#the stress i had to go through for that header....yup

[ladydorian05]

A Home for Broken Hearts ~ Chapter 2

Co-written with @made-ofmemories (she also made the header)

What's this!? Two chapters in one day!?

Yup, two chapters in one day!

You can expect one chapter per week, we'll most likely be posting on Saturdays. And last but not least, we'd love to read what you think of this fic! ❤️ Enjoy!! :D

Word count: 2,810

Master Post

AO3

Chapter 2: Of broken hearts and healing ideas

Robin thinks she’s stealthy, sneaking into Steve’s room, but she might just be the clumsiest person in the entire city and she is not as quiet as she thinks she is, creeping around the admittedly cluttered space. He wakes the minute she opens the door. 

“Rise and shine, Stevie!” She sounds far too chipper, ripping the curtains open and sending him burrowing under the covers when the sunlight hits his squinting eyes. 

“Go away, Robin.” His voice is muffled by the comforter bunched up around his face. It’s too early, his head is pounding and he would very much like to go back to sleep. 

“Not until you tell me what happened last night.” 

He must have woken her when he stumbled into the apartment last night. He doesn’t remember much after passing the threshold, but he must have been loud because Robin sleeps like the dead.

The bed dips as she flops down beside him. He lets out a sigh then rolls over to face her. She’ll drag it out of him one way or another, she always does. Steve had never believed in soulmates, until he met Robin and it was like staring at a part of himself that he hadn’t even known was missing. 

Steve peeks his head out from beneath the blanket and sees Robin’s blue eyes staring back at him expectedly. Laying like this reminds him of the sleepovers they’d have as teenagers, staying up too late talking about everything and nothing. He misses those days, back when all they had to worry about were highschool grades and their shitty part time jobs at the ice cream parlor in the mall where they met.

“I had a date with Heidi. Well, I thought it was a date, turns out she only invited me there to dump me.” He contemplates hiding under the comforter again when he sees the expression on Robin’s face morph into sadness, “Please don’t look at me like that. I’m fine, Robs.”

“Sure you are,” she says, but her tone doesn’t match her words. Damn her and that ability she has to see through every last one of his lies. They do this a lot, Steve pretending he’s unaffected by everything even though they both know he’s got a much bigger heart than he lets on, “So where were you until 3am?”

“Some dive bar downtown.”

“Alone?”

“Alone.”

“How did you get home?” There’s concern creeping into her voice now and he hasn’t even gotten to the best, or maybe worst depending on the point of view, part of his story.

“Some random guy from the bar gave me a ride in his van.” He deadpans.

“What?”

“Yeah, we actually stopped at this- I guess you could call it a construction site?” Steve contemplates without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” 

“Will it make you feel better if I say I am?”

“Oh my god. How have you even survived this long?” Robin asks, tangling one of her hands in her hair the way she always does when she’s stressed. She’s taking it better than he expected in all honesty. She’s always been a bit of a worrier. 

“Dumb luck mostly.” He shrugs the shoulder he isn’t lying on, “Now that we’ve established that I’m an idiot, can I please go back to sleep?”

“No. You’re going to drink a glass of water, the biggest one we have. Then we’re going out for lunch and I want to know more about van guy.”

“Lunch? What time is it?” It feels early, too early, not time for lunch. Though that could be down to his pounding headache and the fact he didn’t go to sleep until long after 3am.

“12:30.” He feels the mattress shift again, this time when Robin gets up. She grabs his discarded shirt from the floor and it hits him in the face a second later, “Get dressed I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

“I hate you,” He says into his pillow, there’s no venom behind it. He looks up just in time to watch her flipping him off as she leaves. 

Robin is sitting on one of the counter tops when he wanders into the kitchen 10 minutes later despite the perfectly good chairs a few feet to her left. She tosses a bottle of tylenol at him, he catches it and mumbles his thanks as he grabs an empty glass from the side of the sink.

Robin’s socked foot pushes into the soft flesh of his side, “That’s not the big one and you know it.” He sets the glass back down and pulls out another from the cupboard, holding it up so she can see it and awaiting her nod of approval before he fills it.

“My car is still at the bar, so you’ll have to drive,” He explains to her, suddenly very thankful for all those driving lessons he gave her over the years. They can pick his car up later, he doesn’t think he’s in any fit state to be driving right now anyway.

“Alright, you ready to go?” She asks once he’s shaken 2 pills from the bottle and swallowed them with a gulp of water.

“Yeah,” He pats the back pocket of his jeans and frowns when he finds it empty, “let me just grab my wallet.” 

He finds his keys on the table by his bedside where he set them after stumbling in earlier that morning, he was sure he’d dumped his wallet there with them but it’s not there. There’s no sign of it after he’s turned the rest of his room upside down either leaving him scratching his head as he sits amidst the pile of laundry he’s dragged out from the basket under the assumption he must have left it in a pocket somewhere. 

“Have you found it yet?” Robin calls. He’d tasked her with searching the couch in case it had somehow ended up wedged between the cushions, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“No.” He sticks his head out of his room to check up on her progress.

“I’m starving,” She whines, “let's just go. I’ll pay. We can tear the place apart looking for it later.” 

“Just, let me check my room once more then we can go I swear.”

There’s a knock at the front door and Steve’s pretty sure that’s the only reason she doesn’t argue with him.

“Make it quick, Harrington!” She calls and he darts back into his room whilst she goes to deal with whoever is knocking at their door on a Saturday afternoon. They hadn’t been expecting company, at least none that he was aware of.

He abandons his laundry theory and turns instead to rifling through his drawers. It’s got to be in here somewhere. He’s onto the second drawer when he hears Robin’s voice ringing through the apartment.

“Hey, Stevie! I found your wallet.” 

She’s holding the front door open, a smirk on her face as she watches him come barreling out of his room then freeze in his tracks when he sees none other than Eddie standing in the doorway holding up what appears to be Steve’s wallet. 

He’s wearing an outfit similar to the one from the previous night, only this time there’s a leather jacket over his t-shirt and there’s a different yet still unfamiliar logo on the front of it. The only major difference in his appearance is his hair, it’s untied today, falling in loose curls down to his shoulders.

“Figured you might be missing this.” He’s smiling as he holds out the Wallet in Steve’s direction, “Found it under the passenger seat this morning.”

“Thanks, man, I appreciate it.” 

He tucks the wallet into his pocket and thinks that’ll be the end of it, but Eddie lingers, twirling one of his rings around his index finger. Steve doesn’t know him well enough to tell whether it’s a nervous habit or just something he does.

“There’s actually something I wanted to show you,” Eddie says, “if you’re not busy.”

“We were just heading out to get lunch.” Steve explains, jabbing his thumb in the direction of Robin.

“Oh Lunch can wait, I want to see this.”

“What happened to ‘I’m starving, Steve, I’m going to waste away if we don’t get lunch within the next 10 seconds, Steve’.” 

It’s a poor imitation of Robin’s voice, one that has her curling her lip at him in disgust. It makes Eddie chuckle though, a sound Steve finds himself really liking, which is maybe a little concerning given the fact they’ve known each other for less than 24hrs. That’s an issue for future Steve to unpack. 

“Come on, what’re you waiting for?!” She throws both of her hands up in frustration, the keys in her hand jangling with the movement. She’s already halfway down the hallway while Steve and Eddie haven’t moved.

Steve and Robin take her car, a modern, bright yellow vw beetle that she had started saving for since before she even knew how to drive, and Eddie leads the way in his van. 

Hellfire looks pretty much the same as Steve’s slightly fuzzy memory of it. There’s a little sunlight streaming through the cracks in some of the window coverings and a lot more people milling around, but it still looks just as much of a construction site. 

“Eddie? Is that you?” It’s a feminine voice, cheery and light. At first Steve can’t determine where it’s coming from until a head of strawberry blonde hair pops up from behind the bar.

“I brought some visitors,” Eddie says to the mystery woman who is making her way over to them, then turns his attention to Steve and Robin again, “This is Chrissy my…”

“Business partner,” She supplies when he struggles to find the words.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Steve.”

“Robin.”

“Chrissy helps me out with just about everything.” He pulls her into a one armed hug and she pushes him away playfully with a smile. It’s clear they’re close, but Steve can’t quite figure out what the story between them is. He is, however, sure there’s more to it than simple business partners, “She’s pretty much the only reason anything gets done around here.”

“Yes, I am, which is why I need to get back to work,” She shares a glance with Eddie that Steve can’t quite decipher, it’s the same type of silent communication he and Robin have perfected through many many years of friendship, “It was lovely meeting you both,” She says, her face morphing back into something more open and friendly when she addresses Steve and Robin.

Chrissy leaves them, navigating through the mess of covered up furniture and construction equipment with so much ease Steve is sure she could do it blindfolded.

“Ok, it’s just over here,” Eddie explains, returning to their original task and the whole reason they’re here in the first place. 

He leads them to the wall where Steve had left the scrunchie last night, but now there’s something beside it, two tickets pinned to the wall with messy handwriting scrawled next to them.

‘James skipped town 3 days

before this concert

and didn’t bother to tell me.’

“Heidi?” Robin questions, ignoring the tickets entirely and looking at Steve’s message from last night, “Steve, did you do this?”

“Yeah,” Steve waves her off, he’ll catch her up on everything over lunch, “but who left those?” 

“Don’t know.” Eddie shrugs, “Found them when I got here this morning. Could’ve been anyone there’s people in and out of this place all the time, construction worker, delivery guy, who knows.”

“Holy shit,” Steve says, running his fingers over the edge of the tickets.

“Yeah, holy shit,” Robin echoes, “Do you know how long I’ve been trying to get him to lose some of the ex memorabilia?” She asks Eddie, “Seriously, you should see his room, it's like a mausoleum in there. He once kept a gum wrapper, with a wad of chewed up gum in it for over a year.”

“Alright, thank you very much for that Robin, but I think that’s enough.” Steve cuts her off with a stern glare.

“A mausoleum for broken hearts,” Eddie muses.

Robin’s face lights up with an idea at Eddie’s words. She grabs the marker from the table they had passed on the way over here, the same pen Steve and presumably whoever left the tickets had used to scrawl on the wall.

‘The broken hearts gallery, leave your heartbreak here’

“There,” She says, stepping back to admire her work, “It could be like a community project, maybe there’s more hoarders like Steve out there who need a place where they can learn to let go.”

“I am not a hoarder,” Steve protests, indignant at the mere suggestion, “It’s a good idea though, maybe it’ll help people.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Eddie interrupts, waving his hands in front of him as he steps between them, “as much as I’m all for self expression. Maybe a literal construction site isn’t the best place for your little art project?”

“It’s the perfect place,” Robin insists, “I can set up some social media accounts, start spreading the word.”

“We could ask for tips for each donation too,” Steve suggests, “You can put the money back into this place.”

“And Steve can help out with the labor, you guys look busy, an extra pair of hands would be good right?” Steve’s glaring at her again, but she’s unphased, “Oh what? It’s not like you’ve got anything better to do.” 

She’s right, she usually is, it’s annoying.

“It would,” Eddie confirms, taking a moment to consider the offer before he says “alright, deal.”

They agree to meet again on Monday at 8am, Chrissy seems thrilled with the news when Eddie calls her over to let her know about their newest volunteer and they share another one of those silent conversations passed through a series of unreadable expressions. 

Chrissy and Eddie are an unusual pair, it was evident the moment Eddie had introduced her to them, and it continues to be evident now. Chrissy is wearing a pair of light wash jeans and a peach t-shirt with a white ribbon tied into a bow holding up her slicked back ponytail, meanwhile Eddie is all dark denim and leather. They couldn’t look more different if they tried. And for all her caution, Robin seems to have taken to them both rather quickly, so much so that he’s surprised she doesn’t invite them to lunch.

They eat at their usual haunt, a little cafe they frequent so often because Robin insists they sell the best apple pie in the whole city. Steve is just glad to have a good cup of coffee placed down in front of him.

Robin spends most of the time with her nose buried in her phone, occasionally passing it across the table to ask Steve’s approval on whatever social media page she’s setting up now. Should it be the broken heart gallery or the broken hearts gallery? Does he think this picture is better or this one? 

“Sure,” He agrees despite not really knowing what the question was. She frowns at him, wrong answer, “Sorry.” 

“I know I kind of just sprung this on you,” Robin starts, her voice is soft a tone she reserves only for serious conversations, “but we don’t actually have to go through with this whole gallery thing if you’re not into it. I just thought it would be good for you to have something to focus on that isn’t...” She stalls, making a few vague gestures with her hands.

“My failed love life or my non-existent career?” He says and she cracks a smile at his bluntness. 

“Yeah, that.”

“I think it’s a good idea, and you’re right. I can’t just mope around the apartment for the rest of my life.” Oh how he wishes he could. 

“Eddie is kinda hot too.”

“Robin!” He scolds.

“What? I’m gay not blind, Steve.” 

“Alright we are not having this conversation,” Steve decides, hurrying to change the subject. 

It’s not like he hasn’t noticed. Maybe if circumstances were different he’d even consider making a move, but he’s in the midst of yet another failed relationship and the risk of making things awkward with Eddie is too great when the guy is letting them use a space in his property for Robin’s idea free of charge.

She holds up her hands in surrender, “I’m just saying.” 

“Show me those pictures again.” 

She obliges, passing her phone over to show him the two very rough drafts of a logo she has put together. 

“One on the right for sure.” 

“That’s what I thought!” She beams, excitedly taking the phone from him and continuing to tap away at the screen. 

What has he let himself be dragged into?

<Chapter 1 ~ Masterpost ~ Chapter 3>

[rkived]

━ CHASING PAVEMENTS  | JJK

↳ PAIRING: dad!jk/married!jk/bff!jk x reader (ft. taehyung) 

↳ GENRE/TAGS: f2l, angst, unrequited feelings au, sad stuff, future smut 

↳ WARNINGS: (for this chapter) time jumps bc i can’t write smooth transitions to save my life aha, mentions of a troubling marriage, mentions of alcohol consumption, also jk isn’t the bestest friend ever but we love him don’t we?

↳ WORD COUNT: 6.2k

↳ EXCERPT: ‘‘But tonight, Jungkook is taking a different route. One that does not lead to his home, but to your apartment building instead. He never takes it unless it’s Friday, the day he drops Sunhi off in your care for a few hours while he pretends he wants to fix whatever marital issues he has.’’

↳ A/N: today i give u ‘‘married dad jungkook who has feelings for his best friend but for obvious reasons won’t tell her’’ tomorrow?? who knows!! i’m planning a pt2 but lmk what u think!!

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 (coming soon)

Sunhi shared a slice of the sandwich you had made for her, giving you a smile as she handed over the other half of her PB&J. You thanked her, taking it from her tiny hand because if you didn’t, then she would be upset at you for rejecting her. 

She watched her favorite show ‘‘Chip & Potato’’ on your couch as she clutched to her favorite plush toy, a Dumbo tsum tsum you had gifted on her birthday. You didn’t think she’d like it that much, but Jungkook let you know she took it everywhere she went, explaining the reason as to why the plush looked dirty all the time.

Eventually the show is ignored, Sunhi falling asleep on your arm as you find yourself distracted on your phone, waiting for her dad to pick her up. You smile at the sight of the peaceful sleeping girl, running your fingers through her soft dark hair. 

At around 11:30 PM, Jungkook texts you that he’s outside, not wanting to risk pressing the doorbell and waking his daughter up. If there was something that could change Sunhi’s calm and sweet demeanor, it was being abruptly woken up. 

He’s giving you those apologetic eyes you’re starting to get used to, picking his daughter later than usual was becoming a regular thing now. You roll your eyes in exchange, tilting your head to the side and let him in. 

Jungkook smells good, like he just recently showered. Guessing he had, not wanting you to smell the ‘‘I just got laid’’ scent you knew he most likely had before.

‘‘I’m so sorry’’ he mumbled, picking Sunhi as delicately as he could, careful not to wake her up. You didn’t know if he was talking to you or his daughter, but you swat your hand in the air either way, at this point being used to his never ending apologies. 

Jungkook chuckled at the paused image of Sunhi’s favorite show on your T.V screen, confirming the theory he had that his daughter not only forced him to watch the cute kid’s show. He could always tell what places Sunhi had been in your apartment, she always managed to leave a trail of her things behind. 

You finished putting her stuff back in the backpack she always carried around, it was double her size but she refused to wear anything smaller. She always brought something new to your place, whether it was a book or some crayons, always excited to show you whatever her dad had bought for her. 

That day it was the brand new farm themed wooden puzzle. She begged you to put it together with her around ten times. Not like you complained, you enjoyed seeing the excitement in her face whenever the puzzle was finally built. 

This suits you, he had mentioned once. It was a night he had caught you bathing Sunhi in the bathtub, the little girl was having the time of her life playing with the bubbles and her toys, not even noticing her father’s presence. 

You hadn’t thought much of the comment because taking care of Sunhi wasn’t rocket science. The kid deserved credits too. She was calm, sweet and well behaved. Notoriously known for turning ‘‘children haters’’ into her fans. That’s how good she was. 

But Jiwoo isn’t this good, he’d mumble under his breath. You didn’t know if he wanted you to hear that or if he was thinking out loud without realizing it. Either way, you ignored it too. You weren’t particularly fond of his wife, but you weren’t going to let him know that. You had kept it up for years now and weren’t going to give it up over a simple comment.

Not even when he confessed that the reason why he needed your help looking over Sunhi once a week was because his marriage with Jiwoo wasn’t as great as it seemed, feeling like it was hanging on a thread. They both needed time to be alone with each other. You didn’t like Jiwoo, but Jungkook loved her and he was your friend at the end of the day.

But if anybody asked, you were only doing it because you loved spending time with Sunhi. 

‘‘She was saying oh my gosh all day yesterday’’ Jungkook let you know and you stifled a laugh ‘‘Jiwoo kept wondering where she had learned it from and I had to pretend I didn’t know’’ he chuckled and you shrugged your shoulders, not like it was something you often said and the toddler decided to pick up. 

You smiled at him doing the same to his sleeping daughter in his arms. Sunhi was just like him, there was no way he could ever deny her. You often joked to yourself that Jiwoo had only acted as a kangaroo and Sunhi as her joey.

Jungkook never let you know about most of the things going on in his life. He was still young, but he felt like the only exciting thing going on for him was Sunhi. Which is why most of the texts you both exchanged between each other were exclusively Sunhi content. It was a pleasant surprise to be sitting in your office and to randomly receive a video of the little girl doing whatever her dad thought was cool enough to send you. 

Needless to say it was almost anything she did.

You barely knew about Jungkook’s job, the one he had taken when Jiwoo told him she was pregnant. Videography and editing were not going to work for him anymore. 

Jungkook had changed a lot, but you thought that the parent life looked good on him. You hoped he hadn’t forgotten about the parts of himself you loved the most, but either way, he was doing alright for himself. Or at the very least, you hoped he was happy. 

‘‘Thank you again, Y/N’’ he replied with a small smile and you nodded, letting him know it was okay ‘‘Hey, what do you say we go and grab breakfast before work one of these days? Y’know, like we did back in college?’’ He suggested, a hopeful look in his eyes.

You wondered why he had suddenly thought about that. It was only during freshman year that you and he would occasionally go for breakfast at that 24/7 dinner around campus. Before Jiwoo came into his life, hogging all of his attention and you ended up learning your place.

But you couldn’t just say no to him ‘‘Only if you pay’’ you joked and he nodded quickly, it’s what he was going to do anyway. 

You placed a small kiss on Sunhi’s puffy cheek, making Jungkook chuckle. You waved him goodbye as he left your apartment building. 

Five days later, you finally found yourself at the coffee shop that Jungkook had told you about while deciding where to meet. He was accompanied by Sunhi, but you knew that since he explained that after this he’d drop her off at her kindergarten. 

‘‘Sunhi, pumpkin, be careful’’ Jungkook spoke, readjusting the napkin he had placed over her shirt to avoid her from spilling anything over it. You giggled at the sight, Sunhi kept eating as if it was no one’s business while her dad struggled to keep the napkin in place.

Jungkook huffed at the sight of his daughter not paying attention to him, giving you a can you believe it? look ‘‘I don’t know how I’ll manage once she becomes a teenager’’ he sighed, the thought of the fast approaching future making him shiver. You rolled your eyes at your dramatic friend ‘‘She’s precious, stop it’’ you warned with your index finger.

Jungkook handed her his phone, playing ‘’Chip & Potato’’ on the Netflix app. This immediately got the girl concentrated and forgetting what was going on around her. He tried his best on not letting Sunhi consume too much technology, but he wanted to talk to you and he knew he wouldn’t be able to without his daughter chiming in on whatever it was grownups talked about, she was at that stage now.

‘‘You seem tired’’ you noted, the dark circles around his eyes were a little more prominent, indicating that he must’ve stayed up late. ‘‘Yeah, boss is on my ass about a report I’m supposed to turn in today’’ he complained, the look on his face telling you that he felt overwhelmed about it ‘‘Every day I walk there I just want to call it quits” he revealed in a sigh and you raised your eyebrows in surprise.

‘‘Why don’t you?’’ 

Jungkook’s head cocked slightly to where Sunhi was busy drinking her orange juice, focusing on the device’s screen. 

‘‘I still don’t know why you gave up the whole GCF thing, it was a nice pay’’ you spoke, not looking into his eyes as you played with the remaining food on your plate, afraid that maybe he’d get upset about the mention of his old freelancing job. 

He sighed, thinking about those days. Shaking his head slightly, as if to throw away those thoughts, he readjusted his posture on the chair ‘‘But it wasn’t stable, I had to do what was best for her’’. 

Sunhi or Jiwoo? 

‘‘I want to know what’s up with you, though’’ he quickly changed the topic, obviously not in the mood to discuss the decisions he regretted making. Not wanting to prod, you nodded and accepted to talk about your unamusing life.

‘‘Well, life’s been pretty good’’ you began and he placed his chin over his hand, focusing all his attention on you ‘‘Can’t complain about my job, honestly. My boss tries to act all tough, but he’s a sweetheart’’ you chuckled at the thought of CEO Min Yoongi, 1.74, who every time he raised his voice would immediately apologize ‘‘I also started taking yoga on Saturday mornings! So that’s exciting, I guess’’.

Jungkook smiled, glad that between the both of you, it was you who was doing alright. He didn’t have much to brag about besides Sunhi. Hell, even boring yoga sounded more thrilling than anything he had done the past year. 

‘‘Uhm, I also think I’m going on a date soon?’’ you added out of the blue, making Jungkook look at you in surprise. ‘‘You think?’’ he asked and you scratched the back of your neck, he knew right away that you were nervous. ‘‘I mean, yeah? It’s just that it happened yesterday, it’s a friend of Minji’s’’. 

Jungkook knows Minji, she’s been your best friend for as long as he could remember. She’s never really liked him and she’s been very up-front about it. He doesn’t know why, but it’s always been that way. 

‘‘Oh, do you know him?’’ Jungkook asked, eyes focusing on the way your fingers played with the rim of your empty coffee mug ‘‘I don’t, actually’’ you laughed and Jungkook wanted to know what was so funny about that ‘‘but Minji’s been trying to set us up for a while now and─I don’t know, why not?’’ you shrugged.

It had been a while since you had gone on a date, you weren’t exactly desperate, but Minji was growing tired of you talking about Jungkook─a married man─and his daughter. So, to please her you decided to go through with the blind date that wasn’t as blind since she had informed you about every single thing you needed to know about Kim Taehyung, promising that you’d thank her later. 

Jungkook didn’t know what it was, but something inside of him felt weird about it. It wasn’t usual for either of you to share much about each other’s private lives, in fact, most of your conversations nowadays revolved around Sunhi. He had never bothered to ask about your love life either, too consumed in his own one.

Not like he shared much about that, anyway. The most he had done was confessing that his marriage was starting to take a toll on both him and Jiwoo and he only did it so you could take care of Sunhi once a week.

You hadn’t said much to him then, only giving him a comforting hug, assuring that things were going to be okay. So far, Jungkook felt like things were only getting worse. Things were Jiwoo were like that. One day it was good, then the next ten days it was bad. 

‘‘Are you nervous?’’ Jungkook wondered and you shrugged your shoulders. Sunhi was giggling about something on the phone’s screen and you smiled gently at the sight, making Jungkook do too. ‘‘A little, but I’ll be fine’’ you assured, the smile still on your face as you turned to look back at him. 

Before he could comment, Sunhi had spilled orange juice on his phone screen and he was now quickly wiping it away as he silently scolded the little girl. 

You quietly giggled as she apologized to her dad in a mumble. Turning to look at you with a mischievous smile on her face. 

Sunhi is crying and it’s 1 AM. 

Jungkook wakes up at the sound of his daughter’s cries, Jiwoo is obviously upset that her sleep is being disturbed, but makes no effort to find out what’s wrong, it wasn’t the first time it happened this week. 

Jungkook is rubbing at his sleepy eyes as he enters Sunhi’s room, where the little girl is sobbing into her Dumbo plush toy. He makes a mental note to put it in the washer later that day when she’s taking a nap. 

‘‘What’s wrong, pumpkin?’’ he asks her, sitting next to her in the tiny bed, fingers wiping her tears ‘‘Another bad dream?’’ she nods with a pout.

Sunhi hadn’t expressed what those bad dreams consisted of and he didn’t want to pressure her into telling him either. It was the third time this week where he’d be abruptly woken up by her crying, but it didn’t take much to put her back to sleep. Gentle humming and running his fingers through her soft hair were enough to do the job. 

He was worried, not deeming it normal. Whenever he tried to mention it to Jiwoo, she’d dismiss it and tell him Sunhi was just crying for attention. Eventually that would lead to an argument and Jungkook was growing tired of it, he didn’t even have the energy to do it anymore. 

Once Sunhi’s back asleep, Jungkook returns to his bedroom. He lays down and notices Jiwoo’s peacefully sleeping, as if nothing had even happened. He makes another mental note to not tell his wife the events of the night. His eyes drift to his charging phone on his nightstand, picking it up to text you. 

You were the only person that seemed to care about his daughter’s well being anyway.

[1:23 AM] Jeon Jungkook: sunhi woke up crying again

[1:23 AM] Jeon Jungkook: another nightmare 

[1:24 AM] Jeon Jungkook: she still doesn’t tell me what it is tho 

To Jungkook’s surprise, the 3 dots popped up, meaning you were awake and replying to his texts. He waits patiently for your answer, forgetting he was sleepy just minutes before.

[1:25 AM] Y/N: poor bibi :( 

[1:25 AM] Y/N: u want me to talk to her? 

Jungkook had considered the idea before. He had seen you handle Sunhi’s rare, but powerful, tantrums better than he or Jiwoo ever could. But he didn’t want to give you that responsibility, it was his and his wife’s anyway. It was enough that you babysat her for free already. 

[1:25 AM] Jeon Jungkook: what are u doing up? 

[1:26 AM] Jeon Jungkook: u have work 

[1:26 AM] Y/N: lol so do u!

[1:26 AM] Jeon Jungkook: yeah but u don’t have a 3 year old kid who cries at 1 am 

Jungkook doesn’t receive a message right away, making him think that maybe his reply wasn’t the right one. The three dots pop up and disappear a few times until he eventually gets his answer.

[1:28 AM] Y/N: so u want me to talk to her?

[1:28 AM] Jeon Jungkook: i don’t wanna bother u with this 

[1:29 AM] Y/N: u already texted me about it 

[1:29 AM] Y/N: i don’t mind srsly u know i care about every single thing regarding sunhi

Jungkook gently smiles at your reply, because he knows you’re being genuine. He is thankful for many things you have done for him since the beginning of your friendship, the biggest being your unconditional love for his daughter. 

[1:30 AM] Jeon Jungkook: alright 

[1:30 AM] Jeon Jungkook: but go to sleep now

His messages are left on read. Having to settle with the faith that you had listened to him, he put his phone back on the nightstand and forced himself to sleep and get ready for another day ahead.

Taehyung is a sweet guy. Your first date consisted of him taking you out to an Italian restaurant, sharing information about each other in between glasses of wine and forkfuls of pasta. 

He lives an interesting life you assume from what he tells you. He likes to travel, photography and the arts. He shows you pictures he’s taken, the places he’s visited and mentions the deep admiration he feels towards Van Gogh. 

Where the hell did Minji find this guy?, you wonder. 

Taehyung explains his relationship with Minji, a family friend, who after years of not seeing each other, gets back in contact with her because he recently switched jobs and he now works with Minji. He reveals that she always threw your name whenever they both chatted, which made you feel embarrassed. 

Minji is your wing-woman even when you’re not aware. 

He took you back to your apartment and you wondered if you’ll see him again, you hoped he agreed. Taehyung smiled and for the first time that night, there’s an awkward silence in the air. Should you head inside now and call it a night? You gave him a slight nod, and before you could open your apartment’s door, you felt Taehyung’s hand grab your wrist, making you face him again.

You waited for him to say something, it seemed that his gears were turning as fast as ever, probably thinking what his next move should be. Taehyung’s lips landed a kiss on your forehead, it’s quick and unexpected, making you release a small gasp. He looked at you and mentally slapped himself for doing that, knowing it wasn’t a good idea. 

But your cheeks flush and you let out a breathless chuckle ‘‘Cute’’ you whisper and he smiles, confidence back like it never left. ‘‘I want to see you again’’ he reveals and your eyebrows shot up, pleasantly surprised by his confession ‘‘if you’d like, that is!’’ he adds, hoping he hadn’t messed up given your reaction. 

‘‘I’d like that very much, actually’’ you answer and he flashes you a smile different from the ones he had given you throughout the night, this one feels a lot more careless, like he’s genuinely smiling and it’s cute. 

Taehyung says good night and leaves, telling you he’d text you once he got home. You rush into your apartment once he’s out of sight and immediately call Minji, since she had begged you to do so once the date was over. You spend around thirty minutes telling her about your time with him and then you end up thanking her, you knew you’d end up doing that.

There’s a feeling inside of you that you haven’t felt in a long time and you like it. It stays with you for what’s left of the night, while you take your makeup off and do your skincare routine. It lingers while you clean your apartment, even if it’s not messy at all. It remains as you keep texting Taehyung, the messages are flirty now and you can’t help but smile, already talking about when and where you’ll see each other next. 

And as you’re tucking yourself into bed, surprisingly excited for your early yoga class the next morning, you receive a text from Jungkook with a picture attached. You smile, already knowing what you’ll see.

⦍12:34 AM⦎ Jeon Jungkook: sunhi was upset that her auntie y/n decided to go on a date tonight instead of spending time with her 

The picture was of a frowning Sunhi, mouth in a pout and her arms crossed. It seemed the photo was taken hours before since she was sitting in her booster seat with a plate of food in front of her. 

⦍12:35 AM⦎ Y/N: u sure it’s not only sunhi who’s upset?

You had to tell Jungkook the day before that you wouldn’t be able to look over Sunhi today. That created some trouble for him, knowing he’d have to deal with his irritable wife who had gotten used to her ‘off’ days from Sunhi to get her husband all to herself. Needless to say, he wasn’t ecstatic about it. 

He tried his hardest to sound happy about your date, but if anything, it came out as forced.  

⦍12:35 AM⦎ Jeon Jungkook: pfff whaaat? 

⦍12:36 AM⦎ Jeon Jungkook: i was the one who told her auntie y/n is getting herself a husband to give her a cousin to play with!!

He hadn’t, actually. It was Jiwoo who had come up with the ridiculous ─as Jungkook would put it─ idea to get Sunhi to stop crying for you. His wife was going crazy and that was the first thing she could think about. It ended up working, Sunhi’s cries calmed down as the thought of having a baby cousin to play with only made her excited.

But the idea did not settle right with Jungkook, who instead told his wife later on not to lie to their daughter. Jiwoo frowned ‘‘Who says I’m lying? I hope she’s getting laid, she needs it’’ she chuckled and Jungkook’s voice raised a little ‘‘Don’t say that’’. 

His wife ignores it, already used to their dumb arguments ‘‘Why not?’’ she wonders, giving him a questioning look and Jungkook asks himself what bothers him so much about the white lie Jiwoo said. 

‘‘Just─don’t lie to Sunhi’’.

⦍12:37 AM⦎ Y/N: are u crazy??? 

⦍12:38 AM⦎ Y/N: now next time i see her she’s going to be asking about it 

⦍12:38 AM⦎ Jeon Jungkook: what’s wrong about it?

⦍12:38 AM⦎ Jeon Jungkook: did the date suck? was he an asshole? 

Throughout the night Jungkook had wondered how your date was going. You hadn’t given him much information about the guy you were going out with. The only thing he knew was that his name was Kim Taehyung and he was two years older than you. 

He doesn’t know why, but recently he’s been feeling weird. He’s thinking about you during times where he normally wouldn’t. 

Like when he’s at work hating every minute of it, memories of you encouraging him are the only thing that make him hold on until it’s clock out time. 

Or whenever Sunhi slips your name while she’s playing by herself or when she says oh my gosh, because that’s your thing and now it’s his daughter’s too.

⦍12:39 AM⦎ Y/N: oh my gosh no lol

⦍12:39 AM⦎ Y/N: he’s actually super sweet!! i’m seeing him again soon

Jungkook’s heart skipped a beat. Was he expecting a different result? He knows you’re charming and sweet, any guy who wouldn’t want to keep going out with you was obviously an idiot. 

He typed something out, but deleted it before he was able to press send. He does it again and again. He wants to be a good friend and ask how your date went and maybe find out more about the guy who had you feeling excited. But he can’t, because in reality he doesn’t want to know more. 

Not because he doesn’t care, but because he’s feeling a little weird right now.

⦍12:43 AM⦎ Y/N: did u fall asleep??

Jungkook meditates on what to answer. Sighing, he begins typing again.

⦍12:45 AM⦎ Jeon Jungkook: just make sure your dates don’t fall on sunhi’s days

⦍12:45 AM⦎ Jeon Jungkook: please

Jungkook doesn’t even bother waiting for you to answer and throws his phone somewhere it could have a safe landing, just a few inches away from him. He takes a swig of the bottle of beer he had forgotten was on the coffee table of the living room. His daughter and wife are both fast asleep already.

He figures he should be sleeping too, but his mind is running all over the place and he’s trying to figure out what is going on with him. 

His phone buzzes and the screen lights up, he peeks a little to see your replies.

⦍12:46 AM⦎ Y/N: it was just for tonight 

[12:46 AM] YN: i won’t ever miss my days with sunhi again

⦍12:46 AM⦎ Y/N: good night kook

Minji scowls as she reads the texts Jungkook sent you a few days ago. She hands you back your phone with distaste.

“What an ungrateful little bitch” she says and you gasp, she shrugs “It’s the truth, he’s always been like this!” You shake your head slightly, you didn’t expect another reaction from her “You’re just saying that ‘cause you don’t like him”.

The restaurant you’re both having lunch at is filled with groups of people who had come out during their own lunch breaks. You had asked to meet up with Minji since you wanted to talk somewhere besides a phone call, it was a little hard to see each other face to face nowadays.

“And with good reason,” she argued back “you take care of his daughter for free and he wants to act petty ‘cause you’re having a social life?” Minji sounds offended, as if Jungkook’s messages were directed at her, but you understand where she’s coming from, she’s always been an overprotective friend.

But you don’t really feel the same. Jungkook’s message at the time did upset you, but after the yoga class the next morning, you decided to brush it aside. In the end, Jungkook didn’t need to know about your private life, the only thing that mattered was Sunhi and you agreed on that.

“And what? You’re just gonna take care of her forever? You’re not her mom!” Minji’s voice is slightly raised, but the other clients don’t care, too busy in their own conversations. 

There was something that ticked you off about that comment. Minji’s right, you’re not Sunhi’s mom. Jiwoo is and she’s supposed to be a good one. You only take care of Sunhi once a week—Fridays, the days that Jungkook and his wife had mutually agreed to be their day. Days they could, for a few hours, feel like what life is for them without worrying for their daughter. 

You’re not Sunhi’s mom, but you’ve taught her things a mom should. It bothers you when the little girl expresses she’s asked questions to her mom and Jiwoo dismisses her, only for Sunhi to wait for Fridays and ask you instead, knowing you’ll always answer. 

But you don’t let Minji know what you’re thinking, instead sighing and answering “It’s only once a week and it’s while they work their things out” you explain, it wasn’t the first time you let her know about it. “Working things out, my ass,” Minji bitterly replies “all they do is angry fuck while you’re stuck babysitting for them”. 

Minji is harsh, but she’s right. You’ve always known that. Ever since Jungkook would pick Sunhi up from your place with a different set of clothes than the ones he had left her with. Always smelling fresh and clean, like he had just taken a shower minutes before. 

But you never asked what it was that they did while Sunhi wasn’t around, it was none of your business anyway. You had never begged Jungkook to tell you about his problems, usually waiting for one of those rare days he’d let his tongue loose. 

“I know you’re trying to be a good friend, but you shouldn’t put your life on hold for him” Minji speaks more calmly now, noticing the troubled look on your face “he’s never done that for you, Y/N”.

Her words weigh heavy on your mind, but you decide to toughen up and clear your throat. “I’m only doing this for Sunhi” you reply firmly. 

Minji sighs and shakes her head slightly, deciding that trying to convince you about the reality of the situation was hard and you’d probably never let up anyway.

You’re brushing Sunhi’s wet hair after her bath while she’s focused on brushing her own doll’s hair with a plastic brush. Jungkook is supposed to pick her up soon, but you prepare yourself to wait an hour later from what he had initially said he’d be at. 

‘‘Sunhi, baby, can I ask you something?’’ you ask and she nods absentmindedly, still focused on her doll’s hair ‘‘Your daddy mentioned that you’ve been having bad dreams, is it true?’’ you question carefully, not wanting to startle the little girl. 

She nods, but stops brushing the doll’s hair, lowering the toy and placing it on your bed ‘‘Yeah…’’ she speaks, you can feel a hint of sadness in her answer and you frown. ‘‘May I know what those bad dreams are about?’’ you continue brushing her hair, trying to give her some sort of comfort due to the delicate topic. 

Sunhi hesitates at first, but nods again ‘‘I don’t really remember them much’’ she begins explaining and you allow her to continue ‘‘come closer, it’s a secret’’ she whispers and you nod, getting closer to her mouth that she’s now covered as if no one could read her lips. She speaks lowly in your ear ‘‘There’s always two dragons that are throwing fire at each other all the time!’’.

You don’t know much about child psychology or dream telling for that matter, but you begin to tie two and two together and figure out what the toddler means. Sunhi sighs and picks her doll up to continue combing her hair as she hums, losing interest in the topic. 

‘‘Hey, how about you and I bake some cupcakes together?’’ you offer and Sunhi gasps in surprise and quickly nods, ecstatic to get herself off your bed and rush into the kitchen.

And while you took the ingredients out of your fridge, Sunhi mumbled  ‘Auntie Y/N’ and you looked over at her, her expression shows concern.

‘‘Yeah?’’

‘‘Don’t tell daddy about the dragons, I don’t wan’ him to be scared too’’.

You knew it wasn’t right. It’s not like Jungkook was begging for you to find out, he had told you this wasn’t your responsibility anyway. But right now it felt like you owed more loyalty to Sunhi than him. 

Stretching your pinky out, Sunhi automatically interlaced her own tiny pinky with yours, already knowing what it meant. 

‘‘Your secret’s safe with me’’.

It’s another one of those days for Jungkook. 

Those ‘I had a shitty day at work and my wife’s cursing my ass off so I’m going out to the bar to drink a little’ days. 

And normally after, he would go back home and find his wife asleep. Sunhi too. He hated having to leav her, but whenever he felt frustrated, he preferred not to be around his daughter. He didn’t want her to see him like that. 

But tonight, Jungkook is taking a different route. One that does not lead to his home, but instead your apartment building. He never takes it unless it’s Friday, the days he drops Sunhi off in your care for a few hours while he pretends he wants to fix whatever marital issues he has.

He’s always been stubborn, thinking everything has a solution. For the first few months, he did believe things could get fixed. That his honeymoon days would come back and that Jiwoo would remember what it was like feeling the joy of being a mom. But he’s come to realize that she’s past that stage and only wants him to herself. 

And that wasn’t even all the time.

Jungkook wonders why he doesn't visit you more often. Life did take a turn once Sunhi was born, but it wasn’t like you minded about it. In fact, before the whole babysitting deal began, you were always begging to see her. That’s why when Jungkook offered the chance for you to look after her, you accepted right away. You weren’t even charging him. 

Maybe it’s the alcohol in his system that’s making him go back through memory lane, but this is the only way he’s able to remember what time was like before. When it was only you and him. Jungkook wishes he could do it more often, but it seems that every single thing in his life makes it difficult for him to do so. 

Freshman year went by in a blur, but it’s his most memorable year in college. Maybe it was the feeling of everything being new and exciting, the fact he could go to parties and get drunk without his parents knowing, enjoying the classes he had chosen because he loved his Film Major more than anything. 

But Jungkook can’t speak about his freshman year antics without including you. Even when you weren’t present, you always lingered around. He knew during those parties he went and got drunk at, that you’d be by his side the next morning helping him out with his hangover. Or if he needed help with an assignment and had to choose who to shoot with, you’d always be there to work as his model even though you hated being on camera. 

And even now, years later, you’re still helping him out. Jungkook wonders what he’s done for you. You’ve never asked for anything, let alone his help. You’ve never thrown anything in his face, letting him know what a shitty friend he’s been. 

He doesn’t tell you much about the things that trouble him, they’re too much and he doesn’t want to bother you further. He wishes you could tell him more about your life. He knows the basics. Where you work, who are your friends and what you do when you’re bored. But he wishes he could go deeper, ironic considering he barely offers you the same. 

Jungkook does not like that Kim Taehyung guy you’ve been going out for the past weeks. Out of all the things you could’ve told him, he wished he didn’t know about his existence. He’s come to terms with that, he doesn’t like the feeling, but it’s there and it doesn’t seem to go away. 

It’s selfish to say, but he’s been waiting for the day the guy fucks it up.

‘‘And when he does, what are you going to do? What will you earn from it?’’

His conscience always asks. It’s a good question, but Jungkook doesn’t know. Is he supposed to do something? You’re his friend. Actually, you’re his best and only friend. There’s never been any feelings between each other, besides platonic ones.

But Jungkook’s been feeling weird and he can’t recall exactly since when. Maybe it was that one time he picked Sunhi up early at your place, his night ruined once Jiwoo decided to pick up a fight about something he can’t even remember anymore. Seeing you have the time of your life with his daughter made him feel all tingly inside. 

He had even slipped a comment about how Jiwoo wasn’t half as good as you when it came to his daughter. It doesn’t sound fair, but Jiwoo doesn’t even try. That’s one of the biggest reasons as to why they argue all the time. Jungkook knows Sunhi isn’t yours, but you sure act like she is.

Maybe then, maybe after, maybe even before. 

He can’t tell you this for obvious reasons. You don’t know much about his feelings and you probably would never understand, anyway. He also doesn’t want to ruin the friendship you both share because the only thing that’s keeping it alive is Sunhi and nothing else. 

Not even his marriage could say the same thing. 

That too. He’s married and for that reason alone he shouldn’t be feeling this way.

Jungkook doesn’t know what he’s doing once he's parked outside your apartment building. 

It’s the alcohol, he thinks.

Yeah, it’s the alcohol, he confirms once he feels a wave of confidence wash through him. But whatever he had, it quickly vanished once he spotted you climbing the stairs that lead to your apartment building.

You’re laughing like you were just told the funniest joke in the world. There’s an arm supporting you, snaked around your waist as you’re holding on to his shoulder. He’s never seen Kim Taehyung, but he knows it’s him. 

And by the way you’re kissing the black curly haired guy, he knows it’s definitely the guy you had, with excitement, told him about.

Jungkook’s only seen you tipsy once in all of his years knowing you, the image is too vivid to forget so that’s how he can tell right away you’re currently in that state. 

He sighs and turns his car engine back to life, he realizes he shouldn’t be here right now. It feels like he just peeked into something he shouldn’t have and he wishes he hadn’t. 

The weird feeling persists once he gets home. Sunhi is asleep, as usual holding her Dumbo plush close to her chest. Jungkook places a kiss on her forehead and he notices the way the corners of her lips raise slightly. 

It’s cold when he lays in his bed, even with the fuzzy blanket he puts over himself. There’s a big gap between him and where Jiwoo lies peacefully. Jungkook wonders how she’s able to sleep like that whereas he gets restless nights instead. 

Jungkook will wait, he’ll be patient.

But for now, he’ll continue pretending this is still worth saving. 

[moonsluvr]

— rainy blessings

synopsis. soobin would be lying if he said he wasn’t waiting for the day he has an excuse to stay by your side and do nothing but lay with you.

pairing. bf!soobin x gn!reader

word count. 600+

genre. fluff, established relationship.

warnings. they kiss? mentions of being sick and cursing but neither happen, they're a bit stressed

authors note. yayyy guess who’s finally out with the first installment of the rainy day series !! thank you to @jakeyuni for helping me with the header ilysm <3

series m.list

your relationship with soobin was perfect.

he was the most thoughtful boyfriend you could ever ask for, always making an effort to remember little details about you. lying in his arms is the most comforting thing you’ve ever known as he gently strokes your hair and kisses your forehead. he always goes out of his way to show you off to all his friends. and his petnames always have you melting.

which is why it’s hard for the both of you when he can’t afford time with you anymore.

your relationship with soobin was almost perfect.

you could make it work. you just had to compromise.

ultimately, this led to you savoring the two minutes you get with him in the morning. you hug him tight, letting his calming scent put you in a trance.

“i should pretend i’m sick.” soobin suggests, his voice pulling you closer to him. you didn’t want to let him go yet, but time was running as always, and reality never stopped for you and your lover.

“mmm you should fake sick everyday.”

he finally pulls away from the hug to look at you, still not letting his arms leave your waist, “drop by if you have any free time?” he suggests.

you nod, “of course.”

he hesitates, still wanting to create more conversation with you. but when his phone rings, he finally detaches his hands from you.

“i’m running late. i’ll try to see you later, darling.”

and with that, you left to prepare for your job as well. although not ideal, your routine sufficed. you loved mornings with him, always charging you up for the day, although sometimes you couldn’t help but wish that you had more than just mornings with him.

the rain was like a blessing.

when you got up early, awoken by the constant downpour, you were fully ready to curse the sky for ruining you beauty sleep. but you held your tongue at the realization that this was the day you’ve been silently begging for. the day you have an excuse to keep soobin all to yourself.

there’s no way they could make him go to work in this weather. so, you get comfortable in bed, wrapping your arms around soobin.

“love?” he mumbles at your touch, “is everything okay?”

“yup. everything’s fine. we should watch a movie today.”

“oh, i miss watching movies with you.” he reminiscences, still stuck in a sleepy state.

“yeah? me too,” you peck his lips, “that’s why we should watch one today.”

as he starts to wake up, a frown takes over his features, “i’m sorry, love.”

you smile at him and shake your head, “look at the weather out! it’s basically a rainstorm. we have the day to ourselves.”

he looks out the window, observing the soaked pavements as he runs a hand through his messy hair.

“oh. oh! that’s perfect!” he exclaims in realization before fishing for his phone in search of any notifications that would confirm he could spend the day at home. immediately, he finds the message he was looking for. you look at him expectedly as he reads through the message.

he looks up at you before affirming, “so, what movie do you want to watch?”

you smile widely at him, happy to have him all to yourself.

soobin prepares the snacks as you clean up the living room, more than ready to finally take a break from the constant working.

he snuggles up close to you, wrapping a hand around your waist, and resting his head on you. his warmth slowly transferring to you. he kisses your cheek sweetly, his loving eyes meeting your gaze. the movies starts running as you snuggle into soobins arms. for the first time in a while, you felt peaceful. you couldn’t ask for more.

your relationship with soobin may not always be perfect, but he sure was.

TAGLIST: @zederaya @giyyuzz @venusmir @levisrealrealwaifu @pinkheadflowers @jakeyuni

[sarahjkl82-blog]

Artistic Instinct: Chapter 5

Header thanks to the lovely @yespolkadotkitty

Summary: Marcus Pike and OC Anushka Pierce have been selected to work on a 5 eyes (Australia, Canada, NZ, the UK and US) intelligence team to track down art forgeries as a part of taking down an international white terrorism cell. Marcus is trying to escape his broken heart, Anushka is just trying to escape what the world expects of her.

Word count: 4,700 (yup, the words ran away from me!)

Warnings: Language.

Pairing: Marcus Pike x reader (OC)

This comes with a MASSIVE THANK YOU to the lovely @yespolkadotkitty , who read, re-read, pointed out the constant flipping between tenses and gave me the confidence to try to write something!This is the first thing I have written since angsty poetry as a teenager. Apologies if it is shit!

Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life

Pablo Picasso

Chapter 5

Golden sunlight streams down in ribbons upon your hair, setting fire to the natural red highlights and causing the wrought iron railing to cast beautiful shadows across the floor. Marcus sits with you upon your hotel balcony in the late morning sunshine. You are now, a little more comfy, wearing your airport clothes- the high-waisted, wide-legged jeans and a mustard yellow and cream breton top that does everything to highlight the rise and fall of your curves.

He watches each tiny twitch of your face as you read notes from the meeting- your full lips pout and brow furrow as your gaze flits backwards and forwards over the words, making connections and drawing together the different pieces of information that you’d gathered from that meeting. Marcus tries to smother a chuckle when you unthinkingly roll your eyes and shake your head at the point where some idiot tried talking over you in the meeting and he can fully read from his position that you have scrawled TWAT across your notes in reference to that mediocre white man.

It’s at this sound, that you look up, “What’s up?” you ask tiredly, smiling amusedly in his direction.

“You’ve got such an expressive face as you read- I swear, it’s like your muscles are reliving all of the faces you wanted to pull in the meeting. You managed that jerk well in there.”

“I’ve been managing cockwombles like him my entire life. They’re fucking insidious,” you say turning your eyes back towards the screen, shaking your head at the memory of the all the arseholes who have gone before and all those who were yet to come. “If they had anything to actually offer, I’d accept it; but they just parrot shit back at you - the same shit that came out of your own mouth moments earlier - as if it is their fucking own, enlightened idea!”

“I can imagine.This level of work, even in the art fraud department, is such an old boys’ club,” he agrees, pursing his lips in annoyance of the invisible barriers that you must have come up against.

Nodding in agreement, you add with your head tilting to one side as you take the agent in, “You don’t seem to fall into that category, Marcus. You even handed the reins over to me in there- I should have just been your lackey today, not the one doing all the speaking. I appreciate you treating me like an equal.”

Rolling his shoulders and stretching the sides of his neck, Marcus looks off into the distance as he slightly straightens up in his seat, “My Mamá firmly entrenched the value of every human being in me, regardless of their gender. I don’t wanna bring it up again, and certainly never wanna upset you, but you should be my role in the team. Your aptitude for this role far outweighs mine,” he grins and turns towards you, “There’s a part of me that feels like a mediocre white man around you.”

“Well, at least you have decent enough manners not to mansplain my ideas back at me!” you laugh, hugely enjoying your boss’ company on that narrow balcony.

“You know, I didn’t recognise you wearing civvies in the airport? I was absolutely kicking myself for not taking a ride with you to the airport.”

“Yeah, I get that. After seeing me suited and booted, it must have been a shock to see a jet-lagged, middle-aged man in old jeans and a hoodie,” Marcus humbly chuckles, shaking his head.

“Are you digging?” Your eyebrow arches high on your brow as you interrogate him teasingly.

“What do you mean digging?” Marcus furrows his brows as his eyes widen innocently.

“Digging for a compliment, you daft thing!”

“Hah, no! I meant it honestly. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and don’t even know the reflection that stares back at me,” he replies, shaking his head sadly.

“Pssh, you have nothing to worry about. Some of us can only dream of looking as put together as you. I generally look as though I crawled through an art studio backwards even if I use an iron and put make-up on- in fact, scratch that- I look worse if I iron and put effort into how I look,” you exhale despairingly at the memory of all the other immaculate recruits and your general throw-it-on, it’ll-do appearance. “Everyone else in my family is so incredibly smart- immaculate even- and yet, I stick out like a sore thumb. Like I didn’t quite pass the expectations of what it takes to be an adult. I swear that’s the reason my aunties think I’m not married.”

Marcus huffs a gentle laugh, “I think that’s a big part of it for me. For the amount of grey in my hair and the creases in my skin, I’m not where I expected to be at this point in my life.”

“Where did you expect to be, Marcus?” You cock your head to one side, listening intently.

A buzz suddenly emerges from your phone:

« On est en bas! »

“Ah they’re downstairs- but do not think for one second that this conversation is over,” you wag your finger in Marcus’ direction as you gather your belongings, “We will continue this later.”

“Yes, Ma’am!” Marcus mock salutes you and clicks his heels together as he rises from his chair with a huge crunch from his knees, “See, what did I tell ya? Old. I’m gonna grab my things.”

Grabbing your trusty rucksack from the floor of the balcony as Marcus departs, you feel almost reluctant to leave the balcony and the conversation that you were having with him. Since he’d helped you through the anxiety attack prior to re-entering your old workplace, the two of you had found an ease in being around each other. Whilst you are dreaming of spending a day chatting with Marcus, he’s already back with a small smile and a soft look about his eyes as he catches you staring into space.

Walking through the hotel, Marcus and you could be thought of as any pair of friends on holiday with your giggles and gentle jibes towards each other as you walk down endless corridors to find the exit. There is no way that anyone would have said that you had met barely twenty-four hours before or that you were there as business associates with the easy air you treat each other. After crossing the elegant lobby, you finally reach the doors to the outside world, a wave of relief coursing through you to see that you didn’t have to make a decision as to which way to open the door as there is someone to do it for you.

As you reach their car, Jacques takes off his seatbelt and makes to get out of the car but Marcus waves him off, opening the door for you to jump into one of the back seats.

“Oh you weren’t kidding about the stickiness,” you mercilessly tease the pair sitting in the front seats. Élodie responds by sliding her front seat back as far as it can go and you yelp in surprise at the sudden crushing of your legs, slamming your fist on her headrest in mock anger.

“Please excuse the children, Marcus,” Jacques shakes his head and sighs deeply but Élodie reaches over and squeezes her husband’s thigh in a way that makes him yelp and laugh in the same breath.

Marcus and you catch each other’s eyes and grin at the playfulness. You might be here on business but at least you can enjoy yourselves at the same time. The stresses of the morning slowly ebbing from your mind, you stretch out, resting your head against the cool glass of the window and allow the hum of the car engine and gentle chatter to surround you, lulling you off to the sleep you had missed out on the night before.

✪✪✪✪✪

Something is tenderly brushing against your cheek and you instinctively nuzzle into the warm touch as your eyes start to open and the world begins to regain its focus, “Hey, sleepyhead! We’re here,” Marcus murmurs as he strokes your cheek with his thumb to rouse you from your slumber.

“Shit. Sorry. Sorry,” you rub your eyes with your knuckles trying to rid yourself of the embarrassment of snuggling the fingers of your new boss, noticing that Élodie and Jacques have already left the car.

“No worries, your snores were pretty cute,” the agent teases you gently with a lopsided grin crossing his face.

“Lies! I don’t snore.” you exclaim indignantly at the accusations, but glad he hasn’t focussed on your reaction to him caressing your cheek, as your faculties start to kick in, reaching for the door handle to escape Marcus’ jokey impressions of your snores.

The mountain air in Grenoble strokes its icy fingertips against your neck, making you wrap the woolly softness of your cardigan more tightly around yourself. You notice Marcus also zipping up a black leather jacket over his hoodie. In the open boot of his car, Jacques concentrates on making a roll up next to a small bag of resources for you - cotton gloves, sample pots, tweezers and magnifying glasses.

“s'il vous plait, Marcus. Before we do anything else, I need to borrow your muscles,” Élodie announces to him, “We need coffee, and if I know that woman standing next to you, she will be in need of one, too!”

At Élodie’s statement, you watch Marcus’ face crease into a small smile, flashing that lovely dimple, as he crosses his arms across his chest. You wonder whether he's protecting his clothes from your next caffeine hit or trying to steel himself for the latest cheeky wink coming from Élodie. A slightly raised eyebrow is sent in your direction as his boots softly stride behind the clack of her heels upon the pavement.

A waft of tobacco drifts through the air as Jacques lights up as you watch his wife and your boss walk off in the direction of coffee.

“You left us, Nush,” Jacques scratches his nose as he looks at you through a cloud of smoke he has exhaled, “You disappeared. Literally, disappeared to the point that none of us could track you down.

“I mean, it is testament to what an incredible agent you are that you can just make yourself that invisible but…” he takes another inhale of the cigarette as he turns his shoulders to mirror your position, “But you weren’t even there for Jasper’s funeral.”

Silent rivers course down your face, “Please, Jacques. Don’t make me do this now. I can’t do this right now. Let me find my feet before we get into all of this. This is my first job since everything,” your hands trembling as you gesture wildly in the air. “I want to explain. I missed you both so much but I can’t right now. It isn’t the right time.”

Nothing more is said between the two of you as you both sit silently next to each other. Jacques nods contemplatively whilst he carries on sucking at his cigarette for comfort and release from the tension that has built upon his face. In the relative safety of the car boot, as he reaches across what feels like a chasm between you to pat your thigh, you can see the hurt searing through his eyes.

How did Imanage to destroy so much?

✪✪✪✪✪

Marcus wonders how you are doing. He keeps looking back at you until you fade from his sight just to make sure that you are ok. He swears that he saw your shoulders and head drop as they seem to whenever you’re reminded of whatever those ghosts are that you haven’t managed yet to lay to rest.

“She’ll be ok with Jacques. Those two are like brother and sister, you needn't worry,” Élodie pats Marcus’ arm as she points in front of her, nodding towards a cafe. Seeing a small tic in his jaw, she adds with a small smile, “She’s special to you, non?”

After Marcus holds the door for Élodie, he shoves his hands in his pockets and pauses before saying, “Yeah. She is. I don’t think in all my years of working as an agent, that I’ve ever met someone like Anushka. Listening to her speak about art and the various different forgeries… it just transports me to a place... I’m not just in the museum seeing the original masterpieces. It’s not even just that I can see those pieces in front of me. Just by her words bringing them alive, I become part of the art. Her passion and knowledge is infectious and she cannot help but to enthuse everyone around- she is truly gifted.”

“Anushka is incredibly talented. She was born to be in the role but I would say that’s not the only way that you think she’s special,” Élodie gently analyses as she squeezes Marcus’ arm seeing a moment of panic cross his face- she tries to swallow down a laugh at how he looks like a little boy caught with his hand in the biscuit tin, “Don’t worry, I won’t say a word to Nush- she can be a bit like a wild animal at times. It can take time to earn her trust. The 5 Eyes team is separate from Mi5, non?”

Marcus’ brow furrows, “Yes, we work under slightly separate parameters as we work across five agencies across the world- sort of similar to Interpol. Why d’ya ask?”

“Ok, so if you were to start anything with her- if anything were to be allowed to develop between the two of you, could it result in disciplinary action or her losing her role? Hang on,” she pauses as the assistant behind the glass shelf raises their eyebrows in Élodie’s direction, alerting her that it is time to order, « Bonjour, quatre cafés s’il vous plaît »

Marcus adds « Et je voudrais deux pain aux raisins aussi, s’il vous plaît. »

“Oh, I didn’t realise that you spoke a little French- a man of many talents,” Élodie teases with a wink as she grabs her purse from her bag, “And let me guess, the food is to try to stop Nush from burning herself or you? That woman is a nightmare with drinks.”

Reaching across Élodie,who is about to tap her card to pay, Marcus passes the cashier a couple of notes that more than cover the total, grabs the coffees and goes to leave, holding the door open with his elbow. “Why d’you wanna know about how interdepartmental relationships are viewed?”

The creases on Marcus’ brow deepen as yet another hint of whatever plagues your past troubles his mind due to Élodie’s words, “It is not my story to tell, and I’m not sure I even have half of the facts but please be gentle with her. Come what may between the two of you.”

“Oh, look who’s come to join us!” Looking up after a sharp nudge to his ribs alerted him to speak no further, Marcus sees Jacques tucking a piece of hair that had fallen in front of your eyes behind your ear, then pulling your hunched shoulders into a side on shoulder hug as Élodie grabs a coffee and mocks throwing it in your direction, to which you stick your tongue out. You are so busy messing around with the pair of them that you don’t notice the tenderness in Marcus’ eyes or the smile that creeps across his face as he watches how your friends behave around you.

“So are we ready to look at a slab of meat? I hope you’re not a vegetarian, Marcus,” Jacques chuckles freely at the thought of the tall, broad American becoming queasy at a graphic painting depicting the decomposition of a piece of carrion.

“Oh no, I love rare steak far too much, and I’ve spent way too long researching art to be weirded out by a bit of expressionism,” Marcus adds before taking a long gulp of coffee, “I must admit that I’m not terribly confident in my knowledge of Soutine other than he liked painting rotting meat.”

Jacques smiles and gestures his head in your direction, “Nush- time to shine, chérie.”

“So - Soutine was a Russian painter, who made massive contributions to the Expressionist movement whilst based in Paris. I don’t want to teach you to suck eggs so please tell me to shut up if you already know it but expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait was to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas. Expressionist artists sought to express the meaning of emotional experience rather than physical reality so you needn’t worry about the depictions of rotting meat as it isn’t like an anatomical drawing you’d find in a copy of Grey’s Anatomy or anything.”

Pausing to draw a breath, you look up to check Marcus’ face- that you aren’t boring him to death- and see two dark eyes, flecked with amber, that are entirely focussed on you. His entranced gaze makes you shift awkwardly, eyes dancing around the street to try and focus on something other than him under the sheer intensity but you decide to continue, “He’s quite an interesting character in regards to our case as he was good friends with Modigliani, who we know is another one with multiple fraudulencies of his works as well as our link we made in the meeting that our main faked pieces being sold by our group are by European Jews.

“Soutine seldom showed his works, but he did take part in the important exhibition The Origins and Development of International Independent Art held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume in 1937 in Paris, where he was at last hailed as a great painter but sadly soon afterwards, France was invaded by German troops and obviously as a Jew, Soutine had to escape from the French capital and hide in order to avoid arrest by the Gestapo. He moved from one place to another and was sometimes forced to seek shelter in forests, sleeping outdoors. Suffering from a stomach ulcer and bleeding badly, he left a safe hiding place for Paris in order to undergo emergency surgery, which ultimately failed to save his life.

“The main thing that you two need to know,” you add as you reaffix your focus and run your eyes between Marcus and Jacques, ”Is that Paul Guillaume was the main dealer of his work. Straight after World War 1, he was Soutine’s biggest cheerleader and landed him a major deal with the American collector, Albert C Barnes. If you manage to track it back to either of them, you’re pretty much at ground zero- back at Soutine’s own easel- and don’t need to worry much about further certification of validity as it being one of his pieces.”

Standing in the street in front of the cafe, you discuss between the four of you who will focus on which part of the checking for verification of the piece.

Marcus and Jacques decide to focus on the provenance of the piece and to be honest, you’re relieved to be free from the paperwork trail. The idea of searching through the records of previous ownership, fills you with utter dread at missing something that would prove that it was a fake. You’d hope that each piece could be instantly traceable back to the moment where the original had been removed from the easel by the artist but that is so often far from the truth of the situation as records are often lost or aren’t even kept in the first place with only a handshake to move the piece to the newest owner. When certain disreputable organisations or untrustworthy governments seek to obscure the origins of pieces, it is nothing but doors being slammed in your face and labyrinths created from lies and deliberate obfuscation.

“Ok, so Nush and I will collect samples from the piece. I’ll then use the microscope to check the samples for any irregularities in the craquelure in the craquelure while madam here uses the stereo microscope to check the layers of paint,” Élodie gestures towards you, passing a plastic case over containing your equipment. “Obviously we won’t be able to do an x-rays, infrared or mass spectrometry tests as they aren’t so portable but if we cannot confidently say the painting isn’t a forgery, then I suggest we get a courier to take it back to Lyon for us.”

“Agreed, I think that would be the best use of everyone’s talents here,” Marcus replies, nodding, “Are we far from the auction house?” to build up a more 3D picture of the piece. D’accord??” Élodie checks as she grabs a coffee and starts to walk off in the direction of the auction house with Jacques beating a steady path behind her.

With a small gesture of his hand, Marcus waves you forward and as you take a step in the same direction as your friends, a small white paper bag with a telltale sticky stain seeping through that you hadn’t noticed being held out, taps you gently against the soft curve of your tummy. With a confused look knitting across your face.

Marcus boyishly grins back at you as he takes a bite out of his pastry, “Last set of clean clothes, gotta take calculated risks with you around.”

✪✪✪✪✪

Slightly arched windows with flaking grey paint allow a small amount of crisp mountain light to trickle into the mellow gloom of the Aladdin's cave that stretch out in front of Marcus’ eyes. As far as his eyes can see, gilt framed pictures playing out a multitude of scenes from people’s lives- some more parochial and some edging to the more abstract- bedeck the walls. A goat playing a violin, a horse in a field and a lady all in blue with sad eyes and a nose twisted closer to her ears are all jostling for positions in the party on his senses. Every single nerve in his body tingles with excitement at the treasures surrounding him on all sides. The busy-ness did not stop at the walls as every surface of the room was covered in objets d’art with exquisitely fashioned chairs, tables and armoires creating an increasingly impossible maze to step through across the floor. Even the exposed beams of the ceiling felt the need to be a part of this gentle assault upon the eyes, protruding above his head, lending an elegant set of vertebrae to the room.

Marcus thinks he’s hiding his giddiness well until he catches Anushka looking at him with an amused grin upon her face. He goes to respond but initially struggles to find the words to explain the eagerness that is written across his face, his mouth stretched in a childlike grin, eyes lit up and hands that tremble and flex with anticipation. A small smile from her and the light squeeze upon his arm told Marcus that he needn’t worry about explaining anything. Even though the touch was slight and momentary, it cut through the overstimulation of the room and it takes every bit of self control he owns to not throw his arms around her and hug her tightly. Don’t mess this one up too, Pike.

Reopening his eyes, an elegant chignon of hair and high cheekbones makes its way through the clutter of Marcus’ thoughts and extends a delicate, papery hand in greeting. The owner seems to glide through the objects around her, obviously confident of the dead ends and exit points between the items as she leads you to a small office where a tidy pile of papers and a small computer await your services.

«Madame, comprenez-vous que l'utilisation de ces méthodes scientifiques ne peut que prouver que le tableau est un faux? On ne peut pas prouver si une pièce est authentique.» Madam, do you understand that using these scientific methods cannot prove if a painting is a fake? rubbing his brow, Jacques tries to explain to the owner of the auction house, «Même si les résultats de tous les tests scientifiques indiquent qu'il n'y a pas de tromperie dans l'œuvre d'art, nous ne pouvons pas dire sans l'ombre d'un doute qu'il ne s'agit pas simplement d'un cas d'un faussaire dépassant la détection scientifique.» Even if the results of these scientific tests show that there is not a forgery in this work of art, we cannot say without a shadow of doubt that there is not simply a case of a forger out-pacing scientific detection.

Marcus nods in agreement with the agent’s words. He hates the dishonesty of it all- the obviously incredibly talented painters creating mimicries and mockeries of the original pieces. As the owner spins out of the room, Jacques notices the frown painted on Marcus’ face and the tic in his jaw as he starts to flick through the portfolio of papers in front of him.

“Hey, what happened to the giddy boy in the sweetshop back there?” Jacques teases, gently punching him on his shoulder.

Rubbing his fingers along the side of his nose before scratching the patchy scruff that lines the edge of his jaw, Marcus smiles, “Hah! That obvious, eh? Just, kinda wishing that we weren’t even necessary.”

“Yeah, it is irritating but it does pay my mortgage,”Jacques chuckles deeply, “And to be honest without it, I wouldn’t have met that woman in that lock up over there and convinced her that she should marry me or have my baby.”

A pang of jealousy hit Marcus hard, “You’ve done well then. Mine just pays a mortgage on a place in DC that I won’t even be living in for the next couple of years.”

“Never wanted to or the opportunity never arose?” Jacques quizzes not lifting his eyes as he reads through documents.

“Your setup with Élodie is something I’d love to have,” he nods sadly, “Just have one failed marriage - due to her infidelity and lack of wish to try and work things out, and a failed engagement as she was in love with another man - to my name. No, I’d love to have that vulnerability and affection with someone again. Kinda feels like a pipe dream now- not sure anyone would want to take on someone with such a creased up, greying ol’man.”

“Hah, have you forgotten my wife’s quite genuinely visceral reaction to meeting you?” Jacques laughs heartily, rolling his eyes at the mere suggestion from Marcus, “Believe me, you do not have anything to worry about there. It’ll happen. Usually- in fact, always, when you least expect it.”

With a soft huff and a slight lift from the left side of his lips, Jacques strains to hear Marcus’ whisper, “I truly hope so.”

“Hang on, whose name was it that we were looking for that would pretty much guarantee authenticity?”

Jacques’ face creases in concentration as he tries to rack his brains for the names Nush had provided earlier, “Bof...Paul something-or-the-other French and Albert something-or-the-other American, I think.”

“Hmmm, I think I’ve a document here with both of their names on it… Shall we go share it with the ladies?”

«Bonne idée. On y va. » Good idea. Let’s go.

Grabbing the pile of documents from the polished walnut bureau, there’s a sweet bubble of excitement building in Marcus’ tummy. Try as he might to convince himself that it was on account of being out of the tiny office and back around an exquisite masterpiece from the early twentieth century, deep down he knew there was another sweeter, more ancient and primal reason that made him want to be in the lock up.

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[jinterlude]

Two Faced (Ch.5)

↳ gif header is made by © @softjeon. Please don’t try and steal it and make it your own.

➵ Pairing(s): Gang!Jungkook x Female!OC & Gang!Mark Lee x Female!OC x Gang!Seokjin

➵ Genre(s):  College!AU, Mafia/Gang!AU, Angst, Romance, Friendship, Humor, Love Triangle & Slight-Fluff

➵ Warning(s): Mentions of alcohol // mentions of drugs

➵ Words: 4K

➵ Co-writer: @softjeon

➵ Summary: Two girls. Two gangs. One craved absolute control over the city of Seoul. While, the other simply craved sleep and good grades. Now, what do these two ladies have in common? Simple. They have nothing in common—or so they think. Everyone knows the saying, “never judge a book by its cover”, so maybe there is something more to these two than meets the eye…especially when one of them is suddenly thrown into the underground life. Loyalties will be tested. Romance will blossom. Yup. Sounds like an average college day…

« Previously | Next Time »

Chapter 5 - Hooked, Lined, and Drugged?

Sowon jumped a little from one foot onto the other to keep herself warm. If that didn’t help, she was trying to hug Sumin tight, but the younger refused it each time. The leader eyed her from the corner of her eyes, trying to think of a way to get into the club as quick as possible. If Sowon didn’t, then they both would freeze to death before she would even take a glance at the gang’s leader.

Suddenly, the door of the club swung open and everyone in line snapped their head around. With a hopeful smile on their faces, a few girls in the front of the line were looking at the guard who was whispering something into his colleagues ear.

Sowon noticed their glances right away, as she slowly turned to Sumin.

“Just like we trained it, baby,” She hissed tight-lipped, making the younger look at her in confusion.

“Huh?” She asked a little dumbfounded, as she couldn’t quite understand what her friend had said, but a sudden dark figure that stood tall besides her made her shut up immediately.

She gulped hard against the lump in her throat, while Sowon was licking her lips slowly, devouring the man in front of her with her eyes and making sure that he had absolutely every reason to lead them inside. However, to her surprise, it wasn’t her who the man got fixated on. She blinked a few times. Wait...what did the guy say?

“You are allowed inside, miss,” His rough voice repeated.

Sumin felt small under the muscular man’s harsh gaze. Her body pretty much froze with her lips practically sewn shut. Sowon, on the other hand, flickered her eyes back and forth between the man and her cute little roomie. The leader couldn’t understand as to why this scary looking man only had eyes for Sumin. Um. Hello. She was there too.

“Who’s allowed inside?” asked Sowon, secretly pushing Sumin behind her.

The tall, muscular man pointed at the person behind her.

“Her.” He said shortly, causing both Sumin and Sowon to look behind them. The pair of girls behind squealed in joy, but just as they took a step foot outside the line, the man shook his head.

“Nope. Not you two,” He then pointed directly at Sumin, “Her. My boss wants to see her.” He finished, clarifying his original sentence.

Sowon nearly choked on her saliva while Sumin’s eyes grew big as this look of complete and utter confusion graced her face.

“Me?” questioned Sumin, pointing to herself.

The man simply nodded as he gestured for her, and only her, to follow him inside.

“Wait! Can my friend come along too?” She asked, looking at him with pleading eyes. This was her first time doing anything like this. There was no way in Hell that she’d do this alone.

The security guard remained stoic, ignoring the begging look in Sumin's eyes, “Sorry, but he only instructed that I only allow—” However, before he could finish his sentence, he heard his boss say something through his ear monitor. The girls watched the bodyguard eagerly, waiting for the answer that they wanted to hear.

A few seconds later, the man turned back to the girls and said,

“Okay, the two of you can come in. I guess my boss has grown impatient and wants you inside right now.”

Sumin beamed in excitement as she looked at Sowon smiling. Sowon returned the smile as she guided the two of them into the club where the enemy would be waiting for them.

“Alright, you pain in the asses, let’s see who your leader really is…” thought the furious gang leader as she entered the establishment with this determined grin.

The sounds of a loud bass invaded hers and Sumin’s ear, causing the latter to cover them.

Poor little sunshine…

She wasn’t used to this atmosphere…

“You doing okay?” Sowon shouted, hoping that her precious roomie heard her.

Sumin nodded, though, her heart practically drummed against her chest. Her exterior showed that she was confident and ready to help Sowon and the rest of Bangtan. Yet, with her interior, her nerves went into this wild frenzy in the pit of her stomach. It didn’t help that her thoughts were mainly negative ones, and they were simply psyching her out.

God help her…

Noticing that Sumin looked a little stress, Sowon, offered to go them some drinks. Before she left, the silently worried leader placed both hands on Sumin’s shoulders, looked straight into her eyes, and said,

“Do not move from this spot until I come back. Got it?”

Hearing how serious her tone was sent tiny shivers down Sumin’s spine. This unspeakable intense glare that emitted from Sowon’s eyes could make anyone speechless—especially Sumin.

Unable to form words, the younger girl simply nodded, earning a warm smile from the leader.

Sowon then patted Sumin on the head before taking her leave to fetch them some drinks. However, unknown to Sumin, Sowon actually left to allow the plan to work. NCT’s leader wouldn’t take her sweet little innocent bait if she was there, right?

Now, standing alone, near the dance floor, Sumin grew unsure what to do next. While, she heeded Sowon’s warning, Sumin honestly felt a bit foolish just standing there and not really doing anything.

“Maybe, she wouldn’t mind if I surveilled the area...I mean, it could help her, right?” Sumin questioned to herself as she glanced in every single direction of the place. 

She observed the drunken people, laughing and chattering away as they got rather cozy with one another. She especially took note of how many couples occupied the many boots. Okay, she needed to avert her eyes or else she’ll be getting a show—a rather sexual show.

Taking one final look, Sumin found the best route to take to look around and stepped forward.

Sadly, she didn’t get quite far. Her stupid heels prevented her from walking without tripping. She felt her body sway slightly and just as she embraced herself for the harsh impact against the cold, disgusting floor.

Yet…

It didn’t came.

Sumin slowly pried one eye open and soon opened the other. Instead of being greeted with the colorful spotlights, her eyes met a pair of dark brown eyes instead.

“I wanted you to fall me, but not like this,” The mysterious savior began, grinning, as he helped Sumin stand up, “Hi, I’m Mark. Mark Lee.” The person introduced as he held out a hand for her to shake.

A tiny “O” formed on her lips before a polite yet sweet smile took over.

“Um. I’m Sumin. Park Sumin, and thank you for preventing my embarrassing face plant.” Sumin said kindly, shaking his hand. Just like what her mother always told her to do when meeting new people.

Mark couldn’t help but chuckle at Sumin’s word. What a cute girl…

“Say, do you want to accompany me back to the VIP room? You looked rather bored just standing there.” He asked, unknowingly offering a way for Sumin to not only move from her spot but maybe also gain intel for Bangtan.

She had remembered the notes that Seokjin had written out for her about NCT. Maybe, this Mark fella worked for them and knows what their leader looked like. It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?

Sumin nodded and then told Mark to lead the way. Mark shouted a quick, “Awesome!”, before leading her to the room that reserved for his special guests. A room that had been never used until tonight.

Meanwhile, back with Sowon, she eyed the encounter of her roommate with an unknown man carefully.

The two shots she had bought, she quickly downed herself. Her eyes glued on Sumin. If that boss of the club wanted Sumin in here, she would probably be lead to him very soon. This was easier than she had thought. Content with her own plan, Sowon bopped her head to the music, her gaze wandering around to take in the club that was owned by NCT.

A soft scoff escaped her lips as she gestured for the bartender to set her up with another round of shots. Honestly, the more she looked at the club, the more she wanted to gag. Something about NCT’s club screamed tacky. Like, the whole black color scheme with the flashy neon colors? Yeah. Been there, done that.

Yet, something still drawn these mindless little lambs to this place, but what? What could have gotten these people extremely hooked to the point that they kept coming back every single weekend?

Then, it suddenly occurred to her as the rim of the shot glass gently touched her lips.

Shit…

“Jimin. Yoongi. Analyze the contents of the alcohol that is being served here…” She instructed, subtly messing with the microphone that was disguised as an earring.

She had to find out more about this unknown substance...

While, with Mark, he too wanted to discover something, but it wasn’t a new drug. No. He wanted to unravel the mystery that was the pure girl that walked by his side. He honestly couldn’t explain why or even how this random person had this much of an impact. He had seen countless of beautiful woman, some who have radiated the same amount of pureness that Sumin displayed.

Yet…

He had to claim her.

He had to make her his...

As they finally made to the restricted area, Mark held out a hand for Sumin to take, helping her up the few steps towards the VIP area.

“Can I bring you something to drink?” He asked, leaning in to Sumin to make sure she could hear him over the loud music. His hand firmly rested at her lower back, his breath tingling over the nape of her neck. 

“I...I don’t have any money with me, actually...my fr-,” Sumin stumbled over her own words, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the new situation. Too much attention. An extremely short dress. A shit ton of people, and music so loud that one’s eardrum would be ringing for months. The girl was way out of her comfort zone.

“Don’t worry, baby girl,” Mark said with a smirk, “It’s all on me tonight.”

Sumin forced a smile; her shy persona overtaking her body. While, Sowon helped her practice being this femme fatale type of girl, it just went out the window tonight. It was one thing practicing with both her roomie and Seokjin, but it was another thing actually utilizing her acting skills on the actual situation.

Maybe, she wouldn’t get the necessary information that was needed because right now, she just wanted to get out of there.

Noticing her rather reserved shy demeanor, Mark took the opportunity to place a comforting hand on her thigh; his fingers lightly caressed her skin. He slowly closed the gap between their bodies as he gestured for one of the club’s waitresses to come bring him a couple of shot of his own specialty concoction. The same cocktail that had these club-goers buzzed out of their minds.

Not even minutes later, the waitress returned with a tray of two shot glasses. Mark playfully winked at the woman and uttered a quick “thanks babe”, before taking the shots and dismissing her like she meant nothing to him.

While with Sumin, she couldn’t help but watch the charming man with a keen interest as he behaved rather flirtatiously with the waitress. Not only had he acted that way towards herself earlier, but it appeared that he displayed such a trait with anyone that had legs and rather voluptuous breasts.

So, why the extra attention? Why was she personally escorted to the VIP room?

“Because, I wanted you here with me, baby girl.” She heard Mark say, pulling her out of her conflicting thoughts. Oh, I guess she didn’t think the last part to herself…

Sumin snapped her attention onto him, mustering a small, believable smile.

However, Mark knew better. He read people like it was nothing. That’s what made him so powerful in his line of work. He knew if people lied to him, tried to take advantage of him or any one of his members, etc. Seriously, a person must’ve had a death wish, if he or she believed that they could pull a fast one on him.

Foolish mistake…

Noticing that Sumin still seemed uncomfortable around him, he decided to ease the awkward silence between them.

Setting his shot glass down, he lifted his right hand up to his ear and started to tuck it in.

“Sumin, look!” He shouted in excitement, earning the girl’s attention, “I officially have one ear!” He stated, dramatically waving his hands.

Sumin tried her hardest to mask the amused smile that threatened to form. Ultimately, she failed. She giggled loudly as she scooted a bit closer to get a better look at how he was able to tuck in his ear like that.

Seeing how amazed she was truly warmed Mark’s cold heart; even if the warmth was small.

Unfortunately, seeing how happy she was didn’t sit well with a certain member of Bangtan…

Keeping true to his word, Seokjin kept a close eye on Sumin from another booth. It would be an understatement to say that he was quite happy that no one walked up to his princess once Sowon left. Sadly, that moment had been short lived the moment his eyes registered an almost shadowy figure made its way towards her.

Without thinking about it, Seokjin swiftly stood up, ready to protect Sumin; however, he soon sat back down. He had to remember that this was part of the plan. If they were going to put an end to NCT, one and for all, they needed to figure out who’s the leader.

He just hoped that they’d find out sooner, so all of them could go home and get away from this dump…

“Are you listening to what that asshole is telling her?” Seokjin bitterly asked before taking a sip of his beer.

Taehyung laughed at how jealous his friend was being. Jealousy was definitely a good look on Seokjin.

“What? You prefer the cold over the heat? Damn, me too!” The duo heard Mark say over the shared audio connection.

“Yeah, which is funny because I was born during the summer solstice.” They then heard Sumin reply.

This almost animalistic growl exited Seokjin’s lips. That’s it. He was going to intervene.

The handsome elder stood up, shrugging his leather jacket back on. Something about that Mark fella did not sit well with him, and he definitely did not like how Sumin was alone with that fool.

“Cover me, Tae. I’m going to go rescue Sumin.” Seokjin boldly declares, keeping his eyes on his princess.

Instead of answering, Taehyung made a face and then tugged on Seokjin’s sleeve, quickly annoying the older fella.

“What?!” shouted Seokjin, frustrated with the fact that Taehyung prevented him from leaving.

Taehyung’s body flinched just a bit. It was always a scary thing to see Seokjin pissed off, however, Taehyung needed to direct the handsome member’s attention over to a certain someone….

He simply pointed in the direction of where his leader was and patiently waited for Seokjin to get the hint.

Raising his brow, Seokjin followed the direction of Taehyung’s finger, and the second he did, his eyes widened.

On the other side of the club, he saw Sowon, with the most emotionless expression ever to grace her face, flipping him off.

It was if her flashing the middle finger signaled him to fucking sit back down and do nothing.

The last thing she wanted was for one of her members to do something stupid only because he couldn’t keep his fucking jealousy in check.

“Stay the fuck where you are, Jin!” She mouthed silently as her stare was icy and cold, making the boys chuckle.

Just then, another stranger had turned towards Sowon, just when she flipped off Seokjin—but to him it rather looked like it was meant for him. With a sad look on his face, he stared at the two glasses in his hands and turned on his heel.

Sowon hadn’t noticed the attention, but Jungkook did. He pulled Seokjin back on his seat, with a smirk on his lips.

“Good Job, ‘tiny dick’ Jin,” Jungkook teased the older, “At least you keep my girl from getting groped by strangers. So keep it going but also....” Jungkook leaned into Seokjin, his voice sounding dark and cold, “Don’t fuck this up and keep your stupid jealousy in control. She’s not even yours to begin with and if you fuck this up for us, you can be sure I’ll use you as my new target when I practice shooting.” The younger one switched his demeanor as quick as it came, leaning back against the booth, sipping on his drink as he observed his favorite woman.

He wasn’t really the one to tell Seokjin to keep his jealousy in check. He had a few problems in that area himself. But at least he could call Sowon his own. Unlike his rather high strung older “brother”.

While Sowon was busy making sure that Seokjin stayed put, Sumin, on the other hand, had no problem with sitting on Mark’s lap as she giggled at everything and anything that the secretive man had said and/or did.

The more she consumed this strange alcoholic beverage, the more her brain became fuzzy. Her inhibitions practically ceased to exist. She no longer had complete control over her actions. Both the body movements and the words that came out of her mouth.

Currently nestling her face in Mark’s neck, Sumin hid the blush that invaded her cheeks as this sweet person continued to flatter her while his hands remained anchored on her lower back and thigh.

“Come on, baby girl. Let me see your cute face.” He whined playfully, maneuvering his head so he could see her blushing face.

Sumin swiftly shook her head, accidentally tickling Mark’s neck because of her hair.

“You’re going to tease me again. You big fat meanie.” She practically slurred.

Mark chuckled at her slurred speech as a evil smirk slowly appeared on his handsome face. Just a few more drinks and Sumin would be incredibly vulnerable. Vulnerable enough for him to take her back to NCT’s base of operation and keep her.

“I promise, I’m not going to tease you,” Mark tilted his head, trying to establish eye contact with her, “Please. I want to see your sweet innocent smile.” He whispered; his husky voice unknowingly sent shivers down her spine.

Sumin pouted cutely and just as she lifted her head, her eyes noticed something interesting. She furrowed her brows as she tried her hardest to focus all her energy into homing in on that unusual marking on Mark’s chest.

Wanting to get a better look, Sumin subtly pulled Mark’s dress shirt down a bit, silently thanking her drunk self for being rather flirtatious.

As the shirt slowly lowered, uncovering the strange ink mark little by little, a faint gasp escaped her lips. Her eyes widened as her heart began to race. The more she stared at the tattoo, the more she remembered what she had read in the file about NCT—especially about the mysterious leader.

Yeah…she needed to get out of there…

Of course Sowon had seen it all and she had noticed the first signs of Sumin’s intoxication fast. She had only one drink. Sowon was sure of that.

Eyeing the stranger, she stomped ahead, throwing her head back confidently as she just walked along and straight towards the VIP Booth.

“Oh, hey baby,” Sowon said a little louder for Sumin to hear and then glanced at Mark, “Thank you for taking care of my girlfriend.” With a strong pull, Sowon pushed Sumin up and hooked an arm over her waist, making the younger girl giggle in the process. 

“Your girl...friend?” Mark slowly questioned, furrowing his brows together, as he found it hard to believe that the pure snowflake, that giggled at every single thing he had said, turned out to be a player for the same team. 

“Yes, my girlfriend, so please excuse me,” Sowon said and stumbled along with Sumin in her arms, “She always gets drunk so easily.” Helping her down the steps, Sowon made sure to keep getting further and further away from Mark, but of course the guy didn’t let go so easily but at the same time he didn’t to get too much attention.

Just then Sumin leaned in to Sowon, her hands wrapping around the leader’s neck as she whispered something—or more likely slurred. But it was enough for Sowon to understand. The tattoo. He had one.

Sowon reacted quick, gripping Sumin’s chin to make the girl look at her. She had a gut feeling about this. A very bad one. With a faint smile,Sumin looked at her roommate feeling a little dizzy, when suddenly Sowon leaned in and kissed her deeply. Only to pull back a few seconds later.

“They drugged her,” Sowon whispered and with that the boys jumped up from where they sat and ran off into their positions. Never in his life had Seokjin run this fast as soon as he had heard the words. He was the first one at Sowon’s side, grabbing Sumin quickly as he got her out of the club as fast as she could.

“Oh fuck you, Mark!” Sowon said, feeling Jungkook’s and Taehyung’s presence on each side of her as an evil smirk placed itself on her face. She walked backwards, as she let her wig fall, “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

On the other side of the club, as if he magically controlled the crowd to disperse, Mark stared down the infamous woman. The woman that he had sworn to capture—dead or alive. The woman that if he took down, then his gang would control everything in Seoul.

Jeon fucking Sowon.

There she stood—in the flesh. What particularly interested him was her stance. The way she and two of the members, whose names that he didn’t give a fuck about enough to remember them, acted like this barrier between him and his baby girl seemed a bit odd. But at the same time, it intrigued him to the point that he formulated an evil idea to not only kidnap Sumin, but also cause this excruciating amount of pain within Bangtan.

It’s always fun to kill two birds with one stone…

“Should we go after them, Mark?” asked the silver-haired boy as he and the rest of NCT watch Bangtan’s retreating bodies flee the club.

A demonic smirk graced Mark’s face as he remained looking at the almost unconscious girl in one of Bangtan’s member’s arms. His intense stare remained fixated on the innocent girl until she completely disappeared from his sight.

“We could, Taeyong, but where it would the fun be if Bangtan knew our next course of action.” He began, as he turned his body away from the crowd, “Besides, I need you, Doyoung, to do some digging on that Sumin girl.” He politely instructed as he and the rest of his group made their way back to the VIP area.

Doyoung perked his brow up, “Why’s that?”

“Because, if I’m going to sweep her off her feet, I’m going to need to know everything there is to know about her, especially what kind of gifts does she like.” Mark explained before gesturing the waitress to bring them some drinks.

Doyoung glanced at Taeyong, who then gave him a look that said, “just go along with it”. The boy with black and blue streaked hair simply sighed as he fished out his phone. Whatever the leader wanted, he shall have.

“And what is going to happen after you claim her?” asked a tallish man with circle style glasses.

“Simple, Johnny.” Mark’s smirk grew wider, alarming yet piquing the curiosity of the rest of NCT.

“She’s going to be our ticket into destroying Bangtan.”

A/N: Well the ending was pretty ominous...what do you think Mark meant by that...? D: Also, I’m worried about my soft princess that is Sumin. T-T So attached to her lol

Don’t forget to leave a comment/like/reblog/and an ask in mine or Jey’s inbox! We love hearing your thoughts!

- Kim

[vallkyr]

Soft Q&A

I was tagged by @youlooklikeabrian thanks! 💕

Rules: Answer the soft Q+A’s and tag 5 of your most recent followers and 3 of your biggest fans

What's the smell of your shampoo?

I have no idea? It only says on the bottle that it's with amla oil so I guess that's it? I have absolutely no idea what amla oil smells like outside of shampoo.

What's your aesthetic?

I honestly have no idea because for once I love leather jackets, tattoos and piercings to some extent but I'm also a sucker for cute and fluffy stuff but also my apartment consists of mostly plain white furniture while I usually like really bright and colourful things? I'm a complex creature.

What's your favourite time of the day and why?

Late evening to night I guess because at home that's my time to chill in front of the TV with my parents and write fanfics. For some reason I'm most creative during times when I'm supposed to be asleep. Now that I moved out the evening is the time when I meet up with my friends because we try to cook dinner together whenever possible and afterwards we sit together and play games (it used to be Uno but lately we're getting into Poker) so yeah it's just a really nice time when I get to be with people I love and do things I like.

What do you like most about the beach?

I really enjoy just lying on the beach, underneath a sunshade and reading. I also like swimming but I kind of have a problem with the "things" in the water, I don't like getting too close to fish or touching plants floating around and such. As nice as the water may be I never really get used to that part.

What do you worry about constanly?

Not doing enough. I always feel like I'm not studying enough, back in school as well as now that I'm at university. I want to do more but when I have time for it I can never get myself to study and it always makes me feel like shit when I'm in lecture and notice how much I lack. It's the same when it comes to creating content. I have tons of unfonished fanfics and even more ideas that I haven't even touched beyond the usual planning and I'm so sorry about that. I wanted to do more after graduating but I kind of had a down at that time and didn't write anything for ages. Same goes for drawing, I love drawing, I have ideas and I want to do it but I just don't. What I do is scribbling stuff on the sides of my notes during lectures. I can never seem to channel my inspiration and motivation into actual productivity.

What's a song you've cried to before?

The ones I remember most are First love and The last. It might be because both songs remind me of a sort of fanfic idea I have, or more of an OC and his backstory. But also Yoongi's rap just really gets to me?! He pours his entire heart into it and you can just feel the emotions inside of him and just djsnklsf so yeah. I love those songs and I have definitely cried at least once listening to them.

What are some relaxing tips for your followers?

It really depends on the situation? For general relaxing I like to draw and listen to music but in stress situations I guess the classical stuff like taking deep breaths, drinking some water, I also tent to ball my hand to a fist and dig my nails into the heel of my hand to distract myself from what is "stressing" me (that's mostly when my phobia kicks in, we'll get to that later)

What are some things that make you tear up?

I really can't think of anything on the spot. I sometimes cry during really emotional scenes in movies?

What is your favourite from each sense?

Seeing: I have no idea, I love a lot of things? For example flowers or bright colourful things, I really like teal. I also have a thing for art, I kind of like the earlier works of Kandinsky and I'm absolutely fascinated by John Bramblitt (I used one of his paintings as a header until recently) I love his art. I guess the most "unique" thing is architecture? Every since we had architecture as a topic in arts class I just love it, I love looking at beautiful buildings of different kinds, for a while I even considered studying architecture.

Hearing: Uhm, kpop? I don't really know what else to say except for maybe the sound of the sea, have you guys ever been to a beach at night? I can definitely recommend that, it's beautiful and you get to hear the sea without all the people around, which is really nice.

Smelling: I absolutely love the smell of bakeries. Which might have to do with the fact that my dad had an apprenticeship as a pastry cook and thus is responsible for making cakes and pastries whenever there's a birthday or some sort of party. It's a treasured part of my childhood.

Tasting: I have a sweet tooth. I'm not that much into crisps amd stuff like that as I'm into chocolate and gummy bears and so on.

Feeling: Fluffy things, give me a fluffy pillow or carpet or whatever and I will run my hands over it the entire time, I love fluffy things. But also: wind. I love feeling wind on my skin, especially if it's strong. It gives me a sense of freedom.

What is one alternative reality you'd like to be in?

I think being able to use magic would be really cool, living the life of a fairy in some ancient forest and flying around all the time. Yup, that sounds lovely.

What are some troubles you face on a daily basis?

Aaand now we're getting to the already mentioned phobia. I'm afraid of dogs and it sucks. It wasn't too much of a problem when I was in school because I was driven/rode the bus and mostly I only had to walk a pretty short way from the bus stop to my school and usually wouldn't encounter any dogs (there was a Husky who was occasionally tied to a tree on the way but that dog was so calm and didn't butch no matter how many people walked past so after a few times that wasn't too much of a problem) but now I live fairly close to uni and taking a bus is more of a hassle than an actual benefit. The worst part is that my way leads through some sort of park right before uni and there are a lot of dogs, especially in the morning and even more so on the weekend (I have a lecture on Saturday morning) and I've sometimes encountered dogs who weren't on a leash or who were wildly barking at each other. As you can imagine that's kind of my worst nightmare (I'm feeling a little uncomfortable just remembering these situations) that has already lead me to take huge detours and in one case being a little to a lecture because there were dogs on the way. It's okay if they're on a leash, near their owner and rather calm but sadly that doesn't apply to all dogs. Sometimes I feel like I make progress but then I have a "problematic" encounter again and everything just goes to hell again.

Then there's also the fact that after two and a half years I still have to watch after my leg and often have to go slow. My knee often hurts after I walked a lot or after I sat in a chair in a normal way for too long my knee takes the gays can't sit properly thing way too seriously. So yeah I often have to tell my friends to slow down, try avoiding stairs (especially descending stairs) or try to take the bus for longer ways (which isn't always possible) and still I have some trouble with my leg pretty much every day.

What is one scene from a book that makes you really sad?

The first thing I remembered was a scene from a book I read many years ago, I can't find the English name but to sum it up: the protagonist (who was heavily pregnant at that time) was attacked and her child was injured. Shortly after the birth she and her husband received the message that their child had died from the injuries. They emigrated to the US and never found out that something had gotten mixed up and that a different child had died, not their daughter.

Say something to your followers:

I feel like my soft Q&A turned into a kind of serious Q&A, especially because of my ranting about my phobia, so I want to apologize for that. But also thank you all so much! Every single one of you means a lot to me and I'm really thankful that I can share my thoughts with you. Again, thank you for following me, I hope my blog is able to brighten up your day a little! 💕

Okay so five of my most resent followers are: @tatasbby, @jimiinsbf, @changbuns, @chanskitchen and @charlesgasly and my three biggest fans according to the tumblr statistics are @excuseme-jimin, @sunshineshouyo and @notbangchanmain

(You don't have to do this if you don't want to but it would be cool)

[tomhollandisdaddyaf]

Tom's Girl: you've always been friends with Harrison, but only friends. Now you're dating Tom and Harrison feels so conflicted about his feelings for you. Warnings: drinking, swearing. Word count : 1358 Waving off his best friend with a forced smile as the girl he loved giggled drunkenly. He watched his best friend, basically his fucking brother, pull in the giggling mess of red curls into his arms, nodding towards Harrison as the two disappeared into Tom's suite. Harrison waited until the two were in the room before flipping them off and mumbling for them to fuck off. His suite felt cold, long gone were the days were he and Tom would share a suite, drunk off their asses and promising that nothing could ever get between them, but fuck, she got between them. Running a hand through his messy curls, down his face in exasperation. ‘It is all your fucking fault that they're together in the first place’ Harrison sighed and pushed away the memory of introducing her to Tom, of course tom would find her attractive! “I need to be really drunk right now” kneeling in front of the mini bar, contemplating what was worse, a hangover from tequila or vodka. “Both, fuck it” placing all the bottles on the counter while he contemplating mixing them all with cranberry juice. Plopping down on the couch, downing half of his drink. Finally the fuzz of  alcohol filled his mind, allowing for him to focus on anything but the way that little black dress clung to her curves. Anything but the way her maroon hair was curled down her back tonight, or the sky-high black heels that laced up her calf. “Don't think about her Harrison!” he groaned into his palms, pulling down on his cheeks and groaning loudly. Downing the rest of his drink he gave into the temptation that was you. Tom could never get his own coffee, but what are best friends for? Harrison never minded, he enjoyed being able to contribute to his best friend’s happiness and if that meant running to Starbucks for his extremely intricate coffee, then why not? The warmth of the coffee shop hit his face, warming up his cold cheeks from the brutal New York weather. Everyone seemed to be seeking out the warmth, eyeing the crowded coffee shop, his eyes landing on a girl in the corner, eyes flickering from notes to the laptop in front of her. He hadn't even realized he was staring at her until the man behind him asked if he was in line. Apologizing and stepping for the man to pass, he made his way to the empty seat in front of her. “Hello Love,” Harrison smiled, leaning against the plush chair. “um, hello?” She looked up at him from long lashes, bright green eyes popping out amongst the black liner on her waterline and eyelids. “You looked stressed out,” he smiled before dropping his facade after seeing her unamused face. “Harrison,”  extending his hand before being shot down and pulling it back. “Hi Harrison, I'm a bit busy I'm sorry,” she gestured to the notes in front of her   “I'm sorry to interrupt,” lacing the charm thick as he leaned forward to read the header of the notes. “art history?” meeting her face, double nostril piercings, maroon colored hair under a grey beanie. Damn was she cute. “Yup,” she rolled up her sleeves exposing the tattoos on her forearm and wrists. “very nice tattoos” Harrison coughed out, desperate to save the conversation. “thanks” she muttered dryly before closing her laptop and looking up at him with tired eyes. “I'm sorry for being so rude,” she extended her hand out and introduced herself, explaining she went to the local art school. “well I'm Harrison, not sure what I'm doing right now, kind of just cruising through life, ya know?” ending the last bit with a poor American accent. “oh yeah, for sure” she laughed, looking up at him, resting her chin on her hand. “so, you gonna order some coffee or what?” “yes, but sadly it's to go and I'm enjoying making a new friend” Harrison leaned forward, mimicking her position. “I see, boss man wants his coffee, and let me guess it's some super complex order that makes you look like a douche when ordering it?” She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest, the black sweater creeping up her midriff as she did. “yes and no, it's for my best mate, but nonetheless I feel like a douche ordering it.” he stated in faux exasperation, earning a chuckle from her. “wow” she laughed before standing up. “I'll order it. They know me here, and as a thank you, you can order me an espresso, to go please.” “here's your, douche drink” she laughed “wait, wait,” taking back the cup and taking the Sharpie from the counter. “Call me next time you wanna order this shit, and I will show you what good coffee is,” she finished writing her note, adding her phone number to the end before handing Harrison the cup. “see ya around” she nodded, tossing a thick scarf around the back of her neck and darting into the snow outside. Harrison handed Tom the coffee, “‘e're you go mate” “Douche drink huh?” Tom laughed, reading the note “who wrote this?” showing his castmates. “this girl I met at the coffee shop,” sparing the details “we chatted a bit” “A bit huh?” he laughed, rereading her note. “You should ring her up then mate,” sipping his coffee “use my drink of choice to see her again” Harrison met up with her everyday, same spot, same time. Today she had her hair in two pigtails under a mint beanie, she smiled at him pointing to his tea she had ordered for him. “psst, psst Harrison!” she waved at him, calling him in a mock whisper. “You need to let me buy the drinks love,” he took a sip of the tea made just the way he liked. “Nah, what're friends for?” waving her hand in front of his face before pulling out her sketchbook. “Do you need to draw me every time?” he laughed, already posing. “yes I do. I'm making a series called ‘the coffee boy’” spreading her hands in front of her in a mock frame. “Harrison?” a familiar voice rang from the door of the coffee shop. Tom came up to the two, shivering slightly from the cold. “Is this the douche?” She asked, looking Tom up and down before turning to Harrison who was nodding enthusiastically. “I didn't realize this was the coffee shop you came to hang out,” he shifted in place “I'm going to order and leave you guys to it” he smiled, not wanting to intrude. “sit with us,” moving her bag off the chair beside her. “coffee boy and I don't mind,” “I'll get us some refills,” Harrison smile at her “feel like trying anything new on the menu today?” “surprise me,” she leaned forward, tucking a 20 in his coat pocket. “I'm just going to slip it back in your bag when you're not looking,” Harrison stated, watching her roll her eyes. “you suck,” she laughed leaning back into her chair. “and get this boy some real coffee okay?” Harrison watched the two chat from the line,  watched her roll up her sleeves and explain the tattoos on her arms. He couldn't help but feel his heart twinge at the sight of her hand on Tom's face, brushing off melted snow from his cheeks. His drunken trip down memory lane came down, shattering all around him with the sound of her voice through the wall. “c'mon darling, let me dress you,” “but I wanna be naked. Come onnnn" she dragged out the word in a whine.  “I smell like alcohol, I need to shower” “love you can hardly stand on your own,” “then join me” He couldn't sit here and listen to them, not when he wished it was him that she wanted in the shower. A shower sounded wonderful, a very cold shower woke shock the thoughts of her out of his system.

[zacklover24]

Prompto in Wonderland Chapter VI

Tagging: @femmescientia, @itshaejinju, @themissimmortal, @blindbae, @stunninglyignis, @sweetchocobae, @neko-otaku13, @eternallydaydreaming2015, @lady-asuka, @mini-moogle-queen, @wolfissac, @daemonchocobo

Prompto couldn’t sleep. He had been tossing and turning for what seemed like hours. And it could have been for all he knew day and night seemed longer then back home. The Coeurl (who he soon found out was a boy) had opted to sleep on the floor, while Prompto tried to sleep. The Red King’s marriage proposal weight heavily on his mind, and it wasn’t letting him sleep.

“Are you done?” Gladio sleep laced voice asks from the other bed.

“Done doing what?” Prompto whispers sitting up and pulling his knees to his chest.

“Tossing and turning like a landed fish.” He tells him sitting up and hiding the wince as he did so.  “It’s late, try and get some sleep.”

“Easy for you to say you don’t have the future of wonderland resting on your shoulders.” The blonde mumbles.

“Your right I don’t’.” Gladio says with an eye roll, “But I do know is that you need to sleep.”

“I’ve been trying.”

“Not hard enough.”

“Gladio please.” Lunafreya voice cuts in.

“Sorry for waking you.” Prompto whispers as the oracle sat up.

“It’s all right, it has been a very stressful day for everyone. We just need to find a way out of here.” The hatter let out snort.

“The only way out is through the front door. And there is no way in hell there going to let us walk out of here.”

“There has to be a way.” Prompto whispers. The hatter was going to speck when they all heard a noise from outside their room it sounded like a crash. Gladio let out a curse. If Noctis was still here he could summon a weapon, Prompto and her ladyship weren’t that good at fighting. Prompto and Lunafreya shared a look. What was going on. Even the Corel stated to hiss as sparks gathered at the ends of his whiskers. The door flew open with a bang and in came two figures. One male the other female.

The man wore black frock coat, black pants, black fingerless gloves and black, knee-high boots and wore black hood with an ornate visor and two purple ribbons. While the woman wore a leather, hooded bodysuit thigh-high, heeled boots, a small cape with red interiors covering her upper back.

“Nyx, it’s an honor to see you again. And to you as well Crowe.” Lunafreya greets. Prompto was in shock who were these two? “Prompto I would like you to meet Nyx and Crowe they are part of the part of the Kingsglaive who serve the White King.”

“Not that I’m not happy to see you two again, but why are you here?” Gladio asks crossing his arms over his chest.

“The White King sent us.” Crowe tells him, “Ignis told us what happened. We couldn’t waste any more time waiting.” Prompto smiled and collected his old dress and his new pet.

“That’s amazing let’s get the hell out here.” He pleads to the glaive. Nyx and Crowe both nodded and started to leave the room.

“Is the way clear?” Lunafreya asks Nyx gently grabbing his upper arm to stop him.

“Killed only the guards that we needed to.” He explains to her with a wink and patting her hand. They quickly and quietly left the room, only stopping to make sure there were no guards. They made it to the courtyard and soon the edge of the forgotten woods in no time. Lunafreya and Nyx shared a chocobo while Crowe got her own and Gladio and Prompto shared one.  

It didn’t take them long to reach the White King’s castle. The path that led to the castle was lined with flowers of all kinds and colors, along with trees that seemed to be blooming in white. Prompto eyes winded at the beauty that was around them. They soon came to a stop at the courtyard. The courtyard, was made out gray cobblestones that held the crest of the royal family on either side were more trees and flowers, in the center of the courtyard stood a fountain of the great dragon. And waiting for them was Cor.

“Marshal.” Lunafreya greets with a smile as she was helped off, of the chocobo.

“Your ladyship it is an honor to see you again.” Cor greets back with bow.

“Good to see you again Cor.” Gladio says helping Prompto.

“And to you Gladio. And I take it this the hero of Wonderland?” Cor asks Prompto.

“Yup, this is Prompto.” As the hatter slapped the blonde on the back who stumbled, “Cor it’s late I’m going to head up to my room. I’ll check in with Iris and you know who tomorrow.”

“As will I, Nyx will you please escort me to my room?” Lunafreya asks the glaive.

“Of course, your ladyship.” As the three left, leaving Prompto with Cor.

“I am Cor the marshal of the king’s army. If you’ll follow me. I’ll show you to your room.”

“Thank you.”

The White King’s Castle was more welcoming compared to the Red Kings. The walls of the castle looked to be made of white alabaster walls while the floors were made from smooth white marble. The walls were lined with old paintings. Promtpo followed Cor up to the second floor of the castle, and had to ask him something.

“Is Noctis okay?” He asks as they turned down a hall with many doors.

“The hare will be fine, he just over did it with his magic. Something he should better then now. You can see him in the morning if you wish.” Cor mutters running a hand over his face.

“I do wish to see him.” Prompto admits. During their walk in the woods, it seemed like the pair had started to hit it off. Sure, the hare was a little cold, but what could you do about that?

“Very well I will have that arranged in the morning. Here we are.” As he stopped in front of a soft blue door with a yellow rabbit on the front. “If you need anything just ring bell and I will come to your aid. I wish you a good night.” And with that Cor left Prompto. Prompto took in a deep breath and went into the room. He was not expecting this.

The room was large, and painted a very soft blue with a white border and header. The floor had a powder blue rug while the ceiling was painted to look like the night sky the stars even seemed to glow.

Painted on the walls were roses of all colors. In the center of the bed was four poster canopy bed with light gray and blue pillows, the Corel jumped onto the bed and made himself home. Next to the bed on the right was a small white wicker table with an old lamp and a few books. To the left was a white fireplace on it was a bell, and next to it was a door that led to the en suit bathroom. And on the right, was a closet and a few dressers.

And a white vanity with combs, brushes and a box with bows painted on it. At the far end of the room was a door that led out to a balcony that over looked garden. And yet by the balcony doors to the left was a white oak bookcase and to the right was a small table with couple chairs. And changing from the ceiling was chandelier.

“This can’t be for me.” He thinks looking in the closet to find a white night gown. Prompto was too tired to even think about it. He changed and crawled under sheets of the bed. For some reason, Prompto had no issue falling asleep in his new bed.

End of line