#so that basically makes her a good person

[oldlight117]

Long post. Sorry (not sorry?)

My ex lives in a red county in California. My wife and I live in a BARELY blue county nearby. The kids go to school in the former.

I'm early to school pick up one Friday and I'm reading a book with my over-ear headphones, leaning up against the chain link fence waiting for the bell like I'm a kid again.

I smile at an older white woman holding an anxious, shaking chihuahua in a pink harness. I read her lips, "What's that you're reading?"

I slip my headphones off my ear and tell her I'm reading Tim Coulson's The Science of Why We Exist. I watch her conservative Christian head balloon slightly.

Good. I tell her I have a lot of basic science to catch up on since when I was their age, gesturing to the elementary school, books like this weren't allowed in the home.

We chat for a few minutes. She's waiting on her grandkids. Her name is Karen. Of course it is.

She laments the loss of some friends recently over political differences. I sympathize. I affirm the importance of not existing within an echo chamber.

I don't press her to justify her politics. I just listen. She goes in circles for a long time. Karen us quick to say that it has nothing to do with hating gay people, or anything like that.

Of course not, I answer. Is that what your friends were worried about? The ones that cut ties?

She tells me that it was a factor for some of them, yes. But that's not who she is.

Of course not. Have you thought about why the LGBTQ community is feeling threatened by the prospect of a Trump presidency? Oh, she says, I'm not really sure, I think they're being alarmist.

I let silence hang a moment between us, and she hurries to fill it.

She says she just doesn't have enough experience to run the country. We need Donald Trump's leadership in a time like this.

I tell her that I had my own doubts about Harris. She hadn't been my number one candidate in 2020, so I had to look at her eligibility with a fresh set of eyes this time around, but I found several of her policy perspectives rather compelling. I list a few qualifications off. Not a lot. Just a smattering. She admitted not being aware of a couple things I mentioned.

I tell her it feels like a matter of who's talking loudest and in front of the biggest audience. A lot of information on both candidates is getting lost along the way.

I tell her about a news aggregator I've been using lately to make sure I don't miss out on anything in my media blind spot.

I ask her which policies of the Trump campaign speak to her personally? What is she most optimistic about if we get a second Trump presidency?

Gas prices! Grocery prices are out of control. She tells me that the crime and the drugs in our state have gotten out of hand and that his immigration policy is going to be our state's salvation.

I tell her that I worry such a broad stroke approach to a very complex problem may have severe consequences on our own community. I fear how these policies might impact families at this very school. I fear the impact mass deportations might have on the very delicate ecosystem of farm labor in this very county, not to mention tariffs on countries like Mexico that supply a lot of our produce.

She brushes my concerns away, says he's only going after the bad ones.

I tell her that I'm afraid it's not that simple, but we'll have to just wait and see.

The election is decided a couple weeks later.

In January I see her at another pick-up, waiting for her grandkids. She is frustrated by the amount of people still gnashing their teeth and whining over the election results.

What do you think would be a healthy way for folks to process the election results if they're feeling scared or disappointed or angry?

She doesn't have an answer.

I give a little chuckle and say we'll have to wait and see if our Capitol building gets sacked again in a couple weeks. I think she knows as well as I do that it won't be.

Strange. She's been a lot slower to initiate conversation in the subsequent weeks. I smile at Karen and I wave. I hope she's enjoying the price of her eggs.

[darinawrites]

๑—Telling squid game characters you want a cat—๑

Characters: Se-mi, Hyun ju, In ho, Dae ho, Thanos, Salesman

A/n: This was requested a while ago, but Tumblr is weird and I can't find it </3 hope you still read this. Also, the damm tags don't work 😭 can someone tell me what's wrong and why they won't work constantly?

┆彡Se-mi

*ੈI see Se-mi as the biggest cat person ever. There's something about those small creatures that have a soft spot in her heart. So, of course she'd be overjoyed if you suggested it before her.

*ੈHer favorite would be a black cat, they're the cutest and cuddliest for her.

*ੈOverfeeds the cat once you buy it. She can't help it, one small pleading of a meow and the snacks are already out. You'd have to remind her and she'd understand to be more resistant in the future.

*ੈBuys only the essentials, but the most high quality ones you could ever think of. She doesn't believe a cat needs so much, but she does think they need good material.

*ੈBuys small white bows to clip it on the kitty, the contrast so vast. It reminds her a bit of the style she has, like a small reflection of herself.

*ੈThe cat will be sleeping on the bed, no buts.

*ੈShe will treat the cat as like a child she birthed herself. She isn't amazed of the idea of getting a child, so this would be a great substitute! Her kitty is the one and only child she needs.

┆彡Salesman (can we get this guy a name)

*ੈWouldn't be fond of the idea. He doesn't like animals generally, a pet wouldn't be ideal for him and it would take a lot of convincing for him to even let you speak out your idea.

*ੈAgainst all odds, you did somehow manage to get the small kitty. But be prepared for even more work. Do not expect him to do anything, it was your own idea.

*ੈBuying food and essentials. Vet trips and feeding. It's all up to you, you should've known what you were signing up for.

*ੈHe does not even acknowledge the kitties existence. Everytime it purrs as it rubs against his leg once he's back from work he doesn't react, not in the slightest. Despite your pleads, he simply answers that the pest is lucky enough to even live with you.

*ੈMaybe one day his cold facade would fade away (it won't).

┆彡In-ho

*ੈWouldn't oppose the idea nor be fond of it. He's indifferent and couldn't care much about a pet, especially since he's filled with work most of the time. He'll get you one if you want to, but don't think he wanted it.

*ੈRarely does anything with the cat. He'll do basics like feeding it, but doesn't go beyond that. He doesn't really see much in the ball of fluffy cotton.

*ੈGives you as much money as you want for the cat, while he doesn't care much for it he knows they take a lot of work to properly take care of. Doesn't know a thing about anything you're buying, so he just hopes its only essentials that are draining his wallet (they're not).

*ੈOver the time, he will grow fond of the cat. Against his own wishes, he starts to like the purrs, the fur, the accidental bites. He won't ever admit the care he grew to have, it's a just a pet, no?

*ੈBut his indifferent facade can't fool you. You saw the way he spends more time with the little kitty, letting it in his office, letting it crawl on his hand to pick it up. You won't say anything, but a small smile would come up at the thought of your cold husband warming up to the pet.

*ੈPicks the cat up in his lap any chance he gets. It's so relaxing to feel the vibrations of purrs against him as he softly strokes the fur while doing his work.

┆彡Hyun ju

*ੈNever thought of the idea. She was content with the both of you, the suggestion of something else never popping up in her mind.

*ੈYou have to give her a little time to think about it. This is a big responsibility, something she's a bit nervous about to mess up.

*ੈ"Are you sure this is what you really want, and it will make you happy?" once you nod in response and she reveals that she'll get you a cat, you're ecstatic.

*ੈAfter hours of deciding, you finally chose a small white kitty! She wouldn't care much about the type of cat she'd get, so she gave the authority to you to pick one out.

*ੈSpent hours of research to know what its trying to say. If she should pet it or it's uncomfortable, if the kitty's hungry or not. You just know she's trying her best. <3

*ੈLazy mornings with her and a fluffy cat on your thigh while her big arms cuddle you is all you've ever needed.

*ੈThe difference between the small kitten in her huge palms always makes you melt.

┆彡Thanos

*ੈTruth be told you were the one hesitant to tell him, despite the immense joy you'd get from a kitten. You weren't sure he would be responsible enough, but at the end you gave in to the desires and told him.

*ੈOf course he'd say yes, he loves any type of animals. Even if more exotic ones would be his preferred ones. As long as you're happy and have a pet, he'll put it aside.

*ੈBuying the most energetic orange cat you've ever seen. He needs an energetic companion, one that matches him.

*ੈAnd you just know he will give it the stupidest and absurd name you've heard. There's no stoping him, sadly. But you'll somehow grow used to it.

*ੈBrings the cat everywhere, especially in his recording studio. They're inseparable, seen always together. That's his buddy now, even adding some of his meows to his songs once he has the chance to.

*ੈVictim of overfeeding #2. Everytime it comes up to him he simply gives him a snack. What else is he supposed to do?

*ੈYou also have to tell him to be careful when he cuddles kitty, that man is practically squeezing every bit of life out of the poor thing.

┆彡Dae ho

*ੈDae ho is definitely a dog person. Despite his love for all animals, he'd still prefer a dog over a cat. But he wouldn't oppose it, not at all. Especially once he sees how happy it makes you.

*ੈYou'd play a little game and whoever wins decides. And to your surprise, you actually won against him! (he let you win to see you smile)

*ੈHe'll be honest, he wasn't exactly fond of the little brown kitten you brought back. But seeing your smile and the glint in your eyes made him appreciate the cat a little more.

*ੈAnd, don't worry. It won't take long before he's swooning over the sight of the kitty. The little disappointment of the loss of a dog not lasting long as he's now in the trance of the big goopy black eyes the kitten has.

*ੈAlways cuddling with it. He can't help it, the fur so fluffy and the size smaller than his hands, it's too much for his heart to take.

*ੈEqually shares the chores of the cat. He isn't one to do nothing nor everything, you're both equal and both love the kitty.

*ੈChooses the cutest and most meaningful name he can muster. Something that will always remind himself of you when he calls out for the cat <3

[abbyslvrrr]

Ultraviolence dark!abby Anderson x fem!reader

So I had this fics in the works before I posted this little Drabble thing, I just wasn’t sure if people wanted it! I really hope that this is good, I honestly haven’t written much dark stuff so I’m sorry if this is actually asscheeks. Anyway hope you enjoy!! Love u angels 🤍

Cw: dark!abby she’s abusive and toxic. Reader is kidnapped and held in a basement. Abuse. I guess reader lowkey being starved. Literally basic human necessities taken away from her. Abby is manipulative.

Songs to listen to if you want: ultraviolence by Lana

𝜗𝜚 Abby, who kidnaps you and holds you captive in her home on the outskirts of the city where no one really comes.

𝜗𝜚 The first couple of weeks you fight, you scream, you do everything to get away from her. She entertains it, but why the 4th week does she get fucking irritated

𝜗𝜚 After a failed escape attempt, she throws you down the dark basement and locks you there for however long it takes to break you and to make you depend on her fully.

“LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU BITCH!” Your throat is practically raw at this point from all the screaming. There was a small dirty mattress, pillow, and blanket there, a bucket, and a small window that had iron bars on it so you couldn’t escape through there. She would come back for you, right?

You were wrong, the only time she would come down was to give you food, and the food wasn’t much. Just a sandwich and water for the whole day, it’s safe to say she was depriving you of basic human necessities. You tried to stay strong the first week, talking to yourself, sleeping most of the time, anything to keep you grounded, but after that week when Abby still didn’t come to get you is when you start to freak out. You so desperately wished someone would talk to you or touch you.

God, Abby’s touches you missed, whether it had been because she was beating you black and blue or helping you change clothes, you just missed them lots. You needed her, you needed her praise, her degradation, you needed her to validate you as a person.

The second week in is where you break, You get scared, very scared. You scream for Abby, not stopping, but she does not come get you, little do you know, she’s behind the door listening to your screams and cries and relishing in the fact that you are breaking down bit by bit.

By the third week, all you can do is curl up in a ball and hope that Abby will take mercy on you and come back.

——————————

After a while, the basement door opens and Abby walks in, your eyes open. You don’t know whether to believe what you’re seeing, you feel a hand on your cheek brushing away a tear you didn’t know you let out.

She’s really here

“A-Abby?…” You call out to her weakly, more tears spill out. She doesn’t say anything but picks you up and takes you to the living room, where she sits on the couch with you in her lap. She wraps a fuzzy blanket around you.

All you can do is bury your face in the crook of her neck and cry, she rubs your back in a comforting manner.

“Are you going to be a good girl for me, angel?” She questions as she lifts your head up to look at her. Nodding your head ‘yes’ puts a smile on Abby’s face, she knows she’s broken you, and she couldn’t be happier.

“None of that escaping stuff anymore, okay? You’re here to stay with me, angel. If you’re a good girl, everything will be fine, and you’ll get rewarded. If you disobey me again, I’ll punish you ten times worse, got it?” Her face is serious and scary, which makes you let out a small whimper. You don’t have a choice in the matter anymore, it’s better to just be good and obey, right?

By now you’ve also forgotten the fact that you were kidnapped by Abby and that your face is all over the news. Your family is distraught that you’re gone, but hey, Abby thinks the missing person poster would look so cute framed in her office!

“Mhm, I get it, Abby. I’ll be good, I promise.”

Sorry this fic is actual ass it’s so BORING

𝜗𝜚 Tags! @livvietalks @rhyrhy @cstbdf @kaykeryyy @h2pinky @dollaches @killerbait @frillydolle @ch-4-eri

[footygirl114]

Destino (Alexia Putellas X Reader)

I wasnt lying when I said that the inspiration bug has hit me, and dropping unsupportive weight has defiantly helped! So here is the second fic of this inspiration wave - lots of fluff in this one!

Part 2 to: Entrenadora - I would suggest this one first

After exchanging a few texts with Alexia you found it difficult to focus through the rest of the day but you managed to get through the 3 lectures you had. Luckily you were a professional and passionate about teaching which meant it was not too difficult to zone into the teaching subjects. But once you were in your office after the conclusion of your lectures you were once again filled with that nervous giddy excitement. 

Staring at your phone you had an unread message from Alexia with her free evenings for dinner for the next few weeks. Once you looked and compared them to your own calendar in front of you, you immediately deflated as there was not a single date that lined up with your own free evenings. Teaching and coaching has your calendar filled to the brim, and any free nights seemed to line up with Alexia’s game nights. 

Before you responded you couldn’t help the sinking feeling that the fact that Alexia even was looking in your direction was too good to be true. there was no way someone of her caliber and fame would ever be satisfied with you, and you knew that this was the universe telling you to give up on this and not even bother to continue to try to purse this one. 

You made up a text to send back to the footballer, basically laughing about not having any free dates and maybe it was not meant to be. Not wanting to see a response you put your phone on do not disturb and dove into work, and coaching later that evening. 

It wasn’t until the following morning when you gave your brain the chance to think about her again, you were sitting at the counter in a coffee shop with your laptop open trying to catch up on a few emails before you had an appointment. It was a place not in your normal neighbourhood but you had a appointment in the area and you didn’t want to be late so you came down early to get some work done. 

You were enthralled with you computer, and reading an article about some advances in cancer treatments when you felt someone sit down beside you and place a hand on your arm. 

Startled you turn and pull out one of your headphones and you meet the eyes of the one person you were trying to forget “Alexia.” 

“Hola Y/N, lo seinto I did not mean to startle you but you didn’t hear me over the music” she says with a smile. 

You smile back at her, and can feel the butterflies settle in your stomach as you ask her “what are you doing here?” 

She chuckles and points over her shoulder “I live around the corner, this is my usual coffee spot.” 

You cant help but chuckle at that and say “of all the coffee shops I pick, I pick yours, the universe really is wild.” 

“I prefer to think of it as fate, especially since you never answered my text” she says with a small smile, and if you didn’t know any better you would think she was nervous.

You blush knowing you got caught avoiding her as you say “sorry busy night coaching, and I turned my phone on do not disturb”

She smiles and moves her hand to your forearm squeezing it she says “I know we are both busy, but I would like to take you on that date eventually Y/N.” 

“you would?” you ask surprised before you have a chance to rethink the answer. 

She looks offended as she responds and says “Si Y/N”

“why?” you ask again before your mind catches up with you.

“I want to get to know you better Y/N, thats what dates are for. There was something between us, and the fact that I think you see me for me, makes me want to know you.” She says seriously. 

“Oh.”

She chuckles and leans forward and whispers in your ear “I want to know everything about the cute blushing football coach, and I will keep telling you that until you let me take you out to prove it” finishing it with a kiss to your cheek. 

Before you can even respond she squeezes your arm and says “I have to go, but please text me back at some point and lets run into each other on purpose, and not leave it up to fate again.” 

You nod and say to her “i can do that.” 

Smiling she presses another kiss to your cheek and whispers out “goodbye” and she takes off out of the cafe. You barley have time to overthink that interaction when your alarm goes off reminding you of your appointment and you hastily pack up and head out. 

**

Over the next week you keep your word and continue to text her, she makes sure to send you a message every morning, even though she’s up way before you, and every night before she falls asleep. She also continues to ask you small questions to learn the little things about you, and every time you smile as she keeps her word about wanting to know you. 

Although you seem to talk quite often you still cannot get your schedules to line up, one of your only free afternoons for the week has you helping out a colleague with a research study. She is studying the effects of injuries on female footballers, you know her study has become quite popular and she was at the point of having live footballer in her lab to study. 

She immediately puts you to work and you are helping to register some of the volunteers she has in for the study, most are younger footballers and are excited to help try to get involved in a study like this. You are helping to register a young player on crutches when you hear one of the other players in the waiting room gasp and whisper “is that Alexia Putellas?”.

You look up and meet her eyes as she walks into the room, and you have to hold the smile in and when she winks at you, you know you have a blush on your face. You quickly finish with the young player in front of you and you call her up next. 

“hi, I’m here for the study” she says with a smile.

You nod and ask her the simple registration questions, most of them you already know the answer to but you have to go through the motions. You hand her a clipboard and when she grabs it you can feel her hand brush yours and the sparks run up your arm as you say “can you sign at the bottom please.” 

She signs and moves to sit in the waiting room for her turn, you don’t have someone else to register so you are able to watch her for a minute from your spot behind the table. She has at in between two young players and they are both talking a mile a minute at her, she’s smiling and answering their questions and you smile to your self at how amazing she is. 

When two grad students come out and take the other two younger girls to the back you are left with just Alexia in the waiting room and she stands up to come closer and says “I had no idea you would be here today.”

“My colleague and friend is running the study and she asked for some help today, she knew I had the afternoon off and suckered me into it” you tell her with a chuckle. 

“It seems fate really does want us to be near each other Y/N” she says with a small smirk and leans down on both hands on the table closer to you. 

You chuckle and say to her “You came on to my campus Alexia, it seems you wanted to run into me.” 

She smirks and says “its a big campus.” 

“I work in the anatomy building, my office is a floor above here.”

“I didn’t know that did I? I am just here to further the advancement of women’s football Y/N. You did tell me that you studied me for tactical reasons, maybe I should let someone study me for science” she finishes and winks at you with a smirk. 

You bite your lip and look around before you surge up out of your chair towards her and you press your lips hard to hers. It lasts only a moment before you pull back a breath away and say “I’m the only one who should be watching and studying you.” 

She smirks and says “that can be arranged Y/N, name the time and place.” 

Before you can respond the door opens and you both spring back from each other as a grad student comes in to get Alexia for her turn with the study. She follows the student but turns towards you before she disappears through the door and she blows a kiss and shoots you a wink. 

**

The following few days are spent texting and talking to Alexia on the phone as much as you both could manage, she was definitely flirting with you more than before and you were giving it right back. You were starting to come around to the idea that she actually wants to get to know you and you know you were wanting to know her back. 

The next weekend Alexia happens to have a Friday night game, meaning she has Saturday off. You however have a tournament with your nieces team so once again your schedule did not line up. You settled for not being able to see her once again but you kept to talking and texting with her. 

Your teams first game of the day was a competitive one but your team held their own and came out with a draw. Not the way to start a tournament but you kept the team positive and when the second game later in the afternoon came around and your team came out flying you were much more relaxed when you went up 4-0 in the 40th minute. 

A break in play and you take a moment to look around the field as you cant shake the feeling of eyes on you. When you lock eyes on a lone figure sitting behind the net with a ball cap on you know exactly who it is, and why you could feel eyes on you. You smile to your self as you never told her where you were playing and she must have looked it up to see you. 

The rest of the game you keep sneaking glances but she is so focused on your team playing that she doesn’t meet your eyes once. You smile to your self because you know its who she is and how passionate she is about football that she is enthralled in even a youth game. 

When the final whistle blows and your team finishes the victor of a 5-0 game you smile and shake yours and the other teams hands as well, while there is still a crowd around you look towards the sidelines and she’s not where she was. You feel a bit of disappointment but you continue to celebrate with your team, you make sure everyones packed up and ready for the semi final in the morning. 

You stay behind at the field to speak with your brother and niece and when you realise you left your phone on the bench you go back to grab it. You walk to your car and you see Alexia leaning against the side of it waiting for you. you smile walking toward her and say “hi, i thought you left.”

“I knew you’d seen me, so I couldn’t sneak away, but i didn’t want to be spotted and recognised by the anyone” she shrugs with a sheepish smile. 

You move to stand right in front of her and you ask her with a smile “how did you know we were playing here?” 

She chuckles and says “i have my ways Y/N.” 

“why did you come out?” 

“maybe I wanted to see you coach for purely tactical reasons” she shrugs with a soft smile. 

You step right into her space, dropping your bag beside you, you ask her “oh so it was only for tactics?”

She smirks and places her hands on your hips, she shakes her head and says “no Y/N, I wanted to see you.” 

Pressing your body to hers you press her back into your car and you ask “do you want to come over?” 

She leans down and stops a breath from your lips and says “I do, for purely tactical reasons.” 

You close the distance and press your lips to hers. She doesn’t let you have a moment before she responds and you feel her lips move against yours, her hands wander to your lower back and you press harder into her. After a few moments you pull back slightly and bite softly to her lower lip and release it with a pop and a smile, asking softly “follow me?” 

“anywhere” she immediately responds and moves to open your door for you as she says “my lady” and she curtsies. 

You chuckle as you get into the car whispering “nerd.” 

She closes the door and blows you a kiss and backs away to her car. You wait for her to get in and you pull out of the spot watching her the whole way in your rearview mirror to your place. When you pull into your building you get out and meet her at the front of your car and neither of you say anything as she follows you up in the elevator to your floor. Once again in silence she follows you to your door and waits beside you as you unlock it. 

She follows you in and when you turn to close the door she pushes you against it with her body and immediately connects your mouth with hers. She wastes no time before her tongue is in your mouth and caressing yours, her hands have roamed to your hips and yours go around her neck as you respond to the kiss. 

You lose yourself in the feeling of Alexia pressed against you, you can feel your self soaking your underwear and your thoughts are consumed with Alexia and how she feels and tastes. When she slows down the kiss and pulls back pressing multiple light kisses on to your lips she presses her forehead to yours and you both are panting and smiling at each other. 

You move your hands up to the hem of her shirt and try to push it up but she shakes her head and you pause and look at her as she pulls her head back and says “I want you Y/N, god you don’t know what you do to me and how much I want you but I think we should slow down.”

Giving her a confused you look you ask “what?” 

She chuckles and presses a kiss to the tip of your nose and says “you’re cute.” 

She pulls back and moves into your apartment looking around, you follow her into the kitchen and move to the fridge to grab a bottle of wine. You grab two glasses and she turns around to you, you ask “wine?” 

“si por favor.”

You nod and pour two glasses bringing them both over to your couch and you pat beside you to get her to sit. She comes over and grabs one and settles sitting sideways on the couch so she is facing you and she smiles takes a sip of her wine and then places it on the table. You do the same and you ask “whats going through your mind Ale?” 

Smiling she says “i like you calling me that.” 

Chuckling you say “stop avoiding the question Ale.” 

She smiles and moves to grab your hand and she says “I want you but I also want to prove to you that I want you Y/N. I have noticed some of your hesitations and as much as I think tonight would be mind-blowing, I want to prove to you that I want you for you. The sweet, kind, cute professor who tends to ramble when she’s nerding out on a topic she cares about, or who takes time out of their busy schedule to coach their nieces team thats who i want to know. Every little detail about you, not just one night but for many.” 

You melt into her at that and she wraps her arms around you as you whisper into her neck “I want that too.” 

She presses a kiss to your hair and says “I will have my way with you soon, but first i want to know the beautiful brain and what makes you you.” 

You lean up and press a kiss to the underside of her jaw and when she looks at you, you whisper out “thank you for seeing me Ale.” 

“this isn’t just for tactics, this is for us” she whispers and presses her lips softly to yours. 

[onbearfeet]

Also, speaking as someone from that culture ... they're not going to listen to YOU. You're queer, you're POC, you're young, you have at least one tattoo--you're a Them, not an Us, in the eyes of anybody in the cult. Even if you're perfectly polite, there's a good chance they'll think you're a literal demon trying to deceive them. If they listened to people from way outside the cult, they wouldn't still be in the damn cult!

You have, realistically, only two options:

Make it worse

Do literally anything else, literally anywhere else

And yeah, I get it, people like this have hurt you and you want to hurt them back. Unfortunately, we don't have the wiggle room for petty revenge right now. If you make things worse, people die. The church lady you call a bitch on the internet is going to be throwing her money, her vote, and whatever influence she has into christofascism because you called her a bitch. That will be her choice, and her fault, but YOU will be the one who made it impossible for anyone else to reach her, and that will be YOUR fault.

I worked on my mom for YEARS to get her to drop the Republican brainwashing and accept trans kids for who they are, all so that her grandchild will be safe to come out as whatever they are, whenever they're ready. She was never going to listen to anyone else; I'm basically her best friend, the only person she trusts to tell her hard truths. I have used that power strategically. And she has a ton of social power! There are probably a dozen people she talks to at church every week who have changed their minds in the past because she did it first, specifically because she has such a reputation for being honest and devoted to God. "If she's doing it, it can't be a sin" is a sentence I've heard uttered about her. You WANT this woman on your team, flipping the local megacurch to your side!

And if someone had called her a piece of shit on Facebook a year ago, I would have been back to square one.

Some of these people can't be reached. Some can, but only by those they already love and trust. If you don't have that particular opportunity, there are lots of other things you can do to fight fascism. Just don't make it harder for the rest of us.

Might I give some advice:

Not everyone has (or needs to have) the energy to thoughtfully respond to republicans on the Internet. You do not have to do that.

But some people do, and can. And I think we gotta let them.

An example:

I have a former teacher, I'll call her Grace, who is an incredibly kind woman in her 70s. Devout catholic, had voted for various parties over the years, but has been pretty strictly democrat over the past 15-20 because that aligns with her values of kindness and service.

She shared a post about the pope's recent letter and expressed that she agreed with his concerns about how trump is treating immigrants. A friend of hers commented a long paragraph basically saying "dear Grace I care for you but I don't understand how you can be a Christian and a democrat. Blah blah abortion blah blah gender blah blah drugs."

Grace replied "I'm very busy right now but I am going to respond to you soon with my thoughts". When she did it was an incredibly generous, rational monologue that connected with this person's humanity, their shared religious values, and made a beautiful case for why she supports who she does. I didn't agree with a good half of what she said as I am not a Christian, but the result was an expression of values that I think put her on the side of justice and compassion.

The person replied and thanked her and said she had a lot to think about. It was probably the best case scenario for a Facebook politics conversation

You know what came very close to ruining it? A bunch of (mostly younger) people piling on with "fuck you you racist maga pos" and "no one has to explain anything to you, go to hell" etc etc. Even after Grace wrote that she intended to reply herself.

I watched this republican respond to all the easy, quick insults by saying "this is why I don't think any democrats can be Christian, this is how you all speak to me." If Grace hadn't put so much work into writing her response in a way that was tailored to fit this person, I would not be surprised if that person left Facebook doubly certain that Christian nationalism is the way to go.

I'm not saying we can't cuss out jackasses. I'm not saying everyone needs to respond to bad faith arguments like Grace did or use their time like she did.

But this was on Grace's Facebook page, and interrupted the work she already volunteered to do. Just so these individuals could feel like they "did something" and got a shot off at an enemy.

I think that's selfish and childish and unproductive. They could have said anything they wanted in their own space, but they made grace's job harder for no fuckin reason. And then "loved" her reply and said "that was beautiful Grace, thank you for sharing your thoughts"

Like... Buddies. Pals. If someone volunteers to scrub the toilet fucking let them.

[utilitycaster]

I've been a pretty harsh critic of Dr. Friedman and Polygon's general Critical Role coverage in the past, and while I think her latest article for them critiquing Campaign 3 is a fairly good one, it does in many ways cast an even harsher light on her kid-gloves handling of D20 and WBN. However, I want to talk about these two excerpts, because I think she hits on something I've increasingly noticed in Actual Play:

"This is where Critical Role’s strength — that Exandria often feels like a real, complex world — collided with the needs of a D&D campaign (a clear adversary, clear plans of action, forward momentum)."

and

"But the confused way D&D handles religion and divinity — polytheism as imagined by midwestern American Protestants — turned the question of how to handle this particular cosmic horror into a glue trap, paralyzing the players for dozens of hours of circular existential debates. Gods once mechanized (or digestible) become just another power bloc, and for players used to a system where in the end you are “basically gods,” the line gets blurrier still. And as D&D’s messy cosmology added friction to much of the campaign, D&D’s mechanics also don’t have the necessary friction for the interpersonal beats that make Critical Role compelling."

I agree with both these statements, as someone who, to be clear, enjoys D&D 5e. D&D supports a range of narratives, but all are ultimately a story of gaining power and fighting off or through a series of adversaries; if your characters are not doing that, it raises the question of why you picked a system that gives you few other options. (This is also, I should note, an increasingly loud question when it comes to Worlds Beyond Number; I fell behind for personal reasons after the Coven arc, but Brennan's initial statements about D&D as scaffolding were perhaps too true; almost every interesting mechanic, in a game with minimal combat that has thus far felt primarily focused on how the three protagonists have fundamentally different adversaries, has been homebrewed, to the point where the cosmology and baggage of D&D has felt like a liability rather than an asset).

D&D also has, in part due to such programs as D20, developed a reputation for being world-agnostic, and that ultimately isn't true. D&D does struggle to make the lines between "real divinity", an archfey or similarly powerful entity, and a L20 character feel sharply defined on a mechanical level; once you give a god a stat block, it can be killed (and on a metanarrative level, revealing the gods' statblocks in Downfall serves to make them both immense, yet also more fragile. The hit points are many, but still finite.) There are a number of questions most D&D worlds simply fail to address - and to be clear, this is not a flaw provided you have buy in. A level 2 warlock in D&D is, in most societies, an one-person lethal force unless the entire town swarms them at once, knowing that many of them will lose their lives in the effort; a level 2 warlock PC, however, is almost never, in-world, treated this way, and indeed is framed as an underdog in a harsh world despite usually having the ability to destroy the entire tavern.

D&D has also developed a (not undeserved) reputation as being The Dominant TTRPG put out by a massive corporation, and has developed a (not deserved) reputation as being itself uniquely problematic as a power fantasy, particularly by people who conveniently forget where Pathfinder came from. I've previously covered that, for all people demand non-D&D actual play, the viewership drops precipitously whenever a big AP show that made its name with D&D dares to branch out, and, related to that, I've seen an uptick in people who are excited for D&D to subvert itself. They wanted Campaign 3 to subvert these norms of divinity and heroic fantasy, cheered for it...and ultimately it was unable to do so. I don't think it's accurate to say that D&D's lack of interpersonal mechanics was the problem here, given that Campaigns 1 and 2 (and again, D20) have no such issue; but rather that since D&D's lack of interpersonal/RP mechanics require more effort from the players to initiate, the debates on the nature of divinity in a world and system that could not sustain them sapped any energy for the late-night watch conversations D&D can support when you're not fighting against it.

I think one of the many lessons we can learn from Critical Role Campaign 3 is that if you go up against D&D with an attempt to destroy it from within, your story will instead find itself conforming to the shape of its container, often to its detriment.

[nickfowlerrr]

something good and true - part 2

part one / part three

pairing: mob boss!bucky barnes x reader

warnings (for all parts in whole): 18+ only. domestic violence. retelling of abuse and battery. minor character death mentioned. angst. sweet and protective bucky. fluff. not sure if this qualifies as a slow burn or not 👀 smut. there’s a happy ending! (as per usual)

words: 5k

notes: i’m so happy people are enjoying the first part, hopefully you’ll enjoy the rest too! lol thank you in advance for reading, i’d be happy to hear your thoughts! as always, comments and reblogs are welcome and so appreciated. 🩵

You wake up to the sound of your daily alarm going off, grumbling as you search your sheets for your phone. When you have a grasp on it, you press the ‘stop’ button and make yourself sit up. You reach for your mouth guard case on the night stand as you take out your night guard, putting it in its case and placing it down momentarily. You rub your eyes, sighing as you try and really wake up. You went to bed early last night, somehow slept longer than usual, and are still tired. Great.

You finally force yourself out of bed and get started on your usual morning routine.

It’s Valentine’s Day but you don’t have a place to be until tonight so you take your time, enjoying the pleasure of a slow morning knowing you don’t have to be at work at all today.

When you’re done getting ready in the bathroom you find yourself dilly dallying in the closet. You don’t know what you should wear. Would dressing up be weird for a dinner/crime confessional? Or would it be more rude to show up to the regal Barnes’ home in casual clothes?

Finally you decide to meet in the middle of the two. You grab your fitted long sleeve purple top, the asymmetric off the shoulder style upgrading the otherwise basic top without being too much, and look for your nice figure hugging pants.

You don’t dress right away, wanting to save the outfit for before you’re set to be picked up in case of a mess. In the meantime, you do your usual makeup routine and style your hair for the day. It’s getting close to noon and your stomach growls, reminding you you’ve yet to eat. You head to the kitchen, still in your pajamas, prepared to start on a quick lunch when you hear a knock on the door.

You freeze for a moment before you walk toward the door, completely unsure of who it could be. You aren’t expecting anyone and the only person you’d be worried to answer the door to would be nothing more than a spector today.

You look out the peephole and see a delivery woman. With a quirked brow, you unlock the door and pull it open.

“Hello,” you greet.

“How are you, sweetie,” she returns with a bright smile. “Got a nice little delivery for you today,” she gestures to the long box she’s rested against the wall. “Just need a signature.”

You smile and take the pen from her, signing quickly, and probably illegibly.

“I’ll tell you, this is probably the biggest box for a bouquet that I’ve delivered since I started,” she laughs, “someone must really want you as their valentine.”

You laugh in return, trying to hide your confusion. There’s flowers in that box?

“Thank you,” you say as you hand her pen back.

“Have a nice Valentine’s,” she says as she turns and walks back toward her truck.

“You, too,” you say after her.

You turn your attention to the box and are careful as you bring it inside. You get it on the table and open it up.

You’re stunned at the bouquet that it holds. You never would’ve guessed the contents of this if she hadn’t mentioned it. The company name is on the inside of the box along with instructions for removing the bouquet without damaging the flowers. You follow the guidance after removing the glass vase packed safely next to the flowers.

It’s gorgeous, and surely expensive. A bouquet this beautifully arranged, with these varieties of flowers and fillers, you don’t know a whole lot about flower prices but you know arrangements like these cost a pretty penny, especially when they’re this size.

You don’t have to do much to the bouquet but again follow the care instructions as you put them in their vase.

At the very bottom of the box is a small card, it appears to have fallen from its stick that still resides among the stems. You can think of only one person who would be sending flowers, but you’re still a little struck when you read his initials on the card.

Forgive the surprise, but it’d be a shame for a woman as special as you to not be gifted on Valentine's.

I’ll see you tonight, sweetheart.

- J.B.B

You try and quell the butterflies taking flight, try and tamper down the renewed nerves, but… He sent you flowers.

You bite your lip, not wanting to break a full smile. It was nice. But was it too much, and too soon? And no way you should feel this giddy with everything you’ve been going through. You don’t even think you’ve really cried since that day. You know better than to bury emotions, to try and move on without dealing with them. With the - you hate to call it what it is - trauma.

The truth is you don’t feel traumatized. You just don’t like to think about him. You don’t like to think about the pain, or the bruises, or the blood, or the knife. You don’t like remembering the fact that you saw a man die.

You shake the thoughts away, like you always do. No.

He’s ruined enough in your life, you think. You won’t let him ruin this new found light, too.

-

6:30 and you’re only now changing out of your pjs. You put on your pants and your top, checking in the mirror that it looks the way you envisioned it would. You slip on your black heeled mules and touch up your hair and makeup before putting on some simple jewelry. This isn’t a date, you remind yourself. This is dinner and the truth.

Your heart races at the thought of having to recall that day but you ignore it. It’ll be good for you, finally telling someone the whole of it.

A knock on your door startles you and you check the time on your phone to find it’s fifteen til.

You do one last check before turning off the lights and coming out into the front room, shutting the other lights off on your way. You double check the peephole and are reassured of Bucky’s presence on the other side. You have your phone in one hand and your small purse in the other, keys dangling from a finger as you open the door to him.

“Hi,” you muster up the greeting as you try to keep from staring at him. He looks sharp and you suddenly feel a little underdressed. Maybe a dress was the right way to go… You want to compliment him but then you’re unsure he’s dressed for you specifically.

“Hello,” he returns, a small smirk on his lips. “You look lovely.”

“Oh,” you look down at yourself, “thank you.” In the same moment, you remember the flowers and repeat yourself, looking to meet his eye. “And thank you, for the flowers, I- they’re beautiful.”

“Not more than you,” he says smoothly, “but I’m glad you liked them. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” you nod, stepping out. You turn to lock the door and slip the keys and your phone into your purse before turning to him again.

Bucky holds his arm out for you to take and you falter for just a split second before you do. He leads you to his car, the same blacked out Jaguar as before, and helps you in.

You try to settle in and buckle yourself before he gets in on his side.

He starts the car and after adjusting the temperature, takes off to his place.

“You like Italian?” he asks out of the blue a couple minutes into the quiet ride.

You glance over at him, “Uhm, yeah. I do.”

“The chef is making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner,” he says with a side glance to you. “Is that alright for you?”

You raise your brows unexpectedly, the question surprising you, “Yes. That ah, sounds good,” you nod.

He looks over at you again, one hand on the wheel as he drives smoothly. You clear your throat nervously.

“How’s your day been?” you ask, your nerves clear in your voice despite your attempt to hide them.

His lips quirk in a half smile, huffing a laugh through his nose.

“Relatively uneventful, until now. Had lunch with an old friend, made some business calls but aside from that I tried to keep my day clear.”

“Oh,” you hum, suddenly feeling bad about having to intrude on his day - though he was the one who didn’t give much of an option at all.

“Truthfully, I’ve just been looking forward to seeing you.”

Your eyes start slowly looking up from your lap as you take in his words until you turn to meet his gaze.

“Me?”

“You.”

You swallow thickly and avert your eyes, you’re once again at a loss for words.

“Sorry,” he chuckles softly, “was that too much?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don't think I’ve made myself or my intentions clear enough,” he says, turning onto a desolate street and driving up what you now see is a long, winding driveway. His home comes into view and your eyes widen. It’s like Wayne Manor. The Neo-Georgian style is oddly fitting for the man beside you.

You’re brought back to the conversation as Bucky pulls into the large garage and parks the car. You look at him fully once more, his bright blue eyes already on you.

“I don’t want you feeling scared or nervous, or like you’re in any kind of trouble here. Tonight is really more selfishly motivated on my part than anything. I just wanna talk over dinner. In part to get the whole story about what happened, but also just to be able to have dinner with you without any prying eyes. I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable, I should’ve made that clear to you before.”

“Yeah,” you breathe, “you should’ve.” You breathe deeply but steadily as you look at him, his eyes never leaving yours, “I would’ve worn a dress.”

His lips twitch as he blinks at you; he lets out a titter as he opens his door and gets out, walking around to get your own.

He helps you out of the car and takes your arm in his, “You look beautiful no matter what.”

Your skin burns at his compliment and you can’t help your admiration. You don’t think you’ve ever been treated so nicely before.

“You’re like a real life gentleman,” you muse shyly.

“My mom didn’t raise me any other way,” he says, leading you into the house.

The aroma of marina and garlic fills your nose as you walk through the space and you suddenly feel very hungry.

“I can give you the tour later, but for now, this is the entertainment room,” he gestures to the room as you continue walking through, coming to a door and going out into the hall. “Bathroom,” he points to the door on the left of you. “Kitchen,” he points to the hinged doors the smell is emanating from, continuing down the hall to the open space it lead to. “This is the entrance and sitting room, and on the other side, just there,” he points across the way, “is the dining room. And there’s another bathroom down on the left, too.”

“You have a beautiful home,” you compliment, eyes wandering the space. It’s really like something out of a magazine or a movie. Funny to imagine people actually live in gorgeous homes like this.

“Dinner shouldn’t be too long,” Bucky starts but pauses when he sees the contemplation on your face. “What is it?” he asks.

You look to him, brows furrowed as you think before you fix your face. “Uhm, can we just talk about it now,” you swallow the lump in your throat. “Get it all out and over with.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” you nod. “Please.”

“Sure,” he says after assessing you for a long second, leading you to the couch to sit down.

You set your purse on the coffee table and take a seat, hands trailing down the fabric of your pants as you smooth them out of habit.

Bucky sits down beside, but leaves some space between you and him.

You aren’t sure how to start.

“Uhm, what is it that you want to know again?”

“Everything,” he says firmly, but without being too harsh, keeping his eyes on you. “What happened, how it started, how it ended. The whole story.”

“Right. Okay, well uhm, it started I guess with us getting together… it didn’t last all that long, really. Freddy and I were seeing each other last year for about six months before I ended things. Or, tried to, at least. He was moving really fast and I didn’t have all that much interest in taking our relationship further than just casually dating. We had an argument about moving in together that ended with him… slapping me,” you force the confession, “we were at his place and I just grabbed my bag and keys and left. I thought that’d be the end of it, I said as much on my way out, but he didn’t wanna accept that, I guess. And so the next six months he was…stalking me?” You weren’t sure what qualified. “I dont know, he’d just always show up places, act like nothing was wrong, kept up a front until we were alone. And I was stupid, I didn’t even bother trying to tell anyone we weren’t together after the first few times. No one believed me, anyway. So, outside looking in it seemed like a typical on again off again situation.

It got to the point where I just accepted whatever it was that was happening. I didn’t really know what else to do. How to stop it. He’d show up at my job, be waiting for me in my car sometimes. I didn’t have much of a choice of letting him in, or driving him home. He’d always end up inside, one way or another, and I… didn’t know when to shut up,” you laugh humorlessly. “I’d tell him to leave, that we weren’t together. He was crazy and wasn’t welcome anywhere around me. I’d yell and scream and the fighting was just, god, maddening. I felt like I was going crazy half the time. It didn’t escalate every time, but when it did,” you wince without noticing as you mindlessly wring your hand. “Anyway, about a month before the last time, I had found him in my house and I was just exhausted. I looked at him while he sat at the counter eating a sandwich and I asked him to leave. I told him there wasn’t anything here for him. That I didn’t love him, and I never would. And that he didn’t love me, either, and deep down that he knew it. Which is all true,” you add, chancing a glance at Bucky who is still next to you, listening intently, eyes locked on you. “I mean, we’d been seeing each other pretty casually for six months, and I knew after the first that we weren’t going anywhere. I thought we were just having fun, I just don’t know why he thought anything different…

But, uhm, yeah anyway, he actually listened that time. There wasn’t an argument, he just threw his food in the garbage, and, well, he pushed past me on his way out but he didn’t look back. Slammed the door on his way and I, I really thought that that was finally it. I thought maybe he’d moved on or something, I don’t-“ you pause, taking a needed breath as you shake your head. “I was wrong though. Because two weeks later he showed up again. Out of the blue. I was in the kitchen, making dinner because my dad was coming over to see if he could fix my heater later. I thought maybe it was him at the door so I didn’t even bother to check before I opened it. And when I did, and it was him, I immediately tried to close it. He looked… I don’t know. Bad. Like, really bad.” You can feel your eyes prick with the beginning of tears as your voice tightens at the memory. “I’d seen him in some pretty bad ways, but I never,” you swallow hard, ”I’d never felt that scared of him before. Even with the pushing and slapping and all that he’d put me through me before. This was just like, unhinged. The look in his eyes when he stared at me,” you force a breath at the recalling.

“I wasn’t able to close the door on him, he shoved it open, didn’t even say anything, just shoved me as hard as he could. I fell against the side table I had by the door, caught myself. I was freaking out, telling him to stop, to leave, and he wouldn’t.

I tried to get to the kitchen to grab my phone and call my dad but he caught me by the back of my shirt and yanked me back. He was going on and on about how stupid I was. How I ruined everything. Calling me every expletive under the sun. He shoved me forward and I went straight into the counter, that hurt,” you monologue, recalling the feeling sharply. “He kicked me while I was leaning against the counter but I got my phone and called my dad. I didn’t even wait for him to answer, I just put my phone back on the counter and hoped Freddy hadn’t noticed. Hoped my dad picked up. He kicked me again, in my back and I kinda fell into the chair there. Was holding it because I didn’t wanna be on the ground but he’d knocked the wind out of me and my chest hurt so badly I wasn’t really able to do anything but try and force myself to breathe. And then I felt him closer, he kneeled down, still over me but more on my level and he just, uh, he smashed my head into that back side of the counter. I tried to elbow him away but he did it again. And then I don’t know what I did,” you try to recall, “but I did something that hurt hit, must’ve hit him somewhere somehow because he backed off while calling me a stupid bitch. The whole time I’m like grunting and trying to be as loud as I can just praying my dad answered and could hear and would be on his way.” You have to stop for a second, regaining control of your voice. You’ve almost forgotten that Bucky is beside you as you narrate what you remember.

“I pushed myself up then, got to my feet, but he was already standing too. He shoved me back and back until I hit the wall just next to the kitchen. And then his hands were on my throat and he was choking me. Just forcing me into the wall over and over. I was clawing at him to let me go. I had to shut my eyes because the look on his face,” you cringe. “I kind of stopped listening to what he was saying at one point because it was just an endless stream of blame and anger. I couldn’t breathe,” you squeeze your hand so tight as you speak, “and then I thought, just try to kick him. And so I did. I kneed him, actually, right between his legs and he let go and I kinda dropped. My throat hurt and my head hurt and I was coughing trying to get a good breath in. And then, I didn’t even notice it happening, didn’t even try to dodge it or deflect it, but he just hit me right in the face. Like, boom.

I’d never been punched in the face before,” you chuckle dryly. “Things get blurry around this point. But I remember falling to my hands and knees at some point. He stepped on my hand and kicked my wrist and that hurt like a bitch. Everything was hurting actually. The part I really remember is the kicking. He kicked me in my ribs and I kinda collapsed on my side. Then he kicked me in my back. A few times. Just, as hard as he possibly could it felt like. He started to like, pace around me, and he was still talking but honestly, I have no idea what he was saying. I started to go out of it and I guess he didn’t like that because I remember hearing his voice get louder and then he kicked me again right in the stomach. I was curling up like getting into fetal position basically just trying to not get more hurt. But he just kept kicking me. Over, and over,” your voice shakes as your voice gets breathy, “and over.” Your eyes are misty with unshed tears welling as you stare at your wringing hands. It’s starting to hurt and as if Bucky himself could feel it, he gently reaches to take hold of your hand, stilling your anxious self soothing and giving it the gentlest squeeze, waiting for you to continue as he listens. You glance quickly his way, but don’t look at him. Your eyes instead focusing on your hand in his. You’re not sure you can look at him. You just need to finish telling him what you know about what happened, and then you can face him again.

“We were in front of the kitchen when my dad came in. The door was open, so he got in right away and, most of this is blacked out for me, but I remember hearing my dad saying my name, and,” you feel the tears begin to slip as you sigh in that same relief, “and I thought, thank god,” you titter tightly. “It’s okay now. I’m gonna be okay.” You reach with one hand to swipe at the tears on your cheeks as you sniffle a bit. “There were a lot of loud sounds, I didn’t see anything but I could hear them. I think when my dad first came in he just charged right for Freddy to get him away from me. And my dad, he just saw red. I don’t think anyone would’ve been able to stop him once he got his hands on Freddy. He had been listening to everything that was happening as he drove to my house so I mean, I can only imagine what was going through his head. And then seeing me like that…” you take a pause.

“I really think he saved my life,” you say, finally looking up to Bucky. He looks tense, jaw squared and something dark swimming in his eyes before he recognizes you looking at him - immediately trying to soften his hard gaze. You know innately that he isn’t angered by you, but rather, what happened. And the delicate way he still holds your hand assures you of that.

“And, well, they ended up in the kitchen, and considering only the few defensive marks on my dad after everything, I think he was just pummeling him. I finally got myself to try and get up and made it closer to the kitchen. I wanted to make sure my dad was alright, and right when I saw them, I saw Freddy trying to get the knife I had been using that was still on the counter. My dad noticed, hit him again, and then grabbed it himself. And then, he, uhm,” you try to clear your throat, “he stabbed him. A few times,” you add, turning closer to Bucky without realizing. “And I guess I don’t really have the stomach for that stuff because after that I just passed out. Scared the hell out of my dad. He saw me and immediately left Freddy, let him fall. Let him… die. I really don’t think he meant to, necessarily. But I know he didn’t really care either way if he did or not. Which is, ya know, I’m not mad or upset at my dad for what he did. At all. I don’t think I would’ve been able to do it myself, and at the end of the day it was either gonna be him or one of us.” You bite your lip as you fidget with Bucky’s hand. You take a moment, taking a breath before getting back to the story. It comes a little easier now, like the hardest part of remembering has passed.

“I woke up in my old bedroom at my parents house, my mom was there. I could tell she had been worried. She told me my dad brought me home and that he went to go clean up and ‘get rid of the trash’. You know, take the trash out and all that,” you allude, giving Bucky a look, eyeing him and hoping to lighten a little bit of the tension around him. He lets the smallest hint of a smile tug on his lips as he stares at you.

“I know,” he confirms, then waits for you to go on. You blink away from him, playing with the silver signet ring on his pinky.

“I really don’t know what he did with him,” you tell him. “He wouldn’t tell me. He didn’t want me to know, or to worry about it. He said if anything happened, if police got involved, he didn’t want me to have any part in it.”

“Good man.”

You smile at Bucky’s words and nod slightly. “Yeah. He is,” you look back at Bucky, hoping to explain better that the trouble this whole thing caused wasn’t his fault. “He was just trying to take care of me, keep me safe. So, I know Freddy worked in your organization, and if his…going missing, caused problems for you, I’m sorry. It was neve-“

“Woah, sweetheart,” Bucky cuts you off almost right away, brows furrowed, “That was never an issue. Freddy had been a problem for business for a while, actually. My only regret is not having handled him myself, and sooner;” he says, his voice low and his agitation at the regret clear in his tone and in his eyes. “I owe your father a thank you.”

Another relief washes over you. You had wanted to believe before when he said you and your dad had nothing to worry about, but hearing that now, you fully do. Especially seeing the raw emotions swimming in the blues of his eyes. He means what he says, you know it.

“The only reason I bothered to look into his absence at all was because of the information and money he had in his car the last time he had a job. We got footage of your dad from that night, parking and abandoning the car, a couple weeks after I first met you. We got what we really needed then, got the car and found the inventory. Thought maybe he was going rogue, went into hiding or something, but then, some of my guys actually found him - and I figured we should know what went down if we wanted to make sure getting rid of him for good would be the end of it. And I knew, somehow, this had you all caught up in it. You’re not the best liar,” he smirks teasingly before he gets serious again, “and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to make sure you were okay. And now I know, so it's done. I promise you aren’t ever gonna have to worry or think about that scumbag again.” He moves his hand from yours and instead takes both in his, holding them as he looks at you sincerely. “I know that wasn’t easy for you to have to talk about, but I appreciate you telling me. I’m sorry you ever had to go through any of that. None’a that should’ve happened. And you deserve a hell of a lot better than the likes of him, even at his best, ya know that?”

You look at him, a little taken aback by his sincerity and care. People talk a lot about Bucky Barnes, but clearly not many know him - not like this. You’ve seen the exterior, the hardened, cocky front. But this caring, attentive and protective side is something you’d never have expected. Though it’s more than welcome. You warm at his words but don’t answer, instead looking down at your hands for a second before he takes his back. He lifts his touch to your chin and tilts until your eyes meet his again, a breath caught in your throat when you do.

“You do know that, don’t you, doll?” He repeats, the softness you find yourself growing ever fonder of back in his intent gaze as he seems to try and peer into your soul.

You can’t get your tongue to work but your hand moves to hold his wrist gently and you manage to nod your head. Then your body seems to move without thinking. You pull his hand away and he lets you, but you don’t drop your touch, instead guiding his hand to his side. You then find yourself moving into him without a word. You couldn’t resist the urge to hug him if you’d wanted to. Your arms go around him as you lean into him, his own arms readily coming around you in return. Your eyes fall shut at the feeling the warmth of him sends through you, your body relaxing, the tension that had been coursing through you relieving more and more.

“Thank you,” you murmur before pulling away. “And sorry,” you breathe a slightly embarrassed laugh as you look at him.

“You don’t have to apologize,” he says, a hint of a smile curving his lips, one arm still around your waist. You aren’t sure he even realizes and truthfully, you don’t mind at all. In fact, you like the feeling.

A moment passes as you both just look at one another until you hear his name and his hand falls fully on your hip.

“Mr. Barnes,” a man speaks as he enters from the hall in the direction of the kitchen. You both give him your attention as you turn to look at him. “Oh, excuse me, my apologies,” he smiles at you as you catch his eye. “Dinner will be served shortly, and I can bring your salads out momentarily if you’re ready.”

“Thank you, Grant,” Bucky dismisses before turning his full attention back to you. “Are you hungry?”

You turn to Bucky and nod, a soft, small smile pulling at your lips, “Very,” you answer honestly.

His touch slips away as he stands but he holds his hand out for you to take. You do just that and let him lead you to the dining room.

[goldentreasuredump]

I love my Beast/Ancient fan kids wayy too much and I'm making it everyone else's problem. So take this lore and art dump!

In this Au (that doesn't have a name yet) There are ten fankids in total, but the "main characters" are the Shadownilla kids. Because of course they are

The general backstory for these guys is that they were made in a lab using the stolen DNA of both beasts and ancients (don't ask how the scientists got said stolen DNA, I don't have an answer). They were created to be "the ultimate cookies" but it backfired horribly for the scientists as all ten kids are more ancient than beast and are far more pure and genuinely good than what was planned. Then the kids planed a jail break, escaped the lab, stole an air ship, and set off for the Vanilla Kingdom.

Now, why the Vanilla Kingdom specifically? Simple! The Vanilla Kingdom is a place where all cookies can live together, no matter their flavor or texture. So of course this would be the safest place for half-beast cookies to seek temporary asylum. Pure Vanilla is also the safest out of all of the Ancients for the kids to go to as this au takes place between chapters 6 and 7, so Dark Cacao and Golden Cheese have already experienced the horror of their beasts and they don't need children who are half beast. So Pure Vanilla becomes a single father of ten for a good chunk of time.

Once they all settle in and calm down, Pure Vanilla does call for the other Ancients to come get their kids but they happens later. I dont have a lot of stuff for the other kids as I personally don't like Mystic Flour or Burning Spice all that much, and the other two beast aren't out yet...

The Beasts have absolutely no clue that these kids exist and are absent for most of story until the kids go off to live with their respective Ancient parent.

The reason why Shadow Milk specifically doesn't know the kids exist is because of Half Moon. She was the first kid to be baked and was made with dark moon magic, she does have access to the dark side of the moon but her powers act as more of a Shadow Milk repellent. Kinda like forcing the same side of two magnets together. So once Half Moon was made, Smilk lost access to the lab, which confuses the heck outta him. And once she's in PV's care, Smilk loses access to Pv as well. Smilk is confused, angry, and I love bullying him.

I should also add that in the beginning, the trio absolutely adores Pure Vanilla and do NOT like Shadow Milk. Like at all. They hate him.

Half Moon can tolerate Smilk. She does want a relationship with Smilk because he is their other parent, but she's heard to horror stories and makes sure to keep a safe distance between him and her siblings cause she has the power to do so. Half Moon is out here protecting her family from the deranged gay jester 🫡

Half Moon and Smilk probably have the best relationship out of all of the kids but thats saying something. The bar is on the floor.

Vanilla Extract DESPISES Smilk and rejects the very idea of being related to him. Extract was literally baked in PV's image and was supposed to be a healer as well, but the little bit of Smilk in him ruined everyone. Extract is the only member of the family who can use or learn healing magic and he blames Smilk for it. Extract is just so full of teenage angst, it's great.

Blueberry Orchid is the baby of the family and is probably the most successful creation out of the ten. She is the living embodiment of pureness and truth baked into a baby sheep girl. Orchid is incapable of lying and is basically a human (cookie?) lie detector. Smilk annoys her because she knows he's lying to her, so she ignores him every chance she gets in that sassy child way! It amuses everyone else but Smilk's poor ego cant handle the amount of sass this child is giving him.

Shadow Milk has to win over each kid and PV but they will eventually be a happy family! But it will take a while. Im an absolute sucker for domestic fluff and the idea of these two raises children (One young adult, a teenager and a child) is so so so amusing. I need that found family, I need the angst and hurt comfort, I need Shadow Milk to step up and be a better guardian cause he's doing a shit job with Candy Apple and Black Sapphire! Shadow Milk dad redemption here and now!!

[miumura]

this reblog is so precious to me WHAT THE HECKKKK . like me receiving this lengthy of a reblog from the sweetest girl i know??? guys i literally do not deserve her 💔💔💔

words truly cannot express how grateful i am for this ☹️ FIRST OFF, i’ve already expressed this in her dms (🤫), but she absolutely did WONDERFUL with this long review like… this is everything a writer could ask for??? any reblog/hashtags can make anyone happy but having something like this just makes someone feel soooo overjoyed? like something so well put together for something that you spent so much time writing for 😞 it truly makes you feel seen and this girl never fails to do so ❤️‍🩹

so, spoilers ahead, like always! read beforehand if you please :] <3

also some are answered by numbers so that my comments / responses are basically directed to those (?) IT WILL MAKE SENSE WHEN YOU READ THIS… and the ones i didn’t number are more general ^^

FIRST AND FOREMOST, i do want to point out that i love how you not only highlighted jaehyun and reader, but also the other characters too as I LOVED PORTRAYING THEIR CHARACTER TOO!!! i believe they were important with the progression of jaehyun and reader !!! woonhak my silly bae (or lemme say, the main cupid 😛) , alongside with leehan being the silliest, taesan, sungho, and riwoo—the most helpful out if the bunch 😚! they all played a part in this so i’m glad you also mentioned them too !!!

3) AND YES!! jaehyun is absolutely the sweetest soul ever :’) just someone who is willing to make sacrifices simply for the other person ❤️‍🩹

4) LMAOOO DONT WORRY… it hit close to home for me too… just another fatez thing!!!

6) AND AWH im glad this was good for you !! this is the first time i’ve ever written an exes to lovers so im happy its up to par to your liking <3

AND YES, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU!! with exes to lovers, there can be closure but also there’s that unspeakable energy that you COULD meet someone you used to (or still do) love and that is just 💔 SO MY ATTEMPT AT WRITING THIS WAS HOPEFULLY A GOOD PORTRAYAL OF THE POTENTIAL AWKWARDNESS (like you mentioned in number 7 !!)

8) I WANTED SOMEONE TO POINT THAT OUTTT ESP THE “he was only someone you had once wanted. now, he’s just a stranger with a familiar name” Ohhh i was so proud of that…

I ALSO LOVED HOW YOU POINTED OUT THE SUBTLE MOMENTS OF JAEHYUN AND READER STILL HAVING FEELINGS !! i threw some parts here and there to establish that… none of their love really left in the first place! i really like how as you continue to read, your theory gets even stronger/more supported HAHAH it really seems like you were invested and i love you for that </3

13) GOSHHHH YOURE SO SWEET. LILI IS THE GOAT FOR WRITING ALL OF THIS 😭💔😭💔 you make writing long fics feel so worth it for your commentary ❤️‍🩹

IM GLAD YOU FOUND THE MOMENTS I WANTED PEOPLE TO LAUGH (or at least… smile) AT !!! i tried inserting a new lighthearted moments for the fluff :3

SUNGHO OUR SAVIOR 👏👏 someone needs to help jaehyun realize his feelings little by little and i will say he did contribute!!! AND LEEHAN YESSS he’s just really a silly character in this….

WITH HEESEUNG SJSJS IM SO SORRY . the idea sparked in my head for jaeyn interactions sorry….. 😁!

24-26) AND YES THAT PART SPECIFICALLY I LOVED WRITING LIKE ACTUALLY…. not only does his actions speak volumes but also his words like?? i just love the comfort in small-but-also-kind-of-big actions so much :’) AND TO NOMINATE THIS FIC FOR ALL CATEGORIES ??? GOSHHH YOU FLATTER ME TOO MUCH 😞😞 tysm ml 😕😕❤️‍🩹 (and real, may this love find us all.)

I FELT SOOOO SINGLE WRITING THISSSS like with the scene of jaehyun comforting/reassuring her to the matching headbands to being on rides together 💔💔💔 Yeah reading the specific parts is making me re experience those emotions HAHAH . AND THE CLAY DATE SCENE UGHHH i loved that one so much.

43) YESSS the idea of having a safe space is so comforting ❤️‍🩹 and especially if you consider someone as one, it’s just 10x that feeling!!! i’ll forever be the riwoo to your jaehyun babes <3

THANK YOU SOSOSO MUCH FOR THIS REBLOG AGAIN :’) !!! i’m so happy that you selected so many parts and wrote your own thoughts about it ☹️ it just really shows you read it and i truly love you so much for that ❤️‍🩹 TO HAVE STUPID CUPID BE CONSIDERED AS ONE OF THE BEST MJAE FICS PLEASEEE my heart is so full already from this and you had to add this 😢 it’s overflowing!!!

me when im at the competition of being the sweetest person in the whole wide universe and galaxy included and lili is my opponent… Yeah i would take my loss right then and there.

i will reread this every time i feel down because i can guarantee you, this will make me feel soso much better. and i keep my word on that! THANK YOU SO MUCH MY LOVE AGAIN 🤍 please check out my luckycharmz works too because they are just amazing <3

STUPID CUPID! ─── JAEHYUN ONESHOT ✶

𓊆 🪽 𓊇 CUPID’S HANDBOOK ✶ Nothing could've prepared Jaehyun for the moment you, his ex, walked through the doors of his matchmaking business, hoping to find someone new. As a Cupid undercover, he sees this as his chance to finally move on by setting you up with someone "better." Determined to prove he's over you, Jaehyun throws himself into the task—only for a small mishap with his powers to send everything spiraling out of control.

OR IN WHICH Instead of helping you find love, Jaehyun accidentally amplifies his own buried feelings—the very ones he swore he’d left behind. As he's desperately hoping his magic wears off before you notice, Jaehyun can’t help but worry that you’ll think he’s sabotaging your chances at love simply because he can’t let you go just yet.

MATCHMAKER & HIS CLIENT × cupid ! jaehyun x f ! reader

🗒️ › THE GUIDELINES ⟡ cupid au, exes2lovers, second chance, pining, slowburn(ish), fluff, angst ( ? ), crack

PRECAUTIONS ノ jaehyun absolutely being a nervous but almost lovesick mess 👍, playful bickering, a bit of jealousy?, teasing (#you’llfindthemainculprits), some denial and i believe that’s really it! ( FEAT. all of boynextdoor as CUPIDS! )

WORD COUNT ────── 25.9K+ ( 25907 WORDS ) !

𓊆 🗯️ 𓊇 CUPID’S RULES ✶ happy (late) valentines to you all ♡ !! this WAS supposed to be released on vday, but i lost track of time and was busy playing cupid for my friend so 😖 (rhin can confirm) special thank yous to alya, rhin, and lili !! alya & rhin my main people that i gave them sm updates (i know they were tired of me always saying my new wcs for this…) and lili being an amazing motivator for this as i was trying (more like stressing) to get this out as soon as possible… SO this fic definitely holds a special place in my heart & i hope you guys enjoy this as much as i did :] !! again, happy month of love ♡

🏹 ────── PLAYLIST LINKED IN ‘STUPID CUPID!’

RULE #1: Remember and Follow the Cupid Handbooks

Being a Cupid comes with its perks—the ability to make people fall within seconds—but it also carries a weird curse: struggling to find love for yourself. It’s ironic, really. How could one in charge of creating love stories be so helpless when it comes to their own? 

So, if there’s one rule every Cupid should know, it’s to avoid getting tangled up in love themselves. 

Jaehyun knew that better than anyone. He didn’t spend countless nights studying Cupid Handbooks just to break the most clear but unspoken rule in the book. But, when constantly exposed to love—causing romantic connections and having soulmates find each other—could he really be blamed for wondering what it might feel like to fall too? 

Jaehyun hated the idea of him doing something so forbidden—he knew his limits, had always known them, and he has never been so set on keeping himself within them. But the more time he spent practicing his spells and shooting his heart arrows, the more he felt himself daydreaming. Even during his shifts, he kept catching himself drifting off to the thoughts of what he wanted in a relationship. 

His imagination that led to his hopeless scenarios had him wanting love. Not just any kind of love, though. 

Jaehyun wanted to find love the natural way. No use of his magic. No arrows. No shortcuts. It was interesting, given the fact his abilities could naturally make the person he wanted to fall for him. But with the amount of time he spent in this field, all he wants is to be able to feel things everyone else would’ve if no one interfered with their love life. 

He wanted something genuine. 

He wanted to experience all the little things—interlocking fingers and swinging arms during a late-night walk—and plan romantic gestures and dates that would leave someone speechless. He wanted to laugh until his cheeks hurt because of the joy someone else brought into his life—someone that he could call his partner. 

It was so human, really so simple. Yet for someone like him, it was out of bounds and strictly off-limits. His magic was meant for others, not himself. Still, the thought lingered, nestled deep within him.

Even though it seemed forbidden, Jaehyun couldn’t stop himself from wondering: wouldn’t it be worth it, just once, to know what it felt like? It could be a good experience, he told himself, a lesson in understanding what he had been helping others achieve for so long.

And against all odds—or perhaps because of them—his fantasies became his reality. For the first time, Jaehyun found himself in a relationship. His first one ever. Everything he had imagined, all the sweet little moments he dreamed of, unfolded before him. Late-night walks, planned romantic dates, and laughter that left his cheeks sore were everything he’d wished for.

It was perfect. Almost too perfect, as if the universe was teasing him with a fleeting glimpse of something he could never fully keep.

If only he had known how it would all end. If only someone had stepped in to shatter his hopeless fantasies before they took place. Maybe then he wouldn’t have fallen so hard.

Maybe then he wouldn’t have become the hopeless mess he is now.

It wasn’t that he regretted the relationship—not entirely. The memories were precious, the kind he would carry with him forever. But who could have guessed how much a first love could change a person? That those bubbly feelings he felt would be so short-lived and immediately replaced with nothing but guilt? 

Unless, of course, Jaehyun was just a hopeless romantic, unable to let go of his first love. Maybe that was his problem all along—he clung to the memory of it, replaying every moment like a song he couldn’t stop humming. Or maybe it was simply a part of the consequences of not following the Cupid’s rule—avoid getting tangled up in love. 

It’s as if once a Cupid gets out of love, that emptiness will forever stick, and yet there would be no attempt to fill it up again. Instead, it simply lingers over like a shadow that would never disappear. 

Even with his so-called tragic attempt at love, Jaehyun refuses to let it interfere with his performance as a Cupid. If anything, he tries to hide it, and it only fuels his dedication to helping others find what he couldn’t. It helped him so much to the point that he even opened his own matchmaking business in the human world—a thriving one at that. 

For Jaehyun, it’s much easier to act like the one who steps into someone’s life at just the “right” moment, soon setting them up with their perfect match disguised as a human. With him constantly surrounded by success and purpose, he was able to effortlessly complete his tasks at a quick pace and climb up the ranks. His undercover Cupid life was truly working in his favor. 

For once, it seems like everything was finally working for Jaehyun. 

And that was all he ever wanted. 

RULE #2: Help anyone — everyone deserves love. 

It was a typical day for Jaehyun if he was holed up in his office, scrolling through the reviews on his website. A satisfied grin tugged at his lips as he skimmed through the comments praising his flawless love advice and unmatched ability to set up the perfect soulmate-worthy dates. 

“Jaehyun!” Woonhak’s voice burst through the quiet room, startling Jaehyun to jolt upright, abandoning the relaxed posture he’d settled into moments before. “You’ve got new clients!” 

The door swung open, and in walked Woonhak, his assistant, with a stack of papers that balanced in his arms. He remained completely oblivious to the sharp glare Jaehyun shot his way, too caught up in his excitement—or perhaps too used to his expressions to care. 

“It would be better if you just entered the room without yelling like that,” Jaehyun muttered, watching as Woonhak approached his desk and plopped down the heavy stack of papers.

“You just get scared too easily,” Woonhak teased, dragging out the last word as if to further test Jaehyun’s patience. Despite the playful jab, his grin never faltered. He nudged the papers closer, clearly expecting Jaehyun to skim through them quickly so he could set up the appointments and get back to whatever mischief he had planned for the day.

Jaehyun chose to ignore his teasing, snatching up the papers and flipping through the stack as fast as he possibly could. Meanwhile, Woonhak let out a low whistle, tapping his fingers on his thighs as his eyes wandered around the room to fulfill his few minutes of boredom. 

With Jaehyun looking back at Woonhak every so often, his attention soon landed on the white wings peeking out from Woonhak’s back. 

“And hide those winds before someone walks in here and thinks you’re an odd person.” He pointed in their direction, giving it a small look. 

Woonhak immediately twisted his body, trying to get a glimpse of the wings, only to end up spinning in an awkward loop. Jaehyun let out a chuckle at the ridiculous sight, shaking his head before returning to the customer requests sprawled out in front of him.

“I had to help Taesan with his mission. Cut me some slack,” Woonhak huffed, hurriedly tucking his wings out of sight—even though it was just him and Jaehyun in the room.

“Besides,” he added, straightening up and crossing his arms, “I’d be diligent enough not to get caught looking like this in front of a human.”

Jaehyun raised his eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Uh-huh. Like you never had something like this happen on numerous occasions.” 

Woonhak opened his mouth to argue but quickly shut it, his lips pressing into a thin line as he suddenly remembered a few of the times that almost led him to exposing his true identity. 

“Just focus on looking through these so I can go back to work before someone calls for me again,” Woonhak grumbled under his breath, leaving Jaehyun unbothered to even hide the small smirk he had. 

“Yeah, yeah—” Jaehyun started, his words trailing off the moment his eyes landed on a familiar name.

L/N Y/N.

For a moment, the room felt smaller, and the papers in his hands suddenly heavier. He stared at your name, unable to move past it, as if seeing it in print made it all too real.

He almost felt as if he was being physically dragged down, feeling the weight of such a familiar yet unfamiliar name crush him. 

His heart felt like it was sinking. 

Snapping out of it, Jaehyun quickly slid the paper out of the stack, slipping it aside like it didn’t exist. But before he could fully hide it, Woonhak’s sharp eyes caught his movement.

Woonhak slid the paper back in front of Jaehyun, his eyes narrowing in confusion at Jaehyun’s sudden action. 

“What?”

“Uh, I don’t think I can take this applicant,” Jaehyun replied a little too quickly, pushing the paper aside once more. 

“What’s wrong with this one?” he pressed, sliding the paper back yet again and this time keeping his hands firmly placed on it. Woonhak couldn’t seem to let it go that easily. He leaned in, squinting as he tried to make the words on the page from his view. “See something that goes against our policies?” 

“It’s not that—” Jaehyun paused, the sudden thought of him technically being the one that went against Cupid’s "policies.”

Avoid getting tangled up in love. 

The same phrase that haunted him echoed in his head, almost threatening to bring him back to the phase where he felt everything was going wrong. But he quickly shook it off—he had to. Now wasn’t the time for him to dwell on his past actions. He needed an excuse—any excuse. 

His eyes darted to the description you’d provided at the bottom of the application, scanning the words as fast as he could.

“They just seem... bland?” he blurted out, scrambling for an explanation. “Like they don’t actually want our services. Feels like a waste of time, honestly.”

Woonhak tilted his head before flipping the paper around, finally taking the time to read it properly. He hummed softly, nodding as if he agreed, and Jaehyun let out the smallest sigh of relief—until Woonhak abruptly stopped.

His expression shifted, brows furrowing deeply as his eyes darted back and forth between the paper and Jaehyun. 

“Since when did you, out of all Cupids, opt out of helping a client find love?”

“I mean…you saw the paper yourself!” Jaehyun stammered, trying to say anything to seem valid with his reasoning. He could feel the heat rising to his face, and no matter how hard he tried to keep calm, his words kept fumbling. This was spiraling fast—faster than he wanted it to. Instead of seeming like the confident, professional Cupid he prided himself on being, Jaehyun felt like a deer caught in headlights.

“The Jaehyun I know wouldn’t turn anyone away,” he stated clearly, folding his arms. “So, you? The Cupid who preaches about ‘love being for everyone,’ rejecting a client because they seem odd with their reasoning?”

Jaehyun didn’t know what to say—matter of fact, he didn’t want to say it. He had no comeback—no witty excuse to hide behind. Honestly, how could he possibly explain the truth? That he didn’t follow the very rules designed to keep Cupids professional? 

How was he supposed to bring up the fact that he had a deeper connection to you than other humans? 

That it was what he’s been wanting to avoid even remembering for the longest time? 

Jaehyun’s stomach churned, the thought looming over him greater than before. With falling in love as a Cupid seems to go against their morals, Jaehyun would absolutely forbid himself from telling someone he had gone against it. 

No one could know. Not even Woonhak, one of the very few he trusted the most. 

Nothing could deter Jaehyun from believing that this guilt should be only carried by himself. Otherwise, who knows what could happen to him if the word got out that he did something “bad”? 

Because if they found out? Suspension would be the least of his problems. He could be stripped of his powers, exiled from this world, or worse—losing his powers as a Cupid. 

Regardless of what punishments there could be out there, Jaehyun was not planning on getting into any of them. 

Jaehyun clenched his jaw, forcing himself to hold Woonhak’s gaze. “Can I just say...the vibes are... off?” Jaehyun managed to murmur, putting on a hopefully convincing look. However, Jaehyun even thought he wouldn’t be convinced by his own excuse with Woonhak towering over him, trying to analyze his true intentions. 

“Is there something you don’t want to tell me?” his voice was still laced with suspicion; however it was softer than it was before. 

Jaehyun felt the weight of Woonhak’s stare, and for a split second, he debated keeping the truth buried. But the tension in the room was suffocating, and if he didn’t give Woonhak something—anything—it might only make things worse.

It could at least make him feel a bit better in this situation. 

“Okay…well,” Jaehyun began, his voice wavering as he struggled to find the right words. “It’s someone I used to know. Someone I—” He paused, catching himself before saying too much. “—someone I haven’t spoken to in a while. I just... I don’t want to mess things up for them.”

Woonhak tilted his head, his brows furrowing slightly, but he nodded as if to show he understood. “So it’s personal?”

“Kind of,” Jaehyun admitted, his gaze shifting down to the paper that now felt like it was burning a hole in his desk. “I just think it’d be better if someone else handled it.”

“Alright,” Woonhak finally said, stepping back slightly. Hearing that, Jaehyun could’ve sworn he let out a huge exhale of air he didn’t even realize he’d been holding.

Relief flooded through him, but it was short-lived. Woonhak reached out, gathering the stack of papers—including yours—and Jaehyun’s eyes lingered on them longer than he meant to.

That’s when it hit him.

You applied. You. To find someone new?

Before he could fully process it, Woonhak’s footsteps snapped him out of his spiral. He abruptly turned back before reaching the door, making Jaehyun’s shoulders tense up all over again.

“But if no one takes this application,” Woonhak said with a grin, “you’re going to have to handle it no matter what.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

“She applied for you to help her, didn’t she?” Woonhak grinned, clearly enjoying the panic written all over Jaehyun’s face. “Cupid rules!” 

And before Jaehyun could even form a response, Woonhak was gone, shutting the door behind him within an instant. 

Jaehyun slumped back in his chair, running a hand through his hair as the words echoed in his head.

She applied for you to help her. 

For the first time ever, Jaehyun had never felt a stronger urge to break Cupid’s rules.

Just for his own sake. 

RULE #3: Focus on the Present, Not the Past

It didn’t take long for Jaehyun to realize that Woonhak had only been joking and that no such rule actually existed. Honestly? He was relieved—especially after mustering up the courage to ask Riwoo a series of awkward and borderline ridiculous questions. Poor Riwoo had been forced to sit through Jaehyun’s rambling without even understanding why he was so worked up.

According to Riwoo, applications were simply sent and put on hold until someone willingly picked up the task. It didn’t have to be Jaehyun—thankfully. That small piece of information lifted a massive weight off his shoulders, allowing him to breathe easier for the first time since he’d seen your name on the paper.

And while the thought of leaving your application in someone else’s hands felt oddly conflicting, Jaehyun convinced himself it was for the best. You’d be taken care of soon, and he wouldn’t have to risk getting involved in your life again.

As cold as it might sound, Jaehyun knew his intentions were good. He wasn’t trying to be cruel—if anything, he was trying to protect you from not seeing him again, as maybe the sight of him could possibly hurt you too. 

That reassurance brought him an unexpected sense of peace, enough to push him back into focus. With his worries temporarily set aside, Jaehyun found himself performing better than he had in weeks, even earning a few more praises here and there.

It was more than enough for Jaehyun to be set right back on track. 

“Send the next client in,” Jaehyun spoke into the earpiece, his tone steady as he leaned back in his chair. He reached for a pen, idly tapping it against the surface of his desk while he waited.

“I’m on it,” Woonhak’s voice crackled through the line, followed by faint shuffling noises. Jaehyun could just barely make out Woonhak murmuring something to the next person in line, probably offering some last-minute reassurance before directing them inside.

Jaehyun straightened up as he heard the door creak open, forcing himself into professional mode. He plastered on a welcoming smile, just like he had practiced, ready to offer all the help he could give. 

“Welcome to—” he looked up, the grip on his pen faltering, nearly causing it to slip from his fingers. His lips slightly parted before continuing, “KOZ of Cupid.”

Out of all clients he could’ve seen today, why did it have to be you?

At first, you didn’t want to sign up for something like this. You preferred the more “natural” way of falling in love—the kind of story that felt straight out of a romance movie. Meeting someone in a cozy café, locking eyes with a stranger in a crowd, or stumbling upon someone at the wrong place but at the perfect time. That’s the kind of love you always dreamed about.

Although those kinds of wishes didn’t take you far within your love life. Those fleeting moments never seemed to lead to something more than casual, leaving you in a series of what-ifs and missed connections. So, here you were, making the decision you once swore you’d never make. 

But what you didn’t expect was seeing this. 

You froze the moment you stepped inside the office, your eyes locking with his as the realization sank in. Out of all the people who could’ve been behind this desk—out of all the Matchmakers people raved about—it just had to be him.

Your ex.

Well, maybe if you knew who he actually was prior to this, you would’ve probably avoided getting into this situation. 

Your body stiffened, your hand gripping the strap of your bag as if holding onto it could somehow ground you. He looked just as surprised as you, if not mortified. 

“Cupid MJ…?” you finally asked, your voice laced with disbelief as you eyed the nameplate on his desk. “That’s you?”

Jaehyun swallowed hard, his hand instinctively reaching up to rub the back of his neck. Despite having gone by the alias for what felt like an eternity, hearing it come out of your mouth suddenly made it sound ridiculous.

“Yeah…” he muttered, his voice softer than usual. “That’s me.”

“I see...” you trailed off awkwardly, already hating the steps you took to be caught in this kind of predicament. 

“Well, take a seat, won’t you?” Jaehyun finally broke the silence, gesturing toward the chair he’d carefully positioned in front of his desk. You nodded stiffly, your legs carrying you forward as if on autopilot, each step feeling heavier than the last.

You weren’t sure what shocked you more—seeing Jaehyun again after all this time or realizing he was now running a matchmaking business, posing as some kind of modern-day Cupid...now in charge of your love life. 

The only difference is that he's no longer a part of it—not in that kind of way. 

“It’s been a long…time since we last saw each other,” you managed to say as you took a seat. Your eyes fell into your lap, unable to meet his gaze face-to-face after all this time. It felt unnatural given how you two were practically strangers who used to be lovers, now meeting up together in the same room. “I didn’t know you were doing this kind of thing now.” 

Jaehyun wasn’t surprised by your reaction. He had expected this to throw you off—how could it not? After all, back then, he’d practically put his cupid duties on pause to be with you. He left it all in Riwoo’s hands just so he could experience what love felt like firsthand.

And for a while, it was perfect.

But now? Now, he was just a matchmaker, and you were just another client sitting across from his desk, needing his help. You two were not on boyfriend-girlfriend terms anymore, so Jaehyun had no choice but to snap out of it. 

“It has been,” he finally replied, forcing a polite smile despite the tightening in his chest. “I never would’ve expected to see you again—especially not here. And definitely not in this... field of love.”

You let out a small, nervous laugh, nodding your head. “Yeah, well…change of plans, I guess.”

Jaehyun also nodded, but his mind was already spiraling. Change of plans? To make things fair, he hasn’t seen you in a while—it’s been a good year or two of him avoiding crossing paths with you. 

“Getting back on topic, I assume you’ve already gone through our website?” Jaehyun asked, his tone shifting to something more professional as he turned his attention to the computer beside him. His fingers moved quickly over the keyboard, typing your name into the database.

“Well… could there be anything I missed besides setting up this appointment with you?” you asked, hoping your rushed application hadn’t left out anything important.

“It actually looks like you didn’t fill out the section about what you’re looking for in a future partner.” Jaehyun frowned slightly, refreshing the page a couple of times as if expecting the missing information to magically appear. “Huh. That’s odd…”

“There was a form for that?” you asked, genuine confusion lacing your voice.

Jaehyun hummed in response, his eyes still fixed on the screen. “Yeah. It’s part of the application process. You must’ve skipped over it.”

You sat back in your chair, trying to piece together the memory of filling out the form. “I probably did. I was kind of in a rush when I submitted it,” you admitted, already cringing at how careless you’d been. It was supposed to be something quick—just something to get your friends off your back about your ‘tragic’ love life. 

“Well, don’t worry about it.” Jaehyun reached for the drawer beside him, pulling out a clipboard and sliding a clean sheet of paper into the clip. “I have a physical copy you can fill out instead.”

He handed it to you along with a pen, prompting you to take it without hesitation. Your eyes quickly scanned the questions on the form, and almost immediately, you felt like you were being put on the spot. The questions were more personal than you expected—asking about values, expectations, and even deal-breakers—but you pushed through, determined to finish it as quickly as possible.

The silence in the room only made the process feel longer. You could feel Jaehyun’s occasional glances, though he tried to keep himself preoccupied with the computer screen in front of him. It was as if he was pretending not to notice how much effort you were putting into answering the questions—questions he already knew the answers to, at least back then.

After what felt like an eternity, you were able to finish the last question, settling the clipboard down with a soft thud. 

“All done?” 

“Yeah,” you replied, sliding the clipboard back across his desk. “Sorry, that took so long. Some of the questions were…very detailed.” 

Jaehyun let out a small laugh, picking up the clipboard and flipping through the pages to make sure you didn’t skip over anything accidentally. “It’s supposed to be thorough. The more detailed your responses are, the better we can find the match for you.”

You nodded, though the idea of him—or anyone—reading through your answers felt a bit humiliating. Even if you regretted it, there was really no coming back from this now. But Jaehyun’s silence couldn’t help but worry you, making your stomach churn. 

“Okay, it looks like you filled out everything,” he said, placing the clipboard down in front of him. “We should be able to get you set up with a match that fits what you’re looking for.” 

You didn’t have an answer, so you simply nodded, forcing a small, polite smile even as the tension in the room lingered.

“That’s all for today’s session,” Jaehyun said, leaning back slightly as if to signal the end of your meeting.

“Really? That’s it?” you asked in surprise. 

“Considering how you forgot to fill that part, I can’t do much more than make you wait until our next session to find you a match,” he replied. “I’ll have Cupid KW set up the next appointment for you when I’m all settled.” 

“Oh right…” Your voice barely rose above a murmur as you stood up, sliding the chair back under the desk carefully before you left. You hesitated at the door, your hand hovering over the handle before instinctively turning back to him.

“Thank you, Jaehyun—” You froze, quickly correcting yourself. “I mean, Cupid MJ.” The slip-up made you cringe internally—you certainly weren’t on the terms to be addressing him like that. You didn’t choose to stick around long enough to explain or even see his reaction. Instead, you hurriedly added, “Have a nice day,” before stepping out and pulling the door closed behind you.

Jaehyun barely managed a “You too,” but his voice was low, almost drowned out by the soft click of the door shutting. Letting out a quiet sigh, Jaehyun shifted his focus back to the clipboard you left behind, flipping through the pages filled with your handwriting.

Jaehyun? It was nice to hear that name from you again. But he hated how much he missed hearing it. 

It had been so long, and yet it still sounded so familiar—so warm, as if it provided a sense of comfort to him. It was as if he was transported back to the past, the time where he had known everything about you. 

He scanned through your answers carefully, noting every detail you had written down. As he continued to flip through the pages, he wore a faint, bitter smile, noticing how clear everything was. 

It was silly to think about reconnecting, wasn’t it? Silly to even let himself reminisce about what everything once was.

Everything you seem to want now—the qualities and expectations—no longer reflects who Jaehyun was. But what should he expect? That you would still want someone like him? 

He was only someone you had once wanted. 

Now, he’s just a stranger with a familiar name. 

RULE #4: Act Fast; a Client is Top Priority

“Where’s Woonhak?” Jaehyun suddenly asked, his eyes narrowing as Leehan walked in carrying a stack of papers instead of the usual face he expected to see every day.

“He told me Sungho called for him for the day,” Leehan replied, setting the papers down on Jaehyun’s desk with the same precision Woonhak typically would. “So, I took over his spot.”

Jaehyun barely held back a groan. Of course, Woonhak wouldn’t be here today. If he was, Jaehyun would’ve made sure he didn’t leave this office without a long lecture—or a few cuts and bruises, if Jaehyun felt like being dramatic. Technically, this entire mess was Woonhak’s fault—for lying and, even worse, allowing you in on the day Jaehyun could’ve least expected it.

It would’ve been easier if Jaehyun had some kind of warning. Just a heads-up that you’d be walking through those doors.

“So, these are the correct ones, right?” Jaehyun asked, forcing himself to focus as he looked through the papers.

“Yes, Woonhak taught me,” Leehan confirmed, glancing at him like he could already tell where Jaehyun’s mind was drifting. “And don’t worry. I’m only unlucky when it comes to using my powers, not simple tasks like these.”

Jaehyun let out a sharp exhale, giving Leehan a pointed look. “Let’s hope so.”

“You seem to have a lot on your mind,” Leehan said, tilting his head slightly as he studied Jaehyun’s expression.

“Me?” Jaehyun scoffed, feigning indifference as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m fine.”

“Sure,” Leehan replied, clearly unconvinced. “That’s why you’ve been staring at the same paper for the last five minutes.”

Jaehyun blinked, glancing down at the form in his hand. He hadn’t even realized he hadn’t turned the page.

“It’s nothing,” Jaehyun muttered, flipping the sheet over as if that would somehow prove his point.

Leehan didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press further either. Instead, he slid another set of files across the desk.

“Well, whatever it is, try not to let it mess up your matchmaking,” Leehan said with a shrug. “Clients tend to notice when you’re distracted.”

Jaehyun let out a small, humorless laugh. “Funny to hear that from you, Leehan.”

“A few mishaps doesn’t mean I can’t read you clearly,” Leehan hummed, pausing briefly at the door. “You’re bad at hiding it.”

Jaehyun opened his mouth to retort, but Leehan was already gone, leaving him alone with nothing but the faint echo of his words.

His gaze soon shifted to the glowing computer screen, displaying one of your most compatible matches. The person seemed to perfectly align with the preferences you listed—which is a good thing—yet Jaehyun’s chest seemed to tighten the longer he stared at it. 

Jaehyun loves his job, and yet he can’t help but wonder how his situation became like this. 

It’s just funny how he has to be the one to set you up with someone else. 

“You found me a match already?” you exclaimed, your eyes widening as Jaehyun quietly sipped his hot chocolate. He gave a small nod, barely looking up from the swirling steam rising from his cup.

“Yeah, it was easy to find some candidates,” he replied, his voice steady but his expression unreadable. He was bundled up in layers, his scarf wrapped snugly around his neck, yet he still seemed cold despite having been in the café for over ten minutes.

“Are you sure these are good ones?” you asked, trying not to sound doubtful but failing miserably. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust Jaehyun’s judgment—you did—but the process felt almost too fast. Weren’t matches supposed to take time? Shouldn’t there be more thought put into something like this?

“I don’t have good reviews under my website for no reason,” Jaehyun said with a small, proud smile as he set down his cup. He seemed confident, which seemed to reassure you. 

You pressed your lips together, unsure how to respond. Maybe you were overthinking this, or maybe it was just nerves. But a tiny part of you couldn’t help but wonder if Jaehyun was rushing this—if he was just trying to get it over with.

Would this—you—even matter to him? 

“Right,” you still managed to say while your thoughts spiraled, forcing a smile as you leaned back in your chair. “I guess I’ll just have to trust the expert, huh?”

“Speaking of me being an expert, your match should be appearing soon,” Jaehyun said casually, his words suddenly shifting the calm mood into something else. 

You blinked, caught completely off guard. “Wait—what?”

Before you could even process what he meant, Jaehyun stood up, eyes glued to his phone, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. “His name is Heeseung, by the way.”

“Heeseung?” you repeated, panic rising in your voice. “Jaehyun, wait!”

But he didn’t wait. He didn’t even turn back. 

It felt almost too familiar. 

Instead, he gave you a quick, dismissive wave before disappearing toward the café door.

You sat frozen in your chair, your heart pounding so hard you could feel it in your ears. 

A match. An actual, real match. And he was about to walk in any second now.

You glanced around nervously, suddenly hyperaware of every person in the café. You stared at everyone that walked in your direction, seemingly holding onto your breath. 

You didn’t even know who this guy looked like—this was practically a blind date. 

Your hands clenched around your cup. What were you even supposed to say?

You hadn’t been on a date in so long, and the fact that this one was unplanned made it feel so much worse. 

“Y/N, is it?”

The voice pulled you out of your spiraling thoughts. You looked up, meeting the gaze of the man standing in front of you.

It was Heeseung.

With you exchanging awkward greetings with Heeseung, it was obvious you weren’t the only one feeling nervous. His stiff smile and the way he shifted in his seat mirrored your own unease, but at least the tension was mutual.

Meanwhile, Jaehyun remained outside the café, positioned just far enough to avoid suspicion but close enough to keep an eye on the two of you. From his view, things seemed to be going well—or at least not terribly wrong.

Setting down the hot chocolate cup he had brought with him, it was time. Now came the moment Jaehyun had been waiting for. This was where his real work began—the part that set his matchmaking business apart from the rest.

Looking around to make sure the coast was clear, Jaehyun swiftly turned himself invisible, the faint shimmer of his form disappearing as he reached into his bag. Humming softly, his fingers brushed against each arrow, carefully inspecting for any marks or scratches. He settled for one of the newer arrows—the ones Woonhak brought in weeks ago. 

As his selected arrow radiated a faint glow of enchantment, Jaehyun was satisfied with his choice. He drew in a steady breath, positioning himself not too far from you two. Raising the bow, he aligned it to his target, Heeseung, who was sitting across from you. 

Adjusting his stance, Jaehyun closed one eye, lining up the perfect shot. The goal was simple—strike Heeseung’s heart and make him lovestruck. It was Cupid’s mission, after all.

With his grip steady, Jaehyun murmured a small incantation under his breath, the magic swirling gently around the arrow. This was the moment where everything would change—Heeseung would feel unexpectedly bubbly inside as his romantic feelings intensified. 

All he had to do was shoot. 

Just as Jaehyun was about to release the bowstring, a sudden, chaotic noise erupted behind him—a crash of metal and hurried footsteps disturbed him. Jaehyun flinched, his head immediately snapping toward the source of the sounds. In that split second, his grip faltered, the arrow slipping from his grasp. 

Before he could even react, the faint hum of magic pulsed through, a streak of shimmering pink light quickly disappearing into thin air. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered under his breath, a stream of barely audible curses following as he frantically looked around his surroundings for the arrow and the disturbance. Oddly enough, whatever—or whoever—caused the noise was nowhere within his sight, leaving him in silence. 

But there was no time for him to investigate. He had to shift his focus back to you and Heeseung, ignoring the strange feeling in his chest—possibly from the scare and the sudden aftermath of his mistake. 

That’s when the feeling seemed to hit him. 

Jaehyun’s eyes naturally gravitated to you, and suddenly, everything around him seemed to blur. His vision tunneled, examining the way there was suddenly almost a shimmering light that radiated from you. It seemed to grow brighter every time he noticed something about you—every second seemed precious to him. 

He tried blinking, but it only got worse, his eyes unable to peel away from you. 

It was odd. 

Did he... miss you that much? That it was only starting to really hit him now? 

But right now? He had to get over you. At this time, he couldn’t afford to get distracted—the mission was most important, after all. 

Clenching his jaw, Jaehyun forced himself to look away, reaching for another arrow to correct his mistake.

But the moment his gaze dropped, his breath hitched.

There, in the center of his shirt, was the pink stain—not on the ground, not on an arrow, but on him.

Panic bloomed in his chest, his pulse quickening by the second. The bow fell to the floor as his hands grasped at the fabric, pulling it to examine the stain more closely. The sparkly glow was enough to tell him everything he needed to know. 

“No, no, no-" Jaehyun muttered under his breath, frantically rubbing at the fabric. It was completely useless. The stain didn’t smear or lift, but instead, it shrank. 

It sunk deeper into the fibers of his shirt—no, into him. The glow started to dim with every passing second until it was no longer visible, leaving Jaehyun frozen, his fingers still gripping onto the fabric. 

Jaehyun swallowed hard, his eyes flicking back toward you. 

This wasn’t right.

The sound of your voice was faint but warm, making his pulse race even more despite him setting you on a date with Heeseung. 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. 

 The pounding of his heart was deafening, drowning out the noise around him. Jaehyun bolted from where he was, his footsteps quick but unsteady as he pressed a trembling hand against his chest.

What had he done?

RULE #5: Don’t Mess Around with Cupid Powers

Jaehyun couldn’t stop feeling the need to constantly pace around his room. His footsteps echoed softly against the wooden floor as he ran a hand through his hair for what felt like the hundredth time.

Your text message sat open on his phone screen, glowing back at him. It was nothing more than a casual update—how the date went and how Heeseung seemed nice—but it still managed to make him smile.

That was the problem.

Jaehyun’s fingers tightened around the phone as he muttered to himself, his words shaky but firm. “You’re her matchmaker, not her match.”

But no matter how many times he repeated it, the words fell flat. It was a reminder that couldn’t seem to get through in his head. His own logic wasn’t enough to drown out the emotions that had begun creeping in ever since that arrow misfired.

It was wrong. He knew it was wrong—especially now that your date with Heeseung seemed to go well. That should’ve been enough to push Jaehyun back into reality, but instead, it only made the ache in his chest worse.

“You called for me?”

The voice snapped Jaehyun out of his trance, and he practically lunged toward the door the moment he saw Sungho step inside. Relief flooded through him so intensely that he didn’t even think twice before grabbing Sungho by the arms, gripping him like a lifeline.

“Whoa—what’s up with you?” Sungho’s brows shot up, his eyes scanning Jaehyun’s disheveled appearance. His face was flushed, his hair was a mess, and he looked like he’d been running a marathon inside the room. “You look…weird.”

Jaehyun immediately let go, straightening his posture in an attempt to look normal. But his attempt was useless. His jittery hands and the way his eyes darted back and forth only made him look more suspicious.

“Would you mind helping me?” Jaehyun blurted out, his voice almost cracking.

Sungho crossed his arms, clearly unimpressed. “I mean, that’s literally why I’m here,” he replied, walking past Jaehyun and flopping onto the couch without hesitation. “You don’t usually act like this. What’s up with you?”

Jaehyun trailed behind him, struggling to keep himself composed as he hovered nervously by the couch. He hated how out of character this was for him—desperate and completely unfocused. He wanted it to stop, but the way his mind kept racing and his heart refused to calm down made it nearly impossible to pull himself together.

Jaehyun cleared his throat, his fingers nervously fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. “So, uh... hypothetically speaking—emphasis on hypothetically,” he stressed, his eyes flickering toward Sungho as if silently begging for reassurance. “Is it possible for a Cupid to, you know… seriously mess up with their powers?”

Sungho raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting from mild curiosity to concern. “That depends,” he said slowly. “What kind of mistake are we talking about here?”

“Well…” Jaehyun hesitated, his voice trailing off before he forced himself to continue. “Like, let’s say something happened—not saying it did, but let’s say it could—where a Cupid accidentally misfired an arrow?”

Sungho hummed thoughtfully, leaning back against the couch. “I mean, it’s not unheard of. Look at Leehan, for example. The guy is completely unfortunate—broken arrows, broken couples, you name it. But his mistakes aren’t anything too difficult to fix.” 

‘Right, fixable. Totally,” Jaehyun nodded quickly, though his fingers continued to fidget against the fabric of his sleeves. “Right, right. But what if—again, hypothetically—a Cupid misfires their arrow on someone... that shouldn’t get hit?”

“Wait.” Sungho looked at Jaehyun, his gaze intensifying. “You did not—”

“I did not! Of course, I wouldn’t have!” Jaehyun cut in, his voice an octave higher than it usually was. “I mean, not exactly what you may think it is.” 

Sungho’s eyes widened as he sat himself up. “Jaehyun.” 

“Okay, okay!” Jaehyun caved, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “Maybe I might have accidentally—sort of—shot myself.”

Sungho’s jaw dropped.

 “You what?!”

“I didn’t mean to!” Jaehyun blurted out, panic seeping into his voice. “There was this loud noise, and I got scared, and my hand slipped, and bam! I suddenly see pink liquid on my shirt that just quickly disappeared!”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me." Sungho dragged a hand to his mouth, visibly mortified that Jaehyun—out of all people—would get himself into a situation like this. “Turning your powers against yourself? Really?” 

“Was this why you asked me a bunch of questions about whether you had to take a client? Because it was about Y/N?”

Riwoo’s voice cut through the room, making both Sungho and Jaehyun jump—though it was Jaehyun who practically fled the couch with a yelp. His hand instinctively latched onto Sungho’s arm, eyes wide with panic as he spun around to face the unexpected intruder.

“Since when did you come in?!” Jaehyun demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Riwoo, who looked thoroughly unimpressed.

Riwoo lifted the stack of files he carried as if the explanation was obvious. “Woonhak sent me,” he said, before casually walking over to Jaehyun’s desk to drop them off.

“Of course, Woonhak did,” Jaehyun muttered under his breath, rubbing his temples. “And you weren’t supposed to say that, Riwoo.”

“Oh,” Riwoo halted in his steps, soon turning to see Sungho with a puzzled look on his face. No matter how many times Sungho tried to think back on everything he remembered, the name wasn’t familiar to him at all. “I thought he knew.”

“What are we talking about—who is Y/N?” Sungho finally asked, almost as if it were excruciating while watching Jaehyun and Riwoo send each other odd but failed telepathy through the usage of their eyes and mumbling. 

“Jaehyun’s ex,” Riwoo quickly blurted out, leaving Jaehyun’s eyes widened in horror, his hand still in the air after shooting it up in an attempt to cover Riwoo’s mouth, but it was too late.

“Are you serious right now?” Jaehyun hissed, slowly dropping his hand in defeat. “I wouldn’t have told you about this if you were going to say it that easily.” 

“He had to know at one point—you can’t hide the fact that you tried to find love from us much longer,” Riwoo shrugged as he leaned against Jaehyun’s desk. “You could at least tell Sungho—he wouldn’t tell anybody... yet.” 

Next to him, Sungho sat in stunned silence, his mouth hanging open in shock. He blinked rapidly, his gaze darting between Riwoo and Jaehyun as if trying to process what he’d just heard.

“Y/N?” Sungho repeated, shaking his head as he pried Jaehyun’s arm off him. “So, you’re telling me, you managed to shoot yourself with your own arrow and ended up hopelessly in love with your ex again? That’s... really something else. Even for you.”

Jaehyun groaned, slumping back against the couch as he covered his face with both hands. “Don’t need to keep pushing it.”

Riwoo and Sungho exchanged a look, both struggling to suppress the fear but also the amusement threatening to creep onto their faces. It really was funny—at least to an extent.

After all, how could a Cupid be this careless? And not just careless—reckless. Jaehyun had managed to turn what should’ve been a simple matchmaking session into a full-blown catastrophe.

But what made it worse—what made it really ridiculous—was the fact that his eyes had landed on someone who was never supposed to be anything more than a client. Someone who had only walked through his doors looking for love and not to accidentally become the reason Cupid himself got caught up in this mess. 

“So, what did you feel when you saw her?” Sungho asked, making sure to check on his friend’s wellbeing. He had never been in this kind of situation before, so it wasn’t something he could instantly jump in and fix things like he usually would have. 

“It felt weird—it still does!” Jaehyun threw his hands up in the air. He paused, soon placing his hand on his chest as if he could physically do something to calm the irregular pounding of his heart. “Anything or everything that has to do with Y/N, it feels like—like I can’t think straight at all! It’s all about her!” 

“Were Cupid’s powers always this strong?” Riwoo questioned, eyebrows furrowed as he plopped onto the couch across from them. 

“I mean...” Sungho hesitated, leaning back as if running through possibilities in his head. “It could be different for humans—but he’s Cupid, after all. Who’s to say it wouldn’t affect him even worse than a human? What if it’s like... amplified?”

Jaehyun’s eyes widened, his panic rising again. “Amplified? Are you serious? So what—this could get even worse?”

“Well,” Riwoo started cautiously, “you did hit yourself with the arrow, so who knows what could possibly happen? Or how deep the arrow went? Nothing like this has happened before... or at least, not that we know of.” 

‘What am I supposed to do?” Jaehyun groaned, his thoughts completely all over the place. “She’s not just anyone; she’s my client! And I already set her up with someone else—who she seems to actually like, by the way! But I’m just here, losing my mind over something I really can’t control!” 

Sungho winced. “Well…”

“Please tell me this is fixable.” Jaehyun’s voice was muffled with his hands covering his face due to embarrassment. “There has to be something, or like, a time limit to these powers.” 

“That’s just something we have to figure out,” Riwoo said, trying to reassure him to the best of his abilities. “There has to be a way.”

Jaehyun really hoped Riwoo was right—he clung onto that hope. 

His phone had faintly buzzed with another notification, pulling his attention away. Unable to resist looking at it, he glanced to see another text from you lighting up the screen. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, but reality was able to hit him quickly, considering his surroundings. His expression fell flat, which soon followed up with him clearing his throat. 

Jaehyun shut off his phone and threw it onto the table, as if putting some distance between himself and his phone could help keep himself normal. Slumping back into the couch, his shoulders sank as if the situation was starting to weigh heavily on his shoulders. 

This timing couldn’t have been any worse. His powers should’ve been reserved for only those he was assigned with to help them find love, not for him to accidentally turn himself into some lovesick person. 

“This better not be permanent,” Jaehyun muttered, staring into the ceiling while dealing with the thought of how terrifying that could be if his powers were to stick around. 

“For your sake, hopefully not.” Sungho said. “Because if it is... you might just be stuck with trying to make your client yours.” 

RULE #6: Don’t Run Away from Your Mistakes; Fix It.

“I’m not seriously going to be facing her, right?” Jaehyun blurted out, his voice laced with sheer panic as he threw his hands up in surrender. After the long, exhausting talk he’d just had with Riwoo and Sungho a while ago, this was the last thing he expected to hear. Guide you? Through this whole process? While he’s acting like this?

He can tell Sungho wasn’t pleased either, given the resigned expression he wore while telling him the news. But, with Sungho only able to give him a stiff nod, it hit Jaehyun like a brick wall—it was painfully obvious that they’d run into a dead end. 

Jaehyun’s shoulders slumped. “Can’t you just... take over for me?” His tone shifted into desperation as he tried to wriggle out of the mess he’d created. The last thing he wanted was to make a complete fool of himself in front of you. Though he couldn’t quite figure out if it was because he feared he wanted to impress you—or if it was just the crippling fear of acting weird in front of an ex.

“For someone who basically memorized every word of Cupid’s Handbooks,” Sungho said, rubbing the back of his neck as if he were already exhausted by Jaehyun’s antics, “I really thought you’d know better.”

Jaehyun froze, dread washing over him. He didn’t even need to ask to know where this was heading.

“What’s Rule #10?” Sungho pressed, narrowing his eyes.

Jaehyun let out a defeated sigh, his shoulders sinking further as he muttered under his breath, “Once a client... always your client.”

The words were as clear as day, but Jaehyun couldn’t help but feel like remembering that was bittersome. With how many hours he spent cooped up in his room remembering each page, he’d probably have ended up questioning his qualifications if he hadn’t.

But at this moment? He wished he didn’t know it. He wished the rule didn’t exist at all. 

“This isn’t fair,” Jaehyun groaned as he started pacing back and forth. He pressed his hands against the sides of his face as if doing so could somehow shut out the situation looming over him.

“You wouldn’t even be in this mess if you hadn’t been so fixated on Y/N,” Sungho sighed once again, although he seemed clearly unbothered by Jaehyun’s rising panic despite his behavior moments ago. 

Jaehyun spun around, glaring. “I was not fixated on her!” His voice came out sharper than he intended, defensive in a way that only made Sungho raise his brows. “I was actually committed to my mission, y’know—doing my job.”

“Right.” Sungho crossed his arms, leaning back as he fixed Jaehyun with an unimpressed look. “Then maybe you could’ve aimed the arrow at her instead of him.”

Jaehyun froze mid-step, caught off guard by the observation. The words lingered in the air as if waiting to pounce, and Jaehyun hated how they made his stomach churn.

Sungho didn’t miss the hesitation. “But you didn’t. Instead, you aimed to make him love-sick over her—not the other way around.”

Jaehyun’s eyes narrowed, his pacing halting completely as he faced Sungho. “What exactly are you trying to imply?”

“Oh, I think you already know,” Sungho said, his voice pointed as his gaze locked onto Jaehyun’s.

“Well, if anything—” Jaehyun snapped, his voice tight as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I don’t have any intentions like that! It’s over between us, and that should be pretty clear to you, given that I paired her up with someone else.”

“Sure, sure—it’s over,” Sungho says, not wanting to cause Jaehyun to be in another frenzy. He could feel his lip twitching, almost as if he wanted to smirk, but he chose to fight against it. There was no need to rile Jaehyun up, especially given the unfortunate circumstances. 

Sungho’s phone buzzed, and as he glanced down at the screen, his expression shifted. He pressed his lips into a thin line—a small but telling gesture that Jaehyun immediately picked up on. It was almost instinctual, his senses sharpening at the sight of Sungho’s hesitation.

“What is it?” Jaehyun demanded, his voice edged with suspicion.

Sungho hesitated, clearly weighing his words before finally speaking. “I know you really don’t want to do this,” he started cautiously, watching Jaehyun’s expression like it might shatter at any moment. "But... your next session with Y/N? It’s today.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widened in disbelief, and Sungho quickly added, “Or, well—actually, it’s not just today. It’s right now.”

“Right now?!” Jaehyun practically choked, taking a step back as if the words physically hit him. “You can’t be serious! No one said anything about it being this soon!”

Sungho grimaced, his grip tightening around his phone. “I just found out too, okay? Woonhak’s the one who sent the notice. He said something about needing to keep everything on schedule.”

“Schedule?” Jaehyun repeated, his voice rising. “I didn’t even agree to this schedule!”

Sungho crossed his arms, clearly unimpressed with Jaehyun’s outburst. “Well, suck it up, because she could walk in at any moment.” He gave Jaehyun a pointed look, then added, “But don’t worry—I’ll be here to make sure you don’t say anything weird.”

Jaehyun shot him a sharp glare. “Oh, that’s reassuring,” he muttered sarcastically, finally deciding to sit on the couch as his nerves threatened to continue to overwhelm him. “You’re acting like I’m incapable of handling this.”

“You’re barely capable of handling this,” Sungho shot back without missing a beat. “I mean, look at you right now! You’re one bad thought away from a meltdown, and we both know it.”

Just as Jaehyun was about to say anything to defend himself, the sound of knocking echoed through the room. Both he and Sungho immediately froze, their eyes snapping toward the door. 

Compared to Sungho, Jaehyun could’ve sworn he felt like he stopped breathing. Sungho was able to recover a little quicker, while Jaehyun seemed to be stuck in a trance. 

“I guess it’s time,” Sungho whispered as if you could potentially hear him from the opposite side, turning to give Jaehyun the look. 

Jaehyun’s eyes wavered. "Wait—what do I even say? What if... what if I mess up?” He whispered, and even with his voice being low, it was hard to ignore that he was frantic. 

“And didn’t you just say you’re perfectly capable of handling this?” 

"Well, that was before this happened!” Jaehyun whisper-yelled, his eyes looking back at the door after hearing the knocking again—this time, slightly louder than it was before. 

“Either way, you’re going to have to face her,” Sungho said, already moving toward the door. He reached for the doorknob, but before turning it, he glazed back at Jaehyun. “Like I said, I’ll handle it if things go wrong—just focus on being able to not do anything out of the ordinary.” 

Jaehyun groaned, running his hands through his hair as Sungho finally opened the door. The second he saw you standing there, greeting Sungho due to his sudden appearance, Jaehyun felt like the air had been knocked out of his lungs.

Quickly, he looked away, his gaze dropping to his hands as he fiddled nervously with his fingers, desperate to stop his thoughts from spiraling. 

This was going to be so much harder than he thought.

“Hi, Cupid MJ,” you greeted him with a bright expression as you stepped inside after Sungho had welcomed you in.

Jaehyun’s eyes flickered up at the sound of your voice, and despite every part of him screaming to stay composed, his lips almost instinctively curled into a smile. His eyes softened, crinkling at the corners in a way that felt far too natural—far too much.

“Hi, Y/N,” he replied, but the moment the words left his mouth, he froze. It sounded weird. Even to him, it sounded far too warm—too full of affection. 

His eyes widened slightly as he quickly brought a hand up to cover his mouth, as if that could somehow take back the tone he’d just used. His gaze darted nervously to Sungho, who was already staring at him with a raised eyebrow and the most frustratingly knowing look.

Jaehyun felt heat rush to his face as he let out a small, awkward cough, desperately trying to mask the slip-up. “Uh—take a seat,” he said, attempting to make his voice sound more neutral. 

“The date went well,” you said, your tone light as you took a seat. It was clear you were more than ready to lead the conversation—especially given Jaehyun’s stunned silence.

For a moment, he just blinked at you, his thoughts spiraling as he struggled to string together a proper response. It almost felt like the roles had reversed—him as the nervous client, fumbling and hopeless, while you sat there like the Cupid, who had quite literally struck him right in the heart.

“That’s… great,” Jaehyun finally managed to say, though his voice came out quieter than he’d hoped. He cleared his throat, trying to regain even a fraction of composure. “I mean, of course, it went well. I—I knew it would.”

You nodded, completely unaware that you were the one that was making him feel like his heart was about to burst out of his chest. 

"What happens now?" you asked, leaning in slightly as if searching for some kind of reassurance.

"Well," he began, clearing his throat. "You can continue spending more time with him since I received a positive response from him too." He paused briefly, gauging your expression before continuing. "Or, if you'd prefer, you can explore other matches—it’s entirely your pick."

You nodded slowly, your fingers absentmindedly brushing against the edge of the table. "I think I could do another day with him," you finally said, though there was an almost hesitant tone in your voice.

Jaehyun's stomach flipped. Was that hesitation good or bad?

"I mean," you added quickly, as if trying to fill the silence, "I’m not really sure about exploring other options just yet. What do you think?"

Jaehyun looked up at you, momentarily frozen as if the world around him had slowed down. He’d tried so hard to avoid this—to keep his emotions in check and his focus sharp—but the second his eyes locked with yours, all of that effort unraveled.

The soft pink hue that had surrounded you the first time he saw you seemed to return, blooming and spreading until it drowned out everything else. It wasn’t just a glow—it was a pull, one he felt himself leaning into despite knowing better.

"What do I think?” he finally managed, his voice quieter than usual, like he was afraid of saying the wrong thing.

“Yeah.” You tilted your head, waiting for his response, completely unaware of the turmoil raging inside him.

“I think...” he trails off, his heartbeat seemingly muffling the sound of his own voice to him. “I think I like–”

“What he means,” Sungho interrupted, sliding onto the seat next to Jaehyun as if to physically block him from saying anything reckless, “is that he thinks it’d be great for you to keep going out with Heeseung.”

Jaehyun flinched at the sudden pinch Sungho gave him, jolting him back to reality. He turned to glare at his friend, but Sungho’s pointed stare told him to pull it together.

You blinked, slightly taken aback by the abrupt response from Sungho rather than Jaehyun, but nodded anyway. “Oh…okay.”

“Right!” Jaehyun blurted out, sitting up straighter and forcing a strained smile. “I mean, Heeseung seems like a good match, and you said the first date went well, so another one makes sense, right?”

Your eyebrows slightly furrowed, confused by the sudden energy radiating from him. Even when you hesitated for a second, as if something about his words didn’t quite convince you, you decided to nod again. “I guess I could give it another try.”

Jaehyun forced a smile, an odd tightness in his chest that didn’t seem to disappear quickly. He should’ve felt relieved that he hadn’t slipped up—that he’d managed to steer you back toward Heeseung—but instead, he felt like he’d lost something.

“Great,” Sungho clapped his hands together, almost serving as a reminder to Jaehyun to focus. “We will be able to set you on another date soon, so please wait for our messages!” he said oddly cheerfully, though Jaehyun could tell it was mostly to smooth things over.

“Right,” Jaehyun added, his voice barely above a whisper.He bit his lip, forcing himself to look away from you after nearly confessing again. His heart wavered, almost betraying him, as he saw you turn your attention to Sungho, laughing at something he’d said.

You were smiling…because of Sungho.

“I’ll take care of the details,” Jaehyun suddenly interjected, clearing his throat loudly enough to grab both your and Sungho’s attention.

You blinked, surprised, but offered a small smile. “Oh, okay. I’ll leave it to you, then,” you replied, completely oblivious to the effect you were having on him. Just because of that small action of yours, his heart was practically close to actually bursting. 

Jaehyun gave a stiff nod, watching you turn to leave. The moment you stepped out, he found his gaze trailing after you, unable to pull his eyes away until the door finally clicked shut behind you.

“Geez, now you’re at the jealous stage of the love effect?” Sungho’s voice sliced through the lingering silence, pulling Jaehyun back to reality. He looked over to find his friend watching him with a knowing smirk, one brow raised. “That was pretty fast-paced."

“It’s not like I was trying to!” Jaehyun quickly snapped, his voice suddenly getting defensive. In frustration, he pointed at the door as he tried to find his words. “It’s because of—”

Before he could finish, the door abruptly swung open, revealing Woonhak, who stood there with a curious yet sunny expression. “How’d it go?” he asked, his gaze bouncing between Jaehyun and Sungho as if he’d walked in on something interesting.

Jaehyun groaned, throwing his hands up in exasperation before pointing aggressively at Woonhak, almost as if he were waiting for this moment. “It’s because of you!”

Woonhak blinked, confused. “Wait, what? Me?”

“Yes, you!” Jaehyun said, standing up from his chair and pointing with even more emphasis. “If it weren’t for—”

“Is this...my cue to go?” Woonhak interrupted, his confusion shifting into playful unease as he glanced between the two of them, already half-stepping back toward the hallway.

 Jaehyun let out a long, frustrated sigh, his eyes squeezing shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, it’s not your cue to go, because if you hadn’t accepted that application, I could’ve still been as capable and composed as I was before!”

The room fell into a heavy silence as nobody chose to speak up after that. Woonhak froze, glancing at Sungho with wide, pleading eyes, silently begging for backup. Sungho, on the other hand, looked like he had no clue what to do either to step in.

Before Sungho could even attempt to think of something to diffuse the situation, Jaehyun was already striding his way toward Woonhak. 

“Uh, Sungho?” Woonhak stammered, panic creeping into his voice as he instinctively began stepping back. Jaehyun’s footsteps grew faster, his expression dead set on making his point—whatever that point might be.

“Sungho!” Woonhak yelped, his voice rising as Jaehyun closed the distance between them, taking even more huge steps back. 

Realizing he was on his own, Woonhak made a split-second decision. “Help me!” he screamed, spinning on his heel and bolting toward the door.

“Get back here, Woonhak!”

Their footsteps echoed down the hallway, Woonhak’s panicked screams fading into the distance as Jaehyun’s determined shouts followed close behind.

Sungho quickly snapped out of his amused daze, only to burst into laughter at the absurdity of the situation. However, his grin vanished just as quickly as it appeared when a sudden realization hit him.

“Oh, crap. There could be other clients waiting!” he muttered, scrambling to his feet in a panic.

Without missing a beat, he darted toward the exit, slamming the door as he followed the trail of yelling that was growing fainter by the second.

“Jaehyun!” Sungho called out, his voice echoing through the hallway as he tried to catch up. “Leave Woonhak alone and get back here—this is just your fate!”

The sound of Woonhak’s panicked screams and Jaehyun’s relentless pursuit only made Sungho pick up his pace, muttering to himself between breaths. “Oh my, just accept your fate already!”

And no matter how much Jaehyun pleaded—to the Cupid Gods (if they even existed) or to the universe itself—for some miraculous way out of this fate, his prayers were met with nothing but silence. The crushing weight of disappointment settled on him, a constant reminder of just how trapped he was in this situation.

Now, only a few weeks later, here he was, hiding behind a newspaper in his hand, his breath held as he watched you sitting on a bench, waiting for your second date with Heeseung.

“Why am I even here?” Jaehyun mumbled to himself, his eyes still glued onto you from a safe distance. His tone was low, almost as if he were speaking to no one at all, but a hum of agreement quickly followed.

“I don’t know,” came the unenthusiastic reply from the person in front of him—Leehan, of all people. The sound of a crinkling newspaper accompanied his words, his fingers absently folding and unfolding the corner of the page.

“Matter of fact, why are you here?” Jaehyun whispered harshly, glaring at Leehan, who seemed entirely too relaxed for someone on the lookout, with his random sunglasses and his newspaper upside down. If anything, it would be obvious that Leehan could be up to something. 

Leehan leisurely lowered the newspaper he’d been pretending to read and set it down on the table in front of him, a small smirk playing at his lips. “Because Sungho and the others are busy with their own Cupid duties,” he began, crossing his arms over his chest as if he were getting ready for a sudden fit of frustration. “And Woonhak? Well, we all know you’d rip his head off if he even tried accompanying you. So, I have no choice but to be here with you.”

Jaehyun chose not to respond, letting out a heavy sigh as he rubbed his temples. Oddly enough, he has been able to keep his emotions in check since Leehan and the others have been around lately. They knew how far Jaehyun’s sudden love urges could progress, so they all took turns to be able to supervise both him and you. So, Jaehyun can’t even complain, as he would most likely be a nervous wreck around you.

But, if anything, he wasn’t the only nervous one. You were too, however, for entirely different reasons. Sitting just outside an amusement park—the chosen date spot for you and Heeseung—you fidgeted with your phone. The vibrant atmosphere around you was a stark contrast to the storm of emotions brewing inside. Laughter and excited chatter filled the air as families and couples hurried past you, their faces lit up with anticipation.

Could that be you and Heeseung? 

You couldn’t help but wonder if you’d have as much fun as everyone else seemed to be having. Would this date live up to your expectations? Or were you setting yourself up for disappointment?

Your gaze shifted from the bustling crowd back to your phone screen. No new messages. You checked the time again, your thumb hovering over the screen as if doing so would make a notification pop up.

This isn’t the first time you’ll be meeting Heeseung, but the idea of meeting him in person instead of texting was weird. You tried to calm down, forcing yourself to breathe deeply to steady the feeling of nerves coursing through you. This was supposed to be a fun hangout, and there was no point in thinking of useless questions. Yet, your feelings only continued to gnaw away at you, as with every passing minute, your uneasiness only heightened. 

You hated the thought of coming off as pushy, especially for something as delicate as a romantic date, but eventually, you found yourself sending follow-up texts.

The act itself felt humiliating, like you were clinging to something that might already be slipping through your fingers. Still, you had no choice. The silence on the other end was deafening.

But even after your attempts, there was nothing. No text. No call. 

Were you getting stood up? That thought finally hit you, and your heart couldn’t help but sink with an overwhelming heaviness. 

You swallowed back the lump forming in your throat, forcing yourself to sit straighter despite the weight in your chest. As much as you hated to admit it, the idea of Heeseung standing you up felt more and more like a reality with each passing second. 

Maybe love wasn’t meant for you at all. 

The world around you seemed to blur as your gaze dropped to your phone. For a moment, you stared at the empty message screen, your fingers trembling over the keyboard. It took everything in you to gather the courage to type out a text, but not to Heeseung this time.

Instead, you messaged Jaehyun.

"This date's a failure," you typed, hesitating before pressing send. 

You could only imagine how Jaehyun might feel reading such a message, especially considering the heaviness in your own chest. But should it really matter? He was a revolutionary matchmaker, after all, wasn’t he? There shouldn’t be anything that he couldn’t do, right? And yet, a strange pang of guilt crept into your thoughts. Why were you so concerned about how Jaehyun would react?

Even though you couldn’t fully understand your own emotions, one thing was clear—you still cared about him. Maybe a little too much. So, for just a split second, it didn’t seem unreasonable to think about his feelings over yours.

But with Jaehyun, your feelings were always his top priority. Well, they should be. 

The moment your message reached him, he immediately reacted, his lips pressing into a deep frown as he reread your words. Sitting beside him, Leehan noticed his sudden shift in mood and leaned closer; his curiosity piqued.

“What’s wrong?” Leehan asked, trying to peer over at Jaehyun’s screen. His own expression shifted as he caught a glimpse of the text, his eyes widening and his frown mirroring Jaehyun’s.

Jaehyun didn’t answer right away, his thoughts racing as he stared at your words. His chest tightened, a mixture of frustration and concern bubbling within him. You were upset—the thought of you feeling this way gnawed at him.

“I’ll handle it,” Jaehyun finally muttered, standing abruptly.

Leehan blinked up at him, startled. “Wait, what are you—”

But Jaehyun was already moving, his determination written all over his face. For the better or worse, he wasn’t going to let this ruin your day. 

“Y/N,” he called out as he jogged toward you, his voice cutting through the lively background noise from the amusement park. The sudden sound startled you, making you glance up from the message you’d been staring at. Seeing him right there—mere seconds after your text—felt both unnerving and oddly comforting.

It felt weird that someone—your ex, or better yet, simply just Cupid MJ—immediately came to your message. But you also felt a sense of gratitude, knowing that there was someone who would answer your message right away. 

At least someone cared enough to show up for you. 

“Jaehyun?” you managed to say, though your voice was shaky, caught between disbelief and relief. You quickly stuffed your phone in your pocket, trying to compose yourself. “How’d you get here so fast?”

He came to a stop in front of you, still catching his breath but managing to keep his gaze steady on you. “I was already here,” he admitted, a slight edge of hesitance in his voice. “I was waiting for you and Heeseung to meet... so I could leave.” He shifted his weight awkwardly. “But then I got your text message.”

“Oh,” you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper. “Makes sense.” The words felt bitter as they left your lips, as though admitting them aloud made everything sting a little more.

Your fingers found the zipper of your jacket, and you began to fiddle with it, keeping your eyes trained on the ground. Meeting Jaehyun’s gaze felt impossible at that moment. The last thing you wanted was for him, of all people, to witness you in this state.

This was definitely humiliating, and nothing could convince you otherwise. 

Jaehyun could see and feel the weight of your emotions, a pang of guilt washing over him. Deep down, he wondered if this was somehow his fault for pairing you with someone who let you down. Maybe Cupid’s systems weren’t as reliable as he once believed. 

“You don’t have to feel embarrassed about this.”

His voice was soft, almost compelling you to look up at him, but you resisted, shaking your head and letting out a dry laugh. “That’s easy for you to say.”

Jaehyun caught on to how your body hunched over, shoulders curling inward like you were trying to hide from him—or maybe from yourself. Your legs kicked back and forth in a restless rhythm, a nervous energy that you didn’t seem to notice.

He caught the way you bit your lip, a small inhale slipping through before you stopped yourself from speaking. It was like you were fighting against the words you wanted to say, the weight of everything you felt pressing down on you but refusing to come out.

“Y/N,” he sighed, feeling his own heartache seeing you try to hide your vulnerability. Without hesitation, he stepped closer, crouching down in front of you. His head tilted slightly to be within your eye view, his expression open and earnest.

You stopped your foot movements and perked your head up just a little, catching a glimpse of the sincere smile on his face. His posture was relaxed, his arms wrapped casually around his knees, but his eyes truly told a different story from his demeanor. 

“Seriously, this is just his fault. If Heeseung couldn’t see what he had right in front of him, that’s his loss. It’s never been yours.”

His words caught you off guard, pulling your attention to him fully.

You looked directly at him, taking a longer sight of Jaehyun crouched in front of you. His eyebrows were slightly raised, his gaze steady and warm as he waited for your response.  For a moment, the noise of the amusement park around you faded, leaving only the sincerity in his voice and the sweet expression on his face. 

That same smile of his lingered on his lips—a smile you hadn’t seen this close in so long.

And yet, somehow, it felt so familiar, like slipping you back into a memory you hadn’t realized you still hadn’t forgotten.

Without meaning to, you found yourself smiling back, the corners of your lips curving upward as if in reflex. It had been a while since someone made you feel this way—seen, heard, comforted without judgment. And it had been even longer since you’d seen Jaehyun look at you like this, with that quiet reassurance that seemed to say everything would be okay, even if you didn’t believe it yourself.

“You’re still good at this, you know,” you murmured, your voice soft as you broke the silence. Your head dipped slightly, your attention getting fixated on your knees once more. 

“Good at what?” he asked, tilting his head slightly again, his smile widening just a bit.

“Making people feel better,” you replied. You shifted your body upwards, now sitting properly after recollecting your thoughts, even if it were just for a little bit. “Even when they don’t think they can.”

“I do what I can,” Jaehyun’s smile faltered slightly, a crack in his otherwise composed exterior. Inside, his emotions churned slowly but steadily, threatening to unravel him. This moment felt too close—something he hadn’t noticed until now it was finally being pried open. It was almost as if pieces of him were slowly getting chipped away, each piece falling until only fragments remained. 

Fragments he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to glue back together.

Maybe it was the potion amplifying his emotions, or maybe it was the weight of his own unresolved feelings, but a part of him wanted to do something—a push towards the thought he’s been trying to bury away. Even if some pieces were lost, maybe this was his chance to start over. 

To rebuild. 

“Speaking of which,” he said suddenly, breaking the moment before his thoughts could consume him any further, “let’s not waste the day.”

You blinked, staring at his outstretched hand toward you. “What?”

“I’m not letting you sit here feeling like this,” Jaehyun insisted, soon standing up from his crouching position, hand still extended out. “We’re at an amusement park. Let’s go have fun.”

You hesitated. It almost felt like this was wrong, and it went out of your boundaries. This was supposed to be a date with Heeseung, but now Jaehyun is here, standing in front of you, offering to practically fill his spot. So, what made this? 

It can’t be considered a date—maybe a hangout. But, still, a hangout with your ex? 

Your matchmaker? 

The more you tried to sort through the mess of emotions inside you, the harder it became to ignore the almost pleading look on Jaehyun’s face. His fingers wriggled slightly as he held his hand out awkwardly, his other fist tightly gripping the fabric of his pants. He looked nervous, almost unsure of himself, and the sight tugged at something in your chest. 

His reaction made it harder to turn him now. 

At the end of the day, don’t you deserve something, too? 

Slowly, tentatively, you reached out and took his hand. The warmth of his palm instantly engulfed yours, and you felt the faintest tremble in his fingers. Jaehyun’s hand twitched at the sudden contact, and for a moment, it seemed like he might completely malfunction. But instead, his grip tightened—not enough to hurt, but enough to remind you he was there, simply for you. 

“I promise this will be worth your time,” his voice shifted from awkwardness to a quiet sense of confidence, flashing another smile of his. 

Before you could respond, Jaehyun turned, still holding your hand as he began leading you toward the amusement park. His grip didn’t falter, firm yet gentle, as though he feared you might slip away at any moment.

This wasn’t how you expected your day to unfold. Yet here you were, side by side with Jaehyun, the buzz of the park surrounding you as colorful lights and cheerful chatter filled the air. You scanned your surroundings, taking in the endless rows of games, rides, and shops until something caught your eye.

Jaehyun had been busy glancing around, seemingly trying to pick out the perfect first stop, when he felt a soft tap on his arm. Turning toward you, he was met with the sight of your eager expression as you pointed toward one of the brightly decorated shops.

“We should go there first,” you said, tugging lightly at his shirt sleeves. “I’ve always wanted to buy one of those headband accessories.”

Jaehyun followed your gaze to the shop, where a variety of playful headbands adorned with animal ears and other silly headpieces were displayed. He chuckled softly, his usual calm demeanor melting into something more playful as he turned his head back to you. 

Oddly enough, he felt at ease when he was around you this time. 

“Really? That’s what you want to do first?” he teased, though the warmth in his tone betrayed how amused he was by your enthusiasm.

“Yes, really,” you said, rolling your eyes but unable to hide your smile. You were starting to warm up, abandoning the facade you had just a few moments prior. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Jaehyun shook his head, a small laugh escaping him as he allowed you to tug him toward the shop. “Alright, alright. Let’s go see which one suits you best,” he said, a glimmer of excitement in his eyes as the two of you stepped inside.

Once inside the shop, you immediately gravitated toward the section of animal headbands. The shelves brimmed with accessories of every kind, and your eyes widened as they trailed over each design. Jaehyun followed behind, initially glancing at the shelves, but his gaze kept drifting back to you. His eyes lingered on your focused expression, the way your lips slightly puckered as you hummed softly while contemplating your choices.

It was almost too endearing to watch, and Jaehyun had to suppress a laugh that threatened to escape. He knew if he let it slip, the potion's effects would surge, making it harder to keep himself in check.

As he tried to hold himself back, you picked up a headband and examined it closely, turning it over in your hands before moving on to another. Finally, you settled on a brown headband with floppy, oversized dog ears. With a satisfied grin, you turned to face Jaehyun.

The suddenness of your movement startled him slightly, his eyes darting from your face to the headband in your hands. You motioned with one hand for him to lower himself, confusing him for a moment. When you repeated the gesture, Jaehyun hesitantly leaned down, still unsure what you were planning.

Without a word, you placed the headband on his head, carefully adjusting it. Your fingers brushed through his hair, lingering briefly on the strands near his forehead as you fixed the headband into place.

Jaehyun could feel his ears getting hot, momentarily freezing up while his thoughts were in a swirl—a similar feeling from the first time he had the potion take its effects. 

He had to keep himself in check. 

“This is for me?” Jaehyun asked, straightening up once you finished. He rubbed the back of his neck, brushing his fingers against his burning ear in an attempt to compose himself. It didn’t look like you noticed as your attention was brought back to the headbands on display, only humming in response. 

“It looks good on you,” you responded, smiling, though your smile faltered for a moment as you instinctively retreated into your thoughts. Once again, you instinctively thought of Jaehyun first, an old habit of yours that never seemed to die when you were around him. 

Before your thoughts could drift any further, they were abruptly interrupted as you felt something soft being placed on your head. You turned quickly, catching Jaehyun’s startled expression as he tried to keep the headband he just placed on you. 

His eyes widened slightly, a chuckle escaping his lips as his hands instinctively reached out—one resting lightly on your shoulder to keep you still, the other adjusting the headband that had shifted due to your movement.

Once satisfied, he stepped back and pointed toward the mirror in front of you both. “Now we’re matching,” Jaehyun declared with a hint of pride, though his confident smile faltered into something more bashful as he caught sight of your reflection.

You glanced at the mirror, noticing how the two of you wore similar designs—yours a white version of the floppy-eared headband, while his was brown. 

It looked like a couple’s item. 

Regardless of that, the sight of you two standing side by side brought a small laugh out of you, and you found yourself smiling despite the earlier heaviness in your chest.

“You look good in it too,” Jaehyun said, his eyes meeting yours in the mirror. 

“I’ll admit, it’s kind of cute,” you said, tugging at the floppy ears. “Should we get these?” 

Jaehyun’s grin widened, and he nodded enthusiastically. Without another word, the two of you made your way to the checkout counter, the cashier giving a knowing smile as you both purchased your matching accessories.

With the headbands secured, it wasn’t long before you and Jaehyun were going through the amusement park, hopping from one ride to the next. From bumper cars that had you both laughing uncontrollably as you tried to hit each other to classic carnival games where Jaehyun insisted on winning you a plush toy—though he missed more than a few throws, making him utterly embarrassed. 

After he was able to win a mid-sized plush that he swore resembled you, you pointed at the rollercoaster ride you two somehow always managed to walk past. Jaehyun’s feet stood in place, not moving from what he stood on. 

You turned to look at him, whose fear and nervousness were clearly evident on his face—trying to hide it would be useless. 

Oddly enough, that expression was cute to you. 

“Are you scared?” 

“Me? Scared—” Jaehyun’s words get cut off after he turns silent while staring at the drop of the coaster, hearing the screams from the people—sending a sudden chill over his body. He gulped quietly, continuing on with his words, “I’m not scared.”

“Then, let’s go in line!” You grabbed onto his arm, getting a better grasp than before, considering how off guard he was by seeing the loops of the roller coaster. 

“Wait!” Jaehyun’s feet tried to remain in place on the ground, his arms flailing slightly during the process. His actions were clearly betraying his words, which you couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Come on,” you coaxed, finally interlocking arms with Jaehyun to have a more successful chance of dragging him away. 

Jaehyun stumbled forward—not because of the force you put to move him into the line, but from the warmth from your body pressing into his arm

The once squirmy Jaehyun, who wanted nothing more than to teleport away from the situation, was now completely frozen, his gaze fixed ahead, yet his mind was undeniably tethered to you. He simply allowed you to drag him, as his thoughts always seemed to follow whenever you went. 

“Jaehyun?” Your voice finally broke through his daze after calling his name for the third—or maybe the fourth—time. It left you wondering curiously if he is really this scared of roller coasters. There was really no way for you to know beforehand this—you two never went on an amusement park date before. “Are you okay? We can always skip this if—”

“No, no, I’m—” Jaehyun quickly turned to reassure you, even if the expression on his face said otherwise. He truly wasn’t fine—far from it—but when he had a feeling you really wanted to go on this ride, he felt almost obligated to push back his fears. With the way your excitement seemed to glimmer in your eyes the first time, he could handle it, couldn’t he?

Though at this point, if there was anything he should be fearing, it was how dangerously close you two were. 

You two were practically face-to-face, which made Jaehyun feel his breath hitch in his throat. To make matters worse—or maybe better—you were still clinging onto his arm, your touch managing to keep him in place while simultaneously making his heart race out of control.

Jaehyun could see your lips moving, trying to say something, but your words didn’t reach him. It almost felt like you were mumbling when you truly weren’t. His eyes could only try to make sense of the movement of your lips, which was a complete struggle as everything seemed to blur into nothing but silence. 

With that given moment, it felt like everything intensified. It was as if the love arrow potion had decided to unleash its full power, breaking past every defense he’d built to suppress it. The sensation was overwhelming, almost suffocating, as if the arrow had pierced him all over again, but hitting him ten times harder than before. 

And then, without thinking, he muttered a single word.

“Pretty.”

The word slipped out before he could catch it, soft but clear enough that you froze for a moment. Your eyes widened slightly in surprise, and that was enough to snap Jaehyun back to reality.

Panic rushed through him, and he immediately stepped back, pulling himself out of your grasp as he waved his hands frantically.

“Pretty—I mean, I’m pretty fine with us going on this ride!” he blurted out, his voice hurried and tinged with nervous laughter. His ears burned as he tried to salvage the situation, feeling utterly exposed. “After all, we’re only a few people away from entering, right?”

You simply nodded, your cheeks suddenly heating up, even if you didn’t mean to feel flustered in that way after letting him complete the sentence.

But is it really so wrong for you to feel that way? 

The silence felt heavy as you two awkwardly stood side by side, neither daring to exchange glances or words. Jaehyun was able to use that silence to be able to get himself to be composed again. His heartbeat was still going, not racing, and he didn't feel a burning sensation from his ears or face, leaving him calmer—or at least calmer than before. 

As Jaehyun finally arrived at the right state of mind, he now noticed the warmth of your touch had left him. For a fleeting moment, relief should’ve been his first reaction, but instead, it left behind an emptiness he hadn’t anticipated.

It was as if he missed it. 

“Next up in line!” the ride announcer called out, startling you both from your thoughts.

You turned to Jaehyun, catching the faint hesitation in his expression. But to your surprise, he started moving forward, almost as if he wanted to prove something—not just to you but maybe to himself.

And while you tried to keep your thoughts neutral, you couldn’t help but lean toward one explanation over the other. You wanted to believe that he was doing this for you. But that thought alone wasn’t good for you.

And it wasn’t good for you to have your mind wander to that possibility. 

Despite your inner turmoil, you found yourself seated in the middle of the ride. Jaehyun had suggested the spot, reasoning that it felt “safer” knowing there were people alive in front of him. His logic had been so ridiculous that you couldn’t help but laugh. You didn’t argue, though—you liked sitting in the middle anyway.

As the ride attendant double checked the seat restraint for you two, Jaehyun couldn’t help but ramble a bunch of questions that the attendant had no problem reassuring him about—and maybe letting out a chuckle or two. 

“That’s a lot of questions for someone who claims they’re not scared,” you teased, glancing at Jaehyun as he tightened his grip on the metal handles of the restraint.

“I’m not scared,” Jaehyun mumbled, but the stark contrast between his words and his appearance said otherwise. His knuckles were white from clutching the handle so hard, his lips had lost some color, and his eyes were wavering at every slight noise around him. 

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Jaehyun managed to say, chuckling nervously, almost as if he’s trying to reassure himself.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Jaehyun managed to say, his voice shaky as he chuckled nervously, clearly trying—and failing—to convince himself more than you.

Even as he muttered words of self-reassurance, it all crumbled the moment the ride operator began counting down. Jaehyun’s face grew paler with every number, and before you knew it, he was whispering what sounded like a series of frantic prayers under his breath.

Seriously, it was almost humiliating for him—the amount of losses he had was overwhelming. His repeated failed attempts to win you a plushie that stumble earlier, and now, his current state as a nervous wreck after agreeing to ride something he clearly hated the idea of. How much more could he possibly embarrass himself?

You couldn’t help but feel even more endeared by this side of him. Watching his clumsy or frightened side of him felt oddly nostalgic. It reminded you of a time long ago, back when you had countless dates with him, watching him flounder when his nerves got the best of him. 

So, you couldn’t help but laugh at Jaehyun, whose eyes were already shut close when the ride finally started to move. 

It’s like you missed that sight of him. 

“Why are we still going up?” Jaehyun managed to say, his voice barely audible over the loud clanking of the roller coaster. His eyes darted open for a split second, only to snap shut again when he caught a glimpse of how high up you both were. From the ground earlier, it didn’t seem this terrifying, but now? 

“It will be fine, Jaehyun,” you said, almost as if you were attempting to cut through the amount of thoughts clouding in his mind. 

As much as Jaehyun wanted to believe your words, the way the ascent was getting higher—agonizingly slow—was making it hard for him to do so. 

“I seriously might pass out,” he muttered, his voice trembling as much as his hands.

“You won’t, Jaehyun.”

“And who are you to say that?” he shot back, his panic laced with disbelief.

“Because I’m here,” you said simply, glancing his way. “And as long as I’m okay, so will you.”

That sentence alone got Jaehyun to finally open his eyes again. Even with his fear gnawing at him, he found himself glancing to his side—where you were already looking at him. You two made eye contact, which led him to quickly forget about the fear pounding in his chest or the sweaty grip he had on the handles. But just as quickly, he broke eye contact, turning his head sharply to the front—only to regret it instantly. 

That was when he realized the cart had reached the top. 

Before he could even react, his stomach dropped along with the cart, and a startled scream was released from his throat, perfectly in sync with the other riders. Jaehyun panicked, his hands flailing desperately after he had accidentally let go of the restraint. His grip faltered as he tried to latch onto the restraint again, only for his fingers to slip against the slick metal after he went through the first loop of the roller coaster. 

And then, without thinking, he managed to hold onto something near him—your hand. Along with him, you also didn’t even notice. You were still screaming in excitement—between the thrill of the drop and the way Jaehyun’s screams were practically blowing out your eardrums, which made things only funnier. 

You were too caught up in the adrenaline to even register the fact his fingers were desperately latching onto yours. What felt like eternity finally stopped when the cart slowly returned back to its original position. The screeching yells also came to a stop, leaving everyone a moment to either catch their breaths or gush about how fun that ride was. 

That was certainly the situation between you two—Jaehyun trying breathing exercises as he felt like he forgot to breathe while you wore a beaming expression on your face. 

“That was…fun,” you started off excitedly, trailing off at the last word as you felt the hold on your hand tighten. Only then did you finally look down, seeing Jaehyun’s fingers still holding onto yours. 

Your eyes shot back up from your hands to his face, in which you only saw his side profile as he was still recovering from the ride.

“That was not... fun,” Jaehyun muttered, mirroring your tone as his own gaze finally dropped to where your hands remained linked. The moment he registered where his hand was placed, his mouth was only slightly gaped. His eyes lifted to meet yours, and for a second, you both wore the same startled expression.

The ride operator interferes before you two could say anything to each other. 

“Arms up, please.” 

His fingers slipped away from yours, leaving behind only a lost sense of warmth—something you didn’t notice until now. Jaehyun’s parted lips pressed shut as he turned to look straight ahead again, letting the ride’s restraint be lifted off of him. 

Neither of you spoke as you stepped off the ride and walked away from the station. It almost felt like déjà vu—just like earlier, when you two had stood in line together in awkward silence.

You decided to break it first. “I’m hungry,” you said, figuring food was a safe enough topic.

Jaehyun turned his head sharply, his previous dazed state replaced with exaggerated disbelief. “You’re seriously hungry after that ride?” he asked, his voice louder than necessary, as if to erase the lingering awkwardness. “I feel nauseated.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. If nothing else, at least his dramatics had successfully lightened the mood.

After all, it wasn’t like he had meant to grab your hand—he was just terrified, and that was that. You weren’t particularly fazed by it though. If anything, you found it amusing how flustered he was.

“Alright, how about this?” you proposed, shooting him an easy smile. “We’ll take a break, grab some food, and then you get to pick the last ride.”

Jaehyun’s expression instantly shifted, the excitement returning to his eyes like a light switch had been flipped. He nodded eagerly, humming in approval. 

The two of you took your time wandering around, casually debating what to eat as you passed various food stands. There were plenty of tempting options, but eventually, you both settled on corn dogs, agreeing to share a funnel cake afterward. Decisions like these were effortless with Jaehyun—it was easy to compromise and even easier to enjoy the moment.

It didn’t take long for you to finish eating, to which the roles had reversed—Jaehyun was now dragging your arm around to find something to go on. It was getting dark out, so Jaehyun quickly picked a ride in no time. Jaehyun came to a sudden stop, his face lighting up as he pointed ahead. 

“We—or I—never got to ride one of these before,” he announced, staring in awe at the towering Ferris wheel in front of you.

You turned to look at him, only to be met with his best attempt at puppy-dog eyes, as if he needed to convince you.

You chuckled at his expression, simply nodding in agreement, as truthfully, you didn’t need much persuading.

You haven’t been on a ferris wheel yet either. 

The line wasn’t as long as compared to the roller coaster, so it led you two to instantly get into one of the pods, settling into your seats across from each other. 

As the Ferris wheel ascended, you exclaimed in awe as you stared at the things from ground level that were slowly getting smaller. You stared at the glowing lights from all the other rides and booths from above.

“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?” Jaehyun murmured, his voice softer now, filled with genuine admiration. You hummed in agreement, unable to also look away from the outside view. 

That was, until you peered over at Jaehyun, watching his eyes dazzle with amazement while your eyes lingered on him, warmth suddenly pooling in your chest. 

“You know,” you started, leaning back against the cushioned seat, “I’m really thankful for you today.”

Jaehyun turned his head slowly, his gaze meeting yours as his smile grew wider. “Don’t be,” he said, almost shyly.

“No, like, seriously,” you insisted, your voice more animated. “I don’t think I would’ve had this much fun if I wasn’t with you.”

Jaehyun blinked, his lips pressing together as if holding back another smile. “Well,” he said after a beat, “I’m glad you felt comfortable enough with me.”

You exhaled a small laugh, shaking your head. “I’m even more glad that it was you I spent the day with.”

For a second, Jaehyun didn’t say anything—simply looking at you, his expression unreadable yet soft. However, with a soft chuckle, he leaned back as well, his eyes still lingering on you as if he were seeing something just as mesmerizing as the view outside. 

“Me too.” 

RULE #7: Don’t Leave your Clients Confused 

You didn’t know how to feel. 

From the day you met him again—to now—things had never felt more confusing than before. 

Especially ever since that day, it had never left your mind. Even if you wanted to push it aside, all it did was continue to linger, creeping into your thoughts when you least expected it. 

It wasn’t even supposed to be an actual date—let alone being a real one. Jaehyun had simply stepped in for Heeseung, who never showed up. And yet, at no point did Jaehyun feel like a replacement. Not when he showed up beside you, effortlessly easing the disappointment you had been trying to suppress. Not when he went out of his way to make you laugh, making the entire day feel lighthearted and effortless. Not even when he insisted on taking you home; his concern was so genuine that it made your chest tighten.

It felt almost too genuine. 

Everything about that day felt like it was supposed to be Jaehyun. If he wasn’t there, you wouldn’t have had that much fun with someone else. And that thought alone had your mind spiraling.

You were analyzing every little thing—the way he’s been looking at you these past few weeks, the way he was always caught in a trance when you spoke, and the way his smiles never seemed to leave his face whenever he was around you. 

And for those things, you thought about all kinds of possibilities. You even thought about all the what-ifs, trying to create explanations that made sense with his actions. 

Even with the amount of things you’d try to tell yourself with some made-up reasoning behind his actions, there were obviously some questions that you couldn’t answer. 

Some things were easy to reason with. Of course, Jaehyun had been nervous—he hadn’t seen you in a while, and being thrown into such an intimate setting would make anyone uneasy. Of course, he had been extra cheerful—he was just trying to lift your spirits after being ditched. It all made perfect sense.

At least, that’s what you told yourself.

But there were still questions you couldn’t answer. No matter how many times you tried to rationalize it, none of it added up.

Why did he make you feel this way?

And, more importantly—

What exactly were your feelings for Jaehyun?

Why were you feeling the very same feelings you once felt during your relationship with him? Why couldn’t you bring yourself to hate the fact that those feelings were stirring up again?

Why did you—against all logic—want to keep feeling this way?

It was undeniable that Jaehyun had the looks—one of the most attractive people you’ve ever known. But it wasn’t just his looks. He had a sweet personality—his kindness, his bubbly-like energy, and his effortless care for people without hesitation—those were the things that made him all seem perfect. 

Reuniting with him only brought back those flood of memories—the ones you claimed you managed to bury beneath stacks of paperwork and long hours from your job. 

He was, in every sense, the dream guy. 

And yet, feeling this way now almost made you feel guilty. After all, the two of you had chosen to part ways. You had told yourselves it was for the best—that your demanding work schedules had left little room for love. That drowning in responsibilities was easier than trying to hold onto something that was slipping away.

So you buried yourself in work. It was only fair, wasn’t it? If your career was the thing that had consumed your relationship, then it should consume you too.

Your routine always felt repetitive—the days had become a cycle of early commutes, endless tasks, and late nights hunched over your desk. The only real challenge was making it home before the last train filled up, securing a seat before exhaustion fully settled in. And when you did get home, there was always more work waiting. If you were lucky, you’d steal an hour of sleep before doing it all over again.

Some days felt more draining than others, but you had convinced yourself it was normal. This—this routine of working yourself to the bone—was normal.

So, why did Jaehyun’s presence disrupt the kind of lifestyle you had built for yourself?

You mindlessly stared at your laptop screen, your word count barely reaching a hundred. The blinking cursor taunted you, yet no matter how hard you tried to focus, your thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Even if you wanted to forget everything—just like you used to—the thought of him refused to leave your mind.

You let out a small huff, looking away from the document to grab the cup of water on your dining table. As you took a sip, your eyes wandered at the table, landing on your coat draped messily over the table. And right next to it...

The white dog ears headband.

The one Jaehyun picked out for you.

Because it suited you. 

You swallowed your water too fast, nearly choking as you hastily cleared your throat, the sudden clang of your cup hitting the table breaking the silence. Slowly, you steadied your movements, pushing the cup back to its original spot as if that could somehow fix the mess in your head.

But your eyes remained fixed on the headband. You reluctantly reach your hand over to grab it. Your fingers brushed against the soft fabric as you absentmindedly played with the ears, twisting them between your fingertips. And just like that, the memories came rushing back.

Just how could you help yourself?

How could you forget the way he smiled at you, saying the headband was perfect for you? The way he wore the other matching piece without hesitation? 

How could you forget his caring words and consistent reassurance, always checking to see if you were okay? How could you forget the warm grasp on your hand on the roller coaster? How could you forget the smile that adorned his face and how his laughter managed to fill up the entire place?

And most of all—the way his eyes held so much love.

How could you forget the way his eyes looked just like they were before? 

You quickly threw the headband back onto the table, covering your face with both hands. A muffled groan left your lips as you mumbled under your breath, shaking your head.

You truly had lost it.

You wanted to pull yourself together to shake off the overwhelming thoughts clouding your mind. But no matter how hard you tried, it felt as if you had been teleported back in time—except instead of drowning in paperwork, Jaehyun consumed every inch of your thoughts.

No matter what you could do, he just seemingly happened to be everywhere. He would always be lingering in your mind, in the little details of your day—in the spaces you swore only belonged to you. 

So, as much as you had vowed to immerse yourself in work, to not let anything deter you from your responsibilities, your fingers betrayed you. Instead of returning your focus to the laptop screen, you reached for your phone. 

You immediately looked in your photo album, looking over the pictures from that day—pictures of you and Jaehyun, candid moments he captured when you weren’t looking, and secret pictures you took whenever he just seemed too cute to not to. 

Without even trying to suppress it, a smile creeps onto your face. Your chest felt lighter, warmth spreading from inside out as you continued to scroll through the mountain of photos. 

That’s when you knew that you realized it. 

You couldn’t keep pretending. You couldn’t keep denying what had become so painfully obvious. There was no reasoning left to twist your feelings into something logical, no excuse that could explain away the way your heart reacted to him.

Jaehyun managed to do his thing—to strike an arrow directly through your heart, making you unable to even try to escape from it. 

Everyone had always said it. Jaehyun is an amazing cupid.

You just never expected to be his next target.

RULE #8: There’s Never No Solution 

Around Jaehyun’s business, words traveled fast. It was a given—he was the owner, after all. He was supposed to know everything before anyone else did.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to go.

So why, instead of knowing the latest news firsthand, did he have to go find Taesan after Woonhak had suddenly burst into his office, practically breathless, only not to say much despite his excited appearance? 

"Wait—what's going on?" Jaehyun called out, eyebrows knitting together. He couldn’t even process Woonhak’s words, let alone even be able to process his sudden appearance. 

Woonhak merely grinned, shaking his head. "Taesan will tell you everything."

Jaehyun scowled. "That doesn't answer anything."

But Woonhak was already gone, leaving Jaehyun standing there, even more frustrated than before.

With an exasperated sigh, Jaehyun pushed aside the pile of paperwork he had been working on, knowing there was no point in trying to focus on it now. He had no choice but to go find Taesan himself—again.

It was never surprising. Taesan always had his own tasks, always busy with something, yet somehow, he never had a problem asking others to come to him whenever he had something to say.

It was just the way he was.

And Jaehyun was never bothered by it. But he still couldn’t help but feel the need to feel like something was up. Whatever this was about, he had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to like it. 

"Jaehyun?" Taesan said, his eyes still glued to one of the drawers he was rummaging through, his ears picking up the distinct click of the door opening.

Jaehyun hummed as he shut the door behind him, his gaze sharpening as he watched Taesan absorb whatever task he was focused on. Jaehyun moved closer, hoping Taesan would be the one to break the silence, but Taesan stayed silent, his attention still fixed on whatever he was doing. Jaehyun couldn’t help but take a few slow steps forward, not wanting to interrupt but silently hoping the man would notice him first before the creeping awkwardness set in.

But, still, he was only faced with the sounds of shuffling while he stood there awkwardly, before finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. 

“So…” Jaehyun trails; his voice was hesitant as it was laced with confusion. “Mind explaining why Woonhak suddenly barged into my office just to tell me to find you?”

Taesan finally hummed in acknowledgement, still not looking up. “How do you feel?”

“How do I feel?” He scoffed lightly. “Come on, I need more than that.”

“Your arrow mishap,” Taesan finally said, now glancing up. It clicked in Jaehyun’s mind. Taesan was always the last to catch on, it seemed. “Is it still affecting you?”

Jaehyun sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah. It hasn’t gotten any easier," he admitted, his mind drifting back to all the moments with you. Just being around you made his chest feel tight, like his heart was trying to beat out of his ribcage. But despite that, he couldn’t seem to stop wanting to be near you.

"The severity of it, I guess, depends on how close I am to the person I accidentally... fell in love with." He chuckled dryly, the words feeling strange on his tongue but undeniably true. “Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

“Not really,” Taesan shrugged, catching Jaehyun off guard.

Of all the reactions Jaehyun had gotten from his friends about his accidental self-inflicted arrow, this was by far the least expected. Every other time he brought it up—whether he wanted to or not—he was met with relentless teasing, concern, or a mix of both. 

But Taesan? He seemed not even the slightness fazed by it. 

Jaehyun wore a furrowed brow, crossing his arms as if that was going to give him the support that he needed. “Just a ‘not really’? You’re not going to... discipline me for it?” 

Taesan finally looked up from the drawer, tilting his head slightly as if Jaehyun had just asked a pointless question. “Why would it be a big deal?”

Jaehyun opened his mouth, then shut it, narrowing his eyes. “Are you serious? I’m a cupid, Taesan. We don’t fall in love. We make other people fall in love.”

“You make it sound like a forbidden rule,” Taesan chuckled.

“It basically is,” Jaehyun muttered, his gaze shifting onto the floor. 

"If you make it sound so forbidden," Taesan mused, his tone teasing. "Then what if I told you I could help you finally erase the effects of the bow?"

Jaehyun’s eyes widened in shock. His arms dropped to his sides before he rushed forward, slamming his hands onto Taesan’s desk with a force that made the other slightly flinch. It wasn’t often that Jaehyun lost his composure, but now, with his hands splayed against the desk and his breath slightly uneven, he looked more frantic than Taesan had ever seen him.

“What—how?” Jaehyun stammered, his words tumbled out hastily. His reaction alone made it clear just how unexpected this was. No one had ever offered a solution before, so hearing it now—from Taesan, of all people—felt almost too good to be true.

“I didn’t expect you to react like this,” Taesan said, leaning back slightly from Jaehyun, who was too close in his personal space to his liking. “But yes, I can help.” 

“How?” Jaehyun demanded, his voice barely above a whisper. His fingers were curled against the wood, almost as if he needed something to try to prove to him that he wasn’t dreaming. 

Taesan didn’t answer immediately—once again. Seriously, Jaehyun could feel like he could collapse with how long it seemed like he was taking to tell him these things. Instead, he reached into the drawer he had been rummaging through earlier, retrieving a small glass vial filled with a shimmering, purple liquid. 

“You’re saying this is all I need?” Jaehyun tried to keep his voice steady, not wanting to seem ungrateful. In reality, he was more relieved than anything.

He doesn’t know how much longer he could be able to contain these kinds of feelings to himself around you. 

Taesan gave the vial a slow swirl, his eyes fixated on the shimmering liquid inside as if assessing its potency one last time before handing it over.

Jaehyun reached out with both hands, nearly freezing when the cold glass met his fingertips. Lifting it closer to his face, he examined it carefully another time. It looked like it was ordinary, purple medicine—except for the glitter swirling within. 

“What do I do with this?” he finally asked, tilting the vial slightly.

“Just drink it,” Taesan said simply. “The effects should wear off soon after.”

Jaehyun’s gaze flickered up, suspicion creeping in. “Where did you even get this?”

Taesan leaned back slightly, arms crossing over his chest. “You’re not the first cupid to fall victim to their own arrow,” he admitted. “It’s more common than you’d think. And well, you could say I’m the one who handles cases like these.”

Jaehyun blinked, momentarily stunned. The solution had been within reach this whole time. He could have come to Taesan from the start and spared himself the turmoil.

Taesan seemed to read his mind and smiled. “Before you start blaming anyone, I never told the others about this. We were never advised to.”

Jaehyun nodded quickly, accepting Taesan’s words before he could even begin to place blame elsewhere. Without hesitation, he popped open the cap and brought the vial to his lips, downing the liquid in one swift gulp.

The bitterness hit him immediately, a sharp, unpleasant aftertaste lingering on his tongue. He let out a hiss of dissatisfaction, grimacing as he swallowed the last drop.

Taesan extended his hand, prompting Jaehyun to toss the empty vial toward him. With ease, Taesan caught it, barely glancing up as he set it aside.

“How soon will it take effect?” Jaehyun asked, his voice edged with impatience. He wasn’t feeling anything yet, and for some reason, that made him uneasy. Shouldn’t there be some kind of reaction? A tingling sensation, a rush of warmth—something?

“It usually happens faster than you could even know it,” Taesan replied, his attention shifting back to the stack of files he had set aside earlier. “At least, that’s how it worked for the others. You shouldn’t be any different.”

Jaehyun frowned, glancing down at his hands as if expecting them to tremble or glow. Nothing.

"Don't worry, you're not supposed to feel any different from your normal self," Taesan reassured, catching a glimpse of Jaehyun flipping his hands over, inspecting them as if expecting some kind of glow or change.

Jaehyun sighed, shaking off his nerves. There was no reason to doubt Taesan—he had already taken the potion, after all. Now, he could only wait for it to take effect. Feeling a sense of relief, he quickly bid his goodbyes and stepped out of the office.

As he made his way back, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pausing mid-step, he pulled it out, his eyes immediately landing on your contact name.

He paused momentarily, his mind going blank as he stared at his screen before it closed on its own due to inactivity. Quickly pressing the side button, he reopened his phone to click on the notification, ready to type a reply. 

He stopped in his steps to be able to formulate some sort of response—something that would keep the conversation going. The moment you replied, his heart reacted the same way it always did around you, a familiar warmth creeping in.

It felt… off.

He was supposed to be cured, wasn't he? He knew better that Taesan wasn’t the type to lie, and yet, here Jaehyun was, still feeling the rush of excitement and nerves just from texting you.

Maybe the potion just needed more time to kick in.

That had to be it.

After all, that was the only explanation he would take for why he was still so happy just to be talking to you. RULE #9: Love Never Leaves, It Sticks.

It felt strange to admit that you had completely overlooked the fact that Jaehyun was the one responsible for setting you up with a perfect match. And, to some extent, he also forgot about his duties too. 

The only reason was that Jaehyun had done his part—he had found potential matches for you, offering names, profiles, and possibilities. But every time, you declined. It left him puzzled, unsure of what to do.

Who would refuse Cupid’s advances to help them find their person? In fact, who was Cupid MJ to flat out give up their client’s journey to love without a proper explanation from the person he’s trying to set up himself? 

Letting you go wasn’t an option. That wasn’t how he was taught. He didn’t know how to handle a client who showed no interest in any of the matches he curated. His job wasn’t just about arranging dates—it was about guiding the client until they expressed their own satisfaction. Only then could he receive a review, and only then could he reach his quota.

So, with that in mind, Jaehyun found himself sticking around. Messaging you, calling when the opportunity arose—keeping the connection alive in whatever way he could. It was beginning to feel like something more than just a supposedly professional relationship, but still, he reasoned with himself: he was doing a good thing, right?

Now, as he anxiously paced around his room, debating what to wear before heading out to meet you, he reassured himself again.

This wasn’t a bad thing.

If anything, maybe he should embrace the fact that you had asked him to hang out. That had to mean something, right? If he was nervous, then surely you were too.

And you were.

You had been muttering to yourself all evening, standing up every few minutes to readjust the setup in your apartment. It made sense to have the hangout at your place—you had the materials for a clay-making session. The idea had come naturally after you both talked about those tiny clay figurines everyone seemed to be making lately. It was a casual, easy thing to do. A simple activity.

But despite that, you still felt a little jittery.

You weren’t sure what had come over you when you asked him to hang out, but after all those conversations—after all the moments spent talking to him—it only felt right.

A proper hangout.

Not by chance. Not by force.

Just... because you both wanted to.

You sat there, envisioning how the day would unfold, a giddy excitement bubbling within you. It wasn’t hard to acknowledge your feelings, not when they had been creeping up on you for some time now—lingering in the way you pushed through your workload just to have an excuse to text him, or how you found comfort in the soft tone of his voice over late-night calls.

The loud sound of the doorbell cut through your thoughts—two quick rings. Jaehyun was finally here. You shot up from your seat, hurriedly slipping into your slippers before making your way to the door. The lock clicked as you twisted the doorknob, revealing Jaehyun standing before you. He offered a small wave, his familiar smile tugging at the corners of his lips, leaving you to return the same gestures. 

Oddly enough, Jaehyun didn’t seem awkward—especially since it had been a while since he last visited your place. And yet, Jaehyun slipped off his shoes, quickly stepping into your place while you turned to shut and lock the door. 

Despite how long it had been since his last visit, Jaehyun didn’t seem hesitant or awkward. He stepped inside with ease, slipping off his shoes in one smooth motion as you closed the door behind him. His gaze swept across the space, taking in everything as if he were reacquainting himself with an old home.

Nothing had really changed. The furniture was still arranged the same, the decorations untouched, and the overall warmth of your apartment was just as he had remembered. Even after all this time, it still felt familiar.

It still felt like the place where you two once shared so many beautiful memories together. 

Jaehyun’s eyes eventually landed on the wall above your dining table, where a collection of paper prints hung neatly in contrast to the plain white walls. A flicker of recognition passed through his expression. Jaehyun remembers the prints—he was the one that had bought them for you. 

“You still kept these?” Jaehyun asked, his voice carrying a hint of surprise as he stepped closer to the prints on the wall. His fingers brushed lightly against one of them, careful not to accidentally make one of the papers drop. 

You blinked, following his glance, before letting out a hum of agreement. “Of course—why wouldn’t I?’

Jaehyun let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. “I don’t know. It’s just been a while.”

You watched as he traced the edges of the prints, his expression unreadable. It was strange seeing him like this. It looked like he was facing nostalgia, or even seeming a little lost in thought. 

“They help make the room look brighter—you were also the one who insisted I put them up,” you reminded him, crossing your arms. “I didn’t really have a choice.”

Jaehyun let out a small laugh. “Right. I did, didn’t I?”

Shaking the thought away, you cleared your throat. “Come on, let’s get started before the clay dries out.”

Jaehyun turned to look at you, finally snapping out of his thoughts. “Right,” he said, smiling. “Let’s do this.”

You both quickly settled into your seats, Jaehyun wasting no time in tearing open the clay packages while you scrolled through your phone, looking for inspiration. The soft scent of fresh clay filled the air, adding to the cozy atmosphere of your apartment.

“What do you want to make?” you asked, glancing up from your screen.

Jaehyun furrowed his brows, rolling a small piece of clay between his fingers. "Hmm, good question,” he mused. “Maybe an animal? A dog—or maybe a penguin? They seem easy to make.”

“Who says we can’t do both?” You smiled, saving the pictures of the clay figures Jaehyun wants to make. “Now, help me look for other things we can make instead of just staring at the clay.” 

Jaehyun huffed out a small laugh but nodded, setting the clay down before pulling out his phone. “Alright, alright. Let’s find something else.” He scrolled through his screen while occasionally glancing at the clay in front of him, as if he were trying to picture how the tiny figures would come to life in his hands.

It didn’t take long for the two of you to settle on which figures to make, especially with how often you leaned in to peek at each other’s phones, exchanging suggestions and other ideas. After narrowing it down to five designs, you both got to work, grabbing and setting the clay blocks in front of you.

You pinched and pulled at the soft material, rolling it between your fingers as you alternated between glancing at the reference photo and shaping your piece, doing your best to replicate the details. Jaehyun was just as immersed, his brows furrowed in concentration as he mixed different clay colors together, determined to get the shades just right. His efforts paid off when he finally achieved the perfect one, a proud smile tugging at his lips—only to quickly fade when he realized he had made way more than he needed.

Turning his attention to you, he noticed how focused you were, carefully crafting the tiny eyes for your figure. Without hesitation, he split the excess clay in his hands, handing you the bigger portion before he returned to shaping the body of his figure.

You blinked at the generous chunk he had given you, glancing up at him with a raised brow. “You do know you just gave me the bigger piece, right?”

Jaehyun, still rolling his clay into shape, barely spared you a glance. “Yeah, but you’re better at this than me. You’ll probably make better use of it.”

You rolled your eyes but couldn’t hide your amusement as you both continued working. The silence that followed was comfortable, filled with the soft squish of clay and the occasional sighs of frustration when something didn’t turn out quite right. Every so often, one of you would mutter complaints under your breath, only for the other to snicker in response.

At one point, Jaehyun leaned back in his seat, holding up his tiny clay penguin with a smug grin. “Okay, not to brag, but I think I actually did a decent job.”

You squinted at it, leaning in before reaching over to poke its round head. “It’s actually really cute! But…” You tilted your head. “The eyes are a little wonky.”

Jaehyun gasped dramatically, pulling his penguin close to his chest as if shielding it from your words. “Are you hating on my penguin?” He scooted back slightly, placing a protective hand in front of it while wearing an exaggeratedly offended expression.

You burst into laughter at his antics, and he couldn’t hold back his own laughter either, setting the penguin down with a giggle.

“I’m not hating! At least yours is actually finished,” you pointed out, still rolling the orange clay between your fingers as you focused on shaping the penguin’s feet. The body was done, and you had already made the eyes, but you were carefully perfecting the details before assembling everything.

Jaehyun leaned forward, studying your half-finished creation. His eyes widened as he compared the two figures, placing his beside yours. “Okay, hold on—your penguin isn’t even complete yet, and it already looks better than mine. How did you do that?”

You shrugged, glancing between the picture on your phone and your clay figure. “I was just looking at the reference.”

Jaehyun let out a dramatic sigh and carefully picked up his penguin again. “This won’t do,” he muttered, setting it down in front of him as if he were analyzing all its flaws. “I need to make some improvements.”

You chuckled, smoothing out the rounded edges of the feet you were sculpting. “Jae, it looks fine,” you reassured him, glancing up with a small smile.

Jaehyun ignored your remark; his eyes locked on his creation as he smoothed out its uneven features. “Says the person who just called my penguin’s eyes wonky.”

You grinned, setting your now nearly finished figure down. “I meant it in a cute way.”

He shot you a look. “That’s just a nice way of saying it looks weird—if it’s even nice in the first place.”

You nudged him lightly, a small gesture of encouragement. “Well, I’m sure you’ll be able to make even better ones once we move on to the next ones.”

Jaehyun huffed but then smiled, rolling up his sleeves as if only now he was starting to get serious. And surprisingly, he did get better. 

The two of you got so caught up in sculpting that time slipped away unnoticed. What was supposed to be only five figures turned into more as you spent more time scrolling for more ideas, tapping on Jaehyun to recreate them. With that, you couldn’t help but chuckle at Jaehyun’s slightly lopsided creations, which always prompted a round of playful bickering. 

He’d always protest that that clay personally betrayed him, leaving you to only laugh harder as you shake your head to refute that point. Despite that, there were some clear improvements. Even if there were some pieces that seemed a little too round or flat, his figures did end up becoming more refined with the new details. 

At the end of it all—when you both finally checked the time—you realized just how long you'd been at it. The table was now covered with small, colorful clay creations, each one a testament to the hours spent laughing and sculpting.

Jaehyun, with a satisfied grin, began lining them up neatly, carefully placing each figure beside its matching pair. Once he was happy with the arrangement, he pulled out his phone and quickly snapped a picture, making sure to get every little detail. Without hesitation, he sent it to you. “There. Now we have proof of our masterpiece,” he said, turning his phone around to show you the image.

You smiled as you opened the message, admiring the tiny figures you both had worked so hard on. “They actually turned out really good,” you admitted, glancing over at him.

“I would hope so,” Jaehyun said with a chuckle, leaning back in his chair to stretch his arms behind his head. “After spending all that time making them.”

“Worth it, though,” you chuckled, tapping at your screen to save the photo. 

“What do we do with them?” Jaehyun asked, still remaining in his current posture. 

“I’ll keep them,” you announced, before suddenly gasping as a thought struck you.

Without another word, you grabbed as many clay figures as your hands could hold—careful not to squish them—and hurried across the room. Jaehyun turned in his seat, watching you with curiosity as you stopped in front of a shelf.

One of the shelves was completely empty, a perfect space for your new collection. You carefully placed the figures down, aligning them just as Jaehyun had arranged them earlier. Once they were neatly lined up, you turned to face him, grinning.

Jaehyun, who had been observing the whole thing with an amused expression, glanced between the shelf and you. “You’re really making a display out of them?” he chuckled, shaking his head.

Instead of answering, you quickly ran back to grab the remaining figures. This time, Jaehyun stood up, scooping up a few clay figures himself before trailing behind you to the shelf.

Once the last of the figures were placed neatly on the shelf, Jaehyun stepped back, arms crossed, as he admired the colorful lineup. He hummed in satisfaction, nodding approvingly before glancing at you.

"Are you actually going to keep these here?" he asked, raising a skeptical brow.

You scoffed, as if he had just asked the most absurd question. "Of course I am! We spent so much time on them—I can’t just take them apart like they were nothing."

Jaehyun smirked, tilting his head slightly. "Hmm, but how can I trust you on that? What if, the moment I leave, you take them down? Or even worse—" his voice dropped into a dramatic whisper, "What if you throw them away?"

“I would never!” You insisted. “You can visit again next time, and I promise the figures will still be here.”

Jaehyun’s lips curled into a grin. "Wait... was that you subtly inviting me to hang out again?"

"You started it," you muttered, quickly averting your gaze as you searched for a way to change the subject. Your eyes flickered to the clock, and you suddenly got a thought. "Do you want something to eat before you go? We completely forgot to eat anything."

“I would like that.”

Nodding, you grabbed your phone and sat back at the dining table, scrolling through a food delivery app. Meanwhile, Jaehyun found his gaze drifting back to the shelf, his fingers absentmindedly grazing the edge as he admired the tiny clay figures once more.

They weren’t perfect—not even close. Some were lopsided, others a little misshapen, but they held a charm he couldn’t ignore. Maybe it was because they were made with you.

And then his chest tightened.

That all-too-familiar pounding in his heart returned, an effect he swore he had rid himself of. Hadn't he? The supposed cure was meant to work, yet here he was, feeling the same way he always had around you.

Jaehyun’s eyes flickered back to you, his lips unconsciously curling at the sight of your focused expression, brows slightly furrowed as you scrolled through the menu.

Had the potion failed? Or... had his feelings never truly left in the first place?

The way he was feeling wasn’t perfect either—it was far from ideal. The pounding in his chest, the way his thoughts tangled whenever he looked at you—it was overwhelming, almost suffocating. A part of him felt like he needed to escape, to put distance between you and himself just to regain some sense of composure. Maybe if he ran far enough, he could recover. Maybe he could convince himself that this was nothing more than a lingering effect of something that should’ve faded by now.

But then there was you. There was always you. 

Just like the clay figures—no matter how imperfect or uneven—he found himself wanting to overlook the flaws, to overlook and accept the nagging feelings that were tugging at his chest. Because somehow, in the moments he spent with you, everything felt perfect enough. 

And that was everything he was looking for. 

To be in love. 

RULE #10: Once a Client, Always Your Client.

Jaehyun had always been strict when it came to rules, routines, and the careful structure he had built for himself. And yet, when it came to you, he found himself hesitating—not to break those rules, but to carve out quiet exceptions just for you.

It wasn’t that he hated the idea of being with you. What he hated was the feeling of being held back, restrained by reasons he couldn't quite grasp. Because the truth was, he did want those late-night walks, arms swinging side by side, fingers brushing in a way that sent warmth curling through his chest. He wanted to spend an entire day before an anniversary decorating, making sure everything was just right. He wanted to laugh until his stomach ached, gasping for air through tear-streaked laughter, unable to stop because being with you made everything that easy.

He wanted all of it.

And he wanted it only with you.

That was the reason why he kept going back—to chip away at the very walls he had built around himself. He went out of his way to text you, to meet you, to be near you. It felt effortless and natural—something that should’ve felt right. And yet, there was still that nagging thought, a lingering voice that was in the back of his mind telling him to stop. 

Was it fear? The fear of breaking Cupid’s rules, of stepping beyond the boundaries he was meant to uphold? Or was it the thought of being ridiculed, of being the one to fall instead of making others fall in love? 

Or was it the thought of having what he considered his true love slip away from him again? 

Whatever it was, it bothered him, clearly unshakable and noticeable—enough that Riwoo had to drop by, his concern written all over his face, just to check on him. 

Riwoo had always been Jaehyun's safe space—the one person he could confide in without hesitation, the one who always listened without judgement. He was the only one who knew at first—the one who confidently took over Jaehyun’s shifts just so he could be with you. So, seeing Jaehyun sprawled out on the couch, lost in thought, wasn’t just concerning for Riwoo—it was concerning for Jaehyun himself. 

He wasn’t the type to sit still like this, to let his feelings consume him so completely. But right now, it felt like that was all he could do. 

“What’s on your mind?” Riwoo sat back in one of the single-seat couches, his gaze never leaving Jaehyun, who looked like he’d checked out of the world entirely. He was slumped, his body unmoving, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as if he could stare through it into some distant place. It was as if he wasn’t really there at all.

Jaehyun finally broke the silence, his voice low. “A lot of things,” he murmured, his words barely audible.

Riwoo leaned forward, his expression softening. “Tell me one of them,” he said, his tone almost gentle—the kind of voice you use when you know someone seems to have a lot on their mind. “You know you can’t keep all of this to yourself, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun let out a slow breath, his chest rising and falling as he remained fixated on the ceiling. His mind was a tangled mess, but if he had to pick just one thing—one thought that refused to leave him alone—he knew exactly what it was.

“It’s… about her,” he admitted, his voice quieter than usual.

Riwoo leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees. “I figured,” he said knowingly. “What about her?”

Jaehyun shut his eyes for a moment, as if doing so would somehow help him find the right words. “I keep going back to her,” he finally said, his voice laced with frustration. “Even when I tell myself I shouldn’t. Even when I know it goes against everything I’m supposed to stand for.”

“What’s so wrong about falling in love? Riwoo asked, his voice cutting through the heavy silence.

Jaehyun’s eyes fluttered open, slowly processing the question. It was a simple one, yet it felt like an unexpected weight. For as long as he could remember, love was something to be avoided—something that could jeopardize everything a Cupid was meant to do. Hearing Riwoo speak those words, however, felt strange—almost unsettling.

He had been taught his entire life that love wasn’t meant for someone like him.

Every Cupid should know to avoid getting tangled up in love themselves. 

“I should be helping people find love, not falling into it myself,” Jaehyun murmured. The very words that he held against himself finally started feeling heavy with the weight of the years of expectations he set for himself to follow. It didn’t feel right for him to be saying that now, especially given how and what he’s been doing. 

Riwoo’s chuckle interrupted his thoughts. “You make it seem like Cupids can’t find love either.”

Jaehyun paused, his brow furrowing. “Isn’t that what they always told us?”

Riwoo’s smile faded into something more thoughtful. “It may not seem like an ideal situation for a Cupid,” he said slowly, as if reflecting on his own experiences with being around other Cupids. “But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”

Jaehyun looked at him, skeptical. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“No, seriously.” Riwoo leaned forward, his gaze more earnest now. “Why do you think I accepted the idea of you dating Y/N in the first place? Why do you think I’ve been covering your shifts whenever you needed it? I’ve always made space for you to be with her.”

Jaehyun felt a knot in his chest. He knew Riwoo was right. His friend always seemed to appear at the right time, sometimes without even needing to be asked. Every time Jaehyun needed to be with you, Riwoo was there to take his place.

“Where are you going with this?” Jaehyun asked, trying not to let his hopes rise too quickly.

“I’m trying to tell you,” Riwoo began, his voice getting softer, “that Cupids can’t hate the idea of love.”

Jaehyun’s mind buzzed with the implications of Riwoo’s words, and then he remembered something Taesan had once said. “Like Taesan said before,” Riwoo continued, “you aren’t the only one who’s been put in situations like this.”

Jaehyun shifted his position, moving from sprawling lazily on the couch to sitting upright, his posture tense. His mind raced, but the words still felt trapped in his throat.

“You’re still lost?” Riwoo asked, eying Jaehyun’s every sudden move. 

“It’s not that." Jaehyun let out a slow breath, his gaze drifting to the floor as he processed his thoughts. “From the moment I drank that potion Taesan gave me, I was told everything would just... disappear. But it didn’t work. I still feel exactly the same. I just feel…confused.”  

“Do you hate the idea of liking her?”

Jaehyun shook his head almost immediately, his fingers absentmindedly tapping on the edge of the couch. “I don’t. I really don’t. And I don’t know what to do with that.” 

““And I’m telling you that it’s okay if you want to love her,” Riwoo said with a smile. “Helping others find love doesn’t mean you have to give up your own.”

Jaehyun hadn’t realized how badly he needed to hear those words. All this time, he’d convinced himself that his feelings weren’t meant to be accepted, even though deep down, he yearned for that very thing. Hearing Riwoo’s reassurance lifted a weight from his shoulders, replacing his lingering worries with a silent urgency. The need to act, to take the step he’d been hesitating on, was suddenly clear.

“I think I need to go,” Jaehyun muttered as he stood, grabbing the nearest hoodie hanging by the door. He barely even looked at it before pulling it over his head, his mind already a few steps ahead, fixed on the next thing.

Riwoo didn’t need him to say more. He just sat back, a small, knowing smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He watched Jaehyun with a mix of amusement and understanding. Even if Jaehyun hadn’t said the words directly, it was clear what he wanted.

Jaehyun was heading straight to you.

“You got this,” Riwoo said softly, as if the words could somehow give Jaehyun the last bit of courage he needed. Jaehyun paused before stepping out of his door, offering Riwoo a small but genuine smile, whispering a thank you. 

The moment Jaehyun stepped out and closed his door behind him, his heart picked up speed. Each step felt like it was pulling him closer to something he wanted but couldn’t quite understand—something that had been waiting for him. The answers weren’t clear, and maybe they never would be. But for once, at this moment, Jaehyun didn’t feel the need to chase them. He didn’t seem to mind. 

He just needed to show up. 

As he neared your place, he could feel the anticipation building in his chest, almost like a tightness he couldn't shake. His hand hovered over his phone, his thumb hesitant for a brief second. He took a deep breath, telling himself to stop overthinking. 

He was already here. He couldn’t turn back now. 

Before his mind could talk him out of it, Jaehyun pressed the call button next to your contact. One ring, and he immediately felt a rush of jitters flood through him. The second ring, his fingers twisted the fabric of his hoodie, his nerves getting the better of him. By the third ring, he finally heard your voice on the other line.

"Jaehyun?"

He froze for a moment, hearing his name fall from your lips. The sound made his heart race, but he quickly composed himself, trying to ignore the sudden increased pacing in his chest.  

"Y/N... Hi."

"Hey, what's up?" 

"Can I see you?" Jaehyun wasn’t too sure if you could hear the sudden tremble in his voice, but he could only pray that you didn’t. 

"Like... right now?"

"Just for a little while, yeah. I don’t want to rush you or anything, but I’m nearby, and—well, if you’re not up for it, that’s totally fine. I know it’s late."

"Stop worrying, Jae. I'll be out in a few. Just wait for me." you said, and Jaehyun couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips. He was already a little lost in the thought of what he wanted to say, but for now, he just waited, allowing himself to calm down as the seconds ticked by.

"I’ll be here,” he responded back quickly. 

He could almost picture your expression once he heard the soft chuckle you gave as the line went quiet again, leaving him standing there, staring at the phone in his hand. His nerves didn’t settle completely, but it didn’t matter anymore. He had done it. He had reached out. And now, all he had to do was wait.

After a few moments, Jaehyun spotted you running out of your apartment complex. You waved, and he quickly waved back.

"Hi," you said, as if the greeting over the phone hadn’t already happened. "Where do you want to go?"

 "Is it okay if we just stay out here?" he asked, knowing this was something that he needed. There was something comforting about being in an open space—a sense of calm he didn’t want to lose. He needed the fresh breeze of air, but more importantly, he simply needed a little room to breathe if things became overwhelming. 

"Yeah, of course," you said, nodding. You pointed toward a bench just outside the complex. "We can sit there."

Jaehyun shifted slightly on the bench, feeling the cool night air brush against his face. The sounds of distant traffic blended with the quiet night, giving everything a sense of calm he hadn’t expected. Sitting next to you with no distractions, it almost felt like time slowed down. The pressure in his chest eased just a little more.

“What did you want to see me for?” you finally spoke, turning to face Jaehyun. He also turned to look at you, your face illuminated by the soft glow of the streetlamp. His heart skipped, just like it always did when you looked at him like that—with that same curiosity and warmth in your eyes. It made his thoughts scatter, but he pushed them back, trying to focus.

“I just... needed to talk,” he said, his words coming out quieter than he expected. He wasn’t sure how to put what he was feeling into words. He let out a small chuckle, noticing how ridiculous it was for him to be acting this nervous. “I’ve been holding back from saying this, actually.”

“About what?” you asked softly, your voice laced with both curiosity and a hint of worry. Something about the way Jaehyun had called you out here felt different, and you couldn’t help but wonder if this was something important. Your heart skipped a beat, uncertainty swirling in your chest as you tried to read his expression. 

"About... us,” Jaehyun finally confessed, his voice quieter than usual. “I’ve been thinking a lot about this—about you—and what it really means. I know the timing might seem a little off, especially with me having to be involved in your love life by setting you with others, but I can’t seem to shake these feelings I have for you.”

“You have feelings for me?” you asked, your voice a mix of surprise and disbelief, the words barely leaving your lips.

He nodded, his cheeks flushing as he looked away for a moment, trying to gather himself. The honesty in his words felt foreign, almost suffocating after he’d spent so much time hiding it. “Ever since you walked into my office that day, I’ve been trying not to feel it. I didn’t want to admit it, but when I saw you, it wasn’t fear I felt in my stomach. It was… relief. Relief that I finally got to see you again.”

Jaehyun’s voice trailed off as he shifted uncomfortably, but there was something raw in his eyes that made you pause. It was the kind of vulnerability he rarely let anyone see, let alone you.

“You’ve kept that with you this whole time?” you asked again, trying to reconfirm his answer as your thoughts spiraled. 

He nodded again, his fingers suddenly fidgeting with the hem of his hoodie. “I didn’t want to complicate things, but I knew I couldn’t keep pretending my feelings are simply nothing.” 

The weight of his words was finally setting into you after you tried processing everything. Your mind felt like it was in a haze—this was unexpected, but not completely. You always felt a shift between you two but never allowed yourself to fully acknowledge it. You were the one who brought the idea of breaking it off first, after all. 

And now, it felt as though time had folded itself back, bringing you to that moment when Jaehyun first confessed to you. That same rush of emotions, the happiness tangled with confusion, was there again. But this time, you felt different—stronger, surer. 

You knew better now; you knew that you couldn’t let someone like him slip away again.

“I’m really happy that you’re telling me this,” you said, your voice having an obvious, cheesy tone. “Because I feel the same way.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widened, considering how he was preparing himself for the worst. “Wait… you do?”

You nodded, recognizing how the truth was coming out easily now. “I always thought it was obvious.”

Jaehyun’s lips parted slightly as if he were searching for something to say, but he simply looked at you, his words being taken over with a grin on his face. His gaze softened while he stopped fidgeting with his hoodie, feeling a rush of relief running through him. 

“I was scared that this would have made things weird between us. But hearing you say that..." He exalted, as though he could finally breathe easier. “It’s everything I could wish for.”

You couldn’t help but smile back, considering how you were never quite sure if you’d ever get to hear those words from him if you didn’t show up to answer his call. The way your feet kicked back and forth was the subtle sign of nerves and excitement that had your pulse quickening. 

“Me too.” 

“I’m glad,” he said, his voice soft but sincere. “I really am.” He leaned back slightly, his gaze locked with yours, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. It was strange, yet comforting, knowing that the feelings between you were mutual.

For once, everything felt right again.

“Well then, how about we have an impromptu date right now?” Jaehyun suggested, his nervous look soon turning into something more playful. This was the Jaehyun you were always used to. 

“Oh, so now you’re asking to take me out on a date after I just also practically confessed my feelings?” you shot him a look, only for you to end up breaking into a small fit of laughter. “Very smooth, Cupid MJ.” 

“It’s only fair that I get to ask you out,” he shrugged, wearing a teasing grin. “Had to beat you to it before you were going to ask me out on a hangout again.”

“Alright then, where would we go?”

“To yours? Actually, I’ve been meaning to add a few prints to your kitchen area. It was looking a little plain, and I should’ve gotten you more prints before.”

“Shading my living space after suggesting we go there is crazy, by the way,” you crossed your arms, jokingly staring at him in disbelief. 

Jaehyun let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "You know I didn’t mean it like that."

"If not, then what?" you teased, still shaking your head. "I think you’re just trying to crash into my place, huh?"

He raised his hands in mock surrender, his expression innocent yet mischievous. "Far from that—I just want to see those clay figures you’ve got if you still have them. I’ve been curious."

Another soft laugh escapes from your lips, and the warmth in your chest spreads further. “Come see it then,” you said, the words slipping out before you could second-guess them. Honestly, you were waiting for the next time he’d suggest going to your place. You wanted him to come over again. “I’ll show you that I kept my word on keeping our figures.”

Jaehyun’s smile widened, his eyes lighting up as if your invitation was exactly what he’d hoped for. “Lead the way,” he said, following right after you as you stood up to walk back into your apartment complex—this time, with him by your side. 

The conversation between you two flowed easily, like it always had, and with every exchanged word and giggle, Jaehyun found himself being able to learn a few things.

One, that the Cupid Rules were never as severe or strict as he once believed. Fate had its own way of working, and despite all the supposed boundaries and obstacles, it had led him right back to you—the very person he once thought the Cupid Universe forcefully separated him from. 

Two, he had been so fooled to be convinced that removing the love arrow effects would help erase the emotions entangled between you both. Instead, he was right back here with you. And this time, there was nothing to blame, no external force to credit for his sudden rush of emotions—just the undeniable truth that, even without all of that, he still would have chosen you anyway. He couldn’t complain, not when this was exactly where he wanted to be. 

And three—the one thing he could fully believe about the Cupid’s Handbook was Rule #10. 

Once a client, always your client. 

Jaehyun could only hope those words were true. That no matter where life led you both, no matter what ended up being in the way, he could always find a way to stay by your side for good. 

That’s when he knew that being only with you was the only thing he wanted. 

His first, true love. 

𓊆 🗯️ 𓊇 CUPID’S FINAL WORDS ✶ TYSM FOR READING UNTIL THE END ^^ !! this feels so bittersweet completing like actually… 💔 so… if i were to write for more cupid aus, would you guys like that?? since i do have some ideas but not for all members yet so…. please let me know ♡

BND PERM TAGLIST ( OPEN ) — @juyeoz @j4d @itsactuallylina @rizzwoos @htaesan @macapunoz

[delight-angelsbliss]

hey, i hope youre having a good week!!

im not sure if your requests are open but do you think you could write a sonic or shadow x reader whos a type one diabetic? ive seen maybe one other idea abt it for shadow and id love to see people write about it in more detail!

ofc, if you dont write for that, a general fluff for either of the two hedgies will work fine :3

Warnings: mentiones of syringes, not proofread as always

Precis: Hcs for sonic and shadow with a type one diabetic reader + normal relationship hcs

Notes: my cousin also has type on diabetes I found out in 2023 I only get to see her once a year. Ok so when I wrote like (っ˘ڡ˘ς)  that popped up and why r ppl using Arabic for their symbols?? Why is ت a smiley? And ppl complain abt using the Greek alphabet for symbols but then use the Arabic one as if that isn't hypocritical. Also I used what I've seen from my cousin and she used insulin syringes I've heard there r pills but I've never seen them so I hope this was ok! Hey dear keyboard from my mobile? Can you please stop making any simple present into a simple past or past form? 🥺

Sonic

Sonic isn't really good with memorizing reminders, his carefree attitude and fast pace of the world makes his head focus on other things than reminding people of things

But that doesn't mean he won't try to remind you to take your insulin

He isn't really a genius when it comes to health but he knows some of the basics like not using sweeteners or sugar in tea, making sure you always have insulin on hand and to always keep some before a meal

Sometimes sonic has to make himself look away as you pump a syringe inside your body before eating, no matter how many times he gets used to seeing you do that before eating, it makes him so sad knowing you have to do that everyday

It doesn't matter to sonic what kind of illness you have, as long as you're happy and healthy it makes him happy. He loves all his friends and that doesn't mean you'll get the same love, attention and more from him as his partner

Even when sonic isn't there he puts reminders and notes around your phone to remember stuff (even if you don't really need it) Sonic is trying his best but he knows he isn't able to do much that can help you which makes him sad almost everyday knowing he won't be able to take anything troublesome out your life to make it easier

Sonic still tries to be understanding and makes sure to sometimes drink tea without sugar for moral support no matter how bitter

Even if you chuckle, tell him he can add honey and that it doesn't bother you, he still persists as he tries to make jokes to lighten the mood and make sure you don't think about the mountain of syringes pumped with insulin and the lifelong condition you have

He'll make sure you're happy and remember as much as you can, he'll be the biggest help he can be!

︶ ⏝ ︶ ୨୧ ︶ ⏝ ︶

Relationship hcs

Sonic may not have much time to spend but he makes every moment count, or at least tries to. Since Eggman is always plotting something, it is known as Sonic's "duty" to stop him while also keeping his charismatic personality

Some missions last months while some last a day or two, it varies a bit too much but that doesn't mean he isn't always there for you. I've said this before and I'll say it again: just because he isn't home much doesn't mean he won't think about you

His mind always wanders while fighting, thinking of you, at home waiting for him all alone (you're probably not alone but he likes to think so for his own ego) He doesn't like leaving you all alone but it is how it is

When he is at home he always wants to bring you with him outside. Mobius is such a pretty and sunny place so why not enjoy it? We all know he loves to run but he'd adjust his pace to be able to walk with you and listen to your day or whatever you say

We all know Sonic has immense pride and ego, so it isn't a surprise to other when he shows you off and makes sure everyone knows his love for you and the relationship you two have, to sonic, being yours and you being his is like a blessing. Sonic feels luck everyday knowing he's with someone he fully trusts and loves with his whole heart

Sonic knows that he won't always be there, that there's a lurking danger that he might croak during a battle, so he always tries to make the moment with you a good memory

^ he sees it fit to make many dates for the two of you, trying to make the memory one to hold onto, dinners, cuddles, movie nights, deep conversations while on a walk. You name it! He wants to remember his time with you forever and ever, he wants the same for you and he'll make sure it happens

His pet names for you are: babe, baby, my girl, babygirl (surprisingly), my love

Average teenage romance pet names if you get what I mean

Shadow

Shadow is stubborn, quiet and brooding, but that doesn't mean his memory is bad, he'll still be able to remind you daily to take insulin and actually researches what can make your blood sugar worse

He takes your condition seriously and tries his best to be there for you and help you with whatever you need: a ride to the doctors? Everyone get ready and buckle up! Cuz here we go (jay reference)

Shadow might be brooding but that doesn't mean he won't care for you and your health, he's like that with everyone even if he doesn't show it. His trauma of losing others has made him scared to feel that again so he becomes somewhat overbearing when it comes to your health concerns

He'll act like a mother and make sure you always have your insulin and drink tea without any sweeteners, this can obviously sometimes become too much to handle when he berates you for having high blood sugar or something else

The best way to get rid of that is sitting down and talk, listing a few reasons on why you need that overprotective kind of style to stop

Babes I know most of y'all throw an insult and can't make counter arguments but please learn to do that cuz it's a life long skill you'll need trust me

And you'll also need it here to be able to make him see how you don't like this overbearing behavior and nitpicking

If you do win the argument he'll try his best to tone it down, but that doesn't mean he won't stop helping you deal with it all. He's still too afraid you'll leave him one day or croak

Sometimes he just sits on his bed, thinking about you, it makes him nervous knowing you're dealing with something so horrid. We all know Shadow is more of a homebody so he tries to make dates indoors like a candle lit dinner, movie nights, plain cuddling and more!

︶ ⏝ ︶ ୨୧ ︶ ⏝ ︶

Relationship !!

Shadow is very stubborn as we know (ahem idw) but he's still loving and listens to you/your ideas, he's already figured out what it means to lose people and he doesn't want to make the mistake of underappreciating someone again

He still sometimes has some nightmares of losing the ones he loves, including you, which makes him sometimes sleep on the couch as to not disturb your sleep. His nightmares usually consist of some places like the ark (did I say that right idk I blame the German dub) and his time there, when he does have nightmares he's in a vulnerable position, which he does not like at all, it'd best to console him at that time and hold him close while reassuring him you won't ever leave him

He tries his best to complete missions or outings as fast as possible so he can get back to you and do something together, even if it's just cooking a meal

His favorite things to do with you is definitely starting a new show, some of his favorite genres are definitely those crime involved action shows like 9-1-1 or something similar

His pet names for you are: my darling, love, precious, treasure and more stuff that makes you feel like royalty

[theredrenard]

Brainstorming and plotting with @bornunderabluemoonbaby in the tevan server while we’re on the topic of supernatural creature Bucktommy AUs but neither of us writes smut so this concept is free to a good home if anyone wants it!! <3

Repressed incubus Tommy, who is perpetually starved, getting with Buck who, as we all know, is a sex fiend.

Like… Tommy was basically starved when he was with Abby, because his nature as an incubus is tied to his physical attraction and he's gay so. it got a little better when he was able to come out, but he's been living off one night stands and a few longer relationships, but the one time he thought it was for real and he was going to tell him the big secret, buddy popped off with "you're my first not my last," just for funsies.

Anyway, fast forward to after getting with Buck. The man’s never been better fed in his LIFE.

After the breakup, though, Tommy falls back into his barely-getting-by days, to the point where he’s grounded for everyone’s safety and his coworkers are starting to get worried.

Lucy puts the pieces together and is like “Dude. Just talk to Buckley, PLEASE. He wants you back and you look like you’re gonna drop dead any second now.”

It’s a bit melodramatic, but sue her, she’s worried and he looks like shit.

Read more below the cut bc this got kinda lengthy!! <3

Tommy reluctantly agrees and goes over to Buck’s and IMMEDIATELY Buck catches on that something is wrong because you look dead on your feet, Tommy. what the HELL.

(His eyebags have eyebags and his shirts don’t fit right anymore. It’s BAD)

and then they have the most heartbreaking, self-harmy sex EVER because it's not what they want, not even close, but they have to- Buck can't stand a world without Tommy in it and Tommy just wants that with Buck one last time.

after the very first post break up hook up Buck ends up slinking out the door before Tommy wakes up— going without means sex with Buck lays him out— and Tommy wakes up alone thinking he's such a terrible person because he's making the man he loves have sex with him just to stay alive and clearly Buck is only doing it because he's a good person. it has nothing to do with the fact that Buck's a masochist and will literally give pieces of himself to receive scraps in return.

They continue to hook up periodically when Tommy needs it and hurt themselves in new ways. Tommy’s no longer in danger of dropping like a fly, but at what cost? (He and Buck are both miserable because they have each other, but they don’t HAVE each other.)

Tommy insists that Buck is allowed to go sleep with other people if he wants to. They’re not dating, it’s not a big deal. Not like Tommy can catch or give anybody anything, anyway. (Because woo, sex demon logic)

(Tommy’s trying to help Buck get over him and instead triggering that sweet, sweet RSD. Does Tommy not want him? Is this purely transactional? Is Buck only good enough to fuck, never good enough to love?)

Tommy suggests that one night, and if you listen closely, you can hear the sound of Buck’s heart shattering into a million pieces.

One day Buck just snaps and is like “either we’re together or we’re not, but I can’t do whatever [*vague sharp hand gesture*] THIS is anymore, Tommy. I can’t. I’m sorry. I know that this is literally life-or-death for you, but this will be the death of me if we do it much longer.”

(Tommy immediately jumps to worst case but buck grovels instead and they end up together properly again and in MUCH better moods. And the sex is significantly less sad.)

[magicvicky1]

Ragaribbons doodles bcs this ship is really underrated and needs some love, so I might as well contribute to it with some art~ <3

I like to headcanon Gangle as having a small crush on Ragatha but being the nervous-wreck as she can’t bring herself to confess her feelings…I MEAN, you can’t tell me that one scene where Jax blackmails Gangle about “the figurine thing” doesn’t give some fuel to it XD Besides that, I just think it has some good potential for Angst considering their interactions in ep 4 and that’s personally an angle I’m the most interested in :> (ironic considering how wholesome these drawings are lol). If Gangle is already aware that Ragatha is not being honest all the time about her true feelings and she was the first one as of now to point that out, could that lead into a possible confrontation? That, and I really liked the parallels between the two on that episode…buuut I don’t want to make this post longer than it needs so I basically I just hope we see more interactions with them in the future because they have an interesting dynamic to explore :,3

[dianawinchester03]

Season 3, Episode 5 - Bedtime Stories

Series Masterlist

Authors Note: Hi my beauties! Another late update but it’s better late than never. Work has been a pain in my ass, plus it’s carnival season in my country and that means school projects for my little cousins are piling in. Istg, those teachers basically make us do the projects and not them XD

Though I’m pushing through and taking every little chance I get to write, which is barely any hahaha. Hope everyone likes this one!

Warning: smut, p-in-v sex, oral (male receiving), teasing and angst if you squint really hard.

____________________________________________

Third Person POV

Somewhere in the US

The Impala was casually driven down the desolate gravelly road with Dean Winchester behind the wheel. At this very moment, Sam and Y/N were going back and forth with Dean, trying to persuade him. “We don’t understand, Dean. Why not?” Sam argued as Y/N glared at her boyfriend. “Because I said so” Dean stated firmly, keeping his eyes glued on the road.

Sam huffed in annoyance at his brother’s response, looking over to Y/N for support. “We’ve got the Colt now” Y/N defended, leaning forward from the backseat. “Y/N…” Dean warned. “We can summon the crossroads demon-” Sam added, “We’re not summoning anything” Dean snapped back. “-pull the gun on her and force her to let you out!” Sam continued shouting.

“We don’t even know if that’ll work!” Dean argued back, “Well then we’ll just shoot her, if she dies then the deal goes away!” Y/N yelled, “We don’t know if that’ll work either, guys!” He cried out, he was tempted to throw them both out of the car. “All you’re pitching me right now is a bunch of ‘ifs’ and ‘maybes’ and that’s not good enough because if we fuck with this deal then both of you die!!” Dean exploded.

He was beyond frustrated at his brother and girlfriend for how naive they are being right now. They were determined and stubborn about it but Dean wasn’t willing to listen to their ridiculous plan, the idea of risking their lives to save his was heart wrenching.

Y/N and Sam were both equally frustrated and angry with themselves at how stubborn Dean is being about his whole ‘no to summoning the crossroads demon’. Yet despite their irritation, they care and love for him more than anything and are desperate to get him out of his deal although feeling helpless.

“And if we don’t screw with it, you die!” Y/N retorted, the pain and anger clear in her tone. “Sam, Y/N, ENOUGH!” He bellowed loudly, slapping his steering wheel in frustration. “I’m not gonna have this conversation!!” Y/N clenched her jaw, tightening her grip around her locket. “Why, because you said so?!” She mocked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“YES BECAUSE I SAID SO”

“WELL YOU’RE NOT JOHN OR DAD!!”

He paused and gripped the steering wheel at her words, his whole body went rigid in the driver’s seat. Meanwhile, Sam froze. his jaw falling agape. Right now, he was wishing his seat would swallow him. “Excuse me?” Dean said stiffly. Y/N kept her gaze hard, knowing she had just stepped into uncharted territory, but she never shied from a challenge.

“You heard me” She stated firmly, holding her ground as she crossed her arms over her chest. His head snapped over into her direction, the two lovers holding a heated gaze in which both were not backing down from before he focused back onto the road. “No, but I am the oldest. And I’m doing what’s best!” Sam and Y/N sighed in frustration, rolling their eyes at Dean’s words. “But Dean-!“

“You’re gonna let this go, you understand me?” He interrupted Sam’s protest, his expression as serious as a heart attack, Sam held back a scoff as he nodded stiffly, not really having a choice in the matter. Dean then turned to Y/N, he shot her a stern look, his expression demanding in compliance, “Are we clear?” He stated firmly. Y/N gritted her teeth, raising a brow at him, “Excuse me?” she bit back bitterly.

He looked at her, her stubbornness getting on his last nerve. “I gave you an order!” he snapped. Her head flew up with shock, her heart dropped in her chest. She felt like she was 14 again, forced to listen to her father. Tears welled up in her eyes, staring back at him with disbelief as she practically shrunk into her seat. Sam’s eyes widened, the look on his face said ‘You did not just say that’.

The second those words left his mouth, he regretted them. He went bug-eyed wide when he saw how hurt his girlfriend’s features turned, the look in her eyes told him he messed up big time.

Y/N forced herself to close her mouth, swallowing harshly. She tore her gaze away from Dean, shutting down mentally and emotionally. It was uncommon for her to shut down, usually she’d snap back at her father after she grew a pair and started rebelling with Sam but hearing it come from Dean made her crumble. “Yes, sir” she muttered through a croaky voice and watery eyes.

Right there and then, his heart shattered into pieces at her soft reply, he had never made her use that word before, not even in a sexy way, usually it was reserved for their dads. Hearing her call him like that felt so wrong on so many levels. He never wanted her to ever be afraid of him, that was never his intention. He knew he really screwed up, at a loss for words, feeling guilty and ashamed.

Sam shifted his eyes over to Y/N, who was clutching at the book in her lap, biting her lip to stop her tears from flowing. His face dropped, a painful pang hitting in his own heart before he looked at his brother, glaring at him.

The brothers communicated with their eyes, ‘Apologize’ Sam’s face told him in Winchesterarian.

Dean met his gaze, an expression of helplessness and ‘I don’t know how to’ written on his face.

Sam’s eyes narrowed and he jerked his head toward Y/N, ‘Apologize. Now.’

He could practically hear Sam’s voice in his head, telling him to just apologize to her. He could’ve been able to just do it until he dared to look at his girlfriend through the corner of his eye. Seeing her teary eyes that she was trying to mask over with a cold expression was the thing that had him feeling like he had been shot in the heart.

“Y/N...” He tried, softly, “Baby, look at me” Her nostrils flared at his desperate plea, further turning herself in the corner of the backseat behind Sam. She didn’t dare to look at him, cursing herself internally for getting so worked up. Why didn’t she just snap back? She’s usually good at that.

He swallowed hard, it felt like there was a lump in throat, his heart shattering even more the more he watched her refuse to look at him. “Please? Look at me” he begged lowly, reaching over to place her hand on her thigh. She remained silent, Sam’s gaze burning into the side of his brother’s head. The younger Winchester felt as though he was in the middle of the argument of the parents he never had.

The pain only increased at the action as she practically slapped his hand away, he skulked like a kicked puppy. He had to restrain himself from grabbing her and making her look at him.

“Tell him about the psychotic killer” She told the younger Winchester, her voice wavering as she leaned back into the seat, pulling her knees to her chest, not even bothering to take her off her black knee-high boots. Sam, on the other hand, was pissed at Dean.

‘What? I tried’ Dean responded in Winchesterarian, attempting to shrug nonchalantly. Sam shot him a nasty glare that said, ‘You can try harder, you jerk’ before he looked at Y/N, who was now hugging her knees against her chest, “The what?” Sam asked gently, turning around to face her.

“From the newspaper clipping inside the book” She answered, resting her chin on her knee. Sam nodded, furrowing his brows as he opened the book and started to read over the article. Dean let Sam go over all the case information, his eyes once again glued to his girlfriend’s form in the backseat. He really hated himself right now.

“Psychotic killer: Rips victims apart with brute-like ferocity.” Sam read off of the article, “Okay, any mention of his razor-sharp teeth or his 4-inch claws, animal eyes?” Dean joked half-heartedly, his question directed to Y/N. She simply shook her head, keeping her eyes trained on the droplets of rain running down the window. Dean let out a puff of air. He wanted this conversation to be over so he could just hug her and take it all back.

“Sammy?” he turned to Sam who also shook his head. “But the lunar cycle’s right” Sam sighed, “Look, if it is a werewolf, we don’t have long. Moon’s full Friday and that’s the last time he changes for a month” He added urgent, his tone solemn. “Two days, no sweat.” Dean mumbled, glancing back at Y/N who now was in the middle of lighting a cigarette.

She took a deep puff of her cigarette before letting out a loud sigh, rolling down the window since the rain cleared up. Dean watched the glow of the butt between her fingers, her elbow resting on the window. Her emotions were at war with each other as she inhaled the nicotine.

On one hand, she was boiling with anger towards him but on the other, she longed to just forget about it and be held in his arms. She and Sam just wanted to help him, that’s all.

____________________________________________

Maple Springs, New York

“I’m Detective Plant, this is Detective Page and Lee” Dean introduced himself to the sole survivor of the ‘psychotic killer’ mauling, flashing him his fake badge along with Sam and Y/N before pointing to them. Sam and Dean used the last names of the frontmen of legendary English rock band Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. While Y/N used the last name of Evanescence’s lead singer, Amy Lee.

“We’re with the County Sheriff’s Department” He added as they all simultaneously opened their suit jackets, stuffing them into the inner pockets. Y/N wore a suit this round too, contrasting her usual blouse with a skirt.

“Yeah, uh, been expecting you” Kyle, the sole survivor, sighed from his hospital bed. He wore a blue hospital gown, along with stitches to the side of his face due to claw marks from the ‘psychotic killer’. “Yeah? You have?” Y/N asked, the trio shocked. “All morning. You are the sketch artists, right?”

“Um…” Sam hummed nervously, “Absolutely” Dean chimed in confidently, Y/N glanced over at him raising a brow before nodding along in confirmation. “That is actually who my partner is,” Dean smiled, pointing to Sam. Y/N caught his drift, when Dean nudged her, going along with it, “Oh, man. The things he can do with a pen” Her words caused Sam to panic.

Sam awkwardly chuckled before side-eying the two. “But, listen, before we get started on that, I wanted to ask you…uh, how'd you get away?” Dean asked as he stuffed his hand into his pocket. Kyle’s expression darkened at the question, he inhaled deeply to calm himself down before answering. “I- I have no idea. I was hiding…and he found me. He was coming right for me and then he just stopped”

Dean, Y/N and Sam exchanged looks with each other, all three wearing the same expression of confusion. Kyle’s breathing became labored as he reminisced, “Stared at me with this blank look. After that, he just took off running” Sam and Y/N looked at the man with pure sympathy, their hearts aching for him. His situation hit home since they related to his survivor's guilt.

“Okay…um” Sam cleared his throat, swallowing as he took out his notepad from his pocket. “I’m gonna need as much physical detail as you can remember” The younger Winchester flipped the pad open before clicking his pen. Dean and Y/N peered over his shoulder with amusement, eager to see what ‘drawing’ he was gonna come up with.

Kyle nodded before taking a moment to compose himself. “Uh..yeah. He was about six feet tall. Dark hair” He inhaled sharply. “Um..what about his eyes? What color eyes did he have?” Sam asked, lifting his pen. “Uh…blue? It was dark” Kyle answered, puzzled as Sam nodded. Dean shot Y/N an amused look, taking in how she was smiling at the panic Sam was in.

She glanced over at him, her smile faltering as they made eye contact before focusing back on Kyle. Dean’s face dropped along with his heart. “Did they seem…animalish?” She asked, “Excuse me?” Kyle’s brows furrowed. “What about his teeth? You notice anything strange about them?” Sam chimed in, scrambling to save his drawing that was turning out to be a complete disaster.

“No, they were just teeth” Kyle shook his head, his eyes squinted in confusion. “Teeth. Okay” Sam responded. “What about his fingernails?” Dean asked, “Look, he’s- he’s just a normal guy with normal eyes and teeth and fingernails” Kyle began to hyperventilate, Y/N immediately picked up on the tell-tale signs of a panic attack, having experienced them herself. “Sir, it’s okay, we’re just-” She tried to comfort him.

“No” Kyle became choked up, tears welling up in his eyes as he shook his head frantically. “No. Those were my brothers. This guy…he killed my brothers. The only family I had.” Sam and Y/N’s expression softened, their hearts breaking for the broken man on the hospital bed. Dean had his expression of pure pity as Kyle burst into tears, his shoulders shaking as sobs filled the room. “How would you feel?” He asked them.

He felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart at Kyle’s question as Y/N’s gaze dropped to the ground, biting at her lip to stop herself from becoming choked up also while the images of Sam dying flashed in her head. The two shared a sorrowful look before answering, “Can’t imagine anything worse” Sam replied, swallowing harshly as he imagined anything happening to Dean.

“Agreed” Y/N sighed in agreement, Dean’s gaze shifted over to the two, his expression filled with guilt and remorse. He took a deep breath, “Look, I know this isn’t easy but if you could remember any more details..” Dean said to Kyle gently. Kyle nodded through the sobs before he inhaled deeply, wiping the fresh tears from his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I got- I just” He began to apologize, “It’s okay, hun” Y/N reassured him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Just..go back to that night. You were at the construction site” Dean prompted him. Kyle thought for a second, “There was one more thing. He had a, uh…a tattoo on his arm of a cartoon character” Kyle tried to remember. “It was the guy, who- He was chasing the Road Runner” He rubbed his head as Dean and Y/N’s faces lit up. “Wile E. Coyote” They answered in unison, pointing at him in recognition.

“Yeah, that’s it” Kyle confirmed, Y/N bit her lip to stop herself from screaming victory. "That’s the bastard,” Dean smirked. Sam looked at them almost impressed as he continued scribbling on the notepad. “Kyle?” A voice said from behind them, their heads turned to face Dr. Garrison. “Dr. Garrison” Kyle smiled sadly at the man. “How are you holding up?” The doctor asked his patient in concern.

“Okay, considering” Kyle sighed, “You’re, uh, Kyle’s doctor?” Dean asked, taking out his fake badge. “Yes,” Dr. Harrison raised a brow at them. “Can I just ask you a few questions?” He asked, gesturing for them to step outside. “Uh- Sure” The doctor nodded, his expression puzzled at the question.Dr. Garrison followed Dean outside into the hallway before he shut the door behind them as Sam and Y/N stayed with Kyle.

“Don’t I get to see it?” Kyle asked Sam, pointing to the sketch in his notepad. Sam’s eyes widened as he flipped open the sketchpad, Y/N peered over his shoulder again, covering her mouth to stop herself from laughing at the horrendous drawing. “Uh…yeah, yeah” Sam chuckled nervously, handing Kyle the pad. “It’s a, you know, work in progress” Kyle took the pad from him, his brows furrowing as he tried to make out the messy drawing. “It’s really..um-” Kyle responded confused, giving Sam a pitiful look.

-

The trio were now walking back to the Impala, Dean was cackling at the drawing in Sam’s pad as Y/N snickered into her palm. “Boy, this is a piece of art, really” Dean laughed as Y/N snickered into her hand. “Yeah, like you could’ve done any better” Sam rolled his eyes, snatching the pad away from Dean before smacking his brother in the back of the head with the pad. “Ow, hey!” Dean rubbed the back of his head before he continued snickering.

Y/N took the pad out of Sam’s hands, laughing harder at the drawing the longer she examined it, “I’m so framing this” Dean smiled at her laugh, enjoying seeing her laugh after the silence she’s been giving him. He chuckled at her comment, “No” Sam whined in protest, “It’s not that funny” He reached for the pad, but Y/N snatched it away, holding it out of his reach. “Oh, hell yeah it is” she shot back before sticking it in her pants. “But I-“

“Don’t even” she warned playfully, shutting him up. Sam pouted as she reached up, patting him on his head of hair before he turned to Dean. “What did the doc have to say about Kyle’s brothers?” He asked as he sighed in defeat. “Not much, they were DOA at the scene. He did give me the lowdown on the coroner's report” Dean replied, “Let me guess, their hearts were missing” Sam muttered as they continued to pace down the sidewalk.

“Nope, but chunks of their kidneys, lungs and intestines” Dean answered, Sam and Y/N grimaced in disgust and confusion. “Dude, that’s just gross” she mumbled, gagging, “Yeah, also definitely not werewolf behavior” He agreed, feeling a bloom of relief that she sorta spoke to him. Whether it was indirectly or not, he would take anything he got at this very moment from her. Hell, he’d take another slap if it means they’d kiss and make up.

“So, what? A demon? Attacker could’ve been possessed” Sam suggested, “Why would a demon stop halfway through an attack?” Y/N questioned, raising a brow. “I think that- uh…could it-. I got nothing” Sam stuttered, “Me neither” Dean agreed, nudging Y/N with his elbow. She looked up at him in acknowledgment, giving a nod before she sighed.

The hunter smiled back at his psychic as the trio finally approached the Impala and stood in a comfortable silence while Dean unlocked the door. That was quickly disturbed by Sam clearing his throat. They turned to face him, his arms crossed with a raised eyebrow. “Can you two at least talk to each other, or are you gonna ignore each other for the rest of the hunt?”

Y/N and Dean snapped their heads together, meeting each other's eyes for a split second before looking away. Y/N avoided looking at Dean altogether while he shot a warning look at Sam. “Shut up, Sammy” The couple snapped in unison before simultaneously opening their doors, Dean opening the drivers side and Y/N opening the passenger’s side, both climbing in.

Sam sighed, his hands dropping to his sides but a small, smug smirk formed on his lips as he opened the back door and settled into the back seat. Y/N crossed her arms as she stared out the window while Dean sighed, starting the car, his eyes shifting over to her every so often. The silence immediately fell over the car like a thick sheet, and tension was radiating off in waves from the front of the car.

Sam groaned to himself as he sunk into the seat, knowing it’d be another 15 minutes of unbearable atmosphere until they got to the motel room and then another however long this fight was gonna last until they made up.

____________________________________________

The evening was now setting in. Dean went out to get dinner for everyone while Y/N stayed back in their motel room and Sam stayed in his separate one. Now, she was on a phone call with Jo, rambling on about her argument with Dean.

“I-I don’t know what to do, Jo” Y/N sighed heavily through the phone as she laid on her side, staring up at the ceiling. “I know you’re both stubborn as hell, but you’re gonna have to talk to him. This can’t go on forever” Jo responded with a calm, stern tone. Y/N groaned, burying her head into one of the pillows.

“I want to but I can’t!” She exclaimed defensively. “Everytime I look at him now, all I see is dad and it’s so fucking-….UGH!” She screamed into the pillow, her words muffled along with her string of curses and shouts. “Hey- hey” Jo replied with a comforting tone. “I know, the whole ‘Daddy issues’ thing is a huge trigger. But this is Dean, he’s not John or your dad” There was a soft yet stern tone to her words, trying to talk some sense into her friend.

“I do not have daddy issues” Y/N scoffed, pulling her head out of the pillow to prop herself against the bed frame. Jo scoffed right back. “You so do and so does Dean. Hell, all four of us do” Jo responded bluntly, “You have major, unresolved trauma that stems from your dad. You and I both know it” She said gently. Y/N inhaled deeply, biting at her lip. Y/N knew she was right. The two of them had had similar conversations a thousand times before.

“I hate you, sometimes” Y/N bit back, running a hand against her forehead. “No, you love me” Jo chuckled, her laughter brightening the mood. Y/N smiled, rolling her eyes even though she knew the girl couldn’t see her, “Just…talk to him. Yell at him, smack him, whatever, I don’t care. Just end this stupid fight you two are having” Jo continued, growing serious once more.

Y/N chuckled bitterly to herself, the irony of the situation kicking in. “Who knew, our first fight is somehow our dads faults” She scoffed, shaking her head. “Yeah, go figure” Jo muttered, “Listen- I gotta go, Sam’s calling me. But you promise me, Y/N. That you’ll talk to him” Jo told her softly but firmly. Y/N nodded even though she knew Jo couldn’t see her. “Yeah, yeah. I will” She finally caved.

“Good, cause I don’t want to be your guys’ relationship counselor” They shared a soft laugh, “Remind me why we’re friends again?” Y/N joked. “Cause I’m awesome and you love me” Jo deadpanned before both girls burst into laughter, “Alright, love you, be safe” the younger huntress sent a kiss through the phone. “Love you too” Y/N replied with a bittersweet laugh, “Bye”

She hung up and laid it on the bedside table next to her, her smile falling almost immediately. She could still hear Jo’s words playing in her head, echoing through her mind as she groaned loudly. She sighed as she flopped back onto the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. Jo was right, she needed to talk to Dean. She couldn’t let this go on any longer.

-

Meanwhile, Dean strolled down the halls of the motel. His left hand was loaded with two bags, one bag containing his and Y/N’s dinner and the other with Sam’s. While his right hand held a bouquet of Y/N’s favorite flowers and a bag with her favorite snacks, a carton of her favorite cigarettes and a chocolate chip cookie bigger than his head, you’d swear it was a cake.

He came to a stop in front of Sam’s door, tucking the flowers under his arm gently, ensuring he didn’t crush the delicate fresh petals. He brought his free hand, pounding it against the hardwood.

Sam was sitting at the desk inside, his phone to his ear, his head propped up on his other fist while a coy smile played on his face. “Mmm, I think I’d like th-” His attention immediately turned to the door at the knock, jumping in his seat. “Shit- Hold on baby, I think Dean’s back” He told Jo quickly over the phone, placing it down on the table before standing up to make his way over to the door.

He raised an eyebrow as a smirk appeared on his face as he swung the door open, glancing between the bags and bouquet that was tucked under his brother’s arm. “Trying to butter her up?” Sam snickered as Dean rolled his eyes, pushing past Sam and into the room. “Oh shut up” He muttered, putting the bag with his little brother’s dinner down on the desk. Sam’s eyes flicked to the enormous cookie and cigarettes.

“Dude, it’s like the size of my head” Sam chuckled, moving to open it. “Hands off, it’s not for you” Dean quickly snatched it back, giving a stern look. Sam snickered, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Don’t worry, I got you a salad like a healthy person” He rolled his eyes, “Fucking rabbit food” he muttered. “I’d rather eat ‘rabbit food’ than have a heart attack before I’m thirty” Sam fired back as he sat back down by the desk.

“Whatever, bitch.” Dean scoffed, flipping Sam off over his shoulder as he walked back out of the room. Sam chuckled once more as he shut the door behind him, turning the lock before heading back to his seat in front of his laptop, picking his phone back up off the table. “I’m back” He finally spoke into the phone once he settled. “And you were gone for too long,” Jo replied with a playful tone.

-

As Dean made his way back to their room, he inhaled deeply. She was probably still pissed at him, and rightfully so. She was also stubborn though, and she’d probably just continue to stonewall him until he properly apologized or she blew up.

He paused, looking down at the gifts in his hands as he reached the door to their room. Maybe a peace offering will do the trick? He sighed to himself as he took out the key to the room.

He tried to be as quiet as possible, unlocking the door cautiously and carefully opening it. He found her laying on the bed, her back facing the door. He couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not, but he knew she wasn’t going to be in a good mood by the way her shoulders seemed to be tense.

He shut the door carefully behind him, setting the bags with the food on the table before he slowly approached the bed, hiding the flowers in one hand and the bag with the cookie and cigarettes behind his back. He sighed once more and softly cleared his throat.

“Princess?” He called out quietly before pausing, waiting for her to either acknowledge him or ignore him completely. When she didn’t respond, he moved to stand next to the side of the bed, watching her for a moment. Despite the fact that she wasn’t looking at him, he could still tell she was definitely pissed. Hell, she was radiating it.

But her heart softened at the desperate tone in his voice, her eyes meeting his. Y/N pushed herself up from the bed, staring at Dean intensely as he kept the gifts hidden behind his back. Now that he had her attention, he hesitated for a moment before bringing the gifts into her vision.

“I, um, I got you a little something” He spoke cautiously as he held them out for her. He gave a small smile, an olive branch if you will. He looked hopeful, like a lost puppy, as he held up the bag that held the ridiculously huge cookie inside, cigarettes and then the bouquet of flowers. “These are for you…” He murmured.

Y/N looked from the gifts then back to Dean, she raised an eyebrow gently as her gaze shifted from his hand back to his face. She was surprised, to say the least, “Are you trying to butter me up?” Y/N repeated Sam’s words, her voice firm but not sharp, “You think you can just buy your way out with cookies and cigarettes?” She asked bluntly, not letting him off the hook so easily.

“No I-“ He exhaled, sighing. He shook his head, dropping the bag and the flowers on the nightstand. He ran his free hand over his mouth nervously, taking a second to gather his words. This was no time for cute sarcasm and corny jokes. He had to choose his words wisely.

“No, I don’t” He replied honestly, his face going serious. “I just- I just wanted to get you some of your favourites. I wasn’t trying to buy forgiveness” He responded softly. “I just...I just wanted to show that I don’t wanna keep being cold to each other…I’m sorry” He apologized genuinely yet simply, which was hard for him since he wasn’t good at it. “Please just…let me in, princess…I’m beggin’ you”

She felt her resolve falter at his words and his tone, how open and vulnerable he was being. She hated that he knew just what to do and what to say to melt her into a puddle. Damn him.

She exhaled sharply, her shoulders dropping as she shook her head slightly at herself for how quickly he could get to her. “Asshat” She muttered, her words lacking any venom behind them. He let out a soft huff of a laugh, a small grin forming on his lips, “Nutcase” He playfully shot back.

His body relaxed since he was slowly but surely making his way through the wall she’s built up around herself. He took a deep breath, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. He shifted his body so he was facing her. He set the cookies down beside her on the bed before reaching over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, “Hey, look at me” He murmured.

She inhaled and exhaled a few times, refusing to give in. “Baby, c’mon, look at me” He pleaded again, his tone serious now. After a couple moments she finally broke, letting out a defeated huff before her eyes moved to meet his own. “I’m sorry, I’m not good at this apologizing stuff. I ain’t no Shakespeare but I really am sorry. I should’ve never said that, I’m not dad and I’m certainly not your father” He emphasized on the ‘never’.

If her heart wasn’t pounding in her chest and melting at his words, she would’ve let out a light laugh. Of course this is when he actually starts to do the right thing and take things seriously.

She let out a sigh, crossing her arms in front of her. “No, you’re not them” She agreed with a huff before her expression softened slightly, “But…you still hurt me, y’know” She told him slowly, trying to word her thoughts without coming off too confrontational.

“I just-“ Tears pricked at her eyes again, she forced herself to swallow them, deferring her gaze to her hands. “I just don’t want to see you go” She whispered, he felt his heart drop to his feet at that. The tone of her voice made it worse.

He shuffled to sit right next to her now, resting his hand on her knee, “C’mere” He murmured, pulling her over into his lap. Once she was settled he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to his body. He pressed his forehead against the side of her neck, “I’m sorry” He apologized once more, “I just couldn’t live without you”

Her head shot up, “And now I’m supposed to live without you?” She scoffed, pulling herself off of his lap. “Sam is supposed to live without you?!” Her voice raised. He couldn’t find a response. Part of him wanted to be selfish and say yes, but he knew it was wrong. Sam had already lost their dad, losing him would break him, but Dean didn’t realize that.

“Y/N-“ He started to protest, only for her to cut him off. “Why?” She questioned firmly, crossing her arms in front of her, “Why is it okay for you to die in months, huh?” She shook her head, her voice catching in her throat. “It’s not fair, Dean! We can help you!”

He rose from the bed, his jaw clenched, “We’ve been through this already” He told her in a stern tone. She let out a scoff through her nose, “Well I’m sorry for having a hard time swallowing the fact my boyfriend is going to die, just a little” She shot back sarcastically.

His eyes narrowed at her, “You think it’s easy for me?!” He huffed, his own frustration bubbling up. She rolled her eyes, matching his irritation as her arms fell by her sides. “No, actually, I don’t think it’s easy for you! But you’re acting like if you’re okay when clearly you’re not! You’re acting like if going to hell is just a trip to the fucking supermarket!”

She had a point. She was calling him out for his defense mechanism. But he hated how she was making him face how afraid he really was. “And what am I supposed to do, Y/N?!” He raised his voice, “Am I just supposed to walk around being a pansy ass cry baby?!” He snapped, throwing his hands up in the air. “No, you’re supposed to let us help you!”

“Damn it, Y/N, I’m trying to protect you!” He barked out, his expression hardening. “I am the oldest, I know what’s best for everyone else!” He yelled, taking a step toward her. “Is that an order?” She challenged, clenching her jaw. She threw his words straight back in his face and boy, did it hurt like a motherfucker.

They were toe to toe, his expression now soft. She simply raised her chin defiantly, refusing to back down. He bit the inside of his cheek as his nostrils flared, “No, no it’s not.” His head dropped. He took a moment before raising his head back up to just look at her, realizing she wasn’t just mad. She was scared. Terrified of losing him, as he was with her. He sighed heavily, running a hand over his face.

“I’m scared” he admitted softly, his voice cracking slightly, “I’m fucking terrified of what’s gonna happen” His shoulders slumped, no longer trying to mask his vulnerability as he brought a hand up to cup her face.

She stared up at him, her eyes locked on his. Shock glazed through her eyes at the fact that he just confessed. “It’s not fair” She repeated quietly, dropping the defiant tone as she reached out to lay a hand on his chest. “None of it’s fair”. Her voice and touch were now gentle, it was like a switch had gone off. Their argument now over, now replaced by a raw, vulnerable moment.

“No, sweetheart, it ain’t” he agreed with a sigh. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to control himself. He was trying his hardest not to cry in front of her. He swallowed down the lump that formed in his throat as he moved his hand from her cheek to hold her hand, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” he spoke softly, his voice cracking as he held her hand up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

Her eyes softened at the sight of him breaking his wall down. She felt her heart clench in her chest as he held her hand tightly in his grip like a lifeline. She knew he was trying to keep his emotions in check, to keep up his tough exterior, she knew him all too well.

She didn’t want to be fighting with him, she wanted to be holding him close, comforting him. So she snaked her arms around him, pulling him into her. Dean instantly buried his face in Y/N’s neck, finding comfort.

His body relaxed, sinking into her warm embrace. His face pressed into her shoulder, his breath tickling her neck gently. He inhaled her scent, grounding himself. He felt safe in her arms. Just the feel of her against him, the familiar coconut and tobacco scent filling his nostrils, it was enough to soothe his racing heart and the anxiety that loomed over him.

His tears began to fall freely, letting out gentle choked sobs into her neck. It tore her apart limb from limb to hear Dean’s muffled sobs, her arms tightening around him as she bit the inside of her cheek.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you”

She held him close, running a hand up and down his back in a soothing motion. Her eyes shut as she gently pressed her lips to the side of his head. Dean slowly peeled himself out from her neck, his eyes trained on her lips as she brought her hand up to cup his cheek, wiping a stray tear away with her thumb.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he closed the remaining distance between them, gently connecting their lips. With one hand cupping her cheek and the other on her waist, he kissed her with a desperate need and tenderness.

Y/N responded eagerly, her fingers tangling in the short locks of his hair as she deepened the kiss, letting her own emotions and desire show through her actions. The taste of Dean’s salty tears coated her tongue but she didn’t care, she wanted to make him feel better. Their kiss was filled with a mix of passion and desperation, eliciting a light moan from her lips.

The moan was what did it for him. In a swift motion he picked her up. Y/N gasped from the sudden shift as he hoisted her with ease, her thighs residing on either side of his hips. His lips returned to hers. He walked backward until he lowered himself onto the bed, leaving Y/N straddling him.

He laid back on the mattress, his strong arms wrapping around Y/N's waist, pulling her closer. His hands roamed her back, tracing the curves of her spine before settling on her hips. He nipped at her bottom lip playfully, then soothed the sting with his tongue, deepening the kiss further.

Breaking away for a moment, he gazed up at her with heated eyes, "I need you" His voice was husky with desire. He nuzzled his nose against hers, breathing in her scent deeply before capturing her mouth once more in a searing kiss. His hands roamed over her curves, squeezing and caressing every inch he could reach.

Breaking the kiss momentarily, he looked up at her with heavy-lidded eyes, "Make love to me, baby" he breathed, his voice low and pleading. Y/N shivered at his words, her core clenching with need. She leaned down, her breasts brushing against his chest as she captured his lips in another passionate kiss. Her hands pushed off his leather jacket along with his flannel, eager to feel his skin against hers.

Breaking the kiss, she sat up and pulled his shirt open, revealing his chiseled torso. She ran her hands over his pecs, feeling the defined muscles beneath. "I need you too," she whispered, her hot breath fanning over his skin. She leaned down, her lips trailing kisses along his collarbone, her hands sliding lower to unbutton his pants.

As she worked to free him, she looked up at him through her lashes, her (e/c) eyes smoldering with lust. "Tell me what you want…tell me why you need” Dean groaned under her ministrations, his head falling back against the pillow as her lips trailed fire across his skin. His hands gripped her hips tighter, urging her on as she worked to free him from his jeans.

He panted heavily, his voice strained with desire when he finally managed to form words. "Stop being a fuckin’ tease, y/n/n." He hissed. His hips bucked slightly, seeking friction against her palm as she finally freed his straining erection.

Dean's eyes darkened with lust as he watched her lower her head towards his aching cock. He couldn't help but thrust his hips up slightly, seeking the contact he craved so desperately. When her warm, wet tongue made contact with the tip of his cock, he let out a guttural groan, his grip on her hair tightening. "Oh, shit...just like that," he praised, his voice rough with pleasure.

He rocked his hips in time with her movements, pushing deeper into her mouth with each stroke. The sensation of her lips and tongue working together was almost too much to bear, and he knew he wouldn't last long if she kept this up. "Baby, you're killing me here," he warned, his words coming out in ragged pants. "If you don't stop, I'm gonna cum right down your throat." He sounded utterly pathetic, and she loved it.

Dean's words sent a thrill through Y/N, knowing she had him right where she wanted him, on the edge and desperate for release. She doubled her efforts, taking him deeper into her mouth with each bob of her head. Her tongue swirled around the sensitive head, lapping up the pre-cum that leaked from his tip.

"Mmmph," she hummed around his length, the vibrations sending shockwaves of pleasure through him. Her free hand slid down to cup his balls, gently rolling them in her palm. Dean threw his head back, a string of curses tumbling from his lips as he fought to maintain control. Suddenly, she drew back, licking her lips as she peeled herself off of him.

Dean's hips jerked upwards, seeking her warmth as she released him from her mouth with a pop. He was left panting, his chest heaving with exertion as he stared down at her, his eyes wild with lust. "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice a mixture of confusion and desperation.

Her eyes flashed with a mischievous glint as she began deliberately stripping slowly, taking her sweet time. Y/N bit her lower lip, savoring the anticipation building between them as she teased him mercilessly. She took her time removing each article of clothing, letting the fabric slide sensually over her curves. First went her top, revealing the bra that barely contained her breasts. Next came her pants, pooling around her ankles to expose the lace panties that hugged her hips.

Her hands moved to the clasp of her bra, but instead of releasing it, she simply toyed with the mechanism, keeping herself just out of reach. She leaned in close, her breath hot against Dean's ear as she whispered, "You want these off? You gotta earn it, big boy."

With that, she straightened up and turned around, presenting her backside to him. She bent over slightly, giving him an enticing view of her ass clad in the delicate lace. Dean’s eyes instantly zoomed in on her anti possession sigil tramp stamp, his hand finding its way around his cock as she ran her thumbs along the edge of her panties.

Dean's gaze locked onto the tantalizing sight of her ass, his eyes drinking in every curve and dip, every perfect imperfection. He could see the intricate design of her tattoo, a constant reminder of the powerful woman he loved. His cock throbbed in his hand, pre-cum leaking from the tip as he imagined burying himself deep inside her.

He slowly began pumping himself, his lips parted while she pushed down her panties, finally allowing it to pool at her feet. Y/N stepped out of her discarded clothes, now fully nude from the waist down before Dean's hungry gaze. She turned around to meet his eyes, snatching his hand away from his cock, stopping his self pleasuring.

Dean's eyes widened in surprise as Y/N abruptly stopped his hand mid-stroke. He let out a soft whine as she removed his hand from his throbbing erection, his body craving her touch. He looked up at her with pleading eyes, his voice low and needy. "Please, baby..."

He tried to pull her closer, desperate to feel her bare skin against his own. But she held him at arm's length, a coy smile playing on her lips as she admired his state of arousal. "Patience, charming," she cooed before attaching her lips to his against, straddling him once more. In a swift motion, she grounded her wetness against him, eliciting a soft moan from herself.

As their tongues danced, she ground her hips against his hard length, coating him in her slick arousal. Dean's hands roamed her back, squeezing her ass as he pulled her flush against him, desperate for more contact.

Y/N broke the kiss, her chest heaving as she gazed down at him with hooded eyes. "Please” he whined. She smirked in response, heeding to his pleas as she reached between them, positioning his tip at her entrance before slowly sinking down, enveloping him in her tight heat inch by delicious inch until they were fully joined. They both let out a gasp at the exquisite sensation, their bodies fitting together perfectly.

Y/N began to move, rolling her hips in a slow, sensual rhythm. Dean's head fell back against the pillows as she sank down onto him, his eyes fluttering shut at the incredible feeling of being buried deep within her warmth. He could feel every inch of her, her walls gripping him tightly as she started to move.

"Oh, fuck yes..." he groaned, his hands gripping her hips tightly as she rode him. He couldn't get enough, his hips bucking up to meet her downward strokes, driving himself even deeper inside her.

Their bodies moved in perfect sync, a sensual dance of pleasure and passion. Dean's mind went blank, focused solely on the feeling of Y/N above him, her breasts bouncing with each roll of her hips, her moans filling the room.

He reached up to cup one of her breasts, thumbing over the hardened nipple as he pulled her down to capture her lips in a fierce, passionate kiss. Their tongues tangled, devouring each other. Y/N felt Dean's fingers dig into her hips, urging her on as she continued to ride him with increasing fervor. The sound of skin slapping against skin filled the room, punctuated by their ragged breathing and moans of pleasure.

She broke the kiss, her chest heaving as she gazed down at Dean with lust-filled eyes. "You like that, baby?" she purred, grinding her clit against him with each downward stroke. "Tell me how good I feel..." Dean's eyes rolled back in ecstasy as she rode him harder, her inner muscles clenching around his cock with each grind of her hips.

“Fuck, yeah," he gritted out, his voice strained with pleasure. "You feel amazing, baby. So fucking tight and wet..." His hands slid down to grab her ass, kneading the firm flesh as he helped guide her movements. "Take what you need, princess. Use my cock however you want."

Dean's hips snapped up to meet hers, driving himself impossibly deeper as he chased his impending climax. "I'm getting close," he warned, his breaths coming in short, sharp bursts. "Don't stop, please..."

Y/N's pace became frantic, her nails digging into Dean's shoulders as she chased her own release. "Yes, yes, yes!" she chanted, her voice rising in pitch as she neared the edge. In a sudden motion, Dean tilted her to the side, flipping them over so that Y/N was pinned beneath him, her legs wrapped around his waist as he continued to thrust into her.

The change in angle allowed him to hit that sweet spot deep inside her with each stroke, sending shockwaves of pleasure through both of them. Y/N cried out, her back arching off the bed as Dean's new position sent her hurtling towards climax. Her legs tightened around him, heels digging into his ass as she urged him on. "Right there, Dean! Don't stop!"

With a feral growl, Dean pounded into her, driven by the urgent need to make her come apart beneath him. He could feel her walls starting to flutter, signaling her impending orgasm. He reached between them, using his middle and ring finger to tease her clit. "That's it, let go for me," he rasped, his own release looming on the horizon.

Y/N's entire body tensed, the added friction provided by Dean’s fingers sending jolts of ecstasy through her veins. With a wail, she shattered, her pussy clamping down on his cock like a vice as waves of ecstasy crashed over her. Her eyes flashed white for a brief moment before returning to normal, her vision blurring from the intensity of her climax. "Dean!" she screamed, her nails raking down his back as she rode out the aftershocks.

Dean threw his head back, a guttural roar tearing from his throat as Y/N's spasming walls triggered his own explosive release. He pumped into her frantically, burying himself to the hilt as jet after jet of hot cum flooded her pussy. "Fuck, Y/N!" he bellowed, his body trembling with the force of his release. He collapsed on top of her, still twitching inside her as they both struggled to catch their breaths.

Y/N wrapped her arms around Dean, holding him close as they both came down from their intense high. She stroked his sweat-dampened hair, nuzzling his cheek affectionately. "Mmm, I love you," she murmured, a satisfied smile curving her lips. After a moment, she carefully unwrapped her legs from around his waist, allowing him to slip free from her still-quivering pussy. She watched as a trickle of their combined fluids seeped out, trickling down her creases.

“We should clean up," she said softly, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Dean lifted his head, meeting Y/N's gaze with a tender smile of his own. "I love you more, baby," he replied, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. He carefully extracted himself from her body, groaning slightly at the loss of their intimate connection. Rolling to the side, he sat up and stretched, his muscles still humming with satisfaction.

He reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers so she sat up with him. "But first... I think we've earned a little cuddle time." He tugged her close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he nestled her against his side.

Y/N nodded, snuggling closer to Dean's warm embrace. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. Her fingers traced idle patterns on his abdomen, enjoying the feel of his skin under her touch. Y/N nodded, snuggling closer to Dean's warm embrace. She rested her head on his chest as he threw the blanket over them, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

Her fingers traced idle patterns on his abdomen, enjoying the feel of his skin under her touch. Her eyes glanced over to food he brought early that was resting on the table and the large cookie on the nightstand. “So….about that food…”

____________________________________________

The next morning, the trio found themselves at the hospital again after finding out about another attack, one casualty and one survivor. They were decked out again in their suits and ties, pacing down the halls. The brothers walked side by side to Y/N. Her eye caught wind of a few deputies, yanking them both to the receptionist desk.

The brothers stumbled slightly at the abrupt force but composed themselves quickly, turning to conceal themselves. They were now casually leaning on the desk as the deputies walked by. Once the police were out of sight, they exchanged nods before proceeding back to the hospital room of the victim, Julie Watson. Sam kept glancing over his shoulder, making sure the cops didn’t suspect them.

Once they found the room, they came upon Dr. Garrison trying to aid a hysterical Julie, the blonde woman sobbing and pleading to leave. “Please, please” Julie pleaded, “Hey, shh, shh. We need to observe you. The drugs may be in your system” Dr. Garrison said gently, his hands on her shoulder.

The brothers shared a look as they watched the woman sobbing, Sam felt an instant pang in his heart for the woman. His first instinct was to approach her but Y/N held up a hand, telling him to stay back, a deep frown of pity on her face towards the grieving and traumatized woman. “I have to go, I have things to do. Arrangements I need to make”

“It can wait. Now you need to rest” Dr. Garrison insisted calmly. “Stay. I’ll be back in a few minutes” He advised her, turning to walk out of the room. His eyes connected with Y/N’s, a deep sigh escaping him. “Detectives” Dr. Garrison greeted the trio as he stuffed his hands into his coat pocket. “Dr. Garrison” Dean greeted back, his eyes shifting between the doctor and his patient. “What the hell’s going on here? My whole town’s going insane”

Dr. Garrison shook his head, his shoulders slumped forward, the exhaustion evident on his features. “We’ll let you know as soon as we do” Y/N replied kindly, offering the man a small tight smile. Her sympathy towards the doctor was clear as she responded, and Dr. Garrison returned a tired smile, rubbing a hand over his face, “I’m afraid my patient is becoming difficult. Can you help me talk to her please? Maybe as a female figure, she might respond to you”

“Course, anything to help” Y/N nodded firmly, Dr. Garrison seemed grateful before wordlessly stepping out of the room. Y/N and the boys then stepped in, cautiously approaching the distraught woman. Julie was trembling and looked like she was fighting a losing battle with her own emotions. She sniffled and wiped her tear-streaked face as she saw the three approach her. “Mrs. Watson? Hi” Dean greeted her, reaching into his jacket along with Sam and Y/N to pull out their badges.

“We just need to ask you a few questions,” He added. “Do we have to go over this again? Now?” Julie hiccupped. The brothers nodded, putting their badges away. “We’ll try to be brief” Sam assured her gently as Y/N sat on the edge of the bed, taking a hold of Julie’s hand in hers, while the boys remained standing behind her. “Mrs. Watson, can you tell us how you got away?”

Julie’s bottom lip quivered even more as fresh tears gathered in her eyes, “l didn’t eat as much as KEN did so I wasn’t as out of it” She began, letting out a shaky sigh as she looked from one hunter to the other. “And when the old woman was…” She hiccuped, glancing down at her hand in Y/N’s, her grip tightening around the psychic’s hand.

Y/N’s hand rubbed soothingly over her hand, her own heart clenching in her chest. “It’s okay, honey. Take your time.” Y/N urged her softly, Julie shut her eyes tightly, sucking in a deep breath as she tried to compose herself. “When the old woman was what?” Y/N prompted gently, placing a hand over Julie’s that was gripping her own.

“..when she was carving up Ken, I shoved her and she fell. Cracked her head on the stove” Julie finally forced out, another sob leaving her chest. The brothers exchanged a solemn look, Dean’s jaw clenched. “She’s dead, right? I killed her?”

They all exchanged solemn looks, Y/N turning to the Winchesters before nodding in confirmation to Julie’s question. “Do you have any idea why she would do this to you?” Dean questioned gently, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Julie shook her head frantically, her fingers digging into Y/N’s hand, “No. One minute, she’s just a sweet old lady and the next, she was like a monster” Dean furrowed his brow along with Y/N at Julie’s story.

“Can you remember anything else?” Sam butted in. “Um..yeah” Julie glanced down at her and Y/N’s hands again, sniffling. “Did you find a little girl there by any chance?” She asked them. “A little girl? At the house” Sam asked, looking between Dean and Y/N. They shared an equally confused expression, wondering where this was going.

“I thought I saw her outside the window. She- she just disappeared. Just..vanished into thin air” Julie informed them, taking her hand off of Y/N’s so she can wipe her nose. “Must’ve been the drugs” Y/N’s furrowed her brows at Julie’s words, her gaze flickered behind her, between the boys. They were all thinking the same thing. A spirit. A vengeful one.

“This disappearing girl, what did she look like?” Dean questioned. “Does it matter?” Julie asked. “Yes, every detail matters” Y/N insisted, nodding. Julie sighed before thinking back, “Um…she had this dark, dark hair and really pale skin. She was around 8” She made eye contact with Y/N, “She was a beautiful child. It was…of to see her in the middle of something so horrible” Julie began to sob into her hands again.

The trio shared another look, something akin to a plan forming in their minds. “Thank you for your time, Ma’am” Sam nodded to her kindly before looking towards Dean and Y/N to follow him out of the room, the three gathered in the hallway right outside.

____________________________________________

Now at the scene of the crime, they all changed out of their suits, in their usual outfits now. Sam scanned the house with the EMF meter while Y/N trailed her hands along the edge of a window still, a gaping hollow feeling filling her body. “Well, there’s no sulfur anywhere. How about the EMF?” Dean asked Sam from the kitchen. “There’s definitely some, but it’s faint” Sam answered.

Dean entered the room, his eyes roaming around, noting nothing suspicious at first sight. “Bring it over here” Y/N gestured with her hand, opening her eyes as she opened at the window still. Sam approached her, holding the EMF meter right next to the window. The meter began to screech loudly, beeping more rapid and frantic, the meter confirming the presence of a spirit. Dean chuckled to himself, “Gotta love that ESP” He smirked as he wiggled his eyebrows at Y/N.

She scowled playfully in return as Sam snickered, flipping them both off. "Eat a rag" she quipped before shutting her eyes again, trying to see if she could connect to anything. The brothers watch her, waiting for her to communicate with the spirit. But Y/N's face scrunched up, a frustrated sigh leaving her. "I can see her, I can get glimpses." She said, her eyes opening up again.

"Not enough to connect and get information?" Sam inquired. Y/N shook her head, her shoulders slumping defeatedly. “It’s most intense by the window, there was definitely a spirit here” She confirmed, pushing herself up to her feet before dusting her hands off. “So we’ve got the spirit of a little girl who stood outside the crime scene and watched?” Dean commented, Sam and Y/N shrugged in return, “Looks like” Sam said as he shut the EMF meter off.

“What the fuck do you make of that?” Dean asked, Sam and Y/N shared a look, having had a conversation about the crimes when Dean was taking forever in the bathroom at the motel. “Actually, we do have a theory. Uh- sorta” Sam responded as he rubbed the back of his neck. Dean’s brows furrowed, his curiosity piqued. "Hit me" He was intrigued, arms crossing his chests as he rocked back on his heels. “Well, we’re thinking about fairytales” Y/N began.

Dean’s head shot up, “Oh, that’s- That’s nice” Dean snorted, placing his hands on his hips. “You two think about fairytales all the time?” He teased them. “No, charming, not like that” Y/N sighed, Sam rolling his eyes at Dean, he knew his brother would not make the case easier. “Dean, we’re talking about the murders” Sam answered for her, taking over.

“A guy and a girl hiking through the woods, an old lady tries to eat ‘em. That’s Hansel and Gretel. And then we got three brothers arguing over how to build houses and then attacked by the big bad wolf” Sam explained as he picked up his jacket from the couch. Dean’s face took a moment to process these words Sam had just spoken before the realization dawned on him, “Three little pigs?”

“Yeah” Y/N nodded as she put on her own jacket after taking it from Dean’s extended hand. “Actually, those guys were a little chubby,” Dean commented with amusement. “Not the point, smartass” Y/N playfully flicked the bottom of his chin in retaliation to his sass. Dean smirked mischievously, raising an eyebrow at her.

Sam’s eyes flickered between them, shaking his head. “Oh, wait. I thought those things ended with everybody living happily ever after?” Dean asked as he padded over to the window still, peeling the curtain back slightly. "No, no, not the originals" Y/N corrected him as she too headed to the table, picking up Dean’s duffel bag to sling it over her shoulder, Sam nodded in agreement as he pulled his phone out from his pocket after it vibrated.

“See, the Grimm brothers’ stuff was kind of like folklore of its day. Full of sex, violence, cannibalism” She explained. "Yeah, and then it got sanitized over the years, turned into Disney flicks and bedtime stories” Sam chimed in as he responded to his girlfriend's text message before stuffing the phone into his pocket and stuffing his jacket on. Dean’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, letting the curtain fall back into place turning around to face them once again.

“So you think the murders are, uh, what’s a reenactment? That’s a little crazy” Dean said, tilting his head at them as Y/N placed her foot up on the table to tie her laces. “Crazy as what? Everyday of our lives?” Y/N shot back, Sam snorted in agreement. Dean chuckled lightly and shook his head at them. "Touché" he conceded. "How’s a creepy ghost girl involved?" He voiced his thoughts aloud.

Sam frowned as he zipped his bag up on the table, “Um, well, she must’ve been here for a reason. I’m willing to bet you top dollar she was at the construction site too” he said, Dean internally groaned, looking between his brother and girlfriend. “We gotta do research now, don’t we?” Y/N looked up from tying her shoelace to playfully smirk at Dean.

“You say that like it's a bad thing" she teased, Sam holding back his chuckle, earning a glare from Dean. “Nerds,” Dean scoffed, taking the duffel bag from her as she placed her foot back onto the ground. Y/N rolled her eyes at Dean's comment, her hands finding her hips. "Excuse me, who's been reading romance novels all week?” She shot back, Sam bursted out laughing at the revelation.

Dean pointed a finger at her, a mixture of amusement and annoyance on his face. "That is a low blow" he defended weakly with a grumble, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as Sam continued to laugh. “Burn!” The younger Winchester exclaimed between laughs, lifting his hand up to high-five Y/N.

Y/N gladly high-fived Sam, both of them chuckling at Dean's expense as he grabbed his keys, glaring at the pair but there was no real heat behind it. "Yeah, yeah, it up, chuckleheads” he grumbled, Y/N playfully pouted as she wrapped her arm around her boyfriend’s waist, the three now leaving the crime scene.

-

Hours later, Dean shoved the door open to the Cumberland County Central Library as Sam and Y/N waited outside. Upon seeing him, they both perked up. “So?” They asked expectantly in unison as Y/N flicked her burnt out cigarette bud into the trash can. “Checked every record they had. Found the usual amount of violent childhood deaths for a town this size” He began, the two trailing behind him.

“Okay” Y/N mumbled, stuffing her hands into her leather jacket’s pocket. “Know how many were little girls with black hair and pale skin?” Sam and Y/N recognized that tone, “Zero” They answered in unison as Dean nodded in confirmation. “You wanna know how many were little girls with black hair and pale skin that have gone missing? -Right again: Zip, zilch, nada”

Sam and Y/N shared a look, a bit discouraged at that piece of information. "Tell me you’ve got something good because I’ve totally wasted the last six hours” Dean complained as they walked across the street and into a woodsy area. “Well, you ever hear of Lillian Bailey? She was a British medium from the 1930s” Y/N asked him. “She got a thing for fairytales?”

They chuckled in amusement, “No, trances” Sam informed him, “See, she would go into these unconscious states where, um. Get this: her thoughts and actions were completely controlled by spirits” He explained, “The ghost Puppet Master” Dean pursed his lips, “Yeah” Y/N nodded, “Think that’s what this kid is doing? Sending Wolfboy and Grandma into trances, making them go kill crazy?”

“Could be” Sam shrugged, “It could be kind of like a spirit hypnosis or something” Y/N suggested, all continuing down the trail. “Look, trances I get, but fairy-tale trances? That’s bizarre even for us” Dean shook his head. They all came to a halt in their steps when they heard a frog croaking, their heads simultaneously lowering to the ground to see a toad.

Dean scrunched his nose at the sight of the little creature, the toad ribbitted loudly at him. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s completely normal.” Sam deadpanned with sarcasm, as Y/N shot Dean the classic Winchester bitchface in her own form, her hands resting in her hips.

“Alright, maybe it is fairytales. Totally fucked-up fairy tales” Dean responded in defeat, tilting his head at the frog. “I’ll tell you one thing though, there’s no way I’m kissing a damn frog” Y/N gave him a cheeky smile, her eyes playful. "Not even a little peck?" She teased. Dean made a face at the suggestion, but a smirk was tugging at the corners of his mouth. Sam groaned, rolling his eyes and mumbling under his breath. "Please don't encourage him," he implored.

The couple chuckled as Y/N eyes flickered across the street, her eyes catching a pumpkin that was sitting on the porch of a house. “Hey, fellas. Check that out” She pointed to the pumpkin. Dean and Sam’s eyes followed the direction where she was pointing to, curious. “Yeah? It’s close to Halloween” Dean asked with his eyebrow raised.

Sam caught on, shaking his head. “You remember Cinderella? With the pumpkin that turns into a coach and the nice that become horses” Sam told him as a mouse ran across the porch. Dean’s eyes held horror, his head slowly peering over to the duo. “Dude, could you two be more pansies?” Y/N rolled her eyes at him, her hand finding her hip once more.

“Could you be less of a jackass?” She retorted, not missing a beat. Sam chuckled beside her, earning a playful glare from Dean. Dean put his hands up in surrender. "Just saying," he said with a shrug, "We got a possible Three Little Pigs scene, a Hansel and Gretel case, and now we've got a Cinderella deal" Y/N added, her fingers curling into the sleeves of her jacket.

"Next we're gonna have Snow fuckin’ White" Dean mumbled, causing both of them to chuckle.

-

After picking the lock to the house, Y/N rose from her knees, allowing Dean to stretch next to her and open the door. The trio peered in simultaneously, their eyes darting around the eerily quiet house, “Well who knows, maybe you’ll find your fairy godmother” Dean mused, chuckling as he smiled widely at Y/N and Sam. The duo side eyed the elder Winchester, choosing to ignore his comment as they stepped into the house.

The three fanned out, cautiously peering around every corner to search the place. The sound of a creaking in the house caused them to look at each other with suspicion. All pulling out their guns from their jackets in perfect unison. "This is the beginning to a bad, low budget horror movie" Sam mumbled, his eyes flickering around the seemingly empty house.

Y/N bit back a chuckle, but couldn't help the slight smirk forming on her lips at the comment. "Yeah, or an episode of Scooby-Doo" She chimed in. Dean let out an amused scoff. Another sound of clatter drew their attention to the kitchen, Dean jerked his head towards it. Pointing firmly, “Help, I’m in here” The sound of a woman’s terrified voice garnered their attention.

The three of them made their way to the kitchen, guns raised once again, the young woman coming into their view. She was battered, bruised and cuffed to a drawer handle, Sam and Y/N immediately dropped to the floor, the huntress digging into her hair to take out her pin. “Hey, hey. Don’t worry, it’s okay.” Sam assured the beaten girl, “You have to help me, she’s a lunatic” The girl sobbed as Y/N began picking the lock to her handcuffs. “What happened, sweetie?” She asked her gently.

“My stepmom, she just freaked out, screamed at me, beat me, chained me up” The young woman croaked, tears running down her battered face. “Where is she now?” Dean asked firmly, he could’ve sworn he saw a little girl peering from the other room at the corner of his eye. “I don’t know” Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed together, her hand still working on the cuffs. "Sam. Y/N” Dean kept his eyes on the little girl, indicating to Sam and Y/N of her appearance.

The trio’s eyes widened, “That’s her” Y/N informed them, recognizing the girl from her visions back at the house. Dean nodded before pushing himself up, following behind the girl. The little girl seemed to float away, Dean’s feet quickening their pace after her. “Hey!” He called, reaching out his hand to try to grab her but he fell straight through her. “Dammit” He cursed to himself, sprinting after her once more, only to get the same outcome.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard the floor boards creaking behind him, spinning around to meet eyes with the little girl. Her red hair hand placed neatly at the top of her head, pulling back her dark hair. Her white flowy dress made her seem more eerily, “Who are you?” Dean asked calmly but the little girl didn’t answer. Her blue eyes pierced his green ones with intensity, fear and almost desperation.

Her spirit simply flickered, leaving a bright red apple on the floor in her place. Dean’s expression twisted in confusion and suspicion as the little girl vanished. He knelt down to pick it up, examining it in his hand.

Sam and Y/N were too busy with the girl in the kitchen to notice that Dean had wandered off, their attention solely focused on the abused young woman.

-

“Paramedics picked up Cinderella” Sam told his brother as he and Y/N reapproached the Impala, Dean was still leaning against the hood, his gaze trapped on the Apple in his hand. “That’s good” He sighed in response, before tossing the apple for Y/N to catch. “So little girl, shiny red apple. I’m guessing that means something to you, fairytale boy and girl�� Dean half-joked.

Y/N’s hand caught the apple, her eyebrows furrowing together in thought, "We think it’s Snow White." she said, looking over to Sam, "You remember? The wicked queen gave Snow White a poisoned, red apple?" Her fingers gripped the fruit in her hand and she leaned against the Impala, right next to Dean. Dean nodded, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Snow White? Aw, i saw that movie” He responded, “Well, the porn version anyways” He smirked as a disgusted look appeared on the younger Winchester’s face and Y/N rolled her eyes. Dean pushed himself up from the Impala, opening the passenger side for Y/N as he spoke, “There was this wicked stepmother, phew. She was wicked” He said skittishly as he made his way over to the driver's side door.

Sam ignored his comment, bracing his arms at the top of the Impala at the back right side. “There is a wicked stepmother and she tries to kill Snow White with a poisoned apple.” He informed his older brother as Y/N tossed him the apple. Sam caught the apple, his fingers curling around the fruit’s surface. "And then the step-mom disguises herself as an old woman and offers Snow White the poison apple." He added, eyeing the red fruit with intrigue.

Dean raised an eyebrow at Sam, "But the Apple doesn’t actually kill the girl, right?” Y/N shook her head at Dean’s question. “Nope, puts her into a deep sleep. So deep it’s almost like she’s dead" Y/N responded, “See, I knew you remembered” She half-joked. Dean rolled his eyes, but a smirk managed to find its way on his lips. "Yeah, yeah, whatever" He replied as they all hopped into the Impala.

____________________________________________

Now back at the hospital, “No, sorry. We don’t have any comatose little girls” The receptionist informed them, “Are you sure?” Sam asked as Y/N frowned. “Totally. It’s mostly old guys” The receptionist assured them, “And, well, Callie. She’s been around since before I started here” she added, earning intrigued looks from the trio. “Callie?” Dean asked, “Yeah, it’s so sad” The receptionist said sympathetically.

“And poor Dr. Garrison, he just won’t give up on her” This made Y/N cross her arms over her chest. “Was Callie one of his patients?” She asked, curiously. “No, his daughter” The receptionist told them, they all shared looks that said, ‘Worth a shot’ before thanking her and excusing themselves.

-

They found themselves in Callie’s hospital room where Dr. Garrison was reading a fully grown and comatose Callie ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ from ‘The Brothers Grimm’ Book. “The huntsman stepped inside and in the bed lay the wolf. So the huntsman took a pair of scissors and cut open the wolf's belly” Dr. Garrison read. The trio shared looks of horror as the doctor’s eyes flickered up to them.

He closed the book before laying the cloth bookmark in its place, taking off his glasses. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to his daughter’s forehead before making his way over to the three, clearing his throat. “Detectives, can I help you?” Dr. Harrison greeted them politely. “We just heard that Callie is your daughter” Dean began, “And we wanted to say how very sorry we are” Sam added sympathetically.

Dr. Garrison rubbed his eye in frustration, his expression weary as he nodded in acknowledgment, “Well, um, thank you” He breathed, a beat of silence stretching between them before he spoke once more, “If you’ll excuse me” He attempted to make his exit, passing through the space between Dean and Y/N. Dean stepped out of the way for the doctor, his gaze watching the dejected man walk away, an expression of pity on his face.

“Oh, well we’re headed this way, we’ll walk with you” Y/N said casually as they all walked beside the doctor. “How long has Callie been like that?” she asked, trying to keep a tone of sincerity so she didn’t sound too nosey. Sam shot her a look, since her tone didn’t help much and indeed did sound nosey as hell. “We don’t mean to intrude, we can’t possibly know how hard it must be for you seeing her like this” Sam assured Dr. Garrison.

Dr. Garrison gave Sam another nod of appreciation before turning to Dean, “Yeah, it’s not easy” Dr. Garrison sighed, his back turned to Sam and Y/N. The younger Winchester took the opportunity to give his Y/N a smack to the back of the head along with a look that said, ‘Really, dude? Really?’

Y/N let out a silent hiss of pain, rubbing the spot where Sam had smacked her, “Dipshit” She muttered under her breath, a small pout forming on her lips. Dean suppressed the urge to laugh. “She’s, uh, been here since she was 8 years old” Dr. Garrison told them as they began walking again, “That’s when she was poisoned?” Sam asked, “Yes, swallowed bleach,” Dr. Garrison confirmed. “Never figure out how she got her hands on the bottle. My wife found her, brought her to the ER. Here, I was on call”

Dean’s eyebrows furrowed in concern, his demeanor becoming more serious. Sam and Y/N took a moment to process the information, “Your wife was, uh-? Was that Callie’s stepmother?” Dean asked, Dr. Garrison’s eyes glanced over to Dean with surprise, stopping in his tracks. Everyone came to a halt as the doctor’s eyes flickered between them all, “Actually, yes. How’d you know that?”

“Lucky guess” Y/N came to Dean’s rescue, Dr. Garrison nodded hesitantly, seemingly taking the bait. “Julie was the only mother that, uh, Callie ever knew” Dr. Garrison’s tone was solemn as he stuck his hands into his labcoat’s pockets. Sam and Y/N narrowed their eyes, sharing a look as they mentally put two and two together. “My wife passed away last year and, uh…it’s just my daughter and me now” Dr. Garrison’s voice broke as though he was holding back tears. “She’s all I got left”

A sympathy coursed through Y/N and Sam's veins and Dean's eyes softened a bit. Dr. Garrison cleared his throat, “Um, excuse me, I’ve gotta get back to work” Dr. Garrison excused himself, checking his watch. The trio of hunters watched as Dr. Garrison walked away, heading back towards Callie’s room, “Well, you guys were right. It’s Snow White in spades” Dean said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. They all turned on their heels, headed in the other direction.

“Yup. Stepmom poisons the girl, puts her into a deep sleep.” Sam nodded in agreement. “What’s the motive, you think?” Y/N chimed in between them. “Could he like Mischa Barton, Sixth Sense. Not the O.C” Dean shrugged. “What?” Sam asked, beyond confused. “Hey, we know fairytales, he knows movies” Y/N snorted, nudging her boyfriend to continue explaining. He shot her a sly wink in return, “She played the pasty ghost. You know, remember the mom had that thing where you know, uh, you keep the kid sick so you get all the attention?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh…” Sam nodded in recognition, “Münchausen syndrome by proxy. Huh, could be” He agreed, “So say all these years, Callie’s been suffering silently because nobody knows the truth about what Mommy Dearest did” Y/N began, “And after all this time, her spirit just gets angrier and angrier until it finally just starts lashing out” Sam added as they reached the building’s paramedic entrance. “Meanwhile, she has to listen to Dad tell her all these deranged stories about a rabid wolf or a cannibalistic old lady, it’s enough to drive anybody nuts” Dean chimed in.

“Okay, but how are we gonna stop her? I mean, Callie’s stuck here. Her father’s keeping her body alive” Y/N questioned out loud. “It does make it a bit hard to burn the bones” Dean muttered, “Ya think?” Sam shot back sarcastically. “Coming in” a paramedic’s voice boomed through the sliding door as two EMTs wheeled in a gurney with an old woman’s feeble and beaten body on it. “Hey, what’s the status?” A doctor asked urgently as the three watched on.

“Seventy-two-year-old female. Sustained multiple lacerations and puncture wounds. BP is 80/40 and falling. Sinus tachycardia” The EMT informed them as the three followed behind them at a distance to hear what they were saying, “is that a…bite?” A doctor gasped, checking the side of the elderly woman’s blood soaked wrinkly neck. “Looks like she was mauled by a mad dog or maybe a wolf” The EMT suggested.

Dean instantly recognized it, “What was the last story Dr. Garrison was reading Callie?” He asked Sam and Y/N. “Little Red Riding Hood” They responded in unison, sharing wide eyed looks in realization. Their hearts pummeled when the elder woman’s pulse dropped, the doctor declaring the time of death in the process.

-

“Excuse me.” They all approached the paramedic who wheeled the old woman in after a few minutes when he was making his report of the death, flashing him their fake badges. “Was she the only victim?” Y/N asked as they pocketed their badges, “she was found by the side of the road, barely alive. Alone” The EMT sighed, “We need to find her next of kin” Dean said urgently, the EMT nodded, flipping through the file in his hands. “Uh, she has a granddaughter” he informed them

“Do you have an address?” Y/N asked quickly, the EMT gave it to her without hesitation. She instantly snatched it away from him, “Thank you” she said gratefully as Dean peered over her shoulder, following behind her. “Thanks” Sam thanked the EMT. Dean took the paper from Y/N’s hand, “Okay, you guys find a way to stop Callie, alright?” He gently ordered them, “What about you?” Sam asked, furrowing his brows, “I’m gonna go stop the big bad wolf” He said firmly, earning a raised brow from his girlfriend and brother.

“Which is about the weirdest thing I’ve ever said” he scoffed, “No it ain’t” Y/N smirked, a glint of worry in her eyes. Dean noticed the look of concern in her facial features as they all stood together. “Be safe,” she said seriously. A charming smile made its way onto Dean’s lips, his green eyes flickering over to her, “Ditto” he responded as he watched her roll her eyes at his typical response. He leaned down to press his lips to hers. Sam averted his gaze, giving them privacy for a moment, suddenly finding the coat rack at the corner of the hallway interesting.

Y/N’s eyes fluttered shut as Dean’s lips touched hers, their kiss sweet and brief. Dean pulled away, his eyes locked on Y/N’s, “I love you” he whispered against her lips. Her eyes reopened, a tender expression on her face as she looked into his eyes, “Ditto” Y/N murmured back, a subtle smile on her lips. Dean gave her one last lingering glance before forcing himself to pull away from her and head out the automatic hospital doors.

-

It had been about 15 minutes since Dean left, Sam and Y/N had been looking for Dr. Garrison since. Finally stumbling upon him in the east wing, the two hunters began jogging towards him. “Dr. Garrison, we need to speak with you” Sam said urgently. Dr. Garrison turned as they both approached him, a tired expression on his face. “Yes, detectives, what can I do for you this time?” He inquired, folding his arms across his chest.

Sam and Y/N shared a nervous glance, “Well, um….It’s about Callie” Y/N said cautiously, fiddling with her thumbs as she interlocked her hands. Dr. Garrison's tired expression turned to one of concern, "My daughter? What about her?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing in worry as he took off his reading glasses.

“You know, maybe- maybe we could sit down for a minute” Sam suggested calmly, shoving his hands into his pockets to ease his nerves. “No, what about her?” Dr. Garrison insisted firmly. Y/N took a shaky breath, the anxiety in the air was tangible. Sam and Y/N shared another look, both knowing the information was going to hit Dr. Garrison like a ton of bricks. “Okay, well, um- doctor, this isn’t gonna be easy” Sam began. “But…what happened to Callie was not an accident”

“Excuse me?” The doctor scoffed, his face contorting with confusion and unease. “We’re sorry, but it’s true” Y/N tried to convince him gently, placing a hand up in surrender. “You two have no idea what happened to my daughter” With that, he began walking away but Sam and Y/N followed behind.

“There are things you don’t know, doctor- about your wife” Sam stated as they kept on walking behind him, “My wife?” Garrison scoffed, padding faster, “Doctor, your wife poisoned Callie” Y/N finally said, this made the doctor spin around and the two hunters to stop in their tracks. Garrison's face was filled with shock, anger and pain all at once, “Why would you say something so horrible to me?” he asked vehemently, his voice beginning to crack.

Y/N felt her heart drop in her chest but he needed to hear it, is what she convinced herself. “Because we need your help” Sam pleaded, “You two stay away from me and my daughter, you understand?” He pointed firmly at them before heading into Callie’s room. Their faces dropped, “Doctor, this isn’t- Please, if-“ But the door slammed in their faces. “Fuck” Y/N cursed as she stared at the closed door for a few moments.

A hand came up to rest on her shoulder, she looked up to find that it was Sam’s. “What do we do now?” he inquired, removing his hand and stuffing it into his jacket pocket. Y/N gave him a look that Sam immediately recognized, “Y/N/N, no-” She had already opened the door to Callie’s room, “Guess we’re doing it” Sam mumbled as Dr. Garrison’s head snapped up from his comatose daughter, his eyes hardening as Y/N trudged in with determination as Sam followed behind her.

“I’m calling security” Dr. Garrison spat, pointing a finger at the psychic, looking from the comatose teenager then back at them. He immediately headed for the phone but Sam quickly snatched it from his hands, causing him to flinch, “No, we don’t have time to do this gently” Y/N retorted firmly as if she was scolding a child, “If you don’t listen to us, more people are gonna get hurt. Because Callie is gonna hurt them” Sam added, matching Y/N’s tone.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Dr. Garrison said in defiance, placing his hands on his hips. “You’re going to think we’re crazy but just understand us….Your daughter, Callie, is still here. She’s a spirit” Y/N explained. Dr. Garrison’s eyes dropped to the floor before shifting over to his daughter. He slowly made his way to her bed before sitting at the feet of the hospital bed, a look of despair on his face. “So you’ve seen her too?”

Sam and Y/N stood rooted to the floor for a handful of moments, eyes widened at the surprise of the question. Y/N cleared her throat, “You see her, too?” She asked cautiously as they inched closer to the father. Garrison nodded as his fingers found Callie’s hand on top of the bed comforter. “I’ve sensed her. Callie.” He began as he pushed himself up from her bed, “Her presence, her scent. I even saw her standing at the foot of my bed, but I never…” He blinked rapidly.

“…believed it. I thought I was dreaming- I-” his breathing increased. “It wasn’t a dream” Sam cut him off, burying his hands into his pockets as Y/N crossed her arms over her chest. “She looks like she did when she was 8. White dress. Red ribbon in her hair…she’s been trying to talk to you” Y/N said softly. The room filled with silence for a few moments as the doctor tried to process this new information- that he had been actually seeing his daughter.

He shook his head with a gentle scoff, “You’re not cops, are you?” He questioned, “No” Sam and Y/N answering in unison, both glancing down at Callie on the bed. “Then who are you?” They shared a look. “People who know a little bit about this kind of thing,” Sam answered hesitantly. “But what you said about my wife poisoning Callie, that-” Garrison tried to defend, “Sir. Callie told us” Y/N cut him off.

“What?” Garrison bit back. “But in so many words. But in her own way…she told us” Sam responded calmly as Dr. Garrison shook his head frantically. “My wife loved Callie! So how i- how is that possible?” Sam sighed deeply, “We don’t know, but it is” He said firmly. “It doesn’t make sense, we know. And I’m so, so sorry” Y/N’s voice was barely above a whisper as the doctor’s gaze lowered back to the girl on the bed.

“No. No, I don’t believe you. She wouldn’t-“ Garrison couldn’t finish the sentence as Y/N and Sam both felt their hearts ache for a father trying to deny his wife doing such a thing. “Look, Callie is killing people. She’s angry, she’s desperate because nobody will listen to her. So you have to listen to her” Sam insisted, pleading with Garrison, “Please….as her father…listen to your daughter.” Y/N said softly, extending her hand out towards the doctor.

Garrison stood there, frozen, as the two hunters stared hopefully at him, anticipating his answer. A moment of silence seemed to be an hour before the doctor broke it, “What- what do you need me to do?” His voice cracked, “I can help you, take my hand and I can sorta anchor you to see her” Y/N explained, Garrison glanced down at her outstretched hand, his hand slowly lifting to reach out.

Once he placed his palm in hers, Y/N guided him over to Callie’s bed, placing her free palm onto the crown of Callie’s head. “Don’t freak out” She closed her eyes, focusing her energy on connecting him to his daughter. Garrison began to feel a strong, yet gentle energy flow through his body, he looked panicked for a second before Y/N gently reassured him, “It’s okay, relax” Her eyes stayed close tightly but her hand stayed on Callie’s head.

“Call out to her” Y/N instructed, reopening her eyes, which shone white and the veins in both her arms ignited its usual blue light. Sam watched on in awe, the sight familiar but still so fascinating to him. Garrison nodded and shifted his gaze to his daughter, “Callie.” He called out tenderly, his heart swelling at the sound of her name rolling off of his tongue. “Callie, it’s Daddy, it’s me, Daddy” he breathed heavily as his hand tightened around Y/N’s.

His breath shuddered, “Is it true? Did Mommy do that to you?” The doctor began crying, using his free hand to place it on his daughter’s. Not letting go of Y/N’s. “I know I wasn’t listening before, but I’m listening now” Suddenly, there was a change to the room, the air felt lighter, like a presence was watching. Sam saw her at the corner of the room and Y/N felt her presence.

“Daddy’s here. Please honey, is there any way you can tell me?” Garrison pleaded with his daughter’s comatose body. “Doctor. Y/N” Sam’s voice broke through, their heads turned to him as he nodded to the corner of the room. Garrison spun around, his eyes landing on the spirit of his 8-year old daughter. Her white dress was radiant, her red ribbon tied perfectly in her hair, a sad smile gracing her lips.

Garrison’s hand slipped from Y/N’s, her veins and eyes reverting back to its usual color. “Is it true?” He asked his daughter, trying to keep his voice from falling. Callie’s spirit simply nodded as Y/N took her hand off of the crown of her comatose body’s head. Garrison’s knees wobbled, but he kept to his feet. He shook slightly, “Why did she….” His voice trailed off, he gulped hard as he kept his gaze focused on his daughter.

“Why did Mommy do this?” Callie’s expression saddened, her smile faltering as her dad pleaded for answers. Her little spirit lifted her hand up as if to point at someone, her father’s head spun to a picture above the bed. The photo of his wife and daughter, smiling and happy in a park. Sam and Y/N frowned deeply upon seeing the heartbroken look on Garrison’s face. “Oh, I’m so sorry, baby”

“But listen to me, you gotta stop what you’re doing, okay? You’re hurting people.” He pleaded with his daughter as he leaned forward, “I know everything now….I know the truth” His breathing shuddered again as Callie’s stare pierced into his soul, “It’s time for you to let go…..it’s time for me to let you go”

Y/N felt a sudden pain in her chest, it ached and made her breath hitch. She had seen the look on a parent’s face before, saying those words to their child, but she never thought that she’d see it happening in front of her. Garrison wiped his face, his mouth quivering as he tried to hold in his sobs. Her eyes connected with Sam’s, who wore a mirrored expression to hers as Dr. Harrison padded over to his daughter’s bed. He leaned down and placed a tearful kiss on her forehead.

Almost immediately, the EKG flatlined. The long solemn beep filling the room with dread, Sam and Y/N both watched on, holding back tears as the father pressed his face to his comatose daughter’s shoulder. His shoulders started to shake violently as he cried into her shoulder, his own hands coming up to clutch the edges of the thin hospital blanket.

Garrison spun around to face the direction his daughter’s spirit was, her image now gone as the heavy feeling on Y/N’s chest finally rolled off. Her body slumped as the air returned to her lungs, she felt a large hand on her back, steadying her. “She’s gone” Sam softly whispered, rubbing her back gently. “Yeah…she’s gone” Y/N repeated shakily, nodding her head slightly. The pair both stared at the weeping man clutching his deceased daughter’s body, the sound of his desperate sobs echoing through the room.

____________________________________________

Now in the reception area, Dean had made it back to the hospital after saving the little girl who had been kidnapped from her captive, once Callie passed, the trance she had her victims in broke. “And the girl’s okay?” Dr. Garrison asked Dean, who nodded in return. He was a bit beat up from the fight with the little girl’s capture but he’d live….for now, “So, it’s really over” Garrison sighed deeply.

“Yeah, all thanks to you” Sam responded. Garrison’s lips turned into a slight smile, “Callie was the most important thing in my life….but I should’ve let her go a long time ago” He admitted, “See you around, doc” Dean offered the doctor a half smile, “I sure hope not” Garrison responded with a half-joke before patting Dean on his shoulder and making his exit.

Y/N’s hand found Dean’s, her fingers intertwining with his as she felt a slight sting in her eyes. The events of the day took a toll on her, her energy was drained, she was tired and sad. Seeing a father lose his daughter was not something she wanted to be used too. “You know, what he said….that’s some good advice” Dean’s voice broke the silence.

Y/N raised a brow at her boyfriend’s insinuation as Sam scoffed, “Is that what you want us to do, Dean? Just let you go?” Dean didn’t dare to look either of them in the eye. With a scoff, Y/N pulled away from Dean, staring directly at him as he looked away, “Stop” She huffed in frustration, she was exhausted and definitely not in the mood to deal with his self-pity.

Dean’s eyes met with Y/N’s and then Sam’s. The trio didn’t say a word, so Dean simply trudged off, making his way to the exit of the hospital. Y/N’s jaw locked, eyes narrowing in irritation as she watched him walk away. She looked over at Sam, he met her gaze, as they both understood what the other was thinking. They both followed after Dean, walking at a brisk pace to catch up to his brisk form.

____________________________________________

Later that night, it was nearing midnight. Dean was swaddled into Y/N’s arms. His head nestled into the space where her neck and shoulder meet, his nose burying itself into the crook of her neck. Her eyes were shut, her breathing was low and steady, he could tell she was fast asleep by the way her body felt limp against his.

So she took the opportunity, gently prying herself away from him. Her movement was careful as she peeled herself away from his warmth, he stirred slightly. She froze in her spot but Dean fell back asleep, his arm over her spot in the bed. Y/N let out a breath of relief as she pulled the blanket up further to cover his naked form.

With as little noise as possible, she shoved her clothes onto her body and placed a kiss to his temple. A look of despair was on her face as she tiptoed over to his bag, retrieving the Colt. Y/N sighed to herself, her eyes on Dean’s sleeping form.

“I love you, charming”

With that and one last look at the man she loves over her shoulder, she walked cautiously to the door and quietly opened it before exiting. The hallway was dark but it was easy to spot Sam, he stood there in his usual clothes, already awaiting her. Y/N made her way over to him, closing the door behind her.

“Ready?” She asked as she came to stand next to him, her voice was low and hushed. Sam nodded at her, his lips thinning in determination, “Yeah” He responded, his hands shoved into his pockets. Y/N offered him a small smile, holding up the keys to the Impala she snaked from Dean’s bag before the pair started walking down the hall.

-

Sam knelt in the middle of a crossroads, a wooden box and its needed contents in one hand and a fake ID in his other. He took a deep breath, glancing up with Y/N who held the Colt firmly in her hand. The crossroads was dark but Y/N could make out the sound of crickets in the distant cornfield behind them and smell the rich earthy scent of dirt. She stood beside Sam, her nerves on high alert as he shut the box and stuck it into the hole. Using his hands to toss the gravel onto it, burying it into the hole.

Her ears strained to sense any sudden movement around her. Y/N’s free hand went to the bottom of the shirt she had borrowed from the man sleeping in the motel as she subconsciously gripped the white material tightly. Sam dusted his hands, sighing heavily as he stood up, their eyes darting to every corner of the crossroad. Suddenly, that burning feeling at the back of Y/N’s neck made her head snap in the direction of the present demon.

“Well, little Sammy Winchester and Y/N/N L/N. I’m touched” The female crossroad demon announced her presence, her eyes flashing red at the duo. Y/N’s grip on the gun tightened, hiding it behind her back. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to get a better look, “I mean, Dean’s been to see me twice but you two…” The crossroad demon chuckled, “I’ve never had the pleasure”

Sam’s gaze hardened with hatred directed to the crossroad demon who bore the contract to his brother’s soul. “What can I do for you Sam and Y/N?” The demon asked with a smirk as Y/N gritted her teeth, she made eye contact with Sam who nodded in agreement. Without hesitation, she raised the Colt, pointing it straight to the demon’s forehead. “You can beg for your life” Y/N quipped cockily.

The demon raised her hands in submission, her smirk never leaving her lips. “We were having such a nice conversation. Then you had to go and ruin the mood.” The demon purred, her eyes flickering from the barrel of the gun to Y/N’s face. “If I were you, I’d drop the wisecracks and start acting scared” Sam snapped back. The demon scoffed cockily, shaking her brunette head, “It's not my style” her eyes went back to the gun and over to the duo, “And that’s not the original Colt” she pointed out, smirking at them.

Y/N’s mouth formed a firm line as she and Sam’s confidence faltered. “Where did you get that?” She questioned as Y/N kept her weapon pointed at the demon. The two didn’t answer and their silence alone answered the question for them, “Ruby. Had to be” The demon shook her head, “She is such a pain in my ass” she scoffed as Sam and Y/N kept their narrowed eyes on her. “She’ll get what’s coming to her. You can count on it”

“That’s enough.” Y/N interrupted with pure venom in her tone, “We came here to make you an offer” The psychic stated, causing the demon to chuckle humorlessly. “You two are gonna make me an offer? That’s adorable” Y/N’s jaw locked as she inhaled deeply through her nose, “It’s in your best interest to hear us out” She replied evenly as Sam gave her a look from the corner of his eye, keeping his mouth shut.

The demon scoffed cockily once more but her confidence wavered, “Well then, let’s hear your offer” as she crossed her arms over her chest. “You can let Dean out of his deal right now.” Sam began, tilting his head as he shoved his hands into his pocket, “He lives, Y/N lives, I live, you live. Everyone goes home happy. Or…” Y/N cocked the gun, challenging the demon. “My sister is gonna put a bullet into your head, and you stop breathing. Permanently.”

The demon stared down the business end of the gun again, the smirk now slipping off her lips. “Well, that’s a tempting offer” She replied sarcastically. However, the duo caught the small look of hesitation etched on her face for a brief moment. “All this tough talk, I have to tell you, it’s not very convincing” She began walking around them but they circled in return, Y/N keeping the Colt aimed at the demon.

“I mean, come on guys. Do you even want to break the deal?” She chuckled, her back facing them, “What do you think?” Y/N spat, gritting her teeth again, a bad habit she couldn’t seem to break whenever she was angry. “I don’t know. Aren’t you tired of cleaning up Dean’s messes, Sam? And Y/N, aren’t you tired of dealing with that broken psyche of his?”

Y/N’s knuckles turned white, her grip on the gun tightening as she swallowed dryly, “Aren’t you tired of being bossed around like a snot-nosed little brother?” The demon taunted Sam before turning to Y/N. “And you,” she paused, her eyes meeting with Y/N’s wide angry ones.

“You’re fed up with being his caretaker, aren’t you? Making him soup when he’s sick, listening to his problems, putting his broken pieces back together. Yet he still treats you no better than your daddy did. Like a weak, broken, immature little girl. It’s exhausting, isn’t it?” The demon said with a look of mock-sympathy, a look that made the psychic’s skin crawl. Y/N’s jaw ticked, biting the inside of her cheek, both her and Sam struggling to control their facial expressions.

“Watch your mouth” Sam warned, “Admit it” The demon stepped towards them, “You two are here, going through the motions. But the truth is, you’ll be a tiny bit relieved when he’s gone” The demon insisted, “Shut up” Y/N warned, her finger hovering over the trigger. She shut her eyes, trying to ease her anger as Sam pulled her back slightly.

“No more desperate, sloppy, needy Dean. You can finally be free” The demon continued to taunt, “We said, SHUT UP!” Sam bellowed his patience breaking, the demon simply tilted her head with a smirk. “Huh. Doth protest too much if you ask me” She quipped, “Alright, I’ve had enough of your shit. You let my man out of his deal right now. Or so god help me, I will put a bullet into your skull” Y/N demanded, her tone dark and low.

“Sorry, sweetheart, but your man’s an adult. He made that deal of his own free will. Fair and square” The demon denied as she stepped around the two. The demon had a condescending smile plastered on her face as Y/N bit her bottom lip, trying to control her temper. “It’s ironclad” The demon smirked, her back turned to them. “Every deal can be broken” Sam scoffed as Y/N still held the gun in the demon’s direction.

“Not this one” The demon turned to face them once again, they refused the believe it. Desperation filling them. “Fine, then she’ll kill you. If you’re gone, so is the deal” Sam bluffed, but Y/N wasn’t bluffing about killing the demon. “Guess again” The demon smirked. Their faces dropped, “What?” They gasped in unison. “Sam, Y/N. I’m just a saleswoman. I got a boss like everybody. He holds the contact, not me.” The demon explained.

Their gazes remained hard, “He wants Dean’s soul, bad. And believe me, he’s not gonna let it go” She shook her head, “You’re bluffing” Y/N prayed to god she was right, “Am I?” The demon scoffed, the cocky look not leaving her face. “Shoot me, if it’ll get you off” She tempted them. “But the deal still holds. And when Dean’s time is up, he’s getting dragged into the pit”

“Then who’s your boss? Who holds the contract?” Sam demanded as Y/N lowered the gun, giving the demon some hope she’s getting out of there alive. “He’s not as cuddly as me, I can tell you that” The demon responded as Sam and Y/N’s rolled their eyes, “Who is he?” Y/N demanded, her nostrils flaring. “I can’t tell you” The demon shook her head, their eyes filled with anger again but they managed to keep a calm demeanor. “I’m sorry Sam and Y/N, but there’s no way out of this one…..Not this time”

The two exchanged a look, neither of them wanting to accept her answer but not knowing what else to do. They communicated with their eyes, Y/N raising her brow, ‘We gonna kill her?’ she asked in Winchesterarian.

Sam shrugged before nodding, practically saying, ‘Kill the bitch’

So, in a swift movement, Y/N raised the gun again and shot the demon in the middle of her forehead. The demon’s face fell slack, her eyes empty and glazed over as she fell to the ground. Silence blanketed the area. Y/N lowered the smoking gun, her face stone cold, no emotion or expression on it.

For some reason, she found herself itching for Maverick’s Dagger, the need to place her hand on that godforsaken and ‘destroyed’ knife growing on her again.

A guttural sound left the demon’s throat before a sulfuric smell filled the empty area, filling Sam’s nose, he grimaced in disapproval. His expression mirrored Y/N’s as the demon’s body twitched with an orange glow, his face as cold as ice.

____________________________________________

Author’s Note: Heyyyyyyy, heyyyy, how y’all doinnnn☺️ Hope everyone enjoyed it!❤️

I mentioned in my first author's note that it’s carnival season in my country and it made me wonder, where is everyone else from? It’s totally up to you buttt, why don’t you guys drop your flag/state??? I’d love get to know where all of my wonderful and loyal readers are based, just my way of feeling more connected with with everyone <3

I’ll go first🥰 I hail from the beautiful (and bacchanal filled💀) twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago🇹🇹

Sometimes I feel as if I’m the only Caribbean writer for Supernatural so I’d love to know if there are any other fellow Caribbean’s who share my love🫶

Anyways, enough rambling. I hope everyone is having an amazing February and you all had an amazinggg Valentine’s Day. Much love! See you in the next episode🥰

Taglist: @hjgdhghoe @rach5ive @tiggytaylor @star-yawnznn @quarterhorse19

@deangirl96 @bitchykittenconnoisseur @globetrotter28 @hobby27 @mrsjjkwinchester

@juwu-theliciosa @magiccliopleurodon @nesnejwritings @karrah89 @whattheduckisupkyle

@iloveyou2mia @thelittlelightinthedarkness @lmhf1 @littletomboy2 @zigzoggy

@hey-its-zoe @modiddys-blog @thvxr @tommysaxes @cookiemonstermusic258 @elite4cekalyma

@ladykitana90 @strawberrykiwisdogog @barnes70stark

Xoxo

[menlove]

youve probably answered this before but what DO you think is the most realistic version of what went down?? like do you think paul misinterpreted john's hints or that john never made it clear enough to paul how he felt? i know theres no way to know but you have such a good grasp on their personalities and this seriously might haunt me forever lkadjf

i actually don't think i have ! i wrote a lil speculative Thing about what things would look like if paul were queer and closeted (which is what i think) and that interpretation but never specifically this question but...

this is long and rambly but have my thoughts lmfao

basically To Me i do think they had some sort of sexual relationship. to me it's honestly the most likely scenario given the..... everything. their interactions with each other, some of their songs about each other ("i used to hold you in my arms"), the way things blew up so spectacularly, etc. and my reasoning there is mostly that. we know already that they had really loose sexual boundaries with each other. they jerked off together, they fucked women in the same room together & allegedly together as well. and already just those two/three things constitute as a sexual relationship, but not smth they would've seen as one.

but i do think they did more than that. i mean, it doesn't really matter if they did more than that, the rest of what i'm gonna speculate stands even if all they ever did was jerk off together and fuck women together, but like... aside from the like Mountains of evidence that there was something there, i just think it makes sense w their personalities. john isn't the type of person to have self-restraint and i don't think paul, especially when he was younger, would've turned john down. i think if john was into men (which he was, we know this) and if he was into paul (incredibly likely) then he would've made a move. and i think if he made a move and got rejected he would have raised hell, and that never happened.

i think they probably started doing shit together (again, the extent of that is debatable) and they absolutely did Not think of it as being anything queer. i couldn't tell you the mental loops they tied themselves in there, but i have Some thoughts just based on who they are. i think john probably passed it off as like "a hand's a hand, a mouth's a mouth" type of thing (which is hilariously something yoko talks about him saying in her audio diary during the white album sessions). and i think paul probably saw it (& any other things he was doing with men, if he did) as something fun that feels good and isn't something he needs to like look into deeply. i think neither of them would've thought of themselves as queer, bc they probably thought of queerness as very binary- you're either gay or you're straight. and they both were into women (.....ostensibly) so they couldn't be gay. i think john like realized, on some level, that he was queer and Hated it about himself for a very long time and only started coming to grips with it towards the end of his life. i think paul eventually came around to it but by that time he was married to linda (& if rumors are to believed, possibly having threesomes with her and men lmfao) & i don't think he would Ever want to come out publicly even if he's out privately (which i do think he is).

so why didn't they get together? why is paul so insistent that john was straight and not in love with him? i think they just genuinely never talked about it. ever. like i don't think they had that conversation. if neither of them were gay and their sexual relationship was just john and paul things, there wasn't any need to talk about it. queerness was more acceptable for the young. not in an open sort of way, absolutely not, but in the way that they could tell themselves they'd grow out of it, they were just messing around, etc.

i think things got harder when brian died- he died queer, alone, and in a situation that a lot of people thought was suicide. and ofc, we know the band didn't think it was suicide, and i don't think it was either, but that's the kind of thing that sticks in the back of your mind. esp if you're like john who had a lot of mystical/magical thinking. i think it was a bit of a wake up call. time to grow up. i think they both thought they were each the Only one dealing with actual queer feelings & attraction to the other and were soooo sure the other one was just straight and fucking around. which probably hurt, quite a bit, but wasn't something they wanted to look at anyway.

and when john got with yoko and got serious with her, i think that was the bubble bursting. cynthia was different. they got together so young, he never made her a priority, he cheated on her constantly, belittled her, didn't have a place for her by his side bc he carved that space out exclusively for paul. and you can tell that just by the amount of quotes paul has about john marrying yoko being the catalyst, about it being time to grow up, etc which is insane considering he was already married and so were george and ringo. for years. so it was something deeper than that. and it's bc he was actually taking yoko seriously. paul's spot as john's primary partner got filled by a woman. who john was genuinely in love with, not like cynthia which was a marriage fueled by the age old tale of an unplanned pregnancy and comphet. and paul can't argue with that. like....... if he viewed what they were doing as messing around as kids, with john being straight and him being the one pining, he wouldn't want to fuck up john's chance at a Normal Straight Love. if he were a girl, he could, but he wasn't. what he Could do was match him and grow up too. cue the immediate pivot to get married and have children, eventually fulfilled in linda.

but i don't think he expected the band to implode just bc they stopped being so close in whatever manner. but it did. along with other reasons, obviously- there's a million reasons the band broke up, but i think they could've weathered it if they had kept the closeness they'd had at the beginning. or if they'd been single or even if they'd just kept viewing each other as their primary partner aside from their wives.

i think they both came to terms with what they actually meant to each other in the 70s, but they never actually... told each other. what we have from john is jealous guy, which paul was allegedly told was about him, and that demo version of real love that paul never even heard where he laments about him having a baby/farm and how he used to hold him. there's also (just like) starting over, but that one's easy to see as being for yoko too and paul wouldn't have thought twice about it. then you have now & then and real love, which were on that damn tape for paul :( like he literally didn't hear them until after john died and we know he likes the idea that now & then is about him but even then he doesn't sound totally convinced

for paul we have a lot. but a lot of his like more vulnerable songs were only released after john died. like here today, obviously, but there's also some pretty telling ones that john never would've heard (like best friend, which he played live, but wasn't on any album until 2018. or a more of a Stretch of one but i 100% think is about john, hey diddle, which was kept off ram and only released in 2001).

so like i think they very much both came to grips with the fact that they had been in love with each other, but they never really.... thought that could be returned. so ofc paul's going to say shit like how he likes the theory that john was in love with him or wrote now & then about him. but he doesn't believe it, because to him john was Genuinely straight and he was the weird one. and vice versa. i think i saw a more recent thing from him coming around more on the idea of john being bi, but honestly i think that's just hard for him to come to grips with bc what the hell are you supposed to do with that? like yeah, he was into men, possibly even romantically, on a genuine level, just not him? that's hurtful. i don't think he wants to think of that option. bc that's more likely to him than the idea that john was in love with him and hiding it the whole time. which is also heartbreaking. bc then it's just a tragedy of circumstances and missed chances- which is what i think it was. and neither of those routes are something i think he wants to consider, so john has to be straight in his mind.

but if he's coming around on that, he's probably coming around on one of those two options. i hope it's the latter bc the idea that he'd think even now that john never loved him is just so fucking sad. and considering his comments about now & then, as well as the lyrics video for now & then, i really do think the latter is more likely.

anywayyyyy tl;dr i think they fucked around sexually in Some Way, never said a single thing romantically, both came to terms w their feelings in the 70s but by then it was too late and they didn't think the other one would reciprocate anyway, and now paul's been trying to come to grips w the ambiguity of their relationship for the last 40+ years.

[fancyfeathers]

I’ve seen the Robin!Darling and League of Assassins!Damian content and you’ve written him so well and intriguingly so if you don’t mind me asking how is he in marriage and/or with children if they(he) ever decided to have any, and does he like them or not?

I <3 your writing btw

Yandere!Batboys as Villains with Robin!Darlings AU Masterlist

Well I already wrote about some of that here, mainly how Damian manages to trap his darling for good when he has taken over the league and she had become Gotham’s new Dark Knight, killing her and then reviving her in the Lazarus Pits over and over again until she eventually breaks because she just can’t handle it anymore…

But he marries her between when he first revives her and when he kills her again and on that wedding night is he gets her pregnant with their first child, a boy who would be named Damian’s heir if he was not so determined reform civilization for his own children. Damian also cannot bring himself to train his children beyond basic self defense, or basic self defense in the eyes of the League of Assassins, because they just remind him too much of their mother.

After their first child and his darling still chooses to be disobedient, he kills her again before putting her in a Lazarus Pit, hoping each time he does that she will just break at some point, and she does just not in the way he wants, she just becomes a complete husk of who she once was, aware of what is going on around her and while Damian wants to fix her, he knows deep down that there is nothing that he can do that will make her better, but he won’t let her go either.

Over the years they have two more children together, two girls. He loves his children but in a more unsettling way, all they know is their father controlling their lives, maybe hoping the less freedom they have the more willing they will be to stay close forever…

But children will be children…

They find old journals of their mother’s, tucked away and collecting dust, depicting her days as Robin, Batgirl, and eventually Batwoman. They will play their games of hero in secret, knowing their father does not care much for the world outside of the where they grew up, but eventually they would find the pages saying what their father did to their mother and they realize why she is so broken.

Then one day they three children come up to their mother while their father is away on a mission with her old journal and a box they found in storage and…

“Mama., if you were Batwoman again, could we be your Robins?”

“My dears, where did this come from?”

“Mama, please just… please tell us?”

“I… I suppose so… but I am… I am not that person I once was…”

“You could be again…”

The oldest opens the old box they found in storage to reveal that old Batwoman suit that she thought was long destroyed, she looks down at her three children, not an ounce of Damian in their wide smiles…

“So mama, could you be Batwoman again?”

[witherby]

Hiya

Hiya El!! Just have a few questions if you don't mind. Sorry it seems s long and you'll probably not answer a lot of them but these are mostly just things I was curious about and I didn't want to send them one by one.

For Mouse:

~How were they when they started teething

~How did they come up with the Truce Juice concept in the first place? Like what inspired them?

~Can or will they murder someone if they hurt the batfam badly? Like the opponent was way too op and Mouse had to kill them to protect their family and home? Kinda like this ---> https://youtube.com/shorts/AP9izD4XWXQ?si=lGQ2qfK3VXB2JPXh where they dont regret or feel good about it, they're just...tired..

For Punchline:

~Would she like Sundrop/Moondrop from FNAF? What about Laughing Jack from Creepypasta? Pennywise from IT? Basically all the clowns/jesters from different fandoms, murderous or not, how does she feel about them? I feel like she'll vibe with Sundrop/Moondrop for some reason-

~Punchline meeting Ronald McDonald for the first time. How she feeling about him?

-🍨

Sundae, I love the influx of questions! I'm happy to answer them for you.

Littlest Wayne inquiries:

1. How was Flittermouse when they started teething?

Irritable! As an infant they were pretty quiet. Very little to complain about in their eyes — food, clean diapers, lots of arms to snuggle into, shiny toys to play with, etc. — so the sudden crying and lack of willingness to eat normally was a shock to the entire family. They figured out pretty fast that Mouse was teething, though, and adjusted accordingly.

Everybody except Bruce, who did not super enjoy being their sentient teething ring. He put up with it, though, because seeing you cry was worse than dealing with tiny teeth marks in his ankles.

You can read more about Mouse's mouth shenanigans in Teething, and Air Jail, and First Steps!

2. How did Flittermouse come up with the idea for Truce Juice?

During a hostage situation! They were representing the Wayne family for a charity auction when Penguin and his men crashed the event to rob the wealthy benefactors. Mouse overheard a couple of Penguin's long-time henchmen complaining about having to threaten restaurant owners in order to be served food and lamenting the days when they could just stroll into places like civilians. The wheels started turning then, and they confirmed the need for a "villain-friendly" eatery when getting held up in another hostage situation a month later by the Riddler, who muttered something about how much he missed getting breakfast bagels he didn't have to make himself.

A year, several cooking classes, and a very long and tedious hiring process later, they had a business!

3. Would Flittermouse ever take a life to save their family?

Fantastic question. If they had to, I think so! I can't think of a situation in which they would need to do that, or be put in a position that required taking a life to save someone else at the moment!

I think it would really, deeply, terribly fuck them up if they did, though. They would be forever changed as a person, and I don't think they'd come out of the shadows for a very long time afterwards.

Punchline inquiries:

1. Would she like the Sundrop/Moondrop daycare attendants?

Yeah!! Sunny is a performer, whose entire purpose is to entertain and amuse his charges! Punchline is a performer, whose entire purpose is to entertain and amuse her father! They're both clown/circus-themed, too! I think they'd get along extremely well, with the only clashing points being Punchline's tendency to get a laugh through violent means.

Moondrop, to the best of my knowledge, though he is another circus-themed unit and literally part of Sunny, wouldn't get along so well with her. Punchline only sleeps when her body shuts down and succumbs to exhaustion, and Moony's job as the nighttime/nap-time attendant is to put children to sleep. She would be very resistant to a nap, and he, famously, does not respond well to disobedience!

2. How would Punchline feel interacting with Laughing Jack, Pennywise, or IT?

Not great!

Punchline can respect a jester theme! That's not the issue! She's just not super big on murdering children or secretly being dark Eldritch abominations who instill terror and fear into the hearts of all. Clowns are supposed to be funny! If you're not getting a laugh, why are you dressed like a clown? She doesn't find them entertaining, which is a death sentence to her father.

3. How does Punchline feel about Ronald McDonald?

This clown is everywhere but he just sells happy meals! Not a single joke in the repertoire? What a capitalist loser! Take the clown shoes off if you aren't gonna work for them!! Say something funny!!!!