#yeah. its 10k+ and longer than any of the previous chapters

[akiraal]

there's just something about Lance's POV that makes a person want to see him go through the worst emotional turmoil imaginable before he can even consider being happy

[softjeon]

Here there be beasts | Final

• Pairing: Jimin x Wolf!Namjoon • Genre: Angst, Fluff | Rating: Mature | RedRidingHood!AU / Fairytale!AU → Gifset Trailer • Words: 10k | AO3 • Disclaimer: nsfw-content, smut, mentioning of blood, abuse, violence, weapons, dark themes, anxiety

written with @cassiavioletblue​

↳  Fear was a strange feeling. People feared the unknown, the dark and witchcraft. The shadows that were lurking through the forest at night. The same fear that made the folks in the village keep their distance from the forest at night; that locked their doors on nights when there was a full moon, or no moon at all.

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The sun was low in the sky and it was noticeably cooler than it had been earlier in the day as he came to a halt. He let his gaze wander over the houses that were made out of grey stone, with slate roofs and dull now in the evening sun but glistened whenever it was wet from the rain. It was plain. The church had a spire and was stone built like the village houses. Small square windows, hanging baskets filled with wilted flowers that probably no one had cared for in their fear of staying outside for too long. It was eerily quiet, the fear noticeably in every corner. 

They only came out when it was day, some were so terrified that they were afraid to speak. They told stories about how the old man had been ripped into pieces that not even his body could be found anymore. Just a few droplets of blood on the grass. The beast had swallowed him whole. The wolf. He could hear their whispers about him and how it would eat up anybody who was walking around the village at night.

Jimin chuckled and yet, it was a fearful one. He had seen the dark eyes, the change that was clear as the night as when he had looked into the wolf’s eyes on a full moon. He had been scared of him for a moment. Jimin could feel a headache settling in, the confusion making him question everything and it felt like his own mother and grandmother knew more that they wanted to lead on. And they never told him, played games and gave him riddles but Jimin couldn’t find the answers. He walked up to alley and stared into the distance, trying to ease his mind. On summer days, Jimin loved to go up to the top of the small hill and sat against the middle tree overlooking the village. It was usually in the morning, when it was still quiet, hardly any sound was audible. He loved that place – but he wouldn’t miss it. In the village you live close to your neighbors and everybody knew everybody’s business and their families and predilections. And he wanted to leave it all behind.

Jimin unlocked the door to his house and walked in. With a sigh, he plopped down regretting the quick movement right away when he got reminded what he had been doing all night with Namjoon. He hissed, though with a smile and couldn’t help but laugh at himself. There was one answer he knew he had: he would be safe with Namjoon. There was no wolves. No beasts. With him he would be protected. And he was sure he could get away from the nightmare. Being so lost in his mind, Jimin didn’t notice when the door opened behind him.

“What happened?” The sudden strong grip around his waist, made Jimin flinch and jump around, meeting Honsung’s questioning gaze. “I…I slipped on some wet stone this morning,” He rubbed his bottom to underline his statement, “It’s going to be a bit bruised up.” Jimin was proud of his quick lie, giving Honsung a smile to show that he was fine. He patted his chest a little awkwardly, trying to get a little space between them.

“You were out again, weren’t you? During the night, while the beast fed on that man. Was that it? Did you want to watch? What is it that makes you get yourself in danger like that? Are you bored? Do you need a little more excitement in your life? Cause if it’s that I can give you that!” He pulled Jimin roughly towards him. “There will be no more going out, do you understand me? Not at night, not during the day, none at all! The attacks get more frequent, but you don’t even know half of them because instead of participating in the village life and talking to other people you always hang out in the woods. Don’t you want to have friends, Jimin? Talk to people other than yourself? People are talking you know. You’ve always been a little weird, but it’s gotten out of hand lately. And you can’t only think about yourself. This reflects back on me as well. I’m trying to get far, to make it to someone higher up the food chain - and you’ll benefit from that too. But the way things are going right now no one will lay their trust into someone who’s affiliated with a suicidal psycho.”

Jimin gawked, blinking his eyes as he tried to follow what Honsung was telling him. “N-none? But…Honsung, I can’t…I have to help my grandma, you know that.” He shook his head, not wanting to believe that there had been more attacks while he had been gone. How could he have overseen them? Did he really not see them?

“What are you talking about?” Jimin furrowed his brows, confused and startled as his heart picked up its pace. He was getting nervous the more Honsung was talking, but he couldn’t escape his grip. “Ps-psycho? I’m not…” Jimin pushed against his chest, feeling the anger sitting firing hot under his chest, “If you don’t want to be associated with me then go! You can pick anyone. I’m not holding you back! The neighbors daughter wants you anyways. Take her then! Because you know I can’t keep inside if my grandma is out there and needs my help. You know she is almost blind; she can’t see clearly anymore. And the people in the village should know, too that I am taking care of her. Like a good grandson should do.” He was almost hissing the words, angry that the people thought of him as the weird kid again. 

“She will do fine a few days without you! I can bring her some food and whatever else she needs in advance and you stay here. And stop - stop pushing me!” He pushed Jimin back so that the younger fell backwards onto the bed. “Do you really think I could just ignore our engagement? I promised to take care of you because you had no one else but you’re making it really hard right now. This isn’t solely about what I want and who I want to be with, a marriage is as much about duty as it is about pleasure and I can’t just change my mind about my oath just because you decide to be difficult. It just means that I need to be a better husband and help shape you until you’re a character that fits into the community of city.”

Jimin stared in absolute disbelief at the man in front of him, that he thought once knew but showed more and more sides of him that only scared him. There were tears burning behind his eyes, threatening to come forward but Jimin took a deep breath. He had been pushed harshly against the rough edge of his bed, where he barely caught himself and now as he gazed up at Honsung he felt completely loss for words.

“Shape me?” He almost scoffed but tried to push it down to not anger him too much. Jimin didn’t want to know what else he would be capable of. “Let me go to her one last time, please. Just once,” He whispered, avoiding Honsung’s gaze to show him his defeat. “If you love me, then please…”

“Jimin, I have asked you so many times already to not go into the woods. I begged you to take care, I ordered you to not leave the village at night, I tried to talk sense into you over and over again. I don’t trust you anymore. If I let you go who knows if you come back home or maybe you spend a few more nights out there just because you want to. No, you’ll stay here where people can watch you and make sure that you won’t end up dead. I’ll take care of it, like I said I will, because I stick to my word.”

Jimin was shaking as he nodded his head slowly, biting his lip in deep thought as he stared into nothingness. His heart was beating so loudly and so fast that he was scared he was going into a cardiac arrest. Jimin looked up to see where the sun was at the horizon, knowing that in the evening he had promised for Namjoon to come back, to meet him at his grandma’s and to run away, to never come back to the village again. Right now, it seemed almost like an impossible task. Jimin was so far gone in his mind, that he startled heavily when a hand cupped his cheek making him turn towards Honsung. “Why do you love me?” The words slipped from his lips easily but shaky. But he wanted to know so much more: why do you hate me so much? Why do you chose me? Why me? Why does it have to be me?

“Because you’re special, Jimin. Despite all the defiance and the disobedience, I know that deep down you can be good. You want to be good, don’t you? You could make it so much easier for all of us if you just started to trust me like you should.” He leaned in to kiss Jimin’s forehead. “I’ll take care of you, Jimin. You don’t have to fight against anything and everyone any longer. I know what’s best for you. And your grandma will be so happy when she sees that your safe and surrounded by friends and cared for, wouldn’t she? Don’t you want that for yourself too?”

“Yeah,” His voice sounded tired and Jimin felt exhausted, “I just need to see her. Just a few days, promise me. I need to be with her. I don’t know for how much longer she can be around.” Jimin bit his lip, when he saw the deep furrowed his brows and the hesitance in Honsung’s body language. “I’m sorry,” Jimin whispered, meaning so much more than those simple words. I’m sorry that I will make this harder on you, I’m sorry that I’m going to make you angry and I’m sorry that I’m not what you want me to be. And I am sorry that I will run away. 

…

Namjoon had no idea that Jimin couldn’t keep his promise. He had started to roam through his pantry, made sure that there would be enough food and necessities for two people to live comfortably for a while. He would also soon make a trip to the next village even though it would be a wolf run away to get Jimin his own things; another plate, a glass - maybe one of those colorful ones that he had seen last time he had visited the market there it had been so pretty and would hopefully make Jimin happy. He wasn’t trying to sugarcoat things, he knew it wouldn’t been easy, Jimin would have to learn what it meant to live without the comfort he’s had in the village and even though there would be no more people judging him there would be other things to make his life harder. Not to speak of Namjoon who would have to be very, very careful so that Jimin would never find out who exactly he was. He would tell Jimin that he was sleepwalking and that he should in no way be disturbed so that Jimin wouldn’t look for him in case he woke up and found his side of the bed empty. Or maybe he could talk Jimin into letting him give him a mild herbal tea to help him sleep during full moon nights so that he wouldn’t wake up at all.

Whatever way he chose he knew it would be great living with Jimin, he felt it - and he had never felt so scared but so happy at the same time.

…

Jimin was glancing over to the window every five minutes, nervously. He could see a few of Honsung’s friends lingering around his home and he was sure that he had told him to see if Jimin would go out and if he did, to follow him closely. What they didn’t know was, that Jimin knew his way around by now. So, he simply slipped through his back window, leaving everything behind in a heartbeat.

This morning he had thought about packing a few things, but right now it didn’t matter. The sun was about to set, and he was sure Namjoon had been already waiting. Jimin hadn’t even put on his coat. He didn’t need it anymore.

The moment Jimin pulled himself over the wall and jumped down on the other side where he knew it was safe, he felt like he could breathe again – like weight that got lifted off his shoulders. This way he was sure that he was on his right way, because his heart told him so. With a smile on his lips, Jimin’s steps quickened until he was fully running. He could hear the church bells ringing in the background, telling the people to go inside before it would be dark, but he was running even faster.

When his grandma’s house came in view at the end of the path, Jimin was panting, slowing down until he was just walking. The forest was eerily quiet around him, but Jimin didn’t pay it any attention. He was so filled with happiness, with feeling absolutely free in this moment that he didn’t notice it.

Nothing.

Not a sound.

“Grandma?” Jimin’s voice echoed through the woods as he came to a halt in front of her door, fist lifted in an attempt to knock when he noticed the door being ajar. It wasn’t unusual for her to do so, so Jimin simply pushed it open and called for her again. “Are you in the back, Grandma?” Jimin called out again but there was no answer. Instead something else suddenly swallowed him whole, making him halt and froze in his movements completely. His throat constricted at the onslaught of smell that crashed over him. Something was awfully wrong. Something didn’t fit in the picture. Jimin turned around with wide eyes, slowly opening the door to his grandmother’s bedroom, but there was no one. Her blanket was thrown carelessly over as if she had been asleep, but the smell wasn’t as strong here. Jimin looked over his shoulder and gulped as he reached out for the kitchen door with shaking hands. “Please, grandma. This is not funny,” He mumbled more to himself to calm his rapid beating heart as he pushed the door open. 

The door stopped after only a few inches because something was blocking it. Or someone. In horror Jimin pushed against it until it finally gave way and he was able to open the door enough to squeeze inside. He wished he hadn’t done that. Halfway behind the door and on the kitchen floor was his grandmother. There was something red all over here and in his shock he first thought it must be tomato juice, that she had slipped with a plate in hand and had spilled the juice all over her.

He kneeled down with shaking fingers, trying to help her up because she had just fallen, and it would be fine if he helped her up. But even his mind in denial couldn’t ignore the deep gashes in her chest and at her throat. Jimin whimpered, “G…grandma? Grandma please, please wake up!” He took her arm to shake her, to wake her up again but the moment he touched her he knew that she was gone. Her arm felt cold and stiff and he flinched back immediately. She was dead.

His grandmother was dead.

Jimin felt like his whole world was spinning. He had seen her alive only days ago, his warm smile and her beautiful eyes and… Jimin coughed, trying to get away from the bloody corpse as he heaved but nothing came out. He was just sobbing, pulling his knees in as he shook from the fear and the shock alike.

She was dead. She was dead. She was dead.

The beast.

Jimin’s eyes widened as he lifted his shaking hands, seeing the blood that was all over. He snapped up when his eyes flickered around the room, trying to find any clues. Something that could tell him what had happened. This hadn’t been an accident. This just couldn’t be. Jimin let out a painful cry, when Honsungs voice pierced through the fog in his mind as he was literally trying to shake the shock out of him, a harsh grip on both of his arms. “Jimin! What happened! Are you okay? Did the wolf hurt you?” He turned his face to see if he was unharmed but Jimin was still a little too dazed to react properly, staring at him as if he couldn’t believe that he was here. “Jimin, talk to me. What happened?” He tried to hug the other but Jimin was lifeless and like a rag doll in his arms. He blinked up his eyes, trying to bring himself back but… his grandma was dead. She was dead. There was blood. So much blood. Jimin could feel himself getting pulled up and he whined helplessly. “Grandma, no, no, she needs me…,” Jimin pushed Honsung away from him, crawling over to where the lifeless body was lying as he reached out. She couldn’t be dead. She just couldn’t.

This was a nightmare.

Blood smeared all over his hands as his eyes flickered over the wounds. A caught of scream came from him, but it didn’t feel like his own when Honsung pulled him away again. “N..no…no,” Jimin barely was able to keep himself up on his feet, teary-eyes making his view blurry. His mind didn’t caught up, everything was moving too fast. 

“We need to go Jimin.” If he could choose he preferred the lifeless version of Jimin right now because this version of him, the one that was screaming and trying to push him away to get back to his dead grandmother was hard to handle. “We don’t know how close the wolf is, we need to go before we find out. You don’t want to end like your grandmother, do you? We can send someone to bury her later right now I need you to come with me. We need to get back to the village, behind the walls. We will be safe there. As I tried to tell you so many times already the woods aren’t safe. And now you have proof of what I always told you. Not even the house could help your grandmother against the wolf. He killed her anyway.”

It was like a switch that turned on, when Honsung suddenly started talking about the wolf being the one attacking his grandma when his eyes finally locked with his. “No,” It was only a whisper at first. “It’s not…the wolf,” Jimin cried out as loud as he could as he pushed against Honsung who had pulled him out of the kitchen, “It’s not him! I know it’s not him. Look at the wounds! It’s not an animal…it’s…it’s something else.” Jimin was shaking, mind racing with all the possibilities. Only one thing he knew was true: it wasn’t the wolf. His heart told him so. His gut feeling. Everything in him told him that it wasn’t the animal but something else. Something much crueler that didn’t care about wrong or right and it was making Jimin shiver in fear. His eyes were searching through the room, as he tried to get away from Honsung, holding onto the doorframe like a child that didn’t want to leave it’s room. Blood smeared all over the wallpaper, but Jimin didn’t care as he elbowed Honsung hard to make him let go. “Believe me, please. I’m not crazy! I know it’s not the wolf, trust me! It’s not making any sense”

“You’re talking nonsense, Jimin. Of course, it was the wolf. It couldn’t be anything else.” Honsung’s voice had become sharper and cold as ice but Jimin was too caught up in his pain to notice or else he might have reacted differently. “Stop holding onto the doorframe! She’s dead! You can’t help her! She won’t come alive again just because you’re cowering next to her! Let go goddammit!” He tried to pry Jimin’s hands off the frame, but the younger was making it difficult - until he took Jimin’s wrist and pulled so hard hat the younger cried out in pain and finally let go.

The pain in his wrist was burning so achingly and Jimin had no choice but to stumble along. “No, let go, please. I don’t care then… go without me. I don’t…,” Jimin gulped heavily, sobbing painfully as his knees gave in and he simply let himself fall, “…care anymore!”

Honsung still had a hard grip on Jimin, holding onto him and the sweater that he wore. So, when Jimin slid to the floor his he effectively pulled himself from Honsung’s grip - except for his sweater, that ripped from being stretched between Honsung and Jimin’s body. At first the other did nothing, just stared at him how he was sitting on the floor, a miserable heap. His eyes wandered upwards to where the sweater had ripped and to the formerly flawless skin beneath it. This time however there was nothing flawless about it. There were marks and spots peppered along his collarbone, disappearing under the rest of the sweater that hung on Jimin. Honsung’s eyes hardened as he kneeled down in front of Jimin, ripping his sweater in half to see more of his skin. His hands were starting to shake from anger as he realized that they were exactly what he thought they were: Lovebites. Marks that had been kissed into Jimin’s skin. It hit him completely unprepared but there was no other explanation for it: Jimin had a secret lover.

Jimin sat frozen on the spot, eyes wide as he stared at him. His lips were trembling, but his eyes were dry as he saw Honsung’s gaze darken. The once blue eyes suddenly seemed like darkness had swallowed them whole, staring him down with so much hatred and disgust that Jimin didn’t even want to look down. Jimin opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. 

He didn’t even ask Jimin or waited for him to explain he just hit him, square in the face, the way he should have done it before. He had waited for Jimin to open up to him, to see what he was doing , that he was someone Jimin should be proud to be with, strong and powerful and able to provide for them, for others, for the whole city if he needed to! He was ambitious, passionate, everything someone like Jimin should wish for! And yet Jimin disobeyed him. Over and over and over again. And he had let it slide because he thought sooner or later the other would come around and see what he was missing. Instead he had gone and found himself a lover, letting himself get marked like the filthy little whore he was. When Jimin looked up at him again his lip was split but it didn’t give him any satisfaction. Jimin had made a fool of himself and of Honsung and now his stubborn, defiant, dirty fiancé would have to suffer the consequences. He didn’t let Jimin get up, instead he pushed him down, pressing his shoulders onto the wooden floor.

The slap was still ringing in his ear, stars dancing in front of his eyes as he tried to get a grip of himself fast. Jimin’s conscious was screaming at him to get out of here fast, that something was awfully, awfully wrong when the pain hit him once again. “Let me go! No, you’re hurting me!” Jimin cried out as loud as he could, trying to use his last bit of strength with the adrenaline fueling him to get Honsung off him but the other was just ten times stronger than him. So, Jimin screamed as loud as he could, hoping that it would reach somewhere. That maybe Namjoon was near. Maybe the wolf, that was strolling around, hearing the pain in his voice. Tears were rushing down his cheeks as he struggled against the painful weight.  

“Scream as much as you want. No one will hear you. No one is stupid enough to go outside the walls. No one but you.” He pushed down harder until Jimin was breathless from it and he didn’t have to yell against Jimin’s screams to make the other hear him. “I’m glad it hurts. Because you hurt me too, Jimin. You thought I’d never find out, hm? What would you have said to me in our wedding night? Would you have lied, telling me you’re still a virgin? Who is it, Jimin? A woman? A man? Both? Is that how you pass your time when you sneak away from me?” He leaned down and kissed him, hard and brutal, not quite a kiss but rather a sign of dominance. “Why, Jimin? I would have given you everything you needed. You could have lived so comfortably by my side. You could have had a real life! Status and wealth and power. And you gave all that up for sex? I could have given you that too. But you always told me I needed to wait, that you weren’t ready before being married. Another lie, hm? How long did you share my bed, pretending I couldn’t have you because you weren’t ready while someone else had you on your back for them? Tell me!”

Jimin was coughing painfully as he gasped for air each time Honsung pushed onto him, forcing his lips onto him and taking away his breath in a painful way. Making Honsung even more angry probably wasn’t the best choice, but Jimin didn’t want to give in. Never wanted to give in to him. “Y-yes, I did,” Jimin breathed out as he met Honsung’s gaze, “And he loves me, like I love him. You only give me pain and you don’t know what love even is. You’re pathetic! I don’t need status, I don’t need anything, not from you!” Jimin spit Honsung right in the face, using the seconds he was caught off guard to turn and to get back onto his feet as fast as he could. 

Jimin’s freedom lasted only a few seconds before Honsung pulled him back down without caring how much he would hurt the other. “You filthy little thing!” He chuckled but there was no joy in it just disdain. “I think you should stay here for a little while. And as you seem to like being on your back for someone I’m sure you don’t mind this.” He leaned over him, gripping his throat so that Jimin couldn’t spit at him again. It didn’t matter that one of Jimin’s hands was free like this because he was holding him down mercilessly and if Jimin wanted to keep breathing then he would have to lay still and obedient. “Such a pity. It will break your lovers heart to hear what has happened in the woods. You visited your grandmother despite my warning and in complete ignorance of the dangerous times we live in. Sadly, for you I was right as I always am and the wolf came and killed your grandmother. Maybe she tried to defend you. Wouldn’t that be a heartbreaking addition to the story? That she tried to protect you from the wolf only to get ripped to pieces in front of your eyes. And then you couldn't handle the guilt, or the wolf got you as well. That little detail is up to you.”

There was a throbbing in his head and something wet was dripping down his forehead as he realized he must have hit his head when Honsung had pulled him down again. He was dizzy, the air getting cut off from him as he tried to get Honsung to let go off him, when he suddenly stopped, and his words got through to him. It was like his heart had stopped beating.

There were no sounds anymore.

Just his breathing was audible, as he looked up into Honsung’s eyes and saw nothing but hatred.

It was as if Honsung knew and a dirty smirk appeared on his lips, one that made Jimin retch as he realized the truth. “Y-you?” Tears welled up in his eyes as he felt like he was free falling. Nothing made sense anymore. Was he lying next to a beast the whole time?

“Yes, my love. Me. Does it hurt to know that your grandma would still be alive if you had just listened to me? I didn't know what a filthy whore you were back then I thought you were really visiting your grandma. I should have known that you weren’t that selfless. You were busy spreading your legs for someone while pretending to be the perfect grandson. Be thankful she didn’t have to find out what you were doing. She would have been so disappointed. I spared her that. I thought I was just eliminating the reason for you to always run in the woods despite my orders. But now I see that it was your rightful punishment to see her dead. And it makes more sense like this when they find your body. You didn’t think you could betray me like that and then just walk away, did you? That’s not how it works, love. Not for you.”

Jimin’s world was falling apart right in front of him. Memories of his mother crying, begging Honsung’s father to not kill the wolf were flashing before his eyes. The same darkness in his father’s that he now found in him. They made the people fear to make them kneel and beg for them to release them from the dangers that were the wolf, while the beast was in the village all along. “No, no…” Jimin screamed out, sobbing as he saw his mother being torn away from him. She had known. “You’re a monster!” He croaked out, kicking at Honsung as hard as he could, but the more he moved the less he could breathe. 

“Didn’t you know that people always need a monster? If you don’t give them one they make their own. But you have no idea how to lead, all you know is making trouble. That’ll be over now. It could have been so nice for you, Jimin but you didn’t want it easy. So, this is your fault.” He placed a mocking little kiss on Jimin’s forehead like he had done when he had said good night to Jimin before turning off the lights at home.

Then he tightened his grip to choke Jimin until the end.

Jimin’s eyes were wide and fearful as he stared up in shock, when Honsung went absolutely feral. There was no emotions. Just darkness that Jimin could find as he shook him as if Jimin wasn’t dying fast enough. He was fighting for the last bits of air, trying to reach out and pull his arms away from him. He couldn’t let the darkness win, so Jimin tried to stay calm, tried to do anything to win more time but he had to realize that he had lost this fight, when the shadows were pulling him under. 

...

Namjoon had waited a little longer - and then a little longer after that. When he had finally admitted to himself that Jimin wouldn’t come he didn’t know how to feel. Shouldn’t he be relieved that he wouldn’t have to figure out how to hide his nature from someone who lived with him? Should he feel like he should have known Jimin would let him down because that’s what the village people did? It didn’t feel right, nothing did. There was just an emptiness inside of him, a vast space that Jimin had filled and that he had no idea how to fill again now that the other was gone. He felt restless and torn and half did he play with the thought of going into the city himself to ask Jimin, look after him, make sure that he was okay, and that no sickness or accident had kept him from coming. But he had sworn his mother that he would never set a foot into that village and so he stayed true to his vow and kept away from the walls. He couldn’t just go home though. He needed to get rid of this restless energy, needed to clear his head of all the thoughts and pictures that tried to overwhelm him, of him and Jimin and all the things that could have been. He needed a run. And maybe, while he was at it he could also visit Jimin’s grandma? Maybe he was there to tell her that he wouldn’t live in the village any longer and they had started to argue and forgot the time - or maybe she had an idea where he was. 

It felt like a relief to change forms, despite the pain and the sickening sound of bones cracking while he turned. Things were easier as a wolf. Emotions were different. And yet his heart still felt empty at the knowledge that Jimin might not come. He gave up all pretense and headed straight to grandma’s home, hoping that he could lend some clothes there or else the chat would be a little awkward but with her eyesight it didn’t really matter that much. He saw the open door the same moment the smell of blood hit him. He growled before he even realized what might have happened but the terror that gripped his heart told him that something was wrong. The blood that had been spilled smelled human. Like the old woman - and like Jimin. He jumped through the door without care or finesse, just recklessly storming in as a dangerous ball of fur and claws and teeth. It only took him a heartbeat to lay his eyes on the man who was sitting on Jimin’s lifeless body, his hands still wrapped around his throat as if Jimin’s didn’t look dead enough for him. He threw his whole body against him, knocking him clean off before sinking his teeth into the man’s flesh. The other screamed but Namjoon didn’t care, he just bit deeper and growled harder until the man was no longer a threat. 

Jimin didn’t scream as he got thrown over and air went through his lungs again, but something else hit him as he carelessly got pushed against something hard. He felt like a doll; lifeless and unable to move. But he didn’t even care about the pain anymore. There was air and Jimin was gasping for it like a fish that was out of the water. Blood was dripping down his forehead and cut lip as he tried to blink his eyes and see the scene in front of him. It was a blurry image, but the growling sound was familiar and although it was the most horrifying sound he ever heard coming from the wolf, Jimin felt nothing but calm. A small smile pulled at his lips, while Jimin tried to whisper a ‘thank you’ as the darkness made his eyelids heavier and the imagery vanished but Jimin opened his eyes again when a growl made him startle, only to be drowning again. Maybe it was for the better that he couldn’t see anymore, the sounds too vividly as he shook with it until he fell completely unconscious and the sound of skin ripping, and the smell of blood didn’t faze him no more. 

Never in his life did Namjoon change forms so quickly. He was dizzy from it, falling onto his knees but he knew if he wanted to help Jimin he needed hands and a human mouth. He was cold and trembling when he thought about reviving Jimin, wondering if he had been dead for too long - and then he saw that the other was still breathing. And he cried. He couldn't help it but seeing Jimin lying so lifelessly on the floor with the smell of blood all around him and his eyes firmly closed he had realized that he couldn’t just go on if Jimin was gone. He couldn’t.

“Jimin? Minnie?” He took the lifeless body in his arms, gently rocking him back and forth while he hugged him close until Jimin felt warmer and his heartbeat wasn’t so weak anymore. The smell of blood was still there, sickeningly sweet and overwhelming and so he gently placed the boy down to look for the source, to see if he could help. But it was too late for Grandma and so the only thing left to do for him was to gently close her eyes and say his goodbyes with a heavy heart.

Jimin was too weak to open his eyes, but he felt something lift him off the ground and for an awful moment he thought he was descending. Maybe to heaven? Or someone else that he didn’t know, but subconsciously his hand reached for something to steady himself, too scared to fall but too weak to really hold on as he felt a familiar heartbeat under his palm. Breathing in sharply, Jimin was curling in, trying to get away from the pain that was still aching all over his body. There was so much pain, so much hurting and Jimin couldn’t bare it. Namjoon didn’t know that Jimin’s consciousness was swimming in and out of focus. He just picked him up, as careful as he could and walked back with him to his home, all the while cradling him against his chest like a fragile, priceless possession. He had no idea what had happened and if Jimin knew that his grandmother was dead. The thought of burying her in the wild little garden behind the house had tears filling his eyes anew and he almost stumbled from his sight being so blurry. There was no time for grief now, not until Jimin was safe in his bed and would open his eyes again.

… 

Jimin hissed in pain when something soothed over his skin. A barely there touch but it hurt, and he turned away from it, whining and regretting it the moment the pain was piercing his throat with every sound. Every ache, every bruise that made him stiffen up, only brought the nightmare back and Jimin was shaking from the fear of where he'd find himself. It was only then his fingers were gripping sheets under him and a different smell, but blood reached him. His heart was beating into overdrive as he carefully opened his eyes in fear. 

Namjoon took the dampened cloth away from Jimin’s face when the younger started to stir and gave him space to come to. Jimin’s eyelids fluttered and he moved restlessly before he finally dared to open his eyes. “Hi.” Namjoon greeted him with a smile, his voice giving away how relieved he was to finally see Jimin awake. The walk had been a long one and Jimin hadn’t moved one bit, not even when Namjoon had gotten him into bed and started to clean the wound at his hairline that had colored strands of his hair red with blood. Only when he brought the cloth to Jimin’s lip to dab at the cut and wipe away the blood had the younger started to stir. There was freshly brewed herbal tea waiting for him that Namjoon wanted him to sip as soon as possible so that his throat wouldn’t be so sore. But first of all, it would be necessary to calm Jimin. He would ask what had happened later even though it burned on his tongue. Instead he tried to keep their conversation light and soothing. “How are you feeling? Are you warm enough? Do you want another blanket?” 

Jimin’s heart recognized him way before his mind did, beating fast and uncontrollably, yearning for his lover’s closeness. He had no idea how he made it here or what had happened after he blacked out but Jimin didn’t want to remember. With a croaky whine, Jimin reached for Namjoon and pulled at his shirt to make him come closer. He needed him by his side. But he couldn’t say more; his throat constricting with every time he tried to say something. When Namjoon sat in bed with him, Jimin let himself get pulled closer against his chest, searching for the warmth and heat that his body always provided. His teeth were clattering, limbs shaking as he tried to shake off the cold and the shock. “Sh-she’s gone,” He sobbed, hiding his face in his chest, desperately searching for something to hold on to or else he might fall apart. “I wanted to ...tell her about you...u-us, b-but Honsung...he,” Jimin coughed, trying to get rid of the aching in his throat. Namjoon had reached for the tea on instant, tilting Jimin’s chin up to make the younger drink from it who was too shaken. He gulped down the warm drink, feeling it’s soothing effects right away when he spoke again. “It was h-him, the beast...he did...he m-murdered,” His arm reached around Namjoon on instinct as if the other could leave him right now. 

It definitely answered the question if Jimin knew about his grandmother's death to see him like this. Namjoon tried his best to calm Jimin down, to soothe him enough that he wasn’t shaking so hard or gasping so helplessly for breath. He wouldn’t have mind letting the other cry at his shoulder if he felt it might help but Jimin shook so much and sobbed so desperately that he was worried for him. So, he gave him the tea, sip by sip trying to ground him and calm him (there was lavender in the tea, hop and chamomile). He couldn't really make out what Jimin was saying, he talked about Honsung and the beast, but he wasn’t sure what was really about what had happened and what Jimin had seen and what were his fears and the shock. He was in no state to be questioned so Namjoon just continued to hold him, caressing his back, brushing his fingers through his hair while whispering promises into his skin. “You’re safe now. No one can hurt you. Honsung will never lay a finger on you again. You’re okay. You made it through. You will heal, Jimin, I promise.” He could understand the other’s pain so well which made it a little harder to tell him he would be okay again because he knew that right now Jimin must feel like someone had torn out his heart and that this pain would never end. Grief only healed over time and sadly he couldn’t make the time pass faster so all he could do was be there for him while Jimin worked out his pain.

The younger had fallen asleep and against Namjoon’s side in exhaustion, hands buried deep in his shirt so he couldn’t move away. He needed Namjoon’s presence to ground him, even in his sleep. It felt like hours until he could open his eyes again, his body wrapped in a blanket that Namjoon had draped over them. Namjoon’s fingers were soothing through his hair and down his cheek, when he blinked up at him.

“What happened? How did you find me?” Jimin’s voice sounded tired, but a lot better than before. He had a terrible headache and Jimin felt for the cause of it, hissing when he came in contact with a bruise. 

"Careful, baby." He gently took Jimin's hand away from the wound. He didn't have any bandages left so he had only been able to clean the wound and touching it could contaminate it again. As horrible as it was he would need to take Grandma's first aid kit when they buried her because although he didn't like the thought of stealing from the dead he didn't know where else to get Jimin the things he needed right now. He was glad that the younger had managed to get some sleep and that he seemed calmer now even though his eyes were still red rimmed, and his voice sounded rough and off from having been choked and all the tears that were still stuck in his throat.

"I...I just thought you might be there. You didn't come to meet me as you said so I thought you might have visited your grandma to… to say goodbye." His voice was heavy with empathy as he had finished.

“I wanted to tell her...about...about you,” Jimin’s eyes filled with tears, “That I would run from the village but then...Honsung. He was there out of a sudden and I didn’t understand it.” His eyes were searching the room, while he tried to collect his thoughts, “He saw the love bites and he went crazy. I’ve never seen him that mad before and then…” Jimin gulped, “He is the beast, Namjoon. He killed them all and blamed the wolf. It was never the wolf.” He choked on a dry sob, when his eyes suddenly widened and Jimin pushed himself up, throwing the blanket over. “Oh god, he’s dead. The wolf...he came. Did you see him?” Jimin shaking when he spoke, trying to get up from the bed, “I need to find him. They will try and kill him and it’s all my fault. He protected me. Help me please, Namjoon. Help me find him!”

Those were news to him, ones that he had a hard time wrapping his head around. Of course, he had figured out that it hadn’t been him who killed those people as he was extra careful around a full moon and people were hurt no matter what phase the moon was in. but that it had been the villagers themselves, one of their own who played monster? And Jimin’s fiancé of all people? The only good thing that came of all this mess was that there no one would be hurt because of the ‘wolf’ ever again. Because the real beast had died. 

“Calm down, Minnie, please, sit back down, he’s fine, the wolf is fine, please don’t just run out there, I saw him, he’s... he’s perfectly okay!”

He had no idea how Jimin still managed to find so much energy inside of him when all he himself could feel was grief and worry and exhaustion. But apparently the wolf’s wellbeing weighted so heavy on the younger’s mind that he couldn’t let go of it that easily.

Jimin swayed a little when he got onto his feet, panting as he tried to hold onto the next best thing. “I need to tell him to hide, they will find them and…,” Jimin could barely bare the aching in his heart when he thought of his grandmother again and he wiped over his cheek, regretting it right away as he forgot about the bruise. “Please, Namjoon. They will see the biting marks and will think it’s the wolf for real now. He can’t know what they will do, but I know. They are monsters! They will kill him, thinking he had murdered twice.” He reached for Namjoon, pulling at his shirt, “I need to see him, please. Show me where he is!” It was the only right thing to do right now, his heart beating into overdrive, but his gut feeling told him to see the wolf. “We need to protect him!”

Jimin was trembling, his eyes wide and fearful and Namjoon started to worry that he might faint again if he couldn’t get the other to calm down again. His body had gone through enough today he didn’t need to tire himself out with his panic now especially because the wolf was fine, he was fine, but he couldn’t tell him, he had to watch Jimin try to get out of his grip and get to the door, ready to defend a creature he didn’t even know, jeopardizing his own health on the way.

“Jimin, please it’s fine, he’s okay, you don’t have to...” But the younger didn’t listen to him, didn’t let himself be lead back to the bed so it just slipped out “Jimin, he’s fine, the wolf is...he’s here!”

“Here?” Jimin looked at Namjoon in utter confusion before he turned around to rush out of the door. Could Namjoon hear him? Sense him being near? Did he know something that he didn’t know? Had he brought him to safety already? There was a million and one questions on his mind and Jimin could feel it hammering against his head, making it so much harder to think and only worsening his headache.

“Where? Where is he?” Jimin looked around, sounding more desperate the more he couldn’t see him. “Please, Namjoon.” He walked up to his lover, reaching out to cup his cheek as he soothed over his skin, “He protected me and it’s the least I owe him now. I love you, Namjoon, please trust me.”

How could Namjoon look at Jimin’s face, see the hope and desperation in it and then lie to him? He simply couldn’t. But he also couldn’t tell him, who know how he would react. Jimin had no home, no family, no fiancé, it had all come crashing down on him in one day. And if he got scared of Namjoon, of the only thing left to keep him sane what would he do? Namjoon was scared for him, so scared that he couldn’t speak, the words just didn’t come and so he stood there, helpless and lost, unable to tell Jimin his secret in fear of hurting him.

Jimin noticed the pain in Namjoon’s eyes right away, cupping his cheeks as his expression changed and his heart sunk. “What’s wrong? Is he hurt? Don’t tell me, ….please.” Tears cascaded down his cheeks as he thought of the wolf being hurt or worse - and more pain flooded him. He flung his arms around Namjoon and desperately sobbed, “Tell me he is okay, you said he is fine. You said he is alright.” He clung onto Namjoon as if he’d be the next person to be taken away from him. “He can’t be gone. He is my wolf!” Jimin’s voice cracked as he shook with the cries. 

Seeing Jimin cry for him was the last thing he had wanted and so his resolve crumbled with every sob and every tear until there was nothing left. He had no idea what to say to make it okay - there was nothing left but the truth. So, he said, it, quietly at first because he had never said it to anyone before and because he was scared and Jimin almost missed it.

“I.. I’m the wolf. I’m okay.” When Jimin didn’t react he took the younger’s face in his hands and gently wiped his tears away before he repeated himself, a little louder this time. “I’m the wolf, Jimin. I’m here. There’s no need to cry for me.” His hands trembled as he tried to hold on to Jimin, afraid that the younger would push him away now.

Jimin just stared at him blankly, searching his eyes to see if Namjoon was fooling him or making fun of him. He could feel the tremble coming from him and Jimin furrowed his brows, not understanding a thing anymore. “Y-you’re…Namjoon,” He sniffled. “H-how - that makes no sense. That’s not…you’re not an animal.” Jimin cocked his head aside, heart drumming hard against its cage as he tried to comprehend why Namjoon was telling him nonsense. Was it just to calm him down?

“I’ve seen the wolf, you…you told me to be aware of him as we hid from the hunters. You cared for the wounds from the scratch, you…” Jimin looked at Namjoon, really looked at him and saw nothing but honesty. There was no smirk, no fake smile, just him pleading with his deep brown eyes. The same one’s the wolf had. Jimin gasped and pushed a palm over his hand as his eyes widened. “H-how…”

“My mother. She was a wolf too. So as her son I… inherited the curse. I... I’m not always wolf, obviously but I can turn, willingly and sometimes... during full moons I turn whether I like it or not.“ He could see the words slowly sinking in as Jimin tried to work it out and then put the puzzle pieces together so he hurriedly said, “I’m so, so very sorry that I scared you during that one night! It was a full moon so I didn’t know what I was doing, I never meant to scare or to hurt you, really, I would never harm you, I didn’t mean to it’s just that I can’t really control myself but it’s only during full moons and apart from that I’m... I’m fine, you don’t have to fear me at all, I swear!” He was out of breath from talking so fast and desperately, so he sounded as lost and vulnerable as he felt when he added, “Please, don’t be scared of me.” 

The tears were silently falling when Namjoon reminded him of the night that the wolf died and the pain in his mother’s eyes. Had she always known? About the curse of the woman and her child? Jimin almost startled out of his thoughts when Namjoon begged him so desperately, laying all of his vulnerabilities out in front of him and the younger looked up.

“I was never scared of you…or the wolf.” He spoke honestly, not moving an inch away from the one he loved. “But Namjoon, how… I don’t understand. You’re human now and…” Jimin shook his head as he tried to wrap his mind around it, feeling like he couldn’t believe anything anymore after what had happened last night. “I’m sorry, but how do I know it was you?” 

Jimin sounded calmer now and Namjoon latched onto it immediately, trying to explain to make Jimin see him for him and not the creature he (sometimes) was. “It hurts but my body changes, the bones, the structure, everything. I… I could show you. Not directly please because... I figure it’s enough to take in for you already, but I could just go to the back of the house and change and come back to you as a wolf and you would see my clothes lying there and...” He swallowed hard. “You might want to cover your ears while I change because… you can hear it. The bones cracking and... I can’t keep silent during it because it hurts so much.”

“Y-your bones?” Jimin gulped heavily, his eyes flickering over his arms, soothing over his skin that showed so many scars and if this was true it might be from fights and turning. But this couldn’t be. It was absolutely mad.

Jimin stepped away from Namjoon nonetheless, not sure what he was getting himself into or if he needed to run any moment. Was he that bad at finding true love? Jimin licked over his lips as he nodded and although knowing that it would bring Namjoon pain and the guilt was flooding him, he knew he wouldn’t believe until he saw or knew for sure with whom he was dealing with. 

Namjoon tried to keep breathing normally even though his instinct would be to run and hide and never look back. He was absolutely vulnerable when he turned. And even if Jimin didn’t think of killing him because he was a monster he might still freak when he actually saw him. And even if everything worked out perfect and he wasn’t afraid, and he wouldn’t tell everyone, and he wouldn’t run than who was to say that he could still love him? Someone who turned into something entirely else, something dangerous, a predator that hunted regularly if he wanted or not. “You... you want me to turn? Are you sure?” He saw it in Jimin’s face that the other needed proof and yet he had to ask, just to see if maybe there was an out.

Jimin nodded slowly, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry, I understand.” Namjoon nodded his head in resignation and then started to walk away while slipping out of his shirt. He hesitated for a second, turning back to Jimin to ask him, “No matter what, don’t follow me okay? It’s ugly. The wolf - I mean I will come to you when I’m finished.” Then he went all the way to the back of the house where he discarded his clothes and cowered down onto the floor to make it easier. He tried to relax, to keep breathing and to not make a sound but he didn’t have a chance. He was still scared, his muscles were tense, and the wolf picked up on his fear, pushing through too quickly and roughly. When the first tendon snapped he cried out in pain, fingers digging into the ground to try and keep himself from crying out again, but he couldn’t help but whimper when his spine shifted, bones cracking as they rearranged themselves into his second form.

Jimin couldn’t tear his gaze away from where Namjoon had disappeared, staring at the wall, but each cracking sound, each painful sound coming from him made him jerk and yelp in phantom pain. He couldn’t understand what was happening and he was about to call out for Namjoon to come back when it was silent. Jimin was shaking, when he saw it only seconds later. Where Namjoon had disappeared, was now a wolf staring right back at him and Jimin couldn’t believe it. The wolf stood right in front of him, so close that he could reach for him and suddenly it felt like everything was clicking into place.

His mother running out into the woods, dying to protect them and crying for Namjoon’s mother the fateful night – just like he had done. The many full moon nights, she had stayed away and Jimin had been scared she would never come back. She always smiled at him then, saying in the sweetest tone that the wolf would never hurt those who they truly love. And Jimin never understood it. His grandmother asking him not to leave until he knew. Now he did. The wolf belonged to his side, just like Namjoon’s mother had belonged to hers. Only their fate hadn’t been on their side and maybe this was just the universe making this right and fixing its horrible mistakes. Jimin didn’t care, instead he stumbled a little when he took a few steps towards the wolf and slowly got onto his knees.

“Namjoon?” Jimin searched the wolf's eyes for the familiar glint in them and with a shaking hand he reached out, dangerously close to the wolf’s fangs. 

Namjoon shook out his fur to fluff it up and make it look the best as he could. He hadn’t dared to come too close in case Jimin would feel threatened but the younger only needed a little moment before he knelt down in front of him. His name sounded like a question and so Namjoon tried his best to nod, even though it came out awkward and stiff because it wasn’t how he would normally communicate when he was in his wolf form. He just didn’t. He was a little scared to meet Jimin’s eyes so he bowed his head, keeping his snout out of the youngers face to appear as docile as he could.

“It’s you,” Jimin couldn’t hold the tears back when his heart recognized his lover and his hand buried into the fur, feeling the familiar heat beneath his palm. He wasn’t scared of Namjoon, had never feared the wolf like the others did. “It was always you,” Jimin buried his other hand into the fur as he made the wolf look up at him, “You’re my wolf.” There were tears rolling down his cheeks and his heart was aching in the most beautiful way. 

Namjoon sat down, allowing himself to relax into Jimin’s embrace as the other buried his face into his fur, hands gripping into it to hold him close. He closed his eyes, trusting Jimin with his life in this moment. He pushed his snout against Jimin’s face, licking his ear because it was the only thing he could reach but he needed to show his affection or else he felt like he would burst from it.

There was still so many things he wanted to ask, so many things he didn’t understand but he knew with Namjoon by his side he would find the answers. This right here was where he belonged. His heart had known it all along. “I love you, too,” Jimin giggled, when Namjoon licked across his face with so much eagerness. He held onto the wolf tightly, letting its presence calm his mind and heart and yet, he couldn’t the deny the storm inside of him. Soothing over Namjoon’s fur, Jimin stopped to look at him with earnest. “You understand me…r-right?”

As an answer Namjoon licked him again, placing a paw onto his knee to get even closer to him and snuggle his whole furry body against Jimin’s form.

Jimin couldn’t help but smile, even though what he would ask him next hurt him and couldn’t stop the tears. “They will look for you, they will try and hurt you. I can’t let this happen. I won’t lose you!” Jimin kissed the top of the wolfs head, “You don’t deserve the hurt this forest gave you, no…you deserve to be in peace.” He choked on his words as he wrapped his arm around the wolf whose small whine made Jimin hold onto him tighter. “I don’t want you to get hurt no more and the village…it won’t be safe here anymore.” Jimin kissed the tip of Namjoon’s wet nose as he looked at him with tear-filled eyes. “I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again. You’re my wolf and I need you to run away from here.” He breathed out the words that made him ache so badly, whispering the words into his fur. 

Jimin was right and Namjoon knew this. They couldn’t exactly tell the villagers that one of them had murdered their people, they simply wouldn’t believe it and the only proof they had was Jimin who was seen as the ���crazy witch kid’ already. They might burn him for it like they had burned his mother. So, leaving was the best option, Namjoon knew this. He howled at the thought of leaving the woods behind where he had grown up and where his mother had taught him to be a wolf, because it was the only thing he had left from here. However, if he wanted to have a future he needed to let go of the past. And he wanted this, a future, together with Jimin. The would find a space for them, maybe find another village that was more open minded and where Jimin could thrive.

“Run away with me, Namjoon. I won’t leave your side ever again. It’s where I need to be, with you…on full moon nights just as every other night.” Jimin smiled at him, wiping away the tears with a soft chuckle. “Do you think you can carry me?” There wasn’t much to take from his home anyways. It was replaceable. Jimin got up and walked around the big wolf, waiting for Namjoon’s response before climbing onto his back. He could feel the muscles shift underneath, the warm fur warming him perfectly as he leaned in and over him. “Let’s say goodbye to her, please.” Jimin placed a kiss on top of Namjoon’s head, holding onto him tightly, “And please never look back again.” 

Namjoon let out an affirmative jip at that. Hope bloomed in his chest as the happiness filled him up. Jimin wouldn’t leave him. He said he would be with him, even during the full moon... he didn’t have to be alone any longer. 

None of them did. 

They had each other now. He tensed his muscles and then started running, with Jimin on his back, to where his paws would take them.

A/N: Ahhhh, we hope you enjoyed our very first adventure into our fairytale world! What’s next? How about beauty and the beast? ;) 

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[kenology]

(feel free to pick and choose from any of these) 13 !!!!!!!!! 15, 23-25, for the fanfic ask meme, and a freebie bc i want to: favorite line (or paragraph 🤠) you wrote this year mwah

13: favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

ive been listening to roy orbison a lot actually! im not like a huge fan of his in general, but the In Dreams album is the perfect vibe for writing exit wounds 😳

15: something you learned this year

that it's okay and valid to hate adverbs bc adverbs kind of suck JDKDJDJDKS also that its very possible to write fics longer than 10k i just have to plan them out in advance

23: fics you wanted to write but didn't

i mentioned the band camp au and college au in my previous ask, those were definitely two of them but im planning on maybe doing them next year! in terms of things that i don't think i'll ever end up writing, at one point id been planning to do a fic set in s3 where the farm was more like. an actual cult. cause i think cults are fascinating (in a morbid way) and it'd be really interesting to think abt how that would play out in rvd

24: favorite fic you read this year

this was so hard to choose!!! i decided to narrow it down by fics that were published/finished this year to make it a little easier, and i have to go with homemade dynamite by @gaycinema because it truly just gave me all the serpents + fred + archie found family i could ever want PLUS jarchie, and it made me both cry and laugh out loud at least once every chapter. all of my friends fics are honorary mentions though i wish i could list everyones 🥺

25: a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

"Pop Tate, Working-Class Hero: The Untold Story of How Pop’s Chock'lit Shoppe Became a Worker Cooperative" by @stonerbughead is FANTASTIC and does everything the show could never do and more. this is like the best possible continuation of the class conflict the show started to explore (but eventually abandoned) in s2!! and i always love to see a fic about pop 😌 after reading this i have also agreed that it's canon that pop was a black panther in his youth

favorite line/paragraph i wrote:

ok this was SO hard to pick but i’m really attached to this section from still fighting it. im pretty happy with how jughead’s age (hes 11) came through here, and also just. jones family angst. sibling relationship angst. alcoholism angst. yeah <3 (i know this is like. multiple paragraphs. but pretend it isnt xoxo)

Jughead’s mom says his dad is throwing his life away. Mr. Andrews says his dad is sick. Jughead wants to believe the second one, because if his dad is sick, that means he can get better. He tries to help his dad get better, but he’s not sure how. Sometimes, when his dad comes back late at night and crashes on the couch, after he falls asleep, Jughead picks up his coat off the floor and hangs it on the hook, and helps take his shoes off, too, setting them right next to the front door. Those things, he knows how to fix. Once, Jellybean wakes up when their dad comes home, startled by the noise. She joins the two of them in the living room and picks up a pillow from the armchair. Making her way back over to the couch, she carefully lifts up their dad’s head, just enough to put the pillow underneath, and kisses him on the forehead. Go back to sleep, Jelly, Jughead whispers. There are some things she shouldn’t have to learn.

[suga-angel]

A Crossroad Deal (4)

Summary: After getting out of a long term relationship, you try to move on with your life. However, having spent the last three years unavailable, you are not sure you know how to get back out there again, let alone if you even want to. That is, until you meet Jeon Jungkook, the barista at your college coffee shop. He is more than happy to help you wet your toes in the dating scene again, but at what cost?

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter 

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: A little of everything 

Word Count: 10k

College!Jungkook, somewhat FuckBoy!Jungkook

Warning: 18+ only please. language, thigh ridding, orgasm denial, dom!Jungkook, dirty talk, and semi public sex. This is filth, you have have been warned.

A/N: I have no clue where this came from?? I finished the chapter and it just was there?? My soul will never be the same again. Hope you enjoy!

“I mean, he’s cute,” you justified, popping another chocolate drop in your mouth. “Hot, actually. Like fuck-me-in-the-hallway hot. Wet dream hot. But I don’t know, he seems like a player…”

When your companion remained silent you went on. “You know what, you’re right. He’s bad news. I shouldn’t encourage his womanizing. What kind of woman would I be if I just gave in so soon? I just won’t go.”

More silence. “But I haven’t really gotten laid in a long time. Wouldn’t it be better to have a one night stand with someone who I know won’t start planning for three kids, a dog, and a picket fence? So maybe I should give it a try. Did I mention how hot he is? He works out for sure, so his stamina should be decent at least…”

You heard a pin dropped somewhere in the room. “No, you were right, I should just-“

“Jesus fucking Christ, you’re still fucking here?” the older boy exclaimed, looking back at your form draped over the couch behind his desk with an incredulous look, his earphones only partially removed from one ear. His outburst halted you in your rambling to watch him cautiously, like a deer watching the wolf to assess how lethal the threat was. Only when you were certain it was safe did you reply.

“Well… yeah.” Even to your own ears your voice sounded small. “Where else would I be?”

He let out a weary sigh, moving the overpriced earphones to rest around his neck so that he could rub his face tiredly. The action made it seem as if he was aging a decade or two, you observed with a huff. Surely you weren’t that much of an annoyance. “Go away.”

“But oppa, you’re supposed to help me,” you whined, sitting up properly so that you could deliver a better case. “You need to tell me what to do!”

“I’m busy, Y/N, I don’t have time for your dull issues,” Yoongi muttered, turning back to his computer program. “Go ask that whiny chick. The one that keeps trying to get me to compliment her. Minmin or Mimi or-“

“Minjin.”

“Whatever. Just leave.” He then waited. One, two, three moments before sighing again in aggravation when you didn’t move from your spot. “Fine,” he grumbled, turning his chair around to face your beaming expression. “You have five minutes. What do you want.”

“Did you not hear a word I had said?” you asked in disbelief.

“I tried not to, no.” There wasn’t an ounce of shame in his voice.

“I’ve been here for almost an hour!”

“I’m painfully aware. You only have four minutes and forty-five seconds left before I quite literally throw you out, so I’d start talking if I were you,” he informed you.

With some level of difficulty, you set aside your frustration. “Should I go to the party on Saturday?”

“The frat party?” When you nodded in confirmation, he continued. “Why would you?”

“Well…” you started, kind of flustered by his somewhat obvious question. “Because I haven’t gone out in a while now. And because a god of sexual appe-”

“Yeah yeah, I heard that part of your soliloquy, thank you,” he interrupted you with his unhappy grumble. “Are you actually going to fuck him if you go? Because from what I’ve heard you’ve been an embarrassment thus far.”

Your eyes widened at his bluntness. “Who the hell said I’ve been-”

“Everyone.” Once he realized you weren’t going to offer anything other than a huff as a response, he rolled his eyes. “Fine, why wouldn’t you go?”

“Because I’ve been an embarrassment thus far,” you said chagrined, shooting him a small glare at his amused smirk before adding, “And well… Hobi doesn’t seem to want me to go for some reason.”

“Oh yes, this part I know. He’s worn my ear off about the whole thing. Thank you for that, by the way.” The older man scowled at you.

You puffed out your cheeks in annoyance. “Why does he even care? From what I gathered, he’s friends with the guy.”

“Being friends with Jungkook and wanting him around women you care about are two separate things,” Yoongi said, slouching back in his chair. “Jungkookie is a good kid but he can’t be trusted around women, especially ones who look like you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? What’s wrong with the way I look?” You demanded, already taking full offense to his words.

“Attractive, dumb ass,” he sneered.  “Those kids think with their dicks foremost, one glance at a semi-attractive chick and they’re rutting on the couch.”

Your nose wrinkled up at the description. “Stop, you’re ruining his sexual appeal.”

“If you don’t like what I am saying, you could always leave,” he suggested, leaning his head in the direction of the door hopefully. When you didn’t move he sighed again, sitting up straighter. “Look, if you want to go, go. Hobi just doesn’t want you to get hurt so soon again, he’ll get over it. If you want to go out and get your freak on then do it. You don’t need anyone’s permission.”

You contemplated his words for a few moments. “But what if I embarrass myself again? The boy leaves me in a mushy, red faced mess.”

Yoongi blinked a few times, seeming to be trying to assess if you were being serious. “Y/N, it’s Jungkook. I know you women seem to think he’s some sort of model of all things sex, but he’s a big kid. The idiot once took a big bite of my bath bomb because it smelled like a cinnamon roll. I thought I was going to have to take him to the hospital.”

A startled chuckle escaped past your lips as you tried to imagine the self-assured man you’ve seen this far in such a situation.

“Even if he weren’t such a goofball, you’ve got a solid three years on the kid. Aren’t you ashamed of your behavior as his senior?” The look your friend sent you was filled with complete judgment.

“Hey, I’m rusty okay? Sue me,” you huffed, crossing your arms across your chest defensively.

Yoongi snorted. “Bullshit, I’ve seen the disgusting way you flirted with bartenders when you were trying to make that ass you were dating jealous. You know plenty. You’re just getting all school girl now because you’ve been stuck with Fugly for the past three years, which makes Kookie-ah all the more attractive.”

You pursed your lips, not arguing with him there. “So I should go.”

“Yes, both to the party and out of my studio. Your five minutes has been up for a good sixty-three seconds.”

“Don’t wear that, stupid. It makes it look like you have my great aunt Suzy’s ass,” Jihyun criticized, snatching away the comfy pair of joggers you pulled from your closet. You watched as she hung them back up with great sadness.

“Here, wear this. You’ll look hot,” Minjin offered, walking into your room holding in her hand a very short, very non-existing piece of cloth that you were sure was meant to be a dress.

“Oh, you’d definitely get laid in that,” Jihyun beamed, taking the dress to inspect it closer.

“Okay, new plan,” you stated, standing up and pulling both overly eager girls out of your room. “You both go worry about yourselves and we’ll meet back in the living room when we’re all done.”

Minjin huffed. “That’s preposterous.”

“Of course it is,” Jihyun agreed. “You clearly don’t know how to dress yourself anymore. You’ve been a college student for far too long.”

“Guys.” You tried to pull in your frustration at your two friends before continuing. “If you stay in my room any longer I might kill you both. So for all of our sakes, go away.”

Before they could make any further moves you closed the door to your room and locked it, affectively keeping the only entrance to your room inaccessible to your two friends. Leaning back against the door just as an added precaution let you hear their protests on the other side of the door, which included some vulgar comments made by Jihyun. Eventually though, you heard them both walk away to get ready for themselves. Letting out a half amused sigh, you went back to your task of finding what to wear to this party.

You had decided to follow the advice you received from Yoongi the day before and just attend the damn frat party. Even if nothing happened with Jungkook tonight, it would do you good to go out with the girls again. It had been a while since you all went out, what with your reclusive behavior lately and their busy schedules. Part of you was actually excited to get to spend time with your friends again.

Almost an hour later you found yourself staring at the mirror in your room, looking over your outfit for the evening. You had kept it simple yet sexy; at least, you hoped it was sexy. You wore your favorite pair of distressed shorts with a sheer white V-neck. The plunge of the shirt was deep enough to reveal the black, laced up bralette you wore underneath, which served its purpose of accentuating your chest in the best way possible. An oversized plaid shirt was tied around your waist. Not only did it highlight your curves, but it would also be useful if you found yourself getting cold that night. To top off the outfit you applied a light amount of make up and pulled your hair into a stylishly messy bun.

Overall, you liked what you had decided on. It was a casual look, but the amount of skin the shorts left exposed showcased your toned legs, one of your best aspects. That, and the amount of cleavage that was on display thanks to your deep plunge offered just the right amount of sexiness without appearing as if you were trying too hard. With a satisfied nod, you walked out of the room to meet up with your friends.

Not surprisingly, Jihyun was the only one waiting. She had chosen to go simple tonight; a rather conservative shirt dress with leggings. In true Jihyun fashion, she didn’t even bother changing her hair or make-up she had worn for the day.

With a fond smile, you plopped down near her on the couch, succeeding in startling her enough to pull her attention away from her phone.

“Jesus, bitch. A warning would have been nice.” She let her eyes wander down your outfit while she scolded you, critiquing your choice in attire. With an approving nod, she put her phone away. “What is taking Minjin so long? She’s already taken, what does she have to get dolled up for anyways?”

“I have to get dolled up, as you so kindly put it,” Minjin said as she walked into the room, holding a pair of sandals in her hand. She had decided to wear a floral off the shoulder dress that reached a little higher than mid thigh, showing off her long legs. “because I wish to get laid by my boyfriend tonight, and the only way that I’ll be able to accomplish that is if I look more appealing than the beer pong game.”

“Really? He’d turn down sex to play with balls?” Jihyun asked, unimpressed. “Did you spend this whole time doing your hair and make-up? That looks like far too much effort for some dick. It’ll just get fucked up anyways.”

“Some of us like to dress up for ourselves. You know, put an effort in.” Minjin eyed your coworker’s hair as she spoke, clearly judging the other woman’s decision to not change it.

“What’s that look for?” Jihyun said, defensively. “I put effort into tonight! I washed my hair today for you bitches.”

“That is a big accomplishment for her,” you confirmed, somewhat touched by your friends uncharacteristic behavior.

Minjin, however, was not. She merely rolled her eyes as she headed to the door to slip her sandals on. “Whatever, let’s get going before Y/N chickens out.”

“I resent that statement,” you remarked as you put on your new pair of Puma’s.

Beside you, Jihyun stepped into her knee high boots, nodding at your words. “I agree. It gives chickens worldwide far a bad name, Y/N is far worse.”

“Hey!” you shouted, barely being heard over Minjin’s laugher. “Why am I even friends with you two?” you grumbled, walking out of the apartment without them.

The party was already in full swing as your Uber parked in front of the frat house. Even before you climbed out of the car you could already feel the bass of the overly-loud music in your chest. You were surprised that no one in the neighboring houses had called to complain yet. They were probably attending the party themselves.

“Let’s get going, girlies!” Minjin cheered, looping her arms through yours and Jihyun’s and leading you both into the house. The size of the inside room you walked into shocked you. The room was huge, easily fitting the crowd of students who already filled it. All the furniture was either pushed up against the edges of the room or removed all together, it seemed. Kegs were strategically placed throughout the lower half of the house, and a couple of girls had taken it upon themselves to walk around serving shots of some sort with their tops off, much to the enjoyment of more than a few of the party goers.

“Let’s go get drinks!” Minjin shouted over the music, tugging the two of you over to the nearest keg without waiting for a response from either of you.

“This place stinks.” Jihyun said, glancing around at the students gathering around her with a faint look of disgust.

“What?” you shouted back, not being able to hear her over the music.

“For fucks sake,” she grumbled, taking a shot from one of the girls who walked by and downing it with the tip of her head. “Let’s go dance!”

Minjin lit up at the suggestion. Five minutes later you found yourselves in the middle of the mass of the swaying student bodies. None of you paid anyone half a thought though; the three of you were too absorbed in moving your bodies to the music, every so often giggling at each other over one of you spilling a drink or at the murderous glare Jihyun shot anyone who ever hinted at trying to join you. You decided to just enjoy yourself for now. You could try to find Jungkook later. For now, you were more than happy with losing yourself with your friends.

You lost track of time as you danced. All you knew was that you ran out of beer, which made the swarm of bodies attempting to press up against you unbearable. Glancing around the room you spotted what seemed to be the entrance to the kitchen. From what you were able to gather despite the sea of people in front of you, the kitchen was full of a larger variety of drinks than the living room had to offer.

Turning back to your oblivious friends, you shouted, “I’m going to go get a drink!” You pointed at your cup for affect, in case the obnoxiously loud music washed out your voice. They both nodded their heads at you, shouting something back that you could not pick up. From the smirks that they sent you, you deduced it wasn’t of importance as you pushed yourself through the crowd.

When you finally made it to the kitchen you were in a much worse mood than you previously had been. On your journey there, you had stepped on more toes and swatted away more adventurous hands then you would’ve liked. Luckily, the music wasn’t as loud in the kitchen as it was in the living room, giving you the opportunity to hear your own thoughts once again. Even then, you were still grumbling to yourself as you scavenged the kitchen for any non-alcoholic drink you could find.

It wasn’t until you leaned against the counter with a cup of Sprite in your hand that your irritation start to diminish slowly. You took this opportunity to truly take in your surroundings. It was actually a rather successful party, as far as college parties go. You had been to quite a few duds in the past and you half dreaded that this would be added to the list. To say you were pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.

As you looked over the dancing crowd through the doorway, your eyes were drawn towards a particular couple dancing on the outskirts of the swarm. The guy had his arms wrapped around the girl’s waist, pulling her rear firmly against his crotch as they both swayed to the music. The girl’s arm was reaching back to hoop around the boy’s neck, using the leverage to pull his head down for a passionate kiss. It wasn’t until they parted for air that you realized why you had been attracted to the two of them.

Well there goes my plan of getting laid tonight.

You quickly looked away from the scene, not wanting to witness any more of Jungkook’s make out session. An odd feeling settled in your chest, but you chose to ignore it for now. Instead, you took a sip from your cup, regretting your choice of a non-alcoholic beverage.

Suddenly, you felt someone lean against the counter by you, brushing their arm lightly against your own.

“You came,” a warm, familiar voice said, pleasantly surprised. Turning your head, you were met with the sight of Jimin standing beside you, an inviting smile spread out on his lips. You were once again hypnotized by his natural beauty. He had kept it simple tonight, wearing a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a nice button up that did wonders for his arm and chest.

“Did Hoseok make me out as some kind of prude or something?” you inquired with a smile, drawing a chuckle out of the boy.

“No, no. But we figured he would’ve talked you out of coming tonight. He’s rather protective of you,” he observed with an amused chuckle. “Is he always like that?”

You tilted your head to the side, thinking about the question. “No, not really. I mean he’s always cared, but he’s only recently became so big brotherly.”

“It’s sweet.” A knowing smirk tugged onto his face when he saw the way you rolled your eyes. He chuckled softly. “I understand hyung though. I, too, make a point of not introducing my friends of the female gender to Kookie-ah. The boy is a marshmallow really, but he can be dangerous with the ladies.”

“So I’ve heard.” Without intending to, your eyes drifted back to where Jungkook and his girl were. Their slow kiss from earlier had evolved into a much more heated exchange of saliva. Wrinkling your nose a bit, you turned back to Jimin. “You seem pretty dangerous yourself.”

The younger boy choked a little on his drink, not expecting you to say something of the sort. The reaction made you grin.

“You get confident when you drink, don’t you?” he remarked with a chuckle, eyeing your cup. “The last time we met you were a blushing mess.”

Your grin fell into a look of indignation. “You were naked! Meeting naked people is a perfectly good excuse to be flustered.”

“Mhm.” A small smirk formed on his lips. “I bet we weren’t the one you wanted to see naked, though.”

You ignored the faint blush that tried to present itself on your cheeks. Instead you meet the boy’s smirk with a faint one of your own. “I don’t know, I don’t think you give yourself enough credit, Jiminie.”

His eyes lit up with surprised satisfaction. With a low chuckle, he turned his attention back to the other party guests. “Jiminie, huh? That’s awfully casual, don’t you think?” His smirk only grew as he tilted his head to glance at you once more with a sinful look. “Does this make you my noona then?”

You pressed your lips together to try and hide your smile from him. With an indifferent shrug, you turn to look over the crowd again. You couldn't keep your composer when he looked at you that way. “Men and their need to label everything…”

Once again, your ears were graced with the sound of his beautiful chuckle. “Tell me something then, noona.” With that you felt him moving his arm behind you to rest his hand on the counter by your hip. The change in position had him leaning into your side, his breath fanning the loose strands of hair that had fallen out of your bun. You could smell the distinctive scent of alcohol on his breath; not that you minded. “Does this sudden change in behavior have anything to do with Jungkookie’s guest for tonight?”

At the reminder, you eyes naturally went to where you had last seen the mentioned barista. It took you a few seconds to locate him though; that is, until you looked further into the crowd to notice him leaning back on a wall, his body being blocked by the petite form of the girl from before as she went to work on his neck. From your spot you could distinctively see his smirk plastered on his lips as he whispered in her ear. Whether it was the sight before you that made your heart beat faster or the fraternity member to your left, you weren’t entirely sure.

“There are plenty of fish in the sea.” Tearing your eyes away, you turned to look into Jimin’s. Your nose almost brushed against his when you spoke. “I’ve learned not to get attached to only one.”

Mischief gleamed in his eyes at your words. He didn’t move away from you though, almost challenging you to be the one to pull back first. You weren’t one who backed away from a challenge easily.

His smirk grew into an excited grin when you stood your ground. “He was so wrong about you.”

Before you could question what he meant, someone rudely cleared their throat in front of you.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Hoseok spoke, eyeing the space between you and Jimin with a look of disapproval. Giving a small sigh, you stood straighter to turn towards your friend to show him your unhappy expression. He only pressed his lips together in response.

“Don’t worry hyung, I’ve been keeping her company.” Jimin’s voice took on an innocent intonation when he spoke. When he saw the older boy’s unamused expression, he pulled his arm away from you, to your disappointment. “Where are the rest of the guys?”

“In the back room. Your big mouthed friend is there too, Y/N.” He fixed you with a disapproving look. “I’m getting everyone drinks.” 

“Well, we don’t want to keep them waiting right? You know how hyung gets when something takes too longer.” With that, Jimin reached over the counter to grab an unopened bottle of vodka. “Shall we?”

“Yeah, we’ll meet up with you.” His tone left no room for argument. Jimin merely shrugged before he made his leave down a hall.

Once you were sure the younger man was gone you shot Hobi a glare. “Why are you such a cock block? Couldn’t you see I was in the middle of something?”

“Oh, I saw plenty,” he retorted with a cross of his arms. “Since when do you like younger men? And why do they have to be my dongsaeng?”

“Since they grew abs and reeked of unadulterated sex?” You spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. It made him scoff unhappily. “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve had sex? Nearly four months! And before that I was with Jaesung, who was a selfish prick in bed,” you whined, fixing your friend with a pleading look when he didn’t seem to budge. “Come on, Hobi. I need this.”

After a few moments of silence he let out a sigh, his posture slacking a bit. “Not with them. They’re bad news. If you want I can set you up with someone else, but not those two. They’ll only hurt you.”

“You act like I’m looking for marriage.” You huffed. “I want to have fun, Hoseok. I’ve been stuck in that pitiful relationship for years and now that I’m out I just want to let loose. I want to flirt and go out and have lots and lots of dirty, kinky, meaningless sex. And I mean the good stuff, I want legs over shoulders, heavy panting, fat di-“

Hobi cut off your speech by placing his hand over your mouth. His free one was covering his own as he gagged a little. “Okay stop, just stop. That’s- just stop.” Another gag interrupted him before he could continue. “What is wrong with you? I don’t want to see you like that, nasty.”

You watched as your friend’s body shook with a disgusted shiver. With a chuckle you removed his hand from your mouth. “Really Hoseok. I’m not going to get attached. I promise.”

Silence fell between the two of you. Hoseok searched your expression for any hint that contradicted your words. Eventually he sighed, dropping his arms to his side. “You’re still a pervert.”

All the weight was lifted off your shoulders. With a relieved chuckle you said, “I know.”

Shaking his head, he led you down the hallway Jimin had disappeared down. “So, would your legs be the ones in the air or would his?”

A startled laugh escaped your throat as you were guided towards a small group. “Who’s the perve now?”

“I’m just asking,” he said with a grin, stopping when he stood by Yoongi’s side. “You know, for scientific purposes.”

“Oh, I’d love to talk about this science you speak of,” Jihyun spoke up from beside Namjoon, the bottle Jimin had earlier in hand and already half gone. “I’m quite the science enthusiast, myself.” She followed her comment with a playful wink that made you laugh again.

“Calm your hormones, children,” Yoongi warned, stealing the bottle from the her before eyeing your outfit for the night. “You shaved. That’s a new one.”

“At least one of us actually grows hair, baby face,” You countered, hiding behind Hobi and letting out a small squeak when the older boy reached to smack your head.

He sighed with false aggravation. “No wonder you struck out tonight, you’re more tiring than the maknae.”

“I resent that,” someone interjected. Soon after Jungkook appeared between Jimin and Namjoon across from you, hooking his arm around the younger man’s shoulders. “No one tires anyone out better than me.” The chuckle that came from Jimin suggested he was implying something far from innocent.

The sudden appearance of the other boy had your heart beating faster all of a sudden, to your annoyance. As the group started up a conversation among themselves you remained silent, taking the opportunity to look over the new comer now that he was closer. Like Jimin, he had decided to keep his look simple tonight. Even then, with the way the lighting of the room hit his sheer white shirt, the look became far less casual. You had to snap yourself out of your line of thought before they got any further. No matter how good Jungkook looked right now, the lipstick stain on the collar of his shirt was a reminder that he was claimed for the night.

As if reading your mind, Jimin smirked at the younger man. “So where did your friend go? Did she realize she could do better than your sorry ass?”

Jungkook only snorted doubtfully. “Like who? You?”

“Why not?” you defended, surprising even yourself. Suddenly everyone’s eyes were on you, including Jungkook. The look he sent you said he had not noticed it was you who stood by Hoseok. “I’ve never seen an ass finer than his.”

A cheeky grin spread on Jimin’s cheeks as the maknae stared at you surprised. “I’m glad you’ve noticed, noona.”

“Noona?” Namjoon inquired, looking in your direction with a raised eyebrow.

Jungkook ignored his question though. “Don’t get your hopes up, hyung. She only says that because she hasn’t seen mine yet,” he said with a smirk in your direction.

“I assure you I have.”

Jimin threw his head back as a gleeful laugh tore through him at the expense of his dongsaeng. The maknae, on the other hand, did not look quite as happy with your reply.

“Children have a weird way of flirting these days,” Yoongi muttered in a low voice as he took a drink straight from the bottle. You could see his lips stretch into a small, evil smirk as his eyes met yours. You only replied with a small glare before you snatched the bottle from him, if only to spite him. Hoseok, who still stood between the two of you, chuckled at the exchange.

“It seems Jackson hyung was wrong, Jungkookie.” Jimin threw his arm around your shoulders lazily as he shot the other a smug smirk. “Looks like I’m the real favorite.”

Something unreadable sparked within the younger man’s eyes as he cocked his head to the side for a moment. He said something in return with a cocky smirk, but in that moment your attention was diverted behind him. Standing in the doorway of the small sitting room stood Jaesung, a wide grin spread out on his face with his arm thrown around Seona, who giggled into his side. Your blood ran cold at the sight. This was the first time you were seeing Jaesung outside of the office, where the protection of professionalism could shield you. Heat instantly rose to your cheeks as you watched them socialize with their friends without a care in the world. This was supposed to be your night. You were supposed to be getting out there again tonight, throwing caution to the wind and having fun. Yet, now that you stood there, surrounded by some of your closest friends, all you could think was that you had to get out of there. Now.

“Y/N?” Namjoon’s voice tore you out of your thoughts. Averting your eyes, you looked in his direction, spotting his worried expression. “You okay?” Unfortunately, he didn’t just grab your attention. From the corner of your eye you could see Jaesung look over at the sound of your name.

Fuck.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Where’s the bathroom?” you asked, shoving the bottle into Hobi’s chest. Glancing again behind Jungkook, you could see Jaesung excusing himself from the rest of his friend. You needed to get out of there. Fast.

“Come on, I’ll show you.” It was Jungkook’s voice that spoke. His expression no longer held the same smug confidence that had been there earlier. Instead, his head leaned to the side as he eyed you curiously. You only managed to nod as you walked in the opposite direction of where Jaesung was, not caring if this was the way towards the restroom or not. Jungkook quickly caught up to you, placing his hands on your waist from behind to help navigate you through the sea of people. It wasn’t until you’d reached a small clearing in front of the stairs that he stopped. He used his leverage on your hips to spin you around to face him.

“You okay?” he asked, concern lacing his voice. From behind him you could spot Jaesung making his way through the crowd towards the two of you still.

“Fuck,” you hissed, looking around for the nearest exit. You didn’t want to talk to him. You knew that if you did you’d cause a scene, and that is the last thing you wanted. People were only recently starting to forget about your disastrous relationship. You didn’t need people to talk about you any longer just because you couldn’t cool your temper.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Jungkook pressed again, one of the hands on your hips letting go to caress your cheek, pulling your attention back to you. “Talk to me, love. Did something happen? Did someone hurt you?”

“No, no, I’m fine, I-” you stopped talking when you spotted Jaesung walking closer to you. You panicked. Before you knew what you were doing you turned back to Jungkook. “Kiss me.”

“What?” he choked out. His eyes went wide at your demand, his surprise causing his grip on you to slacken. You could have none of that. Quickly, you wrapped your arms around his waist to pull him back in.

“You said I couldn’t handle you right?” you said, hoping to get a rise out of him. “Prove me wrong then and kiss me already.”

He went to protest but Jaesung was already far too close for your liking. Without wasting another second you leaned up and pressed your lips to his hastily. The younger boy instantly froze at your action, causing you to close your eyes tightly and pull him closer, silently pleading with him to respond. It didn’t take him long to make up his mind after that.

Before you knew it, he was pressing you up against the wall behind you, his hand on your hip sliding under your shirt to rest his hand on the small of your back to pull you closer to him. The kiss was heated, his lips moving against yours with a passion that you hadn’t ever remembered experiencing before. A small gasp escaped your lips at the sudden change in his actions. Jungkook took it as an opportunity to slide his tongue in to wrestle against yours for control. Some part of your brain heard someone clearing his throat beside the two of you, but you paid it no mind. You were too absorbed in fighting for dominance in the kiss to remember the problem at hand.

When the person didn’t seem to get the hint, Jungkook pulled his lips from yours to shoot a vicious glare over his shoulder. His hands remained on you though, and he made no move to step away. “Do you need something?” The sound of his hard tone of voice made you shiver slightly. Peeking over his shoulder from your spot behind him you could see Jaesung, his eyes glaring into Jungkook’s.

“Yeah, I need to talk to Y/N. So move.” You watched as his hands formed fists at his side, a clear sign that he was trying to contain his anger.

Jungkook turned his head momentarily to look at you before facing Jaesung again. “She’s a little busy right now, try later.” Without waiting for a reply he turned to reconnect your lips, instantly picking up where he had left off. With a mind of their own, your arms reached up to wrap around Jungkook’s neck, pulling him down to you. Vaguely, you could hear your name being called but in that instance Jungkook took it upon himself to start trailing open-mouthed kisses along your jaw while his hand on your back returned to your hip to massage circles into the skin. The combination of the two sensations instantly wiped your thoughts of anything other than his touch. Your head rolled back to lean against the wall, giving him more space to explore your neck. It had been too long since you felt anyone’s touch on your body. It was almost embarrassing how much of an affect a mere kiss was having on you.

A shiver tore through your body the moment Jungkook’s lips made contact with a certain location on your neck; it didn’t go unnoticed by the younger boy either. You could feel the smirk that stretched upon his lips against your flesh. After that, his sole focus remained there, switching between nipping and running his tongue over your skin. It took all of your self-control to remember to press your lips firmly together so that no noises could escape from you. You didn’t even register when his leg snuck between yours, affectively trapping you between him and the wall.

“I think you’re safe now, love,” he murmured in a deep voice against your ear. He made no move to pull away though. Instead, he attached his lips back to the skin behind your ear, nipping at the flesh teasingly. Another shiver ran through your body as you tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck when you felt him run his tongue over your skin as a small apology. He remained silent for a few moments, placing lazy kisses from your ear down to the juncture of your neck. When you made no move, he placed one final kiss on your shoulder, his grip on you loosening as he started to pull away from you.

You don’t know what came over you in that instant. You knew you shouldn’t, not when he still had evidence of another woman on his collar, but you couldn’t stop yourself. Before you could even register your own actions, you were pulling him back to you, attaching your lips for another passionate kiss. He wasted no time in returning it. This time the kiss was mostly all teeth and tongue, but neither of you seemed to care as you both clung to each other. You were surprised to realize you could not taste any hint of alcohol on Jungkook’s tongue.

A short moment later you felt him adjust himself against you a little, causing his thigh to momentarily brush up against your core. Months of pent up sexual frustration betrayed you as a startled moan escaped. It instantly silenced by Jungkook’s own lips. The sound made him growl. He pulled away slightly, tugging at your bottom lip with his teeth as he did. The look in his eyes as he stared down at you was so intense that it had a whimper rising from your throat. Subconsciously, you lowered you body down onto his thigh again, causing your core to rub against the denim of his jeans and creating the most beautiful of frictions that you had ever felt. The sensation had you throwing your head back again as you barely managed to hold in yet another moan.

“That feel good, love?” he all but growled into your ear. He raised his leg up a little to press more firmly into you, causing another whimper to leave your mouth. Your cheeks heated up when you registered his words, but you couldn’t find your voice for the life of you. Instead, you hid your face in his neck, marking it neck in hope he’d take pity on you and continue.

You felt a dark chuckle rumble his chest. “What, no smart remark like you had earlier?” His thigh flexed against you, causing you to bite into his neck to silence your moan. Without realizing it, your hips buckled against his leg. Jungkook only hissed slightly, his hand sliding down from your hip to dig his fingers into the exposed skin bellow your ass. “You made me look bad in front of my hyungs earlier, you know. I think you should apologize for that.”

When you remained silent at his words, he took matters into his own hands. Moving both of his hands back to your waist, he halted your grinding motion against his thigh. Instantly, you whimpered in protest, trying to break free from your restrains. That was until you felt him brushing his leg back and forth against your core. Your mouth fell open in a silent moan. Instantly, you hide your face in his chest; thankful that Jungkook’s body hid you from the sight of everyone else. From afar, it would seem like an affectionate couple hugging in a warm embrace. No one knew of how heated the situation truly was.

The speed he set with his thigh was slow and sensual, with only the intent to tease. Another whimper escaped your mouth when you felt him strategically flex his leg again.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself, love,” he purred in your ear. His thumbs hooked under the hem of your shorts, rubbing small circles into your bare skin. The feeling of having his fingers so close to where you wanted them was maddening. As if sensing your desperation, he chuckled again. “Think this is enough? Think you can get off like this?”

Your head instantly shook from side to side. Attaching your lips to his neck once more, you silently begged him to stop teasing. He ignored your plea though. “You’re a greedy little thing, aren’t you?” he hummed. “I already let you hump my thigh like a bitch in heat. What more could you possibly want?”

His dirty talk sent a shiver down your spine to your core. You were moaning into his neck once again, trying to move your hips against his grip for more friction. They wouldn’t budge. “Use your words, love. I want to hear your pretty voice.”

A deep red color took over your cheeks as you realized what it would take to end this torment. You had never done anything like this before, let alone while you were surrounded by so many people. All of your past lovers had always been strictly vanilla. The most exciting thing you had done before was take control when your partners weren’t satisfying you on their own. Yet to be so helpless, to have your pleasure completely controlled by someone else… it was somehow exhilarating.

“Please.” The words held such desperation in it that it had you cringing.

“What was that?” he questioned innocently. “You’re going to have to speak up if I’m to hear you, love.” To accentuate his point, he drove his thigh higher up against your core, using his grip on your hips to move them against his thigh. A louder moan than before escaped your mouth as you tugged at his hair desperately. You couldn’t focus on anything else other than what was going on between your legs. Without thinking, you desperately cried out, “Please, sir.”

Luckily the music from the party drowned out your sounds to anyone near by, but Jungkook heard it loud and clear. A dark growl rumbled in his chest, but you could barely register it. Suddenly, he pulled his leg away from your core.

Your eyes shot open at the loss of contact. Before you could complain he was pulling you away from the wall, leading you up the stairs to the second floor. Once you caught on to what he was doing you picked up your pace, letting him back you up against a door at the end of the hallway. He instantly attached his lips against yours, kissing you hungrily and he frantically searched for something in his pocket. You didn’t pay it any mind though, as you melted into his chest again. Behind you, you could hear the sound of a key unlocking a door. Not long after you were being pushed into the room, the door slamming shut behind the two of you once more.

Your back instantly slammed up against the door again, making you wince slightly at the contact. The pain was quickly forgotten when Jungkook pressed his chest firmly against yours to pin you against the door, while his hand slid down your body to coop your heat. In the silence of the private room, your gasp rang loudly in both of your ears clearly.

“Is this what you were begging for, kitten?” He looked into your eyes as he spoke, daring you to look away. “You wanted my fingers on you?” You had to bite your lip when you felt him rubbing you over the denim of the shorts. If you thought his thigh was heaven, his fingers were ten times better. “I can feel your heat through your shorts. I bet your close to soaking through them, aren’t you?”

When you remained silent, he pulled his hand back to land a firm slap against you. The action pulled a deep groan from you. “Answer my question, kitten. Just how wet are you right now?”

“S-so wet,” you whimpered, your cheeks heating up in embarrassment. Your words caused you to clench around nothing.

“Should I find out for myself then?” His fingers expertly rubbed small circles over your clit, causing you to catch your breath. Instantly, you nodded your head in confirmation.

“Yes, yes. Please. Please sir.”

Another dark chuckle rose up his chest at your eagerness. Without another word he hooked his fingers into your waistline, pulling both your shorts and underwear to your mid thigh. The sudden coolness against your heat made you whimper. Your hand latched onto the door handle for support in anticipation.

Jungkook had other thoughts, though. Completely ignoring your desperation, he slowly ran his fingers up the inside of your thighs, his eyes fixed on yours the entire time. “You’re leaking down your leg, love.” His voice sounded amused with the realization. Instinctively, your legs attempted to clench together in your embarrassment. Jungkook was faster, placing his feet inside of your own and spreading your legs apart as much as the denim of your shorts allowed. “Don’t go getting shy on me now, kitten. We’re just getting to the fun part.”

As he spoke, he ghosted his fingers over your slit, barely enough to spread your lips. You were a panting mess at this point. Jungkook had to use his free hand to pin your hips to the door to stop them from moving with his hand.

“Tell me, kitten,” he spoke up again, moving his lips to ghost over your ear when he talked. “Have you always been a desperate slut? Or is it just for me?”

You instantly clenched at his words, a desperate whimper leaving your lips. You’d heard about people talking dirty during sex before, had read plenty of porn on it in the past, but you never thought it was for you. You could never understand how any respectable women would allow someone to talk to her like that. Yet, hearing Jungkook whisper such filth into your ear had you wanting him all the more. When you remained silent, he let out a dramatic sigh, slowly pulling him fingers away from you.

Your hand instantly latched onto his, keeping it in place. “Only-Only you. Just you.”

A wide grin broke out on his lips at the confession. Without warning, he shoved two fingers straight into you as a reward. Instantly, your back arched off the door as a loud moan echoed through the room. The hand holding onto Jungkook’s wrist no longer served the purpose to stop him; it was the only keeping you from collapsing against him.

“Such a good girl.” He hummed, pressing his lips to your forehead affectionately. His fingers twisted and turned in you, searching your walls as his thumb pressed firmly against your clit. You bite your lip hard, trying to keep your noises to yourself as pleasure overtook you. Jungkook would have none of that though. With his free hand he gently took your chin between his fingers, pulling your lips apart. “Don’t do that. I want to hear your pretty noises.”

At that very moment, his fingers came in contact with an untouched located within you, making a torn moan claws its way out of your throat. Never before had you ever felt anything as intense as this. You had always heard of women talking about it, but none of your previous suitors ever found it, or took the time to find it for that matter. Jungkook, on the other hand, grinning widely at your reaction.

“That feel good, kitten?” He nipped at your ear teasingly as his fingers made a ‘come here’ motion inside you, purposely brushing against the same spot as before.

“S-so so good, sir,” You didn’t hesitate to pant out, too scared that if you stayed silent he would stop. Something was building up inside of you, something big. You could feel the enormity of it in your lower stomach, leaving you a whimpering mess in his hands. “Please don’t stop, please.”

“I don’t know, Y/N.” He spoke slowly, his lips tugging into a devious smirk that struck fear in your chest at once. “You were awfully sassy to me in front of hyung, taking his side like that. Do you think you really deserve to cum after that?”

In that moment, he lazily circled his thumb over your clit, slowing the fingers inside you to a torturous speed. You started grinding down onto his hand again, too desperate for your release to care for your image right now. It was nothing compared to what it could be.

“Please, Jungkook, please let me cum,” you cried desperately, clenching around his fingers for any kind of friction. “I really need to cum, make me cum.”

“Maybe you could earn it…” He spoke lazily. The hand on your chin pulling back enough to slip two fingers past your lips. You were too fucked out and desperate to think properly as your lips closed around his finger, swirling your tongue around it. He hummed in approval. “You wanna do that? You wanna earn your orgasm, little girl?”

You moaned at the nickname, instantly nodding your head and grinding onto his hand with renewed eagerness. His smirk grew wider as he watched you coat his hand in your wetness. “Turn around and put your hands against the door then.” With that he pulled away from you completely. You stared at him in complete astonishment as he wiped your juices off on his pants, staining the material. Your body screamed for the orgasm that was slowly fading away. You opened your mouth to protest, but one warning look from him silenced you immediately. Instead, you moved on shaky legs to follow his instructions, kicking off your shorts and shoes quickly and leaning your hands against the door.

It wasn’t long before you felt his hands on you. He started on the back of your thighs, slowly ghosting his hands up your body until he was pulling your shirt up and over your head. He dropped the material at your feet, soon followed by your bralette. You were now completely bare in front of him while he hasn’t even removed his shoes. The realization sent a shiver of excitement down your spine.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmured against the skin of your shoulder, leaving a soft kiss there. He pressed up against your body as he ran his hand up your stomach at an torturously slow speed until he finally took your breast into his hand. Your head rolled back to rest against his shoulder as a throaty moan passed your lips at the feeling of him rolling your nipple between his fingers. In this new position you could feel the hard on he was carrying within the restrains of his pants. At the realization of how much of an affect this was not only having on you but also on him, a wanton whimper escaped you. You rolled your hips against him, wanting to feel him inside of you already. You were rewarded with a deep moan vibrating through his chest and onto your back.

“Not yet, kitten.” With that he pulled back a little, placing his hands back on your hips so that he can position you as he wanted. You were not bending at the waist in front of him, supporting yourself against the door. With his foot he tapped the inside of your ankle, silently signaling for you to spread your legs further apart. This new position left you completely exposed to him. The vulnerability of it all hit you suddenly. Instead of feeling embarrassed, you became more turned on than you had ever been in your life.

A silence settled between you two for a moment. You were about to stand back up as embarrassment settled into you once more when you saw his shirt landing on the floor in front of you. His jeans and boxers soon followed.

“You on the pill?” he questioned, running his hand up and down your spine to relax you. You merely nodded your head, not trusting your voice in that moment.

“You ready to earn it then, kitten?” he murmured from behind you. You went to respond when you suddenly felt him run the head of his dick along your slit teasingly.

“Oh god, yes.” Your voice had never sounded so foreign to you in your life.

He merely chuckled. “Count then, little girl.” Before you could consider what he meant by his words, a heavy hand was landing on your ass cheek. You cried out from surprise rather than pain, clenching your cheeks instinctively. He soothed this hand over where he had previously spanked, remaining silent. It took a moment for you to realize what he wanted.

“On-One sir.”

The next spank came before you finished counted, making the ending come out more as a moan. This time as he soothed over the reddening skin, his other hand went between your legs, easily slipping a finger inside of you and rubbing into your spot.

“Tw- oh my god.” You whimpered, moving back against his finger. He didn’t stop you. Without removing his finger from within you he delivered his third spank to the same spot as before. You moaned at the sting, starting to pant as you felt him slowly pumping in and out of you.

“Do you know why you’re being spanked, little girl?” He spoke up after you counted.

Smack.

The demeaning nickname had you clenching around him again. The fact didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“Because of what I said in-in front of the guys,” you panted as another spank was delivered at the same time he slipped in another finger. A long moaned passed your lips as the pain was instantly replaced by sweet pleasure.

“You were quite naughty, weren’t you?”

Smack.

“So, so naughty sir.” The words left your lips before you could even process what you were saying. Even Jungkook was momentarily surprised by your words. Soon after a deep growl left his throat as he suddenly thrust his fingers into you at a quicker pace, never failing to hit that spot within you that had your legs going weak.

“Isn’t there something you should be saying to me then for what you did?” He growled, landing a particularly hard spank right as he thrust his fingers into you roughly. You moaned out loudly at the feeling, not caring if someone outside heard you.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Please fuck me, sir, I’m so sorry. Please.” You pleaded shamelessly, your voice dripping with desperation. Jungkook moaned throatily. Never had he imagined that the shy, blushing disaster of a girl from his work would ever allow him do such nasty things to her body, let alone beg for it. Without being able to restrain himself any longer, he thrust himself into you without a warning.

His moan was drowned out by the sound of you screaming in pleasure. His hands quickly latched onto you waist to hold you when he felt your legs give out bellow him. “Jesus.” He hissed as you clenched around him impossibly tight, your body quivering in the aftermath of your first powerful orgasm. “If you keep clenching I won’t last long, love.”

His words made an exhausted chuckle slip past your lips. “It’s not like I lasted that long.” You rested your head against your arm tiredly, trying to catch your breath as Jungkook allowed you to adjust to his size. Behind you, you heard him chuckle softly and he rubbed your back soothingly. “Ready?” He spoke softly, a harsh contrast to the way he had been treating you thus far.

You barely nodded your head before he slammed back into you roughly, causing you to scream out at the sensation of being so full. He didn’t slow down his assault, causing you to claw at the door as you felt your second orgasm quickly forming in your stomach again.

“Jungkook,” you whined as he hit your g-spot. You could barely keep yourself up against the wall even with him supporting most of your weight. The only sound echoing in the room were both of your pants and the sound of skin hitting skin. Somehow that just heightened your pleasure as you let out another moan.

“You ready to come again, baby girl?” His thrusts were getting sloppy as he approached his release, but he wanted to make sure you reached your’s first. Instantly, you nodded your head, looking over your shoulder at the younger boy.

“Please, please Jungkook. Make me cum.” You whined, moving your hips to meet his thrusts each time. The visual made him groan at the sight, picking up his speed instantly.

“Where do you want me?” he panted behind you.

“Inside of me. Cum inside of me.” A deep, desperate sound tore its way out of his throat at your exclamation. Soon after you felt a hand slide between your legs, instantly seeking out your clit and rubbing it furiously.

“Oh my god!” you screaming, arching you back as you felt yourself falling over the edge for the second time that night. Your whole body shook as you cried out his name over and over again, your walls hugging onto him so tightly be could barely move. It wasn’t long after until you hear him release one last groan before he coated the inside of your walls with his cum. He continued to ride you through both of your blissful orgasms until he heard your pathetic whimpers from the overstimulation.

“It’s okay, I got you.” He spoke softly as he caught you before you could collapse on the floor. He carefully picked you up bridal style, carrying you over to the bed you hadn’t even noticed before.

“I’ll be right back, don’t move.”

With that he left you on the bed alone. The loss of contact had you shivering from the cold. You were too weak to look after him, so instead you just closed your eyes as you tried to catch your breath again.

True to his word, he was back within seconds, a damp towel in hand. You noticed that sometime in his absence he had managed to find a fresh pair of boxers to slip into. He sat by you on the bed, looking down at you with a soft expression. “May I?” He held up the towel questioningly.

A deep blush crept back onto your cheeks as the meaning of his question became clear. You instantly shook your head, trying to lean up on your elbows. “I-I can do that, you don’t have t-”

“Hey, it’s nothing I haven’t seen okay?” His words weren’t spoken cockily like you had expected from him. Instead, he kissed your forehead gently, laying you back down in bed. “Let me take care of you noona, just relax.”

You hesitated but did as you were told, startled to hear the dominant man from before address you properly for the first time. With hooded eyes you watched as he carefully leaned down to clean you up, massaging your thigh as you flinched from overstimulation. “I’m sorry love, I’m done now.” He tossed the towel somewhere on the floor by the bed when he was done, before reaching into a drawer in his nightstand, pulling out a plain white shirt.

“Here, you can wear this tonight.” He said as he helped dress you in his shirt.

“No, no, I can go home, it’s fine.” You tried getting up, but instantly sat back down with a wince as pain shot through you.

“Quit being stubborn and spend the night,” he spoke with amusement from behind you. An arm slid behind around your waist, pulling you back to feel his chest press flat against your back as he laid you back down on the bed. “You can leave tomorrow, your captivity will be lifted then.”

A tired chuckle passed your lips at his teasing. “I guess that is acceptable,” you murmur, making yourself comfortable in his arms as sleep threatened to take over.

You felt his chuckle shake you softly from behind. Right before sleep claimed you, you heard him say, “Goodnight, noona.”

You fell into a deep sleep after that, a soft smile on your lips.

A/N: Did I really make a Polyvore set for the outfits? Yes. I wanted to shop for myself but realized I was too broke so this is the next best thing. I do have a shout out though! It might be a while before I post chapter 5 because I want to take a closer look at my outlines for the next few chapters and rewrite them with more detail before I start writing again. Also! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has shown both me and this story such love and support so far. It really means a lot to me =) Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

[serenlyss]

Don’t Thank Me Yet Chapter 8

Rating: M (blood, canon typical violence, attempted murder, child neglect/abuse) Pairings: ritshou, ritsu&shigeo, ritsu&reigen, ritsu&teru, teru&shigeo Summary: “Alright then. I’m Shou,” he says, introducing himself more properly this time. “I’m an esper, like you, the first in existence to be forcibly awoken by Claw’s crazy torture machines. They kidnap kids with potential latent psychic powers and break them, over and over, until either their powers emerge or they die. It doesn’t matter either way to them.” His expression hardens as he speaks, clear distaste and outright malice evident in his tone. “I could really use your help here, you know. A partner of sorts, someone to watch my back. What do you say?" Ritsu hesitates. He isn’t a fighter by any means, and the psychic powers now churning beneath his skin are still very new and frightening. It’s all very overwhelming, but Ritsu can’t help but feel a sort of sickening hope at Shou’s promise for revenge. It did have a sort of dark draw to it. In which Claw is a lot worse than they seem and Shigeo isn't able to find his brother after he's kidnapped. Crossposted to AO3: Chapter 8

Chapter 7 // Chapter 9

This chapter is an absolute monster, even after splitting the previous chapter this one still reached uuhh nearly 10k total words BUT I don't want to split it again so here you go!! It's a doozy, prepare yourselves. In other news, this is the penultimate chapter! Next week will be the ending and epilogue, so keep your eyes out for chapter nine next Wednesday!

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Ritsu hits the ground shoulder-first and rolls over twice before his beaten body stops moving, face-down in the rubble. His ears ring impossibly loud, drowning out voices and footsteps with its intensity. His vision swims in and out of focus, dark spots threatening to overwhelm him, and he has to fight to keep from losing consciousness as pain erupts belatedly in his head. He’s sure he’s hit it at least once on his way down, but he can’t form a coherent thought in his mind to tell himself that he needs to get up, take stock, see what’s bleeding and broken and find a way to get himself out of here, because Touichirou has proven definitively that neither he nor Shou can go up against his kind of power.

Shou! His cloudy mind screams at him, and with a groan he pushes himself off of his stomach and onto his hands and knees. He blinks rapidly as his body protests every movement, arms and legs barely strong enough to support his own weight as he shakily lifts his head and searches for that familiar splash of red hair among the rubble all around him.

A foot or so back, Ritsu spots him, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. He’s conscious, but he looks even worse off than Ritsu feels. There’s blood on his lips and on his forehead, blending into his hair and disappearing into his scalp. His favorite varsity jacket is coated in dust and has been torn in places, but the wounds themselves don’t look all that bad, thankfully. After a moment, he follows Ritsu’s lead, sitting up with a groan and letting his head fall into his hands. “Damn it,” he curses, rubbing away a dribble of blood that leaks from his mouth and trails down his chin. His voice is hoarse and thick with pain as he grimaces into the sleeve of his jacket. “Still with me, Ritsu?”

“Yeah,” Ritsu replies, wincing as his lungs protest his words, “yeah, I think so. But, that explosion--”

“Yeah, I know,” Shou interrupts bitterly, drawing his bloodied sleeve away from his mouth. Behind his split lip, his teeth are stained pink. “It shouldn’t be possible for his body to contain so much energy. It would have erupted and killed him years ago, so how?” He grits his teeth and slams his fist into the floor, angry and drained and backed into a corner he knows he can’t crawl out of.

Touichirou lowers his hand, and the aura around him fades once more. “Perhaps I went a little too far,” he sighs, but there isn’t a hint of regret in his face that Ritsu can see. “I’m sure you understand, but power like this is difficult to control. I have to be careful not to let it run wild, or it would destroy me, as you said.” He brushes the concrete dust from his suit jacket, lips pursed in displeasure before he returns his attention to them. “I must say, I’m disappointed. Shou, I had thought about letting you inherit the world I’m going to create, but it would appear that you’ve become a failure.”

“Hey--” Ritsu starts, feeling a rush of anger and protectiveness well up in him for a moment, but the words die in his throat when Shou reaches out and clamps a hand around his wrist. When Ritsu turns to look at him, his heart drops into his stomach: Shou’s eyes are wide and his whole body is trembling. It takes Ritsu a moment to recognize that he’s terrified, undeniably, and clinging to Ritsu in search of comfort. Ritsu’s never seen him look so afraid, not when the Scar had threatened to send him home before he was ready, not when Ritsu’s anger had consumed him in the living room of his burning house. It’s the sort of visceral terror that Ritsu’s felt before, but has never seen expressed so clearly on the face of his partner. Sometimes, he forgets that Shou can feel fear at all.

Ritsu wants to say something, anything, to make that expression of fear go away, but words evade him as Touichirou takes another few steps toward him and Shou and holds out his hand, palm open and pointed in their direction. “Perhaps someday, you’ll grow to understand why I’ve done the things I’ve done,” he says, ominously solemn as another ball of energy gathers in his outstretched hand.

“President!” Serizawa exclaims, reaching out a quivering hand as though to grab Touichirou, but he seems to think better of it partway through. “There’s no need to hurt them any more, right? They’ve learned their lesson.” His eyes flick uncertainly from Shou and Ritsu, prone on the floor, then back to his boss, his self-proclaimed savior.

Touichirou turns on him, fixing his icy blue gaze on Serizawa. “This is a necessary punishment. When a child misbehaves, they must be disciplined,” he insists. “If you have qualms with my methods, you can watch the stairs and make sure no other stragglers make it up here.”

Serizawa lowers his gaze and clutches his umbrella tighter, effectively shut down. “Yes, sir,” he mumbles, turning on his heel and hurrying toward the open stairwell doors. He closes them with a click behind him, leaving Touichirou alone with Shou and Ritsu once more.

"Serizawa always has been too soft for his own good," Touichirou sighs once the doors have firmly closed. In his hand, the ball of energy he's been amassing shifts and flares like a star, its nucleus burning a bright, blinding white. "Now then," he adds, fingers twitching.

Ritsu jerks forward on unsteady hands and feet and manages to put himself halfway between Shou and his father. "Wait!" he calls, desperation causing his voice to crack against his will, and he holds out a hand as if to shield himself. His pride is screaming at him, begging him not to make himself a fool in front of his enemy, but protecting himself and Shou comes first. "Your bodyguard is right, we've learned our lesson, so just let us go, please. We won't... we won't fight you anymore." The words taste like ashes in his mouth, and it feels almost physically painful to say. Part of him wants to vomit from the humiliation of admitting defeat, but his sense of self-preservation wins out this time.

Touichirou quirks a brow at him, amused. "How noble of you. You'd throw away your mission just to protect someone you're attached to? This is exactly why you could never hope to defeat me," he says, tilting his chin up ever-so-slightly. It makes Ritsu want to punch him right between his cold, condescending eyes, but he restrains himself, common sense outweighing his primal instincts. "Despite the hopelessness of your fight, however, I can't allow even a sliver of your little rebellion to survive. You might still try to challenge me again, and I cannot let that happen. For all of Shou's weaknesses, the fact that he was able to amass a force to rise against me is unacceptable. The two of you will not get in my way any longer."

"You'd kill your own son?" Ritsu snarls, digging his fingertips into the ground at his side and clenching his teeth furiously. "You don't have anyone you'd give up anything to protect? No one, not even your own family?"

"No, I have no such weakness," Touichirou responds, low and calm, not a flicker of remorse or regret passing across his face to let Ritsu know that his words have had any effect at all. "The entirety of Claw could be disintegrated right now, and its loss would cost me nothing but manpower. Do you understand? I am the ultimate being, and there is no one on this Earth who can resist my power."

Ritsu feels Shou tighten his grip on his wrist, shaky fingers digging into his skin in a way Ritsu fears might leave marks later on. "I understand now," Shou speaks, quavering voice low and hoarse. When Ritsu turns to look at him, there are tears in his eyes, welling up and spilling down his cheeks. "You're not human, are you? You can't be, not after all this. Mom was right about you, you're a monster." His voice trembles as he speaks, his breathing interrupted by strained hiccups.

Shou hangs his head, hiding his face in his arm, and for a brief moment, nearly too quick to catch, Touichirou's expression shifts. For half a second, Ritsu can see the look of utter shock on his face, the regret, the grief, and then as quickly as it comes, it's gone, replaced with a cold fury that chills Ritsu down to the marrow in his bones. "I've had enough of this conversation," he growls, and squeezes the ball of energy in the palm of his hand until it bursts. As he does, Shou releases his iron grip on Ritsu's wrist and instead reaches for his hand, squeezing it tightly. Faced with nothing else he can do to put off the inevitable, Ritsu squeezes back.

Bright white fire envelopes Ritsu's vision, and he squeezes his eyes shut against it, feeling Shou's fingers tight and quivering around his palm, but his unavoidable end doesn't come. He hears the explosion, but feels none of it, not a hair on his body harmed even as it rages all around him. After a second, he peeks one eye open, staring through his lashes, and his breath catches in his throat. He and Shou are surrounded on all sides by a barrier, thick and dense and shifting with now-familiar shades of purple, and in front of him, standing between him and Touichirou, is his brother.

"Shige?" he gasps, eyes fixed on the back of his hoodie, the one he'd borrowed from Ritsu's closet that morning.

Shigeo lowers his hand as the explosion around them ceases and the dust settles, his barrier still flickering unscathed around them. His face is set in stubborn resolution, an expression Ritsu's never seen on his brother's face before. "You broke your promise," he says, without preamble.

Ritsu almost laughs. "I'm sorry, I thought we could handle it ourselves," he breathes, feeling some of the tension drain from him in relief.

Shigeo looks down at him over his shoulder and offers him a small smile. "You can apologize to me properly later. For now, go with Reigen and meet up with Hanazawa and the rest," he instructs.

"Reigen?" Ritsu echoes, and as he speaks, he feels a hand grip his arm, urging him to his feet. Glancing up, he finds himself face-to-face with the aforementioned man, who's looking back at him with a mixture of concern and relief. "What are you doing here?" Ritsu sputters.

Reigen grins at him, hefting him to his feet with one hand while his other grips Shou by the forearm. "Hey, kiddo, long time no see," he greets. "Can you walk?"

Ritsu wants to say yes, but as he is now his legs can barely support his weight. "Not exactly," he answers around gritted teeth, and he hears Shou give a grunt of agreement at his side.

Shigeo frowns, worry clouding his gaze. He drops his barrier to leave space for them to leave, turning his hand in their direction. "Will this help?" he asks, and immediately, slivers of his aura shoot from his outstretched hand and envelope both of them.

Ritsu feels his strength return to him, at least enough to stand on his own two feet without keeling back over. Beside him, Shou stares down at his hands, at the purple aura that surrounds them, looking similarly baffled. "Yeah, that feels much better," he says in awe. When had he learned that power? Reigen releases his hold on his arm, and Ritsu holds firm, sore but standing. "I think we can walk now. Shige, let's get out of here while we can."

Shigeo just smiles at him, like he always does, and gives his head a little shake. "No, you all go on ahead, I'll settle things here," he insists, voice firm and unwavering. "This might be hard to hear, but you'll only get in my way, so you should wait at the bottom of--"

Shigeo's instructions are abruptly cut off as Touichirou suddenly surges forward and sinks his fist into Shigeo's face, sending him stumbling to the side a few feet.

"Shige!" Ritsu exclaims, moving to follow after him, to offer his help, to do anything except sit on the sidelines and watch, but Reigen grabs him by his arm before he can go far.

"You idiot! You were just nearly killed, you're in no shape to fight!" he snaps.

Shou, who had been fairly quiet since Shigeo had shown up to rescue them, makes himself known now, whirling Reigen around by one shoulder. "We can't leave now!" he insists. "This is what we've been training for. I've spent three years of my life waiting for this moment, I can't just walk away!"

"I get that you’re mad, and you have every right to want revenge, but you're up against someone who wants to kill you! It's bad enough that Mob won't give it up, I'm sure as hell not going to let you two go into a fight you know you can't win!" Reigen snaps right back, already turning both he and Shou toward the doors that will lead them back down to the foot of the tower.

Ritsu tries to protest as Reigen crowds them toward the railing at the edge of the room, and cranes his neck to get a look at Touichirou and Shigeo. His heart leaps into his throat when he sees his brother go down like a rock, blood splattering on the ground from where Touichirou's fist has caused his nose to bleed profusely. "Shige!" he cries again, scrambling against Reigen's grip on him, but his brother doesn't move in response to his voice.

Reigen freezes, eyes fixed on Mob's beaten body face-down on the floor, and he meets Touichirou's gaze from across the room. Shou's father looks outright angry, now, his attention turned to them now that Shigeo had seemingly been dealt with. "Hey, you'll keep your distance if you know what's good for you!" Reigen bluffs, but he's sweating, even as he pushes Ritsu and Shou insistently behind him.

"You idiot, get out of the way!" Shou cries, but Reigen holds firm, his hands caging Ritsu and Shou in on either side of him as Touichirou turns and takes a few steps toward them.

Reigen doesn't reply to him, eyes fixed on the approaching Touichirou. "You can't be serious about killing a bunch of kids?" he stammers, and Ritsu can see the sweat that beads on his forehead and the back of his neck, unwilling to move from his protective position even if it means putting himself in the line of fire.

"I will not allow you to interfere with my work any further," Touichirou says icily in response, leveraging a ball of energy in their direction. "I will become this world's ruler, and there is no one alive with the power to stop me!" The energy surrounding him surges forward, the brightness of it reflected in Touichirou's bright blue irises.

Ritsu squeezes his eyes shut and clings to the back of Reigen's suit jacket, even as he hears his brother's terrified yell cut through the noise of the explosion. Shou presses against his side, shielding his face, as though his arm might offer enough protection in this moment that he won't be killed by his father's released energy.

Ritsu's long bangs whip away from his face, and he hears the ground beneath his feet cracking dangerously. He knows that if the explosion itself doesn't kill him, the fall from this height definitely will, but before the strength of the blast can lift him off his feet and send him flying through the shattered windows behind him, the wind cuts off abruptly.

When he dares to open his eyes again, his view is blocked by a striped orange robe and a pale, translucent umbrella, which is open and brandished like a shield in Serizawa's shaking hands.

The umbrella's protective top shreds under Touichirou's psychic power, leaving only tatters clinging stubbornly to its metal frame, and Serizawa lowers it quaveringly. "President, this is going too far, let's stop," he pleads, even as his shaking voice gives away his fear and desire to run.

Ritsu finds himself unable to speak, the shock of Serizawa's apparent betrayal of Touichirou leaving his brain struggling to determine if this is even real.

"Serizawa, you disappoint me," Touichirou growls dangerously. "I had such high hopes for you, too, but if you have decided to turn your back on me, I have no choice but to punish you as well." He snaps a hand up and points a single finger in their direction, a beam of energy shooting from its tip like a laser.

"Stop!" Ritsu finds himself yelling, scrambling against Reigen's arm, still pinning him up against the railing at his back, but before he can get past it, it explodes. At the same time, Shigeo finally moves from his spot on the ground, leaping forward so quickly he almost appears to teleport, and puts himself in front of all four of them. He's crackling with energy, his hair lifted away from his forehead as though a wind has lifted it up, and his dark red eyes shine brightly as his power forms a wall around him and collides with the blast Touichirou directs their way.

The explosion is deafening in Ritsu's ears, the shock of it ringing long after the noise of it has died down. His vision blacks out momentarily, and for a moment he's afraid he might pass out again, and then he's freefalling, the ground beneath his feet pulled out from underneath him and leaving him with nothing to grab onto anymore. He gasps in a sharp, fearful breath, heart leaping into his throat as he feels the adrenaline rush straight to his head and he finds himself suddenly staring at the sky, wide-eyed as his back plummets for the concrete below.

Next to him, Reigen screams, and if he hadn’t been falling to his certain death Ritsu might have found the noise amusing, but as it is it’s all he can do to keep himself from screaming himself. He twists frantically in the air, trying to get his legs underneath him as though landing on his feet will negate the force of his inevitable impact. The wind in his ears drowns out nearly every other sound, and the world is filled with colorful blurs of clouds and buildings and wreckage and the other people that are falling with him.

His eyes catch a flash of red, and there’s Shou, just barely out of his reach, eyes closed and body unmoving as he falls. The explosion has knocked him fully unconscious, and the sight of it sends Ritsu’s heart pounding all over again because if he doesn’t wake up, he’s going to hit the ground and splatter along with the rest of them.

“Shou!” he cries, voice straining to be heard over the rush of the wind. “Wake up! Shou!” No matter how he yells, though, or how he screams his voice hoarse, Shou doesn’t stir. Ritsu grits his teeth and stretches his hand out as far as he can, desperately searching for a part of Shou he can grab onto. His fingers graze Shou’s and then miss, his hand closing on empty air, and damn it, he’s never felt more frustrated than he does in this moment. Please, if anything goes right today, let it be this! he prays feverishly, and he stretches.

Shou’s hand twitches, and when Ritsu reaches for him this time, he meets him halfway, bleary eyes barely open but open nonetheless. Ritsu grabs on tightly and refuses to let go, yanking on Shou’s arm until he can cling to him with both hands. There are tears in his eyes, tears that are yanked away by the wind before they can touch his skin, and Ritsu blinks against the harsh bite of it as he tucks Shou’s head into his shoulder and squeezes him tightly. Weakly, he feels Shou embrace him back, hands latching onto fistfuls of Ritsu’s yellow hoodie with tired fingers.

Ritsu’s mind descends into incoherent static noise, his thoughts coming to an abrupt standstill, and past Shou’s shoulder he sees the ground fast approaching. His breath catches in his throat, feeling a potent terror seizing up within him as he screws his eyes shut and holds Shou impossibly tighter. He’s never been one to believe in a god, but, he thinks, if one does exist, he’d really like for a miracle to happen right about now. But he knows that waiting for a miracle won’t solve his problems, and it never has, and so he turns within himself for the answer. Please, I just need a little more strength, he prays, and he pulls.

His aura seeps out of his back, sluggish, like it's been woken from a long sleep against its will. It surrounds him and bleeds into Shou, and Ritsu wills it to move faster, then faster, until it envelopes them both completely. He sucks in a breath and buries his face in Shou’s shoulder, closing his senses against the roaring of the wind and the stinging of his tears and the ground fast-approaching beneath them, and he pulls with all his might.

The wind starts to blow a little less loudly every second, the rushing in his ears becoming more and more bearable as he clings to Shou with everything he has and refuses to let go. He dares to open his eyes after a few seconds of this, feeling a tear slip down his cheek, undeterred by the previously strong winds that had torn his bangs away from his forehead with their strength. He’s still falling, but it’s as though in slow motion, his aura lessening the burden of his and Shou’s weight. Against his shoulder, Shou’s slipped unconscious once more, and Ritsu could cry again, because he may be unconscious, but he’s safe, and alive, and Ritsu’s going to make sure they make it safely to the ground. He dares to look around, his stomach twisting into knots when he sees how high they still are, and he spots a panicked-looking Reigen and Serizawa hovering not far away from him, also surrounded in his own teal aura. He’d reached out to them, apparently on instinct, and the thought lessens some of his anxiety even as he feels his head begin to throb in protest. He’s never lifted so much weight with his telekinesis before, at least not intentionally, not when he’s been in control of it. He grits his teeth and refuses to let his grasp on them slip.

His feet touch solid ground again and he manages to stay standing just long enough to get Reigen and Serizawa down before he falls to his knees, Shou’s weight and his own exhaustion dragging him down. When Ritsu finally reels his aura in completely, his headache persists, and he takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment, focusing on his breathing. His other arm holds tight to Shou’s unconscious form, cradling it as gently as he can against his shoulder. When he looks down at Shou’s head again, he sees a fresh wound there, just behind his hairline. His stomach lurches at the sight of it; it’s bleeding a lot, but he’s seen enough head wounds in the last few months to know that they’re prone to heavy bleeding. Gingerly, he lifts his hand from the concrete beneath him and presses it to the wound, uncaring if he gets a little more blood on him now. At his side, Reigen and Serizawa find their footing, and immediately Reigen is at his side, hands on his shoulders, speaking to him in a quiet, concerned tone.

“Ritsu, kiddo, are you okay?” he frets, pushing Ritsu’s bangs away from his forehead and accidentally brushing against a gash there.

Ritsu hisses in pain, jerking against Reigen’s insistent touch. “I’m alright, I’m okay,” he says quickly. Reigen’s staring at the gash on his head anxiously, his other hand weighing down Ritsu’s shoulder in a way that isn’t entirely unpleasant. Ritsu’s never much enjoyed Reigen’s company, but he can’t deny in this moment the way his chest warms slightly at the feeling of someone fussing over him. It’s been a long time since anyone’s worried over him like this before, like a parent would worry over their child. Still, there’s only so much of Reigen’s hovering he can take before it starts to make him feel stifled and trapped. He reaches up and pushes Reigen’s hand away from his head, maybe a little harder than is necessary. “I’m fine, okay? Stop crowding me, I’m fine,” he snaps, glaring.

Reigen jolts, recoiling somewhat at Ritsu’s words, then he cracks a smile and lets out a breathy laugh. “It’s good to have you back, kiddo,” he says, giving Ritsu’s shoulder a little pat before he stands up and gives Ritsu the space to move around. “We should meet up with Teruki and the others and see what we can do about those injuries. The two of you look like crap.”

Ritsu winces at the suggestion; he has no doubt that he must look like he’s been to hell and back, and he feels like it, too. He’s sore all over and there’s blood on his face and his hands, staining the neck of his hoodie and his jeans where shrapnel had pierced denim to cut the skin behind it. Still, he nods, and reaches down to give Shou’s shoulder a little shake. The other boy’s still unconscious, and Ritsu doesn’t want to wake him up, really, but he’s not strong enough to lift Shou on his own and he’s too drained to rely on telekinesis anymore. “Hey, wake up,” he murmurs, his mouth just inches from Shou’s ear with his head leaned into his shoulder like this.

Shou stirs, just slightly, letting out a breath that tickles the side of Ritsu’s neck as he turns his head and eventually moves to lift it away from Ritsu’s shoulder. Then he winces, one hand snapping up to cover his forehead where blood had previously dripped from the wound under his hair. “Oh god, are we dead?” he groans. “I feel like shit… guess we survived after all, huh?” He meets Ritsu’s gaze, and despite the pain and exhaustion written all over his face, he’s grinning.

Ritsu just laughs breathlessly and nods. “Yeah, barely. My brother saved us,” he admits, turning to cast a worried glance up at the top of the tower. He can’t see inside to see what’s going on inside, but the occasional flash of red or purple light and the thrill it sends down his spine as he senses each flash of power is an indicator that the battle rages on without them. “I’ve never seen him be so persistent. Normally he’d do everything he can to avoid a fight.” He gives his head a shake; as much as he’s worried about Shigeo’s safety, he finds himself at a loss for what he can do to help. Touichirou had beaten him and Shou with basically a single blow, and even though he knows Shigeo is far stronger than he is, it doesn’t stop the way his heart starts to race imagining all the terrible things Touichirou could be doing to him right now. He desperately wants to race back into the tower and drag his brother out, even if it’s by force, but instead of doing that, he just shifts his feet underneath him and takes hold of Shou’s arm. “Can you walk?” he asks, ducking his head under Shou’s arm in hopes of offering his support.

“Yeah, I think so,” Shou replies, grunting as he gets his feet underneath himself and stands up alongside Ritsu. He leans heavily against his side, letting Ritsu half-carry him.

Ritsu glances around, spotting Reigen a ways away talking to a rather meek-looking Serizawa. Ritsu frowns, conflicting thoughts battling for dominance in his head. Serizawa is--or rather, had been--a member of Claw’s highest echelon, a direct henchman of Touichirou himself, but he’d also put himself in front of Reigen to keep Touichirou from killing them. For all his naivety and lack of understanding of what he’d actually been doing, he’d been genuinely reluctant to kill or even hurt children. He tears his eyes away from the curly-haired man and focuses instead on Reigen, who’s chattering as animatedly as he always is while reaching into the inside pocket of his ruined, bloodied suit for a business card.

Well, it’s none of Ritsu’s business what Reigen says to Serizawa. He tugs Shou’s arm a little higher on his shoulder, attempting to take as much of the smaller boy’s weight as he can handle, and turns to address Reigen. “Where’s Teru?” he asks, his voice coming out a little quieter and hoarser than he’d imagined it might.

Reigen glances away from Serizawa so he can look at Ritsu. “He and the others aren’t far. They’re just behind that building over there,” he says, pointing out the aforementioned building to Ritsu. “Some friends of Shou met up with us over there, so that’s where everyone’s been resting until we figure out what to do next.”

Ritsu nods his head as Reigen comes over to stand at Shou’s other side, picking up the slack Ritsu can’t quite accommodate for. “Here, let me help you with that,” he offers, even though he’s a little too tall and Shou hangs off his shoulder at an awkward angle this way.

“We don’t need your help,” Shou insists, but he’s obviously still recovering and can’t do much in the way of struggling against Reigen’s insistent help as Reigen ducks under his other arm and practically lifts him off the ground.

“Yeah, yeah, save it for later,” Reigen retorts, a flicker of amusement in his eyes as he and Ritsu half-drag Shou the short distance to where the others have set up their temporary camp.

Ritsu spots Teru first, his bright blue track suit a beacon against the dark red-gray sky, and he has to suppress the urge to roll his eyes at the boy’s unusual fashion taste. At least he’s ditched the wig, his hair now pleasantly short-cropped. He meets Ritsu’s gray-eyed gaze with his own dark blue eyes and immediately stands up. “You guys are alright! Thank goodness, looks like your brother got to you in time,” he calls, moving to meet them halfway. “Come on, sit down, you both look terrible.”

Against Ritsu’s protests, Teru loops an arm around his shoulder and tugs him out from under Shou’s arm, leaving Reigen to support him while he leads Ritsu to the edge of their camp. He sits Ritsu down on the ground, up against the remains of a building’s broken wall, and Reigen deposits Shou at his side.

“Wait here, your friend wanted me to get him when you two finally showed up,” Teru says, and Ritsu lets his head lean back against the building’s solid surface for a moment as Teru calls for Fukuda and Reigen settles himself down on Ritsu’s other side.

“You boys really gave us a scare, you know that?” Reigen says, but there’s amusement behind his words as he speaks. “I thought you brother was going to have a fit when he found out you two didn’t wait for him after all.”

Shou snorts, one hand clamped over a scrape on his opposite arm. “Yeah, well, this whole thing ended up being kind of a fucking disaster, anyway,” he says bitterly, blinking a few times. He seems a bit more lucid, now that he’s able to rest, but the wound on his head is still concerning. His bright red hair is dyed dark in places from the blood that had seeped from it, though it seems to have slowed to a stop for now. Shou cranes his head up at look at the tower, biting his lip. “That was supposed to be us up there, taking down my old man… this sucks.”

“Well, at least we’re alive,” Ritsu murmurs in reply. “Still, I’m worried about my brother.” Though it feels like it’s already been forever since he’d been thrown from the top of the cultural tower, it’s only been a few minutes, and he can still feel the pulses of power that erupt in waves from the hole in the side of it.

As he stares at the top of the tower, the ground beneath him starts to rumble. It’s soft at first, barely noticeable, and then the tremors grow stronger, until those standing and walking around have to pause to keep their balance on their own feet. Fukuda, on his way over to check on them, stumbles and nearly falls over before he steadies himself on against a wall.

Immediately, all eyes are on the cultural tower. An explosion sounds from the top of it, a cloud of dust tumbling from it and obscuring it from sight. Ritsu stops breathing for a second, his heart thudding painfully in his chest. The only thing reassuring him that his brother is still there, still alive, is that his aura is choking the air itself, its power almost tangible in the space all around him. He’s never seen his brother give off so much controlled power before. “Shige?” he whispers to himself, and as the dust settles and he sees that the tower itself has broken and it now rising into the air with every second, he knows that it can only be his brother’s doing.

At his side, Shou reaches for his hand, his clammy fingers fitting between Ritsu’s and holding tightly. No one can take their eyes off of the destruction ensuing in the sky above the ruins of the cultural tower as the buildings surrounding it lift off of the ground and form a ball around a simmering Touichirou in its center. If Ritsu hadn’t been feeling so terrified in that moment, the light show could almost be mistaken for fireworks, beautiful flashes of Shigeo’s cool-colored aura bouncing off of Touichirou’s dark red sunbursts. After a few minutes of watching, Shou stands, and Ritsu stands with him, and he holds tight to Shou’s hand with shaking fingers as everyone in the little makeshift camp watches the fight with baited breath.

The tower comes crashing back down to earth, eventually, along with all of the other buildings Shigeo has levitated in an attempt to trap Touichirou with them, and for a moment, everything is eerily quiet.

He doesn’t know how long he stands there, pressed shoulder-to-shoulder with Shou in front of the demolished building, but there’s a bright flash of light that lingers just beyond the rubble that marks the edge of their camp, and suddenly Shigeo is there, rocketing toward their group with urgency. “Shige?” Ritsu gasps, as his brother stumbles from the wreckage, wild-eyed and bleeding heavily from one arm. The sleeve of his hoodie has been ripped to shreds and stained red from his own blood, which dribbles from numerous cuts and lacerations beneath the soft fabric.

“Run away, all of you!” Shigeo cries, desperate and fearful. “His power, it’s overflowing! You all need to get away, before it explodes!”

Reigen hovers over him, hands held out like he wants to grab Shigeo by the shoulders but is too afraid to actually touch him. “Mob, what’s going on? You’re bleeding like crazy!” he exclaims, voice quivering with worry and concern.

“Please, you need to run!” Shigeo insists. “All that’s left of him is pure energy now. There’s going to be an explosion, a big one!” His gaze flicks anxiously back and forth between Reigen and Ritsu, frozen in place, and his eyes are wide, the emotion in them unwithheld. Ritsu can’t remember the last time he’s seen his brother willingly show so much emotion; not since the incident all those years ago, anyway.

Eventually Shigeo’s gaze lands on Teru, pleading, and Teru lets out a nervous breath. Despite his clearly shaken state, though, he’s quick to turn on his heel. “So even all of us together won’t be able to contain it… in that case, we’d better hurry,” he says, in as authoritative a voice as he can muster, and waves for the rest of the group to follow as he turns away from the mounting explosion in the distance.

Ritsu bites his lip, his own feet itching to get as far away from Touichirou as possible. “Yeah, let’s hurry,” he echoes. He turns to face Shou, hand still tightly clasped in his, and sees him staring stone-faced across the rubble. Swallowing, Ritsu lifts his other hand and lets it rest lightly against Shou’s jaw, tugging his gaze away from the scene of Touichirou’s demise. “Hey, let’s get out of here,” he pleads, gentle but insistent.

Shou musters up a blank, empty smile. He tugs his hand out of Ritsu’s grasp and claps him on the shoulder instead. “Yeah, it’d really suck to get caught up in that,” he agrees, but his voice is heavy, weighed down by thoughts he refuses to speak out loud.

He sticks close to Ritsu as they turn and run, and only casts a single glance over his shoulder as they go. When he does, though, his eyes widen in surprise and he nearly stops in his tracks. “Wait, where’s your brother?”

Ritsu skids to a stop, whirling around on his heels, and sees that Shigeo is nowhere to be seen. “Shige?” he calls, dread creeping into his voice. Where did he go? Where’s my brother? His eyes scan the wreckage, desperately seeking out his mop of dark hair, the bright green of his borrowed hoodie. He spots a flash of green as it disappears behind a mountain of rubble, heading back in the direction of the growing explosion. “Shigeo!” he screams, and lunges so quickly that the soles of his shoes skid on the gravelly ground. He pitches forward and only barely manages to keep himself going with one hand, wincing as rocks and broken glass dig into his scarred palm through his glove.

“Ritsu, stop it!” Shou yells, catching Ritsu by his wrist before he can go too far. He pulls, hard, hard enough that Ritsu hears his shoulder pop in protest, and suddenly Shou is spinning him around and staring up into his face intensely. “You can’t go after him, you’ll die,” he cries, pushing Ritsu insistently toward the rest of the ground, already far ahead of them. Even Serizawa has passed them, half-stumbling as he scrubs tears from his eyes.

“Shou, let go,” Ritsu seethes, but Shou’s grip is tight on his wrist, fingers digging into his flesh between his hoodie and his gloved hand.

“You think I don’t want to go back too?” Shou snaps, and the way his voice cracks makes Ritsu freeze in his path. It’s enough for Shou to crowd him back down the path, the hand not tightly holding Ritsu hostage shoving against his shoulder with every step. “I’m not gonna let you kill yourself over this.”

Ritsu has to clench his teeth and blink furiously to keep from crying, hopelessness settling over him like a weighted blanket and drawing him down into the ground with every heavy step of their frantic feet. He starts to run, away from Touichirou, away from his brother, away from the scene that could potentially mark the site of both of their deaths, and as he does Shou releases his hold on his wrist. It’ll be fine, Shige is strong, he reminds himself in his head, over and over, and it’s the only thing that keeps him moving, even as the intensity of the situation threatens to knock him right back down again.

In the end, they don’t make it very far. The energy that’s been building around Touichirou’s fallen form erupts in a massive burst, and a wave of energy explodes from its epicenter in a rush of heat and powerful wind. It hits Ritsu square in the back and tears up the concrete beneath his feet, lifting him up and throwing him with force. He screams, vision blurring as he’s ragdolled through the air with the wave of force, and he hears the frightened, pained cries of the people all around him as they, too, are uprooted and thrown at the wind’s behest. For a few quick, frightening seconds, he’s weightless, scrambling to figure out which way is up and which is down, and then his back hits the ground and his breath leaves his lungs in a loud, pained gasp. He feels his head collide with something hard, hears the crack of his skull against solid rock, and stars erupt in his vision, narrowing his line of sight until everything turns black and his body goes limply unconscious.

---

The first thing Ritsu feels is the pain in his head, intense and overbearing. He hasn’t even opened his eyes, and he doesn’t even try, just moves his head tentatively from side to side just to prove he can move at all. He can’t hear anything but the loud ringing in his ears, the noise grating on his eardrums and intensifying his headache. He twitches the fingers of one hand and then curls them into a fist, giving his arm an experimental tug. It bends at his bidding, and he shakily reaches up to feel the back of his head where the headache spreads from. His fingers come away damp and red. That’s not good, his brain supplies unhelpfully. He knows it isn’t good, bleeding heads are never good, but he can’t manage to form any other thought.

He moves his legs slowly, testingly, and finally cracks open his eyes. He hisses as a bright street light flickers overhead, stubbornly rooted into the ground despite the fact that the street has been almost entirely uprooted, chunks of it strewn at random. It’s miraculous none of them had managed to land on him in his tumble. He rolls onto his side, squeezing his eyes shut against the bright light, and tugs at his other arm, freeing it from a pile of concrete rubble that had half-buried it. It aches, and there are fresh cuts there from where shrapnel had torn through the sleeve of his hoodie and left it hanging by flimsy shreds. He braces his hands on the ground and, with some effort, pushes his torso off the ground, getting his knees beneath him so he can prop himself up somewhat. His lungs burn when he breathes in, his breath coming shaky and inconsistent with every new inhale, but despite his breathlessness he forces himself onto his feet. He staggers as he does, his vision swimming briefly before it clears again, and the throbbing in his head intensifies. He groans, covering his eyes in hopes of lessening the pressure behind them, and once it’s subsided enough for him to form coherent thoughts again, he takes a look around and surveys his surroundings. The street he’s ended up on looks almost empty, but in the distance he can see beaten bodies fishing themselves out from under the rubble as some of Teru’s esper friends wake up alongside him.

“Reigen?” he calls, unable to spot a head of familiar brown hair anywhere nearby. “Teru? Shou?” He shuffles forward a few more steps, peering around corners and under piles of rubble. Where were they?

“I’m okay, little brother,” comes a familiar groan from just behind Ritsu, and he turns to see Teru pushing himself to his feet alongside Reigen. They both look beat to hell; Teru’s clutching a nasty-looking gash on his upper arm, and blood is dripping into Reigen’s eyes from a laceration on his forehead. They’re alive, though, that’s the important part. Teru glances around, like Ritsu had been just a moment before, and adds, “Where’s your friend?”

Ritsu bites his lip and tires not to let show how worried he is that Shou hasn’t answered his call. “I don’t know, I haven’t found him yet,” he replies, venturing a little farther down the road. He winces as his ribs ache painfully, and he wonders if he’s bruised them in one of his many, many tumbles. He drifts to one side of the road while Teru and Reigen venture to the other, dark eyes searching frantically for a splash of red hair or a glinting blue eye or a sliver of pale, freckled skin. “Shou?” he calls again, hoarse voice cracking with the strain of it and from his own mounting worry.

“M’over here,” comes the strained reply, and Ritsu jerks his head to face it. There’s an arm, lifted sluggishly from beneath a pile of rubble that appears to be the remains of a collapsed brick wall of a nearby building. The freckles on the arm are dark and instantly recognizable as Shou’s, and Ritsu can’t help but feel a rush of relief. He feels like the two of them have dodged death so many times in just one day that they must have broken some sort of cosmic record.

He quickly skirts the pile of rubble, approaching the waving hand, and reaches down to take it in his own. When he pulls on it, Shou comes with him, shakily pushing himself up into a sitting position as broken bricks and dust and glass roll off of him like sand. “You okay?” Ritsu asks, giving him a quick once-over to check for anything potentially life-threatening.

Shou pats himself down with his free hand, eyes drooping in exhaustion but looking to be in otherwise stable condition. “Yeah, I think so,” he replies, and Ritsu helps him to his feet. Both of them are covered head to toe in dust and dry blood, and Shou’s varsity jacket is destroyed beyond repair, full of holes and irreparably stained. He turns to look at the site of the explosion, where a massive dust cloud is slowly settling.

Ritsu feels like his stomach might eat itself with the force of his worry. He can’t see anything through the thick dust, not a sign of movement, and everything has gone deathly quiet aside from the voices of the people stirring all around him. Then, as the dust begins to disperse, he starts to see splashes of dark green poking out of the wreckage. At first he thinks it must be some kind of huge tree, but the more he stares the more it starts to look more like…

“What the fuck,” Shou mumbles passionately under his breath, draping his arm over Ritsu’s shoulders for support as the two of them stare up at what is, unmistakably, the head of a giant broccoli tree. Its trunk is easily as wide as a city block, and its thick branches curve outward like a mushroom cloud and reach high over the tops of every building in its vicinity.

Ritsu can’t help but agree with Shou’s particular sentiments, caught somewhere between awe and intense bafflement as he struggles to make sense of the fever dream he’s experiencing. “Are you sure we aren’t dead?” he asks after a moment.

Shou chokes on a manic fit of giggles, free hand clutching his ribs. “Stop, it hurts to laugh,” he complains, his arm heavy and comforting around Ritsu’s shoulders. He bites back a grin, looking up at the towering broccoli. “Guess we should go dig ‘em out, huh?” he says after a moment, unraveling himself from Ritsu’s grasp and stretching his arms over his head. He’s clearly still exhausted, but he’s keeping his footing, so Ritsu lets him go.

“They’re in that thing?” Ritsu exclaims in disbelief. Now that he stops to stretch out his senses, he can feel an intense psychic energy radiating off of the broccoli. It’s his brother’s aura, mostly, but there’s an unmistakable tinge of Touichirou’s presence in it, too, the bloodlust and killing intent drained from it completely. “Are they alive? Can you tell?” he asks Shou, unable to distinguish his brother’s location within the swirling storm of psychic residue.

“I think so,” Shou responds, squinting his eyes as though that will help him sense his father’s presence more easily.

At Ritsu’s side, Teru approaches them, arms crossed as he stares up in befuddlement at the huge broccoli. “We’ll help,” he says immediately, jerking his thumb at Reigen, who’s trailing along behind him. They both look similarly beaten and battered, but Teru, at least, looks as energetic as he ever had when Ritsu had previously met him.

“Thanks,” Ritsu murmurs, comforted by the thought that he won’t be on his own in this endeavor.

They take it slow, their sore bodies too drained of energy to do much of anything else. Fukuda, Higashio, and Ootsuki go with them, intent on finishing the job before they head back to the hideout, and Ritsu makes a mental note to thank them for everything once this is all over.

They pause just in front of the giant broccoli, and Reigen shines a flashlight into the chasm that opens up in front of them. He’d snatched it up off the ground on the walk over; it’s emblazoned with the logo for Seasoning City’s police force, so Ritsu figures it must have been dropped by an officer in their rush to escape the area.

“We should split up,” Shou says suddenly from Ritsu’s side. “Me and my guys will go take care of my old man, the rest of you can go find Shigeo.” He jerks his thumb toward the other end of the broccoli, to where Touichirou supposedly would be waiting. He reaches into his pocket and fishes out a ring of keys, pressing them into Ritsu’s palm. “We can meet back up at the house, alright? You guys take the car, we’ll get a taxi or something.”

Ritsu blinks, opens his mouth, and closes it again. It feels like a rational plan, and in reality there’s nothing keeping him from agreeing to it, but it feels weird to split up now after everything that’s happened. He and Shou have been practically joined at the hip all day, watching out for each other, keeping each other alive, and he doesn’t want to stop now. Instead, he just blurts, without really thinking, “You promise?”

Shou fixes him with a wide-eyed stare, and it’s one of the very few times Ritsu’s managed to catch him entirely off-guard. For a moment, everything is quiet, and then Reigen coughs into the elbow of his ruined suit jacket. He’s biting back a wobbly smile, pretending he hadn’t just been about to laugh. Shou lets out a little chuckle and pats Ritsu on the shoulder. “Yeah, sure. Promise,” he replies, vaguely amused. His touch lingers on Ritsu’s shoulder a little longer than usual, and after a second of quiet deliberation, Shou pulls Ritsu in for a brief, tight hug.

Ritsu returns it, a little surprised but not displeased by the sudden display of affection. Shou’s never really shied away from touching Ritsu, but there’s something undeniably intimate about this rushed moment that’s over far too quickly, because Shou pulls away after just a second and whirls around on his heels before Ritsu can even get a good look at his face.

“Make sure you get your brother out of there, okay?” Shou calls to him over his shoulder with a final, half-hearted wave.

Ritsu watches him go for a second longer, and then turns to Reigen and Teru. Reigen seems to have composed himself once more, and is peering into the darkness that pervades the space beneath the broccoli’s thick trunk. “Let’s go,” he says, ducking under the arches of the broccoli’s root system.

Teru nods and follows behind him. Reigen keeps a pace ahead of the younger boys, leading them with the beam of the flashlight so they don’t trip over any wayward roots or cracks in the destroyed ground. The psychic residue here is so strong that Ritsu can hear it buzzing in his ears, a constant, rather annoying noise.

“You hear it too, right?” Teru murmurs to him after a moment, leaning his head in Ritsu’s direction as he speaks. “It’s loud.”

Ritsu grimaces in response. “This whole place is giving me feedback,” he grumbles, shoving his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie.

“Oh yeah, it’s really annoying, that noise,” Reigen chimes in, in a manner that is wholly unconvincing. Ritsu shoots an unimpressed half-glare at Reigen’s back and decides not to respond.

The group lapses into silence for a few minutes as Ritsu’s eyes scan the darkness for signs of Shigeo’s presence and Reigen whips the flashlight back and forth in search of danger. Eventually, it’s Teru’s voice that breaks the silence. “So, four months, huh?” he says breezily, but even with his confidence, the statement comes across clunky and forced. “Kageyama--er, your brother, I mean--he filled us in on some of what happened, but we didn’t get a lot of time to talk. So it was Claw after all, huh?”

Ritsu shrugs, his shoulders drawing up around his ears in a distinctively protective manner. He keeps his gaze stubbornly fixed on Reigen’s back, his expression carefully neutral. “Yeah,” he mumbles. “It was only a few days, though. No big deal.” The lie slips off his tongue like poison, and in his pocket his right hand reaches for his left, fiddling with the fingers hidden beneath his dark gloves.

Teru looks away from him, glancing upward to the spots in the ceiling where the plants give way to starry night sky above. “A few days is still enough time, though,” he says simply, and the words hit Ritsu harder than they probably should.

“Four months is a long time to be off the radar, regardless,” Reigen points out, casting a glance over his shoulder. “I’m sure you had a really good reason, but still… we were worried about you, kiddo.”

“Don’t call me kiddo,” Ritsu denies on instinct. “I did have a reason, I just… let’s not talk about this now. I just want to find my brother.” His voice drops off into a quiet plea, and his gaze turns downward, the toes of his shoes swinging in and out of his vision as he walks ever forward.

“Ritsu,” Reigen starts, then seems to rethink his approach, giving his head a resigned shake. “Alright, we don’t have to talk about it yet,” he relents, but there’s a promise on his tongue that they will talk about it later.

Ritsu’s fleetingly grateful to Reigen for understanding. Teru reaches over to pat him on the shoulder with a smile. “We’re just glad that you’re okay, little brother,” he adds, with a hint of a teasing edge put onto the nickname to lighten the mood a little. Teru is good at that, it would seem, and Reigen seems placated as he turns to look down the broccoli-walled tunnel once more.

A minute later, Teru pauses in his walking, furrowing his brow and frowning. He turns to his left, and Ritsu nearly runs into him as he suddenly stops in his tracks and faces the center of the tree. “He’s close,” he declares, making his way over to the wall of the tree and places his palm against it. “Dig here,” he adds, more urgently, reaching out his hand, and Reigen passes him one of two shovels they’ve brought along with them.

“You can sense him in there?” Ritsu asks, feeling his restlessness resurfacing, prickling the palms of his hands. No matter how he prods at the wall with his own drained aura, he can’t parse the residue of his brother’s power in the air.

“Yeah, he’s definitely in there. It’s hard to tell with this stupid tree interfering with my senses, but his aura is very potent here. This is definitely the spot,” he says confidently, and drives his shovel into the broccoli roots without another word. At his side, Reigen does the same, and the roots give way easily under their strength.

Left empty-handed, there’s little Ritsu can do but hover and watch, reminding them to be careful not to hit Shigeo with their shovels by accident until they finally get a glimpse of his blue jeans underneath. It doesn’t take much longer for them to unbury Shigeo after that, and by the time they’ve gotten him mostly unearthed, he’s begun to regain consciousness.

Shigeo hums sleepily as his eyes blink open, his hand raising to rub at them as Teru gets an arm around his shoulder and helps him into a sitting position. “What’s going on?” he asks, glancing around with fuzzy eyes at his new surroundings. “Where… are we?”

“Shige!” Ritsu exclaims, relief welling up in him so quickly and strongly that he almost starts crying. “You’re okay now, everything’s over.”

“You gave us a real fright, kiddo,” Reigen chuckles as Teru helps Shigeo to his feet, tucking the shovels under his arm and handing his flashlight over to Ritsu. “And to answer your question, hell if I know. Some sort of huge tree sprouted up right on top of you.”

Ritsu bites his lip against his urge to correct Reigen--it’s not a tree, it’s a giant broccoli, obviously--but that will only cause more confusion that it’s really worth. Right now, the important part is to get back to the house and get everyone patched up. “Can you walk, Shige?” he asks, reaching out to steady his brother with a hand on his arm. “Shou has a car stashed near here. Reigen, you can drive, right?”

Reigen presses his lips together uncertainly. “Uh, I have a license, yeah,” he answers, and it’s not exactly what Ritsu had asked, but it’s better than nothing. He pulls the car keys out of his pocket and tosses them to Reigen.

“Let’s go back to my place, it’s close and we’ve got medicine and clean clothes and stuff to deal with… all of this.” He gestures to himself, to his bloody skin and torn clothing and messy, dusty hair. “Plus, there are two showers, which I know for a fact is more than Reigen has.”

“Hey, I live by myself, I only need one,” Reigen sputters, tucking the car keys into the pocket of his destroyed slacks for safekeeping. “Is your friend gonna be there?”

Ritsu tries to ignore the vague suspicion he can hear in the nuances of Reigen’s voice, turning away. “Yeah, Shou will be there,” he answers, not bothering to hide the haughtiness in his voice at Reigen’s thinly-veiled skepticism. “Or, he will be, eventually. He has to dig out his father first.”

That shuts Reigen up pretty fast as the older man slowly connects the dots and solidifies Shou and Touichirou’s family relationship in his head. Teru looks shocked, too, but his shock is quickly stifled as he turns back in the direction they’d come in. “In that case, we should hurry and make sure we’re there when they get back,” he says breezily, nudging Shigeo forward with care. His brother still looks bleary-eyed, like he’s barely fighting off the urge to fall asleep again, but he stays stubbornly on his feet as they make the hike back out to open skies.