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argylemnwrites · 3 years ago

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Falling

Pairing: Logan x MC (Ellie Whitnall); Colt x MC (past, mentioned)

Book: Ride or Die (~27 years later)

Word Count: ~1800

Rating: PG-13 (innuendo)

Summary: Taking a leap - together.

Author’s Note: Written for @rodappreciationweek. Decided to take advantage of the extended posting window for a little follow up/epilogue to my two previous pieces submitted this go around - “Sliding In” that was written from Logan’s perspective and “Then and Now” from Ellie’s perspective in this same general time frame. This piece is also from Ellie’s perspective, so it probably functions more as an MC Day post, but it focuses a lot on her budding romance with Logan in their mid 40s, so he is heavily featured as well. Thanks so much to the RODAW team for hosting!

“Where are you taking me, Troublemaker?”

Ellie glanced over at the passenger seat, smiling as Logan scanned the passing landscape. “I told you, it’s a surprise.”

The traffic around LA had, as always, been a nightmare. But now that they were far enough southwest and on the I-15, she was able to open things up a bit, actually get a little bit of speed. Not as much as she would like, of course. That wouldn’t come until the last stretch of the drive. But it wasn’t the stop and go, heavy traffic that plagued the freeways of LA itself.

“I don’t think you care that much about surprising me, Ellie. I think you just don’t want to let me drive this car.”

She laughed, cutting across a couple lanes to pass some slower moving cars. “Can you blame me? She’s my baby. I was eyeing her for a couple of years, before I could afford her about five years back. I know a Mazda MX-5 isn’t as flashy as what we used to drive, but-”

“-No, she handles great. When did you get rid of the Fourier?”

“I had to sell her when I was between jobs after Colt and I split up. I’d kept her up for so long, but I needed a down payment on a house, and my resume at the time was… rather lacking in my chosen field.”

“Well, things have to come to an end at some point, right?”

She glanced back over at him. “Not everything though.”

He grinned at her. “No, definitely not everything.”

It was sometimes still surreal to think that after all the years, after lives they’d lived thousands of miles apart, they were giving this a shot. But they’d been dating for almost five months now, and in so many ways it felt completely natural. The long distance was tough, of course, but there really wasn’t an alternative at this point. Logan was co-parenting in Dallas, so moving was not even close to an option for him.

Ellie was slowly starting to wonder the longer their relationship went on and didn’t blow up in a giant mess if maybe she should be looking to move closer. With her father gone and Margot off halfway across the country for college, the only real ties she had to LA, besides a sarcastic and intermittently moody ex, was her rock-climbing group. Seven single mothers who had been there for each other over the past decade. Babysitting and emergency pickups and carpools - they’d been such a wonderful source of support and community. But as much as she adored them, she wasn’t going to stay in the area just for them.

But LA was the only real home she’d known. As she watched the mountains start to take rise as they got closer and closer to their destination, she couldn’t help but feel the way that LA settled in her soul. The ocean, the mountains, the desert, all nearby. A sprawling city with neighborhoods with such widely varied character. It was a part of her, the only place she’d ever wanted to come back to in her life.

But… just like he’d done all those years ago, Logan was opening doors for her to the potential for something new and different. A chance to expand her horizons, to push herself out of her comfort zone, to see more than her sheltered world. Not that she felt particularly sheltered at this point in her life. But that sense of wonder he brought to her was still there after decades and decades.

She knew intellectually that thinking about moving halfway across the country for a boy after less than half a year of dating was dumb. But Logan had always made intellectually dumb things feel like a great idea. All he had to do was smile at her and she was cutting class. Drag racing. And now, apparently thinking about moving to Dallas.

They hadn’t even talked about it, and she knew deep down it was too early. While he’d met Margot, she hadn’t met his kids yet. She’d flown out to see him twice, and last time she met his ex-wife and she thought it went pretty well, but she respected that Lucy and Logan were being cautious with introducing a girlfriend to a thirteen year-old girl and a six year-old boy. They still both had full lives in separate states they needed to navigate. But for now, Logan was in LA for 10 days, and all Ellie could do was soak them up and enjoy them for what they were.

Eventually, she pulled off the I-15 just past Lake Elsinore and drove a couple miles to a private airfield.

“Are we going skydiving?” Logan asked, checking out the signs and buildings as Ellie swung into the parking lot.

“Unless you have some crippling fear of heights, but something tells me the rush of falling from about 15,000 feet will be worth it for you.”

Logan smiled, climbing out of the car. “Oh, it’s on, Ellie. It’s on,” he called out over the roof of the car. “Have you ever done this before?”

She cocked her head and gave him what she hoped was a coy smile. “Why, you hoping to be my first?”

He laughed at that, closing the passenger door. “Not first, but best maybe. I will take that as a ‘yes’ to my question, though. How many times have you done this?”

Ellie kept smirking as they walked around the car, hands finding each other as they met up and walked toward the main building. “Oh, you know. A few.”

He raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Is that so? You promise you aren’t just pretending to have all this experience so that you come across as cool and badass?”

She chuckled, spinning to face him. “Seeing as I couldn’t manage to do that even in high school, I’m not going to start now,” she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “Besides, we don’t lie to each other anymore, right?”

Logan’s face got instantly more serious. “Right,” he agreed, reaching forward to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“And we trust each other fully, right?”

“Of course, Ellie.” His hand settled on her cheek as he nodded, his eyes so intense.

“Good, because I am going to be your tandem jump partner.” She dropped her arms and spun away at that, continuing along towards the building to check in and get into their gear.

“Wait, hold up,” Logan called out, quickly catching up to her with his much-longer legs. “You are going to control the parachute?”

“And when we jump and where we land. Unless that’s a problem.” Her voice carried an edge of teasing, knowing he would appreciate that.

“Not at all,” said Logan, threading their hands back together. “I know I am in very capable hands. Besides, there is no one else I would have picked to be my first.”

She laughed at that as he tugged her by her hand so she spun to face him again. “What?” she asked, still chuckling as he slid his free hand over her leggings, around to her ass, pulling her closer.

He just shook his head. “You really are a troublemaker. You know that right?”

Ellie felt her cheeks grow warm. It was a little embarrassing how easily he still could make her blush. “I don’t know. Seeing as I picked up skydiving as an alternative to larceny and grand theft auto, I think this probably qualifies as a downright safe hobby.”

“So this is how you get your adrenaline fix these days. I like it.”

“Yeah?”

“Very sexy,” was all he said before he leaned over and kissed her, slow and deep. It was amazing that kissing him still made her feel like a giddy teenager, bubbly and excited.

Eventually, he pulled back, but not before giving her ass a little squeeze. “Yeah, very sexy.”

Ellie knew her cheeks had to be flaming at this point. “Just wait until you see the oh-so-flattering jumpsuits before you jump to that conclusion.”

Logan shook his head again. “You being a badass expert at something, I am telling you that will always be sexy. In fact, I think I’m going to need to find a skydiving place near Dallas for when you come next time.”

“Maybe you should wait until after our jump to see if you like it,” she suggested as started strolling towards the office yet again.

“I know I’m gonna love it, Ellie. It’s always a privilege to share the atmosphere with you.”

She smiled up at him, remembering his goodbye to her all those years ago. Back then, everything had been awful, and those words had felt like a punch to her soul. Even if she’d felt betrayed and violated and hurt by him, knowing she would probably never see him again had just been painful. Plus, the way he’d talked about himself, how he hadn’t seen how meaningful his presence in her life had been, had been so disheartening. Between dropping Mona at the hospital and saying goodbye to both Colt and Logan, she felt like so many parts of her self and her newfound spirit left her that night.

But now it was different. They’d grown and changed and finally were able to build something healthy together. She knew he had to have chosen those words for a reason. It was almost like a reminder of how far they’d both come to be here together at this moment.

“I love you,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze. She wanted to say it now, before it could be attributed to adrenaline or the heat of the moment. She wanted to say it just because it was what she felt.

She watched as Logan’s eyebrows shot up, but a massive smile soon crossed his face as well. “I love you, too.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d heard him say those words. But this time, she didn’t feel torn in half, didn’t feel stupid and naive and angry, didn’t think he was just manipulating her because he’d been caught in a lie. She believed him in her heart now, and it made her feel light and hopeful in a way that those words hadn’t in a very long time. Maybe never had.

“Good,” she said, her lips stretched in such a big smile it was almost painful. “Should we go get ready?”

Logan nodded, a goofy smile still plastered on his face. “Yeah, sounds good.”

And so they kept walking, hand in hand, ready to fall together.

Perma: @mom2000aggie @octobereighth @kingliam2019 @lovingchoices14

ROD: @burnsoslow @mskaneko @iplaydrake @louvregirl

Logan x MC: @ridemelikeiamyourdevoregt @zaffrenotes

#logan x mc #rodaw #rod fanfic #rod logan #ride or die #choices fanfiction

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funkymbtifiction · 3 years ago

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Is there anyway for a 9 to be more active?

I seriously want to go places and learn new skills (as well as dusting up my skills) but I can't muster up enough energy to do any of that. It's partly because my home is far from where everything is, like 3 hours away. I don't mind travelling 2 - 3 hours in rural area, but to catch a bus in the town and wade through all the traffic for 6 hours everyday (both the going and the coming back) kills it for me.

But I realize that's an excuse, because people do it all the time. But I just can't muster up any energy to do it. Even if I want to do it badly. So, I think I need to fix it and be more active.

So, do you have any advice about this?

Another thing is quite antithetic, but I'm Se-aux, so I'm supposed to be active? I don't feel like doing anything most of the time (though I can't live without stimulation like internet, food or movies). If anything, unless it's easily accessible in my area, chances are I wouldn't do it. I wanted to craft a bow, but there is no material around me, so I didn't. I wanted to dust up my martial arts, turns out I have to travel 2 hours to the nearest dojo (now with pandemic, I need to go even farther, so 4 hours), so I dumped the idea and resorted to practice with myself. After all that, I retreat to my hobby like gaming and conlang making instead.

I don't know if this is Ti-Ni loop, but the more I stay inactive, the more pessimistic and lazy I become. It's like I can't see a way out of anything and I don't feel anything. And I become more and more pessimistic about my future and giving up my usual more spiritual side. In fact, I feel like I lost sense of direction and I don't know what is my purpose or my dream anymore. I feel like this moment will never end and I will be trapped in this moment forever.

So, is this Ti-Ni loop?

Thank you, and I've already ordered your book. Can't wait to read it although I don't know how long the shipping will take. With pandemic and all that. But I really look forward to its arrival!

Ugh, so relatable. It's pandemic fatigue and most of us are fighting it. For over a year, for some of us two years, we haven't been able to go places and do things. Old me would have gone to see a movie every weekend leading up to Christmas out of interest in them, despite it being two hours away -- because that was what I was used to. Want to see this movie, gotta travel to do it. Being stuck at home has turned me into a hermit who now complains that it's "too far" to pick up stuff at the library (20 minutes away). It's a psychological effect of having stayed home and not had a social or active life for so long.

The truth is, if you really want to do something -- you will do it, no matter how far away it is or how long it takes you to get there. If I REALLY wanted to see Nightmare Alley, I would go. If I REALLY could not live without seeing West Side Story, I would go. Saying it's far, I no longer have any friends to go with, etc., is a story I am telling myself, an excuse not to exert the effort required to do it -- in short, I have fallen into a pandemic-driven laziness. So it's not that you are a 9, though that may play into it, it's that you don't really want to do any of those things, you are likely suffering from a low-level depression that makes you disinterested in exerting the same kind of effort that you would have in the past, and are frustrated by it.

The solution is -- force yourself to do things. Go places. Meet people. If you want to learn a martial art, sign up for the class and go. You can come up with whatever energy you need to do what you REALLY CARE ABOUT DOING, and the doing of it, will help you become more used to actually doing it. You've fallen out of your old habits of accepting that doing things requires going places that aren't nearby into living a smaller life, just like everybody else, but now it's time to expand that life a little and live more fully. Thinking you don't have the energy for it is an excuse not to do it.

Do it. It will get easier.

#question #pandemic fatique

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lalainajanes · 3 years ago

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For the square “water park” on my Klarosummerbingo card! Might be my worst title ever but it’s actually better than the original one so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Slip and Slide

Caroline speedwalks through the lobby, weaving around people who seem to think it’s the appropriate place for an early morning stroll. “Hold the elevator!” she calls, ignoring the few disgruntled looks she receives.

She hadn’t been that loud, and she’s nearly late for a critical meeting. It’s the first one with a new client, and she’d hate to make a bad first impression.

She’d had to head to the dry cleaners before work, had gotten caught in a traffic snarl in an area she wasn’t that familiar with, and it had taken her way too long to figure out the detour. She should have left her place earlier.

She gets to the security gates, juggling a garment bag, her briefcase, and a portfolio. Her ID seems to be just out of reach, and she jams her hand further into her purse. Albert, her favorite guard, murmurs, “Take a breath, Ms. Forbes.”

She blows one out, frustrated. Rolls her shoulders in an attempt to relax. “Sorry. I’m just…”

“Stressed? I can tell.”

Yikes. Caroline hopes that doesn’t mean her hair has exploded.

She smiles weakly, “Big day today.”

A brand new project, after the last one had been a disaster. Caroline’s comfortable with stress, thrives on high stakes, but she could totally use a win.

Her fingers touch the familiar edge of her badge, and she pulls it out triumphantly. She taps it on the sensor, walks through the revolving gate. “Good luck, Ms. Forbes,” Alfred murmurs as she passes.

It’s a little thing, but Caroline feels a little better knowing someone’s rooting for her.

She’s relieved to spot that one of the elevators is open, a man holding the door, his eyes on her. She doesn’t recognize him, but that doesn’t mean anything. The building has 55 floors, offices for more than two dozen companies within it. He’s dressed in a suit, like the vast majority of the men she sees in the building. His is nicer than most, charcoal grey, perfectly fitted, with a very subtle pinstripe that she only notices when she gets closer. Caroline hurries into the car gratefully. She leans forward, punches 32. “Thank you so much,” she says to him, turning so they’re shoulder to shoulder. “You’re a lifesaver.”

The man on her other side makes a noise, a tiny scoff. Caroline glances at him quizzically. He’s stoic, eyes forward, but she’s sure there’s a hint of amusement on his face.

An arm brushes against hers, drawing her attention. “Feel free to ignore him,” the man who’d held the elevator says. His voice is low, smooth and she’d be charmed by the accent if they’d met in a social situation.

Or any situation, if she’s honest.

“My brother would probably describe me as more of a troublemaker.”

Huh. She hadn’t have figured brothers. They’ve both got attractive and well-dressed going for them but little other familial resemblance. Caroline’s head swings back, “Are you a trouble maker?”

His amusement is plain. His full lips curl, and deep dimples appear in his cheeks.

Oh yeah. Definitely a trouble maker.

“I’m about twenty minutes early for my meeting today; how much of a trouble maker can I be?” His tone is playful, a touch too innocent to be believed.

Damn it. Caroline does not have time for an attractive man this morning. At least she hadn’t changed into the frumpier outfit in the garment bag. Hopefully, she’ll run into this guy again.

“I think I need more info. Could be a one-time thing. I’m almost late for my meeting, which is wildly out of character.”

“Not the trusting sort, are you?”

Caroline shrugs, raising her brows expectantly.

He laughs briefly, “Well, I did send an email ahead to inquire about the coffee preferences of the team I’m meeting. I’m stopping at one of the cafes to pick it up now. Would a troublemaker do that?”

“Hmm, maybe. Could be an underhanded tactic to get on a good side before the trouble starts.”

Dimples’ brother chimes in again, dry this time. “I believe your assistant sent that email. And that she learned the practice from my assistant.”

Dimples glowers, and Caroline must admit this is a delightful distraction from her anxiety. She glances up at the panel above the door and is disappointed to find they’re almost on her floor. “If you’re going to the café on 36, I recommend the oatmeal raisin cookies. Most people go chocolate chip. Trust me, that’s a mistake.”

The elevator pings, the doors sliding open. Caroline smiles, hitches her briefcase higher on her shoulder. “This is me. Thanks again.”

The receptionist spots Caroline, stands up, a sheaf of papers in her hands, and Caroline’s reminded about how much she has to do. She hurries out, her heels clicking across the shiny tiles of the lobby.

She still glances back at the elevator, can’t help smiling, pleased, when she finds her new friend from the elevator watching her as the doors close.

Even if she never sees him again, he’d made her morning a little brighter.

Now, though, it’s time to work.

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes later, Caroline’s pacing in her office. She’s pinned her hair back and changed into the purple pantsuit she’d picked up at the dry cleaners. It’s a great color but not the most flattering fit. The pants are fine, but the jacket’s boxy, and she’s wearing a plain pink blouse underneath, buttoned to her throat, a thick silver necklace threaded through the collar. There’s a pair of glasses perched on her nose, and she’d changed into sensible flats.

She’d learned her lesson last time, at the first meeting where she’d been the project lead. She’d been called ‘Honey’ and other more annoying pet names and asked to serve coffee and fetch snacks. She’d received skepticism when she’d introduced herself. By the end of that first meeting, Caroline had wanted to scream her credentials – a B.A. and a Master’s in Civil Engineering, a whole pile of certifications, several prestigious internships, and stellar work references, thank you very much – at most of the people in the room.

Ultimately, the project had been successful, but Caroline had experienced frequent bursts of frustration that bordered on rage. Her suggestions were met with questions that made it clear her intelligence was doubted, her corrections with condescension, even though she’d usually been the only one in the room with any significant scientific expertise.

Expertise that’s kind of crucial in designing a water park. It wouldn’t have been a good look, or a sound investment, if guests were to end up injured or dead after paying exorbitant ticket prices and expecting a fun day.

Her skin has thickened considerably, but Caroline hopes that’s less necessary this time. Her boss had assured her that this job would be easier, and Caroline’s choosing to believe her. It’s even potentially exciting – these clients own several international resorts, the park she’s pitching on will be built in Spain.

Being project leader, she’d traveled to oversee construction on the nightmare build, but Tennessee doesn’t carry quite the same appeal as the Spanish coast, at least from the photos Caroline’s seen.

At the very least, it can’t be a worse experience. She hopes.

She hears Katherine coming her way, takes a final deep breath before Kat breezes into her office. “What are you wearing?” Kat asks, sounding both mystified and vaguely disgusted. She pauses in front of Caroline, fingers pinching her lapel and tugging. “Is this polyester?”

“Maybe. I thrifted it.”

Katherine’s face twists in the sort of revulsion one would expect if Caroline confessed to grave robbing the ensemble.

“Ew, why?”

“Figured I needed a costume. To make sure that this time, no one in there thinks to call me ‘sweet cheeks.’”

She’d been paired with another designer last time, Matt Donovan, who was a nice enough guy but had been pretty useless in the having her back department. Caroline likely wouldn’t have cried into her Ben and Jerry’s quite so often had Katherine been her partner. Kat has the unique and impressive ability to make demands and issue orders and have people thank her for it.

Kat snorts, “Elijah Mikaelson would never. He’s aggressively polite. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I doubt Niklaus would either. I assume he has the same hot accent.”

That’s a new name. Caroline doesn’t like surprises. “And who is Niklaus?”

“A brother. And a business partner. He wasn’t originally scheduled to be here but is unexpectedly in town. What do you think the British equivalent to sweet cheeks is?”

Caroline’s eyes go wide, a few puzzle pieces clicking together. British brothers, twenty minutes early for a meeting. What are the odds?

Crap. Had she been flirting with a client? In front of another client?

There’s a tap at the door, her boss’ assistant’s head poking in, “They’re ready for you in the conference room.”

Ugh. Maybe she’s cursed.

* * * * *

The presentation goes fantastically.

Katherine had been correct – the Mikaelsons don’t seem to labor under the misapprehension that a conventionally attractive blonde woman can’t grasp complex concepts. They’d shaken her hand when she’d arrived; Niklaus (or Klaus, as he apparently prefers) had looked a bit puzzled when they’d been introduced, Caroline had chalked that up to the outfit. He’d said it was nice to see her again. Explaining her mad dash to the elevator, and Klaus’ assistance, to the room had broken the ice nicely.

Kat kicks them off, and her design is gorgeous; Elijah and Klaus appear suitably impressed. When it’s Caroline’s turn, her nerves fall away by her second PowerPoint slide. She knows her stuff backward and forward, and she’s incredibly pleased with her innovation.

She also begins to feel less bad about the flirting once she sees that Kat throws Elijah a few looks that are borderline inappropriate for the office (that he seems pretty pleased with).

They ask questions, pour over the mock-ups and technical drawings Caroline and Katherine had prepared. Their ideas are actually good, which is a nice contrast for the last project. She’d done far too much lying and finessing to attempt to steer the previous park into a less terrible direction. The Mikaelsons have far fewer notes than Caroline had anticipated, and she promises to put together an update ASAP. They schedule another meeting.

She thinks Klaus’ handshake lingers when they say goodbye, but maybe she’s just riding high on adrenaline and imagining things.

She kind of hopes she isn’t. It’s probably too messy to date a client, but a girl can fantasize, can’t she?

Caroline helps herself to the cookie tray, pleased by the generous helping of oatmeal raisin she finds. Kat’s disappeared, but she knows their boss will want to debrief. Caroline collapses into one of the conference chairs, pulls out her phone to check her messages.

She replies to a few emails before she notices one that’s just arrived.

Hello Caroline,

I enjoyed your presentation today. I look forward to the next.

Warmly,

Klaus

She grins to herself, slumps lower in her chair. Clearly, she hadn’t imagined anything if Klaus is emailing her when he’s barely out of the building. She takes a risk and sends a slightly more casual reply than she’d usually attempt at this point.

If he reacts badly, she can up the formality later on. If he doesn’t, well… she’s only fostering a good working relationship. That’ll be essential if they land this contract.

And she’s like 90% sure it’s in the bag.

Hi Klaus,

Thank you!

The photos your team sent over of the location were gorgeous; both Kat and I were inspired. I think this is some of our best work to date. I’m excited to dive into the updates and meet again next week.

Best,

Caroline

P.S. Thanks for the cookies.

His reply comes minutes later.

Caroline,

I believe it. Your work is impressive, as I’m sure your new ideas will be. Have you ever been to Spain? The pictures hardly do it justice.

Warmly,

Klaus

P.S. You’re welcome. Which coffee order was yours?

Well, that’s the opposite of a bad reaction.

Caroline sets her phone aside, tells herself she has to be smart here. She’s reasonably sure she’s not doing anything that’s prohibited. The emails will speak for themselves, and they live on the company server. Neither she nor Klaus are offering anything untoward for the contract. If things go well, she may just have to fill out an HR disclosure form. She’ll double-check the firm’s code of conduct.

Just in case.

#klarosummerbingo #klaroline #klaroline fanfiction

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everythingblreview · 3 years ago

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Slow Damage review 2.0 Part 2

Fujieda Towa’s route (True route)

I said before that Fujieda’s route is my favourite and the reason why is simple, because this route is actually Towa’s route, and Towa was for me, always the most interesting character in this game. The god endings of the other routes never left me satisfied, something always felt wrong.

Like it normal in bl games the other 3 routes were focused on the love interested, but this was different. From the beginning Towa was always different compared to other bl protagonist, and it was easy to tell that he had suffer some kind of a trauma. The Towa we met in the beginning is a broken person, he is not interested in other people, he doesn’t care when or if he dies, he lets himself get violated and raped (which he apparently “likes”) and he is not interested in any form of love. From the beginning on I wanted to know the reason for it and the reality of it was a lot darker than I could have ever imagine.

(For this review I’m going to summaries the route and write my opinion while I go on)

The route starts out completely different, Towa “killed” someone the first time using [euphoria], and this changes the flow of the story (chapter 0)

Towa gets a package with things that are connected to his past. Looking at it Towa health condition imminently gets bed, his way of dealing with it is like always, getting violated and raped by guys. Some short time later we learn that Taku knows something about Towa past that he won’t tell, even going as far as to burn his mail so Towa doesn’t look into it future (Not really nice of you Taku). Towa feels really lost in this moment, because he can’t trust his friends and his nightmares he always has, get worse to the point he is scared of them.

In these hard times he first meets Fujieda for the first time. At first neither Fujieda or Towa trust each other, for Towa he and Fujieda live in completely different worlds, but after Towa finds out that Fujieda has information that could have a connection to his past, the two of them decide to work together. (It interesting that Fujieda still doesn’t trust Towa at this point while Towa does, he also acts like a very serious person like you imagine a megane to be but I find it funny that he never used polite language with Towa while he does it with anyone else) Anyway Towa mentions that he can’t read Fujieda at all, because his smoke is completely white (something Towa never seen before) and doesn’t show any kind of distortion.

The two then proceed to do more research about Towa’s past and at some point the end up in Fujieda’s apartment because of heavy rainfall after being chased and nearly shot. Here we learn that Fujieda is maybe not that all different from Towa because his body is also full of scars like Towa’s.

For Towa it changes everything, because he never seen someone with a body like his, and for the first time he begins to show interested in Fujieda and his secrets. (We also learn that Fujieda is not a real megane, and a total hottie) After they watch some TV show involving a red room Towa remembers his nightmare (the one he always has about a dark red room) and decides to talk to Fujieda about his nightmare. (At this point you can see that he trust Fujieda enough to talk about his nightmares)

Later they return to the clinic and here we see Taku being called out by Fujieda, for keeping the things he knows a secret even though he knows that Towa is suffering. (Finally, someone that acknowledge that Towa is suffering from his current lifestyle, it was always hard to see them just ignoring the horrible stuff Towa does to himself), after some discussion Taku tells them Towa’s real name (yes his name is fake btw), hearing it triggers Towa so much that he passes out (imagine how traumatized one must be to pass out only by hearing his real name).

The next day they find out from a woman that worked with Towa’s mother in the past, that she was involved in some dark business involving child traffic and that the child Fujieda is looking for was a victim of it and was killed in the process. (Later we learn the „sister“ that Towa thought he had, was this girl and actually the sister of Fujieda) This information breaks Fujieda, who was looking all his life for his sister, after her mother sold her, and he completely flips and attacks Towa after they meet in the park again, even going as far as choking and raping him. Which only amuses Towa who is used to it (and wants that kind of treatment).

(Honestly I was not really happy that they included rape, while I understand that Fujieda doesn’t get at this point yet that Towa was also a victim and that he is devastated because his sister, he has been searching for was dead all along, was it really necessary to include rape? The only thing I can say what was not all too bad about it, is that we saw that he is also not a perfect human being and makes mistakes too. Still there was no need to include rape, beating Towa would have been enough but I guess this is a bl game after all …)

Anyway, here we see for the first time that Fujis smoke is changing and is now turning pink/red (whatever you call it).

Some stuff happened, Fujieda’s office get attacked, Towa finds a picture in it after sneaking into it, of the girl (and please look at baby fuji), Fujieda is looking for and he gets a headache from it again. After he meets Fuji (Fuji tells Towa that he will not apologise for his doings and I was not really happy with that statement and only forgive him because I know that he is not that kind of a person and he regrets it, [will explain more later on], also please notice that Fujieda’s smoke is now a pastel pink colour) and they decide to continue to work together. (Towa likes that this is relationship is only based on cooperation without any feelings involved oh honey you got a big storm coming)

The next day, Taku gets kidnapped by Madarme all of the love interested meet up in the deathmatch area, Madarame who is here of course to fuck shit up, fights Fuji for whatever reason, which is not really to Towa’s liking because Madarame is overpowered, so he tries to protect Fuji and gets hit in the process. (look at Towa trying to protect his future boyfriend) Madarame loses all interested, tells Towa he changed and leaves into the sunset to be never seen again, but not before telling Towa that if he want to know about his past he should look in that western style mansion he shows him (this scene annoyed me because Madarame tells Towa that he “changed” but he is not that all different from Towa in Madarame’s route the only difference is that Madarame could not manipulated Towa into thinking he is like he was in the past) After that Fuji and Towa decide to visit the western style mansion, where Towa finally remembers his past, that he was treated as a tool by his mother and sold to customers that did all the horrible things to a child no one even wants to think about, and Fujiedas sister was with him at the time, and she was the one that tried to help him and they tried to escape together but failed, which led to her getting killed. Remembering his past really broke Towa, because his reason to stay alive was his wish to see and draw the desire of people, but it turns out that this was all manipulation by his mother and that he had been doing the same horrible stuff she done (fulfil the desire of disgusting people, that abuse children) without even knowing it and he, for the first time in his life feels guilty because the girl that was helped him and was his only light in the dark please was dead while he is still alive. He wishes that she was alive instead of him. (You can see how much Towa liked her, probably the first person Towa had strong feelings for, she is the one that helped him in this horrible time. Towa was a really quiet kid, and he never went against his mother but she was the reason he tried to break free from her chains). After he understands he goes out trying to completely distract himself like he always does by getting raped and violated. (This scene was so horrible I could barely deal with it)

Towa’s mind works completely different how a healthy person would react. He was abused as a child and the only thing he could do was to accept it, after he lost his memory he stills to continue to get abused because it’s the only thing he know, it’s his way to deal with his trauma, by repeat it again and again. From the beginning he tells us that he doesn’t want love, he only wants to be treated as a tool, because this is what was always done to him, his love for violence is not real, it’s only a reflection of the abuse he went through. He has no desire to use violence on others, he only wants it for himself. (I really like the writing in the parts where Towa got violated because while Towa himself sells us that he likes it, the writing makes it sounds like deep down he actually doesn’t like it) A big part of his personality is not real, it something made up but his mother and the question is who is the real Towa, what makes Towa, Towa? This is something he probably wonders himself in the moment. And since he was confronted with his past, his way of dealing of it, does not work anymore and the only thing that could satisfy his desire is… death. (From the beginning of the game I always had a feeling that at some point, he will break at will try to kill himself, and sadly it came true. The scene is probably saddest in the game because you can really feel how he reached an end, nothing is holding him back anymore, he is all calm when he is confronted with idea of dying…luckily never happens because in the moments Fujieda burst in the room.

(He is the only person who could save Towa in this moment) Fujieda tells him that he should not throw his life away because this isn’t something his sister wanted, who tried to protect Towa and that her last wish before being killed was for Towa to live. He also tells Towa that he was attracted to him from the beginning, but he was scared because he knew that he and Towa where the same but he didn’t want to admit it because it would mean admitting his existence is miserable like Towa’s, but he just could not leave Towa alone. (This confession)

After making sure Towa is not trying to die anymore, he put him in the bath, because Towa tried to light himself on fire using oil on himself and he is all beaten up from before. (I like how atmosphere changes here, the music changes the room gets brighter, you can really feel like the heavy weight is lifted from them).

Fujieda washes Towa hair and talks about the time he did with his sister (you can really feel that Towa already became an important person to him already) he treats him very gentle and asked him if anything hurts, and gets really angry when he says the “traces” left by the men that raped him, and tells him not to do it anymore (finally someone said it) after Fuji tries to wash Towa’s body, Towa pulls him close and asks him to show him his scars, and he does (this scene is really beautiful because they standing facing each other naked bodies covered in scars, like a mirror) and Towa touches his scars and say they are the same, (like he finally found someone that he can related to, he also looks very vulnerable in this scene) after looking at his scars, he just kissed him, not even knowing why. Lucky for him Fujieda returns his kiss and this leads to them having a passionate moment on Towa bed. (Normally I don’t talk about the sexy times on in my reviews, because it’s more of a fanservice moment in games, but here it’s different)

Normally Towa only goes for violence during sex and doesn’t like gentleness (because he feels nothing), but with Fujieda who has sex skills over 9000 it was the first time that gentleness felt good to him, (Probably because it was the first time, he did it with someone he is attracted to) he also never experienced painless sex and doesn’t even know it can feel good and was really surprised by this unknow feeling. I also like that they keep on kissing each other’s scars, like they wanted to comfort each other (even though Fujieda didn’t like Towa doing it because he, unlike Towa, hates his scars). The scene is really focused on what they are feeling rather than just the actual act itself, and it’s just really wholesome and cute.

After they are done the sit awkwardly on the bed, thinking about what they just did (They sure didn’t expect it to happen, but the moment was right and they just let their feeling go). Fuji asked him about his love for scares, because he himself can’t understand it, he also asked if it felt good for Towa lmao no confident in his over 9000 sex skills, Towa tells him that it was the first time he felt like that and that it scared him, but it also felt extremely good. (Love a honest man) After that he tells Towa about his past that he and his sister were abused by their parents and his sister later sold by their mother, and Fujieda did everything to search for her. He worked as host in the beginning, earning enough money from his rich costumers to study (he basically was a male prostitute) and later become a lawyer. That’s why they he understands Towa so well because they share the same horrible past and are directly linked to each other by his sister. Also Fujieda’s name is fake like Towa his real name is Yuzuki Minato(first name) Fujieda also suggest for them to support each other rather than licking each other wounds (so it doesn’t sounds like they are just using each other), and when Towa asks him if he want to have this kind of relationship with him he gets all blushy. (Look at him who would have thought that behind this serous looking guy is a gently but very shy man).

Important thing to notice here is, that Fujieda’s smoke changed after this scene and is now completely pink/red and it’s the exact colour that Towa has, Towa also tells him that he can see smoke of people in this scene (I loved how they include this colour transformation, the more his smoke got pink/red the more we saw his real personality, and that his and Towa colour is the same, it’s like they are fated to be). They agree to start this kind of relationship and Towa gives him a little kiss to seal this promise. (Btw Towa always initiates everything, all their kisses and even the sex, Fujieda stop being shy)

The next day Taku asks Towa if he eat something delicious, because his face that looks dead normally, now has colour to it (thanks Taku, he had the best food you can have:love and affection), later on they decide to look for the person, who sent Towa the package and Towa ends up with Rei at Sakakis apartment, where Towa gets kidnapped by Sakaki and Eiji (never trusted him). They bring him back to the mansion, where Towa was abused by his mother, and Sakaki (who is a big piece of trash and adores his trash mother) tortures him by playing his mother voice recording, telling him because he killed his mother, he has to become his mother now. Apparently, Towa pushed her down the stairs, after she attacked him with a knife because he tried to escape with Fujieda’s sister. (I really like how small Towa who never went against his mother, for the first time in his life went against her, you can really see how much influence Fujieda’s sister had on him, even breaking him free from the chains of his mother. And that Fujieda and his sister both had an important role in Towa’s life) Before something can happened Fujieda shows up (our hero) to save Towa, the situation escalates and Fujieda ends up fighting Sakaki, who pulled out a gun try to shoot him. I loved how Towa, who normally never cares for people tries everything even though his hand are tied up, to protect Fujieda from being shot, you can really see how important he is now to Towa). The scene ends and with Towa acting like his mother tricking Sakaki (he got this idea from Fuji, who he can understand perfectly now even without a lot of communication) and Sakaki falling down the stairs to his death (yay happy end <3). Towa and Fujieda can finally both go home and get treated because they both got shot. Some days later they went back to the mansion, after getting a hint from Eiji, to look for his mother diary (some pages of the diary were sent to Towa). Here we find out Towa birthday (he didn’t know it himself) and that his mother did love him but she was a monster that could not control her horrible desire and that she always felt alone, after reading it Towa end up crying (this poor child) and Fujieda hold him to comfort him. Credit roll

Fast forward half a year later, Towa now lives with Fujieda (yay happy husband life) because he now helps Fujieda with work so they decide that living together would be better and totally not because they are interested in each other of course, also Fujieda is a bad cook, so bad that he even burns scrambled egg (lol). Towa also stops painting after completing Fujieda’s painting, but Fujieda, who is a supportive and loving boyfriend, encourages him to draw more, because his painting will be now free from his mother influence. Towa also ends up losing his ability to see the smoke of people and the colour that he always saw in his vision are also gone (so the colour was always something his mental state projected and not real) Around a month later the visit the beach together because they never went to the beach, and Fujieda tell him since both of their childhood were so horrible they never had such experience and now he want them to experience it together (asdfd why is this so cute) he also accidentally ends up implying that they are married but doesn’t understand it of course because he is a social awkward person and his way of speaking too hard lol. Anyways it ends with them playing in the water and plashing water at each other faces like small children. Still not the end, in the last scene Towa (with his husband of course) visits the shop of the grandma (best side character btw), who sells snacks. And there is this one painting that for Towa was always a black canvas, but it all colourful now. Turns out this painting was bought by his mother for him, and it inspired him to start drawing and all the time he could not see it. He wonders if the sky is such a colour and that he sees the true colour of it now, and most important, for the first time in his life he really feel alive. The end

At this point I was really crying, imagine how horrible your life must be if you never even felt like you were alive, this end scene really shows the greatness of the game, because here you finally understand what you just saw and how great this experience was (at least for me it was like that). I love this scene so much.

When you play the game the first time, after this last scene and the credit roll the room in the start menu that always been dark will turn completely bright like it tells you that Towa is finally free from the darkness. There are more metaphors with darkness and brightness in the game I noticed, Towa’s room is dark in the beginning, and he never opens his windows, but guess who does in one scene, Fujieda. Opening the windows bringing change in the room, also everything in Fujieda’s apartment is dark or just black, his windows are shut with black curtains, but we see in the end when they stared living together that their home is bright with white furniture and big open windows. And one more thing I notice, the credit roll has a black background but in the true route it’s white. I really like it that they made it like this.

Next up for the character analysis

We know a big part of Towa’s personality is an influence by his mother or something made from his trauma, but what part is the real Towa we see? And I want to talk about the part what make Towa such a great character not involving his trauma. A big part why I like him has to do (and I noticed it even more in the replay) with him being extremely smart. He has that what other protags are missing: a brain. I loved how smart he was, there is no scene in the game where I would say he acts dumb, he knows what he is doing. In Rei’s route he knew something was wrong with Mizuno, and he even tricked him into revealing his true self. In the first chapter he knew that Ikuina sent him the flower, in Takus route he knew that he was kidnapped to blackmail Taku, and what to do to get out of the situation. In the true route after he remembered his past, he understands instantly that he was manipulated by his mother. I really respect him for it. Another part I like about him is that he is honest, he is not a tsundere, he will always say his honest opinion, he also has no shame and no problem with admitting he likes and wants sex. Even when he has a problem with liking people, he does cares about the one that are close to him in his own way. Also, he is a fun person and likes to make jokes with his friends. Because of his trauma he has no understanding the feeling of “love” and “like” and almost never says he likes something (he only ever said he likes scars), him actually starting a relationship with people only worked because it was always someone that has been close to him a long time. (In Fujieda’s case it was because their similarities, because of that they could understand better than anyone else from the love interests, and their past is connected through Fujieda’s sister, so they are indirectly linked from the beginning). Unexpectedly he can be really cute sometimes, I didn’t expect him to blush at all but he did. From the beginning you may not think it, but Towa is a really calm person. He never screams, never curses, he avoid fights and is not extremely social, still he does seems to enjoy hanging out with his friends. He is a great artist and I enjoyed his paintings.

One last thing I really like about Towa and what differentiates him from a lot of other protagonists, he acts and feels like an adult. Compared to N+C last main character Aoba who is still very childish, Towa does not feel like a child at all, giving him a totally different atmosphere.

Fujiedas personality is not that all different to Towa, they are similar any many ways and it’s a reason why they work together. It’s funny how they tried to make him look like he is the serious megane even introducing him as someone who looks down on Towa and you really think in the beginning, he is liked that, but he is completely different. He is a hardworking person that doesn’t like to lose and sometimes comes of a little hard in the way he speaks, but in reality, he is just a very social awkward person with trust issues. From his backstory we can assume he probably didn’t have anyone that was close to him beside his sister like in no friends, and that since he has this trust issue he never let anyone near his heart. He is just not used to talking open with someone and this shows in the way he speaks and if really funny sometimes, he is also a little shy because of it. I love how gentle and caring he is after he finally opened up to Towa. Like Towa, he is honest person and also doesn’t understand the feeling of love I read that some people say that Fujieda feels like a side character and the story would work without him, I completely disagree with it. The feeling of him of a side character comes from the fact that people are just not used for the story to focus on the main character of the game and is always dealing with the problem of the love interest, but here it’s focused on Towa also on Fujieda but Fujieda’s only problem in life is his missing sister, nothing else is there to “fix” about him. In the first place the story was always about Towa, in the routes before you could reach happiness for the other characters and not Towa but this time everything is focused on Towa’s happiness. Because there is so much story in the true route the part where it’s focused on the relationship between them is short. The most important part is the before and after sex talk if you really want to understand their relationship.

The true route would also never work with the other characters, it only works because of Fujieda. He is the main key for the story and for Towa. He is someone Towa can relate to, he understands Towa and Towa understand him, no one else can related to Towa on this level. He pushes Towa to go forward and calls all the other out for not helping Towa, he is the support Towa needs in his life to get over his past, without him everything would fall apart in this route. The theme of the route is “equal”, and it fits them so well because they are always equal, no matter what they do. There is no one that is standing about the other, no top/bottom dynamic, they always do everything to be equal to each other. They have the perfect healthy relationship. Important to mention here is that we may thing Fujieda saved Towa, but Towa also saved Fujieda, fitting their theme. If you replay the game, there is a scene in the beginning where Fujieda tell that for him this world is nothing more than hell for him, and Towa frees him from it.

Last I would like to say that I like how the hinted at the story from the beginning on in every route (which you don’t notice the first time you play it) like with Towa’s nightmare and how he always felt drawn to children but he didn’t know why and that every aspect of the routes connected in the end. I really like games that keep the secret of the story hidden until the end, (some may say that it’s stupid that only the true route had it but that’s the point of a true route) and while all other pairings are also canon, I’m glad that they are the true pairing and the true end of the game. For me there is no better happy end I could have wished for.

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alcxmorgan · 4 years ago

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𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑰'𝒎 𝑰𝒏 / 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱 & 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢

No matter how long Alex was away from California she knew it would always be her home. Nothing gave her quite the same feeling as stepping out of LAX into the perfect socal air always did. It was where she grew up, where she honed in on her sport enough to decide she wanted to be serious about it and try to make it a profession. It was even where she played college soccer. Almost everything good in her life (besides Charlie, of course) stemmed from the LA area, there was too much to let go of, which is exactly why she still held onto her Manhattan Beach house despite barely ever having the time to enjoy it especially in the last few years with the World Cup and now the Olympics. She always considered renting it out but pretty much anyone would know that wasn’t the best idea. Thinking of herself as famous still never sat well with Alex but she was realistic enough to recognize that her name and face were well known enough that if someone found out it was her house things could definitely go awry. She had certain friends and family members bring up staying there but for some reason nothing ever felt right. Nothing until she found out Levi just moved to the city. That was a huge move to make and he’d been to that house with her before, something familiar would probably be nice and comforting amongst everything else that was overwhelming and new right? She had that haven to offer and wanted him to take it. Of course she knew he would fight her on it at first but at least over texts he agreed and that was good enough for her until she could take him there again to make sure it was something he really wanted and not just because she was pushing it on him. It just really was such a sin to waste such a gorgeous house and view.

Palm tree after palm tree lined the streets her uber driver navigated to get her from the airport to her parents’ house in Diamond Bar. They had been begging her for more Charlie time which was convenient since she didn’t want to have to bring her daughter along with her to see Levi again for the first time in what felt like forever even if it was only less than a couple years. It was still surreal that she was talking about him in present time again after his name, his voice, his face, all became things of her past, a past she thought for sure would more than likely stay there, not because she wanted it to but because she assumed that after everything that had happened there was no way of salvaging what they once had and if she was being honest she would always kick herself for ruining what never even really got the chance to start. Maybe this could be the beginning of making up for lost time? Maybe it wouldn’t actually be anything more than a friendly landlord and tenant situation. Alex didn’t have the slightest clue what any of this meant for them but her eagerness to find out had her shamelessly changing her flight to one a day earlier and now here she was back in the city of angels to see someone who had coincidentally never been anything but a complete angel to her.

“You don’t mind watching her, right? I feel like I could use a shower after the flight and then I want to run over to my place and see how everything is. I’m gonna meet up with a friend who might be staying there.” She told her parents as she bounced Charlie on her knee giving her cheek a kiss before passing her off to sit in Alex’s dad’s lap. With that the striker was running up the stairs to take a shower and get herself more presentable to see Levi. Sure the sweatpants and ponytail would’ve been just fine but showing up with her hair freshly washed, her favorite pair of jeans, a fitted t-shirt and some makeup on made her feel a lot more confident even if it was just completely friendly. You could want to look nice for friends, right? Just a few little spritzes of her signature perfume and Alex was running down the stairs feeling like a teenager again saying goodbye to her parents before going out. “I know you two know her routine by now but you can always call or text me if you need anything. Thank you again.”

In a perfect world getting to Levi’s apartment would’ve only taken about thirty-five minutes but thanks to the nightmare that is Los Angeles traffic it was probably a good hour or more before she found herself entering the building, making her way up to his floor and finally finding his door. Alex took a deep breath as the nerves finally kicked in and her heart started to race. For a second she thought about walking away because what if surprising him wasn’t the best idea? What if he had someone there? But before her legs could follow that plan her hand was betraying it and she heard her knuckles knocking against the door. Well there was no turning back now. The soccer player let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she had been holding when she saw him open the door and smiled, “Hi. Surprise.” @levi-hummus

#lhummon.#paras.#para: state i'm in | levi hummon.

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angst-fairygodmother · 4 years ago

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Hello there! Idk if you’re still taking requests, so if you aren’t, ignore this! But I was wondering if you could write Diego x reader, where she meets his siblings for the first time, and at first it’s kinda awkward, but then they get more comfortable and maybe just like fluff after when they get back home? It might be totally stupid but idk. I love your writing!💕💕

A/N: Babe, it’s totally not stupid at all. Meeting the family shenanigans is basically the perfect trope for this show. Sort of accidentally ended up a sequel to this fic, so I ran with it. Word Count: 1678 Content Warnings: Season 2 spoilers

“Are you sure you want to do this, Y/N?” Diego asked, gripping your hand tightly as the two of you walked toward the restaurant. “It’s not too late for us to just leave.”

“Diego Hargreeves, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you didn’t want me to meet your family,” you teased, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’s one dinner, it’ll be okay.”

“You say that now,” he muttered and you rolled your eyes affectionately in response before pulling open the door and walking inside.

When you gave your names to the hostess, she smiled brightly and told you that the rest of your party was already waiting for you, before leading you to a large table in a private room off the main dining area. Four pairs of eyes turned to you appraisingly. You swallowed nervously and put on a smile of you own.

“Hi everyone, sorry we’re late,” you said, taking one of the two empty seats, somewhat awkwardly as Diego still refused to let go of your hand. “Someone didn’t believe me that traffic was going to be a nightmare on a Friday night.”

One of the women at the table, who you vaguely recognized from a cheesy romance playing on late-night cable and therefore deduced was Allison smiled in a way that felt indulgent and false; it didn’t quite reach her eyes; it was rehearsed.

“Oh he never listens to anybody, don’t take it personally, Y/N,” the smaller of the two men said, stretching across the table and offering you a broad grin and a hand with the word hello tattooed on it. “I’m Klaus, and you’re the gorgeous creature my brother’s decided to shack up with, huh?”

You couldn’t help but giggle at his greeting, shaking his hand politely while Diego glared. “Nice to meet you Klaus,” you said with a smile.

“You know, I already like you better than his last two girlfriends. You haven’t tried to arrest or kill me!”

“Sorry what? Is that a joke?” you frowned in confusion as you let go of his hand and leaned back, glancing over at Diego to see his tight jaw and stony face, clear indications that he was upset.

You hand sought his under the table and you gave it a gentle squeeze, drawing his gaze to you and smiling at him.

‘It’s all good, relax,’ you mouthed.

“No I’m deadly serious,” Klaus continued. “For a while he was with this lady cop on-again/off-again style and she’d arrest me for drugs when she caught me around. Until she was tragically murdered by time-travelling assassins who kidnapped me looking for Five. Then while we were in the 60s, he fell for this girl from the nuthouse who turned out to be a plant and totally tried to kill us!” He gave a pained little chuckle, as if to say, ‘can you believe that?’

You stared at him, open-mouthed and aghast.

“Ignore Klaus, he’s never known when to shut up a day in his life,” the woman you had first noticed said. “I’m Allison.”

Klaus shot her a look that somehow combined a pout and a glare, but fell silent. You felt some of the tension sink out of Diego beside you, though he still didn’t seem comfortable. You smiled at her.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” you said, still trying to shake off the information Klaus had given (which seemed to line up with what the small, angry brother who was oddly not at dinner had said, and was far too much to actually process at the moment).

You turned to the two who hadn’t yet spoken. “So you must be Luther and Vanya?”

The man nodded, shifting in his seat and giving you an awkward little wave. The other woman glowered at you and said nothing. You frowned, wondering what you had done to earn her ire already.

Allison cleared her throat. “We ordered some bruschetta and sangria for the table before you arrived.”

The rest of dinner passed in much the same way as those first moments: Luther was mostly silent and clearly uncomfortable (whether with your presence or very fact of being out in public seemed unclear) but he started to relax and warm up as the evening went on, even once or twice sharing a stiff joke; Vanya was cold, barely responsive to your attempts to engage with her; Allison tried to play the hostess and keep topics light and small-talk-esque, breaking long silences with new conversations, obviously trying her best but ultimately resulting in a stilted performance; Klaus blurted out evidently whatever thoughts passed through his mind, usually bizarre and outlandish, sometimes profound and deeply sad. It was like none of them knew how to be normal people or have dinner with their sibling’s significant other, or an average conversation and you couldn’t help but feel oddly warmed by that, but the fact that they were so…human.

You did your best to keep up with all of them, appreciating Allison’s best efforts, laughing at some of Klaus’s jokes or countering his philosophical points, trying not to call too much attention to Luther or make him feel put on the spot. Diego felt his heart swell with pride at how well you did, and how you took everything in stride, even as the minutes seemed to drag on and he started to fear that dinner would never end.

The only thing that kept rankling at you was Vanya’s attitude, so when she got up to go to the bathroom, you excused yourself as well, cornering her in the hall of the restaurant.

“Hey, no offense, but what the hell is your problem with me?” you asked, tilting your head to one side, more curiosity than animosity in your tone.

She rolled her eyes, trying to push past you, but you resolutely blocked her path.

“I know I’m dating Diego and there’s like a whole weird history there or whatever, but don’t I at least deserve a chance before you decide to treat me like the devil?”

She sighed, shaking her head. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“You seem nice, and you’re…normal. Our family doesn’t do well with that,” she explained, folding her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to do the whole friendly, welcome to the family or whatever bullshit. Cus you’re either going to turn out not actually normal and screw us over, or you’re going to turn out actually normal and get hurt or bail before you do.”

You stared at her for a long, silent moment.

“I’m not going anywhere. I love Diego, and I think for all that they’re weird, I like your family a lot.”

“You say that for now, but we’ll see.”

“If there’s really no way for me to change your mind, fine, but maybe the reason people leave is just because you shove them away.”

You turned and returned to the table with that, not giving her a chance to respond. You still weren’t thrilled, but at least you felt like you understood her better now, and she seemed to soften toward you at least a little for the rest of the evening.

By the time the check came (a check you noticed that Allison picked up without even glancing at the numbers) you felt like you had really gotten to know Diego’s siblings, and seen a different side of him as he slowly loosened up around them.

As you all got up to leave, it became a chain of “it was nice to meet you”s and “we should do this again”s. Allison moved in for a hug and you returned it happily enough. Luther patted you on the shoulder awkwardly, his big hand enveloping it as if you were a child, surprising you with his size more close up than the other end of the table. Klaus moved as if to follow you home, and then pouted much like a stray puppy when Diego gave him a stern look that communicated without words that he was not allowed to do so. Then he turned to you and hugged you. But where Allison’s was polite and somewhat formal, Klaus’s was anything but, his long limbs folding around you and his chin resting on your shoulder.

“It was sooo good to meet you,” he purred in your ear. “And I’m glad Diego found you.” He pulled back to look you in the eye, his hands still resting on your upper arms. “I mean it. You’re good for him. Take care of him.”

“I will,” you said with a smile. “And you take care of yourself.”

Vanya offered you a polite nod, and you took what you could get.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry about tonight,” Diego sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he sank down onto the couch.

“What are you talking about D? It was fine.” You hung your coat on one of the pegs near the door and then, with a roll of your eyes, picked up his from where he’d tossed it on the floor and hung it as well.

“It was torture. In fact I think I’d rather be tortured.”

“I mean sure it was awkward, and your family’s a little weird, but I knew going in not to expect anything else.”

“It didn’t make you regret the day you ever met me?”

You dropped onto the couch next to him, leaning into his side and tilting your head to kiss him, smiling against his mouth.

“I could never regret that babe.”

His arm circled your shoulders, drawing you closer as he returned your kiss fervently. He groaned as you pressed against him and ran your tongue over his lower lip, opening up to invite you in. It wasn’t often that he let you take the lead, so you took full advantage while you could, pressing him back against the cushions and straddling his lap, running your hands through his hair.

“Besides,” you said, pulling back to smile teasingly. “Now I won’t feel so bad when you meet my family.”

#I hope you enjoy this darling Nonny #TUA season 2 spoilers #The Umbrella Academy season 2 spoilers #It sort of ended up more about the rest of the family and less about Diego #but I think it works?#Diego Hargreeves x Reader #meeting the family

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keeroo92 · 3 years ago

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Be My Nightmare Ch19

Eruption

Welcome back, everyone! Enjoy the new chapter :3

Word count: 4,016

TW: Strangulation

~~~Previous Chapter~~~

------------

Finding the older woman’s car proved a simple task. It wasn’t anything special, a sedan with muted green paint and a few trinkets hanging from the rearview mirror. You paid little attention to them.

A quick check with the GPS system stuck to the dash showed her home a mere five minutes away, a distance barely worth driving. You helped V into the passenger seat and were about to pull out of the parking lot when he spoke.

“Do you have your phone?”

You nodded and pulled it out. “Yeah, why?”

He smirked. “You don’t watch many crime shows, do you?”

You shook your head, still not catching on as he took it and tossed it out the window. It made a clatter as it struck the pavement.

“Phones are trackable. Even the police aren’t blind enough not to suspect you at this point.”

Stupid. You should’ve thought of that yourself. Was there anything else you needed to get rid of, precautions to take now that safety was only a memory? You might have to research it later, if given the chance.

“You did very well,” the artist interrupted.

“What are you talking about?” A quick signal and you entered traffic.

He smirked again and shifted lower in his seat as you passed a truck, angling his face away from the window. “You didn’t look away.”

You gave him a sideways glance. “Did you think I would?”

“Just because one expects something doesn’t mean they can’t be pleased when it comes to pass,” he replied.

The brakes clicked as you pressed the pedal, a stop sign ahead. Black graffiti covered most of the sign. “Fair enough.”

The thought of looking away hadn’t occurred to you. If anything, you’d worried about blinking, missing your chance to watch a taboo act few experienced.

And it was nothing like what you’d expected.

The arc of shimmering blood and bone fragments, falling to the pavement like hellish rain. V’s decisive motions, both graceful and precise. The soft exhalation of Margaret’s final breath. Speckles of brain tissue catching the streetlights’ glow as you picked up her keys.

But most memorable were the expressions on your companion’s face as he struck down the unlucky stranger.

Rage and sadness, the switch as quick as turning on a light. Was V even aware of it? He hadn’t mentioned it, and he seemed calm now, as if nothing abnormal took place. What did he feel when he killed?

You shook your head. There was still so much about him you didn’t know, didn’t understand. It felt like trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing, and no box to check the picture of what it should look like upon completion.

You clicked the turn signal and glanced at your companion. His eyes stared into the distance and a small smile curled his lips. Specks of blood still spotted his clothing and hands. Did those hands feel the weight of the lives they ended?

Would yours, when you inevitably stopped fighting the urge to know for yourself?

Your stomach flipped as you changed lanes, accelerating as if you could out-drive the realization. Yet beneath the initial shock, past the socially conditioned horror, the idea excited you.

I guess this is who I am now, you thought. Or is this who I always was?

“Your destination is ahead on the left.”

You sighed and slowed the car, pushing aside your thoughts as you pulled into a small driveway. Self-reflection could wait. For now, you needed to get V inside and check his wound. The painkillers you’d given him earlier had to be wearing off. The motion of the kill might have started the damn thing bleeding again, too.

“Here we are,” you said as you parked, glancing at the home you’d helped him kill for.

It didn’t stand out. The yard had a few shrubs and a tree, a gravel path leading to the front stoop where a trio of garden gnomes awaited. The exterior was a faded blue, the door and trim matching white if you ignored the layer of grime. It would do.

V hummed and waited as you came to take some of his weight. Crutches would’ve served him well, but for now your shoulder did the job. He winced as you helped him up, but voiced no complaint.

Once inside, you left him leaning on the wall as you looked for a light switch. A faint chemical scent tickled your nostrils. Did the woman leave part way through cleaning?

It wasn’t until you stumbled on something warm and furry that it clicked - Margaret had been buying cat food.

Oh no…

At last your fingers found plastic. You flipped the switch and pursed your lips.

There, crouched expectantly on a well-worn living chair, sat a trio of felines. A siamese and two tabbies, all three rounder than you imagined was healthy. Three sets of hopeful eyes followed you back to V, a questioning meow slipping from the siamese’s mouth.

I should have grabbed her groceries.

“Oh, my… aren’t you three just the cutest things,” V cooed. Your eyes shot to him to find pure adoration written across his features. He smiled at the cats and tried to step closer, wincing again as he put weight on his injured hip. “What are your names, little ones?”

The man was blind. The last thing these cats were was little.

Incredulous, you hurried to help him to the chair, shooing the cats out of the way. You didn’t dislike cats, but one had already gotten underfoot. Not a promising start.

Of course, the second the artist settled in, he resumed wooing the damn things. You sighed. “I’m going to look around. You stay put, okay?”

He nodded without even looking your way, too busy praising the siamese as it sniffed his outstretched hand.

The home didn’t take long to explore; its single bedroom and bathroom, cozy living area and claustrophobic kitchen weren’t bigger than your first apartment. Margaret’s decor was simple and tame, as if an afterthought. A few pictures of her cats and an older gentleman dotted the walls, but little else. Cat furniture featured heavily. Your initial assessment that she didn’t have anyone close to her seemed spot on.

Her bathroom had limited medical supplies, but enough to serve your needs. You brought everything out to where you left V and rolled your eyes.

He’d somehow gotten all three of the cats back on the chair. The tabbies crouched on either armrest, while the siamese sat in his lap, purring as he stroked its fur. He was humming a tune, his expression peaceful and content. You didn’t want to interrupt this rare moment of calm.

But I have to.

You set down your scavenged supplies and caught the artist’s gaze. “Sorry, but I need to check your hip.”

He sighed, but his hand stopped its rhythmic motion. “Come on, Moose. Doctor’s orders.”

The cat didn’t move.

“Its name is Moose? Is that a joke?” you asked.

He smirked, then gestured at the grey tabby on his left, then the orange one on the right. “No, and this is Hunter and Pippin. It says on their collars.”

“Hmm. Well, Moose, Hunter and Pippin need to move,” you said, then picked up Moose. He opened one eye and yawned. “Hi, Moose.”

You settled the trio on a nearby cat tree, where they seemed content enough. On to your patient.

His blood-spattered clothing gave you no trouble, and you set to work, removing the old bandage to find the stitches intact. Crimson wept from the corners, but the flow wasn’t alarming. You cleaned the area and wrapped it up again within a few minutes, tossing aside V’s soiled clothes to deal with later.

With that done, you allowed some of the tension to leave your body. Your neck and shoulders ached, exhaustion pulling at your limbs like a petulant child. There was no resisting it anymore; you groaned as you collapsed onto the couch opposite V. When was the last time you’d slept?

Just as your eyes slid closed, a sharp hiss ravaged your worn nerves and dragged you back to alertness. You couldn’t help shooting a glare at the offending feline. Pippin, wasn’t it?

You sighed and forced yourself up again. “I’ll see if I can find you something to wear.”

“Actually,” V replied, “Would you direct me to the bathroom first? I’m due for a shower.”

He carefully shooed the cats away as you helped him up. His skinny form trembled with each step, but held long enough to settle onto the stool in the shower. Margaret must’ve had mobility issues, for which you thanked the stars. She even had one of those fancy showerheads on a hose.

You handed the artist the hose the moment you finished helping him strip. “Try not to get your wound wet.”

He smirked. “What, you aren’t joining me? What if I slip?”

Despite his playful tone, he had a point. Bastard.

He’ll need my help to get out, anyway. Might as well stay.

Not to mention your deodorant wore out hours ago. You stifled a yawn and tugged your clothes off, too tired to blush as the artist watched your every move. By the time you joined him in the now-crowded shower, his eyes were sparkling and his lips were quirked into a lopsided grin. His long fingers reached out to stroke your skin, feathery touches painting invisible lines across your ribs and hips.

You hummed and closed your eyes, his attention soothing your muscles. “That feels good.”

The soft hush of water thrummed in your ears as V continued his ministrations. Steam and warmth filled the claustrophobic room, melting your lingering stress with the help of the artist’s skilled hands.

You smiled. “I thought I was here in case you slipped and hurt yourself.”

“Call it multitasking,” he replied, reaching for a bottle of body wash.

You took turns washing each other, passing the showerhead back and forth between soft smiles and gentle caresses. As the water inched its way closer to iciness, the suds long washed away, it was enough to wrap the artist in your arms and stroke his freshly washed hair, his lips pressing lazy kisses against your stomach.

At last, he turned off the spray and pulled away, dewy drops clinging to his skin. He waited as you foraged for towels, smiling when you ruffled his hair and helped dry his back.

“Bed?” he asked as he draped himself over your shoulder, long legs stepping out of the shower with care.

You nodded and led him there, barely letting go before you dropped onto the bed beside him, only to land on something hard and uncomfortable.

“-suspected to be aiding and abetting the killer. Any sightings should be reported to the hotline. Do not approach either of the suspects if seen, they are considered highly dangerous and likely to kill again…”

You froze as your eyes locked onto the now lit TV screen hanging on the opposite wall. A news bulletin displayed V’s mugshot beside a somewhat recent staff photo of you from the facility, a stern frown under your signature tight bun. Above the photos, a byline labeled you as an accomplice to murder.

“Dr. Emily Waras, wanted in connection with the Crimson Artist slayings. Now we go live to a police press conference.”

Your mouth filled with sand as your mind stalled, static buzzing between your ears. A dark podium stood before a familiar figure, his white hair pulled back into a ponytail. Unflinching blue eyes stared out of the screen into your very soul as Tony Redgrave spoke to a horde of reporters and film crews.

“Recent developments in the Crimson Artist case lead us to believe that Dr. Emily Waras, a former employee of Mundus Psychiatric Hospital, may be aiding the killer. While I can’t give much detail as the investigation is ongoing, we are issuing an all-points alert to apprehend both suspects and bring them to justice. In the meantime, we urge all citizens to stay vigilant and travel in groups of three or more.”

His eyes flashed, his features hardening into steel. Behind him, you spotted Officer Goldstein, her own expression as harsh and unforgiving as Tony’s.

“Dr. Waras, if you’re watching… turn yourself in. You don’t have to be what he wants you to be. We can help you. Don’t make this worse than it already is.”

Your blood turned to ice as he stepped back from the podium and the broadcast returned to the photos of you and V. It was inevitable that the police came after you, but somehow it was a shock hearing them say it.

Wheels of panicked thought tumbled into motion. How would this change your options? What impact would it have? Your heart was racing, palms sweaty. Hysteria was a breath away.

Calm down. Think it through.

You closed your eyes and pursed your lips. Malphas probably gave the staff photo to the police, just the latest knife in the spine from your former boss. While they didn’t mention your father, you couldn’t imagine anything else that could have given them the confidence to declare you an accomplice in public. Whether that meant he was alive or dead was irrelevant - even a corpse would've been enough evidence.

Can they use me to get to V?

Little remained from your old life for you to draw on; your car was long gone, the apartment left behind, along with your father. Your cell phone lied somewhere on the side of the road, and you hadn’t been in contact with anyone but V for days.

So really, the only thing that’s changed is that strangers will look for me now. Other than that…

I’ve already abandoned the rest.

You wouldn’t be V’s downfall unless you got careless. The announcement was an act of desperation, not a sign of progress. They hadn’t even mentioned Margaret.

A breath you didn’t know you’d been holding slid from your lips. You turned to V; with the fear dealt with, you were curious how he’d react.

His towel-wrapped body lied beside you, but farther away than a moment prior. His fingers twitched in his lap, his face angled down as his lips moved silently. You shuffled closer and touched his clenched shoulder.

“V?”

The reaction was instant - he snarled at you, one hand darting to press at his injury while the other took hold of your throat. Fire danced in his eyes, his body shifting to pin you down. You flailed against him, trying to break free, but his grip was far too tight.

Shit, shit, shit!

He held you still for a long moment, his arm shaking as he brought his face closer to yours. As if he wanted to watch the life drain from your eyes, like nothing you’d done for him mattered, like you were just another victim. A tool to be used and discarded when it was no longer useful.

Fuck this! I am NOT dying today!

The edges of your vision darkened as you punched the artist in the face, using the vacant space left by his arm still holding his wound. A sharp crack rewarded your adrenaline fueled effort as his grip loosened just enough to take a precious swallow of air and cry his name, your voice hoarse.

Another smack and he fell to the side, curling defensively as you scrabbled out of his reach and grabbed the first thing to catch your eye, a heavy alarm clock. You hoped it would be enough to take him down.

Yet you paused, forcing air through your throat. Was he going to try again? Did he truly want to watch you die? You struggled to accept it, not after all the shit you’d been through for him.

“Why? What the fuck, V?” you rasped.

He groaned but didn’t speak. You smacked his leg.

“Tell me what the fuck just happened right the fuck now!”

It was only as his face lifted to meet yours that you realized you were crying. Stupid. Tears were useless.

“They want to help you. It’s foolish to trust you. Vergil was right, I should have killed you long ago,” the artist said at last. His eyes stared right through you. “It’s only a matter of time before you turn on me.”

Your grip on the alarm clock tightened, your knuckles turning white. Rage flooded your senses, your body barely restrained. “You’re an idiot if that’s what you believe.”

He sneered and sat up, massaging his jaw where your blow landed. Blood stained the bandage you’d only put in place half an hour ago, and his eyes still glowed with suspicion. “Then how do they know you’re with me? You must have told them, before you came after me. You probably just came so you could give them my location.”

“Is that what you think I was doing after you ran off for no goddamn reason?” you scoffed.

“Why not? Maybe your father convinced you to do it.”

Your fingers tightened on the clock, resisting the urge to hurl it at his face. A peal of hysterical laughter stung your abused throat on its way out and you wiped the remnants of your tears away. “The only thing my father convinced me to do was lobotomize him when he found out who you are! I only stayed long enough to make sure he wouldn’t talk.”

V’s eyes widened, his hand dropping from his darkening jaw. You met his gaze full on, daring him to call you a liar. If he did, you didn’t know how you’d withhold a scream.

“You… lobotomized him?”

You nodded. “With a chopstick.”

The artist’s shoulders dropped, the tension easing by a fraction as his lips twitched. He chuckled, eyes glimmering. You shifted your weight and took another deep breath. It came easier than the last few.

V grunted and rolled his broad shoulders. “How did it feel?”

“Like… like nothing. I felt nothing at all.”

Blankets ruffled as he shuffled closer to you, reaching out with the same hand that almost ended your life to take the clock from your iron grip. You stepped back before he could.

“Really? Nothing at all?” he replied, “That’s difficult to believe.”

“I was a little preoccupied worrying about you.”

He tried again for the timepiece. You shot him a glare and took another step back. Would he chase you if you ran? Even if he did, it wouldn’t be hard to outpace him with his wound.

And yet…

You couldn’t stop the words. You had to know. “Why don’t you trust me?”

He looked away, shrinking back. “Don’t.”

“After what you just did, I think I deserve some answers. Why? Is it something to do with Nero?”

A muscle in his jaw flared, his arms crossing as he lowered his head. You were on the right track. “I said don’t.”

“V,” you insisted, perhaps unwisely. “You just tried to kill me. Tell me why; tell me what happened to Nero.”

“Fine, you want to know so desperately?” the artist snarled, his eyes flashing behind a curtain of black. “He died to save me. I dragged him to a fucking poetry reading and got him killed, a month before his wedding. He took six bullets and collapsed on top of me, told me not to move and play dead until it was over! I hid like a coward under his corpse; I tasted his blood and heard his last breath, all because I wanted to hear some goddamned William Blake!”

Oh.

It explained so much. Why he recited Blake during episodes. Why he never used a gun to kill. Why he seemed so fascinated by blood. Why he believed society was broken, choosing to preserve innocence over preparing people for reality.

It was all a manifestation of Nero’s death, and his own helplessness.

The puzzle now had a picture, an origin.

“And it got even better after that! His fiance blamed me, rightfully so. My family treated me like a pariah, and everywhere I went on campus, all I saw was Nero… Nero and the bastards that murdered him.”

You didn’t dare speak. He seemed unable to stop the words from flowing, like a burst pipe. There was nothing to do but wait for the torrent to slow.

“My mother, she tried, but her idea of a solution was suggesting the whole damn school work together to make a mural, and of course they wanted the painter to help. I imagine they thought it would heal me, the idiots.”

The weight of the clock in your hands became too much. You set it aside and leaned on the wall, out of his reach but still listening. Still there.

“They told me there was nothing I could have done, but none of them…” he paused, shuddering. “None of them knew how I froze. He… Nero told me to get down, to hide, but I didn’t- I just stood there and let it happen! Maybe if I’d done as he said, he wouldn’t have died. Don’t you see?”

Tortured green eyes nailed you in place. “Nero was my first kill.”

You pursed your lips as he fell silent, panting in the aftermath. His slim fingers clenched and released, his body shaking as his Adam's apple bobbed. He looked like a lost child.

“So you don’t trust me because everyone you knew turned on you after Nero’s death, in one form or another,” you murmured. “You think I’ll do the same.”

He brushed his hair back. “No, I trust you. It’s Vergil that doesn’t.”

It’s the same thing; Vergil’s part of you…

But it wouldn’t do any good to bring that up now. In fact, there were a million things you could say that would do irrevocable damage. What could you say that would help?

There are no words.

“I think I understand. At least, the best I can without living through it myself,” you began. “And nothing I say will earn your trust. Words are meaningless, they’re too easy. It doesn’t cost a thing to speak.”

Sirens rang in your head as you stepped closer, back into the reach of those long, tattooed arms. Giving him the chance to take your life if he so desired. You forced your arms to stay at your sides, battling the urge to run before it was too late.

“But actions have a heavy price, as we both know, and I’ll let mine speak for me.”

Your heart galloped against your ribs, sweat beading across your palms as you took his hand, the one that clasped your throat so tight mere minutes ago. Mouth as dry as a desert, you brought his palm to your neck and wrapped his fingers around, holding his perplexed gaze.

This is so stupid, I can’t believe I’m doing this, I’m going to get myself killed-

You let go, your hands dropping to give V full control. The moment froze, neither of you daring to breathe, your eyes locked together.

His grip tightened and you whimpered, the urge to fight back more powerful than a lightning bolt, but precious air still forged a path to your lungs. He squeezed only enough to narrow your airway; not enough to close it.

And if I resist now, none of this matters anyway.

A flame lit in V’s eyes and his other palm came to rest at the base of your skull. A twist of his arms, and he’d snap your neck. Still, you didn’t allow yourself to struggle.

And then he moved, the flames fading as he closed the gap to take your mouth in his. He crushed your body to him and flicked his tongue against yours, his grip changing to cradle your face instead of crushing your throat. His kiss was feverish and hungry, stealing your breath in an infinitely more pleasant manner than before. When he finally pulled back, both of you were flushed and panting.

“Vergil can fuck off,” he whispered, forehead pressed to yours.

#be my nightmare #v x reader #devil may cry #fanfic #my writing #dmcv #vitale #au #tw: strangulation

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swampofiniquity · 4 years ago

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Warning Signs (Leon Kennedy x Reader

Part Two of Point / Counterpoint

Rated: Teen and Up

Word Count: 2,088

Cross-posted from AO3

Summary: Leon calls you for a favor and your night devolves from there.

Part One

You hated driving through D.C.

It was always a nightmare of clueless tourists, reckless locals that had lost their regard for personal safety, and insane taxi driver’s that you swore must have all been taught by the same drunk asshole of a driver’s ed instructor. The lights never went your way, half the time a block or whole street would be closed for a parade or movie shoot or some other inconvenience. A couple of years of living in the city had taught you two things.

One - America needed to invest more in public transportation. And two - never try to drive anywhere in rush hour traffic.

The last of which meant Leon Kennedy owed you big time.

If any other human being had asked you to pick them up between the hours three and seven pm, you’d have laughed and given them directions to the nearest Metro station. People who you would otherwise not think twice about taking a bullet for either needed to wait until a more reasonable traffic hour, or find alternate transportation. But Leon was different.

While technically your superior at the DSO, he was also your best friend and a man that so rarely asked for help that his phone call asking you to come pick him up from the White House was practically the equivalent of spotting a unicorn running through the National Mall.

He had just gotten back from nearly two weeks of grueling back-to-back international peace summits with the president and apparently the pair had decided to celebrate their success by cracking open a bottle of executive bourbon. Now Leon needed someone with a high enough security clearance to come pick his exhausted, drunk ass up and take it the fuck home. You had the lucky distinction of being the first person he called.

And yeah, you kinda also owed him for watching your cat last time you had an out of country assignment. So, you hopped in the car, fully prepared to curse and rage your way through an infuriating hour or so of whiteknuckle fun.

Mercifully, Leon was waiting for you outside when you finally made it through the security gate. He was wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses you had never seen before, despite the sun having gone down at least an hour ago, and was leaning crookedly up against a wall like he was fighting gravity on a sinking ship. It was somehow both alarming and utterly hilarious. You couldn’t remember the last time you'd ever seen him so out of sorts and had to fight the urge to document the moment for posterity. Or blackmail.

You rolled the window down as you pulled up beside him. "Hey sailor," you sang, as he struggled to push himself upright. "Need a ride?"

"Why am I already regretting this?" Leon grumbled, his scratchy voice about a whole octave lower than normal. Despite clearly being wasted he managed to shove himself and his duffel bag into your car without incident.

"Oh please, you missed me and you know it." You flashed him a cheeky grin, that he subtly returned.

"That’s presumptuous." He fumbled with the seat-belt for a moment before finally managing to get the latch to click.

You leaned across the console and pinched the meat of his arm through his jacket in retaliation, before pulling him into the closest approximation of a hug you could manage with the seat-belt pulling you back. It had been more than a month since you'd been this close to the man and seeing him again, alive and whole, made your chest clench unexpectedly.

Leon hummed and returned the embrace, burying his face in your hair. He was so warm, but a shiver still went up your spine as you felt his breath on your neck. "Good to see you too, gorgeous."

It was something he had always called you, a leftover from the early days of your relationship when Leon tried relentlessly and futilely to seduce you into bed with him. Something you had heard more than enough times to render it practically meaningless. And normally, it wouldn't affect you in the slightest, but the fact that you were in his arms and could feel his words as clearly as you could hear them, made the pet name seem so much more intimate.

You cleared your throat and pulled back, praying you didn't come off as awkward as you suddenly felt. "Yeah, well uh good… let's get you home then."

_________________________________________________________

A dark, humid night had long since set in by the time you pulled up to Leon’s building just outside of the main metropolitan area and only about a ten minute walk from your own apartment. After a very graceful and coordinated trek up the three flights of stairs to his door, you used your key and let yourself in, stepping aside for Leon and his duffel bag to slink past.

“You want me to order you some food or something? That new pizza place down the street finally opened up while you were gone.” You flipped on his living room light just in time to see Leon go limp and flop face down on his couch.

He let out a dramatic groan and went still.

“You dead?” You asked, fighting back a smile. He hadn’t even bothered to kick his boots off, opting instead to rest them on a throw pillow like an animal. “After all that effort to pick you up across town and bring you back here...”

“Mmmmphm,” he grumbled into the cushion before turning his head so you could actually understand him. “Yeah, very dead, sorry.”

“What am I going to tell your boyfriend, the president?” You bent down and removed his shoes, tossing them vaguely towards the door before lifting his legs and taking a seat beneath them.

There was a lot of very dignified flailing and wriggling as Leon turned himself over onto his back to level a glare up at you. “Not boyfriends.”

This was one of the reasons why you loved drunk Leon. Normally, he’d barely acknowledge your stupid jokes and attempts at teasing, but give the man a few too many drinks and he became the perfect target for a little friendly ribbing. You couldn’t help yourself. “You’re right, I forgot he’s married. So that’d make you his side piece.”

A pillow grazed the top of your head as it soared past you. “Rude.”

“Sorry, work wife?”

Another pillow, this one aimed a little better, hit you in the shoulder and bounced off onto the floor. You laughed. “Hey, just because he is never going to leave her for you doesn’t mean you can just throw things at me!”

“I’m out of pillows anyway,” Leon responded. Then he raised one of the socked feet on your lap up, nearly touching your nose. You squealed and grabbed his ankle, trying to save your face, but despite your efforts you still caught a whiff of the not-so-pleasant aroma of a foot that had spent most of the day stuck in a boot during international travel.

“That is so gross.” You glared at his smirking face.

While you were distracted, Leon snuck his other foot up and managed to gently caress your cheek. Squealing again, you jerked away. “Oh I’m going to make you for real dead, Kennedy!”

He laughed as you slipped out from under his legs and snatched one the pillows he had thrown at you off the floor. You stood over him, just out of his reach. “Apologize,” you demanded, pillow raised threateningly.

“Ha, you first.” Leon sat up, folding his arms across his chest.

You cocked your arm back and brought the pillow down hard, aiming to hit him in the stomach, but even drunk Leon was too fast. He caught the pillow and jerked it back, bringing you toppling down onto his lap. At the last second, you managed to brace your hand on the back of the couch to avoid knocking foreheads.

“Careful now.” Two strong hands latched onto your hips to still your squirming as you tried to right yourself. “Watch your knees down there.”

Your skin felt flushed as you caught his meaning. “Sorry,” you muttered, feeling embarrassed around him in a way you hadn’t in years. You gingerly adjusted your knees that were dangerously close to his crotch and moved so they were on either side of his thighs.

And boy was that position just so much worse. You resisted the urge to hide your hot face in his neck. Your brain was working overtime, rationalizing that the only reason you were this affected by straddling your best friend had to be the current dry spell plaguing your love life. That was the only plausible explanation for the sudden awareness of all the places Leon’s body was in contact with your own.

“That’s better,” he said quietly, warm hands still firm on your hips.

The air suddenly felt heavy, thick like you were trapped under a woolen blanket in the summertime. You could practically hear the alarm bells going off. This was dangerous territory.

Fighting back panic, you lifted your head up to face him, fully intending to crack another stupid joke or make fun of him, anything to ease the tension that had fallen. But the look in his eyes made the words stick to your tongue like a carpet tack.

Leon slowly gathered a lock of your hair that had fallen into your face and tucked it behind your ear. His hand lingered on your neck. “Hey there.”

“Hi” you breathed, heart beating double time in your chest. You were frozen, completely unable to move even if you had wanted to.

“You’re so soft,” Leon’s voice rumbled out, as he ever so gently ran his hand across your neck and under your chin, the calluses on his fingers catching on your skin like fine grain sandpaper. Goosebumps erupted at his touch and you bit back a contented sigh.

“T-thanks,” you muttered, closing your eyes and tilting your head back as you let him explore your skin. It felt so good being touched so tenderly, so affectionately, that it didn’t matter who was behind it.

A gentle yet firm hand on the back of your neck brought you closer, the fingers tightening as Leon pressed his lips against yours. You shuddered, your body wound so tightly that you were afraid you’d snap at any moment. This was a bad idea for more reasons than you could count, but you were finding it impossible to care in the moment.

It wasn’t until the kiss deepened, when you parted your lips and tasted the bourbon on Leon’s tongue that you came to your senses. He was drunk and you were sober. What the hell was wrong with you?

You scrambled off his lap, feeling your stomach churn with shame and embarrassment. “Oh god.”

Your sudden movement must have jolted Leon back to some semblance of normal as well because he cleared his throat, looking sheepish. “I’m a drunken asshole. I am so sorry. ”

“No, I shouldn’t have-”

“But it was clearly my-”

You both started and trailed off, stewing for a long moment in your collective chagrin. Neither of you had a protocol for accidentally making out with your best friend. The only sound in the room was the distant droning of cicadas in the humid night outside before you couldn’t take it anymore.

“Um maybe we forget this happened?” Your voice sounded so small to your own ears.

Leon perked up. “Yes, good. Nothing to talk about because it never happened.”

You nodded enthusiastically, trying not to let how quickly he latched onto the idea sting. You recommended it for fuck’s sake. “Exactly.”

Leon let out a huge breath and slumped back into the couch. “I either need another drink or to sleep for ten years. Or both.”

“Well, best of luck with that. I’m going to head out.” You made a show of patting your pockets for your car keys, still feeling horribly awkward.

Leon frowned, but otherwise didn’t move from his prone position. “Okay. Wanna catch lunch tomorrow?” He asked, finishing the question around a yawn.

“Yeah, call me.” Normally you would have hugged him or kissed his cheek, but the thought of getting in his personal space again made your skin feel too tight, so you settled on a halfhearted wave. “Goodnight, Leon.”

“Night gorgeous.”

You spent the whole ride home fighting the stupid grin that kept trying to creep onto your face.

#leon s kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy fanfiction #leon s kennedy #leon kennedy #resident evil fanfic

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unfunny-quips · 4 years ago

Text

Snippets from The 22 Deaths of a Fool (an akeshu fic that I’ll eventually write more for).

Makoto’s week started far too early Monday morning with a call about a body being fished out of the bay.

It was supposed to start with a nice breakfast with Haru. Makoto had been looking forward to testing the latest scone recipe her wife had come up with for the cafe and enjoying the freshly roasted coffee Haru had made special just for them. Their schedules had been hectic recently, not leaving them with much time to see each other outside of curling together in an exhausted heap on the couch for a bit before shuffling off to bed.

There was no helping it, unfortunately. Between Okumura Industries’ newest restaurant branch Grand Opening pulling most of Haru’s time not spent at the cafe and the precinct being critically understaffed there was little time left for each other. Makoto’s captain had promised that at least a few more detectives were going to be pulled in from other precincts around the city - and apparently one all the way from Osaka - but until they actually were transferred Makoto was stuck handling the casework of three people. She didn’t even have a partner anymore to share the workload with since her last one had quit to pursue a career in writing romance novels.

She couldn’t even be mad. Not really. Himura’s novels were a delight to read and Makoto had bought every last one he’d written over the past three years and even had him sign them for her. He never seemed so happy as he did the day of his retirement party when he was loudly recounting all the time he would have to focus on his next series.

So, overworked and underprepared, it was to the bay she went. Dark circles under her eyes from not enough sleep and her wife’s coffee on hand as she trudged her way through the chill autumn morning. Haru had been nice enough to drag herself out of their warm bed and make a thermos for her while she showered and got ready. Makoto didn’t know what she’d do without her. Probably walk into traffic in an exhausted, uncaffeinated daze.

She arrived at the scene almost awake just as the body was being carefully zipped up and placed on a gurney, the coroner finishing up her notes as Makoto donned the last of her appropriate crime scene gear and carefully picked her past where the the forensic techs were scouring the area for evidence and towards the perpetually hunched form of the coroner.

“Dr. Ito.” Makoto greeted, only just managing not to yawn. The Coroner worked nights and by all rights should have already gone home by now rather than dragging her exhausted self to an early morning crime scene. She didn’t need Makoto yawning to remind her of how long she’d been on shift.

“Detective Niijima. Nice to see you this beautiful morning.” Ito said flatly, looking more dead eyed and exhausted than usual. A feat in and of itself, especially with her wild mess of hair tucked back under the hood of her clean suit and her tired eyes half hidden behind a pair of safety glasses. Ito nodded towards the bodybag now being loaded up onto the transport. “Won’t be able to tell more til I get him back to the office, but so far it looks like you have an interesting one on your hands this time.”

Makoto tilted her head, “Oh?” She asked. Ito was good at her job, exceptionally good, but had an air of apathy to her that rarely was shaken. Makoto had come to learn over the past few years that the coroner wasn’t actually indifferent to the victims she encountered or the cases she helped work on, but rather just worn out. Fifteen years on the job could do that to a person.

That Ito looked so interested now spoke of one thing for the case: trouble.

“Yep.” Ito said, “The call reporting the body came in a bit over three hours ago from port security. Me and the techs have been on the scene for about two hours.” Ito jabbed a gloved finger over her shoulder towards transport, “Everything I’ve seen in the report so far shows sightings of our victim drifting around since 2:06am. That’s four hours. And it’s very likely based on what the tech’s told me about the currents here in the port that our friend was probably pushed in from the bridge over the course of several hours,” Ito spread her hands wide, “So in the water probably since midnight and yet our victim looks fresh as a daisy. Barely any sign of decomp on him at all. Hell just you and me talking and not official? Looks like he could have died minutes ago.”

Makoto blinked. “That’s….”

Unsettling. To say the least.

“Yeah, I know.” Ito nodded, “Like I said, I won’t really know for sure until I get him back at the office and really start digging into things. But that’s not all.”

Unease pooled in her stomach at that. A faint warning at the back of her mind she couldn’t quite name just yet. Frowning behind her face mask. “What else is there?”

Ito glanced over her notes, “For the most part he looks fairly normal. Male. Black hair. Appears to be in mid to late twenties in good shape. 175cm tall. No apparent injuries or cause of death. Then there’s the tattoo.” The coroner pointed up at her covered head, “Right dead center of his forehead he has two Xs. Like roman numerals. And that’s not even getting to his eyes. Never seen anything like it before. Bright gold.”

“Gold?” Makoto found her mind, still a bit foggy at the edges, snapped wide awake at that. “What do you mean? Like contacts or?”

Ito shook her head. “I checked and nothing. I thought it was a trick of the light first but my assistant confirmed it and we double checked the pictures the photographer took.” Ito shifted, “Certain diseases can be known to cause a copper ring in the eye, I’m thinking it might be something similar. Certainly will make it easier to identify him.”

“Right,” Makoto said, feeling far away from her body. She watched blankly as Ito finished up her notes and climbed into the coroner’s van.

Golden eyes.

Apprehension crept at the back of her neck, a faint dread she couldn’t quite explain settling on her shoulders as she thought of a world long gone to her. A world of shadows and monsters and gods. A world of golden eyes.

A world that shouldn’t exist anymore.

—

Ren Amamiya stood still and quiet in the doorway of Sae’s office, eyes hidden beneath a tangle of dark bangs as he stared at the floor before him.

Sae hadn’t even noticed him arrive, so intent on making sure she didn’t drop the oversized pile of paperwork in her arms as she hauled it over to her desk. She’d just made him out in her periphery as glanced down, and nearly jumped out of her own skin as she did so. She very nearly flung the files in her arms across the room - which would have been a nightmare to gather back up and get back into order.

She should have never let Tae talk her into watching that horror movie the other night, she’d been jumpy ever since.

Swearing under her breath as she realized just who it was lurking there she sighed, “Ren, god, you scared me half to death.” Adjusting her hold on the folders in her arms she added, “I always thought Makoto was exaggerating when she said you needed a bell on you. Here, give me a second to put these down.

Turning away from the boy in the doorway she dropped the files onto her desk, glancing at the clock that ticked away next to her computer, the soft clicks of the mechanism turning slowly turning the hands the only sound in the still office. Last minute before midnight, no wonder she was so wired. The files could wait until morning when she could recruit the legal secretary to help her pour over them.

“What are you even doing here so late?” She asked her unexpected guest absently. Her attention was on shuffling the file folders into a neater pile - exhausted or no, there was no need for clutter. Once some semblance of order was in place she looked up at him with a small smile. “Don’t tell me you need a lawyer.”

Ren was no longer in the doorway. Only empty air and the reception area beyond with it’s expansive windows that overlooked the glittering city beyond.

She paused, brows furrowed in confusion. She hadn’t heard him leave. Well, she supposed she hadn’t heard him arrive either - and something buzzed faintly at the back of her mind at that thought. A warning that she’d missed something.

Frowning she shook it off and strode across the room to the open door. Knowing Ren, he’d likely seen the chance for a prank after seeing how spooked she’d been earlier. Maybe even had come in the first place for that exact purpose, Sae had mentioned he’d swung by the clinic recently. Sae didn’t doubt the doctor and the thief might hatch up a plan together to try and rattle her in the wake of the horror movie debacle.

The reception area was empty when she leaned out, no sign of Ren at all.

She frowned.

While her office only had her desk lamp on, lengthening the shadows and giving her eyes a rest from the fluorescent overheads, the reception area was still brightly lit. There were now dark corners for Ren to hide behind, and from where her office was she could see behind the reception desk. The other offices were locked up tight, and though she didn’t doubt that the thief could open one and slip inside in the sparse seconds it took her to cross the room, she doubted that he would just to pull a prank on her.

“Ren?” She called, leaning to see if he had tucked himself behind one of the plants by the elevator. He wasn’t there. Her frown deepened. Had she imagined him there after all? She hadn’t thought so. For all Ren tended to blend into a crowd when he wanted to go unnoticed, his presence was a difficult thing to ignore once you knew him. He had that kind of charisma, even back when he’d been in highschool. Bruised, beaten and drugged half out of his mind and still able to convince her to help him. He’d only grown into himself more in the ten years that followed.

There was no answer to her call. Her frown deepened.

She’d call him, she decided. If he was playing a prank on her, whatever cheerful sugar-pop ringtone Futaba had set him up with this week would give him away. Mind settled she turned -

And came face to face with Ren, a scant few inches behind her.

With a swear she jumped and stumbled back, catching herself on the doorframe so that she didn’t tumble to the floor entirely.

Ren didn’t make a move towards her, no attempt to reach out and help her, no offered apologies for scaring her so badly. Just stood there, still as a statue with shoulders hunched awkwardly up around his ears. His head was dipped down towards the floor, chin nearly to his chest. His face was obscured by the odd angle and the wild mess of his dark hair. His clothes, too, were wrong. A frayed and thin jumpsuit, black and white stripes, a shackle on each wrists as they hung limply by his sides. There were heavy chains hanging from them, pooling at his bare feet.

Something was wrong.

The thought settled coldly in her stomach, made the hair at the back of her neck prickle and heart hammer in her chest. She felt cold, looking at him, her hands shaking and fingers numb. Ren wasn’t speaking, wasn’t moving, wasn’t breathing.

That gnawing thought from before, that sense that she missed something from just moments ago. Seeing Ren now, awkward and strange and wrong, it made the pieces click in place.

She hadn’t heard the elevator. Hadn’t heard the squealing of the stairwell door being pulled open either. Ren had always been light on his feet, a cat’s grace with the same tendency to get in trouble, but even then he would have had to slide in through a window in order to not have been heard arriving on the floor. A tricky thing to do twenty stories up.

“Ren?” She asked, cautious, voice wavering slightly in the sudden stillness of the room. Her throat felt tight.

A distant echo at the back of her mind, some ancient instinct shivering in warning. Not of danger, per se, but of something. She felt as if she was something very small and very helpless standing in the shadow of a giant about to collapse. Rooted to the spot despite knowing that the crash of the colossus might kill her.

Something dripped from his face to the floor. She thought, for the briefest of seconds, that it was a tear. That Ren might be crying but as her eyes flicked down she saw that no. Not tears. Blood. Thick and dark, sliding from his hidden face and collecting in a horrible constellation at their feet.

“I’m sorry.”

Her body trembled at his voice, cold fear icing her veins. Soft and thready, more whimper than whisper. It was not his voice that made her shake, not exactly, but something in it. A high clear note she couldn’t identify that made her ears ring and her bones throb. She felt it in her chest, felt her breaths struggle beneath the weight of it. She thought that her knees might buckle beneath the weight of it.

His head, slowly, began to lift. The movement was wrong - it was all wrong - too slow, too fast, too at odds with the way a human’s body was supposed to work.

She saw his eyes first.

Gleaming and golden, shining all the brighter against the dark blood that covered his face. No, not covered. His face was simply gone. The flesh around his eyes torn away grotesquely, it looked almost like a mask.

Her feet were rooted to the spot, body locked in place by the horrible desperate expression he held. She wanted to run, wanted to flee, but her body wouldn’t obey. Even as he took a shambling awkward step, body still not moving the way it should, the way someone as graceful and languid as Amamiya Ren was meant to move. He shambled and stumbled, hands raised - and they too were red, fingernails torn and hand stained, god it looked like he’d torn his face off. The thought made her want to scream, everything about the situation made her want to scream.

“I’m…I’m so sorry.” He collapsed into her, hands - cold, cold, cold - desperately clung to her. She felt the chill of his skin down to her very bones, felt the weight of fear and oddly grief choking her. Not her own, not entirely. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”

He whimpered it like it was a prayer. His words looping on each other again and again, apologies she couldn’t understand crashing over her, drowning her. That sound that tainted his voice worsened, making her head spin and her stomach churn. He sagged into her hold - when did she move? When did her arms reach up to catch him, when did she become the one keeping him in place? - and they both collapsed to the floor.

She was crying. Cold tears sliding down her cheeks and landing on his torn and tattered face. His eyes were so wide, so frightened that she felt sick as his terror crashed and entwined with her own.

And then she felt the solidness of his body give.

His shoulders, his back, crumbling beneath the weight of her hold as if he was no more than wet paper. Inch by inch he collapsed into himself, black cracks appearing over him - not just his skin, but his eyes and even his clothes - the splintering spidery lines of cracked porcelain. Where he’d already crumbled was only black ash, flaking away and falling apart in her hands.

His mouth, half deteriorated already, opened.

“I’m so sorry.”

Sae jerked awake at her desk, nearly knocking over the cold cup of coffee at her elbow. Her heart pounded in her chest and she panted as her gaze darting around the dark corners of her office.

A dream. Just a dream.

She’d fallen asleep while pouring over her files and had another nightmare from the horror movie Tae showed her. That was all.

She’d should just go home and try to get some actual rest, maybe watch a comedy to settle her mind. And tomorrow, tomorrow she’d call Ren and see if he wanted to meet up for lunch. Just as a reassurance, just to see a friend. And maybe - Her hands stilled where she’d been gathering up her things, eyes wide as she stared.

The clock read midnight.

There was ash staining her fingertips.

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nialledfromfics · 5 years ago

Text

The Dating Game | Chapter One

8:37.

He was already thirty seven minutes late. Her fingers lightly tapped at the veneered mahogany bar top, the ice in her drink having nearly turned to water in the bottom of her empty glass as she picked up her phone to check the time once more. 8:38.

Slumping her shoulders in a soft sigh, she reached up to tuck a few strands of her red hair behind her ear as her narrowed stare drifted around the semi-full bar area of the restaurant. She carefully inspected each lonesome male guest one last time, hoping that maybe she had just overlooked the man she was there to meet. Her teeth scraped incredulously along her bottom lip, her back straightening slightly as she attempted to peer over the heads of seated patrons, though it was becoming increasingly obvious by the second that she may have been stood up.

“Are ya waitin’ for someone?”

The low voice startled her at first, but she just casually chuckled and glanced down at her phone. “Yeah...uh, a blind date actually,” she spoke up, tapping at her phone screen to check the time. 8:42. She rolled her eyes and gently peered over towards the stranger that was standing a few feet from her left, who she, for a moment, thought maybe could be her date. Her hazelnut eyes caught his bright blue ones before she noticed the soft sweep of his chestnut brown hair laying across his forehead and the rugged stubble of his beard adorning his jaw, and she, for a moment, almost wished he was her date. “He’s almost forty five minutes late already, pretty sure that’s not a good sign.”

The guy laughed; the roaring sound resonating right through her as she watched small crinkles form by the corners of his eyes. His infectious smile was lighting up his entire face. It made her smile too. “Probably not, no.”

His voice was deep, gritty almost and riddled with an Irish rogue that she was certain could send anyone to their knees. The young woman faintly cleared her throat at her thoughts and took to stirring the half melted cubs of ice around her glass with the straw. “Is there, like, some kind of handbook on first date etiquette?” she jokingly asked the man, shifting her stare back over to his. “How long should I sit here and wait like an idiot before it’s okay to get up and leave?”

“Honestly, I couldn’t tell ya,” he said with a heavy sigh, bringing his glass to his mouth to sip down the rest of his drink, “I don’t go out on dates that much.”

She sat back in her chair and chuckled at his, frankly astonishing, confession. One that, just by the looks of him, she was having a very hard time believing. “You’re joking, right? ‘Cause if you’re having a hard time finding a date, there is absolutely no hope for me.”

A flush overcame the man’s cheeks, and he bowed his head down slightly. “I wish I was jokin’!” he replied, looking back over at the stunningly gorgeous girl sitting just two feet from him. “It’s actually my job that makes datin’ kinda hard.”

“Yeah, I wish I could say that about my job,” she said with a slight narrowing of her one eye, “much better than realizing that men are just shit.”

Another laugh belted from him before he gave her a shrug. “Fair enough, I’ll give ya that. So...what is it that you do then?”

“I’m a kindergarten teacher.”

“Really? That’s nice.”

“Yup,” she nodded. “What about you, what do you do?”

He cleared his throat, his shoulders rounding as he rested his forearms on the edge of the bar, twirling his empty glass around against the wooden bar top. “Um...I’m a musician, a singer actually.”

“Well, that’s pretty damn cool,” she shot back with her eyes going big, “much cooler than my job.”

“Doubt that, you get to be with kids all day.”

She smiled and leaned towards him, reaching out to lightly lay the tips of her fingers over his right bicep. “Like I said, much cooler than my job.”

Sitting herself back up in her barstool, she flipped her long red hair over her shoulder and clasped her hands together on top of her crossed thighs. She was unaware of his wandering gaze on her at that moment: stretching down the long slope of her neck to the slight peek of her ample cleavage that was showing from her top. She had soft full lips, painted in a muted mauve color and a delicately rounded chin. She was absolutely captivating. He quickly averted his stare when she curiously flicked her eyes over to his, and he reached up to card a hand through his dark hair as a distraction. “Uh...can I, um, get ya another drink?”

She looked down at her empty glass, pondering his question. “You know what,” she started, glancing back over at him, “yeah, I’d like that. Thanks.”

He smiled at her and raised his hand to motion the bartender over to them. “Whatcha drinkin’?”

“Vodka soda.”

He rolled his lips into his mouth and nodded. “Vodka soda for the lady, please and I’ll have another Jameson, on the rocks.”

By that time, it was her gaze that was wandering over him as he ordered. She watched as his lips curled intricately around each word that left them, her eyes drifting from the small spots dotting across his thick neck up to the glow of the bar lights that flecked through his soft eyelashes. He was very beautiful. It almost made her nervous. Feeling the heat of her stare, he locked his eyes on hers and slid himself into the seat next to her. She pulled in a deep breath as he situated himself in his chair and she was quick to realize that not only was he crazy attractive, but he also smelled incredible. Of course he did.

Her stare flicked down to her lap. “So...are you here on a date too or…” she asked, her soft voice waning slightly.

“Oh no,” he replied, shaking his head, “I’m actually meetin’ some of my mates here soon, we’re goin’ out to some club. This is my buddy’s bar actually, so...it’s kinda like our designated meetin’ point.”

“Gotcha.”

“I’m Niall, by the way.”

Her brown eyes fell to his hand as he held it out towards hers. She shook it and gave him a sweet smile. “I’m Joey, nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet ya, too.” Niall’s brow quirked up slightly as the last word left his lips and Joey couldn’t help but bite down on her bottom lip in reaction. He really was wicked handsome. “Can I ask...do ya do this often? Go out on blind dates?”

Her shoulders lifted in a laugh, a real genuine laugh that spilled effortlessly past her pouty lips like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. Her eyes pinched shut and her nose scrunched with her loud giggle, and he couldn’t help but think how adorable she looked. It nearly left Niall breathless. But he just amorously smiled back at her. “Oh God, no,” she began, gathering her breath as the bartender set down their drinks, “this is actually the first time I’ve ever done anything like this. My best friend, Alexis, she made me download Tinder and Bumble a couple weeks ago-”

“Oh God-”

“I know, right? That’s what I said!” she agreed with another giggle. “But...I told myself that I should just try it out, ya know? Put myself out there, go on some dates, experience shit and see what happens. So...here I am. To be honest, this is the first real date I’ve been on in...a really long time. I’m...pretty nervous. And, of course, it’s already going super great, if you couldn’t tell.”

Niall let out a snort just as he went to take a sip of his drink. “Precisely why I barely ever go on dates…”

“I thought it was because of your job,” she snarkily replied, smirking at him around the straw of her drink. So she was clever too. Niall took notice and he chuckled.

“A bit of both, to be fair.”

“Ah, I see.”

“So, this guy you’re meetin’,” Niall began again, lightly waving his hand around as he spoke, “you know anythin’ about him?”

Joey set down her drink, her foot kicking back and forth as she pulled in a breath. “Um...not much really. He said that he is self- employed, around 5’11”, dark curly hair and that he was going to be wearing a light blue shirt.”

Niall’s mouth turned down at the corners. “Oooh sounds sexy,” he teased.

Tossing her head back in a boisterous laugh, his eyes went wide with enticement as her neck bared itself to him. Her shiny red hair flowed over her shoulder, cascading down her arm just as she reached up to cup her hand over her mouth. Niall’s heart might have skipped a few beats watching her. After her giggles had settled, she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “I’m sure I’ll be swept right off my feet,” she joked back at him.

“Dunno, Joey,” Niall said with a sarcastic click of his tongue, “he could be the one…”

She sighed dramatically. “I definitely better prepare myself.”

“Better have that officiant on speed dial.”

“Obviously. Every girl’s must-have on a first date.”

They both broke out into a fit of giggles and Joey couldn’t help but take note of how easy and comfortable she felt talking to Niall. She hadn’t felt that way in a long time. “So,” Niall said, picking up his half empty glass and readying himself for a sip, “have you ever been here before–”

“Joey?”

Whipping her head to the right at the mention of her name, the young woman was met with a dark curly haired man wearing a light blue button up shirt. She was almost disappointed to see him. “Oh...uh, Josh, right?”

“Yeah, sorry I’m so late. Traffic was a nightmare,” he mumbled, slapping his hand to the back of a nearby barstool. “Also I had to feed my cat.”

Joey’s brows buckled at the last bit, but she waved it off. “No, no, it’s no problem, really.”

He nodded. “Should we get our table?”

“Yeah, sure, let me, uh...grab my stuff.”

Turning back around, she captured Niall’s stare and gave him an awkward ‘ugh’ expression, one that he was fast to reciprocate with a chuckle. She stood herself up, smoothing down the front of her skirt before grabbing her bag and jacket. “Thank you so much for the drink, Niall,” she told him, keeping her tone low and between them, “And the friendly conversation.”

Niall nodded. “My pleasure, Joey. Have fun, and be safe.” Giving him a kind smile, she turned to follow her date, who had already begun to shuffle off towards their table. Niall watched as she walked away, Joey barely making it a few steps before she had glanced back at him over her shoulder. He had a coy half-smirk on his face, one that could without a doubt ignite a fire in a snowstorm and, for a split second, Joey wondered what the hell she was doing.

•

She had known who he was. The second she looked over at him, saw those heavenly blue eyes and heard that brogue accent, it clicked. But there was no way she was going to freak out or tell him that. Besides, by the end of the conversation, she had practically forgotten that he was a multimillionaire world famous musician and singer. He was just...another guy she met at a bar.

However, the moment she sat down at the reserved table with her date, randomly meeting Niall Horan at a bar in West Hollywood was the last thing on her mind. Josh, her blind date, seemed nice enough. He ordered them drinks, a lot of drinks, and kept up fairly well with the initial awkward getting-to-know-you conversation, though his frequent mention of someone was starting to stump Joey.

“....and Tina really likes it when we play together.”

Joey set down her drink. “Um...you keep mentioning Tina, who is that? Your daughter or something?”

“Daughter?” he laughed. “No, I don’t have any kids. No, human kids.”

Her eyes narrowed in perplexity as the guy tipped his head back to guzzle down the last of his mixed drink, the waiter having already brought him a fresh one. “Tina is my cat.”

“Oh.”

“Listen, if I could marry her, I would. But I guess that’s not really legal, huh?”

Joey stayed silent, her widening eyes slowly falling to the salad plate that rested in front of her. She chalked his comment up as a joke, but as the night dragged on, five more drinks being consumed by her date as he gleefully showed Joey about forty two pictures and twelve different videos of Tina the Cat, she began to think maybe he wasn’t joking at all…

Half way through their main course, Joey could tell that Josh wasn’t really holding his alcohol too well. His eyelids were droopy, his skin blotchy and clammy with sweat settling across his brow-line and his words were slurring to the point that Joey could barely understand a single thing he was saying. She knew it wasn’t looking good.

“Hey...are you okay?” she finally asked, noticing the redness in his cheeks starting to fade to blue. Josh simply looked up at her and swallowed hard before attempting to lift himself out of his chair. He grabbed at his stomach, a slightly worrisome grumble bubbling up into his throat as he kept his balance with his free hand gripping to the edge of the table.

“Oh...oh, okay,” Joey mumbled, “...this is happening…”

She went to reach out for him as he began to wobble past her, assuming he was headed towards the bathroom, when he paused; the look on his face harboring sheer terror the second his eyes caught hers.

Oh shit. He wasn’t going to make it.

Joey’s mouth dropped open in a horrified gasp, not even having time to lean out of the way as Josh bent over and puked right there on the restaurant floor next to her. The entire place fell silent as the sounds of uncontrollable retching and half digested contents hitting the tiled floor echoed throughout the large open space. Joey slapped her hands up to cover her nose and mouth, the entire side of her bare leg splattered in his vomit.

He stayed bent over, heaving and moaning after he was through, servers rushing around him as they tried to figure out how to handle the situation. Joey slowly peeked back up to his face, his glazed over eyes meeting hers and all she could do was let out a defeated sigh. “I’ll get you a Lyft.”

•

After cleaning herself up as best she could in the restaurant bathroom and helping Josh into his Lyft–and a couple half-assed apologies being muttered as she buckled him in–Joey watched the car pull away, tightening her jacket around her body. It wasn’t cold outside by any means, but there had formed a slight chill in the late night air and instead of grabbing herself a ride, Joey decided to walk the few blocks north to the small Italian bistro, Italiano’s, that her brother worked at. Italiano’s also happened to be her favorite restaurant and had a to-die-for Tiramisu that Joey absolutely loved. She thought that after the night she had endured, she deserved to treat herself to something indulgent.

It was only a fifteen minute walk, Joey arriving just as they were about to close up for the night. She yanked open the door with a relieved sigh and smiled at Ramona, the hostess and Joey’s brother’s girlfriend, who was standing beside a small wooden podium. “You’re here kinda late,” Ramona mentioned as she stepped to the side to give Joey a hug.

“Yeah, just left what was probably the worst date I’ve ever been on,” Joey explained, “thought I’d stop by to see if you guys’ have any of that Tiramisu left?”

Ramona smiled. “I’m sure we’ve got a piece or two left,” she said with a wink, leading Joey over to a table. “I’ll put you in Carter’s section.”

“Thanks Ramona.”

Showing Joey which table to sit at, she poured her a glass of water and rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’m gonna go clean up those couple tables over there and then I’ll be back. We can have a little girl talk if you want.”

Nodding at her with a smile, Joey watched Ramona walk off just as her brother, Carter, began heading towards her table. He was already carrying a small plate that had a generous portion of Tiramisu on it. “You are a lifesaver,” Joey mumbled as he stepped up and set the plate down in front of her.

“I wouldn’t be your bro if I didn’t know exactly why you were here.”

Joey rolled her eyes and pulled the fork from her folded up cloth napkin, quickly digging into the dessert. Carter took the time to sit down in the chair across from her, his shift pretty much over with Joey being the only patron left in the establishment. “So, how was your night?” he asked her.

“Shitty,” she said between bites, not even looking up at him. “Or maybe I should say...’vomity’.”

Carter’s brows pulled in. “Huh?”

She peeked up at him. “I went on a blind date and the guy threw up on me,” she said with a snort, “well…on my leg.”

“Fuck,” he chuckled.

“Yeah.”

Ramona came shuffling over, pulling out the chair between Joey and Carter and sitting herself down. “Okay, what’d I miss?”

“She got puked on,” Carter told Ramona, pointing a finger at Joey.

A gasp left Ramona’s red lips. “You’re joking?!”

Throwing her brother a spiteful look, Joey sighed. “Wish I was, but nope, the guy got totally wasted and just...threw up everywhere. It was so embarrassing.”

“Yikes.”

Joey licked the last bit of Tiramisu off her lips and pushed the plate away from her. Dropping her chin into the cups of her hands, she rested her elbows on the table. “I feel like this is some kind of sign, that I’m just destined to be alone forever.”

Carter sighed. “Jo, don’t say that.”

“It’s just...I’m really trying to put myself out there, ya know? And of course, I can’t even have a decent first date. I have to, literally, get puked on,” Joey said, carefully tucking some hair behind her ear.

Ramona shot her a soft smile and leaned her arms on the table. “Carter and I had a pretty bad first date. It doesn’t always mean the rest will be bad too.”

“What was wrong with our first date?” Carter asked her, his face pulling in.

The dark haired girl laughed. “You were twenty minutes late picking me up, our reservations got ‘lost’ so then we had to wait an extra hour for our table and then your car got towed while we were eating. That’s pretty bad.”

Carter rolled his eyes. “Oh, that’s not that bad.”

“Anyway,” Ramona continued, peering back over at Joey, “all I’m saying is that you never know how it’s going to end up. Maybe Puke Boy deserves a second chance.”

Joey chuckled and shook her head. “Most definitely not. We really didn’t have much in common anyway. I’m just worried that I’ll never be able to find someone.”

Reaching out to put a hand on Joey’s shoulder, Ramona leaned closer to her. “It might seem like you can’t find anyone, but I promise you will. You’re amazing Joey, and you shouldn’t have to settle for just anyone. You gotta keep searching.”

“You think?” Joey flicked her eyes from Ramona to her brother.

“Definitely,” Carter assured her with a gentle smile, “just don’t give up. Not yet, ‘cause it’s usually right where you least expect it.”

•

#niall #niall horan #niall fic #niall fan fic #niall smut #niall ou #slowburn #tdg #tdg chap 1 #ALRIGHT YALL HERE IT IS!!!!!!#been working on this for MONTHS now and i really hope you like it #first chapters are always tricky ones so i do appreciate yall taking the time to read #and i hope you want to continue reading!!#Joey and Niall story is JUST getting started #so please share with everyone #enjoy #let me know what you think!#thanks :))

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sunshine-shitposts · 4 years ago

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ALRIGHT. First selfship piece is going UP. I got some big inspiration from @amethystsoda and @dongiovannaswife so like... love you guys 💖💖 no stinky vampire man... yet. Hoping to get the next part up within the next week.

Dust in the Wind—Part 1

It had been a while since Jotaro had been to the Dallas Speedwagon Foundation Headquarters, and it had since moved locations to outside downtown… somewhere.

It was a damn pain if you asked him.

Dallas was a mess to move around in; you were better off on foot, since there were so many one-way streets. His grandfather had explained, the first time that he had brought his grandson to the Foundation in Dallas, that it was probably because car size in America outgrew the more narrow streets that Dallas began with. Jotaro himself didn't really understand it until he saw for himself: Texans loved big cars. There was an astonishing amount of pick up trucks here, compared to other places he'd been.

He wasn't very familiar with Texas, he had to admit. He'd visited Galveston and Corpus Christi more often for marine work, though he had to admit to himself that they weren't his favorite places in terms of the ocean; this side of the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico tended to have a lot of sediment in its water. When he stayed at a house in a place called Crystal Beach for a while, he remembered how searching for hermit crabs with a colleague was rather annoying due to the brown murkiness of the water.

The houses on stilts were quite novel, though.

...That was enough reminiscing.

Jotaro huffed, figuring he could just go to the old location to ask for assistance—it was still being used by the Foundation despite it not being the main building anymore—when a bright voice floated through the air.

"Hey, mom. Y'got everything?"

"Yes, but it's a lot, you know, they turned in projects… can you open the trunk?"

"'Course, no problem. Gimme a sec…"

Jotaro looked up from his map, seeing a young woman helping her mother begin to load several large rolled up cardboard tubes into the back seat of a small blue hatchback.

The woman was dressed comfortably, a boon in the blossoming Texas heat, with a black wide-brimmed hat and minty-colored sunglasses and a lazy smile on her face. She couldn't have been more than an inch over five feet, and her wavy purple hair fluttered in the wind. What didn't look conducive to staying cool were the dark, full-length leggings under her jean shorts or the knee-length, full sleeve knit cardigan, but he knew what it felt like to have a comfort jacket. Her mother, several inches taller than her, was well (albeit colorfully) dressed with a lanyard and ID swinging around her neck, and a mobile folding cart filled with books, folders, and cardboard tubes. The mother's hair, a light silvery-blonde that fell around her shoulders, made Jotaro wonder if they were actually related, but he admitted to himself that stranger things do happen, and hair dye did exist.

Jotaro hummed to himself and looked back at the map as a gust of wind between the tall buildings sent papers scattering, the mother crying out in dismay.

"Sunnie–!!"

"Don't worry mom, I got it."

Jotaro watched the paper of his map flutter suddenly and unexpectedly, swooping in the opposite direction that it had been previously. It was such a sudden change that Jotaro looked back up from the map, only to see all the papers floating through the air to finally gather into the young woman's outstretched hand.

"I'll never ever understand how you can do that," the mother said, her voice equal parts thankfulness and bafflement, "And I don't think I ever will."

"You keep saying that, y'know," her daughter laughed, easily hefting the heavy folding cart into the trunk of her car.

"I know!! But it's true, it's like magic! But real!!"

Jotaro focused his gaze on the young woman.

Stand users are drawn to each other.

When the two women were nearly finished loading all of the mother's things into the car, he approached them, trying to relax his intense demeanor as much as possible. The woman's mother reminded him a lot of his own, and he didn't want to frighten her.

"Excuse me," he asked, fishing around in a pocket inside his coat to pull out his notebook. The two women turned to look at him, the mother's eyebrows raising as she made an 'oooh' noise. Her daughter's expression, however, was completely unreadable behind her large sunglasses, but Jotaro felt her gaze. Her carefree attitude had suddenly disappeared, and he knew that she was likely sizing him up. He wondered if she, too, felt the same weird restlessness in her own chest. "I was wondering if you could tell me how to get here," he continued. Her mother leaned in to see the address written on the notebook's page, then lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Sunnie! He's asking about the Speedwagon Foundation!"

Immediately, the daughter seemed to relax, looking at the page as well. "Oh, no shit?" After another second, her eyebrows rose above her sunglasses. "Oh! No shit!!"

"You know of it?" Jotaro asked, putting the notebook back into the chest pocket.

"Know of it? I'm heading there, after I drop mom back off at the house," the younger woman laughed, extending her arm for a handshake. "I'm Sunnie Green, recently employed by the Foundation. Good to meet you, Mr…?"

"Jotaro Kujo," he replied, accepting the shake and subsequently drowning her small hand in his own. Her shake was strong and firm and confident in a pleasantly unexpected way.

The second he said his name, though, a wry grin broke out on her face.

"No fuckin' way," Sunnie said, surprised, "I have heard some stories. Good to meet you in the flesh. Foundation's been expecting you."

Jotaro grunted. He knew that after his 'trip' to Egypt all those years ago, people at the Foundation liked to gossip about him, and he had hoped that those tales and rumors had died down, but it seemed that they'd persisted. He wondered if they'd only gotten more wild with time. "Well. That aside, if you could point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated."

"Well, uh, it's not quite in Dallas anymore? It's a bit away from here, so uh…" Sunnie trailed off, her face scrunching up in thought.

"Sunnie," her mom stage-whispered, "Sunnie, you should drive him there."

"Huh-whaa?" Sunnie looked at her mom, eyes wide, then nodded like a lightbulb went off over her head, crossing her arms and grinning, "Yeah!! Yeah, that just makes sense. That makes so much sense!!"

"That won't be necessary–" Jotaro began, but Sunnie shot him a confident grin.

"Don't be silly! This is the perfect solution. It's late in the day, getting a taxi or rideshare there will cost you money you don't need to spend, I mean come on. I'm right here, dude. I gotcha." The smaller woman laughed and put the final bag of papers in the trunk of her car, shutting the door. "I'm not taking no for an answer. And mom?" she looked at her mom expectantly, who smiled widely.

"I'll sit in the back!" She beamed before looking back up at Jotaro, "That way you don't have to sit with all the projects."

Without giving him the chance to offer otherwise, Mrs. Green made her way to the back seat, opening the door and getting in. Jotaro breathed a quiet sigh, gathering himself before he walked to the front passenger's door and opened it. He did not miss Sunnie's triumphant smirk before he ducked inside. To his surprise, it was actually roomy inside the small car. At least, roomy enough to be comfortable for him. There was some music softly playing over the speakers and a water bottle in one of the cupholders, and dangling off of the rearview mirror were some small pom poms and repurposed cell phone charms, several of them Pokémon. In a little storage area under the main console, he saw a lanyard with an ID decorated with the Speedwagon Foundation logo on it.

Sunnie got in the car as well, buckling up and shifting out of park, turning smoothly into the street when it was safe.

"I'm excited for you to go to the new Foundation Headquarters, Mr. Kujo," Mrs. Green chirped, hands patting her bright red jeans excitedly, "Some of my former students helped decorate the interior! I'm very proud of their work."

"Mom's an interior design professor," Sunnie laughed, "Used to get hired for private homes and hospitals and stuff. There was that one home on White Rock with the spiral staircase? Fucking dope."

"I still talk to them," her mom said airily, "Sometimes I stop by for cookies."

Jotaro didn't quite know how to respond. The two women were very open and friendly and it was making him feel… strange. Was it just a Texan thing in general? Joseph had once mentioned 'Southern Hospitality'. Then again, who could say? The old man liked to talk for the sake of talking sometimes.

He caught a minute glance from Sunnie, who then leaned her head back, a lazy grin on her face.

"So mom, what're all those projects in the back?" She asked, "No balsa wood models this time? That was a nightmare to transport."

"But those were group projects and they were light weight! These plans are deceptively heavy and there are so many–"

As Carol rambled on about the projects sitting around her, Jotaro found himself happy that Sunnie seemingly sensed his discomfort and acted on his behalf to divert her mother's attention. He zoned out, his mind stuck on the impending meeting—one that he had never imagined he would have to have, and one that was admittedly making him feel a little sick in his stomach.

The red brick house they arrived at was in a quiet little subdivision about 40 minutes in traffic away from Downtown Dallas, lined with large trees and with a nice pond. The houses were all two stories, most driveways accessible from the street, and the summer warmth and ample sunshine had the lawns dotted with flowers of many colors. Sunnie parked the car in front of the pebbled sidewalk to the house, and the large dark blue front door opened. A salt-and-pepper haired man with a moustache walked out, wearing an old shirt and jeans and carrying a duffle bag. Sunnie and Mrs. Green got out of the car, and Jotaro decided to get out as well.

The man, presumably Mr. Green, seemed surprised. "I doubt one of your students turned him in," he laughed nonetheless. Mrs. Green giggled.

"No, no! He's with the Foundation!" Mrs. Green explained, and her husband rolled his eyes.

"I was kidding, Carol," he said, voice deadpan. Sunnie snickered.

"We found him looking for the new campus downtown, so I offered to take him there. Speaking of, we gotta get this stuff outta the Spaceship so we can head out," Sunnie turned to Jotaro, "This won't take too long–"

"I'll help," he told her, "Least I can do."

Sunnie paused, pursed her lips, and nodded.

With four sets of hands, unloading took no time at all, but Jotaro once again noted that Sunnie seemed stronger than her smaller size let on. At the end of it, her dad handed her the duffle bag, which she tossed in the back seat.

"See you in a few days," she said, hugging her parents, "Don't get too wild without me around."

"Darn. We'll have to cancel that crazy party," her dad grinned, and she smacked him on the arm.

Jotaro got back into the car with Sunnie, and she drove them out of the subdivision.

"…Do you live with your parents?" Jotaro asked, a sudden burst of curiosity getting the better of him. Sunnie looked at him out of the corner of her eye for a brief second, then turned her gaze back to the road as she flipped on her turn signal.

"I left my husband recently," she said, smoothly turning onto the service road, and Jotaro suddenly felt incredibly awkward, "Got out of the apartment as fast as I could. Grabbed a few things, said goodbye to the dog, and fucking split. It was really sudden, and since I don't have that much money to my name and my husband currently is in control of my finances, living with my parents is easier. I'm actually in my childhood room right now, when I stay at the house." She laughed dryly, merging onto the turnpike.

"Mm," Jotaro simply responded, and Sunnie laughed.

"It's not weird, dude, come on. Chill," she said, passing a particularly large eighteen wheeler and switching two lanes to the left, "I mean, it's kinda weird. But it's fine. I don't mind. I've heard a lot about you from some of the other employees already, I think it's fair that you know about me, if just a little." She looked at him briefly, eyes twinkling. "You're kind of a hot topic at the Foundation, you know."

Jotaro shifted in his seat and looked out his window.

"Which brings me to an important point," she continued, "I know why you're here."

Immediately, he looked back at her, eyes narrowing. That was supposed to be need-to-know information.

"I'm a Liaison for the Speedwagon Foundation. That's my official title, but I have a very specific job, and he is why you're here."

"You mean you–"

"Yes, and I'm aware of your history with him. Well, with the one from here." Her finger tapped the steering wheel pointedly. "I know you don't like him, that you have reason to not like him, and I know you won't like this one. But I'm imploring you not to start shit with him when you see him, okay? I've told him not to start shit with you so, you know, if you would be so kind."

Jotaro audibly gritted his teeth. This was just his fucking luck, running into that bastard's babysitter. "What makes you think he'd listen to you?" He growled.

"I don't know? He's been cool with me so far." She snorted. "I mean, he's an absolute piece of work, but it's been alright. No worse than teaching a class full of preschoolers can get on a bad day, but I did have to… establish that I can take care of myself against him."

"And how did you do that?"

"I stole his air," she said simply, "Made it impossible for him to breathe."

"Have you ever done that before? To someone else."

Her mouth fidgeted, eyes unreadable. They passed under the tollway in silence, broken by soft, ghastly wind chimes as a shimmering turquoise hand with a swirling wing shape on the wrist partially manifested on her shoulder, squeezing lightly before vanishing.

"You'll have to buy me a few drinks before I talk about that." Her voice was short, clipped. "I'm sure you have similar unlockable content you don't talk about otherwise."

It was a weird way to put it, but she was right. He did.

So he dropped the subject, looking back out the window.

"By the way, Catherine—Mrs. Gupta, rather—is here today, too," she said, tone easily switching from icy and guarded to light and airy, "She's the Regional COO, though I'm sure you know that. I'm told that she's the one who contacted you, after all."

Jotaro did not feel like answering. He didn't know what to say.

Sunnie merely glanced at him again, grinned to herself, and kept driving.

After Sunnie showed her credentials and pulled through the gated entrance of the new Dallas Speedwagon Foundation HQ, Jotaro let his eyebrows raise in surprise.

The previous location, having been built when Robert E. O. Speedwagon himself had struck black gold in Texas, was (while large) old, and it showed in its architecture and the relative closeness of the buildings. This, however, was a sprawling, modern campus with green spaces and fountains galore.

"We've got seven buildings here, but we'll be heading to the main one. Explore later if you'd like," Sunnie explained easily, searching for a parking spot. "I may be a… honestly kind of critical Subject Liaison, but I still don't have a dedicated parking space. That's fine, however," She lifted her finger and grinned, the sound of windchimes clinking in the air as her Stand fully manifested: lithe, vaguely robotic, feminine, and lined with light turquoise and shimmery silver. The face was mostly featureless and smooth like a plain mask, save for two large and sleek wing-like shapes on the sides, and two calculating but blank amber eyes. "We'll have her take care of this for us."

The Stand wiggled its fingers excitedly, then zoomed out of the roof of the car, unimpeded by the physical barrier. Jotaro watched, blank faced, then asked what could have been considered a very personal question.

"What's it's range?"

"Dust in the Wind's most powerful up to about six to nine feet from me, but she can and will travel quite far." That's… two to three meters, Jotaro translated in his head. "The further she gets, the less effective she is, but she's curious. She likes looking for things."

Jotaro huffed out the barest hint of a chuckle, remembering his time in jail before his trip to Egypt—how Star Platinum had brought him toys, beer, and reading materials in an attempt to placate him.

"I thought up this little tactic in college, since parking was shit there. It was cut-throat, honestly, so Windy helped scope out all the good spots." The Stand swooped down in front of the car and began nodding and pointing, motioning for them to follow. "Oh fuck yeah, it's a good one," Sunnie said happily before following as her Stand danced through the air in front of them, gracefully carving through the air. "She's playful. That's how I, uh, originally met… you know."

Jotaro looked at her, slightly confused. "Your Stand found him?"

She nodded, rounding a row of cars. "You know that weird feeling we got when we saw each other? How Stand users just kind of… know when other Stand users are around? I felt that when I first came here. She immediately jumped out and disappeared to find the source and found, well, him. Then he demanded to see the user, and bam," She shrugged, keeping one hand on the steering wheel, "We met."

Jotaro found himself grimacing at the mention of that man demanding anything and getting it. That piece of shit didn't deserve fuck all, in his opinion.

"Ah! There," Sunnie mumbled, pulling into a spot a row away from the front sidewalk. "She was right, it is good."

As she turned off the car and they both stepped out, Windy flew back to her user, nuzzling her face and disappearing. Sunnie grabbed her backpack and duffle bag from the backseat and they headed down the large sidewalk, lined with magnolias and sparkling water features.

"The old Speedwagon Foundation buildings are actually currently used for housing… supernatural objects. Like Stands tethered to items, fragments of pillars… there's this weird broken sword there that apparently possesses people, but when it does it just begs to be fixed," Sunnie rambled, shoving a hand in her long cardigan's pocket. Jotaro had to catch a breath, recalling that fight where Polnareff had indeed been possessed. That thing was here now? "This facility does a lot of R&D, field agent training, the like. Dallas has a lot of big companies around so they have some good deals, like with TI and stuff."

"You know a lot for someone who hasn't even been here for four months," Jotaro mumbled, glaring at the small woman. She glanced at him with a lazy smirk, the frog bell on her decorated backpack jingling softly as she walked next to him.

"I actually used to be in politics. Handled VAN data in my last campaign, but my strong suit was research. Following the money, making connections, y'know, all that mess," she said, tone light, "I know my way around things. Donor lists, requesting things under the FOIA, the like. I wanted to get a good picture of the Foundation before I thought about working here. And the rumors about their involvement in… supernatural matters interested me."

They walked through the large sliding glass doors into a cooled, busy lobby, shiny and sleek and new. Reflective surfaces, swooping centerpieces, statement greenery… it was impressive. What Jotaro did not appreciate was the eyes he felt on him the second he had walked in and the whispers that he knew were dancing around.

"Oh, Miss Green?" a receptionist pipped up upon seeing her, "And Dr. Kujo, oh!" The young man quickly patted down his curly chestnut hair, "I wasn't expecting you to–a-arrive together, huh. Well, Mrs. Gupta is waiting for you."

"Thanks, Mikel," Sunnie smiled, waltzing past the desk and towards a central elevator. Jotaro nodded his head slightly to the nervous young man as he continued to follow the smaller woman, stepping into the elevator. Sunnie leaned down (she didn't have to go too far) for a retina and thumb print scan, and the doors closed, the elevator smoothly starting up. They rode in silence, until the doors opened to a series of sterile white hallways.

"We're well underground, so you know," Sunnie mentioned as they began walking again. "It's easier to keep him down here with no threat of sunlight. The trick is that these lights outside his suite have a bit of UV in them. Sort of like how they keep the Pillar Man in D.C.," she informed him as they took a left, walking towards a large white double door. "Remember," she said pointedly, "No fights."

She leaned in for another eye and hand scan, and they passed through a short hall and through another sliding double door.

The first thing Jotaro saw in this more lavishly designed room was a tall, lithe, dark skinned woman with close-shaven hair wearing a golden pencil skirt and a deep forest green satin blouse, and stilettos that easily brought her close to his own height. Her expensive-looking gold jewelry and hoop earrings seemed to glitter as she turned her head towards the door, and her glossy dark red lips split into a dazzling grin.

"Sunnie! I see you've brought our guest," she said in a low voice like honey, lightly accented and melodic.

"Yep! I'm surprised he fit in my car," the smaller woman chirped as she walked into the room, "You didn't mention how tall he is."

The woman held out a well manicured hand, which Jotaro shook. "My name is Catherine Gupta. I became the regional COO of the Dallas branch of the Speedwagon Foundation a few months ago. It's good to meet you, Dr. Kujo."

"Call me Jotaro," he said, glowering at the door beyond them, "I'm assuming that's where he is?"

Mrs. Gupta nodded. "These newer facilities have several suites, some aboveground, some underground, for various purposes, if needed," she said, "When he came to us, it just made sense to stick him down here, where he is both protected and contained."

"Throwing him in a blender would be preferable," Jotaro grumbled, and Mrs. Gupta laughed lightly.

"Yes, yes, I'm aware of the Joestars' history with him," she said, shaking her head a bit, "The Foundation has extensive files on what happened in Britain all those years ago, as well as what you and your group went through. I've reviewed all of these multiple times to understand the situation fully."

"Well if that's the case, why the hell was I only recently informed of… this??" He gestured to the door beyond them, far past trying to hide the venomous rumble in his voice.

She pursed her full lips, "I wanted to tell you sooner, and believe me, I did everything in my power to convince my then-higher ups to let you know, but they were determined to keep it a secret from you and any other members of the Joestar bloodline. I felt that keeping it from you, however, was a moral failing. So I simply took the power I needed to make this happen."

He had to admit, he was impressed. She had said it so matter-of-factly that one might mistake it for an easy task, but he was aware that it almost definitely wasn't. The roiling rage he felt building inside his chest simply from being in proximity to that piece of shit subsided somewhat. "You have my thanks, then," he said quietly, "Does the Don know?"

Having been quiet up until that point, Sunnie shifted and the little frog shaped bell charm jingled, her head cocking to the side curiously. Jotaro took this to mean that she was unaware of his family tree.

"I'm still working on clearing that. I'm sure you're aware that there are a few more hoops to jump through when it comes to navigating our relationship with Passione," Mrs. Gupta chuckled. Hearing the name of the infamous Italian mafia, Sunnie's eyes blew wide and she covered her mouth slightly to whisper, 'yooooooo, what the shit, my dude', before Mrs. Gupta shot her a knowing smirk. "You would have found out soon enough, Sunnie. Just keep it secret for now, especially from him," she looked in the door's direction, and the shorter woman nodded enthusiastically.

"You got it, boss," she said, grinning widely, "Is… is the Don of Passione is a Joestar?"

"Indeed he is," Mrs. Gupta nodded, and Sunnie nearly flailed, whisper-shouting 'yo what the SHIT' again, causing the taller woman to laugh, "Though, I'll let you in on that later."

"Dope," Sunnie giggled, before noticing a tupperware box on one of the tables. "Oh～? And this is?"

"Murgh makhani from Janpreet. He made extra," Mrs. Gupta said warmly, before shooting Jotaro a glance. "My husband," she explained as an afterthought.

"FUCK yeah, tell him I say thanks," Sunnie giggled.

"Will do."

Jotaro had mostly tuned the two women out, however; he was staring at the door, glowering. Mrs. Gupta and Sunnie shared a glance.

"Welllll, I know you don't like him, but here we go. Time to face the music, I guess?" Sunnie said as she turned, her long cardigan following behind her as she nodded her head towards the door.

Mrs. Gupta raised an eyebrow at Jotaro, gesturing for him to go before her. He took a breath and turned to the door, steeling his soul and narrowing his eyes.

It was time to face Dio.

ゴゴゴゴゴ...

(Part 2)

#SunnieD #sunnie writes #SORRY GUYS I'M NOIVUSS

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mersuperwholocked-lowlife · 5 years ago

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Wendigo

Word Count: 6,341

Characters: Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Sister!Reader, Hailey Collins, Ben Collins, minor Season 1 Episode 2 characters

Pairings: Sam Winchester x Sister!Reader x Dean Winchester

Warnings: small angst, small fluff, normal episode two things (my brain isn’t working)

A/N: After 7 months.... it’s finally here but like it’s really bad

Masterlist

You saw Sam jump up, waking up from his sleep. You could tell he had a nightmare. You and Dean both stared at Sam, before Dean starting speeding up.

“You okay?”, Dean asked him. Sam rubbed his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”, Sam lied.

Dean nodded his head, not believing Sam.

“Another nightmare?”, you asked.

He cleared his throat and shifted his position, but never actually replied. You knew that meant yes.

“You wanna drive for a while?”, Dean asked. Yes, you were shocked when he asked. Dean didn’t even let you drive.

Sam chuckled. “In your whole life, you never once asked me that.”, Sam said.

“Yeah, same here. I wanna drive.”, you crossed your arms at Dean.

“Shut up (Y/N). And, just thought you wanted to, nevermind.”, Dean replied.

You threw yourself back, hitting the car seat. You take back about the backseat being your favorite, it started getting crammed.

“Look, man. You’re worried about me. I get it and thank you, but I’m perfectly okay.”, Sam said.

“Mhm.”, you and Dean hummed in disbelief.

Sam just sighed.

“Right, where are we?”, he asked, picking up the map.

“We are just outside of Grand Junction.”, Dean answered.

Sam sighed and folded the map.

“You know what? Maybe we shouldn’t have left Stanford so soon.”, he said gloomily, keeping his eyes on the map.

“Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica….”, you said.

“Gotta find Dad.”, Sam finished your sentence. You knew he wasn’t happy. You wouldn’t be either if you were in his position.

“Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after 20 years? It’s no coincidence. Dad will have answers. He’ll know what to do.”, Dean said.

“It’s weird, man.” Sam shook his head slightly.

“These coordinates he left us, the Black Water Ridge…”, Sam continued.

“What about it?”, you and Dean asked together.

“There’s nothing there. It’s just woods”, Sam said.

“Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?” Sam asked.

Good question, you thought.

You took out your phone to text your dad again.

Hey Dad, it’s (Y/N) again. I don’t know if you’re gonna see this or whatever, but I have to tell you.

Sam’s girlfriend, Jessica. The demon killed her. She’s dead. Now Sammy’s back on the road with us.

Also, these coordinates you sent us, the one you left in your journal, what is that? It’s just woods, nothing there. Are you sending us on another hunt?

Please, keep safe Dad. I wanna know that you’re okay. I’ll text you later. Stay safe.

------------

Dean pulled up to the ranger station for the park.

“So, Black Water is pretty remote. It’s cut off by these canyons here, rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place…”, you said, looking at the map.

“Dude, check out the size of this friggin bear.”, Dean interrupted you.

You rolled your eyes, annoyed, as you and Sam went to either side of Sam.

“And a dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It’s no nature hike, that’s for sure.”, Sam continued for you.

“You three aren’t planning to go out near Black Water Ridge by any chance?”, a ranger came behind the three of you.

“Oh no, sir. We’re environmental-study majors from U.C. Boulder - just working on a paper.”, Sam quickly lied.

You were surprised as to how quickly he responded. There’s a reason he’s the smart one in the family.

“Recycle, man.”, Dean made a fist with his hand, before chuckling softly.

“Bull.”, the man said.

Sam tensed up, looking at you and Dean.

“You’re friends with that Hailey girl, aren’t you?”, he asked.

“Yes.”, you lied, looking at your brother's.

“Yes, we are, Ranger Wilkinson.”, Dean said, reading his badge. The three of you walked to him

“Well, I’ll tell you exactly what I told her. Her brother filled a backcountry permit saying he wouldn’t be back from black water until the 24th.”, the ranger said.

You and Dean nodded your head.

“So, it’s not exactly a missing persons now, is it?”, he said.

Dean shook his head no.

“Tell that girl to quit worrying. I’m sure her brother’s just fine.”, the ranger started walking off.

“We will.”, Dean said.

“Well, that Hailey girl’s quite a pistol, huh?”, Dean smiled.

“That’s putting it mildly.”, the ranger replied.

“Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know, so she could see her brother’s return date.”, you said.

The ranger first stared at you, before handing a cop to you. You thanks him and then the three of you left. You handed it to Dean, who was grinning widely.

“What are you cruising for a hookup or something?”, Sam asked Dean. Dean stopped smiling.

“What do you mean?”, he asked.

“The coordinates point to Black Water Ridge. So what are we waiting for? Let’s just go find Dad. Why even talk to this girl?”, Sam said.

“Maybe we should know what we’re walking into before we actually walk into it?”, you replied to Sam. You and Dean gave Sam a questioning look.

“What?”, he said, annoyed.

“Since when are you all ‘Shoot first, ask questions later’?”, Dean asked.

“Since now.”, Sam said. He rolled his eyes and sat in the car.

“De, he just lost Jessica. He wants to find Dad. If he wants to be this way, we gotta let him.”, you said to Dean.

“I know, but we don’t even know what we could be getting into.”, Dean said.

“You’re right. I just don’t want Sam to end up going on his own to look for Dad.”, you sighed.

“He won’t. Let’s just go see this Hailey girl.”, he said. Then, the two of you got in the car and drove off.

-----

Dean knocked at the door. A woman around your age opened the door.

“You must be Hailey Collins. I’m Dean, this is (Y/N) and Sam. We’re rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over.”, Dean said when she opened the door.

“We wanted to ask you some questions about your brother Tommy.”, you said.

She was silent for a minute before asking us to show her some I.D.

Dean took out his fake badge. She looked at it briefly, then let us in.

“That yours?”, she asked, looking at Baby.

“Yeah.”, Dean smiled.

“Nice car.”, she replied.

“And it begins..”, you murmured to yourself.

---------

“So, if Tommy’s not due back for a while, how do you know something’s wrong?”, Sam asked.

“He checks in every day by cell.”, Hailey said, carrying two big bowls to the table, where her younger brother sat.

“He emails photos, stupid little videos, but we haven’t heard anything in over three days now.”, she continued.

“Well, maybe he can’t get cell reception.”, you suggested.

“He’s got a satellite phone too.”, Hailey shook her head.

“Could it be he’s having fun and forgot to check in?”, Dean asked.

“He wouldn’t do that.”, the younger boy, Ben said, giving Dean a glare.

“Our parents are gone. It’s just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other.”, Hailey said.

Up until now, you didn’t realize how similar you were to Hailey. You, the only sister, two brothers, and you took care of them for everything.

“Can I see the pictures he sent you?”, Sam interrupted your thoughts.

“Yeah.”, Hailey said, walking to get her laptop.

---------

“That’s Tommy.”, she opened up her laptop and showed us the videos.

“This is his last message.”, Hailey said, opening the video.

You and Sam squinted at the laptop, there was something moving in the background.

“Well, we’ll help you find your brother. We’re heading out to Black Water Ridge first thing.”, Dean said.

“Then maybe I’ll see you there.”, Hailey said as she walked away.

You saw Sam and Dean give her a look, and you rolled your eyes. You’d do the same if Sam or Dean ever went missing.

“Look, I can’t sit around here, so I hired a guide. I’m heading out in the morning, and I’ll find Tommy myself.”, she said.

“I think I know how you feel.”, you said to her.

“Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?”, Sam asked.

“Sure.”, she replied.

--------

“So, Black Water Ridge doesn’t get a lot of traffic, local campers mostly, but still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found.”, Sam said. He opened up John’s journal.

“Any before that?”, Dean asked.

“Yeah, in 1982, eight different people vanished in the same year. Authorities say it was a grizzly attack.”, Sam started, showing you and Dean the news article.

“And again in 1959, and before that in 1936. Every 23 years, like clockwork.”, Sam said, opening his laptop.

“I coulda swore I saw something moving in it.”, you said, squinting at the image.

“Bingo.”, Sam slowed the video, showing it to you and Dean frame by frame.

“Do it again.”, Dean said.

“That’s three frames, it’s a fraction of a second.”, you pointed out.

“Yeah, whatever that thing is, it can move.”, Sam said.

“I told you something weird was going on here.”, Dean smacked Sam’s chest.

“You mean, I did.”, you rolled your eyes at Dean.

“Shh, it’s okay, details don’t matter.”, Dean said to you.

“Shut up.”, you shoved him a bit.

“Ow!”, he exclaimed.

“You baby.” you laughed.

“Anyways, I got one more thing.”, Sam said, closing his laptop.

“In ‘59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid, barely crawled out of the woods alive.”, he said.

“Is there a name?”

-------------

“Look, rangers, I don’t know why you’re asking me about this. It’s public record, I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a --”, the man started.

“Grizzly? That’s what attacked them?”, Sam asked.

The man took his cigar out of his mouth and nodded.

“The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?”, Dean asked.

“What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?”, you asked.

“If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it.”, Dean said, motioning to you and Sam.

“I seriously doubt that.”, the man said, taking the cigarette out of his mouth as he sat down

“Anyways, I don’t see what difference it would make. You wouldn’t believe me. Nobody ever did.”, he finished, taking a glass of whiskey.

“Mr. Shaw, what did you see?”, you asked, sitting at the edge of his bed, next to him.

“Nothing. It moved too fast to see. It hid too well.”, he started. You looked back at Sam and Dean

“I heard it, though. A roar… like no man or animal I’ve ever heard.”, he shook his head.

“It came at night?”, Sam wondered.

Mr. Shaw nodded his head. You could see his eyes watering. It must’ve been terrible. You know what it’s like to watch as you lose your parents.

“Got inside your tent?”, Sam asked him again.

“It got inside our cabin.”, you looked at him questionably.

“I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn’t smash a window or break the door.” he paused.

“It unlocked it.”, you frowned, thinking about his words. Somehow, this creature seemed familiar to you, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it.

“Do you know of a bear that could do something like that?”, you looked to your brothers.

“I didn’t even wake up until I heard my parents screaming,” he said, looking disappointed.

“It killed them?”, Sam asked.

“Dragged them off into the night.”, he replied.

He shook his head. “Why it left me alive, I’ve been asking myself that ever since.”, he said.

You exhaled, looking down.

“It did leave me this, though.”, he pulled a shoulder off fro his shirt, showing the three of you an enormous claw mark.

He slowly nodded his head.

“There’s something evil in those woods.”

You shared a look with your brothers.

“It was some sort of a demon.”

------------

The three of you walked out of the room.

“Spirits and demons don’t have to unlock doors if they want inside. They just go through walls.”, Dean started.

“Yeah, and they don’t leave giant claw marks. I swear, I know what it is…”, you groaned, trying to think.

“So it’s something else, something corporeal.”, Sam said.

“Corporeal? Excuse me, professor.”, Dean replied sarcastically.

You rolled your eyes. They gave you a headache sometimes.

“Shut up.”, you and Sam said.

“So, what do you think?”, Sam asked you.

“Well, the claws, the speed that it moves, it could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.”, Dean suggested.

“No, skinwalkers hide in underground tunnels, not in the woods. There’s no abandoned factory or anything there.”, you pointed out.

“Well miss smart ass, do you have anything better?”, Dean sassed.

You rolled your eyes again.

“No, I don’t. I’m just ruling out your stupidity, Dean.”, you replied.

“ Whatever we’re talking about, we’re talking about a creature, and it’s corporeal, which means we can kill it.”, Dean ignored your response.

“Oh look at Dean! Using big boy words! I didn’t know you knew what that meant!”, you said enthusiastically.

Sam held in a chuckle as the three of you left the building.

--------

You opened the trunk of the Impala. After making sure no one was around, you opened up the compartment and started placing all weapons into your bag. Dean leaned against the Impala next to you.

“We gotta talk.”, he whispered, so Sam wouldn’t hear.

“No, we don’t.”, you replied, as you kept packing.

“We haven’t had any time since Sam came back. How did you know that Jess died?”, he asked.

“I don’t know, De. I got a headache and I saw it happen.”, you replied, as you continued gathering weapons.

“Okay, well has it ever happened before?”

“No.”

“Will it happen again?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know, Dean.”, you exclaimed.

“I don’t know what happened, okay? So stop asking me, it’s annoying.”, you said.

“Fine.”, was all he replied.

Sam came to the two of you.

“We cannot let that Hailey girl go out there.”, he said, as he started helping you by packing another bag with weapons.

“Oh yeah? What are we gonna tell her? She can’t go into the woods because of a big, scary monster?”, Dean replied.

“Yeah.”, Sam replied.

“Her brother’s missing, Sammy. She’s not just gonna sit this out.”, you said to Sam.

“We’ll go with her and protect her and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend.”, Dean said as you finished packing.

“So finding Dad’s not enough?”, Sam slammed the trunk closed.

“Now we gotta babysit too?”, he said.

You shared a look with Dean.

“What?”, Sam spat.

“Nothing.”, you replied before Dean could say anything.

You threw the bag to Sam before pulling Dean away.

“Don’t say anything. He’s hurting, Dean. His girlfriend just died.”, you whispered.

Dean scoffed before the two of you got into the Impala.

--------

Dad, it’s me again. I’m getting more and more worried. Sammy’s different. I can tell he’s hurting. You sent us a hunt. But what is it? We’ve fought it before, I know we have. It’s on the tip of my tongue.

Just please tell me you’re safe? I miss you. I’ll talk to you soon, hopefully.

You sent John a few more texts before looking up as Dean pulled into the campsite. Standing there was Hailey, Ben, and another man, probably the one she hired to take them through the woods.

“You guys got room for two more?!”, Dean exclaimed, closing the door for the Impala.

You scrunched your face, looking at him.

“What? You’re tiny, you don’t count.”, he said.

“Yeah, and you’re a jackass, and yet you still count.”, you said.

“You want to come with us?”, Hailey asked, in disbelief.

“Who are these people?”, the man asked.

“Apparently, this is all the park service could muster up.”, Hailey said, looking back to the man.

“You’re rangers?”, he asked, looking at you, in disbelief.

You rolled your eyes.

“Yes, we are.”, you replied.

“And you’re hiking out in biking boots and jeans?”, she asked.

“Well, sweetheart, I don’t do shorts.” Dean shook his head, before the two of you walked, catching up to Sam.

“Oh, you think this is funny? It’s dangerous backcountry out there. Her brother might be hurt.”, the man said.

“Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be.”, Dean replied, with a small smirk.

“We just wanna help them find their brother, that’s all.”, you said.

The man let out a loud sigh as you started walking away.

--------

You heard a Dean start a conversation with Roy, as you started one with Sam.

“Sammy?”, you said softly, not wanting anyone else to hear.

“Yeah.”, he replied.

“Just know, I love you, brother. I care about you, and you know you can always talk to me,” you said.

“(Y/N), I’m fine.”, before Sam could say anything else, you saw Roy pull Dean back.

You and Sam quickly walked up to Dean.

“Whatcha doin’, Roy?”, Dean asked.

He bent over to pick up a stick, before revealing a bear trap.

“You should watch where you’re stepping, Ranger.”, Roy said, as he walked away.

Dean chuckled lightly.

“It’s a bear trap.”, he said, following behind Roy.

“Sammy.”, you said.

“(Y/N), I said I’m fine. Leave me alone.”, he said, before walking ahead of you.

You sighed, as you continued walking.

--------

“This is it, Black Water Ridge.”, Roy said.

“What coordinates are we at?”, Sam asked, looking around.

“35 and minus 111”, Roy replied.

The location Dad sent, you thought.

You noticed you couldn’t hear anything.

You walked to Dean and Sammy.

“No noise.”, you said.

“I’m gonna go take a look around.”, Roy said.

“You shouldn’t go off by yourself.”, Sam said.

Roy laughed sarcastically.

“That’s sweet. Don’t worry about me.”, he said.

“Everybody stays together.”, you said.

“K, let’s go.”, Dean said before all five of you went off once more.

--------

“Hailey! Over here!”, you heard Roy call.

The five of you ran to Roy, as your eyes went wide.

“Oh my god.” Hailey gasped.

“Looks like a grizzly,” Roy suggested.

You looked at the torn down campsite, examining around, looking at the ripped sheets as their items lay scattered on the floor. As you walked more, you saw spilled blood.

I know what this is! What is it (Y/N), think!

“Tommy?”, Hailey said as she unbuckled her bag.

“Tommy!”, she called again, looking around.

“Shh!”, Sam shushed her.

“Why?”, she asked.

“Something might still be out there.”, Sam replied, looking carefully.

You noticed some dents on the ground like something had been dragged.

“Sammy, De.”, you called to them, squatting down

“The bodies were dragged from the campsite.”, you pointed out.

“But here, the track just vanished.”, Dean noticed.

“It’s weird.”

“I tell you what, it’s no skinwalker or black dog.” you stood up, looking around.

The three of you walked back to the campsite.

Hailey was holding up a broken, bloodied satellite phone as her eyes watered.

“Hey, he could still be alive.”, Dean said.

“Help!”, you heard a voice scream, causing you to jump.

“Please! Somebody help me!” the voice screamed.

Dean and Roy pulled out their guns as the six of you started running towards it.

You stopped, looking around. There was no sign of anyone being hurt.

“It seemed like it was coming fro here, didn’t it?”, Hailey asked, looking around.

“Everybody back to camp.”, Sam said, as we started running back.

You ran, stopping at the campsite.

“Crap!”, you exclaimed, all of your belongings were gone.

“Our packs!”, Hailey exclaimed.

“So much for my GPS and Satellite phone.”, Roy sighed.

“What the hell’s going on?”, Hailey said, annoyed.

“It’s smart. It wants to cut us off so we can’t call for help.”, you said, looking around.

“You mean someone. Some nutjob out there stole all our gear”, Roy corrected.

Your eyes went wide.

“Sammy, De. I need to speak with you... in private.”, you walked to them.

The three of you walked away from them.

“Okay, give me Dad’s journal.”, you said, looking at Dean.

“I thought you had it.”, he said.

“De, shut up and give it to me.”, you rolled your eyes.

He smirked, handing it to you. You snatched it from him.

“Oof, manners (Y/N).”, he said.

“Oh blech.”, you stuck your tongue out.

“Yeah, real mature.”, Sam sighed.

You opened the journal, flipping through the pages, stopping at the Wendigo page.

“All right.”, you started.

“Check it out.”, you showed them.

“Oh come on, Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods o-or Northern Michigan. I’ve never even heard on one this far west.”, Dean said, looking in disbelief.

“Okay…. well, think about it, Dean. The claws, the way it can mimic a human voice.”, Sam pointed out.

Dean sighed.

“Great. Well then this is useless.”, he motioned his gun.

“Yup.”, you gave the journal back to Dean as you walked back.

“We gotta get these people to safety.”, you said to them.

-----

“All right, listen up, it’s time to go.”, Sam called

“Things have gotten more complicated.”, you explained.

“What?!”, Hailey exclaimed.

“Whatever’s out there, I think I can handle it.”, Roy said.

“ That’s not what I’m worried about. If you shoot this thing, you’re just gonna make it mad. We have to leave, now”, you said, looking at Roy.

He looked at you, giving you a confused look.

“One, you’re talking nonsense, two, you’re in no position to give anybody orders.”, Roy barked at you.

You clenched your jaw and tightly made a fist, resisting every urge to punch him.

“Relax.”, Dean said to Roy, knowing you would probably kill him.

“We shouldn’t have let you come out here in the first place, all right?”, Sam said.

“We’re trying to save your asses.”, you finished.

“You? Protect us? I was hunting in these woods when your Mommy was kissing you goodnight.”, Roy said, nearing Sam.

Your entire body tensed up, as you held your anger, as he bought up Mary.

“It’s a damn near perfect hunter. It’s smarter than you, but then again, it’s not that hard to be.”, Sam said, glaring at Roy.

“And it’s gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid, sorry ass out of here.”, Sam said.

Roy sarcastically laughed in his face.

“You know you’re crazy, right?”, he said.

“Yeah?! You ever hunt a W-”, Sam started, as you stopped him

“Whoa, whoa whoa. Chill out.”, you pushed him away from Roy.

“Stop! Everybody stop it.”, Hailey said, stepping in front of Roy.

“Look, Tommy might still be alive. And I’m not leaving here without him.”, she said.

“It’s getting late.” Dean started.

“This thing is a good hunter during the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We’ll never beat it, not in the dark. We need to settle in and protect ourselves.” , Dean finished.

“How?”

------

It was night, dark now. You and Dean were finishing up putting the protection sigils. Sam started a fire.

You massaged your head.

“So, another headache?”, Dean asked.

“I’m fine,” you replied, not looking at Dean.

“Sure you are. You’ve been getting more and more lately, I can tell. The worst one was with Sammy, yeah?” he said.

“Dean, what do you want me to say? If you’re trying to ask me what’s going on, I don’t know. Now, can we please focus on the hunt or on Sammy? He’s about to blow his top.”, you sighed.

“Fine, but this isn’t over.”

The two of you finished as you stood up, walking to the other side.

“One more time, that’s…..” Hailey asked.

“Anasazi symbols… they’re for protection.”, you answered.

“The Wendigo can’t cross over them.”, Dean finished.

Roy laughed, it was obvious he didn’t agree with you guys.

“Nobody liked a skeptic, Roy.”, you glared at him.

Before you could say anything else, you looked at Sam, sitting by himself in the corner. You and Dean walked over to him.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on in that freaky head of yours?”, Dean asked him.

“Stop being rude.”, you rolled your eyes at him.

“What’s up?”, you asked.

“Guys….”, he started.

“No, you’re not fine. You’re like a-a powder keg, that’s not like you. Dean’s supposed to be the belligerent one, remember.”, you laughed slightly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”, Dean glared.

You gave Dean a look before turning back to Sam.

“Dad’s not here.”, he said.

“I mean, that much we know for sure, right?” Sam sighed.

“He would’ve left us a message, a sign, right?”, he continued.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. To tell you the truth, I don’t think Dad’s ever been to Lost Creek”, Dean said.

“Okay, look, you’re right, Dad’s not here, but maybe he knew about this hunt and sent us here to help.”, you suggested.

“Then let’s get these people back to town, and let’s hit the road, let’s go find Dad. I mean, why are we still here?”, Sam grunted as if he ignored everything you just said.

“This is why, this book. This is Dad’s most single, valuable possession. Everything he knows about every evil is in here. And he’s passed it on to us.”, you said, squatting down in front of Sam. Dean came next to you.

“He wants us to pick off where he left off, you know, saving people, hunting things. The family business.”, Dean finished your thought. You and Dean were good at this, the two of you always used to talk to Sammy like this when he was upset, even though this time was different.

“That makes no sense, w-why wouldn’t he just call us? Why doesn’t he tell us what he wants, where he is?”, Sam started swinging back and forth slightly.

“I don’t know. But how I see it, Dad gave us a job, and we need to finish it.”, you said.

“Guys, no. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica’s killer.”, he said, his eyes watering slightly.

He paused for a moment.

“It’s the only thing I can think about.”, he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Okay, Sammy, we will find them, and we will make them pay, I promise you.” you said.

His eyes watered more.

“But, you gotta prepare yourself, I mean, this search could take a while. And all that anger, you can’t keep burning it over the long haul. It’s gonna kill you. You gotta have patience.”, you said, stroking his cheek slightly.

“How do you guys do it? How does Dad do it?”, he asked, letting out a small chuckle.

“Honestly, it took me a while. I used to cry every hunt, I couldn’t deal with it. But, look at them.”, you motioned to Hailey and her brother.

“I mean, I figure our family’s screwed, maybe we can help others. It makes things a little more bearable. And I’ll tell you what else helps, us, our family, Dean, you.”, you said, giving Sam a small smile.

He smiled slightly to you.

“Help!”, you heard a man cry from the woods. The three of you quickly jumped up. You grabbed your guns, getting ready to shoot. Sam pointed the flashlight around.

“Help!”, there was another shriek.

“It’s trying to draw us out. Just stay cool. Stay put.” you felt your headache come back as you shut your eyes.

“Inside the magic circle?”, Roy sassed.

The pain was banging on your head, as you tried to ignore, opening your eyes, looking around

“Help!” you heard another cry. There was another growl.

“Okay, that’s no grizzly.”, Dean said, trying to look out in the distance.

“It’s okay, we’ll be alright, I promise.”, you heard Hailey say.

The growling neared, as your headache became worse.

“God.”, you groaned, dropping your gun, clutching your head.

“(Y/N)?”, Dean asked, slightly worried.

“What’s wrong?”, Sam asked.

“I-I’m fine… just focus on the Wendigo…”, you groaned.

There were a few gunshots until you heard Roy yell.

“I hit it!”, he exclaimed.

You fell on your knees, holding your head, trying not to scream out.

“(Y/N)?!”, Dean looked to you.

Roy ran out of the circle.

“Roy! Come back! Roy!”, Dean yelled.

You finally saw it, another vision. Roy was killed.

“D-Dean, he’s gonna die.”, you exclaimed.

“Damn it. Sammy, stay here with (Y/N).” Dean ran after Roy.

“(Y/N)? (Y/N)?”, Sam called. You gripped his hand tightly as the pain started going away. You exhaled sharply.

“I’m okay, let’s go to Dean.”, you said, quickly standing up and running to Dean.

“He’s gone.”, Dean said.

“Dammit.”

-----

You sat next to Sam, putting your back against a tree stump, while Dean was talking with Hailey.

“What happened to you? Last night?”, he asked, breaking the silence.

“It’s long and confusing, don’t worry about it.”, you said.

“Really? Weren’t you the one telling me to be more open last night? Can’t follow your own rules?”, he raised his eyebrow.

You scoffed.

“Alright, college, don’t get smart with me. It’s not a conversation for now.”, you crossed your arms.

“Fine.” he stood up, reaching an arm out to you.

You grabbed it as he pulled you up, walking to Dean and Hailey.

“Okay, well, we’ve got a better chance in the daylight, and I, for one, wanna kill that evil son of a bitch.”, Sam said.

“Well hell, you know I’m in.”, Dean smirked.

------

“Wendigo is a Cree Indian word. It means “Evil that devours” They’re hundreds of years old.”, Sam started, explaining to Hailey and Ben.

“Each one was a man, sometimes an Indian, other times a miner, a frontiersman, or hunter.” Dean continued.

“How’d a man turn into that thing?”, Hailey asked.

“Well, it’s always the same, during some harsh winter, a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help, becomes a cannibal to survive, and ate other members of his tribe or camp.”, you said.

“Like the Donner party,” Ben said.

“That’s right. Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities, speed, strength, immortality.”, Sam said.

“If you eat enough of it, over time, over years, you become this less than human thing. You’re always hungry.”, you continued.

“So, if that’s true, how can Tommy still be alive?”, Hailey asked, looking worried.

You looked to Sam and Dean.

“You’re not gonna like it….”, you said.

“Tell me,” she replied.

“More than anything, a Wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time. When it’s awake, it keeps its victims alive. It stores them so it can feed whenever it wants.” Dean said.

You felt pity for Hailey and Ben, you couldn’t imagine losing Dean like that, especially having no idea what to do.

“It’s keeping him somewhere dark, safe, and hidden. And we gotta track it back there,”, Dean said.

“And then how do we stop it?”

“Well, guns are useless, so are knives”, you started.

“Basically, we gotta torch the sucker”, Dean held up a small red canister, and an empty bottle of whiskey, giving a smirk.

---------

“Dean.”, Sam called the two of you as you were walking.

“What is it?”, you started noticing the bloody scratches on the trees.

“You know, I was thinking that those claw prints, so clear and distinct. They’re” Sam started.

“Too easy to follow.”, you finished.

You heard a growl come from the woods. You could’ve sworn your heart stopped. The three of you looked quickly in every direction, trying to spot the wendigo.

You heard Hailey scream, before running, and falling to the side. The three of you ran, as Roy’s body fell from the trees above.

“Oh my god…”, you froze, looking at the body. It was exactly how you saw it before. How you saw it in your vision.

“(Y/N), we need to go. Now! Run!”, Dean helped Hailey up as Sam grabbed your hand, pulling you with him as the growling intensified.

The group of you ran, and ran fast, getting back to the protection sigils. You spotted Ben fall from the corner of your eye. You and Sam, quickly turned back, getting Ben. You looked forward, Dean and Hailey were already much farther ahead of you three.

You heard Hailey’s screams echo through the woods.

“Hailey!”,Ben yelled, running. But they were gone. You picked up Dean’s broken whiskey bottle from the ground. You showed Sam.

The three of you were breathing heavily before you yelled out.

“Dean!”

----

“If it keeps its victims alive, then why’d it kill Roy?”, Ben asked.

“Honestly? I think cuz Roy shot it and pissed it off.”, Sam answered.

Ben ran to the side, noticing something on the ground.

“They went this way.”, he handed Sam a piece of candy.

“It’s better than bread crumbs.” Sam chuckled softly, showing you the M&M.

“Of course.”

-------

You followed the pieces until you saw an abandoned mine of some sort. YOu looked to Sam, who shrugged before walking in.

You turned on a flashlight, pointing the way the three of you were walking. You heard a small growl. The three of you ran and his against a wall.

After making sure the Wendigo passed, you continued walking, stopping at a point.

What the hell was that noise? You wondered to yourself.

Then you realized. “Oh shit.”, you whispered as the ground broke. The three of you fell through the floor. You groaned, getting up.

You heard a whimper come from Ben’s mouth.

“Shh, it’s okay.”, you said, helping him up. He landed on a pile of bones, human bones.

“Sammy.” your eyes went wide, spotting Dean and Hailey in the corner, tied from the ceiling.

“Dean.”, you ran to him.

“Hailey, wake up.” you heard Ben say.

“Dean, are you okay?”, you asked.

“Ugh, yeah.”, he replied.

“Sammy help me get Dean down.” you said quietly.

“You know you could’ve done it yourself if you weren’t so damn short.”, he panted.

“Shut up. Now’s not the time.”, Sam cut the ropes, as Dean fell slightly. You untied the rope from his hands while Sam cut Hailey’s rope.

Dean let out a grunt as he fell.

“You sure you’re okay?” you asked him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Where is it?”, he asked you, breathing heavily.

“Gone for now,” you replied.

You saw Hailey get up, walking away. In an instant, she let out a cry. You looked, seeing her brother, Tommy hanging. He must be dead.

“T-Tommy.” she cried.

He gasped for air, opening his eyes.

“Cut him down,” she said.

“Check it out.”, Dean called to you guys.

“Flare guns.”, he smiled cheekily.

“Oh yes!”, you exclaimed.

“Those’ll work.”

Hailey and Ben held Tommy up, helping him walk, while you looked around as the group of you started walking.

You heard a low growl.

“Looks like someone’s home for supper.”, Dean said.

“Thinking what I’m thinking?”, Dean said to you and Sam.

You nodded.

“You three, stay with Sam and (Y/N).” Dean said, starting to walk off.

“Where are you going?”, Hailey asked him.

He winked before running off. You looked to the left, making sure it was safe.

“C’mon! Hurry it up!”, you said to them.

You led them through a small path, leading them to outside the mine.

“Stay with them, Sammy. Get them out of here,” you told him.

“Wait, (Y/N)” he started.

“Listen to your big sister!”, you said, shoving him away slightly. He paused for a second before running off with the rest of them.

You pointed the gun out, being alert. You ran further in the mine, breathing heavily.

“C’mon, c’mon.” you said quietly, getting your gun ready. You leaned against a rock. You turned your head, seeing an ugly, distorted figure next to you.

You pointed your gun at it, shooting, but missed. You ran to the side.

“(Y/N)!”, you heard Sam’s voice echo.

“Run! Run!”, you yelled, running to then.

You ended up in a corner, trapped.

“Behind us.”, Sam said to the three of them.

You saw the Wendigo, cornering the five of you.

“Hey! Ugly!”, Dean yelled, making the Wendigo turn away. He shot it in the stomach, killing it.

You closed your eyes, exhaling shakily.

------

The ambulance came for Tommy. Sam and Ben were talking with the police, Dean was talking with Hailey, while you leaned against the Impala, writing in your book.

“What’s that?” Ben asked, walking next to you.

“It’s a book I carry with me, a list of people that we’ve saved,” you explained.

Hailey, Tommy, and Ben Collins you wrote.

“It’s a big book,” he said.

“I know.” you smiled.

You walked to Sam, Dean, and Hailey.

“I hope you find your father,” Hailey said to Dean.

“Thanks, Sam. Thanks (Y/N).”, Hailey and Ben said to you before walking off.

“Man, I hate camping,” Dean said.

“Me too.” Sam agreed.

“It wasn’t that bad.” you shrugged, before getting a look from Sam and Dean.

“Sam, you know we’re gonna find Dad, right?”, Dean said.

Sam sighed before shaking his head.

“Yeah, I know. But in the meantime… I’m driving.” he said to Dean.

“Good luck with that.” you snickered.

Dean threw him the keys.

“You’re joking.”, you exclaimed, crossing your arms.

Sam laughed, walking to the Driver’s seat.

“You never let me drive!”, you said in disbelief.

“That’s because every time you drive, you either hurt Baby or you hit me,” he replied.

“That was one time!” you said.

“Yeah, one time too many,” Dean said, raising his eyebrow.

“If you can reach the keys you can drive.”, Sam held the keys above his head.

“I hate you guys,” you replied, getting into the backseat.

“No, you don’t,”

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anonbebe97me · 4 years ago

Text

𝕄𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕜 (Ch.9: Hawaii.)

A/N: This was a fic I’d originally posted on Wattpad last year. Hope you guys enjoy!

Description: Working for Mr.Yoo Kihyun was an absolute nightmare; Y/N hated everything about him, and was convinced he was either part demon or at least some sort of reptilian hybrid- never in a million years would she have expected to learn that he was, indeed only human, and even worse; that he might even be…likeable?

Link To: || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6 || 7 || 8

My eyes opened slowly as I stretched my arms and legs out, feeling the coolness of my comforter against my face. I took a moment to adjust my vision, but then I caught sight of my suitcase next to my feet at the other end of the bed.

"I OVERSLEPT!" I shot out of bed and ran to the bathroom, shoving my toothbrush into my mouth.

I brushed my teeth as I walked around my apartment, grabbing the outfit that I was smart to lay out the night before. I checked the time.

45 minutes.

I grabbed my suitcase, backpack, my phone, and my keys and then headed out the door. In the Uber on my way to the airport, my phone vibrated in my hand.

Kihyun: Where are you? We were supposed to meet half an hour ago to check in.

I bit my lip and tried to sound casual.

Me: I'm on my way already, just overslept. Be there in a bit!

I put my phone in the zipper of my backpack and decided to not worry myself with Kihyun, knowing that he'd just make me more nervous about getting there on time.

10 minutes left.

"Uhm...sir? Is there any way we could speed this up? I'm gonna be late for my flight," I leaned forward, trying to sound extra polite.

"Sorry, miss. We would be there in two minutes if it weren't for this crazy traffic."

I felt the panic rise in my chest, but I tried not to freak out, "I understand... thank you..."

Finally, traffic let up a little and we were moving faster. When my driver pulled up to the airport entrance, I swung the car door open and yanked my suitcase out of the backseat.

"Thank you!" I yelled before slamming the door and running inside.

I ran over to the area where people were waiting in lines to check their bags into the plane, and all the way at the end, I spotted Kihyun, who was checking his phone and looking around, tapping his foot. I took advantage of the fact that I was wearing my sneakers and I ran all the way to where he was. When he saw me, he rolled his eyes.

"You're late."

Out of breath, I put up my index finger.

"But..." Breath, "I made it," Breath.

He sighed, "Come on," He grabbed the handle of his suitcase, and just as I was about to grab mine, he reached out his hand, "I got it."

"No, it's okay. I can-"

"I said I got it," He was aggressive as he snatched the handle out of my hand, but I didn't recoil the way I usually would.

Is he actually doing something nice?

We approached the counter and checked our luggage in, and were handed our boarding passes. We were able to relax a little more as we walked over to the metal detectors.

"You sure you didn't wanna just check that in?" Kihyun asked, pointing to my backpack.

"Actually, my wallet and the documents are in here. I don't want to risk losing it. Precious cargo, right?" I held onto the strap.

He nodded, "I guess that's smart."

We placed our shoes and belts into the plastic tubs for them to go through the metal detectors, and then we went through the machines ourselves.

Finally, we got to a table where they would do a search of the carry-ons. A TSA grabbed my backpack from the bin and placed it in front of herself, carefully unzipping it with gloved hands. She saw my wallet, the documents, and my small makeup bag. She was about to pass it back to me, but then pulled her arm back,

"Whoops, forgot to check the pockets-" She stuck her hand into the side pocket of my backpack, and immediately, my heart started pounding in my chest as I remembered what it contained.

My teeny, tiny, pink bikini.

My face was red and hot as she pulled out the skimpy bathing suit. I glanced at Kihyun, who was almost as red as I was, with his mouth hung slightly.

"All done," The TSA shoved the little pink shoe string back into the backpack, a slight blush on her face.

I wanted to die right then and there.

WHY DID I LET THEM TALK ME INTO PACKING THAT STUPID THING!?

"Thanks..." I muttered, slightly sarcastically as I grabbed the backpack and walked past Kihyun.

We walked in silence and I avoided eye contact at all costs. He cleared his throat to say something, but I put up my hand to stop him, "I wasn't planning on wearing it. I know we're gonna be too busy to even swim, and I really don't even wear things like that. I bought it when I was drunk in Hawaii and-"

"I was gonna ask if you wanted some Starbucks...?" He tightened his lips, the corner of his mouth curling up as he stifled a smile.

"Oh-" Again, my face was burning.

"Come on," He chuckled, "I'll buy."

I let out a deep sigh and followed him over to the Starbucks in the waiting area. We ordered and waited on the side for the coffees to be ready. We stood in silence. My eyes wandered around the room, and he kept track of the time.

"We only have about five minutes until we're called," He said, beginning to tap his foot again.

"You seem nervous," I said carefully, not wanting to set him off.

He furrowed his brows, "Nervous? I don't get nervous."

I raised my eyebrows and turned my head as a smirk creeped up onto my face.

"Kihyun? Your drinks are ready," The barista's voice was forcefully low and flirtatious as she called out his name.

I watched as she put on her best smile, but he was too busy checking his phone to notice, "Thank you."

Instinctively, I scoffed at her efforts.

"What?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing. Let's go," I walked ahead of him over to the seats closest to our terminal.

We waited for only a minute or so, and then we heard a woman's voice over the speaker,

"10AM flight to Seoul, South Korea now boarding."

Kihyun sighed as he stood up and held out his hand. I stared at him for a moment, confused.

Does he want me to take his hand?

He rolled his eyes, "I'm not asking you to dance. I'm trying to carry your backpack."

"Oh, right. Thanks." I handed him my backpack and we walked over to the growing group of people lining up.

When we got inside the plane, Kihyun put my backpack in the overhead compartment and then ducked his head to look at me, "Scoot to the window seat so I can sit in the middle."

I scoot down one seat and turned to look out of the window, feeling excited to be able to look out when we took off.

"Maybe I should've fought you for the window seat," His voice was close to my ear, and it sent shivers down my spine.

"We can switch if you want-"

He smiled and shook his head, "I'm kidding. I've had the window seat a million times- once won't kill me."

I smiled, "Thanks..."

"I wonder when they'll get here," I said, motioning to the empty seat next to him.

Kihyun shrugged, "Not sure. But hopefully he's not too loud because I'm already tired."

He put his head back on the seat and shut his eyes. I nodded and continued to look out the window.

It wasn't until after the flight attendant was through with the instructions that I realized that the third person never came, but when I turned to Kihyun to let him know he could scoot over, I noticed he was fast asleep. Even as the plane rumbled as we took off, Kihyun's stirred not once. Meanwhile, i was silently flipping out- I've always hated planes. I had to be partially drunk just to board the stupid plane when I went to Hawaii with Lizzie and Karina.

"It's gonna be a long flight..." I muttered.

I opened my eyes slowly. The plane was dark, and only the little reading lights above us were on.

"What the..." I looked over and saw Kihyun's head resting on my shoulder. My eyes widened, and I wasn't quite sure how to react. I looked around, and everyone was in their own world- some were asleep, some reading, some having quiet conversations- but everyone was minding their own business.

Would it be so wrong if I just let him sleep...?

I checked the time on my phone, and yawned.

Eight hours in.

My eyes still felt heavy, and as soon as I leaned my head back, I was back under.

"Y/N...." My name was whispered in my ear so deliciously, I almost thought it was part of my dream.

"Y/N..." Kihyun's was a little louder, and my eyes opened.

I looked up at him through sleepy eyes and immediately, my eyes widened at the realization that my head was on his shoulder now. I quickly sat up and cleared my throat, "Sorry..."

He chuckled, "Don't worry about it. I didn't wanna wake you up when the flight attendant was walking through so I ordered for us," He pulled down my folding table and then his own.

"Oh...thanks," I yawned, still waking up.

I looked out of the window at the vast ocean below us. It was beautiful, but I still found myself wanting to puke.

"Not a fan of planes?" He asked, leaning over to look with me.

I shook my head, "Nope. I make it policy to always stay on land."

He laughed, "Good policy. I don't really like flying either."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really? You seem completely fine."

"Well, you're clearly a nervous wreck, so one of us has to be fine, right?" He smiled.

His smile made my heart flutter.

After we'd eaten our meals, I found myself desperately needing to pee, but I didn't want to make him move.

"Uhm, Mr.Yoo?" I bit my lip.

"Mm?" He looked over at me.

"I have to..." I cleared my throat, slightly embarrassed, "use the bathroom..."

"Oh, sorry-" He reached to undo his buckle, but I put my hand up,

"No, it's okay. You don't need to get up." I undid my buckle and stood up.

Crap. Should I face forward? Or should I do it with my back to him?

I didn't really decide before my body started scooting out, my face toward him.

Suddenly, the plane shook in a moment of turbulence, causing me to fall forward onto Kihyun.

"Sorry!" I squealed.

Kihyun's expression was a mix of surprise and embarrassment.

I managed to quickly get up and then get out of our row. I kept my head down as I walked all the way over to the bathroom.

I looked in the small mirror and groaned.

I can't believe that happened.

I splashed water onto my face and took a deep breath as I readied myself to go back out.

When I'd reached our row, Kihyun motioned for me to wait while he got out of his seat so that I could go in. I blushed, replaying my fall in my head. When I'd settled into my seat, I waited for Kihyun to take back his seat, but he sat in the third seat, closest the aisle.

I felt incredibly embarrassed.

I made him uncomfortable...

I sunk in my seat, and my heart sunk with me.

"Y/N..." I heard his voice close to my ear again.

"Hmm?" I opened my eyes and looked over.

"Come on, it's time to go." He stood up and stretched.

I stretched my arms and then stood up as well.

A few people went by before us, but once he got my backpack, we were both making our way oit of the plane.

It was windy and the air was thick with smog.

I coughed, feeling the air coat my throat.

"Yup. It's Korea," He sighed.

We silently stood in long lines, presenting our passports and documentation and then we waited for our luggage. He passed me my backpack and then carried both of our suitcases to the front of the airport, where a man in a black uniform stood holding a sign that read, "Yoo Ki-hyun".

We walked over to the man who smiled as soon as he saw Kihyun. Kihyun smiled back and they greeted each other.

I stood to the side and waited for them to finish. Kihyun glanced at me and then motioned for me to come forward. He seemed to introduce me, and the man and I bowed to each other.

I didn't speak much Korean, but I tried my best to use what I did know, "Annyeonghaseyo."

Kihyun looked at me with a pleasantly surprised expression, but then turned his attention back to the man and started walking, motioning for me to follow them.

I was quiet next to Kihyun in the back seat as I listened to him carry a conversation with the driver. It was strange to see Kihyun speaking so kindly to him. Occasionally, Kihyun would glance over at me and I could almost see the corner of his mouth turn upward.

"Woah..." My mouth hung open slightly as we pulled up to the ginormous hotel. It was beautiful- much nicer than any place I'd ever stayed in.

"What?" Kihyun asked as he unbuckled himself.

"It's so beautiful..." I said, opening the car door.

Kihyun got out of the car and then walked around to my side.

"Oh come on..." He briefly examined the hotel and then looked back at me, "I'm sure Hawaii had much nicer views..." He smirked.

I blushed, my mind flashing back to the bikini.

"Come on, let's go check in."

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