#my mom said she got it at some store but seems reluctant to go back and look for another one

[little-eye-guy]

HE BROKE HIS AWESOME TOY!!!! D:

[sxtvrns]

electra heart

🎶 now playing: bubblegum bitch - MARINA

P: Ben Hargreeves x Fem!Reader

S: A kid at the convenience store becomes a friend. That kid soon has you head over heels. You never got the chance to tell him how you felt; even years go by and you still think about him. Yet you wonder if he'll ever wake up.

W: minor tua spoilers, angst, kinda rushed, possible inaccuracy, mentions of violence, death

N: This is in a similar format to my Finney blurb, and this does not follow the canonical storyline due to plot changes. Also, yes, MARINA inspired the name of this blurb because I had an opportunity and I took it. This fic is way too long for its own good.

please interact if you enjoy!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

On the twelfth hour of the first day of October, 1986, forty-three women around the world simultaneously gave birth. None of the women showed any prior signs of pregnancy.

You were one of those kids.

Your mother said she went suddenly into labor in the middle of a date she was on with another guy, with the fact that he thought she was already married and was cheating on her husband. Ever since then, she raised you on her own.

Though your abilities remained dormant until certain situations arose.

2001

The bell of the door rings as you walk to the back of the convenience store, the fridge door hissing as it opens and letting out cool, refreshing air. You brows among the rows and rows of glass bottles staring down at you from their shelves, as if they're eagerly wanting to be picked.

You take a bottle of Crush soda off one of the racks, closing the door and noticing someone standing beside you.

He wore knee high socks, boy shorts, a blazer and some sort of sweater vest underneath with a black tie. "Hi." You greet out of nowhere, certainly catching the boy off guard. He acknowledges you, but hides his face. "You need help reaching something?" You ask, leaning against the glass door. He shakes his head while you respond with a shrug.

He watches you walk away past the shelf where you're out of view, the ding of the cash register and the chime of the door bell meaning you left already.

Every time you went to visit the store, he was there. He was there the next time you went, and the next time, and the next, doing the same thing he does all the time, staring at the soda fridge but not buying anything.

Sure, he could've been a window shopper, but he came back too often for it to be considered so.

The next time you went, you grabbed a drink for your mom, and there he was, staring at the fridge. "Hey." You send him a wave, him only nodding in response. "Um, you... how come you come here all the time but don't buy anything?" You ask. "My dad doesn't allow soda in the house. He doesn't want any of us drinking soda. He says it'll 'disrupt our endurance'." He air quotes.

"So you just come here all the time to stare at soda and torture yourself because you can't have it?" For the first time ever, you see something of a smile. "I just sneak out. My dad would kill me if he found out. I do want to buy something, but... I don't have any cash on me right now." He says, hands reaching into his pockets and pulling them out empty handed.

"I can pay." You offer. His head perks up. "Really?" He looks overly excited for a bottle of soda. Is his dad just super dietary restrictive? "Yeah. This bottle is for my mom anyways, so..." You trail off, gesturing to the fridge to let him pick. He opens the door, the standing there for what seems like ages before picking a bottle.

You toss the dollar bills on the cash register, the cashier handing you change. You give the boy his soda bottle, and he looks reluctant. "Are you gonna drink that?" You ask. "I'll save it for when I'm at home. I'll try to be stealthy about it, though." He looks away for a second, wanting to say something. "Um, thank you." He stutters. "You're welcome. I'm Y/N. You?"

"Ben. Ben Hargreeves." A smile creeps up onto your face at his shy demeanor. "Nice to finally meet you, I guess. I'll see you around." You say, walking away and leaving him alone on the sidewalk.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ben sneaks back into his room, shutting the window quietly while being careful to have the glass bottle clank against anything and make noise.

"Hey, man." Diego greets, his face dropping. "Where the hell did you get that?" He points to the soda bottle in Ben's hand. "What– oh my god, dad's gonna kill you." Luther's face is the same as his brother's; covered in pure shock.

"I know. But the girl bought it for me, so..." Ben muttered. His brothers faces lit up mischievously. "The girl you run into every time you sneak out?'" Ben nods at Diego's question. "She talked to me. I got her name."

"Okay? So what is it?" Luther's fully invested in this mystery girl. "Y/N." Ben answers. "She's... she's very pretty." He adds, his brothers sending each other a look. "You've seen her a million times and the one time she talks to you... you finally find her pretty." Diego clarifies.

"Maybe because she was closer to me this time? Or she just seemed more open and–"

"Dude, we get it, you like her." Luther says, stopping Ben from rambling. "Okay, so... when's the wedding?" Diego jokes, both of his brothers rolling their eyes. Ben sneers, "You're so annoying."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"I think I finally figured it out. Where I've seen you before." You say abruptly, eating a potato chip. "Where?" He asks, curious. Frequent convenience store stakeouts for him helped grow your relationship, and now you're sitting on a flat apartment rooftop with him, legs hanging over the ledge, staring at the moon. He's been giving you hints as to where he was in the paper after claiming he was 'famous'.

"You're a Hargreeves kid. You were in the bank robbery hostage thing." You specified. "There you go, you got it. Everyone's seen it; I'm surprised it took you so long." He says in his usual calm, gentle tone. The heroic act was published in newspapers for weeks after it happened.

"I know this is like a really sudden and weird question but... did you kill them?" His face drops, now full of the panic that lurked closer and closer to his mind. "What?" He says, trying to keep his cool. "Oh, no, I just... I don't know, I just had a feeling. Um, it's a weird feeling but something's telling me that you killed the robbers. Pricks probably deserved it anyways so it doesn't really matter." You try to brush it off, but notice that your friend looks bashful.

"How did you know?" He asks, voice barely above a whisper. You find yourself at a loss for words, wanting to say something but unable to come up with a reasonable answer. "I don't know." You look at him, face darkened with guilt.

"I've had friends like you. They never become good people, continuously hurting people, even killing people on the street when they go out at the wrong time. They've caused massacres. Something about you is different." You pause, struggling to explain. "You never wanted to kill them, did you?" He shakes his head, looking down at the street below. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. It was a stupid thing to ask."

"No, no, it's fine." He claims, nodding profusely but it isn't enough to convince you. "It certainly isn't fine. No one would ever confess to a murder so easily."

"Please don't bring it up again. I-I never asked to kill them. It's something I can't control when... when I'm in the field." He admits. You simply look down with him, the tips of your fingers grazing his. You don't seem to notice, but he does. Though the air his cold, his face is warm, and he wonders if you're fine with it. He doesn't want to move his hand.

It's almost heartwarming. His mother would hold his hand sometimes yet it didn't feel as comforting as mere fingertips from you to his hand did. You do eventually notice, looking down at your loosely laced hands. You take his hand in yours out of nowhere, Ben's face flushing even more.

"Your hands are warm." You say simply. "Did you do that on purpose?" He asks while you look at him confused. "Do what on purpose?" He points to your intertwined hands, your lips curling into a smile. "Maybe. Do you like it?" You ask for good measure, unsure if he was okay with it in the first place. He nods. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be enjoying this as much as I am right now."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Finding out Ben's abilities was in the most unfortunate of circumstances. He said he had a shortcut to get home, and he said it was down a certain dark alleyway.

Nothing good ever happens in dark alleyways.

You both passed by a group of teens that looked about your age, thinking nothing of it until you felt a hand on your shoulder.

"Give me your wallet."

One of them demanded, turning you around with a knife in their other hand. "I don't have any. Spent it all." You said, trying to hide your nervousness. "Bullshit. Empty your pockets." She said, nudging her head. "I said I don't have anything–" The tip of her knife nearly digs into the underside of your chin with light pressure. "Empty your fucking pockets or I'll kill your boyfriend too." She threatens.

Out of nowhere, a roar erupts from behind you, the knife on your chin being pulled away. You turn to see Ben, tentacles coming out of his stomach out of some sort of void. You run to him but get grabbed by one of the teens, knife nearly impaling you. It's knocked out of their hands and drops to the floor with a clink. Instead of getting stabbed, the person who grabbed you is impaled with a tentacle, blood spraying everywhere.

The other two try to escape, one of them unlucky and suffering the same fate as their ally. The last girl runs off, dropping her knife and running away. You look at Ben whose drenched in blood, tentacles returning to the inside of his stomach and the void closing. He's wiping his face of blood and tears.

"I'm sorry. You never should've seen this." He says, but you hug him rather than his assumption of you running away. "You saved me. And you said those things weren't in your control. You never wanted to kill them. It's not your fault." You try to convince him, easier said than done. He hugs you back, sobbing into your shoulder.

As your route changed from low ground to high to avoid suspicion of the blood on your clothes, a question slips out.

"What was that girl's name? The one who tried to mug me?"

"Jennifer. I overheard them talking whenever I took this high route."

"She's one real bitch." Ben chuckles at your statement.

"Definitely. One real bitch."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2006

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit–" You push through the mosh of people crowding up to the caution tape surrounding the building. "Ben! Ben, where are you?!" You shoved people aside to get to the front, eyes meeting Luther's who are red from crying. "Luther! Where is he?" He hears you but only shakes his head. Sir Hargreeves stares at you for a second before his attention is focused back on the crowd, the frontline flooded with cameras and reporters.

"Fuck this." You mutter, going under the caution tape and running past the group of crying kids in their uniforms. "Y/N!" You hear Allison cry, but the adrenaline to find your friend is all you can think about right now. Allison looks at her father, who's staring at the entrance you just ran through.

Just as the police push in to go and chase you, he stops them with a shout. They back off and instead guard the entrance so no one else can enter. As much as they are confused, Allison is left relieved and surprised by her father's actions. He never knew about you. He wouldn't help someone who he doesn't have a reason to have pity for, if he had any in that stone cold body of his.

The rooms are dark, only illuminated by skylights in the ceiling. With the little light there is, you find a body laying on the ground, shattered glass around it. You carefully tread towards it, Ben's face aglow in the sun, staring straight up.

"Ben! Oh, Ben, oh my god, you're, you're hurt. How come you aren't– aren't with your siblings? Can you stand, can you see me? How many fingers am I holding up?" He chuckles with a struggle as you help him sit up with his back leaning on the desk. There's blood staining on his white undershirt and it's getting onto his blazer; it's practically everywhere on him. It seeps through the fabric moderately while you try to put pressure on it.

"Y/N... how did you get here? I thought my dad would've..." He winces slightly. His thumb wipes a stray tear you didn't know was resting on your cheek. "I don't know myself. I thought the police would come in after me. I thought I'd be shot dead." Right after the words come out of your mouth, he looks relaxed, tired.

"I think I'm gonna die here." He says so casually with a smile. "What? No, no, Ben, you aren't gonna die– look, the paramedics are on their way! They're coming! You'll be okay!" He shakes his head and looks down at your hands, gripping onto his blazer. "If I'd come out alive, I wouldn't be here. I'd be with my siblings outside for the press."

You're trying to hold back your tears, but fail miserably and start crying while your hands are stained with his blood. "Who did this to you?" You ask through foggy eyes. "Jennifer." He says, the name setting off a spark. "I'm not gonna make it." He groans, sighing with a smile.

"Don't say that. You're gonna be okay."

"I'm sorry, Y/N."

"No, don't apologize–"

"I love you. I always have.

His hand travels up to your face with the last bit of energy he has left in his body, his thumb wiping away another tear.

And it falls.

His arm slowly drops beside you, a small pool of blood on the floor. Your hands move to his shoulders, then to his face, his neck, his arms. "Ben? No, no, no no no..." You cry. He lays limp there against the desk as you scream, sobs spilling out your lips as a sudden energy rushes through you. Your hands rest on him while your head rests on his shoulder, feeling jolts of energy running through your body.

The lights flicker as you hear slow clapping from across the room. There's a figure standing in the dark hallway with a smirk and blood splattered on their face. "I did quite enjoy the show. Did you enjoy my hard work?" She smiles, arms crossed while you slowly stand up, giving her a death stare. The fire in you grows the longer that stupid smirk stays on her face.

"How many of them did you kill?" You ask, the lights flickering. "All of them. Except for his brothers and sisters who fled like mice." She takes a step forward, hand reaching out to the side as if she's reaching for something. "And you... you and your stupid boyfriend killed the last of my gang." Suddenly, a pillar crashes through the wall and flies at you, but you feel nothing on impact. It shatters into pieces that fall onto the ground, decorating the floor with its shared glass.

The lights haven't stopped flickering as a glow rushes through your veins, every projectile thrown at you being destroyed with the touch of your hand. There's panic on her face as you step closer with every object you manage to avoid, and ironically enough, she runs away. Flees like the Hargreeves she made fun of.

But she killed your friend. Your best friend. It was appropriate to not show mercy when she took something that mattered so much to you.

She definitely seemed like a raging narcissist, so what's better than taking away the thought of her being better than everybody else. In fact, why not take away the thought of her thinking at all?

A bolt of lighting emits from your hand, and reaches her, shocking her and causing her to lay limp on the floor. Your hand, glowing white and blue, grabs her by the neck with force and lifts her up in the air. Her airway is cut off, squirming as she does anything she can to breathe. All you do is stare at her, watching her struggle and suffer in your grasp, the fire in you now at its biggest; you can feel it rushing through every bone in your body.

You squeeze her neck, the veins in it flashing a bright white before her face freezes and her head hangs low. You let go of her, her body dropping to the floor with a thump.

She's dead. You killed her.

The lights stop flickering. Ben's body is still left by the desk unaffected somehow, but littered with dust from the pillars that were thrown at you. You kneel down in front of him, his blood staining your clothes being the last thing on your mind. Your hands rest on his chest, gentle jolts moving from your hands and to his chest. Tears flow from your eyes but not even a sob tumbles out of your lips.

Footsteps come from the other halls. You turn your head, panicked, wanting to escape but not leave Ben behind.

You'll see him in the hospital if he's still alive.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

"Good evening, Ben. How are you feeling?"

"Mom?"

"Your father just passed away."

"What?"

"Do you need anything?"

"Where is everyone? Where are my siblings? Where is... where is Y/N?"

"I don't know where your siblings are, but I could ask Pogo where Y/N is."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2019

The Hargreeves eventually parted ways, while Ben's body remained comatose in the ward of their house. You visited every day, whenever you had time. Sir Hargreeves saw you at the hospital watching over Ben, and took you in for training. For 17 year old you recovering from grief, it was hard. It hurt like hell. Everything hurt.

Sir Hargreeves explained that your time, date of birth, and sudden labor from your mother had developed those electricity-related abilities that you were able to control. You forced yourself to think that it all made sense, when really, it didn't. Kind of like how Ben's abilities made him able to summon creatures from another dimension through his body. That certainly didn't make sense.

To find out Ben was comatose relieved you. They said his heart rate had already been reset with no need for the defibrillators. But he was alive, only unconscious. Grace always saw you come into the house ward, only greeting you with a smile before leaving the room. It seemed... robotic.

You managed to keep in touch with some of the Hargreeves siblings. You'd have chats with Allison during her breaks. Diego always sent you work updates when he worked for the police, but as a vigilante, he never spoke of his doings due to fear of tracing through digital footprint.

You worked as an astronomer, your love for space driving you to pursue it as a paying career. Sometimes it reminds you of when you'd stare up at the stars with Ben from the heights of an apartment building. You're laying on the couch, scrolling through the different channels on your TV when the news displays the death of one familiar person.

Sir Reginald Hargreeves.

Your attention is focused on the broadcast and the claims that were on the sliding title at the bottom of the screen. Your thoughts immediately drift to the reactions of his adoptive kids. He never developed an intimate bond with any of them, so how would they react to the news?

Wow. The age finally got to him. He was one persistent son of a bitch.

Allison, did u see the news?

I'm coming home as fast as I can

I was at a premiere

You shut your phone off, attention grabbed by a knock at the door. Though the face you see when you answer is not one you'd expect.

"Ben?"

His hands are stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket. "Are you... real? How are you..." You touch his face, then his shoulders, then his arms, proving that this was not, in fact, his ghost coming to haunt you. "I've missed you." He says simply. You try not to gawk at him any longer and invite him inside.

He's focused on the TV, displaying the news of his father's death. "So she wasn't lying..." He mutters, staring at the TV with the same focus you gave. "She?" You ask. "Mom." He replies, standing behind the couch rather than taking a seat. "How did you find me?"

"Pogo. He knows just about everything."

"Even addresses? Creepy."

"Listen... when I was in that coma, I could see you. I could see my siblings, I could see who I wanted. I was in a black void and I was able to see anyone. But every single time, it brought me back to you." He says, his hand resting on yours. "You were aware you were in a coma? How?" He moves from the back of the couch to sit next to you. "When you were in the hospital to see me, I heard the doctors telling you."

You embrace him in a long-awaited hug, the first one you've had with him in a while. "Sorry, this is so much to process right now." Somehow, his last words before laying unconscious where he died come back to you. "Do you remember what you said before you passed out that day?" You ask, vividly remembering him saying 'I love you' as his 'last words'.

He pauses for a moment before answering. "I do." He looks you dead in the eye as you play with your thumbs nervously, looking for something to say. "Did you mean it?" Your nerves take control as panic rushes to your head. "I did. I do... I still love you. Even after all these years of me seeing you in a dark void of nothingness, you were always there." Your face is hot. You feel like a high-schooler being asked to a dance.

"I killed her. I killed Jennifer."

"I saw. It's not your fault. It never was. It was mine for killing her goons in that alley."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We've both done things we can't be forgiven for."

Unsure of what to say next, you make the first move and kiss him, something you wanted to save when you were 18. He kissed back, eventually pulling away and looking at you. "How long have you wanted to do that?" He asked. "Since the day I realized I had a big, stupid crush on you." He smiles, kissing you once more on the couch when your phone vibrates in your pocket.

We're gonna meet at our old place

I'll see you there

Allison texted you, Ben reading off your screen as well. "Should we go now?" You ask, looking at his face which is a bit too close to yours. "We have time," he says, grabbing your phone and placing it on the coffee table.

"Let's make up for all that we missed."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

oh, dear diary, i met a boy! he made my doll heart light up with joy! 🎧

[g00ngala]

The Owl House: Season 2 Trailer and Poster Analysis/ Speculation

i wasn't sure i was going to make a post about this, but i had SO MANY THOUGHTS so here's everything that stuck out to me while i scrubbed through the trailer and looked at the poster.

firstly, this shot immediately tells us that the door will be important. as we know, belos is rebuilding it, and his plan clearly heavily uses travel to the human world. why is he so fixated on this? is it just part of the plan, or is there another reason? what are belos's motivations?

next, luz immediately appears in front of the door. firstly i'm so proud of her for her improvement it casting magic. secondly, it sticks out to me that when the door disappears, luz appears in front of it. this leads me to think about a lot of things. does belos need luz in some way to activate the door? how does this connect to the letters being sent to her mom? why was eda such a threat to belos in the first place? the curse is going to kill her, isn't it? why capture her and petrify her himself? it seems like a waste of time. why is he still apparently chasing them? is it his need for order or is it something bigger? this is all pure speculation but i think it's interesting.

this next shot interests me. eda seemingly can use magic to some extent, but we see her curse worsen as she does so. if you pay close attention, you'll notice this:

her non-grey eye changes slightly in hue. this just tells me that the curse is still getting worse, and they need to find a cure.

next thing i notice is we get this shot of amity. out of everyone in the intro, she doesn't get a cool animation showing off her powers, she's just the transition. this to me hints a bit at her possible reluctance to go against the emperor. knowing her parents, it's definitely going to be hard for her to get to the point where luz, gus and willow are.

next up, these 3 shots. a few things immediately jump out to me. firstly, we get a glimpse of each coven leader in the bubbles at the top. second, what seems to be our 3 villains besides belos. his right hand men, so to speak. we have lilith rise first, and she was our season 1 villain. then this mysterious owl mask person. i think this guy will be our main antagonist for season 2. his mask makes me wonder. what's his connection to owls, and by extension eda/the owl house? and finally, we see kikimora enter. i think she will be the direct threat to our protagonists for season 3. i will touch on these shots again later. we also see directly after this a shot of all 3 in belos's hand as a transition, symbolizing that they all are or were under belos's control. could this mystery person and kikimora perhaps be turned against belos the same way lilith was? only time will tell.

next, we get this shot of belos. this gets me thinking quite a lot. this shot is just really cool, but also the castle is featured VERY prominently in the shot. i'm guessing the titan will be a big deal in this one. also, do we get more hints of how the emperor's powers work? to me it looks like he's harnessing lighting directly from the sky. could this possibly lend credence to the theory that belos is a human? or does he need to use power directly from the island and from palismans for some other reason?

this part is where i think back to the villain shot from earlier. ive included an image from the season 1 trailer and the season 2 trailer. as you can see, the intro plays out almost exactly the same after this point except for two key differences. the one being pointed out here is the lighting. we switch from broad daylight to sunset. could this symbolize our transition into a darker story? but something my friend @sleepy-sphinx said got me thinking. " i bet [the] season 3 [intro] will have them at night". everything immediately clicked for me. we have three antagonists besides belos. three changes to the sky. and three confirmed seasons. this leads me to speculate that season 3 will be the last season of the owl house, ending similarly to how gravity falls did. this idea makes me sad, but I'd much rather it go out as it was supposed to than drag on for too long or end early. EDIT: according to dana's twitter, i was correct in this assumption! season 3 is the last season with 3 44 minute specials.

lastly before i get onto the poster, the final change to the intro. this is no theory thing i just think it's really cool that they changed the title card to fit with luz's new knowledge of magic :)

finally, the poster. there are a few things that jump out to me:

1: it is solidified again that eda's curse is clearly worsening. she doesn't have much time left and they need to find a cure.

2: lilith seems to be trying to reach out for her sister, but holding herself back. she seems to be improving, but lilith is not on the good guy side yet.

3: amity is once again separated from willow and gus. just more evidence that she will be harder to convince than gus and willow were.

4: mask guy is once again in shot, seemingly running towards our trio. this solidifies my theory that he is our main antagonist of this season, as a replacement to lilith.

5: and finally, the titan is featured very prominently, directly behind belos. it's definitely going to be important this season.

EDIT 2:

6: something i'm only just noticing now is that the holes in king's face match the skull of the titan. could this perhaps indicate that they are connected in some way? i'm not going to say king IS the titan yet, there's not enough evidence... but there's definitely something to this. it also explains the weird parallels king has had to belos.

that's pretty much all i've got! i'm looking forward to what the crew has in store for us this season :)

[lallyloo]

Sending you some lurv ❤️❤️

How are the Wild Horses boys doing in their farmhouse? Did they ever get their lap dog(s)?

CAL! ❤❤ They did get their dog... a couple months ago I actually wrote a secret little thing about it that literally three people have read.. so.. since you asked..

Wild Horses - Merle

(2000+ words of pure softness under the cut)

Link hasn’t given up on getting a dog. He checks the classifieds a few times a week, watching for free puppy postings, and he and Rhett have even talked about stopping by the pet store in town – but neither of them can justify spending several hundred dollars on a dog.

They’re still settling into their farmhouse. Rhett didn’t have much to bring – basically his clothes, his CD player, some books, and a couple posters. Link had a bit more to bring – clothes, books, tapes and cds, movies, and an old TV with a built-in VCR. He also managed to talk his mom into letting him have some old furniture and a couple lamps to use in their new place.

He’d taken his time telling his mom about the house, trying to let her down gently, but she took it surprisingly well. She said she’d rather they were together in their own house than have Link constantly staying overnight at the milk house. Link didn’t ask what she meant by that – likely something to do with his virtue or some other old-fashioned idea. He figured she was being supportive in her own way, and that’s all he’d been hoping for.

His grandma had pared down some of her kitchen cupboards, giving them some old plates and glasses and cutlery to fill their own kitchen. They even had a cupboard dedicated to bowls and measuring cups, with the suggestion that they might bake something eventually. The idea seemed completely foreign to Link, but Rhett has been talking about learning to bake bread, so they figure those items will likely be put to good use eventually.

Their first, and so far ONLY, purchase was a new bed for their bedroom. Link wanted a king sized bed, but Rhett was quietly worried there’d be too much space between them on a big mattress like that. So they settled for a queen, and Link picked out sheets, a comforter, and some fluffy pillows. After all that time sleeping on the tiny milk house bed, they both swear their new bed is like sleeping on the softest cloud.

The house itself is still a work in progress, and will be for a long while, but as far as they’re both concerned it’s theirs and it’s perfect.

But, in Link’s opinion, it still needs a dog.

He’s thrilled when his granddad sends him on an errand one afternoon, and he spots a sign propped up at the end of a farmhouse driveway on the way into town. It’s an old piece of plywood with FREE PUPPIES painted on with red paint.

It feels like it’s meant to be.

There’s no more information on the sign, and no number to call, so Link finishes his errands in town, and then stops by the pet store and buys some dog food and a couple chew toys, before heading back to the farm to tell Rhett about his discovery.

“It’s the last farm before the old grist mill,” Link explains as he fills up a water bucket. “The one where the house is a ways back? The sign out by the road says free puppies.”

Even though they’ve been talking about it for awhile, Link figures it might still take a bit of convincing.

When he’d been thinking about it on the drive back, he imagined Rhett might be reluctant at first, and then laugh when he saw the dog food in the truck, and then still need a bit more prodding about it.

But Rhett seems open to the idea right away.

“You wanna go after work?”

“Yeah!” Link grins. “That’s what I was hopin’. I already got dog food and everything.”

“What?” Rhett laughs, “When?”

“When I was in town.

Rhett just smiles and shakes his head, but doesn’t argue.

Link can’t help but smile to himself as he gets back to work.

They’re getting a dog.

After work they head straight to the farm to see the puppies. Link already had the food and chew toys in the truck, and Link’s grandma gave them a box and an old blanket for the new puppy.

They’re not really sure what to expect as they drive up to the farmhouse, and they’re both looking around as they head up the long driveway.

“You’re not gonna surprise me, are ya?” Rhett asks.

“Huh?”

“You know, buyin’ me a house?” Rhett looks over at him and grins.

Link laughs. “You think I got money to buy this place?”

Rhett doesn’t answer, he just dips his head and takes another look out the windshield as he steers, his eyes roaming over the brick farmhouse and the massive fields in behind. There’s a tractor way in the back of the field, moving along at a slow pace.

“Maybe someday,” Rhett says quietly, like he’s lost in thought.

Link hums in agreement and stares out the passenger side window.

“Hey, there’s someone.” Link points to a woman leaning over a flowerbed outside the house, and she turns to look their way just as Rhett puts the truck in park and cuts the engine.

She watches as they both climb out of the truck, and when they approach the house she heads over to meet them.

“Somethin’ I can do for you, boys?”

“We saw your sign about the puppies,” Link explains, pointing to the road. “You got any left?”

“Sure do,” the woman smiles, “still got a whole litter waitin’ for a home.”

She gestures for them to follow her, and they do.

“I’m Millie,” she says as they walk.

“I’m Rhett,” Rhett says politely.

“I’m Link.”

Millie smiles. “You boys live around here?”

“My grandparents live a few miles from here,” Link explains. “Cattle farm. We both work there.”

“So you’re needin’ a farm dog?”

“Not exactly,” Link smiles. “We just wanted a dog around.”

He doesn’t offer any more than that, and Millie doesn’t ask. She leads them around the farmhouse to a little pen in behind.

The puppies start jumping and yipping when they notice people approaching, and when they reach the pen Link realizes the dogs are some sort of lab mutt mix. His gaze immediately goes to Rhett, because he wanted a lap dog and these puppies will definitely grow beyond lap sized.

But if Rhett is concerned, he’s not showing it. His eyes are moving from one dog to the next, like he’s studying them, so Link turns his own focus to the puppies.

“Go on in and take a look,” Millie says as she opens up the pen, “they’re friendly.”

Rhett steps in first and kneels down amongst the puppies, so Link steps in too and kneels down across from him, waiting to see which dogs might approach them.

There’s a rambunctious one, a nippy one, one that just seems to want to sleep, and a couple randoms that seem to be doing their own thing. After a minute or so, one random puppy trots over to him and Link offers his hand. The puppy sniffs him for a second, gives him a lick, and then plunks itself down over Link’s knees.

“She’s a pretty little one, ain’t she?” Millie says.

Link smiles and nods, smoothing his hand down the puppy’s back. She’s shiny black, with white markings on her paws and under her chin. She seems happy to be sitting with him, and doesn’t shy away from his petting.

“Only girl in the bunch,” Millie continues, smiling at him. “Looks like she’s taken a likin’ to you.”

“Rhett..” Link whispers, and when Rhett looks over Link motions to the puppy.

Rhett watches them for a moment and then reaches over to give the dog a scratch behind the ears.

“Can we still call her Merle?” Rhett asks quietly.

“Yeah, man,” Link replies, “that’d actually be kinda cool..”

He should’ve known Rhett would be easy about it. Link was the one who wanted a dog in the first place, and he can’t think of much that Rhett wouldn’t give him if he asked.

They grin at each other, and then Link looks over at Millie.

“Can we take her?”

“Sure can, boys,” Millie replies. “You need a crate or you just puttin’ her in yer pickup?”

“We got a box,” Link explains, “with a blanket..”

“Well that sounds good.”

While Rhett talks to Millie about what shots the puppy will soon need, Link holds Merle and takes her around to say goodbye to her siblings.

“Is the mama dog around?”

Millie shakes her head. “She’s out in the back field with my son. But don’t you worry, I’ll let her know her pup went to a good home.”

Link nods and follows Rhett to the truck, holding Merle close as they walk.

Millie watches them as they load her in the box and Link offers her a chew toy.

“Looks like she’ll be a happy little lady.”

“She will be,” Link says, at the same time Rhett says, “We’ll take good care of her.”

They give Millie a wave as they head back out the driveway.

When they’re on the road, and the truck speeds up, Merle starts to whine.

Link leans over the box and makes soft shushing sounds at her, reaching in to pet her gently. Her little body is trembling so Link pulls the blanket up around her.

“Should I slow down?” Rhett asks.

“Nah, she’ll be alright,” Link replies, “let’s just get her home.”

Once they’re back at their farmhouse, Rhett makes them some dinner while Link carries Merle around and shows her the place. He sticks to the main floor, figuring they can tour her around the second floor later. He points out each room, whispering softly in Merle’s ear, and then he takes a seat on the floor, offering her some toys and kibble.

“I forgot to get a water bowl.”

“Do we need some kind’a special one?” Rhett asks from the kitchen.

“I was imaginin’ one of those little bowls that says ‘doggy’ on it or somethin’.”

“They make those?”

“I don’t know,” Link shrugs, “in my mind they do.”

“Well we can go lookin’ for somethin’ on the weekend,” Rhett says, and he opens a few cupboards, glancing around before pulling out an old stainless steel mixing bowl they’d got from Link’s grandma. “This okay for now?”

“Yeah.”

Rhett fills it with water and brings it over, setting it down in front of Merle. He watches for a second and then takes a seat next to Link on the floor.

“You happy?”

“Yeah,” Link smiles, “she’s perfect.”

Rhett nods, watching Merle drink from the giant bowl.

“She’s not gonna stay small though,” Link adds, and he watches Rhett, trying to read his expression.

Finally Rhett looks over at him and smiles. “That’s alright.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, man. We got that big bed. There’s room for the three of us in there.”

Link stares at him for a second. “You’re not gonna let her sleep between us are ya?”

“Just when she’s a puppy.”

“Rhett!”

“Man, she’s gonna fall off the bed if we put her on the edge!”

“We can get her a little doggy bed!”

“Where’s that gonna go?”

“Next to our bed!”

“On the floor?” Rhett reaches over and picks up Merle, holding her up so her little face is pressed next to his, and they’re both looking at Link. “You’re gonna put this sweet girl on the floor?”

“FINE.” Link laughs. “Fine, I’ll sleep on the floor. You and Merle can have the bed. Just come on down when you want a cuddle.”

Rhett lets out a booming laugh and sets Merle down carefully before tackling Link, pushing him down onto his back and hovering over him. Merle jumps around them excitedly, sniffing them and giving their arms little licks.

“You really gonna fuss and sleep on the floor?”

“Maybe,” Link replies, biting back a grin, trying to make himself frown instead. He’s not really bothered, he just likes the attention from Rhett when he pretends to be.

“Well, I’ll sleep on the floor with you then,” Rhett says, leaning down to kiss Link, soft. “Merle can have the bed.”

Link turns his head to look at Merle, “Hear that, girl? You just got here and you’re already takin’ over.”

Merle lets out a tiny yip, and they watch her for a moment before turning back to each other.

“I gotta finish cookin’,” Rhett says.

“Okay.”

“But after we eat you wanna have a cuddle?”

Link grins up at him. “On the floor?”

“Man, wherever you want.”

“Well this is how we live now,” Link says, dragging out the joke. “On the floor. Merle’s in charge.”

“I’m fine with that,” Rhett says, “I’ll go wherever you go.”

It’s softer than Link expects and he reaches up to grab Rhett, pulling him down to kiss him again, a little harder this time. Merle lets out another yip, lunging at them playfully and then bounding away.

“I’m gonna take her upstairs and show her around,” Link says against Rhett’s mouth.

Rhett nods, “I’ll call ya when supper’s ready.”

Rhett heads back to the kitchen, and Link tucks Merle under his arm and takes her upstairs for a tour.

It feels right, the three of them, even if she does take over their bed.

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

Howlin’ For You – Drabble

I’ve had this idea stuck in my head for months now and decided to just finally give in a write it. 

Some protective Biker!Dad!Bucky and a wee bit of Amelia

Bucky and Amelia were driving back from school.

By some miracle, Bucky knew enough not to pick her up on his motorcycle. He learned the hard way that that his daughter was starting to find it embarrassing. There once was a time – when she was still a kid and not a teenager – that Amelia thought it was cool that her dad drove a motorcycle.

Now she was embarrassed by it. The comments about how hot her dad was didn’t go unnoticed by Amelia and made her want to throw up. She also just hated unwarranted attention of any kind.

Bucky had been asking Amelia about her day when his cell started ringing.

“It’s mom,” Amelia said, seeing the screen before him.

He picked it up right away. “Hey, doll.”

“Are you guys too close to home? I realized I forgot a couple of things for dinner. Would you mind stopping by the store for me real quick?”

“Yep. Just text me what you need. Me and Amelia will grab it.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” Y/N answered before hanging up.

“Mom forget to buy ingredients again?” Amelia smirked.

“Yep,” Bucky chuckled. “Mind running in and grabbing it if I give you my card?”

She nodded. 

A few minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot of Whole Foods.

Amelia jumped out.

“Hey,” Bucky grabbed her attention before she could run in. She paused. “Buy some flowers for your ma, too.”

She rolled her eyes. “What kind?”

“The prettiest ones,” Bucky told her with a chuckle.

Amelia scoffed, “That’s helpful…”

She pretended to be grossed out and annoyed by her parent’s loving marriage and partnership. But she also saw how different it was from her friends’ parents, who all seemed to hate each other.

Bucky watched his daughter walk towards the entrance.

But his attention quickly averted to the group of young men that were loitering just outside the entrance. All of their gazes were fixed on Amelia, ogling her body up and down.  

If his window hadn’t been down, Bucky might’ve missed the disgusting catcalling that was aimed at his daughter.

His grip immediately tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles going white.

If Amelia had heard it, she pretended not to and continued on walking.

Bucky wondered when she learned the womanly skill of ignoring the disgusting behavior of men. 

He hated that she had to. He also hated that she was only 15 and men were already targeting her as if she was a grown woman. They had to be in their early 20s, which only infuriated Bucky even further.

‘Breathe, Bucky. Just breathe.’ That’s what Y/N would tell him if she were here right now. She’d try to calm him down and prevent him from doing anything rash.

But she wasn’t here and Bucky’s anger was getting the best of him.

Before he could change his mind, Bucky shoved his car door open and slammed it shut behind him.

His walk alone was murderous. And it caught the attention of one of the guys. He hit his friends’ chests and nodded toward Bucky, grabbing everyone else’s attention.

“Hey! What did you just say to her?” Bucky asked.

He’d give them a chance to look guilty for their actions, to immediately realize that what they’d just done was wrong.

But they weren’t that smart.

However, they did seem to know what he was talking about and started laughing amongst themselves.

“Why don’t you fuck off, old man?” One of them muttered without looking Bucky in the eye and turned his back on him, bringing his attention back to his friends who were laughing again.

It only made Bucky’s anger worse.

Alright. He’d tried it Y/N’s way. And that didn’t work.

Now it was his way.

Bucky grabbed the one who had talked back to him and slammed him against the car they were all standing near.

“Hey! Hey! Whoa, man! Chill the fuck out!” One of the friends panicked.

They weren’t so tough now, realizing that even though they were outnumbered, this stranger was taller and stronger than they were. It probably didn’t ease their panic that they saw a knife attached to the back of his waist on his jeans. 

“How old do you think that girl was?” Bucky hissed, his grip on the shirt tightening.  

His voice and tone were disturbingly relaxed. Through his military training and being around too many alpha males, Bucky learned that the man with the most control and composure always came out on top.

“I-I-I don’t know, man! 21?” The guy stuttered, eyes wide with fear.

Bucky slammed against the car again. “She’s 15 years old.”

“How was I supposed–”

“It doesn’t matter how old she is,” Bucky snapped. “No girl or woman wants to be catcalled. Do you understand me?”

The guy just stared up at Bucky, hoping that he wasn’t going to get hurt.

“I said, do you understand me?” Bucky repeated, annoyance evident in his voice.

The guy nodded his head quickly, realizing that showing his understanding was the only way he was going to survive this interaction unscathed.

Bucky released him roughly and then turned to acknowledge the boy’s friends.

“You idiots ever heard of the Howling Commandos?”

They all looked at each other and gave one another a reluctant nod. 

Everyone in the area had heard of the biker gang in some way or another. Some people knew they existed and others were convinced they were just an urban legend.

“If I or any one of them ever see you talk to another woman that way again, I think you can imagine what’ll be in store for you.” Bucky tilted his head and raises his eyebrows, offering them the chance to make the mistake of asking him to elaborate. 

With that, he slowly walked back to his car.

As soon as his back was turned to the guys, they all scrambled to get into their car and make a run for it.

A few minutes later, Amelia was practically skipping back to the car.

“I got mom a bouquet of Dahlias. I feel like their weird and creepy, so she’ll like them.”

Bucky chuckled. “Good choice.” He was trying his best to act like nothing happened. 

He knew how much Amelia got freaked out when Bucky turned all biker on the world. 

If Amelia noticed her dad acting more tense, she didn’t comment on it.

But Y/N, however, wasn’t one to let things go unacknowledged.

When Y/N and Bucky were finally alone in their bed at the end of the night, she asked him what was going on.

Bucky reluctantly told her about his little altercation.

“Should I talk to Amelia?” He asked her.

Y/N sighed. “It’s not about talking to Amelia or teaching her anything. It’s about making the world a safer place for her. And you know how you do that?” She asked him gently with an encouraging smile.

“Huh?”

“By raising boys to know better. And I think we did a pretty good job with the twins, don’t you think?”

Bucky shrugged. “If I ever heard the boys say those things to a woman…” he got angry just thinking about it.

“They would never, Bucky. You know that.” Y/N defended.

He knew Y/N was right. But he was grumpy and pissed off, quite frankly. Owen and Grayson were just two young men out of millions. It didn’t really feel like much of an impact to Bucky. It was other people’s sons that he was worried about – not his own.

A moment of silence passed between them.

“You feel helpless, right? Like you can’t control what other people do?” Y/N asked.

Bucky nodded, realizing that’s exactly how he felt.

“What you are experiencing is minuscule to what every woman feels like every day of her life.”

Bucky blinked as he processed what she meant. “I’m sorry, doll.”

She chuckled and laid her head on her husband’s chest. “You don’t have to be sorry, Buck. Plus, ‘sorry’ isn’t going to stop other men from being misogynistic assholes.”

He brushed her hair out of her face and off her neck. His hand then moving to rub her back. 

In minutes, she was fast asleep.

But Bucky couldn’t find rest so easily. All the women in his life taught him different things about the way the world saw and treated women. He just never expected his daughter to be the one to teach him another lesson.

---------

I missed writing for Howlin’ For You, so there ya go. 

[hobiwonder]

mission impossible | (m)

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Smut, crack.

Warnings: Oral, dirty talk, unprotected sex, overstimulation, slight degradation. dom/sub themes (jungkookie being a good boy and then... not so good lol)

Words: 9k+

Summary: When you find out that your groupmate is whoring it up on tinder instead of handing in his part of the project, you go on a mission to teach him a lesson. And maybe get him to finish his part.

A/N: hello!!!! thankyou all for waiting patiently. or maybe you’ve just forgotten about me lol. it’s been a while since i uploaded anything!!! I hope you enjoy this crack as much as I enjoyed writing fuckboy but still a movable baby!jungkook. please don't forget to tell me ur thoughts. feedback keeps me going :)

If it was something strange, it would happen to you. You were not just saying that because of the hint of narcissism in your personality that made you think that everything was about you. Oh no. You never seem to catch a break these days. And quite honestly, you should’ve expected your dose of absurd to be handed to you soon. It had been a week too long without any fatuous incidents and/or people happening to you. Was this just a y/n thing? Was every girl with your name cursed? Maybe it had something to do with your astrological sign. That always seemed to be the explanation of a lot of your friends who did not want to admit to their faults that would land them in hot water. The usual “oh it’s because i’m insert-star-sign”. 

Were you really becoming that girl? Though it was hard to blame yourself for this one. Currently staring at your phone. More specifically, the defined abdominals of your group mate. A group mate who has not shown up to a single meeting. After a whole day of slaving away at your study desk, deleting and rewriting your discussion and evidential analysis to conclude whether or not it was a plausible inference that the movies, Whiplash and Black Swan were excellent cinematic representations of the ‘Obsessed Performer.’ 

Yeah. That was a mouthful. And you bet your right ass cheek that you were the only one out of yourself and Jungkook who had even watched the said movies. In the group of four, Jungkook and yourself were given the discussion and conclusion to write. The three of you who had been present at the initial group meeting had chosen your parts as was decided in the group chat prior. When all of you had received a text from Jungkook cancelling last minute, you’d snagged the conclusion as well as half of the discussion to write as just the conclusion would be a little too easy. And you had wrongfully assumed that your peer had been in some sort of ‘emergency’ since he always sounded like he was in a hurry to do something incredibly important. 

You’d pitied the seemingly sweet looking boy and told him that you’ll work together on the last two sections of the paper. And his bastard self had always been all smile emojis and ‘yes :)’ and just all around misleading. Sounding like he was diligently working on his part by himself and definitely will turn everything into you by Thursday. Thursday was yesterday and you had not received even a single message from Jungkook about where he was in terms of progress on the 1000 words he needed to write. Message after message, you weren’t even being left on read. And in concern you had messaged your group chat that maybe he was facing some real life crisis to be so MIA. Until this.

Until you had picked up your phone about half an hour ago to mindlessly scroll through your instagram feed and then in the last 10 minutes had decided to also go on to tinder just to humour yourself. You were well aware that tinder was a cesspit of weird and unhinged men who would only be a good enough to make a youtube video about or a horror story texted to your best friend. You were speaking from experience. Decent men on tinder was like finding a luxury vintage dress in half good condition at a thrift store. 

So when you’d swiped left for the 30th time - you’d finally come across the perfect face of someone very familiar. You’d almost swiped left on reflex before you’d brought the phone almost too close to see why the face looked so recognisable. Even without having actually ever met Jungkook face to face - apart from that first lecture - it was hard to miss that this definitely was him. Your mouth had fallen open, jaw just shy of touching your soft bedsheets. You’d found Jeon Jungkook on tinder. His perfectly coy smile staring right at you, the first few buttons of his black shirt open wide to capture your attention back to his smooth, muscular chest. Hastily dialling Momo’s number, you can barely contain your shock and anger and annoyance. All of it wrapped up in one powerful burst of dialogue that you subject Momo’s ears too.

“Bitch!!!” You can’t help screeching, mind boggled.

“What happened now? Jungkook finally reply to you?”

“No oh my god. I found his tinder. I found his tinder Mo. I found his tinder!” You were screaming again but you couldn’t help it. 

You were missing a Jeon Jungkook to rightfully scream at so poor Mom was bearing the brunt of your anger and maniacal laughter because your brain was having a hard time believing your luck.

 “Wait, seriously? Did you match him?” Oh wait. Of course. There was still another step.

Wordlessly you swipe right, hard skipping a few beats in anticipation. And when the screen shows that he swiped you right as well and that you could now message him, you’re laughing once more.

“So he did. Wow. What a piece of shit.” She’s also laughing albiet much more like a normal human being.

“I cannot believe this Mo. This fuckhead doesn’t read any of my messages for the last week and I find him matched to me on tinder?”

Just then, your phone vibrates. Telling Mo to hold on, you don’t want to believe that this is actually happening. You had just received a message from Jungkook. It had barely been a whole minute of you matching up with him on this app and he had already messaged you.

Jungkook: What has 36 teeth and holds back the Incredible Hulk? My zipper.

This must be a bad dream. Were the cameras of Punk going to start showing up form under your bed? Were you being punked? Not only was Jeon Jungkook just the worst partner out of all the group projects you had been in, he was most definitely a fuckboy. Who used terrible pick-up lines. Did he really not recognise you? Granted that your pictures were not the ones you had put up on facebook - it was still quite discernible that this was definitely you.

“Mo, he just sent me a horny pick-up line oh my god. I’m going to lose my mind.”

“Of course he did. I always thought he was a bit of a player. What did he say?”

When you read out the message, both of you are coughing from the laughter. This was too ridiculous and just very much like something that would happen to you. You had a group project due in less than two days and your group mate had turned out to be a bit of a horny bastard that was more concerned with getting his dick wet than messaging you back.

“You need to message him back, y/n. Pour the cold water on him already and tell him how badly he fucked up.”

“No way! I bet you he’s going to never message me back. At least on tinder i’m going to get a reply. Just how the hell do I ask him about the paper that he should’ve emailed me, like, yesterday? Ugh.”

“Just message him back, firstly. Or lose the only communication you just got. Do you know what dorm he’s in?”

“No idea.” Typing your reply and deleting it - much like your assessment that you were working hard on. Unlike him.

You:  Hulk always was my favourite Avenger :)

“You did not just say that! Grossssss.” Yeah. Humouring fuckboys was exclusively for post 6 tequila shots Y/n.

Chuckling at your own response, you’re trying to keep your cool while trying to keep Jungkook’s attention so he doesn’t stop messaging you.

“Mo, wait. I just had an idea.”

“Please, y/n, violence is not the answer.”

“I won’t hurt him you knob. Okay talk to you later!” Not a lot anyway.

“I’m telling the police I don’t know you if they come around tomorrow! Bye!”

Making a face at your phone for good measure - you go ahead with your plan. There was no way you were letting Jeon Jungkook get away that easily. You’d been working so hard this semester. Harder than you have ever tried and you would not let his sloppy self to bring down your grade on an assessment that was worth 40% of your grade. Nearly half. Neither did the people in your group deserved it.

“Just you wait, Jeon. I’m going to kick your horny ass.”

Jungkook: let my Hulk destroy any traces of bad fucks you’ve had.

Your eyes are almost bulging out of your head at his brashness. Did he really just ask you to fuck? This is the second thing he has said to you and it’s him asking to fuck you. You can’t believe how much of a textbook fuckboy he was. When you haven’t responded for a few minutes, you get another message form him.

Jungkook: if that was too forward ^-^

Jungkook: then what i said was a lie lol.

Jungkook: I'm probably the best fuck you’ll ever have.

You cannot believe your eyes. With each message, Jungkook is either confusing you or making you shake your head at how exactly like all the other boys on tinder he is. This was hands down, the longest conversation you have had with Jungkook directly. In the group chat he generally adressed everyone, shooting haphazard apologies right before meetings. Saying he would not be able to make it. It had frustrated you to no end as the date for submission got closer and closer. And to see him reply quicker than you, on tinder no less, was beyond infuriating. 

You: Well then. Prove it.

You: Where do you live?

You doubted that Jungkook would be reluctant to give you his address. That’s just not something you see happening. Maybe he preferred to go to the girl’s place? That wouldn’t matter to you either. Though convincing him to bring his laptop with him would be a challenge but you were fine to let him work on your own. There was no way you were letting him go without coughing up his part.

Jungkook: you sure?

You: wanna fuck. Hurry up.

Jungkook: you’re so sexy :)

You were going to literally lose it. Not sure why you were biting the inside of your cheek so hard to stop yourself from laughing at his messages. Jungkook was the epitome of a snapchat fuckboy. It was much more hilarious than you anticipated. You were expecting to be feeling the singular emotion of sheer hostility. But you were having too much fun with this. Especially when you weren’t going to actually fuck him but seeing how eager and self-assured he was, this was all the more pleasant. 

Jungkook texts you his address and you let him know that you’ll be there in around 20 minutes. He lived surprisingly close. Though him staying in an all male rich residential college was definitely not a surprise. Only kids with a lot of disposable income and no worries of being evicted avoided doing any actual school work. The rest of you were not privy to such luxury. The more you thought about it the more you knew how gratifying it will be to show up at Jeon Jungkook’s door with a pile of notes and your laptop. He was in for a treat.

Dressing in that one little black dress you had was only part of the plan. An attempt to fool him one last time before you handed him the checklist of what he had to do. You shrug on a large jean jacket that fell below your bottom to conceal your provocative dress, grab your bag after stuffing all the necessities and then set out the door. Dialling Momo’s number, you let her know where you will be incase anything happens. You could never be too careful.

“Yo, I’m going to Cornell college. Jungkook apparently lives there so I’m going to meet him.”

“Are you serious? He told you his address?!”

“Sure did.”

“I pray for his soul.”

“He made me suffer far longer! Whose side are you on, traitor?!”

“Yours but knowing you, he’s in for a LOT. Okay stay safe.”

“Yeah yeah. He needs to be safe not me.”

“Yeah that was what I was saying. Anywhore. have fun.”

“Bye.”

The closer you get to the college, you are starting to hear loud music. Was this even allowed on colleges? Were there not any volume restrictions given what time it was and the fact that it was managed by onsite staff? Arriving on the level Jungkook told you his room was, 4th, the music is even more noticeable. The sign pointing to the common room was where most of the bass was coming from and you guess maybe there is a function going on. Though the closer you walk, you realise that this was not just any event. This was a party. The cracks in the door gave away to the activities happening inside the large hall. Deciding not to wait any longer, you text Jungkook again. Being as serious as you can be to get him to meet you outside instead of carrying your backpack with you inside.

You: I’m here to fuck, not party.

Jungkook: it’s a good party tho. We can slowly take it back to my room ;)

You: I’ll find someone else.

You hope he takes your bluff.

Jungkook: love it when you order me around baby.

Jungkook: don’t forget who’s in charge. Me.

You can’t help but roll your eyes, still smirking at your phone. No matter what your initial intentions were, you had to admit that playing with Jungkook was fun. He was unacceptably attractive and looked like the type of guy you would reduce to tears. But none of that tonight. You had to stay focused. You’re about to type another message to speed him up but he beats you to it. 

Jungkook: room is unlocked. go in. i’ll be there in a minute.

Letting out a whoosh of air you’d been holding, you head down the hall, further away from the heavy bass and the party music. Somewhat hesitantly, you open the door to the room number he gave you. Nothing out of the ordinary. His room wasn’t messy. It was tidy. No sign of books. Just a bunch of sketches and film negatives strewn about on his  study desk. Shamelessly, you snoop around, trying to find any evidence that he studies at all. So far, you’d only found an industry grade recording mic, two different types of cameras and some more unused camera reel. 

Getting out your notes and the checklist you were going to hand to Jungkook, you get everything ready for when Jungkook arrives. You were not going to let him get away with this. Just another minute later, you can hear the footsteps getting closer. And for a moment, so does your heartbeat. You were quite confident in yourself but there was always a chance that Jungkook was more than a harmless oversexed college boy. All of the very rational fears are thrown out the window, however, as soon as the black mop of hair comes into view. Jungkook was incredibly handsome. Even moreso than his pictures. His hair was longer than the last time you saw him months ago. The long strands of inky black hair fell endearingly in his face, just to the middle of his eyes, parted right in the middle and curling slightly. He wore a long sleeved shirt with hip-hugging jeans that almost made you drool visibly. The saliva was positively pooling in your mouth but you swallowed it quickly to avoid embarrassment. 

Now, you were angry. You really were. You needed this assessment finished so you could start on other projects and without Jungkook finishing up his part, there was no way you would have finished yours on time. But you would be a bold faced liar if you didn’t admit that you were oh so tempted to abandon your vendetta and not ride him like a bronco. You could tell that unfortunately, unlike other men who strutted about with empty words - Jungkook would be the best you would have in a while.

And when he smiles, it’s not any easier.

“Hey you.”

“Hi.” Desperately trying to keep your voice even, you smile coyly.

Jungkook locks the door, running a hand through his hair before he stalks towards you. Confident as ever. You bite your lip, baiting him even further before you strike. Just when he gets close enough to you, you hold out an arm to keep him from touching you.

“God, you’re even more sexy in person.”

“Uh-uh, be patient.” He’s blissfully unaware, just smirking in return as he watches your hands roam his chest before going up to his face. Taking a step closer to him, you rake your nails up his neck, leaving little white lines from the scratches. 

“Close your eyes, Jungkook.” Jungkook, ever the obedient boy, closes them quickly. Awaiting your next move.

You can’t help yourself when he looks like this. Completely immersed in the feel of your hands. He was a good few inches taller than you but your platformed sneakers made it easier for you to teach him a lesson. His dark eyelashes kissing the tops of his cheeks, face so relaxed you would think he’s sleeping. You deserved to play a little at least, right? Leaning forward, you stop with the internal rationalising and just make the move.

Your lips meet his in a fiery kiss. His stoic figure melting as soon as your lips lock, hands grabbing at your waist while his tongue grazes your bottom lip. Jungkook is moaning in the kiss like he’s taking his first gulp of water after roaming the desserts. Momentarily, you forget your purpose for even being here in the first place. Wrapping your hands in his tempting long tresses and pulling, making even more sweeter noises to spill past his lips. He’s panting and restless. Moving his body against yours like he’ll die without it. Moving him backwards, you push him agains his swivelling study chair that was conveniently faced the right way. 

His hands are all over you as soon as he’s down on the chair with your legs straddling his thighs on either side. All you can feel are his lips and his tongue and his hands. All over you, sliding your jacket off your shoulders to travel his kisses down another path. The desperate intake of oxygen is enough to bring your head back in the game, barely. With Jungkook nipping away at the now exposed skin of your shoulders and neck, it’s hard for you to stay focused. Especially when the hard tent in those sinfully tight jeans is now pushing against your softest part. He’s impossibly hard and you’re impossibly soft down there. It’s a lethal combination because neither of you can live without the other being pressed against each other. When you push down on him he pushes his hips up with even more ferocity, moaning louder with every illicit rub of the thickness between his thighs. 

You’re addicted to the feeling and not sure how you’ll centre yourself enough to do what you actually came to do. God was really making you eat your words, huh? You were so close to ripping all his clothes off and fucking his brains out. You bet he’ll make the prettiest sounds when you ride him. His whimpers and moans just from gyrating up against you were enough of an indication. Sliding your hands back up in his hair, you yank it back from your neck to see his sweaty, glistening face looking up at you. He looked slightly inebriated. You had tasted the traces of vodka in his kiss but you had a feeling that a lot of his current state had to do with you and not the liquor.

“Jungkook?” He shamelessly rut his hips against yours, not fully hearing you, lost in his own lusty haze.

“Yeah?” Your lips close around the soft cartilage of his earlobe, tugging and flicking with your tongue, illiciting more salacious noises out of him. 

“How’s the assignment coming along?” It takes him a few seconds to respond but the urgency with which he was pawing at you has slowed to a halt like a broken down car.

“Huh?” Pulling back completely, you stare him right in his twinkly eyes that look like a deer caught in the headlights.

“The paper you’re writing on modern cinema?”

“How... how do you know about that?” You smile at him sweetly. Before you flick him across his forehead.

“Ow! What the hell?”

“I should be saying that you harlot!”

“Harlot? really? You were all over me just now. You are all over me!” You’re surprised he knows the meaning of the medieval insult. 

“Don’t try and weasel out of this! I’ve been waiting for your finished part since yesterday!”

“Wait... you’re y/n, y/n?”

“Took you long enough.”

“With your tongue down my throat? I wonder why.” You cannot believe you are arguing with a boy whilst still in his lap with his hands holding on to your waist.

Jungkook is trying his hardest to deflect and make you seem like the desperate one when he had been the one to want to fuck you from the get go. Getting off his lap, you fix your dress, tugging it down a little since the assault from Jungkook had almost bared your ass. Jungkook is still sitting in his study chair, dumbfounded.

“Finish your part of the discussion Jungkook. I have to write the conclusion and submit the paper.”

He is still staring. And now your eyes are travelling down to his thighs. Particularly the large bulge a little further up. A very substantial bulge that makes your mouth water once more. 

“Jungkook!”

“Sorry, what? I just had a dream that a crazy girl tried to get me to do my homework right before we were going to fuck.”

“Listen here you little shit,” You grab Jungkook’s chin, gently despite his theatrical reactions, tilting it up to look you in the eyes. His reactions are so comical you almost laugh. “I’ve worked too hard for you to just give me piss poor, last minute effort. I’m here until you finish it.”

“You cannot be serious.” Letting go of his chin, you step back, folding your arms against your chest for good measure. Raising an eyebrow for him to challenge you.

“You expect me to write a thousand something words with this,” He points between his legs, you roll your eyes, “still here? No way.”

“I don’t remember giving you a choice, pretty boy.”

“You think I’m pretty?” So pretty. But he didn’t need to know that. You swivel his chair around back to face his desk.

“Less talk and more work!”

“Y/n, you can’t- can’t make me!” He’s throwing his hands around like a child and it’s a little too cute for an annoying boy like him who’s put you through so much anxiety. Sitting on his bed, swinging your legs as your eyes look around at the paintings, you let him huff and puff.

“Oh yeah? Guess I’ll have to call the cops because of the weed you have.”

His nose scrunches up adorably. “I don’t have any weed.”

“But I do. Who will they believe?” His eyes widen once more as he realises what you’re saying.

“Are you seriously blackmailing me?” You nod, smiling brightly. Jungkook turns back around, head in his hands as he mutters to himself how his tinder hookups are always crazy.

“Hey! I wouldn’t be here if you did your work! or replied to any of my messages.”

“Um, I was going too? I was busy.”

“Taking vodka shots? Yeah I could tell.” The mention of the kiss is bringing a rosy flush to Jungkook’s cheeks. Such an uncharacteristic reaction for a guy with his looks and his confidence.

He was that much more appealing to you because of how he contradicted his own personality. You knew he was one of those boys who acted all tough but secretly wanted to be bossed around. Told to do this and that. Made uncomfortable and maybe slightly humiliated. They lived to please. And the way Jungkook had melted into your body almost as if asking for guidance earlier, you knew he was exactly like that. He may not even know it yet but you could have him in the palm of your hands in a matter of minutes.

“What do I get in return?” He’s still grunting his disapproval, but looking through the notes you put on his desk anyway.

“A good grade and a life longer than 22?”

“You’re crazy.”

“All the more reason for you to be quiet and work!” He pouts at you before quietly looking through the notes and logging into his laptop.

When you’re satisfied he’s actually working, you lay down on his bed, making yourself comfortable knowing that it will take him at least an hour to finish his part. You had practically handed him all the points, he just had to write his own opinion and synthesise the evidence you had collected. The part of discussion required each student in the group’s own thoughts and thus you couldn’t just make them up on Jungkook’s behalf. Nor did you want to. You were done doing two people’s work back in your freshman year. These were advanced level classes and you weren’t going to ruin your grade because of one person.

Thirty minutes later, you’re almost about to doze off when you see Jungkook getting up from his chair in your periphery. Sitting up in a flash - though a little dizzy - you point an accusatory finger at Jungkook. Said boy has stopped mid-standing up.

“Don’t you dare Jeon! Get back in that chair and finish your work.”

“Jesus.” He’s holding his head in his hands once more before he starts whining again. “Y/n, please. Can’t I just do this tomorrow and send it to you then?”

You think about it. You do. “And have you go off the face of the planet again? No way.”

“Please.” He drags out the syllables, pouting and blinking up at you and it almost works.

“No. Not a chance. Just finish it ASAP and I’ll edit it. But finish writing it. The sooner you’re done the quicker I’ll be out of your hair.”

He glares at you. And not the scary, tough man glare that might make you slightly nervous and fidgety that you’re getting on his nerves. It’s a glare a kid gives you when you tell them no more TV or no more xbox. It’s the most adorable thing you’ve seen Jungkook do tonight. Or maybe you’re just sleep deprived. Either way, you wanted to kiss the hell out of him. But you turn your head away, faux annoyance ebbed into your features as you wait for him to start writing again.

It works for another half hour, Jungkook now actually typing more than he’s complaining. It was only a thousand words that he had to write but there was a lot of information that needed to be condensed in those thousand words which meant he was typing and then deleting, repeating the process again and again until he looked to be halfway through. You were impressed at how much he was getting done. Maybe it was your watchful gaze that was making him perform at his peak. You were now just hoping that whatever he wrote was actually plausible and not just rubbish to get you out of his room.

“I can’t believe you’re making me work with a boner. You could’ve at least gotten me off.” His pout his still there as he types casually.

“Stop being a brat and keep working.” 

“Yeah? You’re going to make me write lines? ‘I am a brat’.” He chuckles to himself like he’s burnt you to a crisp with that one comment. 

Taking your hand off of your face, you sit up. You watch the way his biceps bulge under his shirt as he types away at his laptop, legs splayed wide under his desk as he supported a semi. It was still a sizeable dent but nowhere near as daunting looking as before. But none of that diminishes your desire for him. You watch him talk to himself quietly as he types, but now stuck somewhere as he types and deletes and then types a sentence again. 

You’re not sure what sets it off. Maybe it’s your frustration or that you think he owes you something more than just this. Maybe it’s the way he’s sitting? There are a lot of reasons you can use to justify your serious and formidable attraction to him. But you cannot deny that it was him from the get go. Just him in all his submissive glory that made you attracted to him. And that attraction was now getting the best of you. Maybe it was time to torture him in another way.

“No. I’ll do something much more to your liking.”

His head turns back around fast, fingers halting at his keyboard while he inspects the drunken look in your eyes. Slowly, you spread your legs, hands bracing yourself as they clutch the sheets on either side of you. Your heart is racing at the look in his own eyes. Primal and needy. 

“Get on your knees Jungkook.” His chest is rising and falling much quicker than yours. Like he’s holding himself back.

You patiently wait for him to listen to your instructions, watching him. Never breaking eye contact. You know it’s new to him. It’s too obvious for you to deny it. But you relish the look of surprise every time you say something he doesn’t expect. Slowly, get’s up from his chair. Never taking a step further as he drops to his knees, crawling forwards until he’s right infant of you. The room is not that big at all so it doesn’t take him long. Now, his wide, doe eyes look at you. Inquisitive and aroused and it turns you on even more. He’s all man with hard ridges and bulging muscles but the way he’s looking at you right now makes you feel like at the centre of his world.

“Are... are you going to- to make me eat your pussy?” the explicit question sends your nerve endings on fire. 

You’re a second away from grabbing his hair and shoving him right between your legs but the way his soft mouth says the dirty words - it makes you feel a very different kind of way. Now it’s you who can’t stop staring at him. Thinking about what else he has up his sleeves. You expected him to be vocal but never this. He is bold and shy all at the same time.

“Would you like that, Jungkook?” His eyes drop between your legs again, watching the way your panties cling to your increasingly wet folds.

Jungkook is moving between your legs more, eagerly nodding so the strands of his fringe rustle up and down in his face. His arms are going under your thighs, gropping them for good measure before he looks up at you with those eyes again.

“Please.” He’s almost whispering, longing lacing his every word. “Please, y/n. Please let me taste you. ‘wanna taste you.”

His words have turned into pleas and the pleas turn into kisses alongside your inner thighs and then any place Jungkook can get his lips and tongue on. Everything else is forgotten. It’s just you laying on his bed while Jungkook tries to get a taste of you anyway he can. His lips travel up to your covered mound, never daring to move the piece of fabric holding him back from his destination. Opting to only kiss over it, lick his way up your clit through the thin cotton that’s now moulding to your swollen folds.

“Do- do you deserve it, Jungkook? For putting me through so much h-headache? Oh.” Your moans accompany almost every word. Fingers laced into Jungkook’s luscious hair as he continues his hurried tasting of your arousal. 

His response is mumbled between your legs. You watch his veiny hands repeatedly grab at the flesh of your thighs. Kneading it desperately like he’s trying to distract himself from doing something else entirely. A yelp leaves his mouth at your tug on his hair. Pale skin covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He looks like an addict when he is looking at you like you’re giving him his fix and God, you want to kiss his swollen lips.

“Answer me, brat. Do you deserve anything from me?” 

“N-No.”

“Right. Yet you’re still begging to taste me like the needy little slut you are. Hm?”

Jungkook is whimpering, his lids fluttering. He doesn’t expect the smack across his face, a little too hard for what you had originally aimed for. The surprise is evident and for a moment you’re worried he’s going to be upset. Instead, his breathing is picking up even further.

“Answer me when I speak to you.”

“Y-Yes... Noona.” The breath is almost sucked out of you at his timid tone. And it only makes you want to push him further.

“Good boy.” His eyes are lighting up at the praise like hundreds of little galaxies called them home.

Sliding down towards the edge of the bed, you let your legs hang off, letting your toes touch the floor. Jungkook is still on his knees, watching you manoeuvre yourself around his bed before you reach for the hem of your dress. Watching his every facial expression as you strip. He looks up at you wide-eyed, taking in your soaked underwear and the thin black bra where your nipples pointed right at him. You can see his hands twitch by his side. You’d pushed them off you when you’d changed your position and were surprised at how calm and obedient Jungkook was being. Contrast to how much of an argumentative brat he was. But you had a sneaking feeling that he liked it when you called him that.

You were trying to remain calm yourself. Not give too much away on the dilemma you held inside your head. Thinking if you should take this any further. Though it was a little too late now, you guess. You were practically naked, wetter than ever before as Jungkook watched you with his wide doe eyes. Hunger evident with every flit of his gaze. You would feel cruel if you stopped at this point. So you let the rational part of your brain take a backseat and letting the consequences of tonight berate you in the morning after. Sliding your palms down your stomach, straight inside your soaked panties, you stroke yourself ever so slowly. Holding his heated gaze with cloudy eyes.

“Noona...” It sends another jolt of arousal throughout your already overheated body. He’s biting his plump bottom lip, sliding his hand up and down carelessly on to his erection that had grown considerably in the past fifteen minutes. Jungkook looks like the embodiment of desperation and it makes you rub yourself a little faster. Every time your fingers come in contact with your sensitised clit, you bite the urge to buck your hips brazenly. 

“Yeah, baby? You want to see?” You hold out your wet fingers to him and in a flash, you feel his warm mouth around your digits. He moans loudly like he’s been relieved after years of drought.

“M-More. Please, Noona. I’ll do anything please, please.” Now that didn’t take long. Chuckling at his agonised face, you throw your head back, enjoying the relief your own fingers brought.

But you were torturing yourself too at this point. You wanted to replace your small fingers with Jungkook’s bigger and more vascular hands. You remember the view of his body from the glorified hookup app. Knew what he was hiding under the baggy shirt. The sweet whimpers and ‘please’ sounds coming from him were a delicacy on their own. 

“Take my panties off then. With your mouth. Don’t use your hands... or else.” Your tone is stern enough to give you that satisfying flash going through his eyes. 

In seconds, he’s leaning forward on his hands and knees, eyes never leaving yours as he bites the cotton on your hips, dragging it down. The act itself is a little clumsy. In his haste, Jungkook is taking twice as long should he use his hands. But something about his complete compliance, his willingness to be accepted by you and his utter devotion to pleasing you is the ultimately your undoing. This may be a power trip but you were thoroughly getting ruined during it. 

At last, the cotton has reached your ankles. Quickly, you shrug off your dress as well, completely naked. He’s placed small kisses in greetings before he takes them off completely. Out of breath and out of his mind. The glazed look has taken a permanent vacation in his eyes and you were getting high on it. Jungkook was a communicator. If it wasn’t his mouth relaying the naughty words to you then his eyes were holding yours hostage, smouldering.

Bracing your hands behind yourself and never breaking away from his eyes, your ankles part. Jungkook’s eyes are automatically falling on the mess between your legs but he doesn’t dare move. Awaiting your instructions. Jerking your chin towards his general direction, you silently bring his attention back to his overly dressed self.

“Lose the pants.” His hands make fast work of his jeans. Falling back on to the ground to push them off. 

“Uh-uh. Keep them on.” His eyes widen at your command to keep the underwear on. You weren’t about to just let him have it.

Not yet.

“Noona...” The high pitched noise of protest only makes your nostrils flare. You wanted to live out your every dirty fantasy with him if he sounded this sweet with just watching. The desire was making your head spin and your palms sweat. 

“Yeah?” 

“Please... I’ll do anything.” His eyes twinkle in the dim light as he kneels infant of you. 

“I’ll eat you out for hours, let you sit on me face until I can’t breathe. Let you ride my tongue until you can’t cum anymore. Just please... fuck me.” The last two words leave him in such agony that for a second it truly sounds like he’s in pain. 

Which is ridiculous given the ted talk he just gave on the Perfect Words To Say to Ruin Y/N and Her Panties. You’re the one currently in pain from clenching your jaw so tight. Resolve like a skinny rubber band about to snap. Dirty talk was the chink in your armour. And by the way Jungkook’s face lit up and his words became a lot more sure and confident, you knew that he was weaponising his skill to control you fully. And you needed to put him in his place before you gave up your pride and rode him until you ran out of stamina or died from your body overheating. Whichever happened first. 

“Get up.” 

“Fuck yes-“ Jungkook’s blubbering about how you’re the hottest person he’s ever seen and that he knows he can blow your mind while you push him back on the bed and straddle his meaty thighs. When he begins to push down your panties, you push his hands off and rest them on his sides. 

“Keep them there or you won’t be coming. Understood?”

His curls bounce around his face as he nods, chest heaving when he looks at your hips move over the biggest bulge you’ve felt under you. You would’ve thought that he’d stuffed his underwear with socks if you couldn’t feel the burning heat his cock was pressing in to you, even through his boxers. Each roll of your hips pressed him to your every crevice like two puzzle pieces fitting in to complete the picture. 

“Oh fuck-... You feel so good noona. I-I’m going to cum if you keep going.” He’s resorted to use his hands at his sides to push him upwards, pressing himself with every gyrate of your hips downward on him.

“Yeah? you’re gunna cum from just this? Is noona making you feel really good?” 

Jungkook is lost in soaking up every sensation like a drunkard.  Gaze not leaving where your hips met. Furrowing his eyebrows in deep concentration as he thrust his hips up, rocking you off balance slightly. Your hands slide into his sweaty curls, pulling them hard enough to yank his beautiful face up and close to your own.

“Answer me what I ask you a question.” And he whines. Or moans.   Nevertheless it’s a lethal mixture of the two and you’re about to kiss him senseless.

“Yes. I-I feel really good. Noona is- oh fuck- g-gunna make me cum.”

“And are you going to?” He looks up at you nervously, trying to speaking amidst every roll of your flaming core onto his dick. It was getting harder and harder for you to speak as well. 

“N-No?” 

“Good. Because only good boys get to cum. Not needy sluts like you.” 

Now Jungkook whimpers like a wounded animal. Because you’ve upped the ante. Holding onto his shoulders while you grind down on his throbbing cock just the right angle so your clit is receiving the mind-numbingly pleasurable stimulation. You were going to cum any minute and it looked as if he was too.

“F-Fuck. I’m going to cum Jungkook. Your cock feels so good.”

“Noona please. Please s-stop. I-I’m going to cum-“

“That’s not my fucking problem. If you want me to fuck you then you better not. Understood?”

He looks utterly panicked. Torn between letting himself go to the unbelievable pleasure of this act alone and wanting to hold back and obey your every command. Jungkook’s lip is bitten red, chest heaving and eyes watering as he watches the erotic sight of your brazen bouncing on his lap. You’re putting on a show just to make it that much more difficult for him to hold back. But he somehow does. Watching your face contort with pleasure as your head is thrown back. Your moans are loud and lewd. Designed just to rile him up to the point of breaking.

“Oh god. I’m- I’m gunna cum baby.” With a shout, you’re riding out wave after wave of the liquid pleasure running through your veins like molten gold. 

It takes a solid minute for your eyes to focus on a singular object. Or a person. More specifically, an incredibly handsome,  glistening, starry eyed, muscular, put-micheal-angelo’s-david-to-shame, strikingly adorable man. Jungkook looked on the verge of losing his sanity. Yet, he didn’t stop watching you collect yourself, flicking the stray strands over your shoulder before you pressed your mouth to his.

You brought your mouth to his and kissed him hungrily. When your lips met, you heard him make a tiny sound. His body went rigid, and he wasn’t reciprocating. You think it might have been down to shock, though, because when your tongue slid past the seam of his lips, he opened them willingly and trembled against you.

Your fingers dug into his thighs, and he pulls you closer. You were on fire, felt like you were melting into him. Never before had a single kiss gotten you so worked up. She tasted like chocolate and strawberries. Jungkook rocked forward, and then you felt his tongue move expertly against yours. Of its own accord, a groan emanated from deep in your chest. When he brought his hands to your neck and massaged your throat, you whimper. He was hard as a rock and you finally wanted to reward him for holding out this long.

He’s chasing your lips when you break away, sliding his kisses down your neck as if breaking the contact will be fatal for him. “You did so good baby. Such a good boy.”

The praise seems to rejuvenate his body. Not that he needed to.  He was bursting at the seems with testosterone. The longer he went on without a release, the more unhinged Jungkook seemed. The incongruence of his raw masculinity with his alarmingly meek behaviour towards you was something you didn’t understand but it affected you the most. He surprised you with every move and you wanted nothing more than to own him completely. 

Jungkook makes a noise in his throat at the praise, sliding his hands down to caress the globes of your ass. “I’ve been a good boy. Now fuck me.”

His words are steady, deliberate and to the point. Scratch everything you said about Jungkook being meek. They send shudders down your spine where his hands reside. This was a man who looked on the verge of tearing something apart. And judging from the current situation, he was going to be tearing you apart. You’d let him, gladly. But being the cocktease you are- you push him even more.

“And if I don’t, little boy? Gunna beg?” A heartbeat later, you’re the one on the soft mattress and it’s Jungkook that’s hovering over you.

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Then I’ll fuck you noona.” 

You’re not too mad because you’re wetter than before and the change in his demeanour has you besides yourself with the need to feel him inside. Jungkook’s teeth are tugging on your hardened nipples. Circling them with his tongue before sucking the puffy buds tenderly. The pressure of his suction is so delicious that you might just cum from this. 

“God! Jungkook, b-baby please. Fuck your noona.” He grins around a nipple, hands sliding inside your soaked core.

“I don’t know. Maybe I should make you wait like you made me. Hm?”

“Don’t be a brat. I’ll stuff your mouth next time with a sock Jeon J- oh fuck!”

He’d slid down your body, his kissing every inch. Your stomach, your hip bones, your thighs.

“I’d rather it be your pussy.” He whispered, bringing his mouth to your wetness, and then licked.

“Ahhh,” you cried out, clutching a handful of his hair. Jungkook chuckled and went at you in earnest. You were so soft and silky beneath his tongue. He met your gaze from below and came up for air. Jungkook watched you for a second before dipping his wet mouth lower again. The noises of your arousal pornographic. He saw you fist the sheets in your hands, your hips rising up off the bed when he sucked your clit into his mouth and flicked it with his tongue. He added some fingers to the equation, savoring the hot, tight feel of you.

“Please,” you murmured. “More.”

So he gave you more. He gave you everything. Before he knew it, you were touching your breasts, pinching your nipples as he devoured you, and you swear you could have come from the sight of Jungkook between your legs alone. he was simply glorious. Your voice was starting to get hoarse. Getting close to the edge before Jungkook ripped his mouth away.

“No! Jungkook, please.” You’re frustrated and angry and horny that he would do that. Even if you did the same thing to him. 

He was testing you once again but the raw need in his eyes told you that you were testing him too. 

“I’ll fuck you now noona. Nice and good. You want this cock right?” He’s holding his straining erection heavily, sliding down his boxers to discard them besides his bed.

You moan out your answer, opening your legs wide in invitation.

“Just fuck me before I change my mind.”

“Yeah?” His tone is mocking. His eyes twinkling with a cheeky grin on his face. You almost get up to kiss him because he looked so fucking adorable and hot and sexy at the same time.

Thankfully - or not? - he’s pulling you to the edge of the bed and in seconds, he has pulled you close to his chest. He circles the engorged head of him in your slit before pushing in to the hilt in one thrust. The sheer girth of him has you yelping, needing to adjust to the length of him as well. But Jungkook doesn’t allow you the courtesy of that.

His legs are spread in a powerful stance as his hands grip your legs from behind the knees. And then he’s thrusting. He’s fucking into you so deep, you can feel him in your throat. You must look like a fish at this very moment with your mouth opening and closing without any real sound. He feels hot and thick, like molten lava in your veins. you’re finally finding your voice when angles his hips slightly to the left - biting a spot that has you blinking up at the ceiling full of stars. 

“Jungkook! Oh god. Oh f-fuck. You’re so good baby. S-So good.”

“Yeah? You like how deep I am in your pussy? Answer me noona.” He’s quickening his pace, snapping his hips punishingly making you release a guttural scream.

“I love it. So much.” 

You watch the sweat drip off his forehead, the dimples in his cheek now very prominent as his tongue peeks out the corner of his mouth. He’s a sight you want to imprint on the back of your eyelids. You can see his lose his resolve, the creases in his forehead slowly deepening as the pleasure becomes too much for him. 

“God you feel so wet and tight n-noona. You look so hot when you cum. I w-wanna make you squirt.”

Your eyes bulge out of your head at his admissions. It seems like he’s lost all his filter, chasing the mind numbing pleasure he felt earlier. His words are bringing you even closer to the edge and your throat now begs for relief when you  let out another yell as he pushes you up the bed while still fully seated inside you.

“I’m gunna cum noona. I j-just need to... to- I don’t. I don’t wanna h-hurt you-“ His sweet face is contorted with worry, still thrusting steadily. You finally understand his point after a few seconds. Taking you twice as long to comprehend anything with the plethora of feelings your body was feeling right now. 

Cupping his face, you told yours upwards to place a small kiss on his wet lips. “It’s okay baby. You won’t break me. Just let go.”

Jungkook’s eyes are glassy and he stares in yours for a moment too long because your heart is doing summersaults, heading straight for your mouth. Too much emotion crammed into his big eyes and you just wanted to strangely hug him close to your chest. This day has been strange enough - so you do. You Pull Jungkook close to you. His face tucks itself in the crevice of your neck, whining and moaning. His breath tickles and sends shivers down your spine. And then he circles his hips against yours. 

From the hard and deep fucking, Jungkook circles his hips into yours. Slowly at first, his pelvis rubbing against your clit in just the right way before he speeds up. His hands find their way down your back again, pushing your hips up into his own, making your centres feel everything. You can feel him in every fold of your core and it’s all too much.

“Oh god.” Your hands scratching down his back, head tilted back, legs closing around his waist tightly.

“That’s it noona. Cum for me. Please, please. ‘Wanna feel you around my cock. ‘Wanna feel y-your cunt devour me. Cum.”

You scream so loud that you can hear a ringing in your ears. Vision flashing white as the indescribable pleasure starts in the pit of your stomach and coarse through your limbs all the way to the tips of your fingers and toes. It’s all consuming and breathtaking. Unexpected.

“I-I can’t hold it anymore. Can I-“ You’re unable to speak.

Still reeling from your orgasm, twitching from the sensitivity, but you nod anyway. You wanted Jungkook to let go inside of you. Wanted to give him the same pleasure he gave you. He was incredibly ethereal atop you. You wanted to see him come undone. And Jungkook was too far gone to think twice before hitching one of your legs up, the other arm grabbing the headboard as he thrust up inside you once again.

“Fuck, yes. God, you’re so good you’re so good. I could fuck you forever noona.” 

His eyes are watering, tucking his face back into your neck again before he pistons his hips against yours rhythmically. The only sounds in the room being the tacky noise of skin slapping against skin, the obscene squelch from the steady arousal leaking between you both. You’re so delirious from the mix of pleasure and the deliciously addicting pain. AT some point, you’ve stopped screaming and only whimpers leave past your lips, legs falling lax around Jungkook and hands fisting the sheets.

“Cum Jungkook. P-Please baby. Cum for n-noona.”

“‘gunna cum. Am I good noona? your good boy?”

“You’re the best Jungkookie. Cum for your noona.”

“Fuck! Y/n, f-fuck.” He’s shouting something you can’t properly hear because of the ringing in your ears from your own release.  Filling you with his hot release. The intense pressure that had been building between you has snapped the frail rubber band in your stomach again. And seems like Jungkook’s had too.

Moments pass, both of you trying to suck in air like it’s the last supply available. Then, Jungkook’s flushed face appears in front of yours with his signature cheeky smirk. He’s glowing.

“You squirted.”

“Shut up!” Your ears must be the shade of a tomato now as you swat his back for the comment. He lays besides you, cuddling up to your side with his leg laying on top of yours. Clinging to you like a koala and it’s too damn adorable. Damn it. 

“It was hot. You’re amazing.” Your heart flutters a little too violently at that and you have to suck in another breathe, pulling the sheets off of him and completely bundling them on you.

“Hey!”

“Hm? You’re going to finish that assessment.” You grin innocently at him and try your hardest to not start howling with laughter when you can see his face fall almost in slow motion.

“Are you serious?” You just sent him a kiss before settling in his bed for maybe a 12 hour nap. Just a tiny nap.

“Noona!”

“I’ll give you head when you’re done. Be a good boy.”

With the most adorable pout you’ve ever seen on a grown man, you watch Jungkook pull up his boxers, stomping away to his study desk.

“Wake me up when you’re done Jungkookie.” Your sweet tone does little to get the pout off his face but he does smile the whole time he’s typing. 

Of course, not that he let you see that

a/n: liked it? hated it? let me know!!

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI, USA - September 20, 1980

(x)

Freddie stopped the show part way through Love Of My Life because the rowdy audience was drowning out Brian's guitar.

Around this time the Detroit Lions football team had adopted Another One Bites The Dust as an anthem. When Queen performed it as an encore with Freddie donning a Lions' cap, the arena exploded.

(x)

Fan Stories

“It was September 20th, 1980 and it started just like any other day for me. I was upstairs playing my favorite 45 record for the millionth time it seemed... at least to my mother that is. The song was Another One Bites The Dust by Queen, I had already worn out 3 or 4 of the 45 record which was released just a short time ago. My Uncle had stopped by and asked me if I wanted to spend the night and see a late movie. At first my mom was rather reluctant to let me go but being a Saturday and no school she gave in and off we went. As we were driving I noticed that we weren't going to his place so I asked him what the movie was, he just smiled and said we weren't going to a movie but to a rock concert, He KNEW my mom would forbid me to go to such an event so he used the movie as a ploy to get me out of the house. I asked him what concert, all he said was it was a surprise. By the time we entered Detroit Michigan I was all excited as this was my first concert ever, we weren't even allowed to listen to rock and roll. We got to the Joe Louis Arena and that is when I melted into the seat, on the Marquee in BIG letters "QUEEN". That is when I melted in my seat and repeatedly thanked my uncle, he later told me the look on my face was worth the tickets. We made our way inside and found ourselves about in the middle of the floor, we had General admittance tickets. I remember jumping up and down a lot during the support bands set. In case you are wondering the bands name was Dakota, and I have never heard of them. Well after they had finished we tried to make our way forward knowing we would NEVER see Queen where we were, we were young and short, I was 14 and my uncle was 18. Well it seemed like an hour, but must have been a couple of minutes when 2 security guards told us to follow them. My first though was "oh no, we are in trouble and are not going to see Queen". Well, That was NOT the case, in fact they took us ALL THE WAY UP FRONT, just off center stage, we were on Brians side.

No sooner did we get there when the whole place went dark. Then this sound that seemed to come from everywhere started. It got louder and louder and started to rise in pitch. I kept looking at the stage to see if I could see the band, nope.. but I did see something above us moving. by now the sound was reaching a peak and then it happened, a LOUD explosion and Lights that blinded us. It happened a couple more times but now I was ready... the crowd were going nuts, I WAS going nuts, then the guitar. Out walked Brian May playing this song that would literly plague me for years as I was certain it was NOT a Queen song, but no idea, of course it was Jailhouse Rock. Then Freddie came out. He was wearing a black leather jacket and orange pants with blue kneepads. I can't remember if he was wearing a hat and sunglasses. By now the crowd was so loud I could not even hear my uncle next to me, he later told me that during the first 2 songs all he could say was YEAH.... @$!* Yeah... Of course the second song was the fast version of We Will Rock You but to be very honest at that time the only 2 songs I knew were Another One Bites The Dust and Don't Try Suicide, so EVERY song was a new experience. After We Will Rock You Freddie spoke to us for the first time, he said something like "Hello Detroit... " he may have said more but I can't remember. Hearing bootlegs from that tour I would assume he added "Lets Rock and Roll Huh" or something like that. I remember when they went into Play the Game everyone went nuts, of course I didn't know it was new to me, ALL the songs were new. He then spoke to us again telling us that they were happy to be back in Detroit and that we were in for a treat.Then came Mustapha, That was my first taste of their diversity, this foreign language. but what confused me was just about everyone knew that language. again, I didn't know the song and had no idea what it meant but it was cool. I think Freddie took his jacket off around Play the Game or Mustapha not sure, to be real honest I was amazed by the guitar player, Brian made everything seem so easy. I can tell you that pretty much the whole night was a sensory overload and that I could not take in everything. The Get Down, Make Love section that was lights, smoke, Freddie and Brian was too much, If you never saw Queen live when they performed this then you truly missed a WONDERFUL experience, Video does NOT do this song justice, Freddie really sets the mood when he starts his vocal teasing. Aside from Another One Bites The Dust the only song I could NOT get out of my head was oddly enough another John Deacon gem, You're My Best Friend had a beat that just could not be dismissed. Then the moment I found to be the most humorous, Freddie asking us if we liked his new moustache, He informed us that he grew it just for US, then he said, You Fuckers will believe anything. When I saw a book some years later By Judith Davis mention the same scene I wondered if he said that at all the shows or just ours, after listening to various bootlegs I could not find any other one that mentioned that. Now You remember I mentioned that I was just 14 right. When Freddie announced Fat Bottomed Girls he dedicated it to all the ladies with huge tits, for a 14 year old boy that was WAY COOL, in fact there were a couple of women near us that actually flashed him, I wonder did he even notice. During Love Of My Life Freddie stopped the show because we were too loud he could not hear Brian, The rest of the night was a blur aside from Brians nifty guitar work on his solo. That moment right there convinced me that I wanted to be a guitar player. I remember yelling a lot ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!!!!..

I was very very close, I KNEW Freddie could hear me, well I got my wish, he came out after a brief break and I was just in heaven, I heard MY song, now I could go home happy, but wait, Queen and Freddie had another surprise in store for me, I am a Star Wars Geek, and when he came out on Darth Vaders shoulders I was just freaking out, I ACTUALLY thought it was the same guy that played Darth Vader. of course I had no idea what that song was, funny how songs work into your subconscoius, a few days later I was just drumming the beat to We Will Rock You, NOT knowing what it was. Anyway, the last song was odd, I THOUGHT COOL they are playing My Country Tis of Thee.. Well, I know now that is was NOT that song... hehe. I left the concert just amazed, my ears ringing, just going on and on about what just happened. My uncle told me to calm down, there was no way my mom could know we saw a concert he would be in trouble, so he kept drilling me about the "Movie" we saw, the next morning the first words I said to mom were "Mom I saw QUEEN!" she was furious, but the damage was done, the next few weeks I bought every Queen album I could, I even stole money from my paper route just to by the next LP, and when I found Live Killers, it was so close to what I saw, BUT, there were differences. The date was September 20th, 1980 when my life changed forever. I would be completely OBSESSED with Queen, I would do anything I could to get their latest LP. Thank you for reading this and I hope you found it as enjoyable as I did writing it as I actually started to remember things that had been locked away. I found out that John had nearly brought down the cymbles nearest to him, Crystal had to dive out to catch them, I had the pleasure of chatting with Crystal Taylor (Roger's drum roadie and no relation by the way) and asked him if he remembered that and to my surprise he said that John did that often, but he DID remember our show because of Freddie stopping the show during Love Of My Life.” - Mike Preston

[marshmallow-phd]

Bottom of the Glass

Genre: Bodyguard!AU, Angst

Pairing: Jinyoung  x Reader

Summary: It’d been almost ten years since you left the life of glitz and cameras behind, never looking back. But someone refused to let go. When danger comes knocking, your father insists on hiring the best to keep you safe. Reluctant, you agree. Park Jinyoung is constantly by your side, but as the stalker gets closer, will he be able to keep you safe without getting too close himself?

Part: 1 I 2

**

Dan pouted at your lack of enthusiasm to go along with his joke. Jinyoung seemed to find it somewhat amusing, given the smirk on his face. But he got over it fairly quickly.

“If you don’t mind, Daniel, I would like to talk to Miss (y/n) about the measures we’ll take to ensure her safety.”

“Absolutely,” Dan agreed. He looked at you and then back at Jinyoung. “I’ll leave you two to discuss… safety measures.”

You rolled your eyes as your friend’s retreating back. Not waiting for Jinyoung to start his no-doubt rehearsed speech on how he was going to upend your life, you went back to your desk and cleaned off the food and napkins that covered the surface. You finished your glass of wine and sat down in the chair. Jinyoung remained standing, the smirk gone, nothing left but a blank, distant expression. With no prompt from you, he got started.

“Your father has already provided me with a key to your apartment and I’ve met with the security staff there. I will have access to the cameras from my phone both for the apartment building and the hotel. I will drive you wherever you want to go, but for the time being you should limit your activities to work, home, and grocery stores. If you can work from home, that would be even better. There are agencies that will pick up your groceries and deliver them. That should be an avenue to utilize. I’m currently running background checks on employees, apartment staff and your close friends.”

“What?” A few drops of the water you had taken a sip from to counteract the wine you’d chugged found their way down the wrong pipe in your throat. “You’re looking into my friends?” You scoffed. “That’s how you knew about Dan’s line.”

“One can’t be too careful.”

“It’s Dan. He runs away from fireflies and organizes his clothes by color than by season. “Fake, pig, or otherwise, he wouldn’t have the stomach to go anywhere near blood.” If there was one person you could trust not to be behind all the phone calls and the bloody package, it would be Dan. And you refused to let this overreaching, overpaid babysitter make you paranoid and isolate everyone in your life.

Jinyoung shrugged, unmoved by your argument. “It’s the job. I can’t rule anyone out, no matter who they are to you.”

“Who’s next? My cousins?”

The silence was enough of an answer.

Leaning back in your chair, you closed your eyes and rubbed the space between your brows. “Listen. I am not working from my apartment. I have too many meetings and too much work to stay on my couch in my sweatpants. If there’s a function that requires my presence, then I’m going to go.” To let him know that you were completely serious, you opened your eyes and held his gaze. “You’re here at the insistence of my father. I’m tolerating this for his sake. But - and I will keep saying this - I’m not going to let that weirdo who is obsessed with a long forgotten past mess up my life now.”

Seconds of silence ticked by. Jinyoung kept your gaze, unmoving and unreadable. The more you stared back, the more you saw what Dan possibly saw.

This bodyguard was nothing like you had expected. He was on the shorter side, not intimidating at first glance. If you looked too long at his face, as long as he wasn’t smiling, then maybe he could insight… some sort of emotion. But you felt nothing. Nothing but annoyance, that is.

As both an actor and a director in this company, you’d learned to read people. You’d learned to search their faces for the emotions hidden underneath, to pick apart what they otherwise wanted to hide. But it was baffling to you how cutoff Jinyoung was. You saw nothing in his eyes that gave away the thoughts in his head.

Shifting minutely, he finally said, “But what is a life that’s a little out of order compared to no life at all?”

A bit of... an eccentric way to put it. “Poetic.”

He let out a fairly short laugh. “It’s been known to happen.”

You were still skeptical. You still didn’t want your life to be whirled around like you were caught in a tornado. But he had a point - the winds were already coming. And you couldn’t outrun a storm.

Crossing your arms and legs, you gave a smirk of your own. “You are certainly… not a cliché.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know. Something more of a Dwayne Johnson type?”

“You need speed, not strength.”

“Did you just insult The Rock?”

Over the direction of the conversation, Jinyoung sighed. “Are you done for the night? I need to inspect your apartment.”

Oh, gosh. You rarely had strangers over. Was your place even clean? Were there dishes in the sink? Fresh clothes that still needed to be put away? It didn’t matter if your apartment was pristine or in shambles like a hotel after Spring Break, you knew the bodyguard was going to force his way in. So you gave way, nodding and standing up from your desk. What was left could wait until tomorrow.

 A short car ride followed up a brief yet heated conversation in the parking garage as to who was driving. Jinyoung all but implied that he was the better driver with faster reflexes while you insisted that no one knew your car as well as you did. A pitiful argument. Your car didn’t have special modifications or a tricky gear. It was a standard, newer model that drove basically like any other motorized vehicle. It was nothing more than your first powerplay – and Jinyoung had won.

If your stalker wanted you to feel like that teenage actress again, they were succeeding.

Back then, you weren’t allowed to drive either. Too risky since teenagers had a tendency to get into more accidents and – whether it was your fault or not – whatever fender-bender you got into would end up in the tabloids. Add in the fact that you were usually in cities that you weren’t entirely familiar with and it was just best to be chauffeured whenever possible. At least this time you were able to sit in the front seat.

You handed Jinyoung the keycard that granted access to the parking garage and guided him to your assigned spot. No more words were spoken as the two of you got out of the car and headed inside.

The lobby was the only entrance to and from the garage for “security” (a word that you were going to get really tired of here soon). Once your feet hit the transition from concrete to polished tile, you headed for the elevators. Jinyoung, however, steered you away with a hand on the shoulder. His destination was the front desk where the doorman sat behind a marble barrier.

“Ah, you must be Park Jinyoung,” Walt, the doorman, greeted with a smile. He stood from his chair and leaned over the barrier to shake Jinyoung’s hand.

Walt was the doorman that you liked. He always wore a smile and had a gentle, uncle-like feel to him. The kind of uncle you enjoyed being around, not the annoying, obnoxious kind that you steered clear from at family gatherings. That title belonged to Newman, who mostly worked the late-night shift. For good reason.

“Your firm head met with us yesterday and went over the broad stroke of things. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to sit in on the meeting with our security staff earlier today with you present.” Walt didn’t seem effected by the news of your new bodyguard in the slightest.

“That’s alright,” Jinyoung nodded. “I’m sure they went over the briefing with you?”

“Absolutely. All packages for Miss (y/n) are to be collected here and left for you to inspect before being passed on to her. I’m to notate any strange behavior I see, both from strangers and from other residents.”

“Good. Good.”

“How’s your mom, Walt?” you asked, hating the feeling of being talked about like you weren’t standing right there. You just hoped that no one else living here was overhearing this conversation. You doubted that they would take too kindly to being watched and investigated like this.

Walt smiled. “She’s doing good. Has her bad days though where she forgets what year it is or that she’s not in the country anymore.”

“I’m sorry.” Your heart went out to Walt. His situation wasn’t the easiest to handle.

“Alzheimer’s?” Jinyoung guessed in a tone that still managed to be sympathetic.

Walt nodded. “It’s slow going, though, so that’s a small blessing.”

“That’s good.”

“Have a good night, Walt,” you said. You were currently fighting back a yawn. Wine always made you tired. You don’t know why you let Dan talk you into having a glass at the office. Maybe it was the stress of your predicament that made you give in so easily.

“Good night, Miss (y/n). Get some rest.”

The smile dropped from your face as soon as the elevator doors closed. Now more than ever, you just wanted to slide between your sheets and go to sleep. There was even a little bit of hope that you would wake up tomorrow and this would all be a dream and Jinyoung would just be a face that your brain chose after seeing him in some designer clothes commercial. If the bodyguard noticed your change in posture or expression, he made no mention of it.

Getting your key into the door was a struggle, but eventually the lock clicked, and you were able to go inside your home. A sense of relief flowed over you when you closed the door behind you.

“You should get some rest,” Jinyoung suggested. This, you would not argue over. He started making rounds through the apartment, looking out the windows and checking the shelves for things you preferred not to think about. 

Grabbing a fresh towel from the hallway closet, you entered your bedroom and straight for the shower. It was twenty minutes of uninterrupted thought-processing. You talked yourself into temporarily thinking that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

Yes, it was going to suck. Yes, you were going to get annoyed and probably fight with Jinyoung a few more times. But this was just another obstacle life was placing in your way. It was going to be a long hard climb, but you’d make it over sooner or later. As far as you were concerned, this “stalker” would eventually get bored and move on to some other has-been.

Much more relaxed, you got out of the shower and slipped into your sleepwear before going to check on Jinyoung. You found him out in the main living room fluffing up a pillow on the couch. His shoes and jacket were off but you didn’t see them in the immediate vicinity.

“What are you doing?”

He didn’t seem surprised by your sudden appearance, not even looking up at you as he answered, “Getting ready to sleep.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Out here?”

“Yes.”

Maybe he thought that the couch was his only option. Obviously your bedroom was off the table and down the hall. “I have a guest bedroom.” Well, two really, but one was being used more as an extra office-slash-storage space.

“If someone breaks in, I’ll know sooner and can respond better out here.”

You weren’t even going to try and argue. You shrugged. “Okay, have it your way.”

Not being completely heartless, you went back to the hallway closet and got out an extra blanket.

He revealed a small grin when you handed it over. “Thank you.” He sat down on the couch, eyes roaming over the room. His gaze lingered on the entryways and windows. You always kept the curtains closed, except for when it was raining or snowing. Regular sunlight was too bright for your liking and created a glare on the TV. Also… you didn’t like the idea of someone in a building across the way possibly looking in.

Okay, so maybe a little part of your brain had always been paranoid, and you just never wanted to admit. You still refused to do so out loud.

“You can go to bed,” Jinyoung chuckled. “You don’t have to watch over me. That’s my job.”

“Right.” Could you be even more awkward about this situation? Turning to go, you almost took that first step to head to your room, but then another thought jumped into priority. “Are you seriously going to sleep in your suit?”

Jinyoung looked down at his shirt and then back up at you. “Yugyeom will drop my suitcases off tomorrow. This will do for tonight.”

You snorted. “Let me guess, your luggage will contain all white button downs and perfectly tailored slacks.”

“That’s the uniform.”

Shaking your head, you turned to go. And then whipped right back around.

“I can look after myself, you know.” It was your last-ditch effort to get him to ease back. Pointless? More than likely. But you wanted Jinyoung to understand that you were not a poor damsel in distress who couldn’t tie her own shoes. You were used to taking care of yourself, doing what was best for you. The decisions in your life had been yours, for the most part.

Jinyoung’s usually stoic expression softened, if only by a fraction. “No one is doubting that. But two sticks are harder to break than one.”

Unsure of how to respond, you nodded. Now you made it to your room. Leaning back against the door, you blew the air out of your lungs. You still weren’t completely on board with this. You flipped back and forth between accepting it and wanting to fight it.

You had control issues; you can admit to that much. That was what made working in your father’s company so much better for your personality than acting. Or maybe it was because of your famous youth years that you were now obsessed with maintaining control. Whatever the reason was, that didn’t change how you are.

Bright side, (y/n). Think of the bright side.

At least he didn’t seem brutish. He was going to be stubborn on doing things his way, but he wasn’t cruel about it. So far.

He’s just doing his job.

That you didn’t necessarily hire him for.

But your father did. And it eased his worry and therefore would be better for his overall health.

“Just think of it as another acting project,” you told yourself, cringing in the process. “Act like you’re okay with it. Maybe eventually you will be.”

Eventually. Yeah, okay.

Pushing off the door, you shuffled over to the bed and slipped between the covers. It took almost an hour of tossing back and forth, crumpling your sheets and tucking your comforter in the process, but you fell asleep. Eventually.

**

Noise from the television woke you up the next morning. With a groan you flipped over to check your phone that was charging on the nightstand. It was only five-forty in the morning. Who the hell in their right mind was up this early?

Unable to fall back asleep, you gave up and crawled out of bed. After a quick maintenance run in the bathroom, you ventured outside to the living room.

Jinyoung was sitting up on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. His brow was furrowed from concentration. The news didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary to you, but Jinyoung was entranced. The anchor was giving an update on the military conflict in another country. It was sad and depressing. You tried not to think about it too much.

“Did you actually sleep?” you asked in an effort to distract yourself. Still waking up, you wrapped your arms around yourself and let free a yawn.

“Eight hours,” he replied. You had a hard time believing that. Next to him, the blanket was folded with precision, lying neatly on top of the throw pillow. Tonight you would have to remember to get him a real pillow from the guest room to sleep on.

“It doesn’t feel like it.”

Jinyoung glanced at you over his shoulder. “You can go back to sleep.”

You shook your head. “I can’t sleep with noise on.”

“Sorry. I’ll mute the TV.” He started to reach for the remote.

“It’s alright,” you stopped him. “I’m hungry now and won’t go back to sleep with a growling stomach. Have you eaten yet?”

“Not yet.”

“I’ll make breakfast.”

“Thank you.”

You shot his back a curious glance before continuing to the kitchen. Although there was no reason to, you’d expected him to decline. Oh, well. Making breakfast for two shouldn’t be much harder than breakfast for one.

It took about fifteen minutes to put the food together. By that time, your stomach was growling viciously, and you could feel your blood sugar dropping dangerously low. To help stabilize it, you shot down a glass of orange juice. That calmed the stormy waters long enough to finish up. You took a plate out to Jinyoung first, along with silverware. He thanked you for the meal.

“Do you want anything to drink?”

“Do you have coffee?”

You nodded. You were already brewing yourself a cup. “What kind do you like?”

“I’m usually an Americano guy, but I’ll take whatever you’ve got.”

“I can do an Americano,” you said. You, erm, splurged on a nice coffee machine that basically does it all. You like your coffee fancy, as embarrassing as it is. Plain black with just creamer or sugar wasn’t enough for you.

The Americano was easy enough to make. You even had a little teal to-go cup with a lid and straw for Jinyoung to use. He half-scoffed, half-laughed at the thing when you brought it out to him, but he thanked you nonetheless. Now it was your turn to sit and eat. Usually you ate at the table, but Jinyoung was still out in the living room and you felt too awkward to eat in there when he was out here, so you joined him, taking a spot on the recliner. Tucking your feet under you, you began to break your fast. The news had moved on to a lighter, humanitarian topic, so you gave it part of your attention.

Knock, knock, knock.

Jinyoung froze. Slowly and quietly, he put the plate down on the coffee table. His hand slid under the pillow and pulled out a firearm. Now it was your turn to stiffen.

He walked slowly over to the door and peeked through the small peephole. Then his shoulders relaxed. Sliding the gun between his waist band, he opened the door with a huff.

“You’re supposed to call that you’re on your way.”

In stepped a much taller, lankier man than even the one that came with Jaebeom the other day. Though still in a suit, this bodyguard was still very boyish, smiling and giggling as he came into view. His black hair wasn’t perfectly smooth like Jinyoung’s. “I forgot. Bambam was in a hurry to get to his favorite café.”

“Now isn’t really the time for him to be flirting with the baristas,” Jinyoung deadpanned. He reached out and took the suitcase that the other one had rolled in.

“You’re just jealous that he’s better at it than you.” Noticing you, the other bodyguard waived. “Hi! I’m Yugyeom!”

You waved back sheepishly. “Hi.”

“If you get tired of this one watching you,” he jabbed his thumb in Jinyoung’s direction, “I’ll gladly take over. I’m much more fun than hyung here.”

“Yugyeom….” Jinyoung warned.

Yugyeom was undeterred. “He’s already got you up early. He tried to do that with me and Bambam, but we like sleeping. You know, like normal people. Next time, though, you should try to get up before him. He may look scary now, but when he’s sleeping, he’s actually kind of cute—”

“Yugyeom!” Jinyoung snapped. “Don’t you have a briefing to get to?”

The latter checked his watch. “Not for another hour, but I should probably wrangle Bambam away from the café before he busy the place out.” Still giggling, Yugyeom waved to you. “Nice to meet you, (y/n).”

“You, too,” you said with a laugh of your own. Jinyoung all but shoved the poor guy out the door. Once it was shut, he sighed, leaning his forehead and forearm against the wooden barrier.

“One day, I will kill him,” he whispered.

You would be lying if you said that you weren’t enjoying this a little. Jinyoung huffed and turned back to you.

“Eat your breakfast.”

He rolled the suitcase down the hall to the spare bathroom and shut the door. In a much better mood than how you woke up, you picked your silverware back up and ate happily away. If Jinyoung ever got on your nerves, you knew exactly who to contact.

[clockworkgraystairs]

Letting Go

Rating: M

Warnings: Major character death. Angst. Mentions of sex. Angst. Accidents. Did I mention angst?

Summary:

Cardan thought he and his family were meant to live happily ever after.

He was wrong.

Extra comments: I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me.

Extra comments 2: If you’re masochist as me and wish to read this listening to some music, I’ll leave my spotify playlist “Don’t touch me, I’m angsty”

Thank you to the incredible @sweetlyvillainous for holding my hand while I cried because of this, for betaing later and for giving the extra boost to the angst. YES YOU DID, AND YOU’RE AS GUILTY AS ME. I love u. 

Masterlist   •   AO3

As dawn went on, Cardan looked through the window with hooded eyes. It snowed outside. How typical, he thought. 

Not long ago he would’ve been excited about it. The perspective of spending the day building snow castles and angels. Never a snowman, since his daughter had always claimed that was too cliché. He would mock her for it and build tiny figures around her castle. ‘The invasion of the fae snowmen’ he’d called it, despite the insistence of his wife about that being pure nonsense. 

He laid on his bed, staring at nothing in particular. From that position he would normally be able to look at her, snoring softly in the opposite pillow. That used to be his favorite moment of the day. Few minutes that he could spend watching how she slept, calm and unbothered. At least until he couldn’t help it anymore and woke her up, trailing her neck with soft and playful kisses.  

Cold sheets coiled around him now. A reminder of the empty space next to him that haunted Cardan at the beginning and end of each day. Screaming into the silence she’s gone.  

The morning it happened, Ivy wanted pancakes an old store sold a couple of blocks away. Cardan was reluctant to get up. All groggy because he and Jude had spent the night before rolling on the sheets, barely moaning in each other’s mouths trying not to wake their 7 year old. He didn’t want to get up. But his daughter was as stubborn as his wife. So Jude gave him a long sweet kiss and told him to go back to sleep while she fetched breakfast. 

He did. 

He shouldn’t have.

He should’ve gone with her. He should’ve gone instead. Or better yet, he should’ve convinced her to stay and make the bloody pancakes himself. Anything.

Anything except letting Jude go out alone. She was supposed to be back in a matter of minutes, but she didn’t. And he didn’t notice it because he fell asleep again. 

He missed the first phone call. And the second. 

It wasn’t until a tiny hand woke him up and handed him the cellphone. Frowning with dizziness at Jude’s two missed calls he was about to dial back when it rang again. 

“Hey babe, sorry. What’s up?” He mumbled, ruffling Ivy’s hair.

The voice that answered was not Jude’s, instantly startling him awake.

“Yes, he’s speaking.” Loud voices and sirens muffled the voice, making it hard to hear. “I’m- I’m sorry I’m not understanding, where is my wife? Give her the phone so I can speak to her plea-”

He didn’t record the moment when he put on the first clothes he found, nor calling his old college friends that lived two doors away to come and watch little Ivy. 

He didn’t watch for the red lights or cared if he’d parked the right way in the hospital’s parking lot. The world seemed to spiral around him, an unending parade of walls, doors, people in white or blue suits. Voices filled him with details but he could only partially hear them. Something about a kid crossing the street unsupervised and Jude running after him. His heartbeat roared in his ears.

“We’re glad we could reach you Mr. Greenbriar. It’s always better when the patient doesn’t have to go through it alone.”

“Through it? What are you-”

“I’m really sorry. The internal damage is too much...” 

The doctor’s voice faded away as they entered the room. Fighting to bite back a sob he approached the resting figure on the bed. She looked like his wife, but something was deeply wrong. Her face was awfully pale and her lips dry and bruised. Wires rested along her body. The monitor connected to them matched the aching slowness in her breathing. There was no trace of the playful Jude that teased him mercilessly day after day, stealing kisses from his mouth and knowing he’d let her do whatever she wanted to him. 

He found himself still standing centimeters away from her, paralyzed. 

The doctor leaned to touch her shoulder and whispered something to her ear. Her eyelids fluttered a moment before opening, not with the fierceness they carried everyday but tired, wandering. 

Pulling out of his frozen state he reached for her hand, covered in bandages and stroke it softly. “Jude.” 

Her eyes found him and a weak smile curved her lips. “You made it.” She said with a raspy voice. He kneeled, fully taking her hand in his. The door knob clicked as they were left alone. 

“Of course I did.” He choked out, trying to match her smile. It felt as if a thin string was keeping him together. “I’m here to take you home.”

Jude looked at him the way she did every time he promised to bring the stars down for her. She squeezed his hand with a nonexistent force that physically hurt in his chest. “You were always a terrible liar.”

Cardan opened his mouth to joke back but wasn’t able to make more than a suffocated sound. That’s when the first tear rolled down his cheek. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, opening them as he felt her thumb wiping away the wetness under them. “It’s ok.” 

The string snapped. 

“No, it’s not Jude, gods I’m- I’m...” He sobbed, incapable of stopping himself anymore. “I’m so sorry, it was all my fault. If I’d gone with you, If I’d…”

“Hey, no. It’s ok.” She cooed, holding him as he buried his face in her neck apologizing over and over. “Cardan, this was not your fault. Please.” 

He let her hold him as his body trembled with broken weeps. Cardan shut his eyes close, hoping he would open them and be back home. Not here. Not in this nightmare. They had so much to do, so much to live. He was meant to be with her through everything. He was meant to protect her. And he had neglected everything for five more sleeping minutes instead. If Ivy hadn’t woken him up…  If he’d missed another phone call… 

If he’d answered the first damn time he might have had more time. There was an ache in his chest making it harder to breathe, to think. 

They laid together for several minutes, hearing nothing more than their breathings and the beeping machine.  

“Stay, my love.” He begged, the knot in his throat making it harder to speak. “Fight. I can’t do it without you, I’m not strong enough. I need you, we need you… Ivy...”

Something wet landed on his cheek. Only then he realized she’d started crying too. “You’ll take care of her. You can, you’re the strongest man I’ve ever known.”

He felt her breathing falter and he backed up a little, afraid he’d harm her but Jude didn’t let him go. “I love you. I always have, even when you used to make my life a living hell all those years ago. I love you and our daughter so much.” She said. Cardan sobbed again. Don’t, he wanted to answer, don’t say goodbye. Not yet. “And know that even when you can’t see me, I will be with you always.” 

“I know,” He whispered back, now wiping her tears away and leaning to kiss her. “I love you, Jude Duarte. You are the best gift life could give me. You saw the best in me when nobody else could and for that and everything else, I’ll be eternally grateful. I’ll... watch out for Ivy, and she will know her mom is a hero, I promise.”

She breathed a laugh and asked him to hold her again. He did, he clung to her as tightly as he could without hurting her, breathing ‘I love you’ on her hair until her hand lost strength around him. 

Until the monitor gave out one long final beep and took his heart with it. 

He’d kept his vow. He’d continued with his life, dedicating every second of it to take care of their little girl. To make sure she was happy and wasn’t that affected from her mother’s passing. 

Ivy was strong, and most of the time more mature than her age suggested. She tried to carry on as well. Even if sometimes Cardan caught her staring longingly at that spot on the living room where Jude used to sit and read his old books. 

But even now, months later, it was hard for him to get up from bed sometimes. To wake up from a bad dream only to realize it was real, he was alone. Jude wasn’t coming back.

Some nights nightmares got worse, not because his mind created new scenarios. Quite the opposite, it revived his worst memory.

Hands touched his shoulders, probably seeking to comfort him. But he barely felt them. He barely heard the nurses enter the room after Jude’s pulse stopped. 

He was aware of the uncontrollable way his chest shook between sobs. Pleading her to stay, to open her eyes just one minute more. 

Of how he clutched her hand as if it would squeeze life back into her. He felt the softness of her hair as he caressed it, clinging to her the moment the doctors tried to pull him away. The nurse started to remove the wires.

He dreamed of his throat tearing apart as he roared them to let go of his wife. Later begging to allow him to hug her for a moment more. Just a second. Just a lifetime. Please. 

Just a moment.

Cardan always woke between gasps those nights. Sometimes leading him to stay awake until morning, afraid to fall asleep again. 

It was on days like that that he closed his eyes and let time rewind. 

He returned to the year before, to the mornings when they decided who prepared breakfast with rock, paper, scissors games. 

To years before that, when still half asleep he reached for her and curled his arms around Jude’s swollen belly. Barely weeks away from welcoming their baby.

To the day when he’d held his girlfriend in his arms and waited for her to open her eyes to finally ask her to marry him. 

He knew he shouldn’t. In fact he was sure Jude would beat his ass for doing it. But sometimes he just wanted to feel her close only for a couple of minutes more. Some days he refused to accept she was not there anymore. 

A loud crash startled him, bringing Cardan back from his daydreaming. He sat up to look at the clock and frowned. It was still early for Ivy to be awake. 

He got up and walked to the kitchen, only to find the floor covered in white flour and his daughter on the opposite side with the face of someone that just got caught with a hand in the jar of cookies. 

“Ivy, what are you doing?” He asked. Gods, there was a mess. His mental energy didn’t want to deal with it at the moment.

“I...” She darted her gaze to the right, the same thing Jude did whenever Cardan found her doing something she wasn’t supposed to. 

He crossed the space, to crouch next to her and started picking things up with an exasperated sigh. 

She let out a breath in defeat and murmured. “I was trying to make the muffins.”

“The muffins?” 

“The muffins mom cooked for us every Christmas.” Ivy said as if he’d missed the most obvious thing. 

Fuck. He looked at the calendar hanging on the wall behind him. December 24th. Fuck, fuck. How had he overlooked the date? They’d received an invitation to celebrate Christmas with their friends and another one from Jude’s family. He had intended to answer back. 

“Oh honey…you needn’t.” Cardan turned back to her and took her little hand between his.

“I know. But I wanted to cheer you up.” Ivy’s voice was low. “You’re sad all the time, dad… I thought... maybe mommy’s muffins would help.”

A pang of guilt stung in his chest. Fuck, he tried so hard to keep his emotions at bay around her. Washing his face with frozen water hoping it would take away the redness around his eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat and opened his mouth but no words came out so he just pulled his child into a tight hug. 

“I’m so sorry, I-”

“Don’t be,” She interrupted him, clinging to his neck. “I miss her too.”

Blinking back the tears, he pulled back to cup her cheeks. “There is nothing that cheers me up more than you, sweetie. You know that right?”

Ivy’s chocolate eyes shimmered as she nodded. 

Cardan took a deep breath and pulled her up so she was sitting on top of the counter. “Now, you know I suck at cooking those infamous muffins,” He grimaced. Ivy chuckled and bit her lip, totally not denying his statement. “So how about if instead of those, I prepare you my ultra special pancakes?”

Her gaze widened. “With whipped cream and fruit??”

He nodded. The excited squeal of his daughter warmed his heart in that unique way only she could achieve. 

With Ivy’s help, the pancakes were made in little time. Even if all she did was jump around  the kitchen singing Christmas carols. 

Just as he was about to serve the table, she stopped him. “Dad, can we go eat breakfast with mommy?”

Cardan paused, not sure if he’d listened correctly. “With mommy?”

“Yeah, you know, like those days when we went out on picnics.” She said. Excitement floored from every single one of her pores. “She loved Christmas, I’m sure she’ll be glad to see us too!”

He wanted to say no, not knowing if he would make it. It’s too soon, the words hug there in the tip of his tongue. But looking at Ivy and her puppy eyes, he couldn’t. 

~

Covered in scarves and warm coats they arrived at the cemetery. It was a beautiful place, if he was honest. Tall trees and some flowers grew along, giving it the appearance of a valley despite the cold weather. It looked so peaceful. Even if snow covered some parts of it.

Cardan carried a bag filled with the food and a blanket to use as tablecloth. Ivy played with the snow as they walked, and gasped at the sight of her mother’s tombstone. Letting go of Cardan’s hand, she ran towards it. A big smile shining on her face. 

He stopped meters away from it, unsure of his decision. His heart hammered on his chest and he could see the steam formed by his shaky breathing. 

Ivy turned and motioned him to come closer. 

As he approached, he heard the cheerful chatter of his daughter, making him frown. 

“...so I tried to be as quiet as possible, but then the flour fell!” She laughed and darted her gaze to him again. “That’s why daddy caught me, right dad?”

Cardan hesitated. “Uh, yeah… that’s when I found you covered in powder.”

He peered at the marble figure, intentionally avoiding the picture under the letters forming her name. 

After setting the food they ate. Ivy barely chewed her food between words, since she was deeply invested in whatever conversation she was having with her mother. Cardan just listened. She spoke about her school, her exams with almost perfect grades. About aunt Liliver announcing she and uncle Van were expecting a baby, a thing Ivy wasn’t so sure to like since that would probably remove her from ‘the favorite’ position. She talked about the blanket forts Cardan taught her to build and the new books he’d read to her. Occasionally, she would laugh as if she’d listened to something incredibly funny. 

They built a snow castle with the few snow that was gathered around, at least before Ivy accidentally threw a snowball to his chest. The snowball war that unleashed after had them growling and squealing for several minutes. It ended up with both of them lying down on the blanket, tired and giggling. 

He sat up to ruffle her hair and sighed. “It’s time to go, little one.” 

Ivy whined. “So soon?”

“We can return some other day…” That lit her face back up. “But your aunt Lil invited us to a party today. Do you want to go?”

She yelped. “With Christmas gifts?”

“Yeah.” Cardan winked. 

Once everything was back in the bag Cardan started walking, but a tug on his sleeve stopped him. 

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to mommy?” 

He didn’t answer. 

“C’mon dad, go. I’ll wait for you over there.” She signaled a big space where rocks made an odd figure. That said, she was gone.

Haltingly, Cardan turned back to face the tombstone. 

Air seemed to have flown out of his lungs. What was he supposed to say? He looked down and shuffled his foot in the snow. His grip tightened around the bag’s handle. 

He used to spend the nights thinking of all the things he would’ve liked to say to her. But as it was, all of them apparently had vanished into the air. Should he say he loved her? That everything was okay?

“I hate you.” Was what came out. Cardan scoffed and swallowed. That was definitely not what he was thinking. “That is a lie. But I guess you already know it, don’t you?” 

“Sometimes I wish I could hate you though... Maybe it would make it easier. Because sure as hell it’s not.” His voice was hoarse. “I’m trying. I promised you I would but… I miss you all the fucking time, Jude. I can’t go to bed at night without thinking you’re not there by my side anymore.”

He paused and rubbed his eyes. Cardan flashed quick glances to Ivy, trying to find the strength. But once he faced Jude’s picture again, the pressure on his chest was nearly unbearable.

“Everyday something happens that I would like to tell you. When Ivy or any of our friends do something I find hilarious I turn to make sure you saw it too just to find an empty space and I… I hate it.”

“I hate not being able to hug you, I hate not feeling your hands playing with my hair in the morning. I hate not being able to tell you everyday how much I still love you. I hate that Ivy notices how much I struggle with it. I hate not being as strong as you were.”

He spilled the words so fast they were probably intelligible, but he didn’t care anymore.

“Ivy… she’s an amazing little girl, you know? Everyday she does something new that is clever, or brave… and she reminds me so much of you.” A sob broke through him. He turned to look at her, auburn curls bouncing everywhere. Taking a steadying breath he brought back his gaze to the tomb.

“I just hope she’s not as good with  lies or I will be totally screwed.” He let out a low chuckle. “You should be proud of her.”

Before he could say something else something warm spread down his shoulders to his arms and chest. If he was drunk he would say it resembled the feeling of a hug. The pressure on his chest slowly disappeared as tears rolled down his cheeks. 

Not knowing exactly how or why, a weight on his shoulders he hadn’t realized he had, was gone from a moment to another.

“I love you, Jude Duarte.” He breathed. “You will have my heart always, and when this life ends I’ll find you again to give it to you once more.”

Giving a final look to the picture he’d been avoiding since they arrived, he gave a weak smile, wiped the tears away and turned to go find his daughter. 

“Goodbye, my sweet villain.”

A Christmas party with his family (because that’s how he considered his friends), awaited. He found Ivy marching on top of the rocks, claiming it was a conquered fae castle and she, the new Queen. He chuckled and motioned her to return. 

As they walked back to the car, she grabbed his hand and gave him a knowing look. Even when you can’t see me, I will be with you always.

The next morning when he opened his eyes the empty spot was still there. But for the first time in months, he welcomed the memories of his Jude with a longing smile. 

----------------------------

Tags: @sweetlyvillainous @slightlyrebelliouswriter23 @aesthetics-11 @thesirenwashere @jurdanhell @demydreamer-otaku-and-book-lover @nightbringer @b00kworm @mysweetvillain @jurdannet @thefolkofthefic @yafandomsdotnet @vanessa172003 @booksandothersecrets  @thewickedkings​ @ireallyshouldsleeprn @fuzzypineapples (tumblr couldn’t find your profile to tag you hun sorry! ☹️ )

If you wish to be tagged/untagged (or if I forgot to tag you like an utter idot) please let me know!

[pindaleng]

Merry Pitchmas @anotherbechloeshipper !!

Had so much fun writing this one, hope you enjoy it :)

Title: In From the Snow

Pairing: Bechloe

Chapters: 1/1

Wordcount: 2943

Summary: Beca didn’t anticipate making many friends her freshman year, much less become best friends with one Chloe Beale. When a snow storm ruins both their plans to travel home, they get to spend some quality time together. Beca thinks this might be her best chance to tell the other girl how she feels.

Read on AO3 or below.

Beca stared gloomily at the large flakes falling outside her dorm window.

There was no way her old Camry would be able drive more than ten miles an hour in these conditions. The forecast said “heavy snow”, but she didn’t realize it’d be this bad.

She totally would have left a few days earlier if she didn’t have a final scheduled for the absolute last day of the semester. It’s not like she was super excited about heading back home either, but she knew her dad and step mom would give her shit for it.

She sighed. Might as well text them now to rip off that band-aid.

Shortly after she sent the message, she heard a knock on her opened door.

“Hey, you’re still here!”

In the doorway stood Chloe Beale, undoubtedly the coolest person on their dorm floor. Beca (to her surprise) got along with most of the people on her floor, but something about Chloe specifically drew her in.

Admittedly, she found the other girl annoying at first, as she seemed like the high school girls that were fake nice just to talk about you behind your back. She soon learned, though, that Chloe was the real deal.

But not of course before giving her a hard time for a couple of months. Frustratingly, but thankfully, Chloe was incredibly persistent. Beca hadn’t really expected to make so many friends, intending to keep her head down and make her way through, but everyone grew on her. Especially Chloe.

“Yeah, unfortunately still here.” Beca replied. “Wanted to drive out today but doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen.”

Chloe invited herself in and hopped onto Beca’s bed. She hummed in understanding. “I just got back from the store and driving was for sure a struggle. Definitely would not recommend.”

“Great. You’re staying here too, then?”

“Yep! Which means you get to spend time with little ol’ me.” She propped her head on her hands. “Any plans for the day?”

There wasn’t really a Plan B since she didn’t expect her driving-back-home Plan A to not work out. “Not really, probably just gonna work on some mixes.”

“Can I join?”

“Yes, please make it a little less sad that I’m stuck here on Christmas Eve.”

“Sweet, I’ll be back.” Chloe slid off the bed and make her way out the room. “Don’t have too much fun without me!”

Beca just rolled her eyes and started setting up her laptop.

Chloe came back moments later with her sketchbook and colored pencils, and settled on Beca’s roommate’s bed. Both of them were friends with Stacie, so they knew she wouldn’t mind her bed being used.

They passed time peacefully like this for a couple of hours, each doing their separate thing.

Beca was so engrossed in her music that she doesn’t notice Chloe call out her name until the other girl waved at her to get her attention.

She slipped off her headphones. “What’s up?”

“I was thinking about getting some food soon. You in?”

The hunger hit her stomach now that food was mentioned. “Yeah, I could eat. Where at?” Though the dorms stayed open, dining halls were closed. There were plenty of places nearby though, and many of whom delivered. They went back and forth suggesting restaurants until Chloe looked like she had an epiphany. “We should go to that new ramen place!”

Beca’s immediate reaction was to pout, as they didn’t deliver. Chloe laughed.

“Oh come on, it’s a five minute walk, max. You big baby.” Chloe playfully poked her cheek. “Plus it’s super pretty outside.”

“And it’s super warm inside.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “I’m going with or without you.”

The ultimatum was effective. Beca grumbled but put her coat on anyways. The reluctance was really just all show, as she would probably walk naked into a freezing lake for the other girl.

Snow was steadily falling outside, blanketing all the surfaces in a thick layer of white. Campus was quiet, as most of the students had already left for the holidays. It was both eerie and calming. The absence of drunk frat guys yelling, though, was definitely a plus.

“Okay I admit, it is pretty outside.” But you’re prettier. The automatic thought was so cheesy she almost threw up a bit in her mouth. Since when did she think such gross things? She could practically see Stacie smirking annoyingly at her.

Chloe grinned in victory, and Beca’s heart swooped.

Her brain definitely wasn’t lying though: Chloe was undoubtedly beautiful. The snowflakes in Chloe’s hair contrasted perfectly with the red color, making her look like some sort of magazine model. It felt kind of unfair that she could exist like that and not know what she was doing to poor Beca’s soul.

—

When the waitress asked if they needed one or two checks, Chloe replied “just one” before Beca could get a word in.

As the waitress walked away, Beca sent a questioning look to the redhead.

Chloe shrugged, “It’s easier for them to just run a single card.” Beca offered to pay her back, but she insisted it to be a holiday present. If Beca didn’t know better, she would have swore it was a date.

They were on their way back to the dorms when Beca felt something hit the back of her head.

She whipped around. “Hey!”

Chloe was already packing another snowball, clearly out for blood. She quickly launched that one too, which Beca barely managed to sidestep. She bent down to create her own snow projectile.

Chloe began to run away to get out of range, so Beca went to chase her. Unfortunately, Beca slipped on the snow and fell. Chloe was immediately at her side. “Oh my god, are you okay?”

The snow cushioned her fall pretty well, but Beca didn’t want to give that away just yet. She faked a grimace. “I think I broke my leg.”

“Oh shit.” Chloe furrowed her eyebrows in worry. “I’m so sorry I-“

Beca felt too bad that she immediately stopped her. “I’m joking, I’m actually fine.”

It took a moment to register, and then Chloe slapped her on the arm. “You scared me!”

Beca rubbed the spot where she was hit. “Ok now I actually have to go to the hospital.”

Chloe just slapped her arm again, before offering a hand to pull her up. Beca took it but didn’t get up. Chloe looked confused as Beca smirked, and then pulled the other girl down into the snow with her. She fell on her face in the fresh snow with a satisfying poof.

“Oh my god, you asshole.” Chloe laughed after pulling her face up, and shoved at the other girl, who was still laying in the snow.

“Chlo you have a beard.” Beca was practically wheezing at the sight of Chloe having snow stuck all over her face. “Still hot though.”

Chloe modeled it, striking poses and getting up to walk down an imaginary runway, while Beca yelled after her, hyping her up.

They messed around in the snow for a while longer, then took the long way back. Beca considered complaining about the cold and wet seeping in, but Chloe just looked so happy. Plus, it really was nice outside. Walking with Chloe in the peace of campus was a moment Beca wanted to keep tucked in her pocket forever.

—

After getting back, they went to take showers (separately) to warm themselves up, deciding to reconvene later in Chloe’s room. Beca sat on her bed with her hair in a towel, scrolling through her phone. She opened a message from Stacie, who was definitely one of her best friends in college so far. She flew out a couple of days ago and told Beca not to “get too freaky” while she was gone. Beca practically shoved her out the door.

Stacie [6:31 pm]: You make it home?

Beca [7:13 pm]: No, stuck here. Stupid snow.

A reply immediately came in.

Stacie [7:13 pm]: Ugh that sucks, are you by yourself then?

Beca hesitated on what exactly to say, knowing Stacie would immediately make fun of her for the truth.

Beca [7:15 pm]: Not exactly…..Chloe is also still here

Stacie [7:16 pm]: !!!!!!!!!!

Stacie [7:16 pm]: BECA

Stacie [7:16 pm]: THIS IS YOUR CHANCE

Beca [7:17 pm]: Dude she doesn’t like me

Stacie [7:18 pm]: Do NOT bother coming back to campus if you don’t shoot your shot right now

Stacie [7:19 pm]: Joking but also not

Stacie [7:19 pm]: She hangs out w you all the time. She actually listens to your music recs. Plz do something.

Stacie [7:20 pm]: Ok talk later family is calling for dinner, good luck!!!!!

Beca [7:21 pm]: ??? I’m going to ignore that you basically implied not listening to any of the music I’ve suggested

She fell back onto her bed. She wanted to make a move, and she did feel like there could be something between them. However, each time Chloe was nice to someone else, she got psyched out believing that Chloe was always just being platonically nice to her. No flirting involved.

With each passing day, though, it became harder to deny she wanted her. And how badly she did. She caught herself staring a bit too long, and hung endlessly on the small touches Chloe would always do. A brush of the finger here, and a hair tucked behind an ear there. Beca thought some days she might explode.

She texted Chloe to ask if she was ready yet.

Chloe [7:25 pm]: Sorry got distracted!! Hopping in the shower now.

With the extra time, Beca decided to finish the mix she was working on earlier that day. There was something off about it that she couldn’t quite figure out, but coming back to it now, she figured out what it was missing. She listened to it a few times to make sure she was really happy with it before mastering it.

A text came in from Chloe, letting her know she could come over whenever.

Beca quickly added the song to a USB which already contained many music files, then placed the drive into a small pink, cardboard box she got from Stacie. The box originally held a necklace, which made it the perfect size for her gift.

She stashed it in her sweater pocket then made her way to Chloe’s room in the other wing of the floor.

It was still relatively early in the night, so Chloe suggested a movie. Beca wasn’t one for movies usually, but it wasn’t like she had any better ideas.

They cuddled together on the small dorm bed in Chloe’s den of pillows, with the laptop in front of them. The movie was actually pretty good, despite all the bad decisions the main character kept making, and the fact that Beca missed half the plot due to glancing at Chloe instead, and being nervous about how close they were.

“Thoughts?” Chloe turned down the volume as the credits began to roll.

“I think she should have gone with the second guy.”

“Really? I thought he was kind of iffy.”

They proceeded have a lively discussion about the movie, with Beca continuing to argue mostly to mess with Chloe, who seemed quite adamant about the main character’s end choice of romantic partner. It ended with Chloe tickling her until Beca finally admitted her defeat.

“Okay, close your eyes.”

Beca looked at Chloe warily, still catching her breath from the tickling attack. “Um, why?”

“Just do it.”

She sighed but did as she was told.

“No peeking!”

Her index finger drew a cross above her heart, signaling her promise to not look.

“Okay, you can open them now.”

In front of her was a piece of paper carefully rolled into a tube and bound with a red bow. Beca picked it up, gingerly untying the ribbon, unraveling her gift. Her jaw dropped.

“Chloe…”

In her hands was a pencil sketch of her with headphones on, smiling and almost on the verge of laughing. Honestly, she never thought about what she looked like while she was happy. The image of herself in her mind was always some version of broody. Is this how Chloe saw her? Beca wasn’t one to usually cry, but she might have teared up a bit.

“This is…incredible.”

Chloe looked kind of nervous. The same way that Beca was protective of showing others her music, Chloe was hesitant to show much of her art. “You like it?”

“Dude I love it. Seriously.” That reassurance seemed to put Chloe at ease. “Okay, your turn to close your eyes.”

Chloe did it without hesitation, and also held out her hands. Beca shook her head a bit in amusement and placed the small box into her palm.

“Okay, open.”

She opened her eyes and lifted the lid of the box to find a black USB drive, with a piece of tape on the side simply labeled “For Chloe”.

Her smile widened as she realized what her present was. “Do I get to finally listen to your music?”

“Maybe.”

“It means a lot, Beca. Thank you.”

“Um yeah, no problem. Don’t tell me if you end up thinking it’s bad.” She joked.

“Oh please, you’re going to have to block me with how many good things I’ll say.”

“Don’t tempt me, I might delete your contact right now.”

Chloe laughed. “Oh please, like you could last a day without me. Also, I actually have another present for you.” She scotched a bit closer to Beca.

“Oh,” Beca furrowed her eyebrows. “Well, I don’t have anything el-“

She was swiftly cut off as Chloe kissed her, soft and sweet. So polite and unassuming it almost felt platonic.

But god did it give Beca butterflies.

Chloe pulled away so quickly that Beca wasn’t sure it even happened. Like maybe she just daydreamed too hard and manifested a hallucination.

She must have had a deer in the headlights look because Chloe suddenly got super shy. “Was that okay?” She whispered, face still close.

Beca finally came to her senses. “Yeah, totally. More than okay. Amazing really.” She must look like a blushing mess.

The corner of Chloe’s mouth quirked up in amusement and relief. “Yeah?”

“Still could be better, though.” Good work Beca, make a joke to regain some semblance of having her shit together.

“Oh?” She watched Chloe lick her lips, a mesmerizing motion. The shyness was all but gone, replaced by something much more confident, and destined to ruin Beca’s life. And she knew she’d welcome it with open arms.

—

Beca woke up in the morning to the light touch of fingers trailing along her jaw. She smiled, remembering where she was, and more importantly, who was besides her. She probably had the best night of sleep in her life. “Can’t keep your hands off of me, Beale?” She asked, keeping her eyes closed.

“Are you going to try and stop me?” Chloe whispered. Her raspy morning voice was really so damn attractive.

She opened one eye, smiling. “I wouldn’t dare.”

“Good.” Chloe leaned in for a long kiss, the hand on her face pulling Beca closer. Her breath hitched. She didn’t think she could ever get used to this. Kissing Chloe Beale. Touching her.

She pulled away all too soon, just as Beca began to want her even more. Beca was quickly learning how much of a tease Chloe was.

“i’m going to get ready, and then maybe we can go get breakfast somewhere?”

“Or…we can stay in bed all day.”

Chloe giggled, and Beca almost professed her love. “Becs, both of us gotta head home.”

“Do we though?”

Chloe just smiled as she slipped out of bed and grabbed her toothbrush and face towel. Before she was completely out the door, she gave her butt a little shake, as if she could tell Beca was staring at her clad in a large t-shirt and sleep shorts. Beca was sure Chloe was smirking as she did it.

As soon as she was out of sight, Beca grabbed her phone from the desk. A text from her dad and a couple from Stacie. She opened the messages from the latter.

Stacie [11:13 pm]: How’d it go?

Stacie [11:30 pm]: I’m assuming the silence is a good thing and ur just too busy making out with Chloe to reply ;)

Beca typed out a quick message.

Beca [9:30 am]: So…..

Stacie [9:30 am]: THIS BETTER BE GOOD NEWS

Beca [9:31 am]: How do you keep replying so quickly??

Stacie [9:31 am]: How about you stop avoiding

Beca thought of the million different things she could say, but opted for simplicity.

Beca [9:32 am]: :)

Stacie [9:33 am]: Is that good

Stacie [9:33 am]: Beca is that good

Stacie [9:34 am]: ?????

She set her phone down, feeling giddy. It might have been a bit cruel to leave Stacie hanging, but she’d get over it. She’d get the full story eventually, but right now, Beca wanted to keep as much of this thing with Chloe to herself as possible. Definitely not like a shameful secret, though.

Something about telling someone about it, however vaguely, made last night and this morning seem actually real.  She had this feeling deep in her chest that this was the start of something incredible, which made her both excited and a bit scared. Ok a lot scared. Terrified even.

It sucked that they’d have be apart right as they were starting something. Winter break couldn’t be over soon enough.

[yourgalaxy]

~FINDING HOME~ (Part 3)

Pairing: Taehyung x female O/C

Genre: Fluffyest Fluffy Fluff, a little bit of angst if you squint really hard.

Summary: After getting used to the idea of just being her and her little daughter against the world. Autumn is proven wrong once again when fate has different plans for them.

Warnings: None

Word count: 3470

A/N: The original prompt is from @hybridfanfiction ( their prompts are the cutest, check them out!) This is my first attempt on sharing some of my work and is also my first hybrid fic. I love the reader inserts but not a fan of the Y/N type thing so feel free to just imagine your name instead if you prefer! I have material to make this a series but will leave it as a one shot for now to see if you guys like it! I totally don’t own the gifts.

Disclaimer: English is not my first language. Read at your own risk 😂

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5

" No señorita, you are going to school" - Autumn was having a really hard time to not let her daughter win this little battle. She wasn't planning on letting her know about the trip to the store that she had planned to take Taehyung to, and couldn't believe that it had slipped her mouth. But when the little evil genius decided to team up with the boy with fluffy ears and literal doggy eyes, she knew that she was done for it. - " Ok, you win, but just for this one time!’’ - The level of excitement skyrocket -

 Autumn soon realized that she had created a monster. At the beginning, Taehuyng was really apprehensive to take anything from the store, afraid that if he took the wrong thing or asked for too much, he would break this dream-like chance that whoever was in charge up there had given him. But after a lot of convincing and praising from both mother and daughter, he started to open up to the idea of being spoiled by them. Autumn made him try every piece of clothing that she put her eye on to try and figure out his style and what he felt comfortable on. 

 Taehyung realized how much he loved trying on new clothes and he was awfully good at combining them, but that wasn’t really the problem… The problem was that he looked way too good in every single piece he tried on, and even though he wasn’t really asking for anything verbally, Autumn couldn’t stop herself from buying anything and everything that made his eyes sparkle a little bit brighter. It was most definitely going to take a blow on her finances but it wasn’t anything that a few extra hours at the shop wouldn’t fix, right?

 ‘’ Yes, Taehyung, I’m sure. We need to get you the stuff that you need, and honestly in this household you will have to get used to be pampered with gifts because as soon as you meet the boys, they will be head over toes for you’’ - She laughed to herself as if it was an inside joke that only her was able to understand, and in reality it kinda was. At the mention of some guys that he didn’t know, Taehyung’s head was filled with questions and apprehensions. He knew that Haneul’s dad wasn’t in the picture any more, Haneul had said so with a bright smile adorning her face so he assumed that it wasn’t a traumatic experience for her, meaning that it probably happened when she was really small, so these other men were probably not really related to them by blood or anything… 

 Taehyung wasn’t sure if he was very fond of the prospect of meeting these guys. He wasn’t a fan of men in general. But the smile on her face that made his heart skip a beat was enough indication of the fact that he would end up complying to whatever request she would send his way.

 ‘’ ICE CREAM! Mamma, Mamma, can we pretty please get ice cream’’ - Haneul was basically bouncing on Autumn’s arms, buzzing with excitement at the sight of her favorite treat, she wasn’t really expecting a verbal response, noticing how her mom’s steps redirected was enough for her.- ‘’ Do you want some ice cream Taehyung?’’ - If he wanted some they could just seat in the parlor to enjoy the ice cream but if he wanted to keep going she could just buy Haneul a cup- ‘’ I have never had it… is it good?’’ - At this both mom and daughter sharply turned their heads towards him, the sudden attention making him want to disappear. -

 Haneul crawled from her mom’s arms, wanting to be held by Taehyung, which he complied to immediately, not really expecting the little hands to squish his cheeks, Haneul’s eyes comically wide, looking at him like some kind of anomaly. ‘’ Ice cream is the best, Tata!’’ - Autumn had never heard a more melodic laugh than Taehyung’s and it was pretty contagious too.- 

 Taehyung loved Ice cream, in fact it immediately became his second new favorite thing, the first one being the soft smile that appeared on Autumn’s lips whenever she was watching Haneul enjoying something and because of that he started to feel afraid. Afraid of this new normal that he was getting so used to so fast, afraid of the feeling of attachment that he could already feel growing in his chest. It all came back, he realized, to the fact that he was actually afraid of losing it all… Right there and then he decided that he would be the best boy and just enjoy this dream for as long as it lasted. 

 ‘’Ok, Taehyung would you wait for us here while I take her to the bathroom? I promise we will be fast’’ - Autumn didn’t really like the idea of leaving Taehyung alone in a territory that was unknown to him but she couldn’t do much with Haneul needing a bathroom urgently. Taehyung in the other hand tried his hardest not to let out the whine that tickled his throat, nodding his head quickly instead, he didn’t want to burden her even if the idea of being left alone in that huge place petrified him.-

 The scene that Autumn walked out to, made her blood run cold. The small tremor from Haneul’s boy and the way her pretty eyes immediately filled with tears, didn't help at all. The way that the man was viciously pushing Taehyung into the corner made her sick to her stomach. Taehyung was trying his best to seem smaller, trying his best not to react or make a sound, the same way he would do it while in the streets, they eventually got tired of not receiving any response from him and after a few harsh words and hits, they always left…

 He saw the blow coming before he could even actually feel it, white noise plugging his ears and soon he could identify the irony taste of blood in his mouth. He didn’t hear the scream that came out of Autumn or the incessant cries from Haneul, his senses disoriented and the anxiety surrounding him like a suffocating blanket.

 ‘’ Are you freaking crazy?!’’ - Autumn couldn’t remember the last time she got so mad to raise her voice like that, especially not around Haneul, but her blood was boiling and the way this guy was trying to disregard her for being a woman was getting on her nerves.- ‘’Is this mud yours? You better keep a leash on him, sweetie,I was about to call hybrid control on that thing.’’ - The anger was making her dizzy, she couldn’t comprehend how there were still people out there that still treated hybrids this way, she knew Hybrid control were fishy but seeing the relationship her friends had with their hybrids, often made her forget how much hate and prejudice was out there still, after years of hybrid rights approval, there were still so many of them suffering more than what the media was willing to admit. -

  ‘’ You know what, I’m just going to go ahead and call the police’’ - She threatened through her teeth, her jaw so tight that it started to hurt after she put herself in between the little ball that Taehyung had become and the man when he tried to kick the boy. The guy laughed a humorless laugh claiming that he was just defending himself from an aggressive stray dog and that the police couldn’t do anything about it, Autumn could see right through his lies. - Oh, yeah? let us see what they say when we show them the security tapes.’’ - Was all she had to say for his face to go pale and for his friends to finally step up and retrieve him, whispering a reluctant apology before disappearing, the crowd that had formed disappearing with them.-

 It was then that Autumn had the chance to focus on Taehyung's state. Haneul was already by his side, crying his name over and over to no avail, he was curled on that corner in fetal position, barely breathing, trying to move as little as physically possible and the sight crushed her heart to pieces… She sat on the ground next to him, ignoring the noisy looks she was getting and dismissing the complaints of the security guards of the mall about public disturbance with a heated look and a sharp comment about them just looking past the abusive display that had him in that state. 

 ‘’ Hey sweetheart’’ - Her voice was barely above a whisper when she tentatively placed a hand on his back, he didn’t flinch or move in any form whatsoever to acknowledge her presence, but she knew that any sudden move would frighten him. She was grateful that HaNeul had calmed down, she was probably exhausted from the whole ordeal, her little sobs the only sound heard from her as she curled against her mom’s side with her face partially hidden against her neck. Autumn’s hand started tracing patterns in Taehyung’s back after a couple minutes of no response. ‘’Hey honey boy, you are safe now’’ - She whispered, dedicating him her best attempt of a smile when he finally uncovered his face to look at her. His face devoid of any emotion, but as realization hit him his eyes filled with tears. She softly pulled his head towards her allowing him to hide his face on the other side of her neck, her scent immediately filling his senses, he started sobbing when he felt the little chubby hands of a five year old petting his ears. He let go of everything, he had never cried after an assault before, at least not in the scene, not right away, he didn’t want to give anyone the satisfaction, but right there, in between their arms, with their comforting scents and Autumn’s calming touch and words, he felt the safest he had felt in forever. -

 ‘’ Yoongi, I need your help...There is nothing to worry about. I just need to get the paperwork for sponsorship and I don’t want to go through a shelter to get them… Yeah, I know, I’m 100% sure this is what I want to do...thank you so much! Tell Hobi I love him… and I love you too even if you can’t say it back, Yoongs. I’ll see you guys soon." - Autumn ended the call with a lighter heart, she knew what she needed to do and the sight of the sleeping boy holding a sleeping Haneul in his arms both of them tightly hugging each other in the back seat of her car, just served to reaffirm her decision. Taehyung was already part of her little family, and he fitted right in, like a piece of a puzzle she didn’t realize was incomplete.

 …

 " Not this time, little one. You need to go to school, Tata will be waiting for you to play afterwards, ok?" - After 10 solid minutes at the kindergarten's door, Haneul finally gave up on convincing her mom to let her skip class to spend time with her best friend, she waved sadly to the boy sitting in the front passenger seat. Autumn send a silent plea to the teacher as she took her daughter's hand, asking to keep an eye on her, she had called Mrs. Lee and explained the bullying issue so all the teachers were notified and asked to be more careful regarding the matter.-

 " The house is all yours, there is lots of food in the fridge and here…". - She pulled out a phone from her backpack- "I just changed my phone last week, so you can use this one until we get you a new one, it's not the most advanced one but it will do the trick. My number is already saved there, if anything happens or you have any questions, call me, ok? " - He nodded, he tried to convince himself that he was prepared for this, she had told him that she would be going to work on Tuesday because Monday was a holiday that he couldn't remember the name of but that he was really grateful for because it granted him another full day with Autumn and Haneul. But the truth was that he wanted to cry at the prospect of being all by himself after getting so used to their presence during the last 3 days. It was actually concerning to him how attached he had become in such a short time, he had lived in the streets for a whole year by himself before meeting them, but now a few hours seemed like too long.-

 "When are you… When are you coming back? " - She sensed his distress and started to feel guilty for letting him by himself so soon after bringing him home, but there was not a lot she could do if she wanted to make sure that all of their needs were covered. - " I'll pick Haneul up at 4pm so we will be here at around 4:30pm, time will fly and before you notice we will be back!" -She tried her best to cheer him up, only getting a hesitant nod as a response before she had to go. - 

 " Noona, is your lover boy again!" - Jimin shouted from the main room where Autumn had left her phone by mistake. She rolled her eyes but the soft smile that danced on her lips betrayed her, Jimin was as cheeky as they could get and after 6 years of friendship his antics didn’t really surprise her anymore. She took what was probably Taehyung’s 6th call that day, she could feel that he was getting more and more restless. The first few calls were filled with shy questions about where to find certain things in the house but by now she knew that he was just feeling lonely and probably just wanted to hear a familiar voice.- 

 Taehuyng kept telling himself that he knew that this was going to happen, that he shouldn’t be surprised and should be thankful that whoever was in charge of his destiny had been considerate enough to let him enjoy his time with the most amazing people he had ever met even if it was just for a few days. And even when something in him tried to point out how irrational he was being, he couldn’t help it, he couldn’t help how much it hurt him. They weren't coming back, they were leaving him behind. Autumn had said they were coming back at 4:30pm but it was already past 6pm and they weren’t home, his phone had died a few hours ago, so he couldn’t call them to apologise and beg for them to come back. He felt utterly helpless.

 Ah, he was going back to the streets faster than he expected and for a second he wondered if it would be easier to die than to go back to that life after having a taste of this piece of Heaven… The stubborn tears rolled down his face without his permission.

 …

 ‘’ That’s enough, honey bear. We need to hurry. We have left Tata alone for too long, he probably misses you a ton!’’ - At this the little girl’s eyes widened and now she is almost running to the cashier. Autumn cursed herself for being so careless, she had decided to stop for take out and after mentioning a movie night to Haneul she would quiet down about buying popcorn and movie treats, by the time she realized how late it was, she knew that Taehuyng was probably worried sick and by the sound of it, his phone probably died and he didn't know where to find the charger, which was also her fault, her conscience reminded her.

 "Taehyung? Sweetheart, we are really sorry, you probably were… Hmp" - She was getting used to being interrupted mid sentence and hit full force by his body as he embraced her. This time though, it wasn't excitement what had rushed him over to her, if the wetness on her shoulder and the violent sobs that he was trying to suppress were any indication.-

  "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I promise I'll be a good boy from now on, I won’t call you while you are at work and I will do whatever you say, just please don’t leave me’’ - Autumn wanted to join the crying party when Haneul started crying too, not really understanding what was going on but pleading not to leave Taehyung.- "Hey, hey, calm down, shhh, calm down honey boy, nobody is leaving." - After around 10 minutes of soft whispers and comforting caressing, Autumn felt Taehuyng start to calm down.- "Can you show me your face Pup" - The endearing name made him blush but he complied after a few seconds. As soon as his eyes rested on her face again he wanted to cry once more, he kept thinking that he really didn’t want to give up this time, but her eyes were so full of loving care and concern that he wondered for a second if there was any way to really change that, to really mess up enough to change that look in her eyes. It seemed impossible and the thought comforted him. - 

 ‘’ I wasn’t planning on telling you about it like this but the last thing I want you to believe is that you are not wanted here’’ - Autumn lovingly cleaned his faces with the paws of her sweater, the man before her was an overgrown puppy and it warmed her heart to think that he was about to officially become a member of her family. She took him and HaNeul to the sofa, the little girl quickly finding a place to sit on his lap.- ‘’ I’ve been thinking about this ever since we offered you to stay with us’’ - She started to feel anxious, fidgeting with her fingers, unable to look at him in the eye which in return made him nervous too, he holded Haneul a little closer to him, finding comfort in the little one’s scent. - ‘’ I would like to be your sponsor… ‘’ - 

 Anxiety creeped over her as she noticed the way his body tensed, and the silence that followed, she hated the fact that even after the approval of laws an all of the social movements to grant Hybrids some sort of independence, their rights were still attached to the will of another person, they were granted the possibility to become an independent citizen just after a 3 year sponsorship process for hybrids over 18 years old, which meant that in order for them to fully gain their freedom they had to depend on the rights of an sponsor and at the end of the 3 years, the sponsor could decide whether the Hybrid deserved citizenship or if the probationary period needed to be extended. It was sickening the amount of people that took advantage of this process to practically slave their hybrids. But it was still better than the owner title that some still insisted on keeping- 

 The last time Taehyung had accepted an sponsorship deal, he had to run away from an abusive household right before the sponsorship deal was over, he knew that they were not going to keep their end of the deal and would probably keep him hostage until he was no longer useful for them, that’s how he ended in the streets a year ago after living his whole life in a shelter, never being adopted as a kid, always too hyper or too clumsy or too odd for the family. He had never really had a family to call his own after his parents died when he was around Haneul’s age. He would be lying if he said that the idea of having another sponsor scared him but right there, with the two girls that had stolen his heart patiently waiting for him, he could imagine a future for the first time and that made all the difference. 

 ‘’ Yes, please... ‘’ - The eagerness in his voice made Autumn smile, that soft smile that had become his favorite in such a short time making his heart race - ‘’ I’ll arrange things with my friend’s attorney later, but right now we have a movie night to get started with’’ - The excited scream that came from Haneul who had zoned out of the conversation a while ago, finding Taehyung’s tail way more interesting, had both of them laughing their hearts out.- 

[tamcitrus]

Meet the family.

pairing: Sawamura Daichi x f. reader

genre: domestic, fluff

warnings: one suggestive line

words: 2.5 k

This piece is for the Home Sweet Home collab that HQC server hosted! You can check the masterlist here! Go and check the other writers pieces! They’re amazing and they all do an awesome job everytime!

All the HQ siblings info made my head imagine a thousand scenarios but big brother Daichi took 90% of my mind.

"Baby? I have to cancel our study date tonight, I'm sorry," Daichi said on the other end of the phone.

"Did something happen?" you tried to keep ordering stuff for work as he talked.

"My parents have to drop my siblings here for a day or two. Apparently they have an urgent work meeting in another city."

"You sound upset, hun," you said as you stared at the numbers in your screen. You couldn't spot the mistake yet but you would.

"I'm good! Just sad I have to cancel. I really wanted to see you," he explained.

"I can go anyways," you offered.

"You won't be able to get anything done with the kids around…"

"Oh, I'm amazing with kids!" you chirped. "I want to meet them too. Pretty please? I don't mind not studying."

"But your exams, babe. You have to-"

"I'll be there at the time we agreed! I have to go back to work, I love you!"

Daichi heard the call ending and he had to answer his father's message yet.

I'll be at home in 30 minutes, you can bring them then, dad.

Oh, he had to go to the grocery store. How could he go to the store alone with four kids? He sighed. Maybe he should've called someone for help. Suga was good with kids, he's a teacher and also has siblings, so maybe he- He should also buy some toys? Or would they be entertained enough with movies and a console? Since he moved to another city for study he wasn’t able to see his siblings often enough.

And when his parents finally dropped them he was surprised to see how much they had grown in just a few months. Two pairs of twins wasn’t a common thing, not in Miyagi at least, and somehow he ended up with four little siblings. As the four little persons walked around his apartment his parents walked with him to the kitchen.

“Thanks for taking care of them in such a short notice, Daichi,” his mom said.

“It’s not a problem, I missed them,” he smiled to his mother.

"Will you be okay alone with them?" his father asked.

"They're already here so… I can always ask for help," he smiled again.

After a little mom’s speech about being nice and listening to his brother his parents finally left. And he was in charge of four little lives. This wasn't the first time but he was nervous.

"Ichi, your house is biiiiig," Haori said. Haori and Kaori were the first pair of twins, two girls with their father's eyes (like him) and long caramel hair like their mother.

The second pair of twins took the couch as their place.

“Can we watch tv, Ichi, please?” the boys said, almost at unison.

“Yes, boys,” Daichi turned on the tv and looked for a kids channel. Disney seemed to be good as the kids didn’t complain so he left it there. “I’m gonna prepare something for us to eat so call me if you need me, ok?”

The girls were laying on the floor with notebooks and markers. The boys were too focused on the puppies cartoon to even listen to him, so he turned around and walked to the kitchen.

Not even ten minutes after, the five siblings were startled by the door opening.

“Babe, I’m here! Will you help me with-” you walked inside and were welcomed by two pair of brown eyes, just as your boyfriend’s ones. “Oh, hi there, girls,” you smiled.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” Daichi said and took the grocery bags from your hands.

“I told you I was coming,” you laughed. “And I knew you had company so I bought a lot of funny stuff to eat and drink!”

Kaori and Haori followed you a few steps behind, paying attention to everything you and their brother did.

“Y/n, these are Haori and Kaori, my sisters. Girls, she’s y/n, my girlfriend,” Daichi introduced you to the young girls, who looked at you almost squinting.

“Nice to meet you! You’re both more beautiful than your brother said to me!”

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to the boys,” Daichi took your hand and his sisters squinted even more at you. “Y/n, they’re Taichi and Takeru. Boys, this is y/n! She’ll be staying with us tonight,” Daichi crouched in front of the couch and pointed at you. Both of them looked almost the same as your boyfriend but they had deep green eyes.

“Nice to meet you, boys,” you smiled again and they smiled back. “What are you looking at here?”

“Puppy patrol,” Takeru said.

The girls went back to their drawings but they were still reluctant of you.

“Can you help me with dinner?” Daichi said. You nodded and ruffled Takeru’s hair before walking behind the big brother. “I have no idea what to do, I was staring at the vegetables before you arrived. You saved me from going to the store.”

“I can cook then,” you pushed him aside and took the apron from its usual place. “I think the girls are not excited with me being here,” you giggled. “And I didn’t even kiss you when I arrived!”

Daichi was standing at the kitchen entrance, where he had a view of his siblings, and blew up a kiss for you.

“I’ve never been with someone before so…”

“Oh? Am I your first couple?” you teased.

“That’s not what I meant,” he tried to sound angry but he giggled in the end.

“You didn’t deny it either, baby,” you smiled as you chopped vegetables. You received blank eyes in return. “How wild must it be to have twins not one but two times! I really admire your mother and I don’t even know her.”

"I admire her too," he commented.

"Ichi-nii! Kao won't let me draw with her and Haori," Taichi ran to his brother with little tears in his eyes.

"Oh, buddy, I'll give you something to draw for yourself, how that sounds?" Daichi took the little guy in his arms and walked away.

You kept chopping vegetables to cook wok. You were sure the kids would eat it if it was full of colors. When you turned around from the kitchen island to face the counter and wash your hands, there was a little body standing behind you.

"Oh, Takeru! Sorry, I didn't see you there! Is everything ok?" you cleaned your hands and bent down to take his hand.

"Ca-can I stay here and help you?" he whispered.

"Of course! Come here," you helped him climb the counter and sit there. "I need to put six cups of water here, can you do that?" you said as you placed a pot by his side. "I'm working back there now but if you want to go down tell me, ok? Don't jump for yourself."

The boy smiled and nodded. You finished cutting everything and started cooking. The water for the rice was heating up and you heard Daichi put on music.

"We're done here, do you want to see what your brother is doing?" you asked and he nodded again.

You took him in your arms and walked to the living room to find three out of four Sawamura siblings dancing. Daichi turned around when he heard Takeru’s laugh. His heart stopped for a second when he saw you standing there with the little boy on your arms, smiling and whispering to him in complicity.

“The girls wanted to play Just Dance,” your boyfriend explained as he walked to you. “Do you wanna dance, buddy?”

“Go and dance until dinner is ready,” you smiled as you put the boy down. He walked away and Daichi took the opportunity to steal a quick kiss from you. “What’s with that smile of yours?”

“You looked good with a boy in your arms,” he confessed. “The girls are a little jealous of you.”

“Yeah, I’d be jealous too if I see a random girl with my brother,” you laughed. “Do you want a baby, Daichi? I don’t mind trying a few times.”

He blushed when he felt your lips on his cheek after your suggestive talk.

“Don’t do this to me right now, please.”

“Sorry, sorry, “ you put your hands up in defeat. “Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes.”

You walked back to the kitchen to control the food and after two more songs, Daichi and the twins got the table ready. You served food to everyone and the ex captain went to the fridge for the drinks.

“Why did you buy so much juice?”

“I didn’t know what your siblings liked so I got one of each and they can choose,” you explained.

The dinner was peaceful. The girls told Daichi stories about school and the boys talked about getting ready for leaving kindergarten.

“So, the boys are 5-ish? And you girls?” you asked.

“We’re ten,” they said in a perfect synchrony. “Is Suga-san coming?” Haori continued.

You choked on your rice and Daichi laughed.

“He had to do something tonight but if you stay another day I’ll make sure he comes,” he answered. “Are you ok, honey?”

You didn’t miss the giggles from the boys and smugs from the girls.

“I’m good, I’m good! Does anyone want dessert? We have ice cream,” you smiled.

After some ice cream and a movie, the boys fell asleep. And the girls were sleepy.

“Ichi, can we go to bed?” Haori asked.

“Of course, let’s take the boys too.”

You took Takeru in your arms and walked first to the room.

“You have to share the bed but I have a biiiiiiig bed,” Daichi explained to his sisters. “Let’s put the boys in the end so the girls can watch tv,” he told you.

You left Takeru under the covers and walked out so your boyfriend could have a private moment with his siblings. You turned on the living room tv and found a movie to kill the time. Daichi was back ten minutes later and layed down on the couch with his head on your thighs.

“My old rival Suga is back on game,” you giggled and he looked at you with a question on his eyes. “Did I ever tell you that I thought you liked him? That time I asked you out after your practice I really thought you were gonna say you were dating him. And now your sisters like him more than me.”

“They just met him before, they need some time. And everyone likes Suga,” he said.

“Did something happen with your parents? I mean, they had to leave his childs here on short notice… I’m sorry, that sounded rude. You don’t have to tell me.”

“It’s fine, babe. Ever since my dad's company started to grow, they have to travel more and more. His company was always fine but now it’s huge. That’s how he was able to buy this giant apartment for me. They usually hire a nanny but this time they couldn’t get one.”

“That sounds hard,” you ran your hand through his short hair. “I could help you to take care of them anytime.”

He took your hand and kissed it multiple times before getting up.

“We should sleep so we can be up before the twins. Can you get us a cover from my room?”

You walked to the room and smiled at the girls who were still awake.

“If you need anything your brother and I will be on the couch,” you said before walking out. “Goodnight!”

When you were back, Daichi had already sprawled on the sofa bed. You turned off the lights and laid by his side. The dishes could wait till the morning. The movie was still running on the tv but both of you were tired and not even 10 minutes later you fell asleep.

The next morning an insistent knock on the door woke you up. Daichi was asleep and there was no sign of the twins, so you got up and checked yourself before opening the door. Daichi’s shirt and pants were decent enough to show to whoever was out.

“Good morning! How can I help you?” you said to the lovely couple at the door. You smiled, waiting for them to answer.

“I think we knocked on the wrong door?” the lady said. “Dear, are you sure this was Daichi’s apartment?”

“Mom?” Daichi walked to your and his mom’s voice.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry! Please, come in,” you stepped away from the door. “I’ll prepare coffee!”

“Come in, we just woke up so the couch is a mess, sorry,” Daichi explained. “The kids are in my room if you want to wake them up. I’ll help y/n with breakfast.”

“That’s definitely not how I wanted to meet your parents,” you whispered when he walked in the kitchen.

“Oh, babe, you’re fine. Let me finish this and go get changed if you want.”

“Do you need help?” Daichi’s mom was standing behind his son. “I’m glad to see you have a beautiful girl by your side.”

You blushed at her comment and she smiled.

“I’m so sorry for what happened earlier. It’s really nice to meet you and your husband,” you smiled at her.

“Don’t worry about it! It’s Daichi’s fault for not introducing us before. Thanks for helping him take care of the twins.”

“It was a pleasure.”

“How is this my fault?” he laughed. “I think the twins take milk and corn flakes.”

“Okay, I’ll take everything to the table,” you said.

You and your mother-in-law prepared the twins breakfast and took it to the table along with coffee for you and Daichi.

“Are you sure you’re not drinking anything?” you asked again.

“We had breakfast at the hotel, thanks,” your father-in-law said.

You had your coffee in silence, listening to how the twins told their parents how much fun they had with their brother and his girlfriend and the boys said the dinner was like a rainbow.

After taking the empty cups to the kitchen and doing the dishes while Daichi talked with his parents, you walked to the living room to say goodbye to the kids.

“Thanks again for taking care of them,” Daichi’s mom said.

“It really was a pleasure and I’m happy I could meet you all! Please bring them again whenever you like,” you smiled.

“Maybe you can come over next time, and you can know Miyagi,” she said.

“I’d really like that,” you said.

“I’m walking with them to their car, I’ll be right back,” Daichi said and kissed your cheek before leaving.

You laid down on the couch again and turned on the tv. Your heart was still racing for meeting your boyfriend’s parents and you needed to calm down.

When Daichi was back he found you asleep on the couch. He covered your body with his jacket and let you sleep. He could wake you up with lunch and you would smile that sweet and excited smile he liked so much.

[uchihanyan]

ItaIzu / ItaSaku One-Shot

Ok, I think it’s done! I took some days to finish it, but I’m very satisfied with the results! I hope you guys enjoy it! I’ll post it on AO3 once I decide a good title, and I’ll let you know when I post there.

WARNING: This one-shot has depression themes, although some cuteness and happiness moments. So if you’re not in a good mood, please, save it for later!

-----

Itachi had probably just had the worst day of his life. He was down, depressed, and nothing could cheer him up. It wouldn't be a surprise if he ended up falling into depression. His heart hurt too much, and he felt that pain would never go away. Therefore, the man decided to go out from his parents' house for a bit, to get some air, walk and try to distract himself. He needed to get that sadness out of his heart, but at the same time, he couldn't forget what had happened. He didn't want to. A few months ago he thought that the other day had been the worst of his life, he would never imagine that this recent incident could happen. This was the worst day of his life. It was practically impossible for another incident to be worse than this one.

The Uchiha walked around Konoha, aimlessly, just to try to distract himself. He needed to calm down. It was then that, walking slowly beside the Konoha's playground, he saw a small girl, dirty, with messy brown hair and torn clothes, also looking down and sad, sitting on a swing. Children were one of Itachi's biggest weaknesses and, slowly and gently, he tried to approach her, greeting her. The girl, who had not felt his presence until the moment he spoke, however, soon got scared, getting up from the swing and running away, hiding behind a fence nearby.

"C'mon, you don't need to be afraid."

Itachi tried to approach her again, carefully, but the girl, like a skittish kitty, ran away again, this time completely disappearing from Itachi's vision. He sighed and, too tired to go looking for her, thinking she probably had gone to her parents' house, sat down on the swing. All the bad thoughts occupied his mind, and he kept trying to calm himself, taking a deep breath and looking up, letting some tears flow from his eyes. Itachi didn't like to cry in front of people, so that was the best opportunity to do that, in the middle of the night, when no one was nearby. After calming down, he went back to his parents' house, and slept there.

Some days later, after being called to the Hokage's office, which was currently Kakashi, Itachi commented on the little child in the playground.

"That was probably Yuki."

"Yuki?" Itachi asked.

"Yes. She is an orphaned child who lost her parents some time ago. Unfortunately, no one can get close to her."

"I noticed that..."

"Well, she lives alone, and Yuki doesn't allow anyone to enter her home."

"What, alone?! How old is she?!"

"Her parents died when she was about 4 years old, so she is probably 5. Iruka and I managed to get in there a few times and try to help her, but it's been a while. She usually goes to restaurants and convenience stores to buy obento and eat at home, but in general, it seems that her diet is not good at all. And well, being such a little child, she doesn't really know how to take care of herself. As you can see, her appearance is not the best."

"That is terrible..."

"Yes, but no one dares to approach her and force her to do anything, neither to take her to an orphanage. Even if people want to try to help her, they are very sorry for her and afraid to hurt her and make her sad and scared. "

"But she's just a child, she's too little to live by herself."

"I know, I know. Well, do you want to try it?"

"What?"

"Get close to her. Maybe it is a good opportunity for you to try to distract yourself a little from what happened on your last mission. Take some time off."

"I..."

Itachi was reluctant for a moment but ended up accepting it. Perhaps it would be better for him to take distance from the shinobi's life for a while. He needed to take care of himself, especially his mind.

"Right, I will do it."

"Perfect. I permit you to enter her house, just don't be too invasive. Well, knowing you, I know you'll be careful. Especially since it's a child we're talking about." Kakashi smiled under his mask at him.

And so Itachi did. He left the Hokage's office and, after going to his parents' house and telling his mom about his new "mission", he went to the child's home, which Kakashi had taught the location to. He approached it slowly, on tenterhooks, and, after taking a deep breath, knocked on the door. It took a while, but a small figure slowly opened the door, trying to hide behind it. As soon as she saw who it was, she instantly closed the door. Predicting a reaction like that, Itachi crouched down and knocked on the door again. The little girl opened it, looking up and surprised, as there was no one in her sight until she looked down and saw the man near her height. She was startled and before she could close the door again, his hand gripped it, preventing it from closing. Itachi was much stronger than she was, so no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move the door. Realizing that the little girl was getting more and more desperate, he tried to say something, to calm her down.

"I don't want to hurt you. On the contrary, I want to help you."

"No."

"Onii-chan is not going to do anything bad for you, trust me."

"Onii... chan?"

She knew that many people in Konoha used to try to help her, despite always hiding and trying to keep them away, so the girl already imagined the intentions of the Uchiha. So she ended up letting him into her house, feeling the gentleness in his voice.

"Excuse me."

He entered, removing his shoes at the entrance. He saw a slipper there, which was a little dusty but decided to put it on anyway. Getting inside the house, he saw the interior of it, getting shocked. It was dirty, dusty, messy, with cup noodle's cups and empty obento plastic trays around the room. He felt a tightness in his heart. How could anyone live in those conditions? Well, she was just a kid, so of course, she would not care about it, neither know how to clean and organize a house. Also, the girl was probably depressed for being alone and having lost her parents. Deep down, Itachi understood her. After the recent incident, if he had no one around, he would probably also go into depression and have a life similar to the girl's, failing to take care of himself, and living in a mess.

Looking closer at the girl, he realized that her condition was terrible. Her face was pale, her skin was dirty, and she had huge dark circles. Her hair probably hadn't been cut in months, neither brushed. He sighed, crouched again, and asked the girl.

"Have you had dinner today?"

She nodded and pointed to a cup of mini cup noodles, which was smaller than the normal size, empty and thrown on the floor. Itachi frowned, sighed again, and stood up.

"Wait here. I'll be right back."

The girl, confused, agreed and waited for him behind the door, inside the house. Approximately half an hour later, he was back, with bags full of groceries. Itachi entered the house, removing his shoes and putting on that dusty slipper again, and went straight to the kitchen. First of all, he picked some cloths and cleaning products, cleaning the kitchen, the furniture in that room and the dishes. So, soon Itachi started cooking. The girl just watched him preparing the food, quiet in a corner, not knowing how to react or what to say.

It took about an hour, but soon the food was ready. He served dishes with gohan, fish, salad, and vegetables. He also filled a glass with orange juice, which he had just prepared there.

"Come here." He said gently to her, in his calm voice, smiling at her and raising a hand towards her. The girl, shy, approached him slowly. Itachi picked her up and sat her in a chair that was slightly taller than the others. Itachi had already eaten, so there were portions for the little girl only.

"You can eat, don't be afraid. I'm sure you're gonna like it."

The girl picked up a pair of chopsticks and seemed to have a hard time with them. She didn't know how to use it properly, and after a few attempts to use it correctly, she stuck the two chopsticks into the fish, holding them with her whole hand. Before she could take it to her mouth, Itachi let out a sigh and took the chopsticks from her hand.

"Here, I'll help you."

So Itachi fed the little child. She looked hungry, and she probably hadn't eaten such good, healthy food in a long time, probably weeks, or even months. She chewed and swallowed quickly, and in no time she ate everything.

After washing the dishes, Itachi took the girl to the living room. The couch was all dirty and dusty, so he sat on it and put the girl on his lap, looking at her.

"What's your name?"

"Y-Yuki..."

"Yuki-chan, huh. My name is Itachi."

"Itachi onii-chan..."

"That's right." He smiled at her. The girl, ashamed, tried to contain her smile.

"How old are you?"

The girl took a while to answer him. She had probably forgotten, not thinking about it in a long time. "F-five... I think."

"You think?"

The girl nodded, and Itachi sighed.

"Okay... Your house is very dirty, it is not healthy to be in the middle of this much dust and dirt. Come to sleep at my house today. Tomorrow we will be back and I will clean up here."

"Why?"

"Because... Well, it's important. As I said-"

"Why are you helping me?"

Itachi was interrupted by the kid and looked at her as she asked it. "You're just a little child. It is not the right thing to do leaving you in this condition." He stood up with her in his arms. "Come on. I'll lend you a shirt for you to wear as pajamas. Tomorrow I'll wash your clothes too." He saw some holes and stains in the clothes she was wearing. "Well... Maybe buy you some new ones."

The girl still didn't quite know how to react. She had already been helped by a few people - well, forced to be helped - but it was the first time that anyone had done all of that for her by saying only a few words before acting. Without the courage to refuse, the girl just put her arms around Itachi's neck and was carried to a small apartment near the residential area of Konoha. The first thing Itachi did was shower the girl, asking her permission first. Being so young, and without her parents around for such a long time, she probably didn't know how to shower alone. He washed her hair with shampoo about 3 times before applying the conditioner and combing it. It was tangled and the man had a lot of difficulties, but in the end, he succeeded, being very careful not to hurt her. So, after the shower, instead of going to the ofuro, he decided to dry her and put on one of his shirts, which was big enough to cover her up to just below her knees. He dried her hair and put her to sleep in his bed. It didn't take long before she fell asleep. Itachi, lying on his side next to the little child, watched her. It was then that he remembered the incident of a few days ago. Kakashi was right. Itachi was so busy taking care of the girl that he had completely forgotten what happened. He didn't want to forget, he couldn't forget. But for a few hours, he seemed to be a little less depressed and sad. He put one of his arms over the little girl's body, hugging her, and also fell asleep, tired.

The next morning, Itachi woke up before Yuki. She seemed to be very tired, sleeping soundly, so he got up slowly from the bed, being careful not to wake her, and after his morning hygiene routine, he went to the kitchen, to do the breakfast. Itachi liked a simple, traditional meal, so he made some onigiris and miso. He covered her meal with wrapping paper and ate his. While eating, Itachi remained depressed, unable to stop thinking about that incident. How could he be so careless? One small flaw was enough to change his life completely. However, the man believed that nothing happens by chance. Perhaps if that had never happened, the child would never have been saved, and only God knows what kind of bad things could have happened to her. Still, depression took over Itachi. The pain was great, hard to overcome. He tried to forget about those terrible thoughts, but nothing seemed to be able to distract him, until, sometime later, he heard the door of his room opening, and saw the little girl running to the bathroom. Itachi figured that maybe she wanted badly to use it, so he didn't bother until he heard vomiting noises coming from the bathroom. Startled, he went to her and helped her, holding her long hair.

"Don't worry, you're probably like this for having such a bad diet all this time." After she finished, he helped her rinse her mouth and brush her teeth with a new toothbrush he had, which was still in the packaging. "Come on, I made miso, it will be good for your stomach."

Itachi sat her on one of the chairs and gave her the miso. She didn't need chopsticks this time, so she managed to drink it on her own, trembling a little bit as she was weak for just had vomiting.

"Before we go back to your home, we better go to the hospital. I know a great doctor who will take care of you." He told the girl, who didn't seem to like the idea. "You don't have to be afraid, everything will be fine." He assured her.

Before they went to the hospital, Itachi stopped by a small thrift store nearby, buying a new outfit for the girl to wear. He bought a T-shirt with a patterned kitten on it and pants that were a little loose but comfortable and that would fit her. Then, after dressing her in her new clothes, they arrived at the hospital, and the receptionist soon recognized the child.

"Isn't that... that orphan girl who's always alone?" She asked.

"Yes... She is."

"Good! Someone is finally taking care of her! Thank God." The woman looked very relieved and happy. "I imagine her health is terrible."

"Yes, that's why I brought her here. Is Sakura here today?"

"She is. I will call her, just a moment."

After going to Sakura's office, the receptionist returned to them, telling him that he could meet the kunoichi right away.

"Come in!" Said Sakura from her room.

Itachi then entered the place with Yuki in his arms.

"Finally..." She said. "I'm glad you're taking care of her."

"Well, let's say it's under Kakashi-san's orders."

"Still... You accepted it. Thank you." Sakura said with a smile on her face. "She must be in very bad health, isn't she? Put her on the bed, so I can examine her."

And so did Itachi. After asking permission for the child, he removed her shirt, allowing Sakura to examine her better. Running her hands over her small body, making the girl cringe a little, frightened, she used some of her chakra to examine the inside of her.

"Poor thing, so thin..." Said Sakura. "She is not in a critical condition, but she is very weak, and her stomach is injured."

"That's what I thought. She threw up this morning, and I imagine it wasn't the first time. She also had pain while peeing and had trouble defecating."

"It's just the obvious... I always felt a lot of frustration that no one was helping her. Of course, I can't say much, because I couldn't do it either... But even so... It's so cruel."

"I... didn't know about her, until a few days ago, when I first met her in the playground. It was then that, commenting on her, Kakashi explained to me about her. And then he decided that I should help her. "

"Great. At least finally someone is acting." Sakura took her stethoscope and touched the child's chest. "I know it's a little cold, but hold on. It's just for a little while. Now take a deep breath." Yuki obeyed Sakura. "Great. Again. And again. Again. Right..." Then she repeated it, with the stethoscope against the little girl's back.

"Well?"

"Her heart is a little weak, but nothing that worries me that much. But it surprises me that she is still alive, you know."

After the analysis, Sakura measured the girl's pressure, which was very low. Then, she put the back of her hands on the child's forehead, to feel her temperature. That feeling of the woman's hands on her forehead made Yuki feel something in her heart. Those hands...

"Mommy..."

"What?" Sakura asked.

"It... it feels like... mommy's hands..." Yuki's voice clearly expressed her pain. The girl held Sakura's hands, shaking.

"Oh, dear..." Sakura patted the child's head. "I'm sorry. But you'll be fine, I promise." She smiled.

Sakura examined Yuki for a while, concluding that the girl had stomach damage, urinary tract infection, constipation, anemia, malnutrition, dehydration, some breathing problems due to the dusty house, among other problems. Not to mention the mental problems she had probably developed, like depression. However, it was nothing that could not be healed. Hearing this, Itachi, despite being worried, felt a little more relieved.

"I'm going to order some more tests, like blood, urine, feces, and MRI scan. I'll also ask that you feed her well, please. And a lot of water. Her life is in your hands."

Upon hearing that last sentence, Itachi felt pressured. The last time someone's life was in his hands, Itachi had failed. Failed. He had failed. Sakura's words echoed on his mind. But he needed to work hard, take care of the child until he decided what to do with her. Take her up for adoption, give to a known couple, or take care of her himself. It was a difficult choice, but one he needed to make. In a way, that was his mission.

"You can leave it to me."

Sakura smiled at Itachi, and then at the girl. "You are in good hands." She patted her head once more. "Here, this is a small manual for you to help her do the tests I ordered. Bring them in three days, preferably in the morning. Also, she will need these medicines. This one and this ointment are to treat her urinary tract infection. Not treating it may cause a much more serious illness. Don't forget about giving her a lot of water."

"Right..." That was going to cost money. A lot of money. But it was a sacrifice that Itachi was willing to make. For the sake of an abandoned and frightened child. And also for his mind.

"B-besides... If you need to..." Sakura handed Itachi a paper with something written on it. "This is my personal number. You can call me if you need anything."

"Thank you. I will."

And so Itachi took care of the girl for a few more days. As required by Sakura, he bought the necessary medicines, gave them to the child, and helped the girl to do the exams. The day before he was supposed to go back to the hospital, Itachi decided that he would cut Yuki's hair, with his own abilities. He was used to cutting his own hair, so it wasn't a hard job to do. He cut a fringe that reached up to her eyebrows, and cut a few centimeters of her hair, removing the damaged ends. Her hair was considerably shorter, but it was still long. As promised, Itachi also cleaned Yuki's house and washed her clothes. It took him all day to clean up the place. He cleaned everything himself, without asking for any help for the poor child, who was weak and sick. At certain times he lost himself in his depressive thoughts, but soon the girl appeared near him, perhaps feeling his sadness, and made him smile at her, cheering her up. Forcing himself to cheer himself up for the girl took his sadness away momentarily. At one point, Itachi opened the door to her parents' room a little, but figured he shouldn't go in there without her permission, so he just left it for another day.

In the living room, there was a small memorial for her parents, with a photo of them and an incense. Itachi lit it, and said a prayer for them, praying that they would be in a better place, asking for permission so that he could take care of the girl, and saying that he would do his best to give her a good life.

On the third day, Itachi took the exams required by Sakura. Such samples needed to be the first samples of the day, so Itachi went to the hospital very early, next to Yuki. After handing them over, she took some blood samples from her. She had some hard work since Yuki wasn't used to it, but in the end, everything went well.

"It will take a few days for all the exams to be ready, but I'll let you know."

Yuki also did the MRI exam, so Sakura would be sure about how the inside of the girl's body was. They stayed in the next room, where the computers were so that she could see the exam in real-time. It was very quiet and a little uncomfortable. Itachi had known Sakura for a while, as she was a member of his brother's team. Although Sasuke didn't like her very much, they often met, together with Naruto, for missions, training, and get-togethers. Sometimes the three of them went to Sasuke's house, who lived with his parents, and sometimes Itachi was there, meeting Sakura. Both of them had never spoken much, so they weren't that close to each other. Still, they considered themselves friends.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"If you follow what I asked you to do, she sure will."

Another moment of silence.

"Where is she sleeping?"

"In the first few days, I took her to my apartment. Her house was all dirty and impossible to live in. But yesterday I cleaned it, and we slept there. I will spend a few days there until she is better, and I decide what to do with her.

"I see... I hope she goes to a good family."

"Me too..."

The exam was over, and Sakura concluded that, despite the damage to her organs due to the bad life the child was leading, she could still be healed, if he took good care of her. Sakura gave him more instructions than what to do, like what kind of food to give her and some medicine.

"This is her home address. And well, this is mine... If there's something urgent about her exams... just drop by."

"Right..." Sakura accepted the paper with the information that Itachi gave her.

A couple of days passed and Itachi was doing his best to take care of the child, distracting himself as much as possible. One day, at Yuki's house, while Itachi sat on the sofa in the living room with her, talking about good things, he heard someone knocking on the front door. Itachi noticed that soon the child got scared, but he stroked her hair, smiling at her.

"I'll be right back."

Itachi got up and carefully opened the door, facing his mother, who was carrying some bags.

"Mom..."

"I came to visit you. How are things going? How are you?"

"Fine, I think." He looked down, with a sad look. "She is doing better, much better than the first day I met her."

"I see, that's great." She stroked her son's head and entered, putting on slippers that Itachi offered her. "Did you clean up the house?" He nodded his head. "You did a great job, my son. And where is she?" Mikoto asked as she gave the bags to Itachi.

"She... should be in the living room."

"Well, but she isn't. Oops, no, wait a minute." The woman noticed the top of a small head behind the sofa, slowly approaching and appearing in surprise beside her. "Found her!"

Yuki squeaked, startled, and ran to the other side of the couch, hiding again. Mikoto once more went to her, appearing in surprise and scaring the child, who, after screaming again, ran to Itachi, hiding behind him, grabbing his legs.

"You don't have to be afraid." Itachi said, with some difficulty in walking, since his legs were being grabbed by the child, and, after putting the bags on the dinner table, he picked her up on his lap. "She is my mother. See? We are very much alike."

Yuki's gaze shifted from Itachi to Mikoto, and she looked at him again, repeating the act a few times. The woman approached them, smiling. "Exactly!"

Embarrassed, Yuki buried her face in Itachi's chest, making him giggle, stroking her hair.

"She looks very good for someone who has been alone all this time in this house."

"She still has some health problems, but we are taking care of it. And yes, she is much better."

"Thanks to you, Itachi-kun." Mikoto smiled at Itachi. "And you look pretty good, too."

"Yeah..." He looked down. "I think so."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Come on, I want to cook for you today."

"And what do you plan to cook?"

"Hm... Hot pot! I know you like it, and I hope it will cheer you both up a little more. Especially you, Itachi-kun."

"Thanks, Mom..."

She smiled at him and started cooking. Mikoto refused Itachi's help, saying that she just wanted to please them. So Itachi and Yuki waited patiently at the dinner table until she finished cutting all the vegetables and organizing them, next to the meats, bringing the pot with a hot broth to the table. "Watch out, it's sooooo hot!" She told the child.

"And what are Sasuke and Father going to eat today?"

"Sasuke is on a mission with Naruto, and your father is going to spend the night at the police station."

"I see..."

"Itachi-kun, your voice is very sad. I want you to cheer up!"

"I-I..."

"Come on, cheer up! Let's eat! Itadakimasu!"

"I-itadakimasu ..."

Itachi repeated his mother's words, and with his chopsticks, he put some vegetables and meat into the pot. When the food was cooked enough to eat, Itachi took some, blew it, and brought it into Yuki's mouth.

"Why, doesn't she know how to eat alone?"

"She has some difficulty using chopsticks. Not to mention it's too hot..."

"She needs to learn how to use it by herself, Itachi-kun. Put it on this little plate, so she can practice and eat alone."

"R-right ..." And so he did. "Let it cool before eating, it is very hot."

Yuki just nodded and, while the others ate, she waited impatiently for her food to cool down, until she decided to try to catch it with the chopsticks, the way Itachi had taught her all these days. She had a hard time and dropped it a few times, but finally managed to put it in her mouth.

"That's right! Congratulations, my dear!" Mikoto encouraged her to eat alone, praising her. Yuki smiled sheepishly at the woman and continued trying to eat alone, to be praised more and more.

With those two people at her home, eating together, Yuki felt happier and more excited. She felt loved and comfortable, even though she was still shy. Itachi, however, was still depressed. Despite being with his beloved mother, who did everything to cheer him up, and the orphaned child he was taking care of at the time, he was still not completely happy. Itachi could not say whether he had really gone into depression, but he would try his best to prevent this from happening. It was difficult to avoid thinking about what happened a few days ago. He still felt like punching his fists against the wall until they bled, easing his anger at himself, or lying in bed and not getting up there for hours, just doing nothing, or sleeping. This job that Kakashi gave Itachi was really doing him good. Taking care of an abandoned child prevented him from falling under any temptation.

After finishing dinner, Itachi helped Mikoto do the dishes, and he took her to the living room, where the three sat, Yuki sitting on Itachi's lap. The Uchiha's kindness soon made the child feel comfortable enough to trust and approach him. While they were talking, and Itachi was telling about how those days were going with Yuki, talking about her, there was again a knock at the front door. Itachi went to answer it, and he was surprised by who was there.

"Ah, did I come at a bad time?" Sakura asked when she noticed that there was a pair of shoes beside Itachi's and Yuki's.

"No, not at all. My mother came to visit us today. Please come in."

Sakura nodded and went into the house, putting on a pair of slippers that were there.

"Good night." She greeted Mikoto.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, good night! What a pleasure to see you. What are you doing here?"

"Is there something wrong with Yuki in any case?" Itachi, distressed, asked.

"No, not at all. I just... came to see how you two are. But it looks like everything is fine, that's great!"

Feeling a certain tension in the air coming from Sakura, Mikoto got up and went towards the door.

"Well, it was nice to spend some time here. See you, Yuki-chan!" She waved at Yuki, who waved back, shyly.

"A-already?" Itachi asked.

Mikoto approached Itachi's ear and whispered, resting a hand on his shoulder. "It could be a good opportunity for you, my son." She walked away and said goodbye to Sakura. "Until later!"

Without allowing Itachi to refuse, she soon put on her shoes and left the house, leaving Sakura and Itachi speechless. They looked at each other, and Sakura blushed. "T-this way..." Itachi, shyly, led Sakura to the sofa, where Yuki was, picking up the child and sitting with her on her lap.

"I-I see that she is fine, that's good! It looks like the treatment is working." Sakura stroked Yuki's hair.

"Y-yes, she is. Thank you for helping us."

"No need to thank me. It's just my job. Besides... What kind of person would I be if I didn't help a child with so many needs? In fact, I regret not taking any action before, but..."

"All that matters is that you are taking action now." Itachi interrupted, looking at her.

"Y-yes... You're right."

The silence prevailed for a few moments, until Itachi said something.

"Would you... like some tea? I can make it for us."

"I-if it's not too much trouble, I'll take it."

"Okay. I'm just going to put Yuki to bed then." He said to Sakura, realizing that the child was sleepy, yawning, and rubbing her eyes.

After taking Yuki to sleep, Itachi went to the kitchen, where Sakura had sat, in front of the dinner table, and started making hot tea for them. As soon as it was ready, he brought it to her and sat across from her.

"So..."

"Mm?"

"I-I'm glad Yuki is fine." Sakura tried to make conversation, blushed, while she drank her tea.

"Yes, she is." Itachi took a sip of his tea. "Do you... have any specific subject you want to talk about?

"W-what?" She was surprised.

"Well ... I think if you just wanted to see how she's doing, maybe you'd wait for me to take her to the hospital again, wouldn't you? To see the tests."

"Ah, that... Y-yes... That's true."

"So?" Itachi didn't want to be rude, but he was curious.

"I just... wanted to get closer. See how she's doing, I was worried. And... I wanted to get closer to you too."

"T-to me?"

"Y-yes. Y, you know! We have known each other for so many years, I often go to your parents' house, and... we barely speak to each other."

"Ah, I see."

"I-it's not like ... I wanted to try something with you"

"Try something?"

"I-I mean... I... Y-you know! It's not like... I wanted to approach you with ulterior motives. Even though maybe, just maybe, I feel something for you. I'm sorry! I know you're engaged, but... A-anyway- "

"You feel?"

"T-that's not what I want to talk about now! Besides... recently you've looked so... different."

"And why do you think that?" Itachi tried to avoid getting into the romantic subject that Sakura said.

"You... look so sad, you know. So down. I have no idea what happened, but if you need anything, I'm here for you." Sakura put her teacup on the table and looked into his eyes. "You were always so kind and cheerful... I got worried about you."

"Oh, I..."

"I understand if you don't want to talk about it! But if you need to... I'm here."

Itachi took a deep breath and, after gathering courage, said.

"Come here for a moment."

Itachi got up and took Sakura into the living room, sitting on the couch. After a few seconds, after Sakura sat down next to him, Itachi started to speak.

"Do you... remember Izumi?"

"Izumi? Yes, she is your fiancee, isn't she?"

"..." He looked down and just nodded. "Well, some incidents have happened recently."

"And do you want to talk about it?"

Itachi nodded. "Well... The first thing that happened was that... well, you know that I have an incurable disease, right?"

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry we didn't find out what it is, and its cure. But you're getting the treatment, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you for helping me, by the way. But... A few months ago, I discovered that... because of this disease, I am infertile. It ended up making me very sad."

"Oh, Itachi, I'm so sorry!" She rested a hand on Itachi's shoulder for a few seconds. "And how did you find that out? I mean, I guess you did the tests, but... Why did you suspect that?"

"Well, even though we're engaged, not married, Izumi and I really wanted to have a child. Very much. So we... tried. Several times. Days and nights, for weeks."

"A, ah..." Sakura blushed when she heard Itachi talk about sexual matters.

"I don't even care that much about sex, you know? It doesn't matter to me whether I do it or not. Do you think I'm weird?"

"N, no, of course not! You... probably are what they call asexual, aren't you?"

"Maybe, I don't know. Anyway, even though I don't really care about it, I love Izumi, and we tried very hard. I think we spent most of the day trying, from all possible positions, to maybe help with fertilization. And... it didn't happen at all."

-----

After getting out of bed that morning, Itachi went to his kitchen, greeting his fiancé, kissing her on the cheek.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Itachi-kun. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes... But I'm still a little tired."

Izumi laughed sheepishly.

"And... are you feeling anything?"

"No... But let's wait a few more days! It's not like I'll feel like I'm pregnant after a night of... you know what... Who knows...!"

"Izumi... Don't you think it's strange?" Itachi said, sitting on the chair next to her.

"I don't think so. Many couples take years to finally have children, it must be normal."

"But... we're trying so hard. And yet..."

"Don't worry, everything will be fine!" Gently, Izumi tried to cheer Itachi up, smiling at him.

"I hope so..." He put one of his hands over Izumi's hand, looking at his engagement rings and caressing her hand, smiling sadly.

"Don't be like that..."

"Don't you think I should do the test? You know, just to be sure."

"Maybe, I think it would be a good thing."

"Yes..." Itachi stopped for a few seconds and then blushed. "Uh, but to do that... I need to..." He looked away.

"If you need to, I'll help you." She smiled looking at Itachi, making him even more ashamed, and Izumi laughed.

A few days later, Itachi and Izumi met in the clinic room, waiting for the result to be announced by the doctor, who sat across from them.

"Itachi-san..." The doctor looked at the man. "Izumi-san..." He looked at the woman. Itachi was already preparing for the worst, feeling his heart pounding. "From my tone of voice, I imagine you already have a feeling about the results." Izumi held tightly the hand of her fiancé, who was apprehensive. "I'm very sorry."

"B-but why is that, sensei? What's the problem with us?" Izumi asked.

"Well... it's not you, Izumi-san." He looked at the Uchiha. "You know how serious your illness is, don't you?" Itachi nodded. "Well... It turns out that it affected your fertility too. The chances of you both having a child are... very low, almost nil, no matter how hard you try."

Although he already expected such a result, Itachi got shocked. His hands were shaking, and he squeezed Izumi's hand tightly, looking down, frowning.

"Well, but as you may know, there are always alternatives! You can adopt, contact a surrogate mother, or even try artificial insemination! You-"

Itachi got up from his chair, not sure how to react.

"Itachi-kun..." Izumi looked sad and concerned for him.

"Thanks for the help, sensei." Itachi bowed slightly, and opened the door of the room, leaving. Izumi quickly thanked the doctor, and went after him.

"Itachi-kun, wait!"

Itachi ignored Izumi's words and just walked towards his apartment, crestfallen. When he got there, he sat on his couch, and rested his head in his hands. "Why...?"

"Itachi-kun..." Izumi sat down next to him, hugging him by placing one of her arms behind Itachi's back. "You didn't even want to hear what the sensei had to say... Why don't we try the other alternatives?"

"No."

"No?"

"...Sorry, Izumi. I... need some time to think, okay?"

"Sure... As long as you need, my love."

After a few minutes of silence, Itachi got up from the couch.

"I'm going to take a bath." He said as he headed for the bathroom.

"Sure... Do you want me to make you some tea?" Izumi replied, while watching Itachi entering there and removing his shirt.

"No."

"Then-"

"Izumi."

"What?"

"I... I think you should go back to your own home now. I need some time."

"I see... Get better soon, Itachi-kun." Izumi walked away and left Itachi's apartment.

-----

"I'm sorry... it must have been terrible." Sakura said to Itachi after hearing what he had to say. "But... Why don't you try to adopt? Look at that perfect opportunity, Yuki-"

"I'm not done."

"?" Sakura was surprised.

-----

In Itachi's apartment, the Uchihas were preparing for a new mission. Itachi wore his green jacket and tied his forehead protector, while Izumi waited for him, sitting on the bed.

"Are you sure you want to go with me?"

"Of course! Why shouldn't I go?"

"It's too dangerous."

"Come on. I know I'm not a Jounin yet, like you." Izumi got up from the bed and flexed her arm, pretending to show her muscles on her thin and delicate arm for him. "But I'm as strong as you are!"

Itachi chuckled at her and, wrapping her in his arms, kissed her on the lips. "Yes, you are." He smiled. "I'm just... worried, you know."

"Don't worry! I know you're going protect me if anything happens!"

"Izumi..." He looked into her eyes. "Right."

"And when we get back, we're going to the orphanage! I'm looking forward to adopting a child with you."

"Are you sure you want to do this now?"

"Of course! Imagine how cute our child is going to be, watching us get married!"

"Hahah, that's true." Itachi kissed her again. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Itachi-kun."

After kissing her again, Itachi left his room and went to the entrance door, putting on his shoes. "I need to stop by my parents' house first. Are you coming?"

"Of course!"

So, Itachi and Izumi went to Itachi's parents' house, to talk about the mission that they were both about to go.

"Are you prepared?" Asked Fugaku.

"Yes, father."

"You know how important and dangerous it is, don't you?"

"Yes, I am aware of that." Itachi nodded.

"These spies you are going to deal with are very skilled, Itachi. Take care. You too, Izumi."

"Got it!"

"So... We're going now."

"Until later!" Izumi said, excited as always.

"Be careful." Said Mikoto, next to Fugaku.

After the couple arrived in the Konoha forest, they stealthily entered it. Until they both felt the presence of the spies.

"Stay behind me!"

"I know how to take care of myself!"

Itachi threw kunais towards one of the spies that had appeared, and Izumi used her Katon. More and more spies appeared. Dozens of them surrounded them, but they couldn't keep up with the couple. Skillfully, they defeated one by one, taking light damage, until one of the spies lured Itachi a few feet away from Izumi. Itachi, falling into the trap, saw in slow motion another spy, who hid their presence until then, approaching behind Izumi with a sword. Desperate, he turned to her, extending his hand towards her.

"Damn it! Get there on time!"

But it was too late. Before Izumi could defend herself, the sword went through her body through her back. Itachi, being overwhelmed by his anger and frustration, defeated, with his blood boiling with hatred, the spy who had attracted him, immediately defeating the one who had hurt his fiancé after it.

"Izumi!" She fell into his arms. "Hang in there! Let's go to the hospital, they'll take care of you-"

"Itachi-kun." Izumi's weak voice called him, as she placed her delicate hand on his face. "Thank you."

"Wait, Izumi! Hold on!" His wide eyes looked at her as she smiled gently with blood dripping from her mouth. Izumi closed her eyes, and Itachi, desperate, ran back to Konoha with his fiancé in his arms. He had soon arrived at the hospital, begging them to see her.

Izumi was immediately taken to the operating room by Tsunade, who coincidentally was there, despite being no longer Hokage, and her assistants, including Shizune. Itachi, with his hands on his face, shook his legs, restless and impatient, sitting on the bench next to the operating room. Hours later, Tsunade left, and went to Itachi, with a serious look, sitting next to him. Itachi didn't have the courage to say anything, and he waited for the doctor's words.

"Itachi..." She looked back at him. "I'm sorry, we did everything we could. But the wound was too deep. She probably couldn't be saved even a few seconds after being injured."

Itachi's eyes widened in disbelief. He didn't know how to react. He couldn't believe it.

"We should bury her tomorrow." Tsunade went straight with her words, and put her hand on his shoulder.

Itachi still couldn't say anything. He just nodded and left the hospital, going straight to his parents' house. As soon as he arrived, Mikoto answered the door, welcoming him.

"Hey! Where's Izumi-chan?"

Still speechless, Itachi hugged his mother, finally letting his tears of pain and frustration flow.

"I failed." His faltering voice came out of his throat. "I failed."

"Itachi-kun..." She returned the hug, and soon Fugaku went to them, without saying anything. "Come, let's put on some comfortable clothes.

Mikoto took Itachi to his old room, helping him to change clothes, removing that Jounin outfit, and putting on clothes he used to wear daily.

She sat with him on his futon, leaning their back against the wall, hugging him with one of her arms, caressing his shoulder.

"How was the mission?" Her father asked.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally answered. "The spies... were all successfully defeated. But there are probably more of them."

Fugaku approached Itachi, crouching in front of him and resting his hands on his son's shoulders. "So don't let Izumi's death be in vain." Fugaku's harsh words hit Itachi's heart, who finally realized what had happened. Fugaku left Itachi's room, hearing his son's loud and desperate cry. It wasn't like Fugaku didn't care about him, he just wasn't good at expressing his feelings. But deep down, he felt that pain for his beloved son.

Itachi cried himself to sleep. Mikoto gently covered his son on the futon, and left him there, alone, so she could cook the dinner.

"I'm back." A voice came from the entrance's door.

"Welcome back, son." Mikoto greeted Sasuke, who was entering the kitchen. "How was your mission?"

"It would've been successful if Naruto didn't overdo everything he does. At least Sakura was there to heal him."

Mikoto chuckled. "You guys get along so well."

"Not even a little." Sasuke sat at the dinner table. "Has my brother returned from the mission yet?"

"Yes... He's in his room. He... He's not doing very well. Izumi-chan passed away during the mission. Be kind to him."

"Nii-san..."

After Itachi woke up, feeling a little lighter, from crying, he got up and went to the kitchen, sitting at the dinner table, without saying a word. Nobody had the courage to say anything to the poor man. Dinner that night was silent.

After the meal, Itachi got up slowly, and when he was on his way to his room, he was called by his mother.

"Why don't you go for a walk? You need to calm down a little and get distracted."

"Sure... I will." With his faltering voice, Itachi answered Mikoto, obeying her and heading towards the entrance door.

-----

"And that's when... I found Yuki. Walking around to try to calm down and distract myself, I saw her at the playground. She was alone, and when she saw me, she was skittish. But then, some days later, when I commented on her with Kakashi, he told me to try to get close to her and take care of her. He said it would be good for me, that I should take a vacation from the missions, and that it would distract me a little."

"Itachi... I... I'm sorry." Sakura, with some tears streaming from her eyes, said. "I didn't know about that..."

"It's okay. I didn't say anything to anyone. Only Uchihas and people close to her were at her funeral. I imagine that few people know what happened."

After hearing Itachi's words, Sakura hugged him warmly. For long, silent seconds, they stood there, holding each other, until they finally got apart.

"Thanks."

"Can I... say something?"

"Of course."

"You... Don't you think it's the perfect opportunity to adopt Yuki?"

"What?"

"It may be a little sudden, but... Well, you two are alone. Yuki lost her parents and has no one but you. You... lost Izumi recently. Besides, you want to have children, but you're sterile. Perhaps it would be the realization not only of your dream, but also Yuki's, and even Izumi's." Sakura said, unable to meet Itachi's eyes. "I don't think Izumi would like to see you sad and depressed like that."

"I..." Itachi, looking down, thought about what Sakura had said. She was probably right, but it was a very sudden decision to make. At the same time, he felt that perhaps that was the right thing to do. "You're right... Just... give me some time to think."

"I know you are going to make the right decision."

Sakura stood up and when she was about to say goodbye to Itachi, he looked at her and said.

"Don't you want to sleep here tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's already late, and... Well, I can sleep in the same bed as Yuki. There is a futon in her room that I washed recently. I can put it in the living room, if you prefer. Well, it's up to you." Itachi felt lonely, and needed another company.

"But of course. I just don't have any pajamas to sleep in."

"I'll lend it to you. I brought some of my clothes so I could spend a few days here."

"Right, thank you."

And so, Sakura spent the night at Yuki's house. She decided to sleep in the same room as them, giving all the support that Itachi needed. They talked a little more before getting asleep, in a low voice, so as not to wake Yuki up.

The next morning, Sakura had woken up before Itachi. She was used to getting up early due to her work. As it was Saturday, she didn't have to go to the hospital, but still, her biological clock made her wake up very early. She got up carefully, so as not to wake them both, and prepared breakfast for her.

A few minutes later, Itachi left the room and went to the kitchen, curious.

"Oh, good morning. Did I wake you up?"

"Yes... But that's no problem." He approached Sakura.

"I... I'm making breakfast for us. Have a seat, please."

Itachi obeyed her and sat down in front of the dinner table. As soon as it was done, Sakura put a cup of tea in front of Itachi, and toast with butter and jam.

"Thanks." He said in a low tone.

Sakura sat next to him, with her breakfast, and started eating. It was a long and quiet meal, until Itachi finished. He was going to get up to wash the dishes, but was stopped by Sakura.

"Let me wash it."

"Right, thank you." He went back to his seat.

Sometime later, it was Yuki's turn to wake up. She was still sleepy, but feeling the smell of the food, she went straight to the kitchen. Sakura prepared hot chocolate and a slice of toast with butter for the child, who ate slowly. After she finished her meal, Itachi called her to her room, to talk about something.

"What happened, onii-chan?"

"Yuki-chan, do you... want a family?"

"Family?"

"You shouldn't be living alone, you know. You shouldn't be alone. You need company."

"Do you mean... an orphanage?"

"?" Itachi looked at her with concern.

"I hear a lot of people talking about this. That I should go to an orphanage." Yuki, sadly, looked down. "But I don't want to!" She looked at Itachi.

The Uchiha put a hand on her head, stroking it. "I know that, dear. It would be very sad, wouldn't it?" He got up from the bed and crouched down to be closer to her, resting one hand on her leg and the other on her head. "But... I didn't mean it."

"?"

Itachi gathered courage, and finally managed to speak to her. "You got a little bit more used to me, didn't you? Well..." He paused briefly. "Onii-chan is very alone, you know? I... I lost a very important person to me recently." He paused again. "Don't you think we would be a great company for each other?" He asked the child, looking deep into her eyes.

"D, do you mean..."

"Well, only if you want to."

Yuki's eyes filled with tears, and her heart beat faster. Yuki was incredulous, but happy at the same time. She nodded, and Itachi smiled kindly at her. The child hugged him, and Itachi returned the hug, stroking the back of her head.

Sakura, listening to everything outside the room, in front of the door, was happy for them. She was happy that Itachi accepted her suggestion. That was definitely the right thing to do. Itachi would no longer be alone and could cure his depression by taking care of a needy child, and Yuki would finally have a family again, and would no longer be an orphaned and abandoned child. At the same time, her heart ached, as she had feelings for the Uchiha. But he had just lost his fiancé, it was not the right time to try to approach him with such intentions. She should wait a while, maybe weeks, or months. One day she would finally be able to tell clearly about her feelings, and who knows, they would finally be together.

-----

Months later, Itachi, Sakura and Yuki went together to visit Izumi at the cemetery, bringing her one of her favorite foods as an offering: Dango. Itachi was no longer suffering from depression, and Yuki, despite not being fully healed, was much better, looking better and happier. Itachi eventually moved into Yuki's house, and, with the child's permission, finally cleaned her parents' room, donating the clothes of the deceased and using it as his room. He often encouraged her to say prayers for her parents at the memorial in the living room. Sakura had confessed her feelings more clearly to Itachi, but the man, still hurt by the loss, told Sakura to wait a while longer. However, he did not reject her love, and said that in the future, they could go on a date. Mikoto, Fugaku and Sasuke often visited Itachi in his new home, and had meals together. Sakura also used to visit them, to see how Yuki was doing, and to get closer to Itachi. Despite having suffered so much in such a short time, Itachi and Yuki overcame their losses and pain together, helping each other.

[derireo]

rooftop talk ↦ itaru & izumi

Maybe Izumi was glad that the gamer nerd ended up being the person who discovered her hideout on the rooftop.

It's been years since she last talked to someone like this.

「 2.1k words 」

cw: mild hurt/comfort, family complications. can be connected to the workaholic.

Izumi wouldn't say she was depressed but going back to an empty home probably wasn’t the best feeling. She’d rather admit she was lonely.

Her father disappeared when she was fourteen, never leaving a note of any sort. He was a good father, that man, so it was like a punch to the face when Izumi and her mother woke up to his things no longer in the house and the car no longer in the community garage.

His disappearance left Izumi's mom to take care of the bills of the house, the groceries, and her school tuition.

This meant working multiple jobs. This meant coming home for a couple of hours and then leaving again. This meant blaming Izumi for something she couldn’t control. Her mother even had the audacity to glare at her whenever they were in the house at the same time, but Izumi could only choose the option to ignore it.

That was all she could do if she was living in her mother's house and so to lessen the chances of running into her, Izumi got a job at the convenience store at the young age of fifteen. She was given shifts on the weekend at first, but she begged for graveyard.

If working late into the night ‘til morning was what was going to reduce the risk of running into her mom at home, she’d take it. She'd even rather sleep at the school.

And Izumi’s manager was reluctant in giving her the shifts, knowing that she was only a child in tenth grade, but the desperation in her eyes had him yielding. He couldn’t say no if that was really what she wanted. She had told him that her mother had given her permission after all, and they needed someone to work the graveyard shift anyway.

So, years passed, with Izumi working nearly every night until morning only to then go to school afterwards, taking her naps during lunch break and then another nap at home when she had the day off. Each second, minute, hour, and day was spent in silence. The only sound that would fill her ears at home would be the scratch of her pencil against paper or the whistling of the rice cooker.

She grew accustomed to this silence that lived inside the house alongside her and absolutely hated the noise at school. The laughter behind everyone’s eyes as they talked with their friends, the bullies who would pick on the sickly boy in the corner of the room, to the stampeding of students running down the hall drove Izumi crazy.  

They were the reason why the rooftop was her home now.

She didn’t have any friends, nor did she enjoy having fun at the expense of others, so when Izumi discovered the doors to the rooftop, she knew she had hit the jackpot.

It was a breezy spring day when Izumi visited the rooftop for the umpteenth time.

Students weren't allowed to visit the rooftop as the place was used as a hideout for those who wanted to skip their classes and for those poor victims who were dragged here to get beaten down by their cruel bullies. The doors had been barricaded indoors by the teachers, a large, rotting plank having been slipped through the handles while old desks and chairs sat in front. It was like what you would see in a horror movie set in a high school.

It was spooky looking enough to steer naughty students away, but not enough to scare Izumi. The school wasn't known for ghosts, after all—not that she believed in any, and she needed a place to kill time. She threw that wooden plank to the side and dragged every single piece of abandoned furniture out of the way when she first came across it.

And so, here Izumi was. Sitting on the ground with her legs dangling on the edge of the roof with an old, iron railing keeping her safe from falling and going SPLAT.

Quiet. She thought to herself, sliding her arms through the barred railing with her fingers outstretched. The breeze slithered through the cracks between her fingers as it blew her light brown hair back, cooling her already chilly skin.

The silence is stifling.

The sound of the door clicking open made Izumi pause her thoughts, arms still held up in the air as the wind blew at her uniform skirt and the sun kissed her skin.

She turned her head to see a boy, probably her age, frozen in his tracks. He wore thick rectangular framed glasses and had messy blond hair that covered them. She noticed the bento box that was tucked under his arm as well as the small gaming device in his hand. Pursing her lips, she took a chance and guessed that maybe she wasn’t the only one who knew that the rooftop had opened again. Albeit secretly.

The boy took a flustered step back in order to leave the rooftop, but Izumi shook her head and waved her hand. She didn’t mind cutting her break short if he needed time to himself.

“It’s cool.” She said. “You can stay.”

She scooted back and bent her legs to release herself from the railing, skin dirty and grey with dust. The breeze had made her hair all tangled and cool to the touch, and she dragged her calloused fingers through the strands while her other hand pushed her body off the ground. Her black sneakers picked up an ugly ashen hue too, but she decided not to care too much about it as she looked at the boy again and nodded.

His lips parted in surprise when her brown eyes focused on him, and he waved his hand that held his device to keep Izumi from leaving.

“Sorry, I didn’t know someone was up here. Don’t go.” He apologised.

His stiff body was blocking the doors, preventing her from leaving like she had planned. His shoulders were hunched forward as he stood with terrible posture and his glasses perched right on the tip of his nose.

The silence between them was uncomfortable as Izumi struggled to come up with an excuse to leave. She didn’t know it, but her face was terribly expressive, and the boy was able to tell that she was conflicted.

He spoke before the silence drew longer. “We can share the rooftop together… I was only planning on eating my lunch here.”

The suggestion held no ill intent, but Izumi was still reluctant. She crossed her arms over her chest with pursed lips and raked her eyes up and down the person’s body. She’d never seen him around before, that’s for sure. He probably (hopefully) didn’t have any interest in her.

“Itaru.” The boy piped up again, voice meek. “My name’s Itaru Chigasaki. I’m a senior like you.”

Izumi uncrossed her arms and took a step back. She had most likely heard of his name before, but rarely paid enough attention in class to remember. Izumi’s feet were careful as they brought her back to the spot where she sat not too long ago and waved Itaru over with her hand, beckoning him to join her.

“I’m guessing you’ve seen me around if you know that we’re both Grads.” She spoke quietly, pushing her legs through the spaces of the railing again as the boy reluctantly shuffled to her side.

He nodded to confirm her guess and kept his distance away from the rooftop’s edge.

“We share Homeroom together.” Itaru said, popping open the lid to his bento box. “You’re always half an hour late.”

Izumi pressed her lips into a thin line and looked out into the city, going silent. The sunshine painted the buildings with a shimmery gold as the wind whipped through her hair. The cool but sunny weather was great on a lonely day like this, and Itaru gazed at Izumi with curiosity as he shoved a piece of sausage into his mouth with some rice.

He would never admit it but Itaru had come up to the rooftop today in hopes of catching Izumi here. And boy, was he glad to have swallowed his anxiety and pushed open the rooftop doors.

The last time he had seen her here, she was in tears, letter in hand. He could barely see the writing on the envelope that she had dropped on the floor, but he recognized the black scrawl spelling out ‘From: Papa’.

There were crystalline beads rolling down her cheeks then, sleeves stained with tears and dirt as the paper in her angry hand crumpled. Itaru remembered how she cried out into the roaring wind that day, and how her voice was drowned out by the school bell.

Itaru’s reminiscing was abruptly interrupted by the clearing of Izumi’s throat. She made it seem like she was going to say something and the audio cue reminded Itaru to chew his food.

“Yeah. My job ends in the morning.” She answered him, resting back on her palms.

The blond glanced at her through his fluttering fringe. “Don’t you get tired at all?”

It was an innocent question, but Izumi still laughed. How would you respond if someone asked you the same thing?

She turned her head in Itaru’s direction and sent him a kind smile. He paused in the middle of shoving rice into his mouth to patiently wait for her answer.

“Don’t you get tired at all?” She asked.

Itaru fish mouthed. “Well. Sometimes. When I study a little longer than usual, yeah—”

“That’s not what I meant.” Izumi laughed. The corners of her eyes crinkled and she gave Itaru a genuine smile, knocking her fist into his shoulder as if she’d known him for years. “You knew what I meant, right?”

Her tone was full of warmth despite the fact that she was laughing at him, but Itaru didn’t seem to mind. Her amusement wasn’t at his own expense, and Itaru felt comfort in that.

“I do get tired.” He sighed softly, biting at the ends of his chopsticks.

Years of trying to blend in to the crowd and avoid those who only caused trouble for him wasn’t the easiest thing to do. Plus, someone had found out that he was a total gamer nerd and people decided that that was good enough of a reason to push him around. That meant Itaru had to give up on hiding because of the rumor that quickly spread, and he didn’t have the heart to ask his mom for another transfer.

“Then you’ve got the answer you were looking for.” Izumi shrugged. She took a glance at the gaming console he had resting in his lap and went back to looking at the city. “I’d feel the same way if I was the kid who got bullied for liking video games.”

Her voice was gentle, but the last statement felt like a punch in the gut. Itaru put down his lunch box while swallowing the food in his mouth to defend himself, but Izumi kept talking.

“What’s wrong with having a hobby? Wasting money on games is so much better than wasting time hurting somebody's feelings.”

Itaru felt his throat tighten. “...Exactly.”

The bell rang just as Izumi gave Itaru a comforting pat on the shoulder, signifying that their lunch break was finally over.

The corners of his mouth lifted up into a smile and Izumi let out a pleased hum at the new expression. She removed her hand from his shoulder and heaved herself up from the ground, brushing off the dirt on her legs and skirt.

“It was cool meeting you, Itaru.” She said casually, holding out her hand for the boy to take.

Gratefully, he quickly packed his stuff up and tucked it under his arm before taking her hand, hauling himself up with the help of Izumi.

“You too.” He exhaled, out of breath for some odd reason. Itaru’s heart felt like it was going to burst with joy at (hopefully) having made a new friend.

He watched as she pulled her hand away from his and started her own trek towards the rooftop doors, her hair and skirt flowing behind her prettily as the gentle breeze picked up again.

Itaru called out to her before she left. “Uh. Izumi.”

She turned around, walking backwards this time.

“...I’m sure you’re doing so much more than you think.” He said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t want to say that he knew how hard she’d been working, so he was just going to leave her to wonder what he meant.

“If you need someone to talk to… I’ll be around.” Itaru coughed.

“Sure. I’d love to take you on that offer.” Izumi chuckled. She waved her hand goodbye and waited until Itaru waved back to exit the rooftop first, the sound of the wind blowing cut off by the shut of the door.

The cold atmosphere that filled the top floor of the school blanketed Izumi and she sighed at the loneliness of it all.

Maybe replacing the silence in her life with a friend wasn’t such a bad idea.

[collecting-stories]

Driver’s License - Topper Thornton

Summary: For the anon who said Driver’s License is their fave song...I hope you like this fic!!

Outer Banks Masterlist

✰Cause you said forever, now I drive alone past your street✰

“Next!” The woman behind the counter called, not bothering to look up from her computer as you approached. The DMV on Saturday was more crowded than you expected it to be when your dad dropped you off, asking again if you would be comfortable enough to drive yourself home.  

“Of course...that’s the whole point, isn’t it?” You joked, lingering in the passenger seat of the car, as if you wouldn’t have to go inside if you didn’t move. It could all just rewind, back to weeks ago when you were still a little uncoordinated. Rewind back to Topper “teaching” you how to drive his prized jeep, parking behind the small strip of stores near the school to just listen to music and make-out in the back seat.  

“You text me if you need anything, okay?” Your dad requested, giving you a quick hug before he got into your mom’s car and left you there in the parking lot alone. Even if you wanted to rewind you couldn’t...what was there left to rewind to?

You sat on the driver’s side of Topper’s jeep, door open, legs dangling as you leaned against the seat, sitting sideways while you watched Topper at the bottom of his driveway, talking to Sarah Cameron. She was riding passed on her bike, achieving that effortless cool vibe that seemed to follow her wherever she went, and she’d stopped to talk to him. It wasn’t really her fault, you told yourself, he could’ve waved. But one minute he was swearing he was gonna let you take the Jeep for a spin around Figure Eight and the next he was standing there talking to Sarah. 

You thought about getting out of the car, walking down and interrupting their conversation. Of course, then you would just be that awkward third wheel. How pathetic would you be, standing next to your boyfriend while he ignored you? You pushed your foot against the brake and started the chair, engine revving to life as Sarah and Topper both looked up the driveway towards you. 

Over the lull of the engine and the music you were fiddling with, you didn’t hear his goodbye to Sarah. You practically jumped in your seat when Topper’s hand landed on your bare thigh, just above your knee. You turned to look at him and it was as if all the worry you’d had over Sarah disappeared when he leaned over, kissing your leg. 

“Ready?” 

“You know my dad is paying for someone to teach me how to drive?” You mentioned, leaning over to kiss him when he stepped up on the running board, hanging into the driver’s side of the car as if he was reluctant to do more than spend time with you.  

“Yeah, in some shrimpy little car. This requires finesse.” He replied, making you laugh as you leaned back against the seat.

“Finesse?” You teased, “I think you’re full of shit. You just want me to practice so you don’t have to drive.”

It had been Topper who made the jab that “When you get your license you can drive us home from parties,” as if your sole responsibility from that day forward would be designated driver for the guys every time they drank too much at a party. You had been ready with a comeback, a really witty one that you couldn’t remember now, when Sarah had come down into the kitchen of the Cameron house, interrupting the small gathering and pulling all your boyfriend’s attention. Even Rafe looked apologetic.

“Babe?” Topper repeated himself, catching your attention this time.  

“Sorry, preparing myself to drive this beauty,” you joked half-heartedly, “hey what were you talking to Sarah about?” You were never one to let things lie.

“Nothing, just saying hi.” He shrugged. “You ready?”

“Yeah, totally. Can’t drive with you hanging on to the driver’s side though, can I?”  

“Right, right, sorry,” he kissed you one more time, an overcompensation for the moment, “you just look so hot sitting in the driver’s seat.”

You didn’t look hot standing at the counter, waiting for the lady to acknowledge your presence. When she looked up she said nothing to you, only held out her hand, an indication to give her the paperwork you’d brought along. She gave little in the way of instruction other than telling you to sit in the chair and stare at the little red light above the camera on her computer.  

Someone on the other side of you was complaining about their picture as you sat down on the folding chair, brushing your hair out and trying to remember the tips from that ‘taking a good license picture’ tiktok you’d agonized over, trying desperately to make sure you didn’t look dumpy, or half-asleep, or like you wanted to murder someone, or like you were completely heart broken.  

“You think your dad is watching us?” Topper asked, hand slipping beneath your sweatshirt as he kissed you. Parked on the street outside your house, sitting in the backseat.  

“Probably,” you replied, fingers running through his short hair as he kissed your neck, “but it’s super fucking weird that you’re mentioning my dad while macking on me.”

“Macking on you,” he laughed, “you sound like a pogue.”

“I do not.” You protested, nudging his side.  

The camera flashed and you were positive that you blinked but the lady behind the counter didn’t seem to notice. You wanted to ask if that was it, was it over? Did you get to walk away with your shiny new license, sit in the front seat and try your hardest not to cave to the pressure and call your father to bring you home. You could do this, you had driven a million times now.  

“Here sweetheart,” the pet name tacked on to the end felt empty and you doubted that she really meant to say it at all but you thanked her all the same, taking the laminated card from her hand and staring down at it.  

You looked sad.  

Maybe that was why she called you sweetheart. Because today should have been exciting, you had been talking about getting your license the way some people talked about winning the lottery. It wasn’t just freedom to drive wherever you wanted, it was freedom to drive one very specific place. Every time he drove you home, parking on the side street for a few extra minutes together, neither of you ready for the night to end, you thought about what it would be like when you could drive. Would it make the trip home lonelier or would you get to spend those extra minutes with him, not crammed in the back seat of a jeep but up in his room.  

It didn’t matter, in the end, because either way you were alone. Silence in the car because you couldn’t bear to hear the radio right then. You stopped at the red light on the corner of your street, your dad’s car idling there as you waited.  

Topper’s jeep was sitting there on the side street where it always was. He was across the street, standing there at the end of the driveway, arms around Sarah Cameron and you remembered why you hated living so close to Tanneyhill.  

The light changed and you exhaled, stepping on the gas as you cruised through the intersection, doing your best to stare straight ahead, to keep your tears at bay until you could get inside.  

-

taglist: @heavenlymama @vindictive-hearts @alexa-playafricabytoto @dontjinx-it @randomficsandshit @niamhobrien @strangerthanfanfiction713 @tovvaa @freckled-and-daydreaming @harleylynn @bibliophilewednesday @dpaccione @bolaurel @poguestyleskye @beautyandthebleh @under-a-canyon-moon @vintageobx @starkeymemories @princess-of-fandoms @phantompogues @khiaraaa-in-spacee @ilovejjmaybank 

[artificialqueens]

Come Home to My Heart, Chapter 8 (Lemyanka) - Plastiquedoll

read on ao3 ✨| previous chapters

A/N: wow… I can’t believe there are only two chapters left after this one… that’s crazy. This little story is my baby now so I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading it! <3

-8-

“Ouch!” Scarlett yelled as soon as Priyanka pinched her arm. “What was that for?”

“You’re friends with Lemon on Facebook? What the fuck?”

“Ah, yeah…” She rubbed her arm. “She befriended me a while ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? We live together.”

“I didn’t believe you’d mind and I thought she would add you too. I don’t know, I probably was high as fuck.” Scarlett sipped her Frappuccino.

“You, Kiara, and my mother back-stabbed me. I can’t believe it.”

“If it’s any consolation, she only posts pictures with her friends and when she’s at the dance studio… also, she spends an unhealthy amount of time rambling about The Sims.”

Seemed about right.

“I’m more worried about the pictures I appear as «tagged» on your page.”

“Yeah, you’re like a hot mess there.”

Priyanka and Scarlett went for a beverage that afternoon after stopping by the mechanical workshop to check on Priyanka’s car –it was still uncertain and the mechanic had ordered a few pieces that were supposed to arrive later that week- luckily her parents had lent her the family car for the afternoon.

Priyanka had ordered a strawberry smoothie but almost forgot about it. Her thoughts were somewhere else.

“Priyanka, are you there?” Scarlett called her.

“Yeah, sorry…”

“Girl, you’re like… gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“Uhm…”

Scarlett sat with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. She had cut her hair recently and the tips of her blonde bob were perfectly symmetric, it was almost in discordance with her rock-star-punk-grunge aesthetic of ripped fishnets, piercings, and leather jackets but Priyanka knew her better, she was just a softie who had cried with The Little Mermaid.

Goddammit. Don’t you see the subtext of female liberation, Priyanka? She had said with tears in her eyes.

“Nothing… only that you’ve been distracted lately. How weird is it that this behavior coincides with the return of certain someone to your life? Odd, isn’t it?”

“Cut the sarcasm… I know what you’re implying. Lemon helped me out the other day only because that’s what any person would’ve done.”

“No, you’re overestimating human kindness. Trust me, spending your entire afternoon with someone to help them with their… how did she call it?”

“Jalopy.”

“I mean, accurate.” Priyanka stuck her tongue out. “What I’m saying is that’s a big gesture and you should take it as a white flag from her.”

“When you’re right, you’re right.”

“So… what are you going to do now?” Scarlett inquired.

“I have no idea… You’re the second person who said something like that. Denali thought she was provoking me the other night in the club –she’s out of her mind- but she also said that I should make the next move.”

“I agree.”

“But what if I make a fool of myself in the process?”

“That wouldn’t be a novelty.”

“Fuck you.”

Scarlett lighted up a cigarette.

Right at that moment, Boa walked out of the café with an Iced Americano in her hand, she spotted both girls sitting outside and approached them.

“Hey, you two! I was going to text you later today.” She greeted both of them.

“Hey, girl.” Scarlett waved.

“Hi, Boa! Nice to see you.” Priyanka hugged her.

“So listen, some of the girls –myself included- are planning a little day at that lake that’s like half an hour from here and since the more the merrier, maybe you’d want to join us.”

“Sounds cool. Do you have a date in mind?”

“We set Thursday but if any of you guys can’t we could change it.”

“No, I think Thursday is fine for all of us. Priyanka?”

Priyanka had her thoughts floating like a cloud.

“When you say «some of the girls»… you mean?”

“Tynomi, Kyne, me…” She began listing.

“Boa we’re looking for a name started with «L», five letters, common yellow fruit used often in the kitchen.” Priyanka elbowed Scarlett.

“Oh! Yeah… We’re trying to convince Lemon to go too. She wasn’t into the whole nature thing but…” She cleared her throat. “If we convinced some more people maybe she’d change her mind.”

“Great so we’ll be there.” Scarlett wrapped her arm around Priyanka. “Text me the details later.”

“Sure, see you on Thursday!”

“Bye…” Priyanka smiled and when the girl walked away, she immediately turned to Scarlett. “What was that?”

“«Thank you, Scarlett, you’re such a good friend» you’re very welcome, Priyanka.” She put out her cigarette. “I did what it had to be done.”

“I see… but what if Lemon doesn’t show up?”

“She will be there and even if she doesn’t we could still have a nice day on the lake or whatever. Jeez, do I need to give you a pep talk whenever we plan something?”

“We’ll need a car, I can’t borrow my parent’s car all week and you came here by bus. Can Juice drive us there?”

“Yeah about that… Juice broke up with me.”

Priyanka frowned. “I thought you guys weren’t dating.”

“We weren’t, that’s why she gave me an ultimatum.”

“And what did you tell her?”

“I said I’d think about it.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“She agrees with you, obviously.” Scarlett leaned back on the chair. “However, I never wanted to break her heart with promises I wasn’t sure I was going to fulfill. I never promised her more than what I gave and it worked for some time.”

“Until it didn’t…”

It wasn’t shocking for Priyanka, she had always known that Juice wanted more but Scarlett –being the stubborn she was- never was going to admit she felt the same way, instead, she acted reluctant whenever the idea of having a serious relationship was brought.

“Scarlett, are you sure this is what you want?”

“Listen, what’s the point of starting a relationship with someone who doesn’t live in the same city.”

“She lives literally half an hour from Toronto.”

“Besides, I don’t want to give my freedom away… I don’t see myself ready to be in a relationship and you can’t say anything, you haven’t dated anyone for more than three days.” Scarlett pointed.

“Well, you got me there but this isn’t about me… don’t you see it? You’re about to lose something real and why? Because you’re scared of admitting you want it too.”

Scarlett looked down. “She deserves better than me…” She whispered.

“You idiot, she doesn’t want better, she wants you and you alone.”

“I feel like you’re insulting me somewhere there but…”

“Scarlett, focus.”

“You’re right, okay? I’m scared, I don’t want to hurt her and I’m terrified I might be too stupid to make a mistake or something… and now I don’t know what to do, I’m not a romantic person, I know nothing about big gestures…”

“Maybe roses? Carriage rides? Singing songs under the starry sky?”

“Gross…” She paused. “maybe roses though.”

“You did set the bar very low so…”

“Oh, shut up.”

“C’mon, I’ll drop you at her house.”

After taking Scarlett back to Juice’s house for what hopefully meant there would be a reconciliation between them –Priyanka had her fingers crossed- in the meantime, she stopped by her brother’s house. She had promised one of her nieces she’d take her to rent some DVDs they would watch after dinner.

It took less than five minutes to lose her at the video store.

“Mel? Mel?!” She started looking around. “Where did you go?”

Priyanka heard her voice coming from one parallel aisle.

“You’re very pretty.”

“Aw, thank you…you’re very pretty too.”

Priyanka also recognized that voice.

“Are you lost?”

She felt undoubtedly relieved when she found her niece chatting with Lemon who had kneeled on the floor to be at the same height.

“What’s your name?” Lemon asked the little girl.

“I’m Melanie.”

“Nice to meet you, Melanie. I’m Lemon, like the fruit.”

“Nice to meet you… Miss Lemon.”

“Did you come here with your mom? With your dad?”

She shook her head. “With my auntie.”

“Ah, I see… What do you say if we look for your auntie?”

“She’s right there.” She pointed at Priyanka behind her.

Lemon turned around and met the brunette’s eyes.

“Oh. It’s you, auntie… I should’ve guessed.”

“The resemblance is uncanny, isn’t it?” Priyanka smiled proudly.

Lemon was wearing a yellow and white striped long dress with buttons in the front, white sneakers, and had her hair tied in a French braid.

“You really convinced your brother to name his daughter like two-fifths of the Spice Girls, didn’t you?”

Priyanka rushed and covered her niece’s ears. “Shhhh… He doesn’t know that yet. It took me seven of the nine months of my sister-in-law’s pregnancy to plant the idea… neither Ginger nor Emma were working, so it was down to Melanie or Victoria.”

Lemon chuckled.

The brunette released the little girl from her grip. “Mel, go pick the movie you like but stay close where I can see you, alright?”

The little girl nodded and skipped with joy toward the kids’ movie section.

Priyanka looked at Lemon. “What are you doing here?”

“Getting my nails done, obviously.” She had a DVD box in her hands.

Priyanka rolled her eyes. “Knowing you, it must be… let me see, either Legally Blonde, Clueless, something with Meg Ryan on it, or… Drop Dead Gorgeous.”

She showed the title on the box. It was Drop Dead Gorgeous, a movie Lemon worshiped for her love for beauty pageants and bizarre humor.

“Rita has never watched it, can you believe it?”

“And you’re looking for new ways to traumatize her.”

“That might be my mission on Earth all along, spread the words of wisdom that come from this film.” She tapped the box with her acrylic nails.

Priyanka peeped over her shoulder to check on her niece who was still deciding between two Disney movies.

“So… are you going to the lake thing Boa’s planning?” The brunette asked as casually as she could.

Lemon shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not that into nature and being eaten by bugs…”

“Oh, so she’s a city girl now.”

“Listen, I spent a good ten years of my life going camping with my dad and hating every second of it. I thought it was finally over when I moved.”

“The girls and I are going… and I’m sure we’re taking some type of booze with us, snacks, a campfire… It will be fun.”

Lemon tilted her head. “I didn’t know you wanted me to go.”

Priyanka felt the heat on her cheeks. “Boa said the more the merrier… plus my car is still at the workshop and Scarlett might have screwed up her relationship with the one person that has a car among us.”

“So you need a ride… that’s it?”

“Yeah… and it’ll be fun being all together again.”

“Sure… okay. I’ll tell Rita and we’ll be there.”

“Really?”

She nodded.

At that moment, Priyanka’s niece returned with a DVD of Brave in her hand.

“Are you dating my auntie Pri?” She asked unscrupulous and unfiltered like any six-year-old.

Priyanka’s mouth dropped to the floor.

“Mel! You can’t ask people… That’s not… You don’t get to…”

“But daddy said that you like girls and that if you were going to date someone it would be a girl… and she’s a girl.”

Logic.

Lemon covered her mouth with her hand, she was blushing underneath.

“Mel just because I’m talking to a girl it doesn’t mean that I’m dating her.”

“But she’s pretty… she’s prettier than you.”

“Oh, I like her.” Lemon giggled.

“Hey! You little brat, who’s the one renting movies with you.”

Traitors.

“Why aren’t you dating her, auntie Pri?” Priyanka covered the girl’s mouth.

She was asking the real questions.

“Okay, I think it’s time to go home. Brave, huh? Good choice.” She looked at Lemon. “See you on Thursday…?”

The blonde smiled. “I’ll pick you up.”

“Okay, great.”

“Goodbye, Priyanka. Bye, Mel.” She waved at them.

The girl barely had the chance to wave back since her aunt dragged her to the line of the checkout counter. She stared at Priyanka with her wide brown eyes.

“What is it?”

“You like her.” Mel said with a mischievous look on her face.

“Shhh… keep it low…” She looked around to check Lemon wasn’t around. “You can’t just say those things, Mel. Exposing people’s feelings isn’t right.”

“So you like her.”

“Jeez, calm down Regina George.”

“Who’s Regina Gorge?”

“It doesn’t matter… The thing is… Lemon and I are… friends? Just that, okay? We’ve known each other since we were your age and I don’t think she likes me that way.”

“Have you asked her?” Her niece inquired.

“Well, no…”

“Why not?”

“Because…” She was scared of the potential answer to that question. “It’s complicated… growing up is complicated.”

“I don’t want to grow up never.” She whined.

“Me neither.”

Priyanka took the DVD to register it and pay for it.

Brave, sure.

On Thursday morning, Priyanka received a call from Scarlett, she explained that things with Juice were smooth sailing and that –since they had left the problems aside- she was going to pick her at home. In the car, there were Juice, Scarlett, Kiara, Denali, and Priyanka whereas Lemon and Rita had relocated in a different car.

The day started on the wrong foot since that change in scheduling but Priyanka had the hope it could only get better from there. She had a full breakfast with her parents and then prepared her things in a backpack, including sunscreen, snacks, a towel, and things only her mom could remember to include –and that she yelled from downstairs to make sure Priyanka would remember.

Priyanka brushed her hair and tied it into a ponytail, then she put her turquoise bikini on –she liked how the color looked against her skin-, grabbed a pair of denim shorts with embroidered flowers and a white cotton tank top. She found a pair of aviator sunglasses on the drawer of her room that were definitely her sister’s –emphasis on the «were»- and with a pair of flip-flops, she was ready.

Boa had said that it was allowed to swim on the lake where the water was shallow and that there was a lifeguard just in case. The weather was in their favor, the day was all warm and sunny even when it started with a couple of clouds, it had cleared up since then. Her mother reminded her to take a light jacket with her because it could get colder during the evening.

Priyanka was about to argue with her when she heard the sound of the horn outside. She put the jacket on her backpack and said goodbye to her mom before opening the entrance door.

To her surprise, there was an egg yolk car parked in front of her house.

Lemon rolled down her window. “Get in loser, we’re going to a lake… for some reason.”

She had a pair of heart-shaped pink sunglasses resting on top of her head and a lollipop on her hand.

“What is this?”

“I told you I was going to pick you up.” She unlocked the passenger’s door.

Priyanka got in the car and buckled up. Her entire body was tingling.

“I thought you were sharing a car with the other girls.”

“Don’t change the plans I’ve already set, I’m a Virgo.”

“Don’t you have a bumper sticker with that written on it?”

“I’m glad someone has finally seen it.”

Priyanka threw her backpack on the backseat and noticed how empty it was.

“Wait, what about Rita? Wasn’t she coming with you?”

Lemon got the car moving.

“No, I pushed her down the stairs yesterday.” She said, dead serious. “I’m just kidding; I went to pick some things from Tynomi’s place, Kiara and she were speaking in French and got along well so she decided to go with them. Because of that, I have the trunk full with two coolers and their bags so –for their own good- I hope they gave me the right address.”

Just then it hit Priyanka it was just the two of them for the next half hour.

Lemon looked lovely with a yellow poplin puff-sleeve crop top with little lemons embroidered around the neckline and a pair of navy paper bag shorts. The strips of a bright yellow swimsuit could be seen underneath her clothes and she was driving with sneakers because driving with flip-flops is hell but overall the look screamed summer in the Italian Riviera with a glass of limoncello.

And well, Priyanka was gay and thirsty.

“Did you hear what I said?” Lemon asked raising an eyebrow when they stopped in a red traffic light.

“Something about music…?” It was a wild guess and she would be lying if she said her fingers weren’t crossed.

“Yes, can you put something on the radio?”

Priyanka scanned the CDs on the glove compartment and finally decided for the always great Good Girl Gone Bad –just because she wanted Shut Up and Drive to play while Lemon was driving- and because it had some iconic bops.

“Are you certain about the route we’re taking?” The brunette asked.

“What do you mean?” Lemon clicked her tongue. “I know how to follow directions. I also have a map… I’m a strong independent woman who needs no instruction on how to get to a stupid lake in the middle of nowhere-”

“Hello, my friend and I are lost; do you know which is the best way to get to the lake?” Priyanka had to pat herself on the back for that level of fake kindness, she even batted her lashes.

Lemon, on the driver’s seat, kept grumbling something in a low voice.

“Yeah, you’re almost there, it’s five minutes from here… you have to take the next entry to the left and then continue straight forward. You’ll be there in the blink of an eye.”

“Thanks, good man. We appreciate it.” She waved at the man at the gas station. Then she turned to Lemon. “You see? It wasn’t that difficult.”

“We were almost there.”

“Yes, except for the fact that we’ve been driving around in circles for the past fifteen minutes. I told you it was the right entry.”

Lemon huffed and puffed like a child.

Priyanka attempted to skip one of the songs but the blonde interfered by pushing her hand aside. Priyanka crossed her arms on her chest and pretended to be offended.

Just like the man had said, in no time they spotted the lake entrance.

Lemon sighed of relief while Priyanka cheered.

“Yay! We made it!”

Once they got closer, they agreed it was all worthy. The beautiful scenery of the lake with crystalline blue water framed by the rows of mountains covered in green and leafy pine trees left them in awe.

A figure waved at them –probably one of the girls- they were gathered in a small semicircle that resembled a beach with dirt and gravel next to a wooden port. There were other people around, families, some kids playing in the water, swimmers, boats, and canoes.

Lemon parked the car in an empty spot among others, some of the girls helped them with the coolers and the bags that were on the truck.

“Good night, ladies.” Scarlett mocked.

“You two finally made it.” Boa grabbed one of the coolers with the other girl’s help.

Priyanka was about to say something about their delay in the same joking tone but she caught a glimpse of Lemon, she was serious, noticeably embarrassed by the situation. So instead, she cackled and played it down.

“Yeah, can you believe I told her the wrong entry on the highway? Lemon almost killed me we were spinning around for like fifteen minutes, right?” She looked at the blonde and subtly winked.

“Ah, yeah…” Lemon’s eyes were big just like a deer caught in headlights, the tips of her ears turned red just like her cheeks. “But we’re here… so… it doesn’t matter.”

“Priyanka you dumbass, we’ve come this way before.” Scarlett nagged her.

“Oh, shut up… I forgot.” She picked her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. Lemon hadn’t moved. “Hey, let’s go. We have all day ahead.”

The blonde nodded and locked the car before following them to the port.

The view was even more breathtaking up close as the sunlight shone onto the waters of the lake, it also glinted on the gold rims of Priyanka’s glasses and bathed her completely in a warm sensation.

They were received with cheers –especially since they have the food on the coolers and it was almost noon-, she saw Kiara applying some suntan oil and chatting with Rita and Starzy over a small wooden harbor, as soon as Scarlett and Boa arrived with the cooler, the blonde started an argument with Ilona over the best way to ensemble a tent –and repeatedly called each other “sis”-, Kyne, Tynomi and Juice ignored them and started setting a grill.

“You didn’t have to lie to cover my blunder.” Lemon whispered.

“I know.” Priyanka stretched her arms. “I figured you’ve suffered enough for one morning. If you’re feeling generous you can get me a drink or something in return.”

Lemon scoffed. “Get it yourself.” She started walking to where Rita, Starzy, and Kiara were but before she was further in distance, she turned around. “Thank you, though.”

Priyanka smiled at her and then went to help the other girls with the food. They entrusted her washing the vegetables at some gazebo nearby with a little kitchen and a sink. Tynomi helped her peeling and cutting once she was done and then they prepared the skewers. Scarlett’s pyromania was helpful to light the fire, although the flame that rose in the air caused quite a fuss.

Right when Priyanka put the last skewer on the trade for Tynomi to take it to the grill, a paper cup with pink lemonade and ice appeared in front of her, Lemon held it steadily.

“Oh, hey there.” Priyanka took a sip, it was sweet and it had something that kicked in. “Thank goodness this has alcohol on it.”

“It’s vodka, careful with the empty stomach, though.”

“Signature cocktail?”

Lemon shrugged. “I guess it falls into the category of colorful and sugary.”

“I don’t know if it’s because it’s hot as fuck but this is actually delicious.”

“Of course it’s delicious, I made it.”

“That’s obvious; you can taste the modesty on it.” Lemon made a childish grimace. “Have you jumped in the water yet?”

“I just soaked my feet for a little.”

“And?”

“Cold like a penguin’s butt.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

Lemon took the cup back and drank a sip, her lip gloss stained the material. She kept biting her bottom lip as if she wanted to say something but she sneaked out to help Boa with something when Priyanka wasn’t looking.

In that part of the lake it was allowed to camp and there were several tents set around the land, there were also a couple of forest rangers roaming around –probably attracted by the fake fire alarm- but the girls had been clever enough to keep the bottles saved in the coolers.  They all ate vegetable skewers and hamburgers sitting in a big circle and drank beer and cranberry vodka in paper cups.

Someone had brought a radio and they all sang Stars Are Blind when it played. After having lunch they stayed there reminiscing and telling stories from school. They were all laughing and cracking jokes it took Priyanka by surprise when the story of her seven minutes in heaven was brought.

“More like seven minutes in hell.” She gagged.

She re-told the story for those who hadn’t heard it and then realized that Lemon was among those people. The blonde hadn’t said a word since she started her narration, in fact, she paid attention to every word that came out of her mouth. She didn’t laugh when Priyanka tried to minimize she kissed a guy she didn’t want to kiss or when she tried to use the humor as a shield as she had done before.

“What an asshole.” She said when the brunette finished the story. She was angry and it showed. She was so mad she had sobered up.

“Yeah… but on the bright side… that helped me realize things. It was enlightening, I dare to say… even when that closet was dark as fuck.”

“Still… I hope he chokes or something.” Lemon was fuming.

Later on, Ilona exposed Scarlett who had claimed to be in detention many times in high school when she was just in the library, studying. Even when she tried to argue, Priyanka caught her friend sitting right next to Juice as she tenderly held her and stroked her hand with her thumb. She assumed things were alright with them now and couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of what they had.

Vodka, it’s me… I have seen what you did for others…

Lemon told a story about one time she got lost in the subway with their friends and they almost ended in Staten Island –Priyanka refrained from commenting on the fact that Lemon wasn’t good at following indications, indeed- and Denali, the only non-Canadian of their panel discussion mentioned it had happened to her as well.

“I’ll be in New York for a competition in a few months.”

“You should come to visit me.” Lemon smiled brightly.

“That would be fun… Priyanka could come as well.” She stared at the brunette who gaped at her in surprise. “And tell me, do you have any single friend?”

“I’ve got some… yeah. I could make some arrangements.”

“I’d love that.”

“Slut-Nali.”

“Proudly.”

Later during the afternoon, some of the girls were brave enough to try to dive in the shallow waters of the lake, Priyanka among them, and, she regretted the moment her body made contact with the glistening surface but once her body was fully immersed it was like a shot of adrenaline in her body.

She surely looked like she had seen a ghost when she emerged because Lemon laughed loudly at her. The blonde was cozily sunbathing on the shoreline at an unsafe distance for someone mocking the swimmers.

Priyanka moved her arms toward her.

“Don’t you dare… Priyanka, I swear to God if you even try-”

The cold droplets touched her skin before she could finish that sentence.

The blonde squirmed and squealed.

“Bitch…” She shook the water off her body.

“Who’s laughing now?” She moved like a fish in the water.

“You won’t be laughing when you need your towel to get out.” Lemon waved it like a flag.

“Listen, you…” Priyanka started walking out of the water, the other girl was already running.

It was way colder out of the water and it took the brunette a minute to get used to, get her flip flops, and chase after Lemon who still had her towel on her hands. She hid behind Rita and stuck her tongue out, the girl caught in the middle raised her hands in a sign of rendition. They were like a couple of kids. Priyanka was about to say something when Scarlett and Juice came near them.

“Hey, we rented a boat over there and we were wondering if you would like to come with us.” Juice grinned.

“I pass, I’m not going on a boat ride with these two.” Rita pointed at them, Lemon was still looking over her shoulder.

“Pri, Lemon? What about you?”

“Sure… it would be fun, as soon as this bitch gives me my towel back.” Priyanka cast an accusing glance at the blonde.

Lemon threw the towel directly to her face.

“What’s so thrilling about a boat ride?” She asked while Priyanka wrapped herself in the towel.

“You said the same about coming here today and yet you’re having a good time, right?” Lemon shrugged. “C’mon, I’m not going to push you in the water or something.”

“Now I know for a fact that you’ll try to push me into the water.”

“Are you possibly scared?” She taunted.

“I’m not scared of a boat if that’s what you’re saying.”

“It’s settled then, we’ll meet you in five minutes over the pier where the boats are moored.” Scarlett grabbed Juice’s hand and they walked away.

Priyanka put her shorts and sunglasses on; she grabbed her bag and hung it over her shoulder. She checked on Lemon when she was done putting clothes on too.

“Ready?”

The blonde hesitated for a moment. “I guess.”

“Listen, there’s really nothing to be scared of, we’ll get life jackets and everything.”

“That’s not- Never mind.” She shook her head and grabbed her things. “Let’s go.”

Juice and Scarlett were already waiting for them with their life jackets on, they explained to the girls how to put them on.

“You two get in the boat and we’ll untie the knots and push it in the water.” Scarlett indicated.

The boat was made of wood and painted in white with matching paddles, the name Perseverance was written in blue on one of the sides.

Lemon sat first and she helped Priyanka to get in.

“Did you know it’s bad luck to change a boat’s name?” She told Priyanka. “It’s said they always sink if you do.”

“We should double-check this isn’t repainted or something underneath, right?”

“Why? Are you scared?” Lemon mocked.

Priyanka elbowed her.

Juice was done with the knot and she jumped in the water to help Scarlett.

“Okay, one, two… three.” They pushed the boat that swayed a little with the waves before stabilizing.

“Have fun you two!” Juice waved at them.

“Wait…” It took Priyanka a moment before understanding what was going on. “Hey!”

“Oh my God…”

The girls behind were cackling as the boat was carried further by the water stream.

“I think we’ve been set up.”

“There might be a chance, yeah.”

Scarlett mouthed a soft «Sorry» but Priyanka knew she wasn’t regretting anything. This had to be planned beforehand and she had a vague idea what the point was. She stared at Lemon who had picked up one of the paddles and was examining it.

“Do you think we can go back?”

“I doubt that we can row against this current.” She declared after taking a look at how the water kept taking them away from the coast. “Our best chance is to let it drag us down to calmer waters where we can paddle from to the closest coast.”

“You really learned a few scout things when you were camping with your dad, didn’t you?”

“Aren’t you glad I did?” She smirked.

Certainly, Priyanka was glad because at least one of them had a clue of what to do and how to get them out of that situation but, at the same time, it meant that they were going to be stuck for a while in that boat.

As they started moving away from the coast, the silhouettes of his friends became blurry and they were surrounded by the vast scenery of the mountains and the woods. The sun was lukewarm and the little waves rocked the boat like a cradle, it was soothing.

Priyanka laid on the floorboards and looked at the clouds crossing the sky. Lemon watched the water around the boat to eventually join the brunette.

“This is nice,” Priyanka whispered. “I think it’s the longest we’ve been without arguing or bitching.”

Lemon chuckled. Priyanka looked at her and could see every detail of her face, the curve of her lips the little mole over them, the tip of her nose, the length of her lashes, the color of her eyes…

Suddenly she felt shy.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that I can be an annoying bitch sometimes but you’re the one person that’s always there for me…” Lemon murmured.

Priyanka’s cheeks turned red. “What?”

“That’s the first line of the last e-mail I wrote for you after we… drifted apart.”

“I never received it.”

“I never sent it.” She fidgeted nervously. “I don’t know if it would have made any difference, you seemed pretty determined to me.”

So they were going to talk about it. It was the conversation neither of them had brought up for the longest time but it was there, lingering in the air like a dark cloud of unsolved problems.

“I needed to put some distance between us…” Priyanka felt the unavoidable knot on her throat like whenever someone touched the subject. “I wasn’t being honest with you… I was scared. You had these plans that didn’t include me in your future, I felt like I was being left out while my plans always included you.”

“Priyanka, I had to move forward to survive… Yes, I met new people, I made new friends and I set new goals but you were never out of the picture. It was difficult for me because I don’t know, you were always the one that everyone liked instantly and you made friends in a heartbeat without even trying it. Your friends were our friends because of that but when I was on my own… I feel like I’m more an acquired taste, people tend to like me better when they know me but until then…”

She sighed.

“I had these problems that seemed small in proportion and I didn’t want to become a burden for you, being so far away from each other. I just wanted to share the good parts. You were the only thing in my life that felt like a constant and then… you were gone.”

She looked at Lemon in the eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ve ever apologized for that. And just for the record, small problems, big problems… I should’ve been there for you no matter what. Back in the day, I don’t know… it’s not an excuse but I felt like it was easier to push you away and that you got to live a life without me at some point.”

“Why?” Lemon frowned.

“I don’t know.” Priyanka lied. “I didn’t want to be a burden either.”

“I’m sorry, too. I didn’t know what to expect when I saw you here but, these last couple of days I realized how much I had missed you. I wrote that in the e-mail too, I wish I had sent it.”

Priyanka’s heart skipped a beat.

“Me too.” The brunette spoke clearly. “I’m freaking proud of you and everything you’ve achieved… What I’ve heard because I didn’t befriend your New York friends on Facebook to find out.”

“They were my friends too. I didn’t add them only to stalk you or something like that. And, for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing amazing too… aside from that car of yours.”

“Laugh all you want but I bought that car to go visit you in New York someday.”

Lemon sat straight on the boat. “You were going to drive all the way there in that to visit me? That counts as risking your life, you know?”

“Well… yeah… that was the idea. I wanted to see you.” Priyanka sat down as well.

“Pri…”

“And you only came back for your dad’s wedding… why did you come back now? After so long?”

“My dad’s wedding was… an event. It would’ve been fun to have you there though, there was so much booze.”

“They can always renew their vows.”

Lemon laughed. “Well, and as I told you before, my mom was going on a cruise ship so I wanted to visit everyone here. The fact that it coincided with your visit was mind-blowing for me too.”

“Were you mad?”

“Yes, I was fuming.”

They both started laughing at loud.

“I’m not going to lie I did want to start a fight that day in the dining… and later on the club… and on the cereal aisle…”

Priyanka threw water from the lake at the girl’s face.

“Hey! Don’t!” Lemon shook her head. “I think it got on my eyes wait…”

“Oh no, sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

Priyanka got closer but at that moment the other girl counterattacked with some more water.

“Bitch…”

“You deserved it.” She cleaned some drops. “But I think it really got on my eyes, can you hand me my bag.”

Priyanka’s face was still wet but she did as she asked.

“Shit, my contact lenses are falling.” She looked through her bag until she found the container.

“Do you need help with that?”

“No, just a second…” She removed both contact lenses and saved them back. “Better.”

“I’m over here.” Priyanka mocked.

“Fine… I can’t see beyond my hand.”

“I know that.”

“Could you get me my glasses? They are there, somewhere…”

“Yeah, let me…”

Lemon’s bag had lip gloss, sunscreen, candy… transparent frame glasses.

“Here.” She put them in her hand.

“Don’t make fun of me.” She mumbled. “I never wear these in public…”

“Lemon, I’ve known you for ages I do remember how you look like with glasses on.”

Priyanka took them back and opened the temples before placing them gently on the blonde’s face. She adjusted the nose pads above her nose and removed some hairs out of her face.

“There,” She looked proud of her work. “See, nothing less than stunning.”

Lemon had a beaming smile on her face, she’d never look bad with or without glasses on.

She didn’t realize how close they were until Lemon batted her lashes. She could’ve kissed her right there but instead, she just moved away with her pulse running wild and her face feeling hot and no sunshine to blame for it.

The blonde extended her little finger as a white flag. “Are we good?”

Priyanka sighed with relief. “Best friends forever.” She sealed the pinky promise.

However, the word «friends» tasted bitter on her tongue.

“That’s right.” She was still holding their fingers together. “Priyanka and Lemon, Lemon and Priyanka.”

“You won’t happen to have something to eat in that bag of yours, will you?”

“I think I packed some Oreos this morning.”

“You’re my hero.”

It was almost sunset by the time they got back to the coast and they still had to border the lake to get back where the other girls were. Nonetheless, the setting of the sun was a spectacle they watched in awe as the daytime ended with the sun’s departure.

It was starting to get cold and Priyanka was the only one who had brought a jacket so she lent it to Lemon –it looked a bit oversized but she still looked good on it.

They walked for a little before meeting the rest of the group, luckily the place was fully enlightened and they had made sure they hadn’t gone too far to lose sight of the camping area. The other girls welcomed them back with a big cheer, some of them were already setting a little fire to toast marshmallows and sing songs with a guitar.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” Lemon headed to the public toilet while Priyanka joined the circle around the bonfire.

“So…” Denali sat next to her right away. “How did that go?”

“You knew.” Priyanka crossed her arms on her chest. “I can’t believe it, y’all helped to orchestrate this stunt.”

“…maybe. But it was for a good cause.”

“Which one?”

“Getting you a girlfriend.”

Priyanka rolled her eyes.

“I swear…”

“What happened over there?” Scarlett, Kiara, and Juice surrounded her like a group of teenagers.

“She doesn’t want to spill the details.”

“That’s because nothing happened and you should mind your own business.”

“What do you mean nothing happened? You two were there for like two hours.”

“We did talk about why we first fought and other things but it’s nothing close to what you think so you should drop it. I’m being serious right now.” She cleared her throat. “Lemon and I are friends… that’s it. Don’t try to push it further because it’s not going to happen.”

It was clear at that point that fixing their friendship was more important than risking her feelings; maybe she could tell Lemon one day and they could laugh about it just like they had done earlier but, at that moment, things were very recent and fragile to drop any more information into the mix. Priyanka wanted to have her on her life and she wasn’t going to lose her best friend over some unrequited love she had.

If she had dealt with it most of her life, she surely could do it again.

The girls protested but they sat back in their places. Lemon joined them shortly after, she sat next to Priyanka, the sleeves of her jacket looked like sweater paws on her.

“Hey, do you mind going back with the girls? I was talking to Rita and she’s kind of tired so I’m going home with her.”

“Oh, sure. No problem. Is she alright?”

“Yeah, just tired and maybe sunburn. I don’t want to drive when it’s too late either.”

“Alright. Are you still coming to dinner with my family? My mom said she’ll be waiting for you.”

“Saturday, right? I’ll be there.” She smiled. “I’m really glad we got to talk today, Pri.”

“Me too.”

She hugged her Lemon before she left; the blonde then greeted everyone else.

Priyanka watched in silence as the yellow car left the park.

Her heart shrunk, this was the right thing to do, they were friends again, and yet… she felt empty inside.