#not like im an anxious piece of shit who is terrified of reaching out or talking to you bc i hate having to start things

[lovecrazedpup]

only 2 hours left of trying not to cry and cut

[zyonsay]

Wildfire, Chapter Six MV1

Fem aligned people may read but not f3tishize my work!!

Summary: Adrenaline rushing, body aching, fire dancing

Reader: Male

Warnings: Injury, fire, crying, inaccurate details because Zyon doesnt know his shit

Now playing: 'Gilded Lily' by Cults

AN: This one is heavily inspired by the race in Bahrain 2020, where Grosjeans Fireball crash happened. Also, don't sue me over details, im not and engineer, nor am i a doctor lol.

Anyways, Lando's stream has me dying. I fantasize about him in dress shirts daily, but this... i need him to fuck me.

Comment or dm me to be added to the tag list!

(Here is the previous chapter)

(Here is the next chapter)

Nervous beeping, people talking, the rattling of wheels on the floor.

The sanitary smell, the bright lights, the excruciating pain running through your limbs. You couldn’t manage to open your eyes. A hazy feeling wrapped around your head, your skin itched and burned, and each breath felt like a knife to your lung. Where are you?

.

.

.

“Lights out and away they go!”, the adrenaline surged trough your veins and your car roared forward. Max, along with Lando and Charles were in front of you, choking down the opportunity for you to pass them.

But this is just the opening lap, there was plenty of time for you to ensure your podium. The McLaren behind you was trying to push its way past you, but you kept your brutal pace, managing to overtake Charles’ velvet Ferrari. Your next goal was to rush past Lando, so it would be you and Max at the front, an easy 1-2 finish. The tires felt good, and you were confident you could do it.

Christian was advising you to keep pushing, saying your pace was good. The track was lit, and the sky was already dark. This race was exciting for you and after all it was also the second last before the winter break. You’ll be able to enjoy some time with your friends and settle down for a bit, which was difficult during the race season. Your mind almost drifted off, but you focused back on the situation at hand: The race.

Then, after a sharp turn suddenly, you lose control. The car wasn’t responding as it was supposed to. Your heart stopped beating for a second as you tried everything not to crash into the wall at 160 m/ph. But there was nothing you could do.

The redbull crashed into the barrier with a loud groan and the screeching of metal. Everybody’s eyes widened as a big, glowing ball of gas erupted from the car, which looked to be broken into two pieces. “Who was that?!”, Charles yelled into the radio as his heart rate went trough the roof. Lando had seen your car in front him. The usually loud brit was quiet and had a bitter feeling in his mouth.

The flames grew bigger and bigger, the power train assembly was separated from the survival cell. Your limbs felt heavy, and you had almost no power to clamor out of the car. The safety car had stopped near the crash and more and more people were rushing to the giant fireball. Firefighters were now trying to extinguish the fire, which on one side was smart. But you knew the contents of the fire extinguisher would swallow the last part of oxygen you had, especially because they were spraying it way to close to your head. You felt a sharp, stinging pain on your neck, but you had no time to think. You needed to get the hell out of there.

A person in a yellow safety vest held out their hand to you, you recited ‘thank you’ over and over in your head while gripping their hand. Horrified, you ran from the demolished redbull. The flames were licking at your heels and a sudden wave hit you from behind. Another part of the car combusted. You smashed against the floor as you felt a sudden snap in your heel. A big part of the car’s cover hit your leg. Terrified screams erupted as two people reached out to you, but before you could hold onto them, your head spun, and your vision faded into black nothingness.

Your Labored breaths and anxious whispering surrounded you. Vision blurry, body aching and mind hazy. The room smelt clean, even sanitary. “Doctor, he’s coming back!”, a loud voice rang in your ears. People rushed over to you, one of them leaning slightly over you. “Yep, good job guys!”, he then exclaimed, earning a few pats on the back. Your vision cleared up a bit, but you were blinded by a bright light. One of the nurses dimmed the light, after noticing your antics. “Welcome back”, a man with grey hair and a face mask talked to you. His eyes darted across your face, examining how pale you were. “I gave you painkillers, you might feel a bit woozy, but it should help with your injuries.”, now you were awake. The word injuries sparked worry in you. “How bad is it?”, you croaked. Your voice was hoarse and raspy. “I’ll come talk to you a bit later about that, but you should rest now. It’s no good for you to worry in this state.”, the older man gently put a hand on your shoulder as you sunk into the hospital bed. Naturally, you were still worried. The man’s words weren’t exactly calming, if it was something small, he would just tell you, right? Right?

The thoughts raced through your head like the cars on the track. And at that moment, the disappointment set in. You remember the crash; you remember barely starting the race and then smashing into the wall. A heavy, bitter feeling sat in your chest. The crash happened after Q1, so Redbull couldn’t call in the reserve driver. You fucked up. You fucked up big time.

But before you could drown in self-deprecation, you heard the squeak of the door handle. A familiar pair of eyes. Christian rushed over to you, gently putting a hand on your shoulder, as if you were made from glass. The feeling of failure snaked its way up your back and around your throat, like a venomous snake. “Chris, I’m sorry.”, you sounded weak. As much as you hated crying, in this moment you couldn’t hold back the tears. They streamed down your face as you spilled apologies for messing up. Your Team principal shushed you, pulling you into a gentle hug. “It’s alright, I don’t care about the race. I just want you to be ok.” Looking over his shoulder you saw a man standing by the door. And in that moment, you could’ve dived out the window for good. Max fucking Verstappen just watched you cry like a little boy. Although your best efforts, you couldn’t stop the big fat tears rolling down your cheeks.

“Please tell me you won.”, your voice was barely above a whisper, but loud enough for the Dutch to hear you. He nodded. If you couldn’t score any points for the team, you were happy that he did. A weak smile made its way onto your face, before you grimaced in pain. Christian quickly scrambled outside, to find a nurse or a doctor, leaving you and Max in the room. “How are you feeling?”, Max awkwardly asked. He was unsure as hell, of course, he didn’t exactly like you, but he felt terrible about your accident. His heart froze when he saw the Redbull behind him disappear and erupt in a giant Fire during the Race. If he was being honest, you were on his mind for the rest of the Grand prix.

“Shitty.”, your mouth pulled into a straight line, the frustration in your voice was very apparent. “I’m so sorry for failing the team.”, the look you gave him looked sincere and apologetic. “Don’t apologize”, he sounded upset, “We’re just glad you’re alive. Those moments of silence after the crash scared me to death.” He now looked directly into your eyes, his gaze softer than usual.

“My apologies, but I need a moment alone with y/n.” The doctor entered the room, bidding Max outside, where Christian was waiting. Fear now gripped you, a chill running down your spine and it felt like electricity ran trough your veins.

The older man had a file in his hands while he looked at you with pity. You felt awful, so, so vulnerable. The look in his eyes made you wince, the fear of a bad diagnosis lingering above your head.

“Your Achilles Tendon is broken. From what I’ve heard you were hit by a piece of the car?”, you nodded absently, the words flying past you like a gust of wind.

“The Achilles Tendon connects the muscles in the back of your calf to your heelbone. If sudden pressure is applied to it, it can rupture partially or fully. Yours is fully ruptured, but we executed a surgery.” Tears were welling up in your eyes again, the injury sounded serious. “It will have to heal for around six months. This means no sports, unfortunately.” This was it; you began crying again. Six months? The doctor pitied you, but there was nothing more to do. He wished you a good day before leaving you to yourself. The tears now rolled down your cheeks in streams and your sobs became louder. Sad, Angry, disappointed; A wave of emotions washed over you. You let out a frustrated scream, you wanted to punch something. Throw something around. Just find a vessel to let out all the rage.

What you weren’t aware of was that Max was still standing outside the room. He felt bad for you, not pity, but he understood you.

taglist: @velunis , @ares10156

[bounce-a-coin-off-your-witcher]

under pressure

(hey guys, welcome to another installment of the swashbuckler au. Geralt’s gonna get very very Protective in this 'chapter'.

warnings for this chapter include: a very brief mention of blood, being threatened with a knife, and mild peril)

Why? Jaskier wondered. His back was pressed tightly against the rough brick of an unfamiliar alley wall and the man who had demanded his nonexistent coin-purse was pressing the tip of a very sharp dagger just below his navel. Why am I always the one getting into these kinds of situations? 

“I told you, good sir, that I have no money on my person.”

“Everyone around here keeps gold ‘im. What kind of idiot goes around a port town full of pirates without some kind of insurance against coming to harm?”

“Are you saying that because I have no money you are going to do me harm?”

“Somethin’ like that,” the man leered. The dagger pushed in again and Jaskier knew that it had ripped through the fabric of his shirt when the tip suddenly bumped against the skin of his stomach. “Since you don’t have any money you’ll just have to come back and explain this misunderstanding to my captain yourself.”

“Excuse m-”

The man yanked Geralt’s lucky red bandanna down and tugged it backwards, sliding it between his teeth and effectively gagging the ex-nobleman. He spun Jaskier around and shoved his chest up tightly to the brick. The brigand roughly yanked his hands behind his back and tied them with a length of rope that appeared from seemingly nowhere. The newly minted pirate struggled violently, kicking out his legs and wiggling his torso in an effort to dislodge or disrupt his attacker. Maybe his struggling would get someone’s attention (although it was highly unlikely in a town such as this). Unfortunately the mugger was practiced and nothing Jaskier tried seemed to bother or slow him down at all. 

Starkey and Lambert were only a few feet away! He could hear the rise and fall of their voices as they bartered for supplies with the hardtack merchant around the corner. The anxious brunette whined, trying to make the sound high enough to reach his friends and crewmates. If only he could get the kerchief out of his mouth for a split second, then he could whistle or shout…

He felt the surface of the wall scratching his skin through the hole in his shirt and he frowned. That would leave an unpleasant mark for the next few days and make wearing his sword-belt an absolute nightmare. If he was still part of the Kaer Morhen’s crew by nightfall, that was. If this man didn’t succeed in his current mission of pressing Jaskier into service aboard some other pirate vessel. Jaskier’s blue eyes widened even further as a real sense of panic set in. They might not be able to find me in time. We might head out to sea before Geralt even knows I’m missing if they don’t turn around and noti-

“Hey, where’s Jaskier?” he heard Starkey ask. Oh, thank gods. 

“Shit.”

“We’d better find him quickly because I can see Geralt from here,” Starkey added. “I don’t want to be the one to tell him that we lost his precious little siren while we were busy bickering with a shopkeeper.”

“Fucking hells,” Lambert groaned. C’mon, Jaskier pleaded silently. Just around the corner, lads. Please, Starkey. You guys know I’m too annoying to stay quiet for this long. 

The man with the dagger had already started yanking him backwards down the alley towards a questionable-looking wagon. Jaskier’s attacker kept one hand fisted into the back of the kerchief and used it to maneuver his head around, much like one would control the reins of a horse. The ex-noble made a loud, wordless noise from behind the cloth. Muffled as he was, he was praying that any one of his crewmates heard it and felt the need to investigate. 

Another stranger in dark clothing appeared around the corner and helped the first man lift Jaskier onto the back of the wagon. The newcomer reached for Jaskier’s wildly flailing legs and pulled them together. He tied the brunette’s ankles with another piece of strong hemp rope and tested the knots with his fingers for any slack or give. There was none. The young man screamed and grunted, trying with every ounce of strength he possessed to free himself from their twin grips. It was a fruitless endeavor; they were strong and clearly practiced in the art of stealing other people’s crewmembers.

“Jaskier! Oh, fuck! Hey you there, let go of him!” Lambert was running down the alley towards them, hand on the hilt of his cutlass. The man keeping the gag cinched tight pulled his dagger out again, holding it up against the column of Jaskier’s throat. The second kidnapper released Jaskier’s tied ankles and made his way towards the front of the wagon. Lambert slid to a stop, eyes narrowed threateningly. “Captain! Starkey! I found ‘im. He’s in danger!”

Had Jaskier not been scared witless by the threat of having his life ended rather abruptly via blood-loss, he probably would have smirked. These men, regardless of who their scurvy-ridden captain was, were about to get their asses handed to them by one of the most wanted pirates to ever sail the seven seas. Certainly one of the most renowned and fearsome.

The blade of the knife pressed even more tightly against the skin of his Adam's apple and Jaskier flinched. Maybe, if I even live long enough to see Geralt kick their asses. At least my death will be avenged quickly, otherwise. 

As if summoned by his lover’s thoughts the handsome, white-haired Captain appeared at the opposite end of the alley. Jaskier thought he might cry from the mere sight of him. He definitely wanted to let out a relieved sob when Geralt growled out, “It’ll go easier for both of you if you just put the dagger down and release the boy now.”

The ex-noble felt his captor’s muscles twitching nervously as he released a humorless chuckle. Don’t slip up now, Jaskier prayed. Not while you’ve got a knife against my neck.

 “Why should we do that?” his captor questioned. The man tugged at the already taut bandanna and Jaskier whined in pain when the damp material bit into the skin of his cheeks. The fury written across Geralt’s features was absolutely terrifying; he looked like an avenging angel, his strong stature defined by the light of the square behind him and his silvery hair wild around his face. 

Jaskier didn’t want to die, not in the slightest, but this wouldn’t be the worst last sight to see, all things considered. The man tugged the material again and Jaskier’s eyes widened when his neck scraped against the edge of the dagger’s sharp blade. “He’d fetch a fair price from our captain. He’d probably fetch a very hefty bit of gold if we took him down the coast a-ways, actually. Your threats aren’t going to lose me a nice bag of coin.”

Geralt took one slow, measured step forward and drew his cutlass with an effortless extension of his arm. “I’ll give you one last chance to let him go peacefully before I start slitting throats,” he snarled. The scowl on his face would make any ordinary person soil their knickers on sight, but the man holding Jaskier had probably seen something like this before. He was experienced. He teasingly nicked the young man’s tanned skin with the dagger and Jaskier hissed. The sound had Geralt’s eyes going wide with rage. His nostrils flared and his hand twitched. The kidnapper smirked confidently as a thin line of blood beaded on the brunette's skin, “Oops.”

There was a blur of movement from Geralt’s end of the alley, a whooshing sound, and then a wet thud. The man keeping Jaskier captive fell back, dropping his dagger to the ground below as he did. Jaskier wriggled forward in an attempt to reach Geralt and ended up toppling heavily off the back of the wagon and onto the cobblestone street. Lambert dashed to his side and pulled the kerchief out from between his teeth. The younger man was panting, blue eyes wild and confused. “Did Geralt just hit that guy with a knife!?”

“Yeah.”

The ex-noble gave a short, hysterical laugh. His eyes took on a glazed, unfocused quality and Lambert looked to Geralt for help. “Neat,” he muttered.

Jaskier wasn’t sure if it was the shock of having his life legitimately threatened, the smell of his own blood invading his nose, or the impact from hitting the stone walkway, but just as Geralt knelt down at his side, he passed out.

----------

When his eyelids finally fluttered open again, Jaskier had to squint. The late-afternoon sun slanted in through the porthole of Geralt’s cabin, surrounding the grim-faced Captain with a halo of golden light. “My hero,” Jaskier sighed. He was a lucky man to have a lover so attentive, protective, and also incredibly sexy. 

“Jaskier!” the pirate pulled him into a sitting position and wrapped him in a hug, crushing the slightly smaller man against his broad chest. “I was so worried that he’d gotten your vein or hurt you some other way that we couldn’t see. Are you alright, little nymph?”

“I’m alright,” he blushed. Geralt’s nose was buried stubbornly in his hair, breathing in repeatedly as if he’d been afraid he’d never see Jaskier awake again. “Really, darling, I’m just a little shaken. That’s all. I thought we were running errands today. I wasn’t expecting to be taken captive and threatened with a life of piracy.”

“You’re - Jask, you’re living a life of piracy.”

“It was a joke,” the ex-noble teased. Geralt relaxed his grip slightly and leaned back. His amber eyes searched Jaskier’s blue ones for any sign of dishonesty or hidden pain and found none. His siren was telling the truth. The Captain took a seat on the edge of his small bed and dragged his lover onto his lap. Jaskier noticed with a sly smile that he was draped in one of the White Wolf’s overly-large burgundy shirts. One he didn’t wear very often but that Jaskier found him endlessly attractive in nonetheless. “Geralt, did you change my shirt for me?”

“Your other one was ripped. It had blood on it. We also had to bandage your wounds.”

“Oh. Thank you for letting me borrow it,” Jaskier flapped his arms a little, letting the sleeves roll down over his hands. “I love roomy shirts to sleep in.”

“You can just ask to borrow them,” the Captain relented. “You don’t always need a scheme to get what you want, little nymph.”

“Hmm,” Jaskier sighed, cuddling close again. “I absolutely did not think up the idea of coming to bodily harm in order to borrow your shirts, as likely as that sounds. Thank you for rescuing me, Geralt.”

“I am not an easy man to scare,” the pirate intoned seriously. His grip on Jaskier tightened and his voice grew scratchy with emotion as he continued. “But seeing you like that today had me more frightened than I’ve ever been before in my life. I’ve faced down bigger ships with better guns and more men than mine. I was briefly incarcerated by the mayor of Novigrad and sentenced to hang. I’ve seen my fair share of scary things, my sweet siren, but I would never be able to live with myself if you came to harm. That’s the most terrifying thought of all.”

“Geralt,” the young man gasped. He wrapped his arms around his Captain’s shoulders and moved to straddle the larger man’s wide lap. He pressed a brief but bracing kiss to the White Wolf’s saltwater-chapped lips. “The thought of never seeing you again is the worst thought in the world. Let us never be parted.”

“Hmm.”  Geralt’s left hand moved to grip Jaskier’s corresponding hip while his right arm went around the back of his nymph’s slender shoulders. He gently pulled their chests together and nibbled his way up the uninjured side of his little nymph’s neck, reveling in every soft, yielding noise the brunette made. He pressed a rough, wet kiss to the soft skin behind Jaskier’s ear and growled possessively, “Never.”

(of course 1/2 of all my swashbuckling au credit goes to @limrx)

[i-jus-wanna-writehappy]

As Old As Time [2/?]

Pairing: teen!Richie Tozier x black!fem!Reader

Warnings: cursing, hateful act towards reader racially

Author's Note: I love writing this piece, and I can't wait to get further into the story. I hope you enjoy this addition :)

Part 1

Masterlist  Black Girl Insert Series

* * * * *

Stan groans as he looks at his watch for the tenth time, "Richie, it's 1:45! She isn't coming, can we just go do what we had originally planned?" Richie throws his head back in a dramatic groan, "Fine! Fine, you guys go, I'm gonna catch up in a minute." Richie begins pushing his bike towards the main road with a scowl on his face.

"Where are you going now?" Ben asks, voicing what they were all thinking. Richie doesn't look back at them as he answers, "I'm gonna go ask Y/N who the hell she thinks she is."

You're shimmying to the music coming from your radio as you place more of your clothes in your wardrobe when your mom knocks on your bedroom door. Holding the pile in one arm, struggling to keep the clothes from hitting the floor, you pull the door open with your newly free hand. Before you can say anything though, your mom is speaking, "There's some boy I've never seen before pounding on our door and yelling your name."

Silently cursing Richie - it has to be Richie, unless that Stan guy is here to try and push you around - you set the clothes on your bed and grumble all the way to the door.

As soon as you pull the door open, you're face to face with an aggravated Richie Tozier. "What the hell, Y/N!" Before he can curse anymore, you push him back onto the porch and follow him out, closing the door to hide him from your parent's prying eyes.

Once you're safe from any eavesdropping, you remove your hand from Richie's chest and wrinkle your eyebrows at him in question, "What the hell, you! What did I do? And how do you even know where I live?"

Shaking his head, Richie crams his hands in his pockets, "Listen doll, you're gonna have to actually show up for our dates if you ever expect to get in my pants." Richie feels his stomach flutter a bit when you snort a harsh laugh at the line and mentally reminds himself to ask Eddie if he has any meds for fluttering stomachs, because surely it isn't natural. "Really though, no shit, we waited for over an hour."

You can't help but rub your face as you respond, "Richie, I told you I would try to come out. I just moved in yesterday, I'm still unpacking." Richie sighs dramatically, throwing his head back before looking at you again, "Well, have you gotten any unpacking done?"

When you nod, Richie smiles widely, "Great! You can come down to that awful parade with us and be back home in time to put the rest of your stuff away." Instead of letting you answer, Richie grabs your hand and begins pulling you off your porch, "Whoa, Tozier! Give me a second. I still have to tell my parents I'm leaving." The boy groans, but he releases your hand to let you run back up your porch.

"Fuck, that took forever. Can we go now?" Richie pressures as you return with your notebook and pen in hand. Shaking your head in amusement, you begin following Richie down the sidewalk, "And, just so you know, the next time you pop up at my house and don't want my parents to kill us both, introduce yourself and try not to yell fuck or shit while banging the door down. I almost got slapped on both our behalf."

Richie laughs, throwing his arm over your shoulder and pulling you close, "Well, baby doll, I can't make any promises until you stop standing me up."

You and Richie stay this way until you get to the cinema. All of his friends are standing outside, seemingly waiting for the two of you. Once you reach them, Richie jostles your body beneath his arm, "Y/N, these losers are the Losers. Losers, this is Y/N, the reason we all waited in fiery heat for two hours."

A tall boy with a handsome face shakes his head, "I'm Bill." Nudging Richie's arm from your shoulders, you hold your hand out to Bill, "I only told Richie I would try to make it." From there, everyone else introduces themselves, all with easy to remember names. And heaven knows that when you saw Mike it took everything in you to not throw your arms around him. You were positive that there were no other black people in Derry, so his rich brown skin is a welcome surprise.

Once everyone else has finished talking to you, Richie throws his arm around your shoulder, pulling you to his left side and with his other arm, he pulls Eddie into his right side, "Are you losers ready to see the coolest thing you will ever witness?" Breaking away from you, Richie starts screeching in Eddie's ear and clawing at him, "Jurassic Park!"

Eddie's arms flail as he attempts to push Richie away from him and the sight makes you laugh. Mike notices you writing quickly in your notebook as you look from the page to Richie and Eddie, "So, are you a writer?" He asks, making sure to stand across from you so he doesn't seem as if he's trying to invade your privacy, a luxury you haven't gotten im Richie's company alone.

You nod as you finish your note and put your pen back in your pocket, "I like to think so. Derry and the people here have already proved to be more than enough inspiration." Mike laughs as you sigh dramatically, "Hopefully nothing too bad. The quarry is beautiful, I would definitely recommend getting some inspiration from there, even if you don't go with us."

Richie notices you and Mike talking and inserts himself in the conversation immediately, "Alright then, Mike. Leave all flirtatious banter up to me, that's my role here." The comment makes you roll your eyes as you gesture to the Jurassic Park poster on the door to the cinema, "Sure, Richie. Are you all going to see Jurassic Park before the parade?"

Ben nods, but before he can ask if you want to watch it with them, Richie throws his arm back over your shoulder, "Why? Worried you'll get scared, baby doll? If that's the case, we could always just sit in the back and make out the whole time." With a snort, you move Richie's arm and turn to face him, your hand shielding your eyes from the sun, "No, I already saw it, I'm gonna watch The Good Son the room over."

The boys all stop, their eyebrows raised, "The one with Macaulay Culkin?" Ben asks you with his face scrunched up. You smile widely and nod, "Yeah. I've been wanting to watch it, I love those kinds of movies." Eddie just shakes his head quickly and reaches into his fanny pack for a piece of gum, "I don't know why. That looks creepy. I hope I never have to watch it."

Everybody seems to agree, so you just chuckle and make your way into the cinema, "Okay then. I guess I'll see you guys on the other side." Richie feels his fingers twitching anxiously before making his decision, "Fuck." He mutters, as he makes his way beside you at the ticket booth, "Make that two for The fucking Good Son."

You can't help the chuckle that passes your mouth when Richie groans at having his money taken and trudges behind you to the candy counter. Once you're equipped with Twizzlers, slushies, popcorn, and Milk Duds, you and Richie find two seats in the room together, his leg bouncing the entire time.

"Come on, Tozier," You whisper as the trailers start, "What's the big deal?" Richie doesn't appreciate your teasing tone, though, scoffing as he wipes a hand full of popcorn grease onto his shorts, "I just don't like the idea of seeing sweet little Kevin McCallister creeping people out and killing kids. Fucking sue me."

Sighing dramatically, you rearrange your snacks in your lap so you can lean closer to Richie, "Look, Rich, if you get too scared, you can hold my hand. I'll keep it free, just in case." This seems to snap Richie from his fearful sulking as he sits up in his seat and turns to you with a shit eating grin on his face, "Jesus, Y/N, if you wanted to hold my hand, you could have just asked. You didn't have to force me to watch this creepy ass movie with you."

Richie is satisfied with your silence at his line when he sees you pull out your pen and scribble in your notebook quickly.

For the rest of the trailers, you sit quietly. You are stuffing your face, watching the terrifying scenes intently, but Richie has decided to make staring at you his incredibly valid reason for not watching the scary previews to movies he'll pretend won't give him nightmares for months. Your braids are pulled into a ponytail today, probably for unpacking. He wants to ask a thousand questions about your hair, but knows that even for a guy that can't keep his fucking mouth shut, that's something he doesn't yet have the privilege to do.

His eyes wander from your ponytail to your neck. The brown skin there is tantalizing. Richie nearly falls into a trance thinking of burying his face there for days, hours, seconds, an eternity. His emotions are effecting him so strongly that Richie is suddenly hit with the wonder of how any of the girls in town can resist Mike. Surely, for his attention to be so solitary, so focused, just on the beauty of your skin, it has to be magic. And if you have this magic, then doesn't Mike?

Richie finds he is actually about to vocalize his question, but your excited squeal notifies him that the movie has indeed started, and Richie's bravery tucks itself safely into the salmon pocket of his Hawaiian shirt. "Hey, doll, you know, my offer to suck face and ditch the movie still stands." Richie says, quite unable to not watch the screen, despite his anxious nerves.

When you just snort softly and grab Richie's hand in yours, he's glad, not only for his awful job of hiding his fear, but also your observant nature. Yeah, Richie still crouches low in his seat, but if you let him tell it, he's pretending to still be creeped out so he can keep your hand in his.

By the time the movie is over, Richie is sniffling hard and his hand is squeezing yours tightly. "That was fucking intense." Richie says, still not standing from your seats. The movie wasn't scary, so you know his hand isn't shaking from horror, but maybe some different kind of fear. "You ready to go to the parade with your friends, Richie?" He nods at your question, but still doesn't move. Instead, Richie turns his head to you with a look so different from his usual boyish one that you have to remember to write about it once he lets your hand go, "Can we just sit here for a minute?"

Richie pulls himself together after two minutes and when he looks to you again, all traces of fear, all traces of internal crisis are erased. "Let's go see if the guys are out." Richie says, standing and tugging at your conjoined hands gently. If he can pretend nothing happened, then so can you, for now.

"You know, Richie, the scary movie is off now. You can let my hand go." When you say this, Richie just lets out a quick laugh and stops walking so he can push his face close to yours, "Oh no, on the contrary, Y/N. I watched that scary movie with you, so whenever I see you, I'll be scared all over again. I will need to hold onto you, it's all up to you if it's your hand I'm holding, baby girl."

The cheeky comment is one of many you've heard from Richie, so you just shake your head and push him back, "Your friends aren't out here, go see how much time they still have left of Jurassic Park." When you release Richie's hand, his eyebrows jump up, "Okay, and where are you going?" He reaches for your hand again, but you slap his before it can reach you, "Settle down, Richie. I'm just gonna start walking to the ice cream parlor, okay? Hurry up and meet me, then you can hold my hand all you'd like."

Richie chuckles and tells you to walk slowly before racing to the ticket booth. It's a beautiful day, so you pull out your pen and take a quick note of Richie's shift of behavior in the theater while you meander down the sidewalk. You don't make it very far before Richie steps out and spots you just down the way, head down in your notebook.

He's about to tell you that the rest of the Losers will be approximately 45 minutes, but then time seems to slow when the car beside you slows down. Richie sees you look up, and he grudgingly thinks that maybe you know the guys, but when one throws a cup of pop out of the window and the other calls you the n-word, that thought is dismissed and his grudge is a pit of fiery anger in his stomach.

The guys drive off, but not without Richie rushing after the car, "What the fuck!" He yells after the guys, his hands raised high so they can convey a similar message. Getting his wits about himself, Richie rushes over to you, "Holy shit, Y/N, are you okay? Did they hit you?"

Fortunately, the douche bag had awful aim, so you missed the brunt of the hit, the cup exploding at your feet and spraying pop onto your bare legs and light grey shoes. Sighing heavily, you nod, "Yeah, just a little - do people pull shit like that all the time?" Your anger is evident and growing the longer you look at the soda on the pavement. "Let's go get you cleaned up, okay? We can go get you cleaned up, we can get ice cream, we can forget all about those stupid fucks."

Before you can deny for the option of following those guys and kicking their asses, Richie grabs your hand and pulls it gently, "Come on. The guys have almost another hour, and now you'll have an excuse to sneak me into your bathroom while you get undressed."

Richie effectively takes your mind off your frustrations as you snort and let him tug you along.

[kpopisthereasonihavenolife]

Set Her Free

This wasn’t a request, but I had this pop in my head out of no where and I had to write it down.  Still have a long way to go for to properly write a mythical type of AU, but I still liked writing this (I’m a sucker for mythical/fantasy shit)!! Worry not, requests and reactions are still on the way!! <3

Monsta X

Who: Im Changkyun (I.M)

Genre: Fantasy/Mythical Creatures, Romance

Words: 6.5k

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Changkyun wasn’t sure how he found himself in this position, in the position to work under scientists of the state, becoming an assistant to government known and trusted brainiacs.  More than that, he wasn’t sure how he found himself being a keeper of deep government secrets and finding, more specifically you.  

Somehow, he work in scientific research and his many theories and thesis’s won over someone’s heart in Korea, as he received an email tell him to contact a given number, only to figure he was calling a well known scientists working on classified experiments.  When he was offered a time to come and witness the way of the science government doesn’t reveal, under the exception he work as an assistant.

When the day came for him to start his ‘new job’, he couldn’t even drive himself there.  Apparently, where he was going to tour around with his superior was a private facility that was blocked off to the public.  He was picked up with a driver in a black car, like you’d see in those spy movies.  He was dressed in dark pants that weren’t ruined, a partially tucked in shirt and a jacket with a bag he slung over his shoulder with his papers and research.

He was told to wear what he wished, and to bring his papers and files to confirm it was indeed him, so he sat in the back of this car, staring out the window as his driver took him to this facility. He’d be lying if he wasn’t nervous.  Normally, no one would rightfully accept this offer without some sort of meeting prior, or making sure what he was being dragged into wasn’t some illegal business or scam, but he only kept thinking that if there really was more to science that he could learn, he wanted to.  

So, when he entered a tunnel and took a turn to approached a caged off location with a large building inside of it far outside of town and near the sea, he was more than a bit surprised.  The drive was long, but he was anxious and excited the entire time.  When his driver pulled into a parking garage and parked the car, Changkyun left the car and was greeted by a man in a lab coat and a ID hanging around his neck.  

They exchanged handshakes, the man apparently was foreign, not from Korea, but spoke Korean well.  He explained as he started walking, Changkyun following after him, bag on his shoulder, that he was a scientist called from America to help study a specific subject that had appeared within the last few weeks.  

“What was the new subject? Is it a mineral or spore or something that they needed to call you all the way from the States?”  The scientist shook his head with a chuckled as they stepped into an elevator from the parking garage.  The options for floors went to 6 basement levels and 6 upper levels. He pressed the the buttons to head to a lower floor, B4.

“No, it’s no spore or mineral.  It’s a new species so to speak.  We’ve only heard rumors of it for years, centuries even.”  Changkyun didn’t know if it was something heard in private behind the scenes or governments for years, or if it was a rumor that was known to the public.  Either way, he assumed he was on his way to see a government secret.  He had more questions of course, but he didn’t ask any.  He would save what he had for whatever didn’t get answered in time.

When the elevator came to a stop and the metal doors slid open he was following the scientist out as he was met with a long hall with a single room at the end of it, closed off with a set of pretty dramatic looking metal doors.  In the hall was desks of different scientist with different set ups of machines and technology.  Papers would be stacked on one desk, another would be filled with tags for something, there were even small bags of blood resting on one desk with a set of pliers and different medical looking equipment.

“There sure is a lot going on in here.”  Changkyun whispered, more to himself, as he looked around.  The scientist heard him though and responded.

“Of course, we’ve had to do tests and experiments for our find.”  Changkyun felt a chill run up his spine into his neck for some reason as he spoke.  The scientist used an almost cold voice, like one of a sadistic pleasure.  

“What did you find?”  The scientist moved to the giant door at the end of the corridor as he approached a keypad and ID scanner.  

“You’ll see once these doors open.  Don’t be too frightened by her attitude thought, it can be a bit obnoxious.”  Changkyun spared the man a side glance as he spoke and punched in a code of number before sliding his card into a reader.  Soon, after the green light showed the information entered was correct and valid, the door slid open and the scientist walked inside, Changkyun following him.  

The room was large and the only thing in it was one table you’d find in a hospital for surgerys, and along the back wall an entire tank full of water, coral, seaweed, shells and all sorts of sea life.  It was like a miniature aquarium with the tank taking up the entire wall from either side and nearly reaching the ceiling.  On one end of the tank, was a small pulley operated crane with a fish net attached to it, obviously used to scope something out.  

“So, this new species is a type of ocean life?” The man nodded as he approached the table and picked up a small remote, walking back over to Changkyun.

“Indeed.  She tends to be a bit shy towards strangers, so we’ll have to bring her out using this.  I’m sure she can see us, hiding in some seaweed or what not.”  He moved closer to the tank as he started raising his voice, talking to whatever he wanted to get the attention of inside.  “You know what this little remote does darling.  You want to come out, or do you want to do this the hard way?”

Changkyun approached the glass tank next to the man, and jumped with a piece of coral was thrown at the glass from inside, out of seemingly nowhere.  The man only clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Hard way it is.”  There were two different buttons on the remote, one with a lightning bolt on it and the other with a symbol of to releasing clamps.  He pressed the bolt button and once he did, Changkyun jumped at the sudden movement out of the corner of his eye.  Over in a tall, thick bed of seaweed, something started moving or thrashing about.  Whatever it was, Changkyun saw part of it slam against the glass.  The way the seaweed thrashed worried him.

“What did you do?”  He asked, both form worry and curiosity.”

“I just gave her a little electric shock as a boost.”  He widened his eyes.  They were electrocuting whatever was in this tank?!  “But, wouldn’t the shock spread through the water and injure the other life?” The man shook his head.  

“No, we modified this particular method to work only through the body of the tagged.”

“So, the shock is in the tag?  You tagged it?”

“Her.” The man corrected. “And yes, we did.  Ah, there she is.”  The grin that broke out on the man’s face made Changkyun’s face twist as he looked back into the tank.  Through the plants, he saw a human like arm reach out of it.  He jumped, thinking someone was in there, but before he could fully react, the thing in the seaweed swam out rapidly.  

They had swam past the front glass of the tank, banging against it, startling CHangkyun to the point he stumbled on his feet and fell to his rear.  What he was looking at made his mind rell.  This had nothing to do with science, this was just discovering that an old myth did exist.  He didn’t believe it at first, that he was looking at this being.  

Changkyun couldn’t believe he was looking at a mermaid right now.  That he was looking at you.

Your hair was long and flowing behind you as you thrashed around in the tank.  He couldn’t see your face clearing because of your rapid movements and your hair masking it.  Your chest had scales of beautiful pastel violet and teal that seemed to grow over your breasts, unlike in the movies were they had shells.  Your tail started at your hips, just below were a human’s pelvis would be and the same shades of violet and teal mixed all the way down to the bright blue fins.  

He didn’t have to see your face to notice your beauty and you were still in pain from the shock.  Changkyun shot up, dropped his bag off his shoulder and grabbed the remote without thinking form the man.  When his thumb came off that shock button, your thrashing stopped and you seemed to relax and float back to the bottom of the tank, on the sand.  

“Can’t you see that with you constantly holding that button, it hurts her?!”  He was confused and worried.  Sure, this is a breakthrough is some many ways, but then he thought of the bags of blood in the other room, the medical equipment, the papers and the god forsaken remote in his hand.  With so many people and tests, he thought you must be in pain.  

“She’s the first mermaid the human race has seen in records-”

“And that gives you the right to treat her like an animal?!”  He was getting more and more worked up.  “She’s not an animal,she’s not a pet.  That girl-,” he pointed to your unconscious figure in the tank, “is a living being and she doesn’t deserve to be shocked just because she’s more than likely terrified!” He threw the remote behind him as it broke against the wall and took deep breaths.  

He knew that his words and actions might give him hell, and probably even kicked out, but he didn’t care.  If anything, he’d only want to stay and try and keep you safe.  He wanted to get to know you and know your pain.  He’d want to make sure to be your friend so you wouldn’t hurt as much as you would if you were alone.  

The scientist sigh as he crossed his arms.  

“I accepted this kind of reaction from someone like you.  You put a lot of your personality into your thesis’s and your work, so this was rather appropriate of you.”  Changkyun rose his brow at him.  Did he… literally make an hypothesis on how he would react to a fucking mermaid? “That being said, I really only sought you out to keep out scaled beauty company.”

Changkyun blinked at him, now more composed than before.  

“Excuse me?”

“I wanted to bring you here to see if you would be able to form a bond with her.”  The man looked at the tank again.  “She refuses to speak to us, if she can speak at all.” Changkyun had to stop himself from scoffing, or course she didn’t speak to you.  He wouldn’t speak to a group of psycho-scientists keeping him in a cage with electric shocks either.  “However, if you were to introduce her to a seemingly harmless body with no intentions of learning about her through science, she may just try and communicate.”

Changkyun was both pleased and angry.  He was pleased that he’d be able to stay and do what he wanted, like forming a bond and trying to help her.  But, he was also angry that they wanted results of communication from her so badly they resorted to using an outside force instead of just changing their tactics.  

“I assume I have no choice in the matter either way.”  The man smiled to him, in a threatening way that was masked in innocence.  

“Correct. Now, how about I leave the two of you alone for a bit, hm?”  He nodded his head as he walked past Changkyun to pick up the pieces of the broken remote.  “This will need to be repaired.”  Changkyun’s jaw clenched at his words as he glared at his back as he left and the metal doors shut behind him, leaving only Kyun and the mysterious mermaid.

Changkyun sat on the ground for a time before he saw your arms and tail start to twitch, signalling your consciousness coming back to you.  When you moved to start lazily floating above the sand, you saw Changkyun as he stood and bolted for the seaweed again.  Changkyun ran to the tank’s glass and tapped on it.

“Hey, come back!  I’m not going to hurt you!” He tapped on the tank with his finger and as you peeked out from the plants, he offered you a smile.  “I won’t hurt you.”  He said it quieter, but he doubt that you could hear him.  He motioned you to come closer to the glass with a smile and a small wave.  You did so, not seeing a smile like that from anyone else.  When you got to the glass, he finally got to see your face.

Bright, wide e/c eyes and plush pink lips in one your face was enough to capture him.  You had traces of scales on your cheekbones but they were faint almost like they use to be there, but had been removed.  Changkyun pointed to his cheeks as he asked you about it.

“You cheeks?  What happened?”  He mouthed it slowly just in case you did understand him.  You brought your own fingers to trace your cheeks, and felt the empty spaces instead of your smooth scales.  You shook your head and pointed to the door.  Changkyun looked over his shoulder and started feeling annoyed again.  

“They took them?”  You nodded and he rose his brows. “Can you understand me?”  You nodded again and pointed to your lips, signaling you could read his lips.  He nodded as you then looked to where the small pulley operated crane at the end of your tank.  He hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a basket just large enough for a person to stand in and be taken to the top of the tank.  

Changkyun looked back to you as you pointed to it then pointed up.  

“You want me to go to the top of the tank?”  You nodded as you swam with him as he walked to to the crane.  He walked inside the basket as he flipped a switch as it took him up the net attached to the basket following him.  He watched as you swam to the surface of the tank and waiting for him.  You didn’t actually break the surface until he was at the top and leaning over to look inside.  

“Hello.” He greeted again as you slowly pushed your head over the water and rose your body just enough so where your shoulders were out of the water.  You looked at him, your hair wet and sticking to your forehead as water dropped off your bangs and down your face.  

“Hello….”  You had responded in a small voice.  He smiled as he rested his arms o the side of the tank.  

“So you do understand me.  Did you learn this language?”  You nodded.  

“Mermaids tend to learn the language of the land closest to where they live.  I was born in the seas closest to Korea, so I’ve been learning this language since I was born.”  Changkyun nodded at you.

“Interesting.  You speak it well.  Do you know any other language?”  You shook you head.

“Do you?”  He nodded at your question.

“Yeah.  I can speak English.”  You tilted your head at this statement.

“English?  Isn’t that the language they learn in the west?”  He nodded.  He explained how he use to live in America and learned how to speak English fluently in his 3 years in Boston.  When you asked him to speak English so you knew what it sounded like, he did so and your eyes lit up with interest.   He chuckled at you.

“Do you want to learn English?  I can always teach you a few things.”  You smiled at him in excitement and he saw your tail move just a bit more rapidly in happiness.  He chuckled at you and also took the time to admire your smile.  “You know, you’re really cute when you smile.”  You were taken aback by his statement and tilted your head.

“Cute?”  He nodded.  “What is that?  Is it a compliment?”  He blinked at your question. Did you seriously not know what ‘cute’ was.  

“It’s a compliment.  It means that I like the way you look when you smile.”  You nodded. You didn’t know that, no one had ever taught you that word or called you it before.  

“You’re the first one to call me cute.”  

“I’m honored.”  You chuckled at him as he smirked.  If cute was something you thought about someone when you liked the way they looked, you then in turned called him cute.

“I think you’re cute when you smile too.”  Changkyun playfully held his chest at your innocence and laughed. You held casual conversation for a while longer before the door started opening again and you had disappeared under the water again and away from Changkyun.  It wasn’t until you were gone and he was lowering himself down in the basket, that he hadn’t even told you his name.  He didn’t get yours either.  

The man from before entered the room with a grin.  

“I see you and her were having a conversation.  Talk about anything interesting.”  Changkyun clicked his tongue.  

“What’s it to you.”  

“Ah, but you two did speak yes?”  

“We did, but only small phrases she’d picked up from listening in on you people I’m sure.” He didn’t want to tell him that she could basically speak fluent Korean, so he lied about how much she could communicate.  He had to watch what he said and did, or else it could turn out to be more tests done on you.  After talking with you for that short time, he already knew he didn’t want you get get hurt anymore.  

In fact, he had wanted nothing more than to get you out of that facility and back into the sea. He thought about it if it were him who was captured by a different species he didn’t know existed and the more the thought about how he would feel in your position, the more he wanted to change it.  

And, almost too simply, Changkyun was picked up and dropped over nearly daily to visit with you.  You trusted him since day one, as you couldn’t see any ulterior motive for him to possible gain your trust only for him to hurt you.  His eyes, voice and even movements were much more slower and gentle than the others you’ve seen.  

You’d watch as his eyes ignited with rage when he came back one day to more of your scales missing, or when that stupid shocking remote was fixed, or even when he’d see new bags of blood resting in the corridor.  He’d always express his hatred for the way you were treated.  But, other than all the bad that surrounded you all day, every day, he was a light of good.  

He’d teach you more words in Korean you hadn’t heard, and even teach you English.  He’d be impressed with how well you learned and how happy you looked while being taught.  In turn, he’d ask you questioned.  About how you live, how it feels to be able to be in water and air, even if land was a limited thing.

It was just another normal day that he spend sat at the edge of your tank in the metal basket.  You had taken to sometimes pulling yourself to rest your arms on the side of the tank as well, getting closer to him as your torso would be out of the water.  He’d always worry that you’d dry out, so he’d always remind you to go in the water every now and again.  He left that day just like any other, but when he came back the next day, you didn’t greet him as you normally did.  

He tapped on the glass of the tank, just in case you didn’t hear him enter.  Still getting no response, he got in the small basket to travel to the top of your tank and called for you.  He was starting to get a small pit of fear in his stomach that he tried to calm.

“She’s probably just sleeping.”  He tried to reason, but nothing felt right to him.  He was content on just waiting for you to appear, if you would, but the glimpse he got of  your tail made him lean over to nearly touch the surface of the water.  It looked like your fin had been torn.  He, thinking now that you might not visit him, decided he’d go to you.  He removed his shoes and peeled off his shirt as he jumped into the water of the tank.  

The temperature made him yelp slightly as the bubbles of air left his mouth. He swam up to regain his breath as he took breaths to calm his body to the sudden temperature change.  He then took a breath before diving back into the water.  He swam to the bottom of the tank and suspended his body in the water by the seaweed before pushing it away.  He saw you, your arms covering your face as you faced away from him.  

Your shoulder shook slightly, as you were crying.  Changkyun figured it be hard to cry in water, where your tears disappear, but as you reached out to your shoulder and you jolted to see what touched you, he saw the red rimmed around you eyes.  You watched wide eyed as his pants were darker because of the water and how his hair moved in every direction due to the water constantly moving.

“Changkyun?”  You had told each other your names on the second day of his job, feeling a bit foolish for the lack of formailites on the first.  For some reason though, he could understand you perfectly.  It was like you weren’t in water at all, it made him forget he was in water.  He opened his mouth to respond, but only noises and air bubbled emerged from his mouth as he started to couch under the water.  

You quickly moved from your bed of seaweed and grabbed his arm as you swam quickly to the surface, pulling him over it.  He gasped as he coughed more and ran a hand over his face, slicking back his hair.  You looked at him in both a glare of anger and worry.  You worried over his well being as he wasn’t in the state to be in such cold water, and anger for not thinking about his health.  He watched you narrowed your eyes at him and pouted.  

“Hey, in my defense, I called for you and you didn’t answer.”  Your expression changed to a shocked one.  

“Ah, sorry.  I didn’t hear you.”  

“Clearly.” You moved to swim to the edge of the tank, to put him back on the edge of the tank, but he tried to stop you.  “What happened to your fin.”  He didn’t really ask it as a question, as he was already feeling anger bile up in his throat, and you hadn’t even answered.  Honestly, you didn't have to, he was fairly sure he would guess.  

“The evil men cut some of it. For DNA testing, or something.  I wasn’t really listening.”  You looked away as Changkyun only sighed and bottled up his anger for a little longer.  He swam closer to you and pulled your chest to his.  The scales that covered your breasts weren’t as rough as Changkyun first thought, they were even smooth.  You’re skin too.  

“I’m sorry.  I wish I could take you out of this nightmare.”  You could feel his legs as he tread the water with the movement of the water and the occasionally touch of your tail.  You moved your tail to support his weight water weight as you slowly encased your arms around him like he did you.  Sure, back in the sea, you’d hug your friends on occasion, but hugged a human was so strange.  

Their skin was much more dry than a mermaid, and their scent was different, even when submerged in water.  Their clothing was a strange texture against you scales and all in all, it was comforting. You wanted to be held, wanted to be consoled, but you always considered yourself strong, but when Changkyun held you, it was like silent permission to be weak for one single moment.

It was times like this that you wondered if humans were more like the evil people who has been keeping you caged up, or if there are more like Changkyun who care and are warm.  Changkyun ran his hand up and down your bare back, your hair tangling about his fingers occasionally. After what seemed like an eternity, you pulled away from him and smiled to him, signalling you were okay now.  

“I’m going to figure out a way to get you out of here.”  Your smile faltered.  

“Changkyun-”

“I’m serious.  I’m sick of this.”  He motioned to you, as he ran his thumbs over your cheeks, scaled just not starting to grow back in from the previous ones that were removed.  “I know you don’t want to be filled with this false hope that you’ll be free again, but just trust me.  Trust that I’ll figure something out.  No matter what it takes.” He moved to make sure he was maintaining eye contact with you the entire time he spoke, and he wouldn’t allow you to break it.  He was serious, he meant every word.  

“Do… do you promise?”  You spoke softly.  He nodded.  

“I’ll even pinky promise on it.”  You looked at him confused.  

“Pinky promise?”  He chuckled, expecting you did know what this ultimate form of truth and promise meant.  

“It’s a very serious deal that I won’t lie and I’ll do as I say.  All you do is lock pinky’s,” He extended his as you slow did yours and he took finger into his, “and finally now we reach over and touch thumbs.  Just to make it completely official and serious.”  So with a movement of both, the pads of your thumbs touch and the promise was complete.  

“That’s a strange way of keeping promises for humans.”  He scoffed.  

“It’s not that strange.  I bet you fish people just slap your fins together and call it good.”  You rolled your eyes.  

“No!  We exchange scales for promises.  If we give a piece of ourselves to someone, it’s like holding the promise in our hands and we can’t forget about it or else we have to painfully attach the scale that isn’t ours to our arms as a constant reminder that we lied.”  You spoke it in such a straight face as you sighed.  “I’ve never broken a promise, so I’m all clean.  I just think your ‘pinky promises’ are so simplistic.”  

“Woah, that’s pretty deep.”  

“Well of course, merpeople are a truthful race.  We have very few liars.”  

“I mean to be fair, there’s an old saying that if we break pinky promises, we have to swallow a certain amount of needles.”  You gasped.  

“That must be painful!”

“We don’t actually do it.  There’s a very high chance we’d die if we did.”  You two sat in the water in silence for a moment before laughing.  You spent the rest of this day swimming around in the tank with Changkyun until he was sitting out, drying his pants slightly before he had to go.  

More and more days passed and Changkyun always reminded you of his promise and one day he found out some information by being just a tad bit nosy.  He had overheard something about you being moved to an island facility to expose you to more wildlife experiments, and sure enough, written on a clipboard he just so happen to peek at, he got your date of shipment.  

That was his only chance to get you out.  So, as the day soon rolled around, as expected, Changkyun was incharge of getting you to the upper levels for transport and even accompany you to the bay where you would be boarded on a ship and moved.  He told you not to worry, as today was the day he would set you free.  

They had moved you into a much small tank, just the size for you and your tail to barely squeeze inside.  Your shocking tag had been removed for the transport as you were stuffed in the small tank.  YOu were placed on a wheeling cart as Changkyun pushed you to the elevator, and into the parking garage where you were loaded into a van along with him beside you.  

The staff knew you would offer trouble to anyone and everyone other than Changkyun, so he was incharge of you entirely. So, when you were both unloaded at a port with a small boat prepared to move you Changkyun looked to you and mouthed ‘brace yourself.’

With an, actually pretty believable, act of trying over the boards of the dock, he stumbled as he pushed the tank and you over the side of the dock.  Not letting go of the cart, he was pulled in as well.  The staff and scientists all panicked as everything fell into the water below.  Changkyun under the water now, worked quick to unclasp the top of the tank and you sprang out.  

You both broke the surface of the water and looked to the shouting above you on the dock.  Before anything else, You grabbed Changkyu around his waist his side to yours as you dove under the water and began swimming as quickly as you could.  You kept glancing at the closed eyes of Changkyun under the water and the way he held his mouth and nose to keep his breath in as well as water out.  

“I know where we are.  I know a safe place, just hold on a little longer.”  He heard you shout from under the water over the sounds of the seas rushing past his ears.  He only nodded as he concentrated everything on keeping his breath in.  HIs face began to turn red and he was ready to open his mouth unconsciously, but just as he did, you pulled him above the surface.  He took harsh breaths as he felt you pull him into more shallow water under he was laying on a hard surface.  

Finally opening his eyes, he found himself staring at the ceiling of a small cover by the seaside before you hovered over him into his vision.  

“Are you okay?!  I know we were under the water for a long time for humans!”  He shook his head, his breath still labored but barible now.  He chuckled as he reached to you and hooked his arms around your neck and pulled you on top of himself, hugging you as he laughed.  

“I actually got you out of there.  I’m so happy.” You chuckled back to him.  Your long wet hair was cold to him, but he was just happy to hold you and not being surrounded by scientists or people with evil intentions.  “You’re finally able to go home.”  It was when he finally let his hidden sorrow show a little bit.  “I’ll miss you know.”  He sat up as you moved away from him and rested your tail over his stretched out legs.  

“Well, do you visit the ocean often?”  He thought about it  He didn’t normally, but if he had even the slightest chance of seeing you among the waves, he’d definitely make more trips.  

“I’d be willing to travel to the beach any day of the week if I got to see you again.”  You smiled at him as you moved to lean closer to him slightly.  

“Will you wait here for me for a bit longer.  I want to get something for you.”  He didn’t know what you wanted to do, but he figured he could wait since the scientists were probably in the middle of multiple hernias at losing such a precious specimen.  He nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll wait.  But be careful.  They could be around looking for you.”  

“I’ll stick to the sea bed, they can’t detect mermaids when they’re moving along the sand.  Call it a camouflage trick of ours.”  He rose his brows.

“Neat.”  So, he left the cove and Changkyun.  He peeled off his shirt and rang it out before setting it on a rock to dry in the sun that peeked in.  He removed his shoes and socks as he messily ran his finger through his hair.  Thankfully it was still midsummer, so he wasn’t cold.  

It was maybe 2 hours later when he saw your tail flick up in the distance and second later you were swimming into the cove and pulling yourself closer to him. Around your neck was a shell with an old looking chain holding it to your chest.

“You waited for me!”  He rolled his eyes at your smiled.

“I did say I would, didn’t I.” You nodded.  “What’s with the shell?”  You looked at the shell as you took it and pulled it over your head, your hair being pulled over your shoulder as the chain was removed from your neck.  

“It’s a shell that will help you call me.”  You offered it to him as he rose his brow, taking it and examining it.  

“It looks like a regular old shell though?”  You nodded as you called him closer to you, and he moved to be at your side.  

“It was, but it’s been enchanted and modified for calling or summoning.”  You pointed to the small nozzle at one end of the shell.  “See, if you blow into this bit hear, it will emit a silent, but very high pitched call that only sea life can recognize.  The pitch is loud even your land animals would hear it.  The pitch comes out of the end,” you gesture to the open bit at the back of the shell, “and if you just blow for 5 seconds I will hear it and and be able to recognize the direction and sea you closest too.”

“Impressive.  It’s like a dog whistle mixed with a cell phone.” He moved it around in his fingers as he tapped on it.  “Does it break like regular shells do?”  You nodded.

“Unfortunately yet, but since I also had this made to go along with it,” you gestured to a small earing in your ear, “I’ll know when it becomes damaged.  When, or if it doesn't, just come here to this cover and leave it for me to find.  I’ll take it and have it repaired in a day so you can come pick it up again.”

“Is the earing an amplifier as well?”  You nodded.  “

It helps me identify it’s you calling me.”  You smiled as he looped it around his neck. “This way we don’t really have to say goodbye.  We can still see each other.”  

“I’ll have to get a case to put it in.  This is my new treasure, you know that right?”  You giggled at him.  “I’m glad I’ll be able to see you again.”  He playfully looked around as if someone was with you two in the cove before leaning and cupping a hand against your ear and whispering to you.

“Just for the record, I might have a little crush on you.”  You looked at him as he pulled back, chuckled because he knew what you were about to say just by the look in your eyes.

“Crush?  Isn’t that the action of flattening something?”  You looked a bit concerned as he laughed.  

“Yes, but is also means something else.  It’s a good thing, trust me.”  You wanted him to explain further but he didn’t, making you cutely pout when he told you he’d tell you someday, but not today.  As the sun started showing signs of setting, you advised him to get back to his own society and find a place to sleep for the night.  He set mental notes to move out of his previous home as soon as possible, since those scientist knew where it was.  

Soon, you had left to the water, and already missing you, Changkyun blew into the shell.  Not a minute later, your head was peeking out of the water not too far from him.  He smiled as he cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted to you.

“I’ll see you soon Y/N!  Please, be safe!!”  You smiled and raised your hand to wave at him before disappearing into the water again.  Luckily, a friend lived near where you had taken him so with little notice he decided to bunk there for a few night.  

He had his things moved closer to the coast in an apartment building as he lived in a high story with a few of the ocean.  He kept your shell kept in a small glass viewing box and would always take it with him when he planned to go to the shore.  He’d always meet you in that coves or secluded areas where you could talk without risking being seen.  He was pleased to see all your scales come back in and stay in place and even your fin had started healing.  

You had also started wearing gems around your neck and around your wrists even having small shell rings and clips and you had shown him a shell crown a child had made for you once under the ocean where you lived.  You were healthy and happier in the ocean just like he wanted and your smile never faded with him either.  

Even though you never found out what this ‘crush’ of his was, he was happy seeing you as often as he did.  He knew it’d be hard to try and maintain a relationship with someone like you.  So, when you came to him one day and pulled yourself out of the water, only to show that your tai had started changing, your scales into flesh he would both be confused and worried.

You had worked and paid an innocent sea magician to help you change when your body wasn’t in water.  He was at first angry at you for making such a decisions.  He’s seen the Little Mermaid, and it almost ended badly for her, turning into foam and making a deal with a sadistic witch.  But, when you assured him nothing would happen to you he forgave you.   

You also made up for your innocence and your choice on the day you told him you may be in love with him.