#okay if there’s nothing wrong then I can only fall back to the now seemingly reasonable conclusion that I am simply cursed

[mostly-imagines]

The Venus Drug

jason todd x afab!reader

aka the side effects of a run-in with poison ivy

warnings: explicit sexual content (18+), sex pollen so its inherently not strictly speaking consensual, oral (f & m receiving), free use, overstimulation

A clattering in your living room has you blearily shifting awake. The dark of your bedroom takes your eyes longer to adjust to than usual, it feels like. You peer at the time, finding it only just past midnight. Even on the good nights, midnight is pretty early for him to be coming back. 

Though, there’s really little concern of the noise-maker being anyone but your boyfriend, he’s set up too many security measures and failsafes around your apartment for anyone to get lucky waltzing in. It does worry you though that he is making such a clamor when he’s usually so careful about entering silently as to not wake you. 

You’re about to climb out of bed to investigate when the door creaks open, though light doesn’t flood through the crack like you’d expected.

Jason stumbles into the doorway, falling into a lean against the wall for support.

You sit up quickly, instantly on alert. “What’s wrong?”

He takes one glance at you and immediately averts his gaze to the floor like he saw something he wasn’t supposed to.

You look down, thrown by his behavior, only to see your usual nighttime attire: one of his shirts over underwear.

You blink back up at him, furrowing your brow. “Jay?”

You can vaguely make out a sigh from him, “Fuck…” he squeezes his eyes shut. “Ivy..”

Ah. This has happened before to the others, but this is the first time you’ve seen him affected by it. You’re prepared for it, though you hadn’t anticipated that it would be so seemingly debilitating.

“What can I do?” You try not to look as concerned as you feel but you can’t say with confidence that it’s working.

He slowly pushes himself off the doorframe, heading wearily towards the bathroom. He tugs his shirt off with difficulty, tossing it to the side. “Nothing, nothing..I jus’ need to…” he takes a deep breath, “Get it out of my system..” He’s trying to be comforting but the pain in his voice rids it of all believability.

You frown, watching him linger. “That seems like the exact kind of thing I could help with.”

His eyes close helplessly as his head falls back, “You can’t, baby.”

“Why not?”

He sighs, “I’m not…as in control as I’d like to be right now.”

Your pout deepens. This is something you’re working on with him—trusting both you and himself with vulnerability. Especially when it comes to situations where he feels like he’s putting you in a vulnerable place too. But you trust him with your whole being and you want him to know it. “That’s okay.”

“No,” he shakes his head vehemently. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” you say resolutely. “I trust you.”

He wavers, “No, I…No. I can’t.”

He says that, but he’s still not retreating to the bathroom. Instead, he loiters awkwardly, like he’s caught between decisions.

You feel a twinge of heartache in your chest, “Does it hurt?”

He’s quick to answer, “I’m alright.” Though he doesn’t try his hardest to sell you on the idea. 

Your face pans, “That’s not what I asked.”

“I—” he huffs, conceding. “Yeah. Yes.”

You extend your arms out, beckoning him towards you. It clearly goes against his better judgment but he can’t help himself from moving closer to you. An evident testament to the strength of Ivy’s work.

You take his hands in yours, looking up at him with begging eyes, “Let me help you? Please?”

Up close like this you can really see how labored his breathing is and how pained he looks. You sit up onto your knees, pulling his hands closer. “I wanna take care of you. Let me help my boy out. He deserves it.”

He steels his jaw, trying to replenish his rapidly weakening resolve. He exhales heavily before grabbing your chin, eyes serious. “Look at me,” he says sternly. “You stop me if I’m too rough.”

You nod adamantly, “I will.”

You fidget with the loop of his belt, waiting for permission. 

He squeezes your hands slowly, head bowing. “Help me, sweetheart.”

You’re instantly up on your feet, maneuvering him to switch places with you and sit down on the bed. You kneel down in front of him, undoing the clasp on his belt.

You tug his belt off, letting it clatter on the floor before freeing him the rest of the way. To your surprise, his eyes remain on you rather than your actions. He brushes your hair out of your face haphazardly, murmuring, “Pretty fucking girl..”

You keen at his words, fighting the urge to pause and rub up against him. Instead, you busy yourself and lick a line up his cock, immediately feeling his body stutter. You lick another stripe, this time adding a kiss afterwards.

His hands squeeze at the comforter under him, “Baby, please.”

You give a short nod before taking him in your mouth completely. He groans like it’s automatic, body practically vibrating in place. You rest your hands over his and he’s quick to turn his own over to hold onto yours.

It only works as a momentary distraction, as one of his hands leaves your grasp to move your hair from blocking his view again, petting your head nicely as you suck him off. “Oh, good girl. My good girl.”

He babbles when he gets overwhelmed during sex, though it doesn’t happen often. And especially not like this.

“Fucking—” he stammers, “God, you’re so—”

Frankly, the image of you on your knees in front of him, so willing and eager to help him out…it’s killing him. He’s putting absolutely all of his remaining restraint into not taking over and fucking your mouth the way he wants to—and it shows—so you’re doing your best to take as much of him in your mouth as you can and using your hand to compensate for the rest.

His head bobs back as his hand falls to a rest atop your head. His breathing is deep and heavy and you can see the way his abs flex through his restraint. His hand briefly fists up before stuttering back to lay open-palmed on your head.

“Oh, baby—” he lets out a gravelly moan and his arms nearly give out from holding him up as he comes.

You happily collect it on your tongue and he audibly groans when you swallow.

He’s quick to pull you up off the floor and place you on the bed so he can clamor over you. You fall back to have your arms hold you up as he finds your lips. 

“Take your shirt off,” he tells you breathlessly. “Please.”

You oblige without hesitation as he kisses and gropes along your torso. You don’t realize what he’s doing until he’s at face level with your underwear, fingers dipping under the band.

You sit up onto your hands, “Jay, you don’t have to—”

He shakes his head, “‘M not gonna hurt you,” he mumbles, very adamant. “Not doin’ it.”

It’s been a long running personal requirement for Jason to thoroughly prep you in some way before fucking you, and he’s right for it—you would definitely get hurt if he didn’t.

You feel conflicted about it now though, like it’s not fair of you to let him pay such mind to you when he’s quite literally in unprecedented pain.

But he slips your underwear down without hesitation, not wasting any time in getting to work. He doesn’t start with his usual teasing and build-up, instead he goes straight into licking at your core, eyes closed and strands of white hair stuck to his forehead. 

He hooks one hand around your knee and the other wraps around your thigh, pulling you closer. He used the newfound proximity to lap at you with more concentration and purpose, quite literally devouring you. You struggle to keep your breathing in tune with the rest of your body, not having been prepared for so much so quickly.

He’s eating you out like it’s the only thing keeping him alive, not giving himself any time to breathe or even think about anything else. You’re about to push him away so that he’ll take a breath or two when he moans into your cunt, instantly veering your brain straight off course.

He breaks from licking your pussy only to change course in favor of sucking on your clit, leaving open-mouthed kisses every few seconds. You thread your fingers through his hair, trying to soothe him as best you can.

This is a new experience for both of you in terms of intensity and desperation and it has you feeling like you were injected with the same toxin he was. It throws you so completely out of your senses that you don’t even notice that he’s rutting into the bed as he kisses you. Though, odds are he doesn’t realize he’s doing it either.

His grip on you tightens as he gets more fervent, the dig from the indents of his fingers promising to bruise. His eyes flutter as he makes out with your pussy, little mewls making their way through periodically.

“Jay—” you cry, tugging harder than you’d meant to on his hair. He hums in response, letting you know that he’s here, he’s with you, he’ll take care of you. 

Even high out of his mind he can still read you like a book, and can tell that you’re nearing your peak. He gets meditated and precise with his actions, leading you right up to the edge. You whimper again and he begins to rut harder.

It takes only a few moments of this repetition for you to briefly tense up before you start to tremble, heat flooding through your body. The saccharine new taste of your cum motivates him to reach his own end, moaning into you and sending a second wave of rapture over you.

You exhale heavily as his forehead drops against your stomach, catching his breath. It doesn’t take him very long. 

You can just start to realize the persistent trembling in your thighs when he licks another stripe down your pussy. You whine, sitting up on your elbows and squirming higher up on the bed.

He pulls back murmuring, “Sorry.” He kisses the inside of your thigh, “Sorry.”

You watch as he pushes up on his forearms to look at you proper, seeming almost dizzy. “I need..I need…” his shoulders drop. “Please.”

You just nod, giving him permission to do whatever he needs. 

He pulls you up by the waist and tugs you into him as close as he can, kissing you hard. You move to hold his jaw in your hands, stroking your thumb across lightly. He leans you backwards to lay you down flat, head just below the pillows. He folds over you easily, kisses becoming less and less intentional in placement as his hands stroke and squeeze up your sides. 

He pulls away only to glance down as he lines himself up with you, pushing in slowly. He peers back up at your face as he does, watching carefully to make sure it doesn’t hurt.

You hold onto his shoulders as you take him, the stretch feeling significant but familiar.

He kisses your cheek once he’s fully inside and begins to rock in and out of you slowly. The pace picks up quickly as he continues to makeout with you.

A particularly intense thrust has you wrapping your arms fully around the frame of his shoulders, hugging him close to you. He immerses himself in the crook of your neck, fucking you with deeper and more punctuated strokes than you can remember.

“Jay,” you gasp as he places firm kisses across your jaw like he’s trying to hammer it into your head that he fucking loves you.

His thrusts gradually get faster and while it’s perfectly overwhelming for you, it doesn’t seem to be enough for him. 

He huffs before pulling out of you without warning. He untangles your arms from around him so he can flip you over to lay on your stomach. He pulls you back up just as quickly, arm wrapped around your torso, leaving you to hold yourself up by your hands and knees as he kisses on your neck messily.

This time when he reenters you he continues on with his previous pace, taking you by surprise once again. Your mouth is practically hanging open as he ruts into you, successfully sending your thoughts straight out of your head.

He lays kisses down your spine murmuring, “I love you.” He moves in and out of you without falter, “Thank you, thank you..”

His hands hold your waist in place, keeping you steady for both of your sakes. Multiple times his grip tightens only to loosen the second he realizes how hard he’s squeezing you. You don’t mind though, you’ve never had any trouble revering marks left behind by him before. 

“It’s—” you pant, “It’s okay—” you reach back to put your hand over his, pressing down.

His brash hold returns upon the permission, more assured. “Good girl, good—” he praises, “So fucking good for me, baby.”

He reaches around and dips his free hand below your hips, beginning to rub circles on your clit.

Your arms shake and you worry that they’re nearing buckling, but, attuned with you as ever, his arm wraps tighter around your middle, pulling you up a bit higher so that you barely have to mind any of the work of holding yourself up.

He makes sure to support your weight nicely, holding you in a way that he knows won’t be uncomfortable for you. His circles never cease, never falter from that just right pace he’s come to know like the back of his hand.

You’re brought to your high by the arrival of his, struggling to keep your head upright as you come.

He thumps down over to the side to lay on his back, chest heaving. You pick up your head to look over at him, finding that he doesn’t look nearly as exhausted as you’re sure you do. Still, he breathes heavy, pupils blown out and sweaty.

You notice how his fists clinch up and loosen a couple times over, trying to convince himself that he’s done, he doesn’t need any more from you, he’s all better now. 

But you also notice that he’s still hard. His eyes are fixed on the ceiling, dead set on not looking at you and having to confront that he really, really does still need you.

So you force yourself to sit up, placing a hand on his chest for balance. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to relax for your sake but that’s the last thing you want him to do.

You push yourself up and over his waist, perching over his abs and brushing his hair back from his forehead. You press a kiss to his head before sitting up on your knees and reaching down to line his cock up with your entrance.

You plant a hand on his chest as you sink down onto him with a deep breath.

“You’re okay,” he rasps, watching in mesmerization as you start to lift your weight up slowly off of your thighs and sink back down.

“I’m okay,” you confirm, guiding his hands to your hips. The presence of his hands on you feels like reassurance and works wonders to help you pick back up some of your energy.

The pace you latch onto feels good, for both of you, but you realize fairly quickly that you’re not going to be able to go as fast as he needs you to.

His hands slip down from your hips to your upper thighs, helping you bob up and down. It doesn’t take long for this to give way to him grabbing your hips and moving you entirely himself.

You watch his arm muscles flex as he shifts you around, leaving you awed with the way he shows virtually no struggle while shifting the majority of your body weight up and down over and over again. Just being completely manhandled by him has you letting out an involuntary moan, letting your head fall back.

“There you go, there you go,” he coos, motions without cessation.

He has you riding him faster than you ever have before and it becomes overwhelming quickly. But Jason, ever the caretaker, coaches you through it, encouraging your every movement.

“That’s my girl,” he groans, watching the way your breasts bounce. “Perfect fucking thing.”

The acclaim in his voice makes your eyes shut and your diaphragm shake, all while he continues to fuck you senseless. 

Your body stutters above him, hands flying onto his for support. He comes only moments later, seemingly the only thing that could break his concentration for ragdolling you. The following release of your hips has you slumping over onto his chest, face laying in the bend of his neck.

He turns his head wearily to you, rubbing a hand up your back. “‘R you okay?” he slurs out.

You hum feebly, eyes unable to stay open.

“Can I…?” It takes hearing the words for you to realize that somehow he’s still hard.

You try to nod hard enough that it can be distinguished against the heaviness of your breathing, though you can’t be sure you were successful.

He sighs, “Baby…”

His hangup is immediately clear to you, even through the haze of being post-three orgasms in less than thirty minutes. It takes real, measurable effort to get this singular word through, but you manage.

“Yes,” you breathe out. A ‘yes’ is going to have to work for him because you don’t have a shot at stringing together anymore syllables.

He places a gentle hand on the back of your head, his other landing on your lower back. He slowly starts to fuck you again, this time much softer than before. It’s calm enough that you can settle into the fatigue in your bones and start to feel the exhaustion sweep over your consciousness.

In between kisses laid sweetly upon your neck, He murmurs affections to you the whole time, though you lose almost all of them to sleep. He moves you around a bit more as he goes, though careful to be gentle enough that he doesn’t disturb your peace anymore than he has to.

By the time he’s done he’s bordering on completely out of it and can’t do anything but collapse atop you, nuzzling into your neck.

There’s a pretty consistent pattern that can be found when helping him deal with post-patrol aftermath. Scarecrow’s never any good, his pop-ups tend to end in winding Jason down from panic. There’s always injuries after Bane and invariably there’ll be a mess from Clayface. Half the time he has to get an entirely new suit after a run-in with Killer Croc. So as far as Gotham’s problems go, Poison Ivy isn’t the worst. 

the morning after epilogue

✨ oh you don’t reblog? that’s…no, that’s totally fine for you! im so happy for you…i mean its just been out of fashion for like three seasons but yeah, that shows a lot of…confidence! ✨

[kavehayati]

🤨

[quitesins]

Non Mc! Reader & Mentor!Rafayel [Sfw]

Thinking of writing a fic where you’re a young artist who gets sort of mentored taken in by Rafayel, years before he reunites with Mc. You spend almost every day with him, learning new skills both in and outside of art. You’re still young and timid, but Rafayel’s penchant for never pulling his words, forces you to match his energy. He makes you honest. You’re trying new things, going new places, comfortable in relying on Rafayel to keep you confident. Despite all the back and forth, the sass that isn’t spared on you, you find it’s far too easy to fall in love with him.

And for the most part it’s also easy to keep that part of your heart secret.

Until he meets Mc. You’ve heard of her in passing and you knew the day would come. What you didn’t expect is for your daily meetings to lessen, gallery trips missed and the art events reserved for you, now for a girl you can’t even seem to hate.

She’s too nice. You can see exactly why she holds Rafayel’s heart entirely. That’s why you decide to protect your own, no longer trying for Rafayel’s company or attention and even turning him down the rare moments he reaches out first.

You think it’ll be fine but Rafayel isn’t stupid. You’re his friend, and he knows something is up. Unfortunately the both of you are as tense as each other because the conversation he hopes to go smoothly, ends up a awful, angry argument. One that when you try to leave, has him grabbing your arm on instinct. Rafayel is just as shocked as you, instantly pulling back like he’d been burned. But it’s enough of a scare that you don’t say another word, practically running out of his place. He doesn’t chase after you, a deep set guilt keeping him anchored and a bubbling heat in his hands that he hasn’t yet understood.

He doesn’t see you again. For a while he doesn’t talk of you either. He doesn’t see you around Linkon, your place, he swears he was passing on accident, seemingly vacant. The egregiously painted pots the two of you once made, no longer displayed proudly on your door step. Only in secret guilt filled moments does he think of you, but never feeling enough to reach out.

When he does mention your name, it’s been years and somehow Thomas’s casual nostalgia feels wrong. It’s like you were just some fleeting figure, not a friend he once upon a time deeply cared and even felt responsible for. But there’s nothing more he can do. You aren’t his responsibility, you maybe never were. And there’s no reason to seek you out now.

So it’s his surprise when he does find you. Two cities over, he almost thinks his eyes are playing tricks on him. Your hair has changed a bit, and you’ve definitely grown— into yourself, a proper adult now. There’s a simmering pride within him, watching how the shy thing he once gave security to, now struts around on her own without the need for him to keep you balanced.

But there’s confusion too. He wonders why you aren’t an artist anymore. Your name is never said amongst his industry peers, and even if it changed, he’d recognise your style in a heartbeat. You were so close to being great, how could you give it up so easily.

He thinks to ask why, but as he approaches, it takes one look at your hand, the healed skin from a burn that could only be his, for him to come to the horrible realisation himself.

A/n: fa me it would be purely platonic on his end, I loveeee unrequited love, but I also want to see rafayel feel guilty so it’d be over him being a shit friend… also also for some reason the idea of Rafayel unintentionally taking on a nurturing protective role is sooo interesting to me and I’d loveee to explore it…

Guys if this is ooc it’s okay because I can imagine anything 🫡

[jee-bus]

Migraines - Aizawa X Reader blurb

Hello again! You all voted in the poll for this, so I deliver. Just domestic life fluff, the slightest most barely mention of sex and even then it's like nothing even if you squint, GN!reader.

I hope you enjoy! If you liked this, consider buying me a Coffee =] - Ko-fi.com/marley_offline_23

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Work was rough, training was rough, the entire day has been rough. 

The dark haired man had woken up with a minor headache that had gotten progressively worse throughout the day. It didn't help that seemingly everyone in his life was loud and reckless and had a penchant for annoying him with whatever easily solvable issues they currently had! 

Well… except one person… but they were currently at work and not wrapped up in bed with him while he did his best to ignore any and all sounds.

Aizawa let out a low groan and wrapped his blanket around himself tighter, as if that would help with the banging and pulsing that was happening inside of his head. The aspirin he had taken earlier was doing nothing to help.

The man didn't know how much time had passed from him getting home to now, all he was really aware of was the blistering, thundering pain in his head. But when he vaguely heard the front door open and a light voice saying hello to the cat, he was sure it had been at least an hour.

"Sho?" Your sweet voice called out, "I'm home! I also picked up some dinner, you didn't respond to my text so I assumed we weren't going to cook anything tonight." Had you texted him? He hadn't looked at his phone, the bright screen made his head worse. 

The smell of dumplings and miso soup wafted through the air as you made your way through the apartment, his stomach curled at the smell. 

"Shota..?" You slowly opened the bedroom door, then quickly shut it when you saw your husband, "What's wrong, love? Are you okay?" Aizawa was grateful that you spoke in hushed whispers.

Instead of responding, the man just groaned and vaguely gestured to his head. His partner seemed to get the hint, though. 

Smiling, they walked over and sat the food on the bedside table before seating themselves at the edge of the bed, placing a comforting hand on the man's forehead. "Have you taken anything?"

Aizawa nodded, leaning into their cool touch, "S'not doing much." He muttered out, grabbing your arm and tugging you into bed with him. 

"Sho!" You yelped out, before quickly throwing a hand over your mouth and giving the man an apologetic look, "Shota. I have to put the food away, change out of my day clothes, clean up a bit—"

The man cut you off by placing a thumb over your lips, his hand enveloping the right side of your face, before pulling you in for a kiss. Slow, full of want. Aizawa was more than ready to give in, wanting anything to take his mind off of his migraine, craving you as the perfect medicine. 

One hand slid from your face to the back of your neck as the other traced your hip, stopping only to squeeze the plush spots. Though the motion slightly hurt his head, he rolled you two over so that his form was braced on top of yours. 

Lost in the moment, your hands trailed up his chest and then into his hair. Silky waves curled between your fingers, and when Aizawa moved from your mouth to your neck, you gasped and gave a slight tug. 

Which made the man groan in pain. 

Which made you stop and realize just how you ended up beneath him in the first place. 

"Sho, you need rest." You put your hands on the side of his face and made him look at you. 

Again, he just let out something between a groan and a sigh and all but collapsed on top of you, his muscular frame encasing yours, once again burying his face in your neck as you rubbed his back.

Before you could interrupt his attempt at falling asleep with the reminder of your dinner that was currently on the bedside table, he spoke.

"Don't worry about it. I can practically hear you thinking." You chuckled and kissed his forehead.

"Fine. Just try to sleep." 

"Way ahead of you." He pulled the blanket up around the both of you, his head already feeling better than before.

[apollodarling-writes]

Hii, can i please ask for some fluff and comfort for Suzuya Juuzou (from Tokyo Ghoul) with a ghoul reader?

cws ; dissociation, hurt/comfort, trauma implications, established relationship, possibly ooc juuzo — it’s been like three years since i’ve watched tokyo ghoul, spoilers!!! , kind of short?

when juuzo showed up at your doorstep without so much as a text, you knew something was wrong. you could see it in the way his eyes were unfocused and red-rimmed, in the slight tremble of his hands, and the way his bottom lip quivered when he tore his gaze from the floor to meet yours. it was a drastic change from his usual bubbly and eccentric demeanor, and it worried you to see him in such a state.

your boyfriend had shown up clad in CCG gear, his knuckles white from the effort of holding onto his quinque, and based on the state of his appearance, you could only assume that he had one hell of an evening.

as juuzo met your gaze, a fire had been ignited. his features twisted into anger and grief, his lips curling back into a cruel snarl as he pointed the quinque at you. “if ghouls didn’t exist, then… shinohara-san would be okay, right?” he asks, his voice oddly calm despite the emotion swirling in his gaze.

your voice dies in your throat as you watch juuzo tilt his head at you, the sharp end of his quinque digging into the meat of your chest. your throat constricts, tears bubbling at your lashline as you open your mouth to speak.

“ghouls are abominations. all they know to do is take. just like that ghoul was going to take shinohara-san from me.” he murmurs, interrupting you as his weapon falls limp at his side.

you can’t bring yourself to do anything but nod, opening your door further as you gesture for your distraught lover to come inside. a flicker of recognition passes through juuzo’s gaze as he peers into your apartment, a picture frame of your first date with him catching his attention. he swallows thickly, his trembling fingers gently reaching out to wipe away your tears.

that leaves you here, with a cold cup of tea on your coffee table and juuzo in your arms. he refused to talk about what happened earlier that night, but now that the sun had risen and he was seemingly out of tears to shed, the young man finally speaks up.

“i’m sorry,” he mumbles, his voice hoarse and cracking. juuzo’s fingers idly toy with the hem of your shirt as he takes a deep breath. “i was so angry that i…“

juuzo’s voice trails off, his arms snaking around your midsection as he rests his head on your chest again. he doesn’t say anything more than that, simply opting to listen to the steady beat of your heart.

“you don’t have to talk about anything until you’re ready, juu.” you murmur, you fingers threading through his hair. you could piece two and two together — a mission went wrong and shinohara was hurt as a result. you knew how special that man was to juuzo, and you could understand why he was so upset.

juuzo quietly hums in response, his cold fingers reaching beneath your shirt to soak up the warmth your skin provided. as you gaze down at him, you recognize the way his eyes seemed unfocused — staring at everything and soaking in nothing. oh, juuzo.

you press a gentle kiss to the crown of his head, feeling the way his breath shudders and a shiver wracks down his spine, his arms tightening around you as if you would disappear too.

“i love you, juu.” you whisper, unsure of what else to say. juuzo’s throat bobs as he swallows, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

“i love you too.”

[axelsagewrites]

Felix Catton*Period Pains

Pairing: Felix Catton x afab! reader

Word count: 1322

Warnings: periods, period pain, mentions of drinking, pure fluff

Masterlist Here

There were few things worse than waking up at 7am for a lecture, rolling out of bed and seeing the blood stain on the sheets. The brief relief of getting your period was quickly swept away when the first cramp hit. You managed to get through your classes with a few pills and the promise of your hot water bottle in your dorm.

During your lecture you felt your phone buzz and sneaked a glance only to see Felix had messaged the group chat with plans to go out for the night. You weren’t exactly sure how you managed to join his and Farleigh’s drinking gang, but you were always down to have a pint with them at the end of a long day.

But today even just reading the text made you tired. Instead of replying you slipped your phone back into your pocket and tried your best not to fall out your seat and writhe in pain.

-

You’d seen in the chats they’d planned on meeting at seven. When the time ticked around and your friends were all out downing their first drinks you were laying in bed instead with 2 hot water bottles, a jumbo bar of chocolate. At 7. 15 your phone buzzed again with a text from Felix.

Felix – You running late?

You – sorry I can’t make it. I don’t feel great

You really thought that was that and unpaused mean girls so you could see who had been personally victimised by Regina George. However just as Regina got hit by the bus there was a knock on your door.

You shut your laptop and paused for a second to see if they’d walk away but another knock came, and you were forced to drag yourself out of bed with a loud groan. “What-oh” you paused as you opened the door to a concerned looking Felix, “Hi? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I was just worried about you. You never miss a night out, so I thought I’d come check on you. I’m sorry I can go if this is weird,” he said, his voice trailing off with a flush growing on his cheeks.

You’d never seen Felix nervous before, but it was an oddly cute sight. “No don’t be sorry. Its sweet really,”

“You don’t look sick,” he said, and it was at that moment you actually remembered how you looked.

Yes, the well-dressed incredibly cute aristocrat was now seeing you in your baggy pyjamas, bare faced, messy haired, with cow slippers on. It didn’t help that he was dressed up in a shirt and everything. “I’m not sick,”

“Then what’s wrong?” You paused, an awkward look accidentally washing over your face. Felix quirked an eyebrow before looking behind you and seeing your snack pile and hot water bottles on the bed, plus the one you still held in your hand. “Oh,” he said, realisation dawning on his face, “Do you need me to go pick you anything up?”

“Um no I’m alright,” you laughed though still feeling slightly awkward about it all, but Felix seemed completely unfazed by it all.

“Okay,” he said, before suddenly walking straight past you and into the room. “What were you doing before I came?”

“Just watching movies,” you said, voice trailing off as you followed him across your own room to where he sat on your bed.

“Oh, movie night!” he grinned, his charm turned back on. He moved to half lay on your bed and put the laptop on his lap, “What are we watching?”

Your eyes scrunched together in confusion as you looked at him, “I thought you were going out with the guys?”

Felix snorted, “Nah mate. They’re boring without you there,” he smiled in his adorable accent that made it even harder for you to wrap your head around this. “You, okay?”

“Yeah just- “you shook your head with a slight smile, “Never mind its nothing,” Felix nodded, seemingly accepting your answer as you moved to sit beside him on the bed.

“I like the outfit by the way. The slippers are a nice touch,” he grinned making you shove him away.

“Shut up,”

Felix laughed as he moved to put his arm around your shoulder, pulling you back to lay beside him as he looked at the movies you had on your list, “10 things I hate about you?” he asked, turning his head to look at you.

You could feel his breath fanning your face making it near impossible not to blush. “Its actually really good. It was inspired by The Taming of the Shrew but its okay if you don’t wanna watch it. Its just some dumb chick flick,” you said, pulling your hot water bottle onto your stomach.

“I trust your judgement don’t worry,” he grinned before starting the movie. “Oh popcorn! May I?” he asked, nodding towards the bag you had at the bottom of the bed. You nodded and quickly grabbed it to pass to him. when you moved to sit back his arm ended up around your waist, “Thanks love,” he smiled as he took the bag and settled in to watch the movie.

-

It was 1am when pretty woman wrapped up. All your snacks were now long gone and at some point, you had both ended up spooning on the single bed with your laptop on a chair beside the bed. Felix had stolen one of your hot water bottles for his back, stating it was the best invention ever.

At first the feeling of Felix’s arms around you and his breath tickling your ear made your skin red hot however now it was like a laying in a hot bath. “I can’t believe you’d never watched it before,” Felix said as the screen went black.

“I can’t believe you have,” you laughed making him roll his eyes with a dopey grin. “But I’ll admit it’s a good film,”

“What can I say? I have great taste,” he said, gently pulling your hip so you moved to lay on your back with him looking down at you, “I know a pretty woman when I see one,”

“Stop, that’s so cheesy,” you giggled making Felix do the same.

The laughter stopped but there was still a dopey grin on his face, “Its true though. This was fun though. We should do it again sometime,”

“You don’t regret ditching your pals?” you asked.

He shook his head, moving his arm to rest his head on his fist, “I can honestly say this is one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time,”

“Me too,”

A thick silence hung over the room as Felix glanced down at your lips, “Is it bad that I want to kiss you right now?” he whispered, his eyes gazing into yours and putting you in a trance.

“I think it would be worse if you didn’t,” was all you could whisper back.

You felt your heart racing in your chest as his head dipped down, his soft lips pressing gently against yours. the kiss was brief, but all the air was knocked out your lungs as he pulled away, “I’ve been wanting to do that for ages,”

“Then maybe you should do it again,” you said, your hand moving to rest gently on the back of his soft waves.

Felix smiled down at you as his head dipped down for another kiss, “Maybe I will,” he teased.

-

Nothing happened that night, but you did wake up with Felix still in your bed the next morning, your head resting on his chest. “Morning pet” he murmured as you woke up.

“Morning,”

“You’re cute when you sleep you know,” he said, your skin instantly heating up. His arm tightened across your waist though with a devious grin on his face, “Even cuter when you’re all shy though,” one thing was for sure, Felix and his cuteness would be the death of you.

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[motorsportbarbie13]

Hurricane - Part 7

{“Emma.” Her head snapped in the direction of her name being called. She was surprised to see it was GP. “Go make sure he’s okay, yeah?” Emma bit her lip, eyes bouncing between where the engineer stood and the door that Max had just stormed out of. “Are you sure?” GP nodded, removing his headset and placing it on the counter beside him. “You’re probably the only who he’ll see right now. He needs you.”}

warnings/notes: no warnings that i can think of. as always, thank you to my writing therapist @lestapiastrisgirl. in the interest of transparency, this one is going to end here, for now. i feel like this is a good place to pause since i'm feeling a little...wrung out...creatively. i don't think emma&max's story is done quite yet but i also need to take a pause. i'll put together a little update post later this afternoon in case anyone is interested in what my summer plans are. OKAY! onto part seven!! word count: 6.8k

hurricane master list main master list ask me anything

The low hum of conversation and the clinking of silverware filled the trendy Miami restaurant that Charles had chosen. If it had been up to Max, he’d be back in his hotel room stewing over the fact that it was now Friday evening and Emma was still avoiding him. He picked at his fish, the Michelin starred chef’s excellently seared salmon tasing like ash in his mouth. Across the table, Charles was droning on about…something. What it was, Max wasn’t quite sure but his friend’s usual charm filled the space that Max couldn’t be bothered to worry about. Because Max was distracted, he was only catching snippets of the conversation, his attention constantly flitting to his phone that was lying face-up on the table beside him. 

No new messages. Not a single text from Emma since before sprint qualifying yesterday, and even that one had been a cool and even toned ‘they’re waiting for you in the media pen.’ She’d been the epitome of professional since they’d arrived in Miami but there was a slight edge to it now. It was still the same Emma that he’d come to know: competent, organized, ensuring that his schedule was strictly adhered to but there was something missing. The easy banter, the shared smiles, the comfortable intimacy that had begun to blossom between them since Emma had joined him in Japan had seemingly vanished overnight. 

She’d excused herself early again tonight, saying the jet lag was hitting her harder for some reason and that she’d wanted to get some sleep ahead of the sprint race tomorrow morning. Max hadn’t pushed but her icing him out had the panic building in his chest. The memory of falling asleep with Emma wrapped around him, the smell of her floral shampoo comforting him in a way he wasn’t familiar with was like an ache that he couldn’t make better. She hadn’t seemed uncomfortable that night, hadn’t seemed like he was pushing her too far. Maybe he had read it all wrong though because the memory of waking up alone that next morning was sharp and painful, blotting out the way he’d felt with Emma in his bed. 

He’d tried, of course, since they’d arrived in Miami. A few casual remarks during the pilates class on Thursday, an inside joke cracked softly amidst the bustle of the garage in between practice and sprint qualifying earlier in the day. They were desperate attempts to bridge this awkward chasm that Max was seemingly responsible for creating but nothing had worked. He’d been met with bright, almost brittle, friendliness that felt more like a shield than an invitation. 

It was driving him insane. 

Charles’ laughter faded as he noticed Max tapping his phone for what felt like the fiftieth time that night. He leaned forward slightly, something like concern playing on his face. “Everything alright? You seem a bit preoccupied tonight.” 

Max forced what he hoped looked like a nonchalant shrug, picking at a stray piece of potato on his plate. “Fine.” He clipped. “Just tired. Long day of dragging that car to places it doesn’t belong.” 

A wry, understanding smile ghosted across Charles’ face. “You usually handle that shit like it’s a walk in the park. You’ve been…” He pauses, looking at his friend thoughtfully. Charles had known Max for a long time, since they were children, so he was fairly confident in his ability to read the moods of the Dutchman. “Off since you got here. Did something happen earlier this week?” 

Max knew he was asking specifically about Emma. His jaw tightened, the muscle there fluttering as he tried to choose how to evade giving Charles a real answer. Charles senses that there’s more behind Max’s silence and he lets the question hang in the air between them for longer than he normally would. Lifting his wine glass, Charles takes a sip, casually observing Max over the rim. 

“It just seems like there’s tension there. Between you and Emma, that is.” He stated it like it was a fact, not a question. Max hated how easily Charles was able to read him. “She’s usually around during media day and in the garage. I don’t think I saw her leave Red Bull hospitality all day.” 

Max finally meets Charles’ gaze, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features. “She was just working, Charles. Catching up on things. Race weekends are busy, Miami especially.” 

Charles raised an eyebrow. “Emma is never that quiet in the paddock, you know that. Even when she’s working, she’s usually lobbing sarcastic comments at Lando. Those two bicker like brother and sister most of the time. I think Ollie and Kimi were a little lost without her. They both asked me twice if I’d seen her and if I thought that she was mad at them.” He pauses again, choosing his words carefully. He knows Max and his propensity to shut down if challenged too hard. “You’re different too. You’ve been quieter than normal, distracted. Anxious even.” He leans closer, his voice dropping slightly. “Everything okay between you two?”  

Max hesitated for just a beat too long and Charles saw the walls crack open. He took a long sip of water, the cold doing little to cool the heated anxiety rising in his chest. He trusted Charles, more than most, and the weight of the anxiety that had been sitting in his stomach like a ball of lead for the last three days was unbearable. 

“Nope.” He admits, letting the singular word hang in the air like a confession. 

Charles sets down his wine glass, look of concern etched on his face. “Alright, what happened then?” 

Max scrubbed a hand over his face, unfamiliar with this level of vulnerability. But he was going crazy living in his head over this so he knew he needed to get it out. “Do you remember that storm we had the other night?” 

Charles nodded, but remains silent otherwise. 

“She is apparently terrified of storms and she kind of…ended up sleeping in my bed.” He paused. “With me.” The words hung in the air between them, heavy with the implication of what he’d just said. 

Charles blinked, brows rising slightly as a flicker of surprise crossed his features. He’d seen the way the two had interacted around each other, anyone with eyes could see the steady undercurrent of something more than just a professional relationship wanting to form. What Charles hadn’t realized was the depth of it. “With you?” 

Max nodded, a small, almost reflexive smile touching the corner of his mouth at the memory. “Just slept, nothing more.” 

“And?” 

Max nodded again, “And I liked it. More than I should have. It felt right. Natural almost. Like she belonged there.” His smile faded then, replaced by a frown. “And she’s been avoiding me ever since. She’s being professional. Polite. But it’s not the same. Like she regrets what happened or something, like I crossed a line and she’s angry I took advantage of her or something. This whole week she’s been distant.” He pulled out his phone again, his thumb brushing over her name in his contact list. Sunshine. “I keep waiting for her to text me, for some sign that she’s not completely regretting it, or me.” 

Charles watched him as he rambled. Spiraled, really. He could see the turmoil on his friends face, the unguarded vulnerability in his eyes. “Have you talked to her about it?” He asked gently. “About what happened, how you feel.” 

Max rolled his eye, a defeated sigh escaping his lips. “I haven’t had the chance. Or I haven’t taken the chance because I’m afraid of the answer. I thought we were going in one direction and suddenly, she’s made a u-turn and I’m left trying to follow her lead. I don’t want to push her, she’s been through a lot already but this is driving me insane. I don’t know what to do, Charles.” 

“You need to talk to her, my friend. This is just going to fester and if you’re not careful, it’s going to effect your performance this weekend.” 

Max heaved a sigh, picking at the last bits of his salmon. He knew Charles was right. Of course Charles was right. He was being a coward and needed to suck it up. Emma meant more to him than this and he was allowing her to drift away. He didn’t want to lose her but from the way she was retreating from him already, Max knew hew as already headed that way. He needed to make a move and needed to make it fast. 

Picking up his phone, Max opened up the string of messages between him and Emma and typed out a quick text and hit send before he could second guess his actions. 

Hey Sunshine, I think we need to talk. 

********

The early morning sun hung low over the skyline, barely breaching the high rise buildings at Emma’s back. She sat near the water’s edge of a quiet stretch of beach, coffee in one hand, phone in the other. The text message she’d woken up to this morning stared back at her like a snake poised to bite. 

The green and white striped beach towel she’d nicked from the hotel pool was feather soft beneath her as Emma stretched out on the sand, toes pointed in a delicious stretch that she could feel beginning to burn. The beach was quiet at this time of the day, the only ones taking in the serene setting was Emma, a couple walking down the beach hand in hand, and a few seagulls. 

Emma leaned back on the palms of her hands, fingers digging deeply into the warm sand beneath her. 

As she stared out over the water watching the white tipped waves roll in over and over, her mind kept flickering back to the text message Max had sent last night. He’d called her Sunshine again and she hated the way her heart fluttered at the nickname only Max used. She’d never asked why he’d picked the nickname, just preened under the attention every time he’d used it. And then he’d said they’d needed to talk. Her stomach churned unpleasantly at the thought. Was he regretting what had happened? Was he rethinking the whole arrangement they had? Did Max want to fire her?

 How had this gotten away from her so quickly? One moment she was dealing with her anxieties the best way she knew how and the next, Max was there, trying to take care of her like no one had ever wanted to. She couldn’t be falling for Max. It just wasn’t a good idea. He was her boss. Her boss that also happened to be her best friend’s older brother. 

It was so messy. 

Emma hated messy. 

But with the mess came contentment. It had felt so right. So easy and natural, to just curl up in Max’s bed beside him, tucked into his side like she had belonged there all along. How could it be messy if it was what was supposed to happen all along? 

Emma wasn’t built for this kind of vulnerability. Not after a lifetime of self-reliance and independence. Vulnerability was terrifying and something that was for other people. She couldn’t afford it and she didn’t want to risk the only stable thing in her life. The ingrained fear of history repeating itself, of this fragile connection she’d developed with Max shattering like glass, was a constant source of anxiety for her ever since she woke up the morning before.  

She rubbed at her temples, the bright sunlight beating down on her from the height of its daily trek across the sky, doing little to help the spiraling she was doing. 

Enough. 

Enough of this overthinking. 

Emma knew herself well enough to know that she needed help to get out of this hole she was digging herself deeper and deeper. She couldn’t go to Max. And her mother was out of the question, she still hadn’t spoken to Gloria since the day she had accused Emma of sleeping with Max (ironic, considering the position she was in right now). She reached for her phone and begun to scroll through her contacts. Her finger hovered over Victoria’s contact. Could she go to Vic for this? She’d always been there for Emma in the past, when her overthinking had gotten the best of her. But this was about her brother of all people. There was no way to pretend she was spiraling about another person, Vic would see right through her. 

You’ve got to trust her. A small voice whispered in Emma’s head as she debated what she should do. Vic is your best friend. It’ll be okay. 

Drawing in a deep breath, Emma hit Victoria’s contact before listening to it ring. 

“Bestie!!!” Victoria picked up on only the second ring, voice cheerful and happy. It had been a while since the two had been able to catch up and Emma grinned at the sound of her best friend’s voice. “How’s Miami?” 

Emma leaned back on the beach towel, closing her eyes. “Hot.” She groaned. 

“I bet. I don’t know why the FIA thought Florida in May was a good idea.”

“Especially after two straight weeks in the Middle East too. Like, have some mercy on us.” 

Victoria chuckled. In the background, Emma could hear the sounds of her 2 boys playing together. “So, how are things going with Max? Is he being nice to you?” 

Emma had to tamp down a laugh at the sheer absurdity of the question. “He’s fine. More than fine, actually.” She said, voice shaky. 

That seemed to pique Victoria’s interest. ���Oh?” 

If there was one thing that Victoria was good at, it was letting Emma talk at her own pace. She could tell there was something there, something deeper going on that had prompted the call from the way Emma ended that sentence but she knew better than to push. Victoria knew that pushing Emma on anything would only result in her shutting down. From the way her voice wavered when she had answered her question, Victoria knew that this was going to take a little cajoling. 

“You know how we got that really bad storm in Monaco Tuesday night?” 

“Yeah. It sounded pretty crazy from your texts. You’re not the biggest fan of thunderstorms, are you?” 

Emma chuckled, dragging a single finger through the sun-warmed sand. “Not at all.” 

“So…” Victoria prompted again, patiently waiting for her best friend to spill. 

“Once we stopped texting, I was all alone and I started to get really anxious. So anxious that I started baking.” 

On the other end of the line, Victoria winced. She knew Emma stress-baked while she was anxious but it usually had to be pretty bad for her to switch the oven on that late at night. She idly wondered where her brother was going to come into play in this story. 

“And then Max found me in his kitchen at 2 in the morning.” 

“He did? Was he sleepwalking? Usually once that man is asleep, he is out for the night.” 

Emma was surprised to hear this because she knew how quiet she had been that night. It made her wonder why Max had woken up in the first place. She had just assumed he was a light sleeper and that she had been too loud. 

“No, he was wide awake. I think the lights in the kitchen woke him up or something.” 

Another beat of silence. Victoria was clearly trying to piece things together. Emma knew she was dragging the story out far too dramatically but she was seriously reconsidering what she was about to confess. “And then what happened?” Victoria asked softly. 

Emma hesitated, the image of Max’s concerned face in the dim kitchen light flashing through her mind. “He…he was really nice about it, Vic. He didn’t make fun of me for being scared, didn’t say I was being stupid or say my baking was a dumb or anything. He just, sort of stayed. And then the storm got worse and…” Emma draws in a big breath, closing her eyes. “And by then it was nearly 3 in the morning and we had a flight to catch, so he wanted me to get some sleep but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep so he asked if I wanted to try sleeping with him…” 

The last bit of the story comes out in a hurried rush and Emma shuts her eyes tight as soon as the truth is out in the open. For a moment, Victoria is quiet, like she was trying to figure out how to respond. “You slept with him in his bed?” 

Emma can’t read her best friend’s tone so she just replies with a simple “Yeah.” Before she squeezes her eyes tighter. Here it comes. The anger. The explosion. The accusal of betrayal. 

A longer silence stretched between them. Emma could practically hear Victoria’s mind racing all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. 

Finally, Victoria was able to form a proper sentence. “Well, it’s about damn time.” 

“Wait. What?” Emma’s head spins. “You’re not mad? Worried? Disappointed?” 

“Mad? Oh my God, Em! I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen between you two since like, day one. Disappointed? Why on earth would I be disappointed? My best friend might be finally be realizing what an amazing guy my incredibly stubborn brother is!” 

Emma let out a shaky laugh, the butterflies in her stomach settling into something almost manageable as she realized her feelings for Max might not cost her her best friend. “It’s so complicated though, Vic! He’s my boss! I could lose my job. What if it was just a one time thing? A pity snuggle, if you will?” 

The laugh that bursts out of Victoria has Emma laughing uncertainly herself. “I’m dying at the term ‘pity snuggle’, please. Max hates being touched, hates people in his space so the fact that he allowed you to sleep in his bed? That man is down bad for you.” 

“I don’t know, Vic. What if I’m reading way too much into this? And I ruin our friendship? I don’t want to lose him in my life. I don’t want to mess this up.” 

“Okay, hold on. Breathe.” Victoria says firmly. “First of all, you’re amazing at your job. There’s no way he would ever fire you, the entire senior leadership team at Red Bull would riot. You’ve whipped that man into shape quicker than anyone on staff has been able to. Secondly, my brother may be a stupid idiot, but he’s not cruel. If he didn’t have feelings for you, he wouldn’t have had you in his bed, he wouldn’t have comforted you like that.” Victoria pauses for a moment, as if she wants to let Emma absorb everything that she’s saying. “And third, I know you have your reasons to be caution and to not trust someone’s intentions but Max isn’t them, Em. He’s a decent guy when he’s not yelling at GP about how shit his steering is.” 

Emma snort laughed at that but found herself nodding along. “I know.” She whispered, willing her head to go along with the logic that her heart was already trying to follow. “He texted me last night. I didn’t see it until this morning but he wants to talk.”

“Okay! This is good!” Victoria started. 

“Good? Vic! No one ever started a good conversation off with ‘we need to talk’. Never!” 

Victoria hummed, “See, normally you’re right but this is Max we’re talking about. He texts like a 70 year old most of the time, he probably just thought this was easiest.” 

Emma squinted at the horizon. That didn’t quite sound like the Max she knew. He was always texting her. Stories about what Helmut was bitching about that day, questions about her day, quick check-ins. But, she reminded herself, this was Victoria’s brother so she probably knew better. 

“Just see what he has to say and then go from there. Because I’m guessing that you’ve spent the last however many days spiraling in your head.” 

“I hate how predictable I am.” Emma grumbled, rolling her eyes. 

Victora chuckles, “Please for the love of all that is holy, my dear, stop overthinking everything that happens. It’s okay to maybe allow yourself to want this, Em.” 

And that was the exact problem, wasn’t it? Because if Emma started to want this thing between her and Max to take root in her heart and grow into something, that meant opening herself up to a new level of hurt she wasn’t even sure she’d be able to ever come back from. 

********

‘Yeah, I think we do. After the sprint today though. Focus on the race, k? 

Max stared down at the text Emma had sent him a few hours ago. He’d been at the track early, preferring to spend the morning of a race day alone, getting into his head. Sometimes Emma drove with him but more often than not, she found her way to the track on her own. Max hadn’t even bothered asking her if she wanted to come with him because his text had gone unanswered last night. Anxiety had churned in his stomach until well past midnight. He assumed she had just fallen asleep early but the ‘what ifs’ played over and over in his head until the sleep had finally swept him under. 

The reply had come just as he was walking out of his hotel room, the relief of Emma finally answering him had felt like a cold splash of water in the middle of the Miami heat. He wasn’t entirely sure how he was supposed to focus on anything other than finally getting everything out in the open though. If he’d had his way, Max would have gone right over to her room that morning before leaving but he knew he shouldn’t push her. 

He knew Emma’s routine on a race weekend by now and as he checked his watch for what felt like the fifth time in sixty seconds, he frowned. She was late. He scanned the Red Bull hospitality suite looking for the familiar shock of long blonde hair, listened for her laugh but…nothing. 

“Hey, Laurie, have you seen Emma?” 

The PR intern that Emma was particularly close with swiveled her head in Max’s direction, cheeks going a bit pink. “Oh! Um! No, not this morning. She was still getting ready when I had to leave so she said she’d grab an Uber.” 

Max frowned. It was nearly time for him to get in the car for the sprint race. It was pouring rain, a random storm popping up wasn’t unheard of in the spring but the torrent of rain that beat against the windows was going to make the sprint race interesting for sure. They were already talking about a delay. Max was hoping the rain would hold though. He drove his best in the wet and he’d need every ounce of luck he had to pull out a decent finish today.

“It’s going to take her forever to get here, what with the traffic and now with this rain.” He murmured, more to himself than to Laurie, who looked like she didn’t quite know how to respond. His eyes flicked over to the brunette, seemingly suddenly realizing that she was still waiting for him to talk. “Will you let me know if she shows up?” 

Laurie nodded, a smile touching her lips before she turned around to continue on her way. 

Max glanced at his phone again. He needed to get changed and then over to the garage for some last minute prep. He couldn’t hang around the hospitality area for much longer but there was something twisting in his stomach at the thought of not seeing Emma before he got in the car. It made him uncomfortable, not knowing if she was going to make it or not. Not knowing what she was going to say after the race. She could be prepared to end it right then. Maybe that was why she was late, she was busy trying to find a flight home or figure out what she was going to do after she quit. 

“Max, you’ve got to start getting ready.” Rupert appears over his shoulder suddenly, tapping at his watch. 

Max nodded, glancing at the door one last time. “Yeah. I’m going. Hey, if you see Emma can you let her know I’m looking for her.” 

Rupert nodded, “Of course. She’ll be here soon, I’m sure.” 

Max started towards the stairs that led to his drivers room as he pulled out his phone to type a message. Everything okay? You’re usually not this late…am I going to see you before I get in the car?

Three dots appeared almost instantly and then disappeared. Appeared again for a beat and then a message: traffic is a fucking nightmare. I’m so sorry I’m late, I’m trying. 

Max shucked off his team kit before slipping into his fireproofs and race suit. As he started out towards the garage, he replied: Not mad, just be safe. 

He tucked his phone back in his pocket, anxiety somewhat calmed knowing that Emma was on her way and wasn’t trying to flee the country. Max was finally able to switch into racing mode for what felt like the first time all day. He was meticulous about it, his preparation. Check in with GP, talk about setup, take a look at track conditions (terrible) and the weather (even worse), and then it was helmet on and time to focus. 

There was still a bit of his attention that was elsewhere. Out of the corner of his eye, every flash of blonde caught his eye, tricking him into thinking it was Emma but as Max slipped on his racing boots, listening to GP talk about final setups he was still looking for her. 

“Alright, lets get onto the grid. The race will probably be delayed because of the rain but they want us out there now.” GP said in his ear, yanking Max’s focus back to what mattered. 

He’d have to get into the car without seeing her and it was driving him insane. 

And then he saw it. 

A flash of blonde hair followed by the voice that he could pick out of a loud room with ease. Emma. She had just jogged into the garage, gauzy white maxi skit swishing at her feet. She was flushed and slightly out of breath, like she’d run in from the paddock. Max was surprised to see one of his team jackets around her shoulders, a few sizes too big for her petite frame. 

He was already half-way into the car, there was no way he could get out to go see her without causing a scene, something that he knew she wouldn’t like. So he settled for eye contact and a wink, both of which drew a small smile from her and it was enough to allow Max to focus on the task at hand. 

And then the race went completely sideways. 

*******

Emma watched in horror from the garage as Max’s race fell apart. 

A pit lane mistake. 

Damaged front wing. 

Ten second penalty. 

The sight of his name tumbling down to the bottom of the timing tower. 

Everything went so bad so quick and Emma had to just sit and watch the entire thing play out in front of her. She had flashbacks to Bahrain, how angry Max had been with the team and himself afterwards. This was going to be worse. The mistake by the crew was inexcusable and from her spot in the viewing area in the garage, she could practically see steam pouring out of Christian’s ears. 

She watched at Max got out of the car, do his post-race check-in with the FIA, and then make a beeline out of the garage. He didn’t even stop to say anything to GP, didn’t take his helmet off, nothing. She’d never seen him this angry and she didn’t quite know what to do. Part of her wanted to go running after him but Emma didn’t quite know her place here. She was his assistant, not family. She didn’t know if he’d want to see her, talk to her, especially with this thing they had hanging heavy between them. Now wasn’t the time to bring up personal shit, she knew that. Especially when she knew Max was going to have to regroup in just a few hours and somehow put together a good qualifying session. 

“Emma.” Her head snapped in the direction of her name being called. She was surprised to see it was GP. “Go make sure he’s okay, yeah?” 

Emma bit her lip, eyes bouncing between where the engineer stood and the door that Max had just stormed out of. “Are you sure?” 

GP nodded, removing his headset and placing it on the counter beside him. “You’re probably the only who he’ll see right now. He needs you.” 

Emma’s heart thudded at GP’s words. She didn’t know if she trusted her instincts here but she trusted GP, he’d known Max for years. Emma nodded, something in her chest clicking into place, a surge of nervous energy cutting through her. She didn’t hesitate, turning and practically jogging towards the door Max had just disappeared through. She knew the layout of the paddock well enough to know that he was probably on his way back to his drivers room at the back of Red Bull’s hospitality. 

Getting through the crowded paddock wasn’t all that difficult and before she knew it, Emma was standing outside the door of Max’s drivers room, her hand hovering over the cool metal handle. A thousand things raced through her mind. Was there anything helpful she could say in the moment? Was GP right, did he need her? Would he even want to see her? Would her anxieties be proven right and would he fire her on the spot?

She needed to stop spiraling. Victoria’s words played in her head: Max wasn’t cruel. He didn’t do things that he didn’t want to. He cared about her. She wanted to badly to believe that, to know that on the other side of this door, she’d find the Max she’d begun falling for the moment he came to her rescue at Victoria’s request. 

Taking a deep breath, she knocked softly, so softly she barely made a sound against the door. Without waiting for a response, her anxiety and need to put eyes on Max, overriding any sense of propriety, she pushed it open and stepped inside. 

The room was dim, the curtains drawn against the relentless Miami sun. Max was standing at the window, his back to her, and his shoulders were slumped in a way she hadn’t seen from him since Bahrain. The air in the room was thick with raw frustration and disappointment. 

He didn’t turn around immediately and for one heart-wrenching moment, Emma wondered if she’d made a mistake. Maybe he did want to be alone. Maybe GP had been wrong and she’d overstepped once again. Her mother’s voice started to sound in her head. She’d made another mistake and this one was going to cost her. 

“Max?” She called softly, barely loud enough for him to hear. 

But he did. Max’s shoulders tensed almost imperceptibly. He remained still for another beat and then slowly, deliberately he turned. 

The sight of his face made Emma’s heart clench. His usual sharp, focused gaze was clouded with a raw mixture of anger and hurt. Jaw tight, there was a muscle twitching in his cheek, he looked lost. Heartbroken. Defeated. Vulnerable in a way that Emma knew no one else got to see. 

When his eyes focused on her, when he realized who it was that was in his room to see his despair though, something shifted. The anger didn’t completely vanish, but a flicker of surprise, then something softer, warmer, replaced some of the harshness. It was like a dam had cracked, allowing Emma a glimpse of the vulnerability he usually kept so fiercely guarded. 

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The only sound in the room was the soft ticking of the clock that hung above the doorway behind Emma. Max’s gaze searched hers, a silent question in his stormy blue eyes. And in that moment, standing in the dim quiet of his drivers room, surrounded by the remnants of a disastrous race, all of the carefully constructed walls they had both erected to keep each other out since Monaco crumbled away like sand castles at high tide. 

All that was left was the raw, undeniable connection that had sparked between them on a sidewalk in the middle of a Monegasque neighborhood. A connection neither of them could, or would, deny any longer. Emma searched Max’s face for confirmation that she wasn’t the only one feeling the seismic shift between them. That she wasn’t alone in the way she felt the air turn warm, anticipatory almost. What she saw in Max’s eyes wasn’t the anger or frustration that had been so plainly laid across his face just moments before. No, that was gone. What she saw was a deep, almost desperate longing, a desire that she hadn’t ever seen turned in her direction in her entire life. 

In that moment, Emma knew. Emma knew so profoundly and certainly that GP had been right. Max did need her. And more than that, she realized that she terrifyingly, desperately, needed Max too. Needed him in a way that she had never let herself need someone before because she’d never been allowed to need someone in the way that she needed Max. It was almost a need on a molecular level. A magnetic level. 

“You came.” Max said roughly, almost a whisper, as if he couldn’t quite wrap his brain around the fact that she had come after him. The anger still simmered beneath the surface, that was evident in the tightness of his jaw, but the surprise of seeing Emma there in his drivers room, still tucked into his jacket, had momentarily eclipsed it. 

Emma’s heart clenched at the need in his voice, the statement that was so raw and vulnerable. “Of course I did.” She replied softly, her voice trembling a bit. She took a small step further into the room. “You needed me.” It wasn’t a question, just a simple statement of fact, finally a recognition of the bond that had formed between them over the last weeks they’d spent together. 

With one statement, one look, the professional boundaries, the carefully constructed walls, meant nothing. All that mattered was the fact that both Emma and Max were finally ready to admit there was something raw and real between them, something that couldn’t be denied any longer because it was making the both of them miserable. 

A flicker of something that looked a lot like relief washed over Max’s face, softening the harsh lines of the lingering anger. He took one step. And then another. One last one and he had closed the distance between them. His eyes searched hers, a silent plea for reassurance. He didn’t want to make the same mistake as before, didn’t want to push her into something that she regretted. But something in Max’s heart told him that the night in Monaco that he’d held her until she’d felt safe enough to sleep wasn’t a mistake, it hadn’t been something she regretted. 

Without another word, without hesitation, he reached out, his rough hands framing the softness of her face. His thumbs brushed softly against her cheeks, the touch sending a delicious shiver down her spine. Emma’s breath caught, her own hands rising instinctively to capture his wrists, fingers gripping him tightly. 

His gaze dropped to hers for one single, fleeting moment and a silent question passed between them. They both knew that there was no going back after this. If they crossed this line, everything was going to change. Everything would become real, the feelings that had been simmering just below the surface would be out in the open. No take backs. Nothing. It was a prospect that both terrified and thrilled Emma as she let her eyes dip from Max’s intense gaze down to his lips and quickly back up again.

And then, Max closed the remaining distance, his mouth finding hers in a kiss that was both desperate and tender all at the same time. It wasn’t a gently brush like the almost-kiss in Monaco. This was a calming kiss. A release of all the pent-up emotions, the fear, the longing, the unspoken connection that had been simmering between them since the moment Max had rescued her in his green Aston Martin. 

Emma met his kiss with a fervor of her own. All of her anxieties and uncertainties melted away the moment Max’s lips pressed into hers, warm and unyielding, demanding and gentle all at the same time. The world outside of the room they stood in ceased to exist. The disastrous race, the difficult season, the weight of a difficult family situation. It all fell away and the world around them quieted. 

The kiss deepened, the initial urgency softening into tender exploration. Max’s hands tightened slightly on Emma’s face, his thumb stroking her cheek gently as his lips moved over hers with a sort of reverence she had never felt before. Emma leaned into the kiss, her own hands sliding up his arms, the rough fabric of his race suit scratching against the palms of her hands. The lingering scent of burnt rubber and motor oil clung to him but none of that mattered to Emma. All that mattered was that Max was kissing her and she had never felt like this in her entire life. 

His lips parted slightly, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips and Emma opened for him, sighing with relief at the feeling of having him so close. Her hips tipped forward, desperate for their own friction and Max dropped a hand to her waist, pulling her impossibly closer into his body. He needed to be closer to her, needed to feel how she responded to him, how she opened for him in a desperate attempt to show him how much she needed him, wanted him. 

The anxiety that had been a constant companion to them both over the last few days began to recede, replaced by a warmth that shimmered between them. Something clicked into place and it was like this was how it was always supposed to be. Emma’s arms instinctively circled his neck, her fingers tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck. The nearness of him, the solid feel of his body against hers, it all felt like coming home. It was a sense of belonging with someone, to someone, that Emma hadn’t realized she’d been searching for. 

The kiss finally softened, their lips parting with a soft sigh. A breathess silence hung between them for a moment, the weight of the past few days lifting with each breath. Emma’s forehead rested against Max’s chest, the steady beat of his heart a comforting rhythm. 

A small smile tugged at the corner of Max’s lips. “Well,” He murmured into her hair, voice still husky. “That definitely wasn’t in your job description.” 

Emma chuckled, pulling back slightly to look up at him, cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink. Max decided then and there that shade of pink was his new favorite color. “Hmm…” she mused, grinning wickedly. “Maybe I should add ‘proficient in stress-reducing strategies’ to my resume now. Think HR will approve?” 

Max’s grin widened, the tension that had been clouding his features since Emma had walked through the door finally easing. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck, the warmth of his mouth on her skin sending a shiver down Emma’s spine. 

“As much as I’d like to thoroughly discuss the finer points of that particular skill set,” He murmured against her skin, “I think the FIA might have something to say about me me missing the entirety of my media duties if I don’t get into the media pen in the next ten minutes.” He pulled away slightly, a wry smile on his face. 

Emma shook her head, “Who would’ve thought it would be you reminding me about being on time to media duties.” 

Max rolled his eyes before turning to grab his water bottle from the couch behind him. When he faced Emma again, his heart clenched at the sheer happiness sitting brightly on her face. He decided then and there that he’d spend the rest of his life making sure Emma always looked like that when she looked at him.

 “Come on, Sunshine,” He started, holding his hand out to twine his fingers with his. “We don’t want to keep the media waiting.”  

[hyuuukais]

⋆₊‧⁺˖⋆˚.⋆ ͙͘͡★ LOOK UP TO THE STARS

pairing ▪︎ han jisung x fem reader

synopsis ▪︎ sent out on a mission to a neighbouring QZ that's gone radio silent, y/n falls into the hands of a post-rebellion group after things go terribly wrong. giving up on rejoining her squad, she joins the group on a trek to find a missing member, the group leader's sister. what's supposed to be a not-so-simple trip out and back to their base becomes a one-way ticket to the end of everything they know.

warnings ▪︎ general, kinda major character death !!!, character lowkey brutally murdered,, but like deserved so 🤷‍♂️, two minor character deaths

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

CHAPTER EIGHT ▪︎ DO YOU BELIEVE IN ANGELS? (8.4k)

"What's he doing all the way out here?" You question, leaning over Seungmin's shoulder to take a closer look at the radio; as if that will help you hear better. "We're pretty far from our QZ, none of our patrol routes even go this way."

"Maybe they changed it." Seungmin suggests. "We haven't been there in half a year, things could be different now. And we don't really know where we are right now in relation to any zone. And we both know he gets special privileges because of his sister."

You snort at this, knowing he's right. "True, but it's still weird."

"...and that concludes the music portion for today since I apparently didn't bring much with me. I could freestyle-"

"Noooo." Someone else groans and you immediately recognize Squad Leader Seo. "Don't, please, I'm begging you. Spare me, spare the listeners."

"Fine, but only because you might take this away from me..." Changbin huffs. "Now for the mandatory shit the QZ is making me say- sorry, now it's time to stay informed. We're looking for two young women named Lily Morrow and Choi Lia, preferably alive-"

"Definitely alive."

"-definitely alive. Lily more than Lia, as she's the head scientist in all this."

"You're going to get put off the air if you say too much, you know that right?"

"Yeah, yeah. They've been spotted in a town southwest of Lake Haven, which is where we're headed now. If anyone-"

Static fills the air, crackling loudly in your ears. Seungmin tries to regain the signal, but the crackling stops and the lights die out.

"Shit." Seungmin exhales, giving the side a smack. Nothing.

"At least we kind of have a lead of where to go?" You shrug.

"They'll be gone by the time we get there," Seungmin says, looking up at you. "With the time you need to fully heal-"

"I'm healed enough! I just won't like, do anything crazy, okay? I promise." There's absolutely no way Seungmin believes you, but he nods. "I'll even stay in the truck if you ask nicely."

"Fuck that." Seungmin scoffs. "We both know the only way you'd stay put is if both your legs were broken."

Laughter fills the small space. After trying a bit longer to get the radio back up and working, Seungmin finally gives up and you both climb back up the wobbly metal ladder. The sun is starting to come up and although you can't see it rising, you can see the sky beginning to light up and the morning dew on the overgrown grass in the yard. You walk over to the sliding doors, taking a moment to image what it would be like in its prime; the grass cut neatly, lawn chairs clean, save for sand particles that would have come off the bodies that have sat in them, boats on the water, and music coming from your neighbours cottages. You'd be standing here with a mug of hot coffee in your hand, maybe a friend or a lover by your side, gazing out on life, not the abandoned landscape this lake has become.

When you turn around, you see Seungmin already showing Chan down the hole, Han and Felix standing slightly further away. Chaeryeong gives you a small wave as she comes down the small staircase, Jeongin not too far behind. The only one missing is Hyunjin, and you know it's because of how late you two went to bed, so you take it upon yourself to wake him.

Entering the room, you see he's face down on the bed, his arm stretched out and seemingly searching for something. Hearing you enter the room, Hyunjin shifts enough to peak over his shoulder and sees you.

"Hey," He says, voice rough with sleep. "Time to get up?"

You sit on the bottom of the bed and he twists his body to curl around yours, his head finding your lap and arm wrapping around your back. As much as you want to stay here in this moment with him, you know you might not have much time before Lily and Lia leave town.

Judging from the map plastered above the radio, you estimate it should take about forty minutes to get there. By then, there will be a strong military presence and you'll have to be extra careful. Even if the radio wasn't dead, you'd have no way to figure out where exactly the two women are hiding out or the state they're in. Lily wouldn't make the mistake of reaching out twice, not when she's being hunted this way.

"Let's go, there's something we need to show you."

-

In no time, you're on the road again. Everyone has fresh clothes and are patched up to the best of Felix and Jeongins abilities, canned food stored in the back of the truck for later. You're having breakfast on the road, dried meat and berries picked from a neighbouring cottages bushes. Felix suggested fishing, but there was no time. The good nights sleep helped you, but you're still sore as Chan drives over bumpy roads. Somehow you made it through the night nightmare-free, but you can't say the same for Chan. The circles under his eyes are darker than the evening before, a hand frequently coming up to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Halfway through the drive, he has to switch with Hyunjin. He's taken a place next to you sitting in the middle of the backseat and you wordlessly bring his head down to your shoulder. Chan sighs, eyes fluttering shut and a hand finding your knee.

Seungmin is in the front next to Hyunjin, still trying to rediscover Changbin's station, but with no luck. By this time he's probably made it into town and is helping the others search. The reality of seeing Changbin again hits you suddenly, tensing at the thought of potentially having to fight him if you're caught. Out here, there shouldn't have been any chance of seeing your old friends, if you can even call him that. You didn't know him as well as Seungmin did, so you can only imagine what he might be thinking. Then again, you know they didn't always get along either, so maybe he's hoping for a chance to punch him in the face.

"We're almost there," Hyunjin announces. "I'm gonna pull over here, otherwise they'll spot us."

There are a couple of nods and 'okay's as he pulls over into a shady spot between some trees, driving deep enough to hide the truck, but not too deep you'll have trouble finding it later. You wake Chan up with a small nudge, but he still startles and almost hits his head on yours.

"Sorry, I-" You hold your free hand up.

"Don't apologize." You say, rubbing a thumb over his knuckles. "I get it."

"Thank you, Y/n," He gives you a tired smile, exiting the truck behind you.

The air is getting colder, crisper. Fall is in full swing now and you're not sure what it will be like come winter, but you're hoping you've found Hannah by then and will be well on your way back to your little village. Leaves crunch underfoot as you walk parallel to the road, following it into town. It's bigger than you expected, greeted by a small shopping center and a grocery store on the edge of town. There are infected wandering around the parking lots, so you keep your distance. There has to be a way to figure out where Lily and Lia are hiding, some sign...

"There!" Chaeryeong stage-whispers when you enter a more residential area. Up ahead is a house with a broken window and what looks to be a lab coat laid over the windowsill. You recognize it as Lily's, the way it's patched in the middle to make it shorter and easier to wear. You're about to approach when you hear whistling.

"Get down!" Seungmin warns.

You stay where you are, right beside an abandoned postal van with Chaeryeong beside you. Felix is close enough that he joins you, crouched low by the bumper. You don't know where Seungmin called from, lost somewhere in the tall grass. The cover is probably better than whatever you're doing.

"In there!" The shout is distant, but you stay alert.

Two soldiers emerge from the side of a house across the street and you duck down further, your stomach almost on the ground. You think you recognize one of them, but they're too far to tell. One investigates the window as the other kicks the door down, gun back up in seconds. She enters the house, her partner following suit. No one from your group moves, all sitting ducks waiting for the soldiers to reemerge. When they don't, you take it upon yourself to move forward.

"Y/n!" Chan scolds as you move past him in the grass; your head whips toward his voice. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Entering the house. I can take them both out." You defend. "If Lily and Lia are in there, we need to get to them first."

"Let me go with- shit." Chans head perks up, and you follow his eyes to see Han already hopping the fence surrounding the house. "Damn it, just- go after him and don't die. I'll go around back with Felix and meet you inside, okay?"

"What about the others?" You ask, knowing they won't like getting left behind.

"Hey, I know that face, and no one is being left out." Chan frowns. "I'll send the others to check out other houses in the area in case they already left this one. Now go!"

You do as he says, hurrying toward the house. Han is inside now, but you can see him through the window looking into the living room with Lily's lab coat. Hopping through the empty space, you clear your throat just loud enough for him to hear. He flinches, but when he sees it's you, he relaxes again.

"You go up and I'll check this floor out?" Han proposes.

"Sure." You nod.

The stairs are broken halfway up, a large gap you'd have to jump over and create more noise than you want to standing in your way. You're about to just do it, but when you look into the kitchen, you can see where the floor above has collapsed, partially on top of the island. Climbing onto the countertop, you're able to glance up and find yourself in what looks like the master bedroom, one foot of the bed hanging over the edge of the hole you're now pulling yourself up from.

Right as you enter, so does one of the soldiers. She trains her gun on you, but then her eyes widen with recognition. Ryujin subconsciously brings her rifle down, mouth hanging open as you stare back at her. Part of you puts the pieces together- the whole of Squad 14-4 must be here, possibly along with your own, Squad 14-3. Why didn't you think of that before? Why would Squad Leader Seo be here with only Changbin, not her whole squad? And you already know her and Minho like to work together.

"I'm sorry Y/n." It's like Ryujin remembers her role in this, raising her gun back up and your hands follow. "We got a live one!"

"Shit, I'm sorry too Ryu."

And you're leaping at her, pushing the tip of her gun away as she shoots. There's a grunt, and you panic before you see her fellow soldier falling to the ground. You don't know him, and temporary relief floods you before you're kicked back to the ground. Normally you'd be back on your feet in an instant, but Ryujin managed to kick where your bruises are darkest, and you find you can't move. She aims her rifle at your face and you curse yourself; you're not dying at the hands of the military, you're either kicking it from old age or doing it yourself. Fuck this world trying to kill you, you'll show it who's boss.

Ignoring the hot pain in your side, you launch yourself forward and grab Ryujin around the waist. This throws her off enough to drop her weapon behind you, landing on her back with a cough. Her hands are pinned under your knees as you straddle her, landing a swift punch to her now bleeding nose. One of her hands wriggles free and she grabs your neck tightly, rolling you over and switching positions.

"I thought-" You wheeze, fingers trying to dislodge hers. "-you were loyal-"

"I barely know you," She grips tighter. "And you made me shoot my friend."

Black dots swim in the corners of your vision and your fighting is becoming weaker as all air leaves you, but you keep going. You refuse to let her win, to let them win. There's only a split second where you consider letting go, the black dots nearly taking up your vision, but something knocks Ryujin to the side and you're able to take a deep breath, coughing and wheezing as you roll onto your side. Drool drips from your lips as you heave, a wave of dizziness hitting you when you try and move onto your back. A gun shot sounds behind you, triggering your survival instinct, and you find yourself able to move without thinking.

Han stands in the doorway, his sniper rifle still by his eye. Your eyes wander to the target, and you spot Ryujin's body slumped over, her legs still straddling yours and a hole in the middle of her forehead dripping dark, red blood. As soon as his weapon drops, Han is by your side checking you over. No doubt deep, purple bruises already forming around your neck with how tightly she held you, his fingers gingerly brushing over the tender skin. You can see the worry in his eyes, trying to offer a smile to reassure him as you continue to cough.

"Can you speak?"

"Yeah of cour-" You're interrupted by another violent cough to contradict what you were trying to say.

"Let me send you back out there. Go find the truck and wait for us," Han tries to help you up, but you pull away at his suggestion.

"No-" You wheeze, breathing carefully as to not upset your throat.

"Don't argue with me for once," Han whines and makes another attempt to help you, but you push yourself back up on wobbly legs.

Clearing your throat, you just shake your head. If you can't talk, you won't, simple as that. You can still fight, even if you're slightly unbalanced. When you exit the room, you come out next to the stairs and there's another gunshot. Suddenly, you're yanked back and pressed against someone's chest as the bullet grazes the bridge of your nose. If you focus hard enough, you could probably feel Han's heart beating against your back with how hard it's racing.

"Close call," You whisper, out of breath.

"I thought you couldn't talk." Han comments.

"Up there!" Comes a voice from below. "Through the kitchen!"

They probably heard the shots Han fired and came running. You didn't see how many were coming inside when you were shot at, but you assume at least another group of two or three. Across from the room you're in is another bedroom, and probably your only way out. You can't go back down through the kitchen, that's where they're going to climb up, and you caught a glimpse of the collapsed roof blocking off the rest of the upstairs.

"Here's the plan," You whisper hoarsely, detaching from Han; seems you really can't shut up. You can hear the soldiers climbing. "We're going to run into the other bedroom and block the door somehow so they can't follow, okay? Then hopefully there's a window in there we can exit through and meet up with the others."

"What about Lily and Lia?" Han asks.

"Clearly they're not in here-"

"Freeze!" One soldier has entered the master bedroom and is standing at the edge of the broken floor.

"Ready?" You look at Han in the eyes and he nods. "Now."

The soldier is shouting something behind you and there's gunfire hitting the doorway right as you pass through. You duck down in front of the stairs, not making the same mistake as before, and another bullet just barely hits you, leaving a streak of blood on your forehead just above your eyebrow. Scrambling to the other side with Han close behind you, you make it into the other room and slam the door shut. Han starts pushing a dresser over and you help, grabbing the other side and heaving it in front of the door. You're almost there when it swings open, hitting the dresser. Without thinking, you take a knife from the sheath on your thigh and aim at their arm, forcing them to stumble back out of the doorway. Once the dresser is in front, there's only loud banging from the other side.

There's a moment of silence where you and Han share a look, preparing to head out of the window behind you when more gunfire sounds and you both drop flat to the ground. Holes paint the wooden door and walls as you shuffle your way to the opposite side of the room, waiting for the perfect moment to slip outside. When there's a pause in the shots- you assume they're reloading- you signal Han to get out first. By some dumb luck, there's a tree branch hanging down in front of the broken glass he can hang onto, making his way to the trunk and sliding down. You have to wait a few more minutes before joining him, more gunfire destroying the barrier between you and however many soldiers stand behind that wall. You wince as you vault over the windowsill, hands almost slipping as you grip the thick branch, and a wave of pain shoots down your side. Swinging your legs up, you're able to shuffle your body so your stomach is lying on the branch now, taking a moment to breathe. Sweat beads on your brow bone, the pain throbbing, but you power through and make your way to where Han is waiting at the bottom.

From here, no one should be able to see you. You're at the back of the house in a deep, overgrown backyard, the long grass providing cover. There's a big wooden porch directly in front of you, but the back door of the house is blocked by furniture from the inside, obscuring the view outward. You're about to turn away from the house and try to find the others, but as your eyes start to drift away, you spot double doors underneath the porch on an angle and grab Han's arm before he can move away.

"Were there stairs leading down anywhere on the main level?" You ask, eyes glued to the doors. There's a heavy metal lock on the stone base and a huge rock right next to it.

"No, why- oh," Han follows your sightline. "Do you think...?"

"We should check."

Moving quickly and quietly, you crouch your way to the doors and open up one side just enough to get through. Shutting the door, you're engulfed by nearly complete darkness, the slightest bit of sunlight peeking through the cracks of the wood panels making up the entrance. The stairs downward creak loudly under your boots as you make your way into this large, hidden space underneath the house made up of a dirt floor and stone walls, colder than the rest of the house was. As you step onto the soft earth, you reach a hand back to stop Han from continuing. In the corner is a large figure shaking; in this light you can't tell what it is, cold sweat covering your body as you realize- you didn't see any bodies in the house. Either the family evacuated or...

A loud whimper is accompanied by the figure jolting, followed by some kind of soothing whispers. Inching your way toward the corner, you see it's actually two figures, and they're not infected. It doesn't take long to realize who you're looking at- Lily has Lia in her lap wrapped in what looks like an old rug, and when her eyes snap up to meet yours, you can see the blood splattered across Lily's face.

"Tell me you have a medic with you," She pleads, and you notice just how pale Lia is, the way sweat glistens on her skin.

"No," You say, kneeling down next to her. "Just me and Han. The others are back outside looking around the neighbourhood for you two."

"I left my jacket so you would know which house we were in if you came along." Lily's voice is tired, hoarse. "She's not going to make it, is she?"

Pulling away the rug, you see two wounds on Lia; there's a bullet hole in her chest, inches away from her heart, and the marks of a dog bite on her thigh still oozing blood. Her chances aren't likely and you're realistic, but the look on Lily's face makes you want to lie and say there's still a chance, maybe if you got to Felix or Jeongin quick enough, but you know she'll be able to see through your lie, if your hesitation hasn't said enough already.

"No," You admit, laying a hand over Lilys which is still clutching onto Lia's side. "No, she won't. I'm sorry Lily." You don't fail to notice the way Lia's breathing has gotten shallower. "We have to get you out of here, okay? Bring you to safety."

"I'm not leaving her," Lily says firmly.

"You have to," You say softly. "There's no choice. We either leave you here and let them discover you, or you let us help you. Why do they need you so badly anyway? What did you ever do to warrant this kind of special attention?"

"You know I'm a scientist, but what you don't know is that I'm like you," She looks at you as you shift onto your knees in front of her; you have a feeling she has a lot to say. "I was in a quarantine zone for most of my life being trained by the best of the best... my parents. They were a part of the original group in this area trying to find a cure for the zombie virus, or whatever it is. After they passed, it was up to me, and they had really high expectations of me and I... I got close."

"What?" Han finally emerges from where he's been sitting on the steps in the dark. "Close to the cure? Why'd you stop?"

Lily shakes her head at him. "You wouldn't understand, not like Y/n. Those people are horrible and corrupt. They'd keep the cure for themselves and only give it to those who they think deserve it. I couldn't let them do that, so I left with all my research that I could carry with me. That was three years ago."

"How'd you stay under the radar for so long?" You ask, eyebrows knitting together.

"I faked my death?" Lily laughs wearily. "One of my friends was in a squad that tracked me down and cornered me in a school I was hiding out in. She let me go, told the others some infected got to me. There were so many roaming around I guess they just... believed her. She's a good soldier, trusted. After that, I was free to run far away. I ran into Lia pretty soon after, then met the rest."

"If you didn't call for help in the hospital they never would have found you," Han states. "Why'd you do it?"

"My combat skills are... limited." She looks away, a blush creeping up her face. "Lia's a great fighter, and San is- um, was, too, but there were too many even for them. I knew it was risky, but I'd rather fight my way out of a quarantine zone again than a horde of flesh-eating monsters."

She doesn't talk for a while. You look down at Lia; her breathing has completely stopped. Lily is tucking a strand of hair out of her pale face, cupping her cheek and whispering something in her ear before gently placing her body on the dirt floor. Beside you, Han is silent.

"It would be selfish of me to stay here and let them find me when she died for this cause," Lily says with a new fire. "And I can't let Hannah die because I'm stubborn."

Your eyes widen at her unknown confession. "Did you say Hannah?"

"Is that important?"

"Very," You say, unable to hide your smile as you look at Han, whose eyes are wider than yours.

-

It's surprisingly easy to avoid getting spotted as you sneak through the backyard and start to head back to where Hyunjin hid the truck. As you weave through the long-abandoned houses, you peek inside for any signs of your friends. Up ahead, you see a familiar figure dashing between two parked cars and signal Han to wait in the alley you're walking through. Following where you saw the person head, you enter a small dance studio. She's standing with her back to you, hand trailing one wall.

"Chaeryeong." You whisper when you're close enough to her and she jumps, making you laugh. "Where's Jeongin? Hyunjin? Hell, even Chan and Felix? Those two were supposed to meet with me and Han in that house."

"I got separated from Jeongin." She huffs, leaning against a wooden bar sticking out from the wall. There's a small cut on her neck, but other than that and some dirt, she looks unscathed. "Hyunjin ended up going with the other two, but I don't know what happened after Jeongin and I left you guys. I hope he's okay. I hope they're all okay."

Worry is written all over her face and she hugs herself subconsciously. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, you try and reassure her.

"I'm sure they're fine, they know how to take care of themselves." You squeeze her in hopes of comforting her. "The back of that house was blocked off, so they might have tried to find another way in and we missed them."

"Yeah, yeah." Chaeryeong's head turns to yours. "You're right. Besides-"

"Hands up!"

You freeze, the hair on the back of your head sticking up. That voice is familiar, but you can't place it until you turn around and see Officer Song staring back at you with five more soldiers behind him. He scoffs, approaching you carelessly, and you have half a mind to grab the knife from your hip and stick it in his chest.

"We meet again." He announces. "What are you doing, always interfering the way you do? You both know all the actual rebels are long dead, right?"

He's referring to their parents, you know it. As far as you know, everyone you've met were born into the rebellion against how the government handled the apocalypse, save for Hyunjin and Jeongin and now you and Seungmin too.

Rough hands grip your arm closest to him, dragging you away from Chaeryeong and throwing you to the ground; as if you don't have enough bruises. You watch from the floor as another soldier grabs onto Chaeryeong and disarms her, all of Officer Song's attention laser-focused on you. With him crouched in front of you, you're having a sense of deja vu, only this time you still have a weapon that seems to have gone unnoticed. In a flash, your hand is on the knife and swinging at Officer Song, landing a blow into his shoulder. He grunts and falls back, but is up again in seconds and grabbing you under the chin.

"You little bitch," He seethes, and you can see blood seeping through his army green shirt. "You think you can get away with that? How do you feel about never seeing your little friends ever again?"

Unable to respond with words, you gather saliva in your mouth and spit directly at his face. He throws you back down to wipe his face with the bottom of his shirt and stands. In the background, Chaeryeong is still fighting the hold of both the soldiers holding her against the wall by her arms, legs flailing up and hair falling into her face. Her teeth are bared as Officer Song walks past her, not even sparing her a glance, with your knife still stuck in his body. He makes some sort of hand gesture and suddenly there are two pairs of hands on you, lifting you up to a standing position.

"Send a squad to hunt the others down." He orders, turning around and making eye contact with you. "No one makes it out alive."

-

There's a dull pain in your left temple where you assume you've been hit, your eyes blinking open to a blurry cell door greeting you. You know where you are; the familiar musty smell of this quarantine zone's makeshift jail fills your nostrils as you begin to remember what happened. For a moment, panic overwhelms you, but then you spot Chaeryeong across from you, still out like a light. There's a faint bruise forming on her jaw. You're going to kill whoever hit her.

"Awake?" A voice from beside you asks and you turn your head to see someone you don't recognize waltzing in. "Can you hear me? I know my people did a number on you."

He smiles down at you and you don't answer.

"How about a name?" You still don't reply. "Stubborn, okay, I'll start. My name is Kim Hongjoong, but you can call me Captain Kim. You killed two of my soldiers and stabbed an officer, what do you think your punishment should be, hm?"

"Captain!" He doesn't spare a glance to whoever called for him from the door, just hums in response. "One of the squad leaders found some others, but they claim to be lost. Can you see to them?"

"I guess I should get going." Captian Kim exhales, his shoulders dropping. "I'll see you later, Y/n."

"How did you know-" But he's gone before you can finish your sentence, leaving you in your dimly lit, cold, cement cell.

There are a few hours between each visit from random cadets, something you remember having to do as a part of your training. Chaeryeong has woken up and you've both complained about the hard ground and the temperature. You know it's supposed to be uncomfortable and boring, but it still sucks major balls to be stuck in here with nothing to do. You wonder about the other people; you wonder about your people.

"Hey, Y/n? Can I ask you something?" Chaeryeong shuffles her way to the front of her cell, sitting with her legs crossed.

"What's up?"

"How did you know you had feelings for Hyunjin." You blush.

"That's what you're wondering right now? Not maybe how we're going to get out of this mess?" You laugh when she shrugs in response. "Why do you want to know?"

When she blushes and tries to brush off your question, you gasp.

"No," You say. "Who?!"

"No one! Forget I asked!" She puts her head in her hands and laughs louder, but it's cut short by the door opening.

A young cadet walks behind Captain Kim, three others following suit. When their faces come into the light, you fight to remain stoic. Walking with the Captain is none other than Han Jisung. Why isn't he being thrown in a cell right now? Why is he free to stand beside them and stare into your eyes like-

Then it hits you; he's playing a part. No one here besides you and Chaeryeong should know who he is. In the hospital, everyone but him and Chaeryeong were inside. Officer Song never saw him, Minho never saw him, nobody saw him. And your heart leaps at the thought of him here to rescue you.

"You don't recognize her?" Captain Kim asks, watching Han intently as he shakes his head with furrowed eyebrows.

"No, sir," He says dutifully, looking at him with the same confused eyes he was just looking at you with. Hell, if you didn't know better, you'd think he'd suffered from some kind of memory loss.

"You're sure?"

"Very."

"Alright... and her?" They turn around to Chaeryeong's cell and he shakes his head again, but you notice he's making a damn peace sign behind his back to you. "Very well. We'll have to take you in for further questioning before deciding what to do with you, I hope you'll understand."

"Of course, sir."

Captain Kim smiles at him, his profile somehow still lit sharply in the dim lights. "I like you... we'll make a soldier out of you."

Han salutes with a shit-eating grin on his face, but quickly turns it into fake sincerity.

"Aye-aye captain, I won't disappoint!" And you know he won't. Han will play the part to a T until he can get you two out of here and back on the road. You know how loyal he is to Chan and the others, there's no way he's actually considering this... and no way does he have you fooled as well, taking his disguise as well as he is.

How did Chan approve of this idiotic plan? One wrong move and he'll be found out, not only fucking up the chances of getting you out, but setting the group even further back in finding Hannah. Han casts you one last glance before the three leave the room, winking as he exits. Once the door shuts, you turn to Chaeryeong with wide eyes and she sighs.

"This is not going to end well..."

-

Whatever Han is doing seems to be working.

Over the next few days, he's in and out of the cells training just like you had once. On the first night, you had the realization that you still have your bobby pin and could easily pick the locks of both yours and Chaeryeong's cell doors, but she talked you out of the idea.

"We do that and they'll be all over us in seconds," She said. "There's no guarantee that this QZ is set up like yours and we're weaponless. Surely there's someone guarding this door as well, if not multiple someones?"

"Well, yeah..." You looked away from her, embarrassed.

"So we need a better plan than that." She gave you a sad look. "I'm sorry Y/n, I know I haven't been able to think of anything that would actually work and not end in our deaths either."

In the present, Han is crouched in front of your cell door and sticking his hand through the bars to poke at you. You open your eyes with a jolt, hands raising in defence, but immediately falling back to your lap when you see it's just him. Han retracts his hand, going to sit on his knees in front of you. You raise an eyebrow at him, prompting him to announce why he's sitting in front of you like you're friends.

"I have a plan," Han says, giddy. He bites his bottom lip to contain what you assume is excitement. "Not only can I get you both out of here, but we can also steal information regarding resources Lily might need for the cure. I've also heard rumours about some kind of zombie-free city? I bet you there's info about that too, I just haven't located it yet..."

"How are you gonna do that without being caught?" You ask, squinting your eyes at him.

"I've made friends." His smile grows wider.

"Friends...?" You eye him.

"Squad Leader kind of friends... maybe a specific one?" You sit up, clasping the bars in front of his face. "A certain man named Lee Minho who just so happens to be here on business?"

"You're fucking lying-" But it makes sense. Where Squad Leader Seo goes, he goes.

"I'm not!" He almost sounds offended. "Minho agreed to help cover me when I steal the plans tonight-"

"Tonight?"

"Tonight! Then, I'll come in here and bust you out when I'm on guard duty with Changbin. He's cool, by the way." Han stands up, and you do as well. "We're going to fake a fight and he'll let us slip out since apparently you two know each other and he feels he owes it to you for leaving you behind that day."

Your chest tightens. That day, the last day of being a cadet. You almost forgot he was there too.

"Anyway, there's a kind of secret underground tunnel thing going on in this QZ that we can use to get out," Han's voice quickens, knowing he's running out of time before someone comes in here. "I'll bring you both some kind of weapon if I can, but no promises. Once we leave through that door, we have to be faster than we've ever been before. I already ran this plan over with Chaeryeong while you were dozing."

Behind him, you can see her curled into herself with her eyes closed, breathing steady, and the occasional twitch. She's fixed her hair back into a low bun, only a few strands of black sweeping over her sleeping face. She looks like an angel.

"Okay." You turn your attention back to Han. "You want this plan to work? Get your butt back out there and do your job, or they'll start to get suspicious."

After Han leaves, you take some time pacing around your cell and ruminating his words. The plan is risky, but any plan in a place as secure as a quarantine zone would be. There's a lot of room for error and a ton of kinks to work out, but your heart is focusing on something much louder than what your mind needs to be thinking of; Minho. Why hasn't he come to see you if he's here? You assume you weren't supposed to find out since he's only helping Han technically. Will he find out you know? And if he does, will he come see you then? Or is him knowing you a danger to himself? If they connect him to you escaping both here and the hospital, what will happen to him? You don't let yourself think about it too much more, opting to sit and pick at the bars of your cell as a distraction.

-

Just over an hour later, Han is back at your cell with a ring of keys in his shaky hands. After a few tries, he drops the keys and you're on your feet in an instant, sticking your hand through the bars to grab his hand as he tries a new key. He's looking at you now, eyes darting toward the door as he attempts to even his breathing. You squeeze his hand, a way to reassure him that everything will be okay, even if you don't know that for sure.

"I think someone knows," Han blurts. "I think someone saw me sneaking out of Captain Kim's office with Minho."

"Then we need to hurry," You say, keeping your voice calm. "If they're onto us, we need to be able to get out of here before they can find us, okay? That means you have to calm down. I know it isn't easy, but you have to try."

He takes a deep breath, sticking the final key in the lock. A click sounds and your cell door swings open, allowing you to finally leave the cage you've inhabited over the last few days. Han quickly releases Chaeryeong and speeds over to the door, taking a look outside before opening it wider to let you two out ahead of him. Changbin is right outside and you jump at the sight of him.

"Thanks for the help," You say, avoiding eye contact as he leads you through the dark halls.

Changbin opens a door into what looks like a storage closet. "I owe it to you, and to Squad Leader Lee."

"Is he- how is he?" You pause, knowing you shouldn't.

"He's..." Changbin kneels down to push aside a threadbare rug to reveal a trap door not unlike the one in the cottage, easily opening it with one hand and stepping to the side. "He's surviving. Did he not-"

"Traitors."

The one word is enough to make you all turn around to see Officer Song staring at you with narrow eyes, red in the face. With a gun in one hand and some kind of hand-held radio in the other, he's calling for backup in no time. As he raises the weapon at your group, you're diving down the hole and running right when your feet hit the ground. You catch a glimpse of the others when you take a look behind you, seeing that Changbin has joined the escape. The tunnels are musty and rough, with hard dirt and clay making up the walls and ceilings. Multiple tunnels diverge from the one you're running down, but you continue to go straight with no real direction. You have no idea where you're going, only that you need to keep moving.

"Turn up there!" Changbin shouts from behind you; he's closer than the others, his footsteps catching up to yours.

Doing as he says, you turn right where the pathway curves, but you're met with a hard wall of a person, causing you to stumble backward. Han wasn't able to grab a weapon for you, so you raise your fists in defense. Past your hands, you make eye contact with Minho and freeze, spotting Squad Leader Seo behind him in your peripheral vision. There's still shouting behind you, but you can't move; the world has slowed and it's just you and him staring at each other.

"I guess there's no talking you out of this now," Minho says. "They're on your trail."

"Yeah," You say, barely breathing. "You should leave before they find you with us, both of you."

Squad Leader Seo shakes her head. "I'm not leaving my brother."

"Okay." You start walking again, then jogging. "There- a door!"

A heavy door sits at the end of the tunnel, but as you approach you notice the giant sign- DO NOT OPEN! INFECTED QUARTERS!

"I just had a genius idea," you say. There are two other pathways leading away from the door and you notice an arrow pointing down one side, signaling an alternate exit, which sparks a plan. "We need to get this thing open, then bolt, but we have to time this perfectly."

"Are you insane?" Squad Leader Seo moves past you, beginning down the other path. "We'll all get killed. Better to just get out while we still can."

"C'mon! Yeah, it's risky, so is this whole damn escape!" You throw your arms up in frustration. "It's going to open toward us, blocking us out of sight. Any infected behind that door are going to go for the people straight in front of them, aka, the people who want to kill us. They're already catching up, this'll buy us time!"

"I guess you have a point," She sighs. "But that door is heavy, it'll take all of us-"

"So we'd better get started, because it looks like they're here." Minho grabs the top of the large metal door handle, nodding his head to the end of the tunnel you came from.

Grabbing the bottom, you help him pull. Changbin comes between you, sweat beading on your brow bone from the effort. The door creaks and groans loudly as it opens and you can already hear hissing and growling from behind. Once it's about halfway open, it swings the rest of the way easily, stopping right where you thought it would. Next to you, Han and Squad Leader Seo are firing at the approaching soldiers, quickly stopping as the door shelters you from the fight about to begin. Using the door as cover, you take a minute to breathe. There are people shouting from beyond the door, mixing with the terrifying noises of the zombies you've unleashed upon them. When you hear a squelching sound, your feet move on their own away from fight.

At the end of the tunnel, there's a trap door leading up, rusty metal bars sticking out of the dirt wall to form a ladder. Minho goes first, placing a hand on your shoulder before you can head up. Distant growls and shooting become quieter as you climb up next, Chaeryeong following after you. Squad Leader Seo doesn't bother closing the trap door behind her, staring down into the darkness before walking toward the group.

The tunnel seems to have opened up a bit further than you'd have thought, right on the path of a worn patrol route. In the distance, you can see a few buildings signaling the beginning of a town, and you think it may be the same one you found Lily in. There's a road to your left and some woods right behind you, the trap door right at the tree line. From here, you can make your way back through or around the town and meet where the truck is supposed to be, if it's still there.

"Han, is the-"

Crack. The sound of a gunshot rings through the still air, the sound of a body dropping right by your feet; you're scared to see who it is. There are a few more clicks of a gun and a frustrated groan before you turn slowly to see a bloody and bitten Officer Song tossing an empty gun away. His body is halfway out of the trapdoor, one arm torn to shreds. Without medical attention, he'll bleed out, if he doesn't turn first.

"Traitors." Officer Song repeats his earlier words. Looking down, you see Changbin hovering over his sister's body, a hole in the center of her forehead. Lifeless eyes stare past you into the trees. "You had such potential."

Minho is gritting his teeth, to keep some choice words at bay you assume. His body is moving without thinking, stomping up to Officer Song and yanking his head back by the hair to look him in the eye. Watching as Minho glares down at the older man, you slowly approach. The level of hate in his eyes is something you've never seen before, almost scaring you like you're the one he's killing over and over again in his mind.

"Kill me," Officer Song taunts. "Coward."

The last straw, calling Minho a coward. A knife is at his throat in seconds, but you're holding his arm back before he can slice.

"Don't," You say, stern. "Drop the knife, Min, he's not worth it. Let him turn and suffer that pain. He deserves it."

There's a moment when Minho tries to tug his arm out of your grip, but you know he's not putting much strength into it. Slowly, his hand is back at his side, knife falling to the ground. With one last look, he spits at the ground by Officer Song. You're back to where Changbin has now picked up his sister, his eyes red and puffy as he avoids your gaze. Taking a deep breath, he nods and you start to lead the group across the road. You can hear Officer Song laughing behind you.

"Stupid girl."

"Y/n!" The sound of Chaeryeong's voice makes you spin around just in time to see the knife Minho left flying your way, but it doesn't hit you.

"No-" Chaeryeong collapses against you and you look over her shoulder; the weapon is embedded in her back, right between the wings on her graphic tee. "Chaer, no, why- why would you do that?"

You gently fall to the ground, cupping her face with one hand, the other around her waist to keep her up. Han has appeared by your side with a panicked look on his face, his own hands coming up to brush stray hairs away. There's a smile on her face as a tear falls from one of her eyes.

"I can't feel my legs." She gasps, the smile dropping for a second. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"You're not going to die-" Han says, voice shaking, although you both know the truth.

"Don't lie to me Jisung," She looks at him and laughs, followed by a cough. "Not- not now. Please."

"Chaer, you can't die." Han's voice breaks, and you save him the humility of seeing him cry by focusing on the girl in your arms. "Y-you can't, you can't die. We'll save you, Felix and Jeongin will patch you up and save you like they did Hyunjin and-"

"Ji, I can't feel anything."

There's blood on her face from where you've trailed your fingers down her jaw, a small trickle coming from the corner of her mouth the next time she coughs. Although you haven't known her as long as the others, your heart aches severely watching the light fade from her eyes. Soon, she's motionless in your lap, angel wings painted a deep red. Your eyes make contact with the knife and anger consumes you, pulling it gently out of her back and standing up.

Officer Song is lying with his cheek to the ground, but you know he's still alive by the way his chest rises and falls. His eyes are closed until you kick him in the chest to make him lie flat, eyelids shooting open in pain. Before he can speak, your boot is on his neck hard. You crouch down, keeping your foot in place as you watch him smile.

"You think you're so fucking funny?" You hiss, voice laced with venom. "You won't be laughing when this knife is down your fucking throat."

Removing your foot, you drive the blade at the exposed skin of his neck and drag it down, blood flooding on either side of him. He's choking, one hand weakly trying to stop the bleeding. You see the life leave his face, the final twitch of his fingers; you can't stop staring until someone is pulling you away. Stumbling back, you let Minho bring you to the others. You can feel blood drying on your hands and face. Han is holding Chaeryeong, and you wish you'd have let Minho kill Officer Song.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

notes ▪︎ erm.. pls don't hate me 🙏

─── taglist : @chaeryred @toplinelix @channie-143 @staysinbloom @manuosorioh @hanjisunglover @xxstrayland @puppyminnnie @hanjsquokka @kpopsstuffs @ot8girlfie @quokkabite @linoslawayslinos @reapers-lover @hannieslittlerockstar @kiki0113 @nishiriks @nxtt2-u @moonlightjam @hannieslovebot @minmininnie @8lives1heart @skzswife @emi-han @alisonyus

green means i can't tag you!

[chaotic-fandom-writer]

Adam x Reader P.1 (Hazbin Hotel)

Warnings: Heavy cursing, violence, adult themes

Chapters

I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII

Extermination day was never easy, nor fun. But you fought nonetheless. You would do anything to keep your friends and the hotel from being exterminated.

Today was a harder one than usual. You noticed they seemed to be sending more and more angels down every year, making it nearly impossible to hold your ground anymore. Maybe it was your hood and mask, or maybe it was all the attacks, but you were out of breath quicker than usual, too.

You were doing okay, until an angel came from behind, knocking one of your daggers out of your hand. Mind spinning, already nearing exhaustion, you turned and ran as fast as you could, fully aware the angel was gaining on you quickly.

You turned a sharp corner and dropped into the cellar doors of one of the shops nearby. You could hear the angel go past, holding your breath and waiting extra long, just to be safe.

After you finally catch your breath, you ran outside, ready to fight again, only to see a brilliant burst of light come crashing down on you. You barely managed to jump away, looking up for the source.

Horrified, you realize where it came from - Adam, the leader of the angels.

Of course he's the one who happens to find me.

You mentally curse your own luck before jumping again, avoiding more of his strikes. "What's with the fucking mask? You some kind of bimbo robinhood bitch?"

"What the fuck does that even mean?" You laugh, not even sure how to process the insult.

"Fuck you! That's what it means!" And more strikes. You jump again, seemingly irritating your attacker.

"Hold still, bitch!"

You laugh, and run into a nearby shopping center, running up the stairs to the second floor and hiding in a shop.

You had no weapons, aside from one small dagger, and honestly, that didn't look like it could do much against the literal leader of the angels.

"Where are you, slut?"

God, he's a real charmer, this one.

Slowly, you start to creep around the shop, trying to get a better peek, when suddenly, you take a wrong step, and the fragile, crumbling conrete gives way underneath you.

You let out a scream as you fall from the second floor, landing flat on your back in the shop beneath. You gasp for air, ripping the mask and hood off of your face.

Adam appears before you, his cocky grin suddenly faded. You tense your body, waiting for him to attack, but he does nothing. He stands there, staring at you.

"What's your fucking problem?" You ask, looking away, somehow unable to bear the sight of his gaze anymore.

He says nothing, instead walking slowly over to you. You scoot back as far as you can before your back hits the wall.

Looking up at Adam, you squeeze your eyes shut and turn your head away as he reaches down for you.

Suddenly, before you know it, you feel his arms lift you up. But before you even have time to process that, you're flying through the roof of the building and into the air.

Unable to speak, you gawk at the sights below you, flying at insane speeds in Adam's arms. He stops at a tall building, dropping you on the rooftop.

"It's almost over. Stay here until we leave, or you'll get killed."

Before you can even respond, he flies off into the distance.

"What the fuck?"

--

It took you a while to climb down the building, and even longer to walk back to the hotel. The asshole had really taken you far from the battle site.

You wearily walk up the steps of the hotel, swinging the door open and collapsing at the bar.

"And where the fuck have you been?" Husk asks, pouring you a drink.

"I don't even know dude." You slam your drink, and he pours you another one.

Another voice chimes in. "What do you mean, 'you don't know?' What happened?" Angel Dust now joins you at the bar.

Sighing, you explain what happened, also gaining the interest of Vaggie and Charlie.

"That's.. strange. I don't understand why he wouldn't just kill you. He's kind of notorious for that." Vaggie says, a confused look on her face.

"Maybe he felt bad?" Charlie says enthusiastically. Husk snorts at this. "Maybe not." She says more quietly.

"All I know is, I'm going the fuck to bed." You stand, slamming your last shot before heading up and turning in for the night.

--

What you thought was a random, strange occurence, ending up turning into a yearly routine.

Every single year, the angels would come down for extermination, lead by Adam. And every year, he began to seek you out, snatching you off the streets and dropping you on the top of a random building.

Every time, you fought, kicked, and screamed. You demanded, yelled, cursed. But still you recieved no answers, only "rescues" you weren't asking for.

This year would be different, you decided. You were going to fight him back, and demand to know why the fuck he kept doing this. It didn't make any sense, and you deserved answers.

You had a plan. All you had to do was stand in the open, and wait.

Sure enough, Adam came flying down. You could see his eyes sweep the crowd, before landing directly on you. In the midst of the chaos, nobody else ever notices him swoop down and grab you.

You played it up like you always do, yelling at him to let you go. He did the same as always - ignored you.

As he neared the top of the building, you suddenly grabbed onto his wing and bent it as hard as you could, earning a loud CRACK.

"FUCK! What the FUCK!" Adam shrieks in pain, dropping you onto the rooftop and collapsing alongside you.

You grab daggers out from under your shirt, and begin wildly slashing. Despite his wound, he recovers quickly, fighting you off.

But he's not going anywhere with that broken wing.

The both of you jump backwards. "Adam. Tell me what you're doing. No more games!" You scream.

"You broke my fucking wing, you bitch!" He yells back.

"ADAM! No more games!"

You lunge at him again, tackling him to the ground, stomping the heel of your shoe down into the broken wing. He screams, but holds tightly onto both of your wrists, keeping your daggers away from his face.

"Just tell m-"

You're suddenly cut off by a sharp pain in your chest. You gasp for air, looking down and seeing the tip of a blade poking out through your shirt.

Through your chest.

"NO!" Adam screams out, cradling you as you slump off of him, now the one on the ground.

Behind you, Lute stands looking confused, holding onto her bloody blade.

"LUTE! What the fuck?"

"Sir, I thought -"

"FUCK!" Adam screams, holding onto you.

You simply smile, aware of the life draining away from you.

Before you die, all you can manage to say is,

"At least the game is finally over."

--

All you hear is a loud POOF! and suddenly, you're awake, standing, and feel no more pain.

Standing before you, angels. Surrounding you, more angels. White, white everywhere.

You look down and see yourself in elegant white clothing.

"What the FUCK?"

"Welcome to Heaven!"

--

Don't forget, I'm always accepting requests!

Chapters

I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII

[makelemonade]

Good afternoon, Lemonade. I read your Tsaritsa fic and would like to make a request for Childe. The Tsaritsa plays intervention after hearing rumors about Childe cheating on Fem!Reader with Lumine.

The Tsaritsa is the archon of love, so when she notices and feels that the love lives of her Harbingers aren’t going too well, she has to interfere- pt2

Childe; hurt/comfort, female reader, harbingers are all friends. I wrote that it was assumed he was cheating but didn’t actually I suck at writing cheating idk @ruttteerr pt1

Childe

You understood that your boyfriend’s job was difficult- 11th may have been the lowest but that didn’t make the work or missions any less than the others have it.

And because compared to the other Harbinhers, he’s one of the only few who actually goes out on missions and leaves for days to weeks to months.

At first it was…annoying- he was always gone for days, and if he was actually here he’d be off working on a bunch of papers or training new fatuus.

But he tries to be with you, both mentally and physically. If he’s away, he’ll write a letter for you everyday, telling you about how it was and he hopes you’ll send one at the end of the week. If he’s working at home, he’ll ask you to sit on his lap as he works or stay in the room with him so when he gets tired and frustrated he can hold.

If he’s working in the castle- he’s bringing you to the castle. You get the picture.

So when he tells you he has a mission in Liyue that’ll take a few weeks, you’re emptying out your mailbox so that all of his letters can fit.

Yet only one comes.

The letter tells you that the first day of his mission has already gone hectic as he had to save a girl from the millileth- he learned her name was lumine and she was the same traveller who saved mondstadt from the dragon.

Now you’re not jealous. Sure at the start of the relationship you easily got jealous of girls that would stare at Childe and flirt with him but after many years of being with him and not once did he cheat, you trusted him.

It was just so insanely weird that suddenly all the letters stopped. None came for 2 weeks and you were feeling nervous- did something happen to him? Was he hurt?!?!

Your thoughts worsened when one day, a subordinate showed up to your home, carriage ourside and explaining a Harbinger has called for you.

Did he die?!?!? You ask him so many questions but he apologizes and says he knows nothing and you’re forced to head to the carriage, on the way to the castle.

Once inside, you found Signora- a friend and a harbinger. She was pacing around, and her eyes lit up when she saw you.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, your breath quickening at her state. “Is Childe okay?”

“Who cares about him!” She scoffed, walking up to you. “Has he sent you anything lately? I just got back from Liyue.”

“No- and shouldn’t he be here with you?!”

“He asked for a few extra days to stay there.” She dragged a hand down her face, seemingly very annoyed.

You were about to ask why- what’s so important that he’s taking extra time on this mission but Signora was already back?! Until it clicked in your head, and slowly as the puzzle pieces went together, the pieces of your heart started to break.

“He met lumine…” you breathed out, remembering his final letter before they stopped.

She frowned. “Everyday I was there they were always together. And now he’s taking a few days extra?! Y/N, they are hanging out one hundred percent. Honestly, I think he might’ve…”

You put a hand up to stop her, feeling tears well in your eyes. No- this couldn’t be! He would never!

“What’s she like?” You asked, somewhat trying to make this whole situation worse for yourself.

“She fights a lot- as much as Childe, honestly.”

A girl who loves to fight, just like he does.

“Looks?”

“Ugly.”

Gorgeous actually, she just didn’t wanna say it.

“This can’t be happening,” You sniffed, trying not to let any tears fall.

Down the hall, just around the corridor was Pierro, listening in on everything and deciding he must tell the queen of love herself.

~~

“WHAT?!?!?” She screamed, echoing around the throne room and sending shivers down everyone’s spine. Her face was full of fury, and Pierro was honestly a bit scared. “CHILDE? CHEATING? ON Y/N?”

She practically growled, pacing back and forth around the room. “This is…atrocious! Nauseating! Abhorrent! And it’s the same traveller that tried to stop Signora, am I not correct?! Does he have no shame?!”

Pierro just blinked, not knowing what to say but he honestly couldn’t even get a word in with how much she was ranting.

“I want a room put for her this instant! She will stay in the castle as a loved guest until Childe comes. Speaking of! WHO IS HE WITH?!”

Pierro took a step back. “Zhongli- Morax’s human form.”

“I’m gonna visit that dragon in my dreams and he better relay every single goddamn word I say to Childe and Childe BETTER be here in 3 days!”

“Can i take my leave now?” He honestly didn’t care.

“Wait! Tell the others that the moment chikde steps FOOT in this castle he is to report straight to the hall and all of you will give him an intervention! No- actually! Tell him to come here and I WILL.”

“Ok.” He shrugged and she sighed, taking a seat back onto her throne and waving her hand away, letting Pierro take his leave.

~~

Childe was absolutely scared shitless when he arrived back in Snezhnaya because what the hell did Zhongli mean when he said he went to sleep and the Tsaritsa visited him in his slumber screaming at him to tell Childe to come back to Snezhnaya immediately?!?!???

The moment the palace doors closed behind him, the walls started to shake and ice fell from the ceilings.

“AJAX!”

The Tsaritsa’s scream echoed around every ahll of the castle and dread filled him in an instant. He looked to the side of the hall to see Dottore, who looked absolutely scared shitless and Capitano who went rigid.

“You’re in some deep shit comrade.” Dottore snorted and Childe genuinely had no idea what he was talking about

And he still had no idea as he stood in the throne room, watching the Tsaritsa yap and yell at him but he couldn’t even understand a word he was saying.

Because all she would say was “cheater” over and over again and say she was so humiliated and disappointed and he had no idea what to say.

“Do you have anything to say?!”

“Yeah- what thé hell are you talking about?!”

“You cheated on Y/N!”

He stared at her, absolutely dumbfounded for a few seconds before he broke out into a fit of laughter. “What?! Oh my, your majesty I never took you as one to be such a jokester!”

Now she was confused. “Huh? I’m not! You cheated on Y/N with Lumine! Of all people you could’ve done it with- HER? OUR ENEMY?”

He realized she was serious and now he was once again, insanely confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You cheated on Y/N with lumine!”

His jaw dropped. What? No, he would never ever EVER cheat on his pookie bear and he MEANT that because you’re the love of his life! “I would never cheat on her!”

She was about to yell at him, but then she felt it- she felt the amount of love he had for her now that he was back, and it was too strong- too strong to remain after cheating on someone.

She basked in the feeling for a while, and felt herself calm down. “You…didn’t?”

He just shook his head, scoffing. “Where did this even come from?!?”

She didn’t answer, instead laughing and yelling “YES!” Out of joy and she ran up to hug him and he was just so confused still.

“Oh, forget everything I just said about you, Tartaglia! It was a rumour, and we all believed it!”

“All- SO Y/N THINKS SO TOO?!”

Her heart drops when she realizes.

~~

You were hesitant to let Childe into the room the Harbingers so graciously offered you, but he just sounded so desperate that you couldn’t help yourself.

His heart broke at the sight of you- eyes red, nose runny and your shirt drenched in your own tears. He took your hands, realizing just how cold they were and sat down beside you on the bed.

He put one hand on your cheek to wipe away a falling tear and you tried to ignore how cold his hand was.

“I…I’m sorry. I made a promise to you years ago- a promise that I would never leave your side, and I still intend on keeping that promise, but I should’ve tried harder on my mission. I wanted to write to you everyday, but it got so hectic…Morax decided to pull a “fake-my-death” last minute and since, the whole plan was in shambles and the traveller was trying to help…in the end I ended up beating her ass, which I hope makes you feel better-“

It did.

“And so much more happened; I got betrayed by a friend and I never thought I’d be hurt by this but god even Signora betrayed me! They lied to me throughout the mission and the reason I took extra days was because Morax- Zhongli, now, wanted to explain to me just why the plan was changed and I was just gonna spend those few days with him. I should’ve wrote to you- any spare few minutes I had I should’ve spent at least writing out a few words to you, but I didn’t, and I’m sorry.”

More tears flew out of your eyes, and even he was crying too. You wrapped your arms around him, nuzzling your head into the crook between his neck and shoulder.

“You’re not obligated to have to always write to me.”

He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer. “I know. But I want to.”

He’ll take you both to your shared home but now, he just wanted to keep you in his arms to make up for the last 3 weeks.

[majoryeager104]

could you do a comfort fic for Hawks or Dabi comforting user whos been feeling really horrible lately and just kinda wants to die and almost relaspes? I understand if you dont wanna write this

ofc I’ll write it but if this is personal just wanna say I hope ur doing okay 🫶🫶🫶

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦•······················•✦ Keigo (this one for me was definitely based off of an experience of mine where a friend comforted me. Not many words were exchanged, but that memory made me realize there doesn’t have to be, if that makes sense)

“hey sweets I’m-”

Keigo took one look at you and knew something was wrong. As soon as he stepped through the door, he could practically feel the cold, desolate tension only brought by one thing. Hurt.

You were laying on the edge of your bed, a distant look on your face as you stared blankly at the ceiling. It was a scene that Keigo had seen a few times before, but that never made dealing with the feeling hanging in the air any easier.

“hey…you okay? Did something happen?”

His words, caring and soft as he sat down next to you, shook you from your seemingly never ending thoughts. You finally looked at him, your lips tightening shut into an awkward smile as you sat up.

“Yeah…I’m fine, nothing happened.”

Keigo too tightened his lips, but into a frown, because he could see right through you. In fact to him it didn’t even seem like you were trying to hide your sadness, and then he figured maybe you didn’t want to, you shouldn’t have to. Without questioning you, without saying a word, he gingerly wrapped you up into his arms, his wings unfurling around the two of you as he pulled you closer. You knew he was trying to help, you knew that he knew what was going on, and wordlessly, you obliged to his touch, falling into his embrace that you didn’t realize helped so much with those sinking feelings until you were in it.

Keigo pulled you close, sighing as he shut his eyes and buried his face into your hair. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen you like this, but it never did get easier. But, if he could cheer you up, help you see the brighter side of things, he’d brave that sinking feeling anytime. That’s what heroes are for, right? He’d save you, even if what was putting you in danger were your own thoughts. And so, as you wordlessly conveyed your doubts through mere expressions, Keigo quietly held you closer, as if trying to gently squeeze away whatever doubts and sorrows you had.

“you know I love you right?”

“…yeah”

“and you can always talk to me?”

“….yeah”

“Or don’t talk to me, I really don’t mind either way, it’s totally up to you…as long as you let me help you feel better…okay?”

“…okay”

“now…I’m gonna order dinner, put on a cheesy Hallmark rom-com, and find your cat… I’ll have you smiling and feeling better in no time, m’kay, Sweets?”

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Touya

You’d been sulking around the League hideout all day, and Touya would be lying if he said he didn’t notice it. He wasn’t sure why he didn’t ask you about it though, but he had a few ideas- on one hand, he’d never once been in such a vulnerable situation on either side, on the other, what would he say? What if what little comfort he thought he could give wasn’t enough? What if he made things worse?

But, he pushed aside all those doubts today, as he walked by your room, only to hear muffled crying on the other side of the door. He stopped, listening for a moment, his eyes widened slightly. You sounded upset. Really upset. Your muffled cries- no, sobs- sent a total shock through his body. He’d never seen you very upset before, let alone heard you cry. Before he even realized it, and before he could stop himself, he’d turned the knob, forgetting to knock as he stepped into your room. To his surprise, the shock he’d had in hearing you melted away when he saw you curled up under the covers of your bed, your back turned to him, your soft sobs shaking your shoulders. No, his shock was replaced by a sort of quiet conviction. He shut the door softly behind him, which caught your attention. You turned to look at him, your puffy eyes meeting his as he stood there in front of your door, an almost unreadable expression on his face. almost unreadable. You wiped your eyes in a panic, trying to calm your breathing. You were so preoccupied with your panicked thoughts that you didn’t even hear the soft thuds of his boots as he approached your bed. “didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?”

You looked back up at him, trying to fake yet another smile, but there he was, sitting next to you, and before you even got out another word of faux positivity, he was hugging you. His firm hand pulled your head to rest on his shoulder, his gruff tone cutting through your thoughts like a blade-saw.

“didn’t anyone ever teach you to be open and honest with the people you care about?”

His conviction, his concern, was what got you crying again, your already shaky body melting into his embrace, your body once again racked with quiet sobs as you wrapped your arms around him, clinging to him like he was some sort of lifeline, because to you he was.

“hey… don’t start crying, just talk to me. I’ve been…worried about you”

“…’m sorry…”

“don’t be sorry… just be…just get back to feeling better, alright? I’m here when you need me, so don’t just…you know…”

Touya’s voice betrayed him, and you caught a small shakiness to his tone as he spoke, his awkwardness getting the better of his train of thought. He pulled you closer, as if you too were his lifeline, because, well, you were.

“…love you, idiot.”

“…I love you too Touya”

He sighed, leaning back to look at you. His brows furrowed slightly as he smirked, wiping away a tear.

“so, now that the gushy parts over, I was gonna go get you some boba…your usual, right?”

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

sorry this took me a while I’ve been busy lately🙏🙏🙏

[strawberri-elixir]

Sleepless nights

╰⇢ 24. I like- no- love you.

Warnings: not proof read very well

note: WRITTEN PART AGAINNN (shits happening y'all) also i think it's longer than the last written part(?) not too sure tho

“Ready to go?” You turned to the boy in front of you. Everyone else had already left, leaving you and Yuta to get home on your own.

“Hm? Oh, yeah I’m ready to go.” The boy responds, looking back out towards the lake again.

You take the spot beside him, resting your arms against the railing and leaning your weight him. He didn’t respond, only letting out a small grunt when your bodies came in contact.

“What’s got you looking so serious?” Your eyes never leave the water.

“… nothing.” He sighed.

“Oh, didn’t you have something you wanted to tell me?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Yuta offered a small smile in hopes of getting you to drop the topic. You didn’t.

“Yeah like I believe that.” You playfully push the boy, tugging him back from the railing. “Come on! Let’s go home, you can tell me on the way.”

The two of you began walking around the lake, Yuta had suggested you take the long way around, to spend more time together, he told you.

It wasn’t long before the two of you found yourselves at park stationed near the entrance, where you eagerly dragged Yuta towards. You sat on the swings for a while, seeing how high you could go before launching yourself off and landing on the gravel.

“I win.” You give Yuta a cheeky grin as you stood a few inches ahead of him.

The boy gave you a playful pout, rolling his eyes as he went back to the swing set. He began swinging slowly, seemingly trying to find the right words to say.

“Yuta?” You chime. “What’s wrong?”

"It's nothing, just a little tired." He sighed.

"Let's go then." You took a hold of his hand and dragged him away towards your house. "You can tell me whatever you wanted to tell me on our way back."

Thus leading to Yuta's first failed attempt to confess of the night.

The two of you ended up somewhere in town, strolling through the dimly lit streets as you passed stores and booths as you went.

"Come on! We're almost home." You pick up your pace as you dash under the street lights with Yuta jogging behind you.

"Slow down a bit." The dark haired boy calls out and his hand slips through your grip.

When you didn't slow down, Yuta let out a soft chuckle and ran after you, quickly catching up to you. He grabbed you hand and planted his feet, forcing you to an abrupt stop.

Only, the momentum you had was enough to throw off of your feet.

"Ack-" You fell backwards, grabbing for whatever you could to break your fall. And you managed to grab something. Or someone. You latched onto Yuta's arm and pulled him down with you.

"Why'd you drag me down??" Yuta pushed himself up with a smile.

"You're the one who sabotaged me in the first place!" You pull yourself up and wipe the dust off of your clothes.

"Nope. That was all you." He chuckled.

"Whatever." You roll your eyes and keep walking again.

"... really like..." You heard faint mumbling coming from behind you. Yuta was looking away with a blush on his face.

You stop walking, turning around to face him fully. "Did you say something?"

"Nope. Nothing at all." The boy started walking faster, brushing past you.

"Suit yourself." You shrug as you jog to catch up to him.

Meanwhile, Yuta is internally cursing himself out for chickening out once again. His second failure of the night.

"You're good to shower now." You step into your room, refreshed and ready for bed.

"Okay." He grabbed his spare clothes from your closet and walked down that hall.

You were left alone with your thoughts as you heard the water running from the bathroom. It didn't take a genius to notice Yuta had been acting strange. But what was going on in his mind that he couldn't ask you for help?

As your thoughts continued to stir, you were completely oblivious to the fact that the water had stopped running and in stepped Yuta soaking hair and a towel around his neck. He immediately hopped into bed beside you, effectively pulling out your thoughts.

"Now what has you looking so serious." He smiled.

"We're best friends right?" You turn to look at him.

The boy looks at you with a confused look, like you had just said something ridiculous. "Of course we are, why?"

"You just seem so out of it today, like something's bothering you. And I just thought you'd tell me if anything was ever bothering you." You mumble.

Yuta gives you a soft look, he hadn't realized how different he was acting, or how much it bothered you. He couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"No, nothing is bothering me. I just..." He trailed off.

"Just what?" Your curiosity peaked.

"Nah, it's nothing. Don't worry about, I promise you, I'm just tired." The boy offered you a weak smile before pushing himself up and off the bed. "I'm going to dry my hair, you go to bed first, alright?"

You let out a frustrated sigh, shifting your body to lay down and pulling the blanket over your shoulders. "Fine. Goodnight."

As Yuta walked out, you were once again left with your thoughts. So many questions were swirling about in your mind. What was he trying to say earlier? Why was he giving you such mixed signals? Does he secretly hate you? And he was planning on breaking off your friendship, but felt guilty about it because you guys had known each other for so long???

All your thoughts came to a halt as you heard the door open again. You stilled yourself as you felt Yuta's weight settle beside you. He let out a heavy sigh as he made sure to pull the blanket back up to cover you fully.

He looked over your shoulder to your face, checking for any signs of consciousness. When he saw none, he leaned closer, and pressed a gentle kiss on your cheek.

"I like- no- love you." He pulled away. "I'm such an idiot."

The boy settled under the blankets and fell asleep, completely unaware that you had heard the entire thing.

Third time's a charm... kind of.

Masterlist | Next

fun facts:

— you forced yuta to sit in the baby swing as you pushed him (he got stuck)

— yuta is a heavy ass sleeper

taglist: closed!

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[i-amyou]

I hate saying this because I’m going to sound like someone that hasn’t accepted that this is all an illusion and THAT, but I swear it isn’t. Just bare with me for this short time, pls

I’m watching my life fall apart before my eyes. And I feel so hopeless rn. because it’s like, for example, 2 minutes before something CATASTROPHIC happens in my life, you would have found me just living in peace, in full bliss, just enjoying my presence as awareness. Like I be feeling SO good (Ik there’s no “I” to feel, but I have to use these limiting terms), then boom. Something crazy happens, and not in a good way, and it always leaves me feeling super shitty and bad and it makes me forget everything I’ve learned in my “journey”. It’s getting worse every time, my body feels anxious, physically aching.

And this all feels so backfiring for me, because I feel like I can’t do anything. Even when I accept that this is still all me, and I could “seemingly control” it all and make everything fine again, I feel like I can’t, at least that’s what happens when I decide I’m not going to experience something like that anymore. It simply doesn’t happen. It’s like all I do is try and try, when in the moment, it doesn’t feel like trying AT ALL. So I really don’t know what i am doing wrong.

Like okay. It’s all illusory, but why does the illusion still have to be so shitty and stressful to the point it makes me forget everything/who I truly am? I feel like I just wanna cry and get into a spiral rn, sorry for venting

Breathe. Inhale, exhale, breathe. It's okay, everything is. You're Okay. All appearances are only seeming, you're safe. Nothing, no experience ever has any power to harm you, okay? Breathe and stay with me here❤

If you feel like crying, Do it. Don't hold yourself back, just because you believe you're supposed to be All Knowing Omnipotent being. Don't be so hard on yourself, your experience is still THAT. Your tears, your sorrows, everything is only seeming. Breathe. And observe it all.

This need to do something, the frustration, the hopelessness you're experiencing right now? It's also very much YOU experiencing YOURSELF. Because everything is " " by nature. Take away all the labels and you'll be left with nothing, you cannot really define Or describe anything. It just IS.

"I'm doing something wrong" a seemingly appearing thought.

"Illusion is shitty" another seemingly appearing thought.

"To the point it makes me forget who I really am" A thought. You see where I'm getting with this?

This experience must be very difficult for you, I understand. But nothing can stop you from being " ". You're always THAT, regardless of everything.

Effortlessly noticing and observing is your nature, by default. You can't stop that, it doesn't come with a switch to turn it off.

But I need you to be aware of being aware, okay? Notice this. How you've always been only aware. All experiences have been through awareness. There is no "I" That could've possibly gotten hurt in any way, if doesn't exist.

Breathe. Don't focus too much on pointers, focus instead on where they're pointing. You're okay. No matter what happens, whatever you experience, breeze through it.

Notice. Be aware. Rest in that awareness.

[writers-potion]

Writing the "Mean Girl" Character

How do we write the "mean girl" without making her another shallow copy of the brainless, pink-clad, cheerleader we see in high teen dramas?

Of course, there's nothing wrong with such a character if you want them to be funny/light in the first place.

However, I can hear myself slowly losing my last two brain cells when I keep reading about such papercut characters for more than an hour - reading clearly requires more effort than watching a class B movie, so I always appreciate when authors put more effort to make the characters dynamic.

No "Mean for the Sake of Being Mean

The classic way to avoid this is to give them a sad backstory. They used to be overweight/ugly and were bullied, or their parents don't care about them enough, or they are too insecure. Obviously these plot points are quiet stale now, but the basic principle still stands - if your charcter is mean, she needs A REASON.

I love reading about a mean character's backstory then feeling, "actually, I would have felt like doing that, too."

Whatever their motivations may be, remember that bullies pick on the weak, not the successful/powerful. While the Mean Girl might feel jealous/inferior towards the protagonist, I hardly think that should be the sole reason why they picked their victim. There must be a flaw in your protagonist that happened to be something that the Mean Girl knows how to exploit, which makes them a target above others.

Give Them A Twist

There are two ways that I can think of: (1) A seemingly nice character is in fact a mean girlie, or (2) A mean character turns out to be kind and well-intended.

Personally, I love Mean Girls who are intelligent/ know what they are doing. They are purposely manipulative:"are you okay?" as if the victim has something wrong with them or providing "constructive" criticism. Or kindly inviting them to a party that she knows they wouldn't fit in.

The conflict deepens when everyone else likes the Mean Girl due to her manipulative nature, making the protagonist doubt themselves.

A Purpose beyond Providing Conflict

Think about what the mean girl aims to gain from bullying your protagonist.

Is she continuously trying to prove herself "superior" so that she can feel better inside? Is she an academic rival who just needs to be the first in everything, even is that means reverting to questionable behavior?

Overly ambitious/perfectionist characters can come off as mean when they feel like others fail to live up to their standards (which only they know about, and are usually up in the sky)

Give Them A Proper Redemption

If you plan on giving her a redemption arc, make sure that she has earned it! The worst thing you can do is make it sound like you approve of the horrible things she has done.

this transition doesn’t mean the character does a complete 180 and is suddenly all smiles and good favors. They can fall back on their old ways of thinking, but is trying to make an effort to step out of their old clothes.

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

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Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

References:

https://writingquestionsanswered.tumblr.com/post/668302340882857984/how-would-you-write-a-mean-girl-character-without

https://www.writingforums.org/threads/how-to-write-the-mean-girl-character.160729/

[xiiithhazard]

Echoes of the Unseen Children – Chapter 9

Word Prompt 16 – Moon

@year-of-the-echidna

First Chapter

Prev. Chapter

…

Chapter 9:

With his message received at long last, the owl folded his wings over his head and the image shattered around them. Leaving a field of tiny red stars to fall to the ground, disappearing as they touched.

It was Sonic who recovered first, but only because Knuckles had suddenly fallen to his knees. Seemingly unable to stand under the heavy burden that had just been set upon his shoulders. “Hey.” He panicked, rushing to his side and placed his hand on the echidna’s arm, making him jump and return to reality. “Are you okay?”

“I –” He whispered, but it appeared that this revelation was still too overwhelming. And yet, at the same time, it ignited something within him. “Yes.” He answered at last. “I am – alright.” It was clear that he wasn’t actually sure if that was true or not.

“How – did you do that?” Amy breathed, looking back at the stone and carefully reached over to touch it. However, the carving of the emerald had faded with the message. Thus, leaving nothing else about the thing that was relevant to them.

“I don’t know.” Knuckles admitted, shaking his head, like it was full of fluff that needed to be removed, before focusing on Amy again. “Was that what happened to you?”

“Eh – no.” She said rather flatly. “I might have gotten a little bit of a shock. But nothing like that.” She explained, still running her hand over the faded carving, before speaking up again. “However – I think my parents mentioned something like this in their journals.” With that she pulled away from the stone to acknowledge them. “They’d heard about a really, really ancient method people would use to leave messages for one another. Apparently, it utilized Chaos as the power source. Which would explain why one would be here.” She indicated the idol. “If this really is a nexus, like my mother said, then it would be the perfect place to leave something like that.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t explain why it only reacted to him.” Sonic grumped, tapping Knuckles on the head and earning himself an annoyed look.

“Well – he must have met the correct parameters to view it.” Amy suggested with a shrug. “I’d imagine something like that would have safety measures in place to prevent the wrong people from seeing their messages.”

“Which begs the question.” Sonic muttered, turning back to his brother and folded his arms. “What did you do?”

“Nothing.” Knuckles growled in return, finally getting back on his feet. However, his anger dissipated again. As he turned to examine the stone idol and regained the courage to touch it again. Nothing happened. “However – considering what he said – it was likely left specifically for a decedent of Enerjak. It probably didn’t even have to be me.”

“And who is Enerjak?” Sonic asked, causing his friend to tense up.

“My – grandfather.” He said, though his tone seemed to suggest something about this bothered him and had done so for a long time now. However, Sonic could see that he didn’t want to talk about it, so he didn’t push.

Instead, he turned his attention back to the map. Specifically, the emerald drawing. Now that he’d seen what the symbol was capable of, he couldn’t help but wonder – was there another message? Maybe one left for him?

“Well, you three are just full of surprises.” Amy proclaimed, folding her arms in a huff. Clearly growing annoyed with no one answering her questions.

“Thank you.” Knuckles spoke up sharply, turning to offer her a little bow. “Thank you for showing this to us.”

Though she blushed at the unorthodox attention. She still answered with a scoff. “Don’t start with me Red. I’ve been waiting for years to get answers about this thing. And now that I can, you’re gonna talk.” She announced with a stern glare, that made him tense again. Though he eventually relaxed his stance and sighed. Resigned to the fact that his honor demanded he tell her everything he knew.

…

With the sun starting to go down and them not wanting to even try navigating the crazy forest in the dark. They headed back to camp. Where Amy was quick to storm her way toward her hut and the other two followed. Feeling a sense of danger should they choose not to.

“You. Start talking.” She ordered, pointing at Knuckles. Who sighed again and sat on the ground. Sonic joining him a moment later.

“What do you want to know?”

“What do you know about that statue?” She demanded.

“Probably no more than you do.”

She considered this for a moment, her eyes looking from him to Sonic and back again, before leaning back in her seat. “Then you two aren’t keeping me out of the loop? You really have no idea how you did that?

 “Amy – if you haven’t noticed, we’re not that good at keeping secrets.” Sonic pointed out and she made a face like that was too logical to debate. Which hurt his feelings a tad, but he ignored it.

“Okay.” She muttered, still irritated, but managed to relax a little. Seemingly trying to look more empathetic. “So, who is Enerjak?”

Again, Knuckles winced and looked away. But he was able to collect his words. “I was hoping never to speak of this again.” He admitted, turning to meet Sonic’s eyes for a moment, before looking down. “It involves – the war.” It was Sonic’s turn to cringe, as he too had hoped this was finally behind them. Amy looked between the two of them, clearly confused. But thankfully, she seemed to recognize that it wasn’t something they wanted to discuss, so she didn’t ask.

“In fact. It is the reason our tribes fought at all.” Knuckles went on at last, his back completely vertical, while his eyes remained downcast. “The Master Emerald.” This made both Amy and Sonic sit up a little straighter. Clearly recalling that to be the image on the stone and the map that had brought them to this conversation in the first place.

“Wait.” Amy interrupted. “Are you serious? I thought that was just a children’s story.” This was Sonic question as well, as he too recalled tales that Longclaw had told him, of such a thing. Tales to help him sleep at night. In the knowledge that there was a seemingly sentient gem somewhere in the world. Governing the laws of Chaos and ensuring karma was good for those who earned it, while destructive to those who would do harm.

Of course, considering recent events, he had come to the same conclusion as Amy, that they were only stories. However, it was pretty clear that Knuckles believed it whole-heartedly. Making him rethink his stance.

“That was intentional. It was a rumor spread to keep the knowledge out of the wrong hands and protect the emerald’s location.” Knuckles explained and they both decided to just accept that, for now. “My father told me that the Owls and Echidnas once worked – together to protect it.” Knuckles continued, before sighing loudly. “Until they were invaded. By a Clan that outnumbered them by hundreds. There was nothing they could do. They were going to lose. They were going to die. But Enerjak chose another route.”

“You’re grandfather?” Amy repeated and he cringed away from the word, causing her to back up. “Sorry.”

He took a steady breath before carrying on. “As it’s Guardian, he had a connection to the Emerald that no others had. He was able to call on its power. However, to stop the invaders. To save his people. He would need much more – he would have to merge directly with it.”

Sonic squirmed, when this made his friend shift uncomfortably. As if the process had been explained to him once, and it was not a pleasant memory. “He did so. And easily brought the war to an end. Saving everyone. It’s said that he glowed like a god – however, his mind wasn’t strong enough. The power drove him to madness.” Knuckles took another second to recollect himself, before going on again. “The others were able to combine their skills to stop him. But – in the end – the Owls betrayed them. They took the Emerald. Leaving my Tribe to fall with the island.”

Sonic nearly fought back against that implication out of pure instinct. Only to realize that his friend was struggling with it as well. He wanted to be angry about this. He really did. But he knew it wouldn’t do him any good. In the end, it was Tails that helped them both through the internal struggle. As he crawled into his Knuckles’ lap and snuggled with him. Prompting Sonic to reach out and lay a hand on his shoulder as well. Eventually giving them both the reason, they needed to let it go.

Taking a deep breath, Knuckles closed his eyes and continued. “The survivors of my tribe banded together. And, believing Enerjak to have been in the right. They hunted the Owls to near extinction. Until their final Guardian was all that remained.”

Sonic looked up, having never realized that Longclaw too had been the last of her kind. But, again, it didn’t matter anymore. In fact, it almost seemed fitting, knowing now what had become of them. That the two clans who had once stood together against the world would eventually find their end – together.

“Admittedly – I have never known what to believe.” Knuckles spoke up again, after a few minutes of silence had stretched between them. “Was Enerjak truly in the right? Yes, he saved them all, but at what cost?” He looked down again, as his words dried up and gently ran his hand over Tail’s fur. “Despite what the world would believe, the Emerald is not a weapon. It was never meant to be used, only to hold balance in the universe. And now that I’ve seen the Owl’s message. I can’t help but wonder. If Enerjak had not been stopped – what might he have done to the world?”

Sonic realized something as he said this. His friend only knew this stuff because he too was meant to be a Guardian of the Emerald. That was it. Though he hadn’t known it until now, that was the purpose he’d lost. That was why he couldn’t find his way. But yet, despite wanting to be happy for him, Sonic felt something uncomfortable sneaking into his thoughts instead.

What if he too would one day be forced to use that power? What if he wasn’t strong enough? What if – like the old owl before him, Sonic would have to step up – to stop his brother?

“So – where’s the Emerald now?” Amy spoke up, bringing Sonic out of his own horrifying thoughts. As her nervous tone brought another uncomfortable fact to life. The Emerald was – unaccounted for. Thus, implying that the world was still in great danger.

Knuckles only shook his head, and reached up to rub at his face, looking like he’d just aged several years in the last hour. Clearly having to talk about all this had left him a bit spent on emotional resources. “But – if what the Owl said is true. I need to find it.”

“Bro. Not to discourage you or anything. But –” Sonic laughed as he actually considered what they were discussing. “You’re talking about protecting the world. We can barely protect ourselves.”

The echidna looked at the ground, as he took that in. He wasn’t so gung-ho that he wasn’t taking reality into consideration. However, Sonic could see why this would be tough for him to swallow.

He’d been struggling so hard with the idea of having no purpose in life. Only for one to be thrust into his lap, without any warning. Yet he had to sit there and admit to himself that he still couldn’t do anything about it.

“Knok.” Tails exclaimed and all attention turned to him. As the baby reached up for Knuckles to hold him and when he did, the little fox promptly cuddled into his brother’s face. The message was crystal clear.

‘You can do it.’

And, with belief like that on their side, who were they to deny destiny?

…

Sonic snuck back into camp, despite having been assigned several tasks by his slave driver, and nervously peeked around each tree, just to make sure Amy wasn’t around. Before finally darting into the supply hut. Where he nearly jumped out of his skin, when he found someone was already inside.

“And what are you doing?” He proclaimed, managing to restart his heart, when he realized it was only Knuckles. Though he seemed more interested in the wall of written journals. Thus, allowing the hedgehog to raid the food stores.

“Amy’s parents were quite the explores. I was wondering if they had encounters with any of these places.” He indicated Longclaw’s map laying open on the table. Where it seemed that his newfound resolve had led him back to the emerald symbol. However, it was clear that the process to figure it out was a long and arduous one.

“And? Any luck?” Sonic murmured. Securing himself a banana and leaning against the table to watch. Not that it did him any good. He couldn’t read any of it to save his life.

“Actually, yes.” The echidna moved to lay another book over the edge of the map. Allowing them to be compared, as he pointed out a drawing on one of its pages. Which, at first, looked like just another island. However, upon closer inspection, Sonic realized it had been depicted in a rather odd way. “My father used to tell me tales of our homeland. A place that floated in the sky.”

“So – you think that’s where the Emerald is?” Sonic asked. However, his friend shook his head.

“No – however, I do believe that was where it was.” He corrected, flipping a page in the book as he did so. However, despite knowing a little bit more than Sonic of how to read written words, it was clear this was not enough to help him make sense of the endless tomes of knowledge.

"Alright, so let's say you're right." Sonic proclaimed, trying to be encouraging, but it was pretty clear that they were in way over their heads. “Where do we even start? I don’t know about you, but I can’t even read the damn map, let alone figure out how to get there."

“I can.” Sonic nearly jumped into the rafters, when this new voice joined the conversation, and they looked over to find Amy standing in the doorway. Causally leaning against the frame.

“Eh – how long have you been standing there?” Sonic muttered, apprehensively hiding himself behind Knuckles, as if this would spare him from her wrath. Only for her to smile, which just made him more nervous.

“Long enough.” She admitted and walked inside to join them. “Now what are you two whispering about in here?” Sonic immediately snatched the map, before she could see it and tried to act as if he hadn’t. Only for her to raise an eyebrow and wait for him to relax again.

“Sonic.” Knuckles chastised. “She’s already seen it.” He pointed out, forcing the hedgehog to admit defeat with a sigh. Before handing the page over and allowing her to take a look at it. Leaving the other two to wait and see if their map troubles were finally solved.

“Well.” She murmured, causally walking over to lift herself onto the table. Managing to do so without even ruffling her dress. “The good news is you don’t need to read it.”

“What?” They both said as one and she held it out to show them, specifically pointing out the circles drawn around each image.

“This is here so the map itself can be used to transport you directly to these locations.”

“Oh.” Sonic quailed, though Knuckles still looked apprehensive. “That’s – neat. How does it work?”

“Weeeell – that’s the bad news.” Amy announced, handing the map back to him. “I don’t know how it works, I just know you’re gonna need a ring. And, considering you don’t know where you’re going. You’re probably gonna need a lot of them.”

…

Sonic opened his eyes, when he was nudged out of his sleep and tried to complain about it. Only for a hand to clamp over his mouth. Bringing him immediately into full consciousness, as he attempted to fight off his attacker.

It was only then that he realized it was Knuckles. However, the echidna was unusually tense and focused. His eyes shifting about, as if trying to see something that wasn’t there. That’s when Sonic picked up on the sounds.

The normal noises of the forest at night had gone unnaturally quiet. Only to be replaced by a strange ringing hum and a pulse of energy. But over that, there was the distinct sound of footsteps. Lots of footsteps.

Knuckles turned back, meeting Sonic’s eyes and the hedgehog nodded, showing him that he understood the need to be quiet. Thus, allowing his brother to remove his hand and jab a thumb toward Tail’s sleeping box.

Nodding again, he rushed to the little fox and did everything he could to pick him up without the baby alerting the enemy to their location and looked back to find Knuckles attempting to see past the doorframe, without getting himself noticed. His direction indicating, he was trying to see Amy’s hut. But the frustration on his face said that he wasn’t learning anything that could help them.

Sonic could only hope that, with everything still being relatively quiet, that she was okay. But knowing she was alone was making him jumpy and he found himself looking around, trying to find a way to get to her, without going through whoever was outside.

Kicking himself for not taking the time to make windows, when he could. His attention eventually tracked to the roof. And the open center that allowed smoke from their fire to escape. Looking back at Knuckles, who had noticed his motion. He received the go ahead. Prompting the hedgehog to gently cradle Tails against his shoulder and ran up a wall, to reach the hole.

“Shush.” He begged when the baby cooed in response to the cold night air. But thankfully the little fox understood and went quiet again. Holding tighter to his brother’s chest, allowing Sonic the use of both of his arms, as he shifted closer to the edge of the hut.

Flashbacks of the day he’d lost Longclaw snapped across his memories, when he saw the tribal-like armor and paint. However, these guys were no Echidnas. Instead of valuing skill, strength and stealth, these intruders clearly relied only on their numbers. And, unfortunately, there were a lot of them, with even more arriving every second, through the random golden portal hovering at the edge of their camp’s clearing.

Thankfully, the full moon was unobstructed that night, allowing him to see, while also ensuring that their enemy didn’t move too quickly, and risk being noticed. As a result, they hadn’t dared enter the open space around their huts. However, the light also made it obvious that they were prepared to attack, as soon as they were in position. If the spears and hammers were anything to go by.

His heart raced as he maneuvered himself across the roof, heading for the opposite side, so he wouldn’t be seen. The rough texture of the thatch pressing against his palms, as he checked the darkness, only to see the flickering shapes of the intruders’ moving with a menacing rhythm through the trees.

They were surrounded.

Thankfully, they had a preparation enthusiast on their side, with a speed demon for a slave.

His face morphed with a mischievous grin, when the first trap went off and some poor sap was sent flying across the forest. His scream vanishing into the distance and prompting his friends to lose their composure. Which only doomed them. As their clumsy attempt to regroup only caused them to lose more and more members.

It didn’t take long for the invaders' initial confidence to be shattered. And Sonic couldn't help but feel a rush of satisfaction as he watched the chaos unfold. Each trap was a testament to their preparation and ingenuity, turning the forest into a labyrinth of surprises. The screams and shouts of the intruders echoing through the trees, in a symphony of confusion and fear.

With each passing second, the advantage shifted further in their favor and Sonic's grin widened as he saw the ranks thinning, their morale crumbling. The traps, meticulously placed and ingeniously designed, continued to claim their victims, each one a small victory in the larger battle.

However, with the portal still open, those standing safely on the other side, were now allowed to jump in. Clearly caring very little for their comrades. As they walked right over them, to charge straight into the fight. Stealth be damned.

It was then that Knuckles stepped in. Expertly using his smaller size to get in close and take them out, one after another. All the while guarded and supported, from the shadows, by a cloaked figure with a bow, their coordination like a well-choreographed dance.

Able to move without detection, Sonic raced to Amy’s side, ensuring that she was unharmed. Before leaving Tails at her feet and turned to put himself in the fray with his brother. Their movements quickly synchronized in a deadly combination of speed and strength. Back-to-back, they formed an impenetrable barrier, as Amy’s arrows found their marks with unerring accuracy.

They were a formidable team. Despite how little time they had had to hone it. A true testament to their trust in one another. And, for a moment, it seemed as if they might just hold the line. But, with the portal churning out more adversaries, the unending stream of enemies threatened to engulf them. And, despite their valiant efforts, the sheer number began to turn the tides.

Sonic's heart sank as he realized that their traps, no matter how cleverly placed, were now nothing more than minor hindrances, unable to hold against an endless surge. The large stone cliff that had once been their sanctuary was now a cage, trapping them with the relentless enemy. Until the blow came that finally signaled the collapse of their stronghold.

“Enough!” A voice rang over the battlefield. Drawing Sonic and Knuckles’ attention to the enemy that had taken Amy straight off her feet. A spear tip pressed to her throat and her bow shattered on the ground.

“Coward.” Knuckles screamed back, a field of red lighting sparking to life around him, his eyes glowing the same color as he zeroed in on the antagonist. Actually, causing the remaining horde to pause in a moment of fear.

Unfortunately, that moment didn’t last long.

“Surrender!” The warrior countered. His voice booming through the night, as he pulled Amy’s head further back. Allowing the spear to draw blood and their resolve to break.

 Within seconds, Sonic found himself tackled and his arms pulled behind him to be tied, along with his feet, effectively stripping him of his greatest strength. And Knuckles wasn’t too far behind. Though he still fought until a rope was wrapped around his neck and pulled taught. Cutting off his airflow and his power.

“Stop it!” Sonic begged, straining to get free, as his brother struggled to breathe. But their enemy wasn’t taking any chances. They kept the pressure up, until he was nearly rendered unconscious, and only then did they let go. Leaving him weakened and fighting for air, as the enemy leader walked up to gloat over his cheated victory.

Having recovered enough air to do so, Knuckles screamed, when the warrior slammed his boot into the echidna’s injured arm and held it there, until the sound no longer amused him. Only then did he remove his mask. Allowing them to finally see who they’d been fighting.

A Dingo

Sonic felt rage building in his chest, as he saw a member of the clan that had attacked Knuckles in his hour of grief, taken his home – taken his arm. But he could do nothing but struggle against the ropes that kept him from getting revenge for his friend. Of course, the man didn’t even notice him. As he leaned in closer, allowing Knuckles to see who he was as well.

“We’ve been looking for you.”

…

There I go again, being way too mean to these poor kids.

Please share some reviews and comments, I’d love to hear what people think of my work.

[bonny-kookoo]

can we see a small blurb/drabble of y/n from rampage trying to converse with yoongi? Please ninny? PUPPY EYES INTENSIFIES pleeeeeeeaseeeeee :((

'Jungkook said you have work for me.' Is written on the note you hold towards the dog hybrid, small black booklet your new form of communication it seems like.

Yoongi sighs. "That fucker.." He mumbles, before he thinks, looks around. There's honestly nothing you can really do to help. "Well, what are you good at?" He asks you instead, and you move the book towards yourself to write something down, before you turn it towards him again.

'I've been told I'd make a very good sexual partner.' you've written, and Yoongi immediately turns your booklet towards you again to not look at the sentence, cringing angrily to himself.

"Absolutely not." He denies. "What was your job.. where you came from?" He instead asks, not even wanting to think about what you could've potentially been used for if this is what you think of first when asked about your capabilities.

You write, shoulders slumping down.

'nothing.' you write, confusing Yoongi.

"Nothing? Like..?" He wonders, and you seem to write a little longer now to explain yourself.

'I was meant to be quiet in the basement cell.' you've written down. 'I'm good at waiting.'

Yoongi sighs yet again, looking at you for a good moment. So much has changed and yet everything has seemingly stayed just as cruel as it's always been. Or maybe it became even worse for you, down the line.

You don't deserve this. You never have.

"Let's try.. cooking. Do you know how to cook?" He asks, and you shake your head, making him hiss internally- because you used to know how to cook, before whatever the hell went down with you. You used to be so talented in a lot of things- and now, all of it's been taken from you.

Yoongi panics a little when he can see your eyes begin to tear up, one drop quietly falling down your cheek. "It's alrigh- hey, you can learn? It's fine, we can find something else." The dog hybrid tries to comfort, squatting down to look up at your turned down face. "Okay?" He asks, holding onto your hands, and you shrug.

You don't know what anybody wants from here. If you're useless, why keep you?

You're seemingly breaking in this moment, and Yoongi doesn't know what to do about it. Because you can't talk, you can't tell him what's wrong in this moment- so he can only do what he thinks could maybe help.

Holding you close, trying to physically keep your pieces together in the empty kitchen. "We'll figure something out." He mumbles towards you, moving away from you for a second to pick up your little notebook and pen to give it back into your hands, before he watches you wipe your cheeks, trying to compose yourself again.

When he gets an idea.

"You know what?" He suddenly says, as your head turns up to look at him, ears turned towards him. "I think I know exactly what you can do."