#sad old lady just wants to drink some tea and sit on her porch | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ramirezmindset · 2 months ago

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ʙᴇ ᴍʏ ᴍɪsᴛᴀᴋᴇ.

ᴛʏʟᴇʀ ᴏᴡᴇɴs x ғᴇᴍ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

→ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒: yourself and tyler go way back, further than you'd like to admit, but after a brutal end, it's been years since you've spoken. until one night when your roommate brings him home.

→ 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: ANNNNGGSSSSTTTT, talks of fighting and yelling, reader and tyler having history, use of feminine pronouns and description, awkward asl atmosphere, sexual implication, longing, flashbacks will be in italics. ↳ wc: 4671 (not sorry)

→ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: this came to me when i was sat on the couch with MY roommates hahahaahah - requests are open!

↳ ❝ [ i shouldn't have called, cause we shouldn't speak. you do make me hard, but she makes me weak - save all the jokes you're gonna make, while i see how much drink i can take. then be my mistake ] ❞

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"Y/N, Emmie just texted me, she's found a male at the bar and he's coming back here" Your roommate Caroline slaps a hand over her mouth, biting back a laugh as you shake your head and chuckle. "I knew we should've joined her, but for some reason you refuse to go into that bar!"

"Carol, you know why I don't go there!" You scoff back, a playful smile on your face. You put the teaspoon in the sink and take a sip of the tea you just made, pushing a mug over the kitchen island to where Caroline sits. "I know that he tends to go there a lot and I just- I don't really want to be bumping into him and getting all weird and sad when I'm supposed to be having fun with my best girls"

"Yeah, yeah, Tyler this, Tyler that" You give her a disapproving look. "Ok, I'm sorry, that was rude. But I'm serious, Y/N, it's been four years. We never even met the guy, or even saw a photo! Surely if you were that spent on keeping him locked up in that little brain of yours for your eyes only, it can't have been that serious?"

"Oh, it was serious!" You defend, laughing and holding up your arms in mock offence. Carol wraps the blanket tighter around herself and leads you towards the couch, settling with her cup of tea, urging you to sit in front of her. "It was on and off like a strobe light, but I was crazy about him. And as far as I know, he was crazy about me. We just didn't mesh well. I mean, we had been together since we were fifteen, we grew out of each other, I guess"

"But you still have a photo of him in your wallet?" Your eyes widen at this statement, your face growing pale. "Relax, girl, I went in there to put your Costco card back and I saw a photo of some guy from the back. I assume it was him anyway and not some secret guy you've been hiding from us"

You bury your face in your hands in embarrassment, chuckling lowly to yourself. "That's Tyler alright"

"Y/N/N, will you just get in the truck?" Tyler said, holding his hand out for you to take. "Please?" You could never resist those puppy dog eyes, the one's you fell in love with all those years ago.

You smile at him, taking his hand and letting him lead you down the stairs of the porch towards his beat up old truck. Opening the door for you, he helps you climb in, a smile plastered across both your faces.

"Ty, where are you taking me?" You laugh, shaking your head at him as he just winks and shuts the door behind him, walking round the truck to slide into the drivers side.

"Now what would I gain from ruining the surprise, hm?" He turned the keys in the ignition and sped off down the dirt track of your parent's ranch, but instead of turning off onto the freeway, he heads in a different direction.

Deciding not to question him, you sigh and lean back into the headrest, staring at his side profile as he concentrates on the road. The furrow of his eyebrows, the clench in his jaw when he hits a particularly rocky piece of track, the slight smirk that flicks at the corner of his mouth when a song he likes plays on the radio.

"What are you staring at, pretty lady?" He jokes, glancing over at you and placing a hand on your thigh. "Something got your attention, hm?"

"Just my gorgeous boyfriend" You smile once again, interlocking your fingers with his hand that rests on your leg. "Thinking about how lucky I am to have such a beautiful man that loves me and drives me around and surprises me and buys me flowers and doesn't let me spend a dime."

"Yeah, you are pretty lucky" You both erupt into a fit of laughter as the truck pulls to a stop. He takes his hand off your thigh to take the keys out of the ignition and hops out the truck to open your door. "Here we are"

You look around you, confusion etching your features. "Tyler, this is the woods" He tuts at you.

"I knew you would say that. Just come with me" He takes your hand, leading you into the trees down a makeshift trail that's been made through hikers over the years. "You maybe know about this place, you maybe don't. I'm hoping don't"

You're walking for about 15 minutes before he tells you to close your eyes, grabbing your other hand to help you balance and show you the way. "Tyler, I am going to die out here!" You joke as you stumble over what feels like a branch.

"Relax, oh my Christ!" He laughs back, he pulls you into a stop as you find your feet on somewhat smooth ground. "Ok, keep your eyes closed. No peeking!" He lets go of both your hands and you feel him walk away, the crunch of his feet getting slightly further away before coming to a stop.

You take a deep breath, you arms still held out to the side slightly to keep your balance on the unfamiliar terrain.

"Ok, open" You open your eyes to find yourself on a wide cliffside at the edge of the woods, a picnic blanket sprawled out a few feet away from you where Tyler stood, and a basket full of what looks like all your favourite foods. A bottle of wine and two glasses sit comfortably on the blanket, and the city lights from below you glittered as the sun set below the peaks of the mountains miles away.

"Tyler, this is-" You place a hand on your heart, and you move your eyes to meet his, slowly walking towards where he was standing. "Tyler, this is incredible" You put your arm around his waist, pulling him in closely as you admire the intricacy of the set up. He places a kiss to your temple.

"I thought considering I'm leaving tomorrow for that storm, we could have a nice final date" He smiles, letting you go to sit down on the blanket.

"Nice?!" You exclaim, feigning offence. "Tyler, this is more than nice. This is perfect"

"Only the best for my girl" He winks, reaching for the wine and the corkscrew. "Now are you gonna sit down and enjoy this picnic with me, or are you gonna stand there staring?" He jokes again, fiddling about with the wine.

Before he could pester you again, you reach into your bag for your polaroid camera, an old thing Tyler got you for your seventeenth birthday that travels in your bag with you everywhere. Snapping a photo of him from behind, sat on the picnic blanket, the sun creating a silhouette of his frame, and all you could think in the moment was how beautiful he was, and how beautiful this could be.

"Earth to Y/N!" Caroline snaps her fingers from the couch opposite you. You flick back to reality, shaking your head and sheepishly apologising. "You OK?"

"Yeah!" You reply a little too enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit tired"

"Do you mean tired or Tyler?" Caroline giggles as you half-heartedly fling a throw pillow in her direction. "Sorry, sorry! But seriously girl, it's been this long and he's still on your mind? He must've had you whipped, you haven't even been on a date since!"

"Yes I have!" You defend, placing your tea down on the coffee table and crossing your legs under your blanket.

"Fucking some guy on the gross sinks of the club handicap stall is not a date" She got you there. Suddenly, you hear the front door open, and Emmie's laughter echo around the hallway. "Christ, here she comes" Caroline sits up on the couch and fixes her hair, as if Emmie and her mystery man would come in the room anyway.

You were proven extremely wrong when the door is pushed open and your second roommate strolls in, three beers in hand. She throws one at you and one at Caroline, using her foot to keep the door open.

"I come bearing gifts!" Emmie exclaims, holding her own beer in her hands as you try biting the lid off the beer open. "We're gonna chill in here for a bit with you guys, Tyler's just taking his shoes off"

"Who?!" Caroline exclaims, as you choke on your own breath. "Who is gonna chill in here for a bit?" She looks between the two of you as you scramble on the couch to find the missing beer cap.

Confusion etches across Emmie's face, staring at you as you frantically sit back up, pushing your glasses back up your nose. "Oh shit!" She exclaims, her eyes widening in realisation. "Oh shit!"

"Oh shit what?" that all to familiar voice asks from behind her as he strolls into the living room, making eye contact with Caroline before turning towards you. His eyes grow wide, his hands immediately reaching to take his hat off and hold it to his chest. The hat that you bought him. That stupid, stupid hat that you spent a stupid, stupid amount of money on, but somehow all seemed worth it to see that stupid, stupid smile on his stupid, stupid face.

It seemed like forever that he was staring into you before Caroline broke the silence by clearing her throat. "Um, it's nice to meet you, Tyler. How are you, Tyler? What's going on, Tyler?" She raises her eyebrows at him, as you shoot her a glare.

"Uh- yeah, I'm good, you must be Caroline" He finally tears his eyes away from you to spare an awkward, tight-lipped smile. A familiar gut-wrenching embarrassment fills your body as you look down at your lap as it hits you that your ex-boyfriend is in your apartment, with the intention of fucking your best friend, and you're sat on the couch in your pyjama's drinking tea at 10pm on a Saturday night.

Emmie awkwardly sits on the couch next to Caroline, slipping her shoes off and mouthing a 'Sorry', reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone.

I'm so sorry, she texts you. I had no idea that was the Tyler, I'm gonna ask him to leave, tell him I don't feel well. I'm so sorry

You reply: you don't have to do that, i'm just gonna take myself off to bed

No this is my mess, Emmie's next text reads. I'll sort it all out.

Tyler's still standing awkwardly in the doorway as you launch yourself off of the couch and into the kitchen, pouring your beer down the sink out of pure humiliation. He still wore the same cologne, you could smell the sandalwood on his skin as you pushed past him, his warm flesh brushing against the bare skin of your arm. He still had that same look in his eyes all those years ago when he looked at you, that one of adoration.

You rub your eyes and look out the kitchen window of your apartment at the city lights, the rain pattering slowly against the glass panes as you sigh and lean your back against the counter. It was almost like mother nature was mocking you, laughing in your face as the memories of your last meeting with Tyler flooded your mind.

"Baby, just come back inside, we can talk!" He bellowed from his porch. "It's storming, Y/N, just come inside!"

You continue down his front path as the rain and hail slammed on the pavement. You didn't know what you were doing, your house was a forty-five minute walk from Tyler's place, but you knew you'd regret it if you gave in. Suddenly, his hand grabbed your bicep from behind, twisting you around. He saw your bloodshot eyes and puffy lips and immediately his features softened.

"Darlin', I'm sorry, please just come inside and we can talk it all out" His palm came up to cradle the side of your face, and you had to fight the urge to lean into his warm, tender touch.

"There's nothing to talk about, Tyler" You replied, shaking your head. Another tear rolled down your cheek, unrecognisable as the rain hammered down on your head. "You made your choice, let me make mine"

Tyler's eyebrows furrowed. "My choice? I choose you! I always chose you, I will always choose you!" His hand left your face, falling limp at his side.

"Tell that to Boone" You shook you head. "Tell that to everyone on that stupid fucking tornado chasing team! That's what you'd rather be doing!" He scoffs, wiping a hand down his face. "What? It's true! All I've done for the last decade is support you, I let you go off and do whatever it is you do in that stupid truck, I supported you in college when you didn't have a clue what you were gonna do with your life, I came with you on chases even though I fucking hate thunder, and I hate the danger, I do everything for you! And what do I get?"

"You get to be with me!" He cut you off, you were both yelling now, drawing attention from the neighbours as lights in the houses around you slowly turned on. "Isn't that enough? Am I not enough?"

"Don't you dare turn this on me!" You turn your back on him, wiping your face. You're too far in to let him see you cry. "Tyler, of course you're enough. I'm in love with you, I have been for ten years, but all I do in this relationship is hurt. I don't feel loved, I feel like you're not satisfied until you've got your adrenaline fix on some tornado hundreds of miles away from you. Am I supposed to sit on the porch knitting, waiting for you to show back up? God forbid my boyfriend cares about me and what I want!"

"If that's how you feel, maybe we shouldn't be together!" He exclaims, his hands flying into the air as the rain beats down harder and harder.

"Maybe we shouldn't!" Your shoulders slump as you stare at him, the hurt in his eyes clouding over as any ounce of hope he had in his body to remedy this is blown away by the wind and washed away by the rain. "We're not fifteen anymore, Tyler. I can't keep doing this, I can't keep hoping and praying that you'll come back to me alive. I just can't."

"Hey" Emmie's voice sounds behind you. You turn your head towards the kitchen door, where she's shutting it behind her. "I told Tyler I wasn't feeling well, and if I'm honest, he couldn't get out of here fast enough" She awkwardly chuckles and walks over to you, giving you a hug. "I'm so sorry, Y/N/N, I didn't know that was your Tyler. I would've never have spoken to him, let alone brought him home if I knew-"

"Emmie, relax" You reply, a dry laugh leaving your throat. "It's fine, there's no need to apologise. I was just shocked to see him, that's all. It's okay, I'm okay, I promise."

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You climb out of the cab, Caroline and Emmie hot on your tail as the three of you link arms and giggle as you stumble towards the bar. The three bottles of wine you had in the refrigerator went down a treat as Emmie and Caroline coaxed you into drinking with them, and you let them convince you going to the bar that Tyler frequented was a fabulous use of your time.

It had been two weeks since your encounter with him, and you'd be lying if you said it wasn't all you thought about. The look on his face, the smell of his skin and that goddamned hat that he still refused to part with all these years later.

You'd spent the majority of the past few weeks reminiscing on the relationship, thinking about what everything was and what it could've grown into. Where would you be today? On your own ranch, like your parents, but bigger, and would you finally have gotten that ring, maybe a couple of kids? Even today, when you pictured your future, it was always with him by your side.

The atmosphere in the bar was lively, music blasting out of the jukebox as you had to elbow your way to the bar for a drink. Your eyes take a scan of the room, but he wasn't in sight. A twang of disappointment struck you, as if you would've approached him anyway.

"What can I get you?" The bartender asks, but before you could open your mouth, someone responds for you.

"Black label, on the rocks" Tyler slides up beside you, the slight redness in his eyes indicating he was just as buzzed as you were. "Hey" He rests his elbow on the bar, passing the bartender his card and shooting you a smile.

He looked somewhat the same, his shoulders were broader and his smile no longer reached his eyes, but he was still your Tyler. The mischievous glint in his eye was gone, and he had grown some stubble, even with all the differences he was still just as charming as he was all those years ago.

"Hi" you reply, taking your drink from his hand and throwing it all down.

"Woah, slow down there, cowgirl" He laughed, his old nickname for you making shivers run up your spine. You glanced over your shoulder to find Emmie and Caroline, but they had scuttled off to a dark corner of the bar, no doubt to watch this interaction.

You had never felt more awkward in your life. All of a sudden the top you thought was cute three hours ago is too much for the atmosphere you're in, and your makeup is too perfect to be ruined by the tears that would inevitably fall within the next fifteen minutes.

Tyler nods his head towards the door, taking your hand delicately in his as he led you to the deck of the bar. Sparks shot up your arm and through your body at his gentle touch, his grasp far from firm, as if you were glass that would shatter. You follow him out and perch at an empty table overlooking the street.

"How are you?" He asked, looking at you, as if he could see inside your brain. You stare back, eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm fine" You reply, nervously licking your lips and twiddling your fingers on your lap. This is so fucking awkward.

He gives you a knowing look. "No, you're not" He looks away from you and wipes his face with his hand, something he always did to stop himself from crying. "I know you're not, because I haven't been fine since we broke up. And we're cut from the same cloth, you and me, we've been interlinked since we met"

You were sat on the back porch of your parents ranch. It was a sweltering summers day, sweat licking at your skin as you shifted uncomfortably in the deck chair. Your friend Hannah was over, bringing a bottle of some sort of dark liquor with her as she sat next to you, pouring you both another glass.

"Say, when is your brother gonna be home?" She smirked at you as you playfully swatted her arm. "What!? He's hot!"

"Hannah, behave!" You laughed. "But it should be any minute now" You winked at her, reaching for your glass. Usually you wouldn't condone any of your friends getting with your twin brother, but Hannah had liked him for years and you kind of just wanted her to shut up.

As if on cue, the french doors of the patio slid open and your brother walked onto the porch, grabbing Hannah's glass and downing whatever concoction she had made for herself. She playfully giggled, and the sight made you sick to your stomach, but you laughed along anyway.

"Hello, Hannah" Your brother gave her her glass back before turning to you and grimacing. "Hello....thing...."

"Hello, ugly" you responded, pulling your sunglasses on top of your head and sitting up properly to face him. "Why did you have to come out here and ruin my time with my friend?"

"Um, it's hot, you fucking idiot, and the AC is broken, so Tyler and I are gonna chill out here. I see you have liquor, so we're gonna be enjoying that just as much as you are" He pulled up a chair opposite Hannah, so close to her that their knees touched. You wished he'd swallow his pride and make the first move, because you knew damn well Hannah wouldn't.

"Tyler?" Hannah asked, her eyebrows furrowing. "Who's Tyler?"

"I am" he said from behind you, a shadow was cast over your face as he moved to stand next to you. You looked up, and there he was, the most beautiful man you'd ever seen, and probably would ever see. "And you must be Y/N?" You nodded. "I've heard a lot about you"

"Good things I hope" You joke, a laugh bubbling out your throat as your brother clears his throat. "But if they're coming from my brother, I can't imagine it's anything but slander"

You all erupt into laughter, and that was it. After that day, Tyler never left your side.

You lean back into your chair, avoiding eye contact with Tyler. He wasn't lying, you two were eerily similar, and he'd always been the one person, aside from your brother, who could read you like a book. There was no denying your souls were hand crafted for each other.

"How's your brother?" He asks, a lame attempt at conversation.

"I thought you would know" You turned to look at him. "He married Hannah a few months ago. I was half expecting to see you there"

Tyler shook his head. "Corey hasn't spoken to me since we broke up. I think he's angry I broke his sister's heart"

Your lips form a tight line. "What do you want from me Tyler? Have you dragged me out here away from my friends to make pointless small talk or did you have anything of value to say to me?"

"Is it so wrong to want to talk to you?" He asks again, hurt brushing over his features before he regained composure. You roll your eyes and stand up, making your way back into the bar. Before you could walk in, Caroline runs over and slams the door to the deck shut in front of you, Emmie furiously pointing at Tyler, mouthing "fucking talk to him!"

You sigh in defeat and turn around to see Tyler smiling, shading his eyes from the heat lamp burning down on his skin.

"Guess you have no choice" He joked. "But I can't talk to you knowing your roommates are staring at us"

"Well, what do you propose?" You asked, pulling your jacket tighter around yourself. You were not leaving the bar with him.

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You left the bar with him. You found yourself strolling down the street, buying a case of beer from the gas station and suddenly, twenty minutes later, you were sat on the cliffside Tyler took you to years ago, moderately buzzed from the mixture of beer and hard liquor.

"I still carry your photo in my wallet" You admit, looking at him on the other side of the bench. "The one I took of you here, in this exact spot, when you made us a picnic before you left on a chase"

"I'd be lying if I said I haven't done the same thing" He reached into his pocket and pulled a polaroid out of his own wallet. It was crumpled and faded, but you could still make out your own face in the moonlight, smiling up at the camera, eyes squeezed shut with Tyler's hat adorning your head. You laughed to yourself.

You settled into a comfortable silence, the subtle admission of lost love still hanging in the air, weighing down on you.

"Why?" He asked. You looked back at him. "Why did you keep it?"

"Why did you?" You retaliate, raising an eyebrow at him in suspicion.

"Why do you think?" He sighed and shuffled ever so slightly closer to you. "I remember when you broke up with me you told your brother I was the biggest mistake of your life. He came banging my front door down, probably ready to beat me to a pulp. I would've let him. But as soon as he told me that- as soon as he told me that you said I was a mistake, every bit of anger in me just dissipated. I was in love with you, hell, I am in love with you, and all I could do was question how I managed to fuck up so bad that our decade together felt like a mistake to you."

"You were never a mistake, Tyler" You whisper softly, choosing to ignore the fact he just admitted his love for you all these years later. "I was mad, mad that I let go so easily, and it was easier to blame you than admit that I broke up with you over something so- so mundane"

He had moved closer to you, his thigh pressing against yours on the bench as he leant down to put his empty beer bottle on the floor. He sat back up, putting one arm around you as you rested your head on his shoulder. You fit in the crook of his neck like a missing piece of a puzzle, and a satisfied sigh left your lips.

"Tyler?" You say, he hums in response. "You're in love with me?"

His shoulders tense as he sucks in a sharp breath. Maybe you should've continued to ignore it.

"Of course I am" he replies softly, lifting your head up and cupping your jaw. Finally, you lean into his touch, a smile tugging at your lips. "I have been for fourteen years. I could never love anyone like I love you, you're it for me"

You stare at him, allowing yourself to fall deeply into his gaze. His features had considerably softened since you first saw him in the bar. The glint of hope in his eyes had returned, and the crease in his brow has gone. The slow breeze pushed his hair slightly back, and you had to resist the urge to run your hands through his blonde locks.

He was slowly leaning in, and before you knew it, your eyes were fluttering shut as you felt his lips lightly graze yours. His other hand found the other side of your face, cradling you like you were the most precious jewel. Your hand instinctively goes up to hold his wrist, his skin rough against your palm.

"Can I- can I kiss you?" He whisper's against your mouth. You nod.

His lips finally pressed against yours, gentle and full of years of love. He tasted the same as he always did, the distinct flavour of vanilla from his chapstick he carried around in his back pocket. His lips slotted against yours perfectly as your arms made their way around his neck. For the first time in years, you felt at peace.

Tyler reluctantly pulled away, resting his forehead against yours. "What do you say?" He whispered. "Be my mistake."

#tyler owens imagine #tyler owens smut #tyler owens #tyler owens x reader #tyler owens angst #slow burn #angst with a happy ending #twisters #twisters 2024 #glen powell imagine #top gun maverick #jake seresin #top gun jake seresin #twisters tyler owens #tyler owens x you

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theawkwardterrier · 4 years ago

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No Place Like

Steggy Week 2k20, day 5 Prompt: Outside POV

Summary: Miss Carter is a regular at the local diner.

AO3 link here. Thanks to @steggyfanevents for organizing!

Ernie thinks he’s been told that he’ll be inheriting the diner since the day he was born, and if it hasn’t been quite that long, it was probably the day after.

For years, the thought was okay with him. When he was little, filling salt shakers and reminding himself to be careful-careful when he got the chance to lift the occasional plate onto a table as tall as he was, it was the only future he could imagine. But now, halfway through being a junior in high school, he sees the sorts of things his classmates are planning, all that they get to do and choose and find out about themselves, and suddenly what he has waiting for him doesn’t seem like enough, even though he knows that it represents two generations of effort and saving and love from his family.

Plus most of his classmates don't have to work the early shift before school starts.

“Thank you for a lovely breakfast,” Miss Carter tells him one morning, thankfully coming over to pay for her meal just in time to rescue him from having to clean up the catsup spill at the corner four-top.

Miss Carter is a regular. He has the feeling that she’s either real busy, or doesn’t have a clue about how to cook, or maybe both - she’s in for either breakfast or dinner more often than not. She’s pretty, polite, always more put together than she needs to be for the job she says she has at the phone company. Sometimes she seems a little sad, gazing into her teacup or sighing to herself without even seeming to realize it, but he’s also seen her confront a kid who’d stolen a tip off one of the tables, looking ready to flip him over her shoulder as she waited for him to put the money down and cough up some extra too.

Ernie likes Miss Carter, but he’d never want to cross her.

“You have a good day, ma’am,” he says, dropping the pair of quarters into the register (and putting her tip into his own pocket). “Hope it’s not too busy for you.”

She laughs. “I’ll hope that for all our sakes. When things become busy for me, it usually indicates more trouble than I think anyone would like.” Picking up her briefcase, she adds, “But as far as I’m aware, it should be quite uneventful: just paperwork on the docket, and then I’ll be back this evening.”

“Enjoy your paperwork, then,” Ernie tries joking shyly. It earns a light laugh, but afterward, as he hangs up his apron and runs water through his hair to get ready for school, he wonders if it was just out of pity.

“Stupid,” he mutters to himself. He never knows what to say around Miss Carter; one of these days he'll learn to keep his mouth shut.

She doesn’t come back for dinner like she said she would. The tables are jam-packed all evening and Ernie’s so run off his feet that he doesn’t even notice.

Just before he falls asleep, he does remember what she said and wonder if this means there’s some big problem that she has to take care of, but then he puts it out of his mind, rolling over.

If the world’s ending, maybe he'll at least get a chance to sleep in.

Miss Carter isn’t there for breakfast either, and this time Ernie’s not the only one who notices. His mama and pops have always said that one of the advantages of owning a “community establishment” like theirs is getting to know and care about people and having them feel the same for you. Ernie’s never quite believed in that - people coming up to loudly tell him that his skin is finally clearing has never felt quite like caring to him - but now he understands just a little. When his sister Luella says that she hopes that everything’s fine over with Miss Carter, he agrees with perhaps too much vehemence.

She finally comes back for dinner, and he’s taking in a breath to shout back for a cup of tea (Miss Carter has a regular breakfast order, but she likes a hot drink while she picks something out on the dinner menu) when he notices that she’s not alone.

Miss Carter has come in with a friend every so often in the past, mostly a tall, beaky sort of man with an accent that matches hers, and a brunette lady who acted fancy, sticking out her pinky and all, but tipped real well. A few times it was with a cheerful redhead who had a different sort of accent, one Ernie didn’t recognize, or a handsome, dark-haired man who used a crutch and watched Miss Carter closely. Once she even came in with Howard Stark, the inventor. Ernie recognized him from the papers and almost went over to say hello or ask for an autograph, but he was too familiar with the signs of hangover to try it; he made sure to be extra quick sending coffee to their table instead.

(Mr. Stark has a great mustache up close, though. If Ernie could grow one, that’s the kind he’d want, but at last glance into the side of the toaster he has barely half a dozen struggling hairs on his upper lip.)

This man isn’t someone Ernie recognizes, and he can tell immediately that he’s not just a friend. His hand is wrapped so tightly around Miss Carter’s that Ernie can only think about the two trees out on his granny’s property which have been growing around each other for so many years they finally fused together. When Miss Carter points out her regular booth, there’s a moment where Ernie thinks she isn’t going to even let the man go to sit facing her. Eventually she does, but they lean over the tabletop so that they’re nearly touching, and her gaze on him is so intense, so full of love and pain that Ernie turns to go make Luella take their order instead.

“Uh-uh!” she whispers and swishes over to go top off coffee cups that she'd just refilled five minutes ago.

Ernie stands up straight, taking out his pad like it's armor. As he walks over, he tries to imagine the least awkward way of clearing his throat.

He doesn’t achieve it one bit (it comes out as an “A-HEM,” like Patty Francona’s dad when he found them standing together talking on the porch after their one and only date) but the two of them are too wrapped up to notice.

“What can I get you folks this evening?” he asks, the automatic patter helping steady him.

“I’m not certain yet, Ernie,” Miss Carter says, finally looking up at him, polite as usual, though her voice is soft as heartbreak. “We might need just another moment to get our bearings.”

“Take your time,” Ernie responds, quick with relief, and hightails it back to the counter.

When the two of them finally pick something, it’s a couple orders of franks and spaghetti, which Ernie’s never known Miss Carter to eat. He’s actually not known very many people to pick that off the menu. It’s like they just put a finger down and decided at random. Luella makes a face when Vince, the short order cook, adds the franks on top.

“Hope they enjoy,” she says dubiously as Ernie goes to take the food out front. Miss Carter and her companion have decided that they’d like it to go. As he rings them up, they both offer him tips at the same time. The looks they give each other are so soft and sappy that Ernie ends up practically shoving the bag of food at them before saying rapid and clipped, “You have a very pleasant evening now!”

“Thank you,” says Miss Carter, nearly sing-song. “I believe we shall.”

And she and her companion stride out arm in arm.

They start calling the man ‘Mr. Carter.’ While they might not know his actual name, he’s a regular now which means that they have to call him something.

Beyond his name and where he came from, there’s a lot of speculation as to what exactly happened between him and Miss Carter.

Vince, thoughtfully cleaning the grill, suggests that maybe their families didn’t approve of them being together. “And he had to wait years and years until his parents died, but as soon as they did he raced back up here to see her.”

“No, he probably married another woman,” proposes Jean, the other evening waitress, looking at her reflection in the side of a napkin dispenser to make sure that her hat’s on straight. “Men are fickle like that, you know. Forget a girl as soon as their eyes are closed. So she’s just been pining away all these years, waiting for him to realize that they belong together, and he finally got divorced and looked her up. But a man like that, he'll be gone in another blink, that's for certain.”

From her place swinging her legs atop the counter, Luella scoffs, “As if she would ever pine. No, I’ll bet they were just about to get married and then he tripped over a sewer grate and hit his head and lost all of his memories and is only just getting them back.” She sighs. “The first thing he remembered about his old life was probably her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ernie says, giving up on trying to do his homework in the corner of the kitchen and entering the conversation fully. “You might as well say he was MIA from the war and finally came home, that’d be just as realistic.”

“The war was years ago,” Luella says, waving an irritated hand. “If someone suddenly came home now, it’d be a miracle. We’d have heard about it.”

Just to needle her, Ernie says, “Not if they’re spies. They’re probably both government agents and all their business has to be kept completely top secret!”

She just shakes her head, looking put upon, as if just entertaining his notions ages her ten years. “I have no idea where you come up with these things,” she says, and huffs out of the kitchen.

Whatever happened, Mr. and Miss Carter sure do look happy together. They come in for breakfast together more often than not, and dinner several nights a week too - apparently he's no cook either or is just as short on time.

(When Ernie mentions this observation to Vince, he gets a very huffy reminder that some people really do just prefer the food here.)

They laugh a lot across the table, and they're always touching. She'll swat at his shoulder while he gives a mischievous grin. He'll fold a little flower when they've finished with the newspaper and slide it gently behind her ear. They link their little fingers together on the tabletop so often that Ernie, bright red over the top of his notepad, has to pretend not to see it, and eventually he actually stops noticing it altogether.

Mr. Carter sometimes comes in for lunch on his own, but he's not there the Sunday afternoon when the radio starts acting up and people coming in report strange lightning strikes nearby. And Ernie doesn't see him or Miss Carter that evening, either, when there's an earthquake strong enough that the road ripples beneath the cars outside and concrete slides off of the surrounding buildings. In the diner, everyone's food shimmies off the table and splatters all over the floor.

Ernie stands there a minute after the shaking has stopped, staring around at the mess. The building itself is fine, and something in him isn't surprised that the place is still solidly standing.

"Get a move on," Luella urges, practically skating in gravy as she comes to hand him a mop. "All this isn't going to clean itself up!"

The Carters do show up again the next night, listening to the other regulars recounting the shock of what had happened. Considering they've spent the past few weeks practically sharing the same air, it's easy to notice the change between them. They're both perfectly civil to Ernie when he comes over to take their orders and deliver the food, but they speak to each other only occasionally and in undertones that seem taut even from where Ernie is standing.

A while later, he glances into the dining area on the way back to throw out the kitchen trash and notices that they’re no longer at their table. When he opens the outside door, however, he finds where they’ve gone.

“—putting yourself in danger!” Mr. Carter’s voice is low but harsh.

Miss Carter hisses, “As if you can talk,” with so much venom that Ernie almost steps back inside even though it wasn’t directed at him.

“Even if Delacroix had hit me, it wouldn’t have been fatal.” (Mr. Carter should have probably asked for some advice before trying that one, or at least rehearsed so it wouldn’t sound as flimsy.

The alley is dim, but even with the low light Ernie can see how her face twists. “If that’s the metric that we’re using, ‘will this certainly kill me?’ then I don’t—”

“And what about you?!” He hits back defensively. “You knew that Howard had said another minute for the power, and you jumped anyway. If he’d been ten seconds slower—”

“He wasn’t.” She seems to be trying to spit the words with her same vehemence, but it doesn’t quite work. Her arms are tightly crossed over her chest. “And had you been in the same position, you would have made the same decision, Steve, don’t act as if you wouldn’t have.”

“I know,” and with the simple words all the fight seems to go out of him. “I know. I would have. And one of the reasons I love you is that you would make the same choice. But Peggy—” He steps forward, arms held open, and though Ernie thinks he’s nuts for trying it, Miss Carter actually moves toward him too, letting her own arms drop and pressing herself against his chest.

“When I came back, it was because I wanted to get a chance at a life together. A good, long life,” he says, so softly into her hair that Ernie has to strain to hear it. “Which means that we have to, the both of us, take better care to make sure we last that long.”

“I suppose I can prioritize further recruitment of people we trust. With more hands, things might not get quite as...shaky as they did last night.”

Ernie wouldn’t have pegged Miss Carter as a fan of puns, but Mr. Carter just laughs. “I think Jarvis especially would appreciate it. He’s probably going to name his ulcer after us if we keep on like this.”

“You underestimate him,” Miss Carter remarks. “And you underestimate me. I would say I’ve earned the ulcer all on my own. Perhaps I shall grant you the gray hairs, however.”

“Generous of you.”

They’re both laughing together now, turning to come back inside. Ernie hastily hefts the trash bag and steps noisily into the alley.

“Oh!” he says, projecting surprise as hard as he can when he spots them (though the springing eyebrows might be a bit much). “Good evening there.”

“Hullo, Ernie,” says Miss Carter, patting his shoulder as they sail by. “Careful on the stones. Some of them seem to have come a bit loose after last night.”

He watches the way their silhouettes stay framed in the doorway for just a second, little fingers twined together once again, before he shakes his head and turns toward the dumpster.

He’d learned a lot more than he’d expected to tonight: that the Carters weren’t entirely perfect, that Mr. Carter was apparently called Steve, and that Miss Carter, no matter what she said, pretty certainly didn’t just work for the phone company.

Mr. Carter comes in by himself one quiet spring Saturday. (Ernie might know his name now, but in a thousand years, he doesn’t think he could bring himself just to call him by it. The most he might stammer out one day is “Mr. Steve, sir.”) He sits at the counter and asks Ernie for a root beer float, swiveling on the stool a bit and just thinking or drifting as he drinks it down.

“Say, we’ve been asking around,” he says once he’s finished and turned over a full dollar (“Keep the change,” and floats are only sixty cents!). “Do you happen to have old boxes in the back? Maybe crates left over from deliveries that you’re not using anymore?”

Ernie thinks as he takes his four dimes from the register and puts them in his pocket. “Maybe one or two. Do they have to be big?”

“It might make it easier. We’re using them to pack up the apartment, and we have some more stuff than we bargained for,” Mr. Carter explains.

Ernie tips back his hat. “Oh. Did you two get a new place?”

“We did, but not here. We’re moving out of state - Peggy needs to, for her new job. She’s actually at the office now, taking care of some last minute paperwork so the transition goes smoothly.” He’s smiling as he says it, really proud of her, but Ernie’s too distracted to pay much attention.

“I wish I could get out of state,” he says, the words bitterly out before he can stop them. Mr. Carter raises an eyebrow and sits back down on his stool, leaning over the counter.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well.” Ernie shoves his hands into his apron pocket, then rips them out to gesture around. “Look at this place!”

Mr. Carter actually takes him literally, glancing around at the linoleum Ernie’s mama swears she’s going to have replaced soon, the two- and four-tops with the salt and pepper shakers that have been in the diner since the day Ernie’s grandparents opened, the wooden booths which Luella is supposed to polish every week.

(They’re looking a little worn, actually. Maybe Ernie will mention that to his pops, just if it comes up, or if Luella does something annoying.)

“Looks like a pretty nice place to me,” Mr. Carter says, swinging back around. “And I’ve got some good memories from here. So I guess the question is why you don’t.”

Ernie says indignantly, “I do!” before he’s even realized it. His voice pitches up embarrassingly; he brings it down a purposeful octave and says, “I have plenty of good memories, I just don’t know that I want to stay working here forever.” He rubs a hand over his forehead, then rests his elbows on the counter across from Mr. Carter. “And the worst part is, if I had something else I wanted to do instead, my parents would try real hard to help that happen, but I don’t know that I want to do anything else. I just know that I’m not sure I want to do this. And heck, maybe I really do! What if I give up on this place and it turns out that I don’t like whatever else I try?”

Mr. Carter passes a hand over his mouth, considering. “Huh. Well, do you think your parents would let you take a year for yourself? Would they be able to run things without you while you traveled a little, took some classes, worked a couple of jobs, just to see what’s out there?”

“Maybe?” They’ve never talked about anything like that. He’s never even asked, afraid that the answer would be that it’s impossible, the family can’t swing it, can’t make things work without him.

“That’s my advice for now,” Mr. Carter says. “Find out, and if it’s okay with your folks, take a year away, see how you feel. Sometimes you know how you want your life to turn out, and sometimes you need a little time to know, or to realize how much you want something.”

As if he hears something outside, he turns on his stool so he can see through the big front windows. Miss Carter is at the opposite corner walking toward them, glancing quickly back and forth before she crosses to enter the diner.

“The places that are home will still be that when you come back,” says Mr. Carter, turning to look meaningfully at Ernie one last time before he steps over to greet Miss Carter just as she opens the door.

A few years later, Ernie’s running a busy dinner shift. Half the staff is out with a cold, the remaining half can barely keep up with orders while also drying the floor so no one breaks their neck slipping in melting snow, and Ernie’s wondering how it always seems that Luella never has to work on these sorts of nights. It’s why he’d hesitated before agreeing to split managing with his sister when she finishes high school next year. That, and she’s been going on and on about “revolutionizing” the diner with what she’s planning on learning in the business classes she’s going to take at night school. Ernie doesn’t really need a revolution; there’s some charm in the idea that this place doesn’t change much.

The door opens with a gust and Ernie glances over the dining room to see if there’s even a free table. Then he looks back at who it is and decides that he’ll make one if he has to.

The Carters stand there, looking around with smiles on their faces. They’re each holding the hand of what must be a toddler, though it’s hard to tell considering how well-bundled that snowsuit keeps things.

“Welcome back,” Ernie says, trying to be careful not to slip himself as he hurries over to them. “It’s good to see you, Miss Carter, Mr. Carter.”

The words are out before he can stop them and he can feel his face flaming. “I’m sorry,” he manages. “Back then, we didn’t know—It’s just what we all—”

Mr. Carter just laughs. “That’s okay. It’s what I go by officially these days anyway,” and Ernie notices a wedding ring when Mr. Carter puts out his hand to shake.

“I’m glad to see you working tonight, but I’m still wondering: did you get a chance to figure out where home is?” Mr. Carter asks, and Ernie looks around at the linoleum they’ve finally gotten a chance to replace, at the salt and pepper shakers that he filled himself in the late quiet last night, at the booths which Luella keeps proprietarily shiny now that she’s “almost in charge.” He went to plenty of diners during his year away, and many even looked like this one, but none of the others felt like it, at least not to him.

“I did,” Ernie says. “Thank you.” He glances at the wedding ring on Mr. Carter’s hand, at Mrs. Carter, who’s leading the baby over to their old, surprisingly free booth. “I guess you found where home was too.”

Mr. Carter follows his gaze, taking in the scene. “I guess I did,” he says. His eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles. “I guess we all did.”

(And, Ernie decides, Jean can go suck an egg.)

#steggyweek20 #Steggy #Steggy fic #Steve Rogers #Peggy Carter #this is later than I'd have liked but it took waaaay longer to finish than I'd expected

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korkisobsessions · 4 years ago

Text

The Oath

XVIII. Hangover

Yeongshin experienced one of the hardest mornings. His head pounding with pain, when he opened his eyes to bright and warm morning. His tongue heavy in his dry mouth.

He wanted to sleep a little longer, but cheerful voice of Beom Pal get him out of the bed. His pride didn’t let him sleep longer, than some noble city boy. He can’t admit that he cannot handle his drinks.

He took all of his strength and made his way out of bedroom. Beom Pal was sitting with Nilah on their porch, enjoying late morning with bowl of rice and tea.

Yeongshin shield his eyes from sharp sunshine and frowned.

“Here he is. Brave chakho, who defeat hordes of undead, but loose against few bottles of soju.” Beom Pal laughs and toss him cup of tea.

“I didn’t loose.” He frowns and kisses giggling Nilah. “Maybe we are even.”

“It’s understandable. You are not used to drink. When I lived in Dongnae, I used to drink more soju than water. I think I’m immune...” Beom Pal considered.

“Then why is this cup, full of grass?” Yeong shin raised his eyebrow, when he noticed that.

Beom Pal looks at him with red and glossy eyes and smiled. “So...I’m probably still drunk.”

“You should eat something.” Nilah gave him bowl of soup and sit back to sunlight. It was beautiful day.

Yeongshin took of his stinking shirt and made his way to river. He throws himself to cold embrace of water and almost moans. It feels so good and he immediately feels better. He was floating on the surface and felt warm pleasant feeling in his chest. He was back in the world of living. When someone asks him for his identity tag, he could proudly give it to him and identify himself as a common citizen. He doesn’t have to use his false tag or run away.

He can marry Nilah...

Gentle waves swing him towards the sandy bank where he sat in the shallow and wash his face.

“Yeong shin?” Miho’s voice brings him back. Boy was sitting in the tall grass, with makeshift rod. He watched Yeong shin’s body full of scars with mixture of terror and awe.

Yeongshin wiped water from his chest and took back dirty shirt, not to scare the boy longer that was necessary.

Miho put down his rod and came closer with head hang low.

“What is it?” Yeongshin was suddenly worried, that something happened in village. Maybe another dead body.

“I’m sorry I scared you yesterday. I didn’t know who that man was...” his eyes were glossy and ears red with shame. “I scared you for no reason.” He wipes his nose.

“No! Miho...” Yeongshin kneeled in front of the boy, to have eyes in same level and put his palms on Miho’s little shoulders. “You did the right thing. I’m glad you came for me.”

Miho raised his stare from the ground and find the courage to look Yeongshin in the eyes.

Yeong shin’s throat was tight when he remembered his little brother, how he held his shoulders just like he holds Miho now.

“I know that something happened to you and Nilah. I just want to help.”

“You were very brave. Come with me.” He nods towards the house.

Nilah was in the garden and wave at them when they come closer. He left Miho outside and walks inside the house. Loud snoring of Beom Pal was filling the air with odour of alcohol. He made his way to his things and after few moments found what he was looking for and didn’t forgot to change his shirt.

“This is for you. For your help” He gave boy big tiger’s fang on leather cord. “It’s from the tiger that gave me this...” he touches his chest. He knows that Miho saw his scars. Boy’s eyes were big and full of astonishment. His trembling palm grip the tiger’s tooth and Yeong shin can’t fight the smile.

“Thank you.” He put it around his neck with awe like it was precious gem.

“Just be careful, kid.”

That word escapes his lips quickly and naturally, but his heart hurts when he remembered his master who used to call him like this. “I need to talk to your father. Is he home?”

“Hmm hmm.” Miho hum with agreement, not paying attention to anything but the fang.

Yeongshin made his way to garden, where Nilah was checking their little sprouts of vegetables. She lifts her eyes and smiled at him, smudge of soil on her cheek. He squat next to her, and gently wiped the smudge with his thumb, holding her face in his palm. She lean into his touch and closed her eyes.

“About last night and Beom Pal’s gift...” he started but she silenced him with her lips. He was caught unprepared and almost fell to the ground with her arms around his neck. She kissed him hungrily pulling him closer, her heart beat fast and strong. He held her around her waist with one arm and second tangled into her hair. Her tongue was hot and sweet, pushing into his mouth, he almost moans out loud.

And when she pulls away, her cheeks were red, lips swollen and eyes wild. “I understand, what that tag means to you. And I’m happy for you.” She put her open palm over his heart. “But for me, nothing changed. You are still same person that I love more than anything. I love your heart, not your name.”

“I know.” He touches her forehead with his and held her face in his rough palms. “But you know that world is not so simple.”

“Don’t forget that I’m just a pagan...” she laughed, but Yeongshin stopped her with serious face.

“Not anymore. You are citizen of this kingdom, just like me.”

“Its strange feeling. I still can’t get used to it.”

“I know...but for me nothing changed.” He repeated her words. “You are still the same person I love more than anything.” He held her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I need to see Jae Bong. And I will bring something for supper.”

He stood up and left garden. Miho was still standing in the same place examining his treasure.

Nilah stay at the garden and weed the plant beds. Plants were grown enough to put them in the field. They just need to prepare the ground. Yeong shin bought plow and their donkey were strong enough to work. It was just a matter of a few days.

Sun was high when Beom Pal found his way out of the house clean and prepared.

“My beautiful lady, I was honoured to be your guest, but I’m needed elsewhere.”

Nilah smiled and wiped away her dirty hands.

“It was my honour, my lord.” She bows her head and takes a pouch with food and water for his journey back to Hanyang.

“You must visit me in the city. We will make great celebration.” He made his way to his horse that was fed and well rested.

“I don’t thin that the capital city is ready for dancing chakho.”

Beom Pal burst in laughter and almost fell. “I don’t know if I was ready for it. When I will be old and dying, I will remember it and I will die with laughter.”

Nilah laughed genuinely and give him the food.

“Oh! I’m such a fool!” Beom Pal was suddenly serious and takes one of the bags from the horse seat. “I was so glad to see you that I almost forgot.” He gave Nilah that bag. It was quite heavy. She was confused but don’t get the chance to ask what it is. “You still have a few friends in Sangju. They collect your things and send it to me.”

“What?” her voice trembled when she opened the bag and found her old clothes and uniform, her sword and the most precious thing. Her book with stories. She came to Sangju with nothing. But she didn’t mind it. All she ever missed were her books with stories and fairy tales. One day she starts to remember them and writing it in empty book she got from Deok Sung. To not forget.

But then came Lee Chang with Seo-Bi and wild chakho, and she left Sangju without her things.

“My lord...” She sobs with broken voice. “I...have no words.”

“I said, it wasn’t me, but your friends.” Beom Pal made few steps closer towards her and laid his palms on her shoulders. “I know it was bad, but don’t forget there are good people behind you. And don’t be hard on yourself when you are scared. Your soul is like your broken leg. It needs time to heal. It sometimes hurts, but it will be better with time.”

Her lips were trembling when she fought with tears. His words touch her heart with so much comfort.

“I’m so sorry, but I must...” Nilah let out with one breath and throw herself to his arms. She hugs him tightly and whispering ‘thank you’ over and over again.

She still remember the silly man standing on the rooftop with sword in his trembling hands too scared to cut his palm, too afraid of pain. But he was still there. Fighting with them.

And now he was here, same silly man, telling her these wise words.

When he was disappearing in the distance, she was sad, but she knows that they will see him again.

~°~

“So...everything is fine...” Jae Bong asks as they walk side by side towards old barn, where the body of unknown man was hidden.

“Yeah, it is.” Yeong shin nods innocently avoiding other man’s stare.

“And it was completely normal that you run like a mad man, with pure terror in the eyes, just because some man came to your house.”

They approached the barn and both of them covered their faces with piece of cloth to avoid the smell of decaying corpse.

“I know, I was overreacting. It was mistake.”

“Stop bullshiting me chakho!” Jae Bong closed the door before Yeongshin had a chance to open them. He pushed down the reflex of grabbing his knife. Jae Bong looked pissed and even though he said he never fights, Yeong shin didn’t want to be his first. He was a huge man with lot of strength. And he didn’t want to lie to him. He just bows his head and nod.

“You don’t have to be worried. That thing is very personal. There was a man. He was Nilah’s captain. And he was probably in love with her. Or it was some kind of possession. And when he can’t have her, he pushed her into desertion. She runs away but he hunts her down and locked her in the prison. And he...he hurt her very badly.”

Even though it was long time ago, he still had clenched fists, when he thought about it. His knuckles white and blood boiling with rage.

“I see...” Jae Bong hummed and his shoulders loose the tension.

“Few days ago, day when we found the body, she thought that she saw that captain, looking at her through the window. It scared her. But I searched everything around the house and there were no tracks, or anything. It was just a bad day, but it always leaves me uneasy.”

He felt like he put down little weight from his shoulders. Just saying it out loud helped him.

“I’m sorry. I really am.”

“You don’t have to be. We are good...we will be.”

Jae Bong leaves his vigilance and open door of the barn.

The smell was terrible. It was heavy and they felt it, even though they had covered faces. It fills their nostrils and they felt it in their mouths. And what Yeongshin hated the most was flies. Their disgusting buzzing around the corpse woke bad memories from war. When he was recovering from his injuries, flies were everywhere. And when they sit on someone for too long, it was a sign that person is dead.

He just hated it.

“We must burn the body.” He mumbled. He didn’t want to open his mouth more than was necessary.

“Yeah I know.” Jae Bong spoke with choked voice. He was fighting with nausea. “But I had idea. Can you tell, what kind of weapon the murderer used?”

Yeongshin came closer to body and examined the wounds.

“I think that it was two kinds of weapons.” He point towards wound on the neck. “This could be a sword. Strong and sharp. Sword can cut of head. But this...” he carefully turned the body and revealed the open wounds on the back. “This couldn’t be a sword. This is too much of bones. It must be something like axe, or butchers had this cleaver...”

And suddenly it hit him. It was like blow to the chest. His hands trembled, when he realised, how he knows that. How he was fighting with bones of that young boy in Jiyulheon. How he had to chop one bone several times, to separate the parts. It was terrible and desperate thing.

“Are you alright chakho? You are pale.”

“I’m.” he choked. But wave of nausea hit him, when one of the flies sat on his forearm. He remembered the flies flying around Dan-I and how he was brushing them away, to not spoil the meat. He was thinking about the boy, like about flesh and nothing more.

And how it starts everything.

He felt vomit in the mouth and quickly run outside to throw up. Maybe it was because his drinking yesterday or it was guilt.

Guilt that he never told Nilah, how IT was all his fault.

How it all started, with one soup for starving innocents.

~°~

They burned the body and pay him respect. Who knows who that man was, but he died with horrible death, so they at least gave some comfort to his soul.

Yeongshin wasn’t much of believer. He did not believe that soul of the man will be wandering around, headless just because he died like this. He saw too much violent deaths, that it would turn world into hell, if there was so much angry ghosts.

He just doesn’t have faith in something he never saw. He just believes in sun, in sky and orders of nature. Sometimes a man must die so that another man can live.

“You don’t look good.” Jae Bong raised his eyebrows, when he noticed his distraction.

“I drink too much yesterday.” Yeongshin was watching the flames eating rotten flash of unknown soldier and his stomach was cramped.

He needs to tell Nilah everything. To redeem himself. To be honest with her in every way. But he was scared. Scared, that she will despise him.

“Tonight will be bonfire in village. You should come.”

“Why?” his voice was dry in his throat.

“Because it is celebration of village you are part of.” He said it like an obvious thing.

“But...people hate us.” He would like to come. To be part of village celebration. But unfriendly looks in the villagers eyes was something he would rather pass.

Jae Bong furrowed his brow and looked at him with little pity.

“That’s not true. They were scared, but now they see you are not danger.”

“Maybe...”

Pile of wood collapsed and buried the bones in the ash.

He head back home with heavy heart.

Nilah was sitting in the grass with flower crown on her head and reading out loud from a book he never saw. It looks more like old journal. Miho and other boys were digging hole for a young walnut tree and girls were tangling Nilah’s hair.

“...And then the mountain king turned young Upa into a stone for her foolishness. Her good heart stays alive, but full of pain...and she cried. The stone cried. Her tears join together and made river. Mountain King was trying to stop the water, throwing stones and rocks to her way, but he wasn’t so powerful to stop her. And that river was called Upa after that young woman, who falls in love with mountain King.” She closed her book and when she saw approaching Yeongshin her lips widen in smile. But it froze, when she noticed his worried face.

“That was sad story.” One of the girls complained. “I wanted to hear the story about lost princess.”

“Maybe tomorrow” Nilah watched Yeongshin sat heavily on bench in front of the house and starts to cleaning his rifle. She recognised the tension in his movements. Something was wrong.

“I think that you were princess. And Yeongshin was your guard. You fall in love and run away to be together.” Girls giggled with blushing cheeks. If they only knew, how they got together, they wouldn’t sleep for a month.

“And what if Yeongshin was prince and I was his guard?” she tried to make fun of them and girls even the boys burst in laughter. Yeongshin raised his eyes from the rifle with the questionable look.

“He can’t be a Prince.” Girl In-ha laughed with something little cruel in her voice. She was always judging everything and everyone.

“You are right. He can’t be.” Nilah was watching her man, how his eyes saddened. “I met Prince and I met Lords and wealthy men. But no one is better than Yeong shin.”

Her heart was pounding so strong and just for him. She still can’t get used to, how much she loves him. His ears reddened, when he heard their conversation.

“It’s enough kids. It’s getting late and your parents will be waiting for you. You need to prepare yourself for evening celebration.” Nilah stood up and gave boys reward for their job. It was a few coins, but boys appreciated it with joyful yelp.

When kids disappeared over the hill, she made her way to Yeongshin and sat on the ground next to him and laid her head into his lap. He put down his rifle and gently cares her temple. He let out deep exhale and get down from the bench and hug her tightly.

She was worried, but for a while she didn’t want to ruin her nice day. Just for a few short moments she wanted to be happy.

“I...must tell you something.”

His voice wasn’t firm like always. He was nervous. She saw his hands shaking so she holds them in her palms and kissed his knuckles.

“It will be all right.” It was all, she could say.

“You know...when I lost everything...my master, my brother and Sumang. I swore to myself that I will revenge them. That I will kill that man, who brought dead back. Lee Seung-hui. Then the man who gave the order to bring them back, Cho Hak Joo. And a man who followed the order, Ahn Hyun.”

His voice was dull and empty. Like he was speaking about someone else.

“First was the healer. It took me a while to found him. Finally I was in this clinic but He was in Hanyang, so I was pretending that I hurt my shoulder and want only his treatment and wait for him. But when he returns, he brought dead man with him. It was probably his apprentice who died in Hanyang.”

He was quite for a few moments fighting with something deep inside him. Something he wanted to bury.

“I saw terrible things. But one of the worst things was look in the eyes of desperate mother that cannot feed her baby because she was starving.

People there were sick and dying of hunger. And no one was going to help them. So I have decided.”

Nilah was silent and still, but everything inside her was trembling “What have you done?”

“I feed them.” His voice was low and dreadful.

“Where you got the food?” she starts to get sick.

“The healer brought it from Hanyang.”

Nilah covered her mouth with palm and all colours left her face. She was suddenly white like snow.

“Yeongshin, what have you done?”

Yeongshin had traitorous tears in his eyes, but he angrily whipped them away. “I chopped that boy to pieces and made a soup. Finally they could eat something and not die!” he shouts.

For the first time he was shouting at her and it hurts him so badly, he wanted to scream at himself.

“No, it can’t be.” She felt cold sweat running down her spine and her throat was tight. The idea of Yeongshin cooking human flesh was terrible.

They didn’t even realise that they were both on their feet. No more siting side by side. No more gentle holding hands. If stranger approached them, he would though that they will be fighting with each other.

“Did they know?” her voice was barely audible.

She always said that she love Yeongshin no matter what. She knows that he was chakho and that Chakhos do everything to survive. She heard stories about them that chakhos used to eat hearts of their enemies. But she never believed it. It was just scary stories of drunken soldiers to scare the younger ones.

But part of her always hoped that Yeong shin’s everything had some borders.

“Did they know, what?” he barked like dog in the corner.

“Did they know what they were eating?” tears stung in her eyes and her voice was trembling.

“No. Does it matter?” his voice was bitter and all his muscles were limp. He wanted to be honest, but all he gets was his worst nightmare.

“Yes it does Yeong shin! You don’t gave them choice!” There she was. Screaming at him...mad at him. Maybe she hated him and for what? For his peace of mind. He thought that he will feel better. But it was worse.

Much worse. He saw regret in Nilah’s eyes.

And his stupid mind fought with her. Tried to justify his actions.

“What choice Nilah? There were only two options! Eat or die.” His voice was too loud, too rough. And in his first instinct, he wanted to touch her. Held her shoulders, to listen to him. To believe that all he wanted to do was save that people. That his actions were selfless. It was his salvation...or curse that he was the only one who survived. Because he was making sure that everyone is fed first.

But Nilah flinch back from his touch. Like she was scared of him. He tried to hide his feelings, but he felt the painful sting through his heart to the tips of his toes. Her eyes were glossy in the last sun beams pain and confusing and betrayal.

“It doesn’t matter. They are all dead.” He whispered with death voice. “Boy was bitten, his meat was infected. Everyone who eats that meat died and turned into monsters.”

Nilah cried.

Her tears were making stains on her azure shirt. She didn’t even try to wipe them away.

“They told me it came from Gyeongsang.” She was whispering slowly. “I wish to be only thing I know about the beginning of the plague.”

And than she turns and starts walking away. Away from him. And that scared him to death. That she was leaving him. He thought that they have something like unbreakable bond. After all they’ve been through. Ready to sacrifice life for each other, she was leaving and his heart ache more than it aches in Hanyang when he found that Nilah served to Ahn Hyun.

It hurts more because it was all his fault she was leaving.

“Nilah...” it was barely whisper, but she heard him. She stopped, but didn’t turn back. He was facing her stiff backs.

“There is bonfire in village. Kids are waiting for me.”

It was like she was talking to stranger. She took her plaid and left.

Yeong shin stood there outside their houses in half light suddenly alone and lost.

#kingdom #kingdom netflix #kingdom 2019 #kingdom fanfiction #kdrama #chakho #yeongshin #yeong shin #fanfiction

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painandpleasure86 · 5 years ago

Text

Gimme your comfort, I suffer of love (deazello week 2020)

A/N: Hi ppl! Another fic for this ship week hosted by @roger-taylors-car !! Now taking the prompt "cuddles" and "secret affair"

The name of this fic it's based in a gay love song from the argentinian rock band Los abuelos de la nada. The original phrase is "Dame tu consuelo, yo sufro de amor".

Summary: the day after the tea time, Joe haves an audition and he will tell how it was to John.

Word count: +2500 (my longest fic for now)

Warning: the things are spicy, so... Don't interact if youre a minor. Don't throw hate if you don't like this kind of writing pls.

Permanent taglist: @warriorteam1924 @toomuchlove-willkillyou (sorry if you're uncomfortable with this kind of writing).

If you liked it, please reblog! That will help me to reach to more ppl :3

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

When they finally ended the tea time and the men greeted, the older whispered in the ears of the younger "you can come home when you want… I barely left home lately".

Joe just can nod but both knew the real response.

They already started a new chapter in their life...

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

Monday morning. He was preparing for a casting that he will have after that day. He passed in front of the door of his neighbor to see if he was there. He wasn't. "Well I'll try when I come back of the audition" he thought.

Joseph watched to his son walked sad in front of the porch of John's house.

"Joe, come here! John isn't your friend, it's just your neighbor and he don't like to be bothered!"

The young man was approaching to his dad's car.

"Let me be act like I want. I'll turn 22 this year! And John really liked me."

"He just was polite and kind with you." replied his father.

Joe knew that he didn't just was kind and polite with him. But that isn't something that he can say to his dad.

-------

The audition was a failure. Was a big opportunity to make detach his career, but they rejected him for being "too old" for the role. But that was a excuse, because a famous young star also auditioned for that role. And had his same age. "If you reject me, at least be fucking sincere and told that was because that guy was also in the audition" he thought dissapointed. He was so sad and almost crying in his dad's car.

"Joe, relax. You know that you will still have your job in the dance studio if your acting career haven't success." said Joseph, trying to cheer up his son.

"I know. But I want to act. I'll pull myself together, because I know that I should do better…"

Joseph smiled.

"That's Queen." noted the man.

"Yeah, you can see why I love that band, dad?"

And a smile appeared in his face.

"I see." added, watching to the road.

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

When they came to his house, he was to the door of his neighbor.

"Dad, come home. I'll try to speak a little with the neighbor."

"Okay Joey. You're an adult anyways." he sighed resigned and entered to the house.

Joe took the doorbell.

"Yeah?" someone asked for the intercom.

"John it's in home now? It's his new neighbor, Joey".

"YEAH! I'll call him".

That voice was Laura. She was happy for listen that American accent again.

He watched to the old man came to the main door.

"Joe!"

"Mister!"

"Call me John please"

"Okay John".

And both hugged.

Both started to walk to the house.

"How are you Joe?" asked the bassist.

Trying to lie, Joe replied "fine".

"No boy, you aren't fine. You don't fool me".

"I could do it, I'm an actor...well, a bad try" said Joe watching to the sky and sighing.

"Oh now I understand your low. An audition was wrong no?"

"Exactly" and Joes eyes started to be full of tears.

Both stopped to walk. He started to cry in the shoulder of the old man. This one puts his left hand over the head of the young, caressing his hair. With his another arm, he hugged him. Joe hugged to the man in response.

"You will have success Joe, don't give up". And give to the young man a little kiss in the head. He couldn't contain his reaction.

Ronnie and Laura appeared when both men were hugging.

"Oh it's Joe again. What's up?"

"Oh hi Joe!" exclaimed Laura excited.

The men left the embrace and watched to the woman and the girl.

"He failed a big audition I think" replied John.

"Oh he needs a cup of tea and some muffins" told Ronnie.

Still sobbing, Joe responded "I'm lactose intolerant, but thank you sweet lady… and hi Laura" trying to smile.

Ronnie and Laura blushed again for the kindness of the young man.

"Come in then" replied Ronnie and both men entered to the house.

"Ugh girls why you're inopportune" thought John.

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

The men were in the living. Ronnie asked to Laura to help her with the tea, despite the girl would prefer stare in front of Joe, contemplating his beauty.

"Was a big audition no?"

"Yeah… but that motherfucker quitted me the role. For God's sake, you already have a lot of work and success, why you need something like that?"

"Like I said, you will have success, perhaps this wasn't your time, huh?" the elder smiled kindly and puts a gentle hand over the left lap of the younger for a moment. This one started to feel nervous but great at the same time. His reply was a shy smile and a "thank you John".

When both men were talking about some things, the girls came with the tea. Laura, by her insistence, was the one to give the tea to Joe. "He-here's the tea, Joe" said the girl, without watch to the redhead. Her cheeks were fire.

"Thank you Laura" and give to the girl a little kiss in her right cheek.

The girl was so excited for that little kiss. "Oh will be with you in some years my beautiful american boy" she thought smiling, meanwhile was going to sit.

When Ronnie came, Joe said "Thank you Ronnie for the idea of the tea… sorry for that scene in your porch."

"You will have your opportunity Joe, you should add more artistic skills, to have more opportunities. You told us that you also know how to dance… what about learn an instrument?" And she watched at John, that was drinking his tea and opened widely his greenish eyes.

Gulped his tea and, leaving his cup in the tea table, he said "I could teach to him something" and watched to the redhead smiling. "What you think, Joe?"

"I love that idea", responded the young man.

After a lovely chat with the women, the men were going to the basement, where the music things were.

Laura said to her mother when they were alone "that guy really likes me"

Ronnie replied, smiling "my dear, he's only kind with you. He knows that you're a child to him. Surely he should be interested in someone near of his a-"

"MUUUUUUUUM LUKE WOKE OF HIS NAP AND FELL FROM HIS CRIB" irrumped Joshua in the living room.

The woman was upstairs running… she can hear her little son crying.

Laura, meanwhile, was daydreaming in the couch...

------

The men were in the basement. A place with old things, but also all his basses, amplifiers, another instruments and the album certifications. "This place it's the only one that contains my 20 years playing… well I still do it. We are ending a final album, but very slowly. After that, no more music industry for me. At least, playing a bass." he said to the young man. After a little tour, they sat in a couch that were there. Joe cuddled to John and started to cry again. The old man hugged with his right arm and with his left hand caressed the hair of the young man.

"Finally alone" he said and give another kiss in the head of the another.

"Thank you for comforting. Really. I didn't thought that you were that kind, lovely and… beautiful man. I could be here forever. Hugging you, feeling your heartbeats, smelling your parfum… I found paradise in your arm" confessed Joe, blushing his cheeks a little. He hugged to the elder tighter.

"I'm feeling honoured that I can make feel of that way to someone like you… God, I just knew you last Saturday, but… y'know… you makes me feel things that I didn't thought that I'd feel again" Leaving partially the embrace to smell Joe's parfum, he murmured "your smell it's also nice" and his self control was taken… he started to kiss that soft neck. And the young left go a little moan.

For a while, both forgot their problems. They started to loose in lust waters.

To Joe was the first time with a man. He left his will to the another one.

"Gosh, my dreams are becoming true…" said Joe meanwhile the elder was kissing his neck and caressing slowly with his left hand since the neck until the thighs. Right hand, to press that guy's head over his. "Make me yours, please".

The another, approximating to the boy's ear, whispered "of course, my sweet boy" and pressed the young's bulge. A deep sigh.

The elder then sat in the lap of the young, opening his legs, being face to face. He continued kissing the neck, meanwhile the another pressed the head of the another with his left hand. Right hand was caressing the another's back, reaching until the pants and trying to quit the shirt that was under the pants. When he could do it, he started to caress the warm bare skin under the clothes. He was eager for feel that but with his whole body.

The man also sighed deeply.

Joe closed his eyes and started to supplicate

"Please kiss m-" and was interrupted for his lover, who was now grabbing his face with both hands and kissing deeply. Both tongues where in contact, the young sucked a bit the tongue of the elder.

The clothes started to be an annoyance.

Both quitted the sweater of the another. The old man started to unbutton the shirt of the guy. When he unbuttoned 3 buttons, his left hand started to caress the chest of the redhead. The young could feel the calluses because of being a musician.

The man whispered "it's so soft… like I imagined" and tried to kiss to the another again. But this one said "lemme feel your chest too" watching right to the eyes. "Okay" and made a smirk. Half of the buttons were unbuttoned and when his eyes watched the result, he couldn't resist to bite his lower lip. His breath accelerated a bit more. He sighed. With his right hand could feel that hairy chest, that one that just could imagine touch in his wet dreams. And the left hand was placed in the back side of the elder man's head, passing his hand through the gray hair and kissing deeply, with passion. The another had his left hand over right cheek of the guy and the right hand was ending to unbuttoning that shirt.

Accelerated breathes. When they less can notice, both were shirtless. Both could feel the bare skin of the another, feeling the warm, feeling the breath of the another being faster. Now the redhead can caress without problems the back of his lover, that thing that just lived in his fantasies.

"Sir…"

The another listened with attention. He loved being named of that way in that moment.

"We shouldn't quit our pants… we yet have our shoes".

"Let me do it for you" and he was then sat in the floor, quitting the shoes.

Surprising to Joe, the man started to unzip the pants. Being in his knees, grabbed the genitals through the underwear.

"This is so tight… and hard." John watched to his lover.

"DO IT. DO IT! SUCK IT PLEASE"

"Shhhh Joey, don't shout. We aren't alone." And he quitted his hand of the genitals and he started to quit the shoes and his pants. And didn't leave to the guy cooperate.

"This is your punishment".

The young stood up of the couch and murmured to the right ear of John "gotcha". And he pushed to the another to the next free wall.

"I can play that game too, sir" whispered.

And he started to kiss him and grab the bulge with his right hand. The boxers were white, that didn't left nothing to the imagination.

Watching to john's eyes, Joe said "now I can confirm the myth". Both smiled.

Moments later, he asked "Quit my pants Sir and do what you wanted to do to me before in the couch. I can't handle it anymore"

He was pushed to the wall and now the another was in his knees, quitting not only the pants, but also the boxers.

The young watched the scene, trying to not cum before his dick were sucked.

Being naked now, he saw how his dick was sucked slowly and his balls being squeezed for one of that hands.

"Do it quickly please or fuck me… you're as hard as me. This isn't funny"

The another didn't replied. His mouth was occupied.

Five minutes later he left to suck that dick and, stood up and said "wait there" and he came back with a little bottle of lube.

"How you hav-"

"Was a bottle that I never could use with my wife. So, ended here."

"Turn around please, give me that little young ass"

"But your b-"

"I'll quit myself… now. Okei. Both naked. Now, relax."

He inserted the index finger from his right hand. The young moaned hard. "Don't misfire! Don't misfire!" Joe thought trying to control himself.

"Shhhhhhh we're doing this in secret"

"Okay sir"

"Do you want another finger?"

"Please".

And he inserted the middle finger too. That hole was so tight.

"Well Joey, I quitted your anal virginity" he whispered in the left ear of the redhead and started to move faster his fingers

"Liar?" Joe asked.

"Yeah"

"That's my fave bassline of yours… your face, your body language, your fingers always made me cum…"

"I could make you cum with my fingers… but I want to fuck you now…" John quitted the fingers of the hole and asked to his lover "now go to the couch and put like a dog"

John covered his dick with lube and was to Joe.

He grabbed that hips with his hands and start to fuck to the boy. Both moaned, but not too high. The man started to move faster and faster, grabbing stronger Joe's hips … He didn't wanted to say it to Joe, but he was more eager for cum than Joe.

"I already cum"

"Me too"

And both cummed.

Trying to recover their breath, they cuddled.

"Was great John, better than in my dreams. But next time, in a bed please"

"Ronnie it's always around here...well… Sunday morning, not. She was to the Church with the kids. Next Sunday will be in my bed and you can moan as high as you want."

"Ooooh great. But now we should put our clothes and do whatever we supposed to do here".

"Yeah, but not now. I want to rest a littl-"

Ronnie knocked the door.

"John, Joe, are you okay?" she screamed.

"Yeah sweetie, we were already done for today".

"Okay boys!" And she was going to the kitchen.

Watching to Joe, John said "that's why I said that you couldn't moan high…" and added "tomorrow, same hour. But the next time, I'll start to teach you bass. She had a really good idea…"

"So good that also can let us to have our own time alone" finished Joe, winking an eye.

An affair started that afternoon. Something that both wanted. Something that both needed.

**************

If you liked it, please reblog! That will help me to reach to more ppl :3

Lily.

#painandpleasure86 fics #john deacon #joe mazzello #deazzelloweek2020 #deazzello week 2020 #deazzello fic #deazzello #queen fics #queen fic #borhap boys #veronica tetzlaff #laura deacon

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songstresstinyteacup · 5 years ago

Note

Eurydice asks why Seph and Hades are still married if they hate eachother so much. Hades and Seph explain why it is they love each other even after all this time. Bonus: Hades and Seph tell the story of how they fell in love :)

Eurydice glanced up at the sight of the manor in front of her, one of the rare times she ever looked up these days.

The songbird had been summoned by request of the lady, and no one ever refused Lady Persephone, not even King Hades.

Her thick work boots crunched the gravel under her feet, sickening crunches that felt worse with every step she took. The noise reminded her of the mines, reminded her that she was doomed to the mines for all eternity.

Eurydice’s eyes quickly welled up with tears, stinging as she spared a thought to her lover up above.

Orpheus...

What was he doing now? Persephone told her after she came home this fall that Orpheus didn’t sing anymore, but promised Eurydice he was being looked after.

Eurydice remembered the fierceness in her eyes when she’d promised that, and had since wondered if that promise meant that she too was being looked after.

It would make sense, Eurydice decided, since King Hades had often invited her to dinner over the months when Persephone was gone.

They’d sit quietly, Hades enjoying the presence of another person in his home, and Eurydice enjoying the lack of loud chatter that usually accompanied the mess hall, the two picking at their meals but not eating much of anything.

The crunching of the gravel path turned into a loud clomping noise on a large wooden porch, stopping only for Eurydice to turn the doorknob to the great manor and enter.

She didn’t need to knock anymore, Hades had told her so, given the frequency of her visits, but it still felt like an intrusion.

Her boots echoed mercilessly on the clean wooden floors, wax sparkling under the Edison lights, which told Eurydice it must have been recently done for Persephone’s return to the underworld.

Eurydice didn’t need to look up to know the way into the dining room, the place she’d been told to meet her hosts, just as Eurydice didn’t need to look up to see the interior of the manor was a far cry from the dark exterior.

The walls were painted a pretty off-white, pictures adorning them in strategic clusters. The wood of the floors a pretty mahogany that must have cost a fortune to get shipped to the underworld, though Hades had the money.

A gramophone stood at attention near the sofa, green throw pillows sitting atop decadent brown leather and waiting for someone to sit on them, though Eurydice would never dare, if only to keep the leather clean, as Eurydice was seldom clean anymore.

The mines were never the cleanest place to work.

Soft humming from the kitchen caught her attention, a melody she knew with ever fiber in her being, one that sparked heartache and licked at her veins like a fire she couldn’t escape from.

Orpheus’ song.

A breath caught in her chest and burned, while her eyes burned with tears she wouldn’t allow herself to shed, then she heard the clicking of Persephone’s heels in front of her.

“Eurydice! It’s so good to see you!” Persephone’s voice was warm, and for the first time since she’d entered Eurydice raised her head to look on at the goddess before her.

“Lady Persephone.” The words and half smile left her tongue and played on her lips before she could stop herself, not that Persephone seemed to mind.

The goddess instead swept Eurydice into what once had been a bone-crushing hug and then brought her hands up to caress her face.

“Have you eaten?” Persephone inquired, moving her hands from Eurydice’s dirt smudged cheeks down to her shoulders.

Eurydice tried to pretend she didn’t notice the flicker of sadness in Persephone’s eyes when the goddess felt how bony her shoulders had become, they were muscular too, but thin and bony.

Eurydice shook her head, she didn’t need to eat anymore, but unless Hades or Persephone goaded her into it, she only ate enough to keep up the illusion she was taking care of herself.

“Okay. Why don’t you go into the guest bedroom and scrub up? I’ve laid something out for you on the bed. Leave the work clothes in the bathroom, I’ll see to them later.” Persephone’s words, though phrased like a question, were a demand, so Eurydice simply looked back at the floor and went into the bathroom.

After Eurydice spent an unknown amount of time scrubbing the sediment and grime from her skin and had dried herself with one of the fluffy towels Persephone had also placed for her to use, she padded into the bedroom to see the clothes she had arrived to Hadestown wearing.

Her knees buckled, and her eyes stung with tears as she grabbed the fabric of the dress and pulled it on, then the tights with too many rips up the legs, then her old boots and oversized vest.

Eurydice only paused when she reached for what should have been her scarf, then something caught her attention.

Persephone hadn’t laid out her scarf at all, she’d replaced it with one of Orpheus’ red bandanas he usually wore around his neck.

Shaking hands brought the ratty old bandana up to press into her nose, and Eurydice inhaled deeply to fill her lungs with the faint scent of her lover’s cologne, a few tears leaking from her eyes and rolling down her face.

“Orpheus...” Eurydice almost croaked, voice unused so much of the time that it wasn’t up to her standard lilting soprano.

The songbird had died, the little bird had sang it’s last note the moment Orpheus had looked back. A lark took it’s place, and larks never sing when they’re captive.

Then, Eurydice was tying the bandana around her neck, adjusting the knot so that the ties pointed in the direction that her heart would have been in if she were still alive, then she stepped out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

There was a low murmur of conversation, Hades and Persephone’s voices going back and forth, broken only by the occasional bark from Cerberus.

“Don’t you dare tease that baby, Hades! Cerberus, baby, is daddy being mean to you?”

“Unbelievable. He’s my dog, but the moment you call he runs straight to you.”

Eurydice cracked a smile, knowing first hand how similar Hades and Cerberus really were.

They both pouted for weeks after Persephone went back up top, the only difference is that Cerberus laid out on the floor, while Hades laid out on the couch.

“What can I say, I have both of the underworld’s most frightening creatures wrapped around my little finger.” Eurydice could almost hear the triumphant grin in Persephone’s voice, almost see the little smirk on her face as she teased her husband.

“That you do, my love. That you do.” Hades added, and when Eurydice crossed the doorway into the room she saw Hades pull Persephone close and plant a soft and gentle kiss on her lips.

“I’m sure Eurydice didn’t want to see that, Hades!” Persephone prodded her husband in the arm to get him to release her, now free to hang up the tea towel on the hook by the cabinets.

Hades chuckled, which made Eurydice smile, though it was a small smile. The man was utterly devoted to his wife and came alive when she was near.

“C’mon in, Eurydice. Persephone’s made enough food to feed a small army, so we’ll both have to eat like we do it regularly.” Hades held out his arm, motioning to the table awaiting the three.

There were three places made up, one at the head of the table, and the two next to it, so Eurydice sat down quietly at one of the side places while Persephone seated herself at the head seat, Hades filing in opposite Eurydice.

When Hades was distracted by unfolding his napkin, Eurydice flashed her eyes to Persephone, touched the bandana, and mouthed her thanks. Persephone only smiled and winked, then went started passing around the dishes.

After they’d eaten, Hades quickly excused himself to his study to see to some ledgers he couldn’t ignore, leaving Persephone and Eurydice to chatter quietly.

Finally, a burning question that had come to Eurydice’s mind when Hades had kissed Persephone’s hand before he rose from his chair, then her cheek before he excused himself, could no longer be ignored.

Not but fifteen minutes had passed since the king of the mines had retired to his study, Persephone still sitting with Eurydice and stirring her glass of pomegranate juice mindlessly with her straw while they chattered.

Eurydice knew the goddess well enough to know that Persephone might be wishing there was something stronger in her glass, especially if today were a bad day.

Eurydice had seen Persephone through several good and bad days, days where the goddess had been so shaky from lack of drink that it sapped all her strength away, when her stomach turned anything she ate to bile that was promptly rejected, when the sweats and night terrors plagued her mind with all manner of horrors.

Persephone had been there for her after the turn, the least Eurydice could do was support the goddess as she tried to cleanse herself of several centuries worth of heavy drinking.

“Somethin’ wrong, little bird?” Persephone’s voice snapped Eurydice out of her endless trail of thoughts and back into the moment.

“No, nothing wrong, exactly. I’m just curious.” Eurydice was quick to assure her friend, sipping at her glass of water.

Persephone raised an eyebrow, very much mirroring her husband’s frequent quizzical looks.

“Curious about what?”, The goddess inquired, and before Eurydice could stop herself, she blurted out, “Why are you still married to Hades if you hate each other as much as you do?”.

Persephone froze, then after a few seconds she allowed a lazy smile to play on her lips.

“Oh, Eurydice. We don’t hate each other, not in the least. We’re madly in love, but we were never quite able to communicate with each other. Sure, we clash over a list of topics longer than the River Styx, get each other so riled up that we can barely be in the same house, but that’s just who we are. Our love languages are different, but we’ve been married so long that giving up was never an option.” Persephone explained, laughing to herself.

Eurydice’s brow knit together, her fingers fumbled over the fabric of her tights.

“Doesn’t seem like you love each other at all. Never seemed like it until that moment when the world came back into tune.” Again, the words came without warning or barrier, and for a moment she wondered if Persephone would tell Hades of her insolence.

Instead the goddess smiled again, taking a tiny sip of her juice before pushing her glass away.

“Don’t let my man fool you, he’s nothing more than a big softie at heart. He’s the gentlest of his brothers, though he tries to look like the toughest. Gods knows, when I’m involved in any kinda trouble it tears him up somethin’ fierce.”

Something in Eurydice’s brain just wouldn’t light, but she didn’t need to ask Persephone for clarification.

“Trouble as in I’ve been hurt or put myself in dangerous situations, like mine collapses, riots, or even the bar fights up top. Damn near makes himself sick broodin’ until I come back down and he can see for himself I’m alright.”

It was as if the goddess could read her mind, but her answers continued to puzzle and confuse Eurydice.

“Bullshit.” Eurydice snickered out, hands coming to rest at the edge of the table as Persephone laughed.

“It’s true, Eurydice, and I can prove it to you.” Persephone pushed her chair away from the table, then walked all the way up the stairs and down the hallway.

The thud of her heels on the upstairs floor echoed through the downstairs, and even so Eurydice knew Persephone would be making her way to Hades’ office.

The office door opened and shut, then several minutes passed before the door opened and shut a second time, Persephone’s heels echoing on the floor until she had reached the edge of the stairs.

One step was taken, then a loud racket brought Eurydice up to her feet and at the base of the stairs where Persephone was sitting up slowly, one hand cradling an ankle and a string of soft swears exiting her lips.

Eurydice was not the only one who’d heard the fall, Cerberus had taken a place near Persephone’s form and was standing guard. He did not growl at Eurydice as she knelt at the goddess’s side, but he watched.

Then Hades’ office door slammed against the frame with a bang, heavy footsteps pounding until his form appeared at the top of the stairs and barreled down them to Persephone’s side.

The king knelt, examining Persephone’s body and taking one of her hands.

“What happened? Are you alright?” Hades inquired lowly, voice and eyes thick with concern as Persephone grimaced.

“I got dizzy on my way down and missed one of the steps, I should be okay, I’m just rattled.” Persephone hissed out, locking eyes with her husband and allowing him to press a quick and gentle kiss to her forehead.

“Can you stand?” Hades inquired, the concern in his voice touching Eurydice who looked on silently.

“I think so.” Persephone confirmed, then allowed Hades to hold her arm as she pried herself back onto her feet.

Then her legs buckled when she started to put some weight on the ankle she had been cradling, a protest from her body that was not to be ignored. Hades wasted no time in scooping her up in his arms as she whined in pain, then he looked at Eurydice.

“Can you pull out one of the chairs?” Hades inquired, cocking his head in the direction of the kitchen and moving as soon as Eurydice had done what he’d asked.

The songbird-turned-lark watched as Hades carefully settled Persephone in the chair and pulled another closer to prop her injured ankle on it, then Hades removed her shoe and began carefully turning the ankle and rotating it to assess the injury.

Persephone didn’t make much noise, but the grimace on her face didn’t leave until Hades placed her foot back down to rest on the chair, then he furrowed his brow and slid into the chair opposite her, lifting her foot to rest on his lap.

“You need to be more careful coming down the stairs, lover. This could have been much worse.” Hades murmured, tracing carefully around her ankle with a feather-light finger.

“I know, love. I know. I was just coming to tell Eurydice our love story, I guess I got too excited.” Persephone cast her eyes down, tilting her chin down as she did so and heaving a heavy sigh.

Hades chuckled, holding out one of his hands toward Persephone and smiling when she took it in her own.

“Been a while since you wanted to tell that story.” Hades grinned, voice lighter at the mere mention of their love.

Persephone nodded, smiling herself as she squeezed Hades’ hand gently.

“Why don’t you tell it with me, darling?” She inquired, batting her eyelashes at Hades before an involuntary shiver made her body shudder and shake.

Hades carefully stood up, placing her injured ankle gently on the surface of the chair.

“In a moment, love. I’ll be right back.”

And on that note, Hades exited the kitchen and started up the stairs.

As soon as Persephone was sure Hades couldn’t see or hear her, she giggled at Eurydice as she lifted the ankle from the chair and wiggled it around without so much as a wince.

Eurydice was gobsmacked, mouth agape as she realized just how sneaky Persephone had been in luring Hades out of his office.

The goddess in question winked, then quickly settled her ankle back on the chair and resumed a look of mild misery just before Hades crossed back to her side with a knit shawl in his hands.

Eurydice watched as Hades carefully draped the shawl over Persephone’s shoulders, taking gentle hands and freeing the curls he’d trapped beneath it and helping them to once more flow over Persephone’s back and shoulders, while Persephone looked on with a tender smile.

“Hades, my light. Sit down and help me tell Eurydice how we became two halves of a whole love.” Persephone patted the chair next to her gently, Hades capturing her hand with his own as he sat and she rested her head on his shoulder.

It was odd for Eurydice to see the king be so tender toward his queen, even if it was behind the safety of their own home’s walls.

“I’m afraid the stories have painted me a villain, and Seph a victim. Most mortals believe what her mother spews, that I saw her in a field and stole her away without any consent from her. She said that I kidnapped her and assaulted her, tricked her into eating seeds that would trap her with me for half of the year. If only they knew the real story.” Hades sighed, looking at Eurydice now that Persephone was settled next to him.

Persephone nodded against his shoulder.

“The thing is that we met in secret many times before we eloped, initially we met at one of my brother’s absurd parties. It was a brief introduction to her by my brother, Demeter wouldn’t have let me within a half a mile of Persephone otherwise.” Hades began, pressing a kiss to the top of her hand and watching her smile as he spoke.

“Mama didn’t let any man within a half a mile of me unless Zeus brought them over. I snuck out to the gardens later that night and I found Hades there, hiding from the noise and ridiculous customs of an Olympian party. We bonded over feeling trapped in situations we couldn’t avoid. I remember thinkin’ how handsome he looked, how strong and brave.” Persephone added.

Hades humphed quietly.

“All I could focus on was how beautiful she was, draped in moonlight and a dress of a simple linen, so unlike any of the other dresses on Olympus that night. Plain and demure, not flashy and ostentatious. Such a lovely flower.” He continued, winking at Persephone who scrunched her face up in embarrassment.

“Mama thought that if I dressed simply it would keep the, what phrase did she use? The insatiable gods who’d take great pleasure in deflowering me, if my memory serves.” Persephone interjected again, rolling her eyes as she flopped her head back onto Hades’ shoulder.

“Shame it worked against her plan. By the time I had to leave the gardens to return to my throne, Persephone had goaded me into weekly visits. How many visits was it till you greeted me in that field in a glittering black dress, carnations in hand?” Hades snickered, and Eurydice watched light bounce into Persephone’s eyes and smile as she grinned and gazed at her husband.

“Four, darling. But I had the best seamstress in the village start that dress the morning after the party. I knew you were the man I was fated to marry.” Persephone beamed, capturing his lips in a soft and quick kiss.

Eurydice averted her eyes, but asked another question.

“You don’t regret any of it, do you?”

Persephone and Hades immediately shook their heads.

“No, songbird. I regret our inability to communicate our insecurities and needs, but I’ll never regret marrying the love of my life.” Persephone added, lacing her fingers through Hades’ and watching as Eurydice smiled.

There was a moment of comfortable silence, then Persephone swatted Hades.

“In any case, that’s not why we called you here today. Persephone and I would like you to move into the guesthouse in the manor’s grounds. It’s much nicer than the dormitory you’ve been living in, and we’d feel much better being able to look after you. Isn’t that right, love?” Hades quickly picked up his wife’s cue.

Persephone nodded, smiling as Hades materialized a new contract from thin air and passed it over to Eurydice.

“We’d also like you to take over some of the responsibilities of the bar. You’d work alongside me, away from the mines. You have time to consider the offer, of course. We don’t expect you to accept right now.” Persephone piggybacked onto Hades’ statement, but before either god could utter a syllable more, Eurydice slammed into both of them and hugged them as tightly as she could.

“Thank you. It’s a nice offer, but... if I accept, what happens to Orpheus and I, when it’s his time to die?” Eurydice’s voice was unsteady when she pulled away, and hot tears burned her eyes as she tried to blink them away.

Persephone’s warm smile faded to a softer one, and Hades cleared his throat as he materialized another contract from the air.

“Your poet signed a contract of his own. When it’s his time to die, he’ll use a ticket that I’ve given him to wear around his neck, and not a moment before it’s his natural time to die. Then, Orpheus will come to Hadestown as a musician for the bar, and he’ll live with you in the guesthouse. He signed the deal himself.” Hades’ voice softened, and was as warm as Eurydice had ever heard it to be.

Thick, hot tears rolled down her cheeks now, Eurydice openly sobbing as she saw Orpheus’ signature on the dotted line, sobbing even as she slammed back into Persephone and wept freely into the goddess’s curls.

“Thank you.” Eurydice sobbed, whimpering as Persephone rubbed her back and hummed a familiar melody that warmed Eurydice’s heart in a way that only a mother-figure could.

“No, sweetest. Thank you.” Persephone murmured, wiping each of Eurydice’s unruly tears as she glanced over at Hades, who was gently rubbing Persephone’s shin all the while.

All would be well, Eurydice was now certain. Persephone and Hades had given her a reason to look up again, something to look forward to.

They had given her Orpheus again.

#sparrow asks #I adore this prompt #I got SO carried away

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whitequeenasitbgan · 5 years ago

Text

-The Reason (one shot)

1945 - Germany

The war is over. Everyone can go home now. Everyone but the deaths. Steve Rogers is dead: he can’t go home.

Neither can Peggy. But she must.

Col. Phillips found Carter sitting under the porch of her barrack. Chester Phillips wasn’t that kind of man who’d run to comfort a lady in disguise. But Carter wasn’t a lady: she was a fighter. He was a commander, her superior officer. She had never shown her weaknesses to him, not even a single time, for years. This time though she wasn’t crying he could see her mourning: she was English, that’s probably why she wasn’t shedding a tear. But still, there she was, fiercely grieving. How different she looked like when the war began. She knew her value, everyone could tell that, and she was eager to prove it. Back in those days she was a bright star, so bright she made the Sun look dark. Part of that brightness was gone, now: the war had that effect on everybody. Now she was a creature of grief, dust and bitter longings. That’s why she was out there on her own under that porch, while everyone was celebrating the “Victory in Europe”, the End of the War. She couldn’t celebrate for something she helped winning, as she was in the army, something she won, thinking about what she lost. Neither could Phillips: how could he be happy, thinking about all the youn men he sent to die and all the letters he sent to their families, if they had one. Many didn’t: he couldn’t celebrate, because it felt like he was betraying them. He wanted to remember them. And it was his duty to encourage who survived to go on. That’s why he approached her. Being empathetic to a member of his staff was so unusual for him he felt like a fish out of water. He sat on her left, on the other side of the wooden board she was using as a spartan bench, placing a bottle of Vodka and two glasses between them. He began to serve drinks and thought about something to say to break the ice:

-I got this on that mission in Ekaterinburg... I kept it for a special occasion

He offered her a glass

-Thank you, Sir, but I’m afraid I’m not in the mood for celebrating.

-I didn’t say “for a celebration”, I said “for a special occasion” and this is a special occasion. By the way, I’m still your commander, even if the war is over. Until you’re dismissed, my offers are orders you cannot refuse to obey.

Peggy took the glass, and held it in her hands. They were both silent, their elbows on their knees, looking at the landscape in front of them: a green land as far as the eye could see, under a stormy sky. It was raining cats and dogs.

-Ekaterinburg...- said Peggy, trying to break the ice for its part.

-Our greatest success, or... should I say, Rogers’ greatest success?

Peggy looked at him as if he was the Red Skull:

-Never thought I would have never ever heard you praising him, Sir.

-I’m afraid it was my duty as his superior officer to push him to do his best. Best way to push a soldier? Make sure he always feels like he’s got to prove his value to you.

-He did.

-Yeah, he did it. You know what? Before he, ehm... well, before he...

-Died, Sir? I guess that’s the most appropriate word.

-Technically, it’s “missing in action”... and I didn’t mean to lack of tact

-That was kind of you, but I’m afraid we’ve got to be realistic and accept that, even if we find his plane, or whatever is left of it, there’s not a single chance to find the Captain alive, Sir.

-Well, as you prefer... As I was saying, before he died, We used to have daily briefings and meetings, planning or reporting missions: based on the way he behaved in my presence and talked to me, I believed one day, at the end of this war, once back home, he’d have gone to a local shelter, he’d have brought home the grumpiest animal he could put his eyes on, and he’d have named him “Chester” or “Phillips”, after me.

-May I ask why, Sir?

-Cause I was damn grumpy to him. It was my damn job to be grumpy to him. But My damn job had the damn collateral effect to make me grow damn fond of fierce people. You’re right, Carter. Had he survived I’d have never ever praised him in public. But he didn’t. I’m old, I’m full of regrets, but the greatest of them all is that I’ve never told Steve Rogers how much I admired him. I stopped counting how many times I looked at him and saw the man I’ve always wanted to be.

-He knew you trusted him, Sir

-No. He imagined I could have some respect deep, deep inside me... the same respect everyone else had for what he did. For what he did, Carter. Not for him. I mean, everyone admired him: they praised him for his deeds, they praised the hero, they cheered for him while Captain America passed by. Everyone admired him for WHAT he was, Captain America... you and I admired him for WHO he was, Steve Rogers.

-...”I’m just a kid from Brooklyn”

-What?- asked Phillips, looking at Carter, confused.

-Nothing, just... something he used to say.

-well... how about a toast? To just a kid from Brooklyn?

Peggy hesitated to drink, while Phillips swallowed his vodka in one single shot. She liked to have fun, but she didn’t like to lose control. She got drunk before, but only when she was sure her brother was sober enough to look after her and make sure she didn’t embarrass herself, and prevent other kind of “accidents”. It was dangerous for a woman to get drunk. Not to mention it wasn’t considered as something appropriate for a young lady. “Screw it” Peggy told herself “my brother is dead, too”

She swallowed her drink just like a man, one clear shot, leaving Phillips petrified in surprise.

-What, Sir? You didn’t expect me to drink like this?

-Precisely

-Well, Sir. Neither did I.

-How about another one?

They drank more than once more. They spent time reminiscing their past missions and Peggy couldn’t help but notice Steve was a constant presence in them. Wether it was something fun or sad, Steve was A part of it.

The world had changed. She couldn’t go back. The best that she could do was to start over. That’s why Peggy felt like she didn’t want all this to end: of course she wanted this bloody war to finish, but she didn’t want to go home. She couldn’t just get back to the life she had before: tea at five, Church on Sunday mornings, cooking and cleaning, and then, one day, get married and have children... she wasn’t even sure she wanted to have children anymore. With another man. She couldn’t help but thinking about the life she could have had with Steve: she felt ridiculous, cause they barely had one kiss.

Before his plane went down, he asked her to delay their dance. Always so clumsy:

“A week next Saturday at the Stork club. Eight o’clock on the dot. Don’t you dare be late”, she answered. These were the last words he heard from her, before going down. She remembered everything. She didn’t like people to see her crying, she fought against her teardrops, kept her eyes wide opened, but teardrops started to fill them, to the point she couldn’t see anymore. She blinked. The fraction of a second. The teardrops went down. Like rain.

“You know I still don’t know how to dance, Peggy”.

“I’ll show you how, just be there”

“We’ll ask the band to play something slow. I’d hate to step on your...”.

-Feet...- Peggy whispered.

Phillips turned his head to look at her:

-beg your pardon?

-“I didn’t want to step on your feet”: the last thing he said to me. Well, he didn’t had the time to finish the sentence. So I do it, every time I remember it.

-He cared for you deeply.

-He was so clumsy, he didn’t really know how to talk to a woman. He was just learning... Sometimes I’m so angry with him for what he has done. I find myself screaming “why didn’t you wait? You could have waited, just a little bit more. I had so many things to tell you”. It may sound crazy, irrationally romantic and extremely stupid but one kiss was enough for me to know... to be sure... You regret you didn’t tell him how much you respected him, right?

-Right

-Well I regret I didn’t tell him that I... I-I... loved him

-It won’t make you fell better, Carter, but I want you to know I consider myself way more stupid than a woman thinking a single kiss is enough to tell a man that she loves him

Peggy surrendered to her teardrops, breathed profoundly, she wanted to cry, to scream, to let go. But she couldn’t. Steve didn’t sacrificed himself so that she could steal her teardrops to a crocodile. He wanted her to be happy. To be strong like a tree.

-And then I feel guilty I allowed myself to be angry with him, as if he didn’t want to have more time, as if he wanted to die... he just didn’t want anyone to get hurt, and What right have I got to hate him for this? What kind of ungrateful mewling quim would be mad at him for that...even in his last words he said he didn’t want to hurt me. I feel so lucky I had him in my life.

Peggy took a moment to regain control:- Being a woman, especially a woman in the army, at war, I’ve seen what a man can do to another man. It frightens me sometimes how evil a man can be. I talked to a prisoner of war, once: I was doing a report, I asked him if he had been tortured and he showed me his back. It was a web of whip marks. I asked him for what reason did they tortured him and he laughed at me. “For what reason? Human kindness, the smallest thing on the face of the Earth”. This world is full of evil men. Men like Steve are more rare than radium. He was a good man: there was a rare grace in him. An that’s why I loved him. Not because he was tall, and blonde, and handsome, and muscular, and heroic... My love for him was born before he was tall, blonde and handsome... I loved him cause I was sure He’d have never given me a single reason to be scared of him. It’s not something every woman can tell of her companion.

-He just wanted to do what was right, “not a perfect soldier, but a good man”... Erskine used to say this. He chose him for his experiment cause he heard him saying he had “no right to do anything less than any other man”

-no Right... that’s why I don’t think I’ll go home.

-Sure? It could be dangerous. Not to mention that one day you could regret you didn’t have a family, stability.

-The woman that wanted all that went down in the ice with Steve Rogers, Sir. Or maybe not, I don’t know. I think if one day I’ll be in want of a family I’ll find a way. I have no right to do anything less than him.

They remained Silent for a while.

-Well, I won’t try to stop you... I feel like I should for your own sake, but... you can’t stop the rain. Rain goes down and digs her way through a mountain to become a river and reach the Sea. I’m a reasonable man, I’m made of hard Stone a bitter earth. You and Rogers... you were made of water. I’ll write you a letter of recommendation, if you’ll need one.

-I hope I won’t

-But I’m afraid you will: this job... you’ll be lucky if they give you a desk and ask you to make them coffee.

-Thank you, anyway. And thank you for the drinks.

Peggy stood up and stared at the rain.

-Going somewhere?

-For a walk

-Under the rain, without an umbrella

-I’m made of water, you said: I believe you

-You mother doesn’t, I meant... figuratively! You’re gonna catch a cold, and the sun is about to go down

-But I’ll be happier

-May I ask you where are you going? Just in case You won’t come back and I’ll need to go looking for you tonight..

-somewhere... hopefully somewhere I belong

#peggy carter #steve rogers #wwII #steggy #the first avenger #captain america #agent carter

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all-sortsa-stuff · 7 years ago

Text

Natural, part 4

Pairing: Klaus Michaelson x Reader

Word Count: 2731

Warning: Language

Part 3

Your drive started out a little sad. Between leaving Mystic Falls which had really turned into a lot of fun, and the fact you were going to try to save your family’s estate, your emotions had been on a bit of a roller coaster. Sending up a prayer to the Gods for guidance and strength you started the rather long journey. After the first seven hours you stopped for a late lunch/early dinner and gas. You called Scarlet and talked to her while you ate alone in the little diner. She tried her best to cheer you up, which did help slightly. It made your meal better at least.

After an hour, you were back on the road for another six. It was hard to keep your eyes open by the time you found a motel to crash for the night. Originally you had wanted to drive right though until you hit New Orleans. Of course stopping when needed for gas and a bathroom, but that was not happening. Pouring yourself into bed, you were out for hours. Sunlight through the dingy curtain and your phone going off woke you sometime the next day.

It was too bright to open your eyes fully so you did not look at the caller. “Hello?”

“Did I wake you?” Stefan’s voice asked from the other end.

“Mmmhmm.”

“I’m sorry. I figured you would be awake by now. It’s noon.”

“Noon? Holy shit. I slept like fourteen hours.” Sitting up you tried to remember the last time you had slept that long.

“You alright?” He sounded concerned as you ran your fingers through your hair, staring out the window.

“Umm yeah, just tired I guess.”

“I take it you didn’t make it to New Orleans yet since you said it’s been fourteen hours.” With a sigh, you leaned back against the headboard.

“Nope. I am somewhere in Alabama.” You heard a soft laugh from the other end.

“Alabama… that place a hundred years ago…”

“It’s too early for a history lesson, Stefan.” That gifted you with another laugh, which brought a smile to your lips.

“Fine, fine. Calling me ancient or something. I just wanted to see how you were. I was… well honestly I was worried about you.” That caused a flip of your heart.

“Thank you for the worry but I will be okay. I promise.”

“You can’t promise that, [Y/N]. You are a witch and our world…. It isn’t safe. I think you know that more than most.” He was starting to sound like Scarlet.

“I know, I know. I will do what I can to stay safe. Okay?”

“Please do. I will always come to help if you need me.” The rest of the conversation moved on to your plans for travel that day. Stefan made you promise to call him that night when you arrived. He threatened to follow you down there if you did not.

Hours later in the Southern sun and heat, you finally made it to New Orleans. It had been several years since you had been there but it smelled exactly the same as you drove down one of the main streets. However, the feel was different. No longer were you with your parents during happy times and summer vacations. This time alone, and as a more powerful witch you could feel the essence of magic that permeated so much of the city.

You stopped first at one of the small markets to pick up food, and a few cleaning supplies. Unsure of how dusty everything would be and what your mother had actually kept in stock. Your parents had last been down over the summer and were supposed to come back for Mardi gras. But they were killed not long after returning to Salem in September. It made your heart hurt thinking about it.

As you drove towards the road that would take you to the house, you saw a witch’s shop off to the right. Without thinking, you pulled into the sole parking spot just outside. As you slowly walked inside the strong smell of incense swirled together with the fragrances of the different herbs that hung from a racks close to the register. A beautiful woman with dark skin and a high ponytail called out to her from behind the counter. “Welcome. Anything I can help you find?”

You could see the coven tattoo on her forearm as she set the book down she had in her hands. “Sage? I need to bless and purify my home. Make sure there is nothing there to keep me up at night.”

“I have a few bundles over here, sugar.” The woman walked over to the rack that was close to the front window, picking up one of the bundles and extending it out to you. Your hand brushed hers as you took the sage. There had been a flash of power between the touch but she said nothing, only eyeing you warily. “Uhh… is there anything else I can get you? I have some lovely protection crystals.”

“Not today. I need to see what is there before I go stocking up. Thank you though. I am glad to see there is a place if I need anything.” She smiled as you followed to the register.

“Name’s Amberline, sugar. It’s my shop; if you ever need anything just let me know. I’ve got more than what is out here. For those… events that need an extra kick.” With a wink, she finished the transaction handing you the now bagged bundle of sage. As you exited the shop, the bag and your purse went flying as you went to the ground, landing square on your ass.

A flurry of apologies came with a pair of strong hands lifting you at an incredible pace back to your feet. Hands that were a bit too powerful to be human. A teenage girl and a guy not too much younger than you… or did not look too much younger than you both were scrambling to pick up your strewn items. “I am so sorry. I was reading my book and…”

“It’s fine, don’t worry. I’m good.” You wiped off your now sore ass as you looked between them. He was a vampire; there was no missing the air about him. But here in the daylight he tried to hide it. She, with the book she had now clutched in her arms was a witch. The book looked to be a tome of spells. The vampire handed you your belongings with a shy smile.

“Yeah sorry. We should have been paying attention.” Taking your purse and the bag of sage, you smiled.

“Really, it’s okay. It was an accident.” A flash of an image appeared in your mind of the girl frustrated over something. She slammed her hand down on a table as you realized the spell she had been working over. “Add less of the flower petals next time. Less is more in some cases.”

You walked off towards your Jeep, flashing a wink at her. The girl looked like she was in shock as her mouth hung open. The rest of your trip to the house was uneventful. As you pulled into the driveway and the house came into view, pain gripped your heart. All the memories here with your parents came rushing back. By the time, you parked the Jeep you were a crying mess. The flower garden in the front was overgrown but held the ghosts of the memories of you planting all the season’s flowers each summer with your mother.

The old hammock was torn and tattered but reminded you of the lazy afternoons you would drink sweet tea with your father as you relaxed together in it. Sage was not going to rid the house of everything. Sometimes the memories would cause more harm than anything else would.

You made yourself a sandwich for dinner eating it as you stood looking at the formal living room. The house had been part of a large plantation at one time, but much of the land had been sold over the years. The main house had burned in the 1920’s though it was never found out how or why. The lone survivor was the eldest son who then inherited the land. He took over one of the other larger houses on the plantation that his uncle and aunt had lived in. There he raised his own family passing the property down to his children.

Many years later when your grandfather had died just before you were born, your father inherited what was left of the land and the house. Now here you stood looking at all the covered furniture deciding that it would wait until the morning. You wanted to walk outside and listen to the quiet before you tried to lay down to sleep.

Walking onto the back porch you leaned against one of the large white columns sighing loudly. You father had told you that he had started building a greenhouse in the back yard. It was no doubt to entice you to join them during their trips to New Orleans for the summers. However, it would not have surprised you if they had started to plan to make it more than just the summerhouse. While they had not been of retirement age yet, Salem was bitter cold during the winters. After a while, it ate away at you.

The basic frame of the greenhouse was up. It needed a lot more work but it would be almost as large as the one you had back home. The thought of all of the different plants you could grow down here all year long popped into your mind. Which led to you taking a walk through the framework. Your hand brushing over the wood beams that your father had put up himself. Another image appeared in your mind of him with his radio blaring 80’s music as he sang along horribly. Hammering away as your mom was not far off in a lounger reading a book.

There was so much work for you to do around the place but you had to figure out if you could even save the property from being taken away. Fifteen thousand was a lot, but you would do everything you in your power to make it. Instead of a call, you sent Stefan a quick text that you had arrived safely. It just was not in you to have a full conversation. Too many things were running through your thoughts. You did not sleep as well that night as you had the previous night. Nightmares of the house taken away plagued you.

In the morning, you were up early drinking a second cup of coffee by the time eight rolled around. Dressing as nicely as you could in the clothes you had, you made your way to the bank. A balding man about your height had ushered you to his desk as soon as you walked in. “Paul Thompson, miss. Please tell me how I can help such a lovely lady today.”

The strong New Orleans accent could not be missed as he stood until you had sat in front of him. Explaining the situation and him pulling the information up on the computer, he shook his head. “Now there’s not a whole lot I can do for you in this type of situation. How hard is it gonna be for you to come up with the money?”

“I only have about five thousand in my savings, which is from my business. I don’t know how I am going to come up with another five in thirty days and five more the thirty after that.” He tutted a bit in an attempt at understanding.

“Well are ya willing to sell the property? I mean that would pay it outright and you would be done with it.”

“No sir, I am not letting my family’s property go. I will figure out a way.” You clasped your hands together tightly on his desk.

“Thought so, well Miss Avery I look forward to working with ya on this. Please call me anytime if I can do anything to help. And… well I will talk with my manager and see if there isn’t maybe a little something we can do to ease a bit of this.” Standing you shined the brightest smile you could at him. Maybe it would soften him up a bit. Paul’s cheeks went flush red as he shook your hand.

“Thank you so much.” He babbled something you could not understand as you walked out the door. Once outside you took a long breath to give yourself a moment before you knew you had to prepare for the worst. You were going to have to find a job or two, perhaps three in the city to be able to even come close to what you needed. Even then, it was not likely you would do it. Nevertheless, refused to go down without a fight.

After walking along the streets for a while, watching the people bustle about New Orleans you found a little café that had outdoor seating. You were halfway through coffee and a beignet when something slammed down on the table spilling your coffee over your clothes and sending your sweet treat to the ground. A woman ran past holding her mouth before violently getting sick in the potted plant close by. Looking down at the table a purse that did not belong to you sat in the middle of the disaster.

“My apologies, she is… ill. Let me pay your bill and give you something for dry cleaning your clothes.” One of the most pleasant male voices you had ever heard spoke out as you looked up. The voice belonged to a face that had you forgetting to breathe. Handsome was not good enough of a word to describe him.

“Umm no… it’s alright. These clothes are old, they will wash.” Standing, you used one of the linen napkins to wipe some of the residual liquid from your pants. Your shirt font was covered as were both of your thighs. Good thing the coffee had cooled a bit before it happened. The woman came back looking embarrassed and still covering her mouth. The man handed her a handkerchief that she gladly accepted, wiping her face.

“I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop it. I didn’t mean to ruin your clothes or your lunch.” You smiled, understanding the cause. The energy the woman put off was easily recognizable.

“Ginger root and lemon tea with a teaspoon of honey in the morning would help that.” The woman and man both looked confused.

“For the morning sickness. Ginger root and lemon tea with honey before your feet touch the floor. It’s a great help for it.” Both looked like they wanted to deny it but you shook your head. “If you want to keep it a secret it’s fine. But I swear it works.”

The man extended his hand towards you though the look on his face was one of serious questioning. “I am Elijah, Miss?”

Taking his hand you squeeze a bit as you shook. “[Y/N].”

Elijah nodded before releasing your hand. “Haley and I are deeply sorry for the trouble. If you won’t take money for dry cleaning, at least let me pay the check and for more of the beignets.”

“Yes, please. It would make me feel better for ruining your lunch and your clothes.” Haley smiled as she clasped her hands together. The look on her face broke your resolve.

“Alright, that’s fine. But really, it is no big deal. I just seem to have that kind of luck lately. Thank you for picking up the check. I hope you feel better Haley.” You picked up your purse and walked back towards your Jeep. The feeling of their eyes still on you as you walked away. Stefan’s words of warning came to mind as you climbed up into the vehicle. The last day made you wonder if everyone in New Orleans was part of the supernatural world. The witches and vampire from the previous day, now this vampire and you were fairly certain a wolf, today. All you wanted was to save your home and grow flowers. You really did not think it was too much to ask.

Part 5

Tags: @bolontiku @aquabrie @malindacath @almondbuttercup @hellkat2 @dustycelt @sassymcgonagal1651 @a-series-of-reasonable-events @dearestniklause @hannah795 @somethingweird168 @cozyjaws @graysonmalfoy

#the originals #the originals fanfiction #the originals fic #the originals fandom #the orginals fanfiction #niklaus mikaelson #niklaus imagine #niklaus x reader #niklaus michaelson x reader #reader x niklaus #vampire diaries #vampire diaries fanfiction

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randomfanfictiontime · 7 years ago

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It's All Coming Back to Me

Summary: Upon returning to your former home, Mystic Falls, a series of flashbacks makes you remember why you left in the first place. But, most importantly, why you returned. (I swear that the story itself is better than the summary!)

Pairing: Damon Salvatore x Reader, Stefan Salvatore x Reader (platonic)

Word Count: 4069 (Whoops)

Warnings: Death scene, angst

(A/N): So, I’ve been on hiatus. I’m truly sorry, I just have had a HUGE drought when it comes to story ideas. Some people have requested ships and imagines but I haven’t been able to brainstorm any ideas for them, so I’m very sorry. But, I’m also excited because I’ve recently been rewatching the entire The Vampire Diaries series and I’m proud to announce that I have come up with some ideas for stories in the department. This is my first Damon fic, not to mention my first TVD fic. I really hope you enjoy it as it much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Also, I know I left you on a bit of a cliff-hanger, but not to worry, there’ll be a second part. As you can see, this was getting a bit long.

**1864**

“Stefan, I couldn’t possibly play this game. I don’t know the rules.” You whined, eyeing the ball as you turned it in your hands.

“Well, my dear friend, the rules haven’t been decided yet.”

“Well, I am in a dress. It is hard to run in a long skirt.” Stefan Salvatore scoffed, grabbing the ball from you and running to the other side of his front yard.

“Stop making excuses, (Y/N). I know the real reason you do not want to play.”

“Oh really? And what would that be, Mr. Salvatore.” You countered, putting your hands on your hips.

“You’re waiting for Damon to return.” The mere mention of his name made your stance falter.

“Stefan Salvatore. You may be my host and my best friend but that does not give you the right to-”

“Oh, what have you done to upset (Y/N) this time, brother?” The smooth, familiar voice immediately made you turn around.

“Damon!” You ran up to him and he engulfed you into a strong hug. “Oh how I have missed you.” Your eyes meet his and you could see them shining with happiness.

“I should hope so. You are my dearest friend.”

“Brother. It’s good to see you.” You stepped out of the way as Stefan and Damon reunited for the first time in months.

“As much as I have missed you, brother, I have to say that I have missed Ms. (Y/N) much more.” Damon smiled in your direction as you felt your cheeks heat up. Stefan lifted his eyebrows, a smirk playing on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Present**

Mystic Falls… You hadn’t been to this town in 164 years. Why all of a sudden now? There was nothing for you here. Perhaps it was because you needed a change of scenery. You had been all over the country, becoming easily bored with every town you visited.

Or maybe, it was because you missed the quaint little town. Of course, you had openly avoided it for a century and a half. You ran every excuse through your mind as you stepped out of the cab. Excuses to justify your presence in the town that you turned your back on so many years ago. Every excuse except the true reason. Him.

**1864**

You scowled over a hot cup of tea as you watched Stefan and Damon fawn over Ms. Katherine Pierce.

“I do not get what they see in her. She is just using them. She wants to ‘share’ them? How could you possibly love two people at once, equally?” Emily Bennett sat next to you on the porch, watching as Stefan and Damon chased Katherine around the front lawn. You sighed, turning around to face Emily.

“I’m sorry. I understand that you do not want to hear my whining. She is your best friend, after all.” Before she could say a word, Stefan called up to you,

“(Y/N)! Come on and play with us!”

“How am I to play when there is still no rules.”

“Who needs rules?” Katherine butt in, “I say we do what we want, how we want, when we want.”

“I agree with the lady.” You rolled your eyes. Of course he did. Damon was the most smitten of them all. Of course, Stefan was head over heels for her as well but he wasn’t the one who broke your heart every time he looked at her with heart eyes.

You looked on as Katherine snatched the ball from Damon, giggled, and ran into the garden. Both boys were in tow.

**Present**

God, did you miss him. You missed everything, but he was the one that always came into your mind. He was your everything, and he never even got the chance to see it.

Deciding on where you wanted to go first, you blink back the tears and begin a leisurely pace towards the forest.

As you passed through the town square, you notice that some things had never changed. The old clock tower was still here, a few of the shops were still here. Abandoned, but still standing. Much like yourself, they are empty shells of what used to have been, alive and great. Now? Now, they’re just a memory, fading in the wind. Becoming more and more forgotten as every second passes by. Becoming useless.

**1864**

“I can not believe that she chose him to escort her to the ball.” Damon sighed, defeated. As much as you despised his feelings for Katherine, you couldn’t help but feel angry that she did this to him.

“Why him? What did I do for her to choose him?” He just looked so sad, and as much as you wanted to, you couldn’t ignore that. So, you sat next to him and wrapped your arms around him.

“You did nothing. Do not blame yourself. She made her choice, she doesn’t know what she’s giving up.”

“I am to see her tonight after the ball.” You pulled away from him.

“What?”

“Yes. Ms. Katherine told my brother to escort her and when it is over, I will be waiting in her room. Do not tell Stefan, though.”

“I can not believe this.”

“Pardon?” You stood up and walked to stand in front of your mirror.

“How can you still like her when she plays the both of you like dolls? Can you not see that she is only using you?”

“You do not understand. I don’t just like her, (Y/N). I am in love with her.”

“You what?”

“And I know that she loves me too.” Tears pooled in your eyes as you turned to face him. He immediately jumped up, taking you into his arms.

“What is it, (Y/N)? What upsets you?” You pushed him away, stumbling to the door way.

“Can you really not see it?” Could he not see how in love you were with him?

“See what? Please, talk to me.” You shook your head sadly, giving up.

“Just forget it. I am tired, I want to sleep. Please leave.”

“(Y/N)-” Damon started but you cut in, your voice breaking.

“Damon, please. Leave.” You watch as he moves to stand outside of your bedroom door. Hurriedly shutting it, you kneel down in front of your bed. You couldn’t remember how long you had cried, but you woke up in the same position the next day.

**Present**

Damon had been so infatuated with Katherine. Even now, you couldn’t see what he saw in her. Yes, she was beautiful. The most beautiful woman you had ever seen. More beautiful than you, that’s for sure. But that was just on the outside. On the inside, she was anything but. A manipulative, conniving, evil bitch. As the boys treated her with the utmost respect, took her in, loved her, she treated them as if they were her food. Though, you guess they were.

As you arrived at your destination, you were hit by a wave of sadness. In place of a great mansion, now stood over-grown trees and decaying stone columns. The house wasn’t even standing anymore. The Salvatore house, your beloved home, gone. Just like every thing else. Gone with the wind.

**1864**

You rubbed your tired eyes as you were awoken by yelling and stomping coming from outside in the hall. Stumbling over to your door in the dark, you opened it.

“Giuseppe,” you grabbed onto his sleeve as he was about to pass you. “What is going on? Is everything okay?” He made a last glance in the direction he was headed in before he lightly pushed you back inside your room, away from the group of men running.

“(Y/N), my dear, you must be careful.” He gazed at you with concern. He had believed you to be the daughter he never had. He would’ve never forgiven himself if something had ever happened to you.

“But why? Please, I need to know. Has something happened? Are Stefan and Damon hurt?”

“You’ve heard the stories that I’ve told about the monsters that we believed to roam Mystic Falls, correct?” You shook your head in confusion.

“Yes, of course. But what does that have to-”

“Vampires, (Y/N). They live among us. And we have exposed them.”

**Present**

Night blankets the sky as you make your way back into town. There were a few people out, but other than that you were alone. Stopping in front of the “Mystic Grill”, you pull open the door. Warmth immediately washes over you as you breathe in the familiar smell of cheap beer and cheeseburgers.

“Scotch on the rocks with a twist, please.” You order as you sit at the bar.

“I.D. please.” You leaned forward a bit and looked into the bartender’s eyes.

“You don’t need to see it, as I am old enough. Now, mix the drink and keep them coming. On the house.” He complied, cleaning out a glass and pouring the liquid inside. Sighing deeply, you drummed your fingers on the counter top.

**1864**

“This is all your fault! How could you tell him?” Damon shouted at Stefan in anger, glaring at him.

“I-I thought we could trust him! I’m so sorry, Damon.” Your eyes widened, frantically switching your gaze between Stefan and Damon.

“You knew? Both of you knew that Katherine is a vampire?” Neither said a word as you were filled with the feeling of betrayal.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Do you not trust me? Me, out of all-”

“If you had known, you would have ran to father with the news.” Damon spat, moving his glare to you.

“How could you think something so absurd? You both are my best friends, yet you think that I should tell something you do not want told?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t you? You’ve always disliked Katherine. If we had told you her secret, it would have been the excuse that you needed to get rid of her. You were probably in on it the whole time, you and my brother against me and Katherine!” He stalked closer to you, growing more and more angrier by the second. Tears pooled in your eyes as you backed away, arms slightly raised in front of you. Stefan tried to cut in,

“Damon, stop. It was me alone, do not bring-” You cut him off, anger taking over.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You are jealous of Katherine! Jealous of her poise and grace, jealous of her beauty. You know you could never be as breath-taking as her so you tried to get rid of her. Well, you will not succeed. I will get her back. You are damned to me. Maybe I should tell father that you are a vampire as well, just so you can burn with the rest of them.” You reared back as if he had slapped you on the spot. Maybe that would have hurt less. His words rang inside your head, “You can burn with the rest of them…’

“Damon!” Stefan yelled.

“How could you?!” You cried, tears cascading down your face as you went up to him, slapped him hard and pushed him back harshly. Seeing as he wasn’t expecting this, he stumbled backwards, falling onto the floor. His eyes were wide as he looked at you, a hand on his cheek.

“We’ve been best friends since before I can remember. I’ve done everything for you since then. Everything! And this is how I get repaid? By deceit? Betrayal? I’ve been ignored for weeks, by the both of you. And then I get accused for something I did not do? Of course I’m jealous. I’m jealous that the both of you dumped me for her, I’m jealous that she got all of your attention, I’m jealous that she is more beautiful than I could ever be, I’m jealous that she is better than me in every aspect!” Stefan stepped forward, arms outstretched, ready to comfort you, before you moved out of the way, backing towards the hallway.

“But, I never let it get to me. Do you want to know why? Because, I thought that once the crush faded away, you would see me once again. I thought that you would apologize for being so distant with me and we could go back to the way things were before. Before her. But, I never thought…” a sob escaped your lips, “I never thought that you would choose her over me. I never thought that I would hear those words come out of your mouth. I never thought that you would want me dead, just because of her! If you hated me so much, you could’ve just told me!” Damon picked himself up off of the floor, slowly walking towards you. Instead of anger in his eyes, they were filled with regret.

“(Y/N), I am so-”

“No! No, you know what? I hope you find Katherine. I hope you save her in time and I hope that you both have a happy life with her. Because we all know that she is not going to leave one of you. I hope you realize how much you have hurt me, tonight especially. Those words, Damon, they will haunt me forever. But, don’t worry. I won’t be around to keep reminding you of your hatred towards me. Your wish is my command, Damon. I am leaving. Don’t worry, you won’t have to see me ever again.

"You will forget me and move on, but I will never forget you. Neither of you. You were my best friends, my family. That might not mean anything to you, but it means something to me. I sincerely hope you have a nice life because regardless of everything, I still love you. Both of you.” Without another word, you take off running down the hall. You heard your name being shouted, and you heard Stefan and Damon begin to argue once more.

**Present**

Downing the glass of alcohol, you wait as the bartender fills it up once more. With tired eyes, you look around the restaurant. So many faces. Faces of all ages. Everyone so happy and lively, completely oblivious to the real world.

Eyes scanning the crowd, your gaze landed on a particular girl. Her brown hair, her brown eyes, her round face… they all seemed so familiar. Had you encountered her in another city? Had she been a friend of yours a long time ago and you just forgot? Getting up from your place at the bar, you silently move towards her. She seemed to be talking to someone on the phone. Even her voice sounds hauntingly familiar.

As she makes her way the bathroom, you follow her, in a daze. You rack your brain for any memory you could pinpoint her to. About to give up, you stopped in your place, just outside of the bathroom door.

“I’ll be home soon. Yes, Stefan, I promise.” You hear her say, and that’s when it all clicked. Without wasting a second, you break the leg off of a nearby chair and you sped into the bathroom. You didn’t stop until you had her pinned against the wall. She dropped her phone in surprise as she cried out.

“What the hell?!” Her eyes widened when you flashed your fangs at her.

“You’re damn right ‘what the hell’! How did you escape the fire?” You lifted the make-shift stake to right above her heart.

“What are you talking about?”

“Answer me, bitch!” You brought her forward a bit before slamming her back into the wall, making her let out a little grunt. “How the hell did you escape?” You could hear the voice on the other end of the phone yelling something but you were to enticed in the task at hand.

“I don’t know what you are talking about!” You roll your eyes, bringing the stake closer to her.

“Stop lying! Do you remember me, because I remember you, Katherine.”

“Katherine? You think I’m Katherine?” Her voice raised in surprise, eyes wild. You ignored her.

“You killed them. It wasn’t enough that they loved you unconditionally. No, they had to die… for you!”

**1864**

You had ran so far, so fast. The tears had long since dried away, but you were still left with an emptiness. An emptiness that only your boys could fill. You knew that you and Damon would make up eventually. You always did. Every fight that the two of you ever shared had never gone on to long unresolved. You knew that he more than likely didn’t mean his words, as you didn’t mean yours. You were both just hurt. Damon was losing the love of his life, while yours had blamed you for it. You just needed time to cool off before you went back and try to talk to him. Hopefully, he’d be ready to talk to you by then.

After about thirty minutes of sitting, you scramble off of the ground, dusting the dirt off of your dress. Before you could begin making your way back to the house, you heard commotion coming from behind the trees.

“Hey! Over here, I found another one!” You recognized Stefan’s voice as he led, what sounded like, a mob of men farther away. Peeking through the trees, you saw a carriage. A man was on the ground, another standing above him. You knew it was Damon. As you watched, Stefan came back, helping his brother drag someone out of it. Katherine. You quietly called for them as you stealthily made your way towards them. They paid you no mind as they began frantically untying her.

“It’s okay, Katherine. We’ll get you out of here.” All of a sudden, a gunshot rang through the air and it was like everything turned into slow motion. Damon fell to the ground, face contorting to one of pain. Your eyes widened and you covered your mouth with both hands to keep from screaming out.

“Damon, no!” Stefan cried, scooting over to his brother. Katherine turned her head, almost looking sorrowful. Your cries were muffled by your hand, and you dropped to the ground to keep from being seen. You pressed your hand harder to your mouth to try and keep your sobs quiet.

Your ears were ringing, your vision blurry from tears. You barely registered the gunshot that sounded. Stefan dropped to his knees, hands flying to his stomach as he landed on the ground. A mangled sound escaped you as you stared at him. The mob bustled over them, picking Katherine up and placing her once more inside the carriage.

As soon as you were sure that everyone had gone, you ran over to the two bodies, lifeless on the ground. When you were in the middle of them, you dropped to your knees. Crawling over to Damon, you shook him. They weren’t dead. They couldn’t be dead.

“Wake up! Please, wake up!” You went over to Stefan, doing the same to him.

“You can not be dead, please! Stefan, Damon… WAKE UP!” His lifeless eyes continued their never-ending gaze up at the sky. You screamed. You just screamed, as loud as you could for as long as you could. Hugging your knees to your chest, you cried hysterically. Your whole body was shaking.

“I’m sorry! I’m so so sorry!” You repeated it like a mantra, over and over again. You stayed in the same position for what felt like hours, rocking back and forth. You lost them. They were gone and there was nothing you could do about it. Your last words to them… They were full of hatred and hurt. Now, you couldn’t make it right. It will never be right…

**Present**

“I’m not Katherine!” She yelled, struggling to push you away.

“Still a lying, manipulative bitch, I see. I guess some things never change, do they?”

“My name is Elena. I promise you, I’m not Katherine.” You ignored her, continuing.

“They loved you. They were so in love with you, they were blind. I knew them way better than you ever did. I was their best friend for years before they met you. You drove us apart.”

“Stefan and Damon? Are you talking about Stefan and Damon?”

“Are you really this forgetful or do you take me for a fool?”

“They’re alive. I can take you to them.” Your heart skipped a beat, and your stance faltered a bit. No, no it couldn’t be true. It wasn’t true. Shaking your head, you gripped her tighter.

“Sorry sweetheart,” you growled, “that lie doesn’t work on me. I seen them. I watched as they were shot to death. I saw their lifeless bodies.” Before she could say anything, you gently push the tip of the stake into her flesh, easily drawing blood. She gasped in pain.

“You know what? It doesn’t even matter how you got out of that church. It just mean I can revel in your death once again. I will so enjoy this.” You brought the stake behind you, about to plunge it into her heart, killing her once and for all until the door slammed open and you were thrown away from her. Your back landed against the wall, leaving a dent as you fell to the ground. Before you could stand, you were kicked back down. You felt yourself being lifted up, back landing against the wall as you were pinned. You felt the tip of the stake press against your chest as you looked up and saw your attacker. Your mouth falls open and your eyes immediately filled with tears as you looked into his green eyes.

“Stefan?” You asked quietly, voice breaking as you slowly brought a shaky hand up to his face. His stance faltered a bit as he tried to comprehend why you knew him. He flinched a bit when you placed your hand on his cheek. All thoughts about Katherine escaped your mind as you traced his face, as if feeling to see if he was really there. You were.

“Stefan is it really you?” A few seconds later, his eyes lit up with recognition. He dropped the stake and engulfed you in a tight hug.

“(Y/N)? I can’t believe it. I thought you were-”

“So did I.” You cried. When you pulled away from the hug, you saw that he was tearing up as well.

“How are you… how did you… I don’t understand. I saw you get shot. I saw you die, but here you are.”

“Katherine fed us her blood. We came back.” Your heart sped up.

“W-We? We as in…?” Stefan smiled, remembering how smitten you used to be over his brother.

“Yeah.” You let out a whimper of relief, hugging Stefan once more.

“Thank God. I missed you so much, Stefan.”

“I missed you too.” Katherine cleared her throat from behind Stefan.

“Stefan? Who is she?”

“(Y/N). She was my best friend back in 1864.” Your anger suddenly came flooding back.

“Yeah, before you got him killed.”

“She isn’t Katherine.” You turned to Stefan, crossing your arms.

“Excuse me?” He walked over to her.

“This is Elena Gilbert. She’s human. She isn’t Katherine.”

“Then explain to me why she looks exactly like her.”

“I’ll explain everything later. Right now, I think that there is someone you’d like to meet.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You, Stefan, and 'Elena’ stepped into a huge house, before you spoke up.

“Where are we?”

“My house. Just go through there, I’ll be there in a second.” He pointed through a doorway before he and Elena disappeared around a corner. Sighing, you walk into a big living area. Bringing your hand up, you touch some of the little trinkets on a table before making your way over the liquor stand. Chuckling a bit to yourself, you sit on the couch. Gazing around, you waited for Stefan to come back.

“What? They’re here? Why on earth would you bring the vampire who, might I add, tried to stake Elena, here?” You picked up a male voice, distant but coming closer to the room you were in.

“Shut up and come on. Trust me, you’ll want to see who it is.” That was Stefan’s voice.

“(Y/N)?” He called, now in the same room. Standing, you turn around.

“What’s going o-” You stopped mid-sentence as the second male stepped into the room, slightly shaking his head at his brother’s lame excuses. His icy gaze met yours and your heart sped up. You would know those blue eyes anywhere.

“D…Damon?”

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isometimeswritesomethings · 8 years ago

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Remembering Sunday

Characters: Dean x Reader

Word Count: 1704

Warnings: Angst and a bit of fluff

A/N: Written as part of @hannahindie and @pinknerdpanda ‘s Pop Punk Challenge (I cant find the original post because i suck) - Based on Remembering Sunday by All Time Low <3

I woke with a surge of air to my lungs, gasping as my eyes shot open, the image of her smiling back at me fading as I tried to focus in the darkness of my room. Blood pounded in my ears as I sat up, the piercing pain in my head causing me to wince but I stood up anyway, lazily swaying as I wandered to the kitchen. The bunker was silent and I frowned as I wondered where she was, remembering the empty bed I’d woken up in. Taking two mugs from the cupboard, I poured us both coffee, expecting her to wander in with her messy hair and tired eyes as the smell of the coffee drifted through the air. “Must be on a run,” I mused to myself, absent-mindedly pouring the second cup anyway, just in case.

Sammy was out hunting something with Mom and I didn’t ask any questions when he suggested he leave me and Y/N alone for the week, more than happy to spend time with her. I smiled as I sat at the table, thinking back to the day she arrived, her eyes darting everywhere, trying to take in the vastness of the bunker.

“You live here?” she’d wondered, turning to look me straight in the eye.

“You bet, sweetheart,” I flashed her a cheeky smile and she laughed, “everything you could ever know about the things that go bump in the night are on those shelves...” She spent most of her time in the library, trying to read up on as much lore as she could, always hungry for more and frankly I loved having her here. It wasn’t long before she stopped going home all together.

It was well into the afternoon when I found the note, folded under her phone in the war room, after I followed the ringing. I couldn’t breathe as I read the words she’d written; refusing to believe she wasn’t coming back. She couldn’t leave like this.

I sunk into the nearest chair with a bottle of whiskey and set to trying to fall asleep. Maybe if I could wake up again, this would all be some sort of nightmare.

I don’t know what time it was when I woke up, my head on the hard wood of the table in front of me, an empty bottle on its side at my elbow. It took me a moment to remember why I felt so shit, but when I did, I groaned. Sitting up I made a decision. It had been days since she left, and I couldn’t go on like this. I needed to see her.

I grabbed my boots, stumbling as I trudged up the metal steps to the door of the bunker, taking a deep breath as I pulled myself together. I had to find her.

The darkness of the night and its cool breeze surprised me as I felt as awake as ever, and when I read the impala’s clock as 2, I realised it must be 2 am. The quiet roads and blanket of darkness made it difficult to spot the turn off when I reached it, but I made a left, turning into the town I remembered she had directed me to the first time she invited me back to hers. I passed the diner we had breakfast in that Sunday morning, and smiled, thinking back to how madly I’d fallen for this girl, in so short a time. It scared me at the time. Now it scares me that I might not get chance to keep falling.

When I spot a street that looks familiar I turn down it, hoping one of the houses jumps out but they all look the same in the pitch black. Even the impala’s headlights illuminating the gardens can’t give me any clues. So I just get out, and start at the nearest one.

I’m already knocking when I realise this could either go really well or really… not well. Its 2:30am. But when I see light switch on in the hallway I sigh, holding my breath as the door opens. A tall, middle aged man is braced on the door frame, an angry expression etched on his face.

“What?” he groans, “were the lights not enough? You gotta make a bunch of noise to make sure we’re all awake, huh?”

“I’m sorry, Sir, I know it’s late,” I really was sorry to have to do this but it was the only thing I could do, I couldn’t go on like I had been, I haven’t been sober for days. “I’m looking for someone. Y/N.” I dug through by jeans pulling out my phone and swiping across it until I found a clear photo of her. I swallowed down the lump in my throat as I looked at it for a moment, her arms wrapped around my neck, both of us grinning at the camera. “Have you seen her?”

The man’s features softened slightly, but he shook his head. “Sorry son, no I haven’t.”

I gave him a quick nod, turning and wandering down the street a little further. I spotted a tree that seemed weirdly familiar. I remembered her punching my arm as we walked past it one evening so I headed up the path towards the house. Knocking on this door, I saw the lights on in the living room, a giggling group of girls sitting, drinking wine. I laughed to myself, thinking back to telling her ‘we should join their party’ as we passed the window, her arm staying linked with mine as she used her other to shove me with mock horror. When the door opened, a tall girl, long blonde hair, opened the door, a wine glass in hand as she leaned against the frame.

“Hello….” She looked me up and down and I narrowed my eyes at her. “What can I do for you?”

Her voice was low and she didn’t take her eyes off me as she took a long sip of the red wine in her glass.

“I’m looking for my girlfriend, Y/N, have you seen her?” I showed her the photo immediately, wanting to get away as soon as possible.

She glanced at the photo then back at me, before murmuring, “No I haven’t honey,” her lip dragging between her teeth. Without a word, I left.

When the rain started, I don’t know how many doors I’d knocked on. The sky turning a pastel colour as the sun threatened to come up. My fists were shoved deep in my pockets against the cold and my head down as I moved forward, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw that car. It belonged to the old guy who lived next door to her. I’d commented on it over her shoulder as she pushed the key into her door, her fingers entwined with mine as she pulled me into her house and led me straight up the stairs to her bedroom, the devilish grin on her face forever engrained into my memory and linked to the sound of my own heartbeat racing with anticipation.

I took the porch steps two at a time, knocking loud on her door. She was a heavy sleeper, and there was no way she could sleep through this. “Y/N,” I shouted against the wood of the door, the rain hammering against the railings. “Y/N, open up, please, it’s me,” I called, but no answer came.

“Hello?” A voice shook me from my reverie and I lifted my forehead from against the door and turning to look at the old woman on the porch across from me. “oh my goodness, Dean? Is that you?”

I moved towards her, nodding, shivering slightly with the rain that had soaked through my jacket.

“I’m looking for Y/N,” I sighed, tired and cold but not wanting to give up.

“Come in dear, you look freezing.” She shuffled into her house, and I followed her, past the classic car in the driveway and into the warmth of her home.

“Let me make you some tea,” she soothed.

“Do you know where Y/N is?” the lump in my throat was growing. Sitting in this lady’s kitchen, the sun barely peaking over the trees, I was coming to realise I might not find her. And then my fears were realised.

“I don’t, my dear,” she sighed, looking down at the mug she was stirring. “She just upped and left one morning, such a lovely girl she was too, said goodbye to us. She said you might come by, but she didn’t say where she was going. I’m sorry.” She set the mug down in front of me and I rubbed at my eyes, fighting tears. I wasn’t going to cry in this sweet old lady’s kitchen. Jesus Christ.

“I think I’m going crazy. She’s driving me crazy,” I muttered to myself.

“You’re not crazy, you’re in love…” she patted my shoulder and sat down opposite me. She told me about her husband, how he thought she was driving him crazy too. I smiled at her, finishing my drink and deciding to head back. Maybe one day she’d decide she wanted to come back.

“I was going to ask her to marry me,” I blurted out on the doorstep, and a sad smile crossed Mrs Wilson’s face. I guessed someone should know.

I watched from the garden, my presence not known as Dean poured his heart out to my next door neighbour. I couldn’t hear his words, but the pain was deep in his features and every wipe of his face I felt tears well up in my eyes. When he told her he planned on proposing, a sob wracked through me. Dean Winchester wasn’t the type to propose, wasn’t the type to knock on most doors in the street to find a girl, but yet here he was. He loved you. And you loved him. The note you had left had left out the details of the terror of what you had done, but you couldn’t do nothing. Trading your life for Dean’s when he was attacked by that hellhound was the only thing to do. And neither he, nor Sam, could ever know.

Let me know what you think!

Tags: @stephymarie2012 , @ruuuuuskimychica , @jxackles , @busybee612 , @jazminwinchester @tardis-is-mine, @kbl1313, @a-sea-of-fandoms, @cuffski , @feelmyroarrrr, @straitsupernaturalmalefan @pureawesomeness001 @georginator-3000 @sylverminx )

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korkisobsessions · 4 years ago

Text

The Oath

XVI. Help

Time flies...

They lived happily in their little house. Yeong shin prove himself as a handy man. With just little help he built small bathroom attached to house even with fireplace that can heat water. Nilah almost cry of pleasure when she took first warm bath.

She was sitting in water cleaning dirt from her palms. Little sprouts of vegetables starts growing in their garden and soon will be ready to move them into field.

Water calms her sore muscles but it was beautiful pain. It hurts because she did something good. Creating something she never did before. Making new life.

“How’s your bath my lady?” Yeong shin was standing in the door with pleased smile on his face scratching his short beard. It was few weeks since tension leaves his muscles. His shoulders weren’t cramped anymore and he was smiling more often. Now he was leaning over door frame with arms crossed on his chest watching her enjoying her bath.

“So...if I’m you lady... You must be my servant.” She smiled with sparks in her eyes.

“I’m. If it’s not too daring... I’m the most loyal one.” He laughed and made two steps towards the bathtub.

“Stay where you are!” she stopped him with serious voice. “You were not allowed to come any closer.”

He raised his eyebrow but remains in his place, one corner of his lips raised in smile.

“What you want me to do, my lady?”

Nilah sits in her bath comfortably and enjoy her view. “I want you, to take of your dirty clothes.”

“Who I am to disobey such an order.” He took of his black vest and simple canvas shirt.

Nilah felt her heart starts to beat faster, her mouth getting dry. Yeong shins body was still her miracle. He was perfect with his beautiful long muscles suiting to his strong shoulders. His abdomen flat and firm, from hard work. In the light of fire his skin looks golden with pattern of silver scars.

“Did I tell you to stop?” She raised her eyebrow with rigorous look.

He took a deep breath and with silent laughter he took of his pants.

“Can I join you in the bath...? My lady?” he adds when he saw her hard look.

Nilah took her time, admiring the view and then lightly nod.

Yeongshin slowly walked in the bath and made pleasurable sound when warm water embraces his body.

“This is much better than cold river.”

Nilah felt his legs under water stretched next to hers. Biting her lip, she move closer to him and touch his chest. Yeong shin closed his eyes, and had pleased smile on his lips.

“What is on your mind?” She asked gently caressing damp hair from his temple.

“Nothing. Just how happy I’m.”

He really was happy. Just from Nilah’s look. Her eyes were sparking with happy flames, her skin have beautiful healthy colour and when he touch her, he didn’t feel her ribs or sharp bones of spine. He made sure she eats properly. She finally looked like healthy woman, not skin and bones, with pale face and dead eyes.

She still had nightmares and sometimes, she was scared when she heard someone coming. Mostly it was kids from village; they were coming near the house to play in water. When they took courage for the first time and came, Nilah was shaking till the evening. Sitting by the fire he made, smiling and talking with kids, but still shaking.

He can’t blame her. He sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, with fast heartbeat and cold sweat. When night was colder, he cannot sleep at all. He then sat on the porch with rifle in his lap, watching horizon.

“Kids from village will come tomorrow and I will teach them how to catch a fish.”

“I hope their parents don’t get mad. They still don’t like us.”

No matter how hard they tried, villagers still don’t like their presence. Kids were bold and came and played near the house, listening Nilah’s magical tales and watching Yeong shin doing ‘things’ in silent awe. They were stunned when they saw him cleaning his rifle for the first time. But their parents were still stubbornly hostile.

“It needs time.” She rubbed his back with soap and kissed him on his chakho mark. “They will like us. We are charming and sweet.”

“Yeah I’m the sweetest former chakho in whole kingdom. Everyone wants to be my friend.”

Something sad flicker in his eyes, when his joke had bitter end. He love Nilah with his whole heart and more, but sometimes he miss a friend. Just friend, who will listen his worries about life, Chang...Nilah.

“Do you miss Lee Chang?” Nilah asked softly. They weren’t talking about him, or Seo-Bi. She was scared that one day he will wake up with useless feeling in his muscles. That he wants to fight next to brave Prince instead of playing the farmer with grumpy neighbours.

“I sometimes think of him. If he’s safe. But then I remember that Seo-Bi and Min Chi-Rok are with him and I’m calm again. Lee Chang is survivor. He will be good.” He smiled at her. “What if we sleep longer tomorrow and have a breakfast in village?”

“Oh...I wanted to cook you something tomorrow.”

“That’s a pity.” Yeongshin laughed

If there was only one thing that Nilah can’t do, it was cooking. She was still desperately trying, but failing.

“You are mean!” She leave bath with splash of water.

Village was full of life. They had a breakfast in small pub. They were getting used to that people stopped drinking, eating, speaking or even breathing when they come inside. But Nilah noticed that the length of the silence became shorter and shorter.

“We should make kimchee. I love it!” Nilah had full mouth of it and watching bowl of rice with hungry eyes. Yeong shin can’t fight the laughter when he watched her. Tip of her nose was red because local kimchee was very spicy. But she loved it.

“We should.” He smiled and looked around. People were walking around, enjoying the sunny day.

But suddenly shadow fell on them. Jae-Bong approached their table. His face was hard and worried.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your day but I need your help chakho.”

Yeong shin’s face was blunt, but Nilah saw his knuckles turned white. He took deep breath and lifted his eyes. He wanted to help, to be part of village, but not like this.

“What do you want?”

“Can we talk privately?” Jae-Bong’s eyes looked on Nilah and back on Yeong shin.

“What do you want to say, you can say before her.”

“No, I don’t think I can.” Jae-Bong was getting impatient. “Please.”

Nilah touched Yeong shin’s hand and smile. “I don’t mind. I will go home and wait for you.”

Yeong shin hated it. He didn’t want to have secrets before her. But Jae-Bong insisted it.

Nilah kissed him and leave.

“Take your gun with you.” Leader of the village nod to his packed rifle.

They leave village with two other men with pale faces.

“What you want from me, that you can’t say it...” he started, but Jae-Bong stopped him.

“I apologise, I didn’t want to insult your woman. I have nothing against you; actually my son Miho is one of the kids that are still occupying your place.” His face lit up for a moment, but worried shadow returned too quickly. “Miho told me that she is sometimes scared. I know that you two were through a lot...so i don’t want to scare her.”

Yeong shin was confused. He was glad that Jae-Bong was attentive. But he was worried what it that should stay secret is.

“Thank you Jae-Bong. I appreciate it.”

“We should keep it secret. Less people know it, better.” He nods towards their companions.

“And what is it?”

They walk through the field and enter the forest. It was silent, more than was usual. No birds singing, nothing. Yeong shin felt weird tingling on his neck, like he was being watched.

“We need your advice.” Jae-Bong was pale when he lead them on little glade. It would be beautiful place, if there wasn’t hideous thing in the centre.

Yeong shin’s stomach made a flip.

Jae-Bong covered his mouth with piece of cloth. One of men started coughing and then vomited.

“We found a body. But what kind of animal does this?”

It was naked male, sitting under the small tree. And he was cut to shreds. It could look like attack of an animal, but there was something grotesque about his position. His organs were ripped out and hang around like some terrible decorations.

Yeong shin saw terrible things. Nasty wounds, that he had nightmares after that. But never something like this. Lungs of that man were ripped from his back and hang over his shoulders. This man must have to suffered.

And his head was missing. Wound on his neck was perfect clean cut like with very sharp sword.

Cold fear was running through Yeong shin’s veins.

“It was the worst animal.” He whispered when he examined the body.

“Was it tiger?” Jae-Bong kneels next to him, with pale face.

“No, worse.” His heart was beating faster when he realised that Nilah is home alone.

“It was man.”

~°~

Nilah walked home slowly. She was enjoying sun and collecting flowers and wild herbs. It was pleasant feeling to decorate their house. To arrange flowers on the table, to tangle them into her hair.

She wanders too long and sun was coming down. Shadows were longer and darker, but she didn’t care. Even for a while she wasn’t worried about Yeong shin. It was probably something about hunting.

She came home with last sun light, clean herbs and let them dry and put flowers in vase. She was even humming old melody when she took unfinished basket; she was trying to weave earlier.

Yeong shin was trying to teach her how to fold rods and tangle them together. He learned that when he was making traps as a chakho. Now they were making baskets for the plants to move them carefully to field.

She finished her work. It was crooked, but not as bad as the last one. She reached out for her tea and lift eyes from her work to look from the window.

Scream escaped her throat when she saw him.

Because of lack of light his face looked like skull. Pale skin with dark circles around empty eyes.

Sang-Ho was staring at her through the window. She saw just top half of his face but it was enough. Her heart missed few beats and her stomach flips.

Her whole body froze. She can’t move, she can’t speak. Her body was just violently shaking and tears were running down her face.

He did nothing. Just staring and her and suddenly disappeared in a blink of an eye.

But she had that image burned to her brain. She collapsed to the ground with sobbing.

He was here.

Somewhere.

He crushed her safe heaven like eggshell.

She just held tight grip on little knife she had, curled in the corner of the kitchen waiting for Yeong shin or death.

~°~

Yeong shin and Jae-Bong searched through whole village. They walked from door to door to found out who is missing and if somebody saw something suspicious.

But no one was missing.

“It was young man. Strong. His hands were calloused and had a few scars. He must be war veteran or something like that.” Yeong shin was leaning on the wall. He was tired from talking to people. To calm them down. He was fighter, soldier, no talker or negotiator.

“I have scars too, but I wasn’t in a single fight. Accidents happened.” Jae-Bong was still trying to count his people. They visited all of them. They were standing outside his house, talking quietly. They didn’t need Miho to hear them.

“He had battle scars. Weapons made different shapes than other things.”

“My head hurts. Can we meet in the morning again? We can arrange searching patrol.”

It was strange feeling in Yeong shin’s chest. He was worried but he was glad that they need his help. But he wants to protect this place too. This was his home now.

“I’ll be here.” He nods.

“Go to your woman chakho. She must be worried.”

He leaves and head home. It was already deep dark. When he made it over little hill he saw weak light coming from windows. It was calm around, but he still had this weird feeling behind his neck. Unpleasant tingling that send chill down his spine.

He took of his shoes and walked inside.

His stomach drops when he saw Nilah.

She was curled in the corner, hugging her knees. She was holding knife so tightly that her hand was bleeding. Rivulets of blood were running from her palm down her calf.

Her face was pale like snow. And her eyes...Yeong shin’s breathe stuck in his throat when he saw purest fear in her eyes.

“Nilah...”

She mumbled few words in the language he didn’t know. She sometimes used it when she was talking in her sleep. He knew that it was her mother language but he didn’t understand single word.

“What happened?” He put down his rifle but he was still ready for everything. Slowly he approached her and laid hand on her forearm. To his surprise, she threw herself into his arms with loud sobs.

“He was here!”

Yeong shin froze and held her tighter. She was shaking and her tears stained his shirt.

“I came home, and made new basket and suddenly he was staring at me through the window.” She pointed her finger towards the window on the opposite wall. “I swear I saw him! It was just for a blink of an eye, but he was there!”

Yeong shin’s mind was ready. He knew where are his knives, that his rifle is loaded...but he didn’t know one, the most important thing.

“Who, Nilah? Who did you saw?”

She raised her face and stopped sobbing. “It was Sang-Ho.”

Rage was suddenly boiling inside his chest. He grabbed his rifle and left the house. Nilah was crying and calling his name, but he just couldn’t stop. He swears to that bastard that if he ever sees him again, he will kill him. And it was all he wanted to do right now.

It was already dark and all he can hear was buzzing of his blood and loud heartbeat. He knows that he needs to calm down, if he wanted to find him. But it was the hardest thing. Man, who hurt Nilah, who shamed her, locked her in prison. Beast, who raped her, was here. He simply cannot calm down.

Maybe it was Sang-Ho who killed that man in forest. Maybe he knew that Jae-Bong will ask for his help and Yeong shin will leave Nilah helpless. How could he be so stupid?

He was shaking with anger when he was searching surroundings of the house.

But there was nothing.

No one.

He searched forest around the house and when he found nothing, he returned back and searched the ground under the window. No footprints or something suspicious. Nothing.

He walked back in the house and finally starts breathing again. He felt like he was holding his breath all the time he was outside. And now he can exhale and rest.

Nilah was sitting in the corner with pale face and shaking.

“You didn’t found him?” her voice was trembling as she fights with tears.

“No.”

Yeong shin cover her with blanket and gently clean her face. She had smudge of blood on both cheeks from where she was trying to wipe away tears. Her palm was lightly bleeding and he quickly clean it and wrap it with bandage.

“I must saw...I don’t know...” last tear escape her eye and she tried to smile, but fail.

“Maybe it was just a flicker of light.” He tried to calm her. But look into her eyes were breaking his heart. “You were tired and you saw something that wasn’t there.”

“Yes. You must be right. If you didn’t found him, he wasn’t here.”

Yeong shin smile at her and caress her cheek. “You bring flowers?”

“Yes...” Nilah hang her head down and held his hand. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

“No, don’t say that. I swore to you that I will protect you.”

He kissed her lips and held her in his arms. He will be willingly running around the house every night, just to keep her safe.

“What Jae-Bong want from you?” she asked when he was helping her to lay down in the bed. Her legs were still shaking.

“He wants my help to set some traps. It’s probably wolf around.”

His stomach crumps when he realised that it was his first lie to Nilah. And he hates it. But it was for her good.

#kingdom #kingdom netflix #kingdom 2019 #kingdom2019 #chakho #yeongshin #yeong shin #kdrama #fanfiction

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