#was cold as hell this morning.. like -26 C

[dailyhmsw]

loop 152

[take-it-on-the-run]

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Dean Winchester, Reaper!Reader

Dean Winchester didn't want to know what life was going to be like without his brother, and he didn't intend to learn

Word Count: 2.5k

Tags: Suicide attempt, angst, major character death, minor injury, typical cannon violence, angst with a happy ending

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Reaper!Reader

Read it on AO3!

A/N: Simon & Garfunkel title. This has been stewing in my drafts since August, so I'm very happy I was able to finally finish it! This is set around season 5 (Dean is 30 and Sam is 26). PLEASE heed the warnings, and please don't read further if this story will make you uncomfortable. Unbeta'd and every single mistake is mine :)

Dean Winchester Masterlist | Supernatural Masterlist | Main Page Masterlist

Rain clung to a man as he peered over the rails of a bridge he couldn’t name. It was big enough to have a name, he was sure of that, but not big enough for people to be driving by at three in the morning.

His hands wrapped around the steel beams meant to keep cars from tipping over into the rushing waters below. They were cold to the touch, but he didn’t feel that. He could barely place one foot in front of the other, let alone feel anything besides the hollowed-out hole in his chest.

His car was parked just off the side of the road less than half a mile away, keys still in the ignition, lights blaring onto the tree trunks that ran on for as far as the eye could see. There was no one for miles, the only souls accompanying him in those moments being those of the rodents scattering into crooks and crannies to hide from the rain.

A heavy weight shifted in his pocket, nudging against his thigh, reminding him why he was standing alone in the rain. He couldn’t comprehend that in the morning, people would come looking for him, that he would be missed; that he would be mourned. He only knew the pain that was engulfing his very being, pushing him closer and closer to life’s edge.

He wanted to compare it to Hell, but he knew that in Hell he’d at least pay for what he’d done in the form of flames and pure, unimaginable agony, like he’d experienced all those years ago. Here, he could only wallow in the fact that he was alive, and the only person he’d give his life for wasn’t.

The first time he tried to pitch himself over the rails, his foot slipped and his head collided with the metal. Blood trickled down his forehead as he remained on the ground. Any other time, he’d be able to climb anything, anywhere; but now all he could hear was the sound of the river below calling for him.

Join me. It said, beckoning him to his feet once again.

Though he couldn’t see me, I was there watching him as he tried to will himself to take his own life. Standing a mere ten feet from him, leaning on the opposing set of rails, I watched as he clambered upright. In complete honesty, I didn’t know if he’d do it or not. I did, however, know that he wasn’t meant to be there. He was meant to pass in a horrible accident three weeks before at his own hands, leaving his brother the only survivor. His name was in my book, and I was meant to take him to the great hereafter, only to find him standing over his brother’s body.

The man didn’t know it, but his brother was there too, watching him on that bridge. He tried to get his brother to hear his pleas, but he couldn’t, so he turned to me.

He begged me and begged me to not let his brother take his life. This had happened many times since I started my life’s work, people trying to offer me their souls in place of a loved one’s, but my duties remained as they were. I’m a pathway to the afterlife. No more, no less. Never once had I prevented someone from dying, never once had someone slipped between my fingers, and never once had I stuck myself in Earthly affairs.

I leaned into the rails silently, letting the rain fall onto my bare skin. I could imagine how cold it was for him, shivering and bleeding as his world seemed to crumble.

His brother clung to my side, clawing and tearing at my skin as he wailed for me to let his brother live, that his soul should be enough for me to have.

I turned to him and looked into his widened eyes, and all I could do was wonder. Wonder why such a young man was content in his own death, and why he didn’t want his brother to die as he did.

“You Winchesters and your family bond. You know Samuel, there aren’t many people out there who aren’t pissed at the person who killed them.” I said as I acknowledged the youngest Winchester for the first time since he started our conversation.

“He didn’t-” Sam looked to his older brother, still oblivious to my presence, “-my death wasn’t his fault. You got your soul, now you can report back to your big boss and just leave Dean alone, please.”

I turned to him, ready to tell him that my kind didn’t deal in souls, but was interrupted when the click of a handgun made Sam and I turn our heads.

“Are you my reaper?” He asked, matter-of-factually, poorly aiming his pistol in my general direction. I took a step toward him, the rain beginning to fall more violently.

“We both know you’re smart enough than to try and use that on me, Dean,” I said, ignoring his question as I took more steps toward him.

“Answer-” Dean readjusted his slipping grip on the gun, eyes wearily trained at me. “-answer me.”

“I was your reaper, yes,” I answered, closing the distance between us, cool metal pressed against my chest.

His eyes were green and sunken; packed with tears, veins, and blood. His pupils darted around my face expectantly, begging me to do something, make his pain simply go away.

I felt a heavy pang in my chest, that hooked onto my heart and sunk to my feet.

I reached up to his face, gently cupping as I skimmed my fingers over untrimmed facial hair. He flinched as my hand made contact, probably expecting to get ripped from his body.

“Don’t be afraid, Dean. He’s safe.” I said gently. His eyes closed, and he leaned into my palm as he let out a heavy breath.

“He isn’t angry at you. You know, he practically begged me to come stop you.” I smiled, smoothing over the gash on his forehead. The deep cut disappeared as my fingers skimmed over it, offering him some relief.

“It’s not fair-” Dean choked out, coughing as the weather around us began to take its toll on his body. “-Sammy, he’s got a whole life ahead of him. College, a big lawyer job, a normal life. All I’ve got is hunting, and waiting to run into someone sharp enough to finally get me.”

His teeth chattered in his mouth, and the metal against my chest disappeared as he let his arms drop to his sides.

“Big talk coming from someone who’s barely thirty,” I said, watching as Dean pulled away from my hands, and returned to leaning on the rails.

“It’s the-” Dean starts.

“-the life, yes. So I’ve heard from a great number of hunters.” I finished his thought as I joined him on the rails. “Why is it that all of you think your lifespans are so short? Hunters back in, I don’t know,” I wave my hand as I’m trying to come up with the words, “the seventeen hundreds still lived longer than a lot your folk do nowadays.”

He creased his eyebrows, his eyes flickering over my face.

“All I’m saying,” I take a long look at the sun starting to crawl its way over the horizon, “is that ‘the life’ doesn’t have to be your life, Dean. I can’t believe I’m even saying this, but you don’t have to die in some horrific fight that finally puts you down. Hunters have died of old age, you know.”

He looked at me, the freckles on his face more visible now that the rain was calming down, “but Sammy… he deserved his happy ending more than I ever will. He got out. Got a full-ride scholarship to freakin’ Stanford. Had a girl. I didn’t even have the guts to tell him how proud I was. I’d stand outside his dorm room for hours, trying to figure out a way to come see him without Dad, or without him hating me. I shouldn’t have dragged him back into this, and now he’s dead. In my place.”

“It’s the natural order of things, Dean. If not him, then you, and if not you, then some other person had to die that day.”

“But it didn’t have to be Sam. I would’ve gone just the same way as he did, but at least he’d have something dragging him forward, to move on.” He looked at me again with those tired eyes, letting out a sharp breath as his hands clung to the railing again, leaning his torso off halfway.

“Dean,” I said cautiously, watching his knuckles turn white as his heart quickened and eyes shut, “Dean.”

His feet were moving fast, and in one swift moment, he was off the bridge. His body flung over almost effortlessly and catapulted him down to the rocky waters below.

I turned away, expecting him to appear next to me in a moment, but his voice rose through the air instead.

“What…?”

I looked over the railing, only to see Sam was holding his forearms, holding him from his forearms before he could drop.

I turned to the younger Winchester brother, who was solely focused on trying to save his brother’s life, his spectral hands losing their grip the longer he held on.

“Dean, hold on, please. Please, man, just hold on. Don’t give up on me.”

Dean’s head snapped up, looking straight at his brother.

“Sammy?” Dean choked out, his legs starting to kick frantically as if he were trying to walk on air.

“Help me, help me get him up. Please.” Sam turned to me, struggling to hold onto his brother.

I blinked and I was beside him, yanking up on an almost-limp Dean, and throwing him onto the road of the bridge.

Dean lay on the ground, his chest rising and falling with each labored breath. Sam knelt beside him, his eyes filled with remorse.

“I didn’t want to give up on you, Sammy,” Dean whispered, his voice barely audible over the gentle rustle of the damp morning breeze.

Sam’s heart clenched at the sound of his brother’s voice, filled with a mixture of pain and regret. “I know, Dean,” he replied, his voice choked with emotion. “It’s not your fault. You never gave up on me. You took all of dad’s crap, and I mean all of it. The yelling. The hunting. The abuse.”

Dean looked at his brother before he went still, not saying a word as he clutched his chest with pale blue hands. His breaths grew shallower, his body beginning to tremble from the exertion and the cold rain that drenched him throughout the night. Sam glanced around frantically, feeling helpless in the face of his brother’s suffering.

“He needs help. Help him,” Sam said, his voice urgent as he looked up at me, desperation clear in his eyes.

I nodded, my heart heavy with the weight of the situation. “I’ll do what I can,” I replied, my voice solemn. “But I can’t interfere with the natural order of things.”

Sam’s shoulders sagged in defeat, but he refused to give up. “There has to be something you can do,” he pleaded, his voice cracking with emotion. “Please, just help him.”

I hesitated, the pull that the Winchester seemed to have with the universe was something even Death couldn’t withstand; but who was I to interfere? As I looked down at Dean, lying battered and broken on the ground, I could hear the cracking of his ribs drowning out my thoughts.

With a heavy sigh, I knelt beside Sam and Dean, moving Dean’s hands away from his chest with little force. “I’ll do what I can,” I said, my voice softer.

I laid my hands on Dean’s chest, warmth spread through his body, chasing away the chill of the rain and easing his pain. His breaths grew steadier, his trembling subsiding as color started returning to his hands.

Sam looked on in awe, tears welling in his eyes as he watched his brother’s condition improve before his very eyes. “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice filled with gratitude.

I nodded, a small smile touching my lips. “Take care of him,” Sam said, his voice barely above a whisper, and I nodded. “He’s gotta lot of fight left in him, and someone has to keep him up and running.”

I chuckled, moving to the side of Sam as I waited for him to pull away from Dean. The two of them sat there in perfect silence, staring into the blankness in front of them. I could barely hear Dean’s breath through the wind that curved between the air around us.

“I have to go, Dean,” Sam said, turning to face them as they both sat on the edge of the empty road.

“I can’t do this without you Sammy, I don’t want to,” Dean said, catching stray tears with the back of his hand. He took his brother into a firm hug; it was as if he was holding him to Earth, and to life itself.

“I love you so much,” Sam said as he rested his head on Dean’s shoulder, Dean taking in a shuddered breath. Sam slowly pulled away from him, and stood beside me, trying his best to smile, “bye, Dean.”

Dean looked up at his brother, nose red and raw from the tears that coated his face, hiccuping as he failed to drown his emotions with a weak smile, not saying a word. He scooted away from the road, sitting himself up against the rails as he watched me and Sam walk down the bridge, and out of view.

I can’t say that I forgot that day, especially when I was called again for Dean. He lay on a hospital bed, his once dirty blonde hair replaced with silver tufts, complemented by wrinkles brought on from years of stories to tell, and different kinds of scars in new places.

He looked just as he did that day on the bridge when he came to stand by me, watching the woman beside him, hair just as gray as his, holding onto his hand. An anti-possession tattoo peaked out from under her long sleeve as she reached over to plant a kiss on his forehead, watching as his heart monitor ran flat. After a few moments of silence, nurses came into the room, looking over Dean’s body as the woman shuffled out of the room and walked through Dean and me with a shudder.

“Hello, Dean,” I said, smiling gently, preparing to lead him out of the room when there was a laugh from behind us. Two hands were placed firmly around Dean before I could realize who it was.

“You ready? We’ve got a lot to catch up on, you know.” Sam said as he pulled away from his brother, the both of them smiling like I’d never seen before.

[cosmicstarlatte]

Levi A-Z Smut HCs (Obey Me!)

⬅Back to Smut HC A-Z Masterlist ◇

18+ only, minors do not interact.

My personal headcanons using this [prompt list]

The goal is to finish the whole list; you are welcome to request a letter so I get to it faster. I will work on it as quick as I can but keep in mind I do have a life & responsibilities lol. ^^

Last Updated: Oct.1.2023 (9 out of 26)

⚠️Notes: I'll tag any sections if needed. If you think a section needs a tag, kindly let me know.

A: Affair (Describe an extra-marital affair)

B: Birthday (Describe birthday sex)

C: Compliments (Mid- and post-sex compliments)

D: Dry Humping (Describe a dry-humping scene)

tags: punishment, humiliation Every once in a while you need to punish him, either he spent way too much on otaku merch or he's been missing classes too much, whatever. You'll usually sit on him & tease him as he tries to play on his PC. He knows what you're doing & he begs to feel you, please he'll 'do better' he says. Unfortunately for him his poor cock won't get that sweet relief exactly. he can beg & whine all he wants & rub desperately against you but he's still gonna have to cum in his pants.

E: Experimenting (Trying something new)

F: Firsts (First time having sex together)

It was clumsy & cute. The poor otaku was so nervous, he couldn't believe he could bag such a baddie. Someway somehow even with the nervousness he still felt calm with you, if that makes any sense. He was more worried about you than him & he just wanted to make you feel good. especially when he came rather quickly before the 1st round. Anyway, the nerd is packin' & those hands & tongue work skillfully. ...You definitely went a few good rounds into the night & left each other a mess before finally taking a sweet bath together. After, you guys cuddled under a warm blanket & watched a lighthearted anime. ♡

G: Gentle (Describe gentle/loving mid-sex gestures)

H: Handsy (When they can’t keep their hands to themselves)

I: Initiator (Who initiates most of the time? How?)

J: Jealous (“Claiming” a partner)

tags: Possessive, Love bites/Marking, Scenting Sweetie, he's the avatar of envy. When it's extreme, there's no hiding it, he gives in. That sweet shy nervous otaku? Gone. He's bringing & giving grand admiral energy, he's giving 'one of the powerful lords of hell.' Sure he could summon Lotan or use something else if he wants to, but all he really needs is to say "Go away" in a icy cold voice & glare that makes thousands of soldiers shiver. You almost feel sorry for any bastard that tries to make him jealous. Even after they leave though, he wants nothing more but to mark you with visible love bites & rub his scent all over you. He made it easily known to his brothers to not touch what's his.

K: Kitchen (Describe a sex scene in the kitchen)

L: Likes (What they like in the bedroom)

M: Morning (Describe morning sex)

It happens frequently hehe. You tend to stay over a lot to watch a marathon or play games. Levi's libido is strong, he's always down to fuck in the morning, it brightens his spirit. Watching you take his cock & filling you up right before school is the perfect way to start the day. It's especially motivating when he knows you walk around the entire day with his cum between your legs, he cant wait to come home & fuck you again. (If he can wait that long)

N: Never (Things they would never try)

O: Orgasm (Describe coming--who comes first? What do they say? How does the other person know it’s approaching?)

P: Playlist (A playlist for getting down and dirty; will probably include a lap dance song, a song for making love, and a song that represents their sex life)

Q: Quiet (Reaction to a quiet partner)

You know what I'm not gonna lie, I think he'd be just a tad disappointed at first. Of course he reminds himself a lot of porn is fake anyway & then he really tunes in to the small delicious sounds you do reveal. The faces you make. The little bits you let him hear are still so very fucking hot & sexy. He's the one making you sound like that either way~

R: Ruttish (Signs that they’re horny)

Ah...Levi is easy. He's not very good at hiding it. A flushed face and a small sheen of sweat to him. He gets a little extra irritable as well. The biggest sign is the tent in his pants when he's around you. Sorry, but he doesn't hide it very well, it's obvious when he looks like he's trying to hide something when he tries to cover up down there. (I wonder if he does it on purpose?)

S: Safe Word (How often is the safe word used? Why?)

T: Teasing (Who’s the tease in the relationship? What do they do? How often?)

U: Undressing (Strip teasing a partner)

V: Videos (Sending NSFW videos to each other)

Do you realize what you've done? The first time you sent him a video, he got instantly hard & couldnt stop cumming to that video. Unfortunately for him he kept getting hard any time he thought about it that week, it was embarrassing walking around with a constant erection. His first few videos in response were a little clumsy, but it turned you on. He was a loud moaner & he loved to whimper. Little whiney pants when he was getting close always did it for you. He made sure to take better video, especially audio when he learned you really loved his moans. ♡

W: Wedding Night (Consummating the marriage)

tags: overstimulation The only thing on his mind is getting you off the entire night until you're crying & begging him to stop. Until you're drained. He knows it's about the two of you celebrating but...you're his life partner now! He's so grateful you chose him out of everyone. Please let him worship you tonight, lay back & let him handle it. He promises he's enjoying this as much as you are. Promise.

X: XXX (What kind of porn does the person watch? How often?)

tags: double dicks, creepy!pervy!levi I'm not going to lie to y'all, Levi's a freak. (Okay we knew this) He watches all kinds of porn, both real & hentai. I'd say it's nearly an every day thing, it's hard taking care of two monster cocks & he needs to empty his balls. His favorite? POV hentai vids. Especially ones that look like you... Perhaps he has a few commissioned hentais where they look like the two of you...

Y: Yawn (How they sleep post-sex)

Z: Zoo (Their animalistic qualities in the bedroom)

[xstarxgazerx]

Movie quote match-up

Question: 1. “It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.”

CC. Sheriff Stanton 

2. “I’m a mouse, duh.”

K. Daphne 

3. “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick.”

P. Harlow  

4. “You can’t kill the boogeyman!”

O. Grace 

5. “I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.”

L. Dodge 

6. “I’m a ghost with the most, babe.”

C. Alice 

7. “When there is no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth.”

B. Alexis 

8. “It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.”

AA. Ryker 

9. “I am the pumpkin king.”

T. Mayor Edwards 

10. “It’s showtime.”

Y. Raleigh 

11. “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?”

H. Calla  

12. “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel.”

F. Bowie  

13. “What an excellent day for an exorcism.”

N. Finn 

14. “Be afraid… Be very afraid.”

E. Aurora  

15. “I see dead people.”

Q. Hunter  

16. "Can I keep you?"

A. Adah  

17. "You are too precious for words, why I could just... eat you alive!"

W. Peyton 

18. “I, myself, am strange and unusual.”

U. Melanie 

19. "This is my costume. I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else."

D. Astrid 

20. “Go to hell!” “I’ve been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely.”

J. Damien 

21. "You can’t kill the boogeyman!"

BB. Scott 

22. “Sometimes dead is better."

S. Maverick 

23. "Every day is Halloween, isn't it? For some of us."

X. Presley 

24. "Whatever you do, don't fall asleep."

V. Novaleigh 

25. "We all go a little mad sometimes."

G. Braxton 

26. "Here's Johnny!"

M. Ezekiel 

27. "Redrum! Redrum! Redrum!"

Z. Rosslyn 

28. “Isn’t the view beautiful? It takes my breath away. Well, it would if I had any.”

EE. Vanessa 

29. "I know what you did last summer."

I. Catherine 

30. “Last night you were unhinged. You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me. Do it again.”

FF. Zachary 

31. "I want to play a game."

R. Katharina 

32. “You know that part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid and everyone hates them for it? This is it.”

DD. Teagan 

Match the Movie Quote

1. "It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.”

N. Halloween

2. “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick!”

C. Hocus Pocus

3. “It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.”

P. Hocus Pocus

4. “That cold ain't the weather. That's death approaching."

R. 30 Days of Night

5. "You can’t kill the boogeyman!"

U. Halloween

6. “When there is no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth.”

X. Dawn of the Dead

7. "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."

G. Silence of the Lambs

8. “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!”

L. Scream

9. “Sometimes dead is better."

M. Pet Sematary

10. “You know that part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid and everyone hates them for it? This is it.”

E. Jeepers Creepers

11. "What an excellent day for an exorcism."

D. The Exorcist

12. "Be afraid... Be very afraid."

B. The Fly

13. “Today is thanksgiving day for cats. But only if they came back from the dead."

T. Pet Sematary

14. "He's gonna get you. The boogeyman is coming!"

W. Halloween

15. “Well, it says to form a circle a salt to protect from zombies, witches, and old boyfriends."

I. Hocus Pocus

16. "I’m a ghost with the most, babe."

K. Beetlejuice

17. "It’s my party and I’ll die if I want do, die if I want to. You will die too, when it happens to you."

Q. Casper

18. "We’ve got to find Jack! There’s only 365 days left until next Halloween!"

A. The Nightmare Before Christmas

19. "The Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world."

J. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

20. "Isn’t the view beautiful? It takes my breath away. Well, it would if I had any."

F. Corpse Bride

21. “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?”

O. Chucky [ Child’s Play ]

22. “I see dead people.”

H. The Sixth Sense

23. “I’m a mouse, duh.”

Y. Mean Girls

24. “I am the pumpkin king.”

V. The Nightmare Before Christmas

25. “I, myself, am strange and unusual.”

S. Beetlejuice

[kissmysassxo]

Movie quote match-up.

1. “It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” R. Katharina 2. “I’m a mouse, duh.” X. Presley 3. “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick.” E. Aurora 4. “You can’t kill the boogeyman!” K. Daphne 5. “I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.” D. Astrid 6. “I’m a ghost with the most, babe.” S. Maverick 7. “When there is no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth.” C. Alice 8. “It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.” U. Melanie 9. “I am the pumpkin king.” BB. Scott 10. “It’s showtime.” H. Calla 11. “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?” Y. Raleigh 12. “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel.” DD. Teagan 13. “What an excellent day for an exorcism.” G. Braxton 14. “Be afraid… Be very afraid.” EE. Vanessa 15. “I see dead people.” B. Alexis 16. "Can I keep you?" A. Adah 17. "You are too precious for words, why I could just... eat you alive!" Z. Rosslyn 18. “I, myself, am strange and unusual.” AA. Ryker 19. "This is my costume. I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else." W. Peyton 20. “Go to hell!” “I’ve been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely.” F. Bowie 21. "You can’t kill the boogeyman!" N. Finn 22. “Sometimes dead is better." Q. Hunter 23. "Every day is Halloween, isn't it? For some of us." FF. Zachary 24. "Whatever you do, don't fall asleep." J. Damien 25. "We all go a little mad sometimes." P. Harlow 26. "Here's Johnny!" T. Mayor Edwards 27. "Redrum! Redrum! Redrum!" CC. Sheriff Stanton 28. “Isn’t the view beautiful? It takes my breath away. Well, it would if I had any.” V. Novaleigh 29. "I know what you did last summer." I. Catherine 30. “Last night you were unhinged. You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me. Do it again.” O. Grace 31. "I want to play a game." L. Dodge 32. “You know that part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid and everyone hates them for it? This is it.” M. Ezekiel

Movie quote match-up.

1. "It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” N. Halloween 2. “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick!” C. Hocus Pocus 3. “It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.” I. Hocus Pocus 4. “That cold ain't the weather. That's death approaching." R. 30 Days of Night 5. "You can’t kill the boogeyman!" W. Halloween 6. “When there is no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth.” X. Dawn of the Dead 7. "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." G. Silence of the Lambs 8. “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!” L. Scream 9. “Sometimes dead is better." T. Pet Sematary 10. “You know that part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid and everyone hates them for it? This is it.” E. Jeepers Creepers 11. "What an excellent day for an exorcism." D. The Exorcist 12. "Be afraid... Be very afraid." B. The Fly 13. “Today is thanksgiving day for cats. But only if they came back from the dead." M. Pet Sematary 14. "He's gonna get you. The boogeyman is coming!" U. Halloween 15. “Well, it says to form a circle a salt to protect from zombies, witches, and old boyfriends." P. Hocus Pocus 16. "I’m a ghost with the most, babe." S. Beetlejuice 17. "It’s my party and I’ll die if I want do, die if I want to. You will die too, when it happens to you." Q. Casper 18. "We’ve got to find Jack! There’s only 365 days left until next Halloween!" V. The Nightmare Before Christmas 19. "The Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world." J. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown 20. "Isn’t the view beautiful? It takes my breath away. Well, it would if I had any." F. Corpse Bride 21. “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?” O. Chucky 22. “I see dead people.” H. The Sixth Sense 23. “I’m a mouse, duh.” Y. Mean Girls 24. “I am the pumpkin king.” A. The Nightmare Before Christmas 25. “I, myself, am strange and unusual.” K. Beetlejuice

[navysealunsealed]

Part 1 

1. “It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” C. Alice  2. “I’m a mouse, duh.” S. Maverick  3. “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick.” X. Presley  4. “You can’t kill the boogeyman!” FF. Zachary 5. “I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.” O. Grace 6. “I’m a ghost with the most, babe.” N. Finn 7. “When there is no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth.” V. Novaleigh 8. “It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.” U. Melanie 9. “I am the pumpkin king.” CC. Sheriff Stanton 10. “It’s showtime.” Q. Hunter 11. “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?” W. Peyton 12. “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel.” M. Ezekiel 13. “What an excellent day for an exorcism.” F. Bowie 14. “Be afraid… Be very afraid.” H. Calla 15. “I see dead people.” EE. Vanessa 16. "Can I keep you?" D. Astrid 17. "You are too precious for words, why I could just... eat you alive!" A. Adah 18. “I, myself, am strange and unusual.” AA. Ryker 19. "This is my costume. I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else." Y. Raleigh 20. “Go to hell!” “I’ve been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely.” P. Harlow 21. "You can’t kill the boogeyman!" B. Alexis 22. “Sometimes dead is better." E. Aurora  23. "Every day is Halloween, isn't it? For some of us." T. Mayor Edwards 24. "Whatever you do, don't fall asleep." R. Katherina  25. "We all go a little mad sometimes." G. Braxton 26. "Here's Johnny!" Z. Rosslyn 27. "Redrum! Redrum! Redrum!" L. Dodge 28. “Isn’t the view beautiful? It takes my breath away. Well, it would if I had any.” BB. Scott 29. "I know what you did last summer." I. Catherine  30. “Last night you were unhinged. You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me. Do it again.” K. Daphne 31. "I want to play a game." DD. Teagan 32. “You know that part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid and everyone hates them for it? This is it.” J. Damien

Part 2

1. "It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” N. Halloween 2. “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick!” P. Hocus Pocus 3. “It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.” C. Hocus Pocus 4. “That cold ain't the weather. That's death approaching." R. 30 Days of night 5. "You can’t kill the boogeyman!" U. Halloween 6. “When there is no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth.” X. Dawn of the dead 7. "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." G. Silence of the lambs 8. “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!” L. Scream 9. “Sometimes dead is better." T. Pet Sematary  10. “You know that part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid and everyone hates them for it? This is it.” E. Jeepers creepers 11. "What an excellent day for an exorcism." D. The exorcist  12. "Be afraid... Be very afraid." B. The Fly 13. “Today is thanksgiving day for cats. But only if they came back from the dead." M. Pet sematary 14. "He's gonna get you. The boogeyman is coming!" W. Halloween 15. “Well, it says to form a circle a salt to protect from zombies, witches, and old boyfriends." I. Hocus Pocus 16. "I’m a ghost with the most, babe." K. Bettlejuice 17. "It’s my party and I’ll die if I want do, die if I want to. You will die too, when it happens to you." Q. Casper 18. "We’ve got to find Jack! There’s only 365 days left until next Halloween!" A. The nightmare before christmas  19. "The Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world." J. It’s the great pumpkin, charlie brown 20. "Isn’t the view beautiful? It takes my breath away. Well, it would if I had any." F. Corpse bride 21. “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?” O. Chucky  22. “I see dead people.” H. The sixth sense 23. “I’m a mouse, duh.” Y. Mean girls 24. “I am the pumpkin king.” V. the nightmare before christmas  25. “I, myself, am strange and unusual.” S. Beetlejuice

[luckyxcharm]

Part 1

1. “It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” K- Daphne 2. “I’m a mouse, duh.” A - Adah 3. “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick.” O - Grace 4. “You can’t kill the boogeyman!” W - Peyton 5. “I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.” B - Alexis 6. “I’m a ghost with the most, babe.”  L - Dodge  7. “When there is no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth.” Q - Hunter 8. “It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.” D - Astrid 9. “I am the pumpkin king.” FF - Zachary 10. “It’s showtime.” N - Finn 11. “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?” CC - Sheriff Stanton 12. “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel.” S - Maverick 13. “What an excellent day for an exorcism.” Y - Raleigh 14. “Be afraid… Be very afraid.” U - Melanie 15. “I see dead people.” J - Damien 16. "Can I keep you?" X - Presley 17. "You are too precious for words, why I could just... eat you alive!" H - Calla 18. “I, myself, am strange and unusual.” R - Katherina 19. "This is my costume. I'm a homicidal maniac. They look just like everyone else." BB - Scott 20. “Go to hell!” “I’ve been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely.” V - Novaleigh 21. "You can’t kill the boogeyman!" C - Alice 22. “Sometimes dead is better." EE Vanessa 23. "Every day is Halloween, isn't it? For some of us." T - Mayor Edwards 24. "Whatever you do, don't fall asleep." E - Aurora 25. "We all go a little mad sometimes." AA - Ryker 26. "Here's Johnny!" G - Braxton 27. "Redrum! Redrum! Redrum!" M - Ezekiel 28. “Isn’t the view beautiful? It takes my breath away. Well, it would if I had any.” I - Catherine  29. "I know what you did last summer." P - Harlow 30. “Last night you were unhinged. You were like some desperate, howling demon. You frightened me. Do it again.” DD - Teagan 31. "I want to play a game." Z - Rosslyn 32. “You know that part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid and everyone hates them for it? This is it.” F- Bowie

Part 2

1. "It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” N - Halloween 2. “Oh look, another glorious morning. Makes me sick!” C - Hocus Pocus 3. “It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.” I - Hocus Pocus 4. “That cold ain't the weather. That's death approaching." R - 30 Days of Night 5. "You can’t kill the boogeyman!" U - Halloween 6. “When there is no room left in hell, the dead will walk the earth.” X - Dawn of the Dead 7. "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." G - Silence of the Lambs 8. “No, please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface, I wanna be in the sequel!” L - Scream 9. “Sometimes dead is better." M - Pet Sematary 10. “You know that part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid and everyone hates them for it? This is it.” E - Jeepers Creepers 11. "What an excellent day for an exorcism." D - The Exorcist 12. "Be afraid... Be very afraid." B - The Fly 13. “Today is thanksgiving day for cats. But only if they came back from the dead." T- Pet Sematary 14. "He's gonna get you. The boogeyman is coming!" W - Halloween 15. “Well, it says to form a circle a salt to protect from zombies, witches, and old boyfriends." P - Hocus Pocus 16. "I’m a ghost with the most, babe." K - Beetlejuice 17. "It’s my party and I’ll die if I want do, die if I want to. You will die too, when it happens to you." Q - Casper 18. "We’ve got to find Jack! There’s only 365 days left until next Halloween!" A - The Nightmare Before Christmas 19. "The Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world." J - It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown 20. "Isn’t the view beautiful? It takes my breath away. Well, it would if I had any." F - Corpse Bride 21. “Hi, I’m Chucky, wanna play?” O - Chucky 22. “I see dead people.” H - The Sixth Sense 23. “I’m a mouse, duh.” Y - Mean Girls 24. “I am the pumpkin king.” V - The Nightmare Before Christmas 25. “I, myself, am strange and unusual.” S - Beetlejuice

[elocinnicole]

Butterflies Part Two

Pairing: Collin x Black!Reader, Plus Size!Reader 

Summary: Collin and Reader try to figure out where they stand after their moment a few nights ago. 

Rating: M for language 

 AN: I changed Collin’s major to Creative Writing/Poetry. I don’t know why I didn’t do this in the first place, I was over here thinking of what major would Collin have, and it went over my head so yeah, here it is. Again, this is still set in 2020. Let me know if you want to be tagged. There are about two more parts to this

Part One Part Two Part Three

Shaunice Jasmine Turner was born in the wee hours of the morning on July 26, 2020. You were so happy for your friends and the little family they were building.

“You look pretty comfortable holding Shaunice, Y/N.” Ashely teased, it was just the two of you for now. Collin went with Miles to get some breakfast for Jasmine and to pick up Sean so he could meet his little sister.

“Girl bye, I mean the thought has crossed my mind, but I want to have my salon up and running before I even think about having kids.”

“Bish, I used to say that about my non-existent art gallery, and I got two kids now.”

“I mean you could still paint, Ashley.”

“I could, but painting don’t pay the bills. The rent is ridiculous and trying to get a loan from the bank…” Ashely trailed off

“But it’s all good, I wouldn’t change anything,” Ashely smiled at her daughter, “So, what happened when Collin came back from Val’s?”

“Uh, nothing I twisted his hair and that’s when we got the text from Miles.” Ashely examined your face; she’s known you long enough to know when you’re lying.

“Y/N, give me the baby.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re avoiding eye contact, give me my daughter.” You playfully huffed and handed over Shaunice to your friend, “Now, tell me what really happened last night?”

“Well, when he came back, I was a little mad because I’m over here actually being a friend and he drop everything for a booty call. He’s staying with me rent-free, I visited him when he was locked up, put money on his books, shit, I used to let this nigga cheat off me in Chemistry back in high school. Then he tries to kiss me—”

“He what!”

“Yeah and I don’t know what to think about that, because I know that once Val calls, he gonna run after her, like what is it? Does sis have some magic pussy or some shit?”

“Y/N…”

“I know that’s your friend, but she never once checked on him and I don’t know. I’m right in front of him and he doesn’t see me.”

“Make him see you, sis.”

“Well, how the hell do I do that?”

“Bring another nigga around,” You looked wide-eyed at your friend

“Ash!”

“Girl, bye, what about that chef you was tellin’ me about? Hit him up and bring him around Collin.”

“So, you think making him jealous is gonna work?” Ashely didn’t have time to answer because Sean came bursting into the room running over to Ashely’s bed

“Is she here? Is she here Mom?!” Sean asked bouncing with excitement

“Calm down, baby. Yes, she’s here, where’s Dad?”

“Right here, as soon as we got off the elevator he ran off. He’s been asking about the baby since we picked him up from Ms. Nancy’s. Here’s your food babe.” Miles placed the take-out bag on the table and kissed Ashely’s forehead, Collin trailed behind and once he looked at you he adverted his eyes somewhere else.

“Sean, go use the bathroom then you can hold your sister. Miles can you take Shaunice so I can eat, I’m starving.”

“So, what were you two talking about before we got here?” Miles asked,

“Nothing much, I asked Ashely if you were gonna give her a push present.”

“The fuck is that?”

“A present for pushing out your baby!” You nudged Miles’s shoulder.

“What you want baby, a gift card, or some shit like that?”

“Miles, you can’t get her no damn gift card.” Collin reasoned

“Why the fuck not?”

“Because that’s a boring-ass gift, you gotta get her some jewelry or a car, shit like that.”

“Baby, I can hit up my boy Cuttie—”

“Hell no, every time you get something from Cuttie, it’s either stolen or it don’t work.”

“Ash, that’s not true!”

“What about the bike you got from him for Sean’s birthday? Cuttie stole it!” You said

“I ain’t know that shit when he gave me that bike!”

“Then you bought Ashely that purse for Christmas and the Gucci was spelled wrong.”

“It was not, Collin!”

“Babe, Gucci only got two c’s.” Miles looked stunned for a moment before sucking his teeth

“How the hell was I supposed to know that!” Your phone then went off several times even surprising you.

“Who hittin’ you up, Y/N?” Miles teased

“Nobody, just a friend”

“Stop lyin, Y/N, got a date with this ‘friend’ tonight,” Ashely announced earning a glare from you.

“Oh shit, for real!” Miles exclaimed

“Yeah, he’s nice, um he just moved out here from Detroit. He’s a chef and has his own meal prep business.” It wasn’t a lie, you had met a guy on Tinder a few weeks ago and the two of you have been talking to one another.

“So, he be making all that vegan shit?”

“What’s vegan shit?” Sean questioned innocently

“Miles!” Ashely slapped his arm

“What? I cuss all the damn time, it was gonna happen sooner or later babe.” Ashely glared at her husband not amused in the slightest “Alright, alright, Sean don’t say ‘shit’ it’s a bad word, now come over here and sit down in the chair and I’ll let you hold your baby sister.”

While Miles and Ashely were introducing Sean to Shaunice, Collin walked over to you wanting to know more about your ‘date’.

“So, what’s this guy’s name?”

“Um, I’m sorry since when did I have to answer to you, Collin?”

“I’m just askin’ his name. Want to know the person who’s taking my friend out.”

“You’ll find out tonight—”

“Hey, guys!” Everyone’s heads turned toward the door and there stood Val with various pink balloons and a teddy bear

“Hey, Val!” Ashely greeted, she practically ran over to Ashely and engulfed her in a hug.

“Congratulations, girl.” Val looked over at Miles and her smile faded slightly

“You too, Miles,” She looked over at Collin and acted like he wasn’t even there. At that point, you wanted to slap the hell out this bitch, but this wasn’t the time.

“Guys, I have appointments today I gotta head out. I’ll visit when you get home, okay?” Ashely nodded, understanding your need to leave the room.

“See you later?”

“Yeah, bye guys, and congrats again.”

You stood in front of your bathroom mirror getting ready for your date with Trevon. The two of you had been texting one another all day, you even FaceTimed him briefly between clients.

“I don’t wanna spit, I wanna gulp, I wanna gag, I wanna choke, I want you to touch that lil dangly thing that swing in the back of my throat.” You rapped along to the song that made you feel like a bad bitch, Trevon didn’t give you much of a hint as to what the two of you were going to do tonight, but he said to be casual. So, you didn’t go too overboard with your outfit. This was your first date in a while because of your schedule you didn’t have time to date between the hair and makeup clients, on the day you didn’t have to work you stayed home or hung out with friends or your big brother.

“Alright, you got this.” You said to yourself in the mirror, “You a bad bitch. You the baddest bitch, period.”

You came out of the bathroom and immediately bumped into Collin.

“My bad didn’t see you there.”

“Your date is here.” Collin went into the bathroom closing the door firmly. You rolled your eyes at your friend and walked out to the living room to finally see your date, Trevon.

“Wow, you look great, Y/N.” Trevon beamed, you smiled shyly in return

“Thanks, you do too. You ready to go?”

“After you,”

You carefully shut the front door to your apartment not wanting to wake up Collin, knowing that he was a light sleeper and this was his only day off. You couldn’t help but smile about your date with Trevon last night. After he picked you up, he took you to play mini-golf and then after you went go-cart racing. It honestly the most fun you ever had on a first date. Not wanting to go home, the two of you ended up bar hopping the rest of the night until the two of you passed out on his sofa. The smell of breakfast pulled you of your thoughts. You made your way to the kitchen only to see Val in your kitchen cooking at your stove wearing only one of Collin’s Oakland shirts and underwear.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, hey Y/N. You want breakfast?”

“What are you doing here, Val?”

“Collin invited me over last night.” She smirked going back to cooking.

“Can you please put some pants on?”

“Well, Collin doesn’t seem to have a problem with what I’m wearing.”

“Hm, that’s cute but this isn’t Collin’s place, it’s my place and I don’t want your ass cheeks out in my kitchen. ‘Kay?”

“Whatever.”

“Um, where’s Collin?”

“He’s in the shower, I think. Oh, do you have any almond milk?”

“No, bitch I drink soy.” You mumbled storming past her heading for the bathroom. You angrily opened the door surprising Collin, who quickly reached for his towel to cover himself.

“What the fuck, Y/N! Can you knock?”

“What the hell is she doing here?!”

“Oh, what, I can’t have guests over?”

“That’s not the point, why in the fuck is she cooking in my kitchen with no clothes on!”

“She was hungry, what was I supposed to do?”

“Collin, I need you to tell me when you have company.”

“I don’t see why I have to tell you,”

“It’s the principle, Collin! What if you came home and my date, dick swingin’—”

“Oh, come on, Y/N,” Collin frowned, not appreciating the imagery

“Shut up, making breakfast in the damn kitchen?”

“This isn’t even about the principle it’s about you not liking Val!”

“No, it’s because you living in my place RENT FREE and I need to you who you have up in here!”

“Oh, so that’s what this is all about?” You rubbed your temples in frustration

“No, Collin—”

“Collin, breakfast’s ready,” Val called through the door. 

“Go eat with your guest, wouldn’t want your food to get cold.”  You said before leaving the bathroom.

[sevlgi]

chemistry

requested: yes

group: red velvet

pairing: irene x fem!reader

genre: fluff, angst

contents: college!au, tutor!irene, chemistry pickup lines

warnings: none

synopsis: When you end up with your ultimate crush and the goddess of the school, Irene, as your Chemistry tutor, you can only think of one way to woo her-chemistry pickup lines. But is that enough to woo the beautiful ice queen?

a/n: I can absolutely do an Irene drabble! I haven’t gotten many requests for red velvet, but I’m happy to write for them. also, happy birthday, Irene!

word count: 2.8k

Getting Bae Joohyun assigned as your tutor is probably the best thing that has ever happened to you.

Joohyun was recognized by everyone on campus as a literal goddess. Even among her friend group of the most illustrious and beautiful girls on campus, she stands out as the leader of all of them, the prettiest and most brilliant one of all. Armed with knife-sharp wit, stellar grades, and a gorgeous face to top it all off, Joohyun could have the world at her feet.

Despite how cold she is to everyone outside of her friend group, everyone is infatuated; you swear you’ve seen her receive at least a dozen marriage proposals in a week from guys and girls alike. If you had enough courage, you’d probably be one of those girls, although you’d probably be turned away like the rest with a scathing remark from Jennie or a sympathetic smile from Nayeon.

Recently, though, you’ve become friends with one of the sweeter girls in the group, Joohyun’s friend Wendy. She’s in your Chemistry class and is just like Joohyun, only nicer.

You groan as you spot the fat red D scrawled at the top of your paper as it’s handed back to you. “Ah, come on! I studied so hard this time!”

Sitting next to you, Wendy watches sympathetically, silently turning her own paper over to conceal the A at the top. “Hey, it’s okay, Y/N. I heard that the class average was a 61.”

Glaring at her halfheartedly, you mumble, “Yeah, well, I’m not far off from that.”

Wendy sighs, leaning down to get to eye level with you as you like face-down on your desk. “You studied hard, but maybe you just need some outside help? What about a tutor?”

“Are you offering to tutor me? I’m not that dumb. I just- I just can’t seem to get it. You get it.”

“Yes, but I’m one of the top students,” Wendy laughs lightly, placing a hand on your shoulder. “I can’t tutor you, though, I’m already signed up as a Calculus and History tutor.” You groan immediately; having one of your friends as your tutor is embarrassing enough, but it would be way worse with a stranger. “Come on, Y/N, a tutor isn’t bad.”

You open your mouth to retort but quickly clam up when you see Joohyun and Jisoo heading over. “Hey, Wendy. Are you coming to the tutoring meeting today?” Jisoo asks, giving you a polite smile. Jisoo’s pretty, and she’s definitely nicer than Joohyun, but you can’t help being infatuated with the other girl. You notice her eyes stray from your face to the D on your paper, her expression remaining impassive.

“Oh, of course. Joohyun, you’re signing up as a Chemistry tutor, right?” Wendy asks. She sounds innocent, but you’ve known her long enough that you know she has something planned.

Joohyun shifts her gaze to Wendy now, and the ice in her eyes melts a little at her smiling friend. “Yes,” Joohyun says, and you barely manage to not smile at the sound of her voice. “Jisoo finally convinced me to use my intelligence for good.”

“Ah, great!” Wendy grins, nudging you under the table. “It just so happens that Y/N here needs some help in that department.”

At a harder shove from your friend, you gulp and stutter out, “Y-yeah. I’m not doing so hot right now.”

Joohyun flashes you the tiniest of smiles that doesn’t reach her eyes, tugging on Jisoo’s elbow to leave. “Yes, great. I’m sure I’ll see you there, then.”

As soon as the two girls are out of sight, you smack Wendy as hard as you can with your rolled-up test. “What. The. Hell?” you hiss.

“I know you like her,” Wendy smiles innocently, rubbing her arm. “And you really need to get a tutor, so it was the perfect opportunity. Come on, Joohyun’s even better at Chem than me!”

You can’t deny the genius of her plan, but you’re sure you’ll embarrass yourself either way. “Fine,” you grumble, resting your forehead on the desk. “I guess I’m going to the tutoring meeting.”

“Stop fidgeting, you look great.”

Despite Wendy’s words, you can’t help but pick at your T-shirt, tucked into nice pants, and frown. You refused to wear a dress, but Wendy was able to force you into nicer pants than your beat-up jeans. She herself looks stunning as usual as she maneuvers the two of you through the crowd to sit by her entire posse of friends at the front. “Hey, Roseanne, mind if we sit here?”

You don’t hear what the blonde says in response, but you sit down between her and Wendy with your eyes on Joohyun, a few seats away. You signed up for a tutor right after class two days ago, so you can’t do anything but hope you get Joohyun assigned as your tutor.

Everything else the professor says goes in one ear and out the other, until he begins announcing the tutors. “Kim Jisoo, you’ll be tutoring Jeon Jungkook. Bae Joohyun, you are assigned to Y/N Y/L/N.”

Wendy clutched onto your arm with an excited smile as soon as he was done with calling out names. “See? This is great!”

“What’s great?” You look up to find Joohyun standing there with her arms crossed, expression impassive as always. She sticks out her hand to shake. “You can call me Joohyun, I’m your tutor.”

“Y/N,” you respond breathlessly, shaking her hand. Your hand is probably sweaty, but Joohyun’s face reveals nothing. “Um, we should probably set up a time? For our first tutoring session?”

Joohyun nods, already tugging Wendy up. “Yes, I’ll get your number from Wendy. Come on, Seungwan.”

Wendy flashes you an apologetic smile as she leaves, but you don’t mind- you’ve got your crush as your chemistry tutor, and she’s going to text you. All is well, as far as you’re concerned.

Joohyun doesn’t text you for a full week. You’re too scared to go up to her in Chemistry, and Wendy says she doesn’t know what’s going on, so you’re left to stare at your phone, waiting for that first text.

Finally, at 2:17 a.m., it comes.

Unknown number [2:17]   Is this Y/N Y/L/N? It’s Joohyun.

You [2:17]   yes, it’s me!

Joohyun [2:19]   Good, I thought Seungwan would give me the wrong number.

You [2:19]   I’m glad she didn’t haha

You [2:20]   when are you free to meet up?

Joohyun [2:24]   How about at 3?

You [2:25]   like 3 this afternoon?

Joohyun [2:26]   No, in half an hour.

Joohyun [2:26]   Unless it’s too early for you?

You [2:27]   no, it’s fine!!!

You [2:28]   see you in half an hour at the library!

“Ah, where is she?” You rub your eyes, swaying a little bit as you survey the mostly-empty library for your tutor. You spot her in the corner, dark hair thrown up in a bun and her back to you, books heaped on the desk. “Hey, Joohyun!”

When she turns around, you notice the glasses perched on her nose and promptly fall down. Her footsteps echo as she walks toward you, and her face appears above yours, the slightest hint of amusement glinting in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” you groan, sitting up; your face flames hot red as Joohyun picks up your bag and leads you over to the desk. “Thanks for being my tutor, by the way.”

Joohyun glances at you, her face still cold. You can’t help but think about how incredibly beautiful she’d be if you could make her smile, just the tiniest bit, or even laugh. “I’m not doing it for you, it’s my job. I always tutor who I’m assigned, it doesn’t matter about my feelings.”

“Right.” You’re sure your face is even warmer now, but when you spot an open textbook, you blurt something out to change the subject. “So, what’re we learning today?”

“I thought we’d start with exothermic reactions,” Joohyun explains, pointing to the wall of text in the book. “Do you know what they are?”

“I think you’re an exothermic reaction,” you blurt out. Joohyun quirks an eyebrow, slightly confused but letting you go on. Your cheeks burn even brighter as you continue, “You spread hotness everywhere.”

Unless you’re so sleep-deprived that you were seeing things, you see the slightest tinge of pink in Joohyun’s pale cheeks, right before she rolls her eyes and sighs, “At least you know they spread heat.”

“Well, you look terrible.”

You roll your eyes at Wendy, plopping down in your usual seat next to her with a heavy sigh. “Yeah, Joohyun tutored me from 2 in the morning to 4. I’m dead inside.”

Wendy smirks at your disheveled state; your dark circles and messy hair are nothing like Joohyun’s flawless skin and neat clothes, despite the fact that she probably slept even less. “Yeah, I can see that. Did it help?”

“No,” you groan, throwing a paper with a C- glaring up at you on the desk. “It’s an improvement, but not much. Not enough.”

“Keep trying,” Wendy sighs, patting you on the shoulder. “With Joohyun’s help, you’ll be a genius in no time.”

At almost the same time the next morning, Joohyun texts you to go to the library. You arrive, armed with more pickup lines this time to try and make Joohyun actually smile. “Hey, Joohyun,” you smile.

“Hello,” she murmurs in response. “I was thinking we’d review the periodic table today; I saw you labeled oxygen as the first element on the quiz.”

“Forget hydrogen, you’re my number one element,” you grin, leaning back with a satisfied smile. “Do you like boba, by the way?”

Joohyun rolls her eyes and pushes the book toward you, ignoring your question. “Read,” she commands. You oblige, but you see a faint hint of a smile on her face as soon as she thinks you aren’t watching.

At that moment, you realize something--   Joohyun isn’t an untouchable ice goddess after all, and you really need to find more pickup lines. “Hey, Joohyun? I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have 11 protons? Because you’re sodium fine.”

Joohyun groans and shakes her head, pushing your head towards the book. “Keep reading, Y/N.”

After two weeks of midnight study sessions, your grades improve significantly and your dark circles are getting drastically worse. However, you’d been rewarded with a smile just the night before, so today, you’re going to ask Joohyun for coffee.

“Hey, Joohyun!” The girl turns at the sound of your voice; Jennie, at her left, looks exasperated, probably taking you for another desperate suitor, and Wendy looks surprised, especially when Joohyun gives you the faintest of smiles and stops Jennie from warding you off.

“You know, we always study at midnight. I was wondering whether you could tutor me this afternoon?” you ask, nervous that she’ll reject you. “Get boba, learn some more about chemical reactions?”

She seems like she’ll say something at first, but then agrees with a sigh. “Sure.”

“Great!” you beam, just happy that she didn’t turn you off. Right as she turns away, though, you call out. “One more thing. You must be made of uranium and iodine because all I can see is U and I together.”

She gives you an exasperated look before turning away and tossing over her shoulder, “4:28 sharp at Red Velvet Tea. Don’t be late.”

As she and her friends walk away, you swear you see Jennie whisper something in Joohyun’s ear and look at you with a questioning look in her eyes.

“You’re early.”

You grin as Joohyun sits down opposite you, setting down her books on the table and staring at the 2 unopened bubble teas between the two of you. “Yeah, I wanted to get a table and buy you something.”

“I don’t drink sweet things,” Joohyun raises an eyebrow, pushing the drink back at you.

You push it right back. “Ah, come on, Joohyun, just try it.”

She sighs a little harder than usual and pulls it towards her, but she doesn’t sip at it before she questions you, “Who told you to call me Joohyun?”

“Oh. Um, I hear your friends call you that, and we’re friends now, right?”

Joohyun looks like she’s restraining herself from saying something, but she gives you another one of her small smiles that doesn’t reach her eyes and responds, “Sure. Friends.”

She takes a sip and doesn’t frown or scowl, which you take as a good sign. “Hm. It’s not bad.”

“See?” you exclaim, victorious. “You know, I might be a physics major, but I’m no Bohr.”

“You’re not a physics major,” Joohyun deadpans, shoving yet another textbook at you. “Now read.”

Joohyun [3:19]   Are you still awake?

You [3:20]   always, for you xx

Joohyun [3:22]   Give it a rest, Y/N. Ready for tutoring today?

You [3:23]   ahh, it’s too early

You [3:23]   meet me for lunch today? you can yell at me then

Joohyun [3:24]   Fine, but don’t you dare order me a cheeseburger.

“You must be a magnetic monopole because all i get from you is attraction,” you flirt as soon as Joohyun sits down in the restaurant.

She walks right back out, but she comes back reluctantly after you chase her with a promise to never say that line again.

You made her smile that day, and you made it your mission to do so more often.

Two months or so later, it’s safe to say that you and Joohyun are pretty close. She’s even introduced you to some of her friends although Jennie remains hostile, and for some reason, almost all of them give each other knowing looks whenever you join them for lunch and make Joohyun laugh at your jokes.

You aren’t failing Chemistry anymore- in fact, your recovery is miraculous. Still, you’re pretty sure you failed the final exam.

“Ugh, and the question about prevalent bonds?” you groan, putting your head in your hands, your bottle of soju in danger of being knocked over. You’re out for drinks with your friends; the boys who elected to come out with you are all drunk to hell, dancing as if they’ll die if they don’t, and most of the girls have joined them. Wendy stays with you, listening to you complain. “I’m dead. Hey, where’s Joohyun, by the way?”

“Ah, she’s-”

Your question is answered by a fuming Joohyun bursting through the doors of the bar, but you and Wendy are the only ones who notice her as she storms towards you. “You-” she hisses, pointing a finger at you.

“M-me?” you stammer. You’ve never seen this much emotion of Joohyun before, and especially not anger. It’s admittedly scary as hell, but also the tiniest bit hot. “Uh, Joohyunie, what’s-”

“Come with me,” she snarls, grabbing your arm and leading you out of the bar. As soon as you’re out of earshot of the other girls and in the streets, she stops, and her expression turns to some mix of anger and sadness.

You step closer to her, watching her carefully to determine whether you’re in real danger or not. “Hey, Joohyun, what’s going on?”

Joohyun shoves you away at first, glaring at you. You notice the shine in her eyes, and if it was anyone else, you’d think they were tears.

“I failed the test,” she chokes out, putting her face in her hands. There are real, actual tears spilling down her cheeks, and you’re not quite sure how to react.

“What? Come on, no way,” you stammer out, putting your hands tentatively on her shoulders. Miraculously, she doesn’t push you away. “You’re like the smartest person I know, how could you have failed the test?”

She looks up at you, and you can’t help but think she’s so incredibly beautiful even with her nose reddened and her eyes shimmering. “You.”

“What?”

“It’s all your fault,” she sniffles, rubbing her nose harshly on her arm and tearing out of your grip once again.

You’re bewildered; how in the hell could you cause Joohyun, star student, to fail her best subject? “W-what?”

“You!” Joohyun is sobbing now, tears trailing down her cheeks and her nose redder than her lips. “I- I couldn’t stop thinking about you. During the test, during tutoring... I just can’t!”

“M-me?” You step forward now, taking Joohyun’s hands in your own. “How could I do that to you?”

“I like you, you idiot,” Joohyun blurts out, her eyes widening in surprise. She clamps her hands over her mouth. “Oh no, I-”

You take a few strides forward and snatch her hands away again, this time pressing your lips to hers. She’s stiff at first, and you almost pull away, but her hands fist in the collar of your shirt as she pulls you into the kiss.

It seems like an eternity has passed when you finally pull away for air. You stare at each other, eyes shining with something other than tears, before you eloquently decide to start the conversation again. “Uh...”

"I... I’m sorry,” Joohyun mumbles, her hands still loosely clamped on the front of your shirt. “You’re just... so unlike me. You know? You’re so beautiful and kind, and so warm.”

“Warm? The hell?”

She rolls her eyes, smudging her tears away roughly. “You know what I mean. You tried to make me laugh even when I was so cold to you... and you smile so much and you look really pretty when you smile, you know that?”

You smile and kiss her again, sweeter than last time, and you feel her smiling against you too. When you pull away, your foreheads are pressed together, and you can’t stop yourself from saying breathlessly, “I guess we’ve got chemistry”.

That breaks the spell, and Joohyun groans and rips herself out of your grip, running into the bar. “H-hey! Joohyun!”

You chase after her, and you can’t help the cheesy grin on your face. There’s no doubt about it- getting Joohyun as your Chemistry tutor is the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to you.

[umbry-fic]

Road Trip!!

Summary: To drive off some post-exam stress, Lloyd, Colette, Sheena and Zelos decide to go on a road trip around the country. What could go wrong?

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters: Lloyd Irving, Colette Brunel, Zelos Wilder, Sheena Fujibayashi Relationships: Colette Brunel/Lloyd Irving, Sheena Fujibayashi & Zelos Wilder, Colette Brunel & Lloyd Irving & Sheena Fujibayashi & Zelos Wilder Rating: G Word Count: 6485 Mirror Link: AO3 Original Post Date: 26/01/2021

Notes: A modern day AU set in Singapore where I send everyone on this itinerary!

Do note that the last part of this fic has been removed as it uses workskins that don't work on Tumblr. If you'd like to access the full fic, do read it on AO3!

@frayed-symphony did an amazing piece of fan-art for this fic!

~~~

“Why is this road called 99 bends if there’s only…” Zelos squinted through the car window at the trees going by, wracking his brain to recall how many turns they had done. It had definitely been less than 99, but how many had there been, exactly? “... 9 turns?”

“I don’t know, idiot. Maybe because we haven’t actually left the road yet? Be a little patient, would you? And don’t talk so loud, you’ll wake Colette up!” Sheena hissed, shooting Zelos a withering glare as she removed her elbow from the cold windowsill to give him a small slap on the arm. Seriously, would it hurt him to shut up for once?

“I don’t see how this is possibly being soft?” Zelos hissed back, covering the rapidly reddening patch of skin on his arm and inching away from his companion in the backseat. Did Sheena not see the irony in her actions? At least Colette didn't seem to have stirred in the front seat; still soundly sleeping with her head lolling to the side, a serene smile on her face. But at this rate, Sheena's less-than-quiet yelling was going to wake her up.

"It's way too early in the morning for this..." Zelos whispered forlornly. He would greatly prefer to not be awake at 7 am. He was a night owl and staying in bed till 11 was the norm for him! It also meant he could avoid Seles for the most part, since she liked leaving at the earliest of hours to go spend the day at the neighbourhood library. But that was just a plus.

It was seriously unfair that Sheena was bright-eyed and alert so early in the morning. He was going to be stuck with her in the small space of a car for the next 7 hours. He had doubts over whether he would still be alive by the end of the first - Sheena was already eyeing him as a cat would her prey. He was going to be ripped to shreds within the hour. Why had he agreed to this again?

“I think it’s just, uh… exaggerated? Is that the right word...?” Lloyd pointed out, adjusting the rearview mirror and looking at his friend’s reflection in it, hoping he had somewhat diffused the argument. Still, Sheena looked like she was about to pounce on Zelos, which was slightly worrying. Lloyd would prefer if everyone stayed in one piece. It wouldn’t be a fun road trip otherwise! And that was the only reason he’d suggested the idea of ferrying everyone around in the first place.

Everyone was stressed after exams and they deserved a chance to let out those pent up emotions. What better way than to tour the nation in a single day? It was the perfect opportunity to have fun with friends!

Lloyd hadn’t considered that murder might happen in the backseat. That might throw a wrench in the plan.

“There’s no way this road could actually have 99 bends. It would be like a really long snake if it did. It would take up too much space.” Lloyd muttered, turning the steering wheel to navigate yet another bend. The road was already difficult to drive on. Add on more turns and it would be hell for a new driver like him. He’d gotten his driver’s license in the first half of year 6 while juggling school and driver’s lessons, and he was not ready for such a difficult challenge.

These roads were already difficult enough to drive on, what with the plentitude of crazy drivers that loved to haphazardly cut lanes and sound their vehicle’s horns way too much. Stressful was the only word that could describe it.

Wait, that was the same word he’d just used to describe the school year. Did that make this whole trip redundant?

“Mm…”

Colette shifted slightly, slowly opening her eyes. The last thing she remembered was Lloyd picking her up at the void deck of her HDB. They had set off to pick up Zelos and then Sheena, but she had no memory of doing any of that. Just little flashes of watching parks and various HDBs passing by...

Her hands, feeling around blindly, grasped something soft and woolly wrapped around her. Blinking fully awake, she recognised the blanket that currently formed a snug cocoon around her.

"See, you woke her up!"

"You were the one who started yelling first! Don't blame me!"

There was the familiar backdrop of Zelos and Sheena arguing. She must have fallen asleep somewhere on the way if they were already in the car.

"You can go back to sleep if you want. This part's not very exciting. I'll wake you up if we're getting out of the car," Lloyd whispered, having heard Colette shifting in her seat despite not diverting his attention away from the road. What a responsible driver!

"It's fine. I’ve slept enough." Colette freed her arms from the blanket, letting it fall such that it only covered her lap. The a/c was switched on (as it always was in Singapore, where it was eternally summer), and you could feel it particularly strongly in the front seat. Looking out the window to figure out their whereabouts, all Colette saw was trees. As expected.

Turning her gaze back towards the blanket, she traced the familiar pattern of green dogs that dotted it. Green wasn't a colour that dogs naturally had, but it did elicit some old memories.

"Isn't this the blanket your mother knitted? She'd wrap us in it every movie night. You used to cover your eyes with it when you got scared." That memory made her giggle, just a little. Lloyd got scared at movies that weren't even supposed to be scary. He'd burrow in the blanket, then, and grab onto her arm so tightly that she'd once thought he would leave permanent marks.

"Of course you'd remember that," Lloyd grumbled, cheeks turning a pale pink at that embarrassing memory. Colette had just blurted that out in front of their other two friends as well. "Mom keeps it in the car in case anyone gets cold. You're always wearing sweaters, so I draped it on you while we were at Zelos' place."

"Thank you."

"Ahem." The sound of Zelos clearing his throat echoed through the car. Colette craned her head to see both Zelos and Sheena resolutely not looking at the two of them. "Sorry to be the third wheel, but can I know where we're going next? You didn't bother sending us the itinerary, Lloyd."

"If you're a third wheel, then what am I? The fourth wheel? That's even worse!" Sheena groaned, resting her forehead against the cold window. If things were going to be like this for the whole trip, maybe she should just open the door and fling herself out of the car before it got too unbearable. Alas, the doors were locked.

"An incorporeal banshee," Zelos muttered, which earned him another smack from an irate Sheena.

"I have no idea why you two are going on about wheels. This is a perfectly fine vehicle with four perfectly functional wheels!"

Zelos groaned, dragging his hands down his face. He'd unknowingly agreed to a torture session, hadn't he? Why had he thought this was a good idea?

Well, he was going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future, so he might as well continue working on the plan. It was the one thing he knew Sheena would willingly work with him on, so it was the perfect solution to prevent his death. Zelos would rather not have to dig his grave today.

"Yeah!" Colette chirped in, eager to defend Lloyd. "Besides, Lloyd did send the itinerary to the group chat! You two just buried it under your argument about cheese!"

“Cheese…?” Zelos echoed. He had zero memory of this ever happening.

“Oh god, I remember this. It’s another one of those midnight conversations that I wish never happened.” Sheena leaned back, letting her head fall over the back of her seat so she was peering into the trunk of the car. Huh. There were some weird things in the trunk.

Oh, Zelos thought. One of those inane conversations fuelled by a blend of coffee, tiredness and the spirit of craziness.

“I mentioned mozzarella and you started arguing blue cheese was better! Not all of us can afford that, you know!”

“Stop yelling at me! I am not responsible for your inferior taste in cheese!”

Colette giggled, turning back to face the road. Zelos and Sheena were as energetic as always. This looked like a fun road trip already!

~~~

“And you said you did your research?” Zelos asked, raising one eyebrow as he pointed at the sign next to the securely closed gate.

“Closed on… Tuesdays…” Colette read out slowly, realisation slowly dawning on her as to why they were currently stalling at the end of a one-way road. “Oh no, Lloyd, it’s Tuesday!”

Lloyd put the car in reverse, praying that no one would drive into this road at this inopportune moment. Then again, the road had been empty and silent for a reason. Everyone had known the goat farm was closed. Everyone except, well, them.

“The article didn’t say anything!” Lloyd grumbled. “How was I supposed to know?”

“Maybe through the power of Google? Don't you remember the importance of primary research?" Zelos drawled, only to get slapped by Sheena again.

"That's not what primary research means, dumbass."

"I think the main problem is how we're supposed to get out of here…? I'm sure we're all hungry," Colette pointed out. They had already gone to a few other places and taken some cool photos! It had been a fun time all around, but it was time for lunch and the goat farm was meant to be the lunch spot. She had rather fond memories of coming here with Lloyd on a primary school learning journey - they had fed the goats and eaten some delicious food. It was a shame that it was closed today.

"The first step would be getting out of this road." Lloyd scanned their surroundings with a nervous eye. This was a dead-end, so there was no way to drive back to the main road without turning around. And the road was scarily narrow...

"Lloyd, I can take over from here," Zelos said, unbuckling his seat belt and bending over the front seat to tap Lloyd on the shoulder. Ignoring, of course, Sheena's violent protests at how dangerous this was. "You need to do a three-point turn. And no offence, but I don't trust a newbie to do one without scratching the car or ending up on the side of the road. Especially on such a narrow road."

Lloyd paled, remembering the promise (it had been worded more like a threat, really) that his father had made him before agreeing to let him use the car. Not a single scratch on it or Lloyd would never see the light of day again.

After a quick switch in seats, Zelos manoeuvred the car out of its perilous position with ease and they were on their way again.

"You make it look so easy," Lloyd mumbled, slightly jealous. Zelos was driving with confidence that he would like to emulate. Not that it was surprising. Zelos had been driving for the past two years.

"He's only so good at it because he's old. That's the only reason he has years of experience over you," Sheena snickered. She wouldn't give up any opportunity to make fun of her oldest friend.

"Who're you calling old? You're only one year younger than me!" Zelos grumbled.

"You're still the oldest," Colette pointed out. "You're older than me and Lloyd by... 2 years, right?"

"I get it! I'm old! This is the cruel fate I suffered for not being born here!" Zelos said mournfully. Really, he would rather have not lost two years of his life to being held back in the school system.

“It’s kinda sad that we’re at the same point as you two despite being older, huh?" Sheena muttered. "At least you won't need to lose another two years to National Service, Zelos. Thank your lucky stars for that."

“Don’t mention that. Not now.” Lloyd desperately tried to push all thoughts of National Service out of his head. Nope. This was meant to be a fun trip! No depressing thoughts! No! “Do you want me to switch back, Zelos?”

“Nah, it’s fine!” Zelos called back, turning back out onto the main road to begin the game of weaving between lanes like a madman. “You’ve been driving all morning. Anyone mind if I take us to Sembawang food centre for lunch? It’s pretty close if I’m remembering correctly.”

“Oh! I want carrot cake!” Colette cheered, mind already drifting to the delectable cubes of radish. It was one of her favourite foods...

“Black or white, though?” Sheena pondered. The black one had a tad too much sweet sauce for her taste, but she was mostly neutral. Maybe she'd get something else entirely. Fishball noodles, perhaps...?

“Black, obviously. How could you ever think white was the superior choice?” Lloyd replied, horrified.

“No objections, then,” Zelos said cheerily, flicking on the signal and moving the car onto the turning lane. Sheena, meanwhile, set the route on her phone without any prompting from Zelos. “Sembawang food centre it is! But Lloyd, am I allowed to floor the gas on the expressway?”

“NO!”

~~~

“Mmmmm.” Colette stirred her glass of ice milo with a straw before sipping from it contentedly, resting her chin on her hand. A plate, emptied of carrot cake, sat next to her elbow on the table. “This is bliss…”

“Nothing beats ice milo,” Lloyd agreed, shovelling the remainder of his plate of black carrot cake into his mouth. The chewiness of the radish cubes, the sweetness of the sauce, combined with the cold, sweet taste of milo… It all added up to perfection.

“Cretins,” Sheena muttered distastefully. "Ice milo is not the peak of drinks."

“No need to act so smug just because you drink brown rice green tea every day, Sheena. I know you drink packet milo at home," Zelos rebutted, nursing his cup of black coffee. He was glad that there was something to raise his energy levels. Colette and Lloyd could wake anyone up in their boundless energy, but even they could not overcome - well, a night staying up surfing social media and not sleeping.

“Shush, you!”

Colette giggled, staring at her two friends argue with each other. She knew it wasn’t anything malicious, but simply how they showed their friendship towards each other. They had been like this for as long as she’d known them, which had been… “I can’t believe we’ve been friends for six years already!”

Sheena paused in her act of strangling Zelos, sitting down to consider Colette’s statement. Zelos hung his head, sighing in relief. Another attempt at his life that he had avoided.

“Has it really been that long since you crashed into Zelos at the school canteen?” Sheena asked, resting her elbows on the table and leaning across, grinning. She hadn’t relived that memory in a long time, and she excelled in any opportunity to embarrass him. “Don’t you remember, Zelos? Colette -”

“She crashed into me at rush hour in the school canteen while I was holding a tray full of food,” Zelos replied in a deadpan tone. He loved Colette as a friend, but that was a disastrous memory -

“Ha! I remember. Zelos had seaweed soup down his front for the rest of the day,” Lloyd snickered. He didn’t often think back to so long ago, but this was a perfect opportunity to reminisce! “He smelled like teriyaki chicken in class for the whole day. Our teacher was staring at him the whole time.”

“Please stop,” Zelos mumbled pitifully, burying his face in his arms. “I have done my very best to bury that memory forever. And that was your lunch, Sheena! You held partial blame!”

“Yeah, no,” Sheena retorted cheerily. “You required a little humbling then, anyway, Mr High and Mighty.”

“I hate you,” Zelos replied gloomily. “Why am I still friends with you?”

“We PRs need to stick together.” Sheena punched Zelos in the arm in the same playfully gentle way she always did. “And I, uh…” She turned away, muttering something under her breath.

Colette looked on in curiosity, observing the bright pink spots that were beginning to form on Sheena’s cheeks. Zelos smirked, raising his head to antagonise Sheena again. “What was that you were saying? I couldn’t hear you.”

“Yeah, Sheena. I couldn’t hear you either,” Lloyd interjected, busy trying to scoop ice cubes out of his glass with his straw and failing horribly. “Could you repeat that?”

“I said I value your company, alright?” Sheena snapped, refusing to make eye contact with Zelos. Why had she brought this upon herself? “There, did you catch it this time?”

“Noted,” Zelos said smugly. One point for him, finally!

“I really am sorry for the time I crashed into you. I do that way too much,” Colette said guiltily, fiddling with her utensils. It was true, though. The number of times she had crashed into people just this week was more than she could count with her fingers. The amount of inconvenience she had caused was staggering.

“Hey, it’s fine! Don’t put yourself down. Besides, if it wasn’t for that, we would never have met!” Lloyd retorted, waving a fork threateningly in her direction.

“Ah, right. I forgot that you two have known each other for basically forever,” Sheena said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. Somehow, Lloyd and Colette still didn’t pick up on it. “You two have been childhood friends for, what, 14 years?”

“More or less!” Colette replied. The math checked out. At least she was pretty sure that was right? They met when they were 5 or 6… And they were 19, now…?

“We met when Colette crashed into me at the playground and nearly knocked me off the climbing towers,” Lloyd said absentmindedly, returning to his quest to retrieve an ice cube. "I remember that we were pretty high up, so it was kinda scary."

“That’s why I’m banned from the monkey bars for life…” Colette said sheepishly.

“That’s… interesting.” Zelos stared with wide eyes, speechless for once in his life. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard this story. It was certainly an unorthodox way to meet your childhood friend, by nearly causing bodily harm.

Now if the two of them would realise what was so incredibly obvious, maybe he could stop having actual headaches over plotting harebrained schemes.

But that... was way too much to hope for.

~~~

Lloyd watched with a tiny smile as Colette’s head perked up the moment the next song on the radio begun to play. He’d switched the radio over to this particular station earlier that morning, knowing that Colette loved it.

Colette hummed under her breath, swaying to the music. She loved Chinese songs, especially listening to them on the radio. They were perfect to close your eyes and relax to.

They also brought back some of her earliest and most cherished memories.

Sitting in the backseat of this same car back when she had still been the same height as Lloyd, head resting on his shoulder, listening to the radio and the sound of Lloyd’s father humming along while she was still half-asleep. They had stayed in the same HDB and experienced all the advantages: being able to visit each other whenever they wanted, going to the same primary school, and commuting to school together. They had spent almost every second together. Playing catching around the school field, puzzling through their homework together, lazily spending afternoons at each other’s houses and playing video games…

Waiting for Lloyd at the gate of their secondary school, every morning without fail. She would break out into a smile whenever he showed up, and they would walk to the canteen together, hand-in-hand. The moments before assembly were spent in bliss, a rare sanctuary from the constant stress of school. They would talk about anything and everything while they shared a single pair of earphones, listening to her latest favourite song.

When finally, they were separated by attending different tertiary institutes, she would spend hours every week (not that she didn’t already) texting him over the phone. Every time a message from him lit up her phone screen, her heart would swell with happiness and she would scramble to unlock her phone screen. The silly little pictures and comments he sent her never failed to brighten her day. Her favourite part of the week became talking to Lloyd over the phone on weekends, letting the sound of his voice drift into her ears just like her favourite music. And still, she would send newly released songs that she liked to Lloyd to see what he thought. During the rare weekends that they were both free, they would meet up with Zelos and Sheena for ice-skating and karaoke. Lloyd always let her pick the songs.

She liked this song quite a lot as well. It was sweet.

The sound of Aska’s voice coming over the radio grew steadily louder as Zelos rotated the volume knob. “I know you like this song, Angel. So why don’t you sing along?”

“Won’t I be annoying everyone else? I don’t want that…”

“It’s all right,” Sheena waved her worries away, grinning back at Colette from the front seat. “Zelos and I had our fun screaming English songs earlier. It's only fair you get to do the same, so sing your heart out!”

“It’s really OK?” Colette muttered, shyly lowering her head. “I don’t know…”

“I like your singing! So go ahead!” Lloyd proclaimed, grabbing her hand from across the backseat. Colette stared with wide eyes, flushing immediately.

“Well, you can sing along too,” Colette replied, looking away to hide her blush. “It’ll be more fun that way.”

“I - well, I don’t know! My singing is way worse than yours!”

“I’ve heard you sing at karaoke before, Lloyd. You sound just fine! Come on, let’s do a duet!”

“OK, OK!” Lloyd laughed, shifting closer in his seat, of course without escaping his seatbelt. “Let’s do this, I guess!”

“My god, they are dense,” Sheena muttered.

“They are, quite literally, singing a song about how deep one's love is,” Zelos agreed. “Can they get any dumber?”

“I mean, Lloyd’s Chinese isn’t… great…”

“It can’t be this bad. I refuse to believe that. I know he barely passed his O level Higher Chinese, but surely he can still get the basic gist!”

I wonder what they’re arguing about? Colette thought, before discarding that thought entirely, too engrossed in singing along with Lloyd by her side.

~~~

“Don’t you two want to join in too?” Colette asked, confused as to why Zelos and Sheena didn’t want to partake in a photo before the famous Casuarina tree in Upper Seletar Reservoir. They had taken the time to drive here, they should at least commemorate it!

“No, it’s fine! We’ll take a photo after you two.” Sheena waved away Colette’s concerns, staring with a furrowed brow at the tree. Honestly, it didn't look too impressive to her. What to do now…? The place looked romantic enough for her and Zelos’ purposes, but the problem lay in how to initiate the conversation on the other two’s side. Remembering what she and Zelos had read about the Casuarina tree, an idea formed in her head.

Making eye contact with Zelos, Sheena made a little heart shape with her hands, hoping he would be on the same wavelength as her. Thankfully, Zelos seemed to understand, because he nodded with a slowly growing smirk. “Hey, Bud! Did you know that newly-weds take their wedding photos here?”

“Really? That’s nice!” Colette exclaimed. “The atmosphere of this place is very romantic. We can take some nice photos here. You two sure you don’t want to join in?”

Sheena resisted the urge to scream and dig a hole for herself in the dirt to hide in for the rest of eternity. She loved her friends, but having to face them staring lovey-dovey at each other every second of every day without realising they were doing it had been driving her insane for the past year.

Zelos’ smile was twitching at the corners now. He had to be as exasperated as her by this point. “Yeah, we’re sure. How about you two do a pose? Like a heart shape?”

“A heart shape?” Colette thought about it for a moment before breaking out into a giant smile. “That’s cute! Do you mind, Lloyd?”

“Sounds great!”

Sheena grabbed Zelos’ hand and begun tugging with all of her might. They needed to talk. Like, now. Zelos, thank god, put up absolutely no resistance and let himself be pulled along like a rag doll.

“Where are they going? We need another person to take the photo!” Colette asked, staring in the direction that Sheena and Zelos had run off in utter confusion. Zelos and Sheena tended to run off at random times. To do what, she didn't know. She would really like to find out.

“Don’t mind them. We can just take a selfie!”

“OK, we are now… ” Zelos craned his head to scan his surroundings. “Directly overlooking Seletar Reservoir. We should be far enough to discuss things now, right?”

“Yes,” Sheena got out through gritted teeth. “I am completely and utterly done. Nothing we do has worked! Do you remember that one time we all bought tickets to a romance movie and then bailed on the two of them? It was on Chinese New Year, so I couldn't even pay student price! AND I STILL HAVEN’T GOTTEN MY THIRTEEN DOLLARS BACK YET!”

Zelos groaned. “You tell me. Remember that time we did the same thing with a karaoke session? I had to tell them it was a treat, which means I haven’t gotten my twenty-six dollars back.”

“You’re rich, though.” Sheena replied. “You live in like… landed property.”

“But I’m still stingy.”

Sheena looked back at Colette and Lloyd, who had resorted to some funny positions to take selfies while still doing a pose. They were adorable, but there had still been no progress made. At all. It was infuriating.

“What do we do now?” She muttered, putting her weight against the railing so she could lean out over the sparkling blue water and enjoy the slowly building breeze.

“I don’t think we can do anything,” Zelos replied, shrugging hopelessly. “At this point, I don’t think they would notice if an asteroid struck the Earth. They’re too busy spending time with each other. I propose we give up and just let nature take its course. They’re happy enough as it is.”

“But god, it’s frustrating,” Sheena groaned, leaning out further so her entire upper half was hanging free of the railing. Zelos was inching closer in case she really did fall, but that was unlikely to happen given her excellent sense of balance that he had witnessed firsthand. Still, did she really have to do such dangerous things all the time?

“It is, but that’s how they’ve always been.”

Sheena sighed, deciding to simply enjoy the serenity and let go of any thoughts concerning her other two friends. A quiet moment with her oldest friend was rather rare to come by, given how bombastic he usually was. “We were talking about how all four of us met at lunch… Honestly, it was pure coincidence that the two of us met in primary school.”

“I like to think that it’s fate!” Zelos proclaimed, winking at her. Under the noontime sun, high in the sky, his hair seemed even redder than usual. He had undergone quite a transformation since the end of Junior College last November. Zelos had sported short hair in line with the ever-present school rules from the moment she’d met him, but the lifting of those restrictions had finally given him the chance to grow it out. The shoulder-length curly red hair, being lifted in the wind… Honestly, she thought it fit him.

“Yeah, sure,” Sheena snorted. “It’s just like you to proclaim it’s - EEK!” The first cold raindrop hit the back of her bare neck, startling her so much that she nearly lost her balance and toppled into the reservoir. Only Zelos’ hand, secure on her shoulder, kept her from dipping head-first.

“Geez, Sheena. Don’t give me a heart attack, would you?”

“Sorry, old man. But thanks.”

“Wow, you seldom thank me,” Zelos replied, raising one eyebrow in surprise. “And I’m not that old! I’m turning 21 this year! That’s still pretty young, right? RIGHT?”

Sheena looked up into the sky, which had rapidly turned from blue to grey. The storm cloud in the far distance that she had noticed in the corner of her eye some time ago had made its merry way over. Following the trend of the previous week's weather, it would be raining cats and dogs soon.

“You two!” Colette ran over, yelling with one hand held above her head in the vain hope that it would shield her from the rain. “We should hurry back to the car before it gets any heavier!”

“Come on,” Zelos muttered. It was his turn to pull Sheena along as they made the short run back to the car.

By the time everyone was back in the car, they were all utterly drenched and resembled bedraggled rats. Lloyd winced at the amount of water they were dripping on the car seats. Hopefully, no permanent damage was done. They should have brought an umbrella out of the car.

Poor decisions were made.

“Hey Lloyd, did you, by any chance, check the weather forecast?” Zelos asked, accepting the tissue that Colette was offering. Somehow he had ended up in the backseat instead of the front seat. Well, he would gladly let Lloyd drive now.

“Uh… I didn’t,” Lloyd said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “I… sorta forgot to?”

“It’s been raining for the entire month of January and you didn’t think to check the weather forecast?” Sheena asked. Wasn’t that… common sense? Never mind, she was expecting too much of Lloyd.

“It’s so heavy,” Colette said, peering out of the window with her nose pressed to it. The view was completely obscured by the white screen the dense raindrops formed, the patter of the rain against the window drowning out all other sounds. “It’s going to get so cold… We can’t really go on to the next destination like this.”

“We can go to my place,” Lloyd offered. “My parents will be out today until the evening and this trip was supposed to last until 6.”

“Huh. Well, no objections here,” Zelos replied. “Just get us out of this rain.”

“Can we play Smash Brothers again?” Sheena asked. “That was fun the last time we went to your house.”

“Sure,” Lloyd shrugged, turning the key in the ignition and starting the engine. “Smash Brothers it is.”

~~~

“Kirby! I want Kirby!” Colette pouted, clutching the single Joy-Con securely in one hand with a Pikachu plush settled in her lap. The moment they had gotten to Lloyd’s place, she’d tied her hair into a messy ponytail and put on one of the hoodies she’d left there from her various trips. It had little ears on the hood and Totoro’s face emblazoned across the front. It was adorable, but best of all, it was warm and toasty. And she really needed that given how cold it was.

It was comfortable here, tucked between Lloyd and Sheena on the sofa facing the television mounted on the wall. Zelos was lounging on a separate plush back chair that he’d dragged from the dining table, carefully snacking on a pack of Mamee Noodles that he’d pilfered from the pantry. Lloyd had warned Zelos that if he got even a single crumb on the floor, he’d be dead meat.

“I’ll let you have Kirby,” Sheena decided, moving her cursor across the screen. “But I’m getting Sheik. Prepare to lose!”

“Why so competitive?” Zelos wondered, hovering the cursor over the random option. “It’s just a casual game. We’re even playing with items on.”

“It’s the spirit, Zelos! Better get into it, because I’m coming after you first!”

“Wha - Sheena, that’s not fair! Don’t pick on me!”

The four of them proceeded to play a few rounds where, more often than not, Sheena and Zelos would get engrossed in defeating each other while Colette and Lloyd simply goofed around. It was fun, but of course, they got tired of it after a while.

Colette eventually found herself sitting behind Zelos, gently braiding his hair. There wasn’t much to work with, but there was just enough for a fun little side braid. Sheena was kicking back with a packet of milo, while Lloyd was sitting on the floor sifting through movie DVDs that he'd pulled out of a cabinet.

The Pikachu plush had been abandoned to sit on the floor, alone. If Noishe was still alive, he'd have snatched it off the floor and run off with it already. Lloyd would then have proceeded to chase Noishe all around the apartment. Colette missed Noishe. A lot.

“Are you planning to grow this out any longer?” Colette asked, gently threading one bunch of hair through the other. She didn’t want to pull too hard and risk hurting Zelos. “I think it would look good on you.”

“Maybe,” Zelos replied, glancing down at his phone, which he was busy scrolling through. “It used to be this long when I was still in Germany. At least I won't need to chop off all my hair in February, unlike a certain someone."

“Gah, bald Lloyd is something I do not want to think about.” Sheena blanched, taking the straw out of her mouth. “That image is straight out of my nightmares.”

“I don’t like thinking about it either,” Lloyd muttered, pulling out the DVD for Tangled. Did his family’s blu-ray player even still work? It had been a pretty long time since they’d played a DVD instead of just using Netflix. “Can we just stop talking about this altogether? Please?”

“I'm not gonna stop talking about my hair! It’s fabulous -” Zelos froze, staring down at his phone screen in abject horror. “Colette, what time is it?”

“Huh?” Colette stopped mid-threading, confused, one hand still holding a bunch of red hair. She craned her head to consult the clock hung on the wall (which, to Lloyd’s eternal chagrin, still displayed his baby pictures from the first year of his life). “It’s four in the afternoon.”

“Crap, I need to go,” Zelos cursed, stuffing his phone back into his jeans and scrambling to his feet. “I have an online interview at 4.30.”

Sheena’s mouth fell open as she stared at Zelos in astonishment. “The interview for the scholarship is today, and you didn’t think to say anything until now?”

“Yeah, Zelos. We could have just rescheduled this trip or something. Why didn't you tell us? Are you going to make it home in time?" Lloyd piped up in concern.

“He stays close enough that he should be fine if he doesn’t miss the bus,” Colette said, mournfully watching the braid she had done unravel before her very eyes. “You remember where the bus stop is, right?”

“Of course I do! I’ve come here enough times to know that much!” Zelos called back, busy packing his stuff back into his backpack. He haphazardly zipped it up, his water bottle still hanging out the side precariously, before slinging it over one shoulder. “I’ll just be on my way, then!”

“I’m going with you, idiot,” Sheena grumbled, picking up her bag as well. “I leave you alone for a month and this happens.”

“You can’t leave me alone with them,” Sheena hissed under her breath at Zelos as they left the apartment and walked into the lift lobby. “I will die.”

“Well, we’re the only two here now.” Colette swung her feet up onto the sofa, pushing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. “What do we do now?”

“We can still watch Disney movies!” Lloyd raised the Tangled DVD, grinning. “You up for it?”

“Sure! I love Disney movies!” No objections from her side.

Lloyd inserted the DVD into the Blu-ray player, bundling the blanket into his arms and heading over to the sofa to seat himself next to Colette. Gingerly, he tucked the blanket around the two of them. The wind from the rain was still howling outside the apartment, and the air was still rather chilly.

“This is nostalgic,” Colette whispered, resting her head on Lloyd’s shoulder and taking his hand as the movie started.

“It’s like nothing ever changed.” Like she had never moved away from this HDB, like they were still little children attending the same primary school, like they had no responsibilities resting on their shoulders…

The fatigue from the morning that had been chased away by the cheer and enthusiasm of her friends slowly sneaked up on her, here with a blanket keeping the warmth around her and the soft, warm colours of the television swimming in front of her eyes. Not to mention Lloyd’s presence, comforting and familiar. It was enough for her to close her eyes…

~~~

And that was the position Kratos and Anna found Lloyd and Colette in when they got home: Colette still soundly sleeping and Lloyd sitting ramrod straight in his attempt to not awaken Colette.

~~~

Full fic

[theloveandthedead]

A Wonderful Li(f)e

Pairing: Oliver Emese Song/Walter C. Dornez (one sided love)

Summary: 50 theme challenge revolving around Hellsing’s Dolos and Aphrodite

[Note: Like Olivia, Oliver is likened to Aphrodite. That is not changing lol. Olivia/Oliver are the same character except different names and appearances. However, if you want to imagine Olivia here, you can. Characterization remains the same.]

[Note 2: These themes will contain references to chapters in “L’amour et La Mort” so this one shot will not make sense if you aren’t familiar with the fic.]

-----

#01 – Ring

Walter prided himself on his well-honed ability to mask his emotions, an improvement from his youthful spitfire self. Yet, every time the ruby on Oliver’s finger caught the light, Walter felt a familiar scowl chisel across his face.

The triumphant smirk Alucard constantly shot his way didn’t help matters either.

#02 – Hero

At the tender age of eight, Oliver sold his soul to Hellsing to become a hero against creatures of the night.

How ironic that in the span of ten years, Oliver found a family in the darkness itself—even going as far as to marry its king.

#03 – Memory

“Even when we are old and no one remembers us, I will always be at your side, Walter.” Oliver had vowed on top London Bridge, ruffling the younger boy’s hair with a smile. “We are brothers for life. That’s all the matters, right?”

And perhaps that was enough for Oliver, but not for Walter.

Never for Walter.

#04 – Box

Walter leaned against the doorway of the attic, watching Oliver pull Martha’s wedding gown from the chest and bury his face against the lace. If he announced his presence, Oliver would’ve lashed out, so Walter remained stagnant as Oliver’s muffled sobs filled the room.

#05 – Run

In the beginning, Walter was miles ahead of Oliver, laughing as the bleeding hearted older boy struggled to keep up with him as soldier.

Then, with the passing years, Oliver caught up and was able to keep pace with him before suddenly bypassing him entirely.

Now it was Walter chasing after him, struggling to maintain his place as a solider and his place in Oliver’s heart.

#06 – Hurricane

The juxtaposition of Oliver’s angelic face and Adonis physique was a constant source of whiplash for Walter.

Destiny may be cruel to Oliver but puberty sure as hell was not.

#07 – Wings

When enemies and allies heard the name “Angel of Death”, they envisioned Walter’s cunning smirk as he sliced through his foes.

When Oliver heard the name “Angel of Death”, he envisioned six year old Walter with his chubby cheeks and missing front teeth.

#08 – Cold

As the bitter Oxford chill gnawed at his skin, Walter pulled his blue, handmade muffler closer, the faint scent of home lingering on each thread.

“Only you of all people could make such a shoddy gift, Oliver.” He scoffed with a smile.

#09 – Red

The blood glimmered in the moonlight, sticking to their bodies like a second skin.

Oliver stood a few feet away from him, his profile illuminated in the moonlight. The blood stained his face and neck, slowly dripping down his torso and seeping through his white button-up. His wavy, black hair clung to his forehead, his cheeks flushed with extrusion, and his plump lips were damp with saliva.

Walter had never seen a more beautiful sight, and as Alucard emerged and pulled his husband in for a heated kiss, he begrudgingly acknowledged that he and the mutt were of one mind.

#10 – Drink

Arthur’s habits kept them from over indulging, yet Oliver and Walter had fallen into a tradition of drinking together once a week.

They would sit in one of the reading rooms, share a bottle of wine, and chat about everything and anything until the early hours of the morning.

For Oliver, it was a get together with his brother and lifelong friend.

For Walter, it was an opportunity to have Oliver to himself.

#11 – Midnight

“You’ve downed more than half of the bottle already, and it’s barely midnight.” Oliver teased, holding up the translucent bottle to the candle light. “Stressful week?”

“You try to keep this manor running while training incompetent cadets day in and day out!” Walter huffed, downing the rest of his glass. “I don’t get paid enough for this.”

“You must really be drunk if your tongue is this loose.” Oliver leaned over and brushed Walter’s bangs out of his eyes. “Perhaps we should call it a night. After all, a hungover ‘Angel of Death’ is a fussy ‘Angel of Death’.”

“Piss off.” Walter hissed, latching onto Oliver’s hand and pressing his palm to his neck. “For fuck’s sake, why are your hands so cold?”

#12 – Temptation

“My hands are probably cold because your body is a furnace from all that wine.” Oliver tugged against his grip. “C’mon, let me go and let’s get you to bed.”

“Shut u—p.” Walter huffed, unbuttoning his shirt and placing Oliver’s palm over his clavicle. “Let me cool down first.”

Oliver gave an exasperated shake of his head before slouching back in his seat and allowing his head to fall back against the cushion.

“Who knew Walter C. Dornez was a light weight?” He chuckled while Walter continued using his hand as a cool pack. “You’re lucky I’m too decent to tease you about this when you’re sober.”

Walter didn’t bother responding, maintaining his inebriated illusion as he gave into foolish temptation.

In this candle-lit room with the scent of wine permeating the air, Walter casted aside his cocky façade and willingly fell prey to a songbird’s gentle touch.

Because, within the walls of this reading room, Oliver was his.

#13 – View

As the grandfather clock struck three, Oliver heaved another sigh before gazing upon the slumbering body across from him.

Even in deep sleep, Walter had a death grip on his hand and Oliver wondered if he’d made a mistake in playing along with his antics.

“You will always be my dearest friend and brother,” Oliver finally wiggled his hand away and rested it on top of Walter’s head. “And you deserve better than me.”

Walter’s eyes fluttered open for a moment, staring at their shadows against the beige wallpaper, before allowing them to fall shut again.

#14 – Music

Oliver was a talented singer; Walter would be a fool to deny that. Years of practice had tuned his once pitchy, strangled shrieks into a smooth, molasses-like melody. And Oliver wasn’t afraid to show it, constantly belting out arias day in and out to the jaw dropping awe of their soldiers.

But not Walter.

He would give credit where it was due, but Oliver’s tastes in music were rather dull to his ears.

That was until Oliver suddenly belted out a Chuck Berry number, his operatic tone taking on a raspy, soulful flair that had Walter’s jaw dropping like the rest of them.

#15 – Silk

Calling someone ‘angelic’ was not in Walter’s vocabulary, leaving such words to devotees or overly saccharine poets.

Yet, as a weeping Oliver adorned in Martha’s silk veil stood at the altar of St. Paul’s cathedral, ‘angelic’ was the only word he describe him.

#16 – Cover

“Alright, I’m going in. You got my back, Walter?”

“Do I have to?”

“I mean, you can just let me die I guess.”

“Very tempting, isn’t it?”

“…….I hope your socks rolls down in your shoes.”

#17 – Food

Walter pretended not to notice Oliver sneaking pieces of brownies from the dish behind him.

No, he just removed the fresh batch from the oven, sprinkled a generous amount of salt on the top, placed it on the counter, and waited.

#18 – Dream

In Walter’s dreams, he was a true Angel of Death—imperious, unbeatable, and feared by all.

In Oliver’s dreams, he had his family back and was able to grow up normally.

#19 – Candle

Oliver raced back up the aisle, leaving Walter on the ground with lips tingling and a flame igniting in his core.

#20 – Talent

“Chugging six bottles of Fanta at once is not a talent, Oliver, it’s an atrocity.”

#21 – Silence

During those four years at Oxford, Walter loathed to admit he missed Oliver’s show tunes and occasional rock numbers.

#22 – Journey

Walter knew the moment he took The Major’s deal, his path and Oliver’s had split in different directions. Yet, sometimes after a bottle of wine, he hoped their paths would intersect again.

#23 – Fire

Millennium’s Warsaw base burned around them like a sea of fire, and Oliver stood above it all with his mangled arm outstretched as he unwillingly commanded the No Life King to slaughter all their enemies.

For the first of many times, Walter felt a twinge of awe and fear.

#24 – Strength

It took everything for Walter’s knees not to buckle when Oliver picked him up by the waist and moved him aside.

“Sorry,” Oliver bit into his apple, the juices dripping down his chin. “You were standing in front of the fruit bowl.”

#25 – Mask

Although Walter was brash and had a sharp tongue, Oliver knew his friend had a heart deep down.

#26 – Ice

Walter knew the moment his treason was brought to light, Oliver’s eyes—warm and green like the spring—would become frosted and bitter as a blizzard.

#27 – Fall

In their youth, Oliver and Walter used to hide in the leave piles and scare Arthur during his morning walks.

#28 – Forgotten

The root of his treason, and the eventual cause of Oliver’s heartbreak—all of this stemmed from Walter’s one and only fear.

#29 – Dance

As Oliver twirled him around the palace ballroom, Walter understood why children were obsessed with fairytales.

#30 – Body

Walter considered it horribly unfair that, upon his return from Oxford, Oliver was a head taller than him and twice his muscle mass.

#31 – Sacred

Alucard may have Oliver, but Walter was his first kiss and he would carry that victory to his grave.

#32 – Farewells

Upon their return from Warsaw, Walter held Oliver as they stood in the foyer.

To Oliver, it was a gesture of brotherhood and comfort.

To Walter, it was a farewell to the future they could’ve had together.

#33 – World

In their younger years, the two of them marked an old map in the library with where they wanted to travel together, with crayon lines zig-zagging everywhere from Montreal to Antarctica.

#34 – Formal

“For the love of all that is holy, Oliver, button your shirt up! We are attending Her Majesty’s banquet, not a cocktail party in Vegas!”

#35 – Fever

Walter had a fever once when he was 10, and Oliver had made some homemade chicken noodle soup for him.

Never again.

His taste buds can only handle so much salt.

#36 – Laugh

The way he hunched over with a crinkled nose and a toothy grin, Walter could see why Oliver’s nickname was Rabbit.

#37 – Lies

“You can trust me, Oliver.”

#38 – Forever

Despite his sins, Walter hoped to meet Oliver again in the next life.

#39 – Overwhelmed

When Oliver leaned over his shoulder, his chest pressed to his back, and whispered in his ear, Walter swore his heart beat could be heard from space.

#40 – Whisper

“Move your ass, Walter, you’re blocking the bathroom door.”

#41 – Wait

4 years.

1,460 days.

2,102,400 minutes.

And, in the end, Oliver still chose Alucard.

#42 – Talk

It took Walter by surprise when Oliver said he didn’t believe people are inherently good.

“It is easy to be cruel and selfish, but to be kind and loving—that takes effort.” Oliver elaborated, swirling his wine glass with a far-off expression. “And it’s hard to make that effort sometimes, especially when the world is hellbent on breaking you down.”

#43 – Search

Walter never thought he would miss the days when Oliver would reach for his hand during mission briefings.

#44 – Hope

The words Oliver stitched into his muffler.

#45 – Eclipse

Oliver stands above him, rays of moonlight filtering through his raven locks, and offers him a hand and a smile.

“Another successful mission by the dynamic duo, hmm?”

#46 – Gravity

It seemed the more Walter tried to pull away from Oliver, the harder he fell for him.

#47 – Highway

The officer was tempted to turn on his sirens as a black Cadillac Sixty-Two Convertible and a Silver Triumph motorcycle zipped by him, but upon recalling the drivers’ identities, he just closed his eyes and prayed none of his colleagues would be foolish enough to pursue them.

#48 – Unknown

The future was a mystery but, as long as he had his ‘family’, Oliver wasn’t afraid.

Too bad Walter didn’t share the same sentiment.

#49 – Lock

The memories Oliver had given him would be guarded in his heart forevermore, even as his wires sliced through Oliver’s skin.

#50 – Breathe

As his final breath passed through his lips, Walter clutched the rabbit keychain in his hand and bid farewell to his first and only love.

[ryik-the-writer]

Chapter 28: The Missing Pan

A03

          Chapter 1: Pan meets a Wendy

·         Chapter 2: Scars (Felix’s Story)

·         Chapter 3: Day One

·         Chapter 4: Revenge and Fireflies

·         Chapter 5: Brighter than Stars

·         Chapter 6: filler: The Tigress

·         Chapter 7: Operation Spotless!

·         Chapter 8: Operation Spotless: Reporters Down

·         Chapter 9: A Dance with the Devil

·         Chapter 10: filler: Felix and the Pancake

·         Chapter 11: The Girl with Blue Eyes pt. 1

·         Chapter 12: The Girl with Blue Eyes pt. 2

·         Chapter 13: The Girl With Blue Eyes: Underground

·         Chapter 14. Recovery

·         Chapter 14.2 Recovery some more

·         Chapter 15: Trapped

        Chapter 16: Filth

        Chapter 17: Fairydust pt. 1

        Chapter 18: Fairydust pt. 2

        Chapter 19: The Mystery of the Dead Nun pt. 3

        Chapter 20: The Mystery of the Dead Nun pt. 2

        Chapter 21: The Mystery of the Dead Nun pt. 3

        Chapter 22: Reflections pt. 1

        Chapter 23: Reflections pt. 2

        Chapter 24: Closing

        Chapter 25: Felix is helping Pan

        Chapter 26: Temporary Fix

        Chapter 27: The Search Begins

It was like a bizarre book club meeting, except there was no book and the meeting was held at Tink’s forest of a living room.

He had found Pan’s broken cellphone nearly three days ago, and hadn’t seen hide or hair of him since.

He was worried, especially as he saw less and less of Wendy roaming the town looking for him.

No, he wasn’t stalking her that would be creepy. He was just watching her from afar, usually behind buildings, in case Pan reappeared by her side.

He was worried about the little shit, even if he’d rather not think about him and what they were—or rather what they had been.

Their relationship was on Pan’s terms, as it had been the night August returned to Storybrooke two years ago.

It had been just a glitch on their timeline, a moment in history that would go unrecorded.

He had returned to Storybrooke after the money he pawned from several of his father’s tools ran out.

He was tired and sore, not sure whether he was back to ask for forgiveness or to take more from his loving father. His motorcycle was nearly out of gas, his tires shreds of rubber attached to rims.

He hadn’t realized the clusterfuck he’d road in on. That Storybrooke was practically on lockdown after Jekyll killed those two girls—and nearly a third, he’d find out later.

And—for his own sanity—Pan was waiting at the town line for the psychopath to return, with the blunt end of his camera at that.

As his head was spinning from being clabbered over the head from the hit, Pan had kicked him onto his back.

“Shit,” he had said. “You’re not him.”

“Lucky for me,” August deadpanned, wobbling as he picked himself up. “Want to explain why the hell you did that?”

“Monster hunting,” Pan had stated, staring at him suspiciously, offering him no assistance.

It was close to 3 a.m., a completely unreasonable hour for anyone to be running around—travelers or off-their-knocker journalists.

“Yeah,” August muttered, grabbing his bike and preparing to head into the town.

“Everything’s closed,” Pan said. “You’re better off sleeping in the woods.”

It was none of the little shit’s business. In fact it was probably best if he kept his entire being to himself. For he knew his father had taken out a report to the police.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “Thanks for not giving me a concussion.”

“You might as well come back with me.”

The weight of those words still clung to August’s brain this very day.

That brutal, flirtatious, broken boy…

“What’s this about?

August looked up. Tink, Felix and Lily Tigress were surrounding him, trying to figure as much as he was what the hell was going on.

August stood, feeling the mix of emotions from the people in the room.

“Pan’s missing.” He said, simply.

The reactions that followed fit everyone perfectly.

Tinkerbell scoffed and rolled her eyes while Felix seemed to melt with fear. Tigress snorted.

“Have you checked all the holes in the city?” she teased.

“And ditches,” he replied humorlessly. “He’s not anywhere.”

“Maybe check in the depths of hell.” Tink muttered, flopping down on her couch.

“What happened,” Felix inquired, obviously the only other person in the room that had general concern.

“I have no idea,” August sighed.

“It’s probably nothing!” Tink exclaimed, visibly aggravated. “He’s always pulling shit like this, we all know it!” she looked around at everyone, their eyes dropping .

“I don’t know this time—” August began before Tink cut him off.

“He’s fine! He’s off screwing someone or ruining a life. He’ll come back and continue as normal.”

August blinked hard and reached into his pocket. In a flash he threw Pan’s broken, dead cellphone onto Tink’s coffee table, an inch away from Tigress’s boots.

The occupants of the room stared at the device like it was something that had just fallen from the sky, as if they had no idea what to make of it.

“I found this the other night at the docks,” August explained, swallowing a lump. “I’ve been looking for him ever since. It died a few hours after I found it.”

Felix gripped his kneecaps until his fingers turned white. Tigress glanced at him and then at Tink’s still shoulders, wishing she could reach into her back and unknot every single one of her muscles.

“It could be an accident,” Tink said, her mind numb.

“There’s something wrong here, Tink,” August said. “Something I don’t think we’ve dealt with before.”

Tink nodded slightly. She could accept that this was a bit odd, but she wasn’t ready to relent to a search just yet.

“Did you go through the phone, see who he called last?” Felix inquired.

A cold sweat ran down August’s back.

“Yeah…it…it was me,” he looked straight ahead, trying to avoid Tink’s direct gaze. “The night he wrote that story about you.”

Tink barely moved, the only indication that she heard August was the darkening of her pupils.

“Last time I saw him was the morning after that when Wendy showed up and…all the other stuff happened.”

“Have you talked to her?” Tigress asked. “Why isn’t she here?”

August thought about the blonde enigma who spent the better part of two days searching for the wild boy…

And then she stopped…

Not from falling into a fate like Pan’s, but rather a strange dark haired man seemed to be gypsying her away from her task.

Maybe she had the same mindset as Tink, that Pan was somewhere safe and sound but avoiding the rest of the world.

Or perhaps she’d finally realized she deserved to use her time the way she wanted and not focus so much on Pan.

When he’d see her in town, her gaze would occasionally stray to the streets and into shops, looking for him without trying.

But she wasn’t alone. There was someone else with her, some dark entity that always seemed to be just out of both their line of site.

“She’s looking for him,” August concluded.

“Have you gone to Graham?”

“No, not yet,” he admitted.

Tink smiled bitterly. “There’s your answer,”

August leaned forward. “Do you really think Graham is going to take this seriously with Pan’s track record?”

“That’s the best thing to do!” Tink yelled. “He’s not our problem.”

“Yeah, he is,”

“No he’s fucking not! We have nothing to do with any of this!”

“Yeah we do!”

“He’s your little fuck buddy not mine!”

A wave of sand coursed through August’s throat, cutting him off.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Felix finally jumped in, evenly meeting Tink’s glare. “He’s right, we have to help.”

“Are you kidding me, Felix!” Tink exploded.

“What he did was terrible,” Felix injected, putting everything everyone in the room had held in for days now. “But if you turn your back on him and something really is wrong, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Because he is family, Tink. He’s one of us.”

He stepped forward, keeping his distance after taking her stiff posture into account.

“And you know he didn’t do any of this to hurt you, even if he did,”

Tink scoffed. “I know that. But I’m so sick of him thinking rules don’t apply to him and that he’s invincible,” she paced a bit, thinking about the wild-haired boy to always brought so much chaos into their lives. Who was more trouble than any of them knew what to do with.

“What if he’d been alone that night?” She wondered aloud, knowing firsthand the type of cruelty Mother Superior could enact when pushed too far.

Pan was in trouble, and this time it was more serious than ever of them had ever seen before.

He was usually good at getting himself out of messes and suffering the consequences on his own. But things were different this time. This time he was somewhere none of them could find.

Tink groaned, tucking her anger away for later.

“When was the last day you talked to Wendy?” she sighed in August’s direction.

His lip twitched in gratification. “The day she told me Pan was missing.”

“Then Lily and I will check with her first.” Tink said, voice strong with leadership. “You and Felix check the paper and Graham and all his usual haunts.”

Before Felix could ask for more, Tink was out the door.

Lily gave the men a shrug before following her friend, not looking to cause a fight with the fiery blonde.

Felix sighed in relief when they finally left, trying his best to stay calm. Last thing he needed was to fall into a seizure.

“That takes care of that,” August teased. “You ready?”

Felix looked over at him, frowning heavily. He had no feeling for August, good or bad. The two didn’t see or speak to each other than the few times he left Pan’s place.

He wasn’t a bad person from what Felix could gather, but he wasn’t the best influence on Pan. He was too casual, not interested in settling down.

Adding gasoline to the fire of Pan’s soul.

Still, obviously he cared about him enough that he cared if he was missing or not, so some points were warranted.

“We’ll need to start with Graham first,”

“Why’s that?”

Felix frowned. “I might know the reason he’s missing.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Pan wasn’t sure where to target his latest wave of sickness from.

The swaying ship, the dehydration, or the infection building around his numb wrists from the metal cuffs?

He was more than certain he was developing some kind of bladder infection as well.

God he was tired.

Jones hadn’t been to see him in a day and a half, or at least that’s what he was estimating judging by the light that was coming in thorough the cracks of the ship.

He wondered what he was doing, especially to Wendy. Had he hurt her? Was he torturing her right now to get information out of her?

What did this asshole hope to accomplish keeping him locked up? Why didn’t he just off him already?

Or maybe this was it. Maybe he just wanted to kill him slowly.

As he nodded in and out of consciousness, he caught images of the people in his life. Wendy and Felix up front, Tink, August, and Tigress just behind them. Even Glass and Gold, and deeper in the shadows, Belle.

Each time he woke up, they would vanish, and Pan wouldn’t remember who he was dreaming about.

The smell of salt was enough to make him vomit now. He was dying, and he was doing so cruelly slow.

Would any of the people he kept seeing in that place between sleep and awake ever know what had happened to him.

Was anyone looking for him?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The last few days had become sort of a new routine for Wendy. She’d leave her apartment at the crack of dawn and visit Pan’s apartment…knocking just in case he’d come home.

But he hadn’t, and she’d let herself in and feed his fuzzy orange cat who had yet to be utterly concern about his master’s disappearance.

It was comforting feeding the large cat without Pan’s interference, she thought. No one to pick fun at her at every opportunity. No one to push her into a corner, away from her safest places.

No one to pick fun at her at every opportunity. No one to push her into a corner, away from her safest places.

It was unsettling, Pan’s absence. But there was an odd peace in the air. One that didn’t quite fit in Storybrooke’s atmosphere, but one that was welcome. If only for a short time.

Each day without the wild boy was like a blurry vacation: you knew each day was passing by but the details were unclear.

And somehow Pan was blurring from her memory as well.

She’d wake up in the dead of night with a glimpse of him in the air above her head.

Then he’d disappear, and she’d fall asleep without concern.

It felt wrong, to brush him off after all they’d been through, even in her sleep.

But there was an odd freedom to letting him go, especially if he didn’t want to be found.

She stared at the number on her cell phone glaring back at her, the one she’d called constantly in the last four days.

He doesn’t want to be found, she reminded herself. Calling him again would be fruitless.

She knew this, it was imbedded in her brain at this point.

Yet she pressed his number again and listened as his voice mail immediately came up.

It’s Pan. Call me back.

No, she decided solemnly, she wouldn’t.

“Hi, Pan…it’s…it’s me again.” Wendy chuckled. “I guess you know that by now…”

She paused, knowing if she were quiet for too long she’d have to start over.

She didn’t want to start over. She wanted to go forward.

“Look,” she sighed. “I can’t keep doing this with you. Everyday it’s a fight with you and I have no idea why. I don’t know what I did the other day to make you leave like that…but you need…”

She paused again.

“Well I don’t know what you need o honestly, but it’s something you have to figure out for yourself.”

She considered hanging up then, but she didn’t want to leave him on such a harsh note.

“I really hope you try, Pan, because I don’t want to fight with you anymore. After everything, I really want us to be—“

The voicemail beeped, inquiring if she wanted to start over or if she was satisfied with her message.

She didn’t want to start over.

So she hung up and headed to the docks.

Killian was there, as he always seemed to be.

Perhaps it was her need for new freedom that silenced the warning bells in her head, that made her drop the walls and inhibitions that had clung to her like a second skin during the last several months.

She approached him without fear, without any type of concern holding her back.

And she didn’t question him when he slid a manila folder into his leather coat.

“Is dinner still on the table?” she questioned.

He tilted his head, amused, though his pulse was racing. “I thought lunch was the next step.”

Wendy shrugged, stepping a bit closer. “I’m feeling…braver than I did yesterday.”

He chuckled, concealing the folder further into his jacket for dear life. “Well then, Miss Wendy Darling, tomorrow night?”

She smiled, relieved. “I’d like that.”

He watched her leave, noting the little pep in her step.

Such a lovely girl, he thought, and more malleable than he had originally foreseen. Jones thought he was going to have to push her more to fall into his grip, but it would seem she was finally crumbling.

He made his way back to this ship quickly, opening the folder full of information for his backup plan.

He stepped into his cabin, breaking out his best rum. This was a small victory after all.

Some of the glasses on his counter shook lightly, so little they could almost be missed. Jones rolled his eyes. He’d forgotten to feed his captive again…and water him for that matter.

Whoops.

He still hadn’t told him why he’d requested those files, what he was digging for.

Who he was searching for.

And how Miss Darling was involved was still being revealed, but time was running short.

He had been given orders to find out now.

He spread his new leverage across the table, frowning a bit.

The two boys, preteens by the look of it, caught his eye first. He hated targeting kids. It was so pointless.

His eyes traveled to the woman next. He could see bits of Wendy in her, especially in the shape of her eyes. She had the man’s jaw however…and his frown, he noticed with amusement.

A tidy little family in danger of meeting the blunt end of his gun.

Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, he decided as he hid the folder. Hopefully, very soon, Wendy would tell him what he wanted to know.

The pipes sang from Pan’s struggle again.

He was already a dead man walking, and too tight-lipped to save now.

Feeding time.

[blessed-in-all]

How to curse America

America is one of only two nations founded on trust in God and religious freedom. Today according to a recent survey by Pew, on 42 percent of Americans believe that God is necessary to be moral. What are we to think?

Matthew 24 : 12. Amp

Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.

Love of what is important here. The love of God. America is losing its favored nation status with God. What's next. Read the follow bible verses and as you think about it a compare them to what's happening in America today as we speak. I hope it scares the hell out of you.

The Curses of Disobedience

(Leviticus 20:1–9; Leviticus 26:14–39)

15If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16You will be cursed in the city

and cursed in the country.

17Your basket and kneading bowl will be cursed.

18The fruit of your womb will be cursed,

as well as the produce of your land,

the calves of your herds,

and the lambs of your flocks.

19You will be cursed when you come in

and cursed when you go out.

20The LORD will send curses upon you, confusion and reproof in all to which you put your hand, until you are destroyed and quickly perish because of the wickedness you have committed in forsaking Him.a

21The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land that you are entering to possess. 22The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,b and with blight and mildew; these will pursue you until you perish. 23The sky over your head will be bronze, and the earth beneath you iron.

24The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

25The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will march out against them in one direction but flee from them in seven. You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.

27The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors and scabs and itch from which you cannot be cured.

28The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind, 29and at noon you will grope about like a blind man in the darkness. You will not prosper in your ways. Day after day you will be oppressed and plundered, with no one to save you.

30You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit. 31Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away and not returned to you. Your flock will be given to your enemies, and no one will save you.

32Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, while your eyes grow weary looking for them day after day, with no power in your hand. 33A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed. 34You will be driven mad by the sights you see.

35The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

36The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone. 37You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.

38You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it. 39You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. 40You will have olive trees throughout your territory but will never anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off. 41You will father sons and daughters, but they will not remain yours, because they will go into captivity. 42Swarms of locusts will consume all your trees and the produce of your land.

43The foreigner living among you will rise higher and higher above you, while you sink down lower and lower. 44He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

45All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, since you did not obey the LORD your God and keep the commandments and statutes He gave you. 46These curses will be a sign and a wonder upon you and your descendants forever.

47Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart in all your abundance, 48you will serve your enemies the LORD will send against you in famine, thirst, nakedness, and destitution. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you.

49The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand, 50a ruthless nation with no respect for the old and no pity for the young. 51They will eat the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain or new wine or oil, no calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks, until they have caused you to perish. 52They will besiege all the cities throughout your land, until the high and fortified walls in which you trust have fallen. They will besiege all your cities throughout the land that the LORD your God has given you.

53Then you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you.

54The most gentle and refined man among you will begrudge his brother, the wife he embraces,c and the rest of his children who have survived, 55refusing to share with any of them the flesh of his children he will eat because he has nothing left in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within all your gates.d

56The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embracese and her son and daughter 57the afterbirth that comes from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within your gates.

58If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God— 59He will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary disasters, severe and lasting plagues, and terrible and chronic sicknesses. 60He will afflict you again with all the diseases you dreaded in Egypt, and they will cling to you.

61The LORD will also bring upon you every sickness and plague not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. 62You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

63Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and multiply, so also it will please Him to annihilate you and destroy you. And you will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.

64Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.

66So your life will hang in doubt before you, and you will be afraid night and day, never certain of survival. 67In the morning you will say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread in your hearts of the terrifying sights you will see.

68The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.”

What is the answer to a return to blessings instead of curses? A true repentance and return to God and His Holy word. Making God the most important thing or person in your life resulting in joy and glorifying God. That is life.

[smoothdogsgirl]

Multiples

Title: Multiples

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Summary: Chris and his wife are expecting.

Word Count: 1110

Note: This was one of two prompts I picked for @evanstanwrites challenge. The prompt used in this story is: You’re getting a vasectomy! That’s final.

Feedback and thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks to @mycapt-ohcapt for betaing this story. This story will be cross-posted to my AO3 account but should not be posted anywhere else without express permission.

You couldn’t believe you were here again…no that’s a lie. You and Chris had always had an active sex life and couldn’t keep your hands off of each other. Hell, Carly had made a mint when two months after your honeymoon you and Chris had announced that you were expecting. The two of you had been overjoyed at the prospect of being parents. So just before your first anniversary as husband and wife, you had welcomed a beautiful blonde, blue-eyed boy that looked just like Chris. 

As promised, Chris had spent the first few months at home with you and the baby, not wanting to miss anything. When he did return to work it was for projects that were no further away than New York City. The two of you had agreed your son wouldn’t be an only child but that you would wait a little while before having another child. 

But things did not go according to plan, and on the morning of your son’s first birthday, the pregnancy test proved that you and Chris would be expanding your family again. The second pregnancy had hit you much harder.  You were admitted to the hospital twice for hyperemesis gravidarum (**), not to mention that you had been placed on complete bed rest at 26 weeks as your blood pressure had been elevated and you were at risk from suffering pre-eclampsia. At 32 weeks you went into labor delivering fraternal twins, a boy, and a girl.

That was eight months ago and now you and your husband were once again sitting in your OB/GYN’s office. Last week you had passed out when getting up from the couch, causing you to hit your head on the coffee table and earning yourself a concussion and an ambulance ride to the ER. While there, blood tests revealed that you were pregnant yet again. 

The doctor coming into the exam room drew you out from your internal musings. “It’s good to see you guys again. Though I was under the impression you were going to wait a while.”

A self-deprecating laugh slipped out. “That was the plan, Dr. Fields. However, the patch seems to be just as flawed as the IUD had been my last pregnancy.”

“I have to ask, with three small children at home, where you using it as prescribed?” Dr. Fields asked.

“Yeah…because of those three gems at home I’ve been making sure I followed the directions.” 

“We’ve also been using condoms,.” Chris piped in. 

Dr. Fields looked at the two of you and said, “Well, you’ve managed to beat the odds again.”

“Lucky us,” you stated, your voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I understand that you're unsure of the date of conception.”

“That is correct, I’ve had an irregular cycle since my last pregnancy and starting on the patch.”

The doctor got up from her desk and motioned to the exam table.  “Have a seat on the table, I’ll do an ultrasound to see what’s going on in there.”

Chris followed you over, taking a seat by your head.  He grasped your hand gently, kissing the back of it. “It’s gonna be ok babe.”

“I know…but I think we’re gonna need to rethink our stance on nannies,” you tell him.

Chris nodded in agreement as Dr. Fields finished setting up her equipment.  “If you could please lift your shirt to right under your breasts.”

You followed the instructions and cringed as she applied cold ultrasound gel to your abdomen. Noticing you cringe she apologizes to you explaining the gel warmer was broken. She moved the ultrasound wand around for several minutes while pressing buttons on the machine to capture images. 

Chris’ leg began to bounce, picking up speed quickly. A sign that his anxiety was kicking in. You squeezed his hand in reassurance, as he asked nervously, “Is everything ok?”

“Yes, everything is fine. Your babies are measuring at about 18 weeks.”

“Babies?” you and Chris ask simultaneously.

“Yes…and just to be clear you haven’t been getting any fertility treatments?”

“No ma’am,” you stated emphatically. 

“Are you able to see what we’re having?” Chris asked bouncing in his seat like Dodger does when he’s excited.

Dr. Fields maneuvered the wand around for a few more minutes, “Yes, it appears everyone is cooperating.  You two are going to have a complete matching set, and your hands full.”

She then turned the ultrasound machine screen so that you could both follow along. She pointed to the first identifiable shape and stated, “This is baby A and it is a boy. Now baby B is a girl and so is baby C.”

“T-r-i-p-l-e-t-s?” you stuttered in shock.

“Yes, you and Chris are having triplets.”

You looked over at your husband and saw that he had a smug grin on his face.

“Wipe that grin off your face handsome.”

You watch as he tried to school his features and failed.

Dr. Fields handed you a towel so that you could clean off your stomach as she began to print several pictures for you. 

She handed Chris the prints once they were finished printing, then turned to you.  “Because of the complications you had with your last pregnancy and you're carrying a larger load this time, I’m going to monitor you closely.  For now, that means I want to see you every two weeks for an appointment.”

“Yes, ma’am. I will do that.”

As you looked over, Chris was still grinning.   

“I don’t know why you’re grinning? You’re getting a vasectomy! That’s final.” you warned him.

“But…”Chris protested.

“But nothing! We’ve been married less than five years and this is my third pregnancy and I’ve got buns four, five, and six in the oven. I’m not birthing the next line up for the fucking Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics or Bruins. So if you ever plan on getting laid again after this pregnancy then you have better get a fucking vasectomy before these babies are born. We clear.”

Chris swallowed quickly before responding, “Ya we’re clear. I’ll go see my doctor to get the ball rollin.”

“Good.”

Turning back to Dr. Fields you blushed when you saw a faint smile on her face. “Sorry about that doc.”

“It’s all right.” She turned to Chris, “The vasectomy is an outpatient procedure and recovery time is 72 hours or less.”

Chris nodded his head in understanding.

“Dr. Fields, can you please also make a note in my chart to discuss tubal ligation, when I come in for my six-week post-delivery follow up.”

“Noted. Now get out of here and share the news with your family…I’ll see you in two weeks.” Dr. Fields stated as she escorted them out.

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

(**) hyperemesis gravidarum-- A severe type of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.

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

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[murobrown]

50 Questions You’ve Never Been Asked Before

@dangerous-lithium-animals thank you so much! ♥ This was a super fun distraction!

1.What is the color of your hairbrush? 

Black, wih gray handle

2.A food you never eat?

Onions

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold?

Too warm in summer and too cold in winter

4.What were you doing 45 minutes ago?

Taking a shower

5.What is your favorite candy bar? 

Twix

6.Have you ever been to a professional sports event? 

No, never

7.What is the last thing you said out loud?

I asked my cat why he doesn't want to go for a walk hahah

8.What is your favorite ice cream? 

Salted caramel

9.What was the last thing you to drink? 

Black currant tea

10.Do you like your wallet?

Oh yes I love it! It has Beatles all over it and lots of places and pockets, I had it for ages and it is in perfect condition...shame it’s empty :(

11.What was the last thing you ate? 

Rice with veggies and tofu

12.Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? 

Not really but my mums friend was cleaning her closet and brought us bags filled with clothes so, technically yes, I have some new clothes

13.The last sporting event you watched?

I can’t even remember. Probably football or snooker with my dad

14.What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?

Probably just regular salted popcorn 

15.Who was the last person you sent a text message to?

My mom, I told her that our cat doesn't want to go for a walk haha

16.Ever go camping? 

Yes many times! I used to go fishing a lot with my dad and we often went camping with his brother. It is a nice thing for a day or two but I like my bed and shower more hahah

17.Do you take vitamins?

Yes, zinc for my acne and stress eczema and vitamine D and C

18.Do you go to church every Sunday?

No and never did, probably never will

19.Do you have a tan?

The thing is...I am sort of allergic to sun. So I always end up just burned and with rash and never tanned. My skin is pale as hell

20.Do you prefer Chinese food or pizza? 

Hard to say. I had Chinese food only few times but it was amazing...but also pizza is pizza...I have to go for both

21.Do you drink your soda with a straw? 

No, usually not. Only when I go out I guess

22.What color socks do you usually wear?

White, grey or black

23.Do you ever drive above the speed limit?

I don’t drive and never will 

24.What terrifies you? 

Everything...but especially doctors and snakes

25.Look to your left, what do you see? 

A dining table

26. What chore do you hate? 

I kind of love all the chores but vacuuming is the least enjoyable

27. What do you think of when you hear Australian Accent?

Nice

28.What’s your favorite soda? 

I don’t really drink soda. They’re usually too sweet and too strong for me...

29.Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?

I don’t drive and I eat at home all the time...like I’ve been only once in McDonnalds so neither I guess 

30.Favorite cut of beef?

????? I never thought about this 

31.Who’s the last person you talked to?

My mom

32.Last Song you listened to? 

Leave by Bunny

33.Last Book you read?

Chronic Innocence by Klaus Rifberg. It was for school but it is a such a great book. Not that long so I can only recommend it.

34.Favorite Day of the week?

Friday maybe?

35.Can you say the alphabet backwards?

Nope

36.How do you like your coffee?

Sugar and milk or cream 

37.Favorite pair of shoes?

My blue and white Adidas Spezials :)

38.At what time do you normally go to bed?

I try to go around midnight

39.At what time do you normally get up?

8:00 Every single morning for four years, no matter what kind of day

40.What do you prefer sunrise or sunsets?

Both! 

41.How many blankets are on your bed?

Always one 

42.Describe your kitchen plates?

Idk they are white and have weird green flowers and golden lines...I don’t like them that much, they just always been in our house 

43.Do you have a favorite alcoholic beverage?

Black beer or rose wine

44.Do you play cards?

Not really, maybe when I visit dad and we have nothing to do we play poker or canasta

45.What color is your car?

I don’t have one

46.Can you change a tire?

Haha no

47.What is your favorite state/providence?

I really don’t know if I have one

48.Favorite job you’ve ever had?

My current job - working at cat café 

49.How did you get your biggest scar?

I have big one on my knee when I walked through glass door haha

50.What did you do today that made someone else happy?

I did the laundry so that my mom doesn't have to deal with it when she comes home from work...hope it will make her happy hah

I am not tagging anyone ☺️

[gothiccbts-blog]

My Darling, Chapter 1

Genre: Murder Mystery, Horror, Angst (in this chapter)

Pairing: BTS x Reader

Summary: Working as a detective constable for 5 years definitely had you seeing some horrific scenes in your career. However, nothing would prepare you for the string of murders around the city which all had one intention; getting your attention.

Words: 4.4k

Author’s note: Hello! This is the first official chapter of my first fanfic, hope you all enjoy it! Also would recommend if you haven’t read the teaser I highly suggest you do since it’s where this chapter leads off from. Let me know what you think! Thank you - Lisa

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Thursday 7:46am

The ticking noise of the clock on the cold, white-bricked wall was slowly getting louder in your head with every second, it’s the only thing that’s keeping you conscious in this cold and harrowing morgue. Your body is pressed against one of the cold metal tables as you rest your eyes, pulling yourself into darkness. This is the first time you’ve shut your eyes for more than 2 seconds all night after the body was discovered at Stigma Nightclub, the image of the blood-soaked body was still burning into each fiber of your mind.

The sound of a scalpel being slammed against a metal tray brings you back into the light, the horrific vision of the victim’s body now fading away as your eyes are met with the same body now on a metal slab, all sewed and cleaned up.

“I don’t think you need me to tell you that this was a pretty violent murder.” Stated the man standing directly above the body, Kim Seokjin, the head Forensic Pathologist on this case and pretty much every case that’s pretty serious. Seokjin is good at what he does, hell, he’s amazing at what he does. The bad thing is that even he knows he’s one of the best in the business, meaning you can imagine the size of this guy’s ego.

“It’s pretty difficult to say what killed him first… the head trauma from his skull getting bashed against the wall or the fact he pretty much stabbed every internal organ in this area…” he says as he gestures to the lower abdominal area before leaning against the metal table and looking over the body, his eyes dragging along the flesh.

“From the looks of things, he was knocked out cold when his head was thrown against the wall but was still alive when he was being stabbed and of course died from blood loss.” He states before a scoff came from the other side of the room.

“Even I could’ve told you that! And here I was under the impression you were the best in the business, could you please tell us something we don’t know, Seokjin?” Came Officer Min’s obviously tired and annoyed voice as he leans against the cold wall of the morgue, arms crossed and looking very unimpressed at Seokjin.

An annoyed sigh escapes Seokjin’s lips, looking up at him with furrowed eyebrows; “It’s Dr. Kim to you, Min. And until we analyse the fluids and other areas of the body, we will not be able to determine a cause of death. I suggest you take your head out of your ass and actually do something other than gawk at me doing my work, I know I’m handsome but even I need to draw the line, especially in a work environment.” His offended look was now replaced with a smirk, knowing how to push Officer Min’s buttons.

Officer Min, also known as Yoongi, and I have come to Seokjin’s Pathologist team for lots of different cases, be it a murder, drink driving, drug overdose, you name it. You would think after years and years of being in the same cold and eerie room together they would come to like or even just respect each other. Apparently, Seokjin’s cockiness and overall personality are just too much for Yoongi, not that he is any better, he always wishes to push his buttons just to piss him off, it’s a constant cycle every time we’re here.

You yourself would never consider yourself a friend of Seokjin’s, would you ever go to a bar with him? Go out for lunch? No never, you just respect his work and consider him an acquaintance, that’s all. Even if you were to ask him out for lunch, he has this reputation of keeping himself to himself, I don’t think anyone in his team even knows anything personal about him other than his name and age. No one knows his family if he’s got a boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, kids. He’s an unbreakable wall that no one has seemed to crack.  

A low growl comes from Yoongi’s throat as he pushes himself off of the wall, turning his head towards you,

“Come on Miss Y/l/n, I know where we can go, let Seokj- oh I’m sorry Dr Kim, my apologies your majesty,” he pauses to bow mockingly, earning a scoff from the other man, “We should go back to the nightclub, I sent some of my team and forensics there early this morning to see what they can find, might as well join them and see if we can help.”

You nod, pulling your tired body off of the table, turning your head to Seokjin before leaving, “Give us a call if you find anything important, alright?”

-

8:12am

The smell of booze, sweat and regret is exactly the first thing that hits you when first stepping foot into Stigma Nightclub. Instead of sweaty and drunk bodies grinding against each other to some terrible EDM music, the place was filled with people in white plastic suits and police uniforms. You remember a time where you used to be in here, back when you were a university student and had so much of life ahead of you. This was actually when you were first introduced to him. Kim Taehyung. The man that broke your heart.

You remember it so clearly; you were out dancing and having fun with friends when he came up to you at the bar. He was just so charming, handsome and made you smile, filled you up with compliments and even asked you out, being the innocent student who wanted to experience things said yes. Around 3 or 4 dates later he asked you to be his girlfriend, you were on cloud nine, little did you know he was going to break your heart into a million pieces.

“We should go and talk to some of the staff here last night, follow me.”

Yoongi’s voice brought you out of your little daze, the image of Taehyungsmiling in front of you is replaced with emptiness, the memory fading. Finally bringing function to your legs, you follow his lead, before you know it you’re heading towards a girl around the age of 24-26 with the staff’s uniform on, sitting at one of the many tables. She’s looking down at her hands, fidgeting. She’s obviously very distressed. I don’t blame her, she’s surrounded by officer’s that are all trying to get every little detail out of her.

“-I just c-can’t believe he’s r-really gone…” you heard her whimper as you approach the table, taking out your badge from your coat and showing the officer’s surrounding her, signaling them to leave. You slowly kneel down in front of her, trying to make her feel a bit more at ease.

“Hi there, I’m detective constable y/n y/l/n, this is Head Officer Min. We’d like to ask you about what happened here las-“ you stated before she suddenly interrupted.

“My friend got murdered! T-that’s what! I-I’ve told the other o-officers everything I know, w-which is nothing! Just l-leave me alone!” she exclaimed, more red hot tears streaming down her already stained face.

Sighing you get back up on your feet and look over at Officer Min, who is about to say something else to her,

“Give her some space… is the owner anywhere to be seen?” You asked, knowing well who it is you’re asking to see.

You have heard of the infamous owner of this nightclub, Jung Hoseok. In fact, everyone has heard of him. One of the richest men in the country. He owns around 5 nightclubs all over the country, all of them being packed every single night, sending him easy millions in the bank every week. Not only that but he has been connected to a lot of drugs and weapon smuggling in and out of this country, but no charges were made against his name due to the lack of evidence. This man has so many connections that he could buy himself out of jail, that’s why he’s so well known. He’s created a whole empire for himself making him untouchable. At least he likes to think he is.

A lot of my team have tried their best at arresting him, trying to catch him red-handed when talking to these criminals, organising the drug and weapons smuggling but he knows what he’s doing. He’s careful and never leaves any loose ends for us to find. He’s good at what he does, the bastard.

“Why, you going to try and get some information out of him? I wish you all the luck in the world, Miss Y/l/n.” He says before nodding towards the set of stairs, just over by the glamorous VIP section of the club with chandeliers and expensive furniture, “His office should be up those stairs somewhere, you go and talk to him and I’ll go and talk to security, see what we can find on the CCTV footage from last night.”

You nod, you can’t help but let your gaze linger on the bar as you turn to make your way towards the stairs, the sound of his laughter echoing through your brain, the sound of his compliments, his jokes, him.

“You’re a university student? Wow, you must be pretty smart then!” He smiles, taking a sip of his drink of beer, his big and sparkling eyes never leaving yours, “Beautiful and smart, surely that’s illegal!”

You laugh, probably a little too loud now that the vodka from your 4th vodka and coke finally seems to have kicked in.

“Oh no no, you flatter me too much! You’re really trying to charm me, aren’t you?” you lean in a little closer, feeling a little bolder now as you look at him with a raised eyebrow.

“That depends, is it working?” He winks back at you, sending blood rushing to your cheeks, sure you’ve met guys at bars who have tried to flirt with you, but this seems so different, he’s different.

“Get me another drink and you’ll find out…”

Before you know it you’re standing in front of a fogged glass door, the metallic plaque with the name ‘Jung Hoseok CEO’ engraved into it. A loud beaming voice coming from within the room, sounding to be annoyed with whoever else is in there. Without thinking twice I knock against the glass, the room inside falling silent until you hear the words “come in” from a low voice.

When you enter the office, there are already a few police officers in there, no doubt giving Mr. Jung a grilling already, trying to suck every piece of information out of him. However, the police officers are not the first thing you notice, despite being right next to me as you enter the room. It’s the dark eyes of Jung Hoseok. Boring into you from the other side of his desk. His hair is a mess, his shirt unbuttoned and tie loose, his eyes heavy and luring you in before you finally compose yourself.

“I am detective constable Y/n Y/ln, do you mind if I have a few minutes with you, Mr. Jung?” you state, trying to be as calm and collected as possible despite the horrible aura that’s coming from the man in front of you.

“…Alright, sweetheart, as long as it’s just you and me. Don’t want these hounds lurking in on our private conversation, now do we?” His sudden cold and rude exterior changing as he gives you a wide smile, a cold shiver going down your spine as you nod, watching as the two officers make their way out of the room, the sound of the door closing is a lot louder than it should have been, maybe that was just your nerves heightening your senses.

“Sit down, sweetheart, I don’t bite you know…” The smirk never leaving his face as he gestures to the leather chair in front of his desk. You nod, making your way to the chair, feeling a little self-conscious with his eyes following your every movement as you lower your body down.

“I’m sure you know why I’m here, Mr. Jung… Let’s not beat around the bush and get right into things,” you decided to stay true to your professionalism, despite the sheer vulnerability you feel at the moment right in front of him, feeling like prey standing right in front of the predator. Your statement seems to amuse him so as he changes his body language, the smirk continuing to stretch on his face as he slumps more against the back of his chair, easing me a little, “where were you around 3am this morning?”

He stays silent for a moment, as though picking out his words carefully. That or he was just utterly fascinated by your face as his eyes have not left it since you’ve entered the room.

“I was at the other side of town, in one of my other night clubs… My more popular ones…’Cypher’ you may have heard of it, you seem like the type of lady that likes to go out drinking now and then…” he slowly lets out a piece at a time, leaning in towards his desk so that his elbows are now resting against the expensive wood. You know what he’s trying to do, he’s toying with you, trying to distract you and fall for his charms. He’s a manipulator, someone with his power becomes really good at that sort of thing, too bad this isn’t the first time you’ve dealt with this.

“What were you doing at ‘Cypher’ at that time, Mr. Jung?” You were met with a scoff, not an irritated one but one more amused, you knew he was enjoying this more than he should be.

He leans in more, his smirk now turning into a grin, stretching across his face. The creepiest thing about it is that it doesn’t seem to meet his eyes.

“Do you really want to know, sweetheart? What would you do if I said I was in my own private booth with a pretty girl from the bar, doing things to her under the table that had her squealing in pleasure?” he says slowly, his eyes burning into yours to see your reaction.

You’ll admit, that did send heat to your cheeks since you weren’t prepared for it and you’re sure he noticed too by the small chuckle that escaped his lips. This is what he wants to do to you, to distract you from what you’re trying to do, from what you’re trying to find out.

“What do you know about the victim, Mr. Jung? I believe he worked here as a part-time bartender, is that correct?” you ignore his tries at distracting you, at clouding your brain with images and thoughts in order to stop you from getting any information out of him. Not today, Hoseok.

His smirk falters a little, bringing his elbows off of the table and leaning back against the chair again. His eyes finally breaking away from yours as though he realises I’m not going to give in to his little comments.

“I know OF him… He was a student or something, right? Don’t know much about the kid… He didn’t get involved in anyone’s business or try to make conversation, just made your drink and that was it. He did his job. Kept himself to himself… why someone would want to mutilate him like that is beyond me, maybe he got on the wrong side of someone that night…” he says while looking down at his desk as his finger slowly taps against it as though he’s… anxious?

His last comment made you pause, his choice of words: ‘maybe he got on the wrong side of someone that night’ as well as this being the first time he broke eye contact with you, this is no coincidence, he knows more.

“What do you mean by that, M-“ before you can pry any more, the door of his office swings open, revealing Officer Min who is looking between the both of us, breathing heavily as though he ran up the stairs.

“Miss Y/l/n, you might want to see this…”

With furrowed eyebrows, you push yourself up off the leather chair, about to leave but turns to Hoseok before you do,

“I would like to continue this conversation later, Mr. Jung,” you state while staring at him in the eyes, his eyes are no longer flirty and sparking, they’re just cold. Burning. Scared. You’re going to get whatever he’s hiding out of him if it’s the last thing you do.

You follow Officer Min down the stairs of the nightclub, somehow, you can still feel Mr. Jung’s eyes burning into your skull like corrosive acid is burning through to your brain. You should be scared of him, that’s how he has everyone in this city wrapped around his finger, that’s why he’s walking free instead of rotting in jail. Subconsciously you turn my head to the top of the staircase as your legs reach the bottom, only to see Mr. Jung’s slender figure standing there, watching, lurking, his full playful and sexy exterior completely gone. His eyes stalking your every movement as you walk through to the security room with Officer Min, like a hawk watching a rabbit through the fields. He knows something about this case and he doesn’t like the fact that you’re willing to find out every little detail.

8:49am

Entering the security room of the club you are hit with the lights of many televisions all displaying a different part of the nightclub, illuminating the room. You glance around them all, seeing if there is any camera which would show the alleyway, which would reveal the actual murder being committed. Unfortunately, it seems no camera shows this. Does this mean the killer knew about the placement of the cameras or was it just sheer luck?

“Play camera 23 at 3:17am this morning.”

With a few clicks of the keyboard, one of the screens on the left starts to play, the camera being displayed inside the club, showing the bar and the many drunk people sitting there, flirting, touching, giggling, just enjoying themselves. The nightclub closes at around 4am, this you know because of your past experiences in this place, that’s mostly why it was so loved; it didn’t close ‘early’. The staff behind the bar are also shown doing their job, taking orders and mixing drinks, your eyes instantly catching onto the victim who’s currently taking a beer out of the mini-fridge and opening it.

You keep your eyes trained on him, that is until your eyes follow him handing the beer to someone at the bar, the ring shining on the man’s finger instantly making your chest tighten. Your breathing heavy and painful. That’s your ring. You bought that for him. Kim Taehyung.

“Happy anniversary, babe!” You giggled, throwing your arms over his shoulders from behind, placing little kisses on the side of his cheek, earning you a laugh in return, “I got you a little gift…” you move on of your hands in front of him, revealing a small white box with a little red plastic bow on top of it.

“Awww! You shouldn’t have! Mostly because I didn’t get you anything…” he laughs as you slap his shoulder, “I’m kidding I’m kidding; how could I forget to get the love of my life a 2-year anniversary present? I’m dumb but I’m not that dumb!” he pulls away from you, quickly running over to his dresser to grab what he got for you, which is in a thin, black rectangle box, quickly shoving it into your hand.

“Open yours first!” he said, he looked like what could only be described as a big excited puppy as he watched you take off the delicate lace ribbon, biting his lip in anticipation as you open it. Anxiety building up in his chest as you process what you’re looking at inside the box.

“Well? Do you like it? I-I knew you liked the idea of little locket necklaces! I just d-didn’t know if it was the right one… do you hate it? God, you do, don’t you? It’s okay I can get you ano-“ he’s quickly interrupted from his panic when you lean in to give him a kiss, pulling away with a loving smile on your face.

“I love it, Tae this is just… wow…It’s beautiful!” you slowly let out before you carefully open up the locket, revealing a picture of the both of you on your first date, all shy and nervous at the park together, the picture being one of your personal favourites.

“Tae… this is perfect, really thank you” you quickly lean back in to hug him, your eyes tearing up with how thoughtful it was before pulling away with a laugh, “great, now my present looks terrible!”

He laughs, shaking his head, “you could give me anything and I would love it, I love you so much…” he smiles lovingly at you before looking down at the small box you gave him and opening it finally, his lips parting when he sees what’s inside.

The ring inside was silver, having an engraving of a chain-like pattern at the sides, the inside having both yours and his initials.

“I know you said you really wanted another ring plus I know you like these designs, plus this one is personal now since it has our initials on it together…” you say softly, the anxiety of his reaction feels like it’s going to kill you.

Before you can even process what’s happening, you’re being pushed back onto his bed behind you, making you yelp out in surprise as he covers your face in kisses.

“it’s perfect! What did I ever do to deserve someone like you?” He pulls away with a smile, looking down at your lips, “I’ll keep this on till the day I die…” he says before leaning in, kissing you like it’s the last time he ever will.

That ring. The same one you were staring at right now on the man’s finger through CCTV footage. The same hands you held tight every day, the same hands that touched you, caressed you. The same arms that used to hug you every day and night. The same neck you used to bury your face in. The same face you used to wake up to every morning and think everything was going to be alright. Him.

“Miss Y/l/n, are you alright?” came Officer Min’s voice from beside you, his hand coming to rest on your shoulder in comfort, “you’re looking quite pale…”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine…” you lied, your brain feels like it’s spinning at 100 miles per hour trying to process what you’re looking at, who you’re looking at.

You watch him carefully as he sips his beer, his head pressed against the palm of his other hand, looking rather bored or fed up as he sits alone at the bar. You wonder; why is he even there, alone… Sure you haven’t seen him in a few years after he broke your heart but the last place you’d expect to find him was back here, back where it all started. Why wasn’t he running away with her.

“Watch, the bartender goes into the back room, another worker confirmed he was going back there to stock up on the drinks in the mini fridge at the bar but… he doesn’t come back.” Officer Min stated, his eyes glancing over at you in both concern and to see what you thought of this.

This was not the time to think about the past, I have to do my job.

“Have you checked the storage? Are the forensics team in there? See if there’s any signs of struggle or maybe an extra set of footprints…” you finally say, noting how Officer Min seems to glance at the other security, they all have an unreadable look on their face. It’s not a good one.

“I was about to send the team in but… I think it’s best you see it for yourself, y/n.” His voice is laced with something that you can’t quite point out, concern? Sadness? Fear? All you know is it must be serious, especially since he’s now calling you by your first name, something he never does.

Before you head down, curious and scared at what you might find down there, you glance back at the screen to take one last look at him but you are met with an empty chair, he’s gone.

-

You are led down to the storage room at the back of the bar, everything looking completely normal as you enter so far; barrels of liquor, wooden pallets filled with food and snacks, extra chairs and tables, cleaning equipment. Nothing seems to be out of place so far, that is until you meet Officer Min’s eyes, gesturing for you to look in the freezer part of the storage room, his eyes glancing away after he does so. This was strange. It’s so out with his character to look so vulnerable at this moment in time that you really don’t want to even think about what waits for you beyond this freezer door.

You put your hand on the large, painfully cold metal handle and turn it, using all of your strength to pull it open, the burning of your muscles now met with the sharp coldness of the freezer. Putting one foot in, eyes traveling around the dark freezer, not even knowing what it is your looking for exactly. The freezer itself is pretty dark, only a few dim lights in there to illuminate all of the pieces of meat and drinks kept in here, just making this whole situation even eerier than before.

As you take another few steps into the freezer, the sound of something crinkle under your right shoe, your movements instantly stopping, brain running wild at what it would be, before you can come up with anything your eyes are plummeting down, meeting what appears to be a piece of paper.

The first instinct was relief as it was a probably receipt or something that one of the staff accidentally dropped when counting the stock, but that moment of relief was instantly met with sheer terror as your eyes finally adjusted to the dim lighting of the freezer, making what was laying on the ground visible to you now.

It was a letter. Not only that but it was addressed to someone. Your heart thumping in your ribcage as you slowly bend your knees, swallowing what felt like razorblades as you shakily picked it up.

You were right, it was addressed to someone.

You.