#the others were all frozen in those poses while ocean walked around during the final vote monologue btw

[beckybarnes]

cries uglily sobs vomits etc

[unfortunately this isn’t from a boot 😭 it’s from a montage thing they put together that has some other small show clips they took]

[jenomark]

Part 6: WinWin, The Catch

➔Pairing:  WinWin x Reader (Female)  ➔Other Members/ Characters: Lucas, Ten, Hendery, Xiaojun,  Kun, & YangYang ➔Genre: Smut (+ angst, + fluff, + plot) ➔Warnings: angst, mentions of sex, yelling, cursing ➔Word count: 6,455

➔Summary: You don’t know what you do. You don’t even know who you are. Some would call you a whore. Some would refer to you as a sex worker. All of your clients would say you’re damn good at your job.

MASTERLIST

FOUR MONTHS LATER

  Life is a whirlwind of many things: emotions, disappointment, new beginnings, and things too complicated to understand. It’s years of fuck-ups, of getting lost in the shit that hurts you, and finding out that sometimes the truth should stay buried. We’re meant to live life like it’s the last one we have, but a lot of us can’t even choose what to eat for dinner. Maybe that’s the joy in living, in just being. Maybe we should all be proud of being fuck-ups, instead of trying to be something we’re not.

“I don’t think life can get any sweeter than this.” WinWin said. 

 You tapped your glass against his, the frozen, pineapple liquid spilling down the sides. The taste of the drink is refreshing and so sweet it makes your teeth hurt, but you don’t care. You’re sitting on the beach in a plastic chair, the sun dipping into the ocean, and the company of a man you enjoy right next to you. Life, through its ups and downs, was finally looking up.

“I don’t want to go home.” you said. “Do you think people at work even miss me?”

WinWin laughed quietly, just a little wind through his nose. “I would miss you.”

“I bet you would.”

  Since coming to the island for the past week, you and WinWin left the hotel room many times. You went snorkeling, exploring different parts of the culture, ate gourmet dinners, and got massages by professionals who avoided your sunburnt shoulders. On the days when you couldn’t seem to make it out of the door, you both fucked on the beautiful white linen bed, sometimes with the sliding door open, and every time without any inhibition. 

“I miss you every day.” he said. He leaned over to kiss you, the taste of the drink on the edge of his lips. 

  When he brought out his phone to text his family back home, you let your eyes gape openly at his body. He was so pretty on the eyes, every muscle put to good use. You didn’t regret the order of the way things happened to fall together, just that you hadn’t met him sooner. It seemed lifetimes ago that you were hitting him up for one last bang of the century. You smiled at the memory, letting it salivate in your mind until he was done texting.

“Is everything okay?” you asked.

  WinWin took your hand, which was something he did whenever he was feeling affectionate. You liked the attention, the way he put his phone down and focused on answering your question. “My family are asking what time our flight home is tomorrow. And if I’ll stop by on the way back to my house.”

“Did you tell them yes?” you asked. “I miss your mother. She’s just the face I feel I need to see.”

“You don’t know how happy that makes me feel.”

  He leaned over and kissed you again. There was a cheeky look in his eyes, as if asking how easy it would be for you to straddle him on the beach chair and take his cock right there. Neither of you were sex fiends during your regular life back home, but vacation time meant making time for your relationship. 

  Luckily for the public, you were both interrupted by the waiter asking if you’d like a bite to eat. After declining, you both gathered up your things and practically ran back to the hotel for a night of fun and pleasure.

  It wasn’t love, exactly. You would be the first to admit that love was hardly a driving force in your life. At first, though lust was an option, you ruled it out fairly early. Your entrance into WinWin’s life was less about pleasing someone sexually and more about pleasing yourself. You stayed around him because he was different. Deep down, you hoped it wasn’t because he was a culmination of all the boys in your life- Ten and his safety, Hendery and his optimism, Xiaojun and his hunger for life, Kun and his stability, and YangYang’s wholesome friendship. He even had Lucas’ taste for laughter and fun. 

 For a while, you wanted it to be love. You wanted love at first sight to be a  real thing so badly. You saw WinWin, you knew he was the one, and you fucked him real good. You chose to let it be more. Still, months later, you chose to keep the relationship because there was always the possibility that you were both lovable. You could be normal, even get the 9-to-5 job and stop fucking people for money. It could happen for you. 

 The car ride home from the airport felt a little off. Being away from the ocean made you feel stale. You didn’t know how to face normalcy again, how to ease your way back into a city that held so many awful memories. But WinWin held onto you like he could solve everything, made you feel like you could be the adult you needed all your life. 

“We’re here.” WinWin said as the car pulled up to his mother’s house.

 She didn’t know her son paid for someone like you, or that he was the last one ever. As far as she knows, he met you out with friends, and the rest was history. She didn’t know about your past, didn’t seem interested in it either. She was the kind of woman that judged no one, that welcomed everyone through her door with a hug and a feast fit for kings. It was far removed from the family you had grown up with.

“You both look sun-kissed and beautiful.” she said, hugging you, and then tugging on the edge of WinWin’s ear. “ Welcome home. I made you a nice home cooked meal. I know it’s not as good as the 5 star food you’ve been eating for the past week.”

“Mom, I’m sure it’s delicious.” WinWin said. “And I am starving.”

“Me too.” you said. “It’s really nice for you to cook for us. I feel so thankful.”

 Being with WinWin’s family made you feel safer than you’d ever felt. They truly welcomed you into the fold. It was easy to imagine the rest of your life like this: taking vacations, coming back to meals cooked by a mother who cares, and being lovingly accepted into another family like you were one of their own. Your past could easily melt away, along with any of the bad taste that got stuck in your mouth.

  You felt yourself getting misty-eyed. Thankfully, WinWin’s mother didn’t notice. She walked away to tend to her meal, leaving both of you in her living room. Unfortunately for you, WinWin was also an attentive boyfriend. He noticed you were on the verge of tears right away. He wiped them away for you, his brown eyes looking concerned.

“Is everything okay?” he asked. 

You nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine. I think I’m just tired and overwhelmed.”

“Do you want to go home?”

“No, no.” you said quickly. “I’m happy to be here.”

  The smile WinWin gave you lit up your soul. He brought you in for a hug, his excitement growing in the childish way he had. You held him tightly, too afraid to let go.

No, it wasn’t love, but it wasn’t not love, either.

  That night, you made love.

  In the beginning of your relationship, all the men before him would pop into your mind. There was the roughness of Lucas, the tenderness of Ten, and the intensity of Hendery. Every so often, you wished WinWin was as good as Xiaojun was at oral. You incorporated the carefree attitude YangYang taught you into your sex life, taking WinWin for a wild spin. You avoided Kun, and every feeling he brought up within you. Every so often, you would dive back into the deep end and meet WinWin, and you would merge all the men together. He would never know, and you’d never ask if he had any inclination. 

  Something changed a few months in. The sex got better, and you were more present. You were with him for the whole time, pressing down on his chest and riding the high that belonged to only him. You fell hard. You two were good for each other, matched up right in all the best ways. He didn’t need help in any department. He was whole and complete, and he made you feel like a goddess. 

 “You’re thinking.” WinWin whispered, kissing your forehead.

 He pushed his cock deep inside of you, the words out of your mouth coming out breathless. “I’m not.”

  “Okay.” he said, giving up before he started.

 He fucked you so well that you both forgot about everything. It was only until you were dreaming that everything came rushing back. You dreamed of the men, of the paradise lost, of WinWin’s mother wishing you were her daughter-in-law.

  Office jobs on a Monday never once seemed glamorous, but it was all you needed to feel ordinary. You stayed at your desk and watched the screensaver on your desktop fade in and out, like a heartbeat. Cheek resting against the palm of your hand, you sighed. You waited for lunchtime like the rest of the office girls. You didn’t gossip, didn’t show anyone your new nails. Your desk wasn’t decorated, but you were settled in for a while. The company liked you so much that you moved on from being a temp really quickly, which either made people love you or hate you.

“How was vacation?” a colleague asked. 

  You had become one of those people that shows vacation photos on her phone. There was WinWin laying on the beach, his toned stomach covered in sand. There was a photo of you posing by the sign of a restaurant, your arms thrown around him and your leg popped up. You hardly recognized the girl in the photos, though you’d spent 20+ years in her body.

“I wish I were in your shoes.” she said. “Your boyfriend is dreamy.”

“Thank you.” you said. It was hard to keep the amusement out of your voice. You were used to women fawning over him because he was so handsome, but when it was a married women with five kids, it made you hope you’d never be like that. 

“It looked like such a nice little vacay.” she said. “So luxurious. How did you pay for all of that?”

“Savings.” you said.

  Though you weren’t doing sex work anymore, the money from your secret apartment felt like it was never ending. You had sold so many things that reminded you of the men you saw over the years, choosing the money and a better life for yourself. It didn’t bother WinWin that you had more money than him, though he wouldn’t let you buy him a damn thing.

“Lucky.” she said before moving back to her desk.

  Your eyelids were heavy, and the bottom of your feet sore. You dragged your feet through the doorway of your new, modest apartment, and threw your stuff down on the floor. You didn’t check your phone, just sat down on the couch and let your head fall back. You drifted off to sleep and only woke up to a knock on your front door. Picking yourself up, you walked over, swung it open, and screamed when WinWin picked you up and spun you around.

“What are you doing?” you asked.

 He kissed you passionately, letting your body slide down his before he let your feet plant on the floor. You felt breathless, and could tell that your face was hot just from seeing him again. There were days you kind of wanted to share a home with him, to see him every single day. Maybe then you wouldn’t be so taken aback by him every time you saw him in the flesh.

  You didn’t fully get a good look at him until he moved away from you and went over to the fridge for a drink. He was wearing a dark blue suit and his hair was slicked back from his forehead. He looked expensive, and the smell trailing behind him reminded you of the vacation you’d just left.

“What are you all dressed up for?” you asked.

“You and I are invited to a party.”

“A..party?” you asked. “On a Monday night? I’m exhausted. I just had my full day of work after a week of beauty and sunshine. Baby, the last thing I want to do is party.”

  Then, as if everything suddenly made sense, you remembered that your birthday was in a few days. Your mind was whirring. You didn’t want WinWin wasting money on some nice party when he’d put up more than his share for the vacation.

“Please.” he said, pouting. He took a drink from inside the fridge and set it on the counter. “I wouldn’t go without you.” 

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

“I’ve seen your closet. You have plenty of dresses.”

“I won’t know anyone there.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t tell you who was going.”

“I’m running out of excuses, aren’t I?” you asked.

  WinWin smiled and came over to hold you. “Yes. I’m not a party animal either, but for some reason, I really want to go to this one. It’s at that nice hotel downtown that was just built. Imagine a night full of cocktails and dancing, coming home and collapsing in my bed. Fun, right?”

  You closed your eyes. When you opened them, you said yes. After all, you didn’t want to ruin a possible surprise. WinWin picked you up and spun you again. ‘Round and ‘round in circles you went.

  The dress you wore was too tight. You felt so bloated in it that, on the car ride over, you kept fidgeting. WinWin calling you beautiful didn’t help, but the sulking definitely did. Arriving at the party made you so nervous that you forgot about the ill-fitting dress. You weren’t ready to be in front of people you loved, if it was a birthday party. You were stressed about who would attend, and who would not. 

“Holy fuck.” you said, looking up at the hotel it was being hosted at.

 In another life, it felt like you had been there before. It was much too swanky for your new taste, but there was something so familiar about the exterior that you couldn’t help but stare at it. The cream of the building and the black marble accents were stunning to look at, even more so than your date.

“We’ll stay no longer than two hours.” he said. “Does that sound good?” 

  You were unsure, but you did agree. He took your hand and led you across the street, the red satin dress you were wearing flying up with the wind. You smoothed your hair down with your free hand and walked through the revolving door with him. Inside, the building was even more gorgeous. It must have cost a pretty penny, and would have taken years to import all of the textures.

“Who invited you here?” you asked. “Someone from work?”

“My cousin.” he said. “ You’ve met him before.”

  You were whisked into a ballroom full of people. It was clear that, by the lack of people you knew, it was not a surprise birthday party for you. It made you a little sad, but you tried not to show it.

 Being among crowds was never fun for you, but feeling his hand on the small of your back relaxed you. You were thinking you could enjoy the night anyway, but WinWin walking away to fetch drinks made the fear creep up your spine again. You sat down at an empty table and scanned the hoards of people dressed in expensive designer clothes, your eyes raking it all in. You assessed that the reason you were so uncomfortable is because the environment reminded you too much of the life you had four months ago.

“Here.” WinWin said, setting your drink down.

  You took a big gulp and set it back down, watching strangely as the condensation from the glass formed a ring on the tablecloth. For a bit, WinWin sat with you and held your hand, his eyes watching people laughing and chatting along.

“I can’t find my cousin. He’s not answering his phone.” he said, not able to peel his eyes from the crowd. 

“Should we go look for him?” you asked.

  There was a weird tension in the pit of your belly. You pushed the drink away and vowed to not drink anymore. You joined WinWin in looking for his cousin, even though you didn’t know which one he was referring to. His family was big, and they all looked so different from each other, but they all had the same cute laugh and love of ordering things online. 

“Let’s dance.” WinWin said, rising to his feet.

  You looked at the hand stretched out before you. He was speaking and moving too quickly. You felt like you were being pulled in every direction. The lights of the ballroom chandeliers were too bright, the air too humid. Still, you took his hand and let him bring you to your feet.The heels were killing you, but they were the only shoe that matched the dress.

“Are you okay?” you asked. “You’re acting really weird. “

“Weird?” he asked. “How?”

“I don’t know.”

  You wiped sweat from your forehead and felt nauseous as he led you both around the floor. It was the first time you wished you were anywhere but with him. Being at home and sleeping sounded much more exciting than the truth of where you were. 

“Can I spin you?” he asked.

  Before you could tell him that he couldn't, WinWin spun you around. You held onto his shoulders and caught your breath. He spun you one more time, your body losing slight control, and then he let you go.

  All you could see were the lights in a blur before they stopped. You were too aware of the arm that had caught you. You looked down at the floor, at your feet crammed into your heels, then you closed your eyes tightly, and opened them again. You looked up and was met with a chest that didn’t belong to WinWin. Clutching the arms tightly, you used the body to bring yourself up all the way.

“Lucas.” you said, your voice shaky. 

 Dressed in a white button down and a light blue suit jacket, Lucas was there. His face was a little slimmer, but the same eyes were looking back at you. They were wide and hard, not a lick of concern in them. For a moment, you were transported back in time. It was where you were supposed to be, with the man you thought you were going to marry. You blinked and started looking for WinWin.

“You like him?” Lucas asked.

  You removed your hands from Lucas’ arms and he dropped them to his sides the same time you did. You looked into his eyes and tried to muster something to say. The last time you saw him, you couldn’t get the right words out. Your storyline was very much unfinished. 

“Does he check all the boxes?” Lucas asked. “Safe. Able to pay. Puts up with your lies and insecurities.” 

“What?”

  You looked over at the right time to see WinWin moving up to your side. You felt relief. You waited for him to berate Lucas for talking to you that way, a hero to save the day. Instead, he held out his hand to Lucas, as if asking him to dance.

“Four months.” WinWin said to him. “I want extra for having to sleep with her so many times.”

  Lucas opened his jacket and took out a wad of bills. He peeled out so many pieces of paper that you lost count of them all. “Here is half. You get the rest of the money in a while.”

  WinWin took the bills without counting them and tucked them into his own jacket. He gave you the tiniest apologetic glance before walking away. Confused, you started to walk after him but was stopped by Lucas' big arm.

“What are you doing?” you asked. “I’m following my boyfriend. Let me go.”

“Your boyfriend?” Lucas asked. “Wow, you really bought it. The con artist gets conned.” 

 Your brain was trying its hardest to make sense of what Lucas was saying. Any minute now, you would wake up from your nap on the couch and you wouldn’t be standing in the middle of a hotel ballroom with your ex-boyfriend. When that didn’t happen, you stormed off across the dance floor, your eyes searching for WinWin. You took out your phone and began texting, but a big paw of a hand snatched the phone from you.

“He won’t text back.” Lucas said.

“Give me that.” you said, swiping at him. “Why are you here? Did you follow us?”

Lucas laughed. “You don’t get it, do you?”

“Get what? You’re a psycho.” you said. “You broke up with me, remember? You left me. Let me live my life. I’m happy.”

  Without your phone, you walked outside, through the revolving door and down the rabbit hole. You could hear Lucas’ heavy  footsteps behind you. When you were out of earshot, he placed his hand on your shoulder gently and spun you around to face him.

“Give me my phone, or I will call the police.” you said, not enough bravado in your voice.

  Lucas handed you the phone, but you yanked it from his hands anyway. There were no messages from WinWin, and nothing of note. You looked for the car you arrived in but it was gone. You swallowed the lump in your dry throat and closed your eyes again.

“Why did you hand him money, and where did he go? What was he talking about?” you asked. It was the question you’d wanted to ask all along but was too afraid to ask.  “Please, nothing snarky. Tell me the truth.”

“The truth? Like you told me the truth?” Lucas asked.

“Lucas, please.”

“I don’t owe you anything.”

  You were facing him head on, tears rolling down your face. Everything felt too chaotic, too blinding. Your thoughts were swimming in your mind, each one making no sense from the last. If what you believed to be true was true, you needed to know how it all went down.

“I set you up.” he said. “Sicheng, that’s his real name, was never interested in you. I paid him to like you, to fuck you. “

“He was my client.”

“Wrong.” Lucas said. He moved out of the way so that people could pass by. “I paid him to pursue you. It wasn’t easy, I’ll give you that. I had actually given up hope, but then you came right in at the end.”

“You’re lying to me.”

“I’m not.” Lucas chuckled darkly. “I paid him thousands of dollars. I paid for your vacation. I’m thousands in debt, but hey, who cares. I finally did it.”

“Did what?” you asked, wiping a hot tear from your cheek.

“Humiliated you the way you humiliated me.” he said. “Fucking guys for money behind my back? Why couldn’t you just cheat like normal people? Fuck, I wanted to marry you.”

  It was quiet, the traffic from the sidewalk dying down. You leaned against the side of the building and felt how truly tired your body was. The fire in Lucas’ eyes calmed down a little bit, too.

“I know.” you said quietly. “I saw the ring.”

“Shit, you really fell for everything.” he said. “I planted that ring. I thought that if you believed I was going to propose, you would catch yourself in the lie. I thought you were smarter than me, but tonight proves that theory. You’re not smart at all. You should have seen your face when you saw the house key. ”

“Why would you do this to me?” you screamed, grabbing the attention of someone waiting in traffic.

“You did this to yourself, sweetheart.”

 You turned around and put your arm against the wall, leaning your head down against it. “I don’t understand. WinWin and I are a real couple. I’ve been with his family and his friends. I love him.”

“The family thing wasn’t my idea.” he said. “I had nothing to do with that, but I find it funnier this way. How does it feel being so blind-sided that it’s ruined your life?” 

“Fuck you.”

“No.” he said. “Fuck you. Exactly, how many people have you slept with? Did you get tested before you fucked me?”

  You walked away, walking down the street to God knows where. You groaned when he kept following you, and you stopped in front of a well-lit display window. In the light, you could see how beat your reflection was. The dress was pretty,  but your insides were shining out and they were ugly.

“You thought you could fool me.” Lucas said. “I followed you to some places, you know? Saw all the freaks you were with. That one guy? Hendery? I talked to him, acted like I was a stranger. He was so fucking in love with you that I was jealous. Can you believe that? I was jealous of someone who had you about as much as I did. It’s a real shame what you did to him.”

“Shut up.”

“He thought you would be together forever.” Lucas mocked.

“You don’t know a thing about Hendery.”

“Wrong again.” he said. “I know a lot about men like Hendery. The sad, rejected men that tried to love you. I was one of them.”

  You checked your phone again, your last attempt at hope. All you wanted was to see WinWin’s name pop up, to text you that he was bringing the car around, and that he was going to take you away from the crazy man before you. 

“If you knew....” you began, feeling dejected. “...why did you let it go on for so long?” 

  Lucas seemed to really think about the answer. In the light, he looked so handsome and young. You were reminded of the man he was when you first met him. You felt a little pang in your chest where your heart used to be.

“I guess I wanted to see if you would change, if you would love me.”

“I did love you.”

There was hurt and anger in Lucas’ eyes. “Loved me enough to cheat on me?”

“It was just a job.”

“Was I just a job, too?” he asked. “ I knew about the extra apartment. I really meant nothing to you.”

“This conversation is going nowhere.” you said. “I’m sorry I did that to you. I should have been upfront about who I was and what I was doing with my body. I fucked up, and I fucked your life up. And you, in return, fucked me up for the rest of my life.”

“This isn’t my fault. This is your fault.”

“I don’t care whose fault it is, Lucas.” you said. “You and I were done. We never would have lasted.”

“So, you strung me along to make yourself feel better?” he asked.

“No I-”

“-Like you did with Sicheng.” he said. “I’m not an idiot. I know the ins and outs of everything that happened in the last few months. It’s a cycle. The people you fuck keep you feeling better about yourself long enough for you to move on to a new one. I was just the unfortunate asshole getting caught in the middle.”

“I’m not talking about this right now.”

“And there it is, the denial.” he said. “Look at how you turn away from me when I tell you the truth. All those men and not one of them could ever call you out on your bullshit? Where is the love there, huh? Where are any of them now?”

You threw your hands up into the air. “I don’t know. They’re not here, Lucas. You hate me so much, but you’re the only one here. The last man standing. Congratulations, you did it.”

  A car pulled up to the curb. You texted a friend for a ride, someone you didn’t know quite well. You didn’t have anyone else. While Lucas was talking, you were figuring out how best to run away from him. The knowledge hit you hardest where it hurts. You didn’t think anything could ever be the same again.

“I have to go.” you said. “I can’t be here anymore.”

“Yeah? Just like that?”

You held the car door open. “Yeah. Just like that, Lucas.”

“And you don’t have anything else to say?” he asked.

“I do, actually.” you said. “To those I’ve fucked and fucked over, I’m sorry.”

THREE YEARS LATER- LUCAS

  He stood very still, so still that he could hear the tiny giggling coming from the other room. Lucas smiled to himself and tried to ignore it as best he could. If there was one thing he was good at, it was acting.

“Ready or not, here I come!” he yelled, his voice booming. He loved pulling silly voices. It was something that brought him so much joy. “You better not come out until I find you-u-u-u-u-u.”

  With the heaviest of footsteps, Lucas walked across his house. It was dramatic the way he walked, and it only brought out another tinkle of laughter from the east side of the house. Lucas walked into another room and made fake footsteps like he was walking away.

 There, in the corner, the top of a tiny head peeked out from behind a toy box. As if sensing him, the head poked back down. Lucas fought the urge to laugh. He played dumb and moved around the room, loudly checking behind places no human could hide behind.

“It’s very difficult to find her.” he said. “I wonder if she is in this room.”

 Another giggle, another pull at his heart strings. Before he could move over to the toybox, a little girl ran out from behind it and into his arms. 

“Daddy! Daddy!” she yelled, giggling as her father Lucas scooped her up into his arms. “You found me!” 

  Lucas swung her around and planted kisses all over her heart-shaped face. His happiness was always with her, even when it was hidden. Lucas set his daughter down and knelt down to her level.

“Now,” he said, his face serious. He tried not to laugh as his daughter put on a serious face, too. “Now, we have to find mommy.”

 With her hand in his, they walked through the house to look for the missing puzzle piece of their family. 

THREE YEARS LATER- TEN

“What is love to you?” 

 Ten sat across from his date. There was something in the question that made him cock his head to the side. His smile lit up when the person sitting across from him broke out into a similar smile, a clear embarrassment striking them unannounced. 

“Don’t be embarrassed.” Ten said. “It’s a fair question. Do you have an answer for it?”

“I don’t.” 

“Well, I do.” Ten said.

  It was Ten’s assertiveness that got him the date in the first place. That, and the way he was so open about everything. He didn’t know if the person across from him was his soulmate, or if he even believed in that. Still, it was fun getting to know someone. In a way, it was like getting to know yourself. 

“I think love is everything.” he said. “I think it’s in everything. It’s in the company you keep, in the weather you wish was different. Love is a painful reminder that not everything can stay the same. It’s the gentle way someone wishes you a good day. It’s an old blanket that smells like memories from long ago. Love is scary, but scary things are fun, too. We all want love, and we all want to be loved. It’s hope, and it’s full. I used to think love is never being left, but now I think leaving someone often means loving them so much that you do what is best for them. Love is...yeah..I love love.” 

THREE YEARS LATER- XIAOJUN

  He lit the candles, one on each end of the table. Getting lost in the flame was an option, but Xiaojun had many steps to take. He smoothed out the table cloth, the fine linen unwrinkling before his eyes. There was peace in watching everything come together, in the controlling things. 

“Perfect.” he whispered.

  Moving around the table, he fixed two of everything, even two napkins of the prettiest shade. The dishes resting on the table were cleaned so properly that not even a stray hair found its way there. The drinking glasses were sparkling. He could see his reflection in them both, his handsome face full of content.

“Whaaa, so perfect.”

 Xiaojun took a seat in one of the chairs. He felt the wood of the armrest, a seat fit for a king, and he smiled to himself. The dinner jacket he was wearing was a little oversized, but it was pressed in a way that made him feel happy.

 A man walked into the room and served food on both sides of the table, the tastiest feast money could buy. A bottle of wine was tipped into the glasses, not a drop wasted.

“Thank you.” Xiaojun said softly.

  After the waiter disappeared, he looked at the empty chair on the other side of the table. The steam from the food rose up high, and with it, Xiaojun’s expectations. He took one savory bite of food. After, he took a bow to the seat that would remain empty for the rest of his life.

THREE YEARS LATER- KUN

“Therapy is at five p.m, don't be late.” she said.

“I don’t know why we’re going to therapy if we’re not going to work on our marriage.” Kun said. “Please help me understand.”

  His ex-wife looked at him like she saw right through him. She was unbothered, not willing to waste a single emotion on the man before her. “It’s for the children.” was all she said before she got into her car and drove away.

  Kun sat by himself on his front porch swing for a long time. His new house was smaller and bought with his own money. There was only enough room for him, and for his children whenever they wanted to see their dad on the weekends. With the end of his marriage, everything else seemed to go, too. He no longer had a job after getting caught having an another affair with one of the real teaching assistants. He figured it was a fair bit of karma for all the bad things he’d done, but it still didn’t make it an easy pill to swallow.

 Occasionally, he would call your old phone number in hopes that you’d pick up, but you never did. It was probably for the best.

THREE YEARS LATER- YANGYANG

  The massive backpack on his back made him sway a little. He found it so funny that he couldn’t read any of the signs in the foreign language. He’d met a lot of people on his travels, and each one found it charming that he was so carefree and kind. All it took was a smile from YangYang and the citizens were cured.

“Where are you going?” a traveler he had just met asked. He was an older man, way older than YangYang’s grandfather. He’d decided to travel and live a bit after his wife died. He was everything YangYang aspired to be, maybe, without all of the death.

“I don’t know.” YangYang said. “I guess, wherever the wind takes me.”

“Well, that’s a start.” the man said. “The train is here. Best go on your way, then.”

 YangYang felt sad about having to say goodbye to the man. It was always like that over the last few years. He struck up conversations with so many good people, all of their stories worth telling, and then he’d have to say goodbye. Occasionally, they would exchange social media and whatever, but it never felt the same.

“This was nice.” YangYang said. “I really enjoyed hearing stories about your wife. She sounds like someone I would have liked.”

“You would have.” the old man said, his gaze on some distant memory. “Have safe travels and remember what I said, kid. Never stop. Take care.”

  YangYang accepted the man's clap on his shoulder, even though it made him sway even more. The train stopped before him, windows slipping by. In the reflection as it slowed down, he thought he saw someone that looked an awful lot like you behind him, but when he turned around, no one was there.

THREE YEARS LATER- HENDERY

  Since it was raining, the park was empty. Since he considered himself an idiot, he didn’t bring an umbrella. 

 Hendery approached the park bench like it was a bomb that could explode any minute. He looked around before taking off his jacket and stretching it across the surface to soak up some of the water. Then, he sat down and looked out over the grass. He blinked rain off his eyelashes and looked down at his lap. He did everything he could but check his phone. Over time, he looked up at the sky and let the water droplets hit his face. When he had done all the waiting he could do, he got up from the bench. 

“Well.” he said, looking down at his soaked jacket.

 Hendery picked it up from the bench and flung it over his shoulders. He took one last longing look at the bench for beginning to walk away. He was stopped by footsteps coming up from behind him. He turned around, placed the jacket back on the bench and sat down again. Hands on his knees, he stared straight ahead.

“You’re late.” he said.

  The person sat beside him on the bench, their hands on their knees, staring straight ahead. At the same time, the person and Hendery looked at each other. 

 There wasn’t an apology you could say that would fit the crime. Hendery knew that. He looked straight ahead again, but he moved one hand from his knee and used it to hold yours. Your clasped hands sat between you on the bench, solid and true.

 You looked at him before staring straight back ahead. Though it was pouring now, and your skin was slimy and your clothes wet all the way through, you didn’t seem to mind anymore.

[captaindodson]

Being High-School Sweethearts with Officer Slater would include...

A/N: I’ve been on a Bill Hader deep dive and I have fallen for our guy Officer Slater from Superbad. I will credit @fangirl-imagines​​ with most of the inspiration for this and future works involving our favourite officer. I got a bit carried away with this one so I hope you enjoy!

Paring: Officer Slater x F! Reader

Warnings: Fluffy and a bit of angst

Being High-School Sweet Hearts with Officer Slater would include...

- Now this is a little bit different then what you might think so just hold onto your hats.

- I feel you you guys would have met in your senior year through a group project in second period history. Your class wasn’t always so well behaved so your teacher ended up splitting everyone up into groups.

- You and Slater never directly interacted before but you have mutuals friends between each other. So when the teacher told everyone to stand up and meet in their groups it was still a bit awkward. You shuffled across the classroom to your partners who decided to sit in the back corner of the class sitting in silence while the rest of the class got organized.

-  The teacher comes around to hand out the instructions for the assignment, sliding a double sided piece of paper onto the desks in front of everyone. You, of course wanting to elevate the awkwardness goes ahead and introduces yourself to everyone and starts reading out the instructions on the paper. 

- While you read aloud Slater was sneaking glances at you out of the corner of his eye. What you do not realize is that Slater has been meaning to make any sort of move since he saw you in freshman year. 

- On the first day of school you were wearing beautiful baby blue jeans, a white, slight worn out MTV t-shirt, some tennis shoes, and maroon bag, and Slater thought he had seen heaven as he watched you get off the bus and towards the high school. He proceeded to see you everywhere in school (not that he would complain) whether it be in the library, school cafeteria, sitting on the bleachers as he walked by with his friends. Everyday for three years he would always look for you, even just for a second because it brightened his day. 

- He never approached you because he felt that you were out of his league. You were in the popular crowd but, you didn’t partake in sports or cheerleading or anything sterotypical popular kids would do. You were a floater,  a confident, kind, (did I say beautiful yet) floater that everyone wanted to be around. You had friends in just about every cliche there could be except his. 

- His friends always gave him shit (but also support) and tried to embarrass Slater in front of you knowing of his major crush. One time, during a school football game his friends spotted some empty seats on the far end of the bleachers but, also noticed you sitting in-between their walk to their seats. So, when they squeezed past you they jabbed Slater’s side to make him squirm to drop some of his popcorn on your lap. 

- His face became red with embarrassment but you just laugh lightly and say thank you for the snack. Slater just smiles nervously and pushes his friends to hurry up as they laughed loudly. 

- Or another time during the year when the schools drama club was doing their last performance before heading out of state for NYC for a competition, and Slater and his friends were going to go to shit on the drama kids. When they got to the theatre, you were siting by yourself next to the only empty seat, so they came up with a new plan. They told Slater to go find them some seats and when he spotted the only empty seat next to you and he panicked. He turned around to confront his friends but they all left smiling and laughing silently.

- He pondered whether he should leave or stay until he thought this was going to be the opportunity to finally introduce himself to you and have you fall in love with him. Except, as he walked closer, his throat starting closing up and he felt at a loss of words. So when he had to squeeze past you he squeaked out a quick, “excuse me” and sat down. The lights of the theatre dimmed and he proceeded to sit through 90 minutes of Hamlet and didn’t say a word to you. He basked in the scent of your perfume as the play continued on and after the final bows you left unaware of Slater next to you. 

- So after reading the assignment aloud the bell rings almost instantly causing everyone to collect their things and rush out the door. Slater watched you collect your bag and wave goodbye to the group to head off to your next class. Slater sat there for a minute deciding what to do, make his move or continue to admire you painfully from afar until you disappear from his life forever?

- He sighed in defeat and was willing to live in this hell for the rest of the school year. He sluggishly gets up, head hung in defeat, and heads out the door. What he didn’t expect was you leaning on some lockers outside the door and greeting him with with a shy smile before asking him if he wanted to eat lunch with you later to go over the assignment. (at first he didn’t say yes due to shyness, but then quickly changed his answer because he would have been kicking himself if he didn't). 

- You had noticed him staring, and to be quite frankly you’ve been watching him too. You had seen him in the library reading comic books in the farthest row, pushing up his glasses when he read, looking out the window in French class and seeing him and his friends messing around on the football field during free period. For a guy that most girls that you knew considered him scrawny and ‘unattractive’ you could not disagree any faster. You loved his floppy, shaggy hair, his blue eyes, his dimples, and most importantly his laugh. You saw how he was with his friends and you just wanted him to look at you. 

- So after that moment you two started spending more and more time together. You would stop hanging out with most of your friends to eat lunch with Slater in a stairwell or out of the bleachers. You two would read StarWars comic’s in the library while trying to prank his friends, you also had dates at the local theatre, and you were Slater’s first kiss. You both couldn’t be happier. Everything so pure, so innocent about young love, nothing could take that away. Except one thing, insecurity. 

- As graduation came closer Slater suddenly became more distant and cold. You tried to ask why but he just shut down and then out of the blue he broke up with you. You cried for days, wondering what you could’ve done different, what you did wrong,  but you were never given an answer. You left LA shortly after for NYC and Slater had to sit with his choice but eventually got over it.  

- It isn’t until 2007 rolls around when your back in LA working as a waitress in a bar called Baileys which so happens one night to have a special visitor. 

- When Slater was sitting at the bar where he met his ex-wife with Micheal’s and McLovin, having fun watching the security tape from earlier, a woman comes up next to him and leans up against the bar. 

- A much older women whose beauty from high school has not wavered is asking the bartender for the time and if it is okay for you to clock out of your shift and go home for the night. 

- Slater stares, almost frozen in time and watches your lips move in slow motion. Just like when he was staring at you all those years ago in that history class, the love he felt for you makes his heart beat a little bit faster and cheeks become a little bit warmer.

- You don’t even notice the staring as you’ve grown to ignore the stares of guys. You smile at your boss when he tells you can leave. You rip off your small apron and run around the bar into the backroom to get your stuff. When you leave the backroom with a thin coat over your shoulders and your purse in hand, out of the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of a familiar pair of ocean eyes hidden behind sliver glasses and a police uniform.

- Your breath hitches for a moment but you keep walking. You walk through the messy kitchen to leave out the back door which leads to the street where your car is parked. 

- Slater just stares at the kitchen door blankly, watching as his heart continued to beat faster as the memories of being told how he grabbed your heart and ran it over with his shitty car resurface. He knows he doesn’t deserve a second chance, but he can’t live knowing that you don’t know he’s sorry, so he dashes after you to the surprise of Micheal’s and Mclovin.  

- You just make it to the drivers side of your car when you hear a stern, “wait”. You pause and think for a minute. You haven’t done anything wrong so it is not like he can force you to stay here. You stab your key into your car door and just as your ready to turn it and open up your door this voice lets out a more masculine “hold it right there”.

- You halt your movements and slowly turn around the face the man you haven't seen since he broke your heart. Under the streetlight he is much taller than he was all those years ago and his boyish charms still haven't wavered even though he attempts to make himself look taller and more ‘manly’. 

- You speak before he can open his mouth to say anything else, ‘I don't know who you are, but can you please leave me alone.”

- Slater cringes slightly at your tone. He lets his body rest in a more comfortable posture and he puts his hands up in a defensive pose. 

- “ Okay, I deserve that. But before you leave let me say this, I left you because I got scared and I’m sorry. I thought you’d be better off without some loser attached to your arm when there are a millions of guys much better looking and more manly”. Your eyes soften at his claim as you approach him slowly and his arms drop to his side. 

- “Slater, You were the best thing in that shitty high school. I only left because I could not live in a place where you existed because I would be reminded of the pain of you not being in my life. I loved you ever since I met you, and I never stopped. Why didn’t you talk to me Slater?” You say with pleading eyes. 

“I didn't know how to. Ever since my first wife turned out to be a whore I realized that I could never love anyone again because I didn’t deserve to be loved. When I spotted you inside, it felt like my heart was about the burst. When you left for NYC I thought I got over you, but I never did”. 

- Slater’s breath slows as you get closer, he can start to feel the heat radiating off your body. He looks at you with the same awe, admiration, and love he did all those years ago. Blue eyes twinkling under the shine of the streetlight through his sliver glasses. 

- Slater breaks the silence with, “You can hate me for the rest of your life, just know that I’m sorry-”.

- But before Slater can get your name through his lips you lean up without warning to plant a soft kiss on his which he gladly returns.

- “Take notes Mclovin, Slater is showing you how to kiss a lady.” you both break apart and see Micheal’s, smirk on his face and Mclovin standing along side him looking confused. 

- Slater straightens up with his shoulders with a deep cough trying to appear composed, but the pink tint on his cheeks say otherwise. You ignore the new presence and you drag your hand over his uniformed shoulder to the back of his soft hair where you gentle push his head to meet your lips once more. 

[wolveria]

Unable to perceive the shape of you - Ch. 3

Pairing: Connor x f!Reader x Nines

Summary: After breaking the RK twins out of the MarineLife facility, you were determined to return them to the ocean before getting caught by your employer.

What you hadn’t counted on were the brothers deciding you belonged to them.

Prompt: Mermay! (Shape of Water/Splash AU)

Word Count: 3k

AO3

Getting the RK brothers out of MarineLife was surprisingly simple, especially when the head of security was in charge that night, a particular rat bastard who happened to have an unfortunate interest in you.

It was simple to strike up a conversation with Gavin, standing outside on the loading platform on his smoke break. You succeeded in drawing his attention away from the back door, allowing the twins to walk through and hide in the shadows until you could make your own escape.

What wasn’t simple was actually executing that escape, as you were now trapped politely declining Gavin’s pushy advances.

“Come on,” he said, leaning an arm against the wall and effectively blocking the path to the parking lot. The halogen lights hanging on the outside of the lab highlighted the scar on his nose, giving him an especially sinister look that evening. “Go out with me, just for one night. I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

Cringing internally at his smarmy smirk, you tried to smile as you waved away the cigarette smoke in your face. You didn’t know why the head of security took the graveyard shift when he could relegate it to someone else, and the implications had always set you on edge. It was no secret he got the job because his half-brother was the founder of the company, and everyone despised him, even his own brother.

Most nights you specifically waited to leave until he was off his smoke break and wouldn’t catch you outside, but now that you had his attention you wondered how badly it would backfire.

“No, thanks. I’m fine.”

He screwed up his nose and pulled in another lungful of smoke.

“What, you got a boyfriend or somethin’?”

You opened your mouth to answer no, but hesitated a fraction of a second too long. Not knowing why your mind had immediately gone to the two brothers, you decided a different answer might be more useful here.

“Actually,” you finally said. “I do.”

Gavin scoffed and rolled his eyes as he flicked the ashes off his cigarette.

“Yeah, sure.”

“It’s true,” you insisted, folding your arms across your chest. A protective gesture against his lingering, unwanted gaze. “He’s waiting for me at home.”

“Then why haven’t I ever heard of him?”

You clutched your arms tighter as the anger finally slipped through.

“Because it’s none of your goddamn business, Gavin.”

Heart thudding and each breath shaking, you took advantage of his stunned expression to walk past him, waiting for him to say something in response.

He never did.

Before you went to the first row of cars where you’d watched Connor and Nines ducked down, you checked over your shoulder. Gavin was still outside staring in your direction, but at least he wasn’t following.

When you were out of sight, you whispered Connor’s name and nearly jumped out of your skin as both brothers slipped out from the shadows between two vehicles. For having lived all of their lives in water, they sure knew how to be silent on land.

You unlocked your old car and slipped inside, making sure they both had their seatbelts secure before you drove from the lot. Your hands were still shaking and you wished you had an automated car instead of the ancient Subaru that was about as old as you were.

The drive from Belle Isle to your apartment was silent and strange. You didn’t know what to say to the twins, and they didn’t say anything in return. At least, out loud. You’d always had the suspicion they could communicate in some way humans couldn’t understand, and now you believed it when out of the corner of your eye you saw Connor slightly move in the passenger seat. Head tilted and slightly angled toward the back seat where Nines resided.

But not a word was said aloud, so you kept quiet as well.

Packing up what you wanted to take with you was depressingly easy and quick. There wasn’t much, and once you had a duffel bag stuffed full of clothes and toiletries, you were basically ready to leave your life behind. There was nothing to keep you there. Nothing you would miss or couldn’t live without.

You weren’t sure where you were going yet. You plotted into your GPS the most direct route to the east coast. The fastest way would be to cut through Canada across the lakes, but even if you managed to smuggle the brothers across the border, the chance you would be caught reentering the country a few hours later in order to reach the ocean were too high.

So you settled for heading south toward Cleveland and making it to the Atlantic within a day. Possibly two, if you ran into problems.

You wanted to drive as long as you could, but four hours after you’d broken the twins out of the facility, you were barely able to keep your eyes open and your legs were killing you. Disappointed with your lack of progress, but not wanting to fall asleep at the wheel, you stopped in Cleveland and paid for a cheap hotel room with cash.

You were so tired that you didn’t think about the fact you’d rented one room, with one bed. You decided you didn’t care. The drive and the strange night had taken a toll, and by the time you’d gone into the bathroom to change into a loose shirt and sleeping shorts, you were willing to sleep on the floor just to get some rest.

Exhaustion made you bold; you tucked into the middle of the bed and patted the covers next to you. Connor got the idea first, and shed his shirt and pants quickly, giving you barely any time to choke out, “Connor, please keep your underwear on.”

He tilted his head and pulled his fingers away from the waistband of his boxer-briefs. It was bad enough he was wearing next to nothing as he crawled under the covers, but you didn’t have the heart to tell him to put his jeans back on. Connor had picked them out himself when you’d stopped at a thrift store before leaving Detroit, and they fit him a little too well.

For a guy who’d never had legs before, she sure had them now.

“Nines.” He hadn’t moved from his spot near the door, frozen as if ready to run. You patted the mattress on the other side of you, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible. As if you could ever really pose a threat to him. “You need sleep. Come and lie down.”

He still looked like he might flee out the door, the yellow glow of his armband glowing from underneath the sleeve of his shirt. They’d both had to continue wearing hoodies to cover the bright bands, which you hoped wouldn’t attract attention as it was the beginning of summer and already sweltering hot during the day.

Nines eventually followed your suggestion, though much more reluctantly than his brother, and pulled off his hoodie but left on his own pair of jeans and shirt.

“You’re going to overheat,” Connor told him, a disapproving tilt to his mouth. “You really should remove your clothing.”

“Thank you for your opinion, brother,” he replied, almost petulant, and you had to press your lips together to keep from smiling.

Head already on the pillow, you closed your eyes as you faced Connor. You would have preferred to lie on your back, but there simply wasn’t enough room on the Queen-sized bed when shared with two larger bodies.

When you felt the mattress dip behind you, you were forced to move closer to Connor, your knees and feet brushing together. You made sure to keep your eyes shut tight; it was bad enough you could feel his warm breath on your face, but you didn’t think you would survive seeing those warm, brown eyes up close.

Despite his larger frame, Nines somehow managed to not touch you at all. You tried not to be disappointed, because that would have been unreasonable and wrong. Fortunately, as soon as Connor reached back and turned off the lamp, you were already falling into a deep sleep.

When you opened your eyes again, you were confused for several reasons.

One, the room was still dark apart from a faint, soothing blue from the armbands of the sleeping brothers.

Two, you were caged in on both sides by warm, bare skin. Extremely warm skin, especially from your front.

You opened your eyes and carefully looked down, seeing the tangle of limbs wrapped around you. It took you a moment to realize both brothers had their arms wrapped around you. Nines was pressed against your back while Connor had you tucked against his chest.

Your mouth was dry as sand as your heart pounded loudly in your ears. You could still hear their soft breathing, informing you they were asleep, which you were grateful for. You had to find a way to deal with the very obvious erections: one against your stomach while the other was pressed against your ass. Nines had definitely removed his clothes during the night, and you couldn’t tell if he even had underwear on.

Shutting your eyes tight, you tried to tamp down the heat in your lower gut and the sudden wetness between your legs. Panic warred with your arousal. It was wrong, you shouldn’t feel this way about them, but your body had decided it didn’t care that they were human.

Just that they were close, their unique scent of clean salt filling your senses, their warm bodies pressed against you.

Still… should they be this warm?

You put your fingertips against Connor’s arm with a frown. His skin was burning hot, and despite the face you were sweating through your clothes, neither of them seemed to be damp at all. You couldn’t find a single drop of sweat under your fingers, just an expanse of hot, dry skin.

Concern outweighing your embarrassment, you gently shook Connor by the shoulder and whispered, “Connor, can you hear me?”

The sharp breath didn’t come from in front of you, but from over your shoulder, and after a few seconds Nines quickly removed his arms and legs from around you.

He said your name in a question, voice hoarse, and you looked over your shoulder.

“It’s Connor,” you told him. “He’s really warm.”

“Shit.”

Nines was out of the bed in an instant; you were able to watch his progress across the room to the light switch by the yellow glow of his armband. When he turned the light on and moved to Connor’s side and placed a hand on the back of his neck, the armband flashed red before returning to yellow.

“He’s dehydrated,” Nines said grimly. “We both are.”

In the glow of the bedside lamp you were able to see he was correct. All along both of their shoulders and cheeks was bluish skin, as if they’d been badly bruised. You even thought you could see it begin to peel.

“Connor, wake up,” his brother said, gently shaking him by the shoulder.

Connor groaned and clung to you tighter, pulling you flat against his chest and almost squeezing the breath out of you.

Nines frowned and grabbed Connor’s wrists, forcing his arms apart long enough for you to escape their reach.

He rolled Connor onto his back and studied his features, frowning further. Nines gently tapped him on the cheek, and when he didn’t get a response, he slapped him.

“Wake up, Connor!”

“Ow!” Connor hissed, glaring up at his brother through slitted eyes. “What was that for!”

“To wake you,” Nines responded, eyes hooded and unimpressed. “Now, get up before I do it again.”

Without waiting for a response, Nines grabbed him by the arm and forced him out of bed, propping Connor up by using his shoulder for support. Nines grit his teeth and said, “Help me get him to the bathroom.”

“I’m fine,” Connor insisted, but you listened to Nines and opened the bathroom door ahead of them. You flipped on the switch to reveal the sad state of it, faded tiles and peeling wallpaper, and then moved out again because there wouldn’t be enough room for the three of you.

“You’re not fine. You’re suffering from desiccation sickness.” Nines removed Connor’s arm from around his shoulder, turned him around, and half-pushed, half-carried him down into the bathtub.

“Hey!—“

Connor let out an undignified squawk when Nines turned on the shower full-blast, hitting Connor in the face with it.

You let out a yelp and sprang out of the way just in time. Connor’s pale, freckled legs had sprouted into a powerful grey tail that slapped against the floor in a tantrum.

As the water drenched his face and chest, Connor went almost completely limp, tilting his head back and sighing as his yellow armband went to a calm blue.

You just stood there, unable to stop staring at the rubbery tail and the grey fin sticking out from his back. It had been the first time since you’d seen their ceta features since leaving the MarineLife lab.

Nines turned off the shower and stared down at his brother with his arms folded across his chest.

“Better?”

“Yeah,” Connor said, a slight shake in his voice. “Thanks.”

Nines hummed in acknowledgement and leaned down, placing the back of his hand against Connor’s forehead.

“Still too warm,” the larger brother said, frowning unhappily. “I fear the hormone injections have made it worse for you. Even so, we both need to be fully submerged, and for longer than a few minutes. The bath won’t be large enough for even one of us.”

It was true, Connor barely fit in the tub sitting in it sideways. There was no way he would be able to get his entire lower body completely underwater.

“What about the motel pool?”

They both turned to look at you, and you flushed under the scrutiny. It would have been better one of them hadn’t been in his underwear and the other was now technically naked.

“It should be open for the summer. I know it’s chlorinated, but so were the pools back at the lab. The only issue is it’s not saltwater, so I’m not sure how well you can survive in—“

“It’ll do for now,” Nines interrupted. He blinked and in a gentler tone said, “Thank you for the suggestion.”

“Sure,” you said, shrugging and turning away so they couldn’t see the flush on your face.

“We have to remove the armbands first,” Connor insisted. You were forced to look away a second time when you saw patches of grey, rubbery skin disappear, replaced by smooth, human flesh. His underwear was a tattered band around his waist, and there was nothing to cover him.

You quickly grabbed a towel and handed it in his direction all while keeping your head turned away. “How do we, uh, remove them?”

“I imagine we’ll just have to tear them out,” Nines said. “Whatever damage is caused will heal in the water.”

You glanced back, saw Connor had wrapped the towel around his waist, and breathed in relief. He sat on the edge of the tub, and when Nines also straddled the edge of the tub to take his brother’s arm in his hand to examine the glowing band, your chest tightened.

“Are… are you sure this is a good idea?” you stammered. “It sounds… risky.”

“We don’t have any choice,” Connor said. His brown eyes were soft, his damp hair clinging to his skin in a way that was unfairly sexy. “It’ll be all right. The damage won’t be permanent.”

You watched, stiff and motionless, as Nines gripped the top edge of the armband and tore downwards.

Connor flinched and gripped the edge of the tub, shoulders hunched as blue blood trickled down his arm. Like some other sea creatures, they had hemocyanin in their blood, giving it that particular shade.

Nines frown was concentrated and his brows furrowed as he slowly tugged the armband a centimeter at a time. Thin filaments connected Connor’s skin and the band, the strands ending in electrodes buried in the muscle.

More blood trickled down his arm with each tug and you felt the wooziness return, the blood rushing from your head. You sat down on the closed toilet lid before you could collapse, but said nothing so you wouldn’t distract Nines.

He glanced up at you anyway, frowning further.

“You don’t have to stay for this,” Connor said, giving you a shaky smile.

“N-no, I’m fine. I’m not going to leave you.”

Nines gave a soft snort as if he found your statement amusing.

“If you want to be helpful, you can go out and purchase some more food. We’re going to need it after this.”

You looked away, a sharp pain tugging in your chest. Connor shot him an irritated look; the kind that said he was was going to start a fight with his brother. You’d seen that expression on Connor’s face just before he snapped and hissed at the larger ceta, though Nines had usually ignored him.

Despite Nines’ track record with biting and maiming personnel, he’d never hurt Connor once. You knew he was in good hands now, and Nines would do everything he could to look out for him.

“Good idea,” you said, standing up and putting on a smile for Connor’s sake. “I’ll go see what’s open and grab us some food.”

Connor’s eyes took on the same puppy dog look they always did when you had to leave after your stolen swimming sessions.

You didn’t want to leave him either, not like this when he was so obviously in pain and discomfort, but you weren’t any use to them pacing around and wringing your hands. It was better to actually do something helpful, like you’d promised.

“I’ll have my phone in case you need me.” Just before leaving Detroit, you’d tossed your old phone and bought three disposables, one for each of you in case you got separated. You’d even made sure they were waterproof, in case the twins had to make an escape in the nearest waterway.

“We won’t need it,” Nines said, once again dismissive as he concentrated on Connor’s arm.

Before Connor could argue, which he clearly wanted to from the indignation on his face, you slipped out of the bathroom, got dressed, and left the motel room. Clutching your room key and walking down to your car, able to clear your head without the sight and smell of the strange, copper-scented blood, you tried not to take Nines’ tone personally. Maybe he really didn’t like you, and you’d misinterpreted all the little signs and gestures as something more than they were.

The unhelpful part of your brain pulled up the memory of being pressed between them, wrapped up in their arms, and you suppressed it immediately. It didn’t mean anything, and you had more important things to focus on than pathetic, wishful thinking.

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[reveriequill-rai]

New Story!--Midnight Coma

A/N: This is an older story written during my newspaper club last year shortly before the pandemic. 

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My parents always said I was a resilient child. 

So they weren’t surprised when I took a bowling ball to the head when a fight broke out at our local arcade a couple of months ago--and seemed to be just fine, save for the massive bruise that formed on my head. 

I did still end up in the hospital for about a week, but other than that I was fine. I still felt lightheaded at times, and I passed out quite a bit, so my parents decided to homeschool me to limit the risk of my head trauma getting worse. There were too many things at school that would pose as a hazard to me...especially the stairs. 

Being an only child, spending a lot of time at home was…rather boring. Sure, there were the huge stacks of RPGs and fighting games I got for Christmas, but the bright lights and flashing would probably make my frequent headaches even worse. So I mostly took to reading mystery novels and drawing when I wasn’t doing schoolwork. It was a welcome distraction from the previous night’s horrible dreams and sleep paralysis. 

Getting a good night’s rest was nearly impossible nowadays; I was tormented endlessly by sleep paralysis and recurring dreams. I couldn’t go a single night without dealing with either of them, or both. Some nights, I’d find myself frozen in bed, trying to force myself to move with no avail. I couldn’t scream, I couldn’t cry out for help; I just struggled endlessly to free myself from whatever was holding me down, feeling the warm tears falling down my face as I wept in silence. Sometimes my sleep paralysis lasted for over an hour. Before my parents homeschooled me, I ended up missing the bus because of it. 

Other nights, I actually could move...and I kind of had to. I’d find myself in that same dark alleyway, knowing what was to come and dreading it every time. I would walk around aimlessly, waiting, until he finally showed up. 

Those heavy footsteps, the chill in the air that my dream tormentor always carried with him. Those black, tattered clothes, his black gloves, his huge hood that held an empty void where his face was supposed to be. He would just stay there for about a minute or so—I counted—before bursting into a sprint towards me. I couldn’t fight him, I couldn’t reason with him, all I could do was run as fast as I could and scream, hoping some dream god could hear me. This faceless killer always carried with him a razor edged knife that was curved just slightly, and though I’ve yet to feel it pierce my skin, just thinking about how it would feel sent shivers down my spine. 

When I did eventually wake up, I found myself in tears. I just wanted it to be over. I just wanted to go to sleep. Whenever I asked my parents for help, they just told me to “look up a solution, ”or “just try to sleep.”

And I did.

I always did.

I never stopped trying.

And I never stopped failing.

But I had enough. There had to be something I could do. It had gotten so bad to the point where I started seeing him at the foot of my bed for split seconds at a time, trying to stab me, until I blinked or screamed or looked away. 

Fortunately, I did have one person to confide in: my good friend Quinn, who claimed to be a witch. One morning, after yet another run-in with the shadowy killer, I sent him a text:

“Can you come over?” 

Immediately, I saw that he read my message. And so I waited. Two minutes later, I heard a knocking on my window. I turned to see the wild-haired, freckled witch boy stumbling through the window as I opened it, landing on my floor.

“I see you’ve called on my services once again,” the witch boy said, putting his hat on as he sat cross-legged on the floor.

I nodded. “It’s gotten worse. He’s started showing up in real life, too.” 

“Like, you’ve seen him around?” Quinn asked. 

“No. He’s shown up right beside my bed, sometimes even stabbing me.” 

“Well, not really stabbing you, now, right?” 

“No…at least I don’t think so.” My hand instinctively moved toward my abdomen, where I would often find the blade just inches from me before I woke up. “But during these nights, when I woke up…I could feel a slight stinging sensation right here.” I gestured toward my abdomen. “I...also found a bruise there earlier today.”

“How strange…” Quinn said. “I suppose he’s finally caught up to you.” 

“Caught up to me? How?” I asked, worried.

He gave me a solemn smile. 

“It’s as I suspected. He’s a dream demon.” He opened his purse and flipped open to a page in his homemade spell book, then showed it to me. “Creatures of the night that only attack a victim while they’re sleeping. Yours just happened to be strong enough to reach the waking world…and I can only think of a few that can do that.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. Did I really have a dream demon?

“Is it gonna hurt me?” I asked. 

“Well, considering that little bruise…” Quinn sucked in his breath. 

“...there has to be some way to get rid of it. Right?” 

“Yeah. But you’re not gonna like it. Fighting a dream demon requires one to arm themselves mentally, and, to an extent, physically. The way I see it, you’re at an advantage and disadvantage simultaneously. Your greatest weakness is your greatest strength. And you may fear it, but the truth is, you will have to accept it eventually. Especially in a case like this, you don’t have much of a choice.”

I felt my face contort into an expression of confusion. As always, Quinn’s riddles had caught me off guard. I read his own expression, hoping he would give me some kind of clue, but that slight smile stayed on his face. 

Finally, I had come to realize what he meant. Quinn and I had talked for so long that I was somewhat accustomed to the kind of magic that he gets up to. I was then, at least, familiar with the “solution” he had in mind.   

Astral projection…

Quinn first told me about it a little while ago. I won’t lie, the ability to project one’s soul out of their body sounded awesome...except it required the body being completely still in order to pull it off. 

In other words, I would have to enter sleep paralysis. 

In other words, I had to do the exact thing that led me straight to my supposed dream demon. 

“If you’re suggesting what I think you’re suggesting…” I said, “Then absolutely not. Astral projection is way too risky for me. Look what damage he’s done to me already! I might as well just slap a sign on me that says ‘hey! I’m helpless! Come kill me!’ This plan is completely counterproductive! Are you out of your mind?!” 

Quinn let out an exasperated sigh. 

“Oh come on,” he said. “I promise you, it won’t be so bad. You just have to trust me. Besides, I’ve been doing this longer than you have. Your whole sleep paralysis problem is going to make astral projection a lot easier. Like I said--your greatest weakness is your greatest strength.”

It was my turn to let out a shaky sigh, one heavy with anxiety. 

“Very well.” I sat on the floor in front of him, legs crossed, ready to listen, like a kindergartener. “What do I need to do?” 

“Finally come to your senses, hm?” Quinn gave me another sly smile. “Lovely. Now, listen closely. I don’t have much time, so I can only say this once. The instructions are as follows...”

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Quinn’s instructions stuck with me that whole night.

I was to lay completely still and ignore any itching or weird sensations. It took a bit of time, and the itching and weird sensations were agonizing, but eventually I entered sleep paralysis. 

I thought about moving my right hand, but kept it still. Then I moved up my arm, willing myself to move it up and fight against the physical restrictions I had placed on it. This went on for several, unsuccessful minutes, until finally…I felt my arm move, as if it actually was. But my physical arm lay still. Then, I moved on to my left hand and repeated the process. Then my head, both legs, and gradually…I lifted myself up from my bed, leaving my body behind. 

For a moment, it felt like I was still in bed, then I looked back—or down, rather—to find myself lying in bed, eyes shut. It reminded me all too much of an open casket funeral, and my stomach dropped just looking at me.

My stomach dropped further when I realized I was floating.

The very air around me felt like an ocean, and I frantically flailed around trying to find any sort of ground. When I tried to hang onto the edge of my bed, my hand phased right through. 

Just fly over to the ground! I thought to myself. This should be easy!

But it wasn’t. The weightlessness was jarring; I flailed around desperately in the darkness looking for something to cling onto. It didn’t help that I felt so vulnerable without the fleshy cocoon that was my body. The sensation of someone—something—trying to pull me away, was ceaseless. The room around me felt larger as I continued my desperate flailing, like any sort of anchor I could use—my bookshelves, the foot of my bed, my chair, the windowsill—just got further and further away. 

I kicked my legs out, trying to force my body to go upright, until I finally managed to jerk myself upright. Confident in my position, I landed my feet on the ground, praying I wouldn’t slip under the floor. 

To my surprise, my feet landed on the floor without slipping through. 

I didn’t begin to question how I managed to stay on the second floor; I was too busy reeling from the probably-too-long process of trying to steady myself. Now all I had to do was wait and see if that faceless terror decided to come for me again. 

And so I waited.

And waited. 

It had been several minutes with nothing happening. Surely some outside force was causing my sleep paralysis? Where was it? If I had managed to pull off a feat like, oh, I dunno, forcing my spirit out of my body, then nothing was impossible at this point…

Right? 

Finally, I gave up and decided that I was probably better off getting myself out of this state of paralysis. I stood on the edge of the bed, right where my feet were, turned around, and fell back on top of my body, hoping to be jolted awake by the sudden return of my spirit—

And fell through the bed instead, stopping myself just in time before I fell through the first floor, too. I looked around and, after taking a minute to process everything in the dark, came to the conclusion that I was in my living room. Annoyed, I drifted back towards my staircase, intending to go back and try again—when I felt something grab me as I turned the corner. I was pulled back into the living room, and found myself face-to-face with a familiar figure…

…the same black-clad, faceless, knife-wielding killer from my dreams. 

You know how some people say that if you stare into the void long enough, the void stares back at you? Well, this void smiled at me, a cruel, triumphant smile that only grew as it saw the absolute terror on my face as I felt the cold steel against my neck; as if it could just feel the overwhelming despair within me that only continued to eat at any hope of me getting out of this situation alive. 

“Who...are you?” I whimpered. “What the hell do you want from me?”

My dream demon gave no response. It didn’t do anything, in fact. As panicked as I was, I started to at least regain my senses when I noticed that this thing was almost completely still. It didn’t even look like it was breathing. 

Was it actually frozen? Or was it toying with me?

Either way, I wouldn’t let this be the end. 

One last chase, I decided. One last chase. I’ve already outran it several times. What was one more?

I immediately broke off into a sprint, pushing my hooded tormentor’s arm that held the knife away as I stumbled on my way out the door. Being incorporeal, I at least had the advantage of being able to phase through the locked door instead of opening it. The feeling of phasing through solid was much more jarring than I could handle, and I continued to stumble a bit as I ran far, far away from the house. I could barely feel my transparent feet hitting the concrete, or the tree branch that would’ve smacked me right in the face after I ran into it. I couldn’t even feel the wind on my face, though I’m not sure if this came from being too overwhelmed with terror or a side effect of being incorporeal. 

The only thing I did feel, however, was the constant, incessant dread of my accursed stalker barely even a foot away from me. I didn’t want to turn around, I begged myself not to look, trying and failing to comfort myself with the lie that the killer wasn’t as close as I thought it was, there was no way, no human can run that fast. The even more obvious lie, of course, was that this was another dream, and even if it does catch up and strike me, I would wake up back in my bed, back in my body.

Finally, I caved and turned around, only to find myself facing that sinister void once more. I screamed, tripping and collapsing to the floor face-down. I turned back up to face my attacker, who was innocently holding its knife behind its back--no, that wasn’t a knife anymore, I noted. It had somehow grown longer than the razor-edged knife it had before, and I could now see the end of the blade from behind the void-faced freak’s back. It had now surpassed the length of a dagger, or maybe just bordering on the edge of being the length of a shortsword. 

I could only crawl away from my tormentor as I struggled to stand back up. As I pushed myself off the ground and back on my feet, my stomach dropped when I realized my feet were no longer touching the floor. Though I tried desperately to get myself back on the ground, remembering how jarring the feeling of floating had been the first time, I realized that my would-be killer couldn’t possibly be far, and I should take advantage of this new ability. I willed myself forward, pushing through the air like it was an ocean, and then did the same going upwards, up past a nearby three-story house. 

I was flying, I realized with awe and wonder, which was quickly cut short when I saw my tormentor climbing up the same house. Part of me wanted to warn the neighbors inside, but every other bit of me just wanted to make sure I actually survived this nightmare. 

I flew back to my house, phasing through trees and powerlines and a bit of scaffolding, until at last I nearly missed my own home. Spotting my room on the second story, I phased through the window and back into my bedroom. It was still dark in my room, but I made out the shape of a body in the darkness. 

But...it wasn’t my body. 

At least, I didn’t think it was. It looked too weak; some bits of hair had fallen out, I looked like I lost a noticeable amount of weight, and when I looked closer at my face, it didn’t look like me at all. I looked much more pale, my lips were extremely dry, and I could make out the color of an old and large bruise that covered over a third of my forehead. Suddenly, I felt my stomach drop when I realized what was so familiar about how my body looked.

I looked dead.

That’s when I felt a cold breeze come in through the same window, and turned around to find my void-faced, black-clad killer raising a giant onyx scythe towards me. I found myself unable to move, unable to fly away. I just stood there, paralyzed with terror, looking dead in the eyes at the same monster that faced every soul at the end of their lives, no matter how much they begged for mercy.

Its giant scythe, its black clothing…this wasn’t a demon, was it? 

No. It was something worse. People dealt with this thing more frequently than demons, yet this walking void carried with it more terror, more despair, more ruin than any demonic creature could even dream of. My parents always said I was a resilient child, yet my resolve shattered in the face of this monster. I stood in front of it, weeping silently.

“Please,” I begged. And I continued to beg, begging it to let me hold on, like I’ve been doing for so long, begging it to please not take me away.

But it didn’t listen. It never listened. My “resilience” may have made me feel special, but right now I was no different from everyone else—standing in front of this monster, pleading for their lives, never receiving an answer.

And so, like everyone else, all I did was stand there as its onyx scythe tore through my soul, letting out one final silent scream as I felt my very being, and the remnants of my resolve, fall apart. 

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