#up until she finds out they are made up of her friends parts

[s1rawb3rry]

Cupid’s arrow has struck… the wrong target!

Oh cupid… do you love me, or do you love me not?

synopsis: As a cupid, Y/N's job has always been to make people fall in love– that has been her task for centuries. However, everything goes horribly wrong when Jake accidentally locks eyes with her instead of his intended match. Now, she's stuck with a hopelessly in-love Jake, following her around like a lovesick puppy. The worst part? Cupids aren’t allowed to fall in love…

word count: 10.3k

warnings: fluff fluff fluff, no smut, maybe a little suggestive, absolutely smitten and hopelessly in love jake, he fell first and fell harder, acts of service jake, jake is somewhat yn's boss, magic (???)

genres: office au, cupid au, rom-com, slow burn

pairing: enhypen Jake x reader

featuring: Chungha

a/n: oh my god this took FOREVER but im so glad its done im so happy with it hehe

Taglist: @heestoleurgirl @stariekis @jaehoodies @morganaawriterr @luvashli@kireistrawberryjayla @annovaz @bambieheeseunglee @firstclassjaylee @flowerwinds @veilstqr(comment if you want me to add / remove you from the list <3)

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Cupids don’t wear halos and wings, or float around on fluffy clouds. At least, not anymore. We live among humans, blending in seamlessly, living for the purpose of matchmaking. Year round, we work behind the scenes of every soulmate pairing. This has been my classified, top secret occupation in the world for centuries, that I wouldn't trade for anything. When I'm off the clock, I work at a dull office job– that I love!– but it's boring enough to allow me to keep up with my much more important tasks. 

Seeing my boss slowly making his way near my desk, I planted my hands on my keyboard and started to type away, pretending to be fully immersed in the spreadsheets that are on my computers. In actuality, my mind was completely preoccupied, I kept eyeing the thin paper folder with the name “J.S.” on it. I was assigned my last assignment before my much-needed “cupid break”. The thought of rest made me giddy enough to move my hips in my office chair and hum an off tune harmony. 

“What's the matter with you?” Chungha asked once she noticed my movement, her desk in front of mine. I smiled like a kid on christmas, well really rest did feel like christmas to me, “i got my final assignment before my break. I just have to find this Jake Sim.” I whispered to her. She smiled, sharing my excitement. Chungha has been one of my, if not the, closest friends for years. She is the person who knows everything about me, she knows me like the back of her hand. She is the one and only person that I could ever trust with this secret job. 

“I swear I heard that name not too long ago… “ she said, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, trying to remember. I jump in my seat, lean forward to reach her desk and hold her hand in mine, “I beg you, tell me who he is so I can go into this break early.” I whisper-yelled, misery clear in my voice.

As she was laughing at my desperation, the clear glass office door swung open with an exaggerated creak. Your boss strides in like a man who will make the biggest announcement of the decade, again. He makes this grade entry, makes you feel like he will say something important, only for you to find out it's absolutely nothing. His dramatic flair is only rivaled by his complete lack of self-awareness. I suppress an eye roll and stare back at my spreadsheets, these seem way more interesting in fact. 

“Team!” he calls out, his voice booming as he stands at the front of the office room, making a couple chairs turn around and make multiple people stop talking and clicking their keyboards. “I’d like you all to meet your new supervisor for the upcoming project I already told you about–” he told us about a new project? – “This is Jake Sim, our new project manager. So he will only be here for a couple of months until the deal with the other company is sealed.”

My eyes widened and my ears perked up when I heard that name. I glanced at Chugha who was already looking at me with that same bulging eyes. There he is– Jake, my new assignment. He stood tall in the sharp lines of his suit, his dark hair neatly swept back, and his dark eyes carrying a quiet intensity. As the boss continued talking, he gave the group a friendly but reserved smile. As his eyes were scanning the room, as if he's trying to memorise our faces. I tried to follow his gaze to get his perspective on my colleagues. Maybe I can find his pair in the office?

As my eyes look back at him, our eyes lock. He held it for a second before he gave me another polite smile. I returned the smile fast enough before he continued his scan of the room. I perch up on my seat when I notice Jake staring for longer than usual at the other side. My eyes land on a coworker, Mira. Both of them also exchange a polite smile. 

As the boss continued to babble about the new project, that familiar feeling comes to me: when an idea of a couple clicks in my mind. Jake and Mira, they seem perfect together, well on paper they do. I open my Jake’s paper file and quickly read the notes written on him, trying to confirm to myself that he is a perfect match for Mira. Warm personality. Charismatic. Loyal. Energetic… Oh, it’s spot on.

“Alright team, that's all for today. You can get back to your work.” he wrapped up his speech, which dragged on longer than needed, motioned to Jake to follow him. Jake smiled and nodded his head at us one last time before turning his back on us. I clicked my pen and started scribbling some notes about Mira in Jake’s file. I can not waste time on a case like this. I can get in and out quickly out of it, sending them on their merry way. I beamed with excitement, unwrapping a chocolate covered almond from my drawer and popping it in my mouth.

“I remember now where I heard his name,” Chungha whispered to me. I looked up from my notes, paying my attention back to her. “He has been going to the café I always go to after work. I heard the barista always calling his name, that's why it's familiar.” 

“Wait, that's perfect,” I said as the idea sparked in my mind, “if we can get Mira to come with us to the café, I can absolutely do the job there.” I continued with Chungha nodding at me. “Leave it to me, I will ask her.” she said, getting up from her office chair. I watched as she walked over to Mira, starting up a conversation with her. A moment later, her head turns to me, smiling, I smile back and do a little wave to her. 

I pull my eyes from her, when I notice the light of the office in front of us turn on. That office is almost always empty, so my surprise grew when I saw Jake again, standing at the doorstep with a small moving box. He walked over to the desk and placed the box on it. Oh that's his office now. Well, him being right across from us just made my job a whole lot easier. I can monitor the progress of my work firsthand, almost front-row seat to a movie I directed.  

♥︎

As the workday wrapped up, the three of us settled on a table in the café, the scent of bitter roasted coffee beans filled the air, making me wrinkle my nose each time the barista made a new espresso. Mira and Chungha were chattering up a storm, drinking their coffee orders while I stirred my strawberry milkshake’s stray absentmindedly, barely registering anything that is being said. My focus was set on the door, waiting for him, in any minute, to come in. Every second that passes is a second closer to my break. I take a sip of my drink, trying to suppress my excitement.

Yet, nature called at the worst moment, “I'll be right back, I need to use the restroom,” I said, sliding out of my seat and leaving my milkshake barely touched. They nod at me before returning to their conversation. 

As I step out a few minutes later, wiping my hands on a paper towel, I pause just outside the restroom door. As if it’s a twist from fate, I find myself standing in a perfect spot to have the perfect shot. Jake was standing, waiting for his coffee, not noticing me. His position is exactly where I need him, flawlessly aligned with Mira. Excitement ran through me, It’s almost too perfect. 

Almost there… One clean shot– quick and easy.

Letting my muscle memory instinctively reach for a cupid arrow, I take a steady breath and discreetly wind up my arrow. My heart bubbles in my chest in anticipation. Just as I’m about to let the arrow fly…

“Hey, did you notice that–” Chungha said, coming from behind me, disturbing the silence.

I gasped, her sudden loud voice making me jump forward and making my heart leap to my throat. My hand jerks, my aim going completely rogue, accidentally hitting Jake. I gasped again, “oh my god, no!” panic sets in my bones as I walk forward to try to recover the arrow.  Before I can even process the rest, my foot catches on a stray chair leg making my world tilt. 

I closed my eyes, bracing my fall before I felt two tight arms around me, steadying me effortlessly. When air got back to my lungs, I opened my eyes to find Jake's face inches away from mine. Oh dear god, please no… “I’m so sorry,” I said, the words left out of my mouth with my mind running much faster. Am I sorry that I fell or that I accidentally struck him? This was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to see Mira, not me. 

His usual polite warmth in his expression softens into something more tender, something deeper. His brows furrow just a little, as if he's suddenly aware of a feeling—a feeling that stirs something in him undeniable. The more I look at his eyes, the more my plan crumbles.

“Are you okay?” Jake asks, his voice low and surprisingly gentle, his gaze lingering a little too long. His grip on me is still tight, my heart and stomach felt twisted in knots, as if they were bound together. This doesn’t feel like love—it feels more like alarms blaring in my mind.

Chungha, my traitor of a best friend, noticed the mistake she just made. Her eyes darted between us, her face painted with realization. I could see her from the side of my eyes trying to come up with a last-minute fallback plan.

“No way!” she exclaimed almost cartoonishly with an exaggerated gasp, practically lunged forward tugging me out of his grip with force, “I—uh—I forgot something at the office! Come on, let’s go!” she lied, turning her heel to the opposite side of the cafe, with my heels right behind her. With my heart still pounding, I slapped a 20 dollar bill on our table, grabbed my coat and pushed both Mira and Chungha out of the café. I could feel his piercing gaze on me as we were shuffling out of the café. He was still looking at me as I was walking away—like I was the center of his universe. 

♥︎

Later that night, I stood in my dimly lit kitchen, surrounded by flour, sugar and butter. My stand mixer whirring loudly with the warm smell of cookies coming from my oven. My hands trembled as I measured out the flour, my mind still reeling from everything that had just happened. I turned off the mixer, slowly adding the flour.

Chungha leaned against the kitchen counter, looking in the oven to see the cookies. Then her eyes landed on the already freshly baked cookies on the counter, still warm. She watched my unsteady movement with a confused expression, her eyes held concern. “This is the batch number…?” she asks, leaving the question for me to finish.  

I exhaled a shaky breath, trying to steady myself and my hands. “Baking calms me down,” I muttered, my voice tense, matching how my muscles felt, “besides, it’s the only thing that doesn’t make my head feel like it’s about to explode.”

“I’m sorry…” she said quietly after a moment passed, her voice full of guilt, referring back to what happened in the café. I sighed in defeat, putting down the mixing bowl. I gave her a weak but genuine smile, “it's not your fault. I'm the one who was impatient,” I said before going back to my bowl, “I never rushed the process of pairing a couple, look where that got me…"I trailed off, scraping the side of the bowl a little too roughly. 

She stayed silent, looking at me, waiting for me to actually explode. My frustration bubbled up again when I dropped my spoon on the floor, even dropping spoons is putting me on edge. I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath to ground myself, “this whole situation is too risky,” I started once Chungha picked up my spoon and started washing it. 

“Men liked me before, but none were under the influence of a Cupid’s arrow. It's just too strong. If this goes wrong, if I fall in love, I will systematically lose my job. I love my job, you know that.” I said, pouring out what's in my heart.

Chungha was silent, listening to me, “So… what now?” she asked, uncertainty laced her voice.

I exhaled a shaky breath, turning back to my mixing bowl, “I have one week. A week before the arrow’s effect turns into true feelings.” I said, grabbing a new, clean mixing spoon, not sure if I was trying to focus on the dough or just distract myself from my spiraling thoughts. My hands moved automatically, though my mind raced, “I have a week before this turns into a full-on disaster. If I don’t reverse the arrow in time.”

“That’s not a lot of time.” Chungha commented, taking a cookie. “You're not helping, Chungie,” I grumbled. She laughed, biting into a cookie, “don’t worry, we’re in this mess together.” she said, her hands found my tense shoulders, reassuring me. I just nodded, leaning into her. 

I began to bake again, the nervous energy inside me didn’t dissipate. There was no time to waste. I couldn’t let him genuinely fall in love with me. Not when everything I’d worked for hung in the balance. My hands shook slightly as I carefully scooped the cookie dough onto the tray. I close my eyes for a second. 

Focus. One week. I can reverse the arrow’s effect. I have to reverse it. 

♥︎ DAY 1 ♥︎

I strolled into the office with my heels clicking behind me. I readjusted my purse on my shoulder when I noticed a pink drink sitting beside my keyboard. Condensation beads down the plastic cup, the whipped cream still holding its shape—fresh. 

“You got me a milkshake?” I gasped in awe, turning to Chungha. She appeared from behind her screen, brows knitted together, “I got you a milkshake?” she echoed my question, leaning to the side to see what I’m talking about. 

I blink at her as if she just sprouted another head. "Yes, this!" I said, looking back at the milkshake, squinting at a small sticky note attached to the side of it. I carefully unstick it from the drink, holding it like it’s evidence in a crime scene. 

forgive me for making you leave early yesterday… - Jake

I closed my eyes hoping, wishing, the earth would open up and swallow me. Of course it was him. Chunghun leaned forward to catch the note, squinting. A smile grew on her face, “okay, you gotta admit that this is cute.” I shoot her a glare, “I need to thank him.” I said, placing my purse on my desk and grabbing the milkshake. Chungha’s grin widened at my announcement, “you caused this.” I reminded her playfully before leaving.

Each step I took toward his glass-walled office feels oddly heavy. It’s just a thank-you. Nothing more, not a big deal. Knocking the door twice made Jake turn around. His eyes brightened when he saw me, just like a puppy who was told they will go on a walk.

“Hello, sir,” I greeted, the milkshake suddenly felt a little too heavy in my hands. 

"Good morning," he says, a smile full of warmth and admiration spread across his face. Oh, he got it bad…

I held up the milkshake, "Thanks for this. You really didn’t have to." I said, returning the smile sheepishly. 

His eyes glowed with adoration, "Consider it an apology. Hope I got the right flavor?" he said, motioning to the milkshake. I should be the one apologising.

Then it dawned on me, he did remember the flavor… "Yeah," I say, my voice softer than I mean it to be. "You did."

He opened his mouth to say something, but a sudden interruption from outside the office stopped him, “Team!” our boss shouted before his voice became muffled to me. Slightly jolting, I gave Jake an apologetic look, “I must go. Thank you again for the milkshake, sir.” I said, watching him walking towards me. 

“Jake,” he said, as if he’s correcting me. His gaze flickering between my eyes.

I stared blankly at him, “I’m sorry?” 

“Please, call me Jake.” 

♥︎

Avoiding him was proven to be impossible. It started off small: he held the elevator door open for me even when I was still ten steps away, he would offer to buy me anything and everything the cafeteria offered, even suggesting ordering something. But now it was the worst situation. We had a meeting before we could leave for the day, something about that project the boss keeps fussing about. Focusing, however, was beyond me.

Between Jake sitting beside me and the lack of sleep last night, my brain was running on fumes. The anxiety of this whole situation tangled itself around me, and that damn milkshake moment kept playing in my head like a broken record. I blinked hard, trying to fight off the weight of exhaustion dragging my eyelids down. My notes in front of me blurred together. The voices in the room became distant, background noise to the quiet battle I was losing against sleep. 

A small piece of folded paper appeared on the table in front of  me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jake's hand retreating back to his side. I tried to decipher his face from the position i was in, but his expression was unreadable. Carefully, without trying to pull attention towards us, I unfolded the note. 

Are you feeling okay?

I stared at his handwriting in black ink, oddly neat, like he had taken his time. I reached for my own red pen, scribbling down how I just didn't sleep well last night. I refolded the paper, sliding it back to him. A few seconds later, his response appeared in front of me.

Close your eyes. I can cover for you.

I almost snorted, exhaustion making everything funny now. What is he even talking about? Hesitating only for a moment, I grabbed my pen and scribbled back something. I straighten my back, trying to wake myself up. Again, his response popped up in front of me. 

Trust me on this one. No one will notice.

I frowned in confusion, but before I could decide on how to respond, he subtly tilted his body, his broad shoulders blocking me from view. All I could see was his back and how everyone else was listening to the meeting. Slowly, undeniable fatigue took over me, making me shut my eyes. 

♥︎

“Hey… Wake up.” 

A hand shook my shoulder gently,  pulling me from the depths of my nap. I stirred, my mind still heavy with exhaustion, before I finally blinked my way back into consciousness. Once my vision focused, I found Chungha standing beside me, casually packing my notepad and pens into my purse. 

“Meeting’s over,” she announced, tilting her head. “I was this close to tucking you in and leaving you here." she laughed, putting my purse on my lap. I groaned, stretching out my arms as I forced myself upright. My body still felt sluggish, my brain foggy from sleep. The conference room was empty now—everyone was gone.

 “Now, come on, let’s go eat something. I’m starving…” she grumbled, heading towards the door. As I stood up and slung my purse over my shoulder, I slipped my hands into my coat pockets out of habit. The sleepiness fog vanished the moment I felt a piece of paper already in my pocket. I pulled it out only to find very similar handwriting in black ink.

Didn’t have the heart to wake you up.

It wasn’t signed, but it didn’t need to be. 

♥︎DAY 3 ♥︎

I had spent the last two days trying every trick, every strategy, everything and anything in my power to undo this ridiculous mistake. Yet, every desperate attempt led me to a dead end. It was completely hopeless. 

I tried acting uninterested, distant, cold, downright dismissive towards him. Jake would greet me every morning, warm smiles and bright eyes.  It took every ounce of willpower not to match his puppy-like energy, to keep my response flat and indifferent. "Morning," I’d say, voice devoid of emotion. But no matter how lifeless I sounded, his grin never wavered. 

I also attempted to make him lose hope by acting like I have a ‘secret office admirer’, Chungha’s idea. We thought, maybe, this would make him give up on me.

“Are you sure this will work?” I whispered, watching her place a vase of flowers– that she picked– onto my desk. She shrugged at me as we eye the soft yellow and white rose bouquet with a small note. It looks legitimate, at least in my eyes. I sighed as I popped a chocolate covered almond in my mouth.

When I felt Jake’s presence coming closer, I started acting as if I just noticed the bouquet, putting on a full play in front of Chungha. His steps slowed as he passed my desk a few steps away, watching me pull out the note that was with the roses. I made sure to read out the note in a loud voice, I cleared my voice, "To the most beautiful woman in the office. I hope these flowers bring you as much joy as your smile brings me, your secret admirer." I read, acting surprised while turning to Chungha, “that is adorable.” she played along, smiling.

His chuckling made me turn my head towards him, “didn’t know there were secret admirers in this office…” he muttered, hands in his pants pockets, his tone dripping with amusement. I glanced at Chungha who’s now completely turned away from us, speaking to another colleague. 

He bent down his head a little to read the note in my hand, his cologne was woody and intoxicating. I could see his slicked back, soft, black strands. His closeness made a fluttering warmth spread through my chest. “What’s funny is that they call themselves an admirer…” he started, his voice snapping me back to reality, “... yet they got your favorite color wrong.” he said, eyeing my outfit, my accessories, my desk decorations– all pink. He looked at me one last time in the eyes before turning his heels, leaving my heart into a wild, nervous rhythm and warmth rising to my face. 

That was not the intended effect, and not on the right person.

Desperate times called for unflattering, repulsive measures. I was standing next to the vending machine after buying myself a Coke. Jake and a couple other colleagues were standing on the other side, chatting away. Perfect position. 

I took a long, fast and exaggerated sip of Coke, stood for a moment when I felt the carbonation bubble up in my chest. I eyed Chungha who was on her phone, slowly sipping her coffee. 

Then, it erupted like a thunderstorm. a loud, unexpected burp that could’ve registered on the Richter scale. Chungha choked on her coffee, the room fell silent, eyes were on me. I stood there, waiting. Surely, this would do it. No one finds that attractive.

Jake burst into laughter, his eyes glistening with adoration, “Impressive," he said, smiling and nodding before turning back to his conversation.

I turned back to Chungha, my jaw to the floor, “oh he didn’t find that disgusting. Quite the opposite.” she whispered to me, smiling in amusement, “I want to throw my Coke at him.”

I told myself that the next time he compliments me, i would be ready to shut it down. I was standing next to the printer, waiting for it to finish printing a paper that the Boss asked me to finalise. Jake passed by me, his eyes shimmered with light when he noticed me. "You look nice today." he said, stopping right dead in his tracks. 

Bingo. I smiled sweetly, itching to put on another play. "Oh, thanks! I haven’t washed my hair in three days." I beamed, brushing my hair with my hands. A normal person would recoil. A sane person would be appalled. But him?

"Still looks stunning," he said easily, tilting his head. "What’s your secret?"

I wanted to scream. Who gave him permission to be this… tantalizing? 

If I couldn’t drive him away with disgust, maybe I could with annoyance, if I just bother him enough to make him lose interest. I thought about barging into his office every hour or so, each time asking for something different but completely useless. I thought that if I just got under his skin, he would get tired of seeing me. I already went in, asking for a stapler, even though both him and I know I have one on my desk. Yet he gave me his without hesitation.

Half an hour later, I stood in front of his office door again, knocking as hard as I could, making sure my knocking was irritable to listen to. I opened the door after I heard a faint ‘come in’ from the other side.

I walked into his office as if I owned it. "What are you working on?" I asked him, as if he's not my higher up and could fire me. He looked up from his laptop, amused. "Something very important," he replied, still smiling.

Each time I left, I felt a little more defeated. Twenty minutes later, I was back at his office. "Still working on something important?" I asked. Oh my god please, any reaction.

This time, he just laughed and shook his head. "You tell me. You seem very interested." he grinned, his arm propped up with his head resting in his hand. I stared at him, searching for a flicker of frustration, anything to indicate he was growing tired of this. But no, he looked at me like I was the one who painted the sky.

Then, I decided to really test how far I could push him. “Hey… uhh…” I squinted at him, tapping my forehead as if I’m really trying to remember something, “What was your name again?” I asked, trying to act casual, pulling out some chocolate covered almonds from my pockets and popping them in my mouth. This reverse the arrow mission will actually get me fired.

He raised an eyebrow, but there was no sign of irritation, only humor. Jake let out a soft laugh, shaking his head in return. Slowly, he pointed to his nameplate that’s on his desk. “Jake Sim,” he said, dragging out his name with a knowing smile.

I stared at him for a second. Was he really going to play along with this? Did he seriously not mind being the target of my ridiculous antics?

♥︎ DAY 5 ♥︎

I was in front of my computer’s screen, the room was filled with the sounds of keyboards clicking and telephones ringing. Focusing on any type of work was impossible, all I could think about was him. I thought to myself that I should still try to set him up with someone else, Just get him interested in someone. I leaned back into my chair, my gaze following Jake who was at the water cooler. He was standing casually, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up just enough to show off his forearms. The way he moved—effortless, composed, yet somehow magnetic—was enough to make my thoughts spin out of control.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I flew up from my chair and headed towards his direction. “Hello sir,” I said, politely. Oh suddenly I remembered what manners are…

 He turned around his signature warm smile appearing the moment our eyes met. “Hey,” he replied, voice as smooth as ever. “Need a refill too?”

“Yeah, just a little,” I replied, but before I could move, he already took another cup. After he filled the other cup, he handed it to me. “Thank you, sir.” 

He huffed a laugh, “you know, the ‘sir’ ages me by a lot.”

“Right, I’m sorry. I forgot.” I said with a soft laugh.

We both stood there, side by side, the silence almost comfortable but the tension between us thickening. Then I broke the silence, “You know, don’t you think Mira is cute?” I asked, trying to sound natural as I fiddled with my paper cup filled with water. “I mean, she’s very elegant. Charming. Professional as well, don’t you think?”

Jake nodded, listening intently, but I noticed him drifting his gaze lower. I froze, my breath catching as I saw his fingers carefully adjust the small cupid bow-and-arrow pendant on my necklace that had somehow gotten tangled. His touch was so gentle, almost like he was afraid to hurt it—or maybe afraid to hurt me. My heart skipped a beat as he carefully set it back in place, and for a moment, everything seemed to slow.

His focus was still on me, his eyes lingered on mine for a heartbeat longer than I expected. And when he spoke, his voice was so sincere, it made my chest tighten. “She’s okay,” he shrugged, “but she’s not what I’m looking for.” His gaze never wavered, locking with mine as if trying to make sure I understood every word, every feeling behind them.

♥︎

Later that day, I went to the restroom before heading home for the day. As I was walking towards my desk, I noticed a couple familiar candy wrappers on my desk with a sticky note next to them. They were my chocolate covered almonds, the same brand even. I pulled the sticky note and stared at the neat handwriting, the words so simple, but they made my heart flutter more than it should have. 

It simply read, enjoy. Again, not signed. 

My fingers lingered over the edges of the paper, tracing the strokes of his pen. I stuffed the sticky note into the drawer of my desk, trying to ignore the strange feeling in my chest. But even with it hidden away, the flutter in my chest didn’t go away. If anything, it only grew stronger. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. I couldn’t let myself feel this way.

♥︎ DAY 7 ♥︎

It was almost the end of Monday, and I felt completely defeated. None of the tricks had worked. Not the cold, distant act, not the jealousy plan, not even trying to be completely gross—nothing. Every strategy I tried to reverse the effects of that damn arrow had failed. It was like Jake just couldn’t be swayed. I was beyond tired, drained in every way, and honestly, I hadn’t even seen Jake all day. That should’ve been a relief, but instead, it felt like something was missing. Every time I passed his office, there was a strange ache in my chest.

By the time the clock finally struck five, I gathered my things, shoved them into my bag, and walked out of my office. Today was the last day to reverse the effect, I’m seriously fucked. 

As soon as I stepped outside, the sky opened up, and rain poured down in sheets. The cold wind cut through my jacket, and my already exhausted mind screamed at me to just hurry up and get home. Groaning, I fumbled with my purse, mentally preparing myself for the walk home. 

“don’t tell me you're walking home in this.” a voice called out from behind me, cutting through the sound of the rain.

I turned around, I saw Jake with his bag in one hand and an umbrella in another. His hair was slightly messy, but still looking incredibly soft. His blazer was draped over his arm, leaving him in his button down white shirt. I forced a laughed, “"It’s fine. I don’t live that far," I said, trying to downplay how miserable I felt. "Really, it’ll just take a minute."

His eyes told me didn’t seem convinced, though. “Let me give you a ride home,” he offered in a heartbeat, but I quickly shook my head. “I’m fine, sir. Really, I—”

Before I could finish my sentence, he interrupted, pulling off his jacket and holding it out to me. "Take my jacket at least," he insisted. As I hesitated to say no, he held up his blazer in front of me, the insides of the blazer facing me. I sighed in defeat– more like too exhausted to argue– and slid my arms into it while he held it for me. As I was fixing the collar, he gently pulled my hair out from underneath the blazer. His fingers traced my neck, leaving hot trails behind. I turned around to see strands of hair falling on his forehead. 

"Here, take this too. You will catch a cold." he muttered, handing me his black umbrella. “Thank you, really…” I said, flustered by the gesture. He flashed a warm smile, “anytime,” he said, his voice soft and sincere.

without another word, he turned and ran toward his car, the rain pelting his back. As he reached his car, he paused and turned to wave at me. I watched him, feeling an unexpected warmth spread through me. He looked like a soaked puppy—wet, tousled, and far too endearing for his own good. It made my heart give a little thump.

"See you tomorrow!" he shouted, his voice muffled by the rain.

I waved back, an involuntary smile tugging at my lips. As I watched him get into his car and drive off, I had accepted the fact that he was in love with me. But that does not mean I will fall for him. Ever. 

Pulling the jacket tighter around me, the weight of his gesture still warms me. As I was walking in the opposite direction towards my apartment, I instinctively reached out for my phone and put my hands in his blazer’s pockets thinking it was mine. I frowned as I felt small wrapped spheres in the pocket. Pulling it out, I found a familiar sight: my chocolate almonds.

I let out a quiet laugh, shaking my head, despite the growing flutter in my chest. That idiot really was hopeless.

♥︎

A few weeks have passed after the arrow’s effect has indefinitely settled in. My cupid duties have been on pause for a while, but not the office job. Our Boss kept on giving me– and it seemed like it was only me– many different tasks to finish for this upcoming project that forced me to stay late, after my usual office hours. 

The office was nearly empty. The usual hum of ringing phones and clicking keyboards had long since faded, leaving only the soft buzz of overhead lights. I leaned in my office chair with a sigh, rubbing my burning eyes from my screen. My documents were scattered around, words blurring together and losing their meaning. 

Despite all my attempts, my mind circles back to Jake. Guilt was eating me alive as I felt like I ruined his life, his love life. He was meant to fall in love with someone who can be with him, someone whose world aligned with his own. The guilt was so unbearable that I started avoiding him. I would turn to the opposite way whenever I sense he's nearby, I would be late for meetings on purpose so I could sit away from him, I would take the stairs so I don’t cross pathways with him in the elevator, I would make it seem like i get an important phone call each time I see him coming my way. I could see that it hurt him, but my remorse was overwhelming. Slowly but surely, his own attempts to speak to me reduced.

Even though his office wasn’t in my line of vision, I could sense his gaze on me from time to time. He was also still in his office, only his desk lamp was on, with him clicking away, very concentrated on his own computer. Whenever I stayed late at the office, Jake seemed to always be there too, leaving only us on our floor. He would never say anything to me, he would even step inside the shared workspace. He would stay in his office, but I could feel his presence from across the office. 

My eyes scanned over to the clock, 1:12 am. I took a deep breath and returned back to my screen. The sound of a food creaking open made me stop reading a sentence midway. I didn’t need to look up to know who it was. His footsteps were slow, but purposeful as he made his way to my desk.

“You’re working way too hard.” Jake’s voice was softer than she expected, like he was choosing his words carefully, with his hands in his pockets. I couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh. Before I could shut him down, he continued, “Do Cupids get paid overtime as well?”

My grip on my mouse tightened, my heart stilled. For a split second, I thought I misheard him. Surely the lack of sleep made me a little delirious. My eyes looked up at him before I could stop them, Jake had this knowing expression.

My stomach twisted in knots, my head is spinning, “I think you should head home, sir.” I dismissed, my eyes locking back to my screen with a thumping heart. God please tell me I’m imagining this…

He glanced down at the scattered notes on my desk before his gaze flickered back to me, “It’s funny, isn’t it?” Jake said, his smile not reaching his eyes, “You can make people fall in love… but you don’t know what to do when it happens to you.”

I swallowed hard, trying to stay still, unreadable even though every nerve in my body was on high alert. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Jake raised a brow. “Really? You have no clue what I’m talking about?”

 “No clue.”

He let out a quiet exhale, his expression unreadable. A moment has passed of complete silence, I was praying that the earth’s crust would crack open and swallow me. 

“At first, I just had a feeling that something was up...” His voice wasn’t accusing or even angry, just observant. “Miss. Chungha slipped up and said something about how you ‘messed up’ the matchmaking…” the more he spoke, the more my chest tightened itself on my pounding heart. 

“And then,” he continued, watching her carefully, “I saw your open files on your desk a couple of times, with the names of couples you helped.” I winced, I should’ve been more careful.  

The fragile rawness of my soul felt like it was on open display. It felt like he had carefully taken apart every building block of my defense that i had built and was looking at what was is actually underneath.

The feeling of guilt emerges once again when I look at his sincere eyes. I felt like a deceiver and a liar, he had to know at this point, there was nothing left to hide. I sat up straighter than I already was, forcing my voice to stay even and failing miserably, “the love you feel for me isn’t real. I was supposed to matchmake you with someone—”

“I know.” he said it softly, with certainty.

I blinked, “what?”

Jake tilted his head slightly, watching my reaction as if he were giving me a moment to process it, a soft smile on his lips. “I know about the arrow, Y/N.” He said my name so gently it made my chest ache, my heartbeat pounded in my ears. “I’ve known for a while.” 

“However…” he said, leaning on a desk that was near mine, “i think the effect wore off faster than it should have. I think two days later I was feeling normal again.”

I closed my eyes to ease my beating heart, exhaustion and this deranged conversation was a dangerous mix at this hour,  “that’s impossible.” 

“If I had a choice,” he said, making me open my eyes and look up at him again, “it’d still want you.” He held my gaze before looking at my lips and then back into my eyes. 

I could no longer compute rational thoughts, or any thoughts at that. The world was spinning and steady all at once. Jake straightened himself and turned his heels towards the exit, “Don’t stay too late, okay?” his voice called out before he left, without facing him. 

He left me with my heart racing, feeling completely ruined. The weight of it all pressed down on me as tears fell down. I couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was making me cry– Jake finding out my sworn secret? Jake knowing I messed up on said secret job? or the fact that I have been feeling my powers slipping away? The thought of losing everything I had fought for because of my growing feelings was unbearable. My tears unraveled faster than my realisation that I actually fell for him.

♥︎

As if my life couldn’t be any harder, our Boss announced an emergency work trip across the country for a couple of client meetings, big ones at that. The kind that could define the next few months of the company’s future. Our trip was a haze for me, I stayed near either Chungha or Mira the entire time. My jake avoidance persisted despite the tension in the air, if i just act like none of this exists, it won’t affect me. 

Before I knew it, we were off the plane and checked into our individual hotel rooms. The hotel lobby had this muted hum of chatter and telephones ringing filling the space. As to not waste time, we were all immediately called down for the first client meeting. As I sat down, my boss handed me a notepad with a pen, “please, take notes during the meeting.” I just nodded, no energy left in me to argue.

As usual, Jake was running the presentation. Though, this serious and composed attitude was a side of him that I hadn’t seen before. It caught me off guard, the way he stood at the front of the room, the projector illuminating his face as he explained the new project to the clients. His voice was steady, authoritative, and it was clear he was in his element. 

My notepad and pen sat in front of me, waiting to be used. But as the meeting progressed, I found my focus drifting from the content of the presentation to Jake. my eyes kept following his movements, how his hands gesture as he explained the key points, how his fingers occasionally adjusted his tie or brushed his hair back in that absent-minded way. The way his dark hair slightly tousled as he leaned forward, the little crease between his brows that appeared when he was deep in thought. In this room, in front of clients, he was assertive, and maybe even a little intimidating.

This was a stark contrast to the Jake who has been putting almond chocolates on my desk, or the one who always complimented my perfume choice of the day, or the one who leaves endless sticky notes at my desk. He was different, and it was… captivating.

I tried another attempt to focus on the presentation by scribbling down the client’s questions, what Jake was saying. The meeting continued, and Jake seemed to glide through it effortlessly. Every once in a while my mind would wander back to him, how easy it seemed for him to command the room with just his presence, how natural he was at all of this.

Soon enough, the meeting wrapped up. The clients were satisfied, Jake finished his presentation with a final handshake and brief thank-you to the clients. Our team packed up soon after, I raced to leave the suffocatingly hot room. The moment that our Boss gave us the green light that we can leave for the day, I beelined to the elevator, itching to just take off these stifling layers of clothes. 

Once I reached my hotel room, I started a cold shower immediately, letting the icy stream douse over my skin to cool the heat that had been building ever since the meeting. I needed to clear her head, to push away the fluttering thoughts that refused to leave my mind. As I stood under the water, I kept remembering how Jake moved, the sharpness in his gaze and how my body responded to his subtle but undeniable presence. How can someone look like a cute puppy one second then the hottest man alive the next?

After washing my hair and body, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in the hotel’s bathrobe. My skin was still tingling from the cold water, my face still flushed from my racing thoughts. I left the bathroom and tried to find my phone in the pile of mess I left before rushing in the shower. 

Soft knocking was heard from my door, making me stop my search. It must be one of the girls. Another series of knocks made me pick up my pace and rush over to the door. When I opened it, it was, in fact, neither of the girls. I locked eyes with Jake instead. He was a light blue button down shirt, the sleeves were rolled up. His hair was a little messy compared to how it looked in the meeting.

It took a moment for the both of us to register the situation, the ‘I’m only in a robe’ situation. Jake stood there, looking just as flustered as I felt, making me tug the robe tighter around my figure. His gaze quickly flicked downward to the floor, clearing his throat, “god, I’m sorry. I will come back lat-” 

“It’s alright, really.”

“I just need your notes of the meeting earlier,” he said, his eyes now looking at me. “Oh shit, I completely forgot,” I pinched the bridge of my nose. 

I went back into my room, trying to find my notepad and my phone now, “I swear I can’t find anything. The plane landing, then the meeting… it was all too fast.” I said as I rummaged from my stuff. Jake held the door open, watching me frankly running around the room. “I’m sorry, this is really unprofessional of me…” I uttered. As if professionalism has been common in my behavior these past months…

Jake stepped in my room, letting out a short laugh because of my state, “take it easy, I’m not in a rush.” he said, letting the door click shut behind him. After moving my sweater to the side, I found the notepad tucked under it. I got up on my feet and handed it to him, “here they are, I'm so sorry again…” 

“No need to apologise, love,” he chuckled, taking the notes from hands. The nickname made my heart flip. Considering my current state, this was a really bad time for flirting.

Instead of just walking away or leaving the room, Jake comfortably opened them right there, standing at the door. He quickly scanned through them, his brow furrowing as he reread a few lines. He looked the same way he did in the meeting—so serious, so focused. His lips barely moved as he reread the notes, his entire body leaned forward in concentration. Every little thing he did—how his fingers brushed against the paper, the way he chewed the inside of his cheek when he concentrated—it all made my mind scream at me to stop looking, to stop thinking about him this way, but my body betrayed me.

“Your face is burning up,” he asked, his voice soft but laced with genuine worry. “Did you catch something from the plane ride?” 

Before I could react, Jake gently placed his hand on my forehead, then my cheeks, my jaw, his touch surprisingly tender. His hand lingered for a moment, trying to assess if my red face is because of a fever. The warmth of his skin was clashing with my ice cold shower earlier. He came a little closer as his hand cupped my face, still trying to see if I’m sick. 

I looked up at him, I probably looked dazed, “sir…” I finally said something, my voice was barely a whisper. My eyes involuntarily flickered to his pink lips.

“When will you get it that it's ‘Jake’ to you?” he said, his thumb moving from the side of my face to my lips, his touch sent shivers down my spine. The air between us thickened as he leaned in, letting our lips touch. 

His hands found my waist, pulling me closer to him. Each kiss was more urgent than the last. My fingers tangled in his now extremely messy hair, pulling him deeper. His cologne was stronger than ever. If I could memorise this feeling, if I could memorise how he tasted and felt, before it slipped away I would. There was no thought—only the desperation to feel more, as if this is our one and only chance to hold each other. 

I pulled back slightly, catching my breath. His forehead rested against mine, "for a Cupid," he murmured with a chuckle, "you're quite confusing." I couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh, my fingers found the nape of his neck. 

Just as the distance between us closed again, a loud knocking echoed from the hotel door. “Y/N! Why aren’t you picking up your phone?” Chungha’s voice rang through the door, filled with concern and a touch of annoyance.

I froze, panic seizing me in an instant. "Oh no," my eyes wide with realization. "Jake—" I barely whispered, my mind racing as I quickly backed away from him. Jake immediately took a step back, his hand held mine, his face turning to confusion as he caught the urgency in my eyes. “I can’t be seen like this with my Boss,” I whispered to him urgently. 

We scanned the room, finding a hiding spot for him. I ended up grabbing his wrist, leading him to the closet near the door in a hurry. Without protest, I pushed him into the small space as he ducked into the closest with a chuckle, leaving me to try to regain control of the situation.

I rushed to the door and opened it just enough to reveal Chungha’s expectant face. "Hey, what’s going on?" she asked, her eyes darting over me as she stepped inside. I waved my hand frantically, trying to act casual. “Just came out of the shower,” I said, motioning to my robe that I was still wearing, that I was wearing while kissing our Boss.

 “Why didn’t you call me earlier?” I asked, trying to distract her. Chungha raised an eyebrow, “I tried, but you weren’t answering. I wanted to order something, I wanted to see if you wanted anything.” She glanced around, stepping further into the room. Her attention was diverted, I could feel my heart pounding, the sound of Jake shifting in the closet just beyond the thin closet door.

I took a deep breath once Chungha was out of my line of vision, and then hurriedly, without thinking too much about it, shooed Jake out the closet. “Go, go, go!” I whispered urgently.

He smirked, “you’re cute when you panic." he commented, as if this was the right moment to do so. “Oh my god, i will kill you with my bare hands, go!” I whispered, pushing him out the door.  

“I'm hesitating between pizza and sushi. What do you say?” I heard Chungha’s voice call out as I clicked the door shut. I swear my hotel’s door looks like a revolving door. “I'm fine with both!” I responded, trying to catch my breath. I leaned against the door for a second, pressing my palms to my flushed face, trying to ground myself. My heart was still racing, my skin still burning from his touch, and worst of all—my lips still tingled from the kiss.

What the hell was I doing?

♥︎

After many meetings and conferences that we were all forced to sit through, the familiar hum of the office was back—the ringing phones, the clatter of keyboards, the distant murmur of coworkers chatting by the coffee machine. Everything was the same. Except me.

I sat at my desk, blankly staring at my screen. I blinked, trying to focus on the words that are blurring together, but it was no use. I felt like a zombie, just so drained– not just physically, but in a way I couldn’t even describe.

The little magic I once felt at her fingertips was gone. I used to hear it, the universe’s quiet whisper, the way love threaded itself through the world like a melody only I could recognize. But now? Silence.

Jake noticed my changed humor. Of course, he did. He noticed the pile of untouched almonds on my desk that he left on desk, how I poked at my lunch instead of eating it, and how I barely even reacted when Chungha cracked a joke during their break. 

Chungha noticed, but she knew I wanted space, so she didn’t push. Everytime i would space out in my thoughts, she would put her hand in mine, kiss my hand ever so lightly before leaving me to it.

I would catch him staring– his brows drawn together in concern. I would frown back at him, feeling my chest bubbling with unreason frustration. I hate this. I hate the way he looks at me like I am slipping through his fingers, like he wanted to reach out but didn’t know how. And most of all, I hated how much I felt, how much all of this hurts. 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to care this much. I wasn’t supposed to lose this part of myself. And yet, here I am. A complete mess without it.

I decided to go home early, my Boss just waved me off while on the phone, muttering a ‘whatever’ under his breath. If I had strength in me, I would have reacted to his rudeness, but I just quietly walked to my desk. Chungha watched me pack my purse, “heading out?” she asks, her eyes sympathetic. 

I weakly smiled back at her, “i will see you on monday, i promise,” 

“Lemme walk you home, you look pale,” she said, standing up from her seat and ready to put on her jacket. “No, stay. I will be fine really. Plus, i don't know what’s up the boss’ ass right now, but he won't appreciate both of us leaving,” 

Her shoulders slumped down, “alright, as you wish.” she said in defeat, pulling me in a tight hug before letting me leave. 

♥︎

The knocking at my door stirred me out of my nap. I groaned as I lifted myself off my couch, still in my office clothes. I was so tired that I just collapsed on the couch the moment I walked in. I pulled the thin blanket I used tighter around my shoulders as I made my way to my apartment’s door. 

The knock came again—gentle but insistent. I glanced at the clock on my wall, 11:45pm. No way it's Chungha… she would've come by earlier than this hour. My eyes and heart still feel heavy, the nap was not enough. I caught a glimpse of myself in my small hallway mirror, hair poking from every direction, puffy eyes, red face. With a sigh, I unlocked the door and used all the force I had left to open it.  

The moment it opened, I froze and my throat dried up.

Jake stood there, holding a basket in one hand and some leftover containers in the other. He was no longer in his office suit, instead he was wearing jeans, a simple shirt and a basketball hat, however his heavy signature Rolex is still on his wrist. His brows knitted together in concern the second he saw my face. 

“Hey,” he said, clearing his throat, “I thought you were under the weather, so I made you some beef stew and cookies,” he continued, lifting the leftover containers slightly. I stare at him, and then at the food. 

Then, it just hit me all at once as tears filled my eyes. The fact that he’s here trying to fix something he never caused, or the fact he cared so much he cooked me food and dessert, or the fact that I have been unreasonably angry at him, all just made those tears spill over. 

“I… I can’t—” my voice broke, “I don’t know how to fix this. Any of this.”

Jake’s face shifted from confusion to alarm the moment he saw my tears. “Y/N,” he murmured, his voice softer but laced with concern. “What’s wrong?” he asked, set the food down as I let out a choked sob. The amount of crying I have been doing has been leaving my head pounding against my skull. 

“Everything. I just…” I trailed off, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks. I felt pathetic, to be quite honest. He opened up his arms without hesitation, through my tears, I got closer to him and wrapped my arms around him, steading myself.  

“Oh, love…” he sighed after hearing another sob from me, his voice filled with nothing but warmth. Without a word, he guided me inside, shutting the door behind us. After setting the basket on the kitchen’s counter, his eyes landed on me again. I probably looked like hell, from the work clothes to the unkempt hair to the probably smudged makeup.

“Y/N…” his voice comforting but hesitant. “Talk to me.”

My throat tightened, not allowing me to speak. When he saw new tears threatening to come out, Jake inhaled, with a quiet murmur of, “come here,” he led me toward the couch. I didn’t argue. Didn’t think. All of those actions took too much energy. I just simply followed, letting myself collapse next to him on the couch.

The grief of losing a part of my identity, the exhaustion, the feeling of failure, the weight of everything—it all felt heavier than ever. I shifted slightly, curling up and resting my head on his lap. He didn’t flinch or hesitate, his fingers found my back, running slow, soothing circles on it. 

After a while, the apartment became calmer, the soft hum of the city could be heard outside my apartment window. Jake’s been quiet ever since, every so often you would only hear my sniffling. I let out a breath I have not realized I was holding.

“I’m no longer a Cupid,” I murmured, eyes staring blankly at the side of the small living room, face pressed up against Jake's chest. “And I don’t know what that means for me.”

Jake hummed thoughtfully, his fingers never stopping their soft movements. “Well,” he said, amusement lacing his voice, “you could always be my retired Cupid.”

I huffed out something close to a laugh. “That sounds exhausting.”

“Nah,” he grinned. “Just means you get to sit back and let me do all the chasing. Nothing new.”

I giggled against his chest, hearing his heartbeat again once my laughter faded. “Can I be honest with you?” I asked hesitantly, looking up at him from my position.

“Always.”

I swallowed hard before I spoke up again, “I was… mad at you for a moment,” I admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “For making me fall for you.”

He blinked, surprised, before suddenly laughing. “Wait—that’s why you were avoiding me? Shit, I thought you regretted the kiss.”

“That’s not the case.” I blurted out before I could stop myself. Jake stared down at me, one brow raised and a smile slowly forming on his lips. I opened her mouth to backtrack, to save myself, but all that came out was a flustered, “I—I mean, it was—you were—”

he let out a full, warm laugh. “Oh my god,” I groaned, immediately burying my face back into his chest “I hate you.”

“You enjoyed it,” he repeated, smug now.

“Stop talking.” I whined, my voice muffled against his own laughter. 

♥︎

I walked into the office the next morning, my shoulders feeling much lighter. A warm smile spreads across my face as I greet my coworkers, noticing a slight rosiness in my cheeks. The bounce in my steps slowed down when I noticed a large bouquet on my office desk. 

“Always a special delivery for the Miss…” Chungha said, the bouquet completely blocked me from seeing her. I snorted a laugh at her comment before I stepped closer to the bouquet. I ran my fingers ever so slight over the soft petals of the pink roses, my heart doing an embarrassing little flip as I spotted a note tucked between them. Carefully, I unfolded the small card.

For my retired Cupid.

Unsigned. I huffed sharply with a smile, a mix of amusement and something warmer blooming in my chest. Instinctively, my gaze flickered upward—to the glass walls of his office. And, of course, he was already looking at me, probably saw my whole reaction. 

Jake didn’t even pretend to be subtle. His chin rested on his hand, smiling and eyes glistening with that same familiar puppy love. I rolled my eyes, a smile still on my lips, I pulled out my phone.

“For someone no longer under Cupid’s influence, you’re really not acting like it.” - “Me”, Delivered 30 sec ago

[cylci]

ꕥ 🄻🅄🄲🄺🅈🄲🄷🄰🅁🄼

PT. 1 ೃ࿐ 𝒮𝑒𝓋𝒾𝓀𝒶 𝓍 𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇 🍀

Summary: Sevika is on a mission to find her old lover after she became a counselor at piltover and asked for a petition to relook the charges done on every zaunie in the prison to give them a second chance. Well.. that’s what she told Caitlyn but in reality she is looking for you. How will she react when she find out you were already released.

Disclaimers: unbelievably sad sevika, slow burn (kind of), lil smut,Rebonding, Sevika and reader are both in their late 30s to early 40s in present time of this fic, deaths, reality shock (reader)

Word count: 1.4k

MEN + MDNI !

You used to be Vanders ears and eyes. You guys used to be running around all Zaun and Piltover.

They ran their streets, until one day their mission goes wrong. And y/n gets caught up with enforcers.

By this time they Young adults.

Her and sevika had already been together for quite some while. They loved each other dearly, they grew up together technically they’ve known each other all their lives and double how much they love each other. They started taking their relationship more serious getting into their early teens, Sevika having confessed her feelings towards you, you obviously said yes as you guys were already kissing each other and living together from a young age.

From a young age since you guys didnt have your parents around. You guys live together. Sevika mother died at birth and her father wasn’t a good one. So she lives with you.

Your mother died at an early age leaving you and your sisters by yourselves in one of the lowest parts of zaun. As you were the oldest you raised your little sisters and took care of them,bathe them,cooked for them, bought and made their necessities. You were technically their mother. You didn’t have a mother even tho you were also child. No one to look up to just..figured things out..

One day your out throwing away some old food you had storage but went bad. As you took the bags of trash outside you saw a girl. Sevika. One of Vanders friends.

You knew who she was but never spoken to her.

She was tall, but frail, dark brown hair, beautiful brown skin, and piercing grey eyes. Her face was swollen as if she was just beaten up of gotten into a fight.

She looked paranoid hiding away from something. She was hiding between your trash cans. “Excuse me?” You spoke out spooking her. She immediately got up.

She didn’t say a word to you just glared at you from where she was standing.

She was dirty,clothes torn and pretty much a mess.

“Are you hungry? I-I live here.” You spat out., trying to sound compose,as you prepared yourself for any sudden attack.

She doesn’t say a word. Reading your face trying to figure out your intentions.

You were 12 at the time, She was 13.

You offered her to come into your house so she can eat and bathe herself if she needed.

She nodded. Seeming to like the offer. She didn’t see any ill intent coming from u.

By this you waved your hand towards yourself “come, follow me” you say, stepping forward to your house.

She hesitantly followed in.

Right then and there, she found her new home. She lives with you and your sisters as she was great help around the house taming the younger ones 4 and 8. And doing the chores was you, Sevika and the sister that goes right after you (10).

She felt like she had a purpose living with you, not having to deal with her fathers drunken beatings every now and then. She felt at ease, at home.

━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━

It was a rogue mission, you guys were planning to steal some enforces shipment.

Weapons.

you planned the mission.

Getting the layouts of the whole place and dividing up the groups of who is going to take what.

Vander and Silco worked on strategy.

You guys we’re about 6 in the group. All of you already in your late teens and early 20s.

Vander, Silco, Felicia , Benzo, Sevika and you. All of you had teamed up for this mission you planned for months. It wasn’t just a small in and out. It would mean a lot to Zaun and a way to make its army bigger and better for us, and against top side.

You guys were ready for that, you had been ready. After months and months of planning.

Today was the day, the day you guys would officially start leading Zaun for a better future.

━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━

You woke up at sunrise.

The anxiety of the mission had kick last night. You didn’t sleep well at all.

Your mind didn’t stop spinning at all the possibilities that could happen on the mission today. Shifting in your bed your girlfriend.

Laying next to you on your lil shared apartment.

You shifted to your side as softly as you could, to face her.

So you wouldn’t disturb her sleep as you could’ve easily done because of her arm hugging your waist.

You stared blissfully at the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. Remembering the times you prayed for days like theses that she would be put in your path and become your wife. You loved her with everything, she’s your world and you are hers. No one gets between that.

Her eyes started to flutter awake, she let out a yawn that sounded more like a groan. “Morning Sev” you said giggling softly as she stretched herself out. Releasing the hold she had on your waist

She grabbed your face gently, her eyes still not being fully opened she gave you a soft kiss to your lips. “Morning y/n” she smiled at you, her voice still rasped and deep from her sleepy form she pulled you closer to her to shove her fuese in between your neck.

Silent moments like these you cherished, it was the only quiet moments you had with her as chaos was always erupting outside of your doors.

This was your world, with her.

━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━

A knock on your door is what took you both out of your bed. Still embracing each other you groan “I don’t wanna get up.” Shoving your head into Sevikas neck.

She lets out a breathy laugh “I’ll get it.” Removing her hands off you, you whine and grab her by her hand. Laughing at this she gets up and walks towards the living room door.

One of your sisters beat her to it.

“Y/N !! VANDER AND SILCO ARE HERE” she yelled out, cause u and sevika to burst into a feat of giggles.

Sevika walked out the bedroom to let Silco and Vander in. You got out of bed to greet them in.

As you guys sat down on your couch. You guys were going over the plans again, rereading the layouts and going on everyone’s position.

“Will do great guys, don’t fog up your heads with any worries. Today will be a successful day” Vander days getting ready to leave with Silco already after they were done.

“Yeah, don’t worry about us. Will be going downtown to meet up with you and the guys.” Sevika respons sending them off.

You sat down reading over the plans again. Something in your chest felt tight, but you didn’t quite know what it was.

You didn’t realize Sevika was calling you after she put her hand on your shoulders. “Hey you alright?” She asked sitting back down at the couch with you.

“Yeah just… sigh” you pinch your nose as you put the papers down. “What’s up? You worried abt the mission?” She put her arm around to grabbing your waist to ease you.

“I don’t know….something’s bugging me abt this mission and I can’t seem to shake it off.” You confess to her.

“ It will go just as planned, if not we will just go with the backup plans. We will be fine.” She said comforting you kissing your temple.

“Yeah your right, you know how I get.” Scoffing at yourself for overthinking.

You look at her savoring her beauty and

Thanking Janna for blessing you with such an incredible woman by your side.

You grab her face and pull her into a kiss, it started off light until she grabbed your face and push your body closer to hers.

Things started to get heated up once you started putting your hand up her shirt.

This only lasted a minute until your sister walked in the living room after having been asleep this whole time.

You stood quickly, flushed “what are you up so early “ you asked your 12 year old sister. “ I got hungry and wanted to make breakfast.” She yawn responding dryly as is used to walking in on you.

she walked to the kitchen.

“Alright, we’ll be getting ready soon to leave. If the other girls get up and we aren’t here tell them we left and we’ll be back soon” you tell your sister kissing her on the cheek.

“Alright love u.”

“Love you too“

━━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━━━

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

THANK YOU FOR READING LUCKY CHARM !🍀

This will be a slow burn so please be patient! I’m still in school so some chapters may be hard for me to finish as quick as I’d wish but I’ll make sure to finish them ᯓ ᥫ᭡

[toriaaniin]

So do you think what we are seeing with L & A is a PR relationship? Perhaps it’s a way to take the pressure off of L & N so they can both show up at events for Bridgerton?

It's been a while since I had a question. I'm game for questions! I'm sure the quiet is because I have my anons turned off. The troll activity that we've all been experiencing - over the past few weeks especially - has been fucking DELULU inducing (no: believing in L & N's love isn't delusional, therefore I am not delulu). I used to laugh at how my Lukola bloggity friends have so cleverly responded to the trolls' ridiculousness, but lately it simply makes me want to throw up. Thank the Light that I haven't personally had to deal with that BS since turning off my anons. Now that I've written that statement, watch a troll who is willing to have their name plastered everywhere pop up in my messages. Especially after they read this post! Ha!

Okay... let's respond to the questions asked of me.

I'd like to quickly deal with the second part of this question: "... a way to take the pressure off of L & N so they can both show up at events for Bridgerton?" In a word, no. There should be no events for Bridgerton until they start promotion for season 4, and that likely won't be until 2026. At the earliest, late 2025. If you mean the upcoming BAFTAs on May 11th? A case could be made for BAFTAs (that I'll touch on below), but "pressure off" would not be that reason.

Your first question: "Do you think what we are seeing with L & A is a PR relationship?" I'll use another single word: Yes. The one word I'd change out in your question though is "relationship". I don't view Luke & Antonia as a relationship. THIS is a relationship.

I view the situation between Luke and Antonia as a working arrangement. Perhaps even a legal one (but I'm not going to get into the NDA stuff. @fiamat12 does that well with her Legal Anon, and she posted an update this morning). She's been hired to play a role, and she's paid for that work (how [not necessarily money] would be an agreement between her agent/legal team and Luke's).

So why? I have a theory around Luke's branding that I personally find compelling, but I'll leave that for now because it deserves its own post as well as a good deal of research to find PR evidence (it exists!!) to support it for my readers. Know though that my theory - while reluctantly agreed with (usually!) - has proven controversial amongst my private chat group friends!

I will however discuss two reasons for this PR relationship.

One is the BAFTAs as I mentioned above. The voting for this year's BAFTA TV nominations is conducted in 3 rounds and only eligible Members of BAFTA can vote. The second round of nominee voting ended on March 13th. The final nominees are announced next Thursday, March 27th (watch for it!) after which the BAFTA members enter into a third round of voting (officially April 7th, closing on the 14th), with the winners announced during the ceremony on May 11th. Phew!

Members of the Academy - their peers, creatives and professionals working in and making contributions to the television industry in the UK - have already voted on whether Luke, Nicola, cast, crew, designers, producers, directors, etc. will be the final nominees. Again, those final nominees will be announced next week... with the same Members responsible for voting the actual winners.

Why is this a big deal? Because Luke and Nicola don't want their performances to be undervalued by a belief that they didn't act their parts. That the love that we saw in Penelope and Colin was actually (and only!) the love of Nicola and Luke. More importantly (and I'm SURE this is more important to Luke & Nicola too) = if they are believed to not have been acting, it undervalues the contributions of the entire cast, crew, Shondland, Netflix... everyone!

So you see... it's not about "taking pressure off" because the pressure is ON until April 14th when voting ends. Maybe even until awards night, May 11th.

Deflecting eyes away from Luke and Nicola's real relationship will help with BAFTA votes... but the second reason I'm going to suggest takes us one step beyond that deflection. We're talking DON'T LOOK OVER HERE! strength diversion!! The reason they want that kind of deflection is because Luke and Nicola are, I firmly believe, new parents. In fact, the BOSS event was in part a ruse to shock the fandom and get them all up in arms about Luke and Antonia, all while Luke and Nicola had a baby. The result of 3 "let's get this done" hours of Luke's life? No media and stalker-fans sniffing around, looking for photo opportunities of the new family. Misdirection.

Then we come to the SAG awards where our couple tried sooooo hard to pretend they were "just friends". We saw the truth, didn't we? They've tried a few times since SAGs to misdirect us. Remember my friends, they don't want us to look too closely. One day they'll opt for private, not secret. After all you can't hide a baby forever. But not until they're ready. We're on their schedule. Thankfully we're familiar with their misdirection patterns. I'm sat firmly on this ship!

Aaniin Xxx

(In case you ever wondered: that third little x started appearing in the closing of my posts in late January/early February... and if you know where Xx comes from [which still lives on Luke's IG bio, BTW!], you now know why I've added it 💙)

[wroetolando]

mmmm can we continue this train of carlos x leclerc!reader (i feel like it can be so angsty since CS isn’t in ferrari😭🥺) So like carlos x leclerc reader where maybe it’s when the fam went to mexico and the brothers didn’t invite her and told their mom she just couldnt come due to work. and reader finds out abt it when mama calls her and says “i wish u were here.” Maybe then carlos rly comforts reader (maybe mama leclerc finding out too after the trip???)

i’m sorry this is long don’t do it if u don’t want to it’s kinda shit idea

𝚄𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚍 | 𝙲𝚂𝟻𝟻

𝗮/𝗻: tried my best! If you want any changes feel free to message me!🫶

𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴: carlos sainz x leclerc!reader

𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: the one where your brothers go on a family trip without telling you, and carlos is the only one who makes you feel like you still belong

𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰: family line - conan gray

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: angsty

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・

Being a Leclerc had always meant being part of a unit. Your brothers—Lorenzo, Charles, and Arthur—had been your best friends, your protectors, your constants. No matter how chaotic life got, no matter how far racing took them, family was supposed to come first.

At least, that’s what you thought.

Until your mother called you that afternoon.

You were at your desk, half-listening to the sound of emails piling up, when your phone buzzed. Seeing Maman on the screen made you smile.

“Hey, Maman,” you answered, cradling the phone between your shoulder and ear.

“Oh, mon ange, I miss you so much.”

Her voice was warm, but there was something wistful in it. You frowned.

“I miss you too,” you said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, chérie.” She sighed. “I just wish you were here.”

You froze.

“Here?”

“In Mexico,” she said, like it was obvious. “The boys are all together, and it’s been wonderful, but it would have been perfect if you were here too.”

Your stomach dropped.

Mexico. The family trip.

The one you weren’t invited to.

The one your brothers had told your mother you couldn’t attend—because of work.

Except you had never said that.

Your grip on the phone tightened, breath hitching slightly. You tried to keep your voice steady, to act like you weren’t just blindsided.

“Yeah,” you said, forcing out a small laugh. “I wish I could’ve come too.”

Lying to your mother felt awful. But what were you supposed to say? That your brothers hadn’t even told you about the trip? That they’d made that decision for you?

She talked for a few more minutes, telling you about the beautiful beaches, the food, the laughter. It was the kind of trip you would have loved. The kind of trip you had always been part of.

The kind of trip they didn’t think to include you in.

By the time the call ended, your hands were shaking.

You didn’t even realize you were crying until Carlos knocked on your office door.

“Amor?” His voice was gentle, but the moment he stepped inside and saw your face, his expression shifted. “What happened?”

You swallowed hard, but the words burned on the way out.

“They went to Mexico without me.” Your voice cracked. “And they told my mom I couldn’t come. That I was too busy.”

Carlos stilled, his dark eyes darkening.

“They what?”

You shook your head, wiping at your face angrily. “I didn’t even know they were going. They didn’t tell me. They just… decided for me. And my mom had no idea.”

For a moment, Carlos didn’t speak. His jaw clenched, his fingers flexing at his sides. He wasn’t just angry—he was furious.

Then, without hesitation, he pulled you into his arms.

The moment his warmth wrapped around you, you crumbled.

“It’s like I don’t even matter to them anymore,” you whispered into his chest. “Like they don’t want me there.”

Carlos exhaled sharply, one hand cupping the back of your head. “That’s not true.”

“It feels true.”

His grip tightened. “They had no right to do that. To make that choice for you.”

You stayed like that for a while, letting him hold you as the weight of it all crashed over you. He didn’t try to fill the silence with empty reassurances. He just stayed. And somehow, that was enough.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・

You didn’t say anything to your brothers right away.

For days after they came back, they acted like nothing had happened. They sent pictures in the family group chat, talked about how amazing the trip was—like you hadn’t been sitting at home, wondering why you weren’t good enough to be included.

But your mother noticed.

Of course she did.

It wasn’t until you were at her house for dinner that she finally asked.

“Mon amour,” she said softly, setting her fork down. “Are you upset with your brothers?”

You hesitated, rolling your glass between your palms.

“I just…” You exhaled, the words burning your throat. “I don’t understand why they didn’t tell me about Mexico.”

Your mother’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“They never told me,” you said, meeting her gaze. “I found out when you called.”

She froze.

“They told me you were too busy,” she said slowly. “That you couldn’t take time off.”

A bitter laugh escaped you before you could stop it.

“I never said that.”

Your mother’s expression shifted, her lips pressing into a tight line. She didn’t say anything for a long time, but you could see it—the way the realization sank in, the way she pieced together what had actually happened.

“Je suis désolée,” she murmured. “I should have asked you myself.”

You shook your head. “It’s not your fault.”

She reached for your hand, squeezing gently. “But it’s not okay.”

No. It wasn’t.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・

When you finally confronted Charles, you half-expected him to have a reasonable explanation.

He didn’t.

“We didn’t mean to leave you out,” he said, raking a hand through his hair. “We just thought… you had so much work, and we didn’t want you to feel like you had to come.”

You stared at him. “So instead of asking me, you decided for me?”

Charles flinched. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Then explain it to me.” Your voice wavered, but the hurt bled through. “Because from where I’m standing, it feels a lot like you just didn’t want me there.”

He exhaled, looking at the floor. “That’s not true.”

“But you didn’t want me there enough to invite me,” you pointed out. “Did you even think about me? Or was it just easier to leave me out?”

Silence.

And there it was.

You swallowed against the lump in your throat, nodding slowly. “Got it.”

“No,” Charles said quickly. “It’s not like that, chérie. We love you, we just… we messed up.”

You let out a shaky breath. “Yeah. You did.”

He looked genuinely guilty, but guilt didn’t change what happened.

It didn’t take away the hurt.

It didn’t make it okay.

And for the first time in your life, you weren’t sure if your brothers would ever see you the way they used to.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・

masterlist

[sinofwriting]

Hot Gossip - Jenson Button

Words: 631 Summary: When she returns home, he just knows that her outing with friends was more than eventful.

Masterlist | Support Me! 

She doesn’t even remember getting out of the Uber, let alone opening the front door, it’s only as she sits on the couch that she realizes she’s home. Blinking slowly, brain struggling to process everything from the last three hours.

She doesn’t hear Jenson’s greeting or the way his frown from her not returning his greeting turns to an understanding look and his feet taking him to the kitchen.

She just sits on the couch, jumping when a glass of wine is set down on the end table beside her and before she can say anything, Jenson is moving her. Readjusting her until her back is pressed against the arm of the couch, wine glass easy to reach and then he’s sitting and pulling her feet into his lap, taking her flats off and chucking them towards the door.

“That much?” He asks, breaking her out of her silence.

“So much.” She breathes, reaching for her wine glass and taking a much-needed drink. “Joyce is getting a divorce.”

Jenson’s fingers froze where they had been tapping along her ankle. “She’s what?”

“Getting a divorce.” She takes another drink of wine. “She was cheating, this whole time. She called Nina crying the other day because Peter found out.”

“That explains the ten pm message from Nina for lunch.”

She nods. “But not only was she cheating on Peter, it was with the guy who did the catering at their wedding. We all wondered how on earth she got such a cheap price for it, that’s why.”

“That’s not a good way to run a business.”

“And Nina’s sister is pregnant. Their parents are throwing a total fit about it as well. All because she isn’t married and they thought she was a lesbian.”

Jenson lets out a small laugh at the last part of her sentence, having heard the horror stories of Nina finding her little sister and whatever guy she was seeing in positions she had never wanted to.

“Callie wasn’t there either today. JJ and her are on the outs, completely.”

He shakes his head at her words, beginning to massage her feet.

“Callie told her that the dress she picked out was hideous and made her look horrible.”

“You can’t say that.”

“Exactly!” She nearly shouts. “And she obviously doesn’t know what on earth she is talking about. JJ looked incredible in the wedding dress she chose and she was so happy about it and now she’s worried that Sam is going to see her in it and thinks she’s ugly. She had enough stress with the wedding only two months away and now Callie has been a fucking bitch and just crushed her self-esteem.”

“I never liked Callie or Joyce.” He comments.

“I mean, Joyce was great until like a year ago. Callie…” She trails off. “Callie was always more JJ’s friend than ours. She was nice enough, but she always just looked so unhappy to hang out in a group setting. And I like I get it, we are a lot to deal with.”

“Just a little.” He laughs, but his smile and words are all fond.

“And they all were a little mad at me.” She says after probably ten minutes of rambling about the smaller things JJ and Nina had brought up at lunch.

“Why on earth are they mad at you?”

Her eyes fall away from him. “It wasn’t like genuinely mad, more just annoyed.”

“For what?”

“I had nothing to bitch about. I mean obviously I bitched about both Joyce and Callie, but I didn’t have anything to bring to the table.” She shrugs and then looks at him, smiling. “You treat me too well.”

His expression softens at her words and he’s leaning forward, kissing her. “And I don’t plan on stopping.”

[hqwkeyes]

The Devil You Know (Part 1/2)

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Reader Just wanted to note that I didn't put a gendered descriptor on this. It is essentially gender neutral, aside from perhaps some slightly feminine-leaning aspects. If anyone feels I should add a gendered descriptor to the reader in the pairing, please let me know. Word Count: 2.9k+ words Warnings: mentions of stalking, slight allusions to domestic violence, alcohol consumption, drunkenness, maybe like one swear word? like maybe, slight angst, cheeky Matt, i think that's it but idk i'm exhausted. (adding the cut at the very beginning due to the more triggering nature of some of the warnings) Summary: After working alongside Matt Murdock for about a year, you start to notice that he seems like maybe can see you. It's a crazy thought, and you feel almost bad for having it at all. That is, until you have a brush with Daredevil one night.

Masterlist // Buy me a coffee!

note: pls be nice about this one. it's been a really long time since i've written anything and it's also my first time writing for matt. thx.

You've been working at Nelson, Murdock, and Page for a while now, and it's been a little over a year and a half since you met the gang. It all started with the end of your last relationship, which was rocky to say the least. It was around that time that you first encountered Karen. She had overheard you arguing with your ex in front of a café because he wouldn't stop following you. Karen pretended to be a friend you were meeting, and your ex left shortly after, though you figured he would pop up again. She insisted that you sit down inside with her, and upon hearing about how your ex kept showing up wherever you were, she offered you help. It wasn't long after that she introduced her two friends/colleagues, Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock, who also insisted on helping at no cost to you.

Karen had done some digging into your ex and found out how he had been tracking you. They were able to document his antics enough to build a stalking case against him and file an order of protection. Still, it was hard to feel safe after all he had put you through. You knew the statistics—the chances of experiencing violence at the hands of the person you have a restraining order against significantly increase once they are notified of it. Karen helped you find a new apartment, and Matt and Foggy helped you break your lease without any major issues. You had grown incredibly close with the three of them throughout this process. They looked out for you, made you feel safe, made you feel cared for. So when they asked you one night, over drinks at Josie's, to work for them, you couldn't refuse the offer—you didn't want to. They offered to support you in your endeavors to become a paralegal, something you expressed an interest in early on in your relationship with them. You wanted to help people the way they had helped you, so you started doing secretarial work for them while preparing.

Fast forward about a year, and you've nearly completed your paralegal certification. Your time at Nelson, Murdock, and Page has been incredible. Not only have you learned so much about the legal realm, but you also gained a bunch of work experience, and most importantly, you've found a family in these three wonderful people.

However, there are a few things about Matt Murdock that have felt a bit off to you. Not in a weird or creepy way—Matt was a perfect gentleman, always looking after you and making sure you feel safe, and you considered him a close friend. But you've felt a bit paranoid around him, because sometimes it almost feels like he can see you or something. It made you feel a little self-conscious around him at times. Like a few weeks ago, you had only just come into the office—you hadn't said a word yet—and he greeted you by name. When you asked how he knew it was you, he laughed it off, wearing that little satisfied grin he often had, and saying it was just a good guess because you usually arrived before Foggy. A good enough reason, you thought. Another time, he had been discussing paperwork with you when you accidentally bumped a paperweight off the edge your desk, and he caught it before it could hit the floor. He had said it was just good reflexes. And just last week, the four of you were walking to Josie's after work. Matt was holding onto you for guidance when suddenly, two men fell out of a bar you were passing, fighting each other to the ground. They would have crushed you if it hadn't been for Matt tugging you out of the way and into his chest. It had felt intentional, as if he had seen them coming, but he had apologized, saying he just tripped and was holding onto you for balance.

Tonight, the four of you had, once again, gone to Josie's. Normally, you wouldn't stay out this late on a weeknight, but it was to celebrate a win in court, and this case had been a tough one. After about an hour or so, Matt says he's calling it a night so he can do some prep for the morning. Foggy and Karen insist on staying, already a little tipsy. You tell Matt you'll stay behind to get the two of them home safely later, and he squeezes your shoulder in thanks as he passes by on his way out, telling you to call him if you need anything. You both know Karen and Foggy can get a bit crazy when they drink together.

A couple hours later, your two friends have had more than enough to drink. You've only had another drink or two since Matt left, having opted to look after the pair. You notice that Foggy's phone is going off, and he asks you to answer it for him, claiming he's too drunk, but you know he just doesn't want Marci to yell at him. When you tell her about his current condition, she lets out a humored sigh and says she's on her way to pick him up. At this, Foggy and Karen both decide to have one more drink. By the time Marci arrives, you need help getting both your friends outside. She insists on taking Karen home too and even offers you a ride, but you're a short walk in the opposite direction.

On the walk home, there's a shortcut through an alleyway that you would normally only consider attempting in the daylight, but there's no one around and you're exhausted. Taking the long way would add an extra five minutes of walking and you're pretty desperate to just get home, so you say screw it. You're basically sober anyway.

You're nearly at the other end of the alley when someone comes up from behind you and slams you into the wall on your right, grabbing your purse in the process. As you fall to the ground, you notice something dropping down from the fire escapes above. It takes a moment before you can try to get to your feet, and when you do, there's a man standing over you. You freeze, cowering back against the wall. And then you notice the horns on his mask.

"Are you alright?" the man—Daredevil—asks, holding out a gloved hand. You take it, and he gently helps you to your feet before returning your purse to you.

"Um yeah, I think so," you say, finding your bearings.

"What were you doing in an alleyway this late anyway?" His voice teasing, shaking his head, his lips falling into a small smirk.

"Just trying to get home," you tell him, but your eyes are searching the area until they fall on the man who attacked you, sprawled out on the ground a few feet away.

A beat passes.

"You're bleeding," Daredevil tells you, and you look up at him. "You should get that looked at."

"I'll be fine, it's probably just a scrape," you say, and he exhales in what almost sounds like a chuckle.

"It's more than just a scrape," he notes as he gently reaches up and swipes some blood from the cut on your forehead before explaining how to properly clean it. There's a tenderness to his actions that nearly makes you forget how crazy all of this is.

He feels...familiar to you. The cadence of his voice, his demeanor. You look him over, your eyes falling to the curve of his lips, a near smirk below his mask, and it feels like you've seen him before. Your brow furrows, eyes searching him. It's a silly thought—an impossible one—but before you can even really process it, your mouth is moving.

"Matt?" Your voice is a breathless whisper.

Oh god, maybe you are drunk. But Daredevil's breath hitched at that. Or maybe you imagined it? Your head is spinning—maybe you hit it harder than you thought.

"I'm sorry," you rush out. "You just reminded me of a friend of mine for a minute. You sound a lot like him, the way you talk. And he likes to tease people. And, I don't know, I guess I thought you kinda looked like him for a minute with that cute little grin. But that's not even possible, and I shouldn't have said anything. I wasn't even thinking when I said it, it just kind of came out, but that really, really isn't po-" your babbling is cut off by a gloved finger being pressed delicately to your lips.

You stare up at him with wide eyes, your pulse quickening. Several seconds pass in silence, and you wish you could read his expression under that mask. Finally, he pulls his finger away and you stand there, frozen in place, almost afraid to speak.

Before you know it, Daredevil is gently taking your hand and leading you back into the darkness of they alley. You should be terrified. You have no clue what he's going to do to you, but for some reason, you trust him. He releases your hand and slowly, his hands move up to his mask. When it comes off, you clap your hand over your mouth to avoid gasping aloud.

"I didn't want you to find out like this," Daredevil Matt says softly, "but I also didn't want to lie to you."

"But I-"

"I am blind," he notes with a light chuckle. "Just to get that out of the way."

"O-okay," you stammer.

He leans in towards you, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "I know you might feel angry, or betrayed, or some other kind of hurt, but I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me explain."

You simply stare at him, dumbfounded. Speechless. He lets out another breathy laugh.

"If you want, I can meet you at your place, come up the fire escape, and I can tell you everything," he offers.

You take a moment to mull it over before nodding, then feeling silly and whispering, an "okay."

"I know you nodded," he tells you, and your eyes go wide again.

"Okay, you're definitely gonna have to explain," you say with a snort, lightly shoving his shoulder before starting out of the alley again. You turn to see Matt darting up the fire escapes before hurrying off towards your home yourself, shaking your head in disbelief.

When you finally get inside, you slip your shoes off and turn the lights on before thinking better and flicking them back off. Suddenly, your masked friend is at your window on your fire escape, and you rush to unlock it and let him in.

"I can't believe this is happening," you mumble, and you catch that thin smirk of his again as he slips inside.

"Quit smirking and start talking, Murdock," you mutter as you pad into your kitchen and pour two glasses of water. You're probably going to need something stronger, but you need to be sober for this conversation.

Matt takes a seat on your couch and he explains. Everything. From the accident that took his sight to his training with Stick to taking down Fisk's corruption, and everything in between. Finally, when he's done, he waits for you to say something. You've been pacing the room, but now you stop. Several moments pass as you take everything in, and finally you suck in a sharp breath.

"I'm not mad," you exhale, and you see the tension leave his shoulders. Your pacing resumes. "I am hurt, though. I know I haven't been around nearly as long as Foggy or Karen, but we all work so closely together. Hell, I even considered us close friends. But you didn't think you could trust me with this, and that's what hurts."

"And I'm sorry. I knew I couldn't lie to you about it–"

"But you did lie. Maybe not about Daredevil directly, but all those times—the damn paperweight a while ago, those guys fighting on the way to Josie's last week—you made me feel like I was going crazy. You didn't even have to tell me about Daredevil to tell me about that." You pause, facing away from him, scrubbing your hands over your face before dragging them away.

"And you can hear my heartbeat? Can tell when I'm lying and all? I just–" you sigh. "I don't know Matt. I don't know what to say."

"You're right. I haven't been truthful with you, and I–" He pauses. Then, quieter, "I understand if this makes you want to reconsider our relationships." At this, your heart drops. You whip around, searching his face. His expression is unreadable.

"Is that what you want?" Your words are barely a whisper, but now you know he can hear you.

"No," he sighs, facing you. "It isn't. I love having you with us at the office, and I really enjoy all the time we spend together. I also felt that we were close friends. And it's not that I didn't trust you. It's just– I guess it was nice just being able to be me with again. Just Matt Murdock. Not worrying about what I was getting up to as Daredevil."

"Well," you start with a sigh, "if it makes you feel any better, I often worry about what you're getting up to as Matt Murdock anyway." There's a bit of humor in your tone, and you look up at your friend, his mouth curving into a grin again.

"Is that so?" He cocks his head to the side, his grin growing.

"It is," you say, your smile spreading as well.

You both let out a light laugh, and you walk over to sit beside him, resting a hand on his knee.

"Can you promise me that you'll be honest with me from now on?" You ask, leaning into him.

"I promise."

"Good," you murmur, dropping your head onto his shoulder. He wraps an arm around you, gently squeezing your shoulder.

The two of you stay like this for a few moments, and just when you're starting to get a little sleepy, he clears his throat.

"So," he starts. You glance up at him, that cheeky smirk creeping across his lips again. "What was that earlier about my 'cute little grin'?"

You shoot up straight beside him, and he lets out a deep laugh, pulling you closer into his side. You're turning an impossible shade of red, which you previously would've been glad he couldn't see, but now you know he definitely feels you burning up beside him. You decide it's best to just roll with it.

"You know, that little smirk you always have. You do it whenever you're satisfied with something, or when you're getting a rise out of someone. You're doing it right now, actually." Now you're gaining confidence, but you know he can still hear the stutter of your heartbeat as you try to calm yourself down.

"Is that so?" His grin grows.

"It is," you say, shrugging his arm off of you as you turn to face him. He turns towards you as well.

"You enjoy teasing people, huh?"

"Well I'm enjoying teasing you right now, if I'm being honest. Which I promised I would be." And just when you thought that smirk couldn't grow anymore devilish.

"Already on such thin ice and you wanna tease me, Murdock?" you taunt. "Maybe you don't want us to be friends anymore."

An expression flashes across his features, there and gone in but a moment. You can see in his face that he's thinking—considering. He tilts his head a bit, wets his lips.

"Maybe I don't." You feel yourself flushing again, heat creeping up your neck, and that smirk of his is coming back in full force.

You falter, blowing out a breath, a bit of that confidence leaving you. "Yeah, okay, Matt."

Something in his expression changes, softens; his smirk turning into something almost somber.

"It's uh– it's getting late. I should let you get to bed," he suggests quietly before taking your hand in both of his. "Thank you for hearing me out. And for taking this so well." He brings your hand to his lips, brushing a featherlight kiss to the back of it. Your mouth is slightly agape as you stare at him for a moment, breathless.

He releases you and stands swiftly, making his way to your window once again, and you quickly get to your feet and follow him, your heart racing. He opens your window a bit before turning to you.

"Thank you again. Really."

You nod, wrapping your arms around yourself. "Of course."

"I'll uh– I'll see you in the morning then."

"See you in the morning, Matt," you say softly.

And then he puts on his mask, opens the window, and steps out onto the fire escape once again before turning to you.

"Make sure you lock that behind me, okay?" You let out a light chortle at that.

"I will, I promise."

"Good," he says, and something about his entire demeanor feels half-hearted. "Goodnight, Y/N."

"Goodnight, Daredevil," you say with a small smile.

You glance behind you into your dark apartment, and when you turn back, Matt is gone. You stick your head out the window to search for him, but when you don't find him, you realize he probably went to the roof.

You shut and lock the window before turning and leaning against it, covering your face with your hands as you relive the past two hours in your head. Your face flushes again as you recall your last few minutes together, and as you begin to ready yourself for bed, you wonder how the hell you're going to face him at work tomorrow.

Part 2 coming soon! Masterlist // Buy me a coffee!

[moniquesha]

exfil

part one: ghost of the past.

18+

Pairing: Congressman!Bucky x Reader

Summary: Maria Hill’s funeral reunites you with old allies and buried wounds. Grief lingers, tensions simmer, and for a moment, the past feels inescapable.

Warnings: Funeral and mentions of death. Strong language. Mentions of PTSD.

a/n: i did a full on infinity saga rewatch along with the side series, this is the outcome.

The world had changed. S.H.I.E.L.D. was gone, dismantled piece by piece until it was nothing more than a memory. Clint had retired, trying to live the peaceful life he always wanted. Natasha was gone—her absence a wound that would never fully heal. The Widows were free, carving their own paths, and Yelena was off on missions of her own. The Avengers? Disbanded, scattered across the world, some trying to move on, others struggling to find purpose in a world that no longer needed them.

And you? You were just a normal citizen now. No more encrypted messages, no more covert operations, no more standing on the front lines of history. You faded into the background, becoming just another face in the crowd. Maybe that was for the best. Maybe that was what you wanted.

But today, the past has pulled you back in. You stood in the cold morning light at Maria Hill’s funeral, surrounded by people you once called teammates, allies—friends. The air was heavy, not just with grief but with the weight of everything unspoken. The battles fought, the sacrifices made, the choices that had led you all here. A bitter reunion, one none of you had ever wanted, yet here you were.

Nick Fury stood at the front, silent, his usual unshakable presence dimmed with loss. Steve wasn’t here—he had found his own peace long ago. But Sam stood in his place, the shield at his side, carrying on a legacy that felt both heavy and honorable. Bruce, looking tired but present. Thor, his usual fire subdued. Clint, standing apart, his face unreadable. Yelena, staring at the grave with an expression too familiar—it was the same she had over Natasha’s grave. And then there was you.

You could almost hear Maria’s voice in your head, making some dry remark about how ridiculous this all was. How she never expected a send-off like this.

The world had moved on. Had you?

You weren’t sure. Maybe you never would be.

Maria Hill’s funeral was one of those moments that felt both surreal and inevitable. She had survived so much—wars in the shadows, world-ending threats, betrayals, impossible missions. And yet, here she was, buried under the same earth as everyone else who had been lost along the way. It didn’t seem fair. But then again, nothing ever was.

You stood among the old faces, the ones you thought you’d never see again. All of them lost in a grief you recognized all too well.

And then, there was Tony Stark.

It was brief, just a flicker of movement in your peripheral vision, but you felt it. When you turned, his eyes were already locked onto you, wide with something between disbelief and something else—something deeper.

He looked like he had seen a ghost.

You almost smirked at the irony.

Tony took a step forward, then stopped himself, like he wasn’t sure if you were real or just another memory surfacing at the worst possible time. His expression was unreadable for a moment, then it shifted—subtle, but enough. A hundred unsaid things hanging between you.

“You actually showed up,” he finally said, voice quieter than you remembered, rough around the edges.

“Yeah, well I actually did.”

Tony huffed out something between a chuckle and a scoff, shaking his head. He studied you for a long moment, eyes scanning your face like he was trying to piece together how the hell you ended up here, after everything. After disappearing. After walking away.

“Figured you were done with all this,” he said, gesturing vaguely at the gathered crowd, at the headstone, at the weight of the past pressing down on all of you.

“Yeah. Thought I was too.”

Tony nodded slowly, lips pressing together. “Guess none of us really get to be done, huh?”

You wanted to argue. Wanted to say that wasn’t true. That you were just a normal person now, just here to pay your respects. But standing in front of him, in front of all of them, you weren’t sure if you even believed that anymore.

Before you could respond, someone called Tony’s name. He hesitated, like he wasn’t sure whether to walk away or keep talking, but finally, he just sighed.

“Glad you’re not dead,” he muttered, and with one last glance—one last unreadable look—he turned and walked away.

You stood there for a second, exhaling slowly.

You exhaled, scanning the crowd for an empty seat. The funeral service wasn’t over yet, and as much as you wanted to disappear into the background, you knew that wasn’t happening. Not here. Not with all of them around.

As you moved through the rows of somber faces, you felt a gaze settle on you. You turned slightly—Sam Wilson was watching you. His expression was softer than Tony’s had been, less surprised, more... understanding. Like he knew why you came.

He stepped toward you before you could sit.

“Hey,” he said, offering a small nod.

You nodded back. “Sam… I mean, Cap.”

His lips quivered upward just slightly, but his eyes stayed serious. “Still getting used to that.”

“Mmh,” you hummed, glancing up at him as he makes his way closer to you. “But it suits you.”

Sam held your gaze for a second, then gave a quiet, appreciative nod. “Good to see you again.”

You weren’t sure what to say to that. The words felt heavier than they should, considering the occasion.

“Yeah,” you finally said. “You too.”

You both stood there for a moment in comfortable silence, the weight of shared history lingering between you. Then Sam patted your shoulder once before stepping back, giving you space.

You found an empty seat near the back and sank into it, exhaling slowly. The ceremony continued, but your mind was elsewhere.

You barely had time to settle before someone else moved into your peripheral vision. A figure dressed in black, blonde hair pulled back, sharp green eyes scanning you with that same dry, assessing look you remembered all too well.

Yelena.

She slid into the seat beside you with the kind of ease that said she’d already decided she was sitting there whether you liked it or not. A beat of silence passed before she finally spoke, voice quiet but laced with her usual bluntness.

“No work?”

You huffed out a small, tired laugh, shaking your head. “No. Not anymore.”

She hummed, tilting her head slightly as if she wasn’t convinced. “I find that hard to believe.”

You smirked, glancing at her. “Yeah? And why’s that?”

Yelena shrugged, leaning back in her chair. “Because people like us? We don’t just stop.”

“Well, some did. Even got married and had kids too.” 

Yelene smirked, like she knew something she shouldn’t but just kept it to herself.

The two of you sat in silence after that, listening as someone spoke about Maria’s service, her dedication, her sacrifices.

At some point, Yelena spoke again, softer this time. “She deserved better.”

You swallowed, nodding. “Yeah. She did.”

You turned slightly, studying Yelena’s face. She was staring straight ahead, expression unreadable, but you knew better. Knew that behind that calm exterior was a storm barely kept in check.

“How are you holding up, Yelena?”

She blinked once, then scoffed lightly. “I am here, aren’t I?”

It wasn’t an answer, not really.

You didn’t push, but you didn’t look away either. After a moment, she sighed, shifting in her seat.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, voice quieter now. “It is… strange. I did not know Hill the way you all did. She was not my friend, not my leader. But she was good.” A pause. “And she was important to the people I care about.”

You nodded. “She was one of the best.”

Yelena exhaled, running a hand through her hair. “Everyone I meet in this life, they either leave or they die.” She said it so matter-of-factly, but you heard the weight in her words.

You hesitated before responding. “Yeah. Feels like that sometimes.”

She finally turned her head to look at you, her sharp gaze softer than before. “And you? How are you holding up?”

You almost smirked, because it was just like her to throw the question back at you. But instead, you just sighed.

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

Yelena let out a quiet, knowing chuckle and nodded. “Yeah. You are.”

Yelena leaned back slightly, arms crossed, her gaze drifting over the gathered mourners. Her voice was quiet, but there was a sharp edge beneath it.

“After HYDRA, I just thought you’d never show yourselves to them anymore,” she said, not looking at you. “Nat told me all about it.”

You stiffened at that. The past wasn’t something you liked digging up, not anymore. But of course, Natasha had told her. Of course, Yelena knew.

You swallowed, exhaling slowly. “Yeah. I thought so too.”

She finally turned to look at you, eyes scanning your face like she was trying to figure out if you were the same person from those stories—if you were still the ghost that walked away.

“So, why are you here?” she asked, tilting her head. Not accusing, just curious.

You stared ahead at Maria’s casket, at the faces of the people you once stood beside. People you bled for. People you left behind.

“Because she deserved it,” you answered simply.

Yelena studied you for a moment longer before nodding, as if she understood something you weren’t saying out loud.

“Yeah,” she murmured. “She did.”

The world had felt different back then. Sharper. Clearer. The mission was everything, and you were damn good at it.

You were S.H.I.E.L.D.’s best—one of them, at least. Alongside Natasha, Steve, and Rumlow, you carried out operations that most people wouldn’t even believe were possible. Covert, surgical, necessary. That’s what they told you. That’s what you told yourself.

Until it all unraveled.

Until you saw the truth.

HYDRA had been there all along, twisting the foundation of everything you believed in. Every mission, every kill, every decision you ever justified as being “for the greater good” suddenly felt like a lie. And when the dust settled, when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell and the world moved forward—Steve adapted. Natasha adapted. Even Rumlow, though for entirely different reasons.

But you?

You couldn’t.

It wasn’t just disillusionment. It was something deeper. It felt like PTSD—like waking up every day and realizing you had spent years fighting for the wrong side. Every order, every mission report, every target—they all haunted you now. You questioned every choice, every memory, wondering how you hadn’t seen it sooner.

Natasha tried. She tried harder than anyone. She called, she visited, she argued. She told you that running from it wouldn’t fix anything. That she had blood on her hands too, but they had to keep moving forward. That the world still needed people like you.

You almost believed her. Almost.

But every time you thought about stepping back into the fight, your mind dragged you back to all those years of blind obedience, of unknowingly playing HYDRA’s game. You weren’t like Steve—you didn’t have the unwavering certainty that you were on the right side. You weren’t like Natasha, who could compartmentalize the past and keep pushing forward.

So, you left.

You disappeared into the background, watching as the world changed without you. Watching as the Avengers rose and fell. Watching as Natasha fought battles you should have been there for.

And now? Now she was gone.

Now Maria was gone.

And you were sitting at a funeral, surrounded by ghosts of a past you thought you had buried.

Yelena was still watching you, her sharp gaze cutting through the weight of the memories dragging you down. She always had a way of seeing straight through people, and right now, she was doing exactly that.

“So, that’s why you left,” she said, not really asking. Just stating it like a fact.

You exhaled, running a hand down your face. “Yeah.”

She hummed, nodding slightly. “Nat told me you were one of the best. But also the most stubborn.” A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips, but her eyes stayed serious. “She never gave up on you, you know.”

You swallowed hard. Of course, she didn’t. Natasha never gave up on anyone—not on Yelena, not on Clint, and not on you. Even when she should have.

“I know.”

Yelena was quiet for a moment, as if debating whether to say what was on her mind. Then, with a sigh, she leaned back, arms crossed.

“She wanted you to come back. Not for S.H.I.E.L.D., not for the Avengers. For her.”

You closed your eyes briefly, Natasha’s voice echoing in your head. The arguments, the late-night talks, the way she always tried to pull you back in, even when you resisted.

“I just wish I hugged her before she went,” you murmured.

Yelena nodded. “Yeah. Me too.” She tilted her head slightly. “But you know what? I think she would just be glad you’re here now.”

You let out a quiet breath, not trusting yourself to respond. Because maybe—just maybe—Yelena was right.

The murmurs started before you even turned to look. A shift in the air, the subtle movement of heads turning. And then you saw him.

James Buchanan Barnes.

Only now, he wasn’t the Winter Soldier. Wasn’t even just Bucky.

He was Congressman Barnes.

Dressed in a sharp, dark suit, he moved with a quiet kind of presence, one that still carried the echoes of his past even as he walked a very different path now. The metal arm, once hidden in shadows and secrecy, was now something he no longer concealed. Even in the world of politics, he refused to be anything other than what he was.

Sam was the first to step forward, greeting him with a firm handshake. Despite everything, there was something almost familiar in the way they stood—two men shaped by the past but carrying the weight of the future.

Clint followed, then Bruce, then even Tony, each offering quiet words as Bucky nodded in response. His face remained unreadable, but there was something in his eyes as he looked at Maria’s casket. Something heavy. Something you recognized.

You weren’t sure when you stood up, but suddenly, you were on your feet, watching as Bucky turned, scanning the crowd. His gaze passed over the mourners until, finally, it landed on you.

For a long moment, neither of you said anything.

And then—just barely—Bucky’s head tilted in the smallest of nods.

An acknowledgment. A recognition of the past.

The first time you fought the Winter Soldier, you lost. Badly.

It wasn’t a fair fight—nothing about him ever was. You’d read his file like he was just another name in a long list of ghosts, another relic of the past that didn’t belong in your present. But then he was there, real and deadly, tearing through your team like a force of nature. And when he turned on you, there was no hesitation. No recognition. Just precision. Just the cold efficiency of someone who had spent decades perfecting the art of killing.

You barely walked away from that one.

So when HYDRA fell and he vanished, you didn’t think about him much. You were too busy dealing with your own demons, too busy unraveling the damage that had been done to you—to all of you.

And then, months later, you ran into him again.

Not on a battlefield. Not in some classified report. But in the same damn apartment building in Bucharest.

You didn’t know what you were doing there anymore. Healing, supposedly. Trying to find some kind of normalcy. You doubted Bucky Barnes was looking for the same thing, but here he was, in hiding, moving like a shadow through the city.

You had spotted him once in the marketplace, the metal arm hidden beneath a jacket, the hood pulled up just enough to avoid unwanted eyes. You almost didn’t believe it was him. But then, one night, as you climbed the stairs to your apartment, you caught sight of him at the other end of the hall.

He froze. So did you.

For a long moment, neither of you moved. The last time you had seen each other, he had nearly killed you. Now, here you both were, stripped of war, of missions, of orders.

Just two people trying to figure out what the hell to do with themselves.

Bucky’s grip tightened around the plastic bag in his hand—groceries, you realized. Something about that was almost funny. The Winter Soldier buying groceries.

“Small world,” you muttered, leaning against the railing.

He didn’t respond at first. Just watched you, blue eyes calculating, guarded. Then, after what felt like forever, he finally spoke.

“Yeah. Too small.”

And just like that, he walked past you, disappearing into his apartment without another word.

Neither of you knew it then, but that wouldn’t be the last time you saw each other.

After that first encounter, you started seeing him more often. Not because you were looking for him—at least, that’s what you told yourself—but because it was inevitable. You lived in the same damn building, walked the same hallways, passed by the same fruit stands in the marketplace.

Bucky kept to himself, quiet and distant, but never hostile. You both knew what the other was going through in your own ways. He was in hiding, running from the world that had twisted him into a weapon. You were healing, trying to silence the ghosts of the missions you once believed in.

One night, you sat on the rooftop, staring at the city lights when you heard footsteps behind you. You didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

“You always sit up here?” Bucky’s voice was rough, like he wasn’t used to talking much.

“Yeah,” you answered simply, taking a sip from the bottle in your hand. “Helps clear my head.”

There was a long pause before he stepped closer. For a second, you thought he might leave, but instead, he sat down beside you, staring out at the city.

“Does it work?” he asked.

You huffed a quiet laugh. “Not really.”

That was the first real conversation you had. It wasn’t much, but it was something. A start.

After that, the silence between you wasn’t as heavy. You weren’t friends, not exactly, but there was an understanding. Some nights, you’d pass by each other in the hall, exchange a nod, maybe even a word or two.

“You look like hell,” you muttered once when you saw him returning late, dried blood on his knuckles.

Bucky barely glanced at you. “You don’t look great yourself.”

Another time, you saw him sitting outside a café, hands wrapped around a coffee cup like he wasn’t sure what to do with it. You didn’t join him, but you sat nearby, sipping your own drink in comfortable silence.

It was strange. This thing—whatever it was—that the two of you had. Two ex-operatives, both trying to figure out how to exist without someone giving them orders.

Neither of you ever asked the obvious question: What happens when the past catches up?

Because you both knew the answer.

And when that day finally came, neither of you were ready for it.

When they came for Bucky, you weren’t surprised.

You knew it was only a matter of time before someone found him—whether it was Steve, the government, or the ghosts that wouldn’t let him go. You heard the sirens, the shouting, the gunfire that rattled through the building. By the time you stepped into the hallway, the whole place was wrecked—bullet holes in the walls, shattered glass, debris littering the floor.

And Bucky? Gone.

You didn’t chase after him. You weren’t part of this war, not anymore. That’s what you told yourself, anyway.

Instead, you stayed in that apartment, even after the authorities turned it upside down. They searched every inch, questioning the neighbors, breaking down doors. They trashed everything, looking for clues, for answers. But you? You just sat on the floor of your ruined space, staring at nothing, listening to the world move on without you.

Then the headlines started rolling in.

BUCKY BARNES: WANTED FOR THE UN ATTACK

CAPTAIN AMERICA DEFENDS FUGITIVE SOLDIER

THE AVENGERS DIVIDED—A CIVIL WAR BEGINS

The news showed everything—Bucky on the run, Steve standing by his side, battles breaking out between people who used to fight together. The world called it a war. For everyone else, it was chaos. For you, it was something else entirely.

It was proof that Bucky got out.

That he got to move forward. That Steve fought for him, that he had a chance to rebuild himself. A chance you never took.

And you hated yourself for it.

It wasn’t rational. It wasn’t fair. But as dramatic as it sounded, you felt jealous. Not because Bucky had to fight another war, not because he was hunted again, but because at least he got to fight. At least someone fought for him. At least someone gave a damn.

You needed help. You knew you needed help. But you didn’t know how to ask.

And worse? You didn’t know who would actually give it.

Because when people reached out, when they checked in, it was always for the same reason. They wanted you back in the game. Back in the field. Back to being who you used to be.

Not a single one of them wanted you to be normal.

So you stayed. In that broken apartment, in that quiet space between the past and the future.

And for the first time in a long time, you realized something.

You weren’t in hiding.

You were stuck.

The sound of footsteps pulled you from your thoughts.

You finally stood up.

Your legs felt heavier than they should have, like gravity itself was trying to keep you in your seat, to keep you from facing what was in front of you. But you forced yourself to move.

Step by step, you made your way toward the casket.

The closer you got, the more the weight in your chest tightened, pressing against your ribs like a vice. Maria Hill wasn’t supposed to die. She was supposed to be one of the ones who made it. The last time you spoke, she had been sharp, focused, always one step ahead. That was who she was—the one who held everything together, even when everything else was falling apart.

And now, she was gone.

You swallowed hard as you finally stopped in front of the casket.

For a moment, you just stared at the flag draped over it, at the name that still didn’t feel real when spoken in past tense. Around you, the murmurs of the others faded, drowned out by the sound of the wind rustling through the trees.

You had lost people before. Too many to count.

But this was different.

This wasn’t the battlefield. It wasn’t a mission gone wrong. It was just… the end. And you hated it.

You exhaled slowly, your fingers trailing along the polished wood. You weren’t sure what to say—weren’t even sure if words would matter now.

But you tried anyway.

“…I should’ve been there.”

It wasn’t just about Maria. It was about all of it. About disappearing when you could’ve done something. About watching from the sidelines while the world kept moving without you.

About running instead of facing the people who had never really given up on you.

For a second, you let yourself feel it. The regret. The grief. The years lost to ghosts you never let go of.

And then, as you stood there, you felt a presence beside you.

You didn’t need to look to know who it was.

Tony.

He exhaled sharply, crossing his arms as he stared at the casket. “Hell of a turnout,” he muttered. “She’d probably make some sarcastic comment about it.”

You huffed out something that could’ve been a laugh if it didn’t ache so much. “Yeah. She would.”

Tony glanced at you, his expression unreadable. For a long time, he didn’t say anything. Then, finally, he spoke.

“How are you, kid?”

You swallowed, your voice quieter this time. “Just . . No, Tony.”

Tony studied you for a moment, then nodded, as if that was enough of an answer.

And maybe, for now, it was.

The setting changed from a dim church to the outside field. The grass greener than ever.

It was quiet, somber, the kind of service Maria would have hated—too formal, too sentimental. But it was deserved. People spoke about her, about her service, about how she had been the backbone of S.H.I.E.L.D. long before the world even knew her name. They said she was brilliant, fearless, the kind of person who got things done when no one else could.

And they weren’t wrong.

But the words felt hollow in your chest because, at the end of the day, they were just that—words. They didn’t bring her back. They didn’t make up for everything she gave to a world that barely acknowledged her sacrifice.

The service ended, and people began to scatter, some lingering in small groups, others walking away in silence. You stayed where you were, watching the casket, hands curled into fists at your sides.

Then you heard Tony clear his throat.

“So, uh… we’re heading back to HQ,” he said, hands shoved into the pockets of his suit. “Just—some of us. People who actually knew Maria, not just the political suits who showed up for a headline.” He paused, looking at you. “You should come.”

You hesitated.

Every instinct told you to say no, to find an excuse, to walk away before you got pulled into something you weren’t ready for. You had spent so long staying in the background, avoiding these people, avoiding this.

But then Sam stepped forward, his voice quieter, steadier.

“For Maria,” he said simply. “Not for us. Just… for her.”

You met his gaze, and there was no judgment there. No expectation. Just understanding.

And for some reason, that made it harder to say no.

You exhaled slowly, glancing at the others—Tony, Bucky, Yelena, Clint. People you had once fought beside. People you had once belonged with.

Maybe just for tonight, you could let yourself belong again.

“…Alright,” you muttered. “For Maria.”

Sam clapped a hand on your shoulder, and just like that, you were walking towards his car. The ghosts at your back and the past catching up to you faster than you could outrun it.

no masterlist nor taglist.

divider from: daylighted !

[maddie0101]

the space between us

— based off of THIS request. I hope you like it nonny! ❤︎

summary: you’ve been spiraling for a while and bellamy’s done watching from the sidelines. but when a spacewalk goes wrong, buried truths come crashing to the surface, and neither of you can ignore it anymore.

warnings: kane!reader, set in between s4 & s5, takes place on the ring, feelings of emptiness, depression!, grief, jealousy, worried!bellamy, reader is self destructive, mentions of suicidal thoughts/tendancies, sad fic with happy ending, arguing, angry love confessions!, idiots in love, cussing, starts out pretty gloomy but emotions are all over the place for these two, I promise the end it worth it.

word count: 7.6k (someone plz stop me)

notes: please do not read if this will affect your mental health. reader and bell go from enemies -> best friends -> enemies ish -> lovers. I don’t want to give too much of it away before you guys read, but the reader is dealing with grief. if you ever need anyone to talk to please don’t hesitate to send me a message :)

Space is cold.

It burrows into your bones like ice, coils tight in your gut like a viper ready to strike, and anchors itself in your chest.

It’s not just sadness, it’s grief, thick and suffocating, pressing against your ribs, stealing the breath from your lungs. You wonder if this is what drowning feels like--Not in water, but in silence.

A vast, endless silence that stretches beyond the ring, beyond the stars, beyond anything you can escape. The weight of it crushes you, fills your veins like lead, until even the air around you feels too thin, too fragile, too empty to keep you afloat.

You don’t know how to live with this kind of emptiness. Every breath feels too heavy, like your lungs are filling with lead instead of air. Every step echoes too loudly in the hollow corridors, like the station itself is reminding you just how alone you really are.

You have friends here, sure. Bellamy, Raven, Monty, Harper, Murphy, Echo. But it doesn’t matter. Not really...because one of the people you loved most in this world is gone.

Clarke is gone.

And it hits you like a knife to the gut every single time.

There are moments, cruel small moments where you forget. Where your mind tricks you into believing she’s still here. That if you turn your head fast enough, you’ll see Clarke standing next to you, rolling her eyes at something you said, or giving you that soft, knowing look that meant she understood you better than anyone ever could.

Clarke Griffin had been a part of you for as long as you could remember.

You grew up together on the Ark, side by side through every scraped knee and whispered secret.

When you were kids, you used to sneak through the maintenance tunnels, daring each other to go further, to take more risks, to push the limits of the world you were trapped in. You swore that one day, you’d escape together, that somehow, you’d find a way to live beyond cold metal walls and recycled air.

But you never imagined that escape would come in the form of a drop ship crashing down to Earth, that survival would mean war and blood and impossible choices. But even then, through all the chaos, you had Clarke. She was your constant, your best friend, your family when the world refused to be kind.

And now she was gone.

You still catch yourself turning to look for her, expecting to find her standing beside you, arms crossed, expression unreadable as she weighed every decision like the world depended on it, because, most of the time, it did.

But there’s nothing there anymore, just empty space.

You remember the way she trusted you, even when no one else did. The way she argued with you, pushed you to be better, made you believe in things you never thought possible.

And now she’s just gone.

The grief is unbearable. It’s a sharp, endless ache that settles deep in your chest, suffocating and inescapable. It keeps you awake at night, staring at the ceiling of the Ark, wondering if she suffered, if she was afraid, if she thought of you in those final moments.

You hate that you left her behind. You hate that you listened when she told you to go, to save yourself. You hate that you couldn’t find a way to save her.

Because now, for the first time in your life, you have to face this world alone.

And you don’t know how.

You had Clarke, you had your dad, and you had Bellamy, but now you have nobody.

Your father had always been a pillar of strength in your life. Marcus Kane, the man who had raised you with steady hands and a quiet kind of love. He wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot, but he was there. Even when he was forced to be more of a leader than a father, even when his duty to the Ark overshadowed his duty to you, you always knew he cared. You saw it in the way he softened when he spoke to you, in the way his voice lost its usual edge when he said your name.

And now you have no idea if he’s even still alive.

The thought destroys you. He’s down there, somewhere, trapped in a bunker deep beneath the earth, buried under rock and rubble.

You don’t know if he’s okay.

You don’t know if he has food, if he has air, if he’s even still breathing. The last time you saw him, he was fighting, surviving, but that was six months ago.

And six months is a long time.

You tell yourself he’s fine. He’s your dad, after all. He’s always been stubborn, always found a way to make it through. But doubt creeps in, curling around your ribs.

What if something went wrong? What if the bunker collapsed? What if you never see him again?

You can’t even send a message. Can’t hear his voice. Can’t tell him that you’re okay, that you made it, that you’re still up here breathing while he’s buried underground.

And it fucking kills you.

The doubt eats at you and the not knowing is unbearable.

And now, Bellamy is all you have left. At least, you thought you had him.

The two of you didn’t start off as friends. Far from it. Bellamy was reckless, arrogant, and dead set on ruling the camp with his bullshit “Whatever the hell we want” mantra. You saw it as chaos, and you had enough of that in your life already. Clarke had been the only one thinking straight, and you backed her up every single time, standing beside her, arguing against Bellamy, calling him out on his idiotic choices.

And God, did that piss him off.

The two of you would go toe to toe, screaming in each other’s faces until your throats were raw. He was infuriating. Stubborn. Impossible. And yet, somewhere in the middle of all those heated fights, things shifted. One day, you just… stopped. Not because either of you won, but because the war between you was exhausting. You had bigger enemies than each other.

So, you called a truce. Agreed to be civil.

Somewhere along the way, civility turned into friendship. Then you became best friends.

Bellamy became the person you didn’t even realize you needed.

You’d stay up late, lying in the grass, staring at the stars, talking about everything and nothing. You’d argue, but this time, it wasn’t about power or control, it was about books, about history, about whether a hot meal was worth trading for extra rations. He had your back in every fight, through every nightmare, through every horror you endured on the ground and you had his.

It wasn’t even a question. Bellamy Blake was your person.

But the problem was, you were in love with him.

You don’t know when it started, not exactly. Maybe it was the way he shielded you with his own body when things went to hell. Maybe it was the way his voice softened when he said your name, like you were something worth protecting. Maybe it was how he challenged you, how he saw you, how he could piss you off one second and make you laugh the next.

Or maybe you were just doomed from the start.

Bellamy was beautiful, always had been. That much, you could admit, but it infuriated you at first, watching him flirt, watching different women disappear into his tent for the night.

You told yourself you didn’t care, that it didn’t matter, but you hated it. Hated the way jealousy coiled hot and ugly inside you. Hated how you’d lie awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering what it would be like to have him that way. To be the one he wanted.

But he never saw you like that. Not really.

Sure, he flirted sometimes, but Bellamy flirted with everyone. It was just who he was. And you weren’t about to fool yourself into thinking you were special.

And now, watching him grow closer to Echo, you know for sure you’ve lost him.

It’s different with her. It’s not just flirting. It’s not just meaningless glances or teasing smirks. It’s real. You see it in the way they talk, the way he looks at her, the way he lets her in and it breaks you. It shatters something deep in your chest, something you barely had a hold on to begin with.

Bellamy doesn’t talk to you the way he used to. Not anymore. Not like before, when the two of you would sit shoulder to shoulder, whispering in the dark, the silence of space stretching around you like your own little world. Not like before, when he’d seek you out first, when you’d catch him staring at you across the room, when he’d smirk at you like you were the only one who understood the joke.

Now, he’s with her.

Now, when you walk into a room, he’s already there—already talking to her and when he finally looks at you, it’s not the same.

He still cares, you know that. But there’s a distance now, something thick and unspoken between you and maybe it’s your fault. Maybe you pulled away first, maybe you built the wall between you before he even had the chance. But it doesn’t matter, because now it’s there, and it’s suffocating you.

You tell yourself it’s fine. That you don’t care. That you knew this would happen, that you always knew he’d move on, that he’d find someone else, that he’d never, never look at you the way you’ve spent years looking at him.

But it hurts. It hurts like nothing else ever has.

And maybe that’s the worst part—because you thought losing Clarke was the thing that would break you. You thought losing your father would be the thing to finally push you over the edge. But this...watching the one person you still have left slip through your fingers without even noticing—this is the thing that kills you.

First Clarke. Then your father. And now, him.

You have nothing left. Nothing but the void of space, the weight of grief, and a slow, suffocating sense that maybe, just maybe, you don’t even care if you make it through this anymore.

So you stop caring.

It’s not dramatic, not some grand, self-destructive decision. It’s quieter than that. A slow unraveling, thread by thread, until one day you wake up and realize you don’t give a shit what happens to you.

It starts small. Skipping meals because food supplies are limited and someone else needs it more. Telling yourself it’s noble, that it’s selfless, that it doesn’t matter if you eat or not. But the truth is, you just don’t care. You don’t feel hunger the way you used to, it’s dulled, just like everything else. The ache in your stomach is just another sensation you’ve learned to ignore, another part of you that feels hollow.

Staying up through the night, taking extra shifts because sleep is pointless. When you close your eyes, all you see is Clarke’s face, hear her voice like an echo trapped inside your skull. It’s easier to stay awake, to keep moving, to let exhaustion press down on you like a weight. The burn in your muscles, the heaviness in your limbs—it’s almost comforting.

Proof that you’re still here, still breathing. Still fighting, even if you don’t know why.

Volunteering for maintenance in the oxygen garden, even when the air is thick and stifling, clogging your lungs and making your head spin. You push through it, let the dizziness wash over you without stopping. The others take breaks, stepping outside to gulp in fresher air, but you stay. You work until your hands are raw, until sweat drips down your back and your vision blurs at the edges.

Until someone forces you to stop. “You’re running yourself into the ground,” he Bellamy mutters when you pass him in the hallway, his eyes flicking over your tired frame.

You shrug. “Nothing else to do.”

His frown deepens, but you don’t give him the chance to say more, you just keep walking.

The next time, it’s when you skip another meal, pushing your tray away without touching it. Bellamy’s sitting across from you, arms crossed over his chest, watching. “You gonna eat, or just sit there and pretend you don’t need food like the rest of us?”

“Not hungry,” you say, just like before. Just like always.

“That’s bullshit.”

You glance up, meet his stare, feel the weight of it pressing down on you. You know he’s waiting for you to crack, to get mad, to argue back--but you don’t. You just stand up and walk away, leaving the untouched food behind.

But It keeps happening.

“Get some sleep, you look like hell.”

“You’re working yourself to death.”

“Do you even hear yourself anymore?”

Each time, you brush him off. A shrug, a muttered response, a look that dares him to push harder. But he doesn’t—not yet. Not fully. He just watches. Studies you. And you can feel it, the weight of his concern, the way it coils between you like a rope pulled too tight, ready to snap. It lingers in every glance, every clipped conversation, every moment you pretend not to notice the way his eyes follow you across the room.

But you don’t stop.

You take the worst shifts, the ones no one wants, the ones that leave your hands shaking and your body aching. You push yourself harder, longer, testing your limits just to see if you still have any. The exhaustion, the hunger, the strain—it doesn’t matter.

None of it does.

The exhaustion barely registers anymore. You wear it like a second skin, let it settle into your bones, into the spaces grief hollowed out. Sleep is a distant memory, hunger nothing more than an afterthought. Your hands shake sometimes, but it doesn’t matter.

None of it fucking matters.

“We’ve got a problem.” Raven's words pull you back into the present, though barely. You stand near the console, arms crossed, waiting. It’s always something. Something breaking, something failing, something threatening to kill you all.

“What kind of problem?” Bellamy asks, stepping in beside Raven.

“External panel’s shot,” she says, frustration clear in her voice. “Coupling’s failing. If we don’t fix it, we’re looking at a full systems failure.”

It clicks instantly, an EVA. Someone has to go outside. “I’ll do it,” you say, stepping forward before anyone else can speak.

Bellamy reacts immediately, like he was waiting for you to pull this exact kind of shit. “No,” he snaps, eyes flashing. “Not happening.”

You don’t even look at him. “Raven can’t do it,” you say, voice cold, detached. “Her leg—”

“I can still—” Raven starts, but you cut her off.

“You can’t,” you say sharply, turning to her. “You know you can’t.”

Raven hesitates. She hates it, hates admitting that she has limits now, but she doesn’t argue. She knows you’re right.

“I was training to be a zero-g mechanic before I got arrested,” you continue, gaze flicking back to Bellamy. “That means I’m next in line.”

“I don’t give a shit,” he says, stepping closer, voice low and furious. “We’ll find another way.”

“There is no other way.”

“You’re not going out there.”

You stare at him, jaw tightening. “Yes, I am.”

His hands flex at his sides, like he’s physically restraining himself from grabbing you, shaking some sense into you. His voice drops even lower, barely more than a growl. “You’re not doing this.”

But then Raven sighs, running a hand through her hair. “She’s right.”

Bellamy’s head snaps toward her. “Raven—”

“As much as I hate it,” Raven says, glaring at you like she wants to punch you for putting her in this position, “she’s the best option we’ve got.”

That should be the end of it, decision made. But Bellamy is still looking at you like you just threw yourself out the airlock. “You don’t have to do this,” he says, quieter now, but no less intense.

You hold his gaze. “Yeah. I do.” You mutter before you turn on your heel and walk away. No more arguing. No more justifying. You don’t look back, don’t slow down, don’t give Bellamy or Raven a chance to say anything else.

Bellamy stands there, frozen, watching you disappear down the corridor. His chest feels too tight, like all the oxygen’s been sucked from the ring.

“She’s not okay,” Raven mutters, breaking the silence.

Bellamy’s jaw clenches. “Yeah, no shit.” His voice is sharp, but it’s not aimed at her. He’s pissed at himself, pissed at you, pissed at the situation they’re stuck in.

“She’s been different,” Raven continues, arms crossed as she shakes her head. “Ever since we lost Clarke, ever since—” She stops herself, but they both know what she means. Ever since you started pulling away, throwing yourself into danger like it’s the only thing keeping you standing.

Bellamy exhales sharply, dragging a hand down his face. “I’ve tried, Raven. I’ve tried talking to her, tried getting through to her, but she just—” He swallows hard, glancing down the hall like he could still catch a glimpse of you. “She shuts me out. Every damn time.”

Raven sighs. “You think I don’t know that? She’s been shutting everyone out. But Bellamy—she doesn’t care what happens to her.”

His stomach twists at the words. He knows it. He’s known it for a while, but hearing Raven say it out loud makes it feel too real.

“She’s not just being reckless,” Raven continues. “She’s self-destructing.”

Bellamy turns to her, eyes dark with frustration and something that looks dangerously close to fear. “And we’re just supposed to let her?”

Raven gives him a look. “You think I want this? You think I don’t hate it just as much as you do? But tell me—who else can do this job? I can’t.” She gestures to her leg, frustration flickering across her face. “And neither can anyone else up here. She’s the only one trained for it, Bellamy.”

He presses his lips into a thin line, his fists clenching at his sides. “That doesn’t mean we send her out there knowing she doesn’t give a shit if she comes back.”

Raven’s voice softens. “What other choice do we have?”

Bellamy doesn’t answer.

Because there isn’t one and that terrifies him.

The airlock chamber is cold and sterile. The hum of the machinery around you is the only sound, a dull buzz that fills the silence as you methodically strap yourself into the spacesuit. The motions are automatic, tightening the seals, adjusting the fit—your hands working without your mind fully registering what you’re doing. It doesn’t really matter. Nothing really does.

You barely hear the door open behind you, but you know it’s him before he even says a word.

Bellamy steps into the room, and for a second, he just watches you. You can feel his eyes on you, heavy with something you don’t want to name. Concern. Worry. Fear?

You keep your focus on the straps, but then his hands are suddenly there too, brushing against yours as he starts helping.

You don’t stop him. His fingers tighten the fastenings at your shoulders, a little rougher than necessary, like he’s trying to ground you. Like he’s trying to keep you here.

“You don’t have to do this,” he says, voice low but firm.

You do but you don’t say that. Instead, you just let him help, let him double-check every strap, every seal, even though you’ve already done it yourself.

You don’t argue, don’t pull away, because you know this is the only way he can feel like he has some control. He moves in front of you, adjusting the collar of the suit, his jaw tight, eyes dark. “Be careful.”

That’s when you finally look at him—really look at him. And whatever he sees in your face, it fucking destroys him.

His breath catches, just for a second, but you notice. His grip on your suit tightens, like he wants to shake you, wants to snap you out of whatever this is.

But he doesn’t, because he knows it won’t work, because all he sees in your eyes is emptiness.

Not determination, not even fear, just… nothing. And It scares the shit out of him.

You don’t say anything at first. You probably should, you know you should, but there’s nothing to say. So you settle on the only thing that feels appropriate. “Thanks,” you murmur, voice hollow.

His throat bobs as he swallows, like he wants to say something else, but he doesn’t.

Instead, he just whispers, “Be careful,” like it’s the only thing keeping him from losing his goddamn mind. You meet his gaze for another second, but then you turn away, reaching for your helmet.

Bellamy should say something. He should stop you, pull you back, make you feel something, anything—other than this emptiness that’s swallowed you whole. But the words won’t come. They lodge in his throat, tangled up with the panic that’s clawing its way through his chest.

Because he knows that look in your eyes.

He’s seen it before—too many times. On the ground, in the war-torn faces of people who had lost everything. In Clarke’s eyes before she pulled that lever in Mount Weather. In his own reflection after too many bodies had piled up under his command. That look, the quiet, hollow resignation, is what people wear when they’ve already decided they have nothing left to lose.

And now it’s on you.

He watches, helpless, as you slide the helmet over your head, locking it into place with smooth, practiced movements. You don’t hesitate. Don’t fumble. You just…do it. Like it doesn’t matter, like you don’t matter.

And the airlock doors hiss, the warning lights flashing as the chamber begins to seal. Bellamy takes a step forward but then stops, fists clenching at his sides. He can’t stop this. Raven already made the call. And you—fuck, you’re too stubborn to listen to him even if he tried.

Still, his heart is pounding. His pulse roaring in his ears. Because as the final barrier closes between you, cutting off the sound of your breath, the shift of your movements, it hits him like a gut punch.

You’re out of his reach now and Bellamy can’t fucking breathe. It slams into him all at once, the fear, the helplessness, the realization that he might actually lose you.

Not in the way he’s been losing you these past few weeks, watching you slip further and further away, your laughter fading, your fire dimming. That was bad enough. But this? This is something worse.

This is real. This is now.

His hands twitch at his sides, useless. He should be in there with you, should be the one stepping into the vacuum of space instead. But he isn’t. He’s here, standing behind a reinforced door, watching as you drift further and further from him—physically, emotionally, completely.

And the fear claws at his throat, tightening with every second that passes. It’s the same fear that’s been gnawing at the edges of his mind for weeks, ever since he started noticing the way you were slipping. The way you stopped laughing. The way you stopped arguing with him—not because you agreed, but because you didn’t care. The way your eyes, once so full of fire and fight, had dulled into something hollow and distant.

He should’ve done more. Should’ve pushed harder. Should’ve made you talk to him instead of letting you shut him out. Because now? Now he’s fucking terrified.

Not just that something could go wrong out there, though that thought alone makes his stomach churn—but that maybe, just maybe, you wouldn’t fight it if it did.

Maybe you wouldn’t even try to come back.

The thought sends ice through his veins, and his breath comes sharp and uneven as he watches you through the glass, watches you moving with the same quiet detachment you’ve had for weeks, like nothing fucking matters.

Like you don’t matter. “Goddamn it,” he mutters under his breath, barely aware that he’s spoken.

Raven shifts beside him, arms crossed, eyes locked on the glass. “She’s gonna be fine, Bellamy,” she says, but her voice lacks its usual sharp confidence.

"I hope so." Bellamy mutters, praying for you to make it back safely.

The vast emptiness of space stretches around you, endless and dark, broken only by the cold metal of the ring and the distant glow of Earth below. You move slowly, using the safety tether to guide yourself along the outer structure of the Ring. The damaged panel is a few meters ahead, wires sparking faintly in the low gravity.

“Alright,” Raven’s voice crackles through the comms. “You need to secure yourself to the framework before you start. That panel’s loose, and the last thing we need is you floating off into the abyss.”

Bellamy tenses at the thought, but you just give a clipped, “Got it.”

Your movements are precise, practiced. You lock your tether to the nearest anchor point, then reach for your tools. The exposed wires are a tangled mess, some of them burned out, others frayed from whatever hit the station.

“Looks like a power relay took most of the damage,” you report. “I’ll need to reroute the flow before replacing the panel.”

“Copy that,” Raven says. “Take your time.”

Bellamy huffs out a breath. “Not too much time.”

You don’t respond, just keep working, fingers steady as you disconnect the ruined wires and begin patching in new ones. The silence stretches, except for the occasional instruction from Raven.

Bellamy watches, his gut twisting with every careful movement you make. You’re good at this—he knows that. You trained for it but that doesn’t stop the fear from gnawing at his insides.

Then, your hand slips. It’s small, barely even a mistake, but Bellamy sees it—the half-second where your grip falters, where your fingers hesitate before tightening again.

His heart slams into his ribs. “You good?” he asks, voice sharp.

“Yeah,” you say flatly. “Just adjusting.”

He doesn’t buy it. “Be careful,” he says, and it’s not a warning—it’s a plea.

For a moment, there’s nothing but silence. Then, finally, you answer. “Yeah,” you say, voice quiet, detached. “I know.”

The first sign that something is wrong isn’t the alarm, it’s the way your body suddenly jerks backward. One second, you’re gripping the panel, fingers steady as you adjust a wire. The next, you’re yanked off balance, spinning weightlessly as your tether strains against the sudden force.

Then the alarm blares.

WARNING: OXYGEN LEAK DETECTED.

“Shit—shit!” Raven’s voice cuts through the comms. “Y/N, your suit—”

You barely register her words before your back collides with the ring. Hard. The impact knocks the air from your lungs, not that there’s much to lose in this vacuum. Pain explodes along your ribs, sharp and searing, but you barely react. You don’t have time. You reach for the emergency sealant on your suit, fingers fumbling as precious oxygen hisses out into the abyss.

And Bellamy’s voice slams into you next. “Y/N!” It’s not just fear you hear, it’s terror—raw and unfiltered.

You quickly find the breach. A tear along your left side, jagged and leaking life into the void. Your hands are shaking, but you manage to slap the sealant patch over the hole, pressing down until the hissing stops. Your oxygen stabilizes but barely.

“Leak’s patched,” you say, panting. “I’m good.”

“The hell you are!” Bellamy is livid. “Get back inside. Now.”

You don’t respond, completely choosing to ignore his demand. Instead, you reach for the wires again, forcing yourself to focus. You’re almost done. If you can just—

“Y/N, stop!” Raven snaps. “You just got thrown against the ring, you’re leaking oxygen, and—holy shit, are you hurt?”

You blink, trying to push past the dizziness clouding your vision. “I can still finish this.”

Bellamy curses under his breath. “Y/N, listen to me. Your suit is compromised. You could die out there.”

But that’s the thing, you don’t care, not really—so you keep working.

“Goddamn it,” Bellamy seethes. “Get back inside. Now.”

You don’t. You keep working, hands moving through the pain, through the weight pressing against your ribs. You can feel where the impact bruised you, where every breath pulls tight and sharp, but you push past it. You have to finish this.

“Y/N.” Bellamy’s voice is razor-edged, frantic. “I swear to God, if you don’t turn around and get your ass back inside—”

You ignore him.

“Y/N!”

His voice crackles through the speaker, raw and unrelenting, but you block it out.

“You’re being reckless—damn it, just listen to me!”

Still, you don’t stop.

“Raven, tell her—”

“She muted us,” Raven cuts in, voice hollow.

Bellamy stills. “What?”

“She—” Raven exhales sharply, glancing at the monitor. “She fucking muted us.”

Bellamy’s stomach drops. His hands curl into fists at his sides, useless, helpless. His breath is heavy, ragged, heart slamming against his ribs as he watches you continue—silent, cut off from him completely.

His jaw clenches. “Fuck.” He moves toward the airlock, every instinct screaming at him to do something, anything—but Raven grabs his arm, yanking him back. “You can’t go out there,” she says, voice tight. “She’s almost done.”

“She’s fucking hurt, Raven!”

“And she’s still the best shot we’ve got at fixing this,” Raven snaps. “She wouldn’t be out there otherwise.”

Bellamy shakes his head, hands gripping his hair. “She shouldn’t be out there at all.”

Raven doesn’t argue because she knows he’s right.

On the screen, you move quickly but your fingers are steady despite everything.

No hesitation, no fear, no regard for your own damn life.

Bellamy watches in agonizing silence, tension coiled so tightly in his chest he can barely breathe. His nails dig into his palms as each second drags by, as you move with a focus that terrifies him.

Then, finally—You push off the panel, securing the last wire in place. The system stabilizes and the warning lights shift, flickering back to green.

It’s done. You did it.

Bellamy exhales shakily. Relief floods through his chest first, sharp and fleeting. Then the anger, then the frustration and then the gut-wrenching fear that’s been clawing at him since the moment you stepped into that suit. And the second you unmute the comms, his voice slams into you like a freight train.

“Get. Back. Inside.”

It’s not a request. It’s not even an order. It’s a demand laced with fury, desperation, and something you can’t quite name.

And it immediately sends a shiver rolling down your spine.

The airlock decompresses with a deep hiss, the artificial gravity settling over you like a weight and your body protests immediately. Every muscle aches, along with the impact from earlier sending a sharp, radiating pain through your ribs. You wince, rolling your shoulders, but you don’t let yourself dwell on it.

The doors slide open with a hiss and Bellamy is standing there, waiting—pissed.

His arms are crossed over his chest, his jaw tight, and his eyes are dark with barely restrained fury. The second he sees you, his glare sharpens, cutting through the space between you like a blade.

You ignore it. Stepping past him, you reach for the clasps of your suit, peeling the thick layers away from your body. The adrenaline is wearing off now, leaving exhaustion and pain in its wake. But you keep moving, methodical and unbothered, until—

“What the fuck was that?” Bellamy’s voice is sharp and unrelenting.

You sigh, not bothering to look at him as you undo the chest plate. “Fixing the power relay.”

“Don’t,” he snaps. “Don’t act like that was just another job. You nearly got yourself killed out there.”

“I didn’t.” You keep your tone flat, unphased, shoving the gloves off your hands.

“You muted me,” he growls. “You ignored every goddamn thing I was saying, and then—”

“Because I needed to focus.” You exhale sharply, finally looking at him. “And I fixed it, didn’t I?”

Bellamy stares at you like he doesn’t recognize you. His hands flex at his sides, fists clenching and unclenching. “That’s not the point.”

“Then what is the point, Bellamy?” you snap, yanking at the last layer of the suit, wincing slightly when it tugs at your ribs. “That I didn’t listen to you? That I didn’t crawl back the second you told me to?”

“The point,” he grits out, stepping closer, “is that you don’t care if you make it back at all.”

Something in your chest tightens but you ignore it.

Bellamy shakes his head, breath unsteady, hands trembling with the force of his anger, but beneath it, beneath all of it—is fear. Real, consuming, gut-wrenching fear.

“You think I haven’t noticed?” His voice is lower now, rougher. “You think I don’t see what you’re doing?” He gestures at you, his expression twisting. “Skipping meals, taking shifts no one else will, volunteering for every dangerous job that comes up—you think I don’t know what that means?”

Your throat feels tight, but you refuse to look away.

Bellamy swallows hard. “You want to burn yourself out, don’t you?”

There's nothing but silence. You hold his gaze, heart slamming against your bruised ribs. He searches your face, waiting—begging for a denial, but you don’t give him one. And that’s what breaks him the most.

You don’t speak—you don’t even look at him as a tear slips down your cheek, but you don’t wipe it away. You won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing you break, of proving his words right. Instead, you finish peeling off the last of your spacesuit, ignoring the sting in your muscles, the ache in your ribs where you slammed into the ring.

The suit is heavier than it should be as you hang it back up. It feels like closing a door, like leaving something behind, and for a brief second, you wish you could step out of your own skin and leave yourself behind too.

Bellamy doesn’t move. He stands there, stiff, furious, seething in the kind of silence that feels like a countdown to something explosive. Still, you say nothing and turn, walking away.

But as your luck has it, he follows. “Hey.” His voice is sharp, like a blade drawn too fast. “Don’t walk away from me.”

You keep walking, ignoring his footsteps behind you.

“Y/N.”

Your fingers curl around your bedroom door, heart hammering, but before you can slam it shut, Bellamy’s hand shoves against it, stopping you with ease. You whip around, furious. “Get out.”

He doesn’t move. Instead, he steps inside and then with a slow, deliberate motion, he turns and locks the door behind him.

Your pulse jumps. “What the hell are you doing?”

Bellamy’s chest rises and falls, his breath harsh, his whole body thrumming with barely contained frustration. “No, what the hell are you doing?” His voice is low, rough, shaking with something deeper than anger. “Because whatever this is, whatever the fuck you’ve been doing—it’s not survival, Y/N. It’s suicide.”

His words hit harder than they should. You swallow against the lump in your throat, but it doesn’t go away. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Bellamy lets out a hollow laugh, but there’s no humor in it, just disbelief, just pain. “The hell I don’t,” he snaps. “You throw yourself into danger every chance you get. You don’t eat. You don’t sleep. You push yourself until you can barely stand, and you act like it doesn’t matter. Like you don’t matter.”

Your hands clench into fists at your sides. “Why do you care?”

The question stuns him into silence for a second and then—“Are you serious?” Bellamy takes a step closer, voice rising, eyes dark with anger. “Are you actually asking me that?”

Your pulse pounds in your ears, breath coming fast. “Yeah, Bellamy. I am.”

His hands clench at his sides, like he’s fighting the urge to grab you, to shake some goddamn sense into you. “How the hell can you even say that?” His voice cracks on the words, but it only fuels his frustration. “After everything we’ve been through, after everything I’ve done for you—you think I don’t care?”

You let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Really? Because it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it.”

Bellamy’s nostrils flare. “That’s bullshit.”

“Is it?” You take a step forward, closing the space between you, shoving your finger against his chest. “Because you sure don’t act like you care. You’re always with Echo, always making sure she’s okay, always talking to her—”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Bellamy growls, running a hand through his hair, pacing for a second before spinning back to you. “This isn’t about Echo!”

“Like hell it isn’t!” Your voice rises, shaking with anger, with exhaustion, with months of built-up resentment. “Ever since we got up here, it’s like I don’t even exist to you anymore! Like I could disappear tomorrow and you wouldn’t even notice!”

Bellamy’s face twists, his anger turning sharp. “Are you fucking kidding me?” His voice is dangerously low now, like a storm rolling in. “You’re the one who shut me out, Y/N. You stopped talking to me. You’re the one who left me first.”

The words hit you like a slap. Your hands tremble at your sides, your chest rising and falling too fast, too erratic. “That’s not—”

“Yes, it is!” Bellamy shouts, voice raw now, ragged with emotion. “You pulled away from me, you buried yourself in every reckless job you could find, like you were just waiting for something to fucking kill you! And what was I supposed to do, huh? Stand there and watch?”

Your whole body is shaking now, rage and hurt battling for control. “You don’t get to act like this is my fault!”

“I don’t?” He lets out a hollow, furious laugh. “Are you hearing yourself right now?”

Your eyes burn. “I needed you, Bellamy,” you whisper, voice trembling, but there’s still fire behind it. “And you weren’t there.”

He stares at you like you just knocked the air from his lungs. “I wasn’t—” He shakes his head, disbelief flashing in his eyes. “That’s not fucking fair.”

You bark out another humorless laugh. “Fair? Fair? You want to talk about fair?” Your voice is almost hysterical now, the emotions clawing at your throat, ripping their way out. “I lost my dad. I lost Clarke. And now—” Your voice cracks, your breath catching, and you shake your head, like you can stop the truth from falling from your lips. But it’s too late. You swallow hard. “And now I’ve lost you too.”

Bellamy flinches, like the words physically hurt him. His jaw tightens, his chest rising and falling too fast. “You haven’t lost me,” he grits out, barely more than a whisper. “I’m right here.”

“No, you’re not,” you snap, voice breaking, hands trembling. “You haven’t been here in a long time.”

Bellamy shakes his head, his frustration boiling over again. “That’s not true.”

“Then why do I feel like it is?” Your voice cracks, the rawness slipping through, the vulnerability you’ve been trying so fucking hard to hold back.

Bellamy exhales sharply, raking a hand through his hair. “Y/N, I—”

“Just forget it,” you mutter, turning away, chest heaving, because this is getting too close, too painful, and you can’t do this anymore.

But Bellamy won’t let it go. He moves closer, voice lowering but no less intense. “No. I’m not just gonna forget it. You think I don’t care? You think I don’t give a shit whether you live or die?” He lets out a harsh, bitter laugh. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

You snap your head back toward him, eyes blazing. “Well, what the hell am I supposed to think, Bellamy? You’ve barely even looked at me for months. Every time I turn around, you’re with her.”

Bellamy’s expression twists, his face turning red with frustration. “Because Echo was suicidal, Y/N! She was barely holding on, and I—I was just trying to keep her from jumping off the goddamn edge!”

You flinch at the words, at the way his voice cracks with them. For a second, just a second, the anger wavers but then it snaps back into place, because it still doesn’t change anything. You shake your head, eyes burning. “And what about me?”

Bellamy stills.

You swallow hard, voice breaking now. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe I was barely holding on too?”

The room goes silent. Bellamy’s breath stutters, his face paling.

You suck in a shaky breath, tears threatening to spill, but you push through it, force yourself to keep going. “You were so busy saving her, you didn’t even notice I was drowning too.”

His lips part, his throat working like he wants to say something—anything but nothing comes out.

Your hands curl into fists, your whole body trembling with too many emotions at once. And then, before you can stop yourself, before you can shove it back down where it’s been buried for so long—A sob rips from your throat.

Tears spill down your face, hot and unstoppable, and you hate it—hate that you’re falling apart in front of him, hate that he still has this power over you. But you can’t take it anymore. Not the distance, not the hurt, not the way his voice keeps cutting into you like a blade.

Bellamy’s face twists, something breaking in his expression as he watches you unravel. “Y/N—”

“No!” Your voice cracks, ragged and raw, and you shove at his chest, frustration and pain mixing into one. “I can’t do this anymore, Bellamy! I can’t—” You shake your head wildly, barely able to breathe through the sobs clawing their way out. “I can’t keep pretending like I don’t feel this. Like it doesn’t fucking kill me every time you look right through me.”

Bellamy flinches like you just struck him. “That’s not fair,” he snaps, but his voice is weaker now, desperate. “You left first—”

“Because I had to!” you shout, voice breaking. “Because I couldn’t stand being near you anymore! Not when you—” Your breath stutters, your chest heaving as your whole body shakes. “Not when you love her.”

Bellamy’s brows furrow, his frustration surging again. “Goddamn it, Y/N, stop it!” His voice is sharp, cutting, but there’s something fraying at the edges, something just as fragile as you are. “This isn’t about Echo!”

“Then what the hell is it about?” you cry, throwing your hands in the air. “Because all I know is that every time I look at you, I feel like I’m losing you all over again!”

His jaw clenches, his hands twitching at his sides like he doesn’t know whether to grab you or walk away. “You’re not losing me,” he grits out, voice hoarse.

“Yes, I am!” Your voice rises again, hysteria creeping into it. “I already have, Bellamy! And you know what?” You let out a hollow, bitter laugh, shaking your head, tears dripping from your chin. “It’s my own fucking fault.”

Bellamy’s breath stutters, his eyes searching yours, frantic now, desperate. “Y/N—”

“Because I fell in love with you!” The words burst out of you, torn straight from your chest, too loud, too raw, too fucking real.

The room goes deathly silent and Bellamy stills, his whole body locking up. His lips part, his throat working, but no words come.

The silence shatters something inside you. It’s worse than him yelling, worse than him fighting back. The nothingness stretches between you like a gaping wound, and you feel yourself bleeding out, piece by piece, breath by breath.

You let out a choked, humorless laugh, shaking your head as fresh tears burn down your cheeks. “Forget it,” you whisper, voice cracking. “Forget I said anything.”

You turn, reaching for the door, ready to escape, but then Bellamy moves—fast. Before you can take another step, his hands are on your face, cupping your tear stained cheeks, fingers tangling in your hair, holding you there. His grip is firm, almost desperate, like he’s afraid you’ll disappear if he lets go and then he kisses you. Hard.

It’s not soft or careful. It’s raw, and feverish, like a dam breaking, like months, years of unspoken words and bottled-up feelings crashing down all at once. He pours everything into it, into you, and the moment his lips move against yours, a sob catches in your throat.

Your hands grasp at his jacket, fisting the fabric as your knees nearly give out. Bellamy groans against your lips, pressing closer, his hands sliding down to your waist, pulling you against him like he’s trying to mold your body to his.

The kiss is messy, desperate, almost too much and not enough all at once. It’s teeth and tongue and aching hunger, his breath mixing with yours, his heartbeat hammering against your own. You feel alive again, like every shattered piece of you is finally snapping back into place.

When you finally break apart, you’re both gasping, foreheads pressed together, hands still clinging to each other like lifelines.

Bellamy’s voice is hoarse, wrecked. “I love you.”

Your breath shudders out, and you blink up at him, eyes still glassy with tears. “You—you do?”

Bellamy lets out a breath that sounds almost like a laugh, but there’s nothing amused about it. “Of course I do,” he murmurs, brushing his thumb over your cheek, his other hand still tangled in your hair. “I always have.”

Another sob rises in your throat, but this time, it’s not from heartbreak.

It’s relief. Overwhelming, breathtaking relief.

Bellamy presses another kiss to your lips, softer this time, slower—like he’s memorizing you, like he never wants to stop.

And for the first time in a long time, neither of you have to run anymore.

author’s note:

hiii! I hope this one wasn’t too much of a downer 😅 probably one of the most deeply emotional works I’ve written. I know it started out v sad in the beginning but I like to describe how it makes the reader feel so that you guys know where y/n is coming from.

nonny, I hope this is what you were looking for? I know it’s not straight up enemies to lovers but I added a little twist. figured since the reader was clarke’s best friend and co leader of the 100 she and bellamy would’ve gotten along at one point.

anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed! If anyone wants to request anything please see the link below and read the rules before submitting :)

— requests are open.ᐟᅟ please read request rules.ᐟᅟ

tags:

@rubydacherry42 @chalametsangel @imsiriuslyreal (lmk if I’ve missed anyone)

If you would like to be tagged please fill out THIS form and I will add you to the list! ❤︎

my works

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[nerdly-berbly]

It's so important to Homestuck's narrative that Dirk and Roxy shouldn't have a romantic bond.

Homestuck is a webcomic about many things; It's about transgender people (especially, transfeminine people, since the author is transfem). It's a story about bond with harmful authorities (monarchs, parents). It's a story about misoginy and transmisoginy. It's a story about growing up. But, I think most importantly, it's easy to see that it is undeniably a story about queer people and their struggles. June being a repressed transfem egg, Dave overcoming societys teachings about masculinity to accept himself, Karkat basically doing the same as Dave but a bit differently (I'll write about that later, maybe), Jake and his urge to perform gender and sexuality in a way people expect him to, and Dirk and Roxy.

Dirk and Roxys narrative is the one that I find most interesting. They're both stuck (hah) in a planet more than unwelcoming for them, unable to interact face to face with any human being. They can only analyze a ghost of what once was culture, and they base their gender on the most superficial look about the concept ever.

Roxy thinks that the way to prove herself as a feminine being is marrying a man and having children. Homestuck, as an over-exaggerated mirror to society, uses the concept of "The purpose of woman is to serve a man" in our real-life-world in a, guess! exaggerated way.

Homestuck is also a webcomic about patriarchy. Roxy made one of her core ingredients to be conformed with the patriarchy, and basically "looks for a man to serve". This is not only harmful for her, but also to the "man she wants": Dirk.

Dirk thinks that the way to prove himself as worthy of being a man, of carrying the title "passed" to him through his brother/father (Alpha Dave) is to provide for a family. But there's an obvious, huge obstacle that makes him incapable of properly doing that: He's a gay man. He can't give in to Roxy's approaches because he would be lying to himself, and unhappy. But as a friend, he cares too much about Roxy to actually get to have this conversation with her, because it would hurt her. As a "provider", he feels he has to sacrifice his own well being to his friends, overcompensating for his inability to have a structural, straight family.

Because of all these reasons and their obvious imaturity as teens, Roxy and Dirk end up having an abusive relationship, where Hussie "inverted" the common roles (one of the parts i find most interesting!): Instead of the man being the abuser in the relationship, it's the woman. Roxy harrasses Dirk various times and "mocks" him for being gay, making him deeply unconfortable, until he eventually gives in to a kiss.

Roxy, being only a teenage girl, obvipusly isn't truly evil or manipulative. It was a tragic situation where they ended up hurting eachother, and everything turned out Fine.

*One thing I also find interesting about both of them is how trans-coded they both are jahdjahd i mean its Homestuck what would u expect.

The whole point of their relationship is how they should be platonic, how people can hurt eachother and still be friends, how queer (trans) men are treated, performing gender in a hurtful way and, most importantly: Patriarchy and its harmful ways.

I genuinely do not understand the ship. Of course I won't go out of my way to hate it, since obviously fandoms are for fun. But genuinely believing they are Meant To Be as a couple is... weird, in my opinion. Shows a gap in media literacy skills, even.

Thank you for reading. : )

[crxzytogether]

I asked just my mom in the car about byler and if she thought Mike could like Will back and she thought about it for a second and said that she hasn’t seen the show in years but said “I think he sees him as a good friend” causing me to go on a tangent explaining everything I could into a 10 minute car ride. All I did was briefly go over Mike’s behavior towards Will in s2, explain how it would be such a bad way to end Will’s story if it ended unrequited, and how it took him two seasons to say he loved her in a monologue that was worded weirdly and placed at a time in the show when the focus was more on Max and by the end of my rant she was more on board and really liked the idea and even brought up the fact that Mike lied in his monologue to El, lol. She really wants to watch it all again before next season.

This just proves that it doesn’t take much to make people believe in a different option when presented facts that even just slightly contradict their original thought. All it takes is one teeny tiny crack in the story and people are like “hmm..interesting”. The evidence for byler is all right there it’s just about getting people to look at it. My mom already thought that Mike lied in his monologue even before I brought it up it only took me questioning things for her to realize what it could mean. My mom immediately said “no” when I asked but as I was explaining she kept nodding her head at everything I said. A lot of people can understand that Will is in love with Mike and they want Will to be happy and they also understand that for some reason Mike can’t say he loves his girlfriend but they can’t seem to make that connection linking the two. They can’t make that leap until given the option.

YES EXACTLYY. They just need to be shown what could happen to believe that it will because as you said it’s all there. We’re not finding evidence out of nowhere. We’re not writing essays about stuff we made up no we got it all from the source. People just don’t think Mike would be in love with Will because they haven’t considered it, they’re not searching for those signs bc to them oh he’s with a really cool awesome girl and they’re not putting in the work to see past that but once they don’t even need to put any work to see it they’ll understand. It’ll be like ohhhh. Bc like your mom I’m sure other people picked up on Mike’s lies in the monologue and the various other things that don’t add up unless you consider byler(ahem airport hug). All those parts in the show guarantee they raise questions to the ga but the ga just doesn’t care enough to find the answer lol but everythings there. And once they see it in the finale they’ll go back and rewatch look for signs they missed and it’ll all be so clear. I’m so excited. That’s another reason byler endgame is better, it adds to the rewatchability of the show. Like they did some of it with the upside down and vecna and like people went to see what they missed the little clues, they’ll do the exact same thing for byler.

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR STORY !!

[peachhcs]

What is samy doing for will’s birthday?

yasss will is 20 today!!!! #feelingold samy flies out to san jose for the weekend to surprise will + managing to get all of his boston college hockey friends over after their game on sunday (trust i had this in the works yesterday i just couldn't finish it) happy belated to will, let me know if you want part 2!!

warnings: underage drinking mention, sex mentioned but not described, that's it??

au masterlist

"what if he finds out?" gabe's question made samy roll her eyes as she stayed on the phone with him as the eight boys navigated their way through the san jose airport.

"he won't. i promise. the surprise party is set and mack has him distracted all day until it's time," samy reassued the boy probably for the 100th time since they started planning this whole thing.

"do you think he knows you're here? wait, ry, i think we're going the wrong way," she heard gabe mumble something and again, the brunette rolled her eyes. she glanced over at hannah and blaire who looked at her expectantly.

"do i need to come in and get you?"

"no, no. we know where we're going. we can see the exit signs," gabe assured and samy chose to believe him, but if they weren't out in the next five minutes, she was going in to find them.

"to answer your earlier question, i don't think so. he may know i'm surprising him, but he has zero idea you're all here."

samy came up with the plan two weeks ago. she wanted to do something special for will knowing it was his first birthday away from all of his friends and everyone knew she loved surprises no matter what the occasion was. she managed to pull a few strings to get out of practice for a few days and the boys all agreed they'd skip their classes as well monday and tuesday to spend time with will on his few days off. seeing their best friend was way more important than having to do laps across the ice.

"you should go in and get them," hannah mumbled, eyes on her watch. blaire giggled while samy shook her head. they planned the flights so they'd get in within 30 minutes of each other, but now it'd been close to 45.

"i heard that!" gabe exclaimed through the phone.

miraculously, the eight of them emerged from the exit doors, eyes looking for the girls. all of them but gabe and ryan looked shocked at how warm it was in san jose. the older boys spotted her after passing her waving hands two times.

"found you!" gabe exclaimed and hurried towards the three. samy hung up the phone as she embraced the boy.

"hi, good to see you gabo," she chuckled.

"you too, hughesy. hey hannah, hey blaire," the other two girls waved and everyone quickly exchanged hellos.

"i can't believe this is will's everyday. it's boiling," drew pulled at the collar of his t-shirt.

"yeah, i'm sweating my balls off," aram added which earned him a slap on the arm from samy. ryan and gabe helped everyone get their things into the back of blaire's mini van.

"so..some of you may need to sit on the ground..um..just kind of duck your head incase there's a cop. i don't have seats for everyone, sorry," the younger girl giggled nervously.

"oh, you don't have to drive us all there. we can split up and catch an uber too," ryan immediately cut in because he knew the feeling of illegally stuffing people into the car and worrying about getting busted.

"no, i don't mind. i've done it before," blaire shrugged but ryan shook his head.

"no, i don't want you getting in trouble. how many can you fit?"

"like 8 including me?"

ryan scanned the group, his older brother instincts kicking in as he tried figuring out who would be fine getting to the uber by themselves.

"okay, gp you're with aram, teddy, and jacob. the rest come with us," ryan decided.

"okay dad," teddy punched the older boy in the arm. everyone already knew the antics would be through the roof this weekend.

"i'll call it," gabe said.

"everyone else in. party starts at 6 right?" ryan wondered and samy looked at her phone. 3:43.

"less than three hours!" she grinned and could just picture the look of shock on will's face when he saw everyone.

the rest piled into blaire's minivan. drew took the front since he got carsick easily while ryan, samy, and vote got the middle row. hannah and james squeezed into the last row.

"better keep things pg back there," drew eyed the freshman whose face flushed in seconds.

"fuck off fortesque," hannah rolled her eyes.

they were out of there in the next minute since blaire had been taking up a spot in line for way too long now. it was a miracle no one yelled at her about it yet.

"sorry, i know we've hardly even met blaire. thank you for driving us," ryan spoke up.

"it's no problem. i love surprises as much as the next person. you guys are so cool for coming down and skipping class," the brunette grinned.

"he's our homeboy. couldn't leave him hanging," drew joked.

"is hagens teaching you those phrases?" samy eyed the boy behind her.

"i am not!" he defended himself.

"he sends us tiktoks in the group chat," drew admitted.

"fuck off," the younger hockey player complained making everyone laugh.

the rest of the ride filled itself with conversation of catching up with one another and poking a little more into blaire and mack's relationship. the girl happily answered though. she was never too phased by all the questions anymore and she was starting to grow fond of all of these hockey boys she kept getting introduced to.

the boys who hadn't been to san jose yet were gawking out the windows at the big city and warm weather, especially the palm trees. they didn't ever see any of those always traveling up north. samy went to check mack's location and will's. they were somewhere downtown doing things with beckett who was also in on the surprise and drove up for the night. samy strategically changed her location to come from her ipad which she left back in michigan so will wouldn't see her location here. she made the boys do the same thing and left their computers back home, so she was like 98% sure will didn't know any of the surprise.

the marleau's graciously decided to host all 10 guests in their extended house will stayed in, but toffoli agreed to host the party for the night. blaire pulled into the older man's driveway where there were already cars lining the grass meaning the other sharks players were already there.

"holy shit," drew mumbled when he saw the size of the toffoli household.

"damn is this our future life?" vote joked and samy nudged their arms so they'd stop gawking.

"come on, i'll introduce you guys," the soccer player pulled everyone to the backyard where the party was.

they had mostly everything decorated in the time it took to pick up everyone at the airport. eklund noticed the familiar face of will's girlfriend, "is that hughesy! hey!"

he ran to her to give out hugs. the brunette giggled, "hi eck. you know some of them, but here's half of the gang. ryan, drew, also will but we call him vote, james, and hannah who you know already."

"nice to meet all of you. didn't know pup had so many fans," eklund chuckled.

"pup? smitty's been demoted to pup??" drew laughed.

"he hates when we call him that," eklund shrugged, but smiled.

toffoli and bordelau came over to greet the incoming guests. the older man recognized samy and swept her into a hug like eklund just did. "glad you made it here. good to see you again."

"you too, toff. this is half of us. the other half is in an uber on the way," samy reintroduced the boys they didn't know. toff and thomas took turns shaking each of their hands.

"good to know pup talks to more people than his girlfriend and mack," thomas teased.

"you better be writing down these jokes for later," drew nudged ryan's arm.

"come in, come in. we got a few hours, but settle in, make yourself at home," toff invited them in.

the other car rolled in 10 minutes later. samy introduced the last four to will's teammates and now it was just a waiting game. will was supposed to roll in anytime at 6, so the closer it got, the more excited everyone became.

gabe abd ryan properly caught up with the soccer player where they caught her in one of the corners, "hey. thanks for doing all of this. getting us here," ryan said.

samy flushed, "of course, you could never miss something like this. i'm glad everyone could make it," she looked over at the other boys who had no problem immersing themselves into conversation with the sharks players.

"i think they're really happy they're here. we're excited to see will too," gabe chuckled.

"you and me both. i think he's gonna be really genuinely surprised," the brunette nodded. her boyfriend was an easy person to please who never asked for much, but sometimes she couldn't help but give him everything.

mack's text came 10 minutes later simply saying eta is 5 minutes!

"okay, they're almost here! everyone find a place to hide!" samy exclaimed which sent everyone scrambling.

granted, they were outside and the toffoli's didn't have a lot to hide behind, but the boys found corners and slid under tables. samy crouched beneath one of the adirondak chairs with gabe and ryan.

the entire background fell quiet while they listened for the three boys. in the distance, there was some car doors slamming and faint voices coming up the driveway.

"dude i could've just closed my eyes," will complained about something.

"yeah, but what's the fun in that? we won't let you fall," mack chuckled.

samy watched as they came through the gate with a blindfold covering will's eyes so he couldn't see the surprise. mack found her gaze and threw a thumbs up. she coped his action and rehid herself.

mack let the blindfold fall, a huge smile on his features as he saw everyone hiding.

"okay open your eyes," the younger boy said.

will's one eye popped open and then the other when he couldn't see what was going on. he was confused for two seconds until everyone jumped up at once and yelled a very loud "surprise!"

the blonde physically jumped and clutched his chest while his brain tried catching up to what just happened. his gaze flicked across all of his teammates and old teammates staring back at him with huge grins. he landed on samy next and then it all made sense.

"holy fuck," will said almost automatically.

"surprise birthday boy!" gabe jumped forward first.

the two boys embraced in a tight hug. the others quickly joined in for a larger group hug. samy watched them with love and found hannah's gaze. the two girls couldn't be happier that this was their reunion since thanksgiving,

"what the fuck are all of you doing here?" will finally asked when they pulled apart.

"surprising you, duh! you better thank this one," they stepped aside perfectly so it became a straight path to samy. she flushed bright pink, but will didn't waste a second meeting her in the middle.

"i should've known," he mumbled, breathing her in as his face caught in the crook of her next.

a few awh's escaped people's lips, but they didn't care. it'd been too long since they last saw one another.

"i love you so much," will hummed.

"i love you too," samy kissed his cheek and let him go so he could keep making his rounds. once will was caught up with the guys, he was caught up. it wasn't easy to break them apart.

he hugged mack and beckett next for helping with the surprise and then his sharks teammates. samy's smile was wide watching the glow on her boyfriend's features seeing all of his close friends and important people in one place all for him!

she knew he'd take a minute to make his rounds, so she let him have it while she caught up with mack and beckett.

"thank you for helping today," she said.

"of course. a whole day with these two? sign me up," beckett laughed.

"you're definitely getting brownie points amongst the team for this," mack nudged her arm and samy rolled her eyes.

"i like seeing him happy," samy glanced back to where will was excitedly saying hello to all of the boston boys now.

"i don't think he smiles that big unless you're around, so you must be doing something right," macklin teased just a bit.

"i'll take your word for it."

will caught samy's attention and quickly waved her over. the younger boys wiggled their eyebrows before letting her go to where the hockey player was. he clasped his arm around her shoulder as soon as she was near and kissed her forehead.

"wow, it's good to be back together," drew smiled as he glanced around their small circle.

"i can't believe you guys are here," will admitted.

"were you surprised? did you know?" ryan questioned lightly.

"i was and i didn't know, really. i had no idea what was going on. i'm surprised you all kept the secret for this long. especially jacob and drew!"

"i can keep secrets," drew defended himself.

"you have such little trust in us, smitty," jacob laughed.

"and you know what else is coming up? summer! any ideas what our weeks are yet?" aram looked at samy who shot her hands up.

"my brothers are in charge of guests. they're working on it now."

"tell them they can trust us! we did it over thanksgiving," aram continued.

"true! and they know that, so it shouldn't be a problem honestly. i just don't get priority," she shrugged. one of the downsides of being the youngest was that quinn, jack, and luke's friends all got first pick in their weeks.

the party went on well into the night that it started becoming a glow stick party and jumping into the pool. the boys were having way too much fun in the pool once they changed into swim trunks. toffoli was just glad his pool was getting good use out of it.

samy was sitting on the ledge taking a breather and wringing out her hair when will joined her. he was still smiling wide when he looked at her.

"hi," he said.

"hi," samy giggled.

"i've said this a hundred times, but thank you for this."

"of course. you really think i'd let them miss your birthday? you should thank toff at some point too. he may or may not have helped fund some of this trip," the soccer player glanced at the older man hanging out at his table.

"he did not," will was shocked all over again.

"mhm."

the blonde started to get up, but samy held him back, "think of it as a little happy birthday to you."

"but paying for..everyone''s ticket?? that's craxy expensive<" will protested.

"and it is, but he insisted even after i tried talking him down. these guys really like you, will," her words earned a blsuh on the boy's face.

he leaned in closer so she'd know he wanted a kiss. she took the hint quickly and sat up to more top reach his lips. they melted into on another, especially after being apart for so long.

will didn't even know if he could pull away if he wanted to. after weeks apart, samy's lips were the thing he wanted to taste forever and kiss forever, but he knew they couldn't. they needed to breathe and that's when he pulled away for a second. longing looks sat on their faces along with the want and need for more though.

"wanna get out of here?" will wondered smugly. samy looked at everyone else way too wrapped up in the pool game of basketball and she knew they wouldn't notice if they snuck off for a few minutes, but toff would see them leave together.

"what about toff?"

"they already know what we do when i come back with a million hickeys and scratches," will mumbled and that made the brunette blush.

she didn't say anything more, but she stood up and let will lead to the way to a bathroom. toff didn't even say naything as they walked by, but he definitely knew what they were up to.

it was safe to say will's never counted down his birthday that way, but he sure wasn't complaining in the slightest. he'd do it all again if he could. him and samy were wonder the covers once 12:30 hit.

"wish for anything special?" she wondered.

"not really. i didn't need a lot besides new clothes," will shrugged because who didn't like new clothes? especially when he was drsssed up 99% of the time.

"you're a simple guy, i like it," she kissed his cheek.

the boy flushed, but pulled her closer so she was flush against his side.

"best birthday ever, i love you," will smiled.

"i love you, too. glafd we could celebrate together," she squeezd his bicep as a way of telling him she was listening, he flexed under her touch in a more attractive way than before.

they had a long day ahead, so the couple fell asleep fairly quickly and who knows? maybe they did wake up to go a second round at some point durnng the night. it was will's birthday after all.

[mymoodwriting]

Request for Anon (Vampire!TBZ) 7.1k, vampires, high school setting, jealousy, secrets, espionage, manipulation, blood, fangs, violence, supernatural abilities, kidnapping, implied torture, temporary character death (@starillusion13)

“I don’t like the new transfer student.”

“Eric… you haven’t even met them, no one has.”

“And yet they’re already bothering you.”

“They’re in our class, Eric, and I’m class president. Part of my responsibilities is helping students, especially new ones. You don’t have to come along.”

“Yes I do.”

“You’re not my VP.”

“I could be.”

“Not with your grades, Eric.”

Earlier that morning your homeroom teacher had informed you about a new transfer student joining your class. They asked if you could go up to the teacher’s office and welcome them, as well as show them around and help the get situated. Of course you agreed, but as soon as you were out the door Eric was right behind you. The two of you had been best friends for years now, and he had a tendency to follow you wherever you went. When you got to the teacher’s office you saw a boy waiting outside. You put on your best smile and walked up to them, holding out your hand.

“You must be the new transfer student. Welcome, my name is y/n, your class president. I’m here to show you around and help you with anything you might need.”

“Oh, thank you.” The boy shook your hand. “My name is Hyunjae, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“And I’m Eric.”

“Yes, this is one of your classmates. He tagged along to meet you. Shall I show you around your new school.”

“I’d like that.”

You happily showed Hyunjae around the school, pointing out where classes were and other important locations. Eric added colorful commentary, and you kept having to give him looks so he’d behave. Once the first bell rang you all returned to your homeroom, Hyunjae properly introducing himself to the rest of the class. From there the things went on as usual, and he seemed prepared. Although you did take a moment in between classes to let him know he could come to you with help for anything.

“You didn’t need to tell him that.”

“Eric, he’s the new student, and what I said applies to everyone. It’s my duty as class president.”

“Ah, so you’ll help me with my homework?”

“I already do that.”

“As my friend, not as the class president. I wonder what she’s like.”

“Strict. You wouldn’t survive her. So count yourself lucky.”

“I suppose I am. Just promise me you won’t tutor that new guy without me there.”

“What is your problem with him?”

“I haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Do you need to vet everyone around me?”

“Of course! You’re a brilliant woman with a bright future ahead of you. I can’t allow just anyone to be your friend. What if they take advantage of you?”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “What about you?”

“I’ve been your friend for years, you know me. I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

“You better keep your word.”

Eric was always weary of new people around you until he got to know them and was sure they were good people. During free period Eric went out to play soccer with some classmates. He excused himself to use the restroom. As he was about to walk in he saw Hyunjae on the phone and quickly hid himself. No one else seemed to be around so he carefully creeped closer to listen in.

“I’m settling in just fine, so you don’t have to worry… I already found my target, they basically walked into my life… yeah, although I might have a bit of a problem… it’s just this other person that seems glued to their side… I’ll take care of it and keep an eye on the target… I’ll keep you updated.”

Eric couldn’t believe what he was hearing, immediately worrying about you. Whoever this new transfer student was, he was bad news, and you seemed to be in danger. Eric quickly ran off trying to find you. He thought you might be in the homeroom, but that wasn’t the case. His classmates didn't know where you were either so he ran around the school looking for you until someone told him you were outside in the bleachers. He made his way over as fast as possible, although when he reached you he needed a second to catch his breath.

“Y/N! Y/N!”

Eric had doubled over for a moment before looking up. Just as he was told you were sitting on the bleachers outside, but what he failed to notice was that you weren’t alone. Hyunjae was at your side, glancing over but focusing on the book in his hands.

“Yes, Eric? What is it? If you were running around looking for me it must be important.”

“It is… just… can I talk to you alone?”

“Sure. Excuse me for a moment, Hyunjae.”

“Of course.”

You stepped down to meet Eric who grabbed your arm and pulled you away. You went a long with it but we're very confused.

“Is everything okay, Eric?”

“Why are you with Hyunjae?”

“He asked for help with some of the material. Now what-”

“You said you wouldn’t be alone with him.”

“Eric I promised no such thing, now tell me what’s going on.”

“Okay, I need you to listen to me, like really listen.”

“Eric-”

“The new transfer is bad news. I overheard him talking about finding his target at school and how he’d report on them and-”

“Eric, do you hear yourself?”

“I’m being serious! I heard all of this and-”

“Were you spying on him so you could find something? What if he was talking to his parents?”

“You’re in danger, y/n, stay away from him.”

“Eric… are you jealous?”

“What? No, this has-”

“It’s kinda cute, but regardless, I can’t just stay away from a classmate. So relax, nothing bad is gonna happen, okay?”

“But-”

“Eric, please.”

“Fine… fine…”

“Thank you.”

Eric watches you go back to Hyunjae, and he couldn’t help but glare. If you weren’t gonna stay away from him then he needed to change tactics. When the bell rang everyone returned to the classroom. Usually Eric sat next to you, but he grabbed his things and plopped himself down next to Hyunjae. The boy watched him curiously, but Eric only met his eyes and gave him a hard look.

“I’m on to you.”

“Uh, okay… whatever.”

Eric figured the only way he could keep Hyunjae away from you was to do it himself. So despite being suspicious, he decided to befriend the transfer student. He acted friendly and offered to introduce him to other students and hang out with him in between classes. For the most part his plan seemed to work, that is until homework was involved. He wasn’t as smart and couldn’t really answer his questions. In that case he asked the class president for help, but Eric was always there to make sure nothing else besides studying happened.

🖤

“How do you think you did on the test?”

“Don’t remind me.” Eric whined. “I don’t want to think about it until the results are out.”

“Alright, but you better not try to lie to me about your grades.”

“I bet you got the top score.”

“Don’t say ridiculous things.”

“But you always do.”

“Still.”

You tended to stay late after school for studying, and Eric stayed with you to keep you company. Also because you lived in the same apartment complex so it was nice to walk home together at the end of the day. Although this time around something happened that he wasn’t happy about.

“Oh, Hyunjae, what are you doing here?”

As you both got to your apartment you noticed Hyunjae walking towards the entrance with a box in hand. He seemed surprised to see you both as well.

“Y/n, Eric, what a surprise. Uh, well, I’m moving into this apartment complex. It’s close to school and my family approved, saying it was good for me.”

“Wow, what a coincidence. We live here too.”

“Really? I was looking at a few places and this one just seemed the best. I’m glad I chose it.”

“I guess we’ll be seeing more of each other now.”

“ I suppose so. I’m still moving in so I’ll let you go. Have a good night.”

“You too.”

You started walking towards the door but Eric was still stuck in place. He could not believe what he had just heard. 

“Eric… Eric!”

After getting no response you went over and grabbed Eric’s arm, dragging him inside. He seemed completely frozen until you got into the elevator and the doors shut. Then he leaned back against the wall.

“What the fuck… out of all the places…”

“What is it now?”

“Why did he choose here?”

You chuckled. “You really are jealous of another guy being around me, aren’t you?”

“It’s not that!”

“If you say so.”

You reached your floor and wished Eric a good night, telling him to stop worrying about others and go to sleep. That was easier said than done, but after some restless pacing he felt tired. This wouldn’t be too much of a problem. He was still near you and could keep doing his job to keep Hyunjae away from you, he just now needed to do it after school too. That might be exhausting but he had to wait and see how things played out. Come morning he realized he had forgotten about another issue. When he stepped out of the apartment he saw you and Hyunjae waiting for him at the front of the building. Of course you both walked together every morning too, and it seemed that someone new would be joining. Eric made sure to stay in the middle, despite Hyunjae talking the whole way to school.

“What’s the area around here like?”

“Peaceful.” You answered. “There’s nothing much to worry about.”

“Cool. I see I really did make a good choice.”

“Yeah, and we can all walk to school together and-”

“You know there’s a nice snack stand on the way to school.” Eric cut in. “How about we get some for breakfast, my threat.”

Eric certainly did not want to wait around and walk home with him, so he had to make sure that didn’t come up. Or else it might end with plans being made, and he wasn’t eager for this trio to hang out. When you got to school though you parted ways as you had class president things to take care of, so Eric and Hyunjae made it to class together. They sat down and got their things, although Eric wound up staring at his desk mate for a moment, trying to figure out what to do now. It was annoying, and felt kinda suspicious, that he now lived in the same apartment building as you.

“What?”

“I don’t like you.”

“Yeah, I know. You’ve made that rather clear.”

“Huh?”

“The fake friendliness and all that. I don’t care either way, it doesn’t change anything. So let’s just keep up the charade.”

“You-”

The bell rang and the homeroom teacher entered, cutting the conversation short. Eric just let it go for now anyway. He thought he had been doing a good job of keeping you safe, but this was gonna complicate things. If he went to you again you’d call him jealous and crazy, so he needed to gather some evidence to prove his point. He was wondering how he’d do that when he passed by an empty classroom and saw Hyunjae inside. He quickly hid himself and got close to the open door, peeking in to see Hyunjae on the phone.

“Everything has been quiet on my end, although I sense something is off… I can’t quite figure it out, but I’ll be cautious and report if anything comes up.”

This was what Eric needed. Twice now he had heard Hyunjae making mysterious phone calls, and he really didn’t think it was his parents. If he could steal Hyunjae’s phone he might be able to get some answers. The problem now was how he would accomplish this. So for the rest of the day he kept an eye on Hyunjae. Most students always kept their phone on them, but during free periods a lot of the guys put their phones away so they didn’t break them while playing, and Hyunjae was no exception. 

Eric saw him put his phone away and then told his friends he’d join them in a bit. He waited until all the other students were gone and then went to Hyunjae’s locker. Of course it was locked, but he knew of a way in. He checked his surroundings again and went over to your locker. He knew your code and also knew you had the master key in there too. He managed to retrieve it without issue and then opened Hyunjae’s locker. The phone he was looking for was right in front of it and he grabbed it. Although as he closed the door, about to lock it once more he was startled by a familiar voice.

“What are you doing?”

“Y/n…”

“Is that my master key? Why do you have it? Why are you-”

“Wait, listen, I can explain.”

“Eric, did you-”

“You got it.”

You turned around to see Hyunjae walking into the classroom, a smile on his face. He walked over and took his phone from Eric.

“Thanks.”

“Uh… Hyunjae, did you ask Eric to get your phone from your locker?” You questioned.

“Yeah. I kinda forgot my code and didn’t want to embarrass myself and tell the teacher, but Eric said he knew how to get into my locker without anyone knowing.”

“I see. So he wasn’t breaking in?”

“No, not at all. I’m sorry if that’s what you thought was happening.”

“If this happens again, you should let me know.” You turned back to Eric. “Instead of stealing my master key.”

“I was gonna put it back…” Eric mumbled. “If you hadn’t caught me you’d never know…”

“Still. What if a teacher caught you? Do you know how that would look on me?”

“I’m sorry…”

You sighed. “Look, I need you all to behave yourselves here, especially tomorrow.”

“What’s tomorrow?” Hyunjae asked. “I don’t recall us having an exam or something?”

“The soccer team has their first big season game tomorrow. Therefore students from the opposing team will be at our school. I don’t want any kind of trouble from the students in my class, got it?”

“We’ll behave. Although I guess the best way to stay out of trouble is to stay in your sights. I’ll stay by your side tomorrow. I certainly don’t want to get in trouble.”

“I will too.” Eric quickly added. “I’ll be good.”

“You better.”

With that you excused yourself, taking back the master key, having other things to do during your free period. You had just been passing by when you saw what Eric was doing and had to confront him. Once you were gone Eric intended to go about his day but Hyunjae grabbed his arm.

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, thanks.”

“Thanks? How about an explanation? Why were you trying to steal my phone?”

Eric scoffed. “I’ve said it before, I don’t like you, and I certainly don’t trust you. I know you’re hiding something, and you’re not really a student. If anything, I should be asking you why you didn’t rat me out.”

“I’m not here to cause trouble. Besides, the last thing I want to do is upset y/n.”

“She’s not your concern.”

“What? I can’t be nice and help you out of a bind?”

“We’re not exactly friends, are we?”

“You’re right. Which is why I did what I did for y/n’s benefit. You are welcome though, but if I ever catch you trying to steal my things again, I’ll make you pay.”

“Then I won’t get caught.”

Hyunjae rolled his eyes and made his exit. Eric may not have gotten his hands on the phone, but his own suspicions were confirmed. He couldn’t trust Hyunjae, and he had to make sure you didn’t get any closer to him. His only solace for the moment was that because of the game tomorrow, you’d be pretty busy. So the likeness of Hyunjae sticking close to you would actually be slim. It would be easy to volunteer himself to stick close to the transfer, and Hyunjae wouldn’t just ditch him since he’d get questioned if caught by you. Still, tomorrow was gonna be its own day with its own challenges.

🖤

“You’re up early.”

For the most part, Eric was the second one down in the morning, but with a new face around he figured it was best to be down as soon as possible so you didn’t wind up alone with Hyunjae. Of course as soon as he walked out he saw Hyunjae, but thankfully you weren’t around yet. He sighed and walked over, ignoring the comment.

“You must be excited for today. You’re not part of the team, but you do enjoy playing soccer.”

“We don’t have to talk.”

“True, oh, I did want to ask you something.” Hyunjae pulled out a box. “I got this cool necklace the other day, do you think y/n would like it?”

“No. She doesn’t wear jewelry. She’s not a fan of it.”

“Really? I thought all girls like jewelry.”

“Well she’s not like all girls.”

“Hm… well, can I give it to you?”

“I don’t want a necklace.”

“I figured I’d at least ask. I’ll still give it to y/n anyways then. I’m sure she can-”

Eric took the box before Hyunjae finished, not liking the idea of him giving you anything. Even if it was a simple necklace. He opened the box and saw a red teardrop necklace that looked more like a fang. It was nice, and he kinda felt bad that he wouldn’t let you have it.

“Here. Let me help.”

Hyunjae reached over and took the necklace, helping Eric put it on. He smiled and admired his work for a moment.

“It does look good on you.”

“Whatever.”

“Morning, guys!”

Eric heard you calling out to them and quickly hid the necklace under his shirt, putting the box in his pocket. He turned around and smiled at you, waving and greeting you. Just like always the three of you walked together, Eric making sure he was at the center. The morning would be normal, but after lunch that’s when the rival team would arrive. Some students were there to welcome them, and one of those was you. Of course Eric and Hyunjae were around to keep an eye on you. The visiting students would be out on the field warming up, while the home team would be inside. Most classes from there were cut short as everyone was urged to make time for the game and support the school team.

At some point along the way Eric lost track of Hyunjae, having no idea where he would go, but he was more concerned with finding you. He knew that as the class president you’d be outside near the visiting students, so he went off to go find you. Just like before you were on the bleachers, and Hyunjae was not around. He called out to you as he approached, then he was on the floor as a soccer ball hit in the face and knocked him off balance. Next thing he knew a few others and yourself were surrounding him, checking on him. You helped Eric up, seeing the blood dripping down his nose. Instinctively you used your jacket sleeve to clean him up a bit and got him onto his feet. You helped him over to where the water spouts near the field.

“I’m fine.” Eric assured. “I’ve been hit by soccer balls before.”

“Still. Gosh, I told you to stay out of trouble, but I guess trouble found you.”

“Right? Although it’s fine, I won’t make a big deal out of it.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”

“I do need to get back, the game is gonna start soon.”

“Go on. I’m gonna wash up properly.”

“Text me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

Eric watched you head back to the field and went back into the school. His nose had stopped bleeding, but he had a bit of blood on his shirt he wanted to try to wash out. As he made his way to the bathroom he ran into Hyunjae. He expected to hear some snarky remarks, but instead he was suddenly pinned to the wall, Hyunjae examining him in a rather frantic manner.

“What the hell happened to you? Who did this?”

“Woah, woah, I’m fine, get off.” Eric shoved Hyunjae away. “What’s your problem?”

“Tell me what happened.” Hyunjae grabbed Eric’s face. “Who made you bleed?”

“Dude, I said I’m fine. I just took a soccer ball to the face. It was an accident.”

“Did you see who did it? Was anyone else hurt?”

“I said it was an accident, so I don’t know who it was, and I don’t care. No one else got hit. Y/n just helped me clean up a bit.”

“Y/n… did she get blood on herself?”

“Uh, I think? I’m sure-”

“Fuck.”

“Huh?”

Hyunjae let Eric go and then ran off down the hall, leaving the other confused. Eric made it to the bathroom to do what he really intended, but he kept thinking back to that minor interrogation. Hyunjae was on edge about you, and it left an uneasy feeling in his gut. He cleaned his shirt a bit and then went out to find you himself. You weren’t out on the field as you should have been, and he asked some of your friends where you had gone. They didn’t really know, but one said they saw you heading inside to the gym, but the team had already come outside. Eric made his way over, walking into the gym and coming before an impossible sight.

“Please… please don’t hurt me…”

You were pinned to the wall with a hand around your throat, a student glaring down at you. A few others surrounded you as well. You weren’t sure what was happening, but the glowing red eyes that stared at you were frightening.

“You won’t be scared for long.”

“Y/n!” Eric yelled, getting everyone’s attention. “Let her go!”

Eric ran towards you, only to be grabbed and slammed to the floor by someone moving impossibly fast. He groaned and looked up to see a red eyed creature flash some fangs and keep him pinned.

“Stay out of this.”

“… what… are you…?”

“Hungry.”

“Let them go!”

Another voice boomed in the gym, and Eric managed to look over to see Hyunjae walking in. He tried to warn the other, but a hand was quickly around his throat cutting him off.

“This is your one chance to walk away.”

“And what does one of you think he can do to all of us?”

“Who said I’m alone?”

In a matter of moments more individuals appeared behind Hyunjae, none of them familiar to Eric or you. There was no telling what would happen next, but a fight was imminent. Before you knew it Hyunjae and his friends had glowing red eyes too and they moved to attack. You yelled and shut your eyes, not wanting to see anything. You still didn’t want to believe it. Eric managed to get free as the one holding him was attacked. He scrambled to his feet, wanting to get to you, but Hyunjae grabbed him and shoved him to a corner.

“Ya! You have to help y/n!”

“And you need to stay safe.”

A loud scream caught everyone’s attention. You yelled as you felt a deep sting in your neck, but it quickly died down as your vision got blurry and you felt a different sensation taking hold. When the creature ripped itself away from your neck it dropped you.

“This one isn’t the one we’re looking for.”

It wasn’t long before these hostile individuals were dealt with, although Eric still didn’t understand what was happening. He didn’t really care though. As soon as he had a chance he went over to your side, seeing the wound on your neck and placing a hand over it.

“Y/n? Y/n, can you hear me?”

“Hm… Eric…”

“It’s okay, you’re gonna be alright.”

“…”

“Eric, we need to talk.”

As Hyunjae stepped towards the both of you, Eric only pulled you closer into his embrace. Too much had happened too fast, and he didn’t know who to trust anymore.

“This is your fault! You-”

“Let me explain. I know you must have questions, but I swear I’m not the bad guy here.”

“… what are you? What is all this?”

“I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I’m a vampire. We’re real.”

“… vampire… and the others? The ones who attacked y/n?”

“They’re vampires too, from a different nest.”

“What were they doing here? Why are you here?”

“For the same reason. You.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Blood is a delicacy, and you’re on the rarer side.”

“Huh?”

“Your blood is special, it’s extremely rare, and many nests want it for themselves. It’s the sweetest thing we could ever taste, and it could make us more powerful, even if for a bit.”

“You… you want my blood?”

“I came here to find you, and protect you, nothing else.”

“So this whole time… I was your target…”

“Yes.”

“I… I don’t understand… why me… why-”

“We don’t really know why your blood is special, but my nest and I came across you a while ago. Your scent alerted us to who you were, and we knew you needed to be protected. We thought having one of us here with you would be enough so you could go about your life normally, but I’m afraid that’s not the case anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“If one nest found you, it’s likely another will, and if you stay here you’ll be putting your friends in danger.”

“You want me to leave? No, no way, I can’t just run off with some vampires! How do I know you won’t kill me or keep me around like some blood bag?”

“If we were gonna do that we would have kidnaped you ages ago instead of having me pretend to be a student.”

“I can’t just leave.”

“Eric… y/n was attacked because your blood, your scent, was on her. The other vampires thought she was the special one. I gave you that necklace this morning so it would mask your scent, but I didn’t think about other possibilities. I’m sorry.”

“So then… this is my fault?”

“No! No, that’s not what I’m saying. You didn’t choose this but… you have to make a choice now. If you stay, things could get worse.”

“And what if I go with you? What then?”

“As long as you’re human, you’re a target and in danger.” Another vampire walked over. “But if you become like us, your blood won’t be so special anymore.”

“You don’t just want me to leave school… you want me to leave my whole life behind…”

“The decision is still yours to make but…”

The other vampire knelt down before Eric and you, biting into his wrist and placing the wound against your lips. Blood dripped down your throat, and you unconsciously began to drink. After a moment the vampire pulled away his arm, and moved Eric’s hand from your neck. He saw the wound heal right before his eyes.

“What about her? What about… my life…”

“We can compel her to forget all of this, and make her believe you transferred schools. The same thing more or less for your family. You could still keep in touch with them, but visiting may be impossible for a while.”

“… vampire are immortal… aren’t they?”

“More or less.”

“Can I take her home?”

“I’ll have the others deal with the mess at school and then we’ll meet up with you.”

Eric and Hyunjae cleaned the blood off of you and the made the trip back to the apartment with two others in tow. You remained unconscious for the whole ordeal. Eric got you back to your place and set you down in bed. He took off your jacket and shoes, tucking you into bed and watching you for a bit while he held your hand.

“She won’t be mad at me… right?”

“We can make sure of it.”

“I’ll go with you guys, and no one else gets hurt?”

“No one should.”

“Alright.”

Eric stepped out of the room, finding some paper and a pen to leave you a note. He knew this was so sudden and would really shock you, but he didn’t want to see you get hurt again. When he finished he left the note by your bedside and then went with the others. He’d need to get all his things and move out, but with ten other helping hands he knew it’d be quick. He wished he could have properly said goodbye to you, but for your sake things had to go this way. All he could hope for was that he’d see you again one day.

🖤

The transfer was so sudden you still had trouble accepting it. One day Eric was here, and the next he was gone. Sure he left a note for you but you tried to call and text but got no response. It made you worry even though everything was likely fine. Your world just felt so different without him. Not to mention Hyunjae was gone too. You suddenly found yourself walking all alone to school and coming home by yourself too. You understood that things happened, but you just wanted to be sure everything was alright. 

For a while you kept trying Eric’s phone, but your messages were left unread and your calls went straight to voicemail. You figured he’d reach out when he had a chance, so you just had to be patient. School was still the same so you focused on that. Your life just became a lot quieter. The days kept passing by and you’d find things to keep you busy. One weekend you were cleaning your place and found your missing uniform jacket under your bed. You couldn’t remember where you had left it and now it seemed it got swept out of sight. You needed to do laundry so you figured you’d get to it today. You got your basket of dirty clothes and headed out. You didn’t have a washer or dryer at your place, but there was a laundromat a few blocks down. Although while on your way you got stopped by some guys.

“Well don’t you have an interesting scent.”

You didn’t answer and tried to move around them, but they wouldn’t let you leave. One of them suddenly grabbed something from your basket, taking a deep breath. It grossed you out and you were too nervous to reach back for your item.

“This is it… but it’s not you… who’s blood is this?”

“Uh…”

“Answer me.”

Glowing red eyes paralyzed you, making your head spin for a moment. Then you gazed at the article of clothing they were holding, seeing it was your school jacket, and noticing the stain on it. The answer to his question suddenly came to mind and slipped out of your mouth without hesitation.

“It’s Eric’s blood… he got hurt during game day…”

“And you know this Eric, yes?”

“He’s my friend…”

“And where is he now?”

“I… I don’t know… he transferred over a week ago… I haven’t heard from him since…”

“Hm… and if you were to go missing… do you think he’d come for you?”

“I… I don’t… I think so…”

“Good.”

🖤

“When can I see her again?”

“Once you’re ready.”

“And when is that?”

“When Sangyeon says so.”

“Ugh.”

Everything had been weird for Eric. To just uproot his entire life and run away with some vampires, it sounded crazy. It was, but he wanted to keep you and everyone he cared about safe. He had seen the danger around him first hand, and he didn’t want others getting hurt because of him. The best thing he could do was become one of the undead and hopefully go back home someday. The whole transformation was something else, but he had slowly been adjusting. 

“You know… if you were supposed to be looking after me, why did you get so close to y/n?”

“Still jealous?”

“Answer the question.”

“I was just trying to get information. She knew you, and you weren’t exactly approachable.”

“We were kinda friends.”

“I’m more inclined to believe that now.”

“See, and since we’re such good friends now, we should go visit our other friend.”

“Eric.”

“I’m just saying.”

“You’re still way too young. Besides… you shouldn’t stay so attached… you’re gonna have to say goodbye one day.”

“… I know… but I want to be in her life for as long as I possibly can.”

All Eric wanted to do now was reach out to those he left behind and make sure they’ve been doing well. His phone had been confiscated, and he wanted it back already. So he worked hard to prove to the others he was in control and could be around people again. Although after being told no one too many times he decided to sneak out. With super speed he could go back to his old apartment to see you and be back before sunrise.Of course he’d get scolded upon his return, but it would be worth it just to see you again.

He made a quick stop along the way to buy your favorite snacks, but when he got to your place there was no answer. It was pretty late into the night, and you were usually home at this time. He didn’t see you as someone who would be out so late, but he had to be sure. Eric made sure he was alone before entering your passcode and letting himself in. As soon as he entered he saw your slippers at the door, so you were likely out. He really wanted to see you so he figured he’d just wait and explain himself later, but the minutes ticked by and before he knew it a few hours passed. Without a phone he couldn’t even message you to ask where you were.

He figured he should probably go look for you. Maybe you had stayed at school studying, or were eating some ramen at a convenience store or something. Either way, he couldn’t just sit still and wait for you anymore. So he went to some of your favorite places, but there was no sign of you. He was about to ask someone if he could borrow their phone when something caught his eye. There was a missing persons poster on the light poll, and it was your face on display. He ripped off the flyer and stared at it, seeing your name and description. Something was very wrong here, and he rushed back to the others.

“Eric! Where the hell-”

“What is this!” Eric shoved the flyer into Sangyeon’s hands. “You said she would be safe!”

“I… I don’t understand. How does-”

“That isn’t her parents number. She’s been missing for who knows how long! Do something!”

“We don’t exactly go around helping people.”

“So she just so happens to go missing after I disappear? How are you sure some other nest didn’t know about me? And therefore targeted her!” 

“Relax. Let’s just call and see who answers.”

Eric snatched Sangyeon’s phone and made the call himself. He was extremely on edge as he dialed, not sure how this would go. You could have been kidnapped by other vampires, or humans, and he wasn’t sure which one was worse. As the phone rang he paced around, and when it finally went through he stopped.

“… hello… I… uh… I saw your missing persons poster about this girl… her name is y/n…”

“Do you have information regarding the missing girl?”

“I… I didn’t know she was missing… I was calling to ask for information.”

“And who are you in relation to the girl?”

“I’m her friend.”

“Then what would your name be?”

“Eric.”

The line went silent for a long moment, Eric even thought the call had been disconnected, but that wasn’t the case. 

“Then it’s you.”

“Huh?”

“You’re the special one, aren’t you? The one that ran away.”

“I… who is this? What have you done with y/n!?”

“Don’t worry about the girl, she’s alive, but if you want her back, how about a trade?”

“For what?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“Where are you?”

“Good. Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Eric was given a location and then the line went dead. He immediately threw glares at the others. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“Let’s go.”

“You can’t just come alone.” Kevin said. “It’s dangerous.”

“It’s my friend! I’m going whether you like it or not.”

“We all are.” Sangyeon stated. “It’s best we all go together anyway.”

It was still night and the place they were headed to was underground, so they didn’t have to worry about the sun. The only problem was that they had no idea what they were walking into. Eric didn’t care, as long as he got you back safe and sound. When they arrived it wasn’t long before they found their way, catching the scent of fresh and old blood. A lot of nests could be messy, and Sangyeon wasn’t one to allow such things, so Eric could count himself lucky in that regard. Soon enough they came across a few other vampires.

“All I smell is a bunch of vampires.” One hissed. “Where’s the boy?”

“I’m right here.” Eric stepped forward. “Now where is she?”

“The deal was-”

“I guess I really aren’t all that special once I’m like you.”

“They turned you? What a waste. I guess there’s no need to keep that human around, or let you leave.”

They all knew going in that Eric being revealed to be a vampire would cause problems, but they had come prepared for a fight. For once Eric could just let loose and really test his own abilities. Although what he really cared about was finding you. In a place like this there would only be one loud and steady heartbeat. It took him a while to find it, but once he did he set out to locate the source. A while later after dealing with other blood suckers he found you in a cold dark room. You were curled up on a mattress, clothes ripped up, covered in bruises and bite marks. The only thing that kept him from panicking was the sound of your heartbeat.

“Y/n…”

Eric knelt down at your side and carefully lifted you up into his arms. He lightly tapped your face, trying to get you to wake up. It took a second but your eyes slowly began to open.

“… hm… please… no… no more…”

“It’s okay… I got you now… you’re gonna be okay…”

“… eric… is that you…”

“Yeah, yeah it’s me… I’m so sorry…”

‘“… you… you can’t be here… they… they’ll… hurt… you…”

“They won’t. I’m not alone. I’m gonna get you out of here, okay, just trust me.”

All Eric had been focused on was finding you and now that he had, he was starting to notice other things. The smell of blood, your blood, filled the air. His throat felt dry and his gaze focused on the marks all over your body. He wasn’t thinking about what had been done to you, but wanting a taste for himself.

“Y/n… could I…”

“… hm…”

“Just a bit… I promise…”

“… what…?”

In a swift motion Eric had brought you closer to him, digging his fangs into your tender neck. A weak scream escaped past your lips. The sensation all too familiar and draining. Instinctively you tried to push Eric away, but you had no strength to stop him.

“… eric… eric… e…”

“Eric!”

While searching for you Hyunjae came across a frightening scene. He immediately pulled Eric off of you, throwing him halfway across the room. Then his focus shifted to you, seeing your battered body, and the fresh bite mark.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, Sangyeon!!!”

Hyunjae placed his hand over the bite mark before he was tackled away from you. Next thing he knew he was wrestling with Eric.

“Don’t touch her!”

“Eric, snap out of it! She’s dying!”

“What…?”

That seemed to get Eric out of his frenzie, but it wouldn’t help you. Seconds later Sangyeon and the others entered the room. It wasn’t hard to figure out what the priority was and Sangyeon was quickly at your side, biting into his wrist and pressing the bloody wound to your lips.

“Come on, drink it.”

Once Eric had his senses back he rushed to your side, although he was held back by Juyeon and Haknyeon.

“No, no, she can’t die, y/n!”

There wasn’t much he could do besides listen to your slowing heart beat and pained breaths. The taste of your blood was still on his tongue and he hated himself for it. Then it all went quiet. His body sagged to the ground and the others slowly let him grow. He crawled over to your body, tears blurring his vision.

“… no… no… y/n… no… please…”

“I’m sorry… her injuries were already severe…”

“… it’s all my fault… I couldn’t…”

Eric pulled you into his arms once more, his tears falling onto your cheeks. He had wanted to see you again for so long, but he hadn’t imagined things ending this way. He continued to sob as he held you, then a miracle seemed to take place. You suddenly took in a breath, eyes wide open and looking around in a panic.

“Y/n… y/n you’re alive!”

“What happened!? What’s going on!?”

“You’re okay!”

Eric hugged you tightly, not sure if this was a dream but he didn’t want it to end. Although a moment later he was pried away despite his protests, Sangyeon looking you over.

“Who are you?”

“That depends…”

“What?”

“What are you doing, Sangyeon?” Eric yelled. “She’s fine!”

“This was not my intention.”

“Huh?”

“She’s coming with us. Let’s go.”

Eric was released and he was at your side once more. You were still confused but you held on to him tightly.

“What’s going on…?”

“It’s a lot to explain.” Hyunjae came over, offering you his hand. “But we should get out of here first.”

“Hyunjae? Is it really you?”

“Yeah.”

The two boys helped you to your feet, having you wrap an arm around each of their shoulders. You still had a lot of questions and they knew that.

“Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be alright.”

“We promise.”

[chloesimaginationthings]

Abby will have beef with toy Bonnie in FNAF 2..

[nvathuw]

Lowkey misses the time when I participated in trại hè phương nam in cần thơ

Yapping in hashtags

[inbabylontheywept]

bad dating stories time: the shoe incident

so in highschool, my best friend wasnt allowed to go on dates unless there was another couple there to keep an eye on him. part of this was his parents being insane, but also, part of it was him being insane. in a problem with no reasonable parties, there are no reasonable solutions.

at some point in my junior year, my sorta-gf broke up with me, and i just wasnt feeling dating, which was bad for my friend, because he had a good thing going with a girl he met in court.

he kind of hounded me about it. kept pushing me to just put me feet back in the dating pool and i wasnt real thrilled about it, because i knew he was pushing me for his own benefit, not mine, so i kept telling him to fuck off, and after a few weeks of being told that i would date when i was damn well ready, he eventually said: okay. what if i paid for the date AND found you a blind date AND all you had to do was show up?

and i shouldve said no, i know, but i let him wear me down, and i will own my fault in that. a date starting on such a stupid premise could never have gone well.

but he still managed to find a way to make it worse.

i dont know how long he tried to set a blind date up. it couldve been multiple attempts. he couldve stooped to this immediately. but what happened in the end was that he called a girl from the ward he attended - a girl that he knew had a giant, mushy crush on him - and he said: hey! how would you feel about going on a date this weekend?

(you know, implying it was with him, but never actually saying it.)

and she said YES WOW I WOULD LOVE TO and he said great! and then he called me up and said he found me a date.

i did not learn about his crimes until several weeks later. i will die swearing before god almighty that i would never have allowed this travesty to happen if i had known.

that was on a monday. the date of the date rolled around that friday evening, and im sorry to confess, i really phoned the whole thing in. i showed up in my favorite comfy outfit, which was also a fashion crime: basketball shorts and flipflops and a baja hoodie. it was super comfy but it made me look kind of crazy. i picked him up first, and then i picked up his date next, and then we went to pick up my date, and thats where you're gonna get the play by play.

i arrived, walked across the yard, and knocked on the front door. she opened it almost immediately, like shed been waiting right by it, and i could see her expression go from OMG IM SO EXCITED to super disappointed, then disgusted and finally pissed. and because i didn't know about my friends sins, i thought it was from my outfit. which seemed... harsh. like, hey, im allowed to be quirky, fuck you. also its a blind date, i thought the deal was that we were both going to be sad broken sacks of mortality.

anyway, we looked at each other for several seconds before she slammed the door in my face.

i looked back at my friend. he was sweating bullets. i dont know what he expected from this, but there was this big long pause where we both tried to figure out what to do, and then the door opened up, and her dad invited me in, and he said she was gonna need a few minutes to finish getting ready, and that in the meantime we could sit and talk.

we did not talk. we did sit. i sat down on the couch, and he sat down in a chair across the couch, and then instead of talking he cleaned his pistol on the coffee table. i wasnt actually sure if it was a threat, or if it was just a fidget thing for 40+ year old republican men, but when i tried to help he got snappy so i just watched him put a pistol back together.

he was okay at it.

eventually my date came downstairs, still mad as hell for reasons beyond my ken, and i felt pretty guilty for being such a mess because i thought that was why she was so angry. i tried to make up for by walking her to the car and getting the door for her, just generally trying to be extra polite, but before i could make it back to the drivers side, her dad called me back to the door. so i flipped around, went to the door, and immediately regreted my decision.

soon as i was within range, her dad got waaaay too close to me, leaned in, and said "whatever you do to her, i will do to you," and my brain went into overdrive making three consecutive realizations.

realization one was, damn, the pistol thing was a threat. that sucks. what an asshole. realization two was, wait, im autistic and even i know theres a 0% chance me and my date even hold hands, least of all boink. does this guy actually think there's even a 1% chance of anyone in that car getting laid tonight? is he an idiot? and then realization three went through, which was wait, is this guy threatening to fuck me? and unfortunately, with my brain doing so much processing, my mouth was left to run amok, so somewhere between realization 2 and 3, i said:

"i can't get pregnant"

which, i swear, wasn't actually me trying to be a smartass, it was just me pointing out that he couldn't actually follow up on that threat. it just wasn't possible. we do not live in the omegaverse and im not scared of you.

still, it was an insanely catastrophic thing to say, and the moment we both heard it, we bluescreened. that single sentence obliterated both of our momentary streams of consciousness like a saltine in front of a sand blaster. problem was, he'd probably gone his whole life not even realizing someone could say something that stupid, and making that realization was going to cost him a lot of thinking time. me though? i had been saying shit like that for 17 years, i didnt have to rewrite my expectations of human nature, i just had to plan an exit and start striding. so i was already halfway back to the car before i heard "hey. hey come back. Hey. Hey. HEY. HEY WAIT. HEY GET BACK HERE. HEY-"

and then i was in my car, and i drove away.

if this happened today, he'd have called her, and the whole thing wouldve imploded then and there, but back then, there were still a decent number of teenagers without cell phones. especially the teenagers of insane, gun toting parents. so she just said: whoa what was that all about? and i said: dont worry about it, he'll tell you about it when you get home.

and she said: ok and went back to staring daggers at me and my friend.

WHICH SURPRISINGLY isnt even how the story ends.

we went to an improv comedy show, and it was a disaster. it shouldve been like, 7/10 tops, but between my date being mad, and my friend having a good time, and me having the existential terror of knowing that a guy with a pistol was probably waiting outside his house for me to come back, it was easily 11/10. i laughed way too hard at everything. especially the jokes that flopped. id sit there in this mostly silent room and laugh until i dry heaved a little, and my date was absolutely disgusted, and even my friend was a little embarrassed, which would just make me laugh harder. i laughed so hard that night i could barely talk the next day. and then the show ended, and my friend said, you know, that was a good time, but i think we should maybe do something a little chiller? who wants to walk around the park? and his date said yeah, and my date said no, and i finally had mercy on the poor woman so i said, look, im gonna drop you off. and i am so, so sorry about this, but im dropping you off like a block away. super duper sorry.

do talk to your dad about the pistols thing if you dont want this happening more in the future tho.

and she said: okay. so i dropped her off, and she walked a block down, and that was that.

then i drove my friend and his date to a park that was good for wandering. i figured they wanted something more private, so instead of following them around point blank, i chose a park with this 30 foot rope tower, and i climbed to the top and i said: hey i can see you anywhere from up here, you are officially chaperoned from a distance. get panopticoned idiot. except my friend really is an idiot, and he didnt really get the whole 'now i dont have to third wheel so insanely hard with you guys' thing so he climbed up the tower too, and then his date followed behind him, so there are three people basically sitting together on top of a telephone pole.

and then they started making out.

i was close enough to hear it.

i didnt really know what to do so i was just kind of sitting there, dissociating, when some college kids came around and started shaking the tower. my friend's date went aaaaaaaaaa im afraid of heights :( and my friend went oh, dont worry, ill hold you tight ;) and i went hey, im gonna climb down and ask them to stop.

so i did climb down, and i did ask them to stop, and they flipped me off, which i wasnt even mad about. at that point i was i was like yeah, it would be weirder if this wasnt a mess. gods plan has been to fly this day like a 747 into my metaphorical twin towers and brother he is close enough for me to see him grinning through the cockpit window. still, eventually the college students got bored, so they climbed up the tower, which gave my friend and his date a window to climb down, and together we walked back to my car.

now, i cant explain why this is, but sitting back in the drivers seat was my carriage-back-into-a-pumpkin moment. i'd been chill about all the chaos, just rolling with the punches, but sitting down made me realize how much of a shitshow the day had been, and while i couldnt go back and fix all of it, i could go back and fix one thing.

so i told my friend and his date, hey, you two, stay here and don't do anything weird. don't. then i walked back to the rope tower, and i started picking up the shoes the college students had left at the base in order to climb.

about halfway through this, i realized that if i took all their shoes, they might think i was in it for the money, and i actually wanted them to know i was in it specifically to spite them. fuck those guys. so i put all the right shoes back, gave myself a 100 foot headstart, yelled "nice shoes, assholes", did a little jig, and started running.

my advice to everyone is that college students are faster than you think. even with the headstart, and the whole climb down the tower thing, i was still only fivish seconds ahead of them by the time i got to my car. i flung the door open, looked in the backseat, didnt see anyone, flung the stolen shoes in the backseat, heard two "ow"s, took that as proof of presence, jumped in and pealed out of the lot.

my friend and his date popped up a few seconds later. they were, uh, doing something weird in the back seat. my one request - obliterated.

they climbed up to ask where the hell all the shoes had come from, and i was like yeah i stole them from the college students, and they were like oh. cool. hope you had fun. and i was like, i did. i did. but speaking of fun, what were you doing back there?

and for the first time in my buddies life, i think he was actually embarassed.

[bunnis-monsters]

Late night thoughts about incubus husband…

He’s such a flirt. Every time you go out he dons a different human disguise. It’s always annoying seeing him flit about the bar, changing himself to cater to whichever person he’s talking to.

Really, your husband just wants to make you jealous. He’s a bit of an attention whore, and usually you’d just tug him away and ride his cock until he’s sensitive and crying, begging to fill your cunt with his cum but being denied because of how bad he was.

But he went a bit too far tonight.

You were finishing off your drink when you spotted him across the bar, his fingers twirling a woman’s hair. Already this was a bit much for you, and you stood to stop him.

But you froze in place when his eyes glanced towards you before he wrapped an arm around her waist. “Looks like I’m taking home a pretty lady tonight. Don’t worry, my wife won’t mind.”

He glanced back to gauge your reaction, excited to face some kind of kinky punishment for being a flirty brat… but instead he was met with your teary eyes.

Instantly the woman was forgotten as he followed you out. “W-wait, please, you know I wasn’t being serious, right? I was just-“

You turned on your heels, pointing a finger into his chest. “Maybe to someone like you marriage is just some kind of fun game, but it actually means something to me! I don’t exactly enjoy you treating my love for you like a joke!”

His eyes went wide with shock and hurt, his disguise disappearing as he reverted back to his original form. The sight of his tail twitching nervously almost made you soften… almost.

“My love… that’s not-“

You swatted his hand away, storming off. “… find somewhere else to sleep tonight. I… need to rethink some things.”

Your husband stared at your back as you left, his chest aching in a way it never had before. Could this really be the end of your marriage? No, no of course not. You loved him, and he would do anything for you. There’s no way such a small issue could divide the two of you that easy… right?

Oh how wrong he was.

When he attempted to come home the next night, his clothes and personal items were packed up on the porch, and the locks were changed.

This wasn’t something he could just smooth over with a few kisses and a good fuck. You were genuinely upset, something he could barely comprehend.

Upset? Why, because he was being a bit of a brat? His view only changed when he was complaining to a friend through tears and a glass of wine.

“Well, what would you do if she did the same?”

The glass shattered in his hand, his pupils turning into slits. The image of you walking up to a man, cooing and attempting to seduce him right in front of your husband made his heart boil in a jealous rage.

So that’s how you felt…

“I’m an idiot…” he murmured, looking at your picture. When he married you, he swore off ever having sex with another person. You were his sole source of sustenance and love, his only reason to breathe and live.

If he lost you, what would he even do besides sob until his heart stopped?

If he wanted to keep his beloved, he’d have to win you back…

Fortunately, the incubus knew just what to do.

Part 2? And should I go the yandere route or normal route?

—————————

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