#that first debrief on the balcony. etched in my memory.

[fiovske]

kim kitsuragi smoke break time

[daebakinc]

Hero Among Thorns - Pt.3

Pairing: Hyunwoo x Reader Genre: Undercover Detective AU, Action, Romance Word Count: 2.5K Summary: When a mistaken connection results in your kidnapping by one of the city’s most notorious gangs, the undercover detective Hyunwoo has no choice but to rescue and protect you, and, most dangerously of all, fall in love with you. Warning: Mentions of violence and blood. Parts: See Masterlist for previous parts. (Sorry, but Tumblr won’t show posts with links in tag searches. 

Under Jooheon’s watchful gaze, you shuffle out of the room after you eat and take a nap. The sun’s light is weak with dusk, the electrical lights humming above your head to brighten the hallway. A television’s indecipherable buzz gets louder as you walk down the short hall, passing two closed doors. When you step into the doorway leading to the living area, the first thing you notice is how cramped it is.

 The kitchen area is small but neat and modern with slate gray walls and tiles. A short half-counter separates it from the living room. Two large couches and an armchair in a darker shade of gray than the walls and overstuffed for perfect naps encircle a widescreen television. A weights bench and stand with free range weights is tucked into the corner by the small balcony. But maybe it isn’t the furniture that makes the room seem too small. It very well could be the six men ranged about the space.

Kihyun washes dishes with his back to a dark-haired man in an oversized hoodie hunched over a bulky laptop on the counter. Lines of green numbers and letters flash across the screen in meaningless sequences. Two men sit side by side on one of the couches in jeans and old graphic T’s, both animatedly discussing the soccer match on the television. One is blond, lanky, and practically vibrating with energy from his gesticulating hands to his bouncing knee. His companion is slightly calmer but just as intent and looks like he could be gym buddies with Dwayne Johnson. Yet another man with an angelic face dominates the other couch, his legs for miles dangling off the edge of an arm as he sleeps.

Shownu, or rather Hyunwoo, you remind yourself, sits in the armchair, his eyes following the ball on the screen. He’s changed from the jeans to more comfortable sweatpants a shade lighter than his shirt. Although you don’t make a sound or move, Hyunwoo’s gaze flicks to yours.

All the air rushes from your lungs. The medication Jooheon gave you must be stronger than you thought. No way Hyunwoo’s soft smile and the way it so genuinely shines in his eyes can have that effect on you already.

Must be a side effect of the medication. Has to be.

“Guys,” Hyunwoo rises from his chair, “our guest is up.”

Mr. Muscles shoots to his feet with a disconcerting speed, his neighbor rising from his seat as well. When his sleeping friend fails to follow, Muscles nudges the sleeping one’s feet off the couch. “Come on, where’re your manners? Stand when a lady comes into the room.”

“Getting there,” the friend mumbles as he sits up. He opens one eye to glare at the offender. “You didn’t draw the short straw for dawn surveillance.”

“I’m assuming you want us to introduce ourselves?” the blond asks Hyunwoo even as he moves around the couch. With a winning smile and waving hand, he comments, “Looks like I was pretty spot on. Everything fit okay?”

You pause mid-smile. “Excuse me?”

He gives you a boyish smile of apology. “Ah, sorry, that came out weird. I’m Minhyuk. Resident mechanic and artist. I’m really good with estimating measurements so I picked up your new clothes since we hadn’t gone to your place yet. I wasn’t sure on some but-”

“Shut up before you sound like a creep,” says Mr. Muscles, laughing. He inclines his head to you in a princely nod. “Hoseok, ma’am, second-in-command of the unit. I promise we’ll do our best to make this experience as safe and painless as possible.”

The third couch resident yawns and starts to stretch. “Ditto what he said except Hyungwon, sharpshooter slash whatever the boss needs.”

“Please, don’t get up on my account,” you say, throwing out your free hand when he begins to rise. “If you had a late night, you need rest.”

Hyungwon gives you an unreadable look before turning his head towards Hyunwoo. “I like her.” He settles back into the couch, body slack but eyes alert.

Kihyun finishes drying off a hand to flick the last remaining team member lightly on the forehead. “This one’s Changkyun. Kid hacker turned good guy by our captain over there.”

Changkyun taps one more key, then turns around to give you a brief, assessing look-over. “Yo.”

“Hi,” you reply.

“By the way,” Changkyun’s eyes go to Hyunwoo. “Turns out your gym is the gym she works at.”

Something clicks in your mind as you look at Hyunwoo, mouth dropping open. “That was you!” you squeak.

Hyunwoo’s mouth pouts in confusion. “Me? I’m sure we haven’t run into each other there before-”

“No, no.” You try to wave your hand, but the sling hinders your movement. “My friend, Amy, she took a picture of you like last week or something when she saw you there. She sent me the pic because –… well, you’re hot.”

More than one of the men snickers. Hyunwoo just looks amused and shakes his head.

“Well, one more piece of the puzzle falls into place,” Hyungwon says. “Still begs the question as to why Yew made such a dramatic a move now.”

“I’d really like to know a lot of things,” you add, trying to cross your arms only to remember you can’t. “I don’t take kindly to being shot, kidnapped, and drugged.”

“None of us enjoy it either,” Kihyun says matter-of-factly. He takes your uninjured arm and steers you towards the couch. Maneuvering Minhyuk aside with a bump of his elbow, he settles you in the space previously occupied by Hoseok and sits beside you. “But we do need to debrief you about what you remember. If you don’t mind doing that now.”

Jooheon answers the question in Kihyun’s glance over your head. “Without the lab, I can’t tell if any of the drugs used on her affect memory. That is if they haven’t already disappeared from her system.”

“You mean from when I was kidnapped?” you ask.

Kihyun nods and Minhyuk adds, “Don’t leave anything out. A detail may seem insignificant, but it could be useful to us.”

Hoseok picks up the remote to turn off the television. In the sudden quiet, you feel an intensity descend over the room. You look around to find each of the occupants intent on your face, your body language. Even Changkyun closes his laptop and watches from the stool. Jooheon and Minhyuk perch on the arms of Hyungwon’s couch while Hoseok stands beside Hyunwoo’s chair. The smiles are gone, replaced with the focus of hunters.

You are very, very glad these men are on your side and not after you. With their concentrated gazes and bodies leaning towards yours, they look like bloodhounds straining on leash, ready to track their prey to the ends of the earth. And you have no doubt once they do, it’s going to be dangerous for whoever it is.

“Um,…” Your voice falters and fails. Hyunwoo gives you a small smile. The tiny encouragement helps you find your words again. “I left work by myself at one that morning—”

“You work at a medical office, not a hospital. What were you doing there so late?” Changkyun interrupts.

“Our biller’s been out helping her daughter with a new grandbaby, so we were behind with insurance claims. Yester- that day was the last day to file them. I’m the only one who knows how to do it. I had to catch up on my own work, too: ordering vaccines and supplies, filing specialist reports, etcetera. The office is a mess if I don’t.”

“Not safe for a woman to be out alone like that,” you hear Hoseok mumble.

Minhyuk attempts to get the conversation back on track. “And after you left?”

You briefly describe your path home, leaving out your pause by the ballet studio. No need to relive that or drag them through your trip down memory lane. You describe the car that almost hit you, but then everything gets hazy. In the pain of being shot, your brain had been otherwise occupied.

Closing your eyes, you try harder. “I didn’t see the faces of whoever pulled me off the ground, but… there was a guy in the car, in the backseat that they showed me to. I couldn’t see his face. He was smoking something really bitter smelling. And his arm… there was a tattoo on his forearm. The outside of it. All black. Something like a tree, maybe?”

“Which arm?” Kihyun presses.

Eyes still shut, you shift your body, placing yourself back on that street. “I was walking down the street, so the right? I guess?”

“If you saw the tattoo again, would you recognize it?”

“Maybe.”

When you open your eyes, you catch the shared look between all the men. Changkyun magically has a tablet in his lap, fingers flying across the screen. The tattoo meant something.

Changkyun turns the screen back to you. “This it?”

The photo is slightly blurry as if the camera had to zoom in from a distance. It only shows an arm, raised in the air in mid-gesture. Although the finer details of the tattoo are smudged at the distance, you recognize the twisted trunk and severe lines.

Ignoring the chill that settles in your chest, you quickly look away. “Yeah. That’s it.”

“We must have really pissed Yew off if he oversaw the job personally,” Hoseok comments, glancing down at Hyunwoo. “This would be the first sighting of him in months.”

Hyunwoo’s gaze stays on the floor. A crease etches deeper between his eyes. His hand comes to his chin, his pointer finger rubbing the skin. “Maybe one of our recent deals hit a nerve.”

You wrap your free arm around yourself. “How… how bad is this guy? You said he was some kind of gangster, right?”

“He deals in drugs, contraband, murders, humans,” Jooheon spits, the hatred in his voice surprising you. “Anything sold on this region’s black-markets, he’s had a hand in it at some point. Arms are just his newest ‘business venture’.”

“So why hasn’t he been taken down before?”

Kihyun laughs humorlessly. “He’s a bastard, but unfortunately, he’s a smart one. Always careful to never have his name on the papers or the money, kept himself small enough to hide behind the bigger fish. That is until he made an example of one of our undercover agents he caught sniffing around. Since that day, he’s been our top priority.”

You don’t dare ask if they knew the murdered officer personally or what kind of example Yew chose. From the grim look on the men’s faces, they took the loss personally.

You look at the photograph on the screen again. Even faceless, or perhaps because he is so, Yew looms more menacingly than before. You draw your legs up to rest your chin on your knees. What kind of horrors did such a monster have planned for you if Hyunwoo had not acted or if he had acted any slower. What would he have done if Hyunwoo hadn’t acted at all. Cold creeps further into your skin as the millions of horrible fates you could have met flash like a demented movie reel through your head.

“I’ll be right back,” Hyunwoo suddenly says. He walks out of the room and out of sight into the hallway. When he returns, he holds a candy pink hoodie in his arms.

Unzipping it, he lays it across your shoulders. It’s ridiculously large and hangs loosely. But it also may be the warmest, softest, most comfortable thing you’ve ever worn. “You looked cold,” he says when you give him a questioning look.

“Ex-girlfriend’s?” you impulsively ask. With an internal sigh, you remind yourself it’s none of your business. And that you shouldn’t care. Not one bit.

Hoseok lets out a bark of laughter. “Nope. His.”

“His?” Incredulous, you pick at the fabric. They really expect you to believe some badass commando secret agent owns something like this?

Then again, this is the twenty-first century. Screw gender conformity. Men look good in pink.

Hyunwoo doesn’t appear embarrassed by your tone, simply smiling. “It’s a graduation gift from my old swim team. One of the coaches use to call me a merman. The girls on the team took it a little farther.”

You stay absolutely still as he reaches out and pinches some of the fabric to show you. There, stitched in bright red thread and loopy cursive, is ‘Merman.’

“Always thought I was more of a turtle, but it’s all in good fun,” Hyunwoo adds.

“It’s cute.” You smile at the thought of little Hyunwoo, if he was ever little, surrounded by a throng of giggling girls as they present the hoodie to him.

“Thanks.”

Pulling the hoodie closer around you, you venture, “So, can I ask my questions now?”

“Sure.”

“Do you have any idea when I can go home? If you’ve investigating Yew for a while, doesn’t that mean you’ll be done soon?” Maybe with the others present, you can get a different answer.

“I already contacted both of your jobs with a story about you being injured while going home to visit your family.” Changkyun says, leaning back on his elbows against the countertop. “The documentation I included was enough to buy three months’ medical leave from your office job. After that, we’ll figure something out. The gym will cover your classes indefinitely until you’re back. Once I’ve made sure your phone and online accounts aren’t being monitored, you can contact your family. I’ll figure out a cover story for you then. Your rent will be taken care of as we go.”

He makes it sound like it was nothing. Has he done this kind of thing that often that it really is nothing for him? Your second thought is where are they getting the money from. Your place isn’t the Ritz, but nothing in this city is cheap.

Scrambling to do calculations in your head, the amount needed to cover your rent for three months at once makes you woozy. You’ll really have to live sparsely, more so than normal, but if there’s one thing you hate, it’s owing people. “Can I pay you back in installments after this is all done?”

Changkyun shakes his head and your heart sinks, only for him to say, “You don’t have to pay us back at all. Our pockets are deep for this op; we’ll add it to our expenses.”

Shit, that’s a lot of money. It makes you uncomfortable taking it. “But-”

Hyunwoo cuts you off. “Consider it compensation for testifying when we close the case.”

“I never said I’d testify,” you blurt out.

[katbird787]

At Last (part 7)

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warning: Nightmares, Anxiety, Vague mentions of torture

Summary: Reader was captured by HYDRA until The Avengers come to her rescue

Word Count: ~1700

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out, I have been sick as a dog for two weeks with zero motivation/inspiration to write, but I’m finally feeling better! Huzzah!

Part 6

Slamming the door behind me I collapse against it completely spent. Fatigue and exhaustion seeps into my mind and body.  Stumbling to my bed I crawl into it, tears pricking my eyes as the events of the past months finally catch up me.  How is it that I am finally out of that hellhole, but still seem to be trapped? What was it that actually happened to me?  How can I move past this? Why me?  

These thoughts consume me as sleep claims me.

No. No!  I don't know!

Please stop!  I beg.

Another blow.

More questions I can't answer.

Pain.

Tears.

I shoot up in bed, gasping. Wiping my face.  Feeling tears. Eyes darting around the room. Ok. I'm not there anymore.  But not safe. Right? I don't know anymore.  

Looking at the clock I see it's not even 4am.  Resigning myself to being awake, I swing my leg over the side of the bed and make my way to the bathroom.  Turning on the lights, I am taken aback by what I see in the mirror.  Dark circles under my eyes. Bruises turning nasty shades of purple, yellow, and black. A testament to my time spent with HYDRA. Closing my eyes against the sight, I splash some water on my face hoping to drive away the nightmare.

Walking back into the bedroom I take in the disheveled sheets and realize I won't be getting any more sleep tonight. I decide to head to common room to get a drink and maybe a snack. Grabbing one of the oversized sweaters the girls left for me and pulling it on, I head for the elevator. It arrives and I press the button for the correct floor, still trapped in thoughts of my nightmare. The arrival bell is still jarringly loud, but I don't startle as I did earlier this evening.  Distractedly I head for the kitchen area, grabbing a bottle of scotch on the way. After pouring myself a generous helping, I take a drink, hoping to calm my nerves. It's then that I hear a throat being cleared.

Buckys POV

The elevator dings, heralding an arrival.  I have been enjoying the peace and solitude of the early morning hours, as I usually do, so the addition of another person is somewhat irritating.  That is until I see who comes down through the door.  I feel like an idiot, she caught my eye at dinner and I was so lost in my thoughts that I am still not sure what my expression was.  Whatever it was caused her to retreat so fast, that I didn't have a chance to remedy the situation. But here I am tucked away in the corner, shadows cascading over me as she walks in.  Her hair is messy with sleep; she has a sweater wrapped around her as if it were armor; bruises on her face casting light on our harsh reality; her eyes, however, give me pause.  They have that haunted, empty look, that I notice in my own upon awakening from a nightmare. She nearly slinks into the kitchen and pours herself a drink; scotch, never would have pictured her as a scotch drinker.  I roll my eyes at myself; idiot, you have only known her for about 10 hours.

Clearing my mind and, unconsciously, my throat her head whips around searching for the source of the sound.

Y/n POV

My head whips around toward the sound, eyes wide, slowly backing myself against the counter, shrinking, bracing for an attack. And then James stands up, from his place in the shadows. A sharp exhale escapes me, relief harsh within my body.  Casting my eyes back to the drink in my hands, I miss the pain that flashes across his face.

"I'm sorry. About earlier," he offers.  "I was caught up in my own thoughts. It's not an excuse, but it's the truth."

Wrenching my eyes toward his, I see his brows pulled together in sincerity, yet still staying in the far corner he had be sitting in when I arrived. Pulling my lips between my teeth, I nod. Knowing how captivating the mind can be.

He slowly walks toward me, hands held out in a peaceful gesture. I park myself on one of the bar stools and James slides into the one next to mine.

"Nightmare?" He asks.

Bringing the glass to my lips I take a long pull before nodding. Glad that I didn't add ice as it would have given away the tremble of my hands.

Slowly shaking his head in acknowledgment "Yea, me too" he trails off.

His admission startles me and I turn to look at him.  His hair is loose and messy, the dim lights casting shadows along his sharp jaw. He turns toward me and I can feel the blush rising to my cheeks, as I'm caught starting.  But his lips quirk up in a small smile, one I try to return, successfully I believe. He stands and I think he's going to leave, a pang of disappointment shoots through me, instead he walks around to refill my drink and pour one of his own. Leaning against the bar he takes a sip, looking at me.

"Do you want to watch TV? It helps take your mind off it" he invites as he pushes off and goes to sit on one of the couches grabbing the remote before plopping down on the cushion.

Slowing standing from my stool, I make my way over to the living area. I fold myself into the far corner of the couch as James decides what to watch.

Two episodes later and a smile has etched itself on my face. He was right; it's a good distraction. Suddenly he stands up and makes to leave.  Catching his eyes I furrow my brows and tilt my head in confusion.

"Oh. Steve will be waking up about now, and he asks too many questions if he isn't the first one here in the morning" he grins conspiratorially as he heads for the elevator.

Figuring I'm probably safe from said inquisition I go to brew a pot of coffee. If I'm to appear at and hopefully not participate in a mission debriefing, I will need caffeine.

Sure enough, before the coffee had finished, Steve shuffles into the kitchen. All messy haired and bleary eyed. He does a double take when he sees someone else is awake.

"Oh hi" he mumbles, still not fully awake.  I pour two cups and offer him one as I go to sit at the table. He wanders to the table, sits down, and opens the newspaper, seemingly having come from nowhere. Separating his preferred section, he slides the rest to me.  

So as to have something to do with my hands I pull out a section and go to read it, when something catches my eye. April. I went running in December. Before Christmas.  Four months. Pushing the paper away in a huff, I stand. Abandoning my coffee, I run for the elevator and the sanctuary of my room, leaving Steve sitting at the table, staring after me, cup stalled half way to his mouth.

Bursting into my apartment, throwing the door closed behind me I immediately start pacing.  

4 months.

Four.

I missed Christmas.

I missed New Years.

Panic snakes its way into my throat, carding my fingers through my hair I practically stumble onto the balcony. The city is waking up. Car horns, sirens, the hushed conversation from the pedestrians below.  In a way, being up here above all of that chaos calms my mind and soothes my soul. A few more minutes of calming breaths, and I feel the panic slowly start to recede.  I take a seat on a chair and just let the cool morning breeze caress my frazzled nerves.

Buckys POV

Upon returning to my room, I do the dishes that are in the sink, straighten up the living room and then head into my bedroom.  This is my least favorite part of the morning.  As if I need another reminder of how my night went, I take in the disheveled bed.  Quilt and top sheet are on the floor at the foot of the bed. Only one pillow remains and the bottom sheet is pulled up at two of the corners.  Sighing the memories of the previous night away, I go to make the bed, opting to just change the sheets as they were mostly up anyways. On nights when I sleep through the night, the bed is mostly intact.  But nights like this past one?  The proof is always in the sheets.

Figuring enough time has passed, I make my way back to the common area for the morning.  Walking in I see Steve's eyes dart to the door from his place at the table, looking disappointed that it was me.  Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I go sit at the table to pick up the paper, her presence notably absent.

"Did you happen to pass Y/n on your way up?" He asks suddenly.

Nearly choking on my coffee from the question, as though he knew I was thinking about her. Spluttering I manage to gasp, "No, I didn't see anyone."

"Oh. Ok" he mumbled looking down to the paper.  

A few moments of silence pass, before I have to address it "Steve, what's wrong?  You aren't your usual annoyingly chipper self"

Steve sighs before taking a sip of his coffee. "She was here making coffee when I came in." He starts. "We sat here and she picked up the newspaper, looked at it for a few minutes, before running off" he finishes.

Bring my cup to my lips, I glance over the paper, trying to figure out what had startled her, and then it hit me. "The date" I breathe out.

"What..." Steve says, before recognition and pain flashes across his eyes.  He understands what it's like to lose large portions of time. "God damn it. I didn't even think…" he muttered more to himself.

Resting my hand on his shoulder I give him a tight-lipped smile. I know that won't help ease his conscience, but he needs to know it wasn't his fault.

We sit in silence as the rest of the team slowly filters in for breakfast.

Part 8   “At Last” Masterlist

Masterlist

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

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