. "I used to be outgoing but things got complicated at some point and I- let's say I rather keep to myself."

"But you've been pretty outgoing with me, no?"

He frowned, seemingly not agreeing with you. "Are you kidding? I'm surprised I'm not having a panic attack right now."

"You're doing good," you reassured with a chuckle.

"Thanks," he said with a nervous cough. "I'm trying."

An awkward silence settled between the two of you while you were still figuring out how to bring up the topic of his mother, especially his feelings towards it. The only thing that you could assume was the trauma it must have caused him based on what you saw on screen yourself.

A knock on his front door was all it took to bring your mind back on track, which caused Jisung to physically relax and run to answer whoever was coming. When the door opened, two men were greeted warmly by the young man. One was standing tall and gracious with his long dark locks falling in front of his eyes. He was pretty, you thought. The other was shorter but his voice was deep, so much you were doubting it was actually his voice. The freckles on his face stood out as much as his smile and his blonde hair was another aspect you took notice of. You learned him to be Felix and the moment his eyes fell onto your small figure, he stared at you with bright open eyes, almost as if he had seen a ghost.

"Oh my, Y/N! I swore Mina and I thought you vanished," he said in a worried voice as he sat where Jisung was previously. "Why didn't you answer our calls? Wait, let me guess, you put your phone on Do not disturb again?"

The taller man, who you were informed to be named Hyunjin from Jisung's greeting, rolled his eyes and sat next to him. The move was very smooth, you were doubting if this man was a model or an angel. Both answers would've made sense.

"Let the girl breathe, you're scaring her. Didn't Han say she has amnesia? Gosh, I'd think you're the one with no memories," he huffed, insinuating that Felix was stupid.

You were a bit startled by his rather rude behaviour but when you looked at Felix's reaction, it seemed to be a normal thing between them. As for Jisung, he stood still next to the door and confusion was sprawled all over his face.

"You know her?" he asked.

Felix lifted his eyes up, as if it was the most obvious thing. "She lives with Mina next to our place."

You nodded your head slowly although you were still totally clueless. "Right, Mina..."

"You really forgot? Damn, okay. Well, I know your passcode because you told me so this won't be a problem. I'm very curious, though. Do you know what happened to you?"

Telling them the truth was tempting but, again, who would even believe you? The thing itself was a mystery to you and felt surreal, you doubted they would take you seriously. Even more so if you mention the movie aspect of it.

"No idea," you shrugged which disappointed Felix.

"Alright, I'll help you regain your memories, then," he sighed and held out his hand in your direction. "Give me your phone."

You did as told and, immediately, Felix tapped the password with no problem before giving it back to you. As you browsed through the apps, you realized not much was different from what you had in your actual phone. If anything, this was the spitting image of it. Your first instinct was to go for the photos you had. As expected, many of them were of your bunny but another majority of them were of you with another girl.

"Mina?" you asked Felix, pointing at the girl's face to which he nodded as a confirmation.

"Your roommate and best friend. If I'm correct, you two have been friends for almost your entire life."

You continued to scroll through the pictures attentively. The other you had a much busier life. You seemed to be out in college parties often and other photos showed yourself in classes with many other friends. You were also quite disturbed to see that your parents were the same ones you had in your real life. Was the movie like this or did your unintentional arrival modify it?

One picture grabbed your attention more than others. It was you at a party again but what your focus was on was the boy behind you smiling happily with a bottle of beer in hands.

"Jisung?" you called for him to see and he proceeded to rush to your sides, hovering above your shoulder to see better.

Your breath cut short at the proximity as you could feel his own hit the side of your face. For a second, your mind went foggy and you turned your head around to look at him. His frown showed as much confusion as you had and you noticed his lips to be pinker than you thought.

"Is this me?" he said in a whisper, which reminded you to focus.

"So you knew who I am!" you exclaimed, almost offended he didn't tell you.

"I swear I don't recall seeing you ever," he tried to justify himself.

Felix stole the device from you and looked at the photo as well, Hyunjin leaning closer to do the same. While he couldn't figure out when this was taken as he was in the picture as well, Hyunjin seemed to have recognized the moment instantly.

"This was at Jeongin's."

"Who?" you and Jisung asked at the same time.

You looked at one another and a blush appeared on both of your faces. Hyunjin, however, didn't give a shit about your somewhat cute interaction and went on with explaining.

"Jeongin, a friend of mine. He hosted a party about a year ago with pretty much the whole cohort of freshmen."

"Oh," Felix exclaimed as the memory came back to him. "Yeah, there were people I never talked to again after that. Must have been the case for you two."

"But if I'm friends with you-" you began but were cut right away.

"We're neighbours, not friends. I don't hang out with you much, no offense."

"None taken."

Suddenly, you heard a small gasp coming from behind you. All eyes stopped on Jisung who was covering his mouth with his hand. You cocked your head to the side to incite him to speak but he shook his head and left to run to his room. You glanced at the two remaining men in search of an answer but they shrugged and continued to look through your pictures.

"Ah, look! Your most recent one dates from yesterday," Hyunjin noticed and gave you the phone back.

You scanned the screen and frowned. In the background, you could see a tuft of hair that was too similar to Jisung's for it to not be his. You were wearing the same outfit as the previous day and you were obviously only taking a cute selfie for yourself. This was without a doubt taken just before you appeared. Was this version of you an actual person? Where was she now if you were in her body at this very moment? What if she was in yours? How traumatic for her would that be if she learned she was nothing more than an extra in a Netflix film.

"I wonder where I was going," you decided to say for now, not wanting to look suspicious.

"If I had to guess, back home. You're on an internship in an accounting company this semester, thus the attire."

You were so grateful Felix knew about you enough to give you a better insight of your life. Nonetheless, this was helping you in no way to go back to your universe. You discarded the phone away from you and let your head fall on the table while mumbling a "thank you" to him.

"The school offers free therapy sessions for those in need," Hyunjin suggested, earning a bump of the elbow from his friend. "What? Sorry for trying to help."

"I can take you back to your place for now, Mina might be better than me to help you," Felix offered, ignoring Hyunjin.

"That would be great, yeah," you said gratefully, lifting your head up. "Can you take me now?" He nodded. "Good. You don't mind if I go thank Jisung first?"

"Go ahead."

The door of his room was closed which came as no surprise considering the way he left so abruptly. Still, you knocked softly and waited patiently for him to answer. It took a minute or so but he did open the door, just wide enough for you to see his face. Just when you thought you had seen him at his most embarrassed, here he was, avoiding your gaze.

"Felix is going to get me home."

He nodded quickly before muttering "That's good."

"I came to thank you again for letting me stay. Not many people are as kind as you have been to me."

He cleared his throat. "I told you, it's no problem."

"Still, thank you."

Since you were visibly making more and more uncomfortable, you didn't stay any longer and were quick to head out, not forgetting to at least wave bye to Chan.

You weren't living far from there, only a couple of streets away. On the walk to your dorm, you learned Felix and Hyunjin were living together and that they were both studying in contemporary arts at the same college you were attending. Both knew you to be the nice girl next door while Mina was much louder than you were. Needless to say, you were looking forward to meet this girl.

"You're at the end of the hallway and we're here," Hyunjin informed as he stopped in front of their place. "Let us know if you need anything."

"Thank you, guys, so much."

Felix sent you one of his warm smiles and the two of them disappeared into their home. You stared at the door in the end of the hallway slightly scared. You had no idea what to expect but, here you were. Having not much of a choice, you went ahead and unlocked the door with what Felix told you to be the key to your place before walking in.

The first thing you saw was a wide playpen with a bunny munching onto its food; Fifi. You wondered if she had the same name or not. Just besides it was a couch where a girl was lazily scrolling through her feed. Upon hearing someone coming in, her head turned to see who it was. From her face, you concluded she was relieved to see it was you. Immediately, she jumped off the couch and came to hug you tightly.

"Y/N, what the fuck! I was worried sick, where the hell were you?" she almost screamed into your ear.

Yeah, she was definitely a loud person.

"Hey..." you trailed off, unsure on what to respond.

She let go of the hug, still holding your shoulders, and gave you a skeptical look. She scanned you from up and down which made you self-conscious for a second. It was almost like she was leading her own investigation.

"Why are you so stiff?"

Upon hearing her remark, you tried to relax a little but according to her expression, this did not work. "Uh, you might want to sit down for this one."

Her eyes went wide and she grabbed you to go sit on the couch. "What? Did you meet someone and slept at their place? Did you get kidnapped?"

Gosh, she really was adamant about your whereabouts and getting answers from you. In a way, you couldn't blame her as she had been thinking for almost 24 hours that her best friend had vanished. It didn't mean this didn't overwhelm you nonetheless.

"Kind of?"

"Which one? The kidnapped part or sleeping at someone's place?"

"The second one."

She gasped in surprise. "You slept with one of your co-workers!"

You rolled her eyes at her assumption, growing tired of her already. "Mina, can you let me speak please?" She seemed to get startled by your intervention but she nodded and kept her mouth shut. "Thank you. Okay, so, where do I start? Uh, first of all, I actually don't know you."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? We've known each other our whole life."

"This is more complicated..."

Then, you proceeded to explain everything to her. Well, the whole amnesia story. She surprisingly sat still and listened throughout your entire monologue, expressing a couple of times her reactions with gasps and hums. When you were done, she was looking up in the air to think. You hoped what you said made enough sense so she wouldn't have any doubts.

"Han Jisung who lives with Chan, no?" she asked and you nodded. "As in Bang Chan?"

You shrugged. "I don't know his last name but I guess it was him."

"Damn, you were with these losers," she exploded in laughter.

If she really was your best friend in this world, you were beginning to question yourself on why you would hang around someone thinking this low of other people. To you, these guys couldn't be any kinder. Besides the fact their apartment was a bit trashy, you couldn't think of a single thing that would make someone call them with such names.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, honey," she started with an exhale. "They've been telling people they will become a successful group but they've been getting nothing more than a few gigs here and there. Not only that but I've heard Han can't even come up on stage."

Your heart dropped. Of course he would have stage fright, he was so insecure just by stepping foot outside of his home. Something else bugged you about her comments. She had a bittersweet tone coming with it, like she had an history with these guys.

"It doesn't make them losers..."

She scoffed. "Wow, amnesia did something to you. If you still had your memories, you would agree with me."

"I just don't understand why you'd say they're losers if they're struggling with their career. Challenges happen to everyone."

"I know but- You know what? I'll tell you after you regain your memories. For now, I'll help you get back into the real world."

If only she meant this as actually going back... If she were to have this attitude while helping you go through this, you were debating to go back to Jisung's place and let them help you instead.

However, after this uncomfortable altercation, she was being nothing but the sweetest. She went through every aspect of your life slowly, from your birth until now, and made sure you were following along. Everything you had to remember about your present self wasn't so complicated; you were an accounting student following an internship and you were a second year college student. You liked your bunny a lot (who you discovered to be named Fifi as well), your best friend was Mina and Seungmin was your favourite co-worker at your internship. As for your personality, you were pretty much the same with the exception of loving to go out and socialize.

Great. You were going to love being here.

A week or so had passed since your arrival and you were starting to panic. There was not a day where you wouldn't get homesick and miss your old life, nor there would be a moment you thought of the potential other you having to live elsewhere. This was still a mystery to you. In the little time you had to do some research about travelling through different dimensions, the only thing you would find were fictional stories or theories from crazy people that were in no way consistent with what you were experiencing.

Besides that, accounting would never be a field of career you would personally choose which made all the lot more difficult. You were lucky to have Seungmin, a bright guy who volunteered to help you adapt upon learning about your issue.

"You're getting better," he commented after reviewing your report.

"Hopefully I'll be as good as I was in no time," you sighed before letting yourself drop on your chair. "Why did I even choose accounting?"

"You'd do it with such ease, it was an obvious choice."

"Yeah, well post-amnesia me hates it."

"And post-amnesia you is done with her shift for today."

You checked the time and realized he was right. You were glad today was ending in the early afternoon, it meant you would have time to stop by at the school's library to go on with your research. Without losing another minute, you sorted your documents on the small desk that you were assigned at and grabbed your belongings.

"See you tomorrow?"

Seungmin shook his head and chuckled. "Tomorrow is Saturday."

You formed an "o" with your mouth, blushing from embarrassment. You were quick to say bye to him and walk out of the building. Luckily, the campus wasn't too far from there. Nonetheless, you had to use the GPS as you weren't used to the neighbourhood yet. You were hoping you would never get used to it, anyway.

Having to wear heels at the company, you got the habit of bringing a pair of sneakers to change into once the day was over. This way, you could walk like a normal person instead of stumbling onto your own feet.

Once you reached the school's library, you were a bit intimidated by the size of it. There were so many rows just filled with bricks of books, each one of them different than the other. How on Earth would you find what you were looking for?

"May I help you?"

Your gaze moved to the front desk where the person calling for you spoke and you jumped at the sight. While the gentleman at the computer was smiling politely at you, a quiet Jisung was seemingly sorting books behind him, doing everything he could to avoid your eyes.

"Hi, do you have some sort of search browser for the books available here?" you asked the young man.

"There's a browser available on every public computer, although I have one with me just here. I can type in the book you're looking for right now."

"Oh, that's very nice but I'm actually not looking for one book in particular."

The man held his hand up to stop you. "Let me guess, magazine issues for a research project because the teacher asked for a paper reference?"

"Uh, no."

Your answer confused him furthermore, causing him to drop his shoulders in exasperation. "You read for fun?"

"Minho," Jisung interrupted the conversation. "You could help her instead of judging."

You were pleased to know he had enough self-esteem in him to speak his mind. The two of you hadn't seen or spoken to each other since you went back home-ish and you had been wondering what he was up to. Him working at the college's library had definitely not been what you thought he'd do to make money. Still, this was only a student job so it made sense. But a library? You didn't see a single actual book in his room.

"Right," Minho cleared his throat. "I apologize, what can I look up for you?"

"I'd rather look it up by myself if you don't mind," you said, a bit embarrassed.

"No problem, the computers are behind the philosophy essays section."

You nodded your head but didn't move the slightest. While this was supposed to be a place every student would go to get their work done, you didn't know your way here. Heck, it was a miracle you even made it to the library considering you visited the campus once in the week you'd been here.

"Go straight ahead and turn left when you see the couches."

You smiled at Jisung as a thank you, although he didn't return it, and followed his directions. Soon enough, you sat down at one of the stations and turned the PC on. The screen flashed the school's logo beautifully before it changed to the log in page.

Of course, you had to get into your student account to have access to this stupid computer. If you had an account, you certainly didn't have a clue about what your infos were. You went into your phone's notes to check if the other you had noted it down at some point. When you stumbled upon a note named Passwords, you thought you held the solution to your problem. However, the note itself was private and needed another code to get in. Even by trying your phone's passcode, it stayed locked.

Decisively, the world was against you for this one. Having no other option, you opted to look for what you were searching for on your own without any catalog. If it had to take until midnight, you'd stay until midnight.

You searched one row, and this one only took forty minutes to get through. This was discouraging but you wouldn't give up just yet. And so, another row was done after another forty minutes. There wasn't a book remotely close to what you needed, it was frustrating. And so, another row, another forty minutes.

"Need something?"

You really had to stop jumping every time something took you by surprise. Your focus was lost when Jisung, who was leaning on the bookshelf, was staring at you with a concerned look.

What you weren't aware of was that he had been watching you since you stepped foot in the library. He couldn't keep his mind off you since you left and seeing you so suddenly made him quite nervous. Seeing that you were as much of a mess as he was when you were looking around for a few hours now, it was good enough to give him courage to make the first move and come up to you.

"Actually, yes. I'd look through the catalog but I don't have a student account."

"Or rather you forgot it," he corrected and you nodded. "What do you need? It's my second year working here, I know the place like the back of my hand."

"No, I really rather look into it on my own."

He sighed but didn't insist any further. "Alright, I'll log you into my account."

You let out a breathy groan, throwing your head back in relief. "You have no idea how you're saving my life right now."

And you meant every word in their literal sense, unbeknownst to him. He led you back to the computers and chose one where he logged into in no time. You wanted to cry out of joy when you saw the welcoming page pop up with the school's tools already opened for the students.

"Thank you so much, I really owe you now."

He scratched the back of his head in uneasiness. "It's nothing."

You shook your head vigorously, refusing his answer. "You're too kind for this world and I want you to know it."

A blush crept on his cheeks and he allowed himself to smile a little. "Alright, then you're welcome."

With a satisfied grin, you sat down and opened the library's browser immediately. You looked into the categories first to see if you could make a more subtle research before jumping right into the actual topic. The section Legends and Myths caught your attention and you clicked on it. A vast selection of books, magazines and essays were offered to you which almost made you want to give up on the spot. But still, nothing online was helping you so this was your last hope.

You spent a lot of time, too much time, scrolling through the catalog. So much, you hadn't realized how dark it was outside until you looked around. There was nobody left, only you. When you checked the time, it was merely 8:00 P.M. which meant you still had about three to four hours to continue. However, the growl coming from your stomach was telling to take a break and get a snack. Were you too stubborn to quit and kept on searching anyway? Yes, you were.

The sound of wheels coming your way, on the other hand, could not let you focus properly. It was weird as you thought everyone had left. That was until you saw Minho and Jisung conversing while the latter was pushing a cart labelled with a paper reading Returned Books. Minho, who wearing his school bag, waved at his colleague before heading out, seemingly having finished his shift for the day.

"Jisung?" you called out once the man was alone.

He was startled to see you still at the same spot as earlier but he came your way, leaving the cart behind him. "What's up?"

"Is there a section about scientific research or something like that?"

"What kind of scientific research?" he perked an eyebrow at you. "Aren't you in accounting?"

"Uh..." you trailed off. This was too suspicious to your liking, you had to do without his help. "Actually, forget it. I wouldn't want to bother you while you still have stuff to do," you justified while gesturing the cart from afar.

Jisung wasn't having any of your bullshit. Sure, you were sweet and all but because you had been there for almost the entirety of his shift, he was growing skeptical of you. Your sudden amnesia was one thing but it had been a week, surely you wouldn't be in a library for hours not getting any actual schoolwork done if you didn't have something to hide. As observant as he was, he noticed all of your quirks. All of them were so similar to his own, meaning you were nervous. He didn't want to accuse you of anything, he genuinely wanted to help. Nonetheless, your behaviour caused him to doubt.

Or maybe was it just an excuse he was making up to get closer to you...

"The cart can wait," he argued.

And maybe having one person knowing about your situation might actually come handy. And if you had to pick someone to be aware of it, it would be Jisung. You weren't close enough with Seungmin and Mina seemed to have a tendency of gossiping and talking too much. Jisung was ideal. Plus, the man was the protagonist of the movie, a movie you weren't close to have finished watching. Having the opportunity to get a full insight into his personality wasn't an opportunity you'd pass on.

"Uh, okay," you started, preparing yourself mentally. "I- Can you promise me to not tell a word about this to anyone?"

His expression changed instantly, coming from a frown to a surprise. "What are you about to confess? A crime or something?"

"No, but it's still a pretty big thing and- Just promise me you won't tell a soul about it and that you won't judge me. And that you'll believe me."

His frown came back but he didn't seem as taken aback. "Uh, sure, yeah. I'll keep it to myself."

"Thanks... Okay, uh, where do I begin?"

"Hey," he said while putting a hand on your shoulder, a move that surprised the both of you. "I promise I won't say a thing, you can trust me."

This seemed to do the trick and you calmed down. "I don't have amnesia, I am perfectly fine in terms of memory. I just- I'm not from here."

"What do you mean?"

You were so fucking thankful he didn't accuse you of lying right away. "Do you know the theory about the universe having multiple copies of itself? Hence, many versions of a person?"

"I've seen it in movies."

"Yeah, except this is pretty fucking real for me right now and I somehow managed to come into a parallel universe in my other self's body."

You decided to spare him from telling him he's a movie's character. This was already a lot of information to process for him, telling him he wasn't real would be crushing him.

For a moment, he didn't respond. The frown never left his face. If anything, it got more defined. The longer he wasn't answering, the more you were getting nervous. Did you fuck it up by telling him (half) the truth?

"I saw one book about it, but I'm not sure if it applies to your situation."

Good, he didn't call you crazy. "Can you show it to me, please?"

He immediately led you to a section that was the furthest away from the entrance. It was a bit sketchy as it visibly wasn't frequented a lot. His eyes scanned a specific shelf while his fingers ran through the books. Eventually, he picked one out that had a hard cover with nothing on it other than the title: The Multiverse and its travelers.

"Here, hopefully it'll do."

You took it from him and read the back of it to figure out if it was fit for you or not. When you saw the phrase "seizures and blackouts tend to occur before the shift itself", you determined it would do the job. This was the closest you had gotten to knowing what happened, you had to read this.

"It's perfect, thank you."

"Great, I can enter it under your student account now," he smiled as he was about to go back to the front desk.

You shook your head immediately, grabbing his forearm to stop him. "I can't rent this. What if the other Y/N or other people see this? They'll have questions."

He sighed but he got your point. "I can put it under my name if it'll make you more comfortable."

"Please."

It didn't take him long to enter everything in the system before he gave the book back to you. You were so grateful he didn't react as bad as you expected. Not just that, he was even willing to give you a hand.

"Now that this is done, can you explain what happened to you to have travelled universes?"

Okay, maybe he wasn't totally chill with your situation, which was totally understandable. Before you could speak, your stomach made, yet, another grumble to tell you that you must eat.

"We can do this over a snack," he suggested.

"Aren't you working right now?"

He shrugged, unfazed. "Nobody's here and I can empty the returned books tomorrow."

In no time at all, he put the cart back behind the desk, clocked out of his shift, locked the doors, and walked you to the nearest convenience store. He insisted on paying for your drink and ramen, saying you must be exhausted from the day. Although you wanted to tell him otherwise, he wasn't wrong.

And that's how you were now sitting on the benches of the school's empty football field with only a couple of lights for you to see around.

"Alright, go ahead with the questions," you breathed out before taking a bite of your noodles.

He let out a chuckle as he watched you slurp. "Which one do I even ask first?"

"Whatever comes to your mind."

"Okay, uh... Where are you from?"

You hummed. "I actually don't know what to call it. Earth, obviously, but it's just another version of this one."

"Is it different here?"

"Not really, it's the same year and all but my other self is living a completely different type of life."

"How come?"

"I don't party that much, nor do I like anything having to do with accounting."

He let out a laugh. "I'd say I'm the same."

"Yeah, staying at home is ten times better."

"I agree," he acquiesced before taking a bite of his own meal. "What happened before you got here?"

You shrugged. "I tripped, thought I hit my head, and here I am."

"That's odd."

"Tell me about it," you said in a scoff. "How was I when you met me, anyway?"

"Do you mean you as in you or your other self?"

You frowned. "I thought you didn't know my other self."

He sighed. "I do know her, I just forgot about her. At the party, we actually hooked up but when she learned Mina had a feud with Chan, she told me to forget this even happened."

This explained many things, especially why Mina had such a dislike to the three men. You also began to wonder how did Jisung get in bed with the other you. Before your mind could go much further with that, you stopped yourself and let out a nervous laugh.

"Well, it worked," you chuckled awkwardly. "But yeah, how was I last week in front of that playground?"

He bit in lips while thinking, one of his habits you thought to be adorable. "From afar, you were walking around normally but then, you just kind of froze and began to have a panic attack or something."

"And you were kind enough to come to my rescue," you saw with a dreamy sigh, making him roll his eyes.

"Make fun of me all you want, you're happy I'm the one who rescued you."

"I am," you affirmed.

The blush on his face didn't go unnoticed by you, which also made your face red. Gosh, he really had to be this stinking cute? You had to muster all of your energy to not pinch his plump cheeks.

"Your name is really Y/N, right?" he asked just to be sure.

"That part is true."

"Okay, good."

Unlike other times, the silence that slowly settled between you two was rather comforting. Maybe it was because you had been mostly honest with him, or maybe because he was managing to get more comfortable around you. Either or both ways, you were content with how sereine it was.

"This is fucked up," he commented.

"I know."

As a new silence took over, Jisung's eyebrows furrowed as he stared into his ramen cup, deep in thoughts. While he was having what was probably a mental debate, you gave yourself permission to stare closely at his physical traits. He was hard to read and complex, which was mainly what made him so fascinating to you in the first place. His character was developed as someone so real and sincere, you were almost disappointed he wasn't actually real. His bead-like soft eyes, his perfect glowing skin, his hair that-

"My mom died," he informed you out of the blue.

Your heartbeat quickened all of the sudden. While you processed what he just said, the image of her death came back to you. "I'm sorry," was all you found the energy to say.

"That playground we were at last week was where she was hit by a car. I was so young, it was painful."

Sadness rushed through your body as you were now getting a full image of his emotions. You never expected him to be transparent with you about it, even less since you didn't know each other so well.

"Why are you telling me this? This seems to be pretty personal."

He smiled sadly. "I think she's the reason why I wanted to help you then. I felt her around me, telling me to save someone else for her."

"That's very sweet," you commented in a soft voice.

"It is," he laughed out. "I miss her a lot."

"I would too if I was you."

Slowly, the night came as you began to hear crickets around you. Deciding this was enough for tonight, the two of you left the school grounds. Jisung was generous once more when he offered to walk you home. He would lie if he said his heart didn't pinch when you refused. Nonetheless, you parted ways and began to walk in opposite directions on the dark streets. You were getting further away from each other when you decided to turn on your heels and run back to him. As he heard you come back, he turned around, watching you until you got face to face with him.

"Can I have your number? Since you're the only person who knows about my struggle," you explained, even if you used it as an excuse to keep contact with him.

"Yeah, sure. We can meet a few times to search for a way back together," he suggested which made you grin.

You might not have found a way home that day, but you found a friend.

Mina was still staring at you with disgust while you were getting ready to go to Jisung's place. Apparently, Changbin and Chan were going to a party that night which left the apartment to himself. This was merely three days after your interaction at the library and you were still somehow stressed out about meeting up with him. The fact Mina was throwing a few comments at you about him didn't help.

"I'm simply trying to understand what you find interesting in him," she groaned.

"He's done a lot for me since the incident, I owe him."

She sighed in despair. "Alright but if he breaks your heart like Chan did to me, don't be surprised!"

You also took the weekend as an opportunity to get to know your roommate and her relationship she had with Chan. It had taken a toll on her emotionally, so much that she had no intention in being polite with whatever — or whoever — that was in relation with him.

"Don't become besties with him or I'll seriously consider cutting you out of my life," she added.

You deadpanned at her. "You wouldn't actually."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not but I wouldn't be happy with it."

With that being said, you left the apartment and made your way to Jisung's place with your bag hanging on your shoulder, full since it contained your belongings plus his clothes you had forgotten to give him back. You were starting to know your way around which you didn't consider as a good sign. This meant you were getting used to this place and it just couldn't be like this.

The moment you knocked on Jisung's front door, it slung open for him to welcome you with a smile. He had seemingly cleaned a little around but it was still messy, as expected.

"So, I looked up some stuff online and I'm surprised you didn't see what was on there. It looks like many people believe to have experienced it," he said before turning his laptop's screen to your direction.

"I did see those and it just sounds like people dreaming of another universe before "travelling". For me, I just tripped."

His shoulders dropped. "I see."

"I appreciate the effort, though," you reassured, feeling a bit bad.

He invited you to get to his room where he could make some more research on his PC while you'd have the bed to read the book comfortably. Before going there, he didn't forget to make some hot beverages for the two of you as you were expecting for this to last a long while.

His bed was as comfortable as you remembered, you had almost missed it. Not that your own bed in this world wasn't nice, it just felt a bit too firm. Jisung's, however, was soft and warm. As you began your reading session, the only thing you could hear was Jisung typing on his keyboard and clicking with his mouse. It wasn't annoying in itself, but it was too distracting for you to focus.

When you realized you had been reading the same sentence for the fifth time, you decided to do something about it. Getting up, you tapped on his shoulder which made him take his headphones off.

"Did you find something?" he immediately questioned but you shook your head.

"Your typing is kind of distracting on its own. Do you have music you can play in the background?"

He blinked a few times before nodding. "I was listening to my own stuff, actually."

Oh, right. Jisung was described as a struggling musician in the synopsis, you had almost forgotten about that. This suddenly made him all the more interesting than the search and he definitely saw it in your eyes. Hesitantly, he disconnected his headset and plugged his speakers in before opening his files. There were so many audiotapes, you were stunned. To think all of this were his creations.

"I don't think I've told you but the guys and I are music majors."

"You didn't tell me but I heard about it, yeah."

"Well, we've been experiencing with sounds and beats to find what fits us. This is all of it, pretty much. We're trying to make an actual career out of it but none of the calls we've made have come back," he said as he let out a heavy breath, one of disappointment. "I'm actually starting to consider giving up on that."

You scoffed. "Nonsense, you're great!"

"How do you know? You've never heard anything by me."

Not exactly. The clips of him in his room struggling to make music in the film had a few samples of his songs playing and you did remember them to be very good. Of course, he would never know this, so you had to lie.

"I haven't but I'm confident you're very talented."

He chuckled, embarrassed. "Now I'm just nervous to show you if you have such high expectations."

"Don't be."

He scrolled through his files for a bit in search of the perfect song to show you first. There were many that were done with the other guys. Still, he felt like he wanted to show something that was 100% him. Something raw that you could relate to. The cursor stopped for an instant on his track Alien. Considering the context, this must have been the fittest one for you. So he clicked on it, letting it play through the speakers.

And just as he thought, this could not have been a better choice. From the first note, you were entirely immersed into the melody, bopping your head along with it. And when he began to sing, damn you were melting. Not only were his lyrics so personal and true, his voice had a melodic effect that made you want to squeal. Seriously, why was he struggling with his career if this was what he was putting out?

When the song ended, the only thing you could do was let out an emotional sigh. "You, guys, have so much talent."

He scratched the side of his arm sheepishly before shaking his head. "That was just me," he corrected.

"All of it?" you asked with admiration.

"All of it, from the sound to the singing and the lyrics."

He wasn't one to brag usually, but if it impressed you and interested you, there was nothing wrong with showing off a little. This information had visibly made you more fascinated by his work and you didn't hesitate to steal his mouse and put the cursor over another track.

You did this for a while, playing one song after the other. You were as amazed as you were by the first one every single time. This eventually made Jisung so shy about his work, he had to force you to stop even if you argued you wanted to listen to more. Forcefully, he kept you away from his computer and put a random playlist on for what you had originally requested, which was ambiance music.

You crossed your arms and pouted. "Is it so bad to want to listen to raw talent?"

"When the artist is right in front of you, yes. Now, get back to work."

You snorted at him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Nevertheless, you still opened the book and continued to read. The first couple of pages weren't telling anything new. It mostly consisted of summing up what was already known of travelling through the multiverse, meaning not much. Although the research this author made was impressive, this had in no way the exact thing you were looking for. And as your reading kept on going, the more discouraged you were growing. There was a point you thought of abandoning the book. However, there were still too many pages left to risk missing something out.

"Got anything?" Jisung finally spoke after about an hour of research.

"Nothing, what about you?"

"Apart from a few people on Reddit talking about their shifting experience in their sleep, nothing."

You scoffed. "Yeah, not relevant to my case."

You closed the book and let out a loud yawn, catching Jisung's attention. "Tired?"

"A little," you shrugged. "Are you?"

"No, but this is getting tiring if I'm being honest," he chuckled and you smiled as to affirm you agreed. "How about we take a break and order some food?"

"No need to ask me twice."

In the time of a heartbeat, he jumped off his chair and ran out of his room, leaving you chuckling at his demeanor. Jisung was cute, you couldn't argue with that. Even more so because he seemed to like food so much, something you could relate to yourself. Before he would come back, you decided to look around some more, although you had analyzed the place quite a lot on your first day here. His room was cleaner, probably because he knew in advance that you'd be coming. For once, his closet was wide open which gave you a good opportunity to check what he wore on the daily basis. While you had only seen him in casual clothing, what you could see through his clothes were great fashion items. A shelf was filled with different kinds of hats and a whole section was dedicated to jackets of all sorts.

"It's always the fictional characters," you muttered to yourself, thinking about how none of the men from your world had this much taste in their choice of wearing.

"Alright," a loud voice said while coming in the room, almost startling you.

Jisung, unlike what you thought he'd do, sat next to you with a few flyers in hands from restaurants around the neighbourhood. Ramen, sushi, BBQ, fried chicken; there were too many, you felt a bit overwhelmed at the options.

"What do you want?" you insisted on him choosing.

"We could go for ramen," he shrugged before composing the number to make his order. "What would you like?"

"Anything, I'm not picky."

He gave you a nod before focusing back on the call as it seemed that someone answered. "Is this Felix?"

Felix? Why the hell was he calling him all of the sudden?

"Hey, man, can I have two of my usual?" Jisung continued to speak. "In thirty? Okay, good... Yeah... I'll tell him... Bye," he ended the call.

"You called Felix?" you asked.

He frowned. "Yeah, obviously, he–" he was about to say until he realized you actually didn't know. "My bad," he coughed out, embarrassed. "He works at the best ramen place near campus so let's say I get a few free stuff when it's his shift."

"Oh, okay," you said with a nod.

An awkward silence settled as you noticed him starting to fiddled with the hem of his shirt, looking at anywhere but you. Although you always found him adorable when he got shy, you weren't going to let this be too uncomfortable for him. He was already helping you a lot, this was the least you could do.

"Do you want to watch something?"

He stopped his fiddling and looked up at you. "Do you think you have the same films and shows where you're from?"

You frowned. "Good question. Show me what you have and I'll tell you if it's the case."

He went to take his laptop and turn it on before sitting back next to you. He shyly gestured for you to get comfortable and lay with your back against the wall. You complied and, soon, he positioned himself next to you. You could see he was a bit nervous but he didn't let it show through too much. He was quick to open his Netflix account, which you thought was nice that the platform was here as well, and he scrolled through the few movies and series that were appearing. From the looks of it and based on his recommendations, he was watching a lot of anime movies and series.

"Yeah, it's very similar to what I have back home," you affirmed. "It's odd, how the hell is it the same?"

Jisung frowned as he also realized how bizarre it was. "Maybe you are in the same world as me?"

You shook your head. "How would you explain this other me having an entire different life than me while having the same name and the same bunny I have? Heck, she has the same parents."

Maybe you really did modify the movie by coming here. For the whole part of you having your own life, at least. As for the content of cinematography, it was logical that a movie would put the same cultural references to make more realistic to the audience. How were you going to explain this to Jisung, though?

"I don't think I have the brain to think about this too much, it's kind of freaking me out," he gulped. "I'm actually just starting to realize how fucked up your thing is..."

Your eyes went wide. "No, please, don't think I'm crazy..." you pleaded.

"I don't know, Y/N, this whole thing is weird as fuck."

"I swear I'm not making this up, I find it as bizarre as you do."

He shook his head. "No, I believe you. It's just, how the fuck?" he trailed off.

You only responded with a faint smile as to show him you weren't understanding this any more than he was. Thankfully, the moment wasn't long and you moved on by suggesting on watching a Ghibli movie. You loved them, he seemed to enjoy them, this was a perfect choice.

As the film was starting, the bell rang and Jisung paused it to go greet the delivery person, which you assumed to be Felix. You were confirmed to be right when the man himself walked in the room behind Jisung with two plastic bags. It took him a moment to take in your presence in his friend's bedroom.

"Damn, I knew this was going to happen after–"

He was interrupted mid-sentence when Jisung put his hand over his mouth. "Yes, this is a great reunion but we're just taking the food and you can be on your way."

"But–" Felix started when he managed to push the hand away, only to get cut off again.

"Felix," he gave him a look. "How much was it?"

Finally understanding he wouldn't get answers tonight, the two proceeded to payment while you watched them, still waiting patiently with the movie on pause. You chuckled upon seeing Jisung's slightly pink cheeks as he crawled back to your side with the food in hands.

"You two, lovebirds, enjoy your date," Felix said in a teasing voice before winking at Jisung.

As the boy left the flat, Jisung couldn't contain his embarrassment any more than this. "I swear to God I will kick his ass next time I see him," you hear him mumble under his breath.

You shrugged. "He has a point, it does look like a date night for a couple."

He cleared his throat. "I suppose it does a little... Anyway, this is what I got. I hope you like sea food."

"Not a favourite," you admitted which caused his shoulders to drop a bit. "I like it, though."

This seemed to cheer him back up and he happily took the bowls out of the bag. Next to his bed was a tray he kept close for occasions like these. Well, not the having-a-girl-over part but rather the watching-films-in-bed part.

"Fancy," you commented once he had everything settled and ready in front of you.

"Only the best for your stay here, miss," he joked and then proceeded to click on play.

You would've lied if you said the ramen wasn't good because this might have been the best meal you've had in years. It felt so perfect being in the comfort of a bed with hot soup while watching one of your favourite movies. Not only that, but there was this cute ass man next to you loving it as much as you were. This was quite a turn of events.

Jisung was a gentleman for taking your dishes out of the room after you were done enjoying the food. This meant that, for the remainder of the film, there was only a slight gap separating the two of you. Your focus no longer on eating, the only thing you could think of was the realization of Jisung's presence.

Needless to say, he was no better than you were. His eyes were still stuck on the screen but he could feel his head move instinctively towards your direction. It was much stronger than his free will, he was gravitating to you. As much as it scared the shit out of him, he was surprised to be loving it so much. You were easy to be around of, he didn't need to waste his social battery on you.

"Are you cold?" he asked as the characters on screen kept quiet for this scene.

You shivered a little, not having understood you were, in fact, cold. "A little."

"I- Do you... want to use the blanket?" he asked with uncertainty as he stared at the bedsheets beneath the both of you.

With a shy nod as a response, he invited you off the mattress so he could actually pull the covers down to allow you to make yourself comfortable. As you sat back down under the blankets, you stared at him in confusion upon noticing he sat still in a very stiff position on the covers of his side.

"This is ridiculous, come under here," you snorted at him but he didn't budge.

"That would be weird, wouldn't it?" he said in a small voice, making him too cute for your own sake.

"It is if you're making it weird. Don't question it, come on."

While your boldness took him aback for a second, he obliged the second after and, carefully, positioned himself in a much more comfortable way. Still, he was trying to draw himself away as far away from your body as possible. Of course, you understood the thought process of his actions but he was so far to the point he had to lean towards you to see the screen better. Even if you were thankful he was being respectful, this was simply ridiculous.

"Jisung," you sighed.

"What?"

Seeing that he wasn't moving a tiny bit, you took it upon yourself and scooted closer to his body, bringing the laptop with you before laying it on both of your legs. His body stiffed at the proximity and you thought of noticing him gulp.

"Is this okay?"

He looked back at you and nodded, his breath now cutting short from how close your faces were. If he had it in him, he would have kissed you right there and then. But sadly, this was not what happened and Jisung concentrated back to the movie.

A routine was set quite rapidly after that night. Every once in a while, Jisung would call you up so you could make some progress in your research — which I can affirm was not advancing as fast as you wanted it to — and also just hang out. Whether you wanted this to happen or not, you were close to him and he became someone dear to you. Two months and a half after your arrival and you were closer to him than anyone else even, you dared to think, anyone back home.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" you snorted at Mina as soon as she stepped foot in the office you and Seungmin were working in.

"Tonight is party time, baby," she cheered. "Soohee is hosting the event of the year."

You exchanged glances with Seungmin before looking back at her. "What does that even mean?"

She deadpanned at you. "Soohee, that senior in theater class."

"The girl you told me we should both hate because she got the spot you wanted in that play?"

"So you do listen!"

You rolled your eyes, resulting to Seungmin laughing. You ignored his antics. "What are you implying here, Mina?"

"You're coming."

"I'm not."

"Please!" she pleaded with a pout. "Seungmin can come as well if that can convince you."

He raised his hand in disapproval. "First of all, I am invited already. Second of all, do I have a say in this?"

"No," Mina replied with a cheeky smile. "Come, Y/N, please. I haven't been out with my favourite girl since her incident and I miss getting drunk with her."

"Yeah, you do owe her that," Seungmin agreed to which you answered with a glare.

"No one asked for your opinion."

"But it is greatly appreciated," she said with a wink.

Looking back and forth at the both of them, you let out a huge groan, dropping your arms on your sides. "Fine, you win. I guess it will help with getting my mind off work and all."

She squealed before rushing to you to engulf your body in a tight hug. It was obvious you were going to regret it but did you really have a choice at this point?

"I'm done in an hour, I can continue working on your file if you want to leave in advance to get ready," Seungmin offered much to your dismay.

Mina's eyes glowed at his suggestion. "You're an angel, thank you so much."

"Nonsense!" you exclaimed. "I'll finish up with you, you can't be doing all of this on your own."

Mina tugged your arm to get you up from your seat. "Y/N," she whined.

Seungmin chuckled at the interaction. "Go, I'll be fine," he assured.

"Okay," you said reluctantly with a grateful smile.

You and Mina then rushed out of the building back to your apartment. The time was only 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and the party wasn't going to start in another two hours or so. But Mina was insistant on getting you ready and gossiping. Yes, gossiping.

As she had just sat you down on a chair in front of the mirror in the bathroom, about to curl your hair, she was giving you a look you were not liking. "So?" she said while wiggling one of her eyebrows.

"What?" you responded cluelessly while sipping onto your bubble tea.

She gave you another knowing look. "Oh, please, don't act like you don't know what I am referring to."

"Jisung?"

"Obviously."

You sighed. "He's helping me with some work, nothing more."

"You could have asked me," she shrugged, insinuating how actually hurt she was for not being as close to you as she used to. "I'm great with school work."

"I know but Jisung is... He just knows some stuff."

She scoffed. "Sure, he does. Just admit you asked for his help because you like the boy."

You got flustered very easily, bending your head onwards a little. Mina immediately replaced your head so she could continue to style your hair, inevitably exchanging looks with her through the mirror.

"Y/N," she insisted once more.

"It's not like that."

"If you say so," she said although it was clear she wasn't believing you. "I'm just trying to warn you. These guys are no good news."

"You say this because of Chan."

"I'm not," she argued.

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, her feelings were only getting the best of her. In a way, you were glad she was trying her best to protect you. At the same time, you'd seen no sign as to why you should be wary of Jisung. So far, he was someone sincere and honest, someone you really could rely on. It was hard for you to even think of the possibility of him hurting you.

"What if I like him?" you questioned.

She pondered for a second, visibly troubled by your question, but she answered. "Then I'll be very sad for you."

The remainder of time before the party was a bit awkward. You silently agreed to not speak on the matter anymore, so it was mostly small talk about what kind of products she was using to make your skin glow. It was hard to deny, she had the trick in terms of getting ready for events.

After bickering for a while about what you were to wear, you settled on a casual shirt with jeans while she chose a skirt for herself. You weren't planning on staying there for that long, anyway.

"Bye, my love," you cooed at your rabbit, earning a heavy sigh from your friend. "Hey! Let me love my bunny!"

"Alright, alright," she rolled her eyes. "Come on, now. We don't want to be late."

Soohee was the kind of girl who'd get anything from her parents as long as she kept her grades up. She was an excellent student, meaning she had literally everything she'd ask for. One of them was to have her own house near campus. Yes, her parents were that rich.

So no need to say how stunned you were when you arrived in front of the literal mansion. The music playing inside could already be heard from where you were and you spotted many students walking in and out of the place. This was worth to be in a movie. Funny enough, it was a movie. You began to wonder if this party would occur in the actual film. Probably not, since Jisung wasn't the type of person to go out.

"You're looking gorgeous, ladies," you heard coming from your right.

You smiled at Seungmin before enveloping him into a hug. "You don't look too bad yourself, Mr. Kim," you complimented.

"So," he let out after breaking away from your embrace. "This is what the big deal is about."

"Fancy, isn't it?" Mina said excitedly. "Let's go inside, I need a good drink."

Before you could say something, she was already heading towards the entrance. You and Seungmin couldn't do anything else but follow her. While you didn't feel at ease so much, you were happy to see a familiar face as soon as you walked in.

"Hyunjin?" you called him out.

The man had his arm wrapped around Soohee's shoulder when he spotted you. "Hey! Y/N, right?"

"That's me," you chuckled.

Soohee looked back and forth at the two of you. "You two know each other?"

Hyunjin shrugged. "A friend of a friend of a friend... We met each other a couple of times, nothing more," he explained, seemingly trying to reassure his partner. "Y/N, this is my girlfriend Soohee."

"I know, you're kind of a big name around here," you said to the girl.

"Yeah," she said sheepishly. "Nice to meet you! Any friend of Hyunjin is welcomed here."

Mina nudged your arm, a sign she wasn't too fond of your newfound friend. Nonetheless, she greeted the girl happily as if they had been friends for years. She was a lot better than you in faking kindness.

"I'm glad to see you made it," Soohee said with a smile.

"I could not miss it for the world," Mina said through her teeth.

The couple left to greet more people coming in, leaving your trio together. Mina, who hadn't enjoyed this interaction, hurried herself to go get something to drink — you and Seungmin following her again. The counter had tons of sorts of drinks. Some had questionable colours but most looked tasty as hell. Assuming Mina knew what to take, you picked a cup of the same drink as hers. Seungmin went ahead with getting himself a beer from the cooler near the counter.

"That girl is so annoyingly nice, I hate it," Mina spat out in-between sips.

"Now, don't be so harsh on the girl. We're in her house after all," Seungmin tried to resonate her.

She shrugged. "Sure. Y/N, I'm going to the other room if you want to come with me."

"What other room?" you asked, confused.

"The room at the back is the biggest of the house where interesting stuff happen."

You looked at Seungmin for advice but he shrugged, letting you choose for the three of you. You ended up following her lead since she was the expert in social events like these. She was right, the room was so much bigger and organized as to make a few beer pong stations in the middle while couches were put against the wall for those who preferred sitting down. Mina didn't wait for you when she heard that a new game of beer pong was starting and she rushed to say she and you would play.

"Oh, great," you mumbled to yourself but Seungmin heard you as clear as day.

"Go have fun," he chuckled but received a glare from you.

"Seungmin, want to join our team?" Mina yelled out at him, causing him to sigh.

"Come on, let's go have fun," you copied him teasingly and it was his turn to glare at you.

You took his hand despite his protests and joined Mina at the table. She was already setting the cups ready for the game and you lost no time in giving her a hand.

"Oh, Y/N?" you heard a familiar voice say.

Looking up, you were pleasantly surprised to see Changbin grinning at you. "Hey, Bin."

At the sight of the man, Mina's eyes went wide open. "Fuck, don't tell me..."

The worst she was expecting happened when Chan joined his friend's side. He looked as troubled by Mina's presence as she was by his. You felt like you shouldn't be there, their staring contest was a bit much for you.

"Do you still want to play?" you asked her in a worried voice.

"Why wouldn't I want to play anymore?" Mina acted as if nothing was wrong.

Chan let out a chuckle. "Alright, if you say so."

"You don't believe me, Christopher?"

His jaw clenched but he remained calm. "I didn't say the opposite."

"You're missing a player," Seungmin pointed out.

"Are we?" Changbin cheekily said.

Almost on cue, another man joined the lot as he placed himself next to Chan. As soon as he saw you, Jisung froze. While he didn't want to come to this party originally, he certainly did not expect you to be there. Even less dressed up like you were. That shirt of yours exposed so much of your skin and curves, he could feel the sweat on his forehead.

"My bad," Seungmin said upon seeing Jisung.

Your gaze lingered on him for longer than it should. While it was the others' turn to play, the two of you were exchanging a few looks with each other. It was either funny faces or one of you mouthing something the other couldn't understand. At one point, you were growing frustrated to no be able to decipher what he was trying to tell you. He chuckled as he saw the frown form on your face.

"Cute," he mouthed but you were still clueless.

"Uh?"

Yeah, he gave up. You were not the best at lip-reading, it wasn't your fault. Instead of repeating himself like he had done for a while now, he winked at you. That was new. Not knowing how to react, your face went red as you attempted to look at anywhere but him. He grinned at himself, satisfied by your reaction. You were too adorable, he hated it.

Your team ended up losing, much to Mina's disappointment. The girl had drank so much from the game only, you were growing worried about her physical state. Despite that, her fury against Chan was much stronger than a couple of drinks and she rushed after him once the game was over.

"I should follow her, right?" you said to Seungmin.

"Yeah, definitely," he affirmed which was all it took for you to go after her.

As you got closer, you reached out to grab her wrist but she broke free harshly. "Christopher Bang Chan!" she called out.

You winced in embarrassment, feeling bad for her. Chan immediately turned around, eyes growing bigger while Mina threw herself onto him. Luckily, he was quick to catch her.

"Hey, maybe you should sit down for a minute, yeah?" he said softly to her but she was not listening.

"You're such an ass, embarrassing me all the fucking time," she claimed.

You felt a nudge on your arm and let out a sigh of relief when you saw Jisung by your side. You had been meaning to go see him once you made sure Mina was alright. Clearly, this was not how things were going.

"Maybe we should leave them some privacy," Jisung suggested.

"But Mina is obviously not okay," you argued.

"Chan is with her, it'll be fine."

He took your hand and, reluctantly, you agreed to follow him outside to get some fresh air. The night was just a little breezy, but it was perfect for this kind of social gathering. There was, unsurprisingly, an inground pool along with a jacuzzi and a few outdoor couches. A little fire was lit further away from the house where some guys you didn't know were conversing in laughs. You were glad to see that none of them had a drink nearby, meaning it wouldn't turn into a disaster.

Jisung led you to one of the couches and sat with you. You had not noticed until then but he brought you a drink along with his. You thanked him as he offered it to you and you sipped in silence while watching the other students mess around. Some couples were making out in front of everyone, groups of friend were dancing together, others were simply catching up... Somehow, it was calmer outside than what was happening in the house.

"I never thought I'd see you here," Jisung informed with a small laugh.

"I could say the same about you. What are you even doing here?" you asked, genuinely curious.

"Soohee has some friends who work in an entertainment company. Chan thought it'd be a good idea to make some contacts within the industry so we can get somewhere with our stuff," he explained without much enthusiasm.

"I suppose things are still not taking off?"

He scoffed with a small smile. "We've been putting music out for a while. Shouldn't we at least have established a bit of a fanbase yet?"

"I'm a fan," you grinned widely.

"It's different, the real Y/N wouldn't like our stuff. Besides, you're my friend. That doesn't count."

You tried to ignore the hurt his comment caused to your heart. "What tells you she wouldn't have liked it? And, sure, I'm your friend but I'm honest. I would have told you if your music was trash."

He smiled thankfully but you still saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I really appreciate it. Still, you're too nice and you might just be trying to cheer me up right now."

"Fine, guilty," you sighed. "I am trying to cheer you up but I'm sincere. I love your music."

He let out a heavy breath before taking your hand, rubbing the top of it softly with his thumb. "Thank you."

"It's nothing, I'm being truthful," you said while raising your shoulders.

"What about you? Why did you come here?" he said, letting go of your hand to take another sip of his drink.

You tried to hide the fact you missed his touch already and cleared your throat. "Mina."

This was all the explanation he needed. "She would have been too suspicious of you if you didn't go to a party with her at some point."

"I know, that makes me want to go home even more honestly."

He choked up on his drink at your statement. You panicked for a second, patting his back to make sure he was okay. Once his coughing stopped he looked at you right in the eye.

"That much?" he asked in an almost hurt voice.

You gibbered for a bit, unsure as to why he was reacting this way. "I mean, kind of? As much as I love it here, I do miss my family and my actual bed," you tried to joke but he didn't laugh with you.

"Minho's not working this Tuesday if you want to come at the library. We could do more digging into the books," he suggested.

"Oh, sure. Actually, that'd be perfect. Thank you, Ji."

Your smile pained him even more. Of course, he couldn't blame you for wanting to go back home, he would have felt the same. However, there was something about you he became addictive of. Whether it was your being, your presence, your ability to make him feel comfortable so easily... All of it became something he couldn't imagine losing. There was something else within you, a spark. The last time he saw one like it was with his mother.

"Hey," you called for him. "Are you okay?"

Remembering where he was, he gulped and got up. "Sorry, I have to go."

And just like that, he went back inside without a word. You watched him, confused, until his shadow disappeared among the other figures around him. You wanted to follow him but not knowing what had caused him to leave so abruptly held you off. Was he mad at you? And what for? You couldn't bear with imagining you had caused him pain. Hesitantly, you got up and walked towards the back door. Only, you never reached the back door.

"Ouch!" you yelled out when your body collided with a frame bigger than your own.

"Oh my Gosh, Y/N, I'm so sorry," the person immediately apologized.

While you had technically never met him before, you recognized Jeongin from the pictures in your phone. "No, don't worry about it. I wasn't looking."

"But I kind of spilled my drink on you," he chuckled, embarrassed. "And you spilled yours too."

You looked at your empty cup and groaned in annoyance. "Great."

"Do you want my hoodie to cover the stain?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just give it back to me next time we see each other," he said with a bright smile. "Talking about that, I haven't seen you in a while."

You gratefully put his hoodie on and followed as he was walking back inside to get himself a new cup. "Yeah, I haven't been myself lately let's say."

"Beer? Punch? Sangria?" he asked while pointing at the different beverages.

"Sangria," you picked out and he gave it to you before picking one for himself.

"Yeah, Mina told me you had an amnesia episode or something?"

"Or something... I'm better now, though. Well, I think so."

He let out a laugh. "You do seem good. I assume you remembered me since you didn't look so confused when I went on about not having seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I do. It's a bit blurry but it's coming back to me slowly."

"Good, I'm glad. Did you go to a doctor to check it out?"

Oh. That was suspicious, wasn't it? Claiming to have amnesia without getting a professional to take a look at it. Your heart began to race as anxiety spread through your body. What if Jeongin was to uncover your act? What would happen then?

"I brought her to one the first day."

You thanked whoever who had brought Jisung near to save you. You wouldn't be able to explain how relieved you felt at this moment.

"Oh, that's good," Jeongin nodded. "Jisung, isn't it?"

He nodded. "Do you mind if I steal her from you?"

He sent the both of you a knowing look and didn't protest before walking away to elsewhere. As Jisung watched him leave, he sighed as he was about to nag you for not being careful. However, as soon as his focus was back on you, he froze in place when you dropped into his arms. It wasn't too noticeable but he could feel your body shaking.

"Thank fucking God, you were there," you breathed out. "I thought you were mad and I was going to look for you but I bumped into him and then I-"

"Hey," he stopped you. "I'm not mad at you, you don't have to explain anything to me." He pulled away from you but still had a grip on your shoulders. "How about we stick together for tonight?"

You nodded in agreement which he responded with his boxy smile. For a second — although it felt like minutes —, you couldn't see anything else but him. There was no way to describe how you felt around him. It was a mix of safety, happiness, comfort, nervosity, etc. All of these feelings, and more, altogether.

"You're pretty," you unconsciously let yourself slip out.

Jisung's cheeks had a faint pink colour to them but it didn't seem to bother him. "I think you're the pretty one between us," he corrected.

You shook your head and got closer to his face to inspect his features. "You're prettier," you affirmed once you analyzed his face.

He let a nervous laugh out. "Y/N..." he began, but didn't seem to find it in him to finish his sentence.

Your being brought him into a whole other world. If this was travelling universes, he'd want to do it all the time. This world only had you and him in it. Curiously, he was content with that idea. Somewhere where it could only be the two of you.

"Kiss me."

His brain short-circuited. A second ago, his mind was elsewhere, and now, you brought him back to reality in an instant. However, he still wasn't able to acknowledge people surrounding you. His sole focus was on the two words you said, and on your lips. Those pink lips he had always wished to kiss ever since that night when he saw you in his clothes. And you were demanding him to kiss you. Why couldn't he do it?

"Whoo!"

The loud scream coming from only a few meters away from you broke you out of your trance. Your gazes darted away from each other to find Minho, who was very much drunk, proudly showing his empty can to a group of girls after doing a shotgun.

The two of you, still holding onto each other, opted to go back to the main room in order to diffuse the weird tension between you. The sight you stumbled upon certainly was not what you thought of seeing any time soon. Chan was grabbing Mina by the waist, keeping her body close to his, as they kissed hungrily in the corner of the room. Near them was an annoyed Changbin, doing everything he could to avoid looking at the couple. The moment he spotted the two of you, he waved at you to come and join him.

"What's this about?" you asked, motioning towards your friends.

"Long story short, they left for a while and came back like this."

"Who would have thought she'd get laid with Chan?" you huffed.

Changbin glared at you. "Thank you for stating the obvious, Y/N."

Well, Changbin was being pretty sensitive tonight. It might have been the alcohol or the dislike he had for Mina. Anyhow, this looked pretty funny to you.

"The party's here, I see," Felix exclaimed as he joined you, bringing his arms around you and Jisung. "How are you, guys?"

"Tired," Changbin replied grumpily.

Hyunjin, Soohee, and Minho, who had all been following Felix, came to sit on the couch next to you. You had just then realized Seungmin was nowhere to be found, which was odd considering he wouldn't have been the kind to wander around too much.

"Soohee," Changbin called for the girl who broke her kiss with Hyunjin to look at him. "Did they say anything to you?"

You assumed he was referring to these friends of hers who worked in the music industry. Soohee clapped her hands together in response, a wide smile spread on her face.

"They've got a spot this summer for new producers and they told me they'll slide a word to their boss to give you the position," she squealed excitedly.

"You're kidding," Jisung said blankly, not believing her.

"I'm not!" she affirmed.

Jisung heard her right. Still, he couldn't fully process what she said. He had the chance to actually make a career out of his hobby. This felt so unreal, his face remained hard as stone, unable to express what he was feeling. Quite frankly, he didn't know what he was feeling himself. While the others around him were cheering happily about the excellent news, everything was a blur for him. Even if he couldn't be any happier, this also meant things were getting serious. Was he ready for this? He was still so young, maybe this was happening fast.

"Ji?" you said to him softly, noticing that he wasn't quite there.

"Uh?" he said while blinking slowly.

"You good?"

He swallowed and then stared back at you. "It's all a tad overwhelming," he admitted.

You gave him a reassuring smile before taking his hand. "How about we celebrate for now and worry about the rest later?"

This did the trick to bring him back fully from his thoughts and he finally allowed himself to cheer with the others. The first thing he did was bring your body into an embrace, holding you close. So close, you could feel his breath grazing the top of your ears, sending a shiver down your spine.

"Guys," Soohee said loudly enough to grab everyone's attention. "I have to precise, there is no certainty you'd be taken. But if you are, then don't mess it up. You've got one chance, and only one."

"Having the position or not, this is the furthest we've gotten so far," Chan answered. "Either way, this is accomplishment."

"I say we drink to this!"

You widened your eyes when you saw Seungmin leaning onto Jeongin as the both of them walked towards you. This was definitely not how you imagined Seungmin be by the end of the night. He was the last person who'd get drunk like this. However, nobody seemed to care and they all agreed to get themselves more alcohol for the occasion.

Meh, at this point, nothing was keeping you from having fun. Besides, Jisung was there. There was nothing to be worried about, as long as he was around to keep you safe.

You didn't know how long you had been drinking and dancing with Mina when you felt yourself getting dizzy. You tried to shake yourself out of your drunken state but there was no use, you had consumed more than needed. Although Mina wanted for you to keep partying with her, you had enough sanity to decline and make your way back to the couches.

The faint view you had in front of you was of a concerned Jisung discussing with Minho. As soon as his eyes laid on your clumsy self, he lost no time in holding onto you to keep yourself from tripping.

"Hey, there," he said softly before guiding you to sit down. "How about you take a little water break?"

You pfft at him. "Who needs water? It tastes like shit."

"I'm not giving you a choice."

Before you could argue, Minho — who you hadn't noticed had left — held a bottle in front of you. Jisung gave him a thankful nod as he took it from him and opened it for you. One would say you were acting like a child as he was trying to get you to drink. Your whines and uncoherent babbles were both concerning and cute to him. The pink that had appeared on your cheeks didn't help.

"It's near 3:00 A.M." he informed to nobody in particular.

"Wow, so early!" you exclaimed.

"You're right, I think it's time we get you home."

You frowned. "Get me home? You found a way to get me home?"

He shut his eyes close for a second. "Not like that, your other home."

You pouted. "But I miss my bed."

"I know you do. Now, can you be quieter? There are people around," he whispered in your ear which tickled it.

"Ji," you giggled and he sighed in exasperation.

"Chan, Changbin," he said to his friends who were standing next to you both. "I think we should leave."

"Finally!" Changbin said with a groan. "I'll get our stuff."

"And I'll get Mina," Chan said before wincing at the sight of his lover.

The girl had found her way to a table where she had let her body fall onto. Her face was inches away from a beer someone had left behind and you could see in her eyes how she was debating internally whether she should take it or not.

The boys had no problem with taking the both of you in Changbin's car and driving back to their place. Although the two other men argued on getting you to your apartment, Changbin just wanted to go back in the comfort of his room. Not that he didn't have fun that night but he was tired as hell. As he was the designated driver, his friends didn't protest any more and they drove home.

"Are you okay with her?" Chan asked Jisung in a concerned voice as they both helped you and Mina get inside.

"Take care of her, don't worry about us. I'll just help her get in bed," he assured and Chan gave him a nod before disappearing in his own room with Mina.

You were left in his care as Changbin had no worry other than going to sleep. You weren't heavy which made the task so much easier for Jisung. Even if you were still mumbling things he couldn't understand fully, you seemed much relaxed than back at Soohee's which he took as a good sign. He carefully laid you down on his bed, making sure he placed your head properly on the pillow.

"Jisung," you mumbled.

He instantly stopped moving you around and crouched to face you. "What is it? Do you need anything?"

"What if I can't get home?"

His heart stopped for a second. He knew you had worries because you still hadn't found a way to travel back to your world but he hadn't noticed how much it actually was affecting you. He was foolishly too focused on spending time with you to notice that. It was time he showed you what he found, he thought. He couldn't be this selfish any longer, it was hurting you.

"You'll find a way, I'm sure of it."

Of course, he was. He had already found it. He was just not ready to see you go yet. Yeah, he shouldn't have gotten so attached to you. But can you blame him? You were so warm and caring to him, it didn't take long for him to like you.

"I'm not so sure, myself," you began to cry and it broke his heart.

"Don't cry, it'll happen," he shushed you softly, rubbing your shoulder.

Without thinking (well, you weren't thinking at all under the influence of alcohol), you took his arm and pulled him closer clumsily. You somehow managed to get him on the mattress and you snuggled into his chest. You could tell he didn't know how to react but you couldn't care less. You were sobbing and in need of his warmth.

"Y/N," he said in a whisper.

"The thing is, I don't even know if I want to go back anymore," you continued to cry.

He was confused about your statement. "What do you mean?"

The rubs he was giving you on your back gave you goosebumps, you didn't know if you had the energy to keep yourself from spilling anything you'd regret the next day. "I mean that I like being here with you."

His breath increased. "I am fun to be around," he joked as to ignore what he knew you were insinuating.

"As in I like you."

Here, you said it. Fatigue mixed with drinking hadn't been of help with keeping this to yourself. Heck, you didn't even admit it to yourself and here you were declaring your crush on a fictional boy. This was ridiculous. However, your sober mind was not present. You would have to worry about that later.

In the meantime, Jisung couldn't find the words to respond to this. This was what he had hoped for in a while, you feeling the same towards him. Still, he knew as much as you that this couldn't happen. But fuck, he couldn't fake it any more. Not only that but he had also drank his fair share, he wasn't fully aware of himself either. That's why he wasn't able to stop himself from speaking his mind.

"I think I like you too."

Six simple words. And yet, that was all it took for something to snap in your head. Moving to be face to face with him, you pulled him by the collar of his shirt and crashed your lips on his. He was quick to match your movements and pace making your lips move in total sync. Even if this was wrong on so many levels, there wasn't anything that felt as right as this. It was almost like you were meant to be together like this.

Jisung swiftly pushed you to be on your back while he positioned himself on top of you, giving him better access to pepper your face with small pecks. As one of his hands stood next to your head to steady himself, the other had no problem exploring your curves, moving up and down from your waist to your hips. A few squeezes here and there, and you were gasping. You wanted more. Your fingers found their way underneath his shirt and you couldn't stop yourself from touching the skin of his abdomen. Fuck, since when was he so toned?

You felt him shiver under your touch and he growled before attacking your neck, sucking on your skin. You gasped and a moan escaped your mouth. This was definitely going to be visible tomorrow.

"Make that sound again," he said in a raspy voice and it made your mind go crazy.

As he sucked once more, you moaned again and you could tell he was having the time of his life getting you to make these noises for him. In a hurry, you took the hem of his shirt and pulled it up needily. You felt his lips form a smirk against your skin. In the time of a blink, he helped you remove his shirt which now left him totally exposed to you. Your eyes widened at the sight. You didn't know he had been working out, his proportions were insane. From his tiny waist to his prominent pecs to his massive arms; he was perfect.

It didn't take long for him to get your shirt off as well. What he hadn't expected was the lack of bra. He immediately became bright red from seeing your breast on full display in front of him. Although this was a view that took his breath away, it switched something in his mind. He suddenly realized what was happening, as if he was sobering up all of the sudden.

"Y/N," he said again, his voice now shaky. "I can't do this."

You frowned. "What? Why not?"

"We're both drunk, I can't possibly take advantage of you like this."

Before he could hear your complaints, he got off of you and back on his feet next to the bed. Carefully, he brought the covers over your body and tucked you in. While you were still pouting, something about him caring that much about your well-being made your stomach flip upside down. He placed a kiss on top of your head and was about to leave the room. Only, you didn't let him.

Grabbing his finger, you looked up at him. "Stay."

And to that, he couldn't say no. So he stayed.

You would have been much better if you hadn't woken up half-naked in Jisung's bed the next day. While you thought you were in the comfort of your dorm with Mina, the scent of Jisung was all over the covers, engulfing you in another type of comfort. In a way, you were glad it was in his home that you were. On the other hand, his shirtless body laying next to you sent you into panic mode real quick. You had no recalling on what happened after the whole gang began drinking like there was no tomorrow and, frankly, you wondered if you wanted to know what happened.

You sat straight up, pulling the blankets over your chest to cover your bare skin, but an intense headache suddenly hit you. You had forgotten how hangovers were this painful. No shit you weren't going out a lot. As you winced at the pain, a few images came back to you.

The first to hit was Jisung's lips on yours. You suddenly remembered how you had pulled him into a kiss after having cried in his arms in his room. It still wasn't clear why you were sad, but one thing was for sure: you fucked up big time.

Another image that hit you was Mina in a much worse state than yours. Chan had her in his arms while her face became so pale to the point it wasn't a skin colour anymore. Where was she even? Did she make it back home.

The final memory you got back was of you removing Jisung's shirt. Well, at least you knew who between the two of you had been needier than the other. You cursed at yourself, already regretting having allowed yourself to let go this much. This guy wasn't real, for fuck's sake. In no way could you even consider the option of having feelings for him.

Well, there wasn't any feelings, technically. It was only a bit of kissing and making out, nothing more.

"Good morning," a deep and raspy voice greeted you, making you almost jump out of bed.

Jisung stretched his arms out before yawning loudly. Once he opened his eyes fully, he was met with your panicked face. That automatically got him nervous and by the way you were shamefully covering yourself, he felt like nothing good was about to happen.

"Fuck," he cursed out in a whisper before rubbing his face with both hands.

"That's one word to describe it," you huffed shyly. "Do you remember what happened?"

He lifted his head up and perked an eyebrow. "Do you remember what happened?" When he saw you hesitate, he cursed again. "Shit, I'm so sorry."

"No, no," you immediately said. "I do remember most of it. Just, not in details, if that makes sense."

His shoulders relaxed but that didn't dismiss the worry spread on his face. "So, what now?"

"Good question."

You didn't dare looking at one another, you were both too ashamed for that. As you were trying to find the right thing to say next, a loud bang was heard from the kitchen. You determined the boys must have woken up after hearing Chan nag Changbin for being clumsy. You and Jisung exchanged an awkward chuckle but that was it. You still weren't able to say anything.

"What's up, guys! Woah," Chan coughed out when seeing your physical state and he closed the door right after. "Uh, so... I made breakfast if you're hungry."

"Thanks, we'll be out in a bit."

The footsteps faded away after a few seconds which was your cue you were back to the awkward moment with Jisung. He didn't seem any more comfortable than you and you began to question if he had any regrets. Obviously, you hated yourself for what occurred last night but you couldn't regret it. It was so passionate and intimate, you hadn't felt so much lust with someone in a long time.

Jisung was the first to finally move and he walked to his closet. Shamefully, you couldn't contain yourself from looking. His back was well-defined, he was like a sculpture. There was no way his body was this perfect.

"Here," he said before throwing a hoodie your way. "I figured mine would look better on you than Jeongin's."

He didn't let you say anything back and he was out the room the second later, lazily putting a shirt on as he walked to the kitchen. You were left dumbfounded as you stared at the piece of clothing in your hands. There was a hint of teasing and jealousy in his voice, you kind of liked it. It wasn't possible for you that he had noticed Jeongin's shirt so much that he'd mention it to you. It was one way to know he might have feelings similar to yours.

After shaking your mind off these thoughts, you threw the hoodie on and went to join the boys to go eat. As soon as you stepped inside the kitchen, your gaze found Mina's. She looked much better than last night, having found her colours a little. She waved at you happily before taking another bite of her toast.

"I didn't remember you coming here with us," you commented as you sat next to Jisung (which was oddly the last free seat).

"To be honest, I don't remember a thing," she laughed. "But I do know Chan and I made up so that is what matters." She leaned to kiss him and then smiled even more. "I heard the two of you had an exciting night."

Jisung choked on his juice, coughing loudly. You chuckled a little but that didn't prevent you from blushing either.

"I'm guessing Hannie finally made a move," Changbin teased his younger friend with a nudge.

"I'd be more prone to think Y/N did," Chan added.

Your face grew redder by the second. "Can we not talk about it?"

This seemed to do the job and the others kept their mouths shut for the rest of the breakfast, only discussing about Mina and Chan's reunion. While you tried your best to take part in the conversation, your shoulder barely touching Jisung's distracted you too much. Weird, no? Only a few hours earlier, you had no shame touching him but here you were, terrified by his mere presence.

"I'll walk you home," Jisung announced once you were both back in his room.

"I can walk by myself just fine, thank you," you turned him down as you grabbed the shirt you were wearing last night along with Jeongin's hoodie.

"I'm not offering," he insisted. "I need to make sure you get there safely."

"Mina and I will walk together," you insisted back, not understanding why he was being so stubborn.

This time, he admitted defeat and dropped himself on his bed. "Text me when you get home, at least?"

"I will."

It reassured him a bit as he smiled shyly. "I'll text you for Tuesday, also."

Oh, right, Tuesday. You almost forgot about it. With a small nod, you left his room and joined Mina at the front door. She and Chan exchanged knowing looks but you ignored them. Waving bye to your friends, you both took off to get back home.

Tuesday came sooner than you had wanted to. Jisung barely texted you, only a few times to let you know where he was at with his research. Other than that, the few past days had mostly consisted of you ranting about your complicated relationship to Seungmin. The poor guy hadn't asked for anything and here he was, forced to listen to your problems. He actually did not mind, he was simply not very expressive when it came to gossiping.

"Are you sure you don't have more files to work on?" you asked him once again.

He deadpanned at you. "Stop this, you're going to go there and face him."

You whined. "I don't want to."

"You have to."

"Can't you come with me?"

"No!"

You huffed in annoyance. "Are you really my friend?"

He rolled his eyes at your question. "You're being so dramatic. What is even the problem? You like him, he likes you; it should be easy."

You bit your lower lip down. "It's more complicated than that."

"Is it?"

It was no use trying to explain to him, that would involve outing you out and you couldn't risk it. So, you sucked your sappy self up and left the office, earning you a "there you go" from Seungmin. You were supposed to meet with Jisung an hour ago but you were too much of a scaredy cat to actually get to the library and you worked some more to buy yourself time. But Seungmin was right, you couldn't put it off any longer.

You were almost shaking when you found yourself in front of the library's door. From outside, you could see him through the window. He was doing nothing more than sorting books and scanning a couple of them but the sight of him was all you needed to make your heart beat ten times faster. Taking a deep breath in, you repeated to yourself this was no big deal. You were coming to see a friend, nothing more. You finally pushed the door open and walked to the front desk. As he had told you, Minho was nowhere in sight. His back was still facing you, meaning he hadn't noticed you yet.

"Just a moment and I'm all yours," he spoke as he finished up his task.

This was a simple phrase of politeness. And yet, the idea of him being yours briefly passed through your eyes. No, this was getting out of hand. You had to stop this behaviour.

As soon as he turned around, his mouth's shape changed into an "o". "I thought you bailed on me."

You scratched the side of your arm in shame. "I had extra work to do at the office."

"No, it's all good. I just thought-" he was about to say but paused before shaking his head. "Never mind. There aren't many students today so we should be fine in terms of discretion."

You nodded as you watched him walk around the counter. Did he really have to look that good in his red shirt? He seemed to have put much more effort in his appearance than usual. Nevertheless, this was not the time to check him out. You followed his steps towards a section in the back, one you hadn't explored yet. You were quite perplexed when he stopped in front of the fairy tale section and scrunched his nose while scanning through the books.

"Fairy tales?" you scoffed. "You must be joking."

He rolled his eyes as he pulled out one book. "Let me show you first."

"Well, sorry but this is not very promising."

He sent one more glare your way and began to flip the pages. "Don't be mad, I actually found this a while ago. I was afraid you-" he restrained himself from speaking again. "That you'd judge it because it is a fairy tale."

This was not what he wanted to say originally, you could easily tell but the way he cleared his throat. Even though you wanted to insist for him to spill it, he didn't let you by shoving a page in your face. You scrutinized the words attentively as you took the book from him. It might have been a fairy tale, a work of fiction, but the story was almost identical to how you arrived in this world.

Once upon a time, a princess lived in a castle. The girl loved her castle more than you could imagine. She was living a happy life on her own with the company of the animals of the forest. Some were big, some were small, but all loved the princess very much.

One day, the princess was reading a book like she would do every night before going to bed. The only difference was how marveled she was by its story. It told the journey of a boy living in the country, trying his best to live by his late mother's wishes despite not being very wealthy. Something about this boy moved her, she felt for him.

As she was about to go back to her chambers, one missed step on the stairs caused her to lose balance. In the snap of a finger, she tripped. Only, she never really fell. Once she opened her eyes, she was in a place she had never visited before. She was in a quaint little farm where a dozen of hens were greeting her with their clucks. Confused she was but these thoughts vanished when her gaze fell on a boy. She immediately knew who he was.

"How is this relevant?" you groaned, not understanding how he even thought this was anything close to what you had experienced.

"She tripped and found a boy, just like you," he pointed out. "You can skip to the last page, that's where it shows how she came back to her palace."

The boy invited the princess for dinner. It was not much, but it was all he could afford for her. He had cooked all of the dishes by himself, something he was quite proud of. He was hoping he would be proposing to the girl. Tonight was supposed to be the most gorgeous eclipse of their era, according to the village's sorcerer. He would not miss the opportunity to make the most of it.

When the princess arrived in the backyard of his home, her heart melted at how beautiful the boy had arranged the place. It was so simple but it felt like home. A blanket had been laid next to his family's tree and, on top, he had placed the food along with the best beverage he was capable of buying.

The night was perfect. The princess had fallen in love with this place, never wanting to leave. Especially not when she had just realized how fond she had grown of her new friend. Dare to say, she was smitten. As they were watching the last seconds of the eclipse, the boy gathered all of his courage and pulled the princess closer to him. With the shadow over them, they shared their very first kiss.

What they did not know was how this would also be their last. Slowly, the girl's figure began to fade away, vanishing into thin air. The panic on the boy's face was one she had never seen before, one of great pain. She was devasted, so was he. She then understood this was her time to come home. As she forced a smile through her tears, she mumbled the only phrase she had meant to tell him all along.

You shut the book closed, not wanting to read the rest. "Really? A stupid little story is the answer to my problem?"

Jisung almost shivered from how cold your tone was. He had never meant for you to think he wasn't taking you seriously, of course he was. In a way, he did understand why it seemed idiotic of him to show you this. But he knew this was your last hope. Everything you'd tried so far was a great failure. And since the moment you told him how homesick you were at the party, he now wanted nothing more but to make you happy. Even if it meant losing you.

"She was reading a book, you were watching a movie. She tripped, you tripped. She found a boy, you found me," he went on to explain. "And, if I'm not wrong, you fell in love with me like she did."

Your breath cut short. Was it so obvious? You did everything in your power to not let it show, even more to not let it happen. Apparently, love did not work like this and couldn't be helped. This whole thing was shitty, falling in love with someone you could never be with.

"You're wrong," you mumbled. "I care about you a lot, but I wouldn't call this love," you lied — apart when you said you cared about him.

He huffed. "What would you call what happened the other night, then? Because, for me, it looked a lot like it was a confession of your feelings. Unless you'd been leading me on."

It was your turn to huff. "You think I would stoop so low as to do something like this to you?"

"If it isn't because you love me, I don't know what it is."

Unexpectedly, heavy footsteps came your way, You both turned around to see Minho walking to you, red in his eyes. You glared at Jisung since you thought Minho wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.

"If you're to argue about your little love life, can you do it outside? I can hear you from the entrance."

"I thought you weren't working today," Jisung said with a frown, ignoring what his friend had complained about.

"I don't work tomorrow, I'm taking over for the evening today."

Shit, Jisung didn't look at the work sheet properly. Despite your dark eyes still on him, he grabbed your wrist and led you outside, apologizing quickly to Minho as you walked past him. You tried to break away but he was stronger than you were, leaving you no choice but to follow him. He ignored the beeping sound caused by the book you were still holding as you hadn't officially rented it. Once out of the library, he did not stop there. Instead, he continued to walk away leaving you as clueless as ever.

Finally, you began to piece things together when you saw where he was heading to. It didn't take you more than a minute or so to reach the football field, exactly where you had started bonding only two months ago.

"Okay, can you explain to me now?" he sighed, crossing his arms on his chest.

You massaged your wrist. "First off, ouch." He only rolled his eyes which kind of hurt you somehow. "Second off, there is nothing to explain."

"Almost sleeping together after you told me you like me isn't nothing," he persisted.

"Why does it matter?" you groaned, getting annoyed. "I'm to go back to my world, it wouldn't change anything."

"For me, it would."

"Why?"

He grunted in frustration before grabbing you by the shoulders, visibly not in control of his actions anymore. "Because I love you."

You stared at him in silence, mouth agape. You couldn't comprehend fully what he said. He couldn't possibly love you. And if he really did, this entire thing had taken a whole new turn you weren't sure you could handle.

"What?" you whispered, not finding the strength in you to speak loud enough.

"I love you," he repeated, loosening his grip on you. "I've never been the best in terms of opening up and all. But with you? This has never been so easy. There is something about you, a spark. It feels homey and safe. I find extreme comfort and reassurance just by your presence. Not only that, you understand me on so many levels, I wonder if you know me better than myself at times.

"And at the party... Fuck, Y/N, it was like you got me under a spell. I always needed to have an eye on you or I thought of suffocating. Then, when we were in my room, it broke my heart when you began saying you were afraid to never be able to leave."

You almost wanted to thank him for not referring again to the physical part of the whole thing, how you had almost given yourself to him. Despite that, this whole-hearted confession of his was no longer only about mere feelings he had. He actually loved you.

"I'm sorry," you mustered the energy to say.

What were you apologizing for? Even you didn't know. For letting him love you this much, probably. You were dying to tell him you felt the same but in no way was this how things were supposed to be. Loving each other was only going to cause you great pain.

"Tell me you felt something too, please," he pleaded, eyes watery.

You could feel the lump in your throat grow when you shook your head, refusing to tell him what he wanted to hear. That was what made him let go of you as he took a few steps back. You hurt him.

"I'm sorry for reading into things that weren't there," he pettily scoffed. "Read the rest," he motioned the book. "There's an eclipse this Saturday just so you know. Find a way to get back, but don't count on me helping you in this madness anymore."

He turned on his heels and walked off in a hurry pace, obviously wanting to get as far from you as possible. You wanted to call him out, cry, scream, anything. But nothing. Your body was limp and wasn't letting you express what you were feeling. Instead, you dropped on the bench next to you with the book on your thighs.

You opened it back to read the end. Just like you had anticipated, this was only heartbreaking to come to the conclusion neither characters saw each other again. This was what you wanted to avoid, live with an void in your heart because you fell in love with the protagonist.

You did everything to prevent it. But you failed.

Saturday was dangerously coming fast and your stubborn self was refusing to reach out to Jisung. He told you to find a solution on your own, that was what you had been doing. Nevertheless, the only remaining option was him. He had to be there.

You ended up telling the truth to Mina the night after your argument. It was inevitable, your emotionless stare outed you right away the moment she saw you. You couldn't hide it from her anymore. She took it better than you thought. Not only that, you also told her about the whole movie thing. She had been nothing but supportive, not even a bit bothered that she was fictional.

"Fictional or not, what I feel is real and that's what matters," she had answered when you asked why she remained this calm.

She was a bit of a replacement for Jisung, she was fully aware of that. But when it came to trying to get you home, she insisted the fairy tale wasn't just an odd coincidence. And that was why you were staring at your phone with nothing but fear.

"If you don't tell him to meet you at the park tonight, I will," Mina threatened, growing impatient as it had been almost ten minutes since you agreed to invite Jisung.

"He'll think I'm just using him to get home," you argued.

"I guess you are, but he won't care about that. If he loves you, it'll be stronger than his free will to come to your help."

You bit on your lip and finally picked the phone up. Opening your chat with Jisung, your fingers lingered above the keyboard. You knew what to say. The issue was how were you going to word it. After one last glance at Mina, you took a deep breath and began to type.

Y/N: Hey. How have you been?

No, this sounded too weird. It was obvious he hadn't been well, it'd be stupid to start the message like this.

Y/N: Hey! I know I haven't been exactly the greatest friend to you. You are right, I keep leading you on when I fully know that what we have can't even happen. It doesn't change the fact that I never wanted to hurt you intentionally and I am so sorry for the trouble I've caused. If you are still willing to forgive me, and maybe help me, meet me at 4 at the park where we met. There are many things I still need to tell you. I hope to see you there.

Sent. And now all you had left to do was wait. Mina hugged you tight as soon as you let go of the phone. You could tell she was proud, it felt nice to know she cared this much for you.

"If he does show up, does it mean I won't see you again?" Mina asked while still hugging you.

"Most likely, yes," you breathed out. "You'll have your Y/N back."

She chuckled. "She's not like you. Sure, I miss her, but it would have been better if having the two of you was an option."

It was your turn to laugh and you pulled away from the hug. "I promise I won't tell a soul about this," she affirmed.

You smiled gratefully. "Do you mind doing me one last favour?"

"Anything," she didn't hesitate to respond.

"One last makeover?"

The grin was all the answer you needed. You spend the afternoon doing some self-care activities while exchanging and laughing. She asked you some more about your own world and you answered. You hated to admit so but you were going to miss her. You never had one close friend in particular, it was always people scattered a bit everywhere without being so close to them. It was probably a sign you needed to bond more with your own friends.

That was if Jisung showed up. There was no telling when the next eclipse would happen so the option of staying here for much longer stayed in your mind vividly.

4 o'clock was approaching and Mina was still debating whether you should go for a dress or a jumpsuit. You let her have her fun when you heard the notification sound coming from your phone. You immediately rushed to see if Jisung had replied but you were left disappointed when you saw it was only a promotional text from some random company. Your message, however, had been read. But no reply.

Mina said nothing from seeing your sad face, but she came to show you the dress she chose. You were still amazed at how she always found the perfect combination for an outfit.

"Do you want me to come with you?" she offered but you shook your head.

"I'll be fine, but thank you."

She let you get changed and once you did so, the two of you sat in silence in your shared dining room. You were intensely staring at the clock and it was killing you how time seemed to pass by so slowly. Eventually, ten minutes before 4 o'clock came and it was time to head out.

Mina couldn't help herself but cry as she hugged you close to her. "Don't forget me, yeah?"

"I could never," you reassured. "And don't forget, the other Y/N is still me in a way. You haven't lost me completely."

She sniffled as she let go of your body. "Good luck with your man."

You gave her one last warm smile and you walked out the door. You sighed heavily as you walked down the stairs. This was already a day full of emotions, you weren't sure if you were ready for what would happen next. Either you'd be heartbroken Jisung didn't come or you'd have to leave him forever after finally telling him how you truly felt.

The walk to the park was quick and you were about a minute early. You walked to one of the swings and sat there, slowly swinging your body back and forth. You were glad the weather wasn't too cold since the dress wasn't exactly the warmest thing you could have worn.

Minutes passed, maybe even an hour. There was still no sign of Jisung. You began to think it was a bad idea to ask him to meet where his mother had died but you assumed it being the spot where you appeared would be an important factor to get back to your world. Perhaps he simply didn't want to see you again. You did hurt him a lot, it would be understandable.

You weren't counting the minutes anymore when you concluded he wouldn't come. Jumping onto your feet, you were on the verge of walking back to Mina but you stopped on your tracks stiffly.

He was there.

You couldn't quite believe what you were seeing. With only a lamppost nearby to illuminate your surroundings, his face was glowing. There was obvious resentment in his face but you could tell he was not as pissed as the last time you'd seen him. He gradually approached you while you remained hard as stone, unable to move. It was a miracle you were even breathing, in all honesty.

"I guess I still help you in the end," he began, avoiding your gaze.

"I thought you wouldn't come," you said with relief and he sadly laughed.

"You could call this a payback from when you arrived an hour late."

You felt even more relieved he was feeling comfortable enough to still joke a bit. However, you couldn't take his presence for granted. There must have been a reason for him to show up despite the hurt you'd done.

"Can I sit with you?" he gestured towards the swings and you nodded.

"I don't know where to start," you nervously chuckled. "I guess I can start with apologizing."

"That'd be a good start."

You cleared your throat, feeling a tad uneasy with how bizarre the tension was. "I'm sorry for not being truthful. I wasn't honest with a lot of things, including my feelings for you."

He frowned as it clearly quirked his attention. "What didn't you tell me?"

Even if his voice was shaky, it still held so much softness, as to not put pressure on you. If this was his goal, it worked. There was no turning back now.

"I don't have the proper words to put it out easily but I'll try my best. Remember how I've told you I was watching TV when the shift happened?"

His breath hitched. "What about it?"

"It might have been a film about you."

He didn't panic or get mad. In fact, it was quite opposite. He looked relieved and happy. You searched in his face any sign of anger but there was none, which left you more confused.

"Jisung?"

He let out a breathy laugh. "I kind of figured it out, I was just wondering if I was going crazy with this theory or not."

"What- Since when?"

"I'm not sure. It's like I've always known. Same as when you told me you were from another dimension, it just made sense for some reason."

You huffed. "How come are you so chill with it?"

He looked at you as if you had asked the dumbest question. "I might be fictional where you are but, here, I'm pretty fucking real. If I'm not, then I can't explain how I have all of these complicated thoughts and emotions when it comes to you."

You could feel yourself swoon at his words. "I don't want to leave suddenly," you confessed but he shook his head.

He stood up and stopped in front of you to take yours hands and get you up as well. Face to face, you could feel him exhale on your forehead. It felt nice to have his body close to yours again, like you had longed for it without knowing.

"You know you have to go."

You finally looked up at him. "No, I can stay. I get along just fine with Mina and the amnesia lie seems to be convincing everyone."

"Y/N, you already struggled with lying to me. How can you handle putting a façade up for the rest of your life?"

You wanted to scream at him, tell him how wrong he was. Accuse him of how low he thought of you by saying this. The truth was he was right. You knew deep down your place was not here. But just one thing was stopping you.

"But I love you," you mumbled as tears began to fall on your cheeks.

Jisung was surprisingly very sereine and he wiped your tears away with his thumbs. "There, you said it," he grinned victoriously.

You shoved him slightly. "Shut up."

He laughed again and damn was he pretty when he laughed. "That's all I wanted to hear, that you loved me too."

"If you love me, why should you let me go?"

He sighed as he rubbed your cheeks gently. He wasn't going to answer, you both knew it wasn't necessary. Nonetheless, it didn't mean it didn't hurt at all. It stabbed you like a knife. You had gotten so used to being around him. How were you going to deal in a world where he didn't exist?

"Can I kiss you?" he whispered even if his mouth had already had the time to get closer to yours.

It was all you needed to kiss him yourself, standing on your tippy toes to reach his level. It was just like you remembered it; sweet, tender, passionate. It was so addicting, you didn't want to imagine how breaking it would feel like. His hands let go of you to move on your hips before he pulled you even closer.

He didn't want to let go either.

You didn't notice he was crying as well until you reached your hand up to cup his cheek. It pained you more and more, and how you still were kissing him despite getting out of breath was a proof of it.

You both pull away eventually, even if it was clear as day both of you didn't want to. Jisung kept his forehead against yours and, without speaking a word, his gaze dove in yours. He wanted to remember your eyes, get one last good look at it. Because he knew what was already occurring right before his eyes.

"I'm leaving already, aren't I?" you cried out, as if you had read his mind.

"There's an eclipse, and I kissed you."

You nodded slowly and scanned your body. "It's a strange feeling."

He watched you slowly fading away and his heart clenched. "Think of me, please," he almost begged.

"Always," you smiled weakly. "I love you."

"I lo-"

And then nothing.

A loud music woke you up. Your eyes shot wide open as you gasped for air. Taking a look around you, you stood from the ground. Everything was exactly where it had been. The first thing you went to look for was your sweet rabbit. Her nose peeking from under the couch, she wasn't hard to miss.

"Hey, baby," you cooed as you picked her up. "For you, it's been a second, but I haven't seen your cute face in months!"

You carefully placed her back in her playpen. Once she was safe and sound, you finally allowed yourself to look at the screen. It was Jisung, having a blast at Soohee's party. You forced yourself to smile as you watched him hold tight onto a girl. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't finish this movie. Not any time soon, at least. Grabbing your remote, your turned the screen off and crashed on your couch.

It had been a while since you felt yourself relax. Still, the headache you had made you question if what you had experienced was a dream or not. You did wake up because of the music coming from the television. That meant it was very possible this was only a dream.

Either way, it was over now. You had gone back to your life and now you needed to call your workplace to inform them you would be coming in tomorrow in the end.

And tomorrow came as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary; work, eating, more work, and then back home again. It felt rather underwhelming after your journey with Jisung. Somehow, you couldn't get him out of your head, not even for a second to work correctly.

You were very much distracted. Too distracted. Frustrated, you let go of the soup you were slurping and walked to your room. Sitting down at your desk, you opened your laptop and began to look up Jisung's name. You hadn't even noted down the title of the movie, his name alone should do the job.

The moment you clicked on "enter", articles and websites flooded like a river. All of them about Han Jisung. It was him for real, with his actual name next to tons of pictures. So he wasn't fictional after all. Then, who the hell was he?

You scrolled down to find a recent article which mentioned the movie itself. Opening the link, you read it all so quickly. It said Jisung was, indeed, a young artist who had the chance to collaborate with many renowned producers to make a film about his struggles. His main purpose was to reach an audience who could relate to his pain and learn to get through struggles like he did.

You weren't sure what this was referring to since you technically didn't watch the film entirely. What caught your attention, however, was the final paragraph.

The singer has begun his promotion tour where he holds conferences concerning mental health in younger generations. He hopes to spread awareness as much as he can. To see him, his next seminar is to be held in Seoul the Thursday of next week.

You checked the date this article was published and thanked the universe that it was no older than a week. That meant the conference was tonight. You didn't know if it was a good idea but you still had so many questions about everything, you felt like getting the chance to speak to him might answer a few of them.

"Looks like I'll be spending $40 tonight," you groaned to yourself before opening the sign-up page to the event.

You were lucky it wasn't starting too early and that you still had two hours before it began. It was enough time for you to wash up, get changed and hop onto a bus that transported you all the way to the other side of the city.

One would call you crazy for going all the way in for this boy who probably had no idea you existed. But the memory of him was too fresh, it bothered you. You thought it'd help you to see him in person. That was not exactly how it went.

As the crowd settled comfortably on their seats, the host greeted the audience warmly. Needless to say, you were taken aback to see the man you grew to know as Chan on stage. This was surely the actor who played him.

"Hello, everyone," he waved with a bright smile. "My name is Bang Chan and I will be your presenter tonight."

Okay, this was getting weirder and weirder. First Jisung was a real person, but Chan as well?

"As you may know, I have contributed with the production of the movie Alien: I'm so lonely. The mastermind behind this work is my dear friend, Han Jisung. But you knew that, that's why you're here. I ask of you to be patient as him and I will discuss his journey on this project. Afterwards, you may ask your questions and Jisung with happily answer them. Please, welcome Han Jisung!"

The crowd applauded as he came on stage. He looked tinier and intimidated on this big stage in front of so many people. You were starting to question yourself if this was the same man you had in mind. But as soon as he flashed his smile, your heart skipped a beat. This was him. And visibly, these feelings were as strong as they were back in the movie's world.

"I'd like to think you all came here after enjoying my movie so I'd like to start with thanking you all for your support. It means a lot," he smiled before bowing.

The two men sat down and Chan was the one to initiate the discussion. "I had the pleasure to be part of your project but there are things that are still a mystery. The entire film is based on your own experience whether it is the loss of your mother, your struggle to make a name for yourself in the music industry as well as the mental struggles you had to face. However, there is one aspect that was never part of your actual life and it is the character of Y/N."

Your body stiffened. Had you heard him right? This had to be yet another disturbing coincidence, it wouldn't be logical otherwise. The real Jisung didn't know you.

"We're getting right away into your favourite part today, aren't we?" he chuckled uncomfortably. "I had a dream long ago. It consisted of my usual day-to-day life but this girl appeared out of nowhere. We went through everything together the way we did in the movie. It was only a dream but I woke up feeling empty. She wasn't real but she was present for me more than anyone."

"Are you saying you felt more connected to an imaginary friend than to your close ones?"

"Of course not," he scoffed. "I came around the idea she was a fragment of myself that represented my strength. I'd like to think she really existed, but I can't drive myself crazy over that."

The rest of their discussion was nothing but a distant sound to you. Plenty of possibilities about what occurred were now open and, quite frankly, it was giving you a headache. You had never met Jisung in this world, but maybe his other self was still a part of him. That, or you visited his dream and not the movie.

The two men discussed some more details for another hour. After what felt like an eternity, the question period finally arrived. You had forgotten all pre-prepared interrogations you had by then. Despite that, you were determined to, at least, speak to him once. Nervously, you raised your hand while he was already responding to someone.

"So yeah, I'd say my mother was the main reason why I wanted to make this film," he concluded his answer with a nod.

Chan looked among the audience and it was almost like he recognized you. With a knowing grin, he pointed at you. "Miss with the red shirt."

The crew member walked to you to give you a microphone and it abruptly hit you how unprepared you were for this. You gulped as you shakingly brought the mic closer to your mouth.

"I had a question concerning this Y/N character."

Jisung, on his side, looked a mess the instant he heard your voice. He went closer to your side of the stage while squinting in order to take a better look at who was talking. He would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Go ahead," he finally said.

"When you said she appeared out of nowhere in your dream, what did you mean by that?"

And once and for all, he got a good glimpse of you. The actress who played you looked nothing like you. She was no match compared with your soft features. That was why she was the only character he struggled to cast — besides the fact half of the cast was his actual friends playing themselves.

"I-" he pondered for a moment. "You know what? Can you come see me after the conference? I feel like this is not something I can answer in the span of two minutes."

Surprised, you didn't let it show and nodded as you sat back down. What were the odds for him to want to talk to you one on one? Like he had requested to, you remained seated when Chan dismissed the audience.

It wasn't long after that a security member came to fetch you. He guided you all the way to a room backstage. Only from afar, you saw Jisung talk with Chan. He looked disturbed and worried. You started to think it wasn't a good timing to interrupt him. However, before you could have a say in it, the security guy pushed you inside and closed the door.

You looked at anywhere but them, rocking your body back and forth to hide the nervousness. There was a long silence before Chan sighed in a discouraged way. Without saying a thing, he walked past you and left the room.

It was only you and him.

"Is your name Y/N by any chance?" Jisung broke the ice making you look at him. His eyes were filled with hope.

"It is," you confirmed and his body immediately relaxed.

"I don't want to sound too creepy or whatever but..." he hesitated a little as he bit his upper lip. "I feel like I've seen you before."

Your breath cut short. He remembered.

"I might have a similar feeling towards you."

This made his unsure expression break into a smile, which then made you smile. It was like meeting a friend you hadn't seen in years, except you saw this same guy only hours ago. Heck, you were kissing him.

"Do you have time to go out for dinner with me?"

His question might have made you happier than you were supposed to be but you didn't care one bit, and it didn't look like he did either. After you shyly nodded a yes, he walked your way and drowned you in a hug. You didn't fight back.

"I think I forgot to tell you something," he mumbled softly against your ear.

"What is it?" you responded in the same tone.

"You left before I could finish; I love you."

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[fuctacles]

Witch Hunt

for @steddie-spooktober "witch" & @stevieweek "i don't know about this one..." prompt which i've altered quite a bit but used it twice so it kind of evens out, right???

E | 2568 | transfem!Steve (goes by Eve), witch!Steve, demon!Eddie, medieval fantasy, some arson and murder boyfriend vibes, magical srs, possible continuation, im sorry for all the lore | Ao3 more spooktober: "would you please stop trying to scare them?"

Eddie hated his job. Not only the human realm was much colder than Hell, but also, the Deal didn't always work. The success rate has been increasing each time, but it still pissed him off when nothing happened after he's been freezing his balls off for hours. He was starting to think all his fur was just decorative. 

When he had arrived at Heimdall's, the guy threw him a skimpy tunic that barely covered his privates. 

"Is this the only one you have? You can see my whole dick and balls in it," Eddie had complained, but beggars can't be choosers and all that. 

He wraps the fabric tighter around himself when the next gust of air moves clouds away from the moon, making the pile of debris in the clearing visible. Time passes and Eddie waits impatiently, tapping his hooves against the ground, and idly picking stray grass blades from his tail. It seems like the pile moves a couple of times, but it's just the wind disturbing it. 

A distant clock tower strikes midnight, and finally, the ash pile moves and keeps on moving, until a hand emerges. Eddie straightens up, his tail twitching in interest. 

The ashes start breathing, the charred remains get knocked down and a coughing fit raises a dark cloud into the air. She'll be spitting soot for hours, but at least she's up now, another success for the statistics. 

He decides to take pity on the poor girl and steps away from the fence he's been perched on, making room for his wings. With two good swats, the dirt is gone, leaving a slightly dirty, very naked woman in the middle of a charred circle. 

He raises his eyebrows. 

"These fucking perverts burnt you naked?"

She finally notices his presence, her red-rimmed eyes blinking rapidly to clear her vision, and stands up on shaky legs, still low on energy after her resurrection, barely maintaining her balance. Suddenly, Eddie doesn't seem to matter anymore, as her hands fly to her chest. 

"What...?" she murmurs to herself.

Eddie tilts his head, watching the human with curiosity. Usually, the arrival of a demon gets a bigger fanfare, he's almost insulted, but he waits patiently. He already did for so long, and now he has something pretty to lay his eyes on for once. Witches usually came with ugly meat sacks, even after their resurrection. 

"Where the fuck is my dick?!"

Ah, yes, that would explain it. The naked thing, too.

"Do you want it back?" Eddie asks because he's a demon with manners. 

"No!" she protests immediately, eyes snapping up to him from observing her crotch. "No," she adds softer. "I like it like that." Her hand reaches down to inspect her new parts, so Eddie takes it upon himself to swat it away with his tail.

"Hey!" 

He tsks, his long tongue slipping out to flick in a warning. 

"Let's not put any more dirt in your holes, okay?" he berates her. Regretfully, he shrugs off the tunic he's been wearing and throws it at the girl. "For your modesty, m'lady." 

She glowers at him but slips it over her head anyway. What was small for the demon, doesn't do much more for a human, especially not one with the curves that she has. She wrinkles her nose. 

"Is there even a point? You can see my whole—"

Eddie slaps her hand preemptively. 

"Hey! I wasn't even touching it!" 

"Your hand was too close."

"No, it wasn't!" 

Eddie rolls his eyes. 

"Let's clean you up and then you can touch it all you want. You have a river in this ditch?" he asks, nose twitching in the air. He turns at the same time the witch points her hand. 

"To the left of the village." 

Eddie's eyes stray to the cluster of houses she seems determined not to look at.

"Do you have anyone left there?" he asks curiously.

"Not anymore," she scoffs, taking off towards the river. 

Eddie has to follow her, he can't risk losing a witch, but an urge flares inside of him that he has to let loose. He claps his hands together and starts rubbing, sparks flying until a fire forms in his palm. He bounces it from one hand to another and nuzzles it with his finger, always happy to work with the little guys. When he feels the witch is watching him, he refocuses and whispers to it:

"Go, little one. Do your worst."

The flame flies off his palm, aided by a push from Eddie's phantom wings. 

She doesn't ask, only eyes him curiously, but he pushes gently on her back to prompt her into walking along his side. 

"It's gonna take a while," he says without any other explanation. 

The walk isn't long, and soon she's handing over the tunic and dipping into the lazily flowing water, dark like ink but glittering with the reflection of stars above. The night sky is probably the only thing Eddie misses in the Underworld. 

He sits on the plush grass, observing as the witch dunks under the surface and rubs her skin until it turns pink. It still contrasts with the water like it's made of the finest porcelain. 

"I guess you're clean enough to explore now," he says as her movements slow down like she's already contemplating it. She must be, he can taste her curiosity from his spot on the river bank.

"You're gonna sit there and watch?" she glowers at him.

"Of course," he answers matter-of-factly. "I'm a demon."

She huffs, but this time it sounds more amused. Her hand travels down her body.

"What's your name, witch?" Eddie asks, resting his chin on his hand. 

"Stev—" she hesitates. 

"Eve?" he picks up curiously. That would be hilarious. 

She kind of nods, kind of shakes her head. 

"I was Steven, then I went by Stevonne, but..."

"That's okay, take your time," Eddie reassures her. "This is your Rebirth, you can pick any name you like."

She hums, and he can see her hand making slow, circling movements under the water. 

"I like Eve," she admits.

"Yeah?" Eddie perks up with a smile. "You can call me Eddie. It's nice to make your acquaintance, Eve."

She smiles and opens her mouth to say something, but her attention is pulled somewhere above Eddie's shoulder. The water starts glowing orange. 

"Looks like the little guy is having fun," he hums, not looking around. The glow of fire looks better on Eve's skin anyway. 

The river carries distant cries for help, a reminder that it's not just a big, pretty bonfire. 

"Don't worry, he'll get them all," he says.

"I'm not worried," she assures quickly. 

Eve's fixated on the fire consuming her village, her eyes full of awe and the reflection of flames. She's glowing in the now orange water and she looks gorgeous reflecting Eddie's carnage like that. She'll look breathtaking among hellfire. 

"Maybe we could spare some," he wonders out loud with a lazy smile. She looks back at him. "So we can hunt them down later. The way they hunt my new favorite witch."

She smiles, mean and thrilled. He'll have to fight fang and claw to keep her.

"Maybe we could." 

They look at each other for a long while, until his eyes dip. 

"You done?" Eddie looks pointedly at her stilled hand. She sighs with frustration. 

"It's way different from this angle," she complains. 

Eddie laughs out loud, the sound echoed by the collapsing church that used to tower over the townsfolk. 

"Need a hand?" he offers, rolling his eyes when she eyes his claws with distrust. He flicks out his tongue instead. "Need a tongue?" 

Eve's totally on board for that, clambering out of the water, her hazelnut hair dripping over her curves. The wet shine on her skin reflects the dancing flames and Eddie would be in love if he knew how to.

"Weren't you appalled that I was watching you just seconds ago?" he laughs at her, a little bit mean, but he already knows she can take it. 

"Turns out I like that," she shrugs without shame, making Eddie's smile grow. The sight of his sharp teeth doesn't deter her either. In an instant, he has a lap full of a human, or at least as much of one there was left in Eve. He has her tits right in his face and he wouldn't be a demon if he didn't give them a taste, licking the river water off her skin. She sighs, fingers tangling in his unruly mane of hair, seeking purchase in his horns. He groans when she grabs them, and wraps his arms around her, pressing into her skin so he can flip them around, and lay her down in the bed of grass. 

Her yelp turns into a delighted laugh and Eddie trembles with the sound. They don't make witches like that anymore. Free and open to the joys of life, ready to frolic and mingle with the things Unknown. Christianity made it so hard for demons and fae to get laid. 

He presses hot kisses down her torso, spends extra time sucking around her navel, then nibbling around her mound, hiking her thighs higher and higher, nosing at the crease there, inhaling her scent, until he gets to his destination. It takes two, three expert licks for Eve to lock her legs around him and scream into the night. 

Eddie gently laps up around her hole, her juices too precious to let fall on the grass below. Her breath hitches and she trembles but doesn't move away. 

"Do you want more?" he asks, black eyes searching for an answer. 

Her eyes are still full of fire.

"Yes."

So he gives her one more, then three, until he loses count and his tongue is numb and Eve's but a puddle of human-shaped limbs underneath him. When he laps at her entrance, drunk himself on her smell and taste, she spreads her legs invitingly, eyes blown and impossibly wide, sparkling with flames. 

They stare into each other's dark eyes as he slithers his tongue inside. He rubs against her walls, searching for her face for a reaction, but she's too out of it for anything more than an involuntary twitch of muscles. However, when he moves away, she seems disappointed. He crawls up her body to properly look at her face, but before he can say anything, she lurches forward.

Kissing is not something he's used to in such circumstances, but he indulges anyway, letting her tongue inspect the sharp points of his teeth, and maneuver his hand on her breast. He squeezes, laps, and sucks, letting himself get lost in this new dance. 

"You know," he says when she breaks away to restore oxygen. "I don't do that outside of sealing a deal," he admits.

Eve blinks at him owlishly. 

"You don't kiss just for fun? Aren't you a demon?"

Eddie barks out a laugh. 

"I guess kissing is too tame for our tastes." 

"What's your taste?" she asks, curiosity radiating off of her in hot waves. 

He hums, caressing her side.

"Insane witches, apparently."

"What do you do with them?" she presses on, her leg moving dangerously high up his body, the coarse hair of his thighs not enough to deter her.

"Well, personally..." Eddie likes to play with his food, a habit he couldn't shake since his childhood, so he rolls away from Eve to lie on his side instead. To placate her, he starts playing with the hair that grow low on her belly. "I collect the resurrected witches and show them around. You'll get a tour of Hell and any other realms you wish to see, and then I'll help you settle wherever you feel like."

With every word, the pout on her face only grows. 

"You're not keeping me?" she asks, playing up the whine in her voice, but he knows there are genuine feelings behind it. 

"Witches aren't meant to be tied down," he explains apologetically. "They're free spirits abusing the laws of reality." He reaches for her hand to press a kiss against her fingers. "It's a power best wielded in solitude."

She pries her hand away and sits up.

"Why would I want the power if I can't share it? Don't witches have like... familiars? Or something?"

Eddie frowns.

"A witch of your power doesn't need one. They're meant to amplify and aid spells, and you're pretty much on the same level as a common demon."

"Are you a common demon?"

"Yes," he nods. 

"So we can't make a deal?" she presses on. 

His frown deepens. 

"Why would you want a deal with someone equal in power? Deals are made between a master and a servant."

"But is it not possible? Can't I have an equal by my side? A partner in crime?"

Maybe he should backtrack on her being his favorite. She's asking too many questions, ones he's not used to from a freshly reborn witch. He sighs. 

"Technically you can, but it's an exclusive deal. You're tied for eternity, you belong to each other. It's not a common practice," he says, playing off what he's been told and overheard. "Master-servant contracts have an expiration date and are easier to break. I'm not sure a deal like that could even be broken."

Eve wraps her hands around her knees, processing the information. 

"So I could tie a demon, or an equally powerful being, to myself for all eternity?" 

Somehow, Eddie doesn't like the idea of Eve making a deal like that with a random demon. He nods, though.

"Yes."

"Let's say I'd want to do that with you, right now. How would that look?" she asks curiously. 

He thinks about it, imagines it, and it pains him deep into his core. 

"A simple deal is sealed with a kiss or a blood pact. A deal between equals requires an intercourse."

"Huh."

The idea doesn't seem appalling to her, which doesn't surprise him at this point. He can feel her eyes sliding down his body.

"You're not going to find my dick like that," he says with amusement. 

She huffs but doesn't budge, searching his gaze instead. 

"Wouldn't you want to make me yours? And you mine?"

Eddie considers it. 

"I never thought about it before," he admits. "Is that something you'd want?"

She lays back on the grass with a sigh. 

"I'm just tired of being alone. Of nobody staying. You're the nicest person I've met in years, and you're not even human." He laughs at that, and she turns towards him with a smile. "You burnt a village for me." She frowns. "Unless you do that for all the witches."

Eddie quickly shakes his head. Too quickly.

"Only the most mistreated ones," he admits. 

"Is it a pity thing, then?"

"No," he protests again. "I wanted to do something nice for you."

Eve smiles. 

"Thank you."

He smiles back, and when he leans down, she meets him for a lazy kiss. 

"Would you make me yours?" she asks when they part and the offer sounds alarmingly tempting. 

"You should meet other demons before making a commitment like that," he says, and she rolls her eyes. Then, his ears twitch as he finds the perfect distraction for them both. 

"You ready to hunt?" he smiles down at her, wide and dangerous. "Someone escaped the fire."

ko-fi

[idyllic-ghost]

Hi Bee! I've been thinking about Jeonghan too much recently- and then I read your Minghao getting sick with reader fic and I just... Tell me Jeonghan wouldn't be wo whiny while being sick😭 Could you write something about Jeonghan being sick and making a big fuzz about reader needing to take care of him?

Can't wait for the Mingyu fic!💜

title: sick-day soup pairing: jeonghan x reader genre: fluff warnings: discussions of sickness (cold), mentions of food wordcount: 1.7k taglist:@enhacolor, @shuabby1994, @junhui-recs, @dkakapizzaboy, @just-here-to-read-01, @loviehan, @userjunhuii, @novalpha, @bubblymoon, @aaniag

a/n: this was so nice to write!!

join my taglist

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send a request in my inbox!

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

The buzzing of your phone on your nightstand woke you up. It was pitch dark except for the blue light from the device - lighting up a small space around it. With an annoyed sigh, you picked it up and looked at the caller ID. Hannie. A name that you so lovingly called out every time you got to see him. A name that you now wanted to curse. You had barely heard from him all day and had the gall to call you at two in the morning. Hesitating for just a second, you eventually picked up - hoping for his sake that it was just a butt dial.

"What?" you croaked.

"Baby..." Jeonghan whined, his voice was hoarse. "I know it's late, I'm sorry... but can you come over?"

"I'm not going to come over at two in the morning to have sex with you." You groaned and put your arm over your eyes as if you could shield yourself from the rest of the world that way.

"Y/N, I'm sick." He coughed to emphasize his words. "I need your help."

"My help? How?"

"Soup..."

You guffawed, sitting up in your bed. Even when he annoyed you, Jeonghan could still make you smile. It somehow made you even more annoyed.

"You want me to make you soup?"

"I have the ingredients, just not the energy." He cleared his throat. "I know I've barely talked to you all day, and I'm sorry... I woke up with this awful cold, I've barely been out of bed all day."

You couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Putting your head in your hand that wasn't holding your phone to your ear, you sighed. Were you about to give in to him once again? Yes.

"I'll be over in a few minutes..."

Unlocking the door with the key Jeonghan had given you some time ago, you walked into the dark apartment. The only light was coming from the kitchen, where a cloaked figure was sitting on one of the chairs by the small dining table. When you closed the door, the sound of the click made the figure turn towards you. Under the dark blanket, Jeonghan's face stuck out. Even from the low light from the ceiling lamp, you could see that he looked sick. In the time it had taken you to kick off your shoes and take off your jacket, Jeonghan had approached you. With the blanket still over his arms, he engulfed you in a hug - wrapping you up in the blanket as well.

"Thank you for coming," he mumbled into your ear.

"You owe me," you hummed as you patted his back.

"I know." Jeonghan pulled away from you.

"So, what kind of soup have you been trying to make?" You walked around him to get to his kitchen, Jeonghan staying close behind you.

"Just chicken and veggie soup," he said. "I had all the things for it in my fridge, but-"

"No energy." You nodded.

Jeonghan had pulled out a few things from his fridge; vegetables, chicken, and broth. You pulled up your sleeves and went over to the sink to wash your hands. While you were turning the nozzles on, Jeonghan came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your mid-section.

"Thank you, baby." He nuzzled his head into the crook of your neck.

"Just go rest, Hannie," you muttered. "I'll bring you a bowl when it's ready."

Despite your command, Jeonghan stayed. You didn't tell him to leave, he had made his choice, but as you kept working you found that you didn't mind. Sometimes he stood in a corner, giving you space to cook the chicken and chop the vegetables. However, when you were simply stirring the soup he came up to you. Just like before, he wrapped his arms around your mid-section and buried his head in the crook of your neck.

"Why didn't you tell me you were sick?" you asked.

"I didn't want to bother you," he murmured.

"Asking for help isn't a bother," you said, "unless it's two in the morning, then it's a little different."

"... I'm sorry."

You turned your head over your shoulder, looking at your sick boyfriend with a frown. Usually, he'd joke with you - competing over who could be more sarcastic - but now he was apologetic. He must have been more sick than you thought.

"Hannie, I'm joking," you deadpanned.

"Oh..." He cleared his throat. "You can't joke with me like that when I'm sick. My brain isn't working well."

You scoffed at his whining, going back to stirring the soup until the noodles had softened. Getting loose from his grip, you walked over to his cabinets and got out two bowls. Jeonghan went over to sit by the dining table, and you followed him to put the bowls there. You went back and forth between the table and the cabinets, setting everything up to have a nice meal. Once everything was done, you brought over the pot. Jeonghan clapped his hands slowly under his blanket, his eyes fixated on the soup.

"You really wanted soup, huh?" You picked up his bowl and poured some soup into it with a ladle.

"I've been surviving on whatever leftovers I had in the fridge, and a few ice creams," he explained. "And that's only when I felt like actually getting out of bed."

"Jeonghan..." You sighed. "You really should have called me. I would've helped."

He played around with the spoon in his bowl before bringing the hot soup up to his lips. Hissing at the burn against his lips, he quickly put the spoon down.

"Blow on it first," you warned.

Jeonghan pouted, picking up the spoon again and holding it with the handle towards you - silently asking you to take it. With a sigh, you sat down. You couldn't resist his pout. After pulling the chair closer to him, you take the spoon from his hand and put the spoon in the soup. Sinking the spoon under the surface of the liquid, you watched as it quickly filled up the small surface. You brought the spoon to your lips and blew on it slowly.

"Say 'ahh'," you told him.

He did as you said, opening his mouth until you had put the spoon in. An approving hum came from behind his closed lips as he closed his eyes. You put down his spoon again. When you tried to fill up your own bowl, Jeonghan tapped your shoulder.

"What?" you asked.

He pointed at his open mouth again, and you rolled your eyes... yet still picked up his spoon for a second time. This went on for some time. You eventually got soup in your own bowl and went in between feeding him and feeding yourself.

After cleaning up, and leaving the dishes in the sink for you to take care of in the morning, the two of you went into the bathroom. In silence, you brushed your teeth. Jeonghan had gotten you another toothbrush to keep at his place. He had gotten it without you asking - surprising you with it when you used the lack of a toothbrush to end your stay. He always had something up his sleeve, which you'd usually call annoying but in truth you liked that about him. It was exciting to never know what he might pull. Seeing him like this, dull with big bags under his eyes, was heart-wrenching.

The blanket was still wrapped around him. Although, now it had fallen on his shoulder and you could see the mess of his hair. With his hair getting longer, it needed proper taking care of. Opening one of the cabinets, you quickly found his hairbrush. You beckoned him over, making him crouch down a little. Jeonghan let out a giggle as you began brushing his hair - starting at the ends and working your way up to the crown of his head. It wasn't a difficult task, seeing as Jeonghan kept still. While brushing his hair, you noticed how cold he was despite the sweat on his neck.

"You're really sick, aren't you?" you muttered. "... do you want me to draw you a bath?"

"I could really get used to your pampering..."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

While Jeonghan was in his bath, you went into the bedroom to change his sheets. From time to time, Jeonghan would whine and you'd come into the bathroom to help him with something; helping him wash his back, bringing him a glass of water, and anything else that he needed. Eventually, you brought him in a change of clothes and brought him new towels to dry off with. As soon as he was out of the bathroom, you got him into the newly made bed. You pulled the covers over him and sat down next to him, putting your hand on his forehead.

"Still warm," you mumbled and tried to remove your hand, but Jeonghan started whining.

"It's nice," he murmured. "Your hand is cold."

"I could get you something to put on your forehead if-"

"No, this is good," he assured you.

"Hannie." You sighed. "I have to leave sometime."

Jeonghan looked up at you with eyes that could kill. That you would even dare suggest that you'd leave him in this condition! The gall!

"You need rest. I'm just going to sleep on your couch, I'll be with you in the morning," you explained, but he still didn't look happy.

"Sleep here." He patted on the spot next to him.

"I can't-"

"What if I need your help in the middle of the night?"

"You won't-"

"What if I have a fever-induced nightmare?"

"Jeonghan-"

"Just stay."

"... what if I get sick?" you questioned. "We can't both be sick."

"I'll be better by then. Then I can take care of you," he said matter-of-fact.

With a big sigh, you walked around the bed and got in next to him. He snuggled up against you, putting his head on your chest and wrapping his arms around your waist. The smell of his shampoo caused all of your muscles to relax.

"Thank you for coming over." Jeonghan yawned. "And for making me soup."

You hummed in response, as you began playing with his hair. The two of you stayed like that until you could hear Jeonghan's soft snores. After that, you could comfortably fall asleep.

The next morning you woke up with a sore throat and unwavering defiance towards doing the dishes. However, seeing as Jeonghan had started feeling a little better, the two of you got through it together... and then, just as you had expected, it was time for him to play nurse.

[shogunish]

𝗶 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿.

pairing. gojo satoru x f! reader

genre. heavy angst, heartbreak

summary. satoru realized something. he wasn't only losing his life. he was losing you, too.

warnings. chapter 236 spoilers, major character death, blood/violence, denial, no comfort

words. 1.3k

note. i can't see anything through my tears

Pristine snowflakes gently fell from the night sky, embracing what was once Shinjuku with a smooth blanket of innocent, pure white. Little puddles, thin branches were all frozen solid while a peaceful silence seemed to linger in the air. It was cut by soft sobs and begs, hot tears and crimson blood staining the pure blanket of snow,

Your knees were buried in the snow, Satoru's head rested on your thighs. Blood spilled from his mouth like water from an overflowing sink, but he still had the energy to smile. Hot tears dripped onto his cooling skin. "Don't cry. You're So much prettier when you smile."

"Don't talk like you're dying! You're gonna make it, you hear?!" You yelled out loud. Fat tears streamed down your cheeks while you were cradling Satoru's face with trembling fingers. Defeated – that was what you were. "You promised..you promised to marry me once this was all over..you can't go.."

With the way you were denying Satoru's looming death, you would end up cursing him and that was something you would never do to the man you loved so much and yet..and yet..

"There's gotta be something..anything at all.." Your voice was nothing but a strained whisper.

That promise was all Satoru could think about. That warm ring on your finger which warmed his gradually cooling skin, the silver that glimmered even underneath the darkest night sky that even the moonlight couldn't penetrate. It was proof of his devotion to you.

Satoru realized something. He wasn't only losing his life. He was losing you, too. He coughed, his voice unusually quiet and vulnerable. "I wish I could live out that promise, tell you how much you mean to me and make lots of babies, too.."

Satoru nuzzled into your trembling hands. His vision was slowly but surely darkening, but he was happy. He could still feel and hear you clear as day. "But you won't ever be alone. I'll be with you..every step of the way, my love."

Satoru's words tore a hole right through your heart that nothing could ever fill. Both of you had already made plans to settle down, build a cozy home and fill it with the family you always wanted without the expectations of Jujutsu Society on his shoulders. A place where no one expected Satoru to be The Strongest. A place where he could be Gojo Satoru.

Gripping Satoru's shirt with your fists, your knuckles turned white. You knew you had to pull yourself together for the last moments you could spend with the man who always stole the blanket in the middle of the night, never failing to kiss you good morning and good night. The man who always brought home some kikufuku for you. The man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with.

"If we're ever reborn as human beings..In a world without curses.." You spoke in hushed tones as you lowered your forehead on Satoru's. "..will you make me your bride again..?"

Usually, Satoru would chuckle at you and call you cheesy for saying such sappy words, but not this time. Not when he was bleeding out in your loving embrace, feeling so, so safe and so protected. Those words..they comforted him, too. "I'd do it in another lifetime, in every life. You're the one I want to grow old with..be happy with.."

A single snowflake got caught in your hair and oh, how badly Satoru wanted to brush it away. He tried. Lord knows he tried, but he couldn't even lift his arm anymore. How he yearned to run his fingers through your hair and feel your soft lips on his one last time..

"You're the love of my life. It's always gonna be you." He felt at peace with you. The most content he'd felt in a very long time. Even though he was more dead than alive, Satoru looked so..peaceful.

You were gentle when you pushed Satoru's messy bangs away from his face – you weren't even sure if he could still feel your touch with the way the light in those sky-colored irises was fading.

"Then this shall be our Binding Vow. I, too, will meet you in every and any lifetime. We'll grow old together, make a family and be happy together."

Silent tears still ran down your cheeks as you pressed your lips to Satoru's bloodied, cold ones as if to seal the Binding Vow you had just made.

"Close your eyes, Toru. It's..it's okay to rest now." You whispered, knowing how hard it had to be for him to keep his eyes open and so, you gently slid his eyelids shut with the delicate tips of your fingers. "I'm right here.."

Satoru couldn't be happier. He got to kiss you, he was surrounded by the woman he loved in his final moments and he got to hear you call him "Toru" one last time.

Taking a slow steady breath, Satoru focused all of his attention on you. Your voice, your touch and your breathing. He'd miss the way your hair was in his face when he spooned you from behind. He'd miss the way you'd comb your fingers through his hair as he fell asleep on your chest and he'd miss that beautifully radiant smile of yours that you only ever showed him.

You heard a whisper, one that was meant for you only. "I'll miss you, my love."

Silence filled the space around you. Satoru had taken his last breath and his heart ceased to beat. Satoru, the strongest sorcerer, was dead.

"I'll miss you too, Toru.."

You two were torn apart with nothing to do about it and you finally allowed yourself to shatter into countless little pieces while the sun was finally rising, ringing in a new day which was adorned by a clear blue sky. A blue that only his eyes could ever hold.

Tears and snot streamed down your face as you bent over Satoru's body, your face buried in his chest like you could breathe life back into him. You sobbed and wailed painfully, holding his cold body incredibly tight. Cries and begs and pieces of yourself cut through the tranquil day.

It was unfair.

It was unfair how wedding plans suddenly turned into a funeral.

bonus;

Several hours had passed and cries of agony had turned into deafening silence. Your ear was still pressed to Satoru's chest like you were expecting a heartbeat to return, but it was over. This wasn't just a nightmare. This was cruel reality. Eyes that once sparkled for the love you had for Satoru were now dull and lost their former shimmer. Motionless, you were still bent over his body, protecting and shielding it from the curse called reality.

"[Name].." It was Shoko who stood by your side along with the medical team. Judging by her swollen eyes and sore nose, she had been crying not too long ago, as well. "You need to let him go. Satoru..he wouldn't have wanted you to be like that."

No reaction. If Shoko didn't know any better, she would've believed you had died as well and maybe..maybe a part of you actually did. The doctor frowned. She knew how much you loved Satoru, how many plans the two of you had and that all of your future plans were tied to him, but..she also knew that the longer you'd remain in the snow with a dead body, the more your health would be endangered.

"Come. It's time to go home, [Name]." Shoko gently pried you away from Satoru's dead body and although you didn't resist physically, you immediately raised your voice and started crying the moment you saw the medical team picking up Satoru's body.

"Don't! Anything but that!" You yelled, vision blurry with tears. You reached out your hand to the body that belonged to the man you had given your heart and soul to.

"Don't take him away from me!"

taglist; @torusmochi (i'm so sorry)

[hymnserendipity]

Shibuya Nanami

Spoiler (anime only) SPOILER

S-P-O-I-L-E-R

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Mention of death, mention of Blood, no gender mentioned, mention of pain

The Shibuya incident recently ended, and you and Nanami are lying on the dirty subway floor, bleeding from the mahito attack that you narrowly avoided while saving your husband. You had told yourself that you would stop being sorcerers but you couldn't help but help that day. Your cursed energy was the last hope you had of saving your love.

Nanami, using his last strength, turned his head towards you.

"‘m…" he coughed out some blood

"I'm sorry…" You reach his hand and take it, interwining your fingers.

‘No...my love. I'm sorry. All i wanted was..... pro....pro...protect you and...’ he tried lifting his free hand to touch your cheek but it was too much, and he looked away from you, a few stray tears falling down his face, same as you.

‘Don’t cry for me… please.’ He let out a shaky breath as breathing and talking had become harder for him. "I will always love you, but you will have to move on." You mumbled as he looked over to you in disbelief because he understood. Nanami just stared at you. his eyes full of surprise and shock, hoping you weren't meaning what he understood.

"No. No, you won't." he spoke to you through heavy breathing, holding your hand tighter.

Your cursed energy wasn't used so much to fight as to heal, taking away part of your lifeblood, and due to the wounds sustained by Nanami it was clear that you would use it all, to end up completely merging with his body to regenerate it. You, coughing, touch his chest, the chest you kissed so many times, and your skin start to melt on his wounds.

Nanami was too weak to move, and his eyes widen when he sees your hand start to melt on his chest.

‘No… no you cant… you’ll die…!’ he tried to sit up but fell back down due to the amount of pain he was in.

"It's okay...." You arm is disappeared already, as he just looked at you… in shock that you’d actually do something like this for him.

‘N-no…’ he started shaking his head, tears building up in his eyes.

"Promise me one thing, my love." he let out a shaky breath as he looked into your eyes

‘Anything…’

"Find someone who will make you laugh." You cover his body in tears as you slowly continuing melting on him.

"Stop! I beg you. I can't do it without you, Y/N!" he could feel himself becoming healed by your sacrifice. He kept shaking his head. "I will live inside you, i'll always be with you." You mumbled on his lips, before kissing him deeply. He just looked at you for a moment. he was so overwhelmed in that moment.

‘No… i can’t lose you… please…’

"Shhh don't cry... Don't cry..."

‘H-how can i not…? y-you’re about to die for me…’ Nanami close his eyes for a second, and then you disappeared. He felt the moment you completely melted, his body was healed, but he wanted you back. He wanted you back, even if it was just to hold you for a second

‘No… please… i need you…" he reached out to where you once were, but he only felt his hand going through the air. He just laid there, his heart completely shattered into a million pieces. in that moment, he felt completely hollow

"No… why…? why did you do this…? i-i need you……’ He put his hands to his ears as he began to cry, his sobs became louder and harder, his body starting to shake

‘PLEASE… I NEED YOU…’Nanami's heart was completely shattered, he let his emotions consume him, and his crying turned even louder.

‘PLEASE JUST COME BACK…’ He shout. But you were gone.

A week passed, or maybe a month, he couldnt tell. He spent his days using your body cream, sleeping on your pillow, eating your snacks, he has basically been a empty shell since your sacrifice, he just sits around in your room, staring off into space. However one thing he did notice, was his scent has changed into yours. Nanami didn’t know how or why it changed but he would sometimes take in a deep breath, taking in that new scent.

[misshoneyimhome]

Don’t know if you’re taking requests or ideas but I had a Willy one I can’t get out of my head🫠

You work for the Leafs as their media manager and you and Willy have made a really great friendship (with feelings definitely there, but boundaries set due to not wanting to jeopardize your job) and you are always hanging at his place but on a roadie he starts to think you and Woll are getting close and he distances himself to give you space (as passive Swedish boys do) because you’re closer in age and he doesn’t want you to know he’s jealous. When you get back to Toronto you do your usual thing going to his place to debrief the trip and he tries to ask you questions about the friendship with Joe while escaping to the shower to get more space and you realize what’s up and tell him, “you can have anything you want from me, all you have to do is ask…” and follow him into the bedroom..

-Darling I love your way of thinking! I have no idea if this is anywhere near what you thought of (and if you wanted the smutty part as well...), but it’s what came to my mind ❤️ If not, please let me know 😉 Hell, I just love jealous!Willy anytime… keep’em coming ❤️

・✶ ｡ﾟ

“Want you to be mine…”

**

"Alright, everyone! That's a wrap," your smile beamed as you halted the recording. "Thank you so much for your time," you expressed with excitement, grateful that some players had agreed to join in for a TikTok session for your social media.

And as Auston and Mitch headed back to practice, Willy, in his usual fashion, couldn't resist throwing a cheeky remark your way.

"How did I do?" he asked, a satisfied smirk on his handsome Swedish face.

"Well, let's just say it's a good thing you stuck with hockey instead of pursuing a career in acting," you playfully teased your friend, intentionally challenging that confident smile of his.

"Ouch, right in the feels, y/n/n," Willy exaggerated, placing a hand over his chest as he came a little closer.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at his playful antics, one of the many things you appreciated about him. And your banter, filled with playful comebacks, was among the many things he enjoyed about you.

"Just be glad you've got a handsome face and talent for this sport, baby," you offered a cheeky wink. And suddenly, you both realised the proximity between you.

However, it wasn't entirely unusual for the two of you. Over the past year or two, a strong friendship had developed, but it had always remained just that – a friendship. Your professional role as the team's media manager demanded a certain distance from the players, so the banter had always been kept at a friendly level.

Yet, you couldn't help but smile every time he did, and laughter echoed through the halls whenever he was around.

However, the fleeting moment was quickly interrupted by your co-worker’s coughing, prompting both of you to take a subtle step back. And though still wearing smiles, Willy jokingly bowed and left the room to resume his training.

Facing your co-worker, you were met with raised eyebrows and a rather judgmental expression.

"Oh, unclench," you smirked. "We're just good friends."

Your naturally flirtatious demeanour had often led your co-workers to believe you were flirting with every player. However, it was simply your way of lightening the mood and bringing some positive energy to the workplace.

"Mmm hmm," was the simple response before you turned your attention back to work, looking up to see the next player entering.

"Hey, where do you want me?" Joseph Woll spoke in his deep, charming voice, happily offering his assistance as well.

"Well, that depends if you mean in here or somewhere else," you said clearly as joke. But despite Joe’s chuckle, your co-worker’s face showed nothing but lack of amusement. And so, you cleared your throat, and you put on your professional face once more.

**

"Honestly, I don't think she likes me very much," you spoke from your perch on the kitchen counter, casually observing as Willy unpacked the take-out.

It was after training, and you were winding down after a work-horse day, so dinner at his place had become somewhat of a routine - a sanctuary where you could be friends without anyone raising eyebrows about your relationship and the professional distance you were meant to maintain.

"Well, maybe she's just jealous," William offered a response with a smile, busying himself by collecting plates from the cupboard. "You know, you get along with everyone on the team, and she doesn't. So maybe she's just a little jealous."

"Perhaps. I guess I can just tone it down a bit," you sighed, rolling your eyes a bit as you hopped off the counter and joined him in setting the coffee table for tonight's dinner.

"Oh no, all the guys love your energy! She just needs to calm down, and maybe get laid or something."

"Don't we all," you cheekily responded, almost reflexively, once again speaking before you thought. The room fell into a brief moment of silence, filled only by William's chuckle and the unspoken understanding shared between close friends.

"It's these kinds of comments that get me into trouble, isn't it?" you remarked.

"Yeah, probably," Willy agreed.

***

And just a few days later, the team hit the road for a about a week with three away games. 

You were all gathered on a flight out, and while chatting casually with the guys, Willy's eyes seemed to follow you, like a watchful golden retriever guarding its favourite toy.

Everything seemed to be as normal until after the first game when he noticed something different. You and Woll had a lengthy chat following the game, which appeared to extend beyond work and Tik-Tok videos. And then he noticed you again on the following day, on the way to the next city, where you and Woll would talk even more. The topic remained unknown to him, but your infectious laughter echoed throughout.

And while, standing in the hallway after all the media work following the second game, Willy overheard fragments of your conversation with the goalie.

"Well, Joe, you know what they say: if you want to date a player, might as well date a goalie - that’s a keeper."

Woll couldn't contain his amusement of your playful remark, and to William, it felt like the two of you had come to share a rather unique connection. Even discussing dating.

In a way, it all made sense. Woll was a few years younger than Willy, and you were around his age. So, it wasn't too surprising that you might have a mutual interest to build a friendship.

But for the first time, William felt a pang of uncertainty. For the past couple of years, you hadn't been seeing anyone else, given your work demanded all your time and energy. Which to Willy's benefit meant, that you spent most of your time either at the arena, on the road with the team, or at his place. But now, all of that could change.

So, like any mid-twenties guy facing uncertainty, he decided to give you space.

In fact, he didn't talk to you for the rest of the night. Nor did he engage in conversation the following day, or the day after besides the content you needed for the social media account. And whenever you tried to strike up a dialogue with him, he responded only in short answers.

In a way, you found yourself slightly baffled.

Never before had William acted so strangely around you. However, attributing it to the loss in the final game, you decided to shake it off and return with enthusiasm, flashing a vibrant smile as you took a seat next to him on the plane, as you were on your way back to Toronto. 

"So, dinner at your place?" you asked, lowering your tone to keep the conversation private.

And William, ever the chill and calm personality, simply nodded. After all, you were still good friends, and he had no right to be jealous over your friendly bonding with the young goalie.

****

After everyone had said their farewells, and as they all went their separate ways, you and William discreetly made your way to his car, followed by an unusually silent car ride. Eventually, you picked up some dinner from Sugo's to take back to his place.

Once settled on the sofa, recapturing all the highs and lows from the road trip, William's thoughts took a different turn.

He had done his best to keep things as casual as possible, offering you space to avoid any appearance of intervening in your newfound friendship or showing even a hint of potential jealousy.

But the lingering thoughts urged him to be a bit nosy and ask you about Woll.

"So, you and Joe, huh?"

"What do you mean, me and Joe?" You chuckled lightly.

"It's just... You seem to be rather close lately..."

"Hmm, I guess. He's a sweet guy, I mean, he just seems nice, and we have good talks."

William simply nodded.

"Willy, why the sudden interest in Joe's and my friendship?"

"Hm, I don't know," he shrugged. "I just want to know, you know, what you're up to – and if you're having fun..."

"You want to know if I'm having fun? With Woll?" You raised an eyebrow. 

"No, that's not what I mean!"

"Then what do you mean? You think we're dating – is that it?"

"No, I just want to know if he's being good to you..."

"Well, of course he's good to me... But why do you care that much?"

“It’s just... you don’t understand.”

“Then help me understand!”

“I can’t…”

“Honestly, Willy! Juts talk to me…”

"I want… I want you to… - never mind… I’m gonna go and take a shower… you can just… relax while waiting,” he said, getting up from the couch and leaving you alone with your bewildered thoughts.

‘Why was he acting like that?’

And as you cleared the table and took care of the trash in the kitchen, suddenly the puzzle pieces started falling into place. William acting weird, his sudden distancing, and his questions about you and Woll.

'Oh...'

So with soft steps, you made your way towards the bedroom where Willy had just undressed, only the towel covering around his waist, leaving nothing to the imagination.

“Willy,” you spoke, prompting him to look at you, as you took steps forward, slowly coming close to his face. “You can have anything you want from me; all you have to do is ask…”

And at first, he remained speechless. The wheels were turning in his head, his mouth yearning to speak. However, all he could do was wrap his arms around you, pulling you in closely and closing the gap between your lips.

It marked your first kiss, and it was nothing short of amazing.

Your lips fit perfectly together, hands exploring every piece of skin possible, and it felt as if all the withheld emotions were finally unleashed.

Breaking the kiss, he whispered tenderly, “I want you to be mine…” 

[imawreck]

Monster

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier x Original Character

Summary: The aftermath of the mission is mortifying, and so are the discoveries.

Author’s Note: This one gets tough home-slices, so buckle up.

Warnings: gore, blood, wounds, mentions of scarring, suicidal thoughts, LOTS of angst, depression

Word Count: 4,539

Max-

Everything stung.

I could feel my lungs burning, aching for air, but still I fought against the torrent of water. I desperately clung to the base of the water tower as the town fried, Hydra along with it. I felt the electricity rip at my skin and burn away at me. Still, I held on. I kept my head out of the water for the most part, but the sparks still jumped at my face and nicked my cheeks.

The moment it all eased, I was gasping for air as I sputtered to clear my senses. The pain was agonizing as my skin tried to heal itself only to be burned off again. I searched for land with my palms and swam ahead towards where I knew Bucky would be. Where I hoped he would be. I prayed he had gotten out alive.

I nearly cried when my hands brushed dirt and I was able to haul myself out of the water and away from the pain. I tried to keep my mind calm in the face of everything, taking in one shaky breath at a time as I assessed myself. I could feel the burns receding, but it was slow. I had overworked myself and my energy was depleted. I was lucky if I could make it up the steep incline without passing out.

The water made my hair cling to my neck in clumps and my eyelashes clung together in my line of sight. There was an aching in my shoulder where I knew a bullet had made its home. The wound refused to heal, the rest of my body having taken too much already. I would have to remove it and find somewhere to rest.

I reached for my earpiece, but found nothing. No comms. I wouldn't be able to radio base or Bucky without it. I sighed, taking a moment longer before I began to climb. I took it slowly, each palm full of dirt took another ounce of energy from me. But I would make it, I had to. Bucky was somewhere, I knew it. I had to find him.

When I reached the tree line, I nearly passed out. My vision was clouded in pain and exhaustion, and my body screamed for me to stop as it gave out beneath me. But I couldn't. Not yet. I had to find him.

"Oh my god, Max!" Knees hit the ground next to my head and blue clouded everything I could see. "I thought you were dead." The last word came out of him in a tortured way.

I coughed, trying hard to smile despite the circumstances. "Takes a bit more than that to kill me."

There wasn't any humor in his face, and I tried hard to ignore the way he looked at me. It was different than before. Different than the gentle look I had been accustomed to these past few months. It felt wrong.

His hands hovered over me, "What can I do?"

I pressed a palm into my shoulder, easing a muscle there. "We need to get out of here, but I don't think I'll make it if I walk. I'm not doing so hot right now. Took too much energy and I can't heal properly yet. I know a place near here, a couple of miles up the mountain where no one can find us. We will have to set up a signal to radio base from there but if I'm right, everything we will need will be there."

"Hydra will send more agents to scour the area-"

"Trust me, they won't think were stupid enough to go where we're going." I grimaced as a wave of pain swept from my shoulder down my body. "Can you help me up?"

Bucky slipped his metal arm under my legs and lifted me up. I hissed as he brought me into his chest, fighting against the urge to cry out at the stinging pain in my shoulder. His voice rumbled against my back, "Up the mountain?"

I nodded and the two of us began our trek. I drifted in and out of consciousness as my body fought to regenerate itself with such depleted resources. I would only wake when Bucky needed me to answer a question or point in a direction.

The air had gotten subtly cooler the higher we went. Our suits kept us warm, but the breeze on my neck still sent a shiver down my spine. Bucky's arm felt cooler against my legs even through the material of my uniform too. I glanced around, spotting a few tell tale signs I had made for myself in the past. A set of stacked rocks and a withered carving of a star on a tree a few feet from that. "We're close. Just up ahead is a shelter."

Bucky didn't speak as he continued walking. He hadn't spoken much to me this whole time and I couldn't figure out if it was because of the nearly failed mission or something else entirely. His face was a mask, one he wore regularly around the team but rarely when we were alone.

"I think I can make it in on my own now, but we should scout around to make sure it's clear."

He gave me a nod, lowering my feet to the ground before he released me entirely. I watched him survey the area and check for tracks or any recent visitors who would come looking around. I managed to climb the few stairs and make it to the door. I pressed it open with my palm and let the cool drift of air swing it open. I took in the dust and the lack of furniture, just like I had left it all those years ago. The glass from the lightbulb was still scattered over the nightstand and littering the floor. A pan still sat on the stove and a single wool blanket laid draped over the bare bed save for the flattened pillow at the headboard. There was a chair just a few feet from the door where I let my body drop, drooping against the wood and taking a moment to breathe.

Bucky entered a few minutes later, steely eyed and clenching his jaw. "There weren't any signs of occupancy so we should be good for a while as long as Hydra doesn't come knocking."

"They wont," I assured as I leaned down to unstrap my boots and kick them off. "There are candles in the nightstand and matches in the top drawer. It will be dark in a few hours and we will need the heat."

He nodded, frowning as he went to retrieve the items. I slipped off my suit, easing my sleeve down my arm and tugging the fabric free of my shoulder. Blood coated my undershirt and continued to ooze out of the bullet hole. Not good. "Hey, Bucky?"

His head peaked up from the cabinet a few feet away, "Yeah?"

"I need your help with this."

He paused to put the candles on top of the nightstand before he made his way back over to me. I pushed my shoulder forward for him to see, turning my back to him.

"Why are you still bleeding?" His warm hand laid on my good shoulder, tugging at my shirt to get a better look at it.

"I took a lot of hits, and I'm out of energy. I'm surprised I'm still conscious at this point."

Bucky let out a shaky breath, "What do you need me to do?"

"The bullet is still in there," I started, "So I need you to get it out." I turned to face him. His brows were pinched uneasily and there was worry in his eyes. A torrent of emotions swam behind them. I waved weekly to the floor near the bed, "If you move the bed to the right, there's a pair of loose floorboards."

He left my side and strode over to the left side of the bed and nudged it over, feeling around the floor until the boards shifted. He tugged a knife from his belt and used it to pop the board up, taking the other out with it.

"There should be an artillery box, pull it out and open it." I could hear the clank of metal as he unlatched the top. "Should be right there, the red box." I listened as he ruffled through the scarce items inside to pull out the metal box.

When he returned to my side he held it in his hands, opening it and digging through its contents. "There aren't any pain relievers."

I shook my head, "I know. Just grab a rag from the bathroom."

Bucky stared at me for a moment, as if he wanted to say something before he went away to retrieve it. He walked around me and surveyed what he could before speaking lowly, "You'll have to remove your shirt. I can't see much with all the blood."

My heart dropped and my body tensed, sending a sharp jab of pain through my arm. I was hoping he wouldn't ask that. That maybe he could just go in blindly and yank it out. Of course, Bucky was too kind to be that reckless.

I tried to raise my arms to remove it, but it only sent another wave of agony over me. I looked to the floor, "You'll have to help me."

He did so without a word, taking the hem of my shirt and lifting it over my head slowly. I could hear his sharp intake of breath at the sight of my skin. His eyes burned all the way up to my neck. I knew what it looked like, the valleys between scarred skin and the ugly, gnarled map slashed over my back. There wasn't a patch of unmarked skin over the expanse of my spine and the patches reached around my torso in certain places.  The scars were shimmery and a sickly white color thanks to my healing.

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair as I slipped my bra strap down my shoulder to get it out of the way. "Just get it out, please."

"Right, I'm sorry."

I brushed off his apology with a shake of my head. Silence filled the room as he began setting out the various supplies he would need. The smell of alcohol filtered into my lungs and I invited the sting gratefully, anything to distract me from what was about to happen. A rag was draped over my shoulder and I took it without a word, biting into it and gripping the chair in my good arm.

"Okay, bare with me."

That was the only warning I got before cold metal was plunged into my back.

I clenched my jaw, fighting against the urge to scream. What pathetic sounds that did leave my body were muffled by the cloth between my teeth. I could hear the wood crack under my grip as he began to dig through my flesh and poke at the shard of metal buried under my skin. It was brutal, tormenting. For a moment I was sure I was going to pass out from the pain, but then it was gone and the distinct tinker of metal against a tray echoed through the small shack.

I felt my shoulders sag and labored for air, spitting out the rag. "Thank you."

Bucky just nodded once he was in front of me, offering me a hand. "You should rest."

I couldn't do much more as I nodded and accepted his hand. He tugged me up and guided me a few feet to the bed where I collapsed agains the mattress. I was out within minutes. The last thing I remembered was the sound of the artillery box latch.

______

When I woke, the shack was lit with candles and the smell of spam clung in the air. I was notedly less sore too which was a good sign. My shoulder complained as I eased myself up on it, reaching back to check if it had healed. My fingers grazed a rough patch of skin, and I sighed in relief. It had scabbed, no more hole.

There was a sharp movement in my peripheral vision and then the sound of paper being slapped down. I jumped at the sound, hissing at the ache that followed.

Bucky sat with his back against the wall across the room, one leg sprawled out in front of him while the other was tucked under his arm against his chest. A file sat next to him and another laid spread across the floorboards in front of him all around in a semi circle so all the papers were visible. He looked upset with his brows pinched together and his eyes wide, almost scared.

I felt my eyebrows pull together as concern rose in me, "Bucky-"

"What the hell is this?" Bucky didn't look at me when he spoke, never taking his eyes off the file papers on the floor.

"What's what?" Confusion clouded my mind. "I don't understand."

"Don't play stupid, these were in your box. This one," he picked up the empty Manila folder and tossed it over to my feet. I could read his name in bold black letters that I knew to be decades old, "has my name on it."

I shook my head in confusion as I studied the cover, "They're files I stole from Hydra years ago. I only got a chance to look at them once."

Bucky's voice boomed through the house, "But you knew!" His scoff grated against my ears, "You knew this was here and what was in it. You knew, and yet you didn't care to tell me about it." He pointed at one of the sheets on the floor, "And this one has trigger words on it, but none that I can ever recall hearing. This set is all new and God knows what they do to me. The notebook they wrote about in here was destroyed. No way for anyone to figure out how to use this set, maybe it does something worse than the others." Bucky's face suddenly loosened, like something dawned on him. He finally looked at me, but it was almost worse than when he wasn't. "Do you know what they're for?"

"I..." I did, at least I thought I did, but I hadn't remembered the files.

Truly, I had no idea if the box would even be here any more. I planned long ago to hide them away so when we got out— Bucky and I—I could find someone to help him. The words on those papers are reversal words. A prototype at least, they haven't ever been used or tried. It was a shot in the dark but it was better than nothing.

I opened my mouth to tell him just that, the truth and nothing else. But the longer I looked at his face, the clearer it became that he wouldn't trust a word I would say to him. He had deemed me an enemy the moment he asked me that question. It wouldn't matter if what I told him was the truth, he wouldn't believe me.

So I said nothing.

He took my silence as answer enough, laughing bitterly. It stung me like nothing before. "You know, first I was so sure that you were different. I thought that maybe Hydra didn't mess you up to the point where you were irredeemable like everyone else thought you were. Then you go on that mission with the others and Steve comes back telling me you're some sort of rabid animal. I defended you then, but what I saw today was worse than what he described to me. You literally ripped those men apart. I watched you. You wanted to evacuate and leave Natasha!"

I could feel myself drain at his words and my body cave into itself as he spoke. He was terrified of me, of what I had done to get us out of there. But he kept going.

"I watched you bring down that water tower on a town of innocent people to kill a squadron of Hydra agents. Is that all you care about? Killing?"

I was at a loss, floundering to make sense of the whole situation. "Of course not, Bucky, no! I care about so much more and I-"

"Like me?" He cut in, "Because I'm the asset, right? I'm your mission. Those were your first words to me the moment you stepped out of that Godforsaken place. But that's all I am to you, all I'll ever be, right? I'm so stupid!" He slammed his hand against the wall and the wood splintered upon impact. "Steve was right, you're nothing but a weapon, a loose cannon. You... you're a monster worse than me."

Silence. That's all there was between us after those words left his mouth.

I felt empty and dark, like the lights had gone out and there was that pit in my stomach eating me up again just like it did all those years imprisoned.

Bucky just sat their, unmoving, staring at me with those eyes that screamed betrayal. I had never meant for this, for any of it. I hadn't meant for the mission to fail and I never wanted to leave Natasha. I trusted her skills enough to know she would get herself out of there. We had talked about it on the jet. She wasn't supposed to go against my orders and she told me if anything went wrong I should get out of there and not worry about her. I should've known she was going to do something reckless.

Here I was though, paying a price I didn't owe. Taking Hydra's blame onto my own shoulders in the face of someone... Someone I love.

It was too much. Too much pain for me to bare. So I shut it off, shoved it down into the farthest part of myself and did what was beat into me all those years. I could deal with emotions later. Right now, I had to complete a mission and return to base with my team. I stood wearily from the bed, feeling the cold air seep into my bones.

Bucky shifted as I moved past him and opened a cabinet as calmly as I could manage, taking out the receiver inside. I made sure my voice was even as I spoke, "I'll set up the receiver outside and radio base. Rest if you can. I understand you are uncomfortable with my presence so I'll make myself scarce. I will camp outdoors and wait for their arrival." With that, I marched over and snagged my suit off the chair and slipped it on before I opened the door and slammed it behind me.

I felt like a hurricane was tearing away at my insides, like the world had cracked open and was threatening to drag me down with it. How could he say that to me? How could he accuse me of that? He hadn't even given me a chance to explain.

I climbed up the hillside, clawing through the snow. Bucky's words echoed around in my skull and the longer I listened to them the deeper the pit inside me grew. The numbness spread from my stomach to my heart like a poison. It oozed into my blood and clung to my organs, taking all the pain as it grew until I felt nothing at all. Nothing but the biting cold.

I raised the receiver above my head and swung it down, burying it into the top of the hill and hunkering down to attach the radio. It fizzled to life in my hands and I adjusted the antenna until the line became clearer. "Ghost to base, come in."

I waited, hearing the crackle of life. "-Ax! Max thank God." Tony's voice was almost a relief. "It's good to hear from you, kid."

I felt the numbness wane at his words, "Hey, Tony."

"You sound terrible. We should definitely get you home. Natasha came back late this afternoon with the device and said you found a place to lay low." He paused for a moment, "Are you two okay out there?"

I felt relief sweep over me before it drowned in the tar enveloping my insides. "I have sustained minor injuries but I’m recovering quickly. Barnes is fully functional. We need evac as soon as possible, Hydra is still in the area. Coordinates are 48.2775 degrees North, 8.1860 degrees East."

"Whoa there Kiddo, no need to be so formal. I'll have Friday notify a team right away. We will have you two lovebirds out of there in no time."

I flinched at his words but chose to ignore it, the team would find out about everything soon enough. "I'll be on standby until then."

"Copy that."

I sunk back in the snow, feeling it soak into my suit. It didn't matter to me, everything felt cold anyways.

The stars were bright and the moon was absent to allow them to outshine it for the night. I could hardly stand to be in this place with all that has happened. The shack Bucky occupied was once my own, my place of hiding and a residence when I worked for Hydra. I had been normal back then, before any needle had punctured my skin. I had been brave and full of life…naïve. I had thought that place was my home for many years and now it was nothing but an empty room with a fog of horrible memories.

I laid down, letting my hair down to dampen in the snow. Maybe if I just laid here it would all go away. I would wake up and it would all just be a nightmare I had lived through so many times before. I clamped my eyes closed and let the snow fall over my face and stick to my skin. Sleep, just sleep.

But I was never given such an easy blessing, not once in my life. I didn't sleep a wink the entire night.

_____

The jet came in the early morning before the sun had peaked over the horizon. I watched it descend onto the white mountaintop before me as I tugged my stiff limbs from the snow. I hadn't moved an inch since I radioed the tower, letting the snow encapsulate me and consume me. My fingers were blue and stiff, but they were long since numbed. I squeezed them, pumping my fingers into fists over and over again to try and get the blood flow working again.

The hatch of the jet lowered and out came Natasha followed by Steve and Clint. They all were dressed in their uniforms and looked ready to take on the world like always.

I stood up from my spot, dragging my legs out of the snow and dusting off the rest of my suit. My legs carried me towards the jet without me really thinking about it, seeking out the warmth it held. As I brushed passed Steve I spoke lowly, trying hard to keep the disdain out of my voice. "Barnes is in a shack a mile down the mountain. It's the only place for miles so you can't miss it." Steve merely nodded and brushed past me.

Natasha frowned, looking me over. "Did you sleep outside? Your lips are blue and you're freakishly pale."

I nodded, "Don't worry, I'll warm up soon."

"It's 24 degrees out here, Max."

I whirled around, "I said I'm fine." She jumped, tilting her head and leaning back as if I had hit her. I sighed, "I'm sorry, just drop it. Get Barnes and get us out. I want as far away from here as possible."

I didn't wait for her response before I walked away. I marched back to the cabin when I knew Barnes was surely halfway back to the jet, taking a different route to avoid the two Super Soldiers. The door was left open, flurries drifting in and settling  against the floorboards and over the papers left spread over them. Just mine, his own file I imagined was tucked into the waistband of his pants to be kept somewhere safe.

I stooped down and collected them neatly before sliding them back into the Manila folder, tucking it back into the artillery box by the bed. I clamped it shut and hauled it up, carrying it out the door and back up to the jet. I kept my eyes forward and strapped myself into the farthest possible seat in the jet. I didn't speak to anyone the whole flight and once again sleep eluded me. 

When we landed at the tower I was the first one out, marching towards the elevator and nearly slamming into a lab tech before a voice called out. "Lady Max?" I swiveled around to find Thor in the elevator, the doors wide open. He eyed me with a worried gaze, "Is everything alright?"

Maybe it was the way he asked, the lack of accusation or the pure concern for me that made my shoulders slump. There was no fear in his voice like the others so often held even if they didn't mean to. It was just a question of whether or not I was well and if things were okay.

"No, not really." I slipped into the elevator beside him and leaned against the wall. "The mission went sideways and everything went down after that. My body is hardly functioning or healing correctly and I haven't slept in 33 hours."

Thor didn't seem at all phased by my complaints, "That sounds difficult, no wonder you're tired."

"Yeah," I looked up at him to find he was already smiling kindly at me. His shoulder was leaned against the wall as we went upwards. I didn't even remember telling him what floor I was on.

As if reading my mind chuckled, "I figured it was your floor I ran into you on so I just pressed it again."

"Thank you."

"Any time," he shuffled his arms as we came to a stop and the doors opened up. "I hope you get some rest."

I turned around after I left the elevator, taking one last look at him before I smiled. Really smiled at him. "I'll try."

The doors closed and I made for my door, slipping behind it and leaning my back against the cool metal once it was closed. The events of the mission began to replay through my head as if to mock me. Bucky's terror and his words were the worst part.

I had never experienced heartbreak before, not this kind. It was raw and felt like a wound that wouldn't heal. The ache in my shoulder paled in comparison. I could feel the tears begin to gather and cloud my vision as I fought to muffle the cries that threatened to tear out of me. It was pathetic, weak. I was the strongest person in the building, I shouldn't be crying like a child on the floor. But here I was. Hurt, and alone.

Just like I was in the beginning.

Tags<3

@cjand10 / @blackbirdwitch22 / @imdoingathingmom / @calwitch

[ashes-writing-corner]

Hey guys! I've been sick lately so I'm back with a short part for Ghosts that We Knew. Reader gets sick and attempts to make tea. Ghost encourages reader to do it right lol

No warnings, tried to make this one a little funnier, more light hearted.

Taglist: @stargatenovus

Ghosts that We Knew 7- tea...you're doing it wrong...

You loved your little girl. You lived for her, quite literally. She was your world, your reason to keep going. And when the poor girl was sick, you made it your whole life to make sure she got better. 

Even at the cost of your own health. 

Kids were kids, and someone was always gonna wind up going to school sick, spreading it to everyone. But sickness travels, and just as Ellie was getting much better after a bad cold, you were knocked on your ass. Coughing, sore throat, the whole thing, you got it. Thankfully it wasn't as life threatening as it was after you had your transplant. You were paranoid about illness and the like for a year after the surgery. Thankfully you had a strong immune system and took precautions as much as you could. Nowadays you were a lot less paranoid, with the possibility of organ rejection (mostly) eliminated. 

Regardless, you felt like crap now. You had the whole package, and now couldn't safely work on orders, which royally sucked. Ghost was thankful those days were behind him, the one benefit to being dead. The one thing he didn't miss. 

He watched as you entered the kitchen, blanket wrapped around your shoulders and in your most comfortable pajamas. He observed only a moment as you struggled to open a nearby cabinet to grab a mug and he knew exactly what you were about to do. 

And you were about to do it wrong. 

Again. 

You grabbed out a box of fruity tea bags, clearing your throat a bit to try and ease the scratchy feeling in it. You grabbed out a peach bag and set it in the mug. Absent-minded, you filled the cup with water most of the way and, to Ghost's dismay, put it in the microwave. 

Again. 

No, no, no! He was NOT going to stand for this! He understood you were sick but there was no need to ruin tea like that. The microwave stopped suddenly and you looked around. 

"Ghost…I swear to God if that's you" you tried to reset the microwave but a cold blast grabbed your hand, "Dude! Seriously?! Of all things, you're gonna have a stick up your ectoplasmic ass about this?!". 

No response. Then you remembered that he had used a lot of energy to interact with you a short time ago. You sighed and rolled your eyes. 

"Hold on, let me go grab my phone…" you peeled off into the bedroom to go get it so you two could properly communicate. 

Ghost waited for you, keeping close to the accursed microwave. You were making your tea wrong and he needed to make you see the error of your ways. Sick or not, there was no excuse in his eyes. 

"Alright…what's got you in a tizzy now?". 

Tea. Wrong. 

"What?"

Make. 

"Seriously? There's no right or wrong way to make tea! Dude cmon my throat is killing me and the heat would help". 

Kettle. 

"Ghost…I'm not playing this game. Stop disabling my microwave and just let me do this-"

The lights began to flicker, electronics going a bit haywire. Frustrated, you pinched the bridge of your nose. 

"Alright! I'll do it in the damn kettle…fucking Brits I swear…"

Soap. 

Well that was random. It took you by surprise as you turned to your phone. 

"Soap? Dude, it's clean, I promise. Or are you saying I need soap? Eh…not gonna lie a shower might actually do me some good. I'll think about that". 

He still wondered about his old teammates. Did they still think of him? He hadn't seen Johnny in years, about three…maybe four at this point. He wondered how the sergeant had changed. Was he still the fun loving, carefree friend that he somewhat envied? Did he still have a heart for others? Ghost always thought that was a rare thing. He shook his head, no point in dwelling on the past or what could be. You and Ellie were his priority now. And it wasn't like anyone had made him one before everything went to hell…

"I am not about to put milk in this. It comes out clumpy if I do" your voice pulled him back like an alarm. 

Cream.

"I can't add anything but sugar to this. It'll get clumpy and gross. Don't want that" you argued, "if it was a different tea then yeah definitely". 

Kind?

"What kind am I making? Peach. Peach and raspberry are my favorites" you told him. 

Lavender. 

"Lavender tea? Are you kidding? That stuff tastes like soap…" you stuck your tongue out in disgust. 

Smell.

"Eh…I guess the smell is okay. I like the smell of actual Lavender rather than the artificial crap they put out". 

He couldn't argue that. In life he thought the smell of lavender was too strong. It was even worse now as a ghost, with his advanced smell and all. 

You had gotten out a new cup and tea bag and waited with the blanket still wrapped around yourself as the kettle finally went off. You rolled your eyes. 

"Another reason I hate doing that" you moved it to the other side of the stove, "hate loud high pitched noises". 

Nonetheless, you put some sugar in the cup. Ghost counted at least five, a bit much in his opinion, but he wasn't about to judge. He had made your life difficult enough already. 

"Did it your way. Are you happy now?" You asked with a hint of sarcasm. 

Yes. 

"Good, cause I'm never doing that again". 

We'll see…

This totally means he intends to "train" you on making your tea right. This was based on a conversation I had with my sister the other day and she thought it was hysterical. Anyway, being sick sucks and I hope yall are okay.

If you like my stuff please consider following, liking, commenting, and most importantly reblogging. Thanks friends and followers ^.^

-Ash

[bellarkeselection]

Yellowstone ryan

I need a sick reader

She's coughing and snoty nose sore throat

Here you go friend ❤️

Sick Darlin'

Laying in my bed in the bunkhouse I sneezed throwing my head back against the pillows grumbling as the door opened and Ryan came in discarding his brown jacket and hanging his hat on the hook beside my head. "Hey Y/n you don't look too good. What's wrong?" Wrapping the blanket around myself I didn't answer him for a few seconds shivering under the blanket. I have had a sore throat and have been sneezing since late last night so basically got no sleep at all. It's taking all of my energy at the moment to just stay awake right now. "I'm sick Ryan...I...I...feel horrible!" I grabbed my chest starting to cough all crazy so I had to sit up and he rubs my back handing me my drink off the floor. I thought it would get better if I got some rest but I was sorely wrong about that. He gets down on his knees tucking hair behind my ear for me feeling that I didn't have much of a fever but I wasn't feeling too good that was clear.

“What would you want me to do baby. Can I do anything to help?” He asked resting a hand to my cheek. Leaning into his touch I hated feeling sick just as much as everyone does. Ryan especially hates it because he feels like he can’t do much to help me sometimes. Shaking my head I sneezed a few more times about to wipe it away with the sleeve of my shirt but he hands me a tissue so I didn’t do that. Tossing it onto the floor before I mumbled wanting to just fall asleep right now. “Cuddle with me…please cowboy.” He removed his boots quickly climbing behind me wrapping his arms around my waist. Snuggling into the warmth he provided I intertwined my hand with his almost asleep in his embrace until the bunkhouse door opened.

“Ryan Y/n, Rip is angry that you two aren’t working.” Colby came into the room seeing that we were laying in the bed together. He paused just standing there as I groaned rolling over but I started having a coughing fit again so I basically bent my body over the bed and he rubs my back. “Colby get out of her. My girlfriend is freaking sick so just tell Rip that we can’t work!” Colby nodded quickly leaving the room where I rolled back over to face my boyfriend and he wrapped his arms around me once more. He kisses my forehead watching my eyes fall closed and that was the first night I had gotten a full sleep.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[samurai-skittle-squad]

Stupid college adventure drabble for a BoS prompt. I titled the doc "Touma Energy Drink Poisoning".

     They had all gotten pretty worried after not hearing from Touma for a week. He had always been a bit of an overachiever, but taking as many extra credits as he had this semester? Was he out of his mind? Mr. Genius was going to work himself to death, that is…if he hadn't already.

“So what's in the insulated bag?” Ryo asked, as they waited in the elevator up to the floor Touma’s apartment was on.

“Food from my folks and some ingredients if we feel like making something.” Shu answered. “I figured more than likely he's been living on instant food and caffeine.”

“Do you really think he's that bad at taking care of himself?”

“When it comes to nerd shit? 100%.”

Touma lived pretty high up in one of those crowded Tokyo apartment buildings after moving for college. He had always lived in apartments before in Osaka, technically with his dad, but college was different from high school and it had been a little too easy for him to overdo it. The elevator dinged and the doors opened onto a sterile apartment hallway.

“Have you seen one of these little city apartments before Shu?” Ryo laughed. “They’re usually tiny. I don't think there's going to be much of a kitchen.”

Shu gave Ryo a hearty slap on the back. “So long as there's a stovetop, I can make due!” 

“Yeah, uh,” The blue-eyed boy coughed a little, reeling from his strong friend’s playful slap. “Based on my own past experience, sometimes there's about 3 feet of kitchen space.”

“Shit dude, I'm sure there's gotta be more than 3 feet…”

“Here we are. 642!”

Ryo knocked and they waited. No answer. He tried the doorbell, they waited, and still no answer. Shu saw his friend's brow knit with concern, no choice but to try the door. 

“Sorry Touma…” With a heavy sigh, Shu turned the door knob and to his surprise it wasn't locked. The damn door would only open about 5 inches before hitting something on the side though. “...he didn't lock the door AND there's something blocking it. Our genius is kind of a dumbass.”

“I hope he's alright.”

Shu threw his weight against the door, shoving it open with his shoulder and scattering a collection of cardboard and other recycling items on the other side and clearing the way for them to get into their friend's cramped apartment.

“Uh oh.”

“Touma! Are you home?” Ryo called out.

Yet more uncomfortable silence. The lights were out, except for one dim lamp glowing down in the other room. The entryway was crowded with recycling and trash waiting to go out, as well as a scattered collection of shoes. The kitchen area, to Shu’s dismay, was so clean it seemed to never be used except to house a small stack of textbooks. They carefully made their way to the main room, tense with anxiety, until Ryo’s foot caught an empty energy drink can.

All hell broke loose. The can crunched, Ryo yelped, Shu screamed, and Touma, who had fallen asleep at his desk at some point, startled awake, knocking over assorted empty drink cans, noodle cups, and konbini bento boxes.

“Fuck!! Did I fall asleep?! What day is it?” Not seeming to notice them, Touma started clearing his desk and squinting at his computer screen. “...Thursday? Thank god, I still have time.”

“Uh, Touma? Are you okay?” Ryo asked quietly, as if they were in a library.

“Huh?” Their blue haired friend swiveled around in his desk chair and squinted at them. 

Shu handed Ryo the bag of food and stepped around him and into the room, at the same time, Touma reached for the light switch and turned the ceiling lamp on. The drowsy young man screwed his eyes shut, grumbling under his breath about the brightness and a headache. The dark circles of sleep deprivation made his eyes look sunken and despite not being in bed, he had a frankly ludicrous case of bed head.

Touma rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and squinted at them again.

“Great. I'm hallucinating my good friends Shu and Ryo. I guess I've reached that stage of sleep deprivation.” He slumped wearily in his chair.

“Touma? Buddy? We're the real deal.” Shu laughed nervously.

“Like hell you are.” Touma scoffed, reaching out like he was going to put his hand through Shu. Instead, he weakly slapped his friend’s chest. “Oh. Shit. It's worse than I thought. Where's my phone?”

“How much caffeine have you had Touma?” Ryo asked as he started opening the cooler, watching Touma push trash and books around as he searched for his phone. 

“Don't judge me, Dream-Ryo.” 

“Dude! You aren't dreaming! We came check on you!” Shu grabbed his friend's shoulders and shook him. “Even my parents were worried about your radio silence. I even  brought you food they made!” 

Ryo handed Shu a container, and he popped the plastic container of Chinese food open, filling the cramped apartment with the smell of warm, home-made food.

“Oh my God. Shu’s family's food. You are real!”

[talesfromeorzea]

Memories

FFxivWrite 2024 Day 6 Prompt Halcyon

*warning injury and death descriptions below cut*

As the cherry petals drifted down in the warm spring morning Ruru couldn't help but let her mind drift back to when she had been so much younger. It had been another Little Ladies Day when she had been roughly twelve summers.

She had been walking the streets of the Ruby Road exchange when a young Miqo'te kit scarecly seven summers came up to her and bowed low shyly asking, "Miss may I be your Seneshal for today?"

Ruru blinked in surprise and asked, "Why me?"

The little Miqo's face turned bright pink and he squeaked, "Cause…..your really pretty and seem nice and I just wanna be there for a lady today but all the others have seneshals already and…

She gave him a sweet smile and said, "I would welcome the company then my dear Seneshal shall we?" and with that she reached her hand out to him.

He beamed at her then took her hand on his arm and began walking with her during the festivities waiting on any preceved need she might have.

Each year after that he had sought her out and repeated the ritual. It wasn't until many years later she had learned that the Miqo'te's name was U'taln and the reason he was usually alone on Little Ladies Day was because the majority of his sisters and mother had died in a sickness that had swept through the U tribe in the forgotten springs. She had also learned how shy his was and that she was as far as anyone knew his only friend. After learning that she began to spend as much time with him as she could and he slowly grew to be more than a simple friend.

As she walked her mind played through all of those happy times both during the festivals and others. All of the wonder and excitement they had shared when they began as adventurers. The simple times around a campfire or in a tavern discussing where they were off to next. The nights curled together in either their bedrolls or inn rooms. Ruru halted as she walked as her mind unbidden then brought her to the end of those sweet days.

"Theres not that many Ru we have them lets go," he said rushing forward

"Wait Tal, we don't know that for certain….Tal!" she screamed as the first few arrows embeded into his body and then the hidden bandits charged forth intent on ending him.

Then her vision went red as she waded through the group hacking and slashing at everyone who came near. Rivuels of blood streaming down her armor as she slaughtered all of those who were attacking. Once her vision cleared there was a pile of bodies around her and silence that was broken by a gurgling breath. Whirling she dropped her blade and cradled Taln's head in her lap blood staining the corners of his mouth as he wheezed, "Sorry luv….I…thought that we could."

"Hush, I got ye," she said swiftly and began rummaging in her belt pouch searching desperately for a certain soul stone that she didn't use often but knew was there.

"I'm sorry Ru.." he wheezed again and then gave a gurgling cough

Finally her hand closed around it and immediately the aether swirled around her and gone was her sword, shield and armor instead were the red and white robes and a healers cane. The world suddenly around her also seemed to come alive more as her arcane senses heard the elementals all around.

Swiftly she called upon the life giving energies they gave the world and began channeling them into healing magics. But as hers spells hit him she knew, deep down she knew it wasn't enough but she had to try. She couldn't lose him. Tears pouring from her sky blue eyes she burned every bit of mana reserve she had trying to heal him of the wounds each moment knowing it wasn't going to save him. As his gurgling breaths finally stopped she let out a scream of anguish and still poured so much aether into each attempt but it was for naught.

"Ma'dam are you alright? Do you need help?" a kind voice mercifly cut into those painful memories and Ruru shook her head and saw an elderly Hyur looking at her concerned

"Aye, was lost in memories miss pay me no mind. Ye should go and find a Seneshal fer the festivities." she responded doing her best to give a warm smile.

"My dear Seneshal has gone to get us some drinks, what of you ma'dam have you a Seneshal to look after you this fine day?" the elder woman asked

Ruru gave another tight smile and said, "No, not any longer but its alright. I'll be fine please enjoy the festival and don't bother worryin bout me please."

The old woman gave her a reluctant nod and Ruru quickly moved on through the streets toward the Quicksand. She had quite enough of the Festival today. She'd check with Momodi and see if there was any work to be had far from the city if it was possible.

Work will keep me from dreamin bout the past. Its gone, its over no sense in re livin it over and over. she told herself though she knew full well she never wanted to forget those good times for they were what mattered.

[anonsally]

Days 9-10 in Chile: Days 1-2 of conference

I went to bed early the night before the conference got underway and didn't have a totally solid night's sleep (reasons included congestion, sweating, and a small earthquake), but it was at least fairly long, and I think the fever had actually broken this time. The congestion still wasn't any better, and I had an occasionally scary-sounding cough, but I woke up hungry and with improved energy.

Needless to say, I didn't get up early enough to go to the opening plenary session. It's my first conference in 5 years; I initially felt very overwhelmed and claustrophobic in the crowds of people. So I went to the room where my session was, which was at that point still pretty empty (it was a coffee break). By the time the symposium started, the room had filled up. I did get through my talk respectably, though I wouldn't say that it was my best presentation ever. But I wasn't aiming for that given my condition! I enjoyed the other talks. At the end all the speakers sat on the stage for the Q&A, and I got a better look at the audience (I can't really see when I'm giving a presentation since I'm mostly trying not to die focused on my talk); I recognised several people either from previous conferences or from having worked in the same institutions in the past.

I got some nice feedback from a few people afterwards. There was another session immediately but I needed to decompress (and also blow my nose, so I went outside to take off my mask). After a bit, I returned inside and ran into a former colleague, so it was nice to reconnect. Eventually found my way to another session I was interested in. I only lasted one and a half talks before I felt a cough coming on, so I ducked out so as not to disrupt the session.

Lunch was provided after the session ended, so I took my bag lunch and went outside and had a picnic. It was a pretty warm day. I sat on my own at a distance from others so as not to spread my germs.

In the afternoon I only attended two talks, but the second one was quite noteworthy and probably the most original research being presented at this conference: it was about the effect of tattoos on risk of lymphoma. !! Everyone was riveted. Nobody has studied this before, but the chemicals used in tattoo inks are known to have health effects in other contexts; the presenter pointed out that having them injected directly into the skin could plausibly be a concern. She has tattoos herself. (She points out that laser removal could then exacerbate the problem, so if this news makes you worry that you should get your tattoos removed, don't do it!)

After that I was kind of Done for the day. I rested in the room a little and then Wife and I went to dinner in one of the hotel restaurants. She heads home tomorrow. (She had done a horseback ride in the foothills of the Andes today and saw a black-chested buzzard eagle! Well, she was told it was an eagle (they may have told her which kind and she forgot), and she somehow got an iPhone photo that confirmed Merlin's only suggestion when I asked for eagles around here. [how?! how did she get a photo while on a moving horse, of a soaring bird high above, with a crappy camera, that was clear enough in shape and plumage to confirm the id?!])

That night I slept really badly. I didn't turn out the light until 11pm, and then it took a while to fall asleep because the decongestant hadn't taken effect yet. Then, I woke up at 4:40 because I was too hot with the blanket on, but I was too cold without it. I was awake at least a couple of hours. At some point I adjusted the thermostat and then I eventually managed to doze for a couple of hours.

Despite being exhausted, I did in fact feel much better today. I had a slow morning, but eventually made it down to the conference and ran into a friend (formerly a student in my research group), and chatted to her a bit before going to the last couple talks in a session of some short methodology talks. Then the friend and I had lunch outside. The lunch bags came with a randomised soda can; I lucked out with ginger ale, which is literally the only soda I like, but the friend got diet ginger ale, which is disgusting. It seems weird that they would randomise people to diet or non-diet sodas.

Afterwards, I attended part of a session on health effects of wildfires, but it was so cold in that room that I had to leave before it ended. I was too tired to attend any more of the conference at that point anyway.

Wife came back from having done some sightseeing and we caught up a bit and took a micro-nap; she leaves for the airport soon. I'm trying to decide whether to go to the conference dinner, which doesn't start until 8pm and is a metro ride away. I'm under-rested and still recovering from whatever this illness is, and that seems late to go out (though there is transport back, but maybe not until midnight, which... is clearly too late for me to be out). I haven't left the hotel since we checked in because I've been ill. But this meal is already paid for and is a good networking opportunity but also a social anxiety stressor. It's in a large space, I think, so I hopefully wouldn't be putting others at risk (and I may not be contagious anymore by now anyway, and I'll wear a good mask when I'm not eating). Argh. Decisions.

[saffron0v0]

Swapped Inonezu week!! (Collab with @miss-breeownie)

Day 4: Wednesday

*Since nezuko's birthday was coming up, inosuke had decided to do something special for her, and everyone decided to help! But there's one problem...*

Inosuke: NEZUKO IS WHAT?!

Takeo: Jeez calm down, and yeah, she's sick. That's what she gets for running around in the rain trying to drink it.

Inosuke: But... We've been planning this party for weeks!

Takeo: There's nothing you can do, for now, she needs rest. Tanjiro-niichan is not allowing anyone around her, he says she needs peace, medicine and rest to recover .

Inosuke: I... Understand. :(

Takeo: *sees how everyone feels down* *sigh*... And because I'm kind, you're all free to come have 1 free pastry from the bakery, only 1!

Everyone: *lightens up a bit* Thank you!

*everyone is ushered into the bakery, and start having their free treats, well everyone except inosuke*

Aoi (swapped with tanjiro) : what's up inosuke? I know you're disappointed, but you know nezuko wouldn't be too glad if you waste perfectly good pork bread.

Inosuke: I guess so... *Starts eating, feeling slightly better*

*later that day, at around 11 pm*

Inosuke: *makes sure everyone left* okay, I guess it's time for my plan B!

*he races down the street to the restaurant that Murata owns*

Inosuke: MURATA-SAN!

Murata: Oh my god! Why are you so loud?! And what do you need in such a hurry?

Inosuke: I have to get some tempura for my friend!

Murata: *dumbfounded* you're in such a rush... FOR TEMPURA?! And at an hour like this?! You should be sleeping! *he sighs and just gives up* You know what, fine, fine, whatever. Do you want the small, medium or large plate?

Inosuke: *checks his wallet*... Small.

Murata: *snickering at the broke boy* okay! That'll be 1500 ¥!

Inosuke: There you go! Now how long do I need to wait for it to get ready?

Murata: Not long, one of the workers was coincidentally working on some tempura, so it'll take 5 minutes tops.

Inosuke: *beaming as bright as the sun* Thank you so much!

*5 minutes later*

Co-worker: Order 280!

Inosuke: That'll be me! *he takes the package and bows quickly, then turns around to run to the kamado residence.*

Murata: Beautiful youth...

Co-worker: you're 21...

*inosuke makes it to the kamado residence, but instead of knocking on the door, he turns to the side of the complex and climbs the tree and reaches to the open window.*

Inosuke: Nezuko?

Nezuko: *sits up and turns her head towards him* Inoshishi? *cough* Is that you?

Inosuke: Yep! That's me! How are you? Oh, and I bought you something!

Nezuko: Aren't you broke? And I'm doing great! *she says muffling a cough*

Inosuke: *clears throat blushing at his careless money spending habits* I bought you tempura!

Nezuko: Tempura?! Then what are you waiting for? Get in! But be quiet, because monjiro-niichan would kick you out straight away if he sees you!

Inosuke: Okay okay, *he hops into her bedroom that would've been a jungle if it wasn't for tanjiro*

Nezuko: *bouncing in her place with newfound energy and excitement*

Inosuke: Here you go!

Nezuko: Yahoo! *she starts devouring her tempura, when inosuke's stomach grumbles*

Inosuke: Hah-? *he then turns into a fiery blushing mess*

Nezuko: *softens a little and gives him half of her last tempura*

Inosuke: Hawwww! Thank you! *he eats it in one bite and happily smiles at her*

Nezuko: *whispers while blushing* anything for one of my disciples... *before she can fully enjoy the moment, she sense someone coming up the stairs, and with how silent b but strong the steps are, it's probably tanjiro* quick! Hide! Monjiro-niichan is coming!

Inosuke: *collects the mess and jumps under the bed*

Nezuko: *quickly lies down, closing her eyes*

Tanjiro (swapped with aoi): *enters* Nezuko? Are you awake? I'm here to change your wet towel. Please excuse me. *he quickly changes her towel, and he does smell a faint scent of tempura, but doesn't think much of it* Sleep tight. *he turns around and leaves, still smelling the tempura, but decides not to investigate until morning, he can't wake up nezuko*

Nezuko: *sits up* You can come out now, inoshishi.

Inosuke: *pops his head up from under the bed* we were almost caught *he said chuckling to himself* well I should probably get going. Oh! And one more thing...

Nezuko: *tilts her head questioningly*

Inosuke: *jumps in for a big bear hug* happy birthday nezuko! I wanted be the first to wish you a happy birthday, and I did! *he says smiling to himself proud of his plan's success*

Nezuko: *hugs back, squeezing him and burying her flushed face in his shoulder and gives him a muffled thank you*

Inosuke: Well! Best if I get going, my grandmother would be very worried if I showed up later than 1 am.

Nezuko: *still flushed and not wanting to let go* stay... A little longer.

Inosuke: *flushes a bright shade of red* I guess it wouldn't hurt to be a little late...

*they sit there in each other's embrace until nezuko nods off to sleep, and inosuke ends up being late and lightly scolded by his grandmother*

Taisho secret time!

✨✨Moi✨✨: When nezuko and inosuke were little kids, nezuko used to get grounded for being reckless alot, so inosuke had to use the tree to sneak into her room and play, they got out of the habit because the tree has become to dangerous to climb since no one was trimming the branches, but since it was such an important situation, inosuke decided to risk it and climb it to reach to her room.

[lilacastar]

KDA 19: Meantime

"When you became different," 5K began.

His breath paused, holding the smoke in longer than he would have normally.

"I knew something- I..."

Kalrick waited patiently, not rushing the stumbling words. 5K looked down, away from where his dark eyes stared.

"Do you remember Allison?"

"Your sister, yeah." She'd graduated before all of them, so his memory wasn't especially clear. But he seemed to remember her dropping by every once in a while.

"Yeah, she died."

"Oh." He re-situated the red cup in his hands, but it didn't help with any tension. "I'm so sorry. This probably isn't your first time telling me."

"It is actually. It happened when you started getting really busy, and those symbols got inked on you." He nodded at Kalrick's wrists. "You were really distracted and not around often. Didn't really have the time or emotional energy to bother you."

"I wish I could have been there for you, though."

"It is what it is." He shrugged. "But you know me. I've always had... Substance ish- issues. Allison had a blood clot we didn't know about. She hit her head and killed her pretty much instantly, nothing we could do about it."

"But you can control what goes in your body." Kalrick could already feel where it was going.

"Yeah," He nodded. "I've had addiction issues since- fuck, I don't even know how long. I started using in middle school but it didn't become a problem till later. I felt in control of the coke, acid, ecstasy. I guess her dying was all it took for it to- to go out of control. I picked up heroin."

Kalrick couldn't make eye contact with him any longer. If he had been there, been present... But he wasn't. He could've helped pick him back up. No one was there to care for him.

"I blew all my money but even that didn't stop me."

"What did?" He gestured back at him. "I mean, you're ok and still here."

"I died, Kalrick. I overdosed, and it flat lined me for over 5 minutes."

He couldn't tell if it was the smoke or the weight of 5Ks words that made his head dizzy. If he had just been there, but he wasn't.

"My brain got derived- deprived of oxygen and gave me anoxic brain injury. The dose that kicked me was laced with fentanyl, and I have permeant brain damage. Mostly just gives me tremors and concentration problems. Sometimes I lose my words."

"Damn, I don't know what to say. I've sort of jumped back in and made everything about me. If I can help at all just tell me what."

He shook his head. "You don't need to do anything, promise. Just time will help. They say you can recover for years now, when they used to think it was in the first 6 months."

"Man, but I feel like if I was around I could have gotten you help sooner."

"Don't say that, I did some disappointing things to get better. You're the one who deserved better, cause I'm the one who got help in the end. I got rehab, and you got taken advantage of"

"Then lets not think about it. We're here after all, might as well be present now."

"I can second that."

The door knocked, disrupting their conversation.

"Come on in!" 5K shouted.

Randle entered, shuffling through to where they sat.

"Smells like a hotbox in here," He coughed. "Kalrick, how did you even get here?"

"Teleported." Kalrick nodded.

"Then why can't you teleport to wherever it is you need me to take you?"

"Cause it's exhausting and thought it'd be a great bonding experience. I also can't go places alone and don't ask me to explain but only certain places are teleport-able."

"Is this what you do all day?" He gestured to 5K. "I don't think I've ever seen you go to work, which is where I just came from."

"I'm on disability, not that it's any of your business." 5K rolled his eyes.

"You're right, it's not my business. I'm just tired."

"You don't have to help if you're tired," Kalrick said. "I just thought we all were in this now. And I don't know, it feels good to hang out again. We used to research this type of stuff all the time."

"We did," Randle gazed reminiscently. "I haven't picked that stuff up in a long time though."

"There's nothing you practice? Or I don't know, work with or research?"

"Not really. Kal, I like astrology. Like, reading my horoscope or getting my palm read. Demons, spells, tarot- I liked doing that with you specifically."

"Oh."

Kalrick found himself unable to fathom this information. It seemed like that stuff was all they did together. It always seemed like Randle was having a good time and enjoying himself.

"Well," Randle crossed his arms, looking down at them. "Are we going to follow your lead or keep smoking weed on the couch?"

"I could smoke some more." 5K remarked.

"Let's get started," Kalrick gathered his bag.

"Where did you have in mind?" Randle asked.

"Honestly, I don't know which tattoo place I hit up. I was just going to go to all the nearest ones until I found the one someone named Valery works at."

"Why not just call them and ask?"

"Oh. Uh, I guess I didn't think of that."

"I guess you still have use for me after all."

"I've always had use for you. I like being around you."

He turned to the door. "Let's just get going."

But Kalrick could've sworn he saw the edge of a smile.

[ashiemochi]

my brother in christ i am begging you for a follow up for bloodlust vows i just found it and i need a more so bad 😭😭😭 (ofc ignore if you want i love your writing regardless :3)

you guys are so sweet <3 again, this been asked by a lot soo~~

part i here <3

The hospital never was the best place to wake up at. It usually meant your body was pushed past the limit to the point it had shut down either temporarily or permanently. As much as you had wished it was the latter, someone up there didn't think it was the right place for your story to end.

And so the bright light that you prayed was Heaven made you flinch, peeling your eyes open bit by bit. So-called Heaven was now light bulbs attached to the pale white ceiling. Your vision was blurry, seeing two or three of everything. And let's not get started on how you could barely even move your head.

Just what the fuck happened?

"You're awake,"

Using whatever energy you had (which, let's be honest, wasn't much) to follow the voice, Chris was sitting on one of the chairs with his arms folded against his chest that dropped as he stood up. A faint relieved smile was on his face, making the crinkles next to his eyes show their appearance subtly.

He set his hands on the low bars next to your bed, looking down at you gently, "How are you feeling?"

You tried to swallow as you licked your lips but ended up wincing at the dryness of your throat. You went to move your hand up to your throat but found it a bit weighted. Looking down, you blinked tiredly at the cast around your upper arm all the way down to your forearm.

"W... What --" A cough interrupted you, sending Chris to your aid in an instant, his rough hands were tender on your body.

"Easy, easy," Chris soothed you, helping you sit up then he turned to face the bottle of water on the table next to you, "Here. Drink up."

He opened it for you and then brought it closer to your lips, his other hand going to the back of your head. He could tell your senses weren't back just yet and you looked so utterly lost. Your skin wasn't as pale as he had found you, but your eyes were distant to all hell.

You moved your head away once you quenched your thirst and Chris returned the bottle back to the table. You looked up at him with slightly furrowed brows.

"What... What happened?"

Chris released a heavy sigh, going back to the chair to drag it close to your bed and he sat down with an exhale through his nose. A frown tugged at the corners of his lips as he started talking.

"Leon..."

It was clear he didn't know how to tell you that your own husband turned against you -- unwillingly.

"He lost control. I'm guessing he hasn't been feeding lately with the blood bags provided by the DSO and it took a toll on him. Since you were the only one around him that night..."

Horror was beginning to set as your eyes widened softly. The rest of his words went deaf to your ears. Your hand went up to the side of your neck, deeply wishing it was all just a big nightmare but right there on your neck was a bandage patch. If you swallow thickly or turn your head to the side, you could feel the dull pain within.

Your own husband -- the love of your life -- was still alive from what you remember. You needed to see him. But where was he?

"Where is he?"

Chris blinked at you in surprise but regained his composure easily, voice dropping a tone, "In his confinement -- back at HQ."

You took a shaky breath as you tried to speak through your hoarse voice, "Take me to him."

A pair of midnights hardened as he straightened up, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Chris--"

You were cut off by him standing up, voice low but if you hear him again, fear was there.

"You were out for three days, y/n."

But too bad, you loved Leon a bit too much.

Your eyes seemed to shimmer under the pale lights as you whispered, your voice coming out broken, "Please, Chris. I need to see him."

The BSAA soldier was reluctant.

-

"I'll wait outside."

The door closing behind you was almost unsettling, making your heart skip a bit but nothing pained you more than seeing your own husband behind thick glass walls -- in his cage.

Chris informed you of how easy it was to get Leon in here and how he didn't even struggle much. He'd ask about you and would tell Chris just how bad he fucked up. Leon had willingly entered his confinement to try and become clean once again.

Your legs felt numb as you moved closer to the cage, sad eyes set on the man in his bed, back towards you. It didn't seem like he had noticed you were here -- yet. Chris also told you that the Leon you knew wasn't the same after his relapse anymore.

But you knew one thing.

He was your husband.

You trailed your eyes down to the ground, finding a red line about a foot away from the cage -- this was where you were supposed to stop; for safety reasons.

The man seemed to have stilled under your gaze, shifting slightly to look over his shoulder and his tired eyes widened.

"... Y/N...?"

Tears were immediate in your eyes, mimicking his as you nodded, your hand coming to hold to the other for comfort and you felt a bit too happy under his stare.

"Hey, Leon."

Leon stood up from his bed and you almost believed Chris when he told you that Leon had changed -- but the one right before your eyes was the same man at the end of the altar; broad but still small.

Leon blinked at you, chuckling breathlessly, a loving glimmer in his blueblue eyes, "What... What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you." You admitted as you went to move past the line, alerting Leon, "Chris told me--"

"Stay back, Y/N."

The way his voice came out sharp but also wavering made you freeze on your spot, eyes widening a bit. Leon lowered his hand with a heavy sigh, dropping his head as the smile he had faded.

"You shouldn't be here..." Leon muttered, almost spitting to himself in disgust, "Not after what I've done."

You frowned, retreating your foot back away from the line as you opened your mouth but he cut you off, nearly glaring at you.

"Don't you dare tell me it's not my fault because it is." Leon snapped, "I broke the deal with the higher-ups and look where that got me," His eyes seemed to have hardened in anger and guilt, "Where that got you,"

You whispered, heart aching, "We've been through this before, though. Is that not enough?"

"Enough to what?" Leon snorted, "Lose control again? You have no idea what's like -- feeding on those god-awful fake bags of the DSO, hunting, and having these uncontrollable urges to just..."

Something shifted in his face.

You pressed on, feelings your chest tightening, "To just what?"

"Drain my own wife... The woman I love..." Leon answered, utterly ashamed.

You weren't entirely surprised by this revelation. Having a sort of living bloodthirsty creature as your husband taught you to become a little more desensitized by a lot of things -- like finding a dead deer out in your backyard. You'd scold Leon for leaving it out there and that it at least deserved a well-respected burial.

The way Leon grumbled and trudged outside to clean his mess the next day reminded you so much of a child cleaning up his toys. He rarely ate the food you made but on special days when he'd be having a rough day or it'd be your relationship's special day, stars would appear in those azuls that you fell in love with when he'd taste the iron in his plate of food.

True, there were days when he was on the brink of losing control when the DSO's shipment was a bit late. The moment the truck stopped by your house, you rushed outside to practically yank the package and ran back inside to take out a bag. You basically hand-fed Leon that night, silent as his hand gripped yours to squeeze the bag.

You weren't going to throw away those five years of marriage over nothing.

"So, why didn't you?"

Leon froze and looked at you. You never looked so defiant before. Hell, you would've folded your arms if you could.

"What?"

"You heard me." You retorted with a tearful glare, "Why didn't you kill me?"

Leon's brows furrowed at your question but found himself silent and that didn't stop you.

"Yeah, it is your fault that we're in this moment -- but that doesn't mean anything. Compared to all those other years together, this shouldn't mean shit!" You snapped, "I saw this coming, Leon -- I knew one day something like this was going to happen and yet I still stayed. I know what I got myself into."

Your lungs heaved in air and Leon's eyes widened as you crossed the line to be closer to the cage, "Y'N, wait--"

"We had our vows that day, remember? In sickness and in health," Your voice broke in the end, letting your tears roll down your cheeks, "I'm still here and I still fucking love you, Leon... So, I'm going to ask you again... Is that not enough?"

Silence hung in the air and it felt suffocating. Leon was rendered quiet as all he could do was stare at you in shock, overwhelmed by the sight of his wife still giving him a second chance.

"How long..." Leon mumbled, turning to face you with a frown and dull eyes, "How long do we have to keep doing this?"

"For as long as it takes." You whispered back, sniffling as you nodded, "Till death do us part."

Leon shook his head with a faint laugh and he moved towards you. Your hand was pressed to the wall as you gazed up at him with such hope in your bright eyes. Leon couldn't help but smile down at you, hand coming up to yours and he pressed his forehead against the glass.

"You're really goddamn stubborn, you know that, right?"

Another thing Chris had told you; Leon leaves his confinement by the end of the week after he enters his fasted state once again. For such silly bloodlust vows, you sure had a way to keep him feeling like he was still human -- still alive.

And Leon vowed to never fall to his urges and keep his relationship with you alive.