#trying not to yell 'the very stuff of my self is splitting apart right now and you seem to care more about playing your game'

[maggiecheungs]

“Maître in the bedroom. Maître only when it's hot or convenient.”

Interview with the Vampire, S2E6, 'Like the Light by Which God Made the World Before He Made Light' (2024)

The Duke of Burgundy (2014) dir. Peter Strickland

[bakubub]

In which Racer!Kuroo is your roommate and you finally learn more about him...

Warnings: Mentions of loss of loved one, disregard for own life, swearing, innuendos and implied nsfw (but sfw overall), fem!reader with she/her pronouns.

A/N: Idek what this is. Its literally a 4.6 k mixture of fluff, angst and comfort... I rewrote this like 4 times :,) being a perfectionist is so,,, tiring.

This takes part shortly after this, you can definitely read this without reading the 'part 1' if you will, since they don't depend on one another.

Art belongs to @aikk00 ,, and yes I am still in love with it :D

I stumble out of the lecture hall, my eyes so heavy I bump into about 3 other students and mumble my apologies until I fully wake up and snap out of my daze.

Walking down the stairs and making my way to the bus stop, I watch in horror as the bus I was supposed to be in drives off, going fast for once in its damn life as if mocking me.

Inhaling sharply through my nose, I manage to keep my composure and sit down at the bus stop, telling myself the next bus will be here in a bit.

It's fine. It's fine. I slept through the lecture, and I still have to catch up on 4 subjects and make dinner, but at least the house is clean and I'm caught up in that one subject I picked up for this exact reason.

It's fine. It's going to be just fi-

The rumble of a loud engine breaks my shitty but somewhat effective self-reassurance motto and I open my eyes to see a black and red sports car going 60 km/h in a 30 zone, effectively getting mine and everyone else's attention.

I watched in horror for the second time today as this time it stopped right in front of the bus stop. No, no, no, no.

No.

Please no.

He rolls down the passenger window with that ridiculous hair and a shit-eating grin, as he nods towards the seat, revving his engine.

I look away, pretending he's not looking directly at me and that I don't live with the guy, which I immediately regretted when he beeped the fucking horn.

What did I do to deserve this humiliation?

I hastily put my head down as he beeped it again, giving up and rushing towards his insufferable car, getting into the passenger seat and slumping in my seat to keep my head down low.

"What is wrong with you? What are you even doing here?" I hiss, my glaring up at him from my awkward, folded position.

He laughs, and when I hear the sound of a photo being taken in the split second I looked away to readjust my bag, I sit up straight, watching him continue speeding as he stuffs his phone into his pocket.

"Are. You. Trying. To. Kill. Me?!" I ask, my voice little less than a screech as I slap his arm with each word.

"Ow, ow, I just came to pick my roomie up! I sensed you needed a ride, and this is the thanks I get?" he asks, that smirk I have come to hate returning to grace his features.

I glare at him, but a small, sleep-deprived part of my brain is distracted by his appearance. A tight black tee adorning his built figure, his biceps are on display as he drives with one hand, the other resting on the gear shift. The air from his rolled down window is ruffling his hair this way and that, and I find myself wanting to run my hands through the raven strands, just as I had when I washed his hair that one time...

"Wait- how the fuck did you know I didn't have a ride?" I ask incredulously, my reaction time clearly delayed but here nonetheless.

I narrow my eyes as he hesitates before he answers, "I just knew, ok? It's not like it’s astrodynamics, not that I can't figure that out too."

"Kuroo, what the hell is astrodynamics? Are you like, spying on me or something?" I ask, pretending to look out the window so as to not get distracted by his appearance once more.

"What do you common folk call it? Rocket science?" He says, once again exceeding the speed limit.

"If I'm a commoner, does that make you a peasant? Also, stop going so fast, I feel sick and I do not feel like dying today."

He rolls his eyes in response as he slows down by a smidgen, the speed meter barely even moving. "Seriously, you may have no consideration for yourself, but I still have a lot of things to achieve with my damn life so slow the fuck down." My words finally reach the rational part in him and he slows down considerably, now going within the speed limit.

Taking a deep breath, I rest my elbow on my door and look out the window, my mind flooding with thoughts about Kuroo's reckless driving and how it can all go sour with one delayed reaction.

Before I know it, we're rolling up to our apartment building, driving into his private garage only the penthouse owners get to use.

"I'm sorry," he mutters, filling the silence in the car.

"It's ok. I just... I want you to be safe. I know its hard, but... just try," I say quietly, unable to look at him.

"That's what he said," he says hastily before rushing out of the car before I can hit him.

Getting out of the vehicle myself, I send a murderous look his way and run after his retreating form.

A small part of me is grateful that he's acting like his usual unbearable self again, but the rest of me is just mad at his relentless sex jokes.

He hits the elevator button before I can get there and I watch the doors close, his smirk practically shining through the crack of the closing doors. I jam my foot in the middle at the last possible second, and smile victoriously as I get into the metal box and slap his arm once again.

"Ooh, do it harder," he practically moans, and my eyes just about pop out of their sockets in embarrassment as my face flushes a deep red.

"Oh shut up," I mutter, turning around and waiting patiently for the doors to open on the top floor. I hear him snicker and then the sound of a photo being taken, turning around sharply. I yell in defiance and throw my bag on the floor as I jump onto him in an attempt to grab his phone out of his hand and delete the probably unflattering photo.

I straddle his back and reach for the phone he easily holds out of my reach. Leaning across his shoulder in a feeble attempt to reach it, my feet are hooked around his chest and my other hand is using his shoulder as a brace. He's laughing hard at this point, and I'm screaming at him to give me the damn phone. Neither of us notice the elevator doors opening nor the small woman standing at the threshold staring at us in shock and amusement.

"Kuroo Tetsuro! You let that poor girl down this instant, young man!"

We both froze at the authoritative voice, slowly turning to look at a small dark haired woman with a straight shoulder length cut and narrow gold eyes that were glaring at the man under me.

"MUM!" He exclaims, setting me down and running to hug and kiss the woman, his mum apparently. "What are you doing here?" I hear him ask as I straighten myself out, fixing my jumper and tucking my hair behind my ears, picking up my bag off the floor and quickly following them out of the elevator.

"What, a mother needs an excuse to come visit her boys? Where's Kenma?" She asks, looking in the elevator again as if to check if she missed him.

"Oh, he's at his own place. Apparently he has a booked in session with this famous gamer today. Did he say he'd be here?" Kuroo asks, letting go of the woman and leaning on the wall.

"No, I didn't tell anyone I was coming to visit. Never mind that, who's this pretty young lady here, hmm?" She asks, raising a perfectly shaped brow as she walks towards me, the click of her heels echoing in the lobby of the penthouse.

I smiled down at her, since she was considerably shorter than even me, and introduced myself. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Kuroo." I say, bowing.

"Oh no, no, none of that. You can call me mum too, hmm?" She says, gesturing me up from my bow and pulling me down for a tight hug.

"Oh, um, actually, me and Kuroo aren't-"

"We’ll talk more comfortably inside, no? Tetsuro, is your plan to let me stand here all day?” She asks, letting me go and turning around to look at Kuroo.

Kuroo leaps into action, taking his mum's bag and unlocking the door, helping her out of her heels and leading her into the spotless penthouse.

It was all I could do to nod in response, closing the door behind us and walking down into the kitchen to prepare a meal.

It’s crazy how much I don’t know about this guy. He’d never mentioned his mother before, and briefly mentioned that he has a sister, whether older or younger I have no idea. Kenma, however, I know well. The guy was here all the time when I first started living here, but recently I've seen him less and less. Which is a shame, considering we actually got along quite well, with sharing eye rolls and bonding over our mutual love of Minecraft.

I don't notice silent footsteps following me until Kuroo's Mother says "now, why's a beautiful girl like yourself slaving away in the kitchen? Does that boy make u do all the cooking and cleaning like some mid-century housewife?"

I poke my head out of the fridge, smiling at her fair assumptions, "no, no, it's not like that at all. I actually-"

"Uh, mum! You know I'm incompetent with this stuff. This place would be a mess if she wasn't here to run things! Plus, she loves to cook and finds cleaning therapeutic. Hey, her words not mine," Kuroo quickly jumps in, putting his hands up defensively when she looks at him with a raised brow.

Looks like he doesn't want his mother to know of our little arrangement.

"Right. He's just so hopeless, I can't trust him to do anything," I add on, sending her a smile as I prepare the fish he likes.

"You're making grilled mackerel for dinner?! Oh that's gonna hit the fu- the fun spot," he says, saving himself at the last second.

I hold back a snort as I take out a pan, "open the window, fish boy. It's about to stink here and I can't be bothered with Mrs. Suzuki coming all the way upstairs just to complain about the fish smell, and then complaining that she had to come up here in the first place. God, I hope she isn't sitting on the balcony today," I ramble, trying to see her balcony from outside the window, but fail because of the private location.

Damn these amazing architects.

I hear his mum chuckle at my rambling as she begins to take out ingredients for a salad. "Oh, you don't have to help, please sit and make yourself comfortable," I say, moving towards her to take the lettuce out of her hands.

"No, no, I'd like to pitch in. Now what kind of mother-in-law would I be to let you do everything yourself?" She asks, holding the lettuce away from me and walking over to the sink.

I stare at the back of her head, a flush creeping up my neck, "m-mother-in-law?!" I ask incredulously, glancing over at Kuroo who looked suspiciously... Smug. I look away quickly when he meets my eyes, and I hastily hyper-focus on the fish in front of me, placing it on the heated pan, causing sizzling and popping to fill the awkward silence.

"I'm sorry darling, I don't mean to be overbearing. Tetsuro introduced you as his girlfriend, so I thought things were getting serious since he actually allowed us to meet one another. You see, he’s never introduced me to a girl before, so you can imagine my excitement. I can stop if you're uncomfortable-"

I cut her off, feeling even more embarrassed as I realise the role I am to play in Kuroo's life when his mother is around. I mean, it makes sense, he can't exactly just admit he took a random girl into his house.

"I, um, no really it's fine, I understand" I say, my voice small as I flip the fish.

She lets out a delighted laugh and pulls me down into a hug once more. The smile on my face is genuine as my embarrassment melts away, the bright smile of this woman comforting me.

"So, how did you guys meet?" She asks, chopping up the ingredients for her salad on the bench while I'm at the stove, Kuroo leaning on his elbows on the bench.

"At uni," I answer at the same time as Kuroo states, "at a party."

We both look at each other with wide eyes, and I clear my throat to clarify, "at a uni party. A classmate of ours hosted one and we met each other there."

"I see, so the old boozed up one night stand turned into quite a domestic relationship hmm?" she suggests, wiggling her eyebrows at Kuroo.

"What? No, no, I would never! A one night stand? Booze? Please, what kind of man do you take me for?" Kuroo complains, looking offended.

I turn around towards the stove and roll my eyes. I've heard the rumours around campus, practically every girl in my lecture hall can testify to at least making out with the man. He really puts up a façade for his mum.

I hear the doorbell ring, and quickly take the fish off the stove to go answer it as Kuroo bickers with his mother about how innocent he really is.

"Hello? Who is it?" I ask, pressing the buzzer.

"Uh, hello? Is this Tetsu's place?" A deep voice answers. I look at the camera, seeing Kenma and a bunch of men about Kuroo's age looking confused. The one who answered is a guy with a blond mohawk and piercings adorning both ears.

"Yes, just give me a second," I reply. "Kuroo, I think Kenma and the rest of your friends are here? Should I let 'em up?" I shout out.

"Yeah let 'em in," he calls back. I press another button, letting them into the lobby.

I need to make more food.

Quickly taking out my frozen dumplings I stocked up for emergency dinners for days I couldn't be bothered to make anything better, I whip up a quick sauce, thinking I could split the fish and put it in the middle of the table so everyone can take their share.

"I do apologise darling, I let my Kenma know that I came to visit and he must have told the boys. I think they've all come to see me," Kuroo's mum confesses.

"You must be a very loved woman if they came all this way to see you. And it's no worries really, I'm always prepared for guests," I say, putting her at ease.

She beams at me as the door is banged loudly.

Kuroo mutters something about “rude assholes'' as he goes to open the door, a group of tall men making their way through the threshold.

"Hiya cap'ain," the mohawk guy says, patting Kuroo on the back. A tall, light brown haired man was next to greet him, then proceeded to exclaim "MUMMA KOZUME!!" and practically jumped onto the poor woman.

Wait, did he just say Kozume? Isn't Kenma's surname Kozume?

"Hey mum," Kenma greets, kneeling down to hug Kuroo's mum.

Who's mum is this lady?! I swear to god I'm going to go crazy.

"Hello hello everyone," A massive grey haired guy says, kissing Kuroo's mum on the cheek and hugging Kuroo.

The last guy to greet them is a tan guy with a buzz cut, and he does the same as his friend before.

"So Kuroo, when di'ja get yourself a girl, huh?" The grey haired guy asks, looking offended that he didn't know before now.

I raise my eyebrows as Kuroo just smiles guiltily. He introduces me to his friends and I wave hello, as they all begin to introduce themselves.

The grey haired guy says his name is Lev and that he's half Russian. A weird detail to include but interesting I guess.

The light brown haired man introduces himself as Yaku, and says that he was Kuroo's senpai back in high school.

"Yeah a demon senpai," Kuroo mutters in reply. My smile quickly turns into a grimace as Yaku jumps on him and they both start brawling on the floor, making a loud ruckus. A loud thumping can be heard from downstairs as Mrs. Suzuki starts to lose her mind and continues to bang the handle of her broom to her ceiling.

"Ugh, you morons upset Mrs. Suzuki! She's going to talk my ear off next time I see her..." I complain, grabbing a cushion and throwing it at the boys.

They flinch at my anger and quickly get up, muttering a quick apology. My glare softens as mohawk introduces himself as Yamamoto, and the tan guy says his name is Kai whilst vigorously shaking my hand.

"It's very nice meeting all of you. Dinner will be ready in a bit so please just make yourselves comfortable," I announce, making my way back into the kitchen.

The boys, all sporting grins, make their way to the living room and sit on the couches, man-spreading and slouching all over the place, one person taking up the usual spot for two.

I sigh, focusing on the dumplings in front of me.

I stiffen as I feel large hands on my waist, and a presence behind me. Visibly relaxing once I realise it's Kuroo, I turn around, his hands still resting on my hips, and his face nestled in the crook of my neck.

"Please just go along with it. We have to act like a couple if they're going to believe us," he mutters, his hot breath causing shivers to run up my spine.

I simply nod, instinctively placing my arms around his neck and running my fingers through his hair, something I've wanted to do since that day.

He groans into my neck, and I find myself holding my breath as I continue my hand movements.

"OI LOVEBIRDS! MUM SAYS THE DUMPLINGS ARE GONNA FUCKIN' STICK! Ow! Oh, sorry," I snatched my hands back from Kuroo, pushing his chest, my cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

What the fuck am I doing?!

I turn around back to the stove, mixing the dumplings in the boiling water as my thoughts race.

That felt too real, too much like a real relationship.

And way too addicting, apparently, since I already miss his close proximity.

The warmth on my waist disappears as I hear Kuroo running back into the living room.

"SHUT UP YOU MORON, THE DUMPLINGS ARE FINE!" I hear him scream, and then a loud thud as he presumably tackles whoever yelled at us to the ground.

I sigh as I hear Mrs. Suzuki's muffled thuds from downstairs in record time.

"You know I'm going to have to make Mrs. Suzuki some kind of apology cake because you boys can't sit down and act like adults," I complained, my arms crossed and an unimpressed expression on my face.

Lev and Yamamoto are on the floor playing some kind of Connect 4 game I've never seen before, while Kai looks to be having a deep conversation with Kuroo's mum, who is perched on the single arm chair like the queen she is.

Kenma is hogging the tv playing some kind of video game on Kuroo's ps5 (which I've hogged on more than one occasion), and Kuroo on the other hand has Yaku in a headlock.

He immediately lets go and apologises, and so does Yaku, who even bows in his regret.

I roll my eyes and shake my head at his mum, who just laughs, and I make my way back into the kitchen, setting food on the table and calling them in to eat.

After dinner, I find myself showered in compliments and not a bite of dinner leftover for tomorrow's lunch. Damn I'm good.

I served up cake I had already prepared from earlier along with fruits I washed and set on plates, and watched as that was eaten and finished before I even sat down. Kuroo's mum scolded the boys for poor manners, and they all apologised. Well, all except Kuroo, who just wiggled his pierced brows and winked at me.

I sit down on the floor next to the couch, since it was all occupied, and hear a dissatisfied sound coming from Kuroo's mum.

"Now, now, sweetheart. You don't have to be shy around me, just go on and take your usual seat next to Tetsuro," she says, nudging her head in Kuroo's direction, where the only vacant spot was literally his lap.

I look at her with wide eyes, even Kuroo seems taken aback by her suggestion, and all the boys are immaturely ‘oohing’ loudly as they laugh and make fun of us.

Kuroo makes a gesture for me to come next to him, so I hold back my heavy sigh, try my best to hide the flush on my face, and walk towards him, awkwardly perching on his knee.

He chuckles as he grabs my waist and pulls me flush towards his chest, my butt in the corner of the couch and my legs resting diagonally over his, so that my head is directly in the crook of his neck.

I hate to say it, but this is actually really damn comfortable.

Conversation has started up again, but it becomes secondary to the beat of his heart right under my ear, and my eyes start to get heavy as his scent and warmth lull me to a comfort that is beyond being awake and alert.

---

Kuroo's POV

"What a cute girl she is, Tetsu. I'm so glad you've found her. And now that you've got her, you better. Not. Let. Go." She says, slapping me on the arm with each word of her last sentence.

What is it with women and slapping me?

"Ok, ok, I know mum, I won't stuff this up. I promise," I respond, smiling at her.

"Ok, well, I'm staying over at Kenma's house. Ah, no objections. You've already got your hands full, and I don't want to be in the way of young love. Plus, I'd rather listen to Kenma's midnight streams than you two in the middle of the night," she says, not accepting my objections and giving me a knowing look. My face warms to what she's insinuating, and I mutter a quick, "it's not like that," as I duck my head into Y/n's shoulder.

By this time the boys have all left, Kenma's downstairs waiting in his car for his mum to come, but she insisted on staying back for a few minutes to talk to me.

Y/n fell asleep a while ago now, still nestled on my lap, her head on my shoulder and her figure keeping me warm.

"I know exactly how it is, my darling. I've seen how you two act, pretending to be in a relationship just so we don't ask any uncomfortable questions. I won't meddle in your life, I never did, Tetsuro. But I will give you advice I expect you to consider. Don't let her go. Neither of you were pretending about your feelings towards each other, let me tell you that much." She says, knowingly looking at me.

I look up in alarm, which quickly morphs into a nervous laugh. She's good, I'll give her that much.

But, can Y/n really mirror my feelings?

"Ok darling, better not leave Kenma waiting any longer. I'll visit again tomorrow, or you can come over to Kenma's, whichever you prefer as long as she comes along too. I want to get to know my future daughter-in-law better!!"

With that, the woman who took me in and treated me like her own left my home.

I look down at my roommate, taking in the way her lashes are long enough to brush against her face, the way her brows are just a tad bit asymmetrical, the stroke of her nose and the bend of her cupid's bow.

I can't help but bring my hand up to caress the side of her face, content to stay here forever.

Mum would've loved her.

This thought broke the dam that held back my tears since middle school, and as they fell down my face I couldn't help but think of my own mother, coming in and hugging her, making her famous pie that I can't remember the taste of anymore. A sob racks my figure and I all of a sudden find a pair of e/c eyes staring up at me, my tears having dampened some parts of her face.

Wordlessly, she straightens herself and wraps her arms around my neck, running her fingers through the back of my head, stroking down towards my nape and up again. I cry into her shoulder, tears that I've bottled up, emotions I've ignored because I've had my dad, my grandparents and the Kozume's. Later, I even had the team, and they all followed me to the racing gig, a place where I can express my emotions through the reckless driving that could claim my life any second. I should have been grateful. Instead, the pain of her absence never ceased.

I clutch the back of her sweatshirt as I cry and cry and cry, eventually tiring myself out and running out of tears.

With dry sobs still racking my body every few minutes, she finally leans back, cupping my face in her gentle hands.

"What's the matter, Kuroo?" She whispers, looking up at me with tears shining in her own eyes. "You can tell me anything, or you can say nothing at all. Either way, I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you," she says, touching her forehead to mine and closing her eyes. She stays here for a moment before moving to get up and drag me up too.

"Come on, let's get you into your pjs and into bed. It's getting late."

---

Your POV

Now in his usual shorts and singlet, I drag him to his massive bed, opening the neatly made bed and gently sit him down.

His hazel eyes follow me as I go to close the curtains, his lashes still wet from the countless tears he shed, his body still hiccupping with dry sobs.

Once I've put his blankets around him, I go to leave, muttering a goodnight as I leave.

"Y/n," I hear before I close the door. I peek my head in, "please stay."

Without a pause to think about his request, and already in my own pyjamas, I go next to him and crawl into his open arm as if I've been doing it every night, snuggling into his shoulder once more and wrapping my arm around his chest.

After a few moments of silence, he begins to speak in a raspy tone, "she's not my real mum. She's Kenma's mum, and I've... I've called her mum since I was around 7," he takes a deep breath before continuing. "I moved in with my dad and grandparents next door to the Kozumes when I was 6. I was nervous and shy back then. You wouldn't even recognise me because of the 180 turn my personality's taken. Kenma was even more social than I was. He was my first friend, and when I got him into volleyball and we met Coach Nekomata. That man inspired me to be the man I am today, and was the main reason why I joined the volleyball team in high school, and made friends with the guys. He did what my mum should've, supported me and gave me the confidence to live my life," he says, his voice cracking with the last word. I hug him tighter, knowing not to say anything as of yet.

"I just wish... I wish she didn't go. I wish she could've met you, Y/n. She would've loved you even more than Kenma's mum does," he confesses with a chuckle, sniffling and turning towards me to look me in the eyes.

"She would've seen the way I was around you. The different man I become. You make me a better person, Y/n. I find myself wanting to be better for you. I could never thank you enough for that. Please, never leave. Just stay with me, and I'll always be here for you," he says, repeating the same words I said to him earlier.

I can't help the smile from taking over my features and I lean in to kiss his nose, his eyes, his cheeks and finally I press my lips against his, something I have been wanting to do for a very long time.

"I will, Kuroo Tetsuro. I'll always stay with you."

A/n: So, I don't actually know if his mum passed away or if she left them, so I kind of just,, did both ?

Taglist: @3daa & @itsgiorgiaz

Notes, interactions and reblogs are highly appreciated <3

[giaourtopita]

Hi! Can I get headcanons for the brothers comforting an abused mc? Please ignore this if you don't feel comfortable writing it! Thank you!

brothers with an abused mc

hi, this was hard to write but i really tried my best, since you didn't specify what kind of abuse i had to look it up and assign one on each brother. i hope this is good enough for you and i'm sorry if any of this happened to you irl, my dms are open if you need to talk!! i did the twins and mammon with lucifer together btw!

warnings; talks about past abuse, angst, MAJOR TW for implied non con, physical violence, lesson 16 spoilers, gn mc.

lucifer & mammon

- mc was trying to sleep but mammon was getting punished again, he had sold some of lucifer's cursed vinyls and lucifer was very angry at his brother.

- lucifer had been going off on mammon for at least five hours.

- mc decided to go to lucifer's room to stop him from yelling since they were sure they weren't the only person in the house to not being able to sleep because of the oldest brothers' conflict.

- they entered the room, lucifer stopped yelling at mammon for a split second before continuing to scream and yell all over again.

- this whole situation was getting too familiar for mc to handle.

- they got closer to mammon and started dragging him away from lucifer, the latter tried to grab him but mc used their pact to stop him.

- they took mammon to their room and locked the door so lucifer couldn't get in.

- "i know you're supposed to be scolded right now but i really wanted to sleep so i had to stop this."..."also, this whole situation felt familiar and it was making me relive situations like this one so i had to drag you away."

- mc told mammon that when they were younger they used to get scolded about things they couldn't control, just like how mammon gets scolded all the time for being greedy when being greedy is his natural state.

- "and before you say anything, no i don't agree with you stealing stuff and selling them but i can recognise that you get carried away and you can't control it most of the time."..."that being said, tomorrow morning you will buy back every vinyl you sold because lucifer really loves his collection and this wasn't fair. am i understood?"

- mammon simply nodded and after a while they both lay down on mc's bed to sleep.

- mc's brain kept replaying scenes of them getting yelled at and being called names in their head, not being able to stop it, they started sobbing.

- "mc, what happened? you were okay just now."

- mc told mammon everything that had happened to them and how people used to treat them, not knowing what to say since mammon is also being used as everyone's punching bag, he held them tight and started rubbing their back in a soothing way. he didn't even let them go until the next morning.

- luckily it was saturday so mammon didn't have to go to r.a.d., instead he left the house of lamentation early in the morning in order to get all of the sold vinyls back.

- when it was finally afternoon mammon found everything he had sold.

- he went to lucifer's study and gave them to him as an apology.

- "look, i'm sorry. i'll try my best not to do this again for mc's sake. and yours i know i can be a handful sometimes."

-"mc's sake? what do they have to do with this apart from dragging you away during your punishment?"

- mammon explained everything to lucifer, knowing that it was very likely that he would understand.

- during the night time, lucifer visited mc and even though he wanted to thank them for helping him his pride didn't let him so he thought of a different way to show his gratitude.

- "get up, we're going to my room"

- mc reluctantly followed him, lucifer started playing one of his returned vinyls.

- "you know i'm not going to stop punishing my brothers when they do something wrong but since you helped me this time, even if your way didn't seem as strict i'll tone it down with the punishments for your sake, okay? and i'm sorry for everything that happened to you. i wish i could help. if anything happens just tell me."

- mc didn't expect their actions to have such big impact and they didn't know how to react either so they just hugged him as tightly as they could.

- lucifer hugged them back and started running his fingers through their hair.

leviathan

- they had been in levi's room for about five hours hours, he invited them over to play one of his newest games but he kept expanding their stay in his room for longer.

- "levi, i'm sorry but i really need to go. i have to study for tomorrow, i'll come back once i'm done okay?"

- "sure, if course you'd get tired of me too. i am a yucky otaku after all that's why no one wants to be around me."

- "can you stop saying that? you're not yucky and i really do want to be around you, i just have homework. please don't say those things, at least not in front of me. it makes me feel bad.", mc told him while trying to hold back their tears.

- levi stopped talking and actually thought about it. before he able to say anything, mc suggested he comes to their room and plays on his phone or something so that he could still be with them even if they did different things.

- a few hours later, mc was done with their homework and sat next to levi on their bed.

- "m-maybe we could have a sleepover here tonight?", mc accepted and he rushed to put his pyjamas on, bring his laptop and some snacks he had bought from akuzon.

- after levi settled down in their room, mc explained to him that they used to be in a situation where someone close to them was talking about themselves in a self deprecating manner to keep them close to them and manipulate them, levi apologised after they told him the truth.

- mc started cuddling him, they made him place his head on their chest and stroked his hair, while they were watching some random romantic anime movie.

satan

- when mc refused to make a pact with him they didn't understand why he would start acting like that, threatening them to hurt them when all they did was deny him a pact, especially since he was always so calm and collected.

- thankfully they managed to stay calm that time but this time, this time was different.

- he and mc had gone together to the nearest grocery store to get ingredients for tonight's dinner.

- the exchange student got lost in the aisle that had human world food.

- they frantically started looking for satan since he's the only one keeping them safe right now.

- some other lower level demons noticed the distraught human and decide to follow them.

- mc got cornered as the demons were looking down at them, telling them what awful things things they'll do to them.

- when mc was about to be picked up by one of the demons, satan finally found them. he got upset, not at mc since they didn't really do anything wrong.

- he got very angry, shifting to his demon form in a blink of an eye, he told mc to cover their eyes and ears and started beating the demons using as much force as he could. he used them as punching bags to release all the anger they had given him and it worked!

- he calmed down completely and the two quickly finished shopping and headed home.

- satan told mc to stay in his room if they didn't feel safe staying alone.

- while mc was heading to satan's room, he informed lucifer about the situation knowing that his older brother would probably do something similar if not anything worse. he then quickly went to his room, finding mc curled up in his bed waiting for him.

- they talked to him about how bad they felt and how they were threatened. satan soon realised that he also had done something similar to them in the past, he apologised again for his behaviour.

- they stayed in his room for a few days, much to his brothers dismay, but all he cared about during that time was if mc felt safe.

asmodeus

(tw for implied non con)

- asmo and mc decided they would spend the day together, it had been a few days since he got to hangout with them and eventually he had grown needy to be with them.

- when mc finally entered his room, he hugged them, making mc flinch.

- asmo thought it was weird but didn't think much of it because they acted like that whenever he would touch them.

- "so mc, i really missed you~"

- he tried putting his arms around them to hug them again, but mc reacted differently this time.

- they started crying and saying "no" over and over again.

- "oh no darling, what happened?"

- mc explained that their ex used to do things to them, things they didn't consent to. asmo understood immediately what they were talking about.

- since he loves going out at night, there have been situations where other demons have tried taking advantage of the fact that he was drunk and almost passed out but nothing ever really happened because lucifer always came to his rescue.

- "it's okay sweetie, let it all out. i'm just happy you're here with me"

- he asked them if he could run his fingers through their hair so they could relax, they accepted and cautiously put their head on his lap so he could do it.

- after a while they had calmed down enough to fall asleep. asmo took them to their room, knowing that they wouldn't be comfortable enough staying at someone else's room just yet, even if they had just opened up about what happened to them.

beelzebub & belphegor

- when mc time travelled, they didn't think that belphie's true intentions were to hurt them, especially since they thought they were finally safe from their home situation.

- it hit them like a truck watching their other self dying by belphie's hands.

- eventually after belphie had apologised again and again for what happened and showed them how sorry he was, they began getting close.

- beel helped them and mc was able to trust belphie enough, especially after they made a pact.

- what happened with belphie made them more aware of the disadvantage mc was in but they didn't think anything would happen this time. after all they were in r.a.d., one of the safest places to be in the devildom.

- as mc was getting ready for p.e., some other demons were also getting ready.

- apparently they were jealous that mc had pacts with all seven lords and wanted to teach them a lesson, so one of them decided to make a scene.

- the demon kicked their stomach but mc was very lucky that beel's pact mark was on their stomach, the kicks somehow activated the mark and signalled beel that something wasn't okay.

- he rushed to their location and took them away from the demons and informed lucifer that he was taking them home.

- belphie didn't go to r.a.d. because he wanted to skip some of the early classes. when he saw mc coughing up blood, he got flashbacks from that night.

- he started apologizing to them again while beel was looking for a healing spell.

- "it's okay, you didn't do anything", mc told belphie.

- after they started feeling better, the twins took mc to their room.

- both demons lay down next to them and belphie used his power to help them sleep while beel started petting their hair to make them relax and help belphie use his power more efficiently.

[shimmeringclouds]

Todomatsu - Kill her? Why Would I?

𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘶 𝘟 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘬!𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

(Can you tell I'm running out of title ideas)

"[Y/N]!" Todomatsu sang from outside your front door, rocking back and forth on his heels excitedly. "We're gonna hang out today, remember?"

It was silent from the other side of the door. His smile faltered for a split second before he knocked again.

"[Y/N]...? Y-You haven't forgotten, have you?" His laugh was tense while he fidgeted with his fingers, shifting from one foot to the other. He tried again, louder this time.

"Hey! Did you sleep in? You're at home, right?" He hated how desperate he sounded, but this was you he was talking about. One of the few people (if not, only person) he truly cared about. The one person he wanted to keep by him for as long as he could before those five demons came along and messed everything up for good.

The thuds on your door echoed throughout your apartment before shuffling was heard from behind the door. Todomatsu froze as it began to unlock and open slowly, squeaking on its hinges. He gasped, quite dramatically.

There you stood. Still donned in your pyjamas, with your hair very dishevelled and eyes rimmed a pale pink. You were breathing a little heavy for someone who just walked a few feet to their door. All in all, you didn't look good. Todomatsu would never say it out loud, but you looked horrible.

"[Y/N]? Are you okay?" He quickly asked after a split second of silence. You clutched onto the door frame, a guilty frown on your lips.

"Todomatsu.." he flinched at how dry your voice sounded, "I'm so sorry.. I didn't forget about our plans today, but I got sick. I meant to call, but my mind's been all fuzzy..." At those words, your legs wobbled dangerously. Although you were using the doorframe as a stand, you began sliding down to the ground as all strength dissipated from your body.

The man leapt into action, hastily wrapping his arms around your waist and holding you against him. He could feel your body heating up through your clothing (which he tried not to let get to him. It wasn't the right time).

"S-Sorry.." you mumbled. You tried to push him away with feeble hands, only for him to hold you tighter. "Don't, Todomatsu! You'll just get sick, too!"

"It doesn't matter," he stood up carefully with you still in his arms, leading you back inside with no struggle. "I can just pass it on to my brothers. I'm not gonna let you stay like this on your own, though. Who do you think I am?"

You were taken back to your bedroom, and you thanked your past self for at least managing to keep it tidy, save for your bed. Todomatsu straightened it out a bit before helping you sit back down. His cheeks flushed a light pink as he moved away.

"I'm gonna get some stuff from back home. My mom has some kind of homemade remedies for this kind of stuff. In the meantime, you..." he cleared his throat. Now was not the time to act like some kind of virgin. "Y-You should change out of your c-clothes, since you're probably... s-sweaty. I'll be back later!"

He cursed himself for stammering and that damn squeakiness in his voice, hoping you hadn't seen too much of his now flushed face. If you didn't know any better, you would think that he was the one who was ill.

You let out a small smile as you slowly went about gathering a fresh set of pyjamas, the image of his pretty pink cheeks and quivering lips stuck in your mind.

»»-----　♔　-----««

The door to the Matsuno home slammed open and shut in a hurry, startling the five others in the living room. They watched curiously was the youngest brother rushed through to the kitchen, making quite the racket as he rummaged through various cupboards and shelves.

"Todomatsu?" Choromatsu called from the doorway, squashed by the others. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He replied blankly, pointedly ignoring them as he reached up for a small container. Ichimatsu glared at his younger sibling, knowing he was hiding something.

"What a dry monster..." he murmured darkly.

"Totty!" Osomatsu leaned against the small table in the kitchen. "C'mon! You can tell your favourite older brother what's going on, right?" He cooed.

"Of course he will tell me!" Karamatsu jumped in, pushing Osomatsu out of the way. "Dear burazza, whatever the issue is, just know that I, your absolute favourite older brother, am here for-!"

"Why are you getting the homemade medicine?" Jyushimatsu asked, covering his mouth with along sleeve.

"Eh..?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Todomatsu shoved the small containers and numerous other medicines into his bag before adjusting the strap over his shoulder, preparing to walk out as if nothing had happened. However, he knew that a fight was to be fought as the aura of his demonic brothers flooded the doorway, blocking his escape.

"Now, now, Totty," Choromatsu grinned darkly. "Just tell us what's going on and we'll let you go."

"Don't try to bluff your way out of this," Ichimatsu toothily smiled, placing a hand on Todomatsu's shoulder with a painfully obvious tight grip. "Play nice with your onii-sans, okay?"

Todomatsu's expression was blank as he stared down at the ground. He flexed his fingers around the strap of his bag, taking a deep breath.

"[Y/N]'s sick."

A tense silence filled the room.

"...Huh-?"

"So.." His face contorted into fury, eyes practically bulging from their sockets as he suddenly grabbed the kitchen table, chucking it across the room towards his shocked brothers. "Get out of my way!!"

His screams echoed through the house as he took off at a sprint, leaving his brothers in the dust. They all squirmed to get out of the pile of heavy bodies and wooden bits of table crushing them down.

"What the hell was that about?!" Osomatsu wheezed as Jyushimatsu pressed his body weight further into him instead of getting up, laughing giddily.

"Totty's gonna kill her, probably!" The yellow clad boy chuckled.

"How can you sound so positive when you say something like that?" Choromatsu scolded, being the first to squeeze out of the pile.

"Get off me, Shittymatsu!" Ichimatsu growled, kicking at his older brother as he scrambled out next. Karamatsu fell to the ground with a light thud, groaning as he rubbed at his head.

"M-My apologies, burazza..."

"This is an emergency!" Choromatsu cried.

"Shouldn't that be my line..?" Osomatsu mumbled underneath his breath, sitting up.

"If we don't hurry, Todomatsu's gonna kill [Y/N]!"

"What if Todomatsu's actually trying to help her, though? We shouldn't doubt our youngest this quickly," Karamatsu contemplated, cupping his chin. He felt a hand grab his shoudler, finding Osomatsu staring at him with a tense smile.

"Don't you remember what he did to us the last time we got sick?" He reminded. "He set us on fire, the little bastard."

"...True." Karamatsu began to sweat, worried for your safety like the others. They all leapt to their feet, rushing out the door together.

"We're gonna save [Y/N]!" Jyushimatsu announced excitedly, waving his arms around as they all took off down the street, heading towards your apartment.

»»-----　♔　-----««

"I'm back!" Todomatsu sang happily, as if he hadn't just ran for his life. He popped his head into your room, smiling softly as you tried to sit up.

"You didn't have to do this, Totty.." you clutched your head, feeling dizzy. The man came over and guided you with soft hands, fluffing the pillow behind you so that you were comfortable.

"You're right, I don't have to. But I want to look after you," you were a little surprised by how soothing his voice was, only for him to snap back out of it. "Doesn't that just make me the best? Teehee!"

You rolled your eyes playfully, swatting weakly at him with your hands. He chuckled as he rummaged through his bag, bringing out the medicine.

"I'll just go and grab a spoon.." he mumbled, leaving for a moment and returning with the utensil in hand. He settled beside you, pouring the liquid onto the metal.

"Say 'aah!'" He teased mischievously, making you giggle. You took the spoon into your mouth, face scrunching up almost instantly at the weird, tangy taste lingering in your mouth.

Todomatsu laughed loudly at your reaction, pressing a kiss to your temple.

"That was adorable! I should've taken a picture!" He nuzzled into your hair before pulling away, sure that the redness of your cheeks wasn't entirely from you being sick.

You covered your face with a whine, wishing you could hide in your bedsheets if it wasn't so warm. Todomatsu smiled fondly at you, opening his mouth to say something else.

"[Y/N]!!!"

There was a loud bang from the other room, startling you both heavily. Todomatsu shot up out of his seat, running over to the front door to find his brothers on the floor in a heap once again, the front door barely hanging on its hinges with a large crack in the wall from where it hit.

You stumbled after him, gasping at the wreckage of your home.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?!" Todomatsu screeched, seemingly more frustrated than you.

"We came to save [Y/N]! What else does it look like?" Osomatsu replied with a pointed look. All heads whipped towards you, taking in your appearance.

"[Y/N], are you hurt?" Choromatsu asked, trying to crawl towards you only for Todomatsu to kick his face.

"Did he actually give you poison and not medicine?" Ichimatsu asked next, earning himself a smack.

"Did Totty try to set you on fire?!" Jyushimatsu called, crying out after he get pushed back out the door.

"Did he-"

"Shut up, Shittymatsu!!" Todomatsu screamed, attempting to push everyone out. "Why do you all think I'm trying to kill her?!"

"Because that's just who you are!" They all responded.

You watched on in shock as they continued to argue violently in front of you. Releasing a heavy sigh, you massaged your forehead. A really bad headache was coming on...

"Guys!" You yelled suddenly, freezing everyone in place. "Todomatsu's looking after me! He hasn't done anything to hurt me and he never will, okay?"

"But-!"

"I think we all know that if he, or anyone, tried to do anything, I would kick your asses harder than Totoko can punch."

Your threat hung heavy in the air, making them gulp. You dragged your feet over to the pile of bodies in your doorway, removing Todomatsu from their clutches and looking down st the others on the floor.

"Thank you for being concerned, but there's no issue other than me being sick. I trust him to take care of me, so there's nothing to worry about, okay?"

You were met with silence. Another sigh, you tugged at your door, thankful that it was still somewhat intact. You began closing it up, offering a final goodbye to the Matsuno brothers before shutting it completely.

Todomatsu was tense behind you, eyes worriedly darting from you to the door.

"I-I'm really sorry about that.. You know how idiotic they can be!" He pointed at the door, hoping you wouldn't get mad at him. Instead, you turned to him with a tired hit gentle smile.

"I'm not mad, Totty," you weaves your hand into his, intertwining your fingers and tugging him back to your room. "Let's just forget about it. You're still gonna take care of me, right?"

"Todomatsu!" Osomatsu yelled from behind the door. "If you don't come back a virgin, then don't come back at all!"

You both rolled your eyes, Todomatsu's deathly aura increasing slightly. Way to ruin a sweet moment...

[howtoeatworms]

Fairy Tail: The Celestial Journey

                              Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

It’s been one month since the war with tartaros. Magnolia has been busy rebuilding and with help from the generous amount of jewel the king has given to all those affected, almost a quarter of the town has been rebuilt.

The guild on the other hand was rebuilt in under five days thanks to the insane workload Erza forced on everyone. The craziest thing wasn’t even that. The master thought of disbanding the guild, the idea almost gave me a heart attack, But I’m glad Master changed his mind after he realized how sad everyone would be if that happened.

Everyone seems to be going back to their daily routines but some wounds are too deep to heal. It’s just not the same even now. But I’m sure things will get better soon.

I love you mama. I will talk again soon.

Lucy then put the finishing touches on the letter and put it away for safekeeping inside one of her top cabinets opposite her bed.

After having a nice warm shower Lucy was having a hard time deciding what to wear.

“I know, He can help me. Open! Gate of the little dog! Plue!” Lucy chanted as she pointed her key in the air.

In a puff of smoke what looked like to be a short, carrot nosed dog puffed into existence.

“Hmm. I haven’t worn this one in a long time, what do you think Plue?” She asked her little celestial spirit.  The small little creature walked over to over a dozen outfits sitting on her bed and pointed to a blue and white outfit.

Lucy looked at the outfit Plue had chosen and gave him a big hug saying; “I knew you could help me. Thank you Plue.” Shortly after in another puff of smoke the spirit was gone.

Lucy was walking down the road to the newly rebuilt guild hall wearing a blue shirt, a short, white skirt, long brown leggings and a black sleeve with her hair tied into a long ponytail.

Before she knew it Lucy was already at the guild hall. She pushed the doors open to find the usual scenes. People drinking merrily, some checking the request board and fiends chatting.

Lucy went to sit down at an empty table right near the entrance. She smiled at all the commotion around her. Thinking of better times.

“Oh Lucy! It’s so nice to see you at the guild again. You haven’t been here for weeks.” Mirajane said as she walked over to lucy’s table.

“Yeah, it’s good to be back.” Lucy murmured looking down at the table.

“Is there anything I can order for you, Lucy?” Mirajane asked.

Lucy murmured “No thanks, mira.”

“Well, if you need anything just call.” Mirajane said as she walked off to serve another person.

Lucy looked around the guild for Natsu and Happy hoping that they could go on a mission together.

“It’s just been so long.” She said to herself. Suddenly, something caught her attention in the corner of her eye.

    “Erza! We’ve been waiting 30 minutes for our beer and it’s still not here! You’re a worse waitress than Kinana!” Wakaba shouted in a semi drunken state.

“Uh, bud I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Macao replied to his long-time friend.

Just hearing the remarks by Wakaba, Erza rushed over to the table where he was seated, and like a tiger killing its prey Erza instantly jumped Wakaba.

“If it’s alcohol you want then it’s alcohol you’ll get!” Erza said as she started to force down a whole barrel of alcohol down his throat.

Lucy watched on in confusion and worry, glad to be sitting a few tables back.

“Erza being a waitress is a pretty scary thing.” Lucy nervously thought to herself.

Getting tired of sitting around Lucy got up from her seat and walked over to the request board.

“Even if I can’t go on missions with Natsu and Happy, I still need to pay rent.”

Lucy scanned the request board looking for a job suitable for both herself and her spirits. Unfortunately, she could only find dangerous jobs that would require a three-person team.

Suddenly a familiar flying, blue cat flew into the guild hall and grabbed a handful of flyers.

Lucy looked up above in surprise. “Happy it’s you! I haven’t seen you and Natsu in ages. How has he been?”

Happy looked down to see Lucy staring up at him. “I can’t talk now, Lucy! Got work to do!”

Lucy murmured, looking at the floor. “Of course, you do.”

  Hours later, Lucy was working on the finishing touches on another two pages of her novel. Feeling tired, she stretched her arms and decided it was time to go to bed.

Lucy signed, lying in bed. “I spent a whole day at the guild and I didn’t even get a single job, and Rent is coming up soon too. Maybe tomorrow I might find something.”

As Lucy slept in her bed, a dream started to form in her mind.

“Puny human, no mortal can stand up to the might of the four Celestial Gods.”

“I don’t care! I need to do this so I can save my family.”

“Draco! Deal with this pest for me.”

“Yes, my lord.”

A hulking monster appeared as if out of nowhere, standing down Natsu.

“So, you’re the Celestial god everyone’s been talking about, huh?” Natsu said in a sarcastic tone.

“Natsu! Get away, you’ll die!” Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs.  

The creature simply attacked, paying no attention to Lucy’s words.

“Celestial God Dragon… Roar!”

In a split second a wave of fire that felt as hot as the sun engulfed Natsu, and a split second later there was nothing left but ash.

Suddenly Lucy shot awake, she looked around, realizing she was safe in her own bed.

“It was just a dream, then?”

Lucy realized her body was shaking in fear, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Natsu…”

  Lucy was sitting by the bar, drinking a coffee to try to keep herself awake. She didn’t get much sleep after she awoke from her nightmare.

“Oi Lucy! Watcha doing?” Natsu said as he draped his arm around lucy’s neck and chest, a little too close for comfort.

Lucy turned around and saw Natsu. “Natsu, it’s been so long. What have you been doing?”  

Natsu looked Lucy in her eyes and said; “Oh nothing! Just missions and stuff. I need to get stronger and stronger!”

Lucy’s face lit up, and an idea popped into her head. “Since you’re here, how about we go on a mission together?”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

“Happy! Find a flyer for Lucy and us.” Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Aye sir!” Happy replied.

A large shard of ice suddenly shot through the air and hit Natsu in the head.

“What the hell was that?” Natsu yelled.

“Hey, flame brain! Leave a few jobs for the rest of us will ya!” Gray yelled.

“Huh?” Natsu grunted.

“You’re taking all the damn jobs in the guild, soon enough there won’t be any left.” Gray replied.

Natsu jumped up from his seat and yelled; “Ya got a problem with that, popsicle man!”

Gray was starting to get visibly annoyed at Natsu’s ignorance. “You know I do, weren’t you listening, dumbass.”

Natsu then suddenly punched Gray and the force of the impact destroyed a table.

“Oh, it’s on now, Natsu!” Gray yelled.

Soon enough the entire guild was their battleground, getting other wizards caught up in their brawl.

Lucy looked at them both and murmured; “They never learn, do they?”

“I feel so tired.” Lucy said as she started to yawn. “I think I’ll just rest here for a bit, Mira.”

“Don’t sleep too long.” Mira replied.

Lucy started to drift off to sleep, the guild’s noise acting as a lullaby to her.

Lucy suddenly found herself in a very familiar place. It was her father’s old mansion. She started to stroll through the lovely garden out front when suddenly she was pulled away and dragged into a terrible memory.

It was raining.

Everyone was dressed in black.

Suddenly, Lucy knew what the memory was.

It was her mother’s funeral. When Lucy looked around, she realized she was her child like self again. Small and defenseless. The wails of pain and agony were a chorus of tears Lucy wished she never had to remember again.

Then, suddenly, the dream changed. Lucy was standing in shallow water, now an adult again.

“Fix the keys… the land of the spirits.”

Lucy heard a familiar voice.

“Who are you? Why do you sound like my…”?

A figure appeared in the distance. Lucy ran to it. It was Layla.

“Mum?” Lucy murmured.

The figure turned its head to reveal a half rotting corpse, a small smile etched on its face.

  “AAAHHH!!”

Lucy suddenly shot awake and her scream stopped the guild, as if everyone was frozen.

Natsu and Gray stopped fighting, Erza stopped eating her cake, all to look at Lucy.

Natsu ran over to Lucy as fast as he could, with Happy flying behind him, he ran over to the stool Lucy was sitting on.

“Mama?” Lucy said as she looked at Natsu, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Oi Lucy! Are you alright?” Natsu asked, shocked at her scream.

Lucy looked at Natsu and Happy.

She murmured; “I’m fine, I just… had a dream.

“You had us all worried sick. Are you sure you’ll alright?” Natsu questioned.

“I’m fine, really I am.” Lucy said.

Happy was floating above Lucy’s head. “Was it about tasty fish?”

Lucy slightly laughed. “No happy, it’s not about tasty fish.”

“Oh! I betcha it was about Fighting.” Natsu yelled.

“No, fish!” happy replied.

“Fighting!”

“Fish!”

Lucy walked over to master, who was sitting on one of the tables nearby.

“I’m sorry master. I’m sorry everyone. I didn’t mean to worry you all.” Lucy said sadly.

Makarov looked at Lucy with a worried look.

“There’s no need to worry, my child. We all have bad days, but the important thing is to always remember that tomorrow will be better. So, keep your head held high, for that is the Fairy Tail way.” Makarov said.

Lucy looked at the ground, not able to look master in the face. Whether that was out of shame or cowardice she didn’t know.

Moments after Makarov’s talk the guild started to liven up again, becoming its old rowdy self.

“I think I need to go home.” Lucy said.

Makarov watched Lucy walk out of the guild with concern plastered on his face. Lucy looked like she was in a haze.

 Lucy barely made it home to her apartment. Walking home in a daze.

As soon Lucy entered her home, she started to undress.

“I need a hot shower… I’ll fell bet…”

She suddenly collapsed on the floor.

Lucy awoke in the same void of shallow water as before. She saw the same thing parading around as her mother.

“Who are you? Answer me! Lucy shouted nervously at the figure.

The figure moved and as it turned its head, Lucy anticipated the horrific figure from earlier. But it never came. All she saw was the beautiful face of her mother.

“Lucy, I have not seen you in years. You have grown so much since I last saw you.” Layla said.

“I don’t understand any of this, what’s going on?” Lucy asked her mother.

Layla looked at Lucy with sadness on her face.

I have been trying to contact you, I have a mission for you, a way to save Aquarius.

Lucy was shocked, she couldn’t believe what she heard.

“Let me explain, my daughter.” Layla said.

“In the northern continent, in ancient times a meteor hit and devastated the landscape, however since that day, that place has become a wellspring of power for celestial spirit wizards. Go to the celestial steppe and you will find a blacksmith that can fix any key, even celestial keys.” Layla Stated.

Lucy tried to run closer to her mother but no matter how close she got Layla would always be out of reach. “How do you know all this? Can I even trust you?”

Layla looked at her daughter with sad eyes.

“Of course, you can trust me, I’m your mother. All will be explained soon, just know that I love you, lucky Lucy.” Layla smiled and then disappeared.

Lucy woke up from her dream, determined to make it a reality.

“I’ll be with you soon, Aquarius. Just hold on a little more.” Said Lucy.  

  The next day Happy and Natsu were standing by the request board in the guild. They had found the perfect job for Lucy.

“I’m sure Lucy would loooove this one!” Happy yelled, with the flyer in his paws.

“I wouldn’t miss seeing Lucy looking like that for the world.” Natsu said as he grinned mischievously.

Natsu ran out the guild’s doors as fast as he could with Happy flying not far too behind.  

“Hey Lucy! Me and Happy found a job that you’d really like. It pays well.” Natsu Yelled outside Lucy’s apartment window. The flyer moving in the wind.

There was a silence for a moment.

“Is Lucy not home?” happy asked.

“Nah, she’s just ignoring me. Watch.” Natsu said as he jumped from the ground to the window sill outside Lucy’s window.

Natsu pulled the wooden frame up and hoped inside, with happy flying in after him.

“She’s not here.” Said Happy, looking around.

“Well, she’s gotta be. Let’s have a look around.” Natsu told Happy.

“She’s not in here.” Happy said as he lifted up the lid for a cookie jar.

Natsu grinned. “I know where you are. I’m coming in!” Natsu ripped the shower curtain off its rod expecting to see a naked Lucy.

“Huh, she’s not even here?”

Happy flew right into Natsu’s arms with tears in his eyes. “I looked around everywhere and Lucy isn’t here. Is she okay?”

“I dunno, bud.” Natsu replied. “But something is wrong.”

“Master!”

Natsu burst through the guild hall as loud as a bull and ran up to Makarov, who was sitting on the bar top.

“What is it my boy.” Makarov asked.

Everyone looked at Natsu in confusion. Breathing heavily from running to the guild, Natsu and Happy were trying to regain their breath. “It’s…Lucy…she’s… gone!”

“Hmm, what do you mean by that Natsu.” Makarov said.

“Lucy was here and then she was gone and I can’t find her anywhere.” Natsu said quickly, panicking.

“Calm down first Natsu.” Erza replied, who was standing to the right of Makarov.

After waiting a minute for Natsu to catch his breath, he finally spoke;

“I went to Lucy’s place to tell her me and Happy had a job for her to do, But I couldn’t find her anywhere. Then we looked around Magnola hoping to find her scent, but nothing. It’s like she just disappeared.”

“Well, this is troubling.” The master said.

“This is not like Lucy at all. She can be clumsy but she wouldn’t just leave like that.” Erza said.

“Could this be an enemy targeting Lucy?” Juvia chimed in.

“It’s a possibility. After what we went through fighting Tartaros I wouldn’t be shocked if someone wanted revenge.” Gray pondered.

For a moment Makarov closed his eyes and meditated on the news.

“We’ll send out a search party to look for Lucy. Natsu, Gray, Erza, Juvia and Wendy, you all will form a search party and look for Lucy. Also, we will use your telepathy, Warren to try and locate her as well.” Master Makarov announced.

Natsu was grinding his teeth and had his fists clenched, an aura of anger surrounding him.

“Don’t worry Lucy, we’ll get you back for sure. You can count on it.”

  It was one whole week after Lucy disappeared and everyone was low on spirits. The guild was as busy as ever, but it had a tinge of sadness in the air.

One whole week of searching all over Fiore and nothing showed up, not even a single hint.

Suddenly a strange, fat woman walked in the guild hall wearing Lucy’s old outfits with a wagon filled with boxes of clothes and other items.

“Isn’t that the landlady Lucy rented from?” Gray asked, pointing to the guild’s doors.

“The Landlady, why would she be here? Erza questioned.

“Is this the place where Lucy Heartfilia works?” The woman yelled.

“Yes, why?” Gray Asked.

“That brat went up and left, not even paying the rent she owes me, she left all her crap at my apartment too, So I’m dumping it here.” The woman ranted.

Natsu walked up to the landlady, looking at her with disgust. “Lucy always paid her rent on time. She always panicked about getting kicked out. This isn’t like her.”

“Well, your friend doesn’t give a crap anymore, that’s for sure.” The landlady said as she pushed all of Lucy’s belongings off the wagon and onto the floor.

Natsu stood there, clenching his fists in anger.

As the landlady started to walk out the door, she threw a letter on the ground.

“Oh, and she left this too.”

“A letter?” Natsu said as he picked it up and opened it.

Natsu couldn’t believe what he read. His hands started to shake.

“Natsu, please read aloud the letter, for all of us.” Erza said.

Dear Natsu.

“It saddens me to say this but, I’m leaving on a journey, one that is more important to me than you could ever imagine. I don’t know how long I will be gone; it could be a month or it could be a year or two.

I wish I could have stayed in the guild longer, but don’t worry, I will always be in your hearts and I will always be a member of Fairy Tail.

If you’re reading this, Natsu, then it means that I have already crossed the borders of Fiore. I will be sending this letter to my apartment, so if you ever break in be sure to read it.

Sincerely,

Lucy.

  A horse drawn carriage pulled up to a stop on near the edge of a mountain. The driver rubbing his cold hands together to try to heat them.

“I’m sorry miss, but this is as far as I can take you. The blizzard is just too strong.”

A slender, young woman jumped out of the carriage and said; “It’s okay, thank you for taking me this far.” She threw a bag filled with jewel to the driver.

“Nice doing business with ya!” The driver said as he directed his horse the way they came.

Lucy fixed her scarf closer to her neck for warmth. She looked off over into the distance, everything was a flurry of white.

“I’ve finally made it to the northern continent. It looks like my journey starts now.”

[teenwolffan-with-nolife]

The Witch and The Wolf Pt.21

Word Count: 1,567

Characters: Isaac Lahey, Scott McCall, Derek Hale, Deaton, Reader, OC characters

Pairings: Eventual Derek Hale x Witch!Reader

Warnings: angst, some minor language, other stuff that I can’t remember but nothing too serious

A/N: i’m done with this series and i’m not even halfway through

Masterlist       Series Masterlist

“Do you think this is going to work?” you asked Deaton, sitting on the counter at the vet.

“There's only one way to find out. But it should work, the question is, are you up for it?” he asked.

You went to Deaton for help, after Isaac told you about your eyes. He found out that you did still have powers, and that you could get your powers back by being so close to death that your powers would have to come out to save your life.

“We can always try an ice bath,” he suggested.

“Isn’t it dangerous?” you replied.

“There’s nothing safe we can do to get your powers back. We can try and kill you, lure out your powers,” Deaton explained.

I could die

The entire thing was high risk or high reward.

Or I’ll get my powers back

You nodded softly, agreeing.

“Good. Scott is on his way with Derek,” you tensed up, looking at Deaton.

“Why?” you immediately asked.

“You’ll need a wolf to help keep your head underwater. I can’t do it on my own,” he shrugged.

“But why is Derek coming too?” you asked.

“You need someone that you share an emotional connection with to help lure you back in case things go wrong,” he replied.

“That’s dumb. Why couldn't Isaac do it? Or Scott?” you asked again.

“As close as you are with them, your connection with Derek is stronger, and they’re both betas who haven’t fully learned control yet. You’ll need more than that,” he said.

You let out a shaky exhale before nodding your head.

---

“You ready for this?” Isaac asked you.

You nodded, feeling nervousness in your veins.

“Okay, it’s simple, all you have to do, is close your eyes and lay down,” Deaton instructed.

“And try not to die,” Isaac muttered.

“Isaac,” you groaned, rolling your eyes.

You took a deep breath, looking at the bathtub in front of you, filled with ice and cold water. You took off your shoes, closing your eyes softly.

You glanced at Derek, before looking away. 

You can do this

 You shook your head, clearing your thoughts as you lifted your foot, placing it in the water as chills immediately went up your body. It was freezing. 

You continued going in, taking a big breath before going underwater. You felt Derek’s hands on your shoulders, keeping you down.

You kept your eyes closed, holding your breath. You could feel yourself getting lightheaded as you struggled to stay down. 

This was a bad idea you tried calling out, only to consume water. You tried pulling Derek’s hands off of you, trying to come out.

You heard Deaton’s voice, saying something to them, but couldn't hear it.

Scott and Isaac put their hands on you, all three of them holding you down.

---

“This is a bad idea,” Derek said, slightly frustrated.

“It's her choice, not yours,” Scott said, raising an eyebrow. Derek felt you pulling on his arms, struggling.

“Isaac, Scott, help him,” Deaton said.

The two of them hesitated, looking nervously before helping Derek.

“What the hell?! She’s strong,” Isaac gasped, struggling to keep you down.

“How long will this take? Will she get hurt?” Scott asked.

“No, she’ll be fine. Keep holding her down,” Deaton replied.

“Her heart rate,” Derek said, listening for your scarce heartbeat. The three of them felt you stop struggling, as your body went limp.

---

You groaned, sitting up, surprised to see yourself laying on a bed. You looked around, gasping slightly as you realized where you were. You weren’t at your apartment, you were at your old house.

What the fuck?

You slowly got out of bed, making your way out of your room. You heard a noise, deciding to follow it. You heard a familiar voice, a very familiar voice. You ran downstairs, seeing your younger self standing in front of you.

Flashback

You tensed softly, listening to your cries, before hearing your mom’s voice. Tears rushed to your eyes as the memory came back to you. This was the moment you discovered your powers.

Your eyes were purple, you had your arms wrapped around yourself as books flew around the room.

Your mother ran to you, standing in front of you before she knelt down, meeting your eyes.

“Hey, it’s okay baby,” she cooed.

Shivers went through your spine as you watched her.

“Mom, what’s happening to me?” you cried.

“Don’t be scared, baby. I’ll explain everything, I promise you. You gotta calm down right now baby girl. Just breathe, close your eyes. Relax, I’m right here,” your mom said softly, as she put her hands on your shoulders.

“Just take a deep breath. Close your eyes, baby,” your mom said, wrapping her arms around you. Your younger self closed her eyes, hugging your mom tightly, exhaling sharply. Everything fell to the ground, your mom holding onto you tightly.

You held back your cries, feeling your heart in the back of your chest before you sniffled.

“Mom,” you cried softly. 

She couldn’t hear you.

You felt your head spinning as the image of your mom faded from your view. You heard a knock at your front door, watching your mom re-appear as she walked down the stairs, opening the front door.

Derek stood on the other side as you tensed up.

---

Derek kept his hand on your shoulder, looking down at your calm figure. His eyes glew red, seeing black veins on his arm as he bent forward, feeling himself go dizzy.

“Don’t let go of her,” Deaton warned.

“What’s happening?” Derek asked.

“She must be dreaming,” Deaton explained.

Derek kept his grip on you, looking down.

---

Tears rushed down your face, watching as Derek buried his head in your mother’s arms.

“You” ran to Derek, wrapping your arms around him tightly.

“Laura wants to leave Beacon Hills,” Derek whimpered.

“I don’t want you two to leave,” your mother wiped away “your” tears as you felt your heart aching.

You could feel something pulling on your arm, trying to pull you away from your mom. You clenched your jaw, pushing it back before it pulled you harshly. You felt your head his the wall as you groaned softly.

“Hey,” you twisted their arm off you, pushing down on it.

“Dis,” the figure whispered a spell, pushing you back, pinning you against a wall.

Derek, your mother, and yourself were no longer in front of you.

“Bring them back,” your voice wavered.

“You know, all Derek ever tried to do was keep you safe,” you heard your voice from in front of you as you remained stiff.

“Who the hell are you?” you asked.

“What the…” your jaw dropped as they pulled down their hood, revealing themselves. It was you. You were standing in front of yourself.

“Yeah, I’m on drugs aren’t I?” you rolled your eyes.

“You” stood there, laughing, walking around you.

“Will you let me go?” you groaned.

“He was a good person. He always tried to keep you safe, all you ever do is yell at him, fight with him, hurt him,” you felt a shiver up your spine as you remained quiet.

“It’s like everyone sacrifices themselves for us but we’re too stubborn, too selfish to do any good for anyone else,” you saw “your” eyes flash black as you dug your nails into your palm.

“Mom’s dead, Dad hates us. Derek should hate us. Isaac deserves someone better, as do the rest of them. We’re too broken to deserve what we have.”

“You don't know what you’re saying,” your voice was barely above a whisper.

“I’m you. I’m in your head. I know everything you think, (Y/N). I know that deep down you blame yourself for everything, mom dying, dad almost dying, mom and dad splitting up because of us, Isaac becoming a wolf. And it's all your fault. You broke up with Derek because he tried to protect you. You're like a disease, (Y/N). You know you're toxic. So why are you still running away from this?” 

You close your eyes, ignoring “your” words. 

“I’m not running away from anything,” you spat.

“You’re running away from me. If you think you’re bad now, just wait a little while longer, you’ll despise yourself for even breathing.”

You felt tears rush down your face, your heart aching. You saw a light shining from above you as you let out a shaky breath.

---

“It’s been four hours, I’m taking her out,” Derek pulled on your arm before Scott stopped him.

“It’s not your choice. Deaton knows what he's doing,” Scott warned.

“I don’t care, she’s gonna die if I don’t. You can’t stop me,” Derek roared, shoving Scott harshly.

“Derek…” Isaac started.

Derek glared at him, as he looked away.

He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you out. You gasped, coughing loudly as you opened your eyes.

“(Y/N)?” Derek asked as you sat on the ground.

Isaac rushed to you, wrapping a towel around you.

“A-Are you okay?” Isaac asked.

Your eyes flashed purple as you nodded. 

“I gotta go,” you said softly.

“What? Why?” Derek asked, reaching his hand for you.

“I gotta go,” you pushed yourself up, pushing his hand away as you pulled off the towel, handing it to Isaac.

“Go where? What's wrong?” Isaac asked.

“I gotta go,” your eyes watered as you ran out of the office.

“(Y/N), wait!” 

[aloesarchives]

Gaolang Headcanons

(A/N):Sorry this took so long, I recently had a writer's block that made me really unmotivated to write. Another reason that it took so long was because I made the reader have a background that would’ve made it oc like, which I usually tend to stay away from. But after so pep talk with a friend and remembering this is my blog, I decided to say fuck it and write to self-indulge in my writing more and write this headcanon(what I mean is appearance is up to you but things like job occupation would be up to me. And also literally after eating ice cream, the thought of writing came back and here I am. Plus, who wouldn’t dream of being able to fight(doesn’t mean fighter) and kick ass in the Kengan series? If you said no, you lying.

(Edit July 1 2020 2:44am: Okay so Tumblr glitched again where my posts having been showing up on me blog and just disappeared from the search so I had to repost them again, I apologize for any inconveniences)

Word count:4257 words

But now, what many of you have been waiting for,

The Man, the myth, the legend himself,

Gaolang Fucking Daddy Wongsawat

I’ma write so much for this man you have no idea

Let’s gets two things out of the way first about this absolute unit of a man right here: Gaolang Wongsawat

First things first, Gaolang is literally a man of few words. He’s not mute, of course, it’s just he’s more of a man that speaks when spoken to. However, it doesn’t mean you start and carry every conversation the two of you have. Gaolang is always listening to you when you speak even though he’s not looking at you. He just gives you a short reply or answer when you ask him certain things, not a a tired or agitated response but more of them not pushing an agenda into the conversation unless needed so.

But when it’s just the two of you and a silent falls in between, it’s unsurprisingly serene and pleasant. Like the silence and energy that Gaolang gives off doesn’t make you uncomfortable or awkward, which is ideal when you both don’t want to talk because you’re either tired and lean on Gaolang, or when words aren’t needed in the moment and you silently enjoy each other company. He’s one of the few people to be able to not talk much and make the air not feel unbearable.

Second, Gaolang is a man of honor. With his status in Thailand and being the bodyguard of King Rama XII, Gaolang doesn’t use his status to prey on others/ those who are weaker than him. He deems that as cowardice and dishonorable so he doesn’t really want to cause trouble for King Rama and you.

Now with that out of the way, let’s got on it with this man, shall we?

TBH, you could’ve met Gaolang anywhere so it’s up in the air how you guys met.

The apartment is always clean and nice since Gaolang cleans up the place once or twice a week. You do you part around the house, of course, to keep it clean when Gaolang isn’t home, especially when he’s out for his boxing matches and championships for heavyweight. But Gaolang has a particular way of keeping the apartment clean and gets kinda of passive aggressive when something isn’t cleaned properly.

You two mostly split doing the chores in the house, like you vacuum and he does the dishes for the week and it would switch every other week. The only chore Gaolang just leaves solely up to you is the laundry. This is due to him not wanting to mess up any of your clothing when he’s washing them so you do both of your guys’s laundry. Plus, Gaolang doesn’t have that much of a diverse closet so washing his clothes isn’t much of a hassle.

Cooking wise, you mostly leave it up to Gaolang b/c face it, Gaolang is the better cook between the two of you, no offense mate. But Gaolang’s cooking smacks so hard you don’t eat out/get takeout anymore unless you’re craving some of that Thailand street food, which he doesn’t mind as long as it’s not frequent. But fam, why go out when Gaolang’s cooking is so good?

Domestic life with Gaolang is honestly lovely, holy shit. Like it’s pure bliss and wonderful. Usually it goes like this:

Every morning, Gaolang usually wakes up earlier than you which you don’t mind. He gets dress but doesn’t put on his dress shirt on until he has to leave for work. While you get ready for the day and freshen up, he already made coffee(if you drink it) and is cooking breakfast. When you’re done and walk out of the bed room, you already greet him good morning where you either hug him from behind or give him a good morning kiss( but the second one is always your go to). The tv is on in the background and you sip your drink as you watch what’s currently on. Gaolang calls out saying breakfast is ready and you two eat at the table. Once down, dishes are put into the sink and after a few minutes, Gaolang has to leave for work. He puts on his dress shirt, grabs his blazer, and while he’s tying his tie you’re at the door to bid him a good day at work. Once he’s finish and has put on his shoes on, you wish him a good day along with a kiss as you wave him off. Once you hear the door click, you knew it would be awhile until he comes back home. Your job allows you do work at home so you’re always in the apartment. Once done, you would clean the place, do the laundry, run a couple of errands, or relax. For lunch you have leftovers that Gaolang cooked the day before in the fridge. Afterwards, you do stuff to let the time pass whether it be productive or not. You know Gaolang is home by the clicking of the door and his voice saying “I’m home”. You give him a welcome back kiss and asked him about his day while holding onto his blazer to be later stemmed. He just said it was normal and nothing of the sort. However, there was one time he told you  fought someone who tried to claim he’s spot as his majesty’s bodyguard but by the look of things you can assume Gaolang won. While you put away his blazer, he ask you about your day which you reply with the usual that you say. Right away, you and Gaolang start making dinner for the evening. Gaolang is at the stove while you cut up the meat and vegetables and handing it to them when you’re done. Washing your hands, you set up the table and waited until he was done. Dinner mostly has minimal talking because it’s eating time but Gaolang will answer you if you ask him something. The aftermath of dinner is mostly compromise of cleaning the dishes, the table, counter tops, and putting away the left overs in the fridge. Then it’s off to the bedroom where the two of you get ready for bed. You always let Gaolang go first into the bathroom to do what need to do since he’s quick. Once done with both of your nightly routines, you two head off for bed. You always give him a good night kiss before sleeping and Gaolang has an arm around you as the two of you sleep.

There are very few times where you wake up first: when he gets the day off, just got back to Thailand from weeks abroad for championships and matches, or from a hefty training session. However, this is mostly uncommon to happen as Gaolang is a early bird.

Sleepwise, Gaolang doesn’t really snore. He’s a quiet sleeper, however, he leans in more of moderate- lighter sleeper where heavy stirring and noise can bring him out of sleep. But it does take some minimal effort to wake him up. Gaolang is the type of person to face away you the two of you would fall asleep but when you wake up his body is facing you and his arms are caging you in. I can see him also being the type of spouse to carry you into your bed if you fell asleep on the couch or while working, Gaolang is more than welcome to carry off to bed, hell he’ll tuck you in and give you a forehead kiss.

This man will HOLD you in your sleep, fucking on cloud 9, sis. And you never felt more safe and comfortable in your life.

Gaolang doesn’t talk a lot when eating, but again he won’t shy away when you’re talking/asking him something.

Straight up, Gaolang loves to watch those soap operas/Asian dramas, it’s sort of his guilty pleasure. When you found out about it, you didn’t really judge him for it because you actually liked the series he was watching. He was a little bit anxious when you didn’t say anything but relaxed when the only words you said to him was “Gao, scoot over this is getting interesting.” Like he’s motionless and his face barely contorts when the plot begins to thicken but you can tell he is enjoying the show.

It would be untrue if you didn’t at least have some encounter with Saw Paing. God, I can imagine as soon Gaolang leaves for work and you have the apartment to yourself, then the next thing you know there’s a Burmese man in his 30′s outside of your window and he’s screaming at the top of his lungs what seem to be your beloved names. Two thoughts are running through your head as you’re just staring on at this man: #1- Who the hell is this man and how does he know Gaolang? and #2- How in the hell was he able to climb up to you and Gaolang’s high rise apartment? After you let him in through one of your windows, the man was quite surprise because he hasn’t seen you before, or more rather in the apartment. He asked you who were you, when you said you’re Gaolang’s wife, he was shock and kind of ecstatic to know that Gaolang has gotten himself a spouse. The first thing you took note was his loud and constant yelling; however, when you’re talking to him in the apartment, he dies down his voice and doesn’t yell. He somehow manages to leave the apartment and miss Gaolang arrival from work. And when Gaolang comes home and asked about your day, he’s slightly intrigued when you said you made a new friend. As soon as you mention Saw Paing, you see Gaolang’s face slightly grimace as he let out an annoyed sigh. He apologizes for his behavior and for you not to say sorry for causing it. After he explains his history with Saw Paing, you now understand his reaction. Gaolang is kind of happy for you to be friends with Saw Paing because at least Saw Paing gets to hang out with you and not bother him whiles he’s trying to live his life with you. Surprisingly, when you became friends with Saw Paing, he won’t barge into your guys’s apartment or yell anymore, most of the time that is. But it’s all good with Saw Paing being and Gaolang doesn’t mind as long as he is minimal involvement in it.

Saw Paing is your buddy, fam. It��s bound to happen.

You do fight but it’s more on the side and a hobby you do. Unlike Gaolang, who does this as a profession, you do this as more for fitness and self defense. You’re not as powerful as Gaolang, but you can handle yourself enough where Gaolang doesn’t have to worry about you going out without him. The two of you spar and train together when given the time but during the small sparring Gaolang goes easy on you because he doesn’t want to hurt you.

King Rama every now and then would ask Gaolang about you. Rama is pretty much Gucci with Gaolang so it doesn’t really bug him. King Rama is one of the few people that knew about you being with Gaolang, so yeah. He was intrigued by the fact that Gaolang subtle mentions you the first time he asked him. Over time, Rama listen to his royal subject and bodyguard as Gaolang talks about you, he just wants Gaolang to spill the tea. Although it’s very hard for many people notice, King Rama notice a slight soften in Gaolang during those moments. The fact that you were able to make a dent in the stoic Thai God of War was more than enough for Rama to have a reason to meet you. He was curious on who you were to able to do that to Gaolang. Then queue the day you were invited by the King of Thailand himself to have a simple small meeting. You had no idea why the King wanted audience with you, but you knew you had to go b/c it would be rude if you didn’t.  You told Gaolang that you had to leave early to go somewhere and he thought nothing of it. You also didn’t tell Gaolang about it cause you assumed he knew about it. For some reason, King Rama keep things simple and asked you to walk around the palace’s garden, contrasting his extravagant behavior. Being the charismatic person he is, you’re not intimidated by him and answer his questions truthfully. After listening to your replies and responses, especially ones about Gaolang, he now understands why Gaolang took interest to you, you’re unique in the sense that you’re a blue diamond. Matchless, rare, and unlike any other, not in the way you shiny above everyone since you blended into the crowd, but once they have stumble upon and get to know you there’s no turning back from there. Just the imagine the shock on Gaolang’s face when he gets to work and sees you talking to his majesty. He was curious and a bit scared that you were talking to Rama but after a short exchange of laughter it disappeared. After you spotted Gaolang and the two of you walked towards him, Rama stated the two of you had a little chat and that you were heading on your way. Once Gaolang responded with a head nod, you bow to the King and wave bye to Gaolang as you go for the rest of the day. Soon as you’re out of sight, King Rama comments to Gaolang that you’re a hidden gem and told him to take good care of you. And Gaolang being Gaolang, smiles and fulfills his duties given by his king.

King Rama, low key, wants Gaolang to settle down because, I’m gonna be honest, he deserves it. Like Rama is vigile and gives Gaolang days off so he can spend time with you, this includes when Gaolang has boxing matches and championships too. He just wants Gaolang to slow down in life and spends his life with you without stress or worry.

King Rama implicitly ships you and Gaolang but you didn't hear it from me.

You definitely have run into King Rama during Gaolang’s boxing matches. Speaking of which, you always watch his matches. Whether it be at home or in the actually stadium. you make sure you were watching every single one of his fights. It’s enthralling to watch him fight, like his infamous Flash of 13 jabs is something that never cease to amaze you. Having won 4 heavyweight championship, you’ve never really doubted him and his abilities one bit. During one of his championship, King Rama was actually present and invited you to join him in the VIP lounge to watch Gaolang. The fight was intense but Gaolang came out victorious and won with a knock out. It was one of the most amazing things you have every seen as the crowd roared at the win and King Rama allowed Gaolang to take a 5 day rest as his fruitful victory.

There are times where you’re either at the entrance of the ring or inside the locker room to wish him luck. The most he’ll accept is a hug and a kiss on the cheek, that’s it. But he does flash you a smile before going out there.

Without a doubt, Gaolang is a very private person, except to you of course. Like Gaolang doesn’t reveal much of his home life to the public to keep the paparazzi away. He likes to keep the his work life and home life extremely separate. Your relationship with him and even your own existence is unknown to the public, THAT’S how private Gaolang is. And a little bit of help from King Rama as well.

Gaolang is not much of a confrontation man, but will confront and be straightforward with you when something is wrong with/bothering you.

He’s also is an observant person, you could tell by the way he analyzes opponents so he at least can read you and situations at home.

Due to this, he is very good a giving compliments. Not the super cheesy one, it’s usually the simple ones, and those are the one that get you all the time.

He has a chill personality, calm and collected, he’s not the type to jump the gun on assumptions. The man trusts you, fam.

It’s really hard to make Gaolang mad. He gets annoyed and aggravated, yeah, but it’ll never escalates to him being furious. Gaolang knows how to manage his emotions and has never really been irrational or lashed out before. The only time you ever saw Gaolang lose his composure was when he yelled at Saw Paing. And that moment, right there, was terrifying to you because you never seen Gaolang lash out before. So you do your best to not push his buttons too much.

Gaolang lets you do your own thing because he understands that you have your own life and do things on your own accord. Not much of a controlling person, far from you. But Gaolang doesn’t understand why you have a job when he makes a reasonable salary for the both of you to live off on. When you told him that you wanted to contribute to society and not rely on him for everything, and you also said you like to have save pocket money. Gaolang respects your answer and kinda likes that you take accountability for yourself.

Jealousy is something that Gaolang knows about and doesn’t really feel, but more rather avoid. Gaolang is comfortable in his own skin and abilities to know that you will not betray him and leave him for someone else. And it’s obvious when you’re not interested in anyone other than Gaolang and tell people off when they hit on you. But what really aggravates him is when the person can’t take a goddamn hint when you tell them off or deny any of their advances on you. Especially if it’s a scumbag of a guy. But Gaolang can’t be irrational due to him having a public image to uphold so he has to logical and clear minded. So Gaolang rational annoyance is rising in level, like his stare goes hard, his aura becomes daunting, anyone who’s near him fear like they would shit in their pants if they ever had to face Gaolang in such a state. You kept telling the guy that your husband/boyfriend wouldn’t be happy if he keep up his behavior with you. Then the man mocks about your lover and asks who is the lucky guy. Then queue my man Gaolang standing behind him and saying it was him and Gaolang was with you. After commenting that Gaolang was your boyfriend/lover, you were humored by the guy’s reaction. The man went pale, apologized to the Thai God of War and was out of sight from then. I don’t know who said it, but I think it was @bokutosbiceps​ (follow them, they have really good Kengan writing pieces.) that Gaolang goes into a state of grumpiness, which I can totally see. He be like this for what, like a week at max, and this is where everyone just stands clear of Gaolang and try to not get on his bad side. Like even Saw Paing doesn’t come over when he encountered Gaolang’s grumpiness, it’s that bad. Again, he knows that you won’t really leave him because he trust you won’t be that disloyal to him. But the only way to pull him out of that slump is excessive amount of words of affirmation from you and a simple promise that you’ll never leave him. But even after pulling him out of his grumpy pants state, Gaolang acts more of a bodyguard just in case a similar case happens again. If the person/people/guy tries their luck with you then it’s over for them and they will really die, literally Gaolang goes into Thai God of War mode and it ain’t pretty. But overtime, when incidents happen like that, his reaction is less elevated every time due to your unwavering loyalty to him. Jealousy is not foreign feeling to Gaolang but he tends to stay away from it as much as possible.

Seriously, imagine leaving Gaolang for someone else. Sis/fam not only are you a damn circus act, that’s a literal downgrade on so many levels. Like why? I’ll personally find you, smack your forehead, and lecture you why that was a bad move.

I mean, everyone does stay clear on bothering you in general. But after that incident where Gaolang reveal your relationship with him, then people really know to actually stay on your good side. You don’t use Gaolang’s status to abuse power, of course, to get your way with things. But you do make it clear that you’re with/married to him.

However, it’s safe to say that no one messes with you when your boyfriend/husband is literally the best Muay Thai fighter, undisputed heavyweight boxing champion, and bodyguard of the King of Thailand. They’re about of clowns that really want to be humiliated. I’ll also beat them up for you fam, i gotchu

One flaw Gaolang probably has is him having basic logic/common sense but he can be easily swayed and convinced on things he doesn’t have prior knowledge on. The man’s open up to new things, it’s more of him acting like a dumbass for a bit.

God, the horror of seeing Gaolang with wrong Japanese etiquette hurts your eyes and soul. You had to reteach him a lot on these types of things. He’s a little bit embarrassed but grateful that you’re have enough patience to teach him the proper etiquette.

POWER COUPLE OF THAILAND, I’LL FIGHT ANYONE THAT DISAGREES WITH ME. YOU DESERVE TO BE WITH THIS MAN, THAT’S FINAL.

I’ma tell you something sis so you better open them ears: Gaolang isn’t the type to have multiple flings or be in many relationship. He has better things to do with his time than waste on short term infatuation. So if he chooses you, that’s speaking VOLUMES.

In other words, if you’re the one, YOU ARE THE ONE! Like Gaolang could’ve been a playboy and have anyone in the world but the man chose you. YOU’RE THE FUCKING CHOSEN ONE!!!!

Gaolang is not one to push things but he does have conversations with you that marriage and kids can be apart of the equation if you want.

Besides, who wouldn’t marry a man like Gaolang? You be missing out on so much.

Time with Gaolang is always productive no matter what since he knows how to use his time efficiently. You two go to the grocery store together and sometimes you divide and conquer in the store to save time. Being with Gaolang helps you manage your time effectively which helps you a lot.

Bruh, Gaolang’s hair is SOFT. You play with it when the two of you are laying down together and you can tell that he takes good care of his hair. Gaolang lets you do his hair, combing through it and add the bead at the end of his hair. He likes it when you do it.

I like to headcanon that the jewel on his forehead was a gift you gave him and every since you gave it to him he’s been wearing all day everyday.

Gaolang’s kisses are like angel feathers. They’re light and pure. He doesn’t really have any ulterior motive other than missing you on some work days. These are *chef kiss some of the most bless things you’ll ever have.

His hugs, fucking god send. Firm where you’re flush against him but not too tight. Gaolang’s hugs were just right. Those things make you feel safe, and all warm on the inside. There are some days where work is slow, where Gaolang just comes home and holds you in his arms while swaying back and forth. It helps him wine down and relax, transitioning into his home life with you. But hey, free hugs from Gaolang.

Another thing we need to talk about is his smile. I...god... seeing Gaolang smile is when you’ve achieved paradise. You do note that Gaolang doesn’t really smile that often. But if you ask him the right things, have a way with words and play your cards correctly, you can get him to smile and hell even a small chuckle out of him. And there’s no denying that you get butterflies in your stomach and feel warm, fuzzy, and so many positive emotions that you got to witness Gaolang smile.

His smile kills you, heart squeezes

Y’ALL can’t tell me that Gaolang’s smile right here gave you goose bumps or a shiver up your back. If you deny it, you’re lying to yourself, fam.

The man is CANONICALLY husband material, which mean the high possibility of him being a family man.

Literally best Husband, CHANGE MY MIND, I DARE YOU.

Gaolang is super soft to you, he is soft spoken to you, smiles more often around you, became more emotionally open, etc. He really does love and care about you, like a lot.

He is stoic teddy bear for you.

Thai Jesus, Done with everyone’s shit except yours and King Rama.

The most cursed images you have ever seen is that signature shocked express he has, it’s something you never really want ever.

Just living a good, satisfying, and tranquil life with Gaolang. A wholesome man of honor and loyalty, being with Gaolang is a goddamn dream you never want to wake up on.

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God this took way too long. Sorry for being gone for some time, I hit a writer’s block but it’s gone now. I finished on June 30th but stayed up until 12am to edit it. I’ma switch up the order and do Cosmo’s headcanon next. I’ll put the Gaolang oneshot on hold and actually finish my Chapter 2 for my series. This is my longest headcanon yet, and I’m tired.

Stay safe and beautiful, fam!

[laceymorganwrites]

Team

Word count: 1,935

Pairing: Suna x reader

Warnings: heavy angst, mentions of cheating and break ups, mentions of alcohol, Suna overthinks a lot and doubts himself and it hurts

Summary: Suna is in his head again and you help him out of it

Mini Playlist: Scumbag - Goodie Grace, blink-182

                      Outta My Mind - Doll Skin

                      We Don´t Have To Dance - Andy Black

Taglist: @bokukiyoom because it´s your fault that I´m a Suna hoe (also the rest of the discord server lol)

The apartment was quiet, as it always was. It was a calm and nice quiet, not one that felt suffocating. At least to you it felt that way.

Suna on the other hand felt the weight of the silence, he thought the silence showed how fragile your relationship was, if only he made a sound everything would break.

For months now he has felt this was and every day it got worse.

For months now you have worried about him, something clearly was wrong, but you didn´t dare ask, it was probably nothing.

That was what he told you every time you asked him about his feelings.

Suna never wanted to be dishonest with you, but it was the only thing that made him feel safe.

He was safe in his head, or at least that´s what he thought.

Over time doubt started sprouting, like a poisonous plant, consuming his thoughts.

Why were you eve with him? It didn´t make any sense, he was boring, he didn´t show any effort whatsoever to strengthen your relationship, he never went out with you, he didn´t talk to you, he was just there… like some unwanted guest.

Like some kicked puppy you felt sorry for.

Pity.

That´s all you felt for him.

Pity that he couldn´t socialize on his own, that he couldn´t make friends, that he couldn´t even speak his mind.

And he let you. Because he had nowhere else to go, because his friends would say they told him so, it was no wonder that he couldn´t even keep a partner.

You must hate him by now, probably hated him since a few months. Never really liked him, but started hating him a while ago.

Hating him, when you realized that this was going nowhere, that he´d never be the kind of guy you wanted, you deserved.

Suna wouldn´t change and that made you hate him.

But he wanted to. Badly.

He wanted to be a good boyfriend, he wanted to do the things all the other couples did, take you out on fancy dates and whatnot but he couldn´t. Because he didn´t know how to. And he didn´t have anyone to help him.

In reality and his mind alike, Suna felt utterly alone and utterly helpless, like he was being suffocated by the mass of his thoughts that were so grand, it started to feel like a void.

Self doubt and deprecating thoughts were no stranger to him and yet every time it felt as if he was being eaten alive.

He thoughts that giving into them would make it hurt less, but the opposite happened.

They swallowed him whole and replayed the same scene in his head and every time it hurt more.

Suna couldn´t bear looking at your cold face, devoid of any emotion, without any love left for him and fuck, he couldn´t blame you.

You had every right to break up with him, he was a horrible boyfriend and honestly he only asked himself what took you so long.

It shouldn´t hurt when you saw it coming, right?

Well, it did, a lot.

Reluctantly Suna stood up from the couch where he was sitting before and walked into your former shared bedroom to dress up for the party he´d attend soon.

You didn´t know what was going on with him lately, but it worried you to no end.

Suna was more quiet than usual and that was scary, usually he wasn´t this quiet around you, you wondered if you did something to upset him, but couldn´t think of anything.

But then again, you never knew what was going on inside his head, he stopped sharing his thoughts  along time ago.

All you wanted to do was make it right, but you didn´t even know what was wrong, so that would be hard.

You wanted to go back to how things were, sure every relationship fizzled out eventually, but you didn´t want that to happen to yours. You loved Suna too much for that.

He didn´t even look at you when he walked out the door, making your heart ache.

You hoped that the party would help him, he´d see his friends again and maybe they´d also pick up on the fact that something was wrong and he´d tell them.

Hopefully he´d come back to you and everything would be as it was before.

Without uttering a single word or even sparing a glance at you, Suna left the apartment, leaving you alone with your thoughts while he was taking his with him.

The weather was nice, he had always enjoyed the cool night air, yet he wasn´t filled with excitement to see his friends again like he usually was.

They´d only ask questions he didn´t know the answer to.

They met up at the same bar they hung out every month, it became routine and routine made Suna feel safe.

Change scared him.

And yet he couldn´t help but want change in your relationship. He wanted it to be like it was again, it haunted him that you finally had enough of him, finally realized that you could do so much better and finally broke up with him.

When he stepped inside he felt like burning up, he drowned out every single sound and immediately became dizzy from all the fog and the smell of alcohol.

He saw his friends in the corner and went to them, they were accompanied by some girls he didn´t know.

Osamu greeted him and asked about you, to which Suna told him that you weren´t together anymore.

Not knowing what to say, Osamu said nothing. He exchanged a confused look with his brother, Aran and Kita. They all thought everything was fine.

The last time they saw you, you looked so happy with Suna by your side.

They decided not to press the matter even though they wanted to know why and what caused the split.

Instead they decided to distract Suna as much as possible, Aran even offered that he could stay the night if he didn´t know where to go.

Suna only mumbled that he still had stuff at your place to which Atsumu offered to get it with him in the next morning.

It felt wrong that they all supported him like that.

Instead they should yell at him to get you back, to fight for the relationship, but maybe they also thought of it as a lost cause.

Maybe they took your side and were also sick of him, maybe they were glad that you finally had your peace, maybe they just wanted to quickly rip off the band aid and get everything that could possibly remind you of him, out of your life.

Suna slumped into the seat and took whatever drink Osamu got him, gulping it down and thriving in the burning sensation.

He didn´t want to get drunk, but he´d do whatever it took to forget about his thoughts weighing him down.

Even if it was just for one night.

A few drinks in he normally got more talkative, but not tonight.

Tonight he was scarily quiet and everyone was uneasy because of that.

Something was up, something was seriously wrong and they all knew it.

But then again, if you truly broke up with him, like he said, they´d understand.

They knew how much he loved you, it must´ve wrecked him.

And he definitely looked the part.

At one point a girl, equally as drunk as him, sat down next to him and tried to talk to him after the others told her about his recent break up.

They wanted to cheer him up, even if it was just with a meaningless one night stand.

Suna wasn´t the type for those, but his friends meant well.

He didn´t take any notice of her, he had tunnel vision, staring holes through the wall in front of him.

He was completely out of it.

She tapped his shoulder and he slowly turned to her, an empty and hurt look in his eyes.

Before he could ask what she wanted, she leaned in, staring at his lips.

Honestly, it wouldn´t be wrong if she kissed him right now, maybe that was just what he needed… what he deserved even.

It seemed so sweet, so delicate, so relieving to just lean in and do it.

But for some reason he couldn´t. Something held him back.

All he could think of was your face when he abruptly stood up and left the bar in a hurry.

This was the very first time in months where he could think clearly, nothing clouded his mind and he rushed to your apartment.

Your shared apartment. He wanted to win you back, he was going to do whatever it took because fuck, he´d never love anyone the way he loved you and he didn´t want to.

The way was a blur of street lights and pavement.

You still sat at the table, eating dinner as you looked at him confused.

“What are you doing here so early? Did something happen?” you asked, standing up to greet him.

He smelled like alcohol, but it was only faint, he didn´t drink that much.

“I don´t want to break up” he sobbed, breaking the silence.

“What? Who said anything about breaking up?” you thought out loud and gently touched his arm, looking in his eyes.

He looked so hurt and it made you sad.

“Please tell me what´s wrong. You´ve been like this for months now and I don´t know what to do… did something happen? Did someone hurt you? Did… I hurt you?” you asked him, every single question breaking your heart even more.

“You hate me…” he quietly said, not daring to meet your eyes.

You stepped away from him, a lump starting to form in your throat.

“You really think that? I´m… I´m so sorry… Baby, I didn´t know, please I´m so sorry” you started sobbing.

Suna finally looked at you for the first time in months and realized his mistake.

“I´m so sorry… I don´t… I could never hate you, I love you so much. I love you more than anything else. And I´m sorry I upset you, I didn´t know… I didn´t mean to, I´m so sorry” you explained yourself and Suna´s eyes went wide. “You don´t hate me? But I´m not good enough for you, I never fucking do anything but laze around, why are you still with me?” he pleaded, finally letting his thoughts be known.

You took his hands into yours and gently squeezed them, trying to calm him down.

“You are more than enough, babe… please don´t listen to those voices in your head. You´re perfect to me, you´re the love of my life, I wouldn´t want you any other way” you reassured him and he nodded, taking you into his arms and hugging you, nuzzling his head into your neck.

“I love you too… so so much” he mumbled.

“I know that pretty head of yours gets dark sometimes but you don´t have to face this alone. When you´re overthinking again, tell me. I´ll always be by your side to help you, I´ll always be there to speak the truth when your thoughts get self destructive. But you have to tell me when they do, you´re not alone in this, babe, we´re a team and I´ll never leave your side” you told him, stroking his hair.

Suna relaxed into your touch and felt warmth spread in his chest again. You still loved him.

He didn´t deserve you, but you were here anyway. That had to count for something, right?

[timextoxhajima]

HOSTIS, Chapter XVII: Et Universum Parallel, A Parallel Universe

Previous Chapter (XVI: Adsumo)

Member: Lee Hyunjae (tbz) ft eric

Genre (by chapter): drama, angst

Category: Short Novel/Long Series

A/N: *this is a sad hours warning send me an ask if you cried or smth idk bec i’m pretty i’m gonna cry writing this chapter :”)*

“where has my other ares gone?”

“morning!” 

the nurses and staff nearby look up at your greeting, and they say it back with such cheer and wonder in their voices, though you were sure they wished they were in bed.

the dress shirt that wasn’t yours was folded nicely into a plastic package in your briefcase, and you didn’t want it hanging around your house like a ghost reminding you that lee hyunjae was a person who had to deal with for the longest of times.

he was staring at his computer screen with his chin in his palm when you walked in without knocking, and you were expecting him to throw something at you, maybe even call you a name that would hurt your pride.

but he doesn’t.

“this shit is yours,” the plastic crinkles loudly when you pull it out. for a moment, your heart winces because you spent a considerable amount of time ironing it.

it was a dress shirt after all.

“take it back.”

the item was held out at arms length, and again, you wait for him to snap at you, to bring it over to him so you had an excuse to throw it instead.

but he doesn’t.

the look on his face was blank, emotionless, tired.

the chair creaks when he removes his butt off the leather and he slides the white coat off the backseat, turning on his heels to walk towards you.

his silhouette against the light coming in from the window behind his desk floods out his features, but he keeps a safe distance from you when he takes the wrapped dress shirt from you and places it on the small sofa seat right next to the door.

“thanks,” he says, with absolutely no weight of sincerity or energy. “i gotta go for my rounds so get out of my office.”

he brushes past you without physically running an arm into your shoulder, and he doesn’t wait for you to leave by holding the door open. 

he just walks off.

a parallel universe, also known as a parallel dimension, alternate universe, or alternate reality, is a hypothetical self-contained plane of existence, co-existing with one's own. 

and you were convinced that not only did you just wake up in one, you were now living in it.

someone must’ve kidnapped lee hyunjae and replaced him with someone else. 

every second ticks by relentlessly, and those seconds become hours, and hours become days.

it’s been days since hyunjae has said anything remotely mean to you.

it’s been days since hyunjae has had some kind of a conversation with you.

maybe it was his rounds. 

maybe he lost a patient to another doctor because of a worsening condition. 

the pantry door whirs open while you were filling your flask up with warm water, and the soft sound calls for your attention.

he doesn’t look at you, doesn’t say anything to you, only walking past you to that refrigerator he had you up against not too long ago, stealing kisses when doctor kim walked in on the two of you.

now he was just treating you like you were invisible?

“you look like shit, just so you know,” your lips meet the mouth of the flask as you turn and lean your hip against the counter. 

“didn’t know i dressed to impress.”

a box of eclaires was removed from the refrigerator and he stuffs one into his mouth. 

what game is he playing now?

why was he so distant all of a sudden?

“busy with work? i haven’t heard your annoying ass much in the last... what, three days? or did you fuck up along the way and couldn’t bring yourself to show your face?”

not a muscle in his face twitched as he finishes the eclaire in his mouth, and he slides the box back into the refrigerator.

“you have your problems to handle, and i have mine.”

a frown crawls itself onto your forehead, and something in your heart cracks. 

where has my other ares gone to?

“but i suppose for old times’ sake i could send you home today, you seem like you miss me.”

that was more like it, but why does he sound so... sad?

“i’ll see you in the carpark after work tonight.”

not once do his eyes look at yours when he speaks, and he leaves without another word.

you should have known it better; you should’ve known yourself better, but you don’t. 

what was this difficulty you were finding in your lungs that was preventing you from breathing? what was this feeling of dissatisfaction in your gut when he doesn’t bother to rebut you?

you were so used to listening to him cutting you open with his words after you start a fight with him, so much that now when he doesn’t, it feels like he’s playing you. it feels like you’re just talking to a wall. 

it feels like he’s done entertaining you.

it should’ve felt better. you should’ve felt happier that the fight or war you’ve been fighting for a decade is seemingly coming to an end. 

but you don’t.

was he simply becoming the more professional one at work? did he finally realise that it wasn’t worth it for him to consistently try to break you? was he the first of the two of you to decide that this fight has gone on way too long, and that it was time to stop?

no.

he’s not that quick to resign. 

not to me.

how much does god hate you to put you into the same space as him again, even after ten years, for you to realise that you missed it?

no, it can’t be.

i just missed the free ride home, that’s all.

the lamps along the road paint the asphalt ground a bright amber, but the heavy weight in your chest refuses to remove itself. 

like a tumor nestling itself into your heart, you worry if your knowledge of neurology was enough to fix whatever was wrong with you, provided you could even figure it out first.

again, the silence buries itself in the back of your skull like a piece of metal, like you had split your skull open and you needed it as an implant to help you recover. 

you were drowning in the lack of exchange, the absence of physical touch, the loss of rivalry. 

there was absolutely no reason for you to be so destroyed when everything you hated had finally stopped.

really, grinded to an abrupt stop. 

the vehicle pulls up to your house and he clicks the gears into parking, both arms tightly gripping onto the steering wheel with his eyes looking dead ahead. 

the gentle whirring of the air conditioner in the car was the only thing you could hear besides his heavy breathing, or yours, you couldn’t really tell anymore.

you hesitate for a moment, watching the lines on his forearms come alive again. any other day and you would’ve felt like he was trying to rile you up, but there was something wrong with his energy tonight, you just couldn’t put a pin on it. 

“are you okay?”

the words come out so soft, like a whisper goodnight, like lovers afraid to say goodbye, and you struggle to recognise your own tone, your own choice of words, the very fact that you even bothered to ask him that.

but he turns to you without removing his grip from the steering wheel, and the way he digs into your eyes nearly made you want to throw up.

not from hatred, not from resentment, but because that tumor in your heart responded to his gaze.

the moment freezes, leaves rustling outside your open window, an occasional dog barking in the distance; nothing but him looking at you like you were a statue and you searching his face for any sign that you could decode.

nothing.

he turns away.

“why wouldn’t i be? anyway, we’re here now, so get out already.”

a bodily reflex sends a scoff up your throat as you pull your head away, one hand already on the door handle. 

yet a warm mass lands on your arm to hold you back and some part of you disintegrates into his lips when he kisses you for the first time in almost a week. 

his grip on your arm loosens before he pulls away, and strange, unfamiliar chills down your back, shiny, glimmering eyes looking into yours with just inches between your faces. 

he turns back to the steering wheel and looks ahead, his still manner telling you that he was just waiting for you to get out of the car.

so you do just that.

but why does it feel like you were walking away from him, when you were just going home?

he says something so softly as you shut the door, and you forget about it, thinking that if it was important, he’d text you about it anyway or find some way to get his message across if he really didn’t want to face you anymore. 

but why doesn’t he?

you were sure he said something, but he doesn’t bother yelling at you for closing the door in his face when he said it. 

the car drives off and you notice the moon for the first time in a long time. 

you’ve spent so much time looking down at your feet, making sure that you don’t trip over his shoes, that you’ve completely forgotten that the moon existed. 

you’ve spent so much time trying to be wary of pride and love, that you’ve lost control of what either meant. 

the car disappears in the reflection off the window of your backyard as you walk up the stairs to your front door, the grave feeling of loss and confusion starting to engulf you the same way you were worried your parents were going to choose their careers over their own child.

but that was because you were scared they would love their profession over you.

what were you scared of when it comes to lee hyunjae?

the moon hung outside your backyard glass panes like a round, yellow ball in the sky, the dark hallway that led you into the living room pushes you back into some situational memory. 

his hand around your throat, pushed up against the wall, and you were nothing less than happy about removing his report. 

“son of a gun deserved it anyway,” you hum under your breath, throwing your keys into a small container sitting on top of the shoe rack. 

the air in your apartment was eerily still, the switch clicking when you pushed it down with the lightest of efforts. every little sound, every little move, felt so overwhelming for some strange reason.

sensory overload was the correct term.

you would’ve covered your ears to cancel out your thoughts but it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.

not when you couldn’t even decipher what was going on in your head.

the device in your back pocket rings, and you watch the screen light up when you grip it in your hand.

unknown number: y/n! it’s eric!

unknown number: i just wanted to see if you were available tomorrow night for dinner?

unknown number: and also to make sure that this is your number 

eric?

pleasant surprise, but your heart no longer does a little jump like it would’ve done four weeks ago. 

you: omg eric

you: how did you get my number?

eric: you didn’t hear this from me

eric: but i managed to hack into the hospital database and dug out your number

you: hack into the database? should i be worried that an intern can hack into the system?

eric: oh, god no. i didn’t hack, i just didn’t realise my account could get me into the database. i tried, and got in.

you: an intern account gets you into the system? strange...

eric: anyway, are you available tomorrow for dinner?

you: yeah, i’m clear

eric: alright, cool. i’ll totally head over to the nrd to get you at 6pm

you: where are we going?

eric: you’ll see tomorrow ;)

you: mysterious, aren’t we?

eric: you’ll see tomorrow, i’m sure you’ll love it. 

you lock your phone and leave it on the kitchen island, the cold, hard surface not a stranger to your back and your skin where it shouldn’t have been in the first place.

the thought shoves itself around in your mind, the stubbornness of such an intangible object so difficult to remove, you wonder if it was ever going to go away on its own.

the night sinks into your blood as the moon hung itself to bare. you try to recall the last time you looked at the moon without thinking about anybody, and it hurt to feel like you should’ve been with someone else under this gorgeous moonlight. 

the familiar corpse that displayed itself across the sky comes round again, and it soon gets hidden behind all the windows of the building.

sanitizer and disinfectant’s become your own scent, the only thing that greets you when you push into the office.

there was nobody next door, but you could tell he was already in because his briefcase was sitting on the floor by his table.

again, you don’t even see his shadow today. 

eric sends you little text every now end then to encourage you on your rounds. you found it a little redundant because there was nothing much to “encourage”, nonetheless, you felt motivated. 

the corpse was staring at you in large, red, digital numbers every time you were at a lift. 

faces that brushed past either earned a polite smile from you or zoned-out eyes.

the research department greets you like a home you didn’t want to return to, the only thing there that yearned for your attention was eric. 

“are you excited for tonight?” eric’s bright, child-like eyes were flitting gorgeously across the span of your face, and for a moment you feel like you were his most important person.

“can’t i know where we’re going?” you pout and notice hyunjae coming out the lift with a file of research material, and he walks to another research officer nearby to ask something.

“no, of course not!” eric rolls his eyes and squints at you. “unless you don’t eat beef.”

hyunjae nods and has the file opened out in his palm, his pupils flying across the page as he flips it. 

“uh... no, i’m not...”

hyunjae struts past your row, attention still mounted to the file while he walks to his cubicle behind you. 

“not what?”

he sees you for a moment. 

but he drops the file on his table and sits down, the clacking on the keyboard sounding like a nightmare from not long ago.

“i... don’t don’t eat beef.”

“oh, that’s a relief.”

“you do realise that question literally tells me we’re having steak or something tonight, right?”

the intern blinks at you innocently before nodding his head, and you give him a light punch to his shoulder, light chuckles run through your throat in soft vibrations.

eric talks to you about steak back home in LA, but you don’t really absorb anything. he sounds like you when you were begging for your parents’ attention; talking about unimportant things.

were your parents like this too?

the lift dings and a familiar faces comes out between the metal doors. he looks tired, less spirited, but somehow more at ease. 

“lee,” he calls out, and you hear the clacking on the keyboard halt. “come with me on my rounds in fifteen, i’d like to introduce one of my patients to you. he just came out of an operation and i’ll be transferring it to you.”

doctor choi reaches hyunjae’s cubicle and the younger male stands up, his jawline suddenly looking extremely glaring to you. 

“okay, i’ll go back to my office to get my patient files.”

they continue the conversation, and eric continues his. 

later that day, the pantry door greets you like the gates to hell, and you see hyunjae standing inside, mug in hand, back against the door as he looks out the window.

why am i here?

the door whirs open when you find yourself pressing your staff ID to the scanner and you grab some tea sachets. 

“you look stressed, messed up a report or two?”

silence.

confusion tightens your facial muscles, and you struggle to find something to do with the tea sachets.

he doesn’t move, he doesn’t say anything, only the slight heave of his shoulders when he breathes.

“am i talking to a ghost now? or did you finally realise that you were just fighting a losing war?”

again, nothing.

hyunjae gives his mug a rinse in the sink next to you, his warmth almost within reach. he avoids your eyes, avoids looking at you altogether, and he leaves.

you wanted to yell at him for ignoring you, but it was a hospital, and you are a professional. 

the sky starts to cry for you, for your confusion, for your lack of grasp on the situation. 

it really feels like you were a lost child in a maze, and you were nowhere near figuring the way out.

droplets of rain were trailing after each other on the window of your office, the orange sun completely disappearing behind those dark, dark clouds despite the rain having stopped.

each drop hits another and it runs down the glass. 

knock knock

“come in,” you call out without looking over your shoulder.

“hey! you ready to go?” 

the greeting earns your attention and you watch eric holding onto his bag like a child. the sight puts a smile on your face and the rain on the window pane bids goodbye to you as you walk over, fingers coming round the handles of your briefcase.

eric holds out a hand for you, like he was asking you to dance.

your spirit ascends a little at the contact, and eric’s grin was so gorgeous.

his warmth was gentle, comforting; it does feel like you were holding a child’s hand.

“are you interested on eating anything else? since you already know we’re going to a steakhouse,” the reflection of the two of you was staring back at you, your hand in his and he was just about a head taller than you. 

if you were with someone else, you’d need to tilt your head higher to even meet his eyes.

“mm... how about--”

ding

the light from the lift pours out around the person inside, and the look on his face crushes your spirit in ways you couldn’t understand.

“hyung!”

hyunjae’s left eye brow twitches, but nothing else moves. 

his legs tear him away from the lift and the wind that brushes across your face when he walks past you offers his scent. 

the only scent that took you away from sanitisers and disinfectant.

why was the day so draining when you barely did anything?

you didn’t go out of your way to do anything big or tiring.

the private room of the restaurant was providing you a gorgeous view of the city outside, and the food was nothing less than great.

yet for some reason, you don’t feel whole.

eric spends most of the dinner talking about his life in LA, why he came back, how he became a neuro-research intern... his life in LA, why he came back, how he became an intern... his life in LA, why he came back and how he became and intern.

my life here, why i’m here with eric, and how i became one half of two areses.

i am half full, but i feel half empty.

half. fifty percent. 

my aphrodite is sitting right infront of me, but why do i feel like i need ares more?

i am ares, so why am i not enough?

if i am brutal, then he is cruel. 

and ares is both.

ares is nothing without the two.

the scent appears in your nose against your will, and the warmth on your thighs melt through your skin into your bones. the taste on your tongue pushes you into a loss of control, and your press your peach tinted lips against each other. your fingers brush your neck where foundation was no more because you didn’t need it. 

half of two is not whole.

i am not whole.

not without him. 

“eric--”

“and i was just so psyched to--”

“eric.”

he stops, the brightness in his face doesn’t fade but his hands start to droop when he notices your eyes staring into the table cloth like you had just seen a dinosaur on it. 

“...are you okay?”

your heart is shaking in your chest like it was having an earthquake, and the nerves in your head start to spark like they were malfunctioning gears.

“i... i need to go.” the briefcase gets wrapped in your hold again, and you pull out a credit card to hand to him. “pay for it with my card and i’ll get it back from you tomorrow--”

“wait, y/n, where are you going?” he stands up, and you realise you were already turning on your heels. 

your body was reacting to your feelings faster than you could process them. comprehending that on its own was enough to uneven your breathing, much less keep your composure in front of him.

where am i going?

the silence was deafening, and you see that split second that eric’s eyes softens into something more mature, something more understanding.

like he knew.

“are you going to look for hyunjae hyung?”

there was a throbbing inside you, but you couldn’t tell if it was from your head or from your chest anymore. eric eyes bury themselves into your soul, and you realise that he was never your aphrodite. 

aphrodite was never yours to begin with.

you were half of two for a reason.

eric crosses the space between you and pulls you into a tight hug. a gulp forces itself down your throat when your chest huffs itself against his.

he pulls away and steps back, giving you a small punch to your shoulder.

“i’ll see you at the office tomorrow, and i’ll pay for the dinner. we’re still friends, right?”

your card gets extended out to you, your teeth grinding against each other in your mouth as you take it from him.

“of course.”

eric nods with satisfaction, sending you off on your way.

“y/n.”

the handle of the door was cold, and you turn to see that you were leaving aphrodite alone in the room.

“your number? i didn’t get it from the system.”

a pause, like he was trying to read your face. 

“he gave it to me.”

how much does god have to hate you for you to spend ten years fighting a war, only to have you wish you weren’t...

because you were in love with the person you’ve been fighting?

the whitening knuckles on your fist urges you to release your hands, the cab coming up around the corner. 

the living room light was dimly lit, so maybe the only thing that was illuminating the house was the kitchen light.

you pay for the cab and your shoes get damp from stepping into a puddle on the pavement.

water dripping from trees and plants into puddles ring like bells in nature, the gravel crumbling behind you as the cab drives off.

the skin on your fingers come into contact of the wooden door, and you stop yourself, wondering if this was right.

your pride. your ego. your desire to win.

what was it worth if you no longer knew was love was?

love was younghoon carrying your bag when he knew he didn’t want to.

love was eric trying his very best to find some way to contact you, sending you texts to encourage you. 

love was him leaving you alone after he realised this was no longer a war fuelled by hatred. 

the sound that emitted from the contact shivers through your fist as you knocked on the door.

i need my other ares, for we are not whole without one another. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 17.5: Inevitibilis

A/N: WHOOO LONG CHAPTER BUT ARE YOU GUYS ALRIGHT HAHAH

[calliecat93]

One of the biggest criticisms of Volume 4, if not the biggest criticism, was it usage of multiple plotlines. While an ambitious idea, the balance was really off which really affected the pacing. It felt like everything was scattered around and like things were being dragged out, or not even given as much attention as needed. But it looks like with Volume 8, CRWBY is getting a chance to try it again. One advantage is having all the relevant characters in tow main groups so only two major plotlines to focus on. This chapter focuses on RWBNP as they break into the Atlas Military Facility. How will it go? Well... since this is late you already know, but I’m gonna blab anyhow. Enjoy~

Overview

Team RWBNPM have made it into the military compound and Penny has located where the terminal is. They’re able to wonder around the base undetected via May’s Invisibility Semblance and Penny is able to use Pietro’s credentials to access the doors. They eventually reach an area that even with May’s Semblance, will be too difficulty to get through without being spotted. Penny, however, has a solution. You remember how Harriet pointed out Ruby’s Semblance was more than she thought in V7? Well Penny actually breaks it down here. Ruby essentially breaks down her mass and is able to more or less teleport herself and others before reforming, so Ruby should be able to do this with all of them.

Meanwhile, remember when Watts got taken by security last chapter? Well it’s because Ironwood is now forcing him to work for him, having a whole squadron ready to shoot him to death if he doesn’t comply. What does he need Watts to do? We’ll go into that later. Until then, Watts points out that Pietro’s credentials have been used, causing Ironwood to raise the alarm. This means that the team has to hurry, so they trip a worker with coffee as a distraction. As the guy's co-workers yell at him, RWBNP move past via Ruby’s Semblance as May goes to commandeer a ship.

Eventually, RWBNP reach the terminal. It is a VERY highly secured area with the door being guarded by some powerful electricity. It’s so secure that no humans even work in there. Penny allows Pietro to take over manually to begin the process of green lighting Amity. During this, Blake expresses concern about ruby and Yang’s fight, though Weiss assures her that sometimes sisters just disagree. Nora also tries to help by pointing out that Jaune, Yang, and Oscar should be fine (haha...) but noticeably leaves out Ren. It’s here that Nora expresses how upset she was about their argument and how just when things look up for them, it goes right back to zero. Even worse, without Ren, Nora doesn’t feel like she even knows who she is aside form the strong girl who hits stuff. Blake and Weiss point out to her that Ren is only a part of her, the rest however also matters and that maybe she can use this chance to discover more about herself.

The process is completed and Penny can now launch Amity. But despite wanting to resume helping Mantle afterwards, both Pietro and the girls believe that it’s best for Penny to remain with Pietro and Maria in Amity once it launches. This disappoints her. As the group gets ready to leave, they are confronted byt he Ace-Ops. Vine tries to reason with the g4roup, but they continue to refuse. it doesn’t help when Harriet and Elm essentially blame Penny for Winter’s condition and accuse her of stealing the Maiden power, nor does Harriet threatening to lock up Ruby alongside her uncle. To no one’s surprise, the group refuses, so the Ace-Ops trap RWBN in the room, leaving Penny to fight on her own.

Penny is ale to hold her own, even managing to make good use of her Maiden powers. However, the Ace-Ops are able to match against her and eventually Marrow is able to use his Stay power on her. RWBN try to break through the door, bot nothing is working. Nora, staring at the electric door, decides to do what she dos best be strong and hit stuff. Using her hammer and Semblance, Nora absorbs the electricity until she’s powered enough to blow the door off it’s hinges. However, even for Nora, this was far too much as her body gets some ugly scarring. She collapses, her Aura breaking.

Seeing the fight, Watts suggests that the Ace-Ops get one of Penny’s swords. Ironwood orders this, and they bandage to rip one off of Penny before retreating, though Marow noticeably is hesitant. WBNP reach a hangar where May has gotten an airship. They escape, but Nora is still passed out and seriously injured. After this, Penny agrees that she needs to remain in Amity and it’s time for her to go. She and Ruby hug one more time, promising to see each other again before Penny flies off for Amity. Meanwhile, the Ace-Ops turn over the sword to Ironwood. Why did they need this? The same reason that Ironwood recruited Watts: to hack into Penny and turn her back onto their side.

Review

Ah, action, emotions, and spilt coffee. All the things I love in a RWBY episode~

Let’s talk about Ruby’s Semblance first since I’ve seen some debate about it. IDK how scientifically accurate Penny’s explanation is... but Ruby is a girl who can trail rose petals behind her, so I’m not all that concerned about accuracy here. But this just more or less confirmed what I’ve been thinking for a long time now. I, as well as others, have pointed out that her Semblance doesn’t really appear to act line a speed-based one. Heck as I said, Harriet pointed it out just last volume. Now we know that Ruby’s power is essentially a slow-formed teleportation. Considering I always assumed that Summer’s Semblance had a similar breaking her body down function, this makes a lot of sense to me.

I’ve seen some complain about how Ruby didn’t know this... but really? That’s perfectly in-character for her. She’s a clever girl, but she’s always been one to act more than give deep contemplation. She knows the basic function of her Semblance, to move fast compared to normal, and that works for her. Heck remember last volume when she used her split apart trick. Oscar asked how long she could do that, and she answered that she had never really thought of it. Sure Ruby HAS carried people with her Semblance before (Penny in V2, Nora in V4, Weiss in V6), but that was with a single person. She had never tried it with a group before. It fits into how Semblances evolve over time and I’m really happy to see Ruby grow more. I get the feeling that she needs all the happy development she can get before things really go off the deep end.

Speaking of though, the chibi art accompanying Penny’s explanation? Both cute and hilarious. It reminded me of Ruby’s imagine spots back in Volume One. This chapter had quite a few funny moments. Weiss pulling Nora’s ear for last episode, Nora pushing all the elevator buttons. Blake clearly hating all forms of unconventional transportation, and while I feel it clashed with the tone a bit the coffee guy tripping up was great. The crude poster of a Shark Grimm (when do we get that?) especially got a giggle out of me. Like I said last review, it’s nice to have these bits of levity. I love it when Ruby gets feelsy and serious, but I don’t want it to divert form fun and light-heartedness all the time. They’ve gotten a lot better at keeping a balance and transitioning us from one mood to the other. I feel last chapter did it a bit better, but this was still well done.

Now lets talk about Penny. It was nice to see her act like her usual perky self a bit with her Semblance explanation and the direction to the terminal. But still, it’s clear that things are still haunting her. She’s still reminded of her robot identity with May’s comment, which no IDT May was trying to be offensive or anything, after all Robyn uses nicknames like that all the time and she DID use Penny’s name after the correction. But even past that, we have Pietro manually taking control of Penny. Now it WAS done with permission and there’s a good reason why, but my reaction to it was the same as Ruby’s. You ca tell that Penny wasn’t looking forward to it since it one more emphasizes that she is a robot. We all know she’s more, but Penny is still trying to figure out her new place.

This is especially evident in her reaction to remaining on Amity. Of course she doesn’t want to do that. She still considers herself the Protector of Mantle. She is now the Winter Maiden. She wants to help people. She wants to be out there doing good alongside her friends. But unfortunately with the target on her back from both sides, it’ simply too dangerous. She not only puts herself at risk, but those around her. We already know that ironwood will now go to any extreme to get his way, including work with an evil scientist and have a firing squad ready to fire. Salem... do I need to explain any further? The safest thin is for Penny to remain in Amity, but it still clearly pains her even after accepting it as necessary. And with Watts now having a piece necessary to hack her AND the episode showing us how it can be done... yeah, pray for Penny folks.

She DID however get to kick ass with her Maiden powers. While we had some Grimm fights last chapter, this was the first major fight of the volume, and it was awesome. Penny, even after just getting her power, uses it to great effect. Not as much as Raven or even Cinder, but is clearly more than capable of controlling it. But the Ace-Ops do manage to match her. They aren’t holding back now, they are going in for the kill and all of them (save Marrow, I’ll talk about him in the CH4 review) seem to be on the same wavelength. I think this helped the complaints about the Ace-Ops losing to RWBY (ones I don’t agree with, but still) and shows how even with Clover dead, they are still a capable force. Harriet and Elm’s words were still overly cruel, but I can’t deny that they can fight. Oh and we also FINALLY got to see Vine’s weapon, so there’s that. It was a fun action sequence~

But now we get to the star of this episode for me: Nora. Now... I have made it no secret that Nora is my least favorite character of the main group. Why? There’s two main reasons: her lack of development compared to the others and her character largely revolving around Ren. I won’t lie, some of the over-exposure and her portrayal in Chibi also contributed, but those don’t really affect her character in-show. While I feel that she has slowly improved, last volume especially being a step up, I still felt like she was the least developed. So going into Volume 8, I was very curious about hat they would do with her now that she and Ren are divided and she is on her own.

I have to say... I am very happy with her in this episode. It addressed my complaint about her and Ren being co-dependent as far as their portrayals in-show went. They outright existed more or less to fill out Team JNPR, and they spent Volumes 1-3 as comic relief to focus on Jaune and Pyrrha. I miss Pyrrha to this day, but her death DID allow the two to finally grow as characters. I don’t like it when the focus of a character is mainly on their relationship with another, hence why shipping gets on my nerves a lot. It was a HUGE issue I had with Renora until they became fleshed out. Here we have Nora expressing how upset she is about Ren, how every time it looks like they’ve gotten closer something comes in to ruin it (Volume 4 for example), and now that she’s without him for the first time in who knows how long... she doesn’t really know who she is. This has been something that I’ve wanted the show to go into since at least Volume 4, and it is FINALLY happening.

I love how the ones who talk to her are Blake and Weiss. Blake struggled with separating herself from a previous attachment, and knows how hard it is to remember that that’s only one part of yourself. Weiss has struggled with carving her own identity which while not in the romantic context, is still relevant as her family name is only a part of her, not the whole thing. It’s a dynamic I never knew I needed, but I am SO glad we have it now! I think as hard as it is, Nora needed to part from Ren for now. She needs to remember to care about herself and know that she is more than just the girl who likes Ren and hits stuff with a hammer. She’s funny, she’s caring, she’s loyal, she’s fun to be around, she can get carried away with things yet it’s always entertaining when she does. She is Nora Valkyrie before everything else. And in the end, she more or less sacrificed herself to break the door and save Penny. IDK if she knew that the electricity would be too much, but she still made the choice by herself. Now we just need to hope that she recovers... and that when Ren finds out, he doesn’t snap...

In the intro, I talked about how V8 seems to be a second attempt at the split teams plot in Volume 4. While I find V4 underrated and a nice character development/world-building volume, the handling of the split plots... did certainly cause pacing issues. The biggest issue was cramming essentially six storylines into the volume, four of which were vital, and not being able to give them all proper attention. Essentially, it worked fine when binged, but going week by week it could get tiresome very quickly. This time, we have the entire team split into two groups with the side plots being the villains and Ironwood’s forces. This only leaves two major plotlines that need the main focus and allows for unique character dynamics, like Nora with Weiss and Blake. 

So far, the pacing with these two groups has been done very well. While we don’t see JYRO in this episode, last chapter did enough that we already know what to expect when we get back to them. Nothing feels out of focus or like one plot is getting more attention than the other. It feels balanced. It feels like both plots matter and I want to see what happens. The writers have clearly learned and improved over the years, with this being a clear example. It’s been really fun (and scary) so far and I’m really excited to see more of these different group dynamics (and since I’ve already seen Chapter 4, they are delivering!), though hopefully we will get the team reformed before long. But for now, I’m loving this~

Chapter Stats

Favorite Character: Nora Valkyrie Favorite Scene: Nora, Weiss, and Blake talk Least Favorite Scene: Coffee Guy Favorite Voice Actor: Samantha Ireland (Nora) Favorite Animation: Penny going Winter Maiden against the Ace-Ops Rating: 9.9/10

Final Thoughts

Three chapters in, and already this volume is looking to be one of the best. Some nice humor, great character dynamics and focus, an epic action sequence, and a lot of heart and emotion put in especially with Penny and Nora. This was a fantastic episode that gave me everything that I was hoping for! If the quality stays at this pace, the this is absolutely going to become a great one! And considering what happens next chapter, we haven’t strayed from that yet. But that review is for another day, for now I’ll say that this chapter was great~

[spunky-89]

Love and War

A/N: Heyyyyy, I feel like this is the only way I start a post but... I’m not dead yet. Moving Sucks. I want it to be over....... I have been trying to write a little bit when I have a spare moment (which is not often). I did finally finish this though, so that’s something. And the funniest part is this is not any of the one-shots I had planned :/ 

Anyway, enjoy :) 

Masterlist

Word Count: 3k(ish)

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You and Jordan had been together for years. You had met him in a rehab center for vets. You know, the ones they force you to stay at after you come home to make sure you're okay. Though you two were in different branches, Jordan being Army and yourself being Airforce, you clicked almost instantly. The two of you spent some time getting to know each other, and within a few months, you had decided to stick together. You were both unsure of what to do with your lives, but you knew you wanted a fresh start. So when Jordan recommended California, you didn't hesitate.

So once he got his spot on a police force in a smaller town in southern California, you were off. You decided to get a degree, the military paying for it. You weren't really sure what you wanted a degree in, but you had some time to figure it out while you got your Associates. You had joined the force straight out of High School so you hadn't taken a college class of any kind. Luckily you were a pretty good student back in high school, so you hoped it hadn't all been forgotten in 5 years. 

But that was a different problem than the one you were dealing with now. Unpacking and stocking your new apartment. Though you had already been in Beacon Hills for a few months, you were doing this very slowly, not sure how to proceed.

You and Jordan had very little belongings and didn't have much in the way of household stuff, so you had to buy quite a bit of stuff. The biggest issue was you were not a domestic person. I.E, you didn't cook or clean very well. It's not that you hated it or anything, your shitty mom didn't really set an example or teach you these things. You were learning, but it was a slow process. Even slower was figuring out what you needed and where the best prices were. Which Jordan was supposed to be helping you with, but he was MIA. Which was kinda worrying you.

Jordan had confided in you that he was worried because someone had made a kill list, one that included kids. He wanted to stop it, but he didn't know how.

Now that he was missing, you got worried. So you called the sheriff's station.

"Beacon County Sheriff's department, how can I help you?" A female voice answered.

"Hi, this is (y/f/n), I'm deputy Parrish's girlfriend. Is he still at the station? He called me over an hour ago saying he was on his way home but hasn't arrived. I'm just a bit worried with all these murders happening…"

“Please calm down ma’am, I am not sure if he went home yet but I will check with the Sheriff.” She replied in a calming voice.

She put you on hold and you took that time to start shoving your feet into your boots and grabbing your thick leather jacket to keep you warm. You also grabbed your guns. Though you were hoping you wouldn’t need them. You had your keys in your hand and were standing by your car, ready to go if they said Jordan wasn’t at the station. 

The phone came off of the hold tone about two minutes later, and this time, a male voice spoke.

“This is Sheriff Stilinski, one of my officers told me you were Parrish’s girlfriend and you think he’s missing?” 

“Is he there or not, I really am not in the mood for pleasantries right now.”

“Okay calm down.” He said.

“So he’s not there, great.” You snapped as you hung up the phone and jumped in the car, peeling out as you went hunting for any sign of your boyfriend. 

You immediately followed the way he always took to and from work. When you still couldn’t find him, you started to think like a killer, not a regular worried girlfriend. As you were driving, you noticed a massive inferno shoot into the sky. You had a gut feeling so you headed towards it, tires screeching and engine roaring. You noticed an empty parking lot where a car was blazing. It took you only a moment to realize it was a police cruiser. You screeched to a halt, barely turning off the car before exiting, your one handgun in your hand, the other tucked into your jacket. You kept your gun up and looked to see who was around. You noticed a man running from the burning car and towards his own car. Another cruiser. You heard your boyfriend screaming in pain. You had to make a split-second decision. Luckily, the military had taught you how to think on your feet. So you shot out the other officer’s tires and headed for the burning car. The car was engulfed. You were desperate to get your lover out, but you couldn’t figure out a way without likely dying yourself. You screamed his name as you saw him go limp in the car. 

You saw red.

You turned towards the other cop car and looked for the murder. You saw him scrunching down in his car, probably trying to find a way out. But that wasn’t going to happen on your watch. You walked away from the wreckage, using your rage to center yourself and focus on the current situation. Which was making sure this man paid for what he did. When he saw your form coming towards him, you saw the panic on his face and you smiled. You slowly walked towards the car. You could see him fumbling for his gun, but he was too slow. You used the butt of your gun to smash the window and unlock the door. As you opened the door to drag him out, he kicked you in the stomach which pushed you back a few feet. This gave him a moment to charge at you and knock you to the ground. Your head slammed into the asphalt but you used your pain to fuel you (also the adrenaline is the best pain reliever). You quickly grabbed him, kneed his balls, and used his distraction to roll him over. You had dropped your gun so you couldn't use it to knock him out, so you did the next best thing. You kept slamming his head into the ground. You didn't realize, but he had kept his gun and he tried to pistol-whip you, which made you disoriented for a moment, but that was all he needed. He then pulled the gun forward and shot your side. He pushed you off of him and started running to your car. But even with the pain, you rolled to grab your gun and before he had even made it halfway across the lot, you shot his leg. You made sure it wouldn't be lethal, but it would stop him from running. And it did as he fell flat on his face. You mustered your strength and stood up to walk over to him. He was moaning on the ground gripping his leg. You quickly kneed him in the head and he was out you muttered 'pathetic' under your breath. 

Once you got the asshole tied up (making sure to cut off the blood flow, and since it was only a surface wound you weren't too worried) you shoved him into your trunk. You did a quick dressing for your side to stop the bleeding. And with one last look at the burning car, you peeled out of the parking lot, forcing yourself to look away from the inferno in your rearview. As much as you wished you had gotten there sooner, you couldn't change what had happened. You could only get justice for the man who murdered your everything. 

Luckily the police station was only a short drive from where you were so you got there in no time. You pulled up rapidly, which made your tires squeal as you hit the breaks and parked directly in front of the doors. The sheriff and two teenagers quickly walked out. You got out of your car and barely gave them a look as you walked to the back of your car. You popped open the trunk, ignoring the sheriff who was yelling for you to stop moving and put your hands up. Once it was open, you looked over at the sheriff, tears running down your cheeks and said,

"He is a murderer and it took every ounce of self-control I have to not kill him on site. But I figured a quick death wasn't punishment enough."

You stepped back with your hand one hand up, the other gripping your bleeding side. 

The teenage boy exclaimed "holy shit!"

"Do you want to start explaining why you have one of my deputies in your trunk bleeding and tied up?" The Sheriff asked, his gun still pointed at you. 

Tears still streaming you said, "This bastard just burned Jordan alive." 

"Wait, Parrish is dead?" The girl asked.

You nodded, your head bowed. You were constantly switching from rage to intense grief and sadness. And with a look at the man in your trunk the rage came back and you screamed,

"This fucker didn't just kill him. He put him through hell before he finally-" 

Your voice broke before you could say the word you didn't want to think about.

"All for money. He just killed the love of my life for money. And all I could do was stand there and-and watch him burn." You murmured lowly.

The girl came over and took you by the shoulders, leading you into the station. 

Slowly the adrenaline started to fade and you felt the weight of the night hit you hard. And your mind became unfocused.  It was running through your memories, regrets, and what you had dreamed of for your future.

You hadn't realized, too stuck in your head, but the young female had sat you on a couch and was speaking soothing words. 

You had no idea how much time had passed, but when your focus started coming back, you half-heard a conversation.

"...hasn't moved or reacted to anything." You heard a female voice.

"It's a frequent thing…. shock or …. PTSD… mile stare… watched him…. Soldier…" this was a male voice speaking, he sounded young.

"Stiles….side." it was the female voice again, she sounded panicked. 

"Oh shit…. Bleeding really bad…. Hospital?.. I don't know wh…."

You heard a loud bang and jumped to your feet, pulling your gun from your belt and aimed it towards the noise. You then started swaying and dropped your gun due to the immediate pain in your side.

"Whoa whoa, hey, take it easy." The younger man said as he gently guided you back to the couch. You hissed in pain as your side was still sending shockwaves of pain through you.

"I'm fine, I've had worse." You said and gritted your teeth before standing and picking up your gun before creeping toward the door and cracking it open. You could hear the sheriff talking to someone, but it was too muffled to pick up the words. You cracked open the door ever so slightly. Your gun pointed out and just one eye peeking through. You didn’t see anything, but you could hear bits and pieces of the conversation.

“...you okay?.... Happened…. Dead…” you could only hear the sheriff, you had no idea who he was talking to but you intended to find out. You turned your head to the two kids behind you and whispered: “stay here.”

The boy went to argue, but you shut him down with a look. And you had a feeling it was more terrifying than usual due to the blood you were most likely covered in.

You crept out of the room, leaving it slightly cracked. You stuck to the walls and kept your steps near silent. As you got closer and could hear the other person, your heart stopped. You swore it sounded like….

You rounded the last bend with your gun pointed out in front of you and you nearly dropped your gun when you saw who the sheriff was talking to. You just managed to place your gun on a nearby desk before you launched yourself at the man in front of you.

"Whoa- oh." He seemed shocked until he realized it was you and he gripped you tight in return. You started crying again, not being able to help it.

"Oh god, I thought- I-I.. I watched you burn. I heard you screaming.” You sobbed into his chest.

“Shhh, I know,” Jordan spoke softly as he clutched you tighter. “I’m so happy to see you. All I could think about was you.” he murmured into your hair.

You pulled back from his chest and looked him over. He was covered in soot, his clothes were all but gone, but he was there. 

You glanced at the sheriff, then back to Jordan. 

“Is this real, am I hallucinating?” You asked aloud.

Jordan chuckled and pulled you back in, “No, it’s not a hallucination. I promise you I am as real as it gets.”

You heard shoes skidding to a halt behind you.

"Parrish? You're alive?" You heard the sheriff's son ask.

"Yeah, and I get the feeling things are going to get a lot more complicated." He said. As he shifted you to the side, keeping you in his hold, you hissed in pain. And the pain you'd pushed to the back of your mind came back.

"What's wrong?" He asked looking down to your side.

"Uh I may have been shot…" you got out with a grimace. 

"Okay. Are you patched up?"

"Nope."

He gave you a look and immediately lifted you into his arms to sit you on a desk. He moved your jacket and shirt away, then pulled off the shitty dressing from the bloody wound.

"You stupid, reckless, silly woman." He sighed looking up to your face.

"Yeah, I know." You said unapologetically with a smile. "Hospital or can you just stitch me up?"

Jordan proceeded to closely examine the wound.

"Looks like it was just a graze, but you've been bleeding for a while."

You groaned at the thought of having to go to the hospital.

"I'll make you a deal, I'll stitch you up but first thing tomorrow we go get you checked out and make sure you're okay." 

You squinted at him as he gave you that stupidly soft look that melted you every time. And he knew it. 

"Stop. No. I'm not gonna look at you." You said firmly as you closed your eyes and turned your head away.

You heard him shift while laughing lightly. "You are such a child." You could hear the smile in his voice. 

"Don't care, I won't look at you."

"Do you agree or do I have to wrestle you into the car and take you to the hospital now?" You could hear the smugness and you could imagine him staring at you with soft eyes, arms crossed and standing straight.

You looked at the floor and murmured a "fuck you…. smug asshole"

He laughed and patted your thigh.

"I'm going to clean up and then we'll get you stitched up and head home."

As he left to grab whatever clothes he could find and clean up, the two teenagers approached. The boy looked at you with awe and an intense look that said he had 800 questions. The girl followed behind looking slightly intrigued but clearly in a different way than the boy.

"Hey so that was crazy and you did a hell of a job on him and dad already gave him a quick patch but he's been whimpering since he woke up. What happened, how did you get shot? How are you-" you cut the young boy off by raising your hand and giving him a look. "Right, sorry."

You gave a half laugh as you shook your head.

"First of little Stilinski, why are you so interested and second why were you and your girlfriend here this late anyway?"

They both sputtered and tried to get out that they weren't a thing but you had a feeling if they really weren't together, they would soon.

You just chuckled and gave them a look. The girl then stepped up next to him and started talking.

"Look a lot is going on right now. We came here to talk to Stiles' father about something and that's when you pulled up." She said as if that answered everything. From the look of her and the brief description Jordan had given you, you figured this had to be Lydia. The girl he thought was a psychic.

"Hmm, Lydia is it?" You asked but didn't give her a chance to confirm nor deny, "If you think that is going to satisfy me clearly you aren't as smart as Jordan described. I was in the Airforce for a long time and had more training than you can fathom. With this, I know when someone is trying to hide something." 

"That's not what she was trying to do. And we don't know you, so we're not just going to tell you about all the things happening in our lives." Little Stilinski said, jumping to Lydia's aid.

"And you know what, that's fine. I don't need to know about your teen drama. But. I do have the right to know what's going on when it involves Jordi." You said, a look of fierce determination.

"You know I hate that nickname," Jordan said as he reentered the room.

"No you don't, you love it." You said with a soft smile.

"No I really don't, but I love you so I guess it's the same."

[imreallystressed]

nothing is okay /j (pt. 1?)

word count: ~2000 pairings: general angsty platonic DLAMPR, more specifically platonic roceit and the creativitwins, and some angsty (platonic) anxceit because we’re here anyway.  warnings: angst! so much of it. angry virgil, yelling, self-deprecation (thanks ro) and the like, crying, remus and his remusy ways, spoilers!! if you need something tagged shoot me an ask! notes: WOW this got out of hand. im almost definitely continuing this oops!! also while this is not meant to be unsymp virgil AT ALL, it could potentially be perceived as such just because we don’t know his reasoning. if you want it tagged let me know! there is. a cliffhanger. at the end,, but it is 100% optional and if you want to imagine a happy ending go for it!! ill write one too, i promise, but i need a break oops next! AO3 LINK

“Right,” Roman had said, or something along those lines, and then he had sunk out. Left. Always too scared to own up to his mistakes, and always too arrogant to even admit he made them.

He had sunk out, ended up in his room, because it was the only place he could ever feel safe anymore, what with the looming threat of his brother, who only came with some fun and terrifyingly complicated emotions he always chose to ignore. He’d never related so much to Logan.

He was in his room, and then he was in his bed, the tears in his eyes and guilt cloying at his chest making every movement feel clipped, like the whole world was moving at three frames per second, jumping around instead of the steady stream of ideas his room usually provided. Yes, his room was safe. But he was so, so alone.

He’d collapsed into his bed, wrenched his hands in the soft duvet until he swore he could feel the fabric tearing, and there he’d stayed for God-knows-how-long. He would guess somewhere around the three hour mark, at least since Patton knocked on his locked (always locked) door and he’d given no answer. Then again, Roman always had a way of losing track of time, helplessly locked in place as the hours flew by.

It had been, in fact, three hours and twenty-eight minutes since Roman had done his sort of... controlled free-fall into the bed, and hadn’t moved. His face had a print on the side, likely from the sequined pillow that he had fallen onto by chance - he hadn’t noticed the uncomfortable prick of plastic shards until he got up, rubbing his face with sore hands. He had, in fact, torn the cover of his duvet, but it was nothing he couldn’t imagine away when he was feeling better, or even take a needle to.

His head still felt stuffed full of cotton, but the feeling of guilt worming its way around inside his chest, up his throat was all too sharp. His first course of action was to apologise.

After that, well.

He would burn that bridge when he got to it.

He made his way over to the attached bathroom, splashing some water on his face with sluggish movements, trying to cool off his burning eyes or clear away the redness on the right side of his face. The water helped, however little, and he felt marginally better, more clear-headed at the very least.

Of course, with his senses now unimpaired, he was able to hear the yelling.

At first, it just sounded like some general voice - vaguely Thomas, but could also just be a stock audio of a man shouting into a microphone. Just under that, though, when Roman blinked tightly and focused a little more, was a faint gravel, oh-so-familiar, one that matched neatly with a grinning face and easy banter - Virgil. Virgil was yelling.

Roman dried his face roughly, irritating his skin more, and zoned out completely as he waited in front of the mirror for the red blotches to fade. Virgil’s voice faded in and out, sometimes stopping entirely. Roman couldn’t tell if someone else was interrupting him or if he was just that out of it.

Finally, after what felt like an hour of choppy-but-definitely-not-pleased dialogue and the sound of waves and misplaced bits of the conversation from earlier washing over his head, myriad colours and shapes dancing across his vision, Roman glanced back up at the mirror.

He looked normal - or, well, the normal from the past few months. Before that, there might’ve been a little more colour in his cheeks, or light in his eyes. He smiled, just to test it, and found his smile both reassuring and wholeheartedly wretched. Pretty, yes, enough to fool anyone looking, including himself - but just that. Pretty. Nothing behind it, no real emotion.

Roman straightened his sash. He could work with pretty, right?

“Don’t touch me!” shouted Virgil’s muffled voice, and Roman opened his door.

The first person he saw was Remus, lounging on the sofa cross-legged, his smile just as deranged as usual but his eyes pinched, like he was making a real effort to keep up his... peppy attitude. God, Roman could relate.

Then Patton and Logan, who both brightened upon seeing him, if you could call relief brightening. They were standing next to each other, but several feet apart - almost like they were ready to move, hold someone back. Patton wore a peacemaking smile that was obviously slipping off his face, his glasses sliding down his nose. Logan looked significantly more composed, his hands clasped behind his perfectly straight back (the only straight thing about him, Roman thought automatically) instead of hovering, like Patton’s. Like Remus, his mouth was set in a line normal for him, but his eyes were lidded slightly, not quite glaring but certainly not approving.

And then, of course, like the centerpiece in an odd stage, Virgil and De- Janus. Janus’ stance was defensive, pulled back with his hands raised by his sides. Virgil’s stance was none of that - he’d leant forward, hands thrown out beside him, gesturing wildly. Janus’ face was unreadable, eyes conveying some sort of sorrow, possibly, but mouth set in a classic smirk as he met Virgil’s eyes.

Virgil looked absolutely furious. 

Roman’d seen him angry, sure, plenty of times. A lot of the time directed at him. But he’d never seen Virgil truly upset. Like end-of-the-world, life is over, “I’m going to stab you to death with a kitchen knife” upset.

Roman stepped into the living room. Patton threw him a brief smile - a real one, not a “please don’t kill each other on the carpet” smile. Logan gave him a nod, and raised one eyebrow in a silent question, which Roman answered with a smile. His fake smile, but a smile nonetheless, and Logan didn’t seem to mind.

Virgil barely seemed to register that he was even there, continuing whatever point he had started. Roman heard a lot of words, angrily shouted, but none of them that he hadn’t already thought about.

Janus glanced over at him quickly, almost unwilling to look away from Virgil, and gave him a tiny smile, or just the ghost of one. Roman felt a tiny shred of guilt fall away from his chest.

Sudden movement caught his eye, and then Remus was next to him. His smile was gone, and instead of looking insane and slightly worried, he just looked like... well, like Roman.

Back in the beginning, right after the Split, both Roman and Remus were told, separately, that they tended to mirror each other. Completely subconsciously, one would copy the tiny mannerisms of the other. According to Logan, it was painfully obvious, especially when they stood next to each other.

Some far-off part of Roman’s brain wondered if he was doing that now.

“They’re fighting,” Remus said.

“To answer your question, I do have eyes,” Roman responded instantly, forcing down a panicked wave of nostalgia and memories of Thomas’ carpet on his face.

Remus didn’t laugh, but the side of his mouth did quirk up a little bit, and Roman felt like they were kids again, watching Logan and De- Janus debate.

“Oh please, like you’d know anything about being honest with feelings-”

There went that happy thought.

“How long have they been like this?” Roman asked, in part to distract himself from how dry his mouth was all of a sudden.

Remus screwed up his face. “Ugh, time. Long enough for a horse to bleed out.”

Roman blinked at him.

“Like two or three hours. You know I suck at time. We both do.”

Roman had to suppress his flinch at that one, turning his gaze back to the two in the center of the room. “Two or three hours? And they’re still going like this?”

“Oh, you should’ve seen Virgil when he first found out. Entertaining stuff,” Remus said, but it lacked his usual screech of laughter.

“Has anyone tried to interrupt?”

“Almost got decked.”

Roman sighed. “If I asked to talk to... Janus. Alone. Would Virgil kill me?”

“No. You’re the only one he hasn’t actively screamed at.”

“I was in my room this entire time, of course he hasn’t-”

“Or about,” Remus continued. Roman avoided his eyes, suddenly finding the ground very interesting. “In a negative way.”

Remus nudged his shoulder, and headed back for the sofa. Roman didn’t have time to shove away the feelings box that time - but he did have the foresight to hide his reaction to it.

“Janus!” he called, before he could talk himself out of it. Both Virgil and Janus paused, and suddenly Roman had four pairs of eyes on him - Remus was fiddling with some kind of string contraption that Roman really hoped wasn’t going in his room later. “Can I - can I talk to you? Alone?”

Janus looked back at Virgil and then to Roman again, his expression a closed door, and took a step towards him. Roman gestured to his room, and Janus made a beeline for it without hesitation. By the time Roman was closing the door, Patton had already clasped his hands on Virgil’s shoulders.

The last thing Roman saw before he shut the door was Virgil’s face, utterly heartbroken.

“If he asks you to pick a side, don’t,” Janus said the moment the handle clicked.

“Huh?” Roman responded, very eloquently. “Oh! Uh, sure?”

“It’s- he’s already mad at Patton. And that’s my fault.”

“It’s really not,” Roman responded instantly. Janus gave him an expectant look. “I assume he’s mad at Patton for... being your friend? Or something. And that’s fine, I don’t know what happened, but it’s not your fault, right? ‘Cause Patton made that choice and he seems to be sticking with it, and that’s his choice, not yours. So- yeah.”

Janus looked absolutely baffled, and Roman realized all in a rush that nothing he had just said made any sense, but Janus interrupted him before he could say anything.

“I- thank you, Roman. I appreciate it,” he said softly, and wow, did he actually understand any of that?

“No problem,” Roman said, rushing on. “I wanted to apologise. I didn’t - I shouldn’t have made fun of your name. It was mean, and I was lashing out, and I’m really sorry, and it’s actually a really cool name and I didn’t know you were into mythology-”

“Roman.”

Roman shut his mouth so fast there was an audible click.

Janus looked slightly pained, glancing around the room awkwardly. His tongue was moving inside his mouth, but he wasn’t saying anything, like he was thinking of the right words. Roman toyed with his fingers nervously, waiting.

“Okay,” Janus said, and Roman’s head shot up. “I accept your apology, even if I think it was unnecessary.”

“I-” Roman began, but Janus held up a hand to cut him off.

“I apologise too. Comparing you to Remus was low blow, and it didn’t make much sense anyway. Neither of you are evil. You’re nuanced.”

“We weren’t,” Roman mumbled.

“You are,” Janus repeated, frowning. “Years of personal growth have that effect.”

Roman smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

“Just common courtesy-”

“Not for that. But that too, I guess.”

Janus met his eyes, and they shared some kind of look, before he looked at the door again, sighing.

“I guess I should get back to that.”

“I can ask him to calm down.”

“It won’t work, and he has a right to be upset,” Janus said, pointedly avoiding Roman’s silent question. “You should sit with Remus. Make it obvious you don’t want to be involved, and we part as neutral.”

Roman frowned a little bit - neutral certainly didn’t sound good - but nodded anyway.

Janus opened the door.

(stop reading here to avoid the AngstTM cliffhanger and come up with your own ending :7)

(i can’t put another break so we’re using parentheses babey!!)

They stepped into the living room, eyeing Patton, Logan, and Remus, who all wore different shades of “distinctly guilty”.

The room was quiet.

Virgil was nowhere in sight.

[lacielre]

whiskey neat & whisking trips, 1 

summary  this is a story about the night you poured your heart out to your ex outside his apartment building as a stranger yelled at you to “shut the fuck up,” and that stranger, who was just as wounded as you, was taehyung, and he needed your help. 

pairing  taehyung/reader, seokjin/reader 

genre  fake/pretend relationship, post-breakup, infidelity, veterinarian!taehyung, baker!oc, an attempt to comedy, pillow-screaming fluff, eventual smut 

rating  mature 

warnings  some angsty shit and HUGE fluff, some real cute stuff in here 

parts  prologue, 1

“You?” You stomped the bottom of the glass onto the wooden counter, lips still trembling.

“A bit.” He offered you a small smile and a shrug.

From then on, you had nothing else to say. Granted, you weren’t on the best mood but you were also certain that you were pretty friendly and able to actually talk before this particular moment of your life. But your trembling lips could only offer and do so much.

It took you pints of courage to lock stares with the man beside you, a seat apart. Even with the haze in your sight, you were sure he was good-looking, and with the way his brows furrowed away from his circular, glassy eyes, you had dared to call him innocent-looking.

You gripped your blanket tightly. “Um, c-can you,” your breath was shaking, “c-can you—is it okay if-if you continue talk—shit, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he replied, urging you to continue.

“It just looked like you were waiting for me to say something,” you were able to say, albeit sluggishly. “And I… I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Let’s start with names,” was his respectful nudge.

It made you chuckle with slight movement; lips barely curling upwards, and eyes barely smiling. “Are you hitting on me?” you asked weakly, almost comically, mostly sarcastically. “Because if you are, I haven’t showered.”

“I-uh, well, I’m just asking. I can go first.” He flashed a tight smile before emptying his drink in one swift shot with his head shooting back. He finished it with a hiss as he extended his hand to you. “I’m Taehyung.”  

You let loose a faint smile to return his but failed to level the same intensity. “_____,” was your unsure introduction, taking a few seconds to push yourself to the edge and accept his hand finally. Like a normal person would.

“I’d ask you out for real but you look like—” shit, you thought, “—you’d rather just—I don’t know? Talk?”

“I have a hard time believing good-looking guys,” you spat, eyes turning into slits as you downed your drink.

Taehyung let out a chuckle. “Well, I got your name. I thought we were already through that stage.”

You blinked blankly, then again, multiple times before finally unlocking your gaze from his and shaking your head. You called out, “Yoongi!”

And he was already in front of you in a matter of seconds.

It made you sigh, one that resembled your self-pity.

You hoped Seokjin would appear in front of you like that. In just a matter of seconds at one call. But he was no longer someone who you could even call. And again, your lips were trembling uncontrollably, but you managed. You had to.

“Is this guy bothering you?” Yoongi asked, not even masking confidentiality.

Taehyung eyes widened. “No—I’m—”

“Her call,” Yoongi interrupted on a dot, disregarding Taehyung’s rebuttal.

With teary eyes and a snuffle, you turned to the newly-met stranger and shook your head. “No, we’re g-good. I-I’m good.” You wished it were true. “Could you just leave a bottle here?”

Your friend eyed Taehyung’s appearance before nodding to you. “Okay.”

“Thank you, Yoongi. You’re the best.”

The bottle was served to your front in a smooth friction of its bottom against the wood. You looked up to see Yoongi shaking his head.

“This is gonna be a long night,” Yoongi muttered under his breath.

“Sorry.”

“It’s all good.” He gripped two hands on the blanket over each side of your neck, clutching it nearer and tighter to your body. “Tell me if you need anything.”

You nodded, taking charge of closing the blanket around your neck before his grip left. Yoongi strode away but not without taking a long gaze at Taehyung.

On a much brighter side, you supposed, you had good friends.

Fuck Seokjin.

Shifting your body to Taehyung who had kept his eyes on you apparently, you noticed he wasn’t at all in a happy mood either. Concern wasn’t the sole glitter present in his eyes; glumness was too. Fuck, being sad must’ve given you powers to determine stuff like that.

“Wanna sit next to me and share this bottle?” was your brazen request.

“Yes, please,” Taehyung said with much appreciation.

So, he did, taking his glass with him.

While pouring a drink on his glass, you started quietly, “My boyfriend broke up with me.” Once you hit the right amount of liquid, you continued, “I know I look dramatic but well… I guess I am a bit dramatic.”

Just as you were about to pour yourself a drink, he stole the neck of the bottle from your hand and poured for you instead.

“I guess we’ve all been dramatic at some points in our lives,” Taehyung agreed.

The breath huffed from your lungs was enough of an answer, an evident disbelief. “Err, I don’t think it’s the same,” you probed. “Anyway, he was my boyfriend of six years.”

“Shit.” His eyes turned wide.

“Yeah, I know. It’s crazy to me, too.” You took a big gulp of your beverage, committed to drinking your heart out. “Six years.”

“How do people even stay together for six years?”

You humored him. “I know.” And your lips trembled again as your mind took a short and swift trip to your memories, then back to the grunge aesthetic of this place. “F-Fuck, I kno-ow.” You sighed slowly, trying to suppress tears from brimming your eyes. “But well,” you shrugged, “six years all went to shit now.”

Taehyung wasn’t moving. He was all ears.

There was no assurance to how much tears you could extract from your tear glands in one night, but each time your lips quivered and tears started to brim your vision, you could almost laugh at yourself for still having the drive to do so.

You shook your head faintly.

Just when you thought you had enough. You kept proving yourself wrong. Over and over again.

“Please, ask me things,” you urged. “I’ll pour my heart out and wish we never meet again. Ever.”

He laughed at that but he complied, seriousness suddenly back to him. “Do you know why he broke up with you?”  

“H-He said he just doesn’t love me anymore.” You swallowed. “Isn’t love—it so crazy? One point, you’re together, daydreaming about the future. Then the next, he’s just not feeling the same way as you do. That’s so crazy to me.”

“Well. It is to me too,” Taehyung said after letting the burn of alcohol seep to his throat.

“Right?” You chuckled darkly, nodding slightly. “Six years. Only for me to find out t-that—that it’s not just that he didn’t love me anymore. He was also s-sleeping with other girls during the time we’re together. Hoo-fucking-ray.”

“Holy shit,” was Taehyung’s feigned genuine reaction.

“I know,” you said, as if all-knowing. You cleared your throat. “How ‘bout you, huh? What’s your story?”

“Did this face give that away?” Taehyung teased.

“C’mon,” you pressed. “We—” you gestured at the space between you and him as you giggled at the silliness “—are connecting.”

He joined your laughter. “Okay,” he inhaled a sharp breath, “my ex-fiancé is getting married in a month.”

You squeezed your eyes shit. “What the hell…”

Now, it was his time to say, “I know.”

“You still love ‘em?” you asked.

“Nah.” Taehyung shook his head.

Your brow raised at his answer. “Nah? As in no?”

He laughed at the purity of tone in your question. “I’m just bummed that I’m nowhere close to where she is. It’s been almost a year. She’s getting married while I’m right where she left me.”

“And she invited you to her wedding?”

He nodded.

“What a fucking bitch,” you senselessly mumbled, making Taehyung chuckle.

“And yours is an asshole, a bastard, and a son of a bitch,” he blurted out carelessly.

Your eyes widened as soon as he stopped speaking. “W-Where did you hear that? I used to practice that in front of the mirror.”

“Um,” he prolonged, “w-wild guess?”

“Fuck. Oh, my God. I’m so dumb.”

“What? Wait-what, why?”

“Not a word!” you threatened, raising a finger to him. “See, this is why I don’t wanna trust good-looking strangers!”

“What—”

“You followed me here to take advantage of a crying girl outside an old apartment building!” You were in a middle of a revelation. “And you’re here, getting me drunk? T-To what?”

“Okay, you’re getting the wrong idea,” Taehyung defended himself calmly, raising his palms across his shoulders. “I’m not here to take advantage of you—”

“Then why follow me here?” you asked sharply. “Say one wrong word and I’ll scream. I swear to fucking God. I’ll fucking call Yoo—”

“Iwastheonewhoyelledatyoutoshutthefuckup.”

“What?”

“I was the one,” he sighed, “who yelled at you to shut the fuck up.”

“On a vulnerable, crying girl outside an old apartment building?” you rephrased with eyes narrowed down to slits, judging him. “Fuck.”

“I swear, I’m not—a bad guy. Well, not entirely,” he continued. “But I did feel bad about it.”

You chewed your bottom lip, staring at his fidgeting intently; the way his hands moved from the counter, clung to his shirt, turned into fists on his lap, and gripped his drink before hitting the three-second time.

“You know what? Fuck you.” You picked up the bottle and poured him a drink. “But I don’t care anymore. Let’s keep drinking.”

   “I even told him he was a son of bitch.” You shook your head. “That’s not true; his mom was very nice to me.”

“I totally get you,” Taehyung slurred. “We say things we don’t mean.”

“No, no, don’t get me wrong,” you barely worded. “I meant that.”

“Oh.” He battled with the flutters of his eyelids. “Okay.”

“I love that we’re connecting.”

“Yeah, totally.” He nodded. “Totally. It’s like we’ve met before.”

“Definitely,” you agreed, downing your drink. “What’s your favorite snack?”

“Hmm.” He looked up for a split second. “Donut—”

“Sausage.”

“But yeah, that—that too.”

“See? We’re so alike.”

He shrugged, alcohol consuming too much of his brain for him to even question the validity of your tests. “I gotta tell you something.”

“What’s that, bestie?”

“Your boyfriend brought many girls to his apartment when you two were going out.” He hiccupped.

“You knew that all this time and you didn’t tell me?” you cried out.

“We just m-met,” he hiccupped again.

“But we’re—hick—supposed to be connected,” you directed, hiccupping too.

“Okay, soulmates, when are you two gonna let me go home?” Yoongi asked, forcefully pulling the bottle from your hand.

“Hey!” was your protest that did nothing. “Give it back,” you whined.

“I’ve been watching you two for almost four hours now.”

“Can’t you see?” Taehyung rhetorically asked. “We’re connected.”

“What does that even mean? And who—”

“His name is Taehyung,” you cut him off.

“That’s right, I am him.” Taehyung shoot at you with a finger gun and a wink.

You nodded, feeling empowered. “Put respect to his name!” You winked at Taehyung and a little voice that Yoongi heard, “I got your back.”

“Fuck.” Yoongi rolled his eyes along his body, throwing his own body to the couch beside the entrance. He covered his face with his palms, crying out, “Please let me go home!”

Your brows furrowed. “But I thought you said—hick—it’s all good!”

“That was three hours ago!”

“What?” you cried, tears falling from your eyes. “You l-lied to me?”

Yoongi’s eyes widened. “No—what—don’t cry!”

“You lied to me,” you sobbed. “I hate all good-looking guys. Except you,” you turned to Taehyung, “you’re my new best friend.”

Taehyung leaned in to kiss your crown. “You too!”

“Fuck my life,” Yoongi mumbled mostly for him to hear.

   “What? You called your ex-fiancé a bitch?” you clarified. “That’s so not cool, man. That’s… uncool.” You chuckled.

“Funny,” Yoongi muttered sarcastically under his breath. He winced when he took a sip of your drink, pushing it away to serve himself the classic favorite, soju.

You tried to smack him with the back of your palm but it was easy for him to avoid it, considering your lessened sense of sight, or senses in general.

“You are so rude to your hottest friend!” you whined.

You had no idea when did Yoongi get back behind the counter with a bar stool, joining you two drink, but you were glad he did anyway. He wasn’t nearly as drunk as the two of you, considering his high tolerance. And it was good there was one sane enough to keep you two on your feet, or well, your asses.

Because in all honesty, there had been more than four instances of you almost falling out of your chair.

“I didn’t say it to her face! And you called your ex a bastard, an—an asshole, a-what’s the other one?” Taehyung asked, unsuccessfully recollecting his memories of tonight.

“A son of a bitch,” you supplied. “But that’s different!”

“What, how is that different?” Taehyung complained.

“Right. How is that different?” Yoongi repeated. “You’ve called his ex-fiancé a bitch.”

“Because! I can’t remember! I don’t think I even said that—oh, wait, no,” you rambled. “I don’t know. I don’t want to think.” Your shoulders sagged from langor. “Should I call him?” you asked suddenly. “Tell him to come pick me up. Tell him that I forgive him.”

“Wait, wait. No, don’t do that.” Yoongi’s forehead crinkled immediately, holding onto your wrist. “That’s not a good idea, _____.”

“Please, Yoongi?” you moaned powerlessly. “For the name of love?”

“The name of what?” Yoongi repeated, eyes narrowing.

“For the name of love!” Taehyung jumped in with much enthusiasm, a fresh air of loud positive pulps of passion, raising his glass for a ‘cheers’ which you completed by bumping your glass onto his. “Go, _____!”

“What the fuck, dude?” Yoongi picked, not believing how this scenario was playing in front of him. “No, no, no, _____. Don’t call him. You can’t.”

You grabbed your phone from your pocket aggressively, which despite the many clicks on the lock button, wouldn’t open. The photo of you and Seokjin at one romantic diner in Japan during the bests of cherry blossoms, failing to show up as your lockscreen. “Oh, nooo,” you wailed, though sounding a bit unaffected.

“It’s not working,” was Taehyung’s commentary.

“There goes a month pay,” Yoongi stated nonchalantly, tipping his drink to the side.

“Fuck the name of love,” you simply muttered, dropping your phone to the counter violently. Its screen slapping on the wood was the only noise that echoed through the private bar.

“Fuck the name of love!” Taehyung repeated.  

   With how things played out, Yoongi wasn’t able to go home after all, especially not when you were crying your heart out at 4AM, organizing a funeral for your wrecked phone with only him and Taehyung as guests.

He ended up changing your shirt to a much drier, warmer one, and tucked you to the couch in his office. On the other hand, he had to lay blankets on one of the couches downstairs for Taehyung. Because as it turned out, Yoongi couldn’t call anyone from his phone to pick him up.

“Morning,” you greeted Yoongi, voice barely pushing through.

You could smell your own breath from your mouth, and it was not a good thing. On a much worse note, your head was also pulsing and you had absolutely no control of it. Blinking multiple times, you stared at Yoongi, properly leaning on the doorframe as he watched you crumbled to your demise.

“What time is it?” you were able to ask.

“It’s 9 in the morning, princess,” Yoongi said sarcastically. “Eat that,” he said, pointing to the hangover soup resting on the coffee table.

“My savior,” you mumbled lifelessly, shuffling to sit upright before grabbing the hot bowl into the care of your palms. “Smells like it tastes bland. Where d’you get this?”

“Taehyung’s downstairs,” he continued the conversation to another direction.

“Who?” you asked, taking a sip of your soup.

“What?” His forehead furrowed.

“Who?”

“Taehyung.”

“Right. Taehyung who?” You almost sounded aggravated.

“What do you mean?” Yoongi was genuinely clueless but your goading was relentless.

“Who is he?”

“Taehyung.”

“Repeating it is not hel—holy shit.” It dawned to you finally.

“Finally,” Yoongi puffed out, throwing his hands out.

“Oh, my God. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.”

“What, now?” was his groggy response, rolling his eyes.

“You gotta smuggle me out of here!” you demanded. “That Taehyung—he knows so much about me and I am so embarrassed. Yoongi, he cannot see me!” You turned the volume of your voice lower, and added, “Forever!”

His eyes narrowed at your dramatics and the dramatic fidgeting. “Okay, _____. What happened to the entire soulmates thing? The whole ‘I love that we’re connecting’ stuff, huh,” he asked, mimicking your voice. “How did that work out for you?”

“What?” you asked again. No idea coming into your head to verify his lame allegations.

“You even called him your new best friend!”

“I called him my new best friend?” was another oblivious remark from you. “We must’ve really hit it off then. But I can’t remember!” You looked at the ceiling for some answers. “All I can remember is yelling at Seokjin.”

“God, you’re a lost cause.”

“Wow. Thanks, Yoongi.” You stood up, taking moments to balance yourself. “What a weird way of cheering me up when I’m down.”

He cleared his throat before blankly looking at you. “Need your ticket home or what?”

Your eyes immediately perched up. “Yes, please.”

“Then let’s roll out.”

“Okay, Optimus Prime. Let me just finish my soup.”

   “This is no good.”

You dropped your rubber whisk next to the mess of a bowl with a sigh almost deeper than any sigh you had ever sighed, staining your counter with sweet, soggy batter. You scrambled through your equipment, searching for more dry ingredients, a call to start over for the fifth time today.

The patisserie was closed today despite the most active hours being on a good, warm Saturday. But you had no business of mingling with the regulars and casual, new costumers today, not when every now and then you remembered Seokjin’s beautiful face, coming from that same glassed doors.

As if on cue, tears climbed up to your eyes, turning them glassy and blurred. Of course, it wasn’t enough to suffer that way. Your lips also had to quiver along your fingers that constantly found troubles in grabbing your kitchenware. They had also been kept busy from slapping your cheeks each time you had an alarm beeped in your head to keep focused.

“It’s all no good,” you muttered to yourself, a tear finally dropping, having been supressed for the past three hours. “Fuck.”

You coughed, trying to let go of the clogging on your throat because it was painful. Too painful. And pain had already crept from different places, from your pounding head to your drubbing heart. Of course, that kind of pain wasn’t enough for you too.

The turnouts of your baking were also a form of punishment. Everything coming out at different versions of crumbling dry, dense, damp, and too soft, almost melting along the frosting.

Then, the doors chimed along the words:

“Stress-baking?”

You quickly turned, dialling down the volume of your lo-fi music as you hoped it would calm you down and help you concentrate. “I’m sorry,” you sniffled. “We’re closed today.”

“Hey, uh, it’s me.”

You looked at the figure coming from the entrance. “I shouldn’t have opened the entrance.”

“Yeah, I don’t think customers like watching the baker cry,” he teased.

“Fuck. Sorry,” you said, drying your eyes with your towel. You composed yourself. “What—what are you doing here?”

It wasn’t your intention for the words to come out harshly, a bit pointed on the edges. But you almost – almost – didn’t really give a damn about how you sounded, except when you watched Taehyung’s features soften down to both concern and wounded, or you read them wrong.

“How did you…?”

“Yoongi—uh, gave me this address,” Taehyung said delicately, slowly. “He also said, ‘fuck you, I’m not giving you her home address’ which was pretty wise.”

Fuck you, Yoongi.

“First name basis, huh,” you kidded, noting how he called your friend by first name. “I wish I could offer you something to eat, but everything I touch turned to shit.”

“Um, a drink will do?” he mumbled, trying to save the situation.

“Cola?”

“Yes, please,” was his energized answer, along his boxy smile.

Once you were both seated on one of the tables of your pastel patisserie with cans of cola as fresheners, one had to keep talking.

“So… you bake?” was Taehyung’s first card.

“I stress-bake,” you corrected, making him chuckle at your wit.

“Are you still hung-over?” Taehyung asked politely, as if you were too fragile for a question like that.

“Honestly, a bit,” you confessed. “Please tell me you are too.”

“Totally,” he said, beaming. “Uhh, anyway, I didn’t really want to make you uncomfortable with everything that happened last night. But I do want to see you so…”

Fuck, this is it.

He was going to call you embarrassing and desperate and humiliating and broken and attention-seeking and worthless and pitiful and undeserving of love and—

“I have gift cards off Apple,” Taehyung simply continued, making your brow raise.

“W-What?”

“I have Apple gift cards,” he repeated, laying the cards on the table from his satchel bag, which now that you noticed – fancy. “My dad is a part of the company and they get stuff like that. I don’t need it. And, well, I saw your phone died last night, and you even had me write something like—”

“Thank you for the two and a half years,” you finished.

“Right.” He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. “Rest in peace.”

You covered your face with your palms. “Oh, my God. I was so embarrassing.” You felt your cheeks heat up at the caution of your palms. Fuck, you were certain that your ears were also glowing red and having your hair tied up in a hair net didn’t help at all.

“We were, weren’t we?” he added, laughing at the matter at hand.

It was nice of him to include himself at your rundown of self-pities and humiliating rewinds of last night.

You smiled at him and that must have been the first time he had seen you smile. For a small moment, his heart rate rose up a notch. You were pretty, and he couldn’t deny that.

“But it was fun,” he said. “I had a lot of fun although some details are a bit hazy.”

“And I hope it stays that way,” you countered.

He laughed, showing the attractive creases on his cheeks. “I did remember your phone funeral though.”

“Hopefully, that’s the only thing you’ll ever remember.”

“And when you fell on your ass because you kept rocking on your chair.”

You raised a brow. “What? I don’t even remember that.”

“Well, I do.” He smirked.

You cleared your throat and looked on the table.

“Are you sure about giving me these?” you asked, trailing your fingers over the cards laid in front of you. “You did see my phone last night, right?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “I’d rather have you arrange another funeral than have these cards expired, _____.”

You scoffed, not at him, but at the entirety of things. You stacked the cards on top of another, making a figure of a deck, not allowing a millimeter to stick out from the edges.

“You remembered my name,” you muttered, an affection you hadn’t desired to voice out but it was right in the air.

“Of course. You remembered mine… right?”

Your eyes widened, the flashback of Yoongi repeatedly announcing his name when you woke up playing in your head. “Definitely,” you half-lied. “Thank you for the cards, Taeh—can I call you Tae?”

He gulped. “Yeah, sure.”

“See? We’re ahead of Yoongi now. We’re on nicknames basis.” A chuckle rumbled from your chest, an honest one, besides the ones you had last night. Those you were too drunk to even remember vividly.

His cheeks went up higher to his eyes; eyes that were gleaming too much the sun should feel a bit of shame. He cleared his throat as he finished his drink. “I guess, um, I’ll see you… later?” was his unsure attempt.

“Hopefully,” you said. “I don’t know where to see you, although, I do know where you live. But you know, my ex lives there—and I don’t want to go there, because we just broke up and—it’s all a mess. But I do want to see you, so there’s that.” You sighed.

What a mess.

“Here,” Taehyung assisted your deterioration, slipping a business card to you. “I have a vet clinic a few blocks away. I’m almost always there.”

It was making sense that he was wearing scrubs to your patisserie and you were too self-involved to just notice it now.

“Cool.” You nodded weakly, clipping the card between your fingers and admiring the fact that he was a fucking veterinarian and on top of that, freely offered you Apple gift cards to buy a new phone. “And I’m almost always here.”

You followed him on his way out, watching his body drift away, but not before turning back to wave at you, which you reciprocated. You turned away in a few seconds, marching back to the neglected cola cans on the pastel table with Taehyung’s business card on it.

The doors chimed again.

“Taehyung, did you forget some—” you turned around and almost bit your tongue, “—thing…”

“You’re closed today?”

“Clearly,” you stated sternly, placing down the cans back on the table with a hard swallow. “What do you want?”

“I thought you wanted to talk,” he sighed, taking off his coat to get comfortable.

“No, no! Put your coat back, Seokjin,” you ordered, heart raising and voice cracking. It was only luck’s purpose to decide if he hadn’t caught that your voice cracked, and you hoped it played its role today. “You’re twenty-one hours late. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“C’mon, _____.” Seokjin continued on taking off his coat.

“I said, don’t!”

He halted, fixing his coat back to his shoulder. “Fine.”

“What?”

“I just want to talk, ____.” He took a step forward and you tensed. “Calmly.”

“Are you mocking me?” you spat. “I didn’t want to shout outside your fucking apartment, Seokjin.”

“But you did, didn’t you?” He scoffed. “I even received a letter from the landlord about the complaints from last night.”

“What, do you want me to apologize? Isn’t that a little fucked up? Considering you’re the one who cheated on me and ran off from my apartment when I wanted to talk.” You rested your palms on your chest for emphasis. “What do you even have to tell me? I saw everything! There’s only too little information left for you to explain, and I don’t think I even want to hear it. When you got tired, you could’ve told me from the start! But you had to drag it through the last years we were together! Then you had to rub it in my face that you don’t feel the same way as I do anymore.”

“See? We’re talking,” he said with a slight smile, an out-of-place effort to cheer you up.

You shook your head in disbelief. “Don’t do that,” you said, the last word falling to a flat whisper. “It doesn’t make things any better. I know you didn’t come here to explain why you cheated on me. Can we just get to it?”

“I wanted to,” he swallowed, “apologize.”

“Okay,” you said weakly, “I don’t want to accept it. You can go now.”

He went closer, a proximity that had alarms buzzing in your head, although he was meters away. It felt different. He felt different. So, no, you had to give yourself a bit of self-respect. He was in your personal space. He was in a place you caved for yourself to heal. So, no, you couldn’t allow him tainting this.

Not when he had already tainted almost everything else in your life.

It was six years after all.

“Please leave.” Your voice was dead. “Leave.”

“You’re being dramatic—”

“Leave.”

“Talk to me, _____,” was his rich request.

“I have a knife close to me,” you threatened.

“That’s a whisk,” he teased with a slight chuckle.

“I have no time for your jokes!” you almost yelled, and you were trembling again, back to how this day started. With an exhaled shaky breath, you collected yourself. Finally, you reiterated with much clearance and control, “Please leave.”

This was your last resort: to stand up to him when it was all too much.

And he did leave.

Had you known better, you would have acknowledged the tug at your heart when he left wordlessly. But you failed to do so, and ignorance is bliss.

When he finally disappeared from your vision, your knees quickly gave up. Fortunately, the seat behind you supported your weight because if you ended up on the floor, there was no more intent of standing up after a few hours.

   “I give up, Yoongi.”

“But you just exceeded the 24-hour mark,” Yoongi insisted. “You can’t call him.”

“If I get through two days of this, am I allowed to finally call him?” you asked, sniffling in between your words defenselessly.

“No.”

“Then what is the purpose of this?” You threw your head back, screwing your eyes shut from the pain of possibly pulling a muscle and the break-up itself.

“Umm,” he rummaged for a retort, “to not call him anymore?”

“I’m a lost cause, Yoongi.” You tucked the falling strands of your hair behind your ears. “You were right.”

“If this is your way to make me guilty and allow you to call him, it’s not working.”

“Oh, fuck it!”

You made your way to the empty spot of his couch through heavy stomps of your feet clothed with white socks, barely making a sound you expected to at least create thumps, and slumped next to him. In no less than a second, Yoongi laid his arm around your shoulders.

“I hate it when you throw yourself on my couch like that, but,” he sighed and pressed a finger on your nose, “I’ll allow it for now.”

And in no less than a second, you were bawling again. For the nth time since the morning you woke up. From the morning that should have been a start of change, but this change was a tad too cruel to your heart. Throughout the day, you had to drag your feet through rough asphalts to get somewhere, as well as to get to Yoongi’s apartment before he finally picked you up on his bike.

You barely even saw him arrive, having your eyes clouded by tears.

Being on his bike however, felt nice. It felt nice to wrap your arms around someone. Around someone safe.

“He visited me earlier today,” you announced. “He tried to make me laugh, but it’s just not the same anymore. I can’t see him the same way.”

“Fuck Seokjin, right?” Yoongi said, lightening your mood.

Your nod was a reaction that sufficed.

“He was my friend too, you know,” he continued.

“I-I’m sorry.” You brushed the back of your hand under your nose to ease it from running. “I-I d-destroyed one of y-your friendsh-friendships.”

“That’s not what I meant, _____.” He scoffed. “I’m on your side, okay? Stop putting yourself down all the time like you’re not important.”

“Thank you.” It was the time to exercise your breathing, which you did as you sat upright.

“You are very important to me,” he emphasized. “Repeat after me, Seokjin is an asshole, a bastard, and a son of a bitch,” Yoongi said, patting your head.

“I didn’t mean that,” you said, brows furrowing.

“You do now.”

“I really don’t.” You looked at Yoongi with apologetic eyes, catching a tear from your left one with a light swipe of your fingers. “I still love him, Yoongi. Very much. I know I yelled at him and asked him to leave when he tried to patch things up, but fuck. I still really am in love with him. I have to admit this.”

“But that doesn’t change what he did to you. Plus, it’s only been a day. Give yourself a break.” He looked at you intently and you knew what he wanted.  

You sighed deeply. “Seokjin is an asshole, a bastard, and a son of a bitch. Happy?”

“Good enough.”

“Okay. Can we talk about something else now?”

“Sure.” Yoongi nodded abruptly. “So, uh, did your new best friend visit you?”

“New best friend,” you repeated with a huff.

“When you called him that, it kinda hurt, you know.”

Your shoulders shook at the laughter that warmly and softly erupted from your chest. “Yeah, he visited. And you are not gonna believe what he gave me!”

“Hmm, his shampoo?”

Your eyes narrowed. “What?”

“His hair conditioner?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You probably didn’t notice because you were drunk, but his hair was extra soft.”

“Again, what?”

“Okay.” Instead, he pulled his eyes to the back of his head before returning them to you. “What did he give you, then?”

“Apple gift cards!” you squealed. “I’m gonna get discounts for my new phone!”

“Hey! That’s great!” he went along, smiling. “You’re saving yourself a month pay!”

“And, and, and,” you said excitedly, “I can finally call Seokjin without needing your stupid phone!”

“Not funny.”

You groaned. “Fine! Also you know what, Taehyung’s a vet! Isn’t that cool? He’s a doctor for pets!”

“Yes, _____. I know what a veterinarian is.”

You glared at him. “My new best friend is so cool.”

He chuckled. “I think this is great.”

“What is?”

“You, meeting new people.”

“Already?”

“I didn’t mean romantically.”

“Oh,” you blankly said. “Then yes, it is great. I think he’s very nice. We get along very well.”

“Alright, soulmates.”

“I’m still mad you gave him my work address.”

   Mornings were the start of change. You had to move on with tiny steps, and arriving to your shop an hour early to bake extra was your starter, your kick-off. An hour before lunch, you had to leave the patisserie to one of your workers in-charge with a box of donuts clipped in your hand. Donuts perfectly aligned, perfectly designed, and perfectly deep-fried to your standards.

You did not usually make donuts as they didn’t really suit the aesthetic of your bakery, but they seemed perfect as gifts for Taehyung.

This was a wake, you believed. If your life was truly a movie, this would be the second instalment to it, you thought as you tread to the address printed on the business card you had pulled from the back pocket of your jeans. You took quick glances of it as you continued walking, noting that you were bad at directions.

You sighed. Self-awareness was key too.

With quite a nervous breath, you pushed the glass door, and you were welcomed by a deep, familiar voice.

“You were supposed to pull.”

“Oh, shit—sorry,” you mumbled but you were already inside, captured by his gaze, of him, wearing a lab coat atop his ordinary clothes. “Hi.”

“Hey,” Taehyung replied, beaming like you were a delivery package he had been expecting to arrive. “So welcome to my place. You caught me logging out.”

Your eyes widened. “Shit. Are you going somewhere? This is a wrong time, isn’t it? I’ll just come back later or maybe tomorrow or the day after.”

“No, no,” he denied rapidly, not wasting a millisecond. “It’s all fine. Don’t worry. I’m actually glad you’re here.”

You hadn’t intended to, but your heart swelled.

Fuck, he was good-looking, and you swore you hated good-looking guys.

“Do you like pets?” he had asked, taking a step closer to you.

“Do I like pets?” you restated. “Do you think of me as a monster, Tae?”

He grinned at your response, obviously satisfied by your counter-question. “Then would you like to meet some?”

It didn’t take long for you to process such information and the increasing the size of your eyes gave your answer away before you could even nod more than five times in less than a second.

“Follow me.”

And you followed him like a tail, still holding onto the box of donuts you had no idea how to hand it over to him. The crisis was that he didn’t ask anything about it. Hell, you could do better.

“This is Rocket,” Taehyung introduced, playing with the caged puppy’s paw with a finger.

“Like the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Rocket?”

“Uh-huh. Like the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Rocket. Isn’t he cute?”

“What a cool name for a cute little guy.”

The smile on his face was worth billions. Or, it should be.

You gasped at the sight of Rocket’s tail wiggling as he licked Taehyung’s finger. “M-May I?”

He nodded, his back still crouched to level with the transparent cage and you joined him, merely leaving an expanse of an inch or two to avoid your shoulders from bumping against each other. He smelled nice, fresh. The Labrador greeted you with a dose of pleasantness like you had been here before, met him before. You played your finger lightly on his whiskers before finally pulling away.

“Your job is awesome,” you said in complete awe.

“Yeah, well.” He shrugged. He wanted to add that it was different when it came to surgery but seeing how your eyes gleamed at the sight of the healthy puppy, he decided to kept that information sealed as secret.

You noticed the souring of his expression. “Shit. You operate.”

He freed the breath he locked in his cheeks. “Yep.”

That had you chewing your bottom lip instead of looking at him and making things a bit more awkward. You turned your heels to take a dedicated sweep at his work area. You took sights of different pets with respective nameplates on the bottom left corners of their spotless confinements. Many of which had very unique names.

“I came here today to thank you,” you said, spinning your front to him. “I was probably too much to handle that night. And I know I probably disturbed your night too, but you followed me instead and joined me to you know, have a drink. Many people don’t really care—a lot. And that’s a given. You’re not obliged to do anything—but, well, um, you still did. So—fuck—I really should have practiced this in front of a mirror. So,” you took a sharp inhale, “all I’m saying is, thank you very much, Taehyung.”

As soon as you ended your fucking monologue, you tore your glance to check out the dog nearest to your face.

You were red. That, you were pretty much sure of.

Fuck.

Taehyung cleared his throat. “I really am glad you came here.”

“Hmm?” you hummed, acting casual and well, breezy, shifting your gaze from a Pomsky to Taehyung’s eyes which were surprisingly as delicate and anxious.

Before he could even say a thing, he buried his face into his palms, but his reddening ears were a tell-tale to his collapsing self-composure adhering shyness.

“H-Hey, are you alright?” you asked but you had to admit, this was getting weird.

He was so cool, serene, and collected earlier and in a split-second, his demeanor dissolved into the crisp of the cold breeze in this isolated, air-conditioned room.

“Okay.” He pulled his face from his palms as he slid them downward from his nose to his lips before he intertwined his fingers and pressed them to his chest. “I know that looked weird but I have something to propose to you.”

“How about we eat these donuts first?” you asked, raising the box, and mending this situation.

“Donuts?” He was intrigued. “Sure, no problem, okay, let’s,” he said, not sparing a millisecond.

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” you sighed. “So, let’s head out, go somewhere else?”

“You know what? Not okay,” Taehyung said, panicking almost and looking away from the box of donuts you were waving in front of him oh so nonchalantly from your fingers.

Fuck. He was tempted.

“What—why?” you questioned, nervousness back on track into seeping through your skin and through your nerves.

Oh, my God. This was it, wasn’t it?

He was going to call you embarrassing and desperate and humiliating and broken and attention-seeking and worthless and pitiful and undeserving of love and that he never wanted to see again that was why he was happy to see you so he could finally say those words to your fac—

“Canyoubemyplusoneeonmyexfianceswedding?”

“What?”

Taehyung took a deep breath, and this time, his voice was deeper, lower. “Can you be my plus one,” he took a pause to decipher your unmoving expression but he had to lay all his cards out, “on my ex-fiancé’s wedding?”

[justfor2am]

steven universe the movie au but it’s sanders sides

I’m calling it the Thomas Universe AU! 

(creative, I know)

okay but hear me out

anyone who is human irl is still human in this au...this would take place in FL where Thomas lives, and this goes with the assumption that the sides are real and his friends + family know/can see them. patton + deceit appear unconventionally, and i know it wouldn’t make sense for the canon sanders sides universe rules, but i’ve already disregarded most of those so...

also, i know it wouldn’t work EXACTLY like the movie obvs and some stuff would have to be left out (like the diamonds....sorry babes) 

also also I’m sticking a cut in here because i just realized this is gonna be a long one

Characters

Steven/Pink Diamond: Thomas (I’ll explain the PD later)

Garnet: Roman + Remus except it’s the opposite of a love story; learning to love themselves “unfused” as individual creativities (no remrom here please)

Amethyst: Virgil (i considered him as Pearl and you could make a case either way, but song-wise this works slightly better)

Pearl/Pink Diamond: Logan (see above, you could also make a case for him as Amethyst, and I’ll explain the PD later)

Bismuth: JayisJo (because i love them)

Lapis: Joan

Peridot: Talyn

Spinel: Patton + Deceit Fusion (yes, i know i know. i’ll explain)

Plot

Thomas is his best self, healthy, happy and surrounded with friends + family. They’re in the middle of fixing up their new office (Little Homeworld), and home (Thomas’s Apartment) is stable. The sides are all getting along, even as insufferable as Remus can be.

In this universe, Patton + Deceit were never thought to be “real” like the other sides. Whereas Thomas would film using his actual sides, he and Joan “invented” Patton and Deceit for the series’ storyline. They were, accidentally, repressed to the back of Thomas’ mind, and finally through their feelings of abandonment, come forth as one fused side called “Ethos”.

Ethos plants a bug in Thomas’ mind that would repress all of his sides back into his mind. He wouldn’t be void of personality, but it would hurt, and ran the risk of contaminating his friends. Since his friends don’t have sides, it would drain their personalities instead, and it’s a race to get Ethos to stop the bug.

Title Character Backstories

Steven Universe is self-explanatory enough, title character yada yada. Thomas also being Pink Diamond is meant as a younger Thomas, more so as a symbol of immaturity and also because I didn’t want to use Thomas’ actual mom because that literally wouldn’t have worked. 

(For Logan, see Songs: Drift Away)

“Garnet” would have been the result of the great Creativity Split. Roman and Remus, once expected to stick together as one side, have learned (sort of) to co-exist with each other. In this universe, Thomas has accepted Remus (after a lot of wor) and the two creativities are more brotherly. 

“Amethyst” would have been a reflection of Virgil’s time with the “dark” sides. Young and impressionable, him learning to accept love from the “light” sides and be himself despite the fighting between the two halves.

“Pearl” is a call-back to Logan’s quickly shifting from “Teacher Guy” on Vine to “Logic” in Sanders Sides. He felt his only purpose was to help Thomas; any emotions he felt were meant to be disregarded.

“Spinel” as a Patton + Deceit fusion still has her original stretchy powers, because with Deceit’s constant usage of shapeshifting and Patton’s joking manner, it just makes sense. They have Deceit’s Director!Patton Disguise, with four arms and two eyes, one blue and almost constantly tearing up, the other Deceit’s snake eye. There’s a monocle on the blue eyes, and small patches of snake skin. They also have a top hat, because snazzy.

alternatively: pick whichever fusion of them that @fangirltothefullest​ drew because that’s kinda the best way to visual them. 

Weapons

• Instead of a scythe-style Rejuvenator, Ethos have a collapsible staff that can be split in two, each half with a long, thin blade inside. Swiping the sides with a blade does the same as a Rejuvenator + plants the “bug” in them. For Thomas, it only plants the bug.

• Roman uses his sword, and his shield to launch Remus in the air for attacks. Remus sticks with his morning star. Neither have future vision.

• Virgil doesn’t have a weapon, his “power” would be speed and darn good punches. He still has his “tempest tongue” ability, when his anxiety is extremely high.

• Logan has a shortbow, but is not above straight up wacking people with it.

Songs

Let Us Adore You:

Since I don’t have a Diamond equivalent, this song only really matters during its reprise.

Happily Ever After:

Moves the plot from Thomas’ house to “Little Homeworld”. Logan is being taught the bass by Jamal at his house (Logan is summoned by Thomas to the office later). Thomas drives to the office and talks to Roman and Remus, who’re play-fighting and writing scripts. 

He walks into a room to be stopped by Virgil, because he was about to step into a can of paint. (This is one of the unfinished rooms). Joan, Tayln and Jay are there too, helping out. By the end of the song, Thomas is standing outside with all of his sides, enjoying the sunshine and being happy.

Other Friends:

Ohhhh boy. Ethos monologues at them for a bit, perched up on a lamppost. Logan recognizes them (this will be important later). They’re clearly unstable, and the sides get ready to fight. 

Ethos uses their instability to their advantage, fusing and unfusing quickly around them to avoid getting hit. Ethos also uses their rubber powers to throw Logan into the air and letting him fall, trapping Virgil in a tree, and knocking Remus’ and Roman’s heads together. He finishes it off by scaring Thomas and pushing him into the ground, jumping back on the lamppost.

They all regroup, in pain, and after Thomas’ obvious lack of recognization, Ethos is only more unstable, yelling. He pulls out the staff and poofs the sides. Thomas manages to poof Ethos as well, but not without getting hit first.

system/BOOT.PearlFinal(3).Info:

We have this nice intermission where we see all of the sides “reset” and Logan narrates as his episode 1 self. Here we see Remus and Roman fuse automatically, without showing their individual forms. They pose still and quietly, without their individual quirks. Virgil forms as his Pre-AA self, bitter but also quiet, looking very nervous and trying to blend in.

Ethos reforms, but not fused. Deceit and Patton are both happy and friendly, acting like a Spinel-duo. Patton specializes in jokes + puns while Deceit does more physical humor. Deceit’s outfit is white instead, and he has no hat. Patton’s outfit is is original cardigan one. Patton and Deceit also finish each others sentences.

Thomas beings to notice the bug affecting himself, stinging him occasionally.

Who We Are:

Thomas is moping around while Jay, Joan and Talyn try to help figure out a solution. They set on the plan to make them all remember who they are.

Isn’t it Love?:

Remus and Roman accidentally unfuse, and they both feel a breath of fresh air. Neither of them have a proper “form”, and they take the song to pick out who they want to be. While they’re both much happier apart now, they still don’t know themselves.

No Matter What:

One of my favourite songs from this movie, and the key reason why Virgil would work better as Amethyst. Thomas takes Virgil back through his memories, showing him the music he used to like, how to sew, and they retake the sorting quiz together and talk about it.

Thomas puts on a few Halloween movies and Virgil starts to come back. He goes to stand in his corner by the stairs, and Thomas runs up to his room and gives him the ‘famILY’ card. With that, Virgil comes back.

Disobedient:

I don’t have as much to say here, but for funny purposes Logan “belongs” to Jamahl.

Independent Together:

A Thomas/Jamahl duet, they don’t “literally” fuse, but they’re still singing together. Logan remembers who he is and duets with Virgil. It’s a sweet moment.

Drift Away:

Ohhhh boy (part 2). Deceit and Patton are singing over each other here. The “Garden” is Thomas’ mind, and Logan/a younger, immature Thomas are Pink Diamond. Inadvertently, as Thomas was maturing, he wanted to put silly, childish things behind him. Logan, acting as his Logic, realized that meant Ethos, and went to “put them away”.

He told them Thomas was growing up, and that he would come back to them soon. But Thomas was young when this happened, and he soon forgot about them. Deceit is the one to pose the question: “Is this how it works, am I doing this right?” Patton is unwilling to ask such things, not wanting to doubt Thomas.

They stay there, mostly silent together. They see Thomas grow up, but never the other sides after Logan, because they don’t know the two are stuck back there. Patton keeps making excuses for Thomas, that he’s not ready yet, that he’ll be back soon.

The tipping point is when Deceit’s “character” is introduced. Patton was more than happy to excuse his own “character” into the Sanders Sides Series, but Deceit wasn’t. Upon seeing himself, and hearing Thomas and Joan talk as if Patton and Deceit weren’t really there, broke him.

Deceit called Patton out for excusing Thomas’ behavior, and grief breaks over him. With Deceit’s anger and Patton’s sadness, the two fuse into Ethos. Deceit wants revenge, Patton wants answers. While Deceit is the stronger of the two in the fusion, Patton does have his moments of fronting.

Found:

Thomas talks to Ethos, offering him a place in the Mindpalace again, and apologizing. Ethos takes him up on the offer, Patton clearly fronting. He turns off the bug in the sides and in Thomas.

True Kinda Love:

Remus and Roman finally come to themselves, play-fighting again before working together to protect Thomas + co. from Ethos. Ethos reactivates the bugs to work faster, and runs away from Thomas’s office to his home. Joan and Tayln offer to look after the sides while Thomas goes to find Ethos, who’s perched on top of his house, curled up. 

(work with me here,) Thomas goes up the fire escape to the roof, (pretend his roof is flat would y’all?) to face off. 

Change:

Ethos is ready to fight. Thomas is not. He actively avoids hitting/getting hit by Ethos, moving the fight back to the ground and darting between the park near his house, letting Ethos punch the trees instead. He talks to Ethos, who’s starting to come undone. After getting punched into a tree, Patton pulls himself out of the fusion and goes to help him.

Deceit sees him do this, and after a moment of self-frustration, refuses with Patton to turn off the bug before unfusing again. Thomas takes them back to the office to check up on the other sides, who are now doing just fine.

Let Us Adore You (Reprise):

Finally, this song comes in handy! Instead of the Diamonds singing to Spinel, the sides offer Patton and Deceit a place back in the Mindscape with them, while Thomas says that if they need some time alone, he understands.

The sides all apologize, especially Logan for leaving them alone for so long.

Patton all but jumps at the idea of having a real home, and is thrilled to have a place. Patton sings first, “Today, right here, right now, I'll love again. I've already found someone.”

He starts walking toward them, but stops. Deceit has his arms crossed, and is standing farther back. Patton offers him a hand, and Deceit finally takes a step forward. He’s more hesitant, mostly because like ten minutes ago he was trying to kill all of them. But he misses playing with Thomas, even if as a side his purpose has corrupted with time.

“Yes, I know that you're not her and I was her's. You know what it meant to love her, and you remind me so much of her.” A group hug ensues, and Deceit and Patton are both holding on tight to Thomas. A few tears are shed, and the healing has started.

Finale:

Thomas is continuing to work with all of his sides to make sure Patton and Deceit are adjusting well. The office is eventually finished, Patton and Deceit even get to play themselves in the series. All is well, and Thomas is looking forward to the future and what it brings.

And yeah, that’s all folks! Feel free to do whatever for this, I might write some things for it too. But if y’all do stuff with this, please tag me, I’d love to see whatever y’all make! :-)

[jamkookies]

Behold the beauty mask!

Word count : 2.2k

Description :  A trip to Malta for the shooting of Bon Voyage seems peaceful enough until the moment things take an unexpected turn...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days.

That’s how long it had been since you hadn’t seen the boys. You hadn’t even been able to exchange messages because your mom kept insisting that you keep your phone as far away from you as possible.

But thank heavens it was over now.

The birthday had gone smoothly and you could finally go back to what you had planned to do.

You were now sitting on a chair, a camera looming over you and your bodyguard standing a few feet away.

You had changed to black shorts since it was scorching hot and put a cap on your head, but except for that you were still wearing the same clothes from two days ago.

Curse you and your insufferable messiness.

You had one hour till the plane took off so you decided to spend that time devouring a hamburger all by yourself.

Then you thought twice and got two other ones - one for the cameraman and one for the bodyguard, though the latter refused to eat on duty.

“Well, I guess more for us then”, you said with a mouthful and split it in half with the cameraman.

Taking big bites, you opened the front camera and started recording a video.

You film the hamburger first and then let your face get in the view.

“Now I know what you’re probably thinking. Isn’t that a tasty - looking piece of art? For sure it is. You must be over there starving while I enjoy this beauty.But no worries fellas. I will join you in no time. So long, my brethren.”

You’re about to finish recording but then you zoom in into your eye.

“Oh and Tae - hyung, please tell me you haven’t broken my record on Temple Run or I’ll kill you.Byeeee”.

You turn off the camera and go back to eating.

Ten minutes later you get a video-message.

What you first see is Tae holding his phone in front of the camera showing his Temple Run username with the score attached.

It was a long number.

It had a lot of zeros.

That cheeky little bastard.

He moves the phone around showing you the rest of the members, and to your betrayal, they are sitting on a yacht drinking champagne off of fancy glasses.

You involuntarily gasp. So much for them starving.

They all wave at the camera when noticing it, specifically Jin who grabs the phone from Taehyung’s hands.

“Y/N how many times have I told you not to talk with your mouth full!”

“But hyung, you do it all the time.” A voice is heard.

Jimin.

You huff a laugh through your nose.

“Anyways…” Jin glares at Jimin and continues. “Don’t eat too much or you’ll get sick. See you soon.”

He passes the phone to the others and the first person to grab it is Jungkook.

“Hey Y/N . We’ve missed you a lot.There is no one to tease and we’re starting to grow bored. Hurry up, please. Love you.”

He gives you a finger heart.

You start hearing a faint thump, that grows louder and faster by the second.

Oh right , it’s your own heart this time.

Why the hell is it beating so fast?

Thank god the camera moves to Jimin.

He does the same.

“Love you, Y/N.”

Then Hoseok.

Namjoon.

When Yoongi gets into view, his head is turned to the side. Everyone waits for him.

“I’m gonna stay here till you say it”, says Taehyung, holding the camera.

“Love you, Y/N.” He finally manages, unbothered and still not looking.

Everyone laughs their asses off.

You included.

Everyone knows that Yoongi isn’t the type to show his affection, but he will still be so loving and caring to others.It made your heart hurt and you were suddenly reminded of all the times he would require for his hand to be held.

The video comes to an end.

There was this churning feeling on your stomach and you didn’t really know if it was from Yoongi’s adorableness, Jungkook’s showcase of emotions or all together.

You abandon the rest of the hamburger and look straight at the camera.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.”

* * *

Things had gotten pretty weird lately. You got easily flustered at the most subtle affection, and you didn’t really know how to feel about it.

But one thing was for sure.

You had to get things under control or people would start having suspicions.

So, you decide to act as your most uncaring, goofy self and turn everything that comes at your way a hilarious scenario.

You exit the airport of Valetta and take a look around the area.

The heat is so intense, it makes your skin prickle. If you keep walking around under the sun like this, your skin will be burnt like hell. You take out the sunscreen and start applying it on to your arms, legs and every visible sliver of skin.

However, when it comes to your face, you just stuff your hands full of the substance and smear it carelessly until you look like you put on a beauty mask.

“I wish I had some cucumber slices right now”, you say, your eyes the only thing able to be seen.

People stare at you incredulously, but you ignore them and keep walking.

Al least you were amusing to look at.

“What am I supposed to do now?” You ask the cameraman.

He gives you a map of the city and you spot an area circled with red.

“That’s the place where the members are staying. You have to find it by yourself. Here is your allowance,” the cameraman says and hands you an envelope. You peek at the envelope and see 100 dollars nicely folded.

Giving him a crooked smile, you put a hand on your hip.

“Hyung-nim, did I ever tell how well you do your job?”

The cameraman chokes back a laugh.

“We don’t know where the place is either.”

Your smile faints and the corners of your lips turn downwards, disappointed.

“Oh well, it looks like we have a lot of work to do,” you say and grab the map from his hands.

* * *

After a long ride on the bus, you were exhausted but you didn’t let it show. Dragging your suitcase behind you, you hum to yourself fragments of your incomplete songs. Your face still looked like you had stuffed it in cocaine, and that only made pedestrians throw weird glances at you, but you just smiled and waved.

You were absolutely enjoying this.

The whole place was so aesthetically pleasing with all the beige dwellings, reflecting off the sun, and the waves crashing into the shore. The warm breeze tickled your skin and you tasted the salt in the air.

You felt like your lungs were filled to the brim with the fresh oxygen.

If you were completely honest with yourself, you had been a little sceptic about coming to Malta out of all places, but now you understand that you had been utterly wrong.

This…. this is was something different.

This was something you could very well live with.

You take another deep breath and close your eyes, but then a giggle makes you open them again.

A little kid is pointing at you from a few feet away and laughing his ass off, due to the sight of your “beauty mask”.

You sigh deeply and keep walking.

*

At last you arrive at the location.

A tall building towers over you and you push the bell button on the number of your assigned apartment.

No answer.

You wait for a couple more minutes, and sigh in frustration.

“Why aren’t they answering?”

“Maybe they’ve gone out,” the cameraman says.

You bite your fist into your mouth and take out your phone.

You punch the call button on the first contact you see.

“Hey, Y/N !” Hoseok replies.

“Why aren’t you answering the door? I’m outside.”

“You came already? Why didn’t you warn us? We’re having breakfast at a nearby restaurant.”

“You’re having breakfast without me?” I say incredulously.

“Were we supposed to starve until you arrived?”

“Hyung, there’s a camera over here, don’t make me swear at you.”

Hoseok cackles and hangs up.

He then sends you the location of the restaurant.

Good.

It’s not far.

You are about to leave, but you immediately catch sight of your reflection on a glass door.

The so called ’ mask ’ has wrinkled and it’s crumpling all over you.

What in the world had you been thinking?

You fish some wet tissues out of your backpack and rub them into your face.

The sunscreen rips free off your skin easily and you touch the soft surface of your cheeks.

“Wow, I should try this more often,” you say to the camera.

After a short walk you catch sight of the restaurant Hoseok told you about.

It’s pretty nice, next to the shore and all.

You unconsciously fasten your steps, eager to finally meet them.

They’re sitting all together around a big table and they seem so happy, talking and making jokes with each other.

It pulls at the strings of your heart.

You hadn’t even realized how much you missed them until now.

You break through the crowd of people, maneuvering with your suitcase right at your side.

The first one to notice you is Jimin, who stops mid - talking and smiles so widely, his eyes turn into crescents.

“Y/N!” He yells.

“Jimin-ssi!” You yell back.

He gets up from the table and breaks into a run, straight at you.

You are frozen into place when he jumps and wraps himself around you like a koala.

Your hands find his back, holding him into place, and you squeeze.

“What took you so long?” He asks, your hair muffling his voice.

“Traffic was horrible,"you say through a smile.” And hyung, why are you so light? Have you been eating well recently?“

He lowers himself onto the ground and ruffles your short hair. The length is right below your neck, more like a bob, so his action makes it stand in all directions.

"I have been stuffing my face like a pig,” he continues.“ Just like you do.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

You catch him in a headlock and ruffle his own blonde head.

The others get up from the table as well, welcoming you with warm smiles.

You first hug Jin and then proceed to do the same with Namjoon, Hoseok and Taehyung, who to your surprise is getting all teared up.

“No way!” You say, a mix of shock and amusement on your face.

“Kim Taehyung is crying for me?”

“No, I’m not,” he says and sniffles.

You laugh out loud and pull him into another hug.

“Do you know how many times Jungkook beat me playing Overwatch?” He continues with a whiny voice.

Your eyes flick to Jungkook, who is looking at the both of you with a cocky smile. You shake your head in exasperation and attempt to free yourself from his arms but he refuses to let go.

“Hyung, you’re choking me,” you croak.

“Oh right, sorry.”

He releases you and offers a boxy smile, not a trace of sadness on his face.

Damn it, he’s a good actor.

Pulling off the most normal expression you can muster, you move on to Jungkook.

He still has that stupid smirk on his face, so you close the distance between you in two long strides and lift him up by his legs. He’s caught off guard, but he recovers quickly and tips his head backwards, laughing out loud.

“We have ourselves another muscle pig!” Namjoon exclaims.

Still carrying Kookie, you contemplate whether putting on a show of carelessness was the best thing to do.

You had tried to look all nice and comfortable being close to him, but now you were having second thoughts.

You put him down and plaster another smile on your face.

“I think I broke my back.”

Hoseok wheezes.

You take a seat and start nibbling at the food lying on the table.

“Hey, hands off, that’s mine! ” Jin complains as you take a bite out of the delicious pizza.

You take another huge bite, just to spite him.

“So, how did your trip go? ” Asks Hoseok.

“Well” , you say with a mouthful. “ I went all the way to Daegu just to give Hyun-Woo a present.

Came back here, took the bus and here I am.”

“How long did it take for you to find the building and all that?” Asks Jimin.

“About fifteen minutes, I guess.”

They all stare at you.

You stop chewing.

“What?”

“We wandered for about two hours yesterday and we even split into two groups, so we could find it more easily.”

You resume chewing and shrug.

“I’m good with directions, I guess.”

“Oh and by the way, you’re gonna have to choose a room for you to sleep.” Says Taehyung. “We’ll see who you’ll get coupled with.”

“I hope I get the single room, ” you say and barely swallow.

You didn’t like the sound of this.

What if you got coupled with Jungkook?

You steal a glance at him, and see the way he has stuffed his cheeks with food. For some strange reason, you couldn’t stop staring at his longish curls.

He had decided to grow his hair out and you couldn’t deny that it suited him perfectly, even though you would never admit such a thing in front of him.

Then, out of the blue his eyes flick to yours and he catches you staring.

“What?” He says.

You narrow his eyes at him.

“You have tomato sauce on your chin.”

[impossiblyirrational]

“What are you so scared of?”

InuKag Post Canon One Shot  Two Shot. Three Shot Part 2 here!

So… before I went to bed tonight. I wrote a little something, this came from a prompt I had saved on my computer. I thought it might turn into some fluff…. I was wrong.  I may possibly create a part two but for now I sleep. :) Enjoy

                      ————————————————————–

She had been back for three weeks. Three weeks or living in the feudal era. Three weeks of working as a priestess under Kaede. Three weeks of being with her friends again. Aswell as three weeks of Inuyasha avoiding her.

When she had first come through the well he had practically yanked her arm off bringing her into his arms. Afterwards they had talked briefly both unsure how to say what had been on their minds during their separation. It wasn’t fair to say they never spoke. In the beginning he was never too far from her, but now within the past few weeks he seems to be content with keeping to himself and using every excuse in the book to get farther away from her.

The second morning after she returned she awoke to find the village gossip was about her. It felt like the whole village was waiting on them like they were some form of entertaining show of ‘will they, wont they’. She felt their stares, no doubt that Inuyasha did too. So he was coping with it the only way he knew how. 

Avoiding the hell out of it.

Suddenly there was an increase amount of ‘exorcisms to be done’ in neighboring villages, or Inuyasha going for longer hunting trips then usual saying ‘there wasn’t anything worth hunting in this place’. He wasn’t fooling anyone though. Miroku and Sango had already tried to call him out on him one night they had all gathered at the couples hut for dinner. Inuyasha countered with a simple “Keh, whatever” and continued to eat his meal while Kagome sat watching the ordeal internally screaming.

It had almost made her seriously question coming back through the well. But every time their eyes locked and she saw a slight blush on his face, and felt the same heat raise in her cheeks, she knew she made the right choice.

But what was his major malfunction? She was always used to him being reserved but this was ridiculous. She knew she had grown considerably in the last few years for how she hasn’t lost her temper with his antics yet. Somehow she believed that perhaps he had grown too, but here he was the same old half-demon that put up very sturdy walls around himself.

Kagome was at her wits end and she decided tonight would be the night she confronted him. There was no speak of exorcisms, no hunting needed to be done, firewood was stocked, and she knew where Inuyasha was currently sulking. After finishing her chores with Kaede for that day she had collected all her courage and set off toward the object of her thoughts who was up in the same tree bordering the village.

He had to have seen her coming a mile away. Kagome could swear she saw him stiffen when she started walking his direction. Most villages had gone in their homes after another hard days work, and it had noticeably gotten colder as the day drew on.  'Now or never’ she silently chanted to her self as she drew closer.

“It’s cold stupid, go inside.” Inuyasha said when she got into ear shot but he hadn’t even looked in her direction.

“It’s not that cold.” She challenged, but like clock work she felt a wind breeze past her and she couldn’t help but let out a tiny shiver.

“Keh.” Was his only response. She made her way to the base of the tree and promptly sat down making herself comfortable against its trunk.

“Your not going try and run away from me?” She inquired as she lifted her gaze toward him. He wasn’t high in the tree but too high for her to climb without her straining herself. He obviously was thrown off by her bluntness but quickly recovered.

“What makes you think I’d run dummy?” Inuyasha quickly chastised still not looking anywhere near her general location.

“Oh please, your so–” Kagome started but was cut off as a another brisk wind sent a prompt shiver through her body. Maybe tonight wasn’t the best night to confront him, or maybe she should have brought a blanket. All thoughts fell from her head as a flash of red and silver dropped down in front of her. She gasped at his sudden intrusion to her personal space but welcomed his proximity more then his adamant refusal to look in her direction.

Inuyasha quickly shed his robe and draped it over her sitting form, while muttering something under his breath she new was demeaning to her somehow. As he was making sure she was covered he looked over her face and their eyes were locked in confused battle of a stare. They were frozen like that, in their close proximity, Kagome suddenly wasn’t as cold and she didn’t think that was his robes doing.

As if ice water had been poured on his head Inuyasha was yanked out of his trance and made quick distance between them by jumping back up in the tree on the same branch he was once on, as if that moment they shared didn’t happen.

Kagome knew she had become a calmer more understanding person in recent years, but something in  her snapped back to her quick tempered 15 year old self. She jumped to her feet letting his robe fall from her onto the ground. She whipped around to face the tree and look up at his resting form on that god-damn branch.

“What exactly is your problem Inuyasha?!” She screeched, she noticed him flinch at her sudden outburst but he kept his gaze else where which only served to anger her more. “What do you want me to do? Leave? If it bothers you so much maybe I shouldn’t have returned.” She didn’t even believe the words that were coming from her lips, she knew he wanted her here, but her reason was out the window after three weeks of his games.

“Of course not, why would you say something to stupid?” He turned his head to her and  replied quickly after her last comment. Like she suspected, he wanted her here she knew that, but maybe getting a rise out of him is what she needs to get an explanation.

“Why? Why?! Because of what you just did!” She yelled back up to him, they were in a staring contest know completely different from the wont they were just in.

“And what did I just do?” He asked matter of factually his voice higher in volume and she didn’t think it was because of the distance between the two of them.

“You pulled away from me.” She said feeling some her anger being replaced with a bit of her sadness and shattered ego that she’d carried around with her for the past few days. “You always do that. Pull away when I get close.” She noticed his face contort into confusion as her words lost their fire. “What are you so afraid of?!” She half shouted and half sobbed at the half demon who looked like he had just got slapped.

“Kagome….” He started in a suddenly sombre tone.  “I didn’t mean to… shit. Look Kagome I’m not good at this stuff you know.” He sputtered out but his words did nothing to calm the priestess down.

“Oh great! Like that makes it all better!” She spat at him. He suddenly jumped from the tree again with renewed annoyance.

“What do you want me to do then?!” He shouted to her almost sounded as if he was pleading.

“Tell me.” She said calmly.

“Tell you what?” He replied.

“Tell me why your avoiding me?” He started to turn away from her and he brought his hand up to his head in annoyance. “Tell me what your scared of?” As she finished he snapped his face to her and quickly marched up close to her to have their faces inches apart. He was angry, but there was a desperation in his eyes that Kagome could see clear as day.

“Your finally back Kagome! Don’t you understand that that’s something I didn’t think was ever gonna happen! Do you think I’m ready to go blabbing about the feelings and junk and some how fuck this up like I have everything else.” He looked down suddenly almost seeming ashamed.

“What are you-” She started but he cut her off but grabbing her shoulders which cause a small gasp to erupt from her . “Don’t! I know what your going to say, I know you care about me but please understand-”As Inuyasha stared at her he looked as though opening up about this caused him pain. They stayed locked there for moment, Kagome could’ve sworn she saw tears well up in his eyes before he blinked them away and then he spoke words that split Kagomes heart in two.

“-this” He jestered to the two of them by nodding his head. “is something that I’m not ready to possibly destroy yet!”