#yes I could’ve done bullet points to keep it easy on the eyes

[a-lil-perspective]

How do you think the others would react if they were in Crosshairs shoes? Would they all bounce like he did the moment they find out about the baby? Or would the talk things through?

Hey I absolutely live for these asks where I get to talk to you guys and I cannot express how much I love this.

OH.

Ohhhh.

Brainstorm time.

No, I don’t think they would all bail like Crosshair did. I don’t think any of them would have the kind of knee-jerk reaction at any point during, even if they are all centralized around this gut-twisting apprehension that comes naturally with the news. I do however think they each would require their own lengths of time to really let it settle and soak in. Of course, given the circumstances, Cross literally had NO time to prepare, no gentle reveal or prior signs or anything to gradually ease him into the transition. In the span of several seconds it goes from just he and Verd (who just reunited after some length of time apart, mind you) to he and Verd plus one—a fully formed, very much alive baby that Verd all of a sudden pulls from her poncho like a damn Kangaroo. (I’ve missed you/Here’s your kid)

That being said, let’s get into the other guys and their own reactions:

Hunter— I’ve actually kind of touched on this in my happy-Hunter-AU-domestic-fic-I’m-too-chicken-shit-to-link-here, but I feel like Hunter would have his suspicions at the very earliest point, before the S/O even suspects a thing herself. He’s not well-versed in pregnancy or the human female body, he just knows something’s up (thanks, sharky senses) and isn’t quite sure how to approach the matter. So he just kind of squirms and scrutinizes in silence until news breaks and the first emotion he really experiences is damn relief because yes he’s not crazy and he can now put a finger on what’s been making him feel like such. He then swallows that thick lump of fear rising in his throat, because there’s no place for that here. He smiles, he’s happy; truly. He’s not spilling over with emotion but that comes at a later time. He’s quick to murmur reassurances to the S/O when her growing trepidations become painfully evident. He probably cracks a joke or two and pats himself on the back for being so astute. Definitely tries to keep the uplift. Supportive from the get-go, which is very instinctive for Hunter. Doesn’t talk about his side of the anxieties much throughout, but I imagine he’d find them to slowly ebb over time as things progress. Out of all the Bad Batchers, I’d say the overall experience is most intimate with Hunter, who feels very deeply in a very literal sense.

Wrecker— Would exhibit eagerness right off the bat. While the others initially experience an apprehension that gradually paves the way for more positive emotions, it’s reversed here for Wrecker. He initially feels elated, his fears and doubts manifesting only after he comes down from his joyful high. Once he sits on the realization however, he’s actually terrified because of his massive build, and there for awhile he can’t see anything past his own bulky, destructive nature. But we all know Wrecker is a softie and actually quite tender, which is something he really gets to discover and cultivate in himself once he holds the baby. Once he’s able to make it up and past that precipice, there’s no stopping him. He’s this enthusiastic, hands-on parent abounding with an endless supply of energy, which proves to be extremely helpful to the S/O when they just need a nap.

Tech— The resident genius is a trick. Is somewhat... taken aback by the news. It’s almost comical the way his gears turn so overtly as he processes. Has to eventually be prodded to elicit any response because he just kind of zones out to deduce and calculate everything. From there on out, I imagine Tech makes it his sole priority to educate himself and S/O and keep everyone well-informed. The only time he’d want to bail during the process is when the S/O and her oscillating emotions threaten him with his life because somehow it is annoying that he makes her calculate the amount of gluten in every portion she consumes? Also, the brilliant engineer, nervous? No way—at least, not in a way anyone would ever be able to see. But S/O knows. Because he never stops, building baby furniture and baby tech and all these great inventions to provide aid, keeping his mind off of the fact that he doesn’t actually know what to do. What a foreign thing to admit from someone who prides himself on his infinite amount of knowledge. But, as Tech learns, parenting is not something you can convert into these complex outlines. That’s overthinking it. It’s truly something to be learned on the fly, it’s flash training, and there’s no amount of technology that can override paternal instincts, which I think is somewhat counterintuitive for Tech as he adapts.

[aimless-imagines-for-fun]

His

Paring :: mafia dark!Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

Warnings :: 18+, Smut/NSFW, Dark Themes, Possessiveness, Oral(M Recieving), Deep Throating

Word Count :: 2,787

Summary :: Bucky’s had a long day and you’re the only one he can release his stress on

A/N ::....there may or may not be another part... idk yet.... I just really like Mafia Bucky

Some days were better than others, for both you and Bucky. 

So far, your day had gone swimmingly. You woke up, did an easy morning stretch to help you wake up, and proceeded to clean around your house in your favorite sundress. There wasn’t much to do, with the house usually clean due to Bucky hiring professional cleaners to come once a week. Still, the dishes weren’t going to do themselves. 

The highlight of your day was a package being delivered. A book that you had pre-ordered from one of your favorite authors. After you cooked your lunch, you spent the rest of your day reading the book, sitting on the dark grey couch in your large living room. That was all you could do besides watching tv or doing a small hobby to keep you occupied until Bucky came home.

Bucky’s day, on the other hand, was infuriatingly long. He was a businessman and a mob boss, meaning he’d usually have long days. If he was lucky, he’d just have to deal with some idiot trying to cheat him. Today was an unlucky day. He received a visit from Helmut Zemo, the head of a Sokovian Mafia trying to start up in Brooklyn. 

-

Bucky sat at his desk, leaning back in his leather chair as he stared at the man who just entered his office. 

“I already told you the deal Zemo. There’s no bargaining, if you don’t like it save your breath and get the hell out of here.”

The Sokovian ignored him, walking over to a large bookshelf that was against the wall. “You know, for the most powerful man in Brooklyn, you’d be surprised how quickly some of your ‘people’ are willing to betray you if you offer them enough cash.”

Bucky’s eyes narrowed, a scowl forming on his face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Zemo glanced over for a moment. “The docks.”

A few nights prior, one of Bucky’s incoming shipments of illegal weapons had been robbed. A small number of men were killed, and the rest were injured. There was also a weird symbol that had been spray-painted around the docks, a sign that whoever had done this was publicly declaring war.

Bucky’s jaw clenched and he was now sitting up straight in his seat. “You did that?” “It was quite easy to.”

“So why the fuck are you here now? I could put a bullet through your head in a second.”

Zemo laughed, finally turning to face the other man. “You won’t because you know I’m not stupid enough to come here without just as many men you have.” He let out a small breath, taking a few steps forward. His gaze moved down to Bucky’s left hand, an eyebrow raising with curiosity. “You haven’t married her yet? She’s a lovely woman.”

In an instant Bucky stood up, his hands balled into fists. If a look could kill, Zemo would be dead and his body burning.

“I came to tell (Y/N) thank you. Not long ago, one of my guys got a bit lost and she helped him. Pietro said she was ‘the kindest girl he’d met’ and ‘extremely helpful and friendly.”

Bucky cursed in the back of his mind. It sounded exactly like something you’d do, you were kind and naive by nature, simply wanting to help people when they needed it. It was what drew him to you, and it seemed like it was attracting unwanted attention from others now.

“I’m gonna give you ten minutes to get the hell out of my territory.”

“Why so generous?”

“It’s a nice neighborhood,” Bucky replied sarcastically.

Zemo walked back towards the door, understanding he had pushed the man far enough. A coy smile crept on his face, looking at Bucky one last time. “I’d keep her better guarded and up to speed if I were you. She’s too innocent to be involved with you.”

Once Zemo and his men left Bucky nearly tore apart his office. It took Sam and Steve a good hour to calm the man down and make sure he didn’t do anything reckless. Once he cooled down, Sam revealed that Tony Stark had been the one to cross Bucky. Tony’s father was the previous big bad until Bucky came around.

-

“I don’t give a fuck what you do Steve, just make sure Tony doesn’t think he’s not get strung up on a tree after I shoot that Sokovian bastard in the head.” 

His voice was full of annoyance and his grip on the steering wheel of his car was so tight the whites of his knuckles were visible. It was one thing for Zemo to publicly humiliate his authority by robbing him, but he had indirectly threatened you by mentioning you to Bucky. You were his and his alone. He had invested far too much in securing you, ensuring that you’d never leave him. 

-

Bucky leaned on the doorframe of your apartment’s bedroom, arms crossed over his chest as he watched you step around the room. “What are you doing?”

“Going home,” You muttered, continuing to pack your suitcase.

“That’s on the other side of the country.”

“I know.”

“I can’t keep an eye on you if you’re in LA.”

You looked up from the clothes you were packing, glaring at him. “I know.”

Bucky let out a huff. “So you also know I can’t make sure you’re safe.”

You let out a dry laugh, eyes rolling. “I’ll probably be a lot safer once I’m far away from you.”

The man pushed himself off the door frame, now approaching you with long strides. “You’re not leaving (Y/N).”

You threw the shirt you hand in your hand down, turning to face him. “Yes, I am Bucky, because you lie to me!” Your voice was strained, eyes looking up at him full of pain.

“I didn’t lie to you-”

“Yes, you did! You lied to me about what you did and you hid the truth!”

When you and Bucky started dating, he told you he ran a large ‘supply and demand’ business in Brooklyn and that was it. Like the naive girl you were, who had just moved to the east coast, you believed him because you fell for him hard at first. He spoiled you and made you feel like a princess in public, and in private you helped him release all the pent-up stress he had built up from work. A few months later, you finally figured out why Bucky was always so protective of you and wanted to know where you were 24/7. 

Bucky could see the tears you were holding back, mentally cursing at himself for being the cause. He cupped your cheek with his normal hand. You had to resist the urge to lean into his hold.

“I know I hurt you, and I’m sorry, but…” His voice trailed off. In a swift motion, his metal hand wrapped around your waist lifting you up and over his shoulder. “You’re not leaving me (Y/N).”

“James Buchanan Barnes! Put me down this instant!” You slammed your fists into his back to no avail. “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!”

“I love you too darling,” He mumbled, proceeding to walk you out of your apartment.

-

You were on the fourth chapter of your book when you heard a car door slam. You sprung up from your seat, moving as quickly as you could to greet Bucky at the front door. When you got there, you saw he had already let himself inside. His brows were knit together, looking down at the door’s locks.

“Why isn’t the door locked?” He questioned before he even saw you.

With the territorial instinct he had when it came to you and his meeting with Zemo earlier, it was clear he was not happy about such a small thing, no matter your excuse.

“Oh, I must’ve forgotten to lock it when I got the mail today,” You said quietly.

He had lectured you multiple times about how important it was you locked the door, even before you move in with him.

You wrapped your arms around his torso, properly greeting him with a smile like you did every day. You had done this so many times, you noticed how long it took for him to softly wrap a single arm around you before walking away. He was upset.

“Go to the bedroom and wait. Now,” He ordered.

Your heart started racing, wondering what was going to happen to you. If he had stress pent up, he would either wait until after dinner or start kissing you roughly the second he stepped in. He had only acted like this when you pushed him to his limit, like when you threatened to leave him or attempted to run away when he first forced you to live with him.

You sat at the edge of your shared bed, hands holding and fiddling with the hem of your dress. When Bucky was this angry, he was painfully rough to the point where you would begin crying. You quickly began thinking of everything you had done recently, wondering what could’ve pushed him to this point.

He walked in, jacket off and the sleeves to his white button-up rolled up to his elbows. Even though your mind was screaming with fear, your body started heating up with desire seeing him. Especially when your eyes glanced down to his pants and saw a hardness forming. ‘Fuck, he’s been thinking about this.’

Walking up to you, Bucky grabbed your chin with his thumb and index finger, forcing you to look up at him. As a sort of last-ditch effort to get some kindness from him, you gave him a doe-eyed look.

He leaned down, pressing a long kiss against your lips before pulling away. “Get on your knees.”

You took in a deep breath, accepting he wouldn’t be gentle. You pulled away from his cold metal hand, sinking down to stand before him on your knees. Keeping eye contact with him, you managed to under his brown leather belt and navy trousers. You looped your fingers at the hem of his pants, pulling them down along with his briefs just enough for his fully erect shaft to be freed. 

With both of your small hands wrapping around his shaft, you could feel yourself growing wet at the sound of his soft groan. At first, you started stroking his length slowly, leaning your face closer to lick the tip and swirl your tongue around the head.

Bucky didn’t allow you to continue this very long. Only a small dribble of precum was licked up before he grabbed a fist full of your hair from the back of your head and pushed himself further in. Another groan escaped him feeling the warmth of your mouth around his cock. He hit the back of your throat and you gagged, not yet ready for him to go deeper. He did it again two more times, warning you that he planned on having you take all of him in his mouth.

Your hands moved up to his thighs to hold yourself steady and you relaxed your throat the best you could in preparation. Once he started to push his dick further in, you could feel tears start to well up in your eyes as he went down your throat. You moaned each time he shoved his shaft down your throat, sending a soft vibration on his shaft.

Bucky eventually started thrusting his hips into your mouth, fully fucking your mouth as tears started to fall out of your eyes. Watching your glossy eyes stare up at him with his cock down your throat he nearly lost it, feeling his ballsack tighten. Not wanting to cum just yet, he pulled out, a string of your saliva falling off his dick and dribbling down your mouth. You gasped and began panting for air, wiping away your drool with the back of your hand.

He sat on the edge of the bed now, pulling your hips to stand in front of him once you stood up. “Off.”

You took off your dress, followed by your bra and wet panties. Already knowing what was going to happen, you moved to straddle his hips. You and Bucky had had sex numerous times before, but you always needed a moment to get used to his size. He wasn’t going to allow that.

With his large hands on your hips, he forced you down his entire dick, groaning at how tight your walls clenched around him.

“Bucky!” You cried out, body tingling as he filled you up, balls deep. 

He held your hips with such a strong grip you were sure there were going to be marks after. He bounced you up and down his cock, watching you with a dark gaze as you moaned and whimpered against him. Only he could make you feel like this, act like this for him.

He thrusted his hips up, and you moaned loudly, back arching as he hit a sweet sensitive spot. “Please!”

“Please, what?” Bucky asked, knowing full well what you wanted. He wanted you to beg.

“Fuck me right there Bucky! Please!”

More than happy to comply, he proceeded to slam into that same spot, your breath growing faster and cunt tighter each time it was hit. His breath was becoming heavy, and his movements ragged.

He watched as you looked down at him fucking you and saw you shudder. “Ah!” Your walls tightened and your release hit you, juices pouring out. Feeling you release triggered his own orgasm, releasing inside of you. You could feel spurt after spurt of hot cum filling you up and your tight cunt gladly took it.

He finally stopped bouncing you, rolling his hips into you and allowing you a few seconds of rest. He pulled his limp dick out but watching your pussy drip with a mixture of both your cum, he found himself hard once again. 

You barely had any time for your mind to clear up after, your eyes widening as Bucky forced you on your hands and knees. Not sparing a single second he rammed back into you, his hand smacking your ass hard. 

You let out a cry, the stinging pain from the spank only lasting for a short while before you felt the pain and pleasure of him filling you up again. 

“Tell me how much you love it,” He breathed out, watching your ass bounce against his hips with each thrust.

“Bucky!” You moaned out, your walls tightening around him again.

You barely had any time to recover from your last high and still sensitive. You started moving your ass against him, feeling his ballsack slapping your clit each time he thrusted. 

“I love it so much!” You breathed out. “I love feeling your big dick fill me up and fuck me!” 

You bit your lip, feeling the juices drip down your thighs. Your arms were starting to grow weak, barely able to hold yourself when you screamed again. Your pussy tightened and released, begging him to cum and fill you up again.

His large hands buried into your hips, continuing to fuck you as you released around him again. His build-up was growing with the sight of you taking his cock, thrusts growing sloppy. 

Bucky wasn’t blind and could tell your arms were going to give out. So, he released his grip on you with his metal arm to lean over you. He wrapped his arm around your chest, holding you up while squeezing your breast. 

Hearing your soft whimpers as he still fucked you did it for him, his hips bucking to release another hot load inside of you. He stayed in you until he finished then pulled out, releasing you to collapse on the bed. 

Weakly, you turned yourself on your back to look at him, face flushed and tear-stained. He lowered himself above you, metal arm pressed down near the side of your head to keep him above you. Bucky’s eyes danced over your facial features. His gaze moved down, watching your chest rise with each pant before looking at the mess in between your legs.

With his other hand, he reached down and dragged two fingers up your wet folds, gathering the juices on them. When he raised them back up to your face, both of your hands grabbed him and began to suck and lick his fingers clean.

“Christ you’re fucking beautiful.”

He pulled his fingers away, smashing his lips against yours. You wrapped your hands around his neck, a hand moving up to play and tug on his hair as you kissed.

[transias]

Crimewave.

Pairings: Detective!Meeks x (Gender Neutral) Detective!Reader

Warnings: Uhh crime and guns!

Summary: Detective Steven Meeks, an incredibly smart and driven detective, and Detective (Y/l/n) are one of the best detectives in Brooklyn. Unfortunately, they hate each other. But when they’re paired up for an undercover mission, they must put their rivalry besides and work together.

A/N: I’ve been watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine therefore delivering this jewel to you lovely readers <3 (Psst it’s rivals to lovers ;))

〰️

“Hey, Captain Brock wants to see you in his office.” The captain’s assistant notified me. I nod, standing up and walking to his office.

I knock on his door, “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes, detective (y/l/n). Please take a seat. I have a special assignment for you.” Captain Brock pointed at the chair.

As I was about to sit down I heard another familiar voice, “Captain? May I come in?”

I turned around and there he was… Steven. Fucking. Meeks.

“What the hell is he doing here?” I cross my arms.

Meeks looks over at me and rolls his eyes, “Detective, sit down!” Captain Brock orders me. I groan and do as I do what he tells me.

“Now, I understand you both don’t like each other. But I have an important case for you both.” He pulls up a file, “William Nichols. He’s involved in arms trafficking.” He explains.

I lean and look at his photo, i’ve been tracking him for months! Looks like I finally have a chance to catch the dirtbag.

Captain Brock hands us a reservation card, “Now the mission is pretty simple. Steven will pose as the buyer and (y/n) as their partner. This is possibly our only chance to catch the perp, so please try not to screw it up.”

“We won’t let you down, sir.” Steven takes the card, “Right (y/n)? I know you have a tendency to let down the Captain a lot so I just want to make sure.”

I glare at him, “I’ll kill you.” I mouth at him. “Steven’s right, we won’t let you down.”

He nods, “Good, dismissed.”

I walk out of the office with the file in hand, only for it to be snatched out of my hands. “Alright listen up, just stay out of my way and it’ll get the mission done.”

I scoff, “That’s funny, Steven. This is MY perp, i’ve been tracking him for months so it’s only fair that I make this arrest.”

“I have the perfect arrest record, i’m not planning to lower it because of you.” He crosses his arm.

“Whatever, cry about it.”

I sit at my desk, huffing as I finish looking over at my paperwork.

I hated this. I actually liked Meeks, when we started working together we were inseparable. At some point, I could’ve sworn our friendship was blooming into something more.

That was until a drug bust went south and everyone pointed their fingers at me. Steven drifted away from me, he pretty much ignored me or when he needed to acknowledge me, we’d act rude and nasty towards each other.

〰️

Steven and I were dismissed early so we could get ready for this mission.

We had our backs turned to each other as we were changing. The silence was pretty much torturing, I wanted to say somethinf but didn’t know what.

I groan softly, trying to place the equipment on me.

“You need some help?”

I look over at Steven and silently nod. He walks over to me, helping me out. I simply stare at him, “Thanks.”

He nods, “Yeah sure. I mean, we still hate each other but, we’re a team going after the same scumbag.”

“I guess you’re right.” I give him a soft smile.

Steven can read my nervousness, he places a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be okay. If we get out of this alive i’ll buy you an ice cream cone.”

I chuckle, “I don’t know if you’re being serious or not but, why are you being so nice to me?”

“(Y/n), when we walk into that place, it’s just gonna be you and I, I trust you with my life. You’re an amazing detective.” He admits.

I playfully nudge at him, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

〰️

We make our way over to the restaurant, it’s empty and there’s only one candle lit table.

I shakily take a deep breath and Meeks takes my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

We slowly walk up to the table, “William Nichols?” Steven speaks up. The man looks up and nods, “Yeah, who the hell are you?”

“My name is Steven Meeks, this is my business partner, (y/n). We’re the interested buyers.” Steven responds.

“Take a seat.” He motions towards the two seats in front on front of him.

We take our seats, still holding each other’s hands. The deal goes by as planned, I look over at the window where our team is supposed to give us the signal.

I see three flashes of light and nod towards Steven. We take our guns and point them at William’s guards, “NYPD freeze!” We both exclaim.

William stands up, “Rats, get them!”

A shoot out starts but I manage to knock William unconscious.

Steven and I both take cover before I notice him groaning and wincing in pain. His arm is bleeding, he’s been shot.

I turn my radio on, “Officer down! We need back up, now!”

I rip a piece of cloth and wrap it around his arm, soon the door bursts open with the tactical unit ordering everyone to stay down.

“Hands up!” One of the men orders to us. “Relax! We’re detective Meeks and (y/l/n)!” I reply.

He nods before walking over to the unconscious William.

“Come on, Steven. We need to get you to a hospital now!” I exclaim before helping him up.

“Is there an ambulance nearby?” I ask one of the officers. “No, it’ll be better if you drive him yourself.” She replies.

I nod, “Meeks, where are your keys?” I ask. “I-in my right pocket- ow! Be gentle, please!” He answers.

“Of course.” I whisped, reaching into his pockets.

I set him down gently on the passenger seat before speeding off to the nearest hospital. “Steven stay awake! What’s 5x5?”

“25. That’s too easy, (y/n)! If you want to keep me awake ask me something more difficult!” He groans.

I pull over the emergency room and help him out, his arm swung around my shoulder as he limps with me towards the entrance. “We need help right here!” I exclaim to one of the paramedics outside.

“Oh shit, what happened?” He asks, taking over for me.

“We’re with the 72nd precint, he got caught in a crossfire and was injured.” I explain. When we walk inside, a group of nurses quickly take him away.

I explain what happen to one of the nurses, he assures me that they’ll do anything to help him and offers me clean clothes, which I accept.

I sat in the waiting room, I call the captain to make sure everything went well and our perp was caught and arrested. Everything went well, but I was extremely worried for Steven.

“Excuse me, are you here with Steven Meeks?” The doctor asks. I nod and stand up, “Is he okay?”

“Yes, fortunately the bullet didn’t do much damage apart from some bleeding. He’ll be okay, he’s asking for you.” He explains.

I nod, “What room is he in?” He points me to it and I walk inside.

Steven is sitting up on the bed, eating a chocolate pudding cup. “Hey Meeks.” I smile.

He looks over at me and smiles back, “Hey (y/n).”

I sit down next to him, “The doctor says you’ll be okay. And the captain told us we did a great job.” He sighs, “Thank fuck. My arm hurts like hell.”

I chuckle, “Steven, can we talk?”

“What’s up?” He asks.

“Why did we stop being friends? Was it because I fucked up that drug bust.”

He takes a deep breath, “No. I’m just- i’m an asshole, okay? The night before the bust, we went to the boardwalk.”

I nod, “Yeah, I remember. We ate a shit ton of cotton candy before that rollercoaster and almost puked.” We chuckle.

“Yeah, that night! It was- one of the best ones of my life. And then I realized,” he pauses, “I was- well still am deeply in love with you.”

My breath hitches and I sit up, “Steven… seriously? Please tell me this isn’t some kind of joke.”

He quickly shakes his head, “Why would I joke about it? I pushed you away and acted completely rude towards you because truth be told, I was scared of my feelings. So, I thought pushing you away was an option. But when you recklessly drove through traffic just to get me to this hospital, I realized there was nothing I should be afraid of. You’re the one for me.”

I can’t help but smile widely, I slowly cups his cheeks and lock our lips together in a kiss.

He pulls away and looks at me with bright red cheeks, placing a hand on my cheek. “Can we please start over?”

I nod, “I would love that.”

[ldouble]

Slumming It | Kevin Atwater X Reader (Chicago PD)

summary: When pulled into an undercover op for the Intelligence Unit, you couldn’t be more excited. The only person who catches your hesitation is your boyfriend. A lot is unsaid in the bullpen, your relationship being one of them.

gif is not mine :)

“You keep looking at me like that and they’re gonna know you’re slumming it with a uniform.”

Your words were punctuated by the complete zip of the knee high leather boots. But it wasn’t till the hell smacks the concrete of the locker room does Kevin look up at you, unimpressed with your statement.

You tilted your head at him, hoping it aided your humor. All it did was send the little eye contact held fleeting.

“I’m not slumming it with a uniform.” Kevin shook his head toward the ground, until he realized what he just said. “I’m not slumming it with you, either.”

Your hands found the other boot, a sigh escaping your lips at how much the tight fitting accessory is going to fit. “You’re tripping up, Atwater,” It glided up with little effort, giving you the chance to cross your legs and look across the room. “I can see Ruzek getting on your ass already.”

“Can you stop with-”

“Or is Halstead sending a sly smirk at you?”

Your light heartedness has no place in the backlit changing room and even little place in a situation like this. Joking about your boyfriend’s friends finding out about his relationship, with you standing there dressed like a hooker, all while working an undercover op...you should’ve stuck with commenting about how the color of the dress did absolutely nothing for your eyes.

Still, Kevin would’ve found a way to call you out. He was quiet but that just meant he spent more time listening. He was done with your ill timed jokes.

“Sorry.” You bit your lip, knowing you pinched a nerve. You didn’t know what to worry about more - the way you just embarrassed yourself in front of a member of the Intelligence Unit or how you insulted your boyfriend.

You hated that the latter took priority.

You found Kevin’s eyes, too dark to read. But the look he was giving you - an analytical gaze mixed with what looked like frustration with the furrow in his brow - had you resorting back to your go-to.

“We uniforms aren’t used to working anyone other than a partner.”

You could hear the worry in your voice growing as each word entered the space. If the tone didn’t solidify his assumption, the choked laugh you gave did it. Nothing said “Can I do this?” like a meek laugh.

Girlfriends worried.

Cops did no such thing.

Straightening your posture you released your hair held in a tight ponytail. Shaking it out, you offered a smile. “Having your team at my disposal just got to my head for a second.”

Kevin pursed his lips, his arms crossed defensively over his chest. He looked great, done up in his own undercover wardrobe. Of course, his wasn’t as extreme as yours.

You were pretending to be a hooker. Short dress, fishnet stockings and heels that were nearly half your height. And that wasn’t including the heel. You hadn’t looked in the mirror after Trudy bombarded you. The amount of lipstick you could just feel on you made you want to wipe it off.

Kevin on the other hand was just supposed to be him. Tall and handsome, a drink of water to fit in right among the elites of this Hookah Bar you were raiding. Minus the badge, you could’ve sworn this look of a blazer and dark jeans had made an appearance at your front door. As well as your bedroom floor at one point or another.

He walked forward, hands finding your shoulders gently, his eyes pouring into yours. He took your breathe away. Or maybe that was the anxiety creeping up on you.

“We’re not at your disposal. We’re on your side.” You couldn’t help but lean into his palm as it crept up your shoulder. “We have your back.”

“Better you than this dress.”

Again, he didn’t find it funny. You sighed, nodding in all seriousness. “You have my back.”

Giving up on the idea of convincing him with a look of complete and utter confidence (you were saving that for the mission) you strode past him, grabbing the furry white jacket off the end of the bench.

On your way, you gave him some of the rope to tug at.

“That easy to tell I’m nervous?” You asked, slipped the fur over your shoulders.

He followed your steps, the pink handbag looking teeny in his grasp. “You uniforms got no damn poker face.”

You chuckle at that, feeling better with him in a joking mood. It was forced, you could tell by the way his tongue was sticking out between his lips, but you didn’t call it out. Humor came to everybody in their own ways. Yours was easier to cling to.

“Yeah, well without a uniform I’m sure it’ll get better.” You accepted the bag, twirling it in your fingers.

“Better?” Kevin asked with offense. “Gonna be the best. Why else would we bring you up?” He whispered in your ear as you made your way to the garage.

You pretended to think for a second before turning around, tiptoeing backwards and tracing his collar.

“For you to oggle me.”

The sound of the door opening snapped you back to reality. This was work. You might’ve been pretending to be a hooker but you weren’t on the job yet. Definitely not with a colleague who you would never do such a thing with.

Kevin caught the door, holding it open for you. As you walked past you gave your best respectable-just-another-day-in-the-office smile. But upon his next words, it was hard to keep it up.

“Like I’d show them I’m slumming it with you.”

----

Slumming it, you were definitely not.

You had quested the expensive dress placed in your locker. Why did a hooker did a $500 piece of clothing that barely covered her ass? Because as a high class hooker, expensive taste breeds....expensive tasters.

Men. With money.

But there was only one man you wanted.

He had money, sure.

But he also had guns.

A whole warehouse and business of illegal firearms. Chicago, ever the “Heart of America” was this guy’s selling point. Everything shipped here and then shipped out.

But a man he was. A man with needs. Expensive needs on short time. Besides, he had cash to burn. Made sense he booked it to this club, paid for a girl, had his way with her, and then was onto a business deal with a couple AK-47s by dawn.

Lucky you, getting a front row seat to it all.

You really hoped all you got was a seat. You really didn’t want to have to go to bed with this guy.

Jay would hopefully make sure of that. Imploring a deal on this guy’s “night out”. Who could resist making some money while spending it on something as pretty as me?

You gulped, remembering your first date with Kevin. He paid for the meal, quoting something similar. He couldn’t believe I had said yes to going out. He insisted on paying.

Tough as nails he was in his bullet proof vest. Beneath it, a teddy bear with manners of every mother’s dream.

“Aye, mami, how you doing?”

You turned to the fourth? fifth? guy who approached you, resisting the urge to roll your eyes. He was security, like every other guy who had hit on you yet, and not your target.

They really thought protecting their bosses wasn’t their job. Trying to catch the runner ups was their priortiy.

“Looking for something a bit better than that.” You heard Ruzek say over the comms.

“She’s got standards,” You looked over your shoulder toward Kevin, posted at a table near by. He sent a quick wink before finishing his statement. “As every girl should.”

“High ones, too.” You whispered.

You knew he was rolling his eyes, more so at you chiming in than your hint at your secret boyfriend’s height, but missed it since your view became full by another presence.

“Hi to you, too.”

Bingo.

You smiled at the man you had waiting for all night. One glance at his opening jacket, shimmering from the gun strapped in on both sides, and you knew this was the one. You’d been studying his face for weeks, of course. But nothing said arms dealer like...arms.

Arms that you felt wrapping around you.

Arms that you had to embrace.

It wasn’t the guy that had you nervous. Or the situation. Hell, you felt fine pretending to be a hooker. You had your team behind you.

You also had your boyfriend watching. That’s what made you resistance to accepting the embrace, taking in the fluttery whispers, and nodding at the invitation to his booth.

It was one thing to go undercover and flirt. A whole other when doing it in front of the one person you were undercover with and wanted to flirt with.

You were a cop first, you reminded yourself as you sat down on the plush velvet sofa. You were a cop, you repeated at lips found your neck.

Where the hell was Jay? Swooping in to make this deal? Get you out of this?

“Hey man, hate to intrude here.”

You froze for the first time at the sound of that voice.

A voice you loved to hear. But not here. Not with some other guy all up on you.

The dealer let his grip loosen on you and as he turned toward the newest addition to the booth you got your first clear look at it.

Your secret boyfriend.

Currently playing an undercover role he was not assigned to. All while you were undercover as a hooker attempting to get in good with a well known criminal.

The rest of the team was having just as much of a frenzy on your ear piece. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Jay panicking, not so much as ten feet away.

Kevin must’ve beat him to it.

Something told you it wasn’t the want to be the bad guy. Rather, break up the bad guy and you.

He had your back. Too much this time.

The target felt the same way, attempting to shake him off and coming back to you for more.

Your eyes met Kevin’s - more hallow than earlier - over the shoulder of the suspect. It sent you freezing again. What were you to do? Blow cover to save a relationship just as hidden? Or keep this going and lose something you never would’ve really had?

“I like seeing you work.” You giggled, gently pushing him off of you. Your eyes glimmered with fake admiration (really anxiety bubbling up) but it did the trick. You didn’t even have to use your line about how you would work for him later.

Taking the bait, he spun and began chatting with Kevin.

Unfortunately, he liked his work and play mixing. A hand found your leg, circling your knee. Kevin’s gaze never left the dealer’s but you could tell it was killing him. The toothpick, which had been loosely hanging out his mouth earlier, was now being gritted together so loud you could hear it over the music.

What was more obvious than his clear discomfort? The hand sneaking its way up your leg. No amount of disco lights or smoke from nearby bongs could hide the manly grasp on your thigh.

Even when he lifted your skirt up you couldn’t flinch. He was so close to admitting it all. He’d skimmed the numbers and the details but if Kevin pressed a little bit harder...

“Tell me more.”

Kevin’s eyes had swiftly found the connection on your leg. It wasn’t obvious enough for concern but his tone was. It was distant. Unfocused. Everything a dealer didn’t want in a deal, no matter the environment.

“You don’t seem interested in enough.”

“I am.” You giggled.

Damn. You were too quick to jump. He gave you a disapproving look and you could see it all falling. Everything you had worked for. Gone because you were trying to protect this case more than your real relationship.

“Not as much as me, girl.” Kevin spat.

He caught both of your attention’s, scooting closer. “I want armory. I know you have it. I can swear on the things you’re gonna do to this girl tonight, you can get it to be by tomorrow.”

OK, you weren’t the only one putting work before romance.

The thought scared you for a second but you had more to worry about. Most importantly, the feverish squeeze of your thigh that bloomed from the exciting prospect of a business deal.

The guy said it himself, shaking hands with Kevin and giving all the details we needed for a case.

You were stunned how good this was going. It was all falling into place.

Kevin seemed just as shocked too, sitting there silently...which was very unlike the bold player he was pretending to be.

Of course, no story has a perfectly happy ending.

The fault in the plan, the lack of calling out the safe word to trigger the team flying in.

The word slumming (your choice) barely crossed your mind before the guy’s lips were on yours and he was hurting you with such force.

You felt trapped for what felt like eternity (with your boyfriend looking on at least) but what was really seconds before he was ripped off of you.

“Get your hands off of her!” Kevin threw the guy on the ground, the gun in his belt loaded and aimed at his head.

He looked back at you once his hands were up, breathing heavy. OK, it had messed with his head as much as yours.

A little too much, though.

Because the next thing you knew, Kevin was kicked to the ground and the dealer was grabbing his own gun.

Thankfully, you were wearing a uniform more fit for the job.

In seconds you clashed with the arms dealer, hitting down hard on his hand to realize the gun in his grasp while simultaneously grabbing the other pistol from his pocket. Just as you lifted it up to aim it, Kevin was forcing him onto the booth, hands behind his back.

“Chicago PD!” Had just left your lips as the rest of the team came by. You breathed out, no longer having to play it cool.

Kevin was also given a break when Jay came in to take him away. In two steps he was in front of you, releasing the gun from your hand and pulling you close.

“I’m never letting you out of that uniform ever again.” He muffled into your head before tipping your chin up.

You smiled, cutting the distance between your lips till they grazed his when you spoke. “You can try all you want but I know you love seeing me out of it.”

Kevin pulled your close, squashing whatever space lay between you two.

“Woah, what’s going on here?” Ruzek called out with a holler, bringing you both to reality.

Out of the corner of your eye. you saw Kevin stumble a hand flying over his head as he thought on his feet.

You took a step forward, a hand on Kevin’s chest. “Kevin is slumming it with me, a uniform.”

Laughs erupted from the team, Voight shaking his head.

Kevin saddled up beside you, pulling you close once again.

“How many times I gotta say I’m not slumming it with you?”

“A million. “You shrugged. “I did have to lower my very high standards for-”

You words went unfinished as his lips found yours again.

You didn’t mind, thought. There’d be another undercover case sooner or later. You could tell him then how it was you who lucked out.

The End

[chaiscentedcandle]

Like You (George Weasley x fem!reader)

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: George Weasley

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Y/n can’t find anybody else like George

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭: none

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: lil angsty, cursing, mentions of food, gets happy towards the end!

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 2,461

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: this is inspired by my all time freaking favorite Doja Catsong, Streets, omg I love it, I also had a different idea for this song but as I was writing it just took a turn so I might write another one but it’ll be different, but anyways if you guys haven’t listened to Streets you should omgggg but you don’t have too!! Anyways I hope you guys like it!💗💗 I ONLY USED KATIE BELL AS DRAMA NO KATIE BELL SLANDER🤚🏼

Like you, like you

Like you, ooh

I found it hard to find someone like you

To say Y/n love life was sad was kinda far behind it, sure he’s dated boys in the past before, but the feelings never stayed. She dated boys and not men because back then her judgement never got the best of her. She did feel bad that after only a few weeks of dating she questioned her feelings, they’d gone so soon but why?

Like you, like you

Send your location come through

I can’t sleep no more

In my head we belong

Y/n always felt like she was doing something wrong when she broke up with them, it wasn’t their fault she lost feelings she just....did. Dating is hard, it’s very hard and no one will tell you that, all these other people make it look easy and fun but it’s just the exact opposite.

And I can’t be without you

Why can’t I find no one like you?

I can’t sleep no more

In my head we belong

Maybe dating was hard because your soul knew the person your with is not the person you want to be with. Maybe it’s hard because deep down you know you won’t have a future with said person and it feels like waisted time. Maybe datings hard because the person you want to be with is with someone else.

These thoughts plagued Y/n and George at night. In each other’s head they belonged together.

And I can’t be without you

Why can’t I find no one like you?

Baby, we tried to fight it

We all been there some days

Sometimes it’s not just hard for one party, sometimes it’s hard for the other party as well. Because George has been in love with Y/n for as long as he could remember, his best friend, and it didn’t feel weird to be in love with her, he tried to push his feelings down, so far down that he couldn’t feel them, yet the feelings are too strong.

Thought I need something else

And acted like I was okay

We just had to work it out

And baby, I needed space

George thought maybe if he dated someone else things would be okay instead of acting like it was okay. He needed to work things out, he gave himself space from Y/n which not only left her confused but Fred as well, he tells everything to Fred so why is he distancing himself from her?.

So when he started dating Katie Bell, it didn’t feel right. Something in his gut told him it wasn’t right and he shouldn’t be doing it, but how could he tell his best friend he’s in love with her? She probably wasn’t even in love with him, he wasn’t even Katie’s first choice.

Ain't nobody 'round here wrong

You love all yours so far away

You're pouring your heart out

I'm acting like I knew

George and Katie’s relationship didn’t last long, he refused to kiss her and only wanted to hold her hand, anytime she’d try to find way to kiss him he’d make a silly excuse to slip away. After a few months they finally split, he couldn’t deny how he felt towards Y/n anymore, he’s been denying it too long.

Late at night he would create scenarios where he poured his heart out to Y/n and she acted like she knew already, his words were moving and he didn’t stumble over his words and they’d share a fiery kiss. Every night he wished something like that would happen.

You held me so down

So down I never grew, oh

I tried to find out

When none of them came through

Before George could confess his feelings for Y/n she also dated someone for a span of months, Adrian Pucey. Adrian Pucey was well known around the school, being on the Slytherin quidditch team had its perks, but Y/n never knew why he was well known for it, other people had been on the quidditch team.

Adrian Pucey put Y/n in a corner when he asked her to be his girlfriend in front of everyone at the great hall, Y/n was speechless for a moment, of course it had to be in front of everyone, if she said no she’d be seen as a heartless bitch. Y/n convinced herself that maybe since George had dated someone else she should too.

Their relationship lasted shorter then George and Katie’s. Adrian had no idea what to do with a relationship nor how to treat a women, he was cold and mean to Y/n, he always backed her into a corner and called her names when she didn’t agree with him, so in a flurry of emotions she broke up with him in front of a decent sized group of people. She felt like he had held her down, she’s a delicate flower who’s trying to blossom into a beautiful hibiscus but Adrian was a slug who was holding her down from growing.

And now I'm stuck in the middle

And baby had to pull me out, oh

Like you, like you

Like you, ooh

George was beyond aggravated when Adrian had asked Y/n out, his Y/n, Fred tried to talk to him later that day in the common room. “Y/n is her own person and can date whoever she wants” Fred told him, “yeah, but it’s angering too see her with some prat as Adrian Pucey”. Ron had butted into the conversation to joke and say that the twins roles had been reversed and one was acting like the other, alas he was told to shut up.

Before Y/n had broken up with Adrian he tried to figure out all the things wrong Adrian was doing, he could’ve made a bullet point list of a few pages from the things he picked up on. He brought them all to Y/n’s attention, she didn’t deny them because, well, she already knew. She had no idea why she was with him. She was more than grateful that George had helped pull her out from the middle.

I found it hard to find someone like you

Like you, like you

Send your location, come through (Yeah)

Damn papa, you a rare breed, no comparing

Now that they are both single George thought it would be a great time to tell Y/n how he feels, but it’s harder done than said. Anytime he’d find a lull in a conversation or comfortable silence he could feel his heart wanting to tell her, wearing to tell her but his mouth just wouldn’t move and his brain just wouldn’t function.

Y/n also wanted to tell George how she felt for so long but could never come to either, whenever they’d be apart from each other she’d have other students or friends come find her then tell her George was looking for her, he’s always looking for her. Y/n thought most of the guys at Hogwarts were just like Adrian, but when she left Adrian she realized there was many guys way different then Adrian, like George, he wasn’t like anyone she’s really seen and it took her this long to realize how rare he is.

And it's motherfuckin' scary

Tryna keep him 'cause I found him

Let a hoe know, I ain't motherfuckin' sharing

I could take you to the parents, then to Paris

Rumors began to spread that Katie was wanting George back, people said she was very sulky and quiet. Her friends said all she brought up was George and how annoying it was getting. “She spends most of her time talking about George, she’s had a few nights where all she talked about was him, it’s quite annoying actually” recalled one of her friends.

This made Y/n jealous. She tried to not get jealous but George had said he was done with Katie. Her mother always told her jealousy is bad medicine. Y/n couldn’t help the way she felt, she knows not to surprise feelings so she embraced it instead, she was jealous and she had a right to be. She waited this long, she didn’t want to share.

You the type I wanna marry (Yeah) and keep you merry

I'll put the ring on when you ready

We play our fantasies out in real life ways and

Y/n’s friend group who consisted of George, Fred, Lee, and Angelina had been talking about the situation in the Gryffindor common room, Y/n was slumped in a arm chair with her arms and legs crossed. She wasn’t pleased to hear the situation again, the students at Hogwarts grabbed onto any drama like a leech. “Are you okay, Y/n?” Angelina asked her, giving a glance to her then to the fire “I’m fine” she mumbled

No Final Fantasy, can we end these games though?

You give me energy, make me feel lightweight

Like the birds of a feather, baby

We real life made for each other

The drama started to disperse, people started to find other things to talk about. Y/n finally felt like she could breathe and she didn’t have to hear someone mumbling about Katie and George. Of course it couldn’t last forever, at lunch everyone chatted about something in the Great Hall. Katie and her friends sat more towards the front of the table while Y/n and her friends sat more towards the middle, Y/n noticed how Katie couldn’t keep her eyes from wandering. Soon Fred picked up on what was happening.

“Oi! George! Looks like a certain someone can’t take her eyes off you” as soon as it passed Fred’s lips, Y/n had tightly gripped a piece of bread she had been eating, crunching sound from the crust and crumps falling to her plate. George nudged her “are you alright?” He asked,Y/n didn’t even look up “I’m fine, do I not look fine?” She snapped. George hadn’t said another word.

Y/n felt like she was stuck in a game she’s meant to lose. To her luck, Katie came wondering over to their part of the table, you could tell she was nervous and she was playing with her fingers. She stopped in front of George “u-uhm, George?” She said quietly, almost to quiet. George looked up from his plate, meeting her eyes “yes?” He said confused. Katie played with her fingers more “i....I just wanted to say that, uhm....I miss you, quite a bit actually” she tucked her hair behind her ear and casted her gaze to the floor “and I was wondering if we could possibly....try again?” George was speechless, and shocked, sure Katie is a nice girl but she’s not his, not when his flower is sitting next to him, clearly seething. However, George didn’t want to embarrass her by saying no, he didn’t want to embarrass her like that. “Uhm...I’ll-I’ll think about it” Katie gave a silent “okay!” With a smile and walked back to her spot, a slight skip in her step.

This only aggravated Y/n more, why couldn’t George be the one to give her so much energy from just a single glance that made her head spin, why wouldn’t he make Y/n feel weightless. Why couldn’t they be birds of a feather?, maybe thinking they were made for each other didn’t really mean they were.

And it's hard to keep my cool

When other bitches tryna get with my dude and

When other chickens tryna get in my coop

'Cause you're a one in a million

There ain’t no man like you

Y/n didn’t want to cause a scene but it didn’t take a fool to notice how affected she was by what Katie had done, especially George’s response. Grabbing her bag, she stood up from her seat hastily and speed walked out of the Great Hall. Her cold and hard stare could send shivers down your spine, she looked like she was ready to exploded any second.

Maybe it was just her head telling her that George was hers, they hadn’t really talked about it for that matter. George had watched her leave the Great Hall, he kept his eyes in the direction she left still, his lips pressed into a fine line, his brain was running around with what he should do. He didn’t move until Hermione said something “well, what are you doing? Go after her!” He didn’t give it a second thought and was out the door.

It wasn’t long before George found Y/n at a spot over looking the Great Lake. Her elbow rested on a ledge with her chin in her hand, she looked a little more calm. George stood next to her, Y/n glanced at him then back to the lake. “What’s wrong?” George said, Y/n gave him another quick glance before she spoke “I thought you said you were done with Katie Bell” she had nothing against Katie, not really, she was just jealous. “I am” George said, Y/n rolled her eyes “didn’t look like it” she replied. Y/n didn’t want to hear it anymore, she turned on her heel to leave but only making a few steps before George grabbed her arms and turned her towards him “I don’t love her!” George said defensively “why are you so jealous anyways?” Y/n scoffed, she wasn’t going to admit she was jealous “I’m not jealous” she mumbled “yes, you are! Why are you jealous?” He repeated “because you’re one in a million! There’s no man like you! I want you for myself” Y/n spoke before she could think.

Like you, like you

Like you, ooh

I found it hard to find someone like you

Like you, like you

Y/n and George couldn’t believe what she had said, George often doubted himself but to hear that from someone he loves. It was refreshing. “I don’t love her” George said again “I love you” the tension was so thick you could cut it with a butcher knife. One was waiting for the other to do something. Y/n’s hands had been shaking a little, George was playing with his pointer finger and staring at his shoes, it was so unreal to them that they both were dumb enough to not see they both fancied each other.

Slowly Y/n took a few steps forward, she wrapped her arms around George’s neck and pulled him in. He buried his face in her neck “it was hard to find someone like you, and I don’t want to let you go” Y/n whispered “I don’t want to let you go either” George added. They both pulled away to look at each other, looking each other in the eyes to find something. George placed a soft kiss on Y/n’s forehead then placed his on hers. Finally they got to have each other.

[the-fourth-knower]

Diary of a Lost Doe, Part 2

Part 2 is here! Read part 1 here! Left y'all off on a cliff hanger for part 1, so hopefully this part will be worth the wait.

Part 1 is a bit longer, but the first half's length is mostly spacing. This one has more paragraph format and ideally oomph to it.

Note: All Wheatfields belong to @aquillis-main, Eggman belongs to SEGA, and so on.

Diary 2 Entry 56

Fuck my life.

-

Angelica was gone for most of yesterday, I had to go into the Eggman zone to look for her. When i finally fukin find her she had a fucking mouse with her. Red furred, tan-muzzle/ears. Also tan tuft or fur patch. And I guess a tan tail. Clothes smell a bit like weed.

Angie insists that’s it's Trevor. This time there’s no dissuading her. It might actually be the Wheatfield kid.

-

She says the kid- is he a kid, he’s not that much younger than me? Fuck it, the guy ran into robots and got screwed. Angie saved him but the dude was beaten up bad or something and has barely woken up since

Angie definitely used her power on him. Even though I told her not to use it except for emergencies, multiple fuckin times

Shit i almost went through the page.

-

Angie’s been taking care of the guy all night and today. If I can’t get her to lay down she’ll do it all night tonight too.

Why the hell does she need to have a bleedin heart

-

Also, not sure but I could’ve sworn I saw Guardian guiding me to Angelica...mabye it really is a Guardian Angel for us. maybe

-

I think we may need to move out of here, things are too hot for my liking. I gotta figure out where we could go.

-

A stock of our current supplies

217 dollars and change

Quareter of a pallet of bottled water

Eight cans of food

Two bedrolls

Spade/trowel

Water can (could leave it)

Two backpacks

Duffel bag

Three first aid kits, one partly used

Three journal diaries

Half a case of pens

Three small bags of seeds

Quiver with arrows (Angie’s)

Pa’s gift to Angie (Shortbow)

Steel glove (Mine)

Pistol (Mum’s, technically Angie’s now - no bullets)

-

Haven’t made anything in the past few days. No one wants to hire anyone right now. And I guess I don’t look like bodyguard material. Can’t get a job with that, if I wanted to.

Man I wish Angie thought to grab some of the robo parts, we could have sold them.

-

Got to get Angie to sleep.

Diary 2 Entry 57, apparently.

Been a while. Finally have time to write again. Shit’s been crazy. We’re in an actual house now, or something.

Where to start.

Well first off. The Wheatfield kid finally woke up and stayed up. Freaked out at first before Angie calmed him down. Didn’t know she had it in her - usually she’s the one freaking out over things. But if she can calm down the kid then that’s a thing I don’t have to worry bout.

Turns out the kid has something the robot army dude - Eggman or Robotnik or whatever - wanted, that’s why he got thrashed in the first place. He also seemed embarassed bout his state, that or that we gave him some of our clothes. And by that I mean Angie did.

I’d been preparing to leave when some of the robots showed up. They wanted to grab the Wheatfield, and he looked like he pissed his pants.

Then Angelica got in the way.

Next thing I know there’s vines bursting out of the ground, just like what must have happened when Angie fought the thugs when we first met Guardian. They popped the robots like balloons, and animals jumped out of them. Why the fuck are there animals in there? Who uses animals in their robots???

I broke a few of them too, the ones that Angie didn’t get. Even the mouse got one that was gonna blindside Angie. So he is good for something.

Just one problem; during the fight our house shack got trashed. Or right when it started.

Well after that we obviously couldn’t stay in our place. So Angie had to say goodbye to another garden - she watered them all before setting the water can down. Or did whatever she does.

I think I’m gonna miss that dumb shack.

Wheatfield wanted to go home. So we went with him after getting everything salvageable. Angie grabbed the water can and used it to store stuff - was pretty sure at first she’d leave it, but I forgot she’s quick to adapt.

I wanna think I helped in that.

Dodged more robots to get to the house. Got attacked by one that seemed to be hunting us. That was after we went into sewers to escape them. Or we just got unlucky. So I decided to get to the bottom of why they wanted the Wheatfield kid anyways.

Turns out it was a fucking letter. A letter. All of this mess over a fucking letter.

I wanted to just throw it away there and then. The kid wouldn’t give it to me at first, so I had to get in his face. He gave it to me then. I was gonna drop

Then Angie butted in and told me to give it back. Which. honestly shocked me I think. she didn’t like me ‘bullying Trevor’ like I did.

Didn’t even touch the guy! And I wouldn’t have done it if he just gave it to me right away. I didn’t “bully” him.

whatever. She pointed out that we couldn’t get rid of the letter and get away with it; the letter wasn’t what the animal-bots wanted but the carrier.

Which gave me the idea to change how he looked. I think they thought I was gonna get rid of the kid at first - like I'd do that, sure I get mad easy but I don't just ditch people! Not sure if he liked what I did instead, but coating the guy with mud helped. I think. At least he wasn’t a red mouse sticking out in the crowd anymore.

Things went smoother after that. We managed to avoid the robots for the most part. Had to break a few of them. Saw a green orb a few times that led the robots away - came across some smashed up robots with flowers around. Guardian Angel and all, I guess.

Finally got to where the Wheatfields were living now. Near a park. Dunno why I didn’t think bout that. Then again I didn’t know it existed until the Wheatfield kid led me there.

Took Angie aside while the kid ran off ahead; made sure that she would let me handle all the talking. I wasn’t gonna let someone know bout what happened unless I trusted them, not even mum’s and pa’s old friends. She was still mad at me I think, but she agreed. Not that she’d been talking much to me all day, she was too busy making sure the mouse was okay - I guess it made sense. He was her best friend. Is her best friend? I dunno.

If I was rude then I wish I could have captured a pic of their faces when they figured out we were there. The pa of the family, Jackson, looked like his eyes would bulge out - the mum, Emma, looked only slightly more dignified.

After fussing over their kid, they fussed over us. Asked a bunch of questions. “Where’s your parents, are you okay, were you hurt, why are your clothes filthy, when did you last bathe, why are you both so thin”

I like to think that I did a good job keeping the two of us fed and clean. As best as I could anyways without running water and unreliable income - they may have meant me more than Angie. I made sure she was fed as best I could.

I planned to tell them that we would be fine on our own, that they didn’t need to worry bout us.

Then they offered us baths. And Angie just perked up at it.

I couldn’t disappoint her by telling everyone we’d leave. So I said yes, we’d accept.

And now we’re living in their house.

Fuck me, if it doesn’t feel nice. Angie’s even willing to sit next to me again, but she’s been playing with the Wheatfield kids - there’s a second one, younger brother. Solydaster I think. Kinda cute but also a bit of a pest.

Fuck, this is the longest entry I’ve written. Gotta chill now. We’ve all just laid low. The animal bots left. Guess they had something better to do. Or just got bored watching.

Still dunno bout living with them...but Angie’s happy.

If Angie’s happy I should be happy too. So I’ll try.

I can manage it. I gotta manage it. For her.

So why don’t I feel happy

[quillandink333]

Scarlet Carnations ~ Part IV

BotW Link X Zelda ~ Detective AU

Rating: T

Word Count: 5.1k

WARNINGS: death, murder, loss, trauma, blood and gore, terrorism, organized crime, self-harm

Summary: Inspector Zelda Hyrule, assisted by the faithful Constable Link Fyori, is infamous for cracking the most confounding of cases in a town dominated by crime. Her latest assignment is to solve the murder of her own godmother, Impa Sheikah, the late CEO of Sheikah Tech. Incorporated, while staying under the radar of the dreaded Yiga organization.

Part I • Part II • Part III • Part IV • Part V • Part VI • Part VII • Epilogue • Masterlist

It was nine o’clock in the morning, two days after I’d made my arrest, and Paya’s trial was in its opening stages. I was watching from the gallery. Normally, as the one running the investigations, I would be the first witness to take the stand, but today, for whatever reason, the lead prosecutor, Urbosa Sigatur, planned to summon me second after Auntie Purah. Urbosa was far from a stranger to me, however. She and I had collaborated on several cases in the past, and she shared with me many of my own ideals. She’d once even known my mother before her untimely demise. And so I decided not to question her judgment, however unconventional it may have seemed.

The prosecution’s opening statement had been based on the fact that the stolen Sheikah Slate, along with a bloodstained bullet, had been found in the defendant’s room, which, until recently, hadn’t been searched as it had been deemed irrelevant to the case. With these conclusive pieces of evidence, she’d stated, the defendant had been charged with both the theft of the Slate and the murder of its owner, Impa Sheikah.

The stolen object was the most central piece of evidence in the prosecution’s case. It had once been a target of my own immense interest, even before its theft. But that had all changed following its recovery. The riddle, though having been solved by means of professional reprogramming, still made little sense to me if any. “Carnation” was its answer, according to Auntie Purah herself. Much to my dismay, the secrets that the riddle had supposedly kept hidden had turned out to be nothing but my own fantasy. Every last piece of data that had once been stored in the Slate had been deleted, meaning the possibility of proving a motive for its theft was next to nonexistent. The only thing left in its memory was a diary entry, written by Auntie Impa the day before her murder. This in itself, however, held the potential to serve as a lead to her killer’s identity, at the very least.

The diary entry, as projected onto the courtroom wall by the Slate, went,

“Today was the first day of Zelda’s holiday visit. It is hard to believe that the last long term visit she paid us was already over a year ago. We have all missed her dearly. She seems as interested in my sister’s work as ever. It brought me joy to see the two of them bonding over their shared passion once again.

“However I must admit, I would still love for her to also spend some quality time with Paya some day soon. I sensed some resentment coming from her directed at my dear granddaughter. Perhaps it is something to do with that boy. Either way, it seems their relationship has hardly changed since she left the nest.

“I cannot say for certain whether anyone will ever be able to read this, but I have faith that Purah will figure it out. I am no good with machines like these, but I believe in her. At any rate, I hope she is the one who gets to read this message, but in the event that it happens to fall into the wrong hands, I will sign off here.”

With this, the prosecution’s argument, though a bit scattered across several different points, seemed sturdy enough so far. That Auntie Impa had seemingly known that her life would be taken the following night after writing her final message, combined with the fact that she’d received no threats from the outside world up until then, was one of the strongest pieces of evidence in our arsenal.

Paya’s defence lawyer, one Revali Twii, had made several attempts to dismantle her argument by claiming she had no possible way of knowing whether or not the victim had received a threat from outside the estate by phone. These attacks were easily deflected. As a foreigner to this city, Mr. Twii had been unaware that, thanks to the Sheikahs’ company, household phones here were all equipped with recording devices. Naturally, Ms. Sigatur had already listened to each recorded call since a month before the murder and had detected no discernible threat in any of them.

And yet in spite of all that, the argument shifted heavily in favour of the defence when it then carried out his cross examination. With how confidently Urbosa had stated her case, I never could’ve imagined how easy it would be for the opposing side to shatter it into countless, tiny pieces.

Mr. Twii’s primary line of questioning was a solid one, to say the least. He concurred with my deduction as presented by Ms. Sigatur that the parlour indeed was not the true scene of the crime. However, he claimed that the real crime scene could not possibly have been the defendant’s bedroom either. His basis for this was the gunshot. Paya’s room was in the same hallway that the sleeping quarters of the current witness, Auntie Purah, as well as myself, were in. Mr. Twii had her testify about the sound of the gunshot that she’d heard. In addition to the fact that it hadn’t seemed loud enough to have come from the very next room over, she’d only heard it once: from the parlour.

No doubt he intended to question me about the same thing when the time came for me to take the stand. I’d been itching to speak my mind and set things straight so badly that I’d had to cross my legs just to keep myself from getting up too soon by the time court was finally adjourned for a half-hour recess.

Now the prosecutor and I were together in a private room reserved for witness prepping. Normally I did just fine testifying on my own, but in this trial, everything was at stake, and I couldn’t seem to stop my heart from racing no matter what I tried. Thankfully I had Urbosa here, and simply talking with her had done much to calm my nerves already.

“You’re originally from out of town too, aren’t you?” I noted, thinking back on her performance.

“That I may be, but unlike that lawyer, I’ve spent enough time here to know of the perils this city is facing, and who’s been holding it together in spite of all that.”

“Right.” My lips rested against the curve of my index as my leg bounced restlessly underneath the table. “That schmuck really doesn’t have a clue, does he?”

“No, not likely. Though he’s quite the formidable opponent, I must say.” She leaned back in her chair, looking pensive, but not the least bit agitated. “My case took quite the beating out there.”

My heart rate was starting to pick up again. “You don’t think you’ll...lose...do you?”

“Who, me? Lose?” She let out a hearty bout of chuckles. “Young lady, are you quite sure you know who you’re speaking to?” I returned her laughter halfheartedly, unable to shake the foreboding feeling lying at the pit of my stomach. Urbosa cleared her throat, preserving her calm smile. “All jokes aside, I wouldn’t worry even if we do end up losing this one. The true criminal is still out there somewhere, and there is no such thing as a perfect crime.”

“I suppose...” Perfect crimes may not have existed, but neither did perfect investigations. If they ruled Paya out as a suspect, then only one other, “safe” option would remain.

“Alright, out with it. What’s on your mind?” Her hand had landed on my shoulder as she’d reached across the desk, over my half empty glass of water. “And why are you so set on getting Paya convicted, if I might ask? Sibling rivalry is one thing, but this is...”

I avoided her perceptive gaze, staring intently at the latch on my bag. What could I possibly tell her? “It’s just,” I stalled, eventually settling for a vague, “I’m running out of time.”

After a long pause, she leaned back, letting go of my arm. “I see. Well, whatever it is, know that I’ll be on your side no matter what, little bird.”

Oh, if only she’d known.

“So to sum up, you were outstandingly negligent in your investigation of the defendant’s bedroom.”

My jaw unhinged at what I’d just heard come out of the attorney’s mouth. I’d just finished giving him an explanation of my findings in as much detail as I could, during which time he’d been surprisingly polite, until now.

“You likely saw the Slate along with the bullet and made your arrest right then and there. You didn’t even stop to consider the possibility that you hadn’t found all there’d been to find in that room, did you?” I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off again. “In fact, I’m willing to bet you didn’t even attempt to look for the murder weapon.”

“Excuse me, Sir,” I retaliated with chest puffed up, “but my team and I searched the property from top to bottom, repeatedly, for two whole weeks, and—”

“Yes, I am well aware. However, you failed to complete a thorough search of this so-called ‘true crime scene’ before you arrested Ms. Sheikah. Do you deny it?”

I was floundering for words. Why bother questioning me if he merely intended to cut me off and answer his own questions? “I-I...”

“Objection.”

All eyes fell upon the prosecution. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

“The defence is harassing the witness, Your Honour.”

The judge gave a slow, considerate nod of his head. “Objection sustained.”

Twii gave Urbosa a subtle but unmistakable side-eye. I thanked her silently. “Speaking of the murder weapon,” he continued in his signature, holier-than-thou tone, “I have here Exhibit F: a list of traits possessed by the elusive firearm responsible for the victim’s life.”

This wasn’t good. The list in question had been compiled by the prosecution based on traits of the fatal wound revealed by the autopsy, as well as other traits shared by the two bullets that were found at the estate. It contained information like its .38 caliber and that it had likely been fired twice at point blank, to name a few examples.

“My question for you, witness, is the following. What did you find during your ‘investigation’ regarding the weapon?”

This was fine, I kept telling myself. He still had yet to present the most fatal piece of evidence in the record. “As I’ve said before, none of our searches turned up any sign of it, other than what’s listed on that piece of paper you’re holding.”

“Is that so?” The sarcasm rooted in his voice had me sweating bullets. “In that case, Ms. Hyrule, I’d like to turn your attention to this passage here at the bottom.”

That was “Inspector Hyrule” to him, but of course, he couldn’t care less for such trifling things as common decency.

But when I read over the passage at which he was pointing, my throat closed up.

“Allow me to read it aloud for the court.” He snobbishly cleared his throat. “And I quote, ‘The murder weapon and the circumstances surrounding it strongly suggest an Octoric M&P revolver,’ end quote. I’d also like to add that this particular model is favoured by the district bureau of police, who issue them out to many of their detectives for self-defence.”

I gritted my teeth, annunciating each word as I spat, “Get to the point.”

The smarmy bastard was hardly even phased by my unmasked hostility. “Now, now, Ms. Hyrule, you’ve no reason to worry,” he waved off. “After all, I have no intention of accusing you.”

When he spoke that last word, my heart stopped, and deep down, I knew it was over.

“Firstly I wish for you to clarify a few things for me, as you were one of the first to discover the scene of the murder when it happened.”

I gave a slow, strenuous nod, losing strength in my knees by the second, but standing my ground all the same. “Go on.”

“The defendant showed no sign of having a gun on or anywhere near her person when you arrived, correct?”

“Correct,” I lied.

“Good. Now that we’ve established that the defendant was unarmed, I’d like to present another piece of evidence.” He laid out flat a second sheet of paper on the stand in front of me. “Exhibit H. This is part of a record kept by the precinct where the witness is currently employed, alongside the rest of her team. It details a list of the firearms given out to detectives each day, as well as the time when each one was issued and when it was returned to custody at the end of its designated officer’s shift.”

And there it was. I’d known all along that it had only been a matter of time until he’d bring out this piece of evidence, but, evidently, I’d failed to prepare myself mentally for this. Perhaps a part of me had hoped not to be on the stand when it happened. All I could do now was hold my peace and pray that it wouldn’t get worse from here.

“This page corresponds with the day before the murder. Now, Ms. Hyrule,” he addressed, summoning a swarm of butterflies in my stomach, “I’m sure you’ll recognize this badge number here. Would you please read it aloud for me?”

I swallowed my nerves and did as he’d requested. “FB7732Z438LL.”

“Thank you.” He flashed me that shit-eating grin of his. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the number belonging to one Constable Link Fyori, the witness’ very own investigative partner.” A few whispers drifted through the gallery following that announcement. “One who reads this will also notice that, after his revolver was issued out to him the morning before the murder, it was never returned to the precinct’s custody thereafter. In fact, it is still missing to this day.”

With this, the whispers grew in number, creating a din of distrust that had the attorney smirking from ear to ear.

“Objection.”

The whispering dissipated. Twii’s shoulders sagged as he hypocritically shot Urbosa a look that said, “What now?”

“Mr. Twii, how is this relevant? Unless you have definitive proof linking Constable Fyori to the crime, I see no point in bringing it up.”

The judge gave a pound of his gavel with a bone-chilling shake of his head. “Overruled. The court will allow the defence to continue, provided that it has good reason.”

My mouth fell open, and so had Urbosa’s.

“Thank you, Your Honour. I was just getting to that, my good prosecutor.” Now even she seemed on edge. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut through with a knife. “I may not have proof as things stand currently. However, that is about to change. You see, I have reason to believe that our witness here is covering for someone.”

The courtroom broke out into an even louder din of murmurs, as if I couldn’t clearly hear each backhanded remark the members of the gallery were making at my expense.

The pounding of the judge’s gavel echoed throughout the room, and the whispering ceased once again.

“You must be mistaken.” I stood as tall as I could with how close my legs were to giving up on me. “I happen to be one of the most trusted detectives in the force. Why do you think I was put in charge of this case despite being one of the first on the scene?”

“Ah, but that, dear witness, was your superiors’ fatal mistake.”

Damn that solicitor. “What do you mean?”

“Although my client has elected not to testify to the court, she has let me in on a certain piece of information—one that I believe will make the jaws of everyone here drop to the floor.”

Surely not. Surely even she wouldn’t dare stoop so low.

“Inspector...” The attorney looked me dead in the eyes. The air was suffocating. “What do you have in your briefcase?”

Everyone was staring at me and murmuring amongst themselves, more raucously than ever before, like I was the one on trial.

“N-No, it’s—it’s not what it seems,” I wavered. Then mustering my shattered courage, “You!” I pointed my finger at Twii. “Prove to me that the defendant wasn’t lying. I demand to see proof!”

But my demands were met with silence. Even Urbosa was looking at me with cold contempt and disappointment.

“Bailiff.”

An officer appeared from the sidelines. He seized my bag.

“Wait, stop!”

I tried to wrest it from his grasp, but he was too strong. I watched helplessly as he opened it up, reaching in and revealing the murder weapon for all to see.

“No...!”

“Bailiff, what is the number engraved on that weapon?”

He seemed to recite the number in slow motion, twisting the knife with every digit. “FB7732Z438LL.”

“No, please!” I screamed. “It wasn’t him, he’s been framed! Please, Your Honour, you have to believe me!”

Amidst the roar of the crowd, I saw the conclusive shake of the judge’s head. With a pound of his gavel, he said, “I hereby order the immediate detainment of Link Fyori under the charge of first degree murder.”

I met eyes with my partner but half a second before I saw him be dragged out of his seat with brute force.

“No!”

“As for this witness, she shall receive her sentence after being questioned by the police for the concealing of evidence, contempt of court, and perjury.”

I cried out when an overwhelming pain shot through my arm. My family watched from the gallery in either horror or disgust, or a mixture of both perhaps. I tried with all my might just to get the bailiff to stop hurting me, but it was futile.

“Your Honour, just a moment please.”

With the judge’s approval, the man’s grip on my arm lightened up. The one who’d spoken had been none other than that wretched defence attorney.

“Inspector, if you don’t mind, I have one more question to ask you.”

I held my breath, bracing myself. Though there wasn’t much he could say at this point that could possibly make the situation worse.

“Why?” he finally asked. “Why did you feel the need to conceal such a critical piece of evidence?”

My entire face boiled over with heat. I looked around, taking in the courtroom’s atmosphere, and my whole being was filled to the brim with indescribable anger and shame. Barely able to swallow the charged whimper lodged at the cusp of my throat, I choked out the words, “No comment.”

The trial had ended while I’d still been in the middle of interrogation by my own peers. I was lucky enough to get off with a fine, but it was because of that hour-and-a-half-long lecture that I only found out about Paya’s “not guilty” verdict after the entire courtroom had been cleared out. This was no surprise to me, of course, but still a disappointment, to put it lightly. What was a surprise was that no one, not Paya, nor Auntie Purah, nor even Urbosa, had bothered to wait for me.

That was fine. They could think whatever they wanted of me. I’d simply have to redeem myself by proving Link’s innocence in his trial.

It was to this end that I made my way to the district’s Centre of Detention.

When Link appeared behind the iron bars of the visitors’ room, he was already sporting a worn and faded prisoner’s uniform, surely having just undergone an interrogation of his own. Though, from the looks of him, his had been considerably more thorough than mine.

I cleared my throat. “Hello, Link.”

“Hello,” he replied.

Deathly silence filled the air. The harsh ticking of the clock on the wall behind me was slowly starting to crawl under my skin.

“They, uhm...didn’t go easy on you, eh?”

He shook his head, eyes wandering without aim.

Why did it have to be so hard to talk to him sometimes? He’d never been so unapproachable back in our days as teenagers. Though now, I supposed, recent events were only making things even more difficult for me than usual.

“Look...” I took a deep breath, shifting in my seat. “I’m sorry. Alright? I couldn’t cover for you forever. They were bound to find out eventually. Please, don’t be upset.”

“What? Zelda...” His demeanour morphed from listless to urgent, almost apologetic, as he struggled to find his voice. “Why would I be upset with you? I never asked you to cover for me in the first place.”

“I know.” Now it was I who couldn’t bring myself to look him in the eyes. “I just knew that you couldn’t have possibly... I mean, you would never—”

“I didn’t.”

He’d caught me with my mouth hanging open, when he’d cut me off.

“I didn’t kill her. I promise you.”

Of course he hadn’t. It was obvious, even though the revolver had borne no fingerprints and, with the gloves that he always wore, he wouldn’t have left any. What motive could he have had? He was an amnesiac, and even if he hadn’t been, he still wouldn’t have had a reason to kill my godmother.

I took out my pen and notebook, the only things left in my case that hadn’t been confiscated. “Tell me what you know, Link. Everything.”

A beat. Then he straightened his posture and began to explain his side of the story. As it turned out, my intuition had been spot on. This whole mess was the design of the Yiga organization. Link told me about his encounter with them before the murder. They had blackmailed him into surrendering his revolver to them, after which he would never see it again.

Though, even without a hint of deceit in his tone or manner, I had questions about the means by which the Yiga had blackmailed him. He had virtually nothing to lose. Didn’t he?

In any case, I honestly had considered showing him the gun that I’d found on the scene that night, but somehow I’d had the distinct impression that he’d known nothing about it, despite the very object in question belonging to him. I’d thought perhaps someone from the organization had switched out his weapon for another without his noticing. It was no secret that even the police bureau was infested with their ilk. In the end, I hadn’t been far off the mark.

The whole time he spoke, he had his head lowered, hair falling in front of his eyes, as if something were holding them back from meeting mine. Then he muttered, “When I had my encounter with the organization, I...remembered.”

His limited annunciation meant I had to take a moment to decipher the syllables of the last word he’d uttered. Then they sank in. “Wait. What? You mean you...” It felt beyond strange to even speak the words after so long. “You got your memory back?”

He lowered his head further. Was that a nod?

My mind went back to what he’d said to me on that one occasion in the office, not long after this whole mess had first begun. “Link, you...” My hands curled into themselves around the strap of my satchel. “All this time...why didn’t you tell me?”

“I couldn’t,” he pleaded. “It would’ve been a hindrance to the investigation.” I hated to admit it, but he was right. Dropping that bomb on me would only have thrown my conscience deeper into its already tangled web of turmoil.

Amidst all the questions swirling in my mind, one suddenly appeared, eclipsing all the rest. “Why did you disappear back then?”

At this, he finally looked up and met my gaze. But when he did, his eyes were wide, almost trembling. His look seemed to cast the whole room into a great, looming darkness.

“Oh, it’s...it’s okay if you’d prefer not to talk about—”

“No,” he exclaimed. “I must.” But the way his shoulders came up to meet his ears and how rapidly his chest rose and fell told me it wasn’t going to be an easy story to tell. “It was the Yi—” He choked on his words. “The...organization.”

There it was again. The name of the group I’d been chasing without rest ever since their appearance eighteen years prior. “I knew it...” I mumbled without thinking.

He steeled himself, then continued. “That day, my father was picking me and my sister up after school. Normally we would’ve ridden home with him in his automobile, but that morning, he and I had planned to surprise Aryll by getting...I think it was ice cream, on our way back. Anyway, we decided to walk home that day. But...” His face darkened yet again. “But then...”

Pressing him for more details would have been beyond cruel. I could only imagine the horrors that those blackguards had put him and his family through. “How many of them were there?”

“I’m not sure. All I know is that they had us outnumbered.” I nodded along, without thinking, as he continued his tale. “They were all armed with what looked like military grade shotguns, and they wore those masks with the inverted Sheikah family crest... I’ve always known that I’d seen that image somewhere before.”

No one knew why the organization had chosen this symbol for themselves, though I personally suspected it to be a show of opposition.

“Anyway, after they sh...shot father,” he struggled, a hand coming up to his now quavering lips, “they must’ve felt threatened by Aryll and me, because the next thing they did was...shoot her, too.” The way his tone had started to oscillate and how his face had drained itself of colour made my stomach churn. His anguish was so clear, it was devastating. “One of them had said something to the ends of, ‘We can’t have you scamps telling on us.’ But before they could...’shut me up’ as well, I fled.” Another pause. He kept on breathing. “I was too terrified to notice which way I was going. The whole time I ran, they kept firing at me. They were too reckless to aim properly, though, mind.”

“Well...that’s lucky, at least,” I tried. This was met with a sigh of reluctant agreement. “Still, how did you make it out of that with your life?”

“They stopped chasing me when I made it out of the back alleys and into the open,” he explained. “I suppose they couldn’t risk revealing themselves.”

Now it all made sense. Seven years ago, when he’d vanished without a trace, it was as though he’d never even existed in the first place. No one could get in contact with him or his family, and yet, no one batted an eye about it. It had seemed I’d been the only one who’d thought of it as anything less than perfectly normal. Just like when my mother had lost her life.

“We never had the chance to get ice cream that day.” He looked all but ready to burst into tears with that sentence. That was the moment I realized, no matter how drastically the last seven years of hell had changed him, there was still a fragment of that playful, hollow-legged sixteen-year-old left deep in his dark, forgotten core. If there was a way to bring that bright-eyed child back out into the light, I would find it, even if it spelled my demise.

Even so, there was one thing left that had yet to be explained. “What about your amnesia?”

“Ah...” His brow furrowed in thought. “I don’t know what caused that, to be honest with you.” He seemed to be racking his mind, but to no avail. “By the time those thugs finally gave up, I didn’t recognize my surroundings. I remember trying to find my way home, but I suppose I just ended up getting myself even more lost from there.” It was no wonder. The street names in this town were of little help in navigation, and it wasn’t hard to understand why he might have been apprehensive to ask for directions in such a bustling and hostile environment, especially after what he’d just been subjected to. “So I fell asleep in the streets that night,” he concluded with a shivering exhale. “The next morning, I woke up without the slightest notion of who I was.”

My heart took a plunge at the thought of his young self curled up in some alleyway, like a baby bird who’d fallen from the nest. “It must have been some sort of mental defence mechanism,” I conjectured. “That’s the only explanation I can come up with.” He slowly nodded his agreement. “After that, then, I suppose the rest is history.”

“Indeed...”

The visitors’ room fell into a deep, reflective silence, one nothing like that which had had me gasping for air moments ago. I watched the weary feelings of dread swim in his once bright blue eyes, tearing him apart.

He’d spent five whole years in that cold, cramped ward without even a name by which to call himself. And now we were back where we’d started. He may have regained his memories in the end, but at what cost?

I no longer felt the need to hunt down those who had wronged me. Now, my only desire was to slip between the bars that stood between the two of us and whisk him away to a far off land, where no one would ever hurt us again. But I pushed the impossible daydream aside. Even if escape were an option, we’d only be running straight out into range of Yiga fire.

“After your trial tomorrow...well, at the very least, I’ll lose my badge,” I smiled waywardly. Then, letting it fade and rolling my shoulders back, “Until then, I swear, I’ll do everything within my power to prove your innocence. Then we can go out for ice cream together.”

His eyes shimmered with unshed tears when he looked up at me then. Now that I thought about it, this seemed like the first time I’d ever seen him come close to crying, even in the time before the incident. Of course, he’d seen me in tears countless times back then. I wondered if he remembered them.

“Zelda...?” My name had started to leave his lips with conviction, but weakened on its way out. “There’s...something else I should tell you.”

“Anything.”

Just then, I caught him straightening out the cuff of his black-barred sleeve, concealing the fair skin of his wrist, out of the corner of my eye. “Never mind.” He again cast his gaze downwards, muttering an inaudible, “It’s nothing,” under his breath.

[august-anon]

Dance if You Can

This is based off a headcanon/bullet fic I did in the discord a few months ago that Pineapple prompted. Hope y’all like it!

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Ship(s): romo Prinxiety

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Virgil/Ler!Roman, brief Ler!Virgil/Lee!Roman

Word Count: 2973 words

Summary: Roman held the unofficial title of “Best Dancer” whenever their friend group played Just Dance. Virgil, the new addition, was about to show him how it’s done, but Roman was nothing if not competitive.

[ao3 link]

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

In the end, it was Patton’s idea.

While he, Roman, and Logan had been friends for what felt like forever, Virgil was a very new addition to their little group of friends. They all wanted to make him feel welcome (and Roman may have had other motives to do so, as well, but he wasn’t going to admit it), and thus Patton suggested a sleepover to really make him feel like his place in the group was solidified.

Logan, knowing his house was usually the favorite for such get-togethers, asked his parents and, as always, received a resounding “yes” (they loved Logan’s friends and the fact that Logan had friends). They shipped all of Logan’s siblings off to their own sleepovers for the weekend and told the boys to be as loud as they wanted, and that they wouldn’t be interfering unless they were needed.

Yeah, Roman thought, Logan’s parents tried a little too hard to be cool, but he loved them to pieces, and he had no anxiety over whether or not they loved him back (or Patton, or their own son).

But the reason Logan’s house was the favorite was the video games.

Logan grew up in a family of gamers. His father was a huge gamer even before he and Logan’s mom had kids, and he must’ve just passed the gaming gene down to then. The family owned every gaming system Roman could even hope for, and more (seriously, who even had a gamecube, anymore? Roman had forgotten they even existed) and every game they could want for any one of them.

But the sleepover was in full swing and Virgil was starting to adjust to the setting, so Roman decided it was time to show off a little and declared a dance battle.

Logan rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but he set it up anyway. He slid the Just Dance disk into the old, wheezing Xbox 360, because he knew Roman preferred the Kinect version as opposed to having to hold a remote.

They all take turns competing against each other, making fools of themselves and laughing at their pitiful scores. Well, everyone except Roman and Virgil. Roman’s scores were absolutely killing it, and he was entirely not shy about showing off. Meanwhile, Virgil seemed to be content just laughing at them instead of participating.

Well, that just wouldn’t do. Luckily, Roman had a solution.

The thing about Virgil and his budding friendship (and Roman’s budding totally-not-a-crush) was that they were very good at riling each other up. Whether it be play arguments, convincing one or the other to do a dare, or pushing a challenge that the other was too competitive to say no to, they always managed to get under each other’s skin in just the perfect way.

And one playful and teasing argument led to another thing, and suddenly Virgil was standing from the sofa and tossing off his hoodie (his hoodie! He had never taken it off in front of them! Roman had assumed it was a comfort thing and hadn’t pushed, but now he had a body shape and oh no, as if he wasn’t already smitten enough--) so that he can finally dance-battle Roman.

And Roman goes into the battle cocky and smirking. Patton and Logan had never been able to beat him at dance games, no matter what system it was. He was the declared dance champ of their little group.

But Virgil was good.

He was matching Roman move for move, eyes locked on the screen intently. Roman’s competitive nature finally got him to stop being distracted by the sight of Virgil dancing next to him without his hoodie, but even then, he couldn’t beat him. In fact, as Virgil started to pick up the nuances of the game more and more, he actually beat Roman.

There was silence.

“Woah…” Patton whispered.

Roman whirled and pointed an accusing finger into Virgil’s chest. “Absolutely not! It was a fluke, I was going easy on you for your first time playing. I demand a rematch!”

Virgil smirked at him. “Do I smell a sore loser?”

“No! Just -- get into your section!”

Virgil didn’t seem convinced, but he did as Roman commanded. And they danced to another song, Roman putting his all into it, but Virgil was still beating him! And Roman hated to admit it, but he was a little frustrated about that fact.

He didn’t mean to be a sore loser! He just wanted to show off, impress Virgil. Maybe tease him a little (kindly, playfully, maybe slightly flirtatiously) about being the better dancer, but now Virgil was using Roman’s own game against him!

After their third dance, Roman stepped back, panting and maybe sweating a little. Virgil. Infuriatingly, only seemed a little out of breath.

“You haven’t won,” Roman added, once again pointing his accusing finger, “I just need a minute.” He turned to the sofa behind them. “Logan! Fight in my stead! Weaken the enemy!”

Logan stood with a sigh as Patton giggled, probably both knowing Roman wouldn’t let up until he listened. “Why don’t we just combine all our scores against Virgil’s combined scores?” He suggested.

Patton immediately nodded and Virgil shrugged. Roman thought about it for a moment. It was 1am, and they were all pretty wiped from school and the unexpected workout of Just Dance. So Roman agreed. Three against one was hardly fair, but he wanted to win, dangit!

So he stepped back and let Logan take a dance. Logan, as always, wasn’t amazing, but he did well enough to not fail. His movements were robotic and somewhat uncomfortable, seeing as the nerd didn’t really dance otherwise, but he did better than Patton.

Then Patton took a turn against the new rising champion. He, as always, did abysmally, but none of them ever minded. He was more in it for the fun of the game, rather than the competition, and would often purposefully mess up the move to make them all laugh and let loose, seeing as Logan was often one to get lost in the competition as well. His score barely made a dent in their efforts to beat Virgil, but no one really minded when he smiled that smile at them.

And then it was Roman’s turn, again. His scores were up to their usual best again, now that he’d taken a breather and cooled off, but Virgil’s scores were still beating his, by an unfairly large margin. In his frustration, Roman slipped out of his own area a little on accident and, on one of the more dramatic moves, accidentally slipped his hand against Virgil’s upper ribs/armpit area.

Virgil flinched away and Roman heard a quick intake of breath. Then, Virgil quickly readjusted himself and continued beating Roman at this stupid dancing game. It didn’t matter, though. Roman had his plan, now.

It was easy for Roman to recognize that reaction for what it was. He had siblings, Patton and Logan had siblings that were basically siblings to him, and Patton and Logan themselves were like brothers to Roman. None of them were strangers to tickle fights.

Roman fought down a smirk. Just yet another thing their little group would introduce him to, tonight.

It was Logan’s turn again, next, and Roman sat back for a few minutes before enacting his plan. He waited until the first chorus to strike, waiting until a dance move where their arms are high in the air. He quickly spidered his fingers up Virgil’s ribs and into his armpits.

Virgil squealed and messed up, jerking his arms down a couple beats too soon and not completing the move. He lost a few points, and he turned to glare at Roman as best he could while still dancing, keeping the moves in his peripheral so he could copy them.

“What?” Roman asked, far too innocently. “I’m just making the competition a little more interesting. Surely a little tickling won’t make you lose, will it?”

And Roman couldn’t quite tell through dimmed lights of the gaming room, but he could’ve sworn Virgil went a little pink in the face, at that. He turned back to the TV screen too fast for Roman to fully tell.

“Just adding a little challenge, Virge.” Roman practically purred in his ear.

Now that did it. Virgil was just as competitive as Roman and Logan were. Just like how Roman had gotten him to agree to the dance battle in the first place, Roman had roped him into another challenge easily.

Roman dismissed the thought that he could probably be challenged into things like this just as easily, as well.

“Please,” Virgil scoffed, somehow even still keeping up with the moves on screen. “Like a little t-ti-tickling is gonna make me lose, Princey.”

Roman grinned. His plan had worked perfectly so far. Now all he had to do was tickle Virgil bad enough for him to lose.

“Oh? You don’t mind, then?” Roman asked.

Virgil didn’t reply, he just kept on dancing. But even through the lighting, though, Roman could tell that those pale ears had gone bright red. Roman kept his place behind Virgil and moved with him to the dances (because it would be cheating to physically impede him with something other than tickling, and Roman wanted to win fairly.. Well, as fairly as he could, now).

Roman resumed his spidering, this time on Virgil’s ribs and sides, while moving to the dance with him. Virgil’s shoulders shook a little with suppressed laughter, but he still kept up with the dance pretty well. Unfairly well. Aside from little jerks and squirms that weren’t really exaggerated enough to affect his score, Virgil had no issues keeping up.

Roman moved down to his legs briefly in hopes of breaking him, squeezing his thighs and kneecaps. He even skittered his nails and fingers at the backs of Virgil’s knees, or, at least, as well as he could with Virgil’s skinny jeans in the way (which, Virgil still had quite the reaction even then, which Roman would have to experiment more with when those knees weren’t protected).

Virgil’s giggles came deep from his chest, barely audible over the game, and he was still trying his best to hold them in by pressing his lips together tightly. But he also almost kicked Roman multiple times, and almost toppled over, so Roman decided the legs were a little dangerous for now and moved back up.

Before he could start on Virgil’s upper body again, Logan’s dance finished and it was Patton’s turn to step up once more. Virgil was panting the whole time, as they switched spots and began to look for their next song. Roman’s not so cruel as to not give him a break between dances. 

Since the new challenge started, Logan and Patton hadn’t said anything about it. That didn’t mean they weren’t clearly paying attention, though, shooting each other and Roman sly looks over the whole thing. Roman, frankly, was just happy they weren’t doing it where Virgil could see and decipher them.

He also kind of wanted to tell them to mind their own business, leave Roman’s weird flirting ritual alone, but there was no way he was saying that in front of Virgil. He didn’t want Virgil to know he was flirting, or know that Roman liked him. So Roman didn’t say anything. He just sent them both scathing glares before the next song started up.

And then the music started and Roman dove right in without warning or build-up. He squeezed up and down Virgil’s sides, then switched to kneading at his hips, then back to his sides and repeated the pattern. Virgil must have been pretty caught off-guard by the sudden attack, because he burst into loud laughter. But he still kept dancing.

Granted, his movements were far less smooth than before, and his laughter was starting to mess up some of his motions. He still did pretty well at not squirming, though, or stopping his dance to grab at Roman’s hands and defend himself.

But Roman was determined to win this, fair or not, now.

He reached around Virgil and claws into his stomach with both hands. Based on the way Virgil cried out and stumbled backward into Roman’s chest before catching himself and continuing trying to dance, Roman was pretty certain this was Virgil’s worst spot.

His laughter was the loudest sound any of them had ever heard Virgil make, and he was barely able to keep his eyes on the screen anymore. His dancing was, while nowhere near as bad as Patton, truly beginning to get terrible, now, and he was losing points fast. 

Roman glanced up and realized with a pout that the song was coming to an end. He figured he might as well go out with a bang, whether or not he managed to win, even if he had no clue if this little trick he was about to pull would work.

Roman stuck a finger deep into Virgil’s bellybutton and scratched at the inner walls, wiggling deep into the little divot. Virgil actually screamed before falling into hysterical cackling and going completely limp as the song ended.

Roman, for his part, was not expecting Virgil to suddenly ragdoll. With him being unprepared to catch the extra weight, Virgil managed to drag them both to the ground, where they landed in a giggly heap of tangled limbs (giggles courtesy of Virgil).

And then they looked up and--

Virgil’s terrible score from that last round still managed to beat Patton’s.

A series of offended noises escaped from Roman’s vocal chords, and Virgil’s residual giggles turned into victorious laughter as he watched the screen flash in front of them. He started poking at Roman’s sides with a smug, open grin.

“I still won!” He all but crowed. “I still won, and you all lost! Take that, Roman!”

Roman jerked away from each ticklish little poke and he couldn’t stop himself from blushing. Virgil was tangled up with him, practically on top of him, and he was happy and flustered and yet he felt kind of like a sore loser at the same time.

So to save face, Roman growled, “I’ll show you… taking that!”

Virgil started to laugh at Roman’s terrible comeback, and he started to make some sassy comment about how it didn’t make sense, but Roman didn’t let him get that far. He shoved Virgil’s shirt up and blew raspberry after raspberry around Virgil’s sides and against his stomach.

Virgil was shrieking and cackling and yelling, trying desperately to escape the little knot they got themselves into, but Roman wasn’t letting him get away that easily. He tightly wrapped all his limbs around Virgil so there was no hope of escape.

(Unbeknownst to them, all other sound lost to Virgil’s shrieking cackles, Logan sighed heavily. He shared a knowing half-smile with Patton as they made their way out of the room to give the two pining idiots some privacy and went off to get ready for bed.)

Eventually, Virgil managed to get a hand free. He shoved it up under Roman’s arm before Roman had a chance to defend himself.

The raspberries stopped suddenly as Roman broke into shrieking cackles and tried to wrench himself away on instinct, leaving them both lying on the floor a few feet away from each other.

Virgil was panting and still giggling, but he gave Roman a true grin and said, “You’re an idiot, Roman Prince.”

Roman tried to put on a suave face and rolled back over toward Virgil, planting a hand on either side of his head against the floor to loom over him. “You have an adorable laugh,” he murmured.

Roman could just barely make out Virgil’s blush through the low light, but he relished in it. He leaned in close to whisper in Virgil’s ear.

“And don’t think I didn’t notice that you never protested or said ‘no,’” he purred.

Roman could feel Virgil’s face flaming against his own and smirked victoriously. He pulled back somewhat to let Virgil see.

“Oh yeah?” Virgil muttered, and shoved both hands up under Roman’s armpits without warning.

Roman’s arms immediately gave out from under him as they instinctively drew in to protect himself and he collapsed forward onto Virgil’s chest. Virgil used that to his advantage and wrapped himself around Roman like an octopus, trapping him in a tight hug and wrapping his legs around him to hold him still.

He blew raspberries on Roman’s neck, squeezed and scratched at his sides, forced his fingers past Roman’s arms and back into his armpits (clearly having figured out Roman’s worst spot rather quickly). And then he let Roman go. Roman stayed draped across Virgil’s chest, panting and still giggling, relaxed now that he was all tickled out.

“You never said ‘no,’ either,” Virgil whispered smugly.

Roman tried to quell his embarrassment, play it off by muttering, “Guess we match,” into Virgil’s shirt.

And then, Roman wasn’t entirely certain who started it, they were kissing, right there on the floor of the gaming room in Logan’s house.

And when they pulled back, Virgil gave him a teasing grin. “You sure have a real weird way of flirting, Ro.”

Roman sputtered for a moment, but he was smiling, too. “Shut up,” he eventually managed, “or I’ll tickle you again.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Maybe another time, I want to go to sleep.”

Roman leaned in, his grin taking on a mischievous edge. “Another time, huh?”

Virgil blushed again and shoved his face away, but he was chuckling along with Roman.

They pulled each other up and got ready for bed, joining the others in Logan’s room and cuddling until they fell asleep. And if someone wound up waking someone else with tickles… well, that was nobody’s business but their own.

[jessikahathaway]

Under the Covers

DON’T OWN THE PHOTO!

Pairing: Kim Taehyung X Reader

Genre: Romance, Spy!AU, Action

Warnings: Graphic depictions of sexual intercourse (Drunk), guns and violence, birth (not too graphic), Character Death, Blood (Not really any gore). If I forgot anything please let me know!

Words: 23.4k 

Sorry I have been absent but please enjoy this spy!AU that’s been in my WIP forever and a half. Love you guys! ~ Jess

The day had been dull, hours ticking by slowly mocking you. You’d recently been put on probation because of irrational thinking out in the field... So, now you were working in the boring section of the office, filing papers and trying to be on your best behavior. 

It wasn’t your fault! 

Your partner was being a damn coward and wasn’t willing to take the shot! You had to or the damn criminal was going to get away with everything... You didn’t mean for an innocent to get caught in the crossfire.

Accidents happen, variables get scewed and people get hurt. But how many more would’ve been at risk if you hadn’t done what you did? At the end of the day somebody has to take the burden, and if it had to be you then so be it.

Although, being forced to live this life day to day was incredibly mundane... How did the office agents do it? Did they enjoy the monotone, unlively plane they were existing in? You were having a hard time believing that. Life was so short, why play it safe when you could lay everything on the line. Risk it all. 

You were a field agent from the International Espionage Agency, stationed in Seoul, South Korea at the moment. This is where you were receiving your punishment. The Seoul office was one of the calmest ones in the entire Agency. Some thought it was due to lack of talent, others thought it was due to the sheer drop in crime rates since the Agency was founded there. There was nothing to do, no one to fight. And not nearly enough booze.

A sweet desk assistant, Lisa, you think her name was, approached you. “Ma’am? Director Jin wishes to speak with you, if you’d follow me please?” she requested. You jumped at the chance for a change in scenery and followed behind her quickly. 

The clacking of keyboard keys resounded in your brain as you and Lisa meandered through the desks and identical office cubicles. People whose eyes were glued to their screens as if it were their last breath. You shuddered to think if this were to be the rest of your life. Had your blunder been that bad?

Lisa finally led you to a deep mahogany door that stood taller than you deemed necessary. However, interior decorating had never been your strong suit. She knocked softly, a deep come in followed. “Please enter,” she announced, opening the door for you. Awkwardly, you nodded your head before dipping inside of the room. The center of attention had never been your place. Much preferring to stick to the edge of walls and ducking behind counters and desks as bullets flew past your head was where you longed to be. 

The door shutting behind you made you jump slightly, before you stood face to desk with Kim Jin, Director of the Seoul Espionage Agency. 

“Sir,” you said, bowing in respect.

“Please, sit,” he offered, doing so himself. You moved to comply and seated yourself in the plush seat provided. Jin cleared his throat before pulling open a file.

“Sir, if I may be so bold, under what circumstances am I here?” you questioned, trying to look at the folder in his hands. 

A sharp clap echoed through the room that made your skin crawl in nerves. “You were sent here for punishment, am I correct in this statement?” he asked, already aware of the answer. 

“Yes, Sir,” you confirmed. 

“And why did you receive punishment?” he quizzed again, sounding like a school teacher scolding a disobedient child. 

“Because of poor thinking in the field as well as doing harm to an innocent,” you answered back. 

“Correct,” he doted. You tried to keep your grimace in check, although it was getting harder by the second. “So, after all of that. Do you feel that you have received a fair punishment? Being sent to, “the most uncharacteristically dull” agency?” he said, finally lifting his eyes to yours. His glare was so dark you couldn’t keep eye contact any longer.

“Sir, I-”

“No bullshit excuses D3!” he growled, using your rank against you. Designated 3rd rank was your official title given by the agency. Field operative in the highest order. You were surprised you hadn’t been demoted. “I don’t know why your main office sent you to me, but ever since you got here you’ve been nothing but an eyesore in my office,” Jin stated.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” you offered lamely.

“If you were sorry then you’d actually do the work assigned to you. How many reports have you blown off or given to my other office workers, because you ‘don’t have the time’ for it? As I see it, you have plenty of time to fuck around on your phone or go out drinking in the afternoon? If you’re here on punishment, why are you acting as if you’re on a vacation?” he said, throwing pictures of your reckless behavior in your face. 

“I had to take that shot!” you defended. “If I hadn’t then the biggest drug lord in the Western Hemisphere would’ve walked right out of that damn store! I couldn’t let that chance go!” 

“You didn’t have to go through an innocent woman to get to him,” Jin growled dangerously. “You’re ten times smarter than that, I know you are. All of your testing shows me you knew better than that. You took the easy shot, not the best one,” he accused. 

“Where else was I supposed to shoot? Through my fucking knees? Sir, if there was another way I assure you that I would’ve found it!” 

“The door frame,” he stated. “It’s made out of a steel and titanium reinforced support system. It could’ve ricoheted and hit the target in the eye. No innocents harmed,” he stated, holding up the store blueprints you’d seen hundreds of times before that night. 

Fuck...

He was right. 

“What do you want me to do Sir? I can’t make it right, so what’s the point in rubbing my nose in it now?” you questioned, staring at the papers before you.

“I’m going a little off the rule book for you, considering how you are a special case indeed,” he stated. “Taehyung, you can come in now,” Jin announced.

The large doors opened to reveal a taller male, lithe frame and bronzed skin gracing him. His hair was a soft brown, gently billowing against the breeze the door created. You looked to him then back to Director Jin.

“Who is this, Sir?” you asked, peaking at the man he called Taehyung. 

“This, Y/N, is my best field agent Kim Taehyung,” Jin stated proudly.

“Pleased to meet you,” he said, giving a small bow before lifting his gaze to Jin. “Hyung,” he greeted. 

“Sir, what does he have to do with me?” you questioned. 

“Listen,” he growled in a warning. You shrunk back into your seat before nodding. “You and Taehyung are to be partners in a new mission,” Jin explained. You couldn’t help the excitement that flooded through you. Finally, out of this fucking office and into the field again!

Jin must’ve noticed your excitement. “However, Taehyung will be taking the lead on this mission. You are to follow his orders to the letter, am I understood?” 

“Sir-” 

“Am I understood?” he asked darkly. You nodded numbly, not wanting to get into any further shit. “Good, Taehyung has already been briefed on this assignment. But a refresher won’t hurt you. Taehyung-ah,” Jin stated. Taehyung nodded in understanding and sat down in the chair next to you. 

You examined him closer and you were slightly stunned. He was rather beautiful to behold. His skin was smooth and seemed to glow in the sunlight. His hair appeared soft to the touch. Although he wore the signature D3 smirk. He knew he was better than you, and he planned on rubbing that in the whole time you two were partners. This was turning out to be more of a punishment than you originally believed.

“Are you aware of this man?” Jin questioned, setting a picture down on the desk in front of you. 

“Of course,” you stated. “That’s Zhao Feng Tong, White Snake of Chinese politics... But what does that have to do with our assignment?” you questioned. 

“Feng has been getting his mutts to attack Korean Intelligence forces. As well as some state side. The IEA requested that I assign my best man in taking him down. However, we are in need of cover. Your specialty is undercover work, is it not?” he asked, directing the question to you.

“Yes, Sir,” you responded. 

“Perfect, you see that is the only place my best man lacks. He has no cover. So, you are to become Taehyung’s cover,” Jin explained. You quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

“Excuse me, Sir, but how am I to do that?”

“Patience is a virtue, one you’re lacking my dear,” you silenced yourself yet again. “As I was saying, you are to be Taehyung’s cover. Feng has his claws deep within the local government of a small town out in the country. You and Taehyung are to be a newlywed couple that are just moving to the town in hopes of starting a family. Feng is known to come during election time, once he’s there you are to eliminate him. These people are very wary of newcomers. I expect you to play your role perfectly, Miss Y/N,” Jin stated. “Otherwise you will be released from the International Espionage Agency permanently.”

Married? To Kim Taehyung?

Oh fuck.

---

You woke the following week with a wedding ceremony to attend. Pictures and things of the like were necessary in order for the new home to be believable. Stories, memories things all newlywed couples had a plethora of.

Taehyung, however, seemed less than enthused. 

Something you’d learned quickly in the time you’d spend with Taehyung was that he didn’t play nicely with others. It was a common theme among D3’s, not enjoying partnership and just wanting to get the job done alone. However, this time your livelihood was resting on you performing well. And like fuck you were going to let that happen. 

You walked into Jin’s office that morning to be greeted by a very bored looking Taehyung. He was looking at his phone and Jin was typing on his computer. You cleared your throat to announce your arrival. Jin looked up and nodded at your arrival, Taehyung remained focused elsewhere.

“There’s the blushing bride, has Lisa contacted you about the photography and the shoots?” Jin asked, you nodded obediently, not wanting to get in trouble before your assignment had even started. 

“Yes, a car is waiting for Taehyung and I out in the lot. We’re going to get our wedding and engagement photos done today. As well as anything else you can think of that couples have,” you declared. Jin nodded in approval then clicked his tongue at Taehyung. 

“Tae, I expect you to be on your best behavior for Miss Y/N, this is her area of expertise. Play nice,” he warned. Taehyung nodded and stood up, placing his phone in his pocket. 

“Come on then, let’s get married.”

---

The day passed uneventfully, as did the following weeks. You’d been put through so many outfits and fake smiles that everything was simply exhausting. However, the real work was yet to begin. You were packing your clothes up. Some of them are worn in photo shoots to prevent suspicion. 

Your phone was removed and a new one took its place. Photos of you and Taehyung as well as simplistic snapshots every girl had on her phone. You were assuming Taehyung had been given a similar set up. 

Tomorrow, you were to move across the country with this man and live as his new wife, until election time... Which was almost four months away. Of course Feng would be around the town doing campaigning and things of the like, however, that wouldn’t be the time to strike. You’d have to be patient this time. Think things through. 

You can’t slip up again. Looking through the photos on your new device you found one of Taehyung that you had taken in the park where you were getting your wedding photos done. He’d found a wildflower that had peaked his interest for the time being and was admiring it. You took the opportunity to capture the moment, one where he wasn’t ignoring you or putting you down for negligence. He was simply existing in nature.

You made it your screensaver and shut the device off for the night. Turning your head to your nightstand you saw the glittering jewels of your wedding and engagement rings. The delicate silver and diamonds wove around simplistically. Nothing too extravagant, but enough to show you were spoken for. Taehyung also had a similar ring, just a touch understated. 

Images of the prior weeks of preparation made your stomach clench in nerves. You hadn’t been part of such a big operation that relied heavily on your trademarked skill in years. Would you still have what it took? Could Taehyung rely on you as Jin said he could?

These doubts were misplaced of course. You were you. An Designated 3rd Ranked Officer of the International Espionage Agency.

And you weren’t going to fail again.

---

The morning sun blazed in your eyes as you and Taehyung drove through the countryside in silence. Your ring glittered in the sunlight as the roads wound on and became more treacherous. Taehyung had picked you up early, before the birds had even begun to sing, and definitely before you were willing to wake up. 

“Get up, we leave in ten minutes,” he said, throwing your pillow on the ground. You heard his footsteps receding into your living room. No doubt to collect the boxes you had placed there the night before. 

Taehyung was hard to get along with. A gruff exterior made it difficult to approach him and he held an air of superiority that was hard to breathe in. All in all, Taehyung really irritated you. 

He held your freedom over you like a stick and was quick to put you in your place. Sometimes more than necessary. During your wedding shoot, he’d pointed out that if his bride ever wore the dress you were wearing he’d leave them at the altar. That stung a bit seeing as how you had felt rather confident in the dress up until that point. 

The photos following his comment were unusable. 

For a top operative, he was a massive dick. 

Although, for the moment, he was silent. Focused on the road and not on you, which was preferable. 

Until he opened his Goddamn mouth. “I’m killing Feng,” he declared as he rounded a sharp corner. 

“I’m aware,” you sighed, looking out the window. 

“I don’t see why we have to go through this ridiculous game,” Taehyung said, looking at his ring with contempt. 

“Feng is a creature of caution. He’ll be on high alert during election season... We need to infiltrate now and make our presence less interesting than if we moved in a week before the election. We need patience,” you explained. 

“You’re one to talk about patience,” he sneered. You bit your lip harshly, not wanting to get into it with him right now. 

However, one prod can be too many. 

“I heard she died.”

Dead silent. 

“Pull over,” you breathed. 

“What?” he asked, straining to hear you. 

“I said pull the fucking car over!” you screamed. Taehyung jumped in his seat before doing as you asked. Before the moving truck had even come to a complete stop you opened the door and got out, stumbling slightly on the uneven ground. 

“Come on, are you really going to pitch a fit right now?” Taehyung asked, getting out of the driver’s seat to follow you.

“I don’t give a damn if they fire me, working with you is next to impossible. I didn’t know someone could be so egotistical and rude until I met you,” you growled, stomping down the road. 

“Where are you going? We’re miles from the nearest town,” Taehyung stated, standing with his arms crossed. 

“Perfect, maybe I’ll die out here and it’ll save Jin the trouble,” you glowered, walking closer to the guard rail of the road. The crunching gravel behind you signalled Taehyung’s approach. 

“Knock it off, we’ve got a job to do and I’m not leaving till it’s finished,” he said, grabbing your wrist. You turned quickly and faced him, cheeks red in anger.

“Then do it without me, you’re the one who said you could do this yourself. Money where your mouth is time, prove it.”

With that you yanked your wrist from his hands and kept moving down the road. “Jesus fuck you get on my nerves. Jin will be pissed if I show up to that house by myself. Come on Miss Undercover, get your ass back in the truck,” Taehyung stated. 

“No, Taehyung. I will not be getting my ass back in the truck, you can forget it!”

“Fine, you know what? Fine. I give up, you stuck up bitch. Walk to the next town for all I care,” he growled, heading back towards the truck.

“You are such an asshole!” you screamed, turning to start walking in the opposite direction...

When you slipped.

The gravel beneath your feet gave way as you began sliding underneath the guardrail. You were high in the mountains during this portion of the trip, and the roads weren’t well taken care of. 

Gravel ingrained new lacerations on your delicate flesh as you tried desperately to save yourself from the fall. Your calves were sticky with hot blood and dirt was clinging to the open wounds like a bacterial infested beauty.

Quickly, you latched onto the metal of the guardrail and attempted to pull yourself up. However, your wrist burned in the effort, scratched up due to your fall. The hot, sticky sensation of blood running down your arm made your hands slippery.

“Taehyung!” you screamed, hanging off of the weakened metal in fear. 

There was no response. Blood was pounding in your ears at the thought of death so close. You’d never feared it until now... Because now it was a possibility. 

“Taehyung, please!”

“Y/N?” Taehyung’s voice echoed in mild concern.

“Help me!”

The sound of dirt crunching at the approach of Taehyung’s footsteps sent relief through your veins. Taehyung’s face appeared before you as he wrapped his arms around your elbows and hauled you up onto the road. You were trembling in fear and exhaustion and Taehyung fell backwards, you on his chest. 

You hadn’t realized it before... But you were crying. 

“Fuck, your arm,” he said, sitting up. “Looks to be superficial, I think if we just-”

A loud sob broke through Taehyung’s sentence. His eyes went from your arm to your face as fat tears rolled down your cheeks. Suddenly you were crying loudly like a child, unable to stop. All the frustration and pent up emotions of the past months coming forward in the form of water flooding your eyes. 

Taehyung watched in shock as you broke down in front of him. “Hey, Y/N, are you hurt somewhere else? What’s wrong?” he asked, trying to figure out how to make you stop. 

“I-I ju-st-” and before you could finish your sentence cries won out. Taehyung looked at you quickly and confirmed that you weren’t injured anywhere else. Although you were still crying. 

“Hey, shh,” he soothed, wiping your cheeks with his sleeve. “We’re not getting anywhere like this,” he sighed, looking down at his knees. 

Eventually, your tears stopped and you were able to speak without cries interrupting your phrase. 

“I’m sorry, I went too far,” Taehyung said, wrapping your arm in a bandage. You swallowed hard as nodded in acceptance. “Allies?” he asked. You took his hand as he pulled you to your feet.

“Allies,” you confirmed.

---

You pulled up to your new house roughly three hours later. Taehyung and you had come to a mutual understanding.

Help me help you. 

You still weren’t particularly fond of him, but now working with him didn’t seem impossible. 

The place you were going to be calling home for the next few months stood before you. A modest house painted a pale yellow greeted you and Taehyung. The garden out front wasn’t thriving, but all wasn’t lost. Then the shutters had been painted a soft blue, complimenting the structure wonderfully. 

Maybe living here wouldn’t be so bad after all...

“Now, remember what we discussed,” you stated.

“Newlywed couples are very affectionate. We’re nice people, but cautious. Flirtatious but not disgustingly so. We are in love, first and foremost,” he repeated. 

“Wonderful,” you smiled before planting a kiss on his cheek. Taehyung nodded before getting out of the truck.

“Oh Tae, it’s amazing!” you yelped, looking at the house before you. 

“I’d certainly hope so,” he stated, coming to wrap an around around you comfortably. You leaned into his touch, looking at the house in its entirety. 

“Can we go inside?” you asked, looking at the key in his hands. 

“Of course babe,” he said, walking forwards and unlocking the door, but before you could walk in yourself, Taehyung wrapped his hand around your wrist. 

“What?” you asked, disappointed. 

“It’s bad luck for me not to carry you over the threshold,” he said, grinning. Your heart thudded for a moment. Taehyung’s boxy grin melted you, unprepared for the attack. 

“Hang on, I don’t know if I-wah!” you said as Taehyung lifted you into the air. Seeing some of the neighbors come out at the commotion you quieted down. Slowly, Taehyung carried you bridal style into the home. Your heart stuttered lightly as you crossed over the threshold. 

“Here you are,” he said, setting you down. You flushed pink and cleared your throat. 

“Alright, looks like we need to start getting the big furniture first, then we can worry about the decorations later,” you blabbed on. Taehyung watched you with muted interest, appearing to be caring however you knew there were probably fifty other things he’d rather be doing.

“Can’t we rest? I was just driving for over eight hours,” he whined, sitting on the floor in defiance. 

“You can sit all you’d like but I’m going to start bringing boxes in,” you stated, turning and heading towards the truck. 

You examined the perimeter when exiting the building. The neighbors that had come out of their house when you and Taehyung pulled up had since hurried back inside. Perhaps they were merely minding their own business or watching. This was a tight knit town. People didn’t move in nor did they move out. People stayed the same here, you’d be a large topic of conversation amongst these people. 

Taehyung walked up behind you and rested his head in the crook of your neck. “What do you see?” he asked. 

“Nothing much,” you announced, a smile on your face as if he just said something endearing. “I’m certain they are playing the waiting game. Seeing how interesting we are, how cautious they need to be. Push and pull, when they push we pull,” you stated. 

“I hate waiting games...”

“Get ready for four months of waiting.”

---

The night air blew through the home in slow waves. You watched as the street was lit with a flickering lamp roughly twenty feet away. No one had shown up at your abode, and you didn’t think they would for a while. 

This wasn’t an American sitcom where the new neighbors move in and everyone starts baking pies. This was a strategic move on the townspeople and Feng’s part. Allowing time for observations and possible encounters was a key part in the beginning stages of any sort of stake out/undercover mission. 

Feng was already suspicious. You didn’t have to know anything about his involvement in the town for that to be a solid fact. His most devout following, holed up in a small town now being invaded by outsiders? Background checks were no doubt in progress.

And they’d find exactly what you wanted. Lives painted like pictures in a story book. Rocky beginnings for Taehyung, where he grew up on the streets but was adopted into a good home and cared for until he met you in college. Love at first sight turned into marriage. And here you were, married, a home to call your own. No doubt children in the future. Perfect, but Taehyung’s dent was what made it less suspicious. A crime record thrown in for good luck. You having one parking ticket...

One you definitely refuted. 

Before the two of you had went to sleep you managed to get your mattress in your bedroom and Taehyung unpacked a box of dishes. Although the emotional day had taken its toll on the pair of you. Grabbing your sheets you made the bed and you and Taehyung collapsed down onto the mattress happily.

Although, the same nightmare kept running through your mind...

The day you made your mistake. 

The day you hurt an innocent. 

The very reason you were in this mission right now, was because you were impatient. You wanted the glory of taking down a criminal, not caring about the life that would be at risk because of your greed. That day haunted you...

You were sitting up in bed, looking over your phone to distract yourself. Cell reception wasn’t the greatest here so you’d settled for scrolling through pictures. Photos of you and friends that had been given names and assigned cell phones as well. A mother and father, a sibling for good measure. So many people strung in this elaborate web of lies. 

You fell on a photo you didn’t recognize. One of you, drinking coffee in the office. You looked flustered, stressed and not wholly interested in what you were doing. Your eyes wandered to Taehyung who was sleeping in the bed beside you. 

He seemed peaceful, which was impressive seeing as how you were struggling to catch an ounce of sleep. 

“If you keep staring I’m going to think you want something from me,” Taehyung murmured.

You flinched at his voice, but otherwise remained passive. No wonder he looked so peaceful.

“Can’t sleep either?” You asked, locking your phone and setting it on the floor. Your bed wasn’t on the frame yet and your bedside tables are still in the truck.

“I don’t sleep much no matter where I am,” he sighed, sitting up and rubbing his face. 

“It’s quiet here,” you announced, eyes casting over the moving truck in the front yard and for sale sign gone from the lawn. Taehyung lazily rested his head on your shoulder. You did your best to subtle the flinch from the unexpected contact. You had to get used to Taehyung’s displays of affection. People could be watching you at any moment.

“These people here are creepy, almost like they aren’t real,” he whispered. 

“We technically aren’t real either. Fake lives made for us like a script for a play,” you concluded. 

“But we’re using our real names, isn’t that a big taboo for this sort of work?” he asked. 

“Perhaps, but, you respond naturally to your own name. Even a variation of it, if I were to call you Kihyun or something, your response would look forced. Unnatural. But calling you Taehyung,” you said, looking at him. 

Subtly he tilted his head towards you, waiting for you to continue. He acknowledged his name without registering it in his brain. Something very common that a lot of people don’t notice. But, it’s easy to observe if you know what you’re looking for.

“Interesting notion,” Taehyung mused. 

“Pseudo-Science. Barely science,” you joked. Taehyung breathed a laugh before pulling you back down into bed with him. You squealed unattractively while struggling against his embrace. Taehyung hissed in disapproval.

“You know, I’ve never seen a new bride so unwilling to let her husband hold her,” he reprimanded.

“Perhaps if you played the role of a husband better, I wouldn’t be so unwilling,” you scoffed. Taehyung just rolled his eyes and kept you in his arms. 

“Just shut up and go to bed, before you give me a fucking headache,” he complained. 

“Good night Taehyung.”

---

The next morning you woke to the smell of coffee brewing. You got up and found the mattress empty beside you. Taehyung was already awake and the smell of food also alluded to his state of alert. You grabbed your robe from atop the boxed besides your mattress and pulled it on, heading towards the kitchen.

Taehyung stood next to the stove with two mismatching mugs and silverware that definitely didn’t belong together. 

“Don’t you dare bring out my mother’s nice ceramics for this,” you warned, smiling and wrapping your arms around him. Taehyung bumped your hip with his while handing you a mug. 

“I put creamer in it, I hope that’s alright,” he smiled. You nodded and took a sip, already warming up from the chill of the morning. 

“It’s awesome, thank you,” you sighed. “Fuck it’s going to suck getting the rest of our shit in here,” you whined. Taehyung’s eyes bulged at your vulgar tone. 

“Perhaps we could hold off on that for a while and eat breakfast?” he asked, holding a plate up for you. Quickly, you took it and hurried towards the island to eat. Taehyung laughed as you jumped up on the counter and used the built in appliance as your couch. 

“This is so good,” you moaned, licking your lips. The thick coating of grease from the bacon made your lips shiny and Taehyung found himself staring, despite not wanting to. You wiggled a little, bobbing your head back and forth while you ate. 

“You’re, like, dancing on our island,” Taehyung said, rubbing his face in disbelief. 

“Food is good, sometimes you just gotta dance with the good things in life. Like this bacon, deserves a quality head shimmy,” you noted. 

“I’m glad I could provide you with head shimmy worthy bacon this morning,” Taehyung stated.

“My head shimmies are only for the most elite pieces of bacon, so consider yourself lucky,” you snarked. He laughed and began to eat his food as well. 

It was silent, save for the clinking of your utensils on mismatched plates. 

You were thinking to yourself about your performance. Had anyone seen you so far, they would assume you were a happy couple. However, you weren’t that touchy feely. Newlyweds normally couldn’t keep their hands off each other. If you didn’t increase intimacy, then no doubt your facade would start to crack. 

“We should probably have sex today,” you noted, hopping off the counter. 

The sound of Taehyung choking filled the room. 

“Babe?” you asked, hurrying over and rubbing his back. Taehyung’s face was red and he was obviously startled by your statement. 

“Jesus, fuck! Are you trying to kill me?” he asked, while you got him a cup of water. 

Well, a bowl of water is what you managed. He gulped down the liquid as his breathing evened. 

“Taehyung, we’re a couple. That just got married. We live alone. What else do you think we would be doing?” you asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Well, probably setting the house up? Starting to investigate a litte-”

“Taehyung, there are no doubt people watching this house. If we don’t act like we love each other, then we’re already doomed. We aren’t going to have real sex, just throw a blanket over us and then dry hump me or something,” you said, trying to think of ideas. 

“Really? Dry hump you? Under a blanket?” he said. 

Taehyung didn’t find the idea of dry humping you repulsive, it was just less fun than actually getting to fuck you. Because, oh boy, hate fucking you would be incredible. Although, it wouldn’t be the passionate love making that you were probably trying to convey. 

“Okay, but I can’t promise that I won’t get a boner in the middle of it,” he sighed. 

“Taehyung I will bite your ear off,” you warned.

“So kinky already, darling,” he breathed. 

“Okay, you stink, go take a shower,” you demanded, pulling away. Taehyung huffed and pouted, following you closely.

“Baby~” he whined, wrapping his arms around your waist. 

“Taehyung,” you smiled, however your voice was severely irritated. 

“Let’s have fake sex, then I can go take a shower, yeah?” he urged, pulling you against his body. 

To an on looker, it was no doubt a boyfriend or husband trying to coerce his wife into getting frisky. But you did want to get more of the truck unpacked. 

“Not now, shower then come help me unpack some more,” you stated, placing a hesitant peck on his lips. 

Taehyung frowned before pulling you in for a deeper kiss. You fumbled lightly on your feet, getting pulled closer into him. Taehyung wrapped your body up in his arms and moved his mouth against yours aggressively. He sucked on the delicate skin of your lips, so hard you were certain they’d bruise. 

“Ouch, Tae,” you winced. 

“Mmm, you actually kiss pretty good,” he murmured, moving back in to seal his lips against yours. 

“Loving, tender kisses Taehyung. Not trying to fucking eat my face.”

Taehyung moved away and tried to act playful when he smacked your butt before heading to the bathroom. You rolled your eyes before going to get the keys for the truck.

Again the morning was just as silent. They really must be scoping the situation out. Much like you and Taehyung were. There were a lot of variables right now. Many ways for the whole plan to go wrong. It made you uneasy. But this was your specialty.

Making a new life here was going to be difficult. However, right now wasn’t the time to be doubting your skills. There was too much at stake. You weren’t going to be the reason more people died and another criminal got away.

You started pulling in more boxes, managing to get the frame of the couch out of the truck and into the living room as well. You were sweating and your poor arm stung with a fresh scrape from the day before. You looked at the couch and decided that right there would be good enough for now. Running out to the truck you grabbed the couch cushions and throw pillows so you could sit down for a minute and relax.

After placing the last pillow down the sound of the water shutting off made you turn your head. Taehyung emerged shortly after with his boxers on and drying his hair with a towel. Rendered speechless for a moment, you cleared your throat before turning back to the box that was being used as an impromptu coffee table. Lots of picture frames sat inside.

Many of you and Taehyung and some of you with your family. Taking out your wedding photo you smiled. You knew that Taehyung was pissed in the photo cause you had just stepped on his toe in your heels.

Warm arms wrapped around your waist and you relaxed into his embrace. “Bathroom isn’t bugged, so at least we have that privacy,” he murmured into your neck. 

You nodded and set the picture down. Bending forward you grabbed a couple other frames and moved to place them in different areas.

“Didn’t you say we should bring in the rest of the big furniture before putting the fragile stuff up? We don’t want it to get broken baby,” Taehyung scolded.

“It’ll be alright. Plus I want to look at these now,” You pouted. Taehyung took a couple and started helping you put them up as well. 

You two started decorating and joking around. From the outside it was a happy couple having fun. However it was a strategic move. Making the two of you look non threatening was the most important role right now. Taehyung was set to start his job at City Hall in four days. You were to start working at home as soon as you could. 

But there was much more preparations to make. Like lunch.

“Baby, want some lunch?” You asked, turning to him. Taehyung shrugged and brought his hands to your stomach.

“Mm, not hungry for food babe,” he spoke as he brought you into his embrace. You wanted to cringe but forced your body to relax in his arms. 

“Honestly, you can’t keep your mind from what I said earlier,” you whispered.

“Hey, if we want to make it believable you should just let me fuck you here in the living room,” he growled.

You felt a shiver run down your spine, despite your best efforts. His voice rattled your bones and made you want to break. Newlyweds normally couldn’t wait to set up a bed nicely...

You could fake it here in the kitchen. 

Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw a reflection of light. It was either a camera or binoculars. Someone was watching you both right now.

Bringing your mouth to his ear, you stated instructions. “Taehyung, there’s someone watching us right now. Reflection at 11:00 o’clock,” you informed.

“I noticed,” he said, furrowing his brow to make it appear as if you said something intimate.

“We need to do it out here,” you stated.

“This seems like a lot of work,” he moaned.

“Kiss me and I’ll continue,” you murmured. Taehyung brought your mouth away from his ear and connected it to yours. You moved against his body eagerly, rolling your hips against his. Taehyung groaned and buckled against your body, biting your lip as you whined into his mouth.

“How do we do this?” He asked as he came away for air, moving to kiss your neck and shoulder longingly.

“The couch, I’ll ride you. Your back will be to the observer. So, we’ll mime the action of you and I having sex. But really we’ll just be dry humping,” you explained.

“Okay, I’m going to pick you up and take you there,” he announced. 

You blushed. You realized you’d much rather Taehyung grind against you on a couch for an audience than carry you to the couch. You were a special agent, specialized in camouflage and undercover operations... yet you still fussed when your jeans didn’t fit the same. You still got mad at yourself for eating the whole tub of ice cream... again...

“Taehyung wait a sec-ah!”

You were hoisted in the air and Taehyung carried you to the couch. You clung to him like a child and you couldn’t help the unattractive squeak you made as he threw you onto the cushions.

“You’re not going to convince them you love me if you’re acting like a teenager with stupid insecurities,” he whispered. You pulled him in for a kiss to conceal the frown and no doubt rude remark that would escape if you allowed yourself the option.

His lips trailed your jawline, making you squirm underneath him. Taehyung grinned at your pathetic reactions to his actions. You gripped his shoulders, pulling him out of view of your observer... well the one you knew of.

“I’m going to take off my shirt,” you said. Taehyung nodded, holding your hips as he kissed your lips with longing. You reached for the hem of your shirt and pulled it over your head, throwing it to the floor. Taehyung made an odd noise at the back of his throat, making you raise your eyebrow in confusion.

“God, I didn’t know you were hiding those under the stupid office uniforms, holy shit,” he complained.

“Taehyung!”

“How far can I go?” He asked, coming in to kiss your neck.

“T-this is as far as I want, are you okay?” You asked, making sure his comfort was recognized too.

“Absolutely,” he breathed, coming towards your chest with open mouthed kisses. You tangled your fingers in his hair, encouraging him to move more.

“T-Taehyung,” You whimpered as he bit at your bra.

“One day I’ll get you out of this,” he growled before hauling you up and onto his lap. The straps of your bra fell down onto your biceps and Taehyung’s pupils blew up.

You leaned down and placed a delicate kiss on his nose, cheeks and finally one to his lips. He adjusted his hold on you and you nodded. Grabbing your pathetic shorts you mimed moving them out of the way, then you moved to get Taehyung situated too.

“How should I...?” He asked, raising a brow.

“Just, I’ll dry hump you. It’s fine,” you breathed. He seemed like he was going to protest when you gripped right above his pelvic line. His hip jolted, miming the reaction of you taking him out of his pants. Giving a demure smile, you slowly shuffled forward to place your center against his lap.

Taehyung breathed in sharply, biting his lip hard. “What’s wrong?” You asked, placing a hand on his cheek gently.

“I’m fighting every urge in my body right now, so just hurry up,” he growled. A small shudder ran down your spine as his words took weight in your head.

Would it be so bad for you to give in and let him fuck you here?

Yes, yes it would.

“Sorry, sorry,” you apologized lamely, moving your hips against his gently.

“Fuck,” he croaked, gripping your waist tightly.

“A-Ah, Taehyung,” you whimpered, placing your hands over his. You looked up at the ceiling, as if you were in utter bliss.

“So good baby,” Taehyung encouraged, “keep going.”

“Fuck, Taehyung,” you growled. 

This was bad, your mind was starting to cloud with the burning arousal beginning to raise in your stomach. You really were starting to want him. The way his brow furrowed, it really looked like he was filled with pleasure at the moment. 

“I might come in my boxers,” he huffed out as you ground down particularly hard against him. 

“That’s fine, a real orgasm is better than a fake one,” you rationalized out loud.

“Shit, babe, Y/N,” he moaned, bringing you in for a sloppy kiss. You open your mouth and let his hot tongue slide in to greet yours. 

Kissing Taehyung was quickly turning into a drug you didn’t want to give up. Fuck, it felt so good. His plush lips against your own, practically forcing your mouth to mould with his. Taehyung was gripping your hips, almost as if he was using your body to get himself off. It was so dirty, raunchy and hot. Hearing his soft whimpers made you wet, cheeks bright red at the idea.

You cried out for real when your clit bumped the growing bulge in his boxers.

“That’s the hottest sound I’ve heard, fuck I love you,” he growled out. You squeaked out an ‘I love you too,’ soon after. Taehyung planted slobbery kisses along your collarbones and chest as he panted harshly against your skin. 

“Cum inside me, Taehyung,” you moaned out, feeling a climax brewing in your lower stomach. 

“Ah fuck!” Taehyung sobbed out, bucking his hips wildly against your own. You just needed that little push, something to get you over the edge. 

“So close, so close,” breathed into the air. Taehyung heard your silent pleas, because soon you felt the bulge of his hot erection directly against your little nub, sending you spiraling into the precipice of bliss.

Taehyung cried out your name, holding you closer to his frame. You collapsed against him, feeling your panties sticking to you uncomfortably. Taehyung shivered, his hot breath fanning across your cooling skin.

You shakily ran your fingers through his hair, kissing his sweaty hairline with a tenderness that could only be given in post-orgasmic bliss. Shit, what have you done?

“Tae,” you said, urging him away from you. 

“Hmmm?” he whispered, groggily. 

“You and I both need to clean up,” you said, coughing in discomfort at the end. 

“Oh, shit, sorry,” he said.

Helping you up you took a glance at the window in your peripheral. They weren’t watching any longer. “We’re clear,” you said, rushing towards the bathroom to clean yourself up. 

You shut the door and slid down in, trying not to let your heart beat out of your chest wildly. The sound of the other shower turning on again signalled that you were clear to exit, going to the bathroom before heading out to get another pair of panties and shorts on. 

You were certain you wouldn’t sleep at all tonight.

---

The day finally came when Taehyung began his first day at work. You fussed over him all morning. Tying his tie for him, making him a travel mug of coffee and breakfast for him. Taehyung had to admit, it wasn’t so bad having you for a wife.

“Baby, I really gotta go or I’m going to be late, on my first day!” 

“Okay okay, just one more thing,” you smiled before leaning in a placing a delicate kiss on his cheek. “Have a great day,” you encouraged. 

“I will, don’t miss me too much,” he teased. As he unlocked the front door you were both surprised to find two men standing there.

Taehyung immediately shut the door off a little more, protecting you from their view.

“Can I help you gentleman?”

“We’re here on behalf of Mr. Feng. He wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood,” they both presented Taehyung with some kind of campaign propaganda. 

“Thank you, I’m going to be late for work. Baby, have a good day. Gentleman,” Taehyung said, taking the flyer and shutting the door. You watched as Taehyung moved down the driveway, the men in suits following behind him like a funeral procession. Your eyes followed your husband until he was out of sight, making you shift with unease. 

This would be the first time you’d be apart since the whole mission began. For some reason your chest was tight, something you hadn’t been expecting. It was ridiculous. The only reason you were feeling this way is because you weren’t really alone. There was always someone watching. You were certain that was the cause of your unease. It had to be.

Taehyung texted you a few times throughout the day. Making your chest loosen slightly, knowing he made it there safely. Even if he was a jerk, that didn’t mean you wanted anything bad to happen to him. Well, nothing too bad...

You started your day by moving some more furniture around, getting the kitchen table put together and all set for later on in the evening. You were going to make dinner tonight before Taehyung came home so he had something to eat after a long day at work.

You couldn’t place it, but knowing someone was coming home to you was... comforting? Even if it was the pain in the ass Taehyung, the thought didn’t bother you as much as you believed it should. 

The rest of your day passed by uneventfully, doing some data analysis on your laptop for work. Something Taehyung no doubt picked out for you to do because of your detestment of data worksheets back at the office. Dick. 

But the company you worked for didn’t know anything but you were a newlywed needing some extra cash on the side while her husband went out to work for the day. Plus, this gave you another set of alibis if needed. She was on her computer at such and such a time. Because no doubt it was being tracked. 

You pulled up your messages and sent a quick one to Taehyung. He responded quickly, sending a few hearts after he told you he’d be home soon. 

Quickly you headed to the kitchen and began the real test. Cooking. You weren’t a bad cook by any means, but you usually cooked ramen noodles and things of that nature. So a full fucking chicken was a little intimidating.

Cutting the vegetables and starting the oven went smoothly. You buttered the chicken, slathering the meat in butter and garlic, throwing some thyme in there for good measure. You remember Taehyung mentioning that his mom used to make a recipe similar to this. One he loved. 

The idea of a small Taehyung sitting at the counter, begging for some food made your head spin. W-What are you thinking? This is just a mission, and Taehyung is just a guy who is assigned to be your partner. That’s all this is. All it ever will be. 

Taehyung came home just as you were pulling the chicken out of the oven. He came over and pressed a sweet kiss to your cheek before looking at the mashed potatoes, broiled vegetables and chicken that were being placed on the table by his wife. You bent over after dropping something on the floor. His mouth watered at the sight. The food also looked good...

“Baby, look at all this. Did you really make this stuff?” he asked, coming over and setting his briefcase on the counter.

“Yeah, it was a bitch and a half to make though, let me tell you what. This chicken here, if it weren’t already dead I would’ve taken my pistol and shot it,” you huffed, remembering the tying and stuffing and everything that made you aggravated with cooking the damn thing in the first place.

“Well, it looks great, can I have a seat?” he asked.

“Yeah! Go for it, I’ll get us some wine,” you said. Running over to the cabinet and pulling out two wine glasses.

“I see we’re going fancy tonight,” he said. 

“Well for my husband, anything,” you smiled.

“Thank you baby,” he answered as you set a wine glass next to him.

“Next, do you want red or white?” you asked.

“Red,” Taehyung said, marveling at the domestic nature of this interaction.

Is this what normal people did? Came home to a freshly cooked meal by their significant other and just talked about casual things? Not coming home to an empty house. Stitching themselves up after a bad knife fight. Watching as their blood went down the drain... Was this the marital bliss he heard about?

You came over with a bottle, popping the cork and pouring him a sample to see if he liked it. “How does it taste? Want a little more?” you asked. Taehyung took you in during this moment. You were beautiful. Cheeks flushed and looking flustered as you tried to play your role of dutiful wife. It made him want to paint again...

“Yeah, I’ll have a glass. It’s good, you should have some too,” he said as he watched the berry colored liquid fill the glass.

“I will,” you announced, sitting across from him and pouring yourself some as well.

Taehyung looked at you as you swallowed down some of the bitter sweet liquid in your glass, throat bobbing as it pushed the alcohol down and into your bloodstream. Cheeks turning pink he smiled as the two of you continued to drink. 

“Y/N, honestly, this meal was fantastic,” Taehyung said, looking at you as the second bottle of wine overwhelmed him.

“Thanks, I tried,” you stated, swallowing down the remaining wine in your glass.

Taehyung leaned forward on the table, looking at you with interest.

“What did you want to do before becoming part of the agency?” He asked, nonchalant.

You looked up at him, eyes bigger than your head. 

“Tae! What if-“

“No one is listening, believe me,” he said, grinning at you with his boxy grin.

“I don’t think-“

“Don’t be such a priss, tell me,” he urged.

“I’m not a priss!”

“Whatever, just, tell me something about yourself. Something interesting,” he pleaded.

“Fine, fine... I-I wanted to be a ballerina okay?” 

Taehyung’s eyes widened.

Then he snorted.

“Aren’t ballerina’s supposed to be graceful and shit? You tripped putting on your pants this morning,” he smirked.

“I’ll have you know that for seven years I danced five days a week for four hours a day,” you protested.

“Prove it,” he scoffed.

“Fine, I will,” you said, standing up. 

Slowly bringing yourself together you started a familiar routine you did all the time as a child.

Lifting your leg up you grabbed your thigh, straightening your leg above your head before lowering it to your other thigh, spinning slightly before getting up on pointe. Taehyung’s eyes were watching your every move. It looked like you needed a partner. He stood and grabbed your waist as you stretched your arms out. 

Jumping in his grasp you turned to look at him.

“Taehyung, what are you-“

“Just feel, keep going,” he said, taking your hand in his.

You weren’t sure if it was the wine or your own emotions taking over, but before you knew it, your lips had crashed onto his. Taehyung grunted in surprise. You wrapped your arms around his neck and urged him to kiss you deeper. Licking at his lips, begging for entrance. Taehyung didn’t hesitate. He opened his mouth and greeted your tongue with his. The wet smacking sounds had you throbbing beneath your jeans, something you were desperate to get out of. 

Grinding against his front Taehyung lost his breath to you. “Fuck, mm, like that babygirl.”

You whimpered when you felt his prominent bulge for the first time this evening. Shit your panties were sticking to you at this point. But Taehyung pulled away a few moments later. 

“We shouldn’t do this,” he murmured against your swelling lips.

“Why not?” You whined, gripping his hands as they settled against your hips.

“We can’t go back once we do this. Having interpersonal relations in the field, it gets messy. What if I get hurt or kidnapped? Then they have leverage on you,” he explained.

“Let me at least suck you off,” you complained. Taehyung groaned in the back of his throat. 

“Fuck, we shouldn’t,” he stated, brushing the hair away from your face.

“Please, please let me taste you,” you begged, your wine addled mind taking over. “Do you not want my mouth?”

“Fuck... Yes, I do want that mouth on me more than you can believe,” he said, running his thumb along your wet lower lip. Taking his thumb in between your lips you smiled and tugged on the flesh gently. Taehyung growled at your teasing before looking at you with his dark eyes. “Get on your knees for me,” he commanded. You nodded frantically before falling to the floor in front of him. Taehyung watched with rapt attention as you undid his slacks and brought out his semi-hard erection from his underwear. 

Your mouth salivated at the sight of his thick cock sitting in your warm palm. Taehyung hissed when you ran your hand over his sensitive length for the first time. Your heart was pounding in your chest. Blood rushing to your head, making it spin. But all you cared about was pleasing the man in front of you. Without much hesitation you gave a fat lick from the base of his cock to the head. Taehyung moaned, his head lulling back slightly. You brought the head into your mouth, suckling gently, moving your tongue around the sensitive area.

“Don’t tease me,” he snarled out, looking down at you with dangerous eyes. Complying with his demands you brought a majority of him into your mouth and throat, coughing lightly when he hit the back. He groaned in pleasure, finding your hair and pulling it into his fist. “That’s it baby, suck my dick like a good girl,” he praised, watching as strings of slobber started to form from your mouth to his cock. Bobbing your head back and forth, you built a rhythm for him. 

You hollowed out your cheeks, moving your tongue underneath his shaft and around to stimulate him. Taehyung huffed, trying hard not to come down your throat already. He was intoxicated not only by the wine but by you as well. Your beautiful eyes looking at him underneath your lashes. He could barely breathe when you looked at him like that. Those big eyes sparkling with lust and want.

Taehyung rolled his hips forward slightly, gauging your reaction. You moaned at the force promised behind those hips of his, as he pushed himself further down your throat. 

“Can I fuck your mouth baby? Would you let me fuck that goregous mouth of yours?” he asked, sprinkling praise in with his request. You nodded fast, relaxing your throat and giving him the thumbs up to go ahead. 

He didn’t wait a moment longer before he pushed himself into your mouth and down your throat. Taehyung whined at the tight feeling of your mouth and throat closing in on him, feeling like a vice against his cock. Pulling back out he let you suck in a couple breaths before picking his pace up again. You gagged on his dick, making noise and moaning in pleasure. Taehyung was lost above you, focusing on the sensations of your moaning against him.

“Mmm, fuck baby, just like that,” he breathed out, watching and drool collected on your chin. It was filthy, messy and perfect. You took him entirely, nose touching his pelvis and you swallowed hard. Taehyung cried out, gripping your shoulders and pulling out of your throat and mouth. You coughed at the actions, not suspecting for it to be so intense, but god if you didn’t want him to cum in your mouth. You needed it.

“Tae~” you whimpered, shuffling forwards on your knees to try to put him back in your mouth. But he stopped you.

“Listen baby, this is going to go one of two ways. Either you keep going and I cum down your throat, or I can shove this cock in that pussy and cum inside you that way. Which would you prefer?”

Your body shook with want at the second option.

“Inside my pussy,” you said, already moving to shrug your sweater off and stepping out of your jeans. 

“Come here then baby,” he said, opening his arms for you. You rushed forwards, bringing your lips to his before you could even think about anything else. Taehyung opens his mouth and licked your lips perversely. You opened your mouth at once, letting him take full control of the embrace. 

“Taehyung, bedroom,” you urged. He at least heard part of what you were saying, because the next thing you knew, your body was being lowered to the mattress in your room.

“Let’s take this off shall we?” he said, removing your tank top and looking at you in your bra. “Fuck baby you have pretty tits,” he growled. You moaned at the praise and eagerly un buckled the back and let the offending material fall off your arms and onto the floor. Taehyung was in action before you could blink, taking a nipple in his mouth and sucking on it harshly. 

The sensation sent tingles right to the tips of your toes, making them curl and stretch from his warm mouth on you. With his free hands he held your hip with one and groped your chest with the other, stimulating your body and causing you to arch up into his touch. Taehyung smirked against your skin, laving his tongue against your pert nipple, making you hiss in reaction.

“Such pretty noises you make for me, isn’t that right precious girl?” he said, trailing his lips down your body.

“Taehyung, please don’t tease me. Give me your dick, please,” you whimpered, rolling your hips up against him.

“Tsk tsk, little one. So greedy already,” he smiled.

“Please give me your cock, Taehyung, please,” you begged. “Want it so deep in my pussy, stuffing me full until I can’t breathe. Please please please, give me your cock.”

“Fuck, how could I deny such a sweet request. Alright baby, let me just warm you up a touch okay?” Taehyung pulled your panties down your legs, revealing your wet center to him. “You’re drenched babygirl, who did this to you?”

“You, Taehyung, you did,”

“That’s right precious girl,” he said as he lowered two fingers to your entrance. You relaxed when he ran his middle and pointer finger up your slit, before sinking them inside of you. Taehyung watched as you took him right up to the knuckle. He groaned at the feeling of you, tight and hot around his fingers. He could just picture how you’d feel around his cock and it made him throb with desire.

“Taehyung!” You cried, gripping the sheets underneath you desperately.

“Gonna come?”

“I-I don’t-hah-Taehyung,” you whined out.

“I’ve barely touched this sweet little pussy and I can already feel you clenching like crazy, do you want to come baby? I’d love to see what you look like when you come, I bet you look beautiful,” he said, picking up his speed.

“Taehyung, hngh, please,” you begged, looking at the ceiling with tears forming in your eyes.

“Come for me, come all over this bed darling,” he cooed, using his thumb to stimulate your clit before watching your body tense and finally-finally-release.

“Taehyung!” You cried out, back arching off the bed, shuddering in your orgasm as your mind went blank from everything except the feeling of unadulterated pleasure.

Taehyung smiled at your fucked out face, eyes misty with tears. 

“What a good girl, you came all over me shit, that was so sexy,” he growled. You whimpered and reached for him, wanting his hands on your body.

“Give me your cock now? Please Taehyung?”

“Whatever you want darling, absolutely,” he agreed, lining his cock up with your sopping entrance.

“Fuck!” You cried out when his cock finally entered you. It was so thick, filling you up so well. Taehyung gripped your hips. Letting you ease onto him so he didn’t hurt you. 

“That’s it, what a snug little cunt you have,” he grinned, pressing kisses to your shoulders while he pumped himself inside of you deeply. Taehyung has a hard time thinking clearly like this. The wine and you making him drunk. 

“Taehyung!” You cried out. “So big.” You felt his cock rubbing that spot inside you that made you see stars. Everything was blurry as Taehyung fucked his dick into you harshly. The lewd smacking sounds of skin on skin made your mind whirl with lust. Taehyung wasn’t in a much better state. Watching as he fucked you, tits bouncing and your ass hitting his pelvis in just the right way. 

But he wanted to see your face when you came.

“Lie on your side for me,” Taehyung said, easing out of you gently.

You hissed at the loss, but did as he asked, laying on your side. 

“Leg up,” he encouraged, nestling down beside you. You raised your leg as he instructed, moaning loudly when his cock re-entered you from this angle. 

“How is it? How is getting fucked by my big dick baby? Can you handle it?” He asked, laying his hand flat against your lower stomach.

“I can take it, I’m-I’m a big girl,” you huffed, head lolling back into Taehyung’s neck.

“I know you can take it, does my baby want it harder?” He questioned, giving a few deep thrusts against you, making your pussy clench down hard.

“Anything, I want anything you’ll give me Taehyung,” you pleaded. 

“Anything you say, well then, hold on,” he stated, running his hand between your legs and toying with your throbbing clit. He nestled his head against your cheek, kissing and nipping at your tender flesh.

“Ta-ae-hyung,” you whimpered out. “Feels so good.”

“You too, so fucking tight around my cock. Can barely move... I should’ve fucked you with three fingers to get you ready for this dick huh? Or do you like a little pain with your pleasure, huh?”

Crying out when he pushed against your little nub forcing you back on his dick. Taehyung smiled as you ground your ass against him, trying to get whatever you could from him like this. He didn’t care about tomorrow, all he cared about was you right now. A beautiful woman losing yourself on his dick.

“Taehyung, so close, right there. Yes!” You whined, gripping his hand for some kind of stability.

He interlocked your fingers, using his other hand to continue abusing your clit. “Right here baby, like this?” He questioned.

“Yes! Yes yes,” you said, tears forming in the corners of your eyes for the second time that night.

Taehyung breath came in soft pants against your neck as he worked himself up as well. Your velvet walls were doing him in. Normally he’d last much longer, but with you he couldn’t help but see bliss right around the corner.

“Baby gonna cum,” he warned you.

“In me, cum inside me,” you blabbered out, gripping his hand tightly.

“Fuck-shit!” Taehyung cursed, letting instinct take over as he fucked into you aggressively. It was hard to think straight. 

Not too soon after a shot of warmth encompassed your stomach. That sent you over, eyes blacking out as you slumped against Taehyung who was still cumming.

Giving a few more weak thrusts, Taehyung pulled out, looking at the mess the two of you had made. 

“Fuck you look pretty full of my cum like that,” he commented, kissing your shoulder softly.

“Mmm, Taehyung?”

“Yes baby,” he said, moving his head up to peer down at you.

“Washcloth, I-I don’t think I can walk right now,” you said, turning pink at the notion.

“I’ll be right back, hang on,” he said, standing up and heading to the bathroom.

As the light flicked on, you felt your eyes fall, heavy with the need for sleep.

---

“What the fuck are we going to do?” You yelled at Taehyung.

The pair of you woke up the next morning, dazed and confused. Taehyung was the first one to notice you two were royally fucked.

“I came in you, shit,” he said, looking at the obvious stain on the bed.

“Taehyung!” You cried out, smacking your forehead with your palm.

“Hey don’t get mad at me! You’re the one who initiated all of this!”

“Don’t pin this all on me, you could’ve rejected me!” You said.

“I tried! But you looked at me and then I-uh... Well... Here we are,” he announced.

“Taehyung, if we fuck up this mission I’m a dead woman. That includes me getting pregnant!”

“Can’t I just go buy you some plan b or something like that?”

“We’re married, if they caught you buying plan b then our facade is over!”

“Then I don’t know what you want me to do! I can’t undo what we did!”

You rubbed your temples, trying not to stress over the fact that you could possibly be carrying Kim Taehyung’s child.

“We have to go with this, just, remember our mission. Now hug me, cause we argued,” you said, opening your arms.

Taehyung moved forward, wrapping you up in his embrace.

“Whatever happens, we’re allies. I’ll cover your back if you cover mine,” he said, fingers splayed across your back.

“I got your six.”

---

The following weeks were surprisingly calm. Taehyung went to work and came home. You usually had a meal ready for the two of you. It was domestic ‘bliss’. 

Except for the fact that you and Taehyung wouldn’t barely look at each other. It was hard, feeling the anxiety and panic and not having anyone to bounce it off of. Taehyung was affectionate when you said to be, and the two of you acted your part when you were out in public but... things were different now. And there’s nothing either of you could do about it.

Taehyung came home a little later than usual, you sipping on some wine and staring off into space. He walked over and set his bag down, before kissing your head and pulling you in for a hug. 

“I have some good news,” Taehyung said. 

“Yeah? What is it?” you asked, not looking at him.

“I’m in the running to become mayor!”

Glass shattered on the floor.

“Oh shit,” Taehyung said, stepping back so as not to step on any glass.

You were frozen in place.

“Taehyung do you know what that means for these people? To Feng?”

“What? Like you honestly think I’ll win? You’re crazy,” he scoffed.

“Taehyung what if you do win? What’ll they do when this mission is over? What will they do when they find out their mayor-” he quickly moved in for a kiss. You wiggled against him for a moment before going still. Taehyung worked his mouth over yours with ease, something you weren’t expecting, but weren’t upset over either.

“God you are so annoying sometimes. Listen,” he said, moving so he could start cleaning up the glass you dropped. “If I get an inside position, show Feng that I’m serious about wanting to be loyal to him? Then I’ll get inside information that’ll be influential in his takedown,” he explained.

“Taehyung if you think they’ll give it to an outsider than you’re dumber than I thought,” you sneered.

“You don’t see them the way I do. Don’t interact with them the way I do. I’ve gained their trust, Y/N, something you haven’t done,” he said matter-of-factly.

“I’m a housewife, what do you expect me to do?” you said, placing your hands on your hips.

“The guys and I are going out to dinner tomorrow night. Be my date, and play nice with their wives. See if you can get any information out of them,” he offered.

“Okay, I can play the doting wife role,” you said to him, standing up.

“Hey watch out!”

“Ouch!” You hissed in pain as a shard of glass cut deep into your heel.

“Y/N, watch where you walk I wasn’t done cleaning yet,” he said, rubbing his face.

Then, his face went pale as he saw the crimson liquid coming from your body.

“Ow, fuck,” you whimpered, using the counter to balance as you looked at your foot in pain. Taehyung quickly swept up the rest before he was kneeling down to take a look at you.

“It’s pretty deep, I think you need stitches,” he said, examining your bloodied heel.

“I-I’m fine,” you whispered, trying to keep the dizzy spell from taking over.

“No, you’re not. You need to go to the doctor. Come on, the clinic is like not even a fifteen minute drive. Get your ass in the car,” he demanded.

“No, I’ll wrap it in gauze and it’ll be fine,” you declared.

“Y/N,” Taehyung warned.

“Taehyung,” you mocked.

“I’m not fucking around,” he said, standing up.

“Neither am I,” you countered.

“Fine, be that way you little shit,” he said before bending down and picking you up bridal style in his arms.

“Taehyung! Put me down!”

“Not on your life,” he said as he grabbed his keys and walked towards the door.

He got you in the car, a towel wrapped around your foot before he took off down the road.

The pair of you were silent as he drove, just going through the night without anything being said. Taehyung looked at your foot and picked up the speed a little bit. You looked out the window, not wanting to look down and see the bloody mess that was your foot. It ached so much, making you want to whine in pain. But you ignored it, keeping a poker face the whole time.

Taehyung pulled into the parking lot, undoing his seatbelt and coming over to your side. Before he could pick you up again, you held your hand out to stop him. “I can walk,” you argued.

“Don’t get stubborn now, just let me take care of you,” he said, sounding moderately annoyed with you. But you couldn’t help the fluttering that took over in your chest. Taehyung leaned down and brought you into his arms, fussing with you for just a moment before he started to walk inside.

“Hi, how can I-Oh goodness!” The nurse who was sitting at the front desk jolted as Taehyung brought you to the counter.

“Can my wife please get some help? She stepped on some glass at home and now I’m worried that she needs stitches,” he said, calm and collected.

“A-Absolutely, let me just page the doctor and Martha get them a wheelchair for her!” 

Soon Taehyung was settling you into the wheelchair, wrapping his blazer around your shoulders to keep the chill of the night out. The pair of you waited for less than five minutes before the doctor came out and greeted you both.

“Good evening you two! Taehyung! It’s great to see you,” the doctor said, giving Taehyung a firm handshake.

“I wish we could meet under better circumstances,” Taehyung said softly.

“Now, let’s get you back to an examination room and take a look at that foot,” he said, beckoning Taehyung to follow him. You felt him push you forward carefully, not getting too close to the walls or anything of that nature.

When the pair of you were in the examination room the doctor started the questions.

“Name?”

“Kim Y/N.”

“Age?”

“21.”

“Marital Status.”

“Married.”

“Are you pregnant?” he asked. You bit your lip for a second before answering.

“I-I’m not sure,” you said, worrying your lip with your teeth. You chanced a look at Taehyung in the corner, but he seemed as calm as he was driving here.

“We’ll get a blood draw done then, just to double check. But there are certain antibiotics we don’t use if you’re pregnant so we’ll steer clear of those ones okay?”

“Okay,” you whispered.

“Now, take me through what happened,” he said.

“I dropped my wine glass and stepped on the glass on the floor,” you said, wincing at how stupid it made you seem.

“Well certainly did a number, so I’ll get that glass out and flush the wound. And I’ll need to get a few stitches in there. Next we’ll do your blood draw then a shot of antibiotics and steroids and you should be all set my dear!” he said, smiling.

“Thank you,” you said, gripping Taehyung’s jacket tightly.

“I’ll be right back, just sit tight,” he said, leaving the room.

“You seem nervous,” Taehyung said, sighing.

“Of course I’m nervous, who isn’t when someone is about to stab you in the foot repeatedly?”

“Please, the needle is so thin you won’t feel a thing,” Taehyung scoffed.

“Shut up, it still hurts,” you whimpered out.

“I’m right here,” he said, reaching over and taking your hand in his. You stared down at your joined hands, not so sure what to think.

Then the doctor came back, a tray of utensils in his hands.

“Alright, the nurse will come back with your shots. But we’re gonna do the stitches first,” he explained putting some gloves over his hand.

You tensed as he approached, Taehyung adjusted himself so that he was directly behind you. His head brushed your shoulder as you stared down at the doctor. 

“Baby, look at me,” Taehyung’s low voice echoed in your ear. On instinct you turned to face him. Taehyung rested his forehead against yours, rubbing soothing circles into your wrist. “Just focus on me baby, no one else is here, just us two.”

“Tae,” you whimpered, gripping his hand. 

“It’s alright, shh, it’ll be alright I’m here,” he said, kissing your forehead and bringing your head into his neck so you wouldn’t look.

“On the count of three I’m going to pull the shard out, I want you to take a deep breath on three for me okay?”

You whispered an answer, too focused on how good Taehyung smelt and how warm his body was against yours.

“One, two, three,” the doctor said, calm as could be.

You yelped in pain, Taehyung right there to soothe your cries.

“Look at that, you did so well baby. It’s alright, he just needs to clean you up,” he said softly.

A burning cold and numbing took over your heel as Taehyung continued to keep your focus on him and him alone. Whispering sweet nothings into your ears and placing gentle kisses to your head and face. The doctor continued his work diligently and before you knew it, the gauze was in place and you were almost ready to go. 

The doctor performed a quick blood draw and Taehyung stayed with you through the whole thing. Holding your hand and rubbing your knuckles as he drew even more blood from your body that evening. Once he had what he needed the doctor bid the two of you farewell, saying to drop by the pharmacy for your medications.

“Thank you hyung, it means a lot that you helped her out,” Taehyung said, standing to give the gentleman a fond farewell.

“Anything for you Taehyung, after getting that grant for the clinic, I’ll help you in any way I can! Now, Mrs. Kim please be careful to not walk on your foot for at least two weeks. Taehyung you should take a few days off until she’s settled into a routine. Nice to meet you Mrs. Kim, Taehyung landed a keeper,” he said before exiting the room.

“A grant for the clinic huh?” you said, raising your brows at him.

“Yeah, part of my job is delegating where the money goes,” he said, shrugging off your many questions.

“Fancy pants over here,” you said, scoffing.

“Yeah yeah whatever,” he replied, never letting his fingers leave yours.

A few seconds later a nurse came in with a tray of shots lined up.

“Hi sweetheart, we’re just going to give you an antibiotic, painkiller and a steroid, does that all sound okay to you?” she asked in a kind voice.

“Yes, that’s fine,” you agreed.

“Okay I just need you to drop your pants for me. Are you her husband?” she asked, looking at Taehyung.

“Yes,” he said.

“Would you help her get up on the table and then step outside please,” she requested,

Taehyung nodded, getting you up and out of the wheelchair and up on the table without much fuss. It was when he turned to leave you panicked a little.

“Tae, you’ll be right outside right?” you asked, biting your lip.

“Yes baby, I’ll be right outside the door, just a few pokes and we’ll head home,” he said, kissing your hand before stepping out of the room.

“That’s quite the man you have there, Doctor Namjoon said he was very sweet while putting in your stitches,” she said, wiping your butt with alcohol swabs. 

“He’s a keeper,” you smiled.

A couple pokes later you were out the door, Taehyung behind you.

“Now the painkiller we gave her is pretty strong, it’ll make her a little loopy, so just keep your eyes on her,” the nurse said.

“Got it, thank you so much for your help,” he said, before wheeling you out into the parking lot. 

Your head was spinning lightly from the painkiller, making you giggly. Taehyung picked you up and set you in the car buckling you in for good measure.

“Taehyung~” you laughed.

“Yes?” he asked, looking at you in confusion.

You burst into laughter at the sight of his face. Taehyung simply sighed before putting the car in gear and taking off. 

The ride was mainly your laughter and Taehyung trying not to smash his face into the wheel. But when you got home Taehyung carefully pulled you from the vehicle, careful not to bump your foot or head when extracting you.

You wrapped your arms around his neck easily, cupping the nape of his neck with your palm. He didn’t falter as he carried you into your home, shutting the door with his foot. He kept you in his arms, carrying you all the way to bed, setting you down gently. But before he could remove your arms from his neck, you brought him in for a gentle kiss.

It was different than all the others you’d shared.

It wasn’t passionate or steamy, no lingering touches or wanton desires fueling your actions. You wanted to express your gratitude for him. Just saying thank you because you couldn’t put your thanks into words. He’d changed so much since you first met him. Even though he was still closed off and could be a massive dick sometimes, you were still excited to see him when he came home. Loved hearing the genuine compliments about your food. It was all Taehyung. And you wanted to know more. Any little detail he’d slip you’d take it. Because you really weren’t sure if you wanted this mission to end as much as you did before...

Pulling away, Taehyung breathed against your lips softly.

“What was that for?”

“Just... Thank you, for what you did tonight and-and thanks for coming home to me every night and putting up with me and I really want you to know that-”

“Sure, what else would allies do? If I was cold and cut off to you in that hospital it would blow our cover, I did what I had to do. Namjoon is pretty good at detecting bullshit so sorry if I laid it on a little thick. But he bought our act, so good job to you too,” he said, scratching his neck.

It was like a glass of cold water was dropped onto you. 

Allies...

That’s right. That’s all you were to each other. You weren’t actually husband and wife. The marriage was a sham and you would get it annulled the second the mission was over. At least that’s what you wanted before...

“But I’m going to take a shower, so rest up, I’ll call work in the morning and let them know what happened. Night,” he said, standing up quickly before closing the door behind him.

Tears stung in the corner of your eyes, but you forced them back. You wouldn’t cry over him, not like this. Not now...

But before you knew it, tears were racing down your face as you cried yourself to sleep. Dreaming of a marriage to a man who’d never think of you like that.

---

You were sick again this morning.

Taehyung felt the bed shift as you got up and hobbled your way to the bathroom to puke up whatever dinner you’d made last night. This had happened for the fourth day in a row. You getting up, getting sick then coming back to bed as if it never happened. You hadn’t said a thing to him about it, but he knew. And he couldn’t help the way his stomach clenched when he thought you could be pregnant.

This morning was the last straw. 

He sat up and waited for you to walk in and when you did his heart lurched. You looked sleepy, and like you were parched. But most of all, you looked scared.

“Taehyung,” you said, looking down at the floor nervously.

“We need to get those results,” he said dismissively.

“No shit sherlock,” you snarked. “But ever think that I might have the flu or something?”

“Influenza is coughing, what you’re talking about is a virus.”

“Okay doctor, sue me. My results should be at the clinic. We can go there and get them,” you said.

“I’ll pick them up after work today, is that alright?” he asked, raising a brow at you.

“Yeah, whatever works I guess,” you said.

“Alright.”

It was silent.

“Taehyung?” you asked, coming towards the bed, your heel almost back to full strength after the incident a few weeks ago.

“Yeah.”

“What do we do if I’m... well if I-uh,” you stammered.

“If you’re pregnant? Well... We’ll deal with it, I guess,” he said, sighing and rubbing his forehead.

“They wouldn’t be an it, Taehyung, they’re a baby, a person,” you said, getting a little worked up.

“Listen, we’ll deal with it when the time comes, this mission is over in a month and then you can go and-well...”

“You aren’t suggesting what I think you are, are you?” you said, hurt flashing across your features.

“Y/N, think about it. We’re spies. Espionage Agents. Do you think our lifestyle is one suited to having children? Leaving them with a nanny all day and then not knowing if your parents are going to come home, them leaving you in the care of strangers while they move you all over the world? It’s the loneliest life I could imagine,” Taehyung said, eyes not meeting yours.

“Taehyung were your parents...?” you trailed off, not wanting to believe the truth.

“My parents were D3s with the IEA. They died when I was thirteen, I didn’t even know they were gone until three weeks later when the agency showed up at our door. I know that life, Y/N, I know that hurt. I don’t want anyone to feel that way. Not because we were stupid,” he breathed.

“What if I kept the baby, left the agency...” you thought aloud, trying to calm your racing thoughts.

“Y/N, think about what you’d be doing. You never really leave the agency. They always know where you are, threaten you with what you did in your past over your head. When you sign up, you’re in it for life,” he explained.

“Taehyung I couldn’t do what you’re asking, I can’t,” you said, tears falling down your cheeks.

“Listen, we don’t know for sure. Let’s wait until we know the facts before we start making scenarios up in our heads.”

“Okay...”

---

Taehyung was driving home, your test results in the passenger side.

He couldn’t open them. As much as he hated to admit it, he was scared shitless too. What was he supposed to tell you? How could he get you to see, that this wasn’t a good situation. But, nothing was set in stone until you opened that packet.

Walking up the driveway he saw you in the window, putting some finishing touches on dinner. His heart swelled with something. Something he’d never known before. He couldn’t place this feeling, but he didn’t hate it... He didn’t hate you.

As much as he tried, you wormed your way into his mind frequently. What you were cooking for dinner, how your heel was feeling, if you really were pregnant with his child or not. All of these and more were taking up space in his normally focused brain.

But when he walked in the door, he discovered a glorious sight.

You, in a dress that he hadn’t seen before. Yellow and covered with flowers at the bottom it was flowy. But what he noticed first was that it accentuated areas of you that usually were understated.

Like your stomach. A tiny little bump visible to his eyes suddenly knocked the wind out of him as he dropped his briefcase, making you jump.

“Taehyung! You scared the piss out of me,” you complained, placing your hand over your heart, feeling it beat wildly against your chest. You saw his distress and immediately came to his side. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling faint? Did you eat today? What have I told you about skipping lunch-”

“I-I’m fine,” he said, shakily holding onto the wall and pulling himself together.

“Are you sure? You look pale,” you said, cradling his face in your palms.

Moving away from you he nodded.

“Yeah... Just... Your test results are there,” he said, pointing at the coffee table he collapsed into when he saw you.

“I’ll look at them, you sit down and eat. You worried me,” you said, moving towards the coffee table slowly.

Your heart was going insane inside your chest. You weren’t sure how you’d react to either situation. But Taehyung had already sat down, waiting for you to open it.

Carefully you ripped open the envelope, pulling out the papers inside with delicate fingers. You looked through your bloodwork, noticing nothing of severe importance. But then your eyes landed on the pregnancy test results. 

Pregnant: Yes.

The little circle of red around the three letter word made you want to hurl. But at the same time, you were oddly at peace with the idea. It had taken a lot for you to come to this conclusion, but, if it was meant to be then... So be it. 

“What does it say?” Taehyung asked, looking at your calm demeanour. 

“I’m pregnant,” you say softly. Taehyung’s head snaps up, looking from the paper to your stomach where his child was for certain growing now.

“Fuck,” he said, sitting back in the chair, looking up at the ceiling.

“What do we do Taehyung?”

“We need to call Seokjin, immediately,” he said, standing up.

“You’re right,” you said, nodding slowly.

“I’ll call him now,” he said, standing up.

You wait patiently as Taehyung puts the call on speaker phone.

“Yah, do you know what time it is you little punk, why are you calling me?” he asked.

“Hyung, we’ve got an emergency,” Taehyung said, leaning closer to you.

“What is it?” he asked, mildly concerned now.

“I’m pregnant, sir,” you said, biting your lip.

“You’re... what?”

“Hyung she’s pregnant and...”

“And let me guess, you’re the father Taehyung,” Seokjin said through the phone, distress in his voice.

“Yes, hyung that’s right,” he said, pink tinging his ears.

“Get her out of there Taehyung, that’s an order,” Seokjin said, not sounding at all like he was joking.

“Sir, I can still-”

“I’ll be sending a envoy to come and collect Ms. Y/N by the end of the week. Taehyung if anyone asks you where she went, she went to stay with her sick mother for a while. That should provide you with enough cover until Feng is in town,” Seokjin instructed.

“Yes sir,” you said, head hanging low.

“And Ms. Y/N,” he said, making your ears perk up.

“Yes, sir?” you responded.

“I’ll accept this as your resignation from the company. Goodbye you two.” With that he hung up, leaving you and Taehyung bewildered.

“What?” you screamed.

“Y/N-”

“Taehyung you motherfucker!” you shrieked, taking off your shoe and chasing him around the house with it. 

“Y/N! Please hang on a second!”

“What am I going to do you son of a bitch?!”

“Hey listen, I’ll-ow!” he hissed when you chucked your shoe and it hit him square in the butt. 

“No you listen, I just lost my job because of this! What am I going to do, Taehyung? I’m alone, pregnant and scared out of my fucking mind. What. Do. I. Do??”

“You aren’t alone,” he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

“Taehyung when they force me to leave the agency because of this I get a limited amount of money, not nearly enough to support me and a baby,” you said, rubbing your temples.

“I-uh, I can pay child support or... something like that,” he said, coughing at the end to hide his discomfort.

“Taehyung,” you said, already stressed at the idea.

“I’m serious, I’ll send you a check every month. How much do you think you’ll need?”

“You aren’t listening to me,” you said, exacerbated.

“What do you mean?”

“Taehyung, what if I don’t want to take money from you?” you said, placing your hand on your hip.

“I’m confused,” Taehyung complained, continuing to look up at the ceiling.

“I’m so fucked,” you murmured, looking down at your stomach in concern.

Taehyung glanced over at you. Eyes brimming with tears as you cradled your stomach in fear. He felt sick to his stomach. You were both to blame for what happened. He should take responsibility, ease some of your worry. But what would he do? Could he be a good father for this child? Could the two of you work together to make this okay? Did he even want to try?

Yes, he did want to try.

Because you were his wife. Through an agency or not it was still an honest to God marriage on paper. So, you both kinda fucked up, but how you handled it would be paramount for the child.

“Let me help you,” he said, standing up.

Looking up from your tummy in shock, you weren’t sure if you believed him. “What are you talking about,” you said.

“I’ve got your six if you got mine,” he announced, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

“Taehyung a baby isn’t easy. It’s a lifetime commitment. We’d be bound together for life,” you explained.

“Sounds good, I accept this mission,” he said, smiling.

“Taehyung!”

“Let me take care of you, and in the future if something happens, take care of me,” he reasoned.

“Tae this isn’t-I don’t know about this,” you whimpered.

“Trust me, Y/N, trust me this once,” he asked, walking over to you.

Staring into his eyes you didn’t see a hint of a joke or humor in them. He... He was serious?

“Okay Taehyung, I’ve got your six if you’ve got mine,” you sighed.

“Partners?”

“Partners.”

---

The envoy was dispatched to your location a few hours ago. A female agent, playing your sister, would be picking you up and taking you back to the IEA. Taehyung had been almost glued to your side the previous days, saying that he didn’t want anything to happen to you.

“Taehyung,” you groaned, laying in bed around twenty minutes before the car was supposed to arrive. He came into the room, looking at you with a neutral expression.

“Yes?” he asked, eyes locking with yours.

“I-I’m nervous,” you said, twiddling your fingers.

“The envoy will take you to the airport and then you’ll have a meeting with hyung, he’s not so bad. Especially since you’re pregnant. Hyung might be a jerk sometimes, but he’s not heartless, you’ll be safe Y/N, I promise.”

“And the second Feng is dead?”

“I’ll be on my way back to you,” he said firmly.

“Thank you Taehyung, for everything,” you said, feeling emotional.

“Don’t cry, jeez,” he admonished, coming to wipe your tears with his sleeve.

“Sorry, I’m just going to miss you,” you sniffled. Taehyung smiled softly at your tone, placing a gentle hand on your stomach.

“I’m going to miss you too, and your food. Honestly did you refrigerate some of that broccoli soup you made? If you don’t I might starve to death,” he complained.

Giggling you nodded your head. “Yes Tae, there’s at least four servings in there, just don’t eat it all in a row, I don’t want you to get sick,” you warned.

“Yes dear,” he said, rubbing his soft fingertips into your skin. “How big is the baby right now?” he asked, keeping his eyes locked on your little tummy.

“I’m about eight weeks so around the size of a kidney bean,” you explained.

“Our little bean,” he said, smiling.

“Yeah,” you grinned back.

The sound of a car door shutting came from up front. The two of you turned your heads and sighed. “Come on, I’ll get your bag for you,” Taehyung said, lifting what was supposed to be a little weekend bag filled with the necessities. 

You nodded and let Taehyung do the heavy lifting while you went to gather a couple things from the bathroom. Your sister, played by Yeri of accounting, came walking up smiling brightly. The two of you embraced quickly, hugging for a long time before Taehyung huffed like a little kid.

“Okay, off my wife,” he said, pulling you back for a second.

“Sheesh Taehyung, didn’t expect you to be so possessive,” she joked.

“Alright baby,” he said, ignoring Yeri all together, “I promise the second this is over I’ll come to get you,” he said smiling.

“Okay, I’ll hold you to it,” you beamed back.

“C’mere,” he said, pulling you in for a sweet kiss. Taehyung and you hadn’t really been as touchy feely recently, so to finally have his lips on yours felt amazing. Wrapping your arms around him contentedly you could hear Yeri gagging in the background.

“Come on kids, time to go,” she said, clapping her hands.

Breaking apart Taehyung tucked your hair behind your ears, “I’m gonna miss you,” he said, genuine sadness creeping into his features.

“I’ll miss you two, we both will,” you said, holding your stomach. Taehyung knelt to the ground and placed a kiss on your stomach.

“You both better behave,” he warned, shooting you a heated glance before standing up to give you a final hug.

“See you later, Taehyung!” you said, getting into the car.

Taehyung waved as the two of you drove down the road.

Time for phase two.

---

The drive between you and Yeri was quiet.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” you said softly, looking at your thumbs.

“Don’t mention it,” she said, waving her hand.

“Does the whole office know that I’m...” you trailed off, thoughts wandering.

“Pretty much everybody knows, sorry, Director Kim came out looking like he had just gone through an emotional rollercoaster. We all were kinda thrown for a loop when he said an envoy needed to be put together and stat. Everyone kind of murmured when Hoseok from HR spoke up about the reasoning for paperwork. And it sorta slipped that you had a bun in the oven,” she explained.

“Aw man,” you said, rubbing your face with your palm.

“I’m sorry that you got fired over this,” she offered.

“I knew that if I fucked up this mission in any way that it would get me terminated. Just didn’t think fucking would be the problem that got me fired,” you sighed.

“So, you and Taehyung huh?” she asked, eyes focused on the road.

“Oh, we’re not... like, serious or anything,” you scrambled.

“Serious enough to stick with you for a baby, that's a big time commitment,” Yeri commented.

“Well, we’re partners, we watch each other’s back and help when the other one needs it,” you repeated what Taehyung had told you nights prior.

“But with a baby? I don’t know Y/N, I’d just keep your eyes on the skies and head on the ground for right now. Try to readapt to civilian life,” Yeri suggested.

“I don’t see why we couldn’t work,” you mumbled, leaning your head against the window.

“Taehyung isn’t exactly a people person, how do you think he’ll react with a little people showing up in his world. Crying at all times of day, demanding feedings and toys and affection. It’s going to be overwhelming for the both of you,” she said.

“I-I get it, Yeri.” 

“Sorry, Y/N, I didn’t mean to be such a jerk about it. You know Taehyung better than probably anyone at the agency. If you believe him, then I don’t see why the two of you can’t make it work in a healthy manner,” she soothed.

But the damage was done.

A sense of unease settled over your stomach as you felt your heart clench painfully. Nothing was keeping Taehyung from going out and getting another woman. Someone prettier, a better agent who wasn’t so sensitive, someone who could handle him and his intense personality with ease. Not you who would bicker with him every chance you got.

“Y/N, put your head down,” Yeri demanded suddenly.

“What? Why-”

BANG!

A gunshot ran out over the road, taking out Yeri’s review mirror. The car swerved as Yeri tried to keep it from becoming an easy target. 

“Fuck!” Yeri screamed, hitting the guardrail on the other side of the road. 

“Yeri! Please be careful!” you said, holding your stomach in fear. 

“I can’t do much when someone is shooting at us Y/N!” 

“Who would be shooting at us anyways?!” you screamed, grabbing the bar above the window to stabilize yourself.

Another shot rang out, hitting a tire and causing a blowout. The car wobbled, fishtailing as the back end was no longer stable. You gripped onto the bar tightly, remembering your training and attempting to remain calm.

“Yeri, do you have a gun in here?” you asked.

“Yeah, glove box, why?” she asked, trying to drive with a blown tire.

“Because I know exactly who these people are, and they fucked with the wrong person,” you said, pulling the pistol out of the glove box and throwing the magazine in before rolling down the window.

“Y/N! What the fuck are you doing!”

“Saving our lives, maybe,” you said, pulling yourself up and out. Wrapping your leg around your seatbelt stabilized you, giving you better aim. 

Firing you nailed the passenger who was shooting in the head, watching as if flew back against the seat. Glass shattered from the bullet’s entry into the windshield. Next you aimed for the driver, shooting threw the broken windshield, hitting him in the throat. The car swerved behind you, hitting the guardrail and flipping before coming to rest on it’s side.

Smirking you pulled yourself back into the car, looking ahead of you. Only for your stomach to drop.

Dead ahead were three more cars, waiting.

Yeri slammed on the breaks, sending you forward into the dash. 

The two of you were fucked, blocking your only path out with a blown up car. Yeri seemed to notice because she pulled out her holstered weapon, aiming at the guys standing outside the car. The next thing you knew, the windshield was shattering, Yeri’s head slumping forward against the steering wheel, laying on the horn.

“Yeri!” You cried, gripping her shoulder and shaking her aggressively. 

The men swarmed the vehicle, grabbing at you and pulling you out of the vehicle kicking and screaming.

“Let me go you fuckers! I’m going to kick all of your asses!”

Once they finally got a good grip on you, you were held kneeling in front of...

“Doctor Namjoon?” you asked, eyebrow raising.

“Y/N, how pleasant to see you here,” he said, kneeling down to your level.

“What are you-how-when...?” you asked, confusion taking over your entire being.

“Well, you see Y/N, Mr. Feng would like a word with you and your husband.”

“What?”

“Mr. Feng, the one who supplies our town with everything it needs. The one who built our clinic, the one who set up the adoption center in town, would like to speak with you and your husband. We wouldn’t want to keep the good man waiting would we?” he said, standing up and motioning to the other men standing around you.

“Wait, Doctor Namjoon! There must be a mistake, what did we do? Why does Mr. Feng want to speak with us?”

“Because your husband has just won the election for mayor.”

---

Taehyung couldn’t believe the news.

He was now mayor.

Finally he could take down Feng and restore peace.

His co-workers were blowing up his phone non-stop. But there wasn’t a single message from you. Not that you had to message him or anything, but... it’d be nice to hear from you. Taehyung was caught up in his thoughts about you he almost didn’t hear his phone ringing.

The caller ID was yours.

“Hello? Y/N? Where are you? Did you make it to the airport alright?”

“Taehyung!” You screamed.

His blood ran cold at the desperate sound in your voice.

“Hear that little man? We managed to get ourselves a visitor,” a sinister tone echoed over the phone.

“Feng,” Taehyung growled.

“Now now, Taehyung, wouldn’t want to upset me. I’ve got two for the price of one after all,” Feng’s low voice warned.

Taehyung felt sick. You and the baby were in danger.

“What do you want?” Taehyung asked, desperate to save you.

“A resignation letter, brought to the address in the message that will follow this call,” Feng demanded.

“And if I refuse?”

“Two birds with one bullet,” he said, laying it out.

“Is she safe?” He asked, gripping his pant leg, anger suffusing his entire body.

“For now, the clock is ticking Taehyung.”

And with that, there was a click and the line went dead.

Taehyung flew into action, grabbing his bag and throwing on different clothes. 

“I’m coming baby,” he promised into the air, hoping to God you heard him in your heart.

---

Your body ached, hands tied behind your back without any care to blood flow or being able to feel your fingers. 

You were tied to a flimsy wooden chair, feet taped together. Feng and his men were surrounding the area, everyone seemed to have a position. You tried to find points of weakness, something to exploit, but there weren't many flaws in the way these men were placed. If Feng was good at something, it was security.

Looking around at the several areas of escape, you were disappointed to discover men stationed at every one of them. Of course, it would be a rookie move for them to leave any exit open around someone like you. Although you weren’t sure if they knew your true identity or not.

The likelihood of them knowing wasn’t high. They hadn’t pressured you or asked you any questions since your arrival. They’d merely tied you up and left you to wait. It was agonizing to sit still for the longest time, your hands burning from the rope being tied too tight.

The men around the warehouse were all milling around, all keeping their eyes on the doors. Feng was not a patient man, something you’d figured out. As he stood there, staring at the entrance where Taehyung could come through any moment.

“Boss, we should just kill her then kill him. We have the numbers on them,” one person spoke up, looking bored at the back.

“And what good would that do me? Taehyung is respected in the community, if he dies then the people won’t trust me anymore. Do you want my people not to have faith in me anymore? Do you want me to constantly be battling like this against stupid people who try to work against my tide? I am going to rule China one day, and it won’t be because idiotic people like you tell me what to do,” Feng growled out.

“S-sorry sir,” he whimpered out.

“Shut up and go check the perimeter,” Feng said, barking a few more orders before the men scattered like pool balls.

You sat there, silently observing everything going on. They had a standard set up, something two D3s could liquidate easily. But with one of you being compromised, it made it a little harder. Hopefully Taehyung had a plan.

“Worried that your husband won’t come for you?” Feng sneered, looking at you with disgust.

“When my husband shows up, you all should be very concerned about what you do next,” you warned, glaring harshly at Feng with as much venom as you could muster.

“Taehyung is a man of politics and sweet talking, not action. Although, he must have some action to have you end up in this state,” he scoffed.

“I’m known to be a man of action.”

Both yours and Feng’s heads snapped in the direction of the voice.

“Taehyung,” you breathed, so relieved to see him here. But at the same time fear coursed through your veins. This was a volatile situation with lots of variables, you both had to play this perfectly for it to work.

“Y/N,” he answered, coming to walk forward.

You felt cool metal touch the side of your temple and Taehyung halted in his steps, staring at the gun pointed to your head.

“I believe you owe me something, Mr. Taehyung,” Feng said, holding out his hand. 

Taehyung retrieved something from the inside of his jacket, holding it up before setting it down on the floor and kicking it over towards the two of you. Feng bent down to pick it up when you struck.

Lifting your tied legs up you bashed your heel over his head, causing him to collapse onto the ground. Taehyung rushed forward, quickly removing your bindings around your wrists and feet.

“Taehyung we don’t have much time, a majority of the guards will be back soon after checking the perimeter. Once they see your car they’re gonna book it back here,” you warned.

“I know, you act like this is my first rodeo,” he remarked, sounding mock hurt. 

Finally the restraints came off, falling to the ground in a heap. Taehyung didn’t hesitate to pull you into his embrace, quickly claiming your lips with his.

“Mmm, Taehyung, not now,” you said, pulling away after a few pecks. 

“What the fuck is going on here?” A guard asked, raising his gun and pointing it at you. Taehyung immediately put his body between you and the gun. 

“Feng is just taking a nap,” Taehyung pulled out his gun and shot at Feng, three times. “Permanently.”

“You son of a bitch!” 

Bullets started raining down on the two of you. Taehyung interlocked your fingers, taking off down the warehouse floor. You could hear the metal bullets flying past your ears, making them ring in irritation.

Taehyung continued to pull you down the alleyway, running fast as he could. Your legs burned with the effort to carry your body. You were frightened, adrenaline pumping through your veins at the idea of something happening to you. Taehyung or the baby. But you couldn’t think that way here, it was flight or fight time. And it’s time to fight.

Grabbing Taehyung’s gun you fired off a few rounds, hitting a couple guards towards the top of the railing. But with you standing still, you got a nick in your shoulder, a bullet grazing your delicate flesh.

Taehyung ripped the gun from your grasp and pushed you in front of him, sending your body hurtling forward. “Taehyung let me handle this,” you screamed.

“If you handle it that way you’ll wind up dead, and I won’t have that!” He yelled.

“Taehyung trust me,” you begged, going further ahead.

“I trust you with my life, but not yours,” he said, moving towards the car. Bullets flew past the two of you, one hitting the car tire dead on, having it pop like a balloon. Taehyung cursed as he sent a few rounds off back into the warehouse. You watched as a few men dropped like flies. His aim was deadly, no wonder he was one of the top operatives of the team.

“We need to find transport,” you said, looking at Taehyung.

“I know, but my car is around back, we’d have to fight our way through,” Taehyung said, looking dead ahead.

“Let’s do it,” you said, grabbing his hand and interlocking your fingers.

“No, I can’t risk you getting hurt,” he denied.

“Taehyung give me a gun and let’s get them. I’ve got your six if you’ve got mine,” you said, smiling brightly.

A few moments later, a pistol was place in your hand and Taehyung started moving ahead.

“Cover my back, I’ll go in first, you get any that I miss. Extra magazines are in my pockets,” he instructed as the two of you walked down the suspiciously empty hallway.

A few steps in Taehyung fired his first round. You both kept moving, hands interlocked and moving as one. You two were partners, and you both were going to get out of this unscathed if the other had anything to say about it. Taehyung felt your wedding band rub against his fingers and a new found strength gripped him. 

He wouldn’t fail.

Not today.

You saw movement in the room next to you, taking aim as you fired the round, watching as a man collapsed behind the door. A smirk left your lips as you saw the crimson fluid spill from under the door. Another one bites the dust.

Taehyung fired again, making sure to clear the rooms before heading down the hallway. Suddenly, two men appeared from the hallway in your direction. You squeezed Taehyung’s hand, he instantly flipped the two of you around, firing off two shots in their direction. You heard the distinct thud of bodies hitting the floor when you also took three shots at men coming towards you the new head of the movement.

Two went down easy, the third struggled on the floor, aimed and shot, shooting through the ceiling right in front of you. Running forward you crushed his wrist with your heeled shoe, shooting him through the head for good measure before Taehyung came back, bringing your hands together once more and taking the lead.

“They just keep coming,” you exclaimed, fingers already hurting from the recoil of the gun.

“Hang in there, just a few more, then we’re home free,” Taehyung said, shooting down the hall once more.

“Okay,” you agreed, letting the years of your training take over your body.

“That’s my girl,” Taehyung smiled, rubbing his thumb against your knuckles for a moment before pushing forward through the building.

The pet name sent liquid fire through your veins. You were his girl, you were the one carrying his child, no one else. It was the two of you against the world right now, and you were going to win.

“I see the door, I’m not sure if there’s an alarm on it or not, but be prepared to run,” he said, approaching the metal door with an air of caution. He checked around the seal, not seeing any wires or things of that nature that would trip an alarm, nor did he see any sensors that could also send a signal back to the main area of the warehouse.

“I think we’re in the clear. The car is right around the corner when we get down the stairs, okay? You go ahead of me alright. In case this door does trigger an alarm, I want you to get in the car and go. If I’m hit or I go down, you go without me, you understand?”

Panic suffused your body. Leave? Without him? Never.

“No, I won’t go unless you’re there with me,” you argued.

“Listen, if I go down there’s no way you can get me in the car by yourself. You’re carrying precious cargo baby, best not to risk anything,” Taehyung explained.

“Tae I’m not going to leave you,” you said, shaking your head.

“Baby listen to me, I need you to make it out of here. If I lose you now I-I don’t know what I’ll do,” he said, looking at you with concern.

“You won’t lose me, and I won’t lose you. We’re getting out of here together, Taehyung,” you said.

“Then let’s go,” he announced, opening the door. The two of you bolted down the stairs, not waiting for the alarm to trip or anything of the sort. Your heart was hammering in your chest, blood pounding in your ears. God, it had been so long since you felt like this.

The fear, the adrenaline.

It all made you realize what a crazy few months this had been. Originally, you hated Taehyung, hated what he represented. Everything you couldn’t be, just a reminder that you had failed. But in reality he was always there. Like no one else had been. Sure at the beginning it was by force, but after a while, you enjoyed having him around. He ate your dinners with gusto, complimented your appearance, was there for you when the rest of your world fell apart. 

Sure he could be a dick, but there’s a good person under all the bullshit. You wanted to discover that person. The one you had a glimpse of during these months. The one who smiles at every dog, who doesn’t like bitter things, who needs to sleep holding onto you.

Taehyung was the only person you could rely on, and you for him. The pair of you made a pact, all those months ago. Help me, help you. And the two of you were in it for the long haul now, a child on the way changed how you saw your life going. You never expected to be a mother.

But if it was with Taehyung, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe the two of you could make it work in a healthy way for everyone involved...

You saw the car, parked just off the road and in the ditch slightly, enough so no one would see it. Another shot rang out as you two booked it across the open dirt clearing around the warehouse.

Making it to the car you flung the driver side door open, when you realized Taehyung wasn’t standing beside you.

“Taehyung!” You screamed.

Looking behind you, Taehyung was there holding his side as if he had run too fast, but you saw it.

Blood.

Everything slowed down. You watched as he brought his hand before his face, staring at the crimson liquid coating his fingers. His eyes looked to yours, clear orbs that stared into his soul. Fuck, he fucked up. And he fucked up bad.

“Go on baby,” he said, falling to his knees.

“Taehyung, no!” you screamed, running over to his side.

“Y/N, get in the fucking car and go now,” he said through gritted teeth.

“No, I can’t just leave you here are you crazy?” you said, holding his side as well.

“Y/N, I’m serious. Leave me now, they’re coming,” he said.

True to his word you heard footsteps coming down the stairs that the pair of you had just run down yourselves. It sounded like a death march approaching you two. Taehyung was shuddering, white button up during red with proof of his injury.

“I’ll fend them off,” you said, holding his head with your other hand.

“No, you won’t. Go now, while you still can baby please,” he begged.

“Please don’t make me do this without you,” you cried, tears streaming down your face.

“I’m sorry, I wish I could... Be there for the both of you,” he said, placing his hand on your stomach. “Daddy loves you... Both of you,” he whispered. Before he went limp in your arms.

“Taehyung, no! Please please come back, I love you too please!” you screamed.

“There they are!”

“Get the bitch!”

With a final kiss you bolt up, firing a few shots at the men before you took off into the car, wiping your tears with the back of your hand.

Throwing the car in gear you peeled off down the road, hearing furious screaming behind you. But all you could hear were those words that’d haunt you for the rest of your life.

“I love you too, Taehyung.”

---

“It’s been five months, Y/N, you need to take it easy,” your friend, Park Jimin, said, helping you stand from your seated position.

“I’m only seven months, I got two more to go,” you said, rubbing your swollen belly with affection.

When you returned to the agency without Taehyung, Seokjin immediately knew what happened.

“Was it short?” he asked you as you appeared before him.

“Yes, he didn’t suffer,” you said.

Daddy loves you... Both of you...

Thinking about him still hurt, made your head spin with the memories of everything the two of you did together. 

His body laying in the dirt alone, as you ran to the safety of the vehicle.

Tears sprung to your eyes and Jimin rushed over, shushing you and rubbing your back.

Taehyung apparently had written a will out while the two of you were living in Feng’s little compound. Saying that anything and everything was to go to you. His apartment, his stocks and his trust that his parents left for him. It was all under your name now.

You could easily support your child and send them to any college you wanted without lifting a finger, but you knew that couldn’t work. So you got a job at a local convenience store. Something to pass the time while the baby twirled and kicked in your belly. 

People that came in and cooed over you, asking how you were and how the father was. You put on your brave face and told them he passed, but you were still doing well regardless. An old grandmother approached the check out one day...

It had been slow, no one really coming in except for a few college students and a couple middle aged men. Your feet were heavy with the weight of your pregnancy, but other than that, the day was alright.

Slow days like this were always a little harder on you. It gave you more time to think. Think about the past, the daunting cloud that was the future hanging over you. You must’ve looked distressed because a little old lady came up to the counter, a simple bottle of water in her basket.

“Are you alright dear?” She asked, looking at you with concern.

“Yes, I’m fine,” you said, wiping your eyes lightly to get whatever emotion was there out of them.

“Are you sure about that?” She questioned, looking deep into your heart.

And before you knew it, the floodgates opened. 

“No,” you whimpered out, tears falling freely from your face. 

“Oh my sweet, come here,” she said, opening her arms.

Running around the counter you took the embrace. It was the first time since Taehyung died you felt this level of comfort. Jimin tried his best but, nothing compared to the touch of a mother, someone who knew what you were going through. 

“You don’t have to talk about it, I know that pain. My husband passed before the birth of our third child. I know how badly you must hurt, but my dear, we must live on to celebrate their memory. There's sadness that comes with every passing, but we need to be happy for them. Be joyous in their memory, so that they can live on in us.”

You’d never cried that hard in your life you were certain.

But the old lady you’d never met just hung onto you, keeping you close and patting your head until your cries stopped. 

“Y/N, are you listening to me?” Jimin asked as he sat at your feet, rubbing them after your long day at work.

“Nope,” you said, popping the p for effect.

“I was saying, that we should make a nursery soon. You can’t put it off much longer. The baby is going to be here before you know it,” he said, rubbing out a knot that had been bothering you since near the beginning of your pregnancy.

“I can’t touch his stuff, Jimin, I can’t,” you whisper.

“Then I can-”

“Go in that room and I’ll cut your hands off Park Jimin,” you warned.

“Okay, okay. Then we should at least set up the cradle in your room,” he said, trying to compromise.

“Fine, but can we do it later, I’m super tired right now.”

“Yeesh, you’re such a little baby. Fine we’ll hold off until you have your next day off. Then we’re doing it,” he said.

“Okay okay, whatever,” you complained.

Jimin’s phone rang. You whined at the loss of his hands on your feet but let him go take his conversation. You looked down at your big, swollen belly and rubbed your hands over the flesh there. You didn’t want to know the gender of the baby yet. You weren’t sure what you wanted, but you knew that if they looked anything like Taehyung, your heart would break in the best way. 

Big eyes like his, that boxy smile, broad shoulders and large hands that held yours just so. Tears made their way into your eyes as you thought about him. After five months it still hurt. Not to wake up and have his arm over your waist. Hearing his soft singing in the shower. Not having his snarky comments and kinda rude attitude was even something you missed.

You just missed him...

“Hey, Y/N-oh shit, are you alright?” he asked, coming forward and touching your knee comfortingly.

“No, Jimin. How am I going to do this by myself? I can’t raise a child without him. I’m going to fuck it up, it’s going to go so wrong and I... I don’t know if I can do this,” you whimpered.

“You can do this. You aren’t alone. You know that Joy and I will do everything we can to help you out. Trust in us, we’ll be there every step of the way,” Jimin said, trying to comfort you.

“I miss him... So much,” you cried out, tears flowing freely down your face at this point. Jimin pulled you to his chest, trying to shush you, to comfort you in any way that he could. But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t Taehyung. 

After a few minutes you finally calmed down. Jimin explained he had to leave and with a kiss on your forehead he was gone.

You sat on the couch, trying to watch some TV but nothing was getting rid of that feeling. The feeling in your gut that you knew. It was familiar. But you couldn’t pin it down.

Getting ready for bed you brushed your teeth and washed your face. Getting into bed you wrapped up in the blanket. It had been increasingly difficult for you to fall asleep as your pregnancy progressed. Too big to lay on your stomach and back you had to settle for sleeping on your side, something you weren’t used to. And trying to sleep without someone next to you was difficult.

Tossing back and forth all night you didn’t really fall asleep.

You kept hearing noises and having nightmares. 

Watching TV did little to ease your nerves.

You’d been spending time like this recently. So tired you’re desperate to sleep but you know in the back of your mind that sleep is so far away. 

Giving up you decided to go on a walk.

You lived in a decent neighborhood, mainly filled with older couples with no children, so you decided that a nice brisk walk in the fresh spring air would do you well. Struggling to pull on your shoes you heard it.

A rustling outside in the bushes. You waited a few moments before you heard it again. It was large, possibly a young bear, but you weren’t sure a bear would be this far into the suburbs. Again, you listened, this time a cough rang out as you waited.

A person.

Running to the bedroom you opened your bedside drawer and pulled the gun that sat under the false bottom. Gripping it tightly in your hands you moved slowly.

You knew how ridiculous this must look, but you were pregnant, alone and not taking any chances. Worst comes to worst you shoot a bear and call the cops saying you thought you were being robbed. You had a license, nothing would come of it. 

But bears don’t cough like that...

Slowly you approached the door, gun aimed low. You walked with purpose, keeping your posture straight as to be prepared in case someone came up behind you. If this was a robbery, it was likely not just one person. You didn’t want to call the police just yet, because maybe it was dumb kids deciding to take on a defenseless pregnant woman. Easy pray.

Normally.

However, as you approached the door you heard the rustling stop.

You laid your hand on the door knob, preparing yourself for the onslaught of what could be beyond the cherry hardwood. 

Quickly, you pushed the door open, aiming your gun at-

“Meow.”

“What the fuck?” you asked, looking down at a black and brown cat that had situated itself on your front doorstep.

“Meeeooowww.” It drawled at you, looking up and into your house with interest.

“No. Shoo,” you said, waving your gun carelessly into the night.

“Meeeoowww,” it said again, gazing at you with such tender eyes that it made your stomach drop.

“You need a place to stay, is that it?” you questioned, looking down at the animal.

It merely meowed again and moved passed you, strutting into your house like it owned the place.

“Sure, come on in,” you joked, walked back inside only to be stunned by what you saw.

The outline of a man, standing in the middle of your home.

Instantly the gun went up, locking onto his head with deadly precision.

“Who the fuck are you,” you growled, waiting for the intruder to turn around.

“Y/N?”

The gun clattered to the floor.

“What...?” you asked, staring into the face of the man you thought you’d never see again.

Taehyung stood before you, hair much longer than the last time you’d seen him. He looked thinner, but not grotesquely so. You couldn’t help yourself, you walked forward.

“This is a dream, a really cruel dream,” you whispered to yourself as you reached him.

“Baby,” he whispered, as if he was in the same place you were. Star struck.

“Taehyung what are you...” you said, reaching out and touching his face. There were a few scars here and there, but it was the same face, the same man you’d fallen in love with, standing before you.

“Feng’s top operatives are dead, the whole system is shut down, all thanks to us,” he said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

SMACK.

Taehyung’s head whirled to the other side as your hand collided with his cheek. Coming back with a confused look on his face he faced your anger.

“What the fuck do you call this?” you asked, glaring at him.

“What do you mean?” he said, holding his cheek in offense.

“What are you doing here, you’re dead Taehyung,” you growled.

“No, Y/N, I’m right here, I didn’t die,” he said, moving towards you. 

You placed your hand out in front of you, stopping him in his tracks. “Please Taehyung, don’t do this to me,” you begged.

“Don’t do what? Can’t you see me? I came back for you, for us,” he announced, like a grand scheme that had all gone to plan.

“What us, Taehyung? We never really had an us,” you explained, thinking back to your memories with him.

“The us we wanted to have,” he said quickly.

“Is that even possible for us, Taehyung? Did you think about that? About all these men that are going to be chasing you? And you brought them right here? To me?”

“No, baby, listen. I killed each and every one of them. I made sure that no one would hurt what I want to build with you,” he said.

“And what is that, Taehyung?” You asked, wanting to hear him say it.

“A family, Y/N. I want to build a family, a life with you,” he divulged, looking like an embarrassed school boy.

“Do you really think that’s possible? That your work won’t follow you-”

“I quit the agency,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. 

“You what?” you asked, looking at him in disbelief.

“I quit, Y/N, I’m done with espionage,” he said.

“You’re never done with the agency, you told me that yourself,” you accused.

“No, please hear me out. I wiped my record, everything. They don’t have access to anything anymore. Hyung won’t try to find me, I promise,” he begged.

“You can’t make a promise for someone else Taehyung,” you reminded him darkly.

“How can I convince you that I want this, that I want you more than anything?”

“I don’t know,” you whispered, dropping your gaze to the floor.

“Please, tell me how to fix this,” he pleaded, cradling your face in his hands.

“I don’t know if you can, Taehyung. It’s all so messed up,” you said, tears starting to well up in your eyes.

“God, Y/N, I’m so sorry. I did this. This is my fault,” he said, rubbing his face.

“It’s not just your fault, Taehyung, I didn’t help the situation any,” you said, trying to ease his pain.

“I was so hell bent on getting revenge... I could’ve stopped but I didn’t. I didn’t stop until every last one of them was gone, and it took me too long. I mean, look at you,” he said, gesturing to your stomach. “If I had waited any longer our child would be born and I... I could’ve missed that because of wanting revenge. I’m disgusting.”

“Taehyung stop.”

“Y/N it’s my fault that you’re like this. It’s my fault that you had to suffer and it’s my fault that we-”

You wrapped your arms around his neck as you kissed his lips with passion you hadn’t felt in a long time. Taehyung took the opportunity to wrap his arms around your hips, pulling you closer than you were before. Your stomach pressed against his and your baby swirled and kicked and tumbled inside of your stomach. The air wooshed out of your lungs as you felt them wiggle around. Never had they been so active before.

Taehyung pulled away, looking at you with sheer adoration. “I can feel them,” he said, holding the side of your stomach gently. “Can I?” he asked, looking at you with desperation.

You nodded your head, looking down as he fell to his knees in front of you. Taehyung’s hands pushed your shirt up to expose your full belly. His eyes misted up as he wiped at them furiously. “You’re so beautiful, honestly,” he said, placing his lips against your soft skin.

“You’re so full of shit,” you said, laughing. “I’m the size of a whale,” you complained.

“No you aren’t. You’re pregnant, with my baby, fuck that’s so hot,” he groaned, tilting his head back.

“Yeah?” 

“Yes, fuck...” he said, resting his head on your belly. Your baby kicked, making Taehyung’s head pop up quickly. “They kicked! Oh my God, Y/N!”

“Yeah, our baby tends to do that, a lot at night too,” you told him softly.

“Really?” he asked, looking genuinely excited.

“Mhmm,” you said, gazing at Taehyung’s sparkling eyes.

“Y/N,” Taehyung swallowed hard, “can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” you agreed.

“C-Can I stay... with you?”

“What?”

“N-evermind! I’ll get a hotel room or something. Maybe Jin-Hyung will let me stay with him for a while but-”

“Taehyung,” you shushed. He quieted almost immediately.

“Yes?”

“You can stay,” you said softly, “I want you to stay.”

“Really?” he said, astonished.

“Yes, but I’m laying down some ground rules,” you said.

“Of course,” he announced.

“You have to sleep in the same bed as me,” you started. Taehyung simply smiled. “You have to rub my feet when I ask, the first time I ask. And I want you to wash my hair for me,” you said, adding on that last one just to make him annoyed.

“Okay,” he agreed easily.

“And,” you said again.

“And?” he waited patiently.

“And I get to pick the first name of the baby,” you said smirking.

“Can’t we atleast get a list of names we both like together?” he asked, pouting.

“Fine fine, we can do that,” you agreed.

“So I can stay?” he asked, looking for any hesitation in your eyes.

“Yes, Taehyung, you can stay. I want you to stay,” you said again, moving to wrap him in your arms tightly.

“So we’re doing this, officially?”

“I thought it already was?” you asked, holding your hand up to reveal your ring, the one you hadn’t taken off since Taehyung ‘died’.

“You didn’t take it off?”

“How could I? It was one of the only things you ever gave me, besides this,” you said, pointing to your stomach with a laugh.

“I’m not going to apologize,” he said, smiling.

“Don’t want you to,” you said, grinning back.

“Let’s go to bed, my pretty wife,” he said, taking your hand and leading you into the bedroom.

The pair of you laid down, not even wanting to change. Taehyung comfortably wrapped his arms around you, pulling you back towards his body. 

It felt like being whole again, everything was right with the world.

And everything was going to be okay.

---

Everything was not okay.

“Taehyung I swear to fuck if you hit one more goddamn bump in this road I will slit your throat,” you growled, hanging onto the bar above the window for dear life.

“Baby I’m going as smoothly as I can,” he argued.

“Bullshit, it’s like you’re doing it on purpose!” you accused.

“Y/N,” he countered.

“Do not Y/N me right now Kim Taehyung or I will fucking kill you!”

It had started about an hour ago. 

Your baby was quiet, Taehyung and you sleeping soundly when you felt it. A distinct cramp coming from your well... down there.

Readjusting yourself you thought that might help and make it go away. You’d been cramping a lot lately, something the doctor told you was totally normal in your stage of pregnancy. But if it got any more intense then you should probably come in.

Then a sharp stabbing pain made you jolt up in bed. Taehyung was quick to get up too, looking blearily at you in concern.

“What’s wrong baby?” he asked, rubbing your shoulder soothingly.

“Nothing I just-ah!” you gasped, feeling another sharp pain shoot through your body.

“Y/N?” he asked, turning to face you more directly.

“I-I think I’m having contractions,” you paled.

“Are you sure they aren't braxton hicks?” he asked, trying to narrow down the issue.

“No. These feel completely different than those, I-I wanna go to the hospital,” you said, moving to stand up when a rush of fluid went down your leg. 

“Fuck, Y/N,” he said, staring at your soaked legs.

“Get the car.”

That’s how you wound up driving to the hospital at three in the morning on a Tuesday. 

Pulling into the parking lot Taehyung came around quickly to help get you out of the car. You took his arm, legs feeling wobbly as you tried to stand. Taehyung helped you the whole way, listening to you curse him out while you made your way across the parking lot.

It was a blur from there. Taehyung’s voice the only thing you could clearly make out.

You were in a wheelchair and you could feel the urge to push, you needed to push.

“Taehyung,” you whimpered, reaching for him desperately.

“It’s okay, Y/N, you’re going to be okay,” he said, wrapping his fingers around yours as you made it to the room. 

Doctors were in a flurry around you, people poking and prodding at you, adjusting this and moving that when you finally had enough.

“Stop with all the fucking around and just help me push for fucksake!” you screamed.

Everyone stopped and the doctor towards the back seemed to catch on.

“She’s dilated she needs to push,” he said, coming forward and adjusting your legs in the stirrups so that you could have better leverage.

“Okay sweetheart now take a deep breath and push,” the nurse behind you said. 

Pushing was so hard, it was like nothing you’d ever felt before. 

It was as if no matter how hard you pushed nothing would happen.

“Taehyung,” you whined, making a grabbing motion for him. Soon a big hand was wrapped around yours, warmth enveloping you as you felt the urge to push again.

“Come on baby, push, just like they said, you can do it,” Taehyung encouraged.

“I can’t. Taehyung it hurts too much,” you whimpered, grabbing onto him desperately.

“I can see the head! You’re doing amazing!”

“See? They’re almost here baby, just a little more,” Taehyung said, tears in his eyes.

“Do you got my six?” you asked, looking at him with misty eyes as well.

“I got your six baby, till the end,” he nodded.

One more big push and you felt instant relief. 

“Sir, do you want to cut the cord?”

Soon Taehyung’s warmth was replaced by a small body being placed on your chest, crying was all you heard. Instinctually, you brought them to your breast, letting them latch on and drink their fill.

Then a small kiss was placed to the top of your head.

“Baby she’s beautiful,” he cried, nestling his head into your hair.

“She? It’s a girl?” you asked, looking up at him.

“Yes, it’s a girl,” he acknowledged. 

“Oh my God,” you cried, wrapping your arms around your baby, coddling her to your chest. 

“What’s the name?” A nurse from the back asked, probably getting a crib for her ready.

“Rose,” you said, instantly knowing the name was perfect for your child.

Taehyung made a small whimpering sound from behind you, and you knew he liked it too.

Turning slightly you brought him to your lips, a sweet kiss being shared between the two of you. 

“I love you Taehyung,” you said, wiping a single tear from his eye.

“I love you too, Y/N, both of you.”

[noah-moth-cursed-chaos]

Museums and Abstract Paintings, a Quinnby fic, Chapter Five

“I’m sorry sirs, but there really is only one free room. I can always call you back when another opens up?”

“You’re kidding. You have to be kidding me.” Trilby was less than enthused to share a room with Chris on this mission. Especially since they’d be here for days.

Chris let out a small sigh, pulling out his wallet, “How much to book it for the week?” He asked, “Actually it doesn’t matter, we’ll take it, do you take debit?”

“Yes sir.”

Trilby watched the demon slayer purchase the room, silently deciding to pay Chris back half later, it’d be unfair to make Chris take the total of the bill when they’d both be staying there.

They were given their key and told how to find their room, only to discover... a small hotel room with one bed in the middle.

“This day just keeps getting better.” Trilby groaned.

“Hey, a bird didn’t sh^t on your favorite shoes this morning.” Chris pointed out, leaving his rolling suitcase next to the door, “I can sleep out in the car.”

“No, no, it’s fine, you take the bed.” Trilby said, “Tomorrow we can look for a better place to stay. I’ll take the floor tonight.”

“Mate, I’m not letting you sleep on the floor.” Chris scoffed.

“Well I’m not letting you sleep in the car.” Trilby countered, “So it’s either that or we share the bed.”

“Oh. Yeah that works.”

“*What?*”

“It’s a big bed, you’re practically a toothpick, I doubt we’d even notice each other.” Chris sounded so nonchalant, “And I don’t snore, so you don’t gotta worry about that.”

“... you’re serious?” Chris was actually just fine with sleeping in the same bed?

“Well yeah. Why? Would you rather I sleep in the car?” Chris asked.

“... okay, fine.” Trilby just wanted to get to sleep. They’d been driving all day and he was exhausted. He could worry about whatever the 80s thought about two men sleeping in the same bed tomorrow.

They both changed into pajamas, Trilby with a full shirt and pants, and Chris with some sweats. Trilby’s eyes traced over the scars that littered the other, resting on what seemed to be the result of a bullet wound, it was on his chest and had a matching one on the back. Chris didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe he just didn’t care. Trilby couldn’t help but think, despite all the scars, Chris was more than a little attractive. He shook those thoughts from his head, it was outrageously inappropriate to be thinking of his work partner in such a way.

Chris was right about the bed being big enough for them both. It was shockingly easy to forget the frankly huge demon hunter was less than an arm’s length away and drift off to sleep.

Chris glanced at the time as he woke up. 3:24 am. Geez that’s early. He wondered if any coffee or candy shops were open at this time. He was cut from his thoughts by a scared whimper next to him. He sat up and looked over at Trilby, in the dim moonlight he could see the other’s face was scrunched up, he was mumbling, and seemed in a cold sweat, having a nightmare maybe?

“Hey, Trilbs?” He nudged the ex thief, “Trilby.”

The other awoke with a start, staring at Chris wide eyed for a split second before realizing he’d been dreaming, he seemed to be trying to calm him breathing, glancing around as if the room held some secret that would allow him to play off how scared he currently was.

“Are you okay? Whatever dream you were having it Uh-It didn’t seem like a good one.” Chris kept his voice quiet and calm, not wanting to frighten the agent any more.

Trilby sat up, fidgeting with his hands, staring at the window, then the corners, then the door, then repeating, as if he expected to find someone waiting to jump out at him. “It uh... I’m fine.” His voice was tense, shaking some.

Chris prepared himself for the possibility of Trilby punching him for this, but he hated seeing the other so frightened. He wrapped an arm around the ex thief, pulling him to his chest, “Yeah, it was just a dream.” He kept his act casual, as if he wasn’t now cradling his work partner.

Trilby didn’t punch him, or react badly at all. He actually leaned into the embrace, “Just a dream.. you’re right. It wasn’t real.” He didn’t looked at Chris, likely trying to keep at least some of his dignity.

They sat like that for a while, Chris watching over Trilby as he calmed down, and Trilby pretending that he wasn’t snuggled up to Chris’ chest. Finally, at nearly 4 am Trilby spoke again. “Normally when I can’t sleep, or when I wake up and.. don’t want to, I’ll go outside and look at the sky until I’m tired.” He sounded calmer, closer to the usual snarky ^sshole Chris knew.

“I mean that’d do it, stargazing *is* just about the most boring thing out there.” Chris chuckled to himself, he couldn’t believe people actually went out and stared at some burning balls of gas light years away for *fun*. It was always the same when you looked up. Little white dots cutting through the dark, sometimes different white dots, but anything that wasn’t a white dot was so rare it made the news.

“Is that a joke?” Trilby stared at him as if he had two heads, “How is stargazing *boring*?! Have you ever even *looked* at the night sky?”

Chris was caught off guard by Trilby’s shock, “Well I-“

“No. No no no no, no way. I won’t stand for this. Get a shirt on we’re going outside.”

“Right now?”

“*Get a shirt on Quinn!*”

“Okay okay!”

It wasn’t more than a few minutes before they were both outside, sitting on the lawn outside of the hotel, Trilby looking like a man on a mission, and Chris so confused why Trilby took his disinterest in some stars so personal.

“How is *this* boring?” Trilby demanded staring at him.

“Oh I dunno, hey look, a white dot! Wow, another dot, hey there’s the moon, a bigger dot. Not my idea of fun.” Chris shrugged, “I don’t get what you see up there.”

“Do you know any constellations? Or the name of the stars?”

“Well sure. There’s Orion’s Belt right there, so uh, that star should be... Zeta.”

“And that isn’t cool to you at all? There’s so much up there! It’s all so far away but we can see it so clearly, we even find shapes and stories in the sky! It’s amazing!”

“... it’s okay.” Chris shrugged, “Look I’m not trying to offend you or anything. It just ain’t my cup of tea.”

Trilby paused, he was clearly invested in making Chris see what he did, he pointed to a star, “See that one?”

“Yeah..?” Chris pointed to the same one, Trilby grinned.

“Okay great, follow my finger.” He began to draw a picture of some sort of vehicle, it wasn’t any constellation Chris had ever heard of, but Trilby seemed so happy to show it that well... Chris had to admit that he was happy to see it. “That’s the chariot.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s not a real constellation, as a kid Uh, my dad promised he’d teach me about them but, I got bored of waiting, but I didn’t want to learn without him. So I made my own.”

“... that’s actually really cool.” Chris said, “Are there any others?”

He didn’t think he’d ever seen Trilby so happy, it made his heart flutter, he could’ve sat there and listened to him talk forever, as the other painted pictures in the night sky it lit up in a way Chris had never seen, going from a bland canvas full of little holes to a painting worth everything in the world and more. A light that shone on Trilby’s face to make the most gorgeous sight the demon slayer had ever seen.

“Oh-this one, he’s the warrior. My little brother made him up!”

“You have a brother?” Chris asked, a bit surprised. Trilby had always seemed such a loner, Chris hadn’t been able to imagine the man with any siblings.

Trilby clearly hadn’t meant to mention him, he paused, probably collecting his thoughts before speaking, “Yeah. Haven’t seen him in years. He was a good kid.” He looked away, “I hope he’s doing good, wherever he is.”

“.. have you ever thought about visiting?”

“If I was going to come back it should’ve been when he was still 16. It’s too late to fix what I did now.”

Chris couldn’t imagine what that must have felt like. Part of not having most of his memories meant he didn’t really have any regrets. Maybe going to the mental hospital but, that was it. Whatever Trilby had done had clearly stuck with him.. he paused, “Hey uh. Do you think I could make one?” He asked, hoping to take Trilby’s mind off whatever memories it was going back to.

Trilby smiled again, “Go ahead!”

“Uhh, it starts there.” Chris lead Trilby through a crude image of someone wearing a crown, “I’ll call it the emperor.” He grinned, “Pretty cool if I do say so myself.”

Trilby laughed, smiling, “I love it.” He leaned against Chris, “Thanks for letting me drag you out here.”

“Honestly? I’m glad you did.” Chris said, “I think I’m gonna have to stargaze more often.”

[abloomntime]

A Bloom In Time Ch9 Fixing One Problem At A Time

-Small Time Skip-

THREE. HOURS.

They had been sitting there for a little over three hours reading this boring book on moon phases, what rock mineral and gases the stars and moon was made up off, how the Moon Penguins inhabited it, Star constallations. The whole works. But that wasn't counting Snatcher's annoyance at the kiddo's annoying stops. First she had to stop to help them pathetically crawl to the bed, which admittedly was better than the floor and at least they could throw the blanket around their shoulders as some defense against the cold, but that wasn't the point. Then she had to go upstairs to investigate a weird, which turned out to be some kind of lady in an apron behind the locked doors. A maid like Moonjumper had suggested most likely, or perhaps one of the royal cooks. Who knows? He's never bothered going in there assuming it was holding something crazier than the graffitied walls, and barely came here anyways. So why should it have concerned him? Not like he could've reversed whoever was locked in there anyways. He absolutely HATED everything about this right now-

"PRIIIIIINCE!!! MY PRINCE!! LET ME OOOOOUUUUUTTT!! YOU CANNOT KEEP ME FROM YOU!! YOUR BELOVED PRINCESSS!!! COME BACK TO ME!!"

Oh yeah. Did he mention Vanessa woke up bout half an hour ago and started screeching her lungs off calling for him? Yeah. Snatcher did his best to ignore the stupid yelling by forcibly reading the book, annoyed and anger bubbling under the surface. Meanwhile Moonjumper was panicking in their head and was worried she'd bust open the door and get to them....HA!! Fat chance. She was too weak to do anything but scream annoyingly and that door wasn't budging anytime soon. Once n a while he'd call out to Hattie in the hallway and check up on the progress, he hadn't done that in a bit so he might as well do it again. The storm outside didn't stop as the snowflakes still swirled around and lightning struck every so often, but it was a bit lighter. Must've been early morning at least. Snatcher made them turn a scowl to the doorway.

"HEY!! Are you done YET!? Im getting a little....Scratch that! A LOT annoyed at Ms. Pecking Loudmouth over there!"

"ALMOST!! I have ten more pieces to go! It's not easy to put them back together," she yelled back from the hallway.

"Well hurry it up, will ya?! I'm getting cold feet!! Literally and metaphorically!!" He grumbled annoyed and looked back to the book forcing himself to read about the gravity and air orbiting the moon from the Subconia planet to allow Moon Penguins and other people to breath on the moon and at least 55 miles within the planet's reach-

"PPPPPRRRRRIIIIINNNNCCCEEE!!!!! PHILIP!!!"

"OH SHUT UP YOU STUPID PECK NECK-!!!"

"I'M DONE!!," the child happily proclaimed from the hall interrupting anymore shouting and footsteps came rushing into the bedroom door they were in.

"YOU ARE!?" Immediately the book was dropped to their feet among the papers and their head snapped to the doorway as she ran in holding the precious magical hourglass in her hands. The beautiful sparkling blue sand lit up the little girl's precious proud face that if he weren't in such a dire situation MIGHT have thought was cute as she jumped onto the bed and hoped over to him holding it up. They stared at her for a little while before Snatcher snapped back up to her face. "WELL?! Whatcha waiting for kid?! Summer? Get to reversing us and let's get the PECK outta here before she remembers how to ice stuff again!!" "I QUITE agree, Sweetheart!! Let us make our leave of this place and NEVER come back!!"

Hattie nodded with understanding and looked down to the precious objects only she could semi-work. Good thing she had LOTS of practice already reversing things from all those time rifts she had to fix. Holding the small time piece up Snatcher and Moonjumper watched fascinated as it flew up in the air and slowly started to spin.....Which got faster....And faster.....AND FASTER!! Until it looked like a mini blue glowing tornado as it spun so fast, the blue light and energy waving off it got stronger and stronger until Hattie slammed her eyes shut and looked away when a giant BOOM!! Was resent off! A giant energy wave of light and energy game from the time piece, enough for her to stumble and fall onto her back on the bed. Her hat falling over her face. The giant flash also blinding her. Sending more chills down her spine. As soon as it came it left, and she groaned. After a few seconds, leaning back up again. Pushing her hat back and using her other hand to reach up and rub her eyes. Snatcher didn't fair much better. Glass and sparkling blue sand caught their reflections in their sparkles, energy gathering up and then-.....White. The energy was so bright he had to turn his head away to avoid it, the energy wave knocking him back to the floor and everything going black. .......But it was like something snapped off him. All the weight. All the weird weakness. ....GONE!! Instead he felt....POWERFUL!! BIG!! RECONNECTING WITH ALL THAT MAGIC AND ENERGY AND THE MANY SOULS UNDER HIS COMMAND!! HE. FELT. COMPLETE AGAIN!! WITH NO ONE ATTACHED TO HIM EITHER!! The frightening figure of a sixteen foot ghost rose above the child as she finished rubbing her eyes and blinked up at him. The ghost stared down at his three clawed hands, a dangerously menacing evil grin on his face as he stared at the ghostly purple hands, a bright blue flame suddenly appearing in both lighting up his already glowing yello eyes and mouth. If Hattie was any normal person she would've ran for her life, but instead she smiled seeing him back to his old noodle self and quickly crawled along the bed to grab the time piece that fell by her feet as Snatcher laughed.

"AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHH!!!! YES!!" He lifted his hands up higher. "NEVER AGAIN!!"

"Does that mean you won't take my time pieces anymore?," Hattie asked giving him a suspicious look.

"Trust me, Kid. You can dump those things into the sun for all I care. I am NEVER laying a hand on one again." He sighed and with a snap the blue flames disappeared-

"MY PRIIIIINCE!!!" Hattie jumped at the suddenly loud voice and Snatcher growled snapping his head towards the sound. They had both momentarily forgotten about Vanessa after changing Snatcher back, but now she was back to being dead too......She could easily walk through the barricaded doors just as easily as Snatcher or Moonjumper could. She couldn't hurt Snatcher. He was just as equally if not MORE powerful than her with all the souls he's collected and without a curse that prevented him from leaving the manor unlike her. Plus he was already dead....But she could most definitely hurt the small child looking completely SCARED at the sounds of her. The thought of anyone laying a hand on HIS girl made the fluff around his chest and neck bristle up more in rage as he growled and sensed her prescence inching closer. "PHILIIIIIPPP!! COME BACK TO ME!!!"

"W-Who's Philip? AH!!" She had to grip the time piece hard to her with one hand and grab her hat from falling off with the other as Snatcher snatched her up in his arms and snarled at the bedroom doorway.

"Never mind that! Now do exactly as I say! Hang on to that magical glass and close your eyes!"

She didn't have to be told twice as her knuckles turned white gripping the hat and time piece to herself and gulped down the lump in her throat as Snatcher floated over to the hallway and looked out. Immediately catching the attention of the once again ghostly Vanessa who hissed and pointed her hand at them.

"YOU?! WHERE IS HE!? YOU TOOK HIM AWAY FROM MEEEEE?!," She shrieked making Hattie completely shake in the snarling ghost's hold and pull her hat down over her eyes. Vanessa shrieked some kind of incoherent screech and charged for them. Snatcher was NOT in the mood to be dealing with a crazy peckneck, not while his little girl was in danger! The dark purple ghost easily shot out above her near the ceiling out of her reach and made for the set of stairs that lead down to the first floor. Hugging the shivering girl to his soft chest. Vanessa lashed out at them missing Hattie by a couple inches and still screeched when Snatcher shot down the stairs with her chasing behind but he was too fast for her. "BRING ME BACK MY PRINNNNCE!!!"

The long ghost moved like a snake in the twisting and turning corners easily and diving down the stairs leading into the celler-......Before absolutely stopping. Still with a snarl, Snatcher snapped his head to the two lightly clanking chains. ...Him hanging there. Crying for forgivness. Not being able to escape- WITH A SCREECH OF HIS OWN THE AMOUNT OF FANGS SHOWING DOUBLED AND HE DARTED RIGHT FOR THEM!! ONE OF THE CLAWED HANDS REACHING OUT AND WITH A CRUNCH SOUND SUNK RIGHT INTO THE BASE OF WHERE ONE OF THE CHAINS WERE BOLTED TO THE WALL!! FUELED BY ANGER AND BEING OUT OF IT!! THE SNATCHER SAW RED AND WITH MORE CRUNCHING SOUNDS PULLED THOSE CHAINS FROM THE WALL!! Pieces of the wall came off with the two chains as Snatcher raged pulled them out one after the other with the force of a thousand Vanessas. The rock pieces and chains splashed into the water below with metal clanging noises from the chains as Snatcher watched with a snarl.

"PRINCE!!!"

Snatcher briefly snapped his head behind him at the stairs before clutching the still spooked child with both hands and again shot out the celler doors. He knew Vanessa couldn't leave the manor but he didn't know if she could enter the celler, but he wasn't staying to find out. The cold air blasting him and the little girl making her shiver more as he bulleted up, up, UP like some rocket. Flying high above the mansion and through the top of the ice dome, he momentarily looked around and down at his surroundings from way up high before settling on looking to the left and turning his body to shoot down, down, down. The air still cold and hard, but got warm quickly. His fluff and hattie's hair flying around wildly as he took them down and ended up landing some where randomly in his swamp. The ghost proceeded to start zig zagging through the trees, slithering in the air like a sea serpent still clutching the child to him protectively.

"W-W-What a-about Uncle M-Moon?!," Hattie finally shouted out daring to lift one corner of her hat off to peek up at him. "Isn't he still back there?!"

"Don't worry about him!," SNatcher stated bluntly, "That old peckneck can take care of himself! Besides it's morning already! He's probably back in that horizon prison until nighttime again!!"

He'll be fine. The Horizon was probably as far as one could from Vanessa being on another plain of existance. As he slithered between the trees he gradually began to slow down, but never stopped, even when he entered the burning part of his forest and casually floated along he never stopped, still tightly holding Hattie to himself in a protective hold. But she had stopped shivering and pushed the hat back on her head, her hands relaxing their grip on the time piece but still holding onto it. She coughed every so often from the smoke around them, and didn't like the heat too much, but she'd rather have herself in the clutches of Snatcher flying throw a burning cursed forest, than a frozen statue in Vanessa's creepy house forever. Now that this problem was solved they could relax. ....Well, for now at least. As he continued to float past everything he finally looked down to the little girl looking around at her surroundings......And frowned guiltly.

"Uh....Hey, Kiddo. How uh...How are you hanging in there?"

She looked up to him and smiled. "A lot better now that we're not near that crazy peckneck! And I got this!" She held up the sparkling object smiling more. "Hey! Thanks for saving me back there! I didn't know you were that fast!" Her eyes sparkled with childhood fun making him smile a little.

"Heh....Well, I have to be fast if I want to get to all my traps in someone stepped in them. A spider always catches the fly!"

She looked confused for a moment. "I thought the big spiders around here were ghosts like you too."

"Well....They are but...I-It's just a figure of speech, Kid." A small silence settled over the two as Hattie took off her hat and shoved the time piece in it before putting it back on her head, he still smiled at her a bit....before that frown came back along with a guilty feeling. ".....Hey, Hattie." She snapped her head up to him hearing her name and he slightly looked away. "....Im not...Good at saying this buuuut....I might be sorta, a little, almost sorry about...the whole borrowing without asking thing. Maybe."

She stared at him for a little longer before giving him that usually smug face making him groan and her giggle. What a soon-da-ray! "I'll forgive you, but only if you stay out of my vault."

He chuckled. "Trust me. I NEVER want to touch one of those things again. You can have them"

She nodded. "Good. Cuz I would've fought you again and won if you didn't give it back."

he chuckled. "You do pack a whallop don't ya?" Sure she did. She wacked Vanessa once and it was enough to knock her unconscious for a little over three hours. But all that aside. It was good to be back in his usual form again. He felt SO much better like this, but his happy smile was short lived when he saw the sight. They just broke through the burning tree line and the child coughed a few more times before shaking her head glad to be rid of the smoke smell and heat when he froze and stared ahead of them at him home. "WHAT THE PECK?!"

A couple of his minions were giggling and had four Mafia men backed against a tree as they all cowered away from the giggling spirits. One dweller with a white mask with long ears was holding the random old man and swaying him back and forth as if playing as he shouted for it to let go. Then ...Hey! It was the researchers. Mr. Tim was holding one of the Subconites up and seeming to be studying it as it wriggled around and demanded to be put back down. Thor was INSIDE SNATCHER'S HOME looking at everything with a magnifying glass, while Mr. Oldster was snoring fast asleep in Snatcher's arm chair. Two minions were giggling as another dweller in a fox mask was drawing on his sleeping face using their long body to hold some kind of chalk. Rough Patch seemed to be the only one who wasn't causing trouble as he just slept underneath Snatcher's chair curled up to look like a bush randomly growing under it. But they all stopped hearing Snatcher's yell and looked up. The King Ghost stared at them all for a second before scowling further and lowering his arms to drop Hattie onto her feet and pointing inside of his home. At the same time Mr. Tim dropped the minion and the dweller dropped the old man.

"YOU AND YOU!! GET OUT OF MY HOME AND STOP TOUCHING MY THINGS BEFORE I DEVOUR YOUR SOULS AND LEAVE NOTHING LEFT BUT YOUR SAD EXCUSE FOR FASHION!!" Thor immediately did so, fumbling with the magfifying glass and quickly grabbing his sleeping partner who fell and started cursing a bit being woken from his nap but Thor dragged him away seeing Snatcher float to his home just in time for them to literally fall out and into the small water moat that surrounded it. Snatcher watching annoyed but also amuzed at it. "Now. ALL OF YOU GET THE PECK OUT OF MY FOREST AND DONT EVER COME BACK OR I'LL-"

"They can't!" Snatcher looked over as Hattie bounded over to them as Thor and Oldster dragged themselves out of the water. What did she mean now? "They're stranded here! Your forest is far away from EVERYTHING!!"

"Hmph. That's kinda the point kiddo. I like my privacy. Can't you just take them?"

"No! I don't have my umbrella, and even if I could, you said I can't have strangers on my ship!"

He opened his mouth...but closed his grumbling. He JUST wanted to take it easy for a little bit. "Well what do YOU suggest? I can't teleport them half way across the world, Kid."

She smiled. "Conductor can pick them up!" She then pointed in a direction. "His train runs by your forest everyday, can't you just take them to the train station?"

He rose what would be considered a brow at him and sighed. "Kid. That's three miles away through a part of a desert. You want me to take all these dummies to a train station, through a desert, for three miles?? What's wrong with you doing it?"

"I have to return the you know what that YOU took!" She scowled and crossed her arms.

Oh....That. "Why don't I return it?"

"Fat chance! And you promised you wouldn't touch them anymore remember?" He scowled a bit but she jumped up on the vine and bounded towards him before reaching up and tugging on his hand. "PLEASE!! I promise I'll really, really forgive you!!"

He stilled stared at her with a scowl before groaning. "You're not going to leave me alone until I do it are you?.....Fine, FINE!!" He tugged his hand away from her. "But this talk is NOT over!" He snapped his head to all the other men who jumped at his frown. "ALL RIGHT!! ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!! STAND UP!! AND GET MARCHING!! IM PECKING TAKING YOU TO A BLOODY TRAIN STATION AND WE ARE NOT STOPPING UNTIL WE GET THERE!! .....WELL GET GOING!!" He pointed a claw down a dirt path and immediately the group of men got stepping Thor and Oldster tripping over one another to get out of the water.

"I say, I think you grew more cranky than the last time I encountered you. Too bad I couldn't find research a ghost's habitate."

"I can give you a REAL up close view if you want."

"Uh...N-No. Im fine...But pray tell, where is that young fellow and the lovely young lady. We were forced by that little girl with the powerful umbrella to lock the poor dear in a bathroom."

Snatcher scowled further at Vanessa being called a 'poor gal' but Hattie spoke up before he could. "Uh....M-My dad and.....m-mom..." He could see and hear her inwardly cringe. H A R D. At that. "Are fine. T-They were taken back home, a-and my .....'Mom' freaks out a lot."

Thor looked confused but a growl from Snatcher was enough for him to shut up, grab Mr. Oldster, and start dragging him to catch up with the others. Snatcher starting to float behind them, but looked at Hattie one more time. "Go HOME. And stay there until I come back. ....And remember. NO talking about any embarrassing crawling to anyone! That includes Bow and your funny vacuum cleaner." Hattie nodded and Snatcher turned back around to follow the retreating group. "COME ON!! MARCH, MARCH, MARCH!! If you all hurry you might be able to catch the afternoon train run! If not, it makes another round at night! But as soon as you're all at the station Im DONE!! AND I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU HEAR AGAIN DO YOU UNDERSTAND AND HEAR ME?!"

"Geez, Newbie. What took you and Boss so long?," one of the minions asked tilting her head at her. "Minion Number Twelve's been missing for a long time, but he showed back up with a whole bunch of weirdos and a cat. And then he said the boss told him to keep them here and wait for his orders."

Hattie just shrugged and pulled off her hat. Reaching back inside and pulling out the sparkling hourglass and smiling at it. Time to go home and put this back where it belonged. With the others locked away safely FOREVER!! Holding it up with one hand, she waved bye to the Subconites watching her and felt that same light headed as she vanished from the forest in a flash of blue-white light. A moment later of high sped traveling she landed on firm ground inside a very familiar looking control room inside a very familiar looking ship. Smiling, she looked around the place but didn't see Bow anywhere. Maybe she went back to bed, she did look really tired-

"oW! MY CircUIT BoArD!!," a familiar robotic voice sounded out as she felt something bump against her foot.

She looked down and happily smiled at Rumbi as he went around her. Bending down to pat him a few times, before looking back up towards the vault. Only she knew the code to it and it was in her home language which no one else knew or rea, so that was a plus. One she got close enough, she placed the time piece under one arm and using the other, she used the other to type in strange symbols into the keypad on the bottom of the vault door. It beeped a few times before a giant DING noise came from it and a robotic voice said 'Access Granted. Welcome'. The lock unbolted with a giant click and she grabbed the handle, with a giant grunt, she pulled the heavy duty door open. IT. MADE. A. HUUUUUUUUGE. CREAKING NOISE THAT ECHOED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SHIP!! She opened it just enough for her to peek in and smile at the hundreds of sparkling time pieces, all identical to one another and sparkling with that magic sand. Carefully she tossed the small hourglass with all the others and backed out from the door, with another grunt and LOUD creaking noise, it sealed back shut and the lock clicked loudly back in place. To her satisfaction the monitor screen showing the count of hourglasses went from 999 to exactly the even number of 1,000 time pieces accounted for. All safely back inside the vault. With a sigh, she turned back around and made her way back down the ramp. Never thought she'd be so tired in the morning but all she wanted to do right now, was take a long nap on her bed or pillow mountain. But she looked up when the WHOOSH noise of a door opening sounded out, and she blinked seeing Bow walk in towards her. Bow blinked at her for a moment before rushing up to her.

"HATTIE!!" She stopped a few feet in front her giving a worried look. "I heard the vault open! Are you ok?! Where's Snatcher!? Did you get the magic glass thingy back!? Who's that weird but nice lady in your bed room?!"

Hattie blinked at the sudden amount of questions but only blinked and asked one back. "There's a lady in my bedroom?"

"YES!!" Bow threw her hands up. "She said a witch teleported her here and she's been doing nothing but using your blanket and reading your story books for HOURS!!"

She stared blankly at Bow for a long moment, before her memory slapped her in the face and her hands reached up to touch her cheeks for a moment. "OH MY GOSH!! POPPY!! I COMPLETELY FORGOT!!" Not saying anything else, she ran past Bow who Blinked and quickly ran after her back through the bedroom door and down the long child sized hallway towards the bedroom, once the two girls made out the other side of the door into the bedroom Hattie immediately saw the older woman. Poppy had taken her blanket off the bed and was sitting cross-legged on the soft mattress with it wrapped around her. Her plain black shoes, which were still soaking wet from the celler water, was left by the bed soaking the carpet underneath. In her hands was Hattie's favorite fairytale book 'Starella and the Milky Way Prince' which Poppy was reading but stopped and looked up once the children came in. Hattie immediately ran over to her. "IM SORRY!! I didn't mean to take so long, I swear! "

Poppy immediately held her hands up at the child's distress. "What? No, no. Sweetie, it's ok. Your friend was really nice and gave me some cookies so I think we can call it even." She smiled and Hattie now noticed she had an accent. It sounded similar to Cooking Cat's with her country voice. "But if I may ask, why did you take so long?"

Hattie groaned. "I had to put my time piece back together and then Snatcher had to rescue me from Vanessa, and then we flew REALLY fast, and then I had to convince him to take everyone to the train station and I completely forgot you were here and now I gotta find out what to do-"

Poppy held up her hands again. "Hey, hey. Slow down there. What do you mean train station? And where's your dad?...No. More importantly what sea are we on? Are we near the Nyakuza Islands or something?"

Hattie blinked at her. "No. You're in my space ship. In outer space. I'm an 'alien'....I asked Snatcher what an 'alien' was once, and he said aliens were space travelers...So Im an alien with a space ship!", she stated proudly.

"So....It is true...." She looked around the room for a bit, not sure what to feel. "Aliens do exist...and I really am in...o-o-outer space?" The girls nodded and she shook her head. "I thought your friend here was just playing a game. But.....wow...I guess that would explain the whole, not a witch thing and why your lamp doesn't use a candle....But why were you in the Queen's home? Were you trying to invade our kingdom?"

Hattie rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone keep asking me if Im invading them?...Whatever invading means." She gave Poppy a slightly annoyed look. "No. Snatcher stole a time Piece and broke it, and brought everyone back to life and I had to fix it!"

Poppy blinked again in even more confusion, "What's a....'time peice'?"

"......Maybe I should start from the beginning. " The small child went over and jumped onto the bed beside Poppy and gazed up at her for a moment in thought before sighing. "Ok. Snatcher said Im not supposed to talk to strangers.....But for some reason you look REALLY familiar, so I guess you're not a stranger??" She questioned her own sense for a moment before shaking her head again and smiling. "Well, you see a long time ago, I climbed into this space ship my dead grandpa made for me but my mom hated him because she was supposed to take over being Ceo of Time...Whatever that is, like the rest of my family did, but she said no. And she didn't want me traveling in space because she was really sick and needed me buuuut-....." She looked sideways considering telling her the rest, but for some reason she felt compelled to. I mean, practically everyone on this world already knew of the alien saving them from the crazy blonde kid with the hourglasses, except for Empress and maybe that Captain Walrus guy. SO really what was the harm? "Well I accidentally let all my time pieces fall on this planet and I had to go get them back-"

"What IS a time piece?"

"Oh. They're these magic hourglass things that can control time, but they're too dangerous to use, they also power my ship! I had to fix a LOT of stuff. And then I went home and-......" She again frowned and looked down. Her hands fiddling with the clip of her came. "M-My...mom...wasn't around anymore....I don't know where she went cuz I couldn't find her....But then I realized I was missing some more time pieces!" She looked back up to her after a moment with another little smile. "But that means I got to come back! And then I sunk a ship TOTALLY on accident, fought a whole bunch of crazy cats, OH!! And Snatcher gave me a whole bunch of clothes after I agreed to his death wish contracts! And now he's sort of kinda my dad....Which is COOL!! Cuz who else has a ghost dad!! Even if he is grumpier than Conductor."

"H-Hold on there a little bit, Sugar." Poppy lifted a hand up to her spinning and confused head trying to process this whole story thrown at her. Most of it DIDNT make sense since she still didn't know the most of the story. It sounded more like a story fabricated by a child's imagination like when she used to watch all the children play pretend at the town square while she sold her flowers. "So...L-Let me try to get SOME things straight....Your family is....gone." She didn't want to say dead to upset the child or anything. "And you're an alien?.....Ok. I think I can believe and get THAT part. But these magic hourglasses??" She hoped she was getting that right. She still could barely believe there was such a thing. "Power your ship with magic or something. And you now live here. And your father is a.......ghost??" Hattie nodded. Her father was a.....spirit? "Are you sure you're not a witch? I thought only those with great supernatural power could communicate with spirits and the dead. L-Like the old village fortune teller."

Hattie rose and shook her head. "I don't think so. Cuz everyone can see Snatcher. He's like this big loud mouth and he screams 'FOOOOOOLL!!' a lot, and haunts this forest."

"W-Well, he must be a very powerful ghost to do that. I mean I think he would be, I've never heard of any spirit like that. Or heard any news about cursed hourglasses, or a haunted forest. You must live far away from the Subonit and Subconette Kingdoms." Does that mean the man with the strange brown hair she briefly saw from under the blanket was that ghost? Did she really see and hear a ghost?! Well, she didn't know, he wasn't facing her and she didn't stop to see who he was. She was more worried about escaping before she was locked away again by that weird monster....Speaking of which, how did they get they get past her? How did this CHILD get past her. She still looked at Hattie confused. "How did you get past that shadow monster? I didn't see her anywhere when you rescued me. Does that mean she left the mansion?..ARE THE PEOPLE OK?!"

Hattie blinked and leaned away when Poppy gave her an extremely worried look and to Poppy's added panic and worry shook her tiny head. "They were all ice statues and ghosts. I'm sorry."

"W-WHAT?! N-NO!! NO THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!!" Those hands reached up quickly to grab her pretty red hair, her sharp movements making the storybook tumble out of her lap and onto the floor, both girls blinked at it before giving Poppy worried looks as the older woman took deeper breaths. "H-HOW!? HOW COULD ALL OF THIS HAVE HAPPENED?!"

"Queen Vanessa cursed everyone?" Hattie shrugged. "Im not sure how she did it, but Snatcher says she went really pecking bonkers and cursed everyone to freeze a long time ago."

"....." She slowly looked to her with wide eyes. "....QUEEN Vanessa?! You mean our b-beloved and k-kind queen?! S-Surely you must be mistaken. She's a-always been so nice if not a little strange, are you sure you're not mixing her up?"

The little girl scowled and crossed her arms. "I know a crazy person when I see one! I see LOTS of crazy people all the time. Some are scary crazy like Snatcher or Conductor but they're not THAT bad. But Vanessa is PECKING INSANE!! She tried to freeze me lots of times!"

"B-But....why?" Those blue eyes looked down at her hands unmoving as her brain STILL couldn't believe anything she was being told. She was always a nice person. Her friend, the prince, always said so. Sure she did a LOT of weird and sometimes questionable things, like banning bacon in the kingdom, or practicing hairstyles on her fiancé, but she always looked so happy whenever she saw her. And the children loved her, and so did the Prince who always said nothing but kind things about her. How did she-.....How COULD she? Surely this little alien must've been mistaken. She was from a far away place after all. "H-How....?"

The two little girls exchanged a look before looking at Poppy with pity. "I...I don't really know HOW? Snatcher said her black magic ate her soul up turning her into an ice witch, I think that's what he said. She got really mad because she was jealous I think, and then went crazy and froze everything!!....Well, except for Snatcher's forest. He has really strong fire powers."

"B-But....." She just shook her head. Nothing made ANY sense. "T-This doesn't make ANY sense!! I mean...I didn't think she'd-.....D-Does this mean the one who locked me up was-.....HOW COULD ALL OF THIS HAPPEN IN ONE DAY!?" She gripped her head harder. "SURELY!! N-NO ONE GOT FROZEN THIS FAST!!! I W-WAS FINE THIS MORNING!!"

"No you weren't. You were frozen like everyone else." Innocent confusion was on Hattie's face when Poppy snapped her panicked so confused head to her.

"WHAT?!"

"Snatcher tried to get Vanessa lost by throwing one of my time pieces at her." She crossed her arms and pouted a bit oblivious to the grown woman's panicked face. "There was a lot of frozen people in there for a really long time and came back to life when his wish backfired."

"How long were you in there, Miss?," Bow asked politely looking up at Poppy with a tilted head,

Poppy just sat there blankly for a long moment before shaking her head. "I-I don't remember. I-It must've been at least a D-day or day and a half!! I blacked out for a little bit after it g-got really cold!! All I remember is getting dragged up there by two giant knights, and then......Queen Vanessa..." It was STILL so weird and unbeleivable. She couldn't believe what she was even saying. "Blamed me for committing some kind of treason to the royal family, I can't remember exactly what she said, my memory is too fuzzy, and then I was l-locked upstairs. All I can remember after that is you rescuing me."

A small silence passed among the three girls sitting there, before Bow hummed and rubbed her chin. "You said you knew Vanessa?"

"W-Well...N-No. She never came by my shop, I only saw her once or twice when she visited the village. ....And I guess now as a monster of some kind."....Hattie's eyes suddenly became wide with some kind of realization and again the girls exchanged some kind of look catching her eye. "W-What?....W-Why are you making those faces?"

"You said you were alive before everything froze right?"

"Yes....W-Why?"

"Miss Poppy.....That happened a thousand years ago. You've been frozen for a long time."

[mieczyhale]

you know what i could go for?? [late night ramble journey ahead // i did not re-read this so who knows!!]

an in-depth fic about klaus’s ten months in vietnam.. but with ben there. klaus getting pants and a gun shoved at him and ben is just as confused and freaked out. klaus finding out where they are, or ben finding out and telling him. klaus meeting dave and ben is sitting next to him, side eyeing dave because who is this soldier and why did he come all the way from the back of the bus to introduce himself. ben sees it / can tell when klaus shoves the briefcase under their seat right after and ben’s just like ‘are you fucking kidding me??’ and of course klaus would make stupid decisions because of an attractive man with a sweet smile. so he’s exasperated but also concerned because it’s 1968 and people like klaus are treated even worse now than they are in 2019, way worse, and all of these men are probably straight - dave included. and if any of them are gay they’re not gonna say anything let alone act on it. it wouldn’t be worth it. klaus could get himself hurt or killed just for being himself, if he acts too.. well.. himself after that he stays by klaus’s side more than he did in their own time, which is really saying something. offers advice and wisdom like he always has. he warns him about snipers and mines and bullets and in turn klaus warns his squad. ben can’t lie - it feels pretty fucking good to be responsible for saving lives without having to take any. he still wishes klaus would just try the briefcase, he has it, but at some point he stops pushing. because he does think klaus needs to go back and soon but everytime he brings it up klaus gets defensive and angry - he can do what he wants. he has friends here now. he has a family that actually likes him. that actually cares. he’s considered useful and important and he’s on drugs!! he can get high and none of them think any less of him for it. why can’t ben see that maybe this is where he belongs?? maybe the middle of the fucking vietnam war is where he fits?? and it’s not like he has anyone or anything back home. the only thing he could have missed is ben and ben’s with him in 1968 so there’s literally nothing. and ben wants to yell back, he wants to argue that there’s plenty for klaus to go back to, but he’s realizing that klaus.. might be right. and that hurts. and of course pisses ben off but it hurts because nobody should have to travel back in time and fight in a pointless war to find basic respect, especially not klaus. klaus who has been through enough - who deserves good things more than anyone ben knows. so after that conversation he doesn’t bring it up anymore. he looks at it sometimes, and thinks about their siblings, how they just gained their missing brother only to lose another, how are they doing? have they noticed klaus is missing yet? did they see the motel room?? did they know that all of that blood was klaus’s?? (shh patch didn’t die, hazel and cha cha escaped by knocking her out but she lives because i said so. diego shows up and finds her, freaks out at first but is relieved that she’s fine. he manages to get her to wake up and she tells him that klaus was there. he was hurt, very very hurt, but he got away. she doesn’t know where he went, he crawled through the vent, and he’s gone, diego. you need to find him - he needs a hospital. ahem anyway) ben thinks on these things and it never takes him long to get disgusted looking at it because it contains, in a way, their family. and he thinks he knows the answers. he gets to a point where he decides he wouldn’t be upset if they never had to see those jackasses again. his loyalties lie with klaus, after 13 years together there’s no way they wouldnt be. and if doing what’s best for klaus, doing what makes klaus happy, is staying right where they’ve found themselves than he can deal with it. that’s where he ends up anyway but its definitely not a quick or easy point to reach. he’s there for every battle, all the days of marching, watching klaus kill people and knowing how badly it’s affecting his brother and yet he doesn’t stop. he doesn’t pull back without orders, doesn’t put his gun down until he knows his squad is safe. and that fierceness grows as he gets closer to dave. ben doesn’t know what to think of dave at first, probably doesn’t trust him - knowing every man klaus has ever found attractive or had a “relationship” with before - but ben literally watches this - admittedly handsome - soldier boy fall in love with klaus, and klaus with him. ben witnesses the disco. the private conversation - from a distance, he’s doesn’t feel quite right listening in and he can still see them. the way they look at each other. how gently dave approaches every moment with klaus - the hand on his cheek, their first kiss (which he WILL tease klaus about later) when they head back to the hotel that was booked for all the guys for r&r, ben decides to wander saigon instead because he’s pretty sure he knows where things are going to go considering klaus and dave are roommates (oh my god they were roommates) by the time he gets back they’re both passed out (in the same bed. as he expected) from that day forward klaus is happy, genuinely happy in a way ben can’t remember him ever being, and dave has of course gained ben’s full approval (especially when klaus tells dave about the ghosts and dave believes him. even turns to where klaus is pointing at ben and tells ben that he’s happy that klaus has at least one good sibling, that he’s happy to know ben is there. when dave knows ben is there he always greets him. it’s not anything that grand really but it means a lot to ben. and when klaus finally tells him about the time travel, a little later on, dave believes him then too. said it made sense because he always thought there was no way someone as incredible as klaus could’ve come from the same place as he himself - let alone the same time. it never seemed to.. fit) SO ben is a fan. and he stays by both their sides - keeping them alive as best he can - along with a few other ghosts who are coherent, previous members of the 173rd, who pass things on to ben when klaus is too high. they talk, as long as no one but dave is around - dave who adapts pretty easily to klaus holding a whole conversation with someone he can’t see or hear. and ben.. stays ben. the only thing being in the war really changes is the way he views their siblings and he now has one other live person that he can “talk” to. eventually, almost 11 months in, they find out they’re getting sent to the frontlines. even closer to the danger. and klaus has a bad feeling. this is when ben brings up the briefcase again, hesitantly, and before klaus goes off reminds him that they could take dave with them. if he wanted to go. klaus can return to their time, to relative safety, and still have dave. it’s no longer a ‘one or the other’ situation. all they have to do is get dave to say ‘yes’. he says it very quickly of course (if you think i’d let dave die you’re out of your goddamn mind) he can be tough and feral when he needs to be, when pushed if klaus is in danger but he isn’t a killer, he doesn’t want to be a killer, he wants out. but he also wants a life with klaus and while they talked about going back to the states in.. well.. dave’s time and getting a little house and all that - doing that in 2019 sounds much better. especially after the night klaus told him softly about how things were different for lgbtq+ people, how they could hold hands and be as out as they wanted. get married. adopt. all things dave spent his whole life believing he’d never be allowed to have. so they do it - right then. klaus pulls out the briefcase and they gather the few things they wanted to keep and in a bright light they’re gone. (maybe they said something, or goodbye, to each squadmate before leaving. maybe they didnt and it hurt but if they waited around to get through everyone it would be too late to run) AND OH!! they take the ghost soldiers with them / the ghost soldiers find them in 2019, because i’m a slut for klaus having good ghosts, friend ghosts, who - even if they died horribly, are still the same person they were alive. and maybe sometimes they look like their deaths and sometimes they can look normal - ben teaching the soldiers how to be ghosts?? including how to appear as you were; whole, no holes or blood or missing limbs or chunks of head blown off. they’re all grateful and so is klaus. tho listen: he still gets high because i fucking said so - however, at least until the world is saved, he sticks to cigarettes and - for sleeping purposes - pot, dave does as well. because dave isnt a square. maybe he sticks to that path afterwards. maybe not. i for one support everything except 100% sobriety 100% of the time in this instance  anyway: later on when klaus can make ben corporeal for any amount of time he wants ben tells their siblings about the real life romantic drama he got to watch close up, from their first meeting all the way to the return to 2019. he also mentions a lot of things about the war, the sights and sounds of senseless murder - something their brother and his boyfriend were forced to take part in - the wounds they had to deal with, heal through. klaus and dave definitely have some scars. the fear. and that’s after telling them about hazel and cha cha and the almost two days they had klaus and nobody noticed. (maybe klaus lets his siblings meet the other soldiers, maybe not. maybe he lets them wander the mansion corporeal to scare the shit out of people. who knows) ben wants to make their siblings feel bad. he wants them to hurt and feel guilty. it’s the very least they deserve he thinks, when it’s all said and done. he hasn’t been able to say anything to them for 13 years and he’s got a lot of things built up - but gotta say, the last year (five-ish days?? starting at ep.1) have really taken the whole goddamn cake. klaus is embarrassed and shocked and actually quite touched that little benny is really going feral for the first time - though he keeps trying to tell him none of it is a big deal. he doesnt like confrontation. dave however is extremely pleased by the whole thing. klaus kept saying he and ben would get along if they ever got to meet and he was right. ben had, with a serious face, dubbed them the klaus hargreeves love & protection squad (bc dave doesnt know what the fuck even a ‘meem’ is yet) and that’s that. they make up a handshake and everything. klaus has never felt so loved. 

aaand eventually klaus and dave and ben (because of course he’s invited) do get that little house away from the city - someplace with few to no ghosts. someplace they can make their home. they make sure it has a room they can make up for ben even though he doesnt sleep (he still deserves his own space. a place to get away from them if he wants. somewhere to put his books and such. ben doesnt get emotional about that at all. absolutely not.) and they get pets and klaus gardens and ben reads books about gardening so he can help and dave works (mechanic is always a good time. or bookstore owner!! coffee shop?? listen. those may or may not be my favorite aus) and maybe the siblings get to visit and maybe they mend things and bond or whatever idk THE POINT IS:: Ben is a good brother and i think the idea of him going through vietnam with klaus is interesting and if someone with more ideas/thoughts ever wrote this i would be on that like cheese on broccoli honestly. THE SECOND POINT IS:: Klaus and Dave deserve to be happy and have the life they dreamed about together and if they shared their home with anyone it would be the Bentacles SO… OKAY…  that definitely did it’s own thing but i really really genuinely love thinking about what those months would have been like with ben there - what he would have thought or said or done about things yknow?? and how that would have affected klaus/changed things. i didnt give a lot of examples in this because my brain didn’t want to stay on track (as if it ever does) but it’s 1:30 in the morning and im so fucking tired lsdfd;lk if you actually read this.. first of all: im sorry. second of all: thank you. and literally if anyone ever wrote something about this topic (not like.. this post specifically, just the ben in vietnam plot) and nobody important dies i’ll love you and give you a lil smooch on the noggin  s m ooch. smooches. you know who likes smooches?? klaus. you know who deserves smooches?? klaus. you know who’s getting smooches?? THAT’S RIGHT. KLAUS. because dave has a degree in giving them and he can’t let that education go to waste amiright??

this post.. may or may not have been brought to you by wine as well.. 

ope

[brittle-bone-gabe]

Patched Up

Summary: After the first meeting with the League of Villains goes wrong, Hari has to stitch up the wound on Kai's forehead, whether he wanted him to or not.

Read on other platforms: AO3, FFN, Wattpad

Needless to say the meeting with the League of Villains didn’t quite turn out how Overhaul expected; he didn’t expect to use his Quirk against one of them, he didn’t expect to lose one of their own to them, and he certainly didn’t expect to get bashed in the skull. The trip back to the hideout was silent and longer than usual to make sure they weren’t being followed, that was the last thing they needed right now. The situation needed to cool off, even though Overhaul was the one to tell the League of Villains that he wasn’t sure if he could hold himself to that if they tried a sneak attack on them. The entire way back, the gash on his forehead didn’t stop bleeding, meaning he was going to need stitches. Wonderful. 

Even though the wound should have been Overhaul’s top priority, he was more worried about how filthy he was, as he was covered in dust, blood, and had people touching him. Disgusting. The last thing he needed was to become even more sick than he already was, coming to terms that since he had a Quirk he was, in fact, always sick. Not as sick as those who wanted to use their Quirks to be heroes or big time villains, but still sick. 

As much as Hari wanted to ask Kai how he was feeling and give him some comfort on the ordeal back with the League of Villains he knew better than to do it in front of the others. It wasn’t like they weren’t aware of their relationship, but that didn’t mean Kai could do whatever he wanted, he still had a reputation to uphold, meaning that they couldn’t show any feelings in a professional setting. It was rather unfortunate as Hari could tell how uncomfortable Kai was from the encounter. 

The second they made it back to the hideout Overhaul ordered everyone to get away from him, nobody took it to heart knowing how he got whenever any job got dirty. He went down the hallway with Hari following behind him in silence as they went to their room so Kai could get away from everyone else. While they were walking, Hari reached out to Kai, gently removing Kai’s bloody jacket, throwing it over his shoulder. It was a small gesture, but it made Kai feel understood. His entire life people told him he was overreacting over being touched or getting dirty, even when they saw him breakout it was ‘not a big deal.’ Meeting Hari and having him validate his emotions and working with his phobia was the best thing that happened to him.

Kai silently opened the door to their bedroom, taking a seat on the lone chair in the room so he wouldn’t get their bed dirty. He buried his face in his hands, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. How did today go so wrong? It was expected that it wouldn’t have gone 100% as Kai planned, that’s why he brought all the backup, but he had no intention of going in there to kill anybody. That was honestly the last thing he wanted to do, given the aftermath on his Quirk when having to use it in close combat. 

“...so you had a rough day,” Hari finally said to break the silence, placing the jacket on their dresser so he could remember to wash it later. 

“And you missed a shot,” Kai snapped back, looking up from his hands. He would grow to regret his snarky comment, but right now he couldn’t control his filter. 

“Well…” Hari shrugged, trying to ignore the comment as he knew that he didn’t mean it, “hard to pinpoint an accurate shot when your target is moving, huh?”  

Kai let out a frustrated sigh, sitting back in the chair. He wiped the blood out of his eye, the wound’s bleeding started to slow down a little bit but was still going at it, confirming that it was going to need stitches. Stitches were the worst thing to get in Kai’s opinion, they were too easy to get infected. Plus it would leave an ugly scar… 

“Can I look?” Kai was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t even notice Hari was standing next to him. He looked up at him with a bit of a dazed look as if he wasn’t sure what he was referring to. “Your…” Hari tapped his own forehead where the wound on Kai’s was to get his point across. 

“It’s fine.” 

“It’s still bleeding.” 

“...It’s fine. Don’t touch me.” 

Hari held his hands up slightly to show that he wasn’t going to harm or touch him, even though he didn’t make any moves that indicated that he was going to touch him, but whatever. 

“I’m not, I’m not.” Hari paused for a second. “Do you want anything?” 

Again, Kai went silent, not purposely ignoring Hari, but because he was lost in his thoughts again, reflecting on what he could’ve done to prevent what happened today. It was obvious their leader wasn’t up for the leadership position, from their small interaction Kai could pick up that he was rather childish and immature. How could anyone follow someone like that? They needed someone like him who had a plan and could lead them in the right direction. He had the plan, they had the resources… What was the problem? 

Kai jumped upon feeling the cool washcloth gently running over his forehead, that certainly shook him out of his thoughts. How zoned out had he’d been that he didn’t even notice Hari going into their bathroom to get the washcloth? As much as Kai wanted to push him away and yell at him for touching him he didn’t, that wouldn’t help solve anything, besides, he didn’t like doing that to Hari it wasn’t fair. 

“I told you I was fine…” Kai mumbled, resisting the urge to swat his arm away. 

“And I know you’re not fine,” Hari countered, moving the cloth from his forehead to wipe the blood from his eye and face. “You…” Hari let out a defeated sigh, dropping his arm, he could feel Kai glaring at him. “I told you before that there’s nothing wrong with asking for help-”

“But I didn’t ask for help, I can do things by myself.” 

Why was it so difficult for Kai to ask for help? Well… because he wasn’t the helpless little kid he used to be before the Boss took him in. He was more than capable of taking care of himself and watching his own back. Yeah… right. If it weren’t for the Eight Bullets tonight then Overhaul may have gotten himself killed instead of one of the disposables. 

Hari couldn’t help but scoff, rolling his eyes. “Oh, really? You’re going to stitch that up yourself?” Humoring himself in a way, he was waiting for Kai to snap back at him, but he didn’t. In fact, he was looking rather miserable right now. “Kai?” Hari started again, “do you need help with that?” 

Normally Hari wouldn’t hesitate to get started on patching Kai up, but when he was in a bad mood like this it was unpredictable of what he would do. Maybe he’d silently take the help or push him away. Neither of those outcomes were ideal since usually if he was silent he was holding in his anger, a habit that he refuses to break, no matter how many times Hari told him that bottling emotions wasn’t healthy. 

“...Fine,” Kai huffed, folding his arms over his chest, sitting back in his chair. 

“Are you sur-”

“Yes!” He snapped, looking away from Hari, who stood up to get the first aid kit. 

It was amazing how much Hari could handle when Kai was in this type of mood, the majority of people in relationships wouldn’t put up with it, but then again most people weren’t dating the captain of the Shie Hassaikai and couldn’t imagine what stress he was going through. That didn’t automatically make it okay, but it was an explanation for it. Emotions were an in the moment type of thing, something that Kai never learned to fully control; for the longest time Kai buried his emotions and refused to show them, the moment he began to express them is when they took control of his mind. When they took control it was hard for him to calm down and think things through. 

A moment after the sink turned off from the bathroom was when Hari walked back into the room wearing latex gloves, the needle driver and the needle in his hands. It wouldn’t take long for him to patch Kai up, only two or three stitches at least to get the wound closed up.

“My hands are clean, see?” Hari held up his gloved hands before Kai asked about them, the last thing he needed from this was an infection. Kai let out a deep, defeated sigh, either he’d get an infection from the stitches or from not getting it treated, so either way he couldn’t seem to win. “It’s not so bad, I promise.” 

He moved to stand over Kai, using the knuckle of his index finger to tilt his chin up slightly so he could see at a better angle. The cool washcloth once again ran over Kai’s forehead to catch and clean up the new blood oozing from the wound. Kai was lucky that Hari knew how to do stitches, he wouldn’t take the help from anybody else. Maybe from a licensed doctor, he wouldn’t risk going to a doctors office or a hospital, the chances of him getting sick would jump significantly. 

Hari got to work right away so as not to upset Kai by taking too long, he had barely flinched when the needle was pushed through his skin. The last thing they needed was him getting antsy while a needle was so close to his eye. 

“Two stitches, that’s it,” Hari updated as he secured the knot of the first stitch. Great. They were halfway done. 

“I know what you’re thinking…” Kai mumbled, looking up at Hari, who had no idea what he was talking about. 

“What?” He tried to keep focused on what he was doing, but he could feel Kai’s piercing golden eyes looking through him like daggers and it began to make him feel nervous. “You have no idea what I’m thinking.” 

“You think I can’t take care of myself.” 

Kai’s words took Hari back, he had no idea what he was talking about or where it even came from. Not once did Hari say or even imply that Kai couldn’t take care of himself, he knew he could, very well, in fact. Hari could only chuckle in response. 

“I’m pretty sure you’re overthinking again,” he commented. Kai hummed as if he didn’t believe him, shifting his eyes to focus on the wall from the opposite side of the room. “You know I don’t think that at all.”

“Didn’t you just say I have no idea what you’re thinking?”

Whether or not Kai was thinking out loud or purposely trying to piss him off Hari couldn’t tell, but it was doing exactly that.

“You forget I’m the one holding the needle,” Hari calmly reminded him. As much as he wanted to jab the needle as hard as he could into Kai’s skull over that comment he somehow restrained himself.

“Despite what you think, I’m completely capable of taking care of myself.” The tension on his forehead where Hari began to tie up the final stitch felt more intense, it wasn’t long before he let out a surprise yelp as Hari purposely finished tying up the knot tighter and more aggressive than he could have. “What?” Kai asked, feeling the area around the stitches without actually touching them. 

“I don’t think that. I know you can handle yourself, I’ve seen how you’ve grown and how hard you’ve worked to get where you are now.” 

Kai didn’t say anything, there was nothing he could say and he knew fully well that he had more to go off on. 

“They were stupid not to make a deal with you today. You’re more than capable of taking charge and making plans.” 

Hari slipped off the slightly blood stained gloves, stuffing them in his pocket before reaching out to put a hand on Kai’s head, bringing him closer until his face was resting against his chest. Kai knew he had to stop letting his emotions and overthinking cause such a strain on their relationship, it wasn’t fair for Hari to put up with this. 

“I’m…” Kai trailed off before he could fully apologize, something he also had trouble doing, even when it mattered. 

“It’s okay. I forgive you.”

[the-cookie-of-doom]

@alexa-alcantara this is for you 😘

“Why are you doing this?” Mitch slurred, barely able to keep his eyes open. Ronnie unwound the chain from his savaged wrists, but left the rope, just in case Mitch got it in his head to try and run. Not that he’d be able to. Ronnie worked him over good.

“I want Hurley. The sooner you give him to me, the sooner this can end.”

Mitch collapsed once he was free of the chains, unable to keep himself standing. Ronnie was right there to catch him though, his arms strong and secure around Mitch’s middle, and he whimpered quietly from the pain. His voice was shot from screaming, too bad for anything much louder, raw and hoarse.

“Gonna have to try harder… not gonna break… that easy…”

“Everyone breaks eventually. Don’t worry, I got nothing but time.” Mitch snorted. He held no illusions that Hurley was coming for him. No one would. That was the job he accepted.

“Did you?” Mitch asked when Ronnie eased him onto a cot. He was too tired to fight. Too tired to question it. He didn’t know how long it’s been since he slept—a few days, at least—but the effects of sleep deprivation were old friends.

“Did I what?”

“Break.” Mitch saw the scars, and Ronnie had to learn the techniques he now employed on Mitch from somewhere. He was no novice to torture.

The question made the man pause. Mitch didn’t know what he was doing, but stopped whatever it was. If not for his steady breaths, Mitch would have no idea he was even still there.

Then, finally, he repeated, “Everybody breaks eventually.” There was something different in his voice. Something quiet.

“How—” Mitch worked his tongue, trying to wet his dry mouth, “How long?”

“A few weeks. Two, maybe three. I don’t have an exact number.”

“I’m gonna break your record,” Mitch said with a bloody grin.

Ronnie was impressed by Mitch’s tenacity, to say the least. Even beaten half to death, the kid was still trying to take cheap shots at his pride. Ronnie couldn’t decide if Mitch was just that much of a punk that he couldn’t control his own mouth, of if he was trying to goad Ronnie into killing him before he gave anything up. If it was the latter, then Mitch would be sorely disappointed. But if it was the former, then, well, at least things wouldn’t be dull.

“Y’know, kid. I think we could’ve been friends.”

“Go fuck yourself.” Ronnie laughed. He finally brought whatever supplied he’d gathered over to the cot.

“Really, we’re pretty alike, you an I. I see a lot of myself in you.”

Mitch froze when Ronnie’s weight made the thin mattress dip, tilting Mitch towards him. Then the other man started working open his belt and pants, it was enough to make Mitch fight back again.

“Get the fuck away from me.” He tried to push at Ronnie with his bound hands, but he was too sluggish and weak to be effective. Ronnie easily subdued him with his wrists pinned above his head. Cold dread filled him, and fear locked his limbs as he remembered Hurley’s gruff words: If you think only woman get raped in the field, you’re dead wrong. Expect it, be prepared for it, and let the possibility of it happening motivate you not to get captured.

Yeah, especially you, Rapp, Victor had said. Pretty thing like you, I’m sure someone would love to make you their bitch.

“Hey, hey, relax. I’m just trying to get a look at your leg,” Ronnie soothed. He took his hands away from Mitch at some point, careful not to touch is skin as he waited for the panic to subside. “I do have standards,” he added. He even managed to sound offended. As if that was the only thing wrong with this picture.

Despite the reassurance Mitch still fought, crossing his legs and locking them together so Ronnie couldn’t get the bloodstained jeans much past his hips. Ronnie solved that problem by sighing and grabbing a knife to cut off the garment, slicing Mitch’s skin in the process.

“Now see, I was going to let you have them back when I was done.”

Mitch watched Ronnie like a hawk, his eyes wide and tracking his every movement, adrenaline flooding his system. His heart beat a raucous pulse against his ribcage. But Ronnie ignored him for the most part. He poured alcohol into a bowl and dipped in a pair of forceps.

“This is going to hurt,” he warned, then dug into the bullet wound in Mitch’s left thigh. He have a strangled scream, back arching as he tried to writhe away from the pain. Blunt metal fished around in his ragged flesh, the forceps opening to grab the bullet lodged deep inside. Ronnie pulled it free with a wet squelch. The sound made Mitch want to pass out a little bit. His hypervigilance was the only thing keeping him conscious. Stubbornness played a part as well. Screaming was cathartic, made the pain easier to bear, but losing out was a sign of weakness. He didn’t want to give Ronnie the satisfaction, and didn’t trust the man with his unconscious body.

Mitch’s leg was trembling when Ronnie had him prop it up. He took a minute to clean up the blood and staunch the flow before he wound bandages around it with tender care.

“I hate you,” Mitch rasped as Ronnie worked. He didn’t know what new tactic this was, taking him down and tending to him, and he didn’t especially care, but he knew it couldn’t mean anything good. He’s just making sure I survive for more torture.

“Where’s Hurley holed up, Mitch?” Ronnie asked gently, starting to clean up the other wounds he’d inflected.

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. Where is he? Where’s the safe house?”

“I don’t know.”

“Tell me and I’ll give you something for the pain.”

“Get fucked.”

“Oh, Mitch.” Ronnie gave a disappointed sigh. “One of these days you’ll learn. Do you think Hurley would go through al this effort to protect you? ‘Course not. You’re here, aren’t you?”

“’You go down out there, you’re a ghost, you don’t exist. Ain’t nobody coming back from you’,” Mitch quoted. “May as well kill me now—I’m not giving you shit.”

“Are you really prepared to die for him?”

“You tell me, since you know me so well.”

“Tell you what, kid. I’m not gonna kill you. I like you. I think you can still be useful to me. If you don’t want to give me information, that’s fine, I have other needs.” Mitch felt that cold fear again—he was stupid for not hiding it better before, giving Ronnie such a clear threat to use against him. But he wouldn’t fold from just a threat. Ronnie must’ve realized, because he just said, “But don’t you worry about that right now. Get some rest. I’ll be back to play with you in the morning.”

“Don’t go out of your way on my account, I’m sure you’re busy.”

“Never too busy for you, darlin’.” Ronnie pat Mitch’s cheek, tied him to the cot, and left him in the dark.

***

Ronnie took a drink of the water to prove it wasn’t poisoned before tipping the bottle to Mitch’s lips. He appreciated the gesture for what it was even if it didn’t allay his suspicion. It wouldn’t do to have him dying of dehydration before Ronnie exhausted all possible leads to extract the information he wanted.

“I’m going to get out of here,” Mitch said, matter of fact. He knew it was true because he would make it so. He wouldn’t allow himself to die here.

“Is that so? And how are you gonna do that, darlin?” Ronnie had that sweet, indulgent tone of a parent patiently listening to a child’s whims and stories. Mitch bristled at the condescension, but he didn’t care. It didn’t matter what Ronnie thought. Was probably better if he believed Mitch was thoroughly trapped.

“Haven’t figured it out yet, but I will.” Mitch knew a situation would present itself eventually, and he would patiently wait until that time came, saving his strength to take advantage of it. “I’m going to kill you, too.”

[guidedbygunpla]

Gundam REDUX Side Story chapter 1

             “dad, I’m so sorry, Honeydew tripped while we were out riding, she can’t get up. Dad what do we do” the young child called up to his father, an older man, twice the age of his wife, and ten times the age of his young son.              “son, Honeydews leg is broken” his father said, cold and expressionless, looking at the horse laying in the mud mewing in pain. His son barely tall enough to ride it. Apparently too young for the responsibility.

             “but the animal doctor can help her right? The man who came to give her her shots? He can fix it right” his son said, tears in his eyes pulling at the robe his father wore. Regal and clean, white and gold

             “son he could set her leg yes, he could mend it and it could heal. But it will hurt her forever. She’ll never walk correctly again. She’ll never live a moment of her life not in pain again. The right thing to do is to put her down. “ he said crouching down and running his hands through his sons blonde hair.

               “Cassie, go grab the rifle from the car…..it’s the right thing to do” His father said, his tone low and calm

             “dad no! we can’t! I love Honeydew you can’t kill her!” he said tears pouring down his face

             “I won’t kill her son….you have to do that, she’s your responsibility. She needs to know that you made her pain end”

 His father went and grabbed the bolt action rifle from the back of the black limosene that sat at the front of the stable. The boy laid there holding the horses neck, trying to comfort them. His father came back, rifle in hand and put a hand on his shoulder

               “Casval, it’s time.”

 ________________________________________________________

Char lay slumped against the control panel, his zaku buried slightly in the remains of the woods that the forest fire had left behind. Kentucky was still burning, and he was still far too close to the federations mobile suits to be safe. He couldn’t breathe, its like his throat had closed up on him, he was crying, but there was no gasp for air, just tears, tears and tense muscles.

               “I killed him” he spoke, his voice a growl

             “I killed Garma……why in the world did I kill him”

               Images flew through his head, his father gasping for air on stage, as Degwin, Garmas father began to smile, standing at his side. The zabi soldiers pounding on his families mansion, his mother crying as he and his sister were taken away from her. Her face in the newspaper when he was on earth, Wife of famed cult leader Zeon Zum Deikun found murdered.

             Garma the first day he met him, a fresh faced 19 year old. Didn’t even know how to tie a tie.

Soft skin, soft hair

That little way he twirled his hair when he was nervous

His sister crying for days after they landed on earth

Being trained on his place as the head of the family by a family friend Jimba Ral

Sneaking away from that life, taking the place of another family friend Charles Aznable, and flying away to a Zeon military academy

Why did fate have to do this to him

Why did I have to do this

Why did I have to kill him

 He was shaking in his seat now, panic gripping him

They would find the camera data In his suit, or Garma or Grams suit, they would see his suit was pristine, and draw a conclusion, he had to do something

  Chars hand shook nonstop as he pressed the button to open his hatch

               “I need air”

He could hear his voice, but he didn’t feel like he was speaking

 He pressed the button on the side of his seat to pop up the emergency maintenance system, turning his center monitor into a small keyboard.

               “First things first, I need to wipe the video data……no but if I do that, they will be able to pull that from the black box” char slumped against his chair

What the fuck had he just done

Was this worth it?

                                          An idea crept into his mind

He typed away at the keyboard pulling up maintenance logs, a picture of a beam saber wound left on another zaku.

               “it just might work” Char said as he pressed away on his control stick, engaging the heat hawk and cranking its temp beyond its limiter, he raised the zakus arm twisted the heat hawk around and slid it into the body of the zaku slightly below his cockpit, melting the hard drives for camera, and audio recording. Now was the matter of the black box, it sat right below the pilot seat. Char grabbed the pilots helmet that sat locked in above him, slid off his captains helmet and then pulled the helmet down over him. He pressed the buttons to close the cockpit hatch. A few maneuvers of the control stick and infront of him his monitors began to melt, and crack as the heat hawk slipped through the wall that protected him from the outside world, he raised his feet up onto his seat, moved the hand and heat hawk away from the hatch, and opened the hatch again, he then took the leading edge of his heat hawk and slid it into the front of the cockpit, the heat was over whelming, but he watched his seat catch fire below him, and watched the side of the black box’s orange covering melt and bubble and then watched the boards inside of it become exposed, pop and bubble and catch fire as well

 He pushed the control stick back fast, and stomped out the fire on his seat. The smell of the burning plastic and metal made him woozy.

               “there, all the data is gone, now to sell this damage before the heat hawk burns up”

He began throwing the hawk into his suit wildly, and sheered off the left arm of his zaku. Char started laughing, as tears rolled down his face. He stumbled out of the Zaku and reached up and grabbed ahold of the climbing wire that hung inside the cockpit, and rode it down to the ground. It was cold out, despite the forest fire around them. Chars hands were still shaking, he reached around his dress uniform and found the pocket where he stored his cigarette case              “keep saying I’m going to quit you” he said with a small laugh as he slid one between his teeth and used the lighter he kept in the case to light it. The smoke slowed his shaking, and his mind.

             “he didn’t deserve that…” Char said, exhaling slowly “he was a good man, sure his dads a murderer, and he only got where he is because his dad murdered mine…..but” he stopped, taking a long drag “he didn’t deserve that……fuck…..Cassie what is wrong with you……ugh” he grunted as he threw the cigarette to the dirt, and rubbed it out with his foot. He heard a gun cock behind him

             “Char, you have 10 fucking seconds to explain to me what just happened.” He heard, the voice was familiar it was Garmas wingman, Gram.              “Gram now there is a perfectly reasonable answer……let’s be adults about this, no need to point a gun at me” Char said as he turned around and saw the man, he seemed to have broken his arm and his clothes looked to be badly burned

             “fuck that Char, you shot down Prince Garma, and then I find you here in the woods carving up your own Zaku? The fuck could explain this?”              “it’s easy, this will explain everything” Char said as he reached into his pocket and grabbed his officers tablet, and started to walk towards Gram, he saw gram lower the gun slightly, and then quickly with his other hand he pulled his side arm and shot gram!

             The shot was sloppy, clipping Gram in the lung, Gram fired a shot off too, that caught Char in the bicep of his left arm

             Gram lay on the forest floor gasping for air

             Char clutched his arm, and approached Gram

             “Gram you could’ve just walked away, you didn’t have to get involved….”

He saw Gram reaching for his side arm, Char kicked it away and stared down at the man gasping for air

             “figure I could just leave you here, you’ll die before someone comes to get you, or I could end this fast for you….before I decide that though.... I want to tell you something Gram, see how you react” Char said staring down at the man who was trying to yell at him, but couldn’t find the air

               “I killed Garma Zabi because when I was a very small child, his father, Degwin poisoned my father with Aconitum, I know that because while Kycelia Zabis Royal guard didn’t detect anything was amiss, Jimba ral found a large stash of it, and books on processing it in a fire place in my fathers former palace. I killed Garma so that Degwin would have to feel the pain I have lived my whole life feeling…..how does that make you feel Gram, am I justified in my actions or am I a monster?” Char said aiming the gun at Grams face

             “you…..dumb…..fucking……liar” Gram got out between gasps, blood coming out the side of his mouth

             “Seig Zeon” Char said as he fired 3 shots through Grams head

   Char reached into his boot grabbing the knife he kept there. 

              “the things I do for love” he spoke slowly as he poked the blade into the hole in his arm and popped the bullet out, luckily it was a low caliber and it didnt dig in too deep. he thought about laying his arm against the heat hawk, make it look like a burn instead of a gun shot wound, but he figured he’d be under enough suspicion as it was, selling a gun shot that strayed into his slashed open cockpit wouldnt be the hardest thing. at least now there wouldnt be a zeon round in the wound 

The door came up with a creek  when Char climbed back into the Zaku, and he had to pilot using the emergency screen stored in the attic above his seat, luckily the hole in the cockpit hatch made it easy enough to breath as the smoke was able to leak out of the room.

  Char piloted the suit north, knowing reinforcements would be heading for Kentucky soon enough.

             A great Green Gow broke over the horizon, and a garbled transmission called out over the emergency receiver

             “CHAR IS THAT YOU? WHERE IS MY BROTHER? WHERE IS GARMA” he heard through the static. It was Dozle. Char didn’t respond, he simply kneeled the zaku down, and climbed back out. The gow landed and dozle came out to meet him

               “Char where is the rest of the team that went to hunt the feddie suits?”

             “it’s just me, they were so fast…..they just overtook us so fast”              “Char…..Char don’t lie to me” Dozle said, tears welling up in the great mans eyes

             “I watched him get shot down Dozle, that sniper, his rifle, the beam left a hold like a rocket blast in Garmas suit, there was nothing I could do, and the white knight nearly took me out, it would’ve succeeded if Gram hadn’t shot them and given me room to get away

             “Char no……he was your……he was my…..” Dozel hugged char in a great hug and cried hysterically

             Char felt tears run down his face too

               "I wish I had your luster Garma, I wish I could hold you for the rest of your life, I wish I didn't have to say goodbye to you"              "you'll be the death of me Char, you're too much"

[littlepurinsesu]

V Watches MagiReco - Episode 13 Review

*Spoilers for Magia Record Anime Episode 13*

(This review will focus on Episode 13 only. I will be writing a separate review for the anime season as a whole!)

I have so many mixed feelings about this episode that I honestly don’t even know where to start LOL xD There are some parts that I hated and some that I loved, and so many reactions ranging from “WTH WAS THAT?!?” to “UH OKAY...” to “OMG YASSSSS!!!!!”

I’ll going to try my best to unpack my thoughts as coherently as possible, but this review will probably still end up being the most incoherent of them all because of all my mixed feelings for all the changes the anime made xD

To start, Mifuyu is definitely more antagonistic in the anime compared to what I remember of her in the game lol. And honestly I feel cheated that they always seem to tease us with some kind of confrontation between Yachiyo and Mifuyu, but the latter always summons that giant moon and escapes before anything can happen. It’s honestly a little anti-climactic and a bit of a waste, what with all the tension they’ve been building between these two, but then again, it doesn’t really happen in the game, either, so I guess it’s not really the anime’s fault for not “delivering” haha :P

Alright, since I’m going in chronological order, may as well get the biggest disappointment out of the way first: Iroha and Yachiyo’s argument. I don’t think I can even begin to put into words how utterly disappointed I was with this part, seeing as it was one of the most crucial plot points in the game and definitely one of Iroha’s most shining moments. Firstly, the way Yachiyo revealed her wish lacked emotion and impact for me. The music didn’t even change, and there was no sense of this being the revelation of a huge secret/mystery that the story has kept under wraps all this time. At least they added a nice flashback sequence to show Yachiyo’s past and the reasoning behind her wish, rather than having it all just come out of her mouth verbally, so props to them for that, but I was still quite unimpressed with the way they went about this pivotal moments.

Next up in my complaints is the Rumour. I was so, so, so ready to see my girl Iroha finally standing up and holding her own in a battle, especially considering how weak she’s been portrayed throughout the past 12 episodes. I was expecting an intense fight with the Rumour--some struggle, some more determination, anything. But no, another case of what I call the “one-shot curse”. Iroha literally just ran up to the Rumour, aimed her arrow, shot, and BAM it’s gone. One of the most crucial battles in the story lasted about 20 seconds in total (yes, I was so petty and pissed off that I went back and counted lmao), and the way Iroha suddenly “powered up” so drastically made no logical sense to me at all. We never even saw her gradually increase in power or fighting capability throughout the story so far. Heck, she’s hardly even done anything in the past battles, and suddenly she can one-shot a Rumour all by herself? How. Pray tell, how.

And the final major complaint that follows on from this chain of unhappy ranting: Iroha and Yachiyo solidifying their friendship. I did like the way the screen melted away to reveal Iroha standing in front of Yachiyo, almost like a mirror image. Sadly, that’s the only thing I liked about it LOL. Iroha getting angry at Yachiyo was such an important development and such a huge moment for our protagonist, but here it just... doesn’t happen? She’s still the same smiling and gentle Iroha we always knew. Which is nice and all, but in my opinion, we really needed to see kindhearted and soft-spoken Iroha truly snap. We needed to see Iroha speak up and tell Yachiyo to cut her bs and to declare herself the leader. And the way Yachiyo accepts so quickly and hardly even tries to put up an argument is just... I don’t even know what to say anymore apart from constantly question why they had to rush so many crucial moments, to the point where they had zero emotional impact. I often wonder if I’d still have these complaints if I didn’t play the game and have expectations of how I wanted/wished/expected certain things to be adapted. So I dunno, maybe I wouldn’t have a problem with these things at all if I went into the anime blind ^^;;

Oh, and another thing that made zero sense to me was how Iroha went from being perfectly normal to unable to walk or talk within the span of about two seconds. Logically, I get that she probably used up too much magic one-shot-ing that Rumour just before, but they could’ve at least had her show some signs of physical strain during her talk with Yachiyo so that the sudden transition of her physical state doesn’t feel so abrupt and out of nowhere. I guess this is a minor detail that I can let slide, but it just reminds the viewer again and again of the problems that come with rushing. And rushing for what? Well...

The second half of the episode is an obvious answer. They were clearly rushing these game-story moments to fill up the rest of the episode with anime-original content. And while I’m still bitter at what the cost was, I will ironically say that the second half of this week’s episode had some very pleasant and interesting surprises! (Apologies for all the salt and negativity so far ^^;; Finally, onto the positives!)

I’d been wondering for a while if we were going to meet Holy Mami this week, even though the anime had already established Mami as a member of the Wings of Magius earlier on. And I did genuinely like the way they portrayed Mami in this scene. She legitimately looks out of her mind at some points, and it’s clear that the truth about Magical Girls has taken a huge toll on her mentally. Her mini battle with Yachiyo was short but sweet, with lots of nice movements and imagery, especially this shot right here:

The ribbon concealing her eyes and her Soul Gem (aka her soul and her actual self) is a really, really nice way of depicting that Mami is not really in her right state of mind, and that her current actions aren’t really her. I know a lot of fans didn’t like the brainwashing thing in the game, and even though it looks like they’re still keeping that in the anime (judging by Mami’s behaviour, she definitely seems brainwashed to me), at least they’re portraying it in a nice way. By the way, I applaud Yachiyo for being able to defend herself against Mami for so long with a whole person on her back xD

Sayaka was probably my favourite thing out of the entire episode. Again, like with Holy Mami, I was really hoping we’d get to see her this week ^^ I loved how her entrance parallels the way she saved Homura from Mami in Rebellion, and I’m sure hardcore fans will pick up on that before her identity is even revealed ;) Sayaka was never my favourite character out of the Holy Quintet (even though I still liked her a lot!), but oh my gosh she was amazing in this episode. I think it’s something to do with the cape? Maybe it’s the cape LOL but gosh she really did seem like a knight-in-shining-armour askjfha;sj (♥ω♥*)

And back to Mami... that part with her losing her mind (literally) after Sayaka shows up was creepy but also perfect. I like that she seemed to temporarily regain her sense of self when talking to Sayaka, but then just the talk of her guilt and shame and everything just comes back to haunt her again, and we see her succumb and lose herself once more. I didn’t think her transformation into Holy Mami would be portrayed in this way, but this is better than what I imagined. You actually get a sense of how painful the process is, and feel how much against her will it is to fall to a point where she’d hurt her friends and other innocent people. The whole idea is disturbing, but each time I think back on her reaction to finding out the truth in the original anime, this really doesn’t seem too far-fetched at all.

That entire battle between Mami and Sayaka/Yachiyo was kind of cool and kind of weird at the same time xD Honestly I can’t imagine Sayaka and Yachiyo to be able to run around freely with that many bullets flying all over the place, much less repel all of them, which Sayaka is shown doing at one point xD Iroha using her Doppel again is another thing that I didn’t really like, though. I just really don’t like how Iroha is always shown to be utterly useless fighting in her Magical Girl form and always has to end up relying on her Doppel to do anything. (Except for that previous battle with the Rumour that I discussed just before. Let’s not get me started on that again lmao.) But it’s nice to see Yachiyo using her Doppel as well (it looked really cool!), and I really liked that minor detail about how easy it is to lose yourself when using your Doppel. It’s not something we think much about when playing the game because of the game mechanics, so it’s always interesting to think about what the Doppels entail from a story perspective :) Anyway, despite some logical inconsistencies and Iroha resorting to her Doppel yet again, I did really enjoy this battle, and it definitely made up for the lackluster “battle” that we got with Iroha and the Rumour. We can really see where the budget went this week, huh xD

I also really loved how Touka literally just sits there sipping tea and ignores all the chaos happening around her. She shows no desire to help Mami or step in just in case something happens to her (since Mami’s on their side now and all), which, to me, really goes to show how purely cold-hearted Touka is. Or has become. (Shhh game spoilers xD)

And while we’re on the topic of Touka, I’m going to talk about how much I absolutely adored that final scene. It’s hard to visualise it while playing the game, so seeing the scale of the Wings of Magius was possibly frightening. We’ve always known that there are heaps of Feathers, but just seeing them all packed together in one big creepy dark hall, all cloaked and hooded, really goes to show the immense size of this cult. It’s not just some small club created by a few girls. The scale of this cult is insane. As for Touka’s speech? Inspirational. And I say that with full knowledge of the Magius’ crimes and wrongdoings. Honestly, with the way she speaks, I can’t imagine many Magical Girls being able to say no and walk away if they knew The Truth already. Touka is one amazing and charismatic speaker, and even though we’ve always known that she had to be to some extent to get so many Feathers, seeing it in action was truly a different experience. Terrifyingly persuasive and frighteningly charismatic, that child.

And that is why I applaud Rena. She’s able to stand among so fellow Magical Girls, listen to someone preach about salvation after literally just finding out the truth and learning about her own inevitable fate, not know of the dark side of the Magius, and still be able to walk away. Rena gained a new level of respect from me with that one simple decision, and I already loved her heaps before this. And Kaede really did join the Wings of Magius, huh :O We even got a shot of Kuroe! Welcome back (?), girl! xD

I quite liked how they showed the rest of Team Mikazuki joining in such a subtle way. It’s much more impactful to tease it like this rather than straight-up showing you the process of them joining right from the get-go. The way they end the season like this leaves a very haunting and unsettling feeling, especially considering that Iroha gets taken away from Yachiyo as well! Now that definitely wasn’t in the game!!! xD I was expecting the season to finish with Iroha and Yachiyo back at Mikazuki Villa alone and swearing to save the rest of the team, so this definitely came as a HUGE surprise to me. I’m really curious as to how they’re going to go about this change, as well as the change with Kaede joining up and the obvious Kuroe thing. (Btw Sayaka literally sweeping Yachiyo away like Prince Charming almost had me swooning LOL Sayaka was seriously SO COOL in this episode!)

And finally, we have Alina. I’m honestly still pissed off at how they handled her introduction, and wonder if anime-only fans can even tell that she’s a Magius and not just a Feather or some other kind of position (like Mifuyu), but I did enjoy the final scene of her. I think it makes it quite clear that Alina is going to be one of the Biggest Bosses, even among the antagonists, and the way she name-drops Walpurgisnacht was not what I expected but a pretty good decision, in retrospect. Anime-only fans will definitely feel that sense of familiarity they want just by hearing that name. Since this Witch is so iconic to the original anime and we probably won’t be seeing her until the very end of the next season, I think it was a nice idea to drop the name here to keep those anime-fans who expect lots of explicit PMMM references happy and hooked. In fact, the combination of Holy Mami and Sayaka’s appearance and the mention of Walpurgisnacht all in one episode makes me think they packed them all into the season finale to ensure that these anime-only PMMM fans will be back again for the next season (since us game players will almost definitely be back anyway haha xD).

Oh, and that ending song is so good! I loved “Alicia”, but this song was a really nice way to end the season and had a definite kind of “season finale” feel to it.

So yeah, that basically sums up my thoughts for this jam-packed episode xD Lots of stuff I feel could have been handled A LOT better, but also a lot of stuff that was absolutely amazing. The second half was significantly better than the first; that fight with Holy Mami and the ending with Touka and Alina were definitely the best parts.

I’ll be writing up another review post for the season as a whole and posting it separately, so I’ll end this one here and save my overall impressions for that one ^^ If you’ve read to the end, thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you there as well ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡