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babymetaldoll · 4 years ago

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DIWK - Chapter four: "Hurt"

Words count: 13,7K

The gif is mine ✨

Warnings: Hardcore Spencer trauma. Mention of drug abuse, torture, Criminal Minds usual case triggers. Spoilers of Season 2 E14/15 Criminal Minds.

Summary: An unsub abducts Spencer, and reader blames JJ for it.

A/N: Have you ever wished you were there to save Spencer from Tobias Hankel? I know I have. I know reader wants to... I'm dying to know what you'll think of this chapter! Sorry if it's a little too graphic, writing Spencer's POV of this episode was really hard.

Series Masterlist

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(Y/N)'s point of view

I remember the day Emily Prentiss arrived. We had a case in Saint Louis. Two serial killers, 'cos it couldn't just be one asshole making everyone miserable. And on top of all, Hotch was confused and upset 'cos he never signed Emily's transfer to the BAU. It was like someone was trying to force her into the team, and we all thought it was weird.

We left the bullpen off to the case and left Prentiss in the office, not knowing if she actually got the job or not. I know Elle and I weren't incredibly close, but it still felt weird to think someone might join the team and try to replace her. It didn't work that way in that job. It didn't feel right at the moment.

There is something I also distinctly remember about that day: Gideon talked to me. And not only that, but he actually trusted my knowledge. We hadn't been on the best terms for a few months, so that approach meant a lot to me.

We were at the police station. Reid and I had been analyzing the letters one of the killers had sent to a journalist to find something that might help us catch him before there were any more victims. That's when JJ and Jason walked in, and he asked about our progress.

- "He only sent this to an individual, which shows he is not confident enough to initiate contact with the masses."- Spencer explained as he projected an image of the letter on the wall.

- "Emotional indicators are analyzed through slants, and you can see the shooter maintains vertical, narrow letter writing, and both are signs of repression"- I said and pointed at the image on the wall- "And the pressure, if you look closely, it's excessively heavy, which shows that he's uptight and can easily overreact."

Gideon looked at me and nodded. It was my cue to keep on talking. For once in a long time, I was feeling approved by him.

- "You got all that from his handwriting?"- JJ asked me, surprised. Reid looked at me from the other side of the room, and I could feel his smile reflecting how proud he was of me.

- "Graphology is an effective and reliable indicator of personality and behavior."

- "But my writing is always different,"- she added, and I nodded. I was waiting for that comment.

- "Yes, because it represents your emotions at the moment, just like your facial expressions parallel the way you are feeling while you are speaking."

- "What else can we know about our unsub from this?"- Gideon asked me.

- "Well, our killer uses simple statements, all first person, like "I won't be ignored," which means he's obviously tired of feeling this way. He may have a job in solitude or one that he feels strips of his identity. His work might require him to wear a uniform, something that shows absolutely no individuality, or he may be overqualified for his menial job and feels that he doesn't get the respect that he necessarily deserves."

I made a pause and waited for his words. I was giving my best, and I swear I was still hoping I could ever get Jason Gideon's blessing.

- "I think we are ready to give a profile,"- he said and nodded.

And damn, that felt good.

When we were back in Quantico, Hotch had a long and clearly awkward conversation with the section chief, Erin Strauss. She was scary. She was clearly trying to get rid of Hotch, questioning his work daily, decisions, and how he managed the team. Why? I have no idea.

It felt she forced him to accept Prentiss into the team. We were one man down after Elle left. Ok, one awesome woman down, so we definitely needed some help. And Emily was a great addition from day one.

We clicked right away. Prentiss was funny, smart, but most of all, she constantly had to prove she deserved to be there. Just like me. Gideon gave her the cold shoulder from day one, and that I could relate. The only difference was that she won him over in a few days, though. I was still trying to win that battle.

Garcia decided we needed a girl's night, and she hosted the first of many "BAU Girl Power get together." Basically, it was us at Penelope's place drinking and talking.

That first night, we updated Prentiss with everything that had happened with Elle. She wanted to know everything about us, what we did, how long we've been on the team, and how we all got along. It was sweet and fresh. After that year in the BAU, I had already learned to enjoy the sweet things in life. Like getting drunk with my work girlfriends.

- "So, does Hotch ever smile?"- Emily asked, and we all laughed at the very same time. Yes, it was getting late, and we weren't as sober as we should have been.

- "He does! he does!"- JJ assured us- "You should see him with his baby."

- "He is a dad?"- Emily was shocked. I was surprised too when I found out Aaron was married and with a baby. The amount of time he spends at work always made me feel he had zero personal life.

- "And has a beautiful wife"- JJ added- "He is always laughing when he is with her and baby Jack."

- "I guess this job can drain the happiness from your day... "- I thought out loud, but before anyone could say anything about my dark and bitter comment, my cell phone rang.

- "Hey honey bunny, everything ok?"- I stood up and walked to the kitchen. I didn't want to interrupt the girl's conversations.

- "Yes, I just wanted to make sure you were drinking enough water between drinks"- I laughed and shook my head. Only Reid could call to say such a thing. He was the sweetest friend on earth.

- "Yes, I am, don't worry. I'm not going to be hungover or drunk tomorrow. I know you are excited about the new exposition."

- "You are gonna love it!"

- "I am sure I will"- and I wasn't kidding. I loved when he dragged me to the Smithsonian or any museum for some nerdy fun.

- "Have fun with the girls."

- "What are you doing, by the way?"

- "Just reading a little, you left your complete Sherlock Holmes collection here, so I'll be solving mysteries while you get drunk."

- "Don't have too much fun without me"- he chuckled and ended the call. I smiled and walked back to the girls looking at me with a funny grin on their faces.

- "Was that your boyfriend?"- Penelope asked me, and I frowned right away.

- "No, it was Reid. He just wanted to confirm we are going to the museum tomorrow."

- "Wait"- Prentiss narrowed her brows and looked at us confused- "Reid ain't your boyfriend?"

JJ and Garcia's laughter was epical, as well as my frown. They nearly gasped for air while Prentiss and I waited until they calmed down.

- "No"- I finally answered- "Reid is not my boyfriend."

- "He is more than that; he is her work husband,"- Penelope clarified, and I turned to her with my mouth wide open, shocked.

- "What the fuck? Reid ain't my work husband. He is my best friend!!"

- "Yes, and you happen to call your best friend "honey bunny," right?"- JJ questioned, just like she had a few months before when we were alone in our room away on a case.

- "Reid is my best friend, and yes, I call all my close friends by weird pet names. You will get one too if you are lucky."

- "But I thought"- Emily continued- "I mean, he looks at you like you are his sun."

- "No, Prentiss, the only coupe in this team is the one between "chocolate thunder" and "baby girl" right here"- I pointed at Garcia, and she just blushed and covered her face.

- "My love for Derek will burn forever with the intensity of a thousand suns. I mean, have you seen that man? he was made by the gods and sent to earth just to give my existence some sense"- we all laughed at those cheesy words, though Pen was serious about them.

- "But, have you ever...?- JJ looked at her and made a pause. We were all looking at every single facial movement or behavior she might show to read her body language."

- "My relationship with my loverman could never be tainted by something as mundane as sex."

- "Like you wouldn't lick honey from that six-pack and ride that thunder."

The words just left my lips, and I blame the buzz. BAU (Y/N) would have never said that. Drunk (Y/N) would, totally.

The girls laughed until tears fell from their eyes, and I just chuckled, honestly happy to make them laugh. I had been more of the real me than I had ever actually been around them in nearly a year.

- "Hello?"- my phone rang again when I was walking out of the bathroom. And this time, it was Paul.

- "Hey babe, what are you doing?"

- "Hey, I'm..."- I looked at the girls in front of me and sighed- "I'm stuck with paperwork"- and they turned to me immediately. I could read the "What the fuck" on their faces.

- "Well, I'm at Rob's in case you feel like dropping by. We are writing a few songs."

- "I'll text you if I finish with this early, but... have fun."

- "Ok, bye"- I hung up and sighed.

- "And that was..."- Prentiss asked, frowning.

- "My boyfriend,"- I explained and grabbed another beer

- "Sure, I could feel the passion,"- Garcia joked, but I just didn't think it was funny.

I knew my relationship with Paul wasn't alright. Actually, things with Paul weren't. Period. We were done, it was apparent, but still, neither of us had said it. That relationship was just a few phone calls every once in a while, only to make small talks. When we were together, we would just watch a movie, eat something, drink a few beers, and that was it. It had been a long time since we had sex or even made out. I don't know why I didn't end it sooner. I guess I was just afraid to do it.

But I let more months pass before I actually did something.

Spencer's point of view

I'm not proud of what happened that year after Prentiss joined the team. I think that year changed me profoundly, and a part of me never fully recovered afterward.

Maybe it had to be that way, and it was something I had to go through to grow up. I guess I'm still trying to make some sense of all the misery I put my friends through. Mostly (Y/N). She was in hell with me.

A few weeks after New Year, we started working on a case. Someone was killing wealthy people in their own homes. At first, we thought there were two unsubs, 'cos one of them called 911 after killing, and you could hear them struggling and arguing. But no, it was just one.

Tobias Hankel was a delusional serial killer. He had split personalities, not two but actually three. His father, the one who tortured me. The archangel Raphael, who was trying to make God's will, killing people. And himself, who wanted to save me, but instead, he nearly destroyed me.

What do I remember about the day he kidnapped me? I remember I was stupid enough to try to catch an unsub alone, just to prove I could take care of myself on the field. Hotch sent me and JJ to talk to Hankel at his house, 'cos apparently, he might have seen the unsub months earlier. But no, he was the unsub, and neither JJ nor me could stop him.

We hid in a barn, and I was so eager to prove I could catch him; I told JJ we had to split up to cover the place. I was counting on Hotch to get there with the team sooner than they did, and before I realized it, I was in the middle of a cornfield, and Hankel was pointing at me with my own gun.

I was sure I was going to die right there. All of Hankel's personalities were struggling inside of him. I couldn't stop thinking about why I thought I could do it on my own? Why had I been a reckless asshole? Was it because I wanted to prove I was an excellent SAA? Because I wanted to impress JJ? Maybe I tried to convince myself I could do the same job my team did. I knew I wasn't the most physical person, but I had a gun. I had been trained to capture killers.

Yes, I was an asshole that day, and I've regretted everything that happened that night many, many times in the following years.

When I woke up, I was tied to a chair, and the archangel Raphael had taken Hankel's mind completely. The room was dark, and it smelled awful. He was burning fish hearts and livers, 'cos he believed it kept the devil away.

I was confused and lost. My head was spinning, and my heart was about to burst into my chest. I knew I could die any second now. Raphael wasn't the one to show mercy. That's what I had learned from all the videos Hankel had uploaded to the web. He had shared with the world every murder they had committed to show the other sinners what was going to happen to them.

- "They believe you can see inside men's minds"- Raphael looked at me with dark eyes, implying he meant Tobias and his father

- "It's not true. I study human behavior."- my voice was shaking. I knew I had never been more scared in my entire life. He took out a gun and showed me one bullet.

- "Do you know what this is? It's God's will."

Things didn't look good for me. He put it in the cylinder of the revolver and spun it. He was going to let my life to luck.

- "You don't have to do this"- I tried to talk him out of it, though I knew it wasn't going to work.

- "No go, sinners, to your God."

And he pressed the trigger.

What went through my mind the seconds that passed between having the gun pointed to my face and realizing I had lived? My mom. All I could think of was how my mom would react to the news of my death. I could never bear to hurt her like that. I couldn't die. I couldn't leave her alone.

I sighed, relieved, and bit my lips not to cry. Raphael looked at me with a blank expression and walked out of the room. I had survived for now.

I struggled with my handcuff, but it was useless. My head was killing me. I could feel the open wound on my head, still dripping blood on my temple and head. I tried to focus on the pain for a few minutes, just to make sure I was awake. It was a nightmare, and keeping myself sane and conscious under those circumstances was nearly impossible.

How was I going to get out of there alive? Did the team know where I was? I had no idea where I had been taken. I had been unconscious the whole way. It was dark, and I couldn't see much around me. I wasn't afraid of that darkness. I was more fearful of the man that left me alone, 'cos he was armed and mentally unstable. Darkness had nothing on him.

I had to focus on the things that kept me sane. The things that made me want to get out of that room alive.

- "My name is Spencer Walter Reid. I'm twenty-five years old, my mother's name is Diana Reid, I was born in Las Vegas, October 28th, 1981."

I closed my eyes and tried to think of all the things that made me happy.

- "I work at the BAU, my best friend's name is (Y/N), and she sits at the desk in front of me. Derek Morgan is the closest I've got to an older brother."

He was. He still is. You have to be close to dead to start seeing things clearly sometimes. Derek was my brother. He treated me like a kid, but a kid brother. He was always teasing me, trying to teach me how to pick up girls, trying to drag me to the gym with him. Derek was a good friend, we were very different, and I knew if we had been classmates in high school, we would probably never have talked. He was a jock, and I was a nerd. But life had brought us together. And now I couldn't think of a better friend than him.

I tried to focus on my happiest memories. My birthday came to mind. The guys had planned a Halloween-themed birthday party at the conference room of the BAU. Of course, Garcia baked a cake and (Y/N) helped her decorate it. It was incredible, 'cos it was covered with tiny gourds and skulls.

- "Frank and Mikey sent you these,"- she announced after everybody had given me their presents. I wide opened my eyes in shock 'cos I had no idea her friends knew it was my birthday or even cared about it.

- "Why?"- I had to ask.

- "'Cos they think you are amazing. They actually wanted to come over to your house and have a few beers tonight."- I opened my mouth to say something, but Derek interrupted me.

- "Pretty boy is gonna get to work hungover again."

- "Shut up"- (Y/N) and I said at the same time, making everybody chuckle. I opened the present her friends had sent me and laughed right away.

- "Lucky Doc"- I read and took out of the bag a Sports Illustrated issue with Lila Archer on the cover. My cheeks turned red immediately.

- "Frank still hasn't overcome that story. I think he will hate you forever"- (Y/N) laughed (along with the rest of the team) and gave me another present.

- "They also sent you this. They said you were going to like the man in black"- it was a Johnny Cash's vinyl- "Frank picked it. He thinks he is some sort of musical psychic that can read people's taste in music."

- "We should get together and have a few beers one of these days. I need to thank them for these."

Gideon looked at me in silence as soon as I said those words. But I didn't care if he disapproved. I was going to be (Y/N)'s friend, whether he liked it or not.

He is the closest I've had to a dad in the latest years. He cares about me, and he tries to make the best of me that he can. Yes, he can be too apprehensive. I think that's a way to put it. But only because he wants me to be the best profiler I can be.

I never thought I would end up working at the BAU. I never thought I would love the job I do as much as I do. Back when I was in college, I thought I would dedicate my life to finding a cure for schizophrenia, but I ended up hunting serial killers across the country.

And though I was about to die, I didn't regret any of the decisions that led me there.

The morning found me shaking, cold, and scared. I was in a small cabin in the woods. Just like the worst and more cliché horror movie ever made. This was my own horror movie.

- "What are you staring at, boy?"- Tobias opened the front door carrying logs for the fire. His voice had changed yet again, so I knew it wasn't the same person I had talked to the night before.

- "You are not Raphael."- I whispered, looking at every movement he did.

- "Do I look like Raphael?"- had I insulted him? I couldn't tell. He turned to the fire, and I took a deep breath, doing my best to stay calm.

- "Thank you for burning those, for keeping us safe."- I said, looking at the fish hearts and livers he was preparing to put on the fire.

- "Don't try to trick me."

- "I would never try to trick you."

- "You are a liar."

- I'm not a liar."- it was hard to stay calm and not start screaming for help or mercy, but I knew that was going to take me nowhere with him.

- "Lying is a sin."

- "I'm not a liar."- he walked closer to me, and sat right in front of me, held my leg up, and grabbed my foot.

- "This will be over quickly if you just confess your sins."

- "I am not a sinner"- I whispered again. He took off my shoe.

- "We are all sinners."- it didn't look good for me, not at all, and I knew I had to talk to him with his words with his beliefs to save my life.

- "The Lord spake unto Moses saying "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of the lord" and say unto them, ye shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy."

Hankel, this time in the personality of his father, looked at me surprised. I might have done something right, 'cos he stopped moving, and for a second, I thought it was going to be ok.

- "You know Leviticus."

- "I know every word of the bible. I can recite it for you."- but his eyes turned dark again.

- "The devil knows how to read too."

- "I'm not a devil, I'm not a devil2- I repeated, and couldn't stop shaking, 'cos my life on the hands of a sociopath.

- "I'm a man, my name is Spencer Reid, and I have a mother, and I have a father just like you, and they taught me the bible, let me recite the bible."

My voice cracked at the knowledge of what he was going to do. He stood up, still holding my foot. He was going to torture me, he was going to try to break me, and I had to be strong. I didn't know how I would find the strength, but I had to be strong.

- "Time to confess, Spencer Reid"- and without further notice, he slapped a log against my foot, making me scream in pain. It hurt from the tip of my toes until the back of my skull. I hadn't felt that kind of pain, and it was worse knowing he was just getting started. Tears started falling down my cheeks in no time.

- "Confess!"

- "I don't have anything to confess."- I whimpered and closed my eyes, 'cos I knew he was going to continue his torture. And so he did. The pain was excruciating. I was sure I was going to pass out

I tried to go to a happy place in my head, somewhere when I could hide from all that pain. It was too hard, though. It hurt too much. I kept repeating over and over again I wasn't a sinner, begging Hankel for mercy, as he shouted I had to confess.

I made an effort to think about what he might want me to say. What did he want me to confess? Which sins was he talking about? But nothing came to my mind, nothing but the pain and the fear of dying.

(Y/N)'s point of view

The second we reached Hankel's cabin, I started looking for Spencer. I had a horrible feeling about it. Morgan and I headed it to a barn with Prentiss. There was no sign of anyone. It was dark and quiet. Never a good sign.

- "Shit!"- I whispered, staring at three dead dogs and a bath of blood in front of me. There laid the body of another victim that was missing from Hankel's last attack.

- "FBI!!"- JJ shouted suddenly. She was pointing his gun to us, clearly in shock- "Don't move!!"

- "JJ, it's Morgan, (Y/L/N), and Prentiss! Don't shoot"- Derek tried to calm her down, walking towards her- "Are you hurt?"- she lowered the gun and stared at us. You could read the fear and the trauma in her eyes.

- "Tobias Hankel is the unsub,"- she whispered as Prentiss rubbed her arm sweetly, trying to comfort her.

- "Yeah, we know"- I moved towards her too and put my gun back into the holster.

- "And we thought he was just a witness"- we looked around, and JJ pointed at the dead dogs.

- "JJ, where is Reid?"- Derek asked her, but she just continued talking.

- "They completely tore her apart"

- "JJ, look at me,"- I said and held her arm carefully- "Look at me, where's Reid?"- she was shaking, and her voice was cracking. I knew she was making her best effort to pull herself together.

- "We split up. He said he was going to go in the back."

And there it was. That was the reason why I had a bad feeling all along. Derek looked at me and nodded as we read each other's minds. The two of us turned around and ran outside, leaving JJ with Prentiss, waiting for the medical team and ambulance to check on her wounds.

Gideon and Hotch were inside the cabin, looking for Hankel, but there was no one there. And there was no sign of Reid behind the barn either, in the cornfield, or anywhere in the perimeter. Reid was nowhere to be found, and I started losing it little by little. I tried to repeat myself the words Hotch had said many times during my year in the BAU: "when you are out there with the team; your mind has to be one hundred percent on the case." But the case had never included my best friend missing before.

- "Hey, is there any sign of him yet?- I asked the police chief as I reached the ambulance. He was there talking with JJ, making sure she was ok.

- "We got every one of our units on the road. He won't make it far"- I nodded and watched him walk away. I knew he thought I was talking about Hankel, but I actually meant Reid.

I turned to JJ and moved a little closer to her. Her eyes open wide, staring back at me.

- "You can't find Reid?"- I just shook my head and tried to sound as casual as I could, not to freak her out. She was still in shock. I didn't want to make it worse.

- "Not yet"

- "(Y/N)"- Derek held my arm and forced me to walk away from the ambulance.- "Reid followed him into the cornfield. It looks like somebody got dragged."

My heart stopped. Did the psychopath hurt Spencer? Did he kill him? Did he torture him? Was he hurt? Was he alive? Where was he? Derek looked at me, and I nodded. I bit my lips and took a deep breath. Hotch's words were my mantra now: "your mind has to be one hundred percent on the case."

- "Are you sure?"- we turned to the police's chief, overhearing his conversation- "We are on our way now."

- "What's going on?"

- "The sheriff down two towns over, he just gave directions to a man who fit Hankel's descriptions. It's to a motor lodge in fort bend."

- "Let's get Hotch and Gideon"- Derek held my arm and walked with me to the cabin. We had to find Reid, and we had to do it fast.

That was the worst night of my life. The first worst night of my life, to be sincere. I didn't close an eye. I went through every paper, every note, every detail in that cabin, trying to find a clue that could lead us to where Tobias had taken Reid.

I felt someone had ripped my heart from my chest. I had to think straight, and to do it, I had to keep a cold head. But as the hours passed, it became a more demanding and more challenging task to complete. I knew the whole team was suffering, but that didn't ease my pain. And I knew JJ felt guilty, but that didn't stop me from blaming her in my mind. She left him alone. I would have never left Spencer alone on the field.

- "(Y/N), you should try to get some rest."

Derek whispered as he sat on the floor next to me, where I had been sitting for the last half hour, reading Tobias's old diaries. Nothing but fear of his father, mentions of Dilaudid use, and bible transcriptions.

- "I'm ok,"- I answered and didn't even take my eyes from the pages.

- "(Y/N), I mean it"

- "I'm not going to rest if he is out there in the hands of a psychopath, Derek"- I had to bite my lips and shut the fuck up, 'cos if I said one more word, I knew I was going to burst into tears.

Morgan just wrapped an arm around my shoulders and moved me closer to him. That was the first time I let him hug me, and it felt good to know I wasn't alone in my desperation. I knew he loved Reid like a brother, and neither of us was going to stop until we found him.

- "Welcome to our nightmare"- JJ's voice broke the silence we had been into for the last hour when Hotch walked into the cabin with Penelope.

It was morning already. There were still no signs of Reid. Prentiss, Gideon, JJ, and I had been sitting at the table, reading everything we could.

- "His computer is an extension of his brain. I need you to dissect it,"- Gideon whispered to García. You could feel the concern in his voice. She just nodded in shock and turned to Derek, who held her hand and helped her get set up in the computer room.

- "So, nothing new since I left?"- Hotch asked and looked at us. I just shook my head and continued reading.

- "Well, the good thing is the guy documented practically every second of his life"- Prentiss words took me from the pages I was reading. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. The concept of "good" was poorly used in that phrase.

- "The bad news is, we are still un-piling,"- she added and sighed.

- "From the looks of it, he hasn't left this place in years,"- JJ managed to say. She made her best effort to be useful, but she was in worse shape than everybody else. Yet, that didn't make me feel bad for her. I was mad at her and kept making my best to put it aside, 'cos my head had to be in the case.

- "He knew he could pretend to be looking for a motel and throw us off his trail,"- Emily inferred, but I shook my head as soon as I heard her.

- "No, no, no, it's more than that!"- I shook my head and took a deep breath- "Sheriff's office, 911 calls, every time he engages the police and gets away with it... he reassures himself, God's on his side. Not ours."- I added.

Gideon nodded, and we shared a moment of agreement. He was as worried as I was. I could feel it. I'm not saying the rest of the team wasn't, I'm saying Jason was as fucked up as I was, and I could sense he was having the same trouble I had making sure my head and not my sentiments were into the case.

But if anything happened to Reid, I didn't know what I was capable of doing.

At a certain point, I got sick of reading and not doing anything and decided to look around the house again if we had missed anything. Derek went along. One part of me felt he wanted to stay away from JJ too. Maybe he was as mad as I was about her leaving Reid alone. I know I couldn't blame her, but I did it anyway.

- "Guys!! I think I've got something!"- Derek yelled, and I ran over. He opened a door that led to a basement. I walked right behind him, pointing my gun and my flashlight all over. But there was no sign of Reid.

- "Tobias Hankel!!"- Morgan shouted. Someone was sitting in what looked to be a gigantic freezer- "Tobias!"- but we didn't get any response. I took a step closer and examined carefully.

- "Morgan, I think we just found Hankel's father."

Spencer's point of view

On my second night in that cabin, I met Tobias. The third personality of Hankel walked into the room, carrying what seemed to be a dead deer. He looked as frightened as I was.

- "You need to eat."

- "What's your name?"

- "Tobias."

- "Tobias, who was here before?"

- "Probably my father."

He looked at me up and down, and he immediately understood what he had done to me. It was scary how he could dissociate. Someone with multiple personality disorder is usually unaware of the other personality states and memories when an alter is dominant. In this case, Tobias knew the other personalities but considered them different persons. He didn't think they were all in his head.

- "I'm sorry if he hurt you."

He looked at me like he understood everything I had been going through. Maybe he had been through something similar when his father was alive. Perhaps he had been a victim of Hankel as well, and that's what triggered his psychopathic nature.

He walked over and took out his belt.

- "What are you doing?"- he wrapped it around my arm, and I started begging him to stop.

- "It helps"- he took out of his pocket a needle and a small bottle of what seemed to be some kind of drug.

- "Don't tell my father. He doesn't know they are here."

- "Please, I don't want it, I don't want it, please"- I cried and begged.

- "It helps. I know"- it was the last thing Tobias said before the needle found my vein.

And he was right. It helped. Every single amount of pain I was feeling disappeared. My brain shut down. Somehow, everything was ok. I never had in my entire life felt so good before.

My mind kept flashing memories of when I was a kid. I kept seeing images of the day my father left and how he called my mother crazy.

- "You are weak"- mom spit those words after he refused to take me with him. I know she said it not because she didn't want me with her, but because mom knew she was sick and wanted the best for me. And he refused.

- "I'm not weak."- I whispered as I looked at her smiling back at me.

- "I know, honey."

I don't know how long I was drugged, but when I woke up, Tobias wasn't there with me anymore. It was his father.

And the torture continued.

(Y/N)'s point of view

Gideon was trying to convince me to go out with Prentiss and JJ to see a Narcotics anonymous's contact that might give us more information about Tobias. Emily had found some flyers about it in his room, and it could be the only lead we had to find him and Reid.

- "You need to get out of this house for a while"- he whispered and tapped on my back.

I knew he wasn't the one to be loving or physical with people, less with me. But that moved me. I turned to him and my eyes watered up. I was scared, and I couldn't hide it anymore. The more hours passed, the fewer the chances were to find Spencer safe. Alive.

I felt his arms around me suddenly, holding me tight, trying to keep the pieces of me together. We were alone on the porch, and though I didn't want to fall apart, I couldn't hold it anymore.

Jason didn't say a word. He just hugged me and let me cry for a few minutes. I didn't say anything either. I actually couldn't because I was overwhelmed with everything.

- "Are you ready, (Y/N)?"

Prentiss whispered as she walked over with JJ. I turned my back at them for a second to hide the tears that kept falling down my cheeks. I knew it was a shitty thing to do, 'cos it was obvious I had been sobbing, but they gave me the courtesy of not saying anything.

- "You go, I need (Y/N)'s assistance with some diary entries"- the two of them walked away quietly, and thankfully, didn't argue with Gideon.

- "Thank you,"- I whispered and felt his hand on my shoulder one more time.

- "You are doing a fantastic job,"- he said and turned around.

I wish I could tell you that made me feel better, but instead, I just thought I had the duty to bring my friend back home safe.

It had been at least an hour since the girls left. Morgan, Hotch, Gideon, and the police chief were in the living room with me, reading. I sipped my hundredth cup of coffee and re-read the same diary entry for the third time.

- "There's something weird going on here."- I thought out loud and walked towards Gideon

- "You think?"- the police chief turned to me and raised an eyebrow, ironically.

- "No, seriously, check this out. This journal is filled with religious ramblings. He notated hour by hour: "November 15th, 3:17, if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offering unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at your own will", and it goes on and on: 5:04, 7:41, 10:22, 1:42."

I made a short pause and looked at Gideon and Hotch. They didn't get where I was going.

- "But then, it goes blank for days."

- "Maybe he got sick of writing"- I seriously hated that police chief.

- "I think I got it"- Hotch whispered- "Journal entry: "December 6th. Father is sick. He wants me to put him down. I say thou shalt not kill. He said, honor thy father. Must pray for guidance."

- "So he kills his father as an act of mercy?"- Gideon asked, knowing the answer.

- "This is two months ago. Tobias Hankel's father had been dead for four months already."

- "That's exactly it"- I murmured, thinking Tobias Hankel was way more fucked up than we thought.

- "Look at the floor"- Derek pointed at a chair and moved it- "These scuffs marks are fresh. It's like two people were pushing the chairs constantly, trying to fight for control."

- "So?"- I swear to God, that chief was driving me insane.

- "This journal matches Charles Hankel's handwriting, but it was written after he died"- I explained. Still, it felt he wasn't following me.

- "What do you mean?"

- "Upstairs, Tobias' bedroom got junk piled from floor to ceiling, but the other bedroom could pass a military inspection."

- "So, are you telling me one of Tobias' personalities was his father?"

Apparently, I had to draw a picture so the chief would get it. Fortunately, Gideon continued explaining the whole problem before I lost what was left of my patience.

- "Well, Tobias was raised with a strict religious code, black and white, right and wrong. When his father asked Tobias to kill him, something had to give."

- "His brain couldn't handle the moral contradiction, so he split into two personalities to keep his father alive."

Hotch tried to put it most easy and simple words possible.

- "So, who is Raphael?"

- "My guess, he is a mediator between the two"- Gideon nodded at my words and sighed.

- "Angels have no human emotions, live or die. They don't care, as long it's God's will."

- "We need to start profiling Tobias' father. He may be the one who chose where to take Reid."

Finally, I felt we were going somewhere.

When Emily and JJ came back, they gave us the news. Tobias was addicted to Dilaudid, which explained the fracture in his mind, and how he lived with three distinct personalities.

The police chief announced a computer store robbery, giving us some hopes that Tobias would use them to track him down.

- "Guys!! Guys!! get in here!!- I heard Derek shouting and I ran to the computer room. I felt sick in the stomach in less than a second. There he was, Spencer. My Spencer Walter Reid, tied to a chair, bleeding, shoeless. Clearly tortured.

- "He's been beating,"- I whispered, feeling my eyes water up. I would have given anything to be there instead of him.

- "Can you track him?!"- JJ yelled by my side, and I nearly smacked her. That's how sensitive I was feeling.

- "Hankel's only streaming this to his home computer."- Garcia whispered. And my heart dropped with those words.

That wasn't what I was supposed to hear. We were supposed to find him and bring him back safe.

- "This is for us"- Gideon didn't take his eyes from the screen- "He knows we are here."

- "I'm gonna put this guy's head on a stick"- Morgan was so mad I believed him. I wanted to do the same, if worse.

- "I'm gonna kill him myself as soon as we find him,"- I said and felt Aaron's hand on my shoulder as he asked Garcia

- "Why can't you locate him?"

- "He's rerouting to a different IP address every 30 seconds. I can't track him."

It knew it had to be hard if Penelope couldn't find her, but that didn't help. If anything, it made everything worse. I felt powerless. Hankel couldn't be more intelligent than us.

Spencer's point of view

- "Are you ready, boy?"- Hankel pulled my hair and forced me to look at him. I was still as high as fuck, but knew I was about to be tortured again.

- "Ready for what?"

- "My weakling son thinks God gave you to him for a reason"- if the reason was to get me into drugs, then the answer was yes.

Hankel placed a video camera in front of me.

- "Can you really see inside men's minds?"- he asked me and made a pause, pointing to three screens- See these vermin?

It took me a second to realize he was showing me images of real people. He had put cameras in those people's houses. How? When? What kind of sick game did he want me to play with him?

- "Choose one to die. I let you choose one to live."

- "No"- I didn't even think about my answer.

- "I thought you wanted to be some kind of savior."

- "You are a sadist and a psychotic break. You won't stop killing. Your word is not true."

I don't know if it was because of the drugs or because I hadn't eaten or drank any water in too long, but I was somehow resigned and tired of fighting.

- "The other heathens are watching- Hankel announced and pointed at the camera in front of me."

My eyes fixated on the camera right away. My team was watching me. (Y/N) was watching me. I didn't want to make her worry even more. I needed her to know I was ok. I know I wasn't, but I didn't want her to worry about me.

- "Choose a sinner to die, and I'll say the name and address of the person to be saved"- Hankel was sick. It was all a game, and religion was just an excuse to kill.

- "I won't get to choose who gets slaughtered and have you leave their remains behind like a poacher."

Hankel didn't like my answer, 'cos he grabbed me and pulled me up, looking into my eyes, insulted, annoyed, losing his temper.

- "Can you really see into my mind, boy?"

He was honestly scary, and it petrified me to think he could execute me right there, in front of the team, and I could never tell them how much they mean.

- "Can you see I'm not a liar?!"- he insisted. I nearly whimpered but made my best not to break- "Choose one to die and save a life. Otherwise, they are all dead."

He dropped me on the chair and turned around. It was clear he wasn't joking. I took a deep breath and nodded.

- "Alright, I'll choose who lives."

- "They are all the same"

My eyes traveled across all the monitors. It was nearly impossible to pick one person to live, knowing all the other people there would die. Hankel was sick, and I had to set a plan to escape because otherwise, I would end up dead.

- "Far right screen,"- I whispered. He turned around and nodded.

Then, he recited the name and address of the woman on the screen. I prayed for the team to find her before Hankel came after her too.

No. It wasn't Hankel this time.

- "Raphael,"- I whispered, and he nodded. I looked at the screen again. The woman we were watching picked up the phone. She was in her kitchen. He walked around, frowned, and turned to her computer. In a second, she had turned it off. My team had reached her. She was safe, I hoped.

Hankel turned the camera off and looked at me.

- "You've done your part. Now it's my turn."

I knew what that meant. It wasn't good.

He left the cabin, and all I could see were the monitors in front of me. Those people were going to die. They were going to die because I didn't pick them. I killed them. You don't need to pull a trigger to kill someone. I could never forget those words. And this time, they meant more than anytime before. I didn't press a trigger, but I had killed two innocent people. And I actually had to watch them die.

When I saw Rapahel walk into the victims' house, I tried to close my eyes and think of anything else. A part of me kept thinking he wasn't going to kill them. He just wanted to threaten me.

But not. Raphael slaughtered them.

I found myself craving whatever it was that Tobias had given me the night before. The drug in my veins had given me a kind of peace I had never felt. And I never thought I'd have either. The type of peace that can be addictive, 'cos it turns your head off. And God knows, sometimes I needed to turn my head off.

Remembering everything that has ever happened to me, especially all the awful things, wasn't a gift. It was a burden. And whatever it was that Tobias had put in my veins, it had taken that burden from my shoulders, at least for a couple of hours.

Who wouldn't want some more of that peace?

- "Reid!"- Gideon's voice took me from my thoughts. He was sitting right in front of the camera in the victim's house. He was there with Hotch and the police, investigating the crime scene.

- "If you are watching this, you are not responsible for this. You understand me? he is perverting God to justify murder. You are stronger than him. He can not break you."

I know he meant it. But I couldn't believe any of that, not after watching a family get slaughter just because I didn't pick them.

(Y/N)'s point of view

- "I thought you were going to try and get some rest,"- I said as JJ walked to me in silence. I made myself my hundredth cup of coffee, and she just showed up next to me, trying to engage in conversation, I guess.

- "Everybody else is working. I should be too."

- "We can handle it,"- I whispered and refused to look at her. I swear I was trying not to hate her, but it was getting harder and harder with every hour that passed without finding Reid.

- "It's funny, I keep thinking the one thing we need to crack this case is... well... Reid"- she chuckled, nervously and I just looked at her and nodded. I didn't even smile. I didn't move a muscle.

I didn't want to be with her, or anyone, as a matter of fact. And I wasn't going to hide it anymore. So I tried to walk away.

- "You think Reid and I should have stayed together at the barn, don't you?"

I stopped walking and looked at her. You could tell she was having a hard time facing the whole situation, and most of all, you could tell she felt guilty.

That really didn't stop me from being mad at her. I was trying to be the better woman during the investigation, but the uncertainty was getting on my nerves.

- "JJ, go get some rest,"- I tried to answer calmly, but I knew I was looking at her like she was dead to me.

- "I can tell that's what you are thinking, so..."

- "I just wanna get Spencer home safe."

- "But... if I had his back like I was supposed to do, he'd be here now"- and that was enough.

- "JJ, what the fuck do you want from me?"

- "I just...."- she was about to cry, you could tell- "I want someone to tell me the truth."

- "You want the truth? Ok, there you go: I would have never left him alone. None of this would have happened if I had been the one with him out there! 'cos I would never let anyone or anything hurt him!!"

I shouted. All the anger I had been feeling those days was finally getting off my chest. And fuck, it felt good.

- "You fucked it up, JJ, and if something happens to Spencer, I am never going to forgive you, never!"

JJ bit her lips, trying her best not to cry. But I still couldn't feel sorry for her.

- "Is that the truth you were looking for?"

- "(Y/L/N)?"- Hotch stood next to me with the most annoyed look in his eyes.

I knew I was out of line, but this wasn't about work anymore. This was personal. This was Reid we were talking about, and JJ had fucked it up. There was nothing to discuss.

- "What? You sent him with her, now she is here, and he isn't. What else is there to say?"

- "(Y/N)!"- Hotch followed me as I stormed out of the kitchen and out of the cabin- "(Y/N)! stop!"

- "What?!"- and I simply snapped- "Are you gonna suspend me for telling her the truth? Are you going to fire me for losing my shit while working a case!? Fine! I don't care! I don't give a fuck! All I care about right now is that my best friend is missing, and a fucking psychopath has him! That's all I can think of. That's all I've been thinking about for the last two days!"

I was yelling at Hotch. I was yelling at my unit chief. I was fucked. I knew he was going to fire me after that. But I couldn't help it. I was going insane. Tears kept falling from my eyes as I held my cup of coffee tight, holding onto it with my life.

- "(Y/N), we are all worried about Reid."

- "I know you are all worried. I am too, and I'm also afraid and mad and going fucking insane knowing I am standing here not knowing what to do to save him."

- "That doesn't give you the right to treat JJ like this is her fault"- I don't know if he was talking like my unit chief or like a father figure trying to end a fight between two of his kids.

- "Did she stay with Reid?"- I simply replied and looked at Hotch in the eyes- "Did she?"

- "She is not the only one who feels guilty, so do I. And I know I won't forgive myself if anything happens to Reid."

Hotch made a pause and tried to find a way to say what he wanted to say. The door opened, and Gideon walked to us. He knew what was going on, and he didn't say a thing. I was sure he had already heard everything. We weren't actually arguing quietly.

- "We are not getting any closer,"- Aaron finally said.

- "Reid is brilliant. He'll figure out how to survive"- Gideon's words were way more hopeful than my thoughts. In my mind, Reid was too scared to think of a way to escape.

- "You know, I always take advantage of Reid for his brain. But I never actually teach him how to deal with things emotionally."

Hotch whispered, and his words were filled with regret. I was filled with anger and anxiety, and I know the two of them felt the same. But they way better at handling their feelings.

- "Lead by example,"- Jason answered, probably trying to make him feel better.

- "What kind of example is that?"- I simply replied, and both of them stayed in silence.

I don't think my words helped Hotch, but I wasn't trying to do that either. I was just honest. And Hotch's emotional assistance was shit on the field. Even Gideon was better.

- "He'll make it,"- Jason reassured us and nodded- "Now stop arguing and go back to work."

Spencer's point of view

I was glad when Tobias came to me that night with a needle in his hand and put the drug into my vein. I needed some release after watching a family die 'cos I didn't save them.

- "I'm sorry I had to leave"- he excused himself, preparing the drug next to me.

- "You can leave again, and you can take me with you,"- I begged in a soft voice.

- "My father would be angry,"- he replied and didn't even look at me. This time, I didn't even argue when he wrapped the belt around my arm. I was even a little eager he'd do it faster.

- "Not if he can't find us."

- "He always finds me."

- "If you tell me where we are, my friends will come, and they'll save us."

He gave me a look, mixed with horror and resignation. It broke my heart to think for a moment of all the horrors that lead Tobias to be as sick as he was.

- "We can't be saved,"- he simply replied.

- "We can, we can, I promise. If you tell me where we are, I'll save us both."

- "Listen to me. It's not worth fighting."

Somehow, I understood why he said that. I was afraid and shaking but still did my best not to think of all the pain I was in, of the terror that haunted me day and night.

- "Tell me it doesn't make it better- he said and showed me the needle."

I couldn't say no, 'cos he was right. It did. The drugs made his horrible situation bearable. I could understand why someone decided to use something to avoid the pain. I had faced all and each one of the pain and horrors in my life sober. It was time life was a little bit sweeter, in a sick way.

I remembered being twelve. Mom had had one of her episodes the day before, she was in bed, and I woke her up. I walked into her room and opened the curtains. It was already five in the afternoon, and she still refused to get out of bed.

- "The doctor says you need to get out of bed,"- I argued when she repeated she was just resting.

- "I've been reading"

- "He says you need exercise"- she sighed and tried to make a joke.

- "That's because his idea of good literature is Our bodies, ourselves."

- "Well, he is your doctor."

- "He is a neanderthal"- I gave up and started walking out of the room. She just laid in bed and looked at me.

- "Where are you going?"

- "I'm going to see if Jeff wants to play"- Jeff was our next-door neighbor and my only friend growing up.

- "Come here. Let me read to you."

I know Garcia made fun of me when I said my mother used to read me Valentine's sonnets when I was a kid. Most people think I have a weird relationship with mom, but they don't understand what it was like growing up with her. They don't know what it was like for a twelve-year-old boy to finish high school, facing bullies. Handling the pressure of being a kid genius and the fact I had to take care of a schizophrenic mother.

How come I didn't start using drugs earlier?

I remember that afternoon I sat next to my mother, and she made me pick one of the many books she had with her on the bed. I choose Proust. I knew she loved it. I loved it as well.

"For a long time, I used to go to bed early. Sometimes, when I had put out my candle, my eyes would close so quickly that I had not even time to say, "I'm going to sleep."

I can still hear her voice, reading to me. Both of us avoided reality for a while, hiding in the books. I always do it regardless. I hide in the books to forget. I hide in knowledge to avoid acknowledging the real personal issues I have. I hide in my work saving people when no one ever saved me.

I work catching psychopaths when I know I might actually have a mental issue myself. I might end up just like mom, and it frightens me so much; there are many nights I can't even close an eye. If I get sick too, then no one will take care of her. I am the only one in her life. And she is the only one in mine.

She and (Y/N), but there is no way my best friend would ever take care of me if I got sick. Not because she wouldn't want to do it, but because I would never let her. I don't want to be a burden in her life. And she would hate me, I know. And I could never live in a world where (Y/N) hates me. Not then, not now.

(Y/N). She is the best thing that happened to me in the BAU. Yes, I had a family with my team, but she was different. She was my life. She was the reason why I smiled. She was the one person that made me feel I was important to someone. I knew the rest of my friend loved me, but I loved her.

That was it. I loved (Y/N). And I was scared I was never going to see her again.

(Y/N)'s point of view

I was standing next to Penelope. She kept trying to force me to eat. She knew I was living on coffee, but I just couldn't swallow anything. She held my hand as the two of us stared at the screens, hopefully waiting for Hankel to make contact again.

- "Any more signs of Reid?"- JJ walked over to us slowly and looked at me, afraid I might snap on her again. I just shook my head and sighed, doing my best to be nice to her.

- "He just posted the last murder online."

- "It had over 17 thousand hits in the first twenty minutes,"- Penelope added, and her voice was so full of revulsion. It was clear she couldn't handle the horror in the human mind.

- "I want to see it,"- JJ said, and I frowned, confused.

- "No, you don't,"- Garcia answered and looked at me- "Come on, munchkin, just eat one cookie, please."

- "Don't tell me what I want and don't want!"- JJ's tone shocked us both. She was severe and angry. She was rude at Penelope, and for a second, I almost snapped again.

- "If I can't watch this..."- JJ whispered and glued her eyes on the screen- "I have no business being in the field."

She looked at me when she was done talking, and for once during those awful days, I felt some kind of compassion for her. She had to be feeling like shit, no doubt, and no matter how mad I was at her, she was still my friend, and I didn't want her to suffer either.

- "JJ, it's not a competition,"- I tried to say in the softest voice possible.

- "I... I need to see it."

- "If you stop being affected by things, you lose parts of yourself, you know."

It was somehow ironic that I was the one saying those things. Me of all people in that team. Me, the one who was afraid the most of losing herself in work.

- "Show me"- she finally looked at Garcia, ignoring my words, and Penelope pleased her. She pushed play and simply said

- "I won't watch this with you."

García held my hand, walking me out of the room, leaving JJ alone in the room. She sighed and wiped the tears that started falling down her eyes.

- "I don't know how you do it either"- she whispered- "I don't know how you watch those things every day and don't go insane."

- "If it makes you feel better, I don't know how I do either, and it scared me to think my heart might be numbing with each case we solve. With every psychopath we catch."

- "We are gonna find him"- she assured me and held my hands tight- "We are bringing him home safe, I swear."

- "Let's go find Gideon,"- I said, nodding at her words- "He needs to know Tobias posted the last murder."

Jason was mad, beyond furious. He was losing it. Derek and Prentiss kept trying to crack Hankel and discover where he had taken Reid. Meanwhile, Garcia, Gideon, and I made our best to take the video of the murder from the web.

- "I have a list of everyone from the file-sharing chain. I could send out a mass warning that the video is actually a virus,"- Garcia said and started typing as fast as possible. I just stared at the screen, waiting for something, anything to happen.

But I wasn't waiting for what came next.

- "Confess your sins"- Hankel's voice made me jump, and the sight of Reid, still tied to that chair, bleeding, and being tortured, broke my heart again.

- "Confess!!"- that sick psychopath shouted and hit him.

- "I haven't done anything,"- Spencer sobbed, but it was useless. Hankel kept punching him, over and over again, even when my best friend begged for mercy.

I felt Jason hold my hand as I was holding Garcia's. The three of us felt powerless, useless, angry, and scared, all at the same time. I couldn't bear to watch Reid being tortured, but at the same time, I was so glad he was still alive.

That until Hankel beat him so hard, he pushed him back in the chair, and Reid started convulsing.

- "He is killing him,"- Penelope cried, and I closed my eyes, biting my lips. Spencer was choking, and that mother fucker just stood there, watching him die.

- "That's the devil vacating your body"- he spit those words as Reid simply passed out. I didn't know if he was dead. I didn't know if he was going to make it. Shit! I didn't know anything.

I let go of Jason and Penelope and stormed out of the room. I was unprofessional, and I knew it, but I knew I would quit if anything happened to Reid. I wasn't going to stay working at the BAU if Spencer died.

- "Are you ok?"- Derek grabbed my arm. I just broke into tears and held him tight. He wrapped his arms around me and let me cry.

- "He's dying! We can't find him!!"- I sobbed against his chest.

- "(Y/N)! (Y/N)!"- I heard Penelope yelling as we all rushed back to the computer room. Hankel was giving CPR to Reid, trying to bring him back to life.

- "Come on, come on, please,"- I begged as I watched him pushing his chest over and over again until Spencer woke up, gasping for air.

- "Thank God!"- Hotch sighed and rubbed his hands against his face. The whole team let out a breath of relief simultaneously, and I kept watching Reid. His opened eyes gave me hope.

- "Wait,"- Prentiss said suddenly- "When was the video of the last murder posted?"

- "Nine thirty"- Penelope answered

- "And when was the time of death?"

- "The 911 call came in at 9:04, and the murder must have been moments later."- Hotch added and didn't even turn to look at Prentiss. We were all still shocked looking at the screen.

- "That's just a 19 minutes difference,"- I said and turned to García- "How long would it take to post that file?"

- "Two or three minutes."

- "Let's call it two,"- I said, getting excited- "You figure a maximum of 60 miles an hour in a residential area. That means Hankel has to be within a 17-mile radius of the crime scene."

For a second, I felt I was rambling facts just like Reid would. It made me miss him even more.

- "García, can we see it on the map?"- Aaron whispered. He was clearly affected, and it also made me feel selfish, knowing I had made a tantrum with the whole team, forgetting they were suffering as well.

- "Call chief Farraday"- Jason commanded as soon as we saw the map of the area on the screen- "I want that area locked down like it's martial law."

JJ stood up and grabbed her phone but didn't make the call. García warned us something was going on with Reid and all of us stared at the screen in silence.

Spencer was on his back on the floor, still tied to a chair. It was clear he wasn't fully conscious of what was happening.

- "You came back to life,"- mother fucker Hankel said, spitting the words in anger.

- "Raphael,"- Reid whispered, recognizing one of his personalities.

- "There can be only one of two reasons."

- "I was given CPR,"- my friend whispered, but it was clear that wasn't one of the psycho's options.

- "There are no accidents. How many members of our team are watching us right now?"

- "Seven."

- "The seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first sounding followed hail, and they were thrown to the earth."

- "He thinks it's the revelations"- Hotch explained- "The seven archangels versus the seven angels of death."

I didn't know much about religion, but it didn't take a genius to figure out he didn't believe we were the good guys.

- "Tell me who you serve."

- "I serve you,"- Reid answered right away. His voice was a whisper. He had to be exhausted.

- "Then choose one to die"

- "What?!"

- "Your team members, choose one to die"- I knew what he was going to answer at that, and I didn't want to hear it.

- "Kill me,"- he replied immediately, and I closed my eyes, unable to watch what would happen next.

- "You said you weren't one of them."

- "I lied."

- "Your team has seven other members. Tell me who dies."

- "No"- Penelope gasped, and Prentiss cursed. I opened my eyes and nearly fainted. Hankel had a gun pointed against Reid's forehead.

The silence amongst the team was unbearable. Neither of us knew what to do. We were all panicking, praying, desperate.

- "Choose and prove you'll do God's will."

- "No."

Neither of us moved. Neither of us breathed until Hakel pulled the trigger, and no bullet came out. I nearly sigh, but it wasn't over.

- "Choose"- he repeated

- "I won't do it"- Hankel didn't even wait. He just pulled the trigger, and we all jumped at the same time. He was safe again.

- "Life is a choice."

- "No,"- Reid repeated once again. And Hankel pulled the trigger for the third time.

- "Choose"- and for the first time, Spencer made a pause. Was going to pick one of us to die?

- "I choose"- the whispered- "Aaron Hotchner."

Derek and I looked at him, and his pale face didn't move a muscle.

- "He's the classic narcissist. He thinks he's better than everyone else on the team. Genesis 23:4 "Let him not deceive himself, and trust in emptiness, vanity falseness, and futility, for these shall be his recompense."

Hotch stormed out of the room as Hankel pulled the trigger one more time and shot the wall.

I felt I was going to puke. If Reid hadn't picked one of us, he would be dead.

- "For God's will,"- the mother fuck said, as he put another bullet in the gun after removing the casing.

I couldn't look anymore. I followed Gideon and Derek to find Aaron going through all Tobias's diaries on the table.

- "I'm not a narcissist,"- he said as soon as he saw us.

- "Come on. Look, you can't think anything from that"- Jason tried to calm him down, in case he was somehow affected by what Reid had just said on camera- "He is not in his right mind, Hotch."

- "No, stop, stop. Alright, everybody, right now: what's my worst quality?"

He had to be kidding. We all stared at him, muted, lost in that conversation. What was his point? Neither of us said a word. We just looked at each other, confused and awkward.

- "Ok, I'll start. I have no sense of humor."

- "You are a bully,"- JJ added.

- "You can be a drill sergeant sometimes,"- I said, and he nodded.

- "Right."

- "You don't trust women as much as men"- you could feel it in Prentiss's voice. That one was personal.

- "Ok, good. I'm all these things, but none of you said that I ever put myself above the team because I don't, ever. Reid and I argued about the definition of classic narcissism, and he knew that I would remember that. He also quoted Genesis chapter 23, verse 4. Read it."

Hotch gave me the book. He wasn't even breathing as she spoke. He was in a hurry. We were all.

- "I'm a stranger and a sojourner with you. Give me property, forbear a place among you that I may bury my dead of my sight."

- "He wouldn't get it wrong unless it were on purpose."

- "He is in a cemetery."- I said and looked at him. He nodded, and I swear to God, I saw a slight smile on his lips. That smile was hope. We were getting closer.

Spencer's point of view

I took a sip of water. I hadn't drunk in days, and my throat burned. I was still a little lost, still a little off.

- "Tobias, is that you?"- I saw him nod, sitting next to me. He moved the cup of water closer so that I could drink some more.

- "Thank you,"- I whispered and looked at him- You saved my life- he stared down at the ground and finally whispered

- "I'm sorry."

- "Why?"

- "He'll win in the end."

It was sad to see Tobias Hankel's good person locked inside a sick mind that also held a psychopath like his father.

- "Tobias, I need to know something. It's important. Are we in a cemetery?"- and he nodded. I smiled at him and sighed, relieved. Help was coming. My team was coming.

- "I used to come here to get high."

- "I was right."

- "No one bothers you here. I never told anyone about it."

He wrapped his belt around my arm, and I turned to him, still smiling. I didn't know if I were happy I was right or glad I would get high again. Maybe both. Maybe the second 'cos the minute that needle got to my vein, that sweet, sweet release felt like a bath of joy that washed away any pain, regret, or guilt I could have ever felt.

Guilt. I've had my share of that. I remember the day I had my mom admitted to the hospital. She hadn't eaten in days. She wouldn't take care of herself, and they're just so much I could do. I wasn't able to keep her safe from herself, from her mind.

- "What are these men doing here?"- she asked me as I walked with two nurses into the study. She was writing and reading. It was all she did, preparing lectures for classes she didn't have to give, in imaginary campuses.

I stood in front of her and hesitated for a second. It was the hardest thing I had ever done, telling mom I was taking her away from her own house.

- "They are from the hospital. They are here to help,"- I whispered and looked at my mother's confused expression. She was so thin. She looked so sick. I felt so guilty I couldn't do better for her.

- "I don't need help, and you can't be here without permission, tell them, Spencer."

She looked down at her books again and tried to continue writing. I took a deep breath, I knew I would break her heart, but there was nothing else I could do.

- "I called them"- she looked at me in pain. Deep, honest pain. Like I had just shattered her heart. Which I had done.

- "Spencer"- she simply whispered and stared into my eyes, begging for an explanation. I was trying my best not to cry. I had a whole speech prepared. I was going to tell her how much I loved her. I was going to explain to her how good it was for her to be in a place where someone could continuously take care of her. I had facts and statistics, but all I managed to say was:

- "I'm doing this for you."

And I felt like a liar. 'Cos, there was a part of me that was doing it for myself too.

- "This isn't legal"- she shook her head in shock and kept trying to find a good explanation to what was going on.

- "Your son is eighteen, ma'am. He can act in your welfare,"- one of the make nurses explained to her.

- "You need help,"- I said and prayed she could understand. But she just burst into tears and begged.

- "I wanna stay here!"

- "I'm... sorry, mom."

- "Please, these are my things, this is my life..."

Those men took her. They took her from her house and put her in a hospital. No. I put her there. I put my mom in a hospital so I could live my life, 'cos I am selfish and couldn't take care of her anymore.

- "Spencer, please, don't do this to me."

Those were the words that haunted me day and night. And my mother's crying face, begging me not to take her from her own house.

What kind of a son am I? I did that to her. I put her in a mental place 'cos I couldn't deal with her disease anymore. 'Cos I didn't know how to take care of her.

- "What are you sorry for, boy?"- I heard Hankel ask when I woke up. I was muttering, "Sorry" as I came back from my trip.

- "I sent her away."

- "Who."

- "My mom. I couldn't help her."

- "Is that a confession?"- I nodded and looked around, confused. Lost. High- "You know the bible. Exodus 21:17"

- "And he that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death,"- I whispered, scared and full of regret.

I heard him walk towards me. He kneeled and uncuffed me. I didn't know what was happening. Honestly, I was still too high to get what was going on around me.

- "Grab a shovel,"- he commanded and walked outside.

I was too weak to dig fast. I don't know how I was actually moving, but I was digging my own grave. I never thought I would ever end up doing such a thing. It's not something you think about, actually. Not unless you work in the BAU. Here, you start analyzing and considering the way you'll die: 'Cos you could, every day.

- "I ought to bury you alive in there, give you some time to think about what you've done,"- Hankel said and looked at me while I worked, playing with a knife.

- "I know what I've done."

- "Don't talk back to me! Dig!"

I pant and kept moving, very slowly, trying to buy myself some time too. I was sure the team was coming to get me any minute now. I was counting on them, though the more I thought about it, the less worthy of salvation I felt. Maybe I deserved to die after all.

I was almost certain I had seen some lights moving in the back. Flashlights. But it could be my mind playing tricks on me. I was too tired. And still too high, too.

- "Dig faster!"- he commanded me as I moved, losing my breath.

- "I'm not strong enough"- I cried, 'cos I felt like that. Like a failure, a child that aimed to be a grown-up and failed miserably. A bad son. The worst agent. A fake that deserved to die.

- "You are all weak!! Get out of there!"

Hankel took off his coat and left it on the ground. I slowly moved so he could dig for me, but the lights in the back took my attention, and he noticed. As soon as he turned around, I quickly grabbed his coat and reached out for the gun.

- "You've only got one bullet, son,"- he said as he looked at me. And I just pulled the trigger.

I shot him. I killed him. Hankel. Raphael. Tobias. I freed Tobias. Or at least, that is what I wanted to think.

- "Reid!!"- I heard (Y/N) yelling as I crawled to Tobia's body. He was still awake. He was himself.

- "You killed him"- he said, and he was relieved- "Do you think I'll get to see my mom again?"

- "I'm sorry,"- I whispered, and he was gone.

- "Reid!!"

(Y/N) yelled and ran over. She kneeled next to me and held me in her arms. I couldn't move, because for a few seconds, I couldn't believe she was real. She was there.

- "Honey, honey, are you ok? Can you hear me?"- she said, and tears started falling from her eyes- "Honey, it's me."

I just looked at her and hugged her. I hugged her as my life depended on it. There she was, next to me, finally.

- "I thought I was never going to see you again,"- I whispered and sobbed.

The urge to kiss her filled my whole body. I needed to taste her. I needed to show her how much I had needed her those days. But I knew I couldn't.

I didn't want to let her go. I didn't for a few minutes. I just hold onto her for my sanity. She kissed my forehead, cupping my face with both hands.

- "I'm so happy to see you. I'm glad you are ok... let's go to the ambulance, ok?"- I nodded but didn't let her go. I felt I could hold her forever. I wanted to keep her close for as long as I lived.

But the rest of the team gathered around us, and I wanted to thank them too. I needed to thank Hotch. So as soon as I let (Y/N) go, I wrapped my arms around him.

- "You alright?"- he asked me.

- "I knew you'd understand,"- I managed to say with tears falling from my eyes and a knot in my throat.

For a moment, I thought I was never going to see the team again. My family.

JJ held me close and apologized. I knew she felt guilty for leaving me alone, but I was the only one culpable for what had happened. I wanted to prove myself, and all I managed to do was prove I was a fool. A useless SSA.

- "It's alright, it wasn't your fault,"- I said and did my best to smile at her. But I know I failed. Gideon grabbed my arm and nodded.

- "Let's get you out of here."

- "Please,"- I whispered before we started walking- "Can I have a second alone?"- he looked at me and nodded, looking at Tobias' body lying by our side. He walked away, and I kneeled next to my capturer.

But instead of paying my respects, instead of cursing. Instead of anything, I took the Dilaudid bottles from his pocket and put them into mine.

And that's how the real hell started.

DIWK Taglist:

@all-tings-diego @big-galaxy-chaos @svveet-peas @muffin-cup @shilohpug

Spencer taglist

@calm-and-doctor

General Taglist

@spenxerslut @ash19871962

–

Do you want to be on the taglist or ramble about this chapter with me? Just send me a message here.

Next update: May 5th, 2021

#Spencer Reid #criminal minds #spencer reid fanfic #babymetaldoll writes #cm fanfic #criminal minds fanfic #Emily prentiss #Aaron Hotchner #jennifer jareau #derek morgan #penelope garcia #emily prentiss #babymetaldoll edits #criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfiction

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argylemnwrites · 4 years ago

Text

Fight or Flight - Chapter 14: Help

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Heir (canon divergent from the end of book 2)

Word Count: ~4100

Rating: R (language, 30 diamond scene)

Summary: About three weeks since The Walker Absconding

Author’s Note: With my state surging so badly that the CDC had to come up with a new category for coronavirus monitoring, and my hospital group changing policy constantly, even the illusion of an update schedule is pretty much out the window at this point, so thank you to all of you who are still sticking with this series! I saw that in canon, our crew just now decided to go on the run, but my MC and Drake have been on the lam for a while at this point, hahaha, so thanks for going on this wild ride with them!

This series follows the Walkers, their friends, and Cordonia as a whole after they flee the country with their daughter during Barthelemy Beaumont’s attempted coup. To catch up on this series, check out it’s masterlist. (link can be found via my bio - sorry, Tumblr is once again not putting my posts with links in tag searches)

Olivia let out a sigh as the privacy divider in her town car finally finished closing, tipping her head back and tugging the pins out of her hair. “God, what a nightmare.”

Liam hummed in agreement. “Yes, I suppose it is.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay at the palace tonight? It might be good optics, keeping you in the thick of things since the social season just started.”

He shook his head as he shifted slightly next to her. “After Hana’s conversation with Kiara and all its revelations, we need to be able to discuss things openly. With everything that has already happened, I don’t trust my assigned quarters at the palace to not be bugged.”

All Olivia could do was let out a little shrug. She knew he had a point, but she was worried about his overall approach here. All the strategizing and discussing in the world wouldn’t matter if he didn’t maintain an image of strength and dependability. Trotting back to the seclusion of Lythikos consistently would absolutely weaken the perception others had of him.

“So, I think we can safely assume that Amalas knows about this alliance between Barthelemy and Auvernal. It would explain why she was so eager to strike a deal with us,” Liam continued, reaching up and loosening his tie as he stretched his neck.

“But why would Aurvernal agree to work with Barthelemy? He wasn’t exactly supportive of them when they were trying to force Drake and Riley to solidify the betrothal. Hell, he used that mess to argue against their suitability to raise Bridget.”

Liam frowned, his eyes dropping to his lap for just a moment. “The latter part of your statement I can see him spinning over the coming months. He can argue that he has met with neighboring leaders and struck more beneficial alliance terms than I was ever able to foster, making him better suited for the role of monarch. With the delay in the start of the social season, he’ll have plenty of time to sell it as believable.”

“We had to push Rashad to delay. Hana told us that we need to make sure-”

“-Kiara represents House Theron, I know. It’s just unfortunate the delay may also be desirable for Barthelemy’s camp as well as ours. It would be nice to catch a break for once.”

“Liam…”

He ignored her attempt at sympathy. “Oh well, that’s just the reality isn’t it? We need to figure out how Auvernal played into Landon’s decision. Have you been able to buy off any of their staff?”

Olivia shook her head. “Not yet. I have a couple of leads on a maid and a driver who might be loyal to you, though.”

“That’s something, I suppose. I guess we should probably try and gain some intelligence about the motives of Bradshaw and Isabella as well, shouldn’t we?” He sounded tired, his hands working to remove his cufflinks.

“Yeah, we definitely need to hit this from multiple angles, find out their goal and what they might have done to sway not only Landon, but Hakim and Adelaide. Barthelemy is absolutely going to challenge Bertrand for control of House Beaumont, so we need to gain at least two of those votes. Counting on keeping the Beaumont vote in our camp is just too… dicey at this point, don’t you think?”

Liam nodded, but didn’t seem to want to say anything, so Olivia just kept going. “Now, I think since it’ll be Kiara voting, and she’s been very willing to divulge things to Hana, that is probably our best bet. And I know I’ve been focusing on getting some dirt on Landon and Emmeline, but maybe Adelaide would be the easier pick up? She’s never had much interest in actual politics, so maybe if we had Maxwell just socialize with her repeatedly at the upcoming events, that might be enough? For whatever reason she’s always loved him.”

She glanced over, surprised to find Liam with his eyes closed, his head tipped back. Had he fallen asleep that quickly?

“Liam?” she hissed out.

“I’m still listening; I promise you I’m not asleep.”

“Do you have anything to add?”

He shook his head against the back of the seat without opening his eyes. “No, you seem to have things under control.”

“But, I was-”

“-I trust you, Olivia.”

His words should have been affirming and confidence boosting, but instead all she felt was fear. He should be more invested than this. He needed to be more invested than this. And honestly, she was sure he knew that fact. He would go through the motions of strategizing with her on a regular basis. But he always faded quickly, becoming distracted or introspective. He was ruminating instead of focusing and channeling that hurt and pain into something productive.

But that wasn’t going to stop tonight. It was very late, and the drive back to Lythikos was a long one. So, Olivia just let him rest, pulling out her burner phone and scanning for any news bulletins about the Walkers being found in Athens, letting out a small sigh of relief when she found none. It looked like Leo and Riley had managed to pull it off. Combine that with Hana’s intel, and she knew the night had been more successful than not. She just needed Liam to start to see things that way. Otherwise, the upcoming months were going to be even bleaker than anticipated.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Riley kept her head down as she shuffled past a man in the hallway. With two large duffels, it was a bit awkward, and she didn't want the man to remember anything about her other than the fact that it was a bit of a tight fit with all her luggage.

Once he was out of sight, she unlocked the door to their hotel room, opening it as narrowly as possible to slide into the room. She had barely closed and locked the door when she felt a pair of familiar strong arms engulfing her. She dropped the duffel bags to the ground and spun in his embrace, wrapping her arms around his back.

"You're back," Drake murmured into her hair. She could feel his chest rising and falling rapidly, his whole body practically trembling. "You were late, and I thought…"

"Leo was almost an hour late," she said, her voice somewhat muffled by his chest because of how closely he was holding her. "I wanted to text you, but-"

"No, you made the right call." They had decided early on to avoid using their new phones to contact each other if at all possible. That way, if one of them got picked up and taken into custody, the other wouldn't be instantly traceable. It meant a lot of anxiety and fear when they weren't together, though. "I just… I… I was worried that…" Drake kept trailing off, almost as if he was unable to say his fears out loud.

"I know, Drake. I know. But it's okay. It all went okay." She slid her hands up, tracing between his shoulder blades, running her fingers through his hair, trying to soothe both him and herself. To call tonight stressful was a mad understatement.

“Leo had our stuff?”

She nodded against his chest. “In his hotel room. I obviously didn’t take the time to dig through it all, but I saw toys, clothing, documents, money.”

Drake ran his hands through her hair, then loosened his hold on her enough to lean back and look her in the eyes. “Did anyone�� were you...”

“I don’t think anyone noticed me, Drake.”

He let out a shuddering breath, and then he was kissing her. Not some gentle, tender peck, but hard and deep. Like he used to kiss her when they were alone. Before she turned their lives upside down.

She missed this. She knew it was stupid. They were wanted fugitives and barely getting by in a foreign country. They were hungry and stressed and sleep-deprived. On top of that, they shared one room with their soon-to-be 11 month old daughter, so they had no privacy. Their sex life was far from their most pressing concern.

But… she still missed it, that sense of shared connection and intimacy, and that encompassed more than just the sex. She honestly felt like his teammate or coworker more than his wife far too often. They just spent so much time on the practical, discussing next steps, trying to arrange logistics. Moments of shared laughter and warmth were few and far between these days. And sure, they didn't really have much to laugh about, but it was still a loss.

When she’d sat on his lap yesterday after dyeing her hair, it almost felt like a sliver of their old life and dynamic was back. She’d teased him, he’d held her close. But moments like that were just not the norm for them anymore. Most of the time, even any physical affection was more focused on comfort in light of something negative. Holding hands, hugs, that sort of thing seemed to only happen when their world felt like it was crumbling around them. It’s like they shared nothing but worry and fear most of the time.

There was also the fact that Drake hadn't opened up to her about his own emotions. She knew him. She knew that his fractured relationship with Liam must be weighing on him, that he must feel mad guilty about so many things. But he wasn't telling her anything. He hadn't kept things from her like this in years, and it honestly scared the shit out of her. At first, she thought he was just trying to shield her from his own pain. She knew that her initial panic had probably sent him into hyper-protective mode. But that was weeks ago. She was pretty sure she was holding it together better now. At the very least, she didn't think she was a walking mess anymore.

But Drake was definitely still keeping everything bottled up, and she had to wonder if that was in part because he didn't trust her. Whether it was because her initial panic had meant that she had not considered him enough or because he resented her decision to take Bridget out of Cordonia and away from their entire support system or because he couldn't help but see her as the reason he was named a traitor she had no idea. And maybe he was still just trying to shield her from his own worries and anxieties, but the fear was there that in her efforts to protect her kid, she was slowly losing her husband.

While Drake was off busting his ass to keep their family afloat, she'd had a lot of time to think, and she knew that wasn't helpful. When Bridget was awake, playing with her kept her mind off of those awful thoughts, but they kept creeping back in when she napped and slept. There was only so long that playing Dopey Cat could provide a distraction, after all. So instead she wondered endlessly if she had only been able to keep Bridget by her side at the cost of the foundation of her marriage.

For so many years, those fears of never mattering enough to someone else, of always ending up alone in the end had led her to keep relationships superficial. She’d avoided vulnerability, and therefore pain, at all costs. But then she came to Cordonia, and she had Drake, Hana, Maxwell, and Liam. She’d come to trust and feel and it was beyond anything younger her could have ever dreamed up. But now she’d ruined things with Liam, was disconnected from Hana and Maxwell, and it seemed all too likely she’d damaged things with Drake, too. All those people, who actually cared about her. She’d made a mess of the best parts of her life.

And maybe she was overreacting. Drake still clearly loved and cared about her. Worried about her constantly, in all honesty. But she also worried that he was gradually pulling away from her, that some day would creep up on them where all they would share would be concern for Bridget. But tonight, after all the stress and anxiety and fears of the evening, he was kissing her like he wanted her, like he loved her, and she couldn’t get enough of it.

She let out a pathetically needy moan, the sort of noise that would usually draw a smirk and some teasing from Drake. But tonight, he didn’t. Instead, he just surged forward with a groan of his own, driving her back into the wall and hooking his hands around her thighs, hoisting her up onto his waist before she could even process what was going on.

Riley clawed her fingers into his shoulders, dropping her head back against the wall as he moved his lips across her jaw. She began rocking her hips against him, tilting her head to the side as he worked his way down her neck, biting down lightly as he went. She tugged at his t-shirt, and after a few moments, he finally got the hint, sliding his hands out from under her thighs, letting her drop to the floor as he pulled off his shirt.

Deep down, Riley knew they had a lot they still needed to talk about and that doing this wasn’t going to fix the ache that had been growing in her heart, day by day. But she also knew that after weeks of stress and the horrible possibilities about tonight that had been running through both their minds, maybe this was just something they really needed. So she scrambled to tug off her shirt and jeans, kicking her sandals somewhere towards the door as Drake unbuckled his pants, and in almost no time they were both adding their underwear to the pile of clothing on the floor.

They were back on each other in an instant, hands grabbing and stroking, mouths everywhere. Riley felt her feet leaving the floor, so she wrapped her legs around Drake’s waist as he held her under her thighs, slamming her back against the wall. And then he was sinking into her, dropping his head to her shoulder to muffle the groan he let out as he did so.

It was all quick and frantic, both of them thrusting against each other wildly. She could sense that Drake was just as desperate as her. Desperate to feel something besides anxiety and guilt and pain. She knew she was going to have bruises from his fingers with how tightly he was clutching her thighs, but she didn’t care. Hell, she wondered how badly she was scratching his back. None of that mattered.

She hissed out his name as his lips latched back onto her neck. She knew this was going to be quick, so as she slid one hand up to his neck, tugging on his hair, she also dropped her other hand down between them, letting her fingers trace circles right above where they were joined. It didn't take long before she felt a warmth spreading out, down her legs and up her back, and then she was gone. Drake must have felt her climax, because he muttered "Fuck" into the skin of her neck, only driving into her a couple more times before she felt him spilling inside her. He slumped against the wall, his weight the only thing keeping her from sliding to the floor.

After a few moments, Drake let out a sigh, placing his hands back on her thighs and easing her down as he took a step back. “You okay?” he asked, his head slightly downturned.

Riley closed the newly-created gap between them, stepping forward and sliding a hand up to his cheek. “Drake, I’m fine. Are… are you okay?”

He nodded, tugging her into a gentle hug. “I just… I think I…”

“It’s okay, Drake. I get it.” She didn’t like that he still apparently couldn’t talk to her, but if he’d needed a minute of physical comfort and reprieve, well that was pretty fucking understandable. So she didn’t push him, just joined him in getting cleaned up and dressed in a t-shirt and underwear. While Drake washed the day’s clothes in the bathroom, she checked on Bridget, passed out in the travel crib Drake had picked up a few weeks back. They hadn’t used it to this point, and Riley wondered why Drake had dug it out of the car tonight. It had been safely tucked away with the tent, sleeping bags, and ground pad since he bought it.

“I thought we should probably start trying to get her used to it.” Drake’s voice cut through the room, startling Riley and answering the question she never got a chance to ask. “We are looking at months of being on the run. We need to start… I don’t know, making things… stable for her, I guess.”

“Makes sense,” said Riley, giving her daughter one last look before turning around to face Drake. “How did she handle bedtime?”

He grimaced and shook his head. “I think she was scared or upset because you weren’t here. She was basically inconsolable. I contemplated taking her on a drive just to calm her down. I kind of figured the night couldn’t get any worse, so I might as well try the crib. She screamed for about an hour before she wore herself out.”

Riley walked over and wrapped her arms around Drake. He struggled more with the sleep training than she did, even if he talked a way bigger game about letting Bridget “cry it out” in the light of day. “Well, she’s asleep now at least.”

Drake nodded, running a hand up and down her back. “You ready to go through the bags?”

She nodded and gave him a little smile, sitting down on the end of the bed as Drake grabbed the duffels and brought them over. They slowly worked their way through them, item by item. Hana had included so many useful things, from the practical, like clothes appropriate for a variety of types of weather and spare contact lenses and Riley’s glasses, to the unessential but truly missed, like Bridget’s stuffed corgi and Riley’s good hair brush. There was a lot of money in there, too. Thousands of Euros, which probably wouldn’t be enough to get them all the way until January, but at least made their situation a lot less dire. Their passports and birth certificates were tucked in there as well. For the first time, it felt like they might have some options when it came to their next steps.

After twenty minutes or so of sorting and unpacking, they reached the bottom of the bags. There were a handful of framed photos. Riley hadn’t mentioned any pictures as being something they wanted, so this must have been Hana’s idea. There were a couple that had been displayed in their bedroom and den. A candid Maxwell took on their wedding reception, Drake sitting down as Riley stood behind him, her arms looped over his shoulders, both of them looking at each other with stupid, cheesy grins on their faces. The two of them with Savannah, Bertrand, and Bartie taken down in Texas, the day before the wedding. A photo of the three of them that Hana had taken in the privacy of their home the day after the anointing with them in casual clothing, just curled up on the couch holding Bridget, a stark contrast from the pomp of the formal portrait for the history books and press release the day before. There were a couple of new ones, too. The corgis snuggled together on their massive cushion in the den. Hana and Maxwell grinning with arms thrown over each other's shoulders, clearly a selfie taken by Maxwell at a formal event. Liam and Olivia sitting on a couch at what appeared to be the Lythikos keep, Olivia with an eyebrow raised, Liam with a hollow-looking smile.

Riley glanced over at Drake, unsure how these photos would affect him. He just swallowed roughly before placing the stack of photos he was holding on the bed next to him. Riley leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder. They were both silent for a few moments until Drake finally spoke.

“Was that everything?”

Riley shook her head. “No, there’s a letter. At least I assume that’s what it is. It’s an envelope with Hana’s writing.”

Drake didn’t say anything, so after a few seconds, Riley leaned forward, grabbing the envelope with “Riley & Drake” looped in beautiful cursive sitting at the bottom of one of the duffels. She slid her finger under the flap and pulled out a sheet of stationary with delicate pink and cream flowers in the corners. She held it between them so that Drake could read it at the same time.

Riley and Drake,

I hope that you and Bridget are all doing well and in as good of spirits as the circumstances will allow. I can only imagine how incredibly difficult this must be for you.

In these bags, I’ve included the items you mentioned as well as a few more toys for Bridget and pieces of clothing that I thought would be suitable for when the weather gets colder. I know it isn’t much, but hopefully this will make your lives just a little more comfortable.

I also sent some pictures I thought you might like to have, both old and new. Whenever things get tough, just remember that you have people who love you and want the best for you and your family.

While this is probably the furthest thing from your mind, I want to assure you that I am not taking my position as Duchess of Valtoria lightly. I am setting up citizen meetings for the upcoming weeks. Judging by the protests outside of the estate, you have a lot of support still here, and when this is all resolved, I will step down if you would like to rightfully reclaim your titles.

I love and miss you both, and tell Bridget that Aunt Hana misses her, too. Maxwell said I should include paw prints from Anderson, Vera, Ellis, and Ilsa, but for the sake of the staff who would need to clean up that mess, I will just settle on saying they clearly miss you as well.

Keep safe, Hana

Riley twisted to look at Drake. She knew he would already be done since he was a faster reader than her. His face was very still as he stared over at Bridget’s crib.

“Drake?”

He jerked his head over to look at her, giving her a very empty smile as he did so. “Your best friend is really something, huh?”

She frowned, trying to suss out how much she should read into that statement, but he kept his expression blank. When it became clear he wasn’t going to elaborate more, she settled on a light response, knowing he probably didn’t want to delve into things too deeply at this point. “She really is. But her assumption that we would be at all worried about our former titles is adorably naive.”

Drake let out a little snort of a chuckle, so Riley kept going. “Can you imagine us just rolling back to Valtoria after all of this and challenging Hana for the title?”

His smile became a little more genuine at that. “Well, being out of touch with reality is a common trait amongst the nobility. Maybe it would just be us finally catching up with the rest of them.”

She nudged him with her elbow. “Come on, let’s pack this stuff up and get some sleep.”

“Sounds like a plan, Walker.”

Riley stood up and offered a hand to Drake, tugging him to his feet as well. There was still a lot they needed to sort through and take care of, both practically and emotionally. She knew that. Even with everything given to them tonight, the months ahead were hardly going to be a cake walk, and she knew she would have to get Drake talking at some point. But for the first time in weeks, she felt true hope. Hope that they could make this work, that they weren’t two seconds away from failing their daughter and each other, that they were moving forward. And for tonight, that felt like enough.

Perma: @walkerswhiskeygirl @octobereighth @kimmiedoo5 @mom2000aggie

TRR/TRH: @iaminlovewithtrr @mskaneko @axwalker @jovialyouthmusic @marshmallowsandfire @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @debramcg1106 @masterofbluff @sarahx206

Drake/MC: @no-one-u-know @iplaydrake

FoF: @burnsoslow @bobasheebaby

#drake walker #drake x mc #trh au #trh fanfic #trh au fanfic #choices fanfiction #trh #the royal heir #king liam #olivia nevrakis #n*fw #30 diamonds

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baeklination · 5 years ago

Text

구름 도시 (Cloud City) pt.1

Warnings/Contains: None really. Some light cursing. General talk about the case, but nothing explicit.

au: members of the justice system

Characters: Baekhyun, Kai, Suho, Sehun

WC:3400

Date:200523

Masterpost Part 2

¤¤¤

APRIL 17th

Jun-myeon poked his head out of his office.

“Byun, we’ve got a girl reported missing, go talk to her parents will you?”

Baek-hyun grabbed the holster from his chair, out of habit more than anything

“How old?”

“She’s twenty-six, Cho Min-young, lives in Hammer Hill. Her parents are waiting”

Baek-hyun slowed down and raised an eyebrow at his boss.

“Jun, you know I’m not a star case- guy, but a missing twenty-six year-old..? I thought you meant a kid. She’s probably at a boyfriend's house-”

“Nope”

“Girlfriend then-”

“They’ve called everyone they can think of, and she didn’t show up for work this morning. Come on, Byun, as a favour; it’ll be in and out. Take the new guy with you, show him how the pro’s do it”. Jun-myeon shot a wide smile at him, knowing he’d won Baek-hyun over.

In the middle of the stations commotion sat a young detective, trying his best to look as if he hadn’t overheard the conversation between Baek-hyun and the lieutenant, but he felt like a kid waiting for his fun uncle to collect him.

“Come on, Jong-in, you heard the boss”, Baek-hyun said, approaching him. “Is it alright if we drop the honorifics, can I speak informally to you?”

“Yes, it’s okay, Mr.Byun, you can speak informally.” Jong-in nodded with a slightly nervous smile.

“We, Jong-in. We speak informally. No mr, hyung, or nim, please.”

Having reached the car, Baek-hyun waited for Jong-in’s reaction( although if anyone asked, he’d never admit to such vanity).

“Shit, this is your car? It’s a beauty!”, Jong-in exclaimed when he realized what ride was theirs. “You’re in to the classics?”

Baek-hyun chuckled and feigned embarrassment.

“Yeah, this is my Old Betty”, but the charade only lasted a moment. “70’s Coupe Deville - Cadillac, obviously. My father brought it back from the States in the 80’s”. Seeing the question on Jong-in’s face Baek-hyun continued “He went to college over there, and saw this darling; dirt cheap if you ask him - a prettier penny than that if you ask my mother. He retired it a while back, and let me buy it. Actually, he would never let me buy it - I’ve been paying for their weekly grocery shopping without him knowing for the past two years now” he laughed, and Jong-in, now more relaxed, rolled his eyes in a I-know-the-type-way. Reaching in and popping the hood he gestured for Jong-in to follow him.

“See” he pointed to the machinery “the engine was alright, but I know a mechanic, so I had it fitted with a V8, and the normal updates; better versions of things they had in the original. I know, I know, the original is the soul and all that - but I don’t want my girl going bust when I’m doing 110 on the highway chasing bad guys, you know”. Jong-in nodded, but this part was beyond him. “Now she’s got 600 HP and manages 130 km and hour, easy”, Baek-hyun shamelessly bragged as they got in the car. It wasn’t any wonder really, the car was in top condition; the body a dark, almost black, brown, grill and hubcaps gleaming like they were newly polished, and the inside a creamy dream of tan leather and red details.

“So, do you also have a classic?”, Baek-hyun’s eyes were shining with anticipation. Jong-in might’ve opened a Pandora’s box here, and he didn’t want to make a bad impression on their first day together, but decided that honesty was always the best route.

“No, I wish..! If I knew anything about cars then maybe I could buy an oldie, fix it up myself, you know, but I’ve never been good at cars. And buying one in good condition…”, he sighed.

Baek-hyun whistled “Hell, I couldn’t afford that, and I’m a couple of pay grades above you..!”.

“Yeah, and with my kid, I think it’s better to save than splurge. Our Honda runs good enough.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you have a kid. Boy or girl? Give me the deets.”

“Girl, Yong-sun. She’s eight months old, home with mommy - my girlfriend. We’ve been together seven years”, Jong-in said, almost stumbling over the last part, in case Baek-hyun would find it improper that he had a child before getting married.

“That long..! Congrats man, then you know it’s tried, tested and true”, Baek-hyun said, calming Jong-in’s nerves. Driving out of the garage he changed tone to a serious, albeit still relaxed, one “So, what d’you think; girl really missing or just out of reach? Pitch me some scenarios, rookie.”

¤¤¤

Having parked on the side of the street, Baek-hyun stepped out and surveyed the area for a while. Hammer Hill was a nice neighbourhood; not the highest echelons of society, but definitely upper middle-class.

“Pretty nice place for a single twenty-something to live in, no?”

“Pretty nice for anyone”, Jong-in replied. “But those online stars make a lot of money, you know”.

“This much?” Baek-hyun frowned in disbelief. “You think she’s doing something on the side? Catering to a different audience, so to speak? Wouldn’t be the first time”, Baek-hyun sighed, while he started up the stairs. Jong-in, not wanting to offend anyone, erred on the side of caution

“I don’t know, anything is possible. But making this much money in a…” he hesitated “...pure way is also possible”.

“First lesson passed, rookie: avoid jumping to stereotypical conclusions”, Baek-hyun said with a dunk on Jong-in’s back, as they walked up to the door. After ringing the doorbell Baek-hyun turned to Jong-in and hurriedly said:

“But don’t mention prostitution to her parents, okay? Don’t say anything to alarm them further. We want them to remain calm, so they don’t forget to mention anything. Besides, she’ll probably pop up in the next day or so. Just try to...get a feel for the situation. You’ll be doing a lot of these house calls, trust me”.

The door was opened by Min-young’s mother, a woman in her fifties, without any especially distinguishing features, except for the worry in her eyes.

“Mrs. Cho, I’m detective Byu-”

“Oh, finally, thank god, come in”, Mrs. Cho exclaimed with relief, and moved so they could go in. “I apologize, it’s a mess, but I didn’t want to touch anything in case…” her voice faded. She ushered Baek-hyun and Jong-in to the living-room, where an older man - presumably Mr.Cho - and a younger man stood up to great the detectives. Baek-hyun gave it another try.

“Good afternoon, Sir, I’m detective Byun, this is my colleague detective Kim”, he said and took the man’s hand with a warm smile “you must be Mr. Cho”.

“Detective Byun, Kim”, Mr. Cho said with a short nod to them “Thank you for coming.” Gesturing to the young man he continued “this is Oh Sehun, Min-young’s friend”. They exchanged remaining pleasantries and sat down.

“So, tell us, what’s going on; the lieutenant said you haven’t heard from Min-young - is it okay if I call her Min-young?” he interjected, remembering his manners. After getting the okay from Mr. and Mrs. Cho he continued “So, still nothing new from Min-young since...yesterday evening, was it? Tell us what happened”. Mrs. Cho, with a slight tremble in her voice started

“Well, it wasn’t anything special yesterday, really. It’s not that we had plans and she didn’t show up. But I tried calling her in the evening, but she didn’t pick up the phone. We tried calling a couple of times, but when it got late we figured maybe she was just really busy, and decided to wait until the morning.”

“But she hasn’t picked up today either”, Mr. Cho chimed in. “I tried calling at eight thirty, right before she goes to work, but she didn’t answer, so I tried her office...nothing. They still haven’t heard from her” he said, holding his palms up. Baek-hyun sensed Mr. Cho was more perplexed than scared, which would be helpful in locating her, as opposed to Mrs. Cho, who might overlook something because of the stress she clearly was under.

“Excuse me”, Jong-in said in a low voice, and the whole company looked at him with surprise, almost having forgotten about his presence. “You said she went to her office; wasn’t she a social media personality? She didn’t work from home?”

Good catch, Baek-hyun thought.

“Oh, no. She used to, but she felt a bit cooped up working from home, so she moved to a small office space in Rolling Hills; in the Gigamex complex.”

Baek-hyun let Jong-in take the lead, try his wings, so to speak, and focused more on scribbling down names and dates in his police issued notepad (he found that it made people feel as if he really listened if he used pen and paper instead of some smart device). This also gave him the opportunity to gauge their reactions to any questions, to make sure they were on the up-and-up. And what of this Sehun character? Up until now he’d been quiet, only a few nods and nervous hands clasped together. Interrupting his train of thought, Jong-in continued

“And who was it you talked to at the office?”

“Michelle. We don’t know her last name, but she’s Min-young’s assistant, she helps her with editing and her calendar, I think”. One could tell that world wasn’t Mr. Cho’s arena, but he was close enough with his daughter to have heard a bit about it. Mrs. Cho picked up her mobile, and after a few scrolls held it out for Baek-hyun to copy

“Here. This is her number. She couldn’t say much, but if you want to talk to her...” Baek-hyun received it with a barely distinguishable bow and took her number down.

“Do you know if anyone was...less than nice to her online? Did she ever mention anything specific?” Jong-in knew the price of putting yourself out there often was people being rude, nasty, or worse, so he wanted to make sure he covered at least some of the bases. And to be honest, as distasteful as it may sound it was exhilarating; his first interview in the field. And he seemed to know a thing or two more than Baek-hyun about this topic, so he got to shine a little. But her parents were adamant about her job not being an issue here.

“Her channel is about arts and crafts, making things from scratch, baking and those kinds of things. The people who write her are kind. Sure, there are a some rude people, but most of them are so sweet”, Mrs. Cho said.

“What about a boyfriend, was she seeing anybody?”, Baek-hyun asked and looked at Sehun, as did her parents “Are you..?”

For the first time Sehun let go of his hands, and waved no.

“No, no. We’ve been friends since middle school, she’s like my sister. And jogging buddy. We go running a couple days a week, have dinner or coffee after. We were supposed to go yesterday evening, but she cancelled”, Sehun explained.

“When was that?” Baek-hyun recognized the sign of voluntary M.I.A. Sehun unlocked his phone and showed the caller log to Baek-hyun “17.12. We usually meet up around five thirty, so it’s odd that she cancelled with such little notice”.

“Did she say why, or sound different in any way?”

“No. She said it wasn’t anything special, she just had something to do. But when I asked her again she wouldn’t say. I was kinda annoyed, but now...” Sehun shrugged his shoulders and looked so hopeless he almost made Baek-hyun think something had happened to Min-young. But being the veteran he was he knew the majority of these cases ended happily - a lost phone, a drunken night, or a secret boyfriend - so he composed himself and gave them a smile.

“I know you’re all very worried right now, but trust me when I say we get a lot of calls like these, and it almost always ends up being some kind of misunderstanding. But we’ll follow up on these tips you’ve given us when we get back to the station, of course. Could we just have a quick look around the apartment, to see if anything seems amiss?”

¤¤¤

Having seen nothing suspicious in Min-young’s apartment they assured the Cho’s that they would call them the next day, and said their goodbyes.

“You did good up there, Jong-in”, Baek-hyun complimented his partner for the day. “What are your thoughts?”

“Thank you, Byu-Baek-hyun” Jong-in stuttered, making Bae-hyun laugh.”I feel bad for them. But like you said, they almost always come back. So...do we talk to her assistant, get phone records from Min-young’s cell provider?”

“Phone records takes more than...” Baek-hyun looked at his watch “than the two hours we have left. Let’s call the assistant, and you can run down locations of CCTV in the area”.

“To see when she left the apartment and which way she went…”

“We’ll take a closer look tomorrow morning if she’s still not back. So her friend, Oh Sehun…” Baek-hyun let the question hang in the air.

“Yeah. Do you usually see friends joining this early? He’s probably telling the truth, but…”

“But..?” Baek-hyun echoed for Jong-in to continue.

“Well, he was the last one to talk to her. And did she really not say anything to him?”

“Exactly. I don’t think he’s hurt her, but it’s possible - likely even - that he might know more than he’s telling. Remember what I said about catering to a different audience? Let’s do a quick background check and talk to him tomorrow. Maybe he’ll be more open when the girl’s parents aren’t around.”

Back at the station Jong-in started working on the CCTV footage while Baek-hyun went to update Jun-myeon.

“Hey, boss...”, he knocked on the frosted glass window, but didn’t wait for a reply before he opened the door. Jun-myeon was on the phone, but gestured for Baek-hyun to come in.

“...twisted baguettes, not ordinary ones, got it. Bye, love” he said, hung up and shared one of his life lessons with Baek-hyun “happy wife, happy life. Now, how’d it go?” Baek-hyun ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

“As expected, I’d say. They were worried, but it hasn’t been that long. We’re gonna run down some leads they gave us before calling it a day”.

“Okay, sounds good. And Jong-in?”

“Yeah, he did good, boss. And he likes my girl”, Baek-hyun smiled.

“Ah, Byun-ah..!”, Jun-myeon exclaimed “That’s why you like him, ‘cus he likes your car..!”

Baek-hyun choked a smile “No, he’s good, honestly. But why does he get to be “Jong-in” while I’m still my surname?”, he asked, raising an eyebrow. Jun-myeon countered by raising both brows.

“Because I don’t want nine guys in my office every time I ask for Kim, is why he’s “Jong-in”...”. Baek-hyun clicked his tongue and pointed at Jun-myeon.

“Got it. Well, I’m gonna do some digging with the time I’ve got left”, he said and stood up.

“You’re a star player, Byun. Fighting!”, Jun-myeon said jokingly as Baek-hyun closed the door.

¤¤¤

Baek-hyun and Jong-in had punched out after checking off their list. There wasn’t much to see, really; the assistant, Michelle, hadn’t seen Min-young so she couldn’t offer much assistance, ironically enough. And as far as Sehun goes, he seemed to be harmless; no citations, no odd-ball photos or rants on the internet...just a guy. Nonetheless, Baek-hyun had begun to feel a touch uneasy about the whole thing, so after shutting the engine off in the driveway he called the precinct and asked the officer on the night shift to send a request for Min-young’s phone records.

Better safe than sorry, he said to himself. Locking the car door was his queue to give his work mind a rest, and it wasn’t hard to do when he saw the note on his front door: 17.25 You have a houseguest, B!(Cover shift) It was signed with a winking smiley inside the O of the name “Veró”. Baek-hyun chuckled, spirits lifted. He had barely opened the door before a little corgi was upon him, tap-dancing around his feet with bright eyes. Baek-hyun put his blazer on a valet stand and bent down to greet his guest.

“Well, hi there, Mongi..! What are you doing here?” he said while playfully wrestling with the dog “Did you tell mommy to drop you of at the fun house?” He looked at his watch; an hour ago. “We might as well go out now, nugget. And then it’s dinner for the both of us - I’m famished!”.

With his parents living a couple of hours away, having Veró and Mongi was a real blessing to him. It’s not every day you meet someone you’re almost a hundred percent comfortable with; may it be in silence, changing clothes, physical interaction, crying or ugly laughing. Veró (short for Verónica) had moved in next door almost three years ago, and they instantly hit it off. Well, it wasn’t the right hit at first. They had dated for about four months when they both realized that they weren’t lovers’ material. The reason they felt exceedingly comfortable with each other was because they were best friends. They called it quits on the romantic part and now hung out as just friends; dinners, talks through the night, even sleepovers - and of course the semi-shared custody of Veró’s dog Mongi. Baek-hyun had fallen in love with him the first time he saw him, and insisted she name him Mongryong, but Veró was dead set on “Miguel”, a latin singer, or “the sun of Mexico” as she called him. They ended up having a marathon of games and soju to decide who would get the honours, and to Veró’s dismay Baek-hyun won, and the rest is history.

Since Veró left so late he knew she was covering for someone from the night shift and therefore didn’t expect her to be back until early morning at best, so after dinner they both curled up in bed: Mongi with a bone and Baek-hyun with the latest issue of Journal of Forensic Sciences.

“The things they can find out with forensics these days, Mongi, I tell ya...” Baek-hyun sighed, and Mongi looked at him, breathing heavily from his ferocious battle with the bone. “That’s right, pay attention, so you don’t go out in the streets acting like a fool.” He put the magazine on the nightstand as well as taking off his t-shirt before turning off the light - the queue for Mongi to curl up in the crook of Baek-hyun’s knees.

“Good night, nugget.”

APRIL 18th

Baek-hyun was the quintessential morning person, so when the alarm went off at 06.00 he immediately got up. The same could not be said about Mongi.

“Rise and shine, Mongi. Time to do some laps”, Baek-hyun cooed while putting on his sweats. But it would take the sound of food being prepared for Mongi to bounce out in to the kitchen.

“You try it every time, and I tell you every time: walk, then food.”

The air was chilly, a typical late spring morning, and there was an overcast hinting rain would come before long. He may not look it, but the dog was a top runner, so Baek-hyun could jog at a pace that made his heart rate go up a few notches, all the way down to the river, about twenty minutes away. He stopped by a drinking fountain, giving Mongi a few palms of water and splashed his face and water-combed his hair back. The clouds had lifted by the horizon, and the sunrise stained the clouds a yellowy apricot and Baek-hyun took it all in; these precious still and silent mornings were the favourite part of his day. He felt a tug on the leash, so he snapped out of it and they started back home for breakfast and a shower.

He wrapped a towel around his waist, draped a second one over his shoulders and made his way to the kitchen. A lot of Baek-hyun’s colleagues ate at work, but he preferred to have a quiet breakfast at home before all the hustle and bustle, so he sat down with his cup of black coffee and rye porridge. He was halfway through his meal when his phone rang, so his slippered feet shuffled to the bedroom:

“A call this early is never good, boss.” He sat down on the bed with a sinking feeling.

“Sorry, Byun. We’ve got a body, female. Under Pioneer’s Bridge. She hasn’t been identified, but…” Jun-myeon paused.

“You think it might be her.”

#baekhyun #baekhyun crime story #kai #jongin crime story #exo fanfic

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wheremytwinwatches · 5 years ago

Text

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 46

Last time: The Armstrong Siblings “fought”, Envy pulled a Loki, and Greedling got a new crew. Onwards!

Timeskip apparently, Narrator’s saying that our guys planned as the year changed and it’s spring now. “Ready or not, the Promised Day would soon arrive.” So the Day is in spring? Episode 46 - “Looming Shadows” Gee, I wonder which shadow-based Goth is going to feature in this episode? Hey Sideburns! What brings you down to the land of sun, sheep and cheerful villagers? Wait, Resembool? That’s the hometown of the Blonde Trio! Oh I get it, take a break to fill up on water for the train, while you’re there pass a note to Granny Rockbell, she’s probably wondering why Winry hasn’t called lately. Or forget the note, just smuggle Winry home! Been a while, hasn’t it? You went to Rush Valley to study automail and wound up with an apprenticeship, then went to Central to patch Ed up, went back to Rush Valley because of demanding customers, went to Fort Briggs to patch Ed up again, and after dealing with Ishvalans and Goths you’re finally home. While the disguised Briggs troops look around the workshop, Winry heads upstairs for a long-awaited outfit change HEY cameraman stop creeping on Winry can’t you see she’s changing her shi Um Yeah Ed, I’m having the same reaction. Minus the sandwich, but yeah. Same face on my end. So Winry understandably screams at the Surprise Boyfriend in her bedroom her guards run upstairs guns ready surprised to see the Protagonist chilling then Gorilla and Boar are there pointing their guns at the guards then the Rockbell Dog comes running up to bite Gorilla (not the cat Chimera? Missed opportunity) on the bum who gets pulled off by an irritated Greedling then Winry recognizes “Ling” then the troops recognize Kimblee’s former men who recognize guys from Briggs then accusations about everyone following each other start flying and everyone’s yelling at each other [Winry]: “Ok Ed, you want to tell me what’s going on here?” [Ed]: “Looks like a cautionary tale about guns.” [Winry]: “Don’t be a smartass, tell me why you’re in my room!” [Blushing!Ed]: “I just wanted someplace private to eat my sandwich!” By this point Winry is just Done and kicks the guards/the chimeras/Greedling out, Ed and Dog cowering at the sight of the furious mechanic with a wrench. Awww but now she’s admitting she was worried about Ed and he says he was worried about her and Al- hey wait a minute. Where’s Little Brother? At the trainstation with Sideburns? Hurry Ed, you can reunite with your brother and Absentee Anime Father! Wait no need to stop and say goodbye and give Winry back her earrings and kiss her already you fool. Or not? Oh yeah, Ed’s kind of a fugitive, while it’s Sideburns and Al at the train if any of Bradley’s forces are around and see him then they’re all in trouble. So what, he just has to wait and let his brother be separated from him again? That sucks. Granny Rockbell! Good to see you again. After all the other interlopers recover introductions go around, and Winry tries to talk to Ling but nope! It’s Greedling now. The “boss” gives the backstory over supper, explains that they’re crashing at the Rockbell’s place because Ed’s automail is banged up thank you I was wondering if they were going to address Ed moving with the old limbs after a growth spurt. And don’t think I missed your game Granny, you passed on Ed’s checkup so the two kids could chat on their own. Ed’s glad to get the good news about Liore rebuilding, and learns that Al’s going with Sideburns east to help with the combined North/East forces. And Beard’s heading to Central? Damnit so Ed has to choose between helping his brother or his pops. Winry says it’s almost the Promised Day ok I’m sorry but when is the Promised Day? Is that like an Amestris holiday or something? Spring Solstice? Anniversary of Amestris’ founding? Selim’s birthday? When is it?! Whenever it is, Ed notes that they might be able to use it to get their bodies back, but there’s the likely risk of catastrophe. So he wants Winry to take her Granny and the dog out of the country-

Winry does not approve of this plan. Honey, I get that you have faith in the Protagonist and hate the idea that people will get hurt if he fails, but you have to admit that he’s up against long odds. We can hope that he’ll succeed, but even Armstrong the Great ordered her family out of Amestris on the chance of failure. And HA! He is taller than her now! Growth Spurt confirmed!

(yes Winry’s leaning forward in that shot but damnit I’m taking this) ...dude! Not cool! Don’t just gripe that she just doesn’t understaaaaaand and storm out! Don’t let that be the note you part on! Look, even Greedling’s mocking you. And NOPE you stay the hell away from my ship you Goth. [Ed]: “That kind of wanting is dangerous; That’s not how reality works. Take a look, this is what I got for wanting something unrealistic.” What, a badass robot arm? I mean, I’ve made my stance on being a cyborg clear, I’m not really sympathizing with you here buddy. Greedling disagrees as well. [Greedling]: “You wanna bring back someone that you’ve lost. You might want money. Maybe you want women, or you might wanna ‘protect the world’. These are all common things people want. Things that their hearts desire. Greed may not be ‘good’, but it’s not so ‘bad’ either.” Ed starts walking away. [Greedling]: “You humans think greed is just for money and power! But everyone wants something that they don’t have.” Ed comes to a stop on the stairs. Then he keeps on walking. You’re leaving already? Where are you heading, Al or Beard? Also hot damn Ed’s rocking the suit look, I’m so proud of my no-longer-little boy. Thankfully he’s trying to leave on a good note with Winry, goes so far as to say he’ll stop them like she told him to promise earlier. ...wait, did you just basically tell your LI to get in the kitchen and cook for your victory? Back in Liore wait are the Chimeras and Yoki still there? Why didn’t they head to Central with Beard? See even Boar’s complaining that they need to prepare for the Promised Day oh so they’re waiting on Scar and Marcoh to come back never mind here they are. What were you guys up to, anyway? Ok then guess we’ll find out in Central. The majority of the Mine Crew is back on the road now, Toad and Boar chatting about the irony of working with a former Antagonist to save their own country. Scar retorts that he’s not trying to “save” Amestris, but change it. Yeah, with how militarized and expansionist Amestris is under the Goths I suppose it’s be essentially a new country, changed to be unable to cause another Genocide. [Voice?]: “If you truly dream of changing the world, you must first be able to change yourself!” It’s the Ishvalan Elder! With a bunch of other Ishvalans, talking about “the ebb and flow” wait a minute that sounds suspiciously like the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Jeez, when was the last time we got to update the EEC? Should I count this? Anyways, Toad and Boar are shocked to see other Ishvalans, turns out that recruiting these guys was what Scar and Marcoh were up to these past few months. And there’s General Grumman! Back in his uniform, looking over his troops. And Sideburns is there too, with the Northern forces. Everything’s all set- a “stumbling block”? Uh, that’s Fuhrer King “Wrath” Bradley up in the observation tower. I’d call that a bit more than a “stumbling block”. So what now? Later that night Al’s still in that train car bored out of his non-corporeal mind oooor slipping away. Crap, he’s getting worse. He needs his body back, soon. A crash? Al’s looking outside did water just fall on ooooooooh no. That’s not water. Gluttony! Crap, run dude! It’s not just Wrath here but Gluttony’s back in the field SHIT IT GOT WORSE. Normally light would be safe but it just cast a shadow behind Al and Leto-damn Pride is here to do that hand-grabby thing from the last intro, and Al’s losing his connection again no no no Al’s down. The hands are moving in. Al… [Pride]: “You rest up Alphonse, just take it nice and easy for a while. We’ll wake you on NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO “-on the Promised Day.” GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIS SIGIL ...how the hell did this episode go from “hyuk hyuk lets have Winry almost undress in front of Ed” to “hyuk hyuk lets have Al get captured by the Goths”. What the Leto. Mid-ep pictures of Winry undressing and Wrath drinking tea. Armstrong the Great’s hanging out in her mansion when Roy pays a visit. They take a walk outside as Roy admires the size of the home, “you could hide an entire battalion in it” real subtle, wannabe-Fuhrer. But Armstrong the Great says he can have it if she dies? Holy crap does Armstrong the Great think she won’t survive this? It’s one thing to order non-combatants out of the line of fire, but you’re writing your own will? Although it is sweet that you would leave it to Roy wait hold on I ship Roy/Riza you stop that right now you homewrecker! Ok fine you can take flowers to celebrate your victory although that happened months ago wait WHAT?! You’re only just now telling her that Selim is one of the Goths? What the hell took you so long, that’s kind of an important thing to know! Fine whatever, she knows now so- hah ok that was funny, glad to see it’s still a good rivalry between the two. And making her angry enough to throw the flowers (representing “ladylike charm”) in the fire along with the note, nice touch. Bradley’s overlooking the drills while Grumman gripes about feeling helpless. We seem to share the same initial thought that the artillery cannons being fired could “accidentally” blow up the observation tower, but since the guy’s a Goth that’s probably just piss him off. Uuugh, and the good guys can’t find Al anywhere, where did the Goths take him? And on the day before the Promised Day, too! A General come to talk to Bradley? Warning him about Grumman staging a coup but Bradley already knows about the plan damnit he’s questioned Al. But that’s not the plan? Ooh! So while these drills are going on Scar’s Ishvalans are preparing to attack Central, then Grumman can move his troops to “save” Central, meeting up with Roy’s forces. Damnit General, way to spoil the secret plan. Bradley watches the drills a bit longer to confirm that Ishvalans are gathering outside of Central, then orders the train to depart. Some of his flunkies are complaining about Roy being “treacherous” (say the guys planning to massacre a friggin country) when the train reaches a bridge- wait. Wait wait wait. Ooooooooooh. Grumman? You are a genius, please never be my enemy. Yup! The train comes to a stop in the middle of the bridge, ostensibly because of some sheep crossing the far side. Then the engine splits off and books it for the far side of the gorge. 3...2...1…

Hahahaha screw you Wrath! Uuunfortunately while I see a bunch of twisted metal and a broken bridge where the traincars used to be, I don’t see Wrath’s body so we have to assume he lived. Damn I would not want to be that Snitch General when Bradley climbs out of that ravine. Tactical Genius Grumman just snaps his fan closed and laughs the laugh of the victorious. And now the end credit music is starting up as hell yeah Riza’s getting her guns back out! [Riza]: “This is it, everything goes down tomorrow. It’s Do or Die now. I’m glad the two of you have got my back.” [Breda]: “Hey, anything for you Riza. Even if it does mean deserting.” [Fuery]: “Oh man… there go our careers…” [Riza]: “Heh. Once the dust’s settled, we’ll make sure the Colonel answers for us.” After-credits of the Central Officers freaking out over the assassination news. Armstrong the Great’s just chilling in her chair, mentally mocking the fools for panicking the moment their leader is gone. Maybe now’s her chance to Nope Never mind. Uncle and Sloth are right behind her. The Officers regain their composure as their ultimate leader finally steps foot outside of his Pipe Room. [Uncle]: “I’m still here with you, and I’m watching over Central.” ...wait a minute, did Ed ever give back those earrings?

#wmtw #where my twin watches #full metal alchemist #full metal alchemist brotherhood #fmab #fmab 46

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the-house-of-the-nine · 6 years ago

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The Damned Never Die: Revelation, Part 1

[To those of you who continue to follow us, share our work and help spread the writings of myself and the fine people who work with me; I thank you! More than you know. “In Depths Below” has officially ended and I’m happy to start sharing the next book in our series of writings which is titled “The Damned Never Die”. Please help by linking and sharing this with people who might be interested; we really appreciate it! And if you’re here to read! Thank you as well, and without an further delay on my part; Please enjoy the first part of this tale! ]

Two Weeks since Lazarius’ return to the Nine. . . .

“ Kun-Lai, I will never forget Kun-Lai. It was the beginning and the end of everything for me. It caused me the life of a dear friend, and gave me the death of a hated enemy. It brought closure, it brought grief, but most importantly it brought questions.

Everything that happened from then until now; and here I sit, stirring within my own mind, poised to take quill to parchment once again. To fill another ledger with my thoughts and words to add it to my collection. To give insight to the future generations of the accounts that took place here. The dozen or so volumes that will be added for the events here will certainly give a sufficient record of what we faced. I am just pleased to have returned.

Kun-Lai to Zandalar to the Marshes, through Arathi and Hillsbrad. . . to Alterac. And finally home again. . . I have never wanted to be home more now than I was in that entire ordeal. . . Home. . .I never wanted any of this to happen. . .“

He peered down at the empty page, and slowly the quill began to quiver and shake as his finger motioned toward it.

I never wanted any of this. Well I write that but is it really the truth? I suppose I should have been a bit more forthcoming in the weeks leading up to everything that had happened. I was a fool, a careless fool to say the least. And put stock in myself thinking I could do something without any help as usual.

Marseille warned me. “Don’t you think this is a matter for the council?” but rather than go right to them, I decided to do what I wanted. Again.

I had every bit of knowledge I needed when I found out that the Magisters led by Dawnseeker were planning their coup. I didn’t have any idea that he was going to spring into action with the End Game being first. I was a fool. He bested me in my own battle.

Here I had hoped to get the upper hand by striking first. Marseille was going to eliminate them one after another. We had everything in order and then Kun-Lai happened.

How was I supposed to expect them? Zoei and I hadn’t seen one another since she went on assignment behind enemy lines. And here I am writing about her now.

I never really get a chance any more to just sit and theorize. I am always filling this ridiculous book with all sorts of nonsense. Why cant I just have a bit of time to write poetry or draw little sketches.

“You’re doing it again. . .” he said softly to himself as he began to scribble out the last line in his journal.

Zoei is gone. Not one week after being back from all of the kodo shit and she is gone. She had told me, this wasn’t the life she had expected. That everything we’d gone through was enough to leave her wondering if she actually wanted it anymore. I think the massacre at the Masquerade was partially responsible. Perhaps part of me always knew that she was not cut out for this life; any yet in my naivety I pushed her, and forced her into it. I pushed her in deeper into the darkness, and inevitably slipped right out of my hands.

It is a pity. Despite all that has happened over the years, the last remaining of my apprentices is still Sennaris. I suppose she will always be my crowning achievement of success. At least there is that. A poor girl, lost and alone; trained to become a powerful empath and Compellor of The Nine. I couldn’t be more proud.

So, yes. I had to wipe Zoei’s mind. Took the knowledge of the void, the memories we shared, everything we’d been through. She’ll never even recognize me if she saw me today. Just another face in the crowd as she walks past. And here I am, me. . .forced to endure and remember. I am always left remembering....

“Always fucking remembering. . .” he hissed as his hand raised the chalice to his right which was filled with a crimson liquid.

His Cindervine Red, his favorite. His one true comfort in troubling times. The wrapped fingers that were coiled around the stem of the chalice were a mixture of void energy and a woven nylon material the parasite managed to synthesize.

His hands were completely obliterated when he and Jursol had to destroy the metallic shackles Dawnseekers hunters encased them in. His flesh and bone were missing on most of his fingers, and the parts of him that did survive the ordeal was blackened and charred and would be forever damaged.

If it hadn’t been for the entity within his genetics; there would have been no happy ending for his upper appendages. Amputation would have been the only plausible answer. The only saving grace was that it had stopped the infection immediately, and worked to preserve whatever tissue it could.

Because the host was damaged, it would allow him the use of a wire like framework of nerve endings that it had created in replacement for his missing fingers. The spiderweb of nerves were purple and string like; almost like a wire frame from a sculpture. After creating the illusion of fingers and parts of his missing hand, the bindings of void energy and nylon would be wrapped around the frame like a mummified corpse; thus appearing to be whole.

CLACK - CLACK

It was the only way he could retain the use of digits and feeling. But sadly; he would have to live like this for the rest of his existence. A deformed and hideous version of his former self.

“Back to the point. . .” his voice softly murmured as he tried to refocus himself on the open ledger. The strange sound heard as he was pausing, that odd sound which was bugging him lately. Where was it coming from?

My time away from the order gave me a period in which to think about what exactly was going on. What we were really striving for. How we were structured. And ultimately what the future was going to hold for all of us.

It is a careful thought. Curious even, now nearly ten years passing since everything had been completely changed and restructured. The loss of not only Raelyinda, but Mo’rynth. Then Zalinath returning and destroying us. The rebirth and and rebuild; everything since those early days. Days when it was just myself, my sister and Poeta.

Now, we’re a city. A populace of like mined individuals striving to survive and flourish in a future that seems almost inevitable. N’Zoth is rising from the sea, and with it will usher in the return of the Black Empire. The turning point for Azeroth will be if the planet lives. Because even then, the true masters of the void will surely be invited to set their eyes on this little ball of earth and water.

While on Zandalar, getting to know Jursol, and trying to figure out where this leaves us as a collective; something dawned on me. We have survived. Not because of our blind faith in depths below, or because of our masters will. It was because we as a collective are strong. We are our own strength and we give ourselves the power to change our future. And change we have. We’ve broken away from the ties that bind us, choosing to keep what we want, and banish the chains that hold us back.

And that is my revelation. That is my discovery. We are the Nine and we control our future. The entire council and collective order we have formed here, our home, our prosperity. We’ve achieved a great and many things, and will continue to push forward.

It was galvanized in my mind the very moment I returned. When I had seen what the people here are capable of even without my wisdom and guidance. The loss of one; stirs the wrath of many. Like shaking a hornets nest. And it would be no different for any other who may have been lost to our cause. They achieved something that was neigh impossible; by combining their prowess and working toward the future that they controlled. And in the end, they have only fueled my vitality toward achieving more to its maximum.

There came a soft, yet stern knocking on the massive stained door of the Inquisitors chamber. He knew exactly who it belonged to before he even spoke.

“Ser...” came the grizzled voice of the withered old Gilnean.

Lazarius peered up from his inscribing quill and glanced toward the veteran with his venomous black pools.

“Kross. . .” he responded, resting his elbow against the surface of the large writing desk.

“My apologies for disturbing your diligent work...” replied the specter.

“Never a reason to apologize, old friend. I always welcome your presence you know that. . .what is it?” there was not a hint of doubt coming from his voice at this point. Kross was always welcome.

“You requested a progress update earlier this morning. Doctor Whistletorque had asked to speak to you about the forge. Also a missive arrived earlier this week from the Baron; Krazzlowe, something Koltun and Pyravari have already begun tending to. Madam Jursol has also asked about where the limitations are for her raptors to roam, and if it will be disturbing to the students to allow them to wander freely. There was also a. . .”

Lazarius raised his hand toward the white eyed steward. He smiled and nodded slowly as if he already knew all that he was trying to tell him.

“Kross. . . you are suddenly acting as though this place would fall apart without me.”

“Yet you are aware of the redundancy of that statement, considering it is the literal result if you were lost.” the old bearded man would say as he moved in closer to the table.

Lazarius chuckled softly and continued to nod as his body leaned back and pressed against the spine of the chair.

“Well aware. . . “

Kross stood beside the fairly clean table top, noticing nothing was out of place; there were no scattered piles of books and ledgers. The drafting table was completely empty. It roused his suspicions but he remained silent. Usually his charge was avidly scheming. Always toiling a project or plot; a result of the parasite again no doubt causing his brain to toil and turn with every waking moment.

“Kross. . .have you given thought to what our life would be like if we were not bound to this place?” the disturbing question from the Inquisitor bellowed as his eyes closed and he listened to the silence of the room.

“You are wondering if I’ve given thought to my eternal slumber, or...?” he paused. The steward reached his gloved fingers outward and curled them around the length of the bottle neck containing Lazarius’ wine.

“No no, I mean... this life. I don’t know perhaps it is foolish. . .” he responded calmly sighing.

“I have known you for nearly three centuries Ser, hardly anything you suggest is either faulty or foolish.” Kross responded without hesitation as he bent at the elbow and began to refresh the chalice with the burgundy liquor.

“Hardly?” he mused softly as he heard the choice of word.

Kross only smiled lightly, enough to track back again as his master continued on.

“The old ones give; and they take away. But we are not meant to be the true servants are we?” he asked listening to that familiar gulping of the wine as it poured from the bottle.

“You are beginning to wonder your place in the world?”

“No I understand our place, I am questioning our position in it. I know our place will always be here. Doing as we always have. Defending our freedom from persecution for practicing what we do. Protecting our sacred ways our sacred brothers and sisters. . . I will never forsake that which has shaped me, but I. . .” Lazarius stuttered again in his words as his head shook and he peered up with the contrasting black eyes to meet the white of his friend.

“You are beginning to see then. . .” Kross said peering back as he finished refilling the glass.

“See?” the elf asked curiously, his brow lofting in natural response.

“There is more to what we have here than simply chaos, and wanton lusts for madness. True we are creatures of the nefarious. Primed to always be thrust against the natural order of what is righteous and what is good. But that does not define us. We do as we must to ensure ours do not die off, whatever it takes. . ..”

Lazarius continued to listen to the sagely council of his old friend. Choosing to remain silent after he paused and placed the bottle down, allowing the Steward to continue.

“When the servant is no longer needed, the Master will cast him aside. The years of dedicated service and dutiful care taking will never be forgotten, but rarely do those who serve the source of a greater power reach the pinnacle of their Masters success. It is not often the servant stand atop the mountain beside the glory. . .”

The black eyes of the Inquisitor tore suddenly away. He was not certain but he wondered if that was how he was seen. A ruling tyrant, a man who had placed himself above the values of the greater collective.

“And yet here you stand, continuing to serve.” he murmured softly into the room.

“And here I stand, continuing to serve, because you are not that, Ser.” Kross placed his hand upon the robed shoulder of his own Master. “You are nothing like that.”

“...no something. . .far, far worse.. ” he snorted into a chortle as he shook his head. The wrapped fingers of his left hand raising upward and placing upon the gloved edges of the old mans.

“Ser, the day you become a wretched tyrant who places the ones he cares for in danger; choosing to protect yourself over they, is the day you find my resignation letter impaled in the phylactery holding my remains.” Kross stated softly.

Lazarius peered back up at the older man and smiled. He was a father figure, and always had been. But more importantly he was an honest friend, a governing influence and a moral compass to the sometimes verbose and outlandish mind of his own making.

“Still. . . To some I already am. . .you know that yes?” Lazarius said softly.

“Those who have wandered away have lost their nerve. Either by their own lack of dedication or fears that have left them unsure. Some have given up, and others have simply lost their desire. But you have never once put their lives in any danger without putting your own in first.” The old Gilnean said in a gruff voice that allowed for some compassion to linger.

Lazarius only nodded. There were few who came and wandered off, and some who had just all together abandoned them. Some who had sought to manipulate and take; but never give.

“In fact some may say you are the reason for their success. You’ve given away more than you have taken. Especially when it comes to their well being, and safety.”

Kross add softly as his own hand pulled away once Lazarius had released him. He continued.

“A home like The Bastille after losing the estate and all we had built there. Not many would have been so fortunate in the case of having the foresight to move, but also successfully avoid the unnecessary deaths of hundreds. Save for those sixty seven.”

Lazarius indeed knew that the old man was trying to lessen the weight of his mind, but something still burned in the very back.

“While I was away from you all, it had given me time to think. Time to consider. With everything that has happened between now and the beginning of this war; we have been stuck in a position I would say is. . .fair at best.”

Kross listened as he began to tidy the small scraps of paper and items around the massive desk.

“I thought of possibly reaching out to a few connections we still had. . .aid us in getting back on our feet until we could financially support ourselves again.” he continued as his head shook back and forth.

“With so much lost from Quel’thalas, until you finally decide to reinstate Miss Kash’ebahl as the benefactor and head of the families affairs it makes things difficult there.” Kross added as he made his way toward the small waste basket.

“And doing so now would not be advantageous. I can’t exactly march back in and begin asking for hand outs. Though the thought has crossed my mind.” Lazarius concluded as he flattened his palm on the surface of the table.

“There has been no change in the escalating war either. Currently it seems the Horde is balanced on its inevitable collapse as we face another catastrophic dictators iron Horde. . . though the Banshee seems determined to retain her throne of hide and bone.”

Kross would slowly pace back toward his Master. His white eyes studying the stress that built as he thought. Lazarius continued on.

“The bakery is enough to launder money, we are floating well above our means at the moment; all things considered. But if we cannot continue to filter the money from the Io-Cerebellum into Stormwind and Quel’thalas respectively, we could hit a financial brick wall.”

The black eyed Inquisitor curled his wrapped ethereal fingers around the stem of the chalice and sipped from it.

“Of course.” replied the steward.

“There are supplies to keep moving, food and stores to replenish. People here expect a certain amount of sustainability. A certain respective comfort. It would be unfit for me to simply strip that away because we’re strapped in our pockets.” the truth of the matter is he would begin selling off his own personal items before letting those around him suffer.

Kross was simply an observer at this point; a means of bouncing ideas from his lord to a bent ear. A way to perhaps move the ball forward, the wheels turning, suggestive thought just by working it out through his mind and into the air.

“I should have withdrawn that funding the moment this war began to fester. The moment they burned that tree, I . . .”

“You can not blame yourself for not having the hindsight to predict the retaliation. Nobody could have predicted the Alliance storming the beaches of Tirisfal. But you had enough sense to get our greatest asset safely away.”

Kross stood before him and firmly placed a hand on the table, he didn’t stop there.

“You spared hundreds by having the knowledge to act rather than wait. You could have continued your dealings and practicing what you wished. Continued to manipulate the courts and magistrate. But you did not. You abandoned your own selfish requirements and put the people who depend on your first. That is what a true leader does, Ser.”

Lazarius peered toward the Steward and suddenly blurted out.

“W-what did you say. . .”

Kross looked stunned. Lazarius never took his words into account as if they were meant to sting or wound.

“Ser, I did not mean to offend. . .I was j-”

“No no, Kross about the courts. . . The Horde. . . We don’t need to generate money...” he said trailing off and getting a distant look in his eyes.

Kross looked confused as Lazarius began ripping through his entire desk trying to find the correct ledger. Somewhere in there he would be hunting. And the old Gilnean would watch with a great interest as he attacked the drawers like a madman.

“Here we have been looking for a way to produce capital to continue moving forward. We are constantly moving forward, and yet all we need to do is look back at the past. . .where in reality we have been sitting on top of a goldmine this entire time.”

He suddenly ripped a large enchanted ledger from the lower drawer. His hand placed flat against the surface and it opened in a bright flash of purple light. Moments later, page after page, he would flip to somewhere in the middle and point directly at the amount. It was unfathomable to say the least.

“Ser?”

Lazarius grinned and tapped the page again before peering up at Kross.

To be Continued in. . . “The Damned Never Die: Revelation, Part 2″

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charmingxsmiles · 7 years ago

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feel again: eight

feel again

I followed Rhian as we made our way down the hall towards the conference room where she would be briefed with the others. Even though I’ve been here before, I thought it was quite peculiar that their cover was a coffee shop.

Though, should I really talk when our cover up was an idol group?

Coming through the back, it was really cool to see the secretive ways they had to get in the shop. She led me through the back, which wasn’t odd since some idols went through the back of restaurants to assure they wouldn’t be discovered to be there.

The difference between Maquina and YG was not surprising.

Maquina was an agency solely devoted to handle problems that no one should even worry about. YG was concerned with South Korean problems.

Walking in, I thought we would walk through the kitchen, but instead, it was an elevator that brought us down to a ground floor. We walked across a hall, not before Rhian scanned not only her hand or eyes, but also her whole body. Since Rhian was scanned, I was allowed to in as well. At the end of the hall, we get to a door and again, it was an elevator. This time, we went up and when the door opened, it was another hallway. This one was much shorter and at the door, the back of her hand was scanned which opened the door.

“Welcome Agent Rhian,” some voice welcomed her which slightly startled me.

It was out of an American spy movie and I was impressed to say the least.

When we walked in, everyone immediately greeted Rhian. The admiration and respect I saw in their eyes, especially her juniors, it was, I don’t know, a proud moment for me?

But then I wondered, what did she have to do to be this respected? I knew the answer, but even now, I was still in disbelief on what she did. Rhian always tried to be the best at whatever she’s doing, I just didn’t think she would aim to be the best in an agency such as this.

We entered the conference room and it was empty.

“Are you early?” I questioned her.

She shook her head and sat down at the head of the table and instructed for me to sit to her right. Waving her hand on top of the table, a hologram type of keyboard appeared.

“What the hell?” I mimicked her movement and there was nothing in front of me.

Rhian chuckled. “It’s just for Maquina agents,” she explained. Typing something quickly, the screen in front of the table lit up and I saw Jin appear. Amelia was on the screen beside him and there was a woman with Jin along with Michael.

“Lockdown initiated.” Rhian informed them.

“What is Seung Hyun doing there?” Michael questioned. I wasn’t sure if he was unhappy to see me or just curious.

“It concerns him, nothing we have to hide from him.” Rhian explained.

I saw Amelia smirk at Rhian’s words, while everyone else just nodded. Well, the woman with Jin smirked along with Amelia.

“Let me introduce myself, I’m Victoria Cruz, Jin’s daughter,” the woman with Jin stated. “It’s nice to finally meet you Mr. Choi.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well Victoria,” I bowed my head.

“Alright, so, has there been any update on who broke into our apartment?” Michael took hold of the situation, not wanting to further prolong it.

Rhian shook his head. “Juno or Arthur hasn’t given me any updates.”

“Where is Justin?” Jin questioned.

“I gave him the day off, it’s only going to be me and Seung Hyun oppa today.” Rhian responded.

Amelia and Victoria grinned again. I don’t know why they did, but they did. I looked at Rhian and she didn’t seem to notice their reactions.

“Ian, how are you doing?” Victoria asked.

“About the break in? Worst things have happened.”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking about.”

Rhian’s features changed then. Her face hardened and all the emotions, whether it was indifference or not no longer showed. She was blank.

“I’m fine, again, worst things have happened to me.”

But what were those worst things? No matter how hard I try to pry her open, Rhian wouldn’t even give me the time of day. Not that she ignored me, she just knew how to avoid the question.

Victoria just merely nodded her head at Rhian’s response, not wanting to divulge any further.

“Back on track then,” Jin cleared his throat. “I have spoken to Raymond Leon and he has given the clearance to take out Victor. It seems that he is leading a coup within the Leon ranks.”

“Daniel told me.”

“And you didn’t think of informing us?” Michael questioned.

“I assumed you knew, Victoria is Raymond Leon’s daughter, I just thought since she was talking to them, she would have heard something,” Rhian bowed her head. “I apologize.”

“When do you plan on eliminating Victor?” Amelia chimed in.

“I can’t step foot into Europe without him knowing.”

“You won’t eliminate him in Europe, you’re right, it’s too risky. Besides, we have to make it look like Raymond had nothing to do with this.” Jin looked at Victoria. “Didn’t you say that Victor was going to Japan for some business?”

“Yes, he firmly believes that Simon is a Yakuza member and wants to build a relationship with his family.” Victoria rolled her eyes. “Have you spoken to Simon about this?”

Rhian shook her head. “I wasn’t aware.”

“Make sure when you eliminate him, you hurt Simon as well. People need to believe that he was eliminated by a rival or something.” Michael advised, giving her the scenario she can play to carry out the deed.

“This is a terrible plan, any way you put it, there will be consequences. Why not just give him a tip where I am. If he comes for me, I can kill him once and for all.” Rhian’s plan was absolutely idiotic. Who would play bait?

“I thought you hate playing bait.” Michael frowned.

“I’m not playing bait, he’s coming here for me and I’ll finish him off.” Rhian sounded so different, so emotionless.

“You’ll freeze again, you were never able to kill him.” Michael reasoned.

“I’ll do it,” I chimed in. All of them looked at me and I shrugged. “I have no connection to him and he was trying to kill me.” I looked at Rhian. “I would do anything to protect her.”

“No, we won’t involve him. Victor was my mistake, my problem.” By her tone of voice, I could tell that Rhian wanted no argument. That what she said was law, too bad for her, I didn’t give a fuck.

“You’re my girl, he’s my problem.” I didn’t stutter with my words. She wasn’t ‘my girl’, but she was one of the people I cared about the most and I would mountains to keep her safe.

I could see a hint of pink on Rhian’s cheeks and I had to smirk at that. Looking back at the screen, its hard to imagine these supposed stone cold assassin’s grinning at some cheesy line such as that one I just let out, but they were.

Rhian cleared her throat. “I don’t think Hyun Suk oppa would want to involve you.”

“There’s nothing he can do if it was my own choice.”

“I wasn’t aware you were allowed to make choices outside of the agency.”

“This isn’t bondage, I can do as I please as long as its within limits.”

“Almost certain this is out of your range.”

“Rhian,” Jin’s voice was always so calm. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say anything in a panicked tone. Even now, there was no scolding in his tone. It was still calm, cool and collected.

Maybe it was years of experience, but he was just so calm. Hyun Suk hyung told us about him, how even when he scolded one of his people, he was calm and collected. He only saw him lost his cool once and it had something to do with his wife.

“Sir, please tell him that this is out of his scope and not his job.” I could tell Rhian was trying to protect me, I wasn’t obtuse. But she should know I could protect myself.

“Ian, he brings up a good point. I rather have someone have your back as well.” Jin reasoned. “I will speak to Hyun Suk about this matter.”

“Justin and Simon is here, hell even Daniel is here. Victor will try to make an example out of Seung Hyun,” it was like I wasn’t even in the room as she spoke about me. Did she not think I could contribute to this?

“May I remind you what I do?” I was slightly irate by her words. It was as if she didn’t do her research on me. I did my research on her and I don’t know if I should be impressed by her body count or worried.

I still remembered the meeting we had after Rhian came back.

“Pull it up,” I ordered Daesung as we sat in one of the conference rooms along with our fellow members, Teddy hyung and Kush hyung.

Our eyes were all trained on the screen before us that showed us a picture of Rhian. It was like a mugshot, but really, it was the file Maquina had on her that Jin graciously gave to us. Hyun Suk hyung stated that he wanted to know who would be protecting me. Even though we all knew Rhian, we weren’t idiots. Much had changed and we want to know her track record.

“Rhian Daniels, also known as Flash, 28 years old. Born in Los Angeles, California.” The door opened and the girls of 2NE1 came in.

“Sorry we’re late oppas,” CL bowed her head along with her fellow members. “Caught up in practice.”

“It’s okay,” Teddy waved it off.

“She is a part of the elite team in Maquina called ‘The Unholy Ones’, you became a part of this group by either being chosen by Maquina officials or having a high kill rate.” Daesung delve further into Rhian’s folder. “And Rhian became a part of the team accomplishing both feats.”

He began to scroll down the list of official kills Rhian had accomplished and I wasn’t sure if I was impressed, worried, or in a fucked up sense, disappointed. The picture I had of Rhian was one of innocence and that doe eyed curiosity she held.

Looking around the room, I’m sure we all shared the same thought and expression. Was this really Rhian? What happened? Did she really become this ruthless killer?

I wasn’t judging her, we basically had the same occupation. But unlike me, this was her life. She was used as an executioner. Maquina was doing good in some sense, but as Hyun Suk hyung always taught us, the world was not black and white, it was much more complex than that. There were things we wouldn’t agree with, but difficult decisions had to be made to save others.

“She is efficient in hand to hand combat, and obviously, weapons, specifically, a .45 handgun.” Daesung continued. “Recently, she has risen in the ranks and is officially the top agent in Maquina after the retirement of Amelia. Victoria Cruz shares the top spot with her, but each woman is used for different regions. Victoria is predominantly in Europe, while Rhian handles Asia and America.”

“That’s a large region.” Kush commented.

“It has something to do with her nickname. The territory is large however, due to her being quick and efficient, she is given numerous of assignments and its quickly handled.”

“That sounds like a liability.” Teddy pointed out.

“You would think, but judging by the reports that I looked through, she has the least amount of collateral damage in Maquina.” Daesung clicked the remote in his hand and pictures of Rhian graduating from college were on the slide. One picture that caught my eye was a picture of her graduating the academy that housed future Maquina agents and also one of her in front of the Eiffel Tower. “From what I’ve gathered, she’s very calculated and does not take a step unless she knows the possible consequences of her kills.”

“Does she work alone?” Chaerin chimed in.

“No, she does not, Rhian noona only seems to work with Justin.” Seung Ri answered. “They’re quite the duo. Justin doesn’t seem to have as many kills as her, but they’re a force to be reckoned with.”

“And Simon-sshi?” Young Bae placed the folder on the table, directing his question o Daesung.

That’s right. Park Simon. From that meeting, they seemed to be quite chummy.

“Simon-sshi is currently undercover for Maquina in the Leon’s organization. From my understanding, he trained along with Rhian and they were quite close.” Daesung didn’t have to give more information. The way Simon looked at her, it was like how I looked at her. I was just thankful that Rhian didn’t seem to entertain the idea of being with him.

“She’s disposed of so many people, how do we know she’s stable?” I questioned.

“Well, she hasn’t gone on a rampage, so I figured it’s a win.” The voice didn’t belong to anyone in this room. Our eyes all went to the door that no one heard open and there stood Michael Daniels.

“Hyung, what are you doing here?” Daesung questioned.

“I was speaking to Hyun Suk hyung and he pointed me to this room.” He took a seat beside Teddy hyung. “My sister is as stable as she can be, but I’ll tell you this, numbers do not do her justice.”

“Did you come here to boast about your sister’s accomplishments?” Teddy asked.

“Boast? No, Rhian’s accomplishments speak for itself. But as calculated as she is, she has a blind spot,” his eyes landed on me. “It’s you. I just came here to make things clear, we both care for Rhian and I want you to assure me that you’re going to protect her when the time comes.”

What kind of statement was that? As much as Rhian and I didn’t see eye to eye, I wouldn’t let her die in front of me. Michael and I had our issues, but for him to have to assure that I wouldn’t let his sister get hurt? That was bullshit. He knew the gravity of my relationship with her.

His request was idiotic.

“You have nothing to worry about.”

The number of bodies she’s buried, I couldn’t even imagine where Rhian’s head was at. She still seems sane, functional, but death never bothers you while you’re awake. It’s while you sleep that it came.

Rhian ignored my remark and looked forward once more. “I’ll brief Justin.”

“Remember, don’t act out of emotions, you know better.” Amelia warned before her side of the screen went black.

“Once we figure out where Victor is going to be, we’ll make a much more concrete plan. I will speak to Hyun Suk about this matter. For now, business as usual, you stay with Seung Hyun until we make a plan.” The screen went black after that, leaving Rhian and I.

“You’re not going to be part of this.” Rhian insisted.

“Why not? Do you think I can’t pull my own weight?” I had to admit, it hurt a bit to know she didn’t believe in me. That she didn’t think I was capable of doing what she does.

“It’s not that, Victor just knows you and he’s going to make it personal.”

I gave her an odd look and chuckled. “It’s already personal.”

She rolled her eyes and stood up. “Seung Hyun oppa, it’s not that I don’t believe in your capabilities, I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“It’s part of life.” I argued.

She sighed then, sitting back down. “Alright, we’ll see how it goes, but we’re going to plan this out.”

I smirked. “Fine by me.”

We walked into my house and she froze, causing me to collide with her. For a moment, I was alarmed that someone broke in, but then I realized it was my mother and sister who were in the kitchen, preparing what I assumed to be dinner. My nephew was on the floor, playing, not even noticing that someone came in.

A child’s innocence was a beautiful thing. Their care in the world was focused on their toys and honestly, that’s the way it should be.

“Rinnie, look at you,” My mother walked over to us, placing her hand on either side of Rhian’s cheeks. “You’ve grown up into such a beautiful young woman.” She wrapped her arms around Rhian and she was still stiff. Eventually, Rhian returned her embrace.

I could hear Rhian apologizing to her and my mother was soothing her, telling her it was okay. My sister embraced her next, just as warmly as my mother. I still remembered when she first left, my mother and sister were extremely upset. They couldn’t wrap their mind around the fact that Rhian would leave simply me, we were inseparable and not even Big Bang should have driven a rift between us. Then she met with Rhian’s aunt and my mom’s opinion changed. She spoke to my sister and her opinion changed as well. They would never defend Rhian or reason with me to forgive her, but they seemed to be more understanding of her reasons.

If the reason they were told was due to Rhian being in love with me, well that’s bullshit because she’s not.

Every day, I fought hard against my feelings for Rhian. Having her around again, I realized just how strong my feelings were for her. For quite some time, I thought I’ve buried it, that I’ve moved on because there was nothing there. But now that she was back, whatever I buried basically came back to the surface and it grew each day.

My biggest fear was once this whole ordeal was done, she was going to disappear again.

And I wish she would feel the same as well. I’m not certain if it was the damage that Victor inflicted that made Rhian close her heart off. I always had that hope that we would be that cliché, the one where the best friends fell in love with one another.

Seeing Rhian interact with my family, I couldn’t help but think how much she belonged with us. Yeon Jun seemed to immediately take a liking to her and they were playing in the living room when I came back after putting my stuff away in my room.

Yeon Jun was animatedly talking to her about his toys and she hung on to his every word. I smiled at this. I always thought that Rhian would be an amazing mom. She wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher when we were younger. Whenever she saw a child, her eyes would just light up and we would get into a debate whether or not she should approach the family.

It was adorable and I’ve missed that about her. That’s why this specific occupation was so difficult for me to accept. I’m not judging her, it would be hypocritical of me. But she was always optimistic, and now she was jaded.

If Rhian wasn’t going to talk, there was two people I could go to that would either tell me everything or at least give me some insight.

Amelia or Michael.

Either way, I was screwed.

A/N: Sorry guys! I know this one took long, but work was hectic this past week and a half. I’m trying to regularly update again! Thank you all for the support!

#bigbang scenarios #bigbang scenario #big bang scenarios #t.o.p scenarios #choi seunghyun scenario

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multipleservicelisting · 4 years ago

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Impeachment Briefing: Trump Is Impeached, Again

Welcome back to the Impeachment Briefing. In an unprecedented vote, President Trump was impeached for the second time.

What happened today

The House impeached President Trump for inciting a violent insurrection against the United States government, a week after a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol.

The vote was 232-197, with 10 Republicans joining Democratic colleagues to impeach — the most ever from a president’s own party. Just over a year ago, Republicans voted unanimously against impeaching Mr. Trump. See how each representative voted.

A Senate trial is likely to begin after the inauguration. The departing majority leader, Mitch McConnell, signaled that he would not begin Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.Here’s a guide to how the process works.

What lawmakers said

The House reconvened on Wednesday afternoon for an hourslong round of speeches from lawmakers. Here’s how some argued for or against impeachment.

“Donald Trump is a living, breathing impeachable offense.” — Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York.

“I will not use process as an excuse. There is no excuse for President Trump’s actions.” — Representative Dan Newhouse, Republican of Washington and one of the 10 in his party who voted to impeach Mr. Trump.

“They may have been hunting for Pence and Pelosi to stage their coup, but every one of us in this room right now could have died.” — Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland.

“Some say the riots were caused by Antifa. There is absolutely no evidence of that. And conservatives should be the first to say so.” — Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California and House minority leader.

“He is capable of starting a civil war.” — Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California.

“If we impeached every politician who gave a fiery speech to a group of partisans, this Capitol would be empty.” — Representative Tom McClintock, Republican of California.

“Today we begin the long road to restoration. America has been through a civil war, world wars, a Great Depression, pandemics, McCarthyism, and now a Trumpist, white nationalist insurrection. And yet our democracy endures.” — Representative Adam Schiff, Democrat of California.

“Nearly half the country supports our current president. This takes their voice away.” — Representative Jeff Van Drew, Republican of New Jersey.

“Democrats can say, ‘You know, there needs to be unrest in the streets,’ while there is unrest in the streets. But they’re going to impeach the president for saying peacefully and patriotically, ‘Make your voices heard.’” — Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio.

“We said if we didn’t remove him, he would do it again. Simply put, we told you so. Richmond out.” — Representative Cedric Richmond, Democrat of Louisiana.

Updated

Jan. 13, 2021, 9:42 p.m. ET

What the second impeachment means

I asked my colleagues Julie Davis, who edits our congressional coverage, and Carl Hulse, a longtime congressional reporter, what stood out to them about this second presidential impeachment.

JULIE: It was really clear that there was a big divide among Republicans. A number of them got up and vigorously defended the president and savaged Democrats for doing this, but most did not actually try to excuse his behavior — they just argued that impeachment wasn’t the answer.

Even the party’s leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, essentially said the president had done wrong and deserved consequences for what happened. They sensed the political danger themselves for appearing to condone what Trump did. And yet most of them still did not feel that it was politically safe to vote to impeach him. Some of that might have to do with the fact that the president doesn’t have a Twitter feed anymore. It’s easier to speak out against him when you don’t expect a massive hail of presidential tweets coming at you.

What was also striking was that, by a factor of two, you had the largest margin of the president’s own party supporting his removal from office.

There was also so much symbolism today. You had all of this happening in a heavily fortified Capitol crawling with the National Guard, a week after the riot and a week before Biden is sworn in. The bunting was up and the brass had been polished for the inauguration. They’re spiffing up the building in all of the ways you do in anticipation of a new beginning. And yet here they were going about their business with these armed troops there to protect them against the loyal supporters of the departing president.

CARL: The two parties are just so far apart. It just seems like an unbridgeable divide. There was so little common ground even after an event like the riot. It makes me wonder what could possibly ever cause the parties to find common ground again.

One dynamic that really stood out to me today was Republicans being unwilling to abandon Donald Trump, even after he incited an attack on the Capitol. In the House, there’s a big reluctance to let go of Trump. Their voters are Trump voters. House districts are different than the whole states that senators represent. And I don’t think that these House Republicans are necessarily frightened of Trump; I just think they agree with him.

That House Democrats were able to impeach the president in two days also has me wondering if impeachment is going to be a standard thing when one political party is unhappy with the president. There was certainly cause for them to act against the president here. But the precedent has lawmakers I talk to very alarmed.

The scene inside the Capitol

My colleague Emily Cochrane, who was present during last week’s riot, encountered a shocking scene when she arrived at work this morning: the U.S. Capitol, filled with troops. She told me about what she saw.

Since last Wednesday, they have slowly been intensifying security. Fencing has gone up around the Capitol. This morning, the closer you got to the building, the more it seemed as if things had changed overnight. It seemed as if the National Guard presence had doubled.

As I went through security on the House side of the Capitol — a floor below where lawmakers themselves began crossing through magnetometers last night — the first sight I had was of members of the National Guard asleep on the marble floors, some curled around the statues, others tucked behind them. It was surreal.

Someone was saying, “All right, guys — time to get up, time to get up.” Their rifles were laid on the ground and against the wall, some of them rested on top of their bodies as they slept. There was a line of two dozen National Guard members waiting to get breakfast at a self-serve station. In the Capitol Visitor Center, they were sprawled everywhere. This was as close to a militarized Capitol as I could have ever imagined.

Last Wednesday, I was in the House chamber, and heard the rioters trying to get in. I saw guns drawn. I knew there was a breach. But it has only really been in the aftermath, when you step back and see the photos from across the building, that it really hits home how much worse it could have been. It underscored how dangerous last Wednesday was and how dangerous things could still become. They are preparing for the possibility that something might happen again.

The Impeachment Briefing is also available as a newsletter. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

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#multiple #service #listing #news #local #business #ads #near #me

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verd0ne · 8 years ago

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Through The Eras Pt.2

Description/ Authors Note: This is the continuation of “Through The Eras” I will try my absolute hardest to update as much as I can. Also if you couldn’t tell I’ll be continuing this series for each “comeback” you could say so who knows how long it will last I really hope you enjoy my weird ass writing style :)

Warnings: Fluffish/ a little suggestive at times. Smut may be present in later stories.

Word Count: 2,930

After being gone for three months, I decided it was time to go back to Korea. My feelings towards Vernon kept growing and I couldn’t stop thinking about this son of a bitch so I decided to take matters into my own hands. Yes, we did share a pretty intimate moment months ago, but who knows if it actually meant anything due to my shitty ex.

When the plane finally landed, I started to feel sick. I don’t know if I’ll be able to face him at this point. I’m normally chill with confrontation but I genuinely felt sick. Even though I talk to him any time I can, I still feel like there’s something off. Every time I think of him, I feel nauseous. Feelings suck major ass. The airport atmosphere is not helping me feel any better. Being alone in such a large, crowded area was making it much worse. I finally retrieve my luggage, after many minutes of stressing till I thought my brain was gonna fucking explode. Luckily, it was all in one piece and now all I had to do was get a cab to the dorm. I make my way out the doors of the airport when I spot some familiar faces. Five very excited boys make their way towards me and surround me in their comforting arms. I look and see: Mingyu, Hoshi, Joshua, Seungkwan, and one more who was left out of the wild embrace, Vernon. I feel my face get hot, which naturally caused me to hide my face with Mingyu’s chest. The boys lead me to the car they arranged, and we all pile in. The ride was quite something, Seungkwan attempted to lighten the mood. Although failing miserably, we laughed at all his jokes. My face was sore from laughter once we arrived at their dorm. As expected all the guys surrounded me with open arms, especially S. Coups who got so excited and swung me around, making the crowd of boys roar with laughter, this bitch almost as weak as me. The only member who seemed unamused was Vernon. He seemed especially awkward, even for himself. I couldn’t help but be concerned but I was more confused than anything. Woozi must have noticed my change in mood because he took me to the kitchen to get me some snacks and a drink.

“How was the flight?”

“Tiring, but all went well,” I try answering without sounding too down, but I can tell he’s not buying it.

“I promise you he’s not just acting like this around you.” I return him a confused look. How does he know I’m thinking about Vernon's trick ass? “ He’s been down these last couple days. We’ve been trying to get it out of him, but he shrugs every question off.”

“I hope he’s okay,” I try to say as casual as possible.

“Come on Y/N we all know how you guys feel about each other.” Shocked, I just blankly stare at him. How does he know? More importantly, I fucking called that Vernon was trying to butter my ass!

I just ease myself away from that conversation before my mind starts buzzing again and try to enjoy my time with the guys tonight. I forgot how fun it is to hang out with these boys. They make talking so comfortable. Even though there are thirteen of them, they all manage not to overwhelm me. Hours of laughs go by and the guys start to get even crazier, I’m assuming this is a result of lack of sleep. They start asking very odd questions about girls. What they like, what they don’t like, types of girls, etc. Each question making me hold my stomach, which has been cramping for the past hour. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this hard. Time seems to fly by, I didn’t even think about Vernon until he gets up from the circle and goes to his room. The guys grow quiet, until they all give each other stares followed by mischievous smirks. DK and Hoshi take me by the wrists and shove me into one of the closets in their dorm. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I yell. I can’t help but laugh a little at how immature these boys can be sometimes. A middle school classic, seven minutes in heaven. “I wonder who will be my partner,” I shout with intentional sarcasm. I start to hear footsteps and laughter coming from outside the musty closet. That’s when it hits me. Vernon and I are going to be alone, in a small space. My stomach drops as the door swings open and incomes my expected guest. Oh shit my hormones bout to fuck shit up I can just tell.

“Seven minutes starting now,” I hear Jun say followed by a giggle. He takes a seat next to me without saying a word. We are surrounded by silence before he speaks first.

“I’m sorry.” I don’t comprehend what’s happening at first until I look over at his face. If I would have looked at him earlier I would have known what he was saying, his eyes said it all.

“For what?” That’s all I can really say because at this point I have no clue what he has to say. He begins to speak again and says,

“For completely ignoring you.” I see him glide his fingers through his hair, that’s when I notice. He looks so tense, almost like he hasn’t been sleeping. I know I roast this fool all the time, but the way he’s speaking just makes me worry.

“Is everything okay?”

“I couldn’t tell you, I have just been feeling like shit lately and I don’t even know why.” I sense that he’s a little uncomfortable because he doesn’t strike me as the type of person to share his feelings.

“You know what Vernon, I can tell you feel like talking about yourself is a burden on others, but if you want to get any better you have to tell someone.” He looks at me with pure shock in his eyes and as he goes to defend him I beat him to it, “You are surrounded by amazing people who are worried about you, so just know that whenever you are comfortable that you should tell one of them and for fuck sake tell me you’ve literally done so much for me I owe you big time.You have been a great friend, you popped in my life at the best time possible and you made me so happy. Now that I think about it, I wholeheartedly meant it when I kissed you and I don’t regret it because you’re such an amazing guy.” His eyes go wide and that’s when I realize what the hell I just said and I fucking curse myself for admitting that I like him to his face. Before I can react he crashes his lips to mine. It was all so sudden that I almost fucking screamed, but luckily I held my shit together and just let it happen. His hands travel to my waist and he positions us where I am practically straddling him. My hands find their way to the back of his neck, playing with his hair, my lips begin to wander to his jaw, giving him a chance to catch his breath. His hand takes my chin and leads your mouth back to his. This bitch eager tonight and I’m most definitely going to take advantage of it. You begin to lose track of what’s happening. His hands prop your shirt up, politely placing them on your bare waist. He starts pecking your neck with gentle biting here and there. You can feel him grin against your skin, making a smile appear on your face. You begin to kiss once more, but as the mood begins to thicken you come to an abrupt stop.

“Time’s up!” You don’t have time to react when Seungkwan flings the door open. Exposing that you two were in fact, making out. The members gasps turn into a loud uproar of cheers, and you feel your whole body become hot. You look Vernon in the eyes and he looks as red as you feel. Tears fill your eyes, but you manage to hold them back. Vernon being the ass kisser he is, helps you up and out of the dim closet. You’ve never felt more embarrassed in your whole life. All of the guys clearly saw you on top of him. You have no idea what to do and you find yourself laughing with the boys and pretend you don’t mind. This whole mess separates you and Vernon and when you make your way back to each other he puts his arm around your shoulder, looks you dead in the eye and says,

“Guess I need to take you on a date now.” You laugh and nod at his offer. This trip might be even better than you expected.

***

Last night seems like a blur. The embarrassment took over my mind, and I still can’t stop thinking about it. I also haven’t processed that Vernon and I are going on a date, a real date. At least this time I know I can trust this guy. He’s done way more for me than Carter ever did the 8 months we were together. I hear my phone vibrate and I search for it on the couch. To my surprise (not really) it’s a text from Vernon

Vernon: Come outside

I just look at my phone puzzled, I thought they were at practice all day. My phone goes off again this time saying “hurry”. I finally emerge from my makeshift bed and throw on a hoodie. When I make my way to the door, I see Vernon outside pacing with something behind his back. I open the door and he just stares at me, what a dork. He makes his way over and it looks as if he has something to say. He grabs one of my hands and pulls flowers out from behind his back. A grin appears on my face and I can’t stop smiling. “Thank you so much, they’re beautiful!” I pull him into a hug and kiss his cheek.

“My mom loves flowers so I thought you would too.” I could tell that he was so unsure of himself so I just peck his cheek again. “Don’t you have practice all day?”

“No, we just needed to finish up a couple recordings and I got done early. I wanted to surprise you.” My heart starts to flutter, this boy is the cutest person on the planet.

“So, if you got done early, maybe we should take advantage of the time and go on that date.” He smiles and nods, placing his hands around my waist. When he does, more boys start arriving at the dorm, making his face go red. He removes his hands and just guides me to the door. I can’t help but laugh a little at his awkwardness, but I think that’s what I like most about this son of a bitch.

Once we go in the dorm I grab a cute outfit out of my bag to change into.

“Hey man, can I just change in your room, the bathroom is occupied.”

“Um, yeah I guess.” He opens the door only in a pair of jeans and I try not to stare. After I enter he closes the door and I decide to start changing. Before I do anything he shouts,

“Y/N!”

“What?”

“Don’t you want me to leave the room or turn away?” I just give him a confused look.

“I really don’t mind, unless you’d be more comfortable if you left.” He just looks down and covers his eyes. Wow, he is so awkward. I finish getting dressed before he adds,

“Can I look yet?”

“Yes you may.” I laugh and he seems unamused. He starts to walk out of the room, but I start cracking up.

“What?”

“You’re forgetting something.” He looks down and goes red in the face, he forgot to put on a shirt. “You’re such a dork.” Why does this man have no control of his bodily functions, it seems like his permanent color is red.

“It must not be a problem to you, considering that you agreed to go on a date with me.” We both can’t hold in our laughs at the point. I never realized until now that when he laughs, his nose scrunches up. It’s got to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. To add to that, he probably has the cutest laugh ever. At this point I can’t help myself, so I start to lean in and he does the same. Before we can make any sort of contact, the door opens.

“Did I interrupt something?” I just look at Wonwoo and shake me head. He leaves and we just crack the fuck up.

“Well that was awkward.” I look down at the floor and can tell the energy really shifted.

“Yeah, privacy is pretty limited here.” He laughs scratching the back of his head. He grabs a shirt from his closet and throws it on over his head. I can't help but stare, he’s the most beautiful human I've ever seen. God dammit Y/N! Get yourself together! “How does bowling sound?”

“Sounds great, but I should warn you, I suck.”

“Don't worry! I do too.” We both laugh and grab anything we might need if we stay out late.

“Hey guys, Y/N and I are going bowling.” There’s a long pause before Vernon speaks again, “And no, none of you guys can come with.” I chuckle a little at the collective sighs from the members that were at the dorm.

Once we get outside Vernon stops in his tracks and swears under his breath.

“What's the matter?”

“I don't know if we can go out in public like this.” I totally forgot. If he gets recognized in public and I'm there people might start talking. “Here you wait outside. I'm going to get a mask and a hat.” I sigh and rest my back against the building. Just when I thought things were going so well, we have to pretend to be just friends. This is going to be annoying. I hear the door open and see him approaching me. He’s walking very fast and is carrying a very determined look. I just look at him confused before he gets to me. He pulls me in for a light peck before putting his mask on.

“What was that for?” Not that I was mad about it or anything, I just wasn’t expecting it.

“I needed to get that out before we have to pretend to be just friends.” I smile and shake my head.

“Lead the way then, ‘friend’.” He just nudges my arm before directing me to the bowling alley.

So it turns out when he said he sucks at bowling he really meant it. I'm not usually that great, but he was worse than me. Our night was full of us just making fun of each other while other bowlers just stared at us. Someone even offered to teach us how to properly bowl, that's how much we suck. By the time we returned from our night out all the guys made themselves comfortable in their beds. I quietly make my way towards the bathroom to wash up before I go to sleep when my phone starts buzzing. I take it out of my pocket and see that my friend Sam is calling me, oh lord this might be a mess.

“What’s up my dude?”

“Y/N!!!! WE NEED TO TALK!!!” She practically screams these words, sometimes I worry about her.

“Samantha calm down what is going on?” She got me curious now.

“I was gonna call you earlier but I forgot, BUT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT YOUR BOY TOY!!!!!”

“He’s not my boy toy, we’ve only kissed like three times!” I regret speaking after I realize she wasn’t even aware of the first time we kissed since at the time, we promised never to speak of it.

“Y/N what do you mean three times!!! I didn’t even know you guys kissed at all!” I explain to her the situation I got myself in and she applauds me. “You dirty dog, I didn’t expect this from you. It makes me feel like a proud mom.”

“Shut up.” We talk a little longer before we both needed to hang up. I turn to walk out of the bathroom only to see Vernon waiting for me in the hall. “Can I help you?” He smirks and pulls me into a hug,

“Thanks for tonight I had fun.” He then places a peck upon my forehead and disappears into his room.

***

A few uneventful days go by and it’s time for the hardest part of every visit, saying goodbye. Vernon and I come to an agreement that I should still fly out every couple months just so we won’t miss each other too much. Plus the guys agreed to the plan and are willing to let me stay with them during my visits. I thank them all for another good stay and I set off on my way. During the plane ride I can’t stop thinking about how much I’m going to miss them all especially Vernon. I really can’t wait to get to know them all better as well as see their group sky rocket.

(I hope you enjoyed and feedback would be really helpful to keep this story entertaining for future versions :)

#seventen #vernon #vernon scenarios #vernon fluff #vernon angst #seventeen fluff #seventeen angst #vernon smut

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ajuimaginary · 8 years ago

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Anon requested competitive!Minghao where you get into a contest and you're kind of mean to each other during because you want to win, but you end up really respecting each other.

You were friends with Mingyu first, and now you’re friends with the rest of Seventeen through his introduction. You love them all, but the boy who seems to impact you most strongly is a certainly lanky member of the performance team. The one who takes any chance to dab, make a biting hilarious comment, or quickly reassure a sad friend in his no-nonsense voice. The one who is an intriguing balance of cool and cute. With perfect arms and a smile to die for. But also the most infuriating person you had ever met. Minghao.

You find your thoughts drifting to him even now, as you walk into the dorms with Mingyu. Your eyes linger on a familiar jacket hanging on a hook, and you remembered how unfairly good it looks on its owner. You almost want to try it on just to prove you would look better. Mingyu laughs.

“Oh god, you’re so obvious.” he says.

“What?” you snap at him. “I’m not obvious about anything because there’s nothing to be obvious about.”

“That made no sense,” Mingyu tells you. “And besides, I think I can recognize when my two best friends are getting the hots for each other.”

You scrunch your nose up. “Gross, Mingyu, why’d you have to word it like that?”

“Hey, you don’t even deny it!” Mingyu yells excitedly.

“Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” you tell him. “Minghao’s dead annoying. Now come on, let’s go join the guys.”

“Yeah,” Mingyu agrees. “Let’s go join Minghao.”

You aim a punch at his arm but he ducks ahead of you down the corridor to lead the way, so you follow without hitting him instead. Up ahead, you hear a sudden voice echo down the hall and a chorus of “ooooh”s from inside the room.

“Don’t let Y/N hear you say that!” Seungcheol is scolding someone.

You push past Mingyu quickly when you hear your name, though he tries to grab you and hold you back from interrupting. You open the door to the room the voices are coming from. The boys inside turn in shock to look at you: Woozi, Seungcheol, Wonwoo, and Jun all seated. Minghao is standing, hands on hips, in front of the TV screen.

“Don’t let me hear what?” you ask threateningly, directing the question at Seungcheol, who looks rather afraid despite his title as the group’s fearless leader.

“Oh, hi, Y/N, I didn’t know you’d be here already,” he says hesitantly.

“What can’t he say in front of me?” you demand, looking between them all.

Wonwoo and Jun snicker to each other, and Woozi sighs as if he’s giving something up.

“May as well let them have it, Coups hyung.” he says heavily, dropping something onto the table that you realize is his hand held controller for video games. “We have to accept our fate now. She’s already heard, and so now he has to tell her the idea, and so she’ll definitely accept the challenge. We won’t get the game back till they’ve settled this.”

“Yes, thank you hyung!” Minghao beams when he gets Woozi’s support, however grudging it is, and then turns to Seungcheol. “Please pass me the other controller!”

Seungcheol sighs and throws it at him grumpily. He gestures for you to take Woozi’s, and you make your way to the couch and sit between them with your new device in your hand, looking up at Minghao.

“What are we doing?” you say.

“Playing some video game they like. I’ve been watching them fail all afternoon waiting my turn to take over. They said it was unfair for me to join them because I’d never played before and would be at a disadvantage, and I was just telling them I could beat them at this level even with no experience.” he says. “But they wanted me to wait for another first time player.”

“Yeah, and I suggested he play against you.” Wonwoo said, the glint in his eye he got when he was stirring up trouble and very amused by what was happening.

Minghao nods his agreement.

“And I said I would beat you easily.” he says with a shrug.

Your eyes narrow. You look up the TV, checking out the picture and deducing that it must be some sort of basic fighting game. You aren’t always in the mood for video games, but you won’t back down from that kind of challenge.

“As if.” you scoff.

Everyone else in the room groans.

“And there we go.” Mingyu sighs from the doorway. “They’ll be at it all afternoon. Anyone want to make snacks with me?”

“Nah,” Wonwoo says, eyes sparkling. “This’ll be fun to watch.”

You’ve yelled at Minghao at least three times already, and he’s in the middle of his second time yelling at you. Apparently it’s considered “cheating” if you elbow Woozi hard enough to make Woozi jump and jostle Minghao’s controller. You’re pretty sure it’s just called “winning.” You sneer and tell him if he can’t handle a little bump maybe she shouldn’t have challenged you.

As your voices get louder, Woozi and Seungcheol both move off the couch and join Jun and Wonwoo in their spots out of the way. You can hear them whispering to each other but all you care about right now is beating the crap out of Minghao’s dumb video game counterpart.

It’s surprising how quickly you both became absorbed in the game. Though you’ve never played before, it only took a brief run through of all the controls and the story line, and you got the hang of it quickly. Now it feels like winning is the only thing that matters. It’s exhilarating. Especially as you take a particularly good flying leap and watch your character knock several of the automated computer guards to the ground as you get closer to Minghao’s base. The sounds of the boys cheering for you is quite a rush. But not as much of a rush as the glance you steal at Minghao.

He looks worried that you might be gaining the upper hand. His face is very focused, bare arms tensed as his long fingers fly over the controls, and his lovely lips are slightly pursed.

“Thanks for picking the bright red cloak for your character, you show off.” you tease him, but your voice sounds very serious because you’re so engaged in the game. “Makes it much easier to- HUH - to find you and kick your ass!”

“You’re lucky you have that advantage,” Minghao spits, leaning right back in that seat along with the movements of his on screen character. “Because without it you would be left in my wake as I - YAH!”

His whole body surges forward as his character knocks into yours onscreen and you both tumble further from the base he’s trying to protect.

You grit your teeth and put your energy back into your next move. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Mingyu returning with food and handing it to some of the other boys. Wonwoo begins to update him on what he missed. You can see your favorite snack among the pile he brought with him.

“So easily distracted,” Minghao tuts, though you barely lost focus, but he uses the advantage to push past you and begin directing his character along the pixel path to your own home base.

“Asshole,” you hiss, leaning forward in your seat and you force your character to run after him. “I bet you’re hungry too.”

“Never.” he says with a smirk, clearly ready to deliver some dramatic line. “My mental willpower is as strong as my body.”

You scoff openly at him.

“What are you talking about, beanpole?” you say, ignoring his flexing bicep right beside you. “What strong body?”

“Guys, don’t get mean,” Seungcheol warns quietly, as if he’s never gotten carried away by a competitive spirit before. Minghao doesn’t seem bothered by your comment though. In fact, you’re pretty sure he’s smiling. Not that you can risk the distraction of looking right now.

“Easy to criticize what you don’t understand.” Minghao says. “It’s not like you’re the strongest person here, Y/N...”

On screen, your character jumps down to block his path, and as he swears, you reply to his comment.

“I am very willing to arm wrestle everyone in this room later to prove that wrong. But anyway, I don’t need strength,” you point out. “When my opponent is such a fucking idiot.”

“Seriously!” Seungcheol says pleadingly. “Just be nice to each other.”

“They could get worse.” Wonwoo points out, sounding like he wants you to for the entertainment. Mingyu elbows him.

“Don’t encourage them.” he scolds.

But before long you and Minghao are shooting out insults as fast as they occur to you, and the game is getting genuinely frustrating. Every time one of you seems to be gaining, the other somehow manages to turn things around. Before long, you’ve killed off every single computer generated guard and it’s just down to the two of you to take the final step in destroying your opponent’s base. And, apparently, their self esteem.

Minghao’s insults are hilarious and creative though, and you know he’s appreciating yours. Seungcheol gives up on trying to stop you and sighs to the others that you’re both totally weird if you enjoy this sort of thing.

“I’m surprised neither of them have thought of the best way to distract one another though,” Jun says.

Minghao and you both twitch half toward him at his fascinating tone of voice, but you manage to keep your eyes on the game.

“What do you mean?” Mingyu asks.

There’s a long moment of silence, and then Woozi says. “Are we allowed to point that out? I thought it was one of those unspoken things?”

“What’s an unspoken thing?” you ask them, unable to help yourself.

“Minghao thinks you’re hot, right?” Jun says.

You almost lose focus completely. It’s Minghao who really does. He freezes up for just long enough for your character to take a flying kick, knocking his to the ground and bolting the last distance into his base. Your cheeks are warm now, but you keep going, trying to ignore what you heard until you have time to dwell on it properly. Minghao begins swearing, yells something furious at Jun in Chinese, and forces his character to chase you.

But he’s too late. Finally you slam into the back wall of his base, touch the end spot, and win the entire game.

“Fuck, yes!” you yell, leaping into the air and throwing your controller. The other boys leap to their feet with cheers, and Mingyu and Jun both hug you as the others laugh and yell you behind you.

“Damn,” Woozi mumbles. “She beat my total kills record. It’ll take me days to get my place back on the score board.”

And as everyone begins to laugh at him, you finally turn and see Minghao, wondering if after such a heated game he’ll be angry. But as always, he’s not a sore loser. He looks a little upset, brow furrowed, but he dumps his controller on the couch and stands to face you, dipping his head in a sweet little bow.

“You did really well,” he tells you.

The sight of him there, so willingly admitting his respect of you, makes your heart hammer a little faster. You feel full of adrenaline, and you manage to smile with confidence at him.

“Is that all I get for my victory?” you say.

Minghao looks up at you, lips parted in surprise, very sweet. And then he seems to catch your meaning, and the look changes into a smirk.

“What else do you want?” he asks.

“I think we’re the only competitive equals for each other, so, um, why don’t you let me know if you kiss as well as I imagine you do?”

The room falls into stunned silence. You had forgotten, actually, that anyone else was there. But you don’t have much time to get embarrassed.

Minghao steps forward into your space instantly and, hands on your waist, kisses you right there in front of them all, a deep tender moment of pure passion that makes you gasp, and then his lips are gone. He smirks down at you.

“What do you think?”

“You win that one,” you breathe. “Not even my imagination could live up to that.”

Minghao beams the cutest eye scrunching smile you’ve ever seen, and you feel like everything right is falling into place. The other boys begin making gagging noises in the background, and Mingyu slaps a hand over his face.

“You guys have the weirdest courtship rituals I’ve ever seen,” he grumbles.

#the8 #the8 scenarios #the8 imagines #seventeen scenarios #the8 x reader #minghao #request #admin may

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singingunderthecurtain · 8 years ago

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Somewhere In My Sleep Part 5 (Kyungsoo Series)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Mini Masterlist

Author: @julietsoddeye AU: Cannon/EXO Universe Genre: Fantasy | Fluff | Smut | Angst Pairing: Do Kyungsoo x Unnamed OC (Iris) Trigger Warning: Nightmares, Probably wrong representation of Greek Mythology, Mythical and Evil creatures. Word Count: 1,328

Plot: You were given the ability to Astral Project (Out of body experience) by a deity and you meet a faceless soul of a woman in the 4D world who guides you through the experience. But you are given only 1 hour of your day to ‘spend time’ with Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo sometimes remembers you, but it’s mostly hazy since his job being an Idol doesn’t give him the most peaceful sleep. You and Kyungsoo met accidentally one day and he becomes curious of you.

After your ‘almost heart attack’ from the alarm, you sat up in bed trying to recollect your brain. Was all of it just a very, very vivid dream? Was Kyungsoo a dream? How about Sehun, Suho, and Chanyeol? The ugly creature of a half man and half goat, was it a dream too? Did it all really happen or was it just another fantasy scenario your brain created?

You admit that you’re a very talented and clever writer, you imagine things out of the box, but that was way too out of the box. Your mind right now can’t even comprehend all of that. Your body was rejuvenated from the sleep, but your brain felt like soup inside your head.

You know a headache will soon follow, so you stood up and went straight to the medicine cabinet in your bathroom.

You reached for your trusty bottle of Aspirin and pop four pills in your mouth. You turn your faucet on and drank the water straight from it and swallowed hard. You felt the four tablets of Aspirin as it draws down in your throat, it left a tiny sting but it went away almost immediately.

“I—I need to go back to bed, just one more hour.” You convinced yourself and your body just followed what your brain told you. Even after the pills, your head feels like it’s gonna start a coup.

“I feel like shit…” You said out loud to yourself and plopped back on your bed.

---

“I know it feels weird at first, but you will get used to it and will enjoy it very soon, I promise.” The magical voice of the woman is back. I can’t open my eyes, even in the dream world; my head feels heavy so I didn’t dare move or talk.

“For now, rest my child. I will ask Jewel to help me guard your body when you travel to the astral world.” She murmurs to me.

‘Jewel?’

“Please, adopt yourself a cat soon. You will need at least one…” Her voice started to disappear again.

‘A what? A CAT?!’

---

You jerk up again, suddenly feeling roused. The sun was shining brightly already. ‘Did you forget to close the blinds last night?’ you thought. But you were positive that you never opened your window blinds anyway.

“That’s weird…” You whisper to yourself.

“Oh, you’re awake.” You screamed your lungs out when you heard it. You jumped out of bed with your eyes closed and did a fake martial arts stance, ready to fight whoever it was in your apartment.

“WHO ARE YOU!?” You screech, still not opening your eyes.

“Relax, it’s me Ahyoung!!!” Ahyoung retaliates with another screech. You opened your eyes and sure enough, Ahyoung is standing on your open door frame, holding a tray full of food.

“Wha—what are you doing here this early?” You looked at your bedside table and the clock reads 8:30 AM. You slept in; it was more than one hour of a nap.

“I took a break from work today. I tried calling you a hundred times to ask you out, but you’re not answering your phone. So I just went here uninvited. And then I saw you sleeping there, I tried waking you up and when I touched your skin, you were literally hot to the feel. You were burning with fever!!!” Ahyoung said in one breath.

Ahyoung puts the tray of food down on your bed side table, grabs both your shoulders and vigorously pushed you back to bed into a sitting position.

“You need to stay in bed, honey.” Ahyoung pouts and started stuffing porridge down your mouth when you didn’t reply. You took the food without the will to resist. Your head was still throbbing but it’s not as bad as you felt a while ago.

“I’ve been having vivid dreams lately, Ahyoung.” You finally spoke after having 6 spoonfuls of porridge. Ahyoung released her grip of the spoon on the bowl gently and grabbed the glass of water and dropped one Vitamin C effervescent tablet and you watched the water fizzled with carbon dioxide and turn it orange in color.

“What kind of dreams?” Ahyoung asks while handing the glass to you. Something about how Ahyoung says her words that feel comforting for you. Ahyoung is only three years older than you, but you can feel her motherly love towards you whenever you were down with any kind of sickness.

“I don’t know. Just weird stuff…” You trail your words in a whisper, deciding to keep those dreams to yourself.

She would definitely laugh at you when you tell her you to keep dreaming about Kyungsoo or EXO. She didn’t even know you like EXO. You took the glass from her hands and drank the contents like you haven’t had a drink in a long time.

“Baby girl, you need to lay down again, okay. You need rest; you don’t have to work today.” Ahyoung started pushing you down in a laying position when you finished drinking.

“But I’m almost finished with the thing and its due in three days.” You started to brush off her hands, but you were still weak with sickness.

“No, just sleep.” Ahyoung successfully pushed you down on your bed and constrict your frail body in your blanket and then a duvet. You never use your duvet because it is a pain to clean.

“Why is my duvet out? It’s really hard to do laundry with that!” You complained like a child to their mother.

“We can have it dry cleaned, dear,” Ahyoung said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Oh I— I never thought of that.” It was all you could manage to reply to her. You usually jeer with your friend and can think of a million things for a comeback, but right now your mind is in jumbles.

You are shaken by a headache and fever, mixed with your baffled mind with the dreams you were having recently. You weren’t really sure if they were real or just a chimera your brain conceived, but they surely are lucid and seem very crystal clear in your mind. The voices you hear, the creatures… Kyungsoo.

“See, you’re so sick you can’t even tease me back. Please listen to me and just rest.” Ahyoung cooed as she was caressing your head and it feels good, it relieves some of the heaviness to it.

“Okay…” You replied with a relaxed sigh. Ahyoung didn’t stop massaging your head until you fell back asleep.

---

“I know you have doubts…” The voice trailed off in a beautiful echo.

“But everything that’s happening as you sleep is absolute.” I can hear the smile on her face. She may be faceless, but her words obviously emanate realness to it.

I may be the most introverted person in the world and I don’t ever look at a person when I talk to them, unless I really have to, but I can hear every emotion people let out vocally. This is the reason why Ahyoung never lies to me because she knows I can see, err in this case, hear right through her.

“E—everything is real?” My voice was small and unsure.

“Yes child, everything. Your projection, the creatures you see, the outcries, Dionysus, me and Kyungsoo. All of it happened and is real.” The both of us were quiet for a while, I was thinking of something to ask.

“About the cat…?” I started but trailed off instead. As expected, she was patient with me and waited for me to finish my question. “Why do I need a cat?” I added to my inquiry.

“They can help protect and ward off evil beings while you’re out of your physical body.” She answered me. “For the meantime, Jewel will help protect you while projecting.” She added.

“Who is Jewel?” I asked.

“It's not a person or a soul like me. You’ll see.” And just like that, she disappeared again.

Sorry if Kyungsoo is not in this update lol. Will put him more in the next chapters, I promise! :(

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welllpthisishappening · 8 years ago

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You Play Ball Like a Girl (45/46)

“What is this?” Emma asked, glancing up at Will. He shrugged.

“Looks like an award.”

“For what?”

“Your name is on it, Emma. I’d wager pretty good money it’s for you.”

A final week of updates on Ao3 and tag’ed up from the start on Tumblr.

The game didn’t last 18 hours, but it felt like it had.

Emma was never good at patient.

Two stories, one live blog and more Twitter responses than she could count later, Emma yanked open the door to the bar on 9th Ave, a few blocks away from the Garden and jam-packed with the Saturday night, midtown crowd.

She groaned slightly at the people packed into the small space and scanned the faces in front of her, trying to find one of the people who were supposed to be waiting for her.

“Emma!”

Her head snapped up suddenly and she saw Mary Margaret waving at her from the end of the bar, the three of them crammed around a table in the corner. Emma nodded once and started walking, trying to her way through the crowd, but finding the task more difficult than she had bargained for.

She felt his hand in hers before she realized he was there and glanced up to find Killian suddenly next to her, pulling her along behind him.

People moved for him. Emma tried not to take that personally.

“Thanks,” she said softly and he grinned at her, raising one eyebrow up in a way that had Emma ready to pull him through the crowd as well – directly out the door.

“Couldn’t leave you to fend for yourself, love,” he said, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm tightly around her shoulders as they stopped in front of the table her friends had commandeered.

“Did you win?”David asked, nodding towards the several plate of bar food sitting on the table.

Emma grabbed a mozzarella stick and made some kind of noise in the affirmative. “Two in a row now.” “Practically a streak.” She scoffed and leaned her head against Killian’s shoulder. “Tired, Swan?” he asked.

Mary Margaret had a very specific look on her face and Emma just widened her eyes. “I’m fine,” she said sharply.

“Of course.” “How was hitting?” Emma asked, desperate to change the subject. Mary Margaret did her best to turn her laughter into a cough.

It was a valiant effort.

“Henry’s really good,” David answered. “Almost gave Killian a run for his money.” “You hit again?” Emma asked, turning quickly to stare at him in surprise.

Killian shrugged. “Henry asked.” “Yuh huh.” “It’s not a big deal, Swan.” “Yuh huh,” she repeated. Killian sighed and tilted his head, widening his eyes at her. “So did you hit too, David? Round out the trio?” “I did and it was only slightly embarrassing.” “You made contact a couple of times,” Killian said.

“Yeah, and you and Henry missed it a combined two times. Only slightly embarrassing.” “Well, at least you tried, David,” Emma said, trying not to laugh.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

Emma glanced at Mary Margaret – still trying to turn her laughter into a cough – and pushed a drink closer to her. “Thanks,” Mary Margaret said. “Sounded like you could use it.” “You’re the one who doesn’t have a drink.” “Nuh uh,” Killian interrupted, pointing to the extra glass in front of him. “That’s Swan’s.” “Not rum?” Emma asked, leaning up against him. His whole body seemed to tense under hers.

“Didn’t seem like that kind of night.” Emma smiled, taking a grateful drink of wine, ignoring the fact that he bought her drink before she even got there.

“I have political news,” Mary Margaret said after another long drink, finally finished with her coughing-laughter fit.

“Political?” Killian asked.

“Emma!” Mary Margaret said quickly, pushing on her shoulder slightly, the light of the bar flashing off the stone in her ring. “You didn’t tell him?”

“There have been a couple of other things going on,” Emma shrugged. Like running away from their respective problems and running towards each other and giving up jobs.

“What’s happening here?” Killian asked, the amusement in his voice obvious.

“There’s been a Storybrooke coup,” David supplied and Killian’s eyes widened.

“That so?” “We’re not using the word ‘coup,’” Mary Margaret pressed. Killian nodded seriously. “It’s a transfer of power within the family.” “Your family?” he asked.

He really was a good journalist.

“Exactly,” Mary Margaret nodded. “Regina is now the new mayor of Storybrooke.” “What happened to your stepmother?” “Stealing from the town,” Emma supplied and Killian made a noise in the back of his throat.

“No wonder the wedding was so fancy,” he said. “Exactly,” David agreed.

“So, what was your news, M’s?” “Regina pitched a fit in City Hall today apparently. My dad called me. Something about Marco and a gazebo they were building in the square and it not being perfect . It lasted several hours, I guess. She was on the phone, trying to get Graham to arrest Marco because he had broken some sort of contract with her.” “Marco is 75 years old,” Emma pointed out.

“I don’t think she cared.”

“What ended the fit?” “Robin, of course.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “I don’t understand it. She’s a totally different person around him. She actually almost seems nice when she’s with him.” “She loves him,” Mary Margaret pointed out. “That makes things different.”

“If you say so,” Emma mumbled and Killian kissed the top of her head. Point to him.

“I just did,” Mary Margaret continued. “Anyway, that’s not even the most exciting part of the conversation.” “There’s more?”

Mary Margaret nodded and Emma noticed she suddenly looked a little bit nervous. “I told my dad,” she said, taking another drink.

Emma blinked and glanced at David who looked just as nervous. “And that went…”

“Not great.” “I figured it wouldn’t.” “Apparently he and my mom have been talking,” David said. “About the wedding. Making plans. And lists full of suggestions from Cora.” “Cora?” Emma asked, nearly choking on the word. “What does Cora have to do with it?”

“She’s got some time on her hands now that she’s not officially mayor anymore,” Mary Margaret continued, leaning against David’ side, like recounting all of this was slightly exhausting. “And, according to my dad, planning me some sort of big ceremony that would prove, once and for all, the joint efforts of the Blanchard-Mills family to take control of Storybrooke.” Emma laughed – loudly – practically doubling over with the sound. “Are you kidding me?” She asked, staring wide-eyed at Mary Margaret and David.

“Swan…” Killian muttered disapprovingly, glancing nervously around the table.

“Are you hearing this?” she asked. “This is absurd.”

“It is,” Mary Margaret agreed. “My dad, well, he’s not pleased with the small New York ceremony idea.”

“What about your mom?” Emma asked, looking at David.

“Surprisingly ok’ish with it,” he said. “She said she wanted to come.”

Emma made a face, sticking her lower lip out slightly and nodding in approval. “What are you going to do M’s?” “Nothing,” she shrugged.

“Really?”

Killian laughed softly behind Emma, the movement of his chest hitting up against her beck, and she glanced over her shoulder at him. “Are you really that surprised, Swan?” he asked, looking up admiringly at Mary Margaret. “I’m not.” “Thanks,” Mary Margaret said, sounding sincere and reaching out to brush her hand over Killian’s forearm. He just shook his head dismissively as Emma leaned against him, hoping he’d understand what she was trying to do.

The hand on her waist made her fairly confident he had picked up on it.

“You’re really going to do it anyway, M’s?” Emma asked. “Just get married whenever?”

“That’s what we’re thinking.” “You know, whenever the wedding mood strikes,” David laughed. “We’re going to get the license later this week.” “When exactly do you think the wedding mood would strike?” Emma asked.

“You can never be too sure.” Emma laughed and finished her drink, feeling something settling in the pit of her stomach. Killian tightened his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head again lightly, chuckling softly as well and everything was so goddamn perfect that Emma couldn’t quite come up with the right word for it all.

But then Mary Margaret smiled at her knowingly, muttering something about how the wedding mood would only strike when Emma was wearing blue because they were at least sticking to a color scheme in this spontaneity and, suddenly, she knew exactly what she was feeling.

Happy. She was happy.

“You alright, love?” Killian asked several hours – and a totally inappropriate number of drinks – later.

Emma nodded, only wobbling slightly as she stepped out of the heels she had somehow managed to keep on all night. “Of course,” she said, taking a few steps back and nearly collapsing on the bed, almost falling on top of him.

“We should have made sure you drank more water,” he said, fingers trailing up her side and finding their way under the bottom of her shirt easily.

“That’s your job.” Killian laughed softly and turned his head to look at Emma, one eyebrow perfectly raised in unspoken question. “Ok,” Emma sighed. “That’s also my job. But maybe I wanted to have a good time before you left.”

“Did you?” “Did I what?” “Have a good time?” Emma smiled, brushing her hand over his cheek, thumb trailing slowly over his lower lip. “I did,” she said softly. “Could have a better time though.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

Killian sighed, leaning his head against Emma’s palm and kissing softly against the inside of her hand. “I think you may have had a considerable amount to drink, love.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that I’m pretty positive we could have a pretty good time.” He narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head. Emma seized the opportunity and pulled him towards her, kissing him – hard. He froze for a moment and then he made some sort of ridiculous noise that sounded like a growl and Emma was pinned underneath him, Killian’s legs on either side of her hips.

“Told you,” she muttered quietly and he shook his head again before pressing his face into the crook of her neck and kissed so hard she was positive he was going to leave a mark. In fact, Emma was fairly certain he was trying to. “I win,” Emma added, moving her hips instinctively and working another groan out of him when her body moved against Killian’s.

“Stop talking, Swan,” he mumbled.

She did and he made sure she did.

For several minutes.

He pulled back slightly, staring at her and God his eyes were blue. And Emma was overwhelmed and she didn’t want him to go back to Boston, didn’t want him to leave the apartment or her bed.

She also didn’t say any of that out loud.

Killian did.

“I don’t want to leave,” he mumbled, barely saying the words.

Emma tried to smile, but she knew it wasn’t even remotely convincing. “I don’t want you to either,” she said. “But you have to go.” “I know.” “Make sure your bag made it back to Boston.”

“I’m sure it did.” “And you’ll be back soon,” Emma continued. “You play at Yankee Stadium in like two weeks.” “I don’t, Swan,” Killian said and she would have heard the slight bite in his voice even if she wasn’t lying two inches away from her. “I know, I know, I’m sorry.” “Don’t be.” Killian muttered. “I knew what you meant. I just...like I said, it wasn’t what I was expecting.” “What exactly were you expecting?” Emma asked, fingers tracing over the veins in his left hand and Killian looked at her with eyes wide, the emotion obvious there.

“Something.” “Not very specific.” “I don’t know that I have a more specific answer.” Emma didn’t really need one. She knew what he expected – or what he hoped for, something to work . Something to not feel like a disappointment after he had given up so much for it. He had hoped for a little bit of fair from a world that seemed determined to give him exactly the opposite.

“You’ll be back soon,” Emma repeated and Killian nodded, head dropping back against her shoulder as he kissed her, just underneath where his lips landed. “And I’ll be in Boston for the playoffs. I’ll see you so much you’ll get sick of me.” “Not possible,” he said into her neck, still kissing her and Emma was getting decidedly distracted. “Plus,” Killian added. “I’ll be back for graduation.” “Whose?” she asked, mind only focused on what he was doing with his mouth and the marks he was undoubtedly leaving there.

“Henry’s, of course.” Emma pulled her head away and gaped at him. “What? Really?” “Yeah, he asked while we were at the Piers today.” “And you said?” “That I’d come back. Of course.” “You won’t have a game?” “ You won’t have a game, Swan? That’s right in the middle of the playoffs.”

“I’ve been guaranteed an afternoon graduation,” Emma said. “Playoff games happen at night. Always.” Killian laughed softly and nodded. “You’ve got it all figured out.” “Do you? You’d really come back for that?”

He made a face at her. “Come on, Swan,” he sighed. “I think I’ve proved I care. Why wouldn’t I come back? I’m entitled to days off.”

“And secret not-so-sick days.” “That too.” He wriggled his eyebrows at her and Emma let out some sort of ridiculous, girlish giggle. Killian beamed at her. “You know what Monday is?” he asked.

“The last game of the homestand?” “You’ll have been at The Record for a year.” “You remember the actual date?” Emma asked, surprise washing over her before she, suddenly, realized he was wrong. “Wait, that’s not right.” “Hmm?” “I started at The Record on the 21st.” “That was your first day,” Killian said. “But you interviewed on the 18th.” That was right. Of course.

Emma’s mouth dropped open suddenly and she bit her lip tightly. “A year,” she said softly. “That’s right.” “I know it is.” “Why do you remember that?” “Do you not?” “No, of course I do,” Emma said. And she did. Vividly.

“Then why wouldn’t I?” “It wasn’t your interview.”

“Yeah, but it was also the day you nearly ran me over outside an elevator,” he laughed, picking up right where he left off with the kissing. Emma bit her lip again. “Seems like kind of an important date.” “I think so.” “Then we’re very much on the same page.” He tugged on the chain around her neck lightly, forcing Emma to turn her head and look at him. She nearly pulled back when she met his eyes. He looked certain. “I love you,” he said seriously and Emma’s stomach flipped.

“I love you too.” “I’m glad you almost ran me over, Swan.” He spent the rest of the night proving how glad he was.

She didn’t do anything when he left.

Didn’t tell him to stay or that she hated the entire Boston Red Sox organization with enough fire to probably light an entire Yankee Candle store.

She just kissed him – standing on the sidewalk in front of her apartment, again, and that wasn’t lost on either of them – and told him she loved him and watched him get in a cab back to LaGuardia.

And then Emma went to work on Monday and tried to pretend like everything was fine. It almost worked.

That was, until, Will Scarlet showed up at her desk with a box full of letters, leaning them on the edge of her desk and staring at her expectantly.

“Good weekend?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Emma said softly. “Real good.” Will made a face, like he was waiting for her to continue, but Emma didn’t say anything else. Instead she changed the subject. “What’s in the box?”

“Oh!” Will exclaimed, like he had forgotten what he was holding. “I come bearing gifts.” “Gifts from the United States Postal Service?” “Exactly.”

He hooked his leg up slightly, balancing the box on his knee and reached in to grab an oversized envelope, holding it out in front of Emma. She grabbed it, lowering her eyebrows and staring at the label on the front.

Emma Swan ℅ The New York Record

300 W 57th St, New York, NY

The NYS Press Association

“The Press Association?” Emma asked, to no one in particular.

Will shrugged. “I don’t know why they’d lie on the return address label. Open it and see what it’s about.”

Emma scoffed under her breath, but ripped open the edge of the envelope as well – it was ridiculously heavy. There wasn’t a letter inside. Emma’s hand hit something far more solid than paper. In fact, it felt a bit like wood.

She lowered her eyebrows and dropped the envelope on her desk – landing with a soft thud – and yanked out the contents. It was a plaque.

“What the hell?” she muttered slowly, staring at the words on it.

New York State Press Association

1st Place

Emma Swan

Feature Writing – Sports

“What is this?” Emma asked, glancing up at Will. He shrugged.

“Looks like an award.”

“For what?”

“Your name is on it, Emma. I’d wager pretty good money it’s for you.” “But it says feature writing,” she argued. “I don’t understand.” “You wrote a feature,” Will said slowly, staring at her like she was a little bit crazy. “Several of them. About Henry.” “And won an award?”

Emma stared at the plaque, running her fingers over the letters and trying to figure out how exactly this had landed on her desk. Will picked up the envelope and shook it slightly, catching the thin program that fell out.

“There’s more,” he said, holding the papers in his hands. “Looks like you missed out on a ceremony.” “What?”

Will nodded, looking at the pamphlet again. “Last month apparently. Look, there’s a date.” Emma grabbed the papers out of his hand and gaped at them. March 10th. “Nobody said anything about this,” she muttered, tossing the program on top of the award. “Why wouldn’t anyone say anything?” “Maybe they didn’t know?” Will asked and Emma appreciated his attempts to be positive.

No – that wasn’t true.

They knew. They just didn’t care.

Emma felt the anger jolt through her system quickly and she was standing up before she even realized it, intent on walking into Jefferson’s office and demanding to know what was going on.

“Hey, wait a second,” Will said quickly. “Before you go off on a yelling-binge, which you’re totally entitled to, don’t you have to get nominated for these things?” She blinked once and tilted her head, glancing back down at the award sitting on her desk. “That’s true,” she said slowly, sinking back into her chair and yanking her hair over her shoulder forcefully. “Who would do that?”

Will rolled his eyes are her. “Are you serious?” “Are you?”

“Emma, please tell me you are not that dense.” “Rude.” “Killian did it,” Will said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Obviously.”

“You think?”

Emma’s voice was barely above a whisper and she couldn’t quite understand what exactly her heartbeat was doing – it couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to speed up or slow down. She ran her hands over the award again, tracing her name and knew , Will was right.

Killian absolutely did this.

“Of course I think that,” Will said, rolling his eyes again. He pushed the award closer to Emma so it was just a few inches away from her and eyed her seriously. “You better let him know you won.”

“And didn’t know about the ceremony.” “Yeah, maybe don’t mention that part,” Will muttered, rolling back on his heels. “He won’t like that part.”

Emma made a face and shrugged, reaching forward to grab her phone, but was interrupted before she could even touch the screen.

“What you got there?” Jefferson asked, appearing at Emma’s desk and glancing between her and Will.

“An award,” Will supplied quickly. “For Emma.” “Oh. Yeah,” Jefferson said. “I heard that was coming.” “You knew about this?” Emma asked. Jefferson shrugged. “And you didn’t think to say anything about it?” “You had a game that day. I figured you wouldn’t have gone to the ceremony. Didn’t seem all that important.” Emma sighed – he was right. She wouldn’t have gone if she had a game, but she still would have liked to have known what was going on. Will, however, seemed more than a little frustrated with the answer.

“That’s bullshit,” Will said sharply. Emma glanced at him warningly. He didn’t stop. “And you know it.”

“Excuse me?” Jefferson’s voice snapped quickly and Emma, suddenly, realized she’d never seen him mad. She’d seen him excited, bordering on hyper, but this was something else all together. This was threatening .

Emma looked at Will again, trying to get him to stop without actually telling him to, but he didn’t pick up on it.

He looked just as angry as Jefferson did. “That. Is. Bullshit,” Will repeated, pausing dramatically between each word. “You should have told Emma what was going on. She deserved that.” “It was my decision not to. She needed to keep focused on the Knicks.”

“Please,” Will sighed. “That’s even more bullshit. As if Emma wouldn’t stay focused on the Knicks. You knew she wouldn’t have gone to that ceremony if she had a game. Even if she didn’t have a game. Have you ever even met Emma? She’s determined to not be the center of attention.”

“That’s not any of your business, Scarlet,” Jefferson said, taking a step towards Will and crossing his arms slowly.

“Emma’s my friend. She deserved to know about that award because she put in a shit ton of work for that award. Both her and Killian.”

Emma widened her eyes and did her best not gasp dramatically. No one mentioned Killian there anymore – least of all in front of Jefferson.

And Will knew it.

It just appeared he didn’t care.

“That’s what it is isn’t it?” Will asked. “Emma and Killian worked on that story and you couldn’t stand that they got acknowledged for it. That’s awfully low, even for a guy who came in here as one of Gold’s lackey's.”

Jefferson laughed.

He actually laughed and Emma wasn’t quite she understood what was going on. “Think you’ve got me all figured out, huh?” Jefferson asked.

“Certainly seems like it,” Will said.

“Well, you’re not wrong. But here’s the thing, I couldn’t acknowledge it. You think Gold didn’t know about that story? And the award? And how much Killian and Emma worked together on it? He knew all of it. Hated it too. So when the list came out, he told Isaac we weren’t going to do anything about it.”

“Gold said that?” Emma asked, wondering how one man could hold onto a grudge for so long that he could care about one award from the New York State Press Association.

Jefferson nodded. “I think he hates you just a bit.” “Yeah, I picked up on that.” “What am I missing?” Will asked, leaning against the side of Emma’s desk in a way that certainly did not make her heart clench.

“A lot,” Emma muttered, leaning her head back against the top of the chair.

“Gold would have hated you no matter what,” Jefferson continued, ignoring Will’s question. “But he despised you – and this whole department for that matter – because of what Killian did.”

Will opened his mouth, no doubt to ask what he had missed again, but Emma cut him off. “Why did he listen?” she asked, staring at Jefferson intently. “Why wouldn’t he have just fired us as soon as Killian left?” “Fire us?” Will said loudly and Emma made a face.

“You don’t know?” Jefferson asked, looking at Emma expectantly.

“No one knows.” “But you do?” “Milah told me, weeks ago, before they left.” Jefferson nodded slowly and Emma tried to smile. “Will someone please tell me what is going on?” Will pleaded.

Emma bit her lip, closing her eyes slightly and tried to take a deep breath.

She hadn’t told anyone, not even Mary Margaret, and wasn’t sure she could actually say the words out loud without displaying some sort of entirely inappropriate workplace emotion.

“Emma?” Will asked again and she just shook her head.

“Killian left,” Jefferson said.

“I know that.” “He left because he made a deal with Gold.” “But he had a job,” Will argued. “He had everything all set up to go to Boston. We talked about it. So I could sublet his apartment. Sorry, Emma,” he added as an afterthought and she shook her head again.

“He had all of that because of the deal,” Jefferson said. “Stop dancing. Just tell me what’s going on.” “Killian told Gold he’d leave, walk away from the paper and New York if he promised not to touch the staff,” Emma said softly, hand resting flat on the plaque on her desk. “Gold would have fired all of us, brought in his own people, made sure the sports department was his and Killian made sure he didn’t.” “Seriously?” It was a wholly underwhelming response, but Emma laughed at it – it was the only response she could come up with as well. She nodded.

“So then, Emma’s right,” Will continued, looking at Jefferson. “Why wouldn’t he just get rid of us as soon as Killian was on a train to Boston? There was nothing to make sure he held up his end of the bargain. Doesn’t seem like the most honorable man around.” “He’s not,” Jefferson admitted quickly before glancing around the office quickly, almost as if he were making sure the place wasn’t bugged. “But he believes in the deal. He wouldn’t go back on a bargain, no matter what.”

“Huh.”

Jefferson nodded quickly and glanced at Emma again. “Does Killian know that you know what he did?” “No,” she answered, shaking her head.

“You should probably tell him.” “You giving out relationship advice now?” Will asked, laughing.

“Relationship?” “Thanks, Will,” Emma muttered. “You really didn’t know? I thought Kathryn told everyone in the entire building. ” “Know what?” “Emma’s dating Killian,” Will answered quickly. “Has been since she started here.” “That’s not true!” Emma objected, Will just looked at her, eyebrows raised and a small smile on his face. “Well, not entirely true.”

Jefferson pressed his lips together tightly, like he finally understood something and stared at Emma for several long minutes before saying anything. “Did you know that The Writer is hiring?” he asked.

“What?” “ The Writer is hiring,” Jefferson repeated. “Right now. Looking for a columnist I heard.” “What else have you heard?” Emma asked.

“That they were thinking of promoting from within, but the sports editor there is nervous that none of his writers are up to par.” “What exactly are you suggesting?” Emma’s pulse was doing that thing again and there were two dozen thoughts racing through her mind at once. Will looked at her expectantly and Emma met his gaze with wide eyes and nervous smile.

“I think you know exactly what I’m suggesting,” Jefferson said, finally uncrossing his arms and taking a step away from Emma’s desk. She nodded slowly. “And I think you should take your award home with you. It doesn’t belong here.”

Jefferson walked away, turning on his heels and moving back towards his office calmly – it may have been the first time Emma had seen him looked calm.

That was unexpected.

“You going to do it?” Will asked, sharply, shaking Emma out of her thoughts.

She nodded quickly. “Yeah,” Emma said, no trace of question in her voice. “Yeah, I am.”

“Good.”

Emma waited until she was home, until she was sitting on her bed and by herself. She didn’t want the entire New York Record office – or any of the tourists on 8th Avenue – to be around when she told Killian about The Writer .

Or the other thing.

Because if Emma was being honest with herself, she wasn’t certain he’d be all too happy to find out that she knew about the otherthing.

She sighed softly, leaning against the wall behind her bed – where Killian had been the day before – and bit her lip tightly, steeling herself for what she needed to do.

It only rang once before he picked.

“Swan,” he said and Emma could hear the smile in his voice. That might make this easier. Or worse when it blew up in her face.

God, she should have talked to him when he was here.

This would be easier if he was here.

“Hey, you got a second to talk?” she asked.

“Of course.” “Like several seconds?” “I have more than several seconds, Swan. Talk.” Emma took another deep breath and pressed her teeth against her lip. She didn’t talk. “Swan?” Killian prompted. “You alright?” “Possibly.” “Possibly?” “Yeah.” “Alright,” he said slowly, dragging out the word and Emma could see him raising one of those stupid eyebrows as if he was standing right in front of her. “What’s going on, love?” “A couple of different things.” “Are you being evasive on purpose or just trying to drive me slightly insane?” “No,” Emma objected quickly. “I’m kind of hoping this can help. Before I get to the other things.”

“Good news before bad, then?” “Something like that.” “The only way this conversation is going to work is if you actually talk, Swan.” Emma groaned and leaned her head against the wall again with much more force than she anticipated – it hurt.

“I know,” she said, nodding once to herself. “Ok, ok. So first thing – I got my award.”

“What award?” “The Press Association.” “You won?”

The pride in his voice was almost too much.

It sent shivers down her spine and made her smile and believe and want and Emma started talking quicker without even realizing she was doing it.

“I know you did that,” she said. “I know you nominated me for that and it was ridiculous of you and totally unnecessary.”

“Not totally, Swan. You deserved that. And 18 other awards.” “Eighteen?” “At least.” “Well, I’m glad I got it then.” “Why wouldn't you have gotten it?”

“I didn’t know I won until the plaque ended up on my desk this afternoon. Will said it came in the mail.” Killian was silent for a moment – like he was processing what Emma had just told him – and then suddenly he was talking quickly as well, only he was angry.

“What the hell do you mean it came in the mail?” “No one told me about the ceremony. Or the nomination,” she tacked on.

“Yeah,” Killian sighed. “Well, I wasn’t really planning on not being there when I sent in your nomination. I figured I’d be the one to let you know.” “That brings me to my next point, actually,” Emma said, cutting him off before he could dive into a whole speech of how much Emma deserved to know what was going on.

“Does it?”

Emma smiled to herself – she had him hooked.

Killian was a journalist, a good journalist, and, by default, he wanted answers. He was also far too curious for his own good.

She was fairly certain he hadn’t entirely forgotten about being angry, but the curiosity was too much to overlook.

He wanted answers.

“It does,” Emma confirmed. “Because while I was putting Jefferson through the wringer for not telling me about the awards ceremony…” “As you should,” he interrupted.

“Hey!” “Sorry,” Killian muttered and Emma bit back a laugh at his not-quite-repentant tone. “Keep going, Swan.”

“Jefferson said that Gold didn’t want me to know, didn’t want anyone on the sports floor to know anything about anything. That he’s been trying to cut us off so to speak. That’s why Jefferson has been so crazy. He’s trying to live up to Gold’s expectations and demands and whatever and still put together a section.” “Where are you going with this, Swan?” “Were you ever going to tell me?”

Killian didn’t say anything, but Emma heard a door close loudly in the background and wondered if he had actually slammed it shut. She winced at the noise, shutting her eyes lightly and pulling the ring out from underneath her shirt.

It took several seconds before he finally answered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Swan,” he said and the effort to keep his voice even was calm, even across the phone and several hundred miles.

“Liar,” Emma whispered, eyes still shut and legs scrunched up to her chest. She rested her chin on her knees and tried not to breathe too loudly.

“I don’t,” Killian repeated.

“Don’t lie to me,” she said sharply, eyes snapping open quickly. “I know. I know what you did.” “Then I don’t think you need me to tell you.” “It’d be nice, at some point in this relationship, for you to actually be honest with me.”

Killian’s breath hitched in the phone and sighed.

She hadn’t meant to say that.

At all.

She shouldn’t have said that, knew it wasn’t true – that he had told her about some of the deepest, darkest parts of himself and let her into nearly every corner of his life. But , there was still some part of Emma that hated the parts he kept to himself, the things he felt like he had to do without her.

“I’m being honest with you,” he said softly, practically studying every word as he said it. “This isn’t about you.”

“It’s about you and Gold.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.”

“And that doesn’t include me? Or my job? Or the bargain you made for that job?” He was silent for a few more moments and Emma heard him take a deep breath, God, she could hear him tapping his fingers on his desk.

“You didn’t need to know.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Emma hadn’t expected to get so mad. She expected to tell him what she knew, to explain how she found out and that he could come home. The Writer would hire him. She knew they would. He probably wouldn’t even have to interview.

The Writer would lose its collective mind if Killian Jones came to write for them.

“Are you?” Killian snapped back and now Emma wasn’t mad, she was furious .

She leapt off the bed and started pacing, moving across the small floor space in her room. “My job, Killian,” Emma said, voice straining on the syllables. “My job. And my byline. You don’t get to decide how that works.”

“I wasn’t just going to let him throw you all out,” he said, voice practically cutting into Emma. “Especially you. Not when I could do something about it.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” “It didn’t seem important.” “What?” Emma sighed, leaning against the door and sliding down it slowly until she was sitting on the floor, one leg stretched out in front of her.

“He would have done it, Swan. He told me. He would have gotten rid of me and then he would have gone through the staff and he would have enjoyed it. But if I left, if I gave it up, he said he’d keep the staff and he’d keep you on the Knicks beat and he’d leave you alone.” “I can take care of myself,” she said weakly, not entirely certain what she was arguing about anymore.

“I know that, love,” he said softly. “But I couldn’t come up with a reason not to do it. Not if it protected you.” “You traded your job for me?”

“Yeah.” Emma’s breath practically flew out of her lungs and she leaned her head forward, resting her forehead on her leg. “I can fix this,” she said after what felt like several hours of silence.

“What?”

“I can fix this,” Emma repeated. “That was my final point.” “There’s not anything to fix, Swan. It’s not like The Record is going to hire me back any time soon.” “Not The Record . The Writer . Jefferson told me today that they’re looking for a new columnist.” “They’ll promote from within.” “No,” Emma objected quickly. “That’s what I thought too, but Jefferson said that he heard they were nervous about the talent of their writers. Honestly. They’re opening up the search. Bringing in resumes. Everything.” “And where exactly do I fall into this plan?” Emma widened her eyes in exasperation and did her best not to audibly sigh into the phone – he was frustrated enough already.

“Killian,” she said. “Come on.” “I’m asking you a genuine question, Swan.” “They’d hire you,” she continued quickly. “They’d give you a column and a job and you could tell the entire Boston Red Sox organization to go fuck itself.”

He laughed softly and Emma’s entire body tensed. “You could come home,” she added.

“I don’t know that it’s all that simple, love.”

“It absolutely could be and you know it. The Writer would have a conniption if your resume showed up in the pile. They’d throw every other one away without even looking at them. You know that.”

“Swan…”

“What?” “You can’t count on that just happening.” “I already am,” Emma said. “This could work. It would work. Why don’t you think so?” “You’re far too confident in me,” Killian answered. “That wasn’t an actual answer to my question.” “True.” “Don’t you want to come home?” “Of course I do, Swan. But I told Gold I wouldn’t write in New York again. Said I’d leave the city and let him take over.” “He’s gone,” Emma said quickly.

“What?” “He’s gone. Him and Milah. They left weeks ago. She said he wanted to go back home. And he was having an affair with one of the news writers, so he kind of had to leave. Seemed he didn’t want that news to break.”

“She said?” Killian repeated, voice soft.

“I met Milah.” “She’s the one who told you, isn’t she? About what happened with Gold?” “Yeah.”

“You said they left weeks ago,” Killian said and Emma could hear the accusation in his voice as if it were sitting right next to her on her bedroom floor. “You’ve known what I’ve done for weeks.” “Don’t turn this around on me,” Emma answered hotly, anger flaring up quicker than expected. “I was waiting to see if you’d ever get around to telling me.” “Ran out of patience then?” “You know me, not very good at waiting around.”

“That’s true, Swan,” he said. There was a sound on the other end of the line – like he was moving the phone to lean against his shoulder. He was rubbing his hand. Emma knew it. “I’m sorry for not telling you, for whatever that’s worth.” “You shouldn’t have given up.” “It wasn’t giving up. It was a calculated bargain.” “That you decidedly got the short end of.” “That’s not true,” Killian argued. “I’ve read every single one of your stories, love, and they’ve gotten better every time. I wasn’t going to let you risk that. Not for me. Not because of what I’d done before.” “I would have,” Emma whispered.

“I know. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

“What are you going to do?” “About?” “You know what about.” “I don’t know, Swan,” Killian sighed. Emma groaned in answer and that worked a small, sad laugh out of him.

“It could work,” Emma argued. “It could not work too.” “You’re not usually this pessimistic.”

“Only when it comes to myself.” “Then let me help. Killian, let me help. Just, fuck Gold and fuck the Boston Red Sox and come home and write a column and be happy. You deserve to be happy.” “So do you Swan.” “I am,” she said without hesitation. “Yeah?” “Yes, because of you. I got this job because of you. I got the Knicks because of you and I kept them because of you. So let me help with this. Come home.”

Killian laughed quietly – a shaky noise that made Emma’s heart clench tightly – and sighed again, but this one wasn’t sad. He sounded almost like he was accepting .

“I’ll text August tomorrow,” he said.

“For real?” “For real.”

Emma leaned her head back against her door again and smiled, pressing her lips together tightly and nodding slowly. “Good.”

#cs fic #cs ff #cs au #cs fanfic #cs #ypblag #one more chapter and an epilogue #what what what

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seventeen-scenarios-blog · 8 years ago

Text

[붐붐SERIES] FieldAgent!Wonwoo (PG)

Prompt: It’s your first mission after months, and you’re partnered up with your ex-mentor: the cold, aloof Wonwoo. What could go wrong? Word Count: 3,074 (isweartojisoos, this will be the longest out of the entire series, I PROMISE!) Genre: Angst-ish? Fluff-ish? Warnings: Mild cursing

A/N: I thought I would have an easy time writing out my bias’ installment of the series, but I guess the creative juices aren’t flowing as well as they used to (I blame school). Major, MAJOR thanks to scooped for helping me out with this. COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!!!

This is kind of a spinoff from my Jeonghan instalment, occurring just months after that incident.

The next member will be DINO!

wooed <3

See the rest of the 붐붐 (BOOM BOOM) SERIES here:

“No, no no no this can’t be happening,” you groan, slumping against the metal walls.

“It may be a defense mechanism of sorts,” Woozi’s voice crackles through your earpieces. “The shithead mob boss may be smarter than we thought.”

“Is there any way to breach it?” your only other companion Wonwoo asks, his voice reverberating clandestinely around the enclosed space.

“Of course.” You can hear the irritation in the hacker’s voice. “I just don’t know how long it’d take; I’d have to hack into the central control system at this rate, it could take hours for all I know. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t something I was expecting.”

“Hours?” you echo incredulously. “What do you expect us to do until then?!”

“Closure.” You can picture Woozi’s sarcastic smirk all too well. “If dramas nowadays are anything to go by, elevators are a perfect place for that.” You wince, casting a fleeting glance at the male next to you, but he makes no visible reaction.

Trust things to stay a secret within the group; almost everyone in the organisation knows how sour your relationship with Wonwoo has gotten over the past month. Even Dokyeom, the brains of the operation, had been hesitant pairing the two of you together for this mission. But you’ve worked together for years now, your chemistry couldn’t be denied.

And for a mission as delicate as this, chemistry is critical.

Your task had been simple: infiltrate the penthouse apartment of the notorious mobster, break into his safe, and retrieve the laptop that contained vital information about a powerful company you guys were planning to tear down. It’s your first mission in a while, and you are eager to prove your worth to the organization, but you guess fate had other plans.

“Don’t worry,” Woozi reassures through the intercom again. “Jun and The8 are positioned outside the building and will be ready to break you out if things go too awry. For now, you’ll have to stake it out while I figure things out. Think you can do that?”

“No problem,” Wonwoo replies tersely.

“Have fun, kids. I’ll keep you updated,” says the hacker, and the line falls silent as he disables the communication, leaving the two of you to your fate. Sliding down the wall of the elevator, you sink to a crouch.

“Just my luck…” you mumble through your palms. “First day back as a team, and this happens. What a bad omen.”

“I wonder who’s the bad omen here,” Wonwoo sniffs, checking his Gadgetrio101 watch for the time.

You give him a dirty look, obviously pissed by what he had just hinted to you.

“Jeon, if you’re trying to say that I am the bad omen--”

“Are you not?” Wonwoo questions, cutting you off. “If you had just listened to me and took the stairs, we wouldn’t be trapped here.”

“I’m sorry I stopped us from climbing up fifty flights of steps, Jeon.” Infuriated with rage over Wonwoo’s words, you lash out at him, actually considering the “closure” that Woozi was talking about.

“Bickering like this honestly doesn’t help with this mission at all,” you hiss, “Maybe we could actually try to get along? You know, like have a normal, civilised conversation?”

“How the hell do you expect me to have a normal conversation, with someone who’s spent the last months working in front of a laptop instead of out in a field, and got us stuck here?” Wonwoo snaps, staring at you in the eyes, “You’re not helpful at all you know.”

You get up from your slumped position, and walk straight to Wonwoo, getting dangerously close to him. He isn’t intimidated though, as he just looks down at you, standing at a tall height of 1.82 metres, which beat your 1.65 metre height easily.

Breathing down on you, Wonwoo just smirks, This is the first time in where the both of you are so physically close to each other.

“Stop this childish act, and stop looking down on me. There’s a reason why we are here in this mission together right now. Coups obviously knows I have every skill necessary for the mission.”

He doesn’t reply you, but the cynical snort he shoots you speaks volumes.

You gave a deep sigh, looking up at the flickering lights of the elevator, before looking back at him.

“You know, I liked you a lot better before you were assigned as my mentor,” you huff out.

His eyebrows furrow slightly, and for a moment you thought you saw a shadow of hurt flicker past his raven irises. You regret your words immediately, knowing that it wasn’t what you meant at all.

In truth, Wonwoo wasn’t always a jerk to you. He had been a great friend once, being kind of an older brother to you in some sorts. When you were new to the force, his sister had taken you under her wing as your mentor, showing you the ropes on being a great field agent and together with him, you three were an unstoppable trio.

That was, until the unfortunate accident that ended your beloved mentor’s life. A gas explosion triggered by an enemy troop had left the entire team devastated with the loss of one of their swiftest, lovable but powerful agent. Wonwoo… he had changed since then.

After the death of his sister, he was given a few months off from the force to recover. And when he returned, he was reassigned as your mentor. Rather than being the quirky goofball you liked, he grew increasingly cold, as though he has built an invisible barrier around you, preventing you from ever trying to get close to him again. As a mentor, he was constantly doubting your abilities, dark insults prepped at the tip of his tongue whenever you slip up.

Your leader S.Coups had told you to be patient with him, for he is still grieving, and who can blame him for grieving over a deceased sibling? But after an argument a few months ago that left the both of you on terrible terms, you aren’t sure if you’re able to continue working with him. You are simply sick of his snide remarks, his constant looking down on you, acting as though you’re unable to pull your own weight.

You had been patient by constantly telling yourself that he never means anything he says, but you had your limits.

You had requested to transfer to the research department, away from Wonwoo, to give him the space he clearly needed, but with the organization shorthanded, you didn’t have a choice aside from accepting this one-time mission. And once again, his icy remarks had found their way to pierce your heart, prompting you to retaliate with your equally coldly muttered words.

But looking at how he breaks eye contact with you, you know that you just reopened the wound he had desperately tried to heal.

“Jeon, I--” you begin, but before you can complete your sentence, the elevator gives a violent shudder, pressing you further against the corner, while Wonwoo stumbles towards you. He would have crushed you if he hadn’t braced his weight on the railings on the last second.

“What’s happening?!” your voice is raised a pitch higher in alarm, while Wonwoo throws a panicked glance at the ceiling. “Jihoon,” he hisses into his earpiece. “Something’s happening to the lift. Do you copy?”

You both wait with bated breaths, but the other line stays eerily silent. “Woozi!” you call out, but you get the same response. “The signal must be cut off,” Wonwoo deduces, and you feel yourself stiffening up with dread.

The elevator jerks once again, sending both of you lurching towards the door. The breath drives out of you when you slammed against Wonwoo’s body, and his hands wrap themselves immediately around your waist to steady you.

You both barely have time to recover before you feel yourself plummeting a couple metres, a scream of terror tearing from your throat. When it bounces to a stop, you feel yourself growing dizzy with anxiety, especially when he flips you around, covering your body with his to shield you from the shattered glass when several light bulbs blow up.

“Shit,” you curse, “Are you okay?” In the darkness, you still can see him nod, and you swear Wonwoo can hear how loudly your heart is hammering.

For a moment, you are worried that he would call you out for being scared over a measly fall like that, but you put aside your pride to cater to the mounting panic that threatens to swallow you whole.

“Wonwoo,” you choke out, allowing yourself to call him by his real name for the first time. “Is it going to fall? Are we going to die here?”

His eyes blow wide at your words. You are deep in the heart of enemy territory and are more than thirty storeys above ground level; there’s no way you both would survive the fall. And with Jihoon out of your reach, you don’t know if you’re able to be saved.

“Don’t panic,” Wonwoo assures with none of his usual sarcasm. “I’m going to get us out of here.”

But you can barely hear him over the rush of blood in your ears. It’s just too much for you: the choking blackness, the way your elevator cab is delicately suspended in midair, the mounting fear that renders you completely immobile. You’re only able to break out of your trance when Wonwoo shakes you by your shoulders.

“Stay calm!” he growls, the anger seemingly coming from worry rather than irritation. “I’ll save you, I’ll get you out.”

“But how?” you ask, finding yourself holding on to his matte black jacket. His unreadable eyes linger on the way your fingers dig into the leather, before gently pulling them off to place them on the railing. “Trust me” are the only two words he says to you before standing up and brushing off the glass shards that had rained down on him.

You both crane your neck up towards the ceiling, where an escape hatch is. No way, is he really going to do that? Precariously balancing himself on the railings, he grabs onto a ledge to hoist his body upwards, and inspects the escape hatch.

“Doesn’t seem to be locked from the outside,” he observes before planting his two palms against the metal ceiling. You hold your breath until your lungs ache as he heaves upwards, his four limbs trembling from the effort. Be careful, you want to tell him, but your nerves numb your senses and render you mute.

Until what seemed like forever, the hatch gives way with a metallic ‘clunk’, and unfortunately so did Wonwoo as his footing slips, sending him crashing onto the sheet of broken glass. The impact sends the lift wobbling dangerously, but you completely disregard that at the sight of Wonwoo crumpling in pain before you.

“Wonwoo!” you gasp when he lifts his arm, revealing drops of blood dotting the skin of his palms. “I’m fine,” he grunts. “Now let’s get you out of here.”

With his knees propped up as leverage, you manage to reach up and pull yourself out onto the roof of the cab. Shifting your weight around carefully to not disturb the delicate equilibrium, you turn around to help Wonwoo. He manages to snag his fingers around the edge of the opening with a strong jump, and you quickly grab his forearm to support him. Half his body is still suspending in the empty area that the both of you were in.

As you were about to prop him up onto the ceiling of the elevator, the elevator jerked, and the both of you lost a split second of balance. Wonwoo lost his grip, and fell back into the elevator, except, you were still holding onto his other hand.

“Don’t let go!” you holler, warning your partner to get a grip.

Using a large burst of force, you pull Wonwoo up, before Wonwoo collapses on you. Wonwoo lifts his arms, bringing some space between you and him.

“Are you okay?” Wonwoo asks you, while you were panting heavily, suffering from the aftermath of pulling him up.

“I’m... I’m fine.” you said, looking up to see Wonwoo’s face just inches away from yours.

The both of your eyes locked for a few seconds, and you feel the familiar tinge of love and concern highlighting his irises that you have not seen in so long. Feeling embarrassed, you look away, and so did Wonwoo, as he proceeds to stand up from the tangled position.

“I think the only way is up,” Wonwoo tells you, looking downwards at the messed up debris just below the hanging platform the both of you are standing on.

The both of you climb upwards, to find a possible exit from that upwards corridor. The venture upwards was silent but comforting, with Wonwoo looking back at you from time to time to ensure that you’re fine and that you’re still following him. The both of you didn’t talk, with only the synchronized heavy breathing being heard.

Reaching the 45th storey, the both of you found that the elevator door to this level were jammed, giving the both of you a place to escape to. Wonwoo got up onto the platform area of the lift lobby, before turning around to grab your hand to help pull you up. Once the both of you were safely on concrete, you couldn't have much control of your wobbly legs that have been working non-stop, and your body crumples on top of Wonwoo, completely drained.

You both are busy recovering and gasping for breath that you don’t care about the compromising position you are in, with his body under yours and hands perching protectively across your waist.

His chest rises and falls as he draws in a heavy lungful of oxygen. “I… I saved you,” he breathes, tightening his hold around your body and trapping you in his grasp. Even with your mind dazed from the dizzyingly close call, you feel warmth spreading down from your head to your toes when he gently presses his lips at your temple.

“Finally…”

You know that he is obviously reminiscing about his sister’s death once again, and you lay your hands atop of his. “What I said back there, I didn’t mean it at all, I’m sorry,” you croak. But he shakes his head. “I should be the one telling you that,” he insists.

He sighs. “I was a major jerk to you, you’ve suffered a lot because of me. I just couldn’t find a better way to express myself. I chased you out of our missions, insulted you, all because… I didn’t want you going back into the field and risking your life on these missions, not after that close call two years ago…” His voice trails off and cracks at the end, prompting you to look up at him, concerned.

He meets your gaze with watery eyes. “I already lost my sister, I don’t want to lose you too.”

“Wonwoo…” you gasp when his expression grows guilty, and he looks away, ashamed. “I know I’m beyond forgiving, but I hope that you do understand where I came from. All I ever wanted to do was to protect you.”

But you never truly blamed Wonwoo, a part of you had unconsciously sympathised with his intentions. “Wonwoo,” you call again. “It’s okay. It’s been hard, I’m not going to lie, but I do understand.” You lower your voice to a whisper. “Because I miss her too.”

You fight back the tremble in your lips and you know that Wonwoo’s doing the same. “It hasn’t been the same since she left us, and I think that our relationship will take time to repair again, but it is okay because I’m willing to take things slowly for now. We’ll be okay, Wonwoo. I’ll be okay, I promise you.”

He seems to drink in your words, his eyes fluttering shut when he holds your head between his hands so gently as though he is handling a fragile flower. But all thoughts fly out of your head when he tilts your chin upwards to pull you into a fiery kiss. You completely melt on top of his body and you kiss him back with equal fervour.

You grow warm with the blush that was building up in your cheeks, as his plush lips flush against yours, you feel him smiling into the kiss, and the hand that combs through your locks feels so full of affection, the affection you’ve craved for so long. You pull away, gasping for air, but Wonwoo continues to plant light kisses along your jawline.

“I missed you,” you admit, slightly embarrassed. He hums in agreement, tucking your head under his chin. “I’ll never let you go again, I promise.”

“I’ll count on it,” you respond with a playful nudge on his shoulder, and you both remain in your positions. With neither of you willing to break the peace, someone else had taken that privilege.

“You realise…” a third voice interrupts through your in-ears, causing the both of you to jump apart as though a spark of electricity had exploded between you, “Now that you’re both out of the elevator, the signal’s fine and working again?”

“Woozi!” you try to hide your flustering with a laugh. “H-How much did you hear?”

“Enough,” the hacker intones flatly. “I’m gonna need me a new set of fingers, though. Cringed them clean off of my hands.”

Your body heats up to impossible levels, and you turn to find Wonwoo’s face equally flushed from embarrassment.

“Hey, I’m not complaining, as long as you’re both safe.” says Woozi. “I’m sick of you guys glaring daggers at each other all the damn time anyway.”

At that, you both burst into a simultaneous fit of laughter, and at the sight of his crescent-shaped eyes, his little wrinkles and his thousand-watt smile again, you feel your heart exploding with a multitude of emotions.

“Alright, you lovebirds,” Woozi’s voice crackles again. “I’ve sent Jun and The8 up to you. We’ll be outside with the escape van, good luck.”

The line goes silent again, leaving you alone with Wonwoo’s brilliant, loving grin. Grasping your smaller hand in his, you both resumed your mission as a team once again.

He’s back, you think giddily. The Wonwoo you’ve known and loved is finally back.

195 notes · View notes

stone-man-warrior · 6 years ago

Text

February 1, 2019: 10:08 pm:

February 1, 2019: 10:38 pm: This note below came from Google today.<br... StoneMan .Warrior - 2019-02-02T02:08:29-0500 - Updated: 2019-02-02T02:08:29-0500

(4-7-2019: Author’s Note: These are the final entries into the Google+ Platform. Some of these entries were posted ti the Google+ Help pages where I asked that Google make a call to US Military and National Security Administration and direct them to my account there at Google+ before the information is purged. I cannot make those calls, that is why the page was there on Google+ to begin with. Google refused to help. Google purged the entire Google+ Platform instead. They also read every page in the archive, deleted some of the links, removed photos, and made it difficult to put the archive back together fir re-posting here on Tumblr.Please read the entries here, they go all the way back to 2014 and contain a wealth of information that can be used to stop the terrorist coup that is currently underway. If you can read this, please call US Military and direct them to this account on Tumblr. Thank you.)

February 1, 2019: 10:38 pm: This note below came from Google today. Yesterday, there was a banner across this page that indicated this page would be "going away" soon. I visited the Google Help page and left them a message there explaining circumstances that exist where I live and this page is here to document what is happening regarding terror activities, the absence of law enforcement and absence of official ways to get help in times of emergency such as these. I asked that Google, or anyone that would read the post there to please call US Military and National Security Administration and direct them to this page before it gets taken down. Google says they are completely removing the content of all the users of the Google+ platform. Somehow, I believe they are targeting this page in particular resultant of my continued requests to have people help by calling military and NSA and asking them to look at my profile. I also have a Twitter account with the same StoneMan name that I use here, and Twitter is also owned by Google. I have contacted Twitter support a number of times asking them to make the call to US Military and NSA and explained that I am unable to reach public safety or would do that myself. I have done that myself a number of times over the course of many years with the only response being assassins coming to my home to try to kill me, in return and in defense, I have killed many assassins, tonight, assassins came and were killed in defense, the same as yesterday... assassins came to my home and were killed in self defense. An endless and frightening reality. I sent Google a response to the note they sent me which can be found below theirs right here. Again, I asked that they simply call US Military and National Security Administration and direct them to my profile. Nothing more than that. O ask only for a phone call on behalf of freedom, and to direct attention to me, no one else. So far, I have contacted Google a number of times asking for help in the form of a phone call to the public safety mentioned, at Twitter at least five occasions and at Google twice, at least, over an unknown period of time. I vaguely recall asking Google to make such calls many years ago also, with a different account here that had been deleted by terrorists years ago. It seems as though i asked fir their help, and then, the page was deleted without warning shortly afterwords. I already know that the Google company has been taken over by terrorists, so asking them for help is similar to asking for assassins to come kill me. Which is what happened earlier tonight, at about 8:30 pm, Friday, February 1, 2019, and yesterday, January 31, 2018, at about 7:30 pm. Terrorists were killed in my living room yesterday in self defense after intruding into my home. And tonight, their Nitrous Oxide/Versed airborne poison gas tanks ignited outdoors when I fought terrorism with a Bic Lighter. It is notable that the two attack referred to here came just days after contacting the people at Twitter and asking that they call US Military and National Security Administration and direct them to my profile. Call public safety at National Security and point at me... that is all I ask of anyone. Instead, assassins come with poison gas and other, more conventional weapons. =================================================== Your personal Google+ account is going away on April 2, 2019 Inbox x Google+ Team <[email protected]> 7:53 PM (2 hours ago) to me You've received this email because you have a consumer (personal) Google+ account or you manage a Google+ page. In December 2018, we announced our decision to shut down Google+ for consumers in April 2019 due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers' expectations. We want to thank you for being part of Google+ and provide next steps, including how to download your photos and other content. On April 2nd, your Google+ account and any Google+ pages you created will be shut down and we will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. You can download and save your content, just make sure to do so before April. Note that photos and videos backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted. The process of deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts, Google+ Pages, and Album Archive will take a few months, and content may remain through this time. For example, users may still see parts of their Google+ account via activity log and some consumer Google+ content may remain visible to G Suite users until consumer Google+ is deleted. As early as February 4th, you will no longer be able to create new Google+ profiles, pages, communities or events. See the full FAQ for more details and updates leading up to the shutdown. If you're a Google+ Community owner or moderator, you may download and save your data for your Google+ Community. Starting early March 2019, additional data will be available for download, including author, body, and photos for every community post in a public community. Learn more If you sign in to sites and apps using the Google+ Sign-in button, these buttons will stop working in the coming weeks but in some cases may be replaced by a Google Sign-in button. You'll still be able to sign in with your Google Account wherever you see Google Sign-in buttons. Learn more If you've used Google+ for comments on your own or other sites, this feature will be removed from Blogger by February 4th and other sites by March 7th. All your Google+ comments on all sites will be deleted starting April 2, 2019. Learn more If you're a G Suite customer, Google+ for your G Suite account should remain active. Contact your G Suite administrator for more details. You can also expect a new look and new features soon. Learn more If you're a developer using Google+ APIs or Google+ Sign-in, click here to see how this will impact you. From all of us on the Google+ team, thank you for making Google+ such a special place. We are grateful for the talented group of artists, community builders, and thought leaders who made Google+ their home. It would not have been the same without your passion and dedication. Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043 You have received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google+ Page, product or account. StoneMan <[email protected]> 8:22 PM (2 hours ago) to Google+ I left a note at your help page explaining circumstances. Please read the note, please call National Security Administration and US Military and direct them to my profile at Google+, it's very important. Freedom requires a response to the threat. In the absence of a response to the threat, freedom at the most basic levels will be lost. The threat is real, and a phone call is all that is required to start a response that will preserve freedom, and the USA. The absence of Freedom, is the presence of captivity. Please make the call.

Shared to the community Google+ Help - Public

+1'd by: Pinkie Pie

StoneMan .Warrior - 2019-02-02T02:23:02-0500

Google said we had until February 4th to make posts at our Google+ pages, but today is February 1st and I am unable to post the entry above on my own page. The entry above is important to me, but not only me, its important for everyone. Please help. National Security threat. Please help.

Walter Roberson - 2019-02-02T05:14:54-0500

The shutdown has absolutely nothing to do with you. It is not just your account that is being closed: the entire Google+ service is being closed for everyone. Google will continue to offer a commercial service named GSuite that is designed for communications within organizations, but the different organizations would not be able to communicate with each other.

Shenan Stanley - 2019-02-02T09:03:50-0500

The Google+ public/free

shutdown is unrelated to you, your country, military action (or inaction), terrorism, etc. If it says, "Google+" in the name, it is "Google+"; otherwise, it is not. So posts/comments you have done using this specific interface and perhaps the Google+ album archive (images not uploaded to Google Photos): https://get.google.com/albumarchive Everything else, not Google+. (Google Search, Google Docs, Google Photos, Google Hangouts, Google Mail, Google Voice, Google My Business, Google Maps, Google Drive, Google YouTube, etc.)

February 2, 2019: 6:18 pm: Google, you stated users had until February... StoneMan .Warrior - 2019-02-02T22:01:38-0500 - Updated: 2019-02-02T22:01:38-0500

February 2, 2019: 6:18 pm: Google, you stated users had until February 4 to make posts on Google+, however, multiple attempts to make new posts failed. My posts are automatically re-directed to the Google+ Help pages. I want to remind Google that I use the platform for only one single purpose, that purpose is to document terrorist activities in Oregon while also trying to get help to stop the mass murders of US Citizens that are happening as a result of the terrorism that I document. Please, before Google+ deletes the content of the pages, call US Military and US National Security Administration and direct them to my profile at Google+ and Twitter.

"StoneMan .Warrior" on Google+ "StoneMan @StoneMa75807331" on Twitter. I am unable to contact Public Safety personnel any capacity, not by phone, nor online. The terror army I document about is in control of the phones and internet, I can post information on social media, I am limited to social media for communicating to anyone. If i were able to contact Public Safety personnel, I would not ask for the help of Google. THIS IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY. Please make the calls I ask for. Direct the attention to me. That is very simple for someone who has access to working telephone systems and working internet services. Please help. Do not delete StoneMan .Warrior without first calling for the help of those who protect the USA from terrorist threats. Anyone, anywhere in the world, if you can read this, please make the call to US National Security Administration and to US Military and direct them to my profile. You can make the call anonymously. Extremely important. Thank you,

StoneManShared to the community Google+ Help - Public

StoneMan .Warrior - 2019-02-02T22:02:50-0500

Google, please stop deleting the request for help. Make the calls I ask for.

February 9, 2019: 9:16 pm: Google+ Platform Purge: It's a P... StoneMan .Warrior - 2019-02-10T00:48:14-0500 - Updated: 2019-02-10T00:48:14-0500

February 9, 2019: 9:16 pm: Google+ Platform Purge: It's a PURGE. Other platforms and services on the internet have discontinued service in the past, they simply advise users that customer or user support, help services, modernization and upgrading of the platform will be discontinued. Usually, when an online service such as Google+ is dreamed unworthy of further development, the platform is left to those who have content, such that users are able to continue use, but without help & support services associated with the product. Typically, people will fond a way to maintain a forum for sharing useful information in lieu of corporate help & support. It happens that way. I have never seen a complete PURGE of written, documented, important information online before. Google is PURGING the entire platform of all of it;s users, DELETING information that may be of world importance, information that could be used to STOP TERRORISM is on Google+ platform. I know that there is such information because the only reason I chose to use the platform many years ago, was to REPORT TERRORISM IN ABSENCE OF OFFICIAL REPORTING MEANS. I am not the only one. There are more users like me. users who have been victimized and live in areas, such as where I live on Oregon USA, where terror army's have taken over and control the phones and the internet such that reaching public safety people is not possible. Where I live in Oregon USA, there are no more public safety people. The phones and internet are controlled, monitored and restricted by terrorists who prevent messages from reaching those who can help. Where I live in Oregon USA, internet use is restricted sucj that only social media is available for communicating. Email is redirected, phone calls are redirected. Now, Google is not only discontinuing the Google+ platform, they are also DELETING IMPORTANT ACCOUNTS OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, and RECORDS OF NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION. Google refuses to make the call that I cannot make, the call to the National Security Administration and to US Military. I am unable to get the help, I ask Google to make the call, and the people at NSA and US Military to MY profile, and they refuse, they delete the request for help to stop terrorists from killing people in Oregon, and beyond. Terror armies are using Nitrous Oxide/Versed airborne poison gas mixture to capture, kill, and replace with impostors, the citizens of Oregon. Many thousands of victims. Sate Police and National Guard have been killed and replaced with impostors. Please help. Google will not help. They will not make the call. Google refuses to make the call. Google deletes the record of terror activities instead. If you can read this, from anywhere in the world, and have a working telephone that reaches where you call, or have internet service that reaches the places you contact, PLEASE call US National Security Administration and US Military and ask them to look at this profile page: StoneMan .Warrior https://plus.google.com/u/0/100313974299065593009 Also: StoneMan on Twitter https://twitter.com/StoneMa75807331 Thank You. Please help. Shared to the community Google+ Help - Public

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letsimportanttreecollection-blog · 7 years ago

Text

How much will insurance go up with 2 points on drivers license in CA?

"How much will insurance go up with 2 points on drivers license in CA?

Im from California. So I have 2 points on my driving record how much will the insurance go up? I work for a company as a driver. They have The Hartford car insurance. Thanks.

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://freeautoinsurance.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr