#this reminded me i really need to finish playing chapter one... but i'm scared cause last time i played the tv broke for no reason lol

[sherlock-is-ace]

I don't adore The Adventure of the Abbey Grange as a story, it's just fine. But I do love the feeling it gives me, cause before I read that particular canon story or even watched it in an adaptation, I played through the case in Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments so I feel like I'm right out there with Holmes solving the case lol

[im-poe-dameron]

CHAPTER ELEVEN

a/n: so......it hasn't been that long since chapter ten has it? i swear i meant to pop the last four chapters out before my last semester ended. But between the chaos in my life growing each month, and my last year of college I kind of forgot about this story altogether. To be entirely honest i didn't intend on finishing it. Except here I am now on winter break and ready to finish! I swear. I won't vanish again. I have plotted out the remainder of this story and am writing chapter twelve as i post this. So the story will have an end. I swear.

I just want to say a big ass fucking THANK YOU to those who left comments on the last chapter. I literally have so many of them screenshotted and saved on my phone to re-read on bad days and that's why I'm finishing this fic. Cause i love you guys.

Also a massive thank you to @apascalrascal who beta read this chapter and to @caesaryoulater who also read it through and told me she loved it. And a special thanks to @themarcusmoreno who continues to be my enabler for everything and anything. This series included. I couldn't have done it without you guys. I think that's it! So without further ado, please enjoy this tension filled chapter of a dinner with friends.

summary: "come to dinner" poe said, "it'll be great" poe said. what a fucking liar.

word count: 10.3k+

pairing: 1980s!din djarin x fem!reader

warnings: slightly explicit (we'll get there guys), cussing, angst, fluff, lots of apologies, alcohol consumption, dry humping, poe dameron losing his will to live, poe dameron's sanity being tested, sexual tension, yelling, and some horrible attempts at comedy.

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You knew he was there before even fully waking up. The warmth of his arm was pressed into your waist, his breath hitting the back of your neck and causing the hair to stand up. At one point in the night the covers had been pushed down to the end of the bed—his body being the one thing that kept you warm. Yup…you knew he was there alright. So, why didn’t you get up? Why did you burrow further into his hold—smiling slightly as he pulled you closer, his nose pressing into your hair?

There was a term used for this kind of behavior and while you’d call it self inflicted torture, someone like Liv would have used something much stronger. It’s not like you didn’t want this. You did. Fuck, you wanted more than this. But the memories from last night were still fresh in your mind, playing on a twisted loop to remind you of what he did.

What you chose.

Except you could still feel the pressure of his lips against yours, the way he’d made your head spin…just like before. You wished you could simply forget. Yes, that would make things easier—in fact it would make you feel better. You would be able to look over everything he said to you, all the pain you were put through only to come to one conclusion. Living a life without Din Djarin, was not a life you wanted. Shit, it didn’t even seem like a life you could have. So, why couldn’t you forget?

The real reason was…you knew why. You were just too fucking afraid to say it out loud.

“I can hear you thinking,” he mumbled—the sound of his voice scaring you out of your worried state.

“How long have you been awake?”

A puff of air hit your neck, his raspy chuckle following it. “Long enough to know you’re panicking.”

“I’m not…panicking.” That was a lie—you were absolutely panicking.

Between his bar being turned into literal ash, his wounded state, and the fact that you had yet to discuss what you were, you felt as if your brain was halfway through running a 5k and you were barely at the starting line. What you really needed was time to breathe. Except the thought of leaving him again splintered what was left of your already broken heart. You were connected to him—beyond what the both of you could comprehend and that’s why you stayed.

You wanted to be there.

Turning, you kept your eyes shut until you felt his arm settle back over your waist. If you didn’t look at him maybe things would be better. Maybe you wouldn’t feel like your entire world was shattered and put back together in only a manner of weeks. Maybe…you’d figure out how to finally let him back in. They were all things you had trouble with—aspects of your life you wished you could forget about. Only you couldn’t. Letting Din back in meant forgiving everything that happened and for the life of you…you couldn’t do it. You didn’t know why.

“Are you going to open your eyes for me sweetheart?”

No. The word rang in your head like an alarm bell, because you knew what would happen if you opened your eyes. You’d fall in love with him again and it would be easier than breathing; a fact that both excited you and left a thrill of fear streaking down your spine. You were terrified of letting him in again—terrified of what he’d do.

“I want to,” you whispered, eyes still squeezed shut as he ran a finger down your cheek, making you shiver. “Fuck I want you.”

“You have me.”

You felt like you were going to cry the longer you lay there wallowing in your own pain, but you needed this. More than he did. He dealt with his own pain by leaving and it took you until now to realize you never truly dealt with yours. You only shoved it to the side in the hopes that it would one day disappear like everything else you harbored. All the grief William put you through somehow amounted to all the pain Din put you through. Until one day…it combined and you could no longer discern who broke what piece of your heart.

“Do I?”

His hand cupped your cheek, tilting your head back until his nose was brushed against yours. “Sweetheart I’m yours till the day I die.”

Scoffing, you felt a tear fall down your cheek towards your nose. He caught it in time. “You shouldn’t joke about something that literally almost happened.”

“Too soon?”

You shoved his shoulder. “You think Romeo?”

“Fuck…I missed that,” he breathed, pressing his nose against your cheek, lips brushing against yours.

“I thought you hated that?” It was maddening to be so close to what you wanted, centimeters apart, and still so far away—lost to the labyrinth of your mind.

“I don’t care what you call me sweetheart. As long as it’s you who’s calling me it.”

There it was. The truth that had yet to be fully untangled from the web of your messy pasts and feelings. You’d love him through all of this; through all of the pain, because he would do the same. He’d love you until the stars died in the sky, until you were buried beneath the ground side by side—just as it was always meant to go. Fate had a funny way of twisting two people together and you were fucking glad it chose Din Djarin to be that person.

“Din,” you whispered, finally opening your eyes and meeting the brown eyes you couldn’t forget even if you tried. “Kiss me.”

The words were barely audible, a mere brush of air across his chin, but you knew he heard them as if they were shouted in his ear. Closing the gap, he pressed his lips against yours in a messy but overdue kiss. Last night didn’t count. Not when you were both in shock from what happened. No, this…this right here is what you’d call your reunion—a choice you both made in the early morning hours of the day.

You moaned softly into his mouth as his tongue slid against yours, hand digging into his hair to keep him close while his went to your hip. If there’s one conclusion you could come to after all of this it was this. Din Djarin kissed like he was running out of time. He devoured you like you’d be gone in a few seconds, forever lost to the ravages of time and knowing your reputation of the past month…he had good reason to. While he still tasted the same, you felt the difference in his hold and really everything about him.

This wasn’t him kissing you because you asked him.

This was him apologizing one more time, because when it came to Din…he’d never be able to say sorry enough times to feel okay with what his past amounted to.

So, you took all the pain and reflected it back to him. You moaned into the kiss—proving to him that this, him, is what you wanted. There wouldn’t be another choice for you; that much you were entirely sure of. His arm circled, your waist, tugging you closer and rolling onto his back dragging you with him. You still kissed him; still leaned further into his touch and licked fervently into his mouth. He shuddered as your nails dug into the nape of his neck; his hips bucking up into yours, bringing a smile to your lips.

“Eager,” you teased.

He pulled back, mouth opening to shoot back what would no doubt be an eviscerating comment, but all that came out was a deep broken groan. His head falling back into the pillow as you dropped your hips fully onto his—grinding your cunt along his clothed cock. Sex was off the table. The both of you knew this. But riling Din up drew a different kind of pleasure to your body, until you felt like you were floating as you watched him lose his mind.

“Fuck,” he rasped, eyes opening to reveal his once brown eyes now turned dark. “You’re going to kill me sweetheart.”

You shook your head, dragging your hips forward and gasping at the pressure. “Not exactly—oh—”

His hands splayed on your hips, guiding your movements as if you were actually riding him. If you imagined hard enough you could remember what it felt like to have him inside you—the stretch of him filling you completely until you were gasping for breath. Part of you wanted to have it back, beg him to fuck you into the mattress like he used to. But last night still happened and you weren’t so keen to forget about it. So, with a stuttered jolt of your hips, you stopped, shifting forward to kiss him languidly instead.

A soft moan was swallowed by him, his hand coming up to clutch the back of your neck gently—kissing you back. Only with him every kiss felt just as filthy as fucking him did. What started off slow and sweet became a mixture of spit, teeth, and tongues licking hotly into each other’s mouths, driving one another insane. You were shaking as he ran his hands down your back, the warmth of his palms seeping into your t-shirt covered skin. Fuck, you wanted more than just kissing him. You wanted all of it. The romance, the love, the sex.

You wanted him.

Except the tiny—almost minuscule—amount of doubt continued to ring in the back of your head.

The door to your bedroom opened swiftly and you jolted back, nipping sharply at his bottom lip enough to draw a small amount of blood.

“Breakfast is ready if you two are done fucking,” Liv said rushing down the hall before the pillow you threw could actually hit her in the face.

Din fell back onto the bed, his hands still on your hips as you remained on his lap. If you could locate your camera, you’d take a picture of this sight—placing it right beside the polaroid of him in the record shop. But after your breakup you gave it to Poe to keep, making sure that you didn’t have it around to break when you broke down again. The sunlight broke through your half opened curtains, casting a glow along his face, causing him to look ethereal. It was a wonder he truly didn’t see what you did—always shying away from the compliments you gave him.

“Are you hungry?” you asked, shifting to clamber—rather ungracefully—off his lap.

You didn’t catch the way his eyes opened, taking in your half bare form, his erection still pressing painfully along the tight confines of his jeans. “Yeah,” he murmured, the taste of you mixed with copper still stuck on his tongue.

“Liv makes some good pancakes.” You grabbed your own jeans, shoving them on to look at least semi-presentable.

When in reality you would much rather lock the door and ride your ex-boyfriend until he couldn’t think straight. Shaking your head you attempted to rid yourself of those thoughts. Liv would see them a mile away and you refused to give her the satisfaction of knowing you were so in love it hurt. You willed away the spark of heat that began to stir in your stomach that only seemed to grow the longer he stared at you from where he was sitting—half naked with dark eyes that kept you frozen in place. He looked at you like you were the most beautiful version of yourself. When merely you were sporting a messy look as you fought against the arousal burning low.

None of that mattered to him though.

You’d known that the second you finally set your heart on letting him in. He only wanted you—in whatever form you took, whatever way you looked—he would take it in a heartbeat.

“Stop looking at me like that,” you said, glancing away as he stood to his full height, moving forward to cup your chin. “It’s distracting.”

“Good,” he replied.

A swift kiss was pressed to your lips; a broken sound leaving your throat as he cemented the arousal in your mind—reminded you of what it felt like in the early days of being with him. It was hard to believe so much time had passed between the two of you. When in reality it felt like years had gone by in a blink of an eye. Leaning forward you pressed against his bare chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath your palms as he continued to kiss you slowly…deeply.

“We have to…” Your eyes fluttered open to see him sporting a small smile on his face.

“Breakfast?”

“Yes,” you breathed. “Yes we have to do that.”

“C’mon sweetheart.” He slipped his singed shirt back on, his eyes glancing at the burned spot on the corner of it.

You knew it would take time to recover from what happened for the both of you. His bar was his home; the one place he felt completely safe, and now it was gone in the blink of an eye. Going back to it would be a difficult feat in itself. One you’d done before him, and one you’d be glad to help him in accomplishing.

The kitchen smelled like pancakes and coffee; the scent filling your nose when you walked out. Liv was pouring a cup of coffee as surprisingly Poe cooked eggs with Finn watching over his shoulder—most likely to make sure he didn’t burn them. You hadn’t expected them to show up here, but knowing the debacle from last night, they probably had nowhere else to go. The door swung open, Paz traipsing in behind the woman you recognized as his girlfriend. He carried a grocery bag overflowing with food, her hands holding onto a different paper bag.

“Djarin!” he exclaimed, dropping the groceries unceremoniously on the counter, not bothering to see if they stayed upright. “We stopped by the bar.”

Just the mere mention of it caused Din to sit up a little straighter from where he was at the table, a cup of black coffee in front of him. “The damage?”

“Extreme.” Paz snatched a pancake off the plate in front of Liv. “The bottom half is burned to a crisp, but we managed to carefully get inside and your apartment didn’t take the brunt of the damage.”

“So all his stuff is still there?” you asked. If his place wasn’t burned entirely that means he still had his belongings, at least half of a home. You figured that was ten times better than no home at all.

The woman nodded. “Well…for the most part. The kitchen took the majority of the damage.”

“I can live with that,” Din said, glancing at you.

“This is Thyra by the way,” Paz replied, gesturing at her. “She’s been a part of us since the beginning.”

All the times you’d been to the bar and seen there, you couldn’t believe you’d never officially met her before. She was beautiful, standing tall in her heeled boots and long dark hair that draped over her shoulder in a braid. The symbol on her leather jacket was one you’d seen before; the sign of a Mandalorian—or at least that’s what Din told you before everything happened. Smiling, you stuck out your hand. If she was a part of the family that Din made for himself then you would welcome her with open arms.

“I’ve seen you before at the bar,” you said.

She nodded, her dark eyes practically sparkling. “It’s nice to finally meet you…sweetheart.”

Heat spread up your neck and into your cheeks, the hot coffee not helping even as you sipped at it. Had Din introduced you that way to everyone? Or was that merely the name they heard the most when it came to you? Her smile told you it was the latter, but her eyes told you something else and you weren’t sure what to believe. You felt his arm snake around your waist, the weight of it pressing lightly into your stomach as he pulled you closer to where he was sitting. Just that movement alone calmed the slight embarrassment that filled your veins. However, it did nothing to cease the racing of your heart. Thyra’s eyes flicked to him, a smile stretching across her lips as she no doubt teased him as well.

“Do me a favor,” she said, pointing her words at Din. “Don’t fuck it up or'dinii.”

Paz snorted. “You can’t expect that Thyra. Kaysh mirsh solus.”

“Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod?” Din retorted, his eyes narrowing.

You’d never heard him speak his language other than the few words he let slip here and there, but now it seemed he was more open in letting those he cared about see this side of him. A part that only his family saw. You wondered if this officially made you his family now, and that thought alone made your lips twist upwards into a small grin. Paz roared with laughter, his own retort missing you completely as he tried to rile Din up enough to fully go through with his words. Except you had no clue what they were saying.

“What does that mean?” you asked softly, bringing his gaze back to you.

He shook his head, turning so you stood between his spread legs. “He called me an idiot.”

Your eyebrows raised. “And what exactly did you say?”

“An old phrase.”

“Which is…”

Thyra was the one to answer your question as she took a seat, a plate of pancakes in her hand. “Basically saying: are you looking for a smack in the face.”

“All in good nature,” Paz said.

“No fighting in my kitchen please,” Liv finally spoke up, her expression still in disbelief at the sight of several bikers taking up space in the already small apartment.

Poe and Finn were having their own conversation, leaning against the counter as they ate—unfazed by the talk of Mandalorians in front of them. This is what you missed. Sure, you ached to be back in the bar—back behind the counter—but this…the gathering of friends and family was what you missed the most. It seemed that even without the bar you could make yourselves at home anywhere; only needing one another to make that new place your new home.

The smile on your face widened, a sigh leaving your body as Din nudged you slightly to bring your attention back to him. It didn’t take him long to see it. The contentment in your stance, the joy in your eyes, and his own lips were turning up slightly. The sight of you happy enough to elicit that same emotion from him. You had him with you again. Him and all that came with him and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I missed this,” you said quietly enough for only Din to hear you.

“I missed you,” he replied, his hands pressing into your lower back.

Yeah…this just the way it is was perfect.

An hour later and you were helping Liv with the dishes as Din went through the bag Thyra brought from his apartment. Some clothes that didn’t take any damage, two extra pairs of boots, and what looked like a few picture frames that were hung up in the bar awhile ago. He must have moved them to his apartment before everything happened and you were about to ask him why when the door burst open again. Paz and Thyra had gone back to the bar to see what else they could salvage, leaving Poe and Finn to head back to their places.

Only to wind up back here.

Poe led in Finn, Rey, and Elora. He held a box in his hands, which he dropped by the couch beside Din.

“All the stuff you left at my place,” he said, snatching whatever was on the top before heading towards you. “And this.”

You smiled at the sight of the camera. “You took care of it.”

“Like you asked me to,” he replied. “I figured you’d want it back to take some more pictures.”

One look at Din searching through the box and you knew that you could take a million pictures of him, but it would never be enough to finally sear him into your mind. You weren’t even sure what it would take. But that wouldn’t stop you from trying—from capturing him on polaroid after polaroid, because now…you finally could. As if he could sense the way your eyes burned into his skin, he glanced up, his lips pulling up into a small grin. That apparently was enough to send your heart fluttering madly in your chest like a flurry of butterflies was passing through you.

“Thank you,” you said softly, pulling Poe into a hug. “I don’t know what I can do to repay you for how you’ve looked out for me after…everything.”

He shrugged. “You don’t have to pay me.”

“I feel like I should, given all the emotional distress.”

He’d been there from the start; watched you and Din grow as a couple only to see it fall to pieces. You and Din inadvertently tore apart a family that relied on the two of you to be together—a family you now called your own. Things still had to be resolved between the two of you; emotions had to be cleared and you knew it wouldn’t be the last time Din and you fought. But the heartbreak would be different then. All of it would be different, because you knew deep down that one way or another you’d find your way back to one another.

Just as the stars intended.

“Elora and I are hosting a dinner tonight,” Rey said. “Nothing big, but we’d like you and Din to come.”

You smiled, feeling another layer of anguish lift from your heart. “We’re there,” you replied. It may take some convincing to get Din there—only even you knew he would never truly say no to you. He never had before.

“It’s at Poe’s place.”

“Unfortunately,” he grumbled, reaching for the plate of cookies Elora had brought. “I don’t know why you couldn’t do it at your place.”

Elora came up behind Rey, resting her chin on her shoulder. “You’re the one with the bigger apartment flyboy.”

“That’s not my fault.”

Elora smiled. “Oh so it’s not your fault you only got it cause the previous tenant had a crush on you?”

“Technically happened before I even moved here.”

“Still counts.”

“You can’t blame me for being pretty sunflower.”

 She rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms loosely around Rey’s waist. “I’m not, because you are not the prettiest sunflower here.”

You  couldn’t stop the giggle from leaving your mouth, the moment of playful irritation between them now lost. You wondered when they met, how they met—all of them—in order to become the way they were now. Sure, they were friends. Anybody could see that. Except there was something between them—something you couldn’t quite discern—that made them family. An unbreakable bond that had been tested again and again only to finally realize at the end of the day that it couldn’t be broken; no matter how hard someone tried to destroy it.

“What time?” you asked.

“7:30,” Elora responded. “We’re cooking and for the recipe I’ve got planned it’s going to take some time.”

“Well if it’s anything like your cookies, it’s going to be delicious.” You couldn’t lie. If no one (including Din) were here, you’d have demolished those cookies in a fucking heartbeat and you could see by the look in her eyes—she knew it.

The conversation continued; their arguments never ceasing and you turned, catching Din’s eye as he shuffled through the box. A picture frame of him and his son sat on his lap—the smile on his face similar to that of Din from the past. You remembered the first time you saw him smile—truly smile—and the sight never left your mind. It stuck to you like glue, tattooing itself onto your skin, because even though he refused to believe it, Din Djarin was the most beautiful man you’d ever seen. You knew it the moment you walked into the bar and saw him for the first time and you absolutely knew it now.

Heading over to him, you plopped down onto the couch, leaning your head against his shoulder as he rested his chin against your head. It was comfortable having him here in your home like this. Merely sitting beside one another. Sure, the tension still remained and you were eighty percent certain that if no one was here you’d be riding him on the couch, but just doing this was nice too. In fact…you enjoyed it more. He didn’t say anything. You didn’t say anything. And all finally felt right in the world.

Sighing softly, you shut your eyes for a few brief moments, listening to the conversation in the apartment. It all sounded eerily similar to the bar and if you focused hard enough you may be able to smell the familiar scent of liquor, motor oil, and cigarettes. Fuck, you missed his place. You yearned to be back there, serving drinks and catching his gaze across the room as he stood behind the bartop. Eventually everything would end up back there—back where it all began—but now you were simply content to be here.

His fingers trailed along the back of your hand, twinging with your own as the cold press of his rings caused a shiver to go down your spine.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, rubbing his thumb along yours. “For everything.”

You didn’t have to stop yourself from smiling this time. “Careful Romeo. You keep apologizing and I won’t be able to get mad at you the next time we fight.”

He huffed, pressing his lips to your temple as they curved upwards. “That’s the idea sweetheart.”

“Yeah right.” Part of you knew the words you said were right. Except you could still feel the slight sting as a certain memory came back to your mind; forcing you to relive what should have been forgotten by now.

After all, he finally said it. He said he loved you. So why wasn’t that enough? Why were you still wracked with pain every time you wanted to finally give in and love him just as freely as you’d done before? Why…after all this time…were you terrified of being broken again? You knew he wasn’t William—far from it—but that didn’t stop the emotions from rising to the surface. Twisting your heart painfully in your chest as you contemplated what loving him again actually meant to the both of you.

“We’re going to dinner at Poe’s place tonight by the way.”

He shifted back, brown eyes meeting yours and as always your heart fluttered in your chest. “I don’t feel like—”

Pulling him down, you cut him off with a kiss. The conversations ceased to exist, the problems came to a stop, because it was just you and him in your little bubble. He sighed into your mouth, cupping the back of your neck and sliding his tongue along your bottom lip. Things couldn’t go further than this, you knew that, but it still felt euphoric to feel his lips against yours. To kiss him until the air rushed out your lungs and the taste of him was seared on your tongue.

“It wasn’t a question Romeo,” you breathed, slightly dizzy as he pulled away. Your eyes fluttered open and you swore you saw the brown of his pupils grow darker—lust clouding his expression.

“What time do we go?” he asked, relenting swiftly as his eyes zeroed in on you sucking your bottom lip into your mouth.

“7:30.”

He nodded, glancing at the old clock you’d bought at a thrift store in Massachusetts. The both of you had three hours to kill with nothing to do. Showing up to a friend’s dinner empty handed always turned out to be a bad idea in your opinion and it’s not like you could simply grab a bottle from the bar and bring it with you. The cooking abilities you had were limited to breakfast and possibly a nice one serving dinner.

“What’s going on in there?” He tapped your temple lightly, dragging your attention back to him.

While you had grown to read him like a book, he’d always been able to flip through the pages that made up who you were. You felt the faint beginnings of a smile form on your lips as you leaned back against him, your thoughts still spinning with what was happening. Everything occurred so fast you could barely keep up. Shit, you could barely keep up regardless, but with the fire and the feelings—you were trying to keep your head above water while navigating in the dark. You wondered if he could see that. Or if he even felt the same way.

“How’s your cooking skills Romeo?”

“Barely there.” Bringing your hand up to his mouth, he brushed his lips along your wrist. “Should I ask why?”

“It’s rude not to bring food when you’re invited somewhere.”

He chuckled, the sound burrowing deep in your chest, spreading towards the molten heat in your stomach. The control you had on yourself was wavering by the second and he wasn’t helping you in the slightest. Still…you didn’t pull your hand away. You let him press featherlight kisses to your wrist, down your forearm until he reached the juncture of your elbow and worked his way back. It felt nice—as if he was attempting to calm the thoughts in your mind without words.

When it came to Romeo, actions were his go to.

“I don’t think that applies to us, sweetheart.”

“Well it would be nice regardless,” you huffed.

Glancing at him you saw his eyebrows raise. “And who’s going to cook it?”

“I could—”

“No.”

“My cooking is not that bad.”

Another kiss was pressed to your wrist; this one firm. “I didn’t say that.”

“You implied it.”

He breathed out a laugh that was barely audible. “I did.”

“Djarin I swear—”

His teeth nipping sharply at your skin cut you off as you winced. “Don’t call me that.” He had shifted until his lips were pressed against your ear; the warmth of his breath caressing your cheek.

“Call you what?” You weren’t an idiot. You knew he heard the slight waver in your voice and you also knew…he liked it.

“Djarin,” he replied slowly. The bite in his tone wasn’t meant or even meant to scare you; it was rather to prove that he knew how your insides twisted at the sound and how your walls clenched around nothing. He was toying with you just as he had done before. “Everyone else calls me Djarin. You don’t.”

You smirked, tilting your head until his lips brushed against your cheek. “And here I thought you hated the name Romeo.”

“I never said that sweetheart.” If you moved another inch, his lips would be on yours again, and you never longed for something so much. “I’ll happily let you call me that.” He turned your head for you, the heat of his gaze digging into yours. “As long as you say Din when you scream.”

They were words whispered against your lips; barely audible to even you, but you heard them nonetheless. He was truly trying to fuck with you. Your eyes widened as the words settled into your mind—flashes of that very thing happening over and over again playing through your head. If he looked closely enough, he’d be able to see you reliving each one, and by the slight grin on his face…he knew. You opened your mouth, hoping to come up with a retort hot enough to have him squirming, but he’d officially done it. He’d fried your brain past the point of words let alone coherent thoughts.

“See you tonight lovebirds,” Elora’s voice broke the spell Din had you in, giving you a chance to gather yourself.

Din stood up before you were able to say anything back, saying a polite goodbye to Elora and heading to the kitchen. Still you remained on the couch, his words echoing in your mind as he went through your fridge. Really there was nothing in it—the thought of grocery shopping was further from your mind than it should have been. You could count on one hand what you bought this week and none of it could be used to cook anything.

“What do I cook?” you asked, walking into the kitchen to see him shut the door on a sparse fridge.

“Nothing.”

“Look I can—” Him grabbing his jacket and the keys to his car cut you off. “Leaving me already Romeo?”

The phrase was meant to be harmless—a joke, but seeing him tense, his hand clutching at his keys, made you want to take it back. Fuck. Things were still on edge between the two of you and while he’d apologized through the night, more times than you could count, that didn’t stop the restlessness in your body. It didn’t cease the ache in your chest that refused to fade.

“Bad choice of words,” you said, starting to ramble. “I’m sorry I should have said can I come with you…” Why the fuck were you still talking? He must have known it was a joke…right? He turned around as you apologized for the second time, his eyes bright and yet twisted with a grief he couldn’t yet share with you.

“Sweetheart.” You clamped your mouth shut. “I love you.”

Those words…they would never cease to make your heart flutter, to make you heat up from head to toe until you were sure you’d melt onto the floor.

Smiling, you felt the worries lift off your chest, giving you a chance to breathe again. “I love you too Romeo.”

He stepped forward, gripping your chin lightly and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips before backing away towards the door. You didn’t ask him where he was going, didn’t need to, because he’d come back eventually. So, you busied yourself with cleaning up the kitchen—hoping it would throw off your mind from flooding with every manner of filthy thoughts. All of them with Din as the star of the show.

Sure, the words were carved into your skin like a wound that was taking it’s fucking time healing, but that didn’t stop you from wanting him. Only…wanting him is what got you into this mess. You two rushed into a relationship of sorts faster than you should have and before you got to know one another. Now you were doing things the right way. Which continually left you feeling like you’d combust if he looked at you too long.

“Fuck,” you muttered, nearly slicing your finger open on the soapy butter knife. “I need to get laid.”

“Where did you get this?” you asked, eyeing the wooden box that sat in the middle of your living room.

Din walked in an hour after you finished the dishes, carrying a box that looked eerily similar to the ones you used to see at the bar. Only the bar and all the alcohol that remained was burned. Which left you wondering who he paid off to get him this stuff. He cracked it open, pulling out a bottle of whiskey that was immediately familiar to you. The same one that sat empty on the shelf in your bedroom—now a piece of decor—the very same one that still held those charred bills the both of you refused to touch.

“Supplier,” he replied. “He owed me a favor.”

You nodded, knowing it was better not to question his methods. “Tell him thank you from me.”

Handing off the bottle to you, he watched as you placed it on the bookshelf near the television. Right beside a framed picture of you and him that Liv sneaked one night when she visited the bar for the first time. It was two months ago and even in the image you could see how much Din cared for you. The glint in his eye transferred to the glossy paper. You were standing behind the bar, a bottle in your hand as you poured gin into a glass; he leaned next to you, watching you with a smile on his face. You didn’t see her take the picture, never even saw the flash go off, but you thanked her for it every time you glanced in its direction.

“How many bottles are we taking?”

He lifted two out of the crate, setting it down next to the brownies you managed not to burn. “Think that will be enough?”

The way your friends drank, the two bottles would be gone before dinner was even served. Still you nodded, heading towards the bedroom to throw on the sundress you laid out earlier. The weather was becoming warm again; the cold was now vanishing slowly and while you were going to miss it—that didn’t deter you from wearing the oversized leather jacket that was thrown on the chair.

“Thankfully Rey and Elora are cooking,” you called, trying not to trip as you attempted to latch the platform sandals closed. “Poe’s good at making drinks, but I’ve seen him cook and I can definitely say I am bett…”

You trailed off as you walked back to where Din stood, catching the heady look in his eyes. They trailed down your body past the skirt of your dress all the way down to your feet, dragging upwards just as slowly. All the time you spent shoving down the burning heat that built up in your stomach vanished. It rushed through your veins, turning your skin warm as he simply watched you. Before everything, before the pain, he would have simply stated you weren’t going, taking you to bed without any complaints. But now…he waited, held his stance and breathed heavily as his gaze settled on yours.

He knew you weren’t ready for that and this was him respecting that wish. He wouldn’t touch you. Not until you were absolutely sure about him again; until you could finally open your heart to him.

For some unknown fucking reason, that made you want him even more.

Fuck your hormones. They waged a war within your body—turning you into a wilting mess even though he had yet to lay a finger on you.

“Do you like the dress?” you asked.

He grunted in response, turning back to the box, his hands clenching as you walked past him.

Poe’s place was thankfully not far from your own apartment. In a way, you were thankful for the short amount of time you’d have to spend in Romeo’s car, alone with him. You figured it was better that you keep your distance from each other, given how your reputation for holding off on jumping one another was all but disappointing. The next two weeks would be ruthless. What with you helping Liv with the last minute details of the wedding. Thankfully it would keep you busy.

You had yet to confront that one nagging question in the back of your mind. One you were truthfully terrified to even go near, because the answer would determine how you’d feel the next few weeks.

The silence felt comfortable with him—the radio playing the latest songs and the windows rolled down as he took the streets to Poe’s place. People milled about on the streets outside. The city night life came back as the sun dipped beneath the skyline of buildings. You could recall being a part of this crowd, of bar hopping night after night; a time when you were the most lost with no way of finding yourself home. Somehow in the end it brought you to him; stuck you in the center of something beautiful and told you to remain where you were.

It didn’t take you long to figure out that that’s where you belonged in the first place.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked softly. The question was asked more frequently since he’d come back into your life—as if he was terrified of what your answer would be.

Ironic.

You were scared shitless of his own answer.

“I keep thinking…”

You noticed him stiffen in his seat, his left hand tightening on the wheel slightly until his knuckles turned white. He promised he wouldn’t lie to you, wouldn’t keep any secrets from you, and this was one of them. It’s not like he was trying hard to hide it. For the first time, Din was fucking terrified of what you’d say, and somehow it felt nice to come to that realization. Proof that you weren’t entirely alone in this situation.

“Nothing bad I hope,” he said, forcing a smile. But you saw the trepidation in his eyes, the waver in his voice.

He was worried you’d leave again.

That made your heart clench in your chest.

“Liv’s wedding is in two weeks,” you replied, keeping your eyes solely on his, finally reading his reactions as clearly as he read yours. 

He’d given you an insight into his mind, told you all his fears, his past, and somehow that opened him up to you in a whole new way. Before, you struggled to even figure out what he was thinking, but now…you knew. You could see it so clearly on his face he didn’t even bother to school his expressions anymore.

“I saw your calendar.” Ah, the one that was hanging up on your wall—Liv’s wedding date marked with a big red circle. “Are you worried about it?”

You shook your head. “I’m actually really excited. It’s been a long time coming and I know that she’s ready to finally get married. But I was thinking…” He sucked in a breath, the leather steering wheel crackling under his grip. You only had a small amount of time to get this question out in the open before heading up to Poe’s for dinner. “I was actually hoping…”

“Sweetheart you’re killing me here,” he groaned, eyes flashing with agony.

A smile crossed your lips as you leaned in closer. “Would you still like to be my date?”

The car fell silent, his eyes turning back to the road as he pulled up to Poe’s apartment building. Your heart lurched in your chest, fear filling your veins as you realized you might have made a mistake. Fuck, you knew you should have waited. All of it was too soon; that damn question was too soon and you let out a shaky breath, turning your head away from him as you blinked quickly to get rid of the oncoming tears. 

Please put me out of my misery Romeo, you thought in your head, desperate for him to say something—anything.

“Do you still want me as your date?” he asked.

Your head snapped back to his direction and you finally took in the utter defeat on his face. The pain in his eyes that he pushed away constantly, but you still saw it under the surface—saw how he fought against it. He hadn’t admitted it yet, but you saw it there in his face, heard it in his words loud and clear. He was afraid you still didn’t want him—that one day you’d wake up ready to run out the door and leave him behind.

“Of course I do,” you whispered. “Do you still want to…be with me?”

The question was a double edged sword and you were both dangerously walking on either side, trying to keep it balanced for the first time in a long time.

Did he want you beyond the heartbreak? Did he want to push past what you went through and find your equilibrium again—find the place you called home in this relationship.

His face fell as he took in your eyes glossy with unshed tears. “I want to be with you until the day I stop breathing sweetheart.”

“Oh—”

But he wasn’t done. Far from it.

Leaning closer, he cupped your face, twisting in his seat to finally bring his lips close to yours. “Yes I want to be your date to Liv’s wedding. Nothing would have stopped me from going. And yes…I want to be with you in any way you choose to have me. I’m yours baby. Till the end.”

You felt as if the weight pressing down on your chest was suddenly lifted; air filling your lungs with so much air it stung on the way down. Either way you relished in it, because you finally got your answer. Din wanted to be with you. He wanted you. Rather than kiss you on the lips, he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, sending a shiver down your spine. While the doubts from before began to fade the longer you were with him, you still knew that the both of you had a lot left to work through.

He still had a lot to tell you about who he was before he met you.

“Should we go get yelled at by Poe now?”

You laughed, nodding your head. “Yeah. I think we should.”

He opened his door after one more kiss to your forehead, and walked around to your side, swinging open your door and reaching for your hand. The both of you weren’t prepared for this dinner, but you didn’t really care. Not when Romeo’s hand fit perfectly in yours, his body pressing close to yours as he led you up the stairs of the building. You’d never actually been here before, but seeing how comfortable Din was with maneuvering through the halls, him being here before was in fact true.

The thought of him suffering through heartbreak here surrounded by people who actually cared about him made you feel even lighter.

He had a family that surrounded him—he just needed a good shake to make him realize that.

“This is him,” he said, stopping at a beige colored door with a gold number eight hanging on it.

You could faintly hear music coming from the inside, the echo of voices filtering through the obviously thin door. “No turning back Romeo.”

A grin pulled his lips upward. “Me? Never.”

“Yeah right.”

He leaned over nipping sharply at your ear and eliciting a yelp from you that was no doubt heard from inside. You were about halfway to shoving your fist into his shoulder when the door opened revealing Poe. Of course he had to catch you and Din in yet another slightly compromising position. Din’s lips were attached to your neck, your hand now pressing against his shoulder to steady yourself and you felt the heat creep up the back of your neck. For fucks sake you couldn’t catch a break.

“Please don’t taint my hallway,” Poe said, smirking at the sight of you trying to mask your obvious embarrassed expression.

“Shut up Dameron,” Din replied, his fingers trailing up your back.

Poe’s mouth dropped. “Listen if you’re going to be a dick I’m not even going to consider letting you back in—”

The door was pushed open even wider, revealing Elora in a stunning yellow floor length sundress. “Please. Come in. We just finished cooking.”

You ducked under Poe’s arm, leaving the two men to finish their standoff—the smell of delicious food calling your name. Placing one bottle of whiskey on the table, you took in Poe’s apartment. There was only one bedroom, a small enough kitchen, and a plant on the windowsill—the leaves slightly brown. Overall you’d say it was cozy. A home you could see Poe staying in for quite some time. 

Din came up behind you, his arms wrapping around your waist, chin dropping to your shoulder as he placed the second bottle right beside yours.

“It’s a nice place,” you said softly, seeing the living room that consisted of a black couch, a green chair, and a multicolored rug.

He hummed in agreement. “Would you like to live in a place like this?”

Just like in the car, your heart stopped at his words. “I would…one day,” you replied slowly. You weren’t stupid. You knew what he was asking of you, and that caused your insides to melt until you were sure you were a puddle on the floor.

“Hey lovebirds,” Poe called from where he sat at the table in the kitchen. “Dinner’s ready.”

You pulled away, heading towards the chair beside Finn who greeted you with a hug and a promise to talk later. You and him hadn’t really interacted much with him working nonstop at the record shop, but you wanted to get to know him just as much as Poe. Would he like to go out and get some coffee one of these days? Maybe you could invite Rey and Elora as well.

Din took the chair across from you, a small smile on his lips. You were partly grateful that he was seated with enough distance to keep your mind in order, but knowing him…he’d make sitting like this even worse for you. Here you could see his eyes. You still weren’t sure it was a good thing you could read him so clearly, because right now you knew what he was thinking of and none of it made for appropriate dinner party conversation.

“This smells delicious,” you said, eyeing the roast in the center of the table.

Elora smiled. “Thank you. It’s my dad’s recipe.”

The next few minutes were filled with a comfortable silence as each of you passed dishes around, filling up your plates and glasses with enough to satiate the hunger in your stomachs. You shifted in your seat as Din poured you a glass of whiskey, winking at you as he sucked off whatever fell onto his thumb. Fuck, he was truly trying to ruin you right here in the middle of dinner.

You refused to let him get the upper hand.

“So, how is the store going?” you asked Rey, sipping at the whiskey and avoiding Din’s gaze. Even as it burned into the side of your face.

“It’s going well. Lot’s of busy days with all the new music coming out.”

Finn turned to you, sipping on his own glass. “I managed to ask around and some music labels are willing to give us first take of most newer records coming out.”

“Really?” you asked. “That’s amazing!” Din’s foot brushed against yours, but you willed yourself to keep looking at Finn. “Do you work solely at the store or?”

“No, not anymore. I used to, but now it’s part time.”

Poe jumped in. “Don’t be humble man. Finn’s working his way up in the producer world. He’s got a real talent for it.”

“Ah well I’m trying to at least. I’m no you flyboy.” Finn said, smiling as Poe rolled his eyes.

“You never did tell me about your time as a pilot,” you said. “Were you there long?”

“There’s nothing special to tell sweetheart.” Something thumped under the table, causing Poe to wince. You turned to Din, seeing him swallow his whiskey innocently as he set his fork down, watching you with a glint in his eyes that had you shifting in your chair.

“Are you okay?” you asked, returning your attention to Poe.

You would not lose to Din. You’d won before and you could do it again.

“Yeah,” he bit out, shooting a glare Din’s way. “Just hit my knee against the table.”

That was bullshit—you didn’t miss the way Din’s lips quirked into a grin as he winked at you again. You had half a mind to drag him out into the hallway simply to ring his neck and the longer he toyed with you—sending you looks that no doubt had you dripping in your underwear—the closer you were to actually doing it. You knew what this was, why he was acting this way.

What you finally revealed in the car had opened the door even wider on the prospect of a relationship again and Din was doing his best to kick it the rest of the way down.

He was proving to you how much he wanted you.

Conversation continued around you as both you and Din held your very own silent talk. He smiled, leaning his elbows against the table and placing a piece of meat in his mouth—eyes flicking down to the cleavage your dress showed. Not one to be outdone at a game you’d mastered with him, you leaned forward yourself, reaching for the bowl of vegetables.

He swallowed so hard he started to cough.

“Are you okay?” you asked, innocently. Really you were preening under his heated gaze; his eyes narrowed at you as Poe thumped on his back.

“Yeah,” he croaked.

Grabbing the glass of water in front of him, he retained eye contact as he swallowed, your eyes glancing down to his throat. Suddenly you were reminded how much you loved the sight of it—how much you loved to mark it up with your teeth and lips. He set the glass down with enough force to shake the table slightly, his eyes burning a hole into your face with a need that you felt in the very marrow of your bones.

Fuck how would you two make it long enough to talk out your issues when neither of you could control your impulses?

In your small staring contest, you didn’t seem to notice the others had stopped talking, their attention solely on you. Poe dropping his silverware and giving you a glare snapped you out of your reverie. He coughed, downing his glass of whiskey and pouring another one—laughing to himself about something. Seeing him this way slightly scared you in all honesty. What had you and Din done wrong? You felt like you were about to be reprimanded by your parents for doing something bad at the dinner table.

This wasn’t entirely far from the truth though.

“Poe?” you asked hesitantly.

“Unbelievable.”

“Dameron,” Din said a little harshly, even you winced.

“Don’t you Dameron me you dick.” Poe downed the second glass of whiskey. “You promised me that you’d fix it, that things would change once you got her back.”

You reared back, your eyes no doubt as wide as saucers. “What is he talking about Din?”

“I’m not going to explain myself to you,” Din replied smoothly, setting his glass down as Poe continued to glare at him with enough anger that you were sure Din would be six feet under had Poe been holding a weapon.

You had half a mind to take away the knife beside his right hand.

“No?” Poe began to laugh, his expression scaring the absolute shit out of you. So much so that you started to reach for him only to have Finn stop you. “You don’t want to explain yourself when I let you stay here? When it was me and Finn and Rey and Elora who made sure you didn’t kill yourself with alcohol poisoning?” You winced, feeling your heart twist violently in your chest, but Poe was far from being done. “I can’t believe you two haven’t figured out your issues yet and that you’re still playing this cat and mouse game.”

“Poe—” you started.

“And you.” He averted his glare to you. “I know you’re scared of being with him again, but fucking hell sweetheart—” He turned to Din. “You kick me again for calling her that and I’m going to put my knife in your foot.” Once again his eyes were back on you. “You are so in love with him it’s actually sickening to see it with my own two eyes. I swear if you don’t figure out your shit, the next time I see you I’m locking you two in a room together.”

“Poe—”

“Don’t Poe me. I’ve had to endure listening to you two fuck in so many different places I have actual nightmares about it now, but you know what. I will sacrifice myself one more time and risk hearing you two get it on if it means you will stop eye fucking each other at my table while I’m trying to eat.”

With a final glare in both your directions, he resumed eating his dinner as if nothing interesting happened. As if he hadn’t just shook you and Din so hard with his words that it jarred you out of your fearful states. Were you inevitably going to end up with Din? Yes. You knew this with everything in your being. What you didn’t know was why you were stalling to get to your happily ever after.

Why were you two so hesitant to jump in like you’d done before?

It wasn’t the heartbreak, because if anything that simply made the both of you stronger. So what kept you back? You tried to wrack your brain for any type of answer and could only come up with one that sounded the most reasonable. You were both so terrified of being hurt again that you held off on actually experiencing that happiness you once had again. Maybe that’s what hurt the most. Neither of you could remember what that feeling of pure bliss in a relationship felt like.

Your apartment door shut with a resounded thud, shutting out the rest of the world until it was just you and Din standing in your kitchen. The dinner had gone smoothly enough after Poe’s reprimanding. You laughed until you couldn’t breathe, reminisced on times at the bar, and felt like you gained three new friends. Poe had calmed down after his third glass of whiskey, but his words still rang loudly in your head.

“That was some night huh,” you said, pulling your heels off and settling on the couch.

He collapsed beside you with a sigh. “I feel like I just got yelled at by a teacher.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one.” Din’s hand reached for yours, his fingers intertwining with your own. “He was right, you know,” you said softly.

“He shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“No,” you smiled. “I mean he was right about us.” Din froze, his eyes holding you in a gaze you had no intention of running from. Not this time. “I think we were so lost in our own pain and so focused on finding a way back to each other, that we never figured out a way to find our way back to ourselves.”

He lifted your hand, kissing the back of it just as he had done earlier in the day. A small sign of reassurance—a way to calm your aching heart—and it worked like a charm. You knew without a doubt in your mind, you wanted to be with Din, but you also knew…you had no idea who you were without him. The memory of you being single, being happy and free, had vanished to the very back of your mind.

“So where does that leave us?” he asked, brown eyes delving into yours.

Exhaling, you felt your heart twist. “Maybe…” Fuck you didn’t want to do this. “Maybe we should take these two weeks to try and remember who we are.”

“I’m not leaving you.” He said the words quicker than he could take a breath. Just hearing that managed to calm the racing of your heart, the worries that plagued your mind.

“I don’t want you to.”

“But…”

“But I don’t want you to forget who Din is, who you used to be before me. The bartender who I fell in love with. And I don’t want to forget who I was. I went from one relationship right into the next without ever figuring out who I had shaped up to be. I’d like to meet her.”

He nodded, leaning his forehead against yours. “I’ll do whatever you want sweetheart. I’d do anything to make this work.”

“There’s going to be some ground rules,” you said with a smile, enjoying the slight shift of annoyance on his face.

“Okay…”

“No kissing.” His lips slotted over yours, stealing the breath from your lungs. “Din,” you gasped, pulling away.

He sighed. “You really are trying to kill me.”

“Listen Romeo. You and I both know we can barely keep our hands to ourselves long enough to actually talk and I think we need to start agreeing to be friends before we jump back into a long term relationship.” You tried to maintain your composure, the seriousness in your voice bringing a smile to his face. What did you say that was funny? “And you’re smiling because…”

“You’re hot when you’re bossy.”

“Fuck you Din.” You shoved his shoulder.

“I’m listening,” he replied, pressing his nose to your cheek. “I swear. What are the other rules?”

“What happened tonight at dinner will not be happening again. No teasing okay? We have to at least try.”

“I can’t promise that.”

You huffed. “Din.”

“I’ll do it…for you.” He pressed another kiss to your hand. “Two weeks?”

Nodding, you figured the timeline matched up perfectly. Liv’s wedding would just be the time to hit reboot on your relationship. For two weeks you’d be friends again and begin to formulate a relationship that wasn’t based solely on need and sex. No, this one would be based on love—something you were looking forward to.

“Two weeks,” you responded, reaching your hand out to shake on it.

He dragged you forward by the nape of your neck instead, pressing his lips to yours and licking into your parted mouth as you gasped. He tasted like whiskey and you sighed into the kiss, digging a hand into his hair in order to keep him closer. Sure, it was going against the already set rules, but if you were going two weeks cold turkey…you needed a quick reminder of what you were working towards again. You moaned when he nipped at your lip, licking along it to soothe the ache before pulling away entirely—a flushed look on his face.

“Deal,” he breathed, standing up from the couch with one last look, leaving you there to sit on the couch.

Two weeks…of being friends with Din.

You were fucked.

[hellhound5925]

Cyare Verd *Beloved Warrior*

Chapter sixteen

Soon after we finished our meals, Rex gave the order for everyone to get some sleep. Everyone helped clean up before we all parted ways. Rex and I walked together to our quarters - considering they were next to one another. "Nervous?" He asked. "Eh..no, not really." I said looking a head. "I just look forward to destroying some clankers" I look up at him and smirk. "That's my girl" he laughs. That's my girl....Maker I'll be playing that over and over in my head until the end of time. I can't help the smile that grows on my face from the warm feeling I get. I opt to tease him, "my girl huh?" I raise a brow at him. He rubs the back of his neck "if I over stepped...I'm sorry...I-" "Rex, Udesii (relax) you didn't over step". "Oh...alright" he laughs nervously. "Can I ask you something?" I'm feeling rather bold - I've been wanting to ask but I was afraid I'd scare him off. "Uh..sure" he replies. "Do I make you nervous?" I ask. He cocks his head at me, "I mean, it's just, when we are alone. Sometimes I feel like I make you nervous and I don't want you to feel that way around me" I ramble. "You don't make me nervous Raven" he sighs almost like he realized something. "Oh okay, good" I say. Osik...why can't you just tell him...are yo afraid he will reject you? Maybe that why he gets nervous around me when I flirt with him. We make it to my door and say our good nights. I head in my room and get around for bed.

Morning comes and I'm rearing and ready to go. I know it will be a bit of a journey on the ship but I'm looking forward to the scene change. I gather the rest of my belongings and make it to the hangar by 0530. I'm the only one there....well other than the mechanics and crew getting the Resolute ready. I lay my armor case down and sit on top of it. After about 10-15 minutes I can hear familiar voices. Fives and Echo are the first two to the hangar and they notice me. "Like a sen'ika (little bird) on a perch" Five teases. "Very funny" I roll my eyes. "Ooh I'm totally calling you that from now on...Sen'ika" he playfully nudges Echo to get approval. Echo nods "It's got a nice ring to it". The rest of the squad shows up in pairs until we are just waiting for Rex. I'm sure the poor man has been up busting his sheb (ass). Just then, Rex comes in with Anakin, Ahsoka, and the new 501st group behind. "Look out...shinies" Jesse and Fives tease the new group. "Attention"  I remind them, we all stand and salute. "At ease" Anakin says when we gets over to us. We all relax. I hear the ramp to the ship drop down behind us. "Good timing" says Ahsoka. I nod my 'good morning' to Rex and he reciprocates.

We all grab our things and head inside "First time on a venator?" Asks Echo. "Actually, yeah it is" I say almost feeling embarrassed. "Don't worry Sen'ika, we can give you the tour" says Fives putting his arms around Echo's and my shoulders. "First things first, I need to find my quarters" I say poking Fives in the side. He removes his arms from me and Echo, "Hey Cap!" He yells. "Yes Fives?" He asks glancing between the three of us. "Do you know where  Sen'ika will be staying?" He asks putting emphasis on the new nickname. "uh, let me check" he says looking at a data pad. "You'll be right down the hall from me. I can show you the way" he says looking up. "We will catch up with you later, bye" Fives spits out quickly and drags Echo away. Rex raises a brow "Sen'ika?" He asks. "Don't even get me started" I roll my eyes causing him to laugh. "Alright, this way". He leads me down the hall to my room which looks oddly similar to the one I have in the barracks. "You know what they say...home is where you make it" I say sarcastically. Rex laughs "I'm right down the hall again if you need me". I put my stuff away and there's a knock on my door shortly after. Before I can even get up to open it, its flying open with Fives and Echo right behind it. "Tour time!" Fives says. They give me a quick tour, showing my Fives favorite places first before Echo shows the more practical places.

We end with the mess hall where the rest of the squad is currently getting breakfast. We get in line and there's an announcement over the comms "Resolute to all passengers, be aware we are taking off. Resolute on route to Aargonar". "And we're off" says Echo. "It's going to take us about one rotation to get to Aargonar, might want to get comfortable" Fives complains. "hey it would be worse" I laugh. We sit down and eat our food, not long after a trooper comes get Rex and I to head to the bridge. "Sorry I know you guys are settling in but I figured I'd give you and update a head of time" begins Anakin. "When we get in range, We will send down a drop ship for you guys and the squad to infiltrate the base. While we take 4 drop ships land out here, to create our distraction. Any extra supplies you might need can be on a ship waiting for the call" He continues. "Sounds good to me Sir" says Rex. "I agree" I say. "Good now to get comfortable we've got about 20 hours until we need to get ready" Anakin finishes. "Sir yes sir" both Rex and I say together.

We head out the blast door and get in the turbo lift. "How are you going to spent the rest of the trip Captain?" I playfully ask Rex. He sighs, "I better finish that draft". "Well don't have too much fun without me" I wink at him. "Wouldn't dream of it" he replies with a smile. "If you need a break let me know. I'll come hang out with you, pass the time" I continue. He smiles "I'd like that".

I head off toward my quarters to get a nap in while I can. There's a knock on my door. Now what. I open it to see Echo standing there. "What's up?" I ask. "I hate to ask but uh, can I take a nap here..... Hardcase and Fives wanna play cards and they're making too much noise" that classic Echo innocence showing through. "Sure, I was about to do the same" I smile. He comes in, "You hog the bed though and we will have a problem" I tease. "I was just gunna sleep on the floor" he says watching me crawl into my bed. "Echo, you're not sleeping on the floor before a fight.....there's enough room in here I swear" I scold him. He crawls in next to me and we both lay on our backs in silence. Echo breaks the silence "You know, Fives and I have been trying to get Rex to ask you out". I shot up and looked over at him "Pare! (hang on)". "Look we know he likes you and you, like him" he smirks. "Echo- I- how?" I ask. "You don't think we don't see you stealing glances at one another, when the other isn't looking. Or the way you light up at the mention of the others name" he says. I lay back down and pull the covers over my head. "I knew it" he laughs "Rex talks about you all the time too". "Cody put you up to this didn't he?" I ask removing the covers form over my head. "Commander Cody? What? No. Cody knows?" He says in a way I know he isn't lying. "Cody said the same thing you just did. He apparently noticed something I didn't with Rex" I say feeling my face turn bright red. "So you do like him?" Echo asks making me say it out loud. "Okay fine... yes I do. I find Rex attractive. Now go to sleep" I admit. "I think it's more than you 'find him attractive'" he teases. "You didn't come in here to nap did you?" I ask. "Nope....peace and quiet will be a bonus though" he says rolling over. "Haar'chak Echo! (Damn it Echo)" I playfully shove him and he fake snores. "Mmmhmm" I hum before rolling the other way and fall asleep.

-------

I wake up having forgotten Echo was in my bed. I rolled over and he was snoring away next to me. I decide to let him sleep and crept over him. It's only been about 4 hours. I should go check on Rex...but first a shower would be great. I look over and see Echo still snoring. He'll be fine. I shower quickly not bothering to dry my hair and letting it go natural, throw on a black tank top, and my flught suit tying the sleeves around my waste. When I come out of the fresher, I check to see if Echo is where I left him. He hasn't moved. Quietly I tie my boots and grab my vambraces.

When I'm outside my door I use the left one to comm Rex. He picks up "Captain Rex". "Hope you aren't working too hard....Captain" I say through a grin. "I was just finishing up actually" He laughs. "Good I'll come find you". "Actually I'm on my way to you. Going to freshen up quick if you don't mind" He says. "Oh Rex don't put your makeup on just for me" I can practically hear him rolls his eyes at me. "I'll see you soon" He says before ending the link.

Before I know it he's making his way down the hall at me. I see him give my a once over with his eyes. I give him a look letting him know he's been caught. He rubs the back of his neck "I'll be out in a second" He says heading to his quarters. When be comes out we start walking towards the main hallways. I tell him about Echo coming to my room for a nap - leaving out why he actually was there. "Sounds about right" he laughs. I play with the sleeves around my waste. "I'm gunna say something and you don't have to respond or say anything back but I just want to get it off my chest" I start to explain. Rex quirks his eye brow "okay?". "I think I have feelings for you" I blurt out. "Now that I think about it this may not have been the best time to tell you but I did and here we are" I laugh nervously to myself. Rex looks genuinely shocked and we stare at one another in silence.

Masterlist

[pretoriafics]

Teenage Dream Pt. 2 (Interactive story)

Man! I think this one is the most amazing thing I'd ever written! I'll request from all of you guys special attention at the end of this chapter. I'll let you a message, and I'm pretty sure you will love it!

Derek took you to his loft. While you are alone, you start to understand the environment you were now part of. Word count: 2.056 Pairings: Different Dimension!Reader x Derek; Different Dimension!Reader x Platonic!Laura; Different Dimension!Reader x Platonic!Cora; Different Dimension!Reader x Platonic!Talia Contain: It’s pretty fun; AU Warnings: English is not my main language <3 PART 1 ALTERNATIVE VERSION TEEN WOLF MASTERLIST

You finally entered Derek's loft. Oh, man... It was just like in the tv show!

You enter the loft just like if you had entered paradise. With your mouth opened in pure fascination, you swirl around your feet while looking around. Derek came just behind you with arch eyebrows. It would be funny if it doesn't be scary.

"Oh. My. Godness. Is it here that all the pack meetings are made?"

Derek didn't reply to you. Instead of it, he just stares at you. He gives a few steps forward, getting closer to you.

"What's your name?"

You swallowed hard. Derek was with his usual cold expression, arms crossed in front of his chest, and no patience for bullshit.

"(Y/N) (Y/L/N)."

"Good. Look (Y/N) (Y/L/N), you will stay right here. You will not get out, you will not call anyone, or speak with anyone. If you run away from here, I'll kill you faster than you could say to me what happens at season one. Did I made things clear to you?" Shrunken in fear, you just nod, and Derek narrows his eyes to you. "Okay. I need to see someone that you probably know, so-"

"Braeden? Jennifer? Deaton?"

Derek sounds confused to hear the first two names. So, you simply thought that he didn't meet them yet.

"Not of your business."

He gives his back to you, walking out of his loft and closing the door, locking you there. And, wow, you have Derek's loft all for you! Oh man, it just like on the fanfics!

Well, you were curious and excited as hell. Your first thought was something pretty plausible: You used to watch Teen Wolf when you were a teenager. So, being inside the series was just like time-traveling. Smartphones aren't a thing yet, and Dua Lipa music still unknown. As a way to test this theory, you walk in the radio's direction and turn it on. The music that started to fill the room was Friday by Rebecca Black. Yeah, you remind that song, and you instantly felt nostalgic. But it could be just random music on the radio, right?

You switched the radio station, and then Party Rock Anthem By LMFAO starts to play. Well, another song of 2011... But you aren't so sure yet, so you switch the radio station one last time. You almost fell on your back when Domino by Jessie J fills the room. You took a confirmation that yeah, you were back in the 2011's. You are probably during the events of season one.

Well, Scott has just been bit by Peter, Derek just came back from town, and... You are now in the middle of all of that.

"Oh, man!"

You can't do anything for a while. So, all you could do is wait for Derek and whatever he was doing now. You look around while Jessie J sings on the radio, giving you a few nostalgic feelings. Well, you would take a relaxing bath. There's just one problem: All the clothes you have is the one you're wearing now. Without giving a damn, you walk to Derek's wardrobe direction.

"I'm sorry sour wolf, but I'll borrow a few clothes of yours." You open it and take a black shirt. Man, you felt thrilled! "Jeez, this is so like the fanfics!"

You go to the bathroom's direction, taking off your kitten pajama, and putting yourself under the hot water of the shower. Man, Rude Boy by Rihanna starts to play on the radio. You couldn't contain a laugh. It was funny because you were taking a shower and would wear clothes from a legit rude boy.

And, well, you started to sing. It was everything really nice for a few minutes: You were wearing Derek's shirt, listening to a few old pieces of music, and, now, you were in his kitchen making a sandwich.

When you sat on Derek's bed, with your wet hair and your sandwich, Starstrukk by 3OH!3 and Katy Perry started to play. Yeah, that time alone was being nice! You move your body in the music's rhythm while bites your sandwich, still sat on the mattress. You should enjoy that peace while it lasts!

The sandwich was cool, the music either... But you realized that, now, you had a golden chance that every fan would die to have: You are alone in Derek's flat. What kind of things he hides there?

After finishing your sandwich, you look around. You stand up from the mattress and walk around the loft. Getting upstairs, you could find some supernatural books, some weird things that you thought could be some magic stuff, and his laptop. Oh, man! What else hides in his internet searches?

You hold yourself, trying to decide if you should snoop his history on the internet or if you should see what he hides on his bedside table drawer.

When you go downstairs, Animal by Neon Trees fills your ears. You run to Derek's bedside table and opens his drawer. You found his cell phone charger, as well as the laptop one, a coin with a triskelion and... tons of condoms.

Your eyes got widen. This is definitely the kind of thing the TV show hasn't expose.

Also, you noticed Derek's loft needed some... cleaning.

Bored as never before, you walked to the kitchen searching for some cleaning stuff. You found some on a cabinet: A mop and a few other products. Oh, perfect! You took them and, soon, you were sliding the mop through the flat while sings Animal. The flat smells like lavender now, and the floor is so clean that you are proud.

You heard Magic by Rivers Cuomo and B.o.B on the radio, and you sing with the music reminding the parties at your friend's house after school. Suddenly, the door finally opens, and you heard Derek's voice.

"...She's not lying, and I need to know if you already saw something like that before."

You froze with the mop on your hand when you saw Derek. He froze as well. It was understandable: A complete stranger is cleaning his flat and wearing his clothes.

"...Oh, hi! I've borrowed your shirt."

Then, a female voice came behind him.

"There are tons of things that could cause this kind of thing. We need to investigate."

Talia Hale came after his son, as well as Laura and Cora. They also froze with the scene of you wearing Derek's clothes and cleaning his loft. You? Well, your eyes almost had pulled out of your face when you saw them. Talia inhales the air to her lungs, clearly smelling the air.

"Are this... Lavender?"

"Yeah, it is." Laura replied her mom, looking at Derek after that "I think lavender suits you. It's perfect for your flat. It is really your thing, Derek."

You were so confused! What are they doing there? Your chin fell, letting your mouth opened in pure disbelief. Derek rolled his eyes at Laura before look at you again.

"...She'll freak out."

"Oh. My. Gosh. Oh my gosh!!" The mop fell on the floor, and you ran through Talia, Cora, and Laura's direction. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

The Hale women look at each other, and Cora looks at you.

"Well, mom came here to help Derek with, uh, you. And I guess you already know us."

"You shouldn't be here!" You stare at Cora "You should be in South America! And both of you" You stare at Talia and Laura "I can't even talk about you two! Jeez!"

You put your hands on your head, with your mind blowing while the Hale family enters into the loft. Derek turns off the radio before staring at you again.

"I thought you were used to seeing me with them."

You stare at him, with your eyes widen. Your mind was full of theories already.

"Derek, you are definitely not understanding what is happening here. Your family shouldn't be here."

He arches his eyebrows, noticing there's something pretty wrong here.

"What do you mean?"

"Look" You approach them, looking at everyone "I'll do just one question: Did your house was burned some years ago?"

They look at each other, with the engines on their head trying to work. Talia stares at you.

"Yeah, but we had fortunately escaped."

"How about your brother?"

"Peter was the only one that hasn't managed to."

Oh, man... That means one thing. Scared as hell, you sat on the mattress. Derek started to feel anxious and approaches you.

"What's happening?"

You breathe in, staring at the family.

"It shouldn't happen. At the TV show, Talia dies at the fire. Cora ran to South America, Peter got burnt and goes to a clinic, Laura turns herself into alpha, and she stays with Derek. It means that I'm not on the TV Show. I'm inside a fanfic."

Oh, man... It means, basically, that you even haven't so sure about what will happens next. If you were inside the TV Show, you could predict the future. You couldn't do it if you were inside a fanfic.

While you were in complete shock, Talia looks at her family.

"Well... I'll search the most plausible theory of (Y/N)'s arrival. I think we can start looking for some witches near. It can be some work from a coven."

While the Hale family talks about you, you still sat on the mattress, thinking about what the heck was going on. Well, what kind of fanfic did you got into? Was It an insert-reader one, or was It just a common one? Are you the protagonist?

You would test your theory, and you would do it right now.

Knowing the opportunity was just right there, you ran through the flat's door. However, Derek notices your escaping.

"She's running away!"

A mess quickly takes form inside Derek's loft: His announcement made all the Hale run after you, trying to avoid your escaping. They don't know anything about you yet. It could be dangerous to have you simply walking around Beacon Hills.

Fast, you ran through the building until you go outside. A storm quickly takes form, and heavy rain starts to fell from the skies. To everyone's surprise, you stopped in the middle of the asphalt, looking at the sky.

"Hey!" You yelled to something up there "I want a sign! Hey, writer! Readers! Anyone! Am I inside of a fanfic? Answer me! Send me a clue, anything!"

A thunder lightens the skies, and you fell on your knees with a lack of a clue that could help you to find out what was going on. Then, you felt a hand grab your arm.

"Enough, weirdo." Laura said, holding you while the Hale family surrounds you to keep you from running away "You'll stay inside the loft."

With all the last hopes of yours, you look up from the skies. The rainwater runs through your body while you wait. You just want a sign! A clue!

Then, you thought you had seen something. Laura pushes you, making you stand up from the asphalt. And when she was started to drag you to the loft again, you saw something falling from the sky. Derek saw it too.

"Laura, wait."

Everyone looks up, noticing what the heck was that: It was a post-it paper falling from the skies in your direction. When it came close enough, you took it.

Man... When you read it, your face became pale as a candle, and you simply pass out on Laura's arms. Caught by surprise, Laura holds you while everyone runs in your direction. Cora took the post-it paper from your hand and, when she read it, she stares at her family completely incredulous.

"What?" Derek looks at her, in urgency to know what was that. Cora swallowed hard, starting to read the post-it paper out loud.

"Here says: Author's note: Yeah, you are inside a fanfic. Author's note two: Your story has just started, girl."

Yeah, for sure, the Hale family stares at each other in complete shock. Of course, they weren't expecting that your call for a sign would be replied to. Especially by me, the author of your story! Ha! And honestly? I'll think carefully if I'll help you during your journey inside your favorite TV Show, because, honestly? I'll not let things easy for you.

FINAL AUTHOR'S NOTE Here's the thing about this series: I'm the author mentioned at the end of this chapter, y'all are the readers mentioned in the story AND the (Y/N) of this story. Consider that the (Y/N) is the "you" from a different dimension, okay? Why should you consider this: Because you all can communicate themselves with the (Y/N) of that story! At every ending of the chapter, I'll request you to send me something to help the (Y/N) inside the story. You will send it through my ask, right here. Well, the (Y/N) has requested to the readers sent her a sign that she is really inside of a fanfic. Send me your clue for (Y/N) through my ask, and I'll put it on the next chapter to makes her freaking out.

I'll be waiting for y'all!

[skiyoosmi]

if fate permits

⤷ chapter three: puppy face

previous < masterlist > next

“I just don’t understand… how can ya stay in this hell hole for so many hours?” Atsumu exasperatedly sighed for the umpteenth time as he sulked on the seat across you. Says the one who’s often stuck in the gym, aka 'hell hole' to me, practicing volleyball, you thought.

Opting to keep your mouth shut to prevent any banter with him, you only rolled your eyes at his rather dramatic antics, starting to feel quite annoyed with how he was distracting you from the novel you were currently trying to read.

Realizing your indifference, he huffed and began tugging on the ends of your uniform’s sleeves, “Y/N! Come on, let’s go home.”

Like a child beginning to be scared of his mother, he gulped upon seeing your eyes twitch. Oh god, I am utterly sorry, he mentally prayed as his tugs began to slow down in fear.

“If you hate the library so much, why did you insist on going home with me? I could’ve gone with Kiyoomi,” you were filled with confusion when his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he remembered something important the moment you asked him about his reason. He, finally, released his hold of you and began rummaging through his sling bag.

“Ah! Here, here… take a look of this! Ta-da!” he exclaimed when he took out what looked like a flyer for the upcoming campus festival. You looked at him with amusement as he shoved it into your hands, eyes sparkling like an excited puppy as he watched you scan the piece of paper.

“Looking for… a playwright?” you slowly uttered, eyebrows furrowed when he nodded, “you want me to be a playwright for the play of the theater department?”

“Yes! Isn’t that a bit obvious? Unless ya want to be one of the actors on stage?” you pursed your lips, reminding yourself to be patient and not get irked with his ‘trying-to-be-a-smartass’ response.

Thus, you just handed him the flyer back and shoo your head ‘no,’ surprising him because he seriously thought you would agree in a heartbeat. You stood up and grabbed your things, I need to go home before this foolishness worsens any further.

“What do ya mean no?! Y/N! This is a one-time opportunity!” he whined as he followed you, listing endless reasons why you should say yes to his request. More like a once a year opportunity, not one time, idiot.

You let out an annoyed sigh and turned to him, glaring so hard he almost whimpered. Nonetheless, he backed away when you stomped over to him.

“I am way too busy for those things, Tsum! Besides, I want to be a BOOK writer… not a playwright!” you groaned at his confused face, making it way too obvious that he didn’t even know consider anything when he grabbed the flyer.

“Is there even a difference between those two? I mean… ya will still become a writer though,” he pouted, scratching his nape and shrugged. You gaped at him in disbelief, I swear to god, this kid must be nuts.

“Of course, there is a difference! Books do not work the same as theatrical plays, baka! And like I said… I’m too busy for all those shits.”

You went back to briskly walking, thanking the heavens when the apartment you and Kiyoomi shared with them finally came into view. Once again, he sulked as he followed you with his back slouched, like a puppy kicked by its owner.

“What is she even busy with? As far as I can remember, she finished her essay days ago,” he whined to his twin as they lounged in the kitchen bar, initially talking about their volleyball plays before it turned to Atsumu-rants-about-you moment again. Osamu only looked at him with a somewhat disinterested look, shaking his head at Atsumu’s idiocy.

“You do know she’s busy with writing her book, right?” He monotonously asked the blonde who only looked back with bewilderment. Ah, knew it, this boy is really an idiot sometimes.

“But… but she’s still in college?! And she’s broke… What is she thinking… writing her own book? Can she even afford the publishing if it ever happens,” Atsumu grumbled as he played with the flyer that was still lying on the table in front of them.

The grey-haired lad only shrugged, she loves writing as much as you love volleyball, there’s technically no difference between the two of you.

“That’s probably the exact reason, you know. As early as possible, she wants to gain her reputation as an official writer. Or maybe she wants to earn money while doing what she loves. Or... I don’t know. Ask her,” Osamu suggested, quite expectant deep inside that his twin will listen to his advice. He silently cheered when the blonde hummed in agreement, grabbing the flyer before trudging towards the direction of your room.

He just hopes that Atsumu will not be more than the idiot he already is.

“Don’t you think I should punch that dummy so he realizes the truth? I want to do it more and more each day that passes,” this time, your twin brother asked as he entered the kitchen area. Osamu could see bits of irritation swimming in Kiyoomi’s eyes as he went back to cooking your dinner.

“I hope it won’t get to that point though, Kiyoomi. Violence is never the answer after all.”

You stared in your laptop’s screen, mind flying in all directions as you tried to finish one of your homeworks. I need to get back to writing the book, you thought… but then Atsumu’s puppy face as he begged you to agree flashes in your mind for the umpteenth time that night. You loudly groaned in frustration, rubbing your face in distress.

Damn the soulmate bond that’s making you impossible to refuse him and his requests.

“Gosh! This is so frustrating! Why does he have to be my sou–”

“Was my suggestion that bad for ya?” you yelped in surprise as you turned around, finding your one and only soulmate leaning against your doorway. He snickered at your face before sauntering towards your bed, plopping face down as he spoke, voice muffled by your pillow.

“I can’t hear you, baka,” you commented as you watched him fondly when he turned his head to you; that damned puppy face staring at you with the same fond look.

“Yer right, I'm an idiot. I just had this foolish idea that maybe you’d like to write for them. The idiot in me really thought they’re just the same thing so I said ‘Ah, this can be a stepping stone for Y/N if the play becomes a hit to people even those outside the campus!’ Now, I realized I was wrong,” he sheepishly explained while you giggled, shaking your head at his silliness.

“It’s alright. I kinda figured that’s what you wanted…” you smiled as he nodded, eyes lighting up when he realized you’re no longer frustrated at him. Unbeknownst to him, your insides were in a dilemma as you contemplated, “… is the offer still up though?”

“Huh?”

“I said… is your offer still up? Cause I think I’d like to give it a try,” you let out another laugh when he nodded excitedly, jumping up as he approached you for a hug but you help up a hand. He gave you a look of confusion, gulping once more when a devilish smile slowly formed on your face.

“In one condition; you… audition as one of the actors.”

Had you known what was about to happen, you wouldn't have even thought of agreeing to him.

[fanfics-for-fun]

Bend to Live | Chapter Three

Genre: Bending AU, BTS AU

Rating: 18+

Pairing: fire bender!jungkook x water bender!reader, none bender! Yoongi x fire bender!Jimin, none bender!OC x air bender!Namjoon

Word count: ~5k

Summary: You were one of the mightiest water benders. In one of your fights, you caught the attention of a mighty fire bender. And with that, your journey around the world began.

A/N: I am so sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. I have finally finsihed the chapter and I really hope, that you enjoy it. :3 If you want to be added to the taglist, please send me an Ask so I have an easier overview of everyone.

By now, the others and you left the northern water tribe two days ago and Lynn slowly loosed her strength from flying for so long. She absolutely needed a break to get everyone safely to the southern air temple.

And you? You were still motionless. Louise took care of your wound by cleaning it every eight hours and changing the bandages. Jeongguk meanwhile didn’t leave your side even as he was asleep. He was too afraid of leaving and realising that your injury has gotten worse while he was gone. The events caused an intense paranoia. He was so scared that maybe, your wound wouldn't heal properly. Maybe you couldn't bend anymore after that?

“Kookie, we know you’re scared to shit since you saw the dagger in her leg but you need to sleep more than the minimum you need. Your bending weakens from it and it would make you incapable of protecting her if something like this happens again while she's still injured,” Yoongi said quietly to him while everybody else was eating.

“But I want to be awake when she wakes up. She needs somebody on her side if it gets worse and to help her if needed,” he mumbled and looked at his bowl full of food. He didn’t eat much in the last few days either. He somewhat was incapable of doing it. His sorrows eating up his whole mind. There wasn't enough space to remind him of eating properly.

“And I understand that. I would be in the same position if something happened to Jimin. But you would be the one to tell me that I need to focus on myself more to keep him safe. I'm not trying to undermine your current situation. I just want to help you to be capable of protecting her,” Yoongi explained and Jeongguk nodded.

“I sleep a bit after I finished. Thanks, Yoongi,” he said and kept on eating. Yoongi nodded at that and went back to eating, too.

Silently, everybody was eating again. They all waited for you to wake up so Louise could treat your wound better and so she knew how you were feeling. They wanted to make a stop at the next city nearby to grab some medicine and to give Lynn a well-deserved break. It was a little port city with a few fields and rivers to relax nearby. All in all, it was beautiful there.

As soon as Jeongguk finished eating, he laid down next to you and took your hand in his. He looked at your sleeping figure and nibbled on his lip. You needed to wake up soon. You had to eat and regain your strength so your wound would heal properly. With that in his mind, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted into a light slumber.

“I think he is exaggerating,” Taehyung mumbled and Jimin slapped his shoulder.

“And you’re an asshole, Tae. Put yourself in his position. I’m sure, you would have reacted the same way,” Jimin said hushed. Taehyung just rolled his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.

“We’ll be arriving soon. Start packing everything in bundles so Tae and I can easier get everything off Lynn’s back,” Namjoon ordered and everyone followed his instruction while you and Jeongguk were still asleep.

After an hour, everything was off of Lynn's back. Just Jeongguk and you remained on it, still sleeping. Everybody else meanwhile had set up camp and Louise and Namjoon just headed off to the city to look for a healer or some medical supplies.

“How about we catch some fish for dinner, Yoongi?” Jin asked him.

“No, thanks. Jimin and I wanted to go take a dip in the river. Later maybe,” Yoongi answered, lifted Jimin and carried him to the river while Jimi was a giggling mess. Taehyung looked after them and felt an ugly feeling bubbling in his stomach.

“Would you come along then, Tae?” Jin asked. Taehyung turned to look at him. He already opened his mouth but got interrupted by Hoseok.

“I’m sorry, Jin, but Taehyung and I wanted to work on his earth bending,” he said, grabbed Taehyung’s hand and dragged him after himself. Jin was left alone, fishing rut in his hand. He sighed deeply and threw a concerned look to Lynn, Jeongguk and you. With another sigh, he left to the river to catch some fish.

Shortly after, Jeongguk slowly woke up and stretched out a little. He sat up and ruffled through his hair. Looking around, he took in the scenery around him and smiled lightly. Namjoon really decided on a beautiful place for a good days rest.

Suddenly, Jeongguk noticed a shift next to him. He turned around to look at you and smiled brightly as he saw you shifting in your spot.

“Y/N? Are you awake?” he asked.

“Wished I wasn’t,” you mumbled barely audible and laid an arm over your face. Jeongguk smiled lightly at that.

“At least you’re awake now. You should eat something and we’ll get your wound cleaned up again. Louise and Namjoon are in a city nearby, looking for some medicine or even a healer,” Jeongguk explained.

“I’m a healer myself. I don’t need medicine or a healer. And I can feel a river nearby,” you mumbled and tried to sit up. Jeongguk rushed over and helped you up.

“Let me get you off of here,” Jeongguk said and tried to lift you as soft as possible. You whimpered because the movement caused a light pain in your leg.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he mumbled and scooted over to the edge of Lynn’s saddle. You bent some water over and made a slide out of ice. Jeongguk chuckled at that.

“What? It would get me down safer. I don’t want to have more pain than necessary,” you explained.

“Oh, you don’t trust me at that?” he said, throwing his legs over the edge.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. You saved my life. But you can’t make a slide out of fire. It’s just that my way is more convenient,” you said and giggled as he slid down, hissing afterwards because your leg moved in a bad way causing your wound to stretch. Jeongguk slowly lifted you again and carried you to the camp.

“We’re sleeping under the sky?” you asked as he carefully put you down on a sleeping bag.

“No, we’re sleeping underneath the earth,” Jeongguk responded. You looked over at him and raised an eyebrow.

“Silly question, silly answer,” he simply said. You rolled your eyes at that and got yourself comfortable. You slowly shifted your weight on your left leg and started to unwrapped your leg.

“What are you doing?” Jeongguk asked and watched you carefully.

“Treating my wound. What blood type do you have?” you answered. Your stomach dropped to the ground as you saw the wound and it felt like you were about to throw up. And if you had eaten already, you surely would.

“It looks better than yesterday. And I have blood type A,” Jeongguk mumbled and you quickly bent some water over the wound.

“Thank you,” you said and slowly tried to heal your wound. Tears shot in your eyes at the pain that shot through your veins. You whimpered quietly after a few seconds and bent the water away.

“No use! I need blood,” you fussed and ran your hands through your hair.

“What’s the problem?” Jeongguk suddenly asked and wrapped a new bandage around your wound again.

“I need blood of type B to create a tissue. This tissue will be put in my wound and with additional water bending the wound would heal within a few hours completely,” you explained and hissed as he pressed onto the wound too hard.

“I’m sorry,” Jeongguk mumbled. “I don’t think any of us has blood type B. Maybe someone at the southern air temple has it.” You nodded and got yourself comfortable again as soon as Jeongguk finished. He shuffled a little through the supplies they had packed and grabbed you something to eat.

“Here, eat. You need the energy. It’ll take a few more days until we’re at the air temple and your body has to go through it,” he said as he handed you the food. You grabbed the bowl and slowly began eating. Jeongguk watched you for a while and then looked over to Jimin and Yoongi who were happily playing in the water. You followed his gaze and smiled lightly.

“Do they have a relationship with each other?” you asked Jeongguk and he nodded.

“But I have to say it is nothing official. I guess they’re both too afraid to admit their feelings for each other. The air nomads were the only ones who accepted same-sex love. The water tribe is still really controversial about this topic while in the earth kingdom and the fire nation same-sex love slowly gets more and more accepted. Therefore, they're only showing their feelings for each other when they're sure that no one would harass them for that,” he said. You nodded, laying your finished bowl aside. Jeongguk laid it next to the fireplace and helped you laying down.

“Thank you,” you mumbled and closed your eyes. Slowly, you drifted back to sleep. Jeongguk kept on sitting next to you and watched over you. He still had to make sure that nothing happened to you, even though your condition slowly improved.

After a few hours, Louise and Namjoon came back from their trip to the city. As soon as Louise saw you laying on a sleeping bag, she flooded Jeongguk with questions. He explained to her that you needed someone with the blood type B to donate his or her blood because you could heal yourself properly with that. Sadly, Louise didn’t have that blood type either so it would take a few more days until you could heal your wound; until you could maybe heal your wound.

“So, what is our next step?” Namjoon asked. “We didn’t find a good healer in the city who could treat Y/N's wound.”

“We have to hope that somebody at the southern air temple has blood type B,” Jeongguk explained. Both Louise and Namjoon nodded, sat down and looked over the shopping.

“Hey, you made it off Lynn. How’s Y/N?” Yoongi said as he and Jimin came back from the river, soaking wet.

“She’s alright. Wound looks a little better but we need someone with the blood type B. Y/N could heal herself with that blood properly,” Jeongguk repeated himself. Yoongi nodded and looked around for Jin, laying an arm around Jimin’s hips and pulling him closer to his side. Jimin giggled and hugged Yoongi from the side.

“Jin is still fishing. We met him on our way here. He is a little stream downwards,” Namjoon said as he realized who Yoongi was looking for. Yoongi nodded, pressed a kiss on Jimin’s cheek and walked over to Jin to help him fishing. Jimin’s cheeks and ears were flushed red as he sat down next to you.

“Why don’t you just kiss and make love to each other?” Louise asked overly excited which made clear that she said that as a joke. But Jimin still hid behind his hands and mumbled “leave me alone” through them. Everybody laughed, catching the attention of Taehyung and Hoseok who were still training. Taehyung looked over to you and as he saw you laying on the ground sleeping, he stopped the training and hurried over to the group.

“Why isn’t she on Lynn’s back?” he asked as soon as he kneeled next to your sleeping figure.

“Because I helped her down,” Jeongguk said.

“I hope that you didn’t hurt her at all while doing it,” Taehyung hissed and Jeongguk furrowed confused his eyebrows.

“I tried to but it was difficult. She had some little pain but it wasn’t more than necessary.”

“What?!” Taehyung growled.

“Okay, calm down, Taehyung. She wanted to get off of Lynn and she knew that she would be in pain. She even helped me carrying her down by bending an ice slide. So don’t be mad at me. She wanted it that way,” Jeongguk hissed and in his eyes burned fire. Taehyung backed off a little.

“I swear if you hurt her again-“

“What is your fucking problem, Taehyung? Stop acting like you fucking own her. She is just your water bending teacher and she’ll survive this. She’s strong,” Jeongguk said angrily and stood up. Taehyung stood up also.

“Maybe she’s just my bending teacher but I rely on her. Don’t underestimate that.”

“Stop, arguing. Nobody can sleep with this much noise,” you suddenly said and both men looked down where you laid between them.

“I’m sorry,” Taehyung mumbled and stepped aside.

“It’s alright,” you said, sat up and brought your hand up over your mouth to hide your yawn. Taehyung sat down next to Jimin who quickly locked eyes with him.

“We have fish!” Jin shouted as he and Yoongi came back from the river. They both stopped in their tracks as they felt the weird atmosphere.

“Is everything okay?” Yoongi asked slowly and everybody nodded simultaneously. He just shrugged and helped Jin preparing dinner. Louise and you fell into some mindless chatter like everybody else. Jeongguk and Taehyung in the meantime avoided each other and tried to talk as little as possible.

The next morning, Lynn was well enough to continue the flight. Everyone got their things packed and Namjoon helped you up on the bison's back. You enjoyed the flight to the southern air temple while you were awake. Luckily, it was most of the time. The feeling of the salty air ruffling through your hair put you at ease and you somehow forgot about the open wound you still had in your right thigh.

As you landed on the southern air temple, you smiled. It was beautiful there and you could feel the spiritual energy that floated in the air. Namjoon helped you off of Lynn’s back again and as everything was off of her she flew away to spend some time with the other bison. Taehyung quickly made his way over to you to help you stand straight.

“Thank you, but I can take care of myself,” you said, bent some water out of thin air and created two ice crutches to support yourself. He turned a little red and you chuckled.

“Remember, Taehyung. If you believe you’re incapable of something, you’ll never learn how to do it,” you said with a cheeky wink and made your way over to Namjoon who was talking to another air bender.

“Good, you’re here. We have somebody with blood type B. We can arrange everything so you can heal yourself as soon as possible,” Namjoon told you.

“That sounds like a good idea,” you said nodding and smiled.

“Follow me please,” the air bender said and headed for one of the buildings. You followed him as quickly as you could with the ice crutches. Even though they were really solid, you had to make sure they didn't break while you walked after him. He led you to an empty room with just a bed and a dresser.

“Everything you’ll need afterwards or during it is in the dresser. Some water is in the bowl on it. If you have anything that you’ll need additionally, just ask,” he said and left shortly after. You got yourself comfortable on the bed and mentally prepared yourself. As soon as that was finished, you slowly unwrapped your leg from the bandages, swallowing thickly as you saw the wound. You quickly cleaned and disinfected it so it wouldn't get infected in any process. You hissed because of the pain caused by the germicide, which also caused tears to shot in your eyes. You quickly removed your tears and took a deep breath.

‘You could do this. You’ll just create a tissue now, put it in, heal your wound so the tissue is fixed and then take a break,’ you thought to yourself. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door and you flinched at that, causing more pain to shot through your veins.

“Yes?” you said after a few seconds and Louise stepped in.

“Hey, how are you doing?” she asked and sat down next to you.

“Alright. It’s a little nerve-wracking waiting for the blood,” you admitted and she smiled at you.

“Of course it is,” she said. “But I’m sure it’ll be here soon. Should I assist you a little? I may not have healing powers like you but I can get you everything you’ll need.”

“I would be grateful for that. Thank you,” you responded and hugged her. She hugged you back and together, you waited for somebody to bring the blood. As soon as it was there, you bent it out of the bowl and concentrated really hard to create a thin tissue out of it. As it was finished, you bent it into your wound, laid it on the open flesh and slowly began to use your healing powers to close the wound slowly.

“How do you think is she doing?” Jeongguk asked Namjoon as they watched the baby bison playing around.

“Who? Y/N? I’m sure she’s doing fine. You know how powerful she is,” Namjoon responded and turned around to face the younger man.

“I know, I know. I’m still a little concerned. She’s been away for over an hour. Does it really take so long?” Jeongguk said.

“Maybe she’s sleeping to regain some power. This procedure is probably really exhausting and since her wound is really big, it’ll take some time. Don’t worry too much, Guk. She’ll be alright,” Namjoon replied and put a hand on the other one’s shoulder. He gave it a light squeeze and went off to look for Lynn. Jeongguk sighed and walked over to the babies so they could calm him a little.

Another hour passed by until Louise came out of a building. You followed her shortly after. The first thing Jeongguk noticed, was that the crutches were gone. As soon as Jeongguk saw you, he came rushing towards you.

“Hey, how are you?” he asked. You smiled at him. Then he noticed that you were still limping a little with your right leg but apart from that you looked perfectly healed.

“I’m nearly completely healed. The rest can do my body on her own,” you said and looked around. Jeongguk smiled at that and felt how relieved washed over him. Finally, you were in a good shape again.

“Oh. Sweet. Spirits. Are those baby bison?” you squealed and rushed over to the playground with them. They instantly let you pet them and you never were happier. Jeongguk watched you fondly from afar. But the smile turned into a frown as soon as he saw Taehyung approaching you.

“You reek of jealousy, fire bender,” Louise said.

“Leave me alone. It’s not even that obvious,” he responded, crossing his arms and she laughed half-heartedly.

“Yeah, sure. But I still noticed,” she shrugged. “Just don’t let her notice it as long as you want to keep your feelings hidden.” Jeongguk nodded and Louise walked off, searching for Namjoon.

“Taehyung! Good to see you. Since I’m fully healed we can keep going with your training,” you said as soon as you saw him. Taehyung nodded.

“Nearby is a waterfall with a lake. We can train there,” Taehyung suggested.

“No, we need an arena. I want to test how confident you are in your bending,” you responded.

“The air temple don’t have arenas. You know that the nomads don’t fight for fun. Just for self-defence,” he said.

“Shit, you’re right. I guess we have to just keep on training normally then. But as soon as we come near an arena, we’re testing your confidence,” you said and followed Taehyung who was walking to the lake with the waterfall. You took a deep breath as the both of you arrived.

“Due to the… special circumstances of the past few days, I am sure you didn’t train your water bending, did you?” you said.

“Well, I tried to but it didn’t work that well. I need your help,” Taehyung admitted. You nodded and walked into the lake.

“To be honest, I’m just helping you if it is really needed. I learned all of my bendings by myself. Every water bending master refused to train me, so I had to do it on my own. And since you’re way more powerful than me, I’m sure you can do it on your own,” you said. You turned around and watched him walking into the lake, too.

“Do you really believe that I’m that powerful?” he asked.

“Yes, the key to unlocking your powers is to believe in yourself. The only one who stops you from it is you. My job will mainly be that I’ll encourage you to believe in yourself. Of course, I’ll show you the technics, but nothing else. So, bend the water,” you said. Taehyung nodded, concentrated and started bending the water. He managed to get a whole litre of water out of the lake and let it swirl around in the air.

“Good job, Tae! You’re doing amazing. So, now, bend it around me. It isn’t allowed to touch me,” you instructed. Taehyung did as said and mastered it amazingly. You nodded approvingly and let him do it a few times more.

“Do you feel the energy that flows within the water?” you asked. Taehyung shook his head and bent the water back in the lake.

“Okay, then I’ll teach you that,” you responded and bent a chunk of water out of the lake.

“I’ll bend the water to you. You’ll take it and bend the water back to me. I want you to focus on the water,” you instructed and bent the water in Taehyung’s direction. He took it and bent it back to you. This went on for a few minutes until Taehyung bent the water frustrated back in the lake.

“It doesn’t work! How am I supposed to feel it?” Taehyung asked.

“You’re a born earth bender, right?” you said which Taehyung responded to with a nod.

“When you bend a pillar out of the ground, how does this feel?”

“I can feel the ground underneath me and know exactly how deep the bendable ground goes.”

“Try to copy that understanding of your earth bending and apply it on your water bending.” With that, you took a huge amount of water and splashed it onto him, so he was completely surrounded by water. You kept on doing this until Taehyung managed to work against your bending and splashed it back to you. You bent it into the lake and smiled at him.

“Good job! Did this work?” you said and smiled knowingly.

“It did. I can feel the energy of the water now,” he responded.

“Okay, keep on training. I’ll be showing you some more technics tomorrow. It’s important that you first deepen your feeling for water,” you instructed while walking out of the lake. You dried yourself off by bending the water off of your body.

“Alright, Sifu Y/N, I’ll be training,” he said and saluted. You chuckled and waved him goodbye while going back to the main temple and looking around to find somebody you know. You enjoyed the soft breeze in your hair while walking around. You spotted Namjoon and Louise standing by Lynn and playing with her and some baby bison. You smiled fondly at their interaction.

Suddenly, you felt a stronger breeze ruffle through your hair. You looked around and spotted Jeongguk who waved at you. You walked over to him and looked worried in the sky.

“Is everything alright?” he asked you.

“Yes, everything’s okay. The wind is just picking up. Maybe a storm is coming?” you responded and stopped in front of him.

“A storm? But the air isn’t filled with electricity. I’d feel that,” he said and furrowed his eyebrows confused.

“Hm… That’s weird. Should we go grab something to eat?” you asked and completely changed the topic with that. He nodded and you walked inside. You searched for a while until you found a place where you could get something to eat. Jeongguk and you took something and began eating.

“Taehyung told me about an old tale of the water tribe and I wanted to ask you what it was about. He couldn’t quite place it together again,” Jeongguk suddenly said. You stopped in your movement and looked confused at him.

“Which one?” you managed to bring out with your mouth full of food.

“It was something with a fifth spirit?” he said enquiring. You quickly chewed and swallowed.

“The legend says that there are four spirits. Each of them resembling the elements. The spirits are formed out of the elements themselves. The core of the legend is that a fifth spirit exists. One that holds the power to tame every single one of them and works hand in hand with the Avatar. Sadly, that fifth spirit hasn’t come out for the past few decades so no one knows if it still exists. And even the spirits of the elements hasn’t been seen lately,” you explained.

“So the fifth spirit is what exactly?” Jeongguk asked.

“I don’t know it actually. It is not like it could bend all four elements, that’s only something the Avatar can do. I don’t even know what power it possesses. I just know that it is really powerful,” you answered and put your empty plate away.

“And why does it work together with the Avatar?” Jeongguk asked again.

“Well, it is said that the Avatar is the bridge between the spirit world and our world. But a bridge usually has two ends, hasn’t it?” you said and smiled at him.

“Why are you so interested in it anyway? It’s a legend. Even though I am very connected with my culture and legends, this is the only one I do not believe in.”

“I thought it sounded interesting. Never heard of it before so I wanted to know more,” he responded. You nodded.

“Understandable. Should we go outside again and watch the baby bison? They are sooo cute,” you suggested. Jeongguk quickly finished his plate, put it aside and went with you outside. Outside, many nomads ran around the place and you furrowed your eyebrows confused.

“What is going on?” you asked Namjoon as you saw him.

“A blast blew some bison with their children away. The wind is getting stronger and stronger and we’re trying to keep the bison safe,” he explained and rushed away. Jeongguk and you shared a fast glance and immediately started helping out. As soon as the bison were safe, the wind’s intensity picked up and you watched some leaves fly around in the air. You tilted your head as you realized that the leaves weren’t from the temple’s trees and it seemed like none of them got away. Suddenly, the stripe of leaves came rushing towards you and you protected yourself with a wall of ice.

“Y/N! What are you doing?!” Jeongguk shouted out to you but you couldn’t answer. It seemed like the stripe of leaves were attacking you and you tried your best to protect yourself.

“What the fuck is going on?” Namjoon asked Jeongguk as he saw you fighting with nothing.

“I don’t know,” Jeongguk responded. Taehyung rushed towards you but a blast pushed him back. He tried again and again but another blast always pushed him back.

Meanwhile, you were still fighting with the wind but you were slowly pushed to the edge due to the pain in your leg. It was still not healed completely and the muscle clearly needed some therapy. A light panic rose in your chest as your feet touched the edge. It took one last gust of wind and you fell off of the cliff. You screamed and bent some water around you to protect yourself from getting hurt. It took you a few seconds until you realized that you weren’t falling anymore. You were floating in the air. As you realised that, you bent the water away to see what was going on. Leaves formed a human-like form in front of you and your eyes widened in realisation.

“You-you're the spirit of the wind,” you mumbled. The leaves nodded and formed some lettering in the air.

“We need your help… who is we?” you read out loud. The leaves were moving again.

“The spirits of the four elements? Why do you need my help?” You waited patiently until you could read something again.

“I should help the Avatar until the fifth spirit awakes? So it does exist? That’s amazing! What do I have to do?” You waited again.

“I should find the source of the power and then, you’ll let borrow me it. So where’s the power source?”

‘We don’t know. It’s a secret hidden in the legends and only the fifth spirit should find it. But I’m sure, you can find it, too. Prove yourself to the water spirit and then, you’ll find it.’

“Wait, but how do I find the water spirit?” You felt yourself rise.

“NO! Don’t go. I have so many questions you need to answer. Why me?”

‘You are an extraordinarily powerful bender who can possess that power for a while. Make sure you are a good replacement.’ And with that, you shot up in the air and landed on the ground in front of the temple.

“Y/N!” Jeongguk shouted as he saw you and rushed with the others towards you.

“What happened? Are you alright?” Louise asked and hugged you tightly.

“I’m okay,” you said and shrugged her off of you. You were extremely annoyed by that spirit who had the audacity to leave you with so many questions and not a single answer.

“Y/N, what happened? Why did leaves attack you?” Jeongguk asked worriedly.

“Turns out those leaves were the fucking spirit of the wind. The legend I told you about an hour ago? It’s real,” you said. “The only legend I didn’t believe in turns out to be fucking real.”

Taglist: @neinyasficrecs​ @deolly​ @hemmos-obrien​ @holyhumorliteraturelight​

[kassandra-lorelei]

"Just because I'm heartless doesn't mean I don't like chocolate." I know I just asked for a oneshot recently, but I saw this one on a Tumblr prompt blog I follow and it cracked me up because I instantly thought of C.C. I can just see her snarky, sassy self saying this to Niles after some zinger war or something. Ha ha. I know you're working on other stuff, so whenever you get to it I'd love to see what you come up with! ❤️

Here we are, my friend! I am so sorry this took so long, but I’ve been under some stress recently and I’ve had to take my time getting this done

For that Anon waiting for the other prompt I have, I promise you will have it soon, and for everyone waiting on the next chapter of Personal Guardian Demon, I will be getting on it soon as well

@missbabcocks1 @holomoriarty

Valentine’s Day might not have been a cause for celebrationto Niles, given his apparent permanent bachelor status, but that didn’t mean hegot to be away from it. In an ideal world, he would’ve asked for (and gotten) aday off so that he could go out somewhere and perhaps blend in with every otherface in the crowd. In the mansion, he stuck out like a sore thumb – Mr and MrsSheffield would obviously have a romantic meal that evening, Miss Margaret hadgone out with her boyfriend, Master Brighton kept saying he was meeting a girland would be out all day (though he had been sketchy on the details, such asthe girl’s name, how they’d met, where they were going, etc), and Miss Grace wasgoing to the movies with a group of her friends.

Depressingly, even Miss Babcock had managed to get herself adinner date that night. Some businessman or other, as handsome as he was richand twice as charming, no doubt. And that was going to be a lovely thought hismind would conjure up later, when he’d finished washing up after Mr and MrsSheffield’s romantic meal and was busy tucking into the large amount of chocolatethat he’d bought and stashed away in the kitchen for safekeeping.

Of course, he’d teased the producer when she’d told MrSheffield about her plans, just a few days before. It had just been so easy to notethat there was emphasis on “scare�� in the phrase “scare up a date”. She hadthen retorted that at least she’d have a date, which might not have been thebest or funniest zinger she’d ever come up with, but in the coldfourteenth-of-February morning light, it felt like a slap in the face.

He’d managed to keep it to himself for the first few hoursof the day. He’d even tried to be in keeping with the Valentine’s theme bycooking the family heart-shaped strawberry pancakes for breakfast and servinghot chocolate to go with it.

But underneath the longer time went on, the more thepleasant exterior felt like what it was – a façade. It was a relief when thefamily dispersed for the time being, the children going off by themselves, MrSheffield and Miss Babcock heading to the office to begin the work day, and MrsSheffield going out shopping “for later”. Niles didn’t bother asking what she wasgoing to buy, it was going to be obvious the next day, when Mr Sheffield camedownstairs with a ridiculous smile on his face.

He must’ve been wallowing in his own misery over the factthat he’d come downstairs the next day to a sink full of dishes and theknowledge that he had to make breakfast for a family of five that wasn’t evenhis, because before he knew it, a hand was being waved his face and he was backin the office.

He’d originally gone in there to do some tidying, and losttrack of the time in thinking. It was just his luck that Miss Babcock happenedto be watching at the same time.

She was clearly delighted to have caught him off-guard aswell, “What’s the matter, Niles? Forget what you came over here for?”

Niles felt a small pang of irritation, which quickly turnedinto a lingering sense of annoyance. Of course she was happy – she knew she hadthe upper hand in every category, as things currently stood. He’d been the onenot paying attention, and no doubt at any moment she’d remind him of the eveninghe had to look forward to.

Alone, whilst she was out somewhere with her businessman,having the time of her life.

He might not have been in the mood for zingers, but one cameanyway.

“I haven’t quite made it to that level of mental deteriorationyet,” he replied drily. “I’m not your age.”

Miss Babcock was quite prepared for the challenge, “I’m gladyou agree that I’m not ancient, unlike certain people in this room!”

“Oh, would you two give it a rest just for today?” Maxwellstepped in from his seated position at his desk before Niles could retort. TheBritish producer had a pink box in his hands, which he opened and pushed acrossthe desk towards them. “I’d much rather have a pleasant Valentine’s Day, ifit’s all the same to you. Fran gifted me these just before she left thismorning – come and have a chocolate, and let’s all get back to work.”

Niles went over, peering into the box. Of course each andevery single chocolate was heart-shaped, he thought to himself bitterly.Perfect for two lovers to feed each other whilst locked in an intimate embrace.

Two lovers, like Miss Babcock and her oh-so-perfect date.

And, without even thinking about it, another insult made itsway from his heart to his mind, and bypassed any kind of filter to come straightfrom his mouth.

“I hope your date tonight remembers chocolates like these,”he told her. “At this rate, it’s the only way you’ll ever have a heart in you.”

The reaction from Maxwell was (surprisingly) loud andimmediate.

“Niles!” the British producer cried, looking back and forthbetween his butler and his business associate. “I told you to pack it in! Whatthe Devil’s gotten into you, Old Man?!”

Niles expected there to be a similar reaction from MissBabcock at any moment – for a grin to appear on her ruby red lips where she wasso pleased their employer had taken her side, and then a smug comment about howyou just couldn’t get the help these days, and if you could, you couldn’t getthe help to shut up.

But those things didn’t happen. Instead, the producer juststood there with neither a smile nor a smart word. She didn’t look angry,either.

In actual fact, Niles could have sworn that she looked upset(or…even hurt?), even if she was trying to hide it.

She gestured lightly to the stack of papers she’d been goingthrough before, abandoned on the green loveseat, “Maxwell, those contracts arefinished. I’m gonna take a long lunch break.”

Without another word, she turned and left the office.

After being reprimanded by Maxwell for not doing as he wastold and leaving the zingers aside for a while, Niles was allowed to carry onwith his work. But the butler couldn’t fully bring himself to do anything ofany actual worth – and that time, it had nothing to do with his perpetualloneliness.

Nothing to do with that, and everything to do with guilt. Hereally and truly hadn’t meant to say something quite so awful – it had justslipped out! He’d just been so angry and upset that she had a…well, he wasangry and upset that he didn’t have anyone to spend either today, or the restof his life, with.

The feeling of guilt was only exacerbated when he finallymade his way into the kitchen, and spotted Miss Babcock at the table. She wassurrounded by the stash of chocolate he’d bought for himself, more than half ofit opened and a lot of it missing.

He really had hurt her, hadn’t he? She’d imagined that she’dbe left alone (where she could bear her emotions in private) and had gonethrough the cupboards for comfort food.

Niles took a hesitant step towards her, “Miss Babcock, I-”

The producer lifted one hand in a halting fashion.

“Save it, Niles,” she nearly snapped, using her free handsto crumple up an empty wrapper and drop it on the table with the rest. “I don’twanna hear your next pithy little remark. You can have this round.”

She…thought this was all part of their usual routine? Thathe was trying to deliberately make her feel this way, because part of the gamewas to make her upset? That wasn’t the way it was supposed to play out, andthey both knew it! Even without talking about it, they knew they enjoyed thewordplay and the challenge that the other provided.

What he’d said had been too much, and it hadn’t come from agood place.

He approached the table sombrely, hoping that he could offerher an apology. It would be a first, most likely, but it was nonetheless needed.

She picked up another chocolate bar and eyed himsuspiciously as he came over, “What? No victory dance, or is that too muchexercise for that ancient carcass of yours?”

Pursing his lips some, Niles tried to ignore the remark.

“I’m not here to try and argue with you,” he said, turninghis eyes to the mess on the table. “Although some others might, if they caughtyou with their own private stash. Or what’s left of it, rather…”

Miss Babcock broke off a piece, “Well, just because I’mheartless doesn’t mean I don’t like chocolate.”

Niles sighed, thinking that he could kick himself.

“…I really didn’t mean to be so callous, you know.”

The producer rolled her eyes, words only muffled a little bythe chocolate she’d popped into her mouth, “Yeah, right!”

“I’m telling you the truth!” he insisted in return.

Miss Babcock turned more in her chair, looking at himseriously, “What makes you think I’m gonna believe that? Is it the years ofinsults, the physical pranks, or the way you toy with my mental health like acat with a yarn ball?”

Niles returned her look, leaning over towards her slightly, “Howabout the fact that you know if I was going to try and turn this into a joke, Iwould have done so by now?”

It was, truly, a last resort. The two of them never talkedabout the fact that they knew each other better than anyone else – knew whatdirection the other would take a verbal sparring session, their likes anddislikes in a variety of subjects, from food to people…

They knew how far each would take something like this, andwhen they would stop. And she knew that he would have done more than he had sofar, if he intended to continue.

She had to accept it, even if she was upset, “Alright,fine.”

Not feeling much better, but now at least satisfied that shewas willing to listen to him, Niles hesitantly took the seat next to her. Hedid it a little more confidently once it became apparent that she wasn’t goingto stop him.

But before he could try to apologise again, the producerspoke up.

“And for the record, I don’t even have a date tonight,” she angrilyunwrapped another chocolate. “But before you say anything, no, I did not makeup the one I had before.”

Niles felt surprise bubble up inside him. So, they were bothspending Valentine’s Day by themselves – suddenly, it made sense that she hadn’tmocked his lack of a date (or the fact that he had to work to make someone else’sday special) all morning.

And it made even more sense as to why his insult had stungher so deeply. Behind those walls she put around herself, Niles knew she wouldbe feeling hurt and vulnerable. His tactless words were probably contributing tothat, and it was making him feel awful.

He shifted in his seat, “…If you don’t mind my asking, whathappened?”

“Damned if I know,” she bit into her chocolate, and it oozedcaramel. “You know, I really thought it was all going great, and then all of asudden, he calls me up and says he has to cancel on me!”

Niles blinked, “Was he ill?”

Miss Babcock looked at him, “What do you think, Niles?”

The expression on her face was all he needed to understandwhat had gone on, and he wanted to kick himself again for not realising before.

“Oh,” he bit back a frown and picked up a chocolate forhimself. “I see. There was clearly an emergency then. Somebody somewhere requireda giant tool.”

And that was when he noticed Miss Babcock finally crack asmile – the crinkled kind that told him she was trying not to laugh.

But Niles wasn’t going to be deterred. After the time she’dhad, he actually felt that the producer needed to laugh a little. So, (between eatingthe chocolates they’d apparently silently sort-of agreed to share) he keptgoing, tossing insults and sharp remarks at the man who’d ditched her on a daythat was supposed to be about love and togetherness.

He hoped it made up for his behaviour at least a little, andfor the fact that the only chocolate she’d had hadn’t been a gift, she had nodate tonight to look forward to, and no flower bouquets to admire.

And eventually, she did laugh. It was like music when ithappened, and Niles felt his chest inflate a little with pride.

He had cheered her up, to some extent.

Her bad feeling hadn’t entirely gone away, though.

She lowered another empty wrapper to the table, twisting it inbetween her fingers, “Well, jerk or not, he clearly had a better offer elsewhere!”

Niles cocked his head to one side, “A better offer thanyou?”

The producer huffed a sardonic laugh out through her nose,her eyes focused on the table.

“Not hard to find, right?”

Niles felt a wave of sadness come over him at that. MissBabcock truly did underestimate herself, when there was no reason.

And, after the time they’d spent just enjoying the chocolateand discussing the ways in which her non-date could go screw himself, he wasfeeling…well, rather encouraged.

“No…I’d say it’s more…impossible.”

It caught the producer off-guard, “What?”

Suddenly the encouragement dimmed a little, and tensiongripped at his heart. But he knew he had to go on – he couldn’t suddenly decidenot to say anything; she’d never let him live it down if he did.

He just had to be tactful about it, that was all.

So, he began, “Well, who wouldn’t ask you to be their dateon Valentine’s Day? The witty conversation, probably a very carefully selectedbottle of wine, and then dancing well into the night…it sounds like the bestoffer a man could receive, to me.”

There was silence for an uncomfortably long amount of time afterwards.But, eventually, the producer leaned back in her chair.

“Do I smell scotch on your breath?” she asked, gesturing athim. “I’m getting flashbacks to Maxwell and Nanny Fine’s wedding day.”

Niles rolled his eyes, “I haven’t been imbibing, Babs – I doactually happen to think that you make better company than most.”

There was another, shorter silence before the produceranswered.

“That doesn’t prove to me that you’re not hammered, you know,”she said. Then she let a ghost of a smile appear. “But…thanks anyway, I guess.”

Niles had to be satisfied with that. He felt it was time toget back into familiar territory, for the time being.

He smiled back at her, “Well, I’m not trying to kick the dogwhile she’s down, I’m trying to bring her back up.”

Miss Babcock’s eyebrow raised, a hint of a smirk playingabout her features, “And you think another zinger is the right way to go aboutthat, huh?”

The butler grinned lopsidedly in return, “Throw me a bone, Ialready let you almost entirely demolish my chocolate supplies.”

The producer appeared to think about this, before replying.

“Well, you do put the “dog” in “dogsbody”, so alright,” shesaid. She then reached down to her bag, which was at her feet, and pulled outher purse. “And here. All the chocolate’s gonna be half-price tomorrow; you canrestock your little stash and not have to worry about breaking a buck!”

She pulled out a small wad of notes, and tossed it onto his sideof the table.

Niles looked at it for a few seconds, not thinking about chocolatelike she must have assumed he would be. A plan was rapidly forming in his head,and he liked it far better than eating treats alone in his room, discreetlyshedding a tear or two at the movie he’d put on the television, and throwingdiscarded wrappers at the screen if he got annoyed at the lead couple.

He then looked up at the producer, “I’d tell you to keep it,if I didn’t have a better idea.”

That seemed to pique Miss Babcock’s interest, “Oh?”

“You are on your break, and I have no chores left untiltonight,” he said. “I might not be able to offer you dinner, but how does aValentine’s Day lunch sound?”

Miss Babcock appeared to think about it for a moment, before looking amused.

“Offering to pay for a meal with money that I gave you,” she said. “You certainly know how to turn a girl’s head, ScrubbingBubbles!”

“I wouldn’t use it to pay for a meal!” Niles protested,before suddenly thinking of something and leaning his elbow on the table withhis head propped up in his hand. “Although, interestingly enough, I’m nothearing you say no…”

Miss Babcock’s retort was swift, “Well, I suppose I have noother choice but to accept, unless I want to look like a sad sack who couldn’teven get a date on Valentine’s Day.”

“Was that another dig at my inability to get a date?” thebutler asked, dropping his last chocolate wrapper on the small pile on thetable.

“You see it however you want, Hazel,” Miss Babcock replied,pushing her chair out to get up. “Are we going, or not?”

Niles began to smile again, and joined her on his feet, “Wemost certainly are.”

They both began to make their way towards the door, butbefore Niles left he remembered to pick up the money Miss Babcock had left forhim on the table.

He’d use his own money to pay for the food, and they’d bothjust had enough chocolate to last them an entire week, let alone a day, butthere was still one thing that was missing.

He wasn’t about to ruin the (awfully bold) Valentine’s Daysurprise by telling her, but earlier that day he’d seen a man on the cornerselling flowers.

[sweetnestor]

You Look Happier | Chapter 9

university au, teamiplier + jack

platonic/romance/angst/(smut at one point but it’ll only be on ao3)

previous chapter

“Run that by me again?”  I asked, shocked.

Mark was a little taken aback at my outburst. “I want you to be involved in this project. You’ll get to work with all of us. You’ve been… an inspiration to me. I understand it sounds a little-”

“Invasive,” I finished, folding my arms. “You’re basing your alter ego, one that your fans worship, off of my personal struggles, and-”

“That’s why I’m giving you control over that particular thing. You can’t expect me to call off this project, there’s already so much that’s gone into it!” Mark argued. “And you’re the one who inspired a majority of what this ego is! Don’t you remember you telling me your ideas a couple years ago?”

“I was drunk and destructive!” I shot back. I paced his living room, fuming. “That was me venting, that wasn’t for your creative process! God, I should have known! This was why you started talking to me again, right? You just wanted something from me!”

“Now hold on-”

“You were just manipulating me! And I fell for it, como una pinche pendeja! No lo puedo creer!”

“Listen to me!” Mark snapped, his voice booming. Then he brought it down a notch. “If you don’t want to be involved in this project, then fine. It’s going to happen with or without you. But I have never tried to manipulate you into anything! I promise you, I would never do something like that.”

I didn’t say anything to that. My defensiveness only rose higher. He had to be lying. He brought me back into his life just as he started working on this project that included the alter ego that was the representation of my dark and intrusive thoughts. That had to be the only reason why he contacted me.

“Alright, you know what?” Mark spitefully said. “Wait until the videos come out. You’ll see what manipulation is. You’ll see the difference between me and whatever you’re feeling right now.”

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed my purse and left his house. I couldn’t believe how stupid I was to fall for any of this. He just needed me for something, and then he would leave again. He didn’t want to be friends again. Why would he want to be friends with me?

I came home to an empty apartment. I didn’t have any classes to keep me busy today, and the only two people I talked to had their own things to worry about. I was alone again.

But then I thought about Ethan. He was apart of Mark’s big project. Was he apart of the “Manipulating Bella” plan? Did Mark tell Ethan to pretend to date me to let my guard down, just so Mark could sneak in and take more away from me? Was that all I was to them?

My phone was pulled out of my pocket, and I was typing a frantic message to Ethan as I paced around the living room. “I know what you’re doing and I’m not stupid enough to fall for it! Mark already told me what was going on and what he wanted from me! Never talk to me-”

Suddenly, I stopped typing. Was I going to dump him so abruptly? Over a text?

That’s what he deserves, said the bad voice in my head.

Does he, though? Did this really make any sense?

Quickly, I backspaced and wrote out a different message. “Do you actually like me?” Too desperate, try again. “What do you think of me?” That’s better. I hesitated for a moment before sending it.

The time it took for him to reply went agonizingly slow. I continued pacing and rubbing my hands together, and then nearly screamed when someone knocked on the door. I had a fleeting moment of sheer panic, but then the lightbulb going off in my head made me relax again. But then I wanted to smack myself in the forehead. Ethan was supposed to come over today. That meant we were going to have quite the conversation.

“Did you get my text?” was the first thing I said to him. My mind was starting to spiral, and I had to come back to earth before I impulsively dumped him.

“Um, yeah. I’m glad I came over, actually,” he replied, entering the vicinity. “Is everything okay?”

There were so many things I was feeling, I couldn't put any of them into a coherent sentence. I couldn't lie and say I was fine, either. Ethan had already seen my text, and I couldn't keep the worried look off my face. I walked towards the living room with him following after me.

“So what do you think of me?” I asked, but then I had to explain. “I know I probably sound insane and I'm sorry, but I'm… I feel like…” I paused, not know which emotion to express. “I feel like I'm freaking out over nothing?”

He looked worried, but also confused. “Um… did something happen?”

This wasn't helping. “Do you still like me?”

“Yeah, of course,” he said without hesitating.

“Why?”

He shrugged lightly, like this was no big deal to him. “‘Cause… you get me. And you're funny and talented and… you're patient with me. I don't know, it's not coming out the way it is in my head. There's a lot of reasons.”

I nodded. I knew he had trouble getting his words together. I knew that feeling all too well. “Can you… tell me I'm being paranoid?”

“You're being paranoid,” he said like it was a question. “Bella, what happened?”

Now I was hesitating. A huge ball of emotion and tears were stuck in my throat. I needed someone to tell me that I was being stupid, that the anxiety was playing with me again, because I couldn’t trust myself to calm down alone. Ethan was here, and he wasn’t scared off yet.

I sighed, and then I explained what went down with Mark earlier in the day. Somehow, I didn’t cry, but my speech was shaky and frantic. “...a-and you work for him, and I had a moment of…”

“You think I would manipulate you?” he finished in disbelief. “I’d never do that, I promise.”

“Promise is a big word that adds pressure,” I said.

“Well… I would never do anything to hurt you. You gotta trust me.”

Trust? Don’t know her. Don’t like her… but I have to play nice with her. No more shutting people out. I talked about this so I could feel better and come to some sort of solution.

I nodded lightly. “I’m trying.”

“Okay. Trying counts as progress.” He paused. “I… I know things like this aren’t easy for you… but I’m glad you were able to tell me.”

What is it about Ethan that makes these things less difficult? A year ago, I could barely tell Mark what I wanted for dinner, much less be intimate with him. Maybe things were better off this way.

~

A few days later, it was Jack’s birthday. I had gotten him a bundle of Overwatch merch (like he needed more) and then… we went to Mark’s house for a little celebration. The only reason why I went was because it’s my best friend, and I reminded myself of the time he ditched his other friends at Thanksgiving because of me. Also, Ethan was there. So were Tyler, Kathryn, and Amy. To them, I was only there because of Jack, but it wasn’t as awkward as I had anticipated.

“Did you have a good birthday?” I asked once we were back in the car.

“Yeah,” Jack replied, still high from the euphoria and the drinks he had. “It was fun. Were you okay? I noticed you didn’t drink at all.”

“I had to drive,” I said. “And I did this for you. Plus, I didn’t have a panic attack, so that’s cool.”

“It was a great day!” Jack cheered, throwing his arms up. “Let’s get ice cream!”

I giggled. “Whatever the birthday boy wants.”

“In that case, let’s also get a yacht and twelve puppies!”

After going to a Sonic drive-thru, I took us home. It was late in the evening, and I was mildly exhausted from all the interaction. But Jack was still a bundle of energy, like always. When we sat on the couch, I took out my phone and posted an old selfie of us on Instagram with a heartfelt happy birthday caption. I hadn't checked my social media all day, but I could guess that I was probably getting yelled at for not publicly wishing my friend a happy birthday.

“So how was it pretending not to be Ethan's girlfriend?” asked that particular friend.

“Easy, because you were there,” I replied, still scrolling on my phone.

“Why didn't you guys tell everyone? It seemed like the perfect time,” Jack mused. “They were all there.”

I chuckled. “I'm not stealing your thunder on your birthday.”

“I wouldn't have minded! Now you guys have to pretend to not be dating when we're all together for a weekend,” he said.

That was true. Another thing that happened at the party was Mark, Tyler, and Ethan's idea for all of us to take a trip to the Grand Canyon at the end of the month. Don't get me wrong, I was still salty at Mark about the Darkiplier thing. If it wasn't for Ethan and Jack, then I would have turned down the trip. A weekend with the friends Mark abandoned me for? It sounded like a nightmare. But I was trying to be a bigger, stronger person.

“Hmm, do you think Mark would be mad if I told him about me and Ethan?” I wondered, leaning back so I was slouching.

Jack thought about it. “Well, he was mad when he found out you and I were friends, and we didn’t even try to hide that.”

I chewed my lip nervously. “Oh man. And you guys aren’t as close anymore because of that?”

“I wouldn’t say that. He threw a party for me, and we had a good time. Sometimes friends grow distant for a little bit. And besides… he hurt you pretty bad. But time goes on.”

After all this time, I still didn’t understand how Jack picked me over Mark, but I didn’t feel like getting into that. My mind was too clogged up for any more overthinking. I was already less sad about life and being alive, I didn’t want to soil it with my own intrusive thoughts.

We continued on with the week, already accustomed to our YTU schedules. Awake and out of the house by seven. Drop off Jack. Go back home and sleep. Breakfast is optional. Seeing the boyfriend is also optional. Classes from twelve to four. Dinner by six. Spend the rest of the day with either the bestie or the boyfriend.

One day, though, I got out of my psych lecture when Ethan had some downtime. We met up on the courtyard and walked around the area, keeping a decent distance apart. There were lurkers and gossip channels all over. Not that anyone paid any attention to us, I was just mildly paranoid. Plus, on some gossip channels, I was still painted as ‘Markiplier’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,’ so that’s fun.

“Have you made any new friends?” I asked as we strolled by the fountain.

“Yeah, I talk to some people in my classes,” he replied. “Well, in one class. I have Mark and Amy in video production and bio.”

“Cool,” I said, even though I was surprised to hear about those two. Didn’t know Mark decided to come back, and to bring his non-YouTuber girlfriend with him. “My biology class requires group work, and I’m trying really hard not to drop the course.”

“Aw, no. Do you talk to anyone at all?”

I shook my head. “I could literally be failing the class and I won’t ask for help or anything.”

“Whoa… wait. So, being in a room full of people is really stressful for you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So then… why did you enroll here in the first place?”

There was a huge story behind that, but I stuck with the short answer. “My followers.”

I stopped in my tracks when my phone rang. My stomach sank when I discovered a new Twitter DM from someone named ‘Peebles.’ Oh crap, today’s the day.

“So, um,” I said to Ethan, unable to tear my eyes away from the screen, “did I tell you that Amy wanted to meet up with me?”

“Really?” he asked, surprised. “Now?”

I nodded, reading over the message. “She wants to meet at The Tube in about an hour.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Always.”

“Hey,” Ethan said, putting his hand on my shoulder, “it’ll be okay. I know Amy, she’s really cool once you get to know her. And she’s really nice, and she’s probably just as nervous as you are.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay… it’s fine. This is fine.”

“Do you need a distraction or something?”

“Yes please.”

“Wanna drop me off at the office?”

It was a good idea. Driving took my mind off of things. Although, it was a fairly short ride from campus to the office, and Ethan had to get out of the car quickly just in case the blonde alien lady left the building. Although, he did quickly duck back in to kiss me goodbye, and then he went on his way to the office.

Getting to The Tube was a bit more stressful, because I didn’t have anyone to talk me down from the oncoming anxiety attack. I was in the parking lot, trying not to hyperventilate. I should have suggested another place to meet up, given that this particular diner didn’t have a nice place in my history. But I was here now, and I couldn’t back out. It would only make things worse.

We met up and sat at a booth. Thankfully, it wasn’t so busy at this hour. Nerves were still pretty high, though. She ordered a coffee, and I stuck with water.

“Sorry I took a while to contact you,” she began. “So much has been going on, there’s this project we’re all working on. It’s taking up a lot of time.”

“Yeah, I heard,” I told her. “Mark was telling me some stuff about it.” And I turned into a mega-bitch, which I was sure he told Amy about.

She nodded. “Yeah… um, how often do you talk to him?”

The reason why we were here: Mark. I shoved my hands under my thighs to keep them from shaking, but then my whole body began to tremble. I made myself rigid to keep myself still. The last thing I need is for my physiological symptoms to show and freak her out.

“Usually, once a week,” I replied. “But he’s been busy, so…”

“And you guys talk about… the past?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. Mistakes we made, moving on. I kind of assumed that he had told you.”

“Yeah, he tells me some things. I know it’s between you guys, so I try not to butt in. I know he’s doing this so he and I can have a better relationship.” She paused. “And he wants to be friends with you.”

“That’s because we were friends before we dated,” I said.

“I know. He would talk about you… like, when we first met.”

Blood began pounding in my ears. If I had eaten anything at all today, I would have thrown it back up. I couldn’t even drink my water.

“He never told me about you,” I softly admitted. “I never knew you existed until he broke up with me.”

Amy’s face fell a little. She leaned back in her seat and stayed quiet.

“I-I mean,” I went on, trying to fill the silence, “it was… it was random, I guess. He very recently told me how long he had known you and I… I suppose it made sense, given how the last couple of months of our relationship were. I don’t know, I just wish I had known about you sooner. Maybe things would have been different. I mean, it still would have hurt, but maybe I wouldn’t have tried to kill myself, I don’t know-”

“Whoa, wait,” Amy suddenly said, sounding concerned and shocked. “What do you mean you tried to kill yourself?”

My eyes widened. For a second, I stayed frozen in my position, my mouth agape. “He never told you?”

“No? Oh my god…” Amy trailed off. “I’m… was it because of him, or us?”

Here we go. Time to hold her hand and not make her feel like a total asshole.

“No,” I replied, but then again I couldn’t lie. “Not necessarily. I’ve had my fair share of bad shit happen, along with my disorders... and for a while, Mark was giving me hope and strength. Then he was gone. But I’m not blaming my shitty mental health on him or your relationship with him. I think…” I sighed as I came to a conclusion that I had to admit. “I think I had it coming with or without the breakup.”

Amy sat there, still looking very distressed and caught off guard. “I-I’m so sorry. I had no idea that happened.”

“Really?” I asked, now confused. “I mean, well, I told him not to tell anyone when it happened, but I assumed that you would have been the exception. Where did you think he was when he disappeared for a couple of weeks?”

“I was still living in Boston. All he told me was that he broke up with you, so I gave him some space until I moved here. I can’t believe he never told me.”

I hesitated. “That’s on me. I asked him to keep it to himself. I realize now that that wasn’t the best idea.”

“Well, I imagine you were in a really dark place,” Amy said solemnly. “It’s not an easy thing to talk about.”

I nodded. “Pretty much.”

The air was awkward all over again. If I had known that Amy never knew about my attempt, I would have kept my mouth shut. Now she knew things about me, personal things. I couldn’t help but feel exposed. It was worse knowing that I had exposed myself in front of the girl that Mark had left me for. It probably wasn’t surprising to her that Mark had decided to dump me.

“So, the Grand Canyon,” Amy said, changing the subject. “You’re really up for that?”

I nodded, despite that her change in tone only added to the nerves. Was it really a good idea for me to go? To all of ‘Teamiplier,’ I was the ex-girlfriend. I was sure to make everything uncomfortable. My presence in general was uncomfortable. Why did I agree to go on this trip?

“Okay, well I hope it’s fun for the both of us.” She smiled.

“Me too.” It’ll only be fun if I could be slightly intoxicated once we got to the park, but lord knows that won’t happen.

~

“Don’t freak out, and don’t get mad okay?” read the text from Ethan.

Honestly, I had taken one step back into my apartment, ready to recover from the day I had. But no, I had to worry and stress even more, just because of the way my boyfriend had worded his text.

“What’s going on?” I replied as I took deep breaths. He wouldn’t break up with me over a text, would he? He wouldn’t tell me anything really serious over a text, right?

Before I could pace in a frantic manner, I got another text.

“Kathryn knows about us. But she won’t tell anyone!”

My eyes widened. I didn’t know how to form a coherent sentence, so I just smashed my keyboard and sent the jumble of letters to him. Then, before I could panic, I sent, “How???”

“Can I tell you over dinner?”

“I have to know NOW otherwise I’ll lose my mind over it until I see you.”

My stomach sank further. Any normal person wouldn’t get so twitchy and irrational over something like this. I was aware of this, yet I was still playing terrible scenarios in my head of Mark finding out and then firing Ethan. Or worse, Mark making Ethan choose between his relationship and his career. Oh god, would I be able to handle that?

Ding!

“I had on lip gloss… from when you kissed me in the car… She kept asking about it, so I told her about us and I made her not tell anyone!”

Well shit. This was my fault. I was going to be the reason why we were exposed before we were ready.

“FUCK,” I typed. “Are you sure she won’t say anything? Did she say anything else?”

“I promise she won’t tell. She’s my friend, I swear she’s cool. Look, can I come over? Idk if this is making you anxious, I wanna make sure you’re okay.”

I sighed, now feeling guilty. I was losing my mind over this whether I liked it or not.

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess over this ugh,” I sent.

“It’s okay, you’re my mess ❤”

_______

next chapter

[conner-grace]

The Detective and his Little Assistant (part 7)

(Part Index)

Chapter 4 (part 2): Compiling the Evidence

"How can you hide it so much better than me?" I mutter angrily, taking the sunglasses, once again knowing better than to fight him.

"Cause I'm better at make-up than you, now try to get some sleep." He retorts, reminding me of his above average hearing, as I sigh annoyedly before putting on the sunglasses and leaning back, trying to get some rest, though wondering how much sleep he got, since he was rarely better than me on this count.

***

*After School*

***

To my only slight surprise, Kaito-kun actually had woken me up once we reached our stop, though the look on his face said that if we didn't have school, he would've just let me sleep and stayed on the train with me until I woke up on my own. I was headed to the auditorium to talk to Kaito-kun during his theatre club since I actually had a little free time before I had to head to work for once. I poked my head into the auditorium, smirking when I saw all the actors there, meaning Kaito-kun was most likely in the workshop finishing up certain props and such since he'd chosen not to act in this play. I head down to the workshop, which was actually just a classroom none of the teacher's wanted to teach in cause they could never get the heating and air conditioning to work. Thankfully the school had enough other classrooms, and some clubs wanted to use it for activities that may be a little messy, the only rule was that you had to clean up the room to spotless conditions after using it. I got to the room and what I heard made my blood freeze before it started to boil.

"Hey, Kaito-chin." Yuno smirks. I bite back a growl and pull out the recording pen, turning it on and slipping it into the crack in the door.

"Please don't call me that." Kaito-kun smiles, trying to be polite.

"What Kaito or chin?" She giggles, I clenched my jaw in an effort to stay quiet, the evidence I could obtain from this could be crucial.

"I'd prefer Sasaki-kun, but at least Sasaki would be would nice." He sighs, annoyance starting to bleed into his words.

"Awe, I thought we were closer than-"

"We're not, what do you want Takeya-senpai?" Kaito-kun deadpans, cutting her off, making me wonder what happened for his patience to run out so quickly, considering I'd seen him keep a smile on his face and stay polite and courteous with a classman even I could barely stand for far longer.

"It's rude to cut off those above you." She snaps irritably.

"And it's rude to knock out first years during dodgeball because you don't like them." He retorts ‘oh...that’s why his patience is thin’.

"You know, I could spread a rumor for one of your little secrets." She hisses

"And I could report to the guidance counselor how many underclassmen you've knocked out in dodgeball." He spat back.

"And I could tell Akechi-kun about your late night jobs." She taunts, I swear I could hear her smirking through her voice. I froze, unable to move 'what the hell is she talking about, and why is Kaito-kun too scared to tell me on his own'.

"Y-you wouldn't, I-I'm too useful." Kaito tries to counter, but it was obvious Yuno had played her trump card, and it worked.

"Not if you turn your back on me. I can just see it, with him being a detective, he couldn't stay close to you. With what you do, not that anyone would wanna be friends with a freak like you anyway." She smirks. It hurt to know I was part of the reason he was going through this.

"I don't have the time to do all your homework Takeya-senpai." He sighs in defeat. But, I hated the bit of joy that came knowing I was so important to him, even if he didn't trust me enough to tell me himself.

"Oh, I don't need all of it, I just need you to do my math and English, and take care of the dress Ana-sensei wanted me to patch up for the play." She smirks with a chuckle, then the rustling of paper, which I assumed was the work she wanted him to do. "It was nice talking to you Kaito-chin." She smirks

"Why does anyone with the slightest bit of power use it to trample on and use those without any?" He murmurs. Pain shot through me, cause I'd done the same, used my popularity and charisma to turn him into an informant. I thank whatever god, or very possibly demon, that's on my side he gave me a second chance.

"Because, that's just the way the world works, Kaito-chin." she chuckles, before heading to the door, making me quickly back up, turning off the pen and act as if I'd just been walking up to the room.

"Oh Akechi-kun, what are you doing here?" Yuno smiles sweetly, and as much as I wanted to punch her in the face and drag her to the principal's office with the evidence, I took a breath and put on one of my best TV smiles to greet her.

"I'm here to talk with Kaito-kun." I smile

"He's busy, maybe you could speak with me." She smiles, now leaning against the wall.

'Oh, I'll be talking with you tomorrow' I think, forcing my face to keep the Detective Prince smile. "He offered to help me with something." I say, trying to go around her.

"I'm sure I could do a better job." She smiles, stepping in my way

'Ha! Since you're getting lower classmen to do your homework, I doubt you have the intelligence to help me with even my easiest cases' I think with a sigh. "I also offered to help him with the bed prop for the play." I smile, remembering he said he might help with it a week ago while walking around Yuno and slipping in the room before she could stop me again. My TV smile fell to a snicker as I heard her make a somewhat quiet, but definitely frustrated noise. I heard another snicker behind me as I closed the door.

"She's a handful and an annoying one at that." I chuckle, looking to Kaito-kun, seeing he was standing by his bag, probably having just put Yuno's extra work in there.

"You have no idea." He mutters, shaking his head.

'You're right, I don't...' I think, deciding to confront him on this tomorrow as well and try to just cheer him up for now. "So, um, do need help with the bed, I remember that you said you might need a hand a while ago." I smile

Kaito-kun looked a bit shocked, probably not expecting me to remember. "Uh, yeah, actually I need help with the main canopy part. Can you grab the metal circle and the curtains and well, put the curtains on it while I screw in the supports?" He smiles. "Oh, warning, they're kinda heavy, especially the curtains." He adds in as I head over, and grabbed them, and then nearly fell over due to the still unexpected weight of the curtains.

"What the hell are these made of, fabric bricks?" I asked after nearly falling.

"I-pfft-tried to warn you." Kaito-kun smirks while trying, and failing, to hide his snickers.

"Quit laughing." I retort, which only made him fully bust out laughing, earning a glare from me.

"S-sorry, it's just that I almost fell when I first tried to move them too." He smirks, making me sigh annoyedly. "But, they're so heavy cause they're meant to replicate the curtains nobility and royalty had back before central heating was a thing, so they're heavy enough to keep out light, most sound, and keep in some heat." He smiles

"Oh, well that's interesting, but wouldn't cutting off sound possibly get in the way of the scenes?" I ask, a bit curious.

"Not for this play, this actually some scenes where it's important the main character can't hear what's being said." He explains as I get into a better position to lift and carry the supplies to a better spot.

"That's pretty cool actually." I smirk, setting the stuff down and starting to help.

Kaito-kun and I work quietly until I start helping him put the curtains up. The bed was a circular canopy bed, however, due to how it was built, the curtains wouldn't go over the top like normal. Instead, they just hung from supports in a band around the top, the bar the four curtains were on would hang from the spots the curtains separated. We were putting the bar on the last support when I moved my hand wrong and hit the bruise from last night, causing me to let go and making Kaito-kun to nearly drop it, but he caught it and seemed to have also caught his hand between the bar and the back of the band holding the supports.

"Did you hurt your hand?" He asks worriedly, rubbing his knuckles after wiggling his hand out of where it'd gotten wedged between the bar and the back of the band, though, I noticed he had band-aids over the knuckles of the hand that hadn't gotten caught.

"Not really I just moved my hand wrong, it's fine not." I kind of lied, while holding my still throbbing hand.

"If you're gonna lie while you're in pain, you should learn how to relax your jaw and shoulders better." He sighs annoyedly.

'For being somewhat easy to manipulate, he can spot a liar incredibly easy, maybe that's why he called me out so quickly' I think with a sigh. "Only if you tell me what those band-aids came from." I smirk.

"Fine." He sighs, looking away slightly. "I got mad and punched my locker."

He was probably lying, he probably got mad at the notes on his locker I heard about last night and tore them off, but I decided not to push it, for now at least. "I got mad at a case last night and slammed my hand on my desk, and managed to bruise my hand." I sigh, which was pretty much the truth, it just wasn't an official case.

"You're passion is going to get you seriously injured one of these days." Kaito-kun sighs, shaking his head.