#now if you’ll excuse me i’ll record all my anger in a voice note so i can get it out somehow

[louiswilliamtomlinsons]

.

[poppysmc]

I Don't Know How You Do It But I'm Forever Ruined

Notes: This has been sitting in my drafts for so so long, unfinished with a different song and Im just obsessed with this song right now so I thought I'd go ahead and post it.. sorry for the mistakes I don't have a beta so they're all mine. I'm just slowly getting back to writing again, please be patient with me. ❤️

Song: Off my face - Justin Bieber

(One shot)

Last and certainly not the least…. Ms. Morgan Hughes, she’ll be gracing us with her angelic voice, singing… uhh… Off my face? Thomas reads the cue cards, slightly puzzled, he thought Morgan would be doing stand-up, he and Morgan’s posse endured long nights of practicing her stand-up routine and now she’s just gonna sing, it’s not even vetted on.

He glances to the side, silently confirming if it was right. Morgan nods and smiles nervously. He in turn smiles back, giving an encouraging thumbs up and a whisper of ‘good luck’ as she takes to the stage.

Some of the audience chuckled at the name choice, adding to the ever growing lump lodged in her throat. This is definitely not her best idea and before she could go ranting about the title, some of her friends clapped and cheered, giving her a slight boost of confidence.

She wrote thet a few months ago, absently plucking at the guitar strings. She’s got the same few chords stuck in her head for week. Only god knows how she pulled the lyrics out of her muddled brain.

How does one go about sharing her feelings for someone who has no idea? Said someone sitting front and center with a scowl, sitting next to her parents. She has no idea she wrote it for her, she sighs in relief.

For a split second she could see Poppy’s attention snap up to her, smirking and raising her eyebrow in question. Morgan rolls her eyes at her and settled into her chair and just like Poppy’s face never moved, her scowl was back in place, listening to Chloe rant about her talent to her right.

She starts plucking out the intro, it’s now or never.

One touch and you got me stoned

Higher than I’ve ever known

You call the shots and I’ll follow

Sunrise but the night’s still young

No words but we’re speaking tongues

If you let me I might say too much

Sometimes people just enter your life and burrow themselves so deep into it that for the life of you, you couldn't remember when it all started. This case was different, Morgan could vividly remember a day it all changed, how it became harder for her to even look Poppy in the eye for more than a few seconds. How her warm touch roughly pulling her back to the argument now seemed to burn through her sleeves, pressure slightly softer. She used to meet her hot gaze, faces only inches apart spitting out vicious insults without thinking much, now she didn’t have the same fire in her veins she seemed to have arguing with Poppy.

The need to antagonize her fizzled into something else, a warmth that threatens to overtake her made itself a home in her chest.

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

Morgan wanted to stay home, as much as she enjoyed parties, it wasn’t something she wanted to do regularly. Sometimes it gets a little too much to handle, the music felt too loud, the people got too close, the eyes on her felt stifling. She wanted to be free just this one night out of expectant looks but Zoey is too convincing, her puppy dog eyes are too powerful for a mere mortal like herself. She made a condition to just be at the party no over the top expensive clothes, just herself.

“I’ll come but just to be your glorified chauffer.” She dresses herself in something simple, a pair of black pants and flannel. “I just want to be invisible this one night, Zo.”

“Fine by me, but if your fashion choices end up splashed all over The T tomorrow don’t come crying to me.” Zoey shakes her head, the slight dig on her wardrobe is softened by a thankful grin.

“You get dragged on The T once, and no one lets you live it down.”

“Because I’m pretty certain I said don’t go out in that, it’s suicide. So yeah I would never let it go, you wore socks with your flip-flops and had the audacity to show yourself in public.”

“It’s not even my fault, sunny ran out the door. I had no time to check what I was wearing."

“You’ll never learn. Whatever will you do without me?” Zoey smirks and shakes her head affectionately. "Stop stalling and let’s go. My carriage awaits dear chauffer.”

“Yeah, yeah. Please allow me to escort you down, boss.” Morgan bumps her shoulders with Zoey as she passes by to grab her jacket. She opens the door and offers her arm, Zoey laughs and loops her arms around hers.

The party was already in full swing once they arrived. The music was blaring; the bass makes Morgan’s chest thump along erratically with every beat. “Text me, okay? I’ll make myself scarce.”

“Sure. Thanks for driving.” Zoey winks and beelines for the bar. In a few seconds she loses sight of her.

Morgan trudges through the house, the crowd gradually thins as she makes her way farther to the back. She exhales in relief finally free of the maze of drunk students with no boundaries, nobody seemed to pay attention to her, thank god for the dim lighting. The backdoor swings open, she breathes in the crisp night air. The door shuts and party fades into muffled thumps. She sat on the porch steps, her side leaning against the banister, oblivious to the pair of eyes quietly observing her.

After a minute of silence, Morgan sucked air through her clenched teeth, surprised at hearing someone pointedly clearing their throat behind her. The rate in which her head whipped back almost made her dizzy. When she recognizes who the person was, she could already feel the headache coming through, she almost swallows her tongue in disbelief. Of all the people she didn’t want to see her tonight was Poppy, yet here she was, alone with her.

“What are you doing back here?” Poppy asked, voice devoid of any venom just genuinely curious.

“Do I need permission to be? Who made you queen?” Morgan scoffs, the slight bite in her voice comes through and makes Poppy smirk.

“Belvoire.” Poppy cheekily answers, earning an undignified snort from Morgan. The slight tension momentarily forgotten.

“Should have seen that coming.”

“The party’s raging inside and little miss newbie sits here. What are you doing, really?” Poppy asks not unkindly, voice tinged with concern and curiosity.

“I could ask the same to you.”

“I asked first.” Poppy frowns impatiently.

Morgan sighs, opting to just answer just to avoid trouble. She didn’t have the energy to make up excuses nor to argue. “I don’t feel like partying today. I’m just waiting for Zoey to get flat out drunk and drive her home. My turn.”

“It’s-  It’s overwhelming inside. I just want to be alone for a while.” The honesty in Poppy’s answer momentarily throws her off.

“Do you want me to go?” Morgan asks, feeling like she’s intruding. This must be the longest record they ever had being civil to one another, actually speaking without the sarcastic comments and the insults. It makes her feel out of place and awkward.

“You could do whatever you want. I’m not the queen of anything right now.” Right, cause technically it's Chloe. There’s something in her tone that makes Morgan’s heart clench, yet she shrugs it off as the bass from the party. To Morgan’s never ending surprise, the blonde pats the spot next to her on the bench. “The floor is filthy.” Poppy clarifies when she makes no move to stand. A disarming smile crosses her face, Morgan guessed her hesitation must have been showing.

Morgan stands and dusts herself off. “Who are you and what have you done to Poppy?” She asks with a grateful smile, sitting down the furthest she could from the other girl.

“I have half the mind to kick you off this bench.” Poppy grumbles.

“There she is.”

Poppy huffs out a half laugh and after that there’s just silence. After a while she could see the slight tremble in Poppy’s hand in her periphery. She wordlessly shrugs off the coat she’s wearing and offers it to the other girl.

“What?” Poppy blinks, eying her coat suspiciously, making Morgan chuckle in disbelief.

“You’re cold. Take it or go inside.”

“Fine.” Poppy slips on the offered garment, appreciating the warmth it gave to her cold limbs. She wasn’t thinking while she burrowed herself further, letting Morgan’s scent envelope her. She stared at Morgan, feeling guilty for a moment. She moves closer, Morgan shivers when their shoulders touched. "Thanks." Poppy whispers, if it wasn't for their proximity, Morgan might have missed it. She hoped the shadows hid the small smile spreading to her lips.

“I’m sorry for taking your coat. I just couldn’t go back inside. I-” Poppy trails off, breaking her gaze away and staring farther up the yard.

“It’s okay, I offered. You don’t have to explain anything.” Morgan understood, after today everything changed, she lost her spot to one of her friends. Morgan was somewhat surprised that instead of Poppy's explosive anger, she opted to just sit here and mope.

She jumps a little when her phone vibrates in her pocket, she could see Poppy smirk in the corner of her eye.

"Jumpy."

She reads the text and taps a reply, frowning. She turns to Poppy. She doesn't even know why she's explaining but it felt wrong to just go without saying anything. A part of her wanted to make this moment stretch a little longer, so she hesitates.

“Apparently Zoey doesn’t need me to drive her back. So... I guess I'll head back home." Morgan stands not having an excuse to stay longer and makes her way to the door, hands hovering over the door knob to open it but not before doing something stupid like asking her so called enemy if she wanted to drive around for a while.

“So… Do you still want company? We could drive around for a while?” Morgan mentally chastises herself for the suggestion. Of course Poppy would say no it’s not like she-

Morgan looks back at Poppy, she sees her worrying her bottom lip between her teeth in thought. Morgan’s gaze flickers down to her lips, wondering if they’re as soft as they looked. The moment passed and she breaks her gaze away just as Poppy decided.

“Sure but let me just get my stuff.” Poppy stands and makes her way to the door, Morgan standing motionless, hand over the handle. She reaches for it, her fingertips grazing Morgan’s, the slight static made her pull her hand away abruptly.

“Sorry.” Morgan breaks through her short circuited brain and moves to hold the door open for Poppy.  “I’ll wait for you out front.” Morgan makes her way back through the crowd, her mind reeling at what happened back there and what mess she got herself into.

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

She continued singing, her eyes accidentally meeting Poppy’s gaze again, her scowl was replaced by an unreadable expression, attention now focused solely on her and Morgan almost faltered. She breaks eye contact and stares at the back wall, ignoring the burning gaze upon her from those familiar eyes.

Your touch blurred my vision

It’s your world and I’m just in it

Even sober I’m not thinking straight

Cause I’m off my face in love with you

I’m out my head so into you

And I don’t know how you do it

But I’m forever ruined by you

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

The sound of the door opening breaks Morgan out of her deep thoughts. She could see Poppy walking towards her with a sour expression, she's still wearing Morgan's coat.

“What happened to you?” Morgan’s warm hands reaching out to her, settling comfortably on her shoulder. Poppy stares at her hands, she pulls it away like she’s been burned.

“Just drive.” Poppy mumbles, trying hard to be composed but failing.

“Where to?” Morgan pretends not to notice Poppy's agitation, barely glancing at her so she won't feel uncomfortable. She unlocks her car slipping inside while Poppy stares at the abomination in front of her.

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful but your truck is… I don’t know how to say it without offending you? But maybe it could use a good wash? Like you drove through mud to get here. I don’t know, maybe we could go to a carwash, my treat.”

"That’s about the rudest thing anyone’s ever said to me, and you said a lot of insulting things before." Morgan rolls her eyes. “She doesn’t mean that Betty, you just got a little mud on you.” She murmurs quietly.

“You named your car… Betty?”

“What? No I didn’t.” Morgan could see Poppy’s amused smirk even in her periphery.

“You’re such a dork.” Poppy can’t help but laugh at her mortified expression.

Morgan distracts herself from the rapidly rising heat on her neck by fiddling with the radio before driving off. The sweet sound of the guitar filtered through the car and she smiles triumphantly, previous embarrassment pushed to the back of her mind. She doesn't notice Poppy's expression soften.

Morgan drives her car through the carwash. They watched the water and the soap assault her car, the material of the brushes made a repetitive sound along with one of her favourite songs. Poppy had her seat leaned back, watching the machine rid the car of dust and mud. There was something mildly intimate about it, Morgan could move her right hand then they would be grazing Poppy’s, she could do it, she wanted to do it. But all she could manage was a slight twitch in her pinky, her hand doesn't move any closer.

“Do you ever feel like there’s a hundred people around you in a room, yet you feel alone?” Poppy breaks the silence, tilting her head slightly to the left to look at Morgan.

“Sometimes, yeah. Sometimes people may be looking at you yet feel as if their staring right through you, like your nothing. Oh! Like a ghost.” This makes Poppy chuckle.

“Yeah like that. It would have been easier if we were ghosts at least then you know why.”

“Did you feel like that back at the party?” Morgan wanted to say how that would have been impossible that no one could have seen her, she’s seeing her now. She wondered how could anyone ever take their eyes of her, she always seemed to be the brightest thing in any room she entered and now even in this dingy carwash she looked so radiant. How sometimes she thinks that she picks fights with her just for a chance to be bathed in her light. Thoughts she doesn't think would ever cross her mind trickled slowly and became a raging river. Now that she found herself here with her, without anything familiar to fall back on, anything just to distract herself out of her dangerous thoughts.

“Yeah, I don’t know. It was easier to be alone than surrounded but feeling alone. Do you get it? At least I know, I chose to be alone.”

“I get it.” If she had the ability to say more she would have but these few pathetic words are all she could manage. This time her hand reaches to squeeze Poppy’s. A quiet comfort to reinforce her words, she understood.

“Thank you.”

Whatever atmosphere they created in that moment fell apart when Morgan had to move her car forward and exited the wash.

“Where to now?”

“Your turn to choose.” Poppy mumbles, still staring blankly outside.

“Okay, I know a place. You're gonna love it."

“I’m not going to let you pick anymore.” Poppy complains, standing in front a fluorescent lit diner. It almost glowed but in a weird way, like a bat signal for the weary.

“Hey! They make the best food.” Morgan steps forward and drags her companion along when she hesitated.

Warmth and the ambient sound of cutlery grazing the plates makes Morgan smile. She always came here when she’s feeling lonely, missing her parents, their farm or when she’s stressed from school, for trying to fit in like a robot.

“Come. Don’t just stand there.” Morgan looks back at Poppy, her breath caught in her throat. Poppy looked ethereal against the most basic place there ever is. If you said diners were some kind of portal to somewhere else she’d accept it and move on, for she looked like she existed out of place, alien, untouchable as she was beautiful. For the second time this day her gaze flickers to Poppy’s lips, she realizes that she’s saying something and Morgan’s mortified of being caught staring like a fool.

“What? Is something on my face?” Poppy is thankfully oblivious.

“No, it’s perfect.” Morgan quietly whispers while Poppy checks herself in the diner’s window, her words falling into deaf ears.

Morgan balls up pieces of her straw paper places it over some torn up tissues, stacked together. She’s fidgeting under Poppy’s presence; she doesn’t know what to do with her hands.

She's startled when Poppy lightly grasps her hands stopping it from tearing up another piece of paper. It’s been minutes of watching Morgan tear up even rectangles of several tissues, a girl could only take so much.

“You’re making a mess.” Poppy chastises her like a child. She would have laughed but Poppy still hasn’t let go of her hand, it’s making her blush like an idiot.

“Sorry. It’s just that the food is taking a while huh?” Morgan stealthily tries to take her hand back but Poppy only holds it tighter. When they're not arguing, Morgan found that she doesn't know how else to act around her.

“Stop tearing paper like confetti.”

“Sorry.” Morgan sheepishly apologizes and Poppy lets go of her hand, hiding hers under the table, flexing it, she could still feel the warmth of her hand in hers.

The food arrives and Morgan smiles widely. Poppy stares, pretending she's interested in what food Morgan ordered. She admits to herself that for all the times she stared at her she never noticed how beautiful Morgan’s smile was. Arguing doesn't leave one space to insert a smile. It made her heart skip, imagining how it would be like if it was directed at her.

She almost misses Morgan stealing a fry off her plate. “Hey! If you wanted some you should have bought your own or at least politely asked.” Poppy mock glares at her companion, taking one of the crumpled balls and flicking it, hitting Morgan right between the eyes. They watched as the paper landed right into Morgan’s half empty milkshake glass.

"Your face!" Poppy laughs, wishing she could have captured it on camera.

Morgan found that she liked Poppy's laugh when it was genuine. “You better buy me another. You ruined mine.”

“What? It’s almost all gone anyway. All the needless calories you’re consuming will bite you in the ass someday.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“Just have the rest of mine.” Poppy slides over her milkshake, Morgan grins and takes a sip right into Poppy’s straw. Poppy noticed first, eyes widening. Did She just… A revolting question crossed her mind, how would ‘Morgan’s lips feel like pressed to mine.’ Shes never felt jealous of a piece of plastic before in her life.

Morgan freezes when she realized what she’s done. She just had an indirect kiss with Poppy through the straw. “Sorry. I got excited.”

Poppy opens a new straw for her water, blowing the other end right into Morgans face, another bulls eye, she’s killing it. “Don’t overthink it.” She dismisses the act but her brain does summersaults inside her skull.

They finished eating, the last few of Poppy’s fries stolen right under her nose. She pretends she doesn’t see her sneaking a few of the fries away, she just lets her. Mind preoccupied with important things like Morgan’s lips.

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

Can’t sleep ‘cause I’m way too buzzed

Too late now you’re in my blood

I don’t hate the way you keep me up

Your touch blurred my vision

It’s your world and I’m just in it

Even sober I’m not thinking straight

Even if she doesn't look or at least tries her hardest not to, she could feel Poppy's gaze on her, burning, willing her eyes to look back. There's something wildly intimate about singing a song to someone and in the sea of strangers you know it's just for them. No matter how many people sang it, to another, to themselves or just for the heck of it, the song only belongs to the person you made it for. Just for her. They could never feel the way she felt when she wrote it, how her feelings were entwined with every word.

In her periphery she could see Poppy stand and make excuses to her parents. She left, she didn't see where she went, she doesn't dare look anywhere near where she was, she's a coward like that. All she could feel is disappointment. It takes everything in her not to show it on her face. Was it too late to change her talent to stand up?

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

"Come on Poppy, pick a place already. I've been driving around for hours! People will think we're stalking someone around here." Morgan whines in the driver seat taking yet another turn around the block.

"It's been exactly 20 minutes. You're such a baby." Poppy looks at her phone for any places that might still be open around this time. "Turn right, that's not right. Right! Not left."

"Great, now were going in circles. Pull over."  Poppy grumbles.

"What?" Morgan looks confused for a moment but does what she’s told anyway, parking along the street.

"Get out."  Poppy moves to exit the car.

"What are you..?"

"I'm not gonna hijack your car, just let me drive. You suck at following directions."

"...."

They switch seats, Morgan slumps and mopes in hers. Poppy fights back a smile.

“Would you look at that it only took 2 minutes.” Poppy smiles smugly.

“I did all the navigating you only had to turn once.” Morgan complains, getting out of the car and looking around the parking lot. “What the hell Poppy, a 711? You could have told me, I could have turned anywhere and found one.”

“Like hell you could. You don’t even know your left from your right.” Poppy laughs at Morgan’s offended expression. They walked in, shoulders brushing together and Morgan shivers, insisting to herself that it’s because it’s cold.

Poppy smiles, victoriously pulling out what they came here for out of the fridge.

“A freaking capri sun? We drove all the way here for that?” Morgan complains, ready to throttle Poppy. Though there’s something endearing in her expression, that proud smile for finding something she was looking for.

“Just go find something you want.” Poppy shoos her away, grabbing a few more pouches of juice. She shakes her head and walks off in search of snacks.

Morgan comes back with an armful of sweets and chips.

“We just ate. What are you doing? Take these back, I won't buy you all these.”

“You said something I like. I like them all. Come on aren't you rich?” Morgan dumps her haul in the counter, the cashier looking back and forth from them, looking for a sign that it’s okay to scan the items.

“Are you just an overgrown kid or what?”

“Pop, you just bought a juice in a pouch, you have no right to judge me.”

“Fine.”

Morgan carries three bags worth of snacks back to the car, Poppy not attempting to lift a finger just because she paid.

“Your turn. Pick a place.”

Minutes later they're on a cliff overlooking the city. Fading notes from a song playing in Morgan’s car filtered to the back.

“I'm surprised you didn't get lost.”

“I don't suck at directions. You're the one that sucked at giving them.” Morgan says in self-defence. She unlatches the back so they could sit on it, holding Poppy’s waist, helping her up. If Poppy noticed her hands shake, she didn’t say anything. They sat closer together, leaning against the side. She could feel the cold seeping into her shirt, making her shiver. Poppy notices and moves to take Morgan's coat off.

“No. Keep it on.” Morgan stops her, cold hands over equally cold ones.

“But you're cold.”

“I'm not.” Morgan attempts to refute it but her hands are freezing.

“I can see your teeth chattering.”

“I like it on you.” She smiles softly.

“What?”

“I don't want you to be cold. Just take it, don’t be stubborn.”

“If you speak of this to anyone, I would personally kill you in your sleep.”

“Why would you do- oh.” Morgan stared in confusion, then realization.

Poppy moved to sit in the space between her legs, leaning her back into Morgan, taking her hands and wrapping them to her waist. Her hands rubbing over Morgan's freezing ones. To say that she was now warm was an understatement, she was burning from the blush that overtook her body.

“If you wanted to be near me so bad you could've just asked.” Morgan grins, chin propped on Poppy's shoulder.

Poppy huffs and attempts to get up. Morgan's arms stop her, wrapping tighter, keeping her in place. “Don't move, I might freeze to death.”

“That's what I thought.”

They had a toast with the Capri sun pouches, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. They sat there talking for hours, the company was too enjoyable to give in to exhaustion or cold.

From the time they were talking Poppy shifted her position, now sitting on Morgan's lap, staring up at her while she told a story about their farm animals, making her scrunch her nose in disgust at one of her retellings.

They stared at the sky surprised to see the day chasing the night away. How long have they been talking? Morgan looks at her phone and even more surprised that it's nearly 6am. Time went by so fast.

“I always wanted to see the sunrise from here. Thanks for the company.” Morgan smiles softly, running her fingers through her hair to distract herself from Poppy.

No one mentioned how one of their hands are still interlaced together or how Morgan's thumb drew circles on the back. Especially not Poppy's lips softly grazing the underside of her jaw.

They watched in silence, both aware that as the night was done, so will this new moment they found together.

“I'll take you to back to your dorm.” Morgan reluctantly says, unwilling to move. It was Poppy who moved off her first.

Morgan slides off the back of her truck smirking at Poppy. “Want a piggy back ride?”

Poppy scoffs. But positions herself anyway, her arms wrapped on Morgan's shoulders, Morgan's hands holding her legs securely as she closes the small distance to the front of her car.

They drove back in silence, neither speaking of the moment, afraid it will be over soon.

Morgan stops her car in front of Poppy’s sorority house, tapping her fingers anxiously against the steering wheel.  No one talked nor moved for a minute or two, they just stared at each other feeling the change in whatever relationship they previously held. Poppy’s alarm goes off, effectively ruining their moment.

“I guess... I'll see you later. Good Morning, Poppy.” Morgan smiles softly, hands gripping the steering wheel too tightly, knuckles going white, stopping herself from reaching out.

“I’ll… see you later. Thank you for driving me around.” They both know they will see each other but not in the same capacity as tonight, they will be back to being rivals, enemies, whatever the school made them out to be. She could see Poppy fighting a losing battle against herself before she reached out and kissed the corner of Morgan's mouth. She turns away like nothing happened and exits the car without looking back.

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

Cause I’m off my face in love with you

I’m out my head so into you

And I don’t know how you do it

But I’m forever ruined by you

Cause I’m off my face in love with you

I’m out my head so into you

And I don’t know how you do it

But I’m forever ruined by you

Morgan stands and bows to the applause, yet she felt empty. It all felt useless somehow, she wasn't even there to hear the rest of it. She makes her way backstage, turning the corner as the next talent comes up. She felt like running but before she could turn and walk away, Poppy pushes herself off the wall and approached her. She gulped, unsure of what to do.

“Your voice is very beautiful.” Poppy tells her, voice almost as soft as a whisper. She's searching Morgan’s terrified eyes for something. “The song, did you write it?” She asks all the while moving closer, hands fiddling with the lapel of Morgan’s suit.

All she could do is nod, not trusting her voice at the moment. She takes a step back and another and another until her back is against the wall but Poppy follows her every step. Thank god they seemed alone or she would have burst into flames in embarrassment. Poppy steps closer until their bodies are almost touching.

“Who did you write that song for?”

“I...”

“Tell me.” Poppy looks up almost pleading, wanting to hear what she hoped to.

“It’s for you.” Morgan presses herself even more to the wall, wishing it would just swallow her up. She closes her eyes but it flies open when she heard Poppy gasp. “Are you surprised or?” Morgan trails off, observing Poppy’s expression going from astonished, to happy and outright tearing up.

“I can’t believe you wrote that song for me, I thought that there was someone else.” Poppy breathes in relief, Morgan’s hands wrap around her waist, supporting her weight.

“Just you.” Morgan says breathlessly. Watching her break into a smile made all the nerves she had vanish. She pulls her into a tight hug, smiling when she feels Poppy sink into the embrace. Her head leans on her shoulder and she rests her cheek on her hair. Poppy pulls back and smiles before leanig up and kissing Morgan.

[not-gae-cuz-i-like-straight-wae]

Part 1: Responding to Jeansaaa

I intended on writing both my response to jeansaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa and another person in one message, but there’s some delay and I only finished the first part some time ago, so I’ll split my message up in two parts with the second part coming later. So NOTE: this message does NOT contain all my answers to this subject and I WILL explain more about the “why’s” in the (I hope) near future.

Introduction:

It’s been a while, but I’ve finally decided to write the respond to both jeansaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa’s last message and someone who I spoke with in the private chat. I’ll start off by saying I’ll call jeansaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa just “Jeanaaa” for short and the other person I’ll simply call “ABC”, because this person preferred to remain anonymous. I’ll respond to this last person later on in this message too, because I might answer several questions others might have as well…

I can’t reblog Jeansaaa’s last message and reply to it, because Jeansaaa blocked me afterwards (I send him/her a private message and asked about whether he/she had never blocked me or unblocked me again and then Jeansaaa said he/she forgot to block me, made a joke about his/her memory, told me not to worry and said he/she would block me with a smiley... like, WHERE even is the logic in blocking someone like THAT), so I don’t even know if Jeansaaa will ever read my message. However, this is a reply to basically everyone who’d say the exact same things in a discussion about lgbt+, so that’s why I’m responding to his/her message anyway and the same thing goes for ABC. I will however speak directly to these people, because it is them who wrote me the things they wrote.

The last thing I wanna say before I actually start writing, is that I might use capital letters and exclamation marks. This, however, will be more often shoutouts out of surprise and confusion instead of anger and aggression or it will be just to emphasize parts of my sentences…

MY RESPOND TO: JEANSAAA

Jeansaaa’s last message:

Listen bro don’t take this personal I have no I’ll intentions at all and I don’t hate straight people ( I’m bi myself so i’m part straight ) but if you’re gonna post your opinions online than your gonna be subject to criticism, and the problem with straight pride is that for centuries lgbtq+ people have been called slurs, demonized even KILLED because of their sexuality, even to this day in certain countries it’s illegal to be to be part of the lgbtq+, until just RECENTLY gay marriage was illegal, nothing like that has happened to straight people, that’s why gay pride exists because homophobia is still ever present, but I’m not gonna shove this in your face, I’m just trying to let you know why gay pride exists and why straight pride doesn’t, have a good day dude 😊

“Don’t take this personal”

Okay, so first of all, EXCUSE ME?! I shouldn’t take it personal??? ERR. Aside from blocking me yourself, you LITERALLY told others to block me as well, so that is PRETTY personal!

No hate to straight people? WOW. I’m blown away!

Like I said before, it would be quite mankind-hating if you’d hate straight people! I know people don’t hate straight people (because THAT would be completely insane), but I still can’t believe we have come so far that you are criticized when you do say you’re straight! Because that’s what’s happening. Lgbt+ supporters want lgbt+ people to show everyone they’re not straight and straight people should shut up about being straight?!

I’m okay with criticism if it’s because I say THESE things…

Yes, I AM posting the things I say online. Those aren’t “opinions”, but I guess it wouldn’t even do any good anymore to explain that to you, so I’ll just say “opinions” to keep it simple… I know a lot of people have the same opinions as me. People that also have no ill intentions (towards the lgbt+ community itself as well), but (like me) they act the way they act and have opinions because they think about it themselves and NOT because the majority (or at least, the ones who are given a voice and scream the loudest and the ones that can control the governments and the media together with – of course – the large herd of people that blindly follows them) thinks that way. Unfortunately, many people don’t dare to stand up for their opinion anymore these days and those who do speak aloud are often silenced. Either because their account gets blocked if they’d speak on the internet or something even worse would happen if they’d stand up for their opinions in real life.

You’re calling the ENTIRE humanity before us STUPID…

So I have a question for you… You say: “for centuries lgbtq+ people have been called slurs, demonized even KILLED because of their sexuality” and you say “nothing like that has happened to straight people”. Now… Don’t you think there is a REASON why all these centuries people thought of lgbt+ as abnormal? Do you really think all these BILLIONS and BILLIONS of people that have lived on the Earth for CENTURIES just thought of lgbt+ as abnormal for absolutely NO REASON?!

Again: I don’t hate gays and don’t feel any need to discriminate them, in case you still thought I did after I already told you a hundred times I didn’t.

Look, I don’t justify the fact that people were killed because of whatever they thought they were or liked and I have said that before. I think they should have human (I repeat: HUMAN) rights and that they should be protected by the government in the country they live in (as long as they act normally, of course, but that applies to everyone). So if they’d get abused or they’d beaten up, the perpetrators should be punished! If people want to make decisions or changes to themselves, it’s their problem. That’s why I also wouldn’t hurt or scold anyone who’s – for example – gay. I fact, some of my very own friends are gay and they know how I think about it, but we have no problems with each other at all. So don’t pretend like I’M the one causing others frustration or whatever!

The problem.

And that’s why I think I should clarify myself one more time: I’m not against gay people. That’s their choice. What I am against is the lgbt+ AGENDA that is being executed (and that too is why I definitely wouldn’t support the lgbt+ community and why I openly said that on my account). I’m against the forcing of changing mankind’s morality. It’s totally fine (to me, at least) if you want to have an opinion, but why all that pushy hassle?! And now it even goes far beyond imposing opinions. Entire cities are changed. I know why and I’ll speak about this more extensively later on, but I’ll first finish my respond to what you’ve said.

I believe you are mistaken about your own goal.

You claim that gay pride is all to make sure gay people will have the same rights as straight people, right? I know many people do. Well, let me tell you something: the way you’re trying to achieve that WON’T change the fact that it’s illegal to be part of the lgbt+ community in some countries! Waving rainbow flags, painting rainbow zebra crossings and creating wall paintings of two men (like I have all seen more than once in my very own hometown and much, MUCH more in the capital city of the country I live in) won’t change a SHIT about what’s happening in faraway countries. And I can tell you another thing: in the places where all these changes for lgbt+ people are made, lgbt+ people already HAVE the same rights! So if you REALLY want to change anything in some country on the other side of the world, GO OVER THERE and try to convince them to treat lgbt+ people differently!

More than just normalizing (whether you acknowledge that or not).

But NO. That’s NOT what you all do. You wave all these flags and stuff here for another reason, because – like I said – lgbt+ people ARE accepted by the community in these countries and waving flags won’t change a thing ANYWHERE even IF it hadn’t already been legalized here. You wave these flags, paint these rainbow zebra crossings and create these wall paintings of two men because lgbt+ is already normalized here, but the lobby who created this agenda wanted people to take it much further than just normalizing the lgbt+ community. That’s also why it’s not called gay “normal”, but gay “pride” and why you all celebrated an entire “pride month”. That’s also why I spoke earlier about you all praising, glorifying or even WORSHIPPING the lgbt+ community now.

So DON’T try to convince me…

… that all these rainbow stuff and same-sex paintings are to reduce discrimination of lgbt+ people (which I, for the record, am also against, but I’ve already explained that before), because it’s NOT. It already IS not allowed to discriminate lgbt+ people in these countries and on social media and you guys are NOT trying to change anything in countries where being gay is illegal, because that would be happening over THERE and not over HERE.

About the next message:

Once again, I know (a couple of reasons) why the lobby wants you all to wave rainbow flags etc. etc., but I’ll speak about that more at some other point in the next (extremely long) message, in which I – like I said earlier – will also respond to someone who texted me in a private chat.

So this is where the first part of my message ends. You’ll hear more of me about this some other time…

[yangsrose]

Owo i noticed your requests are open,can I have an angst with street racer haechan based off the song in another life by Katy perry + haechans death from crashing?

Word Count: 2.9k words

Warnings: street races, mentions of alcohol, mentions of tattoos, mentions of making out, character death, angst

Authors Notes: this is my first time writing something like this so if it’s bad i’m sorry akjdfn also i got a bit too carried away hence the fic almost being 3k words o_O

Summer after high school when we first met

You pulled out the old photo book, flipping through the pictures that you had taken that fateful summer. You felt the memories of the summer before the first year of college flash back to you, remembering how carefree and young you were. As you flipped through the pictures, we saw a familiar leather jacket peeking from the corner of one of the images. Tears pooled in your eyes as you saw his face, memories of him flooding your brain. 

Lee Donghyuck, or Haechan as everyone called him, was your first actual boyfriend. Sure, you had a few flings with other people throughout the course of your high school, but your first actual relationship was over the summer with a certain purple haired boy that lived across from you. 

The day that you met him was forever ingrained in your brain, never letting you forget about him. Your parents had gone on a trip over the summer, leaving you home alone for the entire break. You spent the summer before university just like how anyone normally would, wasting your time by lying around and eating a ton of ice cream. Your summer didn’t truly start until one of your friends convinced you to go to a street race that her friends had invited her to. You were nervous and jittering, not wanting to get caught by anyone by going to the illegal race sites. 

You remember sitting in the bleachers and watching the races, feeling an adrenaline rush surge through your body as you watched the cars zip down the gravel road, constantly trying to overtake each other. The hot June breeze blew your hair around, causing there to be more heat than refreshment one usually gains from the wind blowing. You remember watching a certain light blue and white car zip down, and something in you hoped that they would be the one to win. Maybe it was the fact that the colours popped out amongst the other darker cars, or maybe it was the fact that the driver easily maneuvered around the other cars. Whatever it was, your attention was instantly captured.

After the race was done, all the racers stepped out of their respective cars and your friend dragged you to go see her friend that you had attended the race for. As you walked through the multitudes of people, you saw the person in the blue car take off his helmet and shake his hair that was currently flattened from the helmet. As if the world was going in slow motion, you and him made eye contact, and you felt as if you were being tugged to him. 

His dark purple hair complemented his tan skin perfectly, giving him a carefree and rebellious look to his doe like eyes. His jacket matched his car, having a white body and bright light blue sleeves, patched adorning them. His pants were an odd combination of light and dark washed stripes, but even after all these years, you have to agree that he was the only person that could pull off wearing those. 

While you were still stuck in your trance, you didn’t notice the male walk up to you and stick his hand in front of you. One thing led to another, and before you knew it, you had exchanged numbers with each other and even had a date planned out. You felt a giddy feeling rise up in your chest as you drove away later that night, replacing any doubts that you had about going to the race today. You looked back at Haechan from your rearview mirror and saw him wave at you, leading you to replicate the same motion. Even though you had only known him for a span of a few hours, you were truly whipped for him. 

We'd make out in your Mustang to Radiohead

And on my 18th birthday we got matching tattoos

Used to steal your parents' liquor and climb to the roof

It was now the beginning of August and summer was almost done. Haechan had asked you out in the beginning of July, which meant that you two had been dating for a month now. He took you on frequent dates, them always ending in the backseat of his car, making out, or on your roof. Even though you were pretty apprehensive about climbing up to the top, Haechan was always there for you, holding out his hand so that you could climb up to the top without getting hurt. He was also the first person that you had even gotten drunk with, him bringing bottles of alcohol to the roof. Yes, some people might label him as a bad influence, but you truly knew the type of person that Haechan was. Even though he made some bad mistakes here and there, he was the sweetest person to exist, never letting anything bad happen to you. 

On your 18th birthday, you made a decision that some people might call stupid. You begged Haechan to take you to a tattoo parlor, wanting to get a matching tattoo with him. He denied your requests, saying that you would just regret it later on. But as you pleaded even more, he obligated, taking you on your birthday. 

You remember sitting next to Haechan, holding his hand as the repetitive prick left your arm stinging. An hour later, yours and Haechan’s wrists were wrapped up, and you both left the store, walking hand in hand with a small lock and key tattoo permanently inked on your skin. 

And for the record, you never regretted that tattoo. 

Talk about our future like we had a clue

Never planned that one day I'd be losing you

Eleven months into your relationship with Haechan, you both realised that going to different universities would be really hard for the both of you. Between the long nights spent at the library and the hours in internships, you both soon began to cherish any free time that you had together. Haechan still raced, but you spent more time focusing on your school work, leaving for no free time at all. Today was the only day that the both of you finally had free time in your schedules, due it currently being summer break. You and Haechan currently lay in your bed side by side, talking about anything and everything that came to your minds. 

“What are you planning on doing after graduating?” Haechan asked you, turning to face you. 

“Probably try to get into medical school. You?” you asked, turned your head towards him. 

“I’m probably going to go into music.”

“Music?”

“Yeah, I like singing and not to mention, I’m pretty good at it.” Haechan said, smirking in your direction. 

“Looks like you’ll have to show me one day.” you said, giving him a coy smile. 

“Do you know what else I’ll be doing?” 

“Racing?”

“Spending the rest of my life with you.”

You choked on your spit and sat up, not believing what Haechan was saying. The look on his face was one of pure adoration, showing no hints of deception. 

“Don’t say stuff like that” you said, shoving his shoulder lightly. Haechan laughed at your response and teased you a bit for your shy attitude. But deep down inside, the both of you knew that you would be willing to spend the rest of your lives together. 

I was June and you were my Johnny Cash

Never one without the other, we made a pact

On your second anniversary, Haechan went all out for your date. He bought you a huge bouquet of roses, and even cooked you dinner, setting the small dining table in your shared apartment to make it seem like you were at a fancy restaurant. You remember Haechan pulling out your chair for you and acting extra dramatic that day, making you laugh at his silly antics. Little did you know, he was actually planning to purpose that night. He fidgeted the entire night, sticking his hand into the pocket that held the velvet box encasing the small metal band.

 After dinner and desert were done, Haechan cleared his throat and asked you to listen to a song that he had recorded a bit earlier. You didn’t take much into account because he was always asking you to listen to stuff, wanting to get your opinion on his works. But today, something seemed different. For one, Haechan seemed more jittery, and he kept fidgeting with something in his pocket. You put those all aside and pressed play, the sweet voice of your boyfriend filling the air. Once the song ended, you were met with your boyfriend kneeling on one knee in front of you, holding a dark velvet box containing a small diamond ring, the stones glittering under the bright light in the dining room. Your hands flew up to your mouth and you felt tears form in your eyes, jumping out of your seat to tackle Haechan into a hug. He groaned a bit when you hugged him, but his arms encircled your body, pulling you closer to him. 

Hugging him here, it felt like nothing in the world could go wrong. 

Sometimes when I miss you I put those records on 

Someone said you had your tattoo removed

Saw you downtown singing the blues

It's time to face the music, I'm no longer your muse

“Get out.”

“y/n-” 

“I said get out.” 

Haechan sighed and stormed out of the apartment, grabbing his jacket along with him. You watched him go out, feeling a mix of anger and sadness brew in your stomach. You felt a feeling of anxiety rise in your chest, confusing you at what the feeling meant. 

Six months ago when Haechan proposed to you, he vowed to put his racing days aside. He told you that he wanted to start a family with you, and frankly, racing was slowly becoming more and more dangerous, leading to more people dying from crashes that occured during races. You were relieved, feeling happy that he wouldn’t be putting himself at risk anymore. But two weeks ago, you started feeling suspicious of Haechan. He would always give you an excuse of “having to go to the library for schoolwork”. You investigated into the cause of his absence, and when you did, you found out that he was secretly going back and racing , something that he promised you not to do. When you confronted him, all he did was stare at you in disbelief. How did you find out? He was so careful to cover his tracks, but you still managed to figure out what he was doing. Haechan began arguing back, saying that he needed a way to get rid of all the stress that had accumulated on himself from school. Before the both of you knew it, it had just led to Haechan walking out and you sitting on the loveseat, sobbing your eyes out. 

Three hours later, it was near midnight and Haechan still wasn’t back home, causing you to get worried for him. Even when you two fought with each other, you always managed to make up with each other, keeping true of not letting the sun go down on your anger. You called his phone multiple times, getting the same message saying that the receiver could not be reached at the time. Your hands started to shake as time went on, and you felt a feeling of anxiety take over you. Just as you were about to grab your coat and go outside to search for Haechan, your phone let up with a notification of someone calling you. You immediately grabbed your phone, saying a small “hello” into the receiver.

“Is this y/n l/n?” the person asked. You nodded your head fervently and listened to what they were saying. When they finished, your phone dropped out of your hands and fell onto the floor with a clattering sound, causing it to resonate around the small room. 

Haechan had gotten into an accident while racing and was in the hospital in a critical condition. 

You ran out of your house and got into your car, driving at an unreasonably fast speed to the hospital. You rushed over to the front desk, telling the receptionist that you were there for a patient named Haechan. The receptionist told you the room he was in, and you ran off to the room, hoping that you would reach on time before it was too late. Your wish went into vain however, because by the time that you had opened the room’s door, you heard the doctor announce to the nurse to write down the time of death. You felt the world spin around you, and suddenly, everything turned black. 

All this money can't buy me a time machine, no

Can't replace you with a million rings, no

I should've told you what you meant to me 

'Cause now I pay the price

Two weeks later, you stood in front of the huge headstone that was placed in front of you, feeling the never ending tears well up in your eyes once again. Everyone flocked around you and Haechan’s family, mummering their condolences and placing flowers on his grave. 

That night, Haechan had left the apartment in anger. Wanting to find a way to relieve the stress, he went over to the familiar race track, hoping to feel better after racing for a while. He apparently lost control of his car after he swerved to avoid hitting another racer that was ahead of him. The rest of the details were hidden from your mind, you selectively choosing not to listen to what had happened after that. 

After the funeral was done, you walked back to your car, feeling as if an immovable weight was placed on your shoulders. You sat in your car, the silence of the environment threatening to swallow you whole. You looked down at your stomach, placing a hand over it. 

The day that Haechan died was the day that you took a pregnancy test, realising that you had symptoms of potentially carrying a child in you. You remember waiting to tell him of your news, all of it long forgotten in the process of the events that happened the few days prior. You felt the tears well up once again and you hastily wiped them away, not wanting to break down once more while you were trying to get home. You inserted the key into your car and drove away, your mind clouded with countless thoughts of what you would have to do now. 

You just wished you could tell him that you loved him one last time. 

In another life

I would be your girl

We'd keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say you were

The one that got away

“Mom come on! We have to get going to the ice cream parlor!” you turned around and saw your daughter’s head peek up through the top of the attic, the only thing being seen was her mischievous eyes peeking out.

“Go put on your shoes. I’ll be there soon okay?” you watched as her head left sight, the sound of her hurrying to put on her shoes echoing through the house. You put the photobook back into the box that you pulled it out of, smiling at your past self ten years ago. Your life had changed drastically through those years and even though you still spent days grieving over Haechan, you realised that he taught you to love the little things in life and let loose for once, learning to live in the moment. 

You climbed down the attic stairs and walked over to where your daughter was standing, putting on your shoes as well before feeling her tug at your hand. You laughed and let her lead you, not noticing that your necklace had come out from under your t-shirt when you bent down. The light reflecting off of it caused your attention to be captured, scattering multitudes of small multicoloured diamond shapes all over the floor. Your hand clasped onto the dainty ring that was held on by a thin gold chain, the cold metal sending a shiver down your spine. You looked down at your other hand and saw it being held by your daughter, who you had to admit was the exact same person as Haechan. Her infectious personality and positive attitude reminded you of the days where Haechan would sit next to you for hours on end, helping you with your school work. Even her facial features were the same, the round doe eyes holding bits of mischief in them, lighting up whenever she smiled or laughed. 

The sun shone down on the both of you, finally peaking through the clouds as it scattered the light around. You looked up and smiled, something in your heart telling you that it was Haechan’s way of saying “it’s going to be okay.” You smiled and walked into the parlour, because for the first time in almost seven years, life did seem like it was going to be okay. 

[mylifeisactuallyamess]

General Hux x Female Reader

A/N: Continuation of my fic and I am 👀 in love with this! I want to write about Hux’s speech for reasons so enjoy the build up 😅

Warnings: Hux is annoyed, Ren is annoyed. Poe is in pain, mentions of torture and mind manipulation. Hux geeks out over Starkiller Base. Also follows a bit of TFA.

Word Count: 4842

Read part 4 on AO3 here.

He was in the office early, not being able to sleep had some perks. He stared at his datapad, he’d written out the order for a shuttle to take you back to Arkanis once they’d reached Coruscant, his finger hovered over the confirm button but he just couldn’t seem to do it. He knew how soul crushing being trapped on Arkanis could be, although your upbringing had been completely different to his it didn’t mean you were any less trapped. Men had so much more freedom in the society of Arkanis and he knew exactly what he’d be sending you back to. Why was he bothered? He trailed a finger over his lips, his eyes never leaving the datapad as he sat back in his chair. He couldn’t ignore the feeling that arose in his chest every time he thought of you, the warmth that spread down to his toes when you looked at him. There was no denying Hux was conflicted when it came to you, he had never been in this situation before and he hated how he’d been caught up in the ridiculous romanticised notion that it could work with you here. His little daydream bubble had firmly burst. He knew he wanted you to stay in your quarters but then how was that any different to sending you home to be imprisoned again just in different chains. He leaned back in his chair, his bare hands rubbing his face when the door to his office flew open.

“Sir!”

“What is it Dopheld?”

“We are approaching Coruscant, Sir.” He needed to make this decision and quickly. Ren, with his band of not so merry men were about to rejoin the fleet and Hux knew you had already pulled the man child's attention. He was running out of time and he hated the feeling of losing control. Get it together! You witless worm….

“I assume Ren is ready?”

“He is being rather impatient.” Hux hummed in acknowledgement. It would be useful to have Ren shadowing him on the planet, he could make use of his talents.

“Tell him I need him to meet on the landing pad, only him. I don’t need the cretins.”

“Yes Sir!” Hux stood, he could make the decision about you later. He straightened his tunic and maneuvered his hands into his tight fitting gloves. He carefully ran a hand over his hair before stepping out onto the bridge to oversee the approach to Coruscant. This he could do, this is what he found relaxing.

Of course it all went smoothly and he marched to his shuttle with purposeful strides. He had a meeting to attend to with some of the other Generals from other ships, he hated the socialising but having Ren there meant he might be privy to some information he normally wouldn’t be. He was so caught up in his thoughts, his hands clasped firmly behind his back as he steeled himself for what was about to happen he didn’t see you until it was too late. He had to do a double take, you were walking towards his ship flanked by a pair of troopers and followed by Phasma. Hux’s heart rate increased as he noted the dress you were wearing, although similar in colour to the one on Arkanis it was a different style. The material flowed around your legs with each step, your shoes ringing out loudly on the polished floor. You walked with purpose, and a confidence that he could only admire.

“What is the meaning of this?” He questioned, his eyes flicking between you and Phasma.

“I am to accompany you, I know a few of the Generals you are meeting today. No doubt news of our nuptials have spread and my father would want me to make it known, especially in the Core worlds.” His mouth opened to reply but no words came out and you cocked an eyebrow in surprise. “Come on Phasma.” You sauntered up the ramp, Phasma dutifully following and Hux had no doubt she was smirking behind that shiny helmet. He nodded before following, not enjoying this flustered feeling he had.

He desperately tried to ignore you, forcing himself to stare straight ahead so hard he could feel the warm blush in his cheeks. Thankfully the ride down to the surface was short and Hux exited first, his heart dropping slightly when he saw Ren waiting for him at the bottom of the ramp.

“Walk with me.” He snapped at the force user, but Kylo had seen you already. His mask looked at you for a moment before complying with Hux’s demand.

“You brought her.” He stated coolly from the mask.

“Not my choice I assure you.”

“She could prove useful.” Hux stopped abruptly, his gaze swinging to look at Kylo and he hoped the fury he felt right now was coming through in his expression.

“Whatever you want with her, it's not going to happen. She is my wife, not some spy or plaything for you to torment.” He started walking again when he heard your heels come up behind him, Kylo following silently along. “You know what to do,” mumurmed Hux just as the doors opened.

You held the smooth glass in your hand listening to General Pryde drone on about some new possible class of ship. He was an old friend of your fathers and it was the only reason you were still talking to him. Your gaze frequently swept the room, always falling on the stiff posture of General Hux. He looked so uncomfortable here and it became more apparent that socialising was not his strongest attribute.

“Please excuse me General,” you murmured with a smile, gently resting a hand on his arm.

“Yes of course,” he replied as you feathered your lashes at him before cutting across the room to Hux. There were a few other women here but none of them seemed interested in talking to you and that suited you fine, though maybe it had something to do with your silver shadow. Only the slight clank of her armour told you she was following you wherever you went. As you approached the small group Kylo’s helmet turned to your direction and you felt that sensation you’d experienced in your quarters. You lifted your chin feeling the tendrils withdraw when he felt the barriers now surrounding your mind. You had taken to the training and surpassed everything that had been asked of you in record time, purely through determination. Whether it was to protect yourself or please Hux you weren’t so sure.

You wanted to touch Hux, to place a hand on his arm but from what you’d managed to get out of Phasma touch was not something the General tolerated. You had accepted the information, realising that the few times you had been alone with your new husband there had been some sort of physical touch between you and it created a warm feeling in your heart. It’s what made you not want to give up on him.

The conversation ground to a halt at your arrival to the group, the men shifting slightly in your presence and you realised you’d interrupted something rather important.

“Forgive me gentlemen, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Nonsense! Join us! Maybe you could tell us some gossip about the General here,” a laugh went round the group as one of the other Generals nudged Hux with his elbow. You could see the embarrassment written all over his face and his ears flared with the blush that was creeping across his skin.

“Actually, I came to steal my husband for a moment if that’s alright?” Kylo tilted his head slightly as all the others nodded enthusiastically.

“Not too long mind, we have things to discuss.” You smiled brightly, leading Hux away to a quiet corner. Phasma stayed next to Kylo, the pair of them surveying the room, drawing glances and whispers from many people in the room.

“What do you want?” You tried not to act offended at his tone, you’d noticed when Hux felt uncomfortable he couldn’t control the way he came across. There was no denying you were apprehensive after what had transpired in his quarters with his anger and the threat of you being sent home.

“I thought you could use a moment to gather yourself,” you murmured. If you could get him through this maybe he’d let you stay on the Finalizer, if it meant you staying in your quarters then so be it. You’d take anything over going back to Arkanis and residing in that house alone. He didn’t reply, his eyes still not doing the honour of alighting on you but now wasn’t the time for an argument. “What has got them all in such a state?” You asked. “Such a gathering would only happen if something momentous was happening?”

“It’s about Starkiller.” You frowned. You’d never heard of such a project but then why would you? Hux looked around making sure no one was nearby before leaning slightly towards you. “I’ll explain more when we’re back on the ship. Now if you’ll excuse me…” you watched him walk back to the group, the man hadn’t relaxed at all and you debated spending the rest of the evening at his side. But that meant being near Kylo and you would rather not, the man may have a helmet on but you could feel his gaze on you and it made your skin crawl. You nodded at Phasma and she came over to take vigil at your side.

“Can you tell me anything I need to know?”

“I’m sure the General will fill you in when he’s ready,” she replied in her crisp voice.

“Damn it Phasma. He’s going to send me home if I don’t do something.”

“The request was never confirmed.” You turned to look at her shiny silver helmet, seeing your own expression of surprise reflected back at you. “He has been in his office all morning. He had plenty of time to put in the request for a ship to take you home.” This gave you hope, your heart skipping a beat as your gaze fell on him once more. How you wished you could get him to open up to you, he claimed he had. Telling you things he had never told anyone before but he was still encased in those barriers he surrounded himself with. You’d been told he doesn’t like being touched and yet your mind replayed his hands on your shoulders, his hands on your face as he kissed you. Your General was conflicted when it came to you it seemed. You took a sip of the bubbly drink in your glass, all you needed was time.

Hux was tired, being around so many people for so long, having to talk, not to mention coming face to face with a few who he had no good memories with. Seeing you talking to Pryde had made his blood run cold, the way you batted your eyelashes and touched his arm made Hux want to curl into a ball. He knew what Pryde was capable of, he had scars from that man, physical and mental. He closed his eyes for a moment to take a breath, he concentrated on you, the soft way you looked at him. The fall of your hair, the cut of your dress and how you just seemed to look radiant in whatever you wore. He felt some of the tension leave his shoulders and neck before looking back at his reflection. He hated the stubble that grew across his cheeks and chin, shaving was such a chore but he did appreciate the motions, the precise control he had over the blade as it slid over his skin. He splashed cold water on his face before grabbing a towel and drying his face and chest off. He ignored his reflection as he got dressed in his bedroom, he disliked his body very much. He hated seeing the scars that littered his pale skin, the worst were on his back and sides, long stripes of raised skin, the handiwork of his father and Pryde. They used to get drunk together, taking out their bad moods on him whenever they felt like it, although his father certainly didn’t need the help of alcohol to abuse his son.

Hux fastened up his uniform, finally turning to look in the mirror now he was covered, his hair flopped over his brow and he realised it needed cutting soon. The very idea made his heart race that someone else had to put their hands on him, someone holding a blade. He slicked it back but noticed the front raised slightly and he pursed his lips in displeasure, it was misbehaving already he was going to have it cut in the next couple of days. He did toy with the idea of Phasma doing it but she’d probably slice it all off with the announcement she’d done him a favour. He turned to grab his coat, he really did like this piece of his uniform, it made him stand out from the rest, and marked him as The General of his own organisation. As he exited his quarters his thoughts went to Starkiller, it was coming together and the reports said it would be ready in literally days. He couldn’t wait, this is what he’d been waiting for, the opportunity to do something noteworthy. What he had in mind would change the Galaxy forever and such a task would hopefully grant him the title of Grand Marshal. He would finally be able to exercise control over the Navy and the Army, he was already the youngest General seen in generations, why shouldn’t he set his sights higher. Ambition, determination, the sense of glory, these were the few things his father had bestowed upon him and he had used them fully to his advantage.

“Good Morning General.”

“Lieutenant,” he murmured in greeting as he walked onto the bridge, adjusting his gloves.

“Not much to report aside from Commander Ren has left on a personal mission.” Hux raised an eyebrow still adjusting his gloves to how he liked them.

“Pertaining to…?”

“The map.” Ah. Of course. Ren, letting his personal feelings get in the way yet again. The man really needed to learn to control himself, so hot headed and that is when mistakes were made. Hux clasped his hands behind his back, his ship was hanging in orbit above the planet Jakku and he already hated it. The pale surface hinted at heat and sand all the things Hux disliked. To be perfectly honest he hated being on the surface of any planet, he preferred to view them from above from the safety and cleanliness of his ship.

“Is he down there now?”

“He is. The Commander took Captain Phasma and a division to the surface.” Hux refrained from sighing, of course he’d take Phasma, she never missed the opportunity for a scuffle.

“Let me know when they have retrieved the intel.”

“Yes, General.” He turned, satisfied that everything was running smoothly but he had no doubt Ren would bring some trouble back with him. For now, he had to see you, he hadn’t forgotten he promised to tell you about Starkiller and it gave him a slight thrill to share this with you.

He knocked gently on your door, trying not to remember the previous time he was in here but he couldn’t stop the ghost-like feel of your lips against his and he subconsciously raised the tips of his fingers to trace his mouth. His hand snatched away as the light of your room spilled over him, his heart rate almost seemed to triple at the sight of you. The smile you bestowed upon him was not one he deserved and he couldn’t bring himself to return it as he stepped inside.

“Good Morning General,” you said softly. “Care to join me for breakfast?”

“Just some caf will do.”

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” You asked, pouring him a cup. You gestured to the cream and sugar but he shook his head, preferring it black and bitter.

“I hadn’t forgotten to tell you about Starkiller.” He pulled the coat off his shoulders in one movement, hanging it carefully over the back of a chair. “I realised I had some time while…Ren does what he does.” You went to sit down and automatically his hands were on your chair. He wasn’t sure why but his upbringing always surfaced while he was around you, the pleasant and not so pleasant. He had watched the men around him and how they treated the women, his father had not been a good role model in that regard but his step mother hadn’t exactly been the nicest and he could see why Brendol had treated her the way he did. They had deserved each other.

He sat opposite you, the cup warm in his gloved hands, the rich aroma permeated the air around him as he lifted the cup and took the first sip, he almost sighed with relief at the bitter tones bringing his tongue to life and hitting the back of his throat. One of the few pleasures he allowed himself was a decent cup of caf.

“I’m assuming Starkiller has been a closely guarded secret?” You asked before nibbling on a piece of cooked bread.

“It has, the plans were found buried among the Empire archives under the name Project Celestial Power. The idea was to contain quintessence. A dark matter, very volatile and the Empire never succeeded. They chose to focus their attention on Project Stardust which we knew inevitably led to their downfall.” His eyes rose to find you staring intently at him hanging on his every word. He was used to his Officers paying attention, they had to, it was their job but he never expected someone wanted to hear him speak.

“Stardust, was that the Death Star?” He nodded trying not to be surprised that you knew anything about it, of course you did. You had been brought up among the Imperials as much he had, of course you’d know snippets of information that other people would not be privy to.

“Well we managed it, with the technological advancements over the years we were able to find a way to harness the power quintessence and turn it into phantom energy. It’s a limitless power source and this will provide the First Order with the power it needs to bring all the star systems into line and fall under our rule. It’s nearly ready….” He looked deep into his cup, still shocked that this was finally coming to fruition. He’d been waiting so long, biding his time before bringing the might of the First Order down onto the rebels, criminals and scumbags that made up the New Republic. He was going to make himself even more invaluable to Leader Snoke.

“Where do you get the power from? Surely no power source is limitless?” Hux allowed himself a smirk, that was the beauty of this machine.

“Clues in the name,” he offered smugly. “It drains the power of the very stars themselves, it gathers the energy in stages, directing it straight into the planet's core where we use the natural magnetic field to store the energy as well as a fail safe containment field we have applied to the crust of the planet…”

“It’s a planet? You’ve made a planet into a weapon?” Hux’s gaze met yours across the table, seeing the wonder flowing from your eyes and he felt his pulse feather in his neck as he swallowed.

“We have. Would you like to see it?” He asked softly.

“Yes, yes I would.” He got up, a sense of excitement coursing through him as he headed for the small holotable in your room. He entered his personal access code and began to swipe through the files until he found what he was looking for. He barely noticed you come up beside him, the round blue holo image appeared before you both and he enlarged it with a flex of his fingers. He straightened, his shoulder gently bumping yours as you leaned in to look at the slowly spinning image.

“What’s this?” You asked, pointing at the large round opening on the side of the planet.

“That’s where the energy is released,” he leaned and pointed out the thermal oscillator, explaining how the energy was gathered in stages and then when the containment fields were dropped the phantom energy would be freed. “Lots of calculations have to be done before it can fire, but once it does nothing can stop the energy on its path except something with the mass of a planet.”

“But what if you fire it and something is in the way?” Hux spun the image and tilted it to show you the rocket ports. “We can move it, turn it to whatever angle we want to create the trajectory we need to hit the target.”

“Oh, Armitage….” You whispered, your eyes wide as you regarded the picture before you. In the awe filled silence he suddenly became aware of how close you were, your body was slightly turned to him, the warmth of you already beginning to seep through his uniform. Your scent clouded the air around him and he couldn’t help but breathe you in, although he hated Arkanis he could only describe you as smelling like home. His eyes tracked over your face, studying every little motion, the flicker of your lashes, the way your lips parted slightly, the pull of your brows as you pondered over everything he’d said. He could get thoroughly lost in you and again his mind flew to the kiss, until your gaze magnetised to his. He felt frozen, his feet were glued to the floor and as much as he body screamed at him to look away he couldn’t. “It’s glorious, this could really cement the First Order as the new power in the Galaxy,” you breathed.

“That’s the intention.” He murmured back. He jumped slightly as his commlink sounded loudly and he knew whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

“General, Commander Ren has returned. With a prisoner.”

“I have to go,” he exclaimed, swiping the image down and erasing his code. He grabbed his coat, pausing when you came into his line of vision.

“Here,” you said, offering him a new cup of caf. “I think you’re going to need it.”

“Yes, I believe I am.” He reached, his fingers covering yours momentarily as you passed the cup over, the burn of your skin coming through his gloves more than the heat of the cup and he found himself wanting to stay. You were a calming influence on him, he relaxed with you and he really didn’t want to deal with whatever awfulness Ren had brought aboard his ship.

“I hope I can see you later?” You asked, stepping after him as he moved away. The door opened and he turned to look at you one last time.

“I will try.”

Hux straightened his shoulders as he walked, Ren and Snoke were so desperate for this map, but where Ren wanted to collect it Snoke had made it perfectly clear that destruction of the map was an option. He could see the troopers outside of the interrogation room and Kylo striding down the corridor.

“Who have you brought on board?” Asked Hux curtly over the screams that were coming from behind the closed door.

“A resistance member who was given the piece of the map we are looking for. The old man gave it to him, I know he did but it wasn’t on him.” Hux tensed as Kylo’s hand flexed over his saber.

“Try not to kill him before we’ve had a chance to extract all the information out of him.” Kylo tipped his head to the side.

“By all means General Hux,” he said in mock politeness. “You can go first.” The door opened and Hux stepped into the room leaving the force user outside. He grabbed the datapad and looked at the information on the screen.

“Prisoner 8910542….”

“That’s a mouthful isn’t it?” The man gasped from his position in the chair. Hux refused to acknowledge he’d said anything and continued.

“Known as Poe Dameron, a star fighter squadron commander for the scum of the Galaxy known as the Resistance.” He smirked. “Where is your precious Princess now? You know there is no way they can rescue you from here.” Hux stepped forward, noticing the blood already oozing from wounds on the man's face, his dark curly hair matted and damp from sweating. The way his brown eyes slid to the floor Hux could tell the pilot already knew he would die here. “We could come to an arrangement if you tell us what you did with the map.” Hux eyed him, not expecting a reply but waiting for one anyway. “Alright, XZ 1594…” a droid zoomed to the General’s side. “Continue the interrogation, use all available techniques.” The pilot's eyes widened, his mouth clamping shut as the droid ominously advanced. Hux carried the datapad out of the cell and watched the vital signs of the prisoner in the corridor.

He had no idea how long he had to put up with Ren pacing up and down the corridor like a caged tooka, it just highlighted his lack of control, of discipline and Hux found it highly amusing that a force user of Ren’s calibre lacked discipline. Hux swiped through the information that was being logged from the droid, the question had been asked 300 times already, techniques 2265 and 6304 had already been used. He couldn’t help but admire the man’s resistance to the torture he was enduring. Ren paused before Hux who didn’t even look up.

“Not yet,” he stated calmly, enjoying the huff of annoyance that fell from the mask before he resumed his pacing. Another hour passed and the question had been asked nearly 800 times with no answer, technique 3333 had been implemented and still nothing. Hux remotely commanded the droid to conduct procedure K8-A4. The reaction was instant, the prisoner’s vitals went off the charts, red lights flickered and his heart rate rocketed, the oxygen levels dropped dangerously and Hux gestured for a trooper to go and investigate. Poe was convulsing violently in his bindings, blood smeared across his face mixed with a thick sheen of sweat, the trooper had to act quickly, flipping the pilot's tongue out of his throat and freeing his airway. Hux sighed loudly, disappointed his methods didn’t work and he told the droid to stand down. He checked over the vitals of the passed out prisoner before turning to Ren. “When he wakes, see what you can get out of him.”

“He won’t be asleep for long,” the threat slithered from his mask and Hux refrained from shivering. The door closed firmly behind the Commander and Hux settled in for another wait. He wasn’t going to let Ren do this without supervision.

The prisoners heart rate picked up and Hux was pulled from his relaxed state, the droid was still activated and it was recording the interrogation, Hux could see Ren was crouched before the pilot. Words were exchanged, nothing of consequence until Ren rose.

“Where is the map to Luke Skywalker?” Hux watched with interest as the pilot's face changed from confusion to one of pain. He twisted, fighting an unseen force as Kylo exercised his hidden talents on the mind of the prisoner, a scream so loud tore from his chest and suddenly everything went silent, Hux tapped the screen but the droid had undergone some substantial damage. The door opened and Ren emerged, his fists clenched tightly against his sides.

“It’s in a droid. A BB unit.” Hux nodded at the new information.

“Well then, if it’s on Jakku we’ll soon have it.”

“I’ll leave that to you,” Ren said dismissively as he began to stride off to god knows where. Hux bristled but in all honesty he’d rather be in charge of this and succeed where Kylo had failed. He handed the datapad to a trooper and headed to the bridge without a word.

“Lieutenant!”

“Yes, General?” Answered Mitaka.

“Send a squad down to Niima outpost, the droid is used to being around people and it will seek help, tell them to look out for a ball droid, a BB unit. I want this droid found or destroyed.” He demanded before heading to his office.

He dropped into his chair with a sigh, removing his gloves he ran his hands over his face. This is not how he thought this day would go but having a Resistance member on board could prove useful. He just needed the pilot to recover and stabilise before he interrogated him again, this time for the location of their hidden base so he could be rid of the Resistance once and for all.

[flowesona]

guess how much i love you - soft yandere! seokjin x reader

This is part of the MFEEU canon, written by the amazing and talented @worldwidemochiguy​. I hope I can do it justice :)

“What’s wrong, little Yoona?” Jin crouched down to see Yoona. She was sulking in the corner, having pushed away all of her pseudo-siblings until one of them finally resorted to asking Jin for help. Jin always had a way to make Yoona smile, yet even now as he pinched her cheek and gave her buckets of attention he could barely get a sniffle out of her.

Finally she gave some kind of reaction to him. As he continued to try to coax her into smiling, she finally pointed at something as the cause of her woes. Jin followed where her finger was pointing to the sofa, where Hanuel and Jihae were cuddled together with their Nintendo switches engaged in visiting each other’s towns in animal crossing.

“Why does Hanuel-eonni treat Jihae differently to me?” She whimpered. Her godfather smiled, turning her gently to face him.

“That’s because they’re in love. One day, you’re going to find someone you love like that.” 

“Really?” Yoona was looking at Jin as if he was some kind of prophet, enlightening her on the path to true happiness.

“Yes. You know that when I met aunty (Y/N) it was love at first sight?”

“Really?”

“Of course, Yoona. Of course, it wasn’t easy, but love never is.” Seeing how his discussion with Yoona had pacified her qualms slightly, he had an idea to make her happy.

“How about I tell you the story of how I met aunty (Y/N)? Should we find your Shooky and have a storytime?” He offered.

“I’m not a kid anymore!” Yoona had pouted, but eagerly climbed onto his lap with her round plushie in tow ready for his highly anticipated storytimes.

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

“N-no, stop!” Jin raised his head at the sound of the melodic voice. His focus switched from the seven takeaway coffee cups he was trying to balance to the source of the glorious sound. And it was love at first sight.

She was near perfect. Her skin glowed, her eyes were filled with an otherworldly mirth and her sweater hugged her body in just the right way. The only part of her that was marred was her arm, to which some unattractive boy clung. Not a hair on his body held any appeal, yet the girl seemed infatuated, giggling at every word he said as they waited for their order.

“(Y/N)? A cappuccino with a double espresso shot?” So that was her name? Jin watched as she took her coffee with a sleep-deprived grin. And he knew he had to have her.

He whipped out his phone and dialed Taehyung’s number quickly, still glancing at the couple as they waited for the vermin’s drink.

“I need your help.” He said quickly. “Fuck, she’s leaving.”

Taehyung quickly caught on.

“Follow her. See if she’s going home. Do you have her name?” Taehyung’s voice was background noise as Jin followed (Y/N) out of the shop. Snow was starting to drift down, sticking to his hair and dampening his clothes but in that moment his appearance was the least of his worries.

As he told Taehyung her name, her appearance, and the university he presumed she attended due to her sweatshirt being emblazoned with the name of a nearby establishment. 

“I found her. We’ll have all her details in a few hours. Come back to the offices and we’ll sort this all out, alright?”

It was only when he hung up his phone he realised that half of the various hot drinks he’d volunteered to bring back for everyone - planning to secretly use the outing as a opportunity to spike their beloved drinks with salt - had spilt onto the ground in his haste. But he couldn’t care less about his colleagues when fate had granted him a much greater design.

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

“We understand you applied for the assistant role last week?”

(Y/N) was hidden in the back of the university library, trying desperately to keep her voice down whilst attempting to quell the situation.

“As I said, you’ve got the wrong person. If you’ll excuse me…” 

“You are (L/N) (Y/N), correct? We have all your details on record.”

She didn’t respond.

“Well, if you want the position then come to our offices by 11AM tomorrow in business casual.”

The phone call ended, leaving (Y/N) with all sorts of unnerved feelings. 

Those feelings intensified as she stood outside the offices the next day in a simple blouse and trousers. Whilst the strange circumstances surrounding the offer were nothing to be ignored, she’d looked up the company name to find they were a reputable business, and their staff pay was nothing to sniff at. As a student barely able to afford a coffee in the morning, could she really afford to look a gift horse in the mouth?

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

The job was truly a blessing upon her life. Reasonable hours that perfectly coincided with her university lectures, decent pay and fellow employees who seemed to respect her.

She didn’t know why, of course. How could she know of the stranger pulling the strings behind the scene to get her into his arms?

“Sorry, could you drop this off with Kim Seokjin? He’s on the top floor. You can borrow my keycard to get there.” One of her colleagues asked, pressing a manila folder into her hand along with the keycard needed.

“Sure.” 

Her heart was pounding as she scanned the keycard to enter the new level of offices. Never before had she been around such high up executives, who could have her fired in a second if they so pleased.

(Y/N) approached the first man she saw.

“Excuse me, do you know where Mr Kim is?” She asked timidly.

“You’re speaking to him, darling.” He responded, turning to face her. (Y/N) resisted the urge to blush when she made eye contact with him, as he excluded an aura of attractiveness and wealth she could never compete with.

“Oh, right. This is for you, sir.” She handed over the folder, trying not to die from the embarrassment.

“Wait a second.” She felt a presence next to her. Standing by her shoulder was another man. To put it simply, he was gorgeous. From his clear golden skin to his sharp features, it was as if an ancient statue had been breathed into life.

“That was meant for Kim Seokjin, right? That’s me.” 

As if the situation could get any worse.

“Kim is a common surname, darling.” The former man commented as he passed the folder to the real Seokjin.

Noting the look of anguish on her face, Seokjin took one of her hands into his own.

“You’re new here, right? Don’t worry, it’s an easy mistake to make.” He offered her a warm smile.

“Thank you. I should go…” (Y/N) gently tried to pry her hand out of his hoping to end the whole interaction as soon as possible.

“Here, my card.” Seokjin pressed a rectangular business card into her hands, emblazoned with his name and number in stunning cursive. “Call me, and I’ll take you out for dinner sometime. As an apology.”

(Y/N) nodded, and he finally released her. 

The business card lay buried in her purse for days afterwards. She couldn’t bear to face him again to be reminded of her embarrassment. But her interia was only serving to anger Jin.

“It’s been three weeks, Jin-hyung.” Taehyung said cooly. “Maybe it’s time to try again.”

His office had become a second home for Jin, who would spend around an hour each day ranting and raving to his boss, who just took it all on board with a knowing grin every time.

“How?” Jin muttered. “How do I get her to talk to me?”

“If there’s a will, there’s a way.” Taehyung responded, tempted to return to his mountain of work but also not wanting to leave Jin to wallow in doubt.

Jin just kept pacing.

“You could give her a promotion? Or maybe you could turn up at her university and sit on a lecture or two. That way you’d have an excuse to see her when you like.” Taehyung pressed. “You’ve still got some holiday hours this year to spare.”

Jin didn’t reply, but his decision was already made.

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

(Y/N) was ready to go back to sleep. No number of espresso shots could cure her banging headache, as her hangover weighed down her body as if she was carrying a ten pound barbell on her back.

She didn’t noticed how someone new had slipped into the seat next to her in the lecture theatre. All that occupied her mind at 9am was the desire for sleep. The double life of being a student and office worker was wearing on her hard, and she was contemplating on handing in her notice. The only thing that kept her from so was the tantalising paychecks and the haunting beauty of Seokjin, the memory of whom which had remained in some unused part of her brain.

The professor had a droning voice. The monotone syllables were practically a lullaby, and surely resting her head for a few minutes wouldn’t hurt? Not when she was at the back of the theatre and was practically unnoticeable.

Jin smiled as he observed (Y/N) slowly drifted into a deep sleep. The poor lamb had overworked herself. If only she knew of how he wanted to make sure she would never lift a finger again. He’d bided his time, months of casual stalking building up the the moment he’d finally decided to sit next to her, and how fortune had smiled upon his to give him the chance to admire her without being ‘creepy’.

Her deep sleep remained uninterrupted as people started to leave the lecture theatre, and a daring plan started to form in Jin’s mind. It was dangerous to just take her in the middle of the crowd, but it wasn’t like anyone else was particularly attentive at 10am and besides, anyone who asked questions could be paid off without a worry.

Gently he scooped (Y/N) up under his arm. She didn’t stir, as he gently guided her to the exit amidst the groups of other lethargic students. Navigating the crowd with a sleeping girl attached to him wasn’t easy, but Jin managed to make it out of the building and into his car without her waking up. It warmed his heart to see her head loll against the soft leather of his car interior as he indicated for the driver to start the engine.

Halfway to their destination, (Y/N)’s eyes starting to peel open.

“Mmmm... where am I?” The confused words stumbled out of her mouth as (Y/N) rubbed at her eyes.

“We’re going home.” Jin responded simply.

“Home? Wait... why are you here? Aren’t you... you’re one of the bosses from work?” The gears in (Y/N)’s brain we’re starting to turn.

“Well... yes. We can call this a promotion, I guess?”

The warmth of his smile, the smooth feeling of the leather car interior against her back and the steady beat of her heart all worked to convince (Y/N) that she was alright. It wasn’t conventional, but the adoration in Jin’s eyes was like a dream.

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

Unfortunately, a serious event plagued their ‘honeymoon’ period.

On Tuesday morning, as Jin gently woke her up with a cup of coffee, he noticed something was wrong. Her face was hot to the touch, and she could barely open her eyes.

Evidently, the cold weather and her busy schedule had taken a toll on her health. For the day she was stuck in bed, Jin dabbing at her forehead with a wet cloth and feeding her spoonfuls of broth.

“(Y/N)? How do you feel, my love?” Jin posited as she was nestled up half paying attention to the TV he’d brought into their room.

Through her drowsy drawl, he could barely make out what she was trying to say.

“Why are you… so nice? No one has ever loved me, not like you do. It’s not normal, to have your boss slash kidnapper treat you better than your exes. I don’t know why I’m not fighting you like any sensible human should.”

Seeing tears start to well up, Jin wiped at her eyes, wanting to shush her but simultaneously wanting her to continue praising him.

“I’ve never had a boyfriend who cares for me like you do… this isn’t right. I must be dreaming.”

Jin gave her a soft smile, his heart drumming loudly in his chest.

“This is reality.This is love. And I love you all the way to the moon and back.”

Before he could go on to tell her of what lengths he would go to show her his love, she’d fallen asleep. 

He wanted nothing more than to stay by her side for the rest of the day, but the vibration of his phone in his pocket reminded him that he still had a job to do. He left the bedroom before answering it, closing the door with as soft of a click as possible.

“How’s it going, lover boy?”

“Shut it, Jimin.”

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

“You see, love triumphs all. When you love someone, you should stop at nothing to make them love you back.” Jin concluded. Yoona had been hooked onto his every word, Jihae and Hanuel long gone both from the room and from her mind.

“Yoona? Yoona, we have to go!” At the call of her father the young girl clambered out of her godfather’s hold.

“Do you feel better now?” Jin asked. She nodded happily.

“Will you tell me more stories next time?” 

“Yoona!” Yoongi finally found her next to her godfather. 

“Go find Mommy, she’s got your jacket.” Yoona nodded happily, rushing off leaving only the two colleagues.

“You’ve gone soft, hyung.” Yoongi commented.

“Show a bit more respect for your elders.” Jin snarked back, but he couldn’t hide his happy glow.

“Sure thing. Pass on my regards to your wife.” Yoongi said before turning on his heel to find his own family.

Now that he was all alone, Jin pulled out his phone to send a quick message.

‘Be home soon, love.’

(Y/N) responded about ten seconds with a gif of two dogs hugging, to which Jin chuckled.

‘I love you. All the way to the moon and back.’

[secretpeachtea]

Onigiri Miya Tidbits Ch 4

Title: the celebrity and his con man

Genre: gen fic, reader insert

Word Count: 3.6k

Summary: Onigiri Miya is now hiring and you just happen to be the right person for the job. The business has been gaining popularity since its grand opening, and many customers travel from different cities just to have a bite of Miya Osamu’s delicious recipes. You did expect some craziness from working in food services, but what you didn’t expect was to be bombarded with frequent tomfoolery from a bunch of attractive volleyball players during your shifts.

disclaimer: manga spoilers

A/N: LETS GOOOOO (hope yall enjoy)

Previous///Next

“(Name)-san, you mind passing me the sesame seeds over there? And, on the way back, pass on this order to that customer at the last seat over there.” Osamu held out the finished onigiri on one hand while gesturing an open hand with the other.

You grab the sesame seed container with haste and take the onigiri from your boss. “Got it! You also have another order of one Pickled Plum onigiri, less salted!”

Osamu gives you a thumbs up before getting back to work immediately, and you hand over the order to the awaiting customer. 

You’ve had your fair share of lunch rushes, but today has been busier than usual. You and Osamu haven’t had a single break since the shop opened for the day, at least one customer arriving every time one leaves. Suddenly, the phone rings and you go ahead and answer it. “Hello, this is Onigiri Miya! How can I help you?”

You hear the front entrance open, but since you were busy jotting down the phone order, you didn’t get the chance to glance at the two people who just arrived.

“Why couldn’t Fukunaga just cook some food?” a monotone voice drawled.

“Kenma, the man sprained his wrist and you still expect him to cook for all of us?” Kuroo combed a hand through his signature bedhead and began to gesture at himself as his friend pouted. “Look, I even came straight from work in my suit to accompany you so you wouldn’t have to carry everything alone.”

The two men walked up to the register just as you ended the call. You quickly passed on the note with the written down order to your boss and tucked your hair behind your ear to get it out of your face. You finally got the chance to direct your full attention on the people in line. 

“Hello! What can I-...!!!” You didn’t get to finish your sentence once you realized who was ordering. Kodzuken, the Youtuber you practically spent the majority of your free time watching, was standing less than 3 feet in front of you in the flesh.

“Um...is there something wrong?” Kenma asks slightly confused at your frozen expression. Your mind was a jumbled mess as you attempted to say something coherent, failing in the end.

“N-no! Uh...you...I just...um…,” you stutter.

Before you could make a bigger fool of yourself, Kuroo leans forward with a smug grin. “Hm? Kenma, it seems like you got yourself a fan~”

“Oh…”

You and Kenma just simply stare at one another for a moment not really knowing what to do in this situation. All of a sudden you hear someone clear their throat rather loudly behind the two people in front of you. While you were distracted, you didn’t notice that another customer had entered the shop and was waiting in line. This snaps you out of your daze. “O-oh! Right. Sorry about that. What can I get for you guys?”

“There’s actually quite a bit of food to order, so I’ll list it out slowly.” Kuroo pulls out his phone and opens up a note file. “Two Tamago onigiri, one Miso, three spicy cucumber…”

As Kuroo continues to relay the order, you frequently hear someone scoffing or clicking their teeth in irritation from behind him and Kenma. You try not to pay attention and focus on the large order being made. Kuroo eventually gets to the end of the list and you let him know the total cost.

“What’s the name for the order?”

“Kuroo.”

You type in the name into the register and give him the printed out receipt. “Alright, Kuroo-san. Just letting you know, because it’s a large order, it might take some time.”

“That’s fine. We don’t mind waiting a bit.”

Kuroo and Kenma walk off to the side to let the person behind them order next. A displeased looking man treads forward with a bit of a demeaning posture and a cup of coffee held out in his right hand. He’s adorned in a suit that’s much too tight for his form and has a toupe two shades darker than his natural hair color poorly placed on top of his head.

Before you could even greet him, the man flails out his left arm in exasperation. “Finally! I don’t have time to wait for children.”

You try your best to keep your face from contorting into a glare. Not wanting to prolong his presence inside the shop, you choose to ignore his rude comment.

“Hello, sir. What can I get for you?” You ask.

The man takes a brief glance at the menu. “Make me an Unagi onigiri.”

“Alright. That’ll be-”

“And, make my order before theirs.” He points at Kuroo and Kenma who look up from their phones and seem just as shocked as you are. So, he was going to be one of those customers. You think you see Kenma shifting around a bit from the corner of your eye, but you’re too appalled by the person in front of you to really pay any mind.

“Excuse me?” You’re in a bit of disbelief at the words coming out of this man’s mouth.

He raises one of his unkempt eyebrows and sneers. “You’re really going to make me repeat myself? I said to make mine before theirs. They ordered way too much.”

“I apologize, but I can’t do that for you,” you reply with your teeth slightly clenched in frustration. “There are also a few customers before you who are still waiting for their meals as well.”

“Listen.” He lets out an unpleasant huff and eyes you down with a condescending stare. “I’m on a tight schedule. I think I should have priority. I’m a businessman, so my time is important.”

You shake your head, the fake smile on your lips feeling heavier by the second. “Like I said, sir. I can’t do that for you.”

“Are you kidding me?!” The businessman shouts. You flinch at the sudden outburst. “I waited for those children to finish their order and you can’t even make my order first?”

By now, everyone in the shop is watching the scene between the register girl and the entitled businessman. Osamu looks just about ready to intervene and go off on the customer, but you signal him to stay where he was under the counter. He reluctantly stays back, but makes sure to keep an eye on you.

“Sir, you’ll have to wait for your order like everyone else or find another place to eat.” Your tone is firm despite your exhaustion as you answer back. The man did not seem to like your response very much.

“How dare you!”

Everything happened so fast. The male lifts his right arm that’s in possession of the cup of coffee, obviously getting ready to hurl it directly at you. Your feet are glued to the ground in panic, so you fling your arms over your head instinctively. Your boss practically leaps towards your direction and encases your body with his own to protect you. You hear a splashing noise, but your vision is too obstructed by Osamu’s broad shoulders to witness what just happened. There’s no coffee on you, so you immediately assume that Osamu took the impact. 

“Osamu-san! Are you-” You cut yourself off as you grab onto Osamu’s completely dry uniform. He seems to be just as perplexed as you are, but forms a slightly amused expression when he turns his head. Confused, you look over his shoulder to follow his line of sight and your eyes automatically widen at the view in front of you.

Standing in a puddle of his own lukewarm beverage, the rude man is frozen in disbelief. His wet hair is flat against his forehead and the tight suit is drenched in coffee. The man still held his coffee cup in the air, but what really brings the whole scene together is the tight grip on the man’s right arm by none other than Kuroo himself. He had twisted the man’s arm just enough to have the liquid fall directly downward.

“Whoops~ I just tried to save the nice girl, but I guess I overshot it.” Kuroo’s lips create a mischievous smile. “I wouldn’t recommend going to work with coffee all over your suit and your wig. Although, your boss might, uh, loosen up that tight schedule of yours for you if you do.”

The man comes to his senses and aggressively shoves Kuroo’s grip away. “You ungrateful brats! I’m going to call the police!”

You furrow your eyebrows, not liking the idea of the police getting involved in such a trivial thing. 

Luckily, Kuroo seems to have something up his sleeve. “You can try. But then I guess there wouldn’t be an excuse to not turn you in for harassment and attempted assault. My friend here got everything on camera.”

Sure enough, when you direct your gaze onto the quieter one of the two friends, he has his phone in his hands in a recording position. He must’ve started recording as soon as the whole situation began. The rude customer turns beet red with anger and embarrassment. He must’ve realized that he ultimately lost because he swiftly stomps to the exit and slams the door shut, grumbling insults under his breath. Some of the other customers start clapping with satisfaction, while Kuroo and Kenma fist bump each other.

You let out a sigh of relief, but then you remember that Osamu was still holding onto you. Your boss must’ve been caught up with everything that happened too since he still had a fairly tight grip on you. Despite the warm feeling that was tingling your insides, you lightly tap his elbow and look up at him with a soft smile. “Hey, I think the coast is clear now.”

Looking you directly in the eyes, a light blush forms on his cheeks and he quickly lets you go even taking a few steps back to give you some space. He starts rubbing the back of his neck shyly. “Right. You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for such a heroic gesture,” you laugh and Osamu’s face flushes a bit more. You then turn your attention to Kuroo and Kenma with a grateful smile. “Thanks guys. I don’t know if I could’ve held it in any longer if he actually threw his drink on me.”

Kuroo returns your smile and leans against the counter nonchalantly. “No problem. That was really uncalled for.”

Kenma silently nods his head in acknowledgement before directing his gaze to the floor. “Kuroo, the floor is wet.”

The taller man sheepishly turns to you after realizing how much of a mess he actually made with the spilled coffee. “Ah, I’ll clean that up.”

Kuroo attempted to wipe the floor with some small napkins displayed on one of the tables, but there was a surprisingly substantial amount of coffee that was still spread across the floor. You tell him that you’ll just wipe the floor with the mop and to dispose of the used napkins. He tries to apologize again, but you brush it off since it’s really not that big of a deal. You direct him to the bathroom and prepare your cleaning supplies. During this time a group of girls start whispering to each other at the corner of the room, stealing glances at Kenma. Everything that happened seems to have brought some unwanted attention to the gamer.

“Hey, isn’t he that super famous Youtuber?”

“Yeah, that has to be him! We should go and get a picture with him. I bet everyone else would be so jealous.”

“I heard he’s loaded with cash too. Maybe if we play our cards right, he’ll buy us a drink or even a new purse.”

As you mop the floor, you hear the clicking of heels coming closer to where you are. Curiously, you turn your head and see three young females encircle Kenma. You would even say they have pretty faces if their expressions weren’t so predatory. He looks extremely uneasy over the close proximity and sudden attention from the strangers. They all speak one after the other without giving the poor guy any room to reject.

“Hey, you’re really popular, right? I’ve seen you on Youtube and you have millions of subscribers!”

“Do you wanna hang out with us? There’s a bar down the street that has really strong drinks. They’re kind of pricey, but I’m sure you’ll be able to afford it.”

“That sounds like a great idea, no? Come on, you could have some fun with the three of us.”

At this time, Kuroo walks out of the bathroom and immediately notices his friend’s obvious discomfort. He shakes his head in dismay and starts making his way towards the gamer to play the savior role again. This time, however, you seem to be one step ahead of him. One of the girls reaches out to try and grab onto Kenma’s upper arm, and you feel something in you snap. Before she could come in contact with Kenma, you thrust the back of your mop right into her side earning an ear-piercing yelp.

“OW!”

As you turn around to face the group, you make sure to add a little swing to your arms and the bottom of the soaked mop splatters onto another girl’s heels.

“EW! What the hell?!”

“Oh! Sorry about that!” You apologize half-heartedly and tilt your head innocently. You’re proud to say that you were even able to hold your best counterfeit customer service smile as you continued. “You see, the shop is pretty small so you probably shouldn’t hang around in the middle of it. I think there’s a pretty big thrift shop down the block if you wanna kill time. You could also probably buy a replacement purse for the fake one you’re holding now.”

The girls don’t seem as adamant as the previous ill-mannered customer, so they just speedily strut outside with lowered heads and annoyed frowns. Still feeling a bit petty, you make sure to wave a hand sarcastically. “Don’t get your extensions stuck on the door on your way out!”

You feel a pair of eyes trained onto your form, so you make the effort to turn around. Kenma is just quietly fixated on you. You shift a bit at the awkward moment before breaking the silence. “Ah, sorry Kod-...uh...Kozume-san. You just looked a bit uncomfortable with those girls and I was still a bit upset by the man from before.”

There’s a small quirk to the corner of his lips. “Thanks. And, just Kenma is fine.”

Your body tenses a bit at the Youtuber’s words. “B-but…”

It was at this time Kuroo decided to make his presence known. He was slightly bent over with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. “That’s right~ You mentioned that you watch his videos. How long have you been a fan?”

“Um...about 2 years?” You scratch your cheek shyly as you remember all the lonely nights in your apartment when you binged on Kodzuken’s streams while munching on five different brands of cookies. “The videos got me through some rough patches in college.”

“That’s just about the time he even started making videos. You must be a pretty loyal fan then.“ Kuroo hums in thought. His eyes shift between you and his friend before ultimately landing on his male figure. “Kenma, why don’t you take a picture with her?”

Both of your hands shoot up at the suggestion and start waving them in dismissal. “N-n-no! That’s okay! I don’t want to make him more uncomfortable!”

“Aw, come on! No guy would mind taking a picture with a pretty and sensible girl like yourself. You’re definitely more pleasant than those fakes from before.” Kuroo takes this time to rest his elbow on your shoulder and draw a bit closer to you while still facing Kenma. Your nose catches the subtle musky cologne from the tall man and can’t help but appreciate the attractive scent despite your current predicament. 

The two of you continue to go back and forth for a bit, neither of you backing down with your stubbornness. Kenma just watches in amusement for another minute or two before deciding to finally say something. “I don’t mind.”

You and Kuroo both pause when you hear Kenma’s voice. Once you actually comprehend what Kenma had just said, it takes all of your energy to try and calm your excited heart. Kuroo grins triumphantly and claps his hands together. “Then, that’s that!

After pulling out his own phone from his pocket, Kuroo signals you and Kenma to get closer until your shoulders are touching. You manage to calm your heart to a certain extent and pose with a small peace sign. Kuroo takes a couple of pictures and even changes the camera to selfie mode with all three of you for one of them. 

“Hey, what’s your number? I’ll send the pictures to you.” Kuroo passes you his phone and you type your contact information in. When you return his phone, he sends the images right away and you feel vibrations in your pocket. When you pull it out the check, you can’t help but smile. You tap one of the pictures to see the full screen and surprisingly you look a lot calmer than you had felt at the time. You and Kenma were both holding up a peace sign with happy expressions. You were beaming while Kenma sported a small, but genuine smile. The picture was perfect. You were definitely changing this picture to your lock screen soon.

“Order’s ready for Kuroo-san!”

You let out a silent gasp when you remember that you’re still in the middle of working after hearing your boss. You make the effort to get rid of all the cleaning supplies before rushing back to your spot on the register. “Sorry, boss!”

Osamu’s pretty chill about the whole situation and you’re once again thanking the universe for gifting you with such a kind boss. As you’re passing the food to Kenma and Kuroo in multiple plastic bags, the latter looks into one of them and gives Osamu a bewildered look. There was an extra bag of side dishes and drinks. “We didn’t pay for these.”

“Take it as a thanks for helping out and saving my little coworker.” Your boss just smiles and you just pout at Osamu’s teasing.

“Are you sure? It’s more like we drove away some of your customers.”

“No worries. I’d rather run a small business with decent customers than have to deal with people like them for a couple extra points on reputation,” Osamu reassured. “But, if you’re still concerned, I guess I wouldn’t mind an autograph to put up in the shop. Only if Kozume-san is alright with that, of course.”

To say the least, Kodzuken’s autograph was framed and displayed on the wall next to the windows by the end of the day. Kenma had even posted a picture of him and his high school friends from Nekoma eating the food on social media while tagging Onigiri Miya. This would surely bring in a lot more customers to the shop in the future.

Despite the busy work day and the mishaps in between with impolite customers, you had a great experience. You never thought you’d ever get to stand next to the only Youtuber you’ve ever really wanted to interact with in person, let alone get a nice picture with him. The world was really on your side when you got accepted into this job.

“Didn’t know you were such an avid video game fan,” Osamu points out as you’re both wiping down the counter and putting away ingredients. It was closing time, so the both of you were on cleaning duty.

“I actually don’t play as much. I mostly just enjoy watching other people play since I don’t really have a lot of free time,” you reply back.

“Oh yeah?” Osamu playfully flicks a stray sesame seed in your direction. “You sure you didn’t just fall head over heels for Kozume-san?”

Your cheeks become warm. “W-what? Stop teasing me! It’s not like that!” 

Your boss laughs at your flustered state. Feeling satisfied with your reaction, he changes the subject. “You know, him and Kuroo-san played volleyball in high school the same time I did.”

This piqued your interest. “Did you guys play any matches against each other?”

“Nah. I saw them around, but we never got the chance to play against each other. To be honest, my team was a bit more focused on facing the schools that had the top spikers in the nation.”

At the mention of talented spikers, something clicks in your memory. “Oh! I think there was someone in one of my classes that mentioned something about being on a volleyball team with a top ranked spiker. He said he’s an alumni from...Sarato...Shirata…”

“Shiratorizawa?” Osamu corrects.

You confirm with a nod. “Yeah! That was it!”

“Ah, Shiratorizawa...That team had some pretty interesting players and there was always some kind of commotion wherever they went. If I remember correctly, they had a guy that kind of looked like Benkei*.”

“That’s an interesting comparison.” You snort at this comment. 

“If you ever saw him, you’d agree.” Osamu tied up the last trash bag and hefted it up onto his shoulder. You go ahead and wipe down the now empty trash can.

Placing the washcloth in the laundry pile, you start heading towards the back room to get ready to leave. “Well, point him out if he ever visits the shop, or any one of them for that matter. All of the people you’ve ever mentioned from your high school days seem to be entertaining.”

Osamu chuckled. “You have no idea.”

Benkei: a japanese warrior from the past; also a reference to Haikyuu season 3 hehe

A/N: kuroo and kenma were done so well this past week’s episode and UGH KENMA. actually UGH NEKOMA. This chapter actually took me a fat minute to plan, so i hope it’s not too obvious that i lost some sleep over this (but dont worry i had fun hehe)

[soliverse]

winter promises - q.kn

pairing: gangster au!kun x student!reader

genre: angst, a tiny bit of fluff

warnings: mentions of violence, death, injury and bullying (they weren’t explicitly shown but they were mentioned by the characters. nothing too graphic or triggering.)

word count: 2323

ps: hello @strykiss​! I got chosen as your secret santa this year. I debated whether to post From Home or Winter Promises at the last minute but this was the fic that I promised you at my ask. Sorry it took a while :< I hope you liked it.

Winter Promises is a part of the Secret Santa Collab by @lucaswithnoshirt and @bumblebeenct. This is my very first collab and I’m thankful that you have let me be a part of it.

If you want to read the other fics created by the other amazing nct writers, just head over to @neoculturechristmas​ for the other secret santa entries.

networks: @nctcreations​ @kdiarynet @kpopscape

The harshness of the winter has never felt colder than today. Just a few weeks ago, you planned to visit your brother James and spend the rest of Christmas break together. Everything changed when you received a call from the police a few days ago. You almost broke down when they told you about your brother’s passing.

You lived in a different area from your brother because you had to go to school. All this time, you believed that your brother is a salesman. That’s how he was able to pay for college fees and living expenses. Little did you know, he was actually hiding a secret from you.

The police found his body after a gang fight. After a bit of an investigation, they discovered that your brother is actually a member of one of the notorious gangs in the area. He is one of the Guardias. They are people of the night, lurking in the shadows and can only be identified by the tattoo of a black wolf in their forearms. That explains why he wore those long sleeves all of the time whenever he visits, even when in the blistering heat. He just used the excuse that he had to look professional at all times

What’s worse about his death is you had no other living relatives. You were both orphans that got kicked out of the systems when you got older. Nobody attended his funeral but the priest and yourself.

You stood at the middle of the field alone, the cemetery wrapped in a think blanket of snow. You did nothing for the past few hours but stood there in front of his grave and stared blankly at his epitaph.

IN MEMORIAM

JAMES Y/L/N

March 31, 199x – December 20, 20xx

A LOVING BROTHER

Reading the engraved letters made you tear up again.

You just can’t believe that he had to die like this, that he had to lie to make you feel better. You wondered how much he had to suffer just seconds before he dies, recalling the horrible state of his body when they discovered him. Just thinking about it made you shake from anger and grief. It didn’t take long before you broke down and sat right next to the grave hugging your knees.

“Hey…”

You were interrupted by a concerned Kun. He pulled you towards him and wrapped his loving arms around you.

“Sorry for being late.”

You desperately needed someone that day and him coming meant the world to you. If there’s someone that will understand what you are currently going through, it would be him. Just like the two of you, he’s also alone because he had to study overseas. He had a brotherly bond with James, like he’s an extension of your brother. James would always tell Kun that he would be the one to take care of you while he’s gone. It’s safe to say that he still fulfilled that promise.

“I’m sorry you had to spend Christmas like this…”

Eventually, he took your hands to find a nearby bench that you can sit comfortably. He started patting your head and never let go of you until you stopped crying.

“I’ll be fine. Thank you for coming.”

He handed you a handkerchief from his pockets so you can wipe your tears away. His hand still remained your shoulders, patting it gently to calm you down.

“If it makes you feel any better, I got a gift for you.”

He started patting all over his winter coat and his pockets to look for something. Taking it out on one of his inner pockets, he pulled out a box wrapped with a tiny red bow on top. You opened it right away and there was a unique bracelet inside of it.

“Merry Christmas Y/N. I made a promise to James when he’s still alive...”

He took your hand and placed the bracelet in your palms.

“As long as you’re wearing this, James and I will always be with you…”

Your heart melted as he said this to you. You couldn’t help yourself but to hug him once again. His touch felt like summer on this cold, winter night.

///

About a few weeks passed by and your classes resumed once again. You used that supposed break to mourn over James and help yourself to get over from his loss. Kun had a part-time job to attend to, but he always made sure to check on you from time to time.

Wintertime still surrounded the area, but some people already took down their decorations and things went back to normal. As you skipped across the snowy road, you couldn’t help but stare at the thing that’s jingling in your right arm. You stopped on your tracks and held it up to the sky. Your eyes squinted, trying to look for something special in the bracelet that the Kun gave you for Christmas.

It was the single thing that made you smile every day. His words repeated in your head like a broken record and you can’t help but blush at the thought of it. You always this little crush on him even before, but his caring nature the past couple of weeks make your heart flutter even more. This made you unconsciously touch it. You raised your arm up to your eye level and you finally realized that the bracelet is held together by two wolves, one on each side of the bracelet. You wondered why this was the design that he chose, considering that it doesn’t look that girly. It was weird, but you just shrugged it off when you realized that you still have to walk to school.

///

You came just shy a few minutes before the class starts. The professor is still out of sight, so you bowed to greet everyone inside before you walk towards your desk. The class didn’t pay you any attention. It’s always been that way ever since you got admitted to the school. Making friends is hard when people judge you from the way that you dress or the life that you live in every day. You don’t get to wear nice cloths just like everybody else because you liked to save your money for things that are more important.

The other girls would roll their eyes out and point out how worn out your uniform looks or make gestures behind your back. It stayed that way for years, but you never had the guts to tell Kun or James. You have to be strong for yourself sometimes and just ignored their mockery.

You were taking out the textbooks from your bag when you overheard the other girls squealing excitedly at each other. One of them is your classmate Lilith. Everyone thinks she’s so cool because she has a gangster boyfriend that buys her expensive stuff. It’s probably another designer brand bag or something.

“It looks so pretty! Have you tried using it yet?”

You swear that you can sense Lilith’s condescending smirk even when your back is turned against her.

“I haven’t actually. But he said it’s suuuuppppeeeer expensive. Like, it’s worth more than anything he’s ever bought me. I can’t wait to use it at clubs tonight!”

She said in this exaggerated tone that you hate. She had this habit of making herself extra loud so that you’ll hear what she’s trying. You roll your eyes internally and just proceeded to open your notes and tried to recall the lessons that you had for the past few weeks.

“Are you sure? It doesn’t look that much…”

“Ugh…” She sounded so offended at her friend’s remark.

“This bracelet are only given to very special people. It means they are under the protection of the whole group. It means nobody is allowed to touch the very fiber of her being. I can basically do whatever I want and no one will stop me.”

Your hopes of concentrating on your lessons was completely thrown out of the window. At a desperate attempt to keep your sanity intact, you cupped both of your ears with your hands.

“Special, huh? Then why does Y/N have one too?”

“There’s no way…”

You yelped as you felt someone yank out your hand away from your head.

“What do you want, Lilith?”

She yanked it again towards her face and so she can get a better view of your right hand.

“Hey! Let me go!”

You tried grabbing your hand away from her at the same time that she lets go of your hand aggressively, the force sending you off to the floor.

“So, you got claimed too huh?”

You glared at her direction, but the bright red thing on her wrists caught your attention. It looked similar to your bracelet, the only difference being that it was red and the wolf was replaced with a silver dragon. It’s strikingly similar to the one you’re currently wearing.

“I wonder which lowlife scum you had to sleep with just so you can have one of those.”

She folded her arms and scoffed at your direction

“Of course. It had to be one of those filthy G-.”

A stern voice interrupted her from the front door.

“Watch your mouth, Lilith.”

The voice came from Kun, you looked incredibly pissed.

“Leave her alone. She just lost her brother.”

Lilith opened her mouth again but Kun just raised his eyebrows at her. His gaze seemed to be sending her a message that only the two of them can understand.

The stand-off have successfully shut Lilith down as she begrudgingly went back to her desk. The professor came right after, so Kun smiled sweetly at your direction before he sat down at his desk.

You got up from the floor and dusted the dirt off of your uniform, still completely oblivious at what just happened. It made you a bit more self-conscious now that everyone has their eyes on you. Thankfully, the professor caught everyone’s attention and your class proceeded as usual.

It didn’t take long before lunch break comes and the bell rang. As soon as the last professor left the door, everyone’s attention was back on you once again. You just sat there awkwardly as you waited for everyone to leave the classroom, not really sure what else to do about this situation.

Kun felt your uneasiness. He stood up from his chair and offered his hand to help you stand up from your chair. Your smile grew wider once again as you took his hand and you walked together to your usual place in the cafeteria.

The both of you took your seats and brought out your lunchbox with you. You took out your lunch, which was a simple meal composed of eggs, bacon and a cup of rice. When took out his containers, you remembered that your bestfriend is actually a bit of a masterchef. There were several varieties of home-cooked meals from his lunchbox. There are dumplings, warm chicken soup, and some of which you don’t even know the names of.

“I made extra so we can share...”

You can tell that there was extra care given to the meals that he made. This man just never fails to amaze you. Looking around the cafeteria, everyone felt the same way. Some of the other girls looked at you with what you can assume is jealousy written all over their faces.

“You know, the girls of this school hate me because they thought I’m your girlfriend right.” He laughed at your comment, his eyes completely disappearing from the stretch of his smile.

“If you’re actually dating me, then I’ll be the luckiest man alive.”

You felt heat coming up from your face, unsure if it was because of his laugh or the thing that he said. Instead of answering him, you took some of the fried rice that he made and stuffed your mouth to hide your embarrassment.

Time passed and you’re about to walk home as well. Kun called out your name and offered to walk you home. You felt some dirty glance being thrown away at your direction once again, but for once, you didn’t mind them.

“Just making sure got home safe.” He explained when you asked him on the way. It’s a sweet gesture from his part once again, but he’s been acting weird throughout the walk. His eyes kept on looking from left to right, as if he’s looking for something.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

He relaxed and his cheery self appeared in front of you once again.

As soon as you got inside your house and closed the door behind you, he started to walk along the snowy road. His uneasiness crept back in, looking left and right to make sure that no one is following him.

His whole demeanor changed as soon as he entered his territory. The apartment that you thought he’s staying in is actually the headquarters of a secret gang that’s meant to protect the whole city. Men lined up in his path, bowing at his presence. At his room, he took off layers of his winter clothing, finally revealing a secret that he’s also been hiding from you. It was a tattoo of a black wolf, only given to the elite members of Guardia.

He sat on his couch and grabbed his phone to dial someone’s number.

“Yes, boss?”

“Hey Xuxi, would you mind giving the Kids a call?”

“Sure. What for?”

“Tell Chan that one of his bitches is misbehaving…”

He rested his head and closed his eyes, reminded of how you were treated earlier by Lilith.

“If he doesn’t do anything about it, I will. Make that very clear to him, unless he wants me to break his other arm.”

“I’m on it, sir.”

The call dropped and his phone was now showing his wallpaper, a candid picture that he took without you knowing.

The other gangs have been becoming bold lately and have orchestrating attacks from left to right. Knowing them, he’s sure that they’ll be going after the next Guardia successor, you.

///

“Protect Y/N at all cost. It won’t take long before the world knows about her real identity.”

That is a promise that he’s willing to keep, even to his death.

[heauxplesslydevoted]

Raincheck (Ethan x MC)

Summary: Set after chapter 8, Ethan and Naomi get a re-do on their dinner date.

Tags: @colourmeshy @fanmantrashcan @writinghereandthere @ao719 @x-kyne-x @paulfwesley @ramseyandrys @a-i-n-a-a-s-h @perriewinklenerdie @aworldoffandoms @thatcatlady0716 @drakewalker04 @canknot @hatescapsicum @lapisreviewsstuff @akacalliope @senseofduties @badchoicesposts @ethandaddyramsey @the-soot-sprite @chasingrobbie @zodiacsign1 @choices-lurker @miyakokurono @trappedinfandoms @my-heart-beats-for-ya @adrian-motherfucking-raines @riverrune @edith-eggs1 @thatysn @bellcat2010 @theeccentricbibliophile 

Enjoy!

~v~

The first thing Naomi notices when she crosses the threshold to Ethan’s apartment is that it smells amazing. A delicious aroma wafts from the kitchen and she has to stop herself from drooling at the scent.

This is the second time this week that she’s been at his apartment, though this time Ethan promises that there will be no surprise interruptions. And this makes Naomi anxious, because the last time she was here, Ethan kissed her, multiple times, and promised that they’d talk. And with a little over a year of knowing the older attending under her belt, Naomi knows that Ethan Ramsey is a puzzle and he’s constantly pulling the rug out from under her feet. So her guard is up, despite wanting to be able to relax in his presence.

Ethan greets her at the door, out of his formal work clothes and now in a simple t-shirt and blue jeans.

“Naomi, hi.” His eyes sweep over her form, and he tries not to get fixated on the way her dark blue sweater hugs every curve on her body. “You look great.”

“Thank you.”

“It smells amazing in here.” Once she’s inside and her shoes are at the door, Naomi stands on her tiptoes, peering into the kitchen. She sees a huge skillet and a pot on the stove, but it gives her no answers. “Can I know what you’re cooking, or are you going for an element of surprise?”

“Chicken, sautéed in peppers, yellow rice and roasted asparagus. Do you have any objections about the menu?”

“It sounds delicious.” She stops at his kitchen island and takes a seat at one of the barstools. 

“Do you want something to drink? I have pretty much everything.”

“What’s the best wine in your collection?” Naomi asks. “I’d like a glass of that.”

Ethan turns around and goes to rummage in his pantry. “I have a very expensive bottle that a patient gifted Naveen a while back. Her rich “boyfriend” owns a vineyard in Napa, and after we solved her case, she had him send Naveen quite a few bottles. He gave me one.”

He rinses out two glasses and pours the expensive Chardonnay. 

“Air quotes around the word boyfriend leads me to assume he was her sugar daddy.”

“Her very married sugar daddy,” Ethan adds. “Splitting his time between Napa and New England.”

“Scandalous.”

“His vineyard makes excellent wine, though.”

Naomi takes a sip and instantly agrees with Ethan. The smooth liquid is delicious. “Mhmm, I can taste the vanilla.”

“You have excellent taste for a 27 year old.”

“It’s a cross I have to bear,” Naomi teases with a giggle. “Do you need any help with dinner?”

“No. You’re my guest, you just sit there and relax.”

She leans across the counter and watches as Ethan expertly chops up jalapeño peppers.

“I’m not used to being in a kitchen and not helping,” Naomi says with a sigh. “I used to practically study my mom and grandma growing up.”

“Oh, so you like to cook too?”

“I love it. I love food. Every Sunday after church, we’d go to my grandparents’ house for football and dinner.”

“What’s your favorite thing to cook?” Ethan asks. Naomi doesn’t talk much about her life before Edenbrook, and he’s curious.

“My grandma has a recipe for pot roast and garlic mashed potatoes that will make you cry.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the secret?”

“It’s for Valentine women only, mister. My mom didn’t get the recipe until she and my dad had been married for 10 years.”

“It’s that serious?”

Naomi nods. “Super serious. She’s really protective over her recipes, and she wants the rest of the family to be just as guarded. My uncle once suggested she write a cookbook, and she nearly tore him a new one.”

Ethan notes the sparkle in her eye as she talks about her family and he can’t help but to smile. “Okay, since you’re the expert, I’ll let you help me.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Yay! But first, I cannot cook in silence. We’re going to need some music.”

“In the living room, next to the window, I have a record player. Pick whatever you’d like.”

“A record player?” Naomi slides off the barstool and rushes to the living room. “You’re an old soul.”

“I like records. I think they’re cooler than CDs.”

Naomi browses through his selection of vinyls. He had a mixture of a lot of different artists and genres: Billie Holiday, Michael Jackson, Prince, David Bowie, Queen, James Brown, Nina Simone, The Beatles. There was even some classical music by Beethoven thrown into the collection.

She settles on Billie. “You have good taste, Doctor Ramsey.”

Soon she’s back in the kitchen, hands washed, sleeves rolled up, and hair pulled back. They settle into a comfortable routine. She minces garlic as Ethan gets the rice started.

Ethan enjoys her presence in his kitchen. There’s no tension in the air, the silence isn’t deafening, and Naomi moves around with ease and confidence, as if the space was made just for her. He chooses to ignore the way his pulse speeds up at the thought.

With two people helping, it doesn’t take long for dinner to be served. Ethan tops off their wine, fixes two plates, and moves them into his formal dining area.

“I had no idea this little dining area was tucked back here,” Naomi says, looking around. “Just how huge is this apartment? Does it have a second floor that I’m not aware of?”

Ethan rolls his eyes at her wide cracks. “No second floor. But it’s a 3 bedroom.”

“3? How did I not notice that?”

“Well the last time you were here we only stayed in the kitchen. And the time before that we–”

 He stops himself before he can finish the sentence. The time before the last, they barely stayed in the living room for a few minutes before Ethan was dragging her into his bedroom.

Naomi looks down, her face burning at the memory. Thinking about their previous...encounter wasn’t her intention in the slightest. She groans to herself. This is what she gets for trying to make dumb small talk.

She pivots, not allowing them any more time to ruminate over the hook up. “Well you’ll have to give me a tour.”

“Deal.”

Naomi grabs her fork and digs into her food, taking a bite of her chicken. A low heat coats her taste buds, followed by the buttery flavor of the meat. A soft sigh passes her lips. “Okay, I know you love being a doctor, and you’re great at it, but I think you’d be an amazing chef.”

“Of course I’d be an amazing chef, I’m good at everything,” Ethan quips with a smirk.

“Your ego is unmatched.”

“But seriously, the food is good?”

His voice takes on an uncharacteristically low and shy tone. Naomi looks up at him and they lock eyes. He’s...nervous, she quickly surmises.

“The food is great, Ethan. If it wasn’t, you’d know.”

He smiles at her, relief coursing through his veins. Sure he knows he’s a good cook, but something about her praise and validation makes him feel like a teenager again.

“Good.”

“I might have you cook for me more often,” Naomi adds, lifting her wine glass to her lips and takes a sip. “How many other people get to say the great Ethan Ramsey made them dinner?”

“It’s just you,” Ethan replies. “And of course, you’re welcome over any time.”

“Don’t tempt me with a good time. I just might take you up on that offer.”

“Please do.”

The rest of their dinner goes by, the two of them embroiled in light conversation. Once dinner is done, Ethan instructs her to head to his living room while he puts the dishes in the sink. A few minutes later, he comes back with two slices of cake, and two more glasses of wine, red this time to complement the chocolate of their dessert.

“Ooh, I get dessert too? My, my, You’re really spoiling me tonight.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Ethan grumbles.

“Too late.” Naomi eagerly accepts her slice of cake. “Did you bake this?”

“Would you be impressed if I said yes?”

“I’d be very impressed.”

“But no, I can't take credit for this. There’s a bakery a few blocks away, and they make the best chocolate cake.”

“That’s a hefty endorsement coming from you.”

“Trust me, you’ll love it.”

Ethan sits down next to Naomi, leaving little room between the two of them, but just enough. At this distance, he can smell whatever sweet perfume she’s wearing, mixed with her shampoo—coconut scented, that much he knows for certain—it it’s effects on him are dizzy and intoxicating.

“How did your talk with your dad go the other day?” Naomi asks. Being questioned about his dad wasn’t what he was expecting, and it snaps him out of his daze.

“Huh?”

“How did your talk with Alan go?” 

Ethan stops to seriously consider the question. His talk with his dad brought up a lot of feelings, good and bad, about a lot of different things. “I think he and I understand each other more. Love is still a pretty foreign concept to me, so I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand the depth of what he feels towards my mother, but I’m going to try to be more compassionate about them.”

“And I told him that him continuing to hold a flame for my mother fueled a lot of my anger,” Ethan continues. “It used to feel like he was willing to forgive her for hurting me. No matter what she did, all would be okay as long as she came back. Of course, he didn’t realize my perspective, and he apologized. We both realized that our views of my mom were going to be inherently different. And he agreed to stop trying to get me to talk to her.”

Naomi is glad to hear he made some peace with his dad. Alan seems like a sweet guy. “Do you think you’ll ever want to see her?”

A stony expression mars his features. “No. I’m not in a space to hear whatever bullshit excuse she spits out, nor do I want to hear any apologies. I’ve survived 25 years without her, I’ll survive 25 more.”

The energy in the room has taken a sharp turn. Naomi puts her plate down on the coffee table and takes Ethan’s hand in hers, her thumb running across his knuckles in a soothing manner. The simple gesture catches him off guard, and he looks at the younger woman.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset with my line of questioning.”

“I’m not upset with you,” Ethan assures her. She’s the last person he’d be upset with considering she’s been his rock throughout this entire ordeal. “And I shouldn’t be burdening you with this.”

“You’re not being a burden, Ethan.”

“Regardless, I didn’t invite you over here to be bogged down by my family drama.”

Naomi looks down at their still joined hands, and she swallows thickly. “Okay, did you invite me over here to talk about our kiss?”

The corner of his mouth quirks up at the question. “I’ve always admired your boldness, Rookie. You get straight to the point no matter what.”

“No point in beating around the bush,” Naomi says with a shrug. Reluctantly, she pulls her hand out of his and turns her body so they’re facing each other. “Look Ethan, you said that we needed boundaries, and outside of our kiss at Donahue’s a few months back, I’ve been trying my absolute hardest to be respectful. But now you’re sending me mixed signals. First when we went to stake out your mom a few weeks back, you held my hand the entire way back to Boston. And then you kissed me the other day, a few times. Now I’m at your apartment again. I need to know what we’re doing, because you’re blurring the lines.”

Ethan sighs. He feels like a selfish asshole, jerking her around like this. “Look, Naomi, I thought our relationship was going to be that of a mentor and mentee–and it is, but it’s become so much more than that. You are one of the most important people in my life. You are the one person I want to turn to when things feel crazy, whether it’s about work or my personal life.”

“And…?”

“I’m getting there, Rookie,” Ethan chuckles softly, and her stomach flips at her old nickname. “Look, all my life, I’ve only ever viewed things in black and white, and it was easy for me. But you came barreling into my life, and not only can I see shades of grey, but I see the entire color spectrum. You push me, you challenge me, you drive me absolutely insane.” Naomi laughs. “But it’s becoming increasingly harder to respect my self-imposed boundaries when it comes to you.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I think it’s time I stop trying to hold myself back when it comes to you.”

Naomi’s too afraid to move. To breathe, even. What if this is some sort of dream? She’s going to wake up soon, in her own bedroom, alone, disappointed and full of self loathing. “So, what? Do you want to give us a try?”

“Yes, I want to give us a try. That is, if you still want to give me a chance. I know I probably don’t deserve one.”

Hearing those words is akin to a dam breaking inside of her. The air leaves her lungs all at once and her vision goes blurry with unshed tears.

Crying wasn’t the reaction he thought he was going to get from her. Ethan reaches out, gently swiping the pad of his thumb underneath her eye. “Naomi, what–”

She cuts him off, grabbing his face with both hands, crashing their lips together. He barely has time to toss his plate onto the table before she’s clamoring into his lap, straddling him.

This kiss feels so much like the one they shared a few nights ago. It’s frenzied, desperate, and filled with longing, but there’s an undercurrent of something else, something they haven’t felt before. Relief. Lightness.

Ethan’s tongue presses against her lips, silently asking for permission to deepen things. Naomi responds, opening her mouth to grant him entrance.

She clings to him, grabbing all that her hands can. His shoulders, his neck, his soft t-shirt. She needs some sort of permanence to ground her to the moment and let her know that this isn’t a dream. It’s real.

Ethan’s hands move from her hips, aiming higher until they’re under her sweater. His fingers burn, and he’s not sure if his brain is playing tricks on him because he’s consumed quite a few glasses of wine, or if the feel of her skin has that effect on him. Whatever the case, he welcomes the white-hot sensation, greedily searching for more surface area. Finally he settles on her back, his hands running around her spine, making her shudder.

They only pull apart because the need to breathe is much stronger than their desire to stay joined. But it doesn’t last long, as Naomi quickly kisses him again.

“I’ve missed you,” she confesses when she pulls away. Ethan notes the vulnerability in her eyes as she comes to rest her forehead against his. “I’ve missed this.”

“I’ve missed you too. You have no idea how much.”

She bites her lip in contemplation and Ethan swears it might be his favorite sight. “Please tell me this is real. Tell me you won’t wake up tomorrow and change your mind.”

Reluctantly, his hands drop from the small of her back. He uses one to tilt her chin up, forcing eye contact between the two. “I’m not going anywhere, Naomi.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

They kiss again, a softness filling them this time around. Her fingers pull at the hem of his shirt, tugging it, urging him to remove the piece of fabric.

“Naomi, stop,” Ethan orders gently. 

She breaks the kiss, confused. “What?”

“We need to stop,” Ethan pants heavily. His heart is beating erratically against his rib cage, and if she keeps kissing him like this, and touching him like this, he’s going to lose all of his will.

“What’s wrong?”

“If we don’t stop now, I won’t be able to stop myself from escalating this and taking you into my bedroom.”

Naomi shivers against him. “Is that a promise?”

“You have no idea. But I want us to take this slow. I want to do this right.”

“Oh yeah?” He can tell by the twinkle in her eye that she’s going to tease me. “Are you going to court me, old man?”

Ethan wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. She groans at the contact. “Call me old one more time, Rookie.”

Naomi is never one to back down from a challenge, but she doesn’t want to take things further knowing he wants to move slowly. “I think it’s sweet.”

“I just really don’t want to mess things up with you.”

“I don’t want to either.”

Naomi moves off of his lap, creating some distance. She smooths out her sweater, which is currently twisted around her midsection. 

She checks the time on her watch. “It’s getting late, I think I should go.”

“You don’t have to leave.”

“I know, but I think it’d be better for both of us if we ended things here. I don’t want to test your restraint any more.”

“Thank you. Do you need me to take you home?”

“I’ll call an Uber.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

Naomi quickly calls for a car using the app. They find their shoes, enjoying the comfort of each other’s presence. They hold hands the entire way down, sharing shy smiles and glances.

The air between the two of them feels so different now. Like a weight has been lifted off of both their shoulders, they revel in the newfound lightness and change in their relationship.

They stand in front of his apartment complex as they wait for her ride to arrive, their hands still joined together. It’s late at night, but the city is still lit up, and all of the lights reflect off of Naomi as she stares at her surroundings. Ethan clears his throat, gaining her attention.

“So I was thinking, how about we go out this weekend,” he suggests. “There’s a new exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.”

“We agreed to date a few short minutes ago, and you already have a date planned.”

Ethan shrugs. “Well, I’ve had this evening planned out for the past 48 hours.”

Naomi smirks at him. “And you were just so sure I would say yes to you?”

“Call it a hunch.”

A car matching the description of Naomi’s rideshare pulls up along the curb. “This is my ride.”

Before she can open the car door, Ethan yanks her hand and spins her around. He kisses her again, his warm hand cupping her jaw. He pulls away quickly, leaving her breathless. “One more for the road. Call me when you get home, okay.”

“Of course.” Naomi smiles. “See you tomorrow, Ethan.”

“Goodnight, Naomi.”

She enters the car and Ethan watches as it drives off. He stands on the sidewalk for a long time after she’s gone, as if he’s still in a daze. The entire night feels surreal, and he almost can’t believe things worked out the way they did.

He knows one thing for sure: he’ll be forever grateful for his ability to cook.

[raleighcarrera]

daydream

ride or die | logan x mc (ellie wheeler)

ellie takes logan home from the hospital. he’s had a couple of painkillers.

for @rodappreciationweek day 1 (logan day!)

~2.2k words | T (brief mentions of violence but otherwise extreme fluff)

she’d been in class, when mona had called her, so ellie didn’t get the chance to check her voicemail until an hour after the notification first lit up her cellphone screen. 

then she heard the words ‘hospital’ and ‘surgery’ and promptly blacked out, racing down the highway from campus to get back to the city as quickly as possible.

“where is he?” ellie demanded, once she’d caught up to her, out of breath from having run from the parking lot, “is he okay? can i see him? what happened?”

“relax,” mona said, ellie’s eyes immediately widening in response. now was definitely not the time to relax. “he’s out of surgery. they said it went well. he’s totally fine, we can take him home tonight.”

ellie exhaled, nodding numbly. her shoulders slumped. “okay. okay, that’s good. i’m glad, but -- seriously, what happened to him?”

she winced. “he got shot a little.”

god, was mona ever lucky that they were in a crowded hospital waiting room. swallowing down her scream, ellie grit her teeth and ground out, “how does someone get shot a little?”

mona rolled her eyes. “fine, he got shot a lot. it’s because he doesn’t listen.”

“jesus christ,” ellie huffed, “i can’t believe you --”

“hang on, don’t blame me --”

“excuse me?” 

ellie pursed her lips, turning to the nurse that’d interrupted them. “yes?”

“i’ll need to go over some recovery information with the home caretaker. would that be you?”

well, it definitely wasn’t going to be mona. ellie sighed -- so much for her perfect attendance record this semester, though even the idea of school seemed inconsequential, now. “yeah,” she murmured, “what will he need once i get him home?”

she nodded attentively through a long lecture on bandage changing and medication dosage, making notes on the instructional paperwork the nurse provided. it was relieving to have something to focus on other than the rapid pounding of her heartbeat, which hadn’t taken even a moment to slow since she’d first left class, and the nausea that wouldn’t seem to temper, twisting her stomach into knots.

finally, logan came out into the waiting room, sprawled easily in a wheelchair and talking animatedly to the nurse that was pushing him. he had a wide, goofy smile on his face, and he was talking with his hands -- with the right one, at least, his left arm slung across his stomach.

despite the assurances she’d received since she first got here, part of her hadn’t really thought she’d see him again. part of her was convinced everyone was lying about how fine he was to keep her calm, but the sight of him, alive and whole and seemingly alright immediately triggered a deep relief within her, so sudden and intense that she stumbled a little under the weight of it. 

he turned his head and caught sight of her, his expression lighting up with joy as soon as their eyes locked. “baby,” logan said slowly, drawing out the sound of the vowel so the word felt a mile long. “hey, what’re you doing here?”

tears sprung into her eyes suddenly, catching her entirely off guard. she rushed the rest of the way over to him and reached down to cup his face in her hands, gently smoothing them over his hair and across his cheeks. “thank god you’re okay,” she hiccuped quietly, “i was so scared.”

“oh, don’t cry. you’re so pretty, you shouldn’t cry.” he was still smiling that big grin, and each word out of his mouth was soft and slurred.

from behind him, the nurse that’d brought him out into the lobby said, “he’s on some pretty strong painkillers. he’s probably going to be a little out of it for awhile.”

“that’s okay.” ellie reluctantly pulled her hand away to wipe at her eyes, standing up straight again. “i’m just glad he’s okay.”

“hey, erica, did you meet my girlfriend?” logan asked, tilting his head back to look at the nurse standing behind him, going cross-eyed as he went. “this’s her. she’s the smartest girl in the whole world. she invented physics.”

“wow,” erica the nurse said obligingly, “that’s quite the accomplishment. you must be very proud.”

logan beamed at her. “so proud,” he agreed, “she’s gonna win the nobel prize and i’m gonna be a trophy husband.”

everyone within hearing distance started laughing. ellie could feel herself flush red to the roots of her hair, her whole face going up in flames. “okay, that’s enough. we need to get you home and in bed.”

“cool,” logan said, flipping his hair out of his eyes. he winked at her. 

ellie’s blush deepened as the nurses laughed and fawned over logan while she signed his discharge paperwork -- of course they’d already been charmed by him. 

mona helped her get him into the passenger seat of her car, and then they were alone, ellie’s grip on the steering wheel white-knuckled as she made her way back to his apartment. 

it was a strange role-reversal; often, when they were together, he did the driving. but logan didn’t seem bothered at all by the change of pace, humming to himself and alternating between staring out the window and smiling at her. “you came home from school?” he asked finally, breaking the silence between them. his voice was a sing-song, like they were out for a sunday afternoon drive instead of on their way home from the emergency room.

“yeah,” she answered, “of course. mona called and said you were in the hospital, i didn’t -- i drove down as soon as i could. and i’ll stay as long as i can.”

he made a soft, interested noise from beside her. “stay with me?”

“someone has to change your bandage and --”

“this is the best day ever. baby -- you should stay forever.” ellie glanced over and saw his head roll to the side in the passenger seat, his dopey grin only growing the longer he stared at her. “forever and ever and ever and ever --”

“logan --”

“-- and ever and ever and ever. whaddya say?”

“you are going to feel awful when those wear off,” she murmured, though the tension she’d been carrying in her shoulders started to dissipate, slightly, her lips gently turning up into a smile. “seriously, are you still totally numb?”

a laugh bubbled up in his mouth -- something like a giggle. “pretty much. just pulls a little if i move weird.” as she waited to merge onto the highway, ellie glanced over at logan again and found him poking at his stomach with a wince. “hurt like hell when it happened, though.” 

“you scared the shit out of me,” she said bluntly, turning back to the road and frowning at it as though the 405 was personally responsible for logan’s injury. “i almost had a stroke driving down here.”

“god, i’m sorry, el.” the playful tone was gone from his voice all at once, replaced with dramatic agony. “i mean it, babe. i’m really -- really -- really sorry.”

“it’s fine,” ellie assured him, doing her best to stifle a laugh, her anger evaporating completely in the face of his pouting, “the important thing is that you’re alright now.”

it was a balance, keeping her handle on the road smooth while still trying to get them home as quickly as possible, but she managed it, somehow able to get logan into the apartment even with his limbs seemingly everywhere at once when he leaned on her for support. 

“ow,” he whined abruptly, as soon as she got him in bed and logan’s head hit the pillow, “ow, ow, ow. ellie, ow.”

“one second,” she murmured, biting back another laugh while she made sure he was situated and comfortable, taking care to get everything organized so she wouldn’t have any issues over the next few days before presenting logan with another pill and a bottle of water. “here.”

“feed it to me,” he demanded, sticking out his tongue.

ellie stared at him. he arched his eyebrows expectantly.

“you’re ridiculous,” she laughed, but dropped the pill into his mouth anyway, still pushing the bottle of water forcefully into his hands. “stop it, you’ll choke.”

“you hate me,” logan said, but he did swallow the pill without complaining, wiggling down under the covers as soon as he was done. once the blankets were yanked up to his chin, he said, “come here.”

“baby, you really need to rest,” ellie murmured, though she still sat down on the edge of the mattress beside him as carefully as she could, reaching out to smooth her hand over his hair again. “you need to get some sleep, okay?”

his eyes went wide and sad. “what did i ever do to make you hate me so much?” logan’s words were starting to slur together again. “all i ever did was love you, a lot, like so much.”

she regarded him fondly as he continued to ramble, her whole body thrumming with affection. logan was impossible to deny on a normal day, but today? all she really wanted was to be close to him, anyway. “okay, drama queen. you win.” 

ellie slipped into the bed beside him as gingerly as possible, taking care not to touch him. part of her was curious about the bandaged wound on his side, but her stomach rolled at just the thought of seeing it up close, the same nauseous mix of fear and dread that’d been so prevalent during her drive down this afternoon returning all at once. 

“so much better,” he sighed, reaching out and grabbing her hand, lacing their fingers together. each word dragged out endlessly again, just like his first baby at the hospital. “i missed you. you’re so pretty.”

“you mentioned that,” she laughed, doing her very best to focus on how cute he was being and not on the fact that he’d almost died earlier today. if she thought about anything other than how different and weird and kind of nice it was to see his silly side, she was going to crack completely. “i missed you, too, baby. i wish we were closer together.”

“wish we were together all the time,” logan said, the sentence broken apart by a yawn that stretched his jaw halfway through. “s’cause you gotta go to school and be smart and do important stuff, i guess.”

“yeah,” ellie murmured. she fell quiet as she studied his expression, and then her lips curved back up into a smile. “we really have to work on making you a trophy husband, asap. no more life-or-death stuff for you.”

“tell me about it,” he hummed, dragging his thumb across the back of her hand. “but i’ll be the best trophy husband ever, el. super dad.”

her teeth bit at her bottom lip. it was probably wrong to take advantage of the fact that he wasn’t exactly himself, but -- “you think about that kind of stuff?”

“duh.” ellie pursed her lips to hold back a grin. the tone of his voice implied it should have been obvious. “you’re the whole world. i wanna do it all with you.”

she shifted closer in the low light of his bedroom, until their knees bumped together under the sheets. logan smiled at her, and she felt her heart skip what was probably an important beat, her pulse stuttering and then picking up again in double time as she watched him from up close.

“i love you.” ellie shut her eyes. despite her best efforts, she knew she was getting emotional. the emotional rollercoaster she’d been on over the last few hours was proving to be overwhelming. she suddenly felt exhausted.

“hey, i love you more. more than... cars. more than indiana jones. more than all the stars in the sky. more than -- oh, more than french fries, ellie. that’s a lot.”

she laughed, the sound morphing into a contented sigh when logan tipped their foreheads together. ellie drew in a deep breath and caught something uniquely him under the scent of the hospital -- antiseptic and sterile alcohol -- something familiar and deep and rich, like the woods and like home, a scent that clung to the inside of his car and all her favorite clothes, following her out to college and everywhere else she went. 

her eyes slowly blinked open. “that is a lot.”

“you’re the best dream,” he mumbled nonsensically, “i hope you’re still here when i wake up.”

ellie stared at him, taking in the way his blinks were slowing down, how his breathing was evening out steadily. she exhaled, finally, forcibly remembering what the staff at the hospital had said and reminding herself how important it was that he got a good night’s sleep. 

logan was okay. everything was going to be fine. she could do this. “of course i’ll still be here,” she promised, lowering her voice to the same hushed whisper. “i’m not going anywhere.”

he shot her one more dreamy smile, but didn’t say anything else. ellie averted her eyes, staring out the window over his head so she could look at the moon, her mind racing. 

eventually, his hand went slack in hers. she still kept their fingers intertwined, and the steady sound of his breathing in the bed beside her finally turned everything still, including her swirling thoughts. 

tonight, they were together -- so that meant there was nothing to worry about.

for now.

[starlightsearches]

Under My Service

“Could you do one where the reader is like the secretary of Kylo or something? And he gets jealous/mad when he catches her almost kissing Hux because he’s secretly in love with her?”

Here’s a request from my AO3. I kind of went in a different direction than the prompt, I hope that’s okay! 

Requests are open ✨

Kylo Ren X Reader

AN: Attempted Sexual Assault

“Get away from her,” Ren growls through the mask, and his hand is on the hilt of his saber. The admiral pauses, backing away slightly, his body shielding you from Ren’s view, his gloved hand still at the base of your neck. He’s an older man, short and wiry, but he still manages to look down his nose at Ren. He rolls his eyes and slams a fist on the wall next to your head like a child throwing a tantrum, but when Ren moves closer, looming over the admiral, he flinches.

“This doesn’t concern you, Commander,” he says, his voice trembling and his hand falls away from your face. 

“Get out of here.” The admiral jumps away completely at the sound of Ren’s command, still sputtering incoherent arguments as he walks out. You suck in a deep breath, finally free of the other man’s presence, shuddering up against the wall, and now the two of you are alone in the conference room. This might be the first time Ren has been in private with you . . . ever. He’s not sure what to do next.

“Um, thank you, Commander,” you say, standing upright and straightening out your uniform. You’re embarrassed, desperate to get away as quickly as possible, “if you’ll excuse me.”

“Wait,” he says, and you do, turning back to him with a certain amount of reluctance. There’s shame written all over your face, and Ren can feel it as you stave off the tears threatening to spill from your eyes.

“Is there something that you need from me, Commander?” Your voice is shaking through your professional demeanor, and he’s not sure how to respond; he wants to make sure that alright. 

“It’s late, I’ll accompany you back to your quarters.” You’re surprised, momentarily forgetting your embarrassment, but you don’t object, walking with him out the door and into the empty corridor. There’s no one around at this time, no one else who could have interrupted your commanding officer’s late night activities, and a stab of anger strikes Ren again. Once you're safe, maybe he’ll go pay a visit to the admiral.

 “You didn’t have to do that,” you say quietly, interrupting Ren’s contemplations.

“Of course I did,” His voice is harsh, the anger bleeding in, and he attempts to soften his tone, “would you rather I hadn’t?” It comes out cold and callous, which is not ideal, but he hopes that it will cover up any weakness he might be showing. Had he been mistaken? You had been relieved, he thought, once he had interrupted you and the admiral, but maybe he had misinterpreted the interaction. Maybe you had wanted the man’s attention.

“I’m the admiral’s assistant,” you say with a practiced air, “it’s my responsibility to provide for his needs.” You’re resigned to it, this treatment, and Ren’s heart aches for you. Who else had taken advantage of you using their high status as coercion?

“Was this the first time?” He asks. Ren’s vision is filled with a red haze, and he sucks in a deep breath trying to clear it—trying to clear his mind of the sight of the admiral with his hands on you, repeated infinitely, over and over again, each time worse than the last.

“It was the first time,” you whisper, but there’s little relief for Ren in that.

“Do you want it to happen again?” He asks next, and you hesitate, unsure whether or not you can allow yourself to be honest with him, but he waits to hear you say it. 

“No.” Your response is quiet, shameful, but it gives Ren something to grasp onto, a slim sliver of hope that all of this hasn’t been in vain.

“Then I’ll make sure that it doesn’t.” Silence falls over the two of you again, the endless halls of the Finalizer filled only with the echoing sounds of your footsteps. 

“Why are you doing this?” There’s a broken quality to your voice, a shattering that he feels deep in his chest, “why do you care what happens to me?”

What could Ren say in response? Could he tell you about the draw you had, the pull he felt whenever you were in a room? How his eyes wandered towards you as you stood behind the admiral in every meeting, diligently recording notes, or the way he searched for you every time he turned a corner? The thin slippery thrill he still felt whenever he caught you thinking about him? These were things that he couldn’t share.

“I’ll have you transferred from the admiral’s service. Do you have a preference?” he says instead, and you scoff, incredulous.

“So someone else can treat me the same?” There’s mirth now in your tone; you’re no longer resigned, you’re angry, “I’d rather stay with the admiral. At least I know what to expect.”

“I’ll put you under my service,” he says, and you stop walking.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Commander, what would you need an assistant for?” There’s a separate layer to the question, a deep current of understanding that runs beneath your words, and he knows that you know. About him. About him wanting you.

“I’m sure I could find something,” he says, filling the silence of the hallway with just a whisper. You’re standing apart from him but there’s a look in your eyes that suggests that you want to be closer.

“Alright then. I look forward to working with you, Commander.” There’s tension, potent, delicious. Ren looks forward to working with you too.

[wordsandshawn]

The Platonic Series ~ Responsibility 

This is a part of the platonic series, which I started ages ago. Even though it’s a series, each part can function as a stand alone imagine so you don’t have to read them all to understand this imagine, they’re just all in the same universe where Shawn and Y/n are best friends and have been since they were young. 

Note** Ella is y/n’s 2 year old daughter who she had with an ex-boyfriend who’s no longer in their lives. Shawn has always helped Y/n out with Ella and been there for both Y/n and Ella. Y/n and Shawn have never dated, although they did kiss once ;). 

2020

“Shawn, can you watch Ella tonight?” You ask Shawn over the phone as you walk toward the other end of your college campus for your last class of the day.   

“Yeah, sure, but I’m in the studio so I don’t think I’ll be off early enough to pick her up from daycare.” Comes Shawn’s response through the phone. 

“I’ll pick her up and drop her off at the studio?” You offer as a question.

“Sounds good. I have to go.” Shawn responds and you hear a lot of background noise, so you say goodbye just as you reach the entrance to the building your class is in. 

The hour-long class drags on slowly and when it is finally over, you drive over to Ella’s daycare to pick her up and drop her off at the studio. As soon as you take her out of her car seat, she starts walking straight for the door. You grab her backpack and catch up with her in two big strides since her tiny legs don’t carry her very far or fast. With Shawn recording his next album, Ella’s been spending almost as much time in the studio with him as she has been at home with you. Even though she’s only two, she already knows her way around. 

When you reach the recording room, you greet Teddy and Ryan and see Shawn in the booth. Ella walks right up onto Teddy and motions that she wants to be picked up. Teddy lets Ella sit in her lap and shows her the screen with all the levels on it.. There are a few other people around, so you say hello to them even though you don’t know them well, and you apologize for interrupting. 

You place Ella’s backpack down in the corner where a bunch of her toys already are, and you take a seat on the couch while you wait for Shawn so you can talk to him before leaving. Ella is still mesmerized by the bars and colors moving on the screen a few minutes later when Shawn emerges from the booth. Ella’s face lights up when she sees him, just like it always does, and she wiggles out of Teddy’s lap and runs to Shawn who scoops her up in his arms. 

“Thanks for watching her,” You tell Shawn, “I’ll pick her up tonight.” 

“Did you get called into work?” He questions, shifting Ella in his arms into a more comfortable position. 

You shake your head. “I’m going out,” You pause and then add, “With someone.” 

Shawn’s eyebrows raise, but he doesn’t comment, and you thank him again for watching Ella before saying goodbye to everyone and leaving the studio quickly. It’s already nearly five pm and you still have to get ready because Kyle is picking you up from your apartment soon to take you to dinner. 

Ever since Ella was born, you’ve kind of put off dating completely. You could come up with a million different excuses as to why it wasn’t a good time to date. However, a few weeks ago, you started talking to Kyle, who attends your university, and he manages to make you feel like a college student again. In the two years since Ella was born, you’ve rarely felt like anything or anyone except Ella’s mom. But when you’re with him, you find yourself pretending to be just another college student talking about exams and papers like those are your biggest stressors, and it feels good. 

After going to dinner, Kyle suggests going to back to his apartment for a bit since his roommates and some friends are hanging out. You’ve already met his roommates and thought it sounded fun to hang out with some new people too, so you agreed. When you arrive, there are more people than you expected and a lot of them are drinking. You never really went through a full party stage and were never a big drinker, but you figured one night couldn’t hurt, so you threw caution to the wind, allowing yourself to feel like a regular college student for once. 

It’s eleven pm and you’re considerably inebriated when you remember that you told Shawn you were going to pick up Ella tonight. You realize it’s late enough that Shawn has probably already put her to bed and there’s no point in waking her. You’ll get her in the morning. Ella stays with Shawn at least once a week, so you know Shawn won’t mind. Even though the logical part of yourself knows you should at least text Shawn to let him know you won’t be picking her up tonight and to check in, the thought leaves as quickly as it comes when you realize you’re not sure where your phone is and Kyle is pulling you into another game of beer pong. 

When you wake up at six am with a pounding headache, everyone else is still asleep, and you realize you can’t find your phone. You don’t remember the last time you had it last night. It takes fifteen minutes before you finally find your phone to see that you have ten missed calls and sixteen messages all from Shawn, which is definitely unusual. 

Your breath catches in your throat and you immediately open the messages. Skimming all of them, you realize that Ella had gotten sick the night before and Shawn wanted to know where you were and what he should do. 

Kyle had picked you up for your date last night, so your car is back at your apartment. You consider waking Kyle, but you know that having to explain to him why you need to go to Shawn’s right away is not something you want to do at this hour since he doesn’t even know you have a daughter, and he would be less than thrilled to be woken up at 6am. 

You take an uber to Shawn’s, texting him on your way there. You also read carefully through every message Shawn sent you last night. A few of them asked you when you were coming to get her. A few informed you that Ella was running a fever and had been asking for you. Each text you read breaks your heart even more knowing that your little girl needed you last night and you were too busy getting drunk to realize it. 

He doesn’t reply to your text, so you use your key to let yourself in since you don’t want to wake them if they’re still asleep. The whole place is quiet, so you assume they’re still sleeping, but you make your way toward the bedroom Ella usually sleeps in when she’s at Shawns. The crib in the corner is empty. The next place you think to look is Shawn’s room. His bedroom door is open, and you see Ella curled against Shawn’s side, both of them sleeping peacefully. 

You feel flooded with guilt seeing her there and knowing she was sick and probably had a rough night, and you need to check on her, to be sure for yourself that she’s okay. Making your way to the bed, you reach out and gently touch her forehead to check if she has a fever. She feels warm, but not hot enough to signify a fever. She stirs a bit at the contact and Shawn wakes up immediately looking at Ella, making sure she’s okay. When he sees you, his eyes fall closed again, and you stare at them both for a few seconds until Shawn opens his eyes again. He carefully scoots away from Ella, placing a pillow where his body used to be before leaving the bedroom and motioning for you to follow him to the living room.

“Where the hell were you last night?” Shawn questions, his voice a whisper, but clearly he’s upset. 

“I went to Kyle’s place after dinner and I lost track of time.” You try to explain. Even as the words leave your lips, you know how insufficient an excuse it is. There is no excuse that would be good enough to justify the fact that your daughter was sick and needed you and you weren’t there for her. 

“Did you lose your phone too? I texted you like 20 times.” Shawn responds. 

"I’m sorry. I didn’t think to check my phone, and I didn’t know she was sick.” 

Shawn just shakes his head at you, and you know he’s upset. “Shawn, I said I’m sorry, and she doesn’t have a fever now.” You respond, not wanting him to be mad at you too. You already feel guilty enough without feeling like you disappointed Shawn and let Ella down. 

“That’s because she had Tylenol at four am,” Shawn responds. "I know she was fine. I’m not mad at you for leaving her with me, although you could have at least texted me that you weren’t coming for her last night. I just can’t believe you would be so irresponsible. Who is this guy anyway? He has you ditching your kid and disappearing.” 

“Don’t talk to me about responsibility. All I’ve done for the past two years is put Ella first. Everything I’ve done has been for her. I wanted one night to be a twenty-two year old. That doesn’t make me a bad parent.” 

“I never said you were a bad parent. I just asked who this guy is that’s making you forget you have a daughter.” Shawn shoots back immediately. 

“I didn’t forget about her!” You respond, feeling a surge of anger toward Shawn. In the back of your mind, you know he’s not the enemy, but it sure feels like he’s picking a fight right now. 

“Stop yelling. You’re going to wake her.” Shawn responds, intentionally dropping his voice even lower. 

“Sorry,” You whisper. “He’s just a guy. We have a class together. We started talking about three weeks ago.” 

“I know that much,” Shawn responds as though that information was obvious. 

“How do you know?” You question, your eyebrows knit together in confusion. 

“Because that’s around the time you started leaving Ella with me when you didn’t have work.” 

He’s not wrong, so you don’t say anything, “You never told him about Ella.” Shawn says, as a statement, not a question, and he’s right. 

“It never came up.” You respond, but you leave out the part where you didn’t tell him on purpose. You didn’t tell him because you wanted to be seen as a regular college student. You feared that if he knew you had a two-year old daughter, he’d think you had too much baggage or would be afraid of the responsibility. It felt like you could be a different person with Kyle since he didn’t know, and you worried that would all change if he found out. 

Before Shawn responds, you hear Ella’s voice call out, “Mama!” You turn to see her walking toward you with her arms up. You meet her halfway and scoop her up into your arms. She rests her head on your shoulder and squeezes you in a hug. 

“Hi baby, how do you feel?” You ask, and she doesn’t really respond. You feel her forehead again, and she’s still warm, but you don’t think she has a fever. This conversation or argument with Shawn is going to have to wait. You sit on the couch holding Ella in your arms. She’s still sleepy, so she rests in your arms without moving. 

Your eyes fall closed and you feel relieved for at least a few moments of peace since yours and Shawn’s argument was interrupted and he had left the living room. A few minutes later, you hear the sound of footsteps signaling he’s back. When you open your eyes, you see Shawn with a glass of water in his hand. He holds it out for you, which you take gratefully, and he also hands you two pills. When you look up at him questioningly, he just nods knowingly and you realize he knows you’re hungover even though you never mentioned it to him. 

“She can have another dose of Tylenol in an hour. It’s on the kitchen counter. I’m going back to sleep.” He says all in one breath before turning and walking away without waiting for a response, and you make a mental note to thank him later. You owe Shawn more than just a thank you, truthfully. 

Ella is still cuddling up against you without moving, so you rub her back gently, the conversation between you and Shawn weighing heavily on your mind. Shawn had to grow up quickly because of his career and you had to grow up quickly because of Ella, so it was easy for you two to get along, especially after you had Ella. Since you were suddenly learning how to manage the responsibility of being a mom while supporting both yourself and your daughter with no help from her dad or your parents. Shawn was the one person who never wavered in his support for you, and he loved Ella from the very first moment he met her.

Ella falls asleep again in your arms and you have no doubt that she didn’t sleep much the night before. The silence coming from Shawn’s room lets you know that he’s probably fast asleep because he didn’t get much sleep either. You remain on Shawn’s couch somewhere between awake and asleep with Ella in your arms until she starts stirring about an hour later. You check the time and realize that Shawn said she was supposed to take more medicine at this time. You realize Ella’s awake, so you stand up with her in your arms and make your way to the kitchen where the medicine is on the counter right where Shawn said it would be. 

You sit Ella in her high chair and pour some cheerios on the tray. It keeps her occupied while you pull the pancake mix out of the cabinet. Fifteen minutes later, Ella is munching on a pancake and you’re cooking the last of the batter when Shawn reemerges from his bedroom, looking every bit as sleepy and grumpy as he did earlier. 

You place three pancakes on a plate and grab some strawberries from the fridge. You hand the plate and a bottle of maple syrup to Shawn, saying, “I’m sorry for yelling at you.” 

He takes his plate to the table and sits down, reaching out to pull Ella’s high chair closer to the table before finally looking up at you and saying, “I’m sorry for calling you irresponsible.” And just like that, things are back to normal. You still feel guilty for not being there when Ella needed you, but at least you know Shawn isn’t upset anymore. It’s hard for him to stay angry when you make him pancakes, a peace offering that has worked for you several times in the past. 

You’re plating your own pancakes when your phone buzzes on the counter, catching your attention. You glance at the screen to see a message from Kyle, Hey where’d you go?

You place some straberries on your plate, putting a little extra so you can share with Ella when she’s done with her pancakes, and then pick up your phone, pondering your reply, but you put it back down without typing a response. 

Taking your plate, you sit down next to Shawn, sharing your strawberries with Ella as you dive into your pancakes. “So this guy, is it serious?” Shawn’s voice cuts through the silence, but by the hesitancy in his tone, you know that he’s not trying to fight this time, unlike an hour ago when he brought up Kyle. 

“I only started talking to him a few weeks ago.” You respond, shrugging. 

“I don’t mind watching Ella,” He says softly. “I know that’s not what it sounded like earlier, but I didn’t mean it like that. She was sick and upset and didn’t want to eat anything and she was so warm and I couldn’t reach you. But it turned out okay, and you know I like having her here.” 

“Thank you, and I am really sorry about last night. I should’ve checked in.” 

He nods, a silent way of accepting your apology, and you realize you didn’t give Ella her medicine since you wanted her to eat something first. You grab the medicine from the counter and take the syringe from the dishrack. You measure the proper amount, and turn around to see that Shawn has taken Ella out of the seat, and he asks, “Do you want me to hold her or give her the meds?” He asks, and you hand him the syringe, silently answering his question. You take Ella from his arms and sit down. 

He kneels in front of you, and he starts speaking softly to Ella, telling her all about the medicine and how it's supposed to make her feel better. Magically, he gets her to open her mouth and take the medicine without any fight, something Ella never does for you. 

Your phone vibrates on the counter again, probably another message from Kyle, but this time you ignore it, placing Ella back in her high chair and giving her some strawberries. 

[snakeboistan]

The Couple Games

This is going to be my first attempt at crack.

This is inspired by ‘The Great Boyfriend Debate’ by doujinzii. If you’re a Haikyuu!! fan, you should totally check it out because it is a masterpiece that should be displayed in the Louvre.

“YES!” Okajima whooped, pumping two fists in the air as the black and white ball hit the net of the goal. Karma - the student who had scored the goal in the first place - smirked, saluting and winking at the disgruntled crowd of main campus students. It was one of Kunugigaoka Junior High’s sporting events and the sport that the students were currently playing was football (soccer to anyone that’s from America). Of course, as 3-E was seen as the lowest of the low, they weren’t allowed to participate during the main events and were, yet again, pushed to the sidelines and were forced to take part in the ‘Exhibition Match’ against the school’s Football Team where they were expected to be publicly humiliated by experiencing a crushing defeat - all in the name of boosting morale. How fun. However, this year the Chairman’s plan of bringing E Class down was hampered by said class’ teacher, who had more than a few tricks up his sleeve. Days of training and training and more training had prepared the student outcasts for this game of power play and they were more than ready to show the entire school what they were made of. Currently, the boys of E Class were at a tie with the Football Club members, thanks to the goal that they were just celebrating.

“Well done, Karma,” Nagisa smiled at the redhead, who was currently sticking his tongue at the glowering Football Captain, “that was an amazing goal.”

With a grin, Karma turned to face him, “it was, wasn’t it? Why don’t you congratulate me properly?”

Nagisa’s eyes widened as his face reddened. Knowing Karma, there was only one thing that he was thinking of for his ‘congratulations’. He looked away to hide his flaming cheeks, “Karma…”

Karma took a step closer to the blunette, smirking at his embarrassed countenance, “oh come on Nagisa. I worked so hard to score a goal for our class. The least you could do as my boyfriend is to give me a little reward.”

Nagisa’s twin-tails ruffled upwards at the close proximity that the two shared, Karma’s lips were so close to his ear that a millimeter closer would have them touching the skin of its shell, “Ka-Karma. We-we’re in public.”

“Oh, please Nagi~” was purred into his ear, warm breath making the shorter boy shudder and his skin to prickle.

“OI! You two,” both of them looked towards the source of the voice to find Maehara with his arms crossed, looking at them with a mixture of exasperation and fondness as he shook his head at them with a smirk, “care to wait until the game is over before you start flirting?”

“Sorry, Maehara,” Nagisa smiled sheepishly as he pushed Karma away with an extended arm, “I hope we didn’t draw too much attention.”

Karma harrumphed before glomping Nagisa from behind, “don’t be sorry, Nagi. He’s just jealous that I happen to have the best boyfriend ever.”

“Umm, exCUSE ME!” Maehara protested loudly, amber eyes narrowed at the redhead and ignoring the looks that the three of them were getting from other students, “I’ll have you know that you are very much wrong on that, Karma. You do know that I am dating Isogai, right.”

“So what,” Karma retorted flippantly, narrowing his own eyes at the golden-haired boy, “are you saying that Nagisa is not an adorable little blueberry that deserves the world and everything in it?”

“Karma,” Nagisa whispered harshly as he could tell that their conversation was attracting more attention than he was comfortable with.

Maehara waved a hand around, “well yeah sure, Nagisa is cute and all but Isogai is an Ikeman.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean.”

“It means that he’s the better boyfriend.”

Karma scoffed, “how so?”

Maehara used his hands to gesture wildly at said Ikeman, who was watching this all go down with confusion and disbelief, “uhh, have you seen him? I mean those gorgeous eyes and antennae are positively the most captivating things in existence. Not to mention how his smile can cause world peace.”

“No one cares about your stupid hair kink, Maehara. And besides, my Nagisa’s smiles are far more endearing.”

“YOU TAKE THAT BACK!”

“NEVER!”

Isogai approached them with the face of someone who very much hates his own judgement, “guys, we’re in the middle of a-”

“Nagisa is so the better boyfriend. He’s sweet and kind and an amazing kisser.”

“HA! I’ll have you know that Isogai is a far better kisser than anyone could hope to be.”

“Oh, those are fighting words.”

“What are you suggesting? That we have a kissing contest right here, right now?”

“Of course and then you’ll see-”

“BOTH OF YOU, STOP!” Isogai yelled at them in an attempt to stop this trainwreck. Both his and Nagisa’s faces rivaled the colour of Karma’s hair as they watched their boyfriends tear into each other.

“Sorry, Isogai,” Maehara huffed, “but Karma was questioning your ability of being a good boyfriend. It’s my duty to defend you and our title as the best couple.”

“OH THAT’S JUST B*******!”

All of them turned towards the voice that shouted at them, looking on in shock as Kurahashi climbed over the stands and stomped towards them with fire burning in her eyes. She went right up to Maehara and pointed a finger at his face.

“You really think that you’re the best couple?” the orange-haired girl demanded.

“Uhh, duh.”

“Well, you’re wrong. Listen here womaniser (“former womaniser,” Maehara pointed out), Yada and I are the best couple and that’s that.”

“WHAT!” The four boys yelled, Karma and Maehara in indignation and Nagisa and Isogai in incredulity.

“You tell ‘em, babes,” Yada yelled from the side of the pitch. Kurahashi smiled and blew a kiss at her, making her squeal and catch the air in front of her.

Karma, who was still hugging Nagisa, flared up, “Excuse me, what the hell are you saying?”

Maehara glared at the girl in front of him, “Uhh, I think you need to get your facts straight.”

“Yeah, Kurahashi,” Kayano agreed loudly, drawing the attention towards her, “they’re right!”

“What the hell do you mean by that?!” Kurahashi loured at her.

Yada frowned at the resident pudding-lover, “yeah, Kayano. What the hell?”

“I think that they’re right,” Kayano crossed her arms, “you guys are not the best couple. Not when Okuda and I are here.”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!”

“Excuse me,” Yada said, “I’ll have you know that Kurahashi is capable of charming anyone she wants to.”

“Yeah, well, my little mad scientist can make a poison that can kill a dragon.”

“Dragons don’t even exist!”

“OH, PLEASE!”

“EVERYONE SHUT UP AND JUST ADMIT THAT MY NAGI-BABY CAN BLOW YOU ALL OUT OF THE WATER. I MEAN HAVE YOU SEEN THE WAY HIS BLOODLUST MAKES HIS EYES GLOW WITH THE DESIRE TO CAUSE HARM! HE’S DANGEROUS AND ADORABLE - THE PERFECT PACKAGE! AND NOTHING CAN COMPARE TO HIS HUGS. NOTHING!”

“SO FRICKIN WHAT?! MY ISOGAI CAN COOK ANYTHING AND HE LOOKS AMAZING IN ANYTHING HE WEARS. HE COULD WALK AROUND IN A POTATO SACK AND STILL LOOK LIKE THE COVER MODEL OF A MAGAZINE! HIS TEXTS TO ME ARE BETTER THAN ANY LOVE LETTER EVER WRITTEN AND IF YOU THINK HUGS ARE SO GREAT THEN YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT’S LIKE TO HAVE THE PERFECT BOYFRIEND RUN HIS HANDS THROUGH YOUR HAIR WHEN YOU MAKE OUT!”

“BOTH OF YOU ARE WRONG! THERE’S A REASON WHY YADA IS B****-SENSEI’S TOP STUDENT. I MEAN THAT MOUTH!”

“OKUDA CAN MAKE A CHEMICAL BOMB IN FIVE SECONDS WITH HER EYES CLOSED AND TAKE OUT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! WHICH I WILL GLADLY MAKE HER DO BECAUSE I AM SICK OF ALL OF YOU STOMPING ON THE TRUTH!”

Nagisa and Isogai could only watch in horror as their class erupted into the Pompeii of Kunugigaoka: Okajima was on the grass, wailing about how it’s so unfair that he’s single and has no one to defend him and Mimura was next to him, curled up in a fetal position and rocking himself back and forth, whispering to himself ‘it’s just a nightmare, it’s just a nightmare’; Sugino was slumped against a stand and was blushing madly; Fuwa and Rio had their phones out and were recording everything that was going on; Okano started rambling about how Kataoka’s front stroke was so graceful that it could put a dolphin to shame; Chiba and Hayami looked at each other before looking away and continued to observe the events unfolding; Yoshida was forced to restrain an angered Maehara who was about to throw himself at Karma; Terasaka and Muramatsu were just staring blankly into space, looking like they were ready to accept the Earth blowing up right now instead of in March; Hazama turned another page of the book she smuggled into the game; Hara tried to calm down the fight that was breaking out between Kayano and Yada; Okuda was still blushing from Kayano’s earlier declaration; Irina looked like her favourite show was on as she was gleefully clapping her hands and watching everything go down (to be honest, she found football dead boring and was very interested when Maehara suggested the kissing contest earlier); Karasuma’s hands seemed to be surgically attached to his face; Koro-Sensei was having the time of his life as he was hurriedly jotting down notes in three different notebooks and taking pictures with two different cameras simultaneously. Meanwhile, as all of this was happening, the Football team stood there awkwardly, having absolutely no clue what on Earth was going on. Araki, who was sitting in the announcer’s box, turned to Asano in bewilderment. The strawberry blonde was watching the bonfire that was E-Class in a mixture of confusion, distaste and fascination.

“Uhh, Asano,” Ren probed, “shouldn’t you do something?”

Asano shot a glance towards his father, noting the way the older man looked as if his feather’s had been ruffled and internally taking delight in the way he too seemed perplexed at the current state of events, “hmm, probably not. This is the most entertaining thing I’ve seen since Seo’s new haircut.”

[statement69420]

1.

The first time the man had come down to the archive, or at least the first time they saw him, was a couple weeks after Jon had become the head Archivist.

Tim hadn't paid much attention to the man. Not really interested in some person coming to give a statement. And he told Sasha so when she pointed out how odd the man looked.

It wasn't until she informed him that Jon was not expecting anyone to give a statement today. And he hadn't asked to give one on his way in. This made him take a closer look at the man.

He was a little taller than average height, wearing only black, his long hair was also, poorly dyed, black, thought that's not what Tim's eyes were drawn to.

The man's hands were covered in tattoos. All of them were of an eyeball. One on every knuckle.

Him and Sasha watched as the man walked over to Jon's office, raising his hand to knock. He couldn't take his eyes off of the man's hand. And it seemed like it was looking back at him.

He only had to stand at the door for a moment before Jon opened it for him.

Sasha and Tim watched as he walked into the office. And it didn't slip their notice that he didn't come out for a couple hours.

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

2.

Martin had been avoiding Jon since what had happened that morning. If he had known Jon was there he would have put pants on.

But he didn't know. So now he's stuck in a very awkward situation. Because he has to tell Jon what he found about one of the statements. It wasn't a lot considering he can't actually leave the institute because of Jane, but it was enough to disprove it.

So he has to tell him.

Martin conjured up all the courage he possibly could and made his way to Jon's office. He was about to knock when a voice told him to wait.

The person talking was a goth man, about the same height as him, with really creepy tattoos.

It looked as though he had been waiting outside the office door. Maybe he was there to give a statement?

"He's recording a statement", The man said, obviously taking Martin's quizzical look as confusion.

"Alright. I'll come back later than", He said, and was about to turn away, but stopped to ask the man who he was.

"I'm Gerard Keay", He said holding out his hand. Martin shook it giving his own name.

"Well, Mr.Keay, if you're here to give a statement, you can either write it down or you can wait in that area", He said pointing toward the right side of the large area they were currently in, and not to any particular location.

"You can call me Gerard. I'm not here to give a statement. Just found a book that I figured Jon would like to see.", He said this while holding up a brown paper bag that looked like it had something rectangular in it, the book.

"Why do you have it in a bag?"

"It's sensitive to lights. You should have seen what happened when I first walked outside with it. Almost lost my hand"

"The book, almost made you lose your hand?"

"Yeah. It's got some pretty sharp teeth"

"It has wh-", Martin's question was cut off by the opening of the office door. Jon stood there looking as tired as he always did.

"Martin, is there something you need?", He said, having not noticed Gerard.

"Yeah. I got that evidence you needed to disprove-", he was cut off again as Jon took the papers he was holding out to him.

"Very good. Thank you", It was at that point that he finally noticed the goth man, "Gerry, is there something I can help you with?"

"Brought you a gift", He said, holding up the bag and smiling as though the item inside wasn't something horrible.

"You found another one?", Jon sounded surprised, how hard was it to find books. Well, books with teeth were probably hard to find.

"It actually found me. Showed up at ou- my flat", Gerry corrected himself near the end, he looked at Martin as though he was waiting on him to say something. But all he did was excuse himself, not really interested in the book that bites.

He could hear Jon invite Gerry into his office as he walked away.

It was only later that night when he realized what Gerry had been saying before he corrected himself. He decided not to dwell on it and try to sleep.

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

3.

The next time that he was seen in the archives, was when he wasn't actually in the Archives. He wasn't even in the institute.

It was the same night that Jane Prentiss attacked. He was standing outside the institute, as close to the building as the medics would allow him. Saying something about an infestation and such.

Elias watched as the man stood there. Looking toward the building as if waiting for something. He knew the man. Of course he did. Someone who spent time with Gertrude all seemed to have the same type of despair about them. Also there was no way anyone could forget what this man looked like.

And right now, Gerard Keay, stood there, staring at his institute with a rage that Elias couldn't quite understand. And with every passing minute he became more and more impatient.

He watched as Gerard continuously checked his phone and his watch and back again. Waiting. He eventually got a phone call, or that's what it looked like. Gerard answered the call and took a few steps away from the institute.

This was when he stopped paying attention to him. Which was probably a good thing since Jon was up and going again and demanding everyone's statement about what happened.

The next time he saw Gerard Keay that night, he was helping a very tired Jonathan Sims, get home. He made mental note to look into how they know each other. Elias definitely didn't want them to interact too much. But from the look of it he was probably too late.

4.

Melanie watched as the man entered and immediately made his way to Elias's office. She listened as they both began to scream. Though she couldn't actually make out what they were saying.

When he came back through the archives Martin stopped him. The man turned to face him, the look of anger never leaving his eyes.

"Gerard? Why're you here?"

"Needed to have a talk with Elias", He said, obviously trying to keep his cool, not wanting to blow up on Martin for no reasons.

"Sounded more like a shouting match", Melanie commented from behind him. He turned to face her.

"Yeah. There's no being civil with someone like him", He told her gesturing towards the office he just left.

"Fair enough", She shrugged, "What were you yelling at him about"

"Him framing Jon for murder"

"He framed Jon?", Martin asked

"Yeah. Did you think he actually killed someone?", He asked.

"Wouldn't put it past him", Tim said as he walked past.

"Then you really, really don't know him", He said shaking his head, "I'm done with all of this. I'm going home".

They watched as he walked away. Confused on how this person who none of them knew personally, knew their boss so well. Except for Martin who had a look on his face, making it very obvious that he knew something.

"Martin, who was that?", Melanie asked.

"That was Gerard Keay. I think he's a rare book dealer, and also Jon's flatmate"

"He's what? How do you know that?", He then began to give her the rundown of what happened the last time he had seen Gerard.

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

5.

Basira was surprised to see someone rummaging around through the statements. Not that this was odd, it's just that she was sure that he didn't work here.

She was pretty sure she would remember seeing someone like him around the archives before now.

So she made a decision and began to walk up to him, trying not to call herself to his attention yet. She must have been walking to heavy because he turned around the second she got there.

He was holding a stack of papers in his tattooed hands. As she looked up from his hands to his face she could have sworn one of the several eyes blinked at her.

"Hello, I'm just here to collect a few statements", He said, a bit awkwardly as though he wasn't expecting anyone to be there. Which was fair considering how early it was, but it still made her not trust him.

"Yeah, I can see that. But no one except employees can take the statements out of here. If you would like to look over one for research purposes, you may file a request with me or someone else, but you can't take them", Basira said, although she couldn't imagine why anyone would need them for research.

"I don't need them for research. Jon actually asked me to come pick up some. He's in America, as I'm sure you know, and he wanted me to collect these for when he gets back", The man said.

"You know Jon?", She questioned, looking him over.

"Yeah. We're, uh, we're really close. I bet I know him better than you do actually", He said this with so much confidence, the last part anyway, she almost wanted to believe him. Almost.

"I'm sure. If you don't mind me asking, who are you and how exactly do you know Jon?"

"I'm Gerard Keay-", He was about to continue, but she cut him off.

"I know you. You were arrested for your mum's murder right?"

"I didn't do it! They soon realized it! It doesn't matter anyway."

"It kinda does. Not sure if we should have murderer running around the institute"

"One. I didn't do it! Two. What about Elias?"

"That's fair. Now, how do you know Jon?"

"I was trying to tell you. I met him a while back. We were both looking for a flatmate, it's cheaper you know? And he was told about me by a mutual friend, Georgie? Don't know if you've met her. And we hit it off. Have the same taste in music and books, and the same dislike of certain books. So that's it. We share a flat.", He said, all in one breath which was kinda freaky. She took all in and then frowned at him.

"Same taste in music? Really? That's hard to believe.", Basira told him.

"I told you I know him better than you do.", Gerard said, smirking.

"Okay, but how do I know you're telling the truth?"

"There's no real way to prove it. Sorry. Guess you'll just have to take my word for it. Though I'm sure Elias would vouch for me, but I'm sure you don't trust him much either, right?"

"Right. Look, I can't allow you to leave with the statements.", She told him. She had decided that she believed him for the most part, but that doesn't mean she was going to let him leave with the statements.

"That's fine. Is it okay if I stick them in his desk?", Gerard asked, walking over to it, ans not waiting on her response.

"Alright then. Is there anything else you need Gerard?", Basira asked him.

"No. Thank you for the chat, Detective, I'd love to do it again. Goodbye", He said as he left the archive room, only looking back to wave at her. This time she was certain one of the eyes blinked.

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

+1

They all gathered in the archives when Jon came back from America. He had apparently learned about some storage locker that Gertrude used to own.

He was halfway through telling everyone about it when Daisy spoke up.

"I know this is super important and what not, but who's the goth?", She said pointing at Gerard who was standing beside Jon.

"Gerard Keay", Said 'Goth' told her, doing mock how as he did so.

"The guy who killed his mother?", Daisy asked, recognizing the name.

"I didn't kill my mother! I was cleared of all charges! Why does everyone keep bringing that up?", He asked, not really angry just irritated.

"Fine. Whatever. Why is he here?", She asked Jon, over looking Gerard completely.

"He knew Gertrude, and he also knows where the storage locker is", Jon told her. Gerard elbowed him in the side, which is amazing considering the height difference, and gave him a pointed look. Jon sighed, "He's also here for emotional support"

"Emotional support? What is he your boyfriend?", Tim asked.

"That's it exactly it! I guess you were right, Tim is pretty smart when he wants to be. Did think you committed murder, but still", Gerard said.

They all began to ask questions. All at once overtop of each other. Jon eventually got them to stop. He looked around at all of them and frowned.

"The world is in danger and all you guys care about is my love life?"

[kpop-uni]

Through the Lens // Five

Christian YuxYoutuber!Reader Words: 4.5K A/N: WOW did this take forever :( I’m sorry for the long wait but as you guys probably know I’m not in the best mental place right now and my main priority was getting help for me. Though, thanks for sticking with me! Love ya lots! But we’re looking at maybe? Two chapters until the end? Like usual I might post a poll on what fic to post but if anything I’ll just post summaries and Ill update as I go along~ If anything, a poll will be up with weekend to see what fics I’ll be posting next!

Chapter Four // Chapter Six

To everyone, except for Gyungmo of course, nothing was out of the ordinary with you. You smiled and joked around the same, always enthusiastic about going out to eat or shoving your mouth with snacks. But, the moment that Christian joined, or if Chaeyoung was present, everything with you went quiet. You stayed in your place with the same excuses. 

"I'm editing." "No, I'm just making sure the battery is okay." "I gotta make notes on what to delete."

Scott, on the other hand, began to notice, furrowing his eyebrows and thinking that maybe Chaeyoung had said something to you. But even when he knew no one was noticing the two of you, Chaeyoung offered you her snacks, always asking if you needed something from the store or if she could watch while you went over the edited videos. You tensed a bit when she was near you, giving her one-worded answers or sometimes answering with a shake of your head. 

"Did I do something to her?" Chaeyoung looked over at Christian. 

You had left the room rather quickly after Chaeyoung gave Christian a kiss on the cheek. Chaeyoung turned to you as you slammed your laptop shut, quickly walking out of the studio with Scott right behind you. 

"Hm?" Christian finally gave his attention to Chaeyoung, eyes moving away from the reflection of the studio glass. He saw how Scott was whispering to you, your shoulders slumping, getting up and leaving with him right behind you. Christian's blood boiled, hands clenching into fists. 

"If I did or say something to her," Chaeyoung repeated, elbow resting on the table and fist on her temple. "I feel like she doesn't like me much,"

Before Christian could answer, Gyungmo came in with Cline right behind him, the two showing Christian the finished song. 

"Gyungmo, I can't do this anymore..." You sighed, your thumb pad between your teeth as you nibbled on it, a habit you had when nervous or stressed.

"I told you, just stop overthinking these things-"

"But it's like he's rubbing it in my face," You turned to Gyungmo, hands now on your knees before you sighed, going back to staring at your laptop screen. "This video is almost half an hour long and I still haven't added any footage of him. And to top it, this whole part was about his process!"

Gyungmo sighed, biting his inner cheek, silent until you let your head fall. "So? Are you gonna cut this part out of the series?"

It was quiet, Gyungmo waiting for your response before you shook your head, giving out a sigh. You'll admit, you wanted to skip this part of the series but you knew you would get questions about why and the last thing you wanted was for fans to twist around your intensions. "No, I have to film him and see if he needs anything edited out."

With a nod, Gyungmo left you to continue his work. You hesitantly reached for your camera and laptop, holding on to the charger with your finger as you made your way to Christian's workspace. You stood outside the door, calming your nervous as you lifted your fist, about to knock when the door was pulled open, Christian looking down at you.

He was a bit startled, blinking and taking the tiniest of steps back before you immediately looked down. He watched as you fidgeted, almost dropping your laptop in the process of trying to find your words.

"I need to edit my video with you, just to see if it's okay with you and if you want-"

"I'm going on a date with Chaeyoung, can it wait?"

You gulped at the interruption, your voice already shaking with the nervous. The last thing you wanted was to make an even bigger fool out of yourself so you nodded. You simply stepped back, Christian moving past you and ignoring the way you bit your lip, heading in the opposite direction.

You locked yourself in Cline's space, taking deep breaths and calming yourself down. You slumped down on the arm of the couch, closing your eyes and breathing in and out. With a sigh and soft bite to the corner of your lip, you gulped down the rest of the feelings you had, fixing your laptop and charger in your hand before standing.

Scott looked down the halls, trying to find any sign of you before spotting you checking your phone, calling your name. You were a bit startled, Scott laughing as he walked over. "You hungry?"

You spent the afternoon in with Scott at a small restaurant, the two of you laughing and talking about anything Scott was working on. Eventually, the conversation turning into a game that Scott was interested in playing.

"I think my next series is going to be just playing that game, I've heard good things about it,"

"Are you seriously going to go back to gameplays?" Scott asked, excitement in his eyes as you laughed. The two of you eventually felt like you overstayed your lunch break, Scott letting you pay for the food after losing to a quick round of rock, paper, scissors.

When the two of you walked out, you looked up to find Christian and Chaeyoung walking across the street, hands tightly grasped. Chaeyoung giggling about whatever Christian whispered about, a smirk on his face. You ignored them, focusing on Scott who kept telling his story, your hand in the crook of his arm as the two of you decided to go on a stroll. You laughed a little at what Scott said, distracting you from Christian.

But Chaeyoung noticed you right away, smiling a bit and leaning her head on Christian's bicep. "Aren't they so cute? I feel like they were meant for each other,"

Christian looked over, quickly spotting how much you were laughing at Scott's hands tickling your sides. He clenched his teeth, Scott leaning all his weight on you as you attempted to hold him up, whining his name as he laughed, the two of you stumbling slightly.

You let Scott drag you back to him, continuing the walk. Christian hummed, turning back ahead and trying to ignore what he saw, letting out a breath. "She seems so nice... I kind of feel bad because I think she just doesn't like me," Chaeyoung let the conversation end there, focusing on Christian and their date. But Christian's jaw tensed, looking down at Chaeyoung.

"I'm sure you did nothing, she's just a little hard to get along with at first,"

Gyungmo and Scott had invited the guys on your last night to end your vacation with a celebration, hosting a house party in Scott's place. You knew it wasn't nice, but you couldn't help but feel happy that Christian and Chaeyoung didn't go. You wanted to enjoy yourself once more before heading home, and you knew you weren't going to be able to if you only saw them together.

You let yourself relax, enjoying the company of Hyuk who wouldn't let you go, making you shy whenever you were teased about it. Woo taught you how to spin a few records, teaching you the basics of how to DJ. You stayed with your camera glued to your hand, taking pictures and videos of everyone and everything.

The next morning, you sat on the hotel bed, showered and with everything packed save for your laptop case. You tried looking for the courage to send the text, looking down at your phone. You let out a breath, squeezing your eyes closed and pressing the send button.

Christian's attention was given to his phone at the ding it made, seeing a text from you and sighing a bit.

Y/N 12:54 PM: Can we edit the video now?

Christian knew he couldn't avoid you forever, so he replied back that he was in his studio and to go over. He sat back in his chair, hands rubbing his face as he knew he needed to face you sooner or later. But still, he couldn’t help the anger that bubbled up whenever he saw you, knowing you belonged to Scott.

Christian waited for half an hour, closing his laptop and just about to give up on you when you knocked, heading inside the studio.

"Hey,"

Christian looked up from his laptop, seeing you walk in with your own laptop on hand. You closed the door behind you, Christian, without a word, moved his things aside and giving you room to set your laptop down.

The tension was thick and you began to think that you took forever in setting your editing programs up, taking a seat and clearing your throat. "So, I'm going to combine the videos and play them, I'll tell you my plans and you tell me what you want me to get rid of."

With only a nod and a hum that Christian gave you, you opened the file only for Christian's part of the series, clicking into each video in the order you set it. You waited as he watched the first clip, biting your tongue gently.

Christian was clicking away in the video, eyes focused on his screen as you zoomed in a bit, giggling. He turned to you, giving you a confused look before breaking out into a smile.

"You don't need this one," Christian sat back into his chair, making you hum.

"This one is the intro, kind of to kick it off." You hesitated on looking at him, Christian rolling his eyes and shrugging, sighing out a quiet whatever. You looked back at the video, clicking out of it and moving it to a new file, continuing the second video.

"Delete that, I want my programs to be kept to myself," You nodded, adding in an edit, making sure to type it into the notes on your phone, continuing the video.

Your leg shook with nerves, eyes glued to the screen, going from video to video and doing everything that Christian told you to do with it. It was only a couple more videos when a knock on the door made you both turn, Chaeyoung poking her head before giving a shy smile. “Sorry, I’ll let you guys continue-“

“No, it’s fine.” Christian waved her in, pulling a chair right next to him. You squirmed in your seat, eyes going back to your screen and clicking through the video. You ignored the tiny giggle that escaped Chaeyoung and the soft kiss that Christian gave her until Christian gave you his attention again.

By the end, what could've been a 24-minute long video turned into only 5 minutes. You combined all the videos together, seeing the time limit and frowning, going through other files to look for any other videos you could add.

"That's it, right? We finished?" You could hear the impatience in Christian's voice, pulling his laptop closer. Chaeyoung helped him pull his items closer, going back to resting her arm on the table.

"No, the video needs to be longer than just five minutes," You ignored the way Christian grumbled, closing your eyes and continuing to look for more videos.

"Why don't you like Chaeyoung? What did she do to you?"

You were caught off guard with the question, fingers freezing as you looked at Christian. He glared at you, almost as if he wanted to bury you alive, hand gripping the mouse. Chaeyoung, who was once on her phone, turned to Christian so quick, you thought she was going to snap her neck.

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, letting your hands fall from your keyboard to your lap, shaking your head as you scoffed. “What?” 

With a sarcastic chuckle, Christian shook his head. “Everyone can tell that you don’t like Chaeyoung. So why? She’s been nothing but nice to you-“

“Who said that I didn’t like her? I never said that!” You argued back, turning fully toward him. 

“You make it so fucking obvious!” Christian raised his voice, hand waving as if he were showing you how obvious it was. “All that’s left is for you to openly tell her to fuck off-“ 

“Why the hell are you saying such shit?” You yelled back, glaring at Christian. “I’m sorry that I don’t want to talk to your girlfriend like she's my best friend! Is that what’s bugging you?” 

“Ian, stop...” Chaeyoung tried to stop Christian, looking at you with worried eyes. “I’m so sorry, please just ignore him.”

“Come on,” Christian laughed, shaking his head. “Y/N, you literally act like a bitch with her. You’re all fun and games with everyone and when she comes in the hate just oozes out of you!”

Your eyes widened, slamming your laptop closed and grabbing your things. Chaeyoung flinched at the slam, a quiet yelp leaving her and Christian only flinched a bit. “Have you ever thought that maybe it’s not her I hate, Christian?” You turned to the door, grabbing the doorknob. “Maybe, just maybe, it’s you that I hate?” 

Before you could even take a step out, the door was slammed closed, catching you off guard. You were spun around, backing yourself to the door as Christian's jaw clenched, eyes filled with anger as your hands pressed into his chest, attempting to prevent him from getting closer.

"You have no fucking reason to hate me," Christian's words came out quietly, each one oozing venom. Your eyes that were once wide in surprise turned into a hard glare, adding force to your push that only resulted in Christian moving only slightly back. "I never did anything to you.“

"Ian..." Chaeyoung hissed, worry evident on her face as she desperately tried to pull him away from you. "That's enough, okay? You don't need to do this-"

"Never did anything to me?" You scoffed, staring up at Christian in disbelief. "You treated me so nice the whole beginning, but one little drunken night that we kissed and you suddenly changed on me! And you got yourself a girlfriend making me think that I'm the problem!"

Chaeyoung finally stopped trying to pull Christian -who was frozen in shock- back, as Chaeyoung looked at you as if you had grown another head, shaking her head a bit. "Christian wouldn't do that..."

You looked at Christian, an eyebrow raised as you waited for him to talk. “You didn’t tell her? That I pulled you out to dance and you made me think there might have been something between us, only for you to make me feel like a cheap hookup?” 

Christian was at a loss for words, only staring at you as he finally stepped back enough, letting you rush out of the room. You stopped before closing the door, looking at Christian one more time. “I regret ever getting close to you,” The slam of the door echoed in the room, Chaeyoung letting out a breath and moving away. 

“I really thought you started to like me,” Chaeyoung’s voice was soft, pulling away from Christian to grab her phone. 

“I do-“ 

“No, you don’t,” Chaeyoung looked up at Christian. He faced her, worry on his face as Chaeyoung sighed. “Why did you even do this to her? To me?”

Christian tried to say something, anything to not hurt Chaeyoung. His mouth opened and closed as if he was choking on air, trying to find the right words before closing his eyes, letting out a breath. 

“She doesn’t like me, she was drunk and I thought maybe, just maybe, she liked me but she only liked Scott. She probably only kissed me to get back at him since he was with some other girl.” Christian moved to sit on his chair, burying his face in his hands. “I didn’t want to hurt you, and you’re so cool and I thought maybe I can forget her but-“

“You’re still into her,” Chaeyoung finished his sentence, Christian quiet. He clasped his hands in front of his face, only nodding. Chaeyoung looked down, silently walking out the studio. 

Christian stayed in silence, head spinning with thoughts of everything that has happened. He groaned, burying his face in his arms, wrapping his hands around his head, wanting to curl into a ball and hide for a while. 

You tried to calm down, huffing out in anger as you set your things down on a desk, your eyes closed as you finally let yourself breathe. "Everything okay?"

Scott smiled when he found you, walking over as you sat up on the desk, swinging your legs lightly. He stood next to your legs, watching your lips curve up into a small smile. "It's flight nerves, nothing too big,"

Scott stayed quiet, knowing you were lying but only responding with a smile, patting your thigh gently. You were quiet, your fingernails gently scratching Scott's head as his eyes closed a bit, enjoying the attention. You smiled a little, tilting your head a bit. "Sometimes when you spend time with me, I wish you were the one I fell for,"

Scott scoffed, laughing a bit as his eyes stayed closed, leaning more into you before resting his head on your arm. "We would be that famous couple that people would call us mom and dad,"

"Bold you to think they already don't," You giggled as Scott laughed quietly.

You both stayed silent a bit longer, Scott eventually pulling back and grabbing your things, silently giving you the hint that it was time to leave. "I'm sorry things didn't work with the guy you liked," Scott grabbed your hand, fingers intertwining as the two of you headed to your hotel.

"It's whatever, I'm just glad I never told him or else I would've died from embarrassment." You shook your head, letting out a sigh. "Guess I just thought he liked me too,"

"Well he's an idiot if he doesn't like you, you would've been an amazing girlfriend." Scott smiled at your laugh, staying quiet during the short walk. He held the door of the hotel open for you, following you to the elevators. 

“You know, lowkey you can give Gyungmo a chance.” 

The suggestion caught you off guard, making you look at Scott as the two of you stood in your spots, ignoring the elevator door as it opened. Scott only laughed a bit, pressing the button to keep the door open as he stepped inside. “I was just saying,” 

“Scott, what does that even mean?” 

You knew exactly what it meant, anyone hearing Scott would know what it meant. But still, you were caught off guard and now with this sudden news, you weren’t sure you were hearing things correctly. 

“I mean, Gyungmo has a thing for you. Or had... I’m not sure anymore.” Scott pressed the button again as the doors closed, reaching for your wrist to pull you inside. 

“He had a thing for me?” You ask, letting yourself get dragged into the elevator. 

“Okay don’t make this weird for him, I wasn’t supposed to tell you,” Scott watched as you simply nodded, blinking a bit but still processing everything he said, only looking up when the doors opened on your floor. 

“Is he still coming to drive me?” You asked, Scott now on his phone. 

“Yeah, he said to just give him a heads up.” 

You asked him to send Gyungmo the text, stepping inside your room and putting away the last bit of your things. Scott sat at the end of the bed, phone in hand as he scrolled through it, occasionally looking up to see if you needed any help. 

With a groaned sigh, you plopped on the bed next to Scott, resting your head on his shoulder. You two stayed quiet, looking at everything ready to be taken to the car, Scott occasionally chuckling a bit at something he would see on his phone. At the sound of a knock, you let Scott open the door and let in Gyungmo and Cline. You held on to Gyungmo's sleeve, letting him stay back as Cline and Scott left with a suitcase, the two talking. 

"Scott said something to me," You kept your eyes on Gyungmo as he furrowed his eyebrows, thinking on what Scott could've possibly said to you. "He said you have a thing for me?"

With a sigh and smile, Gyungmo shook his head, intertwining your fingers with his. "I had a thing for you, I mean, you're so cute in your videos and you're kind and a sweetheart in person. But I like you like this, being with me and gossiping about stupid shit," 

You couldn't help the smile on your face, getting shy and looking down a little. Gyungmo watched as you collected yourself, lightly slapping your cheeks to get rid of the blush that you knew was present before swinging your bag over your shoulder. Gyungmo stayed by your side, the two of you in comforting silence. "Thanks for being there for me all this time, I hope you know I'm going to be there for you if you ever need me,"

Everything was quiet until you made it outside, Scott and John laughing loudly as Cline was dancing weirdly. Gyungmo stood next to you, a smile on his face as he watched Cline before elbowing you lightly, motioning to your phone. You giggled as Cline exaggerated his dancing more, moving closer to you and the laughter got louder from all of them. Before Cline could exaggerate anymore, John gasped about the time and everyone scattered to put the luggage in Gyungmo's car, rushing you inside. 

The airport buzzed with people traveling in and out, the place almost a blur with everyone. You checked in with Scott by your side, making sure you had all your documents before you made your way to security. A soft sigh later, you let Scott pull you into a hug, wrapping your arms around him tightly. 

"Thank you for letting me do this, I promise you guys are going to love it," You pulled back to offer Scott a hug grin, getting one in return. 

"We better, or you're coming back to film everything all over again," Scott joked, making you giggle. 

You gave Cline and John a hug, looking over at Gyungmo and wrapping your arms around his neck. "Thanks for everything," You whispered, kissing his cheek softly as you pulled back. Gyungmo smiled, trying to hide his blushing. With one final wave, you fixed your bag, using your phone to record the guys once more before heading to your terminal. 

Christian tried not to make it obvious as he walked up and down the halls of the building, looking for any sign of you. It had been two days and after you blocked him on Instagram, Christian had no idea what you were up to. He hadn't seen you in so long, and he didn't want to ask Scott seeing that as every time he tried to get some info, Scott just told him to text you.

Christian didn't bother to knock, just swinging the door open of Scott's studio to find him too close for comfort with a girl that wasn't you. She had a smile on her face, eyebrow raised as Scott leaned closer, only a breath away from kissing her. But the sudden door opened caused the two to look at Christian, his eyes wide in shock. 

"Hey, what's up?" Scott turned to Christian who collected his thoughts before his blood boiled, teeth-gritting in anger. 

"Are you fucking serious?" Christian erupted, Scott and the girl both startled from the sudden outburst. "Just because y/n isn't here you get to cheat on her?"

"What?" The girl glared at Scott, starting to push him away. "Who the hell is y/n?"

"Wait! What? No, hold up!" Christian moved aside as the girl furiously left, Scott trying to call her back before giving up, glaring at Christian. "Dude, what the fuck! You know how long I've been trying to get her to agree to go on a date-"

"What about y/n?" Christian yelled back, pushing Scott back. 

"What about her? She's not even here!" Scott stumbled into the soundboard table, muttering a curse as his wrist got hit by the edge.

The outburst caught the attention of Gyungmo who rushed over, getting between both men. "What the hell is going on?"

"This asshole is practically fucking some girl in here just because y/n isn't here!" Christian tried to push Gyungmo away, trying to reach Scott but he moved farther away.

"What does she have anything to do with it?" Scott yelled back, gesturing around the room. "She's not here!"

"How the hell are you going to cheat on her like that!" 

Scott stopped himself, blinking a bit before thinking about what Christian had just said. "Cheat on y/n? I'm not dating her, man."

Christian stopped trying to get past Gyungmo, furrowing his eyebrows. "Did you break up with her?" 

"I wasn't dating her in the first place?" Scott grew even more confused, Gyungmo stepping away from Christian as he sat on a chair, sighing heavily. 

"You really never noticed that it was Rome that she liked?" Cline's voice made the three turn to him, being caught off guard. Gyungmo was just as surprised at Cline's comment, the three staring at him. "Wait-"

"Did you think I didn't know?" Cline interrupted Gyungmo, head tilted in curiosity. "It was pretty obvious, I mean, I thought he liked her too but I guess not since Chaeyoung is in the picture." With a shrug, Cline dropped the subject, making everyone look at each other. 

"Well, here I was thinking it was Hyuk..." Scott rubbed his cheek, pensive about everything that was said. "No wonder it didn't make sense." 

"Wait... What?" Christian still couldn't get the whole picture, shaking his head. "She likes me?" 

"She fucking fell in love with you, idiot." Gyungmo sighed, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. "Only you would think she and Scott are dating."

"Man, Hyuk was a better suspicion than me. He was practically all over her, especially during her goodbye party. " Scott sat on the edge of his soundboard, shaking his head.

"Goodbye party?" Christian repeated, looking at Scott. 

"We texted you about it, we just thought you were being an asshole and didn't want to go," Cline spoke up, still standing right outside the room. "She went back home like two days ago," 

Christian groaned, rubbing his face and gripping his hair. "I fucked up..."

"You think?" Scott scoffed, rolling his eyes. But still, Scott watched as Christian beat himself over what happened. With a sigh, Scott stood up straight. "I can help you find her. So you can properly apologize for being such a fucking dick." Christian looked up at his friend, slightly nodding his head. With a glare and roll of his eyes, Scott pulled out his phone, going to an old video on your channel and showing it to Christian. "She always hangs around here. It's her favorite place."

Tag list: @derya-t​ // @mara-twins​ // @thefangirlsoul​

[fuckingthefictional]

Cross my heart- part 7

Warnings: threats, slight violence?

The next few weeks had passed quicker than Eliza expected. She had gotten back into working almost full time at the school to avoid doing joint shifts at the Garrison with Grace.

Whenever Eliza saw Tommy, whether out on the streets or in the Garrison, she just opted to ignore him.

No words were exchanged between them. If he ordered a drink while she was at the counter, then she would call for Grace to do it instead.

She couldn’t handle even looking at him.

After the night at the Garrison, John and Arthur were more on guard than Eliza had ever seen them.

There would always be a hush that fell over the room whenever Tommy or Grace entered it. And Eliza wasn’t so high up her own arse that she couldn’t admit the sight made her body react in glee.

They gave their responses and answers in short words and refused to discuss any of the business while Grace was around.

It was obvious that it angered Tommy and that there was a slight drift within the family.

Eliza felt guilty at first, blaming herself for the divide between the brothers.

Only to be reassured by John and Arthur that the small rift now, would have been nothing compared to the wedge that Grace would’ve driven between them if they had not known what Grace was planning.

//

Eliza had decided to stay late at the schoolhouse the following Tuesday, she was tired- but John had told her that his older brother was planning on going to the Garrison for a few hours.

She’d made the excuse of staying behind at the school to do lesson plans and to set up an activity for her class for the next day.

She had the master key for the building, so she had been left there alone, with the promise of locking up behind her.

It was silent, the only noise came from the clock ticking on the brick wall.

She heard the opening and closing of the school yards gate, but dismissed it as a fellow member of staff coming back for something they had forgotten.

“Ah, Miss Fenton.” A voice spoke from the doorway of her classroom.

She turned, eyeing up her handbag that held a loaded pistol.

There was a man stood, cane in hand and a black bowler hat atop his head.

He had a thick, bushy moustache and spoke with an authoritative Irish accent.

Eliza thought through the best way to handle this situation, he looked as if he didn’t pose too much of a threat- but you couldn’t be too sure now days.

She opted to ignore the man, turning away as she scribbled down more notes.

The man obviously did not like the fact that he was being ignored as he strutted over to the front of the desk and brought his cane down harshly onto the wood where Eliza’s hands had previously been moments before.

“Now that I’ve got you’re attention, Miss Fenton.” He seemed proud of his threatening stature, “I say we have a little chat.”

Eliza tried to hide the alarm on her face, her heart pounded in her ears. She glared at the older man, distain written on her face.

“You need to leave.” She said firmly, “You are trespassing on private property.”

Eliza gave him a glance up and down, his face looked as if it were burning.

“I think you’ll find that I have a warrant to be here, you see- I’m here to find something.” His burning gaze was on her face, looking for any tell of a give away, “Something that your dear Shelby friends have got.”

“I’m not friends with any of the Shelby’s, I try to steer clear of them. They bring nothing but trouble to our city.” Eliza lied, her heart pounded faster but she kept composed.

That was until she was pushed up against the black board, her head ached as it hit the surface with a crack

A hand wrapped around her neck and squeezed for a few moments as her airways became desperate for air.

“You know I don’t like liars,” the man licked his lips, “It’s a sin- a dirty tarnish against the Lord.”

Eliza struggled against him.

��I know all about you Eliza Fenton, soon enough one of my associates will too- and when she knows of your life story, well she can strike you down and the Shelby family will crumble with you.”

He finally let go of her neck, allowing her to go lax and collapse of the floor.

She could feel her ears ringing, Eliza rose to her feet- her legs wobbly. Her throat hurt and it ached to even whisper, but still she pressed on.

“Well Sir, You obviously don’t know me that well. You can have all the records about me in the world, but you’ve missed a pretty big piece of information.” She stepped forwards, “I’m stubborn, I’m protective and I never go down without a good fucking fight.” Eliza growled. “That being said, I know when there’s a snake in my midst and more importantly I know when to kill before they strike me down first.”

The atmosphere was thick and tense, and Eliza wanted nothing more that to beat the man to the floor.

“Now I think it’s clear to see that you have overstayed your welcome, so I suggest you leave before I do something we’ll both regret and I’m sure that from reading my files you know what I’m fucking capable of.”

The blank expression on the mans face, caused Eliza to realise that he was having an internal debate as to whether or not he should leave or stay.

Eventually he decided the latter, and began to make his move towards the door.

“Goodnight Miss Fenton, I’ll be in touch.” He began to walk away.

But not before Eliza threw a final verbal punch in the mans direction, “Oh and Sir?” She smirked with satisfaction, “Say hello to Grace for me.”

TAGLIST: @eternallyvenus @peachy-aisha @marvelschriss