#please tell me this horror walks on screen for a total of 2 seconds and is promply dragged back to hell

[glimmeringtwilight]

Wait a secknd

what the fuck?

[psychovigilantewrites]

Don’t Call Me That Pt. 2

Wordcount: 10,129

A/N:  I thought this part 2 would total up to 10k words, but when it hit 10k, I realised that I was only about 65 percent done. So based on the responses I got from tumblr, I decided to publish this first and then conclude the story later on!

TW:  mentions of r*pe, mentions of torture, mentions of drugging someone (??) , mental breakdowns, vulnerability, descriptions of anxiety

Also, HERE’S MY FAV MEMES!! I’m so sorry that I can’t tag respective meme creators, because I saved them on my phone and some of them I forgot to include your usernames!! I’M SO SORRY!!! And honest to god is wear there were more but i must have lost them im so sorry im so incompetent lmao

memeesss

You glanced at your phone.

It had already been a week in Hawaii with your friends, and Jason still hadn’t texted you.

Well, you should have expected it, really. Jason was a traumatised, mentally ill man who had been locked away for two years.

Of course he wouldn’t text you first.

You had contemplated texting him over the past few days, typing in an array of messages ranging from a simple “hey” to a whole paragraph, and deleting all of it without hitting send. Did he even switch the phone on? Was he surfing the internet? Or was the phone still there on the shelf where you had left it.

It was driving you crazy.

“Do you have a boyfriend we don’t know about?” a voice called.

You looked up and squinted at the man who was standing up, looking down at you. You were sitting on the beach, a little further away from the ocean where your friends were.

“What are you talking about?” you asked as Alex plopped down next to you.

“You’ve been fidgety the whole time,” he pointed out, combing back his dark shoulder length hair with his fingers, getting sand in them. “We’re on a private beach, and you’ve been fussing over your phone. Who are you talking to?”

“No one,” you grumbled truthfully.

“The girls have been gossiping,” he gestured to the two other girls playing in the water. Your closest friends. It was four of you in that inseparable group.

“Of course they have,” you groaned, “Tell them to SAY IT TO MY FACE, COWARDS!”

You shouted at them, earning you grins and middle fingers from the distance.

“They’re saying you’re in love with someone,” he chuckled, “But they always say stupid shit like that without any evidence. But sometimes, a girl’s intuition is just right, ya know?”

“Stop beating around the bush, Alex,” you rolled your eyes at him despite knowing he couldn’t see past your sunglasses. “No, I’m not in love. I’m just waiting for a text that might never come.”

“Why don’t you text him first?”

“Because it’s not as simple as that!” you flailed your arms, “He’s… complicated. I can’t just text him anything.”

“Girl, unless he’s Mr. Nottingham, or related to you, then it really isn’t that complicated,” he joked.

“Ugh,” you groaned again, falling back onto the cloth you spread out. “Fine. I’ll text him.”

“Atta girl,” Alex grinned, “I’m gonna head back in the water. Join us after. Please?”

“Yeah, yeah,” you waved.

Opening the text window for what had to be the thirtieth time, you finally decided to text him.

You: Miss me yet?

Staring intently at the small ‘sent’ below your message bubble, you waited for it to turn to ‘delivered’.

“Yes!” you hissed. It meant that Jason had indeed switched on the phone.

But after twenty minutes you realised that it didn’t matter if Jason switched on the phone if he didn’t want to talk to you. Cursing to yourself, you decided to join your friends in the water, hoping it’ll distract you from checking your phone every five minutes for a text message that might never come.

After an hour of actually spending time with your friends, all four of you returned to the villa, your mood elevated. Checking your phone, you could have jumped for joy when you saw not one, but four consecutive texts in a row.

Jason: Duck off. Jason: What the duck Jason: WHY CANT I SAY DUCK Jason: I DUCKING HATE THIS

You couldn’t let out a string of giggles.

“Oooh, lover boy texted you back, huh?” Alex peeked over your shoulder. “Gimme, I wanna mess with him.”

He snatched your phone from your hands, surprisingly swift and smooth for a civilian, raising it way above his head so you couldn’t reach it and opened the camera.

“Alex-!”

He threw his other arm over your shoulder and pulled you into his bare chest, crushing you before you could tackle him down. He snapped a picture and sent it.

You froze in horror.

“Why the hell did you do that?!” you yelled.

“Relax, I was just messing around,” he gave your phone back to you.

“You don’t- you don’t understand, you fucking asshole!” you screamed.

“I- I’m sorry,” Alex stuttered, surprised by your reaction. “I was just-”

“Fuck off!” you snapped.

Panicking, you saw the little notification below the picture turning from Received to Read.

No. No, no, no, no.

This was bad.

You didn’t want to overwhelm Jason by sending him photos of your activities, thinking that he might react badly to the sudden surplus of familiarity and sense of being close to someone. Now you were worried that he might start to push you away in fear, reverting back to how he was before, and months of progress would have been all for nothing.

He would probably start swearing at you, or worse- switch off the phone and reject any form of communication completely. You hurriedly texted a reply.

You: I’m so sorry! I didn’t send that, my friend was just messing around.

Expecting the worst, you braced yourself for the inevitable. Instead, he sent you:

Jason: Who the hell is that guy?? Jason: Why are you in your underwear??

Your mouth hung open as you stared in shock at the screen. Because you took so long to recover from the shock, he sent you another message.

Jason: ???

Snapping out of it, you texted back.

You: That’s just my friend. Sorry about that! And I’m not in my underwear, it’s a bikini! I’m in Hawaii.

You waited for him to reply, but ten minutes of you sitting anxiously on the turquoise sofa in the middle of the villa listening to the waves of the beach outside from the open doors passed by, and he still hadn’t.

Perhaps he’s busy- wait. There’s no way Jason would be busy. You tried to coax him into a conversation.

You: You can turn off your autocorrect if you want to swear without hassle. Go to your Keyboard settings.

You plopped your phone on the empty seat next to you and dried your hair.

“Ugh, come on!” complained Natalie, fully clothed and washed, walking towards the open concept kitchen from her room. “You’re getting sand everywhere!”

“Woops, my bad,” you grinned.

“There’s a shower outside on the porch for a reason you know,” she flipped her blond beach waves at you, looking through the fridge.

Alex stood quietly at the kitchen island, now scared to say anything.

You rolled your eyes. “Just don’t do it again.”

“Okay, I promise!” he grinned.

Ding.

Jason: fuck. fuck. fucking fuck. Jason: found it. You: Proud of you, man.

You went to your room and showered, then dried off and put on fresh clothes while waiting for Jason to reply.

Of course, he never did.

Groaning, you had to remind yourself that he was not used to human interaction, and texting would come unnaturally to him. Which meant that you had to be the one to keep the conversation going.

You: Do anything interesting since I left?

You saw him typing almost immediately this time.

Jason: no.

Of course not.

You: Have you been eating properly? Jason: yeah.

God, it was so difficult. You were in the middle of typing something when he replied again.

Jason: yoire not my mom Jason: yoire Jason: YOIRE Jason: FUCK WHY CANR I TYPE

You felt guilty for laughing, but you did anyway.

You: Now that you switched off autocorrect, it won’t correct your typos and misspells anymore. Jason: i fucking knw that. Ive been gone for two yeard not twenty. You: Then why do you sound like a grandpa? Jason: BECAISE YOU GAVE ME A FUCKINF IPHONE!! I USED AN ANDROID!!

Now you were really laughing out loud, so you sent him a GIF of a woman rolling her eyes.

Jason: wtf you can send gifs throug text now?? You: Welcome to 2020, my dude. Jason: im not your fucking dude

Typing a reply, Jason interrupted you once again.

Jason: teach me how to do that

Smiling widely, you found that you couldn’t wait for the next week to pass by so you could go back and see him.

***

“How’s Jason?” you asked the minute you reached the Cave computers, panting from the run down.

“Wow, hello to you, too,” Dick chuckled, spinning towards you on the wheeled chair.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and Bruce and Dick were in front of the computers, discussing a case that had connections to Bludhaven Police Department.

Gone for two weeks, you had a lot to catch up on.

“According to Alfred, he’s doing well,” Bruce answered, “Even started to ask for seconds last week. Now Alfred has been making portions for two.”

“He asked? For seconds?” you gasped. “How?”

“He left a note on the tray two days after you left. He’s been making meal requests, too. Texts Alfred in the morning to let him know.”

“Texted?!”

“Alfred slipped his number on the tray in case Jason wanted anything specific.”

“I slipped mine as well, but he hasn’t texted me yet,” Dick pouted.

“When did he start texting?” you ignored Dick.

“Last Sunday.”

So the same day you started texting him, then.

“He hasn’t texted me,” Dick sighed, looking dejected like a kid who was told Disneyland blew up.

“He’ll come around, Dick,” you offered him a smile, “I mean- he’s already texting Alfred!”

“Yeah,” he lamented.

“Okaaay, nice talk. I’m gonna go see him now, bye.”

You ran to the box, but stopped right before you opened the internal door. After checking your hair with your phone camera, you tried to stifle the butterflies in your stomach.

Ugh, you were so fucked.

Taking a deep breath, you knocked on the door.

“Yeah,” Jason’s muffled grunt answered you.

Pushing it open, your eyes immediately went to the bed only to find that he wasn’t lounging around reading a book like you expected. Instead, your mouth dropped open when you saw him on the floor, doing push ups.

Shirtless.

Jason had changed drastically during the two weeks you were gone. You noticed that he had definitely gained weight, as well as muscle mass.

“Uh, wh-what are you..?”

He stood up, and you swore your heart skipped a beat.

His muscles were much more prominent and defined now, and he looked like he was going to achieve Dick’s physique if he kept it up for another month or two.

“Welcome back,” he simply said before taking gulps from a water bottle you definitely had not seen before.

“Thanks,” you walked over and sat on his bed, “I’m glad to see that you decided to start taking care of yourself again.”

“What, this? This isn’t for me.”

“Huh?” you cocked your head in curiosity.

“I… I lost a lot of muscle mass. My body- it isn’t how it used to be,” he frowned, “And I can’t have you lusting over it when it’s not at its peak.”

“What- what do you-?” you stammered, suddenly getting hot.

Jason merely smirked and then continued his push ups.

You watched as his developing muscles rippled, a thin layer of sweat making his skin glisten in the light. It was amazing how he had progressed so much in such a short period of time. You guessed that he must have just been occupying his days by working out.

No wonder he’s been asking for seconds.

“Enjoying the view?” Jason breathed, pausing with his arms straightened, his head angled upwards towards you.

“No, shut up,” you looked away.

“Here, be useful,” he started, “Sit on my back.”

“What?”

“I’ve gotten used to my own body weight, I need extra resistance,” he elaborated, “Come on, sit on my back.”

“But it’s all sweaty,” you whined, pretending to protest. Definitely pretending- for the sake of your own dignity.

You got up and went over towards him anyway.

Carefully, awkwardly, you sat on his back as you would a park bench. You rested your palms flat against his sticky skin to stabilise yourself. Suddenly, he dipped down without warning, earning a soft squeal from you.

“Fuck, you’re heavy,” he strained, but continued to do the push ups. He was shakier, struggling with the weight, and after twenty-five, he paused. “Okay, I think I’m done.”

But before you had the chance to get off him, he suddenly stood up, throwing you off his back to have you fall on the floor on your ass.

“Jason, you assho-” you clapped your hand over your mouth, realising what you had just said.

Oh, no. Oh, fuck.

He stood towering over you, his jaw clenching as he stared you down with his cold, blue eyes.

“I’m so sorry! I forgot! It was a reflex and-”

“Whatever. I don’t care anymore,” he rolled his eyes, reaching for his bottle.

You blinked. Then scrambled to your feet.

“You don’t care anymore?” you repeated slowly.

“I don’t care if you call me that,” he huffed.

That made your heart swell and melt at the same time.

“I got used to your voice,” he mumbled, expression changing as he looked away. He frowned, as if he was angrily staring at a distant object.

You had just guessed that he didn’t like to be called his name because of a sense of familiarity, but now you were thinking that there was much more to that than what you had originally thought.

“So, I can call you… Jason?” you tested.

“Yeah, call me whatever you want,” he sat on his bed, looking up at you.

You smiled, thankful that you had finally crossed that bridge. “You know, I could get some workout stuff for you? Weights, bands, that bar thing that you can put at your door frame for pull ups…”

“You’d like to see that, huh?” he smirked.

“You flatter yourself too much,” you scoffed.

“How was Hawaii?” he changed the subject all of a sudden.

“It was fun. Beach was great, locals were great, loved the vibe- what are you doing?”

Jason had stood back up and started to walk closer and closer to you, getting all up in your space like a predator finally cornering its prey. You kept on taking steps back until your ass hit the edge of the desk.

Nowhere else to run, your heart started hammering. He leaned in, his hands resting on the desk on either side of your body, trapping you against the table and himself. You looked up and gulped. You could almost feel the heat radiating from his bare skin.

“Are you afraid of me?” he muttered lowly.

“Why would I be afraid of you?” you whispered.

“You tell me,” he said.

“Well, I’m not afraid of you,” you stated.

“Oh really?” he raised an eyebrow. Then, you felt his hand grip your wrist tightly, pressing down on your skin with his fingers. “Your pulse is very fast for someone who’s not afraid of me.”

“It’s because you’re all up in my space!” you argued.

“Didn’t look like you mind when your friend,” he snarled the word, “was all up in your space.”

“My friend? What- oh,” you widen your eyes in realisation, “You mean Alex.”

“Is that his name?”

“Alex is just a friend, nothing more. He’s just someone I’m close to,” you reassured him.

Which then made you think about why you were reassuring him.

“Oh, you were definitely close to him,” Jason growled.

“Wait- are you… jealous?” a smile creeped your lips.

He scowled at you for a few moments, and you could see the little tics in his expression that said he was annoyed. The flared nostrils, the muscles of his jaw clenching and unclenching, the very slight twitches at the corner of his left eye.

“No,” he finally said, taking a step back from you. “I’m going to shower. Since you couldn’t stop staring at me, the invitation is still open for you to join.”

“You know, I’m starting to think that maybe I prefer it when you were broody instead of this. Please go back to your depressive mental state,” you sarcastically replied.

Jason barked out an actual laugh. Though his laugh was odd, like someone who’s only now discovering that humans were indeed capable of laughter, you found comfort in it. It was no longer hysterical and devoid of humor. He was getting better, learning to embrace a connection with someone, and it made you extremely happy.

“Maybe I should,” he answered with a cheeky glint in his eye, “Then that way you can give me more sponge baths.”

He left you alone in his room, flushed and at a loss for words.

***

“I find it very odd that people would yell ‘Batman!’ when they realise you’re there,” you rambled while climbing out of the Batmobile.

You were absolutely drenched from the downpour that had been going on all night. It was 4 am on a friday night and you had just returned from patrol.

Bruce took off his cowl immediately, revealing tired eyes despite the relatively slow night.

“It’s like they’re saying ‘Look at me! I’m here! Please knock me out or hang me upside down from the-’ Bruce?”

Bruce had stiffen, staring at something behind you. You turned around and was shocked to see Jason in the mid-distance, sitting on the ground outside the black box that was his room, leaning against the cool metal.

He himself was staring intently at Bruce, not even sparing you a glance.

You looked back and forth between the two men, sensing a high tension silent conversation.

Then, Bruce’s eyes relaxed and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly in that hardly-there-Bruce-smile.

He gave Jason one stiff nod of understanding, then walked away to the computers at the other end of the cave, leaving you alone with his son.

Jason relaxed as you walked over to him, wringing your hair to squeeze out all the excess water.

“Aw, you waited up for me,” you teased, standing in front of him with your hands on your hips, grinning away.

“Fuck off,” he snorted, “I was bored.”

You noticed him clenching his jaw as he looked at you from top to bottom, eyes lingering longer on the ‘R’ on your left breast.

Ah, it was his first time seeing you in your uniform.

His uniform.

Suddenly, you felt like an imposter in those colors and had the strong urge to rip the uniform off.

You wanted to say something, but Jason beat you to it.

“There were times in that shit hole where I wanted to burn that uniform off my skin,” he grit, “Kept on thinking to myself. I wish I never became Robin. I wish I never met Bruce Wayne.”

Your heart shattered at his confession. It was extremely rare for him to bring up anything related to his two year torture, and the previous times were never in such detail.

Realising you needed to say something, you opened your mouth. “I’m so-”

“Don’t,” he cut you off, “You don’t have to say anything.”

Yes, sometimes you knew that he just wanted you to listen.

You nodded silently and went to sit next to him on the floor.

“It… suits you,” he forced out.

“Hmm?”

“The uniform. It suits you. More than it ever suited me,” he grumbled.

“Oh, I don’t know about that. I think your ass would look quite nice in green,” you joked, nudging his shoulder with your own.

He chuckled deeply, nudging you back even harder- hard enough for you to lose your balance and topple sideways, earning another breathy laugh from Jason.

***

Another month passed by, and you found yourself falling deeply for Jason- much to your dismay. You knew Jason wasn’t ready for any kind of intense emotions, and that it would take a very long time before he was.

So you swallowed your emotions down, stifling them and hoping it would go away.

The two of you had developed a pleasant friendship, often bickering and joking around, with Jason teasing you about your obvious physical attraction to him.

He also now occasionally waited outside his cube for you to come back after patrol, never really venturing too far from it, and still avoiding contact with both Bruce and Dick. Only you and Alfred had the privilege to speak to him.

Even then, sometimes you would visit his room but only getting a “I’m not feeling it today. Please leave.”

Understandingly, you would nod silently and leave him alone. You knew he still had his bad days, sometimes not eating his meals.

But mostly, he was getting better, both mentally and physically.

With nothing much to do the whole day, Jason was now obsessed with working out and bulking up. He now had a few simple equipment in his room- mostly weights.

You figured that it was a coping mechanism for him, a healthy outlet to channel all his rage and negative emotions into.

But come on. He was getting even hotter and it was making it extremely difficult for you to stop yourself from checking him out, fantasizing about him when he wasn’t around. Still, you couldn’t complain. Even though he hadn’t reached Dick’s size yet, he was very near to it, and his naturally bigger body frame and build made up for the still developing muscles.

Hell, he was now sporting a six pack.

But you knew that he was still not as well as you hoped he would be. The bloodshot eyes he had was proof that he doesn’t sleep well- and you soon found out why.

It was a little past midnight on your night off from patrol, and you were using your break in the best way you could think of- by sleeping. Something woke you up that night.

A soft knock on your door.

You frowned, eyes still closed, wondering who it was.

Bruce would usually knock twice. Strong, clear, and with purpose. Dick would start pounding rapidly on your door, annoying you intentionally. Alfred would give three soft knocks followed by a ‘Miss?’

Your eyes flew open. There was only one other person in the manor.

Throwing your covers aside, you jumped out of bed and rushed to the door to open it.

Jason stood outside your door in the dim lights of the hallway, frowning and running his fingers nervously through his messy dark hair. He was wearing a t-shirt with boxers, standing awkwardly.

“Jason?” you hated how your voice sounded so sleepy. You cleared your throat. “Are you okay? Would you like to come in?”

He nodded silently, and you made way for him to enter before closing the door behind you.

“Sit on the bed,” you told him while jumping back into yours, sitting up cross legged.

The bed dipped when he sat on it, copying your motion and crossed his legs.

You waited for him to say something, your eyes straining to catch his in the dark. But he just remained silent, staring into space and avoiding your eyes.

“How did you know this was my room?” you asked, starting with a light topic.

“Only one that was locked. I already know where everyone else sleeps,” he explained.

“That’s right,” you realised, “I tend to forget that you’re probably even more familiar with the manor than I am.”

“Did you know there’s an old dumbwaiter in Bruce’s room?” you saw him smirk from the shadows that was casted on his face, “I used to hide in there, waiting to catch him off guard.”

“What? Why?”

“Dick and I, we had a bet,” he recalled the memory, “Whoever gets to surprise Bruce first would owe the other a special favor. Only rule was that we had to have it on video as proof.”

You appreciated that moment, the first time he ever spoke about both Dick and Bruce as a fond memory.

“I won, by the way,” he continued, “But- I forgot to press record on my phone.”

“Oh, no,” you groaned for him.

“Yeah, and Dick refused to believe me,” he chuckled, “That old man didn’t want to admit it either. But I swear- the look on his face when I jumped out while he and some model were going at it- priceless.”

Your jaw dropped, and then you burst into a fit of laughter, tears filling your eyes.

“You- you- you jumped out on him while he was having sex?!” you squealed.

“Yeah,” he grinned, “I didn’t even care that it sort of scarred me, because I managed to catch Batman off guard.”

The both of you laughed, his deep voice mingling with your own on that quiet night.

“I’m glad you’re here, Jason,” you smiled warmly at him.

But then, his smile fell.

“I hate my name now.”

“I’m sorry,” you began, “You said it was okay to call you that, so I-”

“No, it’s fine,” he started running his fingers through his hair again, “It’s just- I don’t know.”

“You can tell me anything,” you reassured, “It won’t leave this room. I promise.”

He looked at you, worry in his eyes. “Okay. Fine. Yeah.”

You waited for him to begin.

He took a deep breath. “I’ve been having nightmares. Almost every night. It’s always the same one.”

“You want to tell me about it?” you prompted him after waiting for him to continue.

“I hate my name because he said it a lot. Joker,” he scowled, “After repeatedly burning my skin for my name, it’s like that’s all he said. In that annoying, high pitched, sing-song voice of his. Jason, Jason, Jason. It made me hate my name. It made me hate hearing it.”

“I- I didn’t know how much time passed when I was in there,” he continued, “But, fuck. It was- it was hell. And the worst part was that I kept on waiting for Bruce. Waiting and hoping for him to find me and save me. I was so desperate. You- I-”

He choked on his words. His eyes were squeezed shut and his lips tight.

You wanted to reach out to him, hug him, tell him that everything was okay now. But you didn’t. You waited for him to collect himself so he could finish telling you his story, just like how he wanted to.

“Anyway, I- despite all that,” he sighed, “That was the only thing that kept me sane. I kept on clinging onto the hope that he was out there, searching. And that helped for a while. Until- until that happened.”

He was breathing heavily now, fidgeting more. Jason was definitely getting increasingly agitated the deeper he went.

“Fuck,” he breathed, “Fuck.”

The moment you realised he was crying was when he let out a sniffle. You automatically took his hand in yours, squeezing it as a form of comfort.

“It’s okay,” you told him, “You don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready.”

“No,” he shook his head, “I need to. I have to. I can’t take this anymore. Keeping everything in, I feel like I’m about to fucking explode.”

“Okay, then take it slow,” you said, “No rush. Anytime you’re ready.”

He nodded, eyes still closed, as if he was afraid of letting you see him cry.

“One night,” he began, “I think- I don’t know what was different- but I think something went wrong for him. Or right? That’s how it was. Tormenting me was fun, but it was also an outlet for him. But at the same time when he was happy, he also tortured me. He came to me, and- injected me with some sort of drug. That never happened before. He made sure that my head was clear whenever he hurt me so that I could feel everything he did.”

“But- he did- and- immediately, I felt weak,” he continued, “I mean, I was already weak. But my head. It was cloudy. I remember everything clearly, but it was like my brain couldn’t process it, couldn’t communicate with my body. I felt like I was looking out through a window that was my eyes- like I was in someone else’s body, experiencing someone else’s moments.”

“He released me,” Jason’s voice was now barely a whisper. “He released me from the ropes, and I fell to the floor. And then he- he- fuck.”

He let go of your hand and started pulling at his hair, rocking back and forth on your bed. He was sobbing now, his shoulders jerking up in sharp intakes of breaths. The only thing you could do was to stay silent and hold back your own tears.

You rested your hand on his knee, giving him a textile connection with reality so he doesn’t fall into his own thoughts.

“You- he- he- ruh- ruhp-”

Your heart sank to your stomach in horror as you realised what Jason was trying to say. It was as if you were plunged into icy water, chills running down your spine at the true revelation of what he had gone through in that cursed cell.

“Oh, no,” you breathed.

“He pushed me down,” he choked, “Pushed me down and climbed on top. I- I couldn’t even fight him. I was- I was conscious the whole time and I knew what was happening, but I couldn’t fucking do anything.”

Your tears were falling down now, both at the sight of Jason looking so vulnerable and fragile, and at his confession. Not being able to help yourself, you threw your arms over his neck and crashed into his hard body, burying your face in the crook of his shoulder.

His arms immediately wrapped around you, clutching you so hard it was painful as he buried his own face into your shoulder.

“And he kept on saying my name,” he said in muffled cries, “Jason, Jason, Jason. The whole fucking time. And- and I knew. He didn’t do it for pleasure. He did it to torment me. He- he didn’t even- he didn’t even finish.”

Jason sobbed into your skin for the next few minutes, his tears soaking through your night shirt. “But I did. Even though it was painful. Fuck, the pain was worse than anything he had ever done to me before. But- he- I- I fucking came.”

The both of you were sobbing now, his ragged breaths mingling together with your own on that quiet night.

His grip on you was tight, as if he thought that if he let go, you would disappear. So he clung onto you with all his might to keep you there with him as he recalled the horrific events.

“That's what broke me. I was so disgusted with myself. I hated myself. And he- he saw everything and- and laughed. He laughed so hard, I thought he was going to choke and die. I’ve never seen him laugh like that. And I remember every single fucking moment of being helpless on that fucking floor while he- fuck. Fuck.”

“And then he left. He left me on the floor bleeding and I never saw him again. And I went fucking insane. I tried to kill myself so many fucking times. So many times, I lost count. That’s what I dream about every night. His laughs, and his ‘Jason, Jason, Jason’.”

And that was that. That was the story.

The end of Jason Todd.

The both of you cried long and hard that night in each other’s arms. Eventually, you both lied down on the pillows together, underneath the covers.

“Please don’t tell Bruce,” he whispered to you.

Your head was on his chest, his big arms wrapped around your waist, your legs tangled with his.

You smiled at that. Even with the trauma, even with the sense of abandonment he felt, he still wanted to protect Bruce from knowing the truth.

Because the both of you knew that the truth would kill him.

“I promise,” you whispered back.

And then the both of you fell asleep together.

***

“Has Jason been sleeping in your room with you?” Bruce asked you on one fine Saturday morning at breakfast.

It had been about a week and a half since the first time Jason knocked on your door and poured out his feelings to you.

“He gets nightmares,” you tried to explain.

He thought that if he told you everything, the nightmares would stop. But it didn’t. But he then realised that the only thing that made it better was sleeping by your side, having someone there to wake him up from living his own hell in a loop.

“And do the two of you… Just sleep?” Bruce frowned.

“Yes!” you widen your eyes in horror at the insinuation. “Bruce! Come on!”

“I know you have feelings for him, and I’m sure he does for you as well. But I don’t think something like that is what Jason needs right now,” he stated.

“Yes, I know!” you groaned at the thought having that kind of conversation with him, “Jesus, Bruce. I know. I’m just there to wake him up or help him fall back asleep. Nothing more.”

Bruce nodded, deep in thought. “Has he… told you? About what happened?”

You pursed your lips. “Yes.”

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“No.”

“Hmm,” his frown went deeper. “I understand. He will tell me when he is ready.”

“Exactly,” you smiled, hiding the fact that Jason may never tell Bruce what happened. Never the full story.

“He still hasn’t left the manor?”

“No,” you sighed, “I asked him if he wanted some fresh air. Just outside the main door, not even going down the steps. But he refused. Told me to, and I quote, ‘Fuck off’.”

“Well, he’s only just left the cave, and it’s just to your room,” Bruce thought out loud, “It’s still progress. Especially since he’s been talking to you about the past.”

“He only spoke about it one time,” you said, “And then never again.”

“I see,” he hummed, “And you’re okay with him sleeping with you?”

“Next to me, Bruce, sleeping next to me,” you corrected.

“Yes, and you’re okay with that?”

“Yeah, it’s all good,” you assured him, “I can kick him out any time I want- but I don’t want to. He looks like a lost puppy sometimes.”

“An angry lost puppy.”

You chuckled at that and couldn’t agree more.

*** While Jason got the sleep he needed when he was next to you, it was counterproductive on your end. You had never been with anyone before, and definitely had not slept on the same bed with another man.

So to feel his body heat and breaths against your skin, his occasional light snores, it made your mind go on hyperdrive.

Most of the time, the two of you would just lie down, your back against his front, or your backs against each other, or both on your backs just staring at the ceiling- and talked. You would be the one talking the most, of course, about anything you could think of. You would tell him about your day, your patrols, something you read about online, or the current news.

But that one particular night during week three of him sleeping next to you, the two of you were silent. It wasn’t an awkward or uncomfortable silence, but the kind of silence that was pleasant and was better described as a peaceful quiet.

You had your back pressed against his front and his arm was lazily draped over your waist. It was a cold night, and you were wearing just a tank top and pyjama shorts, snuggling under the covers that went up all the way to your nose.

Shifting a bit while snuggling comfortably, you pressed yourself against Jason’s body to get more of his heat. But then, you were met with something poking against your lower back.

“Ngh, please ignore that,” Jason huffed.

Oh.

For some reason, you forgot that Jason was a physically healthy male who was capable of having sexual thoughts and feelings. All this while, you thought you were the only one.

“Are you- uh- is that- uh-” you stuttered, feeling your face flush with heat.

Feeling your body suddenly alert with excitement.

“Yes, it’s my fucking penis,” he grit almost angrily, “What, never heard of an erection before?”

“Of course I have!” you argued rather defensively, “It’s just- I’m surprised, that’s all.”

“Why?” he demanded, “You didn’t think I could get it up or something?”

“No, of course not!” you denied, “It just didn’t cross my mind, that’s all.”

A pause. Then-

“Well,” he sighed, “You wouldn’t have been wrong.”

Your mind blanked for a second.

“What do you mean?” you asked softly.

“It’s my- fuck- it’s my first time,” he confessed.

“Your first time getting an erection?” you gasped.

“No, you idiot,” he snapped, “It’s my first time getting hard since… since… then.”

Oh. Oh, you were an idiot.

“It’s just- after that- even when I was downstairs, alone and safe, I- I couldn’t,” he told you, “I kept on thinking back to that time and- and I couldn’t. I found it disgusting.”

And immediately, like someone doused you in cold water, any feeling of horniness you had when you first felt his erection against you disappeared. You just felt so sad for him, but also angry. Angry that he had to go through all of that, and angrier that there was nothing you could do about it.

“So, why do you think you’re getting it now?” you asked. Perhaps talking about it in an objective manner would help guide him through his thought process.

“Are you kidding me?” he scoffed, “You’re fucking pressing your ass against my dick, what did you think would happen?”

“Wait, what?” your eyes widen, “You’re hard because of me?”

“No shit,” he said, “You’re hardly wearing any clothes, too.”

You shouldn’t feel happy due to the circumstance and context, but there you were ecstatic that he found you attractive enough to pop a boner after so long.

“Fuck,” he sighed, suddenly pressing himself closer to you.

His hand that draped over your waist when to actually grip it. Then, then, he grinded his hard on against your ass.

“Mmm,” he rumbled deeply, “Feels good.”

There. That was it. You were once again flooded with the feeling of heat that pooled at your stomach, a tingling sensation started at your core. Feeling hot despite the low temperature of the night, you clenched your thighs together, needing the slight pressure.

“Yeah?” you whispered.

“Yeah,” he grinded on you again, and then unexpectedly let out a chuckle.

“What is it?” you smiled, loving it whenever you heard him laugh.

“I thought… For the longest time, I thought I was broken. That he broke me,” he revealed, “I thought I needed to get all Wingardium Leviosa on this little fucker.”

“Oh my God,” you laughed and groaned at the same time, “You’re so fucking embarassing.”

He laughed along with you and continued. “But now I’m hard and- and horny. You made me feel like I’m normal again. Like I’m sixteen again, and getting horny over everything.”

Sometimes, we take the normal things for granted. Food, shelter, clothes. In this case, it was a goddamned boner. In a way, Jason’s erection was symbolic- however funny it sounded. Getting your sexual appetite and need back after being so traumatised was a massive leap for many people who had experienced the same thing.

It meant that Jason was healing well.

“Does that make you happy?” you asked.

“Not particularly,” he admitted, “But I’m definitely not sad either.”

“That’s good enough for now, then,” you beamed.

“Yeah,” he breathed.

Another few moments of silence. You could feel it, his cock pushing into you. However tempted you were to push back and grind, you held yourself still.

“Uh, Jason?” you voiced.

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to like, take care of it?” you asked, “I mean. My bathroom is available. Or- there are many empty rooms.”

“No,” he simply stated.

“No?”

“No.”

“It’s kinda poking into me.”

“Just ignore it.”

“Ignore it?” you gaped, “How can I ignore it? You’re literally pressing it into my ass.”

“Well, then do you want to take care of it?” he teased.

You couldn’t argue back. “Fine, I’ll ignore it.”

He chuckled. “I’ll turn around.”

When he made the movement, you suddenly grabbed him by the wrist. “No, it’s fine. Stay here.”

You expected him to tease you like he usually would, make a crass comment, or even a ‘fuck off’.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around you again in silence, and the both of you drifted to sleep.

***

“Do you think this color suits me?” Natalie asked, holding up a floral red dress.

The four of you were at the mall in Diamond District. Now that high school was over, and everyone would be going off to separate colleges in a few months, you tried to spend time with each other as much as you could.

“Any color suits you, Nat,” you rolled your eyes, “You’re hot stuff.”

“Jesus, it’s like you’re shoving it in our faces at this point,” Sarah added, flipping her brunette hair to the side, tight curls flowing down.

“Aw, you guys,” Nat pretended to tear up, “I’m gonna miss you guys so much!”

“Not again,” Alex groaned, “We’ve been through this so many times.”

“I’m gonna be so miserable without you guys,” Natalie continued on, ignoring Alex’s interruption.

“I don’t know,” Sarah shrugged, “I think I’d enjoy New York. I can have pizza parties with the rats in my overpriced apartment.”

You chuckled at Sarah’s joke. Everyone was leaving Gotham except you. Deciding to continue with Robin, you opted for Gotham University- prestigious, old, and most importantly, close to home.

Your phone dinged in your pocket. You opened it to find texts from Dick.

Dick: OH MY GOD. Dick: I’m at the Manor. Dick: Was going to the Cave gym to work out. Dick: AND Dick: JASON IS HERE!!! WHAT DO I DO?!?!

That was new. Jason would usually just use whatever basic equipment he had in his room to work out. The fact that he was at the Cave’s sparring area where all the other fancier work out equipment were was out of the ordinary.

You: Just go. See if he reacts. If he suddenly stiffens and just stay there not doing anything, then leave. If he continues on, then it’s okay to stay- but don’t initiate anything! Dick: OKOKOK

You waited anxiously for Dick’s update. All four of you were now walking towards the food court, but you hardly listened to their bickering. Forty-five minutes passed before Dick texted you again.

Dick: OMG HE TALKED TO ME You: What did he say? Dick: He asked me to pass him his towel. You: That’s all he said? Dick: IT’S PROGRESS OKAY!!

Dick was right. It meant that Dick was now the third person Jason had spoken to. Adding another person to his list of contacts was definitely progress.

You were happy for him.

You:Is he still there? Dick: Nah he left Dick: But WOW he’s looking good. He must have been really going at it. I think he might get bigger than me soon You: All he does now is work out. He’s obsessed. Dick: Yeah I can tell

You decided to leave it at that for now and try to concentrate on your friends, but Dick sent another message.

Dick: ARE YOU TWO HAVING SEX?!?!

You spat out your drink, earning weird looks from everyone.

You: DICK!!!! WTF NO!!

Dick never replied.

***

“Can I ask you for a favor?” Jason asked, his voice breaking the silence of your dark room. The two of you were on your bed, lying down and staring at the ceiling.

“Of course,” you said. It didn’t matter to you what Jason asks for. He hardly ever asked for anything.

“Could you… Take me out tomorrow?” he requested, “If you’re not doing anything else, that is.”

“Uh, sure!” you nodded, surprised. “Where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere,” he shrugged, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, okay,” you hesitated, “But- are you sure? I mean, you don’t have to go so far so quickly. Maybe you should start with just going to the backyard?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “I’m not a kid.”

“Okay then,” you agreed. “Tomorrow.”

You kept on glancing anxiously at him the next day as he climbed into the passenger seat of your car. He was quiet, but looked perfectly fine.

Switching the engine on, you drove out of the garage and out the large automatic gates. Trees soon surrounded the lonely road on both sides as you descended downhill into town.

“So where are we going?” he asked.

“I thought Robinson Park would be nice,” you said. It was around three in the afternoon, yet Gotham was dark as though the day was ending. It was cloudy, skies grey and wind blowing.

“You’re taking me to a park?” he scoffed.

“It’s more quiet than anywhere else,” you reasoned with him, “Less people. Spacious. Lots of greenery.”

“Whatever.”

Reaching the parking space of the park, you noticed that there were a few cars. Mothers and nannies liked to bring children out to the park around that time. Joggers and teens, college students and retired elderly seeking a little escape from the high rise buildings of concrete and glass.

You turned the engine off and proceeded to open the door, only then noticing Jason stiffening. Looking over to him, you saw that his eyebrows were pulled down in a deep frown, his jaw clenched, his hands in fists on his knees.

You didn’t say anything or make any comment. Leaning back into your seat, you waited until Jason was ready.

About five minutes passed before he took a deep breath, gave you a nod, and then opened his door.

The two of you walked along a path at the park, going deeper inside and further away from your car. There were a few joggers around, some tourists, and some teens taking photos. You saw a group of kids in the distance playing frisbee, and the others were walking their dogs.

An empty bench stood in the middle of the park, overlooking a clearing. You headed there, Jason following closely behind.

“It’s a bit gloomy today,” you pouted, “As if Gotham could be anything other than that, of course.”

You looked at Jason.

He looked like a scared dog being brought out for the first time.

His jittery knees were bouncing rapidly, his wide eyes were darting at every movement, his forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat, and his breathing was heavy.

“Woah, woah,” you reached out to him, putting an arm on his back. “It’s okay. I’m here. Just listen to me talk, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he gulped.

“Try to calm your breathing,” you instructed, “Deep breaths, Jason. In… out… In… Out… Yeah, see that’s great.”

“Yeah,” he breathed, now calmer. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you smiled warmly, “You’re doing just fine.”

“No, I’m not,” he strained, “I feel like everything is too big. Too vast. The fucking sky looks like it’s going to crash down on me and at the same time suck me up into a void.”

“And despite all you’re feeling right now, you’re not breaking down or anything, are you?” you tried, “You’re okay, Jason. This is progress.”

“I guess,” he sighed, “I’m just- I’m so used to having four walls and a ceiling. Now everything feels too big.”

“I understand,” you empathized, “Whenever you want to go back, just say the word. Or we can even just go and sit in the car. No problem.”

“Yeah, okay, let’s do that,” he stood up.

The walk back to the car was faster.

“Fuck, I’m so fucking pathetic,” he said, running his fingers through his hair.

“No, you’re not,” you reassured him, “That was great, Jason. Come on, it was your first time outside in two years and a half. Cut yourself some slack.”

“I’m so fucking broken,” he choked.

“Don’t say that,” you scolded, “You’re not broken. And you know what, even if you think you are, we can always fix it. Baby steps. Maybe we can do this once a week. We were out for like, ten minutes? Next week we’ll try fifteen. How’s that sound?”

“Twice a week,” he stated, “I just want to be normal again.”

“Okay, twice a week, then,” you agreed, “We’ll try again in a couple of days, okay?”

“Okay,” he paused, “Thank you.”

“No problemo,” you grinned, “Would you like to stay here a bit longer or shall we go back?”

“Let’s go back.”

“Wanna stop by the diner? You can wait in the car while I ask for a take-away?”

“...okay.”

***

Jason and you had gone out twice more. Once three days after the first time, and the other a week later. The second time he went out, he lasted twenty minutes, though you were sure he was being stubborn on his part. He looked like he was having a heart attack, but he insisted on staying until he hit the twenty minute mark.

The third time, he was much much better. Surprisingly so. The two of you sat down on that bench for half an hour, with you even leaving him alone for a few minutes to get two ice cream cones.

After that, you took him for a drive around the city. He seemed to be more comfortable in the car, so you went all the way from Robinson Park to Diamond District, and back to the manor.

Bruce seemed very pleased with your update, and you swore you could see him actually smile.

“Thank you,” he had told you. “You’ve done more than I could have ever asked of you.”

“It’s no problem, Bruce. Really,” you reassured him.

“I’m his father. He is my responsibility. It’s my fault he’s even in that state. I wish I could do more for him,” he said solemnly.

“The fact that you understand what he needs is more than helpful, Bruce,” you smiled, “Not many parents can do that. You understand and respect him. That’s enough for now.”

He simply nodded.

Ever since your scheduled outings, Jason had become more and more relaxed whenever he was in the manor. He now walked to the kitchen on occasion to mess with Alfred while he cooked meals for him, sometimes sitting in the living room lounging on the couch while reading. Most of the time, though, he was down at the sparring zone of the Cave, working out.

But at night, he would never fail to knock on your door.

And at that particular night, you found yourself in the same situation again while lying down on your side with your back to his front, for the fifth time.

“You officially have to stop calling yourself broken,” you grumbled, “Because that thing poking into my ass is definitely not broken.”

He chuckled lowly. “You complaining, sweetheart?”

Oh, and yes. Jason now had started calling you ‘sweetheart’. Why? You had no clue. It was just a thing that happened. The look on your face when he first slipped it in was probably a sight to behold.

“No shit, I’m complaining, Jason,” you groaned, “You haven’t jerked off, yet? Not even once?”

“Nope,” he popped the P, “I just… I don’t want to… I don’t want to come.”

You sighed, understanding the situation. He had been disgusted with himself because he had ejaculated when Joker… Well, that. You hated to even think about it, so you always shoved the thought away.

“But unfortunately for me, I still get super horny,” he rumbled deeply, pushing his hips into you even more, “So fucking horny.”

“And then I have to suffer,” you complained.

“I can assure you, blue balls are more painful than something poking into you,” he bickered.

“It’s not that…”

“Then?”

“I get horny too, come on man,” you whined, “I’m a hormonal teenage girl. What did you expect?”

“You get horny too?” he whispered after a pause.

“Uh, yeah,” you admitted nervously. Somehow, the mood shifted, and your heart started drumming against your chest.

“Because of me?” he asked.

“Not you specifically, I mean,” you tried to back track, “You’re… Your dick pressing up against me like that, I mean, come on, Jason.”

“Simple question sweetheart,” he told you, “You get horny because of me, yes or no?”

You gulped. “Yes.”

Fuck, why did you say yes? You could have lied. You could have not answered.

“Yeah?” he breathed. You noticed that his hand was now on your hip, right above the waistband of your sleeping shorts, drawing circles onto your skin with his thumb.

You were nervous. The butterflies in your tummy was not helping you calm down.

“Yeah,” you squeezed your eyes shut, as if to protect yourself from anything he had to say.

“Fuck,” he groaned, gripping your hips and grinding his hard on against your ass even more. And did it… Fuck, did it get even harder?

Afraid of saying the wrong thing, and also out of nervousness, you remained silent. Jason’s chest rose and fall against your back, his respiratory rate increasing. His pinky finger slid underneath the waistband, testing the waters before slowly slipping his hand into your pants.

He went in so slowly, as if waiting for you to tell him no, to rip his hand away, to wrench yourself away from him. But you never did, so he went in deeper, caressing the skin beneath your pelvic bone, his heat just burning into you.

“You’re not wearing any underwear,” he commented, voice suddenly husky.

“I don’t wear them to bed,” you informed him.

“You mean to tell me,” he growled, “That all this while I’ve been sleeping next to you and you never had your panties on?”

“It’s more comfortable that way,” you mumbled.

“Jesus Christ,” he cursed. “Thank God I never knew. Would have been torture, and trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

“Jason,” you gasped.

“It’s true,” he said, “Damn, sweetheart.”

He went lower, closer to your center.

Your core was tingly, small pulses of electricity buzzed through your body as Jason came closer and closer and closer and-

He slipped his hands between your closed thighs and cupped you.

“Mmm,” he moaned softly, “Warm. Fuzzy.”

“Fuzzy?” you laughed, even though you felt like screaming on the inside. Screaming for more.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, burying his face into your nape, taking a deep breath. “You smell nice.”

Oh, shit. You totally forgot about Jason’s aversion to strong smells.

“I’m sorry!” you quickly apologised, “I can switch to an unscented shampoo as well so it wouldn’t be too strong for you.”

“It’s fine,” he said, “I like it on you.”

He ground his hand into your center harder.

“Mmpf, Jay,” you breathed, “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know,” he confessed, “I’ve never touched a girl like this before.”

“Really?” you widen your eyes in surprise.

“I was kept in a cell for two years, I couldn’t exactly talk, let alone touch, anyone can I?” he quipped.

“Right.”

“Teach me,” he said.

“What?” you whispered despite knowing what he meant.

A pause of silence. A deep intake of breath, a slow exhale.

“Teach me how to touch you,” he purred.

Fuck, you felt like exploding.

“Are you sure?” you asked.

“Yes. If you… If you want to.”

Your mind quickly tried to analyse the situation. Bruce had specifically said that Jason didn’t need any complicated matters in the relationship. It made sense. You didn’t want to overwhelm Jason with any confusion or uncertainty.

But at the same time, you’ve been figuring out how Jason thought, bit by bit. He’s told you many times that he just wanted to be normal again, to feel normal, to do normal things. And this was something that was normal, that he should do, that he wanted to do.

And you knew that he probably would take the rejection even worse.

“O-Okay,” you agreed.

Slowly, you separated your thighs, raising the one on top and hooking it over his legs behind you. Due to your shift in position, you felt the minute Jason’s fingers dip slightly into your folds.

“So, uh, this is my first time with a guy as well,” you squeaked, “But I’ll try to guide you.”

You licked your lips.

“Uhm, well, I guess you can start by running a finger up and down between my- oh! Yes, just like that.”

His middle finger slid down to your opening, and then up again slowly. His movements were uncertain, brushing only slightly against your clit unintentionally.

It was different, having someone else touch you. Somehow, despite the inexperience, it just felt better.

“Holy fuck,” he gasped, “You’re so fucking wet. Do you usually get this wet?”

You felt your cheeks heat up. “No? Yes? I don’t know! I can’t feel it.”

“Shit.”

You let him play with you some more, his fingers sliding up and down, sometimes pressing against your fleshy parts, sometimes circling and gathering your wetness, sometimes just parting your lips. Hell, he even tapped the tips of his fingers on you randomly or brushed into your delicate fuzz. You knew he was just exploring, feeling you for the first time.

And that thought made you smile and sigh.

“Teach me how to make you feel good,” he rasped.

“Uh, so your fingers are wet, right?”

“Yeah. Because you’re leaking all over them.”

“Okay, good. Now find my clit. It’s slightly above your finger, okay, to the left a bit. More. Okay, there! Yeah, right there,” you sighed, finally feeling that delicious pressure.

“Here?”

He tapped your clit.

“Ah!” you moaned, “Yes- but don’t just- nevermind, just gently circle it. Clockwise.”

He obeyed, and hell since when did Jason just obey?

He circled you gently, like you said. But he also went so, so slow.

“Faster, Jay,” you panted.

He went faster, making you groan in pleasure.

“Like this, sweetheart?” he muttered, his voice low and cracking, and sexy, and husky. You’ve never heard him sound like that before, and it drove you wild.

“Yeah,” you breathed, “Yeah, just like that. Fuck.”

“Feel good?”

“So good, Jay. Press a little harder now- fuck. Fuck. Yes, perfect. Just like that.”

The pressure built as his fingers did their magic.

“You- you’re surprisingly good at that,” you stuttered, “You sure- mmm- you sure you’ve never done this before?”

“Despite what you think,” he husked in your ear, warm breath tickling you. “I’m very good at following instructions.”

“I can see that.”

“But I’m also good at improvising.”

“Wha- oh. Oh. Fuck! Jason! Oh my fucking god!”

He started pressing even harder, and going even faster, throwing away the slow build you were going for and instead pushing you towards orgasm fast and hard, as if he was determined to prove something to you.

“Feel good, sweetheart?” he purred, “You gonna come soon?”

“Oh my- fuck, yes! Fuck, don’t stop!”

“You want to come for me?” his deep voice rumbled.

“Yes!”

What the hell? When did he learn how to talk like that?

Because with the mix of his heavy pants, his low voice coaxing you, his barrage of pleasure at your clit, you felt the familiar tightening of your core. You threw one hand back and found his hair. Running your fingers through them, you gripped them tight and pulled.

You pulled on his hair as he forced the orgasm onto you.

“Oh my God. Jason, I’m gonna- fuck- I’m- fuck- ah!”

You moaned loudly as you felt your walls flutter, clenching over nothing as you reached your high.

“O-okay, stop, fuck,” your hand went from his hair to his wrist, stilling him. He withdrew his hands from your pants, and went to grip you tight again by the waist.

“Fucking hell, sweetheart,” he groaned, grinding into you. You pushed your ass back, feeling his hardened length against your flesh in your post-orgasm bliss. “Jesus, that was so hot.”

“That was- yeah,” you giggled, “Fuck.”

His face was still buried in your neck. You could feel his lips on your skin.

“Uhm, I can, you know,” you sputtered, “Try to help you out?”

“It’s fine,” he breathed, body still tight against yours, “Just go to sleep.”

“Are you sure?” you asked again, feeling guilty that he didn’t get off. “I don’t mind.”

“I do,” he said, “It’s okay, sweetheart. That was great. I enjoyed that. I told you, I don’t want to come.”

“Okay,” you sighed.

“Go to bed.”

“Thank you, Jason.”

“Fuck, I’m so horny.”

“Jason,” you whined, “Really, I can help-”

“I’m kidding,” he chuckled, “Goodnight.”

You pursed your lips.

“Goodnight.”

[atinydise]

Ateez reacting to their s/o watching baby animal video

❦ Genre: Fluff.

❦ Pairing: OT8.

❦ Word count: 12k6.

❦ Requested: Yes, thank you! 🦋

❦ Masterlist.

HONGJOONG (the video link)

Hongjoong cracked an eye. You were giggling and moving a lot since few minutes. At first, he thought that you were dreaming but finally he concluded that you were not. He turned around calmly. Your back was facing him, but he spotted a weak blue light in front of you. “Babe,” he called you. “You are not sleeping?” You turned around with a wide smile, phone in your hand. “I couldn’t sleep so I’m watching videos.” You showed him your phone screen. Hongjoong blinked few times before his sleepy eyes accorded to the brightness. He raised a brow when he spotted a bunch of lion cubs playing around their parents. “Lions?” He asked you like if your finger slipped and played the wrong video. “Aren’t they cute?” You asked in an unexpected high-pitched tone. “Look at their paws and their little ears,” you giggled. Your boyfriend gave you a suspicious look, like ‘are you crazy?’ “You don’t find it cute?” You pouted. “Huh- you know it’s 3AM...” he excused, “I’m tired an-“ “Kim Jongjoong!” You sat on the bed, “tell me you find them cute or I don’t let you sleep,” you threatened him. “You can’t be serious,” he giggled, turning around to try to fall asleep. “Oh really?” You whispered.

The next day, Hongjoong entered the practice room. “Hyung! You are late. You will need to buy us coffee” said Mingi, teasing his leader. “Wow, you haven’t slept or what? These dark circles...” Said Wooyoung, pointing at Hongjoong face. “Never get a girlfriend,” he growled, falling lazily on the couch. “Wow TMI,” Warner San, plugging his ears. “She made me watch 37 videos of lion cubs...” he paused, “37.” All the members stared at the leader being exhausted as if he ran a marathon for 2 consecutive days. You might really like these videos, they thought.

SEONGHWA (the video link)

Seonghwa was reading a book, peacefully, when he heard you rushing to your bedroom. He stayed on the couch, not knowing if you were okay but after few minutes you came back with your earphones plugged in your phone. You almost jumped on your still warm seat on the couch and giggled. “Are you going to call someone?” Asked Seonghwa. He thought that one of your friends called you to gossip. “No, just watching videos.” You smiled. “What are you watching to be so enthusiastic?” “Nothing,” you muttered. “Then… you ran to take your earphone and came back here happier... for watching nothing?” He resumed, obviously thinking that you were going crazy. “Exactly,” you said before focusing back on your phone. Seonghwa sighed but looked back at his book. Or at least that’s what you thought. Not even 2 minutes later, your boyfriend ripped your phone from your hand. “SEONGHWA! Give it back to me!” You yelled trying to get your phone back. Seonghwa held your face with his whole hand, trying to stop you. “Chicks? Why are you watching chicks?” He laughed. “Because they are cute! So, give it back to me!” Trying to crush him with all your weight. You ordered trying to get your phone back. “What a baby,” he giggled giving you back your phone. “I didn’t know you loved chicks that much.” “They are so cute! I just want to protect them! They are too tiny for this world,” you explained. Seonghwa could swear that he saw your eyes sparkling. He liked how you were devoted for these little animals, but he needed to tease you one last time. He stood up lazily and loudly, trying to get your attention back on him. “What are you doing?” You asked, removing an earphone. “It’s lunch time, I’m hungry.” “Aah... true.” “What about an omelet?” He said, entering the kitchen. “Park Seonghwa! No!” You ran after him to stop your boyfriend to cook one of your babies.

YUNHO (the video link)

Yunho was spending the weekend with you. Yesterday? You hang out the whole day at mall. You wanted to change your wardrobe a bit since it was spring soon. It was a great and nice day. Before going home, he proposed to go at a pet shop. It was a short moment but both of you had a good time. Maybe a little bit too much for you. After dinner, you both lay down on the bed, watching the first movie you zapped on. But you were not really focused on it. Your phone was distracting you a lot. At the end, you were not even watching the movie. “Is your video better than our movie sweetheart?” Asked Yunho, resting his head on your lap. “Actually... yes.” You smiled, passing your hand through his curly hair. “Can you show me?” He asked, using his puppy eyes against you. You hesitated, but finally played the video back and shared the content with your boyfriend. “Please don’t judge me,” you said shyly. “Puppies?” He asked, “you liked our little moment at the pet shop that much?” He smiled. “Probably...” you said shyly. “This one reminds me Sca-“ you pointed at the black dog puppy playing with a kitten. “Scarlett?” Finished Yunho. You nodded, “yes, she was so cute”. Yunho turned off your screen and stared at you. Intensely. “Do you think about what I’m thinking about?” He smirked. You nodded, biting your lip seductively. You got up instantly, throwing your pajama on the floor to pick the dress you wore today. “Give me my bag!” Yunho took his long coat and threw the bag at you. “Should I take my credit card? Or cash?” He asked, putting his shoes. “Both! We are getting our baby today, no matter what!” You said, rushing to the hallway. “Scarlett, your parents our coming!” He yelled, following you. Were you really going to buy a puppy at 10PM? Just after watching a video? Yes totally.

YEOSANG (the video link)

Yeosang entered the apartment quietly. It was pretty late, and he finished his practice later than usual. He texted you of course so you wouldn’t worry too much. Your boyfriend walked up quietly to the living-room, checking if you were not sleeping there waiting for him. But the couch was empty. He grabbed a water bottle in the fridge and walked to the bathroom. Before getting in, he glanced at your bedroom. You seemed asleep since a long time and a bit cold because your whole body was under the cover. “Awww...” Yeosang came back to the door frame. He ignored if it was his imagination or if you were really giggling. After standing there few seconds, he thought that he was probably going crazy. “Nooo, don’t bite your brother!” You whispered under the blanket. This time he wasn’t dreaming. He walked quietly to you and ripped the cover, making you jump. “Oh gosh! You scared me!” You sat, throwing a pillow at him. “You scared me too by whispering as if you were possessed.” You rolled your eyes, “I was just looking at these cute videos!” You showed your screen to him. “Rabbits?” He raised a brow. “Not only rabbits. But BABY bunnies.” You rectified. “Look at their faces and littlest ears!” You said, almost knocking your phone in his face. “Yes, yes. They are cute. But I need to change.” He said, not caring about the cute content. You got up and followed your boyfriend. “It’s okay! I can still continue to tell you why they’re cute!” “It’s okay… I don’t have any interest in bunnies you know.” “Shh and listen me!” Yeosang rolled his eyes. He didn’t expect you to give him a bunch of examples of “why baby bunnies are cute”. “And the last one is that we will need to adopt one!” You said smiling like if he already accepted. He smirked and kissed your forehead before slipping under the sheets, “no.” “What? But-“ “Good night babe.” “Yeosang!” You whined. “No.” You sat on the edge of the bed and muttered, “you are so mean.” “What did you say?” He asked. You freaked out at his deep voice, “nothing, just that I’m going to sleep.” “Okay... good night rabbit mom.” You gave up for tonight, but for you sure you would harass him till he accepts.

SAN (the video link)

You were sitting next to your boyfriend in the bus. You met his parents for the first time and spent the whole week at his house downtown. It was awkward at first, but his mom was so sweet with you and his dad was joking around a lot with you too. All this atmosphere helped you to feel great and comfortable. You had a lot of fun with your boyfriend and his family. But secretly, you enjoyed Byeol’s attention the most. Byeol is San’s cat. You never saw a cat so cuddly. At first, she was a bit scared and reticent toward you. But she started to get use to your presence and there was not a moment she left you peacefully. You sighed, you just got in the bus, but you missed her so much already. You looked at your boyfriend sleeping next to you. He was so tired after these days, so you didn’t bother him. Suddenly, you got an idea. You opened YouTube and searched for cats’ videos. San woke up slightly, the bus was in darkness probably because all the passengers were trying to sleep. He stretched a bit or as he could. His heart stopped for a second when he kicked your head with his elbow. “Sorry ba-“ he was about to rub your head but he saw that you were in a deep sleep. San noticed that you were holding your phone tightly. You probably felt asleep listening music, he thought. Your boyfriend wanted to let you sleep but he spotted a bunch of kittens running on your phone screen. “Kittens?” He whispered. San grabbed yourself phone slowly and looked at the content. When he spotted what you were looking for, he smiled: ‘kittens who’s looking like my little Byeol.’ “You miss her more than I do,” he smiled, patting your head. You moved slightly at the tickles he did on your nose. “Maybe I should bring her to Seoul. Just for you.” He whispered, kissing your temple.

MINGI (the video link)

Mingi and you were watching TV. It was 4PM and both of you were bored. Plus, the weather wasn’t helping. “There’s nothing to watch at this time,” said Mingi, changing the channel every second. “We will find one.” “Sadly, we are not in winter. At least, there’s good Christmas movies all daaaay long.” He whined. “I know good horror movies if you want something to entertain you.” You smirked. Mingi was the most coward man you met in your entire life. You knew he would decline it. “Ha. Ha. So funny.” He said sarcastically. You put your head on his laps and stared at the screen. Suddenly, one content grabbed your attention. “Mingi! Stop! Go back!” You ordered. He raised a brow and clicked on the last channel. “Lambs?” He muttered, not understanding why you wanted to watch these animals. You almost threw the plaid on your boyfriend’s face and sat just in front the TV. “Aren’t they cute?” You asked, charmed by these little lambs playing together. “Hum, yes I guess.” He replied. “Look at their little eyes! Aaw! If I could take you out of this screen I would sweeties!” You giggled. “Babe... you know that’s it’s only 2 lambs,” claimed the boy. You turned around slowly, giving him a dead stare. Just by the look in your he’s, he regretted his words. “Only. 2. Lambs?” You repeated. He gulped and stuttered few words that both of you didn’t understand. “Listen Song Mingi. These lambs has a name! And it’s...” you turned around quickly to stare at the TV. “Julia and Marco!” You started at your boyfriend again and added, “Julia and Marco deserve some respect! They’re 2 grown and independent baby lambs who want love and attention!” You explained. “Okay Song Mingi? Julia and Marco are not only. 2. lambs! Okay?” Your boyfriend nodded, scared that you hit him with the remote in your hand. “Nice!” You finished, turning back to the TV. Mingi puffed when you instantly, started, once again, to be cute with the baby lambs. “She’s crazy...” “Song Mingi,” you called him. Making understand that you heard what he said. He coughed and stayed quiet but for sure, you were crazy to him.

WOOYOUNG (the video link)

Wooyoung turned around in the bed. He woke up slightly when he felt a cold spot next to him. Still half asleep, he patted carefully the spot thinking that you were sleeping on the edge, ready to fall. He opened one eye to check if you were there. “Y/N?” He whispered. You didn’t answer. He sat up, rubbing his face to clear his mind. He glanced at the bathroom door to see if you were inside, but there was not light. A bit nervous, he got up and walked quietly out of the room. He stayed on the hallway to spot any lights or noises. He turned around to the kitchen when he heard a sniffling... He stopped right in front the door frame. He spotted you sitting with a cup of tea, still hot. You were crying. Tears were dripping one by one on your chin. “Y/N!” Called Wooyoung, sitting next to you. “Why are you crying?” You faced him, sniffling like a child, “they took their mommy.” “Huh? What?” Said Wooyoung, disconcerted. You pointed at your phone on the middle of the table. “What is that? And why are you watching that?” You sniffled again and explained, “I couldn’t fall asleep, so I started to watch videos.” You wiped your tear with your sleeve. Or Wooyoung’s hoodie sleeve. He cringed at this, but it was not the actual issue. “But why are you crying?” He looked at your phone. “It’s piglet. Not a big deal.” “They were happy with their mom, but a cruel man separated them.” Wooyoung ignored why it was a big deal. “Maybe, it’s just for check her health or something.” He tried to comfort you, patting your back. “If only but...” you paused. “But they use their mom as a meat!” You whined loudly. Wooyoung contained his laugh. “This is not funny!” You pinched his leg. “Ouch!” he growled, “I’m not laughing. It’s just that you are cute!” You pouted and grabbed your phone. “Look at the lovely things...” “Yes… pretty sure they are tasty.” “Wooyoung!” You yelled. Your boyfriend rolled your eyes and pulled you by the hand in the bedroom. “You are unbelievable.”

JONGHO (the video link)

You were watching a documentary about animals, with your boyfriend. You were focused on it when a quote surprised you. You muted the video and stared at Jongho. “Why-“ “In which animal do you want to be reincarnated in your next life?” “I would prefer to be a human again.” He replied. “Yes, but just choose an animal.” You insisted. “Hum... I don’t know... a lion or a koala.” You nodded, understanding his choice, “okay.” You raised the volume up again and sat back to your seat. “And you?” He asked, curious. “I don’t know,” you replied. Jongho stare at you but didn’t add anything. Few minutes later, you went to the bathroom. Jongho noticed that you went there for longs minutes. He stood up and walked to the bathroom to knock politely, “Y/N, are you okay?” You didn’t reply. You just exited the room, phone in your hands. “What are you doing?” “I’m watching baby seal,” you simply replied. Not waiting any questions by your boyfriend, you sat back on the couch, eyes glued on your phone. “May I ask why you stayed on the bathroom so long? Watching seals?” He asked curiously. “I know that you would laugh at me if I was watching it there.” You pouted. Jongho’s eyes opened widely, “what? No! I will never mock you babe. These littles seals are cute. I get why you are soft for them.” You smiled, happy that he got your point. “They remind me a little bit of you.” He narrowed his eyebrows, “okay, that’s mean.” You giggled and sat comfortable on his laps. “No idiot. I don’t know, they seem so cute and lovely. The look on their face make you feel happy and kind of special.” You explained, pointing at one of them on your screen. He kissed your shoulder, “I ignored that you were so lovely-dovely about seals. And that you were watching baby animals so much.” He scrolled all your YouTube recommendation. You smirked at your boyfriend, “they are so much things you ignored about me.” You were right, he thought. But this side of yours really made him melt in some kind of way.

[neerasrealm]

would it be too much to request a part 2 to cody x demi!reader where cody takes y/n to the mansion with the intention of just introducing them to ej, only for them to meet the whole family (including slender and jack who DEFINITELY don’t think of themselves as y/n’s new fathers and TOTALLY don’t have the wedding planned and y/n’s new room converted and CERTAINLY are not starting to work on a nursery in hopes of becoming grandfathers)

please ignore everything in the parentheses 😂

YES YES YOU MAY XFHSGFSAGHDF I HAD A BLAST WRITING THIS FHDGDSH SLENDERFAM JUST EMBARRASSING CODY WAS SO FUN. That’s probably why this story is 6.4k words long AGDSHFGS

enjoy

‘’Hey, y/n?’’

You look up from your laptop and half-typed essay at your boyfriend. His name is Cody! And he has the softest honey-brown hair and dazzlingly bright green eyes. He’s standing in your doorway, leaning out from behind your door, with his hand holding his phone up to his ear. You tilt your head at him. 

‘’I uh- I was wondering if you’d like to come hang out with a friend of mine later? Just the three of us.’’

A friend? Cody- Cody told you he didn’t have friends. Odd. Maybe he made one! You smile at the thought and nod. ‘’Sure!’’ 

Cody smiles wide and nods. ‘’Yeah, yeah we’ll come!’’ he chirps into the phone, sounding excited. He disappears from view, behind the door, and closes it. From just outside your room you can hear him excitedly chattering to someone. You smile to yourself.

This essay can wait.

-----

‘’So how long have you had this...friend?’’

Cody looks up at you. The two of you are walking through a park- specifically, the park where you asked him to be your boyfriend. He’s wearing his regular track jacket, and has his hood pulled up. 

‘’Oh uh- y’know...a couple months…’’ he murmurs, scratching at his neck. ‘’You’ll like him! He’s a chill dude- just uh-’’ he fidgets a bit. ‘’He has a uh- a skin condition! So he wears a mask...try not to mention it, okay? He’s kinda insecure about it.’’

You nod. Oh- poor guy. You decide not to pry any further after that. Cody having a friend is rare, and you don’t want to scare them off. The two of you walk into the forest bordering the park and you look around nervously. It isn’t dark, just evening. But that’s really only a small comfort. Cody takes your hand and squeezes it, like he can tell you’re scared. The two of you eventually arrive in a clearing, away from any and all trails. You frown. ‘’Where are we?’’

‘’This is the spot where he said he’d meet us.’’ Cody murmurs. He looks around. ‘’Weird- he’s not normally la-’’

‘’Hey Cody.’’ a deep voice growls behind you. You yelp and jump in surprise, stumbling away. Cody does the same.

‘’Dude!’’ he yelps. ‘’Stop doing that!’’

You turn and look at the person behind you. Your eyes widen. He’s incredibly tall and dressed casually in sneakers, grey sweatpants and a black hoodie. Your eyes go to the face. He’s wearing a mask, as you expected. It’s blue, and the face is smooth and flat. The eyes are pitch black, with black splotches trickling down the eyes like tears. Fluffy auburn hair hangs over his masked face. He’s- calm. Docile. Just standing there casually with his hands in his pockets. His head slowly turns from Cody to you. His gaze- though he has no visible eyes, bores straight through you, making a cold shiver run down your spine.

‘’Sorry.’’ he grunts. Cody looks at you and gestures to the tall, masked guy.

‘’y/n...this is Jack. Jack, this is y/n.’’

Jack stares at you for a moment, then steps forward. You back up in fear. He pulls his hand from his pocket and holds it out to you. You stare. His hand is big, with sharp black nails that remind you of claws, and ashy grey skin. Right- skin condition. Not wanting to be rude, you take his hand and shake it.

‘’Nice to meet you.’’ Jack’s voice is soft, friendly. ‘’Sorry for scaring ya. I tend to do that…’’ he sounds so sad and apologetic- all fear melts away and you smile gently at him.

‘’It’s okay.’’ you pull your hand away. ‘’It’s a pleasure to me-’’ you stop when Jack holds a clawed finger up. He looks around, sniffing the air. Cody suddenly looks worried.

‘’Something wrong dude?’’

Jack pauses for a moment, then looks at a bush. He lurches toward it, then reaches in. You stare in confusion until-

‘’Hey! HEY!’’

‘’AGH- EJ GET OFF-!’’

Jack lifts two...young...boys...out of the bush. One of them is dressed in a white hoodie and ripped black jeans with converse sneakers. His messy black hair is tied back in a loose ponytail. The other is blonde, with tanned, faded skin and...pointed ears. He’s wearing a green sweater and blue jeans with brown boots. The two boys struggle in Jack’s grip until he steps back and drops them down on the ground. Cody stares in horror as this whole thing happens. 

‘’Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me-’’ you hear him whisper. You look from him to the two boys. The black haired boy grunts unhappily and rubs at his head. Looking at him more, you realise his skin is deathly pale. A white, barely pink colour, and his face has two jagged scars curling up from each corner of his mouth in a morbid smile. He looks up and blinks at you.

‘’Who’s the lab rat?’’

‘’They’re not a lab rat!’’ Cody spits.

‘’Food?’’ The blonde boy asks. His bright blue eyes look from you to Jack, who shakes his head.

‘’How’d you two sneak after me?’’ He asks, crouching down. ‘’How didn’t I smell ya?’’

‘’I took a shower.’’ the black haired boy says smugly.

‘’I stopped showering.’’ the blonde says, sounding proud.

‘’That explains it.’’ Jack stands up. You look at Cody and- oh. Oh god.

He looks angry. The angriest you’ve ever seen him. Angrier than that time a guy told you ‘demisexual isn’t a valid identity’. When that happened, Cody broke the guy’s nose and beat him into unconsciousness. You had to literally drag him away before he killed the poor guy! You look at the two kids in worry.

‘’What the FUCK,’’ His voice starts off soft and angry, only to turn into a furious bark. ‘’IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?!’’ The four of you all flinch. Cody glares daggers at his friends. 

‘’Cody calm down-!’’ The blonde yelps.

‘’OH FUCK OFF BEN!’’ He marches forward, but Jack quickly gets in front of him and grips him by the shoulders. Cody glares up at the gentle giant, who very softly pets his head.

‘’Ssshhhh…’’ He shushes. ‘’Go to your happy place, X.’’

Cody’s glare hardens. He inhales sharply, closes his eyes and then- flops...against Jack’s chest. Jack rubs circles into his back. That’s- that’s exactly what you do with him when he's angry- there’s no way Jack has only known him for a few months. 

‘’...Babes...?’’ you very gently and very carefully ask. Cody shifts, looking at you. ‘’Uh- so...who’re these guys…?’’

Cody stands back up and sighs. He gestures to the two terrified looking boys. ‘’y/n...these are Jeff and Ben...my-’’ he hesitates. ‘’My brothers.’’

‘’Brothers?’’ you look at the two boys. They’re on the ground, holding each other. They blink at you.

‘’Babes?’’ The black haired boy asks. He looks at Cody, then at you. His mouth opens. ‘’Wait!’’ he jumps to his feet and runs at you. You stumble back as he invades all of your personal space. Up close, you can see he has a green eye and a brown eye, and that his skin is...burnt. ‘’You’re y/n?!’’

‘’I literally just called them that.’’ Cody mutters. ‘’That’s Jeff. He’s dumb. Be patient with him.’’

Jeff steps back away from you. He looks you over for a few seconds. ‘’I like ‘em,’’ he says, glancing at Cody. He looks back at you. ‘’Your taste in guys sucks though. I mean- Cody? Really?’’

‘’Jeff I am going to kill you.’’

You laugh, half out of anxiety and half out of actual amusement. This is weird. So weird. Very weird. ‘’You- never mentioned brothers…’’ you murmur. Cody glances at you, then the others.

‘’Uh- give- give us a second.’’ he mutters before walking toward you and pulling you into the bushes and behind a tree. You stare at him, surprised. 

‘’What’s going on?’’

‘’I’ve...been lying to you.’’

‘’Again?’’ you stare up at him, confused. He winces.

‘’Yes...again- but it’s for a good reason this time!’’ he takes a deep breath. ‘’I...I wasn’t homeless. I actually live- or- lived, here in the woods. With Jeff, Jack and Ben.’’ he tilts his head at you to make sure you’re following. You nod for him to continue. ‘’We all lived together with...our dad. He- adopted us all. A lot of us- our dad he um-’’ he fiddles nervously with his hands. ‘’He’s...not human.’’

‘’E-’’ your eyes widen. ‘’Excuse me what?’’ not human. Not Human. NOT HUMAN?!

‘’He’s um-’’ Cody smiles sheepishly at you. ‘’He’s an eldritch monster with no face who likes to bake muffins and read sci-fi novels?’’ Your mind blanks. Literally. You’ve been reduced to a windows error screen but in human form. Cody tilts his head at you and smiles wider. ‘’...sweetheart…?’’

‘’What the fuck…’’ you whisper softly. ‘’How- how did you- why did you let him adopt you?’’

‘’He’s a good dad!’’ Cody says quickly. ‘’Listen- I know it’s a lot but…’’ he takes your hands in his. His hands feel soft, they’re good hands, hands that have carried out genius experiments and held you gently late at night. ‘’A lot of us in the house...we look up to him. He gave us a home, a new life. A lot of us...we didn’t have good lives, but Slender tried to fix that for us.’’ he smiles gently. ‘’Jeff came from a home where he wasn’t loved. Ben- Ben is a ghost...he drowned when he was twelve. Jack was a human, but now he’s a demon. We’ve all gravitated to each other. It isn’t the most functional home, but it’s the closest thing we have to one. Nobody judges anybody, and everybody treats us like we matter. Like we’re loved.’’ his hands squeeze yours. ‘’I know it’s a lot...and it’s scary...but they’re my family, just like you are.’’

You gulp. It’s silent for a few moments. ‘’...Nobody will hurt me?’’

‘’I won’t let them.’’

‘’...then I wanna meet him.’’

‘’Huh?’’ Cody looks confused.

‘’Your dad. And everyone else.’’ you smile at him. It’s your turn to squeeze his hands. 

‘’Like- right- right now?’’ he asks. You nod. Cody looks from you, to the clearing where the others are still waiting. ‘’...well- I- I guess.’’

He pulls you back to the clearing and looks at his three...siblings. 

‘’Good news everyone! y/n wants to meet dad!’’

‘’Really?’’ Jack turns to look at you.

‘’Are they crazy or somethin’?’’ Jeff asks.

‘’Ohh this is gonna be fun…’’ Ben murmurs with a smile.

Cody glares at them. He sighs. ‘’I told them everything. They wanna meet dad so they’re gonna meet dad.’’

‘’Dude! You gave my deep-seated traumas to another person without my asking?’’ Jeff exclaims. ‘’Rude!’’

Cody rolls his eyes and begins walking deeper into the forest. ‘’You’ll have plenty of time to drop your emotional baggage on us later!’’ he calls back. 

-----

‘’So I had Silver lock me in the closet and I had to speedrun the game without even looking at the screen!’’ Ben exclaims. His bright blue eyes are full of excitement as he tells you about his various speedrunning misadventures. He’s been talking you ear off for the better part of fifteen minutes while the five of you trek through the woods. He’s a sweet kid, honestly, and you’d feel bad cutting him off. You honestly never expected a ghost to be so...lively.

‘’Hold up!’’ you all suddenly stop as Jeff holds his hand out, blocking you from walking any further. He turns and grins at you. ‘’Watch this.’’ he steps backwards, holding a finger up in the air. ‘’Now ya see me-!’’ he steps backwards and suddenly disappears from view. You stare in shock.

‘’...and now ya don’t.’’ Ben finishes for him. Cody rolls his eyes. 

‘’H-how-’’ your brain scrambles to find an explanation for Jeff just- disappearing. A trick of the light? Mirrors? Maybe a projector hidden in the trees? Jeff’s head appears again, his upper body just- floats there. He grins even wider.

‘’Cool huh?’’

‘’How are- how are you-’’ you squint. Ben laughs next to you and steps forward. He disappears just as Jeff did. The white-skinned boy winks at you and disappears once more. You look at Cody for an explanation. Jack nudges you and you turn to him. He points a clawed finger at the ground. Your gaze follows his finger and you look at the ground. There’s...mushrooms. You arch your brow, confused.

‘’You know what that is?’’ EJ asks, leaning down slightly to look at you properly. You shake your head. ‘’It’s a fae circle. Also known as the entrance to the realm of the fae.’’ he looks at you.

‘’Like...fairies…?’’

EJ nods. ‘’This one’s special though. Dad set it up to keep the house hidden. You can only enter if you’re a fae, or you have the family marking. Of course you’re human, and don’t have the marking, so Cody’ll just pull you through.’’ you can hear him smiling in his voice as he explains. He stands up and steps toward the line of mushrooms. As he steps over it, he disappears from your sight. His hand appears again, and gestures for the two of you to follow. Cody takes your hand in his. He looks at you.

"Ready?"

You nod at him. "Ready."

Cody steps backwards toward the mushrooms. He holds both your hands, keeping his eyes on you. He disappears beneath the veil as he crosses, becoming nothing but some disembodied arms. You step over the mushrooms and-

"Oh my god-!" 

Everything just- appears. Suddenly you're standing in a sunny clearing bordered by bushes and tall trees, and standing in the centre is a gigantic house. Practically a mansion. It looks old, but welcoming. The front yard is decorated with various bushes, a flower patch, a set of monkey bars, and a tall fruit tree with a tire swing hanging off one of the branches. I say fruit tree, because just by looking you can see it's growing apples, cherries, avocados, oranges and bananas. Bananas- can't even grow in this climate what-

"Cool huh?" Cody murmurs next to you with a small smile. You grin. 

"Yeah…" you murmur. Cody squeezes your hand and walks toward the mansion. "You should've told me you lived in such a fancy pla-" you're interrupted by the loud barking of a dog. You look over to your left and see the biggest dog you've ever seen in your life, poking its head around the corner of the house. It has deep red fur, with some spots of orange and...hair. It has a long mane of messy black hair running from the top of its head and down its back. 

"Smile! C'mere boy!" You hear Jeff call. You look over your shoulder and watch the massive dog bound over to the short boy. The dog leaps at him, knocking him to the ground and licking him while its tail wags happily. 

"What...what is that…?" You ask, pointing at the dog.

"That's Smile." Cody says. "Jeff's pet hell-hound. He's a good boy, don't worry."

You nod. Smile barks again and turns to you. He grins wide and suddenly bounds toward you. You yelp and stumble back in fear.

"Down!" Cody barks (pun fully intended) at the dog. Smile skids to a halt. "Sit." He says firmly. Smile sits down obediently, his grin dropping. Now you know why they call the dog 'smile'. Cody grabs your wrist and gently guides it toward Smile. The massive dog sniffs your palm ever so gently. Cody lets go of your wrist and you reach up toward Smile, who lowers his head to let you pet him. You grin. 

"Well hey there," you coo. "Aren't you a cutie?" 

Smile lets out a happy yap and steps forward, butting his massive head against your body. You laugh and hug his head, scratching his neck just below where his spiked collar is. 

"Cody!! Ye're home!" You hear a young, peppy voice call. You look over just in time to see Cody grin and crouch down to hug the young girl running towards him. Her hair is short and blonde, and she's wearing a black and white striped shirt, along with grey overalls, ankle boots and a pirate hat. Cody stands up, lifting the girl in his arms. She pulls away and grins at him. Getting a better look at her, you see that she has reddish brown skin that seemingly glints in the light. Her hair isn't blonde, in fact, it fades to red towards the ends, like fire. Her eyes are a bright eye-catching gold. On the sides of her head are two small, red horns that curve inwards. "Ya didn't tell us ye'd be visitin'!" 

Cody laughs a bit. "Well I wasn't really planning it." he murmurs, casting a look at Jeff and Ben as they walk up to join you. Cody sets down the girl and looks at you. ‘’Slendra, I want you to meet someone,’’ he gestures to you. The girl, Slendra, looks up at you with big golden eyes. She looks surprised. ‘’This is y/n.’’

She gasps. ‘’The y/n?!’’ her eyes widen and she grins. She hops over to you excitedly and curtsies. ‘’It’s great ta meet ya! Cody told us aaaallll about you!’’ 

You laugh a bit and crouch down to her. ‘’He did, did he?’’ you give her a sly smile, glancing up at Cody. His cheeks flush red and he glares at you. Slendra giggles.

‘’Yep.’’ she rocks on her heels as she speaks. ‘’Once when he was crushing on you he told us that he wanted to-’’

‘’Avast ye landlubbers!’’ Slendra is interrupted by another young voice. You look up and see a young girl in a pirate costume with a pink skirt. Her hair is brown and frizzy, and her green eyes glare at you and the others with a playful scowl. She...floats, toward you all, her eyes locked on you as you stand up. She stops and points her toy cutlass at you. ‘’Who be this scallywag?’’

‘’Sally, this i-’’

‘’y/n, fearsome pirate of the seven seas!’’ you interrupt with a grin. Cody looks at you in surprise. The girl, Sally, gasps.

‘’The dreaded pirate captain y/n?! Stealer of brother’s hearts?!’’ she cries. You laugh and nod.

‘’The very same.’’

Sally lowers her cutlass and smiles, pleased with you for playing along so easily. She walks toward you and holds out her hand. ‘’Sally Dawn, pirate queen of four of the seven seas.’’ 

You take her hand and shake it. ‘’y/n, stealer of older brothers,’’ you smirk and lean into her. ‘’Sorry for stealing Cody away, but his booty was too good to pass up.’’ you quietly add with a wink. Sally laughs loudly and lets go of your hand. EJ laughs quietly behind you and opens the front door. 

‘’You gonna invite your date inside, Cody?’’ he asks. Cody rolls his eyes. 

‘’Course I am.’’ he mutters. It goes silent, with everyone just...staring at Cody. ‘’What?’’

‘’I’m waiting for you and y/n to go in.’’ EJ shrugs.

‘’Why do we have to go in first?’’ Cody replies defensively. You frown.

‘’You scared of somethin’, X?’’ Jeff asks with a smirk.

‘’Like...dad seeing y/n and freaking out?’’ Ben adds with an even wider, cheesier smirk.

"N-No…" Cody mutters. "I just- y'know-" he fidgets, trying to come up with an excuse. You smirk a bit, stand up, and stride right past Cody and into the mansion. 

Inside is massive. The walls are a pleasant blue, and when you step out of the small entrance area, you're greeted by a massive living room. There's two black, leather couches, a few single armchairs and some bean bags, all facing a massive TV. The walls are decorated with photos, and in a few of them you can see Cody, EJ and the others, along with people you haven't even met yet. 

"Hey guys." Someone greets you as the others come inside to join you. Laying on the couch, holding the TV remote aloft, is a young man. His hair is a light brown colour, and swoops over one of his eyes. He wears glasses, a grey jacket, blue jeans, and a black shirt with the logo of some band you've never heard of before. He sits up a bit, cocking a brow curiously. "who's this?"

"Cody's partner." Sally chimes in as she floats into the mansion. She's hovering, and slightly transparent. Oh. She’s a ghost. Well okay then.

The guy on the couch smirks and stands up. He's taller than you expected him to be. He walks across the room and extends his hand. "Liu Woods. Nice to meet you."

You smile and take his hand, shaking it. "y/n." You say. 

He tilts his head, looking at Cody. "You didn't tell us you'd be bringing them over."

"I wasn't planning on it but your brother decided to stalk EJ and ruin my plans." He gestures to Jeff, who holds his hands up defensively. 

"Hey don't look at me! I was just taking Smile for a walk and he picked up Cody's scent!" Jeff replies defensively, gesturing at his pet hellhound. Smile looks almost offended at the accusation. Liu laughs a bit. 

"Sure bro, I believe you." He murmurs, turning and walking toward the couch again. "So is y/n gonna meet dad?"

"Yup…"

Liu chuckles. "That's gonna be fun."

"Why is it such a big deal…?" You ask. Everyone is hyping up 'dad' so much it's- kind of unnerving. Ben leans out from behind Smile and gives you a devious grin.

"He's gonna flip his shiiiiit." He says softly. Cody huffs and strides past you. 

"It's no big deal! I'm gonna go tell dad I'm here, then casually mention y/n and just- introduce them! No big deal!" He turns and looks at you. "Just- wait here, ok? I'll sort eeeeverything ou-"

As if on cue, the door behind Cody swings open. Out of it leans a gigantic, horrifying creature. It's incredibly thin and tall, with white skin. It has no face at all, just a smooth white head. It's dressed in a proper black suit, and over it...a frilly pink apron. 

"Kids, dinner is ready."

Oh. So this is dad. 

Cody whirls around immediately. "D-dad!" He exclaims. The creature looks surprised. 

"Cody!" The creature steps out from the kitchen and walks over to Cody, yanking him into a tight hug. "Oh, it's so lovely to see you! You didn't tell us you'd be coming over! I would have gone out and bought some fresh fish for your dinner." The creature's voice is deep and elegant, but speaks exactly like a doting mother. Cody squirms in the hug and eventually gets released from it.

"Haha, yeahhh...sorry about that uh- well you see I uh-" he fidgets, the creature staring at him with nonexistent eyes. "I brought someone with me."

The creature's head snaps up and stares right at you. You gulp. "N-Now I know what you're thinking!" Cody exclaims. "I should've warned you before bringing in someone new, you guys should've put on disguises and stuff but- well it's a funny story really I was just gonna show em EJ but then Jeff and Ben were in a bush and-" the creature's head lowers, looking down at Cody. He looks over his shoulder at you, gesturing for you to come closer.

You cross the room and stand beside Cody. He takes your hand in one of his, and grips your shoulder with the other. "This...is y/n. The person I'm dating." you both stare up at him in anticipation. Cody looks worried. ‘’Dad…?’’ 

‘’Cody…’’ The creature’s voice is soft, and almost threatening in tone. ‘’You are...the stupidest person I have ever met!’’ 

‘’Ow!’’ The creature lightly smacks the top of Cody’s head. He rubs at the spot and glares up at his father. ‘’I told you, it wasn’t planned, it just happened! Calm down!’’

‘’Honestly Cody! I would have cleaned! I would have put on a good tie, made everyone dress up and put disguises on! You don’t want us scaring them!’’ the creature gestures to you, then around the general room. ‘’This place is a mess! What kind of first impression am I supposed to make in this pigsty?!’’

Cody mutters something to himself and looks at you. You gulp and look at the creature, its hand on its hips, glaring down at Cody. You force a smile and bow a bit. ‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.’’ you say gently. It stops and looks down at you, seemingly surprised. 

‘’Oh dear- I’m so sorry, where are my manners?’’ the creature holds out a large, white hand. You notice a small, silver ring on its ring finger. Without hesitation, you take the hand and shake it. ‘’I’m Slender, Cody’s father. I’m so sorry you had to see this place in such a state.’’ 

‘’I think it’s lovely,’’ you say with a soft smile. ‘’And I think your tie is very nice.’’

Slender withdraws his hand and seems to smile despite his lack of features. ‘’Oh, so polite…’’ he murmurs, sounding like he’s fond of you already. ‘’It’s a pleasure to meet you. Cody told us all about you.’’ he laughs gently. ‘’You’re even prettier than how he described you!’’

You smile nervously and laugh a bit. ‘’Oh- well thank you, sir.’’

He shakes his head. ‘’Please, just call me Slender, dear. No need for formalities. You’re family.’’ Slender clasps his hands together and tilts his head at you. ‘’You two must be staying for dinner, yes?’’

‘’Uh- actually we ate befo-’’ Cody tries to cut in, but Slender has already taken your wrist in his hand. 

‘’Great! You like beef, I assume?’’ he asks. You force a polite smile and nod. Slender pushes open the kitchen door and pulls you inside. ‘’Jack, we have a guest!’’

The second you step into the kitchen, your eyes go to the one person sitting at the kitchen table. They’re wearing a grey crop top, bandages around their hands and torso and feathered shoulder pads. Their sleeves, socks and cone shaped nose are all striped black and white. They turn and look at you.

‘’Eh?’’ the...clown? You assume they’re a clown- squints. 

‘’Jack, dear, this is y/n! Cody’s partner!’’ Slender gestures to you enthusiastically.

‘’It’s a pleasu-’’ before you have a chance to properly greet the strange clown man, he climbs off his chair and quickly walks over to you. Jack leans down, sticking his face right into yours. You stumble back, only to be caught by Cody as he’s entering the room. You force a polite smile. ‘’H-Hi?’’ 

"...so ye're Cody's da'e, eh?"

You nod. "Yes sir." 

"...ye scared 'f clowns, kiddo?"

"Only ones with cockney accents." You say. Jack's stern expression softens and turns into a grin. He stands back up and laughs loudly. 

"I like this one!" He cries. Slender laughs gently above you. Jack grabs your wrist, much like Slender did, and yanks you. "C'mon, take a sea'. Yous're stayin' fer dinner, ain'tcha?" 

You can't understand half the things Jack is saying because of his unbelievably thick accent, but you just smile and nod as you take a seat. Cody sits down next to you. You reach over and give his hand a reassuring squeeze while the others sit down. The kitchen table is huge- how many people live here?

"So yous two're livin' t'gether?" Jack asks. You nod.

"Yeah, on campus. I'm studying chemical engineering."

"So you're both scientists," you hear Slender say. You look over your shoulder and see him tending to a large metal pot by the stove. Behind him, more of the black tendrils you saw earlier are pouring dog food into a large bowl for Smile. "That's wonderful."

"And ye're smar'. Tha's real good." Jack adds, looking at you like he's examining you. Cody rolls his eyes.

"Ignore them, they're old fashioned and still think I need their permission to date." He mutters. Jack laughs. 

"Well we like y/n, so yous don' 'ave ta worry abou' bein' broken apar'." He winks at you and grins. Cody sighs. 

"Hey Slender," Liu speaks up. "Where's Tim? He'll wanna see Cody I'm sure," you notice he, Jeff and Ben all have sly smiles on their faces. "And meet y/n."

You glance at Cody. He looks pale, panicky. You frown. "Oh, he went out to get his prescriptions and some other things. I'm sure he'll be home soon." Slender replies like nothing is wrong. Cody looks like he really, really doesn't want to be here. 

"Who's Tim?" You ask quietly. Cody gulps.

"He's-" he's interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and closing. His head snaps to the kitchen door. He looks utterly horrified. 

You wait in silent anticipation for whoever it is. Your mind is racing. Tim must be terrifying if Cody is scared of him. You're picturing someone large, muscular, with eyes that can bore straight through you. Someone who would crush a man's skull without hesitation. Someone who-

"Hey guys." The kitchen door opens and in walks a short, stocky man with black hair, sideburns and stubble. He's wearing an old flannel shirt, and holding a paper bag in one hand. He walks past the table, not really giving anybody a second glance.

"Hi Tim." The other kids chorus. 

Oh. This is Tim. He doesn't look bad- he seems quite friendly. You watch him set the bag down on the kitchen island and rummage through it.

"Slender, I got a couple of the things you mentioned we needed," he says. "And also a box of donuts, for later." He turns and smiles at the table. His eyes finally fall on you and he blinks, then smiles a small bit. "Oh hey. Who's the newbie?" He glances at Jack for explanation. The clown grins. Before he can answer though, Cody shoots up out of his seat and whirls around.

"H-Heeeey Tim." He sounds like he's trying so hard to be cheerful, and it isn't working at all. Tim gives Cody a surprised smile.

"Hey kid," He tilts his head and walks toward Cody. "I didn't know you were comin' over."

"Heheh- yeah it wasn't uh- wasn't planned-" Cody fidgets nervously. Tim glances at you again. He can probably tell you and Cody are connected. ‘’How have you been? It’s been a while eheh-’’

‘’Good…’’ Tim folds his arms, tilting his head. ‘’Who’s your friend?’’ he nods at you

Cody gulps and glances at you before looking at Tim again. ‘’This is...y/n. My uh- partner.’’

Tim’s eyes widen almost comically. His head snaps to you and he stares. You gulp. Oh. Oh. Tim suddenly doesn’t look friendly anymore, he looks like he could crush a man’s skull without hesitation.

‘’...oh.’’

‘’Is that okay?’’

Tim shrugs. ‘’Yeah, yeah, perfectly fine. Of course that’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be fine?’’ his tone of voice tells you nothing is fine. Slender laughs gently like none of this is awkward or weird. 

‘’Calm down Tim. y/n is very nice! They’re smart, they’re funny, they-’’

‘’They made Cody move in with them without even talking to us first.’’ Tim cuts in. Cody whines.

‘’It wasn’t like I had a choice! They didn’t even know about you all until less than an hour ago!’’

‘’Oh, thanks Cody, good to know you care about me.’’

‘’Oh my gooood-!’’ Cody slams his face into his hands. ‘’This is why I only wanted y/n to meet EJ…’’

Before Tim can give another angry retort, Slender puts a hand on his shoulder. ‘’Tim, why don’t you sit down?’’ he says gently. Tim glares at him like he killed his loved ones before sitting down. Cody sits between you two, keeping you safe from Tim’s wrath. Slender puts a large plate in front of you. It’s loaded with mashed potatoes, corn, carrots and meat of some kind. You grab your fork and cut the meat off the small bone it’s attached to. It looks to be ribs of some kind. You cut the meat in half, and take a bite.

The taste is unlike anything you’ve ever had before. It’s definitely beef, but the flavor is almost overwhelming. It melts in your mouth and covers your lips in a glaze of grease and leftover sauce. The sauce is tangy and rich, and very faintly you can taste wine. ‘’Mmmm-!’’

Your involuntary hum of delight is followed by laughter from around the table. Except for Tim, who rolls his eyes and mutters something about table manners. Slender laughs and pats your head. ‘’Eat as much as you’d like, pet. There’s plenty to go around.’’

You smile a bit and keep eating. Even if you had food before coming here, you’re definitely not letting any of this go to waste. It goes silent as you all eat. Even Tim has calmed down. Just as you’re finishing off the deliciously sweet carrots, Slender speaks up again. ‘’So y/n, how much longer will you be in college?’’

‘’Oh uh-’’ you shrug. ‘’I have finals in a couple months, then I’ll only have my final year left.’’ you smile at him. He nods.

‘’I see...a year should be long enough.’’

‘’Long enough for what…?’’ you frown and tilt your head.

‘’To put your room together of course!’’ Slender chirps. Cody starts choking on corn next to you. ‘’After college you’ll probably be moving out of your dorm, and we have plenty of room here. You are family after all.’’

‘’D-dad-!’’ Cody speaks up next to you. ‘’Me and y/n haven’t even talked about that- wh-what if they wanna live outside with like- y’know- normal people?’’

‘’We are normal people, Cody.’’ Slender retorts. 

‘’G-guys-’’ you cut in before a fight can begin at the dinner table. You smile at Slender. ‘’I’m flattered at the offer- that’s very kind of you. We’ll think it over,’’ you glance at Cody. ‘’Right babe?’’

‘’Don’t call him that.’’ Tim cuts in. Cody rolls his eyes, but gives you a nod. 

‘’Sure.’’

‘’So ‘ow long exac’ly ‘ave you’s been’ da’in’?’’ Jack asks.

‘’Oh uh- a couple months. We’ve known each other a while,’’ you smile. ‘’It’s a funny story really, the first time I met him was in the campus library. We reached for the same book at the same time.’’ you glance at Cody and smirk. 

‘’Tha’s real cheesy.’’ Jack murmurs.

‘’But it’s sweet,’’ Slender adds. ‘’Makes me remember the first time we met…’’ his face flushes a grey colour. Jack laughs gently and squeezes his hand. Cody rolls his eyes. 

‘’Speakin’ of me an’ Slen,’’ the clown looks at you. ‘’When’s th’ weddin’?’’

‘’DAD-!’’ Cody yelps.

‘’There isn’t gonna be one if I have anything to say about it.’’ Tim mutters. You gulp. Oh. The faceless monster wants you to marry his son. You fidget nervously and look to Cody for help.

‘’We haven’t- we haven’t even thought about that yet!’’ he yelps, sounding as embarrassed as you feel. ‘’I mean- what’s next, you’re gonna ask me for grandkids?!’’

‘’We were planning that yes.’’ Slender doesn’t even sound like he’s joking. ‘’We can convert one of the spare rooms into a nursery! We might have to move someone to a different floor though…’’ 

Tim glares at you from behind Cody. ‘’Touch him and you die.’’ 

‘’I know this lovely place by Lake Charles where we could hold the wedding. Me and Jack got married there back in ‘98, you remember that don’t you dear?’’ he glances at Jack.

‘’I remember th’ dress…’’ Jack smiles fondly. You’re- not even going to question that. Cody sighs. 

‘’We’ll think about it…’’ he mutters. Clearly, he’s given up. ‘’But no grandkids! Not yet!’’ 

"Fine. But I'm still putting the baby name books in your room. They're taking up too much space in my office anyway."

Cody rolls his eyes and sits back in his seat with a huff. He reaches over and grabs your wrist. "May we be excused?"

"You're done eating?" Slender glances at both your plates.

"We'll take the leftovers home." Cody responds quickly. Slender sighs and nods.

"You may."

Cody pulls you up out of your seat and towards the backdoor. The two of you step out into the backyard. It's starting to get dark now, and a chilly breeze blows past you both. Cody sighs gently and leans against the wall, rubbing at his face tiredly.

"You okay?" You ask gently. He nods.

"Yeah just-" he purses his lips, frustrated. "I'm sorry my family's so...weird. I really wanted you to like them and have a good first impression of everybody."

You tilt your head. "I do like them."

He looks up at you. "...you do?" He frowns. "They're not- y'know- weird? You aren't freaking out?" 

"Oh no they're super weird and I'm definitely freaking out I mean- you have three dads and one of them is a clown, not to mention Tim is fucking terrifying but-" you pause and smile at him. "They're really nice people...and they love you, just as much as I do." You move closer to him. "Plus...they already consider me family so- I don't think I have a choice but to like them."

Cody stares at you for a moment, then cracks a smile. He laughs gently, relieved. "...thank fuck." He murmurs with a smile. He holds out an arm. "C'mere."

You move over to him and rest against him, letting him hug you. You snuggle up against his chest. He feels warm, and safe. His lips brush against the top of your head. "I love you." He murmurs. "I'm...glad you like them."

It's quiet then. Just the two of you enjoying the warmth of the moment. 

"Ey, luv birds." Aaand it's been interrupted. You look up and over at LJ, leaning out the backdoor. "Slen wants ta know if yous're stayin' th' nigh'." He gives you both a sly smile. Cody exhales softly and looks down at you, cocking a brow to ask what you wanna do. You smile up at him.

"Sure pops. I guess we could stay."

[jmnjmnjmn]

Reunion | BTS V fluffy oneshot

Pairing: Student!Taehyung x Student!Reader

Key words: high school, crush, confession.

Word count: less than 4,000

Masterlist

The day we met I didn’t pay much attention to you. I remember noticing how shiny your hair was when I glanced your way as the head teacher called your name in attendance and you answered her with a timid “here”. That was it until a couple of months later when that same teacher ordered a switch in seats for the entire class. I used to sit somewhat in the front of the class, by the window, with my friend Jimin and you… I don’t remember where you sat before you sat with me.

After the rearrangement you and I were seated at the beck of the class in the middle row of desks. You were on the right side, closer to the door, and I was on the left, closer to the windows. At first I felt as if an injustice had been done to me and my friends. I wondered why couldn’t we just stay seated the way we had chosen ourselves on the first day of high school and why I had to sit with you - a quiet girl I didn’t even know. To my surprise I quickly found out you were nowhere close to who I thought you were. You were far more than that, more complex, more important to me than anyone.

We got switched at the end of a Friday and when I came to school on the following Monday I felt everything, but excited at the prospect of sitting with you. During our first class you didn’t pay much attention to me and vice versa. The reason behind that wasn’t yours or mine rudeness, but the fact that we were both struggling to keep our eyes open, cursing in our heads at whoever thought that it was a good idea to start classes so early.

Our second class on that day was Mathematics. I was never especially good at it, but I passed by fine. You on the other hand…

-

“Taehyung.” I heard you whisper right as I sat down at our desk.

“What?” I asked looking for the proper notebook in my backpack.

“Did you do the homework?” You asked in a conspiratorial tone.

“Yes. Why?” I answered you and set my backpack down on the floor.

“Could I-” Your question was cut short as the teacher spoke up from his desk.

“Alright, let’s start with a homework check.” I saw the horror in your face as you heard his say that and immediately knew you didn’t do the assignment. “Let’s switch it up and start from the back this time. Last table, (Y/N) and Taehyung. (Y/N), could you tell me what you got in the first exercise?” You looked down at your closed notebook, knowing there was nothing inside that could help you out in this situation. I felt so bad for you and decided to help. I quickly opened my notebook on the exercise the teacher was asking about and tapped my finger on the answer at the bottom of the page.

“Uh…” You stalled and glanced quickly at my notes. “Yes. I got 3√2.” The teacher agreed with your - my - result and proceeded to ask other students for theirs. You looked at me with relief and mouthed a silent thank you. “I’m shit at math. No matter how long I spend studying I always fail the tests and get the wrong results.” You whined to me after the bell rang meaning the lesson was over with.

“I thought you were good at everything. Most girls are.” I said getting up and you chuckled. As I looked down at you collecting your notebook and putting them in your bag I remembered that I liked the shininess of your hair on the first day of school and thought that it’s still shiny and I still like it.

“What is that even supposed to mean?” You asked, pulling your phone out of your school blazers pocket and also getting out of your chair. Your phone's screen lit up for a second and I noticed you had an instax picture of you and your friends as your lock screen.

“Girls are always at least average at everything.” I said looking at your hands that held the phone. It had a little teddy bear keychain attached to it, I thought it was cute. “It’s usually the guys that totally suck at a subject.” I explained and you laughed. I quickly looked up at your face and took notice of how pretty you looked while smiling.

“If you say so.” You said and walked out onto the corridor to spend the break with your friends.

“God.” I heard Jimin groan behind my back and felt his hands on my shoulders just a second after. “Switch desks with me. Please. I can’t stand this guy I’m sitting with.” He begged as we exited the classroom.

“Why what’s wrong with him?” I asked.

“If I tell you you won’t switch with me.” Jimin said in a serious voice which made me laugh a little.

“No deal then.” I said and he whined. “The teacher forbade us from switching anyway.” I added.

“I know, but I sit at a desk right next to yours. She won’t notice. Please, Taehyung. At least for today.” He begged in desperation.

“What did your desk buddy do to you?” I asked laughing at his state.

“Will you switch with me? Please, I’ll buy you anything from the vending machine.” My ears perked up at his proposition.

“Everyday?” I asked with hope.

“Once a week?” Jimin proposed.

“Deal.” We shook hands and went on with our day.

-

For the rest of that day I sat at a desk by the window on the outer side with the guy Jimin couldn’t stand. He wasn’t much of a bother to me. What did end up bothering me quiet quickly though was that Jimin and you seemed to get along really well. You chatted throughout all the classes and got reprimanded by the teachers a handful of times because of it. You showed each other things on your phones, compared notes, shared textbooks and so on. For some reason seeing that made me feel really bad inside. At first I thought I was jealous about Jimin being friends with someone other than me, but that idea didn’t seem to fit all the feelings I was experiencing. I realised later that it was all because of you.

-

“Let’s go.” I said, urging Jimin to get up from your guys’s desk. I felt so irritated and blamed it on the amount of classes we had that day, but the real reason was far from that. In reality I just wanted the two of you to stop talking and being so friendly already.

“One second.” He dismissed me to finish what he was telling you before I came by which made me feel even more annoyed. “I really liked that bit.” He told you with enthusiasm. “You want to go to the skatepark with us?” He asked you and I felt my cheeks getting flushed. I turned to look out the window so none of you noticed the redness in my face.

“I wish I could.” I glanced at the two of you again. “I already have plans with my friends.” You said, making a sad face which Jimin immediately mimicked.

“Mm.” He fake cried and you chuckled. “Tomorrow then.” He said and you nodded in agreement. Jimin picked up his backpack and looked at me with a puzzled expression. “You okay?” He asked and you glanced at me quickly as you walked out of the classroom.

“I’m fine.” I murmured and rubbed my cheeks to make the blushing go away.

-

I recently realised that I’ve known you almost eight years now. Ever since our first conversation in Math class I knew there was something about you that I just couldn’t lay my finger on or, more likely, wouldn’t for a long time.

Three years of high school and five of university after that. It passed by so quickly and now… We’re here again. Standing in front of our old high school building, leaning on the railing around the basketball court you used to sit on with Jimin while cheering for me during my games.

Jimin… If it wasn’t for him I probably would never befriend you. The two of you got along so well so quickly it made my stomach turn. He was the one that started inviting you to come along with him to my games, then to go out partying with us and finally to just hang out. I wished everyday that it was me that asked you to join us, but I was just too shy and intimidated by you. I don’t know how to explain this without sounding too cliche, so I’ll put it like this.

As Jimin and you became friends we started to get closer as well and I got to see this whole other side of you I didn’t even know existed before. That’s when it got a little too complicated for me. The way you interacted with Jimin was friendly, funny, you just related on a different level. The way you were with me was different or maybe it was the same and it just hit me differently… You were warm and playful, supportive and gentle. We had - and still have to this day - this flirty kind of friendship where some people would assume we have something going on and sometimes they would ask us about it, but we’d shoot them down quickly saying “there’s no way” and “we’re just friends like that”. I agreed with you whenever you said it, but it hurt me, because I didn’t want it to be true and dreamed that there would be a way for us to be together one day. To put it simply, over the span of the first few months we knew each other I had developed a huge crush on you.

-

“Taehyung.” I felt someone poke my cheek. “Taehyung-ie. Don’t sleep. Talk to me.” You whispered and poked me again. It was one of those blessed days Jimin didn’t come to class and you asked me to sit with you to keep you company. I opened my eyes slowly, taking in your appearance and yawned.

“What do you want?” I asked with a sleepy voice.

“What do you think of me?” You asked, resting your chin on one of your palms. Your beautiful hair was shining in the afternoon sun and your cheeks were flushed because of that summer’s ungodly heat.

“I… Think… That… “ I spoke very slowly, feeling a little more than startled and not really knowing how to express myself.

“Ah, forget it.” You said flipping your hair and resting your head on the books on our table.

“(Y/N).” I hummed. “What do you think of me?” I repeated your question back to you, desperately wanting to know your true answer. You slowly lifted yourself to your previous position and looked at me.

“I think that you’re a good person and I enjoy being around you. When I first see you I think of something fun and exciting. But if I were to look deeper into it I think it would be something associated with a feeling of laughter, confidence and justs being happy.”

“Wow.” I looked at her amazed, thinking that maybe, just maybe, there might be a chance you feel the same way that I do. “Thanks.”

-

“We should do something together this summer. It’s the last vacation we’ll have as high schoolers.” Jimin said as he stirred his convenience store ramen. “Next year at this time we’ll be applying to colleges and universities. We might end up in  different cities or maybe even countries.” I felt a pinch in my chest when he said that. 

“You’re that ambitious?” You asked sarcastically and we all laughed.

“Come on. Wouldn’t you want to go somewhere special?” He asked in a dreamy tone.

“I’m going to be visiting my extended family for the whole summer.” I confessed and your head snapped in my direction.

“Oh, right. I forgot about that.” Jimin nodded and you kept looking at me with a frown.

“For the whole summer?” You asked sadly and I couldn’t help, but smile.

“Oh, poor (Y/N). Are you gonna miss me that much?” I asked, patting your head and you chuckled. I honestly hoped my words would come true.

“Obviously.” You shot back in a jokingly exaggerated tone. “Who am I gonna tease all day when you’ll be gone?”

-

We were leaning on the barriers surrounding our school’s basketball court enjoying the ending summer’s sunshine. Just you and I, waiting for Jimin to come join us. It was one of the last days of vacation we had before going back to high school for our senior year.

“Can you tell me (Y/N) if there is...” I started saying and glanced at you which was a mistake on my part, because you looked so beautiful it made me lose my tongue. “Nevermind.” You looked at me seeming very annoyed.

“Hey, what were you gonna ask me?” You asked, pushing my shoulder and I felt my stomach fill up with butterflies. I looked up from my feet at you and hoped you wouldn't be able to tell that I’m blushing in the warm light of the setting sun. “Tell me.” You urged and pushed my shoulder once again.

“Hey!” I yelled back laughing, deciding on telling you some version of the truth. “How am I supposed to ask you anything when you look like this?” I gestured up and down your frame. You looked so clueless for a second when you were checking if there was something wrong with your outfit.

“What do you mean? I look fine!” You yelled in return.

“Mhm, sure. Totally fine.” I said sarcastically. “With your shiny skin and pretty hair. Wearing a short skirt and cute sneakers like you’re desperately trying to hold onto the - clearly ending - summertime. The golden sunshine is of no help in this situation either, young lady!” I yelled out in a silly voice and you just bent down laughing. “I’m serious. Have you been walking around like this all summer? Like this?! With Jimin?! When I was gone!?!” I asked over dramatically. If you only knew I meant every word I said.

“Ah, Kim Taehyung. In all honesty… Every time I see you you can make me laugh, but now you sound like my father!” You shook your head in between small laughs and I felt myself die inside wondering whether you will ever call me your boyfriend?

-

“Three years of high school and five years of university after that.” I said looking at the ripped up netting hanging off one of the hoops on the basketball court.

“ Eight years.” You said in agreement. “It passed by so quickly.” You said looking at me, but I didn’t dare to look your way. 

“And now we’re here again.” I said, dancing around the real topic I wanted to bring up with you. “Standing in front of our old high school building, leaning on the railing around the basketball court you used to sit on with Jimin while cheering for me during my games.” I repeated what I just said to myself in my head.

“Why did you want to see me here before the reunion?” You asked, cutting right to the chase. “We could’ve met there and talked. Why here? And why now?” You asked and I felt the heat rising in my body. “I haven’t heard from you for over a year. All I know is from Jimin.” The hurt in your voice was clearly audible. “Why’d you stop talking to me?” You asked finally and I sighed, looking down at my feet.

“I… “ I tried to come up with an explanation, but there was none that you would believe that wouldn’t include me confessing my true feelings to you. I pushed away from the barrier and took a couple of steps forward into the court. I looked up into the sky feeling speechless. “I’m sorry.” I finally said with my back facing you.

“What did you say?” You asked, wanting me to repeat myself. I shook my head detecting the tiniest bit of a smirk in your tone and mustered the courage to turn towards you, but I didn’t pick my gaze up from the ground.

“I’m sorry.” I repeated a little louder this time.

“Oh. Okay.” You spoke slowly in a sarcastic way that I remembered from when we still talked. I could tell you were a little angry though. “You didn’t answer any of my questions though.” You added after a moment not ready to let go of the fact that this was the first time we spoke in over a year. I rubbed my forehead, trying to collect my thoughts.

“What can I say?” I half laughed and half actually begged for you to guide me in the right direction.

“The truth.” You answered bluntly.

“You changed.” I said with a smile. “You weren’t this honest and upfront.” I added as my confidence withered away with the autumn’s wind.

“Maybe.” You said, making your way towards me and stopped less than a meter away. “Or maybe I’m just a little mad at you.” You added sadly. I quickly glanced up at you and felt my heart come close to breaking as I noticed the sad look on your face.

So many questions started running through my head. Can it get any worse than seeing you like this? Is the possibility of rejection worse than making you sad? 

“Jimin said you didn’t let him tell me why you decided to cut all ties with me all of a sudden.” I frowned feeling your sadness become mine as well. “Ah, alright.” You breathed out putting your hands in your pockets. “I’ll let it go. For now.” You warned in a cheerier tone. “Why did you want to see me?” You asked.

“I… Wanted to talk to you.” I said broadly and looked up into the sky again. You just nodded waiting for me to elaborate. “About me. Kind of…” You leaned your head to one side trying to make sense of my words. I looked at my feet again scratching the back of my neck. “There’s something I wanted to bring up with you for a while now.”

“Yeah?” You said in a soft, encouraging manner noticing how uncomfortable I was.

“Ah… Can you tell me (Y/N) if there’s...” I started saying and again made the mistake of locking eyes with you. I felt my knees grow weak and my stomach turn. “Nevermind.” You looked at me with your eyes half closed, tired written all over your face.

“Not this again.” You shook your head slowly. “You said the exact same thing to me here like six years ago and I never found out what you were gonna ask me.” You chuckled quietly. “Remember that? You started babbling about how pretty I looked.” The smile on your face was growing with each word as you brought back the memory of us bickering that one summer. “And then you asked if I looked like this all summer and-”

“Like this?! With Jimin?! When I was gone!?!” I mocked my own words from years before. “Ah, I can’t believe you remembered it.” I laughed.

“Of course I did.” You said smiling brightly at me. “But what were you going to ask me? Please tell me, I’m dying to know.” I looked away and up towards the night sky again. The sun set a long time ago, but the skyline was still bright blue. I took a deep breath and felt the blush creep onto my cheeks. I felt like a teenage boy again, but your happy expression gave me confidence this time rather than make me feel intimidated.

“Can you tell me… If there is a way... I could… Make you want me… The way I want you right now?” I asked, still looking at the sky. “‘Cause… I think I’ve fallen in love with you… Do you think you could fall for me as well?” I breathed out loudly after saying the confession I had prepared for you while still in high school. I chuckled as I looked into your eyes again. “That’s what I was going to ask you that day. Ah, teenage me.” I shook my head with a deep sigh. “I chickened out, because you looked so pretty and it intimidated me.” You giggled at my late confession.

“So what you’re saying is that I don’t intimidate you anymore? Huh?” You asked, pulling your chin up and I laughed harder. You looked down and then back into my eyes. “But Taehyung…”

“Hm?”

“That was what you wanted to tell me back then in high school. But what were you going to tell me now, tonight?” You asked quietly. I smiled and bit my lip in nervousness.

“I was gonna ask you… If you could tell me if there’s a way I could make you want m-” Before I could finish my sappy confession for the second time today you leaned in and kissed me making my teenage dream a reality at last.

[booksarelife-stuff]

The Story of Us- Chapter 2

Jily (James Potter/ Lily Evans), minor wolfstar

Word Count: 

Modern Muggle AU. When Lily Evans meets the man across the hall due to a fire alarm, she has no idea that a new chapter of her life has begun. Featuring a librarian Lily and sports journalist James.

Masterlist     Read on AO3  Chapter 3

Chapter 2- and the sparks fly...

Lily had found her love of libraries in secondary school. She remembers one day, specifically that started it all. 

Petunia, Lily’s tight-lipped older sister, had gotten all her friends to make fun of her in front of everyone. Lily didn’t remember what it was that day that the gaggle of girls had decided to torment Lily on. It could have been just a simple “freak” thrown her way in the hallway. 

What Lily does remember though, is finding solace in the library. She remembers running in there, looking for a private place to cry. She had sat in the back, near the reference section that was barely touched since the age of the internet. She started doing her homework there and more importantly started realizing that escaping into books was easier when she was surrounded by them. 

The library Lily now called home was an old building, untouched by the modern buildings surrounding it. It was made of stone and when you walked in, you were greeted by the musky scent of old books. 

This library had also brought more than a safe place in her adult life, but friends as well. Remus Lupin was the overseer of the adult non-fiction and reference section. Lily was convinced that man was Google. She could ask him anything about anything he’d probably have an answer. Then there was the children’s librarian from downstairs, Marlene McKinnon. Marlene was vibrant and offered great critiques of all the new teen show adaptations of young adult novels. 

Lily had finally found a home for herself. 

Lily was sitting at the circulation desk, waiting for patrons. Remus was running a workshop for homeless members of the community to get jobs and they had had a nice turn out. Lily had spent all night packing lunches for them and was yawning every five seconds. 

She was tired and she didn’t notice the man who stepped up to the desk. 

“Hey Lily,” a deep voice said. Lily’s throat filled with bile. 

She looked up to see Severus Snape, a barista from across the street at the Starbucks. Also, her sort-of-ex. 

Lily looked up and gave her customer service a smile. 

“Hello Severus,” she said. “Did you find everything you needed?” 

“Yes, I did,” he drawled. 

“Great,” she said. She reached out for his book and library card. She tried not to make a face at the book he was checking out, something about government conspiracies, and scanned his card. Lily should have been surprised that he was even here at all, especially since Lily had to deal with a lot of talks that revolved around the internet making libraries useless from him. But he showed up, like clockwork. 

“You have a late fee,” she said. “It’s only a pound.” 

Lily checked out his book while he pulled out his wallet. She marked the fee as paid as he slid the pound over the desk. Lily handed him his card and book back. 

“Due in two weeks. Have a great day,” she said, smiling. 

“I was wondering if we could talk for a second,” he asked. Lily looked up into his deep brown eyes. She really didn’t want to, but she couldn’t think of an excuse, as there weren't any other patrons. 

“About what, Severus?” she asked. 

“Have you changed your mind yet?” he asked. 

Lily mentally counted down from five in her head, trying to bite back the anger that flared inside of her. That was the thing with Severus. To him, he never did anything wrong and it was Lily that was holding the relationship back.

“No, afraid not,” she said, her tone coming out sharp. Severus’s nostrils flared a bit. 

“That’s unfortunate,” he said. 

“Is it?” she quipped. 

His eyes flashed but the door swung open, stopping whatever he was about to say. Lily’s flickered to the new patron but did a double-take. 

Standing there was James, Lily’s neighbor. He was wearing a white button up with a red tie and black slacks. The sleeves were rolled up, showing his arms again and the tie hung loosely from his neck. He had a black messenger bag hanging from his shoulder. 

He gave Lily a small and a wave. He stood behind Severus, waiting in line. Severus looked pissed off as Lily’s eyes turned back to him. 

“Is that all you need, sir?” Lily asked. 

“Yes,” Severus spat. He grabbed his book and turned sharply. He walked out of the door. 

Lily smiled widely as James stepped up to the counter. 

“Hey neighbor,” James said, running a hand through his already messy hair. 

“Hey. What brings you to the library?” she asked.

“I heard that books contain knowledge and I need a specific kind,” he said. “And a library card.”

“Let’s get you a card first,” she said. 

She learned James’s full name was James Fleamont Potter. She tried not to make a face at his middle name but James responded with a quick “yeah I know.” She learned his birthday was March 27 and that she was older than him by a few months. 

She handed him his card and a little flyer that had instructions about their app that would let him browse their online collection and place holds on books they had on the shelves. 

“So, what specific knowledge would you be needing today?” she asked. 

“Ah well, remember the professional bowling team I mentioned?” 

“The Cannons?”

“That would be it,” he said. “I need books on bowling. I know most of the rules of football and rugby, but I seem to be lacking some expertise on the intricacies of bowling.”

Lily laughed and started typing in their system. 

“And you couldn’t Google that?” 

James did a dramatic gasp that made Lily look up at him. 

“Did a librarian just say I should Google something? That’s a sort of sacrilege,” James said, his hazel eyes wide with fake horror. 

Lily laughed and turned back to her computer screen. She told him the number of the Dewey he could use to find books on bowling and he blinked at her. 

“Let me guess,” she said. “Unfamiliar with the system?”

“Yeah. And this library,” he said. 

Lily motioned for him to follow her. If Remus was available, he’d be able to go directly to the space on the shelf that contained books about bowling. It took Lily a minute to find them. She left James to browse and went back to the desk to find Marlene sitting at Lily’s portion of the desk.

“Hey Lil,” she said, stopping her spinning in her chair. 

“Hey Marls,” she said. 

“I’m on break,” she said, tossing her thick blonde hair over her shoulder. “I also have a story.”

“Do tell,” Lily said, taking her seat at the computer. 

“A girl came in with her mother looking for a book,” she began, her blues eyes turning animated. “And I would have guess she was looking for the latest John Green or something, but this girl walks up to the desk and asks point-blank ‘Do you have Gone Girl?’”

Marlene took a dramatic inhale while Lily started smiling. 

“She had to be no older than thirteen! And she wanted ‘Gone Girl!’” she exclaimed. 

“Please tell me you didn’t let her check out ‘Gone Girl’?” Lily asked. 

“Well, we aren’t in the business of judging are we?” Marlene said. “Our physical copy is checked out but I showed her how she could read it through our app.”

Lily laughed. 

“Isn’t that book the one where the wife fakes her death?” James asked. Lily spun around to see James leaning against the counter, two books sitting in front of him. 

“It is,” Marlene answered. She got up and stood next to Lily at the circulation desk. “Have you read it?”

Lily rolled her eyes as she scanned James’s card. Marlene would flirt with anything that moved, even though she had a lovely girlfriend waiting at home for her. 

“I haven’t but my brother made me watch the movie,” James replied. “I really enjoyed it.”

Marlene hummed as Lily checked out the books to James. He had gotten two books, one about the theory of bowling, which Lily didn’t think was a thing, and one of different techniques and rules. 

“Here you are,” Lily said, sliding the books back. “Please take a bookmark or two!”

“Yes please,” Marlene said. “Please don’t dog ear the pages.”

“Will do,” James said, picking up a colorful bookmark. “See you around, Lily.”

He gave her a small before turning away and walking out the door. Once he was gone, Marlene lightly hit Lily’s arm. 

“He was totally flirting with you!”

“He was not,” Lily said, though she hadn’t really thought about it to determine if he was or not. 

“‘See you around, Lily,’” Marlene quoted, her eyebrows high on her forehead. 

“He’s my neighbor.”

Marlene widened her eyes even more. 

“Since when did you get a hot neighbor? What about the old man?”

“James moved in a few weeks ago,” Lily replied. “He was the guy who brought his cat out during the fire alarm.”

Marlene started laughing. Lily had mentioned him when she saw Remus and Marlene the next day, but just focused on the cat. She didn’t tell them about their conversation. 

“Well,” Marlene said. “I need to go back. But we aren’t dropping this James conversation.”

“There really isn’t much to be said,” Lily said as Marlene started towards the stairs. She turned before she headed down giving Lily a look. 

“Then there needs to be,” she said. “He is ten steps up from Severus and I think you need to jump on that quickly.”

~~~

Lily waved at the security officer at the desk as she passed. Moody was scary looking fellow, but once Lily brought him sweets, he softened up to her. He always guarded her packages. 

She quickly got her mail and got in the elevator with a nice old woman from the third floor. The ride was silent and once Lily made it to her apartment she collapsed on her couch, throwing her bag on the floor and the mail on her coffee table. The afternoon had gotten busy for her, as the after work crowd had come in around five. Not that she was going to complain that so many people were still using the library. 

She debated ordering take-out, not feeling up to cooking but she couldn’t decide on what sounded best. She sat up and picked up her mail. It was mostly junk but she found a handwritten letter. She looked quickly at the name and realized it wasn’t hers, but was addressed to James from a Euphemia Potter. 

Lily sighed and slipped her flats back on. She didn’t know if James was home yet, but she figured she’d at least try before she forgot. She left her door open as she made her strides to his apartment door and knocked three times. 

“One sec!” she heard James call. She waited as she heard the thump of his footsteps get closer to the door. 

He opened it, smiling. He had already changed out of his work clothes and was wearing a shirt that was old and faded and his sweatpants. 

“Lily,” he said. “What do I owe the pleasure?”

Lily held out the piece of mail, returning his smile.

“This was in my box,” she said. He looked down at the letter as he took it from her, his glasses low on his nose. 

“Oh bugger,” he said. “Sorry about that. My mum seems to have put the wrong number. I’ll call and let her know she doesn’t do it again.”

“It’s not a problem,” she said. “I figured you would want a handwritten letter sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah. Mum’s a bit old fashioned,” James said, smiling. He leaned against the doorframe, his hazel eyes looking directly at Lily.

“Well, I’ll see you around,” Lily said, turning away. 

“Wait!” James said, causing Lily to turn back. “I was just about to start Outlander.”

“Wait, really?” she asked. She couldn’t believe that he was going to sit down and watch the show because she mentioned it to him. 

“Yeah,’ James said, running a hand through his hair. “I was just about to order some curry, too. Wanna join?”

Lily blinked and James' face quickly fell. He started babbling. 

“Not like a date or anything!” he started. “You’re just the first person I’ve really talked to since moving here and I think you’d be a, a great friend—”

“I’d love to, James,” she said, talking over his babbling. James smiled brightly. 

She told him the best curry place that delivered in town and her order. She wanted to change into something more comfortable before they started so she ran back to her apartment. 

Normally, Lily would be reserved about these kind of things, but James didn’t seem to be a threat. He had been nice enough and Marlene had always said she needed to put herself out there more. If that included eating curry while watching Outlander, she was more than happy to oblige. 

She put on some leggings and an oversized jumper. She quickly put her hair up. She grabbed her phone and keys. She was almost out the door when she remembered a tub of ice cream she had in the freezer. She ran back and grabbed it, hoping James was a fan of brownie batter. 

When she knocked, James let her in. 

“Oh, ice cream?” he asked. 

“Yep. Like brownie batter?” she asked. His eyes lit up. 

“Yes! My favorite,” he said. “Besides mint chocolate chip.”

Lily made a face. 

“Mint chocolate chip taste like bad tooth paste,” she said. 

James let out an offended noise as he took the ice cream from her and walked towards the fridge. 

“It does not!”

Lily smiled and looked around James' apartment. He had a decent sized television and a large gray sectional that looked soft. Buttercream was napping on the top of the couch, his tail flicking back and forth. 

It wasn’t really decorated, Lily noted. He had a few pictures up but the walls were bare. Lily noticed some books on his entertainment center and went and looked at them. They were mostly about sports, rules and techniques, and whatnot. Lily also noticed the books he checked out earlier on his coffee table, one of them with a bookmark already in it. 

“So,” James began entering the living room. “How much do you think I’m going to like the show?”

Lily hummed for a second. 

“I think you’ll either get really into it or you’ll be indifferent,” she said. “I don’t know you well enough to give a better judgement. I don’t think you’ll hate it though.”

“Fair enough,” he said, petting Buttercream. “I looked it up and it sounds quite interesting.”

“Are you a big fan of period pieces?” Lily asked. James glanced up at her with a smile. 

“Don’t tell my brother this,” he started. “If you ever meet him. But yes, I am.”

Lily smiled. 

“What’s your favorite?” she asked. She watched as he ran a hand through his hair. 

“My mum made me watch Pride and Prejudice so many times, I can recite the movie line by line,” he said. 

Lily felt unbridled glee. That was her favorite movie, hands down. She knew it wasn’t accurate to the book but the tension between the characters in the movie drew Lily in more than anything. 

“The 2005 movie?” she asked, her excitement showing. 

“Yep. We did watch the BBC version quite a few times though,” James said. “I love Colin Firth, but there’s just something about the movie.”

They talked excitedly about the movie, comparing the two adaptations when their food arrived. Once they had settled on the couch, take-out containers and plastic forks in hand, James went to Netflix and started Outlander. 

[skrltwtch]

Muse

Prompt 1: Just like some people sleep-walk, you tend to paint or draw while in your transformed state because it calms you down. And apparently, people really like your art.

Prompt 2: A is a popular artist, and B messages them without thinking one day. They didn’t expect to become friends, and they definitely didn’t expect to become more. Person B just felt that connection between the two of them.

Prompt 3: A/Werewolf has a tendency to curl like a dog in front of the fireplace a lot (usually in their werewolf form, but it’s not uncommon for them to do it as a human). (Sources in master list)

Word count: 3,721 words

Genre: Fluff, romance, supernatural

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

I put up with the long commute to and fro between home and work for two reasons, and two reasons alone: the decent rent for a place with a picturesque view and that catered to my monthly needs, and the glut of time to catch up on my reading. And by ‘reading’, I meant ‘scrolling through the handful of social media feeds that survived my latest cull of shit that was taking up my time and storage space unnecessarily, and occasionally attempting (and failing) to pay attention to my Kindle’. Hey, at least I was aware I had a problem …?

Instagram was my first hit of the day. I flicked past images of makeup, friends in situations I wouldn’t be finding myself in anytime soon, and cute animals. The occasional meme and comic draw out an exhalation of air from my nostrils. I marvelled at artwork and photography, half wishing I were half as good as the people I followed and admired, half chiding myself for not practising either enough and losing interest quicker than I’d dropped money on new equipment in the name of my new endeavours. You could say one of my hobbies, the ones I’d been consistent about, was amassing gadgets obtained to indulge my whims and fancies.

My heart skipped a beat — or was it the pothole the bus went over? — when I came across a new post by George. I didn’t know him personally to refer to him by his first name like that, but hadn’t social media broken down boundaries between people, making them seem closer to each other than they really were? He was an illustrator whose work I chanced upon on Reddit a while back. His portfolio was a patchwork of subjects, often portraits, rendered mostly in traditional media like watercolour and oil paint. He sometimes shook things up with abstract, contemplative pieces. He had something for almost everyone. For me, it was his attractive, angular yet distinctive faces and statuesque figures, use of watercolour, and versatility: one piece could be superhero fanart, followed by a collection of moody, atmospheric paintings of the English landscape with some fantastical additions.

It also helped that he seemed to be a nice, chill person, and a handsome one at that, too, based on the smattering of pictures he had of himself on his feed. Please, let me imagine a world in which someone as ideal as him — or what I knew about him — wasn’t beholden to anyone for a moment.

His latest post was a drippy bust of a snarling wolf with full moons for eyes. The caption simply read: ‘Mood.’ I smirked as I hit the like button. Did I mention that he drew wolves a lot as well? Sometimes his wolves were feral; sometimes they were humanoid, but still wild. The latter featured heavily in his conceptual works, albeit as hazy, indistinct forms, like blurry photographs. In any case, I liked that he had a fondness for wolves and werewolves, as the constant presence of the full moon in art of the latter would suggest. Anyone who liked wolves was a-okay in my book. Anyone who liked werewolves was even more so. Because.

An interrupted connection between my brain and my reflexes led me to visit his profile. Instead of returning to my feed, my thumb gravitated toward the message button at the top of the screen. Not a single cell in my body resisted this turn of events despite the restored connection. Oh, what the hell. Why not? Like, what were the chances he’d read my message? He had tens of thousands of followers, a likely considerable chunk of them being bots aside. He must receive DMs every other minute. I’d be another sycophant in his sea of fans. Or he’d see my homely mug and locked profile, and he’d think I was driven to add to his never-ending count of unread messages simply out of misguided thirst.

The beauty of the Internet was that it made ‘out of sight, out of mind’ fairly easy to put into practice.

I got the following out of my system and into his inbox: ’Hi! Hope you’re doing well. I’ve been following your Instagram for a while, and your latest post just made me want to say your art is amazing. (I can totally identify with the sentiment behind it.) I especially love your more abstract pieces. There’s something so … raw about them. And I like that you seem to like wolves a lot, too. They’re beautiful animals, and your art really captures that about them. Anyway, keep up the great work! Take care.’

I exited Instagram, not caring about the rest of my feed anymore and not wanting to feel like I was stalking my notifications for something that’d never come. My phone buzzed with several notifications as I went down my Reddit homepage. I swiped away the banners with green icons that pelted the top of my screen. Those could wait. What couldn’t were the banners stating that I had a new message and a new follower request from —

‘Oh, my God!’ I said, loudly enough for me to hear my own voice above my music (the chorus of Walk the Moon’s ‘Shut Up and Dance’ at half of maximum volume, so … loud). Not one soul on this lightly populated bus acknowledged my exclamation — not even the woman sitting next to me. (Come on, lady, the front was mostly empty.) Thank God for technology making hermits of us all. Or my sudden outburst paled in comparison to the shit that could happen and had happened on public transport. When you took long journeys as I did every day, you’d see some real shit in due time, too.

I launched Instagram for the second time this morning (stop judging, Screen Time) and the first time ever with trembling hands. The notifications were real. I approved his request first. My mind raced to recollect anything on my profile that might make him regret his decision to let my piddling photos of food, myself, my cat, and random junk take up precious space on his feed. Nope, couldn’t think about that now, because I was now staring at an actual, honest-to-God message from George:

’Hey! Thanks for reaching out, and thank you for your kind comments. They mean a lot to me, especially what you said about my experimental stuff and wolves. They are stunning creatures, aren’t they? And yeah, I drew that last picture after a particularly rough night. You could call it a self-portrait of sorts, I suppose.’

I snorted. Change the fur colour and make the eyes normal, and it was a portrait of myself every full moon. Okay, not something I could tell someone I just met, let alone a popular artist on the Internet …

Before I could recover from the shock that my inbox held an actual, honest-to-God message from George Holden (that was his last name — the oxygen made it to my brain for me to remember that he had his last name on his profile), he sent another one: ’Anyway, how are you? I took a look at your profile, and it looks like we have quite a number of things in common.’

What, really? No way. Was it the lashings of sweet treats I subjected my stomach to every weekend? The horror and science fiction titles, celebrity memoirs, and comics, sometimes paired with an iced coffee at either a café I put down roots for the afternoon or the one-bedroom house in Waltham Forest I called home, I showcased to put forth some form of air of intellectualism? The cross-stitch projects featuring memes and popular culture icons? His profile was quite barren of anything that could provide insight into what else he enjoyed doing besides his art. Which, hey, was perfectly fine: no one was obligated to share their personal life online.

I replied, ’I’m fine, thank you. I’m on my way to work. Favourite part of my day, really. And really? Like what?’

Most of my notifications that day were from him.

✦✧✦✧

I was a bustling hub of activity in my seat: A sip of my drink. A shake of my knee. A lift of my phone. A turn of my neck. A shift of my weight from one butt cheek to the other. I was certain I was generating enough electricity to power a lightbulb in five-second intervals. I couldn’t help it. I was so, so excited — and so, so nervous. This was my and George’s first time meeting each other in person. There’d be no screen between us. Actually, what difference would that make? We’d been talking to each other for months, either through text or video calls, the latter more common in the weeks leading up to today. We’d seen each other even on our ‘I’ll put on a clean shirt, brush my hair, and hope for the best’ days. What could either one of us do in person that would irrevocably alter our friendship for the worse? Well …

The sound of someone entering the café stopped me from starting on a list of things that I could do to fuck things up. I looked up, probably the seventh time I did so in the last ten minutes. This was on me. I grossly overestimated the amount of time it’d take me to get somewhere as usual; a natural by-product of living far from the city. Seventh — probably — time was the charm: it was George — and right on the dot, too. His punctuality added to his attractiveness, which had already gone through the roof and was heading straight into the stratosphere. I bit my lip to suppress any unfortunate exclamations. He was a friend, Evelyn … just a friend, and I had no illusions otherwise.

I called out to him. He waved at me and joined me at the table I picked out for us. And the second our eyes met, devoid of any barrier between us, everything about him — and everything about us — clicked.

He was just like me.

And I was just like him.

And he was as astonished about it as I was, going by the long silence that passed between us, a first since we got to know each other.

‘Hi! Oh, my God, it’s so good to finally meet you!’ I said with a grin to break the tension. He broke out into a smile, his posture relaxing. Success. Should I go in for a handshake? No, that’d be too stuffy for a months-old friendship. A hug? No, that’d be too intimate for a months-old friendship, and an online one, too, no less. Was it obvious this was my first time meeting someone I met online?

‘It’s good to meet you, too,’ he said, his expression of cheer unabating. ‘I’m going to get myself a drink first, and then we can shoot the shit.’ His smile turned into a grin. ‘Do you want anything? My treat,’ he added as he spotted me reaching for my wallet.

‘I was thinking a red velvet muffin, please.’ I didn’t know why I didn’t get one earlier. ‘Thank you.’

‘No problem. I’ll be right back.’

As he left, my nerves turned into happiness that I met another werewolf. It was rare to meet other werewolves just about anywhere. What were the odds that two werewolves, one of whom was Internet-famous, would become friends because the other one had a brain fart one morning to send a message to the Internet-famous one? You couldn’t make this shit up. In all the years I’d been a werewolf, George was the first one I knew. I didn’t even know the one that turned me. I got bitten one night, and that was my life changed forever. I figured everything out on my own — I had to. And my puny social network of werewolves made sense: this wasn’t exactly the kind of thing anyone would advertise about themselves.

Once George settled down and courtesies were out of the way, the first thing out of his mouth was ‘I never thought I’d meet another one like me’.

I moved my chair closer to him so that we could speak at length about what we were without the fear of being overheard. ‘Me neither.’ Then it hit me, and I quickly said, ‘It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it, though.’ Personally, I was okay with what I was. No existential dread here, contrary to what one might expect of a werewolf. It happened. I learnt to manage it in a way that made it not have any kind of significant impact on my life. I refused to let it define me. And honestly, I lived for particularly bad days that coincided with full moons.

‘Are you kidding me?’ His face lit up with boyish glee. ‘I’ve been waiting for this day for so long! As in, us meeting up in person for the first time and me getting to know another werewolf. Two birds, one stone: the only kind of killing I endorse. And I’m so fucking chuffed it’s you. I always felt like I could talk to you about anything, and now that really, really means anything.’ It was his turn to be able to power a light bulb, but in twenty-second intervals this time.

‘Same. How were you turned?’

‘I was bitten during a camping trip with friends a couple of years back. You?’

‘Secondary school. I was walking home from the library.’

‘Shit, that was some time ago, huh?’

‘Almost half my life a werewolf.’

‘Do you know the werewolf that did it?’

‘Nope. How about you?’

He shook his head. ‘Nah. Kind of sucks, doesn’t it, that you’ll never get to know the person who’s changed your life so … deeply? They won’t remember either that they turned someone. If only having kids was like that, yeah? Absolutely no sense of responsibility whatsoever.’ He gave his teaspoon a lazy twirl, causing a faint plume of milk to rise and sink into the dark, bittersweet depths from whence it came. ‘I struggled with what I’d become the first couple of months. The transformations were one thing.’ Oh, yeah. ‘I felt … grotesque. God, the amount of self-pity, like, why was I the only one who had to go through this every month when there were four other guys ripe for the picking? So, I decided to start incorporating wolves in my art to get to know and reclaim that part of me. I didn’t want to see it as something ugly. I mean, you get to experience a kind of rebirth every month. That’s extraordinary if you think about it. And I told myself that like myself, the wolf didn’t ask to be born. Ha, ha. Millennial humour. Anyway. Then the most miraculous thing happened one full moon: I woke up next to a coherent painting that wasn’t there the night before.’

‘Oh, my God.’

‘Right? My more artsy stuff? The ones I hate coming up with captions for? Almost all done while I was transformed. I’d started some of my art — bet you can’t guess which one — on full moons, too, and I finished them after I changed back. It’s as if the wolf knew we were now cool with each other.’ He took a big chunk out of his apple crumble and jammed it into his mouth. ‘Sorry if that sounded like spiritual woo-woo. I’ve been wanting to tell someone about this forever.’ Crumbs fell out of his mouth as he spoke. ‘Shit, I’m such an’ — he shot me an impish look as he swallowed — ‘animal, aren’t I? Fuck, I can make stupid references like that now, and someone would get it!’

I laughed. He was such a dork. ‘It’s not “spiritual woo-woo”. It’s amazing. How is that even possible?’

‘I have no idea.’ He held out his hands in front of him. ‘So thankful we get to keep our hands and not have them turn into paws.’ He waggled his thumbs. ‘Fuck, yeah, opposable thumbs. And I want to say it’s like when artists get high and make stuff. I do know artists who do that, and hey, no judgment. To them, I do the same thing, too.’

‘And here I am, feeling accomplished whenever I make it through another full moon without waking up in a trashed place. Seriously, that’s amazing.’

‘I think that’s what’s keeping me from losing it while transformed. I was surprised people liked those pieces when I started posting them, considering they’re such far departures from what I usually post.’

‘That explains why they’re so … visceral.’

‘Yeah? I figure you’d appreciate them even more now.’ He smirked. ‘And you know, no one really talks about my wolf art, and especially my werewolf pieces. Maybe if I didn’t make them blurry and made them more explicit …’ Oh, he’d get a different breed of followers altogether. ‘But that’s fine. I don’t want my lycanthropy to define me and my work. It’s just a part of who I am.’

‘My turn to say something possibly corny: I like your wolf art because … they make me feel seen, because they’re drawn by you.’

He put a hand on his chest. ‘That’s not corny. I’m happy my art makes you feel that way. You know I don’t care about the likes or comments. It just so happens I like drawing things that make me get likes and comments.’ He pushed his plate toward me and motioned at me with his fork to try some of his apple crumble. I obliged him. ‘Did you ever suspect anything? Not that, you know, I purposely drew wolves and werewolves as a kind of signal for other werewolves to pick up on. That’d be giving me way too much credit.’

‘No, I just thought you like wolves a lot.’

‘Same here. What you said about wolves being beautiful creatures when you messaged me the first time … that made me feel something, too.’

‘Then I’m very glad we got to be friends,’ I said. Born from the same blip in brain activity that set us on this path, my hand found itself on top of his. His touch had a pleasant, almost familiar heat to it.

‘Me too.’ He turned his hand over and clasped mine.

‘I have an idea,’ I said, mostly to distract myself from how right this felt. ‘Do you want to meet on the next full moon?’

‘Sure. I can’t wait to see what kind of inspiration will strike with another werewolf around.’

‘Your place, then?’

He nodded. ‘Unless you’re cool with me possibly trashing your place with paint and stuff. That hasn’t happened before, but who knows? What if wolf-me doesn’t like change?’

I stared at him in disbelief.

‘I can’t help it. You have no idea what kind of beast this has unleashed. Oops.’

We sat and talked in the café the entire afternoon; we took turns treating each other to food and drinks to justify our occupancy. Our conversation moved on to other topics besides the one special, biggest thing we had in common. Just like we didn’t want it to define who we were as people, we made a promise to each other, and we did so over a strawberry custard tart, that we wouldn’t let it become the foundation of our friendship from this point on. It’d be unfair to the moments we shared before this. We were friends because we cared about each other, we brought out the best in each other, we could truly be ourselves around each other, and, honestly, I didn’t think anyone else would have the patience for his goofy in-jokes.

✦✧✦✧

I lay in front of the fireplace, rejoicing in the warmth it offered on this cool night, while George was working on his newest painting. Since getting to know each other in these forms, we’d been able to exercise better control. For me, that meant greater peace of mind; for him, that meant a more refined grasp of his artistic sensibilities. As with much about our condition, we didn’t question this. What could possibly be a drawback of us spending more time in each other’s company? I now understood why animals curled up by a fire was a common sight in media and real life, too. Wait, what if this, and not George’s presence, was what I’d been missing all my life?

My tail wagging like a fiend when I felt his breath on my skin begged to differ. I licked his face. He gently parted my lips and slid his tongue onto mine. Our tongues engaged each other in a playful scuffle; the fire crackling in the background could only dream of coming close to causing the rise in temperature in the pit of my stomach. The tussle between our tongues didn’t get to turn into something more: he’d had a long night. I nuzzled him to convey reassurance. He lay down beside me and wrapped his arms around me, his hold firm yet tender. We fell asleep like this, keeping each other warm long even after the fire had died out.

We wished each other a good morning with a kiss — no, two kisses, and we got ourselves ready for the day. As we were having breakfast, George piped up, ‘Do you want to see what I painted last night, love? I’m really proud of it, and I think you’d love it, too.’

I nodded excitedly, my mouth too full of scrambled egg to speak.

He returned as quickly as he’d left the table. His hands held on to a painting … of me curled up by the fire last night. The figure was the clearest, most detailed he’d ever done; the lighting was phenomenal. ‘It’s beautiful,’ I said, tearing up a little, frankly. ‘I love it. It’s going to look so good in our new place’, along with the recent paintings he’d made of a similar nature. He’d come so far from the gauzy forms that once populated his attempts at capturing his — our — condition on canvas.

‘Of course, when I have the most stunning model.’ He gave me a peck on the cheek. ‘I love you, my muse, my mate.’

[older-brother-kit]

TSMC ch. 3

I’m back with chapter 3! In this chapter: Everything goes horribly wrong, but something good comes out of it. Or does it...?

Here’s chapter 1 on AO3 and on tumblr, here’s chapter 2 on AO3 and on tumblr, and here is this chapter on AO3! Let me know by comment, reblog, or tags if you want to be added to the tag list for this story, and please let me know what you thought because I really appreciate it!!

The Sibling Matchmakers Club 

Chapter 3: By the Angel

Mina was happy to say that she was enjoying her time at camp. After two weeks she’d made a great friend, figured out she was good at soccer, learned how to do origami, and started a prank war. 

Ah, right. The prank war. Now Mina enjoyed pranks as much as the next person -ok, maybe a little bit more, and she would blame Kit for that- but Lucie and James had made it a little too personal. Mina had arranged the first prank because she thought they’d all be able to laugh about it and become better friends afterwards, but instead James and Lucie had gotten fired up and started fighting for real. At this point, it had gotten way out of Mina’s control.

Not that she had tried stopping it in the first place. While she’d tried talking with James and Lucie separately about how they could prank each other and still be friends, neither of them had wanted to listen. Mina quickly gave up, but decided that it wouldn’t stop her from having fun and helping Lucie out. 

Though for once, Mina wasn’t doing a prank. Today was Saturday, and every Saturday the kids got to call their family back home. Mina actually owned a cell phone, a small model that her dad had been very hesitant to give her. He had thought she was too young for one for the longest time, but had rethought it after an incident where she got lost at the mall and couldn’t find him. Kit had promised to make sure Mina wouldn’t have any bad social media or weird apps if she got one, and so Mina was given the phone a week before heading out to Camp Clover. The camp’s policy was no electronics though, so Mina hadn’t used it much. Even before camp, she really only used it for calling her family and her friend Tavvy.

On Saturdays, she used it to call her dad. Jem always made sure to make time to answer Mina’s call, and Kit usually liked to make loud comments in the background. At the end, they’d both tell her they missed her and say I love you and their goodbyes. Mina was having a lot of fun with Lucie and James and the Lightwoods, but she looked forward to Saturdays the most.

Mina was startled when the phone in her hand started to ring before she even pressed the call button. It was usually her dad who called, but this time it was Kit’s name and picture that flashed across the screen. “Hello?” 

“Min-Min!” Kit’s voice rang loud and clear, and Mina smiled widely without even thinking about it. “I thought I’d try to catch you before you called Dad, since you usually call around this time.” His voice lost some of its energy, and she could picture the strained look on his face. “There was an emergency at the hospital and he couldn’t leave, so he can’t call today Mina. I’m sorry.”

Mina sighed, her smile quickly fading. Her dad loved them both and always tried to make time to spend with his children, but she knew that being a doctor was a demanding job and he couldn’t always be there. Growing up, they were often babysat by different family friends until Kit was old enough to look after them both on his own. 

“It’s ok,” Mina said, telling herself that at least she got to talk with her brother. “I’m happy I can still talk to you.”

There was a slight pause, and when Kit spoke she could tell he was smiling. “A smooth talker as always, Mina. So, how’s that prank war going? Did you and Lucie finally win?”

Mina perked up, and spent the next few minutes recounting her most recent successes and failures. Recently they had managed to get help and put the boys’ beds outside of their cabin, but then they had snuck a whole handful of fake spiders into Mina and Lucie’s beds. Grace and Paige hadn’t been very happy about Mina and Lucie’s sudden screams, and neither did the other side of the cabin. Mina had a feeling they were slowly getting fed up with the prank war going on, but Mina had no plans to stop anytime soon. If there was anything her dad had taught her, it was to not give up.

If there was anything Kit had taught her, it was that when it came to pranks you had to start small and work your way up to the big stuff. For Mina, the big stuff was only just beginning.

“We already have our next prank planned out,” she told Kit proudly. “It’ll be like the first prank we did, but better. There’s going to be maple syrup and-”

Mina’s cabin counselor Jessamine, who had been standing at the corner supervising the phone call, gave her a look.

Mina cleared her throat. “I mean, nothing. We’re not going to do any pranks or anything with maple syrup, because that would be bad.” She heard Kit snort.

The counselor sighed and checked her watch. “Hurry it up,” she said, nodding to the door. “The lunch bell is going to ring soon.”

“Sorry, I’ll have to end the call soon.” Mina said. “How is Dad doing?”

Kit sighed. “He’s still overworking himself at the hospital, so basically what he’s been doing since you went to camp. Then of course there’s that horrible-” Kit gasped suddenly. “Mina,” he whispered in a low tone. “You have no idea, I totally forgot he hasn’t told you yet. I know he wanted to wait to tell you in person, but you have to know. There’s this woman named-”

The lunch bell rang, and Mina heard shouts from outside her cabin about how excited they were for today’s lunch. Apparently, today they had hotdogs and hamburgers. Mina jumped up from where she had been leaning against the wall.

“I have to go!” She interrupted, and felt a little bad about it, but it was hotdogs and hamburgers today. Plus, Lucie and Mina had to finish eating early in order for today’s prank to work. There was no way she could be late. “It’s lunchtime, sorry. Bye, love you!”

“Wait, Mina-” Kit’s voice cut off as Mina quickly hung up the phone before handing it to Jessamine and rushing out the door. Normally she’d try to find Lucie first, but she bet that Lucie was already on her way to the dining hall. 

Kit had mentioned a woman. Her dad had actually talked about someone that he wanted Mina to meet when she got back to camp, but Mina hadn’t known it was a lady. It was probably normal for Mina to be worried, to think that maybe her dad was seeing someone, but that was silly.

Mina’s dad never dated, so Mina wasn’t concerned at all. As she ran to the dining hall and caught sight of Lucie, her spirits only lifted. 

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

“We have to finish quickly,” Lucie told Mina quietly, slathering ketchup on her hotdog. She ignored Mina trying to hide her wince at the amount. The dining hall had been mostly out of ketchup, but they’d gotten there early enough for Lucie to snatch some off of the other tables undetected. “You said yourself that the key for the prank was time.” 

Mina nodded silently, having just taken a bite of her hamburger. She swallowed and coughed for a second before taking a sip of her apple juice. “I might be eating too fast.” she said sheepishly. “Though as long as we finish before James and Thomas and Christopher get here, we’re fine.”

The two of them ate at a faster pace than usual so that they could get back to their cabin and prepare their prank, though Lucie noticed that she didn’t see James or the Lightwoods anywhere. They’re just late, Lucie thought. Christopher probably exploded something again and they’re cleaning it up. Christopher Lightwood might be a genius, but his experiments often caused something to catch on fire. 

Mina stood up with her empty plate, and Lucie did the same. The two of them grinned at each other in excitement as they put their plates onto the dirty dishes cart and walked out of the dining hall.

“You remember the plan?” Mina asked, and Lucie gave an enthusiastic nod. 

They were going to sneak into the boys’ cabin while they were still eating lunch, and cover their entire side with maple syrup and mustard. An odd combination, but today at lunch Lucie had remembered that James hated mustard. Mina had thought it was a brilliant addition, and a step up from only using the maple syrup Mina had taken at breakfast. If any of the food workers noticed their disappearances, they didn’t say anything.

“Lucie,” Mina said suddenly, and Lucie snapped out of her thoughts to look at her. 

“What?” she asked, and Mina pointed to their cabin where Grace and Paige were about to enter. “What, that they’re here? You know they like to wait and have lunch later.”

Mina quickly shook her head. “The bushes,” she said hurriedly. “Do you see them?”

Lucie looked at the bushes next to their cabin and her face paled. “Oh no,” she whispered, and both she and Lucie started running to the door.

James and the Lightwoods were sitting in the bushes, mostly hidden by the thick leaves. They didn’t seem to notice Grace and Paige’s approach.

“Wait!” Lucie called out to the two girls. “Hey, wait a second!” They ignored her, as per usual.

James glanced over, and his eyes widened as he saw Grace grab the door handle. He quickly jumped out of his hiding spot and reached towards her. “Hey, don’t open-”

It was too late. Grace opened the door and her and Paige walked through. For a split second Lucie thought that maybe nothing bad would happen after all, but the second ended quickly. A huge bucket full of a thick, red substance, tipped over and onto both girls’ heads. Lucie, Mina, and James looked at each other in horror. There had been an unspoken agreement not to get the others into it, and now they had gotten the worst people possible involved.

Grace and Paige screamed, and James immediately ran up to them. “I’m so sorry,” he said frantically, trying to wipe some of the substance out of Grace’s hair. He just smeared it in more. “I am so sorry, please don’t tell on us.”

Thomas and Christopher stumbled out of the bush, their faces shocked as they surveyed the scene. “Do you think they like ketchup?” Christopher pondered. 

So that’s why the dining hall was out of ketchup, Lucie thought, and had the urge to laugh. 

“Hey!” a voice yelled, and Lucie turned around to see her camp counselor storming over to them. “What happened here?!” Jessamine demanded. 

James looked terrified. “Uh, I-” he stuttered. “It’s not what it looks like, we were just-”

“Just what?” Jessamine spit out. “Look at what you’ve done!” she gestured to Grace and Paige. Paige was bawling her eyes out, and Grace was glaring at them all with an intense hatred that made Lucie unconsciously take a step back.

“We didn’t mean to,” Lucie spoke up, feeling brave. She and Mina were the ones who started the prank war, after all. It wasn’t fair for James to be the only one yelled at, even if his prank was the one that got them caught. “We were just trying to have some fun.”

Jessamine turned to look at her. “Oh, I know all about your fun.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, and Lucie exchanged nervous glances with Mina. James tried to help Grace get the ketchup off again, but she slapped his hand away and he stepped back. “We’ve all been letting it slide because it wasn’t hurting anyone and you always cleaned up your own messes, but this has gone too far.” 

“But-” Mina tried.

“Save it,” her counselor said, then her gaze moved to the three boys. “Now which one of you did this?”

There was a short moment of silence before James raised his hand. “Me,” he said. “I planned it and set it all up.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Thomas protested. James gave him a look, and Thomas stopped talking.

“I did all of them myself, all of the pranks,” James announced. “Christopher and Thomas were just here to watch.”

Jessamine sighed. “Come on, then,” she said as she started to walk in the direction of the main building. She stopped to look at Lucie and Mina. “You too. All three of you are in trouble.”

Lucie slowly started to walk with them. “This isn’t good,” she mumbled to herself. This wasn’t good at all. 

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

All James wanted was for them not to call his mom. Please, he thought, as he imagined the disappointment in her voice. Anything but that.

The three of them were now being led to an older cabin that was a ways off from the main cabin area, having stopped the main building and then their own cabins to get all of their stuff first. Thomas had looked guilty and both he and Christopher had apologized, but James had told them it was ok. James wasn’t looking forward to the punishment, but he was happy that he was at least able to save his friends from getting trouble.

James looked at the girls nervously. Originally they had tried to avoid talking to him, but Lucie had quickly given up and started making comments under her breath to them both.

“Is she taking us to an abandoned cabin to kill us?” Lucie whispered, kicking at some grass.

“No,” James argued quietly. “Our parents would never let them.”

Mina frowned and adjusted her ponytail. “She wouldn’t do that in the first place,” she said, but James saw her put her hands behind her back to hide the fidgeting. 

“Alright!” Jessamine announced, stopping as they reached the front door. “I discussed it with the other counselors, and your punishment is to stay here for the next week.”

“Here?” Mina asked, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat. “I mean, isn’t it too old? What if it collapses or something?”

“It won’t,” the counselor said confidently, but Mina didn’t look satisfied. “The three of you are going to stay here all week, only coming out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

Lucie gasped. “We can’t stay in here all week, what are we supposed to do for fun?”

Jessamine gave her a look. “Talk to each other without fighting or pranking each other, maybe? Just a thought.”

“Hold on,” James said slowly, processing her words. “All three of us?”

“Yes, that’s what I said. All three of you, together, with only each other for company.” She paused, as to let the information sink in. “Well, you better get inside and start putting your things away! A counselor will come to escort you to dinner once the time comes, but other than that you shouldn’t be leaving the cabin.” 

“But-”

“No buts!” The three of them were pushed inside the old cabin, and the door creaked as it shut in their faces. 

James looked around at the inside of their living space for the week, frowning at all the dust. “This place looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in a year.”

Lucie sighed and walked over to the right bunk bed, flopping herself down dramatically on the bottom bunk. She didn’t seem to mind the dust getting onto her clothes. 

“Probably because it hasn’t.” Mina pointed out, and sat next to Lucie. James sat down on the bottom bunk of the left bunk bed, making sure to wipe off the dust first. 

“I guess we should start putting things away,” he muttered glumly. 

Mina looked around the cabin and fiddled with her shirt again. “You don’t… You don’t think this place is haunted, do you?” she asked in a small voice. 

With the way they’d been fighting recently, James would’ve normally made a joke or snarky comment, but Mina looked genuinely scared. He found that he couldn’t help but want to make her feel better.

“It’s ok,” James assured her. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, it’s definitely not haunted.”

Mina gave him a nervous smile, and they all started unpacking their things. Once James had his bedsheets on and his clothes put away into the tallest drawers, he sat on his bed to take a break.

He turned to Mina, who had finished putting away her things first and was now watching Lucie struggle to fit all of her clothes in her designated drawers. “Hey,” James said, and Mina looked up. “Why did you start the pranks, anyway? Wasn’t it you that had the idea?” At this point he wasn’t mad, just curious.

“Yup, it was me,” Mina said proudly. “My older brother likes pranks, so I already knew a few and what to do for them.” She paused and then stood up suddenly, her face bright. “Oh wait, I have a picture of him I can show you!”

James leaned forward in interest as Mina picked up her bag then sat back down and began to dig through it. Lucie had given up messing with her clothes and moved to join Mina on the bed. 

“Aha!” Mina exclaimed, and she pulled out a picture and showed it to Lucie. She gestured at James to join them, and he carefully walked over and sat down next to them on the bed. 

Mina handed the picture to him. There was a teenage boy with bright blond hair and light blue eyes smiling at the camera. “That’s Kit,” Mina said. “His full first name is actually Christopher, but no one ever calls him that.” Kit was sitting next to Mina by a big pool, and they were both smiling without a care in the world. 

“I wish I had an older brother,” Lucie said wistfully, and James nodded in agreement. He wished that he had an older brother, but really he just wished he had any sibling at all.

“My dad took the picture, that’s why he’s not in it.” Mina explained. “I don’t think I have --oh wait, I do!” She went back to her bag, and after a minute took out another picture. 

It was a strange picture. The ink was messed up a bit in places and it seemed a little old, but the weirdest thing about it was that it was ripped on one side. Ripped on one side, James thought, and an idea popped into his head. He rejected it immediately. No, that would be crazy.

“It’s him on his wedding day,” Mina said, and turned the picture over so they could see. The man himself didn’t look familiar, but the flower bushes in the background did. 

There’s no way, James told himself. It has to be a coincidence. 

Lucie was suspiciously quiet, and James turned to face her. “Mina,” she said, her face oddly serious. “Do you… Do you know who your other parent is?”

Mina looked surprised at the question. “No,” she said. “My dad never wanted to tell me. Look, he even ripped them out of the picture.”

“Huh,” Lucie said, looking like she was about to faint. “Mina, I have that same picture, but of my papa and ripped on the other side.”

“What?” James asked incredulously, his heart beating in his chest. “But that’s- I have the same picture but of my mom and ripped on both sides!”

Mina and Lucie looked at him and each other for a moment, and he knew his face must be mirroring theirs of shock.

“I have it!” Lucie suddenly shouted, then lowered her voice and looked at them. “I have the picture,” she blurted out, and dove for her bag.

“There’s no way,” James breathed as he reached to grab his own bag from his bed. “It can’t be!”

He and Lucie hastily pulled out their own pictures, holding them close to their chest. “On three?” Mina suggested quietly, her eyes filled with excitement and something that James thought might be hope. She put her picture down gently on the bed, face up. 

“One.”

“Two…”

“Three!”

James and Lucie slammed their pictures down next to Mina’s, and James felt like bursting into tears.

The pictures fit together perfectly, like pieces of the most finely crafted puzzle. James’s mom was there in her wedding gown, two handsome men in suits standing next to her and on each arm. All three of the adults were grinning, and they all had on the same ring.

“By the angel,” Lucie whispered, and James didn’t even question the odd saying that he’d previously thought was something only he and his mother said.

“Are we siblings?” James asked, and he pinched himself just in case this was all a dream so that he could wake up. It didn’t work.

“This is impossible!” Mina said, putting a hand on her forehead. “I’m so confused.”

As James looked at how neatly the pictures all combined into one, he couldn’t help but agree.

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

Thank you reading, let me know if you enjoyed!

Tag List: @idontgetit-whydoihavetosaymyname @zafirafox4636 @nolu @ghostjessesgirl @girlwhohatesstuff @anxiousbookenthusiast @ineedadrinkorsleep @lucieblckthorn @themostawesomehuman @hands-dripping-ink @panicatwallmaria @immortal-enemies @booklovingelephants @bookishgeekygirl @thenameskarr-parkerkarr @livia-dovehallow @cortqnq @christophers-lemon-tarts

[lightningbuggie]

for a prompt could you write a short blackwatch!sombra x blackwatch!mccree? it's an au that i quite like, but i can never find any stories for it. feel free not to though! that's totally fine too

McCree was always hesitant to trust new personnel - a trait that stemmed from his Deadlock days - and today was no exception. He didn’t truly understand the purpose of a ‘hacker’ anyway, he couldn’t imagine hacking was any more resourceful than a gun. Reyes apparently thought it was, considering he personally spent months tracking down the recruit in question, and weeks further convincing her to join Blackwatch. Had McCree been asked, he would have said their team was big enough with the cyborg and the witch, but ultimately Reyes made the call and decided they needed one more. 

They brought her in late after work on a Tuesday night, apparently on her request. McCree couldn’t remember the last time Reyes took someone else’s orders so willingly, but he’d obliged her every demand. None of them were even allowed to be at headquarters during her tour, for her ‘privacy’s’ sake. Neither McCree nor the others were particularly pleased.

The day he finally saw her was a whole two weeks after her initiation. They had just finished a mission briefing in a conference room far too grand for their tiny team, and McCree couldn’t understand why Reyes was sticking around after adjourning - he was normally the first to leave. The cowboy quietly left the room with the others, but hung around by the door, taking one last peek inside once Genji and Dr. O’Deorain were out of sight. Back in the meeting room he witnessed a flash of purple, revealing the vibrantly dressed hacker lounging in a seat he had assumed was empty. He watched as she and Reyes chatted for a moment before shaking hands and heading out different doors. The commander approached the door McCree was standing by and he quickly sidestepped away as the door opened. He wasn’t quick enough to get out of view however, as Reyes barely took one step out the door before his eyes found McCree. 

“Settlin’ in the new recruit?” McCree asked, trying not to sound embarrassed.

Reyes held his gaze for a moment before ignoring the question and walking away with a huff.

Genji actually brought her up first. The two of them were going over some floor plans for a building they were meant to break into, and McCree brought up the concern of security cameras.

The cyborg just shrugged, “I’m sure Sombra can take care of them.”

“Sombra?” 

Genji raised an eyebrow as if he didn’t understand McCree’s confusion, “Our new hacker.”

McCree didn’t realize until that moment that he hadn’t even known her name, “Have you spoken to her?”

“Yes. She offered to help upgrade my cybernetics. She seems capable.”

McCree didn’t know what to make of that. He’d like to think Genji had good insight, but he could hear the Deadlock crew in the back of his mind reminding him to never place anyone else’s judgement above your own.

Moira spoke of her next. McCree had entered her office for a pre-mission checkup, something he often put off as long as possible to avoid leaving himself in the hands of the witch. 

Dr. O’Deorain kept her examinations minimal. McCree seemed healthy enough, but she wasn’t happy with the state of his mechanical arm - as was evident by her constant poking and prodding of the metal.

“I intend to run a few minor tests on this.” She told him, cold and clinical.

“How long’s that gonna take?”

“I’m not certain. Sombra raised some concerns on the matter of remote hacking, though we’ve yet to discuss the process or potential solutions. ”

“Not like you to listen to other people’s suggestions, doc.”

She gave him a pointed look, then raised an arm in the direction of the door. McCree took the cue and left. 

It was two nights later when McCree interacted with her for the first time. It was well past when he should’ve been asleep, but the cowboy was busy sitting in their training room going over floor plans for their upcoming operation. He’d been ignoring the ticking of the training room clock, but the ding signalling midnight was finally enough to send him packing back to his room to get some rest. He only made it as far as the living quarters entrance however, before he was stopped by the sight of a dim purple light seeping through an adjoining hallway. He followed the light to its source, a seemingly unassuming door made special only by the violet glow seeping through its cracks. McCree tried the handle and to his surprise the door opened without issue. 

The room was dark, illuminated only by a series of monitors in varied sizes. Most of the screens displayed coded information, while some showed weapons diagnostics, and the largest presented the floor plan McCree had been pouring over all night. He turned his head to the chair sat in front of the monitors, which seated the infamous hacker as she scrolled through some code on screen 2. 

“Close the door if you’re coming in.” She replied offhandedly in a Spanish accent.

Ah. Spanish. All of a sudden ‘Sombra’ made a lot more sense. He closed the door behind him and stepped into the room. This time he took in the other aspects of the space, noting a couch, full bed, and mini fridge occupying the area behind her desk. Far more lavish than any of the other rooms he’d visited, his especially. 

She spoke up again, “Did you notice the same thing I did?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The plans.” She pointed a manicured nail at the largest screen. “Gabe’s plan could use some work.”

He’d never heard anyone refer to Reyes as ‘Gabe’ before - she was either too valuable to lose or two minutes from being fired. Ten minutes ago he wouldn’t have been confident guessing which, but now seeing how well Blackwatch was treating her, he had some idea. 

He cleared his throat, “Reyes wants us to infiltrate through the east entrance, but I was thinking-”

“The west is closer to the target, why risk being in there longer than you have to?” She finished. 

Her seat was turned around, finally facing him. Her eyes were a shade of purple so electrically bright he couldn’t help but stare. He’d already noticed her half shaved head from his last sighting, but now he could see the implants lining her skull in perfect clarity. She was like nothing he’d ever seen before. 

“That’s what I figured.” He took a step forward, maintaining eye contact. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, McCree.”

“I can say the same. Everyone’s been talking ‘bout you lately.”

“Am I employee of the month?”

“If the doctor likes you, it’s hard to tell.”

Sombra tossed him a mischievous smirk as she stood up. “Sombra.”

He tipped his hat to her in return. “Shadow, huh?” 

“Si, vaquero.” She looked pleased to know he spoke Spanish. Sombra nodded towards the couch and he took a seat, while she walked over to the mini fridge and began rummaging through it. “I’m going to suggest the west entrance tomorrow, I’d appreciate it if you mentioned it too.”

“Sure. Though Reyes mentioned something about that route being too close to where they house their mechs to be viable.” 

She stood up holding a bottle of rum and two lowball glasses. “Nah, I can deal with that.”

“Oh yeah?” McCree was going to comment that it was quite late for a drink, but watching her crack open a new bottle of fairly pricey alcohol was enough to convince him to stay for one. “How do you plan to do that?”

Rather than answer, Sombra just tossed a glass in his direction. His reflexes were normally lighting quick, but seeing as he was caught off-guard, he was just a second too late to reach for the glass. He didn’t have to worry about it breaking however, as his mechanical arm caught the glass with ease, operating completely out of his control. McCree watched in horror as his arm, now sentient, held the glass still as Sombra waltzed over and poured an ounce of rum into it. 

McCree brought his eyes back to her as she poured her own glass. “How’re you doing that?”

She just smiled and wiggled her fingers, purple light emanating from her nails. “That’s my job.”

“I’m gonna ask ya kindly to give me back control of my arm.” He warned. She did, and McCree almost dropped the glass as he suddenly regained command of the appendage. Thankfully he managed to hold onto it, which was good considering he was going to need a drink after that. “Thank you.”

Sombra took a seat on the coffee table itself, her legs resting inches from his. “That’s how I’ll deal with them. If they try to use the mechs I’ll just shut them down.”

“What if they try the same thing?” He asked, taking a sip of his drink. 

“Yeah I know, I’m working on it. You have it easy, your friend Sparrow is a glowing green target. Too easy to hack.” 

“How does hacking him work? Make him throw the mission?”

“And more. I could make him help the enemy if I wanted to.”

McCree downed his drink and set the glass on the table. “Well here’s hoping you don’t.”

Sombra grabbed McCree’s mechanical arm and pulled it on her lap, causing the cowboy to sit forward and press his shoulder against her as she examined his tech. Her nails glided over the indentations, leaving a comfortable cooling sensation in their tracks. He glanced up to watch her features, her brows furrowed, lost in concentration as she tried to solve a problem he couldn’t see. He had to chuckle at the strange intimacy of the moment, but immediately regretted the action as he watched her focus drop. 

“What?”

“Nothin’, just expected you to be dry and serious, but you’re provin’ me wrong. You this comfortable with everyone you work with?”

She let her voice drop an octave, “Only if I like them,” and followed the words with a shameless wink.

McCree chuckled, “You know, my old partner used to tell me to never trust a pretty face.”

She gave him back his arm and studied his face, “You shouldn’t trust anyone, period.”

“Sounds like a rule straight outta Deadlock.”

“More like Los Muertos.” She stood up, swishing her drink around in its glass. 

McCree followed her. “You were in Los Muertos?”

“Mhm,” she hummed as she sipped her rum, walking him to the door. “But that’s a conversation for Friday.”

“Friday?”

“I have an idea for how to set up a stable firewall for your arm, but I’m gonna need a few days. Same time?”

“You sure you want me coming by so late?”

Her smirk returned full-throttle as she opened the door for him, leaning on the door frame with her drink at her lips. “I’ll see you then, McCree.” 

He tipped his hat to her and headed back down the hallway towards his room, using every ounce of strength to avoid turning back as he heard her door shut behind him. The walk back was quiet and introspective. He could practically hear Ashe screaming in the back of his head to be more cautious, but nonetheless as his eyes scanned the ground beneath his feet, watching the light fade with every step, he knew his dreams would be basked in a purple glow.

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: This isn’t a rom-com (Keanu x OFC) 3/?

Author’s notes: once again, thank you for the feedback on previous chapters. Onto chapter 3.

Wordcount: 2845

Warnings: fluff and oblivious idiots.

Part 1  Part 2  Part 4   Part 5

Lilah bit her thumb as she stared at her phone until Keanu’s name and message on the screen became blurry. She should be reviewing her paper so she could send it to her advisor. Instead, here she was, ignoring her laptop in favor of rereading his text for the tenth time:

I’m glad you like it and I want to know what you thought of it. Coffee today? I’ll be done at five. K.

Lilah didn’t know why she was getting so caught up on it. What else she expected after letting him know she finished reading his book? After all, Keanu had said he would like to get some coffee and talk about it when she was done with it.

And Lilah wanted to do it; she wanted to talk books with him. She wanted to talk about anything with him because he was so nice and cool and funny. But also, he was freaking Keanu Reeves. She was brought back from her musings by a hand snatching her cellphone away before Jean plopped on the chair in front of her.

“You’ve been staring at your phone for the last five minutes,” she said, glancing at the screen, her lips twitching into a smirk. “Ha! I knew he wanted in your pants!”

“One: don’t be crass,” Lilah complained, taking her phone back. “Two: it’s not like that. It’s just coffee.”

Lilah could see that Jean was about to argue, as usual. So, she just sent the other woman a warning look, because this wasn’t up to debate. If Lilah accepted his invitation, she couldn’t think of it as a date.

For one, she was in her final year of grad school. There was a lot at stake and Lilah couldn’t afford distractions. Not even one as amazing as Keanu Reeves. And besides, it would be crazy to think he was even interested. Not that Lilah thought she wasn’t hopeless or anything like that. She did pretty well dating-wise.

She was just being realistic. Keanu probably had people throwing themselves at him all the time and she sure as hell wasn’t going to be one of those people. Despite her stupid no-filter mouth best attempts of making it look otherwise.

“Ok, but you’re gonna go, right? For “just coffee”?” Jean asked, eyebrows raised and Lilah could actually hear the air quotes over the words just coffee.

“Yeah,” Lilah agreed, unlocking her phone screen and typing a quick reply. Her heart did a small acrobatic flip in her chest as she hit send. “There. Done.”

Jean’s face opened into a satisfied, victorious smirk and Lilah couldn’t help but chuckle at her friend.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Lilah asked, setting her phone aside and closing her laptop lid. Because who was she kidding? She wasn’t going to get any work done before heading to class. Might as well stop pretending.

“Can’t I just drop by and say hi to my favorite person?” Jean’s smile was wide and bright and so innocent. Lilah didn’t buy it for a second.

“Alright, spill. What do you want?” Lilah asked with an eye-roll.

“Ok,” Jean started with a sigh. “Novelsy isn’t doing all that well financially and if I don’t find a way to attract more customers, I’m gonna have to close doors by the end of the year.”

“Shit!”

Worry settled on the pit of her stomach like lead, because Lilah loved Novelsy. The bookstore was initially owned by Jean’s aunt, but once the older woman passed away, Jean took over, much to her parents’ horror, since they expected her to handle the multimillion family business.

Lilah knew Novelsy started as a way of Jean rebelling against her parents, but it became her pride and dream. The last thing Lilah wanted was to see it closed, but at the same time, Lilah could only imagine how hard must it be for a small place like this to compete with chain stores and internet commerce.

“Any ideas that don’t involve me begging my parents for money?” Jean asked.

“We could start building the store’s media presence? Like a blog, social media, that sort of thing?” Lilah suggested with a shrug. “You’re the one with an MBA.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too,” Jean drummed her nails on the wooden surface of the table. “I guess I can dust off my camera, working on a few pictures, but we’re gonna need some quality content to go along with them…”

“Ah. Ambush,” Lilah joked, narrowing her eyes at Jean, who just gave her a sheepish smile. “You already considered all that and you’re just buttering me up to ask me to write for it, right?”

“Well, you are always going on and on about everything you read and watch. I just thought…” Jean shrugged, before giving Lilah a look that could only be considered puppy dog eyes. “I know you have a lot of stuff going on, but could you? Please? Just like a weekly thing would be enough.”

“Yeah, sure,” she agreed with an indulgent smile. It wasn’t like she would ever be able to deny Jean anything. “Just give some deadlines so I can fit it in my schedule.”

“Perfect! Thank you!” Jean declared, throwing her arms around Lilah for an awkward hug over the table. “You’re the best, Lih.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she rolled her eyes and started to pack her things. “You still need some short term action, you know? Because social media takes time to build.”

“I know and I decided to get some stage so we could have some bands and poetry soirées, you know, all that artsy crap.” Lilah laughed at Jean’s eye-roll, but couldn’t deny it was a good idea.

“Plus, Halloween is coming. You could host a costume contest,” she suggested standing up and shouldering her satchel bag.

“You’re just looking for an excuse to dress up,” Jean teased with a smile. She wasn’t exactly wrong on that assessment.

“Ok. Gotta go! Bye, hon!” She pressed a quick peck on Jean’s cheek.

“One last thing,” Jean called before Lilah moved too far. “You should totally wear that cute green tartan print dress for your date!”

Lilah just rolled her eyes at Jean’s smirking face and took off, because sometimes, arguing with Jean was the most pointless thing.

She stopped by their apartment above the bookstore long enough to put away the stuff she wouldn’t need for class. And after another moment of deliberation, she exchanged her jeans and t-shirt for the dress, pairing it with dark leggings, a black cardigan, and her favorite scarf. Just because it wasn’t a date, didn’t mean Lilah couldn’t look nice.  

She grabbed her bag, Keanu’s book and after a moment of deliberation, Lilah reached on her bookshelf and picked up one of her books. He had lent her one of his. It would be only fair to return the favor, right?

Lilah put on her headphones and hurried off since and she was already dangerously close to missing her train. Fortunately, the subway station was only a couple of blocks away from Novelsy and Lilah always enjoyed the walk. It gave her a chance of enjoying the city had fallen in love with and had been calling home for the last six years.

It had been the best decision of her life to move away from Florida for grad school. Not only it gave Lilah the freedom of being her own person away from her family, but there was also just something magical about New York that she hadn’t found anywhere else. Then again, Lilah barely ever traveled. She had lived most of her life in Florida and could barely remember her home country anymore.

It was one of the things Lilah wanted the most for her life. To travel the world, visit all the places books and movies had shown her. She always wondered what would be like to work with something that could take you all over the world. It must really be amazing.

After teaching her class, Lilah headed to the psychology Ph.D. offices to concentrate on her paper instead of daydreaming about traveling the world or her not-a-date with Keanu. She managed to do all the alterations her advisor suggested and added a new analysis based on an article she read last week, before sending it to her.

Once she finally left NYU, Lilah fidgeted all the way to Central Park, unable to suppress her nerves, even if she kept mentally chanting to herself that this wasn’t a date. When Lilah stepped out the station and found Keanu was waiting for her on the sidewalk, her heart felt like it was trying to bust out of her chest

He looked so handsome in jeans, a grey tee with a motorcycle company logo and a dark leather jacket. He was holding two cups in a carry tray and waving her over with the other. So as Lilah crossed the street, she willed her heart to slow down, because she could barely breathe as she walked up to him.

“Hi!” he greeted her with a bright smile. “I’m glad you could make it in such short notice.”

“It’s fine. My night was free,” Lilah replied, smiling too. It was technically true, but she was supposed to be writing her dissertation.

“I didn’t know how you took your coffee, so I just got it black and brought everything else aside,” Keanu said, handing her one of the cups before pulled out from his pocket packs of sugar, sweetener, and cream.

That was so thoughtful of him that Lilah couldn’t bring herself to admit that she didn’t drink American coffee. Not even Novelsy. Instead, she took one of the cups and dumped cream and sugar in it and took a sip.

“Thank you,” she said covering her grimace, by turning to the park. “Shall we?”

“Sure,” Keanu nodded as they started on the path. “So, tell me your thoughts on the book.”

As they walked, Lilah told him about how she felt with Neruda’s poetry, a big grin playing on her lips. She always thought fall was the best season to take a walk in Central Park. The foliage had faded from their usual green in warm hues of orange, red and purple, making them look straight out of a painting. And under the late afternoon sun, everything sort of had a soft yellowish glow, as if they had been set on fire.

As she spoke, Lilah kept sneaking a few glances at Keanu, always finding him watching her with a thoughtful expression that quickly shifted into a smile whenever he caught her looking.

When they reached the fountain, Keanu led them away from the rest of the visitors and tourists snapping pictures. Lilah wondered if he noticed a few of them snapping photos of him. Fortunately, no one came over to bother them. She wouldn’t know how to react if they had.

Keanu stopped by this huge oak tree and handed Lilah his cup so he could spread his jacket on the ground, before plopping on it and gesturing her to take a seat. She chuckled and followed, handing back the wrong cup.

“You barely touched it,” he pointed out with an arched eyebrow, looking more amused than offended. “You could’ve just told me you didn’t like coffee.”

“I like coffee,” she replied with a sheepish smile. “But that’s not coffee, that American chafé.”

“Sorry, what?” he asked with a confused frown.

“Chafé,” Lilah repeated chuckling at how adorable he looked mouthing out the word. “It just means it watered down and it tastes more like tea than actual coffee.”

“Ahhh, so you’re a coffee snob,” Keanu teased, making Lilah laugh.

“No!” she shoved him playfully on the shoulder, feeling solid muscle under her hand. “Just used to it been brewed differently. My father always says that there are two things you should never argue about with Latinos: telenovela and coffee.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Keanu chuckled, leaning back on his elbows.

“Seriously, I’ll brew it for you sometime and you’ll see.”

The offer escaped her lips before she could even register it and Lilah wanted to kick herself. Why couldn’t she actually pay attention to what she was saying?

“I’ll hold you to it,” he said with a small smile as he watched her. “And I thought I caught a hint of an accent.”

“Really?” she smiled wide at him. “You got a great ear. Most people don’t notice. I’ve moved here when I was three. My stepdad’s American.”

Lilah told him a little bit about her family, mostly just silly stories of her brother, which he reciprocated with stories about his sisters. It was nice and comfortable and time seemed to fly by. Every once in a while, Lilah caught herself staring at him, admiring how the setting sun behind Keanu gave him an almost supernatural glow or how his smile lit up his face and his brown eyes danced with mirth as he recalled some of his teenage shenanigans.

“What?” he asked, bumping his foot again hers.

“Nothing,” Lilah replied with a small smile, lowering her eyes.  

Keanu bumped his foot against hers again and she sneaked a glance his way with a frown, wondering if that was an accident. But then he did it again. And again. Was he playing footsie? She gave him a soft kick in retaliation and Keanu grinned, trapping her foot between his ankles. Lilah laughed, shaking her head.

“You’re such a dork, oh my God!” she commented with a grin, and he chuckled.

“Got you to smile, did I?” he replied with a grin of his own and once again Lilah’s chest felt like was about to burst like several butterflies were trapped inside and trying to scape.

They stayed like that talking and laughing together until the sun set completely and the temperature dropped. Lilah kept rubbing her hands together to keep them warm since she had forgotten her gloves. It helped some, but there wasn’t much she could do about her legs. Her leggings were a flimsy barrier against the cold.

“Do you want to take off?” Keanu offered as he sat up, rubbing his hands together and covering hers, offering his own warmth.

Lilah realized how big his hands were compared to hers. As a matter of fact, Keanu was a very big guy. Not only he was tall, but his broad shoulders and strong frame made him look kind of imposing, but in a good way. She realized he could probably pick her up on his arms very easily and that made her swallow hard and her breath pick up speed.

“No, it’s fine,” Lilah managed to reply after a moment.

She wasn’t ready for this thing to be over just yet, but a gush of wind blew past them again and she couldn’t suppress a shudder, earning a knowing look from Keanu.

“Ok, yes.”

Keanu helped her up and they started to make their way back. Moving usually helped to warm her up a little, but they were walking against the wind and Lilah was shivering.

“Do you want my jacket?” Keanu asked when he noticed.

“Won’t you be cold?” Lilah wondered and Keanu snorted, already unzipping it.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” He held it up so she could put it on.

“Thanks,” she replied, pulling it closer around herself since it was still warm from his body. And if she sneaked a few sniffs at the collar, no one needed to know.

Keanu walked her all the way to the subway station where he had been waiting for her. Lilah handed the jacket back to him and watched as he shrugged on.

“I had fun,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been so focused on this movie, hadn’t been able to go out and just talked about anything except work, so thank you.”

“I know the feeling.” Lilah smiled too and pulled out from her bag his book along with her copy of Life as it is and handing both to him.

“You lent me one, so I thought…” she explained when Keanu gave her a confused look.

“What is it about?” he asked, checking out the blurb on the back cover.

“It’s a collection of short stories, written in the fifties. Rodrigues was really acidic and insightful so they’re really fun,” she said. “If you want to give it a go... we could hang out again and talk about it?” Lilah offered hesitantly.

“Sure,” Keanu replied with a frown and Lilah winced. Did she push too far?

“We don’t have to…” she hurried to say. A second ago Keanu was all smiles and now he almost looked disappointed.

“No, I want to,” he said. “Really.”

“Ok then,” she replied sighing. It wasn’t like she could just grab the book from his hand and run away. “So, give me a call when you’re done?”

“I will. Goodnight.”

After a moment of hesitation, Lilah nodded and headed home, wondering all the way what just happened.

tbc

Go to Part 4

Taglist (give me a shout if you want to added or if you want to be removed)

@poisonedjoinery @ringa-starr @curly-minnie @i-cant-remember-my-old-login

@caryled @beyond-antares @kathorax @krazycags01 @meetmeinthematinee

@red-pill-blue-pill @baphometwolf666 @soarocks @imagine-the-fanfics @moonlit-raven-haven @cumberbatchbaps @coolbreezeinkeanureeves

[snowpeawritings]

Hi, long time lurker here requesting for the first time! Can I have scenarios (or headcanons if not possible) of Ren/Akira seriously trying to win back his S/O after borderline-cheating on her (with either Ann or Makoto)? If you could really play up the hurt/comfort factor, that would be great--I'm kind of a sucker for those. Thank you so much!

this got too long who o ps. consider it as thanks for keeping up with my super long hiatus!

Reader is female

CW (CONTENT WARNING): Swearing

12:00 PM: I’m here at LeBlanc, where are u?

12:30 PM: How long do u have to take to get ready? U must be worse than me lmao

12:53 PM: Srsly where tf r u

1:00 PM: Ur not even in ur room so what the shit akira

             Where are you????

1:38 PM: Oi

  Oi

 Oi

 Oi

 Oi

 Oi

 Oi

You started a call with 💍Darling♥️💍

← Oct 24 at 2:00 PM

Call ended at 2:32 PM

“Not even a seen…” You muttered to yourself as the call ended when you pressed the close button. Wait for as long as you could, it felt like your spam messages aren’t getting through to him. You placed your phone on the counter and sighed, leaning on the counter with your chin propped on your hands. The cafe droned away with only an elderly couple talking and the TV going on with the news.

You clutched your stomach when it was growling. You were supposed to meet with Akira and eat at a cute cafe that just opened in Akihabara but that was supposed to be two hours ago. Sojiro’s curry has never felt more appetizing than it was now.

Speaking of curry, the aroma of the trademark food was stronger than before. You looked down and blinked when you spotted a dish of freshly cooked curry together with a spoon that seemed to have your name engraved on it.

“You looked like you needed it.” A deep voice said in front of you. You looked up to see Sojiro leaning on the counter, a slight tilt on the corner of his lips that seemed like a tiny grin.

Letting a smile cross your face, you thanked the man as you picked up the spoon and dug on the curry. When the flavor hits your tongue, you let out a happy groan of approval when the spices meshed together beautifully in your mouth. For a moment, you forgot what you were even waiting for in Leblanc

“That hungry huh?” He said dryly, raising a brow. “I thought that young girls like you are conscious of eating too much?”

You covered your mouth before speaking. “Me and Akira were supposed to eat somewhere else for lunch so I thought I shouldn’t eat anything.”

With that in mind, you looked down at your almost finished plate, suddenly feeling sick. “Guess that went wrong, huh?”

It wasn’t that the idea of Akira ditching you made you squirm, it was the fact that this was repetitive. You understood that his school work was tiring, but it shouldn’t be so bad as to cancelling dates at the last second for three weeks?

This was too much for you to handle.

You didn’t even realize that Sojiro had his hand on your shoulder, a comforting action that you thanked the man for.

“Well, I know that I’m not much for good company,” He started, “but maybe I can help you feel less lonely.”

Feeling that he wouldn’t take no for an answer, you nodded and began to tell him about whatever topic you could come up with. As time goes on, Akira was the farthest on your mind as you were pleasantly surprised that Sojiro could keep up with you… not that you had any doubt that the old coot is stronger than you in some way.

Sojiro had bidden you goodbye as you exited the cafe. He would’ve walked with you to make sure you were safe but he had to keep the cafe in check despite being the night. He cleaned the plate of your curry (“Free of charge. Don’t wanna charge a lonely lady.”), the sound of water running on the dirty dishes was a calming noise to him as the stress of today’s work flown by. The TV continued on endlessly with the news, the hype of the Phantom Thieves, the sudden hate for the police, and whatever politics that left Sojiro a sour taste in his mouth. He counted the tasks in his head; after washing the dishes, he should turn off the TV and count the bills that he was slightly behind and then—

“Sojiro, I’m home.”

—He should buy some cat food since he doesn’t know why that boy kept the cat in his bag when he goes out. The kid himself walked in with Morgana not-so covertly hiding as he set his bag on the table and stretched his back. An audible crack followed with.

“So where have you been?” Sojiro asked him.

He wasn’t the type to ask him about how his day went but when he remembers your nearly crying face, he had to know.

Akira blinked, looking as though he as well find the question surprising. “I’ve been at my part-time job, the flower shop at the underground mall. Like a law-abiding citizen.”

The slight cheek at the end didn’t went unnoticed. Sojiro blames himself to show the kid his snark. “Check your phone.”

Akira wordlessly drew his phone from his pocket and raised his brow at the sudden influx of message notifications and a missed call. He unlocked his phone and tapped the messenger app. To his horror, he saw your messages and he winced at the different timestamps.

“Judging by that wince of yours, you didn’t even notice your phone going off.” Sojiro concluded, mouth turning into a frown each passing second. “Poor girl had to wait for hours just waiting for you to show up.”

From behind Akira, he heard Morgana seethed through his teeth. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Akira did was incredibly idiotic.

“I-I was too busy.” Akira excused quickly. “So I didn’t notice.”

Sojiro clicked his tongue, his patience wavering a little bit. “Like hell you do. You keep talking to her on the phone like it’s the end of the world the moment you let it go. There’s no way that you can miss her calls.”

Yells of his teammates flashed in his mind, the sounds of spells casting out was fresh as the bruises on his skin were beginning to burn. Akira turned his head away from Sojiro’s scrutinizing stare, feeling like he was back at the questioning room. He wasn’t ready for this.

“Well, whatever the hell you did, it made her upset.” Sojiro said, giving up when Akira wouldn’t give a direct answer. “Meet her in person, fix this goddamn relationship of yours and prove that you’re not just another punk.”

If it were any other time, Akira would’ve joked that Sojiro’s words were the most comforting ones that could ever come out of his mouth. But he bit his cheek and nodded, making a mental note to cancel all Phantom Thief meetings for the next week.

You looked at the ‘Seen at 8:52 PM’ and wondered if Akira might be having second thoughts about your relationship.

He didn’t even let you know what he thinks when he saw your onslaught of messages. Then again, maybe he didn’t because he gave you space (which worked… for a while until you lost sleep wondering why the hell did he only seen it). You did recall that he had a part-time job but you were pretty sure that job didn’t take that long.

Not unless he had another activity to go afterwards…

Eyes only focused on the screen, you didn’t notice a familiar figure right in front of your desk. Slim hands covered your own as black hair tickled your forehead.

“Hey.”

As much as comforting his voice could be, you didn’t want to even look at his slate eyes. You kept your head down but didn’t bother to remove his hands. He seemed to catch this, however, as he slowly pried your phone away and cupped your hands in his.

“Please, let me explain.”

He was persistent, a trait in which you both hated and loved. You were biased on his persistence that made him worm through your walls and eventually into your heart.

Letting out a sigh, you lifted your head to meet his eyes. Slate eyes that seemingly dripped with a million apologies. If this didn’t happened before, you would’ve apologized to him instead.

“This isn’t the first time, Kurusu.” You whispered. “You know that, don’t you?”

He sighed out through his nose. “I know and I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

“And you better not be wasting it this time.”

He winced, but regained his composure. “I know I messed up but I had a lot to go through and I forgot the time and then—”

Akira paused when he saw your scowl. “My reasons aren’t getting to you, are they?”

You raised your brow.

He sighed, standing up to his full height but still held a grasp on your hands. “Look, I would tell you about my reasons but… I really can’t.”

“Don’t you think that it’s a great time to tell them?” You said dryly.

His mouth suddenly went dry. “I—”

“Save it.” You spat, getting your hands back from him as you glared at his agape expression. “I can’t stop you from whatever it is you do, but you’d think to spare some time for your girlfriend after the first argument?”

Your little outburst garnered a bit of attention from the class so you covered your face with your hands and groaned. “Just please leave me alone.”

You didn’t hear him say anything else but you did hear footsteps slowly receding until they were gone. Letting your head fall down on your desk, you groaned out once more as you felt your eyes water.

If you can’t go to that cafe in Akihabara, then you might as well go their yourself.

The district was teeming with electronic media that it made your eyes hurt from the lights. Not only that, but there were so many cosplayers and anime fanatics that you had to steer clear from. But not matter what the distractions, you were going to eat there and it’s totally not that you were hungry for the cute animal-shaped food.

Spotting the pastel-colored building, you sped up your pace. Your stomach was already growling and the display of foods on the window is making it more prominent. The Rilakkuma-shaped omurice is enticing, but then again the Anpanman bread is super cute as well…

Before you could even decide, you spotted a familiar mop of black hair at the corner of your eye. You would’ve disregarded it but seeing the head of a black cat pop out of its bag was enough to send you reeling.

The person soon disappeared into the crowds. You debated for a while, thinking whether to follow the person or not but the one who was behind you was beginning to pester you on why you weren’t moving.

With a sigh, you ran away from the restaurant and followed the person. You apologized to every person you’ve bumped into, keeping the black-haired person in your sights. Huffing at how fast this person is going, you might as well be chasing Ryuji who removed his hair dye. Still, no one had black hair that curly.

Luckily you were beginning to walk into an open area; an electronics street that not a lot of people visited. Your head craned around for the person, hoping to see them once more for a good look.

Yet like magic, the person appeared in front of an electronics store, with a smaller woman standing next to him–

Oh.

Suddenly you weren’t feeling so good.

The image of Akira and Makoto together had crushed your insides.

Akira’s habit of staring down at his phone would probably worsen his eyesight.

The strings of messages he’d sent to you went completely unnoticed. Even when he went home after working in the airsoft shop, you didn’t even drop a seen. Maybe he really did screw it up this time.

Setting his bag down on his desk, Morgana leaped out from the bag and stretched his legs. The cat soon caught on with his leader’s attitude. “Is it your lady again?”

Akira took a cursory glance at his feline companion before looking back down at his phone. It didn’t take much for the cat to make a guess.

“I know that we’ve been busy with the whole Phantom Thieves but you know we’re already at a big risk if more people know about us.”

Akira scoffed, looking indignantly at the cat. “You didn’t say anything when Kawakami and Yoshida found out.”

Morgana winced at his words, knowing that among the non-Phantom Thief confidants he’s made already knew of his secrets. “Well… they’re different! They provide valuable assets for the team unlike her!”

“She’s valuable to me.” Akira cut him off. “She’s been there for me despite my records, despite getting the same backlash as I have.”

The phone stared back at him, the hint of his reflection showing his solemn expression. “She makes me happy.”

Morgana sighed through his nose. This was troubling his leader far more than he realized. If this continues on, it would eat Akira from the inside, thus making missions in the Metaverse absolute hell if their leader isn’t in the game.

Sometimes, he loathes being the only sane one in the group.

Before he could even utter his sentiments, a booming voice echoed from downstairs, a voice that both of them never heard being uttered from their caretaker.

“AKIRA!” Sojiro’s voice boomed. “Get your ass in here and start explaining!”

The teen turned to Morgana who had the same shocked expression on his face. Wordlessly, Akira stood up and went downstairs, Morgana following suite. When Akira went downstairs, he saw Sojiro leaning against the counter, a piece of something in his fist and his foot tapping impatiently. His face was twisted in a snarl which twisted even more when he saw Akira come downstairs.

He was afraid to ask but he was probably in shit’s creek already. “Is there something wrong, Sojiro?”

The man didn’t respond at first, letting his angered breathing permeate the room before stomping up to Akira and shoving the object at his chest.

“You’re in deep shit.” He said lowly. “I don’t what the hell were you thinking but you’ve messed up big time.”

He brushed off the pain blooming in his chest from Sojiro’s shove before looking down at the object. The pain soon blossomed into a weight that crushed his heart.

The promise ring that he’s given you was in his hands.

“So that’s it, huh?”

Makoto furrowed her brow when she saw her leader hung his head down. Not once in her life did she ever see the confident Joker look so depressed. His bloodshot eyes were a stark contrast against the bags under his eyes as his glasses were more smudged than ever. Even if she’d given him a cloth to wipe his glasses, she wonders if he didn’t try to remove them when he wiped his tears.

“If I had known this had come to this, I would’ve stopped asking you to come with me when we were checking on one of the students.”

He didn’t say anything, opting to bang his head against the table as he sighed. Maybe the school council room wasn’t best place to conduct a relationship counselling but it was better than anywhere else.

“I don’t know much about you and her, much less relationships in general but I feel guilty for making her leave you.” Makoto said to him. “I’m going to help you get back together with her. No matter what.”

Akira lifted his head and Makoto had to suppress a wince when he looked more miserable like that. “Thanks… I have a plan… and I need your help.”

Makoto Niijima changed in a few weeks and you don’t know whether you liked it or you envied it.

Somehow she grew more confident in the time of the Kaneshiro incident. She was more assertive, more outgoing, more open to helping her fellow students without backing down from her own sense of justice.

That type of confidence is something that you wanted to have. Maybe then Akira would’ve stayed with you.

Speaking of the student council president, you now stared back at the brunette as she warmly smiled.

“Sorry to bother you like this,” She said your name, “but is it okay if you would come to the student council room after school?”

You crossed your arms, not particularly liking where this is going. “For what reason, may I ask?”

She still kept her smile. “You’re not in trouble or anything. It’s just that there are a lot of victims of the Kaneshiro incident that left students in debt. I want to ask them whether they were affected or not so I can ensure that they would be alright.”

You can’t really deny that. A lot of your classmates were victims of the case and even when you pressed them, they would just brush you off. Maybe they didn’t want to involve you in their problems or that you were the girlfriend of Akira. Maybe both.

Letting out a sigh, you nodded at her. When she thanked you, you swore you saw her eyes crinkle with excitement.

Soon, the school bell rang as you packed up your things. Remembering that you had a meeting with Makoto, you begrudgingly went to the room. Maybe if you ditched the meeting, you wouldn’t sock her teeth in everytime the image of her and Akira together pops up in your mind but it just wouldn’t sit right by your morality.

Reaching at the doors, you slid them open and entered. “Niijima-senpai? I’m here.”

You looked around the room before your eyes landed on a figure you never wanted to see. Before you could escape, an audible click resounded behind you as you tried to move the now-locked doors.

“Sorry!” Makoto’s voice echoed behind them. “But it’s for yours and his own good!”

Akira now stood in front of you, his lips pursed into a thin line. He wasn’t looking like his usual, trickster self with his sunken face but your anger clouded that.

“What the shit, dude.” You spat, not even bothering to hide your annoyance.

Akira didn’t say anything. From the corner of your eye, you noticed that he had something in his hand but you didn’t say anything. Not until your anger subsides which will possibly never happen.

Before you could say anything else, he took your hands in his and held them close to his chest. “Whatever you saw, whatever people said to you, they don’t mean anything.”

Your eyes widened when his voice cracked at the end. His original bloodshot eyes were beginning to go redder with each tear rolling down. You never saw this side of him.

“Please…” He whimpered. “Don’t leave me, please. In my time here at Shojin, you were my source of happiness when life brought me down. You made me so happy that I never wanted to let you go…”

His body racked with sobs and soon you felt his tears hit on your face as he let out a pained gasp. You couldn’t even blink, fearing that he might really break down if you turned away from him.

Your back hit the door softly, letting Akira lean on your forehead before sinking down with each passing plea. He had his head on your chest when you felt your own tears forming. Akira didn’t seem to notice you crying, his knees giving away until he was kneeling in front of you, crying in your hands. You felt tears and snot on your hands but you were sure that you weren’t faring better.

“I l-love you t-too much…!” He rasped out, letting go of your hands and instead wrapped his arms around your waist, his head on your stomach. “Don’t leave m-me, please!”

At this point, your sobs were joining with his in the student council room. Without even thinking, you knelt down in front of him and hugged him back. The sight was messy and no one probably noticed Makoto leaving the door unlocked when she heard her leader’s cries.

Throughout the episode, the ring in Akira’s hand felt lighter when you forgave him.

[shiningtorrance-moved]

Alright let’s go through my thoughts on Doctor Sleep and what I will and won’t be including in my portrayal of Dan Part 1. (there will be spoilers for The Shining and Doctor Sleep so if you want to avoid spoilers just don’t read this)

Thoughts on the movie

-First and foremost, I’m going to save my thoughts on Dan and Dan-related things for part 2, where I’ll talk about how this affects my writing of him. Don’t think I’m ignoring him.

-DO NOT LET THIS BECOME SUCH A BOX OFFICE FLOP PLEASE GUYS IT’S BARELY BEEN OUT TWO WEEKS WE CAN’T LET THIS FLOP IT DESERVES BETTER

-When I saw Rose in the trailers and thought she’d be hot and powerful I WAS NOT PREPARED for her in the movie. Rebecca Ferguson is fabulous and give so much energy and charisma in her scenes and is drop-dead gorgeous while doing it

-Kyliegh Curran is a great Abra and can hold her own against the adult actors despite being so young, and her scenes with Rose are great because both actresses are bringing it and working off of each other and having a whole lot of fun doing it

-when I saw it with a friend there were nine of us total in the theater. That’s mostly because we saw it on a Tuesday afternoon, and it was actually nice because we reacted to things a lot more openly. That being said, DO NOT LET THIS FLOP GUYS GO SEE IT PLEASE

-Emily Alyn Lind is great, and if you’re worried about the sex scene between Rose and Andi happening, it isn’t. Andi’s fifteen in this, and the closest they get to anything in that vein is Andi telling Rose she’s the most beautiful woman she’s seen, and when Rose gives her steam their faces are close to each other. To be fair, whenever someone takes steam they act the same way, so it’s not some weird thing that only happens with Andi. But she was great bc she was so creepy and composed and ready to throw hands with anyone and everyone.

-Zahn McClarnon as Crow Daddy. Hot. Damn. I wasn’t expecting him to be as awesome as he was. He was calm, collected, intimidating, and his scenes with Rose were great because you can just tell how much they care about each other. It should be noted that he’s actually Native American (more specifically, Hunkpapa Latoka on his mother’s side; his dad’s Irish) and acts in Westworld (he plays Akecheta). Another thing that should be noted is that two years ago he had a brain injury that took him out of acting for a while, but he’s recovered! All in all, he’s a pretty cool guy who is a great Crow

-I do wish they actually showed Rose and Crow’s relationship because really all they did was she kisses his neck once and they spend time together a lot and he calls her “Rosie”. They do keep her screaming “You killed my crow”, but I do wish we saw them doing a little bit more couple stuff. Mainly because I thought they were cute in the book.

-WHERE WERE THE MURDER LESBIANS I WANTED THE MURDER LESBIANS WE DID NOT GET MURDER LESBIANS ALL WE GOT WAS MURDER LADIES I WANTED MURDER LESBIANS

-Unfortunately, Rose being bi wasn’t in the movie, but her vibes were definitely not straight ones

-The score was very close to the Shining score, but I’m not mad about it because I love the Shining score, and they used the music effectively

-There is body horror in the film. The murder of Bradley Trevor is shown, and there’s blood and him screaming and crying. It’s mostly her stabbing his leg then cutting to him screaming, and then the end where he asks her to kill him and she does, and he’s covered in blood and bleeding from the mouth. In the scene where Rose enters Abra’s head, Rose’s hand gets stuck in a file cabinet and she pulls it out slowly and you see the skin coming off of her hand. It’s about thirty seconds, but you see it and it’s gross. After that scene is over, her hand is still cut up and is very messed up for a lot of the rest of the film. The last  scene with any kind of body horror is during the climax, where Dan attempts to kill her with an axe and she digs the small end in his leg before digging her hingers into it. Some blood spurts out, but it only happens two or three times in quick succession, so it’s small. 

-David is stabbed in the chest offscreen, and all you see is his body with a knife sticking out of him, but there’s a lot of blood surrounding him. If you don’t like seeing dead bodies you won’t like that.

-When people get shot blood does shoot out of them, but it’s minimal and rarely forms a large splatter or anything.

-Billy commits suicide by shooting himself under the jaw. All that’s shown is him putting it under his chin, then it cuts to Dan trying to get to him before hearing the bang and seeing some blood. But there’s very little left to the imagination and it’s pretty disturbing.

-The way they showed cycling out was well done

-There’s a lot of practical effects and not that much CGI. In general the CGI was good. I mean, sometimes it looks a bit goofy (but try showing me a movie where a special effect doesn’t look goofy) but it’s really in scenes that are surreal and supernatural so it works a bit more.

-Really the only actor that they recast from The Shining that was truly off-putting was Jack, but that was mostly because Jack Nicholson has such a unique face and it’s hard to make someone look like him, let alone make someone look like him without having a weird uncanny valley thing.

-The characters that are recast don’t have a lot of screen time in the movie, and the one character that shows up a lot is Dick. Who is, fun fact, played by Carl Lumbly, who played John Parker in Buckaroo Bonzai. If you don’t think you’ll like the recast actors, they have the most screen time in the beginning and at the climax, but it’s heaviest in the beginning because it’s with child Danny.

-The kid they got to play little Danny is so adorable I love him

-Fun fact! Danny Lloyd aka the actor for Danny in the Shining movie, had a cameo! In the baseball game he’s the person who says “Watch out for number nineteen”

-The only thing that I didn’t like was that Billy and David died. I understand why they did it and like what they were going for, but I still didn’t like it.

-Billy is a true ride-or-die and he’s a great character and I’m hopping on the “Billy and Dan are dating” train because I CAN AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME

-David being a good dad and having a good relationship with his daughter and him not trusting Dan being totally okay and never used against him gives me life

-I was disappointed that when ghost Deenie came it wasn’t to warn Dan but to let him know they recently died, but hot damn that scene was freaky.

-Tbh Dan’s guilt about Deenie and Tommy was underused and could’ve been a bit more.

-DICK SAYS KA IS A WHEEL I REPEAT DICK SAYS KA IS A WHEEL

-I can’t stress enough how many times I bit my tongue to stop any Bi Panic(TM) noises from escaping because every scene Rose and Crow are in I was DEHYDRATED

-When we saw the first Overlook flashback, everyone in the theater was making various kinds of approving noises, e.g. a couple of people went “ooh” when we see Danny riding on the carpet, and my friend and I gasped when Danny’s tricycle went from carpet to wood floor because it was the exact same sound it made in the Shining

-THE FUCKING OVERLOOK SETS WERE FABULOUS

-THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL IS STUNNING

-IT LOOKED LIKE THE SHINING OVERLOOK SETS IF THEY HAD BEEN LEFT IN A DAMP CELLAR

-THE OVERLOOK SETS ARE JUST AWESOME

-When Dan and Abra were driving to the Overlook and the camera panned over to the hotel, everyone in the audience literally sat straight up and stayed that way for the rest of the climax. Except my friend and I, but that was because we both leaned forward, but we still stayed that way the entire time.

-Once again, THE SETS WERE GREAT

-I liked how the final. showdown with Rose went. I liked it a lot better than the book, actually (fight me). It was emotional and great and I feel it gave the characters a good conclusion to their arcs.

-There are like five of the True versus the forty in the book, and it’s a lot nicer.

-Abra says “Barry the Chunk” but he’s just called Barry and the implication is that he’s a large broad-shouldered man instead of what it was in the book

-Azzie is a good cat and deserves the world, although I thought I heard them say “She” which is a weird change. Provided that it’s real and wasn’t me mishearing them.

-Ewan McGregor sings at one point.

-Danny is a precious baby angel child and I love him

-John Dalton is more of a bit part than in the book, which works a lot better for this film.

-I wish we got more of the weird things Abra did as a child instead of just the spoons

-When Rose sees the elevator of blood she’s weirded out but then gets this look on her face like “I can dig it” and it’s honestly pretty funny

-I know that there’s no way this would’ve happened in the film because it’s honestly unnecessary and would’ve ruined the tension of the climax and couldn’t have happened due to character locations, but I really wanted Rose to walk around the hallways and see the bear guy and just go “wtf”. It would’ve been hilarious. I know that can’t happen, but it’s just a funny image.

-They didn’t have the tampon line and I’m a bit disappointed but also that’s fair

-They didn’t have the plot twist where Dan actually is Abra’s uncle, which was a good decision from a movie standpoint.

All in all, it was a good movie that I’m looking forward to seeing again, and I’ll go more in-depth about Dan and what I thought about him in part 2.

GO SEE THE MOVIE

[azookiex3]

A Devil’s Love - Chapter 3

AN: Chapter 3 takes place at the end of Season 2 Episode 11. [sorry for the 5k words >.<"]

Warnings: Swearing

AO3

Fanfiction Net

Wattpad

Chapter 1: All Bad Things, I Promise

Chapter 2: All I Don’t Know

Chapter 3: It's Not A Date 

It was so, quiet.

You walked down the steps in LUX. No drinks were being served. No bodies were grinding up against each other on the dancefloor. No one made out in the dark corners.

The only music that filled the empty space was a piano, which was being played by the only other soul in the room besides you.

“Lucifer.”

“Hello, K9.” He gave you a small smile and stopped playing, “I was just playing my goodbye tune.”

“Goodbye?” You looked at him, head tilted in puzzlement.

“Yes. It seems no amount of money will please that swine of a woman, and besides,” he lightly traced his fingertips over the keys, then smiles back up at you, “I've come to learn that ‘home’, is more than just a building.”

“Well, that's good,” you gave an over dramatic sigh, “But that totally ruins my thank you.”

Lucifer just looked at you with pure confusion. You motioned for him to scoot over on the piano bench and sat down next to him, handing him a blue folder.

“What's this?”

“A certificate from the city. Stating that LUX is now a historic building and cannot be torn down under any circumstances.” You smiled.

“K9,” Lucifer was in complete bewilderment as he looked at the paper, “How did you…”

After a beat of him not continuing his question, you answered, “Well, I got the idea when you told me the little history quirks this place had. So, once I finished the case, I went to Chloe because I knew she had connections in that area. And,” you tapped on the paper, “Presto!”

“K9...Thank You,” he smiled warmly at you.

“Yeah well, you should thank Chloe too,” you looked away from him slightly to try to stop the rising blush on your face, “Plus, I in no way can help you in getting the deed back from Eleanor. I mean,” you chuckled softly and looked back to him after cooling down, “I'm sure she'll sell it back to you now since she can't build her dumb mega mall, but definitely way above market value.”

“Of that I have no doubt, but K9,” Lucifer placed the folder down on the piano and turned his body towards you, “What did you mean by ‘this ruins my thank you’?”

“Oh, well, um,” you couldn't stop the blush this time, “I just felt like I had to properly thank you for that construction company,” you looked down at your lap in embarrassment, “I know it seems like a silly thing, but those guys really pulled through in my building. Once I hire some staff I can open up within two weeks, at most.”

“My dear K9,” you couldn't help but look back up at him at the sound of amusement in his voice, “If you wanted to find a proper way of thanking me you should have came to me, because I'm afraid this isn't it.”

“Um.” You looked back and forth between the discarded folder and the man next to you with wide eyes, “It isn't?”

“Nope! Afraid not!”, he gave the “p” in “nope” an extra pop. Lucifer was back in full form.

Oh boy.

“Now, I am in no way ungrateful for this gift, I assure you,” he placed a hand on the folder, “Buuut,” he sang, “there is only one form of a ‘thank you’ that I will accept.” He smiled devilishly and leaned forward towards you.

“And...that is?”

“You.”

“Um...you ok there Ms.?” Alice sat on your bed holding a cup of tea. You didn't see it, but she looked more amused then concerned.

And why couldn't you see her expression? Because you've been standing, with your back to her, in front of your closet staring at nothing for at least five minutes.

“Yup.” You continue to stare into the dark abyss of clothes, “Super.”

“You say this isn't a date, but you sure are stressing like a woman going on a date for the first time.”

“It's not a date, Ali!” You finally move your body to face Alice and you give her a stern look.

“Uh-huh.” Alice just smiles up at you as she takes a sip of her tea.

“It's not, Alice. How many times do I have to tell you?” You start to feel a bit frustrated and turn back to your closet.

“Until I start believing it.”

“I only agreed to tonight to make sure he's good for Chloe.” You say to your closet.

Alice sighs and places her tea down on your nightstand, “Earth, stop using Chloe as an excuse. I think Lucifer really does-”

“NO!” You whirl on your sidekick, “He does not. He's a playboy nightclub owner who tries to get under everyone's skin!” Your nostrils flare, “And Chloe is not an excuse!” You point at Alice with one hand while the other balls into a fist, “You didn't hear what those two said about each other at court yesterday. They-” you slowly start to breath in and out. Alice didn't deserve this, “They have...a connection.”

Good little Alice didn't yell or fight back. She just sat there and listened to your ranting with a serious expression on her face. No judgment. No eye rolling.

She pats the part of the bed next to her and you sit, “I have to make sure Chloe will be all right with him,” you say to the floor.

“Earth,” Alice wraps an arm around your shoulders, “You deserve to find that kind of connection too.”

“No, Alice. That's too dangerous and you know that. It's already bad enough that I have you and Chloe, hell, even Trixie to worry about,” you close your eyes and shake your head slightly, “I can't give them more ammunition against me.”

“But Lucifer might be able to-”

“No.”

Alice just sighs. She knows that “no” means to stop talking about it. Against her better judgment, however, she will humor you.

“So, what does this ‘connection’ between Chloe and Lucifer look like?”

You heard her, but didn't answer. Alice squeezes your shoulders after some time.

“Earth?” She whispers.

“Soulmates.” You chuckle, not happily, when the word escaped your mouth, “Something I don't even believe in, and there it is,” you visibly swallow, “They're the perfect example.”

“Maybe you're wrong. Maybe it's different.” You just shook your head in response.

Your phone pinged on your nightstand. The sound was that of the text message alert you picked for Chloe. You stand and walk over to your phone. Unlocking it and reading the message, you give Alice more of that pitiful chuckle.

“Still think it's different?” You hold up your phone screen to Alice so she can read Chloe's message:

I kissed him.

KISSED him, and I didn't want to stop.

How the hell am I going to face him tomorrow? :sweatingemoji:

“So,” you pull the phone away once you saw Alice was done, “You going to help me pick an outfit now?”

“Uhhh,” you stuttered and moved away from him slightly, “Excuse me?”

“Well someone has a dirty mind! Don’t worry, darling, I don’t mean in that way. Well,” he followed you, making your attempt to escape for not, “Unless you're up for that.” He stared deeply into your eyes and licked his lips.

You practically fell off the piano bench.

Lucifer laughed loudly, “Come come, my dear! I’ll stop now, I swear.” He grabbed your arm before you fell and pulled you back up.

“Yeah. Right.” You warily replied.

“I’m a man of my word, K9.” He smiled, then looked at you with interest, “Honestly K9, I had quite a fun time working with you on this case. What with both of us having the same wit,” he started counting off his fingers, “both becoming quite nauseated at the sight between Eric and Christi, and your impeccable knowledge on the correct height for a proper suicide jump,” his eyes sparkled, “Plus you have some fantastic dance moves, dear. Makes me wonder what other kind of talents you have.”

You had no response to give the man. You were too focused on calming your heartbeat.

“So, here’s how I would like my favor repaid,” he continued, “Let me take you out. I want to learn more about you, K9. Honest.” You looked to him, and you could see the honesty in his eyes. It made you feel more...comfortable.

“Well,” you swallowed the lump in your throat, “Alright. If that’s what you want.”

“Oh it is, very much so,” he smiled so brightly at you, “I will make sure it’s fun for you as well, my dear. I hear from the Detective, and that lovely assistant of yours, that you’ve been all work work work since arriving.”

“Well, you have to ‘work work work’ in order to survive.”

“For you humans yes, but last night I saw a woman who was just begging to let loose.”

“It has been an exhausting couple of months back…”

“Lovely!” Lucifer looked genuinely excited now, “It’s settled then! I’ll text you the details once I’ve made them.” You smiled and nodded.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

“This is absolutely 100% bad.”

You could feel the anxiety building up in your stomach as you drove to LUX. As hard as you tried, you could not convince Lucifer to just send you the address to where ever he was taking you. He insisted that you arrive at LUX first saying, “Let me take you for a ride in my corvette! :winkieface: :devilemoji:”

The thought of spending an entire evening alone with Lucifer was anxiety ridden enough, but now knowing you were also going to be stuck in a vehicle with him driving made it worse. You’ve heard the horror stories from Chloe.

Trying to calm yourself, you choose one of your favorite songs on your phone to play through the speaker. Focusing on singing to the song made the thoughts of tonight ease away.

Until you pull into the LUX parking garage, of course. You stop your car and hand the keys to the valet. The security guards let you skip ahead of the ever long line.

You stand at the top of the stairs with your hands on the railing. You scan the floor in search for Lucifer, but he was nowhere to be found within his crowd.

I’m here. You text him.

Wonderful! Come on up to my penthouse, dear! I’m almost done getting ready myself. The elevator is to the right at the top of the stairs.

The first thought to cross your mind was how Lucifer was the first guy you met who takes longer than a female to get ready for something. The second was the anxiety vomit that wanted to burst its way out of you when he told you to come up to his penthouse.

You swallow it down, though, and wipe your sweaty palms on your dress as you walk into the elevator and press the button to go up. You expected the ride to be longer, so when the elevator doors seemed to open after less than a minute you squeak in surprise.

“Is that you, K9?” You hear Lucifer’s voice off in the distance as you exit the elevator.

“Um, yeah,” You say nervously.

“I’ll be done in just a minute! Make yourself at home!”

“Yeah, sure,” you whisper mainly to yourself than to him. Your eyes begin to widen in awe at how beautiful his penthouse was.

The space was entirely sleek black, with pops of color from the furniture and small decor. The light that illuminated the space came from the huge private bar, an upside down tree that hung from the ceiling, and a fire that was burning brightly in a far corner. To the left of you Lucifer had an amazing looking library, and you had to physically imagine that you were super glued to the floor. Otherwise, you would have just run over there and start reading. The bar was to your right, and under the upside tree stood another piano. In the middle of the space were some orange colored expensive looking couches with a coffee table and flat screen tv in front.

You walk a bit further inside, next to the piano, and through the wall of windows you could tell that Lucifer had a magnificent view of LA. You also saw, to your right, Lucifer’s large bed covered in silky looking black sheets. There was no door separating the bedroom from the rest of the space. Instead, it was separated by an antique looking wall on the left and an intricate colorful stain glass piece to the right.

Becoming braver, you take the step down into the living room. Around the corner of the antique wall you can see that the balcony wraps around, and spot a hot tub.

“Seriously? A hot tub too?”

“It’s my companions favorite feature when I bring them up here. Well, besides my bed of course.” You squeak again in surprise and spin on your heels to face Lucifer. He stood in the entryway to his bedroom and was smiling down at you.

“My my. You look positively stunning, K9.” He continues to smile as he descends his bedroom steps. Adjusting his cufflinks, he looks you up and down. You wore a green, long sleeve, cocktail dress with a hollowed out design. On your feet you wore white sandal wedges with the same type of hollowed out design. You could hear him make a delighted purring sound when he saw how your wedges made your legs more toned.

“Um, thank you,” you weren’t quite sure how to react, or how you were feeling in this moment.

“You’re welcome. Now come along, darling,” Lucifer pushes out his arm to you and you wrap your hand around it, “Let’s get to know each other!”

Lucifer lead you to is black corvette. Opening the passenger door for you he said to “get comfy” for it was an hour ride.

An hour. In a car. With him as the driver.

The seats were indeed comfy, but unfortunately they were doing nothing to calm your racing heart.

There was something else you noticed about the car that was not helping your heart rate, “Um, Lucifer. Where are the seatbelts?”

He just smiles devilishly at you as he turns the car on, puts the car in reverse, quickly backs out of the parking space, and zooms out of his parking garage.

Fuck.

"I told you that I'd make this fun for you as well, darling."

It has been fifteen minutes into the ride, and you were just now realizing that Lucifer had been following all traffic laws.

"Oh…" you slowly release your hold on the car seat and door, "Sorry…" you felt completely embarrassed.

"No worries, K9. I had a thought that you've heard about my incredible driving from the Detective, and since you are also a cop I figured you would be more comfortable following the silly laws."

"Laws are there for a reason, Lucifer."

"Ah yes, and the reason is to be broken!" Lucifer gives you a wink and a smile. You turn your head away so he can't see your small smile.

"What kind of music do you like, darling?" Lucifer asks you after giving you a moment to calm fully down.

"Hmm," you thought for a minute, "Honestly? Anything."

"Truly?" Lucifer looks curiously at you, "Even gospel? Rap? Bloody country? The music that's called my music?"

You give a little chuckle,"If I listen to the song enough I usually tend to like it. Unless the lyrics make absolutely no sense."

"Surely you must have a favorite genre though?"

"Hmm," you tap your chin in thought, "Guess it'd have to be alternative."

"Lovely!" Lucifer turns his radio on to an alternative/rock station. For the rest of the ride he would sing and tap to the songs, and you tap and hum along with him.

You weren't comfortable enough to sing around him.

Not yet, anyway.

The end of the car ride is Lucifer pulling into some hotel's parking garage, and you give him a warning in an eyebrow raise.

"We're not here for the hotel, sadly." Lucifer opens the car door for you and leads you by the small of your back.

"Then why are we here?"

"For the hotel's restaurant!" He leads you through the lobby of the hotel and through two huge glass double doors.

"Wow." You couldn't stop the amazement forming on your face at how beautiful this place was.

The restaurant is called "Openarie", and it lives up to its name. The structure was basically one giant greenhouse. Pots of various plants were hung on the ceiling and along the walls. Fairy lights light the space, and the floor was pure concrete. Outside you saw a dance floor with a small band on a elevated stage. There were a few couples out there swaying to the music.

"I take it I've done well?" Lucifer looks down to you with a shit eating grin.

"Eh. So far." You just shrug and give him a little sarcastic smile.

The both of you walk up to the booth and Lucifer gives his last name to the host. The host leads the both of you to a table seated for two, and thankfully there were no other parties around the table. Lucifer pulls out your chair for you to sit as the host puts the menus on the table.

"I take it since it's pretty busy in here and there's no one seated at the tables around us you rented those out too?" You ask him, eyebrow raised, as you take a sip of water that your waitress put down.

"Correct!" Lucifer gives you his devilish smile, "I wanted to make sure we weren't interrupted."

"More like overhead," you scuff, "You expecting me to tell you all my secrets?"

"Just the ones you're willing to share, darling."

You hum as a response and look down at the menu while Lucifer ordered some wine.

You look quizzically at the menu, "This looks like-"

"Shareable meals, yes." Lucifer smiles at your expression and takes a sip of the wine, "It's the theme of this place. People getting to know each other through shared food. Most of the time it goes well, hence the attachment to the hotel." His smile turns flirtatious.

"You actually did research for this?"

"That surprises you?"

"Well...yeah." Lucifer's smile turns small as he looks to his own menu.

Within a few minutes the two of you manage to decide on an appetizer, meal, and dessert. Both of you engage in idle chatter while eating the appetizer, but once the main course arrives Lucifer wants to start asking those questions.

"So, my dear," Lucifer leans forward a bit and stares at you with interest, "Tell me something about you."

"Before I do that I would like to talk to you about something," you place your napkin on your lap and have a bite of the food.

"Oooh, a twist! Alright then, K9," Lucifer does the same as you.

"What's your relationship with Chloe?"

Lucifer has to cover his mouth with a napkin to keep the food in from his laughter.

"Well aren't we the little overprotective friend?"

"Yes." You look at him seriously enough for his laughter to die, "I am."

"Alright. I'll answer your question, but first answer me this," Lucifer leans forward again.

"Why?"

You pause, "Why?" When he nods you take a breath and look him in the eyes.

"Because she's...my friend. Best friend."

"Yes, but you don't show this possessiveness with Ms. Green."

You sigh, "Because," you have to take another breath, "Ok. It's because Chloe was my first friend." You stir your water around and look at that instead of him, "The first person to not fake anything with me. The first person not to lie to me. The first person…" you pause, "...who made me feel comfortable." You look at him now, "The first one to make me feel like it's ok to be myself."

Lucifer gives you a genuine small smile, and his eyes are filled with no judgement. Just approval.

"Well then, we have another thing in common K9." You smile back at him.

"Good. So how about an answer to my question?"

"It's quite simple, my dear," Lucifer takes a sip of wine, "She's my partner."

"But in what sense?" It was your turn to lean forward, pressing on, "How do you feel about her?"

"You sound like my therapist." Lucifer evades your question by taking a large sip of his drink.

"Look Lucifer," you intertwine your hands and place them on the table, "Chloe told me about the kiss," he's looking at you now, "I just want to make sure that she'll be ok. That she won't end up with another 'detective douche'."

Lucifer chuckles slightly at the mention of the nickname he gave Chloe's ex, "What makes you think I'd be douche number two?"

"Well," you shrug and look up at the imaginary list in your head, "You're a player. You have a man, woman, both, or even multiple genders in your bed every night. You flirt with everyone. Oh and," you look back at him, "Chloe isn't someone who would appreciate getting dagger glares from another female while on a date."

"What makes you think she'd be getting glares from someone else while with me?"

"Because there's a tall blond women who has been giving me dagger glares since we got here." You move your head in the direction behind him and drink your water. He turns a full 180 in his chair and says surprisingly:

"Mum?!"

You almost spit out your drink.

Did he just say mom?!

The women smiles, after finally being noticed, and saunters over to your table. She stops next to Lucifer's seat.

"Hello, my son," she said with a fake surprise to her voice, "It truly is a small world my husband has created after all."

"Mother?!" Lucifer stands up and turns his body to her, blocking your view of his face, "What are you doing here?" The last part of his sentence came out as a hiss.

"I'm here for a company dinner."

"By yourself?" You spoke up, and slightly regret it at the look she gave you.

"Most have left while others went to the dance floor," she said matter of factly.

Uh huh. Your police senses start tingling.

"Well if your companions have left then you should go too," Lucifer says, "It's terribly embarrassing to be the only one at a table."

"I'm sorry son," she feigned ignorance, "Am I ruining your date?"

"This isn't a date." You say without thinking. She looks at you curiously with a brow raised, "I'm just...returning a favor."

"Yes." Lucifer seemed to whisper the reply. You thought you saw his shoulders slump slightly, but just mistook it for the lighting of the place.

The Goddess, however, saw the quick emotion of pain and confusion slip past her son's eyes.

That was all an answer she needed.

"I see. Well, I'm sorry to have interrupt." She smiles at you, "Goodbye." She gives Lucifer one final look before strutting out of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry about her," Lucifer sits back down.

"No worries. Protective mother I presume?"

Lucifer scoffs and takes a sip of wine, "Hardly."

The trouble you saw inside Lucifer was making you hurt, for some reason. So to try and get rid of that cloud on him, you decide to start talking more about you instead of Chloe.

You weren't too worried about her with him anymore.

"Well, how about I actually start this favor." That perks him up, "What would you like to know?"

"Do you want to trade mothers?" You burst out into genuine laughter, and you can see it pleases Lucifer considerably. He's back.

"Unfortunately, for you, I don't have one."

"What?"

"I grew up in an orphanage. From there to various foster homes."

"You wouldn't consider any of those foster parents as parents?"

"Nope." You pop the "p" and drink your water.

Lucifer starts to continue his questioning, but pauses as the waitress gathers our eaten meal and places down our desert. Once she's out of ear shot he continues:

"You have no knowledge of your real parents?"

You were quiet for a second, using the excuse to take a bite out of the chocolate cake, "Nope." No pop to the "p" this time.

Lucifer hums and takes a bite of the cake himself, "Why did you come back to LA?"

"Well," you gave it a considerate thought, "I did miss Chloe a lot. Plus, even though I'm not too fond of children, I feel a bit guilty for not being here to help her out with Trixie."

"You despise children too?" Lucifer looks ecstatic, "I'm enjoying you more and more, K9."

You laugh, "Yes I don't like children and have no wish to birth any, but that doesn't mean I might not want to one day wish to adopt or foster." You take another bite, "Since I know what it's like to have that kind of life and all. Plus," you point your fork at him, "I may 'despise' children, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't risk my life to save one. No one should die so young and innocent."

"Of course, and I agree," you just give him that "uh huh I don't believe you" look while you chew on another bite.

"My next question, then, is," he takes another bite, "Why did you leave?"

Your fork pauses mid air to your mouth. The memories whizzing by in front of your eyes.

"K9?" You're brought back to the present by Lucifers hand on yours. He looks fairly concerned.

"I'm sorry." You put the fork down and remove your hand from his, "That's too-"

"Private. It's quite alright dear," Lucifer gives you a warm smile, "I told you I only want to know what your willing to give."

"Thank You." You smile back at him and you two finish the desert with Lucifer now asking "typical" get to know questions.

What's your favorite color? Green. What's your favorite book and movie genre? Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy, and Sci-fi for books. Action, Adventure, Musicals, and Sci-Fi for movies. Don't like horror or thrillers? Don't like the feeling of my heart beat during those. Do you have any hobbies? I enjoy gardening, volunteering at animal shelters, and painting. Sounds boring. For you, yeah. Pet peeves? A man named Lucifer Morningstar. Haha very funny. Thanks.

Desert is now finished and Lucifer pays and tips the blushing waitress. You hear the band outside start to play a more upbeat tune, and can't help but stare.

"Would you like to dance, darling?" Lucifer smiles down at you and holds out his hand.

"Yes." You smile back and take his hand, "I do."

You two dance together until the band leaves for the night and head back to the corvette.

"Hey, Lucifer?" you look at him while he pulls out onto the road.

"Yes, my dear?"

"Drive." Lucifer's smiles so brightly at you. He turns the radio full blast and drives without a care in the world.

This time you sing along with him.

While Lucifer parks into his parking garage he manages to convince you to come up to the penthouse. There he gives you a glass of water, after failing to hand you whiskey instead, and you both sit on the italian leather sofa. This time you were the one asking the typical get to know me questions.

What's your favorite color? Black. Yeah I really should have guessed that one. Quite. What's your favorite book and movie genre? Erratic books and porn. Uh-huh, do you have any hobbies--No, wait I think I know this one: watching porn, having sex, doing drugs, and drinking? You know me so well already K9, but you forgot about me helping the Detective on cases. That’s a job Lucifer, not a hobby. Is it? Hm. Any pet peeves? Humans blaming me for all their wrong doing. What? Oh, that’s right. You’re whole “devil” shtick. It’s not a shtick.

Once 2am rolled around you decide it’s time to head home. You bid Lucifer farewell, and you might be going crazy from tiredness, but it looked like he wanted to say something to you. He says nothing, however, and bids you farewell also.

As the elevator goes down to the garage you check your phone for the first time that night, and see a bunch of text messages from Alice.

“It’s about time!” you decided to call her.

“Hello to you too, Ali.” The elevator doors open and you start the track to your car.

“Sooo, how’d your not-date go?”

“Honestly? Not bad.”

“You enjoyed yourself?”

“Yeah,” you smile to yourself, “Yeah. I did.”

“When’s the next not-date date?”

“There is no next time, Ali. This was just returning a favor.”

“Did it look like Lucifer enjoyed it?”

“Well-”

“Earth!” You were surprised to hear your name being called. You look over your shoulder and see Lucifer exiting the elevator. He wasn’t running, but he was taking large strides towards you, and he was...smiling?

“Lucifer-” The heat behind you cut you off.

It’s like everything went into slow motion. You turned toward your car and saw a bright white light and felt heat.

Very, very, hot heat.

Your felt the fabric on your arms burn away as you covered your face. You dropped your phone as you were pushed back into the air with huge force. You braced yourself to fall on the concrete, but instead you hit a body. A toned body that held you like wall support.

You chance a peek to the outside world, and all you could see before shutting them again was a arm in dark sleeves around you. The hand attached to the arm wore a familiar onyx ring.

Lucifer.

How did he...

But you couldn’t speak. Your throat was shut tight, and the only thing your brain could focus on right now was the pain happening over your entire body.

You can faintly hear Lucifer call out to you over the ringing of your ears.

You can feel Lucifer pick you up in his arms and run outside. You remember seeing more blinding lights, but this time of familiar colors, arrive around the nightclub.

Someone had to force you out of Lucifer’s arms, and could hear his panicked yelling as someone else pushed him back from you.

Then your world went dark.

Tag List: @insanity-is-always-fun @anushay1998 @emiwrites3reads @i-am-canada-13

[kitanoko]

       In which Natsuo meets Yaoyorozu Part 2/2

As requested by @foxxhunter44! the second part for the fic and I just wanna say its been my hc for a long time that todo is scared of horror movies; more of Natsuo teasing Shouto and Momo HEHE once again I had fun writing this and thanks to those who supported the first part :D! 

 BEEP. BEEP.

      Shouto stared at the speck flashing at the corner of his phone and saw a photo of Natsuo’s comical expression appear, replacing the usual picture of Yaoyorozu in his costume. 

        Seems like it’s a phone call from his older brother. MM. Rare.

       “Hello?” The young boy spoke, pressing the phone on his cheek, “What’s up Natsu.”

       “YO,” a playful voice came, “You got to your room already? Showered yet?”

       Shouto tossed the damp towel on his head forward, aiming right beside the vase of purple flowers on the drawer.

      ‘Yes, I just showered.” 

       “Thanks for showing me around today. I had a lot of fun, I’m going to share the video with Fuyumi and Mom in a bit.”

       “Great.”

       Shouto could hear rustling on the other side before Natsuo continued. 

       “I guess we haven’t really spent much time together before nor have we ever had ‘guys talk’ before...you know....between two bros...I’d understand if you feel awkward---”

       “No, that’d be nice,” Shouto said abruptly and sat crossed legged on his futon, “We could talk before I head to bed.”

       Shouto had a feeling Natsuo must be grinning from ear to ear. 

       “Cool!” His older brother’s voice raised in pitch, “So...was the demonstrating hard on ya today?”

       “Nope, just like usual,” Shouto determined after a thoughtful second, “Our team worked well together, just that Shouji’s team ended up getting the prize since...” The younger Todoroki let up an almost inaudible sigh, “....since I was overconfident and didn't listen to my teammates.”

       He could imagine Natsuo searching for words.

        “Ah, well you know, you did save Momo-chan after though. I was all like holy shit my brother’s so cool! I was pointing at you, telling everyone we’re related.”

        Shouto rested his chin on his knee and figured he wouldn’t bother correcting him on the whole ‘Momo-chan’ issue. 

       “I was actually wondering if you could help me with something, Natsu.”

       Was he sure he wanted advice from Kaminari the second? Shouto tapped a finger against his foot and pondered as his wet hair continued to soak the back of his V-neck tee.

       “Yeah?”

        “I want to make it up to her, I mean, Yaoyorozu, for making her go through that. What should I do that’s the best?”

      Natsuo made a brief choking noise. 

       “Of course you should take her out and treat her to a relaxing day, my good little brother!” 

      Shouto cocked a brow at Natsuo’s unnatural speech as if he came out of a 1980s musical. And he almost sounded excited?

       “Sure I guess.” The younger Todoroki muttered hesitantly, “Like bring her for lunch or something?”

       “Something simple would do, Momo-chan seems like a simple person. Take her to the theatres, watch a movie, maybe oh I dunno...bring her home for dinner? You know Fuyumi is a great cook!”

      Shouto couldn’t deny that his older sister should’ve been a chef if she had decided against her current career path. Her omelette rice rivaled the ones he had when he was visiting Osaka.

      “Alright, thanks Natsuo, I’ll take your word.”

      “Now go over and tell her in person right now!”

      Shouto wanted to tell his older brother to calm down. “Right now? But its late.”

    Natsuo huffed. “Yes, right now. It’s more sincere. Tell me how it goes. Fuyumi’s calling for me, guess she made some late night snack. Talk to ya later! Good luck!”

       “Uh, okay,” The fire and ice user mumbled into the mic, “See you.” 

      The call had ended. Shouto scratched his head, putting the phone back to the charging station. Guess he had to go find Aizawa sensei first; after all, there were some strict rules in place in the dorms.

      `          The scent of freshly made earl grey tea lingered around her as she lied face first, smothering herself onto the pillow. Yaoyorozu muffled out a sigh, tension releasing from her sore, overworked muscles as Jirou pressed the ‘play’ button on the cracked screen of her phone.

         “Michael Jones’ pianoscapes,” Jirou rested her elbow on her bent knee and said, “your favourite.”

         “Thank you,” Yaoyorozu murmured and stretched both of her arms fervently upwards as if trying to touch the sky, “my mother seemed pretty impressed with me today so I’m very content with myself. But...”

        The clink of Jirou’s tea cup was met with a perplexed expression as she sank further onto the mattress.

        “But?”

        “But my parents wouldn’t stop asking me about Todoroki-san and it’s been bothering me since!”

       The short-haired heroine twirled her earphone jacks loosely and let out a lax giggle. “How DID it feel when Todoroki carried you though? Honest to god, I was really worried about you until I saw him, quite literally, FLY towards you on a bed of ice. SSSZZZHOOOOM.” Jirou zipped a flat palm across the air as if to imitate a takeoff. “It was like a scene from a K drama, you know?!”

         “Jirou-san, you and my parents are sounding awfully similar now.”

         “Hey hey,” the girl sitting opposite of Yaoyorozu raised a finger tenderly, “Just asking out of curiosity, I don’t have any other intention, unless you mean the intention of confirming whether or not you like Todoroki then you’re not wrong.”

        “JIROU UGH PLEASE.” Yaoyorozu agonized as she tossed a beany baby at her best friend. The latter caught it with laughter. “We are definitely not like that, I LIKE HIM AS...”

       “A FRIEND,” Jirou finished for her, while making imaginery apostrophes in the air, “I know your excuses Yaomomo, even his older bro was asking about you two. God how dense are you? And you’re supposed to be the most intelligent one in our class!”        Yaoyorozu scrunched her nose in agitation, “Well I’m going to sleep so stop the....”

      Two steady knocks howled against the door just then and both of the girls uncrossed their legs. It was probably Ochako returning her notes from the second class.

      “Who is it?” Jirou called out.

      “Uh, its Todoroki. ” 

      Yaoyorozu’s mouth pursed into a thin line.

      Jirou turned her head towards the black-haired girl so fast that her earjacks slapped herself in the face.  Oh man, Jirou’s probably cackling victoriously deep inside right now.

     If only I could wipe that shit-eating grin right off your face, Yaoyorozu thought as her best friend started walking towards the door.

      Shouto went silent on the other side as Jirou opened a slight gap, only enough to see his left eye.           “Ooh you’re so dead Todoroki,” Jirou said looking quite proud of herself, “You know you’re not allowed here in the girls’ building.”

      “I got special permission from Aizawa-sensei just now.”

      Jirou stopped the door from widening any further with her knee. “Fine,” she said as she peered through the gap, “what do you want from us, are you here to say how you voted for Yaomomo again ‘cas gees Todoroki you’re getting real sappy nowadays.”

     “JIROU-SAN!!!” Yaoyorozu yelled behind her friend, not leaving the comfort of her bed. This was getting ridiculously embarrassing! Though she and the other girls did do the same when Jirou first got together with Kaminari.

     “Actually I just wanna talk to Yaoyorozu privately,” the boy informed in a nonchalant tone, “but if you two are busy I’ll leave.”

      “Wait!” Yaoyorozu frantically flailed her arms as she tried to slip into her fuzzy socks, “Jirou please give us a moment?”

      The earphone heroine rolled her eyes and released her grip from the doorknob. “You can have all the moments you want. I’ll go shower and get to bed then.” She paused and stared at Shouto who now took a slight step into the vicinity. “Just so you know, Yaomomo and I don’t keep secrets from each other so don’t think I wouldn’t know what’s going on.”

    Yaoyorozu facepalmed and waved her hand, hurrying her best friend to leave them in peace. The latter returned a shrewd scowl and stuck her tongue out before heading out the halls, most likely awaiting the juicy gossip after.

        “Todoroki-san please sit!” The black-haired girl stood up to fix up the nearby chair ridden with unworn clothes. Woops was that a red bra lying around? She quickly pushed it under the covers. 

       “What do you wish to speak to me about?”

       The boy ran a hand through the white side of his hair and tried to hide the fact that he did indeed see that red bra. “Glad you aren’t asleep yet. Guess I should’ve texted you first but I left my phone in the room. I came to... apologize for today.”

      Yaoyorozu tilted her head in a dainty manner. Apologize? For what?

       He wasn’t sure if she was pretending to be confused but he cleared his throat and continued. “For making you hang halfway dead on the edge of a cliff. I take full responsibility, I should’ve accounted for the dangers but I didn’t.”

        “That’s okay,” the girl answered, watching him lower onto the velvet-covered chair, “We all learn from our mistakes. That’s what makes us great heroes!”

       She is so. dang. considerate. It literally HURTS to see her be so naive.

      Shouto forced a smile. “But I still can’t help but feel bad for it. Let me make it up to you somehow? I’m thinking a movie and then dinner at my place?”

      A blush creeped on her face as she curled a loose piece of her pony tail behind her ear. Shouto watched her dark eyes wander.

      “Yeah okay, I’d like that,” Yaoyorozu finally said and took the last sip of her tea, “Ah, where are my manners, I totally forgot to pour you some earl grey tea!”

      Shouto shook his head, pushing himself up from his seat, “It’s okay Yaoyorozu. I’m about to head out. I’ll get the tickets online and meet you tomorrow at the lobby around 2?”

     “Ya sure!” The girl nodded her head earnestly and followed him to the door “I’m looking forward to it!”

     “Night.”

     “Night!”

     She pressed the door to a close a tad bit too fast when she could no longer see Shouto’s shadow or hear his footsteps, and she bit her lip hoping she hadn’t disturb anyone’s sleep. 

     The girl skipped towards her bed after pinching herself. Ouch. Okay she wasn’t dreaming. Blood once again rushed away from her extremities and she felt numb. Numbingly happy that was! How was she supposed to sleep tonight knowing full well she had a date with Todoroki Shouto tomorrow?

    She kicked her feet up and plopped satisfied onto her plushies, casually throwing one up into the air.

    Tomorrow she’ll have to wake up early and pick something nice to wear.

`

10:02pm Shouto: I got tickets to A quiet place. some thriller

10:02pm Shouto:  nothing else left so I had no choice.

10:08pm Natsuo: kk good! the theatre on 5th st right? have fun! I alrdy told sis u 2 coming over for din

10:08pm Shouto: ya thats the closest theatre. whats she making

10:09pm Natsuo: she said you have too much soba so shes making tomato and fish roe pasta. come back by 6

10:09pm Shouto: ok ttyl 

`

         “SIS!!” Natsuo screamed running towards her as she cleaned the dishes, “Shouto’s bringing Momo-chan to watch a movie tomorrow...”

         “You’re not thinking of stalking them are you?” Fuyumi glared at him, “If Shouto finds out you will die a horrible death.”

        The white haired boy pouted. “Aw man but I wanna see what’s gonna happen...I’ll be careful,” he took out his phone in a hurry, “Lemme get a ticket before its all sold out. Aight only one showing for that movie, thank god I dun hafta guess which time.” 

      He made a few taps. “Okay done. Wish me luck sis!”

      Fuyumi rolled her eyes, a look of displeasure etched on her face as she flicked a soap bubble onto her brother’s forehead. “Just make sure you’re back for dinner you idiot.”

`

       “Yaoyorozu, you ready to go?” 

       The fire and ice user had arrived exactly at 2pm but the girl awaiting him had gotten there even earlier. His heterochromic eyes did a casual up-down that she hadn’t notice; he quite liked the outfit she had on today--a plain navy blue top and a long white chiffon skirt. Very Yaoyorozu-like.

       Mineta was standing at the corner of the room muttering something along the lines of ‘eff you Todoroki you big bozo thinking you’re so cool...etcetc’ but Shouto had completely ignored his grape-ass face.

      “Todoroki-san! Ya let’s go, which movie are we watching today?” Yaoyorozu replied and donned a lovely smile, pearly teeth showing.

     The boy gloved his hand into his pocket, pushing his nylon crossbody bag behind his waist, “A Quiet Place. Have you heard of it?”

    Yaoyorouzu’s auspicious eyes lit up even more.

    “Of course!” She answered him, a hand clutching her ivory handbag. She had a light bounce in her steps. “I’ve been waiting to watch this. I hope it’s not too scary.”

    Shouto bit his lower lip. Shit. He didn’t even check what the heck the movie was really about. 

     “Uh, I don’t know,” he shrugged and said, inwardly chastising his own carelessness, “It’s probably not that bad.”

     “Well if it was,” Yaoyorozu said, tongue-in-cheek, “You could always lean on me.”

`

      The trailers weren’t on yet when they had arrived and luckily there were many seats still free. They chose somewhere not too close and not too far from the screen and ensconced right in the middle. Yaoyorozu had wanted popcorn and so Todoroki went to grab some (with extra butter, she had requested) before saying excuse me several times to get back to where they were sitting.

    “Thank you,” the girl whispered as the first trailer finally appeared and took the crunchy snack off his hands. He wondered how much she was going to eat as she had already stuffed two handfuls into her mouth.

     Lipids, he remembered, must be to maintain the lipids.

     For a second he thought he had heard a familiar voice behind him but he shook it off and decided to prepare himself for the movie. Truth be told, he absolutely despised scary movies. He thought ‘thriller’ meant ‘thriller’ but now that he checked again, the word ‘horror’ was present right under the genre in the movie’s description box on google. Shouto inhaled deeply and ordered himself to relax.

`

3:00pm Natsuo: the movies about to start I'm sitting right behind dem, shouto bought momo popcorn what a gentleman

3:00pm Fuyumi: okok you think momo likes cheesecake? im at the bakery

3:01pm Natsuo: ya ok get cake pls if she doesnt like it ill eat it

3:01pm Fuyumi: haha

3:02pm Natsuo: why isnt shouto wrapping an arm around her its gonna be scary for godsake

3:02pm Natsuo: you think I should text him

3:03pm Fuyumi: NO u du

3:03pm Fuyumi: dumbass**

3:04pm Natsuo: fine shit I just kicked momochans chair ok gotta hide

`

        "The guy behind me keeps bumping into my chair," Yaoyorozu said trying hard to lower her voice, chin pointing downwards. She was about to see who it was when Shouto turned around before she could.

      "Sorry do you mind not kicking my friend's seat." Shouto deadpanned, twisting his shoulder over. He came eye to eye with a guy in a hoodie and sunglasses.

     "Err sorry kid." Natsuo tried to sound more mature than he was, pulling onto his black hoodie. Did his white hair poke through? Hopefully not.

    "K no prob."

    Phew, Natsuo thought, good thing it's so dark here.

    Shouto turned back to the screen wondering why the hell he looked so suspicious. He guessed some people just had incomprehensible fashion sense.

 `

       “AHHHH!!!” One of the childhood actors screamed on screen and Yaoyorozu leaned forward as if she wanted herself to be in the movie. Her hand missed the popcorn bag a few times before successfully stuffing another handful of buttery goodness in her mouth.

      Fuckity fuck fuck, I want this to end!!! Shouto thought, hands sweating, eyes popping out of its sockets. His arms stuck together against his lap when a monster had jumped out of nowhere in front of him. He flinched with his eyes shut tight. Yaoyorozu was so focused that her hair didn’t even move. The boy opened one eye and saw from the slits of light reflected on Yaoyorozu’s eager expression that she indeed was in love with what was happening.

    Alright, the character on the screen just got mulled to death.

    Shouto took another gulp of air and tried to visualize himself in his room. His zen room. Eating cold soba. With tempura.

    But just then, another shriek made him grab onto Yaoyorozu’s right arm almost instinctively. The girl placed his hand on her lap and with the other she stroked his forearm in a soothing manner as if to tell him to calm down. 

    This was not the way he wanted the date to go. Okay actually this was not a date. Not a date.

     The young boy saw the couple beside them hugging tightly as if they’d die if they let go. He rolled his eyes.

    “Todoroki-san.” He felt her hot breath against his ear and noticed she had closed the distance between them, making him shiver. “Are you alright?” 

     Her voice was just above a whisper and he mumbled a “uh huh.” 

     Yaoyorozu seemed content with that response and placed his hand back on his knee. 

     Dang it. He thought. I actually liked the way she was touching my arm. Fuck what the heck are you thinking Todoroki Shouto?!

    The boy swallowed hard and figured there should only be another half and hour of torture left. He’ll manage. He’ll just close his eyes until then.

`

4:42pm Fuyumi: so hows it

4:42pm Natsuo: omg i just got out. horrible. it was scary af. i saw shouto flinch at least 100x 

4:45pm Fuyumi: you both suck at watching horror movies

4:46pm Natsuo: ya i know, also now ive lost them ‘cas i went to the washroom

4:46pm Fuyumi: im guessing shouto didn’t see you

4:50pm Natsuo: ya not yet, im pree good at this

4:51pm Natsuo: ok I found them looks like they’re heading back to our place

4:52pm Natsuo: also wtfuck shouto has momochan as his wallpaper

4:52pm Fuyumi: ya hes had it for awhile, she let him use it so 

4:55pm Natsuo: lmao 

`

     “WOOO,” Yaoyorozu exasperated, “That was amazing! I loved the acting!”

     Shouto meekly smiled back. “Yes, that was...good.”

    The girl noted the insincerity in his voice and puckered her lips. “I didn’t know that the great Todoroki Shouto was that afraid of horror movies.” Yaoyorozu’s teasing tone made the boy shoot her a stern glare.

     “I’m just not great with jump scares.” 

     “Okay,” She hummed playfully, “Whatever you say. But all in all, thank you, I very much enjoyed it.”

      “Cool, fulfilled the purpose then. I’m glad.”

      A young boy donning a baseball cap and overalls pulled his mom over. His tongue and mouth were coated with chocolate. 

     “Mommy!” He cried, “It’s Shouto from UA!”

     Yaoyorozu and Shouto immediately exchanged glances and the former suppressed a chortle. The kid tugged his mom’s sleeve again leaving tiny cocoa fingerprints.

     “Say hi,” The mother encouraged.

     The kid grew stiff. “Hel--Hello Shouto. I watched you fight before.”

     Shouto rested his hand on his neck and his lips curved slightly, wondering what it was he was supposed to do. Wave? Shake hands? Also shouldn’t the mom clean up her kid?

      “Would you like a picture with him?” Yaoyorozu cooed and crouched down to eye-level with the little boy who started to shuffle around his mother’s hold.

      “You’re Creati,” he said, focusing on his shoelaces, “You’re cool too.”

       “I’m sure my son would love a picture with both of you, if that’s okay?” The mother grinned and asked, “Come on, Kazu.”

       Shouto answered with a meek ‘mm’ and shrugged. If Yaoyorozu wanted to, then he’d be fine with it. He touched the kid’s shoulder lightly and urged him to stand in between him and the creation heroine who was immediately beaming. The mother angled the camera carefully, finally deciding to shift an inch to her right. 

      “Say cheese!” The older woman called out and after what felt like several shots, she raised a thumbs up.

      “These pictures are great, thank you very much. My son really likes UA and he hopes to one day be in it.” 

      Shouto extended his hand over to pat the kid on the back.

     “Work hard.” The fire and ice user simply said, managing to at least sound somewhat friendly, and the kid almost had tears in his eyes.

    “Thank you. See you and Creati again.”

     With several waves, the two young heroes said their goodbyes.

     “Kazu’s a nice name,” Yaoyorozu pondered for a minute, turning on her heels, “I like it. Hope we’ll meet him again and see what kind of hero he’ll become.”

    Shouto could only nod in response. Observing Yaoyorozu’s motherly behaviour with kids was a scene to behold; she really does give off an approachable vibe that he decided was something to be admired.

      The rest of the way to Todoroki’s house was a hodgepodge of silliness; Yaoyorozu laughed wholeheartedly when Shouto insisted that Bakugou would have for sure died if he were in the movie.

    “It’s called A Quiet Place, Yaoyorozu,” Shouto began, “You think Bakugou wouldn’t have been attacked within the first 5 seconds? I swear he would be the one asking for death, screaming ‘COME ON DIE!!!!!’ while ten monsters came at him full speed.”

    The girl coughed, choking on her own saliva, “Yes of course! He would also most likely push Midoriya-san to some luring trap. Oh poor Midoriya-san.”

     The fire and ice hero gave a chuckle. It wasn’t everyday he had time like this with Yaoyorozu. She was probably the only one who could make him feel almost as though Endeavor had never existed.

    Speaking of that, was his father going to be having dinner tonight? The thought immediately killed the mood. Although, he wasn’t sure if he should be thankful or not that his father did seem to favour Yaoyorozu. He saw the girl beside him tilt her head towards him.

    “You okay, Todoroki-san?” Yaoyorozu had knitted her brows together when she noticed her friend’s sudden quietness.

    “It’s nothing,” he lied, fist clenched,“Let’s get to the bus stop before we miss the next one.”

`

   “Oh my god good thing I took the taxi,” Natsuo cried when he came back home, “ I did it, I was like a ninja. He didn’t notice anything.”

   Fuyumi had already begun prepping the ingredients when the white haired boy had strolled in, folding his shades back into the holder.

   “Good job dating master. If you could make yourself useful, please set the table.”

   Natsuo scowled. “Alright sis, don’t hafta make fun of me.” He counted exactly five pairs of chopsticks before sliding the drawer back in. “If you were there you would have seen the way Shouto looks at her.” 

   “Yes I’ve seen it and hence,” Fuyumi started flinging the ladle towards the boy, steam coming out of it, “why I didn’t want you to interfere. BUT you did sorta make this date happen so kudos to you.”

    Natsuo chuckled. “Yes and kudos to you for telling dad to come home for dinner. How'd you do it?"

   He could see his sister grin mischievously. 

   “All I said was Shouto’s bringing his friend over and dad automatically assumed it was Momo-chan.” 

   Natsuo was impressed with how easy that sounded. “We make a great duo sis.”

    “We would’ve had more fun if you’d just stop hiding at your college, Natsu,” Fuyumi said looking peeved as she took a taste out of the tomato sauce, and Natsuo could only answer with a monotonous hum. He did consider moving back but perhaps now wasn’t the best time. He just couldn’t get his head away from thinking about Touya.

`

     “I’m back,” Shouto announced. The whiff of fresh basil and oregano filled his senses and his stomach let out a low growl. He took a step forward to make room for Yaoyorozu who slid the door to a close. 

      It’s been awhile since he’d return home and somehow he yearned to sit with his sister again just to enjoy casual tv with soba. Maybe deep down he was more family-oriented that he had thought.

     After he gestured Yaoyorozu to leave her shoes beside his, Shouto did a scan. Nothing was displaced, even the medal he got from UA still hung above the clock. 

      “Sorry for the intrusion,” Yaoyorozu spoke and bowed as she placed her hands gently in the mid of her skirt. “Thanks for having me.”

     She remembered coming here long time ago, the chalky sound of the paper sliding doors reawakening those fond memories of when she used to help Shouto study math. He seems a lot better with it now; in addition to that, Yaoyorozu do not recall studying with the boy ever since he aced his calculus exam. She grimaced inwardly at the thought.

     A wisp of white and red hair caught her attention.

    “Hello Yaoyorozu-chan!” Fuyumi still had the same bookish demeanor completed with an amiable smile, “Welcome, I’ve missed you! It’s been awhile hasn’t it?”

    “Yes it sure has been.” the younger girl replied and did another modest bow.

     The fire and ice user had always felt unease seeing such formal mannerisms but with Yaoyorozu, it came as natural as the sky was blue.

    “Sis, did you and Natsuo go out today?” he asked, somewhat distracted by his brother’s messily placed sneakers. 

    Fuyumi hesitated a laugh. “Oh yes Natsu went out for a job earlier and I had to go get groceries.”

    “He didn’t help you carry it home?” Shouto inquired. Strange, Natsuo’s shoes still looked somewhat damp from the puddles outside.

    “Uh, of course he did silly!” Fuyumi said with a slap of her wrist, “We came home together!”

   Shouto shrugged and glanced at the girl who was now scrutinizing a potted orchid beside the foyer.

   “Yaoyorozu,” he nudged, “I’ll take you to the dining room.”

   “Oh ya, okay!” The girl said, straightening herself, her purse swinging as she did so.

    “And I’m apologizing in advance if Natsuo scares you. He’s a bit over-reactive.”

    “Don’t worry, I had a great chat with him last time!”

    “Yeah that’s the problem, he misunderstands the relationship between us.”

    Crap, he couldn’t retract his words now that he let it slip.

     “Huh?” Yaoyorozu said, slowing down her pace, and the boy in front of him pulled the door wide open.

    “Nevermind what I said,” Shouto groaned. Looks like there will be exactly 5 people in this dinner which meant his devil of a dad was going to be here soon as well. If there was something he hated more than having dinner with his dad was having dinner with his dad while Yaoyorozu was here.

    The time before, his dad asked Yaoyorozu so many different questions it felt like she was here for an interview to join an internship under him. The time before that one, his dad actually gawked in respectful silence because he practically forced Yaoyorozu to a game of chess after dessert in which she won against him in less than 5 moves. Then there’s that one time when she spoke so passionately about the theory of relativity (because she just watched Interstellar the night prior) that both his sister and his dad looked utterly dazzled. She was a mine of knowledge and he wasn’t one to contest but the impressed grin on his dad’s usually ascetic face made him hurl.

   “Something wrong?” His companion couldn’t help but ask and Shouto shook his head, stuffing his hands back in his pockets, eyes wandering as he lied.

   “It’s nothing," Shouto answered, trailing off, "...I’ll grab you something to drink.”

`

    Dinner was served at exactly 6:15. Yaoyorozu was seated between Fuyumi and Shouto while Natsuo sat across. Enji was late by a bit and it was highly likely that he had rushed home from work because of the occasion. For the life of him Shouto was confused why everyone seemed to be overly worked up by it. It wasn't like the queen was over for dinner.

     Yaoyorozu was poised, legs folded, spine straight (the ballet lessons when she took when she was 8 was most likely the explanation) and took a sip of her miso soup. Shouto noticed she had rounded her delicate fingers around the steaming bowl with such precision that he contemplated whether or not Yaoyorozu had ever had the time to learn anything besides etiquette when she was a child.

    There was a galling silence ever since his father had entered the room and finally Natsuo decided to step up.

    "So Yaoyorozu-chan, how was your day today?"

    He mentally did a somersault thinking his brother was going to let her nickname slip again. Face unchanging, Shouto figured the pasta needed a little more salt and reached for it.

    "It was great! Todoroki-san treated me to a movie."

    Was that a smirk on Enji's face? The fire and ice user tilted the salt dispenser and shook it a few times too many. He swallowed a gulp, dread pooling inside his stomach and grimaced when Natsuo nudged him with his knee.

   "Shouto you took her to a movie?!" Natsuo said sounding fake as hell as though he wasn't the one who told his little brother to do it in the first place, "Which one?"

   "A Quiet Place."

  (For a second he wished they were in the movie right now, at least no one would have to talk)

  Fuyumi hummed like it was a great choice.

  "I heard it's scary," The woman tried to join the conversation, tipping over to her pasta, "Did Yaoyorozu-chan like it?"

  "Yes I did! The premise was excellent, not to mention I actually felt scared. I believe Todoroki-san very much enjoyed it as well."

  "Oh Shouto hates horror movies." Enji randomly popped in, the tofu in his mouth half-chewed. "I tried showing 'The Ring' to him when he was 3. Only weakness I'll allow him to have."

   Good ol' Enji, ruining everything he's a part of.

   "Maybe that's why. 'Cas he has childhood trauma." Natsuo slammed his miso soup bowl and emphasized.

  Everyone had to stop chewing for a second to comprehend what was happening.

  It was at that moment that Shouto sincerely had a need to face plant onto a plate of tomato sauce. Truly the only way for him to rest in peace.

  "Dad, Natsu... now is not the time..." Fuyumi intervened.

   "Why didn't you tell me you didn't like it?" Yaoyorozu's lips turned downwards looking like she had just gotten 95 instead of 100 on an exam. The light reflecting off her glistening eyes made her appear even more disappointed.

  "As long as you liked it I don't mind," Shouto merely said while attempting to twirl the pasta up his chopsticks. If only he'd opted for forks instead.

   At that, Natsuo seemed overtly appeased, gorging yet another broken up tofu with pieces of bitter yuzu stuck on it.

  "So," Enji proceeded, "Yaoyorozu, you're interning with who again?"

  Someone tape his goddamn mouth, Shouto grunted inside.

  "Ms.Uwabami, sir," the girl answered without hesitation.

 "Still?"

  "Yes I've been learning quite a lot!"

  Enji gawked. "Such a smart young lady like you should be interning with only the best. And I think you know who I'm talking about."

   Yaoyorozu's gaze uplifted. "Oh yes! All Might, of course! Though he is no longer fit to battle anymore unfortunately."

  Shouto choked, soup threatening to exit his nostrils. Natsuo and Fuyumi actually clammed up and Enji's fire moustache flared for a few seconds.

  Did his female seatmate, the usual courteous, cordial lady of the Yaoyorozu family just shut his father up? Shouto clamped his hand against the coarse fabric of his pants to suppress the bouts of laughter that was about to flourish. His heart beat quickened and he questioned whether Yaoyorozu would ever stop surprising him.

  "Ah, yes...All Might." His father still tried to redeem himself. His face looked rather heated now. "I was actually speaking for myself. I would like to extend an offer to you, Yaoyorozu, you could learn with my son, Shouto. I admire your courage and intelligence, a heroine like yourself would surely make great use in my agency."

  "Thank you very much, I am zealous about such an opportunity but..."

  "Yes?"

  Yaoyorozu cleared her throat. "When I say I am learning lots from Ms.Uwabami, I'm not joking. She has shown me not only how to fight and protect citizens but also fun endeavors such as making ads and so forth."

  Enji gritted his teeth. Natsuo and Shouto suddenly had appetite again.

  "I believe 'appearing on tv' and 'modelling' are a waste of time and resources. But, it's beyond doubt that you would uptake my offer again in the future. I believe that. I'd even consider it if you'd wish to be my sidekick."

  A wry, reluctant smile appeared on the girl's face as she smoothed down her skirt.

  "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

 `

     After chatting with Fuyumi and Natsuo, Yaoyorozu had the impression that she was even more welcomed than she had originally hoped. Enji had made a thoughtless remark about how he wanted tea and Yaoyorozu volunteered to brew some, with a gorgeous smile to boot. With each sip, Enji made a satisfied gesture as if he hadn't had tea for a long time. Awhile after when Shouto was basically forced (by Natsuo and Fuyumi) to show his collection of cat-themed merchandise, the clock had already struck 8. A signal for leave.

   "These were supposed to be for your family," Yaoyorozu said extending a box of Fornum and Mason out of her bag, "I think I had too much fun today and had forgotten! Sorry about that."

   The girl handed it over to the boy while balancing herself to put on her shoes.

   "Thank you." Shouto said eyeing her carefully as he settled the box on top of a cupboard, "You’re not going back to the dorms for the weekend right? I feel like I should bring you home."

   "No it is --"

   Without a creak, Enji had managed to appear behind the pair.

   "Yes Shouto, be a gentleman and take her home. We would be happy to see you again Yaoyorozu, thank you for the gift and take care."

   "Wow who the hell replaced our dad with an alien?" Shouto heard Natsuo mumble to Fuyumi.

   Shouto hated to agree with his dad but for once he felt like they were thinking in the same channel.

   "Yes Yaoyorozu, it wouldn't take me that long anyway. Let's go."

   "Well," the girl began, ignoring the butterflies fleeting in her gut, "if you insist."

 `

       It could be the way her heels clicked against the soddened asphalt or that oddly alluring sound she makes when she giggles, but Todoroki Shouto found himself wanting to find out more and more about her.

     Whether it was simply sitting beside her with no task at hand, or watching her make matroyshka dolls in a blink of an eye, the boy concluded it was something he was looking forward to.

    “odoroki--Todoroki-san? Hello?” Yaoyorozu waved her hands in front of his face. The boy blinked twice.

    “Oh sorry, you were saying?”

    “I was asking you if you could ask your sister for the pasta sauce recipe.”

    “Oh, yea of course.” 

   Yaoyorozu locked her arms beside her, the moonbeam rendering her like a doll. 

    “I hope you liked spending time with me,” she said carefully as if the words were a secret, and Todoroki nodded in response.

    “Sure thing, we should do this more.” He said, watching her sway her skirt whimsically, one step at a time. And perhaps to Mineta and Awase’s chagrin, he thought.

    Yaoyorozu pressed her palms together as she slowed down in pace. “You think I was a little bit rude to your dad?”

    Shouto held down a snort.

    “Definitely not. You were just speaking the truth.”

    The girl grinned and rubbed her hands together briskly. “Okay, just making sure, I didn’t want to give off the wrong vibe.”

     “Don’t worry,” he ensured and watched her cross her arms in front of her chest, “You cold?”

     Yaoyorozu quickly released her arms to her side, slightly sheepish.

     “No, no, I’m alright---”

     Shouto didn’t listen to her full explanation and wrapped his left arm around her shoulder. They were so close he could smell her shampoo---highly likely the one she’s been advertising for.

    He hadn’t notice her cautious eyes, the area underneath going pink. Shouto continued to look forward, focusing on the lulling of the crickets and the dispersed street lights amongst the night fog.

    “My left side can warm you up,” he said and she grew even more stiff.

    “Thanks, Todoroki-san.”

    All of a sudden he grabbed her further to his side, and she let out a gasp. 

   Oh, there was a bike passing by, she thought as the cyclist dawdled through.

    “Better watch where we’re going,” he said. He felt the phone in his pocket vibrate and cursed under his breath. Must be Natsuo.

    “You should check it, Todoroki-san.” She said, voice soft.

    Naturally she walked in tandem in front of him, allowing him to release his hold and he checked the message.

    8:30pm Natsuo: you okay? 

    8:31pm Shouto: ya

   The boy inserted it back before another message came again.

   8:32pm Natsuo: dun kill me but u should give her a hug or something, just a suggestion

   Shouto gaped at his screen irritated and shoved it into his pockets in vex. If he could he would telepathically swear at Natsu, sadly that was not his quirk.

   “Well, my house is just this turn,” Yaoyorozu spoke, pointing briefly behind her, “that was a quick walk.”

   Her eyes seemed to speak to him then and without much attention, he tilted forward, strong arms spread, ending in a tight a hug. She snuggled against his neck for a short second and began to panic.

   “WH-WHAT, Todoroki-san?! What are you doing?!” 

   “You’re uncomfortable. I shouldn’t have done that.”

   She shook her head immediately.

   “I just wasn’t expecting it...” Yaoyorozu twirled a piece of loose hair and took a step back, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She observed him discreetly and noticed his usual habit of resting his hand against his neck had resurfaced. A sign that he was either embarrassed or weary.

    She took his hand in hers, “Safe walk home? And I’ll see you on Monday?”

    Shouto sent her a smirk, one that his fans would probably dwell on.

    “Ya, see you.”

`

    9:12pm Yaoyorozu: home?

    9:12pm Todoroki: yes

    9:13pm Yaoyorozu: :)

    9:15pm Todoroki: could you do me a favour and not tell ppl about my fear

    9:16pm Yaoyorozu: of ?

    9:16pm Todoroki: scary movies.

    9:18pm Yaoyorozu: of course, except I already told jirou

    9:18pm Todoroki: .....

    9:18pm Yaoyorozu: jokes hehe :) goodnights

    9:20pm Todoroki: night

   9:30pm Todoroki: shit my sis forgot to give you some cake, ill bring it to your house tomorrow

  9:31pm Yaoyorozu: isn’t that just an excuse to see me? :)

  9:31pm Todoroki: maybe, k night.

[win-bap]

No End [Part.2]

Characters: Yoo Youngjae and Jung Daehyun

Genres: Mention of death, College students AU, angst and horror

Words count: 2024

[Part.1]

He woke up from that long darkness in his bed, he was swimming in his cold sweat, his fear won’t fade any soon. He blinked as he got flashbacks of what happened.

“Daehyun?” his voice barely made it way out and sounds cracked.

He quickly got off his bed to run to Daehyun’s room, once he opened the door he sighed in relief, his friend was sleeping in peace.

‘Thank god it was just a nightmare’ that what was Youngjae thinking about as he closes the door and heads back to his room.

He rested his body on his bed again and searched for his phone to check the time and it was 3:33am.

The phone’s screen suddenly went black and some words appeared on bright red... again? This nightmare?

‘You thought everything was just a dream or a lie’

‘HAHAHAHA you’re so hopeless’

‘I guess you have so many questions’

‘Yes, and the first one is, did really Daehyun died in front of me?’

‘We never said that we’ll answer your questions’

‘But if you want an answer you should solve the code we gave it to you’

‘It should be so easy for someone who’s as smart as you’

‘See you later :)’

The screen went black again then it turned normal to his selfie with Daehyun wallpaper but he noticed the date and it was the same as the cursed day which was 12/23.

He dropped his phone on the bed and the tears started to gather in his eyes, ‘why the hell does this happens to me and Daehyun?!’

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his right arm rested on his eyes as the sleeve of his sweater wetted of his tears.

‘There’s no time for crying, I must solve the code’

He got off his bed again and turned on the lights, he sat on his desk and started to write the code on a paper, he kept a space between every sign.

& { “ {  / { < | # { _ _ % & % # ! ^ %

A feeling started to grow in his stomach, he was so confused and scared, what if he couldn’t solve this code? What if he solved it wrong? They told him that he had only one chance and he wasted that chance so now he doesn’t have the time to study or care about anything else, he needs to solve this shit.

It’s 6:45 now and he couldn’t solve it even he stayed there for 3 hours but he couldn’t find anything to lead him for the solution.

The sound of the knob being gripped and switched made Youngjae looking carefully at the door but it was no one but Daehyun so he sighed in relief and smiled to his friend.

“Oh, you’re up early... I guess you didn’t sleep?” Daehyun smirked

“Please don’t start with nerd shit” he was frustrated

“Okay okay, but what are you doing?” Daehyun looked into Youngjae’s desk in curiosity

“S-studying of course!” Youngjae became flustered and hid the papers which he tried to solve the code in.

“It’s a stupid question to ask the genius Youngjae” Daehyun rubbed his eye as he getting out of Youngjae’s room and just before he closes the door he added “Shouldn’t you get ready? We have to make it before the bus go”

“That’s right. Just give me 10 mins” Daehyun closed the door after he heard what Youngjae said.

A long sigh skipped out of Youngjae before he threw his head to the back and looked at the ceiling for a few seconds, thinking negatively of what could happen if he didn’t solve the code, he just wished that he was a real genius as Daehyun always told him.

Going inside the class for the same exam, he looked around to find the guy who died yesterday, no it was today but here again, he is repeating the same day with different events.

He sat on the same chair and in front of the same pc, he hoped he might get a hint for this code in his hand but the screen was normal.

Without caring about the exam, he wrote the code on the table and start to think, he looked around maybe he could find an answer or just a hint somewhere. When his eyes landed on the keyboard, he realized why these symbols were used and no other symbols, he got the hint that he was seeking for and the answer is there as well but he needed to try first.

He pressed ‘Shift’ with every number in the keyboard and the symbols after the numbers, there when he got the idea, what if the symbol for number 1 is A and the symbol for number 2 is B and so on?

He started organizing it on the Word and it became a proper sentence which made him surprised and covered his mouth to stop himself from put out any sound.

‘Go to your college cafe‘ Youngjae read it silently but that’s not what he expected, Is that all he needs to do to save Daehyun? He wasn’t even sure if he solved it right but he got no other choice, so he headed with Daehyun to their college cafe after the exam.

They normally order their own favorite coffee and some cheesecakes then sat on the couches in the corner as Daehyun talking about the exam and how he answers perfectly though he didn’t study hard for it, in the next minute he was fulling his mouth with his beloved cheesecake and closing his eyes with a satisfied hum.

Youngjae didn’t utter a word and just kept smiling at Daehyun, he lifted the cup of coffee to take a sip but he noticed there were other symbols written on it, thankfully he brought his laptop even though he didn't need it. He took out his laptop and a notebook to write the symbols and the letters in front of them.

'Don't let him go anywhere'

'Stay for one hour then go home immediately'

A guy walked into the cafe and Youngjae noticed him, he was the guy who had a heart attack at the exam before, the guy ordered and suddenly he collapsed in front of the counter, Youngjae's eyes widened when Daehyun was shocked and wanted to go to check the guy but Youngjae stopped him and told him that he will check the guy.

Before Youngjae got to the guy, the girl at the nearest table reached the guy and checked if he was breathing and touched his wrist to feel his pulse.

"He passed away"

The people started leaving

Youngjae was standing inches away from the body and he was shaking cause he knew what was going on and the guy at the counter called for the ambulance.

"Let's go back" Daehyun said as Youngjae came back and sat on the couch with blank eyes and no emotion could be seen on his face.

"We can't"

"What do you mean?"

"We have to stay here for one more hour"

"A guy is dead here and you still want to stay here?!"

"Do you think that I want to stay?!! Can't you just say yes this one time?!"

"Youngjae what's wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry but please just for one hour and we will go back ok?"

"You can stay then, I will go back"

"No! Wait! I got something really important that I have to tell you about it now"

"What is it?"

"You're the only one who's left for me, I can't let you go"

"I'm just going home"

"You wanted to know about my family right? I didn't tell you about them"

"Yeah, but why so sudden?"

"C'mon sit down, I will tell you everything"

Daehyun sat down and the ambulance came in and took the died guy.

"My dad told me that mom died after she gave birth to me and I kept feeling guilty even though I got nothing I can do about it" Youngjae couldn’t stop his tears from falling and that made Daehyun lean to him and rubbed Youngjae’s shoulder lightly.

“It’s ok if you want to stop” A sad look was appearing on Daehyun’s face as he looked at his crying friend.

"I want to tell you this" Youngjae sniffed and continued “What makes it worse, when I was 16 I saw my dad dying in front of me and I couldn’t do anything”

Youngjae stopped talking and took a deep breath to prevent himself from crying more and talked again “One day after I came back from school I saw him in the convince store, buying ingredients for the dinner and he was talking to the cashier smiling and when he steps out of the store he looked at me and smiled but after that all I could see is fire and my dad was burning”

Youngjae rested his head on his both hands and he couldn’t stop himself from crying this time, Daehyun sat beside Youngjae and calm him down.

“I will always be with you”

One hour passed and it was 1:33 when the timer that Youngjae set went on.

They get back home and everything was normal except Youngjae being too close to Daehyun and holding him close.

“Aren’t you being too clingy today?” Daehyun smirked, he wasn’t asking because he didn’t like Youngjae being clingy, it’s totally the opposite.

“Are you making fun of me right now?” Youngjae glared at Daehyun

“Ok I’m sorry” Daehyun looked down in guilt cause he was too mean, Youngjae was crying earlier and now he’s teasing him, maybe it was too much for Youngjae

Youngjae stopped suddenly, his face was pale and he was sweating even though it was so cold, they were in the same street that Daehyun was bumped by a truck, yesterday, no it was today.

“Are you okay, Youngjae?” he shook the guy and soon enough he got a reply “Yeah I’m fine, let’s go home quickly” it was so clear that Youngjae didn’t feel well so Daehyun did as he told.

.Youngjae wanted to rest so he headed to his room but he couldn’t rest at all, he was worried but without him knowing he drifted into sleep.

A weird sound was interrupting Youngjae’s slumber, he groaned before he heard a loud noise coming from Daehyun’s room, he rushed to his friend room to find him gaming.

“Oh did I wake you up?”

“Shouldn’t you study at least?” Youngjae frowned

“Just one game then I’ll study” usually Daehyun would say that there are still two days to study but he just didn’t want to bother Youngjae and make him worried.

He went back to his room, he took his phone from his bed to check the time, it was 11:59

12:00

‘How was your day? :)’

‘You finally told Daehyun about your family’

‘How did you know?!’

‘Congratulation on passing the day without letting your friend die’

‘Actually, you were good at following orders/ instructions’

‘So now Daehyun is safe?’

‘Yes your friend is safe and you can spend your life normally ;)’

‘Sorry about the terrible code, we were trying to make something easy for you but it was funny to see you hesitant of the real meaning and you just end up staying at the cafe for one hour, I bet you thought it was just a joke, but glad you did as you told and now your friend is alive’

‘I didn’t have any other choice’

‘Yeah, and you even told him about your family! I’m surprised :)’

‘This is the end of our conversation’

‘Wait!!’

‘What?’

‘I want to know who you are’

‘If you really want to know, you won’t be able to live your normal life again’

‘You’re not sure huh?’

‘It’s okay, I’ll give you another chance’

‘Laterz :)’

A/N: Yes this is the last part, thank you for reading and I hope you like it <3

[therealwuss]

Favorite Films of 2018

10.) Can You Ever Forgive Me?

While the plot looks dull on paper, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is unexpectedly charming, a little heartbreaking, and totally endearing. Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant lift the film above and beyond with splendidly beguiling performances that remind us of the hope that’s always just around the corner from bitterness and scorn. 

9.) First Reformed

First Reformed is the kind of film that keeps coming back to your mind both when you least expect it and when you need a reference to prove to your friends that the world is going to hell. It’s a masterclass in expertly crafted feel-bad cinema, but all the more noteworthy for being some of Paul Schrader’s most galvanizing work. 

8.) Vox Lux

Vox Lux is unlike any film I saw this year or any film I’ve ever seen for that matter. Nearly every aspect of the film--from the camerawork to the screenplay to the performances--swing for the fences just because they can, and it has an aggressively manic energy I can only compare to one of my all-time favorite films: Showgirls. While the question of if it has anything profound to say remains to be seen, I think it succeeds at capturing some rather ugly truths about American culture and entertainment, and honestly it’s just so relentlessly entertaining that profundity kinda falls by the wayside. 

7.) Blockers

Hands down the best comedy of 2018--Blockers not only matches the laugh-factor of Judd Apatow & Co.’s best output, but it also goes a step further than most of those films by being delightfully feminist and forward-thinking. Forget Love, Simon--this was the LGBTQ-positive teen-film we needed in 2018! 

6.) Roma

With Roma, Alfonso Cuaron utilizes many skills he’s developed making big loud movies in order to tell his most quietly moving story yet. Roma is emotionally devastating but creates a hero for the ages in the form of Cleo, as we watch her traverse the unpredictable tides of her life. Cuaron has always had a knack for stories that draw attention to how big our lives feels despite how very very small they are, and Roma feels like his thesis statement. 

5.) The Favourite

The Favourite is just so diabolically fun and easily my favo(u)rite Yorgos Lanthimos film to date. Olivia Coleman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz all turn in some career-best work as we watch them claw and clamber for false fulfillment. The pitch-black script might be more of a lesson in getting what one deserves, but boy is it thrilling to watch those three get it! 

4.) Hereditary

Hereditary is completely entirely all the way fucked up, and I relished it for that. Toni Collette’s performance was without question and untouchably the best female performance in a film in all of 2018 (and of course severely snubbed for awards seeing as how it was in a horror film). The only thing that lingered with me more than much of the film’s disturbing and genuinely creepy imagery was its concept that the rancor and harmful tendencies of our relatives could be unavoidably “hereditary.” Now that’s scary! 

3.) Minding the Gap

Minding the Gap is mind-blowing not just because it was shot by [what was essentially] a kid over the course of 12 years, but also because that kid (Bing Liu) manages to pull over a decade’s worth of raw documentary footage into such a cohesive and emotionally affecting story. A beautiful coming-of-age film and a heartbreaking rumination on the nature of abuse and its cycles. 

2.) Suspiria

Apparently this is a hate-it-or-love-it kind of film, but at two and a half hours I somehow found Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria to be one of the most compulsively watchable movies of the year. The film entwines feminism, horror, and sexuality so efficiently that even its cuts and edits feel like they’re pulsating with sensuality. Its impressive in how deliberately rhythmic it feels. I also loved that you can either spend your time picking apart its philosophies and metaphors, or you can simply bask in how batshit crazy it is. Not to mention there’s a death in the first half that will go down in history as one of the most jaw-droppingly brutal and brilliantly edited scenes in horror history. More horror epics, please! 

1.) Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

No film in 2018 moved me as much as the Mr. Rogers documentary, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?. By putting just as much focus on Fred Rogers’ intentions and goals as it does on the man himself, the film manages to be not just humorous, heartwarming, and cynicism-killing...but also flat-out important. I’ve heard my share of complaints that the film doesn’t touch more on Mr. Rogers’ doubts and faults in favor of canonizing him, but in a time when many of our beloved heroes are being outed as racists and sexual offenders, is that really what anyone needs at this point? By instead putting focus on pushing Fred Rogers’ message of love and acceptance onwards to generations that didn’t grow up with him, the film acts as a necessary tonic for these dark divided times. Mr. Rogers’ quote in the film of “You don’t ever have to do anything sensational for people to love you,” has repeated in my head since the day I first saw the movie.  When I walked out of the theatre after seeing it for a second time, I actually overheard a group of adults of different gender and race who’d just walked out of the same screening. They were coworkers wearing matching badges and a lady leading the group said to them, “I just wanted to bring you all to see this so that I could tell you all that I love you and that I’m so thankful to work with you and have you in my life,” and then they all hugged each other. I mean come on, if this isn’t what people should make movies for, then what is?! 

Honorable Mention

*) Paddington 2

*) Shoplifters

*) Eighth Grade

*) Mission Impossible: Fallout

*) They Shall Not Grow Old

*) First Man

*) A Star Is Born

*) Support the Girls

*) Annihilation

*) Black Panther