#the first chinese guy “Sun” talked to me about things i already knew but its nice to get confirmation from someone who actually lives in

[aideshou]

blessed memorial friday from last year's hikoboshi (male star)

remember to live for those who have died .

[dancingamongstdust]

Creepypasta Scenarios - First Meeting Part 2

Hoodie

The area where you lived had a ton of back alleyways that acted as shortcuts in a pinch. They were generally safe but you often got an uncomfortable feeling when using them so you preferred to take the busier roads if you could.

Unfortunately, when you had gone to leave work that day, you had spotted the customer who had been harassing you the entire day. It wasn’t anything creepy but it was over-the-top persistent and you weren’t in the mood to deal with it. You slipped out the backdoor as a result. At least you’d get home sooner.

For the most part, you didn’t encounter anything too suspicious and the light from the streets illuminated where you were going.

The large bins outside the grocer’s home indicated that you were getting close. You sped up and rubbed your eyes blearily.

Ahead of you, a dog was barking from inside one of the buildings. It was a pretty noisy animal and you began peering around to see what the source of its agitation was. Ironically, you ended up bumping directly into him.

“I’m sorry,” you apologised, rubbing your shoulder.

The guy was tall, wearing dark clothing and standing right in the shadows. You could have probably noticed him if you were a little more awake.

He turned and your breath caught.

His face was obscured by a dark mask with red features stitched onto it. His hoodie which originally seemed dark was now illuminated into a soft yellow or orange, stained with a dark substance.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. His voice crackled out, clearly coming through a voice changer of some kind.

“I – I was just taking a shortcut home. I live near here so I thought… I really didn’t mean to bump into you. I’m super tired.”

“Tired or not, you shouldn’t have seen me,” the guy said. “Do you have a phone or a camera?”

Slowly, you reached into your bag and pulled out your phone. “I don’t have any cash in my wallet –“

“I don’t want your money!” he snapped. “I’m not some petty thief, believe me, I have better things to do with me time. Unlock this.”

You did so and he went through it with a gloved hand. He didn’t have a weapon but something in your gut warned you to just go along with it. Nobody covered up everything, including their voice, when they were up to something good. This guy may not be a thief… but the alternative didn’t feel too much better.

He shoved your phone back at you. “Get out of here and don’t breathe a word of this to anybody. Consider yourself lucky that I’m in a good mood today.”

You swallowed nervously. “Thank you?”

“I’m serious,” he warned. “I can let you go just because you seem pathetic enough to not take this to the police but unless you want to catch a bullet in your back, you’ll keep quiet. My boss doesn’t like people getting involved with this nonsense.”

“A bullet?”

He didn’t answer and your heart thundered in your chest. Part of you wondered if he was going to kill you while you ran away but his attention seemed to have moved away from you. You hurried away, holding your breath the entire time. Every time you glanced over your shoulder, the guy remained unmoving.

When you reached your home, you locked the door tightly and slumped against it in exhaustion.

Homicidal Liu

The sunset was beautiful over the graveyard – the only beauty to an otherwise morbid place.

You stared at the purples and oranges dancing across the sky. The wreath pricked at your hands after a while and you stared down at it. Why did you still bother with bringing flowers? Hadn’t it been long enough? Still, you made your way down to the grave and placed them there, not even bothering to read the name on there.

Lately, your graveyard visits had becoming fewer and fewer. Time hadn’t been on your side recently and thus, your precious solitude had to suffer. You relished in the way that nobody really bothered you here.

An orange glow warned you when the streetlights came on. Perhaps you had been there for longer than you thought but this was to be your last visit.

Better to make it count.

Something caught in the wind made you raise your head. A piece of fabric was stuck in the nearby fence, identifiable as a scarf when you ventured closer.

You took it from the fence and looked around for its owner. Nobody was in view… maybe it had been blown off one of the graves? It did seem homemade.

Guessing, you began to place it on a grave when a voice startled you.

“I’m sorry to bother but I think you have my scarf?”

The man was standing far too close for you to have not seen him when you were glancing around but you blamed that on your night vision. He wore dark clothing and seemed awkward just to be speaking to you.

“Thank goodness,” you said. “I was just going to leave it on one of the graves because I didn’t know who it belonged to.”

He thanked you for it, wrapping it around the lower half of his face almost immediately. “That would be a waste,” he said. “Especially to leave it on this one. Thank you for grabbing it.”

A harsh wind blew through the graveyard, carrying with it the smell of an incoming storm. He grabbed his scarf just in time to prevent it from going flying away again.

“Seems like the weather is determined to steal it from you.”

“Far more powerful things have tried.”

You buried yourself further into your jacket and smiled. “I haven’t seen you around before, are you new in town or just coming to visit a new grave?”

“I’m not visiting a grave,” he admitted. “I just thought that this would be the way back to my house… I grew up in this town but only recently moved back and I’m already lost. It’s a little embarrassing if I’m honest.”

“Well, I like to know everybody,” you said. “What’s your name?”

“Su – I mean, Liu,” he said. “Liu. Sorry, I nearly gave you my surname.”

You laughed. “Oh that’s no problem. It’s nice to meet you but I really like your name. Is it Chinese?”

“I don’t know,” he said. He looked around and began walking away. “I really have to go. Thank you for getting my scarf and all that.”

“I’ll see you around,” you said with a wave.

It was only later when you realised how suspicious that entire interaction was. You had never seen Liu before in your life and he was just hanging around in the graveyard? He hadn’t seemed too creepy at least. Maybe you would see more of him in the coming days.

Jane the Killer

It wasn’t that you were unobservant or inattentive toward girls but nobody had really caught your eye until Jane.

She was stunning in a way that few people could ever match with dark hair that tumbled past her hips and soulful eyes. Her walk was always confident, her smile always perfect, and her attention always desirable. Your main regret about life was that you didn’t speak to her sooner – especially when you thought back on what happened not too long after your first meeting.

You organised with your friends to somehow bump into her but instead, you wound up getting treated for a pretty painful bruised hip. Your second plan didn’t work out either and your third never even left the drawing board.

“Just go up to her and say hi. Tell her that she’s beautiful,” your friend encouraged. “She’ll say thanks and then you’ll be able to talk to her.”

“That’s so boring though,” you said. “It’s not like something out of a romance novel.”

Your friend groaned and stood up. “Well, I’m going home. We have like three months left of high school and I’m not going to spend that time obsessing over how to speak to a girl. She’s literally a regular person.”

They were right and you knew that. No matter how you tried to set up a sweeping romance, it probably wouldn’t work out.

So you tried.

And you tried.

Two weeks later, you were about to give up on mimicking a romance novel and it appeared that your friend was thinking the same thing. She grabbed your arm and began to drag you somewhere, muttering about changing the topic. You had a vague idea of where you were going but you didn’t fight too much.

“What if she’s still dating that Woods boy?” you asked. “The older one.”

“They broke up after literally a month of dating. I don’t blame her – those Woods boys are pretty enough but the older one has something seriously wrong with him. And the younger one is always talking to himself…”

“I really don’t care about the Woods’,” you commented.

“No, you care about Jane who is honestly quite weird as well,” they said. “But that is going to be your problem and not mine.”

They dragged you directly up to her group. It wasn’t large – despite Jane’s beauty, she wasn’t incredibly popular due to her associations. Your friend wasn’t the only one who was a little scared of the Woods boys and Jane had hung out with them for quite a while.

“Hey,” your friend said before even letting you go. “You have no idea who we are but my friend here has a massive crush on you. Could you please just say hi so they can get it out of their system?”

You were sure that it was unhealthy to be as red as you were. It felt like your heart was about to leap from your chest.

Jane laughed, a soft and gentle sound. “I’m not really interested in a relationship,” she hummed. “But thank you. That’s very flattering.”

Somehow, your heart sped up still and you awkwardly rubbed your arm. “No problem?”

“Why don’t you join us for a little bit?” Jane offered. “Just because I don’t want to date anybody doesn’t mean that we can’t become friends. You look like my kind of person.”

You stumbled over your words but somehow, your conversation managed to go extremely well. Jane was brilliant in every possible way and you quickly grew attached to seeing her every day. That was why you mourned so greatly when she died.

Jason the Toymaker

The sun was so warm against your skin. You could stay there forever, stretched out on the grass and basking in the sunlight.

“It’s done,” your friend’s voice broke through your daydreaming

You opened your eyes and rolled over to see exactly what they had been working on for the entire trip. After realising the first few times that you weren’t going to get a reaction, you had decided to wait for them to finish working before you tried to have a conversation.

“I didn’t know you could draw,” you said. “That’s amazing.”

The hyper-realistic man was sketched to perfection with a top hat, a fur coat, and a small mouse sitting on his left shoulder. It felt like his eyes could piece into your soul.

“Who is that?” you asked them.

They stared blankly at the image and shook their head. “I don’t know,” they said. “He’s been in my dreams for so long. I think it has something to do with my amnesia. Maybe I knew him once before.”

“He’s a little intimidating,” you said. “I could imagine him to be a ringleader in a circus that’s like a secret cult. Maybe he’s why you lost your memory.”

“Maybe…” they said, tapping the picture. They suddenly shoved it into your chest and stood up. “You keep that. I don’t want it anywhere near me. I need to go talk to my parents.”

You watched them race out of the park in confusion. The man in the picture stared up at you with haunting eyes.

Folding it in half so it didn’t freak you out, you stood and dusted off your clothing. Maybe it would be best if you headed home. It was getting late either way.

Later on, you’d call your friend and check up on them.

About 10 minutes away from your house, the feeling of being watched snuck up on you. It hung heavily around your shoulders like a cloak. You glanced around but saw nobody.

Still, you didn’t feel comfortable leading whoever was following you back to your house. You made a point of walking amongst large crowds and headed for the police station.

They were watching you the whole way.

You sped up. A few people bumped into you and you apologised as best as you could. Your grip on the picture was getting tighter enough for you to tear it. The later it got, the fewer people were on the streets and so you were pretty much alone when you bumped into him.

It took you a few seconds to recognise the man from the drawing.

If you thought his drawn eyes were captivating, they had nothing on his real ones which glowed with an almost ethereal light.

“You’re him,” you breathed.

He stared at you, smile falling from his face in confusion. “Who?”

You shakily held out the drawing and he yanked it from your hands. “My friend drew that,” you explained. “They said that its of somebody from their past. They have amnesia you see.”

He was unmoving as he studied the picture. You began feeling a little uncomfortable and then his gaze snapped to you. “Is that so?” he asked.

You nodded and took a small step away from him. “Maybe you should go and talk to them? See –“ you swallowed nervously. “See if you can help them remember?”

“No need,” he said, dropping the paper on the ground. “Who are you?”

Your name came out as little more than a soft whisper. Something about the entire scenario made you uneasy. His appearance was too unnatural.

A gust of wind came by, picking up the drawing and whipping it away. You watched it go and when you looked back down, his eyes were locked on you.

“Such a pity,” he said. “You would have been the perfect doll.”

Wearily, you took a step backwards. His words made your stomach churn uneasily. “What are you talking about?”

He smiled. It was kind and warm but it only made you more nervous. His eyes looked like they had almost changed colour; shifted a shade darker than previously. “Thinking aloud my dear,” he said.

“About dolls?” you asked.

He tilted his head a little towards you. “I’m going to have to bid you goodbye. It seems I have other matters to attend to.” He brushed past you, stopping briefly when directly next to you. “Consider yourself lucky.”

He was gone before you could even spin around to face him.

Jeff the Killer

Pausing the song, you removed your earphones as quietly as possible and placed them down on your desk. According to the blinking numbers on your phone screen, it was nearing 2 AM. Far too late for anybody to make an excess of noise.

You listened closely. The music had been too loud for you to hear anything and you almost brushed the strange noise off as your sleep-deprived imagination. Until something squeaked like shoe soles on tiles.

In retrospect, you should have immediately called 911 but you didn’t want to sound a false alarm.

The light switch was thankfully directly outside your room. The hall illuminated most of the house when they were on and it steeled your nerves. Your roommate’s door was open, allowing you to confirm their sleeping state, curled up in their bed amongst the piles of mess. They had had to move to the spare room due to a faulty window earlier in the day and had clearly given up sorting items.

You glanced into the apartment’s other rooms before heading to the kitchen. There was nothing odd. The scuttling when you entered the kitchen just suggested that your neighbour’s rat infestation may be migrating.

Making a mental note to call the exterminator, you turned to switch off the kitchen light.

Something slammed into you, forcing your back to collide with a wall. A hand covered your mouth and the overwhelming scent of blood and decay invaded your nose. Something cold and sharp pressed against your neck.

“Shut up and stay still,” the man snarled at you. “I don’t think anybody will appreciate you getting blood in the kitchen.”

Your heart leapt into your throat and your body stilled. The man in front of you was terrifying. His skin pale and mutilated. Eyes far too wide for a normal person and dancing with an insanity that sent chills down your spine.

And his mouth… a bloody smile carved across his face, stretching halfway to his ears.

He studied your face carefully and his expression twisted. “You’re not the right one,” he snapped. The knife moved away from your neck, so he could point with it. “I had this all planned and yet when I came into that room, I found it empty. Why?”

Even if he hadn’t been holding your mouth shut, you doubted you would have been able to formulate an answer. The pounding heartbeat in your ears was nearly blocking out his voice.

He lightly tapped your cheek with his knife. “Not that it matters,” he said. “I’ll just have to adapt my original plan. You’re not the right target but I’m a huge fan of collateral damage.”

A small whimper escaped you and tears welled at your eyes. You didn’t want to die.

“Don’t blubber!” he ordered. “View it as a good thing. You’ll be all over the news. Another victim of Jeff the Killer. Hell, you might even be added to a Wikipedia page or something.”

You could recall that name from the news. Often followed by a lengthy list of deaths and the police chief begging for any information about the murderer.

Jeff stared at you for a long minute before he pressed the knife’s blade to your throat and moved his hand away from your mouth. “Scream and I will remove your vocal cords,” he threatened. “Who are you?”

It took several deep breaths and a flicker of impatience in his expression to give you the ability to talk again. You stammered out your full name as quickly as you possibly could.

He rolled his eyes and tilted the knife so it scratched your skin. A sticky and warm substance ran down your throat in small droplets. “Pathetic.”

“Sorry,” you whispered on instinct. “Please don’t kill me.”

“Why not?” he asked. “You ruined my earlier plans to take out my original target by interrupting me before I could find them. Why shouldn’t I settle for you instead?”

You didn’t have an answer.

He took the blade away from your throat. “If you call the police and report what happened here tonight, I will slice you into little pieces.”

It was almost twenty minutes after he left before you regained any movement in your body. You slumped into a heap on the kitchen floor and started sobbing.

Kagekao

Things had been going missing around your house.

Initially, you had thought it was just due to you forgetting where you’d plopped things because it was simple things. Drinks that vanished, keys turning up on the opposite side of the house, and random spills that you didn’t remember making.

But then it started getting weirder still.

You would make food and pack it away, knowing that you would eat it later, and find it gone. Picture frames disappeared, never to be seen again. Your rug half-unraveled during the night and you found it in a pile the next morning. A candle in your bathroom fell over and, somehow, the curtains on the other side of the house had caught alight.

It was suspicious, to say the very least. You began to think that you had some kind of intruder – once, the news reported that a woman found a homeless man living in her attic and eating her food when she wasn’t looking.

So you went out and bought cameras, setting them up throughout your house.

For two weeks, they caught nothing until one of them ended up breaking. You went to get it repaired and the company managed to recover what it had last seen. Which was nothing on your first glance.

But you were soon to realise, that was only because you had been looking at the floor.

While you were rewatching when you got home, you noticed something. The window was sitting wide open and the camera’s angle only allowed you to see half of it. Right toward the end of the feed, a gloved hand appeared on the side of the window and a slight shadow indicated something climbing through.

So you got reinforced windows and made sure that none were open unless you were in the room.

Things still continued happening.

You were beginning to get really annoyed by this. It was tempting to go to the police and let them just handle it but that was going to be a lot of effort that you really didn’t care for. You didn’t feel like you were in much danger. Nothing had happened in your bedroom.

Your next plan was to set up a trap of some kind. With a hidden camera set up, you made extra food and left it on the counter to see if something happened.

The next day, you watched as a plastic toy of some kind was thrown directly into the plate from somewhere off-camera, breaking it and leaving an absolute mess everywhere.

Still not considering it to be anything dangerous, you just cleaned up the mess and loudly cursed out anybody who was listening. You stalked the house after that, searching every nook and cranny with a bat in hand. The final place was the closet in your bedroom and you peered in, expecting nothing.

When you turned around though, you spotted something sitting in the corner of the room.

It was humanoid with arms twisted into awkward positions and a mask on its face. Half the mask was black and the other white, both sides bearing an unnaturally smiling expression. The creature cackled when you saw it and scuttled out of the door, stuck to the roof the entire time.

A second passed.

Then another.

You pinched your arm hard and waited to wake up. Surely there was no way… I mean, why would… humans didn’t generally crawl along the ceiling? Well, you were quite sure they never did that. You must have been imagining it.

A second laugh corrected you on that.

You swallowed thickly, walked over to your door as calmly as possible and locked it. Then you took out your phone and finally called the police.

Kate the Chaser

The day when Kate was sent away remained very clear in your mind. It was a moment that brought extremely change to your life, mixing up your friend group and sending you in a different direction.

The years has passed and you had never gotten over your best friend. They said that she had lost her mind and you knew it was true. All those games investigating the woods and ghost hunting must have put a toll on her mind. Sometimes, you blamed yourself for all the pranks and you knew that Lauren had similar doubts.

And now she was back.

Lauren and you hadn’t remained close, the entire situation feeling too real with one another. Your greeting was stilted but neither of you wanted to be the first to approach the house.

“Do you think that she remembers us?” Lauren asked.

“If she didn’t then her mom wouldn’t have invited us over,” you said.

You stood in complete silence, staring up at the house. Would you even recognise Kate? The last time that you had seen her was when you were both young children and her face remained at that age in your memories.

Eventually, you gained your confidence before Lauren and you walked over, knocking on the door before anxiety could find you.

Kate answered the door and you forgot why you had ever been nervous.

Time had slimmed her face and shortened her hair. Her eyes were still a gentle brown and the cockiness had faded from her smile, but it was recognisable from your nostalgia. It made you feel warm and known – an aura that you had missed without even realising it.

“Hi,” you greeted.

Kate pulled you into a tight hug and you returned it, clutching at her tightly as though she could slip through your fingers. It really had been too long and when you moved away, she held onto Lauren with the same enthusiasm.

“How have you been?” she asked. “You have to tell me everything.”

The three of you spent the rest of the afternoon having tea and just talking about the world at large. Kate didn’t have many stories from the hospital – she claimed it was because the place had been extremely boring and neither of you pushed to find out more about it. Honestly, it was more comfortable to act as though she had simply moved away.

Lauren had to leave first and you were going to go with her but Kate had looked so down that you remained just a little longer. That was when things got weird.

“I’ve missed music a lot,” Kate sighed.

“Did they not allow you to listen to music?”

She grimaced. “No, they did but often I couldn’t hear it over the static. Its mostly gone away now but it came back last night… it fills my brain and all that I can think of is a way to make the pain stop.”

The colour drained from your face as you stared at her. You didn’t know much about what happened to her but you had thought she would be okay now.

Realising it, Kate hurried to reassure you, “I really have recovered,” she said. “My hallucinations have faded and my medication keeps my emotions in check. You really don’t have to be scared of me.”

You stared down at your cup awkwardly. “I’m not scared of you,” you reassured her. “You’ve never done anything to me.”

She nodded. “It will be alright, you’ll see. I’m ready to get back to a normal life with my friends and not have to worry about that ghost stuff ever again.”

Laughing Jack

It was on your leg…

The glare you fixed the small child with could wilt plants. It didn’t care though and merely clutched at your clothing with a happy smile. “Come play with me?” it asked. “I can introduce you to all my friends!”

“How old is she again?” you grumbled at your friend.

Your friend laughed and ruffled their cousin’s hair. “I had an imaginary friend when I was 10. She’s only 6, she’s still at the stage where they’re a big deal.”

The child was oblivious to your conversation and reached out her arms. “Come on. The parents are being boring. I have candy that my friend gave me. We can share it.”

“I agreed to come along to your family get together to keep you company,” you said to your friend. “You know I don’t like children. Babysitting really isn’t my forte.”

All you received for your complaining was laughter.

By the time you had the 4th teddy bear had been introduced, you were done. Why did one kid have so many toys?

“Now which one of your friends gives you candy?” your friend asked. “Because if it’s from Princess, I don’t think it’s edible. What if she secretly puts glitter in it?”

Expected to play along, you sighed. “Unless it’s glitter from rainbows because then it’s got magic powers and allows you to fly.”

The child liked your thumb-sucked statement because she jumped up in excitement. “I don’t get it from Princess. Jack gives it to me! But if Princess can make me fly, I want to have that kind of candy instead!”

“Which one’s Jack again?” you asked, eyeing the line of toys.

“He’s not here right now,” the child said, biting her inner cheek. She turned in a circle. “Sometimes he hides in the cupboard though!” She ran over to her cupboard and pulled the doors open. “I don’t think – OW!”

She reeled backwards, clutching her cheek. Both you and your friend immediately jumped up and ran over to her. A tiny slice mark ran across the side of her face. It wasn’t anything serious, but she was sobbing as though it would kill her. You presumed a small edge on one of the boxes in the cupboard had been the cause.

“Do you want me to take you to mom, so she can kiss it better?” your friend asked. “Your new best friend can wait here and make sure all your toys are safe.”

The child nodded, and she got led out of the room. You rolled your eyes at the sensitivity and reached into the cupboard to push the box out of the way. A clawed hand reached out of nowhere and grabbed your wrist tightly.

Before you could even shout, it lifted you off the ground by your arm and a second hand had wrapped around your mouth.

The monster’s body appeared out of the closet.

It was a clown. Easily 7ft tall and comprised of monochrome colours with a sharp, pointed nose and long, greasy hair. Its black lips spread into a smile, revealing pointed teeth and a sickeningly sweet breath.

You writhed against its grip, trying to scream or do anything but it was insanely strong, and it just laughed at your efforts.

“How mean,” it purred, leaning in close to your face. “You ask who I am and then, when I appear to you, you insult my appearance. Awful etiquette. Your parents should be concerned about how rude you are to strangers.”

You strained your memory to think about what you had been doing before it grabbed you but the adrenaline was clouding your mind. What had you asked? You struggled more with the lack of memories.

The clown shook its head. “I haven’t revealed myself to somebody so old in a long time. You should be flattered but instead you choose to try and kick me. This is why I don’t do this. Children are far more polite.”

He released you suddenly and you landed hard on the ground. It winked and disappeared, right as your friend and her cousin returned.

“You met Jack!” the child shouted excitedly, pointing to the candy lying next to you.

You shoved it away from you as quickly as possible.

[english8muffin]

Vogue morning routine

Y/N Y/N/L’s guide to effortless natural makeup

Summary: you are asked to do the Vogue Beauty Secrets video and your two boys decide to join the party

Word count: around 2000

Warning: none, just pure floof!

I apologize in advance if there are any spelling and/or grammar mistakes, English is not my first language (+ this is my very first fic)

HEADLINE Henry Cavill’s new girlfriend, designer Y/N Y/L/N reveals her everyday morning routine in recent Vogue video: Y/N Y/L/N shows off her secrets to the perfect fusion of European and Asian beauty.

You stood in the spacious bathroom of the hotel room, only wearing a big, fluffy, white robe, that was actually Henry’s. But since the man was in the gym, you took the opportunity to lend it and bathe yourself in his musky smell, that calmed your nerves. Last night you started panicking, thinking you would probably look stupid for the entire world to see, luckily Henry and Kal tried to calm you down with cuddles and kisses.

This was the first ‘interview’ you would do, being such a young, successful entrepreneur really caught the attention of the media. When you first started your small online shop, you never would have thought you would end up here. Five years later, with a steady income, the job you always wished for and the man you had a crush on since the first time you laid eyes on him. Being a creative, it really made your heart soar with happiness, seeing all your products, your babies, in new homes where they would make others happy.

You were really proud of yourself. Henry was as well, and he made sure you and everybody around you knew. You were apprehensive at first, being with such a well known actor, who was also much older than you, it made you nervous of what people would say, what the media would say. You didn’t want to tarnish Henry’s image. You knew there were people with a much bigger age gap, but still, people were ruthless. So you both decided to take it slow, being careful with going out in public and social media posts.

You stand in front of the large mirror, which had a camera attached to it and open up your makeup bag. Right before you went into the bathroom, you made yourself a nice cup of tea, trying to stay calm. “Hi! I’m Y/N and today I am going to show you my everyday makeup routine,” you say with a smile, “I am not a dermatologist so please don’t take what I say too seriously.”

You grab a small white washcloth and hold it up, so it was in the frame, “First, I am going to wash my face and put on a few drops of serum,” You dampen the cloth and wipe it over your face and neck. You put a few drops in the palm of your hand and pat them into your skin. “Now I going to use my jade roller to massage the serum into my skin. It’s quite funny seeing so many people use these nowadays. In ancient China they were mostly used by the elite to keep there skin ageless. They would call jade the Stone of Heaven. It’s really helpful for the people who wake up with a puffy face like me,” you chuckle.

Somethimes you’d wake up with puffy cheeks, which led to Henry calling you his chubby bunny in the morning.

“Just a quick tip, and this is for everybody, make sure you always use SPF. I personally use SPF 30 and this one is shine control, since I tend to get an oily skin, but you can also use a regular one or a foundation with SPF in it. Believe me when I say your skin will be thankful.”

You grab the small tube of sun cream and show the amount you’ll use. You even convinced Henry to wear SPF everyday. At first he said he didn’t think it would make such a big difference, but when he realised you were going to be the one to put it on him, he was convinced about its benefits and adamant to wear it everyday. After working the thick cream into your skin, you put on some lipbalm and rummage through the pouch in front of you. When you find the product you’re looking for, you hold it up. “Now, I am going to put on a bit of concealer, this one is from Maybelline. After this, I will use a lighter shade under my eyes and on my acne scars that I have here,” you point and circle around the small cluster of scars on the sides of your cheeks.

Before blending out the concealer, you smile at the lens and put in two bright yellow hairclips, to keep your dark locks from falling into your face. “I probably should have done this at the start,” you laugh. The nerves creeping up a little. It wasn’t that you where a shy person, but knowing thousands of people will watch this, did something to you. You were always a very easygoing person, who could talk with pretty much everybody. But knowing people were going to watch you do something so intimate in a way, and would probably comment on it, scared you a little. While you would be 100% yourself, doing something as mundane as getting ready. If they didn’t like you now, then they probably won’t like you later. And that was what made you so afraid.

The bathrobe falls a bit down your shoulder, but you ignore it, since your hair fell down your shoulders in big waves. “Okay, brows. I used to block them in really dark when I was younger, but now I try to keep a light hand. I’ll use this Got 2B Glued as a brow gel afterwards. The tails of my eyebrows tend to move if I don’t use a strong enough gel. If you’re Asian you will understand the struggle.”

You quickly finish your brows, put some bronzer on your face and eyelids and take out your liquid eyeliner. “Am I the only one that acts like I’m a beauty guru whenever I do my makeup? Like, I’m just acting as if I’m used to this, right now, but to be honest, I was really nervous to do this video for Vogue,” you admit, “they will probably regret asking me,” you chuckle. You finish your eyemakeup with curling your long lashes, thanks to your mother’s genes, and add a coat of mascara.

You take in a deep breath, excited to show everyone the product you had been waiting for. “The next thing I am really proud to show you guys, because I designed the packaging. This is the new limited edition blush and highlighter palette from Dior, which they created for Lunar New Year!” You beam with pride, holding up the elegant looking palette. It had a darker toned glossy finish and the borders were the traditional Chinese looking frames, which were 3D and were surrounded by a wild variety of peonies. In the middle of the lid was your Chinese calligraphy in big golden brush stokes that said ‘year of the Ox’, the clasp was designed so it resembled an antique Chinese coin and on the side hung a jade charm.

“You can pre-order this palette now, I think they will put a link-thingy in de description. I wish you all a happy and blessed Lunar New Year, ���农历年新年快乐牛年大吉!”

Just as you’re about to add some blush to your cheeks, the bathroom door creaks open and a curly-headed, sweaty Henry pops his head in. Fresh from the gym, and were you thankful for his new intense workout, because he was truely a sight to behold. A cheeky smile graces his handsome face when he spots you in front of the mirror, only wearing his robe, which made his grin widen.

“what are you doing in here? Are you hiding from me? Playing hide and seek is it?” he teases and rakes his large hand through the tousled curls, but just as he’s done speaking, he sees the camera behind you, and blushes. “Oh, I didn’t know you were filming, I’m sorry darling,” he smiles and gives a small wave in the direction of the camera. You led out a giggle, cheeks turning red already, if he’d keep this up, you wouldn’t need to add blush. You couldn’t focus anymore, he looked so attractive, only wearing his black gym shorts and a tight dark blue tank top. Damn that camera, otherwise you would have jumped him. Henry, thought the exact same thing. Seeing you, only wearing his robe and your hair still a bit wild from this morning’s cardio, made him hold back a moan. Those two cute, yellow clips in your hair could have fooled him, because you were anything but innocent.

Before he’s about to close the door again, he blows you a kiss. But his actions are stopped when a big bear makes his appearance. Bolting past his dad’s legs, Kal comes into the bathroom. Henry tries to catch him but misses. The black and white akita excitedly sniffs his head around the sink, trying to see what you were up to with all the stuff lying on the marble counter.

“Kal!” Henry whisper-yelled, trying to stay hidden behind the door. But you could still see his massive body crouched down behind the wood. It was rather funny, seeing the large man so panicked about getting his dog to listen. It kind of reminded you of that one video from BBC were a professor was being interviewed and his baby and nanny showed up in the background. While Henry tried to get Kal’s attention, the dog just sat next to your legs, and smiled when you pet him behind his ear. He was your good boy.

You both knew there was no other option but to keep Kal here, once he saw you do your makeup, he wanted to watch and get his ‘makeup’ done as well.

Henry also saw the look in Kal’s eyes and let out a sigh. Might as well stay with his two loves. He stood up from his position and walked to you, wrapping his sweaty but oh so save body around your figure, and placed a prolonged kiss on the exposed skin just by your shoulder. So far for taking it slow… He pressed himself thighter against your back, hiding his face in the crook of your neck and intertwined your hands, slowly rocking you two back en forth. “You look beautiful, my love,” he whispered, so only you could hear it, at least you hoped the camera wouldn’t pick that up. You let out a little giggle, like the inner schoolgirl you were whenever he was around you.

“Kal loves when Y/N does his makeup as well, don’t you boy,” Henry explains with a smile and looks down at the bear by your bare feet. Kal gives a small ruff and sweeps his tail eagerly. “Did you show them what you made,” he asked you with a wide smile, and looked straight in to the camera, “she worked really hard on that design, so I hope you all like it,” he declared proudly.

You ended up doing your makeup routine with your two boys in the background. Henry left for a few minutes to shower in the second bathroom your hotelroom had, and came back clad in a pair of light jogging trousers and a sweater. Even though you were inside, it was still a bit too chilly to walk around in short sleeves, being mid-winter and all. He just sat on the small wooden bench by the door, still in frame for everybody to enjoy and behold. His hair now damp. He was reading in a book and patiently waiting for you to get ready, occasionally looking up and laughing when you would wet your hands or Kal’s special makeup brush in the sink and pretend to do his makeup. The dog would bark excitedly and give you kisses. “Wow Kal, you look so pretty,” Henry told the big floof with the chuckle.

“Okay, this was my -somewhat- everyday makeup routine! Thank you guys for watching this chaotic mess, hope you laughed a bit, bye-bye, 再见!” How do those vlogger end their videos? Smash like and subscribe?

Behind you Henry looked up from the pages of his fantasy book and arched his brow, “Hey! No shout-out for your special guests? See you all next time!”

WOOHOO!! This is my very first fanfic, I really hope you enjoyed it. Liking, reposting and commenting would mean a lot to me! If you do repost this, please do not edit or copy my work. I worked really hard on this.

Much love, Nahmi xxx

Masterlist can be found HERE!

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[bibbidibobbidibucky]

in his arms | b.b.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

Summary: Bucky's been gone for weeks on a mission and it starts to take its toll on Y/N.

Word Count: 1785

Warnings: 18+ ONLY!!! Smut, angst, language, hair pulling kink, very brief mention of death, and talk of cuts and bruises. Flashbacks are in italics!

A/N: My depression has been getting to me lately and I'm trying to see if this is a coping mechanism. Reading comfort stories usually helps me so I figured I'd try writing one. Feedback is always welcome and I hope you guys enjoy! 💕 Editing? Who's she??

24 days.

That’s how long it’s been since Bucky and half the team left out to go on a mission.  When it came to Bucky leaving it was usually just for a week or two and you could hear from him every now and again, but not this time.  To say that you hated it would be an understatement and you hoped he would home any day now.

You walked around your apartment that you shared with Bucky and nursed a glass of wine.  Technically it was your third glass and if you were honest with yourself you were just trying to nurse the pain.  The past 24 days had been your own personal hell since you weren’t able to be in contact with Bucky.  Not knowing how things were going or if he was even alive.  You pushed that last thought from your mind.  That was the last thing you needed to think about right now.

Alpine meowed as you walked over to the window where she was sitting on her favorite chair.  The chair that she usually sat in while being curled up on Bucky’s lap.  You scratched her head and she meowed again.

“Yeah, I know Al.  I miss him too.”

You smiled sadly and took another sip of wine as you looked out the window over Brooklyn.  The view before you was one of the big reasons that you and Bucky ended up getting this apartment in the first place.  It was too beautiful to pass up according to him and with that thought a small smile appeared on your face as you thought back to the day you two moved in.

“Okay.  I think that’s the last of it babe,”  Bucky smiled as he kicked the door shut behind him

“Thank god. I’m so tired and never wanna see another box again,” you laughed as you fell face down onto the couch for a much needed break.  The two of you were officially moved into your new place.  A place to call home.

Bucky smiled down at you and lifted you feet as he sat down on the couch, placing your feet on his lap.  He rubbed your calves and looked out at the window as the sun started to set.  He was happy.  Truly happy and he thanked his lucky stars that he was able to feel this happiness because of you.  Falling in love with you was something he didn’t take for granted and he just knew that he was gonna spend the rest of his life with you.

His thoughts were interrupted though when a soft snore came from you.  Not even five minutes on the couch and you were already fast asleep.  He chuckled and gently moved from the couch so he didn’t wake you.  He would let you sleep for now.  He kissed your forehead tenderly before looking over at Alpine.

“Let’s get some of this stuff out of the way and then order take out.  Whatcha think? Pizza? Chinese? ”

She purred as she rubbed against his leg and Bucky picked her up in one swift motion.  She meowed and Bucky smiled.

“Pizza it is.”

It was hard to believe that was just two months ago.  You had been in this apartment longer than he had and you missed him more than anything.  You just wanted to be in his arms and to have him home.  You teared up a little and downed the rest of the glass before reaching for your phone.  You pressed Bucky’s number and of course it went straight to voicemail like it had done for the last few weeks.  You knew you wouldn’t get an answer.  You just wanted to hear the sound of his voice.

“You’ve reached Bucky.  Leave me a message and I’ll get back to you.”

The tone beeped and you took a few seconds before deciding to leave him a message.

You bite your lip before speaking, “Hi baby, it’s me.  Look I know you can’t talk right now. I-I I just wanted to let you know that I miss you, Buck.  I miss you so much baby and I hope you and the rest of the team are okay.”

You had to stop for a moment as a tear spilled over your cheek.  The last thing Bucky needed to hear was you crying on his voicemail.

“There’s more I wanna say but I’ll wait till you come back home which I really hope is soon.  Almost a month without you has been awful and I miss cuddly up to you at night.  I miss a lot of things.”  You paused again, “I love you, Bucky.  I can’t wait to see you. Bye sweetheart.”

You ended the call and brushed the tears away that were now streaming down your cheeks.  You decided a hot shower before bed was what you needed right now to calm down.  That and maybe some melatonin later.

About ten minutes later as you were standing under the hot water you heard a noise that sounded like something being knocked over.  You brushed it off and just assumed Alpine was playing around and something fell.  You’d deal with it in a few minutes.

“Y/N?

You froze at the sound of your name and you thought you were hearing things.  You had to be right?  You slowly turned and saw the shape of Bucky through the fogged glass of the shower.  A small gasps left your lips and you smiled as he opened the door to the shower.

“I got your voicemail sweetheart,”  he smiled softly as he stepped closer to you.

You didn’t even give him time to say another word before you were pressing your lips to his in an endearing kiss.  The two of you stumbled back into the shower, not caring at all that Bucky was fully clothed.  The kiss consumed the both of you.  After being apart from weeks on end this was all you could do right now.  Words didn’t need to be spoken because everything that needed to be said was said in that kiss.

Small moans escaped your lips as Bucky picked you up and pressed you against the shower wall.  You couldn’t believe he was here.  He was finally home and you were finally in his arms once more.  You felt like your heart was gonna explode from how happy you were.

The kiss was broken as Bucky leaned back enough for you to help him discard his wet shirt and then his lips were back on yours.  You tugged on his hair as you held him close and a moan escaped his lips.  That sent a shiver all the way down to your core, causing you to grind against him.  The rest of his clothes were soon discarded and he was rubbing the tip of his cock through your folds.  Moans filled the area as the two of you basked in the pure pleasure of just being connected again.  Of being just able to hold on another.

“Oh fuck. James.”

You moaned out his name blissfully as he pushed into you and you already felt like you were on cloud nine.  He squeezed your ass as your hips started to rock into each other and moaned deeply.  He was pounding into you with long deep strides that had you tugging at his hair over and over again.

“Fuck, I missed you so much Y/N.  Missed you every single second sweetheart.”

You moaned in response and pressed your lips back to his.  The kiss was needy, sloppy, and full of emotions.  The two of you were desperate to have the other as close as possible and you had a feeling this is what it was gonna be like for the next fews days.  You would welcome it gladly.

“You feel so good baby. Missed having you inside me,” you mumbled against his lips and it caused him to smirk.  He loved knowing the effect he could have on you.

“Missed this tight little pussy baby.  The way your body reacts to me when I fuck you like this.  Fu-fuck Y/N,” he moaned out.

He buries his face in your neck and as he feels himself getting closer to cumming, “Missed everything about you sweetheart.”

You whimpered as he spoke and could tell it wouldn’t be long before you came as well.  His hips were getting sloppy with each thrust and he moved his hand between you to rub your clit.  You moaned wantonly and your toes curled.

A few more deep thrusts from Bucky was all it took to send you over the edge.  Your walls fluttered around him as you moaned his name over and over.  The feeling of you squeezing his cock like a vice edged him on.  You felt his release inside of you and you wrapped your arms around his shoulders to keep him close while you rode out your releases.  Soft kisses were placed along your neck, up your jaw, along your cheek, until he finally met your lips.

You hummed in satisfaction as you kissed him and couldn’t help the smile that formed before pulling, ghosting your lips over, “Welcome home, Bucky.”

You pulled back more to have a good look at his face.  You lifted your hand to gently caress his cheek and your heart melted when he leaned into your touch.  There was a cut above his eyebrow and what looked like a healing bruise on his cheek.  You knew missions were never easy for him and that they took a certain toll, but you’d be right there with him to help in any way he needed.

He placed a gentle kiss to your palm and smiled, “Think we can dry off and go get into bed.  I’m exhausted.”

You nodded and placed a kiss to his nose, “Of course baby.”

As the two of you got ready for bed you noticed more bruises and cuts along his skin but decided not to say anything, they would be gone in a day or two anyways.  You slipped on one of Bucky's old shirts and pulled back the covers of the bed.

“Come here,” you smiled and patted his side of the bed.

He smiled and flipped off the light before crawling up next to you, laying his head against your chest.  You wrapped your arms around him and ran your fingers along his back soothingly.  This was always one of his favorite things to do after getting home from missions.  Just being in your arms and listening to your heartbeat.

You smiled as the two of you laid there.  He was home.  He was in your arms and you were in his.

fin.

[zintranslations]

Kaleidoscope of Death, Ch. 118

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu Link to Chinese / Novel Updates

Chapter 118: Hello, Xiao Mei

Lin Qiushi had a gentle temperament, but it was precisely when gentle people like him got mad that Ruan Nanzhu had no idea where to start. But inside the door, at least, Lin Qiushi didn't let any problems between himself and Ruan Nanzhu get in the way of business.

He was impartial when he told Ruan Nanzhu everything that happened after Ruan Nanzhu was locked inside the room; everybody's reactions and every single one of Xiao Ji's actions were the main points.

After listening closely, Ruan Nanzhu asked, "he was the first one to ask you where the key was?"

"Yes," Lin Qiushi nodded. This was indeed odd. Since Xiao Ji had been working with the Hako Onna, then he should’ve wanted nothing more than for the key to be buried. But instead, he'd been the instigator, willing to incur Lin Qiushi's displeasure for the sake of getting the key from Ruan Nanzhu.

If Xiao Ji hadn’t been the mole, then there'd be nothing wrong with what he did. Now, however, with his role as the agent exposed, this was incredibly odd behavior, and seemed counterintuitive.

"I think this Xiao Ji knows something else." Ruan Nanzhu intentionally prompted Lin Qiushi speak more. "What do you think, Linlin?"

"Mh," Lin Qiushi answered impassively. "I'm guessing he knows where the tunnel is."

If they knew where the key and tunnel were, then they could leave the mansion. Xiao Ji had probably been scared as well that something would happen on the Hako Onna's side of things, and had been searching for another way out.

"I'm just worried he won't tell us," Liang Miye said, seated on another bed. "I don't know if Xiao Mei has a way of getting it out of him."

Ruan Nanzhu was thoughtful.

After a little more discussion, they got up and washed before heading to the dining room.

Xiao Ji was still tied up in the dining room. Last night, Sun Yuanzhou and one of his partners had stood guard. There had been no commotion the night before, and nothing unexpected had happened.

Before going to the dining room, Lin Qiushi went to where Xiao Ji said the fire extinguisher was hidden yesterday. He gave it a listen, but discovered that this chest already contained a Hakobito.

"There's a Hakobito," Lin Qiushi said.

Ren Ruyuan gave it some thought before saying, "Miye, go get Ren Ruyuan."

Liang Miye nodded before going upstairs and fetching Ren Ruyuan. Ren Ruyuan understood as well, bringing the gasoline with him.

"I'll use it on that then."

"Go ahead," Ruan Nanzhu said.

Ren Ruyuan poured the gasoline all over the chest and set it ablaze. Moments after the chest caught fire, a terrible screech came from inside. After that, the lid of the chest popped open, and a human covered in ghastly white skin crawled out. All its limbs were twisted up, and its entire body was compacted together, squirming and spasming ceaselessly. Fire, however, had ignited on its body, and from its flesh came a putrid scent a lot like burning protein.

At the commotion, everybody else in the mansion gathered, and they all witnessed this horrid scene.

But Lin Qiushi noticed something. He licked his lips, expression going sour.

It took a few minutes before the Hakobito's wails grew quieter, and for it to start looking like charcoal.

The group watched the unmoving Hakobito, all caught in a lingering silence until Xiao Mei's voice came from the door. She said, "isn't that Wei Xiude?"

"This is probably the Hakobito that he became." Sun Yuanzhou glanced once at Xiao Mei. "Since it's a Hakobito, then it can't be counted as human."

"Really," Xiao Mei replied, her tone vague.

Holding his breath, Lin Qiushi approached the box and looked inside. Sure enough, a red fire extinguisher laid silently at the very bottom. He reached out and grabbed the extinguisher, turning back around and handing it to Sun Yuanzhou.

But Sun Yuanzhou didn't take it.

"You guys hang onto it. Use it when the timing’s right—this thing is for saving lives, after all."

Lin Qiushi looked toward Ruan Nanzhu, and only put the fire extinguisher away after he saw Ruan Nanzhu nod.

This room was filled corner to corner with the stink of a burnt human body. After getting the fire extinguisher, everybody left, not wanting to dawdle. Only Xiao Mei was still standing in the doorway; she hadn't moved in a while.

Lin Qiushi glanced at her again. There was something he wanted to say, but he didn't quite know how.

At the dining room, Lin Qiushi discovered that what should've been eleven people was down another two. They waited until about nine, but those two still didn't show. That was when they knew those two would probably never show. Lin Qiushi recalled that these two had starved for about three days. It seemed that they hadn't been able to take it, choosing to open some chests this morning…

Now, nine people were left. The entire mansion was filled with the Hako Onna-made Hakobito.

Terror, hunger, and despair were plenty to completely destroy a person's consciousness. Any sort of extreme action was quite normal here.

Xiao Ji hadn't eaten all day, nor had he slept. Compared to yesterday, he seemed a lot more fragile.

Despite seeing him like this, Xiao Mei had no sympathy at all. The first thing she did upon entering the dining room was kick Xiao Ji to the ground along with the chair he was tied to.

Nobody watching this had anything to say. Had they not discovered Xiao Ji's identity as the mole, after all, he'd likely have screwed them over something worse.

Ruan Nanzhu sat down next to Xiao Ji, nibbling on bread.

"Xiao Ji," he said, "tell us, is there something else you're hiding from us?"

Xiao Ji stayed silent, glaring at them with hate-filled eyes.

"I think you better get some things straight," Ruan Nanzhu said. "We're not your enemies right now, the Hako Onna is. We can't kill you, but the Hako Onna can."

He fiddled with the leftovers in his hands.

"What do you think will be in the next chest you open—nothing, or a Hakobito?"

On reflex Xiao Ji looked like he wanted to argue, but with the words at the tip of his tongue, he couldn't say them. This was because he knew that Ruan Nanzhu was telling the truth.

The moment he stopped being of use, the Hako Onna would definitely spare him no mercy. Just like the discovered Tian Guxue…

"Do you promise not to hurt me?" Xiao Ji asked. "If you can promise that, then I'll talk."

"Oh course," Ruan Nanzhu smiled. "Plus we can't kill inside the door, you know that already…"

Xiao Ji thought the matter over.

But Lin Qiushi noticed Xiao Mei, standing beside Xiao Ji; after listening to their conversation, her expression grew hateful. Lin Qiushi thought she'd say something about it, but in the end, she kept quiet.

"Alright, I can tell you where the tunnel is," Xiao Ji said. "But I can't promise that the position of the tunnel hasn't been switched."

"When did you find it?" Ruan Nanzhu asked.

"Very early on," Xiao Ji answered plainly. "Probably the first day we got in. That's why I wanted the key so badly afterwards…"

As long as he got the key, he could be the first one out. He wouldn't need to keep working for the Hako Onna because that was just like asking a tiger for its skin.

But he hadn’t thought that the key would end up in Ruan Nanzhu's hands.

"Come on, we'll bring him with us," Ruan Nanzhu said.

They went together to the room that Xiao Ji told them: the first floor kitchen. There were a total of eight chests inside the kitchen, and among them, three were marked with sticky notes—they seem to have been opened. Xiao Mei stood before one of the boxes and caressed it with a hand. Lin Qiushi remembered that her lover had lost his life because he opened this chest.

"Which one?" Ruan Nanzhu asked.

"This one." Xiao Ji pointed at the chest by the door.

"Since you say the tunnel's in there, then go ahead and open it," Xiao Mei said coolly.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Xiao Ji snapped. "The Hako Onna definitely hid a Hakobito in there. Aren't I just asking for death if I open it? Don't you guys have an item to check for Hakobito? Get it out already!"

So Sun Yuanzhou got out the stethoscope they'd gotten off of Xiao Ji the day before. After a careful listen, he said, "there's a sound."

"That's fine," Ruan Nanzhu replied evenly, "as long as we're sure it's this chest, we can use the wooden stake."

He got the item out. The wooden stake could kill the Hako Onna. Naturally, it could also kill the Hakobito.

"Then it's simple," Xiao Ji said. "We just have to use the wooden stake on the chest and make sure there's nothing else inside. And then can't we go right out?" He began to laugh in excitement. "We can get out of here right now!"

There were currently nine people left in the house. Xiao Ji and Xiao Mei aside, they were all veterans.

Though the two newbies had been tricked into coming in this door by Wei Xiude, if they could get out, they stood to gain a lot—they could skip straight past nine doors and earn a long period of survival. Simply put, it was pure profit.

"Do we use it?" Sun Yuanzhou glanced at Ruan Nanzhu.

"Wait." Ruan Nanzhu was scrutinizing the chest in the corner, before he looked over his shoulder and asked: "You found the tunnel on the very first day, correct?"

"Yeah, and?" Xiao Ji said.

"Then when did you find the Moving Things power?" Ruan Nanzhu asked.

Xiao Ji startled.

"I found it when I first came in…" He seemed to remember something, his whole body unconsciously shivering. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, do you suppose there's a possibility that the Hako Onna has used this power?"

Xiao Ji went silent.

There was a possibility indeed, because on the very first day, when they’d just gotten to this mansion, the Hako Onna had cried, but nobody had taken it to heart. Besides, according to the rulebook, some powers could be used in the long-term without crying at all—False Answers was one of them.

In the actual tabletop, False Answers was one of the Hako Onna's passive skills; no matter when and where the players interrogated her, the answers they got could be incorrect.

By the time Xiao Ji thought this matter through, cold sweat was already pouring down his forehead. He swallowed heavily.

"You mean to say that this chest could have already been swapped?"

"Yes," Ruan Nanzhu said, "there is that possibility."

And then he added, "of course, it could just be us overthinking things."

When faced with life and death however, what could possibly be overthinking? If there was even the slightest possibility of this, then death would be certain.

After Ruan Nanzhu and Xiao Ji's conversation, the crowd fell silent, staring at the chest before them.

The Hako Onna's power Moving Things could be used on the tunnel. There were currently eight chests inside the room, which was to say they had a fifty percent chance of opening up something inside[1].

"What do we do?" Xuan Zihui was a bit overwrought. Her partner was gone, and she hadn't eaten in two days. She knew she couldn't make it past the third day, so she had to open a chest tomorrow. But to open a chest meant facing the threat of the Hakobito.

Xiao Ji stood in place, stunned; he didn't seem to think that he'd shoot himself in the foot. He spoke in a daze: "Then what can we do? We can go open more chests, see if we can find any other useful items?"

But Ruan Nanzhu only sighed.

"There aren't that many unopened chests left. There are fourteen Hakobito, fifteen plus the Hako Onna. They'll definitely hide in all the unopened chests."

Unopened chests meant there were items they hadn't gotten inside. The Hako Onna would not let them get their hands on those so easily.

"So, what?" Sun Yuanzhou rasped. "Do we just wait around to die?"

Ruan Nanzhu didn't answer.

The difficulty of the tenth door lied right here; breezing through was impossible. The door had presented them with a problem of immense difficulty. Did they dawdle here, or go for a one-out-of-eight question of multiple choice?

They had a one-out-of-eight probability of finding the tunnel. If they looked in the wrong place…

Nobody spoke. The wooden chests before their eyes seemed to have become malevolent, life-hunting ghosts.

In the end Ruan Nanzhu said: "Let's come back tomorrow. When we get the counts back on the stethoscope tomorrow, we can at least see how many chests can be opened."

That seemed to be the only way. Everyone who'd that they were about to escape hung their heads, and the scent of despair once again filled the air.

They all dispersed, leaving Xiao Ji tied up alone in the dining room.

Liang Miye asked, "does the door intend for us to all die??"

There were nine people left, and eight boxes. If they tested it with their lives, they could indeed figure it out. But who was willing to use their lives as someone else's springboard?

"This is pretty typical," Ruan Nanzhu replied placidly. He looked over at Lin Qiushi, but found Lin Qiushi contemplating something else.

Ruan Nanzhu said, "Linlin, why don't you say something?"

Lin Qiushi shot him a look. "Say what?"

"Anything."

"I don't have anything to say."

"You—"

Lin Qiushi seemed to be able to guess what Ruan Nanzhu wanted to say, and made a sign to stop with his hand.

"I've told you, business talk only right now."

Ruan Nanzhu was moping in an instant. "Linlin…"

But Lin Qiushi didn't even give him a chance to get on stage, just stood up.

"I'm going to see how Xiao Mei's doing."

Ruan Nanzhu, "…"

With a light sigh, he turned and saw Liang Miye's expression of schadenfreude.

"Enjoying the show?"

Liang Miye chortled: "Very much." The ever-cold Ruan Nanzhu from outside could do nothing at all about Lin Qiushi—she was having a great time watching this for the gossip.

Lin Qiushi took a lap around the house, before heading for the dining room on the first floor.

Nowadays, the mansion was nowhere as lively as the days before. Once night fell, the entire building sank into dead silence. But when Lin Qiushi got to the dining room door, he saw Xiao Mei sitting inside with a bottle of wine in hand, slowly sipping at it.

Right across from her was Xiao Ji. A piece of cloth had been stuffed in his mouth, and he was watching Xiao Mei with an expression of alarm.

"Xiao Mei?" Lin Qiushi called out her name. "Why aren't you resting?"

Xiao Mei heard Lin Qiushi's voice and looked back. She smiled.

"Can't sleep."

She took another sip of wine.

Lin Qiushi approached and sat down beside her. Xiao Mei asked if he wanted to drink, and Lin Qiushi turned her down.

"When you knew Zhu Meng was gone, what were you thinking?" Xiao Mei asked.

"That I was going to get revenge," Lin Qiushi said.

"Kill the insider, right?"

Lin Qiushi glanced once at Xiao Ji before nodding.

"I thought the same thing, actually," Xiao Mei said. "If it weren't for Xiao Ji, we might have already gotten out of here. He not only helped the Hako Onna, but also tripped us up intentionally. A person like this really does deserve to die."

Her tone was gliding and understated, but Xiao Ji, across from her, began to twist and struggle. He even tossed Lin Qiushi a look begging for help.

Lin Qiushi shot him an indifferent look back, without any response. He wasn't a saint. The moment he thought of the fact that Ruan Nanzhu might have died alone because of Xiao Ji, he could muster up no sympathy for this person.

Xiao Ji would deserve everything he got.

"Go to bed," Xiao Mei said. "It's getting late."

"What about you?" Lin Qiushi asked.

"I can't sleep, so I'm going to drink a bit more. Be good to Zhu Meng, she loves you a lot," she said. "Of course, you love her too."

As she spoke, she wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. Lin Qiushi stood.

"He would've definitely wanted you to live a good life." He was talking about Xiao Mei's lover.

But Xiao Mei began to laugh at this.

"Mh, I know. Who doesn't want to live? I'll go to bed soon too. Good night."

"Good night." Lin Qiushi turned around and left.

He kept thinking that the way Xiao Mei was seemed a bit familiar. Upon careful thought, he thought that might be the version of himself who knew that he was about to lose Ruan Nanzhu. Ruan Nanzhu's concerns from before had been reasonable; he could not calmly face his lover's departure. Lin Qiushi returned to their room and saw that Ruan Nanzhu was already asleep in bed.

At the sound of his footsteps, Ruan Nanzhu's eyes opened. He watched Lin Qiushi, calling out lowly, "you're back."

"I'm back," Lin Qiushi said.

Ruan Nanzhu pulled his blankets back. "Will you come here? I can't sleep if you're not here."

Lin Qiushi came to his side.

"You can't lie to me next time," he said.

Ruan Nanzhu froze.

"Promise me—you can't lie to me next time. It's fine if we're going to act, it's fine if we're going to die, you have to tell me everything," Lin Qiushi said. "I am your lover. I have the right to know all that. I don't need any for your own good."

Ruan Nanzhu reached out and cupped the back of Lin Qiushi's neck, pressing a comforting kiss to Lin Qiushi's brow.

"Okay," he said, "I promise. I won't keep anything from you again."

Lin Qiushi, "get some rest."

Ruan Nanzhu felt fulfilled. Though he didn't know why Lin Qiushi had suddenly thought things through, Lin Qiushi was finally speaking to him again. And he'd also agreed to never do such a thing again. To Ruan Nanzhu, when he and Lin Qiushi met, the luckier person was actually himself.

Lin Qiushi held Ruan Nanzhu and fell asleep. Their limbs entwined, and dreams were deep.

Six o'clock the next morning, there came a scream from the dining room. This noise woke Lin Qiushi, and he opened his eyes to Ruan Nanzhu's bleary expression.

"What is it?" Ruan Nanzhu asked.

"Something's happened," Lin Qiushi said. "Come on."

The two got out of bed and rushed down to the first floor with Liang Miye. They saw Xuan Zihui standing at the doorway with a look of terror on her face.

"What is it?" Ruan Nanzhu asked.

Xuan Zihui shook her head fiercely and pointed inside.

Lin Qiushi looked, and saw Xiao Mei standing in the kitchen, expressionless. There was a steak knife in her hands, and there was blood everywhere. It would be fine if that had been all, but the scariest thing was, there were body parts scattered all around her, even some that looked like ground meat hacked off by a knife.

And Xiao Ji, who'd been tied to the chair, had disappeared. Lin Qiushi could already guess what happened to him.

"Xiao Mei!” Lin Qiushi was stunned. "You killed Xiao Ji?!"

Xiao Mei's answer was collected: "Four of the chests are empty, and they don't contain the tunnel. There's a Hakobito in this chest, but also no tunnel. There are three more."

In an instant, Lin Qiushi understood what Xiao Mei had done. She'd forced Xiao Ji to open the chests, and used Xiao Ji's life to determine the location of the tunnel.

"Xiao Mei! You can't kill inside the doors!" Lin Qiushi's voice had gone hoarse. "You…"

"I know I can't kill. I know." Xiao Mei's smile was faint. "I'm not planning to live anyways."

She looked at the three chests opened and empty beside her. One more contained the sound of Xiao Ji's screams. She smiled brilliantly.

"Wait—"

Lin Qiushi had guessed what she wanted to do, but he was too late to stop it. Xiao Mei had already approached a chest, her expression relaxed as she took hold of the lid. She laughed and said, "actually, Xiao Mei isn't my name. The character 'mei' is in his name. That's why I made it my alias."

She sighed a soft breath.

"Give me one more chance at this."

Her hand moved, and she lifted the lid. It revealed the Hakobito hidden inside.

But the moment she saw that Hakobito, Xiao Mei's smile was radiant. Those pale hands took hold of her, but she didn't struggle. There was an odd happiness on her face. She hugged the Hakobito back, and like so, with a look of satisfaction, she was dragged into the chest.

Lin Qiushi saw it all from the side. He knew why Xiao Mei looked so satisfied—the Hakobito inside that chest had been her lover.

Standing beside him, Ruan Nanzhu suddenly spoke. He asked, "is this a good thing?"

"It is," Lin Qiushi replied calmly. "At least it is to me."

Ruan Nanzhu didn't say anymore, only held onto Lin Qiushi's hand as tightly as he could.

Translator’s Note:

“屋子里現在一共有八個箱子，也就是說他們有半分之一的概率開出里面的東西” / "There were currently eight chests inside the room, which was to say they had a fifty percent chance of opening up something inside.” I swear that’s what it says, but for the life of me I can’t make sense of it...

[Ch. 117] | [Ch. 119]

[xgryffinwhore]

mama i’m in love with a hitman

summary: two years with barry what could go wrong? oh yeah hes a murderer-

warnings: some angst, marriage proprosal oop-

you had originally begun acting because it was the only affordable option to get you some time away from your family. ya, you still lived with your family.

anyways, acting became kind of like a release for you. you had been going for about 4 months now, you loved everyone you worked with, they were such great people.

then one day, barry berkman showed up,

and basically changed your life.

the first day you saw him, your heart basically feel out of your ass. holy shit was this guy hot; tall, mysterious, and awkward as hell. perfect.

you took him under your wing, immediately engaging with him and bugging him about his person endeavors and whatnot. you two became inseparable, youre bascially the only reason he even uses his messaging app.

you showed him the ropes of LA, giving him tours of sketchy venues, shitty Chinese restaurants. you always felt so awful for him, dragging him around to every place.

"I'm sorry, barry, im just trying to give you the full LA experience"

"its ok, being seen with the prettiest girl in LA isnt so bad"

yeah, one thing led to another, and you had moved into barry's apartment a year after. your relationship was strong; you cuddle, argue, fuck, all of that modern day romance contraband.

everything was exceptional, other than the fact that he was dragging his feet on marrying you...

yeah, you had dropped some major hints. wedding magazines everywhere, leaving honeymoon deals up on the desktop, evening face timing your friend and talking obnoxiously loud about the idea of getting hitched.

tomorrow was your two year anniversary, and you two had been buzzing about it all week, all the lovey dovey language and such.

"babe, tomorrows the day" he squeezed your shoulders from behind you. you were sitting at the coffee table, and he had just served you toast. "i know old man, didnt think we'd last did ya?" "first of all, im only like four years older than you, second" he kissed you on your temple "i knew you were the one."

in the midst of sipping your coffee and passing back and forth news papers, barry’s phone begins to vibrate; the name “Fuches” catches your eye. who was fuches and why did barry have to step out of the room to answer it?

when he came back he looked ghostly, his complexion pale and his lips quivering slightly. “all ok?” you ask, trying to sound lowkey; “uh um- yep. just have to head out for a bit, they need me at work.”

he left abruptly after, grabbing a hat and his black coat. weird. it was the middle june.

you hadn’t heard from him all day, except for a text at lunch that said

barry: Won’t be home tonight, dont forget to lock up.

your heart sunk, the day before your two year. i mean really what was his damage? you didn’t realize how hard it was to fall asleep without him, you tossed and turned until you eventually caved in and called.

ring...... ring.....

ring..........ring......

‘hey! it’s barry berk-uh um block! leave a message if you want to i guess um ok bye howthefuck do i turnthisthing off-OHH!’

oh how you missed that dorky man, true, it had only been a few hours but his touch was your saving grace. the line beeped and you decided to leave him something

“aha hey bar, y/n here. beds cold without you. miss you. be safe.”

the night way cold and long, you were drifting to sleep. but you heard the front door jangle. you sleepily run down the hall way and run straight into barry. you hugged him, his bosy was stiff and he was trying to inch away from you. "bar!" you whined looking up at him, his nose was bloody and he had a black eye.

“bar?” you wiped his cupid’s bow, the sleepy haze quickly wearing off. he pushes past you “just fell, please just wait for me in bed.” by the time you caught up with him at the bathroom, the door was already shut.

you heard the shower turn on, and you could hear him faintly hiss in pain. he was in there for a while, by the time he got back you could hear the birds chirp, which means it must have been close to 5 am. the sun was still down, and you watch his dark figure slip into bed next you to.

“i love you.” he whispered

“i love you too.” you turned to face him, you knew something was up, you knew he had been hiding something.

“you always leave in the night, when i’m sleeping you always leave barry. is it another women?” barry’s face contorts into a confused scribble. “y/n what? you’re the only one.”

“then why don’t you tell me what you’re really up to. go’s we’ve been dating for two years and you can’t even tell me why you sneak away in the night?!”

barry grabs your hands and puts them close to his face “god y/n i’m sorry happy two years” he gushed and kisses your fingers. a tear trailed down his stubbly cheek. “there are just things i can’t tell you because i don’t want to lose you.”

this hurt you, barry knew all of your deepest secrets, the things you never told anyone other then him. all of this had you worked up, how could he speak to you this way the day of your two year mark? despite his protests, you packed a tooth brush and drove to your friends to stay the night. this was just too much for 3am, you needed space. to clear your head.

you didnt sleep at all that night, you nodded off from 8am to 10, your friend waking you up. "girl i know you dont want to hear this... but barry is outside, hes been parked here since 9" she threw your jeans at you "now go outside and work this shit out, im not prepared to deal with your heart boken ass."

so you put on jeans, and headed for disaster.

you came outside, 'sleepy always looks so good on her' barry thought to himself. you loved him so much, it was so hard to fight with him.

"listen bar, im sorry im just sensitive you know th-"

"y/n"

barry never interrupted you. for as long as you remember there has never once been a time where barry talked over you, or interrupted what you were saying. its something you loved about him, he always seemed so interested in what you had to say, he thought your words where so important.

"yes?"

he pulled a rolled up magazine out of his pack pocket, it was yours, it had faded circles on what cakes and dresses you wanted. he unrolled it and scurried to the 5th page. he pointed at the big raise ranch that you put exclamation points next to.

"this house, i want this house."

he went to the 8th page.

"and this car, we could have that if i stop going to wendys so much"

he giggled to himself and mumbled something about how he knows a guy that can re pair a cooling system.

'uh-um ok barry, what does this have to do with anything? house, car, is this what you drove over here to tell me? you want a better car? you need a bigger house."

he shook his head and trialed to the second page with that beautiful sheath wedding dress, you remembered that.

"youll wear this yeah? some time in the early fall. wouldnt that be nice, still warm, and the leaves-oh the leaves- orange and yellow bring out your eyes so i just figured."

he pulled out the rock, and shit, it didn’t disappoint. you’re not materialistic but what the FUCK?! how did he even afford that-

he slipped it on your finger and you both embraced. messy kisses all over whatever skin you two could find. it was bliss, it was happiness.

you hugged for a while. just sat there reflecting on how far you two had come, and how happy he was going to make you feel for the res rod your life. it’s crazy, you thought marriage wasn’t in the cards for you. but with barry, you can see 5 kids, a dog, and a stupid picket fence.

you were so captured in this moment, you didn’t notice barry’s demeanor change. you looked up and him, he was pale white, staring behind his shoulder at the street. you leaned over his forearm and saw a beat up mom car.

in it was a shaggy dude, didn’t look too much older then barry. he was plump in the face, and his face was aged.

“fuches!?” barry exclaimed.

“come on. we have a hit, i habe your sniper in the back. now.”

another WHAT?

[yespolkadotkitty]

I’ll Be by Edwin McCain came on the other day and instantly got me into my Zach feels. Something about it was so him - the mood, the 90s, the flannel. The line “rain falls angry on the tin roof as we lie awake in my bed” in particular sticks with me. If you have time, can I get a little nugget of Zach? Fluff or smut, or fluff with a wee kernel or smut? I love your writing.

Right so as discussed you didn’t ask for a multichapter fic but as I’ve got 4 chapters so far  LET’S DO THIS

So many shoutouts for this so here goes:

THANKYOU @kindablackenedsuperhero for this STUNNING BANNER.

THANKYOU @thestrawberry-thief for US library advice

THANKYOU @heatherbel for the beta and UK library advice

THANKYOU @knittingqueen13 for the encouragement

THANKYOU @pedropascallion  for the library clerk advice!

THANKYOU @disgruntledspacedad and @alienprincesspoop for screaming with me about this fic.

Chapter One

Warnings: Scenes of assault, attempted sexual assault  ~ Words: 1380

Pairing: Zach Wellison x OFC Martha Song

Walk with your keys in your hand and keep a key between each finger.

Watch your shadows and reflections - a split second’s notice is better than none.

If they take you and put you in the trunk, kick out the headlights.

These are all things girls are taught from a young age. Things I knew, almost unconsciously. Things that were smart.

But did knowing these things stop me from taking a shortcut through the park after the sun had set?

No, they did not.

I had my hand in my pocket, around the keys. I did not have headphones on - needed to hear if someone was approaching.

Usually, I did all the safe things at night. Walked in the road if it was appropriate, so someone would have to come out from the pavements and buildings to grab me. Stuck to well lit areas.

But, well, I was tired, and hungry for the Chinese takeout leftovers in my fridge, could already taste the sticky pork ribs in my mind, and I took the lazy, unsafe shortcut.

I’m sure the media would have blamed me for what happened next.

I heard them before I saw them. I turned slightly. Two guys, one wearing a beanie, another with his hood up.

It wasn’t even seven pm, but in January the sun set earlier, and darkness had descended, filling up all the corners that daylight usually illuminated.

I quickened my pace. I’m sure they’re just coming off shift.

“Hey, babe,” one of them called.

I glanced around. No one else in the vicinity, and the park spread flat enough for me to see. A single streetlight ahead beckoned and I headed for it, the bag of books from work on my back slowing me down.

I thought about ditching it, but: books. I value books more than anything. I couldn’t sacrifice them even for my own benefit.

“Not gonna stop and talk?” the other one called.

They’re just cat-callers, nothing to worry about.

It was just shy of seven in the evening - where the fuck was everyone? LA should have been busy, was always bustling, but I had somehow chosen the one time where this section of the popular park was empty.

“Come on baby, spare a little sugar?” the first one called. Their steps got closer. The second one was snickering and I felt the little mouse of fear skitter down my spine.

I clenched my keys tighter. Shouldn’t have taken the shortcut.

The streetlight got closer, and I watched it, saw the first guy’s shadow with a hair’s breadth of notice. I spun as he reached me, the keys poking out between my fingers, but I was scared and all my punch did was piss him off.

“Pretty girl,” he half wheezed as he grabbed for me. “Don’t pretend you don’t want it.”

I struggled. Under the streetlamp I caught a glimpse of the first guy’s face, straggly mousy brown beard, cold eyes. The pit of my stomach fell.

“Let me.” Guy two was at my back, hands on my waist. He smelled of alcohol and something like old food, and bile rose up in my throat. “Loosen up, baby, we only wanna make you feel good.”

I tried to shout, but the noise died on my tongue. Fear had clutched itself around my body and the muscles weren’t responding. My keys fell from my fist.

Help, I thought. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as the first guy slid his hand down my body.

No, no, no.

Then suddenly a rush of adrenaline hit my veins - come on, what would Katniss Everdeen do? - and I shoved my knee up into guy one’s groin. Not as hard as I wanted to, but he cried out, a litany of swear words falling from his lips. I kicked out, but guy two was stronger, and had an arm around my throat before I could move.

“Come on now. Don’t be like that,” he cajoled, his sour breath licking at my cheek.

By then guy one had recovered, his face caught in a snarl, white skin pasty under the streetlight. I felt like I was in a sort of backwards ballet, a dystopian dance where there was no way I could make the right moves.

“Hey, assholes.”

The new voice, deep, with a bit of Texas drawl, made me turn. 

A man, mostly in shadow, a large duffel bag by his feet, wielded what looked like a big section of industrial metal pipe.

Guy two huffed out a laugh. “Oh look, it’s the little soldier boy and he brought a new toy with him.”

“Let her go, man,” the stranger called out, taking a step closer.

Guy one had recovered from my knee to his dick. “Or you’ll do what?” He grabbed for me again, but he was distracted by my would-be rescuer, so I took the opportunity to knee him again, but this time, like I meant it, like my life depended on it.

He buckled, and the release meant I could drive my elbow back into guy two’s kidneys. He was stronger, through, and he tightened his arm around my throat. I grabbed for his wrist, scrabbling, barely noticing the stranger moving out of my sight.

“Duck!” He yelled, and I summoned all my strength to yank my head down.

In a moment, a loud thunk confirmed my suspicions, the sound of metal on flesh and bone, and guy two toppled like a tree.

Breathless, I turned to scoop up my keys, and stared at my knight in - dirty jeans. He was panting, his arms still holding the pipe up.

“You okay?” he asked, and I saw him clearly under the streetlamp, the glow picking out the gold in his brown-sugar hair. A patchy beard, more stubble than anything, hugged his well defined jaw. His eyes were soft, kind, the deep brown of hot cocoa.

“I am thanks to you.”

Below him, guy one writhed on the floor and, feeling too angry to think, I stomped on the part of him closest to me, his hand.

He cried out and I couldn’t have cared less.

“You wanna call the cops?” the stranger asked, but his tone was wary. As if I might have been just as likely to call the law about him as the attackers.

I thought it over. I’d likely be raked over the coals for having the audacity to walk alone at night (as if anytime after sundown could be counted as night) and my attackers would get a wrist slap. If that.

“Nah.” But I stomped on guy one’s wrist again for good measure.

He whined.

“C’mon,” Brown Eyes said. “I’ll walk you to the edge of the park.” He set the pipe on his shoulder and crossed over to the waiting duffle bag. It was the size of his torso. I took in his weathered, unshaven appearance, and wondered if the canvas fabric contained his every worldly possession.

I checked behind me, but the stranger was quick to reassure. “They won’t be back for a couple days.”

“You’ve… seen them before?”

He ducked his head, and in the glow from a nearby streetlamp I saw a faint flush of rose on his cheeks. “I’m... here a lot.”

He’s homeless. But of course I didn’t say it out loud.

We reached the edge of the park. People milled about, some queueing outside a deli popular for its pizza sold by the cheesy, greasy slice.

I didn’t miss the way the stranger’s head jerked up towards the scent of pizza.

How long since he’d eaten?

“Want some pizza?” I asked.

Something unreadable passed over his face. “I’m not a charity case.”

“Oh, but I am?”

His head whipped around. “What?”

“Did you come to my defence just now because you felt sorry for me? Oh look, there’s a woman of colour being attacked, gosh I feel sorry for her-”

“No, of course not, what the-” then he huffed out a laugh. “Touchė.”

“It’s just pizza. And a thank-you. I’m Martha.” I held out a hand.

He looked down at my outstretched palm for a second, as if surprised that I wanted to touch him. Then he shook my hand, his own large, warm, callused. “Zach.”

***********

Tagging: @thegreenkid @reluctantlyresponsibleadult @littlemissthistle @havenforafrazzledmind @myheart-pedro @john-in-the-sky-with-paul @idreamofboobear @rae-gar-targaryen @miulola @abuttoncalledsmalls @buttercup-bee @strangelittlenobody @qseomilk @jazzelsaur @songsformonkeys @mourningbirds1 @pajamasecrets @myoxisbroken @just-the-hiddles @skdubbs @nelba @badassbaker @nelba @f0rever15elf @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @mylittlelonelyappreciation @theravenreads @filthybookworm @aeryntheofficial @toomanystoriessolittletime @lannister-slings-and-arrows (Zach Pit) and @absurdthirst might like this <3

please ask to be added or released from the tags!!

[bqstqnbruin]

4 times he wanted to come over + one time he did

Ok, we’re going to ignore several things here, like the fact that this was an 8 page Google Doc that I put together in a few hours, the fact that said document had been blank since June, t y p o s, and the fact that it’s nearly three am and I have my first day of classes technically today (aka at 2 pm).

But here I am, with my second fic of the day? IDK but since classes are starting, my posts are going to be a lot less frequent, so hopefully you guys like this! -------------------

one

Your apartment was finally put together just the way you liked it; all your stuff had its place, it was decorated just the way you liked it, you even had a pantry full of food, a rare feat when you were in college even with living with three other girls. Your first morning in your new, fully set up place was going to be celebrated by yourself. You had planned to make yourself breakfast that would probably last into lunch, order Chinese food later that night, drink coffee and watch Seinfeld on Hulu until you felt like going to sleep. There was no better way to break in a new place than by just relaxing in it. 

You turn on your TV, setting your coffee and plate down on the table in front of your couch, and walk over to the huge windows you were lucky enough to have in the apartment. It was a picture-perfect day, and the sun shined right into your apartment, not a single cloud in the blue sky. You felt like you were in a movie like someone had curated the scene and that with the touch of a button, the green screen would be gone and so would the magic. 

Sitting down, putting your feet up on the table, you dig in. This was actually perfect for you. Your new job was going to be stressful and you knew it. The more you could find ways to relax in your home, the better the job would be. 

After three episodes and nearly spilling your coffee all over you twice, you decide to get up and move around. You were drawn back to your windows, still in awe at the scene on the other side of them. Across the street, it looks like someone was doing the same in their apartment. He was tall, handsome, shirtless, and covered with tattoos that you couldn’t seem to take your eyes off of. 

He waves at you smiling in a way that made you melt. It took everything in you to wave back and not do something stupid, mentally thanking yourself that the pajamas you had been wearing were athletic shorts and a tshirt from your sorority, and not something more embarrassing. 

You go back to your couch, knowing that he could still see you and probably what you were watching. You couldn’t focus on the episode, feeling as if he were still there watching you. You tried to force yourself not to steal glances at him but failed, every so often seeing him mirroring your actions, watching TV on his couch. You didn’t know that the entire time, he was also stealing glances at you. He couldn’t help it; never before had he seen someone look so naturally beautiful, so in their element and carefree while just sitting and watching TV. 

“Fuck it,” you say to yourself, pausing mid-episode and getting up to find the paper, markers, and tape you know you had stashed somewhere.

Messily scrawling ‘I just moved in, nice to meet you,’ on a piece of paper, you tape it up on the window, praying that you wrote it big and dark enough that he could see it.  Sighing when he wasn’t still on the couch, you get back on your own and press play on the TV again. 

Where could he have gone? And why were you more invested in the handsome stranger on the other side of the street than you were in the show about nothing that you had grown up watching? 

Your stomach growls, not quite late enough to order dinner, you wander into your kitchen to get a snack, looking over to the window of handsome man to see that he had left a note, presumably for you. ‘Nice to meet you, I’m Pierre-Luc’ was written in print messier than that of a doctor’s. Thank god your best friend growing up had the world’s worst writing, having to ask him to rewrite it would have been demeaning and embarrassing. 

And so it began: you would write a note, watch an episode, then check to see if he left you anything back. He always did, 

His name was Pierre-Luc and he played hockey. After a quick google search, unbeknownst to him since you were assuming he couldn’t see what was on your phone, you found that he was a professional hockey player, player for the Blue Jackets. Great, as if he weren’t already being sweet, asking you questions, leaving you charmingly flirty messages on his window for you, now he was an athlete? Quite possibly one of the sexiest types of men in your opinion? Great. Amazing. 

‘What’s for dinner?’ he leaves on his window, disappearing somewhere into his apartment. 

‘Ideally Chinese food, where do you suggest?’ is what you leave for him, scrolling through Uber eats to see what was cheapest and nearby. You look up, seeing him writing on a notepad his answer, taping it to his window before sending you what you could swear was a wink. 

‘Best place to eat out is here at my place,” you read, bursting out laughing. Confident, this one. 

You roll your eyes, leaving a cheeky message about sticking to Chinese food and just ordering it from the first place that came up. 

The night went on, you not realizing you had spent the whole day flirting with a window stranger. He had liked talking to you, too, but it was pretty bad for the environment to be wasting all this paper when he could clearly see the phone that was in your hand or on your table. Writing his number on what he hoped would be his final piece of paper, maybe you would invite him over. Or he could invite you over. There was something about you that he wanted to spend time with you, not flirt with you while a city street separates you. Taping the paper up, he can see you, fast asleep on the couch, your TV screen asking you if you were still there. 

Closing his curtains, he hoped that you would use the number soon so you could actually spend time with him. 

 Two

You had been feeding that cat every morning for over a month. You loved that stray cat; there was a weird sense of satisfaction in feeding her even though you knew your apartment building wouldn’t allow you to take her in as a pet. But of course, the day you had your friends coming over for dinner was the day you had to run to the store to buy more cat food because you ran out the day before and forgot to get some yesterday. You didn’t know who put food out for the cat at night, or even if anyone did. 

You go to the bowl sitting in the alley way, seeing that it was empty, confirming your suspicion that no one else fed the poor cat. You would have to start feeding it at night, too. 

“Sorry, you don’t have to do this,” you hear someone say behind you. You get up to see him, the man from the window. 

“Pierre-Luc? Why don’t I have to do this?” 

“Because I’ve been doing it.” 

“No, I have,” you argue, knowing that this would lead to a never-ending circle of ‘me, no me.’ You had been texting each other for a few weeks, constantly trying to figure out when you could spend time together, but much like you and your best friend during senior year of college, your schedules never matched up, going a year before finally seeing each other. 

“When?” he asks, a cocky smile dancing across his face. 

“Every morning before work, what about you,” you ask, getting closer to him. You text relationship was flirty, you were sure of it. Every time you passed by your window when he was home, he made a point to check you out, he winked at you, he smiled. He exuded a welcome confidence that you weren’t used to.

“Every day when I get back from practice.”

“What about the days that you’re away for games?”

“I figured someone would feed him for me.”

“The cat’s a girl,” you say, the little feline coming up to you. “You would know that if you didn’t just assume other people were doing what you set out to do in the first place.”

“Well, my assumption was correct, wasn’t it?” he says, a devilish twinkle in his eye as his tongue runs along his bottom lip. 

“You know what they say about assuming,” you tell him, breaking your eye contact to put out some food for the purring animal.

“What’s that?”

“It makes an ass outta you and me,” you tell him, looking up at him towering over you as a laugh leaving his lips. Given his demeanor, you wouldn’t expect him to look as, what’s the right word, jolly? As he did. 

“How come you’re feeding her now if you usually do it in the morning?” he asks, bending down to help you.

Feeling your phone buzzing in your pocket that signaled your friends were already there waiting for you, you tell him, “I ran out of food yesterday and didn’t have the chance to get more until after work. Plus, I needed to pick some stuff up for tonight, anyway.”

“Tonight?” he asks, his head snapping up. Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit, ran through his head.

“Yeah, my friends are coming over for dinner. It’s the first time they’ll be seeing my new place.” You pause for a minute. He was here, obviously with some free time, but did you want his first time over your place to be surrounded by your nosy friends? They knew you were talking to an attractive neighbor, but you knew they would say things to him that would mortify you and send you running before he got the chance. 

But like the night you first moved in, fuck it. “Are you free tonight? I would love for you to come over,” you tell him, the smile on his face disappearing as soon as you asked.

“I have a game tonight, I can’t. I was actually about to change and then leave,” he says, looking sad. He wanted to come over, and as soon as you said you were having friends over, he knew that you were going to ask him. 

“Oh, that’s fine. Now I have a reason to watch a game, though,” you tell him, smiling. You had to admit, you were a little bit upset, but again, it was probably for the best that he didn’t meet your friends just yet. 

“If the game ends early enough, I’ll stop by, yeah?” he suggests, running his hand through his hair.

“Yeah, sure. I’d like that.” 

Three

“Babe, you’ve lived here for like, what? Almost six months? You have a hot as fuck neighbor who you actually talk to, and he hasn’t come over yet? Why haven’t you asked him to come over?” Amy says with food in her mouth. Your friends were over, again, this time to hang out before they went out to the bars. You were originally going to go, but you were too exhausted, and having already promised to host the pregame, you weren’t going to back out now. 

“You call me babe more than any guy I’ve met, you realize that right?” you ask her, getting up to go over to your window. You knew he wasn’t home; you had the Columbus game against the Flyers playing on your TV, Pierre-Luc was on the ice as you absentmindedly went over to the window to see if he was there. “Plus, our schedules never work. Look, Aimes, he’s literally on our TV, meanwhile as soon as all you hooligans leave, I’m going to bed. 

“Come on, stay up for the man,” Jeff said. The only male in your group of friends, he always entered the girl talk, encouraging you to get with a guy just as much as the others. 

“I’m going out to breakfast with you guys in the morning, how cranky do you want me to be, Jeffy? You know I will not hesitate to throw a potato at you,” you say, the rest of the group laughing even though they know you’re serious. You have thrown stuff at him and only him during breakfast before, him never thinking you’d have the guts to cause a scene in public, but doing it anyway. 

“We all know you’d be less cranky if you got laid,” he says through a mouthful of food. Why did everyone talk with their mouths open?

“Tomorrow I’m ordering two breakfasts; one to eat and one to throw at you.” 

You tune out your friends for the rest of the night. You only paid attention to the hockey game, your eyes trying to stay focused on Pierre-Luc every time he was on the ice. You did really want him to come over, but again, the first time couldn’t be with your friends, not when they were full psychopaths when it came to any boy that you were talking to. What would you have done if Pierre-Luc was there when Jeff commented about you being cranky and needed to get laid? 

Why did the cute guy have to have such a complicated schedule? Every time you were free, he was to jet off somewhere in the country for a few days for games, then he would come back, sleep, go to practice, and then go to a game. From what you could tell, he never stayed up past maybe 10 pm on the nights he didn’t have games, he napped nearly every day after practices, and he really was only home to eat.

Not that you were stalking him. Or memorizing his schedule. You two talked all the time, having evolved from notes in the windows to texting, from texting to calling, from calling to him falling asleep before you while on Facetime. He was one of your best friends, and you had never actually hung out with him at your or his apartment. 

“So how long will it take for him to get home now that the game is over?” Amy asks, snapping you out of the trance that you didn’t know you were in.

You didn’t even know that the game was over; the Jackets beat the Flyers 2-1, the game apparently ending about five minutes ago. You never timed how long it took between the game being over and him getting home since it was different pretty much every night. You think. Again, it’s not like you were stalking the boy. “Uh, I don’t know, half an hour?” you guess, giving them what you hoped was enough information for them to not ask you more.

“So has he sent you any like sexy pics?” Tanaka pips in, you nearly choking on the water you were drinking. 

“What the ever living fuck?” you nearly scream, all your friends laughing at your reaction. “There is no way I would ever tell you. Guys, we’re friends. Yes, he’s cute, hell, he’s fucking hot, but we’ve never physically spent time together, so can we just drop it?” 

They change the subject, going back to the conversation from this afternoon that involved them trying to get you to go out. You loved your friends, they were your found family, but dammit they wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

“Wait, sorry, which apartment is his again?” Jeff asks in the middle of you telling them yet again why you weren’t going out with them. 

You all snap your heads to the other building, the one directly across from you now with lights on. “That one,” you say, Pierre-Luc appearing in the window, all of your friends running up to go wave to him. This was mortifying. Your phone started buzzing on the table, and with Pierre-Luc having his phone out for his friends to see, they knew it was from him.

“What did he say!” Tanaka yells, trying to grab your phone from you. 

“He said get your creepy friends away from the window,” you lie. If you told them he was asking to come over, they would steal your phone and make him come. “Guys, shouldn’t you be going by now? It’s almost 11, the deal at the bar ends at midnight and all of you are still sober,” you point out, praying that it would work.

“Let’s get drunk!” Amy says, grabbing her bag and marching out the door. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?” 

“Yep, I’m going to sleep. Text me when you’re all alive!” you say, pushing them out the door.

Your phone buzzes again, Pierre-Luc asking again if he could come now that your friends were gone. You wanted to say yes, but you knew that as soon as he came over, you would be asleep. Plus he just came from a game, there was no way he wasn’t also exhausted. ‘I’m about to pass out, I’m sorry. We’ll hang out eventually, I promise’

Four

You should be back in your apartment by now. You had told Pierre-Luc that you would be home by 11 pm. You had an early day the next day and staying out late wasn’t something you wanted to do, no matter how good your date went or how attractive you thought the guy was. 

Much to Pierre-Luc’s dismay, you had told him that your friend Amy had set you up with someone she knew from school. You were going out with him tonight, you Facetiming Pierre-Luc while getting ready. He should have just been over there, watching you get ready. No actually, he should have been the one taking you out, but at this point in whatever the hell relationship you had, the first thing that you were going to do in person with each other, besides that one time you fed the alley cat, was hang out in each other’s apartment. 

He was pacing, checking his phone to see if you had sent him anything about your whereabouts. You should have been home by now, why weren’t you home? If you weren’t home in ten minutes, he was going to call the police. No, they wouldn’t do anything. He would figure out how to hack your phone, try to find Amy on social media, something so that he would know you were safe. 

Sitting down on his couch, he positioned himself so he had a direct view of your apartment. As soon as you walked in the door and turn on the light to your living room, he would know. He needed that light to go on right now. 

‘Maybe I should go over and wait outside her door? Would that be creepy?’ he thought to himself, ‘I could say that I was just checking on you, which would technically be true. It’s not like you were going to bring the guy home, right? But what if you did and then I was there sitting outside your door. I can’t ruin things for you.’ 

Why has it taken him so long to even get over to your place? Or for you to come over to his? He hated that your schedules were just different enough that you couldn’t meet up. You were always running out the door when he was just getting home and vice versa. He couldn’t even fathom what he would do the first time he saw you in person.

He should have just kissed you when you were feeding the cat. He knows that he wants to date you, how could he not someone who was sweet enough to do something like that for a random cat but also unafraid to chirp him like his teammates? 

Your light goes on, him doing everything in his power to not jump up and go to his window, but that doesn’t stop him from watching what was happening.

Your date went well; you and David had really hit it off, leading to making out in the elevator ride up, stumbling into your apartment with your lips practically glued to his. You look across to Pierre-Luc’s apartment, him sitting there. You make eye contact with him, smiling because of David. David comes up behind you, starting to kiss you down your neck. You send a thumbs up to Pierre-Luc, closing the curtain as you let David do as he pleases.

Pierre-Luc sits on his couch, dumbfounded by what he just saw. That should have been him. He should have been the one in your apartment with you right now. 

+one

Saturday morning, sitting on your couch, watching Seinfeld. A cup of coffee, your phone, and a plate with some fruit on it, much like the first full day when you moved in. The sky was cloudless and blue, but you weren’t admiring it in the same way as you were that day. You were out with David last night, one month after your first date. You thought everything was going great, until he told you that he wanted to see other people. You shouldn’t have been surprised, he had been saying that he wasn’t sure he was ready for a relationship, but that didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt when he officially broke it off with you. 

‘You’re crying,’ a message from Pierre-Luc pops up on your screen. For a moment, you forgot your curtains were open, giving him a full view into your apartment. 

‘Yep,’ you reply back, not sure what else to say. He could see you, it’s not like you could lie to him. 

‘Need to talk about it?’ 

‘I don’t want to Facetime right now.’

‘Got it,’ was all he said. You look over at his apartment, just in time to see him shutting the door behind him. What the hell was he doing that he could ask you to Facetime and then leave right after? You let out a sigh, deciding to focus on the TV and try to force yourself to eat the fruit. You weren’t going to feel any better if your hunger turned into hanger, so you might as well eat the food that was in front of you. 

You didn’t know where your phone ended up; somewhere in the couch cushions maybe? On the floor? You didn’t even care, you just wanted to wallow and be dramatic for the day. What you weren’t expecting was the knock on your door, interrupting your favorite episode of the show. Getting up, not expecting anyone, you debated even opening the door when you hear his voice on the other side.

“Y/N, it’s me, open up.” You see Pierre-Luc standing there, a bag from the donut shop down the street in hand, a bunch of take out menus in the other.

“What are you doing here?” you ask, him pushing past you and plopping down on the couch, obviously already knowing the way around. 

“You were upset so I wanted to make sure you were alright,” he says, taking out the donuts, putting them on the plate with your fruit, popping a piece in his mouth. “You don’t have to talk about it, but at least this way we’re finally hanging out in person.”

There was something about seeing him sitting on your couch that just felt right. He looked so at home, his feet already up on your table in the way you sat pretty much all the time. He had already started up the episode, replaying it from the beginning so he could see it when you sit down beside him, tucking your feet underneath you. 

“Come here,” he says, reaching his arm out. You cuddle up next to him, your head on his shoulder as he plants a kiss on the top of your head. It felt so right. So much better than with David, so much better than with any of the other guys you had been with. 

“He dumped me,” you tell him, even though you were sure that you had already texted him that last night when you were on your way home. 

“He didn’t deserve you,” you hear him say. He mumbled something else, something you couldn’t quite make out. If he wanted you to hear it, he would have said it louder, you figured.

“He said I play hard to get?” you ask, unsure if that was true or not. Were you hard to get? You slept with the guy on the first night, Pierre-Luc had seen the beginning of it through the window. 

“No, you’re not hard to get, you’re hard to earn. Any guy would be lucky to have you. If I had you, I’d,” he stops himself, mentally kicking himself for opening that can of worms that he really didn’t want to dive into yet. You hadn’t even been out on a first date. If anything, maybe, this was your first date. 

“You’d what?” you say, sitting up, hoping he would continue. This was his first time in your apartment. Something you had both thought about a lot. You wanted to hear what he would do if you were together, hoping whatever he said would actually happen. 

“I’d feed the cat with you in the morning and then do it by myself in the afternoon if I didn’t have a game or something,” he starts, laughing, “I’d go out to breakfast with your friends even if we didn’t go out with them the night before. I’d even hang out with them whenever you did, even though they are a little crazy. You love the people around you, the animals that aren’t even your own pets. You deserve someone who will love you back the way you love everyone and everything.” 

You sit there for a moment, unsure of how to respond. “I should have been the one that night in here with you, not him,” he says, finally admitting it out loud. 

“Do something about it now, then,” you tell him.

“What?” he asks, stunned. 

“Forget that night you saw me with David, and do something now,” you insist. You had wanted this just as bad as he did, so why were either of you waiting?

He starts slow, sweet, his hand on your cheek as he presses his lips to yours. His lips move with yours, his tongue swiping your bottom lip as his other hand snakes it’s way around you back, picking you up from the seat next to you and placing you in his lap. Your hands go through his hair, your mind blank. This was what you had been waiting for since you first saw him.

He pulls away, his cheeks now red, a smile on his face, “I really hope I’m the only one who ever looked through your window.”

“If anyone else is looking then at least they get a little bit of a show,” you say, kissing him again. 

[endlich-allein]

Once again, @iinchicore was very kindly to translate an article for me. This is the interview with Till and Joey in MetalHammer (January 2021). The boys tell about their journey in the Amazon and their future projects together.

A big thank you, lots of kisses and a big hug to @iinchicore ♡

Till Lindemann & Joey Kelly : Friendship Without Limits

MetalHammer: How did the preparations for this journey differ in comparison to your Yukon trip?

Joey Kelly: We took along different equipment. While riding on the Yukon we used sturdy Canadian kayaks, which we couldn't find in Colombia. So we took along our own foldable 15 kilogramme kayak. Due to the climate, our choice of clothing was also different. Besides, the Amazon is much more dangerous than Alaska. There are many dangerous animals, small and big ones. You can find snakes, crocodiles and piranhas, which is why you shouldn't bathe in the river. You have to move differently on the Amazon than on the Yukon, where you only have to keep your distance to bears and elks. Amazonia is a jungle, where only those animals survive who eat the others.

Your first river journey led you to the Yukon, now you travelled on the Amazon. Was there a reason for why you picked that river exactly?

Till Lindemann: We were considering to travel along the Chinese Yangtze or the Lena in Russia, Siberia. Siberia was my favourite, but Joey convinced me to go to the Amazon. We have both been there before and knew a little about how to prepare and what to expect. One thing we knew right away was that, in regard to the nature and people, South America was much more exciting – Siberia looks similar to Alaska. That wouldn't have been all that interesting for our second book. Now the contrast is much greater: Alaska is austere and glum, the Amazon is the exact opposite with an entirely different wildlife and vegetation. Don't forget the wonderful colours of South America!

Any fascinating experiences of nature?

TL: It is really rare to spot an animal in the jungle. You can hear them everywhere, but they hide or are disguised very well. With the help of the local guides we observed snakes, birds, monkeys and a tapir. We saw pink dolphins and watched them do their jumps on the river. Because of their skin-like colour the locals believe they're incarnations of their dead loved ones and worship them.

How did the locals at the river react towards you?

TL: Reluctant, at first. You go to them and, for example, ask whether you can stay the night. They don't really talk much in the beginning, but after a night with a lot of Cachaca they warm up to you. Usually they were interested in our fishing gear. Most of them had never seen something like it, as they were used to fishing with rolled up strings and nets. I was amazed that every village we visited, no matter how remote the location, owned fridges with cold beer, they even had solar energy. Huge satellite dishes to watch football. For three days we visited one particular village. There was a storm, so they allowed us to stay. There was an older guy who had fallen off his stilt house, drunk, and broke his foot. Two young men went to the neighbouring village, a day's journey away, to get the shaman. The man should have belonged to a hospital, but that was entirely out of the question for him. It either heals on its own or it doesn't. We bandaged his foot and supplied him with pain meds. Then we continued drinking.

Did you plan beforehand what you wanted to see during your journey?

TL: Yes, a coca plantation. We knew that they existed there everywhere. At first, it was a lot of back and forth. They were staving us off, but after a lot of endless waiting and our patient agreeing to it, they allowed us to go. Along with two attendants from the village, we paddled down a branch of the Amazon that became narrower over time. A labyrinth of branches we would have never found our way out of. Eventually, we ended up at one of the countless plantations. It wasn't harvest time, however, so the leaves weren't ripe yet. But you could see all the tools for it: mashers, bags, and hundreds of bowls. And a little storage.

Did you try the coca leaves?

TL: Yes. We were on the plantation. They hid the plants below banana trees, so you couldn't see the plantation from the air. I did try a few coca leaves, but there is no sorcery about it. You just stay awake and feel energized. Everybody is chewing on them there, it's like coffee, just ten times stronger.

Did you reach your physical limits during this journey?

TL: The body adjusts to the climate pretty quickly. After three weeks you don't sweat all that much anymore. Even the sun doesn't bother you as much anymore, because you're thoroughly cooked anyway. But the humidity requires getting used to. The people there are handling it very differently. They own to pairs of shorts, two t-shirts and beach slippers, and they walk around like that all day.

JK: The climate there is exhausting, you're sweat-soaked after only three minutes. Personally, I don't mind it, but to people who aren't used to it it's a pain. The route we went on was quite difficult in parts, it was very serpentine. You had to paddle the whole time, you had to steer, then there were shoals or the water became too flat, so we had to relocate the boat.

You didn't capsize though, like it happened to you on the Yukon?

JK: No, the water level during that season was way too low. Later on, when the water comes in from the Andes during the monsoon season, the level rises by 15 metres. It drowns out entire forests.

TL: I was there once during the monsoon season. Back then only the tree tops were peeking out of the water. That's why they build their houses on stilts, so the water doesn't reach them. Many villages are located on mountain tops, as the water level won't rise that high.

Considering the many preparations and daily challenges, did you ever find time to relax during such an extensive journey?

TL: Travelling on the Yukon wasn't stressful, because we were sleeping on the sandbanks. Those experiences made travelling the Amazon even easier. As the sun goes down very early there, our only concern was to make camp before 6PM. Whenever we found a good location we sometimes made camp even earlier than that, instead of travelling on and risking not finding a good spot. That only happened to us once, so we had to sleep in the jungle, which wasn't all that bad either.

With a camp fire and night watch?

TL: A camp fire, yes, but we didn't need a night watch. You have to trust your guide, those guys know what they're doing. Our guide went ahead a couple of metres with a bit of string and, within a few minutes, came back with six piranhas. Then we turned on the grill and ate. Piranhas are really tasty, like giltheads.

Did you gain more respect for nature due to this journey?

TL: I had a great respect for nature before that already. Still, I couldn't hold myself back from taking pictures with snakes. I love snakes, Joey thinks they're scary. (laughs)

What did you learn along the way?

JK: I asked the Indians to teach me how to fish with a cast-net and pulled animals out of the water, which an aquarist would usually pay thousands of euros for. Scalars, discus fish, loricariids, sisorid catfish, catfish in all shapes and sizes.

Here in Europe we read a lot about the fact that these romantic times might be of the past soon, due to the systematic ecocide. Is that what you saw over there?

TL: When you approach Leticia you can make out the slash-and-burn methods used below. We assume that every minute jungle area the size of 1.5 football fields gets cleared, for soy plantations or pasture areas. The search for gold is also devastating for the nature. They use mercury to wash the gold out of rocks and clay. The mercury ends up in the rivers, in the fish, and then inside the people.

JK: The Amazon traverses through the entire continent. It is so broad and deep, there are even bigger ships cruising the river than on our rivers here in Europe. They carry natural resources, mainly wood. You can find a sawmill every couple of kilometres. They carry the tree trunks there and cut them along the length (4m by 1,20m or even 4m). Those planks then get transported either by ship or overland, a systematic deforestation of the Amazon area.

TL: You find a lot of filth in the main stream: huge tree trunks, garbage, bags full of plastic, and a lot of wood waste. It's illegal, but everybody does it. Very obviously, even during the day, nobody cares.

Are the locals not aware of the drastic situation?

JK: The sawmills pay the farmers 250 to 300 euros for one tree trunk. The sawmills sell it for 2.500 euros, and then here in Europe it costs up to 30.000 euros.

TL: As soon as they saw us, the lumbermen turned off their chainsaws and fled into the forest, yelling: “Piss off!” They were afraid that those pictures would be seen by the world. Same thing for the fisheries. Usually, the fish leave the lagoons during the dry season and swim back into the main stream, because the lakes dry out. The law allows it that they cast a net over half of the lake, so that a part of the fish can swim past. Now, the fishermen close off the entire lake, with up to ten nets. No fish can get past that anymore, only the very small ones. They're overexploiting the area high and low. They even steal all the turtle eggs from the clutches. It didn't used to be that way, back then they would leave half of it where it was.

Do you think that could change, if other types of income would replace the exploitation, like tourism?

JK: I don't think that the parts Till and I went to would be suitable for commercial tourism. Let's be honest, the biggest income is ensured by the coca production. You would travel right into a drug area. We could only move around freely there, because the government was taking care of the cartel conflicts at the time. Apparently, the military is now in charge of the coca trade.

TL: Corruption is the order of business. A policeman is earning less than a coca farmer. Thus, bribery and blackmail are commonplace. Almost all of it is illegal: fishing with the many nets, the gold-seeking, the wood clearing and the coca plantation. The areas are huge and hardly controllable. Since president Bolsonaro is in power in Brazil, the clearing business went up by 30 percent. Bolsonaro announced officially that the Amazon is a product, and that's how the people treat it. They expel the indigenous people and allocate them to surrogate areas, their land goes to the gold-seekers and their prospecting rights. The surrogate areas aren't of any use, however, so they don't live in villages anymore, but in small cities. That'll turn out to be very problematic in the future.

Was it a bizarre experience to you to live with indigenous people, even though it is said that there is no room for the white man?

JK: I've seen tourism in parts of the world where I'd have never expected it. An example would be the South Pole. Once I reached by goal there a plane landed, six tourists came out and paid several thousand dollars for a four to six hour long stay. I thought there was a lot less tourism at the Amazon than anywhere else. The only tourists who travel there are either extremely rich Americans or Russians who come in by helicopter, no matter how expensive the journey. As long as they were there once in their life, took a picture with an Indian and a monkey, then they fly back to Bogotá. All in all, you only meet natives here.

TL: You have to differentiate. There are also motor boats and Americans with sun hats on, sleeping in their loggias. But not in the area we were in. There were children there, who pulled at our pants and ran to our kayaks, because they had never seen anything like it. A canoe made of plastic! They only know boats made out of wood. The kids played with our fishing poles, the angling reels, and were amazed by our lures and wobblers. They had never seen something like that before. They only knew of the hooks, where you put a little meat on. There was a lot of curiosity.

Did the journey affect your friendship at all?

TL: Our friendship didn't get any better or worse, it's been a good friendship before. We want our travels to be periodic. Joey and I want to grant us this sort of time off every two, three years. We realized we're getting better at it. We drove down rapids. While travelling on the Yukon we would have peed our pants, but now we're capable of really daring manoeuvres among waves that are 1.5 metres high. You get well attuned over time, become more experienced with the daily routine, the luggage, moving around.

JK: That was one of the reasons why we planned out the next trip right after our Amazon journey. We paddled down the Rhine in August 2020. We decided to do this during the Corona pandemic, because like that we didn't have to travel through so many countries and still got to tell the entire river's history, which led us through Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, France and the Netherlands.

Do these travels to the Yukon and Amazon satisfy your wish for solitude?

TL: Like we said, we already travelled along the Rhine. The Nile will be next. The Mekong river is also on our list, but with the goal to start at its origin. These journeys are really important to us. We might have published up to six books some time. We still have a couple of goals ahead of us: The Nile, maybe the Mississippi, one Russian river and the Mekong. Like that we would have visited a river in almost each part of the world.

Which seems to be a difficult goal to achieve, considering the current Corona pandemic...

JK: Sadly so. Because even if Germany will be cleared of the virus, that might not be the case for Tanzania, where the Nile originates, or in Egypt, where it ends. There are five countries in between, after all.

Symbolically, what did you take home from this journey?

TL: Humbleness! And gratefulness for what we have. At the same time, however, a sort of incomprehension for how we live here in Europe. With so much waste, lunacy and luxury. The people we met didn't really have anything. Property and wealth don't mean anything. The huts, the boats, tools, even the TV, it all belongs to everyone. You eat and drink together, and most of the work is done as a community. They say people are happier there. I won't be the judge as to whether that's true, but life there is simpler, more manageable, and thus people there live more modestly. In Germany people get up in the morning, rush to the office, are stuck in traffic, sit at the computer all day or manage machines, rush back home in the evening. In comparison, it's very relaxed at the Amazon. The people go to bed early, when they wake up they go fishing, hunt or raise manioc and corn. Life there is structured in a very simple way, it's been reduced to only the bare necessities.

What is the first image you see when you think of Amazonia?

JK: Looking back, I'm always thinking of this one boat ride very early in the morning. It was still foggy when we started paddling. To the left of us I can still barely see riverside, apart from that only fog, I can only see for two, three metres. We are on the Amazon without knowing what's ahead of us. It's quiet, there is no wind, the water is calm... That was a great experience.

[translations-by-aiimee]

Dig a Grave to Dig Out a Ghost - Chapter 28

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 28 - Immortal

In some remote mountainous areas in the south, Miao women used clay pots and menstrual blood to raise hundreds of insects. They sealed them, placed them in a damp place and cast curses on them. Once the day was done, the poisonous insects will have killed each other and the last one was embodied with Gu poison*. The curse made with Gu poison could make someone's love interest fall helplessly in love with them for the rest of his life, and it could also plague one's enemy with nightmares, madness, and even death. The women who concocted Gu poison were typically loners, often muttering to no one, avoided by the general public.

*(T/N: 蛊 - Gu poison was believed to be the combination of all the venoms from the insects that died and would be used for black magic in southern regions of China)

In Nanyang Black Magic, they would use the body of a baby that died recently, boiled out the toyol*, poured it on a puppet doused in human blood and placed it in the home. The imprisoned baby ghost would protect the house but the curse-caster will be punished. They would also carve birthdates into wood, causing the other to die.

*(T/N: 尸油 - literally 'corpse oil.' I'll spare you the graphic details but basically taking a dead body's chin and boiling it until oil drains out of it)

This black magic flourished in the Ming Dynasty. The Eastern Depot eunuchs* were in turmoil. Everyone was reporting each other, no one would speak to each other, eyes darting between each other daily. These curses were developed as a branch of Daoism to oppose political rivals. A-Yan said that the Daoist practices used to drive out ghosts and save people were declining, but this black magic has stuck around. It was one of the biggest spots in Daoist history.

*(T/N: 东厂 - a secret police & spy agency run by eunuchs meant to suppress political opposition towards the emperor)

Saturday morning was a beautiful day. The sun was shining but not to the point of being unbearably hot. The distant mountains stood silently under the blue sky. A black Audi passed quickly through the country’s tree-lined roads, raising a cloud of grit and dust. A white goose with its head held high on the roadside was startled by the car, flapping its wings and stretching its neck to hide behind a fence.

The car stopped at a small farmhouse in the northwest corner of the village.

In the courtyard, a tall Shuzi tree stretched out dense branches, looking extraordinarily vibrant. In contrast, the entire courtyard was strangely decrepit. A well was covered by a millstone and the stone-paced path was full of weeds. The doors of the three mud-brick houses were closed, with straw curtains covering the doors and windows covered with dust.

Everything was very different from a month ago. Lin Yan remembered that the last time he came here, there were hens and rabbits. The old lady in blue embroidered clothing was kneeling on the futon with her eyes closed. The small courtyard was filled with the mysterious atmosphere of the countryside. The current yard would give people the impression that the homeowner hadn't been home for years when, in fact, a fresh grave in the back of the mountain had only been built a month ago. Rural people were convinced that the houses inhabited by the living were blessed by the gods and sheltered from the elements for decades. Once the owner of the house dies, the gods will follow, so the empty house often collapsed and was destroyed in less than six months.

"When Second Immortal Gu was in the village, she would help children that fell sick with fever, and the adults that were dealing with evil spirits. Young men would ask her when they'd get married and, for the right price, she'd tell them." The village chief said with a cigarette in his mouth.

The village leader knew Yin Zhou’s mother well. He heard that Yin Zhou wanted to bring someone to pay tribute to Second Immortal Gu and waited at the entrance of the village to welcome them. It took ten minutes to drive from the village leader's house to Second Immortal Gu’s house. The village head smoked four cigarettes in a row. Yin Zhou squeezed his eyes shut while Lin Yan and the little Daoist priest twisted their heads out of the window every 30 seconds to gasp for a breath of fresh air. The village chief was the only one of them chatting in the smoky car. Lin Yan saw how the complaints of three people and a ghost just flew over his head.

If a ghost could complain.

Lin Yan found a roll of incense from the little Daoist's bag and lit it. He put the incense burner at the door of the mud-brick house and offered his respects.

"Last time, we left just before Second Immortal Gu had her accident. I should have come to offer some incense sooner, it's just things with school got busy and I haven't been able to make it until now." Lin Yan brushed the straw curtain and the accumulated dust fell on his face. "Cough, cough. Does - Does anyone take care of this place?"

"Of course not. You big city kids wouldn't know. Doing this line of work is only good for putting food on the table. Immortal Gu came out here in her twenties. In less than ten years, her husband and two sons had died and she was the only one left. She couldn't even save herself." The village leader stuffed his yellow striped shirt into his pants. "Don't feel bad. No immortal in this village could escape that fate."

"Come on, let's go, you guys are here to see her grave. We don't put up any gravestones here. We just build a stone platform, but the villagers will remember who it's for. I'll take you up there."

The sun was growing hotter. Several of them used broken branches to smack the grass in case of snakes while they hiked up the rugged mountain trail. A rural cemetery wasn't as neat as an urban cemetery. Each family claimed a spot, with every newly deceased buried next to the rest of their family. The grave was a prominent mound of dirt with a large stone on top. Some of the graves were too old to even make out the mound, the ground studded with small light blue flowers. A date palm tree grew wildly, and they needed to watch their step when walking so they wouldn't disturb the resting dead.

Second Immortal Gu's grave was off on its own. The mound was freshly dug. Other than a crooked wreath lying on it, it was indistinguishable from the older graves that had been abandoned for years.

The scene made Lin Yan feel incredibly guilty. He burned a large stack of paper dollars in front of the grave, playing with his branch while saying silently in his mind: Auntie, if you're still here, please come back and tell us who harmed you. We'll avenge your death.

The village chief took the cigarettes Lin Yan had bought him and squatted off in the distance to smoke. Lin Yan winked at the little Daoist priest and said softly, "Let's start?"

A-Yan nodded and took out a crumpled photo from his pocket that he had found in a frame in Immortal Gu's house. The immortal in the photo was still very young, wearing a floral cotton jacket and staring vacantly ahead.

"Now isn't a good time. The s-sun is too high. The mountains are filled with Yang energy, and the ghosts may not be able to be reached." A-Yan said. He jumped up and grabbed a twig from the date tree above his head. He hung a spirit summoning flag on it and patted the dust off his shoulders. "Here's a picture, here are the bones. Um, Lin Yan, I'm going to borrow your birthdate for this."

Before Lin Yan had time to ask, the little Daoist priest handed him a dagger. Unlike his usual mahogany sword, this one was actually made of metal. The handle seemed to be a few years old, and the tip of the blade gleaming a bright white in the sunlight.

"H-Hold this for a minute. You might feel a little uncomfortable, but don't let it go." A-Yan instructed: "I-I'll read one sentence and you read the next."

Yin Zhou chuckled but he felt that it probably wasn't the time to laugh so he quickly turned his laughter into a string of coughs.

Surprisingly, A-Yan never stuttered whenever he talked about Taoism and charms, Lin Yan muttered.

Time passed by and it was almost noon. The date trees in the mountains couldn't block the hot sun. After standing there for a long time, most of them were covered in a layer of sweat. The village leader couldn't bear the heat and left to join some nearby people to drink some tea. Lin Yan stood in front of the grave with the dagger in his hand. He rubbed the sweat on his cheeks off with his shoulder, hoping that this time it would be over quickly.

The little Daoist started reciting. His voice didn't sound like proper speech, but the slow rate of speech wasn't too difficult to follow. Lin Yan held the hilt of the dagger and along with the chant. Not even halfway through the incantation, Lin Yan already began to feel that something was wrong. The temperature around him began to drop, and the hot sweat condensed on his back. He kept shivering like he was suffering from heatstroke. A chill came from the handle of the dagger. First, the temperature seeped into his palm, and then his whole arm, up to his shoulders, through the bones in his spine to the back of his head in a numb wave. It was as if he wasn't holding a dagger but a frozen fish that had been left in the bottom tray of the freezer for a year.

The spirit summoning flag above his head began to move.

"It's cold." Lin Yan took a breath and scanned the silent mountains around him. "Have you reached the soul?"

"I t-think I found her." The little Daoist hesitated. "Huh. . . that's weird. . ."

After reciting two more incantations, the bone-chilling cold air had spread to his calves. Lin Yan's teeth chattered and he shivered out: "A-. . . A-Yan, are you sure this is okay. . . it's too. . . cold. . ."

The chanting continued, the little Daoist priest shot him a sideways glance, his eyes cold. Lin Yan can only brace himself to keep follow the mantra incantations, a heavy cold sweat forming on his forehead.

"Hold on for a little longer. The soul is bound to something, I want to break it free." A-Yan gritted his teeth, and a piece of talisman paper was slapped against the blade. All of a sudden, the cold washed over him like a tsunami. Lin Yan's whole body felt like it was being stabbed by needles, veins popping on his forehead from the pain.

"A-Yan, what are you doing?!" Yin Zhou knew something wasn't right when he saw Lin Yan's lips turn blue. "If you can't do it now, someone's going to get hurt. Lin Yan, use the ghost that's following you!"

"Almost there. Don't let go!" The little Daoist was flushed a sickly pale colour and he rapidly chanted the mantra. The spirit summoning flag above his head was being whipped by the wind. There was a ripping sound and the whole piece of cloth was torn in half and fluttered down onto the old grave in the distance.

"I-It's okay. . . A-Yan, go faster. . ." Lin Yan was so cold that he could barely get his tongue to work. He tried to move the hand with the dagger to it but he found that his skin was stuck to the metal and he couldn't budge it. He was shivering from his arms all the way down to his legs. Lin Yan staggered back and stepped on the bag they'd brought, almost falling backwards.

A force of strength supported his back. Xiao Yu's voice sounded right when he needed him, but his low voice didn't let him retort: "Let go."

Xiao Yu's hand covered the back of Lin Yan's hand. Compared to the temperature of the dagger, his palm was actually warm. It was just right to block the cold air that kept pouring into Lin Yan's arm. A-Yan's expression changed in an instant and he shouted loudly: "Back off, beast!"

"I'll fucking finish this. . ." Lin Yan abruptly closed his eyes and pressed his palm to the blade. All at once, the bone-chilling cold air felt like ten thousand needles running through his palm up to his arm. At the same time, there was a cold that grew behind him. He quickly opened his eyes but Second Immortal Gu hadn't appeared. On the contrary, Xiao Yu snapped Lin Yan's wrist with completely overwhelming strength, forcing the sharp weapon out of his hand.

The moment the dagger was taken out of Lin Yan's hand, he felt like he was immediately torn out of an ice block and thrown into a fire. The ritual was broken, the hot sunlight licked his back, making his whole body numbly feel like it was going to dissolve. However, he couldn't care less about his body's reaction. What happened next made Lin Yan and Yin Zhou - who was freaking out off to the side - shocked. They saw Xiao Yu holding the dagger inching towards A-Yan, frigid eyes filled with killing intent. When the palm of his hand touched the hilt of the knife, it sounded like searing flesh. But he didn't care. He grabbed A-Yan's collar with one hand, and violently plunged the dagger toward his left eye with the other!

Lin Yan's mind kicked into action. He subconsciously rushed over to hold Xiao Yu's waist, using all his strength to drag him back. However, something was wrong with the little Daoist priest, too. His usual cowardice was gone and his eyes burned with rage. He rolled away and broke free, rapidly taking out a handful of cinnabar and tossing it towards Xiao Yu. His voice changed because of the trembling: "An evil beast is an evil beast. You can't stay!"

"What the fuck is going on!" Yin Zhou couldn't see Xiao Yu. He could only see the little Daoist tumbling on the ground alone trying to avoid a shimmering dagger. Lin Yan's nerves were fried. While dragging Xiao Yu back, he roared towards Yin Zhou: "How the hell should I know? You grab A-Yan!"

He had never seen Xiao Yu so angry. The midday sun was burning and blinding. The ghost's whole body was emitting a faint greenish-black aura. The knuckles of both hands snapped open, sharp claw-like nails grabbing the back of the Daoist priest's head. Lin Yan thought he was seeing things and closed his eyes, but the scene stayed the same. The place where the ghost stood glowed a greenish-black and the place where the human stood was a dancing orange fire, intertwining with each other, but the orangish-yellow flames were gradually dying out. . .

Later, he would learn that people have yang energy and ghosts have yin energy. When the energy was extremely concentrated, he could directly perceive the yin and yang without his eyes confusing it in his mind. This was the foundation of excellent Taoism. He had inadvertently opened a long-closed door to the mystical arts.

However, the current situation was extremely dangerous. Xiao Yu held A-Yan’s neck with one hand and the dagger cut inch by inch into the little Daoist priest's arm blocking it. The hand holding the knife was searing black from the contact with the blade of the evil spirit's. A Yan's face grew purple, his eyes bulging. Lin Yan didn't dare to hesitate for a moment and scrambled over to protect A-Yan from behind. There was a clanging sound and the dagger rolled to the ground.

The little Daoist broke free from the evil spirit's hands, clutching his bleeding wound and groaning intermittently: "Lin Yan. . . Immortal Gu. . . Immortal Gu's spirit is trapped. . . I couldn't get her. . ."

Lin Yan supported the little Daoist's shoulders. His eyes gleamed, and the soft deer-like eyes were different from those when he had when he cast the spell. "The curse. . . Be careful." A-Yan whispered. Lin Yan hadn't gotten the chance to ask what was going on before his thin body couldn't support his own weight. His eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Lin Yan and Yin Zhou looked at each other, shocked by the outcome, unable to utter a word.

[7wanderingpaws]

Simply, Yours. (5)

Pairing: Baekhyun x reader

Genre: family AU, hapkido teacher AU

Word count: 3.1K

Warnings: cursing

a/n: Finally I am updating this little story! I havent updated it in a long while for which I apologise, it wasnt my intention :( But there will be a slight twist in their “planned” pregnancy so... I cant wait to have a little fun 😁  I am always eager to hear your opinions.🙌 Stay safe!

MASTERLIST

PARTS: 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5

This time, Baekhyun was the first one to be awake. Stirring a little bit around, he turned to his right side where your back was facing him, your hair splayed out on the pillow like a wild willow tree.

Scurrying a little closer, he brought his pillow to yours, his arm finding your sweet middle as he breathed in your fresh scent. He really liked moments like these, when the sun had yet to rise, the clock had yet to struck 6 and  you had yet to wake up, while he could just indulge in looking at you without being interrupted by anything or anyone.

Plus, the fact that few days had already passed since both you and him found out about your state did not mean he got used to the idea of suddenly three people occupying this bed. What a miracle, he thought. What a blessing.

Baekhyun carefully maneuvered himself out of the bed, his feet gently tapping on the wooden floor as he tiptoed to your side to turn off your alarm clock. He wanted to be the one to surprise you and wake you up with healthy breakfast in bed before both of you would have to head out to your work places.

Today he had a hapkido class with university students and as much as he loved the class, he just wanted to spend time with you.

He was just in the middle of pouring thick and rich pumpkin porridge into the last bowl when he heard you open the bedroom door.

“Baekhyun, what are you doing up so early?” you murmured, your voice low and heavy. “Sorry, it seems like I forgot to turn on the alarm clock. I would have done the breakfast myself,” you continued walking to his side to take the big pot out of his hand so that you could do it instead of him.

Baekhyun continued his job, not budging once at your prying hands. “Why are you up if your alarm clock didn't go off? I worked so hard this morning to turn off your alarm, and yet here you are beating the nature clock.”

“You turned off my alarm?” you asked, surprised.

“Of course I did!” exclaimed Baekhyun, as he put the pot back down on the stove and reached for the drawer to take out two spoons. “Now go back to bed, we have a breakfast to eat and you still owe me a face of surprise when I bring the food in,” he said, preoccupied with putting the bowls on the tray.

You held back the giggle that was threatening to spill at his antiques. “Alright, let me just pee real quick.”

By the time you were back, Baekhyun was bouncing on the bed, eagerly waiting for both of you to indulge in the hot porridge that was one of your favourites. You made sure to look completely taken aback when you sat down on the bed, giving him a loud peck on the cheek before making yourself comfortable. “You know this is the food we have after a hangover,” you murmured, taking a big spoonful and swallowing it in one.

“Oho, slow down, hungry cub. You will get a tummy ache if you eat so fast,” scolded Baekhyun gently, making you smile.

“Yes, chef.”

He gave you a wink. “And anyway. You love this porridge, might as well please your taste buds.”

You nodded, devouring a spoonful after another until you were done before him. And that rarely ever happened. “Done!”

he shook his head at you, trying to swallow the last bids of his porridge.

“Look at me! I rock today,” you laughed loudly when he pouted.

“It isn't fair,” he whined, putting down his spoon into now an empty bowl. “I am alone while you guys are two!”

Your laughter halted, melting into an endearing smile. Warmth spread through your insides. “I don't think its the matter yet,” you responded. “It has long way to grow for me to eat for two, you know?”

“No, it doesn't. It still counts.”

Rolling your eyes at him, you reached over the tray to mess up his bed hair. “Alright, whatever you say, mister. Still does not change the fact that I win for today, ha! And now, you better hurry, you need to be at the university in an hour!”

“First a kiss,” he demanded, crossing his arms on his chest.

Smiling, you pressed your lips to his warm ones, tasting the porridge. 

“Love you,” he murmured.

Once Baekhyun was out the door, you rushed to prepare for your work only to end up with your head in the toilet, throwing up all the porridge and more. 

____

You made it your absolute, utmost priority to keep your blessed state as far away from the workplace as possible. Not only was it all so fresh and new, but you also needed to wait till the first trimester was over to be 100% sure the pregnancy was safe and actually happening. Besides, you would lose your job immediately if your boss as much as whifs a baby around you. Thankfully, he was not the smartest man, as much as he insisted himself.

It only got proven when he called you into his office few days later, his meaty index finger pointing at the contract in front of him. It was a deal between yours and a Chinese company, but it was written in English. “I am sure there was a mistake on their side,” he mumbled, frustration slowly, but surely boiling in his facial features as he was gripping the piece of paper. He chuckled bitterly. “And they think I wouldnt find out? Just who do they think they are? I find out everything,” he seethed through gritted teeth as he suddenly snapped his eyes up at you, catching you off guard in the process.

You winced, taking a cautious step back, trying not to give too much attention to the meaning behind his words. “Sir, I believe this is correct,” you tried to explain gently, “the deal does not have any mistakes in English, we have already skimmed through it.”

He frowned. “But the calculations aren't correct. There should be one more zero.”

As calmly as you possibly could, you explained to him that he, indeed, bought much more than he actually thought. Making business was not always rainbows and unicorns, and today this fact seemed to dawn on your boss. “You were in a conference call last week,” you kept reminding him, “and because they offered you a good deal, you decided to buy more. Therefore you had to pay more, and we received less.”

He snatched the paper out of your small hands and gave you an ugly stare. “Whatever. I know my things,” he mumbled, turning his face back to the table.

“That is my job, sir.”

He whipped his head back at you again, but you only bowed at him politely, turning to walk out of his office when he started: “I still haven't scolded you for lying to me.”

Raising your head from your bow, you looked at him with worried eyes. “Lied to you, sir?”

He scoffed. “You lying about having a boyfriend was not the best move. Even if it is a white lie, I don't want any of it in my office. Nor in this company.”

You nodded, fully aware and guilty. You saw this coming sooner or later.

“And,” he started, giving you a side-look. “You plan on getting married?”

Holding back your breath, you knew you could reply to him truthfully. “No. Definitely not anytime soon anyway. As you know, it is a pricey matter.”

“Well, if you keep up the good work here, you might be able to save some money for such occasion,” he replied, his poker face giving you a slight unease. “Besides, I'm sure your handsome boyfriend would earn loads with that face of his.”

To that, you did not want to reply. Baekhyun, indeed, was a handsome man. This was a fact ever since you got to really know him back in the high school days, when he already graduated but still would sometimes visit your school for physical work around the building. The girls would be drooling and swooning in the big hallway windows during break, but he saved his handsome boyish smiles only for you,  always giving you a wink that would swoosh away the unwanted company of other girls.

When your boss realised he wouldn't get an answer from you, he ended the conversation on a very straight-forward note. “Whatever. Just don't get pregnant with him. Or anyone. No pregnancy in this company.”

-

It has been a few weeks later that the battle with the rollercoaster of your emotions had gone downward. There were still no direct signs of a small human being inside of you, but oh my goodness, were your hormones and emotions acting up. Tired of constantly puking your guts out on the morning, then rushing to work, dealing with the moody bastard of a boss, being either desperate for Baekhyun's touch or just plain hating his presence in the same room was driving you up the wall. 

Countless times you ended up bawling your eyes out in the bathroom in your work, or in the shower at home, because you didn't see a way out of this. Plus, the stress of accidentally revealing your pregnancy even to the ever-so-kind Sukyeong left you with a heavy soul. You needed to talk to someone of your age, you needed some help but your own independent self couldn't as much as think of such an option.

Another issue was scaring Baekhyun away from you and him leaving you alone in this mess that HE created… No, scratch that. Your slight change in weight made you feel so utterly unattractive that you were trying not to physically shudder whenever he complimented you about your looks. And the poor boy hadn't even a clue about your internal turmoil.

You sighed.

“You look freaking gorgeous, love.”

He said it again. And he meant it, he honestly did. You saw it in his eyes.

Being now almost past the first trimester, you and Baekhyun were both dressing up for your scheduled ultrasound at the doctor's. Although you were a bit nervous, you were thankful Baekhyun was always there throughout each check-up you had. And yet, here you were pissed at him, but you said nothing.

“Are you alright?” he asked you carefully, knowing how your mood could change within a nanosecond. He came closer to you as you were standing in front of the mirror you had in your tiny bedroom.

Swallowing harshly, you nodded, but did not look into his eyes. Ever so gently, through your tight dress, you saw a gentle baby bump. It could easily be covered up (and you did passionately cover it up for work) but it was there. Solid. A prove that it was real.

“Do we want to know the gender, honey?” asked Baekhyun gently, as he made another step closer to you and he let his hands hold your hips before his wide palms ever-so slowly slid over your stomach where he let them rest. Then his chin came resting on your shoulder as he turned his face to give you a gentle kiss to your neck.

You heart-rate picked up and it wasn't because of the high blood pressure you had been experiencing recently. “I don't know,” you whispered looking at him through the reflection in the mirror, “do we?”

This topic has been on your mind for the longest time. Do you want to be surprised? Or do you want to be prepared? Surely, in the nature of the village life, the answer would be an immediate: yes, we do want to know. Poor villagers always wanted certainty, and it was only understandable. But maybe this unpredictable city life of Seoul made you more adventurous. You might have not wanted to know.

He hummed, the vibrations in his chest sending electric shocks down your spine, causing you to squirm in his arms. He let out an amused laugh through his nose before he whispered into your ear: “So sensitive, my love.”

“You fucking tease,” you glowered, but leaned back into him.

He gasped softly and squeezed your body. “Now there, sweet cheeks, we do not swear with a baby inside of you.”

“Then stop teasing, love” you snapped back and he laughed now with an open mouth. “You know exactly what you are doing. You're sneaky.”

“Sure I am. You know me, hun. And now back to the point,” he emphasized, and you rolled your eyes but smiled anyways. “I don't mind if we get surprised. But if you want the gender to be revealed, I am supporting that as well.”

You nodded as you held his hands on your belly, letting your fingers caress the top of his knuckles. “Alright,” you said, nodding. “I think I will, ehm, see how I feel once we are there?”

He hummed in approval before he turned his head again, waiting for you to turn your face to see him. So you did. And then he gave you the sweetest smile of support before he leaned in and gave you a breathtaking kiss, ending it with a loud smack. “Shall we go then?”

-

Usually it was always an uncomfortable experience to sit in the waiting room of your doctor with other pregnant ladies. When you weren't pregnant, you felt so out of place, despite you having an active lovemaking life. That was why you were sitting there, right? Even at those times, Baekhyun was going with you, just because he wanted to be responsible and also to support you. He knew how much the village ladies didn't go for regular check-ups.

So now, sitting there with your tiny belly as your hands were intertwined with your boyfriend, it was a completely different feeling. You were still shy to as much as lie on that stupid chair, let alone spread your legs in front of a stranger - even though it was a woman and a doctor. But now it just felt right. You were eager. Excited. Happy. Curious. And Baekhyun felt your excitement as your knee was bouncing up and down. He was excited as well. The sparkle in his eyes was proving it.

Once finally inside, you both took a seat opposite your doctor, who gifted you with a kind smile as she also took a seat and skimmed through your papers. “The lovely couple I could never forget,” she noted, briefly looking at you and Baekhyun before diving back into your records. “And the unplanned baby. So!” she exclaimed, folding quickly the papers before she rested her laced hands down on the table. “Any abnormalities?” she looked at you, obviously expecting you to answer her questions.

Squeezing Baekhyun's hand under the table, you shrugged, not sure if what you were about to say was an abnormality. “Crazy mood swings. Emotions are a mess. Throwing up is still on, but thankfully not so often… And my boobs hurt,” you mumbled the last sentence, looking at your hand engulfed in Baekhyun's, a slight blush creeping up your cheeks. This time Baekhyun squeezed your hand, although you didn't notice the affectionate look he sent your way. You dared to look up when you heard the doctor laugh.

“Those are all completely normal signs. Is your blood pressure still acting up?” she asked and as she was waiting for your reply she turned in her chair and grabbed the little machine. “I will check it now.”

You nodded but Baekhyun answered for you. “She had a couple of dizzy moments, but it wasn't as severe.”

The doctor nodded and checked you up, writing down the final results. “It's normal today. But if it will get too high, you need to go to the hospital. You know that, right?”

Not the happiest with her advice, you nodded.

“Good,” she replied cheerfully. “Any questions before we start the ultrasound?”

You were just about to shake your head when your boyfriend cleared his throat, stopping you from doing the action. You gave him a wary look, and he squeezed your hand again when he spoke: “How is it with, eh, sex? As the baby is growing, we are not sure how far we can go or if we should even do it. And I wouldn't want to hurt my girlfriend or the baby...” he trailed off, his ears growing pink. You felt your heart swell with love for him as you smiled like a little high school student.

“Oh my god, please do have sex,” replied your doctor, her eyes worried as she gestured with her hand to you. “She might not be showing it, but the sexual frustration can get out of hand, to put it nicely,” she continued, her stance confident. “Paying attention to your pregnant lady is very important in every phase of pregnancy and it is completely safe. Of course, around the due date you might want to be more careful, however it does not necessarily affect the baby in any way, so there is no need to worry, Baekhyun. It is more than healthy,” she laughed loudly, making you and Baekhyun giggle in the meantime.

“Any more questions? No? Good! Then let's get to it,” she clapped her hands, swiftly getting up from her chair and walking to the bed where you lied down, now familiar with the process. Baekhyun was sitting on a chair just where your head was, and he ran his fingers through your hair, giving you a reassuring smile while you tried not wince at the cold gel touching your hot skin covering your stomach.

“So do we want to find out the gender?” she asked as she spread the gel evenly, now digging into your tummy while she was already looking at the screen.

You contemplated quickly but before you could answer the doctor cut through: “Or do you want to know how many babies you would have?” she asked, but her voice was light but a bit unfocused as she stared at the screen. 

Not seeing Baekhyun's frown, he asked: “What do you mean?”

It was silent for a little longer, your doctor going through the same trail on your belly again, probably to double check whatever she saw there. Letting out a tiny laugh, she turned to look at your puzzled looks. “Well, this is fantastic!” she exclaimed and for some strange reason you had a feeling this might not be the best news, nor the news you were expecting when you were coming there. So when she uttered the next words, you felt your world crumbling down on you, and this time you could be sure Baekhyun wasn't as confident either. “You are expecting triplets!”

[holdin-out-for-a-hero]

Rookie- Leon Kennedy x Reader Chapter 12

Words: 2505

Warnings: None

A/N: one more chapter after this, and then I’m going straight to Carlos!

Why couldn't it just die?

You watched in horror as the mass of flesh and bone grew rapidly throughout the train car. In the center of it all was a big, irritated eye. An eye that you've seen all night. It had a Medusa effect, freezing you in place once it looked at you. William Birkin...

You pulled out your gun, though you didn't think bullets would do much for this creature. Not after all the bullets it had already endured throughout the night; the thing was practically indestructible. Still, you had to do something, so you shot at it anyway. Maybe you could slow down its growth while you thought of a plan. At least you hoped that would work. Leon began shooting too, but the creature hardly reacted. Instead, it continued to grow until it had you and Leon stuck at the front of the car. You knew you were in trouble, and there was only one option: lose the car.

"Y/N, Leon, we've got to disconnect the car!" Claire shouted over the deafening chaos. It seemed she was way ahead of you.

"Go help her. I'll cover you!" You shouted to Leon. Your voice could barely be heard over the sound of the gunshots.

"Are you sure you've got this?" He yelled back.

"Of course I do! Go!" Your confidence was fake, but he didn't need to know that. You just needed him a little closer to safety.

He turned around, working with Claire to unfasten the hooks between the two cars.

William was growing closer and closer now, and your gun was no defense. Any second now it would reach you and your friends. This better not be the end, you thought. Not after everything else you've survived.

"Can you hurry?" You shouted at them as you rushed to reload your gun. Maybe these next few bullets would work, you thought, even though you knew they wouldn't.

"We're almost done!" Claire shouted back. She and Leon were so close to disconnecting the car. Any moment now...

And then it was done.

The next few seconds went by so quickly it was a miracle you survived.

"Y/N!" She shouted.

You turned around and jumped from your car, eyes widening in horror as you saw the train tracks below you.

You weren't going to make it.

Then, a hand grabbed your arm and pulled you onto the train. You were wrapped in someone's arms, face pressed into their chest. It was Leon. He was still breathing heavy, and it made you aware of your own racing heart.

It must have been the heat of the moment, or maybe the adrenaline, because you did something you never dreamed of actually doing. Without much thought, you grabbed Leon by his collar and kissed him. On the lips. Oh, if Marvin could see you now.

This kiss was quick, and you pulled back to see his expression. For a moment, you couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and dread replaced the bubbly feeling in your stomach. But then he smiled that same stupid smile you fell in love with, before pulling you back in for another, longer kiss. You couldn't help the corners of your lips turning upward as well. Because deep down, you had been wanting this all night. You finally pulled away, out of breath again.

"Took you long enough," Leon finally said, the stupid grin still growing on his face.

"Oh shut up," you replied, looking away. There you met eyes with Claire and Sherry. You forgot they were here... how awkward. Claire gave you a sheepish smile while Sherry covered her mouth to keep from giggling.

The tension eased away slowly as Sherry and Claire moved toward the front of the car to talk. You sat down on the floor of the train. Oh, it felt so nice to finally sit down. You've been on your feet almost the whole week, and now you could finally rest. Leon sat down next to you, and you debated whether or not to rest your head up on his shoulder. Would that be too much? Were you moving too fast? You never thought you would get this far in a relationship in one night, but hey, stranger things have happened. You literally just survived an apocalypse, maybe this relationship wasn't so crazy. Still, you didn't dare put your head on his shoulder.

The two of you fell into silence. The steady, repetitive sounds of the train filled air instead. It nearly put Leon to sleep, but to you it only fueled your thoughts. You thought back to just before the outbreak started, when all of your fellow officers were still among the living. They were hanging decorations to welcome Leon. The buzz in the precinct brought life to even the most jaded cops, for they were all so excited to meet him. If only the could've...

You remembered that you had promised to tell Leon about them once you were safe. And seeing as there was no immediate danger, maybe this would be a good time. You pulled out your wallet from your back pocket. There was a folded up picture stuffed into one of the card slots, which you unfolded and looked at. It was a picture of you on your first day, with all of the officers in the back. You smiled at the image.

"Leon," you nudged him, unknowingly startling him awake. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were asleep." It took him a moment to reply.

"No. It's fine. What did you want?"

"It can wait," you said sheepishly, folding the picture back up.

"But it doesn't have to. What is that?" He motioned toward the picture.

"Oh," you laughed, tucking your hair behind your ear, "I was gonna tell you about the officers, like I said I would earlier."

"I'd like that"

Who were you gonna start with? This was probably a bad idea, seeing as most of them were dead or M.I.A. Could you keep calm talking about them? Or even thinking about them? Maybe this wound was too fresh. But then Leon pointed to someone in the picture.

"Tell me more about him," he said. His finger just below Elliot's face. You remembered that Leon had seen him die, you could understand why he would be curious about the officer.

"That's Elliot," you began, "On my first day, he brought me Chinese take-out." You smiled, looking back at the memory. You tried focusing on the good memories with them instead of, well, anything that had happened in the last week.

"Sounds like a nice guy," Leon added. You laughed.

"Oh, you didn't know him like I did. He could be nice, but he was more like a mean older brother. He loved to prank me. If none of..." you trailed off "if none of this had happened, he would've have fun with you too."

"It's a shame," Leon said under his breath. He was right, you thought; it really was.

"This is David," you pointed to another face, "He had daughters my age, so I could get him to do anything I wanted," your smile faded, "We lost him the day before you came."

Leon looked up from the picture to you, eyes full of concern. His arm wrapped around your shoulder, pulling you a little closer to him.

Your eyes met a face in the very back, a young man was walking through the back of the office, oblivious of the photo being taken. It was Chris, Claire's brother.

"Hey Claire," you began "Come take a look at this."

The girl walked over to where you and Leon were sitting, Sherry behind her. She crouched down in front of you, and you handed her the picture. Her eyes scanned the picture multiple times before lighting up at the sight of her brother

"That's Chris!" She said, squinting at the image.

"He's safe, He's somewhere in Europe right now," you told her.

"I know. I found a letter from him in the station but it didn't sound like him. You’d think he’d have told me about leaving the country. There's something up, I just know it," she sighed, "It's always been just me and him, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him."

"I know your brother, He knows how to handle himself. I'm sure he's fine," you tried to reassure her, "but I know how you feel.”

“Do you really?” Claire said. She didn’t mean to sound so rude, but it slipped out before she could stop it.

“I have a brother too, he’s all that I have left. He’s a freshman in college a couple states away. I tried to convince him to stay in Raccoon city and attend a local college instead. Now that I think about it, that could've killed him.”

"You're an orphan too?" She asked.

"I'm afraid so," you began, "My parents lived in Raccoon city, too, and when this whole thing started, they never came to the station."

"How do you know they didn't leave the city? they could've evacuated, they might still be alive,” Leon spoke up.

"I know my parents, they knew I would be at the station. They would've done everything in their power to get there.” An uncomfortable silence settled between the four of you, and you suddenly regretted sharing.

"I'm gonna need a lot of therapy after this," you joked, hoping to change the subject. Leon and Claire both laughed.

"Me too. Maybe there'll be a Raccoon city support group or something,” Claire added.

"Zombie apocalypse survivor group therapy,” Leon said, smiling.

“Seriously though, we’ve got to stick together for now on,” you said, looking the three of them in the eye. Leon nodded, but Claire looked away.

Eventually, the train's path came to an end and all four of you got off. Then, you started walking the long road ahead. It was daylight now, and the sun was beaming down on you. The walk was mostly in silence, as the four of you were so tired that conversation just didn’t flow as easily as it did earlier. That was until Sherry spoke up.

"So are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend?" She asked. You froze in place. Leon turned around to look at the girl.

"Sherry!" Claire laughed in surprise, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Well uh... we're not sure just yet," Leon said to her.

"But you kissed earlier."

"That's true, but uh..."

"We just met yesterday, actually," you added. You could feel the heat across your cheeks get worse when you glanced up at Leon, who was already looking at you.

"But you two like each other, don't you?" She asked, leaving you and Leon in an awkward silence.

"I do, at least," Leon said, looking over to you, "And I have a feeling you feel the same way."

"Yeah," you said, looking anywhere but their eyes. Gosh, this was so embarrassing.

"If you like each other, then you should be girlfriend and boyfriend. It's not that complicated..." Sherry said. Oh, if only the world was that simple.

"You're right, Sherry," Leon laughed, "We adults tend to over complicate things." He cocked a brow at you, and you rolled your eyes at him. Still, you couldn't help a small smile from peaking through.

Eventually, the road you traveled led to a gas station and across from it, a motel. Leon let out a sigh of relief when he saw the two buildings, for he was exhausted from the long walk under an unforgiving sun.

"Does anyone have any money?" You asked, hoping not to be the only one to have this financial responsibility. Leon and Claire stopped in their tracks, making Sherry look back at them in confusion.

"My wallet's in my car" Leon realized.

"At the gas station...." Claire joined.

"This gas station? What are you talking about?" You replied.

"No, there was a gas station on the outskirts of the city. We met each other there." Leon said.

"So none of us have any money?" Claire deadpanned. "We're screwed."

"I have money," you said, “Not a lot, though, I only have a cop’s salary.”

"Don't worry, I'll pay you back." Leon said.

"No, You don't have to. I was just being dramatic, I can afford it."

So the four of you grabbed all the hygiene supplies and food that you needed from the gas station and racked up a rather scary bill. Thank God you thought to keep your wallet throughout all of this chaos. There were so many times where you considered dropping it for more room or tossing it a zombie's head.

The four of you headed to the motel across the street. Leon held open the door to the lobby, letting the rest of you file in. You couldn't help but think it was really hot when he did that. Why are basic manners so sexy?

Inside the lobby was a woman taking a phone call. She caught sight of all of you and froze.

The woman dropped the phone back onto its reciever. You knew why. Walking into a motel lobby with bruises, bullet wounds, and bite marks, you were bound to get a response. She stared at you for a moment, eyes wide.

"Can we have a room?" You asked the woman. She stayed in her trance, looking from you, to Leon, then Claire, and then Sherry.

"Ma'am?" Leon asked. She jumped, stuttering and pulling out the guest book.

"Uh-uh-of course!" She spluttered, pitting on a fake smile. Her eyes, though, stayed wide. You signed the book and pulled out your wallet.

"I-I don't mean to be rude, but what happened to you?" She asked. Now it was your time to freeze. From behind you, Claire anxiously laughed.

"Uhhhh" Leon droned, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Camping accident," Sherry said. Thank God for Sherry.

"Uh- yeah, we got a little lost up in the mountains," you added.

She looked at each person up and down. Tension grew between the four of you because you knew she saw past your weak excuse. It was impossible not to. You waited anxiously for her response.

"I'll take you to your room," she said, Grabbing a pair of keys from the back wall. You let out a breath of relief.

The room was nothing special, but it was a huge improvement to where you had spent most of your week. There were two queen sized beds in the middle of the room along with a tv, mini fridge, microwave, desk, and couch. You set down the plastic bags on the desk. This would be an interesting night, you knew it would.

From the inside of the hotel lobby, the woman hesitantly picked up the phone again. In her other hand was a business card.

"Hello? This is the owner of the Arklay Motel. You told me to call if I found any more survivors. I've got four."

[therainroguefanfiction]

⁂ Lookin’ Cool (Weiming Shen)

Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Slice of Life, Fluff ☁

Word Count: 2,528 ☁

Pairing: Reader, Weiming ☁

World: The Prince of Tennis – Match! Tennis Juniors ☁

Prompt: This from @write-it-motherfuckers​

Author’s Note: This is my first time writing for Chinapuri and I am honestly nervous about how people will view this lol Honestly, I’m mainly concerned with the names because I’m not sure how the Chinese do their names, if it’s like Last Name First Name or reversed, or if people use first names or the full name. Anywho~ I hope you enjoyed this!

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You paced the locker room anxiously, waiting for tennis practice to conclude. Your anxiety had been steadily building all day, so much so that you couldn’t even bring yourself to each lunch. Chen was also feeling nervous, but at least he had tennis practice to keep his mind busy. You, on the other hand, tried watching practice, reading a book, and even working on your homework, but nothing has held your attention.

A groan passed your lips as you fell onto the bench. ‘Maybe I should have picked up an after school club. I wonder if the manga club is still accepting members…’

The door swung open, Jing and Xiuwen pausing in the doorway when they noticed you.

“Why are you in here?” Jin made a face. “You’re not on the team, you’re not supposed to be in here.”

You rolled your eyes. “It’s not like you have trade secrets for me to steal.” Pausing for dramatic effect, you tapped your chin and narrowed your eyes at them. “Or do you? Maybe I should have a look around. After beating Yu Feng, lots of people are looking at Yu Qing. I bet that info’d sell for top yuan!”

Xiuwen gasped dramatically. “You wouldn’t!”

With a smirk, you rested your chin between your thumb and index fingers, striking a pose. “Oh, I would!”

Jing opened his mouth to reply when a monotone voice came from behind him. “You’re in the way, can you move?”

Stepping away from the door so Lu Xia could enter the locker room, Jing sent you a glare. “Out, Y/N!”

“Yeah, yeah.” You rolled your eyes again, grabbing your school bag before leaving the room. Chen was just rounding the corner, nearly knocking into you. “If you take too long, I’m going to leave without you.”

He scoffed. “Yeah right. You’d fall apart without me there.”

“In your dreams!” You huffed, continuing down the hallway. Not that you’d ever admit it out loud, but you knew he was right. Even with the thought of Chen being there to keep you from acting too stupid, you still felt like a bundle of frayed nerves. If he wasn’t going, you would probably just ditch the meeting and go home.

Lost in thought, you ran straight into Siyang and Zhi as they stepped into the building.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Siyang nodded, voice monotone. “Be more vigilant, Y/N.”

You sweatdropped at his attitude. “Right…”

Zhi chuckled, resting his hands on your shoulders. “You’re pretty tense. Is everything okay?”

‘He’s got that glint in his eye. Nothing good ever happens when he looks like that…’ You forced a smile, pushing his hands away. “Perfectly fine! Just didn’t get much sleep last night.”

His lips twitched up. “Oh yes, Qiao Chen mentioned something about you having a bad dream.”

‘That son of a – I’m gonna kill him! Of all the people to tell…’ Your eye twitched and you struggled to keep up the fake smile. “A-Ah yeah. I really need to get go -”

“Wait,” Yan appeared out of nowhere, hand on your shoulder to keep you in place. “If you’re experiencing nightmares, try drinking this. It will help.”

You stared at the bottle of green, bubbling liquid and your stomach turned. “You know, I would, but uhh… it’s against my religion?”

Yan tilted his head to the left, not pulling the bottle from your face.

“Hm? Aren’t you an atheist, Y/N?” Zhi questioned, smirking when you sent him a glare.

“What’s going on -”

As soon as you saw Chen, you grabbed his arm and bolted from the building, not sparing the three a single glance. He protested as you dragged him all the way to the school gate, huffing when you finally came to a stop.

“Aren’t you just a bit too excited?” he teased.

“You’re one to talk. Still hearing music when you see Xingzi?”

His cheeks darkened and he punched your shoulder lightly. “Shaddup,”

You started down the street away from the school with Chen at your side. “Ha! What a loser,”

“You dreamed about Weiming last night but I’m the loser?”

It was your turn for your cheeks to darken. “Don’t say it like that, idiot, you make it sound dirty! Also,” you suddenly brought your arm back, punching him in the spleen.

“W-What the hell -?!”

“That was for telling Zhi about my dream!”

“I didn’t!”

“How did he know then? He may be a genius but he’s not psychic.”

“I only mentioned it to Lu Xia and Mu!” He scowled.

“You told Mu?!” You cried out, stopping to stare at him incredulously. “He can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life. Everyone he meets knows his business.”

“Mentioned,” he stressed. “I mentioned it, not told.”

“Same thing!”

“It’s not the same thing!”

“Ahem,”

Both your and Chen’s attention snapped to Xingzi who stood nearby with Weiming and Yiwu on either side of her. She was smiling in amusement, but the two boys didn’t seem happy to see the two of you. Though, in the short time you’ve known Yiwu, you’ve never even seen him smile, so that didn’t mean much.

You and Chen exchanged sheepish glances before you cleared your throat in an attempt to fight the embarrassed blush that was trying to rise up to your face.

“It’s supposed to rain,” Xingzi commented with a smile. “We should hurry to the park so we can play at least one game.” She then turned, continuing down the road with both boys following close behind.

“Che,” Chen clicked his tongue, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Why do they always have to be so close to her?”

You frowned at their backs, copying his stance. “I don’t know, but I hate it.”

“Me too,”

Xingzi glanced over her shoulder, noticing that neither of you had moved and she waved her arm in the air. “Guys, come on!”

Yiwu mumbled something to Weiming, which made his eyes snap to yours. You quickly dodged his gaze by speeding up and passing the three. A light breeze ruffled your clothes, offering a small break from the summer heat, and the sinking sun was slowly being covered by light grey clouds.

Only a couple people were at the street court when your group arrived and they were packing up their things to leave.

Xingzi pulled out her pink racket and grinned. “So, who’s going first?”

You and Chen exchanged a look. No matter what, you didn’t want to be paired with your crush and you knew that he was thinking the exact same thing. As if it had been rehearsed, the two of you suddenly pointed at one another and chorused, “Chen/Y/N can go first!”

She giggled. “Why not play some doubles? Yiwu and Weiming versus Y/N and Chen!”

Without hesitation, Chen agreed, his face lighting up like a puppy that had just gotten attention from its master. “Great idea!”

You glared at your best friend, resisting the urge to punch him again. Thunder grumbled overhead and you glanced up at the darkening sky. ‘Even mother nature thinks this is a bad idea…’ You headed to the far end of the court, dropping your school bag onto the bench. Although you knew how to play tennis, it wasn’t something you genuinely enjoyed doing often. You knew you wouldn’t be able to hold a handle to the two boys who played tennis regularly and you were just going to make yourself look like an idiot again.

Chen bumped your shoulder as he stopped beside you, dropping his tennis bag next to your own. “Don’t worry, we got this!”

You scoffed. “I’ve never even played doubles before, but I bet our coordination is complete trash.”

“Me and Lu Xia figured it out!”

“Hardly! All you did was play singles together.”

“Maybe, but it worked.” He threw his arm around your shoulder. “This is our chance to impress our crushes! Besides,” he glanced up as another grumble of thunder passed overhead. “It’ll rain long before the game ends.”

You pulled your racket from the bag, running your fingers across the smooth surface, painted your favorite color. Taking a deep breath, you tried to steel your resolve. “Fake it ’til you make it, huh?”

“Right!” He grinned. “Let’s do this!”

Yiwu and Weiming were already on the court waiting. You took position at the back of the court and as soon as Chen was in position, Yiwu threw the ball into the air, smacking it toward you. You recognized it instantly – twist serve.

Chen just barely managed to dodge before it hit his face.

‘Twist serve, huh? They’re not holding back.’

As he prepared to serve again, you suddenly remembered the match that you had watched the night before with your uncle. The pro, Xi Yangwi, was a twist serve specialist while his opponent and childhood friend, Jang Yilong, had learned fancy tricks in order to counter it. One of the best counters, in your opinion, was the takeout. Yilong would move to intercept the ball with his face before pulling back at the last possible second, doing a spin before returning it backhanded. It always had the crowd going wild when he used it.

‘If I can pull off that move, I bet Weiming would be so impressed.’

Yiwu served again and you rushed forward, nearly knocking into Chen as he tried to hit the ball.

“Y/N -”

“I got it!” You threw yourself in the direct trajectory of the ball. You saw it heading for your face and you sent orders to the rest of your body, but it seemed as if the messenger was too pre-occupied to deliver them – you couldn’t possibly react in time. You heard your name being called, but with the blood pumping in your ears, you couldn’t tell who had said it.

The ball smacked into your face like a ton of bricks, the world spinning rapidly around you as you fell backward onto the court, pain shooting through your face. Chen’s head appeared above you, blocking your blurred view of the sky.

“Y/N! Are you okay?”

“I don’t get it…” you muttered to yourself, voice nasally from the damage to your nose.

He grabbed your shoulder and forced you into a sitting position. Yiwu and Weiming had approached the net, watching the two of you closely. Xingzi stepped onto the court and gasped. “You’re bleeding!”

You reached up to touch your face, feeling thick, warm blood on your fingertips. Upon doing so, a sharp pain shot through your face. “Motherfuking tap-dancing satan on a bagel, that hurts!”

“Then why the hell did you do it?” Chen scowled.

Xingzi pulled a towel from her bag before returning to your side. “Here,”

You took it with a grimace, carefully holding it under your nostrils to soak up the blood. “I thought it looked cool…” you mumbled, tilting your head toward the sky. The light gray clouds had turned dark, thunder roaring loudly overhead to act as a warning. A moment later, rain was blanketing the earth, the drops sending waves of pain through your face every time they landed on your nose.

Chen helped you to your feet, bringing you over to the awning that covered one of the benches. It did little to block the rain, especially with the wind blowing.

“We should take you to the hospital,” Xingzi frowned, brushing her wet hair away from her face. “Your nose might be broken.”

At the mention of a hospital, your nose instinctively wrinkled, causing you to wince in pain. It honestly hurt like a bitch, but you were positive that it wasn’t broken and you hated hospitals. You pulled the towel away from your nose and swiped your fingers under your nostrils. It was still bleeding, but it had already slowed down. “No, I’m okay.”

Chen exchanged a look with her before taking wrapping his arm around your own. “Come on, I’ll help you home.”

“You live in the opposite direction,” you muttered, pulling your arm away from his. “I’m fine, really.”

“Weiming lives in the same direction,” Xingzi commented, turning her gaze to him. “Can you make sure Y/N gets home safe?”

Your cheeks burned at the thought and you were thankful that your skin was already discolored from the injury. “Ah, no! It’s really okay, I don’t want to trouble him.”

“He’s right here, you know.” Weiming rolled his eyes, returning his racket to his bag before swinging it over his shoulder. “Let’s go before the rain picks up.”

Chen stopped him, expression deadly serious. “You better take care of Y/N.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that.” Weiming scoffed, sending him a hard look. The expression softened when he turned his attention to you, his slender fingers gently wrapping around your upper arm.

You said nothing as you walked at his side, the rain helping to keep you cool despite how hot your face was. The first few minutes passed by in silence and you were in the middle of having an internal debate over whether or not you should try to strike up a conversation when he spoke up.

“Don’t do that again.”

“Eh?” You blinked dumbly, surprised that he had actually broken the silence.

He glanced at you before turning his attention forward again. “Whatever stunt you were trying to pull, don’t do it again.”

You lowered your head, fist clenching around the towel. This made your nose throb but you were thankful for the distraction. “Yeah… I won’t.”

He continued as if he didn’t hear you. “Why would you try such a risky move? You know you’re not even that good at tennis. The fakeout is a pro-level counter.”

You winced at his harsh words and the bite of his tone. “I know I suck, you don’t have to rub it in…”

“That’s not -” Weiming paused, his fingers tightening so you’d stop walking. “Look at me, Y/N.”

You forced your eyes to meet his and nearly melted where you stood. Why did he have to be so damn attractive? Even more so with the way his hair clung to his face, water dripping down his skin.

“- that’s why.”

You blinked, realizing he had been speaking for several moments and you hadn’t heard a word of it. “Um… can you repeat that, please?”

He sighed deeply before taking you by the shoulders. “I didn’t mean it the way that came out. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

Warmth flooded your body as your heart fluttered within your breast. His concern was touching and you felt happy knowing he actually cared about what happened to you. You offered him a gentle smile. “I promise I’ll be more careful. Thank you, Weiming.”

His eyes scanned your face before he nodded and released you. “Good,”

The rest of the walk was silence, accompanied by the pitter-patter of the rain, but that was okay. You now knew that he did care about you and, even though that was probably just on the friendship level, it was a start. For now, you were content just walking by his side.

Your nose might disagree, but you were happy that you had been hit.

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[marveling-chrisevans]

What If - Walk of shame

What If - Walk of Shame 

Chris Evans x OFC

Chapter six - 1932 words

Part One | Part Two | Part three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six 

Warnings: uh swearing maybe? 

Summary: What if. What if you out of the blue and on an impulse applied for a contest, and what if you won that. What if you met someone who didn’t know you existed, and what if you asked them for a drink after.  What if this impulse changed your entire life.  ** note I didn’t win so I don’t know how all this would go down but this would be how I would have loved it to happen.. the first chapter completely happened.. the texts might not be the same. But it happened**  

 Tag List: @smoothdogsgirl​ @torntaltos​ @patzammit​ – If you wanna be tagged just make a comment below and I am happy to do that or just DM me, whichever

This story is fully caught up and posted on AO3 and Wat pad. I am going to be combining chapters to catch Tumblr up. but if you would like to read everything right now then go ahead. Also please 

https://www.wattpad.com/story/184900452-what-if

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18506152/chapters/43856086

Faith woke up in a daze, she was laying on her side as she slowly opened her eyes to the sun streaming into the room. She saw the view of Hollywood from the hills, She was confused at where she was. The last thing that she remembers was that she was in a car on the way back to the hotel, then everything went kinda blurry. She looked around the room, and smelled food. She was extremely hung over and wanted some food.

She got up and wrapped the sheet around herself cause she didn’t have any clothes, and couldn’t find her dress, that she wore last night. She got up, walked toward the door that was closed and then walked out into the open lay out of the room. You could see the living room to the kitchen, seeing Chris was standing behind the island of the kitchen talking to what looked like his sister and his mother. She quickly backtracked into the room.

She didn’t escape unseen. Dodger jumped up and barked slightly as soon as she disappeared behind the door. She pushed it closed but didn’t get it all the way there as dodger pushed it all the way open. Faith Grabbed her phone and escaped onto the on suite bathroom and found her way into the tub..

Faith looked at her for the first time in most likely 12 hours, and saw that she had like 9 missed calls and texts from rose, and one from her brother. She slide into the tub as dodger jumped up to join her in there and started licking her face which made her laugh “hi puppy, can you stop?” She wondered as she called rose..

Rose answered the phone “Well fuck thank god your not dead, where the hell are you! Ive been worried sick!”

Faith laughed slightly “currently in a bathtub, with a dog, dodger actually in Chris’s Bathroom.. uh naked.. we had sex last night. Apprently, I mean I remember most of the night but then it gets fuzzy..”

Rose gasped on the other end of the phone “how was it, I want to know everything don’t leave out a single thing, oh my god.. I knew it.. MY SHIP IS ALIVE”

Faith pulled the phone from her head “hungover” she angry whispered in the phone “and I don’t remember much of it. Like I said fuzzy, but I can tell you it was the best sex I’ve ever had.. Oh god I hope he used a condom” she said back into the phone

“i did” Chris replied with a smile on his face. Faith looked up to where the voice came from “it was really good for me too”

“i gotta go rose I uh, gotta go uh ill be back in a little bit” Faith said and hung up the phone sliding further into the bathtub to hid which made dodger thing that it was okay to start kiss attacking her again.

“Dodger out” Chris said as dodger then stopped and put his head on the side of the tub looking at the owner “Glad to see you are awake.. I put your clothes on the bed, I washed them this morning. Also there is some coffee in there, I have to go do something with the avengers. I also put my number in your phone. Take as much time as you need, shower do whatever my family just left to go to the beach so you are the only one here” he replied to her

“and where is here so I can uh summon an taxi” She asked looking up at him trying not to make this all awkward more than it already was. Because its be honest it was really awkward for her “also just so you know I didn’t mean for this to happen.. I got way to drunk and I don’t do this, and oh my god did I say, ‘im feeling it now mr. Krabs?” She wondered looking at him

He nodded and laughed slightly “you did and Faith its alright, you are an amazing girl, and like I said last night id love to get to know you more.” He said “i gotta go but can I see you before you leave tomorrow?”

Faith answered her phone as it rang “yes this is Faith Young, Wait what? Are you serious yeah I can be there for an interview tomorrow morning” She smiled “yeah also that would be cool have always wanted to attend one, yeah two tickets. Thanks” she said back to the person and then looked at him and bite her lip as she pulled herself out of the tub making sure the towel was wrapped around herself “uh I guess not, I have an interview tomorrow, for my dream job non the less. So uh maybe? If its later today” you replied “but maybe not? I don’t know” She smiled “maybe we will just have to leave at it as what it is. A winners trip to Meet Chris Evans at the Premier of EndGame” Faith said back to him as he nodded

“I hope that isn’t the case, I have a feeling we will run into each other again” Chris replied as he walked over to her and kissed her one last time before he left the house

Faith closed her eyes when Chris kissed her and wished It would have lasted a little longer. The linger feeling of his pillow soft lips against hers. She stood there a while longer with her eyes closed wishing he never left. She heard the door close and dodger come back in and looked at her.

Faith got up from hiding in the tub, and went out and found her dress. Like he said it was laying on the bed. She wasn’t about wearing that home for the walk of shame. She went and showered in his shower, then raided his dresser and found a basic t shirt and just some smaller looking sized sweatpants.

She then called herself an Lyft. Headed back to the hotel she couldn’t believe that she just slept with her celebrity crush. The one guy who would have been on her exception list when she got married. She took a deep breath as she waited on the street for her ride. She had managed to get out of the house without running into his family. She thanked whoever was listening for that.

On the drive back to the hotel she made basic small talk talk with the driver. Once getting to the hotel she thanked the man and Gave him a cash tip as she had some from the night before, knowing that these drives prefer that over the tip in the app so they can use it right way.

Riding the elevator and going into the room felt so basic compared to her last 12 hours. She came in the room and flopped down on the bed next to Rose.

Rose sat up from where she was on her phone in her bed and looked at Faith “So are you going to spill the tea or are you just going to walk of shame?” She wondered looking at her friend “also are you in Chris’s clothes, because we could get serious money off of those

“Rose I swear if you keep yelling or talking loud or whatever I am going to punch you in the face. Also its not a walk of shame if you're not ashamed it happened?” She questioned back before she kept talking “Also we are not going home tonight, You know that job I told you applied for about a month ago for my jobs tv program, to be a project manager, well apparently I got accepted and They want me to go there for the keynote program tomorrow to show me off or something, give a presentation. I am not sure as I stopped listening when I heard I got the job.” she said back to her with putting her face into the bed sighing heavily ignoring the last comment about eBay comment.

“it can still be a walk of shame..” Rose countered back

Faith got up and walked over to her suitcase shaking her head, “remind me when we finally get home to look at my Lyft pick up history to send these back” She said to rose knowing she wouldn’t remember because she was going go from one project to another and just throw everything in the laundry

Rose smirked “ not gonna do that, but before we hop on another plane I do wanna go to this event at the Chinese theater I heard about, also the walk of fame is over there.” Rose replied knowing what she was asking and what was going on. Faith listened to her talk as she flung on some leggings and a flowing crop top that just showed a little of the top of her midriff. Running a brush through her hair. “okay fine let me take something for this headache and along s we stop at a coffee place I don’t care” Faith replied fixing her make up touching it up and throwing on a pair of sunglasses grabbing her bag “lets go”

The two walked out of the hotel stopping at the first coffee shop for Faith, then finished there walk to the walk of fame. Looking at the stars, stopping for the ones they loved posing and stopping at a few stars as they go. They were across the street from the Chinese theater as faith looked at it confused “what did you say was going on here?” Staring at the arch with the original six in it “Rose if this is an avengers event I don’t wanna be here, I embarrassed myself and then slept with one of the stars.. uh no”

The announcer started to announce the actors as they came out one by one and the producers. Faith of course started to try and hide behind the Camera people and taking a few steps back to be more blended into the crowd

Rose smirked “oh its not like he is going to see you standing in the crowd” she replied back as She went back to cheering as they came out. Faith kinda just tired to blend in and not bring attention to herself. Making sure her sunglasses were firmly in place. Faith hid the best she could till he looked out in the crowd. Even tho the both of them were wearing sunglasses, your eyes connected. You quickly turned your head to look at something else. She could feel his eyes linger at her.

Chris lingered his eye on her, it was the same girl he was with last night. He knew that hair and those lips anywhere. He felt it in his soul. Someone said his name which caught his attempting which made him loose her in the crowd. That could have been because she quickly went and hid behind the building.

Faith took a deep breath as it felt like her heart was in her throat she didn’t know what to do. She went and sat down on the bench that was near by and texted rose her location, and waited for her to come to her. After the ceremony, Rose Found faith and they did the rest of the things tourists do when they are in LA, before going back to the hotel getting their stuff and flying on the plane to the next location in California, this time for Faiths job.

[thenamesseven]

Warnings: Just a little bit of language and angst

Whatever Jinyoung had wanted to say to you before Jackson and Youngjae busted into your hospital room, never left his lips once your two friends were gone. You had tried to bring up the subject but he quickly dismissed it saying he simply forgot it, that he would tell you once it came back to his mind. The uneasiness you had been feeling these past few days was back, something in you was shouting for you to call your boyfriend out, to force him to explain why he was lying so much recently but the rest of you was afraid to find out the truth that was hidden behind his words, keeping yourself quiet.

It was your second and probably last day at the hospital, after multiple check outs the doctor had concluded you were alright to go home. The twins were big but they could still be inside of you for an entire week, they would have to take both babies out sooner than expected since your belly was too little for them but at least, the would be able to stay for some more time. 

Jinyoung and you had been a little shocked when you were told the news, you two would finally be parents in a week and to say you were nervous was an understatement. Your husband on the other hand seemed extremely happy and slightly calmer than you, however, you knew that when the moment of giving birth comes he would be the one freaking out and you would have to keep the both of you calm.

You were sitting on your bed, covered by a really fluffy yet warm blanket Mark had brought you the other day when they visited. It’s not like the hospital sheets were bad but the one the guys brought was way warmer. With pillows placed behind your back, you had managed to find a comfortable sitting position that would let you rest the book you were reading on your huge tummy, people usually complaint about getting fat but you had found you could use that in your favor, using the swollen tummy as a table had been the best idea you ever had through your whole pregnancy. The room was quiet, you had turned the television on a couple of minutes ago just to have some background noise while Jinyoung had headed to your apartment to get a shower. He had refused to move away from you since the first day and after a couple of little arguments, you managed to convince him to head home and take a warm bath before getting some dinner for the both of you -you weren’t a huge fan of hospital food so he had planned to sneak some take out for the both of you to enjoy-

Outside of the room paced a really nervous Sun Hee. She knew she shouldn’t be there, that if Jinyoung caught her visiting you he would personally take her to Hell but she had to do it, she needed to see you were alright to extinguish the guilty feeling tightening her chest. Apart from that specific reason, Sun Hee had also come with intentions of confessing Jinyoung and her crime, she knew it was your husband’s story to tell but if he wasn’t going to do it then she would. You deserved to know what had happened even if you were about to have his two babies, Sun Hee thought you had to know what kind of man had been sleeping by your side every single night and what kind of education he could give to your kids.

How could those babies look up to their father when he was a cheater? Staying with him or leaving was a decision you needed to be given and if Jinyoung wasn’t going to do it, she would.

Sun Hee might be a home breaker like some people will probably think but she was fair.

Letting out a soft yet calming sigh, the female knocked on the door quietly and after hearing your soft voice telling her to come inside she pushed the door open, poking her head inside of the room. The first thing that crossed her mind when her eyes landed on you was that you were beautiful, not the kind of beauty that you earn with make up and surgery but the natural one. Your hair was messy and your body kind of swollen due to the pregnancy but seeing you just sitting there, calmly ready a book about baby care...Sun Hee couldn’t help but understand why Jinyoung was so in love with you.

You looked up when the door opened just to find a girl standing there. At first, when you didn’t recognize her you thought she might have knocked on the wrong door but when the female hesitatingly walked inside you just guessed she might be one of those new nurses that were still learning. Unconsciously, your head tilted as you looked at her, she was pretty with small and soft features that got accentuated thanks to the make up she was using. What a shame though, she would probably look better without all that stuff on her face.

“Are you (Y/N)?” She asked with a small smile, her hands fidgeting nervously inside her pockets as she stood next to your bed. When you nodded quietly, she visibly relaxed holding one of her hands up for you to shake “I’m Sun Hee, I work with your husband”

You were a bit surprised. Apart from Got7 and some people that were really close to Jinyoung, nobody else had visited you. “Ah you’re the back up dancer, right? It’s so nice to meet you” You smiled gently taking her hand, shaking it before letting it go “Take a seat please, don’t just stand there” You said motioning to the two empty chairs beside your bed.

Sun Hee sat on one, letting out a soft sigh, rubbing the sweaty palm of her hands against her jeans “How are you doing? Heard by some of the guys you had a little complication” She smiled looking at you, her eyes recognizing the colorful balloons behind you that she had seen Jackson and Youngjae carry around the company building.

“Apparently the babies are too big to still be there” You patted your belly softly, caressing it as you spoke “But its nothing too dangerous, they’ll just get out sooner than we expected them to. Fortunately they have 8 months now so they won’t have too many problems for being born earlier” You explained, happy because you just had to wait for seven more days to hold both of your babies

“Ah, I’m glad to hear that” Sun Hee said truthfully, a genuine smile coming up to her lips “Did you and Jinyoung decided names already?”

You shook your head “We don’t even know the genders yet, we wanted it to be surprise” Your smile got even bigger, if only she knew Jinyoung and you had a bet to see who guessed the genders correctly. Jinyoung said they were two girls and you felt like one was a girl and another one a boy, who knows? As you kept saying, you just wanted them to be healthy.

“Look (Y/N)” Sun Hee cleared her throat, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to calm herself down. The moment of telling you had finally come and even when her heart was pounding against her chest, she knew she couldn’t get out of the room until the words had got out of her mouth “I just wanted to apologized for-”

Once again, before she could finish the sentence Sun Hee was interrupted by the room’s door opening. You expected it to be Jinyoung and for some unspoken reason, you wanted it to be him to see his reaction when he saw the other girl talking with you. To your desmay, it was simply a nurse that had come to check some things like everyday. She politely asked Sun Hee to wait outside and after sending a small smile your way, the female stood up and walked out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind her she let out a breath that she didn’t even know she had been holding in.

Jinyoung was walking down the hall, a bag on his hand where he had hidden the Chinese take out he had stopped to buy on his way back to the hospital. He was whistling some song he had been listening to in the car, his anxiety had gotten better since he had received the news about his babies coming sooner than expected, he just couldn’t wait to get them in his arms and tell each of them how much he loved them. Jinyoung couldn’t wait to see you with them, to see the family he had created...He was still struggling to believe the babies were going to be out of you in just seven weeks. However, as if life didn’t want him to take a break from his problems, as Jinyoung walked down the hall he spotted a female standing infront of your door. His heart stopped for a second, thinking about the possibility of something happening to you but when he checked her clothes and saw she wasn’t wearing the hospital uniform he simply relaxed. Although when his eyes moved back up to her face Jinyoung definitely felt like he could die.

A mix of fear, anger and frustration invaded his whole body when he recognize Sun Hee “What the fuck are you doing here!?” He exclaimed a few steps away from her. The female turned her head enough to see a really mad Jinyoung getting closer and closer until he had her cornered against a wall, making it unable for her to escape. Sun Hee became small between the wall and his body, her body tense as she looked up at him.

“I...I was just...” She stuttered, her mind raking for some answers but nothing came up to her mind that would help her get rid of a really angered Jinyoung

“I told you to leave me, to leave us alone Sun Hee” Jinyoung said running his fingers through his hair quietly, letting out a huge sigh as he stared down at her “Don’t fuck with my patience cause I’m so close to snap right now” He muttered gritting his teeth “What did you tell her?”

Sun Hee shook her head “I didn’t tell her anything, I just heard that something happened with her and wanted to pay a visit” The female explained honestly, avoiding to mention he had almost told you about her little affair with your husband

“Why? It’s not like she is your friend or like we’re really close” Jinyoung asked frustrated “You showing up here out of nowhere is just going to make her suspicious Sun Hee, get lost, get out of our lives” Jinyoung stepped back for his own sake, trying extremely hard to control himself and avoid doing something crazy that he would probably regret later.

“We’re not closed?” Sun Hee asked moving away from the wall so Jinyoung wouldn’t be able to corner her again like before “Whatever Jinyoung, believe your own fucking lies”

That made Jinyoung snap. Every time everything seemed to go more or less well, Sun Hee had to do one of her little tricks to ruin his peace of mind once again and he was tired of it, Jinyoung was so exhausted of dealing with Sun Hee that he was either going to start crying right there and beg her to leave or punch her straight on the face without even caring if she was a woman. He was livid, he didn’t know how else he could tell her to get away from his and your life.

“I swear to God Sun Hee” Jinyoung reached out to grip her wrist and even though the female tried to dodge his grip she was too slow. He yanked her back against the wall, this time a little harder. Thanks God nobody was around because if somebody saw both of them, one would think Jinyoung was about to commit murder “If I see you fucking around her again...” He didn’t finish the sentence but just by the slightly scared look in her eyes Jinyoung knew he didn’t need to “Ruin my life but not hers” He repeated letting her go “Get away from my wife”

He was about to open his mouth to keep threatening Sun Hee before going back inside the room with you, when he was struck by, not only the following words but also a punch that went straight to his nose.

“Fucking cheater”

[antiquechampagne]

Mixed Media - Ch1 - Deja Vu

Watching the way the dining room light danced on the surface of the diamonds facets, Rita idly spun her wedding ring around her finger with her right hand. She was having a hard time concentrating on her son’s prattling; something about another kid in his first grade class. Her stomach lurched.

“Isn’t that funny, mom?” Jackson asked, turning to her.

Snapping back to reality, all Rita could manage was, “Oh… yeah. Sure.”

“Are you feeling alright?” Declan put his fork full of spaghetti down.

Rita had to ruminate for a moment on her husband’s question. She had felt off most of the day, but it was only at dinner that her stomach had really began to bother her. As she concentrated on her body, she could sense the beginnings of a migraine starting to burrow its way into her brain.

“I’m sorry, hon,” Rita rubbed her temples. “I haven’t felt good most of the day.”

“Why don’t you take it easy on the couch with your tea? We can handle the rest of dinner, can’t we, chap?”

“Sure.” Jackson nodded. Rita rose from the table and headed to the living room. “I hope you feel better, mom.”

“Thanks, guys.” She patted his shoulder. “I hope so too.”

Rita spent the next half an hour listening to the distant clink of silverware, the tea doing nothing for her turbulent state of health. Next, she heard the sink in the kitchen and laughter as her family cleaned up after their meal. Soon after, Declan leaned through the doorway to check on her.

“The TV isn’t on? You must really be sick if you aren’t even gaming. Guess that means you won’t be writing tonight either.”

Rita shook her head. Even if she had felt up to it, she had been suffering for writers block for over a week. Sitting at a computer was not in her cards tonight.

“Maybe it was the sweet rolls Tracey brought in.” She frowned. “My stomach is flopping around like a fish.”

“Why don’t you go to bed? You look like hell. I’ll take Jack up to the park for an hour or so before bed. It should keep us out of your hair and knock him out.”

Rita really wanted to refuse, to try to help Declan out with their nighttime routine, but she knew better. She was no help in the state she was in.

Trailed by her husband, Rita slipped into bed. Declan placed a glass of water and her cellphone on the nightstand, just in case she needed to get ahold of them at the park.

“Feel better, Love.” He said as the door closed behind him, leaving her in the dark. She only allowed herself to relax once she heard the front door close, the whole house silent in her family’s absence. Slowly, Rita drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

Rita woke from the blackness, her body jostling side to side. A cool breeze chilled her face. Thinking she might have left a window open, Rita slowly opened her eyes. It took a few blinks to register the tall green conifer trees passing by, breaking up a hazy sky. The rough wooden seat dug into her legs through her thin pajama pants. She tried to wipe her face, only to find her hands bound together. Why could she hear the clopping of horse hooves?

“Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”

Rita’s eyes focused on the man across from her. He looked to be clothed in something from a renaissance festival, with long blond braided hair and bushy facial hair. The last remnants of her headache retreated from her mind.

“You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there.”

Rita groaned, cutting off the grumbling thief. “You have got to be kidding me. That’s it… No more 6-hour Skyrim streams on a work night. This dream has great resolution though.”

A soldier clothed in red armor shouted back at the group. “Shut up back there!” he ordered.

The thief, shivering in his rags, turn to the man sitting next to Rita. “And what’s wrong with him?”

Before the chatty prisoner could answer, Rita cut in.

“Don’t worry, I got this…” She pointed as best she could to each man as she talked. “Your name is Lokir, a horse thief from Rorikstead. He’s Ralof, a Stormcloak soldier from Riverwood, that guy next to me is the big shot himself, Ulfric Stormcloak.” The three men stared at her, sitting there in front of them rolling her eyes. She shrugged. “If you are going to be in a meme-dream, you might as well shake things up a bit. Am I right? Do you even have any idea how many times I have restarted my character in this game?”

Lokir broke out of his trance first. “Ulfric? The Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they captured you... Oh gods, where are they taking us?”

Rita jumped in again. “Helgen. Here’s a free tip, Lokir. If you don’t run, maybe you'll live past the tutorial.”

“Well then, what village are you from, stranger?” a confused Ralof asked.

“Indianapolis.”

“Never heard of such a place.”

“I’m not from around here.”

Ralof waxed poetic, the gravity of his words worn thin on Rita's ears. “A Nord’s last thoughts should be of home.”

The cart rounded the bottom of the hill, steadily rolling through the rocky walls of Helgen.

A guard called out. "General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!"

Rita had heard these words so many times before; she ignored most of them. Instead focusing on the world around her. She could smell the cooking fires of the barracks and homes they passed mixing with the smell of the animals. Birds sang, their songs echoing off the masonry and high mountain peaks above their heads. The bounce of the cart rolling over the cobblestones was making her back ache. As they pulled up to the small square in front of Helgen's main tower, Rita was transfixed momentarily at the detail of the thatched roofs that surrounded her.

The cart began to slow.

Rita was brought by to the present by the thief's shaking voice. "Why are we stopping?"

"Why do you think?' Ralof answered. "End of the line." The cart came to an abrupt stop. "Let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."

"I wonder why there isn't ambient music. It's so weird without it." Rita shook her head.

Lokir pleaded with the soldier to no avail. "No! Wait! We're not rebels!" Each of them were roughly shooed out of the cart.

"Face your death with some courage, thief." Rolaf admonished.

"You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This is a mistake!" Lokir's nerves were shot. He shifted his weight back and forth on his feat, itching for any opening.

An Imperial Commander in front of them barked out an order. "Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time!"

Next, she leaned over to Ralof, "Empire loves their damn lists, am I right?" Ralof cocked an eyebrow down at her.

An Imperial with a list read out the first name. "Ulfric Stormcloak, jarl of Windhelm." Ulfric strode defiantly across the cobbles.

Ralof stood proudly, watching his commander go."It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfic!"

The roll call continued. Ralof was next to be called forward. Rita knew who was next. Rita leaned close to Lokir.

"Dude, Lokir... don't run. They’re just going to shoot you." She could tell he wasn't listening. He looked like a rabbit cornered and scared, eye wide and breathing fast.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

"No, I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!" Faster than Rita had remembered, he bolted across the courtyard.

"HALT!" the Captain commanded.

Full of adrenaline and terror, Lokir taunted back, "You're not going to kill me!"

Rita rolled her eyes as the order was issued for the archers to stop Lokir's escape.

"Anyone else feel like running?" The Imperial Captain scanned the crowd, daring each of them to test the aim of those under her command.

The Imperial soldier with the checklist looked Rita up and down as he checked his list.

"Wait. You there. Step forward. Who are you?"

Rita left the line. "Well, I don't look much like a Khajiit this time, do I?"

"Enough with the funny business. Where do you hail from?"

"I don't think you have where I am from on any map around here."

"You are trying my patience, prisoner."

Rita raced through the possibilities. "I guess I would be a Breton, I suppose?"

"Name."

"Rita Edwards."

He turned to his commander. "Captain. What should we do? She's not on the list."

"Forget the list. She goes to the block."

Rita followed as the Captain instructed, straining her ears, filtering out those who spoke around her. A shape caught her eye. The soldier nearest the wall had a sword strapped to his belt, but something about it stuck out to her. It took a moment for her to realize it was the wrong kind of sword. The hilt and pommel glinted gold in the sun, the blade straight. It was a Chinese officer sword.

"That shouldn't be there..." Rita didn't have time to contemplate it as a distant roar echoed off the mountains. She could hardly repress a smile.

"What was that?" the soldier asked.

The boring dialog droned on. Rita looked to the sky, catching glimpses through the trees and buildings of a foreboding shape nearing the town. She was so distracted she didn't notice her name being called. A soldier roughly shoved her forward, towards the chopping block, the stone already bloodied from the prisoner before her. She hesitated. Being this close to so much blood turned her stomach worse than her dinner had. A coppery-sweet scent wafted to her nose as she was shoved to her knees.

"Can't we just skip this part?" This was entirely too real for her. A pair of meaty hands pressed her head to the stone, soaking the side of her face in still-warm blood.

"Come on, Alduin..." Rita muttered under her breath as the headsman raised his axe.

Right on cue, a giant dragon landed on the top of the tower. Screams and shouts filled Rita's ears. Fire rained down, setting the town a blaze, scattering people in every direction. All this Rita had expected... what she didn't understand was why the wrong dragon had attacked Helgen. Alduin wasn't calling down meteor showers or unleashing an unrelenting force. Instead, a blight-heralding archdemon sat above them breathing down fire, resplendent with its corrupt leathery purple-black skin. It was the wrong dragon.

"What the fuck, Todd?!"