#we building up here I'll put better names when it is thought of or suggested

[atinyfeels]

ateez: he compares you to his ex [2]

『 pairing: bf!ateez x fem reader ╺ requested? yes ╺ genre: mostly angst, slight fluff 』

warnings: slight cursing, depression

word cout: 6.1k

notes: I ended up writing this while at work and I got carried away -C ╺ May 3rd: Yeosang’s has been completely rewritten - C

masterlist | part one

Seonghwa:

"y/n!" you heard someone call from behind you.

You didn't have to guess who it was, his voice was engraved in your mind. But that didn't mean you were planning on stopping for him. Pushing the door opened, you made your way outside and headed towards the parking lot. You were barely half way to your car when you felt someone grab your arm and turn you around.

Seonghwa stared at you, his face showing concern when he noticed your red puffy eyes. "I am so, so sorry."

You scoff and look away from him, "It's not exactly your fault. I pushed you to go out with me. I pressured you when you were vulnerable. I thought that I could be better for you, that you would be able to move on with me. But I guess I was just getting my hopes up."

Seonghwa was shaking his head at every word you said. He cupped your face with his hands and gently made you look up at him. "I have no excuse for what I said to you. But don't put yourself down for what I said to you. It was not okay for me to say those things to you, it was rude and obnoxious." You swallowed hard, and blinked away the tears that kept building up. "I have no more feelings for h/e/n, I promise you. The two of us are just friends. But you and I, we are much more than anything my ex and I had. Accepting your confession was the best thing that ever happened to me. I will do anything to make it up to you, I promise you."

You licked your lips and stayed silent for a moment, processing his words. "I just...I just need some time, Hwa. There are some things I need to think about. Is that okay?"

He nods quickly, "whatever you wish, take as much time as you need. I'll be right here whenever you're ready."

You leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Once you pulled away, you gave him a small smile before turning around and leaving him in the parking lot.

It had been one week since you last spoke to Seonghwa. He kept his promise and gave you as much space as you needed. His missing presence made your home feel so lonely. The thoughts of endless movie nights on the couch and staying in bed together with your bodies entwined. The first night you stayed on the loveseat, not wanting to be in the large empty bed.

You spent most of your time by the window, either watching the spring rain fall or reading a book. It didn't matter what you did, Seonghwa was the only thing filling your mind. You weren't okay with what he had said to you. Nobody should be. You knew the pair was still friends, but they weren't close anymore. Once they broke up and agreed to be friends, there wasn't much contact between the two. But what Seonghwa said still hurt, for the first two months, he was had started drinking more and went partying most nights. Hongjoong felt like he had no control over him.

The rain was hitting against your window, the dark clouds made it seem like it was much later than 5 in the afternoon. You had just poured yourself a new glass of wine, ready to continue your book when your phone began to ring. Setting the glass down, you walked over the kitchen and picked the device up off the counter. Hongjoong was the only thing it said on the screen. This couldn't be good.

"Hello?"

"y/n!" Seonghwa slurred into the phone. there was a commotion on the other side of the phone as he heard Hongjoong yell his members name. "hi honey." his voice sounded so sweet, which made you even more confused. "I've missed you. Joong told me not to call you, so he took my phone away, but I got his instead."

"Seonghwa, have you been drinking?"

He hiccupped into the phone, " a little? I didn't go to a club or anything, I promise. I was feeling mopey, because I missed you and Yunho suggested that we should drink something. I'm at the dorm, I promise." Hongjoong had given up on trying to get the phone from him. That or Seonghwa had went into a different room. It was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "I fucked up, didn't I? I hurt you and now I've lost you."

You sighed, "Seonghwa."

"I tried so hard not trying to ruin this relationship. I wanted to make sure everything was perfect you. I didn't want you to realize that you deserved better than me. And in the end I hurt you." He choked out a sob, making your heartache.

You weren't mad at him anymore, you just wanted some space. You wanted to clear your thoughts of everything before talking with him again. "Seonghwa, is Hongjoong there?"

There was a sound a shuffling before Hongjoong spoke. "Hello?"

"So, I'm going to come pick him up, can you take care of him for me until then?" you ask in a sympathetic tone. "I'm really sorry for this."

"Don't worry about it, I've got him."

You thanked him before you hung up the phone. As you grabbed your bag and jacket, your shoved your feet through your shoes and rushed out the door. It was only a ten minute walk to the dorms from your apartment. Yunho opened the door for you and stepped aside as you made your way to your boyfriends bedroom. He was sat against the wall and his knees brought to his chest.

"Seonghwa." His head lifted up quickly, staring directly into your eyes.

"y/n." He stands up and makes his way over to you, "what are you doing here?" His eyes moved over to Hongjoong who was attempting to sneak out without being seen. "I'm sorry for calling you so abruptly, I've been chugging a lot of water and I'm starting to sober up."

"Seonghwa," you say again, making the man stop talking. You sighed and looked at his puffy eyes. This wasn't what you wanted. You didn't want to hurt him like this, you didn't want to hurt him at all. You just wanted all of this to be over with. "Let's go home, yeah?"

Seonghwa stared at you, processing what you said to him before nodding. "please."

Hongjoong:

Seonghwa stayed quiet as he listened to you explain to him what had happened with Hongjoong. The words were choppy as you were crying, your voice shaky. You hadn't realized how much of a burden you being towards Hongjoong. He had never snapped at you before, it was all a new feeling for you.

Seonghwa reached over and rubbed your back softly, "I'm sure he didn't mean to. He's been really stressed out lately. Coachella, the comeback, the upcoming tour and his ex leaving him is just icing on the cake. I'm not making excuses for him, how he reacted and what he said was completely unacceptable. But I know what he's like when he's stressed. He says things he doesn't mean."

You swallowed hard and nodded, "I should probably get going. Work isn't going to finish by itself." You wiped your tears and stood up, giving Hwa a small smile. "Thank you."

"Uhm," he started before you could walk off, "maybe tonight, we can meet up and get something to eat? We can invite the others too if that would make you feel more comfortable."

"That'd be nice, would probably make me feel a lot better," You agreed.

He nodded. "Great, I'll message you the details later."

After you clocked out of work, Seonghwa sent you a message to meet at a local restaurant that you usually go to as a group. You didn't bother to go home and change your outfit to something more casual, you just wanted some alcohol. The restaurant was only a short walk from your office, so it didn't take you long to arrive.

"Back again I see!" The owner beamed with excitement when she saw you.

You smiled and politely greeted her, "this is the best restaurant on the street."

She laughed at your comment. "Don't you know how to make an old woman smile. Are you meeting with your friends? If you are, they haven't arrived yet but your back corner table to open if you'd like."

You smiled and thanked her before heading to the back of the restaurant. Given the weekday, the restaurant wasn't busy as it usually was. Only a younger couple and a table of three men dressed in suits. You placed your jacket behind your chair and sit down, your back to the door. It wasn't long before the chair beside you skid against the floor, causing you to look up. To your surprise Hongjoong was standing beside you, nobody else in sight.

"Joong," you whispered as he sat beside you. You turned around to see if the boys were with him but they weren't.

"It's only me," Hongjoong told you, making you turn back to him. "Is that okay? I was hoping we could talk."

You nodded as the owner came by and placed a couple of waters in front of you. "I'm sorry," you said once she was out of earshot.

Hongjoong furrowed his eyebrows, looking at you confused. "You shouldn't be the one apologizing. I took my anger out on you for no reason and said hurtful things."

"I know, but I knew you were stressed and I still pushed your buttons. I knew that you felt I was pestering you and I ignored all the signs. I'm really sorry for bothering you so much," you say looking up at him.

He shook his head. "I had no right to take my anger out on you. What I said to you was mean, and it never should've been said. This break up has been really hard on me and it's starting to cloud my judgement. I don't mind if you try to comfort me, you're much better at it than most of the members. I will do better with how I control my words and actions towards you.

"I will do better at trying to read the signs, and I apologize if my feelings for you were overbearing."

Hongjoong paused and looked at you confused. "Feelings for me? You have feelings for me?"

You mentally slapped yourself, guess your crush wasn't as obvious as you thought it was. "S-So are the other members planning on coming? I don't want to order without them."

"Wait, backtrack. You have feelings for me?"

You opened your mouth to say something when you heard a collection of voices come through the door. The remaining 7 members all went to the back to the room and joined you and Hongjoong at the table.

Seonghwa sat across from you and gave you a cheerful smile. "Did we miss anything."

You quickly shook your head, ignoring Hongjoong's shocked expression. "Nothing at all!"

Yunho:

You began picking at your fingers, looking around your apartment. You had been sitting her for well over 30 minutes, trying to find the strength to begin cleaning. Yunho's words echoing in your mind. You hated how he was right. Your depression was becoming an excuse for everything at this point. You didn't clean your apartment, you hadn't been eating properly, making excuses not to meet with friends and spending all your free time locked in your room.

Yunho walked out of your bedroom, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. "y/n?" He flicked on the ceiling light and looked over at you. "it's 7 in the morning, what are you doing up so early on your day off?"

You couldn't find the words, your mind was racing. You didn't want to explain to him that you spent all night watching motivational videos on YouTube. You opened your mouth to say something but instead you choked out a sob and broke down. Yunho quickly rushed over to you and put his hands around you. He held onto you as you both moved to the ground and cried. You felt like your were shrinking, like you were a small child who wanted to run away from the scary things.

"Shh," he cooed softly in your ear as he ran his fingers through your hands. "It's okay. You're okay, I'm here." He patiently waited for you to calm down, constantly repeating over and over again that you were going to be okay and he wasn't going anywhere.

Once you had finally calmed down, you laid your head against his chest and sniffled. "I have depression," you confessed. Yunho didn't say anything, allowing you to continue. "I went to the doctor about it about a month ago, she referred me to a therapist. Everything seemed fine at first but then the more I worked and came home on repeat." You stopped and took a deep breath. "It started to get worse. Everyone's been so busy and I didn't want to burden anyone. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to worry you. I thought that I could handle this on my own."

Yunho pressed a soft, long kiss at the top of your head. "I'm such an asshole. I'm so sorry I called you lazy, honey. I didn't even think to ask if everything was okay, I just automatically assumed things without talking to you about it first."

You turned and looked up at him. "You're not the only one in the wrong here. My therapist has been pushing me to tell a person. I should've spoken to you instead of trying to do this on my own." You swallowed hard, "I've been watching motivational videos all morning to try to help get me started. But the second I stepped out here, I couldn't do anything."

"Well, there's two of us and one apartment. I will help you do the laundry, clean the dishes and take the trash out," he offered, looking around the room before he looked back down at you. "Would that be okay or is that too much in one day?"

You shake your head and give him a small smile. "I think that'd be great."

"I'm going to start coming home more often, even if it's really late," he tells you, making your eyes go wide. "I don't mind the distance and we're just finishing up promotions. I've been missing you like crazy, the space between us is too large." You smiled and leaned up, giving him a long kiss on his lips. When you parted, he smiled and stood up with his hands on his hips. "Now, where should we start?"

Yeosang:

“Come on! You’re going to love it!!” Yeji shouts as she drags you into the house party.

“I’m really not in the mood for this, Yeji!” You tell her.

The house was flooded with people dancing to the loud music and drinking. You didn’t know half the people that were here, hell you weren’t sure if you knew anyone. Yeji was invited by someone from her workplace and insisted that you came with her. Someone bumped into you, making you huff and move closer to her. You kept walking until Yeji found a guy who was waving her over.

“Minho!” Yeji says, embracing the taller man into a hug.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Minho says before letting her go and looking over at you. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is y/n! It’s her first party!” Yeji tells him. You send him a polite smile and wave.

He nods, smiling at you. “I can tell.”

You zoned out the couple and looked around the room. There weren’t many people in this room, mostly people talking or lounging on the couch. You hated being here, you just wanted to pull Yeji out of here and go home.

“You must be a homebody,” someone says, making you look up to find one of Minho’s friends now standing beside you.

You nodded, “yeah. Parties aren’t really my thing.”

“I’m Chan,” he tells you, reaching out his hand for you to shake. He noticed your hesitation and chuckled. “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

This made you smile a little before you took his hand in yours. “I’m y/n.”

“Here take this!” Yeji appeared handing you an unopened hard seltzer. “It’s new out of the box and it’ll help with your nerves.”

You watched as she disappeared back to Minho before you opened the can and took a drink. She wasn’t joking when she said it helped with your nerves. You weren’t a lightweight so you weren’t going to get drunk or tipsy off it but it definitely calmed you down. For a while you found yourself chatting with Chan, it wasn’t anything flirtatious but he made you feel more comfortable.

The current song changed to Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter and you let out an excited hum. “I love this song!”

Chan laughed at your excitement, “Well would you like to dance?”

“She’s fine,” a voice says behind, making you look over to find Yeosang staring at Chan.

You furrowed your eyebrows and cross your arms over your chest. “What if i want to dance with him?” This caused Yeosang to snap his head towards you. “Who are you to say what I can and cannot do?”

Chan cleared his throat awkwardly, “I’m gonna go get another drink.”

Neither you nor Yeosang looked up from each other as Chan left the two of you alone. This was your first time seeing Yeosang since you stormed out of the studio a week ago. You hated how he still looked gorgeous as ever.

“What are you doing here?”

Yeosang crossed his arms over his chest, “I should be asking you that. Since when do you come to party like these? Yeji called me and said you needed to be taken home because she left Minho.”

“Yeji called you?” You asked confused, turning around to find Minho & Yeji gone. You groaned, the least she could’ve done was at least given you a heads up. Unless, this was her plan all along. You mentally face palmed your self and groaned. “Damn you, Yeji.”

“I’m not going to force you to leave,” Yeosang assures you. Of course you knew that, you knew better than anyone that he wouldn’t do that to you. “But I will be the one you’re leaving with tonight. You don’t know these people.”

You swallowed hard at his last sentence. “I thought I knew you.” You didn’t think he heard you, but the look on his face made it obvious he heard.

“Come on,” he says, grabbing your hand. You allowed him to lead you out of the party and towards the main road. He helped you into the passenger side of his car before getting in the driver side and pulling off. “You haven’t spoken to me since the day at the studio. I tried calling you the other day but it went straight to voicemail.”

“I’ve been busy, that’s all,” you tell him trying to brush off the conversation.

“It’s because of what I said the other day isn’t it?” he asked, making you look over at him. “About h/e/n?” Your silence was enough confirmation for him. “y/n, i promise you i don’t think that about you.”

“Then why did you say it?” You asked, crossing your arms over your chest. “Do you not know how much it hurts to hear someone compare you to another person and say you would never compare?”

Yeosang chewed on his bottom lip unsure of what to say. “I don’t know. I guess I was trying to be funny but I wasn’t even thinking about your own feelings.”

You felt the tears build up, “It hurt so much. To hear being compared to someone who is considered perfect to people. Someone who’s considered perfect to you.”

“She’s not!” Yeosang immediately says, reaching over and grabbing your hand in his. The action made your heart skip a beat. “She’s far from perfect, I promise you. y/n, you are the most stunning person I have ever met. you light up the room when you come in. when I saw you talking to Chan, almost dancing with him I felt jealous. Maybe even a little possessive. I never felt that way with h/e/n.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Yeosang pulled into the parking garage of your apartment building and parked the car. Once the car was shut off he turned and looked you in the eyes. “I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you. Even when i was with h/e/n, I knew that it wasn’t her I was having those feelings for. It was you.”

You swallowed hard and placed a hand on his cheek, “don’t hurt me again.”

“I won’t, I promise,” he tells you before leaning over bringing his lips to yours.

San:

When the group arrived to the amusement park, you stayed glued to Hongjoong's side. Every ride you rode on, you sat between him and Seonghwa. During lunch time you sat them and kept most of your conversations with the two of them. Near the end of the night Hongjoong and Seonghwa began to realize what was actually going on.

San wasn't bothering to talk to you. Instead he was hanging around Yeosang & Wooyoung the whole day. Neither of you spoke to each other or even looked at each other. Hongjoong looked over at Seonghwa, who nodded his head towards a ride that he knew would get the two of you to talk.

Hongjoong picked up on the idea and spoke loud enough for the whole group to hear, "You know, it's almost the end of the night. Why don't San and y/n go on Ferris wheel together?"

Your head shot up towards Hongjoong, who was smiling towards you. San pressed his lips together as the other members started to chime in, agreeing with the idea.

"That's okay," you tell them, holding your hands up in defense. "The line looks pretty long and we don't have that much time left. Maybe we could find a ride that has shorter lines?"

Seonghwa shook his head and put your hand on your lower back, pushing you towards your boyfriend. "That's why we bought the fast passes, the 7 of us are going to go ride another ride while you two ride this one. We will meet back at the entrance once we're all done. Sound good?"

Before you could protest, the 7 boys rushed away from you leaving the two of you alone. Your eyes flicked up at San, who was peering down at you. You did not want to be alone with him right now. San sighed and started making his way towards the Ferris Wheel, you following close behind. The line wasn't nearly as long as you made it out to be, only a couple of people were ahead of you.

"You think she's cute?" you heard someone say behind you.

You looked up to see who the person was talking about, to find two boys from the other lane staring directly at you. Quickly, you turned around and kept your eyes forward.

"Gorgeous, isn't she?" you hear San say, making you look up as he stands behind you, blocking their view. San huffed and leaned down, pressing a kiss at the top of your head. "As if they'd have a chance to take you from me."

His words made you blush but you stayed quiet, still unsure of where to two of you stood. The line took under 10 minutes before the two of you were in a cart together. Instead of sitting beside him like you'd normally would, you sat on the opposite side of him.

San stared at you, as if he was trying to read your mind. "What's going on, y/n?"

You looked away from the sunset and up at your boyfriend. The shine of the golden sun on his skin making him look even more gorgeous. "I didn't want to upset you with being to clingy, so I've been doing my best not to disturb you. You seemed to be fine spending your day with the boys. I'm sorry for inviting myself on your day off."

The cart came to stop at the top of the ride, giving San an opportunity to move beside you. He took your hand in his and gave the top of it a kiss. "I'm sorry, for being so harsh. I could've said it nicer than as harsh as I did. I guess I just felt embarrassed. Wooyoung had been teasing me about you, saying that you get my full attention and you're glued to my side whenever we're together."

You frown and placed a hand on his cheek, "San if I'm doing too much or making you feel uncomfortable in anyway, I'd prefer if you come to me instead of saying hurtful things."

"But you don't!" San quickly said. "I'm not uncomfortable and you're definitely not doing to much. I love how clingy you are. I love how you constantly hold onto me whether it be my hand or just the sleeve of my shirt. I don't want you change that, in fact do more." You gave out a soft chuckle. "I'm really sorry I let Wooyoung's jokes get to me. I don't even know where that comment about h/e/n came from. I promise you, I was just being an insensitive jerk."

You give him a small smile and pat the top of his head, "well I'm glad you were able to admit your mistake and be honest with me. However, Wooyoung & I are going to need to have a serious talk."

San smiled at you and leaned over, giving you a kiss on the lips. The ride went another time around before two of you got off. Holding hands, the two of you made your way towards the entrance of park. The group of boys were huddled around a bench, waiting for you.

Seonghwa was the first person to notice the two of you. "Looks like everything is back to normal."

Once you two reach the group, Wooyoung gave you both a confused look. "When were you two ever not okay?"

You squinted your eyes at him and let go of San's hand. "Oh, you'd like to know all about that wouldn't you?"

Wooyoung's eyes widen as he turned and started to dash out of the park, you following closely behind. The rest of the group laughed as they started to walk out, watching as you chased Wooyoung' to the car. Wooyoung's shouting echoing from afar.

Mingi:

It had been a week since you last went to take Mingi any food. Hongjoong has been reassuring you that the younger member was eating properly, but he hasn't mentioned you since. You had occasional small talk with your boyfriend, but it wasn't like it was before. There was a tension in the air and it wasn't that hard to figure out why.

It had been a week since you last went to take Mingi any food. Hongjoong has been reassuring you that the younger member was eating properly, but he hasn't mentioned you since. You had occasional small talk with your boyfriend, but it wasn't like it was before. There was a tension in the air and it wasn't that hard to figure out why.

Tonight you were preparing yourself to go to meet the boys at dinner for Seonghwa's birthday. Mingi was the one who brought it up but Seonghwa was the one who invited you. You stared at yourself repeatedly in the mirror, debating whether or not going was the best idea. The sound of your phone vibrating on your desk made you tear your eyes away and look over at the screen. Mingi’s name appeared on the screen with hearts next to his name.

“Hello?” you ask after hitting accepting the call and bringing the phone up to your ear.

There was a silence on the other end making you think he called by accident. “Hey.”

“Hi,” you say softly, unsure of what else to say.

Mingi stayed silent before clearing his throat, “uhm, so would you want to ride together to the party?”

Your heart skipped a beat. Although still hurt after everything, you weren’t going to deny that you missed your boyfriend. “Okay, what time?”

“I’m actually at your door right now.”

You blinked and walked out of your bedroom, heading towards your front door. When you opened the door you came face to face with a rather nervous Mingi. You brought the phone down and ended the call, staring at him with a surprised look.

Mingi put his phone in his pocket before wrapping his arms around you, pulling you into a tight embrace. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Your eyes widened, Mingi was never the type to initiate contact like this. You were always the one to hold his hand, hug him and, for the most part, even kiss him first. Your arms wrapped around his waist, accepting his warm embrace.

“I’m so sorry for how I treated you,” he says, pulling away slightly and setting his forehead onto yours. “You were just checking up on me and taking care of me. I’ve been so stressed with the comeback, the tour and traveling that I took it out on you. It’s not excuse but I really am sorry. This week has been torture, it’s not like when I'm away for concerts. I don’t want to be apart from you, I don’t want space. I want you, y/n. I want your clinginess. I want your daily texts asking me how I'm doing. I want the lunchboxes you bring me everyday knowing well I forget to eat. I want you, y/n.”

“Shh, I really don’t want to talk about this anymore,” you tell him. You reached up and placed a hand on his cheek, gently rubbing your finger against his skin. “Can we just move on from this and go to the party?”

Mingi moved his head to the crook of your neck. “Screw the party, I can think of other things we can do.”

The feeling of his lips leaving kisses on your neck gave you goosebumps. You let out a soft sigh, “Seonghwa is your member and he wants you there. Plus, who are you to turn away a good party.”

Mingi hummed against your skin and whispered in your ear, “we can be late. I’m sure he’ll understand.”

Before you were able to respond Mingi lifted you up, wrapping your legs around his waist. He started walking into the apartment, your lips pressed against his as he closed the door behind him with his foot.

Wooyoung:

You stared at the blank canvas that was begging for you to paint on it. You hadn’t even prepared the paint yet because you knew you weren’t going to get anywhere. Your mind was flooded with grey thoughts, none of them giving you inspiration for a new piece. Sighing, you stood up from your stool and walked out of your office.

Ever since your argument with Wooyoung, you had lost all motivation paint. Painting was your way of escaping reality and right now it felt like reality wouldn’t leave you alone. You walked into your living room, heading towards the couch when your front door opened. Startled, you picked up the closest object to you (which so happened to be the remote control) and turned around to fine Wooyoung standing by the door.

Wooyoung looked at you with a raised eyebrow, “do you really think you can fight off a person with the remote?”

You glared at him and crossed your arms over your chest. “What are you doing here?”

Wooyoung slipped off his shoes and stood in front of you. “We need to talk.”

“You couldn’t have called me? Or at least given me a heads up that you were on your way over? Scaring the crap out of me could have been completely avoided,” you told him, expecting him to crack a joke but all he did was stare at you with a blank stare. You stared at him and felt your heart drop for a moment. “You’re breaking up with me.”

Wooyoung swallowed hard and opened his mouth to say something but he stopped himself. You knew that the fight you had was a bad one, especially with how it ended, but you never knew your relationship would end like this.

“I said a lot of things that hurt you the other day and it wasn’t right,” he started, running his fingers through his hair. “I compared you to someone who broke me in so many ways that I didn’t even know were possible. Someone who took every insecurity I had and held it against me. And you…you are nothing like her. You treat me with respect and I feel like a goddamn prince when I'm with you. You’ve made me the happiest person I have ever been.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, confused by where he was going with this. “So why? Why do we have to end it all? You said it yourself, I make you feel like the happiest person.”

“I don’t deserve you,” he says. You watched him as he sighed and took a seat in your couch. “You deserve a person who will treat you just as great as you treat them. A person who won’t accuse you doing things with other people. A person who could trust without holding anything back. You deserve so much better than me, y/n.”

You could feel the tears build up as you stare down at him. “What if I say no?”

“y/n—“ you cut him off, “I don’t want to be in some perfect relationship. I don’t want some perfect guy who sweeps me off his feet and makes no mistakes. I want to be with you, Wooyoung. I’m in love with you.”

Wooyoung was crying now, tears on his cheeks as he looks at you. “I do nothing but hurt you, y/n. You deserve so much better than me.”

You cupped his face into your hands and brought your lips to his. The kiss was soft and only lasted a minute before you pulled away. “I told you from the beginning that I knew you were going to have a hard time trusting me. But I need you to believe me when I say, there will never be anybody else. Unless you absolutely want me to, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I don’t want you to go anywhere,” he says before you pull him into a hug. “I’m so sorry, y/n. I shouldn’t have said those words to you. I got scared and insecure, and I acted without thinking it through.”

You didn’t respond, you just ran your fingers through his hair as he hugged you tightly. Of course this wasn’t going to be your final fight but it was the one that changed a lot in your relationship.

Jongho:

“Ugh, I'm starving!” Yeji groans as your friends make your way into the restaurant.

The place was packed with young college students celebrating the end of the semester. The four of you found a spot in between two couples who both seemed to be unfazed with the capacity. A young waitress comes over and takes your order before she disappears to the back of the restaurant.

“I need a drink,” Sumin says, not wasting any time cracking open a bottle and pouring herself a shot.

“At least we should take one together!” Chaeyoung says, watching as Sumin tosses her back as she downs the shot.

Sumin slams the glass on the table with a satisfied ‘Ah’. She picks up the glass again and starts to fill everyone else’s glasses with the alcohol. “Cheers!”

“To what exactly?” Yeji asks.

“To finally getting y/n to come out with us!” Sumin says.

You roll your eyes playfully and take the shot as the same time as the girls. The alcohol felt bitter against your throat as you swallowed it and set the glass on the table. “Please, you know I’ve been busy with work.”

“Hey, is that Jongho?” Chaeyoung asks, causing the group to turn toward the television.

You followed their heads and saw a picture of Jongho & his ex being photographed together at a restaurant. The gossip reporter was talking about the rumor of the two of them getting back together and being spotted over the past weekend. You swallowed hard and looked away from the TV.

Sumin looked over at you with a concerned look. Out of all your friends, Sumin was the only one who knew about your relationship with Jongho. She knew about the break up too, she insisted on you telling your other friends but you were too embarrassed by falling so hard so fast.

“I heard she’s blackmailing him,” Yeji speaks up, gaining everyone’s attention. “Apparently she found out a he was seeing a girl and she took photos of them. She told him that if he doesn’t get back with her that she’s going to release the photos.”

Chaeyoung nodded, “I heard that too! He ended up breaking up with the girl because he wanted to protect her from the public.”

“The ex sounds insane,” Sumin chimes in dramatically, giving you a look, “I don’t know why anyone would choose her.”

“I-uh…I’ll be right back, and if I'm not. I’ll call you,” you say, quickly getting up and heading out of the restaurant.

“Where are you going?” Chaeyoung called after you.

“She’s going to get her man,” Sumin says loud enough for you to hear.

Once you got outside, you got into a taxi that just dropped a group of girls off and gave them the address to Jongho’s apartment. You quickly paid the fare and rushed inside the building. Instead of taking the elevator, you took the stairs to the third floor and walked up to Jongho’s door. Standing up straight, you caught your breath and knocked on the door.

It didn’t take long before Jongho opened the door, confusion on his face when he spotted you. “y/n? what are you doing here?”

“Is it true?” You asked, not giving him much information. “Did she blackmail you into breaking up with me.”

“H-How did you know about that?”

“People in the industry are talking about it. If it’s true, they know that she’s blackmailing you. They are saying you broke up with me because she was threatening to expose us,” You say quickly, “so is it true? You didn’t actually want to be with her? You don’t still love her?”

Jongho stayed quiet, unsure on if he should confirm or not. But what was the point of denying it if you already knew pretty much everything? “Yes, she’s blackmailing me.”

“Jongho, I don’t care if she releases anything that has to do with us,” you tell him, taking his hands in yours. “And even if she does have anything on us, it’s most likely not much considering we don’t go out much to begin with. Your true fans will support you if you’re dating a person or not. I don’t want us to end what we had because she thinks she can hold something against us. That is…if you want to be with me.”

“Of course i want to be with you, y/n,” he confesses, pulling you into a hug. “I didn’t confess to you on a whim. I confessed to you because I have feelings for you. I should’ve stood up for myself, for us and told her to screw off.”

You pull away and look up at him, “You did what you thought was going to protect me. I’m not going to be upset with you for that. But no matter what she tries to do, I’m not going anywhere.”

Jongho smiled and leaned his forehead against you, “I’ve missed you so much.” You smiled back at him and brought your lips against his.

[broooooo]

Dronehood

____________________

In today's world , the world has been slowly taken over by drones, whether it was by force, choice or persuasion, men are being converted, covered in a shiny black latex, a second skin, a well built muscled body, constantly aroused and hard. The mind does seem to remain keeping the hosts personality, but there's a big focus of obeying the master and the pleasure of dronehood

At first the world was scared, but as the drone army expanded, it slowly became normal, as if it's a rite of passage for teenage, adult men. It's even become a kind of entertainment to watch a conversion happen, could inspire others , or worn them.

Then there's me

I am Aaron, 21, regular build, living in an apartment, IV never been opposed to the drone movement. It's interesting to watch.

Deep down I wouldn't mind becoming a drone myself, it genuinely sounds fun.

Iv watched my childhood friend, Jason, become one before my eyes, he had wanted it for a while, and decided to get a slow conversion, he wanted to experience all the feelings grow and build.

The conversion itself is simple, intercourse with a drone, you may or may not include leather articles of clothing such as gloves or boots for extra pleasure. When it's done, the new drone is given a serial number name, but can keep their human name for interactions with others, plus they can take off their head mask for easy identification.

I myself don't leave my room a lot, i just watch from my TV or the window, hearing it through my walls too at times. Jason's my roommate, but he's never home, he's busy converting others or just hanging out with other drones.

Somewhat makes me jealous, before his conversion , we were the same, locked in your rooms not doing much, it honestly is a better life for him, and I'm happy,

It's possible to request a drone conversion, many have done it, Idk why I haven't done it yet, I guess I want to keep my peace for a little while, but ik at some point it will get too much to bear and then I will know I'm ready.

_________________

It was a normal day for me, watching my conversions , and contemplating life. When suddenly I hear the front door open, I rush out to see him, Jason standing in the door way, his heavy leather boots stomping on the floor as he closes the door. He looks at me, I haven't seen his have a week's.

JASON!?* ITS been so long, how.. have you been?*

He smiles and embraces me in a hug

*Iv been well, I missed you*

My face goes flush red, as I hug him back.

His latex skin is soft and shiny , the feel of hard muscles, it makes my heart race.

We pull away and I ask*

What are you doing here Jason?* Don't you have missions ?*

Jason laughs and says * well I do live here, plus even drones need rest.*

I answer back"

Well that makes sense , yeah*

Jason goes sit on the couch to watch TV.

*mind getting me a sparkling lemon water Aaron?.

Oh? Ok sure , I'll make us both one *

I go the kitchen, fill two cups with soda and prepare to cut lemons, during all this my mind races with thoughts, the sudden appearance of Jason and the feeling of his skin, it felt great. I feel hot, almost dreaming of it

As I'm cutting lemons the knife slips and cuts my hand, breaking me out of my dream like state

GAH*

Jason turns and runs up to me concerned

Are you ok?*

I'm fine just cut my self.

I go to clean up the blood and find a bandage, but problem, we where out of bandages

*darn we're out of bandaids.

Well I have a suggestion*

I turn around to see Jason's bear hand outstretched holding a latex glove.

You took it off? Isn't that yours?

Don't worry, I get a new one, my body can create it naturally.

I look at the glove as I hold it, it's soft,

The glove has a healing effect to it, it protects us drones from major injuries.

Huh, convenient , as I smile* thanks

I put the glove over my disinfected hand, I move my fingers about feeling it, it was soft, silky and comfortable.

So this is how it feels?* I say

Yeah, it's quite the sensation isn't it?,

Very much so, no wonder many ppl become drones.

Jason helps me finish the drinks and we go sit on the couch together.

Have you thought about dronehood much Aaron?

I turn to him and choke a little ,

Have I thought about it? It's ALL I can think about xd* I say with laughter, I observe it happen from my room, since your never hear.

And before you ask, no, I don't think I'm ready yet.

Jason looks into this drink and back up to me, he leans a hand over to touch my shoulder,

He smiles and says, * when you're ready then, no force, I want you to enjoy it as much as possible.

I peek up, *I KNEW IT, you planned this, laughing.

You were always a trickster you, we both laugh

Well Aaron , I. Do hope you enjoy that glove, it will help you decide, I'm sure of it.

I turn to look out the window and smiles

*thanks, i-, will definitely have an answer soon I'm sure.

___________

Afterwards we hang out the rest of day, it was a fun reunion, full of talk and catching up untill sun down

We both go to bed , crashing instantly as I'd been so tired after today.

The next day Jason and I bid farewell as he leaves for a mission.

I'm left alone and go to my room , sitting on my bedroom couch

_____

Hm, planed or not, I'm happy I have this glove. I turn on the TV to watch some more conversions

I feel hot and steamy imagining it, before I know it I'm rubbing my bulge with the gloved hand , my dick getting erect from what pleasure I can muster,

And idea popped into my head, I head over to Jason's room, and my mind was validated when I saw them, an extra pair of leather boots,

*planned this too Jason? Well idc, thanks*

We happen to be the same size, even so is force my feet into them, the boots go up to my kne, tall and shiny, sliding my feet in, my heart and mind are racing , my dick is rock hard , the sensations are over powering, I lace them up tight, whist I remove my clothing.

I stand up to look to the mirror, naked with only a latex glove and leather boots on, the weight of the boots and the tightness, protecting me, I go to my bed,I start to edge off slowly, aroused to high heavens and enjoying it all. Whilst the sounds of conversions from the TV hum in the background.

I never realized it but the dream like state I was in of edging and leaking lasted 3 days, I was covered in pre, drooling and gooing out, the latex glove and boots has started to spread up my legs and arm, then came Jason, he stood in my bedroom doorway, smiling, he comes over and jumps on top of me, squeezing my nipples hard

I moan hard and leak over me

*ready Aaron?*

Laughing through the intense pleasure ,

*hehe yeah. Convert me friend* I'm ready*

Jason's glowing purple eyes look into mine,

___________

Jason's hard latex dick at the ready, and with a passionate kiss it commences, what felt like a. Eternity, lasted a week of slow intense sex and conversion. As I expected it all

By the end of it, we and the bed were wet in pre, drool and juices, through the days, the latex nanites from Jason's dick slowly transformed my body, spreading the latex all over whist giving my muscle to fit, the climax of the conversion was then.

Jason fucking my tight ass, we both prepared for it , cum

It was a screech of intense pleasure, black nantite filled cum sprayed in ropes out our dicks, lasting 69 minutes of constant cumming, fucking and kissing, and the cum pool around us and soak back up into our bodies, , strengthening the conversion.

When it was all over , we lay there together tired and in love

My eyes start to glow to an intense blue. My mind was reshaped and ready,

Looking to Jason's eyes I say.

* I am ready to obey , ready to spread , ready to cum alongside you *

Jason smiles and kisses me, *ik.. drone 6923..*

My eyes flash, * yes... My new name.. thank you..

Drone 8696..*

___________

In the end we two drones, continued to make out intensely, passionately, never running out of cum

Untill the next mission is handed to us, and. I join Jason on my first crusade, We will enjoy each other forever.

______

: D

I enjoyed this one , genuinely think it's one of my best works yet

Hope you enjoy it, fellow drones

[skeletboi]

Part 17 of the Intridmensional AU!

This one starts right at the end of the last part, so I'd suggest reading the last few lines of part 16 before diving in here!

First /// Previous /// Next

________________________________________

“Would you believe I told ol’ Fordsie here to keep his idiot brother away from his project after what happened last time, yet here you are! HAH!”

“Ford…?” Stan asked, taking a step back.

“Sixer isn't home right now! Please leave a message after the beep! BEEEEEEPPPP!” Ford said before breaking out into laughter.

“Stanford… what in tarnation…” Fiddleford asked.

Stan grabbed Fiddleford's arm and took a step back.

“Didn't I just say he wasn't home?!” Ford said, tilting his head and smiling painfully wide.

“I don't think that's Ford…” Stan said, dragging Fiddleford back another step.

“DING DING! The idiot gets one point! I figured you'd be the one to catch on first, Fiddlesticks! How disappointing! You'd think you'd be better at recognizing the man you left your wife and kid for! Hilarious! How are they, by the way?! Or did you forget them?!”

“What- Stanford…” Fiddleford said, his voice barely a whisper.

“Fidds, something is seriously wrong, that is not my brother!” Stan said.

“‘Fidds?’ Damn, lesser twin, that's cold! Ruin your brother's life then steal his ex boyfriend, too?! Hah! No wonder he hates you!”

“What are you?!” Fiddleford asked, his voice shaking.

“Haven't figured it out, specs?! Hah! I thought you were supposed to be smart! What would Fordsy ever see in you?! You noticed his ‘sleepwalking’ and ‘weird behavior’, but even when I'm right in front of you you still can't put it together!”

“You're the one who came up with the portal idea.” Fiddleford said slowly, dread sitting heavy in his stomach, freezing him in place even as not-Stanford stepped closer to him.

“DING DING! Another winner! The name's Bill! It's a displeasure to finally meet you! You humans are so stupid! Once Fordsy finishes that portal your world will be mine! And another thing-”

Stan didn't wait to hear the rest. He grabbed a wrench from a nearby work table and swung, watching in horror as Ford crumpled to the ground.

“That was still Ford.” Fiddleford said, looking seconds away from passing out.

“What else was I supposed to do?! Let him keep sayin’ nonsense?! I mean-fuck! What the hell have you two been doing?! What is this portal you keep mentioning?!”

“It's a transuniversal metavortex.” Fiddleford said quietly. “A gateway into another dimension.”

“Why in the sci-fi hell would you want to build that?!” Stan asked.

“Because! He asked me to!” Fiddleford suddenly yelled, making Stan jump.

“I thought he forgot about me, Stanley.” Fiddleford said, quieter now. “I couldn't say no ta him after he called. I reckon lookin’ back now, I shoulda said no, but he was so excited-”

“Fidds!” Stan said, drawing Fiddleford from his quiet rambling. “Blaming yourself isn't going to do anything. All three of us have made some fucked up mistakes! Right now we need to find out what the hell that thing using my brother as a puppet is before he tries to turn on that sci-fi death triangle over there!”

“Triangle.” Fiddleford mumbled.

“Yes, a triangle. Glad you caught that part.” Stan deadpanned.

“I hafta dismantle the portal.” Fiddleford said, looking across the room at the machine. “Stan! We gotta stop this! We have to stop that demon!” Fiddleford grabbed Stan's arm and dragged him towards the portal.

“Missing leg, Fidds!” Stan said, trying to keep his balance on the dirt floor as Fiddleford pulled him.

“Right, sorry Stanley. I jus’ need yer help, There’s an emergency shut off. We can shut the whole thing down, but it takes two people!” Fiddleford said quickly, letting go of Stan's arm to rummage in his pockets for a set of keys. “Take this.” he said, pulling a key off the ring and handing it to Stan. “There's a spot in the control panel o’er there. I'll count ta three, then we both gotta turn the keys. Got it?”

“Fiddleford!” They heard Ford yell from behind them.

“Shit.” Stan swore, putting the key in his pocket and turning towards Ford. “Fuck you, you weird ass demon! Leave my brother and Fiddleford alone!”

“Demon?! Stanley, what are you talking about? What the hell happened?! The last thing I remember was you and Fiddleford fighting! Did he use the gun on me?!” Ford asked, panic rising in his voice.

“You happened, asshole! Don't play dumb with me, Bill!” Stan yelled back.

“Bill?! How do you know that name?” Ford asked, dumbfounded.

“Because he possessed ya! He told us his name, Stanford! How could ya trust a demon?! What happened to the idea for this darned portal bein’ ‘hard work’?!” Fiddleford yelled, finally joining in on the fight.

“He's not a demon! He's a higher being! A Muse!” Ford said. “I gave him permission to possess me as he saw fit, I just didn't expect him to do it now!”

“He possessed ya, Ford! That sure as heck sounds like a demon ta me!” Fiddleford responded.

“He- no- he…. he's my friend!” Ford said.

“You have got to be fucking with me!” Stan yelled. “Friends don't let you possess them and then shout insults at your actual friends!”

“Insults? He- he was joking. He loves joking, that's all.” Ford said frantically, taking a few wobbly steps towards Stan.

“Goddammit, Ford. You're too smart for this!” Stan said, turning away. “We're shutting this sci-fi nightmare down.”

“No!” Ford said, running down to meet them. “Stan, you can't!”

“I'm sorry, Ford.” Fiddleford said, making his way back to the machine on the other side of the lab.

Ford grabbed Stan's arm and yanked him backwards, miscalculating the amount of force he used and accidently throwing him against the control panel. Stan glared at him and lunged, grabbing him by the collar and pushing him backwards.

“Goddammit, Sixer! We're trying to help you!” He yelled.

“Help me? You have no idea what you're doing! You know nothing about Bill!” Ford said, sounding a bit unsure and pushing Stan back.

“Uh- fellas, careful ‘round that ‘quipment, there!” Fiddleford said, but the twins ignored him.

“I know enough! I know a con man when I hear one, Ford, and that demon is the ultimate con man!” Stan yelled, trying to walk away from Ford before he hurt him again, but Ford grabbed his arm and tried to drag him away from the control panel.

“How much of a con man can he be?! He was right, after all! I should have done better to keep you away from my project!” Ford snarled.

“Fuck you, Ford. If you want to believe that fucking monster over us, than fine, but we're shutting this down!” Stan said, pushing his brother as hard as he could, sending him falling backwards onto the lever in the middle of the room.

“No!” Fiddleford yelled, but it was too late. The portal crackled to life, filling the dark lab with an eerie blue glow.

“Oh shit.” Stan said, taking a step back.

“It works.” Ford said, smiling up at the light. “It works!”

“That ain't good, Stanford!” Fiddleford said, running over to try and drag Ford away. “We need ta shut it down!”

“We are not shutting it down!” Ford said, pushing Fiddleford away.

Stan tried to pull Ford away from the machine, but forgot, in all the commotion, about Stan's new peg leg. He grew up with Stan. He had seen him stand his ground against bullies twice his size. But that was back when he had two legs to stand on, so he was thrown off guard when Stan didn't stay standing. They both slid across the ground, over the yellow line where the portal could reach, and suddenly started to float.

“What the fuck?!” Stan exclaimed, flailing his arms and looking for anything to grab onto.

“Stanford! Stanley!” Fiddleford screamed, grabbing some spare cable from the ground and running towards them. “Grab on!”

“Tie it down!” Stan yelled, as he caught the cable and grabbed Ford's arm, holding on for dear life.

“I can't!” Fiddleford said as he started to slip.

The twins were much heftier than him and his shoes were not grippy enough to keep him down. He wrapped the cord around his wrist and reached behind him, trying to grab the lever to hold himself back, but his fingers just barely grazed it.

“Do something!” Stan yelled as Ford disappeared through the blue light. “Fiddleford!”

Stan melted into the blue after Ford as Fiddleford's feet lifted from the ground.

“Well, shit.” Fiddleford said, as he fell through the portal after them.

___________________________________________

This feels a bit like a cheesy movie scene. That's all I could think while I was writing it... but hey! We made it to the portal!

There is probably some serious plot issues with this scene, like was the portal even ready? Sure it was! It's January and they were going to test it in the next day or two, so... sure it was!

Would Bill leave Ford's mind if he was unconscious? Probably!?

Does Stan not hit very hard, because Fidds and Ford were both hit, and not out for very long?! Well, he was probably subconsiously holding back a bit- this is his brother and his new friend he met a whole day ago and would fight a literal god for.

Why does Stan immediately trust and want to protect Fidds?! He just be like that, okay? Fidds is someone important to his brother, therefore worth protecting.

Okay, I'll stop now.

I start a new job tomorrow, so the updates on this might slow down a bit... sorry. I need to survive in this failing economy.

[sjsmith56]

A Better Man, Part 2 - Foundation

Summary: After talking with her best friend, Natasha, Andrea reconsiders Bucky’s offer. Natasha visits the offices of Barnes Contracting to meet Bucky, coming to her own conclusions about the nature of the business.

Length: 4.6 K

Characters: Andrea, Brock Rumlow, Natasha Romanoff, Mrs. Parker, Steve, Sam, Bucky.

Warnings: Flashback of Rumlow is not pleasant, grief over a relative’s death, Natasha’s suspicious nature (with reason), otherwise mostly fluff.

Author notes: Andrea’s backstory is revealed. Dumbass alert.

<<Part 1

Part 2

As soon as Bucky suggested Andrea move in with him, she immediately thought of Brock. It wasn't fair of her to compare the two men; she knew that, but Brock had used the exact same words within days of them meeting each other.

"Move in with me," he said, his hands firmly on her arms. "Baby, I'll take good care of you. Whatever you want is yours."

"But I hardly know you," she replied, looking up at his rugged face. "We've only had a couple of dates. Isn't moving in together kind of fast?"

"Not if it's meant to be," he smiled. He rubbed her arms, his bicep muscles practically straining against his suit jacket. "Listen, if you want to take a trial run, we can do that. Stay with me for the week."

"What will I tell my parents? I still live with them."

He smiled, his hands moving down to her waist and pulling her close to him. It was possessive, yes, but there was no denying that he exuded a masculine energy that thrilled her in a very primal way.

"Tell them you're house sitting for a friend," he suggested. "She has a pet that can't be left alone." He bent his head towards her neck, scratching it a little with his stubble as his warm breath raised goosebumps down her arms. "It will be a week you'll never forget."

He hadn't lied about that part. For a week Brock treated her like a queen. Out for dinner every night at restaurants she could only imagine about going to before she met him. Then on to clubs, walking past the lineups and being allowed in without so much as a second glance. It was heady stuff, and she totally got caught up in it. The sex was amazing, although a little on the rough side and he didn't always use a condom because they interfered with the experience for him or it took too much time to put on, but he was so masculine and unlike anyone Andrea had ever met. Then, in the few weeks after she went back home to live, promising to seriously consider his offer, Brock Rumlow began pulling away from her.

"Sorry, baby, but I gotta work tonight."

How many times did she hear that excuse? Seriously, how much work did a so-called contractor need to do at night? Then there were the dates he cancelled by phone. She could hear the club music in the background as he made up all sorts of excuses why they couldn't go out. Until he stopped phoning completely, around the same time she began feeling sick. Except she wasn't sick, she was pregnant. She showed up at the building where she first saw him. The large overhead door was open this time and she could see many cars inside, all in various states of repair, or so she thought. He was standing out front with several of the employees, smoking and laughing at some joke.

"What are you doing here?"

That's what he said to her, in a tone that wasn't very friendly. No hello, no how have you been, just a question asked in such a way that she knew he didn't want to see her. He agreed to sit in her car so they could have a private conversation, and she told him about being pregnant. He laughed ... he actually laughed.

"You're sure it's mine?"

She wanted to hit him then, to spit in his face, claw his eyes out, call him every name in the book but he didn't even give her that opportunity, because he got out of her car, then leaned in before he shut the door.

"Don't call me or show up here anymore. I got nothin' to say to you."

That was it. She was set adrift and when she told her parents they pushed the boat even further from shore, telling her to find somewhere else to live. She packed her bags and went to her grandmother's house. That woman, bless her heart, took her in with a warm hug, made her cocoa, then listened to her cry her heart out.

"What are you going to do about the baby?"

She could get an abortion. Certainly, she was pro-choice, as was her grandmother. But it was a choice and something deep inside her said she wanted this, even if the father was a lousy, no good, lying son-of-a-bitch, motherfucker. So, she decided to have the baby and began laying the foundation to have her own family. Screw her parents. Screw Brock Rumlow. She and Grandma would be the parents of this child, with no regrets of any kind.

Lily was born, with her namesake grandmother at Andrea's side during the birth, an amazing woman who gave her comfort. It was wonderful to see them together; great grandmother and great granddaughter, two lilies of the field, as the elder Lily often said. Then she died, a heart attack as she prepared her garden in early spring, and once again Andrea was set adrift, alone in a stormy sea, except for the light that her daughter gave her. When she found out that her grandmother left her everything, she vowed to live as the older woman had; fully engaged and loving the world with all of its beauty. If it were only that simple.

After Bucky left, Andrea locked the door then picked up her phone and called her best friend, Natasha. When she answered it took all of Andrea's willpower not to cry.

"Why are you calling so early?" asked her closest friend. "Aren't you supposed to be in the middle of a date?"

"I told him to go," she answered. "Nat, he asked me to move in with him."

There was silence for a bit. "Okay. Maybe give me some context."

Andrea explained how dinner was fun and then they began to look at the areas of the house that needed fixing. He identified a new roof, new windows in the one bedroom, a possible exterior leak for the ceiling stain in the corner of the living room, then the big one.

"The electrical panel," stated Natasha, already knowing the biggest issue of the house. "What did he say?"

"Exactly what you said. Copper and aluminum don't mix, the fix is expensive and would require that we move out. I told him I didn't have anywhere else to go and he offered me a room in his apartment. He even said we could work out payment and emphasized that he wasn't trying to take advantage of me. Said he would be willing to be the general contractor for it and handle the tradespeople."

"Hold on a second," said her friend. "Unlike that Sitwell jerk, he told you the truth about the extent of the work needed for your place, and he can find you the right people to do the job. Then he offered you a place in his home, with no strings attached. How dare he be a guy trying to be nice."

"I know, I know," sighed Andrea. "When he asked me to move in, I had a flashback to Brock, and you know how that turned out."

"Yes, ultimately, you ended up with a baby girl who is the light of your life, that everyone adores because she is the cutest little flower in the world."

"You think I should have said yes to him." Andrea braced herself for the answer she knew was coming.

"Yes! Not every guy is trying to get into your pants. There are gentlemen out there and you just tossed one aside because you're still dealing with how Brock hurt you."

Of course, Natasha was right. Bucky had been a gentleman with her the entire evening. Even when the light in the basement burnt out, he had held her respectfully, not taking advantage of her in the dark. He left without complaining and apologized for offending her with his offer. There had been no name calling, or faux outrage, or anything that indicated he was anything other than a nice guy. Andrea groaned. She didn't even give him a chance. The roses were on the table, and she looked at them.

"What do lavender roses mean?" she asked Natasha, who was into that stuff.

"Love at first sight," said her friend, a little too quickly. "Did he bring you lavender roses?"

"Yeah. That's not being pushy, is it?"

"Did he say he loved you?"

"No, but he did say he liked me, a lot."

They didn't say anything to each other while they contemplated what it all meant.

"I think you need to talk to him. At least, lay down some ground rules and see how he reacts to that."

"Okay," breathed Andrea. "Tomorrow, I'll go see him. Wait, I can't. Lily is getting vaccinations tomorrow and she'll be grumpy for the rest of the day. I'll see him the day after."

"You promise?"

Andrea promised then ended the call. She would go see Bucky again.

The next day

Natasha looked at the building wondering if this was the right place. There was no exterior sign but when she looked up Barnes Contracting on Google this was the address she was given. It was in a decent neighbourhood by the looks of the buildings around them. They were all in good repair and this building, although plain in appearance, seemed well maintained. With a quick breath, she pushed open the door, seeing a standard reception area. There were four doors leading elsewhere; two of them closed and two open. A nice-looking dark-haired lady was stationed at the desk.

"Good morning," she said pleasantly. "How can I help you?"

"I wish to speak with Bucky Barnes."

The lady's eyes flickered briefly to one of the closed doors. "He's not available at the moment. May I ask what it's about?"

"I've come to talk to him about a mutual acquaintance," replied Natasha. "Andrea Hart."

"I can help the lady, Mrs. Parker," said a man's voice and the red head looked at one of the open doors. For a moment, Natasha forgot everything about Andrea as she gazed upon the tall, muscular blond man who stood in the doorway. He was impressive, with his sleeves rolled up and several dark tattoos visible on his forearms. "Is Miss Hart alright?"

"Yes and no," answered Natasha. She looked at one of the closed doors. "Is he here?"

"Yes and no," smiled the blond man. "I'm Steve. Please, come into my office, Miss ...?"

"Romanoff, Natasha is fine," she said, moving towards him.

He stepped back to let her past him.

"Mrs. Parker, would you let Sam know of our visitor when he arrives but don't say anything to Bucky just yet." He winked at her. "I don't think he's in a mood to listen to reason at the moment."

"Of course," smiled the older woman. "I'll handle him."

Steve closed the door, waiting for Natasha to sit before he did, then took her appearance in; the red hair, attractive and fit body, her determined face. He had noticed the effect his appearance had on her and to be fair she made him feel all sorts of things in return. If he had met her elsewhere, they would have already been flirting and probably making out but if she was here about Andrea and Bucky, then he needed to focus on the task at hand.

"I'm going to bypass any formalities and assume you're here to get Bucky and Andrea talking."

She smiled and the warmth inside of him spread a little further.

"You could say that. She called me after she told him to leave. I wanted to explain to him why she said what she said."

"I'm listening." Natasha reacted to that phrase, frowning at him, so he clarified. "Bucky is my best friend. We've known each other since we were boys. I bug the life out of him, but I love him like a brother. He hasn't had the best track record with women, and we thought he and Andrea might have something special beginning. When she kicked him out of her house last night, he took it hard. He's been quite the bear this morning."

Tilting her head slightly, Natasha considered his words and decided to trust him. There was something in the way he carried himself that seemed sincere.

"She had a flashback to her previous boyfriend, the one who got her pregnant and wouldn't acknowledge the baby as his. It scared her because he asked her to move in with him after only a couple of dates, then ghosted her a few weeks later, just before she began getting morning sickness."

Steve nodded his head in sympathy. "It's understandable that Bucky's offer would set off all sorts of warning bells."

The door opened and Sam came in asking about that shipment of tablet computers they were handling. Then he saw Natasha and clamped his mouth shut before blurting out an apology.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company."

"Didn't Mrs. Parker say anything about our visitor?"

"She's in the break room, I think. Who do we have here?"

His flirting smile made Natasha grin. Him mentioning a shipment of tablet computers meant these guys were definitely not legit, but they were still quite charming in a roguish sort of way.

"Natasha," she replied, holding out her hand to him. He bent over it and kissed her knuckle. "Andrea's best friend."

Sam stopped kissing her fingers then looked up. "Is she alright?"

Withdrawing her hand from his she smiled mysteriously. "I'll say one thing about you two. You're both concerned about Andrea."

"We like her, and Lily is adorable," said Steve. He looked at Sam. "She said Andrea had a flashback to Rumlow and that's what made her say no to Bucky's offer."

"Well, that makes sense," said Sam, plopping down on another chair. "How are we going to fix this?"

"You guys know about Rumlow?" Natasha looked from one to another. Of course, they would know him or of him. "He's with the competition, isn't he?" The two men looked at each other nervously, making her laugh. "I kind of had you made when I didn't see a sign on your building. You're on Google but what kind of contracting business doesn't have a sign? Obviously, one that doesn't like to have attention drawn to it, at least not the normal kind of attention."

"We're on Google?" Sam searched his phone, then jumped up and left the office.

She and Steve smiled politely at each other, not speaking, then Sam came back in. "We'll take care of that." He turned to Natasha again. "So, how do we get this situation between Andrea and Bucky resolved?"

"Well, I talked her into coming in to see him, and explaining why she turned him down, but she can't do it until tomorrow, as Lily is getting her six-month vaccinations today."

Sam winced. "Poor little thing. She's going to be very grumpy." He noticed Natasha smiling at him. "I have nephews, and I remember." He had a wistful look on his face, then he shook it off. "Go on."

"I guess you just have to make sure he sees her and gives her a chance to explain." She shifted in her seat. "He is serious about her, isn't he? She can't take being abandoned again. First Brock, then her parents kicked her out when she told them she was pregnant. Her grandmother took her in but died when Lily was a month old. She's named after Andrea's grandmother."

Both men were listening to her in rapt silence. It was kind of sweet, actually, reinforcing Natasha's belief that despite their obvious occupations, these men were decent. Steve breathed out.

"We'll make sure he listens to her, won't we Sam?"

The other man nodded emphatically. Feeling that she had accomplished what she wanted Natasha stood up, surprised when the two men stood up immediately with her. They had manners; she was a sucker for manners.

"I'm going to go," she said. "It was nice to meet you, Steve, Sam."

She held her hand out to shake theirs. Steve held her hand for several long seconds.

"Are you seeing anyone?" he asked.

"No, are you?"

"No. We could grab a bite to eat sometime, if you like food."

Sam almost choked, putting his hand up in apology as he tried to breathe.

"I like food," replied Natasha, ignoring Sam's outburst. "What about him?"

"Let him find his own date."

"I have another friend," she said.

"Yeah?" Sam's grin split his face. "Is she nice?"

"You want nice instead of beautiful?"

He shrugged, the grin still on his face. "Being nice makes a woman beautiful. That's my philosophy. I think you're nice."

Natasha felt her cheeks go warm. These guys were on another level. Going out with them could be a lot of fun or the biggest mistake of her life. She chose fun, grabbing a post-it note and writing down her phone number.

"Call me when you've set something up and I'll bring my nice friend," she said. "We're not into the club scene all that much but do like to be appreciated and treated with respect."

"We can do that," replied Steve. "It was nice meeting you, Natasha. We'll get Bucky and Andrea sorted out."

She waited for Sam to open the door for her, noticing he let her out first. Their manners were doing all sorts of things to her. Mrs. Parker was at her desk.

"I was going to say I hadn't seen Sam yet, but it looks like he found you," she said. "Bucky hasn't come out at all."

"Thank you, Mrs. Parker," smiled Steve. "We've got it covered. If Miss Romanoff here, calls or phones again, you can just refer her to me. I'll talk to her anytime."

"Good to know," the older woman smiled, then answered the phone. "Barnes Contracting, how may I help you? I'm sorry, he's not taking calls at the moment. Would you like to speak with Mr. Rogers or Mr. Wilson?" She put her hand on the microphone of the handset. "Sam? Line 1. It's about that shipment ... you know, that special shipment?"

"Right." He saluted Natasha and ducked into his office, closing the door, leaving her and Steve in the reception area.

Escorting her outside, Steve stood with his hands in his pockets, suddenly unsure of what to say.

"Do you do any legitimate contracting work?" she asked delicately, voicing what she suspected.

"Yes, the three of us do have our general contractors' licences and we earned them the right way, with a lot of hard work and study," answered Steve. "It's a competitive business so we have to be open to alternative revenue sources at times. Bucky's grandfather started the business, then his mother took over before handing it off to him. She's kind of like a mother to all three of us, making sure we conduct ourselves properly." He looked squarely at her; his blue-green eyes focused solely on her. "Is that a problem?"

"Maybe yes, maybe no." She shook her head as if she were deciding something. "I believe that all three of you have a line that you won't cross, which is good. You do care about each other and I'm sure you care about Andrea. I just don't want her to be hurt again."

His face softened. "We want the same thing. A woman badly hurt Bucky a few years ago, and it's made him uncertain at times, especially at how some of the compromises he's had to live with would make most women walk away. But he is honest; I swear to God. I could see him leaving the compromising nature of our business behind if he had the right partner in life. Sam and I think Andrea could be that person. She would be worth it."

She didn't know why she did it but Natasha suddenly kissed Steve on the cheek, then she walked away, turning back once to see that he still watched her from in front of the building. If she wasn't careful herself, she could easily fall for him. That might cause all sorts of problems.

The day after that

Natasha was called into work, so Andrea had to bring Lily with her to see Bucky. She walked towards Barnes Contracting, surprising the people along that route who noted it wasn't her usual day to walk there, especially on a day like today, when rain was forecast. Was she that predictable in her walking routine? It was threatening to rain. Maybe, she should go back. But she did promise Natasha that she would speak to Bucky and she knew her friend wouldn't accept a little rain as a reason for not going. Finally arriving at the building, she began to panic then the door opened to a dark-haired lady looking at her with motherly concern.

"Miss Hart? Is everything alright?"

"Yes ... no," she admitted, wondering how this woman knew her name. "I think I changed my mind."

The older lady looked up at the sky. "Looks like it's going to rain at any moment. I think you should come inside and wait it out."

Almost on cue, the rain started to fall, and Andrea pushed the baby stroller past the woman and into the reception area, the first time she had been inside the building. It was plain but clean and certainly seemed well finished. As she stood just inside the door, the receptionist bent her head over the stroller, obviously taken by Lily, who was cooing up at her.

"She is such a darling," she crooned at the baby. "May I?"

With her permission, the woman picked up Lily, holding her in the crook of her arm as if she had held babies for most of her life. Lily responded as she usually did, with smiles, gurgles, and a fascination with everything around her. A closed door opened, revealing Bucky, who stared at Andrea and Lily, seemingly surprised to see them. The older lady looked at him with a smile.

"Bucky, your 10:00 is here. Go ahead Miss Hart. I can watch this little doll all day long."

He stepped away from his door, waiting for Andrea to approach and enter, then closed the door behind her, waiting for her to sit before he took his seat. For some time, he sat with his hands folded on the desk and his mouth set in a straight, grim line.

"You made an appointment?" he finally asked.

"No, I didn't," stammered Andrea. "I'm surprised she said that. I just walked here, almost didn't come in but it started to rain, and your receptionist said to wait it out inside, then your door opened and there you were."

Scowling a little, he sat back in his chair.

"We've been set up," he muttered. "They've drawn Mrs. Parker into this." He looked at her and sat forward again, trying to be friendlier. "I am so sorry that I sprung that on you. I really didn't have ulterior motives. It was just an offer to help you out because I know you're going through a difficult time."

Andrea shook her head. "It's okay. I overreacted. What you said was how Brock asked me to move in with him and I had a flashback to that moment." She clarified that statement. "Brock is Lily's father. We had only been out a few times before he asked me to move in with him. I talked him into a week's trial and within a week of moving back with my parents he began distancing himself from me. A week later he started ghosting me. Two weeks after that I found out I was pregnant, and he told me to leave him alone."

"Bastard," grumbled Bucky.

"I said worse about him," smiled Andrea. "I'm sorry I told you to leave. It really was a generous offer."

"It still stands," said Bucky, trying to keep a neutral tone to his voice and manner, while inside he could barely contain himself. "I'm in a position to help, that's all."

There was a knock on the door and Mrs. Parker came in with Lily. Instead of giving her to Andrea, she put her in Bucky's hands. He held her out at arm's length, unsure of what he should do with the baby.

"A shipment is here, and the language from the truck driver is atrocious," said Mrs. Parker. "I can handle it, but I don't think little ears should be assaulted by that kind of language." She smiled at him. "You can cradle her in your arms. She likes that."

Without another word she left the couple, and Bucky looked at Lily, then at Andrea, who was amused, knowing a setup when she saw one. Lily squealed and kicked her legs as Bucky settled back into his chair, trying to remember how his sister held her dolls when they were little. When he looked up at Andrea, she grinned.

"Not bad," she said. "Lily's happy."

"I've never held a baby before," he admitted. "It's kind of nice. She's a nice baby."

What he really meant with the second nice, was that she was a beautiful baby, and he was smitten. She likes me. Look at her. She's so beautiful and perfect. How could Rumlow not want this?

"So, um, I would like to take you up on your offer," said Andrea. "How do we do this? Should we sign some sort of agreement? You know, where we determine how we're going to share your apartment; who does what and when? I don't mind cooking but I'm not much for keeping a place looking perfect. It's hard with a baby and she sometimes keeps me up at night, so I would try to keep her quiet, but it doesn't always work that way. I think we should do our own laundry as I have enough with a baby to do it every day. I can contribute to groceries and even pay you rent, if you want."

He looked from Lily to Andrea, a laugh just bubbling away inside of him just trying to burst out.

"We can figure it out as we go along, can't we?" He put his finger near Lily's fist, smiling as she grasped it hard. "I'll get some of my guys to move the crib and anything else you want into my place. It's best if we put the rest of your possessions into storage while we're working on the renovations. I can tell you from experience, that some other problems might be revealed as we begin fixing your place. It's just a fact of life with these older brownstones. They're worth the investment though. They don't build them like they used to."

"Okay, we'll work it out as we go along," agreed Andrea. "Please, if it ever gets too much, tell me. Be honest."

"I will," he answered.

Outside, in the reception area, Mrs. Parker watched Bucky's door. When Sam and Steve walked in, noticing the baby stroller she put a finger up to her lips, then nodded her head while smiling. They gave each other a high five, then Steve texted Natasha that it seemed things were going to plan. The two men disappeared into their offices, attending to their normal workday routines.

Part 3>>

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[niffala]

Regrets

Pairing: Eddie Munson / Steve Harrington

Summary: Steve overhears something he was never meant to. 

Warnings: all angst, asshole Eddie

A/N: No stealing, no reposts, no translations, no feeding to AIs. Comments, reblogs and likes are always welcome and appreciated. 

Main Masterlist   

Steve giddily parked his BMW in front of the school. Looking next to him, he ran his hand over the engraved EMSH on the guitar case, imagining the smile it would cause. It almost felt like a dream, finding someone that loved him as much as he loved them. No more lonely movie nights where the only warm thing to hold was the popcorn. His boyfriend looked after him, accepted him, kissed and held him. He wasn’t alone anymore.

Inside the case held all the stuff Eddie would need to take the best care of his sweetheart; new strings, tools, conditioner, polishing oil and cloths. He couldn't wait til Eddie got home, so Steve decided to surprise him by showing up to Hellfire club. He bounced out of his car, practically shaking with excitement because he knew his Eddiebear would love the gift.

He greeted the kids as they came out, mounting their bikes to ride home.

Dustin huffed, "You coulda told us you'd be here. A ride would be appreciated now and then."

"Quit whining. I haul your ungrateful behinds around all the time."

The boy pointed his chin at the item in Steve's arms, "What ya got there?"

Steve protectively held the case tighter, "Just something for Eddie. He still inside?"

"Yep, he's cleaning up the drama room."

Grinning ear to ear, he continued his path to the building. Lifting his arm to wave goodbye to the kids, “Have a good night guys.”

“You too, loverboy.” A chorus of laughter and kissing noises followed as they rode off.

Under different circumstances, Steve would have playfully chased after them for that, but tonight he was on a mission.

Approaching the drama room, he could see Eddie and his friends through the small window. Putting away the game, tucking away the chairs and turning off the stage lighting. Preparing to push the door open, he pauses when he hears his name.

“...No can do. I'm meeting Steve right after this. I can get beers with you guys another time.”

Steve was touched that Eddie made him a priority in his life. His heart began to soar, only to immediately fall at the next words spoken.

Gareth tsked, “Never thought I'd see you and Harrington together. I mean he's such an asshole. Mr high and mighty always thinking he's better than everyone else.”

“He's always been a judgmental douche. Looked down on all of us in high school. Him and his buddies made our lives hell. Don't know how you put up with that arrogant jerk all these months.” Jeff was equally displeased with Eddie’s choice.

Steve’s brows furrowed while listening to Eddie's friends bad mouth him and mock their relationship. He held his breath, waiting for his boyfriend to come to his defense. Instead, Eddie played into it.

The metalhead rolled his eyes dramatically. “I told you guys a hundred times, we aren’t dating, it's just a hookup. I got Harrington wrapped around my finger.”

Emboldened by his friends’ chuckles, Eddie hopped onto the table, sitting with his legs criss crossed and continued. “Seriously the guy is putty in my hands, will do whatever I say. I'm getting what I can out of our arrangement. No feelings involved. Not sure his majesty has feelings anyway.”

“Why put up with him then?”

Eddie shrugged, “Cause he spoils me. Takes me out and buys me things. And you have NO IDEA the POWER I feel having King Steve on his knees just for me. It's addicting.” He scrunched up his face and bit his knuckle suggestively. Feeding off the attention and approval he received. “But not to worry, I'll be ending it soon. I'm starting to get bored. And I'll rip my ears off if I have to listen to his shitty music one more time.”

“Ughhh,” Eddie fell back, staring at the ceiling, “I need it to be over. Been letting it go on for too long. The gifts and the sex are nice and all, but I need something more with someone with a lot more going on upstairs.” He tapped his head to uproarious laughter.

The air around him was too hot. Steve clutched his chest, feeling something breaking deep within him. Unable to swallow the lump in his throat, he couldn’t hear anymore. He ran back to his car, his vision blurry from the hot tears spilling down his face.

‘He doesn't love me, doesn't give a shit about me at all. He'd been using me this whole time. It was all just to humiliate me. Make me fall in love with him so he could break me and have a good laugh with his friends. How could I be so stupid?'

Steve threw the useless present into the backseat, starting the vehicle and pulling out of the lot as fast as he could. The severe pain in his chest made him wish he could rip out his heart and throw it out the car window, watching in his rearview mirror as it exploded on the roadside.

He couldn't recall a single moment of the drive until arriving at Robin's door. By the time she sat him down, he was sobbing so hard, he could barely get a word out. Robin made him tea, wiped his face with a cool washcloth and rubbed his back until he calmed down. He confessed to her what he heard. She was suspiciously quiet as she listened. 

Before he went to bed, Steve left a message on Eddie's machine saying he wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t make it tonight. He hung up before an ‘I'm sorry and I love you’ slipped out. He didn't want to embarrass himself further. It's not like Eddie would notice or care. It never meant a thing to him anyway.

'I was such a fool to think anyone would actually love me back.’

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

The next day, Eddie stopped over to check on Steve. It wasn’t like him to miss a date, he must really have been sick. Not to worry though because he was fully prepared to nurse his man back to health.

To Eddie’s surprise, Robin answered the door instead… and punched him square in the face.

“What the fuck, Buckley?!” Holding his throbbing nose, he stepped away from the angry woman in case she decided to take another swing.

“Fuck you, Munson! You stay the hell away from Steve.”

“I'll see my boyfriend if I want to.” This was absurd, he tried to move around her to go inside. “What is your problem?”

Robin used all her might to shove him away. “Oh, he's your boyfriend now? Thought it wasn't a relationship and you were just getting what you could out of it.”

“Look I don't know what you think you heard...”

“I didn't. Steve did.”

Eddie froze, his heartbeat skyrocketing. All color drained from his face, his bloody nose slowly dripping onto his shirt in sharp contrast.

“Yeah, he was bringing you a gift and heard everything you and your nasty friends said about him.” Robin shook her head at him, sneering, “He's changed so much, you should know that more than anyone. And he loves you. He doesn't deserve to be treated this way, especially from you.”

“Shit. Shit! It's not what you think. God, I’ve got to talk to him. I...”

“I don't think so.” She wasn’t going to budge.

“But you don't understand, I can explain.”

“No buts, Munson. Because it can only be one of two things.” She held up one finger, “Either you meant what you said last night, which makes you the Grand Poobah of assholes.” 

She held up a second finger, “Or you are too embarrassed to claim Steve as yours and admit you love him back. I honestly don't care which because it still makes you a cowardly piece of shit that broke my best friend's heart and I'm not letting you near him again. Got it!”

Eddie just hung his head and nodded. Wincing as Robin slammed the door in his face.

He remained rooted to the spot, the guilt eating at him. He wished he could go back in time and rip those horrible words out of his lying mouth. He felt sick.

'I ruined everything. How could I be so fucking stupid, why did I say those things?'

Eddie imagined kicking down the door, running to Steve, screaming ‘I love you! I love you! I love you! I'm sorry, please forgive me. I swear I didn't mean a word of it. Not a fucking word. And I'm so fucking sorry. Please don't leave me.’ He'd get on his knees and beg until his beloved took him back.

He's not sure how long he stood there staring at his Reeboks. No sign of movement from inside the house. Finally accepting defeat, Eddie turned tail, fleeing back to his van. He knew he wouldn't get another chance. Why stick around.

Sniffing and wiping at his stinging eyes, he fumbled the keys, dropping them into the dirt. “Fuck!” He rammed his fist into the driver's side door, before bending over to grab the keys.

Unlocking the door and getting in, Eddie sat there staring at his swollen and swiftly bruising knuckles. Something was definitely broken. Wouldn't be able to play for a while. He knew he should be more upset about that, but right now he couldn't care less. He lost his Stevie, his Sunshine.

Eddie gripped the steering wheel as hard as he could, screaming at top of his lungs “FUCKKKKKKKKK!” Out of breath, he leaned his head on the wheel, allowing himself to cry. He was alone, living his worst nightmare.

It was over.

The End

A/N: A special thank you to everyone that has read this. I appreciate you all and I’d love to know your thoughts.

[jazzandother-blog]

ANITA O'DAY, ANITA (1956)

LIsten ´´ANITA´´ here

The Jezebel Who Inaugurated Verve

The Backstory When L.A.-born jazz impresario Norman Granz announced plans to start a new pop-oriented label named Verve on Christmas Eve of 1955, the buzz was all about the artist that Granz had signed before the announcement. She was a respected female jazz singer whom Granz had lured away from Decca Records where her career had plateaued. In February of 1956, Granz took out a full-page ad in Billboard proclaiming: 'VERVE RECORDS: WE GOT ELLA!'

Granz hired Buddy Bregman, a 24-year-old wunderkind arranger from Chicago, to oversee Verve's recording sessions. Bregman found only one problem: Other than Ella Fitzgerald, who had yet to record anything for the label, they had no other artists. Granz suggested Bregman tap the roster of artists at his two money-losing jazz labels, Clef and Norgran. "I found no one who was pure enough to do pop, so I looked for crossovers—obviously vocalists", Bregman remembered in 2011. "I went over the jazz artists on the jazz labels and I saw a lady who had gone to my high school and had an infamous reputation, Anita O'Day".

Anita O'Day was one of the least likely choices for Verve's first official LP. She was a relic of the Big Band days who had made her name singing with Gene Krupa's orchestra. But O'Day did not think of herself as a jazz singer; she thought of her voice as an instrument equal with any other, even insisting on wearing the same uniforms as the all-male bands she sang with. ("Anita O'Day is a woman", one jazz writer sniffed, "but for many years, Anita was unwilling to admit it".) She had come up hardscrabble during the Great Depression and had an attendant personality: direct, unvarnished, and often baffling. She held her own with the bands she sang with when it came to musical prowess—and wild behavior (she had been drinking in Windy City saloons since she was sixteen). Her sense of timing and phrasing was innate—she could literally replace any instrument in a brass line—and her singing soon took on the individualistic qualities of bebop while she developed a widely publicized heroin addiction. It earned her the nickname she would despise: "The Jezebel of Jazz".

By the early 1950s, O'Day had amassed long rap sheet and was eventually thrown into Terminal Island, where she suffered a nervous breakdown. Her career wrecked, she was playing strip dives in El Segundo and living with her drummer John Poole in Long Beach when Bregman went to see her at a club on Hollywood Boulevard. He was not impressed. "I hated her singing... but she did a whole set with her back to the audience. I thought, wow, that is so weird. I never even thought it had anything to do with drugs". Bregman, who did not smoke or drink, spent an awkward night with O'Day and Poole trying to work out a pop repertoire with such an out-of-the-box singer. "Her piano keys had no white ivory on them and when we rehearsed 'Honeysuckle Rose,' she asked if I could play more in the cracks. That stopped me. So I actually moved my fingers a little to the left and she nodded like 'That's what I meant".

Bregman was intrigued, but Granz was dubious. "She never sold over 3,000 albums in her life," he cautioned. "If you do better than that, it's a miracle". Bregman thought about it and decided, "Okay, I'll take a chance on O'Day". As O'Day herself wrote in her graphically honest 1981 autobiography High Times Hard Times, "Those seven words put me back in the business".

Why You Should Listen Anita (Verve #2000), recorded in three days in December 1955 in the old Capitol Studios building on Melrose Avenue, remains a masterpiece of self-reinvention. The cover, a murky and melancholy hand-tinted picture of O'Day perched on a rock, head resting in the crook of a tree, says it all: A matured woman had emerged from oblivion and was reintroducing herself, scars and all. From the crisp opening salvo of Bregman's horn section on Cole Porter's "You're The Top" to the near-classical leanings of the 1931 ballad "Beautiful Love", O'Day's grainy, bittersweet delivery is a perfect foil for Bregman's lush, buttery arrangements. L.A. studio vets like bassist Joe Mondragon, harpist Corky Hale and guitarist Barney Kessel round out the stellar cast of players.

The Aftermath According to Bregman, Anita sold 385,000 copies in the first six months after its release. "As news about Anita, spread, everybody started welcoming me back", O'Day remembered. "The Los Angeles disc jockeys promoted Anita as the album of the week. Variety, until then not one of my big boosters, was converted. Cash Box put my picture on the cover and Metronome welcomed me back in an editorial". The New York Daily News called her "perhaps the most high-styled jazz singer in action today". For his part, Bregman later crowed that the album "made me a star".

O'Day's Verve years, although plagued by her continuing addictions, were arguably her finest hour. She revealed a talent for finding quirky or obscure material on subsequent albums like Pick Yourself Up (also with Bregman), Travelin' Light and All the Sad Young Men. (The latter is practically a concept album of overlooked composers). In 1958, despite being "high as a kite" (her words), O'Day knocked the socks off of a sleepy afternoon crowd at the Newport Jazz Festival with her deconstruction of the standards "Tea for Two" and "Sweet Georgia Brown". Her appearance was filmed for the 1960 documentary Jazz on A Summer's Day, and the release of that film further completed her triumphant return and achievement of a new respectability as a unique jazz stylist.

Anita O'Day died in Los Angeles on November 23, 2006. Her memorial was at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery chapel, where Bregman recalled: "Her manager at the end of the service passed the CD out to all and said: This was her favorite album she ever made´´.

Source: Los Angeles magazine / writer Matthew Duersten

[keplerspacecraftofficial]

ok so penelope scott dropped her new video for Gross which is while not my top fave still an excellent song. great music video to drop on halloween. at 3:20, instead of the lyrics being the caption in that moment ("or I'm just a bitch/ but you'll never know") it is the following coordinates:

which brings us here:

czechia! and. Okay. the weird thing is, that while the google street view gives us this unassuming ass building,

that's because it's the tourist center for Kostnice v Seldeci-- Seldec Ossuary.

gorgeous. ms. scott, what the fuck.

this is all on top of the fact that when you turn on subtitles, the only time the youtube subtitles turn on is to say "Penelope:" "Honey:" starting at different sections. and variations on "(Penelope v Honey)" "(Penelope ^ Honey)" etc. "Honey Morello," according to Scott's Genius page, is a prior pen name.

also, i tried to start analyzing the inconsistencies between the lyrics sung, the lyrics put in the in-video captions, and the youtube subtitles and bitch they are Three Different Things. i'm falling down the rabbit hole. this post is long enough so it's going under the readmore for my nerds.

beyond that, someone pointed out the fact the text color changes over the course of the video? which i'm not studying right now. if you do that, do either put it on this post or tag me :O

Penelope:

It was so easy with you

So salty and gross

Made me feel clean by comparison

It was a tongue in my mouth

And a fire in my house

It made me look so innocent

I'm never gonna feel good again

I've played this game all the way to the end

Look at this stupid little song for you

You're pretty good at this game, too

I wish I didn't miss you

Or that I liked you at all

I wish I had the guts to fuck my own life up

I wish I had your set of balls

But I'm a chemical compound

I'm just the ring you take off

I'm just the next little girl you fake it with

Before you go make it work with the one that you love

I drink my dumb little drinks

(*glass breaking*)

(small note: there is a glass breaking sfx as penelope does, in fact, drop a glass. just watch the video)

Act like you care what I think

Or like I really wanna get to know you

Give everybody a chance

Put on my makeup and dance

Say things like, "I'll do anything for you."

Don't I look good in this dress?

In this well manicured mess

I look phenomenal, but only to you, oh

It's even worse than you think

Honey:

I'm watching everything

Penelope:

And I'll die before I'll tell you the truth

I'm never gonna feel good again

I've played this game through the end

One more stupid little song for you

You're better than you thought at this, too

I wish I'd never met you

Or that I wanted you still

I wish I had the guts to fuck my own life up

I wish you'd just come over and kill me

But I'm a chemical compound

I'm just the ring you take off

I'm just the next little girl you fake it with

Before you go make it work with the one that you love

And I don't even resent that

Do you get that I don't even object

I don't mind what you meant

But then how dare you express

Whatever brand of respect this is

When I made sure that we both know I'm a mess

Honey:

I hate it most when they're kind

When they have meaningful lives

And I'm the awful one standing next to them

It was an earnest suggestion, a real connection

Every part of me poses a threat to them

And if you're mean then they'll laugh

Like they don't understand

If you got it, you would fucking go home, well

~(Penelope v Honey):

Say that you want me still

(Penelope v Honey):

Say I'm just mentally ill

(again: above does not actually show up in the in-video captions. replaced by the coordinates)

Or I'm just a bitch, but, you'll never know

I'm never gonna feel good again

I've played this game through the end

I'll pull the plug or I'll wait it out

But I don't need you around

(Penelope ^ Honey) v (Penelope v Honey):

I wish I'd never met you

I wish I wasn't a waste

(another weirdness here. the lyric sung is "waste" as it has always been. in the captions, it is, "I WISH I WASN'T A FACE." but slowing it down frame by frame prior, one gets:

(i am hoping the above characters are a load of spambabble and not a cipher because i have spent too much time as is on this.)

The lyric flickers in, in full, for a single frame, and then it continues. hrm.

I wish I had the guts to fuck my own life up

Or the heart to set myself straight

But I'm a chemical compound

You're just the gun in my mouth

If you stopped romanticizing who I am at parties,

∃x (Penelopex ^ Honeyx)

∃x (Penelopex ^ ~Honeyx)

you'd find your way out

∃x (Honeyx ^ ~Penelopex)

∃x ~(Honeyx ∨ Penelopex)

∃x:

I wish I weren't a liar

I wish that I could be kind

(more of the spambabble crunch on line above. already weird enough with the rapid switching logical inconsisentcy narrators. don't have the time or patience to put all the images in again, but the same thing happens. the lines in the video captions are "MIRROR IMAGE ONCE OR TWICE./MEET YOUR DOUBLE MEET YOUR PRIME" nothing happens inside the video itself at that exact moment in terms of mirroring? hypothesis that someone should check if the frame is ever flipped.)

I wish that I could trust you

this line never actually comes up in the in-video captions, even on a freeze frame. "HAUNTING HUNTING HIVE MACHINE"

That things would turn out fine

gets to "that things would turn out" before turning into "GRASS IS GREENER GRASS IS GREEN". All following lines do something similar, getting only up to a point before changing.

But I'm a chemical compound

"WOMEN WOMAN DOG MOUSE GIRL"

I'm just a flash in your pan

MAN IS SORT IS GOD IS WORLD

And if you don't wanna play just say so

"DAISY YES? DAISY NO?"

And you'll never ever see me again

I HAVE SOMEWHERE ELSE TO GO.

∄x

something tells me we're playing with doubles.

will come back to this post in the morning. happy halloween!

[pianocat939]

I would to see a show down between platonic yanderes Donnie vs Kendra for their friend reader , who do think would think would win ? How would their treat the reader afterwards ?

Donnie content? I eat. Also I don't like Kendra that much. Like her design is really cool but I hate her personality so much. I would be pissed 100% if I ever had to deal with her.

I've been procrastinating so much this week :-;

Tw: manipulation, betrayal (guys it's Kendra), spyware installed in home, some possessive themes

Hangouts and Childish Bickering

"I don't get why you need to introduce me to another person when the people I'm companions with are already sufficient." Donatello quips, further hiding in his violet hoodie. He staggers his pace ever so slightly, clearly not wanting to proceed on.

"Maybe. But they really like technology and engineering just like you do!" Y/n exclaims, stopping their movement for a split second so that Donnie can catch up. Their mouth turns upwards, excited for the two to meet.

He turns his head away, mumbling to himself, "You're the only friend I need..."

A few turns later, they arrive at an alleyway to the side of a cafe. Donnie stays hidden behind Y/n, preferring not to expose himself. Not a presence is in sight; until they emerge from the darkness.

"Y/n~ What's up?" A lilac-haired girl speaks, her neon blue lipstick faintly glowing by the moon's light. The other two members appear behind her, giving a few waves of greeting.

"Not much. Anyway, here's the friend I was talking about-"

"YOU!" Donnie cuts them off, accusingly pointing one of his fingers at Kendra. "YOU DECEIVING MONGOOSE!" He defensively stands in front of his friend, eyes lightened with fury. He knew something was off when Y/n wanted to introduce him to new people because they knew his distaste for most beings. But he never suspected that Kendra, that lying little bitch, would manipulate his dearest friend.

"Oh look who it is. What was your name? Oh right, isn't it Othello Von Ryan." Kendra comments, malice woven through Donnie's pen name. She sassily puts a hand on her hip, a frown evident on her face. "Y/n, you shouldn't be hanging out with him, he's pretty, toxic."

"No, no. Again, Kendra is manipulating you, I'm your best friend. I would do anything to make sure you don't hang out with vermin such as herself." He retorts back, eyes narrowing.

The tension is intense, not even the bold would speak. Y/n leans to the side, over the turtle's shoulder, "I have no idea what's happened between you two but I'm not gonna stop being friends with either of you."

"Hmph. Whatever you say, but we're going back to the lair, now come on." He turns back to the direction they came from, his mind swirling with hateful thoughts. Kendra trying to steal his beloved friend? He won't let it happen under any circumstances.

Right before Donnie can get too far, Kendra offers, "Wait. What if him and I have a battle to see who's fit to be your friend?" She confidently steps forward, challenging him to an imaginary duel.

Donnie laughs a little, before flipping back to look her in the eye."As if you're not going pull one of your betrayals again, you did it to both me, Sheldon, and now Y/n. Clearly, there is no need to do such childish bickering." His eyes are dark, filled with no emotion except hatred.

"Nah. I genuinely want to have a competition with you. This is something much more important." She tilts her slightly, returning the look back to the mutant.

"Hah, I'll observe you suffering and laugh when I win."

"Back at ya'. It starts now. Whoever gets un-friended first is the loser."

"Guys do we really need to do this?"

——————————————————

Analysis:

First of all, how would they fight with each other? Obviously using technology, but there is a psychological factor as well. They'll try to steal your time, suggesting who's more fun to hang out with, or is better suited for you.

Princess Diana will offer you two to play video games or to go have fun on his jetpack drone, flying above the New York buildings under the dark navy sky. He'll be much more affectionate? In his own way. He'll try to compliment you (keyword: try) or gives you tech to improve your life. Basically, he pushes himself to prove to you he's better than Kendra.

Kendra, on the other hand, will convince you that you don't need anyone else. She'll point out Donnie's flaws (we still love them tho) and trash-talk about him really. She's pulling the Leo card (if you're unfamiliar with my blog Leo card essentially means manipulation) but more aggressively negative. Similar to Donald Duck she prepares the most extra "friend dates". She's researching the most expensive place (whatever you like to do) cheating her way in and being all friendly. You would think that she's trying to gain something from you based on how she acts but she truly does want to keep being your friend. Why? Because you're interesting.

Now, for the fun part.

Who would win?

This isn't up to debate tbh, it's Donnie. Guys, it's not that hard, it's Donnie ok? Just look at him, he's not going to be pulling a Leo card too much.

How would he react?

He gets somewhat possessive. It's not your stereotypical "you're mine" but it's there. He'll express it as more of "I'm much more fun to hang out with than ___." After your initial introduction to Kendra, he hates it if you reference a friend other than him (except April obv).

I don't think he would bring himself to the edge of kidnapping but he installs cameras, microphones, and other spyware within your house. He's internally self-conscious that you'll replace him with another and that he'll lose his title as a best friend. So he uses his resources and intelligence to ensure you don't become too close to someone else.

And he may or may not sabotage them if he needs to split you apart.

He would never admit this, but he's really lonely. Like throughout the show he tries to impress people with his tech and prove himself worthy of their companionship. With people, he respects I mean. April is the only one who sticks with him (minus his brothers obviously).

So it canonically would make sense that he would pull something similar to this. Maybe not as extreme, but it is a high possibility.

Oh and he's blocking half of the people you know.

——————————————————

Whenever I analyze him it's the most accurate compared to anyone else. I can easily point out his thought process so well it's almost funny.

Anyway, I'll try to get more requests out tomorrow~

- Celina

[pure-garbage]

Robin The Matchmaker? Meddling Antics Of The Archaeologist

Robin was getting tired of watching Zoro and Lana dance around their feelings.

'These two are impossible... they're both so forward, yet somehow both too shy to make the first move.'

Robin saw all the stolen glances: the way Lana studied Zoro's figure while he was napping, yearning silently from afar. Zoro was hardly any better, eyes wandering constantly, hungrily over Lana's form while they trained. Neither had yet caught the other staring, but Robin observed all the subtleties, the pieces of the larger picture both pirates seemed blind to. It could be hard to see the forest for the trees, especially from within the depths of the woods.

'Knife or sword, the sexual tension between these two is getting so thick, either of them could cut it,' Robin observed with growing impatience.

"Nami, do you know how long we'll be docked here?" Robin asked. The island was uninhabited, but her practiced eye had spied signs of the abandoned vestiges civilization up and down the coast.

"Hard to say... judging by this pose, my best guess is a day or two," Nami mused, fretting a bit as she studied the fluctuating needle on her wrist.

"That's perfect," Robin smiled. "I thought I saw the remains of some stone structures. I'm going ashore to investigate."

"Fine, but knowing Luffy and Sanji, we'll end up having another beach barbeque once they find out we're not sailing again immediately," Nami pointed out. "When that madness begins, you can just follow the smoke to find us. We won't be far from the Merry."

"We'll see."

Robin packed provisions, then approached Lana. The lockbreaker was pretending to hone her knife, but her gaze was fixed to Zoro as usual.

"You're coming with me," Robin announced.

"Uh... I am? Where to?" Lana asked, putting the balisong away.

"Ashore. I'm going exploring and I could use an assistant."

"Hm, okay then. I'll grab a pack," Lana shrugged.

"You too, swordsman!" Robin called.

Zoro opened one eye, betraying the fact that he hadn't really been asleep against the mast.

"Can't," he grumbled. "Too tired."

"I wasn't asking. We don't know anything about this island. Lana and I might run afoul of something or someone nefarious."

"Tsh! Fine, I guess," he conceded.

'I suspected it wouldn't take long to convince him after I threw in Lana's name,' Robin smirked secretly, altogether pleased with herself.

Zoro rowed them to shore while Lana showered Robin with questions about archaeology and what they might expect to find on the island.

"One never can tell until they've found it,"Robin replied cryptically.

"Rocks, moss and old, useless buildings," Zoro sighed with a roll of his eyes. "I might as well stay with the boat."

"But maybe you'll miss something exciting!" Lana grinned. "Traps... treasure... wild animals! We could bring some meat back to the ship, maybe something shiny for Nami!"

"I doubt it," Zoro insisted, clinging to his grumpiness. "Meat, maybe."

"You're such a drag," Lana teased, unfazed.

"Just being realistic."

"Come on," Robin urged them, heading uphill from the coast. "I just want a peek... if you two get bored you can head back any time."

"Don't see why I would," Lana said as they followed Robin into thicker tree cover. "The ship's not much more interesting today."

"Not yet. Just wait til Luffy wakes up from his nap," Zoro pointed out.

"That could take a while. He was up all night letting Chopper and Usopp tie him in knots," Lana chuckled.

"I wondered why they were being so loud."

"Yeah, right? It kept me up for a while too."

"You're not tired?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. You?"

"I could go for a nap," Zoro yawned.

"Maybe you can take one at the ruins," Lana suggested. "If Robin finds writing of any kind, it'll keep her busy for a while."

"Maybe so."

Robin smiled, letting the pair fall a ways behind her while they talked.

'Today's the day,' she thought with sly excitement. 'All they need is a little push...'

They reached the ruins of what had once been the center of the island's activity. Robin could tell at a glance there was actually nothing ancient or mysterious here. The abandoned town had been left willingly, over time and in an organized fashion. It laid its story bare to Robin's knowing gaze with little resistance. She still listened with keen interest to the history it shared with overgrown enthusiasm, but she was more focused on the reason she'd come ashore to begin with.

'This area is overgrown with vines... perfect for concealing a flower or too,' Robin thought sneakily.

"Ooh, what's that?" Robin exclaimed craftily. She dashed ahead, leaving her shipmates behind swiftly.

"What?" Lana responded eagerly, taking off after her. Robin didn't let her go a full step.

'Un Fleur...'

Lana yelped, feeling something snag her ankle. She started to fall, but Zoro jumped in, catching her before she could hit the ground. He spent a brief moment supporting her weight, one hand resting on her stomach and one on her arm.

"Careful," he cautioned. "Lots of vines here."

Lana turned to face him, grabbing his arms to steady herself.

'Perfect!' Robin thought.

"Yeah, I'll- hey!"

"Huh!"

Robin quickly looped a vine around Zoro's foot and tugged, sending them both toppling to the ground in a heap.

"Zoro! What happened?" Lana demanded, struggling under his weight.

"Think I slipped... these damn vines are everywhere," Zoro reasoned.

"Yeah, they've got my wrist," Lana grumbled.

"My ankles, too. We fell hard, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm fine."

It occurred suddenly to Lana that the way they'd landed was a close call to being a rather intimate pose.

'He- he's right on top of me!'

Her pounding heart skipped a beat and her cheeks flushed. The sensation of his body on hers sent an electric thrill pulsing out from her gut, momentarily overruling her embarrassment.

"H-how about you? Guess I kind of broke your fall," she managed.

"Uh... yeah, actually," he mumbled, falling prey to a blush that matched hers as he too realized just how close together they were. "Sorry."

"S'fine."

"Lemme... I can help with this stupid vine," he offered, tugging it off her wrist.

"Thanks. Your ankle, maybe I can-"

"I got it, just-"

There was a stone digging uncomfortably into Lana's back. She pushed up onto her elbows to escape it, not anticipating how close the action would put their faces. She gasped sharply at the proximity, eyes going wide as his left the vines looped around his feet to meet hers. His eyes were dark and intense, pupils dilated way wider than they should have been from a simple fall.

'She's... not in a hurry to pull away,' Zoro observed inwardly, heartbeat speeding up while he felt her breath come faster. The pink flush of her cheeks deepened further as they both froze for a few breathless seconds, each waiting on the other to move first.

'Is... is he gonna kiss me?' Lana wondered, struggling to find another reason he might be lingering so long.

Zoro was indeed tempted to press his lips to Lana's, but the same question plagued him still.

'Would she mind if I did?'

Over Lana's shoulder, Zoro caught a glimpse of Robin in the flower pose, watching them intently from around the corner of a dilapidated building. His eyes narrowed, suspicions mounting as he replayed the fall in his mind.

'I didn't slip. Something pulled me.'

"Come on," he grunted, pushing off Lana and helping her back onto her feet. Robin vanished around the corner, leaving the pair alone.

"I'll watch my step more closely," Lana sighed sheepishly.

"Yeah, weird terrain around here," Zoro agreed, eyes fixed to the spot where their crewmate had disappeared. "Let's catch up to Robin. After you..."

______________________________________________________

<== Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ==>

== First Chapter ==

[sirenascales]

-> double black [part two] 18+

-> Chuuya x 1stPOV!F!Reader x Dazai

-> Who knew getting fired from work could lead to this?

-> Content: SMUT, slight angst, violence, murder, swearing

A failed friend date turns into a day of fun and laughs with a rather odd coworker. [Dazai x 1stPOV!F!Reader]

3,274 words

Warning: suicide ideation (like, it's Dazai, c'mon now.)

note: I'm glad some of ya'll seemed to enjoy chuuya's chapter! I decided to just upload Dazai's and then we can move on to the story. Please enjoy! Tags in the replies.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Final || masterlist

"Keiko-- Keiko, it's two PM!" I said into the phone, sending an apologetic look to my coworkers. "And I'm at work. You can't be calling me, especially when you're drunk so early in the day."

"Uggghhhh, you're so mean!" I sighed softly at Keiko's response, the office phone on my desk beginning to ring.

"Keiko, I have to go now, I'm sorry! Call Taichi and tell him to bring you home."

"Wait-"

I ended the call, rubbing my eyebrows as I picked up the other phone. "Armed Detective Agency, how may I help you?"

It's been around three months since I've started working at the Agency, and I have to say, it was a pretty great job. It paid well, kept me on my toes with the many different cases we took on, and my coworkers were great... despite how weird they were.

"That's like the seventh time your friend called you this week," Ranpo spoke up from his desk, the man literally surrounded by snack wrappers.

I sighed deeply, rubbing my eyebrows. "I know, I'm sorry everyone. She's not usually like this... I know she likes to drink, but... never to this extent."

"Maybe there is something going on?" the cute Atsushi suggested and I frowned. "Maybe you can try to find out?"

"It wouldn’t be wise to just push yourself into someone's private life like that," Kunikida added and I nodded in agreement.

Of course I couldn't. Not with who her boyfriend was. I was her best friend, but even I knew not to step in. "Besides, she always says she's okay when I ask..." I said thoughtfully, too distracted to continue my work. I could believe her, right? Besides, she had Taichi. He loved her, and always made sure that she was protected and taken care of. He always made sure to be around her when he wasn't away, keeping her to his side at all times. I thought maybe he was being a bit too protective, but I also understood because of his... profession.

"Alright, alright, we have a schedule, people. Let's not get too distracted here," Kunikida exclaimed and I laughed softly. The only one with a schedule was the super punctual man himself, but I still went on to do my work.

"Speaking of work..." I started, unimpressed as I Iooked to the empty desk across the office. "Where the hell is Dazai?"

Atsushi just hung his head and sighed, Kunikida gritting his teeth at his desk. "I tried calling him but he wouldn't pick up," Atsushi sighed again and I huffed, standing up from my desk. "I'll take my 30 now. I'll be in the cafe and I'll try to get Dazai to bring his scrawny ass to work."

The Agency was on the fourth floor of the building while the cafe was down on the first, very convenient for me. I was lazy and the coffee and food was good. I dialed up Dazai's number as I descended the four flights of stairs, pressing my phone to my ear.

At the top of one flight, I stopped when I heard a familiar ring tone blare out, and when I looked down to the bottom of the stairs, I saw the man of the hour. His brown hair was wavy as ever, his signature tanned jacket looking immaculate. I watched as he just looked at his phone, watching it ring before he put his phone in his pocket.

I hated him. "So you were just gonna ignore me?!" I shouted down the stairs. Dazai whipped his head up, eyes going comically wide.

"Bella!" he exclaimed, practically running up the stairs right towards me. I gasped and back away quickly, back hitting the wall as Dazai caged me between his bandaged arms. His forehead pressed against mine and I will my face not to burn as he looked at me with those pretty brown eyes of his. "I missed you."

My heart skipped a beat, my mouth going dry. Still, I glared up at the man. "We just saw each other yesterday," I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the feeling of his soft breath against my face. I was thankful my voice didn't crack. "And you have plenty of paperwork to do still on your desk."

"Ehhh, I'm tired and I'm busy," Dazai nonchalantly waved that off, now standing away from me and waving his hand dismissively. "Got better things to do."

I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah? Like what?"

With that, Dazai took my hands in his, a hopeful look on his face. Here we go again. "Double suicide."

"No." I immediately declined him. "My answer is still the same as it was last week."

Dazai visibly deflated, covering his eyes dramatically. "Sweet death... she evades me yet again..."

"Yeah," I deadpanned, brushing past Dazai and heading down the stairs. "Anyway. I'm heading to the cafe to get something to eat."

"Oh!" Dazai exclaimed, hooking my arm with his as he quickly came up to my side. "I'll go with you!"

"You have work to do!" I yelled at him, trying to push him back up the stairs. "Go before Kunikida has an aneurysm."

"But I don't wanna!" Dazai whined, quickly turning the tables on me. Now he was behind me, his arms wrapped around me and pinning my arms to my chest. I felt his breath against my left ear and I shivered deeply. "I wanna spend time with you..." he whispered softly, his voice dropping. I bit my bottom lip, looking over at him over my shoulder. I shivered again, the usual brightness in his eyes gone. I've only seen that look on his face a handful of times, and it never failed to make me feel completely on edge. Like I was in danger.

I liked it.

"Ugh," I sneered, rolling my eyes and shaking myself out of his arms. "Fine, fine. I'll treat today, okay?"

"Yay!" Dazai's jovial nature returned as he followed me to the cafe. I shake my head at the strange duality of the man. We sat across from each other, the redheaded waitress named Lucy that obviously had a crush on Atsushi giving us some menus.

As I looked over the menu, I looked over at Dazai, the man humming as he mulled over his choices. I bit the inside of my cheek, just feeling that maybe there was more to Dazai than he let on.

The weekend soon arrived and I was in a bit of a sour mood. I was at the boardwalk, sitting on an empty bench after getting off the phone with Keiko. We were supposed to spend the day together, but she had called me thirty-minutes late, all of a sudden saying that she couldn't make it.

Her tone of voice worried me, she sounded rushed and breathless, totally unlike her. "I'm okay. I'm sorry for flaking out so suddenly," she said before she ended the call. I blinked at the screen, a bit put off by the entire thing. Just what was up with her?

Though I couldn't dwell on it, for there was a presence behind me. "Well, well, look what we have here," a teasing voice whispered into my ear before blowing into it. I shrieked, jumping off the bench before spinning around.

"Dazai!" I hissed at the laughing man standing on the other side of the bench. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Bet it got your heart pumping, huh," Dazai hummed happily, skipping around the bench and right over to me. "Bella, I missed you~" he hugged me tightly in his arms. I sighed deeply, half-heartedly wrapping my arms around him in return and giving him a pat on the back.

"We saw each other yesterday."

"Eighteen hours is too long, bella."

I rolled my eyes, pulling away from the huge and giving Dazai a look. "You're so dramatic, dude," I say with a laugh, shaking my head. "What are you doing here?"

"Hmm, well I thought this would be a great place to think about how to commit suicide," Dazai began and I gave him another look. "But, I saw my bella looking so sad and lonely! I just had to rush to comfort her!"

Dazai hugged me again, squeezing me tight. I let out a struggling breath, writhing a bit in his hold. "You're killing me!"

"Oh! Let's commit do-"

"No, oh my God!"

I turned and stormed away from the suicidal man, shaking my head when I heard him call out for me. "Bella, wait!" He latched onto my arm, pressing his cheek against mine. "Tell me what's wrong. I am your trusted friend and coworker~"

"More like trusted pain in my ass," I mumbled before sighing, walking over to the boardwalk railing and staring out into the ocean. "It's Keiko. She was supposed to be with me today, but she just called and canceled..." I frowned deeply, eyebrows pinched in worry.

"What else did she say?" Dazai asked quietly, having gone serious once he saw the look in my face. "How did she seem?"

"Off..." I answered immediately before I looked over at my companion. "Or am I just imagining things? Yeah, I'm disappointed she flaked out but...." I hung my head. "I don't know..."

"Well, it could be nothing," Dazai suggested. "Or it could be something. There's no way for you to know."

I made a face at his vague ass answer before sighing again. "I can only trust her. She was the first friend I made when I moved to Japan, and I was excited to see her today. I've been having a rough time lately."

"Is something bothering you?" Dazai asked, and I shivered feeling his gaze on me.

"Eh... just depressed," I answered offhandedly. "Lonely. Normal sad girl shit, ya know."

That made Dazai snicker under his breath. "Yeah, I know. But luckily for you," Dazai started, arm draping around my shoulders and pulling me to him. "I'm here to save the day!"

I couldn't help it, I laughed before I wrapped my arm around his middle, letting him hold me against him. "You'll hang out with me today?"

Dazai grinned. "It would be my pleasure."

Time flew by so quickly, that I was surprised to look at my phone and see that it was damn near seven in the evening. Gaping, I looked up, seeing that the sky was slowly turning dark. "Holy crap, Dazai. Did we really spend the whole day out here?" I asked in shock, looking over at him. "What the hell did we do?!"

"What didn't we do," Dazai whined, slumping against me. "I'm tired... and you still wanna ride the stupid ferris wheel!"

"It's not stupid," I said with a pout. "Besides... we're already in line."

"Meh," Dazai grumbled, still keeping his body pressed against me as we waited in line. He was behind me, his chin pressed on my shoulder. I tried not to shiver as I felt his breath along my neck.

Soon enough, we were in our carriage and slowly riding up to the top. I took a few pictures as we did so, Dazai looking over in amazement.

"You think the drop from up here would kill me?"

"Yeah, and would scar everyone here."

"Oh yeah... can't have that."

I rolled my eyes, glancing over at him and pausing for a bit. Dazai was still looking out over Yokohama, an expression I've never seen before on his face. He almost looked... sad. Very handsome, his side profile absolutely perfect. But he still looked sad. I took a quick picture, smiling as I looked over it on my phone.

The carriage stopped and I couldn't help but grin as we just swayed softly up in the air. "Thanks for spending the day with me, Dazai. It would have sucked if I had spent it alone."

"Ahh, don't sweat it, bella. I couldn't possibly leave you out here alone," Dazai answered dramatically and I laughed and rolled my eyes. 

I felt a vibration in my pocket and I grabbed my phone, smiling at the cute selfie that Keiko sent to me.

'I'm so sorry for bailing! I'll make it up to you, I promise! ❤ mwuah'

"Is that Keiko?" Dazai asked and I nodded, sending her a quick reply.

"Yeah. She seems to be doing okay," I said, feeling a bit relieved.

"That's great!" Dazai exclaimed, getting up from his spot and carefully making his way to sit beside me, much to my horror.

"Dazai! We're not supposed to move around!"

"We're fine!" he waved me off dismissively. "Now you can stop worrying about Keiko and focus on what's important. Me."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "You?"

Dazai hummed. "Yes, me. And how I'm taking you home tonight."

My jaw drops, face heating up at his words. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Dazai answered, his voice dropping a bit as his gaze and entire mood changed. His gaze was darker now, his lips curled up in an almost dangerous smirk. "I think it's time we stop tiptoeing around each other and just take what we really want."

My mouth went dry and I quickly became flustered, turning my head away. Immediately, a hand is grabbing my face, Dazai digging his fingers into my cheeks as he forces me to look back at him.

"Nuh uh, you look at me when I'm speaking."

His authoritative tone makes me freeze, heart pounding in my chest as I stared at Dazai, completely bewildered. I knew there was something more about him than he had let on, and whatever it was, had me in fight or flight mode.

"Now, when we're done here, we're gonna leave and head back to my place, okay?" he asked me, but his tone made it seem like it wasn't a request, and it sure as hell didn't match the seemingly innocent smile on his face; not when it didn't reach his eyes.

I nodded, Dazai removing his hand from my face. His smile sent shivers down my spine.

"Good."

"Mmn... fuck, Dazai..." I moaned and gasped softly, the man on top of me littering my neck with angry red and purple marks, two of his fingers working inside my pussy. I was completely naked on his bed, Dazai only in his underwear-- and his bandages still wrapped around his arms and chest.

"Hey, what did I tell you?" Dazai whispered against my neck, curling his fingers and smirking when I cried out. "Call me Osamu. Don't make me tell you again."

I frantically nodded my head, crying out again as he sped up the pace of his fingers, his mouth moving down to my chest. "F-fuck, Osamu!"

"That's it," he whispered, taking one of my hardened nipples into his mouth. My fingers curled into his soft brown hair, head tilting back and eyes screwing shut as Dazai continued to pleasure my body.

It wasn't long until he pushed his hard cock into my wet pussy, the both of us groaning at the feeling of us finally connecting. I was on my knees and elbows, pillow placed under my hips. Dazai started out slowly, biting his lip as he watched his dick disappear inside of me.

"Fuck... I'm gonna burn this sight into my memory," Dazai groaned, making me whine as I shook my head.

"D-don't stare like that..."

Dazai chuckled softly, his hands grabbing my hips as he started to move faster, thrusting harder. I moaned and whined, it seemed to be the only thing I could do while Dazai fucked the shit outta me. "Osamu... please..."

My whining made the man above me grin widely, his thrusts becoming rougher, almost wild as he suddenly reached out and grabbed a handful off my hair. I yelped when he yanked me up, my back now pressed against his chest and his other hand wrapped around my throat.

"What is it, bella?" he hissed into my ear, pounding away at my pussy and making me cry out again. God, it was too much all at once. "What does my pretty little subordinate want?"

I whined. "I want to cum... please Osamu..."

He cackled, pushing me back on the bed, grabbing my hips so hard, I knew I was gonna bruise. "Cum then," he hissed down at me, pushing my face into the mattress. He fucked me relentlessly, fingers finding my clit and rubbing harsh circles. That made my vision go white, my scream muffled as I came hard, body going rigid as pleasure overtook my body.

"Shit, you're squeezing me so tight," Dazai grunted. He pulled out, ignoring my whines as he stepped off the bed. "Get on your back."

I barely rolled over halfway until there was a strong grip on my ankle, my body being pulled down the length of the bed. Dazai stood at the end, wasting no time in pushing my legs back by the back of my knees, and plunging his cock back into me.

I looked up at him through teary eyes, and I knew I should have been afraid of the mad look that was in his eyes, the way his lips were curled up in a snarl. But it just made my pussy clench around him in arousal, eyes rolling to the back of my head.

I came a second time as he did his first, and much to my ultimate pleasure, we weren't finished there. We pleasured each other through the night, until we wore each other out and fell asleep entangled in the sheets.

I woke up the next morning, groaning in pain as I felt my body ache. I forced myself to sit up, looking around blearily and humming softly when I found Dazai sitting on the edge of the bed, his bare back to me.

"Good morning," he sang to me and I giggled softly, carefully moving to kneel behind him. The blankets fell from around me and I pressed my bare chest against his back. "Hm, that's nice."

"Morning," I said softly, peeking over his shoulder. "What are you do-"

I stop, staring as Dazai wrapped seemingly clean bandages on his heavily scarred left arm. I swallowed thickly, my mind running at what could have possibly been the cause of those scars.

But deep down, I knew that the cause was Dazai himself.

"Do... Do you have enough?" I asked softly, not knowing what else to even say. I didn't want to pry or seem insensitive, just having to get over this metaphorical punch in the gut myself.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Dazai answered, turning to face me with a cheery smile on his face. In a matter of seconds, I was flat on my back, Dazai on top of me with his lips pressed against mine. It was easy for him to make me forget about what I saw, his kisses stealing my breath away.

"I have to go," he said softly, pushing himself off me after a moment.

I nodded solemnly, watching him continue to get dressed. "Alright. See you at work tomorrow?"

He smirked at me. "You know the answer to that."

I rolled my eyes again, just as my phone started to ring. I grabbed it, sending Dazai a quick smile before answering the call.

"Hey Keiko, guess who got fucking laid." That made Dazai snort while I grinned, though my grin fell as I didn't hear Keiko go off like I thought she would. "Keiko?" I shared a look with Dazai.

"Hey... I need you. Can I come over?"

[wondersofdreaming]

Keepsake

Characters: Captain Syverson x female reader (3rd person)

Word count: 1.827

Warnings: Death, loss, hopelessness, light cursing, sadness, melancholy, grief, heartache, mourning.

Author’s note: This story was inspired by the song 'Everglow' by Coldplay.

Do me a favour and listen to the song, while reading this, I'll link to the different versions, depending on your mood.

Everglow (original) by Coldplay

Everglow (acoustic) by Coldplay

Everglow (instrumental) by Alexandre Pachabezian

The links are for Spotify, if they don't work try this link for YouTube

I do not own any characters in this short story, except the wife, son and Elijah Reed, who are figments of my imagination.

A massive, MASSIVE, thank you to my beloved angel, @radaofrivia, for giving me the idea from just a few thoughts, for sitting through with me while I wrote this, for giving me advice and for just being there.

Please check out her stories right here: RADA'S MASTERLIST

MY MASTERLIST

Feedback is appreciated.

(Young Syverson, picture credit to @killjoy-assbutt-1112 - find it here)

Oh, they say people come Say people go This particular diamond was extra special And though you might be gone And the world may not know Still I see you, celestial

Lyrics are from Everglow by Coldplay.

The looming grey clouds were moving closer towards him. He could hear the distant sounds of the rumbling thunder. Before long it started to rain and lightning lit up the entire house. The dirt road was flooded in no time, giving the crops the liquid nourishment they needed.

The former army captain was restless. It was on days like these he missed him, more than anything else in the world. He couldn’t sit still and had planned on working on the house, but the coming storm was putting a stop to that. Instead, he sat on the porch swing he built with Elijah when Lucas bought the house.

The Syversons had moved to their farm when Lucas was 4. A few days into the move, their neighbours had stopped by with some casserole, and to welcome them to their community. Mr and Mrs Reed also had a son who was a few months younger than Luc. Elijah had hidden behind his mother’s leg, a little shy, but with some encouragement he greeted Lucas.

“I’m Lucas, but my baby sister can’t say it yet, she keeps babbling Luc, so if it’s easier, you can call me Luc too.”

“I’m Elijah.”

Sy remembered he was trying so hard to pronounce his new friend’s name. He smiled at the memory, the name had been permanent in Lucas’ mind, only using Elijah, when he was mad at him or thinking he was about to do something stupid, which he did often.

“Lija, wanna play?” Lucas asked awkwardly.

“What?” Elijah looked profoundly confused. “I… don’t know.”

“Go on, son. It’s okay,” Mr Reed tried to encourage him.

“Come with me, Lija. I wanna show ya somethin’.”

Lucas had shown Elijah his new toy tractor that his parents had given him for his birthday. The two young boys had played together, and before long were inseparable.

A round yellow object in the palm of his hand. He was fiddling with it. The coin was always in his pocket, so he could keep his best friend close to him at all times. It was an old arcade coin that you could plot into any machine and play one game.

The two best friends had each gotten a dollar’s worth of coins, but the man at the ticket booth had miscounted, so Sy had gotten an extra coin, which the two friends had fought over during their time in the arcade. Lucas being the protector he was, lost to Elijah on purpose, so his friend won the coin.

“I’ll savour it, it’s going to be my lucky coin!” Elijah has announced.

Syverson swung the porch swing with his booted foot. He stared at the coin, wondering why he had been the lucky one. Luc shook his head faintly, his face full of pain and sorrow.

The coin became a thing that decided their fate. When the boys couldn’t agree on something, they would flip the coin. The picture side was heads and the text ‘No cash value’ side was tails. It might have been worth nothing, but it was a priceless item to the two friends.

“Heads: I ask her on a date, tails: you ask her,” Elijah flipped the yellow coin and covered the back of his hand as it landed. The two teenagers looked over at the brunette cheerleader, who was laughing with her friends. Prom was upon them and they both wanted to ask her. Elijah lifted his hand, it was heads.

The dumb coin was always on Elijah’s side. Lucas let out a soft laughter of the memory. Elijah’s face had been priceless, Sy wished he had taken a picture of it. It had been Elijah’s first kiss that night.

When Lucas decided to enlist, Elijah followed him, even with a lot of arguing against it from Sy’s side. He didn’t want his best friend anywhere near a warzone but in the end, he was glad that Lija was there with him through every hardship during training, when they lost people on their team, when they had to carry the dead back to base, it was better to have a friend by your side and share the pain with.

It didn’t take Syverson long to rank up and become captain. He ended up leading a large group of soldiers in a village in Iraq, with Elijah as his lieutenant, he felt like he could conquer the world.

During one of their trips home, Sy had bought a house he wanted to renovate, maybe start a family in. Elijah had spent every moment he could, helping Lucas with the house. It had made them closer as friends, and they had heartfelt talks about their future. Elijah wanted to come home and help his ailing parents with the farm, maybe get into breeding horses, preferably racehorses. Sy hadn’t thought of his future in that sense by then. He just wanted to relax, drink beer and ride his motorcycle.

There was hardly a moment in Lucas’ life where Elijah wasn’t a part of it. Elijah was his best friend, and if he had to be a little girly, they were BFFs. His best friend’s presence had made every moment special, made them better. It was the hardest part, to not have Elijah by his side anymore. He missed Elijah’s silly, huge and sometimes irritating grin, which somehow made the world seem a bit brighter during the dark times. Elijah made his life easier… he just made it better to have a friend to share everything with.

His heart had broken in a million pieces when the building collapsed on top of his best mate.

“Captain, we need a scouting team. I’m taking three soldiers towards those buildings and see if there are enemies up ahead,” Elijah had suggested.

“Lieutenant, I make the orders here. I’m going,” Lucas commanded.

“Heads or tails, Luc,” Elijah picked out the coin from his breast pocket.

“This is no time for such thing, Lija,” the captain grumbled.

“This is the perfect time, Luc. We promised that whenever we couldn’t agree on something, we would use the coin. So, heads or tails, captain Syverson.”

“Heads.”

The coin had landed on the tails side. Lucas had cursed the coin, fuck, shit, crap, dammit!

“It’s my turn to protect you, Luc. I’m not the scrawny little kid anymore, let me show you!”

Elijah had gathered three soldiers and run between two concrete buildings with a big smile on his face. Sy would never forget the smile. It was a grin of pride and determination. And it was the last time Lucas would ever see his best friend.

Moments later a huge explosion shook the ground they were standing on. Sy watched with horror as the buildings collapsed, trapping Elijah and his team. What they didn’t know then was that the impact with the concrete walls had killed him instantly.

The rest of the soldiers watched as their captain went on his knees. Utter despair and anguish plastered on his face, tears about to escape the corners of his eyes. The usual strict army captain, the man with the muscles, the tough guy who could break you with a stare, was breaking down.

“Lija…” he whispered into the dust-filled space, his voice breathless like somebody knocked the air out of his lungs.

At night he had screamed in pain of the loss of his most beloved friend. His days were filled with hopelessness as he prepared to fly home with Elijah’s corpse in a coffin. The nights only brought nightmares, so he started writing a letter to his best friend and thinking of how to tell Elijah’s parents.

“Dear Lija. I can’t believe you’re… Shit, I can’t even write the word. Just a four-letter word, and yet I can’t fucking write it down on a piece of paper. I wish I could have taken your place, man. It should have been me. I hate you for forcing me to pick a side on that stupid coin. I hate you for being so brave. I hate you for wanting to protect me. Fuck you for dying. Fuck you for leaving me. Here. All alone. What about your parents? How am I going to tell them that you’re… how am I going to face them? You are and will always be my best friend. I wish you could go back to your parent’s farm on your own two legs, not in a fucking box. I miss you, Lija. You’re the closest thing to a brother I will ever get. So rest in peace and keep the seat next to you warm, I’ll see you on the other side. - Luc.”

Lucas had sneaked the letter into Elijah’s breast pocket of his uniform before they had shut the coffin. The coin that Elijah had on him, had been put in a plastic bag with the rest of his belongings, prepped to be given to his next of kin, his parents. But Lucas took the yellow token. He needed a memento to remember his best friend by, something that he could keep with him always. A keepsake.

It had taken every ounce of courage for Lucas to step up to the front door of the Reed’s farmhouse. A house he was so familiar with and had so many adventurous sleepovers in Elijah’s space-themed bedroom. He could smell Mrs Reed’s famous peanut brittle, making it harder for him to knock, but he did it anyway. Standing there in his military uniform, he told the two people, who had acted as a second set of parents to him, that their only son had died heroically in battle. Lucas stood frozen, watching them mourn the loss of their son. He was about to step away to give them space, but Mrs Reed grabbed his wrist and brought him into the hug.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect him,” he pleaded, his voice breaking slightly.

“Was he in pain?” Mrs Reed asked, breaking Lucas’ heart all over again.

“No, ma’am. It happened really fast.”

Sy fiddled with the arcade coin. Having zoned out the thunder, not noticing the storm had come and gone. The sun was slowly setting on the horizon. It was a peaceful ending to an emotional day.

A loud wailing came from inside the house. The front door opened and out came his beautiful wife with their young son in her arms. His face was stained in tears. The tiny boy reached towards his father the minute he saw him. In his father’s arms was the only place the boy was happy and content. Sy’s face broke into a happy grin at the sight of his son. His tiny fingers trying to grab the coin in the former captain’s hand.

“This,” Sy showed it to his son, “will be yours when you’re old enough not to eat it.”

He chuckled at the frustrated look on the boy’s face. Sy kissed the top of his son’s head.

“I love you, Elijah.”

[jnixz]

OH That would absolutely be a brilliant idea and I love it. They thought they were there just to sort and deliver mail and completely missed the memo that these Psychics have a whole new world going on with them -- and it sure is a journey, as a supposedly side-character.

Last we see things in the mailroom was Lori pouring out her enthusiasm over it, picturing herself to be as fantastic as the previous workers in that place. But let’s be real, we all got very worried with how she is dealing with the mail. Okay well, at least I did, I literally put one of my OCs on temporary mailroom duty just so I won’t have to worry about Lori commit accidental mail crimes*.  Ah hell, I don’t know technicality of ranks Lori is gonna be the Mentor** isn’t she?

*Oh no I’m gonna have to research that don’t I?

**Okay Ford could help the new mailperson out, but we have to have him be a cryptid first okay?

They don’t know what the deal is with psycho-isolation, but since it isn’t an area they are required to go to anyways, they leave it be. There’s enough wackiness around here and they aren’t going to add another one in if they can help it (to which, I would appreciate the irony of this situation ;) ).

Ahhh, Just a POV of a normal person of all the absolutely bonkerous adventures Psychonauts get up to, trying make sense of it all while just wanting to sort mail and make normal living wage. 

(”Why is there two ten year old higher position than me? What do you mean they work here?  What do you mean they help with government mission? Junior Agents? Isn’t that what kids try to be with that Comic thing you have? This isn’t a kids’ show!”  oh my sweet child,,, so much questions, some of which you wouldn’t want an answer to /glances at audience ;) )

Oh how I just love thinking of Outsider POVs in Psychonauts, and it seems like the Mailperson has enough normalcy and seemingly access to thing that makes it the perfect spot to put them in.

adding onto the show ideas--

There's definitely an introduction to Bob where he's just doing something completely normal for him (working with the plants in the Motherlobe, getting a nice meal with Compton at the Lumberstack, just sitting with Helmut and being the most lovestruck man you have ever seen) and as soon as he notices the ASC he just freaking runs/hides because he's not ready for a new person. it's the worst running/hiding job ever and yet everyone just goes "...ok social battery is dead let's leave him be"

Helmut's introduction is either completely normal or ASC getting SLAMMED into by a hamster ball

I also want to request just... every single little background job is played by Ford. No one ever reacts.

Aye, Bob would have a relatively normal introduction, doing his own thing. I haven’t written much about Bob but for my own characterization of him, I try to keep in mind the first interaction with Bob in the greenhouse before he gets pissed off, as well as the interactions in the island where he continues gardening and even has his comment about the campfire. And also remember his reaction on seeing Nick's Body (w/o knowing it was Helmut) and it was asking a familiar someone (who is Raz in that case) for information.

So my take on Bob is that he can handle his interactions his well enough. But would prefer plants and people he is friends with. His social battery on interactions with other people gets consumed faster. Perhaps when he was younger and less socially experienced after being alone for so long he would flee but being older, he can hold his ground especially with plants around. Part of the GnG character development with the gang stays and its being able to socialize nice yes.

But yeah if he does flee in the interaction, he’d say something about needing to work on his garden or talk to his husband, leaving, and if ASC tries to follow, they nearly trip on some plants and -- hey wait did those plants just move on their on? (aka me referencing plants removing themselves from the Astralathe on their own after Bob leaves to catch-up with Helmut scene). 

ASC

As for Helmut intro well...

My mind instantly set the setting of the shot to be further into the future post the second game, where characters are able to do more of reconciliations and adjustments to the new normal daily life to be set post-game.

So that would mean that Helmut would be in back in his body and is at the last bits of the required recovery and adjustment back to his body.

Regardless, the idea of Helmut’s introduction being him pinballing around in the brain ball is very entertaining and certainly a good way to introduce those inventions are normal thing around this organization. Despite that regularity though, there is that line that something happened to his body that may or may not be elaborated on depending on if ASC knows about what happened to Helmut Fullbear at the Deluge of Grulovia (if they even know that). Then he continues on merrily zipping by to his husband.

Man I really am making it like ASC is an ignorant protagonist lad in need of exposition. We will think of what they know when we know why they are even in the Motherlobe in the first place, and if they are the protagonist or just a companion.

ASC would meet Compton at Lumberstack Diner, where he has cleaned it up and put it up to as a small business with Sam and Cassie. So that would be a nice and proper introduction experience. But then the food is served with animals balancing the dishes on their heads and someone can take the request customers have and successfully is understood by the employees. Again, surprising amount of higher intelligence from the animals and working like they are from Disney cooperating like they are doing a musical number.

Very tempted Cassie’s intro is her Green-Needle-Witch costume. Perhaps being sent out to the forest to find her and absolutely getting scared shitless instead.  Cassie has obtained better and actual bee-keeping clothes we see in the memory vault, but when she tends to the hive in Forgetful Forest, she dons on the costume for scaring and pranking opportunities on newcomers. It’s tradition now to send newbies into the forest just for this experience.

OH perhaps the order of meeting these two would be GNW, then Compton and Cassie at the diner where they Cassie whispers to Compton about ASC’s reaction in the forest as a joke between them. Compton is so amused but does give ASC a free comfort food, doesn’t explains and just says a line that vaguely  references that the experience in the Forgetful forest is quite normal, all while giving a knowing wink.

It is important to me that every psychic 7 member exude some form of cryptid energy.

Ford most of all.

That said, you would DEFINITELY see Ford just in the background doing various jobs. I am now considering that ASC actually met Ford before after bumping into him cleaning as a Janitor. 

It could be right after ASC (& co. if that’s the protag thing) arrives in the setting, on their way to meet their guide or whomever they are suppose to meet. But in their rush they accidentally slip on a wet floor sign and bump into Ford. A quick shot of him being intimidating even as a janitor, but that quickly does away as he asks if they are alright and makes a sassy joke on them. Just a small quite interaction and a small apology before moving on to meet the guide just on the room around the corner. ASC explains and even mentions bumping into someone, attempting to point to where Ford was at, only to find it empty and clean. They are extremely confused. Guide continues the conversation to more important matters though and shows them around.

Following that would be small encounters with Ford doing many other jobs, and just like in psychonauts 1 before meeting Agent Cruller, they have no freaking idea what’s up with this guy and am I just imagining him everywhere? They never really had a chance to voice their question (nor get exposition about the psychic 7) before Ford’s proper(or more explained) introduction with the at the Diner. The audience then gets the idea that this guy is important and goes back to record all his previous background appearances like Blendin Blandin in Gravity Falls. 

How he disappears so quickly is never explained for a long time. Audience and Characters don’t know about his teleportation yet. Only one question was remained and even more opens up. Cryptid Vibes remains.

[smolcobie]

Hyunjae | Butterfly Effect

↪ Summary: After a dangerous fire, Hyunjae is unable to hide his feelings for you.

Word Count: 3,5k

Warnings: Suggestive | Fire | Friends To Lovers | Heavy Making Out

Genre: Hyunjae x Reader | HYUNJAE FIREFIGHTER AU | Female Reader

Dedicated to my fav deobi friend @santacruz-sand​ <3

Human beings are known for their daily mistakes. We used to say that every day we make a mistake, some don't make that much difference, others can change the course of your life, better known as the butterfly effect. Each action has its reaction, gradually shaping the path you will take in life.

Some say that this is fate, that no matter how much you try to escape, it will happen. Others prefer to believe that you create your own destiny. I didn't believe in any of these theories, in fact, I always preferred to think that it is easier to do your best every day than to be disappointed by the path you took because you thought that this was your destiny after all.

The greatest example that my theory was real, was seeing how my best friend lived. Every single day he left early, before the sun came up, and came back when it was night. Being a firefighter required perfection in his form, discipline, punctuality, courage to face his fears, and a lot of willingness to risk his own life for the benefit of society.

I watched him cautiously, analyzing his ways and manners. The way he slammed the gate hard to make sure it was locked, or how he sighed and gave a silly smile when he managed to do something he liked, but what I liked most was the way he struggled every day to cheer people's lives.

- ▪︎ -

"[NAME], do your best every day and no one will have the courage to speak ill of the way you live." He said with his red cheeks and heavy eyes from the soju he drank.

"What are you talking about? I live very well, you're the one who lives next to my house and keeps risking your life." I laughed, fixing up his fringe that was messy "You're already starting to get drunk, let's go home." I got up pulling on his shirt and he made a weeping face.

"[NAME], why are you so mean to me?" He said slyly and I lifted him up with all my strength hugging him around the waist "Hyunjae, come on, you need to rest." He sighed and started walking making a pout on his lips.

"Stop pouting, you know you need to rest. You work a lot and when you take a break you want to drink soju and philosophize about life with me." I commented while walking down the dark street.

"But you are my best friend, you have to listen to me." I laughed at his comment "If you paid me I could even quit my job, after all, listening to you is all I do." "That's why I love you." He chuckled and put his head on my shoulder as I opened the door to his house, after entering the password.

"I love you too, so go to sleep." I tossed him on the bed and he smiled happily hugging his soft pillow.

- ▪︎ -

It was almost always like this. Hyunjae coming to my house to vent about life, I laugh while making some cards to post on my Instagram and the company. Being a calligraphy artist was a happy part of my life, being able to decorate bookstores, houses, gifts was something that gave me the strength to live.

Hyunjae was such an essential part of my life, that I only realized when our mutual friend asked why we lived so close to each other. My first thought was to think that it would be easier to go out, have fun and talk. My second thought was that I was completely in love with him, and I didn't want to admit it.

It was complicated, an old love that I knew had no way out, but nothing was going to change because I couldn't find any nice guys. I lived with Hyunjae and I had already accepted my condition. Romance went from something I dreamed of as a teenager, to something I value as an adult, but not as much as my sanity.

It was easier to live with Hyunjae than having to go on blind dates with bizarre guys that our friend Sunwoo arranged (probably from the deep web). And I keep ignoring my feelings, being inspired by its way of life.

That day was more beautiful than usual. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was clear and blue, the traffic seemed calm and the weather was perfect for an outdoor meeting, perhaps a date in the park. The subway was surprisingly empty, although it was very early, and I was completely rested.

It seemed like the perfect working day. I had made many cards at the company, sent some orders by mail, and placed new orders for a major literature event that would take place at the company. Lunch was great and our boss was in a good mood telling stories from when she was in college.

The day had gone well, my colleagues finished their jobs earlier than expected so we were able to go out early and eat fried chicken in a new restaurant near the company. I returned home happy and completely shocked at how perfect my day had been.

I got home and changed my shoes. I took a relaxing bath while listening to the news of the day through my radio hanging from the bathroom sink.

"URGENT NEWS! THERE IS A FIRE IN A BUSINESS BUILDING LOCATED IN THE GANGNAM REGION, MANY ARE THREATENING TO JUMP THROUGH THE WINDOWS. SOURCES CONFIRM THAT THE FIRE STARTED BY THE BAD WIRING THAT HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTLY REPLACED. THE FIREFIGHTERS HAVE JUST ARRIVED AND ARE PREPARING TO RELEASE THE PLACE AND REMOVE SURVIVORS. ”

I immediately turned off the shower, drying myself quickly, putting on any clothes, and going to the living room to turn on the TV and see the news.

All the channels were talking about the fire. It even seemed ironic, as I had a great day, and now a building near my company was on fire, and I had to see desperate people on the TV screen.

My heart stopped and my eyes lit up when I recognized Hyunjae running away with a long sheet and other men helping him from afar. This was apparently what he was supposed to do, try to stay calm and help people in a tragedy that could cost their lives.

“FIREFIGHTERS MOBILIZED QUICKLY AND SURVIVORS ARE GETTING TO THE GROUND SAFELY. THE FIRE HAS BEEN CONTROLLED AND WE HAVE NO NEWS FROM ANY VICTIMS IN SERIOUS STATE UNTIL THE MOMENT-” The woman turned and the cameraman filmed Hyunjae leaving the scene with a woman unconscious in his arms “THIS YOUNG BRAVE MAN REMOVED THE LAST VICTIM FROM THE LOCATION. AMBULANCE HAS ARRIVED AND WILL TREAT EVERYONE IMMEDIATELY. ”

I closed my fists tightly, my mouth dried and my heart sped up. Hyunjae had entered that burning building, risking his life, to save another one.

The fire subsided until it was extinguished. Reporters were still talking about how the police were already investigating everything and how fortunately no lives were lost and the victims had only minor injuries. I sighed with relief and sent a message to Hyunjae, congratulating him, but mostly asking how he was doing.

Me:

[Are you okay? I just saw it all on TV, I'm so worried!]

[I am proud of you, you were amazing.]

[I hope you're all right, send a message when you see this.]

Received.

I sighed and laid down on my bed covering my eyes trying to remember that he was fine.

"Nothing happened."

"Hyunjae is fine. No need to worry."

I was trying to convince myself that he was fine, alive, and doing his job, but my heart couldn't calm down. I decided to take a light tranquilizer and lie down again.

Maybe he would answer me in the morning, I would wait patiently and everything would be fine.

I turned on some drama on TV while I was busy watching cute animals on Youtube to pass the time. After a few hours and having a quick nap, I was surprised by the ringing of my cell phone and saw that it was Hyunjae.

I got up and answered quickly.

“Hyunjae ?! Are you okay? Where are you?" I hurried over and felt him give a tired laugh on the other end of the phone.

“I'm outside your house, please open it for me. It's a little cold here. ” He made a little joke like he always does, maybe, trying to calm my worried mood.

"Okay, I'll be right back." I hung up the phone and ran out to the door.

I opened the door feeling my heart racing, my joints tingling from suddenly getting up and automatically everything calmed down when I saw his face.

He had his bangs glued to his forehead, his face was dirty with some ash. He still had his work uniform on and was holding some bandages probably bought from the pharmacy near our homes.

"I came for you to heal me." He gave a sarcastic smile as I felt relief wash over my entire body.

"Come on, staying in this serene is bad." I pulled him inside, locking the door and putting his usual shoe in the doorway.

"Unfortunately I bought anything I saw at the pharmacy, so I hope you help me, I'm deadly tired." He started talking quietly trying to hide how he was shaken by that night.

"Hyunjae... are you okay?" I asked seeing him sitting on a chair in the kitchen taking off his uniform, leaving only the standard white blouse and pants.

"Yeah." He said dryly biting his lip and looking away. The habit he made when he lied.

"Stop lying to me." I walked towards him crossing my arms “If you were really well, you would have gone home, answered on your cell phone, and slept in peace."

He sighed and looked at me with a look that made my whole body tremble. He looked scared, anxious, but mostly nervous about something.

"What is it?" I touched his cheek and he sighed, closing his eyes and leaning into my hand.

"I almost lost my mind today." He stood up scratching the back of his neck with a choked voice as if he were about to cry.

"What do you mean?" He looked at me so sincerely that I felt my heart soften.

"We were on the traffic patrol when we heard the call." He laughed, but it was sad. "When they said the address, and I realized it was on the same street as your job, I despaired."

My eyes flew open and he sat on the edge of the couch burying his fingers in his dirty, messy hair.

“I thought you could be there and I lost it. When I got there, all I could think about was you.” I approached and realized that in fact, his eyes were watery "I know I should be concerned with other people, but I could only think ‘What if it is her building? What if she is there? What if she is in danger? What if I can't save her?’ And I went into eternal despair.”

I felt my heart racing so fast it could come out of my mouth.

"I-I didn't care if other people were hurt, as long as you were fine..." He looked at me and I felt a huge urge to hold his face "And it scares me. The way I was afraid of losing you and I couldn't think rationally, on the professional side.”

I sat next to him listening to everything he had to say.

"Hyunjae, anyone would feel the same way, you don't have to feel guilty about it." I wiped away his tears and held his cheeks in the palm of my hands "I would have done the same, thinking about you all the time."

He gave a smile sniffing before holding my hands.

"But it's different this time." He said before looking into my eyes with an invisible force that made me nervous "I thought nothing would make sense if I didn't have you by my side."

I took a deep breath trying to follow his argument.

"I don't want to lose you." He whispered as if it were a forbidden confession "You are the most important person in the whole world to me." He touched my cheek with the palm of his hand "You know that, don't you?" He swallowed hard, leaning his forehead against mine.

I took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"I know Hyunjae, you are also the most special person for me." I said seeing how he had relaxed a little more "Now get up, you need to take a shower and put bandages on these cuts."

I stood up first, but I felt his hand close to my fist. He was taller than me, not so much, but his body was so strong that it made me feel small around him.

"What? Come on, you're very tired. ” I took the lead before I felt him pulling me again.

"[NAME]." He said hoarsely as I studied his face curiously.

Hyunjae was too different that night.

“What is it Hyunjae? Your face is dirty, you need to take a shower. ” I touched my hips trying to understand what he wanted.

Hyunjae approached pulling my wrist towards him before giving a kiss there.

"Come with me." He said making me petrified on the spot.

"W-WHAT?!" I asked nervously as I felt my heart pound so loudly that I was afraid he might hear "I-That's not funny, Hyunjae."

He released my fist and pulled me by the hip, staring deep into my eyes.

"I'm not kidding." I felt a shiver down my back when he admitted it wasn't a joke or a friend flirt "I got tired of pretending I don't feel anything for you."

I couldn't say anything, I was too shocked to reply.

“[NAME], you are the most important person to me and I don't want to live any longer having to treat you just like a best friend.” He touched my chin and raised my gaze to his “Please, be honest with me. Am I just a best friend to you? ”

I felt his gaze enter my soul and I knew I had no way to lie anymore, this was the only chance I would have to admit what I feel.

"No." I swallowed and stared at his mouth, which formed a small smile of satisfaction.

It was amazing the effect that Hyunjae had on me. Even if I wanted to run away, I wouldn't be able to lie because it was already obvious from the way I act.

"Great." I felt my stomach churn when I felt his left hand hold me tighter as his right landed on my cheek, making his thumb touch my chin, caressing it. "I hope you don't mind this."

"Mind wha—" I could barely finish the question and I felt his lips on mine.

I pulled away unintentionally from the shock and looked into his eyes that seemed to be staring at me with an indescribable fire. I swallowed and felt my heart racing as he just smirked sideways, as if he knew what I was thinking.

He approached me slowly, touching our noses and I closed my eyes feeling his breath warm my face. I felt my face heat up and my palms sweat when his lips brushed against mine again. I held on to his white blouse with the rest of my strength and waited for Hyunjae to close the distance that bothered me so much.

I felt his hand move and his fingers pulled my chin down, opening my mouth that was closed by shock. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and felt him laugh through his nose before wetting my bottom lip with his tongue lightly, kissing me gently.

I lifted my hands to his hair where I pulled slightly, feeling my back against the bathroom door. Hyunjae took a quick breath, trying desperately to open the bathroom door, trying not to break the kiss.

I opened my eyes after Hyunjae got rid of me, feeling my heart stop at the sight of him focused on trying to open the bathroom door. His face was flushed, but his ears seemed to burn at how red they were. His dark eyebrows were furrowed and his mouth was pink and inviting.

"Aish." Hyunjae said finally opening the bathroom making me smile slightly.

I held on to his blouse when I almost tripped over my own rug and Hyunjae grabbed my waist with his arm. He gave me a shy smile before leaning his body against mine, making me even more nervous.

His fingers played with the old buttons on my wool blouse. I held his neck intoxicating myself by his smell invading my senses. I felt a shiver down my spine when his fingers touched my skin gently, as if it were the most expensive porcelain that should be handled with care.

Hyunjae started the shower making me more and more nervous. He pushed me with some force making my back touch the tile on the cold wall of the bathroom. I felt his wet abdomen touching mine and tried to take his shirt off awkwardly making him laugh with amusement.

I looked into his eyes feeling my cheeks flush hard as I held his necklace in my hand. I smirked when I realized it was the gift I had given them for his last birthday. It was a sun necklace that was completed with another necklace, which was mine and was shaped like a moon.

I used to say that he was the sun that lit up my life and that reflected in me. I didn't expect him to wear it every day, because he is so critical of his clothes and his style, so I was surprised when I saw the jewel on his soft, wide collarbone.

"I-I like that necklace." He justified himself by making me smile as I felt my hair gradually get wet from the shower water.

I caressed his cheeks, removing all the dust and ashes from his face. He closed his eyes as I carefully wiped his face by raising my hands to his hair. My stomach churned when I kissed the corner of his jaw and he let out a long breath squeezing my waist.

"I like you." I confessed by kissing his neck, stroking his hair "Really."

"N-Noona." He said slyly in my ear making me smile. He only called me Noona when he was embarrassed "Don't do this to me."

"What?" I asked, acting like I didn't get his thoughts while looking at his beautiful body in front of me. I moved my hands down his chest feeling my whole body softening and looked him in the eyes hoping he understood the message I wanted to convey.

"You know." He responded by pinning me to the wall as he fiddled with the buttons on his pants, leaning his forehead against mine, chuckling through his nose.

I hugged him feeling slightly embarrassed when I felt him take off my bra and toss it on any floor in the bathroom. I closed my eyes tightly as I felt his lips kiss my neck slowly and lovingly.

"[NAME] ..." He sighed and kissed my collarbone "I-I know you like romantic guys, but the last thing I want to do now is to be patient and romantic with you."

I felt my whole body tremble and my thoughts were confused.

"I-Is this okay with you?" He asked suspiciously and I nodded, unable to speak, "Are you sure?"

I just answered him by kissing him again. He returned it immediately, deepening the kiss, holding me in his strong arms.

So, I closed my eyes and just let all those feelings accumulated from so long being satisfied without thinking about anything else.

- ▪︎ -

The truth was that love could come from anywhere, from a friendship for years, from a complete stranger, from a colleague at work or college. There are no limits to define where love should be born.

For Hyunjae and you, it was born out of years of extreme care. An affection that could not be limited by friendship, and by the undeniable attraction you felt for each other. There are people who spend years like this without the courage to declare themselves.

At that moment, a questioning is born within you. What if you hadn't declared yourself that night? What if you had run away? Hyunjae would probably walk away and leave your house feeling his heart broken. You weren't going to have the happy ending you wanted, and you could probably lose a precious friendship.

Ultimately, the butterfly effect has been proven and you should admit that your best 'mistake' was to have overcome your fear and admitted your senses. His best 'mistake' was sleeping with his best friend.

The question that remains is: Was that your destiny, or just the butterfly effect?

Ultimately, none of that mattered, because you both loved each other deeply.

▪︎

▪︎

MASTERLIST

[itsthestutterforme]

Shuriken (Jang Hanseok)

Summary: Y/N is a mercenary with a particular knack for knives and torture. Hanseok hired her as his new body guard against Vincenzo, little did he know that her and Vincenzo have a history. A dark history.

Characters: Jang Hanseok x mercenary!reader (implied sex), Vincenzo x mercenary!reader (past lovers), Jang Hanseo x reader (platonic), Ms. Choi x reader (platonic)

--

You hated jet lang with a passion. You would think that since you're a mercenary, that you're fine with traveling but you really hated it. You pull up your turtle neck to cover your maliscous scar across your neck. It's not that it bothers you to show it, you just didn't feel like explaining to others that someone tried to kill you and failed.

You take a taxi from the Incheon International Airport to the location your employer asked you to meet him. He was explicit with making sure that you get all the luxuries plus the 500k and that you never leave his side. He's definitely paranoid. But this isn't the first time you've had a paranoid employer.

Hopefully, he's not a crazy one. You'vs had enough with the crazy employers. The taxi drops you off at a fairly large, modern-looking house. But from the looks of it, it does not take much to break in here. You'll suggest installing some deadlocks and bullet proof cameras.

You pay the driver before hopping out of the car with your luggage. He drives away and just as you approach the gate, the door buzzes open. You walk in and are instantly greeted by four people, three men and a women. Two of the men looked young, they're probably brothers. The other man and woman looked older.

"I'm Jang Hanseok, this is my brother, Jang Hanseo and my lawyers, Ms. Choi and Mr. Hanchul. This is Y/N, the Slicer." "I see you did your research," "A little. Had to know who I was dealing with." "Yeah, and that nickname did not give me any justice. That's one of my least favorite names given to me."

"There's multiple?" "Yeah, there's Ninja, SheWolf, Shredder, Grim Reaper, Death, Queen of Hell, and my favorite, Shuriken." "Shuriken? How did you get that name?" "A talented magician never tells their secrets," you say. "Now, where's my room?" You add.

Over the passed few days, there is not much action to be on high alert. Which leaves random conversations about favorite foods and TV shows.

He doesn't seem like a terrible guy, he has a messed sense of humor though. He even asked a if you've ever been in love before. You answered by pointing to your scar and saying, "Once, unfortunately,"

You were walking through the parking garage to get the car after having dinner with Hanseok and the rest of his crew when you hear tires screeching. There was a black van next to you and the doors flew open Instinctively, you push Jang Hanseok behind you.

A dozen of guys with masks pile out of the car with their own weapons. They rush towards you and you take out a few thin shurikens from your sleeves and flick your wrists forwards. They hit two men in their throats and you duck under the arm of a man with a wrench.

You grab his arm and throw him to the ground and just when another man headed towards you, you take out your ninjato sword. Clicking the button, it springs into it's full length and you slice across the man's chest.

His blood sprays across your face before he falls to the ground and the man you threw to the ground is starting to get up.

You cut his throat and knee him in the face before ducking and weaving through their blows, cutting their backs and faces along the way. One managed to take your ninajto sword from your hands so you took out your daggers.

Stabbing his heart, you take out the blade before drop kicking him towards his remaining four comrades. They all fall to the ground and before they could get up, you threw a dagger through one of their eye sockets.

The three of them rush towards you and you swing your leg under one of them, tripping him. Then you one with a roundhouse kick and the other with a jumping back kick.

"Now, which of you wants to run back to you boss and say that Shuriken is in town?" You ask breathlessly. They look to each other and one of them hops into the van and drives away. "Well.." you state and before they could run away, you use two more shurikeins that cuts through their throats.

You turn around to see Hanseo, Ms. Choi and Mr. Hanchul looking at you with both fear and shock. You tried to wipe away the blood from your face as you look at Hanseok. He smiles at you with a dark look in his eyes. "Let's go," you suggest.

**

Since you fought those amateurs in the parking garage, Jang Hanseok has been more around you a lot more than usual. It's almost like he was attracted to the fact that you killed people without blinking. He buys you everything from food to jewlery.

He doesn't mention who I'm protecting him from. He doesn't even allow his comrades to say his name. They just call him Mafia Bastard. They were celebrating a victory over said Mafia Bastard. It wasn't until he admitted to killing his mother that you realized just how similar you guys were.

Sitting at the table, you read your book and leave your glass of champagne untouched. You started to zone out after they continue to ramble about the Mafia Bastard.

You felt some tensesness in the room when Ms. Choi said, "Did you really think that you would betray the Chairman and I wouldn't find out about it?"

You still don't look up from your book until you heard a silenced gun shot and Ms. Choi's screams. You reach into your belt and aim your gun towards the perpetrator.

His expression matched yours when you realized that it was him.. Vincenzo. The man you loved and betrayed you. The one that gave you that hideous scar.

Without a second thought, you shot his arm and chest. He kneels on the ground and drops his weapon. "Thats impossible, you're dead." He groans. "There were times when I wished I was." He spits out some blood and says, "Y/N, I.. I'm sorry."

You raise the gun again to kill him but you remember Hanseok saying he didn't wabf the Mafia Bastard dead, not yet. "Get the hell out of here," you say, setting your gun on the counter. He stands up from the floor and staggers a little before opening his mouth to talk to you. You raise your hand for him to stop and he complies.

He holds onto his chest and walks slowly out of the building. That's when you notice the dead man on the floor. From the looks of it, he's was tortured to death. He must have been the one who killed his mom. "Why didn't you kill him! We didn't hire you to let people live! We hired you to kill!" Ms. Choi yells.

You look to Hanseok and ask, "You said to keep him alive, is that correct?" "Yes, I did. And we didn't hire anybody, I did, so watch your tone."

You approach her and take out a dagger from your ankle holster. You press the dagger against her throat and said, "Question my intentions like that again, and I'll slit your throat."

With that, you walk out of the lounge room and went into Hanseok's room where the balcony was. "So he's the reason why you have that scar," Hanseok says, stepping on to the balcony with you.

"I don't want to talk about it," you say flatly. "He's the one that's trying to kill me, so you better talk about it."

"Look at me," he adds, turning you around and pressing your back against the railing. "Why do you care? What matters now is that I'm willing to kill him. No, I'm more than willing. I want to kill him." You say as you throw him to the ground and apply pressure to his chest with your knee. Taking out your blade, you press it against his throat.

"I'm not your brother. Put your hands on me again and I will kill you, do you understand?" You add. He nods and you release the pressure from his lungs. You tuck your dagger away in your ankle. When you try to stand up, he pulls you back down and flips you onto your back.

He pins your arms above your head. "What are you doing?" You ask. "I'm trying something," he says before capturing your lips in a burningly slow kiss.

Oddly enough your body eases under his touch and he lets go of your arm. You sit up to pull off your shirt and he pulls off your jeans, slowly kissing up your stomach.

Meanwhile Cha young walks Vincenzo out of the hospital and to his chair. The bullets were through and through, so it didn't take that long to clean and stitch him up. "Who did this to you?" Cha young asks. "I deserved it," "No one deserves to be shot... except Hanseok."

"I.. I don't know how, but I'm going to make it up to her." "Her? A woman shot you?" "A very special woman that I once loved," "Wait, now I'm even more confused. If she was so special then why did she try to kill you?" "Because I tried to kill her."

[dandelionflower]

Can you keep a secret?

Chapter 1: Permanent Holders

(That au I was talking about a while ago)

Ladybug huffed a breath from her nose before throwing her yo-yo at the little box in the akuma's hand. It made contact with her wrist, and the box went flying right into awaiting claws of her partner. He shot her a wink and prepared his other hand.

"Cata-" He was cut off as a flying trash can slammed into him. The box clattered to the ground just a few feet away from the akuma.

In the split second when both Chat Noir and the akuma lunged for the box, Ladybug slung her yo-yo at the akuma, holding them tight with their arms at their sides.

"Carapace! I told you to cover Chat Noir!" She glanced over her shoulder as she shouted, catching the sheepish glance of the turtle hero, who had his shield in front of Rena Rouge, who was keeping the akuma's puzzle creature at bay.

"Sorry, dudette." He leapt in front of Chat Noir just as the akuma broke through her hold in a burst of strength. "Shelter!" The green dome surrounded the akuma and Ladybug felt some tension leave her shoulders.

"Cataclysm!" The box shattered at Chat Noir's hands, revealing the butterfly and feather hiding within. They began their escape, dancing around one another and rising to the clouds.

"Oh, no you don't." Ladybug allowed herself a fond smile at the two dangerous forms. This part was always the easiest; catch the akuma and fix everything. It was almost childlike, chasing a butterfly all over town. A corrupted butterfly controlled by a mad man. She sighed again and opened her yo-yo. "Time to de-evilize." She caught the two in one swoop, and released them both with a tap to the central spot on her weapon.

With that out of the way, she moved to the door. It had a large red and black pole keeping the doors from opening. With an experimental spin, she tossed the charm into the air with a "miraculous ladybug!"

"Nice work team!" Chat Noir smiled and held out his fist, now unaffected by the trash can that could have broken his hip.

"Yeah!" Carapace and Rena Rouge joined with gusto; Ladybug did too after a second. Her partner was safe, she was safe, Paris was safe.

As they pulled away, Chat grabbed Carapace's fist. "Carapace. You did great, but you need to listen to Ladybug the first time."

"I don't see the problem." Rena straightened, eyes flaming with that same light she used when she protected Marinette from Chloe. "He did fine; we won!"

"That's the problem. We won this time. If you don't follow the plan the first time, there might not be a next time." She glanced at Chat Noir. This was her last chance before everything changed.

She and Chat Noir had talked about their two apprentices for some time over patrol. She released her frustration and anxieties over how little the two listened to her and treated akuma battles like a game instead, and Chat Noir suggested making them permanent holders.

"Think about it. If they have the miraculous with them all the time, it'll stop being so novel, and they'll start taking it seriously. Just like you and me!" He gave her a mischievous glance. "Or have you forgotten how lax I used to be?

She giggled at the thought. "How could I ever forget, Mr. Why not flirt as I'm bleeding out?"

He winced, and placed a hand to his chest. "You wound me, my lady! I am a changed man, falling in love has made me better!"

"Right. Remember to thank your girlfriend for me."

Today was the first day since their conversation that they had managed to bring out both Carapace and Rena Rouge for battle. They had agreed that making them permanent holders would be beneficial; especially since Ladybug wouldn't need to ditch battles to grab an extra miraculous.

"But regardless, after you detransform, you don't need to give me you miraculous anymore. I'm letting you keep it."

"Really?" Rena bounced on her toes and clutched her necklace. "I get to be like you two? Does this mean I'll meet the guardian? Or know your identities? Or-"

"Babe, calm down." Carapace placed a hand on her shoulder with his trademark easy smile, but his eyes mirrored his girlfriend's excitement.

"This is on a trial period only." Ladybug emphasized. "Every night, your kwamis will visit either me, Chat Noir, or the guardian and report on your behavior outside the mask, your treatment of them, and your usage of the miraculous. You will not follow them, and if we decide after your probationary period that you aren't fit to be a permanent holder, you will return the miraculous. No questions asked. Likewise, if we decide to keep you as a permanent holder, you'll need to keep up the good behavior. Your kwamis can fill us in at any time."

Rena and Carapace nodded mutely.

Her miraculous beeped. "One more thing before I go; no using your miraculous or kwamis for personal gain. No exceptions."

With that, she nodded at Chat Noir and left through the window, swinging from building to building with a tense feeling in her gut. She landed on her bed just as she detransformed, Tikki spiralling out of the earrings and into her hands.

"Tikki, do you think I did the right thing? Making Nino and Alya permanent heroes?" Marinette opened her bag, startling for a moment at the feather and butterfly that flew out; in her haste to tell Nino and Alya about their new designation, she had forgotten to release the akuma and amok. She batted them away and grabbed Tikki's recharge cookie with her other hand.

"I think you made a good decision, Marinette." Tikki mumbled behind enormous bites. "It's rare for a ladybug and cat to be out without a team behind them. This will be a big help for all of you; in my experience, Chat Noir is right about being a permanent holder making a person mature."

"Yeah, I feel a lot more confident as Ladybug now; more like Ladybug and less like a little kid in a costume."

"So let some of that confidence go into your Marinette life too!" Cookie gone, energy returned, Tikki flew around Marinette's head in a show of support. "Take a chance!"

"On what?"

"Anything! We have the whole weekend to decide! You could even start up the online store you were thinking about!" She hovered over the computer for a moment.

Marinette glanced at it. She had a draft of the website prepared; all of the designs and commission information she wanted to be on there were ready to go. She just needed the guts to finish and submit it.

"Okay."

"Okay!" Tikki squealed and hit the enter key.

MDC designs was now in business.

"Do you think I should put my name on it after all, Tikki? So that people know who they're ordering from?"

"Probably. Also, since you've designed for famous people before, your name already has a reputation."

"Yeah..." She moved her mouse to the 'edit' button.

"Marinette!" Her father shouted from the living room. "Ms. Chamack is here with Manon!"

Right, she'd promised Nadia that she'd look after Manon while she interviewed potential interns this weekend.

"Be right down!" Tikki flew into her bag and Marinette grabbed the little box of extra dolls she'd made for Manon. Changing her website and worrying about Nino and Alya could wait.

[rachaelswrites]

The Unsub

Spencer Reid x daughter!reader

You help the team with an unsub that’s connected to you.

Word Count: 3,498

A/n: I got a little carried away with this

Warnings: Violence, kidnapping, guns, blood

“Y/n I promise you’ll be fine. I’m not coming to get you,” your dad said over the phone. He had been arguing with you the whole way to the BAU.

“But dad please? I can retake it. I’ll get a better score if I do,” you pleaded. 

“Honey I said no. I’m at work now. What ever score you get I’ll be proud of you,” 

“You’re only saying that to make me feel better,” you said.

“No I’m not. I mean it. I know you work hard,” 

“I wish I had your memory. Could you just give me a piece of your brain please?” 

“Goodbye Y/n. I’ll see you after school,” 

“Bye dad,” you hung up the phone and Spencer was running late so he hurried to where the rest of the team was. 

“There you are kid. You’re never late,” Morgan teased. 

“Sorry something came up with Y/n,” Spencer responded.

“Is she ok?” Hotch asked. 

“Oh yeah she’s fine. She just had a test she didn’t study for and wanted me to get her so she didn’t have to take it,” 

Everyone nodded and looked to Garcia to present the case. “We have an interesting case. It’s local so we don’t have to travel. Three teenage girls have been taken from the local high school,” Garcia said, “so far, they haven't been able to make a connection yet. All the girls so far have brown hair and brown eyes so we could narrow down our search for potential victims,” 

“Do we have contact with anyone who knows the girls and the families?” JJ asked.

“Yes. The families will be by later and we need to get someone at the school,” 

Spencer was looking at the board, looking at all the girls. You were the same age and went to the same school as them. You could have easily been taken instead.  

Hotch noticed Reid deep in thought and spoke up, “Reid why don’t you go to the school and see if they can give us information on the girls,” 

Reid nodded and stood up and went to leave, but Hotch grabbed his sleeve and whispered in his ear “I know you’re worried about Y/n. Feel free to bring her back here so you can keep an eye on her,” 

“Thank you Hotch,” Spencer responded. He grabbed his bag from his desk and left for the school. 

You had just finished lunch and your friends were walking around the school talking. One of your friends stopped you mid sentence. “Isn’t that your dad Y/n?” She pointed towards the main entrance. Your dad was in fact standing outside the office, talking to one of the office workers. 

“Yeah. I don’t know why he’s here,” you said, “I’ll see you guys later,” you walked down the hallway towards your dad. 

“I just need to see if I can get the files from the students who went missing. Maybe to try and find a connection,” you heard your dad say. 

“Sure I'll go get them,” the lady said. She disappeared into the office and he started to look at the posters littering the wall. 

“Dad? What are you doing here?” 

Spencer turned “I’m just here for some work stuff. I didn’t mean to interrupt your day,” 

“It’s fine. It’s lunch right now I’m not missing anything,” you said. You so badly wanted more info on the case he was working on. You knew about the disappearances but didn’t think your dad would be out in the field, “what kind of work stuff?” 

“Uhh. I can’t really tell you right now,” He tried to figure out a way to explain everything without scaring you, “do you want to come back to the BAU with me? You might be able to help us a bit,” 

“Sure,” 

The office lady returned with a stack of files, “here’s what we have on file. Anything from discipline records to attendance,” 

“Thank you. I’m also going to be taking Y/n with me, is that alright?” 

“Yes just sign her out at the desk,” the lady returned back to her own office and Spencer signed you out. 

You took the train back to the BAU and nearly skipped into the room where the team was, “hi guys” you said cheerily waving to them. 

“Well. If it isn’t my favorite Reid. How are you doing Little Reid?” Morgan asked, ruffling your hair.

“I’m good. What case are you working on?” 

Morgan looked at Reid, “you haven’t told her?” 

“Not yet. I was just about to,” Reid said. 

“Tell me what?” You butted in. 

“We think the unsub might be someone at the school. Either a student or faculty member. We’re hoping you could help us narrow it down,” Rossi explained. 

“Yeah sure. Do you guys have a profile yet?” 

“Not yet. We need your help with that Y/n,” Hotch said. 

You nodded and he led you into the conference room. You sat down and watched as JJ laid out pictures of all the missing girls in front of you. 

“Did you know any of these girls? Were you friends with them?” She asked. 

You took your time and looked over the pictures. You knew of them. Your school was a private school and the class sizes were small. Everyone knew something about everyone, but people still kept things in their own circles. “Not really. The school is small but people are private. Kids like to stay in their own group pretty much,” 

“Was there a bullying issue at the school? Maybe these girls picked on the same kid,” Morgan suggested. 

“Mmm. I don’t think so. Everyone got along well. Just people like to stick with what they know I guess,” 

“What about teachers? Anyone who was maybe too friendly or really interested in student lives?” Hotch asked. 

“Not that I can think of,” you said. 

“There’s too many classes that overlap with each other so I don’t think it’s a teacher. There’s also no correlation in extracurricular activities. It would have to be a student,” your dad said. The whole time, he was flipping through the files, “Y/n is there anyone you can think of that had contact with all of them?” 

“I can’t think of any. Sorry,” your knee was bouncing up and down. You didn’t feel like you were helping much. 

“They are teenage girls though. Maybe they hid stuff,” Prentiss suggested. 

“We had all their things checked. The unsub took the backpacks so all we could get were lockers and the houses,” Rossi said. 

“Oh! There is something I remember,” you exclaimed. 

“What is it?” Hotch questioned. 

“A few days ago at lunch, this group of girls were talking. I think they were friends with one of the missing girls. They talked about a note she received the day she went missing,” 

“We talked to friends. They didn’t know anything,” JJ said. 

“Kids lie. Especially teenage girls when they do something they’re not supposed to,” Morgan said. 

“Do you remember what the note said Y/n? Reid asked. 

“No. They didn’t actually say what the note said. They had a picture of it on a phone. I didn’t exactly inherit your eidetic memory,” you teased at your dad.  

“Just say what you remember,” he responded. 

“It was something about meeting someone else. I think there was a time listed. They signed it too I think,” 

Everyone looked at each other around the room, “what did it say?” Rossi said.

“I think it was signed ‘D.J’. But that could be so many people,” 

“It could be initials or a nickname or pseudonym,” your dad said, “but that does narrow down the list,” 

All of a sudden, Garcia came into the room, “I was able to find a connection between the victims. They all had parents in either government jobs or in first response,” 

“That narrows it down even more,” Morgan stated.

“Most likely our unsub has a tie to either government or first response. He most likely had a vendetta for some reason,” Hotch said. 

Spencer noticed your leg was bouncing quicker now. He moved from across the room and sat in the chair next to you. He grabbed one of your hands in his, “take your time sweetheart. You’re ok,” he whispered. 

You sat and thought for a moment, “there is one boy. His name is Dylan. His mom died about a year ago. It was a car accident. His dad was an EMT. He was the first one on the scene. They didn’t know it was her though. I think he saw her die. Over the summer, Dylan’s dad killed himself. I think Dylan said the note he left said something about not being able to watch people die anymore,” 

“Definitely sounds like our guy,” Morgan said. 

“Why would these girls go off not knowing who is writing them those notes though?” JJ asked. 

“I think they just assumed it was him. He’s the only one with enough guts to do that,” you explained, “and he’s the best looking,” you mumbled. 

“What was that?” Reid asked, clearly hearing what you said.

“All I mean is that guys who look like Dylan could get any girl he wanted. Everyone has a crush one him,” 

“Everyone?” Prentice wiggled her eyebrows at you. 

“Everyone does,” you repeated. 

Spencer decided to save this conversation for a different time. 

“JJ, get a list of potential victims and put a security detail on them. Garcia let’s try and get an address on Dylan,” 

The team started to leave the room, “Dad can I go home now?” You asked. 

“Really? You’re a potential target for a serial kidnapper and you want to leave a government protected building? Absolutely not. You’re staying here for the rest of the day,” Spencer said standing up. 

“But you have his name and you’re finding his address. I’ll be fine,” you complained.

“Y/n I’m serious. I said no. I don’t want you leaving this building without me. I’m trying to keep you safe,” 

“Fine,” you pushed past him and stormed out of the room. Spencer sat down at his desk. He started working on something to blow off some steam. 

You managed to keep yourself occupied for a few hours by talking with the team and doing school work. You were sitting in JJ’s office, working on an essay. You were growing restless and wanted to go home. You quickly pulled out some math work, pretending to look it over. “Hey JJ I’m going to go see if my dad can help me with some math. I’ll be back soon,” you packed your things and headed towards your dad’s desk. 

Once you were out of her eyesight, you diverted your path towards the exit and headed home. 

Back at the BAU a few hours past and your dad hadn’t seen or heard from you. Reid walked around, looking for you. He bumped into JJ, “Hey JJ have you seen Y/n?” 

“Very funny Spence. I know she’s with you,” she replied.

“What do you mean? I haven’t seen her in awhile,” Spencer was now worrying. What if the unsub found you here?

“She told me she was going to find you. She needed help with homework,”

It all clicked for Spencer. He knew where you went. He just hoped neither did the unsub. “We have to go. Get the team,” he grabbed his bag and ran out the door, heading towards the apartment with the team behind him. 

There was no sign of forced entry, but you were gone and there was blood on the carpet and things knocked to the floor. The team was looking around the apartment, hoping to find something that could lead to you. Spencer was sitting on the couch, trying to process what was happening. Morgan stopped what he was doing and sat next to him, “Reid we’re going to find her. Your girl is tough, she'll fight him,” he reassured. 

“I know. I just feel like this is my fault. I forced her to stay with me to keep her safe, and now look. She’s been kidnapped!” 

“This is not your fault. You were trying to protect your daughter and Y/n knew that. She’s just a stubborn kid who doesn’t like listening to her dad. That’s not on you,”

Before Spencer could respond Hotch got a call from Garcia, “Garcia you’re on speaker,”

“I checked school records and it turns out that the home Dylan shared with his family was sold a few months ago,”

“So where is he living now? Is there any family in the area?” Hotch asked. 

“Uh it looks like the father owned a storage unit that has been accessed several times in the last few days,” 

“When was the last time it was accessed?” 

“Thirty minutes ago. I’m sending the address your way,” 

You don’t remember much about how you got here. You were bound to a chair facing a garage door. Only a few hours ago you were walking home, just wanting to watch tv. You had unlocked the front door and set your things in your room. You went into the kitchen to grab a snack when you heard a key in the door. You assumed it was your dad. “Hey dad,” you said, turning towards the open door. You were not expecting the person in front of you, “Dylan what are you doing here?” 

“What do you think?” he said, slamming the door shut, “I came here for you. Isn’t that what your dad warned you about. He works for the FBI right? He probably knew it was me,”

“Yeah he did,” you were trying to stall him. Your dad would get worried about you sooner or later, “The team figured it out pretty quickly. You didn’t do a very good job,”

“Well I got you. That’s all I need,” he took a step towards you. You looked around for something you could use to hurt him. Before you could reach for one of the books on the counter, he grabbed you. You tried to kick and punch your way out of his grip but he pulled a knife out of his pocket and stabbed you in the stomach. Only deep enough to make you bleed, not puncture an organ. 

You stopped fighting and tried to apply pressure to the wound, “If you’re gonna kill me, at least tell me why,”

“Don’t you want to know how I got in?” he teased. 

“I do but, the FBI agents will figure that out. I just want to know why you’d kill me,”

He pulled you up and pinned you hands behind your back, “Do you remember last year? We worked on a project together. Your dad wasn’t here. You said he was working. We had a nice long talk about how our dads and their jobs get in the way of raising their families,”

“I don’t remember that. Guess you didn’t make much of an impression,”

He grunted angrily and shoved you forward, making you fall. Your head hit the floor and you rolled over. You felt blood trickling down the side of your face. The fall most likely giving  you a concussion. He pulled you up to your feet and pushed you out the door and down one of the back stairwells. He shoved you into the back seat of his car and tied a blindfold around your eyes. 

The ride was short and he stopped abruptly. He grabbed your upper arm and walked you a few feet before stopping. You tried remembering things your dad told you to do if you were kidnapped. It felt cold so you were outside, maybe near water. You could smell metal and a musky odor. There’s a storage ward near the marina. That's where you probably are. 

The sound of a door sliding open startled you. You were led into the unit and placed on a chair. You could hear the breathing of other people. Dylan took the blindfold off and you waited for your eyes to adjust to the light. Not that there was much. Dylan was already gone. You looked around and saw all the other girls who went missing. 

A few minutes later, Dylan returned with another knife and now a gun, “I thought we were on the same page Y/n. Our dads missed our lives because of work. But I guess I was wrong. I realized shortly after our conversation I was wrong. You had a better life than me. You were happy. And I had to suffer by myself I had no one who understood me,”

“Dylan stop! This is stupid. Let them go. Hurt me not them. Your issue is with me,”

“My dad watched my mom die and then I had to watch my dad throw his life away,” he held the gun up, towards the other three victims, “Now you’re going to have to watch them die,”

“Dylan don’t do this!” but it was too late. He pulled the trigger and the three girls were dead. He now trained the gun on you. 

“Now your dad will get to watch you die,”

The sound of three gunshots rang in the air. The team ran in the direction of the shots. They reached the storage unit that belonged to Dylan. “Spence stayed out here. We don’t know what we’ll find,” JJ said. 

Morgan and Hotch opened the door, “Dylan Johnston, it’s the FBI,” Hotch yelled. 

You couldn’t see anything. Your eyes were covered in the blindfold again. You looked up in the direction of Hotch’s voice.

“Put the gun down Dylan. Let the girl go,” That was Morgan. He was pleading with him. He saw you as his little sister, he cared about you. He couldn’t let you get hurt.

“I can't, I have to do this,” You felt Dylan move away from you. Then gunshots. 

“Get an ambulance,” Morgan said, most likely to Hotch, “Y/n are you ok? Are you hurt?” 

“M’fine. Just a little blood, and a headache. Morgan?”

“What?”

“Am I dead? I heard a gun. Did he shoot you too? Are we both dead,”

“Not on my watch Little Reid,”

Morgan walked towards you and lifted the blindfold off of your face. He sighed when he saw all the blood. He reached to move some hair out of your face but you pulled away, “I want my dad. Please get my dad!” 

“JJ, get Reid in here,” he spoke in his ear-in, “Can I untie you?” 

You nodded and he bent down in front of you, “Where’s my dad? I want him now,” you said again. 

He pulled the ropes off your wrists and helped you stand up, “I know, he’s getting here,” he looked at the doorway, Spencer still wasn’t there, “Reid get in here!” he yelled. Morgan helped walk you towards the doorway. 

Y/n!” Spencer exclaimed. He rushed over to you and grabbed you from Morgan. He hugged you tightly, loosening his grip when you winced, “are you ok? You’re hurt aren’t you?” 

You nodded your head, “It’s bad Reid. She needs to go to the hospital,” Morgan whispered to him, “she can’t walk very well either,”

Reid looked at you. You were clinging to him, scared of losing him again. He carried you out of the unit, just in time for the ambulance to arrive. One of the paramedics opened the doors and brought out a stretcher. Reid carefully placed you on it, not letting go of your hand, “We have to go, she’s losing a lot of blood. She needs surgery,” the medic told your dad. 

“Reid go with her. Morgan you too,” Hotch instructed. Both men climbed in the back of the ambulance next to you. Voices were fading in and out and you felt your eyelids getting heavy. 

“Sweetheart, please keep your eyes open. Please, for me,” your dad begged. 

“I can’t. M’tired,” 

Spencer and the team were in the waiting room. Everyone was worried about you. Spencer couldn’t sit and was pacing back and forth while Garcia kept fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. “Dr. Reid?” a nurse came out, and he quickly walked over to her, “Your daughter is going to be fine. Her surgery went well,” 

“Can we see her now?” Prentiss asked from her chair. 

“She’s not awake yet. The anesthesia should wear off in a few hours. Only family can visit right now,”

“Ok,” Reid turned and faced the group, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Thank you for everything,”

“Of course Spence. If you need anything you can call,” JJ said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Spencer shot her a smile and nodded. He followed the nurse to your room and sat in the chair next to your bed. He studied your face while you slept, You were relaxed and content, the opposite of just hours before. He held your hand in his until you woke up. 

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