#tbh he was more collected in his sidestep days

[licuadora-nasir]

First meetings

Pairing: chargestep

Warnings: None

Summary: Sidestep and Charge's first meeting. Beware of highly delulu Sidestep with nerd thoughts.

Notes: Thank you @silvery-bluish for proofreading River's delusional thoughts muac muac

Read it in AO3

FUCK SHIT! 

You didn’t hear him coming. Probably because you were so focused on spotting your target that you disregarded your back, maybe because he was approaching you stealthily, but the truth of it it’s that you couldn’t hear him. You couldn’t read his mind and the first thing you recognised after he popped up in front of your shitty face was the static. 

BREATHE. 

“Hey, hey, easy. I didn’t want to startle you, sorry. You’re Sidestep, aren’t you?” The Colgate smile plastered on his tanned face doesn’t fit in this part of the city at this hour. Even though he’s tried to look scrubby, his outfit is too fancy and doesn’t look anything like your scrubby clothes. The way he stands, too tall, too proud of himself, how he looks and speaks… Is he a model? He looks like a model. 

Or a member of the Special Directive. A cuckoo? No, you’ve spoken in reflex and he didn’t notice. An agent? Unlikely, the handlers and the staff look like grim reapers and lingering nightmares, they don’t have charming smiles with honey voices and deep eyes you could get lost in. 

Who the heck is this man? Why can’t you read his mind? 

“Yes,” You reply, after a few seconds. The best course of action is to stay calm, watch your surroundings and craft an escape plan in case things go south. 

“I’ve seen some of your fights and man, you know how to move.”

“Are you a fan or something? You shouldn’t be here, this is not a safe place for civilians.” ‘How to move’? How to move like the Special Directive? Like an infiltrator? The Hispanic man before you is friendly and chill. Could he… Be a stalker? Fuck shit, please do not be a stalker. 

 “Oh… No, I mean, yes? I always keep an eye on the new, competent vigilantes,” Buttering you up, calling you competent… What does he want? It unnerves you that you can not read his mind. 

He is rambling and gesticulating with his hands when you see it: He is modded! There are emitters in his hands, and you recognize what could be a rare design of a modded system with plasma core reactors. You once read an article about the possibility of subjecting individuals to modded prototypes based on electrical power, but you don’t know the details, even though you tried to dig and research, all the info seemed to be highly classified. Based on your assumptions and some theories of your favourite scientists, he must have ports and two more pairs of emitters in his lower arms. 

You remember being fascinated with this kind of modding, only an insane individual would agree to let themselves be modded with that kind of technology, but you have no idea if the people they tested these tech on even survived. 

“You are modded.” It would be stupid to pose it as a question, better to see what he answers. He must be a corporate hero or military, then. Oh dear, you wish you could sit down and ask him all kinds of questions about his mods, but he is not to be trusted. 

“Ah, yes,” He flexes his hands, opening and closing his palms, “are you a boost?” 

“None of your business.” Too carefree with his questions. Even if he is friendly, you are not answering the questions of someone whose mind you can not read. 

“Ouch, that was rude,” With a nervous chuckle, he crouches next to you, too close for your taste. “are you hunting down Disruptor?” Again with the prodding. You have a feeling he is going to keep asking, so you choose to answer him this time. 

“If that is the name of the moron that’s been sabotaging the suburb's water supply, then yes.” A villain has been messing with the water supply in the neighbourhood you had been squatting in and you could not sit idle and watch anymore. These people had been good to you, the least you could was catching this asshole. 

“Why? Many other flashy villains have been robbing companies lately, you could make a name for yourself if you manage to catch one of those.” 

“The LDPD and The Rangers are keeping an eye on those, but since this part of the city is in the suburbs and the villain hasn’t messed up with any fancy company, the Mayor and the heroes haven’t given three fucks about him,” You sigh, frustrated. It was so unfair, no one would do anything to help ‘the bad part of the city’, and you wondered who would fix the water supply and the broken pipes. 

“Hey, that’s not —”

“Shhhh shut up. He’s here.” 

The villain was tall and bulky, you were not sure about what his powers were, but they had something to do with strength and resistance, which, considering the physical disadvantage, sucked. 

Scanning your surroundings, you turn to lady-killer here, who is looking with interest at you. Is he waiting to see what you do? Is this normal human behaviour? But he is probably a hero, isn’t he? Then why is he not suggesting anything? Is this a trap? Is there some kind of malfunctioning in his brain? No, you are probably the one who is malfunctioning. Fuck shit, you wish you had paid more attention to the infiltration lessons. 

“So…” You whisper, catching his attention, “Do you know how to fight?”

(...)

The plan you crafted was easy. The industrial area you were in was full of abandoned buildings, containers and places to hide, so the deal was cornering Disruptor to the place Mr. Colgate Smile was hiding, so he could have a clear chance to take him down. The fucker fought on instinct, striking one or two blows on you, but surprisingly, the rest of the fight went smoothly. 

The mystery hero-model man was a good partner to fight with. He listened to your plan, made some interesting suggestions regarding what he could do and took the villain down hard and fast.  

“Hey, Sidestep! Are you alright there? ¡Ay! ¡Cabrón!” He curses, struggling to pin the villain down, “Mind giving me a hand?” 

“I’m okay, are you fine?” You go to them, bending down and holding Disruptor while Don Juan cuffs him… Cuffs? Why cuffs? 

“Yeah, this was noth—”

“Fuck you and The Rangers, Marshal!” 

…What? Marshal? This man is the Marshal? 

“You’re the Marshal?” You question him in disbelief.

“I mean… Yeah?” Shrugging, he gives you a confused smile. Stupid smiley man. 

“Why didn’t you—” You argue angrily, before being interrupted. 

“You didn’t ask— Quit struggling, Disruptor!” 

“Go to hell, Charge!” Growls the fucker from where he is being held on the floor. 

“Charge? Who are you?” 

“My name’s Charge—”

“Are you trying to tell me Charge and the Marshal are the same person?”

“Man, that’s entirely on you.” He chuckles as if you are someone who is supposed to be funny. A joke. Is this a joke to him? No. 

This is bad. Bad, bad. This is the Marshal of Los fucking Diablos. How long had he been following you until he decided to approach you? 

“I’m out of here.” Fuck the Marshal. And fuck Charge too. You turn to go but the not—so—charming—anymore man doesn’t seem happy with that.

“Wait! Don’t go yet, hold up until the—” He doesn’t finish before you hit the back of Disruptor’s head, knocking him out in the process. “What the hell, Sidestep?!”

“That shouldn’t be a problem anymore.” Before he can reply, you break to run, getting out of his sight. 

No pleasantries. No greetings. No goodbyes. What a shit of a first meeting. Hopefully, it will be the first, and the last one. 

[runawaymun]

WIP Poll Sentences Update!!

so re this poll I did a while back, where you guys voted on a WIP for me to work on and then I had to write as many sentences as the poll got notes, here's 81 sentences from the next chapter of Boundless Sky.

Disclaimer: Thane Dickwad has yet to be named, and so he is Thane Dickwad for the purposes of me taking away possible excuses to procrastinate writing. This is a rough draft lmao. I'll comb through some Saxon names and give him a proper name after I'm done suffering over the rough draft.

Disclaimer 2: these are not continuous. This chapter is getting written piecemeal because it's one of those that's giving me a headache. So this is just a bunch of disjointed snippets and sentences, sorry!

quick CW: It's a Fram chapter, so this includes...well the Éothéod of And the Stars Shine the Same. They're kind of their own warning. But this chapter includes depictions of slavery (we've got thralls), and a small amount of violence.

So anyway, here are those 81 sentences (plus a few extra tbh) that you guys made me write! Thank you to everyone who voted and thanks for your patience while I've been wrestling with this chapter!!

Frumgar’s hall was a cavernous longhouse framed in timber and roofed with green sod. Painted pillars stood in rows like sentries guarding the throne and dais at the far end. A huge central fire burned brightly in the great hearth, belching out plumes of smoke up toward the ceiling. In that haze, thralls scurried like ants, laying out long trestle tables for that evening’s feast. Fram and Etheldred walked side-by-side through the fray, past the common space, and through a thick woven curtain into the corridor beyond.

It felt strange and mostly empty — almost ghostly — in comparison to the bustling main room. There were only a few people mulling about between the private rooms. Fram let out a breath, then glanced over at Etheldred to find him moping. 

-

 Fram honestly hadn’t even been paying enough attention to notice her. She was standing in the corridor, a cleaning pail at her feet, and with her was one of his father’s bannerman who was looming in the doorway of one of the private rooms, blocking entry. 

-

She was well-behaved. Never stepped out of line. Very good at keeping out of sight. Fram couldn’t think of the last time she’d ever managed to upset a member of the house, not even his mother, so he was left racking his brain about what she could have possibly done to warrant the ire on the bannerman’s face. 

-

“Funny way of looking for you, trying to get into my room,” the thane snapped,  and it was more directed at the mouse, who ducked away from him, darting closer to Fram. Her left ear was bright red, likely from a cuff, and that made Fram flash hot. He had no right to go around touching his father’s thralls. 

Fram took a step forward, effectively hedging the mouse behind him, and let his gaze drift back to thane. Next to him, Etheldred folded his arms. 

-

“Keep your thralls out of my room.” 

-

Right. That was it. Thane Dickwad, from the Narrows. He had traveled quite a long way to be here, and if Fram remembered rightly, had lost many men in that battle with the orcs that spring when the king had ridden upon Rivendell to retrieve Fram from Lord Elrond. Fram collected himself and stood up a little straighter.  

-

"That’s a mouse. It’s meant to go in your room to keep it tidy. It’s only doing as it’s been told, like all the rest of them. I’ll have my mother inform the household to keep out of your room for the rest of your stay. I apologize,”  and that was said with a thin smile that made it clear Fram was not at all sorry, “We are only trying to be good hosts.” He craned his neck, glancing past Dickwad’s shoulder into the chamber, and noted the way he sidestepped to block his line of sight. “Hiding something in there?” 

“Of course not,” Dickwad snapped.

“Then you have no reason to get so angry, do you?” Fram replied. Then, he kept his tone cool as he addressed the mouse: “Apologize to Thane Dickwad and let’s go. You’ve wasted plenty of my time already.” 

The mouse bowed very low, muttering a panicked I’m sorry. Thane Dickwad just scoffed in disbelief and shoved past them, storming down the corridor and out into the main hall. 

Fram let out a sigh of relief. The mouse was still shaking at his side, no doubt waiting to be dismissed. He gestured, indicating that she was free to go, and she was quick to snatch up her cleaning bucket and hurry off, shoulders drawn up to her ears, the bucket clenched in a white-knuckled fist. 

-

 “No thanks,” Fram said, tone sour. “Lost my appetite. I’m going to my room.” When Etheldred’s good-natured expression pulled at the edges, Fram took a second to file the sharpness off of his voice before he offered: “See you tonight?” 

“Sure,” Etheldred agreed as he started for the door. “Should be fun.” 

-

Fram was in a black mood for the rest of the afternoon. In hindsight, antagonizing his father’s bannermen wasn’t exactly the best way to spend his time. There had probably been a better way to handle that situation with Dickwad and he ought to have been harder on the mouse, he just couldn’t bring himself to. It (she, she) had just been doing her job. He couldn’t fault her for that.

Beyond that, though, it was Thane Dickwad’s reaction to the mouse entering his room that bothered him, and the way he had tried (seemingly without being conscious of it) to block Fram’s view inside. Fram felt sure that if the mouse had interrupted something important, then the thane surely would have said so. But no, he had said she was snooping. 

Well, Fram had known her a long time. She kept to herself. She never got into any trouble. There was no way she could have been snooping. 

So why was Thane Dickwad so worried about it? 

It was likely wounded pride, and nothing else. Most of his father’s bannermen were quick to anger, especially when it came to thralls. Fram could count on one hand the number of men who were not. 

He resolved to put it out of his mind and get ready for the feast, lest he spend too long sulking and wind up late for the feast. 

-

As Frumgar got up from the table, the mouse hurried in again to collect his plate. Fram’s mother struck out with her table knife and pinned the mouse’s hand to the table with a sickening crunch of bone. 

Fram sat there, stunned, watching as blood bubbled up all over the scrubbed oak board. The thrall’s body had gone rigid, her jaw working, liking she was biting her tongue to keep from crying out. 

“It’s polite to go slowly, and to wait and see if anyone has need of you, rather than darting in and out from the table. It’s annoying. We should rename you to gadfly. It seems more apt,” his mother said, in a voice still and cold as a frozen lake. “Do you understand?”

Frantically, the mouse nodded. 

Next to her, Faedlimid looked as green as her dress as she sat there, staring at her lap. 

“Mother, let her go,” Fram tried. 

Instead, she quietly said: “Refill my cup.” 

The music from the dance seemed both too loud and somehow fuzzy. Fram couldn’t feel his tongue as he sat there, white knuckled, watching the mouse shakily reach for the jug of mead on the table, lift it, and carefully, carefully pour it into his mother’s glass.

Only when she was finished, and had set the jug aside, did his mother yank the knife out of her hand with another horrible crunch. As soon as she was free, the blonde mouse fled the table, choking on her tears and cradling her hand, and three more of them rushed in with rags to sop up the blood. 

Fram watched in disbelief as his mother simply sat back in the chair and drowned herself in her cup, watching his father make his rounds through the room. He looked down at his plate and found the slice of pork he’d been so interested in earlier was flecked with blood. Fram pushed the plate away, sick, and stood from his chair. 

“Where are you going?” Faedlimid asked, looking betrayed.

He tried to find a smile for her. “I just need some air. I’ll be back.”

[hopesangelsprite]

Sin City | KSJ (1/?)

Pairing: Demon!Receptionist!Seokjin x Reader

Summary: In a world were angels and demons co-exist with humans, an angel meets the most beautiful yet dangerous demon in the world... her brother’s bestfriend. (Slight crack tbh)

There were three kinds of people in this world:

Angels. Demons. And Humans.

Angels were pure-hearted, kind souls who spent their days bringing joy and purpose to peoples’ lives. They were generous and caring, but, most importantly, they were accepting. No matter who or what you were, they didn’t care. They loved you all the same.

Demons, however, were opposites of Angels. They were known for causing mischief and discord. The nights and shadowy places were where they thrived the most. They were top-notch manipulators, whispering lies and truths here and there. Making it impossible to tell which was which.

Humans were just… in between. They were neither good nor bad. They could be moral when they wanted to be, but if they wanted something and you stood in their way, they proved to be incredibly ruthless. The lives of Humans tended to be influenced by the people they lived with. A Human, who was around more angelic folk, was more compassionate and benign. Humans who held the company of the more demonic sort were mostly cruel and malevolent.

Cadence King was born a pureblooded Angel to Nicolai and Charity King during the Winter Solstice of 2002. Unlike her dark-haired and brown-eyed parents, she had snow-white curls and mismatched blue and green eyes. Her mother, who had been told that she was physically incapable of bearing a child and thought that her caring Cadence was a miracle from Heaven above, was ecstatic when she held her tiny baby girl for the first time. The couple vowed to raise her as lovingly as they possibly could.

And they did… until a fateful summers night in Daegu stole them away from this world. Mr. and Mrs. King had been killed in a mugging, leaving poor little Cadence orphaned and alone on the night of her fifth birthday. There were no living relatives to take her in, so she was placed into foster care with the Min family.

The Mins were a four people family that consisted of Mr. Min, Mrs. Min, and their sons, Junki and Yoongi. Although the Mins were Demons, they accepted Cadence into their family and treated her like she was their own. Junki and Yoongi, who were 17 and 15 at the time, watched over her as overprotective brothers tend to do. They taught her all kinds of Martial Arts and made sure that she was able to defend herself when it was time for them to leave for college a few years later.

Mr. and Mrs. Min focused all of their time and resources on Cadence’s training and studies after their youngest son, Yoongi, left to study music in the city. They raised her to be a responsible and thoughtful child. She was obedient, kind, and beloved by all who knew her. As she grew older, she remained well-mannered and intelligent. Soon, it would be time for her to leave home just as her brothers before her had.

* TIME SKIP TO PRESENT DAY / THE REST OF THE STORY WILL BE IN CADENCE’S POV *

I stared out the train’s large window in boredom. Trees and meadows passed by in green blurs as we zoomed through the countryside. Earlier this morning, my mother and father had helped me finish packing my suitcases and put me on the train with sweet goodbye, from my mom, and a stern ‘be careful’, from my dad. I had finally turned 18 a week ago, and mom and dad made a phone call to Yoongi asking if I would be able to stay with him in Seoul. He’d agreed and now I was 15 minutes away from seeing the brother I hadn’t seen in 10 years. Yoongi had left on bad terms and he promised to stay away until he was ready to come home. Yoongi was always good at keeping his promises.

I sighed before unlocking my phone and checking my recent messages. As usual, they were filled with threats from my crazy ex I’d dated when I was 16. It started pretty well until he hit me. He promised he’d never do it again, but he did over and over and over again. After the eighth time, I left him for good and told him that if he ever came near again, he’d have my brothers to deal with. He stayed away physically but continued to threaten me to come back to him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we’ll be arriving at Seoul National Station in five minutes. I repeat, five minutes.”, the voice of the elderly conductor informed from above. As if on cue, a message from Yoongi came through saying that he wouldn’t be picking me up because of his daily 3:45 nap. I rolled my eyes and began readying myself for the exit soon to come.

Within the next ten minutes, I was in a cab on my way to Yoongi’s. The city of Seoul was beautiful and diverse in many ways. Groups of Angels, Demons, and Humans socialized amongst each other peacefully. Street performers attracted cheering crowds and healthy tips. Food trucks and venues filled areas with delicious smells and dishes. A small bit of happiness filled my chest. This was my new home!

Soon the cab stopped at a luxury condo in the heart of the city. After paying my fare, I collected my things and made my way inside. At the front desk, a beautiful receptionist sat quietly clicking on the keys of his keyboard. I walked to the desk causing him to lift his head and display a million-dollar smile. “Hello, love. Welcome to Seoul Condominiums, how may I help you today?”, he inquired in a velvety voice. “Hi… Seokjin! I-I’m here to see my brother Min Yoongi.”, I responded softly after reading his nametag receiving a nod from him.

He picked up a sleek black phone from the desk and, after punching in a few numbers, put it to his ear. After a short wait, he spoke into the phone. “Hello, Mr. Min!... Your sister is here to see you. Shall I send her up?... Of course, Mr. Min.”, he spoke. Giving me a bright smile, he put the phone back and smiled. “Up you go, love. He’s in suite 777.”, he informed before helping me into the elevator. After a short ride, I found myself in front of a door that had the number ‘777’ in beautiful gold font displayed on it. I knocked but received no answer. I raised my hand to knock again, but as soon as my fist collided with the door, it slightly opened.

I frowned in confusion and worry before opening it fully and dragging my luggage in. I looked around in the beautifully furnished condo, hoping to catch a glimpse of my older brother. “Hello? Yoongi? Where are you?!”, I called out whilst taking a step forward. The hairs on my neck stood to attention and adrenaline filled my veins. I quickly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding being tackled by a dark hooded figure. I dropped to the ground and put my knee on the person’s chest before unmasking them.

Underneath me laid a very pale and very proud male. “Looks like you maintained your training pretty well, little one.”, Yoongi drawled out in a voice that I didn’t recognize. I stood and assisted him in getting to his feet before taking his face in my hands. I gazed at the boy who used to have chubby cheeks and horrible acne. Now his face was strong and defined with pale, clear skin. He was a bit taller, too.

“Who are you and what have you done with my Yoonie?”, I asked with a soft smile. He chuckled before pulling me into a warm hug. “I missed you too, little one.”, he cooed. I sighed with content before pulling away smacking his arm and glaring. “Don’t ever try to scare me again. I could’ve hurt you, bro.”, I demanded causing him to chuckle and roll his eyes.

After picking up my luggage for me and leading to my new room, Yoongi helped me unpack my stuff. It went relatively fast mostly because I didn’t have a lot of stuff. I sat on my bed and looked around. The room was twice as large as my old bedroom with a connecting bathroom. Yoongi had had it painted baby blue, and he’d personally hung little cotton clouds from the ceiling that glowed a soft blue. He’d gotten me a large California King canopy bed with white curtains and a blue bed set to match the walls. He’d even installed Tik Tok lights!

“You did this all on your own?”, I asked. He nodded and sat in the hanging egg chair across from my bed. “I had a little help from a friend with choosing the color scheme, but it was mostly me. I don’t know if mom and dad told you this, but I’m gonna spoil the hell out of you here. Just a small warning before.”, he spoke proudly. I chuckled and nodded.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out, “Come out, you sleepy bastard! I brought you food that I slaved over, so you better be hungry.”. Yoongi stood and pulled me up afterward before dragging me into the spacious living area. There stood the handsome receptionist from earlier. Instead of his work attire, he was dressed in black ripped jeans and a pastel pink button up. His hair had changed, too. The blonde tresses had been transformed from a sleek and elegant look to messy bangs that screamed danger.

Upon our entrance, he glared at Yoongi. “There you are! Boy, do I have words for you. Did you make your sister carry all that heavy shit from the train station?! I know damn good and well I raised a gentleman and most definitely not a fool!”, he raved angrily. Yoongi muttered something along the lines of ‘loud-mouth ass’ causing the blonde to pause his rant and look at Yoongi with wild and incredulous eyes. “Did… did you just BACKTALK ME?!! AH HELL NAH! UH UH! NO! NOT TODAY! I’M FINNA WHOOP YO ASS RIGHT NOW!!!”, he snapped before setting the bags down and lunging at my brother.

I stepped aside and watched as he put my brother in a chokehold whilst pulling his hair. “Cadence! Help! Me!”, Yoongi managed to choke out causing his attacker to look around until his eyes met mine. He paused before dropping my brother and approaching me. “I’m so sorry you had to witness that, love! I’m Seokjin, by the way. Welcome to Sin City on behalf of me! Let’s have lunch together sometime!”, he spoke before reaching down to grasp my hand before pressing a kiss to it.

What the actual fuck had I gotten myself into?

(A/N):

Should I turn this into a series? Lemme know if I should!! Please like, share, and comment your thoughts!

[utterlyinevitable]

hey i know you fell asleep but thank you for the bed time story 🥺🥺🥺

always here to send you fever dream fics on wa 💕 i know it’s not the m fluff you wanted but i did say TBC 👀

transcript under the cut ❤

Post-Bakery Bedtime Story

Mason gets back to the warehouse still dazed and confused as to why the bit at the bakery affected him so much. He doesn’t know why but his feet take him to the library instead of to his room. Nate is sat on his favorite chair by the large window with a tome, Felix is lying on the floor tossing a ball up and down.

“Ah you’re back. The detective make it to work okay?” Felix said with a wink that fell flat when he looked at his friends sullen face. 

Mason shrugged “assume so” 

Nate perked up at the uncertainty in his voice. “Assume so? What do you mean? Did something happen?” 

“I don’t fucking know” m said with such terrifying venom. 

Felix pulled a face and stealthily bolted out of the room. He was not going to stick around for hurricane Mason. Nah ah ah

Nate closed his book and studied the now pacing vampire. Masons hands shoved deep in his pockets and not a cigarette in sight. Not even the faint smell of tobacco that’s synonymous with him tainted his scent and the air. Nate knows it’s because of the detective he stopped smoking. Whether Mason realizes it or not.

“What did you say?” Nate asked knowingly. He wasn’t fully sure Mason said something to upset the detective but 100 years together and his ironclad intuition give him the lead.

“The truth”

“Which is?” 

“It’s not my fault that vile cupcake was sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong” 

“Mason.” Nate all but scolded, speaking volumes with his tone and causing Mason to stop pacing for a moment.

“I think I fucked up” he muttered. All his thoughts culminating to this conclusion.

Nate said nothing. Just waiting for Mason to elaborated on his revelation.

“Lia stomped away. I think she was upset...” But nothing came. Nate watched as Mason’s brows knitted further together and his frown cemented among his freckled features. Whatever happened took it’s toll. 

So Nate asked, “Did you apologize?” 

“Why would I? I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true” 

“If shes upset, you apologize. That’s the right thing to do” 

“Well I damn well didn’t get the chance! She ran right to the station”

“What did you say” Nate basically growled. 

“That all we’re doing is sleeping together. The only ‘seeing’” - he did air quotes with his fingers - “happening is of one another naked”

“Mason...”

He gave Nate a scowl at the sad and patronizing use of his given name.

Time passed silently as the two collected their thoughts. Mason still unsure why he cares so much and Nate afraid for both of them.

Nate breaks the tension. “Is that all that’s going on?”  

“Why would-“ Mason begins to retort, a natural reaction to challenge him. He takes a breath and a pause and then sighs “I hope so.”

Nate nods slowly as he mulls the confession over. He knows exactly why the closed off vampire feels this way and battles whether to break the news to Mason or not. 

Instead he chooses a gentler approach; 

“You care about her. As do we all.”

And then Nate leaves Mason to his own devices

***

That evening Nate volunteered to check up on the detective instead of just simply patrolling, unseen. 

“Oh. Hey” she gave a half hearted smile when he enters her office 

“I’m here to escort you home, if you’ll have me” 

“Thanks. Just need a few more minutes to finish this” 

“Of course.” Nate takes his seat at the table in the corner like usual and gazes around the room trying to assess Mason’s emotional damage. The beat of her heart isn’t consistent with anger. But her demeanor implies somethings amiss

On the walk home he asks “How was your day?”

“Fine” 

“Anything eventful happen?” 

“No. Thankfully.” She takes a pause and kicks a rock. “Actually...” 

Nate perks up, thinking how lucky it is that she’s the one to bring it up and be able to talk about masons mishap. Nate did spend most of the afternoon batting around the implications of the situation on the team, and then the implications of his intervention. 

But then she says, “Verda knows.” 

Nates brows furrowed. Lia notices.  

“About you guys,” she clarifies. Before Nate can respond she quickly adds “his partner eric came by. He’s a supernatural too apparently.” She huffs in disbelief. “and he wants me to convince verda everything’s okay so he can tell him”

NaTe doesn’t really know what to say. The agency needs to know of course. But he also knew Eric is supernatural after their encounter at the carnival - he got the sense. 

Nate wasn’t prepared to have this kind of conversation this evening. 

“How do you feel about that?” he simply asked. 

“I’m glad he knows. That I’ll have somebody to talk to about all this weirdness. But what if he doesn’t come around? What happens if Eric can’t ever tell him, you know? What kind of relationship is that to keep such a big part of your life from the one you love?”

They talk more about this and soon enough they’re at her apartment

And Nate decides to do something out of character. He decides to confront her with his preferred knowledge; “Were you crying earlier?”

She’s taken aback. It’d been hours and she put on a ton of concealer. Damn vampire senses. 

“It doesn’t matter.” There was a fragile finality to her words.  

“Your feelings matter. WhAtever it is”

“It’s stupid.” She shook her head to reaffirm. “My heart got away from me for a moment. It won’t happen again” 

Nate WISHES he could play Cupid. All they needed was a push in the right direction. But they needed to figure this out on their own.

“For what it’s worth, in all my years, listening to your heart is the greatest strength” 

Nate didn’t miss the near inaudible scoff that escaped her

 * * *

So she doesn’t see ub for 4ish days. They’re around. They patrol frequently but no ones come around to say hi and she’s thankful. More time to focus of wtf her heart is trying to tell her and how to deal with verda

She ends up going to the warehouse to pick up Nate. They’ve been texting about the verda situation. Dressed up and ready for the dinner she saunters through the halls and finds him waiting for her in the living room. 

“Damn Lia! You look stunning!” Felix chimes as he takes a look at her in her black dress and matching suede thigh high boots and make up. Very different from the smart dressed detective he sees daily. 

“Thanks” she blushes. She turns to Nate “you ready?” 

“Let me grab my coat” he exits to his room

“Is this a date?” Felix asks innocently enough 

“More like an intervention. Nates good with people and will be able to help verda understand” 

“Makes sense” he agrees. Then nudges her with his elbow “Mason would be the worst option huh” 

“Probably” 

Luckily Nate is back before Felix could read more into the situation and her noncommittal tone. 

“Ready!” He calls and smiles after making sure everything is in order. 

Just as lia is about to meet him in the hallway she nearly collides with Mason entering the room. 

“Hey,” she mumbles politely as she sidesteps him

Mason doesn’t say anything too shocked by her close presence. 

She thinks she hears him grunt and tries to hide her eye roll

As Nate and Lia make their way out of the warehouse mason watches her every movement. Every step. Every sway of her hips and brush of her air in the wind she creates. 

“Feel like groveling yet?” Felix whispers besides him pulling Mason out of the trance. 

“Fuck off”

Masons chest tightens. And he realizes he misses her. Not just her body and her touch but her presence. Her companionship.

Shit

He needs to apologize.

Later that evening, more like in the dead of night, Masons on the roof after patrolling a little earlier than normal but he needed the reprieve at the time. Needed the solitude and distraction patrolling provided. 

Now he’s tuned into nature and so at ease

Until he hears an irregular sound coming from floors below

Not irregular, not really. Not foreign, no. But a familiar thumping

No it couldn’t be.

He’s imagining things

He lights up another cigarette to make it go away

But it persists. It’s still there when he’s done

So he goes downstairs to get a beer to numb the pain. But he takes the route past the room that’s been empty nearly every single night since they moved in.

and it’s there

The steady, calm drum of her heartbeat

And he doesn’t need that beer anymore

He goes into his room two doors down and rests his eyes and body to the sound of her

* * *

The next morning she’s in the smaller, functional kitchen at the table eating an omelet she made along with some coffee. She has a full day of combat training and needs the calories.

Mason waited until he was sure she was relaxed and not distracted to enter. Tbh he’s never been in this room before. No need when human food smells worse than garbage.

He plops himself on the edge of the table opposite her. She doesn’t look up from what she’s reading on her phone. He doesn’t say anything either.

Eventually she takes in a very long very deep breath shuts her eyes puts her phone and fork down exhales and looks at him. Masking her features as best she can in close Proximity

Her left eyebrow raises, silently questioning

He doesn’t know what to say

He didn’t think this far ahead

She has his mind in complete disarray. Everything on his mind in his thoughts is her her her

But she won’t crack first. He can see that. He can feel how cold she is

“Look -“ is all he manages to choke out before she interrupts

“Save it.”

His mouth slams shut at the indifferent hostility

She continues, “what you said was out of line and frankly embarrassing.” 

He gives a tilt of his head in agreement. 

“I don’t need the entire town knowing my business.”

Instinct told him to make a sex joke, but he knew better than to break out the comfortable banter right now. Had enough awareness to see they weren’t back on good terms -- were they ever? 

Lia continued, “I also shouldnt have stormed out. So sorry for overreacting.”

Eventually she allowed for Mason to speak more than one word, “sorry For saying it”

She gave a tight smile. Forced and lacking all the things he’s come to look forward in that toothy grin of hers. 

She pushed her chair out and stood. Mason followed, standing three steps from her. He waited for the hug that she was bound to give him. She must be just as touch starved as he is he hopes.

But instead she picks up her dishes and puts them in the washer and walks out.

-TBC-

_____________

A/N: if you’re not ayla and you’re reading this, thank you for making it this far. and sorry it’s shit. this is just a thing i wrote over whatsapp at midnight because my friend asked for a fluffy m fic 😅

[luvreyn]

My Manhwa List (2020) Part 7

It’s been a crazy 24 hours (more or less) for me. How are you all? Hope you’re doing better. Anyways, onto the list!

Forever Mine

Description:

He will follow every command I give him. He will follow me to the ends of the earth. He is Forever Mine.

THOUGHTS & WHY READ THIS:

- plot = 5/5 kinda simple yet so marvelous idk if it because the art helped to but this is so great

- honestly didn’t expect the revelation at the beginning

- art = 5/5 because i love it! look at how pretty they are!

- same author/illustration as sweet spooky darling 

- fact: i read this in one sitting that’s how good and captivating it was

- the characters are so cute

- no heavy drama 

- a personal favorite 

- i only have good words about this

- friends to lovers trope aye sir

- although i wish certain characters were given spotlight to tell their story, i understand that it wasnt the focus of the author 

- it’s so good that i didn’t even notice that i was at the last chapter type of good!

- they have the best friends

- the 3rd parties arent villainous at all so plus points

- verdict, highly recommended! i enjoyed it so much & i hope you do too!

Broken Melody

Description:

Minhee used to be a world-famous piano prodigy until one mistake sent her life spiraling. Her confidence shaken, her family broken and her life in ruins, all she can do is hope for a chance to make things better. That's when she meets Eun Hyun, the neighborhood piano teacher whose life has been filled with tragedies of his own. The world breaks everyone, it's up to us to pick up the pieces and glue ourselves back together. 

THOUGHTS & WHY READ THIS:

- plot = 5/5 very perfectly complicated & there’s a lot of elements present that gave the story flavors 

- art = 4.5/5 

- tbh i drop this some time in 2019 cause some parts were dark & depressing & heavy for me (and i wasnt in the best mindset that time) so just to warn you guys in case :) 

- mentor x student (the thing is, they were connected through one passion and she was no sexualized in any way, it was an emotional connection)

- d r a m a 

- lots of drama!!

- the character’s motivations!!! they all have this strong urge and motivation to achieve their goal 

- the end justifies the means <- probably their motto

- p i a n o (main reason i got drawn in)

- verdict, recommended if you crave for drama! 

By the Way, Dragon Mistress!

Description:

Though he had lost his family at a young age, through the help of Duchess Orleans and the Emperor, Karl grew up excellently. But at the banquet Karl attends to tell the Duchess of the Emperor's meaningful words, a questionable explosion takes place. Duchess, what is your true identity?!

THOUGHTS & WHY READ THIS:

- plot = 3/5 

- art = 3.5/5 

- only few chaps so give it a try!

- older girl x younger guy

- will probably gave it a higher rating if it didn’t felt rush or was executed properly

- the mistress is a strong independent woman amen

- verdict, an okay read!

Daisy: How to Become the Duke's Fiancée

Description:

Sweet, timid Daisy meets a tragic end after being betrayed by the man she loves. When she is given a second chance at life, she vows not to repeat the same mistakes of the past! The only problem is that she must pay off her father’s gambling debt to Kilian, an aristocrat with a terrifying reputation. One option will take her 60 years, and the other, just three... but it involves a contract marriage to Kilian, who must be three years married in order to inherit the title of duke. While Daisy has sworn off men, the conditions of the offer are too good to pass up. She will be paid a generous amount of money at the end of the contract and also be guaranteed a swift divorce. Is she making a mistake by putting her trust in another man? Or will this deal give her the wings she needs to fly?

THOUGHTS & WHY READ THIS:

- plot = 3/5 for now cause it only has 1 chap release

- art = 3.5/5

- going back in time trope

- i n t e r e s t i n g

- i wanna know what the hell happened!!!

- their dad is a jerk ugh

- her older sister doesnt even know her priorities

- verdict: has a potential so give it a try!

I Bid You Adieu

Description:

Ayne le Poregrin has three "trophies" in her collection of men: a reluctant fiancé held hostage by his debts, a fickle assassin paid to be her lover, and a soulless pet dog won at a slave auction. But to suddenly wake up one day as this femme fatale is the worst possible surprise. As the villainess of the novel "The Fairy Garden," the new "Ayne" is fated to die a painful death at the hands of her very own trophies! To sidestep her grim future, she knows she'll need to break up with all three. As soon as she tries to say goodbye, however, each man becomes attached and won't leave her alone! Can Ayne turn their affections towards the story's heroine and save her own life in the process? Based on the hit novel.

THOUGHTS & WHY READ THIS:

- plot = 3.5/5 

- art = 3.5/5

- truck-kun strikes again

- i s e k a i

- the assasin

- i relate to her in a fangirl level jk

- i n t e r e s t i n g

- verdict: this seems to be okay despite the overly used isekai element now or it’s probably because of the assasin & her attitude of collecting beautiful man but i do hope this rise to the ocassion aka develops properly

[vegetalass]

Veneno

its almost 5 am and i’ve been working on this for WEEKS and im sick of it!!!!! i think its the longest fic ive written in my life tbh...

I really wanted to play with the idea of a Sidestep who was manipulating herald, as I remember Malin mentioning multiple routes exploring a few different possibilities of treatments to the ROs. so this is my take on the manipulation theme!

partially inspired by my ex, who has a dumb nickname I never called him, and who once said to me “even if you can’t say it back, i’ll wait.” 

sorry for giving herald a cat. i was actually just describing mine lol. 

warning: contains Fallen Hero: Retribution spoilers, with sweets and drinking vice mentioned. 

HUGE thank you to @abyssopelagick and my friend GRUM!!!!!!! who i can honestly say i wouldn’t have been able to post without. ily both! 

FH:R belongs to @fallenhero-rebirth

Herald/gn!Reader - 2753 words

You knew it. You knew Herald used to be rich.

Maybe it was his perfect hair and blue eyes that gave it away, or the fact that he mentioned having a television as a kid. Maybe it was because he was so sweet and shy when you first met, that when you found the collection of pills beneath his bathroom counter when you went snooping through his stuff, that you realized you’d never even considered the fact that he’s probably never had to starve.

In retrospect, maybe it should’ve been a little more obvious after the first night you spent with him, and you should’ve taken better precautions to handle his delicate, loving nature, but so far you haven’t complained and you’re not about to start. Not only has everything worked out, but currently, you’re laying in the soft, old sheets of Herald’s bed, in his nice and clean apartment you can only describe as luxury.

Better than what you have. Better than what you had.

It makes you feel like a kid, the type with no concept for anything except longing. The kind of kid that reads books about bakers who sneak bread to dying girls, and blond princes who insist on liking someone their father hates.

And boy, does Herald like you.

He’s such a prim boy, if not just a sweet one. Kind, generous, loving, you name it. Anybody would be lucky to have him, and for now, that means you. The money is just a bonus, one that you could easily get used to.

Whether this has always the case, though, is another question. One that doesn’t matter much, because you find it’s just been nice to have been surprised as a telepath. Not to mention, you could always use the resources.

In some ways, it makes you want to laugh; to think that Herald knows nothing of your endeavors to kill him, and that all his good fortune can’t do a thing to stop you.

But in others, you feel like crying because he’s a boy who loves you and you have nothing left to offer in return.

You’ve decided not to mull on it. Because when he invites you to spend the night, and kisses you endlessly in that red-hot way, staying in his bed after is so comfortable and warm that it almost feels like the reason you don’t intend to get caught as a villain for a while.

So, you’ve been starting to come over to his place a lot recently.

It wasn’t intentional, your relationship with him. You always tried to tell him that it was Sidestep he was dreaming of, not this new you. But from the moment you let him kiss you on that day in HQ, and then later on that other night after your first date... it became harder and harder to stop yourself from growing quite… fond of him.

Even if it wasn’t planned.

Despite the mess that you’ve gotten tangled up in, in every possible way, it has been a really fun way to pass the time. Watching the way Herald dances around you as if you’re a breakable doll who’s done no wrong, even if he loves and trusts and admires you.

And the fact that you sometimes have emotional outbursts where you cry about disappointing him only adds to the effect of it all. It’s a risky but satisfying game, and even if part of it is genuine, you’re still a villain and have to remember the limits, though you don’t want to be evil all of the time. You might run out of luck.

Herald doesn’t know that, though. There’s actually a lot that he doesn’t.

Part of the fun is trying to guess how long you think all of this good might last. Because good things never last, do they?

But that’s no matter right now, and you shake your head from the thought, because the only person who has even dared to figure out your true nature is Herald’s cat, who hasn’t taken kindly to your presence since the start.

What a smart animal.

She’s a fat, old thing. A tabby, with piercing, green eyes. She was hiding on the first night you came over, probably busy licking herself and thinking that you were another romantic partner here to screw her Daniel over. She was right, but you just kept coming back.

Currently, she’s washing herself from her place on Herald’s dirty hoodie on the dresser across from you, looking up occasionally to hiss in what feels like a mocking, angry tone.

Re-Gene! Villain! I know what you’ve done, and you leave my Daniel out of it!

Tough shit, cat, though it’s still a shame she won’t let you pet her.

Not like you’re planning on moving out of bed, anyway.

It’s only in between your stints of dozing to the sound the sickly sounding auburn news anchor on the TV and mulling about whether sweets or a drink would taste better first, that you notice the approaching presence of Herald’s feather white aura growing closer, and realize that he must be in the building.

Even the now-napping cat seems to stir in acknowledgement before the both of you notice the sound of keys struggling in a locked door, as if you couldn’t try to pinpoint Herald’s exact location by entering his mind from your comfortable position with a little effort if you really wanted to try.

Immediately, the cat jumps from her comfortable perch to the floor, and rushes to the front door in an attempt to reach Herald halfway, get a scratch, and then rat you out as if he’d even listen if she could talk.

Either way, he’s home.

You can hear meows, and it’s easy to imagine how she tangles around his ankles as he squats to give her ears a good scritch. The pleasant imagery is interrupted too soon, though, as suddenly she yowls and you can hear the pit-pat of her feet as she rushes your way in her attempt to tattle on you.

“Oh, you,” you can hear him mutter at her as his footsteps echo in your direction before he hobbles into the room with a nasty limp. He looks about as close to someone who just got hit by a car and lived as someone possibly could, as his mess of gold hair is wind-blown and tangled, face bruised and dirty, and from the way his head is tilted down, must’ve been slouching for a while.

He looks... defeated, and you smile at the sight, hoping that you somehow look kind.

The cat continues to meow until Herald looks up, eyes widening in surprise when they finally meet your gaze, and despite his bad posture, or lack thereof from his aches, brightens immediately at your smile.

“Hi,” he breathes, finally standing up to throw his keys onto the little table resting by the door to his room.

“I wasn’t sure if I could let myself in-” You nod in his direction, before he interrupts you.

“Of course,” he blurts, almost too quickly, and then quickly looks away from your face when he finishes. “Always.”

You smile, feigning relief, even if you don’t really care.

Herald continues on, shuffling from where he’s standing to a dresser not far away, and you sit up in his bed to watch as he strips from his Ranger suit to reveal another handful of purple-blue wounds and scratches layered above his already scarred chest. He must be hurting.  

“Daniel...” you call to him in an attempt to seem worried, and he hums in acknowledgement, “Are you okay?”

He grunts, and in the silence that follows, the TV seems to grow louder in his place. You hadn’t realized that it switched from the weather special to a Los Diablos Breaking News! segment.

“Ranger spotted in successful attempt stopping local mob,” the smiling woman says, eyes blurred toward the camera as a clip of Herald handcuffing a man in a black jumpsuit takes over the screen.

You smile again because he’s a really good guy. A great one. And his fighting has been getting better.

Part of you wonders if it’s due to the fact that you’ve been training him, and the other part wonders if you should be worried. He’s always been someone who appears a lot weaker than he actually is. And you want to stoke the flame.

“You don’t have pull the tough guy act with me, Daniel,” you say to him, this time more forcefully.

You know he always notices when you use his real name, which is one of the reasons why you started using it. This time, you watch as he lowers the green shirt he’s been holding to his chest to look at you with those endless blue eyes and sigh wistfully.

“I get it, you know I do,” you try again, this time with the intent of at least getting him to open up.

You’re nervous, at first, scared of what he could say to you. That he knows you’re playing games, or that he doesn’t want you around anymore. But nothing has ever warranted this response in the past, so you wonder what’s happened to him to make him look at you like you just hit him over the head.

Ha.

You have hurt him. You even ruined one of his legs, but that was in the past, and it’s not like he knows that was you. If he did, you’d hope that he’d just be grateful enough to appreciate the fact that you didn’t kill him that night, too. He shouldn’t have any reason to look worried when you’ve just been here, lying in bed, silently waiting for him to join you, so you suppose you shouldn’t be worried either.

The TV speaks again.

“Impressive feat for the youngest member of the Rangers, who just under a year ago was taken down by the notorious Puppetmaster at their debut sighting.”

Herald is still paused, except this time, you notice his gaze has moved from you to the screen in front of him.

Though the news channel was initially spouting a success story, it’s no surprise that they’re now comparing Herald’s skills to when the both of you fought. It’s also not a surprise when the golden boy of the Rangers suddenly looks even smaller than before when he whips back around as to stop glaring at the news anchor as if she could even see him. You wonder what she would do if she could.  

You don’t speak.

“You know…” Herald starts, ignoring your previous words all together, “I’m worried about you.”

This doesn’t shock you, though not because you’re a telepath. He’s a naive boy, so of course he is worried, and because part of you cares about him in some twisted way, the good in you wishes that he wasn’t.

Worried or naive?

Both?

Deep down, you know he shouldn’t like you and you crave to tell him as such. To berate him, to beat it into him, to scream that he’s just a stupid, little boy in love with an animal who has a past he’d never understand. But it’s easy to stop yourself because you always do.

You hesitate to respond, but mutter back anyway. “Why?”  

You know he means it well, he means everything well, but the words come out harsher than you intended them to, and you quickly have to pat the spot next to you in bed to ensure that Herald thinks you’re not angry at him for simply… being him.

The little, sweet and young Sidestep that is still left in your heart is screaming to be kinder; telling you that you should just be happy that there is someone still cares for you and is able to show it. But there’s an ache in your heart, and suddenly the thought of both your past and your future make you feel like you have to get piss-shit drunk, puke all over yourself, and then immediately get heartburn.

So you decide to ignore the thought all together, and focus on the fact that Herald is now staring intently at you again. Only half-dressed (which is distracting), still, but staring nonetheless.

He tilts his face towards the ground to slouch once more, before whispering, “I just don’t want… them to come after you, too.”

“Oh, hush,” you say instantly, patting the bed again, before reaching out your arms for him to join you as he makes his way over. You know who he means, and the person already has.

You.

You are coming for yourself.

“Puppetmaster is growing very strong, when they learn you’re still around… they might-” He cannot finish the thought before he reaches the bed and ducks himself into your waiting arms.

You roll your eyes as you rest your cheek on his soft head. He really is a silly boy.

“I’ll be fine,” you say, into his hair, “I still have you, don’t I?”

He stays silent, so you continue the charade.

“You’re the one on the frontlines, so if anything, I’m the one who should be worried,” are your final words, before Herald cups your cheeks in his large palms in an attempt to kiss you. Before he makes it, however, you have to swat his face away because you can’t stop the laugh that bubbles deep from inside your chest at the realization of the situation.

Herald looks stunned, but smiles meekly in return when he decides you aren’t angry, and then laughs with you, even if he doesn’t get the joke.

“You’re silly, Daniel,” you say, settling with simplicity, because what do you say to the love who you’re lying to? What can you say, even if you kind of love them back?

But Herald, or maybe Daniel now (as you don’t much care which anymore), just blinks slow and smiles, content being held tightly in your arms.

You want to consider it strange, all this dedication to a person he doesn’t really know, this old Sidestep person, whoever they are, except that in a way, you realize, he does know you.

He knows the you that you have given him, this laughing kid, and in a sense, you truly believe that that’s not really you at all; because you just play this game too well, and he’s been wrapped around your finger from the start. You allowed for this, and you don’t want to say you regret it.

He’s a sweet boy. Always has been. And he never fails to surprise you.

“I love you,” he declares suddenly, voice quiet, sweet, and calming.

And you’re shocked. Not because you didn’t know that, but because you weren’t expecting to really care. And underneath his covers, everything seems three times as sweet. You weren’t expecting to be flattered, and there’s a part of you doesn't even mind. Another thing you could easily get used to. So responding is easy.

“Thank you, Daniel. I mean it.”

And he nods, still cuddled against your heart, your tattoos, looking at you like someone who could truly be loved. He is smiling all the while, too.

“Even if you can’t say it back, I’ll wait,” he says, lips barely curled, blue eyes sparkling.

It’s a nice gesture: this sudden, heartfelt proclamation, but you can’t say it’s one you deserve, as you have been so cruel to both him and yourself. Even though the Sidestep in you would rather jump off a roof, crash, and die before breaking his heart, you have long since realized that there is still a villain inside you that is hungry to laugh and cheer when Herald finds out who really tore him apart on that night at the museum.

You’d feel worse, but that day really was amazing. Finally making yourself proud, even at his expense.

However, the thought quickly escapes you, as this time, when he leans over to kiss you, you let him. His lips are warm on yours, and as you find your fingers tangled in his hair, for a second, it almost feels as though this relationship wasn’t built on a lie.  

“I know,” you respond, smiling sweetly at him for once, genuinely, because even if could change your behavior, you cannot help your pride, and you cannot help your heart.

And when you’re going to break his anyway, even though you know you should stop this mess, because a small part of you loves him, you might as well make sure it hurts.