#one of them even had an option to confirm an international phone number!!

[shiningliive]

broccoli PLEASE I want to drop 500 dollars on the Shining Live books im begging you to LET ME GIVE YOU MONEY ;w;

[keferon]

Mecha headquarters is attacked. The building collapses. Blurr goes in and doesn't come back out. And Swindle's the one that's got to deal with the fallout. As far as nightmare scenarios go, this is pretty high up on Swindle's list.

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

Swindle only pulls his phone out of his pocket when he reaches the shadows off to the side of where rescue crews are digging through the rubble of mecha headquarters.  Digging they only started because Blurr, the face of mecha, went into that building and didn't come out.  Digging they are only continuing because they believe they've found signs of life buried in the rock.  Which is why Swindle's phone has been buzzing nonstop for the past several minutes.

He looks at the names next to the missed calls.  Shockwave.  Shockwave again.  Pharma.  Unknown number. (Shockwave?)….  The list goes on.

Swindle doesn't know how Shockwave or Pharma knows already, but they must.  Swindle's first call since Blurr disappeared under that ton of rubble had been to emergency services.  Every call since has been to call in favors, pull strings – exert as much influence as he can to keep the details of what's going on out of the news.  To keep the potential damage this could do to a minimum.

Somehow, it hasn't been enough.  Which means this situation is fast heading towards something more than what Swindle can handle on his own.

Swindle pulls a second phone from his pocket and hits the number on speed dial.

"Hello?" A voice answers within one ring of Swindle dialing.  Onslaught.  He relaxes slightly.

"You watching the news?"  Swindle skips over customary greetings, security measures – there's no time for them now.  He knows it is Onslaught on the other end of the line.  Onslaught will recognize it is him by his voice.  That much, they still have to be able to trust.

What exactly will be on the news, Swindle doesn't know.  But, it's a safe bet that at least some of the basics of the mecha attack will be broadcast.  Beyond that, it all depends on how much Swindle's contacts came through.

"Yeah.  Mecha was attacked.  They're saying no casualties, so why are you calling me?"  Onslaught asks.

"That's all they're saying?" Swindle asks in return. "No casualties?"

"That's all.  No casualties," Onslaught confirms.  "Showed some footage of the fighting.  Pretty standard stuff.  Cut in some impressive footage of Blurr's mech.  What's going on? Not that I'm not glad to hear personal confirmation you're not dead, but this line is for emergencies."

"There is one.  Shockwave."  Swindle says the name as though there's no further justification needed for why he's calling on this line.  And really, there isn't.  They had agreed to that from the start of this venture.  "He's been calling me.  Non-stop."

Swindle thinks he hears a soft curse on the other end of the line then, "Why would he care?  What's his interest?"

"Blurr," Swindle says.  "That footage, of his mech – was the actual fight.  A fight he never should have been in.  But he did it anyways because there was no other option.  He went into the building and he never came out.  He's the reason they're still here digging – the reason I'm still here."

"And the reason Shockwave's calling," Onslaught fills in.

"Yes.  Him.  And Pharma." Swindle adds.

"Pharma is a medic, you know.  With ratchet going more or less of the grid and First Aid and Ambulon tied up with Vortex he's the highest ranked medic in mecha.  It would be his job to supervise pilot injuries."  Swindle can tell even over the line that Onslaught doesn't really believe his own words.  But they need to make sure they've covered everything if they're going to stay ahead of this.

"He shouldn't know though.  I called in favors to delay the news of Blurr's status until after excavation is complete and you said yourself the news only confirmed no casualties yet," Swindle points out. "I've sent no internal communications.  Pharma shouldn't know yet.  He's too close to Shockwave.  Neither of them should know.  But they've both been calling since the collapse – within minutes of each other."

Swindle definitely hears Onslaught swear at that.  "I don't know exactly what the connection is between Shockwave and Pharma – but I don't want Pharma – or Shockwave – anywhere near this, anywhere near Blurr," he finishes.

"Blurr's alive?"  The question is stated matter-of-factly, though Swindle wouldn't have blamed Onslaught for expressing a note of skepticism.  If the man is still alive, there's no way he's walking away from this without serious injuries.  Swindle would bet every dollar in his accounts on it.

"Possibly.  There are signs of life under the rubble.  We paid Blurr to be the part of a hero for the media.  Turns out when it mattered it wasn't entirely an act.  He saved a lot of lives today – including mine."  If Blurr is pulled from that rubble alive, Swindle will give every dollar it takes from his bank account to ensure it stays that way.  They need Blurr.  More than he knows.

"I never told Blurr the truth behind why it was so important that mecha hire him," Swindle's voice drops as he says the words.

"I am not repaying what he did today by letting him find out firsthand whatever it is Shockwave does in those labs of his.  We're not going to sit back and watch the creation of another Vortex.  It was bad enough when we didn't know.  Now…. Right now, I need you to distract Shockwave and Pharma."

"How long do you need?" As Swindle had at the beginning of their call, Onslaught skips the unnecessary validation and asks the question that gets at the point.  It has Swindle breathing a sigh of relief.

"A few hours, minimum.  But I'll take anything you can give me, just stall them as long as you can.  I've got to go."  Swindle hangs up without waiting for Onslaught's reply.  A stretcher is being carried out of the ruins towards a waiting helicopter.

Swindle manages to make it onboard just before take-off.  He rides all the way to the hospital with Blurr.  Handles all the forms.  Tells the receptionists to put the bills on his card.  He knows (hopes) Blurr could do it when the time came (the man certain has the money; Swindle's been writing his checks) – but he shouldn't have to.  All Blurr should have to focus on is his recovery, and what comes next.  Blurr should have friends, family, a partner – someone to support him in this. 

Swindle knows – has known since early on in working with Blurr – that that is not the case.  He's observed enough to see that Blurr asks for help if he truly needs it, but no one just offers it to him.  Because no one knows to.  In this case, Blurr cannot ask, so Swindle manages instead.

In an ideal world, someone would stay by Blurr's hospital bed, simply so the man didn't have to wake up alone in unfamiliar surroundings with no explanations.  But this is not an ideal world.  And Swindle is not that person.  His time runs out long before then. 

Fresh blood has been spilled.  The predators are circling.  Swindle has a show to put on.  The best he can do is leave his card on the bedside table as a reminder and hope Blurr actually calls if he needs anything. 

I. LOVE THIS. SO FUCKING MUCH YOU CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE

Absolutely in love with this conspiracy thing Onslaught and Swindle have going on. Because YES. OF COURSE. Gosh this is why I love Combaticons. They’re on their own side. Whatever system they are forced to be part of - it doesn’t have full control on them. They’re doing their own thing ehehehehhehe

[userirvingb]

now that we got confirmation that ofmd is free to be picked up, i think it's time we also direct our emailing/calling/social media efforts towards other streamers that would pick the show up instead of hbo since it seems they're not going to move forward with renewal (but don't stop bugging them. do this as well if you can!)

i'm heavily leaning towards apple tv for these two reasons:

they care about good shows with good stories and are willing to provide budget for them. their audience numbers are not always the most impressive or record breaking yet they still allow shows to tell their stories-- Foundation, Severance, For All Mankind to name a few

it's a service that is accessible both in the US and internationally. one of the biggest issues with hbo max was that a lot of international fans couldn't watch s2 of ofmd and had to wait for the show to stream on a local service and for some places ofmd never gets picked up

so here's what you can do to contact apple tv

i had to talk to three separate support reps before i got transferred over to apple tv's technical service and this is what he told me-- use the feedback link for best results as they definitely will review them and take them into consideration: https://www.apple.com/feedback/apple-tv-app/

right now it seems this is the best way for them to document what we want, i did ask for a phone number but the rep said that they'll offer numbers within the feedback form once the feedback has been submitted, so you have the option to call them to elaborate if you want!

here's a script you can use if you don't know what to say:

Hi! I'm planning on getting Apple TV because from the lineup of the shows on the service. I’ve noticed Apple TV values good, original storytelling and allow shows to finish their story without cancelling them, even ones that might be underperforming in terms of viewership. One of the biggest incentives that would make me subscribe immediately is if Apple TV picks up the show Our Flag Means Death, a critically acclaimed queer romantic comedy with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for their second season and incredible audience numbers. The show was unfortunately recently cancelled by HBO. I know Ted Lasso, a flagship show for Apple, recently ended, and I think the service would hugely benefit from another feel good, found family sort of comedy. Plus I would gladly subscribe to as would thousands of the Our Flag Means Death fanbase if we got the show on your service!

now let's get our show back!!! please reblog this post so more people can know about it 🥰

[ppumeonae-bigvibe]

brewing affections

↖ navigation: enhypen masterlist || main masterlist

pairing: customer! sunoo x gn! reader

↬ tags: reader works in a cafe, mentions of a co-worker (gender/ name not mentioned), eye-candy on sunoo! (who wouldn't), mentions of jungwon (briefly)

summary: you thought having his name was enough and getting his number was optional, but you got it both anyways!

word count: 894 words

a/n: just had this happen to me some time ago and once in a while i just think of the person i had interacted with who complimented my work lanyard AND asked for my name?? girl i was so delusional that day

** previously titled "for sunoo?"

you perked up at the sound of the bells jingling, signaling a new customer had entered the cafe. you stood at attention by the coffee machine, your gaze landing on the pretty male approaching the cashier. clad in a simple button down paired with a neatly pressed trousers, he looked really clean.

"hi, is there anything you would like to order?" you gave him a small smile and the male in front of you whips out his phone, alternating between looking at you and at his device.

"uhhh, i'm here to collect an order." you glanced at a few of the orders printed out, internally wincing from the number of things to be prepared. "well, can i have the name just to check?"

"sunoo? kim sunoo?"

you redirected your line of vision to the multiple receipts, "there's no kim sunoo here..." the male smacks his forehead rather dramatically, chuckling all while doing so, "oh! sorry, the name for the order is yang jungwon, my friend. i thought you were asking for my name!"

sunoo...what a nice name, you mused as you pulled out the order from the whiteboard, confirming it with the one on his screen. he apologetically shoots you a grin and you felt your heart skip a beat. "for jungwon-ssi, it would be just the cafe latte and our specialty sandwich. you can wait over here while i prepare them for you." you gestured to the waiting spot and sunoo nods his head, "thanks for that!"

he side-steps towards the end of the counter for you to attend to his order. even whilst moving around, you could feel his gaze on you as if he was watching your every move. you mindlessly worked through the motions, preparing the food and drinks easily as if it was like the back of your hand.

"for yang jungwon?" you called out and sunoo tucks his phone away. "do you need a carrier for this?" you leaned towards him to asked, the chitter chatter of the cafe mildly increasing in volume. "uhm...actually yeah i'll take one." you packaged it away neatly for him and handed it to him with a smile.

"thank you for your patronage. i hope your friend enjoys it!"

"i'm sure he would." you held his gaze for a little longer and he breaks into another beam, "your sweater is cute, by the way. thanks for preparing it quickly!" he waves his hand goodbye and you mirrored his actions, heart racing in your chest. sunoo leaves the cafe without another word and you shuffled back to the staff seating area hidden near the back of the cafe.

"i saw everything." your co-worker smirked at you and you flushed, "nah, it was nothing."

"that clearly wasn't nothing! he was hitting on you! you've worn so many other outfits before and on no occasion has anyone complimented you so easily like that!" you sighed, aimlessly waving your hands above your head as if to wipe off the delusional thoughts, "he's just being nice."

"uhm...excuse me?" a voice called out and you jumped to your feet, making your way back to the front counter. "yes...oh! you're back!" you gasped in surprised as sunoo sheepishly waved at you.

"anything i can help you with?" you clasp your hand together, subconsciously leaning against the counter towards him. "nothing much, i just thought that i might as well get something to drink too. what would you suggest?" your face flushed when you realized that he wasn't looking at the chalkboard menu, but directly at you. for your opinion.

"well, are you craving something sweet? or savory?" you picked up a smaller menu, gesturing to the cafe's house drinks and snacks. sunoo shrugs, eyes not breaking eye contact with yours.

"i'm not really sure. why don't you surprise me? get me something you would have in this lovely weather." you hummed gazing out at the sunny sidewalk coupled with the lush greenery swaying in the gentle breeze, "sure, if you could give me a moment."

"i appreciate it, and no rush since it's something special." he winks at you with a dazzling smirk and you nearly gushed at this small but effective killer combo. after paying for his drink, sunoo's lean frame patiently settles down at an empty table and you fight the urge to swoon about it to your friends.

(sunoo watches, stare fixated on you as you bustled around, taking orders from other customers at the same time all while making his drink. he catches a glimpse of the pink hue decorating your face, a smile tugging on your lips as you filled his cup, writing his name on the exterior. he hurriedly scribbles his name and number down on his receipt, folding the paper twice.)

"for sunoo?" his name rolled off your lips smoothly, and you were yet again greeted with his beautiful eye smiles. "thanks for waiting." you handed the drink over to him and he pauses, glancing down at the cup before returning his attention back to you.

he squints a little, reading your name off your tag, "and thank you for the surprise. i'll be sure to enjoy this. have a good day!" he slips a piece of paper into your hands, waving goodbye for the second time today. you pressed the preciously folded paper towards your chest, shyly waving back.

"see...see you around!"

@ppumeonae-bigvibe 's work ; likes and reblogs are appreciated !

[se7ens-oc-heaven]

Ok so I know I haven't talked Enough about legendkeepers for this to make total sense, but recently I talked about them to a friend about there being a group chat post-games, namely for the sake of keeping people in the loop for potential legendary incidents. Then I joked about how the missing/fallen ex-champion of Unova, Lena, could get rediscovered if you had Kimmie (Unova's stand-in champ) and Maciel (ex-member of Team Snagem and orre trainer) talking long enough, and this whole chatlog wrote itself!

Full disclaimer, even as I wrote this I anticipated it's ooc/incorrect for the stories, but I had too much fun not to share - even did a couple hasty scribbles to accompany it! Hope you enjoy the chaos! Optional author's 'notes' in tags

MASS TEXT

Rex, Ritsu, Maciel, Aspen, Kimmie, Xavier, Satsuki

-(xxx) xxx-xxxx has been added to the chat-

Kimmie: ok so she's been missing for 2 years now, but I'm including Lena's phone number in this group chat because she's Technically the one in charge of our guys 

Kimmie: so like if her phone ever works again she'll get these messages

Rex: smashing, absolutely not how to handle missing persons but sure why not

Maciel: Wait

Maciel: Lena Who

Kimmie: [img attachment] The missing champion of Unova???

Maciel: Wait

Maciel: [img attachment] 

Maciel: This Lena???

Kimmie: Get out

Kimmie: GET OUT?????

Kimmie: HOW DID YOU GET THAT AND WHERE IS SHE

Maciel: I took it just now

Maciel: she is sitting in my sidecar

Maciel: like she always does

Maciel: she doesn't know what's going on but says hi btw

Rex: I Have Been Corrected, evidently this somehow IS how you handle a missings persons case 

Rex: just include their phone number in a group chat and all problems will be solved

Rex: why didn't Xavier and I think of that???? 

Kimmie: Rex hush Maciel and I gotta work this out

Kimmie: Maciel istg if you're telling me that girl you hang with all the time is our missing champion I'm gonna heckin LOSE IT

Maciel: YOU'RE gonna lose it

Maciel: I'M the one being informed my amnesiac friend of 5+ years is evidently the missing champ of 2 years ongoing now

Maciel: which. Not to pretend I went to school

Maciel: but I'm decently sure that's not how math works last I checked??

Ritsu: I didn't go to school either

Rex: ???????

Ritsu: if that helps

Aspen: I have and still go to school and can confirm that's not how math works 

Kimmie: GUYS FOCUS HERE

Satsuki: guys I am trying to sleep over here in Hoenn several timezones away from all of you

Satsuki: why are you blowing up my phone???

Kimmie: MACIEL'S HOLDING THE UNOVA CHAMP HOSTAGE

Maciel: Evidently my friend Lena's the missing champ?

Maciel: wait WHAT

Maciel: I AM NOT

Maciel: SHE IS JUST SITTING HERE I'M NOT HOLDING ANYONE TO ANYTHING

Satsuki: Kimmie quit accusing people of kidnapping it's 3AM

Satsuki: well for me anyways

Kimmie: But he kinda is!

Kimmie: He's had Lena all this time and not said anything about it 

Kimmie: even though the unova champ going missing was big international news??

Kimmie: kinda sus he didn't say something sooner don't you think? 

Rex: Again, not how missing persons cases work

Maciel: I'M SAYING SOMETHING NOW DONUTHEAD 

Satsuki: I'm muting this chat so I can sleep. Ritsu can you lmk what everyone agrees on here?

Ritsu: sure thing, night Satsuki! Sorry we woke you ^^;

Aspen: so uh

Aspen: it sounds like she's safe and sound 

Aspen: right Maciel?

Maciel: [img attachment]

Maciel: I bought her ice cream. She's FINE.

Aspen: so

Aspen: why not just

Aspen: have her go back?

Aspen: or have Kimmie meet with her maybe

Aspen: wait that sounds dumb doesn't it

Ritsu: It's not dumb but

Ritsu: Like Maciel said, she HAS forgotten everything from before Orre

Ritsu: she's always sounded kind of like me, just 

Ritsu: dropped elsewhere on the map

Ritsu: and also not turned into a pokemon

Ritsu: so idk if she'll be much help as a Unova champ rn...?

Rex: The young Ritsu has a good point. This Lena individual may have suffered the same sort of temporal displacement as Ritsu himself

Rex: GDI CALYREX GOT HIS BLOODY PAWS ON MY PHONE AGAIN

Rex: One sodding moment. Ritsu we're having rabbit stew with brussels tonight

Ritsu: ^^;

Kimmie: guuuuys

Kimmie: who cares about that?

Kimmie: that’s Champion Lena! Eating ice cream! With an ex-convict!!

Maciel: FU I was never convicted of anything

Kimmie: Arceus knows what you did

Ritsu: Actually I think that’s just a myth!

Ritsu: Arceus tends to know very little of what goes on with humans

Ritsu: Actually it has little power over us period when it comes down to it

Ritsu: I mean

Ritsu: why else ask an uncoordinated newly human to do an Arceus’s work you know? Lol

Kimmie: 8/

Kimmie: ooooook

Kimmie: look just

Kimmie: Lena’s got people who have been looking for her for AGES

Rex: two years is not “ages” Kimmie

Kimmie: Rex omgggggggg 

Kimmie: what I MEAN is

Kimmie: The league’s been looking

Kimmie: Looker’s. Uh. Looking.

Kimmie: Cheren and Bianca and N have been looking

Kimmie: I’VE been looking

Kimmie: can we please just have her come back?

Kimmie: just like

Kimmie: so we know she’s safe?

Maciel: Fine. I’ll ask

Maciel: she says she’s cool with it

Maciel: she’s always wanted to visit Unova anyways 

Maciel: she does want me to reiterate she doesn’t remember anything though. She appreciates people have been looking but doesn’t want anyone to get let down here

Kimmie: EEEEE TY TY TY TY

Kimmie: I’ll let everyone know!

Kimmie: about the amnesia too

Kimmie: how soon will you guys get here?

Maciel: uhhhh

Maciel: dunno. Haven’t had a chance to work that out

Maciel: we like. Just decided

Maciel: don’t exactly have money for plane tickets just lying around here

Kimmie: huh

Kimmie: oooooh wait ok I get it

Kimmie: you probably have the money but can’t use it all at once right?

Kimmie: draws attention and all that ;)

Maciel: can you quit accusing me of crimes every two seconds??

Maciel: I’m trying to work with you here and you keep insulting me at every turn

Kimmie: wait wait wait wait

Kimmie: bad joke

Kimmie: sorry :(

Kimmie: I have the money, I can pay

Kimmie: yours too

Kimmie: does that sound fair?

Maciel: yeah ok

Maciel: whatever

Maciel: Lena says she's flexible and so am I 

Maciel: you can just text me whatever flight works for you guys and we'll meet up with you

Kimmie: thanks

Kimmie: sorry again

Maciel: whatever

Aspen: glad everything

Aspen: uh

Aspen: worked out?

Kimmie: yeah!

Xavier: what

[bedbellyandbeyond]

Contraband

(Story Post)

“Dax, sorry to keep you waiting,” Syd said as they came into the exam room. “No, it's fine,” Dax said. “I'm just happy to get some possible answers today.” Syd sat down at their desk and crossed their legs. “First of all, have you recently been in contact with either Jeffrey Matthews or Oliver Larson?” “Yes, Jeffrey has been over to my partner's house a lot, and I met his cousin over a week ago. Why?” “I had Oliver in today and he informed me that he shared a substance from this container with you, is that correct?” Syd took out the container of protein powder and placed it on the edge of his desk.

Dax blinked and turned it around. “Yes, he let me try some. I was looking for a new protein powder. Why? Is there something wrong with it?” “Yes, unfortunately Mr. Larson was mistaken of its contents,” Sydryn explained. “The container has been misused to carry alien made contraband that is almost certainly the cause of your incident a week ago.” Dax stared at the container. “…That caused me to do all that?” Sydryn nodded slowly. “It belonged to and was created by one Bler 9 Tid, a Prilarian formerly acquainted with Jeffrey Matthews. It has the ability of altering one's internal anatomy to create a womb capable of bearing viable live offspring in persons without one. It also increases the consumers libido and hormone production, causing the consumer to go into a chemically induced oestrus. Tid gave the contraband to Matthews to be able to impregnate him.” Dax was still for a few moment, unsure what to say. Piecing the events together in his mind, it all started to make sense. “…So, you're saying that the ‘protein powder' I added to my smoothie that morning actually made me grow a uterus and put me in a manufactured heat?” “Correct.” “So…” Dax was still searching for what he wanted to say. “…I was in heat, I tried to have sex with my boyfriend and when that didn't work…I just went to the next closest guy I knew… And now what, are you saying I could be pregnant?” Sydryn exhaled. “Yes, that is why we need to draw blood again.” “What happened to the blood you drew last week?” Dax asked. “We only tested it to check your hormone levels,” Sydryn said. “Also, a pregnancy cannot be confirmed until the second week.” “But it's only been one week,” Dax pointed out. “Yes, I failed to add earlier that this contraband you consumed also doubles the speed of a human pregnancy,” Sydryn said. “One week for you is two weeks for a pregnancy, if an egg was successfully fertilised.” Dax put his head in his hands trying to process all this information. “…After all that…I could be pregnant…with Kent's child?” Sydryn uncrossed their legs and leaned forward to place a hand on Dax's shoulder. “I understand that this is a lot to take in. We cannot confirm a pregnancy yet until the results of a blood test, but we can confirm the formation of a uterus now with an ultrasound.” Dax took a deep breath. “...Okay. Do whatever you have to do, I guess... I need to know.” “When was the last time you ate or drank, by the way?” Sydryn asked. “I had water on the way down, but I haven't eaten anything since last night, at like 8pm,” Dax answered. “How much did you drink and have you urinated since drinking today?” “Uh, maybe half a litre? And no. Is that bad?” “No, a full bladder is ideal to lift the organ we are looking for. A full litre is ideal, but we should be fine. I will have to press which may cause some discomfort.” “Okay.” “Alright. Please lean back and lift you shirt. Unbutton your pants as well,” Sydryn directed as they got up to start the ultrasound machine. Dax did as instructed and they proceeded with the ultrasound. Syd was able to confirm the uterus as well as a thickening of the uterine lining. Afterwards, they drew a sample of Dax's blood. “It will take some time, but this has been prioritised so you should hear from me tonight or tomorrow,” Sydryn explained, as they put away the test tubes. “Do you have any questions for me?” “If I am pregnant, what do I do?” Dax said. “Can I even really have a baby? Like, carry to term?” “The research is new, however yourself and Jeffrey's family are not the first to have been exposed to this particular Prilarian contraband,” Sydryn stated. “So far, all who've taken it and carried out a pregnancy have carried healthily to term.” Dax blanched. “And if I don't want a baby?” “You have all the same options as any other pregnant person,” Sydryn said. “Since we have not confirmed a pregnancy as of yet, you should abstain from receiving unprotected anal penetration during intercourse. If you have done so within the last 72 hours, you can take a morning after pill.” “I haven't,” Dax said. “But will I have a uterus forever now?” “No, if you are not pregnant, it should pass within a month. The same would occur after a pregnancy,” Sydryn said. “We can go over the details of that later, once we have your results.” Dax nodded slowly. “Okay...” “Did you have a talk with the therapist like we discussed last time?” Syd asked. “No, not yet...” Sydryn woke up their computer. “Let's make you an appointment to come talk with me, how about that?” “Uh, sure,” Dax agreed, nodding. “Monday at 1pm?” Dax took out his phone out and opened his calendar. “Sounds good.” “I will be calling you as well as soon as I have a result for you,” Syd reminded, getting up. “How are you feeling? Do you think you'll be alright for now?” “Yeah, I'll be fine,” Dax assured getting up as well. “This is just...a lot to take in.” “I understand.” “Well, I wouldn't be surprised about Jeffrey, but his cousin,” Dax inquired as he started walking out. “Is he alright? I imagine he's been taking that stuff for a while without knowing...” “I can't share such information on my other patients,” Sydryn stated as they escorted him. “Ah, yeah... Maybe I'll try to contact them,” Dax said. “Nathan should have Jeffrey's number...” “I wouldn't stress yourself with their well-being for now,” Sydryn said. “You should take some time to yourself. Relax.” “I just, I don’t know if it's the teacher in me, but I worry about those kids,” Dax said. “I don’t know if you know, but I taught Jeffrey in high school. A good teacher cares about all their students.” Sydryn placed a hand on Dax's shoulder. “That is admirable, but he is not your student anymore. Neither of them are your responsibility.” “I know...” When they got to the lobby, Reid was sitting waiting for Dax. He got up as soon as he saw them. “So? How did it go? Is he dying, doc?” Sydryn furrowed their brow. “You're here for Dax?” “No, I thought I'd come in for a shift,” Reid said sarcastically. “Aye, I made sure to get him here in good time. We're friends now, you know.” Sydryn sighed. “We’ll have a talk about that later, but anyway, are you driving him home?” “Well actually, he drove us here,” Reid said. “Why? Should he not drive? I can drive if I have to. You didn't answer if he's dying or not.” “He's not dying,” Sydryn stated. “He can drive, but you, however, are not clear to drive yet.” “I'd like to talk about that, actually.” “Bring it up in our meeting on Monday,” Sydryn said turning to go back to the exam rooms. Reid patted Dax's back. “You alright? What'd Syd tell you?” Dax sighed. “I'll tell you on the drive back, alright?” “Sure, sure. Let's go then.”

[joontier]

Subliminal in Scrubs | V2; report xii 

pairings: dr. jeon jungkook x female reader

chapter rating: PG-15 | genre: humor, workplace relationships

warnings: none to note

word count: 2.6k

g/n: jungkook is a brat wbk; also,,, hoseok here is supposedly as old as seokjin heh i had an internal debate whether or not i should include two other scenes but aslkdfjkasljfas but i ended up with this instead skjff hope yall enjoy!! 

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Subliminal in Scrubs (the records) |  navi. | m.list

The orientation went by like a breeze with Ms. Narae’s quick run throughs of Woocheon’s clinical processes and systems, training programs, hospital expectations, and the explanation of the rest of the map of the hospital you weren’t able to cover during your tour earlier. Before she wraps up, she retrieves your IDs from underneath the table and places them on top of the desk for everyone to get later.  She dismisses the orientation exactly ten minutes before twelve, requesting everyone to head straight to their department’s on-call room after the break.

Soomin, who you’ve recently discovered to have her own Youtube channel, takes out her phone and records a video. You watch from the side as Soomin does her thing, until she tries to call you all over and officially introduce you as good friends turned work colleagues to all her subscribers. 

You hadn’t really expected this whole vlogger thing from her, especially when Soomin was a bit reserved when you were first acquainted with each other, but then again, as your friendship grew, you realized that she had a bit of Chohee in her as well and you thought that’s what caused you to gravitate towards her naturally. 

“Anybody up for lunch?” Soomin asks, rubbing her hands together after she finishes her short recording and tucks her phone back in her pocket. “Yeah, I’m starving...” you murmur, placing a hand on your belly as you hear your stomach grumble its complaint. 

“I heard Woocheon is known to have the best hospital food in Korea. Ever.” Jungkook says, looking around. You’re starting to get skeptical about how Jungkook is lingering around Jimin...Or was it the other way around now? “Shall we?” With Jungkook’s undeniable proposition, Soomin briefly glances at your reluctant face, her own lips pursing with your reaction. “Fine,” you sigh. 

There’s no getting rid of Jungkook now. 

Woocheon’s cafeteria...does not look like a cafeteria at all. 

You weren’t expecting an...urban haven of some sort, a portion of the hospital that you had least envisioned to what seems to be the warmest part of Woocheon. The laminated flooring, faux wooden grain wall panels, along with the suspended lights from this wave-like uneven wooden ceiling - it was as picturesque as a spread on an interior design magazine. 

The interior could easily outrival any other kitchen in the city. “Are you sure this is not some hotel we just walked into?” Jimin questions as he marvels over the sleek urban design of the cafeteria. There’s even a café - which you recognize holds the same logo as Good Day café. You ought to confirm this with Jimin later. 

As you near the serving area, the unmistakable aroma of roast beef fills your senses, making you hungrier than you were just seconds before. “Please don’t tell me Woocheon is actually serving roast beef...” 

You practically salivate at the sight of the food in the counters, a lot of which you realized were influenced by western food culture. There were three different kinds of salad to choose from, baked potatoes, burgers, seafood stew, stir-fried meat, as well as the Korean classic side dishes that you’d never miss in a meal.  And, true to your trusty sense of smell, roast beef was at the end of the line up in all its roasted glory.  

“Yeap,” Soomin says as she turns to face you, “You have three options for the sauce too: mushroom gravy, pepper sauce, or truffle sauce,” Soomin replies matter-of-factly, pointing at the farther end of the food counter. 

“Oh I love this place already!” Exclaims Jimin who’s undecided between eating to his heart’s content and risking a stomachache on the first day of work, or sacrifice half of the dishes for a later time in your stay at Woocheon. Thankfully, Jimin decides on the former. 

“Make sure you have your IDs ready,” Jungkook announces as he joins the line after you. “You’ll have to tap it against this tiny device then they will automatically deduct the total amount of the food you got from your account.”  

Jimin’s face falls instantly at the realization. Jungkook claps the other man’s back, face crumpled as he keeps his laughter in. “Still love this place, Jimin-ssi? Don’t worry now, the three of us can pretend we didn’t hear anything at all.” 

With features forlorn, Soomin makes a hilarious attempt to appease Jimin’s disappointment by stating facts - “Jimin-ah. Hospital food isn’t free.” 

“Yeah. I realize that now,” Jimin replies, an ingenuine smile playing on his lips. 

“Cheer up though! Ms. Narae did mention faculty and staff get a five percent discount on all hospital services...just so happened that they included the cafeteria there as well.” 

Albeit reluctant about the price, Soomin manages to convince your entire group to try out the roast beef for once (and probably your last too. Figures.) “Oh, and by the way, there is one thing that’s free actually. It’s the drink of the day - free for all staff. One each, and available during lunch only.” 

Your eyes travel to the end of the counter straight away at Soomin’s reminder. Calculating the number of cartons left and the people left in the queue, you’re beyond pleased at the fact that you’ll be able to get a free 250ML carton of banana milk today, and also the last person to do so. 

Unfortunately for you, a staff member returns to the counter and retrieves a tetra pack, claiming it was for a senior doctor who forgot to claim the drink. Much to your dismay, a middle-aged man in a white coat was waving to the counter, with his other hand pointing to his tray to prove that he really wasn’t able to take any milk with him. You can’t hide the scowl that creeps on your face. 

Through your peripheral vision, you notice Jungkook closely monitoring the milk as well, the same look of disappointment evident on his face. Maybe losing the milk wasn’t that bad. After all, if you couldn’t one, Jungkook wouldn’t be able to score one either. 

While Jimin checks out his food, one of the kitchen staff suddenly retrieves another carton from the other side of the counter, mumbling about how it must’ve fallen over earlier. You were just about to grab it when the lady at the till calls you next, and you’re forced to move your tray sideward so she can calculate the total amount of your order.  

When you look up to grab your free drink, Jungkook reaches out at the same time and manages to snatch the milk quicker than you. “Hey!” Jungkook simply shrugs his shoulders at your indignant tone. “Sorry darling, finders keepers.” 

You stare at him in disbelief, until the lady calls for Jungkook next, a little too loud for your liking. Your eyeroll comes almost involuntarily, and you shake your head as you follow where Jimin and Soomin were headed to as they look for a seat. 

Jungkook arrives shortly after you do, so you immediately lose the chance to rant about your annoyance towards the latter. He decides to sit across you and you don’t have the chance to complain about it either when he sticks the straw in his milk while he smirks at you. 

What an actual kid. 

You promised yourself you won’t let him get to you, choosing inner peace over fighting with a brat. Besides, two can play at this game, and it’s going to take more than a small carton of milk for him to truly vex you, so you simply smile at him back, returning the favor (of course, while secretly wishing he might choke on his banana milk too).  

“Would you guys mind if I recorded a little bit?” Murmurs of agreement are heard across the table. “Alrightey then,” says Soomin, “This time, none of you boys will be able to escape the camera this time around.” Just as you’d expected, Jimin and Jungkook whine in chorus, vocally expressing their petulance towards Soomin’s ‘vloggering’. 

“Hey! For all you know, you two might even bring more subscribers when I put you two as my thumbnail!” 

“I’m shy…” Jimin argues as he poorly covers his face with his small ID, yet continues to peek through the small gap between the card and the lanyard. 

Soomin rolls her eyes at their childishness and records her food first, praising how surprisingly appetizing the hospital food is. She proceeds to pan the camera towards you as you say hi for the second time today. As Soomin moves onto Jimin, he instantly puts his ID down and waves at the camera sporting a cute smile. “Everyone, this is what ‘camera shy’ looks like nowadays.” 

On the other hand, Jungkook, shameless as ever, pretends to not pay any regard to the camera but he decides to chew on his food with much suave, jaw tightening with every bite of the beef. Soomin calls on Jungkook to say hi, to which he responds by introducing himself and punctuating his statement with a flirty wink. 

For some reason, you feel your stomach drop at the action, causing you to look away momentarily while Soomin instantaneously switches back to her front camera, “Okay, everyone, let’s just pretend these two weren’t flirting with the camera just now.” Soomin shakes her head at the two, deciding that was enough content about lunch at the hospital cafeteria. 

“Shame the camera couldn’t handle it,” Jimin says, pouting as he places a hand over his chest. 

“Maybe it was the lady behind the camera that couldn’t,” adds Jungkook who continues to wink, alternating both his eyes before making a weird face. 

“Okay Jeon. I think that’s enough winking for today.” 

Jungkook wouldn’t stop though and Soomin finally looks at you for help, “Diagnosis: winkitis, ophthalmologist recommends immediate enucleation.”

“Of course! How could I forget? A wink for this young lady over here too.” Jungkook turns to you now but you simply squint your eyes at him as you fake choking on thin air, “I think I might have lost my appetite altogether.” 

As the three of you head back to the locker rooms to retrieve your stuff before going to the surgery department, another hospital staff stops briefly on their way to greet Soomin. It’s the third time in ten minutes and you’re starting to think Soomin knows not just ‘someone’ from the hospital. Strangely enough, they all seemed like they came from different departments too. This particular person must be of high authority or someone really famous to have people greet her as often as this. 

When you round the corner, at the end of the corridor is a lady in formal attire, sporting the same ID as yours  and it’s Soomin who approaches this person this time. As she pulls the person aside, she urges the three of you to go ahead, telling you she’ll catch up in a moment, leaving you sandwiched between Jimin and Jungkook who tower over you easily. 

“Jimin, do you happen to know who it is exactly she knows here?” 

The blond shakes his head no. “She’s never mentioned anybody in particular...all I know too is that she knows somebody here.” 

“Some relatives perhaps? Maybe she’s a family member of a renowned doctor here?” 

“How about her Youtube channel? Maybe she’s famous then? How many followers does she have?” 

You quickly tap on Youtube on your phone with Jungkook’s prodding, looking up her channel on the app. “It says here she’s got quite the following actually... “ you tilt the screen for them to see, “six thousand followers…” 

“That can’t be it. The second one who greeted her was at least in his mid-fifties...Boomers couldn’t have possibly been following...what does she vlog about again? Um… a day in the life of a med student…” 

From behind you, you faintly hear a ‘goodbye’ and you clear your throat, alerting the two of Soomin’s return. “What were you guys going on about here?” 

Jungkook chuckles, smoothly making up an alibi as he takes your phone in his hands, “Hope you don’t mind us checking out your channel…” Surely enough, your screen was showing a video of Soomin studying for her finals. 

“As long as you subscribe, it’s fine with me.” She gives you all a thumbs up. “It’s been a while since I posted anything though...Maybe if we get to the on-call room early, maybe I could film a few shots too! Come on!”  Soomin hooks your arm in hers and drags you to the locker rooms, leaving the two boys standing there in the middle of the hallway.

You figure the four of you were the first interns to arrive, as most of the doctors lounging around were either in their scrubs or heading out for lunch. “Soomin,” Jungkook seemingly deep in thought, taps the girl’s shoulder. 

“Hmm?” 

“Remember when you bumped into me on the day of our graduation...you were with someone right? Um...Jung...Ho...I can’t quite remember his name…” 

“Oh you mean Jung Hoseok? He’s my cousin.” 

As Jungkook opens his mouth to reply, someone calls Soomin from the other side of the room. “Soomin! You’re here!” You spot the surgeons you’ve met during the hospital tour earlier this morning - Dr. Min Yoongi, Dr. Kim Seokjin, and Dr. Kim Namjoon. You all bow promptly as soon as they stand up. 

“I didn’t really have that much of a choice,” Soomin grumbles as she gets squished with each of the doctors’ hugs. “Come on! You’re saying that as if Woocheon isn’t any good at all!” 

The three of you stand awkwardly in the corner while Soomin and the other doctors mingle with each other. You nudge Jungkook’s elbow, “Hey what’s with Soomin’s cous--?” 

“Oh right! These are my friends - ________, Park Jimin, and Jeon Jungkook.  We’re all under your care now.” The three doctors call you over, extending their arms out for a handshake, “Ready to lose your social life?” Dr. Min asks, his bright tone contrasting his drift. 

“It’s an honor to meet you Dr. Min, Dr. Kim, and Dr. Kim.” You bow curtly. “Oh doctor? It's too much! Call us sunbae instead. Oppa is cool too when we’re not working.” Dr. Seokjin’s handshake lingers a little longer than usual and you feel your cheeks start to heat up. “Besides, I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time.” 

Yoongi visibly grimaces at Seokjin’s words, while Namjoon covers his face with his hands, mumbling, “Hyung.... For the love of god, please make sure the patients never ever hear that…” 

Namjoon’s reaction elicits laughter from the whole group, but someone’s laugh stands out above all and it’s coming from the other side of the door. Soomin seems to recognize the voice instantly. “He’s here!” 

“Soooommmiiiiiinnn!!!” A loud voice echoes throughout the room. He hugs Soomin briefly, and addresses the rest of you. “Wassup bros?” The newcomer gives each of the surgeons a dap in greeting then turns to greet you three. 

“The whole gang's here!” He says, rubbing his chin, “Let me guess...Jeon Jungkook, _________, and Park Jimin, right?” 

Eyes wide in surprise, you nod slowly. “Soomin here has told me all about you!” Soomin is behind the man, drawing a hand across her throat. “My name’s Jung Hoseok, by the way. Nice to finally meet you all.” 

“He’s the next chairman of the Woocheon Medical City,” Seokjin whispers as he winks in your direction. Hoseok elbows him in the ribs. “No I’m not.” 

“Ah yes. Correction. Not yet.” Seokjin mumbles, massaging his sides. You, Jimin, and Jungkook look at each other with knowing gazes. So that’s the ‘someone’ Soomin knows. 

Woocheon ought to be...interesting.

© joontier 2021

[iclaimedtobethebetterbard]

confiding over cuddles

Fandom: Sanders Sides Characters: Logan, Virgil, background Roman & Remus. Rating: Teen & up Relationships: Analogical, both pre-relationship and during the relationship.  Warnings: Language. First scene has mentions of being outed, religious homophobia, the implication of the f-slur having been used (the actual word is never on the page), and could maybe come across as critical of Christianity although I intend it more as critical of the homophobia. All of this is kept vague and not gone into in great detail. In the second scene, there are a couple of lines that are implied to be suggestive, but no other warnings. Word count: 4657

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My writing masterpost

Starlight Universe masterpost

analogical week 2021 start - previous - here - next - masterpost

Summary: Throughout the years, vulnerability has always been easiest for Virgil and Logan while cuddling.

Notes: Day 3 of Analogical Week 2021! @analogicalweek Yes, I’m posting it a day late, but I technically finished it before midnight last night, lol. Takes place in my Starlight Universe, does not need context to read.  Remus uses he/they pronouns in this universe. 

part 1 - nightmares “Virgil?” Logan said quietly, looking up from the textbook he’d spread open on the floor of Virgil’s dorm room.

Virgil flinched, startled in spite of the soft tone and not too eager for conversation. “What?” he mumbled, dragging his headphones off one ear. He wasn’t actually listening to anything—he’d put them on to avoid conversation—but apparently now they were having a conversation anyway.

“I’m sorry if I am overstepping, but you don’t seem like you’re doing okay.” Logan looked up at him with wide, earnest dark brown eyes. “If there is anything I can do to help, I would really like to.”

Virgil heaved a sigh, considering his options. He hadn’t had time to cancel their normal study session, and when Logan had picked up on his distress at the beginning of the visit, Virgil had insisted it was fine and Logan didn’t have to leave. Logan had taken him at his word and settled in, sprawling on Virgil’s floor while Virgil curled up on his bed and hugged his pillow, avoiding homework and everything else too, to wallow about—well. The reason he would have canceled if he’d had five minutes’ more notice.

On the one hand, it was kind of personal, and Logan was a good enough friend (not a crush, not a crush, not a crush—) that he’d certainly be understanding if Virgil said he didn’t want to talk about it.

On the other hand, Logan had offered to help, and the opportunity to seek comfort from a pretty, thoughtful boy with nice hair and eyes and lips and hands and—but this wasn’t a crush, so none of that mattered, obviously—well, regardless, it was a tempting opportunity.

“Can I talk about it?” Virgil asked in a voice that came out smaller and more vulnerable than he intended.

Logan nodded at once, closing his textbook and climbing to his knees. “Is it okay if I come up there?”

Virgil nodded, patted the space on the bed beside himself, and scooted over to make room. Logan joined him, clambering onto the bed and laying down beside him with a good few inches of space between them, propping his chin up on his elbows. “What’s up?” he asked, focusing all his attention on Virgil.

This close proximity had the unintended side effect of shorting out Virgil’s brain for a solid three seconds. “Uh.” He tore his eyes away from Logan’s face. “I… so I have this friend, right? He used to be my best friend. When we were kids. I haven’t really talked to him at all in a few years.”

Logan nodded.

“So, uh.” Virgil hesitated, fidgeting with his phone. “I guess somebody outed me to him. And he wasn’t okay about it.”

Logan sucked in a concerned hiss of air, half-reaching for Virgil’s shoulder and stopping himself partway through the motion. “Are you okay?”

Virgil nodded on instinct, thought about it, and then shook his head. “He texted me out of the blue about it and offered to pray for me.” His voice shook. “And I—I told him no thanks, I like being gay.” He swiped aimlessly back and forth on his homescreen, opening a folder of apps and then closing it, just so he had something else to focus on than the words he was saying. “He got mad. Called me a—a, a… you know.”

“Oh my god,” Logan murmured in a hushed, horrified tone, and this time he did put his hand on Virgil’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “I’m so sorry, Virgil.”

Virgil let out a little hiccup of a laugh that held no humor but was a way to avoid bursting into tears. He drew the back of his hand across his eyes. “I blocked his number right before you got here,” he mumbled.

Logan nodded. “Good.”

“But he’s been messaging me on Instagram this whole time,” Virgil added with a grimace. “I haven’t been opening them, but…” Right on cue, a notification banner popped up across the top of his screen, previewing a message that contained more of the same stuff he’d been seeing flash across his screen for the last half hour.

“Block him there too,” Logan said instantly. “He doesn’t deserve your time.”

Virgil brushed at the corners of his eyes, swiping away the tears that were threatening to accumulate. “I—I don’t want to open it,” he admitted, voice cracking. “If I open the app, I know I’m going to read all of the messages, and I don’t want to.”

Logan was already shaking his head. “No, don’t read them, oh my god—please don’t read them, please don’t hurt yourself like that.”

“I don’t want to,” Virgil repeated, burying his face in the bedcovers for just a second to hide the tears he couldn’t quite hold back.

Logan’s hand cautiously crept from his shoulder to his back, where it began rubbing soothing circles between his shoulderblades. “Is there any way I can help?” he asked after a moment, his voice almost calm enough to hide his own distress. “I could block him for you, if you want. That way you wouldn’t have to handle the app at all.”

Virgil considered this. He didn’t like the idea of others going through his phone, ever, full stop. But he really didn’t like the idea of opening the Instagram app himself and seeing the little red notification in the corner and inevitably clicking it against all his common sense and scrolling through the messages, reading them over and over again, and maybe trying to reason with the guy about Virgil’s own humanity, even though all that would do was invite a dozen more paragraphs of hurt to read and internalize and argue about, and it would only turn into a vicious cycle of never-ending emotional damage. Not ideal.

And he trusted Logan. He still didn’t like the idea of handing Logan his unlocked phone, but it was a lot less bad than the idea of pretty much anyone else having that access, and it was probably way less bad than trying to do it himself and just hoping he’d somehow have the willpower to leave well enough alone when he knew he didn’t trust himself to do that.

“Can I watch you do it?” he asked, turning his head to the side so he could make suddenly-tired eye contact.

“Of course,” Logan said gently. “Whatever makes you feel most comfortable.”

Virgil worried at his bottom lip with his teeth for a moment, then unlocked the phone with a quick hard press of his thumb and passed it to Logan, wincing slightly.

“Instagram?” Logan asked, finger hovering over the app and waiting for Virgil’s confirmation.

“Yeah,” Virgil said.

Logan opened the app and, waiting at each step for Virgil’s next instruction, blocked the guy without opening any of the messages sitting in Virgil’s DMs. “Does he have any other accounts?”

“I don’t think so,” Virgil mumbled.

“I’m glad. Are there any other methods he has of contacting you that you’d like to block him on?” Logan offered the phone back.

Virgil accepted it gratefully, his shoulders untensing a little. “I guess Snapchat.” He looked up the account and blocked it. “I deleted my Facebook ages ago.” He drummed his fingers on his lips, thinking. “I don’t have a ton of social media, I think that’s everything.”

Logan nodded, visibly relaxing. “Do you need anything? Any kind of support, or anything?”

“I dunno,” Virgil mumbled. He rolled over onto his back. “It just… it sucks.”

“It really does,” Logan agreed.

Virgil forced out a dry chuckle. “Guess I didn’t need that many friends, anyway,” he said, trying hard to make the situation into something amusing. It didn’t particularly work. “It’s not like most people like me, what’s one less?”

“I like you!” Logan protested, his voice much louder than it had been for the last ten minutes. He froze, looking anywhere but Virgil’s face. “I, I like you a lot. You’re a very good friend,” he added, fidgeting with the cuff of his sleeve, his expression flustered.

Virgil set that aside to overthink for ages later. “Uh. Thanks. You—you too,” he managed.

They were both very quiet for a moment, Logan’s fidgeting only increasing as Virgil chewed anxiously on the inside of his cheek.

“Is there anything you need right now?” Logan asked again, just as the tension between them began to become uncomfortable.

Virgil let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “I don’t know… are you busy?”

“Not until my next class, which is at noon tomorrow,” Logan assured him.

“I don’t want to be a bother—”

“I enjoy spending time with you, and you are clearly distressed and I’d like to help if I can,” Logan interrupted, “and you are my friend and I care about you very much, and it is not bothering me to ask whatever you want. If I want to say no, I will.”

Well. He had covered all his bases when it came to anticipating Virgil’s hesitations.

“Would you mind staying for a bit?” Virgil blurted. “To help me keep my mind off it? I—I don’t want to be alone. I think too much.”

Logan’s expression softened into something so tender it almost hurt to look at. “Of course,” he agreed easily. “As long as you like.”

“Thank you,” Virgil whispered.

“Anytime.” Logan fidgeted with his sleeve a bit more, not looking at Virgil. “Um. Would you like to cuddle?” he asked hesitantly after a minute.

Virgil wasn’t sure he’d heard that right. “What?”

“There are several physiological and neurological benefits to—” Logan began, determinedly not looking at Virgil’s face.

“No, I believe you,” Virgil interrupted, and in a surge of daring, added: “Sure.”

Logan blinked, his lips parting slightly in surprise. “Oh! Alright.” He shifted closer, carefully closing the gap between them like he was afraid of doing it wrong, and arranged himself against Virgil’s side with his head on Virgil’s shoulder and his arm draped across Virgil’s chest.

Virgil’s own arm curled around Logan easily, like it was meant to go there. Virgil ignored (mostly) his rapid heartbeat and how soft Logan’s hair was where it brushed against his cheek.

“Do you want to know something totally stupid?” Logan asked.

“Sure,” Virgil said, wondering where this was going.

“I’m scared of the space under my bed.” Logan half chuckled.

Virgil blinked. That had been kind of out of the blue. “What?”

“I’ve tried to rationalize it away. I know it doesn’t make sense.” Logan sounded half amused, like maybe he was trying to cover up some mild embarrassment with humor. “But ever since I was a little kid, it’s scared me. It was worse when I was little, I would have nightmares about it and everything. But it still makes me kind of nervous to just have empty space there. I like to fill it up.”

“That’s fair,” Virgil said. He understood irrational fears. “How come you’re telling me, though? Like, not in a judgemental way,” he added quickly, feeling Logan’s shoulders tense just slightly. “Just wondering where that came from.”

“Ah.” Logan relaxed again. “I am attempting vulnerability. You just shared what seemed like a pretty personal moment with me, and I know that can feel uncomfortable. I am trying to level the playing field a little.”

Virgil couldn’t help but smile. “That’s really sweet, Lo,” he said.

“I am just trying to be a good friend.” Logan shrugged one shoulder, but Virgil could hear the happy note in his voice.

“I was scared of going places by myself when I was little,” Virgil said. “Actually, that came from a nightmare, too.” He laughed a little.

“No, hey!” Logan protested. “Now it’s uneven again!”

“I don’t think that’s how vulnerability works,” Virgil told him, only teasing a little bit. “Friendship isn’t math, it doesn’t have to match on both sides. Besides, I got over that one, mostly. It’s all good.”

Logan nodded slowly in acceptance, rubbing his thumb back and forth across Virgil’s shoulder. “Alright.” He half sat up, but only took his glasses off and reached to put them on the sidetable, then lay back down, cuddling up even more cozily against Virgil once again, making a small noise of content.

“What have you been up to lately?” Virgil asked, his voice hardly above a whisper, because he needed there to be some kind of conversation. Not just to distract himself from the unpleasant stuff of earlier, although that was still a part of it, but also so that he could avoid examining the current situation too hard. Because Logan was just a friend, just a friend, and Virgil couldn’t afford to risk ruining a friendship as wonderful as this one with a big gay crush on his friend.

“Getting used to my new board position in the astronomy club,” Logan said. “And a lot of reading for my classes.”

“You’re the Vice President this year, right?” Virgil asked. Almost without thinking about it, he raised his hand to stroke Logan’s hair, which was just as soft against his fingertips as it had felt against his cheek.

Logan let out a soft sigh of content at the touch, nestling his head a little more snugly against Virgil’s shoulder, and coincidentally fucking melting Virgil’s heart into a puddle of goo. This whole not-a-crush thing was getting to be a serious problem.

“Yes, I’m the Vice President,” Logan confirmed. “I was the secretary last year, so I kind of know the ropes, but I have very different responsibilities this time. So that’s been interesting.”

“Tell me about it,” Virgil invited.

Logan did tell him about it, and then he asked Virgil what he’d been up to, and Virgil got to talk about a research project he was helping one of his favorite professors out with, and that led to telling each other stories about their favorite professors and classes (and some of the bad ones, too), and that led to stories about their friends, and Logan was looking up at Virgil with a soft gaze that Virgil could have stared into forever, and he really didn’t know what was up with Logan of all people’s sudden desire to cuddle, but he wasn’t asking questions because this was kind of the best thing that had happened in forever.

When, much later, the conversation slowly died down and Logan’s voice trailed off into a sleepy noise that he stifled against Virgil’s shoulder, scrunching his whole face up into a yawn, Virgil only tugged at the piled-up blanket he was leaning against until it half-covered the pair of them. Maybe the more responsible thing to do would have been to rouse Logan so he could go home to his apartment, but when Logan shifted closer to him and held him a little tighter, his eyes drifting shut, Virgil couldn’t find it in himself to regret it.

And he’d meant for it to only be a brief nap, really he had. He hadn’t planned to drift off himself as well. He could’ve sworn he only closed his eyes for a second or two—but when he opened them, sunlight was streaming through the window, and Logan was still there, still in Virgil’s arms cuddled close against his chest. Logan was wide awake now, but he seemed perfectly content to just lie there and examine Virgil’s face, a funny look in his eyes and a tiny smile on his lips.

“Hi,” Virgil said blearily, blinking at him. Then he processed where they were and what had happened. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I should have woken you up,” he began, half sitting up, his voice coming out a sleepy mumble that probably wasn’t anywhere near intelligible.

“No, it’s fine,” Logan assured him, gently pushing him back down. “I don’t mind.”

Virgil was half of a mind to keep apologizing, but it was very warm and he was still barely awake and Logan was so soft and nice, so all in all it was much easier to just lie there and accept the cuddles.

“Are you doing better?” Logan asked quietly.

It took Virgil a minute to fully remember the events of yesterday and figure out what he was referencing. “Oh. Uh, I guess. Like, it still sucks, but I’m going to be okay, you know? And this is nice, anyway.”

Logan nodded, resting his head on Virgil’s chest as if to listen to his heartbeat. “Yes. This is very nice.”

[4 years later]

part 2 - dreams  “Come to bed,” Logan said. “You have been scrolling through Tumblr for the past twenty-seven minutes, you can do that just as well while snuggling me.”  

“I’ve been attacked,” Virgil said lightly, shutting off his laptop and turning around to face his boyfriend. Logan was sitting in bed in his pajamas, leaning back against the headboard of their bed, a book in his hands and the covers pulled up over his lap. Virgil smiled. “Let me go brush my teeth and then I’ll come cuddle you, babe.”

“Acceptable,” Logan agreed with an answering smile, his eyes flicking up briefly from the pages to meet Virgil’s own.

Virgil brushed his teeth in the little bathroom of the apartment Logan had shared with the twins in the two years since they’d all graduated college. Before reemerging, Virgil changed into the old t-shirt and flannel pajama pants he’d brought with him—he usually stayed overnight on the weekends these days, and this one was no exception.

Roman, sitting at the kitchen table poring over a wad of papers that were probably a script from the local community theatre’s latest production, waved at Virgil as he exited the bathroom. “G’night, Virge,” he called.

“Night, Ro,” Virgil responded, and for good measure, he added, “night, Remus.”

Remus, somewhere out of sight, cackled. “Have fun getting—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Virgil interrupted automatically, without any real bite, making his way back into Logan’s room and shutting the door behind himself.

Logan smiled at the sight of him, pulling back the covers invitingly. Virgil snagged his phone off of Logan’s desk on his way over, climbing into the bed and curling up with his head in Logan’s lap.

Logan let out a small, pleased sigh, resting his hand on Virgil’s shoulder.

“Happy?” Virgil asked, reaching up to touch Logan’s face.

Logan nodded. “Very.”

Virgil chuckled and half sat up so he could reach to kiss Logan, then settled himself back where he’d been and unlocked his phone, scrolling through Tumblr without paying too much attention. Logan’s hand came to rest lightly on the back of his head, and after a moment began stroking his hair.

He turned a page, then after a minute closed the book and set it down.

Virgil looked up. His boyfriend was gazing down at him, face scrunched up just slightly the way it always did when he was thinking hard about something.

“You good?” Virgil asked.

Logan started slightly. “Oh! Yes.” His hand, which had drifted to a stop at the base of Virgil’s skull, resumed gently stroking Virgil’s hair.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Virgil asked.

Logan was quiet for a beat, then met Virgil’s eyes. “Would you like to get married?”

Virgil choked on air. “What?”

“Married,” Logan repeated, a little shy this time. “You and I. Would you be interested in doing that?”

“I—” Virgil found himself at a loss for words. “I don’t know? Maybe?” He sat up, shutting off his phone and setting it on the sidetable. “I’m sorry—are you proposing to me in our pajamas?”

“No,” Logan said emphatically, frowning. “This is not a proposal. This is so we can talk about it ahead of time, so that if you do want it, then you won’t need to be anxious when I do propose.”

Virgil blinked, processing that. “Wow.” He reached over and brushed his thumb lightly across Logan’s cheek. “I love you so much, you know that?”

Logan’s brow smoothed out and his shoulders visibly untensed. “I love you too.” He put his hand over Virgil’s where it rested on his cheek, cradling it tenderly. He closed his eyes. “And you don’t need to have an answer right now. We can have this conversation whenever you like. I just… wanted to bring it up. Because I would like that, if you are also amicable.” He turned his head slightly and pressed a kiss to the palm of Virgil’s hand.

Virgil hooked a finger in the collar of Logan’s pajama shirt and drew him close for a soft kiss. “Come lay down and cuddle me properly, nerd.”

Logan obediently set his book down on the sidetable beside Virgil’s phone, pulled off his glasses, and set those down too. With some shuffling of limbs, the two of them lay down, Virgil curled up in Logan’s arms. To anyone else, Logan would have seemed perfectly relaxed, content to lay there and press the occasional kiss to Virgil’s forehead; but Virgil could sense the slight tension in Logan’s face. He was nervous, even if he was trying hard not to show it.

Virgil’s own thoughts were whirling. Did he want to get married? He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it. But they were both still so young. Marriage was so big. Even if they’d been dating for more than four years at this point, that was barely more than a blip in the really long run. And what if they found out too late that they disagreed on something important? What if Logan wanted to take out a huge mortgage, or move across the country, or have kids? (Okay, they’d talked about kids, and both felt super hesitant, not-yet-ready at best, about the whole idea. But what if Logan changed his mind?)

(But also… waking up to Logan’s face every morning. Waking up to coffee with Logan and sleepy yawns. Casual touches on the elbow or shoulder or wrist or waist or cheek throughout the day, little reminders of love that were almost thoughtless in their routine. A home that would be just theirs. They could get a pet, if they wanted. They could paint stars on the ceiling or walls. They could cook dinner together every night. They could stay up late watching old TV shows and making snarky commentary back and forth. They could be each other’s home.)

Logan was watching Virgil’s face intently, even as he did his best to play it cool. Virgil met his eyes. “So,” he began, struggling to find the right words for what he wanted to convey. “I—I don’t know what I want. Or. I guess I kind of do. But I’m nervous.”

“We don’t have to,” Logan said quickly. “I mean. Obviously. But I don’t want you to—to feel pressured, or anything, to say anything one way or the other or to have to even say anything at all or—”

“Hey,” Virgil interrupted soothingly as Logan’s voice sped into anxious overdrive. “Hey, it’s okay.”

Logan sucked in a breath. He nodded. “I—sorry.”

Virgil shook his head and leaned across the few inches between them to kiss Logan. “Babe, I just told you I’m nervous. It’s fine if you are too.”

“I’m not nervous—” Logan began. He cut himself off at the wry look Virgil gave him. “I—okay, fine. But it’s not a big deal.”

“Hmm, disagree.”

“But the whole point was so I could support you if you felt—”

“L. Babe. Light of my life. You get nervous when you’re vulnerable. I get it.”

Logan bit his lip and reached for Virgil’s hand. He held it tightly.

Virgil squeezed back and snuggled closer under the covers. “Anyway, uh.” He paused for a second to make sure he knew how he wanted to say it. “I—I still don’t know exactly what I want to say about that idea. But I know the answer is definitely not a no.”

Logan breathed in, not quite sharply enough to be a gasp. “Oh,” he breathed, letting go of Virgil’s hand so he could caress his face.

“Does that make sense?” Virgil asked. “Like, I don’t yet know how or when I want it. But I—I think I want to, eventually, and I really want it to be you.”

“Yeah,” Logan said, his voice coming out a little choked. “Yeah, that—that’s good.”

Virgil half smiled. “Kiss?” he asked.

Logan was reaching for him before he even finished the word, pulling him close and clinging to him as he kissed the breath from Virgil’s lungs like he never wanted to let go. Virgil wrapped his own arm around Logan, holding him just as tightly, and cupped Logan’s face with the hand that was trapped between the two of them.

“I love you,” Virgil whispered as they pulled apart, and now he was choking up a little too.

Logan pressed their foreheads together. “I love you so much.”

They were both quiet for a moment, holding each other close.

“I think it’d be nice to get one of those really fancy coffee machines,” Virgil whispered after a minute. “Someday. For our someday kitchen.” He enjoyed Logan’s sudden intake of breath and the way his eyes widened slightly at the word our. “The kind that can make espresso, and shit,” Virgil went on. “We could try out all different kinds of things. And I wouldn’t tell anybody how much sugar you always put in your coffee.”

“I put a normal amount of sugar in my coffee,” Logan protested, a smile quirking onto his face.

“L, I love you, but that is maybe the least true thing you have ever said in your life.” Virgil snickered.

“Shut up,” Logan whined, pushing lightly at Virgil’s shoulder with an answering grin.

Virgil leaned in and kissed his cheek. “It’s cute.” He hesitated for a beat. “What would you want? In your dream future?”

“You,” Logan responded immediately.

Virgil pressed a hand to his mouth. He absolutely should have seen that one coming, but he hadn’t, and the surprise made the pang of fondness in his chest all the sweeter. “Logan,” he managed after a minute.

Logan only grinned, looking very pleased with himself. “A coffee machine does sound very nice, too, though,” he added. “And space for you to keep an instrument.”

“Oh,” Virgil breathed, lighting up at the idea. “Yeah, that sounds really good. I’d want a library for all your stupid nerdy books.”

Logan put a hand on Virgil’s cheek. “I’d want a kitchen table that we both picked out together.”

Virgil grinned. “A couch to hold you on.”

“A wall full of art that we both like.”

“Windows so there’s light everywhere and you can see the stars at night.”

“A pantry full of our favorite foods.”

“A bed to—”

“Virgil!”

“Whaaat?”

“We were being cute!” Logan smacked his arm lightly. “Remus is a bad influence on you,” he accused, though Virgil could see he was trying not to laugh.

“I mean, probably,” Virgil allowed, grinning. “But maybe I was just going to say a bed to sleep in. And cuddle in. And perfectly innocent things like that. Maybe you’re the one Remus is a bad influence on.”

“I—” Logan struggled for a second, then broke down into snickers.

Virgil grinned, wrapping his arms around Logan’s waist and enjoying the sound of his laughter.

“Were you going to say something like that, though?” Logan asked, composing himself.

“Oh, no, absolutely not.” Virgil snickered. “You were right, I was going to ruin the cutesy vibe we had going on there, one hundred percent. But you’re really cute when you laugh, so no regrets.”

“Hmm,” Logan hummed, leaning closer. “You know when else I’m really cute?”

“When?” Virgil breathed.

“When I’m kissing you,” Logan murmured, and closed the gap between their lips.

Virgil kissed back, eyes fluttering shut and hands sliding a little more securely around Logan’s waist. In his opinion, Logan made a very compelling point.

[thedumpsterqueen]

Standards of Performance, Chapter 9: Hesitancy

From the Beginning,  Previous Chapter

AO3 Link

Changing the chapter naming scheme; my brain can't handle two-word summaries anymore. This one is a lil short but very soft and I promise relationship progress is made. As always, I hope you love it. <3

Summary: You’re the BAU’s newest intern, desperate to prove yourself amongst an established team of much more experienced profilers. Agent Hotchner, the seemingly infallible team leader, sets strict expectations for your performance. He commands your respect without even trying, but is there something more to your relationship than a simple desire to impress your stony-faced boss?

Chapter Summary:  “Are you prepared for this to go south?” he asked, eyes boring into yours.

“Why would it?”

Words: 1962

Rating: Explicit, 18+. Warnings on AO3.

Pairings: Hotch x Reader, Hotch x You

There was no way in hell you could go into work today.

You didn’t actually have a choice, which is why you’d driven there. But you simply couldn’t command your feet to walk you into that office, towards the teams’ inquisitive stares and deductive skills that were closer to mind-reading than you were entirely comfortable with. You’d adjusted and re-adjusted your lipgloss several times over in the mirror, brushed through your hair, and even though you knew there was no way the team could know what happened 20 minutes ago in the park, you felt like you might as well have been wearing a neon sign that said “Aaron Hotchner and I Just Kissed (On the Lips).”

So you were holed up in the parking garage of the FBI in your piece of shit 2007 Toyota Camry. Stalling.

You sighed when you felt your phone buzz, knowing what the notification was. You were only seven minutes late, but seven minutes was eight too many in Hotch’s book. You checked the message.

Hotch: Please come inside.

So he knew you were hiding out, then. You sighed and slammed the car door, trudging up the stairwell and into the building.

Exiting the elevator to your floor, you paused outside of the frosted glass doors leading to the BAU and tried to still your breathing. Despite Hotch’s apparent instant regret and quick departure occupying the forefront of your mind, you still couldn’t stop thinking about how perfect that kiss had been. The part of you that wasn’t filled with panic about his reaction was squealing like a little kid at the confirmation that holy shit, he liked you too. You took a deep breath, summoned every ounce of professionalism and composure you could muster, and walked in.

You made it less than halfway to your desk.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa; don’t just walk in here like I’m gonna let that slide.” Morgan swung his legs off his desk and stood up in front of you. “Every day you get in at least ten minutes early and now you’re walking in late looking like you got something to hide. Spill it.”

Your open-mouthed gaping by way of response was blissfully interrupted by Hotch calling your name from the balcony overlooking the bullpen.

“Garcia needs your help finishing up reports. Meet her in her office.”

You shrugged to Morgan. “Duty calls. Sorry!”

“Don’t think you’re getting off that easy!” he called after you as you scampered towards the safety of Garcia’s tech lair.

You knocked on her door, and she greeted you with her standard excess of enthusiasm.

“Come in! I’m just going through my keylogs for the past few cases and filling out reports of every database I had to access less-than-legally.” She shot you an evil grin. “Which is a lot. You can help me by typing up the information into the actual reports on your computer.”

Just happy to be away from the teams’ prying eyes, especially a certain someone’s, you nodded. “Let’s do it.”

***

Not half an hour had passed when Garcia swiveled towards you in her chair, clutching her pink feathered pen with a knowing glint in her eyes. “So. Tell me.”

“What?” you asked, trying to hide your shock with feigned innocence.

“Oh, honey, come on. I may not be a profiler, but I’ve picked up a couple things throughout the years. And I can tell something’s up.”

“God damn it,” you groaned and laid back in your chair. “I thought this was a no-profiling zone.”

She smiled even wider, if that was possible. “It is. But for you, my dear, I have made an exception.”

“Did Morgan put you up to this?”

“He may have possibly texted me telling me that you were late this morning.”

You rolled your eyes.

“But you’re never late! Even I know that! So -” she scooted closer and lowered her voice conspiratorially, “- spill.”

Sighing, you weighed your options. The last thing you wanted to do was create drama and jeopardize your position, much less Hotch’s reputation, but you were itching to tell someone - if only to get their opinion on the matter. And it wasn’t as if you had anyone else to talk to…

“Fine!”

Garcia rapidly motioned her hands to signify you to continue.

“But you can’t tell anybody, okay? I’m serious, Penelope.”

“Not even-”

“Especially not Morgan.”

She pouted but reluctantly agreed, and you took a deep breath and told her everything.

How you’d developed an innocent crush at first, how it had spiraled out of control, how you’d visited his apartment and he’d told you about his past, and finally, how he’d kissed you in the park just that morning. You stopped, awaiting her reaction, but she was uncharacteristically silent.

“...Garcia?”

She cleared her throat and leaned forward. “I’m sorry, are we talking about Aaron Hotchner, like Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner, like boss man Aaron Hotchner? Mr. Grumpy? Never smiles, always wears a suit, carries the weight of the world on his sculpted shoulders?”

You glared, waiting for her to finish.

“I’m sorry,” she giggled, “It’s just -” her voice softened, “- in the whole time I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him act like that. Bring someone coffee, breakfast, open up to them. The whole bit.”

Your heart fluttered more than you’d like to admit at that.

“Listen,” she continued, “I don’t have to tell you that life has not been kind to that man. And I’m not gonna give you the stupid speech about dating an older man or dating your boss, because I don’t give a shit. But I will tell you - he’s been through enough. So if this isn’t what you want, back out now.”

Her tone was kind, but the seriousness of her message was evident. You nodded in understanding.

“I get it, but I don’t think he’s the one that’s gonna end up getting hurt here.”

“Well, hopefully nobody will get hurt and you’ll both ride off into the sunset together. But you gotta talk to him first.” She ignored your pained groan. “I’m serious! Nothing good is going to come out of you guys dancing around this. People act really stupid when they’re pretending they’re not in love with each other.”

Cocking your eyebrow, you shot back, “Kinda like you and Morgan?”

She flushed scarlet and waggled her ostentatious pen in your direction. “Touché.”

***

The thought of being emotionally vulnerable to Hotch made you more nauseous than you’d like to admit, but the more you mulled over it, the more you realized Garcia was right. Hotch knew how you felt - your fervent response to the kiss had made that abundantly clear - so what did you have to lose, really?

(Besides your career and the respect of your boss, but you tried not to consider that possibility).

He’d kissed you, you reminded yourself as you tried to focus on reports.

He cares about you, you recited like a mantra as you waited for the workday to end.

He’s twice your age and a widower with a dead kid and your Unit Chief, you panicked in the bathroom as you avoided the knowing eyes of the rest of the team.

Still, 6 pm limped in eventually and you bid everyone a good night from your desk as they filtered out. Hotch, unsurprisingly, was not among them. You planned to wait until you two were alone in the office so you could approach him undisturbed.

What you didn’t expect was just how late he worked - it was nearly 9 by the time he locked up his office, briefcase in hand, and turned to see you still sitting at your desk.

“Oh,” he said. You tried to decipher the tone of the syllable - surprised? Pleased? Indifferent? But came up short.

“I thought we could talk,” you offer cautiously.

“About wha-” he began, then seemed to think better of pretending he didn’t know and sighed. “You’re right. We should.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but he beat you to it. “I wanted to apologize for my actions this morning. I took advantage of a situation where you felt comfortable spending time with me outside of the office, and I should have never let it get that far. If you want to speak to Strauss about transferring units, I completely understand.”

You gaped at him. Was it truly possible for a man this astute, this in-tune with human behavior, to be this stupid?  

“Is that what you think this is?” you asked, practically launching yourself out of your seat from the sheer force of your bewilderment. “You think you took advantage of me? That I just went along with it because you’re my boss or something?”

The barely concealed shame in his eyes answered not only that question, but also the one you’d asked yourself beforehand - no, Hotch wasn’t stupid. He was broken. He was filled with so much self-hatred that the only explanation he could concoct as to why you were spending so much time with him was the one where you were trying to avoid offending your creepy, older boss. The realization filled you with such heartbreak that you nearly choked on your next words.

“Aaron,” you started, and it was strange how well a name you’d never before dared to say fit in your mouth, “I’ve -”

Don’t say loved.

“- liked you since that case in San Diego. I don’t know how you haven’t figured that out, considering the fact that I wake up an hour early every morning - I hate mornings, by the way - to get coffee with you. But I like you. And I know for a fact you feel the same way, so don’t try to pretend like you did after the bar.”

The number of times Hotch had been rendered speechless in his lifetime could be counted on one hand, and this made the list. You waited for him to respond, and he did, finally, in the most muted voice you’d ever heard him use.

“It isn’t right.”

“Please,” you implored, taking a step closer to him. “Don’t do that. You’re not going to talk me out of this, and I’d appreciate it if you’d stop trying to talk yourself out of it too.”

“I’m your Unit Chief,” he said, his voice regaining the power that usually accompanied that statement, “and I’m old enough to be your father.”

“And I’m an adult fully capable of making her own decisions,” you responded.

“The practicalities; they’d be a mess. Informing the Bureau, the team…”

“Would I have to quit my internship?” you asked, your only genuine hesitancy surrounding the situation.

“Well, no,” he shook his head slowly, “but we'd be subject to a much higher level of scrutiny.”

“I’m prepared to be scrutinized.”

“Are you prepared for this to go south?” he asked, eyes boring into yours.

“Why would it?”

He didn’t say anything, but you could tell what he was thinking. A man like him, someone who carried more than a few lifetimes of trauma and guilt, wasn’t someone to get involved with on a whim - for both of your sakes. This was more so the concern, you suspected, than anything he’d already mentioned.

“I know what I’m getting into, Hotch. I’m not expecting this to be easy.”

“Well, I -” he shifted uncomfortably, more visibly nervous than you’d ever seen him. “Can I least give you time to think about it?”

“Doubt I’ll be able to think about anything else,” you teased, and, with a sudden surge of courage, you stepped forward on your tiptoes to plant a feather-light kiss on his cheek.

The flush that spread up his neck was, decidedly, the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen.

Taglist: @stop-drop-and-drumroll @criminalmindzjunkie @xoprincessmel @cevanswhre @addie5264 (Message me if you want to be added!)

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

[CN] Season 2- Victor and MC- Chapter 4 & 5 (Eng Translation)- Part 3

⌚Warning:⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for a chapter that is yet to release in the global server. Don't continue under the cut if you don't wish to be spoiled!(◍•ᴗ•◍)

✧✧ PART 1 || PART 2

-

✧ [CH 4-12] ✧

At BS office: With the help of her subordinates, MC is working on gathering information on Lu Kang, and the mysterious man in black. But the tracker she left on him lost its signal after some time, so the investigation has reached an dead-end for now.

It's also the day Victor will be released from the hospital. So, MC goes to pick him up.

He has changed out of his hospital gown, and returned to his suit and leather shoes.

I sigh inwardly, though Victor has always been very busy, but recently he seems to have become even busier.

MC: You've just been discharged from hospital, don't you want to go home and rest?

Victor: It's not like I was really hospitalized. Besides, I remember that you still have something to report to me.

MC: Now I understand that being a CEO is really not easy.

Victor: If you really want to be considerate of others, improve the quality of your work.

I tilt my face up, and pat my bag while looking at him.

MC: So where does CEO Victor want to test the quality of my work?

Victor: Go to LFG.

-

MC notes that Victor gets in his work mode™ as soon as he enters LFG LOL

MC reports Victor about her findings that Lu Kang once lost a lawsuit against LFG and seemed to hold LFG responsible for the bankruptcy.

Victor explains that the deal with Lu Kang's company didn't proceed because they were found secretly making false accounts and such doings will eventually lead to plummeting. LFG never did or neither do they need to persecute anyone for business competition, and it'll bring more trouble than benefits anyway.

I scrutinize the sharp air exuding from his eyebrows, and can't help but mutter under my breath.

MC: Victor, you've always been so decisive and swift in action. Haven't you made more or less some enemies?

[Note: MC uses the idiom "雷厉风行" which literally translates to- passing like thunder and moving like wind.]

Victor: When there are interests involved, even if you do nothing, there will be enemies. The rules of the game are inherently cruel, and to have people who want to put some tricks to use, is quite ordinary.

MC gives Victor another report which she compiled based on Lu Kang's memory.

MC points out- the lawsuit incident was a while ago and it shouldn't be the reason he attacked Victor. She assumes-- it has something to do with the "game" that was mentioned in his memory many times. Lu Kang and the young man who partnered in the game probably tried to escape halfway, and they were killed because of the "no escapee rule."

Victor takes MC's reasoning under consideration, and specifically points out that all the victims of the murders are Evolvers. MC expresses her assumption that it could be because the authority of the game has some hidden agenda.

We glance at each other, and once again each sink into reflecting on the matter.

After a while, Victor picks up the last page of the report, and flips through it.

Victor: The trail for that killer is broken?

MC: Yes, should be. We suspect that he threw away the tracker.

Victor looks at the contents of the report repeatedly, then presses it on the table, and taps his fingertips on the last spot tracked by the tracker.

Victor: This place, you've only checked the public webpage. So the trail is not completely broken yet. Let them use the internal channels to investigate again. Don't waste the first-level authority I gave you.

Victor raises his eyes and looks at me, then puts the report back in my hand.

MC: Do I need to investigate that game altogether?

Victor: No need. I will send someone specialized to investigate. Remember, everything you just said is only a conjecture.

Victor: Without my permission, do not voluntarily investigate in private.

MC: Yes, BOSS.

The worries that have been clogging up in my chest for days, finally dissipates in several degrees. Even if I sympathized with Lu Kang, this action to get back at someone is never the right thing to do.

MC: Fortunately, this car accident is not related to the Evolver assassination. Just as I said, who would be so courageous, that he dares to pick a fight with CEO Victor?

Victor: The "bodyguard" is finally relieved?

MC: Relieved!

Victor: Go back when you feel relieved. Start concentrating on your task next week.

I grab the report, preparing to leave, just then Victor calls me again. I look back, and see that he seems to have sent a message to someone.

He halts for a moment, then stands up with one hand propped on the tabletop, his deep gaze falling on my face.

Victor: Thank you for these few days.

I stare blankly at him for a while, and quickly perk up with an even bigger smile.

MC: No need to be polite, Mr. Victor. Just let me book a free pudding from Souvenir!

I turn around at Victor's momentary expression of helplessness, running out of the office like a wisp of smoke.

Ever since confirming his safety, I feel that every time we see each other, it all becomes much more relaxed.

Behind the current life, there are still bubbling up unsettling factors in motion.

But precisely because things being as such, is what makes me want to cherish the rare tranquility all the more.

-

✧ [4-13] ✧

Just a moment after walking out of the LFG building, I suddenly remember that I've forgotten one thing, and rush back to the lobby.

After talking to the administrative staff at the front desk, I dial Victor's number.

Victor: Hello?

MC: Victor, I forgot one thing just now. To congratulate you on your 'discharge', I've prepared a small gift for you. The staff will deliver it for me later.

Victor: ....I've said I wasn't really hospitalized. What are you up to again?

MC: Just treat it as a blessing. You must accept it! That's all.

Victor: Hold on.

MC: Is there anything else?

Victor: Help me think of a name.

MC: What kind of name? A kitten, a puppy or a relative's child?

Victor: ....Common name, male.

MC: Why are you asking this all of a sudden?

Victor: Because your imagination is comperatively rich.

What kind of answer is this...

I complain inwardly, but still give it a serious thought.

MC: Let me think. How about this one!

(Players get to choose a name from the three options)

Victor: What kind of strange name is that...

Victor's helpless sigh comes from the other end of the phone.

Victor: Never mind. I shouldn't have had any expectations. I'll accept your gift. That's all.

After hanging up the call, I'm still a little baffled by the request.

He abruptly asked me to help think of a name, and also a male's name. Could it be that he is going to use it himself?

Could it be that there is something that requires a disguised identity?

But does he even need to disguise.... aren't the six letters "Victor" the best pass in itself.

Anyway, the name I gave him off the top of my head, he definitely won't use it.

I shake my head, my train of thoughts returning to the gift I've left behind just a moment ago, and can't help but look forward to it.

I wonder when the Victor of now receives this gift, what will the expression on his face be like?

-

✧[POV back to Victor's office]✧

Closing the last document, Victor leans into his chair, gently pinching his brows.

Opening his eyes, the pink-colored gift box on the corner of the table enters his line of sight again. The lofty color seems to be urging him to open it as soon as possible.

Victor unwraps the box, and inside lies a round Shiba Inu doll, appearing a little old.

He wrinkles his eyebrows, takes it out, and sees a small folded note also being pressed onto the bottom of the box.

He patiently unfolds the note again, the carefully and neatly written calligraphy greets his eyes.

Victor: (reading the note) "Congratulations on your 'recovery,' and here's a small gift for you. This is the doll that has accompanied me for many years. I wish you well and hope you're happy." - MC

Victor: ....Childish.

Victor subconsciously says a word, and falls silent again.

Unknowingly why, but he always feels that he's somewhat familiar with this scene, but he also can't amalgamate the impression any further.

Even just the silly Shiba-Inu doll on the table, brings him a trace of intimacy.

[Note: This is the same Shiba-Inu doll MC's dad gifted her as a kid, and she gave it to Victor in S1 "Rooftop Date," when she wanted to comfort him realizing how much he misses his departed mom.]

It seems as if, ever since meeting her and getting acquainted with each other, this strange feeling often arises.

Is it because she has an Evol associated with memories?

But again, Victor is also very clear that her Evol doesn't have effect on himself.

Or is that, it's simply owing to her?

Victor blankly stares at the doll for a while, and by the time he circles back to his senses, it's already somewhat late.

He pulls open a locked drawer next to his desk, puts the doll inside, and catches a glimpse of the document marked with a sharp " S " symbol underneath.

"Illegal psychoactive drugs", " CORE", "has the potential to stimulate Evol"...

Several eye-catching keywords are marked in red, even in the twilight, which are still clearly identifiable.

The information the girl has reported to him once again surfaces in Victor's mind.

She has organized it very meticulously, but after reading it all thoroughly, the dense fog before his eyes hasn't dispersed.

Those layers of crisscrossing threads seems to have already involved all the parties, standing in different positions, making the situation chaotic.

And all these disputes still ultimately point to the same source--

BLACK SWAN CORE.

When it's all said and done, is this situation because everyone is eager to obtain it, or is there an unknown force hiding in the depository, pulling the strings?

There are still numerous issues that needs to be resolved, and one can not always watch the fire burning across the river.

Victor locks the drawer, and glances at the clock on the wall.

The phone rings at the right time, it's an encrypted email from BS.

Mail: "BOSS, as per your requirements, the relevant information has been sent to the other party."

Victor simply knocks down a reply, gets up and puts on his jacket, preparing to leave.

A pile of events is connected into a ring, and each angler, too, is bait for another.

He is looking forward to what kind of prey can be hooked this time.

-

✧ [CH 4-15] ✧

Victor meets Lucien at the research center, who hands him the report of a research.

Victor says the results are clear but Lucien says they only confirmed their guesses, and that CORE has been the focus of everyone after Evol was publicized, but there are perhaps other things affecting the world. Lucien asks if Victor feels that the world is not quite right and that every civilization circulates within a box, the time they have is likely more limited than expected.

Victor says it depends on how an individual views the matter, there's no need to pre-determine an outcome.

Lucien asks Victor if he believes he'll be able to get out of the box. Victor replies, "Not believe, it's a must."

After Victor gets in the car, he receives an email: "Dear Mr. [the name MC chose for him earlier], thank you for your support towards Hunter Games."

The rest of the email is basically explaining the rules of the game.‶

-

✧ [Victor scene in CH 5] ✧

Victor is returning from a business trip. After giving Goldman some instructions, he glances out of the window of the helicopter. Even though everything is peaceful, to him something always seems amiss.

He receives an email containing only one word, "Advanced." His expression doesn't change much since he already expected this outcome. The mail disappears, and he taps on another anonymous email with the instructions- He'll be entering the betting venue in 15 minutes and he should get prepared.

When the helicopter is about to land on the LFG rooftop, he glances out of the window once again and observes the people of the city living their day to day peaceful lives.

The noise-reduction headset cuts out the sound of the outside world, but the mere information sent back to him by his vision, is sufficient to prove the tranquility of the world before his eyes.

The helicopter lands. He settles some works with the staff.

Victor raises his hand to look at his watch, the gray clouds being reflected on the dial, slightly blurs the trajectory of the clock hands.

In a split second, along with lowering his arm, an inconspicuous red light suddenly streaks across the dial.

There's still ten minutes to enter the "betting venue".

The staff turns around, walking towards the elevator, cold wind blows on Victor's face, fluttering the hem of his coat.

Somewhere directly opposite, a small cross hair has always been aiming at the position of his heart.

??: "Code L" elimination plan in progress, target locked.

A second before the trigger is squeezed tightly, the person behind the lens suddenly lifts up, raises his head, looking straight into the set of deep eyes in the distance.

The clamors of the city conceals much of the noise, the discharge of bullet muffles in the silencer, so much so that in this shattering rain, it doesn't even make a crisp sound of snapping a branch.

A dispute between the light and the dark, seemingly has arrived to its conclusion.

[Trivia: The call that comes with the Chapter karma card-- is actually Victor nagging with MC on her report over phone inside the helicopter-- before it lands on the LFG rooftop!]

[hannie-dul-set]

wc: 3.9k | warnings: swearing, some violence, cheating mentions

it was past noon when you and seolhee parted ways after eating lunch at an admittedly over-priced restaurant. you two decided to go out because she was leaving the school in two days. the whole jeno incident led almost the entirety of the student body to deem her not too fondly, so even if you wanted her to continue her education here, it would only be hard for her to cope with.

seolhee said that she did not expect jeno to apologize for the things that he did, but you still had your hopes up. which was why the conversation you two had over lunch made you feel a lot lighter inside.

("he said sorry! oh my god, i'm still thinking that it was a dream."

you let out a laugh at your friend's upbeat demeanor, reaching out to a napkin to wipe your lips. seolhee accidentally hit the table from her excitement, but luckily none of your drinks toppled down. "well, he could do more than apologize," you started. "maybe make it up to you by clearing up the situation that happened at the cafeteria so that you wouldn't have to transfer."

a slight frown tugged down the corners of her mouth. "an apology is enough for me, really. that much already means a lot considering his personality. and even if he does clear it up, i've already enrolled at eastwood so there's no undoing it anymore."

you placed down your fork, looking at the hazy expression on your friend's face, and then you opened your mouth to speak.

"do you still like him?"

seolhee choked on her drink.

"no!" she hastily wiped away the stray droplets that made their way onto her chin, staring at you as if you've just accused her of a crime. "of course not! oh my god, y/n—" there was a red hue that washed over her face, and you couldn't hold in your laughter. "i—i was just happy that jeno has the capacity to change. he actually seemed genuine, you know? it was the first time i've seen him like that."

seolhee droned on about how the confrontation went. you didn't get to listen even though you were on the line with seolhee— after hearing jeno's intentions of asking her to meet, you ended the call to respect their privacy.

"he told me that i could punch him if i wanted."

"did you?"

"i would've ended up with a broken hand."

giggles erupted and the clacking of utensils followed after. you finished your meal before her, taking a sip from the remaining liquid in your glass with the straw. it was still quite early, so you figured that you still had an ample amount of time to talk.

"i'm glad that everything turned out well for you, seolhee," you started, placing down your glass on the table. "but remember not to sell yourself short. you shouldn't be satisfied with the bare minimum."

"i know…" she sighed. "that's the most we could get out of him at the moment, and i'm satisfied with that. actually, i don't think he would have even done anything if you didn't reach out to him. so thank you, y/n."

seolhee held gratitude in her eyes as she looked at you, and you pressed your lips together into a thin smile.)

you stared at your phone as you sent your last message to seolhee, walking down the sidewalk on the way to the bakery that chenle and jisung always went to. they were close with the owners, apparently, but you've never gone there until now. the smell of freshly baked goods sent you the signal that you were nearby, and you confirmed upon seeing the lines of pastries displayed from behind the glass windows of a cream painted building.

it was a quick purchase, your hands now full thanks to the three boxes of assorted pastries. you were sure that they'd fight over it if you only got them one— so getting one for each of them would be much better. the other one was for you to bring home to your parents later.

"thank you so much, taeyong! i'll be sure to stop by often," you shot the handsome man behind the counter a smile before turning towards the exit.

"bring the kids with you too! they haven't gone here in a long time and i'm starting to think they've forgotten about me," you laughed at his words, nodding, before finally facing the glass doors that led outside. taeyong was nice, and you were already planning your next visit here. there was brightness in your face as you reached for the door handle, though with great difficulty considering the stack of boxes that you were trying to balance with your other hand.

you were about to push the door open, but you froze, brows furrowed, and the brightness of your face dimmed down. there was a scene going on from across the street— four people ushering themselves into an alleyway. normally you wouldn't be as affected, but you knew these people, and an ominous feeling buried itself in your gut.

"taeyong?" you turned around once more, eliciting a curious expression from the older male. "can i leave these here for a while? i'll be back, there's just something i need to do."

he was evidently confused by your sudden request, but he relented without any questions. you thanked him one last time before finally exiting the bakery, making your way across the street.

"had fun fucking my girlfriend last night, lee?"

it was difficult for donghyuck to maintain his carefree composure when he was shoved against the brick wall with his ribs and jaw throbbing in pain. sweat trickled down his forehead and his hearbeat rang in his ears. he wondered how the fuck was he supposed to get himself out of this situation. 

"look, hyunsung. i get that you're pissed, but let's tone down the violence, yeah?" donghyuck let out a wave of nervous laughter, raising his hands in front of him in surrender. "i didn't know she had a boyfriend! so can you really blame me?"

that was a lie. donghyuck knew well that cheonhee (or whatever her name is) was, in fact, taken. someone from the party last night told him so but he didn't exactly give much of a fuck. he thought it would be fine because they were from different schools, anyway— but it looked like he was being too careless.

hyunsung still had him trapped against the wall by the collar, the bigger male's glare drilling holes into his skin. donghyuck knew he wouldn't make it out alive if he made a run for it. he wasn't that strong or fast, and the damned neanderthal still had two other friends to back him up. all donghyuck could rely on was to somehow fool him into letting him go.

but even that didn't seem easy.

"you think i'm gonna believe that, you little bitch?"

donghyuck's blood ran cold and the grin on his face twitched. he felt his lungs squeezing in suffocation when he was pushed harder into the concrete walls, even if what he was saying was true, hyunsung was seeing too much red to believe him. a fist was raised, and he prepared himself for the impact of the third punch.

"kim hyunsung, jung hayoon, and kang jiho."

a gentle voice somehow stopped hyunsung from moving. a mixture of confusion and relief washed over donghyuck, but that was quickly overturned by unease. he froze. he knew that voice, and he internally cursed.

oh my fucking god, were you stupid? at that point, donghyuck decided that being punched would have been the much better option. why the hell were you here? and another question— how did you know these people? worry was writhing inside his gut and he bit down his lip as he watched you walk closer to the scene.

"i didn't expect to see you again, y/n," hyunsung's attention was momentarily diverted to you, but he was still helpless pinned on the wall. jesus fuck, this guy was strong. your gaze quietly moved over to donghyuck, and he hoped that you got the message that he was mouthing. hyunsung leered at him, which brought donghyuck to quickly shut his mouth.

your lips tugged down into a frown. "and i expected that all those corrective sessions with the dean would've at least made a dent into that personality of yours."

hyunsung scoffed. "righteous as always. you know this fucker?"

"he's a friend," you calmly stated, and donghyuck narrowed his eyes. what were you planning? "and i suggest that you let him go."

there was a phone in your hands and the screen was open. he couldn't see what was on it, but then you flashed it over for him and the other three boys to see. "i believe you were already at your final warning before i transferred from daeil academy."

donghyuck could see hyunsung's jaw clench as the guy glared at your phone, and it caught his intrigue. on your tiny phone screen was what seemed to be an open conversation with someone, and on the message box were a series of similar pictures waiting to be sent. donghyuck couldn't see the pictures clearly, nor did he know who were you planning on sending it to, but he got the gist of situation.

"hayoon and jiho might not get any major punishments," your eyes flickered over to the two boys, and they froze upon your stare. hyunsung's grip tightened. "but you're already on your last thread, hyunsung. you'd be expelled once the dean sees this."

at that point, donghyuck concluded that you were very very scary. but you were also very stupid for getting yourself involved in his own problems. no matter how much leverage you had over hyunsung at the moment, a guy like him would still find a way to get back at you.

"you've already done a number on the guy. don't you think that's enough?" you reasoned. "this isn't my business in the first place, so i won't send this if you let him go."

hyunsung's glare was as cold as ice.

"delete it."

but you didn't seem to be shaken at all.

"of course."

you sighed, explicitly showing to him that you permanently deleted the evidence from your phone. hyunsung finally let go of donghyuck, and he released a long breath, hid hands gently nursing the bruise on his face. the pain on his jaw and chest was momentarily dulled by his fear that you'd also get pummeled, but it once again resurfaced and donghyuck flinched at the throbbing feeling.

"you're still the same, y/n," hyunsung let out a bitter chuckle, signalling the two other boys to start moving, and you sent him a nod and a smile.

the three eventually left, but donghyuck still hadn't moved from his spot. he stared at you who seemed to be frozen in thought, that is until you released a sharp huff of breath and your knees nearly gave in to the floor.

"oh dear god, i thought i was going to die," you exhaled, sauntering over to donghyuck who was ready to catch you in case you actually did fall over, but you shot him a glare to stop him. "don't move— you're hurt."

donghyuck gulped and firmly nodded in obedience. you found yourself before him, but you didn't say anything further yet. you didn't scold him or ask him if he was sleight. instead you had your yes locked on your phone, fingers tapping down before shutting it off and shoving it down into your pocket. you finally looked up to him, and your brow raised upon seeing his puzzled expression.

"what were you doing?"

"sent a message to the dean."

his eyes widened. jesus, you were seriously scary. before donghyuck could press on any further, you quickly snatched his hand, staring over to the only opening that led out of the alley. "c'mon, let's go."

you already started walking before he could even retort, dragging the flabbergasted male behind you. "w-wait, where are you taking me?"

there was no answer from you, instead you just kept on walking and donghyuck was left with no choice but to follow.

“will you two be okay?”

“mhm! thank you so much, taeyong!”

the both of you were hidden in the furthermost area of the bakery, donghyuck sitting on the available chairs with a pack of ice firmly pressed against his bruised jaw. taeyong had been generous enough to let you two stay here for a while (the ice was from his, as well), and you promised to buy another box of pastries to thank him, to which he firmly refused with the shaking of his head.

“just make sure you get the guy home safe, okay?” he told you before going back to man the store. you concluded that taeyong was perhaps the nicest person you’ve ever met, and you were suddenly worried by the idea that chenle and jisung might have extorted this man’s kindness somehow (the former, mostly).

“y/n.”

donghyuck’s voice— lacking the confidence and cockiness that it usually held— called out to you amidst your thoughts. your ears perked as you sat before him, leaning forward in your seat and your eyelashes fluttered as you waited for him to continue. he wasn’t looking at you though, eyes in a faraway daze as he looked at the bakery’s sleek wallpaper.

“thanks for saving my ass earlier.”

he muttered, a slight pout on his lips as he did. donghyuck couldn’t bear to look at you at the moment due to his stained pride, but he isn’t that prideful to miss out on actually thanking you. It was genuine, though the embarrassment of you seeing him so helpless was still present. he was suddenly afraid because you weren’t saying anything, but then the sound of your chair screeching as you closed in on him happened, and all he felt now was confusion.

“what are—” donghyuck was about to look at what the hell were you doing, but when your hand gently made contact with the non-injured side of his face, turning his head to look at your worry eyes, the words he was about to say fizzled into air in his throat, leaving his mouth agape in fluster.

“it’s fine, hyuck. does it still hurt?” the rapid pace of his pulse when you brushed away the ice pack in his other hand to examine the dark bruise somehow made him even sensitive to the pain when you mentioned it. he flinched, unable to say anything. “ah, this is gonna last a while. you should drink some painkillers in the meantime, okay?”

donghyuck gulped. oh my god, why were you so close. your soft voice flooded not only his ears, but his entire being and it felt like he was drowning in your presence. the pain that was screaming under his skin was blocked away, numbed into nothingness because all he could feel was how his heart was running to follow you even though you were already so, so close.

he wondered what the fuck was going on with him.

all of a sudden, he felt like an absolute idiot. how would people react upon seeing the rumored fuckboy, lee donghyuck, flaring up at something as innocent as this?

he needed to pull himself together.

“ah!" donghyuck made a hissing sound when your fingers brushed over the area again, instinctively jumping away from your hold, and your brows furrowed in worry. he pouted at you, pressing the half melted ice pack to soothe his jaw once more. "i don't think ice and painkillers would be enough to get rid of the pain, y/n."

instantly, your eyes widened in panic. "oh no, does it really hurt that bad? should i take you to the hospital? oh my gosh, what if it's broken? donghyuck, how much does it—"

"maybe you should kiss it better."

there was silence.

your voice stopped midway, mouth hanging open and you deliberately put it to a close. a cheeky grin was painted on donghyuck's face, one that made it look like he wasn't feeling any pain at all. he noticed the worry on your face being slowly washed away, replaced by your lack of emotion, and you stood up. once more you decided to move closer, walking up to him and barely hovering over and— wait a minute, were you actually gonna do it?

he didn't think about it this far, oh my god.

"wait. y/n, i was just— jesus fucking christ—"

"you deserved to get punched."

donghyuck let out a yelp of pain, hunched over as he hugged his torso. he forgot that he was also attacked on the ribs and was only reminded when you mercilessly jabbed your finger to his chest. he looked at you as you went back to your seat, letting out another groan. “did you just hope that i was also injured here or did you actually know and deliberately subjected me to pain?”

“the latter,” you hummed, crossing your legs. “i was watching from the beginning.”

“so you just let that bitch hyunsung attack me?”

“like i said— you deserved it.”

there wasn’t a hint of jest in your voice and features, meaning you really waited until the last moment before you decided to swoop in. donghyuck bit down his lip, unable to meet your eyes. you were there from the beginning meaning you knew why hyunsung was about to beat the living daylights out of him. suddenly he felt like he didn’t deserve to be saved by you.

"but why did you still help me?"

he was genuinely wondering why you did that. you let him get beat up for a while before deciding to finally get between, but why? it really didn’t make sense to donghyuck, and his heart hammered against his pained ribs while he waited for a response.

“did you really think i was just gonna leave you like that? hyuck, you’re my friend and i care about you.”

what was supposed to be an answer only raised more questions.

“but— but didn’t you say i deserve it?”

“i thought that two hits was enough.”

donghyuck was flustered by your responses and he didn’t even know why. people either sided with him or were against him yet you were situated at both boundaries at the same time. it was a kind of combination that brought him to a place in his head that he’d never been before. you probably noticed the flurry of emotions swirling in his face, so you decided to speak up.

“donghyuck, are you alright?”

“o-oh, yeah,” he shot up under your worried gaze, and he pressed his lips together before speaking. “thanks again for helping me.”

he felt like he wasn’t worthy of your kind smile. “a-also, can i ask a question?”

“go on.”

“don’t you think that i’m like… a shitty person?”

donghyuck was afraid of your response. he was afraid of hearing that you’d agree even though he knew that he was really a terrible person. more than anything, he was afraid of what you thought about him, actually.

“i don’t think so,” you said. “but maybe you’ve done a lot of things before that would be considered ‘shitty’.”

he was genuinely surprised by your answer.

“it’s never too late, hyuck.”

it was quiet for a moment, but it was welcome. donghyuck took this time to think for a moment, to actually get in touch with the mess that had been long ignored in his head. he looked at you as you silently busied yourself with your phone, lips pursed in a manner that had his chest tightening. as if you noticed him staring, you shut off your phone and faced him.

“i think we’ve been loitering here for too long,” you breathed, a sheepish smile on your face. “should we go?”

donghyuck nodded before scrambling to get up. he went over to pick up the boxes neatly placed on the table beside you, but you quickly smacked his hands away. “what?”

“do you think i’m gonna let you bring all of this while you’re injured?”

“y/n, my hands are fine. didn’t you watch as my face and chest got brutally assaulted?”

“you’re still hurt, hyuck,” you protested. “also i’m not letting you go home by yourself. what if hyunsung decides to come after you? do you have anyone to come pick you up?”

donghyuck bit down his lip at your question. he wasn’t planning on going home and he somehow knew that you weren’t going to let him off easily if he told you that. there were many options that flooded his head on what he should tell you— maybe he could say that he’ll head to his dad’s company so that you wouldn’t have to worry, or maybe he can call renjun or jeno pretending that it was his mom.

but for some reason he didn’t want to lie to you.

“um,” his eyes were trained behind you when he spoke. “i don’t really want to tell either of my parents to know what happened... and i don’t want to stay at home, either.”

surprisingly, you didn’t press any further.

“okay,” you assured, and he sighed. he didn’t think that one simple okay could make him feel lighter. “still, i don’t like the idea of letting you off on your own. why don’t we call one of your friends?”

wait a second—

“should we ask jeno? wait, maybe we shouldn’t bother him for now.”

donghyuck’s face paled.

“what about renjun? ah, he might be busy today.”

god, please no—

“oh, let’s ask nana! maybe he’d let you stay over at his to rest for the time being.”

he wanted to stop you, but you were already calling him, and his blood ran cold. there wasn’t a problem with him staying over at jaemin’s— he was actually planning on doing that, anyway. the problem laid on the fact that jaemin would probably kill him once he found out that you were with him. donghyuck was too dumbstruck by the situation to even realize that wait— how did you know jeno and renjun? you even had their numbers? what the fuck?

“thank you so much, nana! i’ll text you the address,” there was a smile on your face when you were talking to him, and donghyuck didn’t want to get rid of it by telling you that the person on the end of the line was probably scowling at your request right now. that would also mean that he’d have to tell you that jaemin had been trying to pursue you, and he didn’t want to get in the middle of that.

so all he could do was smile and nod as he waited for his friend’s wrath.

but much to his surprise and relief, it never came. because the moment jaemin arrived to drag his ass to his house, he seemed to be too distracted by you to even look at him. he noticed something different from his friend; the bright gleam on his face when he looked at you was something he had never seen before, and it welcomed a feeling that he had never felt before.

“thanks again, nana! i’ll see you two tomorrow,” when you finally parted ways, donghyuck expected to finally be berated by his friend for, once again, not listening when he told him to stay away from you, but all that happened was the dimming down of his previous elated demeanor.

“let’s go?”

jaemin uttered without a trace of anger or malice or anything— and donghyuck was more unnerved by this. he nodded in response, wordlessly trailing behind his friend as he went over to crash at his place for the umpteenth time that week.

AN EYE FOR AN EYE // A HEART FOR A HEART

as they say, what goes around comes around. so when you break a hundred hearts out of the selfishness of your actions— be prepared to get your own heart broken a hundred times, as well.

24 // kiss it better

a/n: it’s 12:30am as i’m typing this and i’m just about to shut down oh my god ayways i hope you enjoyed this part!! some hyuck action hehehehe i’d say more shit but i’m really so tired rn so good byE

masterlist | next >>

taglist:

@joshva @shailaaa @sehunniepot @junglewoos @stopitvpls @marklexleaf @bat-shark-repellant @johnjaespeach @vinmylife @fairyinaflowercrown @mischiefmakerliesmith5 @lelenoir @jisungs-tummy @luvghyeon @nitsunie @smileyjisung3 @vantaeism @lucyinthesunshinee @1-800-luv-u @kevincametomyparty @babytigerchae @ncitydreamies @ellie-idk-anymore @bellamendoza @1tzw1nw1n @doiee​

[bcbii]

Deception

(Leonardo x reader)

Warnings // angst, blood, character death mention.

———————————————————————————————————

          Ruins, all of it           Within what felt like only days but had progressed in months. The previous lively city of New York had fallen into a downward spiral at the hands of Shredder himself. Streets flooded with the black clothed soldiers patrolling them, looking for any reason to leave civilians scared or slaughtered on the open streets as toxic fumes blackening the previously blue or star filled sky. New York was becoming a waste land and Shredders playground, so everyone was under the impression of at least. All everyone knew as a fact is that normal life had been gone for good. Along with the previous fearless blue clad leader, Leonardo.           Once all hell began to break loose, the turtles had been the first to answer the call. The fight that called upon them was the hardest and came at the highest cost. The cost being their father Splinter’s life and to the brothers and your knowledge, their eldest brothers as well. Not all fights could be won, and they came to such a realization once they faced it themselves. All four entered confidently, planned and ready. After engaging, their hopes for victory began to diminish. They were out numbered and overwhelmed and were given no other choice but to retreat before they got themselves killed. when doing so they waited a bit of ways off for their fellow terrapin brother to follow up as he said he was going to do. Hours of waiting, hours of searching passed and he never did return to his brothers.            You hid in the lair from all the chaos, directives from you former blue clad lover and he basically begged you to stay hidden and out of harms way before they left. You had sat anxiously and in fear for hours, watching the chaos unfold in Donnie’s lab, the multiple monitors displaying multiple news channels, each one going off air into static with each attack, you were horrified, wanting nothing more than this to simply be a nightmare. The nightmare got even worse when only the three turtles returned to the lair, beaten and bruised severely, blood of both themselves and their enemies covering multiple parts of their body.            “W-what happened?! W-Wheres Leo?!”          The question left the youngest of the four eyes welling up with tears that you’re sure he’s been holding back since this all had begun. Their heads hang low before Donnie’s raised, his expression unreadable, “we...we don’t know..”. You felt numb, scared, so many emotions at once and you could barely describe any of them or understand them. You were sure the turtles were just as distraught as you were. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW?!”

That had been months ago, after failed attempts of attack and searching to no avail, adapting had been the only viable option left for them and yourself. Numbness had become a familiar feeling amongst all of you as you all attempted to find some normality in the new world. Some of this normality consisted of scavenging for any food or materials that you could find. And tonight was a scavenging night since you guys have been running low on materials. Getting ready, you dressed yourself in all black, baggy black pants, a black t shirt and mask to cover most of your face as you pull on your black leather boots. Throwing a backpack over your shoulder, you headed out.

After you finished getting ready for the trip you went to the brothers, ask if they’d want you to look for anything in specific. Raph hadn’t really requested much of anything, Mikey just wanted decent food and Donnie just wanted computer or any electronical parts. “Be careful, you have your phone if anything happens. Call us”, The large red clad turtle said in a rough stern tone as you started to leave the sewers. “I will”, you reassured him as you left. Since Leo’s disappearance, Raphael had stepped up, doing his best to protect and help his brothers as much as possible. The large terrapin didn’t realize how much Leo was doing until he began to do it himself.

Climbing out of the manhole, you glanced around the alley way quietly, making sure the coast had been clear. Once confirmed, you headed to the abandoned apartments a few blocks down the way, a fellow scavenger hiding out there in which you’d trade with for some pretty good items that would cost quiet a lot from anyone else. The cold breeze of the night nipped at your skin as your cheeks and tip of your nose stung with the cold, but you’d shrug it off.

Climbing the fire escape, you found the shattered window you would use as the entrance all the time. As you climbed through you were careful with the shards of glass that littered the floor. It was dark in the abandoned apartment, the only light being the faint glow of the moon through any openings from the outside in. “Max”, you whisper yelled for the man as you began to step around the apartment, getting no response. The sound of heavy foot steps made you freeze in place, the floor boards creaking loudly under the persons weight. Before you could move on to the next empty room you were halted by a large form as you stumbled back and looked up, it was to dark and you quickly stumbled back, falling back on your behind as you proceeded to scoot back. The large figure before you followed, closing the distance you tried to make each time.

“Who are yo!-“, you were frozen, sharp sapphire hues that glowed in the moon light staring down at you. The faint light from the moon outline his familiar large frame, accentuating the curves and indents of his large muscular form along with the scars that littered his thick skin. A lump in your throat left you breathless as you stared in horror and felt a sick sense of relief for some odd reason.

“L-Leo....”, the name that slipped past your lips felt foreign, it didn’t match the terrapin standing in front of you. That name belong to a fearless leader, wise, strong and caring with a calm exterior. Who stood before you was a stranger, a worn black bandana in place of the old signature bright blue, tired and emotionless eyes with what seemed like an almost permanent scowl. Scarred fist gripping large sharp katanas, the metal being a special kind with a sleek black color. The foot clan insignia etched into the metal that was now dirtied with the blood of her scavenger friend.

Hearing his name slip past your lips now made him freeze, his grip tightening on the handle of his katanas. That voice was all to familiar, your gentle voice sounded scared and broken as you said it. Beneath the shell he created around who he used to be, it broke him to hear. He stared and hard, almost to see if it had been a hallucination. “......(y/n).....”, his voice was rough and deeper than usual since the lack of using it so much, only to bark orders and the puny foot soldiers he led. When your name fell from his lips emotions rushed through you as memories hit you like a freight train, it was Leo but not your Leo. Overwhelming tears began to fill your eyes as you forced yourself up and stared into his eyes. “Where have you been?!” You snapped, he stayed silent and stoic and you despised it.

Stepping back you took in fully who he had become now, pulling down your mask you pressed your tongue against the inside of your cheek as a tear ran down, you stared at the branded insignia of the foot clan on the top left of his plastron. “You joined them didn’t you?.... you never disappeared or died...” you began as Leo’s lips parted to speak, “I can explain—“

“You just joined the foot and became a damn traitor!” You yelled as tears of disappointment, anger and sadness now spilled freely. The words hurt Leo to hear, especially coming from you, he cringed internally as he swallowed thickly and tried to step closer but you only backed up further. “(Y/n) please let me explain... I’m doing what needs to be done” he tried to explain. “Abandoning us? Joining the people who caused all of this?! THE ONES WHO KILLED SPLINTER! YOURE A TRAITOR LEONARDO!” You shouted ruthlessly as you stepped forward a bit and stood your ground. The now black clad turtle put himself in a position he knew would be unforgivable and he would never forgive himself either, but god how he wished he could grab you and let you know how sorry he was and how much he missed you and his brothers. Leo wanted to hold you, he wanted to break down too through all of this but he was the cold blooded assassin that led the foot clan, he couldn’t let himself break.

“I’m doing this for your guys saftey! It was either this or I lost you guys too!” Leo shouted back a bit, overwhelmed by his own feelings as well. The answer left you baffled as you stared at him in shock, “d-did you.... did you consider any of our feelings when you decided to leave us Leo?...when you left me?...”, you asked, searching for an answer as you stared into his dull eyes. You watched his gaze shift shamefully almost as if intimidated by yours. “Of course I did... and you know I did” Leo responded almost as if he seemed offended by the question, “it was the only way....”. Leo felt guilt wash over him as you scoffed and looked around in disbelief as if looking for someone to confirm it. Returning you attention back to him you were silent, somewhat silently remenising about who he used to be. You missed him, you missed the comfort, the smiles, the laughter and happiness your former lover brought you, his brave and protective ways, his arms around you and his lips on yours as comfort or in the most intimate moments. You missed Leo, but this wasn’t him.

Tears proceeded to roll down your cheeks, eyes becoming red “...how could you do this?...”, you said, voice quiet and shaky. Your tone left Leo wishing he could take you in his arms and hide you from all the bad that’s become of the world, that he helped cause which he hated himself for it.

“I’m sorry (y/n)...” Leo spoke, a bit choked up himself. You stepped back a bit as you shook your head quietly. “I-I have to go” you spoke quickly before rushing back to the window you entered through, “wait! (Y/n)-”. You didn't want to go, in fact you wanted to stay beside Leo and have him in your life again but right now, it was all too much, seeing him was only pain. 

Leo stood now in eerie silence as he stared at the window you exited, silently hoping you would come back through, come back to him. He knew you wouldn't though and he had to accept that. It was the price he paid for his decision and his families safety, but had it really be worth it?

// kind of out of the blue and for fun, hope you enjoy :) 

[artificialqueens]

Better Than Revenge, Chapter 1 (Multi) - Joley

ao3 link

Jan put her hands on the back of Jackie’s chair, trying to read over her shoulder as if it would help one way or another. “Still looking into the Sarah Jones case?” she asked, resting her chin on the top of Jackie’s head.

If it were anyone else, Jackie would’ve shooed them away, but she didn’t have it in her to deny Jan’s presence. “Just about finished,” she assured. “It seems pretty cut and dry, the court case is well-documented. It’s yet another instance of a straight, white boy getting off with a slap on the wrist. Did ninety days in jail and another month of community service. Sarah came to the right people.”

“She getting any restitution?”

“Not a dime,” she shook her head and clicked her tongue in disapproval, then turned to face her. “Are you taking on this one?”

Jan looked over her shoulder into the other room. “Nah, Gigi’s on this one, I have a few cases to follow up on.”

There was a beat of silence where Jan was unaware of Jackie’s internal debating before finally asking, “so, you think you’ll be free tonight?”

She bit her lip, a smirk twitching at the corner. “You missing me in your bed already?”

Jackie turned around in her chair, looking up at Jan. “You’re a cocky little brat, aren’t you?” she teased.

Jan braced her hands on either arm of Jackie’s chair. “But am I wrong?”

“I can’t really argue when I’m eye-level with your tits.”

“Well, I–” her retort was cut off by an alarm on her phone going off. “Ah, fuck, my three o’clock case is gonna be here any minute now. I’ll be in my office if you need me, gorge,” she winked before turning on her heel and making her way down the hall.

Jackie turned back to her desk, exhaling deeply as she allowed her heart a chance to return to its normal rate. But it wasn’t long before she sensed that once again, she wasn’t alone, and groaned. “Don’t say it.”

“She has you whipped,” Nicky observed matter-of-factly. “It would be cute if you weren’t such a stubborn bitch about it.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m an Aries. Stubborn bitch is my default setting. Ask Denali, she can vouch for that.”

Nicky furrowed her brows. “Where is Denali anyway? She left before noon to meet with a new client, she’s usually back by now.”

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Jackie assured, “she knows how to take care of herself.” Before they could question her whereabouts any further, her office phone began to ring. “Let me take this,” she said before answering in her ‘business voice’, “Karma Inc, Jackie speaking. How may I help you?”

——

It wasn’t uncommon for Denali or the others to make house calls for consultations. Oftentimes, someone’s privacy or safety could be at stake. So, she didn’t bat an eye as she made her way to the address listed in the email. But when she saw that she was at a scarcely used office building, her suspicions grew.

With her hand on her taser, Denali cautiously entered the building and looked around. The email said to wait in the lobby – not that she planned to wander around.

“Denali?”

The voice startled her from her thoughts and she turned to see where it was coming from. She then saw a tall woman with auburn hair and pale skin approach her. “You’re Rosé?”

“That’s me,” she confirmed before leading Denali into an empty office. “Listen, this is going to sound like bullshit, but I have a case for your organization. It’s of critical importance and could be huge for you guys as well.”

Denali’s brows furrowed as she eyed her suspiciously. “Who are you, exactly?”

Rosé strummed her fingers against the desk. “I’m a former detective and–”

“Hey, what we’re doing is completely legal!” she cut in, eyes narrowing in a glare. This wasn’t the first time she felt inclined to defend what her group did. What she considered their group was an ethical version of mercenaries (which may seem like an oxymoron, but that was beside the point).

They pick up where law enforcement, the justice system, or even society itself failed. When someone came to them seeking revenge on someone that wronged them, they took it seriously. The vetting process that Jackie would put each case through could take days depending on the circumstance. Bottom line, their goal was to help people who had exhausted their options and she would be damned if she let some cop get in the way of that. “If this is some sort of sting, I’ll have you know I have an attorney and I won’t–”

“This isn’t a sting,” she replied calmly. “I’ve seen the justice system fail far too many people to stay within it. That was why I left, but I have unfinished business. There are people out there that have hurt others that’ll never see justice and could cause even more harm. That’s where you and your associates come in.”

Denali went from defensive to intrigued in a second flat. “So, you want us to give the victims some closure by hunting down criminals? And do what, specifically? Because a lot of what we do doesn’t cause long-term damage… physical damage, anyway.”

Rosé grinned. “That’s where I team up with you guys. I can arrange for Karma Inc. to have the proper training you would need to be at the level of effectiveness we would need here.”

“We?”

“I have been working closely with some of the victims of the people we’re after. This isn’t going to be easy, but from what I understand, I’ve come to the right place.”

Denali strummed her fingers against the desk as she mulled it over. She would need to run it by the rest of the group, but she couldn’t fathom them not being on board. That’s why they had come together – to right wrongs in ways only they were able to. “You certainly have.”

——

“This is exciting!” Jan chirped, bouncing a bit in her seat. “We’re gonna be like actual crime fighters now. Think of all the things we’ll be able to do once we have all the skills for it! Maybe we should get matching leather jackets or something.”

“Take a breath, Bubbles,” Mik chuckled, then turned his attention back to Denali. “So, tell us about this detective.”

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Denali’s lips and she began absentmindedly twirling her hair around her finger as she spoke. “She’s like six foot, auburn hair, beautiful blue-green eyes, big ti-”

“That is not what he meant, you horny dumbass,” Symone cut in. “Also, I’m pretty sure you just described Jolene, like, from the song.”

“Hey!” Denali pouted, then tilted her head in thought. “Actually, now that you mention it…”

Gigi pinched the bridge of her nose. “Focus, Denali. Please just tell me you handled yourself professionally and weren’t staring at her ‘eyes’.”

“Give me some credit here, Jesus,” she rolled her eyes. “I was fine, I wouldn’t volunteer for something just to appease a pretty face. I take this shit just as seriously as the rest of you.” Once she’d taken a breath to refocus herself, she continued. “She’ll be coming over tomorrow to meet with us, then once we work out the details, we’re gonna get started on combat training. Well, you guys will,” she smirked at the last part.

“Lest we ever forget your black belt,” Nicky chimed in. “Did you brag to her about that?”

Denali scoffed. “I prefer the element of surprise, thank you very much.”

Nicky shrugged. “You’re welcome.”

As much as the group liked to joke around with each other, the seriousness of their new mission never left their minds. They enjoyed their work, but they took everything seriously. It was people’s lives, their mental and physical health. It was their safety and their future and they knew how much power and responsibility came with their mercenary work. But it fulfilled each of them in their own way - they didn’t end up doing this by accident, after all.

And they all made their feelings clear when they spoke to Rosé. Denali had texted her the address of their headquarters and led her inside to their main meeting room. “Everyone, this is Rosé. Rosé, this is Nicky, Symone, Mik, Jan, Gigi, we’re the mercenaries. And this is Jackie; she does all of the research, tech, paperwork… basically, the glue that holds us together.”

“I’m very excited to meet you all,” Rosé replied in greeting, clasping her hands together. “I know this may seem like a heavy task, I promise it’ll be worth it.”

“I’ve got a question,” Symone chimed in. “I saw the numbers you sent us. Who, exactly, is funding this endeavor?”

“It was somewhat of a crowdfunding endeavor,” Rosé explained. “But it turned into something much bigger. The community of people affected by the people we’re tracking down is dedicated and pulled in resources almost in excess. Rest assured, we can live up to those numbers.”

The answer satisfied Symone, who nodded in acceptance. “Alright,” she cracked her knuckles, “what’s the next step from here?”

Rosé’s face cracked into a grin. “From here, we get you guys into training. I have a combat specialist and range master on standby to help you guys prepare for as many possible scenarios as we could think of. This will take some time, so we’ll work with your schedules.”

“I’ll email you that,” Jackie nodded. “The rest of the day is open if you guys want an introductory session or something.”

They all looked at each other, slowly nodding before Jan, speaking for the group, said “we’re in, let’s at least get a taste of what’s to come.”

“We don’t need to know what you and Jackie are doing tonight, babe,” Gigi teased, earning a glare in response.

After that, the group took the twenty-minute drive to the private gym they would be training in. It was spacious and clean, not having an overabundance of exercise equipment. Most noticeably, there was a boxing ring towards the back of the space. “Any of you guys ever box before?” Mik asked casually.

Most of them shook their heads, save for Symone who shrugged, “a little bit in college.” She looked over at Denali, “what, you aren’t secretly a heavyweight champion on top of your blackbelt?”

“No, but I’m a fast learner,” Denali retorted, brushing her hair off her shoulder.

“Mercenaries,” Rosé redirected everyone’s attention. “This is Jaida, military trained in hand-to-hand combat. There’s no one I’d trust more to whip you all into shape.”

While most of the group had reactions ranging from neutral to excited, Nicky looked like she had just seen a ghost. Her eyes went wide, her face paled, the beating of her heart drowned out anything else Rosé was saying. There was no way, she thought. It had to be a coincidence – the universe doesn’t just align like that in real life.

But if Jaida shared those sentiments, she didn’t let them show – something that went hand-in-hand with military training, no doubt. Though it seemed that she was actively not looking at Nicky, her unwaveringly stoic expression seemed focused to her left, where Jan, Mik, and Denali were. “Alright,” she said once Rosé had finished her introductory speech, “I’m gonna work with each of y’all one-on-one to get a read on your skill level,” she looked the line-up over and tilted her head. “I’ll take the ginger one first, the rest of you start warming up.”

While Gigi left with Jaida, Jan turned to Nicky with a concerned expression. “You okay? You look kinda… sick. Do you want some water or something?”

“I’m not sick,” she assured, but let Jan lead her off to the side anyway. “I just think I might be going a bit crazy.” There was hesitation as she worked herself up to being honest – this was Jan, if there was anyone she could confide in, it would be her. “The instructor. She looked familiar… like the girl. You know, the girl.”

Jan’s expression went from confusion to wide-eyed realization over the course of the next few seconds. “Oh my gosh, her? Are you sure?”

Nicky shook her head. “I do not think I can be… she didn’t react at all. But she might just have a hard façade. I am sure the military helped with that.”

“What’re you gonna say when it’s your turn?”

“What can I say?”

Jan pressed her lips together as she wracked her brain, only to come up empty. “I don’t know,” she sighed. “I get it, this is a lot to process at once, especially if she is who you think she is. Maybe don’t even bring it up yet if you’re not ready.”

Nicky sighed, resting her head against the wall. “I guess that’s the best option,” she agreed halfheartedly.

By the time it was Nicky’s turn, her nerves had subsided. Whatever Jaida’s reaction to her was, she was sure she could handle it. “Hi. Um, I’m Nicky and–”

Jaida cut her off by firmly cupping her face and kissing her hard and for as long as her lungs would allow. “You fuckin’ think I wouldn’t recognize you? Come on, Nicky.”

It took a moment for Nicky’s brain and mouth to reconnect, for her head to stop spinning. “It’s been fifteen years,” she whispered in her weak defense. “I didn’t think… I never thought…”

“Neither did I,” she assured gently. “But here we are. We can talk later, we gotta get this assessment done before Rosé bitches at me.”

——

It had taken another few days for the details surrounding the first case to come together, and it would take longer than that for it to be put into action. But as it progressed, they all became more and more invested, and Rosé was thrilled to see her ideas, her seemingly far-fetched concepts, starting to take form.

“I’ve been working with one of the victims for this case very closely, I think it’s important to have someone like her on board,” she was explaining. “Mik,” she prompted, “I want your job in this to be working with her, I think you’ll handle that best.”

Mik tilted his head. “Sure, but based on what?”

Rosé shrugged. “Being a detective, you pick up on the ability to read people, you know, get a sense of their personalities. I think yours will balance with hers, and that’s going to be a necessity.”

“Believe it or not, one thing we’ve learned doing this is empathy. Not that we weren’t before, but this shit like, really bonds you with people,” Mik remarked.

“Definitely,” Jan agreed, “I’ve made connections with people through the process of getting them their revenge that I’ll have forever.”

Denali nodded, “I got invited to a client’s wedding. Honestly, I forgot she even hired us, I just see her as my friend now.”

Rosé beamed broadly as she listened to their anecdotes. This was what she had hoped to find in her previous career, to help people that needed it and solve problems. She wanted to connect to her community even when she was rather high-ranking. But it ended in frustration and hurt time and time again. Part of her almost envied the gang, how they had managed to achieve this all on their own. More than anything, however, she was happy to see it happening. “Can I ask you guys something? How did this happen? Like, what inspired you guys to come together to create this enterprise?”

“We’ve all got our backstories, gorge,” Mik chuckled dryly. “Took a while for us to all find each other, but we all had that in common.”

“What, that you all took revenge in your own lives?”

All of them nodded in confirmation. “You gotta start somewhere, right?” Jan hummed.

Rosé leaned forward in interest. “So… Can I hear them? Your stories?”

The group exchanged glances with each other, then nodded. “Buckle up, Detective,” Gigi warned, “this is going to be one hell of a history lesson.”

[noctualilith]

And there was only one shower

Here is a fic that got inspired by a certain tiktok (this one: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJVHQx9q/) shared in the Hazelnoots discord server and the discussion in the saucy channel thereafter. It’s my first solo fic *eek* I wrote this directly live on the server over three days nights, coming up to a surprising 6k+ words in the end, cheered on by a lovely live audience THANK YOU you know who you are! <3 Now it’s ready for the wilderness of the Internet, thanks to the rad queen of semicolons and the best beta @bkfstclubmember. All credit and gratitude to @lumosinlove for creating such an amazing universe and these lovable characters!

Soo, let’s imagine a slightly different timeline where Finn and Leo don’t kiss on their balcony and don’t get together that night, but maybe a little later. I am not thinking about the logistics too hard here because when I start to do that it will run away from me but let's say a roadie somewhere where Leo's family has relatives or a house so they can stay there, and he usually rooms with Finn so he invited him along. 

Also: That is a real shower gel and description, I kid you not. I did research.

CW for smut, angst, panic attack in a shower

"There is actually only one shower, but it has like, two showerheads, so we can use that one." 

A look, slightly longer-than-usual eye contact, and then Leo turned on his heel and headed up the stairs to the said shower. Finn was suddenly glad he declined the food, because his stomach dropped when he realized the implications. Was that...? It couldn't have been. But then again, why not? 

He pushed all the air out of his lungs in a huge exhale, hands gripping the edges of the kitchen island where he was sitting just moments before, content to look but not touch. Never touch. Never let it be known that he liked to watch Leo cook, or read, or laugh at tiktok videos on his phone, or do anything that required his full focus for a moment and thus gave Finn a cover so it was safe to look and not be seen looking. He felt seen now. Did Leo notice? Has he noticed all along? Shit. Only one way to find out. 

Finn started towards the stairs; the thudding of his steps almost drowned out by his heart beating out of his ribcage, so loud Finn was sure it was audible all the way to that cursed, blessed bathroom with only one shower.

"Are you coming? I got a towel for you. It's straight down the hall, last door on the left!" He heard Leo's voice coming closer and then he almost stumbled on the last step, his eyes taking in the miles of pale skin and long long legs, clad only in "...are those--Star Wars boxers?" 

Leo looked down and then back up with a wry smile. "It's a trap?" he quipped with a raise of his eyebrows and Finn could swear he saw a challenge in his eyes. 

A head tilt was his only warning before a towel hit him in the chest and Leo was retreating again, calling over his shoulder "You might wanna get naked, I heard showering in your clothes isn't nearly as effective!" followed by those same Star Wars boxers flying through the air in his direction.

"Oookay, let's do this," Finn muttered to himself and pulled off his hoodie together with the t-shirt underneath while walking down the hall and left it on the floor because nothing made sense anymore and there was a boy he really liked telling him to get naked. 

Finn really really hoped this was what it looked like and at the same time it terrified him beyond imagination. Not that he hadn't imagined. He had imagined a number of things, but this actually happening? Not one of them. So far it had always been himself alone in the shower, eyes closed, trailing a hand down his own chest and imagining Leo's long fingers instead, oh god those fingers, his memory of Leo's grip on his mug of hot chocolate serving as a good enough reference for how he could grip other things and oh-- and... he might have a problem even before stepping into the bathroom if he didn't stop those thoughts now. After all, the improbable has suddenly become possible and was waiting for him on the other side of that door where the sound of running water was now beckoning him closer. 

Finn pushed the door open, a cloud of steam greeting him and obscuring his vision for a moment. When it cleared, he could just about make out Leo's silhouette behind the glass partition running from wall to wall on the far end of the bathroom. The glass was now fogged up from the steam and blurred everything behind it, except for the shower door left open like an invitation. Leo's head turned towards him and Finn felt his skin heat up in response, helpless to stop the blush rising in his cheeks and willing his body to behave under Leo's gaze, at least until he had a confirmation that his longing wasn't one-sided. Until then, two could play this game, Finn thought as he stepped into the bathroom fully, letting the door close with a click and hooking his thumb in the waistband of his jeans. He could give Leo a show and see how he liked the tables turned.

Popping the button open and pulling the zipper down, Finn turned slightly so the arch of his back was in full view and threw a quick look over to Leo who stilled completely and was definitely watching him. Good, watch this, Finn thought as he slowly pushed the jeans together with his underwear down over his hips and thighs, drawing a sharp breath when his cock sprang free, thankfully still not visibly interested thanks to Finn internally freaking out even as he was leaning into the performance. He could swear that his gasp was echoed from inside the shower, but it might also just have been his imagination because the water was still running, and his thoughts were sprinting, the simple act of undressing suddenly taking forever and at the same time not nearly long enough. 

They have been naked around each other plenty of times in the locker room, the showers at the rink, and then there was that one memorable time at the sauna during the team spa day... but this was different. This was deliberate. This was putting himself out there and meeting the challenge that rang clear in the room, as loud as Leo's silence and Finn's blood rushing in his ears, making him dizzy and bold at the same time. 

He made sure his ass was on display as he bowed down to push his jeans over his calves, getting his socks and finally stepping out of the clothes. This time the gasp definitely wasn't just in his imagination and a satisfied smirk found its way to his lips. Still turned away from the eyes that he could now feel on his back, he straightened again, flexing just so, the way he knew made his shoulder blades look especially awesome. Reaching to grab the towel Leo threw at him earlier, he turned back to the shower and padded towards the glass door. Now or never. And never was not an option anymore.

"Took you long enough," Leo quipped after a pause as Finn stepped into the pocket of humid air in the, frankly, huge shower, sliding the glass door closed and turning the other showerhead on. Leo's voice sounded a little higher that usual and Finn couldn't guess if his cheeks were so rosy from the hot water or from his own little performance. It was a lovely look on him either way and this time Finn looked his fill, suppressing the urge to look away when the cornflower-blue eyes met his gaze and held it. Then Leo took a step towards him, and another, and another until he was right in front of Finn, still holding his gaze, their noses just shy of touching. 

Finn couldn't help but take a stumbling half-step back, lips parting on a gasp, not knowing if the next sound out of his mouth would come out as a question or a plea. His eyes flicked to Leo's lips and back up, and from the corner of his eye he registered Leo's hand raising slowly and reaching towards his shoulder to-- "Use whatever you like, the shampoo and shower gel stuff is all on that shelf right there behind you. I personally like the honey and milk one the best, it smells so delicious." Leo's voice was normal again, conversational even, as he reached to grab a shampoo bottle off the shelf on the wall behind Finn's back and stepped away towards his own half of the shower.

Finn swayed after Leo's retreating figure unconsciously, his words only half-registering through the daze of suddenly having had Leo so close, naked and wet and right there-- 

"Harz?" 

"...huh? Uhm, yea, yes. Shower gel, ah-- thanks." 

Finn shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, now damp and sticking to his forehead and neck. He pressed one hand to the wall under the shelf and stared at it as if it had offended him while focusing on the coolness of the tiles to steady his still wobbly knees. Damn you, you win this one. 

Turning his mind to the game they were now apparently playing, he took stock of the bottles on the shelf and spotted a winner. 

"Honey and milk, you say? I personally would go for a Dark Temptation myself. A subtle, sweet fragrance with a hint of spice and hot chocolate," he read out loud from the label on the bottle before squeezing a generous amount into his palm, putting it back on the shelf and turning to face Leo again fully, drawing himself up to his full height and knowing what Leo will see when he chooses to look. Finn's cock was half-hard, not getting the memo that the moment was over before it really began, courtesy of Leo being a dirty player. Finn was eager to even the score. 

"What do you say, Knutty. Is that something you would like?"

Leo was busying himself with his own bottle of shower gel, but Finn was sure he was paying attention because as soon as he turned towards him, Leo's eyes were on him. An edge of amusement played at the corner of his mouth and a hint of a challenge was visible in his posture, relaxed but ready to return the serve at the most opportune moment. 

Finn shifted his weight mostly to one leg, cocking his hip playfully as Leo gave him a thorough once-over, his gaze slowly roving down Finn's body. He knew the second his plan worked by Leo's eyes widening and his shower gel bottle hitting the floor a beat later, the sound loud in the spacious shower. The hand that was holding the bottle was left grasping at air, fingers clenching on nothing and Finn noted with smug satisfaction that Leo's cock was now taking interest in the game too. If they could still call it a game. Finn wasn't backing down now; it was time to raise the stakes. 

He walked towards Leo, stopping when he reached the dropped bottle which was now helplessly spinning in the water vortex flowing down the drain. Without acknowledging Leo's situation, he dropped into a crouch, retrieved the bottle and slowly looked up at Leo from under his eyelashes, now darker and clumped together with the wetness, framing his eyes prettily. He used to be insecure about it, no boy wants to be called pretty. Now, he used it to his full advantage, holding Leo's gaze as he held the bottle out to him, using every ounce of his will to stop his eyes from straying to Leo's hardening cock just inches from his face. 

"You dropped something."

The little broken whimper that escaped Leo's throat almost made him break too, but Finn managed to swallow the answering sound that was building in his chest and held Leo's gaze unflinchingly, daring him to give up. To give in. Please give in. 

He honestly couldn't anticipate where their next dance step would lead, but he was ready for any direction except backwards. They had passed the point of no return somewhere between the honey-scented soap suds coating Leo's strong shoulders and the background music of the water hitting the tiled floor and washing away all the pretenses. However, it still caught him unprepared when Leo dropped to his knees in front of him, ducking his head so that they were face to face and swallowing hard. His chest was heaving with gulping breaths as if he only now came up for air after being submerged underwater for too long. His eyes were flicking between Finn's searchingly, almost desperately, all playfulness from the moment before gone. Finn could drown in those blue eyes and go happily. He'd give up solid ground forever, willingly, if only Leo asked him to. 

"Ask me," Finn breathed into the space between them. 

Leo whimpered again, the sound like a static shock raising goosebumps on Finn's skin. Leo's hands fluttered up to Finn's face, wanting to touch but not daring for the question yet unspoken. The condensating humid air left droplets of water running like sweetwater tears down both their cheeks. 

"Baby," Finn whispered again, "ask me."

Leo's whole body trembled at the endearment and his hand finally found its place cradling Finn's jaw, so careful and reverent as if he was handling a soap bubble, expecting it to burst at any second now, but trying to keep it intact for as long as possible. That is why you don't touch those, Finn's mind supplied. You look, but you don't touch. Oh. 

"Oh, Leo," Finn suddenly saw that they had both been dancing to this particular tune for much longer than he realized. That for every time he had watched Leo from a distance, Leo had been yearning for him to come closer. For every locked bathroom door, there had been a too-loud music playing from Leo's room at the same time. For every late-night mug of hot chocolate Finn had brought to the boy sitting on their little balcony gazing up at the night sky, there had been a breakfast ready for him when he stumbled from his bedroom in the morning. Leo had been right there with him, neither of them brave enough to risk popping the bubble of I wonder and maybe and find that it only held air and apologies. 

He covered Leo's hand on his cheek with his own, intertwining their fingers and turning his head to press a soft kiss to his palm, eyes closed for a long while, just holding this precious moment in his heart, writing it into his memories. This was the very edge of a waterfall and they were holding hands, ready to jump, high on the possibility of flight and aware of the inevitability of falling. 

He heard Leo suck in a breath and felt his fingers twitch in his hold. Willing every ounce of the bravery he felt all the way to his bone marrow to pour into Leo through their joined hands, he kept his eyes closed and waited.

With the white noise of water still beating down around them and the sense of sight temporarily surrendered, he clung to Leo's pulse under his fingertips driving his own beating heart, anchoring him to the simple, undeniable fact that he wanted this with all his being. He felt the soft exhale that carried Leo's words before he heard them, his voice being the clearest sound of them all. 

"Finn-- will you have me?" 

Finn's yes was already on the way to meet the question the second it left Leo's lips, an affirmation of every cell in his body straining in Leo's direction. 

"Yes, baby, yes, yes --if you'll have me." 

He opened his eyes and was met by the most radiant smile making a home on Leo's face. I'm staring at the sun, Finn thought unbidden, his own laughter bubbling from deep within his belly, as Leo closed the distance between them, bringing their lips together. By a sheer feat of heroism, Finn kept perfectly still, letting Leo come to him, so ready to be kissed, finally-- only for Leo to stop a hair's breadth away before their lips met. 

You little shit, Finn thought as Leo hovered painfully close, his whole body buzzing with the need to cross that line, and I'm so in love with you which wasn't even the most surprising event of the day if he was honest with himself. One last dance, before they collected the prize, he could give him that. One last exhale before the gravitational pull inevitably led them to crash together. Only now Finn was going to win either way, on the tail end of a second that seemed to teeter on the edge of eternity.

In the end it was a tie, with both of them leaning in at the same time and slotting together seamlessly. Something inside of Finn clicked into place as he felt Leo's soft lips on his, pressing the first close-mouthed kiss into him with the weight of his whole body behind it. They swayed in their crouched position, Finn's arm shooting out to catch himself as Leo lost his balance and landed against his chest with an oomph, his knees bracketing Finn's thigh. 

The skin-on-slippery-skin contact was delicious and Finn found himself wanting more, sneaking an arm around Leo's waist and pulling him even closer, causing the other boy to burst into giggles as he squirmed away from the fingers brushing over his side. 

"Leo," Finn sighed as he lifted his eyes from the collarbone in his view which he was contemplating biting down onto later, "kiss me?" 

A nod, another giggle and then those soft lips were back on his again. Finn tightened his arm around Leo's back in response and was rewarded by those lips parting with a moan as Leo practically straddled his thigh, his cock trapped between their bodies. Finn didn't waste the opportunity and licked into his mouth, matched with a push for every pull. Finn was dizzy with it, a low buzz getting progressively louder underneath his skin, demanding more. 

"Please," he gasped out, not knowing what exactly he was asking for, only that he wanted. Each sensation was amplified by the newness of everything, a series of firsts and oh they had so many to cross off. 

Leo shifted forward with purpose then, lifting up slightly and pressing his thigh into Finn's crotch and yes, Finn wanted that first too. 

"Yeah?" Leo's low purr against his temple made Finn's skin break out in goosebumps, a cascade of shivers from the crown of his head all the way to his toes. Finn let his response be in kind, meeting each roll of Leo's hips with his own, bruised knees be damned.

Finn felt like melting in the overheated air, Leo's breath hitching in his ear with each insistent grind of  their hips, the steam rising from the hot water swirling around them. Leo's hands were warm, slipping for purchase on the wet skin of his chest, traveling upwards and finally landing in his hair on the nape of his neck. 

But nothing burned as much as the spark at his center, feeding off their closeness and eagerness, roaring into a blaze with a particularly delicious slide of their bodies. Gasps were chased by groans, half-formed words followed by unbidden pleas as they drove each other closer to the edge. 

The fingers in Finn's hair tightened and pulled, tilting his head up and then Leo was watching him attentively, with so much emotion and desire in his eyes that it stole Finn's breath. It felt like when he would miss a step and just barely caught himself before falling, elation mixed with terror, only now he was unable to stop the inevitable fall. He hoped Leo would be there to catch him. 

As if he could read his thoughts, Leo licked his lips and the word that he offered next was like gasoline to Finn's fire. "Come." 

He felt the blaze at his core erupt at the command and consume him wholly in a blinding flash of bliss, dripping like melted lava between them. Leo held him through it, eyes never leaving his face, even when his own orgasm took him half by surprise, Finn's name leaving him on the end of a cry. 

They clutched at each other and Finn lost all his bearings for the endless moment it took him to float back into himself. He found it almost poetic, something about a phoenix metaphor nudging his thoughts in the haze that enveloped them. Remade in the arms of the boy I've been carrying a flame for. 

The thought left as soon as it came, replaced by the hesitant kiss to the bridge of his nose. Another two on his eyelids, soft like butterfly wings, left and then right and he realized his eyes were closed. Then the world filtered back in an unwelcome rush of splashing water as Leo pulled back from their embrace, ripping a sound of protest from Finn's lungs. No no no don't go. Not this. Not again. Not with Leo too, please oh god. 

He knew the routine by heart and this felt awfully familiar all of a sudden. Kiss, come, never speak of it out loud. His mind, ever so helpful, conjured the beloved pair of green eyes and the half-smirk tinged with sadness, the soft dark curls under an ever-present snapback. Logan. 

Finn felt frozen cold all of a sudden, doubt creeping like ice over his skin and making his empty hands shake. The horrifying possibility of this being another impossible situation was like a physical weight on his shoulders, pushing his aching knees into the tiles underneath, mind spinning. 

He didn't dare to look at Leo and at the same time he needed to see him, needed to know. Even if the knowledge could shatter him like a sheet of ice. Damn his tender heart, and damn his own refusal to guard it better. Damn this fucking shower, too.

The sound of falling water got louder and then Leo was in front of him again, holding one of the showerheads in his hand. Finn's shoulders were drawn up and tensing more and more with each second, his gaze fixed on the water running down the drain and his hands now clenched on top of his thighs where they fell when Leo left the circle of his arms. 

Finn's next breath sounded too much like a sob and he heard an answering rush of exhale from Leo. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut again, desperate to stop the hot well of tears behind his eyelids, he waited for the words he was sure were coming, too raw and open at the moment to brace himself against the storm of emotions that gripped him, old and new. Maybe the water would hide the tears if he was lucky. Maybe he'd compose himself enough to cover the sobs tearing at his chest with a laugh when he finally managed to leave the floor and clean himself up. They were in a shower after all. Wasn't he lucky. 

He heard shuffling, and a thud of what was probably Leo setting the showerhead down on the floor as he crouched in front of him again. Finn's vision was blurry when he gathered the courage to lift his head and open his eyes again, but he could make out the worried expression on Leo's face, eyebrows drawn together and eyes wide, taking in Finn's state. He opened his mouth to speak and Finn gritted his teeth in a last effort to hold himself together, expecting to know the words already, words that would find every soft part of his bruised heart and hurt it anew. 

"Sweetheart," Leo murmured instead, "what's wrong?"

“Wha--?" Finn couldn't comprehend the softly spoken words, Leo's concern a stark contrast to the expectation of rejection still tearing at his insides, making his head spin and Leo's voice sound far away against the hurricane of emotions roaring in his chest. 

"Harz," Leo tried again, "you have to breathe. What can I--" His hands came up of their own accord, reaching for Finn but not daring to close the distance all the way. "Can I touch you?" 

Finn swallowed, his throat clogged with the bitter taste of the desperate, familiar plea to please stay please talk to me that he was so used to forcing back down every time. Every time with Logan. This was not Logan. This was not Logan and it broke Finn's heart in a new way. He loved Logan. He was falling in love with Leo. He was dying here, naked and kneeling on the floor of this fucking shower and wasn't that poetic. What am I even doing? 

"You're hyperventilating and making me really worried, please tell me what to do." Leo was still reaching for him, watching him intently and biting his lip, waiting for his response. Finn realized he must have said that last part out loud.

He forced his clenched hands to relax, feeling the sting of the indents his nails must have left in his palms. Lifting his arm felt like an impossible task, his body tense and aching, all his muscles protesting at being forced into the uncomfortable position and frozen in panic for too long, fine tremors running down his back and a dull ache spreading from his knees. His fingers wrapped around Leo's wrist, his grasp too weak for how much he needed the contact, and then Leo was there, gathering him in his arms and tucking his head under his chin, talking softly against his temple. 

"You're okay. We're okay. I promise. I don't know what happened and you don't have to tell me, but I've got you. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. We'll stay here as long as you need. When you're ready, I'll help you up and we'll shower, and then we'll go to my room and cuddle up under a mountain of blankets. You can have my hoodie, the one that keeps ending up in your room, I packed it as an extra, you're in luck today, huh? There is a tea in the kitchen I think you'll like, but we don't have to make it if you'd rather just go to bed right away. We have time for everything." 

Leo was rambling, the cadence of his voice grounding Finn and bringing him back to here and now, his heart not trying to beat out of his chest as much anymore. Leo was holding him close, was staying, was talking to him and Finn's next exhale was an echo of a question.

"What was that, sweetheart?" 

Finn wasn't sure what sound he made that caused Leo to prompt him to talk; he wasn't even sure what he was asking, but getting an answer was suddenly the most important thing in the world. However, trying to order his still racing thoughts felt like a Sisyphean task just then, so he focused on the sensations first. 

The dampness of Leo's skin where his neck met his shoulder and where Finn's head currently rested, hiding his face from the glaring lights for a little bit longer. The unyielding strength of Leo's embrace, both arms wound around him like a safety net. The ache radiating from his joints and the answering pain stabbing just below his ribs with every breath, an adamant reminder of all that transpired just minutes prior - the astounding and the awful. The undeniable fact that Leo was still there and willing to listen which led Finn to hope he would also be willing to talk. 

There was no changing what had already happened, but Finn could learn from his past regrets and write a different story this time. He felt the slowly returning clarity of his resolve like a solid ground beneath his feet, trusting himself to stand under his own power again. The lump in his throat gave way to a question that had been growing like a vine around his spine, straining towards the light. Towards the sun. 

In a flash, Finn remembered Leo's blinding smile when they both finally gave voice to their desire. He needed that voice to banish the darkness now, and the only way to do that was to speak it.

"Leo, you--" the words came out as little more than a croak, and he cleared his throat in order to be heard. He needed to be heard. "You want me? Like, all of me? After this?" 

Leo tightened his arms in answer and his voice was firm but gentle when he replied immediately, like he didn't have to think about it for even a second, because "I've wanted you for months, mon dieu, you have no idea, do you? I want it all with you. This, yes, and that from before, too, and also all that will come after. I like you Harzy, so much, merde, I'm half in love with you already." 

Finn was tempted to pinch himself just to make sure he heard right. Leo laughed into his hair, breathless like he couldn't believe it himself, and then he took a breath to continue, now in a hushed tone, as if the next words out of his mouth would shatter at impact otherwise. 

"I really really hope you want all of me too."

Finn almost dislodged their hold onto each other as he nodded vigorously, unable to form words but desperate to make sure Leo understood that yes, he wanted this too. 

Lifting his head, he reached up blindly, his hand landing on the side of Leo's neck and then he was pulling him in for a sloppy kiss that was more laughing into each other's mouth than anything else, relief pouring off both of them in waves. Finn was dizzy with it and he never wanted it to end. 

His body had a different idea though, the rollercoaster of emotions leaving him exhausted and shaky as he tried to support his own weight, Leo pulling him up and towards the still running shower, walking backwards and pressing quick kisses to his lips every two steps. 

"Let's clean up and then we can lie down, hm? Sounds good?" 

Finn went where he was led in a trance, his eyes following Leo's every move and cataloguing everything anew, like the delicate curve of the shell of his ear and the curl of the blond hair dark with water sticking to his temple. He felt so overjoyed he was almost numb with it. A part of him was still terrified that if he leaned into it too much, it would burst like those soap bubbles and he'll be by himself again, hollow chest and empty hands. 

"Fish, hey," Leo's face filled his vision and there was a warm fluffy towel being wrapped around his shoulders, and another one around his waist, "do you want to eat something? I really think you should eat something. Come on, let's get dressed and then I'll make us something." 

Leo started towards the bathroom door, one hand intertwined with his and a sudden impulse made Finn pull on that hand and reel Leo back in, their chests bumping and a surprised smile blooming on his face. 

"What--?" 

"Tell me again," Finn whispered into the space between them. The surprise was replaced with understanding and Leo freed his hand to cradle Finn's face in both his palms, large and warm and safe. 

"I want you, Finn O'Hara. I'll want you after we eat, too. Come on."

Leo really did pack the hoodie that Finn would steal from the dryer and then deny the knowledge of when Leo couldn't find it. It was soft from wear and wash, the hem falling past his hips and the sleeves too long, going past his fingertips. Finn used to wish it smelled like Leo, too, but he had to contend himself with the clean scent of freshly washed laundry. The risk of getting caught stealing it from Leo's room was just too much. 

Now he was handed that same hoodie and when he pulled it on, Leo was watching him with a soft smile. 

"It suits you." 

"I'm sorry for stealing it. I just-- I don't know. Wanted to have something of yours, I guess." 

Leo shook his head, plucking at the frayed strings hanging from the collar and leaning closer, nudging their noses together. 

"It's okay. You can steal it anytime, okay? Now, you stay here and I'll be back in a minute." 

A kiss, a rustle of sheets and Leo was gone, replaced by the sound of his steps on the stairs and then the clatter of cabinet doors opening and closing in the kitchen. 

Finn clamped down on the feeling of panic beginning to rise to the surface again, trying to unmoor him as soon as Leo wasn't near and anchoring him anymore with his sure hands and quiet confidence. Finn decided there and then to believe him, so tired of being thrown around at the mercy of the hurricane that was always raging in his hopeful heart, always ready to throw him for a spin and the most inopportune moments. (And it had a name, too, a cry against the howling winds, Logan, Logan.) Here was an offering of a safe harbor and he was accepting it.

He hadn't heard Leo come up the stairs again, and the creak of the door startled him from his reverie. Leo padded to the bed and set a tray with two steaming mugs and a plate of sandwiches onto the bedside table. 

He then sat on the bed cross-legged, facing Finn and regarded him for a moment, his gaze contemplative, like he was debating something with himself. Seemingly coming to a conclusion, he nodded to himself and let a slow breath out through his nose. 

"Finn, I'm gonna ask you something and I want you to know that whatever you reply, it won't change my answer, or my feelings toward you, okay?" 

He waited for Finn to indicate that he understood, and when he got the hesitant nod, he continued. "What's the story with you and Logan? I heard you say his name just now. I've noticed you two, the looks you give each other. I also know you were at Harvard together. And after what happened in the shower after we... I'd just like to know what to expect." 

Finn felt his empty stomach lurch and swallowed the faint nausea starting to creep up his throat. He never talked about Logan to anyone. Logan never wanted to talk, never wanted anyone to know. What was their story? It came down to the single, painful truth of it all. 

"I love him." 

Finn heard his own voice ring in the silence of the bedroom like a gunshot at an execution. He's been dying from the wound for eight years and his heart wasn't close to running out of blood anytime soon. He wasn't sure if he'd ever said it out loud before though and saying it now made him brave. 

He saw Leo blink once, twice, and before he could say something, Finn rushed in with a confession in a steady voice that surprised even himself. 

"I meant all of what I said, what I did earlier. I don't know how this can even happen, but I do want you. I think I've been falling in love with you since the day you stood on my doorstep introducing yourself and didn't know what to do with your hands. I want you, Leo. And-- I want him, too. Logan. But he doesn't--"

Finn had to pause, drawing in a shuddering breath, the enormity of the yet unspoken words compressing his ribs and making it difficult to fill his lungs. Leo was looking at him with sad eyes and nodding, wordlessly encouraging him to keep going. Still there. Still listening. Not leaving. You miracle, Finn thought. How are you real?

He plowed on with determination now, committed to get it all out and do it right. "We were both so scared of what it meant. Of people finding out. Never really talked about it. And when I tried to, he just--  I can't lose him and if that means loving him from a distance, I'm okay with that."

"You're obviously not okay with that," Leo jumped in, not able to stop himself from speaking and immediately recoiling when he realized what he said. "Merde, sorry, that wasn't-- that didn't come out right. Sorry." 

He placed his hands on top of the blanket between them, palms upwards in a silent invitation and Finn complied eagerly, craving the contact. Eyes fixed on their joined hands, he nodded. 

"You're right. I'm not okay but I don't have any other option. And this is not going away. Are you sure you're okay with that? Isn't that too weird?" 

Leo hummed and ducked his head to meet his eyes, still cast downwards as he waited for the verdict. "What if I told you that I understand?" 

That was not what he expected, and he looked up at Leo sharply, eyebrows furrowed. 

"What if I told you I liked Logan, too? And that-- he almost kissed me not that long ago? Still too weird?" 

Finn gaped at Leo's admission, seeing his own apprehension mirrored in the boy in front of him and not knowing what to do about it in the moment. 

He took stock of his heart and his head then and found nothing but a golden joy slowly spreading and filling his veins, all the way to the tiniest capillaries that until then housed the tar-like fear of all his what-ifs. 

He wasn't scared now. He wasn't jealous either and there was a thought he'd contemplate later. Right now he was holding hands with Leo and talking about Logan and for once, it didn't hurt. It felt like a new chapter. He wanted to write a different story, after all. Only this one wouldn't end with a kiss; it would start with one. 

"How are you real?" he gasped out, incredulous, pulling Leo close by his shoulders and kissing him deeply, pouring all that golden joy into the kiss in hope that it would speak for him, that Leo could taste it on his lips.

They didn't talk anymore that night, except to hand out mugs of tea and share sandwiches and pick sides on the bed. Finn was bone tired by the time their kisses grew sleepy and the soft regular puffs of Leo's breath against the hollow of his throat lulled him to sleep too, their legs tangled together. 

He breathed in the scent of Leo's freshly washed hair, hearing his voice in his mind, honey and milk and I want you, Finn O'Hara replaying in a loop as he was pulled under, the hurricane quieted for now into soft waves rocking him gently, ocean blue and deep sea green and full of promise.

FIN 

[actuallybarb]

The Aftermath ~ Part 7

Summary: y/n goes to therapy, is a confirmed hoodie stealer, and gets a pep talk from sam wilson and wanda maximoff

Pairing: peter parker x reader

Warnings: swearing, angst, fluff, trauma, me attempting to write a therapy session 

Word Count: 3850

A/N: so many things. 1) i’ve never been to therapy (even tho i desperately need it) so i’m solely basing that off of Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan. 2) i live for sleepy tropes and i hella indulged. 3) sorry not sorry

                                                         //////////

“Your projects are due next Monday. Have one partner email me who your group is working with, and no, Mr. Thompson, you can’t work with students from other periods. Class dismissed.”

“Want to work together?”

We had been going to class together for a month now, but it always seemed like Peter was surprised whenever he saw me sitting next to him. Maybe it wasn’t surprise...

“Yeah. When do you want to work on it?” I shoved my notes into my already disorderly backpack and slung it over my shoulders. It was starting to get colder in New York, but I was still wearing t-shirts and shorts (mostly because I could keep myself warm and also because I’m stubborn as hell).

“Thursday? Or do you want to start sooner than that?”

“No, I can do Thursday. Are you going to the compound this weekend?” It wasn’t more than a whisper, but I still checked who was around before asking. You can never be too careful.

“Yeah, May’s driving me up after school on Friday. Want a ride?”

I smiled. “That’d be nice.” People were slowly making their way out of the building to head home for the day, but I was heading to Manhattan.

“You going home?”

“No, I’m seeing my shrink. I’ll see you tomorrow, Peter.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow, Y/N.” He turned right, I turned left, and I might have turned around and glanced back at him over my shoulder, just for a second.

But so did he.

/////////

Taylor’s office had a billion plants and as many windows in it. She always had a candle burning that smelled like clean laundry, and she liked to talk first whenever we met up. That’s why I liked her so much.

“Remember my crazy neighbor’s dog?” She was watering one of her plants when I walked in. “Guess who I accidentally ran over?”

“You ran over a dog?” I left my backpack by the door and grabbed my own watering can.

“No, not the dog. I ran over my neighbor while he was chasing after the dog.”

I laughed. “Like that’s much better.”

“Running over a dog is unforgivable, Y/N. A person is understandable.” We finished watering the plants then sat down at the huge floor-to-ceiling window that took up her back wall. Another reason I liked Taylor: I actually do stuff while I’m talking with her. It’s not like I’m sitting on a couch staring at her while I talk about my feelings, we’re on equal ground. The last couple visits I’ve worked on painting New York, but I haven’t made much progress because I’m a shit painter. “That’s not the point,” Taylor would say, “it’s all about going with it. Be a shit painter. Own it.” Yeah, we get along great.

“No more panic attacks since the first day.”

“Yeah? That’s great.” Unlike me, Taylor is a phenomenal painter. Her skyline had identifiable buildings. Mine had — I think one looks more like a tree than a building. (That’s one huge tree.) “Any nightmares?”

Oh. We’re going there today. “Just on bad days.”

“How often are the bad days?”

After the Blip and before Europe, my bad days went from every day to maybe once a week. Then Europe fucked me over. Now? I don’t know. “Whenever they feel like it.”

“C’mon, Y/N, you can do better than that.”

I rolled my eyes and groaned. “It’s not like it’s a cycle, like the moon or a period or our meetings. It’s sporadic, Taylor, and fucking exhausting.”

“Why? Why are the bad days so exhausting?”

I may or may not have angrily made a bird smash against a window in my painting. “Because I’m the only one who knows. Mom guesses, most of the time, but it’s like she’s still dancing around me. Dad sees it when he’s home, but he doesn’t know what to do. And—“ I almost said ‘and Peter.’ That would’ve been awkward. “And my friends make it better, but they’ve got their own shit to deal with, and I don’t want to dump any of my problems on them. And I know you’re going to say ‘Internalizing your pain is bad, Y/N,’ but it’s the only solution I can handle right now until I muster up the courage to actually talk to my mom again. I mean, last time I needed Jess by my side, how the hell am I going to handle it without her?”

“For starters, I’m proud of you for acknowledging the way to address the problem. And secondly, you don’t have to do it by yourself. I’ve actually been wanting to have another session with your parents, and now seems like as good of a time as any. Bring them around for your next session, and we’ll talk to them, together, about how you can get through bad days with their help. Okay?”

My lips quirked up, just a smidge. “Okay.”

“Now let’s talk about King T’Challa’s new suit, you can’t pretend you don’t have an opinion on it...”

///////

It was a bad day.

Which sucked, because it was also Thursday, and Peter was supposed to be over in half an hour to work on our project. And I was a mess.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Mom called from the living room. Her elementary school got out twenty minutes before Midtown, so she usually beat me home. “How was school?”

“It’s a bad day,” was all I said before I closed the door to my room. I didn’t slam it (not anymore) but I didn’t know anything else. I couldn’t tell if I wanted a nap, I couldn’t tell if I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, I couldn’t tell if I wanted to fly from rooftop to rooftop until I was too exhausted to come home; I didn’t know. Which sucked, because I’m the only one who could’ve told me the answer.

The was a light knock on my door. “Can I come in?” I didn’t respond, so Mom walked in. “Mind me asking why today was bad?” I still didn’t say anything, my face buried in my pillow. She sat at the edge of my bed, near my knees. “I can usually tell, you know.” It was a hushed voice that came out of her mouth - nothing like the loud and loving woman I’ve known almost my whole life. “You do a good job of trying to cover it up, but I can tell. Your shoulders are tenser than usual, and your eyebrows are crinkled together the second you step out of your room.” She sighed and put a hand on my back - her hands are always warm and usually smell like hand sanitizer from Bath and Body Works because she refuses to use the government-issued ones at school. “You dad and I have no idea what you went through while we were gone. We have no idea what you went through in Europe. But we’re here for you now, Y/N. You carry this weight around with you, and I just — I want you to know that you have people to share it with. Maybe not the weight itself, but the pain it’s causing you.” She removed her hand and set both of them in her lap. “I don’t know how to make the bad days better, so I need you to tell me when you’re ready. I’m here for you, baby.” She leaned down and kissed my head, then stood up and started walking toward the door.

When her hand was on the knob, I finally spoke up. “Thank you.” It was barely a grumble, but she heard it.

The door closed quietly, and I finally decided what I wanted to do.

Cry. I cried. For at least twenty minutes. I cried because of my abilities, I cried because I lost Jess as a mom, I cried because I went to Europe, I cried because Quentin Beck was an asshole that fucked up my mental state for probably the rest of my life, I cried because I killed a lot of people, I cried because now I was friends with Peter but at what cost?

He showed up, eventually. I heard him knock on the front door as I blew my nose. Mom, bless her soul, kept him distracted until I came out of my room myself. It took me another twenty minutes to finally convince myself to leave my room, and at that point I was too exhausted to keep myself warm anymore, so the cold breeze blowing through New York hit me in full force. I slipped a hoodie on, grabbed my backpack, and took a deep breath before opening the door.

Peter was sitting at the counter while Mom washed the dishes from breakfast this morning. She was back to talking loud, and he was listening with a smile on his face. My door closed and his eyes immediately darted to me. “Hey, Y/N.”

“Hey, Pete. Is it okay if we’re in the living room?”

Mom glanced between the two of us and tried to hide her little smile, but at least one of us caught it. “Yeah, of course. I’ll be in the office if you need anything.”

He must’ve noticed my bloodshot eyes; he couldn’t stop staring. “Is that my hoodie?”

Shit. Is it? I glanced down at the Midtown Tech logo and remembered getting drenched at the compound after the sprinklers unexpectedly came on. Then Peter gave me his hoodie. “Shit, yeah, it is.” I pulled on the sleeves to take it off, but he shook his head.

“Don’t worry about it, I have at least two more at home.” He pulled out his laptop and it was suddenly back to business. “Any ideas how we’re going to do this?”

We bounced ideas off of each other until we came to a rough draft, but it was getting later, and bad days always get worse at night.

“Shit, is it ten already?” Peter started gathering his things and stuffing them in his bag. “I told May I’d be home by ten, I hate being late.”

I pulled out my phone and sent May a quick text; we’ve had each other’s numbers since my first weekend at the compound. We lost track of time, he’s heading home now.

I figured. See you tomorrow :)

Peter stood up and started walking toward the door, and I followed him. I had spoken maybe twenty sentences the whole time (it’s a miracle we got this far in the project) but I couldn’t convince myself to say anything else before he left. And I wanted to. But I also wanted to cave in on myself — and we both know which option was winning that battle.

“Do you need a hug?” He basically had one foot out the door, but he turned around and asked me this.

“What?”

“Your heartbeat — it’s been off all day. And it still is right now, and — Do you need a hug?”

God, he was perfect. And I was so gone.

All I needed all day was a goddamn hug, and now he’s offering one, and tears started brimming in my eyes before I could even nod yes. He was so warm, and his voice flitted around in his chest, and I would’ve felt bad about getting tears on his shirt, except I didn’t care anymore. All I cared about was how the weight on my shoulders lifted when Peter Parker’s arms were wrapped around them.

“Are you going to be okay?” he mumbled in my hair. I only nodded again. “Okay.” He slowly loosened his grip, but not before he left a quick kiss on my head. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Another nod. “See you tomorrow.”

///////

Peter was going crazy. Since we hadn’t found any footage that could clear Spider-Man’s name without incriminating Peter he wasn’t allowed out as his alter-ego. And he was literally climbing the walls of the compound.

I was blowing gusts of air at him, trying to knock him down from the ceiling. We had officially finished our project only twenty minutes before, so I pulled up the EDITH footage from London, trying to think of how to clear Spider-Man’s name.

And then it hit me.

“Oh my god.” I ran to the computer and started typing away furiously. “I think I figured it out.”

He came back to the ground. “Figured what out?”

“We can just use the audio file from the video. Then your face doesn’t have to be in it at all.”

I found the file and played it over the speakers.

“EDITH! Turn off the drones.”

“Should I execute all cancellation protocols?”

“Yes, execute them all.”

It was perfect. Exactly what we needed.

“Peter.” I turned to him with a huge smile on my face. “This can save Spider-Man.”

“This can save Spider-Man,” he repeated. “Shit, Y/N, you just saved Spider-Man.” He wrapped his arms around me tightly and lifted me in the air, his laugh ringing in my ear. “I can still be Spider-Man!”

I laughed along with him. He set me down after a minute, but we were still standing unbelievably close together. One minuscule step forward and my lips would be on his. His heart beat jumped, and so did mine, but he didn’t pull away. Neither of us pulled away.

His tilted his head and kissed my cheek (which I still freaked out over) and then took a step back.

“We have to call Pepper and tell her.”

“Yeah, yeah.” FRIDAY started the call and Pepper was over the moon.

“We’ll get a press conference set up for tomorrow, and I’ll work on a statement. Peter,” this was the sternest I had ever heard her - even more serious than when she was talking to Morgan, “I know this is all good news, but you have to wait to be Spider-Man still. All of this press has to die down first before you can go out in the open again, okay?”

“Yes, Mrs. Potts.”

“Okay. I’ll see you two bright and early tomorrow.”

She hung up and Peter hugged me again. This one was way more subdued than the last one. “Thank you, Y/N,” he mumbled into my neck.

“You’re welcome, Pete.”

//////////

The press conference went well, according to Rhodey. “I think most of them were relieved to know Spider-Man’s not actually a murderer.” Everyone was dying to have Spider-Man come out and answer questions, but Pepper insisted no questions were being taken at that time, or ever.

MJ called Peter after the press conference was released to the public, and they talked for what felt like forever. The second he got the call I went to the training room: to distract myself or actually train, well, it doesn’t matter because both were done.

A simulation droid was about to “kill” me, but red magic tore it apart at the last second.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Are you okay?”

I shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because Peter’s been talking on the phone for the same time you’ve been in here.” Wanda gave me a knowing look. You forget that she can read minds because she’s not invasive about it, but she’s always there, holding the information to either back you up or tear you down.

I sighed. “He’s talking to MJ. And I know there’s a high possibility that they’ll get back together but a part of me is hoping they won’t.”

“So you can be with him instead.” I gave a small nod. “Don’t give up yet, Y/N. I see the way he looks at you. You might have more of a chance than you think.”

“She’s right, kid.”

I jumped in surprise. “How long have you been listening?”

Sam smiled from the observation deck of the training room. “Long enough. Boys are stupid, they need all the help they can get.”

“I’ve given him plenty of help already. Literally.”

“Haha, very funny.” He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. If it doesn’t work out with MJ, shoot your shot. I have a feeling you won’t be disappointed.” He winked before leaving, and Wanda followed suit.

I rolled my eyes before telling FRIDAY to pick another random simulation. “Make it a good one.” And, boy, did she. It was the hardest one yet, and all of my concentration was going into it. I was so focused I didn’t even notice Peter walk in until after I had won.

“Damn.”

I turned quickly to see him standing near the door, his hands in his pockets. “Hey. How’d it go?”

“It was okay. She saw the news.”

“But…”

“But it’s not happening. I-“ he looked down at the ground, “I can’t trust her. Not when she lost trust in me. And I- I think I’m interested in someone else.”

I nodded along. I tried to keep my heart as normal as possible but it was beating too hard from my adrenaline to be controllable; I’m almost positive Peter heard it jump at the news. “That’s understandable. Who’s the, uh, the someone else?” God, please be me.

Peter’s lips twitched up to a small smile. “You’ll find out eventually.” He stepped further into the room and relaxed a bit. “Want to do a round together?”

I wanted to. I really wanted to. But I was exhausted, and I think I pulled a muscle, and I could already feel bruises forming where I ungracefully fell on my side. So I just shook my head. “Some other time.”

My room had a bathroom attached to it, and that’s where I spent the next half hour, standing under the blazing hot water coming from the shower. Once I convinced myself to actually get out and change into pajamas, I grabbed my laptop and climbed into bed. I was going home tomorrow, I deserved a few hours of shuteye.

Then someone knocked on my door and ruined the whole ambiance.

“Oh, you’re - I was just - I’ll just go.”

“No, Peter, what’s up?”

He was standing there, hair damp from the shower, black t-shirt and flannel pajama pants on, looking hot as ever. “I was going to ask if you wanted to watch a movie, but you’re already in bed, so never mind.” He turned to walk away, and I almost let him because I was on-my-ass exhausted, but I didn’t. I couldn’t, not when he looked like that (soft, but also hot as fuck).

“Come on.” He turned, and I opened the door wider. “I was about to watch Gilmore Girls, but we can watch a movie if you want.” I pulled back the covers and left plenty of room for Peter to sit beside me.

“We can watch Gilmore Girls, I don’t mind.”

The second I pressed ‘play’ on the third episode was the second my eyes could barely stay open any longer. I tried so hard to watch Jess win Rory back, but sleep caught up with me and I let it win. I used Peter’s shoulder as a pillow and decided sleep was a battle I didn’t mind losing.

////////

I woke up to my alarm, but as quickly as my eyes opened, Peter’s arm pulled me closer to him. I was too tired to feel embarrassed or excited about the fact that Peter Parker was in my bed with an arm wrapped around me. All I wanted to was to turn off my alarm and go back to bed, but my dad was picking me and Peter up in two hours and I wanted to bully Sam into making me pancakes again.

“Let go, Peter,” I ended up mumbling, “I have to turn the alarm off.” He moved his arm off and I sat up and grabbed my phone. “I’m getting breakfast.”

It must’ve been my lucky day, because Sam and Bucky were in the kitchen. “‘Morning, sunshine. Sleep okay?” I looked at Sam with a hard glare, and he laughed. Of course he knew Peter was with me, FRIDAY knows everything.

I sat next to Bucky and thought of fluffy pancakes to ward off my burning hatred for Captain America. “Sam, how much do you love me?”

“Depends on what you’re willing to give me in exchange for the pancakes.”

Of course he already knew my move. Typical.

“I’ll delete half of the embarrassing footage of you saved in FRIDAY’s hard-drive.”

Sam looked at Bucky suddenly, extremely confused. “I thought that was done months ago.”

He just shrugged and drank his coffee. “Must not’ve gone deep enough. Good thing Y/N is here to catch it.”

Sam glanced between the two of us and sighed. “Okay, fine, I’ll make you some stupid pancakes.”

I smiled, then Bucky slipped me ten dollars under the counter and whispered, “Save me the footage.” I winked back.

“Can I have some too?” Peter, soft as hell, came into the kitchen and sat beside me. (His knee was brushing up against mine.)

“Only if you have something to offer.” Sam liked us, I know he did (that’s part of the embarrassing footage FRIDAY has saved) but he was usually a dick to us - anyone who wasn’t Bucky (and even then) - in the morning. It was always playful banter, but we knew not to step too far before eleven o’clock.

“I promise not to test out my new long-lasting webs on anything you own.”

“Deal.”

The pancakes were delicious (“hell yeah they were, I don’t mess around with pancakes”) but my dad was at the compound before we knew it, and it was time to face reality again.

“I saw the press conference,” Dad said when we sat down in the back, “and everything was very convincing. Congrats on getting to be Spider-Man again, Peter.”

He beamed. “Thanks, Mr. Y/L/N. Anything exciting happen at the hospital recently?”

They talked medical, while I sat back and listened to the engine. It covered up their hearts, but that didn’t matter, because both would’ve sent me right back to sleep. And it did.

We pulled up to Peter’s complex an hour and a half later. There were still plenty of daylight hours left, but we both left more homework to today than we would like to admit and neither of our parental figures would be pleased with that.

“See you tomorrow,” he said with a smile.

I smiled back, genuinely, (I was giving those out way more often now) and waved. “Bye.” Dad and I drove back and walked up to the apartment bumping shoulders. Our schedules didn’t line up very often because he was needed in the ER a lot of the time, but we always had a sort of silent understanding. He unlocked the door and let me in first, but when my eyes landed on the kitchen table, I stopped mid-step.

Blood. Everywhere. On the walls, on the floor, on Mom’s floral couch she claimed “added personality” to the living room. No one else was in the apartment, I could tell, but then it just raised more questions:

Who’s blood is everywhere?

Where the hell is Mom?

tags: @eridanuswave​ @vampirestrawberries​ 

[secretsofthedarkestkind-arch]

OTP/Romance Prompts: 1/? AKA Verse AU's @storieswrittcn

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"Are you positive about that?" Lee asked almost in disbelief hearing the news her CI had just given her. The girl was never wrong when it came to tips for the detective; Lee paid too much money for her to ever risk being wrong. The confirmation had the brunette's feet slowing to a stop.

No harm list...global level...death to anyone who tried...Petrova crime family...

"Check your bank account in about an hour," Lee mutters lost in thought as she hangs up the phone still standing in one the hallways of NYPD. The SVU-- she'd been offered a spot in Organized Crime more than once but she always denied the transfer for personal reason's-- Detective's life had been chaos for the last month and a half. Ever since that day she'd decided to go into that bank before work.

The day had started like any other; oversleeping, rushing toward PD with traffic being horrible, calling Olivia Benson--her partner-- to tell her she'd be late, and desperately stopping for coffee to try and bring some form of sanity back to her (Really, Lee was sure her body held more caffeine than it did actual blood at this point). After paying for her coffee, Lee had realized she didn't have anymore cash on her, glancing across the street she'd found a branch of her bank. Why not grab some cash from the ATM? Her eldest brother Damon had drove it into her head growing up that it was always smart to have some cash on you. 'You never know when you're going to need it, when your card won't work or somewhere can only accept cash.'

So really what happened next was Damon's fault, it always was right?

As if to prove to Lee her day was not going to go smoothly, the ATM outside was out of order causing her to walk inside. She'd taken maybe less than twenty steps inside when the first gunshot had gone off and screams followed. Instinct had her ducking down for cover, one hand reaching for her cell phone while the other went to the gun holstered on her hip. Quickly, she'd sent out an SOS with her location to Olivia with three words attached; robbery inside gunpoint. Once that was taken care of, Lee glanced around the small counter to see just how many gunmen there were; five that she could see. She couldn't let anyone get hurt though, it wasn't in her nature.

Everything that happened next somewhat happened in a blur. The gunman had been getting everyone down, the leader at the main counter tossing bags to cashiers to fill with money, while another beside him tried to keep everyone calm; the usual of if everyone cooperates no one will get hurt, we just want the banks money not to hurt you. But the way his voice cracked told Lee that wasn't exactly true. So regardless of consequence she's stood up, badge in her hand.

Then her horrible day just got weird; the closest gunman had started to shake with fear, muttering a soft 'Oh Shit'. His eyes telling her that he almost seemed to recognize her. The next one's face paled as he looked at her and he stumbled a few steps back, signaling to get the other three's attention. Their reactions didn't fair much better. All five appeared to forget what they were doing, why they were here in the first place, and run out the door as if their pants had been on fire or Lee had been the Grimm Reaper himself. It didn't make sense--yes, she was a cop but that reaction, the way they almost recognized her? It didn't fit.

So after hours with Internal Affairs, questioning by Robbery and Organized Crime detectives---Lee had contacted her CI to try and get answers. It'd taken the girl a month to find them and another half a month to verify her information.

No harm list...global level...death to anyone who tried...Petrova crime family...

Petrova was a last name she hadn't heard since she was twenty-one, eight whole years ago. It was the reason she denied any transfer to Organized Crime. Katerina Petrova (as most of the world knew her Katherine Pierce) had been not just her childhood crush or high school sweetheart, but the love of her life; the one person she would truly love until the day she took her last breath. Lee's heart, soul, and body still belonged to the brunette all these years later. The detective blamed her lack of a love life on her work, but the true reason was she'd never wanted anyone but Katerina.

The two had grown up together, meeting in Kindergarten, and formed an unbreakable bonds. They'd been with each other through everything; Lee's horrible home life caused by her parents, Katerina's own home life complications being the daughter of mobsters, both never seemingly good enough or as good as their respective twins, their parent's deaths (Well, Lee's mother and both of Katerina's). By middle school they were a couple; possessive/territorial, protective, and madly in love. High school, they were each other's first everything. Katerina not hiding how her life was changing at the young age of sixteen; after her parent's death, she'd started the takeover of the Petrova Crime family while Elena got to play normal high schooler. When Katerina had dropped out, Lee had almost followed suit--planned to be right there at Katerina's side to help her no matter what it was or how dark her soul would become. But her girlfriend had stopped Lee from doing that, she wanted one of them to at least graduate and Lee to have a chance to go to the art school of her dreams.

Then Lee had graduated, plans of art school gone mainly because the Salvatore hadn't wanted to leave Katerina---by eighteen, she'd gained full control of her dead parents empire, caused it grow and was working on a plan of opening a business for cover; exotic dancing, with more than a few illegal activities inside. Lee hadn't batted an eye at the plan, her possessive and jealous nature that normally would have shown through didn't; all because she loved Katerina, trusted her, and knew the woman would never betray her--the small engagement ring on her finger proof of that.

But Lee had wanted to do something to help, anything to make her future wife's life easier. So she'd followed Stefan's example and applied for the academy, going in with the mindset to help those she could but also be as corrupt as needed to help Katerina. But then Katerina had switched up their plans, had made a choice of her own---she'd broken Lee's heart. There hadn't been a fight, hadn't been begging, Katerina hadn't given her that option. Katerina packed up her things and just left, gone before Lee had come home and nowhere to be found.

Lee had hunted, spent weeks out on the streets and going everywhere she could think the woman would have gone. She'd worked herself into a mess of a depression, anxiety, and malnutrition. What had stopped it was when Damon had committed her for her own safety. She'd spent half a year locked away to get herself back. And when she'd come out she'd never looked back. There was no hatred toward the woman she loves, no vendetta, or ill will. Lee had just moved on with the parts of her life she could.

------

Finding the address of one Katherine Pierce had been difficult, Lee had used every off the book resource she could (Lee may have kept the plan to be slightly corrupt in place) and it had taken almost all day to do so, but she'd done it. Lee had half the mind to stop by the woman's club, 'Katherine's' but the detective had ultimately decided that would be too public for this reunion and the topic they needed to discuss. So she'd waited. And really? Lee probably should have known the address she'd received would be where Katerina had bought. But it still surprised her. It was a large old plantation estate that the two had always dreamed of one day owning, their goal home for their future and however many children they could fill it with.

So she'd given Olivia the barest of explanations on where she was going, muttering something about needing to take the rest of the day off for personal reasons--same to Cragen the same line--and she's out the door.

Lee had parked her silver Jeep outside the closed gate and stepped out. Eyes taking in the property she hadn't driven by in almost a decade--she wonders briefly why Katerina had bought it, how she'd done it too. Sadly it seems she isn't going to be getting inside thought, unless she climbs the brick wall (which she's tempted to do). With a sigh she pulls her phone out to call her darkerweb tech guy, "Hey...I need you to get a cell phone number fo---" The words die on her lips though as she hears the engine of a rather luxurious Lamborghini as it pulls up toward the gates. "Nevermind." She's hanging up the phone as she turns to face the approaching car.

The Salvatore's nerves are high, hands slightly shaking but she's come this far, she won't let her nerves stop her now.

"Katerina," The Bulgarian accent rolling perfectly off her lips even after all these years, "We need to talk..."