#okay okay but who are they fighting for CH like their supposed to be lover | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

here4theheartbreak · 2 years ago

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Serious Discussions (LotP ch.11)

Relationships: Bangchan x Changbin Genre: smut | angst w/ a happy ending | werewolf au Rating: Explicit Chapter Word Count: ~4.9k Tags (not all tags apply to all chapters; these are full fic tags): DD:DNE, Smut, Friends to Lovers, Werewolf AU, Angst w/ a happy ending, Fluff, Werewolf Bang Chan, Idolverse, Minor Violence, Side Pairing Felix/Minho, Bickering, Bottom Changbin, Top Chan, Werewolf Smut, Knots

Summary: Secrets are hard to keep from those we love. This was a fact that Chan knew all too well. He loved his members and he shared every piece of himself with them - except the biggest, and most vital. Chan was cursed. A/N: Fic will be updated Monday/Tuesdays as schedule allows; Please note that fic will include smut while member is in wolf form; he is still sentient and able to communicate, which is the reason for the dead dove tag; please do not proceed if not comfortable with this. Read on AO3! | Read on Asian Fanfics

“Are you sure about this?” Chan asked. Minho nodded, squeezing Felix’s hand.

“Yeah, we’re ready.”

“Okay. I got your back.” Chan said.

Minho dropped Felix’s hand and pushed open the bedroom door. The rest of the group was scattered in the main living area of the dorm, splayed over furniture and on the floor. Chan had called a group meeting earlier that day at Felix and Minho’s prompting.

“What’s up?” Changbin asked, wiping chip crumbs from his mouth as Seungmin yanked the bag from his lap.

“Nothing bad,” Chan assured them, walking around and leaning on the wall near where Felix and Minho stood. “We have some good news,” he said.

Minho smiled at him gratefully before looking at the group. “So, I’m sure some of you have figured it out, but… We wanted to do this right and say that Felix and I have been dating for a while. Um... And we’re going to tell the company today.”

“Tell us something we didn’t know, huh?” Seungmin said, grinning.

“Did you… All know?” Felix asked, laughing gently.

Everyone nodded except Jeongin, who scowled. “I might be oblivious but… Really?” He laughed. “That’s so cool! Congrats, guys.”

Felix laughed, nodding. “Thank you, Jeongin.”

“About damn time you guys came out. We got sick of dancing around the topic,” Jisung said, pouting as he spoke.

“Well we knew you knew.”

“But I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”

“How do you think the company is gonna take it?” Hyunjin asked. Felix shrugged.

“We don’t know really. I hope they’ll be okay with it. Chan is gonna be there with us to sort of back us up.”

“We can be too, we’ve got your back,” Jisung said. The others gave their own assent, nodding. Felix and Minho both smiled, and Chan saw their shoulders drop as they relaxed. He stepped forward, wrapping one arm around each of them.

“I told you it’d be fine, see?” He said, squeezing them in a half hug. “I’m proud of you guys. You’re really good together.”

“Do you think you’ll come out to fans someday?” Jeongin asked.

“Someday, we’d like to,” Minho answered. “But not right now. There’s too much going on in the world with equal rights problems and fighting, here and internationally – it’d be too much risk for our group, and ourselves. It’s just safer right now to stay quiet.”

“We’d support you if you wanted to, you know,” Changbin said. He met Chan’s gaze, his mouth curling up in a small smile before continuing. “When, or if, you decide to go public. We’ll all have your back just as loud as we do now. Remember that.”

“We know,” Felix said. “You’re all good friends.”

“Better be more than just friends after the horror I’ve seen in your bedroom,” Jisung said, pouncing up from the couch. He grabbed Felix away from Chan and Minho, holding his neck and nuzzling his jaw even as Felix cried out and struggled.

“Oh God, what horror?” Hyunjin asked.

“The number of times I’ve walked in on these two doing the dirty, I need bleach,” Jisung lamented.

“It was like twice,” Minho said, rolling his eyes. “And once it wasn’t even that bad, you barely saw anything.”

“I saw enough!”

“Dude, lock your door when you do that,” Seungmin said.

“We’ve started to now!” Felix said, his voice shaking as Jisung dragged him to the floor. The members all began to talk at once, shouting to be heard over each other as they conversed back and forth. Chan squeezed Minho’s shoulder, smiling when their eyes met. He nodded and Minho returned it, touching his hand in a silent show of thanks.

Changbin eased his way through the group chaos, setting his hand on Chan’s arm. “Can we talk alone?” He asked, nearly pressing his mouth to Chan’s ear to be heard. Chan nodded. He let Changbin pull him into the hallway where the group’s noise was slightly muffled.

“You okay?”

“I’m good. I just got to thinking with this… Do you ever want to come out? To the group, the company… Everyone?”

“Yeah, I do.” Chan admitted. He leaned against the wall. “My mom knows now, obviously, and I think I’m going to tell my dad and siblings when I visit next. They deserve to find out in person.”

Changbin nodded. “I told my sister the day after we rented the hotel room.” He smiled softly. “She yelled at me.”

“For what?”

“Taking so long.”

Chan smiled softly. Changbin took his hand, lacing their fingers together a moment before releasing. “You told me that night that you were trying to figure out how to talk to me about something. But you didn’t ever bring it up again. I haven’t forgotten… I’m getting a little worried, honestly. It’s been a month.”

Chan nodded. “I know, it has been. I keep trying to find a good time to talk about it, but things keep coming up. I’m sorry I’ve worried you.”

“Let’s talk tonight. Not a date night or anything, but just you and me, lock the door and sit down and have a good talk about it. It’s something that’s important to you, I can tell.”

“It is. Just hard to put into words for… Humans.”

“Well, try. I’ve been able to understand other stuff, right? We’ll talk more tonight about it.”

“You have. We will.” He pecked Changbin lightly on the mouth and headed back into the main sitting area, narrowly dodging Jisung, who’d lunged across the floor to catch a pillow that Felix had thrown at him.

***

Though Chan had spent the past month trying to figure out the easiest way to explain things to Changbin, anxiety still spiked through him when Changbin knocked on his door that evening. “I’m good!” He called, pulling his headphones down around his neck.

Changbin stepped in, shutting the door. He held up a bag. “I brought snacks.”

Chan smiled softly. “You’re a life saver.” He pulled the headphones off and saved his work, rising and stretching. His back popped audibly, and Changbin hissed.

“Jesus, you sound a hundred years old; have you gotten up from your desk in the past three hours?”

Chan glanced at his phone. “Not in the past five, actually.”

Changbin groaned. “Christ, Christopher Bang, you are going to end up decrepit before you’re thirty. Come on.” He shoved the bag into Chan’s chest. “If you wear yourself into another cold, I’m afraid your mom is going to call mine and tell her I’m not taking care of you right. And then they’ll both be yelling at us, is that what you want?”

Chan laughed brightly at Changbin’s dramatic – albeit not too far off – concerns. “Fine, fine. I’ll eat. I just need a drink.”

“Get me a water?” Changbin asked, flopping onto the bed.

“What happened to taking care of me?”

“I’m making you walk. Which you clearly need to do after five hours in that seat. How is your ass not numb?”

“Bold of you to think it’s not,” Chan joked as he stepped out of the room. He jutted his chin to Jisung at the kitchen island.

“What’s up?”

Chan shook his head. “Nothing. Tomorrow I’m gonna want your help with a track I’ve been putting together, I think it needs something more.”

“Sure. Want me to now? Changbin threatened my life if I went into your room for the next like two hours though.”

“Yeah, no, we’ve got a conversation to have, need privacy.”

“Conversation?” Jisung teased, making air quotes with his fingers. “Should I put headphones in?”

“Not that kind of conversation,” Chan laughed. “A relationship one, but nothing that’s gonna scar you.”

Jisung’s smile faded a bit. “You two are okay, right?”

“Yeah,” Chan nodded. He glanced toward the bedrooms. “We’re really… Really good actually,” he admitted. “This isn’t a bad conversation. Just sort of figuring out our future.”

“You two gonna announce it? To the group, or company?”

“Soon, probably. That’s part of tonight’s conversation, among other things.”

Jisung pouted then, his face scrunching up and making him look a decade younger. “It’s not fair,” he whined.

“What isn’t?”

“All my friends are getting boyfriends.”

“Do you want a boyfriend, Hannie?” Chan teased.

“I do!” He stomped his foot and smiled then. “I do. But I’m waiting until the right person comes by. I’m happy for you guys.”

“You’ll find someone, Jisung.” Chan reached out, squeezing his shoulder. “You deserve it.”

“Thanks. I’ll come bug you tomorrow morning before practice for that song.”

“Sounds good.” Chan nodded in agreement. He headed to the kitchen and grabbed waters, nodding once more to Jisung before slipping back into his bedroom and shutting the door firmly.

Changbin was sitting cross-legged on his bed, typing out something on his phone.

“You didn’t have to threaten death on our friend to keep him out of the room, Bin,” Chan scolded with no venom.

“Worked, didn’t it?” Changbin asked, not looking up from his phone.

Chan sighed heavily, shaking his head. He settled onto the bed, passing Changbin a bottle of water and opening the bag he’d brought in. He rolled down the bag so it sat upright and placed it between them. “So, today was eventful.”

“How did it go with the uppers anyways?” Changbin set his phone on the shelf behind Chan’s bed. “You three were kinda mum on it after you left the meeting.”

“It wasn’t the worst,” Chan said, shrugging. “They weren’t super pleased but they didn’t say they couldn’t.”

“Would you have let them anyways?”

“Not a chance. I told them I’d have their back, I meant it. Ultimately the company let it go. Of course, the normal restrictions, don’t let anyone find out, deny, deny, deny, make sure to put space between you two when there’s cameras, stuff that we expected.”

“Could have been worse,” Changbin agreed. “Did Minho and Felix think it went well?”

Chan nodded, chewing the snack mix he’d thrown into his mouth. “Yeah,” he said, “they were pretty happy with how it went. I think they’re relieved that it’s all out in the open now.”

“Speaking of…” Changbin drifted off, picking at the label on his water. “Getting things out in the open…”

“Right.” Chan cleared his throat. He took a swig of his water, his anxiety creeping back in. “So, I’ve been trying to figure out how to explain this for a month and I’m still not quite sure how to manage it so… Please just… Let me try to get it all out, okay?”

Changbin nodded. He leaned back on the bed, bracing pillows behind his back. “I’m listening.”

Chan chewed his lip for a moment, playing with a loose thread on his blanket. “Okay, so… Wolves like me… We’re not really human. Obviously we look human but… We’re not exactly.”

Changbin chuckled and nodded. “Got that from the furball on my lap last month,” he joked.

Chan smiled kicking him lightly. “So, because of that, sometimes humans and wolves like me don’t line up fully in terms of… Relationship needs. My kind need more than humans can provide.”

“Like what?”

“I didn’t think it would be a big deal,” Chan said, avoiding the question. “I didn’t think my wolf would care, since you’re already so perfect for us. For me.”

“But there’s something I’m lacking,” Changbin said softly.

“No!” Chan shook his head. “Not lacking. You really are amazing. And I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”

“But your wolf would.”

Chan grimaced. “It’s not like that. He just… Wants a little more from you.”

Changbin lowered his gaze. Chan’s heart squeezed painfully. If he wasn’t careful with his words, he could end up breaking Changbin’s heart and ruining what they had.

“Wolves need packmates. To run with, to hunt and play. I’ve been alone for so long that I didn’t think it would matter, I got used to it, but there’s been this nagging urge since we made love the first time for more, for that pack bonding. And you just…”

“I can’t do that,” Changbin filled in softly. “Because I’m just a human.”

Chan closed his eyes. “Please don’t be upset.”

“Well I can’t help it, Chan!” Changbin cried, looking up quickly. “I want to be everything for you, I want to be there for you and your wolf and it’s not enough, but I can’t change what I am. You wouldn’t consider it anyways, even if I told you I wanted to think about changing.”

“I don’t want you to change,” Chan pleaded. “But he wants a wolf too. It’s like having two people in my head who want and need different things and I don’t know what to do because I have to handle both but I want you happy.”

“I’m happy with you,” Changbin said, his voice cracking. “If that means letting you turn me… It’s something that’s not off the table.”

Chan’s wolf perked up immediately, his heart skipping a beat. Chan pushed down the joy, shaking his head. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I’m an adult. I’m not saying you need to do it right this second, but Chan, I know what you are. I’m not naiive. I know you aren’t human and I know that we’ll never last if I can’t experience that part of you.”

“Don’t say that, we could—”

“This conversation shows we likely won’t. Relationships are a give and take, right?”

Chan nodded.

“And you – it’s like being in a relationship with two people, instead of just one. Which is fine, I love that about you, and your wolf is just as important to me as this part of you. I can give to you, in this form. Our talks, our work, touching, fucking. But I haven’t given much of that to your wolf.”

“And what do we give you?”

“A lot more than you realize, you fucking idiot.” Changbin smiled a bit as he spoke. He sighed. “Look, don’t treat me like a child with this. Say what you need, what he needs. Tell me how it works. And let me decide, let me make that decision.”

Chan chewed the inside of his cheek, considering Changbin’s words. He nodded. “I don’t need any more than what you are now. But my wolf wants a mate. He wants to feel you in the way I already do. He wants someone to run in the forest with and someone he can wrestle with without fear of breaking bones or tearing skin. He wants a mate he can… Fuck—Without worrying about hurting.”

“And a wolf can be that for him.”

Chan nodded. Changbin set the snack bag on the shelf. “You know,” he said softly, moving closer to Chan. “He doesn’t have to be gentle with me now. I know I can’t give him everything he wants, but… When I said I’d let him fuck me, I meant it.” He braced his palms on Chan’s knees, leaning forward and brushing their lips together. “I’m more than happy to strip down next month… Drop on all fours… Let him show me just how a wolf fucks.”

Chan’s eyes fluttered shut, his mouth falling open involuntarily as he drew in a quick breath. “Changbin—”

“It excites him, doesn’t it?” He murmured. He brushed his lips over Chan’s cheek and down his neck, biting gently. “Do you wanna fuck me? Hm? Be a good boy and pin me down?”

Chan whined softly. He knew exactly what part of him Changbin was talking to, and the wolf was reacting. He shivered, grabbing Changbin’s wrists.

“You don’t want to tease right now, Binnie,” he growled.

Changbin met his eyes, smirking. “I see the wolf in there. Just below the surface. He’s come forward more often, you know. Lately.”

“It’s because of you,” Chan huffed. He pushed Changbin back easily, crawling onto him and laying over him. He squeezed Changbin’s wrists and brought them up, pinning them above his head. “You constantly tease him.”

Changbin leaned up, brushing his mouth over Chan’s. “I want him to fuck me, Chan. I want to feel it. Blowjobs are fine, but I wanna feel his cock inside me, feel that power, that strength I know you have. Will you?”

Chan gritted his teeth, willing his wolf to settle. He nodded. “I will. He will.”

Changbin kissed Chan hard, their teeth hitting striking uncomfortably. Chan laughed, pulling back to adjust their lips as he slipped his tongue into Changbin’s mouth. He lowered his hips down, allowing their crotches to rub together as they made out.

Changbin spread his thighs, planting his feet on the bed and beginning to grind his cock against Chan’s. He moaned into his mouth, fighting Chan’s grip on his arms. “Now who’s teasing?” Changbin growled against his mouth.

Chan pulled back, smirking. “Well, it’s not time for my wolf. So I guess we should just stop here and wait…”

Changbin shifted suddenly, using his strength to throw Chan back. He freed his arms easily and flipped them, pinning Chan with his body. He held his arms at his sides, teeth bared as he looked down at him. “Don’t you dare.” He grumbled.

Chan would never admit it to anyone, but those moments – where Changbin was this close to snapping – those were when his lover was at his most attractive. There was something wild in his eyes when he was pushed this far, something almost… Wolf.

Chan wrestled against his grip, smirking when Changbin resisted, his jaw set.

“You gonna rough me up, Binnie?” Chan teased. “What would the fans say? You being so rough and mean.”

“Fans aren’t here.” Changbin gripped Chan’s wrists almost painfully and pushed his arms above his head. He pressed them together and leaned on them with one hand. Chan moaned at the painful streak of pleasure he felt, his hips twitching up involuntarily.

Changbin smirked. He yanked his own shorts and boxers down around his knees with his free hand, shifting his legs to kick them off. He leaned closer to Chan, snapping his teeth near his face when Chan tried to lean up and kiss him while he rummaged in the nightstand.

He moved back up, leaning his weight on Chan’s wrists once more. With a practiced ease, he flipped open the lid of the lube slipped it into his mouth, pouring a healthy amount onto his fingers. He closed it and dropped it onto the bed before reaching back.

Chan moaned softly when Changbin’s expression changed, his eyes slipping shut, bottom lip disappearing between his teeth. Chan could see the muscles in his arm moving as he fingered himself.

“I could help with that,” Chan tried, his voice coming out far more pleading than he intended.

“Nuh-uh. You don’t get to. This is what you get for teasing,” Changbin panted. He moaned freely, twisting his hips back against his hand.

Chan whined softly, his cock aching as he watched. He struggled against Changbin’s grip, but each move made him press harder, his grip tightening a little more on Chan’s wrists.

After what felt like forever, Changbin moved his hand away from his ass. His fingers were slick with lube. Without waiting for Chan to speak, he grabbed his boxers, pushing the waistband down and reaching in to free Chan’s aching cock. He gasped when the cool air of the room hit it, goosebumps rising over every inch of his skin. Changbin poured more lube over his tip, laughing when Chan hissed at the cold sensation. After spreading it over the length of his shaft, Changbin lined himself up and sank down onto Chan’s cock with a low groan.

Chan pushed his head into the pillow, his mouth falling open in a silent shout at the tight squeeze around his sensitive tip. He bent his knees, using that leverage to thrust up, driving himself a little deeper into Changbin.

Changbin cried out, falling forward. He put his other hand over Chan’s wrists, keeping him pinned even as Chan fucked up into him, his brows furrowed in concentration.

Their lips met in a messy kiss, panting and groaning into one another’s mouths. Changbin began to drop himself down, meeting Chan’s thrusts halfway and burying the length of Chan’s cock deep inside him. Chan could feel his entire body shuddering, each thrust nearing unbearable tightness when Changbin’s ass clenched at the base. His ass was warm and soft, silken smooth against Chan’s cock. The tight channel gave just enough to let Chan push through, squeezing and forming a tight grip around every little curve of his shaft.

“Changbin—“ Chan gasped. Changbin pressed their foreheads together, his eyes squeezed shut.

Chan tugged his wrists, desperate to touch. He whined softly, biting his bottom lip when Changbin’s eyes fluttered open.

“Please— Let me touch—“

Changbin released his arms, planting his hands on either side of Chan’s head. Chan grabbed his ass immediately, squeezing hard.

Changbin laughed breathlessly. “Now who’s the butt hunter?” He gasped.

Chan groaned annoyedly. He slapped Changbin’s ass hard, loving the delightful yelp it earned.

“Not my fault,” he growled, squeezing before slapping it again. “You’re the one working out your ass so it looks like this.”

“Just wanna make sure you have lots to hold while you’re fucking it.”

Chan grinned and slapped it a third time, shivering when Changbin’s ass squeezed tight around his cock.

Changbin leaned up on his knees, bouncing on Chan’s lap. He followed him up, wrapping his arms around his middle. Changbin set his hands on Chan’s shoulders, gazing into his eyes as he rode him. Chan could feel his muscles quivering, his cock dribbling against his belly, all signs he was getting close.

“Wanna come in my mouth?” Chan whispered.

Changbin nodded quickly. He began to thrust faster, burying his face in Chan’s neck as he whined with each deep penetration.

“That’s it, ride me,” Chan grumbled, holding Changbin’s hips lightly. “Your fucking ass is so tight, Binnie, perfect fit for my cock. Squeeze me just like that—“ He gasped.

Changbin swore suddenly. He pulled off Chan’s cock and raised himself up, stroking himself quickly. Chan leaned down, wrapping his lips around Changbin’s tip. He closed his eyes, sucking hard as thick ropes of come began to spurt from it. Changbin grabbed his head, pushing him down a little further as he groaned, his hips jerking with each spurt.

He pulled back when he could pull no more from Changbin. He opened his mouth, letting Changbin see how full of come it was, before swallowing.

“My turn.” He whispered. He lined his cock back up and pushed Changbin’s hip. “Take it.” He demanded. Changbin shouted his name, sinking down on his cock. Chan began to fuck up into his ass, holding his hips.

He chased his own climax, the taste of Changbin’s come in his mouth driving him to new levels of desperation.

“Chan!” Changbin yelped, holding tight to Chan’s shoulders.

“Take my cock, Binnie,” Chan snarled. “Gonna make sure we ruin your ass for anyone. Me and my wolf, only cocks that’ll make you feel good.”

Changbin shuddered hard, whining softly against his neck. “Yes, please— Come in me, please—“ He gasped.

“Almost there, baby, keep taking me,” Chan praised. “So good… Oh Jesus, fuck… Take it Changbin, fuck—“

He slammed Changbin down against his hips, holding him there tightly as he shuddered through his climax. His balls ached with the force of their pulsing, spilling everything deep inside Changbin’s tight channel.

Changbin reached back, gently cupping Chan’s balls and stroking them. “That’s it,” he panted in Chan’s ear. “Give me everything. Every drop, deep in my ass. I can take it, Channie. My ass was made for you and your wolf. Made to take your cock and your knot and hold all your come… Feels so good,” he whined softly.

Chan shivered, squeezing his middle tighter as his orgasm finally began to fade. Changbin didn’t move until his cock slipped out on its own. Then he moved to the side, laying on his belly with his thighs slightly parted. Chan could see a streak of his come on Changbin’s inner thigh, and a surge of pride and possessiveness rushed through him. He wanted to be the only one to mark up Changbin’s beautiful body like this. He laid down and kissed Changbin’s shoulder.

The two laid in silence for a long time, allowing the afterglow to settle into their bones and relax them. Finally, Changbin sighed and rolled over, sitting up. “I’m hungry.” He complained.

“Shocker,” Chan mumbled, flinging his arm over his eyes.

“Aren’t you?”

“I could eat.”

“I’ll order.” Changbin pulled his shorts on and grabbed his phone, scrolling through it. “Requests?”

“Nah, I’ll eat whatever you get.” Chan sat up as well, stretching his aching muscles before pulling on his bottoms as well. “We got a little distracted from our conversation…”

“Just a little.” Changbin grinned. He set the phone aside. “Food’ll be here in about twenty.”

Chan nodded. He settled back onto the pillows with Changbin, their shoulders brushing.

“Changing into a wolf is a big deal. It’s not something to be taken lightly,” he began.

Changbin nodded. “You said it could be dangerous.”

“It can be. If it’s not done right – even sometimes if it is – the human can die. Most human bodies can’t withstand the change.”

“Do you know what causes it? Is it like… Magic?”

Chan chuckled. “I wish. No. Really it’s… Just a parasite. An infection. It gets into our DNA and changes it permanently, but if it doesn’t go into the right DNA parts, it can break it down, essentially destroying a person.”

Changbin grimaced. “That sounds horrific… What are the chances?”

Chan sighed. “Honestly? I’ve only known two bittens… My mom is one, and then a friend of ours in Australia who used to run with us; she was bitten as a young child, which makes sense. The younger you are, the more likely it is to work, because the body can bounce back more easily. But unfortunately most people don’t consider changing until they’re in a situation like my mom was and you are, where they’ve accidentally gotten into a relationship with a wolf.”

“So how does it work? The change, I mean.”

“There’s a couple of ways to do it. The most well-known way is through a bite. But it has to be a very specific location, during the exact full moon, so the second night that I can change, and then my blood needs to be rubbed into the wound. The other option is a little less aggressive. It involves injecting the person with the wolf’s blood. It would need to get into your blood stream – and it would have to be my blood while I was turned on that specific night, when the parasite in my system is at its strongest.”

“Then what? Would it kill me right away? Or… Would we know?”

“We’d know. You’d change within the first few hours. That first change, apparently is… Agony.”

“It looks horrible when you do it, I can’t imagine.” He chuckled. “You know I’m a wuss.”

Chan rested his head on Changbin’s shoulder. “I don’t want you to go through it. I really don’t. I’d never ask you to do something like that.”

“Will you be content in a relationship with me if I don’t?” Changbin asked. “I mean honestly, you said the younger person has a better chance. We’re not all that old, so… Wouldn’t it make more sense to decide to do it now, rather than ten years when your wolf starts to resent me for being human?”

“I’d never.” Chan promised.

“You don’t know that. He already wants more than I can provide. At least somewhat. Sex, being out in the woods, I can do that. But I’m still not a wolf.”

“I don’t care.” Chan grabbed his hand. “Changbin, please don’t make a decision like this based on what you think I want. We can work together to make our relationship work no matter what, okay?”

Changbin chewed his lip. He stroked his thumb over Chan’s knuckles, remaining silent for a long time. “Is there any way to test if it would work before doing it? Mixing our blood outside of our bodies maybe? Seeing a reaction? Do you know?”

Chan shook his head. “I don’t know, actually. My dad might know though. He’s pretty well connected with wolves from all different countries.”

Changbin chuckled. “Werewolf chatroom?”

Chan laughed and nodded. “Honestly yeah, something like that… But that’s a really good question. I hadn’t thought of trying that. I wasn’t going to talk to him about you until I went home on vacation but… I can ask sooner, if you’d like.”

“When’s vacation?”

“Two months.”

Changbin nodded. “We can wait. It’ll give me some time to think it over. You’re right, this is a big decision. And we both deserve time to think on it. I mean… If you turn me… That’s pretty much marrying me, isn’t it? We’d be stuck together.”

Chan smiled softly and nodded. “Kinda. And I don’t know if I wanna have your annoying ass hanging off my hip for eternity.”

Changbin grinned brightly. “Oh you know you do.” He leaned forward and kissed Chan as their doorbell rang. “Our food’s here.” He hopped up, heading out of the room.

Chan sighed softly, watching him go. Though they were only joking, Changbin had been entirely right. He would be more than pleased to be with Changbin forever… It would be a dream come true.

#kvanity #wkcnet #straykidsland #binchan #changbin fic #chan fic #werewolf au #stray kids fic

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sannflwrr · 2 years ago

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How To Get Out of the Friend Zone: A (Chaotic) Guide by Jisung (Ch. 3)

Author: sannflwrr

Pairing: Jisung x MC

Genre: Frenemies(-ish) to Lovers

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: mentions of smoking, weed, drugs, alcohol, homophobia (homophobics are not allowed on my page), some sexual themes, and of course - angst

Summary: Bae is obsessed with making the most of her time during college. She has a very colorful group of friends who make living life recklessly fun, and a dance team that throws all sorts of unparalleled events in her way. Along the way, she falls (hard) for many people, but what will it take for her to realize everything she’s wanted has been in front of her the whole time?

RULE 2: DON’T ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE.

November is spent watching the leaves die, sleeping in the library, and forgetting to shower. Truthfully, she could be doing better - taking better care of herself would help with this, but she had no motivation to do that, the only thing keeping her from spiraling into a depressive episode was drowning herself in school work and her dance team. So that’s what Bae did.

She steered clear of the alcohol for a bit, seeing no reason for it since there was no occasion that called for it. She wasn’t going to any parties, small hangouts or not. Outside of seeing Mark in class, or going to her team practices, there wasn’t much social interaction in Bae’s life. Honestly, she was okay with that.

Two weeks ago, her and Karina had been scheduled to get dinner together. A way of compensating for no longer living together - that made it easier to schedule things like this so that had a set date for every few months where they would go out and eat. It was a nice policy, but Bae had to cancel in the light that she had a paper due that evening. Now, two weeks later, she asked if tonight was a better time for Karina - it worked for her - so she was supposed to meeting her in a few hours. In the meantime, Bae decided to take a walk, and enjoy the sights in her silence.

In the midst of her walk, she passed the skate park a ways off campus. This was where she first hung out with Jungwoo. She laughs to herself. This is the first time in a while that she’s thought of the man outside of practice. Seeing him in there wasn’t as awful as she thought it might’ve once been, maybe it’s because she doesn’t care anymore. She left her feelings for him at that bus bench where she cried her eyes out to Jaehyun, and since then, seeing Jungwoo or being around him isn’t…painful anymore.

And she recognizes someone at the park when she sits down at one of the benches, Jeno. He doesn’t talk much about himself whenever she’s around him, so seeing him with his board surprises her, just because she hadn’t realized this was one of his hobbies. At the same time, she knows she shouldn’t. This seems like a hobby that was only natural for a guy like Jeno.

He doesn’t notice her at first, which makes sense since she’s pretty far away from where he is, but eventually he does. And waves at her. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“I wasn’t either.” She admits, letting out a laugh. “I didn’t even know you skated.”

He shrugs. “I’m a man of many mysteries.” He is definitely right about that one. She can count on her hands how many things she knows about him. Bae can assume that Jaemin would know the most about Jeno, since they’re always tied at the hip, but this makes her wish she did know more about him. But, at least does care about all of them to a degree - as seen when he got into a fight with that dude for Karina. Maybe that’s his way of caring, through actions rather than words.

They exchange a few more words, Bae can probably mark this as the longest conversation she’s ever held with him, before he skates back to his group of friends. She’s noticed that they watched him talk to her curiously, and that they seem to be asking him about her when he gets back. That makes her laugh.

She pulls out her earphones, and begins to listen to some music over the noise of wheels against the pavement. She still needs to go back and do her laundry, along with finishing her homework she allotted to herself for the day - so that by the end of week, she’s accomplished everything that needs to be done. But seeing that she only has a couple hours left, and the commute back home takes a half hour, and it’ll take her another half hour to actually get into the zone - Bae finds it more productive of her time to just waste it here at the skate park. She can probably finish her work once she gets home from the dinner.

The music is loud in her ears, loud enough that Bae doesn’t hear the roll of wheels coming closer and closer to her until she hears a voice call for her attention. Standing in front of her is an orange-haired man. He wears a similar outfit to Jeno, but this man is a little taller, probably a little older too. His orange hair is messy, and it touches his neck.

“Bae Chen?”

“The one and only.” She hesitates before speaking again, trying to wrack her brain on who this man is. She doesn’t recall talking to him before, any guy who looks like him is someone she definitely would recognize. “I’m so sorry, have we met before?”

“Not really.” He’s wearing a loose T-shirt that reaches past his pockets. The sleeves expose a few tattoos doodled across his arms, notably one of hello kitty on his wrist. “We took english 103 together last year on Zoom, I think. We were in the same final group.”

Her lips purse. “Oh…Yuta, right?” Now it’s ringing a bell. She never saw this man in person, but she did recognize how to spell his name since Yuta Nakamoto in a black box was all she saw two days a week for a few months. They had gotten along really well, and even agreed to meet up sometime in the beginning of the year. Over the break, she forgot about it…as he did, probably. “Wow, it’s nice to finally see you in-person. How’s everything?”

He shrugs. “Could be better, could be worse. I’m doing alright.” He pulls out a pack of Marlboro. “You smoke?”

Yuta notices her hesitation and pulls it away slightly, trying not to come off as pressuring, but she shrugs. “Not often, but why not.”

The first (and last) time she had smoked was with Jisung. Entering college, Bae had been extremely inexperienced with the smoking and drinking that so many of her other friends were accustomed to, to the point that she didn’t know how to smoke either. She had been embarrassed of the fact back then, looking back on it now she’s not really - it was better that she stayed shielded from something that could have corrupted her life so fast at such an impressionable age. Jisung also didn’t have too much more experience in smoking in comparison to her, but he at least knew the basics so he taught her. At least, after he made fun of her for being a priss.

Yuta takes out his lighter to light the cigarette between her lips. Jisung taught her how to smoke one just for the art - as he worded it. Cigarettes looked cool, but they were so out of fashion lately. What a shame that Yuta also smoked them. Deciding that she doesn’t know him too well, Bae doesn’t comment on it.

It doesn’t taste good, or feel good - she doesn’t really know how to describe the sensation - as she inhales the tar that burns from the rolled substance, but she pushes down the feelings, focusing more on the relaxed Yuta who stands in front of her. Maybe her type is guys who smoke cigarettes. Even though she hates them.

“You know Jeno?”

“We’ve talked a few times.” He nods. “Not really. He keeps to himself.”

“That seems accurate. He’s like that with us too.”

“How do you know him?”

“He’s friends with a good friend of mine. Over the years, we’ve hung around each other. He’s maintained the mysterious personality.”

“Oh yeah?” Whereas Bae’s staring at the subject of their conversation, she notices Yuta’s still looking at her. That thought alone makes her insides flutter. In a way that had remained dormant after Jungwoo broke her heart at the arcade. “I get why he hangs around.”

Bae doesn’t know how to respond, so she just continues to watch Jeno, who’s trying some trick (and failing repeatedly), and laughs nervously. Not in like nervously-please-stop, but like a hahaha-you’re-cute-but-I-don’t-know-how-to-say-it-without-being-weird nervous.

So, she pulls out her phone. “Here.” It’s open to the contacts app. “I remember we said we should meet up, but never got around to it. This way, I won’t forget again.”

He fills in his number with one hand, a smile spread on his lips. “One of my guys is having a party this weekend, if you wanted to go. I’m going to be there.”

“Oh yeah?” Bae glances from his orange hair to her phone. This feels like new air circulating through her lungs. When Yuta hands the phone back, she finally makes eye contact with him. “I am actually free this weekend. So I'll see you there.”

His smile is gorgeous, and if there was a word that meant more gorgeous than gorgeous, it was that. She had a feeling she would do anything to keep him smiling, it just made him that much more radiant. If Bae had a smile like that, she would always have her camera on in a Zoom class. She wonders why his was never on.

“I’ll text you the address.”

“Great.” She gets up, deciding to resume her walk back to the center of campus. “I should get going. I’ll see you at the party!”

He says goodbye as she’s walking away, but Bae doesn’t turn around to wave, afraid that he’ll see the huge grin on her face.

Karina is the first to hear about Yuta, which then passes to Chenle, then Jisung, then to Jaemin, and finally Jeno. The flabbergasted look on Jeno’s face when he hears a name that he’s associated with is priceless, it’s the most amount of emotion she sees from him. Eyebrows scrunched, mouth hanging wide open. “Seriously?”

“He invited me to a party.”

“And you went?” Jeno presses, still surprised. Karina snorts at his reaction. Bae nods. “Was I not supposed to?”

“Wait, hold on.” Chenle holds out a hand. “Jeno, you’re telling me your little ring of skater friends have parties? And you didn’t invite me to any of them?”

“They’re not your crowd.” He says simply, to which Chenle gawks at immediately. “Meaning they’re not your crowd,” He says again, gesturing to the entire group sitting on the couch. “That’s why I’m surprised when she said she went. You liked it?”

“I mean…” She hesitates now, realizing that this is an invitation for her to explain exactly what happened. Karina’s struggling to look at Bae without laughing because she already knows everything that happened at the party. “I was there for like an hour max? It wasn’t too bad from what I saw.”

“Well, I wanna’ know what’s up with these parties.” Chenle asks, still surprised that his friend had been holding out on him. “Jeno, you better invite me next time.”

“I hardly go.” That seems to line up, since Bae had been expecting to see him (but didn’t) at the party. “I brought Jaemin once.”

The other nods. “Yeah, they invited some underground band. There was a contemp dancer there too, shit was weird. I think everyone was on acid, so they didn’t seem to care much.” He laughs at Chenle’s expression, now knowing that Jeno had not only hid this from him but also brought Jaemin and not him. “It was a one-time thing, I’m pretty sure that’s the only time we’ve gone.”

“That was the last time I went.” Jeno confirms. Then he looks back at Bae. “It wasn’t weird?”

“I mean people were doing stuff. I smoked a little. It wasn’t that weird. It was too dark mostly, I couldn’t really see too much.”

“You smoked?” Jisung tilts his head. “I thought you don’t like to smoke.”

“I mean not really. He offered so I didn’t really want to say no.” She notices his expression twist into something of a scoff, not skipping a beat to make fun of her. Bae rolls her eyes at him, not bothering to argue. If Yuta asked her again, she probably would, even if it was awful. That might be a bad thing, but Bae’s not too good at making the best decisions.

“So why did you leave after an hour?” Karina asks, her smile betraying the fact that she wants to laugh. “What happened?” Oblivious to the tone underlying, Chenle also hops on, asking the same thing.

Bae glares at Karina. She doesn’t really like to make her relationship history an open book, especially to all of the guys just because it’s weird…Jisung always finds an opportunity to make fun of her taste in men and tells her the guy she picked out is trash, Karina decides to agree with him and tell her that the guy she likes is probably ugly, and Chenle just laughs at her for even liking people in the first place.

“Fine! I hooked up with him.” Those six words are enough to silence the entire room for a few seconds, and she watches as the guys digest her words, one after the other. Karina’s not surprised since she already knew - Bae suspects she had been plotting this from the start - Jisung looks the most taken aback, which he usually is whenever she mentions hooking up with anyone. Chenle seems to be having a silent conversation with Karina, slight furrowing in his brows as he presses the other girl for more information, he’s noticed that she already knew this fact. Jaemin is amused, like he expected this to be the outcome, and Jeno’s expression is unreadable. She can’t tell what Jeno’s means out of all of them - and his is the one she’s most curious about.

“That’s why I left early.” She concludes. “To hook up with him.”

“I mean, was it good?” Chenle blurts.

“I don’t…want to talk about that?” Bae flusters. Karina laughs immediately, again, she knows exactly what that means. Chenle spends the next few seconds trying to dissect what that means, while Jisung stares at the wall behind Bae. He’s probably trying to think of some way to tease her for this. What concerns her is that Jeno mumbles something in Jaemin’s ear after he’s recomposed himself. Out of them all, Jeno is still the one who knows Yuta the best, being a part of the same ring of friends.

“Is that weird?” She asks carefully, directing her words to him. She wants to ask if she made a mistake, but it sounds a lot more vulnerable in her head than she wants it to come off as, so she retracts her words. He shrugs.

“I don’t know.” Honestly, a yes or no could have been a better answer. But Jeno’s confusion makes her worried. She hopes she didn’t walk right into a mistake. But someone like Yuta couldn’t possibly be a mistake. That night had been amazing, in more ways than one. He was sweet to her even when they had class together. He had been great to her at the skate park, and even at the party. His attention had been mainly on her at the party, which felt great. It had been a long time since someone made her feel like she was on top of the world.

So, even though Jeno seems to know something he’s reluctant to share, Bae doesn’t press him on it. Frankly, she doesn’t want to know. She’s too happy right now to care.

Over the next few weeks, Bae becomes familiar with the woody smell of Yuta’s apartment, and his creme-colored bed sheets. Going to class becomes less of a distraction from her sad sad sad life, and instead is something she does out of the newfound happiness in her life. Mark made a comment at some point that she looked a little less dead, to which she responded to him with the same thing. He told her he started taking adderall, which might’ve done the trick. Bae knew very well what she was doing could be something along the lines of a drug.

After her classes finished for the day, Bae decided to treat herself at the bubble tea shop on the way back to her apartment. It’s a campus favorite, and usually whenever she goes, she finds someone she recognizes - that’s how popular it is. The weather is getting colder by the day, but that doesn’t deter her from getting an iced oolong milk tea. As she takes her receipt, she recognizes Jisung’s mop of black hair sitting at a booth facing away from the door. Her sliding into the seat across from him surprises him, he glances up from his phone immediately to probably ask who the fuck is sitting across from him, but then relaxes when he realizes it’s Bae. To top it off, he rolls his eyes at her.

“What are you doing here?”

“Am I not allowed to buy a drink for myself?”

He raises a brow. “Not while I’m here.”

“Ugh. And to think I was excited to see you here too.” Jisung had mentioned over text that there was this new girl he was seeing - his definition of seeing is just hooking up (he’s been in his hoe phase for several years now, if Bae had a dollar for every girl that made it into his hoe phase, she would be rich). “I was going to ask about Aeri Uchinaga. That’s her name right?”

He looks away, and back at his phone. He doesn’t appear to be flustered, which makes her want to press further. “Yeah.”

Her and Jisung follow basically the same people, so it didn’t take long for her to notice that user aeriuchinaga on Instagram was posting pictures of bubble tea dates, and outings to the arcade, all of which had hands that were very similar to the ones holding Jisung’s phone across from her. When she asked him about it, that’s when he finally decided to mention it to her.

“So? Do you like her?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “She’s nice.” Bae‘s about to protest that he’s not giving her much to work with, but the barista suddenly calls for her order, so she leaves him with a glare to pick up her order. By the time she returns, Jisung’s already standing up.

“You’re leaving?” She asks. Maybe she’s a little disappointed that he’s being so closed off when talking about his recent fling. Maybe not even maybe, she is definitely disappointed. She loves to get on his nerves by probing around his dating life and asking him all these questions, but at the end of the day she also is genuinely curious. As annoying as he is, she still considers Jisung a great friend.

“I was just going to go wherever you’re headed.”

“I’m going home.”

“Okay.” He tells her, pushing the door open for her.

“So you guys matched on Tinder?”

“You’re not leaving it alone?”

She groans. “Jisung. Is it that bad that I’m curious?”

“I'm not really asking questions about Yuta.” He responds.

“Well, you and I aren’t the same. I just want to know…” She trails off. Bae is curious about who this Aeri Uchinaga girl is. She wants to know why exactly she and Jisung linked up, and if he really did like her. It would be nice to see that Jisung finally did get himself into a relationship after bouncing from one fling to another. Not that flings are bad, she just felt that Jisung deserved something more permanent. Bae knew that from time to time Jisung disappeared from the group, sometimes it ranged from a couple weeks to a few months. He never explained the disappearances, just said that he had “gotten busy” and had been “taking time for himself”. Maybe all that was true, but she knew Jisung better than that and also knew that he tended to brush off how deeply he experienced emotions. Typical toxic masculinity tendencies. It would be better that if he did disappear, he had someone who was more than a friend to check in on him.

She mutters a “whatever” under her breath, probably too quiet for him to hear. If he really doesn’t want her to ask, then she won’t. Bae spends the next few minutes sipping through her straw. The silence is awkward, but not totally unbearable. With Jisung, this kind of silence that passes them happens all the time. Over the years, she got accustomed to it. Usually, he’s too far in his thoughts to notice that she’s gone silent.

Honestly, sometimes she wonders what it is that makes her still hang out with him. And why he still lingers around her. He pisses her off more than he makes her laugh. Yet, she’ll still walk him back to his house if he’s too drunk. And she still wants to talk to him if she runs into him at a cafe. And if he’s hungry she lets him eat her food.

It’s her tendency to care too much, she concludes.

He’s on his phone next to her, presumably texting someone. When she glances over curiously, she can see the conversation history between him and someone named ‘Aeri’ in his contacts. At that moment, another message pops up, so he exits from their chat. She’s disappointed to find out that it’s just Karina who texted him. Somehow that girl always has impeccable timing.

“What are you making for dinner?” He asks her, now responding to Karina. They seem to be talking about Lexapro - an odd topic. God bless her amazing vision.

“Nothing for you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” She scowls, nudging him with her shoulder. Jisung clicks his tongue almost immediately and puts his phone away. Seems like that was enough for him to finally start talking to her.

“Why not?”

“I need to go grocery shopping. I'm not spending more grocery money on you. You still owe me from the other day.”

“I’ll pay.” He offers. “Let’s go.”

“Don’t think this lets you off the hook for the noodles.” She reminds him, shooting him a glare. “You’re paying for today, Park Jisung.”

This makes him laugh for some reason, like a genuine relaxed Park Jisung laugh, which makes her also relax a little. His hand grabs onto her elbow, nudging her forward. “Okay okay, I got it. Let’s hurry then, it’s getting dark.”

Shotaro kept mentioning some event that JUSA - Japanese Undergrad Student Association - was having was happening today. He’d mentioned it to their team during practice last week, and the week before, and the week before that, asking them to come. He had so much optimism for the organizations that he was a part of, which right now seemed to be their dance team and JUSA. He’d mentioned to Bae that she should really come, it was a carnival event of some sort. It was cold out so having an outdoor event in this degree weather probably wasn’t the smartest, but JUSA made it worth it by doing the term ‘carnival’ justice. It certainly looked like one.

Shotaro had also mentioned to her that he was looking to join the board, that he had a lot of ideas - typical eagerness and excitement from a freshman. She had just laughed at him when he told her this, he asked her what was funny and she brushed it off, saying it was nothing and that he definitely should go for it. So she’s mainly at this carnival wearing 5 layers of jackets just for him. They’ve occupied the field outside of the campus gym, many different booths and games in a large circle mapping the entire perimeter of the field. She finally finds him after a minute of scanning over the tables repeatedly. Bae‘s not sure how she missed that head of blond hair.

“Bae!” He’s manning the caramel apples, and beams at her instantly. “Do you want an apple?”

She’s not a huge fan of caramel apples, but she nods, just for his sake. “Sure. How long are you running this table?”

“The entire time, so the next two hours.”

“Oh shit.” Bae knew she could never be bothered to do that for that long, especially in this weather - she hates winter. “They better give you that board position then.”

“Yeah, I was talking to Aeri, our VP, and she said they’d definitely want me on the board. Isn’t that so exciting? It’s only my first year but-”

“Wait.” She recognizes that name. “Aeri? Like Aeri Uchinaga?”

He nods quickly. “Yeah. You know her? I think she’s in your grade.” He glances at a spot behind Bae. “She’s actually supposed to be running this table with me, since she’s on the board. And she’s heading our way right now.” Wow, her luck is amazing.

The first thing Bae notices is her dark red hair, which really suits her. She smiles at Shotaro, then at Bae. “You’re Bae Chen, right?”

Her brows rise slightly, it’s hard not to smile back. “Yeah. Aeri right?”

She seems pleasantly surprised that Bae knows who she is, even though this would technically be their first conversation. “Yeah! You’re friends with Jisung? He’s mentioned you.”

Bae wonders what conversations those two have that Bae is brought up in them. Considering that she remembers her name, and can even put a face to it, it must be more than once. She hates that she likes this girl already. Already starting off, she’s beautiful. She’s really sweet too. Already she seems to be too good for Jisung. He’s made plenty of awful choices in the past which she likes to make fun of him for, but Aeri clearly is not one of them.

She nods. “Yeah. You guys did great with this whole event, it looks so cool.”

Her smile is contagious, it makes Bae want to punch a brick wall. She opts for taking a hard crunch out of the apple Shotaro gave her.

“Thank you! We’ve been planning this since the summer, I guess it paid off.” She directs her next question to Shotaro. “Have you seen Yuta? I swear he said he was going to help Shohei with the dunk machine but I can’t find him.”

Yuta? That causes her ears to perk. He never mentioned he was in JUSA to her. Though it probably makes sense. Shotaro glances around the carnival. “Yeah…he came by a few minutes ago. I gave him an apple.”

Bae realizes she’s lingering too long, so she waves at the two. “Thank you for the apple! I’ll see you at practice, Shotaro.”

The both of them smile at her as she leaves, which makes her want to slam her head into the concrete pavement underneath her feet. She is so unbelievably pretty, like prettier than whatever she posts on Instagram. And she’s not in a relationship? Instead she’s in some stupid fling with stupid-Park-fucking-Jisung? It makes her sick.

Maybe some people don’t want relationships. Maybe she’s one of those people. But still, with Jisung?

She reminds herself that now that she’s seen Shotaro, she can technically leave. But Bae remembers that she mentioned Yuta. Part of her wants to find him before she goes back to her place. But that’s too weird, isn’t it? Seeking him out? She’s been trying to play off their thing as pretty nonchalant, and she did see him last night so technically she’s had her “fix”, if she even wants to call it that. But, Bae really likes him. So she tosses her pride aside and continues along the ring of tables.

JUSA really outdid themselves, she’ll say it again. Aeri must be extremely hard-working and passionate too, especially being in such a high ranked board position. She was able to pull this entire event together. Wow. Such an accomplished person and she’s hooking up with Jisung?

She spots the dunk tank, where Yuta stands, just like Aeri had mentioned he was supposed to be at. He’s laughing at someone, specifically a somebody who emerges from the dunk tank soaking wet - she feels bad for him (especially in this weather?). He notices her approaching closer a few seconds later and waves light-heartedly.

“Hey Bae.” She’s so glad she didn’t listen to her inner thoughts and step out in a pair of sweats, her layered outfit actually looks nice today. His eyes travel over her outfit. “You look nice.”

“Thank you, I didn’t realize you were going to be here.”

“I also didn’t think so either.” He shares a laugh with the soaking wet dude next to him, who’s busy drying himself off. “Aeri insisted, so I’m here. Don’t really take you as an extracurricular guy, right?”

“Everybody has their moments, I would assume.” She responds. “Are you staying here for the entire time?”

“Unfortunately, yeah. Shohei already got dunked once, so it’s my turn.”

“You all wet? That’ll be a sight.”

“I’m sure you’re familiar.” Yuta jokes back. Had it not been for the weather, her cheeks would have been aflame. Even with his friend right next to him, that doesn’t seem to deter him from flirting with her. One of their pillow talks consisted of him asking her to have sex in a campus bathroom, apparently he was into the whole sex-in-public thing. She’s not really there (and isn’t sure if she ever will be) and shot it down. He was mildly disappointed, and said something like he’ll convince her one day. Bae really doubted it.

“I’ll catch you later?” She tells him, then glances at the tank. “Have fun with…that.”

“You sure you don’t want to play?”

“Yeah.” She grins at him. “Maybe we can play another time.” She waves at the other dude next to him, then takes off.

And just like clockwork, as she leaves the ring of tables, her phone buzzes. It’s from Yuta.

How does tonight sound? I have a few games in mind.

chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5 (coming soon)

#jisung #jisung nct dream #jisung nct #nct dream #nct dream fic #jisung nct fic #jisung fic

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coal15 · 1 year ago

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Here's a teaser for ch.8 of All Roads Lead Back, tentatively titled Pride Before The Fall.

The staredown.

Fraud versus Faithful, who will blink first?

After processing his initial shock at being found out, the Metatron’s usual smug confidence returns. He glares at Aziraphale and without averting his eyes calls out to the retreating co-conspirators behind him, “get back here!”

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. A wise motto. The ideal scenario would have been for the Metatron to admit he’d been outplayed and surrender without a fight. Luckily for the side of good, however, Muriel, Aziraphale, and Crowley had sense enough to realise the odds of such a dream coming true were slim indeed. Hence the rest of their elaborate ploy.

Look worried, Aziraphale reminds himself. No no, not worried yet. Confused. Yes. Look confused.

“Aziraphale, do you know how easy it is going to be for us to turn all of Heaven against you? We need only tell the other Angels that you attempted to undermine my voice-God’s voice-as part of a treacherous plot to usurp the Almighty. I mean, can you imagine such a wicked thing!” The Metatron shudders. “And I assure you most of them will hold true to faith, just as they have since I took over the show.”

Michael and Uriel resume their place behind the blasphemous leader who holds their allegiance, and Aziraphale can plainly see their confidence is restored.

All going as expected so far. Brilliant.

The Metatron gives his stupidly obedient minions a polite nod before continuing the villainous monologue. “After all, what is a deity without faith? Nothing. And in the place we have her trapped she is nothing. Merely a concept. One that I have embodied quite effectively for well nigh on a thousand years now.”

“A thousand? Y’mean literally, it’s been that long?” Crowley asks, genuinely surprised. Of course he’d assumed the Metatron’s invisible insurrection happened some time back, but a thousand years? Insidious or not, he does have to admit successfully maintaining such an illusion for so long is an impressive feat. Not an admirable one, of course. But undeniably impressive. Though his heart does break a bit, knowing how much the revelation must upset his Angel.

“Yes I mean literally, you presumptuous fool! One thousand years." The Metatron’s appetite for power laps up the defeat of his enemies like tasty morsels.

“Beware the blinding effect of arrogance, Metatron,” Aziraphale cautions. “Only God’s chosen could possibly create flesh and blood life out of nothing, so once we demonstrate-”

“A demonic illusion, nothing more." The Metatron waves away the warning with an indignant huff. “Lifelike, perhaps, but given your choice of lover . . . ” his eyes flick briefly to Crowley, “it does seem a more likely story than God sharing her most exclusive power with another being, wouldn’t you say?”

Okay, NOW look worried . . .

“In fact, I can make the case that God only allowed this Demon back into Heaven as a test. In her depthless grace she so dearly wanted to believe his change of heart was genuine, but alas . . .” The Metatron sighs heavily in an artificial a show of sadness. “Instead she has discovered not only does he still belongs to Hell, but has even managed to lead one of our purest Angels astray. The Supreme Archangel himself turned agent of Satan.” He grins, calm and unworried. "Who do you suppose has the upper hand now, Aziraphale?”

#aziracrow #ineffeble husbands #good omens #david tennant #Michael Sheen #Neil Gaiman #Have I mentioned how much I'm loving writing this fic?#because I'm loving it

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full-of-roman-angst-trash · 1 year ago

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Wounded Even By Happiness CH.2

Masterpost

Next Chapter

Roman remembers the first time he met Virgil. He remembers not paying the pale boy much attention. He remembers being too engulfed in the party and Janus to really think about the interaction too much. It was only after Roman continued meeting Virgil and hanging out with him that he began to get curious about Virgil.

Roman isn’t sure when exactly he began to have feelings for Virgil. But, when he realized that his heart- the one he thought had already met its soulmate- fell in love with Virgil, he knew he had to take his shot. He knew he couldn’t just push this feeling away and ignore it. Plus, he thought he was ready to move on from his past lover. He truly believed he had taken the right step that day. After all, he knew this is what Janus would want.

“Hey Virgil?” Roman called over at his friend standing across from him, a light blush present on his face as he tried to keep his nervousness in check.

Virgil sat up and looked over at Roman, “Mhm?”

Roman takes a deep breath, “I want to tell you something very important. And I want you to answer me truthfully, even if it may hurt my feelings. There will be no hard feelings no matter how you answer. Okay?”

“Um okay?” Virgil answered with an unsure tone, nervous as to what exactly Roman is about to tell him.

There’s a moment of hesitation before Roman speaks again, “I like you romantically. A lot. I’ve had a crush on you for a while now. I want to know if you’re willing to date and just give things a chance.

Virgil blushes deeply and for a second he’s unable to speak. He can’t believe it. Someone as amazing as Roman likes him back? And for a while? It sounds unbelievable. Especially considering how hard Roman fell for Janus. Virgil thought it would be impossible for him to ever move on and like someone again.

The silence makes Roman regret his decision for a second. But, before he can try and change the subject he gets his response.

“I like you too,” Virgil smiles,”I am more than willing to give this a chance.”

Virgil holds his coffee mug tightly. Sometimes, he wondered how different things would have turned out for him if he had never accepted Roman’s confession. Would he be dating someone else? Someone who’d be willing to talk things out instead of just pushing every problem under the rug. Someone who’s affectionate and open instead of cold and distant. Someone who actually listened instead of ignoring everyone. Someone who loved him.

“Vee.”

Virgil hesitantly looks up at Remus, “Yes?”

“Are you going to tell me what happened or are you just going to stay quiet?”

Virgil knew that this question would eventually come up. He knew Remus would see right through him. He knew that the argument would come back to haunt him. Remus always just seems to care too much.

“I just got into a stupid argument with Roman yesterday,” Virgil mumbles, knowing that Remus won’t accept silence as an answer, “Don’t worry about it.”

Remus rolls his eyes, "It seems to be bothering you a lot. So I will worry about it. Didn't he do his performance yesterday? Why would you guys fight about that?"

The question hurts Virgil more than he wants it to. The question seems to highlight how unnecessary their fight was. Remus is right, there was nothing to fight about. It was supposed to be a happy day. A day they could celebrate such a huge accomplishment. And instead, they fought.

Virgil bawls his hand into a fist, "I tried to be supportive and bring him flowers backstage, but he didn't appreciate it. He just dismissed me and told me he had to finish getting ready."

Remus frowns, "And did you guys try to talk things out after getting home?"

The answer to that question was obvious. Afterall, Roman’s sprawled out blankets on the couch was a clear indication that they went to bed without a word. Or that at the very least nothing was truly resolved.

"No," Virgil continues drinking his coffee, "He started drinking once we got home and eventually fell asleep on the couch. I want to try and talk to him before he goes to work. He hasn't come out of his office since he woke up though."

Before Remus can respond, the office door opens and Roman walks into the kitchen. He raises a brow at seeing his brother sitting next to Virgil.

"Remus? What are you doing here?" Roman asks as he walks to the drawer and gets his keys.

"I came to drop off the supplies you asked for," Remus replies as he tries to read his brother's emotions, "But then I wanted to talk to Vee a bit."

Roman just hums and starts walking to the door, “Alright. Well, I’m leaving. I have to meet with Logan.”

The tension in the air is one that Roman and Remus are very used to. It’s one they’ve been haunted by since they were kids. The two of them have always had a thin relationship. When they were kids, they were always together yet they never really developed a deep bound. Insead, they merely know how to coexist.

It isn’t that Roman hates Remus. In fact, he can’t deny that he loves his brother. However, Roman also can’t deny the divide between them. No matter how much he wants to understand his twin and have that inseparable bond with him, he just can’t feel it. To Roman, Remus is a stranger who he cares and loves. Their relationship feels almost like that of a fan and an entertainer.

At some point there was something that bridged their relationship. There was a couple of years when Roman and Remus began to get close because of Janus. Janus was a very intellectual individual. He always did his best to try and get the twins to understand one another. And it began to slowly work. But once that bridge abruptly crumbled the two of them went back to how they were before they met Janus.

Remus and Virgil watch Roman leave. After Roman is fully gone, Remus turns to Virgil.

“I guess you guys will have to talk things out later.”

#sanders sides #wounded even by happiness #my writing

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pandorachristian · 2 years ago

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The person who have a soolmate will draw by each other. That's how Og Cale and Choi Han getting excited to compete each other so much.

Alberu will be the first one to realise, but he think It's fun to see the two fight(He is not jealous because the two of then was so close!)

Those two have AC as well and that make them nore competing.

Also Choi Han just think of his Air Conditioner as Alberu the first time he saw it on his palm.

Contrary to that, Choi Han and Cale immidietly realise Alberu was their Soulmate. Alberu has a hard time to accept that his partner was Choi Han and Cale.

They have the same jealousy level because Alberu and Cale was greedy for love because of theur childhood but at the same time they can't accept love easily. While Choi Han has lived for hundred of Years alone so he want love.

What do you thibk about Soul Mate AU but their name is written in short. Because Cale Henituse and Choi Han name written in short is CH. Just think how Choi Han and Og Cale think that they are love rival =)))))))))))))

And they make out with each other to see who are stronger.

@hajidumps

#okay okay but who are they fighting for CH like their supposed to be lover #i bet on alberu and he also has two CH in each of his wrists #make this poly crack #they court alberu so hard and Alberu is just like how am i gonna explain this to them #also the CH should be a colored ink (CH - black (Choi Han) CH - red (Cale))#it would be fun as hell!!!#enemies to suitors to lovers to poly #They are so dumb I'm crying hard because of laughter #og!albecale #og!choicale #Og!albechoicale

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kpopfanfictrash · 4 years ago

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Raise the Barre (Ch. 8)

Author: kpopfanfictrash

Pairing: Jimin / Reader

Rating: 18+ (Eventual Smut)

Genre: Enemies to Lovers / Dance Academy!AU

Warnings: underage drinking, angst, hoseok’s bare abs

Word Count: 10,705

Summary: You and Park Jimin have been rivals for as long as you’ve known one another; ever since he tripped you in the front row of your first dance convention. When you graduate from high school and enter Russet Ballet Academy, you tell yourself you’re leaving all past quarrels behind. The main problem with this though, is that your past seems determined not to leave you alone.

Worse still, the obstacles you face while out in the real world might prove more challenging than anything your enemy has to offer.

“Okay, even you have to admit this is too soon.” Finn stared, appalled at the chalkboard. “It’s not even Halloween!”

Laughing a little, you looped your arm around his to drag him towards the back. Plopping down in a chair, you placed your order number in the center of the table. Seating himself across the table from you, Finn began to undo his coat.

“Come on.” He grinned, brown hair flopping when he leaned forward. “Admit it – this is too early for holiday drinks.”

“Okay, maybe it’s a little early,” you acquiesced. “But Halloween is tomorrow! They probably just put up the holiday drinks so they don’t have to do it on Sunday.”

“Laziness!” he cried, jabbing a finger in the air.

Shaking your head, you smiled when Namjoon, the barista, placed a pumpkin soy latte before you.

“Thanks!” you said, pulling this towards you.

“No problem,” he said, flashing his dimples before he turned to leave.

Taking a long, slow sip of your drink, you groaned. “Oh my god. This is it. This is heaven.”

Finn laughed. “Is that seriously your first pumpkin drink of the season?” Sadly, he shook his head. “I remember our senior year, you dragged me out of bed at 7:00 AM on a Saturday just to get the first pumpkin drink of the year.”

“I know,” you sighed. “But I’ve needed the extra caffeine jolt each morning. Sweet drinks just don’t cut it anymore.”

“Ah, the first step in addiction.” Finn nodded sagely.

Smiling, you settled back in your seat as he took the first sip of his black coffee. It had been two weeks since your fight at the club and since then, Finn had been on his best behavior. For about a week, things between you had been awkward but slowly, your relationship was returning to normal.

Seated in the corner of your favorite coffee shop, you drank from your cup and glanced around the room. This was what you’d pictured when you imagined you and Finn living in the city together. Coffee dates, going on new adventures and continuing your relationship where it had left off.

Of course, this morning was only possible because Miss Britt’s ballet class had been cancelled. A contemporary master class had been scheduled for the afternoon, but your day before then was free – something you’d immediately taken advantage of by calling Finn. It was becoming easier to fit each other into your schedules, more like second nature, but things were still tense whenever things didn’t line up.

None of this was eased by the burgeoning whatever-it-was you’d shoved to the back of your mind regarding Jimin. Since the day of Mr. Vlad’s ballet class, you’d managed to keep your emotions in check, but were constantly on the lookout for dangerous situations. You and Jimin were professionals, obviously, but you were also only human. It was reasonable to have subconscious wants and desires, but these weren’t important unless you chose to act upon them.

You didn’t tell Finn about it because honestly, there was nothing to tell. Okay, so you’d felt an errant spark one day during a lift. Big deal. Finn had been your boyfriend for over two years – it would take more than that to threaten your relationship. A relationship which, frankly, had been getting stronger as of late. Telling him something as inconsequential as a spark you had with Jimin would only take you further down the wrong path.

“Are you sure you’re okay with us doing separate things tomorrow?” Finn interrupted your thoughts. His brow furrowed. “It is Halloween, after all.”

“Ah, yes.” You nodded. “Halloween, the internationally known couple’s holiday.”

He laughed. “Okay, point made – but still.”

“It’s fine,” you assured him. This was something you’d already been over. “It just makes sense like this! Your friends are going to that off-campus party and I promised Noelle I’d go to this club thing with her.”

“Right, of course.” Finn grinned. “I’m bummed I’ll miss seeing you as the Powerpuff girls, though. Who’s going to be the third one, again?”

“Well, I’m Blossom – obviously.”

“Of course.” He nodded. “Miss Responsibility.”

A twinge of annoyance went through you, but you pushed it aside. You didn’t think you were always the responsible one but admittedly, you’d been more on edge than usual lately.

“Anyways,” you continued with a roll of your eyes. “I’m Blossom, Noelle is Buttercup and Irene is going as Bubbles. It’ll be fun! Aside from the whole club part, of course.”

“It does sound fun,” Finn admitted, a tad mournful. “Meanwhile, I’ve been roped into the classic college bro costume of Ghostbusters.”

“Oh, come on! That is classic! You’ll be super cute in your… suit? Cargo pants? What do Ghostbusters wear again?”

“Knowing Ben, something tragic from Party City. Pray for me.”

“I’ll light candles.”

Finn grinned, sipping his coffee again and your conversation slipped naturally to other topics.

Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, which meant every college campus was gearing up for some epic parties. Noelle had managed to snag tickets to a club fancy enough to require an RSVP. Apparently, said brother she missed was a DJ and could get tickets to a lot of things if Noelle bothered to ask.

A bunch of people from Russet were going, which made you excited. There hadn’t been many parties with your classmates so far this semester. Despite technically being in college, your classmates were all under the same intense pressure, only made worse by constant early morning ballet.

This week though, even your teachers seemed to have decided you needed a break. Aside from the master class you had this afternoon, there were zero Russet classes until Monday morning. The break in schedule meant you could actually go out – and drink – if you so decided. You and Noelle were planning on attending a ballet class tomorrow, but your entire day after would be free.

You’d originally planned on seeing Finn during the day, but then he’d been invited to a Halloween darty (day party) starting at noon. Despite not seeing Finn on Halloween, you weren’t feeling stressed. It was only one holiday and not even a couple’s one, as you’d said.

After coffee, you kissed Finn goodbye and headed to class at Danley Hall. The atmosphere was different as soon as you entered the classroom – all of the students were buzzing, excited by the prospect of the weekend ahead. The excitement only grew when coupled with the fact that today’s class was contemporary.

For nearly two months, your training had been mostly ballet. This was the foundation of all western dance, and where most dance students were expected to start. Finally though, you were being given a chance to show off. Today’s teacher, Luna Jordan, was a well-known contemporary choreographer across the globe.

You’d done a master class with her once back in high school and honestly couldn’t wait to learn from her again. She wasn’t alone, though, you noticed as you walked in – an unfamiliar, dark-haired guy stood beside her, stretching lithely before the room’s mirror.

“Holy shit,” Noelle whispered as she came to a stop. “That’s Jeon Jungkook.”

Startled, you looked twice and saw she was right. You hadn’t recognized him without his bevy of followers, but Jeon Jungkook was known in the dance world. A child prodigy, he’d been on America’s Got Talent at age eleven and finished in second place. Following this, his family had moved to LA and he’d been in high demand for movies, music videos and performances ever since.

You remembered hearing he worked with Luna Jordan, but the thought hadn’t crossed your mind before now that he might be here.

Noelle cocked her head to one side. “He’s hot.”

“Noelle,” you hissed, trying to shush her.

“What!” A devious grin spread across her face. “Am I supposed to be blind, as well as mute?”

“Well, no, but –”

“Alright, everyone!” Miss Luna clapped her hands together. “I know everyone is excited for the weekend, but we unfortunately have an hour and a half together before then. Everyone spread out for warm-ups!”

A few people laughed, spreading out on the floor as class began. Noelle wriggled her eyebrows, pulling you towards the front in order to get the best spot. Hiding a smile, you ducked your head and settled beside her into a stretch.

Noelle was nearly as excited as you were for the opportunity to dance contemporary. Most of your classmates knew this to be your forte – you caught glances from the corner of your eye while you warmed up, trying not to let their attention get to your head.

Jimin was also near the front, although on the opposite side. You suspected your class was equally excited to see him perform – as talented as Jimin was at ballet, there was a reason you hadn’t thought he’d be at Russet this fall. Jimin’s strength in jazz and contemporary was unparalleled. You would’ve thought he’d gone to LA to become a dancer like Jungkook.

Speaking of whom – Jungkook really was attractive; that much couldn’t be denied. He had dark, wavy hair pulled into a bun and cheekbones sharp enough to cut glass. When he glanced up from his stretch, his gaze somehow found yours and he smiled.

Eyes widening, you stared until you caught sight of Jimin behind him. Glancing between the two of you, Jimin’s expression soured before he looked away. Lips parting, you felt the sudden urge to say something, but there was too much distance between you.

“You ready?” Miss Luna called, an upbeat pop song blasting from the stereo. “Let’s go!”

She launched into isolations, leaving the rest of the class to follow. Warm-ups passed quickly and before you knew it, you were gathered at center to learn the combination. Miss Luna’s style was right up your alley. The steps came easily and, once you’d learned the whole chorus, she left you alone to practice.

You were helping Ari with a difficult move when you caught sight of Sabrina as you turned. She’d positioned herself near the back, which had to be a first. Usually, Sabrina was front and center to allow for maximum receipt of teacher praise.

The decision to stand near the back could’ve been strategy – sometimes, dancers did that at conventions. Conventions were giant weekends of competition with teachers from all over the globe who taught master classes to hundreds of dancers in hotel ballrooms and convention centers. Space at the front tended to be limited, so some stayed at the back, where there was more room to dance and be seen. You had a greater likelihood to capture the teacher’s attention when you had the room to do incredible leaps.

Sabrina’s decision didn’t seem strategic, though. While you watched, Sabrina stumbled transitioning from one move to the next. A brief twinge of pity went through you.

It was easy enough to spot ballerinas dancing anything but ballet. Although ballet was the root of modern westernized dance, it could be hard to translate into other styles. Ballet was more rigid than contemporary, jazz or hip-hop. In ballet, each position was defined, individual style was limited, and dancers were expected to all look the same. Standing out in the corps de ballet was equally frowned upon as missing an entrance.

Not that ballet wasn’t important to all dance styles, mind you. Even hip-hop dancers took ballet to improve their balance, core strength and general understanding of the body. There was an element of individuality in other dance styles, though, which lacked in ballet. Contemporary and hip-hop dancers were expected to have relentless technique all while creating their own, unique flair.

Just looking at Sabrina you could clearly see the holes. She was trying so hard to emulate the moves of Miss Luna, she was kind of missing the point. When Miss Luna did a certain flick of the wrist, it wasn’t a defined part of the choreography, but rather an individual choice.

Without thinking, you took a step forward – only to stop. Sabrina wouldn’t want your help; she’d already made that abundantly clear. Besides, you knew her friend Katie to be a contemporary dancer. She could help Sabrina and yet, when you looked, you saw Katie practicing near the front with Jungkook.

Jungkook obviously knew the steps, since this was probably the tenth time he’d learned the combination. Dance teachers often did that – selected a dancer to attend classes with them, traveling to different cities to demonstrate the combination and help when they weren’t free.

Before you could decide whether to help Sabrina, Miss Luna clapped her hands again.

“Let’s do groups!” she declared. “I’ll count you off into groups of four, and each group will showcase. Sound good?”

It wasn’t really a question so much as an announcement. The rest of the class nodded, waiting while Miss Luna counted you off. You ended up in the same group as Irene, Paulo and a few others. Jimin and Noelle were in the group two, while Sabrina was in the group after theirs.

Jogging off to the side, you waited while the first group took center. You were part of group four, which meant you’d be amongst the last to dance on the floor. When the music began, you closed your eyes and began to mark the combination. You tried not to focus on what anyone else was doing, but this became difficult once Noelle’s group stepped up.

Noelle had trained in jazz and contemporary, although she’d stopped in high school to focus mainly on ballet. Still, her artistry shone in her movement. She could definitely stand to loosen up a bit but was still one of the best in the bunch. You found yourself smiling when she landed a turn, silently cheering her on from the side.

While you were watching, Jimin cut across your vision.

Dropping to the ground, he rolled and arched as his forehead brushed wood. His quality of movement was breathtaking and for a moment, you felt like you were back in high school.

Suddenly returned to those dimmed auditoriums, you watched Jimin take the stage like an otherworldly being. His body seemed to move before your mind could comprehend. Barely did he finish one move before he was starting another, the steps flowing endlessly together like unhindered water. Although you knew the combination and knew how you would dance it, watching Jimin perform was a different experience entirely.

Ballet required dancers to stay on the beat but in contemporary, they were expected to lag. Extensions were all the more breathtaking when they clung to the last second, seeming as though the dancer might not make it before they caught up. Jimin was an expert in this, knowing exactly when to hang precariously over the edge and when to pull back.

Watching him dance, that pesky, strange something bloomed in your chest again.

Squashing this quickly, you looked away and resumed marking the combo. The end of the song was improvisation though and, unable to stop yourself, you found your attention drifting to Jimin again. He was ridiculously beautiful – you nearly didn’t hear when Miss Luna called for them to stop. As she turned off the music, she applauded the group while they walked from the floor.

Breathing heavily, Noelle came to a stop alongside you and – somewhat guiltily, since you hadn’t been watching – you gave her a high-five.

“That was awesome!” you said with a grin. “You definitely stood out in the group.”

Noelle snort-laughed. “Not with Jimin up there, but that’s okay. This is his specialty – and yours,” she added with a wink. “I’m psyched for group four.”

“Ah,” you groaned, rubbing your neck. “Too much pressure.”

Noelle laughed, shaking her head as group three took the floor. Both of you fell silent to watch, your curious gaze finding Sabrina in the back. Sabrina looked almost nervous; an emotion which seemed out of place on her features. It made her look almost human.

As soon as the music began, you stifled a wince. Sabrina stood out from the group, and not in a good way. She had the combination down but moved with a woodenness you would’ve expected from someone half her age. It was enough for you to glance at Miss Luna, wondering if she had noticed.

“Wow,” Noelle whispered, looking almost gleeful. “Sabrina is terrible.”

“Noelle!” you whisper-laughed.

“What? After everything she’s done? After everything she’s said?” Noelle’s gaze narrowed. “Sabrina deserves this.”

Despite privately agreeing, you couldn’t help but feel bad as Sabrina continued. Not wanting to watch any longer, you turned towards the front and resumed marking the combo. As soon as Miss Luna cut the music and polite clapping ensued, you turned back around.

It was time for group four. A shaky, sick feeling entered your stomach as you walked to center. So many eyes were on you, but it had been so long since you danced contemporary. You couldn’t help but wonder if you were as good as people seemed to imagine. Surrounded by so many dancers at Russet, surely your own talent would pale in comparison.

As soon as the music began though, everything faded. Insecurities slipping away, a lightness entered your chest as, eyes falling shut, you slowly inhaled.

Taking a step forward, you opened your eyes and began.

To you, dance had several phases. The first was learning, where you memorized each step and put them in order. The second was understanding, where your muscle memory began to take over and the combination felt smoother. The final phase, performance, was when you thought not of the steps, and were free to just dance.

This was your favorite phrase. In this phase, your mind separated from your body, leaving you only with sweat and emotion. Dance was the only art form composed solely of the body. An odd combination of physical strength and artistic beauty, it was both a testament to human capability and human emotion.

Losing yourself in the music, you ebbed and flowed through the combination until the choreography ended and improvisation began. Finally, you let go and held nothing back. Raw, unbridled passion poured out as you lost sight of yourself, so consumed by the movement.

When the song finally finished and you came to a stop, you were panting for breath. Glancing up, the first person you saw was Jimin.

He stood off to one side, leaning casually against the rungs of the barre, but his expression was anything but. Focused on you, his gaze had turned dark in a way which made you catch your breath.

Miss Luna clapped both hands once again, returning your attention to her. Blinking, Jimin shook his head and in your peripheral, you saw him straighten.

“Very good!” Miss Luna scanned the group. “I know our time is nearly at and end, but why don’t we have a few students come out and demonstrate?”

Again, this was fairly common in master classes. After learning the combination, teachers would often single out students to perform as examples. It wasn’t always the students with the best technique who got chosen. Oftentimes, it was as much for passion and performance quality.

Taking a step forward, Miss Luna began to call out names. You were one of the first – setting your water down, you jogged back to center. Jimin was the next person called, then Noelle, much to your excitement. Jungkook was also instructed to join on the floor.

Turning the lights halfway down, Miss Luna pressed play and let you improvise until the combination began. Jungkook started dancing and honestly, he was beautiful, but you couldn’t linger on him for long.

Catching sight of Jimin again, you were once more transported to earlier times. This wasn’t the first time you’d been called out together. Oftentimes, this had happened at conventions but back then, your mind had been too clouded to see him for who he was.

You’d always wanted to beat him in high school, but now, you were consumed by the oddest desire to see him do well.

Glancing up, Jimin caught your gaze and he smiled – but then, the combination began.

By the time you were finished, you could hardly catch your breath but somehow, you felt the most alive you’d been in ages. Back in your own element, surrounded by some of the most amazing dancers in the world – this was what you’d imagined when you came to Russet.

People around the room clapped, some of them begrudgingly. You got the impression many of your classmates weren’t used to not being chosen. As you walked from the floor, you saw surprisingly, Sabrina wasn’t amongst them.

Instead, Sabrina simply looked tired – as though she’d tried her best and it hadn’t been enough. You knew that look. You sympathized with that look.

The look lingered in the back of your mind while you packed up your things and listened to Noelle discuss Halloween tomorrow. When she mentioned Ari had decided to visit her family this weekend, an idea began to form in your mind.

“Wait,” you interrupted, looking up. “Ari can’t come tomorrow?”

Noelle shook her head. “Her brother just turned eighteen, so her whole family is having a party or something.”

“So… her ticket is free, then?”

“Yes…” Noelle paused. “Why? Y/N, what are you planning?”

“Okay. Hear me out,” you said as you shrugged on your coat. It was cold enough now for the coat to be necessary.

Noelle sighed, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Alright, I’m listening.”

Glancing away, you saw Sabrina packing her things on the other side of the room. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you returned to Noelle.

“What if we invited Sabrina?”

Noelle snorted. “Pass.”

“Noelle,” you laughed, reaching out for her arm. “Come on! Do you really think she’s doing anything for Halloween?”

“Probably not. And that’s her own fault.”

“Maybe,” you said, glancing at Sabrina once more. “But how could it hurt? We have an extra ticket, there’ll be tons of people tomorrow night. She’ll probably say no – at least this way, you can claim a write-off on your way into heaven!”

Noelle upper lip twitched. “Oh, is that how write-offs work?”

“Well, I can only assume.”

Finally, she laughed. “Ugh, fine. You can invite her – but only because it’s Halloween, and Halloween is a time for peace. And slutty costumes.”

“Thanks, babe,” you said, squeezing her waist in a one-armed hug.

Sighing exaggeratedly, Noelle waved aside your thanks. Hiking your bag higher, you began to make your way across the room. As you closed in on Sabrina, you began to rethink your choice. It had been nearly a month since anything bad had happened between you but still, you found yourself feeling wary. As tough as you pretended to be, rejection hurt you just as much as the next person.

Still, dancing with Jimin had been a reminder of just how bitter your relationship used to be. If that relationship could change, you had to imagine things with Sabrina could, too.

Coming to a stop at her bag, you waited for her to look up. When she finally did, her brow wrinkled in confusion.

“What?” Sabrina asked, sounding defensive. “What do you want, Y/N?”

You couldn’t really blame her for her suspicion. Had your situations been reversed, you would’ve been equally distrustful. It was likely Sabrina thought you were coming over to gloat, or say something to do with class today. Another twinge of pity went through you as Sabrina zipped her bag shut to stand.

“I just wanted to know what you were doing tomorrow,” you said, trying to smile. “Noelle has an extra ticket to a Halloween party, and we thought you might like to come.”

Sabrina stared. “What?”

“Tomorrow is Halloween,” you said, a bit slower. “You know – when we were kids, it was all about costumes and candy. Now, it’s about costumes and booze?”

Sabrina failed to crack a smile. “And you want… me to come to this party?”

Something about the way she said this made you sad, as though she genuinely thought this might be a joke. As though at any moment, someone might jump out and yell SIKE.

“Yeah,” you said, softening a little. “Look – it’s not a big deal if you can’t make it. A bunch of our class is going though, so we thought of you.”

Sabrina hesitated, then glanced at the door. “Okay,” she said, looking back. “Okay, yeah. I’ll come.”

Stifling your surprise, you nodded. “Great. I’ll text you where to meet us tomorrow before the club. Wear a costume,” you added before walking away. “Noelle said it’s required.”

“Alright,” Sabrina said, so quiet you almost missed it.

Walking away, you were nearly at the door when Jungkook popped up before you. Flashing a smile, he fixed a loose strand of hair away from his face. Feet fumbling to a stop, you could only stare.

“Y/N, right?” he said, sounding shy.

Unable to find the words, you blinked in response. The way Jungkook danced had been so confident, you’d only assumed this to be his off-floor persona, as well. Hearing him sound shy was unexpected.

Also – you hadn’t expected him to know your name.

“I… yeah, that’s me.” Shaking your head, you smiled. “Jungkook, right?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I just wanted to say I’m such a big fan of your dancing. It was great to take class with you today.”

Without meaning to, a laugh escaped your lips. Jungkook stared at you, baffled until you quickly waved him off.

“Oh, no – no! Sorry,” you said. “I’m not laughing at you! I’m just laughing at the ridiculousness of you saying you’re a fan of me.”

Some of Jungkook’s wariness disappeared, and a small smile played across his lips.

“Well, I am.” His grin widened. “I used to assist on the convention circuit, too and I remember you being called out all the time. You and Jimin,” he added, glancing across the room.

You looked, too and saw Jimin still packing his things. His back was stiff, pointedly not looking in your direction. Lingering on him a moment, you returned to Jungkook.

“Still,” you said with a laugh. “It’s a bit of a stretch to say we took class together when you’re the teacher’s assistant.”

“True.” Jungkook paused. “Well, next time you’re in LA, let’s fix that. Let me know if you’re ever in town and we can take a class together.”

Despite yourself, your brows raised. It was harmless, but Jungkook was definitely flirting with you. He was attractive, sure and seemed nice, but he lived in LA and you had a boyfriend. You should probably leave before things had the chance to go any further. The last thing you needed was another complication. Adjusting your bag, you gave Jungkook a small smile.

“Sounds like a plan,” you said before turning away.

Jungkook chuckled from behind. “Bye, Y/N.”

As you joined Noelle at the door, she stared over your shoulder.

“What?” you said, coming to a stop.

Noelle’s gaze moved to yours in disbelief. “How?” she demanded as you exited class. “How do you have all these men just… tripping over themselves for you?”

Heat rising to your face, you shook your head. “That’s – I,” you sputtered. “You’re being ridiculous!”

“Am I?” Noelle grinned. “First Jimin, now Jungkook… and all this while having a boyfriend.”

“I… you... Jimin is not tripping over himself for me!”

Both her brows shot way, way up. “Is that the only part of the sentence you took objection to?”

“Shut up,” you groaned and shoved her in the side.

Noelle laughed but nodded. “Alright, fine! I’ll stop. Did Sabrina say she’ll come?”

“She did.”

“Great. I still don’t like her,” Noelle said, pushing open the door. “But I guess you’re right, I have an extra ticket. It’s nice to be nice.”

You laughed, pulling your coat tighter as you walked outside. “You’re a saint.”

While you walked, your phone dinged and pulling this from your pocket, you saw a notification on Instagram. Jeon_Jungkook97 has followed you.

Shaking your head, you returned this to your jacket as you continued. While it was nice of Jungkook to compliment your dancing, his approval didn’t mean as much as certain other peoples had. This realization stuck in your mind, making you wonder about Noelle’s teasing jibe.

She had said Jimin flirted with you, but that wasn’t true – was it? You would have known if Jimin were flirting. It was hard to pick out though, since Jimin was friendly with everyone. That was just who he was; as he’d said earlier, he liked to be liked. A note of uncertainty entered your thoughts though, recalling the ballet class with your chest pressed to his. Shoving this away, you forced yourself to focus on the upcoming weekend.

Halloween was a night for fun, for letting loose and enjoying yourself with your friends. You refused to let the night be spoiled by any lingering feelings – either from you, or towards you.

The next night was perfect Halloween weather.

Chilly, but not cold enough to risk snow falling. There were several Halloweens from childhood you could recall trick-or-treating with a winter coat flung over your costume because the temperature had dropped below freezing.

You, Noelle and Irene showed up to Paulo’s house around 8:00 PM, shivering a little while you stood on his doorstep. Paulo was one of the few freshmen who lived off-campus, having known several upperclassmen before he came to Russet. The brownstone he lived in was cute, with window boxes you imagined hosted flowers in the summer.

Tugging your pink and black minidress down, you adjusted your bow as Paulo opened the door.

Blinking, he took in your costumes. “The Powerpuff girls!” He cheered, raising an arm overhead. “Try not to take down any of the villains upstairs, yeah?”

“No promises,” said Irene, flicking hair over her shoulder.

Entering the house, you heard thumping bass from an apartment upstairs. Paulo lived on the third floor and as you climbed the steps, the music grew louder. It took Paulo two tries to shove open the door – “warped wood,” he explained – but once you were inside, you saw familiar faces.

“The Powerpuff girls!” Jasmine cried, jumping up from the couch. “Finally! Thank god – can you take down Eamon? He came here dressed as a potato, or something.”

“It’s an avocado!” Eamon shouted from the kitchen. He was dressed in a round, green costume with a halo overhead. “I’m ‘holy guacamole’ – get it?” he said, pointing at the halo.

Jasmine stared at him a moment. “That’s terrible. Worse than mine,” she said with a wave down her body. “I’ve been Princess Jasmine for the past five Halloweens. It’s easy to remember and I already have the outfit.”

Laughing, you shrugged off your coat and added this to a pile on the couch. “It’s a classic,” you agreed as you turned.

Noelle had managed to procure at least twenty tickets to the party tonight, so a lot of your freshman Russet class was in attendance. Including Sabrina, who stood in the corner, talking to Louis over cups of red punch. She looked up when you entered, pausing before she gave a small wave. Surprised by the gesture, you did the same.

“No.” Noelle groaned, coming to a stop alongside you. When you looked, you saw she’d already removed her coat. “Tell me Sabrina didn’t come to this party dressed as a ballerina.”

“We did invite her at the last minute,” you laughed. “Hard to find a good Halloween costume in a day.”

“Hey,” Noelle argued. “There’s no we here. You were the one who invited her, and you’ll be the one to accept the consequences should your social experiment fail.”

“Done,” you agreed. “Speaking of social experiments though, I’m ready to get drunk tonight. Where’s the alcohol?”

“Kitchen!” Irene called, brushing past. “Or – that’s where Brian disappeared to when we entered, so I can only assume.”

Telling Noelle you’d be back with drinks, you wound through the room towards where Irene had pointed. The kitchen was tiny, on par with most city apartments. There was only room enough for one or two people, so you were lucky it was deserted when you entered.

Surveying the counter, you found the usual party staples. A bowl of red punch, a bunch of beer and various liquor bottles with chasers. Skipping over the communal punch bowl, you reached for a bottle of diet coke and coconut rum.

“Oh,” a voice said as they entered the kitchen. “Sorry – I didn’t know you were in here.”

Glancing up, you saw Jimin and froze.

He’d dyed his hair black – that was the first thing you noticed. Jimin’s hair was no longer blonde, but completely dark. His outfit confused you at first – a frilly, white blouse with slicked-back hair and dark trousers – until you saw his bright red contacts and the dribble of blood at his mouth.

“A vampire,” you said, finally recovering your voice. Scanning his body, you frowned. “Where are the teeth, though?”

Jimin blinked, his gaze jerking up from your waist.

“Huh?” he said, sounding a bit strangled.

Cheeks heating a little – your dress was pretty short – you repeated yourself. “The teeth,” you said, pointing at your own lips. “Don’t vampires have fangs?”

“Oh, right.” Jimin dug around in his pocket – fuck, were his trousers tight – to produce twin fangs. “I took them off when I got here. They’re really hard to talk in.”

“Go on then, Park,” you said with a grin. “Put them in.”

“One second.” Twisting to face the wall, Jimin popped them in his mouth. Turning around, he bared his teeth. “Sexy?”

With the teeth in though, the word came out more like shex-shie and you burst into laughter. “So sexy,” you agreed, reaching past him for a cup.

Jimin stiffened when your arm brushed his front. Unbidden, you thought about what Noelle had said – Jimin had been flirting with you. Pulling away, you resumed making your drinks and tried not to look in his direction.

Even so, you remained aware of his presence. Jimin inched his way behind you, reaching for the whiskey on the other side. His arm brushed your elbow as he went, right knee nudging yours in an intimate gesture.

Glancing up from the counter, you accidentally caught his gaze. Despite your earlier joking, he did look sexy. Devastatingly so. Even the blood-red contacts weren’t enough to deter the shiver which ran down your spine.

Shaking yourself free from your trance, you grabbed both cups and pulled back.

“So, what’re you drinking?” you asked.

You decided it was best to steer the conversation away from how sexy Park Jimin was or was not.

Seemingly oblivious to your inner turmoil, Jimin poured whiskey into his cup. “Whiskey and coke. Can you pass me that bottle?”

“Sure,” you said, leaping at the chance to prevent him from walking past you again. “Here you go.”

Pushing this forward, you watched Jimin pour both drinks all the way to the brim. He paused near the end, staring into the depths before he looked up. He seemed to be warring with something, debating whether or not to speak whatever was on his mind.

“So…” He paused. “Do you know Jungkook, or something?”

You blinked. “Jungkook…?”

“You know, Miss Luna’s assistant. Jeon Jungkook.”

“Oh! Jungkook. No, I don’t really know him.”

“You were talking to him at the end of class, though?”

Hearing the curiosity in his voice, both your brows raised. “And?”

“And nothing,” Jimin said, sounding uncomfortable. “I just… I didn’t know you knew him, that’s all.”

“I mean, I don’t.” You paused. “But even if I did, what does it matter?”

“It doesn’t.” His cheeks began to redden. “It’s just – ah, never mind. We don’t have that great a history, that’s all. He’s kind of the reason I’m at Russet this year.”

You stared at Jimin a moment. “Wow, what a tragedy,” you said, stifling a laugh. “To have been forced to attend one of the most prestigious dance institutions in the world.”

His upper lip twitched. “It’s not that. I was deciding between attending Russet and accepting a job offer out west. I was asked to join this pop star on tour… anyways, Jungkook’s never liked me much. It’s a long story.” Jimin’s brow furrowed. “My offer was rescinded at the last minute. The artist never said why, but I always got the feeling he had something to do with it.”

You stared at Jimin a moment, unsure how to respond. Jungkook hadn’t seemed like that kind of person, but you supposed you’d only talked to him for a few minutes. If that was true, what happened to Jimin sucked and yet, the next words from your mouth nearly had you face-palming.

“And here I thought I was your biggest rival, Park,” you said.

Jimin’s eyes widened. “Are you… jealous, Y/N?”

He sounded almost pleased by the notion, which sent a different kind of shiver down your spine.

“Not at all,” you said quickly, turning back to your drinks.

Jimin made a soft tsk-ing sound, as though he didn’t believe you.

“That sucks,” you continued, determined to change the subject. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“Yeah. Maybe it was all for the best, though. Things happen for a reason, right?”

Looking up, you caught Jimin’s stare. He didn’t look immediately away and you got the oddest sensation he meant more than what he said. Hastily, you pushed this feeling aside, clutching your drinks as you entered the main room. Jimin followed close behind, two cups in his hands.

“When did you get here?” you asked. “Been here long?”

Jimin shook his head. “Nah. Hoseok and I got here like, ten minutes ago. He should be around here somewhere, he –”

“Y/N!”

You looked up just in time to see Hoseok, Jimin’s roommate, barreling towards you.

“It’s been so long!” Crushing you to his chest, Hoseok wrapped you in a hug. “Hope Jimin isn’t boring you to death,” he stage-whispered before he pulled away.

“Just for that.” Jimin arched a brow. “Both these drinks are for me.”

“No – wait, wait. I’m sorry!” Hoseok pouted. “Hand over the drink, Park. It’s been the longest fucking week.”

Jimin grinned and relented, handing Hoseok his cup as you laughed. Hoseok was a newer friend, but he was close to Jimin, so he’d gradually bled into your latest gatherings. Despite not being on the ballet track, most of the dancers at Russet knew of him. Hoseok had that way about him.

Glancing down at your outfit, Hoseok held up a finger. “Let me guess – Blossom,” he said, turning to scan the room. “Which means… aha! Irene is Bubbles and Noelle is Buttercup. Makes sense.”

“And you are…” Pausing, you squinted at his outfit. “Someone at the spa?”

“Sure.” Hoseok shrugged. “Honestly, I just wanted to wear a bathrobe.”

Said bathrobe was paired with only boxers, the front of the robe open to display his toned abs. The costume didn’t surprise you, based on past interactions with Hoseok.

Casually, he twirled the robe tie in a circle. “Impressive, no?” Hoseok glanced away. “Whoa, wait – they have beer pong? See you all later!”

Hurrying off, he left you alone with Jimin. Shaking your head, you glanced in his direction and saw Jimin down his whole drink. Arching a brow, you were about to ask why when Irene called your names from across the room.

“Y/N!” She waved her hands. “Jimin! Get over here, you two – we need more for flip cup!”

You found yourself pulled in this direction despite your insistence you didn’t do well under pressure. Jimin ended up at the other end of the table and you lost sight of him when you started to play, paired with Jasmine for a partner.

By the end of the first round, you discovered you weren’t as horrible a player as you’d imagined. Then someone suggested mixed drinks for the second round, and things became fuzzier. There were more people present than just current students of Russet. One of Paulo’s roommates knew Seokjin, so you saw him in the room, along with Sana.

You chatted with both over the course of the evening, in addition to a guy who’d recently debuted on Broadway, Kim Taehyung. Apparently, there was already buzz around him for a Tony. Taehyung was nice, but it was sometime during this conversation you realized how tipsy you were. Apparently, not drinking for several months and then going ham made for very low tolerance.

Collapsing onto the couch, you joined Irene and Brian’s conversation. In the corner of your eye, you caught sight of Noelle – a terrible flip cup player, she’d roped Hoseok into giving her private lessons, but these seemed to be going terribly. Or perhaps very well, given how much the two of them were laughing.

You completely forgot about Jimin until you spotted him across the room talking to Sabrina. Seeing them together, you straightened. Both seemed fairly comfortable, which struck you as odd. Since that morning in Jimin’s dorm, you hadn’t really seen them hang out together.

Despite this, Jimin was laughing at something Sabrina had said. Tearing your gaze away, you forced yourself to focus on the conversation at hand. It didn’t matter who Jimin spoke to, or even who he decided to go home with tonight. He was your dance partner and friend, nothing more and besides – you had a boyfriend.

Blinking, you reached into your clutch and pulled out your phone. To your disappointment, you’d gotten no texts from Finn since this morning. You assumed he was still at his party but didn’t know for sure. Shooting him a text, hey, you waited for a response and when you got none, returned your phone to your purse.

Across the room, you heard Noelle yell your name. “Y/N!” She cupped her mouth with both hands. “We need another person for flip cup!”

Laughing, you pushed yourself from the couch and were immediately roped into your fourth game of the night. The night blurred again after that, turning into a pleasant hum of conversation and booze. At some point, Ubers were called to bring you to the club. As you rushed downstairs, you realized you forgot your coat as soon as you stepped outside.

Shivering violently, you rubbed your arms and cursed yourself for poor foresight.

“Y/N?” Jimin came to a stop alongside you. “Hey, where’s your coat?”

“Inside,” you said through chattering teeth. “I-it’s fine, though. I’m fine!”

Jimin gave you a look. “Where’s Paulo?” he said, glancing around. “I’ll grab him, we can get your coat before we go –”

“The Uber’s already here, though,” you argued, grabbing his sleeve to drag him towards the curb. “I’ll be fine from here to the club!”

Jimin sighed but gave in, following when you rushed to the grey SUV. Irene had claimed the front seat, so you and Jimin pulled open the middle door – Noelle and Hoseok were crowding behind you, so you and Jimin ended up together in the backseat.

Collapsed in a heap, you giggled as Jimin tried to squish himself in a corner. “Sorry,” he said, trying – and failing – to keep his knees separate.

“Jimin.” You snorted. “Are we going to go through this again? Your hands have been in way more inappropriate places than that this semester.”

Jimin’s lips parted, shocked, but you were already hoisting yourself over the middle seat. Draping your arms next to Noelle, you begged her to play your favorite song on the radio. Had you been more sober, you might’ve recognized your position to be precarious – perched on the edge of your seat, your ass hovered inches away from Jimin’s face.

Plopping back down, you glanced sideways at Jimin and found him frozen. Suddenly, you realized the visual he’d had.

“Um, so what happened to the teeth?” you blurted, determined to change the subject.

Jimin blinked and managed to meet your gaze. “Casualty of flip cup,” he said. “One of them fell out during the game and I couldn’t find where it rolled.”

“Well, that’s okay. You can just be one of those vampires who blend in with normal humans. You know, the kind whose fangs only come out when they want to bite someone.”

“That’s true.” Jimin arched a brow. “Lucky for you, I’m not hungry.”

“Lucky for me? Lucky for you,” you retorted. “My blood is about half alcohol right now. If you drank my blood, you’d be a very silly vampire.”

The idea of a silly vampire made you laugh – even more so when you pictured said vampire as Jimin. He seemed much too coherent for your liking right now.

“A silly vampire, huh?” Jimin looked on, amused. “Damn, Y/N – when was the last time you went out? Your tolerance is shit.”

“I know,” you sighed. “I haven’t drunk much this semester. Too much dance, too little time. I think the last time I went out was –”

“We’re here!” squealed Noelle, throwing open the door.

A blast of cold air hit you and you shivered, wishing you’d worn your coat. Jimin’s gaze remained steady on yours.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he said lowly. “I can give you, uh…”

“Your shirt?” you said dryly, lifting a brow as you brushed past. “Then you’d be shirtless, Park. Let’s think this through.”

Jimin chuckled before he followed suit, although you cursed as soon as you left the car. He was correct. It was freezing, even with your alcohol-induced blanket.

“Come on!” you yelped, following Noelle towards the entrance.

Bypassing the line, Noelle walked straight towards the bouncer and showed him her phone. He nodded and waved her past, counting your friend group who followed. Not everyone from Paulo’s place had gone to the club, but enough for you to make quite the entrance.

“Y/N!” Noelle doubled back to link arms with you. “Come on – this way! That guy’s going to show us to our table.”

“Table?” you asked her, wide-eyed.

Tables in a club on Halloween night were ridiculously expensive, but it seemed Noelle had downplayed her brother’s connections. Your group was led right to the front of the upper balcony, getting a coveted spot overlooking the dance floor below.

This was undeniably the coolest club you’d been in. Not that you’d been in many, mind you, but this one had to take the cake. A half-circle of tables took up the top floor, with twin staircases descending to the main room below. Most of the lower floor was for dancing, although you saw additional tables pushed to the sides. Fluorescent bars and dance platforms were dotted throughout and above all was the DJ booth, blasting the latest songs.

“Whoa,” you breathed.

Noelle grinned, squeezing your arm to pull you into the booth. As soon as you settled in, Jasmine leapt up and clapped her hands.

“I want to be in one of those!” she said, pointing to a glowing cage at the center of the dance floor.

“Oo, me too!” Irene leapt up to join her.

“Me, three!” said Paulo, clambering out of the booth.

“Awesome.” Irene beamed and glanced your way. “What about you, Y/N? You in?”

The idea was tempting for a moment, but then Finn flashed through your mind. You highly doubted he’d be on board with you gyrating for a room full of strangers without him. Somewhat dejectedly, you plopped back on the bench.

“That’s okay,” you sighed. “I think I’m going to stay here for a while. I’ll join you later!”

Irene frowned but nodded, following the rest when they left for the stairs. About half the group went, clearing out the table while you stared at the dance floor.

Jimin slid into the bench alongside you. “You don’t want to dance?”

Startled, you glanced in his direction. While you watched, Jimin began to undo his cuffs, casually rolling the sleeves of his shirt. His hair, which had been slicked back at the start of the night, was starting to fall. Several dark strands hung over his forehead, although this only seemed to make the look more appealing.

“No,” you said, crossing your legs. “I just… don’t really feel like it.”

“Is this the whole hating clubs thing again?”

“Kind of.” You laughed. “I don’t know. Club dancing isn’t like normal dancing, you know?”

“It is when you’re at the club with all dancers,” Jimin pointed out, nodding towards the floor.

Following his gaze, you saw Jasmine dancing full-out in a lit-up cage. She wasn’t so much gyrating as she was creating choreography on the fly. The mere mortals around her looked on in awe. Fighting a smile, you returned to Jimin.

“Okay, that does look like fun,” you admitted. “The last time I was at a club was with Finn.”

Jimin blinked. “Sorry – what?”

“In the cab,” you said, leaning closer in order to be heard. “You asked me when I last went out. It was that night… um, the night you came and picked me up.”

Jimin stared at you a moment, as though contemplating something important. Abruptly, he stood and held out a hand. You blinked at this like he’d offered a football.

“What are you doing?” you said, glancing up.

“Taking you down to the dance floor.” Jimin retracted said hand. “Come on, Y/N! You don’t have to give out dry lap dances, or whatever.”

“Hey!” In disbelief, your mouth fell open. “You said you’d forget all about that!”

His smile turned impish. “Seriously, we can just do the sprinkler, or something. It’ll be fun!”

“The sprinkler?” Starting to laugh, you stood. “Was that really the first move you thought of?”

“Nah. My go-to move is the criss-cross, but I figured this was more your speed.”

Snorting, you shoved him in the arm before following Jimin to the dance floor. It didn’t take you long to spot your other friends, clustered near the front and around the DJ booth.

“Y/N!” Noelle cheered, breaking off from the pack. “You made it!”

She nearly spilled her drink while she danced, catching herself just in time as she spun around. You grinned, entering the circle with Jimin by your side. He did, in fact, pull out the criss-cross – Hoseok joined in and soon, there was a Fortnite dance battle between them. You truly haven’t lived until you’ve seen a TikTok dance-off between two semi-professional dancers.

This ended with both declaring mutual defeat, and Hoseok disappearing to buy the next round. Noelle shimmied her way over to Jasmine, accepting the hand given to stand on the platform.

You laughed at their ridiculous dance moves, choosing instead to stay on the ground. The crowd around you had thinned since you’d joined. Eamon disappeared a few minutes later, saying something about needing a drink upstairs. Before long, Irene had joined Jasmine and Noelle on the platform, leaving you alone with Jimin on the floor.

Under other circumstances, you might have felt uncomfortable, but Jimin was so good at putting you at ease. Determined to keep you in the present, he came up with more and more complicated dance moves which had you snorting with laughter.

On a particularly flamboyant spin, Jimin accidentally smacked the drink from someone’s grasp. Blue vodka splattered everywhere, drenching its owner – a burly man in leather who snarled in frustration.

Looking up, he met your gaze and his eyes narrowed.

“Shit. Run!” you blurted out.

Grabbing Jimin by the arm, you dragged him into the crowd.

“No, wait – let me apologize!” Jimin tried to twist around. “I can pay for his drink! I can –”

Once there was suitable distance between you and the guy, you came to a stop. Laughing so hard you nearly fell over, you turned sideways to face him.

Bodies pressed against you from every side but rather than feel claustrophobic, all you could think about was Jimin before you. His hair had become thoroughly mussed during the night and you fought the sudden desire to smooth it down.

Although your breath came hard, the club around you seemed to slow. The music somehow had narrowed to pinpricks, a heady thump of bass while everything dulled.

What you should’ve done was taken a step back – but you didn’t.

Instead, your gaze drifted across his face. Jimin stared back, something intense to his gaze you couldn’t quite name. Breath caught in your throat, his eyes dropped to your lips.

Before you could react, someone bumped into you from behind, sending you careening forward. Jimin caught you easily, one arm around your waist and your chest pressed to his. You could feel every hard line of his body, his thigh wedged between your legs while you grasped at his arms. Heart thudding traitorously against your ribcage, you tried to ignore the emotions which followed.

It was impossible.

The song playing was slower, sexier than the one which had inspired the dance-off. Without meaning to, your weight subtly shifted. This caused your hips to move against his as Jimin quietly sucked in a breath. The effect this had on him was instantaneous. His grip on you tightened, gaze heady with desire and something more. Before you could second-guess what you were doing, you moved your hips again – this time, on purpose.

Jimin’s eyes darkened. Without looking away, his grip on you tightened as he slowly dragged you up his thigh. Suddenly breathless, your hands gripped him tighter while your eyes fluttered shut. The heat of his body on yours, the faint smell of cologne and sweat, the tension in his limbs and the knowledge of what he could do to you – it all left your head spinning.

“Y/N,” Jimin murmured, low in your ear.

You weren’t used to him saying your name like that.

You were used to him saying your name in every other way, but not that. Sharp with dancer’s critique, brusque with instruction, light with teasing – but not like something heavy was lodged in his throat. Maybe his heart.

Panicked, your eyes flew open.

What were you doing? This wasn’t some random stranger and this sure as hell wasn’t your boyfriend. This was Jimin. Stumbling backwards, you broke from his hold. Jimin seemed equally stunned, staring at you on the dance floor.

“I have to go,” you blurted and whirled around.

Shoving into the crowd, you heard Jimin emit a soft groan. Despite this, he didn’t immediately pursue, for which you were grateful. Stumbling through strangers, strobe lights flashed brightly overhead. You squeezed between someone dressed as a go-go and another person dressed as a werewolf. Skidding to a stop on the edge of the floor, you scanned the room and saw no one from Russet.

When you glanced over your shoulder, you saw Jimin now followed. Panicking again, you began to move. Beside one of the bars, you spotted a hallway labeled restrooms. Heading in this direction, you quickly disappeared inside the door marked women.

Once inside, you locked yourself in a stall, lowered the lid and sat down. Head in hands, you slowly exhaled. You were a coward; that much was clear. Jimin was probably out there looking for you right now, but you’d rather hide in a bathroom than face him.

The fluorescent lighting overhead was too bright – it made you feel overexposed. After a long moment, you fished around in your purse and pulled out your phone. Flipping to your thread with Finn, you saw he’d sent no response since your text. Complete and utter silence.

Heart cracking a little, you slid this in your bag and stared at the door. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. When you imagined you and Finn at college, you’d always pictured you together, attending the same parties and sharing the same adventures. Tonight though, had proven to be anything but that. Finn hadn’t once glanced at his phone judging by the unread mark next to your text.

Dimly, you wondered why you weren’t more upset about this. It should bother you that Finn hadn’t called or even texted throughout the day. Sure, he was out with friends, but so were you and you’d reached out – as soon as you thought this, your heart sank.

You weren’t sure you could call Jimin a friend after what had just happened.

Sure, you’d only danced, and it had only been for a second but still, guilt bloomed behind your ribcage. The idea of Finn doing the same thing with anyone else made your heart twist. You wouldn’t feel that way if what you’d done wasn’t wrong.

Groaning out loud, you lowered your head to your hands. After several minutes, you felt calm enough to stand and pretend-flush the toilet. As you exited the stall, you walked to the sink and began washing your hands. Staring at yourself in the mirror, a million things ran through your mind.

Clearly, the situation with Jimin was worse than you’d thought. The spark you’d felt kept returning, no matter how much you tried to ignore it. Maybe the only solution was to find a new partner. The very idea made your heart sink, but you couldn’t deny things had gotten out of hand.

Before you could seriously consider the option, the door to the bathroom flung open and banged against the wall. Sabrina stormed in, wiping both eyes with the heel of her hand. You froze, staring at her in the mirror but she didn’t seem to notice your presence.

When she finally lowered her hands and took a deep breath, she saw you and froze.

For a moment, you both only stared at each other and then – you coughed. Awkwardly, you began to dry your hands.

“Are you okay?” you asked, tentative.

Sabrina stiffened. “I’m fine,” she muttered, walking to the sink.

You watched her wash her hands, struggling and failing to control her expression. Sabrina’s hair was a mess and you stared, wondering where she’d been. You hadn’t seen her since you’d entered the club, but had assumed she’d stayed on the second floor.

“Are you sure?” you pressed, remembering your night at the other club. “You know, you can –”

“Will you… just stop.” Sabrina closed her eyes. “Will you … stop pretending like we’re friends, or something?”

Struck with disbelief, you could only stare. “I… are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Wow.” You shook your head. “Just wow.”

Her lips tightened and finally, she whirled around. “What?” Sabrina demanded. “What is it?”

The look in her eyes was familiar. Her frustrated, angry look was mirrored in your expression, but you found you didn’t care. Sabrina was clearly going through something, but her rudeness to you was the final straw. Tired from Finn, Jimin and the constant pressure you were both under, something about Sabrina’s words made you break.

“Why are you always such a… such a bitch,” you blurted, hurling the word like a knife. “What did I ever do to you? Why do you always act like you hate me so much?”

Sabrina’s upper lip curled. “Why do you always think this is about you, Y/N? Maybe I just wanted one second of peace and instead, here you are. Like always.”

“Here I am, in the public restroom of a club we’re all at?”

“No. Here you are in my life,” she snapped, pushing herself from the sink. “People won’t talk to me? It’s because you’ve run your mouth about things you think I’ve done. I’m falling in the class ranks? It’s because you’re after my spot. Jimin doesn’t want to be my partner? It’s because of his feelings for you. I’m sick of turning around and always seeing you there!”

“Okay, but none of those things – I, Jimin doesn’t have feelings for me,” you sputtered.

Sabrina gave you a look. “Oh, please, Y/N.” Her laughter was harsh. “Why else would he turn me down?”

“Um, maybe because he’s a decent human being? Unlike yourself.”

“Great, yeah.” Sabrina glared. “Make me the bad guy again.”

“I’m not the one doing that,” you huffed. “You are. You want to blame me because no one wants to be your friend? Maybe try reaching out first. Maybe don’t talk shit about people behind their backs. And I’m improving because I’m taking extra lessons. No thanks to you, of course.”

“Don’t try and make me feel bad because I didn’t have time to give you lessons.”

“I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I’m trying to explain why I’m improving and you’re not.”

Sabrina bristled. “Are you saying I don’t work hard, too?”

“No.” Mirthless, you laughed. “I know you work hard – maybe even as hard as I do. But you know what the big difference is between you and me?” you said, drawing yourself to your full height.

Sabrina’s eyes glimmered while she stared you down. Still, she retained her aloofness when she said, “What? What’s the big secret?”

“You think everyone’s out to get you,” you said, stepping closer. “You think not asking for help makes you stronger, but it’s the exact opposite. At least I’ve improved since the start of the year. What have you done?”

Not waiting for an answer, you pushed past Sabrina and walked out the door.

Shoving it wide, you entered the hallway. Dance music flooded your senses and you winced, remembering where you were and what you’d been doing. Luckily, Jimin was nowhere in sight. He must not have seen where you’d disappeared to.

Shoulders slumping, you pulled out your phone and dialed a number. Walking to the front, you concentrated on breathing while you waited for them to pick up. Coming to a stop beside coat check, you didn’t leave the club – a lesson you’d learned the hard way.

Noelle answered on the third ring. “Babe?” she yelled, barely audible over the din. “What’s going on? Where are you?”

“Are you…” Closing your eyes, you paused. “Can we leave?”

Noelle paused, then muffled her phone with one hand. “Irene!” you heard her yell. “You good to get a ride home for these people? Okay, cool. Bye!” Her phone became un-muffled. “Where are you, babe?”

After explaining your location, you hung up and hugged yourself with both arms. Noelle burst into view a few moments later, scanning the crowd like a mom on a mission. When she saw you, she rushed over – and you promptly burst into tears.

“Oh, no!” Pulling you into a hug, Noelle began to rub your back. “No, no, babe! Don’t cry! What’s going on? Do I need to kick someone’s ass?”

Hearing Jimin’s words said by Noelle only made you cry harder. Wisely sensing this to be a problem not easily solved, Noelle continued rubbing your back while walking towards the exit.

The two of you went outside and, as luck would have it, saw a group of people arriving at the club. Noelle snagged their taxi, helping you in the backseat and giving the driver your address. As you settled against her, your head on her shoulder, Noelle kept rubbing your arm and waited for the tears to stop.

You weren’t really sure why you were crying.

Of course, Sabrina was terrible, as was the situation with Jimin, but it was more than that. Dancing with Jimin hadn’t caused problems in your relationship with Finn. There had been problems in your relationship Finn and so, feelings had crept in which led you to dance with Jimin.

More than that though, you couldn’t help but notice Noelle had come to your aid much faster than Finn ever had. Even Jimin had dropped everything when you asked, and he was someone you’d once called your enemy. Noelle had been having fun, but she’d cut her night short because you were upset. This knowledge crushed you and for the very first time, you realized your relationship with Finn might be unfixable.

Curled up on the backseat, you let yourself cry a bit more. You could be calm and rational in the morning, you decided but for now, you just felt defeated.

When you finally climbed into bed at your dorm at night, you looked at your phone and saw Finn still hadn’t texted.

Author’s Note: Thank you for reading! 😊 New chapters of Raise the Barre are posted weekly; dates are listed on the series Master List. Requests for updates will be deleted.

RAISE THE BARRE MASTERLIST

#bangtanarmynet #btsbookclub #jimin fanfic #bts fanfic #jimin au #bts au #jimin writing #bts writing #jimin series #jimin e2l #bts series #bts e2l #jimin dance au #bts dance au

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winchesterxxi · 4 years ago

Text

A Link (Din Djarin x Reader)

Rating: PG-13

Type: Angst

Request: “Fic request - reader is a Jedi ( untrained) and Luke requests she also joins him. She has to choose between leaving Din or going with the child. After watching that episode I’m already depressed as hell so the more angsty the better!”

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: CH.16 SPOILERS

A/N: What’s the most depressing love song you can think of? Play it.

MASTERPOST | REQUEST HERE | KO-FI

✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸

You’d never think this rescue mission would lead to this. The plan was to get in, rescue Grogu, get Moff Gideon and walk out - the less damage the better. Needless to say, things didn’t go exactly according to plan, not in a single way.

But you definitely were not expecting an X-Wing to land on the ship and for a Jedi to walk out of there. Not any Jedi: Luke Skywalker. You’d heard a few gossips here and there about how he was the last great one of his kind, but you couldn’t predict that he’d sense Grogu and come get him. Ashoka? Sure. Luke Skywalker? Not in a million years.

It all happened so slow yet so quickly. One minute Grogu was in your arms, pointing at a screen, the next Din was saying goodbye to him, letting him see his face for the first time, while tears pooled across his vision before putting him down and letting the child waddle to Luke and the droid.

All eyes were focuses on Grogu as he exchange some sort of conversation with the beeping droid, before Luke’s eyes met yours.

“The force is strong with you too, Y/L/N”

“Just Y/N is fine.” you correct him, deferring his statement.

“Were you ever trained, Jedi?” he questions you, clearly noticing how unlike a Jedi your garments were - a beskar armor Din made sure to make buy you in Naboo as to protect you as much as possible, given the jobs you carried alongside him. It had cost him a great deal of credits but he didn’t want to hear a word about it. If it’s to keep you safe, I’d sell my own armor, he said.

“No?... I don’t know, I’ve just always felt The Force, I kind of taught myself everything I know."

“Have you ever maneuvered a lightsaber?”

You shook your head “No. Just blasters and spears.”

“A Jedi must learned to use one.” You don’t like where this conversation is headed and you can see by the way that Din’s shoulders are tensing up, as he stands next to you, that neither is he.

“Do you know the dangers of being your age and untrained, Y/N?” look questions, eyeing you only.

“No.” Din cuts in abruptly, stepping in front of you in a protective manner, his frame towering over you completely cutting your form from Luke’s vision “You’re not taking her as well.”

You can hear the croak in his voice. He is still on the verge of tears but there’s anger in there as well. Luke wants to take his lover away.

You step out from behind him to his side, left hand on his shoulder, forcing his bowed head to look at you. Your eyes meet his and it’s as if every muscle in your body felt like floating up to space. This man melted you every time.

But you have to own up to yourself, looking up at him with eyes as if to exchange a message in a language that only the two of you spoke. As if saying I should go.

His lips tremble and he shakes his head.

“Not you too, cyar’ika.” he begs.

“Din...”

“Don’t leave me. I’ve lost my home, my son, I - ... Please, don’t leave me” he grabs both of your hands in his, bowing his head and sniffing, as a single tear falls in the back of your hand.

The feeling of the wet drop in your hand opens your own gates, but only slightly, as you try to keep it together for the both of you.

“You don’t need to worry about me,” you sniff, palming his cheek in your left hand “you have... plenty to figure out on your own.” you say touching the handle of the dark saber hanging from his gun belt.

“I don’t care about that piece of junk, I care about you.”

You wan’t to fight him back. You want to tell him how big of a deal that saber is and how much he should indeed care about it. But that wasn’t Din, that wasn’t Mando. He didn’t care about some stupid weapon or the status that it’d bring him. He went as far as to yield it to Bo-Katan as soon as he could, but unfortunately that’s not how it’s supposed to work. But he didn’t care. He only cares about the people he loves. And that made your heart ache all the most.

You are standing there, shaky breaths looking down at your hands, before sniffling and facing Luke.

“What happens if I go with you?” Din’s head shots up, looking at you,

“Given that you’re way past the normal age gap in which a Jedi is trained, you’d probably be assigned to a Master right away and they’d be responsible for all your training.” Luke explains, Grogu at his feet.

You nod and turn your head to look in Din’s eyes, your voice quieter now “And if I stay?”

“That’s... that’s not recommended as the grasp you have--” he starts

“What if I stay?” you insist.

“You’ll stay untrained, to put it simply. You’ll keep not understanding the dimension of your powers and the responsibilities that come with it. You might misuse it, you might not be able to control it and hurt the ones you love. You might kill without intending to, and you might turn to the dark side.”

“I would never - “ you interject, defending yourself

“It’s a faith you can’t control. Unless you train yourself. Unless you refine your skills.”

You ponder his words. The weight of both options dawning on you as you consider them.

“Even with me having a different Master from Grogu, will I still be able to make sure he’s okay?” you look at Grogu, adoringly. Who knew that little green ball of bald hair, if there even was such a thing, would become such a big part of your life.

“Arrangements can be made, yes.” Luke assures you.

You nod your head to yourself, eyeing the floor. You have made your decision.

You grab both of Din’s hands once again, this time his are the ones in between yours and you grab them hard. Not as to hurt him but to comfort him about what he knew you were about to say. But before you can say anything he shakes his head, another tear falling down his right cheek.

“Please, no.” he breathes

“It’s what’s best for everyone, Din.” you plead

“For everyone? I’ve lost my home, I’ve lost him, I can’t lose you too.” he takes a break to catch his breath, sniffling a few times “No, not you.”

“Din... let me go, please, don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“How can you ask me that?” He looks you in the eyes. Those sweet brown eyes and his furrowed brows, asking you how you can even dare to break him this way “Please don’t walk out of that door.”

“If I stay, I might hurt people and I - “

“You’d never do that. You care for everyone you meet you’d never hurt people.” he brings your hands up to his chest, planting them there. You can feel both his breathing and heartbeat.

“You heard Luke...I might not be able to control it.” you try to reason with him “Din, if I ever hurt you I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

He bites his bottom lip trying to keep it from trembling and you grab the back of his head, feeling his curls and pulling his forehead to rest against yours.

“Do you trust me?”

“What? Of course I do.” he says in less than a second

“Then please...” you breathe out“ trust that I’ll keep him safe. Trust that I’ll come running back to you as soon as I finish my training.”

Seeing the scenario unfolding in front of him, Luke decides to help you out “She might also act as a link between you and the child. The three of you are connected by a very strong bond and Y/N can act as a communication link.”

You look in his direction, silently thanking him.

“Din.” you whisper his name. Oh how sweet his name has always sound in your voice. Every time you’d call him his heart would flutter inside is ribcage, but he would never admit to that. But he understands you.

“It is for the best, isn’t it?” he whimpers quietly, barely above a whisper.

“It is. I know it hurts. Fuck, it hurts so bad, but it is.”

Pulling slightly away from you, he reaches into his back pocket taking out something before offering it to you, on the side that is hidden from the other presences in the room. He reaches down into his pocket taking out the sphere. When he opens his gloved hand, you can see it’s the tiny sphere from the Razor Crest that Grogu loved so much.

“I want you to give him this.”

You shake your head, carefully closing your fingers over his “No.”

“But the kid -”

“Din, keep it.” you know it’s the only thing that he’ll have to remember the kid “You’ll need it more than him.”

There is silence, at last. Only both of your altered breathings can be heard for a while until you notice Din’s hands shuffling at the bottom of your peripheral vision. Looking down, you can see that he is taking his gloves off and your brows furrow in confusion.

Before you can process whatever was happening, his hands, his ungloved hands, come up to rest on both sides of your face and he holds you there. His hands are a little rough but you don’t mind - they are all the more warm and gentle as you feel his skin against yours. His thumbs wipe a few tears away from the corners of your eyes as they stare at him. His right hand slides slightly down from your cheek to your lips as he wipes your top lip, carefully, feeling the softness of them. His delicacy causing you to lean into his palm and placing your corresponding hand on top of his.

He wanted to touch you. If this were the last thing he gets from you, he’ll be happy with it. Slowly, Din then dips his head to join your lips with his in a passionate but sweet kiss, your hands still on top of his, cherishing his touch as much as you could. Despite your eyes being close, you can tell he was crying just as much as you as you could feel tears that weren’t yours come in contact with your cheeks.

Pulling away, but not enough to separate your faces, your foreheads rest once again against each other. One of his hands finds it’s trail to where your heart would be and he rests it there, you doing the same to him with your opposite hand. Feeling each other's heartbeat, connecting.

A few moments pass until you hear his voice again.

“This isn’t a goodbye is it?”

You shake your head slightly. “Not in a million years. We’ll both be back to annoy your ass before you can even notice.”

This causes him to give a half-hearted chuckle, yearning for the day when that happens. “If you come back-”

“When I come back...” you are quick to correct him.

“ When you come back, the first thing I’m going to do is make you my riduur, I promise you that much.” you squeeze his hand, intertwining your fingers with his.

“And I promise you that I’ll say yes, in a heartbeat.”

His head shifts slightly and he rest his lips against your forehead, whispering the words that until a year ago he would’ve never dreamed of ever saying to someone, but that he has since said so many times. But only to a single person. Only to you,

“I love you.”

“I love you.” you assure him against his chest.

Taking a big breath in, you pull away taking a good look at him one last time. Until suddenly you feel a tug on the bottom fabric of your armor. Looking down you can see Grogu with his little arms up, gesturing for you to pick him up.

Laughing between the tears, you reach down and pick him up, facing Din. In any other occasion, one could interpret the way the three of you were standing as a mother holding her child, saying farewell as the father heads out to work. But this reality is so much more painful. In this reality you’re both the ones leaving, and what you leave behind has a wound that won’t be fixed for a long time.

Tilting your head close to the kid you prop him to say his goodbye “Say bye bye to Din.”

Grogu’s little 3-fingered hand shakes as much as his arms allow him to in front of him as he coos, probably thinking he was articulating an actual farewell. Before you can a step away, Din grabs the back of your head one last time, kissing you between your eyes, before letting you go.

You step in Luke’s direction, communicating through The Force how grateful you were with him for being so patient, and he nods in acknowledgment.

“May The Force be with you.” he says to Din, who nods his head.

The four of you turn to walk away, but Grogu manages to climb up your arms and stay looking at Din as he gets farther and farther away. When you all reach the elevator you turn to face him one last time, using the force for what you never did before - connect with him.

I will always let you know where we are.

And as his eyes soften, you hear a response.

And I’ll always be at the ready to fly to you.

✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸

Want a completely personalized imagine just for you? Click here!

#hope you had tissues #if not WELL #winchesterxxi #din djarin x reader #angst #din djarin #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #pedro pascal #star wars #jedi reader

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amethystpath-writes · 4 years ago

Note

Hi!!

Villain’s lover finding out that villain is a villain?

You did something like this before and I really liked it lol

Hiya! I definitely don’t remember doing something like this (maybe the love potion/spell story?), but I’d be happy to write this haha.

******

Pacing in the kitchen, Lover bit her nails until her teeth met skin. A few fingertips bled and even then, she continued to chow down on the dead skin surrounding her short nails. She didn’t know what else to do with her hands; they were shaking, and they wouldn’t stop.

The news still played in the background. Lover considered time and time again to turn it off, but she couldn’t because moving on would be easier if she turned it off. This wasn’t something to be ignored. Not at all. But at the same time, when she deliberately thought of it, she nearly ripped her hair out.

Where was she supposed to go? She couldn’t just up and leave, could she? That was a mean thing to do and her- her husband was…Lover looked at the tv again. The same image was on the screen- blurred from a clip of action, but no less recognizable. The masked villain- now unmasked for the first time ever- was, without a doubt, Lover’s significant other. What would he do to her if she left?

But she was running out of time. She didn’t know that for sure, but if she were a villain- or hero, or anyone who needed to hide her identity- and her face was realized, she would haul ass back home, or- or anywhere where she wouldn’t be known. So, maybe Villain wouldn’t come home at all. Maybe her internal conflict was pointless for this very time being, but…if he did come home and she wasn’t gone, she’d be trapped. And if he did come home and she was gone, she’d be likely hunted. Right? Isn’t that what happened in the movies? Or books? Or…well, Lover hadn’t really seen this scenario if she was honest.

Lover liked to watch the ditzy princess movies. She even had a magazine subscription to “Royals Suggest…”, a collection of fashion statement clothing worn by royalty around the world, all too expensive for Lover to ever buy, but she enjoyed looking. This. This is what Lover knew; a bunch of too-expensive designer clothing brand names. She didn’t know what to do when her husband was a madman who destroyed cities just to listen to their screams. Or what to do when-

A door clicked open and Lover’s eyes went wide. She let her bloodied fingers drop to her sides, then thought better of it and hid them behind her back. Maybe she should have grabbed a knife.

Listening intently now, Lover heard her partner’s footsteps tread through the house. He was in the living room, she could tell, and she suddenly felt very sorry for herself for having not turned the television off earlier. She squeezed her eyes shut and sunk to the cold, tiled floor quietly. Behind the island counter, Lover hoped she wouldn’t be found. Villain would have no reason to come into the kitchen- not yet at least. He always took his bag- that’s where his suit and mask must have been all along, dammit- to their bedroom after greeting Lover.

What if he didn’t go to his bedroom before trying to find Lover? She’d be found easily. Their house wasn’t enormous- not necessarily small, but Villain wouldn’t have to wander around forever. What was she even planning on doing, though? Lover’s mind was so panicked at this point that she only wanted to hide forever.

Wouldn’t that be a trip- for her to hide in her own house forever without Villain knowing and chasing her around city to city? Lover sighed, shaking her head. If she did that- or if she left at all, Villain would destroy even more just to find her. Then it wouldn’t be Villain’s fault, it would be hers. A villain’s accomplice, even if she hadn’t meant for him to respond that way.

So, what did she do, then? Self-sacrifice? Live with Villain, despite knowing who and what he was- what he was. What he is. He’s capable of so much- just to preserve everyone else? Lover couldn’t be with this man, but she couldn’t let anyone be harmed because she decided to run away.

“Lover? What are you doing on the floor? And with the lights off?”

Lover gasped, putting a hand to her even-more-rapidly beating heart. She sighed, setting herself into a calmer mindset- if that was even possible. “I- my head was hurting.” A loud bang resonated from the television- from the news, where they were still talking about Villain, but she pretended she wasn’t listening. “Actually, will you…turn the tv off? I was going to when I went back to the living room, but” -she shrugged on the floor- “I didn’t exactly make it back. It was playing-”

“Sh, sh, sh. You’ll give yourself a bigger headache if you don’t stop talking.” Villain chuckled, and began walking to the living room, but not before he bent down and planted a kiss on Lover’s forehead.

He didn’t buy it. There was no way he bought her act.

Wincing as she heard Villain hum in the living room, she watched as he passed back through the kitchen into the hall which led to their room. Lover picked herself back up off the floor and opened the fridge, pulling out a bag of whole carrots. Next, she grabbed a cutting board and a knife. She began chopping.

When Villain walked back in, she asked, “How was work today?” Lover asked this every day, but this was the first time she ever swallowed after asking. Chop, chop, chop, chop.

“It was an exhausting day, but- let me do this for you. You have a headache. I don’t want you to chop your fingers off by accident.”

“No, it’s fine. I got it.” Chop, chop, ch-

He grabbed her wrist lightly then plucked the knife from her hands. Villain nodded forward, telling her to sit on one of the barstools opposite of him. Lover felt she had no choice; she did as she suggested, even if it hadn’t been in a villainous way.

“Work was tiring. Some idiot decided to hack one of our major programs. Wasn’t as secure as we thought, so tonight I’ll have to do some repairs, and tomorrow…I’ll just have to trace the hack back to the original device and shut it down, so it doesn’t happen again.”

What he meant, Lover thought, was this; Hero managed to steal the mask off my face today in front of a hundred reporters and now everyone knows who I am, so tonight I’m going to fix my mask- just to poke the bear- and I’m going to find Hero so I can kill them. She wanted the knife back.

“How long has your head been hurting?” The question was so innocent, but Lover knew- God, she just knew what he was getting at. The news had been on when he came home. He knew she saw and now he was playing with her.

Lover blinked, and then blinked again. Lie, she thought to herself, but she couldn’t think of a number. “I don’t know.”

“That bad, huh?”

She nodded slightly as she played with her fingers beneath the table. Her fingertips were so incredibly raw from her chewing at them in all her nervousness, but touching the sensitive spots was the only thing keeping her together. The tiny tinges of pain were grounding her.

“Did they report about the hack on the news?”

Her chest tightened. “I- I don’t know.” A sharp inhale and a thumb gesturing to the blank television. “I was watching Flintstones when I got the headache. I- uh- I stopped paying attention.” Lover looked down at her fingers before looking up again. “Do you remember the dino’s name from the show?”

Still chopping the vegetables, Villain said, “I don’t.” Chop. Chop. “I thought Flintstones played on a different channel? Weird, that it came on before the news.”

“Guess it was a special.”

Villain smiled at Lover and laid the knife down, bending so that both of his elbows touched the table. “I wonder if this happened to Hero when I ripped their mask off a month ago.”

Lover tried to control her reaction- she did. Despite her effort, her eyes widened, and she remembered to squint instead. “What do you mean?” A false and singular laugh. “Did you have a silly dream last night?” She gave a smile, a loving one, a teasing one.

Continuing like Lover hadn’t spoken at all, he said, “I’m sure there were many hugs involved. Maybe even kissing. Everyone loves a hero, right?”

“Whoever fights him clearly doesn’t,” Lover tried. Maybe if she referred to the situation from a third person perspective then he would drop it. She was an observer of the media, and she had a headache when it was on today. That was all.

“Maybe I should be happy you’re pretending not to know, but then that would just be ignorant, wouldn’t it be?”

“Villain, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are…Are you feeling okay? Maybe you should take a nap.” She didn’t want to, but Lover reached across the island counter and intertwined her fingers with Villain’s as they were lain on the table. “You said it was a rough day at work. A nap is always a nice stress reliever.”

He hummed in return, just like he did when he turned the tv off. Lover had thought asking him to do that was such a brilliant idea- thought it proved she was paying no attention to it. “You had a headache you couldn’t even stand from, but the moment I walked away from you, you found an excuse to start chopping carrots.” His fingers flexed- barely- as he said the word ‘chopping’. If anyone had been watching the interaction, they wouldn’t have even noticed the way his grip became tighter.

Lover told him, “It was no excuse. I always make dinner when you come home- even through a headache.” She smiled at him again. How long could she keep this up? How long until he accepted she was telling the truth?

“Come here. I’m going to show you something.”

“But the carr-”

“The carrots will be fine.”

Villain pulled her along through the kitchen and the hall until they walked into their bedroom. Lover could feel her heart throbbing against her chest. She already knew what he was doing. He was making it so that she couldn’t deny what she already knew anymore; Villain was a villain.

“You can sit on the bed while I grab it.”

There was no way out of this. Maybe she should have insisted she stayed in the kitchen while he grabbed his bag, but he wouldn’t have fallen for that. He would have known what she was up to, even if she didn’t.

Lover remained in the doorway of their bedroom, feeling safer there than in the bedroom where there was no hall to run down as an escape. “If I sit on the bed, I might fall asleep in it,” she said to Villain with a tiny chuckle.

“Naps are always a nice stress reliever.” She didn’t like how he threw her own words back at her.

Maybe she should just admit what she knew. Maybe if she did, this wouldn’t be so prolonged and drawn out. If she admitted it, she could stop wondering what he would do to her.

With a deep breath, she began, “I-” but what to say? Lover nearly told him she wanted this relationship they had to be normal, that she just wanted to go back to being a regular, human, husband and wife. This wasn’t what she wanted, though. She wanted to be rid of him. “I saw the news, if that’s what you want to hear.” Her head ducked down as Villain dropped the bag and walked towards her in the doorway.

His hand touched beneath her chin and she sucked in a broken breath. Villain tilted her head up gently. “It wasn’t so hard to admit, was it? Tell me why you were so scared to tell me.”

Shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut, she reached up towards the hand on her chin, wanting to push it away. Villain caught her wrist with his free hand. She didn’t use her own free hand to try again. His touch was gentle, but Lover knew what it- what he- was capable of. He could crush her. Easily.

“Why couldn’t you admit it?”

“Don’t,” She gasped because of her panicked lungs. “Don’t make me say. You know the answer.” Because she was scared. Because everything was up in the air, now, unpredictable. He was unpredictable. What if he tried to kill her?

Villain’s head tilted and he stared into his lover’s eyes. “You aren’t the only one who knows. You aren’t the only one to watch the news. It would be foolish of me to act against you because then I’d have to do the same to everyone else, too. Exhausting.” His hand left Lover’s chin and went to her hair. He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed. “Not to mention, I do love you. You know that, right?”

She shook her head again. “You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because- because you- you’re…” He was a monster, but she couldn’t say that, not so blatantly.

Taking a deep breath, Villain smirked- not deviously, but intriguingly. “I haven’t the opportunity to use this yet.”

“W-what?” Lover’s breaths picked up speed, and she didn’t feel as terrified as she used her free hand to push Villain away. “Use what?” What else could he do? On television, he could fly, and he was strong, but that- that was it! There was nothing else. “Stay away. Stay away from me, Villain. Please.” She kept her head at a downward angle, not wanting to face him- never wanting to face him ever again.

Villain was perfectly calm as he took a step towards her, forcing her back into the wall of the hall. She had no room to run. “Look at me, Lover. Just look at me, okay?”

“No. No, why?” Her hands were pressed, fingers flayed against the wall behind her.

“Because,” he said, and placed a hand on her cheek. She flinched, but what he said next made her stupidly look up. “I want you to see how much I love you. Eyes are windows to the soul, aren’t they? Just look at me, the way you did the day of our wedding.”

‘Eyes are windows to the soul.’

Yes, they certainly were.

Lover blinked, her eyes falling to Villain’s nose- a button nose, one that made her smile. She bopped it with a finger as she always did. “You’re home,” she said to Villain. “How was work?”

#request fill #hero x villain #hero x villain story #evil villain #manipulative villain #lady whump #psychological whump #ish #secret identity revealed #I will probably timezone reblog this one lol

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daydream-believin · 4 years ago

Text

The Never-Ending Roadtrip (Autumn in New York, pt 2)

summary: (ch 1) Reader joins Douxie in the quest for Nari’s safety. He’ll need company won’t he? - ch 10) an end to our NYC journey

warnings: swearing, alcohol mention, lots of food, NYC, pizza rat

word count: 6k on the dot

a/n: i wrote most of this when i should have been sleeping,,, so yeah. i wanna go to nyc now. HERE IT IS THE FINALE BON APETIT Y’ALL

Y/n opened her eyes very slowly. In the in-between of sleep and wake, her brain had painted a picture of her old room in the bookstore. Yes, she could still see the curtains blowing in the breeze let in by the open window. The early morning glow on the floorboards. Douxie’s soft snoring filling her ears. Yes, yes, she was home and everything felt right. And then, slowly, it wasn’t. The warm wooden floorboards faded into a white carpet, and suddenly she didn’t know what she was looking at anymore. It was disorienting. She wasn’t in her own bed. Right. New York.

She turned over onto her back and was startled when she realized Douxie was actually there, next to her. His snoring wasn’t her dream, like it had been many times before when this exact thing had happened to her. Right again. Douxie loved her back now. That was an actual thing in real life and not just her dreams. Y/n supposed it would have been weirder if he wasn’t next to her. In the scheme of things. But that didn’t mean she would be used to it any time soon. But that was good. A pleasant surprise every morning. A little burst of serotonin, as a treat.

Y/n looked at the little hot pink alarm clock. 5:48am. Good! Right on time. Just enough minutes to get everyone out the door by 6:30 as was planned. Douxie… was not going to like this. She looked over the wizard’s sleeping form. She’d let him have his rest while she showered, leaving him blissfully unaware of what’s to come. Even then he might put up a fight. Y/n popped her head into the living room to check on Nari. Still sound asleep, snug as a bug on the fluffy couch with Archie. All good. She preceded with her morning routine.

Y/n pulled on her sneakers. She supposed she really must wake Doux now. They were running out of time. She stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of him. If an awake Douxie was cute, then a sleeping Douxie was absolutely adorable. All Y/n’s adoration belonged to this man who was sound asleep, and therefore could not fully appreciate her doting. She had to get some pictures. Just a few, then she’ll wake him up for sure this time.

Y/n was leaning over Doux, getting closer for a better angle, when she heard his voice, muffled by the pillow he had his gorgeous face half buried into. She strained to be able to make out what he was saying.

“y-y/n…” The dopiest grin spread across his still-sleeping features.

Y/n heart was filled with so much love it might burst. And her face was so hot it might catch on fire. He was dreaming. Of her. It looked like it was a good dream, too. Even when unconscious, he stilled cared for her. His snoozing brain could have conjured up anyone, anyone in the world he’d met in the last nine centuries, and it chose her. What a wonderful feeling it was to be chosen. He had married her, she knew he had chosen her, but it still felt special to be chosen again, and again, and again, as it would through the future to come. She didn’t even know why she had done it, asked him to marry her, that is. What had possessed her. Even as she did, she had half expected him to brush it off, or maybe offer a ‘someday’, but never in her wildest dreams would she have expected him to take it as seriously as he did. Never would she have expected him to be so eager. To declare, tomorrow. She ran her hand down his arm.

“Dewdrop, you need to wake up.” He half-opened his eyes, before groaning and shutting them again in defiance. Five more minutes. Douxie was not a morning person. Neither was Y/n, but she always seemed to be up before him still. He needed to get back to her anyways. She was waiting for him in-. Someone tapped his nose repeatedly. Fine. Awake it is then.

Douxie finally opened his eyes, taking in the form of the goddess leaning over him. Oh. Maybe this was better than the dream. Were her hands on him? Yes, she was stroking his face. This definitely was better. With the small price to pay of being awake. He’d pay it happily. Give her all he had. His time, what he was made of, was a sacrifice to the most beautiful goddess. Aphrodite be damned.

She pulled him out of bed by the arm and led him to the shower. “Come on, get ready, we have to go.” She started the process of braiding back her hair.

“Wait,”

“What?”

“Stop, I want to do your hair for you.”

Y/n laughed, dropping the strands in her grasp. “Okay.”

Douxie brushed through his own drying hair and tossed it back. He went to go find Y/n, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, scrolling through a website on her phone, double checking a time. He sat next to her. Douxie ran his fingers through her locks.

“Hmm, I’m thinking… a pretty five strand.”

“and I’m thinking you need to put on some clothes first,” She pointed to the towel wrapped around his hips, “You can always braid my hair later, but you need to be dressed so we can walk out the door. We’re on a time crunch here, Dewdrop.”

“So be it.” Douxie smiled as he got up to go fulfil his wife’s request.

Now fully dressed and actually ready to go, Douxie busied himself with Y/n’s hair again. “How are we on time?”

“We should be good, as long as you don’t do anything too fancy.”

“I won’t-”

“You said five strands, like a challah bread or something. That’s fancy.”

Douxie laughed, “Okay, but it won’t take long, I promise.”

Douxie’s fingers made quick and clever work of the strands of hair. He made sure to keep it tight, but not too tight. He used to see lovers plait each other’s hair back in the day. He would look on longingly, wishing he had someone to do the same with. And now he did. Maybe he would consider growing his hair back out, if it gave Y/n the same opportunity. Not the manbun though. He was not considering bringing back the fucking manbun by any means. But having Y/n plait it every day, that would be pleasant. Not at all a cringey hairstyle. And Y/n had mentioned to him how pretty she thought past-his long hair was.

He pulled the strands further away from her neck as he was getting closer to the ends. He had to admit, he had planned on doing something a little fancier, but this would have to do. Y/n seemed anxious to make whatever deadline she had given herself. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to do this,” he chuckled, and his breath on her ear made her shiver, “You cannot imagine how many times I’ve dreamed of running my fingers through your hair, My Love. It just. Looked so soft.” Douxie pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck. “And… Done!”

Douxie leaned back to admire his work. Simple, like she wanted, but very intricate the same. Y/n turned around to him as she headed for the bathroom mirror, taking note of how proud he looked. She turned her head this way and that in the mirror.

“Wow, this is so cute, Dewdrop. How’d you get so good.”

“Thank you, centuries of practice you see.”

Y/n giggled as she checked the clock. 6:34. “OH come on we’re gonna miss the subway.”

~~~

The subway was a magical place. Y/n sure thought so. All you had to do was step down a random staircase in the middle of the sidewalk, a nifty portal, and suddenly you were in an underground maze of commuters. Nari thought the turnstiles were odd. She just walked under it, and no one around the seemed to care, so Y/n just let her. Paying one less fare was no sweat off her back. The tiles that lined the wall were very dirty. There were mystery stains on the floor. Well, not that one the she just pulled Nari away from. That was definitely dried blood. The sound of a million grumpy people milling about and the coming and going of trains was all that Y/n could hear. She gripped Douxie’s hand tight as she double checked the map to see if they were about to board the right line. The 4 train would take them to the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station, right where they needed to go. This was the right way.

Right before the train arrived, Nari pointed to a spot across the hall. “Look, Archie.”

Crawling up the side of the platform was a rat. A big, fat rat. A big, fat rat with something in its mouth, carrying it up to the top. Once the rat did pull his prize up to the platform, it was plain to see. A slice of pepperoni pizza. Douxie had no idea where such a creature would acquire a perfectly whole slice of pizza this early in the morning, or, at all. Maybe it someone dropped it last night and abandoned it? The rat looked a bit scruffy. Did he have to fight off other rats for this prime piece of pie? This month had started of pretty normal for Doux but now he was standing in a subway station, holding the hand of his wife, pondering the secret life of a New York rat with a slice of pizza in its little mouth. Marvelous. Douxie felt Archie dig his claws into his shoulders, and making a chattering sound.

“Please Arch, we don’t have time for you to eat that rat.”

“But you just know it tastes like pizza, it’s got the grease all over its fur-”

“Archie, I fucking swear-”

Doux was cut off from his swearing by the train pulling in. The people who exited it rushed past, all having somewhere to be. None of them stopping to take in the wonder that was the pizza rat. Archie was sad to board the train and leave the rat. He’d get over it. The crowd of people all rushing in at once startled Nari. She clung to Y/n’s side. Since it was so early in the morning, a lot of commuters filled the train, and there wasn’t any seating left by the time they got there. Douxie gripped the ceiling bar, Y/n gripped his arm as if it was a ceiling bar, and Nari held on tight to Y/n. Douxie stared out the window in a trance as the world wooshed by him. This truly was a bizarre situation to be in. If you had told him last month that he would be here, he would have, well, not laughed, since his life was strange enough that he wouldn’t doubt it, but he would at least harbor some disbelief. There was their station.

Y/n checked the time as they stepped out onto the platform. 6:59. They needed to hurry. She tugged on Douxie’s arm. “C’mon!”

They made it to the Brooklyn Bridge just in time. Douxie was still confused about why Y/n was so adamant about being here so early in the morning. As they walked over it towards Manhattan, he understood. The early morning sun started rising just as they started the walk. The city skyline was glowing. The brilliant pinks and oranges painted the sky and everything around them. Each skyscraper glittered with the light reflecting off the windows. It was breathtaking.

The walk itself was quite relaxing. Douxie wouldn’t call the air fresh, smog and all that, but it was nice, cool and crisp. Pigeons flew by, adding their two cents in conversations only they could understand. The cars on the road next to them zoomed past. Every car had a person, and that person had somewhere to be at this early hour. Doux hoped they made it to their destinations safely. Every once and a while he would hear a honk, although he wasn’t sure from where it came. Douxie put his arm over Y/n’s shoulder to pull her closer to him. The journey from Brooklyn to Manhattan took about forty-five minutes, but it was peaceful thinking time, and Doux was grateful. Sure, plenty could go wrong, with them being on a bridge above the ocean that they were sharing with lots of fast cars, but with Y/n so close to him, he was able to put all that out of his mind.

As they reentered Manhattan, Y/n took no time at all in leading her family to a diner. She was hungry, okay? She needed breakfast. And coffee. Surely Archie would agree with her. It was food time.

Diner coffee was the best. Douxie didn’t care what fancy gourmet stuff the trendy coffee shops came out with, diner coffee would always be the best. It just had a certain je ne sais quoi. Maybe it was the vibe. Whatever it was, it was just what he needed right now at 8:00am. Not only was he unsure of how he made it this long without any caffeine, Douxie was kind of surprised he was getting away with having Archie with him, in all these places, in broad daylight. Guess his shoulder cat wasn’t the strangest thing New Yorkers had seen. Said shoulder cat was scarfing down a plate of eggs and bacon.

Y/n told Doux the rest of what she planned on having them do today over breakfast. Not much else, but enough. They’d still be out of the house until evening. That was fine. He couldn’t think of anywhere he’d rather be than wherever she was. As they left, they passed by a couple of kids inputting songs into the jukebox with devilish smirks. They were leaving just in time then.

Next up was a ferry ride to Staten Island. The ferry was constant, running every half hour, therefore they only had to wait a few minutes before it arrived once again for them to board. They found their seats on the upper deck, as per Y/n’s request. Apparently, this was because their reason for riding the ferry was not in fact to get to Staten Island like Douxie had thought. The purpose of the trip was to look out and see Bedloe’s Island and Lady Liberty who made her home there as the ferry cruised by it.

Y/n made Douxie hold Archie up so she could get a picture of him with the statue in the background. Archie was used to the strangeness of his familiar and his wife so the dragon cat didn’t question it. Archie_the_emo_kitty fans were going to love this. Y/n also got some of Nari and the gang. And a couples picture, but sadly, kissing Douxie’s cheek for a photo just didn’t get the same reaction as before. He was still a little pink though, as he was during all her showers of affection, so Y/n counted that as a victory.

Staten Island is hailed as the greenest borough, and thus the perfect place for Nari. After letting her run through a park for a while, they grabbed lunch at a Sri Lankan restaurant before taking the ferry back. Their clothes would smell like curry and spices for the rest of the day. Delicious, and worth it.

~~~

“Why are we going to a bar at 2pm?”

“Oh, you know, I figured day drinking was the next step for our vacation vibes,” Y/n answered Archie sarcastically, “Yeah, no. We’re just going up there to look out their window for the view.”

“You humans and your obsession with views.” Archie really didn’t see the big deal here. Whatever. He’d have to go whether he liked it or not.

Looking out over the city form the skyscraper bar’s wide window, Douxie felt uneasy. This bar’s claim to fame was this window that offered the view of the Empire State building. A building that used to be the tallest in the world. And then a younger and brighter architect built a higher one in Dubai. Makes sense. Nothing ever lasts long. He looked down at Y/n standing beside him. Maybe something would last long. He’d do everything in his power to make sure of it.

The last touristy thing Y/n wanted to see for the night was Broadway. It was getting chillier now that the sun was sinking, and Douxie magicked Y/n up a coat that was thicker than his old hoodie that she had been wearing nonstop since she stole it he gave it to her. However, she had been complaining about it losing its smell lately and telling him he needed to wear it again. Although she’d yet to let him have it back. She looked cute in the new coat. She looked cute in everything. Douxie was biased.

Broadway was covered in bright lights. The rows of theaters advertised their shows on big, dramatic signs. They weren’t going to go see any of the musicals, but it was fun to stroll down the street and see everything it had to offer. The world was bathed in an opulent gold, even the light in Y/n’s eyes as she led him down the way. Fitting, she was golden. Douxie felt like everything she touched turned to gold, like that old myth. He supposed that made him golden too.

One last stop before they went home for the night, a grocery market. They passed by so many Italian restaurants on their way from Broadway, Y/n was craving gnocchi. After hearing her talk about it during the walk, Douxie was too. Douxie held the handbasket while Y/n gathered the produce they needed for the soup. Plums were in season, and Y/n convinced Doux to let her make a few into some sweet rolls. Well, not convinced, he was all for it, she just had to ask. His cheeks were tinted just ever so slightly pink. He knew she’d known him for a really long time, so of course she knew all his favorite foods, but it still made him feel special that she’d take the time to memorize it. To memorize him. They got the cream, eggs, and butter they needed before starting the journey back to the apartment. Douxie carried all three of the bags. He wouldn’t let Y/n or Nari take one. He appreciated them offering, but, it’s not like they were heavy.

The ole’ valentines suite was just as lovey dovey as when they left it. They got to work on dinner as soon as they took off their coats. Nari and Archie took their places perched on the couch. The thing about being cute is you never have to work for your dinner, someone is always feeding you. It was alright, Douxie liked it this way better anyhow. This way he got to cook with Y/n as a special thing, just the two of them. They used to cook with each other a lot back when they were roommates. In fact, every weekend they put aside time to cook a meal together. It was tradition. Douxie had always wanted hug Y/n from behind while she stirred whatever was in the pan. He couldn’t do that then, but he definitely could now. Every time she had lifted a spoon to his lips, instructed him to taste, had been a knife jammed into his chest. She was always right there, so close he could touch, and he couldn’t do anything about it back then. He’d have to make up for lost time then.

Y/n put the potato pot on to boil and started on the sweet roll dough, asking Douxie if he’d chop up the vegetables for the soup. Aww, guess he had a job and couldn’t just spend this whole time hanging on her. Oh well, he’d chop. That was often his role in their cooking exploits. He’d admit, he had almost chopped his fingers a few times when he got too distracted sneaking glances at Y/n. He was a danger to himself really.

Y/n set the dough out to rise and started pitting and slicing up the plums. They wouldn’t need them for an hour or so, but might as well get them prepared and set aside. Douxie was still chopping the soup veggies, albeit slowly. Y/n thought he looked like he might be a little too far into his head.

“Hey Dewdrop,” Douxie looked at her, puzzled, “lets sing something to pass the time, yeah?”

Douxie was happy to sing with his beloved, and Y/n was happy to get Doux distracted from whatever was bothering him. And it was fun. Really fun. Y/n forgot how much she missed singing with people. Douxie’s voice meshed really well with hers. She really couldn’t believe that he liked her voice and that it was as pretty as he had been telling her lately, but she didn’t really care about that anymore; whether or not her voice was good or if it was embarrassing. She just liked singing, and sharing that with Doux felt special.

Potato mashing was a fun way to let off steam, Douxie had found. The more anger you let out on the potato, the better it was. Reminded him of back when Merlin would put him on kitchen duty for a day as punishment. He took out his frustrations on the potatoes then too. The old kitchen master encouraged it. After Douxie mashed those potatoes for her, Y/n added in the flower and salt, and began kneading the dough. Now Y/n didn’t know about mash potatoes for anger management but dough kneading was where it’s at. This was just gnocchi dough though, so it wasn’t worked too hard.

Now for the fun part, making the shapes. Now you could just go with the normal fork rolled gnocchi, but where’s the creativity in that. No, Douxie and Y/n liked to have little competitions of who could come up with the coolest looking gnocchi shape whenever they made this recipe. This time, Douxie won by making his dough ball into the form of a little rat, a tip of the hat to this glorious city they were in, and Y/n lost her shit. She wouldn’t let him make any more though, they didn’t need to be eating rat soup. That would be disrespectful to ratatouille.

Eventually, Y/n did start standing around stirring the pot of broth, and Douxie got his blessed hug from behind opportunity. Yep, this was just as good as he dreamed it would be. He got to watch what she was doing from over her shoulder, pepper her neck in kisses, and every now and then she’d turn to grab his face and kiss him too. At one point, tired of the short pecks, Y/n fully turned around, throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a more serious kiss. Y/n was obviously the more forward one in this relationship, but it still took Douxie by surprise every time. A good surprise, the best kind even. Each and every kiss they shared became the new favorite moment of his life, this one was no exception. Their lips moved together slowly, taking the time to savor every second of each other’s presence. Maybe a little too much. They didn’t pull apart until they heard Archie make a gagging noise. Y/n laughed as she turned back to the soup. Douxie shot Archie an angry glare before going back to his place over her shoulder. Yes, this was the most perfect way to spend an evening, rude dragon-cats aside. The soup smelled heavenly. But he didn’t want it to be ready quite so soon. Soup could wait, cuddles were priority right now.

But of course, the soup did finish cooking, and the lovebirds had to separate. Y/n though it was adorable how disgruntled Douxie was at this development. Actually eating the soup cheered him right back up however. It was delicious, It was the best soup they’d ever made. Must be the love. And the cuddles. Yeah, that’s what made it so tasty. This was honeymoon soup.

After dinner, Y/n got to work on the sweet rolls. After kneading the dough one last time and rolling it out, she let Nari help her place the filling and roll em up. The little goddess thought rolling up the dough was entertaining, and she liked how the end result looked like little roses. After putting the bake in the oven, Y/n gravitated over to that floor to ceiling window.

The city never slept, and it was just as abuzz as it was during the day, if not busier. Y/n sat cross-legged on the floor, gazing out at it all. Headlights of cars flew by. Pedestrians strolled with their shopping bags, bundled up in coats and scarves. Every moment passed was the present, and then suddenly it was the past. Y/n couldn’t tell the future. She couldn’t guess what person or car she would see next, and who knows what or who will walk by in this city, New York. There was a way to expect it and yet no way to know for sure.

The oven timer dinged, and Y/n got up to take the rolls out. The sugary smell filled the apartment. Y/n tried to swat Nari’s hand away from the just-out-of-the-oven pastries, but turns out the heat didn’t affect the veggie lady’s hands at all. Nari had heat resistant paws. Y/n supposed that probably came in handy dealing with that other Order member that was all fiery. Douxie was the real one she had to watch. It seemed he never got past the moppet stage of not thinking about the consequences of putting a molten hot sweet roll in his mouth. And he was good at sneaking them too, from all his years of doing so in the castle. Y/n rolled her eyes at his antics, but secretly thought it was cute. After the rolls had properly cooled, she took her own to-go as she found herself pulled back to that window once again.

Y/n ate her plum roll, watching it all, thinking about the future that was simultaneously always present and never coming. Y/n felt Douxie sit beside her, silently. He had yet to say a word to her after a few seconds, so she scooted a little closer to him so she could lay her head on his shoulder. Soon she felt his arm wrap around her, pulling her in tighter against him. Y/n waited another beat before speaking up, “Hey,”

“Hey.”

“I was wondering.” She said slowly.

“Yeah?”

“What happens after this?”

Douxie was taken off guard. He cleared his throat, “uhhh, I-”

“Like assuming we ever do defeat the order, which we will,” Douxie smiled at her confidence, “what’s next for us, Dewdrop?”

Doux had to take a moment to think. It’s not like he hadn’t thought about this himself, and if anything being able to give Y/n a good future consumed a lot of his thoughts, but he’d never been able to find a plan he felt like he could stick with. “I- I don’t know, Love. I’m sure we could return to Arcadia, if that would be something you would want. I’d never really settled down anywhere before that little town. And, I think, I’d want to go back.” Douxie’s eyes stared unblinking into the city lights, “It’s home now. In a perfect ending where everything resets when the war’s over, that is.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “We’ll have to wait and see. Things never really stay the same for long. Even if we can’t go back, we’ll find home somewhere. We’ll go home.”

Y/n pulled her legs out from under her, bringing them in close to her chest. “It is something I would want. Take me home, Hisirdoux. Is that a promise?”

Douxie took her hand and kissed her knuckles, “That’s a promise.”

The silence enveloped them once again. Stars knew how long they sat there, looking out in silence. Y/n practically fell asleep leaning on Doux. She yawned really big and Douxie smiled fondly as he got up, taking care to not disturb her too much as he scooped her up bridal style. “Come on Love, let’s go to bed.”

After gently placing Y/n in bed and snuggling in with her, Douxie let himself savor this now mundane moment between them. It was strange to think that just last month this simple thing would have short circuited him. He heard her giggle sleepily and raised an eyebrow.

“If we ever rebuild the bookshop, I want,,” She trailed off. Now Douxie was curious.

“Yes?” He further prompted.

“I want to make half of it a tea room, can we do that?”

“I- yeah I can certainly see about that.”

Y/n giggled again, “With fancy teacups?” she said groggily.

Douxie smiled, humoring her, “With fancy teacups.”

“Aannddd. And. Maybe,,” she whispered, “a baby.”

Douxie took in a sharp breath. Wow. He tried his best to keep his voice from cracking, “and a baby.” He wasn’t sure if Y/n even heard him as she was now snoring in his arms. A baby. He’d give her every baby she wanted. Raise a whole brood of moppets. Or just the one. Or none if she changed her mind. He’d be happy either way. But there was something about the thought of her wanting to have a baby with him that just made his whole face flush. He probably wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight now. Douxie was anything but new to insomnia, but he’d never had such a sweet thing to be the cause of it before. His heart was going to melt. He pressed a kiss to Y/n’s hair. Yeah, he would be happy to melt here with her.

~~~

No early start to this day. Y/n didn’t have many things planned, so sleeping in was the main event of the morning. Douxie was completely okay with that, encouraged it even. He rarely got a day off to sleep in. And with Y/n in his arms? It was that much sweeter. But eventually they did leave the house, grabbing some leftover plum rolls on their way out for breakfast. They couldn’t just keep Nari indoors, it didn’t take long for her to get antsy. There was still plenty of things to do and see in New York so off they went.

First stop of the day, the flat iron building. They stood on the sidewalk across the street from it, the crowd instinctually parting to walk around them without caring.

“look at it. It’s triangular.”

“It, it sure is.” Douxie kinda looked to the side, unsure of how he was supposed to be reacting.

“Yeah I didn’t know what I was expecting.” Back in the subway and on to the market then.

Specifically Chelsea Market. Douxie got a weird feeling as he walked through the doors. Strange, he felt like they were being watched. Which of course they were, they were in one of the most populous cities in America after all. But like, a different, more sinister feeling of being watched. He brushed it off.

They wandered through the shops for quite a while. Y/n and Archie had decided that they needed to see everything that the market had to offer before they picked something. Douxie was just hungry. These damn foodies he lived with were always making him wait for lunch. Just pick something. Food was food. Most of the time he could say no to Archie but there was no way he could say no to his wife, ever. He had to work on that.

One of the signs caught Y/n’s eye immediately, Fat Witch Bakery. Well, they couldn’t not check that out. Once inside, they discovered the little shop exclusively sold brownies. Good brownies at that. Douxie wasn’t found of brownies, or anything chocolate flavored, but he had a couple bites of Y/n’s. It was okay, one of the better chocolate things he’d had. Y/n scarfed the rest down.

“Mmmm, good thing we don’t live here, or I’d be a fat witch myself in no time.”

A lot of the market was decorated for Christmas already, despite it being October. The lights were pretty. Y/n was disgruntled they skipped Halloween though. Douxie had to laugh at her little pout when she complained about it. She really was the cutest thing on the planet. He couldn’t help teasing her about it, which she responded with mock anger. He gave her a quick peck to help placate her. It worked.

They came across a seafood place and suddenly Archie was done looking around. It was nice to have some fresh fish, as they were on the coast. Archie missed that about California. All this traveling inland was depriving him of his proper seafood diet. Dragons like him could only eat so many hamburgers before they got sick of it. Fresh caught fish was the best food that existed.

After finally having lunch, it was time to head over to the next sight-see. Grand Central Station. They had nowhere to be, no reason to use the station for its intended purpose. Douxie guessed this was just another thing Y/n wanted to stand in and look at. He didn’t quite get it himself, but he thought it was adorable that Y/n had so many things she wanted to see, so much of the world she wanted to touch. He wanted to take her everywhere. He was old, and had seen so many things that not much amazed him anymore, but not her, the world was still magic in her eyes. He loved seeing that twinkle in her eyes, made him feel like he was shiny and new too.

Douxie posed with Archie in front of a clock for Y/n in the station. Doux stuck out his tongue, giving her the sign of the horns while Archie stood on his shoulder, trying to look tough. She snickered as she took the shot of her boys. She took photos everywhere they went. Not of the tourist destinations, per se, but of Douxie, Archie, Nari, interacting with them. Her family, having fun. Good memories to be stored. She was slowly rebuilding her association with the word family into something positive. Every passing day, her past felt like more of a bad dream. The future may be uncertain, but at least there would be love in it.

Nari wanted to go visit Central Park again. There was a petunia in one of the gardens was a particularly good conversationalist, and Nari wanted to ask them how their day had been. The park was a great way to spend the afternoon, so of course they’d indulge the veggie lady without qualm. Y/n was looking forward to getting to explore more of the park they didn’t see last time.

As they were walking around a corner, on their way to said park. Douxie got that strange feeling once again. They were being watched. He tried not to let it show. He didn’t need Y/n to worry, and he was confident he could take care of whatever it was that was making him feel this way. He was Hisirdoux Casperan, successor of Merlin Ambrosius and currently the most powerful wizard alive. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to protect his family. If whatever was stalking them dared to show its face, he’d be ready.

There was a scruffy man on the street corner, shouting about the end of the world.

“The world’s gonna end, we’re all gonna die!”

This man wasn’t completely crazy, but it’s not like he actually knew what was going on in the world of magic. Douxie tossed him a coin.

“Not on my watch.”

#douxie x reader #hisirdoux casperan x reader #douxie casperan x reader #douxie imagine #hisirdoux casperan imagine #douxie x y/n #hisirdoux x reader #tales of arcadia x reader #tales of arcadia imagine #douxie #hisirdoux casperan #nert #my writing

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deliquescentnightmare · 3 years ago

Text

Easy Come, Easy Go- CH 4

~What's worse than nicotine? An annoyance.~

Delila braced her back against the wall to the left of the open door. She stood there for a small eternity before the silence was punctured with a tense exhale from inside. She took that as her cue to whip into view, eyes taking in the man stretched languidly on the couch, feet hanging off the end. The two made eye contact and Sherlock’s eyebrow raised.

“Oh. Hello I assumed you’d have a gun pointed at me sooner or later, but this must be a new record,” he stared at her, almost seeming amused, “We’ve only known each other for what? A half-day?”

“Where’s the danger?” She asked, narrowing her eyes as she looked about the messy apartment.

“I said it could be dangerous, not is,” Sherlock replied, “And I said that to John, not you.”

“There’s no danger, is there?” Delila asked, switching on the safety and reupholstering her gun with a sour look, “It’s all clear, John,” She called behind her and he limped into the doorway.

“What the hell are you doing?” He asked Sherlock

“Nicotine patch, helps me think,”

“Is that three patches?” Delila asked, or more so exclaimed.

“It’s a three patch problem,” came the reply and she simply rubbed her temples, as if fighting off a large migraine.

“John, do you mind if I get myself a glass of water? I feel like I’m going to have a headache at this rate,”

“Make yourself at home,” John said absentmindedly.

“Thank you,” Delila nodded and pulled off her coat, laying it on the back of a chair, vanishing into the kitchen.

“Why’d you bring her along?”

“We were supposed to be getting coffee,” John replied irately, “What did you need us for?”

“I only asked for you,” Sherlock remarked, nearly the textbook definition of melodrama, “Can I borrow your phone?”

“My...phone?” John stared at him as if he’d grown another head.

“Yes. I don't want to use mine; always a chance the number will be recognised, it’s on the website,”

“You called me here to borrow my phone?”

“Yes,”

“I was on the other side of London!” John explained, exasperation evident on his face. Sherlock merely rolled his eyes, as if John was the irrational one.

“There was no hurry,”

“So you need me to send a text,” John sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket as Delila drifted back into the room, holding 3 glasses filled with water. She placed one each by the two other men in the room and sipped on hers thoughtfully as she loitered by the window, attempting to spy out the window inconspicuously. Of course, when one was with The Great Sherlock Holmes, nothing was ever inconspicuous.

“What’s wrong with you?” He asked almost immediately and she sent him a glance of something stuck between surprise and amusement.

“We happened to meet a...friend of yours,” She managed, hesitant through the statement, taking a long pull from her water. As if taking her cue, Sherlock swivelled to sit, startling at her remark.

“A friend?” he asked indignantly, reaching over to grab the glass and drink from it hesitantly.

“An enemy,” John added.

“Which one?”

“your arch-enemy, according to him,”

“...did he offer you money to spy on me?” Sherlock asked, voice hush and slightly rough as if it were some secret that the world couldn’t know. Delila turned to look at John in surprise.

“...yes,” John finally answered, visibly perturbed by the question and both sets of eyes on him.

“Did you take it?” Sherlock asked, and it was his turn to have two sets of shock-widened eyes set on him.

“What? No,”

“Pity, we could’ve split the fee,�� Sherlock merely replied before casually chastising Delila, “Come on, Agent Lestrade, you really should’ve talked some sense into him,”

“She wasn’t there,” John supplied helpfully, drinking some of his water before realising how thirsty he was and downing the rest of it shortly thereafter.

“Ah, well if you do happen to meet him, I’d take the spying offer- it’s good money,” Sherlock said dismissively,

“Who is he?”

“The most dangerous man you’ve ever met, and not my problem right now. There’s a number on my desk. I need you to send a text,”

“A text?”

“Yes, to the number,” Sherlock directed, “Quickly,”

“Right,”

“So this is about her case?” Delila inquired, dropping the curtain after a beat, eyes raking over Sherlock curiously.

“Her case…” Sherlock mused absently, “Yes, her case. Of course, it’s about her case. The killer dropped her off, forgot she had it,”

“I assume you’ve figured out where it is?” She asked although they both knew she already had figured out the answer to that question. So, Sherlock simply disregarded her question and aimed his next statement at John.

“John, are you putting in the number?”

“Yes, hold on,” came the reply.

“Are you doing it? Have you done it?”

“Yeah- Just hold on!” John exclaimed and Sherlock looked like a miffed toddler, all wide eyes and melodramatic offence. Delila almost laughed at the man’s expression. Almost.

“Send this text exactly: What happened in Lauriston Gardens, I must’ve blacked out. 22 Northumberland Street. Please come,” Sherlock directed, finishing off his water.

“You blacked out?” John and Delila asked in unison, varying levels of concern written clearly upon their faces as if they were pages in a dictionary.

“What? No- No! Type the message and send it!” Sherlock leapt up, visibly agitated.

“What’s the address?”

“22 Northumberland Street!” Sherlock exclaimed as he snatched up the suitcase and Delila felt compelled to move to the couch. He dropped it into the seat of the desk chair and unzipped it while John simply stared at it in shock.

“That’s her case… that’s the pink lady’s case,”

“Yes, obviously,” Sherlock replied, voice practically dripping with self-satisfaction. His expression shifted, however at seeing the shock remaining on the man’s face as he quickly added, “I guess I should probably tell you: no, I didn’t kill her,”

“I never said you did,”

“Why not? Given the text I just had you send and the fact that I have her case, it’s a perfectly logical assumption,”

“Do people often assume you’re the murderer?” Delila asked, an amused sort of smile on her face.

“Now and then, yes,” Sherlock replied, hopping up onto the back of the chair, feet firmly planted in the seat. It was vaguely reminiscent of the way Delila contorted herself to curl her legs underneath her at odd angles on the couch.

“...okay,” John said, limping himself over to the other chair and sitting down, “And how did you get this?”

“By looking,” The answer was obvious, to Sherlock. To John, it was just another thing that was so very Sherlock that at first he was caught off guard. It didn’t take long for him to come to terms with the fact that this man; his likely flatmate, was simply bred this way. He was blunt, clever, and rather narcissistic.

“Where?” John asked, partially to indulge the curly-haired brunette, partially to satiate his own vaguely morbid curiosity.

“The killer must’ve driven her to Lauriston gardens, he could only keep this case by accident- forgot it was in the car- nobody could be seen with this case without drawing attention to themselves, especially not a man, which is statistically more likely. So obviously he would have felt compelled to get rid of it; it wouldn't have taken him more than five minutes to recognise his mistake. I checked every backstreet wide enough for a car five minutes from Lauriston gardens and anywhere someone could dispose of a bulky object without being observed. Took me less than an hour to find the right skip,”

“Right, what now?” Delila interjected and both John and Sherlock turned to look at her curiously.

“Skip? Large container for storing garbage?” John asked and Delila shook her head in vague displeasure.

“Dumpster? You British people and your weird lingo,” Delila scoffed, “Anyways, continue with your lecture, Professor Holmes,” she said pointedly, earning an unamused scoff from the man in question.

“You got all of that from the fact that the case would be pink?”

“Of course it had to be pink,” Delila answered, “What other colour would it be?”

“Of course, why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because you’re an idiot,” Sherlock replied. In response to the shocked expressions he gathered from the other two he sighed out, “Don’t be so offended, everyone is,” He pointed to the case, “Now look, do you see what’s missing?”

“From the case? How could I?” John remarked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Her phone?” Delila supplied pointing to the mesh zipper pouch on the inside lid of the case, “There’s a charging cable right there, and that sort of cable only goes to iPhones,”

“How do you know?” John asked, confused.

“I have one, obviously,” Delila replied.

“How do we know she had one?” John asked, looking like he wanted to rub his temples as Delila did upon their first entry to the flat.

“You just texted her number,” Sherlock remarked calmly.

“Maybe she left it at home?”

“She’s had a string of lovers and she’s careful about it; she’d never leave her phone at home if she could help it,”

“Wait, we’re- Wait, why did I just send that text?”

“Well, the real question is, where’s her phone now?”

“Did he just text a murderer?”

“Maybe she left it when she left her bag, maybe he took it from her for some reason, either way, the balance of probability is the murderer has her phone,”

“Sorry, did I just text a murderer?” John asked, looking mildly panicked, “What good will that do?” His question was punctuated with the ringing of a telephone- John’s telephone. Sherlock’s face barely contained his glee as he glanced at the phone, feigning calm.

“A few hours since his last victim -and now he’s got a text which can only be from her ... Now someone who'd just found the phone would ignore a text like that. But the murderer,” He stood, snapping the case closed and causing Delila to jump slightly, “Would panic,” He crossed the room and started to tug on his blazer.

“Have you talked to the police?” Delila asked, untangling herself from where she sat on the couch

“Four people are dead, there’s no time to talk to the police,” Sherlock dismissed her, not even sparing her a look.

“Can I just...call Dad? Just to let him know?” Delila pleaded and the tallest of the three let out a long, troubled sigh.

“Fine,” Sherlock allowed irately, huffing and pulling on his coat. Delila pulled hers from the back of the chair she’d rested it on and vanished. Sherlock turned back to what he was doing.

“If you can’t talk to the police, then why are you talking to us?”

“Mrs Hudson took my skull,” Sherlock mused sadly. John looked up to the mantle, and the skull was indeed missing.

“So we’re just filling in for your skull?”

“Relax, you’re doing fine,” Sherlock assured John, who simply looked at him with an expression of levelled shock and thinly veiled curiosity, “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Well, you could just sit here and watch telly” Sherlock twisted his scarf about his neck with a look that practically screamed holier-than-thou. John stood, uncertainty in his role written clearly across his face.

“You want me to come with you?”

“I prefer company when I go out - I think better aloud, and the skull just attracts attention,” Sherlock explained, pulling on his glove, “Problem?”

“Yes… it’s just that sergeant Donovan… she said you get off on this, you enjoy it,”

“And I said dangerous,” Sherlock stared down his nose at the shorter man, ghost of a smirk upon his face, “And here you are,” He chose then to vanish down the stairs, and John stared after him, openmouthed.

“Damnit,” John hissed, limping after him, face tightened into a grimace of pain and annoyance as he limped down the stairs.

#sherlock x oc #sherlock fanfic #superwholock #fanfiction #bbc sherlock #sherlock fic #sherlock oc #sherlock #john watson #drink some water #get some sleep #i love you #autistic oc #queer characters

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official-weasley · 4 years ago

Text

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 7, Ch. 3

PART 7: THE YEAR OF HIDING AND PASSION Chapter 3 - Sneaking and Snogging

Charlie

I still regret the fight I had with Nova in the Forest even though it happened weeks ago. I asked her to be alone for a couple of days because I knew I have to sort some things out for myself.

I don't know what happened that I just snapped but I can't bear to see anything bad happening to her. In the end, I realized that it all had to do with us having less than a year together before she goes Merlin knows where and I finally get my job in Romania full-time.

The thought of not being with her was tearing me apart every day but I knew she would rather break up with me than see me go with her and let my dream die. I appreciated the fact that she wanted me to put my job above everything else but when it comes to her, I just can't do that. I love her too much and I would do anything to stay with her after we finish school.

It was November and so far we either avoided the talk or got in a fight about it. We both knew the answer to what would happen when the Summer ends and that's why we didn't want to discuss it. We wanted to enjoy every moment we could get together.

—

It was Wednesday, meaning I would be leaving for Romania in a couple of days. I was usually there from Friday to Sunday every week. I owled Nova early in the morning as we only had classes in the afternoon and I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.

I went to the Seventh Floor and stood in front of the Room of Requirement. I made the cabin I imagined for our first date as I knew it was Nova's favorite and waited for her inside.

“Char?” She opened the door. She was so cute when she was still sleepy.

“Care for some breakfast?” I stood up from the armchair and walked to her.

“Not hungry, but you can eat if you want.” She smiled and kissed me. I dreamt of her lips every weekend when I was away. They were perfect.

“So, what's the occasion?” She sat down in the chair now.

“I'm leaving tomorrow evening.” I said with a raised eyebrow. I knew she was being sarcastic. She sighed.

“I know, love.” I kneeled next to her and she got closer to me on the floor, took out her wand, and started a fire in the fireplace.

“I wanted to talk about something.” I said gently.

“Please tell me this isn't about what I think it's about.” She tried pulling away from me but I didn't let her.

“We have to, Nova.” I kissed her shoulder. “We have been avoiding it for 7 months.”

“There's a reason for that, Char.” Her voice was harsh.

“Look, we don't want to talk about it because we think we know what will happen.” I started. “What if it doesn't have to be that way?” She turned in my arms to look at me.

“What do you mean?” She asked hopefully.

“I know you want to go to America and I fully support you but that doesn't mean we have to break up.” The last two words broke something inside of me. I couldn't even think about it.

“You're thinking of long-distance?” Her eyes went from sad to shining.

“What do you think about that?” I asked and pressed my lips on hers.

“How would we see each other?” She started thinking about it. “It's too far to apparate.”

“Portkeys?” I suggested. “I would fly on a broom just to spend a few hours with you.” I whispered in her ear.

“Are you mad, Charlie!” She chuckled. “Do you know how much your arse would hurt!” We both laughed.

“I know it would but it wouldn't matter if I get to see you laugh as you did now.” She put her hands around my neck and kissed me. She did it every time I got too cheesy for her taste.

“You're crazy.” She whispered, looking into my eyes.

“Crazy about you, love.” I kissed her nose.

“Alright, I'll think about it.” She said after looking at me for a few seconds. “You know I want to stay with you, too.” I just nodded. I knew we both wanted the same thing. We wanted our dream jobs and we wanted to stay together and for the first time, I was confident that we were going to find a way to make it work.

I mentioned long-distance once before, but Nova wouldn't even listen so it meant the world to me that she was opening her mind to it now. It didn't matter to me if I see her once a month if it meant we stay together. I knew we were strong enough to pull it off and I was hoping we would now stop bickering over it, as she started to kiss my neck and not in an affectionate way.

—

“You had sex!” I sat down opposite Jae in the Great Hall and after hearing his words, I just wanted to get up and leave.

“Good morning to you too, Jae.” I tried sounding as normal as possible.

“I thought you would never lose your virginity.” He smugged at me.

“Ha-ha. Very funny.” I rolled my eyes.

“So, you're not going to deny it?” He raised his eyebrow.

“What gave me away?” I looked at him for the first time.

“Your cheeks are red, you have love bites all over your neck...” I instinctively put my hand on it. Damn it, Nova! “...and your hair is unusually tidy.” He chuckled. “You know, like you tried too hard to cover something up.”

“Am I supposed to reply?” I cleared my throat.

“I'm not going to say I don't like when you wear a shirt that shows your muscles but with a neck like that it would be better to go with your usual Weasley jumper.” He winked at me.

“Morning, Jae.” Nova sat down next to him and reached for a box of cereal. Jae looked at her and his eyes beamed.

“Nice hair, Nova.” He teased and she quickly put her hands over it even though it looked fine. I knew she was afraid it was out of place or something but I also knew that Jae was already on to us.

“You had sex too.” He said proudly.

“The what now?” Nova looked at me and then at him, bewildered.

“You don't have bite marks all over your neck like Lover Boy over there,” he pointed at me, “but your hair is never so pretty in the morning and your face is radiating with happiness.” He winked at her, her cheeks turning red.

“So, I don't want to point any fingers but I would bet my wand right now that you two are finally together.” I wanted to punch him in the face so that smirk of his would disappear.

“Fine! We're together!” I tried being mad but it was a relief in a way because we were both a bit tired of sneaking around.

“How long?” Jae smiled proudly for figuring it out.

“The Ball.” Nova answered and went casually back to eating cereal. I knew she didn't care that he found out as much as I didn't.

“The Ball?! Damn, what are you hiding so long for?” His eyes widened.

“You were hiding for just as long.” I smugged.

“True.” He narrowed his eyes as he thought about it. “Avoiding Penny, I'm assuming?” He turned to Nova and she just nodded.

“I understand. Tulip said that she bombarded her with so many questions once she told you girls, that she is never telling her anything ever again.” Jae laughed. We all knew Penny was just excited and happy for us all.

“But we didn't ask her that many questions.” Nova looked puzzled.

“You and Tonks didn't. Penny basically kidnapped her a few days after she told you.” I could see Nova stiffen. This was why we were quiet.

“Great.” She finally said.

“Don't worry, hide for as long as you want. Your secret is safe with me.” Jae tapped her shoulder and stood up. “As long as you have a good sex life and I can see on both of your faces that you do,” he looked at me and winked, “I have nothing to do with your relationship.” He finished and walked away.

Nova stood up and came to sit next to me.

“When he figured it out I wanted to suggest that we tell everyone but now that he told me about Penny...”

“I know.” I interrupted and wanted to hug her but I knew it was too risky. We were apparently obvious without even being in the same room.

“Hi, Charlie.” Both Nova and I turned around.

“Who is that?” Nova narrowed her eyes and kept looking at the girl that passed our table and greeted me.

“She's a Gryffindor, a year under me.” I said casually.

“Under you, huh.” She frowned. I chuckled.

“Only you are under me like that, love.” I turned her head to me as she was still eyeing the girl. “She always says hi to me when she sees me.”

“Really? You know she fancies you.” Her eyes still narrowed.

“And I love you and only have eyes for you so I don't care what she thinks.” I chuckled. “I don't even know her name.”

“Oh, I'll get her name alright.” She said under her breath and I knew she wasn't fooling around.

“Are you jealous?” I chuckled. She was too adorable.

“No!” She exclaimed.

“You're thinking about hexing her don't you?” I laughed.

“If I tell Tonks about her she will go through much worse than that.” She grinned mischievously.

“Love, look at me.” I cupped her face. “I only want you, okay.” I kissed her. At that moment I didn't care who saw us.

“Yeah, yeah.” I chuckled at her rolling eyes. “Just know the next time she looks at you I am sticking my tongue down your throat.” She was so cute when she was jealous.

“Do whatever you have to, love.” I kissed her again and she snatched my hand and dragged me from the Great Hall straight into the Forest.

—

“I should make you jealous more often.” I said still catching my breath as we were laying on the ground in the Forest, naked.

“I wasn't jealous.” She scoffed but I could see her lip curve. She was proud of herself. “Okay, I was a little bit.” She admitted and started putting her shirt on, thinking she could hide her red cheeks from me.

“As if I would even look at a girl that isn't you.” I chuckled. “Have you forgotten that I had a crush on you for 3 years?” I smirked.

“I know, I'm sorry.” She smiled and pulled up her pants.

“Oh, don't be. It was amusing to watch.” I laughed and she gently punched me in my arm as we started to walk towards the edge of the Forest.

I was just about to pull my shirt over my head when I stopped walking and so did Nova.

“Ahem.” Penny, Tulip, and Tonks were standing in front of us.

“Nice body, Weasley.” Tulip winked at me.

“I love what you did with your hair, Nova.” Penny giggled. I looked at it and it was not only messy but also had a little leaf in it. I chuckled and pulled it out.

“So, do you care to explain or should we just ask questions?” Penny raised her eyebrows.

“I have to pack as I'm leaving tomorrow.” I said quickly. “Meet you in the Library in the morning?” I whispered to Nova. She nodded.

I looked at the girls and they were all shaking from excitement. I knew we were busted and there was no point in hiding anymore so I cupped Nova's face and pressed my lips hard against hers. Penny squealed and Tulip started clapping.

“Good luck, love.” I winked at Nova. I turned around. “Have fun girls.” I smirked at the three of them and rushed to the Castle.

Nova

Bloody Weasley just left me here alone while Penny, Tulip, and Tonks were staring at me, ready to explode and I was not even mad at him. I knew it was better, with the questions they were going to ask me, if he is not around.

“Okay, let's get this over with.” I sighed and rolled my eyes even though I wasn't at all as bothered as I thought I would be.

“We'll give you a pass.” Smirked Tulip.

“We all go to class and afterward you can go take a cold shower because I think you need one after what you have been doing in the Forest.” Giggled Tonks.

“And then we are having a sleepover in the Room.” Finished Penny.

“Fine!” I said and walked to them. They all pulled me into a hug but didn't say anything. I knew they were saving their questions for later. Why did I have to be jealous!

—

I was walking towards the Room of Requirement nervous but in a way excited. I know I said I didn't want to talk about Charlie and me to the girls but it's going to feel so good that we won't have to hide anymore. And besides, Penny and Tulip went through the same thing, how bad can it be? They are my best friends and they have been waiting for me and Charlie to get together before we even knew we fancied one another so it's only fair.

And to be honest, Charlie and I talked the other day about why we were even hiding at this point. We did want privacy, in the beginning, to see how things are between us and get used to one another in peace but after we started our Seventh Year there was no point. We did it because it was kind of thrilling and we were used to hiding all Summer from the Weasleys.

“There you are!” Penny started clapping the second I entered the Room. I took a deep breath and sat down on the floor with them.

“Want anything to drink, Blackwood?” Tonks asked, standing by the table with drinks.

“Butterbeer, thanks.” I mumbled, my eyes still on Penny.

“Just bombard me with questions already.” I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, c'mon!” Penny came closer to me. “Don't you want to talk about it?”

“No!” I exclaimed. “Why do you think she has been hiding her relationship since the Ball.” Tonks said while sitting down. Her eyes widened when she realized that she just told Tulip and Penny that she knew.

“SINCE THE BALL?” Shouted Penny.

“You knew?” Tulip looked at Tonks, mouth open.

“Honestly, Tulip...” I turned to her. “I thought you knew too.”

“At first, I did think that something happened between you two but then you never said anything and even though you were coming in the dorm quite late you never mentioned it, so I just let it go.” Tulip answered.

“So I was the only one who was completely clueless?” Penny lowered her head, disappointed.

“I'm sorry, Penny.” I crawled to her and hugged her around the shoulder. “I wanted to tell you...” I looked at Tulip and Tonks. “...all of you but we wanted just to enjoy our moment, be with each other after having all these confusing feelings for such a long time.”

“Then why didn't you just say so?” Penny sniffed. “We would've left you alone.”

“Would you?” I smirked.

“Probably not.” Penny answered honestly and we all laughed. “But not because we would try to be noisy.” She wiped her nose. “It's you, Nova! It's you and Charlie!”

I knew what she meant. It was a big deal. Tulip and Jae happened because they had a lot in common when it comes to pranks and avoiding rules. Penny and Andre happened because they studied together and neither needed years to realize.

Charlie and I were best friends since our First Year and even though we didn't want to admit it to one another, we had it coming for years. Even our mums knew that we were going to end up together.

“I know. I'm sorry.” I really was. Now that we talked about it, I really did feel bad about the whole thing.

“It's okay. We understand.” They all pulled me into a group hug.

“But if you don't mind me asking, how did you know we were in the Forest?” I chuckled.

“We saw you leaving the Grounds and you were holding hands so we waited by the Lake. You were in there for quite some time so we got worried.” Penny explained.

“Makes sense.” I nodded. “Okay, now ask me anything you want.” I grinned. I knew they had so many questions.

“Well, Tonks already told us it happened at the Ball and I assume you weren't sick,” Penny giggled, “what happened once you left the Hall?”

“Charlie asked if we could go outside, because he has to tell me something and he took me down to the Lake,” I felt my cheeks turning pink reminiscing on the night, “he first showed me the letter with the answer from Romania and when I asked if it means that he's staying he said that it also means he has to tell me something and he told me how he feels about me.” I felt my eyes watering. It was the best night when we finally admitted our feelings to each other.

I looked at Penny and she was crying and so did Tulip. Tonks looked like she was holding back the tears.

“Oh, come here!” Penny cried and pulled me into a hug. We stayed embraced and cried for solid 10 minutes.

“I am so happy for you, you have no idea!” Penny blew her nose. “And for Charlie as well! Do you know how painful it was for me to listen to you talk about Murphy when I knew that Charlie had feelings for you?”

“I know. He told me. You're a good friend for keeping his secret and still encouraging me to ask out Murphy.” I smiled.

“He tried so hard to be supportive and be a good friend but he had such a big crush on you and I didn't know what to do!” Penny started crying again. “He was just so adorable talking to you and the way he was looking at you and everything.”

“I know. I was blind.” I said calmly. I still had moments when I wished I realized sooner and we could've avoided so much drama and heartache.

“It doesn't matter. You're together now.” Tulip smiled and squeezed my shoulder.

“So do your families know?” Tulip asked.

“No. That was one of the reasons we didn't want to tell anyone. We knew that we would get too comfortable around you lot and Charlie has brothers here at school and we are only now debating on telling them.” We sat back down, normally. “Bill and Ginny know, though.” I giggled. “Ginny saw us kissing and Charlie told Bill because he wanted to talk about us and he knew he wouldn't tell the family.”

“Did he tell Jae?” Tulip wanted to know.

“He found out this morning, actually.” I chuckled. “A true detective your boyfriend.”

“What, how?” Tulip went red in the face.

“Well, he saw Charlie's bite marks on his neck and he somehow knew he had sex. And then a few minutes later I sat down and knew I had sex as well and connected the dots.” We all started laughing.

“Wait, this morning?” Penny looked perplexed. “But didn't you have sex in the woods before?”

“Twice per day, Nova Blackwood!” Tulip beamed at me. “Look at you go!” We all started laughing again. It felt so good talking with the girls about everything.

“When did you first do it?” Tonks asked her first question. She knew about us but didn't ask me anything before unless I started talking about it.

“In August. He took me to this place at the Burrow where we usually went stargazing and he caught some Fireflies and borrowed the Wireless from his mum and it was just so relaxing and beautiful.” I couldn't stop my lips from curving.

“Aww.” I thought Penny was going to melt.

“Charlie Weasley is a romantic!” Tulip put her hands on her heart.

“But with all this sneaking around, did you even have a first date?” Penny asked hopefully.

“We did. Charlie wanted to take me on a real date so the day after the Ball we came here.” I swung my finger around the Room.

“That's what you meant with Prefect's duty.” Tulip giggled.

“How was it?” Penny wanted to know.

“It was perfect.” I knew my eyes sparkled. “He wanted to create the room and it was a little cottage with a fireplace and an armchair and a small table where we had dinner.” My cheeks turned pink again.

“That is such a Charlie date.” Tonks said, impressed.

“Yeah, we have a date in that cottage once per week ever since.” They all 'awwed'.

“So...” Tulip's face turned from innocent to the way she looked at Jae sometimes. “How's Charlie in bed?”

“Tulip!” Penny smacked her arm, then looked at me. “I mean if you want to tell us please do!” We all laughed.

“He is an amazing kisser and even better in bed.” I bit my lip, preventing myself from saying anything else. I wanted to keep that part for myself. Tonks winked at me.

“And you're into some interesting stuff, doing it in the Forest.” Tulip chuckled.

“The Forest, the Room, the broom closet...” Tonks counted on her fingers and laughed.

“Broom closet? Look at you two!” Tulip beamed at me. “And here we were thinking you two were shy!” She giggled.

“We were at the beginning but we felt something between us, this energy and we were curious about it.” My face had to look like a tomato.

“And let me guess...” Tulip smirked. “Just looking at each other turns you on?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” I chuckled.

“That's called passion, Blackwood!” She laughed.

“Hey, we don't go all over the school and have sex twice per day but we're still passionate!” Penny tried defending herself.

“Haywood, you and Andre are romantic. I don't see you doing it in the woods.” Tulip giggled.

“We kind of have both.” I rubbed my chin. “Sometimes I want him to blow my brains out...” Tonks almost spat out her Butterbeer. I knew she thought of her and Barnaby which was still a secret. “And other times we can barely do it because we're so full of emotions and half do it half cuddle.” I chuckled.

“Wow, the best of both worlds, lucky girl!” Tulip winked at me. “Jae and I tried to have a romantic kind of sex once,” she shook her head, “definitely not for us.”

“You don't say.” I said and we all laughed.

We stayed up and talked for hours. We laughed and cried and laughed again and I missed that so much. We were all so busy and I was always kind of tense around them because I was keeping me and Charlie a secret that I forgot how much fun we always have together.

We went to sleep so late that I was late for meeting Charlie in the Library the next morning. I wanted to spend as much time with him as I possibly could. Saying goodbye to him was always so hard. I never wanted to let him go and I decided I would take the time I had while he was in Romania to spend with my girls and do all the homework I have been neglecting during the week. I knew it was the best way to keep me occupied and forget how much I miss and worry about my boyfriend.

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lady-griffin · 4 years ago

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Who do you think will Katarina end up with?

Geordo

There are several reasons for why I think this.

He is the male lead and is considered in the character introductions at the beginning of each Light Novel, to be One of the TWO leads, while the rest of the cast are divided up as secondary to minor characters.

This is how the characters are introduced in the Light Novels 1-5.

Katarina and Geordo’s character introductions are untouched for the most part from novel to novel. But the way the other characters are introduced with each novel changes bit by bit.

From Alan and Keith being marked as secondary characters in the 1st novel.

To Alan, Keith, and Nicol being marked as secondary characters in the 2nd novel.

To the entire Harem (minus Geordo) being marked as secondary characters in the 3rd novel and onwards.

Now I don’t know the characters introductions beyond the 5th novel, but I highly doubt that they have changed that much or if at all.

Katarina and Geordo are clearly marked as being equal in character importance – the Female Lead and the Male Lead.

Though, in the actual events of the story, Katarina is clearly the MAIN character while Geordo is just one of the many characters who is rotating around her.

Geordo is the first character who we truly meet in the story (excluding Katarina). Signifying his importance to the story as a whole.

Not only that, but he is only the first character introduced as a romantic interest

OG Katarina immediately falling for him

Geordo proposing to Katarina

Geordo and Katarina being engaged

As well as the first Doom Flag -

Katarina realizes she’s in the game of Fortune Lover because of Geordo’s name and the fact that their engagement story is the same as from the game. Because of that, we learn what that actually means for Katarina who is the villainess of the original story. Or at least, what she thinks it means.

Being a romantic interest and a doom flag is a character position solely unique to Geordo and Keith.

While every now and again, Katarina will bring up that Maria, Alan and or Nicol are potentially “dangerous” to her and thus people she needs to keep an eye on for her safety… in all honestly, they’re really not.

Honestly, it kind of feels like the author(s) forget that the other characters could hypothetically be a ‘threat’ to Katarina and remember it randomly at times, and thus just insert it into the story.

Geordo and Keith are the true “doom flags” for Katarina. And even in that regard, Geordo and Keith are treated somewhat differently from one another.

Geordo’s role as a doom flag, is given a lot more attention than Keith as a doom flag. Now Katarina will insure her “safety” by telling Keith that she will never stand in his way of him being in love with someone, but that’s about it, as the years go on.

Katarina practicing her magic and getting stronger in that field to avoid being killed by Keith, is basically dropped as soon as it’s mentioned. As Katarina’s magic is quickly established as being weak, no matter what she does. So, that aspect of the story is a bit forgotten as the story moves forward.

But really, I think that even Katarina realizes that Keith as a doom flag is basically a neutralized threat, because of their close sibling relationship.

Geordo on the other hand, is still treated as a Doom Flag. Essentially all of her plans of escaping her doom, are basically plans that focus on Geordo turning on her and how to escape him specifically. Her snakes and even her sword-fighting (which is brought up less than the snakes).

So, one of the main premises of the story - the romantic and comedic tension of Katarina thinking her love-interests are potential doom-interests for her – is largely dominated by Geordo and Katarina’s relationship with him.

Though Keith is a close second in that regard.

Rivalry

While everyone is a rival, Geordo and Keith are the two main rivals (especially in the Manga).

We see this with their constant passive aggressive fighting and commentary towards one another, as well as being essential and core elements to the whole Harem and its dynamic.

Now, depending on which medium your engaging with, there are very strong arguments for Maria, Mary, or Alan being a third main rival character or if not that, at least being at a higher level than the others.

Maria

Maria is the original MC from Fortune Lover and is essential to Katarina’s fate…or at least in Katarina’s mind she is. That alone separates her from the others Harem Members.

Maria is also marked a being different the the rest, by being the newcomer to the Harem, and her and Katarina’s relationship (friendship and more) is a factor to the overall story.

All of that marks her as being if not a main rival, then certainly higher than others.

Mary

Mary get in the thick of it as much as Geordo and Keith do (especially in the novels). She is a constant thorn and wrench to Geordo and everyone else, but mostly Geordo.

Alan

Alan, because of his character design and popularity among fans, he gets leveled up and is given more attention as the story continues to progress and the anime clearly cements him as a main rival.

As shown in Vol 5. Geordo is the main rival to everyone and they’re all separated into groups into what their roles are in regards to breaking Geordo and Katarina’s engagement up and keeping them apart.

While really for comedic sakes, Geordo being the biggest opponent to everyone does, to some degree, tell us about his chances with Katarina (or at least I think so).

Kiss Scenes (LIGHT NOVEL SPOILERS BELOW)

In Novels 1-5, there are essentially 8 kisses that Katarina receives from the other characters (on her hand to her lips).

Out of these kisses, Geordo is the partner 6 times. Out of these kisses there are 3 pictures, that while not depicting the kisses themselves, do depict the moment just before. All of those pictures depict Geordo’s kisses.

Hand Kiss – Geordo (Vol.1)

There is a picture depicting the overall proposal scene, but not Geordo kissing Katarina’s hand or him about to.

Neck Kiss – Geordo (Vol.1)

There is a picture of Geordo hugging Katarina as they dance, right before he kisses her, but I didn’t really think it counted.

Water Kiss – Geordo (Vol.2)

This is absolutely a kiss scene. You can debate whether it’s CPR or something else, but the way it’s treated in the context of the story - it’s a kiss scene. Simple as that.

Neck Kiss 2.0 – Sora (Vol.3)

No picture.

Retaliation Kiss – Geordo (Vol.3)

No picture.

Confession Kiss – Geordo (Vol.3)

Basically, Katarina realizes that Geordo has romantic feelings for her in this scene. While she initially thought his Retaliation Kiss was just a dream of hers, a dream she was very flustered by, she is now more than aware of what is happening.

Waking Up Kiss – Keith (Vol.4)

Keith wakes up from his own Dark Magic Coma (so to speak) and thinking Katarina is just a dream, he kisses her, much to the shock of Katarina.

No Picture.

Retaliation Kiss 2.0 – Geordo (Vol.4)

Upset that Keith kissed Katarina in the “Waking Up Kiss”, Geordo also kisses her.

This scene in particular, especiall with the picture, I think really cements Geordo as the one who Katarina will end up with.

Simply because, Keith just kissed Katarina and there was no picture depicting it even though it happened a few moments/pages ago, but yet Geordo’s kiss (or about to kiss) is depicted. So, to me, this seems very telling.

[Update] Originally I brought up how Nicol kissed Katarina in Vol.8 that also had a picture depicitng the scene...but that was inaccurate. There is no kiss scene between the two in that moment.

Any others, I have no idea about.

I’m just going to stick to the novels I have read up to this point.

So, let’s get to my main point. Out of the 8 Kisses Katarina receives, in Volumes 1-5. It’s very telling to me that Geordo is the one doing the kissing 6 out of the 8 times. Plus, in the the first 5 Volumes, the 3 kisses that are depicted are Geordo’s.

In Ch. 17.5 we have our first bonus chapter, which gives us a special look into Geordo’s feelings for Katarina. So far, Geordo is the only one who has received this treatment.

Now that doesn’t mean others won’t, but I personally think that chapter is very sweet and romantic, so given that it’s Geordo’s chapter is another point for him.

In case, you somehow didn’t know, I love Ch. 17.5

Finally given how the story was supposed to end at Vol 2.

It’s very interesting to me that the last chapter, is from Geordo’s POV. We get to see his view on their relationship and his feelings for Katarina, as well as the water kiss scene.

Geordo gives a brief summary of each of the characters. More importantly he thinks about how is not pleased that everyone else is in love with Katarina and how he might lose her, but he does admit that he’s okay with things staying like this for awhile longer.

Largely because Katarina is so happy.

I genuinely do think Geordo has the best shot of ending up with Katarina out of all the characters.

Now whether I think that because I ship him and Katarina or whether I ship Geordo x Katarina because I think he has the best chance is difficult to say. Probably both.

Thanks for the question! :)

#Katarina Claes #Geordo Stuart #Hamefura #Bakarina #Destruction Flag Otome #Otome Game No Hametsu Flag #Gerald Stuart #Catarina Claes #My Next Life as a Villainess #Anonymous

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bimboamyrose · 4 years ago

Text

Unfamiliar - A Metamy Fanfic (Ch. 9)

First two chapters

Previous (Ch.8)

Ch. 9: The Thing About Sunsets

Mid-morning that Sunday, Amy and Metal lounged crossed-legged on the couch. She ate cereal from her bowl absent-mindedly, more focused on the day ahead than her breakfast. Metal was enthralled with some cartoon violence on TV. Amy watched him idly, wondering how-or if- Metal would be introduced to the team. She didn’t want to force it, but leaving him out entirely seemed unwelcoming. As much as she’d enjoyed her week or so off, it was only a matter of time before they’d all have to spring back into action. Sonic was supposed to discuss something with everyone today, and she was just waiting for the call.

Noon was fast approaching as they watched TV, Amy only half paying attention. Annoyed, she decided to get up and make the call herself. They weren’t about to waste the day watching cartoons. Amy excused herself and made the call from her room.

On TV, piloted mechs battled one another in the vast expanse of space. Amy had flipped it on, figuring Metal would enjoy watching a pair of huge robots duke it out. That was entertaining enough, but Metal found himself more invested in the show’s drama. A romantic subplot followed two unwitting opposing pilots falling in love, only to confront one another in battle later. The climax found the two caught in the crosshairs until the soldier sacrificed himself for the rebel, turning against his own armed forces to protect her. It was almost ostentatious in its melodrama.

Illogical. Metal thought the soldier had plenty of opportunity to defend himself against his own team. Using his mech as a shield was played up for theatrics- his superior speed could have allowed them both to escape reasonably. Still, Metal could appreciate the character’s dramatic flair and supposed this could make the story more interesting down the line. He was eager to catch the next re-run the following Sunday.

The credits finished rolling and a few advertisements led into a cooking program. Not interesting. Metal flipped to the next channel to find an old black and white film playing. A gentleman escorted a lady out of her home, offering her his arm. She latched onto it as they walked across a promenade, the young lady chatting away as the man listened fondly. The scene reminded him of someone. He quickly flipped through a few channels as he heard Amy returning.

“Well, it looks like we’re not meeting until tomorrow. Guess we can do whatever we want this afternoon.” Amy leaned against the back of the couch over Metal’s shoulder. “Anything good on?” He shrugged, pausing on a nature documentary. The screen showed a grassy plane speckled with violet blossoms, towering trees in full bloom losing flowers to the wind. Amy sighed. “Those are jacaranda trees- the first bloom announces the beginning of summer. I hope the one here flowers soon.” She looked through to the other side of the small living room, out the glass door. She motioned to a tall hill that sprouted from the opposite side of the valley. “It’s up there, same place I like to watch the sunset. There’s a pretty cliffside that faces the ocean. Pain to get up there though- Well, not for you I guess.”

Metal followed her gaze outward. The hills were no longer blanketed in snow, small patches of green beginning to emerge. It was captivating, watching the landscape reshape itself through the glass door like a portal. It was only a few days ago they were trekking through muddy snow, but now, the palms stood proudly upright and the sun dried sand glistened gently at midday. And although the days were tepid, evenings were still too chilly to find Amy outside without a coat or blanket, who wasn’t the most cold-resistant. The scenery changed daily but still looked recognizable. He wondered how it would appear in a few months, and if he’d stick around to see it. Metal wanted to see all of it before it changed any more.

He stretched as he stood up from the couch. Amy grinned, amused at the thought that Metal would feel stiff when his entire body was rigid. But he had seen her do it and she noticed him mimicking her from time to time; She found it cute.

He looked to her, pointing a thumb toward the back door. Amy frowned. “You wanna go now? It’s still too cold up there,” she reasoned. He placed a fist on his hip disapprovingly and cocked his head to one side. “No way, I’ve had enough of this never-ending winter. You go ahead, I had something I wanted to get done today, anyway.” Metal shrugged back at her, rolling his eyes. She waved him off, ignoring his sassy response in favor of picking up around the couch by rearranging throw pillows and fluffing cushions. He silently wished for the weather to get warmer.

“Have fun exploring. It’s nice when you can fly,” she chuckled as she took her empty cereal bowl to the kitchen. “I’ll be here when you get back.” Not easily deterred, Metal accepted her proposal to go alone and waved to her on his way out. Amy paused her bustling and looked around the threshold of the kitchen to him as he slid the door aside. “Metal, promise you won’t watch the sunset without me, okay?”

The whirring of Metal’s engine intensified as a sudden alarmed sensation overtook him. That’s right, she’d promised to take him to watch the sunset- he didn’t want to disappoint her. But why did the thought of watching together make him so nervous? Amy was giving him a strange look now. He found himself staring back at her for longer than was conformable, trying to come up with an appropriate response. Shooting her a thumbs-up was all he could come up with.

“Aha… Okay, well, take care,” she said before turning back to her dishes.

Metal hurried out the door, practically shooting into the sky. There was nothing out of the ordinary about that interaction, so, why did he feel so embarrassed? Perhaps it was because he wanted to express that he found Amy so much more interesting to watch than a setting sun.

He shook his head furiously, pushing the thought away. The world was at his feet, there was nature to explore. Whether he’d experienced much of it before his memory loss, Metal didn’t know, but it beckoned him now. He turned his head toward the spot Amy had pointed out earlier. Still wanting a preview, he decided to take a look up there later- before the sun began setting. Embarrassment. What a useless emotion.

There was a lot to see. Amy’s house was on a small private beach surrounded by hills big and small, some speckled with little hillside homes. A larger mountain loomed behind it all. The beach was just one of many valleys, a few of which were untouched by anything but the local fauna. They boasted little thickets of trees or small ponds. Metal spent most of the afternoon ducking in and out of wooded areas and up rocky hillsides. Grass was just starting to sprout everywhere he looked, slowly overtaking the rotted leaves littered across the ground from last autumn. He was surprised to find a clearing bursting with wild tulips that he examined for some time. Metal thought about bringing some back to Amy’s house, just as a souvenir. He then spent the better part of an hour picking only a few of the most perfect buds, the ones with the tallest stems and most symmetrical petals.

As his shadow grew long and Metal became satisfied with his very uniform bouquet, he decided it was time to head back home- that is, back to Amy’s home. But he was interested in taking a look at the spot she had pointed out to him. If that tree could really announce warmer weather, he was curious as to how long it would be before it bloomed. He flew, finding the rolling cliffside Amy had described- a long, flat strip of land overlooking the western coastline. A single mature tree sat atop it.

Metal lowered himself down near the edge of the cliff. The low sun was radiating brightly, reflecting off the glistening ocean. It wasn’t quite ready to hit the horizon, but the view was still breathtaking. He didn’t have long to appreciate it before a rustling behind him caused him to turn his attention abruptly, however.

“I never could sneak up on you.”

Sonic hung off a low branch from the tree confidently. He looked a lot less aggravated than when he’d stopped by the day before. Metal now understood Sonic’s violent response, but it didn’t seem to make him any more tolerant of the hedgehog. Enemy flashed in his head like a siren.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to fight.” Sonic landed, taking steps towards Metal. The latter didn’t move. “Gotta say, I didn’t expect you to be the type to be a nature lover.” He stopped a few feet from Metal, not far from the cliff’s edge. “Did you come to watch the sunset?” Metal didn’t respond, instead turning away from him and starting in the direction of the jacaranda tree. Sonic noticed the tulips he was clutching in one hand. “Those for Amy?” he teased.

Metal’s head whipped back around to glare at him. Sonic didn’t return the stare, instead looking unimpressed. “You know, you can see Amy’s place from the other side of this cliff.” Metal remained still. “I’ve been watching you. You guys talked all night- well, Amy did all the talking,” he snickered. “I gotta say, you’re full of surprises.”

Sonic was being a nuisance. Metal had no desire to stick around to be mocked. So, he continued on his way across the cliff.

“Me and you’ve been fighting for a long time, Metal. It’s weird seeing you on the same side.”

Metal stopped just next to the tree. It was the greenest thing he’d seen all day, as if it had never shed it leaves to begin with. He touched the trunk with his free hand, examining the leaves and branches. No vibrant purple flowers to be seen. It was still early in spring, after all. And Amy was right- it was much colder up here than on the beach.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw you at Amy’s house yesterday.” Sonic took a few steps back toward Metal. “But you know what, I’m glad you’re becoming friends. She’s a great pal; sees the good in everyone. Even you.”

Even him. This implied that there was something deeply wrong with Metal, as if he was exceptionally heinous. What little he remembered of his past and his master was from the day he met Amy. It wasn’t a lot, but nevertheless impactful. He recalled a heavy sense of subjugation, a governing influence over his body and mind that he could do little to control. But could he really blame it all on that?

Sonic was in front of him now, arms crossed seriously. “For her sake, I really hope you’re not here to take advantage of that.”

Metal felt the cracked bark under his palm. Rough and slightly jagged. Given that Amy wouldn’t be happy if Metal lashed out, he had to focus on something to keep from shutting up his irksome rival by force. Even if he could express his genuine feelings to Sonic, Metal found it unlikely that he’d believe them. He turned his body toward Sonic, meeting his eyes. Instead of going for his throat, Metal placed a hand on his hip and bobbed his head around mockingly. Sonic didn’t seem to find it amusing.

“Cute,” he responded sarcastically. “All I’m saying is, this better not be an act.”

Metal’s eyes rolled dramatically. He held the tulips out in the direction of Amy’s house, as if to suggest he had somewhere better to be.

Sonic sighed in frustration. Metal was pleased that he seemed as annoyed as he was. “I’ve been looking out for Amy since we met. If you’re gonna be her friend, you better be willing to do the same. You know, maybe cover up those knife-hands of yours,” he smirked.

Annoying. Metal amended his memory file. He figured he might as well cross out enemy and see if it made him want to punch Sonic any less. He logged a photo of Sonic’s smug look before walking past him towards the cliff’s east side. The sun was beginning to touch the horizon Metal didn’t want to break his promise.

“Bring her up here some time. Amy likes to watch the sunset.”

Sonic sounded genuine that time. Metal didn’t bother responding, taking off from the cliffside and making his way down toward the beachy valley. Sonic watched him over his shoulder. Maybe there was something to Amy’s plan.

The sky was yellowing as he landed, the last rays of golden hour illuminating the little cabin warmly. Metal could spot Amy sitting at the dining table through the back door. She was tinkering with something, her full attention focused on whatever was in her hands. He watched her for a moment.

Amy noticed the light rapidly declining and looked up from her work. She was hand-sewing when she realized Metal was home. Waving to him, she quickly put her project away in her sewing box. Metal then pretended to look around as if he wasn’t just staring at her. Bemused, she hurried over to open the back door. “Metal! I was beginning to worry you were enjoying the sunset without me,” she laughed. “Come in. Oh, it’s chilly out.”

She quickly ducked back inside as Metal sauntered through, sliding the glass closed behind him. Amy was picking up loose threads and pins from the tabletop. “Did you have fun? You were gone longer than I expected.”

The nervousness that had overtaken Metal that morning suddenly returned as he made his way to hand Amy the flowers. They were admittedly rather windswept and didn’t look as lively as when he’d picked them. He worried she would find them ugly, but he couldn’t just get rid of them now. She was turning back to him already. Panicking, Metal brandished the bouquet high above him as if proudly holding a trophy.

Amy’s face brightened. “Oh! How lovely. Let me get you a vase for your tulips.”

His tulips. As she walked past him to search a low cupboard, Metal felt somewhat disheartened. He wouldn’t admit to himself that he planned on gifting them to his host, but he felt cheated now that he hadn’t. She placed a tall fluted vase on the countertop from the other side of the kitchen. “Here, I’ll trim them for you.” Metal delivered them to her, and she took them in both hands, supporting the bulbs in one. That was probably the proper way to handle the delicate flowers, he thought.

Metal sat himself at the counter as Amy trimmed and arranged the bouquet. She filled the vase with chilled water from a pitcher to keep them fresh. Leaning over the counter, she sighed. “These really brighten up the place.” She turned to him. “You know, tulips are some of the first flowers to grow in the spring. They come out when the ground is still snowy. They represent new beginnings.” Amy giggled, her cheeks coloring slightly. “I think it’s really fitting.”

New beginnings. They were certainly suited to the occasion. Metal supposed it really did make it his arrangement, but there was no reason he couldn’t share. He reached for the flower that looked the most aesthetically pleasing to him, a sunny yellow bulb with gently curving petals. Picking it from the arrangement, he quickly placed it behind Amy’s ear. She looked rather bemused at his unexpected playfulness for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“For me? Thank you,” she giggled, adjusting it to sit more comfortably. “I love yellow- it’s so cheery!” She made her way around to give him a hug from behind. Metal’s engine buzzed. He wasn’t sure if it was due to excitement or panic.

She pulled away, looking back through the glass door. He joined her in watching. The sky was a hybrid of sunny yellow and romantic pink. Amy leaned on the back of Metal’s chair, enchanted by the dreamy colors. “I see it pretty much every day but it never stops being pretty, you know? I guess that’s the thing about sunsets.”

Metal gazed on with her. He had grown to enjoy the daily event, never ceasing to be entertained by the brightly painted sky. It gave him a sense of calm that seemed to cure even the peculiar excitement he kept feeling around Amy. Still, he lamented that she was standing behind him and he was unable to watch the dreamy smile she wore whenever she sighed over something she found lovely. But it happened every day, after all. The opportunities were endless.

.........................................................................................................

hi babes, not much to day just wanted something cute for a lil transition. besos

#metamy #metal sonic x amy rose #metal sonic #amy rose #sth #sonic fanfiction #unfamiliar #ch 9 #*listening to bel air by lana del rey for the romantic feels*

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