#so i decided to make my mild irritation constructive

[marley-manson]

bonus:

[tokousername]

CHAPTER 1

Pairing(s): JJ Maybank x Pogue!Reader, John B & Cousin!Reader

Warning(s): swearing, underage drinking, mentions of JJ being a man hoe, maybe some violence

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

"That's what, a three-story fall to the deck?" A voice sounded. John B stood on the roof of a building that was still in construction. He held a beer can in his hand while ghosting his right foot out over the edge of the peak.

"I give you about a one in three chance of survival." Pope informed him, he watched John B worriedly from below, he knew he could take care of himself but it didn't make him feel any better about him playing with his life.

"Hm." John B hummed questioningly, licking his finger and sticking it in the air like a sailor on a ship. "Should I do it?" He asked non-genuinely.

"Yeah, jump." JJ pretty much dared him, the owner of that voice sat with me on the balcony just below John B. He had his own beer in his hand, smirking up at the brown haired boy with a bandana around his neck.

"I'll shoot you on the way down." Pope, the kid from before, teases him, holding up a drill he found lying around.

"You're gonna shoot me?" John B retorted. Making a finger gun and pretending to shoot the other Pope with it, "Pew"

"They're going to have Japanese toilets with towel warmers." Kiara scoffed, walking out of the house behind us and standing on the balcony with her fists on her hips.

"Of course they are. Why wouldn't they?" I snorted, leaning my back up against JJ's shoulder and snacking on a bag of chips. "People with a lot of money have nice things like that."

"This used to be a turtle habitat, but who cares about the turtles, I guess." Kiara says.

"I can't have cold towels." John B pitched in.

"Can you please not kill yourself?" She speaks up to the boy on the roof. She put a flat hand above her eyebrows to block the sun from her eyes.

"Don't spill that beer. I'm not giving you another one." JJ strictly tells him, sipping his own and putting it down next to him.

Coincidentally, just as his best friend said this John B lost his balance and caught himself again but oh so very sadly ended up dropping his beer. He muttered an "oh shit." and glanced down at the blonde.

JJ threw his hands up, raising his eyebrows in mild disbelief. "Of course you did. Like right when I told you not to." He hooked his hands behind his head, squeezing his eyes shut in annoyance from the trouble he went through to get the crate of alcohol.

"Smooth" Pope commented.

"That was so great for you John B. I'm proud you decided to quit drinking." I feigned. My cousin groaned in irritation at the loss of his drink.

"Dumbass." Kiara spoke under her breath.

"Hey!" A shout echoed through the bottom of the house where there were missing walls.

"Hey, uh, security's here." Pope oh so graciously informed the rest of his group. "Let's wrap it up." He says with a slight hint of nervousness.

"Boys are early today." John B grinned, climbing down from the roof.

"Humpty Dumpty's on his way, let's roll." JJ picked up his beer and stood up, "You too m'lady." He smiled down at me, I sighed and reached out my hand, to which his grabbed and hauled me off the ground. "Gary, is that you?" JJ yelled down at the guard, his smile only got wider as the man replied.

"You know it's me!" He shouted at him angrily. "Get down here!"

"You know it's me!" He shouted up.

"Get down here."

"Gary, good to see you, man!"

We all shouted at him while climbing down.

"You're asking for it." Kiara says.

"JJ!" An angry Gary shouts up.

We started whooping and hollering, laughing and shouting excitedly while running through the house and down.

"Hey stop!" Gary shouted. He cornered JJ who slipped and had to get up to run back, I had to parkour over him to keep running.

"Get em! They're coming your way!"

"Hey! Stop!"

More shouts came from security while all of us raced around to escape them.

"I got him!" One shouts grabbing JJ, but he slipped away and made a dash for it.

"Not much of a hugger man!" He says laughing.

"They're going out front!"

"JJ hurry!" Kiara shouted to him, sprinting ahead next to one of the others.

"Go, Pope! Go! Go, go, go, go, go, go!" JJ shouted at Pope, we all jumped the fence.

Pope landed on his face and the rest of us laughed and kept running, JJ launched over and patted Pope.

"Get up, Pope! Fatso's coming." He says, sprinting off again.

"Hey! Come here, you little pricks!"

We ran to the van out front of the house. "Lets go!"

"Come on, boys! Whoo!" Kiara shouted. Pope grunted while everyone bounced into the van, I shut the door and we tried to make space while security chased the Twinkie.

"Check out Gary! Gunnin' for a raise." John B says.

"Come on, Gary!" JJ shouts.

"Wait slow down! Hey, you little pricks!"

"You're gonna give him a heart attack." Kiara told John B.

"You're so close! You can do it! There you go." JJ says, taunting him by leaning out the door with beer in his hand. "They don't pay you enough, bro!"

"JJ, Stop. Stop!" The Kiara tells him, though she had a sort of sympathetic tone, she totally thought it was funny.

"Yeah, JJ. Stop~" I whined, teasing.

"Shut up, Y/N!" She says, I giggled at her, sipping my beer.

"Oh, come on. That sort of initiative is just begging to be punished." JJ says, the teens kept talking and laughing while the van drove away. We looked outside while we drove past the rich peoples houses, taking in the smell of Figure Eight.

-------

"Nice hail, dude." JJ says as John B dumps the fish, Kiara cringes.

"Ugh, John B." She sighed at him,

"Look at that." I smirked.

"Been all bait for, like, three weeks." JJ says. John B tosses a fish at him, which he caught and hung it in front of my face, I laughed and smacked it away, the dish going back in the water.

JJ, one in about as local as people come, latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta holding salt lifers who made their living off the water. Probably the best surfer out of all of them, I come in at a super close second. The dudes a kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat.

When Kiara's not saving turtles or listening to Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with the group, we call ourselves the Pogues. Nobodies sure why though, she's a rich kid actually, she's got a foot in both worlds. Her family owns 'The Wreck', which is this Outer Banks institution. A total cash cow with the tourists. None of us are really sure how her parents feel about us, although a rumor goes around that the boys all have a thing for her.

Pope is the brains of the operation, a finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit scholarship and the smartest person any of us may know. He's a little bit of a weirdo, his fathers this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you want on the island, Heyward could get it for you. We're not really sure Heyward knows what to make of his oddball son, but it doesn't matter. He's a Pogue just like the rest of is.

I'm only other girl, John B's cousin, albeit adopted into the family, we don't actually consider ourselves to be actual family. I live with him, periodically I'll be with Kiara instead. I'm similar to JJ in behavior, a hardcore surfer, I like to smoke, play games and mess around. Often times, if you can find me, you can find JJ. There's not much that goes around about me, only that I'm a lot of trouble. I'm actually very smart, not as smart as Pope, but I make my intelligence known only through card games. I could definitely beat anyone in a card game.

"Hey, Mr. Sanchez! Good to see ya!" JJ calls out from the boat on the way back to John B'a place. At the house John B made his way back toward the living room, but not before peeking in a room of which had JJ in it with some random girl.

"Dude! Come on. Get outta here." He says, tossing a can at the door while John B closes it.

"Oh my god, is he at it with another girl." I asked him, drinking a cup of water and taking some meds for a huge headache that started coming up.

"Yep, looks like the same girl from last night." He says, walking past. "Good morning by the way, beautiful."

"Good morning." I grinned at him.

John B, also known as John Booker Routledge, the house him, me and JJ resided in, despite JJ not actually living there. He basically does with how much shit is in the house.

"Good morning, Kie." He says, walking by the pullout couch. The others had spent the night here in the shack.

It was an old fish shack on the marsh, The Château as John B's dad used to call it. His dad disappeared at sea nine months ago looking for a shipwreck. Honestly weird, who disappears at sea these days? There was his mom but she split when he was three, pretty sure last he heard of her, she was in Colorado. Then there was Uncle T, since John B's dad vanished he's supposed to be his legal guardian and my actual adopted guardian, at the moment he's actually not there, he's in Mississippi, building houses.

"Hey." He says to Pope who was outside on the sofa.

"Oy." He says, they do a handshake while John B keeps walking to who knows where.

Which meant it was just John B and I, on our own, hanging out with our friends. He went out to lay on the hammock. Three months after his dad went missing he was officially presumed dead. John B refused to sign the papers, he didn't believe his dad was dead so until he saw a body, he wouldn't give up.

"JJ! Keep her volume down!" I shouted to him from the kitchen, Kie snorted in the living room, I peeked through the window at the kitchen counter. "What's funny?" I smiled at her.

"You, trying to make JJ be quiet." She giggled, looking up at me.

"Oh, shut up." I laughed.

Later in that same day, John B walked up to me with his bag slung over his shoulder. "They know Uncle T's gone, they're gonna come to see him tomorrow." He says.

"Wha- bu- he's not here." I pointed out the obvious.

"No shit, they said if he's not here then they'll put us in foster care." He told me, I rolled my eyes and started walking to the group, knowing where they were.

"What are we gonna do." I ask him, he shrugs and sighs.

"I'll figure it out." He says, "I'll be over in a sec, I just need to think." He tells me, going over to sit on a sand dune while urging me toward the group of Pogues, I sighed and plopped down next to JJ.

"Whassup, dick." I said to him, and reached over to high five Kiara and Pope. "My lady and good sir." I grinned, they laughed softly. "How was your hit with the girl this morning, JJ." I teased him, making a moaning noise, Kiara and Pope started laughing and making moaning noises too.

"Cut it out-" he says, obviously not mad.

"Oh!~ JJ~!" I kept saying, Pope continued on the moaning while Kiara and I made kissing noises. Honestly, JJ seemed unbothered by it, as if he liked it.

"Seriously guys, you're on her side?" He says, making joking motions, Kiara pretends to think and Pope smiles.

"Yep!"

We kept teasing him throughout the evening until we got an alert about hurricane Agatha, which was headed directly for OBX.

JJ and I looked at one another, wide grins spread across our faces, John B came running over.

"Let's go surfing!" He shouted, JJ and I jumped up at this.

"You're on!" We shouted together at once.

---

"It's a double overhead out there, Bro!" John B says as we made our way to the water with our boards in arm and bathing suits on.

"Double overhead?" I glanced at him, standing on the sandune to get a look at it, Pope stood next to me and JJ actually ended up going home, he was forced to.

"Those aren't surfable waves, bro." Pope says, John B laughed.

"Says who?" He shouted, running toward the water and getting in. "Whoo!"

"He's crazy." I told him.

"Yeah, but so are you." He says, I nod. We just watched for the next few minutes while John B got thrown around by the waves.

"I'm going in, there's no way I'm missing out on this." I said, getting up and grabbing my board to run into the water.

[vanityfairness]

2022/2023 Stash Clean Out

I decided to do a separate post for this, as I have a lot of expired products and items that I just don’t use or want to use anymore. I will be splitting this into 3 sections: Expired, Expired/Old Products that I Dislike, and Expired/Old Products that I Liked. Expired products are products that I have never opened and just went past their expiration date.

Expired

1. The Face Shop Ink Graffi brush pen liner: 02 Ink Brown 2. the Saem Cover Perfection Tip Concealer: 01 Clear Beige   - This was one of my favourite concealer back in the day. I bought this as backup and never got to using this as I just started using my cushions to conceal as well. This was also very inexpensive and matched my skin tone well. 3. the Saem Cover Perfection Ideal Concealer Duo: 01 Clear Beige   - I bought this because it was the same concealer but had the tip and stick which I thought would be handy, but never got around to using it. 4. celimax Underarms Brightening Pad One Step Body Brightening Pad 5. innisfree Wrinkle Science Spot Treatment Marine Double-Defense 6. Banila Co. sun+fic prime primer 7. 107 beauty Velvet Lift Cream Essence 8. 107 beauty Everyday Plump Hydro Cream 9. 107 beauty Chaga Jelly Low pH Cleanser 10. A’pieu Icing Sweet Bar Sheet Mask: Melon 11. Juicyful Calming Energy Care Sensitive & Calming Mask: Hibiscus 12. Mizon Joyful Time Essence Mask: Green Tea Moisture & Vitality 13. Dr. Jart+ Peeling Solution Masks   - I only used 2 of these and kind of forgot about them. These were okay but I didn’t find that it really “exfoliated” more so chemically, but I saw/felt no difference.

Disliked Expired & Old Products

1. Garnier Fructis Style De-Constructed Beach Chic Texturizing Spray   - This made my hair feel kind of crispy but it did smell amazing and it did create the curls without heat 2. Peace Out Pores   - This just didn’t work at all, I saw no results compared to other ones 3. COSRX Snail Essence Sun SPF 50+ PA+++   - This was okay but not as good as the Aloe one 4. voir rhythm of the rain Calming Glacial Leave-In Scalp Serum 5. Anua 5-Zero Mild Sun Cream SPF 50+ PA++++ 6. essence extreme shine top coat 7. The Chemistry Brand Hand Chemistry   - This smelt kind of bad to me and it didn’t really moisturize my hands 8. Buxom Power Plump Lip Balm: Big O   - Was drying for my lips 9. Laniege Lip Glowy Balm: Pear 10. Kaja Mood Balm Color Change Lip Moisturizer: First Thing   - Was drying but did give a nice color 11. rom&nd Han All Lash Serum   - This irritated my eyes  12. all Natural Houttuynia Cordata Spot Solution   - Was an okay product but I have found something that does better 13. davines MINU hair mask   - This smells bad to me, to the point that I don’t want to use it anymore

Liked Expired & Old Products

1. Garnier Fructis Style Shine & Define Wax   - This was great when I had really short hair, pixie cut, and was really easy to use plus it smelled great 2. Tony Moly Mark Glitter Liquid Eye Shadow: 03 Moon Child Flash   - This was very pretty and the packaging is also really nice. Not sure if they still make this but I really liked it 3. A’Pieu Skinny Dual Mascara  4. Thank You Farmer Safe Sun Fluid age 0880 SPF 50+ PA++++   - I liked how this sunscreen applied and it was light-weight. I always had this in the back of my mind but I had to use other sunscreens before getting around to this one, which by the time I got to it was about 6 months before its expiry date 5. Hanyul Lip Balm: 03 Rice   - I liked how it applied and the color payoff was good too. It was moisturizing at times. 6. Laneige Water Drop Tinted Lip Balm: No.1 Pink Peach   - This was also another great lip balm with a light wash of color 7. Avance Lash Serum EX   - I started using lash serums when I started getting my lashes lifted and I stumbled upon this one which was pretty good. But I feel like a lot of the times these have more than enough product before it expires. But I only apply it at night. 8. mude inspire longlash curling mascara: Black 9. mude true eyelash serum   - This is my favourite lash serum and I have tried 3 other ones, but I just like this one the most so far. It is a little pricy, around $25-$30CAD. But I just like how the shape of the wand and plus I do see a difference in my lashes. Even my lash technician mentioned how my lashes seemed longer. 10. Maybelline Master Contour Face Contouring Kit: 10 Light to Medium   - I believe this was first ever face palette, I’ve wanted to declutter this on multiple rounds but couldn’t do it because it was a bit sentimental. However, it has gotten to the point that there is just so much fall out that I have to get rid of it and also to make room for possibly new items. But I really loved the highlight in the palette. The blush and bronzer weren’t bad but I prefer other ones more. 11. tarte Amazonia clay 12-hour blush: thankful   - This was part of the Sephora birthday gift. the quality and the color of the blush is great but it was a color that I never gravitated towards because it was too bright and pink for my liking. I think I may have another one that I’m just not ready to let go of yet. 12. By Wishtrend Mandelic Acid 5% Skin Prep Water   - This had like black stuff at the bottom, but I did get a while ago but it hasn’t reached its expiry yet and it was always stored in a place without sunlight. It’s sad that I wasn’t able to use this as this is one of my favourite products.

That comes down to about 38 items I’m getting rid of, which isn’t too bad for the year. I have noticed that I do not really use face masks that often, and I still do have a bunch in my stash which I should try to cycle through them.

[haikyuu-boys-headcanons]

𝙷𝙰𝙸𝙺𝚈𝚄𝚄 𝙱𝙾𝚈𝚂 - 𝙴𝙼𝙱𝙰𝚁𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚂𝙴𝚇 𝙼𝙾𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂

hehe, i’m back at it again with one of these long ass posts but this idea’s literally been in my head all day long so here you go !! obvious nsfw warning :)

tw: this whole post is just nsfw and embarrassing to read so read at your own risk >:)

𝙳𝙰𝙸𝙲𝙷𝙸 » during a super intense and loud session, his voice cracked as he asked you “does that feel goOD- good baby?” to this day, he still prays that you couldn’t hear him over the sound of your own moans

𝚂𝚄𝙶𝙰𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙰 » you were riding him and he went to slap your ass, but something went wrong either because you were riding too quickly or he was shaking too much, boy ended up slapping himself in the balls. you’ve never heard that boy scream that loud in your life

𝙰𝚂𝙰𝙷𝙸 » literally pulled out in the middle of sex to get up and rush to the corner of his room to flip around his childhood teddy bears. your just laying there with your tiddies and coochie out waiting for asahi to shield the eyes of mr. wiggles

𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙰𝙺𝙰 » you two were having pretty intense shower sex until tanaka did the number one thing your not supposed to do during shower sex; this muthafucker slipped while holding you. long story short, y’all were okay but just ended up having nasty shower floor sex??

𝙽𝙸𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙾𝚈𝙰 » this tiny ass 5′2 man was unconsciously humping your leg while you were both asleep?? his presumably pleasurable wet dream had turned into a sudden nightmare when you literally had to KICK him off you to stop the humping. bad nishinoya, bad!

𝙺𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚈𝙰𝙼𝙰 » came WAYYY too early inside you, but he was too embarrassed to say anything so he just... kept going. sadly, no one had warned kageyama of the intense effects of overstimulation. he was shaking and whimpering so badly behind you to the point where you had to ask him to pull out and bring him a glass of water to calm down

𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙰𝚃𝙰 » the first time you squirted on him, he just blatantly asked you these exact few words that left you feeling mortified: “did you just piss on me?” nuh uh hinata, this water fountain ain’t yours to drown in anymore >:( 

𝚃𝚂𝚄𝙺𝙸𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙼𝙰 » kei was hitting it from the back pretty hard this time, so hard that you were suddenly... on an angle? suddenly, now you two were much closer to the floor than before. the bed ended up collapsing, yes literally collapsing due to kei’s powerful thrusts. worst part is, nobody got to finish since kei dragged you to ikea to grumpily buy a new bedframe. but hey, he bought you ikea meatballs; that shit hits so different

𝚈𝙰𝙼𝙰𝙶𝚄𝙲𝙷𝙸 » one super duper intense night, he passed out the SECOND he came. no matter how much you flicked the temple of his forehead, yamaguchi was dead asleep. you had to literally slap him awake to get him to clean up, you ain’t risking a ranky stanky UTI puthy in the morning

𝙾𝙸𝙺𝙰𝚆𝙰 » kept calling himself a sex machine during the act. i don’t know if it was due to the 6 tequila shots he had beforehand or just his inner ego revealing, whatever it was it was about to make your pussy close

𝙸𝚆𝙰𝚉𝚄𝙼𝙸 » this one time, he kept going in at a weird angle which caused you to repeatedly queef for 7 minutes straight. every time you told him to pull out and go in properly, he laughed and kept going in at that one weird angle!! was your embarrassment a turn on for him?? maybe!! but were you mortified? absolutely!!

𝙼𝙰𝚃𝚃𝚂𝚄𝙽 » i’m sorry to have to be the one to announce this, but this man had the worst case of full blown bush you’ve ever seen. like, he didn’t even try to manscape or anything at all. you ended up begging him to trim just a tiny bit because you weren’t gonna risk choking on a pube whilst your going down on him

𝙷𝙰𝙽𝙰𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙸 » rubbed your left labia thinking it was your clit. and he kept doing that. the whole. fucking. time. even when you subtly moved his fingers towards your clit, he just kept going back to the left lip.

𝙺𝚄𝙽𝙸𝙼𝙸 » had the most dry and dull dirty talk you’ve ever heard. like, it’s not even dirty talk at this point; it’s just clean talk. there’s no passion when he talks! he uses the same tone he would use for anyone else at any other moment. to paint the picture, imagine riding kunimi and he’s just there with a furrowed expression like “yup, that feels really good”

𝙺𝚈𝙾𝚃𝙰𝙽𝙸 » tried to pull one of those unexpected anal scenes that he saw from a porno, without telling you beforehand. life lesson here; if you party at shit's house, don't be surprised if shit's at the party

𝙺𝚄𝚁𝙾𝙾 » you two were looking to get a little more kinky in terms of BDSM, so kuroo watched like 30 tutorials on youtube on how to safely tie you up so you won’t fall or anything. this bitch ended up tying rope knots that were practically impossible to undo, which resulted in you hanging from the ceiling for approximately 2 hours pussy-ass naked while kuroo tried to cut you down with a kitchen knife

𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙼𝙰 » wanted to spice things up with some dirty talk, like the real nasty talk they use in pornos but not the normal pornos; the shitty company ones with horrific acting. he really ended up announcing that he was going to “fuck your fucking fanny off, you twat”

𝙻𝙴𝚅 » got super excited while he was opening the lube since he hadn’t gotten to fuck you in a WHILE, which resulted the lube leaked everywhere and a giant 6′5 man slipping and hitting his head on the bed frame. worst part is; he had to go to the ER with a hard on that refused to go away

𝙱𝙾𝙺𝚄𝚃𝙾 » speaking of boners that wouldn’t go away, let’s not forget that one time bokuto took two viagras when you texted him to come over for a special occasion. he horribly misinterpreted the ‘special occasion’ text, because he showed up to your house with a huge buldge in his pants as your parents stand before him holding anniversary cards, completely horrified

𝙰𝙺𝙰𝙰𝚂𝙷𝙸 » wanted to make valentines day sex as romantic as he could, so he did the classic lighting candles and giving roses. everything was beautiful, until he accidently knocked one of the bigger candles over during missionary. this not only caused a huge ass fire in your bedroom, but he came right as the fire began to spread. boy was debating on whether his orgasm was to die for or not

𝙺𝙾𝙽𝙾𝙷𝙰 » had a nose bleed when he was going down on you and you both were immediately horrified, you thinking it was your period and him thinking he just ate coochie blood. yet as you went to go clean up, you realized his face had much more blood on it than your coochie did. to this day, he still blames it on your period 

𝚄𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙹𝙸𝙼𝙰 » threw you onto the bed and your head went through the wall. he didn’t even bother to ask you if you were okay, he just sighed and went “well, now i have to make a call to the construction guy. excuse me” and he left you and your concussed ass head sit there once again, pussy ass naked

𝚃𝙴𝙽𝙳𝙾𝚄 » during a blowjob, he held your head down right as he was coming causing the cum to shoot up your throat and somehow pour out of your nose. by the time he pulled out, he could barely breath from laughing at you. sure, the classic ‘milk shooting out of nose’ thing was funny at first until you got a sinus infection and had to breath out of your mouth for the next three days

𝚂𝙴𝙼𝙸 » always insists having sex in the most inconvenient places?? like he would pull you to side while grocery shopping and start grinding up against you as you pick which brand of cheese would be better??

𝙶𝙾𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙺𝙸 » he kept getting frustrated that his bangs were clouding his field of vision, so he irritably grabbed a hair tie and frantically tied up the sides of his bangs while he was fucking you. you immediately burst out laughing since he looked exactly like boo from monsters inc. 

𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚄𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙼𝙰 » got so drunk that he ended up fucking the couch. like he was just there on top of you, and his dick was just sliding between the folds of the leather couch. you decided to let him finish like that

𝚂𝙰𝙺𝚄𝚂𝙰 » had a really bad reaction to one of the products he used while shaving and ended up getting super irritated down there so he kept having to pull out in-between thrusts to itch his crotch. to make things worse, you joking suggested that he looked like he had syphilis and he got so disgusted at the idea of that thought that he literally had to pull out and take a breather 

𝙾𝚂𝙰𝙼𝚄 » drizzled ‘warm’ chocolate down your chest and was about to seductively lick it off until you screamed in pain and horror as the chocolate was literally burning your skin off. osamu panicked, obviously not knowing what to do if chocolate was burning his partners skin off so he just... frantically licked it off. you still had to go to the ER afterwards to get treated for mild burns

𝙰𝚂𝚃𝚄𝙼𝚄 » didn’t know what a hymen was until the first time he tried to have sex with you. no matter how much he tried to shove his schlong in, it really just wasn’t working + “yer puss is broken”

𝚂𝚄𝙽𝙰 » pinched your nipples so fucking hard to the point where you started crying. he thoughts these were tears of pleasure until you literally had to kick him off you. but hey, he gave you ice for your sore nipples and mcdonalds! what more could a girl possibly want :)

uh the end lol

also, this idea was inspired by the first haikyuu headcanon i ever read, “awkward sex moments” by @bbytetsu <3

[kuroopaisen]

brat || gojou satoru

➵ gojou wants you to pay attention to him. and no, he doesn’t care about how annoying he’s being. 

wc: 2k

warnings: gn!reader, gojou is Annoying, mild spoilers i guess? 

a/n: hi welcome to my gojou brainrot i would like to escape and yet i cannot,,, will i deliver more mindless fanfic? who knows! 

You sigh, turning the page of your book with an exhausted kind of resignation. Had you even comprehended what’s in the last paragraph? Or had you just let your eyes gloss over it, admiring the shape of the letters without actually taking any of them in?

Reading a book isn’t so difficult under normal circumstances; sure, you’ve got your own concentration to wrestle with, but that’s an (occasionally) tameable beast.

The man sprawled on the couch next to you, however, is not.

“Are you done yet?” Gojou hums, sticking his legs straight up in the air.

“I’ll be done sooner if you shut up,” you mumble, starting from the top of the page for what feels like the thirty-second time in the past five minutes.

Gojou’s not handling the boredom well. He’s spent the past five minutes cycling between humming Danse Macabre in an octave too high to be comfortable while swinging his legs in circles and poking your cheek as he crouches next to you on his knees.

“You’re the one who said I could come over,” he chirps, completely unfazed by your words.

“I never said that,” you mumble.

It’s not a lie. Earlier today, Gojou’d asked if you were going out tonight. You’d said no. He’d decided to take that as permission to crash at your place.

Although the onus is at least a little on you; he has a habit of doing things like this. You’ve got to be one step ahead of him if you want to win against him on a petty debate like that.

A head of white hair wriggles its way onto your lap.

“Satoru?”

“Hm?”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m bored,” he hums.

That much is obvious. But you know it’s not that simple; he’s bored, yes, but more importantly, he wants your attention. Even your chest flutters at that.

“You’re a grown man,” you smile. “Entertain yourself.”

A well-worn coquettish smile plays on his lips. “I can’t tell if you’re being lewd or not.”

You slap his chest.

“Ow!” He gasps, placing a hand over his heart. “I can’t believe you’d be so cruel to me!”

“Then stop being annoying.”

“I’d like to think I’m ‘charmingly playful’.”

“Do you take constructive criticism?” You tilt your head at him, biting back a smile.

“I would,” he muses, “if I weren’t already perfect.”

“That ego of yours is going to get you into serious trouble one day,” you grin, flicking his forehead gently.

He lets you, grinning back. “Ah, but you see, my dear,” he hums, grabbing your hand before you draw it away and lacing your fingers with his. It’s a bit of an awkward angle, but you don’t mind.

“I’m simply stating the truth.”

“Well, the truth hurts,” you mutter, “so it’s no surprise no-one wants to hear you gassing yourself up.”

Gojou laughs. His hair tickles your inner thighs and you’re almost convinced to give in. But it wouldn’t be good form to feed his ego after chiding him for it.

You’re well-aware his ego’s already gotten him in trouble – many times, in fact. But Gojou seems to have a way of wheedling his way out of anything.

And, of course, you know that his ego doesn’t come from nowhere.

Doesn’t stop it from being annoying, though. The fact it’s at least partially well-founded makes it worse.

You take a deep breath, turning your attention back to this blasted book. Gojou will just have to wait.

“Why are you even reading that brick?” He muses, tapping the bottom of the book’s spine with one long finger. “You look bored out of your mind. And, you’ve been on the same page for the past five minutes.”

“You know,” you tilt your head to the side, a sour look on your face. “‘Adult stuff.’ Upskilling and all that.”

“Ah,” Gojou grins. “Career work.”

“Mhm,” you sigh. “And some of us can’t just learn on the job.”

Although, you ponder, the thought blurred with gentle melancholy, some of us aren’t constantly risking our lives.

Gojou always tells you not to worry; he’s the strongest jujutsu sorcerer there is, after all. But even that’s not enough to lull you into an uneasy sleep, to bring you warmth when your bed is cold.

You’re never truly at ease until you feel him slip into your bed in the early hours of the morning, his arms slinking around your waist and pulling you towards him. It’s like clockwork how he buries his head in your shoulder as every muscle in his body relaxes. He always thinks you’re asleep – and honestly, it’s easier to let him keep believing that.

What you’ve got isn’t exactly a ‘relationship’. At least, not in the most traditional sense of the word. Gojou’s never pretended to offer you that. But it’s not so simple as a ‘friends-with-benefits’ arrangement.

Gojou Satoru doesn’t suit the domestic. But he relishes in it, the same way a child might enjoy playing at high tea with little plastic teacups and cupcakes made of playdough. Some might find this frustrating – the idea of existing in this grey, a dark, nebulous unknown stippled with moments of affection and vulnerability.

But there’s still comfort in it; a sense of understanding, a place to let loose and relax. Being part of this world is hard. It’s so cruel – sending children out to fight things they barely comprehend, letting them suffer and even die. And what do they have to show for it? A future of doing the same thing while also having to navigate just how shit the world of sorcerers truly is?

Why aren’t more of your colleagues angry about this? One counsellor isn’t enough to maintain the wellbeing of these children. Do the higher-ups even care? Well, you know the answer to that question – it’s enough to make you want to throttle each and every one of them—

“Hey.”

You clatter back to earth, met by a pair of electric blue eyes. It’s easy to forget just how striking they are; it’s like they can stare right into your very core, laying out secrets you never even knew you had.

“Hm?” You blink at him. You can’t risk him knowing you’re worried. He doesn’t stand for that sort of thing; he’ll just tease you for being concerned about him. Though, you’re well-aware that he enjoys being doted on.

“You’re spacing out,” he smiles. “Again.”

Sure, he sounds like he’s joking. But even he can’t disguise that little flash in his eyes, the slight tension in his face. It’s the same expression he has when he talks about that new student of his.

Gojou understands you better than you’d like. Every little tell, every tiny hint towards what you’re actually thinking. It’s near impossible to hide anything from him; it’s irritating, really.

But, at least he’s got the decency to leave the direction of the conversation in your hands.

You weigh it for a moment, deciding how exactly to respond. Should you play it off and throw his brattiness back in his face? Or should you pry open that conversation like the doors of an old temple?

Today’s not the day. Neither of you are ready for that.

You stick your tongue out at him. Perhaps it’s not how an adult should behave, but you don’t care. Neither does Gojou.

“I think,” he sighs, plucking the book out of your hands and tossing it across the room, “it’s time you took a break.”

You yelp a moment too late, watching your book slap against the wall and flop to the floor. It’s only a paperback – thank God – but you’re not ready to fix another dent in the wall caused by the force of mayhem known as Gojou Satoru.

“And I have been waiting long enough,” he grins, wrapping his arms around your neck and launching forward.

“Satoru—”

It’s too late. He’s got you pinned beneath him – and not in a sexy way. All six feet and three inches of him is laid flat on top of you, your face smothered by his chest.

You punch his side weakly.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” he laughs.

“Fine,” you try to say. All you get is a mouthful of Gojou’s shirt. You slip your hands up said shirt and tickle his sides.

“Hey, hey, hey—” He splutters, grabbing at your wrists.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” You smirk, continuing your assault.

Gojou whines, propping himself up by his palms and arching his back like a cat in an attempt to shake you off.

“Get back here,” you grin, lifting your torso in response.

His arms are immediately wrapped around you, pinning your own arms to your sides. You yelp in surprise, finding yourself laid gently against the couch with your face pressed against his neck.

“Much better,” Gojou chuckles, still on top of you as he nestles his head into your shoulder.

It’s not the most comfortable position, but that’s rarely a priority when it comes to Gojou. You wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t just his way of goading you into relocating to your bed for ease of cuddling (although you have your doubts that it’s the only thing on his mind).

“You want attention that bad, huh?” You chuckle, pressing a gentle kiss to his neck.

“Mhm,” he smirks, bringing his head up to get a proper look at you. “I’m a busy man, you know. I don’t think you’re appreciating my free time enough.”

“And yet, you never seem to leave my damn house,” you muse. “I’m starting to think you don’t actually have a job.”

Gojou laughs, leaning down and kissing you properly.

“That’s not an answer,” you say against his lips.

He ignores you, taking the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth.

You sigh, conceding. His lips are so soft yet so persistent, somehow both desperate and playful. He’s aggravatingly good at this sort of thing – before Gojou, you didn’t really understand what it meant to be a ‘good kisser’. But of course, he manages to excel at this, too. And annoyingly enough, he’d been right to brag about it.  

He brings one hand up to cup your cheek and moves another down to your waist. It’s a surprisingly chaste move for him, but you don’t mind. You tangle your own hands in his hair, resisting the urge to tug it. If you do that, you’ll officially lose any chance of getting more reading done tonight. Although your ability to focus on anything other than him is waning quickly.

When Gojou pulls back, he’s got that look in his eyes. The one that always makes your cheeks flush, makes your heart feel a little lighter. The one that almost makes you say something stupid.

Thank God you always have your wits about you.

“You get five minutes,” you sigh. “And then you’ve got to let me finish the chapter I’m on, okay? Then I’m all yours.”

Gojou’s grin blossoms with delight.

He slots himself beneath your chin and rests his cheek against your chest. A hand snakes around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

You smile, propping your chin on the top of his head and wrapping your arms around him.

Despite all his big talk, his irksome demeanour, even his obnoxious height, Gojou Satoru loves to be held.

You always oblige. He never asks – that’s too close to admitting weakness.

But you understand. He needs this. Sometimes he just wants to be tended to.

Being let in like this is an honour. He’s letting you be part of his life, despite his grand plans. Plans that, when he’d told you them, shifted your whole understanding of him.

Gojou represents change.

You have to have faith in him. You have to believe he’ll make good on his promises and turn the sorcerer world on its head. It’s no easy burden; and despite what he claims, even he falters in the face of something so monumental.

But despite all that, he’s still him. He hasn’t let the weight of his goals crush him; at least, not entirely. He finds the little joys, indulges in mundane delights, sees the humour in things.

Gojou Satoru wants to change the world, but he still lets himself be a part of it.

Perhaps that’s why it’s so easy to love him.

Even if he can’t offer the stability and promise of a stable relationship.

Even if he’s a little brat.

[mythicamagic]

"You couldn't handle me even if I came with instructions."

Okay, curiosity got the better of me, and even though there are so many good prompts to choose, I settled with this one. There is no telling which way it will go, but it sounds amusing! Have fun! ^_^

Decided to do something different with this involving mind reading, hope you like.

----

Becoming privy to Sesshoumaru's thoughts happened about as unexpectedly as one would think. Having returned from the future after three years, Kagome had figured the amount of weirdness in her life would scale back a bit. The jewel was gone, and everyone was enjoying their 'happily ever afters' so surely she could finally gain some semblance of normalcy in the past, right?

'Irritating…'

Kagome shifted, sneaking a glance at the Daiyoukai as he sat at the base of a tree. His voice resounded inside her mind, seemingly without his knowledge or consent. He was eyeing something flitting about mid-air. A fly, she suspected.

Golden eyes shifted, slit pupils keen. A hand blurred, catching the thing between forefinger and thumb.

'Die.'

Green light shone out from between his fingers, successfully killing his 'prey.'

Kagome supposed it was somewhat comforting to know that his thoughts were about the same as whatever words he deigned to speak aloud. The psychic ability she'd gained only applied to Sesshoumaru, and had happened one random day when she'd been fighting a demon.

Between one moment and the next- a presence had warmed her side as he'd deflected an attack meant for her. This had resulted in sharp, static red youki swallowing their forms briefly- Sesshoumaru's energy rushing through her system. It had stolen Kagome's breath and sent her heart thundering.

A second later, she'd started hearing his thoughts. Most startling of all, they'd begun with something completely unexpected;

'I will keep you safe, foolish miko.'

Biting her lip, Kagome snuck another glance at him- only to find Sesshoumaru gazing back. Squeaking, she focused on her forgotten work, roughly weaving a basket with a little more force than necessary.

"Are you alright, Kagome?" Sango asked, sitting beside her on the grassy hill as they prepared a few herbs and useful things for Kaede.

"Fine! Totally f-"

'Her scent is erratic, yet the woman continues to sneak glances at me. How odd. Is she becoming interested in this one? It is long overdue.'

"What?" Kagome questioned out loud, feeling Sango’s perplexed stare. The heat of another pair of eyes warmed the nape of her neck.

'Hn, I have not sensed her pine for the Half Breed in many months after their breakup. It is possible she is looking for another male. The miko is not promiscuous enough to trifle with me. She requires...a lasting bond.'

Biting her lip, Kagome's eyes burned with want to look at him again.

'Could I keep a miko? She is not like others. They usually despise my kind- and I do not care for them. But this bratty, fiery woman has proven herself through her dealings with the Jewel and the Spider. Mn...the thought of having her should not stir my blood so,' he sighed in her mind. 'Perhaps once I accept my interest in her, the vivid fantasies will stop.'

What fantasies? she wondered.

Kagome really should not have asked, because somehow a lewd mental image of herself was projected from his head directly into her gawking brain.

Standing quickly, skirts swaying about her thighs- Kagome forced a smile. "I-I forgot to do something earlier! Sorry Sango, I'll finish up with you later."

Hurrying down the hill, she stiffened upon hearing a silky voice trail after her inside her mind.

'Why is she leaving? This is unacceptable. She takes her mouth-watering scent with her,' he seemed to pause contemplatively. 'Must your retreating form be so pleasing to the eye, Kagome?'

Kagome flushed red, feeling the urge to cover her ass while running from the unexpected thoughts. However, she kept her hands at her side- a weird thrill of excitement racing down her spine.

Like a radio broadcast sounding out from a speaker- the further she ran, the dimmer his velvety voice became.

---

Emerging from Kaede's hut a few days later, Kagome fussed with her new clothing. Miko robes felt somewhat uncomfortable, but Kaede had insisted she at least try getting used to wearing them for a few days.

She honestly couldn't imagine walking around in such garments as a permanent uniform. They reminded her too much of someone else.

'No.'

Kagome jerked, freezing in place and pretending to fiddle with her collar, trying to secretly glance around for the elusive Daiyouaki.

'...Those robes do not suit her. What's more- her light scent is muddied with unnecessary feelings. Those clothes make you self-conscious, do they not, miko? Take them off.'

Blinking, Kagome's heart warmed slightly inside her chest. He could read her so easily? He...cared about how she felt?

"And those pants cover her long legs. Disgusting. You are the one who forced me into appreciating a woman's thighs, miko. Bare them to me again.'

Hissing a short breath through her teeth, Kagome whipped her head to one side- spying Sesshoumaru lingering by a hut about 40 yards away. He stiffened, blatantly surprised she'd pinpointed his location so easily.

'Could she sense me?'

Blushing, Kagome cleared her throat and gave a slight wave, before disappearing back inside the hut. She wanted to test something, and the fluttering inside her lower stomach was getting too prominent to ignore.

---

Stepping out after a quick wardrobe change, Kagome pretended not to notice him again, fiddling with her cute modern outfit. She felt more at ease in her home wear, and the voice in her head seemed to agree.

'That is much better…' Sesshoumaru's tone slid into that of curiosity. 'You feel mischievous, miko? Now why is that? I sense your fluttering excitement.'

Raised her arms above her head nonchalantly, Kagome arched her back as she stretched.

'What…?' the thinness of his tone almost made her grin ferally. 'What...are those?'

Kagome had never intended to wear them. In fact, she'd stuffed them deep inside the depths of her backpack because Yuka, Eri and Ayumi had taken it upon themselves to buy her something 'sexy' for her bad boyfriend and Souta had innocently walked into her room one day while she was packing. She hadn't had the heart to tell her friends she'd broken up with Inuyasha a long while ago.

She had no need for black lacy thigh highs, complete with suspender garter belts resting enticingly on her thighs. Or at least, she hadn't until today. Kagome stretched with a little more exaggeration, letting out a breathy sigh as her pleated skirt hitched up, exposing more of her toned legs to his gaze.

A terribly loud noise deafened her hearing like a clap of rumbling thunder, heralding a storm. Kagome realised a little belatedly that it hadn't been contained to the privacy of Sesshoumaru's mind- the growl rippling through the space between them.

He stood much closer than expected, golden eyes pinning her in place.

"Oh- hi there, Sesshoumaru," Kagome hid her surprise behind a smile. "Something wrong?"

The Daiyoukai's burning, orange eyes searched her face. Slowly, they dimmed back into gold, as he realised there was nothing appropriate he could say.

'Do you know what you are doing, little minx? Or are you completely unaware of how badly I desire those thighs wrapped around my waist?'

"Nothing," he said out loud, face completely devoid of expression.

Kagome arched a brow. He had a damn good poker face.

"Well...okay," she lifted a shoulder, taking a few steps away. "But you know, if something was bothering you, it would be better all round to just tell me. I'm not a mind reader."

Mild intrigue flickered. "I do not think you would appreciate knowing my innermost thoughts."

"Try me."

Sesshoumaru's lips curved, his blank expression cracking into something more honest and imperfect. Human, almost, in its raw appetite- the demon circling around her slowly like a predator. "The dark hungering of an inuyoukai is not something that pure and pretty miko's could stomach," he uttered.

Kagome took a breath, keeping to her bravado. Because if she didn't keep her courage, the thoughts she'd heard so clearly inside her mind would remain exactly that- formless. Never touching reality.

And that felt like a shame.

"Maybe not all of them could, but I've journeyed across Japan with a perverted con-artist and been kidnapped by dark and terrible demons much bigger than you," she hummed, keeping eye contact. "And I'm not promiscuous or anything, but I'm not a prude either. Given the right person, even I can get a little...hungry."

She heard a sharp in-take of breath. Sesshoumaru stopped, lingering in close proximity as his voice dropped into something downright sinful. "How surprising."

Kagome lifted a shoulder. "Not really, but judging by your hesitancy to share anything on your mind- maybe my 'dark hungering' would be too much for you."

Golden eyes flashed. "Preposterous."

"No, no- I think it's true," she gave an impish smile. "You couldn't handle me even if I came with instructions."

This seemed to snap his carefully constructed facade of control. Sesshoumaru's claws snapped out, fingers trembling as they gripped her hair. A fierce breeze lashed around them as Kagome realised he'd collected white energy around their forms- speeding them out of sight into the lush forest. Away from the safety of witnesses. None could save her now.

Sesshoumaru bore down over her, neck craned, mouth hovering close. It was sharp teeth that brushed her parted lips first.

'I will have you- strange, enticing, annoying woman.'

Kagome shuddered, blue eyes darkened as her thighs rubbed together. Her hands met silken robes, gliding up into silky hair as his arm swooped down, hooking beneath her knees.

While their lips crashed together and Sesshoumaru held her aloft- Kagome smiled and wordlessly obliged by wrapping her thighs around his lean waist, giggling as the taciturn demon inwardly purred.

[wasabito]

thank you to @sparkexplosive and @vs-redemption for beta reading it for me! merry christmas & happy holidays everyone ♥️

➽ synopsis: being a member of the royal guard is a grueling and thankless job, so you decide to remind katsuki a little of what it’s like to be young again—what better way to do that than with some healthy competition.

➽ word count: 1.7k

➽ tags: fluff, budding romance, royalty au, childhood friends

➽ author’s note: i had a ton of fun participating in my first ever secret santa!! this is my gift-fic to the lovely @katsushimaa​ hope you enjoy, yssa!

"So, this is where the hell you've been hiding?"

His voice tore through the midday stillness like a blade, equal parts raspy and gruff. He sounded irritated and mildly fatigued. Not that Katsuki Bakugou would ever admit to being anything less than a hundred and ten percent. He climbed off his steed, heavy boots crunching under the weight of his feet, and secured his horse against the stump you were leaning on.

You flipped the page of your book, not sparing the man even a cursory glance. You would prefer to keep your attention occupied by fictitious worlds, warriors, and battles fought in the name of love and justice.

It was much easier to allow yourself to become the bearer of fictional hardships, because at least they could be solved through a well-constructed plot with each turn of a page, as opposed to the realities of your actual life, a slow spiraling disaster in comparison.

Bakugou stood in front of you, vein ticking on his throat with every clench of his jaw. His arms were crossed tight over his chest, red gaze pinned on your hunched form. He wasn't at all the kind of person anyone could easily ignore. His very presence demanded attention and drew eyes like a magnet.

Case in point, no matter how much you tried to ignore him, you simply couldn’t.

"Please tell me you aren't going to stand there the entire time. Take a hint will you." You went to turn another page, but Bakugou reached over and snatched the book from your hands with deft fingers and speed you couldn't hope to match.

"Give. It. Back."

"Nah, I don't think I will just yet." He sneered, thumbing through the pages. "I was told to bring your dumbass back to the estate, so that's exactly what the hell I'm 'bout to do."

You blew a puff of air from your lips, eyes blazing with a kind of defiance that only burned harder the more you glared at him. "Then I guess you'll just have to drag me back kicking and screaming."

Bakugou only smirked, teeth spread in a feral grin that sent a chill down your spine.

That had always been his intention.

Almost an hour later, you stood before your parents, clothes dusty, creased, and smudged from having been manhandled like a sack of flour before promptly dumped in front of your waiting audience.

A frown marred your delicate features as they began their lecture.

Your mind drifted elsewhere the more they reminded you of your lineage and that you were royalty and how it was imperative you behave as such. You’d heard it all before, known this for as long as you could remember. As the King and Queen of your home country, your parents never failed to emphasize the importance of keeping your every move in check because of the reputation you had to uphold.

Katsuki stood somewhere behind you, and although he stayed mostly silent, you could almost hear him grinding away at his molars. The King and Queen were taking turns subtly digging into him as well, implying that his incompetence was a stain upon the royal guard perfect record of achievements. If he couldn't keep you in line, what was the point of holding rank?

They annoyed him way more than they did you, but he dare not voice it, not if he wanted to keep his head attached to his shoulders. Far be it from him to send himself to the guillotine

You both were in for a long night.

“Honestly, this kind of behavior is unbecoming of someone of your status. What will our countrymen think if they see you roaming about unattended like a vagabond?” Your father stroked his beard as if waiting for a response. But everyone in the room knew he really just liked to hear himself talk.

He was no better than a machiavellian swindler in expensive robes. A puppet if you would.

The real leader of the land was your mother. After all, she had only married into the family, having been the daughter of a mere advisor with no royal blood. She spoke little, but her glare was more than enough to convey just what she was thinking.

By the end of the lecture, you felt like all of your energy had been sapped from you, but thankfully your parents left you to retreat into your bedroom for the remainder of the day. Bakugou escorted you, following close behind.

“You’re gonna do it again, aren’t ya?”

You paused, foot nearly catching against the carpeted floors of your bedroom. Fiddling with a piece of your hair, you shrugged. “...maybe.”

“You’re a huge idiot.” Bakugou shook his head with a low laugh.

A tiny smidgen of a grin danced on your lips as you considered him. He was your childhood friend. No one knew you better than he did. And he was also the guard most assigned to watch over you and keep you safe from harm.

Despite that, you’d come to notice how much he’d changed. He wasn’t the same Katsuki you grew up knowing and you missed him dearly. Occasions like this, where a part of his guard was let down, were becoming few and far between. There had to be something you could do.

“Let’s make a wager. If you can manage to find me, I’ll do one thing at your command.”

“Challenge accepted.” He reached into the folds of his uniform, pulled out your little novel, and slapped it right into your open palm. "No matter where you run off to, I'll find ya. Trust me on that, princess."

His eyes were like candles in the night, ignited by a spark of passion. Not a single lie could be detected.

"I won't make it easy on you, Katsuki, just so you know."

"Heh, you better not." He sniffed, tucking his hands into his uniform pockets. And with a final half-wave, he was gone.

In and around the capital city, winter had completely lost it's bite. The weather was tepid, swinging a mild breeze that coasted through the countryside. It was the sort of winter where one felt as if woolen clothing were worn more for comfort than necessity. In what should have been the chilliest part of the year, Bakugou found himself traversing one of the many beaches that hedged the southern peninsula.

After a full week following the challenge issued in your bedroom, Bakugou realized you were entirely too good at evading him or any of the other guards at the kingdom’s disposal, for that matter.

Day in and day out, he spent his shifts searching tirelessly for you, just to stumble upon you in the most random of places and only when you had wanted him to find you. The running score was six to five in your favor, but he was determined not to lose to you again.

And there you were, standing at the very edge of the shore, as if a mere thought had manifested you right before his very eyes. Your loose billowing dress of soft satin waved to him like a white flag of surrender in the air. He'd finally found you.

"Not gonna run off this time?"

"Nope! You won this round." Your cheeks creased in a smile.

Given the boots he'd worn, it was no surprise that his feet kept sinking into the sand. You said nothing as he toed off his shoes and socks, bare feet settling into the depths of warm, grainy sand.

He couldn’t help but feel more relaxed. Over the past few months, he’d found himself losing sight of his goals, caught in the dredges of the mundane and routine.

The cool waters lapped at both his and your feet, fizzing and bubbling, leaving behind traces of salt. You went further into the water’s touch, your back to him as the tides licked at the your calves. Even he had to admit, the view was a beautiful one, possibly even more so with you against the backdrop.

“I’m glad you found me,” you called over the cry of seagulls. “For a second, I was worried you’d lose this round.”

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Tch, as if I’d ever lose to you, princess.”

“Naturally.” You laughed.

“What the hell are we doing out here anyway?”

He knelt to roll up his pants, a mere moment away from following after you like always.

“I... really just wanted to show you the view. Do you remember when we used to come down here as kids? Remember how we used to dare each other to see who could go the farthest into the ocean?”

Of course he remembered. Those were some of his most cherished memories of his time spent with you before duty to the kingdom took precedent.

You reached a hand out to him, an open invitation. “I just thought you needed a little reminder of what that was like.”

For some reason, Katsuki was determined not to meet your gaze, scowling at some point on the horizon, until you came over and nudged him with your elbow. “It wouldn’t kill you to admit that I’m right.”

With a sigh, he reached over and tugged you into a hug. You snuggled close to his chest, gripping the back on his uniform. It may have been your imagination but you could’ve sworn you felt the soft press of lips against your temple.

“Thanks... you know... for everything.”

Beaming, you leaned back to get the full view of his heated cheeks.

“Of course, of course.”

There was something earnest in his eyes that told you no matter how far you went, or however far you traveled, he’d always be a step behind you. It sent your heart hammering in your ribcage. You were suddenly all too aware of the way he held you secure against him like he would never let go.

“What are you thinking, princess?”

You blinked owlishly, taken over by your feelings and mumbling a hushed. “Oh, nothing.” The two of you were just a royal and a guard, bound to one another by duty.

If there could be anything more than that...well, only time would tell.

[ibijau]

Futures Past pt14 / On AO3

three conversations as Nie Huaisang's time in Gusu comes to an end

Summer had finally come to an end, implacable heat replaced by a more pleasant warmth as the world took on new hues. It also meant that the final few exams of the year were fast approaching, though Nie Huaisang felt unconcerned. He’d been ordered to fail after all, not that he thought he could have succeeded even if he’d tried.

Comforted by that permission to not study, he was currently laying in the grass in the back hills of the Cloud Recesses, enjoying the afternoon sun. A history book, chosen for the promise of the many scandals it revealed about a past emperor’s reign, laid forgotten on his chest, Nie Huaisang having realised that the contents were far more serious than he felt like dealing with at the moment. At some other time he might have taken a nap, encouraged by the warmth, but he’d found it difficult to sleep since that visit of his future self a few days earlier.

Just as Nie Huaisang was about to pick up his book again, Su She finished his series of sword forms and came to lay on the grass as well. He was sweaty and looked tired, but appeared quite happy with himself. Su She had confessed that he’d made a real leap forward with his cultivation since teachers and other disciples stopped constantly putting him down, something for which Nie Huaisang felt as proud as if it had been his own progress.

They stayed silent for a while, just basking in the sun, enjoying that beautiful day, until Nie Huaisang found that his recent worries were too heavy on his chest and he had to share them.

“Su-xiong?”

Su She made a noise to signify he’d heard, but couldn’t be bothered to speak. He looked comfortable, and had closed his eyes as if he might succeed with the nap that eluded Nie Huaisang. It was almost a shame to ruin that.

“Do you think people can be so evil that nothing will redeem them?”

The silence changed around them. After a moment Su She sat up to get a look at Nie Huaisang. Finding him looking serious, Su She’s initial puzzlement quickly turned into mild irritation at being dragged into a discussion like that on such a pleasant afternoon.

“Gusu Lan’s principles state that…”

“Not you as a Lan disciple,” Nie Huaisang cut him with an impatient gesture. “You as a person. Do you think people can be so evil that there’s no going back for them, that nothing they could do or say would ever compensate for what they’ve done?”

Some of Su She’s irritation eased away, glad as always to be given a chance to voice an opinion that wasn’t that of his sect, and he laid down on the grass again.

“That’s a pretty intense question,” Su She said after a moment. “I guess there’s got to be a limit to what’s forgivable, yeah. I’m not the best to decide what that’d be though. I’ve been told I have an issue with holding grudges. But I think yeah, in general, there’s got to be a moment where a bad person becomes so bad there’s no going back and they just need to be eliminated.”

It wasn’t the answer Nie Huaisang had been hoping for, but it didn’t exactly surprise him either. He thought the same after all, if only because a person such as Wen Ruohan existed, proving to him that some people had to be beyond redemption.

“Then do you think…”

“What’s wrong with you today? Was this morning’s lecture about ethics again?”

“It was about the proper way to address people depending on family and allegiance links, and I fell asleep. No, this is something else. I’m just thinking about stuff lately.”

“Like good and evil? That must have been a pretty nasty nap you took.”

Nie Huaisang shrugged. “I just wonder what makes a person bad or good. Do you think some people can be bad from birth? Just, they’re born and they’re evil, and there’s no way they’re ever going to be anything but evil.”

It really bothered him, the things his future self had said during his last visit. About Lan Xichen, about Su She, but mostly the way he’d spoken of that Xue Yang boy, as if that child were no better than a cockroach needing to be squashed before it could proliferate.

“I think there’s definitely people who think that about some other people,” Su She said. “I’m pretty sure if you asked some of the other Lan disciples, they’d say I’m like that, just because I have a temper and I don’t hug their knees quite enough and I ask too many questions during some lessons. I guess it’s easier to hate someone if you tell yourself they’re the worst and they deserve it.”

“You’re not evil!” Nie Huaisang cried out, reaching out for his friend’s hand. “You’re not! I’ll fight anyone who says you are!”

Surprised by that outburst, Su She blinked a few times then snorted, pushing away Nie Huaisang’s hand.

“I appreciate it, but it didn’t go so well last time you tried to fight for my honour.”

“I’ll still fight all of them!”

Su She laughed, but appeared quite happy to hear that. Even now that other Lans gave him less of a hard time, he still liked being reminded that Nie Huaisang was on his side, just as he made sure Nie Huaisang knew the opposite was true as well.

That was why Nie Huaisang was telling him about his thoughts, rather than going to Lan Qiren or even Lan Xichen who surely might have more elaborate opinions on the matter of good and evil. Su She might not have read quite as much, but he was also less likely to judge Nie Huaisang for asking that kind of thing. Besides, since Su She’s opinions were often less polished, they felt more honest than if he’d quoted great thinkers of the past.

“But really, do you think a person can actually be evil from birth?” Nie Huaisang insisted when Su She had stopped laughing. “Like. Like a child, but they’re evil. Do you think that’s possible?”

Su She grabbed a strand of grass, and started twisting it between his fingers.

“Maybe. But like I said, people will mostly say that about someone they don’t like, or someone that doesn’t play by their rules, or else they’re not from a prestigious family and they’re just doing what they have to survive.”

He paused to pluck some more grass to play with, and started constructing a knot with it.

“I have a great-uncle I’ve never met,” Su She explained. “He owned a farm before he died where he worked hard, until there was a very bad drought and hard work wasn’t enough anymore. My grandfather often said that people called his brother evil because he did some bad things to feed his wife and children, and some of it really was pretty awful I guess. But nobody ever called evil the magistrate that wanted to force him to pay his taxes instead of buying food. My great-uncle was executed for his crimes and everyone said he’d always been evil and vicious even though they used to praise him as a good man before, but the magistrate got a promotion for making sure taxes were still paid and he got called virtuous. And that’s… I don’t know, I feel there’s something not right in that, you know?”

Nie Huaisang nodded, his eyes fixed on the grass knot that Su She wouldn't stop twisting between his fingers.

His older self had said that this Xue Yang he had to kill was an orphan, and a thief of some sort even though he was just ten.

It would be harder to be virtuous and noble for someone who didn’t have anyone to turn to. Nie Huaisang had his whole family behind him, all the education anyone could have, he knew about ethics and rules, and he still found it hard sometimes to make the right choices. He was too lazy and selfish to ever be really good, and apparently he wasn’t going to improve with age. So how could a child on his own, without books or wise elders, learn to be a good person, especially if like Nie Huaisang they’d been given a bad personality?

“Ok, I have another question.”

Su She sighed, and threw away his grass knot.

“Is it a weird one again?”

Nie Huaisang grimaced.

“Yeah, that one is pretty weird,” he admitted. “So, imagine there’s a very evil person. The most evil you can think of, but you don’t actually know them, it’s just that someone told you that person is very evil. And, for some reason, you’re given a chance to go back to when they were a little kid, and that person who told you this other guy is evil also tells you that you should take the chance and kill the evil person while he’s a kid to save other people. Would you do it, or would you try to… I don’t know, maybe try to make that kid grow up around better people so maybe he doesn’t turn out so bad?”

“Those questions are getting really specific.”

“Just answer. Do you think it’d be right to kill that kid?”

Su She fell silent for a moment.

“Do I trust the person who told me the kid will be evil later?”

Nie Huaisang considered that question.

“Yeah. I guess for the sake of the argument, you trust that person,” he said, even though he wasn’t quite sure how much he did trust his older self.

“And has the kid done anything evil yet?”

“No, but he’s done bad things. Maybe he stole some stuff. But also, he’s an orphan, you know?”

Su She sat up and gave his friend a sharp look.

“Really specific again. I guess… I guess it’d be wrong to kill him though. I mean, it’s like you said, why not try to put him in a better place instead? If he’s just a kid, and he hasn’t done anything bad yet… I don’t think it’s really fair to punish someone for something they haven’t even done yet.”

“Right? I think so too. People should get a chance before they’re punished. They’ve got to have a chance to learn!”

Su She nodded, but look more and more suspicious.

“So, is this all about someone in particular, or…”

“I’m just wondering stuff,” Nie Huaisang quickly said. The truth was too weird for anyone to ever believe, even if he tried to tell someone. Su She would just think he was crazy. Maybe he was, anyway. “I’ve got to think about something during boring lessons, right? I mean, don’t you start thinking about weird stuff too?”

“Sometimes I think about leaving the Cloud Recesses and creating my own sect when I’m bored,” Su She replied.

Nie Huaisang sat up, a grin on his face.

“Really? What would it be like?”

“Like Gusu Lan, but better,” Su She retorted with a smug smile. “And I’d get to sleep half a shichen later in the morning. You’re welcome to join us if you’d like, since you know how to play the guqin now. You can be my right hand man.”

Nie Huaisang’s grin only grew larger. It sounded like a delightful idea, and he eagerly dropped all his earlier thoughts about ethics and morality to instead make Su She talk about the sect of his dreams, until it was time for dinner.

-

That had to have been Lan Qiren’s most boring lecture to date. Quite the accomplishment, Nie Huaisang thought. Another accomplishment, and one far more impressive, was the fact that he’d managed to stay awake through all of it. It was really hard lately to pay attention, especially now that he didn’t need to. His grades during tests had been so consistently low that he couldn’t have passed even if he tried, so he really should have been allowed to skip those last few lessons and go have fun somewhere. He was going to hear all that stuff again in a year, wasn’t he?

If he hadn’t feared the Lans’ punishment methods, Nie Huaisang would have skipped all these stupid classes and ran off to Gusu for some fun.

If he hadn’t feared his brother’s wrath, he would also have stopped bothering with homework. But Lan Xichen had hinted to him, not unwisely, that Nie Mingjue might be a little less angry if he could be shown proof that his brother had really tried to learn. And considering the stunt Nie Huaisang was thinking of pulling with Xue Yang… 

So, Nie Huaisang had stayed awake in class, and he’d been handed back some previous homework with a grade so high he’d actually asked Lan Qiren if there hadn’t been a mistake. Lan Qiren had told him that if the grade didn’t please him, it was always possible to lower it, so Nie Huaisang had kept his mouth shut after that. 

The rest of the lesson had passed surprisingly fast after that, and soon enough Nie Huaisang was free again, with a whole afternoon ahead of him. He had new homework to deal with, sure, and it was something that would be graded again, but that didn’t feel urgent. Sadly, Su She had already warned that he wouldn’t be free to hang out that day, due to being allowed to go on a Night Hunt with some other Lan juniors, something he’d been very excited about. That meant Nie Huaisang would have to stay on his own, or go bother Lan Xichen. 

The second option felt surprisingly compelling, even though they’d already see each other in three days for his music lesson. Lan Xichen was sure to praise him for his good grade after all, and Nie Huaisang quite enjoyed being praised, as he’d discovered. If more people praised him, he might start feeling like doing something to deserve it.

Nie Huaisang had just decided he’d try to see if Lan Xichen had time for him when Jin Zixun grabbed him by the elbow and started pulling him away from everyone else.

"How come you had a good grade on that essay?" Jin Zixun asked with unwarranted suspicion.

Nie Huaisang, who had briefly wondered if he was going to get punched again and was getting ready to escape, relaxed and allowed the other boy to drag him away.

"I'm actually very smart, thanks." 

"You're only smart on homework and never on quizzes," Jin Zixun retorted. "Is your merchant friend helping you?" 

That earned him a light kick to the shin, which he didn’t appear to feel.

"Don’t call him that!” Nie Huaisang warned. “And, no, he's said he doesn't want to think about learning when we hang out."

"Then it's Lan gongzi who does your homework for you."

That hit a little too close. Stung in his pride, Nie Huaisang’s freed himself from Jin Zixun’s grip and stopped walking, arms crossed on his chest.

"He doesn't! He just corrects my drafts! And lately most of what's in my essays is all my own, actually! I only fail in quizzes because I panic and because I don't have enough time."

It was something he’d realised during his music lessons with Lan Xichen, actually. Nie Huaisang needed to do things at his own speed, or else he couldn’t do things at all. It wasn’t a problem with Lan Xichen who allowed him to take breaks and even have a snack if he struggled too much to focus, but Lan Qiren and the other teachers hadn’t taken it too well when he’d tried to eat candies during quizzes, or when he started doodling during an exam because it helped him focus. It also fell into deaf ears when he pleaded to be given a little more time when, by some random chance, he actually did know the answer to a question and had so much to say that the allotted time wasn’t enough.

By comparison, homework was easy. Especially when Lan Xichen allowed him to come into his room and work there while he dealt with his own work. The company of a studious person really helped. 

"Fine,” Jin Zixun said, grabbing his arm again. “Then you're going to help me with my essays. I’m just barely passing and if I don't get a good grade on the last set of homework, old man Lan is going to make me come back next year."

Jin Zixun started pulling again, but Nie Huaisang resisted this time.

"Why should I help you?" 

"Because your grades are so bad you're sure to be sent back next year, and then we'd be stuck together again." 

"I need to think. I don't care that much about being stuck with you. You're not the worst person I know." 

"I'm… not?" Jin Zixun asked, sounding so shocked that Nie Huaisang snorted.

"Not even close to it," Nie Huaisang assured him, thinking of his future self. With that point of comparison, a lot of people had become almost agreeable to him. 

"Oh. I'm not sure I have another argument in my favour," Jin Zixun admitted. "Usually that one is enough." 

Nie Huaisang snorted again. He could imagine that a lot of people would do whatever Jin Zixun asked of them, just so he’d stop talking to them for a little while. He was, after all, a complete prick, without skill or above average good looks to compensate. Still, Nie Huaisang felt a little sorry for him.

Besides, he was convinced that his future self would hate to see him waste time being nice to someone whom he didn’t deem useful, and that really sealed the deal.

"Okay I'll help,” he sighed, as if conceding to something that cost him a lot, when in truth he didn’t mind that much. “But only because I'm sorry for you."

"Hey!" 

"And I'm just helping,” Nie Huaisang warned. “You're still doing the actual work.”

“You’re just lazy,” Jin Zixun complained, pulling again on Nie Huaisang’s arm who, this time, willingly started to follow him toward the cabin where the Jin disciples stayed.

“I sure am,” Nie Huaisang agreed with a bright smile. “And I’m also thirsty, so let’s have tea while you work!”

Jin Zixun complained and grumbled and called him spoiled, but still did serve him what had to be the best tea he had on hand as they worked together.

-

A loud, discordant rang through the otherwise silent room until Nie Huaisang put down his hands on the guqin’s strings to silence it. His eyes prickled with tears yet unspilled. It was a simple enough melody, and he’d worked on it all week, wanting to surprise Lan Xichen with his progress by playing for him something they hadn't worked on together. Even the other Nie disciples, who fluctuated between indifference and annoyance at his new obsession with music, had praised him for playing it so well the night before.

But now he was there, in Lan Xichen’s room, trying to actually play that damn melody, and his fingers just refused to obey him.

“Give me another chance,” he begged, quickly pressing the back of his hand to one eye, just to make sure he hadn’t actually started crying. “I swear I can play it! I worked so hard on it, I’ll show you!”

“If you say you can play it, I believe you,” Lan Xichen replied. “You’ve had a rough day, it’s normal to be affected. Let’s put away the guqin for now and have some tea instead. It’ll do you good.”

When Lan Xichen got up and turned around to go boil water, Nie Huaisang felt a few tears of frustration fall on his cheek which he quickly wiped away. It was stupid, and it wasn’t fair, and he hated that things could impact him life that.

“It’s not like I thought I had any chance of passing anyway,” he hissed, hands clenching into fists. “I knew I was going to fail, it’s stupid that I’m upset about this!”

“Knowing something and actually experiencing it aren’t the same,” Lan Xichen replied. “It’s normal to be upset, Huaisang.”

Nie Huaisang shrugged, and wiped another tear. What did Lan Xichen know about failing anyway? He was always stupidly perfect, always did everything well, a favourite of every teacher, admired by all their peers, far more handsome than a boy of eighteen had any right to be, with a cultivation level that only Nie Mingjue, a freak of nature, could surpass. It was easy for Lan Xichen to say being upset was normal, when he’d probably never failed anything in his entire life.

By the time Lan Xichen returned to the table with a teapot and two glasses, Nie Huaisang was sulking, though thankfully he was too angry at himself to cry anymore. Lan Xichen took one look at him and went to fetch something else. He carefully put a little wooden box in front of Nie Huaisang, then started pouring tea for both of them.

“Take one,” Lan Xichen encouraged, nodding toward the box. “Take as many as you like, in fact. Just don’t tell anyone about them. I’m not supposed to have those.”

Intrigued, Nie Huaisang opened the box and discovered an array of cheap candies, which made Nie Huaisang grin against his will.

“What happened to the rules about avoiding unhealthy foods?”

“Wangji would have a fit,” Lan Xichen sighed, eyes glancing toward the door, as if just by mentioning his name, Lan Wangji might appear out of thin air to scold them. “But I know I can trust you to keep the secret.”

“No choice, you’ve made me an accomplice,” Nie Huaisang replied, grabbing one piece of candy. It was disgustingly sweet, almost making his jaw ache.

So he reached for another, his fingers briefly brushing against Lan Xichen who’d done the same. Nie Huaisang quickly removed his hand, startled at the sensation of warm skin.

“Lan gongzi, what if you adopted me as your new little brother?” Nie Huaisang suggested to try and pretend he hadn't had such a strong reaction just from an accidental touch. “I promise to be a very good didi. I will never get upset at you for wanting to have a little fun sometimes, and I’ll never denounce you to Lan Qiren either. And you will be my nice Lan-gege… ah ! Better yet, you'll be Xichen-ge! Always kind and patient, and you won’t mind at all that I’m bad at everything because I’m very sweet and funny.”

“A tempting offer,” Lan Xichen replied with an odd smile. “Wangji certainly never calls me ‘ge’ because he finds it too informal, whereas I think I quite like it, so I might adopt you just for that. But alas, Mingjue-xiong would be heartbroken if I stole his beloved brother from him, and so I must decline.”

Nie Huaisang took a sip of tea and sighed deeply.

“I don’t think he’ll mind at all. As it is, he might just disown me himself anyway.”

"Your brother will understand," Lan Xichen replied while taking another candy. "He'll be angry at first, but it won't last. If it worries you so much, I can write to him and tell him how hard you've been working. It's a shame homework doesn't count more toward passing, or I do think you'd be graduating."

Nie Huaisang shrugged. It was always like that: if he was good at something, it was always something which didn't matter. Even being skilled at music… what good was that to anyone, in the end? 

"What if he doesn't forgive me though?" 

"He will," Lan Xichen replied with confidence. "You are his precious little brother, I don't think he could ever stay mad at you very long." 

Nie Huaisang thought of his older self, so convinced that Nie Mingjue despised him, and sighed. 

"Maybe someday he'll get tired of forgiving me. Maybe someday I'll… maybe someday I'll do something that's too much," he muttered, thinking of his plan regarding Xue Yang. "I'll go too far, and then he'll hate me. And if he hates me, I'll…" 

"Your brother loves you," Lan Xichen said. "He loves you as much as you love him. I don't think there's anything in the world that could change that."

That sounded like a challenge. As it happened, Nie Huaisang had given that topic a lot of thought lately, and he'd reached a conclusion. 

"I can think of at least two things I could do that would make him hate me," he announced. 

"Is that so?" Lan Xichen asked with a smile, as if he really believed such a thing to be impossible. 

That gave Nie Huaisang some comfort. Lan Xichen was Nie Mingjue's best friend in the world, as close to him as he was to Su She. Lan Xichen had to know Nie Mingjue better than anyone else did, even if things were fated to start going bad between them someday. 

"I could betray him to Wen Ruohan," Nie Huaisang said. "He'd never forgive that." 

Lan Xichen took a sip of tea and nodded. 

"Not if you did it on purpose, no. But I also think it isn't in your nature to willingly side with his enemies, and he would forgive you if you were tricked into it." 

"Xichen-ge has a very high opinion of me, I feel undeserving." 

"I'm only stating the truth. Now, what's the other thing you think Mingjue-xiong wouldn't forgive?" 

"Marrying into Lanling Jin." 

Lan Xichen chortled. 

A real, honest to god, ugly laugh. He tried to hide it under a cough, but it was too late, Nie Huaisang had heard it and it delighted him. So even the ever perfect first jade of Gusu Lan could laugh like that! 

"Well? What do you think of that one?" 

"I think you're right this time," Lan Xichen agreed, still coughing. "It might be too much for him. In fact, I'll even say you'd deserve it." 

"What? Xichen-ge, how cruel!" Nie Huaisang lamented, one hand over his heart. "Maybe I’ve found my one true love, and…”

“So all Jin Zixun had to do was break your nose and now you want to marry him?”

“Oh that’s pushing the joke too far,” Nie Huaisang said with a grimace, quickly bringing one hand to his nose, following the bone with one finger to try and feel the break. “He’s not my type at all, and anyway we’re both brats, it wouldn’t work out at all. Still, in theory, if I were to marry into Lanling Jin…”

Lan Xichen only smiled more widely. 

“Would you, though?”

“Why not? There’s got to be a few that are decent. I mean, Zixun is occasionally almost tolerable, he can’t be the only one.”

“Oh, certainly there are some very fine people in that sect. I was talking more about the fact that you’d have to wear yellow for the rest of your life. Is that really something you could put up with?”

Thinking of the way those Jin disciples dressed, Nie Huaisang gasped and pressed both hands to his mouth to silence a cry of horror.

“That’s a good point! It’s not even a nice shade of yellow, either!" he cried out, trying to picture himself wearing it. It would be awful, he quickly decided. "I think it would wash out my complexion and make me look sickly. Maybe if it were a touch closer to brown, or even better a bit greenish, maybe I could consider it, but I really can’t marry into a sect that favours such a dreadful colour. I guess I’ll… why are you smiling?”

Lan Xichen, once more hiding his face behind his sleeve, turned away as if it might help dissimulate his grin. 

“Because you are quite funny," he chuckled. "I don’t think anyone else would consider it a deal-breaker for marriage that they don’t like another sect’s colour.”

“Easy for you to say, Xichen-ge, you’d look good in any hue! Some of us have to be careful!”

Lan Xichen lowered his hand, his face suddenly serious once more except for a certain glint in his eyes.

“Huaisang, you really sell yourself short sometimes. I think you’d look quite good in any colour,” he eagerly said, before breaking into a fit of giggles as he added: “Any colour except Jin yellow, that is.”

It wasn’t even that funny, Nie Huaisang thought as he started laughing too. But Lan Xichen’s unexpected hilarity was too contagious to be resisted, and he’d been feeling down all day, so he just went for it and enjoyed the moment. It took them ages to ever calm down.

When they did though, Lan Xichen suggested that perhaps Nie Huaisang might try again to play that song he’d practiced.

This time, he played it perfectly, better even than he’d ever done before.

[jeyramarie]

good life (pilot)- pogues x oc

summary: the pogues find a sunken boat in the middle of the marsh... what now?

wc: 5,331

a/n: i hope you guys like it! remember to let me or @themaddies-obx​ know if you wanna be in the taglist💛 happy reading everyone 🦋

The day was a bit cloudy when the pogues left the Chateau. JJ had mentioned something about a new kook house being built on Figure 8 and of course they had to go explore. The house didn't even have walls for the rooms yet, just columns. They explored every floor, JJ being the first one in the house. The kitchen counter looked freshly done, it even smelled like glue meaning that the marmol was recently glued there. Some of them went out to the terrace on the second floor and some stayed inside, exploring a bit more. Something was being built on the last floor which meant they had that giant ladder type thing. Of course, John B was the first one up there to step on the edge of the roof. He was drinking a beer while balancing on one foot which, after some time, made him stumble a bit.

“Don’t spill that beer. I’m not giving you another one.” the blonde boy shouted at the pogue while sipping from his beer and staring out at the ocean. 

That's JJ, my best friend since the third grade. He's about as local as they come. Latest in a long line of fishing, drinking, smuggling, vendetta-holding salt-lifers who made their living off the water. Second best surfer I know. Just don't tell him I said that. Mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat.

“Hey! Dude, don't drop the beer! It’s precious!” a blue eyed girl shouted from the bottom floor, sitting next to JJ, looking up while trying to shade the sun from her eye with her hands. 

Then we have Fallon, she’s basically a female version of JJ. Met her in the third grade too and JJ and I instantly befriended her. She’s a kook by blood but a full pogue by heart and mind. 100% a badass, best flirt on the island, and she’s the best surfer I know. A full-time troublemaker who doubles as a princess. 

“You want another one?” she asked JJ softly making him turn his head and look at her. Their eyes meeting, creating an infinite wave of blue. Both of their souls overflowing but none of them acknowledge that they’re soulmates. 

You see that weird look that they  just gave each other right now? Well that's a daily thing. You see, they’re madly in love with each other but they’re both too stubborn to actually admit it.

“That's what, a three-story fall to the deck? I’ll give you about a one-in-three chance of survival.” the brown eyed pogue stated out while playing with a power drill.

And that's Pope, the brains of the operation... finalist for the Lucas T. Vanderhorst Merit Scholarship. And the smartest person I know. Little bit of a weirdo. His father's this legendary character, Heyward. Anything you wanted on the island, Heyward could get for you. Now, I'm not sure Heyward knew what to make of his oddball son, but it didn't matter. He was a Pogue, just like the rest of us.

They started making jokes about shooting with the drill when two ladies from the pogue squad walked out. 

“They're gonna have Japanese toilets in there with towel warmers.” the curly haired pogue said leaning into one of the metal poles from the construction site.

And that's Kiara, or Kie, as we call her.When not saving turtles or listening to Marley, or getting a dolphin tattoo, she hangs out with us. I'm not really sure why, though. So, she's a rich kid, actually. Foot in both worlds.Her family owns The Wreck, this Outer Banks institution.Total cash cow with the tourists.You know, I'm not really sure how her parents feel about us. We all have a thing for her.

 “Yeah, I read somewhere that this used to be a turtle habitat.” the kook said, crossing her arms and looking at the boys, avoiding making eye contact with Fallon.

 Oh, that girl over there? That’s Kilani or as everybody calls her Lani. One of the nicest people I know. She’s the new kook in town that for some reason decided to be our friend. Not sure why but I’m not complaining. Her and Fallon aren't on the best terms right now but we’ll sprinkle some of that pogue magic on that. 

“But who cares about the turles, I guess?” Kie said rolling her eyes and moving closer to the boys to look up at John B.

John B dropped the beer can which resulted in Fallon and JJ scolding him for a few seconds. It all quickly ended when Pope interrupted the conversation.

“Hey guys? Security is here!” he said leaning over the terrace railing a bit to be able to look down at the side of the driveway. He turns to the guys and starts walking toward them. 

“Let’s wrap this up.” 

“Boys are early today.” JJ said looking up at John B, avoiding Fallon. 

“Humpty dumpty, let's roll!” he exclaimed, pulling his knees to his chest and turning around to stand up. 

“Let’s go boys” Kie said as they all got down from where they were. Everyone started running down the stairs to the twinkie. 

“Gary, is that you?” JJ shouted, making Lani giggle as she ran across the porch. 

“Get down!” the man shouted, getting out of the car and walking towards the house.

“It’s me, Gary!” the blonde shouted again running behind the rest of the teens. They all ran inside the house trying not to trip over boards and tools that were on the floor. Luckily the stairs that led to the first floor was opened giving them the perfect opportunity to run away from Gary. They made it to the backyard, where the guard already was, and started running around the columns around the room. JJ crashed into Gary, almost getting caught but he quickly got away from his grip and made his way to the gate that led to the front of the house. Everyone was in the twinkie already, except JJ and Pope. The brown eyed pogue jumped over the fence immediately falling on his face, he's not that athletic. Then JJ jumped, landing perfectly on his feet, then instantly helping Pope stand up.

“Get up, Pope, fatso’s coming.” he laughed and kept running with Pope next to him, getting closer to the van. 

“Come on, boys!” Lani shouted, sticking her head out of the front seat. John B drove to them while Kie held the door open as the boys jumped into the van. Gary made it close to the van and started running, attempting to catch them. 

“Hey, hey! Hey, hey!” the guard shouted, running behind the van. He kept running after the teens, sweating through his shirt and panting like he was about to faint. 

“Check out Gary, gunnin for a raise.” Pope laughed with Fallon while they both stared out the back window. 

“Come on Gary!” JJ shouted, sticking his head out the door. He quickly had an idea and turned his head to John B with a playful smirk. 

“Wait, slow down.” of course the pogue did, making the sweaty guard closer to them. 

“You’re gonna give him a heart attack.” Kie laughed while looking at John B and Lani. As Gary got closer, JJ stuck himself out of the van a bit more and started shouting encouraging things to him so he could run faster to grab the pogue was holding out. 

“JJ, JJ, stop, stop.” Fallon laughed, pulling him into the twinkie making him look at her for a while in complete adoration as everyone else laughed about what happened. Lani leaned to the front and turned on the radio looking for her favorite radio station, which is Kie’s favorite. 

The ride to the Chateau was smooth, filled with laughs and bad singing from JJ. They pulled up at the house and Lani got out first to open the back seat door. Fallon got out first and stumbled, almost crashing into the kook. 

“Get out of the way.” she said harshly, making Lani step back while looking down at the ground, feeling her anxiety creep up. Fallon made her way towards the dock while everyone else got out not paying attention to the situation. Until, John B walked around the van to wrap his arm around Lani’s shoulder making her look up at him. 

“Don’t worry about her, she’s just trying to scare you.” he said, giving her a sad smile and walking to the rest of the pogues. Lani was the last one on the boat so it was hard for her to find a safe spot to sit at. The last one was next to Fallon, it made her anxious but she already knew that when it was time to go she’s gonna be the first one on the boat. She made her way next to Fallon which caused the pogue to look up from her phone and stare at the kook, like she was invading her territory. 

“Um…why are you sitting next to me? This boat is big enough.” the pogue said with an irritated expression. 

“There’s nowhere else to sit.” Lani said softly, pulling her knees to her chest. 

“Well I'm sure someone else would tolerate your presence.” Fallon said crossing her arms over her chest and rolling her eyes. The kook hugged her legs tighter and looked to the side of the boat towards the water, ignoring everyone’s sad eyes. “Hey princess, I’m gonna do a trick for you.” JJ called out to Fallon, making her smile and roll her eyes playfully at the boy. 

JJ stood up and took a beer out of the cooler.

He walked to the front of the boat, perched his feet up and told John B to go faster. The pogue then brought the beer bottle to his mouth and tilted it, letting all the beer fly out. Everyone was laughing, Kie complained about the liquid getting into her hair when the boat came to an abrupt stop. JJ flew to the water and everyone else just jolted forward. They all recovered from the hit as Pope went to the front of the boat to see what had caused it. 

“Hey, guys. I think there’s a boat down there.” he said looking into the water, Lani was the closest to him so she stood up quickly and walked towards him, standing next to him. 

“Oh my god..” she whispered and turned back to Kie who was giving her a questioning look. 

“Guys, no, seriously. It’s a boat.” he rambled pointing at the water while the rest of the passengers of hms pogue stood up and walked to him. 

“Holy shit, he’s right. We have to go.” Kie blurted out quickly fiddling with her shorts to take them off. Lani and Fallon saw this and got rid of their clothing, staying in their bikinis. That caught JJ’s eye, of course, making him stare at the caramel haired color pogue as she dove into the water. The girls resurfaced and called John B and Pope who were still on the boat. They all swam underwater towards the boat, Lani was the more experienced swimmer so she swam a bit further and longer than the rest of the group. She saw something red, noticing it was a key tag she quickly picked it up and resurfaced. 

“Guys, I-I found a key.” she stuttered and held it up, showing the pogues. Fallon ripped it off her hands and quickly turned around, ignoring the kook. Lani let out a breath and swam to the back of the boat, climbing on to see the pogues raving over the key. She wrapped herself in her beach towel and sat down next to the wheel. John B and JJ debated over reporting the boat or going to the motel first. Of course, Pope said to report the boat, being the good citizen he is. Almost every OBX citizen was there complaining about their broken windows, flooded basements and fallen trees.

It was officially time for plan B, going to the motel. The ride there was smooth and full of arguments on who would go explore and who would stay on the boat being lookout. JJ and Fallon won the argument, leaving the rest of the pogues on the boat talking about the hurricane and the status of their houses. The blue eyed pogues made it to the second floor to continue to look for the room. Of course, JJ got bored so he decided to create some conversation with Fallon. 

“I notice how you treat Lani.” he said, running his hand through his hair. 

“Are we really gonna talk about this again?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah we are, especially when you told me you were gonna try-”

“Do you like her or something? Cause you sure as hell love to talk about her.” Fallon said cutting JJ off and raising her voice a bit. 

“Why do you have to get all defensive?” he said while pulling on her elbow, making her stop and turn to him.

“Because I don't like her, JJ. I don't like her and apparently she’s the only thing you wanna talk about. It's like you’re in love with her or something.” the pogue stated rolling her eyes and ripping her arm from JJ’s grip, making her way to the last room of the hall. 

“This is the room, it’s the number on the key.” Fallon said looking at JJ and looking around at her surroundings. The blonde pogue leaned to the door and knocked in a rhythmic sequence. 

“Housekeeping.” he said in his ‘girl’ voice making Fallon look at him and scoff, hiding her laughter. 

Back on the boat, the pogues were sharing a comfortable silence when a thought came into John B’s mind.

“Do you guys think they’ll admit their feelings one day?” he said squinting his eyes, due to the sun, causing the rest of his friends to look at him.

“I hope they do soon. That little game they have on is kind of annoying.” Kie chuckled leaning back onto her hands. 

“Wh-what game do they have exactly?” Lani asked, looking at John B while crossing her legs.

 “The famous ‘I’ve been in love with you since the third grade but I’m too scared to admit it’ game.” Pope said leaning against the control panel of the boat. 

“The third grade? You’ve got to be kidd- that's ridiculous!” the kook chuckled running her hand through her curls. Kie and Pope started a weird conversation about the environment when the sheriff car pulled up to the motel. 

“Um guys, the cops are here.” she said softly, moving her hair to one shoulder making the pogues look over to the car and quickly duck, trying to hide from the cops. 

“Why are you hiding?”

“Just get down!” Kie said with gritted teeth while pulling Lani down to her level.

“Someone has to go warn them.” John B whispered looking back and forth between Kie and Pope. They looked at each other and made their way to the side of the building while John B and Lani stayed back. They could see Kie and Pope having an argument and signalling JJ and Fallon about the cops. 

“What are they doing?” the kook whispered seeing how the pogues climb out of the motel room window and get extremely close to each other against the wall. 

They were trying really hard not to breathe too loudly, not to move yet all Fallon felt was JJ’s breath on her neck and surprisingly, she was feeling JJ Jr too. 

“Oh my god, please tell me that's a weed stash I’m feeling and not what I think it is JJ!” she whispered yelled at JJ while trying to take away the hair that fell on her face due to the strong wind.

“I’m sorry okay? You’re just really close to me right now and my need hasn’t been taken care of in a long time.” he whispered yelled back at her, making her roll her eyes.

“Oh please, you’re just fooling yourself. Can’t you keep it in your pants for one day, Maybank?” she rolled her eyes and ran her hand through her hair while trying to stay still. 

The cops finally left letting Fallon and JJ climb down from their hiding spot. The pogues made their way back to town to see that a dead body was found on the marsh. They returned to the Chateau with scary faces, mostly Lani who was quickly noticed by Fallon. 

“Can you chill the fuck out? I can feel your heartbeat all the way over here.” she blurted out making the kook look down and sit next to Kie. JJ looked at Fallon, giving her a look, making her roll her eyes and push on his shoulder playfully. 

“I hate you so much.” she laughed making him smile and wrap his arm around her shoulder. 

“We didn’t see anything, we didn’t hear anything okay?” Pope rambled walking into the Chateau porch. 

“Exactly, Pope is right. Deny, deny, deny.” JJ said playing around with his lighter. 

“Yeah definitely, we can’t let them track it back to us so the best thing would be to deny… deny everything.” Fallon said sitting on the arm of the chair JJ was standing next to.

“What if people start asking questions?” Lani asked, still shaking from before. 

“Oh my god, can you like not freak out for one minute? Why are you like this?” the caramel haired pogue shouted feeling annoyed and rolling her eyes at the kook. 

“Fallon, lay off a bit.” JJ whispered, making the pogue look at him. 

“Well maybe because we found a missing boat in the middle of the fucking marsh that can be involved in a murder!” the kook shouted standing up and walking out of the porch making her way to the dock. Fallon felt pissed that Lani had talked to her that way, making her throw off JJ’s arm from around her and stomp into the Chateau. The rest of the pogues stayed silent, looking at each other not fully processing Lani’s outburst. 

“I better go check on her.” Kie said softly and walked outside to the dock.

“Yeah, I’m gonna go check on Fal.” JJ muttered walking inside, leaving Pope and John B on the porch. 

Okay, you can’t understand the Outer Banks without understanding the boneyard. It’s kinda like a three-layer burrito. There’s us and our friends, the working-class derelicts. Then, there’s the kooks, the rich second-homers. They’re mostly from poncey-ass boarding schools, just rich trustafarian posers. Our natural enemies. And then, there are the tourons. Totally clueless. Here for a week on vacation with their families. Chum for the sharks. 

John B and JJ spent the day flirting with tourons all around the beach, handing beers to everyone. Kie and Pope making small talk with fellow pogues and some tourons. Fallon was making sure no girl made a move on JJ while Lani was sitting on a broken tree drinking her beer. 

“We are family!” JJ shouted drunkenly and stumbled off of the tree he was standing on. 

“JJ! Be careful.” Fallon said grabbing his arm, keeping him from falling. 

Kie walked towards her friends but stopped abruptly when she saw a particular person. The girl was sitting on top of a metal thing that was washed up to shore because of the storm. 

“What is she doing here?” Kie asked, grabbing John B’s attention making him turn to where his friend was looking. 

That’s Sarah Cameron. Kook princess. Kiara’s best friend in ninth grade, worst enemy tenth grade. I work on her dad’s boat, so, you know, I've seen her around.  

“What are you doing?” a blonde kook asked, getting closer to Sarah trying to get her down. 

Then that’s Topper, her not so pleasant boyfriend. He actually thinks that pogues were made to mow lawns. 

The night went on smoothly, no one threw up, Fallon didn't fight anyone. The boys were walking around while Kie and Lani talked about going surfing the day after when a familiar kook’s voice came out of nowhere. 

“Hey, let’s go.” a tall blue eyed kook said standing up from the fallen tree he was sitting on. 

That’s Rafe Cameron. Sarah’s older brother which makes him kook prince. He’s not the most likable person, at least to us. The only one who tolerates him is Fallon and she’s the only pogue he tolerates, we still don't understand why. 

JJ started walking towards them with a cup of beer which, of course, gained John B’s attention. 

“What are you doing?” the pogue asked while walking behind his friend. 

“Yo, what’s up?” he asked again, trying to get JJ’s attention. 

“I got this for you.” the blonde said getting closer to the kooks while extending his arm out offering them the beer. 

“Can I interest you in a tasty Milwaukee beverage?” JJ asked.

“No, thanks.” Sarah smiled, getting hair off her face.

“Is it not fancy enough for you?” JJ retorted laughing.

“No, we were just leaving-”

“You know what? I’ll take it. Thank you, man. I appreciate it.” Topper said, interrupting Sarah and reached for the cup JJ was holding.

“That’s nice, but I didn't ask you. If you said pretty please, maybe, but you didn’t.” Fallon heard JJ’s voice raise a bit which caught her attention making her walk toward her friends.

“What’s going on here?” she asked looking at her friends and then at Rafe. 

“Nothing, everything's fine.” the kook prince said dryly looking at the girl and then the pogues.

“She said she doesn't want it, you-” Topper said while hitting the cup JJ was holding, making the cold beverage spill over his face and all over Fallon. Rage ran over the blonde pogue’s body making him hit Topper’s hand away and walk forward to push the kook. John B immediately stood in front of his friend and pushed him back. 

“What the fuck man?” Rafe shouted, shoving Topper back which of course made him confused.

“What the hell has gotten into you?” Sarah asked her brother with a confused expression while helping Topper recover from his stumble. 

“Be careful where you throw your shit.” the kook said angrily and turned to Fallon who was still wiping beer off of her face. 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah.. wasn't expecting to be showered with beer but i’m fine.” she chuckled and smiled at the kook, making him smile too. Pope, Kie and Lani saw the commotion so they went over to the teens trying to figure out what was happening. JJ was being calmed by John B and Pope when Topper said something that was definitely another piece of wood into the fire. 

“Dirty pogues!” he shouted making John B abruptly turn around and longe himself onto the kook, pushing him back. The crowd around them gasped and murmured.

“John B.” Pope said, trying to get his attention.

“Hey! Hey, we were supposed to be incognito, remember?” JJ asked pulling John B towards him and Pope. Sarah was calling Topper over to her which he completely ignored while walking towards John B to punch him the face. The pogue flopped to the ground, into the ocean shore. Topper walked over to him and kicked him making the pogue roll onto his back in pain. The pogues were shouting and trying to make the kook break out of the haze he was in. 

“Hey, John B, don't make me drown like your dad, all right?” Topper said jokingly and kicked him again which made the pogue stand up to go to the kook and basically try and beat his ass. The guys started fighting, making the crowd chant ‘fight,fight’ repeatedly while their friends tried to make them stop.

“Stop, you guys!” Kie shouted while being held back by Pope who was also trying to make them break out of their trance. 

“Guys, come on. Please stop!” Lani shouted on the verge of a panic attack. 

JJ was encouraging the fight, while everyone else tried to make them stop. Topper rammed John B onto the ground and got on top of him. He wrapped his hands around his neck, pushing him into the water not letting him breath. Fallon who couldn't handle to see more of the fight, had an idea, she ran to JJ and leaned into his ear.

“Get the gun.” she whispered, making him smirk at her and turn around to look for the gun he had stolen from the motel room earlier. The pogue came back with the weapon and pushed it against Topper’s head, making him freeze. Everyone ran out of the beach but of course, the pogues stayed.

“Yeah, you know what that is.” he muttered making the kook stand up and turn around with his hands up.

“What the fuck man?” Rafe asked, looking at JJ and then at Fallon.

“JJ, put the gun down. Please..” Lani said, trying to stop him from making things worse. Topper turned to JJ who held a gun to his head.

“Okay, man just.. Please put it down.” the kook said shakingly, feeling scared for his life. JJ pushed Topper to the ground and turned to his friends.

“Kie,Fal, can you control your psycho friend, please?” Sarah shouted pointing at JJ with her hand, before the two female pogues could reply, the blonde boy pulled out the weapon again. 

“Okay, everyone listen up. Stay the hell off our side of the island!” he shouted and then pointed the gun to the sky, shooting at nothing. 

“JJ!” Lani shouted at the pogue and ran her hands through her hair.

“Are you crazy?!” Kie shouted, pushing JJ to turn to her. 

“You’re gonna make things worse!” Pope said waving his hands around, feeling anger course through him. Everything died down, the girls went home and the boys stayed at the chateau making sure John B woke up okay.

The morning, they all met up at a little shack that was next to the chateau to discuss the boat matter. 

“I think we should call it off..forget about everything. Peterkin told me she could help with DCS if we just stay out of the marsh.” John B said, gaining everyone’s attention, making them stop what they were doing. 

“A cop, John B. You believed a cop.” JJ said playing with a rock.

“All we have to do is stay out of the marsh… for a few days and she will help me. It doesn't help that your dumbass was the one to shoot a gun from a crime scene might I add. ” John B said leaning against a chair while one hand ran through his hair. Lani heard ‘gun’ and she quickly listed her head and lowered her sunglasses to look around at everyone’s reaction.

“You know what? I should’ve left Topper drown you.” 

“He was gonna drown me?”

“Yeah pretty much, have you seen your face?” JJ said while standing up and walking toward the shack. 

“Tell me some more, come on.”

“They’re always gonna win don't they? Kook vs pogues...and they always win.” the blonde boy said sitting next to Lani while playing with a curl sticking out of her bun. Fallon saw this and immediately rolled her eyes, turning her head to look somewhere else. She despised Lani and her brother-sister friendship with JJ. Then the conversation shifted to JJ trying to convince John B to basically steal scuba gear from the Cameron's boat. Not the best idea of course but it’s JJ… his ideas are never great. 

A few hours later, John B picked up the pogues and Lani on his dock and took them to where the sunken boat was. Kie and Lani sat at the front of the boat to check the oxygen tanks.

“This one’s empty.” the pogue said pushing it aside.

“And this one is a quarter full, that’s enough for one of us.” the kook said and pulled her knees to her chest. 

“Great you stole empty tanks…who knows how to dive?” Kie asked, pushing hair out of her face.

“Don’t even look at me.” Fallon said, crossing her arms.

“That’s more of a kook sport.” JJ said leaning against the driver’s panel. 

“I..I’ve read about it.” Pope sighed crossing his arms while leaning back in his chair. 

“Great, Pope read about it so someone’s gonna die.” Kie said looking back and forth at the boys making Lani chuckle. 

“Well, you put that thing in your mouth and breathe. How hard can that be?” JJ asked and scoffed not knowing what he was talking about.

“If you come up too fast the nitrogen gets into your blood and you get the bends.” Pope said looking at the pogue who of course wasn't understanding a thing. 

“Bends like, bend over and-” JJ said arching his back as he looked at Pope and Fallon.

“The bends kill you.”

“Oh.” JJ said quickly standing up straight. He moved his eyes to Fallon who was still looking at his ass which made him turn around, breaking her trance. 

“You love it when I bend over don't you princess?” he asked teasingly, making a soft pink tint come onto her cheeks.

“In your dreams, Maybank. You’re disgusting.” she smiled, making him chuckle and wink at her, Then he turned back to his friends who were still deciding about who should dive.  

“I-I can dive.” John B said running his hand through his hair.

“Since when can you dive?” Fallon asked scratching the side of her nose looking at the pogue in confusion.

“Since now.” Everyone moved on to listen to Pope calculating how long John B should be underwater, how much time and air he has to be able to search most parts of the boat. Fallon quickly had an idea making her walk to the front of the boat, gaining everyone’s attention, she took off her Queen t-shirt and dove in the water leaving everyone in silence.

“Uum...what was that?” Lani asked, pointing at the water while looking at the pogues.

“I don't know but I liked it..a lot.” JJ muttered not taking his eyes off of where Fallon had dove into. She came back to the surface and swam towards the boat.

“I tied my shirt to the anchor chain, it’s 10 feet down, that’s your safe point.” she said a bit loud while swimming. They went over the calculations again and put John B into his gear. Pope explained how to do it, how to breathe, where he could see the level of oxygen and how much time he had. The pogue dove in, leaving everyone else in silence and nervousness. Everything was going smoothly until the sheriff boat came into view. 

“Guys, the cops are here.” Lani said feeling her hands start to shake. 

“Okay calm the fuck down. Just…let me do the talking.” Fallon said fixing her wet hair and straightening her posture. The sheriffs came by, checked out the boat and warned them about being in the marsh. Kie stayed next to Lani trying to calm her shaking hands so the cops wouldn’t notice. Pope looked at his watch and noticed that John N’s time ran out making his leg start bouncing up and down nervously.

 The cops finally left which made them jump up and run to the edge of the boat to look for their friend. He came to the surface making everyone let out a sigh of relief. John B threw a black duffel bag onto the boat making JJ cheer and make loud noises. 

They went back to the Chateau, getting onto the dock quickly putting the bag on the floor. Everyone got around John B as he opened the bag and found a metal cylinder. He unscrewed the cap and turned it upside down to let the object inside fall down to his hand. It was a compass.

good life taglist: @ilovefandoms102​ @agardenofbooks​ @cloverrover​

[synchlora]

several stories of tommys adventures in embroidery and mild (temporary) theft

bc i can't get them out of my head hhhh

back in the beginning of l'manburg, tubbo scraped up his knees a lot (a combination of young clumsiness and working on construction projects a 12 year old reasonably should not be allowed to) and, as you'd imagine, the knees on his pants got pretty ripped up. and while tommy was still honing his skills in sewing, he offered to stitch up some patches for his friend. the fabric the patches were made of didn't match the pants in the least and the thread was just a few shades too light in comparison to the color, the stitches spaced a bit too far apart, but they worked. and tommy, always one to add a flair to everything he does, used some extra green and purple thread he had to stitch some musical notes around the edges of each patch. tubbo has long since grown out of those jeans, but small musical notes still adorn various patches on his newer clothes. old habits die hard and so do nostalgic ones.

when fundy first came out, tommy wanted to do something special for him, something to make him smile. and so, he offered to sew up the old black jacket fundy never takes off. and while the fox boy was hesitant, he eventually conceded (after much pestering on tommys end) and tommy got to work on it. the jacket wasnt in too bad of shape, just needed more of a wash than anything. but for the parts that needed stitching, he used blues and oranges and pinks to patch it up. and along the front collar, he embroidered a bright trans flag. the colors weren't exact, it's not like he had many resources for new ones, but it was clear enough what the patch was. nowadays, when fundy is alone and feels (no, knows) he is forgotten, his claws absentmindedly drag across the now worn, soft patch that is fraying at the edges. and he doesn't know it actively, but somewhere deep in the back of his mind, he knows there is some love for him left out there yet.

the battle of manburg v pogtopia claimed all sorts of things, one of the more serious tragedies (/s) being jack manifolds signature blue-and-black hoodie. the damn thing was in tatters and tommy could not stand the sight of it, thinking through exactly how he could easily fix every time he saw it, if only jack would stop being so stubborn and let him sew it up. so tommy did the reasonable thing and stole it. the right sleeve was nearly disconnected from it and it was just torn up in general. and so he fixed it up with bright red thread, re-attaching the sleeve and darning a few singed holes in the fabric. and then he went about embroidering a circuit-like pattern that he'd seen jack work with before. he's not sure what any of it means, but whenever he sees wires and circuitry he thinks of jack. and right over his heart, he sewed sparks in golden thread erupting from the fabric. tommy returned the jacket in the middle of the night later on, keeping himself hidden while still ensuring the jacket made it's way back to its owner. jack never wore the jacket again.

in another feat of thievery, tommy stole nikis torn up cape for a bit. he imagined it'd only take him a day or two to fix up and then he'd be able to return it discreetly, no need for any fanfare or big, drawn out apologies (he HATES big drawn out apologies). but upon getting it, he quickly realized it'd take much more time than that. the cape had previously belonged to wilbur and that was quite evident in the deteriorating state of it. it was practically falling apart and he'd need more fabric if he was to even begin to fix it up. he chose a soft blue fabric to repair along the edges, intending to appear like calm ocean waves, though they turned out looking more like blue fire lapping at the edges. the other tears and small holes were fixed with some orange threads, and he decided a flair of some white tulips along the collar would accent it nicely. he returned it-- two weeks later than expected-- to a very pissed off niki. looks like a long, drawn out apology was due after all.

once, tubbo requested he fix up a vest of ranboo's that had gotten damaged from... well tubbo wouldn't say but the strange mix of burn holes and frantically cut slashes didn't clear up the history of the garment any more. still, as much as he wasn't entirely sure of ranboo at the time, he decided he was going to fix it for tubbo and tubbo only. he took out pink and blue thread to fix along the various tears. as strange as the damage was, he will admit it was quite easy to fix with such clean cuts to it, probably some of his best work. it was done a few days early and tommy sat stubbornly staring at the vest. as adamant as he'd been about not doing anything special for ranboo of all people (after all, he'd stolen his best friend, what'd he owe him?) tommy felt like the fabric was tragically empty. so he decided to compromise. and several months later during some insignificant moment doing some insignificant task, ranboo happened to glance a flash of purple in the corner of his eye. and he spotted several tiny, delicately sewn alliums inside the chest pocket of his vest.

wilbur was always a very dramatic person, feeling the need to not only narrate his actions with flair, but also to go about said actions with whimsy. whimsy that tended to get his clothes in a bit of a mess. just about every day, he'd come up to tommy with yet another new tear or hole in his clothes which tommy would endlessly feign irritation over before taking the garment and sitting around the fire with the rest of the small nations members and chat along as he sewed. wils old l'manburg outfit-- the casual one, the working jeans and leather jacket, soft with sun damage-- is covered in tiny embroidery work, random filigree designs, some shaky birds that gradually got more bird-like as tommy improved, even a small wing pattern sewn across the back of his jacket. every tear is sewn across in teal, the older rips faded to baby blue and the newer ones a bright cerulean. his old jacket is filled with stories, with love quite literally sewn through the fabric. but wilburs jacket from pogtopia is far more blank. it's sewn up, sure, but it's done with simple threads. basic sewing patterns in threads that match the fabric so well they practically blend in. if you know what tommys work looks like, it almost doesn't look like his. it's bare minimum, it's practical, and it's empty. but there is one single pattern that tommy has sewn onto it. it's a more recent addition, made since wilbur has... returned, for lack of a better word. a shakily sewn outline of a heart made in deep, indigo blue thread, it's weary pattern making it almost appear to be melting. wilburs not sure when tommy did it, but he's quite sure he knows where he got the thread. he cuts the knotted ends and tears the threads carefully from their place.

[a-barefoot-hobbit]

My Burlar

It all started with a sneeze.

Achoo!!

But since it was only a single sneeze, most of the Company murmured a low “gazoontite”, and carried on with their trek.

Then the coughing began. The initial throat clearing soon gave way to deep, wet-sounding coughs, and it became painfully clear.

Their burglar was sick.

*********

“Would you like a bit more tea?” offered Oin, holding out a small tin cup of warm liquid. The sun had only just emerged from behind the clouds; the end of the massive rainstorm that had just passed. And that was directly on the heels of them escaping from the goblin caves.

Bilba thought for a moment, chewing his lip. Then he nodded and took the mug with a low “Thank you,” that was pitched low in hopes that nobody would hear how congested he was.

The tea felt like heaven. Bilbo sipped it slowly, trying to savor each delicious, soothing drop for his scratchy throat. Up to this point, he’d tried to hide every sign of his illness from the rest of the company, not needing to give Thorin another reason to send him back. Though it’s a bit late to be sending me back anywhere, he mused.

He could feel the illness taking a toll on him, making his head spin and his limbs like rubber. Back in the Shire, he’d be taking a week to do nothing but sit in his comfortable armchair by the fire and doze. But he wasn’t in the Shire, and it wasn’t that bad.

**********

Thorin could tell that something was wrong with their burglar, but he just assumed it was exhaustion and low spirits from the goblin caves. It was nothing to waste time on. Until Oin made his way to the front and mentioned something about a sick hobbit, he’d barely given a second thought to it.

Even then, he dismissed the healer. Everyone had gotten a mild cold at some point on the journey—there was nothing to stop for.

Well, that is until the Hobbit decided to collapse.

**********

Bilbo could feel himself weakening. Even after the wonderful, incredible tea—he made a mental note to ask Oin for the recipe later—he felt like complete and utter garbage. Each step felt like his feet were encased in bricks, weighing him down and pulling him into the soil. And his head…ow.

Bilbo groaned. He could practically feel his head pulsing with each second, pounding on his skull.

He couldn’t let Thorin down again, he couldn’t give him a reason to send him back. He’d signed onto this quest and he wasn’t about to turn back now. So he kept plodding forward.

It was only when Fili clapped a worried hand on his shoulder that he lost his carefully maintained balance. The sudden added weight was just too much, and his knees buckled, sending him keeling over sideways.

**********

“Bilbo?!?” Fili called, panicked at the sight of their burglar now sprawled out flat on the ground. “Oh Mahal, I think I broke him.”

Kili smacked his brother and rushed over to help. After a few moments, he called Oin over to look. “I think he’s sick.”

“Sick enough to collapse?” asked Thorin, who had made his way to them.

“Well he’s more sick than I thought he was,” said Oin, checking Bilbo’s pulse and temperature.

“You knew?” Fili and Kili asked in unison.

“Like I said, I thought it was just a mild cold!”

“What if Hobbits get sicker than dwarves?”

“Well how would I know?!”

“He’s a member of the company, you’re supposed to know!”

Thorin took a deep breath. “Enough!!” he bellowed, knowing the conversation was quickly getting out of hand. They immediately quietly and stepped back to give Oin some room. “What’s the matter with my burglar, Oin?”

“He ah…. He seems to have a moderately severe fever. Most likely a bad cold of infection from the goblin caves that went untreated. Add those festering conditions to the fact that we’ve barely had a day without rain since we left and…” he trailed off, gesturing at the poor hobbit, “it’s no surprise he’s taken sick like this.”

“No surprise?!” cried Kili, “well why then didn’t you tell us?”

“If you’ll stop parroting my words,” Oin began, beginning to get irritated. “I can give him a cool wrap on his head for the fever, and then we’ll see if we can’t get some more tea in him.” He looked at Thorin a bit nervously. “We’d have to break for camp a few hours early.”

“Because a member of my company refused to let anyone know he was badly sick.”

“Yes. We really shouldn’t be moving him.”

“Fine.”

**********

When Bilbo awoke, it was to the bright morning light. Of course, it wasn’t very pleasant to him, and he winced at the stabbing behind his eyelids.

“Laddie? You awake yet?”

The question jarred the poor hobbit fully into wakefulness. “Unfortunately,” He grumbled.

“How do you feel?” asked the dwarf. Bilbo slowly cracked his eyes open to see a large mustache and hat hovering in his field of vision. Bofur always was infuriatingly chipper in the mornings.

“It’s because I’m usually awake,” Bofur chuckled lightly, laughter dancing in his eyes.

More than a bit mortified, Bilbo mumbled, “I said that out loud didn’t I.”

“Yep!” chirped Bofur, who then turned to the side. “I’d say he feels much better than yesterday. Already bringing out the snark too.”

Thorin let out a relieved sigh at those words. Though he didn’t want to admit it, he’d been quite worried when his burglar had collapsed like that. “Alright,” he nodded. Then to Oin, he asked “how much more rest does he need?”

Oin thought for a moment. “I’d just say maybe an hour or two to regain his strength.”

“But wouldn’t it be worse on his health for him to be traveling so soon?”

Bilbo rolled his eyes. “He is right here, and he has a name.”

The two dwarves at least had the sense to look apologetic, though it was clear that they were still worried.

“I’ll be quite alright to start travelling again now,” Bilbo hurried to continue. “I know I made you lose several hours of daylight yesterd—”

“Unacceptable,” Thorin cut him off, his eyes stern and brooking no argument. “You’ll stay here and rest for a few more hours until you regain your strength.”

“But I’m perfectly fine—”

Thorin just tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. Bilbo noticed a smirk hovering about the dwarf’s lips and knew there was no way he’d convince Thorin otherwise. But those lips did look…

A sudden blush rose up Bilbo’s neck and he had to deliberately avert his gaze, biting the inside of his cheek.

Thorin’s smirk became a playful smile. “Don’t ever think that I wouldn’t take care of my burglar.”

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

please let me know what you think!! This is my first posted writing here and constructive criticism and comments are ALWAYS welcome!!

[shutupandshipit]

Little Life - Ch.4

Summary:  A baby could ruin his career before it had even started. If anyone found out, he would be kicked out of the Hero Course at the very least and UA at the very worst. Even then, how was he supposed to care for a baby once it arrived? He was a fucking seventeen-year-old boy, not a twenty-nine-year-old omega with their shit at least somewhat together.

…..

Or where Katsuki get pregnant, but is determined to make it to graduation. No matter what it takes.

Pairing: Bakudeku

Rating: T (just for language mostly)

Chapter: 4/16

Previous <- Chapter 3

Chapter 5 -> Next

Master Post

Chapter 4: 2 Months

"Kacchan, are you making katsudon again?"

Katsuki started, and stepped back from the stove quickly as hot oil splashed onto the counter. He hadn't heard Izuku coming up, and that more than anything made him spin with a snarl. "Fucking hell, Deku, I'm working with hot oil! What made you think this was a great time to sneak up on me!"

"I wasn't trying to surprise you," Izuku explained quickly, hands up between them as Katsuki crowded his space, "I was just wondering. You've been eating katsudon a lot recently."

"So what?" Katsuki turned back to the stove if only to ignore his omega screaming at him to get closer. To press flush and scent his mate. To wrap himself up in Izuku's warmth. His omega needed to mind his own damn business.

"You never really liked katsudon..." Izuku trailed off, eyes roaming over him in a hot slide. Katsuki repressed a shiver. "You've been eating weird lately."

"Fuck you. You don't know my diet." Katsuki started serving the food with perfunctory movements onto two plates, his cheeks warming under Izuku's scrutiny. He had been eating weird combinations of food recently, and it was equally true that he hadn't really been trying to hide it. The cravings were just too hard to ignore when he finally got back from school to everything he needed to satisfy them right in the pantry.

"You were eating cucumbers topped with ice cream yesterday."

"What's your point?"

"You don't like ice cream."

"That's the weird part to you?" Katsuki shoved one of the plates into Izuku's chest, turning to take the other to a table. He scooted in, and started shoveling food into his mouth. When he'd been researching, the internet hadn't told him just how hungry he would be. He was hungry all of the time now. Only his willpower kept him from completely overeating. Granted, that didn't stop him from salivating over Sato's pastries until the teen offered him half anytime he brought out a snack now.

After a moment, Izuku followed and cautiously took the seat across from him. He glanced furtively around at their classmates, but no one was paying attention. Even if they were, their relationship wasn't any of their business to ask about.

Without looking up, Katsuki nudged his leg between Izuku's calves, and had to hold back the sigh of utter contentment that threatened to slip out. He bit the inside of his cheek when Izuku affectionately began to rub his leg back.

Izuku stilled as he took the first bite, eyes jerking up to Katsuki. He set his fork down. "Okay, no, really, Kacchan, what's going on?"

Katsuki leveled him with a harsh glare. "What the fuck is your damage now? If you don't want to eat it, don't. Just give it to Shitty Hair or some shit. Fuck." He was tired. He was tired of things not going right. Izuku was supposed to be his constant, but he should have known better. The universe wasn't so kind.

When he started to pull his leg back, Izuku's hooked his ankle around his calf.

"I'm not saying I don't want to eat it. It's good, Kacchan, like everything you cook, but it's not how you usually cook."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I can still feel my taste buds. It's very... mild. It's nothing how you usually cook." Izuku stared back at him with big green pleading eyes. "I'm worried about you."

Well, yeah, the food was mild. For the past couple weeks, any time Katsuki had eaten his normal level of spicy, he'd gotten raging heartburn. Even now, even with how mild he'd made his food, he could feel the acid beginning to rise. He'd had to cut back because he didn't want to be eating Anacids like he at the ginger candy he kept with him.

He couldn't very well tell Izuku that, especially because of the reason behind it. Well, he could, but then the nerd would give the whole game away without meaning to. Katsuki wasn't going to be the reason Izuku couldn't become a hero. If he was found out, he'd be the only one to get dropped.

"Don't."

"Kacchan-"

"Izuku," he said lowly, allowing his scent to unfurl like a blanket that had Izuku starting in surprise, "Leave it."

Sighing, Izuku lowered his head, scent tentatively leaking out around the edges of his control. "Okay, just... I'm here when you want to talk."

Allowing himself the barest moment of vulnerability, of wanting his alpha, his mate, he inhaled their mixing scents and said, "I know."

They finished eating in silence, wrapped in each others scents, ignoring all the looks being cut their way probably due to how harmoniously their scents were intermixing when normally they'd war for dominance. They did the dishes in silence, and without speaking, found their way to Katsuki's room. It was only when he opened his door that he remembered all of the Izuku's clothes that he'd been hoarding in the past weeks.

He'd started snatching a shirt here and there, beginning the construction of the nest he would keep their baby in. When they finally arrived that is. Most omegas didn't start building a nest until closer to the end of their third trimester, but it calmed him most days. He would arrange and rearrange the clothes to produce the most potent air of Izuku's scent that he could, and then he'd lay there basking in his creation. When he felt at his worst, he'd just dig out the biggest of the shirts to wear even though it was almost too small for him.

He stalled at the sight, mortified. He considered throwing Izuku out, but his omega was having none of that train of thought. He'd denied the both of them too much recently.

Izuku stopped, confusion clearing in a moment. "This is where all my clothes have gone?" he mumbled, staring at the nest, "That makes sense. Kacchan, are you..." He trailed off for a moment, cutting a glance at him. "Are you going into heat soon? You didn't have one last month."

God, Izuku didn't know how much he wished that were the reason."

"No, I just... wanted your scent." He turned his face as far away as he was able to hide the heating of his face.

"You could have just come to me," Izuku whispered gently, turning to face him, but he didn't return the look.

"No, I needed... this. It's the..." He tried to come up with a plausible reason, something that wasn't a complete lie, but wasn't the real truth. "The stress. Of everything. We're so close to graduating, but there's still a lot left."

Nodding thoughtfully, Izuku turned to look at the mess his bed had become. "Yeah, I get it. Can I... join you in your nest?"

'Yes. Please,' he thought emphatically, 'A thousand times yes.'

Instead of saying that, he climbed into the middle of his nest and laid down facing the wall. The bed dipped slowly with Izuku's weight before he curled around Katsuki and pressed his nose into the back of his neck. Immediately, his chest began to rumble.

'Mate. Alpha. Safe,' his omega sighed.

.....

Katsuki promptly threw Izuku out of his nest and bedroom the next morning, and his omega concurred vehemently. Now that they'd both been satiated and returned to equilibrium, drenched in their alpha's scent, his omega had decided that he didn't want Izuku anywhere near such a mess of a nest. They didn't even want him to look at it. Their nest had to be perfect the next time they let him climb in.

'No one wants omega who can't make proper nest,' his omega growled irritably in this chest, 'Must be perfect.'

He couldn't argue with his omega's logic even if he knew rationally that wasn't true in Izuku's case.

He left for school ungodly early, and grit his teeth as he stepped into the Support Courses workshop. A headache bloomed at the sight of Hatsume's nonstop movement, like she was sucking out every bit of energy and goodwill he'd cultivated over the night. For several long moments, he watched her flitter around erratically, wondering how long it would be before she noticed him.

When she just continued on with no idea he was there, he released a rather loud and aggravated growl.

Hatsume's pink head swung around, and she grinned manically at him. "Bakugou, morning! I haven't finished the upgrades to your-"

He cut her off. "Do you have material for armor? Something light and sturdy, but high strength? Something that can cover my entire torso or even just my stomach, but won't get in the way?"

She cocked her head, considering. It was like he could literally see the hamster sprinting on its wheel in her head. "You want armor? You've never asked for armor before."

"Yeah, well, shit changes."

Her manic grin returned full force. "I've got the perfect thing!"

They went back and forth for the better part of an hour before Hatsume finally pulled out something that would work for the time being. It was light weight, almost like Kevlar, but she explained the it had been made by another support student with a metal quirk. It was thin, almost like a shirt, and fit him snugly enough that it wouldn't be obvious under his hero uniform. He'd just have to be careful not to take a direct hit to the stomach while out on patrol or in training.

"I'll make you a new top for your hero uniform with material stronger than this, that way you don't have to double layer. You can take this with you for the time being though."

He stared down at the cloth in distaste. It smelled overwhelmingly of multiple alphas, and his hackles rose. He'd have to sneak it into Izuku's room or something for him to scent. He clutched it in his fingers like a lifeline, the final defense between his baby and the outside world. When he looked up at Hatsume's expectant, giddy eyes, he asked, "Can you double up the protection over the abdomen? I need extra protection there."

Her eyes flickered down for the briefest of moments, making him curl his lips defensively, before grinning from ear to ear. "That'll be a cinch. I'll have it ready with your other mods in say... two days?"

"Thanks," he said grudgingly before taking his leave to escape the strange omega. Shit, he really kind of hated talking to her. Sometimes he actually enjoyed talking shop with her, discussing mods and upgrades and new projects, but she was just too much. She was so energetic about everything, and he always left completely drained afterward.

He trudged to class, ready for another miserably long day.

[justjessame]

The Deal Chapter 62

I was only back in Alexandria for a day. One full day before more fucking insanity made its way into my worldview. While I had been at the camp, Negan had stopped eating. It had been a few days, and I was more than ready to go to him to try to talk some sense into his thick head, but was brought up short by his request.

He wanted to speak to Michonne. Michonne, who’d taken over Dad’s duties while he took more and more time at the bridge construction. Who was listening to and dealing with endless rounds of irritated community members, finding solutions to issues that weren’t really issues, and now who was going to be trying to get Negan to eat.

“You know Negan,” she tried to sooth me. “He’s bored and wants to renegotiate no doubt.” I nodded, trying to hide my disappointment. “Walk with me, and once I convince him to eat, you can visit. Seems like you have something you need to get off your chest.”

I did, actually. My emotions had been running high lately. And it hit me, as I rode back to Alexandria from the construction site, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had my period. When Daryl and I had been in charge of the Sanctuary, when we’d begun trying in earnest to start the family we’d put off for so long, I remembered the pregnancy test I’d seen in the infirmary when I’d first arrived with Negan. I found a cache of them and when we came back, giving up the running of Negan’s remaining group, I’d brought them along. Not all of them, but enough, should I have need.

And so, that morning, I’d taken one. Sure enough, the little plus sign had glowed bright telling me that Daryl and I had been successful. I had a tiny Dixon growing inside of me. I wasn’t planning on telling Negan that I was expecting, not before I told Daryl. Or Dad. Or Michonne. I did need to tell him we were planning to, trying to soften the blow. To get him ready for when I would tell him.

I walked along with her, reluctantly leaving Judith behind. “You gonna tell me what’s up?” She asked, giving me a sidelong glance as she carried Negan’s meal on a tray.

“Eventually.” I said, staring straight ahead and gathering my nerves. I sighed, fuck it. “I’m pregnant.”

I could see her smile beaming even with my eyes locked on the horizon. “That’s amazing news, Jessi.” I nodded, feeling my own smile blossom. “I didn’t know that you and Daryl were trying.”

“We decided that since everything seemed to be settling down-” I stopped, thinking about what, no who, lay ahead. “It was always something we wanted to do.”

She took my hand in one of hers, holding Negan’s lunch in the other. “This is a GOOD thing, Jessi.” I knew she was telling me this simply because in her mind, a baby with Daryl, our family finally beginning would hopefully pull me further from Negan. “Are you planning on telling him before Daryl?”

I shook my head. “No, but he needs to know that we’re planning on it.” I answered. I gave a humorless chuckle. “You might have to talk him into eating again, once he finds out.” We were outside Negan’s prison. “I’ll wait here.” I leaned against the wall holding his window, out of sight, but nearby in case Michonne needed me.

“It’ll be fine,” she reassured me, letting my hand go. “You’ll see.”

What I saw, or heard, was Negan breaking. He yearned for that fucking bat of his far more than I knew. To see it. To see HER. I heard something I hadn’t heard when I visited him. What I hadn’t noticed when Judith was between us. I heard the defeat in his voice. The pain. The fact that he’d given up or wanted to.

My visits, it seemed, meant nothing. Not only weren’t they enough, they weren’t even helpful. He didn’t ask for me. He didn’t beg for more time with ME. No, he needed and wanted the company of a piece of fucking wood.

I walked with Michonne back to the house. She seemed at a loss for anything to say, and didn’t seem surprised when I didn’t follow through with my visit. I had no doubt that she could read clearly on my face exactly how I felt. Crushed seemed too easy of a word. Too mild. I’d begged for his fucking life, and he wanted a ball bat.

Judith and Michonne were sitting at the bar and I’d just laid down when I heard a visitor. Coming out to see what was going on, I heard that Maggie had arrived. Glancing at my stepmother, I could tell that she wasn’t expecting this visit anymore than me. I picked up Judith and nodded at Michonne, we dropped my baby sister off at our version of daycare, and I found myself once again walking a far too familiar path.

Was I surprised that Maggie came to kill Negan? A bit. She had Glenn. She had Hershel. She had Hilltop. Yet, as I looked at the resolve in her eyes, I knew. I knew that she had become close to Sasha. She felt her loss, first of Abraham and then for Sasha’s own life, just as heavily as if Glenn had died. Maggie had lost so fucking much. Her stepmother, her stepbrother, her father, her sister, and countless others that we’d come to see as family.

Was I surprised that Michonne gave her the key to Negan’s cell? Not completely. I had been the one to beg for his life. My dad had given me that simple consultation because so had, in a way, Carl. Dad wasn’t here. And if I had to be honest, I’m not sure he’d have stopped her either. Daryl wouldn’t have.

Michonne waited with me, pacing the street as I leaned again near the window. And I listened as he begged to die. As he begged for the very death he talked me away from, as he pleaded to join Lucille. I felt a tear slip down my cheek, and I had finally had enough. Today was a wash for me. I was finished. I started walking back towards home when Dianne comes running and screaming about a shootout at camp.

Michonne, Maggie, Daryl, and our family arrive in time to see Dad on the other side of our newly constructed bridge, a horde closing in. I hit the one closest to him with an arrow as Daryl takes aim and shoots more. But it’s hopeless, even I can see it, if Michonne can’t. Even if she’s running with the others, I stay by Daryl, shooting as many as I can. Tears run down my face, because I see Dad’s nod, and I know, as he raises his gun what his plan is. And then it explodes. Fire and bodies, and I’m screaming and Daryl’s arms are around me turning me away as he watches the flames.

My heart’s breaking into a million pieces. Daddy. No. I’m sobbing as Daryl holds me. Trying to talk to me quietly, whispering, and walking me toward the trees.

Daryl, never very talkative, tells me that they learned who was luring the Saviors away. He’s trying to get my mind off of what I’d seen. Trying to divert the pain that is flashing through me in waves. Trying to keep me present, as though a diversion can make my pain lessen, as though it can put my heart back into one piece. The women from Oceanside had taken their vengeance. They’d killed the ones they could remember killing their men. I heard bits, but the reminder of the explosion that killed the first man I ever loved. A man that was my hero from my first breath. A man who no one would ever truly live up to, not even Daryl. My daddy was gone.

As Daryl held me, I told him. I told him what I’d wanted to share with both him and Dad. I told him that we had a baby on the way.

Daryl and Michonne can’t let Dad go. No body, no death. And so they search. And search. And search. Michonne manages to find Dad’s gun, offering it to me, but I shake my head emphatically. She puts it away, promising that Judith will have it when she’s old enough. That along with Dad’s hat, my little sister will keep gaining pieces of the family she’s lost. I wonder, idly, if one day she’ll have my bow, Michonne’s katana, and Daryl’s crossbow.

Michonne came to me not long after Dad was gone to tell me of a new hope. She’s pregnant. Apparently Daryl and I weren’t the only ones wanting to start a family. I can tell that she’s uncomfortable telling me. I’d have to be ignorant to not understand her discomfort. Dad was gone. Judith was my ONLY remaining family, or at least that’s what she thought.

“Michonne,” I smile and correct myself. “Mom, this is GOOD news.” Her answering smile shows her relief. Hugging her to me, I tell her how happy I am and that Judith is going to be an amazing big sister.

“She’s had you to learn from,” her whisper rustles my hair. “Of course she will.”

I’d gone back to visiting Negan. Dad was gone. My life was forever changed, and honestly, I wanted to keep at least some parts of who I was the same. I told him that Daryl and I were planning on starting a family.

“Planning?” He glanced down my body and I could have sworn he had x-ray vision. “Oh, sweetheart, I think you’ve done more than plan.”

I raised my chin in defiance. “At least I didn’t beg to die.” I saw a flash of pain cross his face. “Pretty fucking interesting, I BEG for your fucking life, only to have you want Maggie to end it.” I nod to myself. “Of course, being with Lucille, be it wooden or angel form must seem pretty like paradise compared to this.” I gesture around the cell.

“Jessi-” I shook my head. “Honey-” His hands reach through the bars trying to reach for me, but I step away.

“My dad’s gone. I’m pregnant with my first baby.” It’s barely above a whisper, but I know he can hear me. “Why am I down here with someone who doesn’t fucking care?”

“I care, Jessi.” His voice is as pleading as it had sounded when he’d begged Maggie to die. “I had a momentary fucking lapse.”

“I’ve got to go.” I whisper, moving toward the door. “Bye, Negan.”

I wish I could say I stopped visiting him. That between starting a family with Daryl and helping Michonne with Judith that I gave him up. I couldn’t. Or at least that’s how it seemed. Judith and I visited, me taking her along more as a barrier between us than anything. And I tried very very hard to pretend that he didn’t seem to take note of every single change that pregnancy brought to my body.

A new group arrived at our gate. Or at least part of a new group. Michonne, carrying her pregnancy weight far better than me, met them. Shock and amazement, she knew the woman who appeared to be their leader. A woman named Jocelyn.

[hailcyeon]

hiraeth | 08

When your cousin the Crown Prince calls in on a decade-old debt, you have no choice but to answer. You’re rewarded for your troubles with your nightmares finding new life, danger around every corner, and a fiendishly irritating bodyguard. As each new discovery unearths more secrets, you learn the true costs of your homecoming.

⇾ Pairing: Lee Jaehwan x Reader ⇾ Genre: Sci-Fi, Royal AU, Bodyguard AU ⇾ Word Count: 4.5k ⇾ Warnings: Mild swearing, descriptions of anxiety

He bores into your eyes with his gaze, and you think Hakyeon has more of his father in him than you remember. 

The next morning finds you in yet another unfamiliar apartment. Your legs are jelly descending the stairs, and the three-inch heels on your feet aren't helping. There's a railroad spike through your brain in the form of a migraine, all the while you fight the urge to rub your eyes so you don't ruin Sora's hard work. Hakyeon is already downstairs, dressed impeccably as ever in a navy suit. He adjusts his cuffs, looking up with a frown as he takes in your stiff expression. 

"Are you feeling okay? I told you to eat breakfast." 

The click of your heels on the tiled floor— somehow even shinier than the one in Hakyeon's other apartment — rings out loudly as you walk over. "Hakyeon, I will throw up on this very expensive dress if you make me eat." 

He purses his lips and gives you a disapproving look. "Forgive me for thinking you need a little nutrition beyond caffeine and painkillers." He runs his gaze up and down your form, inspecting Sora's work as his eyes look for even a single thread out of place.

"The third-degree is a little creepy, Hakyeon," you say in response, irritated and tired. You were dragged to this decoy apartment at an ungodly time to meet Sora. Two hours of hair, makeup, and wardrobe later, you still don't feel ready to face the public, let alone the King. You rub your temple gently as if to massage out your headache. The coffee and aspirin you'd downed first thing in the morning have not only done little to help, but also seem to have turned your stomach to molten lava. 

Hakyeon has the grace to look contrite as he brushes invisible dust off your shoulder. "I hope you don't expect to speak to my father that way." There are no wrinkles or excessive folds to be found, as your new clothes have been tailored just for you, but he straightens out the sleeves anyway. You take this with all the patience of a doll, resigning yourself to only internal screaming. 

"She looks fine, I did a great job," Sora says as she hauls the last of the makeup cases down the stairs. “The King isn’t going to be fixated over her outfit anyway.” She'd instructed you to bring a few of the items you bought yesterday, and had arrived this morning with her own personal trove of beauty tools. Armored in a smart blazer and a dress cut just on the edgier side of conservative, your polished attire belies the true discomfort you feel. 

"I intend to speak as little as possible, actually." You swallow down the burn in your esophagus and fiddle with your sleeves as Hakyeon steps back for one last look over, making you feel very self-conscious. “I’m not good at your type of political subterfuge, you know that.” 

Hakyeon nods and checks his watch. "That's probably for the best. I’ve done what I can to take the situation out of his hands." You wonder what he means by that, but no explanation comes. “Still, you must be rock-solid in your defense. Why are you here, Princess of Asadal?” He bores into your eyes with his gaze, and you think Hakyeon has more of his father in him than you remember.

“To serve the King,” you answer mechanically. Your voice is less steel and more soft than you’d like, but you force your shoulders back and face your cousin, unwavering.

Hakyeon nods again, a quick decline of his chin, and turns to the door. “Then it’s time that we left.”

The elevator ride down is too quick for your liking, and before you know it you’re standing in front of a sleek, black limo adorned with the flag of Asadal. Jaehwan, your ever-present shadow, is leaning up against the idling car, hands in pockets and looking more formal than ever in his own dark suit. Sora turns around, carefully balancing the various makeup boxes she has, and takes your hand in hers. “I have to run to a photoshoot this afternoon, but I’ll be in touch. You’re gonna kill it, don’t worry,” she says with a last squeeze of your hand. 

“I’d prefer to get this over with as little violence as possible actually.” Your retort is clipped with a stiff smile. 

Sora leaves, and so does your general sense of bravado. If the events of the past few days have felt strange to you so far, this situation feels positively surreal as Jaehwan opens the door to the limousine for you and Hakyeon to slide in. You're sitting sandwiched between your cousin the prince and a man you hardly know, dressed to the nines in clothes so expensive they could pay a year's rent for your apartment back home.

“This is rather ostentatious,” you mutter quietly, moving your gaze around the luxurious interior.

Hakyeon shifts over to the opposite seats to give you some more room. “The aide insisted. Our entrance won’t be subtle, to say the least.”

This is not the most comforting thing to say, as your jaw clenches once more in anticipation. Jaehwan spares you a side glance, cool as the early morning air outside in his dark suit and upswept hair. 

“All right, Princess?” Jaehwan’s tone is neutral, the ubiquitous smile playing in one corner of his mouth. It only serves to irritate you further. You compulsively smooth out your dress and aim for a measured response.

“I’m excellent.” The hem of your dress has ridden up to mid-thigh over your dark tights, and though the exquisite tailoring means there’s nary a stray thread, your fingers keep rubbing the stitching. “No sleep, murderous uncle, not a problem. I am a-ok.”

Not quite.

Hakyeon places a hand over your clenched fist. Whether it's meant to be soothing or a warning, you're not sure. Nevertheless, you force yourself to take a deep breath. Your nerves are already frayed, but you can't afford to fall apart just yet. Not yet.

The ride to the king’s tower is spent in terse silence. You have been to the Assembly House over which the new administrative building was built, but so much of the city is unfamiliar to you that it may as well be an unknown route. Hakyeon's apartment is located in what seems to be a luxury residential area of the Capital, you realize, as you pass high-rise after high-rise, gleaming in the morning sun. These neighborhoods are separated from the business and administrative sectors by the Yuseong River.

The trip over the bridge does your nerves no favors. The limousine is insulated to all outside noises, but the rush of the river below sounds through your memories regardless. The western banks of the river are dotted with construction projects, workers already scrambling around the sites. It’s clear to you that these new buildings are meant to serve your uncle’s pet councilmen and others on the higher rungs of society, given how far they are from the cheaper parts of the city. Unable to sleep in your anxiety, you had done a little research on the state of the city nowadays. Street names and neighborhood designations can only tell you so much, but a quick glance at the housing markets clearly delineates the various strata of society in the Capital.

More interesting is the King's official seat as it draws nearer. In the dark of night when you first saw it, the tower looked like a single dark obelisk thrust up into the sky. Upon closer look now you can see it is actually three different towers circling each other and connected at the base, forming an elongated trident. The Assembly House had never been your favorite piece of architecture, with its dusty corners and old-fashioned facade, but you quite miss it in the face of the tower’s imposing presence.

The streets leading up to the building are lined with trees and fountains and more people than you think should be the case for an otherwise innocuous weekday. The gentle trickle of people escalates and promptly explodes into a thronging mass spilling off the sidewalks as the limousine reaches a stone slab etched with a very generic-sounding “Administration Headquarters” in gold. Your eyes widen at the crowds held at bay by metal dividers to create a path for the car. Had the citizens decided to protest after all?

You purse your lips and swallow thickly at the sight of several news vans and a thicket of flashing cameras. The crowd, initially standing around idly, is spurred into action at the arrival of the limousine, pushing against the barriers and craning over others to catch a better look. You don’t know what to make of the clamor, and Hakyeon answers your unasked questions. 

“The news of your return broke early this morning.” Hakyeon looks straight ahead, hands folded in his lap and voice betraying nothing. You know your cousin has many years of playing the imperious monarch on you, but in this moment you feel the gulf in experience particularly strongly.

“The paparazzi move quick,” you say tersely, trying to hide how much your breathing has quickened.

“The paparazzi had nothing to do with it,” interjects Jaehwan suddenly with a side glance toward Hakyeon.

You’re struck with a sudden sense of alarm as your eyes snap to your cousin’s. “Did you do something?”

“You were tailed yesterday.” Hakyeon’s face is stone, as impassive and unfeeling as yours is alarmed and shaken. “The King and his administration know of your presence, and it would only be a matter of time before the news spread. At least this way we can control the narrative.”

"Of course," you mutter. The anxiety is taking over your mind, so you default to anger. "Of course we were tailed."

“The King had a man following us around to every location we hit yesterday," Jaehwan adds unhelpfully. "He stopped sometime before we got back to the apartment, but it’s likely the King knows about that location anyway.”

“You were going to tell me this when, bodyguard?”

Jaehwan shrugs. “I’m telling you now.”

"This is nothing we hadn't already anticipated," Hakyeon hastily interjects before the two of you can start arguing.

In any case, you’re halted in your thoughts as the limousine passes through the official gates to the tower grounds, cutting off the bustling crowd from the kingdom’s highest administration. You catch a glimpse of a long set of marble steps before the view outside is swallowed by the walls of the tower. It’s hard to make out much beyond the dark tinted windows, so you settle for staring at the floor and counting your breaths. The ride continues steadily over the next few minutes, during which a stifling sort of silence has fallen over the three of you inside. The darkness of the tunnel you’ve entered is punctuated by the flash of guiding lights every few seconds, ramping up your already racing heartbeat.

“Don’t start hyperventilating now,” comes from your left in Jaehwan’s smooth tenor. You shoot him a glare, but the effect is rather diminished by the lack of light. 

Hakyeon's voice is quiet and steady as he says, "We're in the VIP tunnel. Flattering as the name may be, we're really just going through high levels of security. There is no access to the King's office from the public entrance." 

"What kind of security?" Somehow, focusing on the details helps you ground yourself to the moment. 

You hear Hakyeon shift in his seat slightly. “The usual scans, identification, some biometrics. Only the security team knows the full details, but I’ve gone through the checks several times myself.”

You suck in a deep breath and force yourself to let it out slowly. The car continues on for a minute longer before coming slowly to a stop. The door to your right opens suddenly to a man bent over in a deep bow. 

"Good morning, Your Highness. I trust your trip was comfortable?" 

Hakyeon steps out smoothly, buttoning his suit jacket as he stands. “Thank you, Ryu. The car was most appreciated.”

The man then extends a gloved hand to help you out of the limousine. Jaehwan hops out the other side without a glance back, and you have no choice but to take the offered hand. Gingerly you step out onto the concrete floor, balanced by the aide’s arm. The light is dim in the underground VIP garage. You make out a fleet of dark limousines very similar to the one you just exited, all adorned with the navy and gold livery of Asadal, waiting in the surrounding spots. Large vents and cold fluorescent lights are built into the ceiling high above, providing a cavernous quality to the garage. Your feet are illuminated by lights built into the concrete platform spelling out “Council Chamber and Main Royal Entrance”, with a small bay of elevators laying just beyond. 

“Welcome, Princess. It’s wonderful to have you back in the kingdom.” The aide’s ear-to-ear smile makes you think the sentiment is genuine, but you can only manage a small incline of your head in response. Hakyeon strides ahead to the central elevator, which opens at his approach without prompting. You follow along less confidently with the aide at your side, trailed by Jaehwan to your back. 

The elevator is large enough that the three of you can stand without touching elbows, but you still feel suffocated by the gleaming metal walls and the presence of the government official. Bespectacled and clad in a dove gray suit, he’s hardly the most intimidating man, but you are ever wary of strangers. Hakyeon absentmindedly checks his watch again while the aide fills him in on the details of the meeting. 

"The King is in with Magistrate Moon currently, but he's scheduled to be done by the time we clear processing. The princess's data shouldn't take long, but it's good to be thorough." 

"What do you mean, my data?" you interject. 

The aide starts as if he'd forgotten you could speak. "Oh, it's just simple protocol Your Highness—" He's cut off by a ding as the elevator opens to a brightly lit lobby. 

Despite being such a high-profile area, the lobby itself is fairly sparse. Hakyeon shuffles you through past a set of cushy armchairs and a table, which honestly feel like a decoy more than anything, into a blank white hallway. At the end are several full-body scanners glowing a neon green. Hakyeon strides through them proudly without pause, and you have no choice but to follow. Despite having nothing on your person to cause suspicion, some irrational part of you blanches as you walk through the scanners. Thankfully, you walk out the other side with no incident.

You let out an unnecessarily-held breath and are immediately shuffled into a side room. There's not a lot to the space save for a few monitors and seemingly medical equipment. The sting of antiseptic tickles your nose and the extreme sterility in fluorescent lighting gives you an uneasy feeling. Confused, you look to Hakyeon for guidance, only to be met with the passively smiling face of Jaehwan. Hakyeon is instead just outside the door talking to a woman in a white lab coat. If he senses your eyes on him, he gives no indication. The woman, however, turns and flashes you a smile, striding into the room with clipboard in hand. 

“Good morning, Your Highness,” she chirps with a quick bow in your general direction before shuffling off to some equipment on a far counter. You shift your feet nervously, glancing again at Hakyeon. He checks his watch again and joins you inside the room, leaving the aide outside.

“This won’t take very long at all, we have the entire process streamlined,” says the woman from the counter, pulling various equipment out of shelves and inspecting them. “My name is Dr. Yang, and I will be administering your locator chip today.” 

“My locator chip?” The words come out shriller than you intend, and you see Hakyeon wince out of the corner of your eye. 

"It's just for security purposes," he says quickly in a low voice. "It's necessary for being in the VIP parts of the building." 

"It's very small," the doctor reassures. "You won't feel a thing!" 

You swallow roughly and take a few steps back. "Hakyeon, could I speak to you for a moment?" You wait for him walk closer before mouthing, "What the fuck?" 

He glances at Jaehwan, who has also joined your little enclave, and crosses his arms. "I know you don't like it, but there's no other way to speak with the King."

You snort. "I didn't want to meet with him in the first place if you remember." 

Hakyeon purses his lips and exhales an impatient little sigh. "I know, and I know this whole thing is a mess. There are certain concessions that just have to be made. Security is tight around here; we all have a tracker to monitor our movement around the building." To make his point clearer, he extends his thumb. Jaehwan says nothing but absently scratches his left wrist. 

"This is some insane surveillance state nonsense, Hakyeon," you hiss. You weren't expecting to just prance into the King's office, but the idea of having his influence literally implanted in you? Your skin is crawling without anything even having happened. It monitors your location at that? Not to mention what else could be in there that isn’t being disclosed to the public.

“Our last royal family died,” Jaehwan chimes in an almost singsong way. You meet his eyes with a glare that does nothing to budge the pleasant look on his face. “Counter measures had to be taken.” 

Somehow Jaehwan’s stern look behind his sunny smile rattles you more than Hakyeon’s impatient pushing. You hold their gazes for a beat longer before looking down and swinging back around to the doctor. We’re not done talking about this, Hakyeon.

To her credit, Dr. Yang has maintained the utmost professionalism through your little meltdown. She stands next to a leather stool holding a tablet in one hand, patting the seat gently with the other. You stride over, head held high as you can, and sit down delicately. You can just touch the floor with your toes from this height, and you grip the edges of the seat with your hands, feeling as if on the precipice of something you can’t walk away from. 

“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” starts Dr. Yang, handing you the tablet. “The chip is microscopic and is only inserted into the topmost layer of the epidermis, so you won’t even feel the insertion. The shallow location is so that the chip can be removed through your body’s natural shedding of its skin cells, meaning there’s no hassle to dig back in there when you’re done here.”

Pain is hardly the thing you’re worried about. You swipe down through the extensive legalese on the tablet, which seems to be a permission form of sorts. There is no option not to grant it. “What’s the purpose of this chip, just to monitor my location?” you ask while signing your name with the attached stylus. 

The doctor nods. “It follows your presence through the building, and only within the building. There are additional forms to detail your identity and security clearance, but of course you don’t need any sort of verification on that front, Your Highness.” She ends her sentence with a tinkle of a laugh, and you fight the urge to roll your eyes. 

You hand the tablet back, wishing you could examine the system yourself. Undoubtedly it’s a database keyed to the individual chips, but you wonder what tech they’re using to detect the trackers throughout the building. And how much interference they could handle before they fry. Dr. Yang returns, having deposited the tablet on the counter, with gloved hands and a metal pen. 

“Now, as I said, the chip is inserted in the first layer of skin, for which we’ll need a particularly dense area so it stays put for the time being.” She tears open a packet of antiseptic and smiles. “If you’ll please extend your index finger?” You've got half a mind to offer her your middle finger instead, but you grit your teeth and uncurl your left index finger. A quick swipe of the alcohol-soaked wipe later, she presses the pen to your finger, cold and solid.

“Wait.” You take your finger back, clenching your hand into a fist. You look up, eyes darting to Hakyeon’s. Impassive as he is, you think you see some hint of guilt in his gaze, and dark circles under his own layers of concealer. Jaehwan, for his part, simply looks on boredly. 

“Is something wrong?” Dr. Yang has taken a step back and is looking at you with concern. 

You swallow, throat very dry all of a sudden, and shake your head. “No, it’s fine.” You extend your finger again, the nails of your other hand digging into your palm. “Go ahead.”

The doctor clicks her tongue and opens another packet of antiseptic. “You have no idea how many people come through here with a serious fear of needles,” she says, wiping down your finger again, even more gently than the last time. “All these big Councilmen, afraid of a little poke!” She chortles to herself and presses the pen down. 

True to her words, you feel nothing. 

You hop off the stool as soon as she pulls the pen away. The nausea from this morning has returned with a vengeance, which it tends to do when you indulge your anxiety rather than dissipating it. The doctor bows in goodbye and before you know it, you are ushered out the door by Hakyeon.

From there it’s a short walk to another bank of elevators. “That was very quick, wasn’t it?” starts the aide. “We’re a little ahead of schedule, so I thought perhaps we could show the Princess around the Council chambers and then—”

Hakyeon cuts him off abruptly. “Thank you Ryu, but that won’t be necessary. I think we can take it from here. Please send the alert upstairs to let them know we’re coming.”

The aide blinks. “The King is likely still in his meeting, Your Highness, if you’ll—” 

Hakyeon halts his speech again with a swift raise of his hand. “I’m aware of the King’s schedule. Be on your way.”

The ease and confidence with which your cousin addresses the aide is weirdly comforting. Hakyeon is Crown Prince. Hakyeon can handle this. You are just playing a part, but Hakyeon, he's the real deal. 

The aide makes a quick bow and disappears down a side hallway. Hakyeon wastes no time in calling down an elevator, and before long you’re ensconced in tense silence again. You feel eyes on you, but resolutely look forward. In the shiny metal of the elevator doors you see Hakyeon’s reflection turn to face you properly. “Doing ok?” You flick your gaze to him for but a second. Your jaw is starting to hurt from grinding your teeth so hard, and you keep compulsively rubbing your thumb against your other fingers. “I’m—” comes out in a rasp, your throat bone-dry. You swallow and try again. “I’m fine.” Hakyeon’s eyes don’t leave your face, and Jaehwan is now looking at you with an expression somewhere between curiosity and amusement. “I’m fine, it’s fine,” you reiterate, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze. “It just—” you start, then stop. It just terrifies me. It just makes me want to rip off my own skin. “It got too real,” you say quietly. Jaehwan chuckles, a soft gust of air through his nostrils and the crinkling curl of one corner of his mouth. 

Your glare at his reflection is cut short when the doors suddenly open to blinding light. This lobby is much busier than the last, with people scurrying to and fro, disappearing off into more elevators and hallways. As Hakyeon leads you into the mess, you notice several people stop right in their tracks and make very low but very quick bows in your general direction. You get a cursory glance out the glass walls to where the rest of the city sprawls before Hakyeon stops before what seems to be the main elevator, all chrome and gold leaf. A press of his palm to a nearby touchpad opens the doors to reveal elegant carpeting and crystal-studded walls. You roll your eyes at the predictable opulence.

Following Hakyeon into the elevator, you turn around only to find that Jaehwan hasn’t joined as usual. You blink. “Where are you going?” “Shh, secret mission,” he says in a hiss. The last thing you see before the doors close is Jaehwan’s grin with a finger pressed to his lips. 

What secret mission? You feel the tug of gravity as the elevator glides upward and furrow your brows. “You put Jaehwan on some other task?”

Hakyeon rolls his eyes. “He’s being dramatic. He’s just gone to talk to some old friends at my suggestion.” 

You’re well aware of who Jaehwan’s old friends are. “The Swords are loyal only to the King,” you say, on edge again at the remembrance of Jaehwan’s involvement in the special forces. 

Hakyeon ignores your statement in favor of some last-minute pep talk. “I know you must be feeling apprehensive, but I have full trust in your ability to sway my father. I’m positive you can assure him you’re not a threat, and it won’t be hard, since you’ve been away for so long. You’re hardly a scheming politician after all, and—”

“I get it, Hakyeon.” You cut off his rambling, nerves raw and screaming. “Play nice, or die.” The elevator opens again to two guards — Swords, speak of the devil — and an otherwise empty hallway. They bow as Hakyeon exits, the barest hint of a frown on his face. You follow, trying your best to match his confident strides. Think simpering sycophant thoughts. Should you pretend to be happy to see your uncle? Grateful to be back in your— no, his kingdom?

The hallway turns a corner and leads to the most nondescript wooden doors you’ve ever seen. The double doors are handleless and flanked by four-foot tall ceramic vases holding each a cascade of orchids. You can’t see any physical indication as to the importance of these doors, but your heart pounds harder with every step forward. As if sensing your hesitation, Hakyeon stops just short and turns to you.

“I’m not going to lie and say this will be easy,” he starts. His gaze is too difficult to hold, so you turn your eyes to a blank spot on the wall just behind his ear. “But this has to be done, for better or worse. Are you ready?”

No, you think to yourself. In what world could you ever be ready to face the instigator of all your nightmares?

“Yes,” you say.

Hakyeon gives you a quick, terse nod and raises his hand. He raps his knuckles against the wood of the door twice, the beats ringing out in the quiet hallway.

[jungkooks-left-tiddie]

I hope you get run by a fucking aeroplane ❤️

Warnings:  Mild cursing, Old men being assholes.

Word Count: 2.8k words

Kavya

August 27th, 2020; 6:30pm

New Delhi, India. 

"Is the editing for the new manuscript done?" Kavya leaned down to assess the work that was being done. 

"It's coming along well, ma'am. Just cleaning up the text." The intern gave her a nervous smile.

 "That's good to hear." She said, going through the progress that the editing department had made. "Be sure to crosscheck after you're done editing." 

"Yes, ma'am!" Just then, Kavya's secretary came rushing in.

"Ma'am you have a meeting with the Illustration Team in a few minutes," Kavya glanced at her watch and frowned upon realising that she didn't have much time to make it across the building to the main conference room. 

"Thank you, Mitra. Just hand me my iPad and I'll be off." Kavya briskly walked to the room where the meeting was meant to be held, greeting the workers passing by. 

"Ma'am, the cover design team is ready with their designs," Rachel, the head of the cover design department dressed Kavya.

"Wonderful! I'll ask Mitra to schedule a meeting when I'm free," Kavya paused, glancing at her schedule, "Actually, could you please e-mail it to me?" Rachel smiled gently.

"Of course we can, I'll make sure you get the updated presentation with the notes and all of the other requirements as well." 

"Thank you so much; you honestly have no idea how much you've helped me today." Kavya shook her hand and hugged her for a moment. 

"Of course. I understand how much stress you're under, the least I could do is help you out!" Rachel smiled yet again. 

"Rachel, you're a life-saver and I would love to stay and chat, but I've got to get going to the Illustration Team's meeting," 

"Of course," Rachel made shooing motions with her hands, "Off you go!" Kavya laughed and ran towards the direction of the main conference room. 

"Ma'am you're here!" The head of the illustration team, a man in his mid-40's named Mohammad Aamir smiled and shook her hand. 

"Thank you very much Mr Mohammad. I'm truly excited to see what you have planned for today." 

"Oh I assure you, Ms Agarwal, you will not regret trusting Mr Mohammad's department this time," Two of the workers in the marketing department took their seats as Aamir gestured one of his workers to begin the presentation.

Kavya took out her iPad and started noting down the small changes and corrections that needed to be made. This launch was going to be one of the biggest events in the history of her company and she needed to make sure that everything was immaculate, including the character drawings that would be included in this particular book. 

"We initially had a bit of a dilemma deciding what features this character should have; but we managed to get through all of it and decided upon 5 main options," The character designs were on display, impressing Kavya as these were much better than she expected. 

"We have also included 5 sub-designs, for a more variety of options," The worker turned to face the board members in the meeting room, 

"It's also worth mentioning that we have designed a variety of expressions, postures, and costume; keeping in mind the aesthetic impact and its significance to the storyline,"

"We have constructed the design for the costumes in the locations after carefully studying the different kinds of clothing worn by the locals and also not forgetting the cultural significance of the clothes and accessories," He flipped to the next slide. Kavya was thoroughly impressed until now, but of course, all good things come to an end.

"So as you can see here, the inspiration for the design of the diving gear was inspired by the modern-day swimsuits, focusing especially on the plunging necklines—"

"Pardon my interruption, but why does the diving gear look like a swimsuit? I thought I put special emphasis on the fact that the scene consisted of the characters going scuba diving?" The person presenting the PowerPoint looked uncomfortable under Kavya's piercing gaze. 

"Yes, but isn't this what women wear for swimming?" 

"They do, but this is what women wear when we're talking about beaches and swimming pools; not when they're going 140 feet underwater. Do you not know what scuba diving is?" 

"Yes, ma'am; but actually—"

"Ms Agarwal, are you not overreacting? It's a great marketing point. I mean swimwear is swimwear, am I right?" Gopal Das, a pesky man on the marketing team snickered, clearly proud of his seemingly intelligent statement. 

"Mr Das, It seems that your age has dwindled down your common sense. I'm sure all of you present here know that scuba divers have to wear protective gear to make sure they survive the pressure that the water exerts at that deep of a level. I'd like to see you dive in the Bay of Bengal with nothing but your underwear. Should be easy, right?" That seemed to shut the man up, but of course, sexist fuckers are everywhere. 

"I agree with Gopal sir, this-" The man said, pointing towards the pathetic excuse for a scuba diving suit, "Is a great attention point. People want this."  He crossed his pudgy hands. 

"I have said it before and I will say it again," Kavya took a deep breath and looked at them angrily. "I'm not going to compromise knowledge over what you claim are marketing points. I have made it clear time and time again on why design accuracies are important; and I stand by my statements." Kavya tried to convey her point in the most diplomatic way possible, but these two dumbasses were really testing her patience. 

"Well, we will not compromise sales to something as trivial as a mere swimsuit," 

"I agree with Mr. Roberts. It seems to me that you are letting your personal experiences get in the way of what could've been a successful launch!" If Kavya was mad before, she was absolutely furious now. 

"Mr Das, Mr Roberts, that's enough." The stern voice of Aamir snapped her out of her rage. 

"Let me make one thing crystal clear. So as long as you are in this company, you will not promote objectification. It's not that hard to think from the brain and not your genitalia." She glared at the two men. 

"To answer your previous statement Mr Das; yes. My experiences are getting in the way. So are the millions of people who constantly face the same issues." 

"Do you want to know what I think Mr Das?I think you and Mr Roberts are letting your personal fetishes come in the way of what otherwise was a great illustration. It's honestly not that hard to keep your perverted tendencies to yourself. And if you refuse to follow basic human decency; we'd be extremely glad to find a replacement." She had enough of their boomer heterosexual bullshit. 

"Now if you'd excuse me," She gathered her things and exited the room in fury. To think that she had hoped men would change; but as always, they continued to disappoint her (Like they do in bed). 

"Ma'am, wait!" The person presenting the PowerPoint came up to her. "I'm sorry for the disappointing design of the diving gear today. I wanted to use a complete different idea, and a much more humane and accurate one, but Gopal sir insisted that I use that for better marketing," He apologised, bowing his head slightly. 

"It's ok, uhhhh..." 

"Pavan, ma'am."

"Right. It's ok Pavan. I'm glad you are one of the few people in the illustration team with basic human decency. I understand your position, and I'm glad that you approached me. I also first-handedly know how much of a douchebag Gopal is," Kavya smiled slightly, hoping to ease some of his nerves. 

"Thank you so much Ma'am! I promise I won't disappoint you next time!" He bowed. 

"You better not. I have seen your skills, and you're far too creative and talented to let a person like Gopal boss you around." She patted his shoulder, smiling when he thanked her repeatedly. 

"Yes, Ms Agarwal," Aamir walked up to the both of you, looking extremely down, "I apologise for the way Mr Das and Mr Roberts spoke this meeting. It was completely out of line and disrespectful of them. I assure you, if I had known of this issue--"

"Mr Mohammad you don't have to apologise," Kavya smiled at him. "It wasn't your fault, so you must stop blaming yourself. I know those two men disturbed the flow of the meeting, but I stand by my previous comment. Pavan here," She looked at the employee, who was a little flustered, "Had amazing designs up his sleeves and the presentation overall was not bad."

"I think we can definitely improve some of them, but the inspiration, cultural and locational significances were completely accurate," Aamir looked a little bit happier after that statement. "I have noted down the changes that need to be made, and if you could e-mail this presentation to me, I would gladly note them down in the respective areas so you and your team could correct it." Pavan nodded enthusiastically. 

"I will send it to you very shortly ma'am."

"Excellent! I'm afraid I must go now," Kavya frowned a little.

 "Of course Ma'am. It was an honour talking to you,"

Kavya couldn't be more happier that  she that she could finally go home. Those last 30 minutes in the conference room were the most exhausting 30 minutes in the entire month. And suffice to say, she was ready to flop down on her bed and take a much-deserved nap.  Of course she knew that she had a shit ton of work to finish before sleeping, but the thought of doing it in the comforts of her home gave her something to look forward to. 

"Tired?" Maya Patel, her friend and CEO of Patel Publications, leaned against the doorframe.

"You have no fucking idea," Kavya started packing her stuff, getting ready to leave. 

"How was the meeting?"

"The most irritating meeting I've ever been to. Two hours of amazing illustrations and all of that had to come to an end because of two old men's perverted tendencies. 30 minutes of continuous sexism and objectification does things to one's brain." 

Maya looked like she'd smelled something nasty. "It was that bitch, Gopal; wasn't it"

"Yes, but this time he had a little minion. It's that other guy you hate, Kevin Roberts."

"Ugh," Maya made a puking face- "I hate them both so much, I always wanted to kick their pathetic asses out. And now my dream is finally coming true!" They laughed. 

"But seriously. I am going to fire them. There have been way too many complaints about them in general and I finally have the proof I need."

"Oh when you do fire them, please invite me so I can record that shit in full HD," Kavya walked inside the elevator, Maya following shortly behind. 

"No, because you will go on a vacation. That I asked you to go to." Maya crossed her arms. 

"More like forced me to go on one," Kavya snorted, but stopped once she noticed the stern expression on Maya's face.

"Ok look, I'll take a vacation when I want to," Kavya made her way to the parking lot where her Kia K5 was parked. 

"Besides, you need the new manuscript, right?" She smiled at Maya, who shook her head and smiled lightly. 

"I do, but that doesn't mean I don't want you to take a short break. It's concerning how much stress you take up. I just want you to relax" 

"Ok, I'll think about it. For now, I just want to go home and take a long nap," Kavya switched on the radio and set out on the road, noticing how most streets were suspiciously empty.

'That's weird,' She thought, 'The streets in Delhi are never empty.' She brushed it off and flipped through the radio stations to find the ones that played old songs, her personal favourite. 

The peaceful melodies of the retro songs calmed her on her drive back home. They were the kind of songs that put you in such a trance that you don't know where the time flew by. And of course, very shortly, she parked her car in her buildings allotted parking space. 

She greeted the security guard who was on patrol and entered the elevator. After entering the passcode to her apartment, she directly went to the fridge to get some cool water.  

Kavya then tossed her blazer and purse aside, ran to the bedroom, flopped on the bed and groaned loudly. Paying no mind that her lipstick would most likely stain the towel she had lain on the bed.

"I better freshen up," She sighed and went to complete her nighttime routine, which just consisted of taking a long hot shower and doing her 7-step skincare routine. After which she folded her clothes and tossed some of them in the washing machine. 

A late-night snack was well due, as Kavya did not have her dinner yet; and of course, Red Wine is a must!

"11pm chicken sandwiches are the best," She munched on her sandwich as she scrolled through her twitter to see what her friends shitposted today. 

She doubled in laughter over Maggie's posts, nearly choking on lettuce. Eventually she calmed down and filled herself in the news and gossip she's missed out on. 

"This is the best time of the day," She told herself as she read the texts she'd received today. 

The conversation seemed like it had no end to it, so Kavya skimmed it until she saw herself tagged. 

To say that she thought about it would be an understatement. Kavya had no clue for how long she sat there thinking about the road trip before the notification of the email brought her back. She slapped her face a few times to prepare herself for all the work she had to finish.

The entirety of the next 4 hours was spent in Kavya carefully noting down every single detail and making the necessary changes. And soon enough it was 3 am and she was finally done with both the cover design and the character designs. Throughout these 4 hours, however, the only thing on her mind was that road trip idea her friends were talking about.

So she made up her mind. Kavya quickly emailed the corrections she'd made in both the documents. And dialled Maya's number.

"Heyy, Maya? Remember that vacation you were talking about? I'm going to take it."

[kethsi]

Archery Practice

Arianwyn Cadarn is an excellent leader. He’s not a very good adoptive father, though. -- Warnings include unhealthy thought process (what else is new?), Mentions of mild child neglect, mention of animal death (Wolves, Bears, Pawyas), past character death and talk of wars. -- Islwyn Cadarn, last known living relative of fabled king Baxtorian Cadarn and great queen Glarial, is a realist. Really, he is. He looks at every situation through a critical lens, analyzes it, compares the pros and the cons in his mind, and decides what course of action he’d take form here. Really, there’s no reason not to do this. He may only be twelve decades old, but that was old enough to be considered an adult, by elven standards. Besides, this is a method that proved itself effective so far. After all, this exact same approach is part of how his grandfather conquered Kandarin. Naturally, what was good enough for one of the most powerful elves in history was more than good enough for Islwyn. In his current situation, Islwyn wasn’t quite ready to learn more complex magics from the book his mother left him – he simply didn’t have the energy reserves for the more elaborate spells he hasn’t mastered yet, and most elves in Lletya weren’t much help either. Sure, he practiced daily, and he was pretty good at many spells, too, but energy reserves grow and develop with time, as does one’s magical ability. So in the meantime – meantime being the last half decade or so – Islwyn Cadarn went on to practice archery. He knew the basics, of course, he was a member of clan Cadarn, thank you very much – but that alone didn’t make him good at it. So he practiced, using training bows made of pine wood or Kandarinian oak – because using a crystal bow, or a bow made of the local magic trees would be too easy. He’d be tempted to let his soul sing with the crystal, which would guide his arrows to the targets, or sync his magical abilities with those of the magic bow, and all progress will be lost. It wouldn’t truly be his own achievement. Not in archery, at least. It would simply be another way to train magic, but it isn’t what he needs right now. Right now he needs practice.

Easier said than done, though. All around him, other elves were chattering excitedly at one another. He didn’t know the reason, and he didn’t care enough at the moment to find out. He was training by the flax field, so of course others would be passing by to pick some for their own purposes, from time to time.  Some of the voices were too high pitched to him though, and too laced with negativity. Whines and complaints of children at parents. The seeds of tantrums soon to bloom. He released his grip on the bowstring, slightly irritated. The arrow flew forward with a quiet whistle before hitting the spot he was aiming for, the center of a flax flower he attached to the archery target. It wasn’t that he was keen on destroying flowers, but he needed to justify aiming elsewhere when the true center held too many arrows to keep shooting at. Besides, the flax flowers were calming enough to look at, and he liked having them in his field of vision even when he wasn’t actively aiming at them. “I don’t care!” some child yelled. “We had bear stew for three days! I want something else!” The next arrow hit one of the petals, a bit too high. “I’m sorry, dear,” the woman next to the child – presumably his mother – tried, gently. “There isn’t much else right now.” “Isn’t there any pawya?” Tak. Another arrow missed its mark by about two inches. Islwyn Cadarn wasn’t very good at concentrating with loud noises around. Shame on him. He should do better. “The hunters won’t return until tomorrow morning”, the mother replied.  “We can go get things first thing in the morning, if you want”. “They’re taking too long,” the child whined. “They’re bad hunters. Why couldn’t the good ones go hunting instead?”. This arrow lodged itself in the ground. Islwyn sure felt mediocre now, looking at all the missed spots. He frowned, lowering his bow. Six of his last twenty shots didn’t seem to hit their marks. He would blame it on his own agitation, his own unbalanced reaction to the noise around him, but that would not be fair. “War isn’t quiet”, Arianwyn always said. “The noise” isn’t an excuse he could use to justify missing targets, adversaries that could be lethal to his clan if they ever have to defend Lletya from possible Iorwerth invasion in case it is discovered. Still, he couldn’t prevent his selfish thoughts from gnawing at his mind. He couldn’t stop the passing thoughts that these kids are lucky to be raised like that. With parents they could whine to about anything. He didn’t have anyone to complain to, growing up. He lost his mother long ago. Didn’t even know his father. Islwyn Cadarn had to be a responsible child, because he was raised by Lord Cadarn himself, and because he was the grandson of two figures he never met and whose shoes he was expected to fill regardless, as if it was easy. As if it was possible at all, to become as powerful as two mages who shaped the world around them everywhere they walked. He was expected to shut up and do better, always. The current Lord Cadarn hated it when he complained. Islwyn sighed, walking forward. Lletya was getting busy, noisy, as it always did during the early hours of the afternoon. No sense to continue practicing now. Not here, at least. He won’t make much progress. He decided to pluck the arrows out of the wooden target. He wouldn’t want high and mighty Arianwyn to receive complaints about Islwyn’s behavior, now. It would reflect poorly on the both of them, would it not? Surely, Lord Cadarn shouldn’t be lenient on such displays of laziness. Islwyn himself would be seen as a spoiled princeling who expects everyone to clean up after him because his family ties got to his head. Absurd. He was always judged based on “What would Baxtorian say? What would Eirlys think?” What would it matter? They were dead. They weren’t coming back. Why did everyone insist on lecturing him about the dangers of disappointing a family that wasn’t there to disappoint, anyway? There was only Arianwyn. Being close friends with Islwyn’s mother, he agreed to raise her little orphan son. He always reminded Islwyn of that. Always kept some forced formality between them. Ever since Islwyn could remember, he was expected to treat Arianwyn as a lord, and Arianwyn treated Islwyn like something of the sort, too. Not that he ever let Islwyn make any decision or have an actual say in anything, but he made sure to act as if Islwyn was an adult, effectively erasing any trace of free time or “undesirable” hobbies Islwyn had. Except the magic. Arianwyn never had it in him to prevent Islwyn from studying and practicing that. Regardless, Islwyn never really had a proper childhood. Never had a chance to disagree with Arianwyn on anything. Never got comforted when he cried. He was simply told to act in a way befitting of his heritage. Conveniently, he was also told that his grandfather’s grief over the loss of his grandmother was private. That mighty king Baxtorian would put the morale of his troops above his own need to mourn. Even worse, he was told that his mother would do the same on her deathbed. More concerned about the healers who were supposed to help getting their eight hours of sleep than she was with her own pain. Naturally, selfishness in any form was never allowed. So he kept his selfishness in his thoughts, and kept those thoughts to himself. Good, Merciful Seren, he thought. Thank you for making us incapable of peering into one another’s thoughts. I would’ve gotten an earful for that, too. Having collected all the arrows, Islwyn was soon on his way home. It was the best part of being an adult, really. Lletya wasn’t all that big, but it still had plenty of room for him to construct his own little house, with the help of some ex-members of clan Ithell, engineers and siege weapon operators who married Cadarn elves after the war. Honestly, living on his own without Arianwyn’s judging (or sometimes pitying) glances and annoying, disappointed commentary. Still, he had to pass by Arianwyn’s house more often than not, as it had provided a rather convenient shortcut to Eudav’s general store, where Islwyn would sometimes sell the bones of dire wolves he had slain. Islwyn had no wolf bones in his bag today, but he found himself passing by Arianwyn’s place out of habit. He caught himself and tried to increase his pace. The unmistakable whistles of arrows stopped him in his tracks. He looked around, easily spotting Arianwyn, outside his own house, shooting a target as well. Islwyn wanted to look away, but the clan leader was impressive to say the least. With three shots a second, Islwyn was shocked to see some of the wooden targets held hundreds of arrows, so close together that some were somehow lodged not in the targets themselves but between two other arrows, each target forming simple shapes or designs. He recognized some from his studies. These were the clan sigils. Owl, for Amlodd, hare for Hefin, an acorn and a leaf for Crwys…  He wasn’t sure he recognized the symbol Arianwyn was making at the moment though. It looked like some crystal with a messy background. “Ithell,” Arianwyn said out loud, making Islwyn jump. He did not take his eyes off the target though, nor did he stop shooting arrows. “At least it’s supposed to be. But I can’t make a proper lyre to save my life.” Islwyn nodded, respectfully. “It’s quite remarkable, actually” he heard himself say. “Just a little hard to recognize with two smaller crystals still missing…” Arianwyn nodded and lowered his bow and looked at him. Only, it was more like a stare. The leader was studying him intently, expression unreadable. The younger elf quickly realized what he’s done. “Oh, I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to distract you, Lord Cadarn,” he apologized. “I’ll be on my way-“ “Islwyn” Islwyn flinched. “…Yes?” Arianwyn’s expression softened suddenly. He seemed uncertain, just for a moment, before taking a step in Islwyn’s direction and offering him his own bow. “Would you like to add them?” “I- what?” “The other crystals.” Arianwyn answered, gently. “Oh. Sorry, I’d really rather not.” Arianwyn was giving him that look again. The one he didn’t understand.  The leader of the Cadarns was regarding him with some weird, uncharacteristic guarded gentleness, as if Islwyn would vanish into thin air if the other elf dared to make any sudden movements. There was something apologetic in his eyes and in the way he held his bow for Islwyn to take.  Finally, seeing he would get no other reply, Arianwyn nodded. “It’s a shame,” he said. “You have your own bows, I was told you’ve been practicing for a few years now, and you never brought it up.” “I picked it up again” Islwyn shrugged. “Five years ago. I think.” Of course, he was taught archery as a child, too. All Cadarn children were expected to know the basics, after all. Arianwyn just never seemed very eager to teach him. So when he decided to start training on his own, he didn’t feel the need to involve Arianwyn in his decision making. “That’s wonderful” Arianwyn smiled. “do you like it better now?” Islwyn hesitated. He couldn’t say for sure. He enjoyed some aspects, sure. He liked the precision, the sound arrows made when flying towards a target, the way his heartbeat stabilized when he was concentrating… …The fact that training arrows weren’t volatile and wouldn’t explode if he did something wrong, the way magic might… “I think so” he admitted. It was true enough. Even if in all honesty, he was just trying to improve because he genuinely wanted to be better at something than the elf who raised him. Well, after today’s display… Islwyn should certainly cross anything involving arrows off the list. Arianwyn paused again. “Would you join me in training, at least?” “With all due respect, I don’t think you need training, Lord Cadarn.” Arianwyn shook his head. “I do,” he sighed, glancing between his targets and the younger elf. “I shouldn’t waste your time with beginner stuff, though.” “You’ve passed beginner levels long ago, Islwyn. I’ve heard you’ve been developing your own style.” Islwyn shrugged. He was trying, that was for certain. He was pretty handy with a crystal bow, though, having practiced with it for two years. Crystal bows are interesting weapons, offering high accuracy to those who sacrificed raw strength and vice versa, creating their own arrows of pure energy designed to accommodate the user’s style and choices. They were exhausting to use for long periods of time, but the results certainly spoke for themselves. “Not very fair to say that, though,” Islwyn countered. “I think my bow decided to develop its own style. I merely happened to be present to witness it the longest, so I picked up a thing or two.” “You’ve achieved a perfect harmony, then” Arianwyn pointed out. “I could really use a helping hand with that. I think mine doesn’t like me very much.” Whatever Islwyn expected to hear in an answer from Arianwyn… That definitely wasn’t it. He stopped to think for a moment. Arianwyn was great at both crystal singing and archery. There is no reason for a crystal bow to not function perfectly in the hands of the leader. Then again, Arianwyn did mention, once or twice, that this wasn’t his own bow. Maybe… “Well, in that case, I could use some help with improving my speed. I don’t think I can fire ten-thousand arrows an hour.” Arianwyn’s face broke into a wide smile. “Neither can I.” Huh. Who would’ve thought… “All right,” Islwyn allowed a small smile form on his own face. “I’ll settle for nine thousand, then.”