#our other friend rushed to the er to keep me company and then hung out and did her job from my desk for a day

[trinketguy]

my boyfriend and friends have all been doing so much to take care of me and i feel so lucky to have a network of people i love who will go out of their way to make me feel safe and comfortable

[asset35-maya]

I am sleepy but I gotta make a request before the busy tomorrow so 2 things on my mind! Sleepy and the 'oh my god they were roomates' vine xD with any characters and aus I love everything you write anyways xD Happy timezones and best vibes your way >^<!! 💖💞💕💕

Oh my god, they were roommates…

//

“The rental market in Detroit is absolute shit! How dare these bloodsuckers charge such high rates for the most under-developed properties! This city’s going to the dogs!”

“Uh-huh.”

“You have to pay your own weight in gold just to live in a shoebox for a year. Nonsense!”

“Uh…”

“Are you even listening to me, Tina!

Tina?

Goddamnit Tina!”

Gavin thumped his fist on her desk, but Tina’s eyes barely flicked up from her phone.

“Oh my god, you sound like my grandpa…”

Gavin turned red and his brain buzzed with a thousand colourful retorts. He was just about to pick one when Tina stopped scrolling and turned her phone screen towards him.

CYBERSCALIA @ NEW JERICHO

The suburban paradise for executive androids and humans alike. Located 25 minutes drive from downtown Detroit, with a full amenities.

Gavin’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He balked at her.

“You’re joking? How could I possibly…?”

“Get with the times, boomer…”

Tina lazily skimmed her thumb over the screen. The webpage promised plenty of greenery, good infrastructure and modest but spacious rooms. The extremely reasonable price tag was Gavin’s dream come true. He’d spent weeks apartment hunting in the wake of an early lease termination by his cantankerous landlord. Gavin knew he’d never find a better deal.

“Shit, this is so good, T! Why the phck does it have to be in that- that place!”

His friend arched a sceptical eyebrow.

“What place?”

“The Tincan ghetto!”

Tina smacked him on the arm. None too gently.

“It’s subsided public housing located in an android-friendly estate… because they’re the ones that need it most right now. And frankly, you seem to be in just as much need, so you should really get off that high horse.”

“Fine, fine. You’re right. I should seriously consider this place, even if my neighbours are gonna have more in common with my car than me. But damn, it seems a little too good to be true. There’s probably some fine print, hidden costs that’ll come out later.”

“Hmm… let’s see…”

Tina scrolled further and then let out a half-laugh. She held her phone up again.

“Nothing shady about the rates, but there is something you should know…”

At the risk of being called old again, Gavin squinted at the screen and read aloud.

“Bearing in mind the founding principles of New Jericho, all human occupants may only apply for tenancy in co-habitation with at least one android citizen of the United States of- JESUS PHCKING CHRIST! Absolutely not! I am not going to live with a plastic prick!”

//

Gavin had to get through half a bottle of wine before he could bear to scroll through the rental listings. Unlike other humans who had happily moved into New Jericho with their android friends or partners, he had to find an android who was also looking for a flatmate.

Some listings came from ardent supporters of Markus. These were the androids who wanted to ease the post-revolution transition by reaching out to humans. Some listings were put up by the android equivalent of frat boys. These individuals were clearly looking for someone on the fringes of human society, someone who could show them a good (if not illegal) time.

Other posts came from eccentric androids who craved company but had likely been rejected by their own kind. Gavin felt a strange twisting sensation, almost like pity, when he came across a post written entirely in third person by someone called Ralph.

He had almost given up hope when he came across a simple little listing for a two bedroom apartment in Cyberscalia.

RK900 #313 248 317 - 87: Seeking a neat, self-sufficient co-renter. Human or android, no preference. I spend most of my time working and will be out of your way for the better part of the day. I only ask for silence during my nighttime stasis cycles, timely payment of dues and upkeep of cleanliness.

Gavin sighed in relief.

//

“Your room is the first door on the left, mine is the second. The bathroom, laundry and kitchenette are shared, as is the living room. I scarcely find use for the latter, so you need not worry about my intruding on any of your social gatherings, or vice versa. As long as you adhere to the terms of the agreement, our paths will not cross much.”

The tall, stiff-necked android dropped a set of keys, both mechanical and digital, into Gavin’s open palm.

“Er thanks.. RK… sorry I forgot your full model number…”

“You may call me Nines. Although, I’d rather you didn’t call me much of anything. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

In a swish of black fabric, the android turned on his heel and disappeared into his room. Two rapid clicks indicated the shutting and locking of his door.

Gavin sighed and looked around the open-plan living room. It was nothing fancy, but it was far beyond any of the other properties he’d viewed in weeks of unsuccessful house-hunting.

He sat down on the simple black couch with a huff and contemplated his situation. He’d ended up where he’d truly never expected to go, but objectively speaking, things were good… barring the high-handed manner of his robot flatmate, but who gave a shit about that.

He pulled out his phone to text Tina his thanks.

//

“I can’t! I refuse to! It is a violation of my personal ethics and I will simply not take this assignment any further. Good day to you sir!”

Gavin nearly dropped his bowl of cereal one morning when his roommate burst out of his door and rushed into the open balcony.

He hadn’t seen Nines in days, which was perfectly normal. The android came and went at odd hours and made hardly any noise. It was almost like living alone. The only reminder of Nines’ presence was the sight of several dark shirts and trousers regularly hung out to dry on the rack above the washing machine.

Gavin set his bowl down and watched the android tightly grip the bars of the railing and take several unnecessary breaths to calm down. He’d seen deviant colleagues express emotion many times before, but this was the first time he witnessed such a potent mixture of rage and sorrow from a synthetic being.

Out of empathy, but mostly curiosity, Gavin approached cautiously.

“Hey Nines… is everything alright…?”

There was no response for several moments. Then Nines turned around with a grimace and hands held upwards in a placating gesture.

“I apologise for the disturbance. It was hypocritical of me to disrupt the very peace and quiet I demand of you.”

“Uh… no worries…? Are you okay?”

There was a flash of steel blue eyes.

Gavin kicked himself mentally as he realised too late that he’d broached uncharted territory. Their interactions didn’t extend beyond curt nods on the rare occasion they found each other in the same space. It was almost as if Nines engineered the lack of contact, which wouldn’t surprise Gavin at all if it were the case.

“I’m fine. I merely experienced some frustration with my work.”

Perhaps it was boredom, perhaps it was his usual lack of self-preservative instinct… Gavin threw caution to the winds.

“What do you actually do?”

Nines’ expression remained stoic but his LED went through a spectacular series of colours and flashes. His next words were reluctant.

“I’m a private investigator.”

“Oh shit! I’m actually a cop.”

Gavin pointed dumbly at himself and then let his hand drop when he saw absolutely no surprise cross the android’s face.

“I know. That’s why I let you stay with me.”

“For safety?”

“Certainly not for your fashion sense.”

“Wow okay, I didn’t think I’d be much protection for a big scary droid like you.”

Nines hummed dismissively and started to move out of the balcony, body language fully indicating the end of the conversation.

Unable to help himself for some strange reason, Gavin blurted out another ill-advised question.

“What pissed you off so much?”

Nines paused halfway through side-stepping the human. A thrill went through Gavin at the shards of ice he observed for the first time up close in Nines’ irises.

“If I tell you, will you promise to stop asking pointless questions?”

Gavin nodded earnestly, and frankly… rather foolishly.

“I helped a client gather evidence to initiate divorce proceedings on the grounds of infidelity. I provided ample photo and video evidence for his lawyers to work with. Now they want me to keep following the spouse to capture more details that could gear any future settlement in his favour.”

“So what’s your problem?”

“They’re offering me an incredible amount of cash to follow her 24/7. To stake out her workplace, her gym, her parent’s home. They want me to crouch under the window of the bedroom where her children sleep. I can do a lot of things, but not that. It’s deeply insulting that they even asked. That’s why I was so… pissed.”

Nines slipped past and was nearly back to his bedroom when Gavin spoke.

“I respect that.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“I know, but for real though, I think ethics are important in our line of work. Not just because of we need morals or a sense of right or wrong blablabla, but because we need… clarity.”

Silence floated through the hallway as Nines paused with a hand on his doorframe.

“Clarity?”

“Yeah, like a sense of direction. We don’t just take cases right-left-centre because they make us money. I mean, we could, and people do… but they never become specialists or experts of any kind. You gotta strategise if you want a career. Ethics helps with that. I think…”

Gavin wasn’t sure what made him say any of that. He was neither one for small talk, nor a man of many words… but something about Nines prompted that unusual level of introspective discourse.

“Sorry that was weird. Never mind.”

“That was actually… very astute.”

Their eyes met and Gavin could’ve sworn he saw the hint of a smile.

“It’s good to see that not all humans are as one-dimensional as I thought.”

The door clicked shut, but there was no locking sound.

//

Since the morning of Nines’ uncharacteristic outburst, the frequency of their encounters in the common areas of the apartment increased. Wordless nods became hellos, and hellos eventually became full sentences.

Not that he’d admit it, Gavin actually looked forward to enquiring about the android’s day and the cases he was working on. It was utterly fascinating to hear about legal investigations without the constraints of police procedure.

For his part, Nines would share as much as he had the patience to, before disappearing into the confines of his room. Though the time he spent outside steadily increased every day.

Another morning, while Gavin was making his coffee, Nines emerged from his room, still in his pyjamas and looking as livid as he had the time before. Gavin had never seen him in anything but crisply ironed businesswear. Before he could voice any concern, Nines stiffly asked Gavin to keep a lookout for a homicide suspect.

He nodded and immediately reached for his phone to text the sergeant on duty at his station. By midday, there was an arrest.

That evening, when Gavin settled in front of the TV with his usual glass of wine, he heard the familiar sound of Nines’ door opening. The couch dipped beside him.

“Thank you.”

“Just did my job. I should thank you for the tip.”

“Hmm.”

Gavin chanced a glance at his roommate, and found him looking right back.

“What?”

“Nothing… I just had the realisation that much of my work is impotent without the authority and means to take any kind of action.”

The sitcom began to play and Gavin thumbed the remote to reduce the volume.

“Takes all kinds to keep the streets clean. PIs can do things cops can’t. We rely on guys like you for intel all the time, you know.”

“I know.”

No words were exchanged for a while thereafter. Gavin found himself unable to focus on the TV show with all the brooding energy emanating from his right.

“If you feel like being a private eye doesn’t make enough of a difference, then why didn’t you… um… you know…”

“Join law enforcement?”

“Yup.”

“Plenty of my fellow androids have done so. I know for a fact that my predecessor model chose to remain there. You might know him.”

“Connor? Yes. Very annoying.”

“He is, isn’t he?”

“Totally. But why didn’t you join too? You’d be brilliant on the Force.”

“My skillset is certainly well-suited, but I didn’t want to become another puppet of the state.”

Gavin really didn’t know what to say to that. He nodded uncertainly and looked back at the television. He wasn’t sure why Nines was suddenly this social.

“What are you… watching?”

Androids could scan and detect just about anything in the world, so there had to be something else to the question. Gavin, strangely, was happy to oblige.

//

Nines made an appearance every evening, without fail. He would sit through the TV shows if they were of interest, or he would bring his case material and notes to the coffee table to work in silence beside Gavin.

Sometimes Gavin liked to work on jigsaw puzzles on the dining table. Nines would sit beside him, pretending to read a paperback novel, but actually scanning the puzzle and passing the right pieces over from time to time.

Against all odds, an evening ritual and a tentative friendship developed. It was simple, but it was warm. Comfortable. Like nothing Gavin had ever had before, even with humans.

//

He awoke one morning with a slight crick in his neck but the feeling of being very well-rested.

His eyes flickered open and fell upon the window. Familiar greenery came into view… but wait… had everything slightly shifted to the left? And was that the New Jericho Capitol building? He couldn’t see that from his room! There was a tree in the way! A tree that was now a few feet away from where it used to be.

Gavin sat up in alarm as he realised that he was not in his own bed. His heart flew into his throat as Nines walked through the open doorway. Shirtless and carrying a mug of blue liquid.

“Oh good, you’re up.”

“Wha-what happened!?”

Nines frowned and sat down on the edge of the bed. He set the mug on the floor and pulled on a plain black t-shirt.

“You passed out on the couch last night. I think you finished a whole bottle waiting up for me? Sorry, I was out working later than expected.”

Gavin looked down and sighed in relief as he found all his clothes still on him.

“I didn’t want you to injure yourself sleeping at an odd angle so I brought you here. Your door was locked.”

“You could’ve easily opened it.”

“Yes, but that would’ve been an invasion of privacy. I reserve that for working hours alone.”

Gavin looked deep into the sparkling blue eyes and as usual found no trace of humour.

“Thanks…”

“Don’t mention it. Now get out. You’re ruining my silk sheets.”

//

Against his best efforts, Gavin could not keep the thought of being carried to bed and tucked in safely out of his mind. How many years had it been? Since something like that had been even remotely possible for him?

He knew that Nines was just being kind in his own pragmatic little way… but Gavin found that he wouldn’t mind the prospect of waking up in the android’s bed in a wildly different context.

He realised he had it bad when Tina caught him smiling to himself at work one day.

“Why so happy?”

“Oh… nothing. Just remembered something my roommate did… He’s a… funny guy.”

“Huh. Well, look at you getting along so well with androids.”

“Android. Singular. Just him.”

“Wowwww… he sounds special.”

//

“Who did this?”

“Gavin, the damage is merely superficial-”

“Who phcking did this??!”

He reached forward and gingerly touched Nines’ split cheek. His synth skin was smeared with blue blood and glitching in and out. Nines winced at the contact.

“Shit, sorry. That must hurt like a bitch.”

“Androids do not feel pain.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m merely experiencing a surge in sensory input wherever my chassis is exposed. I’m fine.”

“Shut up and give me your first aid kit or whatever toolbox equivalent you tincans have.”

A shade of embarrassment appeared over the android’s features.

“I… actually don’t have one. I didn’t think I’d ever need it.”

“Didn’t think anyone could kick your ass, huh?”

“No… I didn’t think anyone would ever spot my hiding place.”

“Huh. How’d that happen?”

Nines’ eyes dipped, but as always, he answered the question.

“I was… distracted.”

Something in the air solidified and both of them felt it. Gavin cleared his throat and slapped his knees like an old man about to stand up.

“Right. Let me go check if the neighbours have anything that might help with your face.”

//

“So who’s this dapper young gent you’ve brought to the party, Gavin?”

“Er… he’s my uh… roommate.”

Captain Fowler nodded and winked.

“That’s what they called it in my day too.”

Nines shifted beside Gavin and cleared his throat.

“He’s a PI. But I think he’s wasting his talent taking pictures of cheating spouses. He’s quite interested in police work. Maybe we could get him to assist on a couple cases now and then?”

Fowler put down his drink and extended a warm hand to Nines.

//

“Oh thank RA9!”

Nines came running to the cluster of police cars and enveloped him in a giant hug. Gavin laughed as he patted him weakly on the back.

“Watch the ribs, big guy.”

“I was so worried.”

“Why? Your info was good. No chance of error.”

“I meant about you.”

Gavin pulled back and regarded Nines with confusion. The flashing red and blue lights of the cars made it hard to read his LED.

“Why?”

“I can’t believe you have to ask.”

The android pulled him into a bruising kiss. The officers standing nearby broke into wolf-whistles and applause.

“What the-”

“Oh I take full credit for that, sir.”

Fowler glanced at Tina.

“The case, Chen?”

“Oh of course. I solved the whole thing. But I mean that specifically.”

She waved a hand in Gavin and Nines’ direction. The two held each other tightly and seemed unlikely to come up for air anytime soon.

“Like I helped Gav find an affordable place in New Jericho and then he met this handsome investigator droid and they were roommates.”

“Oh my god, they were roommates…”

“Yeah legit.”

//

\\\

Thanks so much for the request @jude-shotto

This ended up being a lot longer than expected, but I couldn’t help it. Your prompt just took me on a whole journeyyyy <3

[oh-so-scenarios]

ᴛʜᴇ sᴇʀᴇɴᴅɪᴘɪᴛʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜɪɴɢs...♠| 12

⤖ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴀs ᴛɪᴍᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜʟᴍᴀᴛᴇs? Jᴜɴɢ Hᴏsᴇᴏᴋ ɪs ᴛᴏᴏ ʙᴜsʏ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴏғ ʜɪs ᴍᴀғɪᴀ ɴᴇᴛᴡᴏʀᴋ. Hᴇ ᴡᴏɴ'ᴛ ʟᴇᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴇʀᴇɴᴅɪᴘɪᴛʏ ᴏғ ʜɪs sᴏᴜʟᴍᴀᴛᴇ ᴍᴏᴠᴇ ʜɪᴍ…ʀɪɢʜᴛ?

⤖ Mᴀғɪᴀ Lᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ Hᴏsᴇᴏᴋ x ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ Fᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ Rᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ, sᴏᴜʟᴍᴀᴛᴇ!ᴀ��

Warnings: Violence, mentions of death, blood, Smut.

This is a Hoseok POV recap chapter. Everything moves in order, it starts back at their first meeting all the way to chapter 11. A lot of time jumps. 

****Please ignore any errors! (Word Count: 15.6K)

Previous | Next ◀ ▶  Series Index | Masterlist

Hoseok’s POV:

What the fuck? What the fuck? I’m certain that the disdain wasn’t visible on my face, but my injuries were the least of my problem. My eyes stayed focused on the medical degree that hung up on her wall, avoiding her curious gaze.

This week has been a shit fest and it’s gotten worse. 

I let Yoongi convince me that Jungkook was able to handle a heavy mission on his own. I don’t know why I allowed myself to be swayed. I knew he couldn’t handle it. Jungkook has the muscle, but lacks the ability to hide what he's thinking. His face gives a way his emotions, and I should have known better.

We lose contact with him, only to hear some woman say she’s taking him to the hospital? Oh great. I was already trying to gather a plan to explain why this 22 year old man was shot in the side. Along with questions as to why the CEO of Jung Inc was the guardian of this man. It would all unravel as the noisy police dig into Jungkook’s past. 

They’d try to find his parents, and ultimately trace it back to my father. I could see it all unfolding in my head. 

We were left in the dark all night, calling different hospitals to see if that idiotic female had checked him into the ER. We called every hospital within a 60 mile radius and came up empty. I couldn’t sleep that night, worried that our youngest Jungkook had gotten himself into trouble. 

I don’t underestimate women. They are capable of just as much damage as any man, they’re just sneaky about it. I've learned from experience.

At 3 in the morning, Jimin gets a call from Jungkook’s phone and it’s the same woman. She’s a surgeon. Jungkook is one lucky man. I didn’t want much contact with whoever she was. But she did save Jungkook. I decided to give her some money, since she was smart enough to ask no questions. 

But the mission we entered today went left, having things get ugly. We were outnumbered and unprepared, leaving us with injuries. We’re usually prepared enough to tackle issues without violences, but since Seok’s mafia presence has been more low-key, other smaller illegal organizations are acting up. 

I spoke to her for less than 30 seconds, but vaguely remember the tugging of the red string wrapped around my pinky. I groaned my eye at the thing, remembering the few times it’s done that in the past. 

I don’t have time for such foolish things. Soulmate? Who could be cursed enough to be matched with them? The appearance of soulmates almost 200 years ago is explained as something wonderful. A guide from whatever power is above us. I used to believe that bullshit. When I was younger, the thought of a soulmate made my heart race. 

I’d gaze at my parents with twinkling eyes, knowing that I was a product of...love. True love. I hold some resentment and disgust for my younger self. The signs were clearly there. That my mother wasn’t happy, and that my dad was sick. 

I was too focused on my childish things. That was thanks to my mother. I could vomit mentioning any sort of thanks to that woman, but she was the one holding off my father’s training to take his place. 

My older sister, who I haven’t spoken to in years, was sent off to leave with a distant family member. Who knows what she’s up to. 

I see now that the appearance of soulmates was simply the universe’s sick attempt at regaining control over humans. I watch people hopelessly drop everything for this stranger, simply because a red string is linking them together. That won’t be me.

Why do I have to put up with a person because some unseen force decided that we are good together? The stories of meeting your soulmate, falling in love, getting married and starting a family are just that, stories. Such a thing isn’t possible for me. I can barely keep the company of real friends, who am I to keep a lover?

I glanced at her from the corner of my eyes, seeing her rushing back into the living room with a black bag. She starts laying out her tools, and despite the slight shaking of her hands, she seemed to know what she was doing. 

She was afraid. As she should be. But we were desperate. We never had the need for a doctor, since we avoided getting hurt. But here we are. Our youngest Jungkook was worried, staring at his injured hyungs with wide eyes. 

So when he said he knew where we could go, I should have known I would end up at the apartment of the crazy surgeon that was eager to save the injured boy she found in an alleyway. 

The tugging of the red string when I spoke to her on the phone now makes sense. 

I averted my gaze to the white ceiling, trying to figure out what I was going to do. She’s seen our faces, and she knows we’re criminals. I don’t want to deal with another dead body. Plus she lives in an apartment building. I don’t know how close she is with her neighbors, but with an important job such as a surgeon, her absence would be noticed quickly. 

“So who is going first?” She calls out after finishing her set up. When I look at her, she’s staring at the different faces in the room. Her eyes don’t match the tremble in her voice. She looks...uninterested? And annoyed. 

“You’re not going to ask any questions?” I ask. She sighs, being the one to avoid eye contact this time. She fidgets to slip gloves on, and dipping her tool in alcohol.

“I don’t have time to ask questions.” She says harshly, only meeting my gaze for a second. 

Though she’s asking for little information, the guys begin to open their big mouths, giving out more information than needed. They’re digging me into a bigger hole. When it’s out that we’re criminals, the look of dread is hard to miss. I see the wheels turning in her head, and I wonder if she’s thinking of contacting the police. 

She can’t be that stupid right?

Without another word, she calls Yoongi forward first and starts to tend to his wounds. I hiss quietly as the fabric of my shirt rubs against the cut on my chest. The blood had dried, but a slight movement caused a tearing pain. 

I keep my eyes on her while she works. Soulmate huh? I look down at the side of my pinky and notice her initials suddenly printed there. 

The universe did a trash job. A doctor of all people? It’s like a healed wound is being reopened and left to bleed. The longer I stared at her, the angrier I got. At least she’s not ugly, but a doctor? Surgeon? 

I didn’t realize I was glaring at her till Jin hit my leg, making me look his way. He didn’t speak, but the question in his eyes were clear. I could only scoff, before closing my eyes to try to relax.

I heard shuffling of feet as she patched up the next person. She’d run into the kitchen with her tools, do some type of clearing process and come back with clean gloves and tools. When she leaves again, Taehyung leans towards me. 

“Boss, what are you going to do about her?” He keeps his voice low. 

“I say that we hire her.” Jungkook adds, making my eyes snap open. I glare at him but he only grins back.

“Hire her?” I repeat.

“That’s really smart. She could be our personal doctor? Didn’t you say that you wanted to get into black market surgeries? Now you can. That way we could keep any eye on her.” Jin added, giving Jungkook a friendly pat on the head.

Keep an eye on her? I think for a moment. 

“I mean…” Jungkook trails off, “you weren’t thinking of killing her were you? She did save my life.” He stares at me with big doe eyes. I close my eyes again, leaning back to relax. 

“She’s going to help you next boss, you’re the only one left.” Jimin whispers as her footsteps approach us. 

~!~

I march into the headquarters with the others trailing behind me. I set my gun down on the round table and look towards the white board. The plan of our failed mission written in blue marker. 

“So that went to shit.” I mutter to myself, searching for the white board eraser. I am not one to dwell on a failure like that for long. We need to move onto the next mission. As I wiped off the board, the hushed words of the guys behind me were hard to ignore. 

“What? Do you have something to say?” I snap, turning around to face them. The whispers stopped as everyone stared in silence 

“So...your soulmate is a doctor.” Jimin starts, the smile he was trying to hide breaking through. Another silence followed Jimin’s words before Namjoon chimed in. 

“That’s ironic, but she’s cute. Good for you boss.”

My bitter chuckle doesn’t stop the onslaught of congratulations. I couldn’t tell if they were joking or not but I wasn’t in the mood. 

“Were you guys not in her apartment just 30 minutes ago? You know...when I told her I didn’t want any sort of relationship with her? I made it clear that all I can offer her is work.”

For guys who looked battered up an hour ago, their humor was still intact. They knew better than expect happiness from me for something as stupid as soulmates. 

“I think it’s cute,” Jimin voices, smiling widely at me.

“I don’t really care.” Yoongi said calmly, “As long as she doesn’t get in the way of work, it doesn’t matter.” 

“Exactly.” I agreed with Yoongi, “I’ll just have her work for us. She’s already seen our faces and I can’t have her telling anyone about what happened tonight.” 

“But boss,” Namjoon said seriously, pulling out a chair to sit at the circular table. His eyes were serious, and I crossed my arms over my chest, knowing that Namjoon was going to drill me with some serious concerns. 

His brows furrowed and he looked down at the table for a moment as the others also took seats at the circular table. 

“Did you hear bells?” He asked, looking at me with raised eyebrows.

I blink at the unexpected question, my mind moving too slow to process what he said. 

“What?” 

“Did you hear bells when you saw Y/n? They say that if you hear bells when you meet your soulmate, it’s a true love match! That the universe did it’s best work when putting you and your soulmate together.”

I don’t answer him, searching for the dry erase marker to start the plans for the next mission.

“I guess he didn’t.” Namjoon says under his breath. But as I write out the information on the board, a heavy feeling sets on my shoulders.

So I wasn’t going crazy when those bells were ringing in my ears? 

True love? Gross and impossible.

~!~

“Y/n works at Seoul Sky hospital?” I exclaim, staring at the papers Namjoon set on my desk. I had Namjoon dig up some information on Y/n. She was hesitant about taking the offer I laid down, so I need some type of leverage. Maybe she has a criminal record or something she is hiding. 

Of course a woman like her is squeaky clean. She comes from a pretty good family. Her mother was a doctor and her father was a successful businessman. Not crazy money but better than most people. She graduated high school early and went right into pre-med. Grades are good, the record is clean and not deep dark secrets.

But she works at Seoul Sky hospital. That poor excuse of a hospital where my father passed. It’s perfect. I could keep an eye on her from work.

“When is the next chairman’s meeting?” I ask with a smirk on my lips. Namjoon’s ears perk up and he stares back at me with wide eyes. He ran his fingers through his hair, stifling a laugh.

“You’re actually going to attend one? You said you wanted to be an anonymous investor?” 

I didn’t answer Namjoon right away, plotting just what I was going to do when I got to the hospital. 

“Call whoever you need to call and tell them I’m coming to visit the hospital tomorrow. They should have all preparations ready and I’d like to meet with the other directors to discuss the additional funding.” I state, trying to hide the smirk playing on my lips. 

Oh this is gonna be fun! 

And just like I thought, it was fun. I strolled through the hospital, ignoring the long speeches each department head was giving me. I didn’t care. I don't care about this hospital or any of the damn doctors. If I could burn this place to the ground, I would. The land could be used for something more useful. 

Not a hospital that seems to hire incompetent doctors who allow emotions to cloud the work they are doing. I became a director for this hospital in hopes that my mother and that stupid man she ran off with, would return. I don’t know what I will do when they return, but it wouldn’t be a warm welcome. 

We walked through the hallways, patients and nurses all staring as we walked. My instructions of a casual hospital tour were ignored, seeing as I had all the department heads following behind me. Yes, I was tuned out to whatever this man was saying. 

I think his name is Dr. Lee, I could hear the soft whispers of those behind me.

“He’s handsome isn’t he?” One female doctor says. 

“I know right? He seems so intense and studious. Being loved by a man like that is the best.” The other one says. 

Namjoon chuckles form beside me, also hearing the nonsense that those two were saying. I throw a glare at him before bringing my attention back to Dr. Lee.

“Do you think I should try to make conversation with him?” The same doctors whisper. I roll my eyes.

God, I hope they don’t. I am not one for aimless conversation. The last thing I want to do is date a doctor. Actually I don’t want to date at all. My work has become my everything and I can’t see myself making room for anything else. But I can only speak for myself. 

 I wonder how the guys feel about this. If they want to get married, have a family. I haven’t heard them say anything about such things. Hell, I don’t think they’ve even had girlfriends. I don’t expect them to share such information. Years ago I told them to keep personal life things away from work. I didn’t want to hear anything about their personal lives. 

I don’t want to try to rebuild the friendships we had. It’s too late. They were forced to stay by my side, so I’m sure all that’s left is animosity. They do pretty well hiding it, but I can’t say I’m integrated into their friend group. 

You’d think we’d be closer with how often we are together.

My thoughts stopped short as an already familiar figure came into view. She was standing there with a co-worker of hers. Jennie. I did some digging on those close to her here in Korea. It seems that Jennie is her only friend. 

Dr. Lee looked over at the two women, and back at me. The other doctors did the same, my gaze on them catching attention. I noticed Namjoon clear his throat, but my lips turned up into a smirk. I walked ahead of Dr. Lee, closer to Y/n and Jennie. 

“Gossiping is more fun in person!” Jennie exclaims. 

“Oh is it?” I break into their chit chat. Both women grow stiff at my voice, and turn around to bow at a 90 degree angle. I keep my eyes on Y/n who hasn’t recognized me yet. 

“Gossiping is what the doctors of Seoul Sky do?” I question.

I ignore Dr. Lee’s protest to me words and watch Y/n stand straight, only to gawk at me with wide eyes. Oh, her reactions are always so fun. 

She takes a small step back, bumping into Jennie who looks lost. I watch her eyes dart over my face, the concern flashing in her eyes is clear. Even at a time like this, you’re being caring? It was easy to tell that she was checking for the cuts that were on my face 5 days ago. 

But with how she cared to the wounds, there shouldn’t be much scarring. A little powder covered them right up. I wasn’t going to appear in front of people looking cut up.

She looks more official in her white doctor’s coat. I could tell she was official when I saw the work she did on Jungkook, but seeing her in that white coat felt different. A bubbling in my chest made me feel angry at her. That white coat makes me even angrier. 

But I kept the smile on my face, aware of the eyes watching our tense exchange.

Dr. Lee introduced the two doctors to me, and had some pointless banter with Jennie while Y/n tried her hardest to keep the glare off her face. 

I stared back at her, hoping that my message was loud and clear. 

You can’t run from me. 

~!~

“She’s not going to call.” Namjoon said as we walked into the headquarter’s lobby. 

I give him a pointed look, slipping off my green suit coat and draping it onto one of the chairs at the circle table. 

Jungkook, Yoongi and Taehyung also sat at the circular table. Each person was occupied by something else. Taehyung was reading a book, Yoongi typed away on his laptop while Jungkook stared at his dimly lit phone screen. 

Jungkook only looks up from his phone for a second, telling me that he’s distracted by some game. His mouth was gaping open as he concentrated.

“She’ll call. I’m sure she’s a smart girl.” I said to Namjoon, unbuttoning my cuffs and rolling up the sleeves.

“Who are you talking about?” Yoongi questioned, his tone showing little to no interest. 

“Who else would he be talking about?” Taehyung jeers before snickering, “When was the last time Boss talked about a woman that wasn’t just a one night stand?” Taehyung grins at me and goes back to reading. 

“He snatched her up, pulled her into an empty room and pushed her up against a wall.” 

“O,” Jungkook coos, “kinky.” 

I roll my eyes at the youngest’s cheeky smile. 

“She’s dragging this out. I already have the operation place set up, and I’m already searching for her assistant. I gave her 2 days. If she’s smart, she’ll call. It would be a pain to get rid of her.” 

Jungkook sets his phone on the table, a pout of defeat playing on his lips. 

“Why don’t you just leave her be? I don’t think she’ll tell anyone. Plus you can just keep an eye on her at the hospital? There is no need to drag her into black market work.”

Everyone looks at Jungkook as he shrugged after expressing his opinion, ‘You would just be exposing her to more stuff if you bring her into work with you.” 

I stared at Jungkook in silence, not sure what to say. He has a point. I could just keep an eye on her from the hospital. I know where she leaves, I know where she works and I know all her friends. She can't escape. 

So...why do I need her here again?

“It’s okay if you just want her close, we won’t judge you.” Yoongi says in the same uninterested tone. 

“It’s not that.” I defended myself.

Yoongi shrugs in a sluggish manner, “It’s okay if you want to keep her around. She’s your soulmate after all.”

I glare at Yoongi for a moment, “I’ve had black market surgeries on my to-do list. So I’m killing two birds with one stone.”

“There’s no urge to be near Y/n? You know that soulmate connection?” Taehyung asks, folding the page he was reading and closing the book.

I feigned some deep thought before shaking my head. Connection? I didn’t feel anything towards her. I was surprised to see that red string connect to someone else, and after that was a sense of dread and anger. 

“I think I’ve had better connections with brick walls.”

The fake hisses of pain are followed by comments. 

“Heartless!”

“Ouch!”

I walked around to one of the smaller desks that were across the room. I grabbed a familiar grey folder and placed it on the circle table, opening it to see what was in there. 

The folder was thick, and had things I had to take care of. No matter how much work we did, I don’t think there’d ever be a day this folder would be empty. 

I remember thinking why was my father always so busy? He always said he had no time, and at a certain point, I thought he was lying. I often misunderstood it being an excuse to avoid doing something with me. 

My father was present in my life, and he was a kind man. Too kind. He taught me to give people chances, pertaining to things outside of work. Although my father wasn’t obvious about his work, I’d say he was more violent. 

He was harsher. The slightest glimpse of weakness would be eliminated. When it came to work, he didn’t allow room for mistakes or failure. Yet, he was caring and understanding with the family, and all things outside of work. He stupidly trusted my mother 100%. Would tell me they were the world’s best example of true love. 

Guess he and my other were on different pages.

I scanned over all the items that needed to be completed. The Charity Gala robbery, recapture of money from a bad trade off,  some drug trades in Japan and a cop that has been snooping around asking about Seok. Those are the main focus as of now. At least those are the things that will require either my attention or the whole team. 

Each one of the guys have things they do separately. Those usually go smoothly.

I groan and run my fingers through my hair, “Where is Jimin?” I ask.

“He finished that one debt collection and headed home. He said he was done for the week.” Namjoon said. 

“Call him and Seokjin up. Tomorrow is gonna be a busy day. We’re gonna go take care of the Ryu deal, and if Y/n is as predictable as I think she is, she’ll call me tomorrow.”

“Or she’ll run off to a different country.” Namjoon says under his breath. 

I almost chuckle at the comment, knowing Y/n couldn’t be that idiotic. 

~!~

“Mr. Ryu, I really don’t want to do this!” I yelled as I tucked my gun into the waistband of my pants. I stepped over the dead and injured bodies of his men, while Jimin and Yoongi flanked me, with their guns pointed at the older man. 

He stood with his back pressed against the wall of his own hideout. They’re a small organization with strong connections to Russia. I took a risk working with them, and it blew up in my face. The trade off is what landed Jungkook with a bullet grazing his side. It was supposed to be a one man hand off, but Mr. Ryu brought all his men and ran off with the money. 

He had to know we’d come for him sooner or later. 

We were able to take out all his men in a silent manner. He let his guard down, not truly knowing who he was messing with. He didn’t know he was dealing with Seok’s organization. It was a test of loyalty and he failed. Blood was starting to pool on the concrete floor. Harsh and shallow breaths from a few men who hadn’t died yet was all that could be heard.

“I have the money! I’ll get you the money!” His pleas echo through the warehouse, and I could hear the way it’s straining his vocal chords. His thin grey hair was unruly. Evidence of his fingers racking through it repeatedly. His suit is disheveled and stained.

I stopped my slow walk towards the man, leaving me about 5 yards from him. Yoongi and Jimin didn’t stop their slow parade with their guns up.

I sighed, “This could have been easier if you did that the first time!” 

“Boss!” Someone calls from behind us. I don’t have to turn around to know it’s Namjoon.

“We found the money! It’s all there.” Mr. Ryu doesn’t leave my line of sight, but I nod in response.

“See!” Mr. Ryu rushes out desperately, “The money is there! Take it! It was never taken out of the suitcase!” 

I click my teeth and fake disappointment, “I don’t leave loose ends Mr. Ryu. You’ve already seen my face.”

His body trembles in fear, his face growing red with every second, “Who are you?!” 

“Why tell a dead man such important information?” I mutter taking a step forward when my phone dings. I pause for a moment, kicking myself for not silencing it.

I don’t miss the eye roll from Yoongi, “Gosh boss, you can’t silence your phone?”

“He’s been waiting for a call from his lovely Y/n,” Jimin jokes, re-gripping his gun.

I dug into my pocket to see a number I didn’t recognize texting me.

[8:34 PM] Unknown: Hello ...?

“Of course he answers it at a time like this!” Seokjin shouts. It seems he’s standing further behind us with Namjoon. 

“Now is not the time!” 

It has to be Y/n. This is my personal phone number, and she’s the only one who’d have it. 

[?:?? PM] Hoseok: Be at this address in 20 minutes. 

Due to the bad service, the text message takes it’s time sending. I shove it back into my pocket and stride towards the man.

“Let’s be quick about this old man.” I slip my fingerless leather gloves tighter on my hand. 

“Please don’t!” He slides down the wall and lands on his butt so he’s sitting. I kick him in the gut, and he hunches over. I take the chance to place one hand on his forehead, and another on his chin. I swiftly made a turning motion, snapping his neck.

 His body goes limp and falls over. 

“Let’s go.” I call out just as my phone dings again. We start leaving the warehouse, and I dig into my pocket. 

[8:43 PM] Unknown: Could we do this tomorrow?

Does she think this is a hair appointment? Does she not understand what she is getting into?

~!~

I watch Y/n move around the operation room and I think I’m seeing excitement? She giggles and let her fingers graze the tables. Her eyes are lighting up with joy. What a weird one. But this is the first time I’ve seen just an expression on her face. 

“This is the type of stuff you get excited about?” I tease.

To my surprise, she smiles at me. A genuine smile. It’s like the fear from earlier was non existent. Is she not worried being alone with me? She doesn’t know anything about me! I could be an awful guy, well I am a bad guy, but I’ll never force myself on someone. 

She doesn’t know that, but here she is. Leaving herself open and vulnerable to me.

“We all can’t be making big money like you, Hoseok. How can you live life if you can’t appreciate the small things?”

She wasn’t expecting a reply from me, seeing as she turned her attention back to the operation room.  She starts rummaging through the cabinets.

“Fresh and new tools, all with the potential of helping and saving someone. It’s thrilling.” She mumbles.

Is it? I think. 

“...to me.” She adds as if she could hear my thoughts. 

“You’ll have an assistant--”

“An assistant?” 

I hate when people cut me off. Let me finish my sentence. 

“Yes. She isn’t a surgeon like you, however she does know about lab work and pharmaceutical things…”

I go through the rest of the details. All the things I can remember from the file Jimin handed me earlier today. I pretended I didn’t see her eyes moving from up and down my body. 

It can’t be helped, I’m an attractive man. 

I take this time to get a good look at her face, feeling like I haven’t really looked at her time now. 

She’s not ugly, that’s for sure. 

“You are a part of this team now, I will hold you to the same standard as the others. I will treat you the same as the others. Do not--” She cuts me off again. 

She’s going to make this a habit. 

“--expect any special treatment because you are my soul mate. You don’t have to say that every day Hoseok. I’m not stupid.” 

Those puppy dog eyes she was giving me that first night we met told me otherwise. She has to be one of those girls that has a skewed preselection of her soulmate. Fairytale ending with Prince Charming. That unrealistic expectation is why people act so stupidly.

“Isn’t that how that soulmate thing works?” I retorted, “Once someone finds their soulmate they lose the ability to think straight? They throw out common sense and only make decisions based on their selfish wimps and wants pertaining to their soulmates?” 

A bitter aftertaste grows on my tongue after speaking those words. She’s quiet for a while. I watch her eyebrows scrunch up in confusion before she speaks again, “W-well that’s not me!” 

“Do not worry about any sort of feelings getting in the way. I am not swayed so easily.”

Sure. 

~!~

Bugging Y/n at working is starting to be something I look forward to. Her reactions are too funny. The grimace on her face as she slowly stand s to her feet and bows like the rest of her co-workers, making me want to laugh. 

You can always tell what she’s thinking by her facial expression. I dropped by the hospital for some paperwork, and decided to see if I could find Y/n around. 

Just to mess with her of course. She’s the one that wanted me to keep my distance at her workplace, so I have to do the opposite. 

“Are you still mad at me?” I say, noticing the curious looks from her co-workers. 

“Hello Mr. Jung.” She replies. 

“Hello, doc.” I take in her standing there in that awful white jacket, quite different from how she was dressed at headquarters.

“You really clean up nice for work.” I grin at her and manage to get a few light jabs at her before letting the cat out the bag in front of her co-workers. I know the gossip will spread around the hospital, and it’s for the best. I don’t want any of our conversations being questioned. 

If people see us talking at the hospital, they’ll just see it as flirting and a quick couple’s chat. 

After I took a seat, her friend Jennie was carrying most of the conversation. Y/n would just look at me with distaste and sigh, leaning back in her seat. It’s not till Jennie brings her back into the conversation that Y/n says something. 

The true displeasure Y/n was showing me came off as a cute couple bantering to Jennie. 

“Don’t let Y/n’s awful behavior scare you away!” Jennie exclaims. I lean in closer to Y/n, forgetting just how close out chairs were to each other. 

Oh, she smells amazing. Odd thing to notice but, when I got in close enough I caught a whiff of something pleasant. I placed a hand on her knee, causing her body to tense up and her eyes to widen.

“Thankfully, I don’t scare too easily.” I joke back to Jennie. 

Has...has Y/n never felt a man’s touch? She froze up like an inexperienced teenager. Oh this is too good! I move my hand up an inch and hear her let out a shaky exhale. I look at her and start to caress her thigh with my thumb. She shivers. 

I announce that I’m leaving and decide to really add the cherry on top. Since half of the lunchroom was already watching, might as well give them a show. My hand smoother slides from her thigh to the small of her back. I lean in closer, bringing my lips to her ear. 

Her warmth is...welcoming. 

“Doc,” I whisper. I inhale softly, taking in the alluring perfume she has on. 

“I’ll need you tonight.” I say a little louder. The gasps from the women listening in was exactly what I wanted. She shivers again. 

“Oh wow, was that a little tremble I saw?” 

She rolls her eyes and I almost want to laugh at the animated action.

“Doc, these little reactions of yours are so amusing...I can’t help but mess with you like this.” I reason.

“I can’t stand you.” She hisses back.

Oh if only she knew how that white coat of hers makes my skin crawl. I can’t stand it or her. But at least she’s proving herself useful.

I am barely out of the lunchroom when my phone buzzes in my pocket. Why does it feel like I can still smell Y/n? Like she left a lingering print on me.

I answer my phone, “Hello?” 

“We have a problem!” Taehyung shouts into my ear. I wince at the volume of his voice and quickly look at my surroundings. No one is really looking my way, so I lower my voice and continue down the hallway. 

“What’s up?” 

“The cop! The cop that has been trying to find info on Seok! We found her!” 

I raised my eyebrows, “That’s great Taehyung! What’s wrong with that?”

“She’s the one we hired as Y/n’s assistant.”

My power stride stopped immediately. Just great! Sometimes I wonder if my father made this many mistakes! How could that have gotten past me?

“We did a background check and everything. She was clean.” I said through clenched teeth. 

“She took on someone else’s identity! We did all we could! But at least we sniffed it out before she met you in person. What should we do?” 

I started my stroll down the hallway again, checking for anyone who may be listening in. 

“Do you have her? Like in your custody?” 

Taehyung is quiet, “Should we?” He drags out.

“Well she’s already seen your faces! She’s seen Namjoon! Namjoon has been seen as the bodyguard for Jung Hoseok, the CEO of Jung Funding.” I groan, pinching my nose and whispering the next order. 

“You gotta get her. I don’t know how, but you have to before they connect the dots. We don’t know how many team members she has helping her. But get her and bring her to the headquarters. We’ll have to get information out of her, then tie the loose end.” 

“Got it!” Taehyung says and the line goes dead. 

My dumbass forgot that I also told Y/n to come to headquarters, so we were standing there later that night discussing the black market surgeries she would be performing. Her shock to the tasks was confusing. Did she think she’d just stay around and patch us up? We don’t get hurt too often! If she’s gonna be around, I’m using her to her full potential.

“Oh the others are back!” She whips around to see Jungkook poking his head in. My eyes went wide just as Jungkook’s did. Fuck! They’re bringing the cop in! I hope they knocked her out. If she starts calling for help with Y/n here, it’ll make things more difficult. 

“Jungkook, is everything ok--” I reach out and spin Y/n around to face me. I pull her close to my chest. I have both hands on her shoulders and feel her tense up again. Is it that she’s never felt a man’s touch, or is it just me that she stiffens up like that.

“W-what was that about?” 

I told her to keep her eyes on me and she does. The look in her eyes catches me off guard. They're not fearful, but they don’t hold her regular annoyance. 

I ignore most of the questions she asks me as the guys the officer down the other hallway. I tuned her out some time ago but when I finally looked at her she said, “Oh wow.” 

“You seem to forget what my line of work is.” I jeer. I remove my hands from her shoulders and step back.

“I forget just how real your job is at times.” 

~!~

I strolled into the blue room, wearing some medical gloves. My eyes laid on Jiae, the undercover cop who was tied to the blue metal chair. 

“I forgot that I told Y/n to drop by.” I explained, seeing the questions in their eyes.

“It’s cool, we weren’t trying to interrupt your little date.” Jimin cooed, smiling widely. 

Of course the teasing begins. 

“It wasn’t a date. I was giving her the procedure files. “ I say, before turning to the woman who watched my every move in terror. 

Her mouth was covered with duct tape, and her eyes were bloodshot. The few moments of eye contact shook fear into her. She couldn’t have been any older 35. Her straight black hair was a mess, and sweat dewed on her forehead. Her eyes welled up with tears but it didn’t move me. 

My eyes moved back to Jimin who was slipping on his own gloves. It must be scary for Jiae. Watching these men she does know calmly put on gloves while chatting. She has no idea what to expect. 

“Make sure Y/n finds an assistant.” I muttered. Namjoon who was leaning against the wall scratched the back of his head.

“Why don’t we ask that Jennie friend of hers?” He suggests. I simply hum and nod, walking up to Jiae who trembled. 

“You almost slipped past us!” I yelled, grinning at her. I reach forward to peel the tape off her mouth. I do it slowly, and she exhales deeply before coughing. 

“Why are you looking for Seok?” I stood staring at the panting women.

“I-I can give you money if that’s what you want? Tell me what you want! Whatever it takes, I have people who can get it for you! You don’t have to protect Seok! I’m just trying to get to him!” She begs, rocking her body a bit. The ropes around her arms and legs must really burn.

“Who sent you here?” I asked another question, stepping even closer, “There is nothing you can offer us! I just want to know why you’re here and who sent you.”

She gulps, “I-I can’t tell you.” She moves her focus to the ground and I try not to snicker. This night is dragging out too long. I’m already in a bad mood, and I have more work awaiting me. I don’t have the energy to interrogate kindly. 

“Why are you here?” I growled again. 

“We’re just trying to find Seok! Please I won’t tell anyone.”

“Who is ‘we’?” Namjoon speaks up this time, “the FBI? CIA?” 

Jiae hangs her head in defeat, “We’re just a small detectives office! It was a stupid move and we weren’t aware of who we were up against. It took months to get this close to Seok, and I know you’re just following commands.”

“Ms. Jiae,” I call sarcastically, “I don’t know if you’re aware but outsiders don’t get to see Mr. Seok and live. Do you not know that?”  I cock my head, wondering if I should just let Namjoon take control. I’m at my wits end.

“I don’t even want to find him anymore! So if you could please--”

“But I’m right here.” I pout, and watch the realization grow on her face.

~!~

I walked into the lobby of headquarters to hear Jaehyun and Jennie yelling at each other. I tried my best to keep from groaning in annoyance. I knew their relationship before bringing Jennie to work with Y/n, but I was hoping they could overcome it. Jaehyun won’t be working with us for long. He’ll help us with this mission and probably with forging documents in the near future. 

My eyes settled on Y/n. I could only see the back of her head as she slumped back in her seat. She wasn’t talking,only watching the couple as they threw insults back and forth. 

I haven’t seen her in a few days. It seems things have gotten busy at the hospital, which is the only reason I didn’t bother to grill her for missing the meeting I called her to a few days ago. 

Unfortunately, I have become quite aware of her absence. Her glares and her teasing remarks have been a part of my everyday routine. It's obvious that she’s tired, so she'll fall asleep in no time. I

I took a seat beside Y/n, and she looked at me. She still smiles at me, though it doesn’t meet her tired eyes. She beams at me, and though she looked exhausted, it was clear that she was happy to see me. 

She’s...happy to see me?

“You look tired.” I said quietly. I wasn’t trying to be rude, but rather made an observation. Y/n understood, seeing as she laughed.

“Just say you missed me so we can move forward.” Her shoulders shook as she giggled, and the corner of my lips twitched, a smile threatening my lips. 

I guess...I missed her? 

Wait! No! I just noticed how quiet it was without her. Y/n was always bubbly and talkative compared to me. The guys love having her around. She draws out conversation and makes the gloomy atmosphere bearable. 

I take a look at the files spread out on the table, and tell Jennie and Jaehyun to settle down. The upcoming mission is important, and ends everyone’s part to work. Everyone including Y/n. 

I sat at home, wondering if it was smart to bring Y/n into this. I said from the beginning that I wasn’t going to involve her in anything that wasn’t black market medical work, but could it be avoided? 

The whole hospital believes we are a couple, and with the Charity Gala coming up, it wouldn’t make sense to not take Y/n as a date. However, I don’t want to parade around with her on my arm, as she has no idea what is going on behind the scenes. I at least respect her to not be so rude. 

Y/n shifted in her seat, leaning closer to me. She was paying attention to everything I was saying, but the expression was unreadable. Most of the meeting went well while I laid down everything in detail. I let Jin take over as he broke down more details of the mission but my attention was divided as /n moved closer and closer to me. 

Her head dropped on my shoulder and glanced at her to see her eyes closed. She fell asleep. I snicker looking back down at the document in my hand. My senses were overtaken by her shampoo and the light traces of perfume. She was warm, and my shoulder was growing hot. 

I stared at the printed words on the paper for a few seconds when I recognized the silence that surrounded me. Why isn’t Jin still talking?

My attention moves to the quiet people at the table. They were staring at me like I had two heads. My face scrunched up in annoyance and I glared at each person. I’m going to pretend i don’t know what’s going on.

“What?” I asked, my gaze moving to each face around the table. I noticed Jungkook who gave me a knowing smile, his cheeks lifted high as he grinned that bunny-like smile of his. The meeting went on, and soon Jennie was also asleep, her work schedule being as crazy as Y/n’s.

My eyes couldn’t help but stare at her and Jaehyun for a moment. The way Jennie naturally leaned on him, looking so comfortable and trusting of him. Jaehyun received all her affections, throwing an arm around her as she hid her face in his neck.

That’s probably the type of relationship Y/n was looking for. A person she can trust in and feel completely comfortable around. 

But...I don’t think I can think of a moment in which Y/n didn’t trust me. It’s weird. Maybe she doesn’t really understand how my job is?

“Vitals.” I heard Y/n mumble in her sleep before she shifted, her hand landing itself on my thigh. I tensed at the movement, my eyes staring at her hand as if it could move it away with my gaze.

It was now Yoongi that was voicing some concerns about the mission but I couldn’t focus. Her hand was palm resting carelessly on my lower thigh near my neck. I glance at her hand again and my own hand was itching, 

I wonder if…

I look back up at the papers in my hands and set it on the table as Yoongi continues to speak. I slowly brought my hand up to rest on my knee, not too far from her hand. My eyes move from Yoongi speaking to my hand. 

Maybe…..

I slowly inch my hand towards her, some of my fingers brushing her hand. As if Y/n could sense what I was doing, she sighs and readjusts herself, her hand moving to fall right on top of mine. I tune back into the conversation, the guys too focused on their points and opinions that they didn’t notice my attention was else. I shifted in my seat, sitting up a bit and Y/n squeezed my hand.

She moved with me, adjusting to me and sighing. This is...warm. She is warm and not so bad.

I look over at Jaehyun and Jennie. Jennie was still knocked out and leaning on Jaehyun. I wonder if...Y/n and I look as natural as they do.

The possibility of a real meaningful relationship has felt so unneeded and out of reach but….this is nice.

But I couldn’t meet the expectations that she’d have. Plus, doctors are crooked. Doctors like to say they became doctors to help people, but oftentimes they have the worst personalities. They have the biggest egos. 

~!~

“Boss, have fun!” Jungkook cooed. I rolled my eyes at him, looking over the last of the plans. I was at the HQ lobby and we all stood around dressed according to our roles in the mission. The car waited outside, but Jungkook was bouncing around me with a smile.

“This is technically a date!” He chimed. 

“I doubt Y/n sees it that way.” I replied. Jungkook clasps my shoulder and grins.

“I actually agree but, I think you should enjoy yourself tonight. We have the mission under control, just worry about showing Y/n a good time. I think you’ll realize that a future with Y/n isn’t so outrageous. You like her.” 

My eyes widen, “I like Y/n?” I laugh and look up at the ceiling in disbelief.

“Never that.” I added.

“It’s okay to admit it! I think you deserve to have someone for yourself! You can’t go around frowning for your whole life. The universe--”

“Don’t talk to me about the fucking universe.” I hiss. My harsh tone doesn’t phase Jungkook, he continues to speak.

“The universe doesn’t make mistakes!”

“You’re still saying that?” Namjoon chimed in as he walked towards us. 

I scoffed, “Jungkook is young, so he thinks it’s that simple.”

“It is that simple!” Jungkook fussed. It was quiet for a moment as everyone moved about. 

“Boss.” Jungkook called. His tone was different, the beaming smile was gone and a smirk sat on his lips. I was surprised by the change of tone from him.

I raised an eyebrow at him and he ran his fingers from his hair.

“Since you don’t like Y/n...can I ask her out?” The challenging tone had me staring at the younger man seriously. He stared back, his smirk growing wider.

“You’re not going to wait for your soulmate?” My voice was low, and undermining.

“Boss, do you not listen to me when I talk? I told you I’ve found her already, and she has a boyfriend, but that’s a different situation. You don’t like Y/n...so I can pursue her?” 

The tension was staggering, and the air grew heavy as we stared at each other in silence. Jungkook didn’t back down, cocking his head to the side. He’s serious?

“Come on Kook!” Jimin laughed, putting himself between us, “Boss, I’m sure he’s joking.” 

Jimin’s intrusion wasn’t enough to make us break eye contact. 

“You’re joking right?” Jimin says with a bright smile. Everyone had stopped what they were doing and watching Jungkook. Jungkook has never seriously challenged me on something. 

At this point, Jungkook is probably closer to Y/n than I am, so this development of feelings shouldn’t surprise me. 

Jungkook breaks the staring competition and smiles that normal gummy smile of his, “Of course I’m joking!” He exclaims. A unified sigh of relief is heard in the room, but not from me. The others let out nervous chuckles, but I narrow my eyes at Jungkook who’s smile doesn’t meet his eyes. 

The bunny smile is there, but the challenging look in his eyes remains.

That conversation with Jungkook was on my mind on the drive to pick up Y/n. Jaehyun trailed behind me with a different car. 

“Since you don’t like Y/n...can I ask her out?” 

He looked me right in the eyes and said that. I do forget that there are other men that have eyes for Y/n. That stupid Dr. Lee at the hospital has made it apparent that my presence didn’t deter him. I keep saying soulmates are a foolish notion, so when Y/n decides to move on, I’ll be okay right?

A strange discomfort is building in my chest as I think about it. A vision of Y/n’s smiling face appears in my mind and I sigh, almost defeated. I press my hand to my chest, the hammering of my heart clouding my thoughts.

“What the fuck.” I mutter to myself. 

“Sir,” The driver calls, “We’ve arrived.” I look around to see that we were in front of Y/n's apartment complex. 

When she makes her way out I can’t help but stare. I just knew that dress would be perfect for her. You’d think it was made for her and her alone. Her hair was styled simply and the make up was done simply.

She is...beautiful. 

Fuck. 

My eyes move along her body, from head to toe and once again. The slit on the dress with the draping neckline that showed just a little cleavage had me feel some type of way. 

I looked back to her face and wondered how my face looked at this moment because it felt like my throat was drying up and my hands were getting sweaty. 

I should tell her how good she looks. I should say ‘you look pretty’ cause saying beautiful would be too much right?

You look pretty! 

Ugh, what the hell Hoseok, are you a middle school boy? It’s Y/n! Doc! Just say something before this silence gets weird.

“We’re matching!” She announces, smiling widely. 

The corner of my lips twitch up, fighting a smile. When we’re in the car I’m speaking with Namjoon on the phone as he explains that things are set in place. Y/n sits beside me, not saying anything. She stares out the window unaware of my lingering gaze.

When I’m off the phone she makes some comments about my favorite color being green. She’s not wrong and It looks good on her so why not?

Strolling past the flashing cameras and into the venue, we were met by different people all turning their heads our way. My hand rested on the small of her back. I watched her eyes dart around the place at the rich people and celebrities that were about. This wasn’t her type of crowd and it was clear. 

I keep her pressed against me, noticing the goosebumps on her shoulders. Her chest is rising and following quickly. Of course she’s nervous. It’s already an intimidating event but also knowing about the crime that will take place? I’m sure she’s stressed.

I smiled at her actions, as it reminded me of a nervous puppy.

“Hey, look at me for a second.” I whispered. When she looked my way, her jaw dropped open for some reason. I smiled wider at the beautiful woman staring up at me.

“Look like you’re happy to be with me.” 

She beamed at me, that same smile of hers. She doesn’t have to pretend does she? Am...am I pretending?

Maybe I’m just pretending that this isn’t going to go up in flames like it did with my parents. Maybe I’m pretending like she didn’t have heart eyes for me since the beginning. I mean I am the soulmate she has always been waiting for. So when that spark is gone, would she still smile at me like this?

I take my hand off her back and she takes hold on my arm.

We weren’t left alone for long, different company executives approaching me often. Y/n listened patiently and would make small talk with jokes and puns. What was she nervous about? She’s a natural at this. I can’t even call her a social butterfly, she’s just a people person.

As I introduced her to some executives, she smiled beautifully and my arm naturally wrapped around her waist and held her close to me. We stood and spoke with quite a few people. I found myself glancing over at her every once in a while. She’d be too focused on the conversation to notice my stare, but when she did, she’d simply smile at me then tune back into the conversation. 

My eyes scanned the black, catching Jimin who was in disguise. I knew everything was going smoothly since I hadn’t gotten any text messages or phone calls since we arrived.

These two women were talking my ears off while Y/n tried to hide the glare on her face. She’s been throwing looks at women who eyed me. I chuckled as I watched the women shying away as Y/n put her intimidating gaze on them. 

A sigh sounded from Y/n, making the two female executives stop talking to look at Y/n. I used this time to make the women stop their ogling at me in front of Y/n.

“Are you tired already, baby?” I whispered in her ear. The name made her look at me in surprise. The close proximity of our face had to be making the female executives uncomfortable. Her lips parted and her eyes flickered down to my lips so quickly that I don’t think she knows she’s done it.

Fuuuuucccck. 

The night doesn’t end in the most peaceful. Even though the mission went well, I let my anger get to me.

“For once...it felt like you didn’t hate me.” She says honestly.

We’re standing on the balcony, looking up at the dim stars in the style. Y/n is a bit drunk, and her honest thoughts start to fall out her mouth. 

I’m left staring at the side of her face while she stays keyed in on the stars. The small smile on her lips did lessen the effect of her words. She sounded genuinely hurt.

“I don’t hate anyone.” I argued. And well that was a lie. I hate my mother and that stupid man. But Y/n thinks I hate her?

“Doc, I don’t hate you.” 

“But you hate soulmates and doctors.” She accused me. 

“Who told you that?” I snapped.

Y/n rolls her eyes, “What does it matter? I got the message.” 

What the hell? She speaks like she has me figured out. I’m not the most easy going and open but to hate her? She genuinely believes that? How can she tell me about my feelings? What cause I’m not the fucking prince charming she expected.

“What about you doc?” I start “Do you really like me?”

“Yes.” She says sternly. 

“You really like me? Or  do you like the image of a soulmate? The idea of a soulmate is what you like. I am not the picture perfect guy you dreamed of, stop trying to put me in that box.”

She looks at me, scrutinizing my face. I watched her eyes move all across my face, taking in every facial feature of mine. Her eyes were big, and honest. I know she isn’t lying to me. What does she have to gain from me? Y/n hasn’t hidden a single thing from me. 

“I do admit, I liked the idea of a soulmate. I liked the idea of meeting someone and just connecting instantly and understanding each other.” She said sternly. It’s just as I expected but I’m disappointed to hear her say it.

“My point proven.” But Y/n didn’t back down, still staring up at me.

“You were not what I expected. Your lifestyle is frightening and dangerous. You are cold, calculating, hard to read and sometimes scary. You’ve probably killed people and I’m sure committed many crimes. Hell, I sat here and played ‘couple of the year’ while the others robbed artwork.”

“Oh--” A voice said from the entryway. We both turn our attention to Jungkook who stared on with wide eyes. He wasn’t sure what he had walked in on, but he was hesitant to speak. The atmosphere was heavy and uncomfortable. Ugh, of all the times for him to walk in. 

The soft and caring look in Y/n’s eyes when she saw the boy was annoying to me. 

“Noona, I’ll be taking you home.” He announced, “Just let me know when you’re ready to go.” Jungkook’s eyes flickered between us, wondering what conversation had happened before he walked in.

“Thank you Jungkook,” Y/n’s voice wavered, “I’ll be right there.” She dismissed him. Jungkook gave me a pointed look and left. 

Y/n sighed, pushing her body off the ledge and standing straight. She smoothed her dress, and brushed off any possible dirt. 

She looked back up at me and flashed a sad smile, “Despite all those things. Your lifestyle, your crimes and your cold attitude ...I still like you.” She stared right into my eyes, that same soft and caring look she had for Jungkook before was there but...there was something else. 

‘Heart eyes’ the guys have been calling it. It’s as clear as day. 

“Really?” I laughed a bit to hide my discomfort. The way she gazed at me had me feeling...vulnerable. 

“Truly.” She confirmed, not daring to look away from me.   Y/n stepped closer to me and I watched closely, looking down as one of her hands found mine. She held my hand, stretched her head up and put her lips to my cheek. 

She just….kissed me? On my cheek? 

“Tonight was fun. Thank you Hoseok.” With that, she spun around and made her way back inside. Probably going to find Jungkook so she could go home. 

My heart is pounding in my ears. I can’t think straight. She kissed my cheek? She really really likes me? 

A person with such a sick job? I’m a fucking criminal! Did she forget? I kill people! I lie and steal! 

Who the hell would want to stay with a man like me? Like my father? My mother’s harsh words to me still sting like they were yelled at me yesterday.

●  ●  ●

I stood by my father’s hospital bed where he laid weak and fable. As a 16 year old there is only so much I can do while my mom yells at my father. My eyes darted to the doors behind my mother’s raging figure. Where is the hospital staff?

“Mom, what are you doing? What are you talking about? I don’t understand! Why would you be leaving?” 

She stared at me with tearful bloodshot eyes. Her face was red and she breathed heavily.

“Son, your mother--” My father’s words were cut off.

“I’m leaving Hoseok. If you don’t want out of this horrible way of life, then fine! I won’t subject myself to this! I found my soulmate, a normal man with a normal job.” She was yelling while fighting back tears. I stagger back, looking between her and my father.

“Y-you guys aren’t soulmates?” My voice comes out quietly and my eyes sting with ears. The sadistic laughter that left my mother’s mouth was chilling.

“I pity the woman who’s soulmate is a mafia man! This life is draining! I’m tired! In the start I thought love was enough but it just isn’t! It’s become a burden!” She threw her hands up in exhaustion. 

“Hoseok, if you choose this life just know that you don’t deserve a soulmate. Don’t put someone through the torture of not knowing if their husband will come home! Or dealing with random mysterious trips! You’re better off alone in this type of work? Do you hear me Hoseok? When you find your soulmate, run the other way! For her sake!” 

~!~

I sit in the hotel bed, staring up at the ceiling with my phone pressed to my ear. I am in Japan for not only underground work but investments. It’s been a pretty busy trip, and all while I’ve been here Y/n was clouding my mind. 

In the meeting with Jisoo about the Japanese part of our mafia network, Y/n was dancing in the back of my mind.

I know damn well it was wrong of me to travel without telling her. It’s been a week since I’ve seen her and I’m itching to see her again. I don’t know what I'm going to do or say when I see her, so I’ll figure it out when the time comes. It’ll be another 4 days before I’m back in Korea. So when I saw the missed call from Y/n I thought something bad happened, but the simple sound of her voice made my body tingle. 

Fuck my life. 

What am I gonna do about this? I think I’m getting a hard on just at the thought of her laying in her bed as she speaks to me. 

“Ok, cool. Umm...how much longer are you staying in Japan?” She asks softly. I joke to lighten the mood. It was probably only me who was feeling so heavy. It’s been a dry spell, and I can’t get myself to call one of my usually booty calls.

“Why?” I grin, “Do you miss me?” I chuckle knowing a swift denial from her when she speaks in a breathy voice.

“I miss you a lot.” She’s doing this on purpose, she has to be. I shift in my bed, hissing under my breath as I felt my dick getting hard. 

Oh she misses me huh? She’s probably laid up in her bed, sleep still on her eyes. Still smelling good like she always does. Warm like she always is, welcoming like she always-

The whole time we were speaking, my mind was wandering and my dick was bringing me discomfort. It’s hard and I have no one to ease the discomfort. Ugh.

“Y/n?” I called out my voice strained, “Whenever you start missing me, just call me.” 

Because I am definitely missing you. I hung up the phone and tossed it beside me on the bed, sitting up and seeing the imprint of the boner in my boxers. 

I pushed my boxers down and spit in my hand a few times before I began to stroke my length, thoughts of Y/n in the cute outfits she wears under that white coat driving me forward. As well as the way she looked the last time I saw her, at the Charity Gala. 

I think I'm losing my mind over here. What the hell is happening to me?

A breathy groan escapes my lips and moans of her name drip off my tongue. It’s a little shameful who just the sound of her voice invokes such a fire in me.

When did I get myself wrapped around her finger like this?

~!~

I look at the door for the 5th time, ignoring the yelling between those who were present. I’m finally back in Seoul after 12 days of traveling and I can’t lie to myself about the excitement of seeing Y/n again. 

After jacking off to the thought of her, I wonder how I'll be able to face her. I feel...weird about it. I wouldn’t ever tell her about it, since no sexual interaction has happened between us in the slightest. But my emotions have felt intensified by 10 these days. 

I also mean to talk to Jungkook about his words before the Gala. I need to make it clear that Y/n is off limits. She’s not my girlfriend or anything but, Jungkook needs to back off. I have to start driving her myself, and since Y/n says she likes me….she won’t mind.

“You missed her!” Taehyung sings from his seat, “You missed Y/n!” 

I only stare at the cheesing boy, before looking to Namjoon to start explaining the information he gathered. 

“Of course he missed her!” Seokjin called out, “he’s looking at the door every few minutes!”

“Boss is not in the mood to be teased,” Yoongi exclaimed before showing me a goofy smile. 

“Not by us at least.” Jimin jokes. 

The boys laugh collectively and I can feel my ears burning red. 

“Oh, his ears are read!” Yoongi observes fighting off his laughter. 

“They are!” The others chime in. 

“What happened Boss, did you have a naughty dream about Y/n?” 

“Did you get off to her?” 

“Have you finally realized your feelings?” 

They were all speaking at once and I could only keep my head down as my ears grew hot. 

I must say...it’s been a long time since the boys have openly made fun of me like this. 

“I’ve just been…” Their laughter trails off as I start to speak. 

“I’ve been feeling a lot of things lately.” I shrug to try to move past the awkwardness that came with the words. 

“Well duh!” Taehyung says, “You’ve probably just realized your feelings, and your little soulmate connection things are just now starting! Don’t worry boss, I doubt Y/n is going to care if you showed her more affection-- I’m sure she wants it.”

“L-let’s just change the subject,” I mutter, “Order some food for everyone, I’m paying.”

A cheer sounds through the room and I’m just glad the subject has changed. While Namjoon is speaking, Jin ends up calling Jungkook about what to order but my attention in tuned into Namjoon.

It’s when I hear a door opening followed by whistles from the guys that I knew Y/n was here.  I kept my eyes forward, while Namjoon kept explaining what he wrote on the blackboard. We were having a discussion on this when I heard her voice.

“Hey guys.” She greeted everyone. Namjoon even greeted her in return, looking at me while I pretended to be too focused on the blackboard. 

Soon she stood at my side, “Hey.” She says softly. 

“Hey.” I replied before looking at her head on. Beautiful as always. My eyes drop down her body and back to her eyes. She wore a fine yellow outfit, and I hope the jump in body didn’t translate onto my face.

I sat on the table and she stood, she was almost eye level with me. After asking about how my flight was, she kisses me on the cheek. I stare at her in surprise while she smiles in return.

“I’m glad you’re back.” She said. I narrowed my eyes at her, and my eyes dropped down to her outfit again. 

Damn, she has to be doing this on purpose. Even after she diverted her attention to Namjoon, I couldn’t help myself. She gave me a perfect view of her ass, I had the urge to be...close to her. Fuck I liked to have her under me screaming my na--

“Boss is looking hungry!” Taehyung sang, potentially pulling me from my train of thoughts.

“But not for food.” Jennie adds. 

I look back at some files I was supposed to be reading with a small smirk on my lips. My ears grew hot as they turned red.

“Cute.” She mumbles.

~!~

“Now why did you guys go and make her cry?” I said to the guys as they sat around the circular table. I sent Jennie and Y/n home after Y/n bursted into tears after hearing the contract the guys’ parents signed to be free of debt. I didn’t want to touch this subject again, but as I watched Y/n overwhelmed with sadness on my behalf, I knew I couldn’t ignore it.

“She asked us questions and we answered it.” Yoongi said softly, throwing a concerned look to Jungkook who was crying. 

“W-we don’t hate you Hoseok!” Jungkook sobbed, wiping his face with the sleeves of his shirt. 

I was surprised to hear my first name from him.

“A-and I’m not pursuing Y/n. It was just a small crush.” 

I almost had to laugh at the way he gargled his words while tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Guys, let’s not do this okay? We can just-”

“We don’t hate you hyung,” Jimin chimed in, shyly looking down at the table instead of looking at me. 

“Guys--” I’m cut off again.

“I am sorry hyung, I was angry with my parents. You didn’t do anything and it wasn’t right for us to shut you out like we did. We should have been your family and support at the funeral but we left you all alone. It wasn’t fair to you.” Taehyung stared at me with wet eyes. 

“You took care of us so well, a-and we didn’t realize the damage it caused! There is no hate for you anywhere in my heart.”

They went on like that for a while. I simply listened, taking in their words. Long monologues about how they were sorry and so on. It was nice to hear and it did ease me just a small bit.  When it was silent and my turn to speak. 

“I am not angry at you guys. It was lonely all these years. You guys were here but it was lonely.” Was all I could say, scratching the back of my neck. It’s uncomfortable to talk like this with them.

“Well,” Namjoon began, “We won’t let you feel lonely anymore hyung!” With those words Jungkook rose on his feet and charged towards me. I was pulled into a tight hug.

“I only like hugs from Y/n.” I joked, hoping the awkward feeling would pass. But soon I was in the middle of a huge group hug.

“Let’s take some baby steps and work up to hugs.” I muttered, resulting in a laugh from everyone else. 

~!~

The music was booming and the lights were a hot red, matching the hot atmosphere of the club. The bass of music was vibrating strongly and it was adding a small shake to the glasses of drinks on the table. Y/n and Jennie went to the dance floor some time ago, and the way she looked when she approached me was printed in my mind. 

She looked hot. I felt my blood growing hot and I couldn’t stop the need to get my hands on her. The urge to have Y/n close has grown intensely. I can’t say I'm a skinship person but with her, it’s different. I need her close, I want her close. 

The way she came in and took a seat next to me without any hesitation. I mean, where else would she have sat? Having someone by my side is...nice. Great even. 

I wonder if she’d let me drive her home. I’m tired of always having Jungkook do it. He told me his declaration to pursue Y/n was a joke, but I’m not going to let my guard down just yet

“Hyung, there are three of them. They’ve already noticed our presence so I expect one of them to approach us.” Jimin stated, “They’ll try to intimidate us. It’s the same pattern they’ve been doing at the last spots they hit.”

“I’m gonna ring up Y/n and tell her and Jennie to clear out of here soon, before things pop off.” I said reaching into my pocket to grab my phone.

“Look at you being a worried boyfriend.” Jimin cooed. 

I paused my movements before giving Jimin a curious look, “Jimin...how would you ask someone out on a date?”

Jimin’s toothy grin went into a full out mouth opening smile. 

“Hyung!” He yelled in excitement. I instantly regretted my question. 

“Never mind,” I dismissed, shaking my head,

“Wait hyung! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you!” He shouted. I barely heard him over the music but I simply nodded.

“I’ll tell you later, but I think with Y/n, just ask her to a movie or to dinner!She’s pretty chill.” He added. I stood up from my seat, ignoring his last words. However, I will be asking him later. 

With my phone in my hands, I scrolled through my contacts to find Y/n. I walked out from the seated pit area to find Y/n. My eyes searched the club, spotting a suspicious man stand near the edge of the dance floor. 

I spotted him briefly, moving my gaze off him naturally. I want him to believe I didn’t spot him. He’s clearly a part of the men we were watching.

I looked back to my phone and instead of texting Y/n, I text Taehyung who was already on high alert.

To Taehyung: Keep eyes on dude on the right. Far end of the dance floor. He’s up to something.

Just as I looked up from my phone, I saw Y/n approaching me. I couldn’t read the expression on her face, but it’s clear she was eager to get to me.

“Where’d you go? I was looking for you--”  I was cut off as she slammed into me, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug. It nearly knocked the wind out of me, but the display of affection left me smiling.

“Did you miss me already?” I chuckled. It was at the moment that I heard her labored breathing in my ear. Something is...off.

“H-hoseok.” She called out weakly. Her arms dropped from around me and she was putting all of her weight onto me. 

“Y/n?” I asked, shoving my phone into my pocket and wrapping my arms around her. The next thing I knew, I heard a terrifying scream, and looked up to see Jennie standing about 12 feet from us with a horrified look on her face. 

Something is wrong. 

“Y-y/n?” I called again. She’s not responding. She’s not talking. Her shallow breaths were all I could hear. The music was being tuned out and my heart was beating in my ears. My hands moved from her back to her hips and her side when I felt it. I froze as I realized my hands were...wet? 

I glanced down at my right hand and thought I could have collapsed when I saw the bright red on my hand. My hand pressed back to her side, putting pressure on where the blood was coming from. All this happened in seconds, but it felt like hours.

“Y-you’re bleeding? Y/n? Y/n!” My voice shook as I tried to get any response from her. 

“Taehyung!” My voice pierced through the music, and I turned my head to see the guys rushing towards me with Jennie walking up with tears in her eyes. She was asking me questions with her eyes but I didn’t have any answers. 

“Taehyung, bring the car around to the back!” I yelled.

“Yoongi, Joon go after those bastards! They couldn’t have gone far!” I’m yelling and everyone is moving. We’ve caught the attention of some people on the dance floor, as well as those sitting in other pits, but their curious stares didn’t mean a thing to me. 

“I’m...tired.” Y/n said, as if she was sobbing. 

I scooped up Y/n into my arms and made my way towards the back exit of the club. We had to push our way through the staff rooms and the small kitchen but we got through with no problem. Jennie was at my side, taking a clean rag she got while we pushed through the kitchen, and pressed it to the wound.

“Please Y/n.” I whispered, holding her closer to me. 

Usually such bullet wounds won’t cause all this worry, but with the amount of blood that was coming...it was scary. Even by my standards. Did the bullet hit an artery? That’s...that’s the worst thing that could happen. If an artery was hit, Y/n will die for sure. 

“Y/n? Stay awake for me.” I said again, as we made it out the back exit to the alleyway where Taehyung already had the big van parked. Jimin through the sliding door open and I stepped in with Y/n still in my arms. Jennie followed in after me. 

Jimin closed the door and hopped into the passenger’s seat before Taehyung took off.

Jennie was scurrying to do different things. Despite the blood on her hands, she took the towel and pressed it to the wound. She took my free hand that wasn’t wrapped around Y/n’s back, since Y/n is sitting on my lap, and placed it on the towel. 

“Keep pressure on it.” She instructed, before shuffling around the van, seeing as she was practically standing in the van. She was a bit bent over as she worked. 

“Call Jin and Jungkook! Tell them to have the surgery room ready. I need all the tools cleaned and disinfected. I’ve shown them how to do it.” Jennie orders. Jimin gets right on  and in that moment I was thankful that Jin and Jungkook wanted to stay back for this mission.

She was checking Y/n’s pulse and breathing, at some point pressing her ear to her chest. 

“How is she?” I couldn’t recognize my own voice. My voice was quiet, unsure and weak. Ugh so weak. I noticed Jimin look at me with obvious pity. 

Taehyung looks at me from the rearview mirror and I wonder what my face looks like at this moment. But I look at Y/n and frown deeply. The color is draining from her face, and all I can do is stare at her. 

It’s like watching the life drain from my father all over again. 

“Her pulse is….slow. Dangerously slow. I don’t think an artery was hit, but I don’t know Y/n’s medical history so it’ll be tough to figure out--”

“Jimin, find a way to get Y/n’s medical records.” I order.

Jennie seems shocked, “Hoseok it’s--”

“I have my ways.” I deadpanned, before looking over at Y/n’s face again. She’s not responding to anything and the only thing keeping my string of sanity from snapping was the rising and falling of her chest. 

We arrived at the headquarters and rushed in. 

“What happened?” I heard Jungkook cry as we rushed in. I went with Jennie, straight to the surgery room, thankfully to see everything set up. 

I set her down on the table as Jennie rushed to wash her hands, threw on spare scrubs over her outfit, and washed her hands a second time, disinfecting then throwing gloves on. 

“Out.” She ordered. 

“What? I--”

“Out! I got this Hoseok! I promise! She will be fine!” She stared up at me. My eyes moved back to Y/n who was laying there looking….ghostly. I looked back at Jennie and nodded before making my way out the room.The door was still open. Jungkook, Jin and Taehyung watched, all with worried eyes. 

I looked at Jennie once more as she started tearing the clothes off of Y/n. To respect her privacy, we all looked away. I stepped out the room and shut the door, leaving the guys and I in a heavy silence. 

My eyes are trained on the ground and my thoughts are moving rapidly. 

“Hyung--” Jungkook started, his face turning red as tears bubbled in his eyes. I glanced down at my legs, the fabric sticking to my body because of the blood that had begun to dry. My hands were covered in red and the sight disgusted me. 

Blood hasn’t bothered me before, but it being Y/n’s blood left me sick. What if she dies? 

I can’t keep anything good in this life can I? It was careless of me to think that I could bring her along while working. What the fuck was I thinkng? 

It was a stupid move on my part so I--

“Hyung!” Jimin’s voice took me out of my thoughts. I was so zoned out that I didn’t notice I was now in the middle of a circle. Jimin, Taehyung, Jin and Jungkook all stood around me in concern. Jin reached out to place a hesitant hand on my shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Jin asked. He stared at me seriously, scrutinizing my response.

“I…” I trailed off and looked towards Jungkook who held eye contact with me for all of 3 seconds before he started crying again. I could only look away from him and back to Jin.

“I’m going to go take a shower.” I answered before stepping out from the circle. I walked out from the circle and past the circle table before walking down the hallway. I stopped at the silver door and stepped into it. It was our regular clean up from. You walk in to see what looks like a huge closet. Different shirts, uniforms and more. I walk over to a small sink in the corner and wash my hands swiftly. 

I actually washed my hands three times, feeling like the red wouldn’t go away.

When looking for disguises, we come here. I walk through the room, unbuttoning my shirt and throwing into the trash bin. I don’t think I could wear these clothes again. I take off my shoes, my socks, pants and boxers before grabbing a towel not too far away. I throw it over my shoulder, feeling a little weird standing in the room completely naked. 

I walked towards the second door in the room which led to a bathroom with a shower. Two separate and private showers. I hung my towel up in arms reach and stepped into one of the glass shower squares. The water was cold when it hit me, but I needed it. It felt like my whole body had been on fire for the past 30 minutes.

I took both my hands and placed them on the grey tile wall as the water grew warmer. I closed my eyes and stood there for a while. The water fell onto my hair and all down my face but I was trying to steady my breathing. My heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest.

I grabbed my loofa and took a nice long shower, trying to keep my mind empty of any others. I stepped out of the shower, dried off and wrapped the towel around my waist. I looked through the closet area and found a simple black tee shirt and joggers. Got refreshed and put on the clothes and some nike slides before stepping out into the hallway. 

When I stepped out to the lobby Yoongi and Namjoon had returned.

“Boss, we--”

“You weren’t able to catch them, I figured.” My tone was a bit harsh and I felt bad after saying it, but I’m sure they understand how stressed I am right now.

“I’ll catch them myself.” I muttered, looking towards the closed door of the surgery room.

The room is quiet again. 

“It’ll be hours till she’s done so you guys can head home. I’ll keep you updated.” I announce and sit in a chair with my arms folded. The guys seemingly ignored my suggestion, cause I closed my eyes to think, and hear their shuffling. 

About 30 minutes passed till I opened my eyes again and they were still there, also sitting with me.

I closed my eyes again, and didn’t open them till a tired Jennie stepped out from the room. I don’t know how much time had passed, but all the guys were sluggish in their movements cause they were half asleep.

I sprung up from my seat and looked directed at her. It was like the whole room was holding their breath. 

“She’s stable. She’ll wake up in a day. I did everything right.” Jennie breaks out into a smile, tears welling in her eyes. 

~!~

It’s day 5. 

Y/n has not opened her eyes. I’ve sat there staring at her unmoving body for days. She’s not waking up, she’s responding or even giving us a hopefully foot twitch.

My angry eyes turn to Jennie who has unfortunately become the target for my anger. I feel bad, I really do but, Y/n should have been up days ago. None of the tests Jennie does shows anything wrong with her.

Yesterday I was yelling profanities at Jennie, asking her repeatedly if she’d done everything correct. I don’t know much about surgeries but I know a bullet to the hip or thigh area shouldn’t cause someone to be out this long! 

I had already apologized to Jennie for the 3rd time and each time she was understanding. Everyone was worried. Jennie still had to go to work at the hospital so when she was gone, I just sat here in the hospital room, listening to the heart monitor beep. 

When Jennie arrived, we exchanged a knowing look before I made my way out the room. And that’s how I ended up here. 

I am at a familiar cemetery, staring at my father’s tombstone. It was on the father end of the cemetery, leaving a lot of space between it and the other tombstones.

“Jung Yunseok.” I read out my father's name. I sat down on the grass so I was facing his tombstone and like always I speak my mind.

“Dad, it’s been a while.” I say quietly. I look up at the sky for a moment. The sun is starting to set, leaving the sky a calming orange. Not too calming for me, but it’s pretty to look at.

“Work has been hectic. Y/n...has been distracting me. I don’t know if that’s how it was for you and mom-” I paused. The mention of her leaving a bittersweet taste in my mouth.

“How did you balance work and your personal life?” I chuckled to myself, “I didn’t think I’d like Y/n, so I brought her into my work world right from the start. What a stupid decision.”

“Because of my stupid decisions Y/n is laying there looking like a corpse.”

I stay quiet for a moment. 

“She’s not like mom...at least I don’t think she is. If she was getting tired of me, she’d tell me. Every time she sees me, she looks at me with these bright eyes. She’s always happy to see me. No matter what. Could it style like that forever?” 

“She did jump in front of a bullet for me.”

I run my fingers through my hair, “You and mom weren’t soulmates, so that plays a part into everything turning to shit but...Y/n and I are so if the universe doesn’t make mistakes like everyone says...she wouldn’t get tired of my lifestyle?”

“Would it be messed up if I took a step back? To clear my head?” I nervously rub my hands together before letting out a lengthy sigh.

“You always said when I’m confused, I should take a step back and see what my options are. But I know what they are. I can’t pretend I don’t like her, so it’s either I try this relationship thing 100% or I back off completely.”

The wind howls and the leaves rustle in the wind. I narrow my eyes as the wind causes tears to well up in them.

“I’m gonna keep my distance to gather my thoughts. No more decisions made off unsure thoughts.” I mutter. 

My phone dings in my pocket and I pull it out to see a text from Jungkook.

Y/n woke up. She’s asking for you. 

I read the text over and over again before locking my phone. 

“Remember how I’d always say something was serendipity and you’d always say it was destiny.” I giggled at the memory.

“Well, serendipity is a good thing you’re not expecting or looking for. So meeting Y/n was serendipity for sure...I just can’t be sure if it’s really destiny.”

I stand up from my spot on the ground and brush off the dirt on my pants. 

“I’ll let you know how things go dad.” I mutter, “Whether it’s good or bad.”

~!~

“We will discuss it another day Mr. Robins. For now, I will not raise the amount.” I said as I stood up from my seat at my desk. I stepped out of my office and down the hallway, wondering if I could get a few more kisses from Y/n. 

Stupid work call interrupted us.

“Okay Mr. Jung. Sorry to call you past work hours and happy birthday” Mr. Robins said before the line went quiet. He hangs up just as I walk out to the lobby. Jennie, Jaehyun, Yoongi, Taehyung, Jungkook and Y/n laughing. Everyone’s attention turned to me as I walked in, Y/n’s gaze being the only one to linger a bit. She smiles at me before looking back at Jennie who was telling some story.

“So I’m standing at the check in desk, getting files from one of the nurses…” Jennie is sitting down at the table with Jaehyun sitting beside her. Everyone was seated except for Y/n and Jungkook who were standing next to each other near the table. 

“He walks up and at first nothing looks wrong cause he’s his hand behind his back.” Jennie continues with her story as I walk up placing myself on Y/n’s other side. I could put my arm around her, or would that be too much? 

Don’t want to look like I’m eager, but I am. 

As if my internal conflict was heard, Y/n slides an arm around my waist and leans into me. 

“I’ve heard this story a few times, but it’s still funny.” She whispers up at me with a smile and turns her attention to Jennie again.

“He says, ‘My hand just hurts a bit.’ So I tell him to write his name down and wait. So this guy brings up his hand that is wrapped up and is literally bleeding like crazy and I’m just staring at him like what the fuck?” Jennie going on.

“Does stuff like that happen a lot?” I whisper to Y/n.

“Oh yeah,” She whispers back, “All the time.”

“I ask him, sir, what happened to your hand? He says, in the calmest voice ever, ‘my circular saw split it in half while I was doing woodwork, and we all just stare at each other. Me, the nurse and the calmly bleeding man.”

I laugh as she explains further, “It was like a scene from ‘The Office’. I looked at the nurse, she looked at me, we both looked at the man and started shouting ‘GET A STRETCHER, I NEED NURSES ON HAND.’ It was horrifying.”

“So what happened to him?” Yoongi asked.

“We stitched up his hand and he was out of there a day later. But he was so calm, that we the doctors had to do the panicking for him,” 

The conversation went on with weird topics and I just listened, laughing when someone said something funny.

“Awww,” Taehyung suddenly cooed. Oh no. 

“Look how cute Hyung and Y/n look!” He put his hands to his cheeks and giggled. 

“That’s my cue to leave!” I groaned, stepping out of Y/n’s hold. 

“Wait Hoseok, don’t go! Let us gush over how cute you two look!” Yoongi joined in. 

“I have more work to do anyways!” I yell back as I head back to the hallway. 

“Y/n,” I say, realizing she isn’t following behind me, “let me know when you’re ready to go. I’ll drive you home.” 

She looked surprised but nodded, “Okay.” 

I waltz down the hallway and stop at the blue door, punching in the number code on the lock and opening the door enough to pop my head into the soundproof room. 

I laid my eyes on the three men who sat tied to a chair, with duct tape on their mouths. Only two of them were awake, the dried blood on their face and cloths evidence of when we brought them in.

They panicked as they saw me, but I only shook my head. 

“Oh don’t worry, I'm not finishing up today.” I say before looking into the hallway again to make sure Y/n isn’t coming.

“Honestly,” I start sarcastically, “I really hate the whole torture before killing thing but...you shot my girl, so I guess we all have to deal with the consequences.” I flash a smirk before stepping back and closing the door once again.

My girl. 

Has a nice ring to it. 

♠----♠----♠-----♠

Whew! 15k! My goodness what a long chapter! So let me know what you think! Do you think you understand Hoseok better? 

Was it what you expected? And the things that were going on that Y/n, didn’t see...what did you think about that? Let me know what you think!

:))

[forthemorefortunate]

Live Like Animals

Nessian Modern AU

Merry Chris-  er, happy New Year to my secret snowflake!  @ncssian 💕😅

I hope you like the fic! I’ll be honest, when I filled out the application for the secret snowflake, I said I could make a fic believing that it was very unlikely somebody would ask for one 🥴🤔 But lemme say, I LOVED writing this, which is definitely something I didn’t expect. More than that, I’ve never been much of a Nesta or Nessian fan, but actually thinking through their characters and interactions for this fic gave me a whole new perspective on and appreciation for them (even if I’m not the best at writing their characters, aha), so thank you!

A few quick things about the fic:

(Ik I already told you this, but for anybody else reading this aha) This is my first fic! So please take it easy on me 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

Okay so this part is kind of weird, but there’s kind of a corresponding playlist 😅 Each part is named after a song. You can play the songs while reading or not, I know for me personally (*cough* my ADHD ass) it’s hard to listen to music and read at the same time. The title is also the name of a song! Except that one is more random, haha (I couldn’t think of a title, so I shuffled my entire library and chose the first song as the title, and it kinda worked so I went with it)

One more quick thing – thanks to @moussescientist @ko0mbayamylord @blxckbeak @chanberry @mikitheswiftie @potatoburp @dead-on-the-inside666 @queenoffortunes and two anons for answering a question, and a HUGE thanks to Skye, @oneoutofamillionbooklovers for all your help and for roleplaying the parts I got stuck on with me ❤️

Part 1: Distant Early Warning (Rush)

Nesta pulled the dress over her head, letting it slide into place over her body. Screw this, she thought for the millionth time, yet she continued to get herself ready, turning to glance at her reflection when she was finished. She raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly at the woman looking back through the mirror. The woman Nesta spied had on a satin slip dress, darkest blue. She wore no jewelry save for the small silver studs in her ears, and her hair was pulled into a neat-yet-simple updo.

Why Nesta even agreed to go to this party she didn’t know. There was nothing different about it, just another college booze fest. The music would be too loud, the air too heavy, the guys too grabby, and the company too... clubby. Feyre insisted that she would fit right into her friend group – her clique – but Nesta wasn’t sure she wanted that. She padded over to the door of her apartment. No, Nesta was quite certain that “fitting in” with Feyre’s newfound friends was something she didn’t care for at all.

Nesta’s phone buzzed on her kitchen counter as she slipped on a pair of black heels, and she picked up to Feyre’s forcibly perky voice. “Hey! We just pulled up, you coming?”

“No.” Response blunt, tone dry. The line was silent for a long moment, and Nesta held in a sigh. “Did I give you the impression that I was interested in coming?”

“Nesta, I’m not in the mood for fucking around,” Feyre said, perkiness mysteriously faded now. “It’s just one party! I promise you’ll have fun.” Bullshit.

“Since when have I ever-”

“And everyone else really wants you to come, too!” Feyre cut her off, “Rhys is excited to meet you!”

Rhys. Feyre’s boyfriend. Nesta groaned inwardly, truly dreading any interaction with the rugby star. Feyre had immediately caught the eye of the local heartthrob, and the two began a serious relationship shortly after meeting. And with one came the others. In high school they would have been labeled “popular.” They were quite possibly the closest group of friends at the college, almost all of them having known each other since childhood. And Feyre had slipped right in among them. Nesta had warned Feyre against making the tight pack of fourth-years her main group of friends, and she had her own opinions about a freshman dating a senior, but Feyre didn’t make a habit of following Nesta’s advice. Rather, she seemed to think she could give Nesta – a third-year – much more valuable guidance. Domineering bitch.

“I don’t give a shit about your friends, Feyre. I’m only coming because of our deal,” Nesta said. Feyre had been pestering her all semester, spewing crap about how Nesta and Feyre should spend more time together. Nesta should get out more. Nesta should tag along with Feyre’s friend group. Nesta should have some fun. 

More bullshit. 

As second semester began, Feyre had proposed a deal: Nesta would go to one party with Feyre and her buddies, and if she honestly didn’t enjoy it, Feyre would stop asking her to join them. 

“I’m on my way. Let’s just get it over with,” Nesta grumbled, and with that, she hung up the phone and opened the apartment door.

Part 2: Can You Afford to Be An Individual? (Nothing but Thieves

Nesta looked around the group of fourth-years–plus Feyre–arranged in front of her. Introductions were unnecessary; you couldn’t attend this school without knowing who they were. Her eyes fell first upon Rhys, his arm around Feyre’s waist. His chin lifted slightly as she made eye contact. Rhys: double major in history and foreign policy. President of the astrology club. Captain of the rugby team, possibly one of the best players the school had ever seen. He was the group leader, though nobody said it aloud. Nesta knew him well. Perhaps she only knew his type well, or her own perception of his type, but that didn’t keep her from holding his gaze a few moments longer than would be comfortable. Then she turned her scrutiny on his sidekicks, so she called them, Cassian and Azriel. The former wore jeans and a baggy black jacket over his rugby uniform in the school colors: black and red. The latter wore black pants with a dark blue button-down shirt untucked.

Cassian smirked as her eyes met his. “Glad you decided to make an appearance,” he drawled. She narrowed her eyes at him, and his smile widened in response. Cocky bastard. Azriel, double majoring in political science and criminology, simply nodded at her in greeting.

After the sidekicks came Rhys’s cousin Mor, an architecture major with a minor in design. She was entirely too peppy in a way that left Nesta exhausted, but Nesta wouldn’t give her satisfaction by scoffing at her cocked hip and half-grin, ostensibly projecting confidence. She held Mor’s stare, matching her asserted confidence with a cool security in her own assets. The half-smile twisted, just slightly, and Nesta moved on to the short girl farthest to the right: Amren.

Amren scared people. As in, people were genuinely freaked out by her. Aside from a few cultish tendencies, her occasional propensity for violence and/or verbal outbursts, and her sharp expression, though, Nesta couldn’t tell why. Amren majored in gemology and minored in linguistics, and was the only one in the group other than Feyre to have not known the others since they were little. In fact, she was studying here from abroad, though nobody actually knew where she was from. Unlike Mor, Amren presented a confidence that Nesta could believe in and respect. Nesta maintained her chilled posture, but let the bite in her expression retreat.

As for Feyre’s introducing Nesta, that was unnecessary as well. They all knew her; most upperclassmen did. Or rather they knew of her, by the name of heinous bitch. If she were being honest with herself, she didn’t mind the nickname.

“Okay,” Feyre started, her voice expectant as she tilted her chin to look at Rhys’s face, “Let’s head in?” Feyre, Rhys, and Nesta had met up with the rest of the group in the parking lot before they entered the party. Fashionably late, Feyre had told her on the drive in Rhys’s tesla. Rhys taught me that the key to maintaining his public image is in making grand entrances. God, Nesta wanted to laugh at Rhys’s influence over her.

As they entered the building holding the party Nesta immediately stiffened, and had to close her eyes for a moment against the harsh blue and purple lights cast by PAR cans. All senses at once were smacked by the presence of weed. The floor was vibrating, and speakers blasted near-deafening music so that all Nesta could really hear was thunder. Jesus Christ, I hate parties, she thought. A mass of sweaty bodies shifted and bounced through the too-heavy air ahead of her, some only silhouettes in the murky haze, through which Nesta saw red solo cups littering every possible surface. Suddenly she noticed Feyre standing next to her, fidgeting with her clutch and looking over expectantly. Nesta shot her a withering look that said, “This is not what we agreed to.” Feyre had the nerve to look guilty.

“Okay before you say anything,” Feyre began, “I know that look, and... I know this is a bit bigger than we talked about-”

“A bit?! This is a rager, Feyre. Do I look like I rage?”

“Okay no, but I promise Rhys and I have a plan.” Oh my God.

Nesta gave her another glare and plucked a cup off a nearby table. Sniffing it, she sighed and took a big swig. “Please, my dearest sister, do tell.”

“We’re going with a buddy system.”

Nesta coughed. “A buddy system – are you fucking kidding me?” She spied Rhys and his dickhead friends in the corner of her eye. “Wow, are arts and crafts before or after beer pong?”

Feyre rolled her eyes, calling a fresh wave of frustration to roll over Nesta. “Can you shut it with the attitude, Nesta? I already apologized for the crowd of people – it kind of got out of hand. Rhys told me before we left but I didn’t want to scare you out of coming.” She gave Nesta a pleading look.

“Tch, whatever. Who’s my buddy? I assume you’ll be with Rhys?”

Feyre beamed at her. “You’re paired up with Cassian!”

“Cassian.” Great. Alpha dickhead.

“Don’t be like that. He knows his way around these things and he’ll keep you from accidentally overdosing or blacking out.” 

“Who said that wasn’t my intention?” 

Feyre scrunched her face up. “Either way, you can’t deny that he’s bigger and taller than half the creepy guys here. He’ll keep unwanted attention away.” 

Nesta watched as Rhys, lead hulking rugby bro dickhead, caught sight of her sister and eyed her with what might have been lust or love – Nesta couldn’t decide. Cassian, approaching from Rhys’s side, cut Nesta a slow, purposeful look down and back up to her face. She felt an annoying tingle down her spine as the crowds parted for them. This was going to be a long night.

Part 3: Inhaler (Foals)

They had been at the party for less than ten minutes and Nesta already wanted to leave. Drink in hand, she aimlessly wandered around the outskirts of the crowd, hoping to find a place to sit farther from the lights that drowned out any rational thought that flashed through her brain. Cassian trailed a few steps behind.

“So, what do you do for fun?”

She twisted around to glare at him. “Why are you talking to me?”

Cassian puffed out a laugh and spread his arms wide, responding, “If you don’t recall, we’re kind of stuck together, darling.”

Right. Nesta rolled her eyes. “How could I forget?” Cassian left the question hanging, still following her, so she forged on. “I like to read. A concept that’s probably foreign to you.” She dodged a young couple parting from the fray to make out against the wall, and paused to reorient herself.

“You might be surprised.” Nesta groaned inwardly and arched a brow. “Oh I have no doubt.”

“None at all?”

“What. Are you on volume seven of Captain Underpants?”

“Volume eight, actually.”

Nesta stopped. She was pissed. Pissed at this party, pissed at Feyre for lying about how big it was, pissed that she was stuck with rugby bro sidekick, pissed that the purple lights suddenly seemed a lot brighter, the music a lot louder, her thoughts a lot fuzzier. “Look, Cassian. I only came here as a favor to my sister. We’re not friends.” He started to cut her off, but she continued, turning so that they fully faced each other, “You don’t have to stay, I can take care of myself.”

He leaned in close, the laughter in his tone suddenly gone. “Listen, princess. You’ve had two beers and you’re already tipsy. I get it, we’re not friends. But there are at least four guys looking at you like they want to take you against the nearest surface and I’m the only man within a thirty-foot radius that has any self-control. There’s no way I’m leaving.” He held her gaze firmly.

“So that’s it – I’m just supposed to trust you? My knight in shining armor, here to protect my virtue? That ship sailed a long time ago.” Fuck it. “I wouldn’t mind taking you for a ride though,” Nesta said, flashing a smirk at the end.

Cassian’s lips twisted into a half-grin, but she could see annoyance rising up in his eyes. “Nesta, you don’t wanna play with me.”

“Brute.” Nesta turned and started walking away again.

“Bitch.” He followed.

Nesta scoffed. “How original.”

“Not all of us are English Lit majors.” 

Somehow Nesta tripped on her own foot at that moment, staggering sideways into Cassian’s path. He lunged forward, arms going around her waist to hoist her upright. Her lip curled and she spit out, “And not all of us are rugby stars,” and shoved her way out of his arms.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Cassian asked, incredulous.

“Cassian, I’m sure there are plenty of girls here that would love your attention. But I’m not one of them.” She turned around to face him, walking backwards, and almost tripped again. “So go on and play with someone else. I don’t care. Just leave me alone.” With that, Nesta thrust herself into the fray, pushing her way through the mass of shouting people, making the crowd a barrier between herself and Cassian.

Part 4: Emergency (Nothing but Thieves)

After five minutes of random college students bumping into her from every direction, her head pounding and thoughts muddled, Nesta realized she didn’t know which direction the exit was in. Fuck. She was disoriented and exasperated, her frustration now showing in her usually unshakable expression. She couldn’t even tell which direction the light was coming from. How many beers had she drunk? Two? Three? She wasn’t usually a drinker, and it hit her then that she hadn’t eaten for hours before the party started. Stupid, she thought. This was why she didn’t do parties.

She was so distracted trying to figure out where the light source was, trying to get her bearings at least, that she didn’t catch sight of a brooding figure wending its way toward her until the man had a hold of her wrist and was pulling her to the side of the room, wherever that was. 

“Hey! Get the fuck off me!” Nesta shouted over the crowd, but couldn’t get a response from the man until they found one of the cinder block walls.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice cruel as he tried to pull her closer. “We’re just having a bit of fun, that’s all.”

“Excuse me?” Nesta ripped free of his grasp, but he backed her into a corner. He had a drink in one hand. Not good.

“Hey, hey, no need to get worked up,” he drawled, “I saw the way you were looking at me.” Looking at him? Nesta thought. This was the first she’d seen of him.

Nesta tried to step to the side, but the man followed her, his senses keener than hers in her condition. He reached out for her arm again, and Nesta shouted this time. “Don’t touch me!”

He put his hand up as if in innocence. “Come now, I’ll make it fun for you. Just have a drink.” He brought the cup toward her face, his hand now reaching behind her head, which she snatched away.

“I swear to God, can’t you bastards understand that no means no?”

“You-”

“Get the fuck away from me, creep!” She aimed a kick at his groin, but he easily dodged it.

His mouth hardened into a line, and he growled, “Just take the damn drink, bitch!”

The man shoved her into the corner, her head hitting the wall. He brought his hand up to hold her back by her shoulders as he brought the cup up toward her lips and-

“Let me go or I promise you’ll regret it.” Last resort. 

He shot her a crooked grin and began to reply, but whatever response he had in mind was cut short.

A voice from behind him said, “And she never goes back on a promise, asshole.” The man was wrenched off her body by two strong hands, and pulled over to the side to give her an out, which she quickly took advantage of.

And there, dragging the man away from her, was Cassian.

The creep tried to play it cool. “Hey, Cassian, bro, what’s up, man?” he said mock-casually, “I caught your last game! great playing, dude!” His demeanor shifted completely as he turned on his bro mode.

Cassian’s jaw was set. He tightened his grip on the man’s shoulder, his stare withering. “You need to leave. Right now.”

Yet the man kept going with a smirk, “It’s all good bro, we can share.” 

That was a step too far.

Cassian grabbed the man’s shirt, pulling him close. “That’s the thing – I don’t share. I don’t play nice.” Cassian thrust his face forward so they were only a couple inches apart. “You said you caught my last game, right? So you know I don’t go down without a fight. Touch her again and you’ll regret it.” With that, he shoved the guy into a table, and turned to Nesta. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Part 5: Before We Drift Away (Nothing but Thieves)

Dizzy and shaken, Nesta let Cassian guide her through the crowd to the exit. Once they were outside in the cool night air, he pulled her aside, gaze dark.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No.”

“Did he force you to drink whatever was in that cup?”

“No.”

His eyes closed and relief flooded across his face. “Good. God, some people are fucked up. I don’t know what I would have done if he had drugged you, or taken you away, or...” He trailed off, leaving anything further than that unsaid. 

They were silent for a minute. Nesta looked up at him, a bit of worry still etched across his features. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you care so much?”

He looked over to her, something strange in his expression that Nesta couldn’t place. “I don’t know. You’re a human being, and your safety was left in my hands.” He paused and looked away. “If I’m being honest, when I saw that guy put his hands on you... I don’t know. Something flipped inside me.” At that moment he looked down to her bare shoulders, noticing that she was beginning to shiver. “You’re cold,” he said softly. “Here, take this.” He removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, even when she protested.

Nesta frowned as she gave in and pulled his jacket tightly around her, annoyed at the way her body betrayed her. “I don’t need protection. I’ve lived a long time without people to care about me.” She started walking toward the parking lot, and he followed.

“You shouldn’t have to live like that, Nesta. You’ve been pushing me away all night, but listen to me – don’t you understand? I’m not just talking to you because I’m bored. I don’t smile at you as a game, as if you’re some prize for me to win. Can’t you see by now that I’m doing literally everything I can just to stay by your side? Damn it, I asked Feyre to pair us together at the party.”

Nesta had stopped walking and was speechless for once.

Cassian stepped closer tentatively, as though she’d back away. He ran a finger over Nesta’s wrist and looked up to the sky. “Please, just don’t make me say anything else completely insane. I promise I’m not in the habit of sharing intense moments with perfect strangers.”

A rush of anger coursed through Nesta, and she shoved him back. “Don’t,” she said. “Don’t talk to me like that. Despite what you must think, I’m not an idiot. I’m not naive. I am well aware that this is all a favor to my sister. Stay with my lame, antisocial sister. It might be fun, right?” She paused, any restraint she had used earlier having completely abandoned her.

“That’s not what I think at all, Nes-”

“Fuck you, Cassian.” She shoved him again, more aggressively this time.

Cassian caught her wrists and pulled her closer. “Try that again.”

Nesta glared. “Bite me,” she spit out.

“Maybe I will.”

And as though drawn to her by some gravitational force, Cassian’s mouth came crashing down onto hers. He wrapped his arms around her waist, seeming to lift her off her feet. Nesta’s bare skin burned where Cassian touched her, and she pushed back against his touch to gain control. Everything, every thought was fading to nothing. Biting down on his lip drew out a low groan from Cassian, and Nesta broke free.

Cassian put his hands up as though to make a barrier between them, as though he wouldn’t be able to control himself without it. 

“So much for being the only man with self-control,” Nesta said. Cassian just shook his head, earning a light snort from Nesta. “I shut everyone out--even pretty jocks like you. Don’t take it personally. It’s just easier.”

Cassian smiled his easy smile, and he reached up to touch his lips with a thumb. “You think I’m pretty?”

Nesta scoffed. “The prettiest.”

He stood there for a moment, just smiling at her, before turning back toward the parking lot. “Okay, princess, allow me to introduce you to the pinnacle of after-party activities.”

Nesta raised a brow, and Cassian let out a bark of laughter.

“Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m talking about pancakes.”

She looked skeptical. “Pancakes?”

“Yes. And after the night you had, you deserve an entire plate of them.” Cassian reached out to her with his big, warm hand, and Nesta hesitated.

“Cassian-” She started warily.

“Hey – I’m not asking you to marry me, it’s just pancakes.”

Nesta waited a moment more, then took his hand. “Fine. But I’m not sharing the chocolate sauce.”

“I wouldn’t dare ask you to. Besides, you already know how I feel about sharing.”

Nesta smiled a bit. “Hey Cassian?

“Yes Nesta?”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

[sunsetinmyvein]

You Pick a Fight - P2

Eyyyyy it’s prompt time. I have since forgotten what prompt’s @imagine-that-100​ gave me from the prompt list for this part two, but hopefully you enjoy it anyway. :P

And I was right, because it wasn’t over. The pool incident was just the start of much more bickering and fighting over nothing that was set to come during the months between Matty and I. We hadn’t known each other all that well prior to that day, but it definitely set the bar for future interactions. Being argumentative and stubborn was just a habit neither of us could break, much to all of our mutual friend’s annoyance. It might’ve been on the verge of immature, since we were both pushing thirty, but neither of us cared. And we never really meant it. Grudges about stolen floaties were not held for long. It was a rare occasion that we genuinely made up and said sorry, but typically by the end of the day we had either forgotten about it or played some prank on the other to feel avenged about our wrong doing. Over the course of many months of arguing and pranking, Matty and I inevitably became closer. Realistically, Matty was probably one of my best friends by this point in my life. We saw each other at least a couple of times a week for various reasons and I enjoyed his company (mostly). But that wasn’t going to stop me from trying to constantly one-up him and make sure I destroy him any time he challenges me to anything. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? You gotta know your opponent’s weaknesses to best exploit them.

 However, tonight was our regularly scheduled movie night. So, more than likely no arguing would be occurring tonight. The movie had already been picked by democratic vote by the group, which meant there would be no debates about that. Everyone was bringing their own snacks, nothing to fight over. And we rotated who hosted, so no arguments there either. This week it was Matty’s turn. Last week when it had been at my flat, we had picked a comedy movie to watch and ended up receiving a noise complaint from my neighbour about us being “too rambunctious”. I was hoping that we wouldn’t have the same issue to deal with this week given Matty’s much thicker walls. I was cutting up a tray of brownies that I was graciously bringing to share - one of which may or may not have been spiked with cayenne pepper just to spite Matty for last week when he mixed my bag of skittles with m+m’s - while I replayed the events of last week. The details of the movie were actually a bit of a blur, because after the few drinks that I had downed after a rough day at work, I recalled falling asleep. When I woke up, I found myself snoring on Matty’s shoulder. God, that was utterly embarrassing. Other than my snoring, to wake up cosying up to Matty? I’d rather be caught dead. But I must have been too distracted by these memories, because as I was cutting, I slipped and managed to slice open my thumb with my new knife.

  I felt the cut the instant it happened, bracing myself for what I might see before I looked down. Sure as shit, all I saw was a lot of red. The first thought to run through my head was that my brownie plan was ruined. I couldn’t serve brownies that had been doused in blood. The second was that I absolutely needed to seal this wound as soon as possible. I raced to the bathroom, grabbing a roll of gauze and wrapping it around my thumb as tightly as I could. Do I call an ambulance? No, this wasn’t an ambulance sort of emergency. Emergency, though. I should go to the emergency room. Now. But I had to let the guys know I wasn’t coming. I could see the gauze starting to turn red as I searched my phone for Matty’s contact. Fuck, I felt so bad for bailing on this movie night given it was our regular thing, but this was really not good. Really, really not good. The phone rang twice before he picked up.

  “Hey-”

“Look, I need to go to emergency.” I interrupted in a garbled rush.

“What?” He shouted down the line.

“I need to go to hospital, so I’m not gonna make it tonight.” I explained, slightly slower.

“What did you do?” He asked in an incredulous tone.

“I sliced my thumb open cutting brownies.” I just heard him laughing. “It’s not funny, Matty. I need stitches.” I frowned as I started to grab my essentials. What if they wanted to keep me in overnight? Oh my god, I was absolutely not prepared for something like this. I should have a go bag. Is that a thing normal people did? Have a go bag in case they accidentally injure themselves? Maybe smart people did.

“Do you need me to drive you?” He offered as I was contemplating what exactly I would put in a go bag.

“What? Uh, no. I’m okay. I think.” I rattled off.

“I’ll meet you there.” I heard him say. He what? Why would he want to come to the hospital?

“Wait. No, you don’t-” But he’d already hung up.

  Before I left the house, I slapped another few layers of bandage over the gauze on my thumb to try and put some pressure on this cut that was apparently bleeding like a tap by the rate it was turning things red. Driving to the hospital with a thumb as fat as mine was with all the bandages wrapped around it was not easy to say the least, but I managed to get there in one piece. Once I had gotten there, paid for my parking, and then managed to check myself into the ER, I was able to take a seat and decompress slightly. But, the peace and quiet didn’t last long, because not even five minutes after I sat down a familiar face entered through the sliding glass doors.

“Good job.” Matty said as he approached, with a slow clap for emphasis.

“Don’t patronise me.” I scoffed.

“Show me.” He said as he took a seat in the uncomfortable plastic chair next to my own.

“It’s okay-”

“Just show me what you did.” He dismissed.

“I mean, I can’t really take this stuff off-” I gestured to my half blood-soaked bandages, “-or it’ll bleed worse.”

He let out a low whistle as he raked a hand through his curls. “Bloody hell.” He muttered under his breath, before glancing up at me. “Pardon the pun.” He added with a smirk.

“Shut up. It’s really not as bad as it looks.” I lied. I was trying to play it down, to pretend like I hadn’t briefly seen how deep that knife went, but I knew that this was definitely very vital that I see a doctor very fucking soon.

He met my gaze, clearly seeing the stress I was trying to hide. “You’re not very convincing.” He chuckled.

  Despite my protests about him wanting to wait with me, Matty continued to ramble on about what he had done earlier in the day while we sat in the crowded waiting room. He also told me not to worry about cancelling on the movie night, and thanked me for trying to make brownies. If only he had known what his brownie was going to taste like. But at least he was distracting me from the weird sensation in my thumb. After about half an hour, I was called through to be seen by the nurse - which realistically just meant that I sat and waited in another room for a further ten minutes until I was finally seen by someone. When she walked in, she introduced herself and asked for a run down of the situation as she started gathering some supplies. After I had explained what I had done, she started moving towards my giant wad of bloody fabric.

“I’m gonna look away.” I warned the nurse, she just nodded in response. I felt her unravelling the bandages on my thumb, trying really hard to busy myself by studying the vision tester chart on the wall. She let out a quiet hum as she analysed the situation.

“All right. I am going to put some glue on this now to hold it, but we are going to need to anaesthetise you to properly sort this out. Is that okay?” She asked in a calm tone. They were going to knock me out? It was bad enough to need to be knocked out for?? Holy shit.

“Um, yep.” I nodded. “I suppose it’ll have to be.” I added with a nervous laugh. “When will that be?”

“As soon as they can get you in. Likely in the next few hours.” She answered.

  When I came back out of the nurse’s station, I sat back down and told Matty what they had said.

“They need to sedate you?” He asked in shock.

“I’ve apparently done quite a number on myself.” I could feel the stress building up as the realisation set in. Oh my god. I had cut off my thumb. I had cut off my thumb and now they needed to reattach it. Holy fuck. Holy fuck.

“Hey, calm down.” He reassured, placing his hand on my shoulder. “It’ll be all right.”

“But what if it’s too late? What if I cut too far? What if-”

Thankfully, Matty interrupted my downward spiral of anxiety. “They would’ve told you if that were the case. They’re going to operate, so it must be fine.” He moved to take my good hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing mind as I nodded in agreement. At least one of us was the voice of reason right now. “When are you going in?” He questioned, seeming genuinely sympathetic.

“They said as soon as possible. I just have to wait here until a theatre frees up.” I replied. He just nodded thoughtfully. “You should go back to the movie night.” I said, eventually feeling guilty that he’d already been sat waiting here for an hour.

“No.” He shook his head as he rifled through his pocket. “You want some gum?” He asked, holding a packet out in my direction.

I looked down at them apprehensively. “They’re not some ridiculous flavour, are they?”

He laughed loudly. “No, I threw the wasabi ones out.”

  It was another hour before I was finally called through to get ready for theatre. Now I was genuinely feeling pretty awful that Matty had been here this whole time. We had well and truly pushed past dinner time, he’d missed the movie, our friends were all sat at his place without him. He can’t have been having a good time stuck here with me.

“Okay, I gotta go in.” I said as I stood up.

“I’ll be here when you wake up.” He smiled up at me from his seat.

“Just go home, I’ll be fine.” I said as I gestured to the door.

“No.” He grinned.

“Go.”

“No.” His dark brown eyes bore into mine, clearly challenging me to push him further on the subject.

“I hate you, so much.” I grumbled as I heard the nurse call my name again.

“I love you, too.” He said, blowing a kiss for emphasis as I walked off.

  The doctors all reassured me that the operation was going to be quick and easy. Knock me out, stitch me up, wake me up fifteen minutes later. Easy peasy. I had never had any issues with operations, being knocked out was easy. It was the stuff you had to be awake for that was hard. True to their word, when I saw the clock when I started coming to, it had been no more than half an hour than when I last checked the time. But my god I felt groggy. My brain felt like it had been replaced with a bunch of cotton balls and my eyelids might as well have been made of lead. I glanced down at my thumb, seeing a much smaller pile of bandages on there, that were now thankfully not soaked in blood. That was nice. I then caught sight of the man sat next to my bed.

“Hey, you’re up.” Matty said quietly as he stepped over. As soon as he leaned over the bed frame, the fluorescent lights above him just illuminated his dark, curly hair. Holy shit. It looked borderline angelic. “How’re you feeling?”

“Your hair…” I mumbled as I reached out my good hand to touch it.

He seemed surprised by my actions at first, before letting my run a hand through it. “What about it?” He asked with a quiet laugh.

“It’s really soft.” I answered, genuinely quite surprised by how nice it felt. “Has it always been that soft?” I felt like I had been missing out. I could’ve been touching this hair for nearly a year now and instead I had been swapping his shampoo for ranch dressing and perfume.

  Matty seemed keen to indulge my anaesthesia haze, letting me bother him with all of my weird questions about his hair. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy. I did a lot of mean shit to him and here he was, sat with me in emergency all evening instead of hanging out with his friends. After the pranks I’d pulled, I likely didn’t deserve a friend like him. But he’d pulled them on me too. We were a pretty good pair, I suppose. And I had no idea if it was this lighting or what, but dare I say, Matty was looking pretty attractive today. Had I really just been so focused on butting heads with him that I never noticed these things before?

“Are you sure you really look this good? I feel like I must still be dreaming.” I said, pretending to shield my eyes.

He frowned, before the realisation dawned on him and his eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Are you flirting with me?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged.

“Don’t use cheesy pickup lines on me.” He chuckled.

“How else am I meant to pick you up?” I scoffed as I rolled my eyes.

“Are you trying to?” He asked as a smile slowly made its way onto his face.

“Maaaaybe.” I said in an attempt to be non-committal, but then my curiosity got the better of me. “Is it working?”

“I’m gonna remind you of this when you’re properly out of the anaesthetic.” He just looked amused. Not the reaction I had hoped for. But I was too tired to keep trying to come up with clever lines.

“Okay.” I muttered, nodding softly. “Gon’ sleep now, though.” I added.

“Rest up.” He agreed. “You’re gonna need all the energy you can get to deal with me giving you shit for this tomorrow.”  

Part one

Part three

[word-scribbless]

Impatient

Masterlist

Derek Morgan x reader (no mention of gender)

———

Youhad been headed to your shift at the hospital where you were a nurse when a car swerved into your lane. You was run off the road, alive, but unconscious. You was rushed to the ER. Luckily your best friend was already on shift and knew exactly who to call!

Derek and you had been together for over a year now. You had spent time with his bau family, he had met all you work friends. Granted the first time Derek met you was when he was shot and admitted to the hospital, so he knew a lot of your friends from that.

Katie, your best friend tried to open your phone to get derek’s number, however your phone was crushed in the impact. Instead she turned to then internet, eventually finding Aaron Hotchner’s office number.

“Hotchner” he answered gruffly.

“Hi Agent Hotchner, this is Katie. I’m Y/N Y/L/N’s best friend, I’m trying to get in touch with Derek Morgan .” She says, trying not to sound frantic as you sit by her friends bed side worrying.

“Katie, is everything okay?” Hotch asks noticing her tone.

“Y/N has been in an accident, stable, but hasn’t woken up yet.” Kate sniffled “Y/N’s phone broke in the crash and I can’t find Derek’s number, but i think he needs to be here.” She admited.

“I’ll get him there as fast as I can! Thank you Katie!” He said quickly as he goes to find Derek.

“Thank you” She said hanging up.

“Morgan!” Hotch calls walking out of his office.

“Yeah” Derek answered looking up from paper work.

“Listen, I need you to stay calm!” He said carefully watching Derek stand up and already jump into panic mode. “We have to get to the hospital, y/n was in an accident.” Hotch tried to continue, but Derek was already running out the door.

“Derek!” Hotch said turning him around. “Y/N is okay, but unconscious. Katie says everything is stable, but you need to be there. I’m driving!” He finished and began to move toward the elevator again.

“Thank you!” Derek breathed out, trying to stay calm.

***

An hour later, Morgan sat next to your hospital bed. Katie and Reid had been keeping him company. After hotch had been called back to the office he sent Spencer to be with Derek, knowing better than to leave him alone.

Derek hadn’t let go of your hand since he got there. The doctors had come in and told him you would be okay, but he still couldn’t stand to be away from you for any period of time.

Spencer and Katie had gone to the cafeteria to get them all some coffee when Derek heard his phone start to ring.

“Hey baby girl” he wearily greeted Penelope.

“Hey gorgeous, hows our love ?” She asked

“ still out, doctors say y/n will make a full recovery though.” He sighed as he brushed the hair away from your face for the 100th time since he got there.

“I’m so glad to hear it! Y/n will be up soon! I’m sure of it. I’m headed over soon, can I get you anything?” She asked

“Yeah I have a huge favor to ask you baby girl.” Derek said taking a deep breath

“Anything!” She answered

“In my top desk drawer there is a black ring box, I need you to bring that with you, please.” He said bracing himself for penelopes shrieks.

“WHAT!?! DEREK MORGAN YOU BOUGHT A RING AND DIDNT TELL ME?!?” She yelled

“Yes baby girl I bought a ring. And I know this isn’t the perfect timing but, I can’t wait any more pen. I need y/n to be mine.” He admitted quietly.

“I’ve got it, I’m on my way!” She said excitedly.

“Breathe baby girl! You may look at it, then get that little butt over here okay?” He laughed.

“Oh thank god” she sighed.

As Derek hung up the phone he felt you squeeze his hand. He jumped up from his spot and leaned over her.

“Y/N, baby wake up for me! I need you to wake up sweetie.” He said almost in tears

“Hi handsome” you choked out wearily.

“Oh baby! Thank god! You scared me so bad!” He breathed kissing every part of your face.

A nurse quickly came in to check you over before leaving them alone again. Derek hasn’t let go of you hand, so you used it to gently tug him back for a kiss.

“Hey” you cooed lifting a weak hand to cup his face.

“Hmm” he responded

“Yes” you said smiling. Making him give you a confused look.

“Yes to what baby?” He asked.

“Yes to being yours for the rest of our lives, yes to the ring, yes to marrying you Derek.” You said as happy tears start to run down your cheeks.

Derek is speechless at the fact that you heard his conversation.

“Baby you didn’t even let me ask!” He laughed as he leans in to kiss you.

“I’m sorry! You know I’m impatient! Go ahead!” You urged him on.

“Y/N I don’t even have the ring with me! Penelope is bringing it.” He said

“But Der I don’t wanna wait anymore!” You said wiggling around trying to grab something of the bed side table.

“Hey slow down baby, what do you need?” Derek asked putting his hands on you shoulders stopping your movements.

“The soda bottle!” You pointed.

Derek picked it up and looked at you baffled.

“Okay now unscrew it and take off the little plastic thing.” You smiled and he did as he was told. Taking off the cap he pulls the circular plastic piece off the mouth of the bottle and setting the bottle back down.

“Okay?” Derek said smirking

“Now ask me!” You insisted, beaming up at him.

“With this?” He questioned earning a nod from you. “But baby I have a ring! A perfect ring!”

“But der I don’t want to wait! Just use this as a place holder until the ring gets here!”

You begged and he couldn’t help but laugh.

You were perfect he thought. Sitting before him in a hospital bed begging him to ask you the most important question he could with a piece of trash instead of the ring he spent weeks picking out. This however just made him even more sure of how much he wanted you.

He raised an eye brow at you and you nodded, practically begging him to go on.

“Okay.” He said taking her hand “ Y/N before I met you I didn’t know what it meant to love someone, and now that I love you I don’t know how I lived so long not knowing. Baby when I got the call that you were hurt my whole world stopped. I don’t think I could survive in a world with out you in it and I don’t want to ever find out, so y/n y/l/n, baby will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?” He asked. You both had tears in your eyes that were locked on each others.

You nodded excitedly “yes! Yes Derek I’ll marry you! I want nothing more than to be yours for my whole life! Ring please!” You laughed and he rolled his eyes as he slid the soda bottle ring onto your finger. He quickly pulled you in to a deep kiss.

As you pulled away Spencer and Katie walked back into the room with Penelope in tow.

“Hey your up!” Spencer exclaimed “and you’re both crying what’s going on?” He asked.

“We’re engaged!” You said as you held up her left hand with the bright green plastic ring on it and smiled.

“What!?! Penelope said

“Finally” katie yelled

“It’s about time!” Spencer agreed “ but I’ve gotta say the ring looks a lot different than it did at the store!” He laughed.

“Really Derek, you couldn’t wait? I have the ring right here!” Pen laughed.

“Oooo gimme!” You sang as Derek took the ring box from her.

“For the record, I was going to be patient! This one over heard me and couldn’t wait!” He laughed as he replaced the plastic ring with a beautiful diamond one.

“As much as I am in love with this ring!” You said wiggling your fingers and watching the ring shine. “I would have said yes if it didn’t exist at all, as long as I get to marry you!” You said pulling Derek in to a hug.

“You guys are so cute it hurts!” Penelope said as they all came to congratulate the happy couple.

[a-solitary-marshmallow]

Please Don’t See Me - Chapter 5

This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but I didn't want to split it up! It was written in a hurry because I was excited to get it out to y'all, so let me know if I've made any typos or mistakes. As always I adore your comments so feel free to tell me what you think.

______________________________________________________________________

“You should come down to Gravity Falls!”

Ford didn’t quite think about the words before he blurted them. His close (and only) friend from college had mentioned in their weekly phone call that he and his family were thinking about taking a holiday from his would-be small computer business, and Ford had reacted without thought.

He laughed nervously, leaning back against the kitchen counter. Rebus padded through the kitchen with the click-click-click of claws that Ford had become accustomed to over the last month.

Ford cleared his throat. “If you want to, of course. I would love to show you some of the research on anomalies I’ve been doing, and I think Tate and Emma-May would like it here. I have plenty of space in my house.”

“Well sure Stanford, if you don’t mind.” Fiddleford said cheerfully. “I’ve been meanin’ to visit for a while now. Course, I don’t wanna get in the way o’ yer research if you’re busy.”

“Not at all.” From the other room Rebus let out a bark, and Fiddleford squeaked.

“What was that?”

“Oh, just my dog. There are probably some Manotaurs passing by.”

“Ya have a dog? When did that happen?”

“A month or so ago. His name is Rebus.”

Fiddleford huffed out a laugh. “Well, at least ya got yerself some company. That dog sounded mighty fearsome; ya sure he’s safe? I don’t wanna bring Tate around if e’s gonna bite.”

“Oh, Rebus is a sweetheart.” A savage growl issued from the other room. “He’s great with kids. When he accompanies me into town he will often play with the children in the playground.”

Rebus growled again, a growl Ford was reasonably certain was aimed at him for daring to imply that the wolf had a heart. Not that Ford had been lying – the kids in town loved Rebus and he delighted in running around with them while Ford ran errands. He was a veritable gentle giant.

“Tate would love him.” Ford continued, unconcerned with the wannabe threat display. The stubborn wolf reminded him of his brother sometimes, all bark and no bite.

…except when he did bite.

“If yer sure.” There was rustling on the other end of the line. “That sounds like a mighty fine idea, Stanford. I’ll have to check with Emma-May, of course, but I’d love ta see some of these anomalies you’ve told me about. Check that yer not crazy, at least!”

“I assure you, these things are one hundred percent real. You’ll be able to see for yourself.” Ford assured him.

“Does Friday afternoon work fer ya? We figured we’d go on the weekend so Tate doesn’t miss much school.”

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll prepare the spare room.” Ford said excitedly. “It’s been quite some time since I had company.”

“Ah – Stanford?”

“Yes?”

“Exactly how long has it been since you talked to someone?”

“A few hours.”

“Other than yer dog I mean.”

“Oh, only a week or so.”

There was a pause. “Was that ‘someone’ me?”

“Er…”

“When was the last time you talked to a human being aside from myself?”

Ford laughed nervously. “Ah, it seems the connection is breaking up I’ll call back another time-”

“Stanford-”

“Say hello to Emma-May for me bye!”

He hung up.

 Stan heard the car approach first, the approaching rumble of its engine dragging him from a light doze in that ever-illusive pool of light in the hallway. His ears picked up and he let out the beginnings of a warning growl at the intruders.

That was, until he remembered that they were supposed to have visitors. He yawned and stretched, slightly annoyed at having his nap interrupted but more curious to see who it was that Ford had been expecting. Being the local canine, people didn’t usually run names and stuff by him.

All Stan had been able to tell was that whoever was coming Ford was pretty excited to see them, judging by the way he had hustled and bustled to prepare the spare room. It had been pretty nice, these past few days, to just chill and watch Ford buzz around the place. In those years apart he’d missed Ford’s relentless energy; the way he bounced on his heels when excited, and the little flapping, and the excited gleam in his eyes, the way he could never quite hold still. It was pretty hilarious to watch the nerd get all wound up.

God, Stan hoped it wasn’t a family member. If Pa walked through that door…

Maybe it was that guy Ford was always calling, Fiddlesticks or something? Seemed likely. From what Stan could tell, his brother had a maximum of two friends. And one of them was a wolf.

He padded out to watch Ford open the door for… a small family? The man shook Ford’s hand while the woman chatted and held a small child on her hip.

“It’s great to see you again, Stanford. Thank you for letting us stay in your home.”

“Oh, it’s no problem, I have plenty of space.” Ford assured her.

“And Fiddleford said you had a – oh sweet Mother Mary-”

Stan was used to the usual ‘Oh my god is that a wolf?’ song and dance. He stepped forward and wagged his tail helpfully. Scaring kids and dames was only funny when you were trying to scare them. When you weren’t, it got old pretty quick.

The strange man leaned down and hesitantly offered one hand, and Stan allowed himself to be petted. Show of goodwill, and all that. The guy was short and twiggy and he smelled of engine grease and metal and root beer and straw. Stan decided that he liked the guy. The lady, too. Her suspicious gaze had mellowed out and now Stan could see the smile lines around her eyes. The kid, however, seemed… sticky.

Aaaand the kid had fussed to be placed down and was now trying to touch Stan’s tail. He whisked it out of reach but the sticky brat was laughing and already chasing after it.

Oh, hell no. Kid wanted to get its grubby mitts all over his coat? Think again. Stan darted out of its way and weaved past the adults to try and throw it off. Ford didn’t even try to help, the smug bastard.

Alright kid. You think you got stamina? Let’s see about that.

 The kid.

Would not.

Stop.

Tate, as it turned out his name was, seemed to have boundless energy. The two kept up their game of cat-and-mouse all afternoon until Stan flopped on the porch, panting for breath. Tate squealed and rushed forward to bury his hands in Stan’s thick fur.

You win this round, pipsqueak.

A part of him wanted to place the kid on a high shelf where he couldn’t get in the way, and leave him there. Another part of him… wanted to lick his face and wag his tail. C’mon, mighty hunter and all that! Stan was supposed to have more dignity than like… a Labrador or whatever.

His traitor tail wagged anyway.

Ford and the dame, Emma-May or something, stepped outside to join them, Ford glancing over his shoulder and biting his lip as he went. Stan wondered idly where his nerd friend was.

“Oh, don’t worry, Fiddles hardly ever electrocutes himself!” Emma-May said cheerfully. “He’ll be done with his tinkering in no time.”

“…I was worried for my toaster.”

Emma-May flapped her hand. “Oh, it’ll be fine. I think he said something about making it like ours.”

“How has Fiddleford improved your toaster?”

“I dunno, but it has a lot of blinky lights and sometimes it smells like burning sugar!”

“…I feel like you’re trying to be reassuring?”

Stan should probably be on the lookout for smoke. He scented the air and got a whiff of something like burning plastic from inside…

…and curdled wrongness.

He wrinkled his nose. The air smelled weird and it was vaguely familiar, like he’d smelled it before, but never this strongly. There was something oily and metallic and… squirrelly?

Stan shook Tate’s clingy hands from his coat and stood to scan the house yard. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. But it just didn’t smell right.

The faintest scrape of claws on wood made him snap around. There – clinging to a house support and evidently trying to climb up to the roof was what might have once been a squirrel. Emphasis on once. Its front limbs were bulkier than the back ones with claws like tiny steak knives buried into the wood grain. Its fur hung off in patches and it was big – more raccoon-sized than squirrel-sized. The extra weight seemed to be giving it grief because it was struggling to make headway.

Fat bastard, Stan thought petulantly.

“Err – Stanford?” Emma-May piped up. “What on god’s good earth is that?”

Stan glanced across to follow her pointing finger. Apparently he wasn’t the only one to notice the thing.

Ford squinted and stepped closer to the rodent, which started hissing around overgrown teeth like a stepped-on snake with a lisp. “It… it appears to be another mutated creature. I’ve been finding them around the place since I got here. My hypothesis is that they’ve been somehow affected by the size-changing crystals in the forest.”

“The what-nows?”

Ford’s eyes brightened. “Oh, in the forest there are natural crystal formations that, when light is shined through them, have the ability to change an object or organism’s shape. The majority of the mutant sightings have been around that area. I’ve been meaning to investigate but a freak blizzard recently ruined my plans. Now, if I can just capture this specimen here…”

“Throw a blanket over it?” Emma-May suggested.

“Perhaps. I have a number of size-appropriate cages in my shed, would you mind keeping watch over the creature while I retrieve one?”

“Sure thing.”

Ford went to walk past but the movement seemed to startle the squirrel, which launched itself wildly into the air and latched onto Ford’s sleeve, scurrying up his arm. He yelped and flailed. Fortunately Emma-May smacked it and sent it flying. Unfortunately it skidded across the ground and took off towards where Tate was playing in the grass.

Fortunately, that was also where Stan was.

He lunged forward and snapped up the rodent in one bite before it could get close to the kid. Its tiny body gave out with a single, pathetic crunch. Weird-tasting blood exploded in his mouth.

Ford coughed. “Well.”

Stan spat out the creature, wrinkling his nose. The thing tasted – wrong. Like its blood was tainted with seawater and oil slick with an added hint of burning rubber. He spluttered and swiped at his tongue to try and get rid of the rancid flavour.

Ugh, were squirrels so corrupted by the weight of their sins that it seeped into their blood?

“Is it dead?” Ford asked curiously. Emma-May walked over to scoop up her child and prod the body with her shoe.

“Depends. Can these mutant things live with a snapped spine?”

“Dead, then. Still! It’s a specimen to study. I’ll get – oh, I suppose I won’t be needing that cage anymore.”

 Nothing blew up that weekend. Stan took that as a win.

The McGuckets were… a different sort of folk than he was used to. They smiled so easily. Those two dopes of parents looked at their kid like he was the moon and the sun and everything in between, like they wouldn’t kick him out onto the streets no matter what dumb mistakes he made. Damn. Imagine that.

The Sunday night before they were set to leave Emma-May retired to bed early and Fiddleford and Ford settled onto the couch to talk, with cans of beer in hand and Tate playing happily with his Legos. Stan dropped onto the carpet to keep a watchful eye on the little brat. The fire crackled softly and cast a warm light across the room, its heat pressing against his fur.

A month or so ago he would never have let himself relax like this. He would be watching the window, ears pricked for any sign of…

Huh. He couldn’t remember the name of the man chasing him. When he thought hard there was a flash of scarred hands and packets of white powder and the taste of blood in his mouth. That’s right, the guy Stan had used to run drugs for a few years back, the guy who was now after him. Why couldn’t Stan remember his name?

Ford and Fiddleford’s murmuring rose slightly above the crackle of the fire and the clinking of Legos.

“-ya mean Shermie?”

“No, my… other brother. My twin, Stanley.” Ford said quietly.

It took Stan a moment to remember that that was his name. He rested his chin on his paws and tuned into the conversation.

“Ford, ya never told me ya had a twin.”

“No, I probably didn’t. You see, Stanley and I parted on… unpleasant terms. I haven’t seen him in almost a decade.”

“A decade?” Fiddleford squawked. “Why in the blazes not?”

“It’s complicated. Fiddleford, do you remember when I told you how I was rejected from West Coast Tech?”

“When you were drunk outta yer mind and I had to drag ya back to our dorm? Yes, I do recall.” Fiddleford said dryly.

“Yes, well. It was Stanley who sabotaged my project. He insisted it was an accident, but…” Ford sighed.

“Why do you bring him up?” Fiddleford tipped his head. Ford sighed and pulled off his glasses to polish them on his sleeve.

“I was hoping to get your advice, actually. Recently he’s been coming to mind more and more. I thought that, perhaps, he might have grown up over the last decade, and it might be worth getting in contact and seeing how he’s doing. Do… do you think people can change that much?”

Change. Had Stan changed much? Except for the whole werewolf thing…

It was like trying to think through sludge. Stan hardly remembered what it was like to be human. Or… human-shaped. Jeez, how long had he been Shifted for? Time was slipping away from him in this little bubble of happiness. Stan had never been in wolf form for this long before.

A chill shivered through him. The nerds’ talking continued but it was background noise to the humming of his thoughts. He stood and padded into the hallway, ignoring Tate’s whine. Stan shouldered through the (thankfully unlocked) front door and trotted outside.

He glanced around warily before slipping into the trees. Once a quick scan showed that he was alone, he Shifted.

Or… tried to.

The change that had once been liquid and effortless now felt like trying to shove a square peg through a circular hole. His skin prickled. Stan shook himself and tried again with a small growl.

The Shift swept across him with the popping of joints and the crackle of cartilage; creaky, like a neglected machine that had acquired rust from years of disuse. Stan gritted his newly-flat teeth and waited for the agonizingly slow Shift to pass.

He ended up crouched on the damp earth, breathing hard and squinting through suddenly blurry vision at the dark, hazy world around him. His skin felt itchy and it pinched in all the wrong places, like a suit that didn’t quite fit.

Well, shit. Note to self: don’t stay in wolf form for weeks at a time.

Stan flexed his hands, trying to reacquaint himself with having fingers and opposable thumbs. Being human. Or human-shaped, at least.

Because he was still a person. No matter what he looked like he wasn’t just some – some pet. He had a life to get back to.

Except… he didn’t. Not really.

Stan chewed over that piece of information for moment. Before he could really think about it a voice called his name. With a final stretch he slipped back into an awkward Shift, easier than before, and trotted after his brother’s voice.

[prorevenge]

How I got revenge on my cheating ex!

TL;DR at bottom.

This story takes place almost 12 years ago so I'll do my best with the dialog and details but admittedly some things are a little fuzzy. Most of my life I've had a problem with picking men that were not good for me, so much so that I even had a phrase for it "saving the world, one moron at a time". One of my more spectacularly bad choices was a guy by the name of "Bob" (obviously not his real name). I met Bob when I was working one of my 2 jobs at the local mall, he worked somewhere else in the mall so we hit it off and soon enough we were in a relationship. Within a few months my lease was up and we ended up moving in together which obviously in hindsight was a huge mistake but I was dumb and lonely.

Soon enough red flags began to fly, he would say things in common conversation that were simply incorrect (like there's only 4 continents and the rest are actually owned by the martian government and thus don't count etc. ) and when challenged would circular talk until you either agreed with him or dropped the subject. He would also make claims that seemed entirely unbelievable such as when I asked where he had been staying prior to his mom's house he said he "camped in the woods" when I asked how he did that for months on end and without any gear he simply gestured to himself and said "this is all the gear I need". The worst trait though by far was his epic LAZINESS! I have never witnessed someone so lazy in my life.

Bob was unemployed for over a third of our relationship and would simply sit in the apartment watching netflix or playing some war game on "his" computer AKA my spare computer typing away in the group chat. He would never clean up after himself leaving dirty dishes in the sink and filth on every surface while only taking a shower MAYBE once a week. The smell that permeated my apartment could only be described as revolting and could easily gag a maggot. I would inquire a few times a week on his "job hunt" only to be dismissed or given a growing amount of excuses such as "but I don't have a car, how would I get there"... "the bus doesn't run in that area"... "the internet went down so I couldn't apply"... etc. etc. Meanwhile I am working double and triple shifts at my job to try to make up the lost income and running him all over town in my off time getting applications and helping him fill them out and turn them in. Keep in mind he doesn't have a cell phone so all of these apps have my contact info on them. Thus begins the era of him "holding my phone" while I'm at work so he can make calls or schedule interviews as well as I can get a hold of him from my store phone if I needed to.

Things began getting weird, he began staying up later and later on this group chat, sometimes till almost dawn. Sometimes we would hang out all evening until it was time for bed. Then he would always make some excuse on why he needed to check the game before bed and he'd be right there.... hours would pass... no Bob. I began to get suspicious but nothing incriminating seemed to be taking place so I just shrugged it off as me being insecure. Then he started asking to use my car to go see his best friend "Ben", now I wasn't super comfortable with this but I did know Ben pretty well and we got along almost better than Bob and I did so I guess to a degree I trusted Ben more than Bob and agreed to it. This happened a few times while I was working the evening shift and he was always back at the allotted time with my car and my phone and relatively grateful for the opportunity to hang with his buds. Suspicious... umm yes, but I'm the kind of person that is loyal and trusting to a fault and don't assume anything without proof and from every angle all seemed to be on the up and u so I took it at face value.

So one day he asks to borrow my car and go with his friends to a card gaming tournament, he put on a great show telling me how the prize money would help us out and with the deck he had there was no way he could loose. I just had to let him use my car and phone this one last time and he would be able to buy himself a phone with the prize money. I wasn't a huge fan of the idea but nothing untoward had occurred in the previous instances and I didn't feel like spending my only day off at a card game convention that I literally couldn't care less about so I acquiesced. I bought myself a couple green monsters and some vodka and had my own little personal drunk party. Hours tick by and no Bob... Eventually I pass out only to wake up at the crack of dawn VIOLENTLY sick, this went way beyond a hangover. I start retching in the bathroom until there was nothing left but bile but the retching wouldn't stop. Hours ticked by and I lay in my bathroom floor sweating and convulsing with no phone, no car and no Bob. I eventually was able to crawl to my room and wrap myself in a bath robe before crawling down my apartment building stairs and began knocking on the closest doors. It took 3 apartments before someone opened the door and allowed me to use their phone to call my mom. My mother was at my apt in 6 minutes flat and rushed me to the ER where I was diagnosed with an aggressive and antibiotic-resistant strain of C-Dif. Bob finally showed up later that afternoon phone and car keys in hand looking very concerned and claiming to be deeply apologetic but my mom hated him from that point on. I was out of the hospital and back to work within a few days but it was the beginning of the end.

During these last months we were constantly scraping by due to his lack of consistent income and poor spending habits. There were jobs gotten and there were jobs lost for various reasons throughout our relationship but the final job was one I helped him get literally 3 buildings down from my own workplace. This company rents furniture and electronics on a weekly/monthly basis and I happen to know most of the employees and the hiring manager as they are regular customers at my coffee establishment . I was able to use what little sway I had to get him on there and he accepted a job as a delivery man.

Within a few weeks I come home from work to find a brand new TV and entertainment system and him grinning like an idiot. I tell him we can't afford this, we can barely afford to eat and are surviving off scraps I bring home from work. He talks about his amazing employee discount and assures me it's no big deal that the rental fee will just come out of his check etc. I was pissed! Not only had he not consulted me, he also had me on the account as well (my info had been taken from the credit app I filled out as a favor to help their numbers) so if HE flaked I was liable. Fast forward another few weeks the rent is late and we are receiving eviction notices on our door, I come home from work and the tv is mysteriously gone. "Thank goodness" I think, "he finally realized we can't afford it and took it back"... he gets paid, rent gets paid and all is as good as it can be. Until I found a pawn slip for the TV in his pocket as I was doing laundry and went ballistic! He assured me he had plans to get it back in the works and to not worry about it, it will be taken care of soon and no one will be the wiser? I was too pissed to catch on to the secrecy aspect of the situation.

A few more tense weeks go by with him working mornings and myself working evenings while we shared one phone and car... Until that fateful day arrived! I woke up that morning with a migraine headache and opted to let Bob take the car but leave me the phone so I can call someone later on for a ride to work. A few hours of uncomfortable sleep go by before I am awoken by my phone.... I answer the phone still groggy "Hello?"

There is a long pause on the other end of the line until a female voice asks "Umm is Bob there?"

I felt a sickening feeling in my gut and began to shake.... is this real? Am I dreaming?

"No, he's at work right now this is his wife (total lie but hey) is there something I can help you with?" I wasn't rude, I phrased it as a genuine question rather than an accusation.

Another long pause before she began to stammer about maybe she had the wrong number but it was obvious she just wanted to get off the phone with me as quickly as possible and I realized in that moment that I desperately needed her.

"Please" I said with an edge of desperation in my voice.. "I don't know what's going on but I just really need somebody to tell me the truth" the last word came out in a sob and I sat there for a moment in silence trying to quell the urge to just cry uncontrollably.

"Listen" the voice on the other end was almost gentle "I need to make a few phone calls but I promise you I WILL call you back". She said it calmly and with so much conviction that I really wanted to believe her...

"Please, you promise?" I almost begged.

"I promise" she replied

"Ok" I took a deep breath and released it, "I'll talk to you soon" and hung up.

I then proceeded to aggressively pace my living room floor staring at my phone while chain smoking and muttering to myself like a crazy person. I knew who she was calling... I was replaying all those little red flag moments in my head from the last few months, pinning down dates or behavior I'd found suspect when the phone rings again. It's her. I froze for a moment... shocked she followed through and called me back, terrified of what this meant... I answered the phone and what followed was about the most soul crushing 45 min of my life

After initial introductions June (again not the real name) and I began comparing stories and it became glaringly obvious what was happening... They had actually been in a relationship several years prior and had run back into each other on the aforementioned war game where they began to flirt on group chat. All those nights he'd been on the computer he'd been chatting with her. All those times he'd go hang out with his "friend's" he been using my car to take her out and my phone to communicate with her. The time I was sick and alone with NO resources... you guessed it... he was with her! Oh but it get's better...

"Do you have a little silver hummingbird necklace?" she inquired. "Yes, my mother gave it to me for my 27th birthday actually I love it"

"Really?" she said "Cause he gave me one for mother's day"

"OMG" I almost yelled into the phone as I ran to my room and tore through my jewelry box... it wasn't in there... it was around her neck.

From there we discovered not only had he been giving her my property as gifts but he'd had her over to our apartment passing it off as his own. I didn't want to believe him capable of doing something so cruel and disrespectful when I have allowed him to sponge off me for the better part of 3 years. Unfortunately as in confirmation she began describing my apartment to a T, all the way down to my bed sheets. June said he even pulled my "secret box" from beneath my bed and offered to use my adult items on her. She said she found it weird and didn't partake but I threw them away due to the sheer ick factor. Finally she uttered the words I didn't know I wanted to hear"

"You know what we should do? We should bust him together."

My mind immediately started racing, indeed we should! I was a mix of fury, adrenaline and despair so my thinking wasn't exactly strait and details begin to get hazy here. We arrange to meet up at my work and find a way to lure Bob over there but unfortunately she lived about 40 min away whereas I only live about 6 miles from our destination so if I got there first I'd need to stall him (assuming he wasn't out on a delivery). I called a trusted coworker of mine at work sobbing and begging for a ride... to his everlasting credit he got somebody to cover and LEFT WORK to come get me and bring me to my car. When I got to Bob's workplace I went inside to retrieve my keys (this isn't uncommon as they know the car is mine) and was stopped half way through store by Bob's manager wanting to talk about the payment due on "our account".

I don't remember the exact dialog but I said something along the lines of "Look, I don't know when you are going to get your payment." I looked utterly defeated and told him we could never afford the TV in the first place and how I had begged Bob to take it back and now we don't have it anymore as Bob has pawned it and I don't have the money to get it out let alone pay him. I was full on blubbering at this point when he stopped me to clarify that his EMPLOYEE pawned a rental TV under contract. I confirmed that this was indeed true and presented him with the pawn ticket. HE WAS MAD! Apparently such an act is illegal and is terms for immediate termination but he assured me that if I could get the TV back to him there would be no harm no foul and he would terminate my contract without any penalties. I thanked him for his understanding and told him to let Bob know I would be over at my workplace.

My heart is pounding in my chest and blood is roaring in my ears... what was I going to say? What was HE going to say? Would June make it here before he did?? My heart sinks when I see Bob's hulking form making it's way in my direction, I frantically scan the parking lot for June's car... she's not here yet and I'm out of time. He hits the door looking out of breath and guilty as hell and I just stare at him stone faced. I walk outside silently to light a cigarette unsure of exactly what to say and he follows me wordlessly outside.

He starts in with the "it's not what it seems" and "it's all just a terrible misunderstanding" and I just let him dig himself deeper into his hole of lies. I listen, I nod, I pretend to understand until a particular car pulls into view. June parks in the space directly next to where we were standing and gets out of the car... "Hey Bob, how ya' doing?" Bob has gone visibly pale, he hangs his head and sits down on the curb saying nothing to either of us. June and I greet each other and awkwardly shake hands before again returning our attention to Bob. June begins berating him on his lies and deceit, unveiling all of our mutual info and subsequent conclusions while I stood mostly in silence agreeing at the appropriate times but mostly still in shock. After 20 minutes of this I finally mustered up the courage to take my stand.

"We are done, I don't want to see you ever again. I'll pack up your things (only 2 boxes worth) and your sister can contact me in a few days to pick them up. Now I want your key." I held out my hand and looked at him. "Not until I get my stuff out, then you get your key" he replied. I tried to argue but he continued to refuse and used his large stature to his advantage knowing I'd have no chance in a physical altercation. He turned and walked away heading back toward his workplace, June and I talked a little more before she handed me my hummingbird necklace and left. I stood there alone staring at nothing trying to wrap my head around what had just transpired and then I cried... oh how I cried.

With nowhere else to turn I had only one call to make... to my mom. The moment she answered I unleashed this deluge of words at her that were half sobs and half rant. "Stay right there, I'm coming" she said. God Bless my mother! Soon enough both of my parents pull up in my dad's truck and my mom gets out to comfort me and give me hugs. I look at the driver's seat and see my father with his jaw is clenched and a death grip on the steering wheel while staring strait ahead... OH Crap! They take me to the pawn shop and my parents write a check for more than $500 to get the TV out, we then drive strait over to Bob's workplace and return the TV to the manager. As the manager finishes up the cancellation paperwork my dad spots Bob pacing around the back of the parking lot talking frantically on the phone. Unfortunately I didn't get to hear the ensuing conversation but my dad returns within a few minutes holding my house key and looking victorious.

"I believe this is yours" he says as he hands me the key and then pulls me into a hug and I cried a little into his shoulder. My dad gave me a squeeze, kissed my temple and whispered into my ear "They're firing him." I leaned back to look at my dad and he just smirked and said "Now he's jobless and homeless." I thought about it for a second before I said in my most sarcastic tone "Ohhh I'm sooo soorrryyy to hear that" We laughed about it a little and my parents gave me some words of wisdom before leaving me to drive myself home where my best friend was already waiting to keep me company.

Bob and his sister showed up a few days later for his pitiful boxes of stuff, he tried to talk to me, to explain... but my best friend descended on him like a harpy if he muttered more than a few syllables in my direction so he was shut down almost immediately. He left that night and I have never heard from him since, I blocked him on social media but there was really no need as he made no effort to contact me on any level. That's Bob... ever lazy, ever deluded and always an a**hole.

So here I am many years later happily married to my high school sweetheart and the mother of two beautiful little boys and grateful to have moved on when I did. The experience with Bob certainly took its toll I lost a lot of weight due to lack of appetite but had a myriad of trust issues moving forward but the point is I moved forward. I have grown leaps and bounds as a person since this experience and am truly content with where my life is now but every now and then when I'm drifting off to sleep I can't help but wonder... what ever happened to good ol' Bob? Is he out there somewhere... in the woods with a stick and his wits as his only gear... waiting for a martian government to make its move.

Ah well, a girl can dream ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to message me with any questions or comments :)

TL;DR: I discovered my boyfriend was cheating so I organized a sting operation with the other woman. Boyfriend ended up chickless, jobless and homeless within a matter of hours.

(source) story by (/u/Jenabear7897)

[xoexoxhoe]

Come Over (Part 4)

A/N: The story continues! Just a 💥warning💥guys- This part of our story can be really sensitive to some people as it talks about some pretty serious stuff involving pregnancy. Please know that I am in no way trying to offend anyone! We purely write this for the sake of story/character development, and we hope you guys enjoy it regardless. Happy reading! (A/N below for more information and lots of love)  

Relationships are a two way street; Be careful of road blocks 🍃

Mingi (Ateez) & Y/N

💥Warning: Sensitive topic on pregnancy issues 💥

Life had been simple as of late, and you had no objections. You and Mingi had been stronger than ever for the past three years jetting around the world, meeting new friends at the university publishing company you both work for, and also writing short novels here and there for your own pleasure. But this year, it was different, and you could feel it. Mingi hadn’t been home lately, always staying late at the office to complete tasks he picked up and allowed others to drop on him. Occasionally you’d stay, helping him edit papers and finalize pieces for the local newspapers, but for the past two months you were more tired than anything else. Each day Mingi would have to cook dinner because standing at the kitchen stove for long periods of time made you weak and unable to be coherent for the rest of the night. Mingi always told you that you should go to the doctors office, but of course, being the stubborn girl you are, you never did.

“Baby, I’m so sorry, my pain is too bad today.” You laid in bed as he walked through the door from work, “I made you kimchi stew and picked up fried chicken on my home today, I hope it’s enough.”

Mingi leaned against the door frame of your bedroom, “Y/N, don’t worry. I could’ve made it myself.”

You waved a hand at him, “Baby, no offense here, but you don’t make kimchi stew very well and you know it.”

“Well, there ya go! The truth is out. I shall stick to writing and editing college papers, shamelessly getting shaded by my girlfriend about not being able to cook.” He made his way into the kitchen, still ranting about your coy behavior.

“Hey! I can still hear you, Song Mingi! You better watch your tone.” You laughed in bed, adjusting the cooling pad you slapped onto your forehead.

Before you knew it, Mingi was back in the room with a tray of bowls containing rice, stew, and vegetables. He placed the tray down on your nightstand and waved his hand, signaling you to lean forward from your position so he could crawl behind you. He wrapped one leg around your waist and placed the other alongside your hip. Mingi leaned over to the tray, handing you a spoon, a bowl of rice, and a bowl of kimchi stew. “You need to eat, baby. You don’t look good.”

You leaned into him, closing your eyes, “I made an appointment for tomorrow. I feel like I have anemia or something.”

He began to scarf down his food, talking with his cheeks slightly full, “Good idea, babe. I’m worried- need me to take off of work with you? I can tag along.”

You pat his leg, “Thank you, but I think I better go on my own. One of us needs to make an income in this house.”

Mingi planted a kiss on your cheek, “Well call me if you need me, okay?”

The next morning, you walked with Mingi to the subway station, holding his hand and laughing about the Netflix original you both watched the night before. You kissed him goodbye as you got off two stops before him, giggling as you watched him wink at you while the train slowly made its way into the dark tunnel ahead. The doctor's office you always went to took you in quickly, each nurse making you feel the most comfortable that you’ve ever been in a while during these kinds of visits.

Dr. Ko walked in, smiling as she bowed, “Good morning, beautiful! How have you been?”

“So great, thank you so much! How are you?”

She tilted her head back and forth, “Getting old, but who am I to judge, right?”

You bowed your head, “Dr. Ko, you don’t look a day over 30.” Which was completely true. This lady had the skincare routine of a Kardashian and the looks of Hyolyn if she were to be in her prime 50’s. You always told Dr. Ko this, only to find her laughing and shaking her head, placing gloves on her hand as she assessed you.

“So, Y/N, what happened, my dear? What brings you in today?”

“I’ve been feeling extremely weak for the past two months, and I don’t know why, Dr. Ko. I’ve been eating well, Mingi has been cooking for me. But every time I stand for too long, it feels as if I’m going to pass out.”

Dr. Ko narrowed her eyes quizzically, “Have you been on birth control, Y/N?”

Your eyebrows knit, “Um- Yeah, I have been, why?”

“Would you mind if we take a pregnancy test? I want to rule it out before we proceed with anything.”

You shook your head in complete agreement, “Of course! Do what you gotta do, Doc.”

After an agonizing fifteen minutes, Dr. Ko came into the room, “Miss Y/L/N, we have a lot of talking to do about becoming a mother.”

Your eyes widened, your heart rate increased, and you could feel your stomach churning with excitement and nervousness. “Excuse me?”

Dr. Ko dragged out an ultrasound machine, “I don’t wanna give you false hope, but your pregnancy test came out positive. I just want to confirm it through a fetal heart rate check, if that’s alright?”

You nodded your head, still unable to comprehend what the hell was actually happening. The room was spinning once Dr. Ko spread the ultrasound lubricant over your flat stomach to which you thought would not be housing any children anytime soon, but here you are. Dr. Ko began to circle the cold jelly over the surface of your abdomen, trying her hardest to locate the fetus. She eventually found it, taking a picture and showing it to you, but now was time for the true test. Your mind raced with anticipation.

“I’m going to turn on the doppler,” Dr. Ko flicked something and awaited the beating heart of a baby to become present, but nothing came on. She continued to go around your stomach, attempting to find a heartbeat somewhere- anywhere. Your heart sank, you felt it in your soul. Just as one happy thing was beginning, it was soon coming to an end. “It’s still a little early, my dear. Maybe we can schedule an appointment for next week and we can reassess?”

You just stared blankly at the ultrasound monitor, seeing the bean sized fetus on the screen. Tears began to stream down your face and Dr. Ko took you into her arms, “My dear, do not cry. We will figure this out.”

The subway ride home was agonizing, and you couldn’t help but to think of the image of your unborn child on that screen. You reached home and slid down against your bed, hitting the carpet in defeat. You reached into your purse, calling Mingi through tears, “Baby I-”

“I’m on my way home now, Y/N. Don’t worry.” He hung up, and you brought your knees to your chest, awaiting his return. As soon as he flew through the door, you started to bawl even harder. He grabbed your shoulders, “Y/N, what happened? Who hurt you? Did someone say something on the subway?”

You shook your head, handing him an envelope. He tore it open and dropped the ultrasonography photos after reading Dr. Ko’s note of ‘Undetectable Fetal Heart Beat’ on the back of them. He dropped to his knees next to you, holding your hands in his, bringing them to his lips and kissing them with all his might, “Baby, maybe it’s too early, okay? Let’s figure this out next week.”

You agreed, “That’s what the doctor said… will you come with me?”

“Of course. Always.” He hugged you again, bringing you up into bed and tucking you in. You woke up abruptly at around 1:00 am, rushing into the bathroom and throwing up into the toilet. You felt as if your stomach was ripping itself apart. You felt a warm sensation alongside your thighs and you reached a hand between them, bringing it up to your face only to see clots and a dark streak of blood coursing down onto your tile floor. You screamed, immediately, hearing Mingi jump out of bed running into the bathroom in a matter of seconds. He picked you up, calling an ambulance, not letting go of you until you both were at the hospital getting evaluated by a doctor. Two hours had passed and a series of blood tests, labs, and other OBGYN consultations occurred before the head doctor of the ER came in to speak with you and Mingi. He sat at the edge of your bed, and you already knew what words would come next.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Y/L/N, but you just had a miscarriage. You were unable to keep the pregnancy. Now, we don’t know exactly why, but please remember that we here at the hospital will do anything we can to help you grieve through this troubling time.” He pat your leg and shook Mingi’s hand, walking out of your room somber and disappointed with himself.

All you could do was cry in your lovers arms, blaming yourself for whatever had happened, and never looking at your life the same.

💥I know this was a really heavy chapter, fellow readers. Just wanted to extend a loving hand that if you or a loved one have ever experienced this, you are not alone, and we stand with you! My messages are always open if you ever need to talk! Thank you so much for your constant support, and I promise to do the same for you all!💥

Down to read more? Links below for the continuation of the series!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

[loveturtlesx]

Bar Musings

Part 3

I’m surprising myself by how quickly I’m writing this.

In the darkness of the car, she began to sober up a bit. Some of the fogginess began to clear, but she was still in no state to operate any vehicle. She was starting to question her decision— it’s a weekday, and here she was drunk with strangers, granted they were both kind and attractive, but strangers nonetheless. Shawn and G were chatting with the driver about the weather and the upcoming holidays. The mundaneness soothed some of her nerves about her decision. She then took her phone out to texted Kate and saw that she had a message from her.

iMessage From Kate: Hey, love! I’m sorry he’s such a dick. You’re wonderful, and we can eat junk and I have wine, and we can do nails. I’m getting off from my shift in 20!

iMessage to Kate: Please. That sounds amazing. I’m out grabbing food with some guys I met at the bar lol... call me when you’re out!

She put her phone in her pocket. They pulled up to the diner in no time. She flushed looking at exactly which diner they had chosen. This diner happened to be her diner. This was where she waitressed 5-6 nights a week, and on her off days or breaks, where she did her homework. Fuck. She silently wished Marco wasn’t working. He teased her relentlessly, and could be a bit much on the best of days.

“I think the coast is clear,” G said from the front seat, probably referring to the lack of fans. He got out of the car first.

“Thank you so much,” she said to the driver and began to dig into her purse for her wallet to tip the man. From the backseat, Shawn shook the driver’s hand and passed him some folded bills.

“I got it,” he lowered his voice to her, and got out of his side of the car. He held it open for her. She scooted over and stumbled out. He steadied her by holding onto her arm. She blushed again.

“I’m normally not this bad, and I swear it’s not still the wine.”

He smiled, “I’m sure.” She wasn’t quite sure if he was agreeing because he believed her or was just humoring her.

They headed towards the diner, where through the slightly steamed window, they could make out G sitting at a table. They strolled slowly towards the door, ignoring the cool air.

“I’m glad you came.”

“I am too.”

He hesitated, “I’m sure the company helps too after your breakup.”

She felt strangely disappointed that the conversation involved Tom in some capacity, “it does, and you and G are funny. He was telling me about you at the bar.”

“Ahh, don’t listen to him.”

“No, no. It wasn’t anything bad.”

“I don’t know if I believe you,” he said with a chuckle.

“Well, he was joking around a bit, but it really wasn’t anything to be worried about.”

“So bartending,” she added.

“It’s a lot of fun. I’m not great, but I’m getting better. The first cocktail I made, I got the shaker stuck on the glass, and I panicked a bit and smacked it a bit too hard on the edge of the counter,” he paused.

“Oh no, tell me you didn’t break the glass,” she laughed kindly.

“No, I chipped the counter,” he sheepishly grinned and she almost snorted, “I was learning in my friend’s apartment kitchen, and the counter was made of that compressed wood stuff.”

“Oh my god! What did she say?”

“He was drunk and thought it was hilarious. I paid to fix the counter the next morning.”

They reached the diner doors and he held it open for her. She was disappointed the diner wasn’t farther away, and her stomach clenched at the thought of her coworkers seeing her, but she held her head high and walked inside.

G was sitting at table 18, the large corner table that could seat 10 comfortably. He was alone with a mug in front of him already, and his phone glued to his ear.

She led the way, glancing quickly around to see who was on tonight. No one was in the dining room at the moment. She sat to G’s left. Shawn took his jacket off and hung it on the back of his chair before sitting. While he was, she took a moment to shamelessly look him over. His shirt had opened a button on the ride over, and his chain was more visible. The contrast of his skin and the chain gave her slight chills. His chest and arms were massive, but not in an off putting way. He looked like he could take care of himself if he got into a scrap, though she doubted he would ever need to, and yet he still managed to look so, so completely... cuddly.

She felt warm and needed to look away as he sat down next to her. G tilted his phone away from his mouth and whispered that it was his girlfriend and she was drunk.

Shawn grabbed the small milks on the table for G’s coffee, and began to stack them. She smiled at his antics and then began to help him build a tower. It got quite high and then G blew on the tower, with his phone still on his ear. The tower crumbled. She laughed, and Shawn whined, “dude, not cool.”

Tracy, the middle aged mother of three, appeared without looking up from her notepad, “hi, I’m Tracy. Welcome to Bee’s Diner. Can I get you guys a coffee? Fries?” She had bags under her eyes. She sympathized with Tracy, Tuesday and Thursday evening shifts were always the dodgiest, and add raising teenage sons into the mix.

“I’m okay with water, and,” he turned to her.

“Hey Trace, I’ll have a water too.”

“Oh! How are you dear,” she finally glanced up. She blushed, but knew Tracey meant well. Tracey knew all about Tom. She was a motherly figure who was fantastic at listening and giving advice.

“Uh, good.” Tracey, bless her, didn’t mention anything. She looked over G and Shawn assessing them with new eyes.

“Two waters, and your usual?” Tracey asked with her pen in hand. When she wasn’t waitressing, she was often found in booth 13 with textbooks and her laptop. She’d always order a big bowl of soup and a grilled cheese, and depending on her stress level either a basket of fries or a bowl of fruit.

She smiled at Tracy, “just the soup today.” Tracy smiled, “and for you boys?” Shawn was staring at her like he was trying to figure something out. “I’ll have what she’s having.”

G put his hand over the mouth piece and ordered a burger.

Tracey collected the unused menus from the table, “I’m glad to see you out with someone besides Kate. You’re waiting on a few more?”

“Uh, I’m not sure,” she looked at Shawn for confirmation.

“Yeah, I think so.”

Tracey nodded leaving two of the menus behind, and went to sort out their order with the kitchen.

Shawn turned to her, “Kate’s your—ex?”

She smiled, “no still current, best friend.” He nodded, and brought his hands back to the milks. She went back to helping him, “she’s getting off from work soon actually.”

“Yeah? What’s she do?”

“She’s an ER nurse.”

“That’s awesome. Does she happen to watch Grey’s?”

She laughed, “no she refuses actually. She doesn’t want to start comparing her life to Meredith’s.”

“Do you watch it?”

“I stopped after Izzie’s storyline with Denny. It was too much for my emotions.”

“That’s so early though!”

“I know, I just couldn’t keep watching.” Her phone went off.

She pulled her phone out, “speak of the devil.”

iMessage From Kate: Girlfriend!!!! I hope you’re being smart!! Where are you? What are their names? I’m gonna be a littler late because my boss sucks, but if you need me I’ll leave now.

iMessage to Kate: I am, and I’m okay! We’re at Bee’s. Their names are Shawn and G.

iMessage From Kate: What the hell of a name is G? And last names? What if I need to track one of them down?

She snorted and apologized to Shawn as she typed out her response, “I’m sorry. I try not to be on my phone when I’m with other people, but we’re meeting up after her shift.”

“Oh no worries at all. Does she want us to order her something?”

iMessage to Kate: I’m fine and you won’t need to track me down! Do you need me to fake an emergency so you can leave? They work you too hard.

“Great idea, I’ll ask.” She was surprised again by his generosity, but shouldn’t have been. He had been extremely thoughtful the entire evening.

“She won’t be here for a bit, but I’ll order her pancakes when she’s leaving the hospital.”

He nodded and continued to work on the milk tower.

“Fuck, where?!” G sat up straight. Her and Shawn’s heads snapped up to look at G. “Alright. Breathe. I’ll come to get you. Stay on the phone with me.”

G looked over to Shawn, “your apartment’s a few blocks over? Your car is there right, not at your parents?”

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

“Can you bring me to get C—- what?” G turned his attention back to his phone and urgently added, “we’re on our way.”

“Some creepy guy is there slipping things into drinks. She’s locked herself in the bathroom.” G snapped.

Shawn quickly stood pushing his chair back. He dug for his wallet, “shit, I’m out of cash.”

“I’ve got it. Don’t worry about it,” she stood too and reached for her own purse, “go, don’t worry about this.”

G was already at the door of the diner, “Shawn!”

He looked back at her, “thanks, I-I’ll text you.” And rushed out the door.

She let out a breath and sat down. She hoped G’s girlfriend would be okay.

Then a terrible and selfish thought crept into her mind, he didn’t have her cell phone number...

She looked around hoping he’d pop back in and magically give it to her. Realizing how ridiculous of a thought it was, she sighed at herself. That’s when she noticed he left his jacket behind. She grabbed it off the back of his chair. She held it for a moment hoping it would somehow give her an answer as towards how to contact him. Accepting defeat, she laid it on her lap and pulled out her wallet to pay Tracey. Digging for her credit card, her heart jumped, “oh fuck,” she said aloud.

“What’s the matter? Where’d everyone go?” Tracey appeared with the waters and extra napkins.

“They had an emergency.” She sounded sad to her own ears, and added “and I left my tab open at the bar. I don’t have my credit card.”

Tracey sat down at the table and patted her arm, “it’s alright. I know where you work. Now what’s this about an emergency.”

**

She left the diner with all the food packed up, and a promise to pay and tip Tracey well for the nutty evening. She headed towards the bar to retrieve her card, and silently prayed that no one had taken it or used it in her absence.

The chilly air blew up her thin jacket and made her shiver. Her skin felt icy. She glanced down at his jacket. It was warming the arm it was draped over. She hesitated. He would never know if she put it on, and it was freezing, she talked herself into it. She put the food down on the sidewalk and slid her arms into the sleeves of the denim jacket. Her hands didn’t make it out of the sleeves, she rolled them a bit. She felt small wearing his clothes. Feeling toasty, she picked up the food and continued walking. A big gust of wind blew, and she buried her nose into the jacket. Mmm, it smelled like cologne. Her heart jumped, and she took a moment to inhale the jacket again. Remembering herself, she glanced around looking to see if anyone had watched her. She was alone. This was not even close to how she imagined this evening transpiring. Shaking her head at her actions, she decided to phone Kate to let her know what happened and that she needed to be picked up from the bar.

The bar came back into sight and the lines outside were insane. There appeared to be tons of teenage fan girls waiting to see if their idol was still inside. She walked up to the bouncer and got yelled at by fans waiting in line. She ignored the calls and told the bouncer her dilemma. He called inside to the bar, and then nodded, allowing her back into the warmth.

She went up to the bar and asked the bartender for her card, “there was no tab open. It was just left here.”

“No tab?” She was confused.

“No” shouted the bartender over the music. She took her card and put it back into her wallet. Shawn must not have charged her for anything. She felt strangely guilty and made a mental note to leave a large tip the next time she was back with cash. She wandered over to the window and peered out at the crowd that was slowly disbursing, just then Kate called, “I’m outside, by the girl holding a ‘the Future Mrs. Mendes’ poster. I wonder if he’s in the area because this is insane!”

She laughed and dashed outside to Kate’s beat up Honda. Climbing into the passenger seat, she was immediately assaulted with a hug.

“How are you?” Kate breathed.

How was she? She knew Kate was referring to the Tom situation, but right now all she could focus on was the disappointment of not being able to contact Shawn again.

“I’ve been better.”

[banrionrua]

FIC PROMPT: BELLAMY AND CLARKE AS JIM AND PAM

it’s like you looked right into my soul and came up with the prompt of all prompts, the prompt of my heart and I love you for it. hope this isn’t absolute trash and sorry it took me so long, I got distracted watching PB&J videos for days on end and have no regrets.

also on ao3

‘the church was plan b’

In retrospect, they should’ve expected this, really.

This wedding was proving to be one shit-show after another, from Jasper tearing his scrotum at the dance party the night before in Monty’s hotel room (splits and keys in pockets were never a good idea) and Clarke (the only sober person left in the hotel) having to spend the night at the ER with him, to Murphy getting banned from the hotel bar approximately five minutes into the night for howling like a wolf and trying to steal three bottles of Jack Daniels, and even to Bellamy himself, who did the one thing they were afraid every and anyone else would do: spill the beans about Clarke’s pregnancy at the rehearsal dinner, in front of her extremely conservative grandmother, Mee-Maw, who then called Clarke a jezebel before refusing to come to the wedding ceremony.

Still, it was hard to put a damper on the day he’d been waiting just about his whole life for.

If someone had told Bellamy Blake five years ago that he’d be marrying the pretty blonde from reception at Factory Station Paper Company, he would have laughed in their face, and then all the way home, too.

Because life wasn’t that good and kind to him, historically, and because timing was a bitch. For years, she had a boyfriend (fiance, if he was being honest) - Finn, the ass of the century who worked down in the warehouse. And Bellamy, he’d just been a kid from the other side of the tracks looking for a steady enough job to get him and his sister by after his mother died. 

So, for a long time, he’d been content to just be her friend. She was his best friend, and God, he was lucky for even that. He came into work everyday thankful for that much. It was a shitty job at a shitty little paper company, and somehow, he still loved every minute of it because of her. She’d changed everything.

It took years, and a lot of waiting (he was a Blake, and patience wasn’t natural to them), and sometimes he thought he’d suffocate from the heavy weight on his chest that threatened to explode more and more everyday as he fell deeper in love with her.

But somewhere, somehow, along the way, his luck changed. She caught Finn with his other girlfriend, Raven, and from there on out, she was short a fiance and had gained a friend. He’d moved away to another branch to try to move on before it all went to hell, then moved back months later when branches merged, with Echo in tow, and it didn’t take Echo all that long to realize he loved her, sure, but not with his whole heart, not the way he loved the receptionist he was always planning pranks on Jasper with, and not the way Echo deserved to be loved. That crumbled, too.

It took tearful confessions and entirely too much time, but somewhere, somehow, he finally got the girl.

The girl he was fifteen minutes away from calling his wife.

So, yeah, despite all the craziness, despite the chaos of inviting their entire office and two mismatched, overbearing families, none of whom listened to their do’s and do not’s for the wedding….he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

He was kicking around a soccer ball outside the chapel with Ethan, their ringbearer - Wells Jaha’s foster son and the light of Thelonious’ eyes - when he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He couldn’t even stop the stupid grin that came at seeing her name pop up with the photo of her licking frosting off his cheek from Fourth of July last summer.

God, he was a goner.

“Are you sure there aren’t any rules against calling me right before we go into the church, Princess? Wouldn’t want to jinx it this late in the game…not sure we could get any of the deposits back at this point.”

“Probably not.” The smile dropped from his face and his stomach sank as soon as he heard her broken voice, sniffles on the other end. “Can you just…come here, please?” She sounded so small, so unlike herself, and he took off before she even hung up, rushing through the back doors of the church to find her.

Please don’t tell me she’s changed her mind. Oh shit, what if it’s the baby? What if something’s wrong? Please, please….

He practically skidded into the small room they’d given her to wait in, finding her sitting on a piano bench sniffling, but even through all his worry - he froze.

Because there was Clarke Griffin, dressed in white, looking more beautiful than he could’ve ever imagined. He was sure he didn’t deserve her, or any of this, but he was thanking every one of the gods, anyway.

“Wow,” he breathed out. “Clarke, you look….wow.”

She let out a watery laugh, “I look like shit.”

He walked over and sat down beside her, thighs pressed against each other, and gently reached out his hand, brushing his thumb against her cheek, feather-light. “Clarke Griffin, I’m not sure you could ever look like shit even if you tried. You look…so beautiful, Princess.”

“No, I don’t,” she said miserably, swiping at her eyes gently, trying not to ruin the makeup Octavia had done for her earlier. “I knew when we found out about the baby that I wouldn’t be able to wear the perfect dress o-or high heels, and that was okay, really, but now I tore my veil and that was the one thing I could control and I just….”

He tried not to show his relief that it was just the veil and not something more serious like his paranoid mind had immediately jumped to, but she still looked so miserable and he’d give anything to make her smile, especially today.

His eyes landed on scissors on the desk to their right behind him, and he reached out, grabbed them, and cut his tie in half.

Her eyes widened, “Bellamy! ”

“Now we’re even,” he shrugged, a lopsided grin on his face. Her eyes shone with more tears, but she was starting to smile, at least. She lifted her hands, motioning a camera click - they’d promised each other to take mental pictures of all the best moments this weekend, something Vera Kane had suggested to them. It was a joke at first, but this?

This she’d remember forever.

He leaned forward, kissing her forehead gently and resting a hand on her barely-there baby bump hidden under the silk of her dress. She sighed and melted into the touch, and he could feel the tension rolling off her body, finally. “They’re all driving me insane, Bell. Jasper and my mom and Thelonious and everyone….I thought this day was supposed to be our day, you know?”

He knew. And honestly, how could they have expected any differently? God love them all, they really were good people, they were just a lot to handle, their friends and family. She was right. Their wedding was supposed to be about them.

This? All this pomp and circumstance, all the decor and frill, it wasn’t them.

He stood then, having made up his mind, and reached out a hand to her, wordlessly. She looked up at him with furrowed brows, but he just smirked.

“Bellamy, what…”

“Do you trust me?” She gave him an unimpressed and still entirely confused look, but put her own hand in his, letting him help her up. He might be crazy, too, but she trusted him more than anyone in the world. That’d been a given a long, long time ago.

“What are you up to, Blake?”

He gave her a quick kiss, still smirking into it. “You’ll see.”

****************************

“Oh my god.”

He closed the passenger door behind her as she got out of the car, jaw still dropped at his surprise. How could they have a destination wedding in Niagara Falls without stopping at the actual falls?

Besides, he’d heard somewhere that boat captains could help them out with the whole marriage thing.

They’d left everyone behind at the church - they’d still be there when they got back, but who cared? This day was about him and his wife.

They could figure the rest out later.

They pulled their blue plastic ponchos over their wedding clothes and walked onto the Maid of the Mist hand in hand, and maybe this wasn’t the grand, majestic affair that Abby Griffin had pictured for her only daughter, or the ‘poppin’ wedding of the century’ that Jasper had certainly planned to dance down the aisle at (they’d found his YouTube playlist of “Best Wedding Entrances Ever - Bellarke Wedding?” the week they’d gotten engaged), but this?

This finally felt right.

Sprays from the waterfall rained on them just as the captain came out and performed their little ceremony, splashing them from head to toe and making Clarke laugh, carefree and blissfully. (Bellamy reckoned it was the best sound in the world, only to later be tied with the sound of their daughter’s first cries when she’s born.) 

He lifted his hands, taking a mental picture, and whether the wetness on his cheeks was from the water or his own tears of pure joy, he couldn’t be sure, but her face looked just the same.

When he kissed her for the first time as his wife, he was sure, for the first time ever, that fate was real, that someone in the great wide universe had been looking out for him after all, because life had led him to Clarke Griffin, and they belonged to each other now.

He said as much a little later as they stood at the front of the ship, her leaning into his side, head resting on his shoulder. She turned to look up at him before leaning up to kiss him again, and it was slow and soft and as magical as the thousands of other kisses they’d shared before, and the millions he planned to keep sharing with her for the rest of their lives.

“Thank you for everything, Bell. For being you. For marrying me. For this plan B of yours….I can’t imagine a more perfect day,” she all but whispered, and he kissed her cold, wet forehead, not able to stop touching her, to stop reminding himself this was all real.

“This wasn’t plan B,” he clarified after a beat. She looked up, that crease between her brows back, confusion written on her face. “Plan B was the church. This was actually Plan C.”

“What was Plan A?”

He turned to her fully now, moving a stray piece of damp hair from her face and gazing at her with all the love in the world. The whole world might be out there, but in that moment, she swore there was no one else but them, in this moment, and if she could pick one moment to live in for the rest of her life, she knew it would be this very one.

“Plan A was marrying you a long, long time ago. Pretty much the day I met you,” he said, his voice softer than she’d ever heard it, and she choked on a happy sob, kissing him again because of all the billions of women in the world, she, Clarke Griffin, knew what it was like to be wholly, completely, unconditionally loved by Bellamy Blake.

****************************

They were over an hour late to their own wedding ceremony, nearly soaked, hair ruined, veil torn, tie cut, and never happier.

When Jasper winked at Monty, and turned on his iPod to ‘Forever’, they couldn’t even find it in them to be upset. Harper quickly apologized to Clarke, knowing this had been explicitly on the Do-Not-Playlist, but Clarke just smiled, telling her to go on.

She looked up to the altar, locking eyes with her husband, and he shook his head with a little shrug. She reached her hands up and took another mental picture.

Yeah. This is perfect.

[stylessemantics]

: : C A L I F O R N I A K I N G : :

Writing has been awful for me lately. I haven’t been able to write anything, nothing worked, I didn’t like anything, I didn’t feel inspired or motivated enough to even try and do something for myself, and this blog has been dead for months... I know. All there was, was self pity and sadness. It’s still there but at least I wrote a little something.

I don’t know where this came from. But here’s some Dad!Harry. I apologise in advance.

                                                                 ||    CALIFORNIA      KING     ||                                               

It’s safe to say you and Harry took the decisions regarding your relationship together. 

That’s the way it had always been and the way it has stayed after all the years. Some say it’s half the reason you two are just an amazing couple. You agreed on what to do when going out, who to invite where, the house you’d move into when you married. Everything was a joined decision. Obviously there’s a couple of things in your house and your relationship that you can tell are your husband’s idea, and some are yours as well.

The beautiful frames around the modern pieces of art hung in the living room were his choice. And the kitchen appliances, no matter how big or small, were your entire pick. But there was always input from the other person. The only thing you had no choice in and that surprised you when it arrived in the back of the mover’s truck was the huge bed. Harry had picked a California King and that was it; there was no argument because it was already there and it was staying.

During the first years of your marriage you were the cuddly couple in bed – no one could blame you, you were the always-found-a-way-to-touch couple before getting married as well – you both slept in the middle of the huge mattress, and you both needed at least one limb touching the other person. And Harry liked that. He liked basically swimming for you in between the sheets in the middle of the night so he could pull you to his chest and keep you warm – in turn making him warm as well – and he liked getting a lot of space to chose where to give you pleasure in. It was a good mattress that you only questioned twice so far.

The first time was when you saw the beast being lugged inside the house by two bulky men on a side and Harry and Niall on the other. But to be fair, even Niall questioned why in the world you would need such a big thing when knowing how cuddly you and Harry were, he knew you’d use the smallest portion of it to sleep, and then he winked at Harry when he eventually realised that sleeping was not the only thing you two would do on that bed.

The second time was during your second pregnancy. You were having a very hormonal day where you felt like you were the most hideous whale on the planet and made assumptions that Harry had bought the huge monstrosity of a bed so he could be as far away from you as possible if he needed to. Example one; right then and there. And, needless to say, that was not why Harry got the bed and he told you that as he tried to calm you down, soothed your anxiety and you fell asleep on his chest like you used to before this pregnancy. Eventually at some point of the night you shook him off – the baby bump had been giving you heat waves lately and you were not in the mood to cuddle all through the night – which he perfectly understood as he at least held your hand to sleep. That was all he needed and he slept soundly with a smile on his face.

You had yet to question the bed again… And it’s not like he thought you would, or that he had some mysterious secret as to why he picked the bed, but that night Harry found himself telling you exactly why he’d chosen the California King, because it was the perfect moment to do so.

You were both about to go to bed. The boys had been put to sleep around two hours before and Harry and you were waiting for sleep to take over, you were mindlessly scrolling though your phone as he read a new novel he had picked up on his last trip. You were on your side of the bed, and he was on his. At some point in the marriage you had stopped automatically cuddling when you went to sleep, and deep down you questioned it silently, but took it as a normal thing. Some nights you’d cuddle, some night you don’t. This night you didn’t.

It was at that moment that you heard the pitter patter of a 7 year old’s feet as your oldest rushed into your room. “Mom?” “Yes sweetie?” “I can’t sleep” you tried to hold back a grin knowing exactly why he couldn’t sleep. He had gone and watched something scary on youtube at his friend’s house that afternoon and you knew it was only a matter of time before he claimed he was scared of the monsters. Harry let out a soft chuckle as well, putting down his book and his reading glasses. “Come sleep with momma James” you said and the boy rushed to your side hopping into bed with ease and cuddling up to you. You ran your hand through his hair and gave him kisses trying to calm him down and make him fall asleep. “Elliot coming in, in three, two, one…” Harry says with a small laugh and just when he gets to one there’s the pitter patter of another pair of feet. This time your little 4 year old coming to the room and up to Harry’s side of the bed. “Dada…” “I know bub, I know” Harry leaned up to pick up little Elliot and lay him down on his side, scooting closer to you to give him space. Elliot just won’t sleep if he wakes up and James isn’t in the room with him. Harry started rubbing his back because it’s what made him fall asleep the fastest.

As the two of you laid there, in the middle of the bed and in between your two kids, Harry sighed with a content smile, turning to you. “Babe…” the word comes soft from his lips, barely above a whisper, trying to avoid waking the boys that were already fast asleep. “hmmm?” “Yeh remember when yeh were pregnant with Elli? And yeh hated the bed?” The memory made you chuckle. You were so hormonal that entire pregnancy through. It was nice to look back because your kids and your husband are your happiness, but lord was it embarrassing to think of the times you’d made a scene at restaurants just because Harry ordered something you could not stand the smell of for some unknown reason, or crying over a grain of cereal that fell and went under the fridge. “I do” “Well I never answered yeh…” “What?” you turn to him and see his beautiful face in the soft glow of the night light you’d installed for moments just like this one, where any of the boys slipped into your bed at night. “I never told yeh why I chose this bed…” he whispers and sighs running his hand through Elliot’s curly hair. “This… This right now, is why I picked this bed”

Being honest you didn’t really understand him, at least not right away. You didn’t understand that he was talking about the same reason you decided on the dim night lights for your room.

The kids. The family.

“I picked this bed because I could imagine laying ‘ere, with yeh and our kids… An’ I wanted a bed where we’d all fit comfortably. I thought… I thought that fo’ as long as our kids wanted the comfort o’ sleeping with mom and dad, we could all fit together on the same bed with ease.” There’s a soft glint in his eyes, like he’s about to cry, and you’d be lying if you said there wasn’t a tear running down your cheek already. His free hand goes to caress your cheek and he’s smiling through it all. He’s smiling like this was the moment he’d been waiting for all his life. Like this was the most important thing he had. And it was. To him this was it, this was everything. “I wanted m’family comfortable, sleeping safe and sound. I wanted the three most important people in m’life, soon t’be four…” his hand goes to your slowly growing bump and the warmth of it makes the baby inside jump just a little.

“I wanted yeh t’be comfortable. And if I have t’ leave for promo or anything, yeh can all just easily pile in, on the same bed and keep each other company. And I know they will grow out of this but fo’ as long as they want to… They can sleep with mommy and daddy.”

You can’t help but lean in and kiss him in the middle of the night. You can’t help but think you lucked out with the most wonderful husband and father the world could ever give. Your heart was beating so fast and you wanted to cry with the combination of your crazy hormones and his beautiful meaningful words.

He thought of everything. Harry spent hours picking a mattress because he wanted you and all of your kids to be comfortable through the night or on stormy afternoons, or whenever, really. It didn’t matter that slowly with the pass of the years you no longer slept the whole night through cuddling and spooning and being insanely close, because that phase had only stopped because you now had to fit two boys in between your cuddles. And to him, cuddling was better that way. And it was all Harry needed. It was all you needed as well.

“I love you Harry” “I love yeh Y/N… And I love our boys” he says with teary eyes. “And I love our daughter” “Daughter? How do you know it’s a girl?” there’s a throaty laugh that comes from him and he tries his best to not let it be too loud. Careful not to wake up James and Elliot. “I jus’ know it’s a girl, love” “Ok then… what if it isn’t?” At that Harry shrugs. “S’pose I’ll have to buy a bigger bed because we’re going to keep trying until we get a girl” You both laugh at the idea but deep down Harry doesn’t care. Sure he’d love to have a little girl, but truly he just wants all the kids your heart desires no matter what gender they are. All he cares about are these little moments where you can all just be one big mess of limbs, smushed together, sharing cuddles and feeling warm and safe through the night.

Smooches - Iv

I’m sorry for this and I’m sorry for being very inactive and a downer. I haven’t been doing my best lately (mentally and emotionally) and it’s affected my writing and creativity. A lot.

Masterlist

[thetactilepope]

Lessons in Thermodynamics: Chapter Six

{Previous Chapter} | [Chapter Index] | {Next Chapter}

Introductions

Thirty-eight days until Winter Break

Friday

“I really should get going.” Shouto frowned, unsure of why he found himself so reluctant to stand up and get on with his day. He was dressed in his usual casual outfit, as his Quirk meant that he didn’t have to worry about the cold, and his bag was packed.

There was nothing preventing him from leaving, aside from a persistent doubt.

“What am I doing?” He asked the empty room, knowing he wouldn’t receive an answer.

Why did he tell Yaoyorozu about his mother? Why had he agreed to let her come with him to the hospital, when he hadn’t even told the person who inspired him to start going about his visits? How were they different?

“Yaoyorozu knows how to keep her distance. She isn’t cold, not really, just careful not to trample over others’ feelings…” He concluded, after considering the question, “If he knew, Izuku would take it upon himself to ‘fix’ the situation, unable to turn a blind eye to someone’s suffering. And I… I want to be the one to help my mother. I want to be strong enough to do that on my own.”

The thought felt incredibly childish, but no amount of chiding himself would shake it.

“Such selfish aspirations, Shouto.” His father’s voice berated him, eyes burning, “They are not fit for a hero… I still have so much work to do.”

“You might not be a perfect copy, but you’ll have to be good enough. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Shut up, shut up.” He muttered, shaking his head. His left hand trembled, and the only thing keeping it from scratching at his scar was the loose grip his right hand had on its wrist.

Beginning his deep breathing exercises, focused on the flow of air in and out of his lungs, he gradually felt calmer, and more prepared to face the day, “I am my own person. I will be a hero in my own right.”

*Bzzzt*

He blinked, startled by the sudden noise from his phone, a message from the one he was supposed to have met by now.

{Creati – Yaoyorozu}

[We should probably leave soon, yeah?]

[Wait] [You arent still sleeping, are you!?]

[ :0 please tell me you’re awake…]

He rolled his eyes, biting back a yawn, “Surely she doesn’t really think I sleep that much.”

[Don’t worry I’m fine :)] [Just spaced out for a moment,] [sorry.]

[I’ll be out in sec.]

Not bothering to wait for a reply, he stood, full of a nervous energy not unlike the feeling he got before an important fight. But that didn’t make sense. What about this day could possibly be important?

“Just a da- day out with a friend, that’s all. A friend, who will undoubtedly be annoyed with me if I delay longer.”

Shouto could picture it with clarity, having seen her annoyed at many things recently, usually a difficult concept that for whatever reason, defied her razor-sharp mind. The way she’d scrunch up her nose, furrow her brow, eyes glaring with an intense focus at whatever, or whoever had raised her ire.

“A lot like how she concentrates, really. Except then she’ll sometimes stick her tongue out just a bit…” He found himself smiling, a fuzzy sort of pressure building in his chest. When had he started paying attention to stuff like that?

He shook his head, forcibly grounding himself in reality. It didn’t matter anyway, not right now.

…

Standing on the platform, waiting for the train, Shouto found that the nervous feeling had only gotten more intense since he had met up with Yaoyorozu. While it wasn’t like they had never hung out before, there were always other people involved, or they had a very specific goal in mind.

The study sessions didn’t count, couldn’t count, but he wasn’t sure why that distinction held so much importance to him. Maybe because he knew exactly how people would talk if they found out.

“Yes, that has to be it. I don’t want to deal with idiotic rumors any more than she does.” He thought, as they stepped onto the train together. With no seats available, they wound up standing side by side.

As the movement of the train caused their shoulders to jostle together, something else occurred to him. He hadn’t actually explained his family situation to her, and though it was extremely unlikely, the possibility of his father showing up at the hospital filled him with dread.

“Uh, Yaoyorozu, I think…” He began, but couldn’t bring himself to complete the thought, not when it might ruin the whole day.

“I think we’re making a mistake.”

But he couldn’t put his finger on why he thought that.

Startled out of her own daze by his voice, she seemed less composed than usual, “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“I, er, wanted to make sure we both know which stop to get off at, in case we get separated.”

“Ah, good thinking.” She nodded, and they proceeded to go over the plan once more. The mundane conversation helped calm the anxiety, until it was barely noticeable

He wouldn’t let fear control his life, not anymore.

…

They arrived at the hospital with one minor hiccup, in that neither Shouto nor Yaoyorozu had much experience with the train lines, usually only taking them in the company of their friends. Changing trains had been hectic, but in the end, the two made good time.

“Oh, Todoroki-kun! Welcome back, and so early in the day too!” The nurse smiled brightly, used to his face by now, “It’s been a while, no? How are you?”

“I’ve been well, Hogara-san,” He replied courteously, inclining his head, “just a little busy with school. We actually have the day off today.”

“Well, Mrs. Todoroki is feeling very energetic at the moment, so you picked a good day to bring a guest.” Hogara tilted her head, observing Yaoyorozu, smile growing wider, “Especially one so striking. What’s the occasion? Some special news for your mother perhaps?”

“Occasion? Does she think that Yaomomo and I are…?” His ears began to burn at the implication, but before he could protest, his classmate beat him to the punch.

“O-Oh, no, w-we’re not…” She seemed a little taken aback by the nurse’s words, shaking her head politely, “It’s nothing like that. I’m merely here to offer my friend some… moral support?”

She glanced at him for approval, and he found himself nodding.

“Yes, Yaoyorozu truly goes above and beyond as our class’s vice-president.”

Hogara held a hand over her mouth, clearly mortified at her mistake, “Ah, I see. Please, excuse my presumption. Anyways, if I could just get you to write your name on this chart here, you two can head right on up…”

…

Opening the door into his mother’s room, Shouto paused, observing her in her usual place by the window. She was engrossed in a book, and he hesitated, not wanting to disturb her.

“Will she really want to see me?”

As if she sensed his doubts, Yaoyorozu gently nudged him in the side with her elbow, smiling warmly.

“Well? Aren’t we going to say hello?” She whispered, tilting her head to one side, “After all, Hogara-san said it was a good day for visitors.”

“R-Right, of course.”

Clearing his throat, he stepped forward, encouraged by her words, “Hello, mother. Um, is now a good time?”

Miyuki looked up from her book, an enthusiastic grin breaking across her face.

“Shouto! It’s always good to see you.” She said, gesturing to a chair across from her, “How are you? Is school going well?”

He began to move to sit down, as was his habit, but then he remembered he wasn’t here alone.

“I’m fine, school has just been a little busy.” His reply was a little hurried, rushing to the point, “I actually, well, brought a friend. To meet you.”

Stepping to the side, Shouto ushered her forward, “Mother, I’d like to introduce Yaoyorozu Momo, vice-president of my class. Yaomomo, this is my mother, Todoroki Miyuki.”

Miyuki rose, bowing politely as Yaoyorozu did likewise. He was glad neither of them had seemed to notice his use of Yaoyorozu’s nickname.

“If I’m not careful, I might give my mother the wrong idea…”

That was one conversation he’d rather avoid, if at all possible. With how awkward things could sometimes get between them, he wasn’t sure he would be able to handle it. Death by embarrassment was no way for a hero to go.

“Hello, Missus Todoroki.” Yaoyorozu said politely, taking a seat on the bed, leaving the chair for him, “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Though her face had fallen when Yaoyorozu had addressed her, Miyuki now smiled warmly, seated once more, “Likewise, Yaoyorozu-san… Would you think it presumptuous if I asked you to call me ‘Miyuki’? I’m afraid Enji’s last name doesn’t sit well with me at the moment.”

Though she seemed momentarily stunned by the request, Shouto was impressed by how quickly his friend adjusted, barely missing a beat before responding.

“Oh, of course, Miyuki-san.” She said brightly, chuckling, “I’m sorry to have made you uncomfortable.”

“Please, there’s no need to apologize. You know, Shouto has spoken highly of the vice-president before, and I can see he didn’t exaggerate. I do hope he hasn’t given you too much trouble.”

“No, quite the opposite actually,” She waved her hand, smiling, and Shouto could tell she was pleased by the compliment, “Todoroki-ku… Todoroki is an exemplary member of our class, and a good friend.”

He nodded in agreement, as the three began to talk about day-to-day life for Yuuei students, what classes they were taking, things that were simply normal. Shouto felt at ease in a way that had never happened during his visits, so as he excused himself to get drinks for everyone from the vending machine, he was surprised to find himself smiling.

“I don’t think I’ve had this long of a conversation with my mother in a while.” He thought, pleased by how well things were going.

Returning with the drinks (two ice-teas for him and his mother, an iced-coffee for Yaoyorozu), the somewhat awkward silence that had fallen across the room was very noticeable, especially since he had left them chatting amicably.

He sighed, placing one of the ice-teas on the table – he should have known it couldn’t last – before walking over to the bed, and offering his friend the coffee with a quizzical glance.

She shrugged, and after a few more moments of slience, the tension in the room broke, and the earlier atmosphere returned.

…

Sometime later, Shouto caught Yaoyorozu’s eye and inclined his head towards the door, silently asking her if she wanted to leave. She nodded, slipping out her phone to check the time, her brows shooting upwards in surprise.

They had been conversing with his mother for nearly two and a half hours, though it had barely felt like any time at all.

“Mother, I hate to leave so abruptly,” he began, “but I’m afraid we have to go…”

She laughed, actually laughed, like he hadn’t heard in years, “Ah, it’s fine, Shouto, don’t worry!”

“I was thrilled just to have you visit,” Miyuki’s voice seemed much brighter, “and I even got to meet one of the friends you’re always talking about! You two run along and have a good day, and be sure you’re not working too hard.”

After another series of bows, and hurried goodbyes, Shouto was left wondering how his mother had managed to extract a promise to bring not only Yayorozu to see her again, but more of his friends soon.

…

The weather had cooled somewhat, and as they made their way towards a café that Ashido had recommended, he tentatively warmed himself with his left side. Falling into step beside his friend, he had to admit that today had been much nicer than he had expected.

“I have to make sure I thank Yaoyorozu for accompanying me…” He decided, nodding to himself.

“Um, Todoroki, can we talk for a moment?” Her voice was nervous, tinged with an emotion he couldn’t place, and he stopped, turning to face her.

The way her gaze kept flicking away from his, only able to meet his eyes for a few seconds, set him on edge, but he was able to keep his tone neutral, “Sure. What is it?”  

“When you left the room, your mother, she, uh,” Yaoyorozu paused, hesitating, “she said she was ‘very lucky that Shouto still wanted to visit’, after what she did to you…”

Taking a moment, she seemed to gather her courage, finally making eye contact with him, dark pupils determined, “What happened?”

There was a small part of him that wanted to run, but it was as if her gaze was pinning, no, anchoring him to the spot. He spoke almost without thinking, the automatic habit of answering her questions wrenching the words from his throat.

“Oh, she gave me this,” He heard himself say, pointing to the scar on the left side of his face, “with some boiling water. She couldn’t handle how my father was treating us, or stomach watching the harsh training he was putting me through. One day, my mom, she, well… y’know.”

Yaoyorozu looked horrified, and he wished suddenly he could be anywhere but here. What would she think of him now?

That he was someone to be pitied, who should be shielded from all strife?

“Say something, you idiot!” His mind raced, desperately searching for words that could fix this.

“It’s all in the past, don’t worry.” Shouto forced himself to laugh for a moment, before continuing, “We’ve resolved our issues, my mother and I.”

That eased her stricken expression, but didn’t dispel it completely.

“Ah, I-I see.” She was clearly floundering, out of her element, “In th-that case, I don’t think there’s m-much more to say, is there?”

He shrugged, “Not really.”

They walked in silence the rest of the way, feeling the cold more deeply than before.

…

The session was a disaster.

Shouto could barely focus on the notes, and Yaoyorozu was no better. They were too busy scrutinizing each other, every little shift in posture and gesture analyzed intensely.

This newfound uneasiness between them made him want to go back in time, to right before he had given his response, and deck himself. Twice.

“What were you expecting? That she wouldn’t judge you like everyone else does? That knowing your own mother marred your face wouldn’t change anything?”

He sighed, closing the book, “Let’s call it here. I don’t believe this is helping you.”

He didn’t know if he meant this lesson specifically, or their whole arrangement. His thoughts were a mixed-up jumble, a swirling maelstrom of scientific terminology and memories better left alone.

For a second, he was sure she was going to argue, from the way her shoulders tensed.

But she didn’t. She merely accepted his words, with a resigned nod.

“I want you to fight me on this”, he suddenly realized, “to say something, anything, that tells me moving forward is what you want. Please.”

He couldn’t stand to be here any longer, so he got up, moving towards the door.

“Todoroki, I-I… I had a nice time today. With you.” Her voice stopped him in his tracks, “Is Monday still OK? For the next lesson, I mean.”

“Y-Yeah. That sounds great.” He replied, surprising himself with how much he meant that, but he was still unable to turn around, “Yaoyorozu… Thank you, for coming with me.”

“It was no problem. We’ll talk later, alright?”

“Sure.” Shouto hesitated, wanting to say more – it didn’t matter what, he’d list the periodic table to keep himself from leaving – but everything caught in his throat except for “Goodbye.”

There are thirty-four days until the Retest.

[noonmutter]

Final Acts

(( Fair warning: This got really long at about 3600 words. ))

Deliverance Point was abuzz, more so than it had been in a while. Everyone was feeling that mix of excitement and bone-chilling terror that preceded a major change on the battlefield. The Tomb would crack open any day now, and everyone was ready, and no one was ready. Most of the time, this problem was addressed by drinking, going to a brothel, gambling, and in some cases, deserting.

He’d gone with option three, and had come out actually profiting a little bit, but it didn’t really help all that much. Of course he’d cheated, but so had everyone else at the makeshift table; winning wasn’t the point, the actual game was whether you could keep the other guys from guessing your trick. Fair games were dull and people who took offense at basic loaded dice rarely had enough money to be worth the hassle anyway.

Option one came afterward, once he had the coin for it. His tolerance was far too high for going to bars unless he was willing to go broke until next pay day, especially bars catering to soldiers. He needed a lot of drink to get a buzz, but at least the mixed nature of the forces on the Shore made price gouging dangerous territory. You could get away with that sometimes, but not when a too-sober Tauren paladin was standing in front of you with six friends and a mug half full of water.

Option two... he wanted option two very much. He was lonesome, and there was an abundance of company to be found on the floating city, one short flight away. But he was spoken for, and he wasn’t a dishonorable man where it mattered. Even if he’d been willing to entertain the idea for more than a few minutes, he knew Shedwyn would be crushed. And then castrate him. And then Leon would probably show up and kick his head in...

Terry didn’t respect the deserters, but he understood them.

His reverie was broken by a poke in the side, and it took him a moment before he thought to look down. The goblin courier scoffed at him, then held up a clipboard and a package of simple brown paper and twine. “Sign here, mac.”

“Sign?” Terry couldn’t recall the last time he’d had to sign for mail.

“Yeah, sign. Y’know, pen to paper, scribble somethin’? Usually yer name. I ain’t picky, whatever’s fastest.”

Already tired of listening, Terry took the clipboard and scrawled something that might have been his name, but had even odds of being a bunch of swear words. To judge by the goblin’s expression, he interpreted it as the latter. He hung around a few seconds, looking expectant, but Terry had already started walking away. With an irritated sigh of “Cheap friggin’ Gilneans,” he took his leave.

Rather than returning to the hustle and noise of the Point proper, Terry walked out past the edges of the More-or-Less-Safe Zone. His personal campsite wasn’t too far from the point, but far enough that he could avoid most of his night terrors. Some of the dreams were stubborn and came to him regardless, but he chalked that up to general fatigue.

Sitting down in front of his tent with a soft grunt, he took a proper look at the package and clucked his tongue in disapproval when he found the address was printed, rather than handwritten. The sender’s address wasn’t one he recognized, and he hated not knowing where things came from. It didn’t stop him from opening the thing, but it made him somewhat wary. Turning it over to find the knot in the twine, his nerves settled when he found a letter held flush against the box, addressed “Terry - Read First” in Vember’s tidy hand. He didn’t recognize the wax seal holding the envelope shut, though.

Dutifully, he set the box down without unwrapping it and broke the seal on the letter. Although some of the phrasing sounded like Vember, the handwriting was not hers. It was even cleaner, almost like a printed script, and clearly painstakingly pored over to minimize spatter from the quill and avoid mistakes. He wouldn’t have been surprised if the writer had been using a ruler.

“Terry,

I hope this letter finds you at an opportune time. If you are not already, I would suggest that you be seated and, knowing you, alone. Following the events of our initial raid on the lab in Gilneas, a large number of notes and materials were recovered and sent to the Kirin Tor for further study. Among them were a series of objects revealed to be data storage devices, the functionality of which is best left unwritten.

The Kirin Tor were recently able to translate the information on these devices to a less primitive medium, and upon review, deemed it nonviable for research purposes and returned it to us. 

Enclosed, you will find a Draenic crystal recording device, in which one sequence has already been stored. Upon realizing what it was, Vember and I determined its fate would be best left to you to decide. Please be assured that we did not play the recording in its entirety, out of decency and respect.

You are free to keep this device and the data on it, and I have included instructions on how to operate it. It is also possible to delete the data, or to record over it if you deem it necessary.

Respectfully, Lady Neun Shadhemir Vember Marlon Shedwyn Mair Lias” Just below that, in Vember’s own handwriting, was a single line:

“You have my word that I will not breathe a word of this to your brother. But you should. - V”

His hands were trembling once he’d gotten through the second paragraph. By the time he’d finished reading it, he nearly lost the slip that explained how the device worked in his rush to open the box.

The device itself was...underwhelming, a pleasant but bland quartzlike rectangle about eight inches across with a faint bluish sheen to it. Arcane energy arced between it and his fingertips for a moment before settling to an almost imperceptible warmth in his hands. It took him a few minutes to figure out he was holding it upside down, but once that was sorted, getting it working was a matter of seconds.

On activation, the device glowed bright blue, and most of the flat surface shimmered before turning a deep, pure black. The display was wobbly and unclear at the beginning, but clarified after a few seconds, until he was able to discern a set of hands--his hands--opening a door...

“Wha’ d’you mean you shot ‘im?!”

“Only in th’ leg, mate!”

“WHY DID YOU SHOOT ‘IM?!”

Diggs’ face was white as the hunter, barely out of his teens, pushed back his antlered hood and rubbed frantically at his scarred mouth. “I-I-it were a--there was a bloody--’e was a madbeast, Terry! Y’din’t say nuffin’ bout ‘im bein’ one o’ those!”

[Eyes wide, Terry mumbled “Oh god” to himself, but did not stop watching.]

Terry swore for the hundredth time in the last minute and a half, picking up his own rifle and moving his rucksack next to the doorway. He was glad he was already dressed. “You bloody nit, why were y’even carryin’? Y’were just sposed t’ watch ‘im!”

“Don’t put this on me, bruv! Yer th’one din’t fink t’mention I might be starin’ atta ‘ell’ound!”

The impact of Diggs’ back on the wall was loud, and he let out an undignified yelp when he felt something pop. Terry’s grip on his shoulders was like steel--angry steel--as he got in close and snarled, “Leon could be dead right now, you fuckin’--”

“What th’ bloody ‘ell is goin’ on in ‘ere?!”

Terry’s blood ran cold all over again as dad’s voice rattled both their brains. The man could really boom when he wanted to, and the tiny Duskhaven cabin they’d been given already amplified every footstep. He wasn’t the least bit surprised that Diggs bolted into the night the instant he could, leaving Terry standing alone, rifle in one hand, pack by the door, as his parents came inside. Bettany reached out to stop the fleeing man, but missed by a wide margin when he actually juked around her.

[A weak, mournful laugh. ”You cowardly prick.”]

They’d been away at their own party, but it was the old-folks’ party, so they were dressed a bit nicer. Mum’s hair was still done up the fancy way she liked, and she’d managed to keep her one good dress pristine for another day. Dad’s suit was already trying to split at every seam again, after a dozen trips to a dozen tailors. He already dwarfed his wife, but that suit made it even more obvious just how big he really was.

[Terry wished, as he watched the scene unfold all over again, that the suit didn’t fit because his dad was fat. It would’ve been easier to deal with him if he was fat.]

Graeme set one huge hand on his wife’s shoulder and stepped around her, not letting her get between him and Terry, though she’d already started to try. Bettany knew what was coming and her expression had shifted from confusion to determination almost immediately. The younger Ambroce stared up into his dad’s face [Terry noticed the way the image seemed to pinch at the edges; he’d been trying to look stern, and ended up scowling instead] as he came close enough to make out every stray whisker around the bush of a beard he wore.

I can still do this. It’ll still work. Just please, please, let it work fast.

“We’re leavin’. T’night. I already sent Leon a’ead.” The focus shifted for just a second to Mum’s worried frown, then back to Dad, just in time to catch his mouth twitch at one corner. When Graeme didn’t say anything beyond a low harrumph, Terry continued, voice audibly quivering this time. “I’m takin’ mum with me. It ain’t safe ‘ere.”

“What was tha’ rat bastard friend o’ yours screamin’ about b’fore ‘e ran like ‘e stole somethin’?” 

“I--’e was--sposed t’ be... guidin’ Leon through th’--”

Graeme wasn’t having it, scoffing and beginning to pace back and forth across the narrow hallway while keeping his eyes solidly on Terry’s face. “That slag was Leon’s guide outta town? Th’same dipshit ‘o wanted t’ fight Kormac stone sober an’ couldn’t tell th’ dif’rence between moss ‘n’ poison ivy?”

Rather than trying to defend one of the weakest lies he’d told in his life, Terry bulled ahead, raising his voice to be heard over his dad’s. “We’re already packed in too tight, there’s more people filt’rin’ in ev’ry day, an’ there’s things in th’ woods out ‘ere! We ‘ave t’go b’fore there’s no way t’get gone!”

“I am not leavin’ my ‘ome be’ind just so you kin feel like th’ big man in th’ouse, boyo!”

Again, Terry’s eyes shifted to mum, looking to her for help. She just barely nodded her head to him before stepping forward, reaching for Graeme’s arm. “Love, it’s not safe ‘ere. ‘E’s not wrong about th’woods. You know tha’ better’n anybody ‘ere.” She was trying to force him to look at her, but he wouldn’t stop pacing, and eventually swatted her hand off of him.

Terry growled under his breath, moving closer to the door and holding out his hand. “I’m not doin’ this all over again. I’m--we’re leavin’, with or without you.” He held out his hand toward mum, but her eyes narrowed and then went wide. “Is that blood?”

Terry looked down and saw the dark red smear across his palm. It must’ve gotten on him when he’d shoved Diggs around. Saying nothing right away, he pulled a handkerchief from his shirt and began wiping it clean. 

“Terry, what ‘appened?” Now mum was rushing forward, grabbing for his hand and intent on inspecting him for damage. He managed to dodge her once and once only before she whapped him over the back of the head and took his hand anyway. “It is blood!”

[”Don’t say it!” Cringing in almost physical pain, he knew what was coming.]

“Nothin’ t’worry over, it’s not mine.”

That, of course, was not the right thing to say, causing both of his parents to stop moving and look straight at his face. He knew what he’d done as soon as it’d left his mouth, but there was no taking it back. Bettany didn’t have a chance to say anything else before Graeme had crossed the room to shove Terry back a few feet.

“Whose blood is it then, boy? What’ve you done?”

“Dammit there’s no time fer this shit! Leon’s waitin’ fer--”

[Now, of course, Terry knew why he hadn’t seen it coming; he’d been talking, angry, panicked over his brother bleeding out somewhere in the woods. But it was plain as day on the screen.] As soon as the word ‘Leon’ reached his ears, Graeme’s eyes flicked down to focus on the rifle Terry still held. The stubbly parts of his beard began growing, and his eyes shone yellow for just a second.

Terry was still talking when Graeme picked him up and threw him across the room, and Bettany was shouting at her husband to stop by the time he’d gotten back to his feet. Face already becoming distorted and dark, Graeme paid her no heed. He was a walking cacophony of cracking bones and fleshy squishing as he stalked toward his fallen son, and growling--actually growling, bestial, impossible--from somewhere in the depths of his enormous chest.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

[He nearly dropped the crystal when Graeme lunged forward, a monstrous wall of black hair and yellow teeth. This part, he still remembered very clearly. He remembered thinking he was going to die, and that if he didn’t, he was going to turn into the same thing. He remembered thinking that mum was right there. That Leon was still outside, probably dying.]

The first few seconds were brutal and bloody, as a man pinned by a raging worgen always was. When he raised a hand to shield his face, one of Graeme’s claws went straight through his palm, nearly gouging his eye anyway. At one point, he’d managed to draw a bowie knife, but all that did was give the beast something to chew on and scrape up his muzzle with.

[Terry was confused. This wasn’t right. He’d had his rifle. He’d had his rifle, and they’d grappled over it, and he’d used it to block the worst of the damage--]

BLAM.

Graeme toppled sideways with an unmistakably canine yelp of pain. Terry turned his head to see Bettany holding his smoking rifle in shaking hands, eyes streaming, expression hard. She was clearly holding herself together as tightly as she could, and just as clearly, it wasn’t quite enough. “Graeme. Get up. Please.” When no response came, she cocked the rifle and took a single step forward, half-shrieking, “Give me back my ‘usband, you devil-dog bastard!”

He turned again, stunned, to look back at the thing that had been his father. As he took in the sight of the hulking brute laying in a rapidly spreading pool of blood with a gaping hole blown out of his side, everything shook for a few seconds. There was a distant rumble like thunder, but not quite the same, and the wolf finally stirred. Terry started to sit up, but fell down almost immediately with an agonized gasp. The sound shook Bettany out of her momentary lapse in control and she started toward him, only to stumble and drop the rifle when the world shook again.

This time, there was a shrieking sound, like trying to twist a wet branch until it snapped, amplified by ten million times and only growing louder. [Even muted by the playback from the crystal as it was, the sound was an assault on the ears. Still he watched, transfixed.] 

He could barely see straight for how wildly the world around him shook, but he was able to see the black wolf rise. They both looked up when they heard splintering wood above them, and both saw the hole forming in the roof. Graeme looked at Terry for a moment--barely a quarter of a second--and bellowed something [he could almost make it out over the din] as he ran forward to shove Bettany out of the way. The beam fell scant seconds before the rest of the roof, and then the entire world tumbled into roaring darkness around him.

It suddenly went silent, not even white noise, and stayed that way for a few seconds before the display flickered again. Grey text, numbers, and alchemical symbols began scrolling across a solid blue pane, too numerous and rapid to read. The variations began to dwindle until it was just repeating two words: “ERROR” and “SOURCE.” At the very last moment--the last frame--of the feed, another single line flashed and then disappeared. It took a few attempts to freeze it long enough to read.

“SRCMEMDUMPT101 COMPLETE. EDIT MODE? Y/N”

Terry spent almost an hour rolling the recording back, playing it again, listening as hard as he could, rolling it back, playing it again... It was too damned loud and the controls on the bloody thing weren’t fine enough to isolate the voices from the noise. In spite of himself, Terry had picked up and run all the way back up to the Point, bothering every Draenei he passed in hopes that one of them would know how to manipulate the recorder.

Once he’d nearly gotten his ass kicked for bothering the same guy a third time, he forced himself to go back to his campsite. Nearly willing to admit defeat, he caught a glimpse of his commstone sticking out of his bag.

First step: Call Darlain.

...That was the only step he had, really. He was just kind of banking on her knowing somebody who could do it, or knowing somebody who knew somebody. Thankfully, one step was all he needed; the dwarfmum pointed him to Nirahsa, a name he didn’t recognize until Darlain finally fell back on ‘Draenei woman who says ‘yes yes’ a lot.’ Driven by an almost mad need to know, Terry shelled out for a portal jump to Stormwind, rather than using the mail or, gods forbid, waiting till later. He figured nobody would miss him for a few hours.

Nirahsa didn’t have a lot of reason to want to do him a favor, and he knew that, but he was desperate, sincere, and willing to pay her every coin he had to his name if she’d do it. He assumed it reminded her of Leon (actually, she just also didn’t have a lot of reason not to do him a favor). Whatever the reason, she finally relented and told him to come back in an hour. It was a diversion from her actual work, but she needed to take a break anyway, and easy work like that counted, right?

He still insisted on paying her for the work, especially once she handed him written instructions on how to use the little remote she’d put together for him. Had he been in his standard state of mind, he would’ve asked how much she had watched, but his concern was firmly on finding privacy to pore over the recording again. Terry did have enough sense to make sure he sent a message to Shedwyn, telling her he was back in town and to find him at the barracks.

Once he got there, he settled in to get to work.

[With Nirahsa’s tweaks, he was able to mute the background noise almost completely in a matter of minutes. It was with some trepidation that he pressed ‘play’ once again. He wasn’t quite expecting the voice amplification to work as well as it did; it was picking up things that weren’t even shouted. The sound was distorted from the effects applied to it, but functional.]

Graeme rose and grunted in pain. As the wolf’s head lifted to take in the sight of the building in the beginning stages of collapse, he growled “No” to himself. Then, he looked at Terry, and began to run. 

[Yelling with almost no sound around to muddy it up, his voice made the crystal vibrate noticeably in Terry’s hands, almost startling him enough to drop it.]

“I’m sorry, Terry! I’m sorry! I love you! Find--”

Whatever else Graeme had hoped to say was cut off by another yelp and a scream as a beam almost as big around as he was slammed into his back, and the feed ended shortly after.

Terry didn’t watch it again, dropping the crystal on his cot and staring at nothing. At some point, his eyes began to water, but he didn’t move save to blink and breathe. When it finally progressed to tears, he didn’t make any attempt to wipe his face. In the next hour, he only moved once: to pick up his pillow, bury his face in it, and scream until he couldn’t anymore.

Just after dusk, Terry’s boots made soft squeaking sounds as he walked slowly through the damp grass. He came to a stop at the foot of the lilac-strewn graves, took one breath, read his father’s headstone, and froze. All the preparation he’d made in his head--things he’d rehearsed a dozen times over, words he wanted to say--dropped away in an instant, bringing him to the ground with his head hung so low his chin nearly touched his chest. His hands rested limply in the grass by his knees, and he wept unrestrained.

All he could bring himself to say were three tiny words, tearing themselves free of his painfully tight throat, filling the little clearing with ache and regret inbetween wracking sobs.

“Me too, dad.”

( @darbiebot @nirahsa @shedwyn @vembermarlon @neun-deserrat )

[ofstormsandwolves]

Bad Wolf Books and Coffee

Written for @legendslikestardust‘s ‘bookstore AU’ square of fluffuary bingo

10 x Rose, Donna, original child characters

There's a regular customer at Bad Wolf Books and Coffee, and Rose likes the look of him. Maybe if she spoke to him she'd like him even more.

AO3 | Whofic 

He came in every Thursday, and bought an Earl Grey tea and a novel. He sat in the corner, in the plush grey armchair near the fireplace, and drank his tea and read his book. He stayed there all day, until closing, and he always left with a cheery smile and a wave.

And Rose Tyler had no idea what his name was.

The man had messy brown hair and generally wore pinstripe suits in either blue or brown, with a pair of Converses. Sometimes he wore a shirt and tie, other times just a t-shirt beneath his suit jacket. But he was always charming.

Rose watched him from behind the counter. As the owner- and one of the few staff- of Bad Wolf Books and Coffee, she made it her business to get to know regular customers. Learn their names, their drink orders, book preferences. Anything to make them feel more at ease and keep them coming back. And hopefully, they’d recommend the place to friends, too.

It wasn’t that the shop was doing badly- it was doing rather well, with its funny little combination of bookshop and coffee shop- but still a lot of people favoured the big-chain bookshops with their Costa Coffee’s on the first floor. And Rose couldn’t compete with them. Well, she could, but it was a losing battle.

But the man in the suit remained a mystery to her. He hung out in the shop once a week, reading books and drinking tea, and honestly Rose was grateful for that seeing as he probably made up a large chunk of her small profit, but the fact that she didn’t know his name despite him coming in so regularly made her feel a little uneasy. It made her feel like she was exploiting him, somehow. Taking his money and yet not bothering to find out a thing about him in return.

But today, she decided, today that was going to change.

~0~0~

“You alright there?”

The Doctor blinked, looking up from his book to see a young blonde woman hovering nervously by his chair. She was probably mid-twenties, and as he squinted at her nametag, he saw she was ‘Rose’. And that she was the owner of the shop.

“Er, yes thanks,” he said in confusion. “Anything wrong?”

Maybe they were getting sick of him coming in every week and hogging the comfy chair by the fireplace. Maybe they didn’t like that he made one cup of tea last a considerable amount of time. Maybe they were just fed up with him full stop.

“Sir?”

The Doctor was startled from his thoughts by Rose’s voice, and he realised she’d obviously asked him something.

“Would you like another cup of tea?” she repeated, offering him a small smile.

“Oh, right,” he managed, realising they probably were getting annoyed with him hanging out here without buying things for hours at a time. He began to dig in his pocket for change.

“No, it’s on the house,” Rose told him, hand on his arm to still him.

He blinked at her hand, laying there on his suit jacket, and then he blinked at her.

“Are, are you sure?” he asked, a little nervously.

But she smiled at him, and nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure,” she told him. “I’m the owner of this place. If I can’t give out a few free drinks to our regular customers every now and then, what can I do?”

The Doctor nodded mutely, and watched as she walked away to the barista counter to fetch him another cup of tea. He tried to go back to his book, while he waited for his drink, but found he couldn’t concentrate, and that his eyes kept straying across the room to Rose. Luckily, his drink wasn’t exactly complicated to make (tea bag, hot water, splash of milk and two sugars), and soon Rose was setting the drink down on the little coffee table at his knees.

“It’s occurred to me,” Rose said, and she pulled another chair over to sit beside him, “that I don’t know your name, even though you’re a very regular customer.”

The Doctor blinked at her owlishly, before jamming a bookmark in his book to keep his place and thrusting his hand at her.

“Doctor James Noble,” he told her as they shook hands. “Most people just call me ‘Doctor’, though.”

“Rose Tyler,” Rose replied, beaming at him.

The Doctor couldn’t help but beam back.

~0~0~

They chatted every time the Doctor came in, after that. She found out that he worked for this software manufacturing company, and that he lived not far from the bookshop. He found out that she lived in a little flat with her friend Shareen, and that she’d grown up on the Powell Estate with her mum Jackie.

What Rose hadn’t found out about, however, were the kids.

The Doctor came in one week, struggling with a double stroller, and a toddler in tow. Rose just blinked at him as he struggled through the door.

“Don’t suppose you could give us a hand?” he asked her in embarrassment as the stroller got jammed between the closing door and the frame.

Rose hurried out from behind the till to give him a hand getting the pushchair inside. Sitting in one half of the double stroller was a sleeping baby of about six months old, a mop of curly ginger hair on its head. The toddler- who had dark wavy hair in two little plaits- had wandered off further into the shop, and was chattering and looking at the children’s books on the lower shelves.

“Sorry,” the Doctor told her, grimacing at the baffled look on Rose’s face. “My sister got called into work as a matter of urgency, so she asked me to babysit for the day. You don’t mind them being here, do you?”

“You’re their uncle,” Rose realised, and a strange sense of relief swept over her.

The Doctor blinked at her. “Yes,” he responded slowly. Then, it dawned on him what she thought. “You thought they were my kids?”

Rose shrugged at that, flushing red, and thankfully the Doctor was distracted when the toddler began pulling books off the shelves.

“Jemima, no!”

The toddler- Jemima- looked round, blinking at her uncle before turning back to the books.

“It’s fine,” Rose insisted, though she winced as another book hit the floor.

“It’s not,” the Doctor countered knowingly. “Sorry, she’s not usually like this. But Donna had to go into work in a bit of a rush, and I think Jemima’s a bit put out. Donna and Shaun- her husband- own their own company, and Shaun’s away at the moment, trying to sort out some business stuff, so I’ve ended up babysitting.” The Doctor sighed, then, watching as Jemima finally seemed to find a book she was interested in. “Maybe I should have taken them to the park instead, but it looked like rain.”

“It’s fine,” Rose said again, and this time she sounded a little more certain. “Why don’t you find somewhere to sit with- Jemima, was it?- and I’ll sort you some drinks. I’ve got juice and stuff if the kids want that.”

The Doctor smiled in relief. “Hugh here,” he said, nodding at the still-sleeping baby in the stroller, “is all kitted out with bottles, thanks. But some juice for Jemima will be great.”

Rose beamed, and disappeared to fix the drinks. The Doctor secured some seats for him and Jemima- not in his usual place, but somewhere nearer the toilets and with more space for the stroller- and settled down to read to his niece.

~0~0~

Surprisingly, they stayed there for most of the day, and the kids weren’t too bad. Rose and the other staff had had a few mumbled complaints from other customers, or glaring looks at the young children, but they weren’t causing any fuss, and seemed content for their uncle to keep reading to them. Hugh had cried a couple of times, but that was only ever because he wanted out of his pushchair, or he needed his nappy changed, or a feed. And Jemima had only protested once, and that was because she thought her book was being taken away from her. But the Doctor had gently explained that the book just needed to be scanned at the till so he could pay for it and she could keep it. She’d cheered up considerably then, and somehow conned her uncle into buying both her and her little brother a stack of books each.

“They’ll bleed me dry,” he joked as he ended up paying for another two books at the till- a picture book for Hugh and a princess dress-up book for Jemima.

“You love them though,” Rose teased from the other end of the counter. She wasn’t serving him- one of the students who worked at the shop was instead- but she could still hear what he was saying.

“You, you’ve not had any complaints, have you?” he asked nervously, lowering his voice and leaning over the counter a little more. He gave a quick glance at an elderly woman who was scowling at Jemima as she read through one of her new books and chattering to a sleeping Hugh.

“A few,” Rose admitted quietly. “But the kids have been good as gold, and there wasn’t actually anything to complain about. They were just being awkward.”

The Doctor nodded, and looked about to speak, when Jemima called him.

“Uncle James! Look!” She was proudly holding up a book, pointing at a picture of a princess.

Rose grinned, and gently nudged him in the direction of his niece and nephew again. He’d just reached them again and was talking quietly to Jemima when the door opened and a tall ginger woman came in, looking across between worried and annoyed.

“Don’t you answer your phone?” she asked, and made a beeline for the Doctor, who looked up in surprise. “I’ve been calling you! Blimey, it’s a good thing you go to the same place every week, isn’t it? I ask you to look after my kids for a few hours and you swan off with them. Anyway, who takes toddlers to a bookshop?”

“Mummy!” Jemima beamed, and thrust her new princess dress-up book in the woman’s face.

She must be Donna, Rose realised.

“That’s lovely, darling,” Donna said quickly, placating her daughter before turning back to her brother. “Have they been alright? This isn’t exactly the place to bring young kids.”

“They’ve been fine, Donna,” the Doctor sighed. “I’m in here quite a bit and Rose, the owner, said it’s fine.” He nodded towards Rose then, and Donna turned to look at her. She took Rose in, and smiled.

Quickly, Rose made her way out from behind the till to head over to the Doctor and Donna. Thankfully, as it was nearing three o’clock, there was a bit of a lull in customers as was always the way; people had to get back for the school run.

“Honestly, Donna, the kids have been fine. They’ve been no bother at all,” Rose insisted gently, giving the woman a warm smile.

The Doctor grinned dopily at her then, and Donna rolled her eyes.

“I’ll leave you two to flirt, then,” Donna told her brother, smirking at him and Rose. “Come on, Jemima.”

The pair could only watch as Donna gripped the handles of the double stroller and made her way to the door of the bookshop.