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jessikahathaway · 3 years

Text

Kill me Softly

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook X Reader

Genre: Romance, Vampire!AU, Smut

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, angst (sorryyy), threatening the life of a pregnant person, smut in the forms of: Oral (f receiving), dom!reader, sub!kook, unprotected sex (don't do as I write pls), creampie, edging, nipple play (phew), fucking in a forest (don't do that peeps), unexpected pregnancy, if I forgot something please let me know! (It does get intense so please be aware!)

Words: 26.1k (OOOF)

Summary: As a reclusive vampire, you haven’t seen one of your kind in centuries. Regardless, Jungkook is tasked with hunting you down and bringing you back to the King by whatever means necessary. Even if you’re shattered by the end of it.

*This is set in the universe of my 'I Belong to You' Taehyung X Reader story - although it was written a few years after so please forgive a couple discrepancies here and there. I did start writing this a few months ago so if it seems a little awkward that's why. It's mainly unedited because I didn't have timmmeee I sowwy! But please enjoy!*

Petrichor.

It filled your nostrils and suffused your whole body as you ran through the forest after your next kill. A doe, already wounded, ran through the woods ahead. It made your blood sing with the fire of hunger. Her blood splattered on the ground and it made your mouth water at the thought of finally being able to eat after a week of starving.

You tried not to eat frequently in order to keep the forest in balance, but as you’ve gotten older it’s been harder to control. Especially around a human.

Gods, the smell of their blood absolutely sends you spiraling into a new world of hunger. But every time you’ve tried to feast on one since... since he passed, you can’t help but taste the blood taste of rotting flesh. It makes your stomach churn painfully just to think about it.

But now it was time to focus on the hunt, and the glory of victory that was just within your grasp. You would make her death quick and you also made sure she didn’t have any fawns that relied on her still. You knew what it was like to grow up without family, so you weren’t going to subject anyone to that pain. Animal or not.

Finally, her injured leg tripped over a log and she fell to the forest floor. She didn’t even try to get back up, accepting of her fate. She snorted and huffed as she looked at you, fear in her eyes. You shushed her and patted her back gently.

“It’s okay, I’ll make it quick I promise,” you said. You cradled her head and twisted harshly, a distinctive snap going through the air. The deer fell limp, and you gorged yourself on her blood.

You must’ve looked a sight. Huddled over a deer carcass in the middle of the woods right after a vicious rain storm. Your body revelled in the feeling of her blood coursing through your dried veins for a moment. It made you feel alive, something you haven’t ever been.

You were what they called a ‘purebred’ vampire. Unlike most vampires, you weren’t turned, you were born a vampire. There are very few purebred vampires left in the world. The King of Vampires, King Taehyung, was one of them. But you weren’t interested in being a part of his Council. They were all full of themselves and their rare abilities, something you can only gain if you are turned by a purebred vampire. Or, if you’re born a vampire.

You had a rare ability as well. You were able to control all the elements at command. It was extremely rare for anyone to have an elemental power, and you had the power to control all four. It was paramount that you didn’t use them, however.

If the council caught wind of you near, they’d no doubt come looking. And they’d want to control you. You were as fickle as water, temperamental as fire, changing as the wind and stubborn as a rock. You demanded respect and you weren’t going to be used as a puppet for others enjoyment, you’d rather die.

Finishing off your meal you wiped your mouth clean, heading in the direction you came. Taking one last look at the deer, you decided to pay your respects. Lighting a cigarette and letting it burn and dropping it to the wet ground and stamping it out as your offering of tobacco. Giving a little nod you left, running towards your camp.

You skirted around the open fields, making sure to stick to the treeline without getting out in the sunlight. Purebred vampires don’t actually burn up in the sun, they just can’t use their abilities when in direct light. It makes fighting a lot more difficult. That’s why some vampires decided to train with swords or knives, perhaps bows as well. Regular vampires who were just turned by regular vampires also don’t burn up, they are just weakened and have to feed more often.

It’s difficult to curb all the rumors around vampires. The humans are fearful of their rulers and simply don’t want to be walking blood bags. So, they’ll say whatever they want to your face, but they’ll talk behind your back. Testy beings.

Making it back to camp you felt the strength from your meal beginning to wane. It was hard, only drinking from animals. But you couldn’t control your hunger at the best of times when an animal is around, imagine what you would do if there was a human. But you’d refuse to eat, you can’t, after you killed your lover...

You think back on him sometimes and wonder if there really was any saving someone that stupid. A human falling for a vampire is dangerous, and vice versa. Unless you plan to turn them at some point. Even then it can be dangerous. Vampires tend to drink so much that they can’t replenish what they took with their blood. Although, there is a ritual that has to be performed prior that most people forget about. You have to want it. Regular vampires tend to turn anyone who asks! And that’s why humans are so fleeting. Everyone is afraid to die, no one likes getting sick and then there’s the possibility of added abilities? What could be better?

Living with the ones you love. That’s what counts, and humans are fleeting creatures. They’re here then they’re gone. Living and dying like ants on the pavement. But you loved one. Foolishly, but it was a passion that hasn’t been matched. The feeling of being in his arms was so perfect, so right that you could fall asleep thinking of his embrace and all would be made right.

He asked, that idiot asked. He wanted to be with you forever, and you decided you could do it. Change him. Make his heart stop beating forever, because you were selfish. Because you didn’t want to be alone in this life. You wanted him, you wanted nothing more in this life. But, like your nature suggested, you’re a creature of greed. And as his ashen face looked up at your horrified expression, he smiled.

“I forgive you,” he whispered, before dying in your arms.

That bastard forgave you. But left you alone to deal with the feelings of guilt, the sleepless nights, nightmares that haunted your days. Because vampires do sleep, they just didn’t need to as often as humans.

It’s hard for you to accept the life of solitude, but it’s a necessary evil. You won’t allow anyone to get hurt because of you ever again. It sometimes seemed fruitless, because there were other vampires that would take your place to harm the living. But if you could be the one less, it was enough for you. And perhaps you could change some minds while you were at it.

You made a fire, boiling some water from the stream. Even though you knew nothing in there could kill you, it made you feel better. Pulling it off the fire you decided it was time for a wash. Your clothes were covered in blood and dirt from the hunt. And damn if you weren’t going to look presentable. Even if it was just for yourself.

Walking to the stream you began to strip down. An uneasy feeling came over you, but you shook it off quickly. So, you continued to undress. Slowly walking into the stream you felt the chill run through you. A human wouldn’t be able to handle this water, but it was just a little crisp for a vampire.

Dipping your head underwater, you waited.

Something was creeping around the tree line. You could feel it. If you gave them the assumption that you were just a naked girl, perhaps they wouldn’t try to trifle with you and they could leave and you could bathe. You peeked your head above the water and you peer around, your amber eyes locking onto something down the stream. It was a black wolf, drinking from the stream seamlessly.

But something felt off, like its eyes were...

Oh fuck.

You had to go and you had to go now.

But running out of the stream now would tip him off, but perhaps if you just went back under and began cleaning yourself you could-

The wolf dipped its paw into the water across the stream. Fear pierced your heart as you watched it slowly place its other front paw in the chilled water, like it wasn’t cold.

It was time to go.

You didn’t give a damn about tipping him off at this point, but maybe you could out-run him.

“Don’t think so sweetheart,” a chilling voice crept over your skin as you stood, naked as the day you were born, in the stream.

“Can’t this wait until after I’m dressed?” You made the move to cover yourself.

“Do you really want my answer?” he asked.

“Suppose I don’t,” you said, trying to think of a plan that would get you out of here fast enough.

“You know what happens next,” he said, readying the cuffs brushed with vervain.

Vervain is an herb used to weaken vampires. But it was less potent on purebreds, although you know those restraints could hold you.

Faster than a human could blink you froze the water around his legs. Running up onto shore you heard it shatter. And moments later, there he stood in front of you.

Damn, why did you do that?! Now he knows you can control at least one element!

“Ah, don’t be so frigid darling,” he teased.

“Just let me go,” you said, moving to walk around him when he gripped onto your upper arm.

“Don’t think so miss, I think a power like that needs to be investigated by the council,” he whispered.

Frowning you ripped out of his grasp.

“Don’t touch me,” you said, rubbing your arm.

“Fussy little thing huh?” he said, cracking his neck before coming towards you again.

“I mean it, I really don’t want to hurt you,” you said, backing away from him.

He laughed, heartily. You watched as he doubled over, making a fool of you.

You growled lowly before taking a slice at him with the water from the stream. He easily moved out of the way as if he were expecting you to put up a fight. Still covering yourself you slashed at him again, but he was agile, moving out of the way as if the water wasn’t an issue for him. You growled and moved the water to form a hardened ball of ice, throwing it at him. Yet it didn’t even phase him.

“Now darling, I think you need to rethink this whole deal. Don’t you know who I am?” he asked.

Scoffing, you rolled your eyes. The nerve on this guy.

“I know you work for the King, that’s all I know-all I care to know,” you remarked.

“Don’t be that way, my name is Jungkook. And you’re going to come with me,” he said, smiling brightly, like he’d already caught you.

“Sorry Jungkook, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” you said, sweeping him into the stream quickly with what water was available. He gasped as he was pulled in.

You turned to grab your clothes and booked it back towards your camp. All you needed was your money and you could run. Run as far as you could until they didn’t bother to look for you.

The sound of footsteps running after you echoed in your head as you tried to keep your pace faster. But he was much stronger than you. A vampire that feeds off humans would naturally be faster. But you couldn’t let that stop you.

Running into your camp you grabbed the satchel of coins quickly before booking it in a random direction. You just had to get somewhere he couldn’t find you. Carefully you found a hiding spot. Jungkook’s footsteps stopped, but that didn’t mean anything. He could be in the trees, he could be in that wolf form you saw earlier.

So you couldn’t let your guard down for a moment. Because that very well could be it.

Scanning the surroundings you found that he wasn’t on the ground at the very least.

Then a twig snapped from a tree about forty yards to your left. Your head shot in that direction, finding Jungkook had changed into some kind of monkey. So he wasn’t limited to one form. That made this a little more difficult.

Although, you did notice that his eyes remained a blood red. And they were locked with yours.

“Fuck,” you whispered, slamming your hand to your mouth the second you spoke. The damage had been done already; however, he’d seen you. Grabbing your coin purse you ran, as fast as you could.

But your speed hardly mattered as his hand encircled your arm. You jolted to a stop, grunting at the pain that shot through you. Jungkook chuckled and pulled you closer.

“Well sweetheart, that was quite the show. Never thought you’d try to drown me. Especially in running water. That made it harder. Quick thinking doll face. Since you know only purebred vampires can be in running water. Makes me wonder how you were able to be in there without any trouble,” he smiled.

You couldn’t help the little flutter that ran through you at the sight of it. Of course he’d be beautiful. He worked for the King. The King likes to surround himself with nice things. Cocky bastard.

“Let me go,” you demanded.

“As if, you’re coming with me,” he said, locking the vervain cuffs around your wrists. They burned as they settled against your skin.

“Ow, shit!” you hissed. Jungkook grabbed a hold of you and made sure your restraints were secure before taking your coin purse.

“Won’t be needing this where you’re going doll face,” he smirked, pocketing your hard earned money.

“You jerk! I earned that money, give it back!” you said, moving forward to kick him. But he grabbed your foot and twisted it, a sickening crack heard throughout the forest as your leg snapped in two. You screamed in agony, falling to the ground.

“Damn you, I was supposed to deliver you unharmed. You just have to make it difficult for me,” he sighed, coming closer to your writhing form.

“Fuck you,” you spat, using your good leg to kick away from him.

“Just hold still you little shit!” he growled, sitting himself on top of you. You felt the press of his weight in your secured hands that sat behind your back.

You also took notice at how his clothes clung to his body. Defined muscles greeted your eyes as you oogled him. Jungkook smirked and put his hands at your neck.

“Like what you see baby?”

You spat in his face, making him cringe.

“Alright. I’m done playing nice. You’re coming with me, whether you want to or not!”

With that, he hauled you up and over his shoulder. You screamed and flailed your good leg, the other one beginning to heal, but the recovery process was slowed by the vervain cuffs you were wearing. You squirmed and did everything in your power to be let go, but Jungkook held firm, not letting you go for a second.

Jungkook carried you to a horse, where you were thrown onto the front, and secured in place by the cuffs at your back. Jungkook’s hands came around you and secured the reins. And the two of you were off.

You felt a single tear fall down your face as you knew your freedom had slipped through your grasp.

Again.

Jungkook rode through the night, only stopping to give the horse water and food.

You didn’t know how far he rode to find you, you also wondered how he was able to find you when you hadn’t been in a village in over a month.

These thoughts plagued you as the pair of you continued to ride. Jungkook kept his head forward, never sparring you a glance as you made it through one village. The people in the town looked hungry and on the verge of collapse.

This is what the King has brought to people. Pain and suffering. Not joy and prosperity. What a joke.

“Whoa!” Jungkook said, slowing the horse to a stop.

“What are you doing?” you asked, watching as he approached a group of women.

“Getting a snack, of course,” he said, smiling at the women beautifully.

You watched in horror. The women all shied away, but didn’t run. That would be punishable by death. Jungkook brushed the hair out of a younger woman’s face, tucking it behind her ear. She shivered, you didn’t know with fear or with excitement. But you could tell, Jungkook was doing some kind of glamour on her. She relaxed into his touches and you saw him gently pull her from the group.

He took her around a corner and from there you couldn’t see but you could hear.

Her soft whimpers, Jungkook whispering filth into her ears.

You heard the rustling of fabric and you didn’t want to continue to listen. You knew what he was doing.

Her moans and Jungkook’s drinking made you want to throw up.

It seemed to last forever, but eventually the girl stumbled out and ran in the opposite direction of Jungkook. And the man of the hour sauntered up to the horse as if he didn’t just fuck a random village girl behind a bakery.

“Alright, we can go,” he said, climbing back onto the horse.

You winced as his hands crossed over your body.

“Something wrong?” he asked, looking at you.

“T-there’s blood on your hand,” you whispered, smelling the girl’s blood right in front of you.

“Appears there is, want some?” he offered it to you, holding his hand in front of your mouth.

“I-I...”

“What’s wrong? Not your cup of tea? Want me to find a nice guy who will let you take a bite? I don’t need you starving to death before getting there,” Jungkook stated, moving to get off the horse once again. You wiggled in protest.

“No! I don’t want anything, I’m not hungry,” you said.

Didn’t need him knowing you drink from animals. Although, he’s bound to find out eventually.

“If you’re sure,” he said, licking the blood from his hand and wiping the rest off on his pants. You sighed in relief, before he took off yet again.

The ride was quiet as the two of you went through the night without as much as a word to one another. There was nothing that needed to be said in your mind. He was holding you against your will, and there was no way out of it. With the vervain limiting your abilities, you wouldn’t be able to heat the irons up enough to melt them.

A frown worked its way onto your face.

Jungkook’s strong stomach was against your back and you had to fight the urge to turn around and look up at his beautiful face... wait, stop. No.

You shook your head. You couldn’t think like that. Your lover would be horrified to know he died only for you to fall for another man! There’s no way you could think of Jungkook in any other manner than a nuisance.

“Something on your mind?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the road ahead.

“Like I’m telling you,” you scoffed.

“I know what you look like naked, do you think that whatever is troubling you is more intimate than that?” he asked.

“I’d rather strip naked in front of you than tell you my personal thoughts,” you said, snapping at him.

“Maybe I’ll take you up on that sometime,” he laughed.

You hated being under a watchful eye, you wanted to make him squirm and writhe like you were. It wasn’t fair he was the only one asking questions all the time. He had tried several times in the night to get you to tell him who your parents were. Like you were revealing that to him.

“And what about you?” you asked.

“What do you mean? You want to see me naked sometime? That can easily be arranged doll,” he whispered.

“Oh piss off,” you said, throwing your head back into his chest.

He huffed in annoyance and shoved your head forward with a flick of his wrist. You growled deep in your throat and turned to glare at him. He smiled his stupid perfect smile before focusing back on the road. God he was infuriating.

Jungkook stopped off for the night at an inn, getting the two of you a room.

When he unclipped your harness to the horse you decided you were too tired to run from him. It had been a few days since you slept last and you were ready for some rest. Jungkook helped you down, keeping your handcuffs on as the pair of you went up to your room for the night.

You were mad that it was a single room, but you’d put up with it for the time being. Using your abilities without sleeping afterwards really drains you.

When Jungkook opened the door you almost passed out. There was only one bed, and Jungkook was no doubt going to take it for himself. So you kicked off your boots, getting ready to get comfortable on the floor when you realized that you’d been in handcuffs for the better part of a whole day and you were aching.

“Jungkook?” you asked, turning to the man who was sitting on the bed, taking off his boots.

“What?” he asked, looking up.

“Can you take these off?” you asked. Gesturing to your handcuffs you smiled.

“Not happening,” he said, not even thinking about it.

“Please?” you asked, arms ready to fall off.

“Well, if I take those off you, how am I to know you won’t run away?” he asked.

“I promise I won’t run,” you said.

Jungkook laughed.

“As if I’m going to trust that, no way,” Jungkook answered. You frowned before sighing and turning to lay on the floor. You heard shuffling behind you and then you felt the cuffs full of vervain fall off. But before you could do anything about it you were hauled into the air. A small scream escaped you as you were thrown onto the bed.

“Jungkook!” you yelled, arms barely able to support you.

“The only way I’m keeping those cuffs off you is if you stay here in the bed where I can sense if you move,” he said.

“Nevermind, put the cuffs back on!” you said, scrambling off the bed.

Jungkook grabbed your sore wrists and pinned them to the bed, settling on top of your waist. You looked at him above you, staring at you with his beautiful crimson eyes. Your body lost its fight. The attractive man on top of you was too much. You flushed and looked away, staring at the lamp on the bedside table.

“Just sleep in the bed with me, it won’t kill you,” he said.

“I’d rather not, thanks,” you said back.

“Don’t be so dramatic, I won’t do anything either,” he said.

“I’d kill you before you even thought about it,” you growled.

“Too late for that doll face,” he smiled.

“You’re disgusting.”

Jungkook sighed before getting up and pulling you off the bed with him. Your leg was still healing a bit, so when he let go of you, your body began to crumple to the floor. Quicker than light Jungkook was there to catch you. His arms wrapped around your body, holding you up.

“Your leg still isn’t better? What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

“Um, no-nothing, I’m fine,” you said, trying to stand on your own.

“Easy, easy! Stop for a second!” he said, holding you against him tightly. “What’s really going on here? Why are you so weak?” he asked.

“I’m not weak!” you cried out, shoving him away with an impressive amount of strength. He coughed as the wall creaked against his weight. His eyebrow raised as he looked at you.

“What are you?” he asked.

“You already know, I’m one of you. A vampire,” you said.

“Yeah, smartass I know that. It’s just, I’ve never seen a vampire like you before. One that gets nervous at the sight of blood, you need it to survive. So why did you act like you did when I had that girl’s blood on me?”

“Because, it’s not human blood that I drink,” you answered.

Jungkook scoffed.

“There’s no way you could live on animal blood for very long. You’ll wither away,” he said.

“I’m going thirty years strong on it,” you said.

“More like thirty years meh on it,” he snarked.

“I have my reasons why I don’t drink from humans,” you said sharply.

“Why is that?” he asked, genuine curiosity leaking from his voice.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Jungkook sighed and brushed himself off, coming towards you. You backed up against the wall, shutting your eyes tightly. Waiting for something, anything. But nothing happened. You peeked your eyes open, seeing Jungkook looking at you with interest.

“You’re a purebred aren’t you, not just turned by a purebred. What’s your name?” he asked. Too tired to think before speaking.

“Y/N,” you said softly.

“That’s a nice name, I’ve never heard of you before,” he trailed off.

“I’m not surprised, but, why do you think you were set out to find me?” you asked.

His face turned dark.

“The King would tell me if I was sent to kill you. If I was, you’d be dead already,” he said.

“Aren’t you confident,” you yawned.

“Come to bed,” he encouraged, changing the subject.

“I’m not sleeping in the same bed as you,” you said, firmly.

“How about this,” he said. Suddenly, his body shifted and a small cat stood at your feet. The eyes were blood red, but the rest was like a normal cat.

“Fine, fine. I’m tired, let’s just go to sleep,” you agreed sourly.

Jungkook hopped up on the bed, choosing the bottom as the most comfortable for him. You laid down, curling up into a ball before the lights and sounds of the world faded away, and you were asleep.

You awoke to an unusual weight across your body. Peeking one eye open you saw Jungkook, draped across you like an eight day wash. You growled and shoved him off the bed, hard. A small ‘oof’ could be heard from the other side, and then the whining commenced.

“Why did you do that hyung?” Jungkook complained from the floor.

“Because your hyungs aren’t here and you have no right to be touching me,” you said in a stern voice. Standing up you walked over to the window and peered out into the town.

A small bakery wafted fresh pastries through the village. People were walking around in the market, purchasing goods and making small talk with the vendors. It seemed normal enough.

“Good to know you’re not a morning person,” he said, rubbing his stomach.

“Thought you were supposed to be a cat,” you said, keeping your eyes trained on the village below.

“You never asked how long I could stay like that,” he answered.

“Good to know you’re someone who withholds the truth if it benefits you,” you threw his words back at him.

“How am I supposed to give you the truth if you don’t ask for it?”

“Jungkook,” you started, “we need to come to some kind of agreement.”

“I concur,” he said.

“So listen to my terms,” you said.

“Now you’re making demands? Remember you’re the prisoner here,” he said.

“Jungkook,” you warned.

“Fine, fine, make all the demands you want. Doesn’t mean I’m going to listen,” he said back with a yawn.

“I want to be unchained,” you started.

“Hold on-”

“And I want a meal at least once a week, animal: preferably deer,” you said.

“I can’t just-”

“If we are to stay in any hotels or inns I get first pick of where to sleep,” you continued.

“Y/N,” Jungkook said firmly.

“Yes, I wasn’t finished,” you said as if it were trivial.

Suddenly you were pinned against the wall by your throat. Vampires didn’t need to breathe, but if you were decapitated and burned, then you have a slew of other problems to be dealing with.

“Listen, I’m in charge here, doll face. Don’t forget who tracked you down and brought you here. If you were the stronger one, then I would be dead. It’s ridiculous to make demands in a situation where the power is in someone else’s hands. Remember sweetheart, just who is holding the reins,” he warned, dropping your neck and letting you fall to the ground.

Just as you were about to throttle him within an inch of his life he walked out the door. You sighed and hauled yourself up from the floor. Your leg was still a little wobbly, but nothing that couldn’t be dealt with. Walking down the stairs you surveyed the Inn with your eyes. There were several people sitting at tables and eating, and Jungkook wasn’t among them. Maybe he went to get the horse ready.

You were about to brush your hair from your face when you realized... He had forgotten to chain you up. Either that or he trusted his abilities to track you down. While you didn’t blame him, you were still wondering how he was able to find you in those woods you were camping out in. Maybe one of the villagers from the town nearby sold you out, but you hadn’t been there very long and you didn’t spend enough coin to be noticeable.

Before you could think about it much longer, you decided to follow him. If at the very least out of boredom. And he was kind of fun to aggravate.

You made it outside and Jungkook was readying the horse. You walked over and looked at him, watching with muted interest. Jungkook was handsome, anyone with eyes could see that. But there was something about his beauty that made you want to get closer. To touch his skin and feel his hands on your body. It was a little frightening to think this way, but most vampires were beautiful once they were turned. All imperfections and aging stops to make them irresistible to the prey. Like a beautiful flower that traps the insects and kills them for their own gain. Nature created such vile beasts like vampires, it upset you to know that you were one of them sometimes.

“If you’re going to ogle me can we at least be in a private place before you decide to do so?” Jungkook asked as he finished securing the saddle to the horse.

“I’m just observing,” you said, a soft look of aggravation on your face.

“If you’re trying to find a weak spot darling, I hate to break it to you but I don’t have any,” he said, offering you his hands to get up on the horse. You humored him and let him help you up into the saddle without a fuss.

“I’ve already found several,” you said, smirking.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” he asked, jumping behind you and taking the reins.

“You really think I’m going to reveal what your weak spots are so you can hide them better from me? Fat chance, Jungkook,” you laughed.

“Can’t blame me for trying.”

He urged the horse forward and the two of you were heading out of the village.

The ride was long, and your butt was beginning to get sore at this rate. But you kept your mouth shut as he kept the horse going at a steady rate. You looked at the scenery around you and smiled softly. It was beautiful out here. So much greenery and no people, just the way you liked it. You saw deer running across the fields together, in a herd. It made you miss your family something terrible. It has been so long, that you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be with people who make you happy. People who don’t want anything from you, power or money or status. Because your life wasn’t always one of solitude...

The two of you rode in silence, much like you had before stopping at the inn last night. Jungkook’s body against your back made you think of the first time you went riding with your father in the winter right after your 70th birthday. Vampire children matured much slower than normal kids, at the tender age of seventy you looked as though you were ten. So, to celebrate your father had bought a brand new snow white mare with grey speckling on her. She was the most beautiful thing you’d seen, at your age. And you found that riding her was like floating on air. She was secure, and gentle, but also firm in her strides as she moved, she had confidence that carried her. You’ll never forget that moment, as long as you live.

You hadn’t noticed, but you were leaning back into Jungkook, letting his front support you. He didn’t stop you, letting you remember in peace. He knew that look, reminiscing back on the past... He did it often. But he never let anyone see him doing so, it was a private moment for him and him alone...

Snapping out of your stupor you saw what appeared to be a burnt down village. But it was old, the dust had settled and nothing was smoldering. It was actually cold, like a scar on the landscape. Something that had been there for a long while.

Before you knew it, Jungkook stopped the horse.

“Why are we stopping? We’re in the middle of nowhere,” you said, watching as Jungkook tightened his grips on the reins.

“It didn’t used to be,” he whispered.

Getting off the horse he walked up to the corpse of the village. Confused, you followed.

“Jungkook!” you yelled as he walked with purpose towards the main square. There, in the center, was a beautiful fountain. It appeared to be made out of marble, or some kind of granite. For it to still be here was a testament to its craftsmanship. Jungkook was oddly silent as he walked around, looking in houses and stopping to peer around buildings.

“What are you doing?” you asked as you caught up to him.

“Shut up,” he warned, continuing to move down the line of what appeared to have been houses. You sighed and continued to follow him, watching as he seemed to bob and weave around with a sense of familiarity. You were curious if he knew the place. Perhaps he spent some time here in the past.

“Jungkook, where are you going?” you asked, trying to keep up with him.

“Here,” he whispered, looking at a particularly small house at the end of the row. He stopped and looked at the door, touching the doorknob with a delicacy that you hadn’t seen him exhibit in the week you’d known him. Slowly, as if he were taking off a bandaid, he opened the door. It creaked and moaned with age, protesting against being opened. But Jungkook pushed forward, looking around as if he knew the place.

“Jungkook,” you whispered, looking at him with moderate fear. He was scaring you, stopping here out of nowhere and suddenly finding a small hut towards the back of the area. You weren’t sure what he was doing, and it was frightening you.

“Oh Gods,” he whimpered, falling to his knees on the floor.

“Jungkook!” you yelped as he hit the floor with a thud.

“No!” he screamed, bashing his fist through the floor. You screamed at the shattering of the floorboards and watched as the man before you began to cry. You were stunned. The once cocky and annoying man was suddenly a mess on the floor of a random cottage. Looking around you saw nothing of importance, nothing that would signal anyone being there in quite some time. Jungkook’s crying turned into sobs as his face was pressed into the floor.

Your heart ached with the familiarity of it all. You knew this pain, you knew it all too well... He’d lost someone here. Slowly, as to not frighten or agitate him, you kneeled to the ground behind him. Softly, you called to him.

“Jungkook,” you said, placing your hands on his shoulders carefully.

Soon, he was in your arms.

“Mama, papa,” he whimpered, placing his head in your neck. You were stunned into silence. He was gripping at your hips with an agony that you knew. His parents must’ve died here. You weren’t sure what you should do. Did he want you to comfort him? Or was he just using this as a ploy to get you to let go of your defenses...

“Jungkook,” you started, moving to push him away from your body, when you remembered yourself in the same position. Centuries ago. Pleading for your parents and having no one to comfort you. I-It couldn’t hurt, could it? “Jungkook,” you whispered again, cradling his head in your hands, bringing him closer to your chest. Hot tears slid down your cleavage as he continued to cry. You knew his pain, you knew what he was going through. It was never easy, perhaps that’s why he was constantly distracting himself. Because this pain was always nagging at the bottom of his heart, ready to latch on the moment he wasn’t looking. Jungkook had weaknesses just like everyone else, and this just happened to be one of them.

“It’s my fault, I’m so sorry,” he whispered into your chest.

“Jungkook, it’s okay,” you said, brushing your fingers through his hair.

“Y/N,” he whimpered. You shushed him like a babe, keeping him close to your chest.

“Do you want to talk about it?” you asked, combing through his hair again.

“I-I don’t know,” he said softly, so quiet that you had to strain to hear him with your impressive hearing.

“Jungkook, sometimes we need to re-live pain so we can get over it, or at least learn to cope with it better,” you encouraged, bringing his head up to yours.

“I-they, my family lived here in this village,” he started, wiping his tears with the back of his hands. You nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“I grew up here, I was human once,” he explained. “But that all changed when Taehyung found me. I had been attacked in the forest, it’s been so long that I don’t remember the attackers, but Taehyung has assured me they have been dealt with. They left me for dead after stealing all my money and valuables I had on me, which wasn’t much. My family was poor... But we were so happy,” he said, getting a dreamy look on his face that made your heart lurch painfully. You could tell he wasn’t lying, that look proved it. He was remembering them, and their memories he’s held in his heart for years.

“How long has it been since...” you trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

“Almost a century,” he whispered back.

“Oh Jungkook, for a vampire that’s-”

“Almost like it was yesterday...”

The two of you sat in silence for a while. Neither of you dared to speak. Jungkook still had tears falling from his face as he looked down at the floor.

“They were so disappointed in me,” he said with a soft tone.

“What do you mean?” you asked.

“My family, my parents,” he explained, “they were so disappointed that I had become a vampire. Not like I had much of a choice in the matter. Taehyung made the decision to save me when he found me in the woods. But you know, my family had always hated vampires, for as long as I can remember. My great grandfather fought against them when we first started to rise to power. But obviously, they lost. My mother cried when she saw my brown eyes had turned red like blood. She’d demanded I stop the joke, but I told her it wasn’t a joke. Taehyung told them what had happened, and you know what my mother said?”

You shook your head, already feeling dread welling up within you.

“She said I should’ve died in those woods that day,” he finished, looking down at his feet.

“Oh my Gods, Jungkook no,” you said, coming forward to wrap your arms around him. You couldn’t explain it, but you wanted to comfort him, no matter the cost it was to you. He accepted your advances and coiled his arms around your waist.

“I should’ve died out there Y/N,” he whispered.

“No Jungkook, just because you’re a vampire doesn’t mean suddenly you’re a different person. Just the chemical makeup of your body changed. I’m so sorry that happened to you,” you said, brushing his hair behind his ears.

“They died from old age in front of me years later. My mother first, then my father about two months after that,” he said, rubbing his face, eyes still wet with tears.

“That’s awful Jungkook, I’m so sorry,” you said, not being able to imagine your parents reacting that way. Although you two were in a different boat.

“Nothing that can be done about it now... The past is the past and they... they’re dead,” he said, standing up and wiping off his knees.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” you asked, standing as well and coming to his side.

“It doesn’t matter, I have a mission to complete. And that’s getting you back to the palace.”

Your heart stuttered for a moment, looking at him with his red eyes and weary expression.

“Maybe we should make camp here for the night,” you said, already heading towards the door.

“No, I can’t-I mean...” Jungkook faltered.

“Do you not want to stay here? I’ll understand. But it looks like a storm is rolling in and I’d rather be in a building or a tent than on that horse,” you explained.

Jungkook nodded.

“I’ll tie up the horse.”

A storm came rolling in about two hours later. Jungkook had put the horse in the old stable and tied it up for the night. The pair of you huddled in a house that was a little bigger than Jungkook’s old one, using the blankets for warmth. Fall was rolling in and these rain storms made it that much colder.

“Are you cold?” he asked, walking in from feeding the horse.

“I’m fine,” you said, bringing the blanket and tugging it around your body further.

“Sure, here,” he said, handing you another blanket that was undoubtedly his.

“I don’t need it, I’m fine,” you said through chattering teeth.

“I’ll start a fire,” he announced, moving towards the old fire pit with purpose.

“Jungkook honestly,” you admonished, pulling the second blanket around your legs.

“It’s fine, I’m a little cold too,” he said.

As he worked you couldn’t help but notice the way his body moved. Being a vampire meant you moved with grace and elegance, but he was on a whole different level. The way Jungkook’s muscles clenched and contracted made your mouth water. You wanted to reach out and run your hands down his back as he situated himself between your legs and-wait a second...

This isn’t right...

Jungkook is the man keeping you hostage, the one delivering you to your death no doubt...

But the way he clung to you in his old home and how he cried for the loss of his family. You related to his pain, you knew it all too well. But, that didn’t change the fact that he was holding you against your will, and was going to be the cause of your demise one day... One day soon...

Flames burst from the firepit and Jungkook stepped back a bit, looking down at his handiwork with a grin. You scooted forward, reaching for the heat with greedy fingers. Jungkook sat down next to you, closer than you originally thought he was. However you didn’t say anything, wondering if he needed the proximity to put himself at ease.

“It’s so peaceful here,” you whispered, resting your head on your arms.

“It really is,” he agreed, rubbing his hands together and putting them in front of the fire.

The two of you were silent yet again, listening to the sound of the crackling wood in the firepit. It was relaxing to say the least, especially since you didn’t have any restraints holding you back. Again, you wondered if you could take Jungkook in a fight. If he wasn’t expecting it, perhaps you could take him down before he even realized-

“Don’t even think about it,” he said softly, eyes never once leaving the flame.

“Think about what?” you said, feigning ignorance.

“Escaping, I’ve already been too nice. Don’t make me regret it,” he said, sounding almost sad.

“I wasn’t,” you defended, looking at him.

“You can lie all you want but your actions speak louder than your words,” he smiled.

It was beautiful, a brightness you hadn’t seen come from him in, well, ever. You hadn’t known him long, but you could tell this kind of sincerity was rare for him. Something he didn’t let people see very often. Part of being a purebred was the ability to sense things that others may not see. Little nuances that others can’t see, or just don’t bother to. And with Jungkook, he was so open to showing you everything, that you couldn’t help but notice.

This poor man, all he wanted was love and affection. But he’d gotten it from the wrong places. Serving the King brought him purpose, but it didn’t provide him everything he needed. The arms of swooning women that would give him attention for his looks and the power that he could provide, but nothing else... He was so utterly broken inside it made you want to weep for him. He’d lost everything, only to gain a fraction of it back... And he was still looking for somewhere to belong, somewhere to call home.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he said, putting up his shoulders.

“Looking at you like what?” you asked.

“Like you’re dissecting me, or imagining that you could, it’s creepy,” he said.

“Sorry,” you offered lamely. Jungkook just sighed and continued to warm himself by the fire. However, before long the curiosity got to be too much.

“Why does the King want you anyways?” he asked, looking you over.

“Did he not tell you why you were sent out to get me?”

“He said he wanted to speak with you,” he said.

You laughed lightly and his head turned to you.

“So that’s how he put it,” you reasoned in your head, nodding. “If he wanted to merely speak with me Jungkook, why were you given orders to bring me by force?”

Jungkook’s big eyes turned confused.

“What are you talking about? Y/N, why does the King want you?” he asked.

Sighing, you decided you would tell him. He told you his life story, might as well tell him yours.

“You’re right, about me being a purebred. I was born a vampire. But I wasn’t just any vampire, I was a Y/L/N.” Jungkook gasped, and looked at you with a ferocity you hadn’t seen from him in a long time.

“You were... you were a princess?” he asked.

“Yes, I was. Born to be the heir of the kingdom. But it never happened,” you said, looking down at your hands.

“Yes, because your family had to be stopped! You were murdering your own kind!” he said, standing up.

“No, Jungkook, we weren’t,” you said, keeping your eyes locked on the floor.

“What do you mean? You killed thousands of vampires!” he exclaimed.

Your head snapped up and looked at him, deathly still.

“Do you know of a disease called The Hunger?” you asked, looking at him with curiosity. He shifted on his feet and looked down.

“No, I’ve never heard of it,” he said.

“It was a terrible disease that went through and infected thousands upon thousands of vampires. They became so ravenous that feeding from humans was no longer enough, they resorted to cannibalism. Drinking from vampires, even eating their flesh... My father devoted himself to the task of stopping this disease. To the point where he contracted it himself... Although he never fell through to the temptation of drinking from another vampire. Until one night, he came home covered in blood and not remembering anything about the night or where he had been. My mother confirmed that he was covered in the blood of someone from the royal guard, whom they found later. The Hunger can modify and change your brain chemistry, so much so that you could be damaged from it forever. There is no cure, Jungkook. The only way to save people was to kill the infected,” you explained.

“But there’s got to be a cure,” he said, sitting down next to you.

“I’m afraid Jungkook, there isn’t,” you stated, “my mother spent her life looking. She was great at alchemy and things of the like. She was probably the most knowledgeable woman around. Father never treated her like she was some arm piece, she always had a purpose.. Father never restricted her knowledge and learning, they worked together in order to make sure the kingdom would flourish. That’s how my parents did things. They weren’t the cruel rulers they're known as, killing off thousands of their own people to prove a point that they were powerful... That wasn’t who they were,” you whispered.

Jungkook looked at you with serious eyes. Like he was searching for something.

“If you don’t believe me I won’t sit here and try to convince you. But I know what happened, I was there. I lived it, Jungkook. When were you born?”

“About a hundred and twenty two years ago,” he said softly.

“I’ve been around about four hundred years longer than you,” you said.

“That just means you’ve gotten better at lying,” he growled.

“I didn’t accuse you of lying when you were crying earlier,” you said.

“But I-I...” he trailed off.

“My family died because of Kim Taehyung,” you said. “He took the crown of my father’s decapitated head and called it mercy. He said that the people would no longer suffer, but look around you now! Jungkook, there's famine in the streets, vampires are preying off people like it's a sport... And the humans are beginning to fight back. I’ve seen and heard of vampire hunters in groups in the outskirts of the kingdom. But they haven’t been bold enough to attack... yet,” you said.

“How can I believe anything you say?” he asked, “Taehyung saved me!”

“I believed you,” you whispered.

“But, Y/N, it’s not that simple. If I believe what you’re telling me that means that one of my closest friends is... is...”

“I’m not saying I want the crown back, Jungkook. Diplomacy was never really my thing. My parents tried to raise me as a princess, but all they got was a little girl who’d rather go out and explore than sit in a castle all day and be waited on hand and foot. I was smuggled out of the palace before Taehyung could find me as well. My nanny at the time, she got me out, but she was human... I wound up killing her because I was still feeding off of animals and older adults at the time. I deeply regret it, deeply. She died for me, so that I could go on living. My parents died so that Taehyung wouldn’t look for me. Yet, here we are, centuries later and now he decides he wants to ‘speak’ with me? Great,” you whispered.

“Maybe he just wants you to swear loyalty to him! Maybe he just wants you to work for him like the rest of the Council members do. It’s not that bad of a gig, Y/N, believe me,” he said.

“He is the reason my family is gone. And now, he dares to find me and demand my loyalty? After centuries of us living apart? What spurred this on? Why now after all this time?”

Jungkook sat in puzzlement, looking into the fire for a moment.

“I’m sorry, about your parents,” he whispered.

“It’s been centuries, I hardly remember them anymore,” you said, a sound of pain escaping you.

“You hardly remember them?” he asks.

“I remember what they looked like and some memories with them, but other than that? I don’t remember the fine details of living with them. Like what my mother smelt like, the way she sounded when she laughed. Little things, they’re starting to fade away from me... And it breaks my heart everytime I forget...” you admitted.

“Y/N, that’s awful,” Jungkook agreed.

“It’s life, Jungkook. A life without them, means to forget them eventually. I know one day I won’t remember them at all... I dread that day,” you whispered.

“Just keep thinking of them everyday. Go down a list in your head of the things you remember,” he offered.

“I do that, and everyday the list gets shorter. Another tally mark on the wall of forgetting,” you said, a single tear trailing down your cheek. Jungkook quickly brushes it away with his thumb. You gave him a watery smile before more tears started falling from your eyes.

You remember your lover doing the same for you when you told him your story... How many years ago was that now?

“I’m so sorry you lost them, Y/N, I understand your pain... I’m sorry,” he said, bringing you into a hug. Slowly, you accepted his embrace. Leaning your head on his shoulder you let out a few more tears, not crying as hard as he had earlier in the day but it still felt nice to have someone hold you while you cried. To feel that emotion with someone else, something you’ve been craving for such a long time.

Touch.

To feel someone’s hands on your body, lighting your nerve endings on fire as they trailed their fingertips across your naked body. God, the thought alone was making you hot.

Jungkook pulled away from you, brushing a tear from your eye and then he moved away, no doubt going to go rest for the night while the storm above passed over. But much like the storm, your body was in turmoil. You wanted to touch someone, just to feel someone else’s body against yours so badly. It was horrible to be lonely... Even if it was just for a little while, you wanted to forget...

Reaching up you grabbed his wrist, stopping his movement. Jungkook turned to look at you, curiosity written in his features. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, you pulled him to your lips. Jungkook was stunned at first, not quite registering your mouth on his.

Just as you were about to pull back, Jungkook tangled his fingers in your hair. You felt a rush of heat course through your body that hasn’t been there in centuries. Jungkook cradled your head with such care it made your chest throb. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him with reckless abandon. Where was this coming from? This man was your captor! He was sending you back to the King!

But he was also a broken man... someone just like you.

“Y/N, what are we doing?” he asked, breathless from your kisses.

“I don’t know,” you whispered back, but it didn’t stop you from reconnecting your lips with his. Jungkook didn’t stop you either, kissing you with fervor. His hands stayed on your waist, not traveling across your body like you expected from him.

But you wanted his hands all over your body, it had been so long since anyone had touched you like this. And you missed the sensations that came from it, even if it was with the wrong person, at the wrong time, it didn’t matter. Because it all felt so right.

“You can touch me,” you said, placing his hand lower on your body at your hip.

“Y/N,” he breathed, locking his lips over yours again, kissing you so hard you were certain your lips would bruise if you were human. Jungkook was handling you with the utmost care, something that made your heart melt even more for the man in front of you.

His hands slowly trailed over your body, resting at the small of your back. Jungkook made your mind race with possibilities. Everything he could do to you, everything you could do to him. It made your stomach jump to your throat. He detached from your lips to kiss your neck, nipping playfully making you shudder.

“Jungkook,” you whispered, winding your fingers in his hair. Jungkook groaned as he licked at your bottom lip, asking for entrance. You opened your mouth and kissed him harder. You weren’t sure what had gotten into you, but it had been years since someone had paid you any kind of attention, and it showed in your reactions. Every time Jungkook brushed a spot along your hip or nipped at your neck in the right spot it had you shivering with such desire it was almost smothering.

Placing your hand on his stomach you leaned in to kiss him again when he stopped you.

“Y/N, what do you want from me?” he asked, looking at you with kiss swollen lips and a few red marks on his neck from you.

“I-I... I don’t understand,” you whispered.

“I think we’re both pretty emotional right now, we shouldn’t do something you’ll regret later,” he said, as if it pained him.

“You’re right, Jungkook, I’m sorry,” you said, flushing red in embarrassment. But Jungkook was right in asking... What did you want from him?

It was all so messed up in your head. There was your heart that didn’t want to move on from your past, it was all too painful. But your mind was starting to wander. Were you using your ex-lovers death as an excuse to remain distant? Was he truly still the love of your life? Or was it time to move on and accept his death?

It was all so difficult to process.

But you couldn’t find yourself regretting your actions with Jungkook.

“Don’t be sorry, I’m not,” he said, a soft smile on his face.

“We should go to bed,” you stated, moving towards the opposing room. The thunder crashed loudly outside, and you found yourself jumping out of your skin. You heard Jungkook chuckle before, settling down into his sleeping pack. You frowned, but went on into the other room to set up your small blanket on the floor. Jungkook apparently was out cold, but you stayed up later, unable to get the feeling of his lips out of your mind...

You fell into a fitful sleep, letting the blackness consume you.

The next morning you woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside the hut. You got up and stretched, looking out the window. Jungkook must’ve let you sleep in this morning... That was oddly kind of him. You decided you didn’t want to question it, that’s when you smelt it.

Blood.

But not human...

Jungkook, where was he?

You looked around. In the other rooms, throughout the village and he was nowhere to be found.

Going back to the hut you noticed the blood on the floor, and the trail led out the door. Picking up the scent you discovered that humans had in fact been here. But the blood on the floor belonged to a vampire, that much was certain. It even looked different from human blood. You smelt several people, around six or seven that had been here... But that didn’t answer your questions. Who knew where you and Jungkook were, and why did they only take him?

Just as you were about to follow the trail further, a thought sprung to your mind...

Why were you going to go after the man that kidnapped you? There was no reason you shouldn’t just high tail it out of here and start over somewhere else. It wasn’t too hard to do, and if you kept out of the villages all together you would be near impossible to track down. Your freedom... right there, ripe for the taking.

But, something stopped your feet from moving forward. If someone really had taken Jungkook, where did they take him? And most importantly, why? Then the thought came to your mind.

Vampire Hunters.

Those bastards must’ve been following you, and when they found Jungkook, a member of the Vampiric Council, they probably thought he was better prey. No doubt the story of his death would bring the other members of the Vampiric Council running. Or at least, his capture would. He was in danger. If they were able to subdue him, they were no doubt powerful.

But you wouldn’t let one of your kind suffer the fate they had in store for him. You’d seen too much death in your lifetime, and you’d be damned if you could save him from this fate.

Running towards the stable you grabbed the horse, you were going to need all your strength for dealing with these people. Vampire Hunters weren’t people to be trifled with. They hated your people with a passion that hasn’t been seen in centuries. Of course there has always been rebellion when it comes to the vampires ruling over the world. But they were on a different level, and if they had Jungkook then there could be serious trouble afoot.

“Go go,” you urged the horse, flicking the reins in your wrist before the animal took off. You followed the distinct smell that was Jungkook. Something that smelt like a smoldering hearth in the dead winter and cinnamon. It was spicy and warm, something you didn’t know you liked until now that it was your sole connection to the man.

You traveled following his trail for a long while, it felt like at least a few hours. However, vampires weren’t known for keeping time...

Jungkook’s trail was getting stronger the further you went, giving you hope. Then, you began to recognize your surroundings...

Oh no, they couldn’t have, surely not.

But the moment you saw the stables you knew where you were...

You were home.

Your former estate was massive, with huge gardens and extensive land that wraps around the mountain behind your home. The place was in disrepair, and it made your heart ache to see it in such a state. But it had been centuries since you’d stepped foot in this area of the country. You were curious as to how you didn’t realize you were this close, but that was a matter for a different time.

You rode up and the area around you was silent, apart from the subtle chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects. But you could smell them everywhere. Their scent permeated your once pure home. It filled you with rage that people who knew nothing of your home and the way it was meant to be cared for were here. Using it as some camp as if it were anything less than a feat of architecture that your father worked years on to create. But they were not creatures of sophistication, like you. They were tired of being treated the way they were by an immature ruler, they wanted freedom, however they weren’t going to get it going about it this way. Stealing members of the Vampiric Council is suicide. But, no matter, you’d soon resolve their feeble thinking.

Jumping off the horse you brushed your hair over your shoulder and headed towards the door. The estate had a grand fountain that sat in front of two large staircases that curved around the front of the building in such an elegant way it made you nostalgic. Climbing the mossy steps you found yourself moving at the pace your parents had taught you long ago.

Step with elegance, pride and strength. For these are all things you possess in great quantities. Make everyone believe it.

You reached the front door and creaked it open, the firm wood holding strong underneath your palms. However, the hinges could use a touch up. Walking in you smelt the must of the years that had passed, but somehow... somehow the sweetness of your mother remained in these halls. The spice that was your father echoed in the space as well... Perhaps it had been shut up long enough that they could be remembered here somehow...

You had to focus, Jungkook was in here somewhere, you could smell him. But you couldn’t let the memories of your family distract you now. Jungkook was here and very much in need of your help. So you had to get out of your own head and find him...

You thought about it logically and the most fortifiable room would be the wine cellar, but the easiest vantage point was your mother’s old study at the very top of the stairs... But Jungkook’s smell was everywhere.

That’s when you saw it...

Blood smeared on the walls.

They had smeared his blood on the walls to keep his scent all around you so you could never track him down using your sense of smell alone... You’d have to walk it blind and hope you found him somehow...

Sighing, you walked towards the sitting room, a grandiose room that had floor to ceiling curtains made of the finest material money could buy. Now they sat, moth eaten and practically begging to be set aflame, but you still smiled as you walked through the gorgeous room. The pictures of your mother and father sat on the floor, worn and stained but still recognizable if you knew them. You reached out with a weak hand and placed it on their faces, tears threatening to pour down your cheeks. But you refused them, they didn’t have a place here anymore. This home should be full of nothing but love and laughter, like it used to be. Instead of all this pain.

A noise from upstairs made you freeze. It sounded like someone trying to speak, but it was muffled. Jungkook. Your heart jumped to your throat. Perhaps he was up there. It wouldn’t be good to get caught up there, but in the worst case scenario, you had the high ground. Walking up the center stairs you felt the air shift around you. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it didn’t feel good either. Like something was waiting just around the corner for you.

Turning you saw your old bedroom door was shut. Trusting your gut you went forward. Your hand was on the doorknob when the room shifted again. Like people were coming up behind you. Turning, you saw no one. But you knew the moment you opened this door, something was going to happen. Turning the stiff knob in your hand you opened the pure white door that once led to your childhood room.

There Jungkook was lying on the floor in front of you, covered in wounds and his hands were tied behind his back. You couldn’t label the emotions you felt in that moment. Looking at him, you kept your senses on high alert, ready to attack if need be.

“Jungkook,” you shook him.

Nothing.

“Jungkook, wake up,” you whispered, shaking him harder.

A small cough came from the man, enough to tell you he was there. Lifting him off the floor you brought him into a sitting position. Jungkook’s eyes flew open as he looked around and saw you.

“Y/N, w-what are you-”

“It doesn’t matter, we have to go,” you said, trying to urge him up.

“But Y/N, why did you come for me?” he asked, looking you in the eye.

“Jungkook, I don’t have time for this, we need to get you out of here before they-”

“Well, lookit what the cat dragged in huh,” a deep voice from the corner called.

You were surprised you hadn’t smelled him, although with Jungkook’s scent everywhere, it was hard to smell much else.

“Let him go,” you demanded.

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be making demands, little lady,” he warned, coming forward with a blade, pure silver no doubt. It wouldn’t kill you, but it would hurt like a bitch.

“You have no idea who I am,” you scoffed.

“Of course we do, former heir to the entire Kingdom. Heart of gold, won’t even feed off of humans. You see, we’ve been following you for a while. And we knew, after that kiss you shared with good ole Jungkook over here, you’d feel a responsibility to come and get him. A fight against you both would be difficult, so pull you apart and make for easier pickings for us,” he smirked.

“You don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in now,” you said, hands heating up with fire.

“I think you’ve underestimated us,” he smiles brightly.

“I know you’ve underestimated me,” you warned, throwing a whip of fire in his direction. He dodged it easily.

But that was just a warning shot.

This would be a battle of the mind, not of brawn.

Stepping to the side you threw a stream of fine pebbles out like bullets off the floor. One must have grazed him, cause you heard his breath intake spike for a moment. Either that, or you startled him. Then you smelt the blood. Better hit than you thought.

Jungkook was silent to your right, something you were appreciative of. You couldn’t get distracted right now. Too much at stake.

A knife came out of the dark, hitting the wood right beside your head. Another warning. Was Jungkook worth the trouble you were going to have to go through to get him out of this? You breathed deeply. Everyone was worth it. It didn’t matter their past, or their present, what mattered is you got them to their future.

Taking the knife from the wall, you marveled at it in your hand for a moment. “This is excellent craftsmanship. Where did you acquire such a knife?”

“Downstairs,” he answered smoothly.

“Of course it’s one of dad’s,” you said, throwing it square at his face. Hitting your mark dead on. He had no chance of winning the fight when he decided to do it in the dark. Your night vision was near perfect. If anything, you had more trouble seeing during the day.

Humans could see at night to an extent but not to the magnitude you could.

A small cough brought you out of your stupor.

“Jungkook!” you yelped, rushing over.

“I’m good, I’m fine,” he said. You examined him a little, noticing he was wearing vervain rope around his wrists. A part of you wanted to be smug and asked him how it felt to be captured, but the bigger part of you was more concerned about getting him out of here in one piece. He was hurt, pretty badly. You weren’t even sure he could walk. Vampires healed fast, but they needed blood to do so.

“Jungkook, where did they...?” you asked, looking for the wound that produced his blood that was all over the walls.

“My back,” he said, straining to stand up.

“Easy, I got you,” you said, helping him to his full height.

“Thanks Y/N, seriously. You didn’t have to come for me,” he said.

“I did, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I just left you for dead,” you answered.

“This isn’t over, they’re everywhere. Crawling around like insects ready to be squashed,” Jungkook hissed. You rolled your eyes and helped him get to the first landing before you heard scuffling behind you.

“Hold on,” you said, heading towards the sound.

Three more vampire hunters popped out, knives and other weapons at the ready. You hardened your stance and threw a punch, hitting the first one in the nose. Although this exposed your wrist for a slice from the second one. You hissed and pulled your hand back and looked at the wound. The blade was covered in vervain. It would slow your healing process. Thankfully the cut wasn’t deep.

Growling you brought your leg up and kicked the second one square in the chest, throwing him against the wall with a sharp crack. You glared at the third one, who came forward with another knife, although this one was larger. No doubt another from your father’s collection. Moving to the left you brought your arm to his throat, crushing his trachea beyond repair. You listened until his breathing stopped and you assessed the situation. Four down, several to go.

Up the stairs you heard a gasp. Turning quickly you saw Jungkook surrounded by four more vampire hunters. You huffed and ran up the stairs, tackling one to the ground before throwing a solid punch to the face. You punched again and heard his skull crack. Standing up you brought his body with you, shoving it at the man closest to the railing. They both went over, a sickening crunch being heard a second later.

“I’d hate to get my hands dirty any more, why don’t you just let us go?” you asked, tilting your head.

“We’d rather die than let vermin like you escape!”

“Well, unfortunately that wasn’t the right answer,” you mocked, picking up a dropped blade from the floor and throwing it square in one’s chest. He stumbled backwards, but he pulled the knife out with ease. Damn, he was wearing armor underneath his clothes. You should’ve known the extra bulk wasn’t muscle. But, you had other means of destroying them. Undoing your small pouch from your belt loop, water hit the floor.

“Think we’re afraid of a little water?” one asked, coming closer.

“You should be,” you warned, lifting your hand, causing the ice to freeze. With a flick of your wrist the icicles were flying through the air and landing their marks on each man’s throat. They both collapsed, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

Jungkook looked at you in amazement.

“Each element... You can control them,” he whispered.

“Yes, I can, but let’s not focus on that right now. Let’s get out of here,” you urged, coming forward to wrap your arm around his waist, when a sharp pain erupted through your lower calf.

“Y/N!” Jungkook yelled.

“Fuck!” you screamed. Your knee hit the floor hard, as you looked behind you to see an arrow sticking out of your leg.

One woman was at the base of the stairs, smirking at you.

Oh big mistake.

Reaching backwards you ripped the arrow out of your calf, feeling the blood run down. But you didn’t pay attention to that. Feeling the dirt with your hand you brought it into the shape of an arrowhead. As quick as an actual bow you fired, drilling the woman in the skull with it. She fell to the floor, blood splattering across the back wall behind her.

“Bitch,” you spat, moving into a crouch to examine your leg. It was already starting to heal. The dumbass didn’t put any vervain on it; you were in the clear.

“Y/N are you alright?” Jungkook’s concerned voice came from the landing.

“Yeah, I’m fine. On my way,” you said, coming back towards him.

He looked a little worse for wear. His wound still hadn’t healed, they must’ve used a vervain weapon on him. He was pale. More so than usual, and he looked tired. Your heart ached slightly at the sight of him, so beaten down. He was strong enough to beat this, you knew it.

“You okay?” he asked, moving his hand down to your bloody leg. You nodded, already feeling the skin stitching itself back together.

“Yes, she didn’t put any vervain on the arrow, so I should be healed in a few minutes,” you said with a soft smile. He nodded. You moved to help him stand, taking a majority of his weight on your side.

“How many more do you think there are?” he asked, moving with you at a slow pace.

“I don’t know, once we get out of the house I can hunt them down one by one,” you smirked, ready to unleash your full potential.

“I don’t know whether to be scared or turned on at that,” he said, as if he were truly confused.

“Jungkook!” you admonished, rolling your eyes.

“What! I’m serious, that was super sexy Y/N!” he complained.

“Shh,” you said, turning and sniffing in the direction of the hallways.

“There are more that way,” Jungkook confirmed, you nodded.

“I can sense them, but it’s hard. I can smell vervain, those bastards are pulling out all the stops. It’s affecting me,” you complained, helping him through another doorway.

“Me too, I feel even weaker,” he agreed.

“I know, I’m the one hauling your ass,” you said, finding the door that would lead you out to the old gardens. “If we go out here it’ll be harder for them to find us, but it’ll also be closer quarters. Less places to run or hide.”

Jungkook stuck his tongue into the side of his cheek while he weighed the options. You couldn’t help the little rush that went through you at his serious expression. He was truly something else. But your heart was still holding on to the past...

“Let’s go,” he said, pulling his feet underneath him and trying to take a step forward on his own.

“Careful!” You yelped, looking at his bloody back.

“I’ll be alright, just need to find one of them to drink from,” he growled.

“Okay,” you said, trying not to think about that.

Going down the steps you and Jungkook shuffled through the roses and the hydrangeas that had long been overgrown and unkempt.

You remember running around them as a child with your nursemaid and family members. The stone paths once shone with the love and care of the groundskeeper, now they were covered in dirt, mold and moss, making your heart ache.

The look of the garden now made you wince. Your mother would be horrified if she could see it now. Although, this wasn’t the time to be thinking in the past.

Jungkook’s hand was still locked in yours, unwavering and anchoring you to the present as the past whirled around you in a dizzying spiral. Practically dragging you, Jungkook found a gazebo that was towards the middle of the gardens. He pulled you behind it, settling his tender back against the lattice. Wincing, he bit his tongue to keep himself from crying out. You looked over at him in concern, when he put his hand up to give you pause.

“There are three of them close, but the scent of vervain is still strong, they must have it on their person,” he deduced.

“That means they have it on their weapons. Which makes this ten times harder than it needs to be,” you huffed, looking up at the sky.

“Hey, we got this,” he assured you, patting your cheek with affection. Jungkook could feel his stomach clench when you smiled at him.

He could never give you over to Taehyung now. Knowing what he does and feeling the way he feels... He could die for disobeying a direct order from the King... But, the way you looked at him, the way your eyes held the same pain as his. Although, they still held so much hope. Something Jungkook didn’t realize he’d been looking for until he found it in your glowing orbs. Taehyung would never find you if he had anything to say about it.

“What?” You asked, wondering why Jungkook had taken to staring at you for the past minute.

He shot you a winning grin before shaking his head. “It’s nothing, let’s do this.”

Hearing a rustle come from the bushes you brought the earth forward, gripping the individual's feet and pulling them through the hedges and into the light. Jungkook growled at the sight of the person and launched himself forward. You kept them stable as you turned your head, not wanting to see what he did.

You heard the tendons and muscle tearing as Jungkook ripped them apart as he fed. The smell of blood in the air was almost enough to choke on. But soon, you heard the crumpling of fabric and Jungkook footsteps walking toward you.

He wiped his mouth and looked at you. There was no fear in your eyes, just determination. He took your hand and started down the pathway further, ears listening to every twig snap and rustle of leaves. Jungkook turned a corner and there were two vampire hunters standing there, ready for you.

Your heart stopped in your chest when you saw that there was a girl, who couldn’t be older than thirteen standing before you with hatred in her big brown eyes. Jungkook went to move forward when you stopped him.

“She’s just a kid,” you said, not wanting to hurt her.

“She’ll kill you without even thinking about it, Y/N, I know it’s awful, but she likely doesn’t have a family. Most vampire hunters are orphaned. Due to vampires,” he said, swallowing the distaste.

“Come here, vampire bitch! I’ll kill you!” The girl yelled, pulling out a poisoned blade. One good strike with that could put you or Jungkook out of commission for a while. Jungkook tensed, waiting for you.

“You don’t have to do this,” you said, looking at her desperately.

“Yes I do,” she snarled before coming forward and trying to lodge her blade deep in your chest. Jungkook came forward and gripped her wrist, making the blade aim away from you. Jungkook huffed as he realized he wasn’t going to be strong enough to take them both. If you didn’t get your head in the game, it was over for the both of you...

“Y/N! We have to kill them!” He shouted, looking at you as your heart battled with your mind.

“I can’t kill her Jungkook, she's just doing what she thinks is right!” You cried.

The blade came at you again, you dodged it without much difficulty. But you could hear Jungkook, he was struggling to stay on his feet, even though he’d drained someone, the damage he sustained should’ve dropped him a while ago. You couldn’t waste too much more time. Jungkook tried taking the older gentleman, but it was a bad move. Jungkook took an elbow to the stomach and was shoved backwards. He fell and hit his back hard against the ground. Jungkook groaned in pain, not moving to get back up.

“Jungkook!” You yelped, moving to go help him. When a blade flew past your head. Turning slowly, you saw the girl glaring at you with unadulterated hatred. Jungkook was still on the ground, unmoving. He’d no doubt spent all of that energy he’d gotten from the person he drank from earlier. It was up to you now.

“Alright, I’m done playing games,” you said, glowering at the two of them.

“Finally a fight worthy of our time,” the older man said, coming forward.

“I want to kill her,” the little girl said, holding onto her blade with a ferocity not normally seen in younger kids.

Unless they had lost everything.

“You can strike the final blow, but I want some fun in the meantime,” he said, smiling.

You felt your skin crawl. This wasn’t the life for a younger kid. She deserved to be playing with her friends and being loved by her parents, not this. It was heartbreaking to see it play out this way, but right now... It was you against them. Vampires vs Humans.

And you weren’t going to lose.

Making a whip out of fire you looked at them harshly.

“You hurt my friend, then come to my house and dare to make a mockery of me. Mind you, I am the former Heir to this kingdom. Show some respect,” you smirked.

“Like we’d worship a whore like you,” the older man said, trying to strike a nerve.

“Ooh, so rude. But no matter, we’ll make quick work of this,” you confirmed, throwing the whip out and latching it to the other man’s arm. Pulling him forward you wrapped your arm around his throat and crushed his windpipe shortly thereafter. He gasped on the ground for a few moments before his eyes rolled back in his head and it went eerily silent.

“G-Grayson,” the younger girl said, looking at him with concern. She probably hadn’t seen many people die before. She may not have killed herself yet.

You could still save her.

“You don’t have to do this,” you reasoned.

“Y-You... You could’ve just snapped his neck, made it quick. But you made him suffocate. You really are monsters,” she said, shaking.

“We are, but you don’t have to become one yourself. This doesn’t have to be what you do, you can walk away,” you said.

“I can’t, your kind took everything from me. My mother, father and brother. I won’t rest until you’re exterminated. So we can rule ourselves in peace,” she snarled.

“Is that what you believe will happen? That the Vampiric Council won’t hunt you down and slaughter you. I know, I’ve been on the run for years from them. Trust me, I don’t like the current situation any more than you do. But I left my life behind because I had no choice. You have one, choose the road less traveled,” you encouraged.

Her stance wavered.

“They’ve raised me since I was eight. I owe them everything,” she said, soft.

“And they turned you into a killing machine,” you said. “There was only something in it for them. They robbed you of your childhood.”

With this phrase, her eyes changed. Flashing pure rage.

“You robbed me of my family, of my life. Any semblance of a childhood died when my family did. Don’t pretend that you’re trying to help me. We both know there’s only one of us walking away from this. And it’s going to be me,” she said, ice leaking into her tone.

“I’m sorry that your family is gone. Mine is too, taken from me from my own kind. If anyone can understand your hatred of vampires, it’s me. I’ve hated my kind for so long. Centuries, but it’s never gotten me anywhere. The only way to move forward is to accept your past and move towards your future. Your past is cemented, but your future is still being decided,” you pleaded.

But the hardened gaze she gave you, told you everything you needed to know.

She was beyond saving.

And you weren’t sure if you were gonna make it. You hadn’t fed in a long time, and there weren’t going to be animals around with enough blood to sustain yourself for a long time. And Jungkook needed you...

“I’m so sorry,” you whispered, looking down before pushing yourself forward, taking the earth under her feet to secure her in place. She struggled for a few seconds before a realization came over her face.

“You’re really gonna kill me,” she whispered.

“I’m afraid we’re past that point,” you said, gripping her head and yanking her neck to the side so her flesh was revealed. Swallowing thickly, you bite into her yielding flesh and let the crimson liquid pour into your mouth. She struggled for a little bit, before it was too much and she started to collapse. You held onto her and drained her to the last drop.

The head rush started first.

The overwhelming sense of strength and power that you felt made you almost want to scream. It was too much. Being a purebred living off of animal blood was a joke, and you knew it. But you had forgotten how much you’d lost in your decades of living the way you had. It was almost startling.

Your senses came rushing in like a herd of antelope. Your sight, your hearing and smell all heightened to their original state. That’s when you heard Jungkook huff from behind you.

Rushing over you kneeled next to him. He hadn’t moved since the older man, Grayson, knocked him to the ground. Your heart did a little flip in your chest when you looked at him. Pulling him into your lap you brushed the hair away from his face. A small cough came from his lips and his eyes fluttered open.

“Good morning,” you smirked.

“Y/N?” He asked, looking at you with moderate confusion.

“Yeah?” You said, giving him a soft smile.

“Your eyes,” he said, bringing a hand to your cheek.

“What about them?” You asked.

“They’re... red,” he whispered.

“They’re, oh... Yeah,” you coughed. A sound from beyond the trees made your skin jump. They couldn’t have... Did they release it for their own gain? Not even your father had been able to tame that beast. You weren’t out of the woods yet. Jungkook noticed your distress.

“Something wrong?” He asked.

He must not have heard it.

“There’s something big in those woods. You need to feed, we don’t have long before it starts after us too,” you urged, helping him stand.

“What’s in those woods?” He asked, following you.

“It doesn’t matter as long as we don’t run into it,” you said, keeping it vague.

“Y/N, what is it?” He asked, looking towards the tree line with worry creasing his features.

“It’s a mountain troll. Father had captured it, thinking he could tame the damn thing. But he wound up losing more than he gained from it. I don’t know how it survived after the estate went to ruin but, I know what it is. And I know what it could do,” you warned.

“Okay, then what do we do?” He asked, following as you started off deeper into the gardens.

“Get out of here as fast as possible, we don’t want to fight that stupid thing. And you need to feed again, your wound is taking a lot of the blood to heal. You won’t be able to hold your own in a fight like this,” you said, turning a corner.

That’s when you froze. Jungkook saw you stop and mirrored your actions. Eight people were coming up behind you, and fast. Grabbing Jungkook’s hand, you hauled him in front of you, urging him to run. Not thinking much more the pair of you had taken off towards the large fields next to the estate.

If you could just get out past the river, you would be home free.

But, things rarely happened the way you wanted them to in your life.

A sharp burn echoed across your shoulder, causing you to stutter in your stride and fall. Jungkook was hanging onto you so tight that he wound up tumbling to the ground with you. The pair of you rolled a few feet before you wound up underneath him. Jungkook looked at you in confusion. But looking down at you, he could see the pain etching across your face.

“What happened?”

“Get up, we’ve gotta move,” you said, trying to push him up when your shoulder twinged in pain again.

“Y/N,” he said, helping you stand up.

But it was too late, they had caught up.

“Well well well, what a prize. A member of the elite Vampiric Council and then the former Princess of our kingdom. What a treat for us,” a girl at the front said.

She must be their leader. The head of this branch of hunters. They all had a main person who they answered to, but no one had been able to track down and find the head of the vampire hunters in the years they’d been around. They tend to make themselves fairly scarce, knowing a full on fight with the proper forces wouldn’t end well for them.

But here, against two vampires.

It hardly seemed fair.

You looked at each of them. They all hovered around the same height and build. They also were fairly young. They weren’t as young as the girl you’d met earlier, but they couldn’t be more than ten years older than her. Jungkook and you stared at the group, wondering what the hell you were going to do.

“You’re in trouble, your former highness,” she smirked.

“It’s nothing we can’t handle,” you said, keeping your face level.

“Bold statement, I expect a good fight. You have been trained in combat, it was expected when you were a child wasn’t it?” She asked.

She no doubt read your family's journals and papers that remained in the manor. So, her knowledge of your combat history and ability wasn’t that big of a shock. However, that did put you at a disadvantage. She could predict your moves before you made them, if she understood the fighting styles you used. They were older, so maybe she would struggle but, this wasn’t a good sign.

“It was, but, I’m no longer a child,” you said, taking a few steps forward when you felt the pull in your shoulder again. Reaching back you ripped a small dart from your flesh. Observing it, you sighed.

A vervain dart. Once injected, it could greatly decrease a vampire’s abilities. Hearing and taste would be dampened, reflexes and sight would be slowed, almost to that of a humans. But, that wasn’t for purebreds.

“This doesn’t have to be the way it is. We can stop, let us walk away,” you tried, even though it sounded ridiculous to your ears.

“Ever the diplomat. I guess old training dies hard, huh? Hilarious what we remember,” she sneered

“I’m giving you a chance, walk away,” you offered again. But the leader just chuckled, shaking her head.

“You can’t expect me to let you go, not after all of this. I’ve lost good people today, a good kid, thanks to you,” she pointed out.

“I gave her a chance,” you said. “Just like I’m giving you one now.”

“This is fucking ridiculous,” she growled. “Judy, Neil, take them out.”

Two people from the back came rushing forward. Jungkook tensed up, ready to fight, but you put your hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t, let me take this one,” you demanded.

“And let you have all the fun? How could I?” You gave him a sharp look, squaring your shoulders.

“Don’t slow me down then,” you smirked.

The woman came after Jungkook, while you curved off towards the man. You heard the sicken snap of bone behind you and the woman crying out in pain.

Jungkook would be fine.

Shaking your head you moved towards the man. He stood with a strong stance, moving with a grace that was odd of a human. However, he was older, probably the oldest in the group here so he’d have time to train enough to get that kind of skill in battle. You moved in counter, keeping your steps level and in time with his. He struck first, throwing a dagger past your head.

That was a warning.

Although, you saw him favor his other shoulder after the power exerted to throw the dagger had gone through. You tilted your head and saw he favored his entire left side. Some old injury that was no doubt aggravated. You were still heavily impressed that he wasn’t obvious about it. And the way he carried himself just proved he was disciplined.

Placing your hand in the dirt you ran a line right to his left foot, locking it in place and watching as he tensed up. He was scared. Rightfully so, you were about to kill him.

Taking your hand in the dirt you twisted it sharply, causing the block of soil around the man’s foot to yank his whole leg to the side quickly. A wet snap echoed throughout the clearing and you watched as the man fell to the ground crying out his agony. You stood up and dusted off your hand. Jungkook’s mouth was red, the body of the woman he fought on the ground behind him.

The head woman seemed frustrated.

“Jackson, Ruby and Garrett, go,” she demanded.

The three peeled out from the group huddle.

You knew what she was doing now however. She was wearing you down and showing the ones who remained in her group how you fought. That way when they came at you towards the end they’d know how to take you down with ease. Gritting your teeth you tried to hold back when the woman came at you, tried to keep your powers dialed down, but that’s when the ground beneath your feet began to shake.

“What’s going on? Y/N!?” Jungkook’s alarmed voice came through the clearing.

“Jungkook run!” You cried, taking off towards him.

That’s when through the trees a large creature emerged.

Your breath stopped short at the sight of it.

The mountain troll had grown. Your father had captured it when it was younger, and it must’ve been quite young because you had no idea the creature could grow to this size. How it survived still amazed you. It also terrified you.

Jungkook moved to bolt towards the treeline when the troll started for the group of vampire hunters. The head woman started screaming orders, telling her people to hustle and get to higher ground. But she was sorely mistaken if she thought her and her group were going to make it out of this alive. The only reason you and Jungkook had a chance was because of your inhuman speed.

“It's distracted! GO!” you screamed, pushing him forward. Jungkook could hardly stand at this rate, but you two managed to haul your asses towards the river. It was the boundary for the estate, and if the charm was still on the fucking troll, it couldn’t cross the body of water.

However, the vampire hunters didn’t know that.

They started heading back towards the estate, hoping to get some cover. But, it was far too late for them. You and Jungkook heard the sounds of them being ripped apart. The screams...

But you had to keep moving. Because the second they were all dead, that thing would come after you two.

Finally, you made it to the river. Jungkook pushed himself through the water and landed in a heap on the other side. You did the same, but your pants caught on the rocks below the surface.

The cracking of tree branches alerted you. The troll was done with his appetizer and was coming for the full course meal. You were still in the river, he would be able to reach in and pull you out. The damned thing could get in the river, but he couldn’t get on the bank. Panic gripped your chest as you tried to pull on the fabric desperately.

You’d already spent your energy on fighting the whole day away. You wouldn’t be able to call a pebble to fight for you now if you wanted to. Jungkook was breathing harshly on the bank, looking at the sky.

“Jungkook!” you screamed.

His head popped up as he looked at you in bewilderment.

“What? What’s wrong?” he asked, crawling closer.

“I can’t get out. I’m too weak, I’m stuck, pull me out!” you begged, reaching for him. Faster than you thought possible for him right now he was on his feet, wading back into the water and reaching for your hand.

“Don’t panic, I’ve got you,” he said, reaching into the water to untangle your pants.

“It’s not gonna work! Just pull!”

“If I pull you’ll just get more stuck!”

“Jungkook please hurry,” you begged.

“Easy, I’ve got you,” he whispered.

“If my hands weren’t shaking so bad I’d smack the shit out of you right now,” you growled.

“I can’t get you unstuck,” he breathed.

“What?”

“Take your pants off!”

“WHAT??”

“Y/N, take your pants off so I can haul your ass out of this fucking river before we’re ripped to pieces. Hurry!” Jungkook cried.

Desperately you undid the strings and threw your pants down to your ankles. Jungkook wrapped his arm around your waist and lifted you up, pulling you both through the water. With a heavy thud the pair of you landed in the wet dirt on the river bank, breaths stolen and minds racing.

Just as you managed to catch your breath you looked up to see the mountain troll, eyes glazed over and blood dripping from it’s overgrown teeth. You swallowed hard. You hoped to every living being out there that this damn thing wasn’t about to cross the river and eat you for dinner.

But, you watched as it reached for you across the bank. Your mind went blank as you saw it’s large hand reaching right for you and Jungkook. However, it howled in pain before it could reach all the way across. The bright blue glow of your father’s magic echoed around the river. You watched in amazement as the creature huffed in annoyance before heading back towards the estate.

Even centuries later...

Your father was still protecting you.

“Holy shit we’re alive!?” Jungkook cried from beside you. You turned to look at him and you nodded softly.

“Yeah, we’re alive,” you agreed. Jungkook whooped and hollered as he laid back down.

“Oh my fucking shit, I’ve never been that scared in my entire life,” he said, putting a hand over his face as he laughed.

You sighed and stood up, brushing the dirt of your very bare knees.

“Y/N?” Jungkook’s voice was a lot softer then. Like he was nervous.

“Yes?” you asked, looking at him. He slowly made his way to his feet, standing next to you.

“You saved my life,” he said, a gentle smile on his face.

“You saved mine too, I guess,” you said with a shrug. Slowly you held out your wrists. Jungkook looked down at you in confusion.

“What are you doing?” he asked, raising a brow.

“Letting you cuff me. You saved me, I’ll go quietly. I promise,” you said, shaking your wrists towards him. Jungkook made a disgusted sound at the back of his throat before throwing the vervain cuffs on the ground and walking closer to you.

“If you think I’m taking you to the King after all of that then you’re truly insane,” he said.

“But what’ll happen if you don’t bring me back? What happens to you?” you asked.

“That’s not for you to worry about,” he said with a grave sense of finality.

“What if they kill you-”

“They won’t kill me Y/N, I’m a member of the Council for fuckssake, the King will probably just make me do some extra heavy lifting. I’ll be fine. And so will you,” he said, a sad smile on his face.

“You’re letting me go?” you asked for confirmation.

“I don’t know how much longer I could’ve kept you to be honest. You’re pretty difficult to catch if you haven’t noticed,” he chuckled.

“So... This is it then?”

Jungkook nodded.

“Yeah, this is it. No more escapades and near death experiences, at least... I hope.”

“We’ll probably never see each other again,” you whispered.

“No, we probably won’t,” he agreed.

“Well...”

It was then you felt two soft lips kiss your forehead gently.

“Be safe, Y/N. You’ll still be on the run, but I can try to throw them off you for as long as I can,” he said, pulling away from you.

“Thank you,” you whispered.

“Don’t mention it. Like, seriously don’t mention it I’ll probably get in trouble if you do,” he laughed nervously.

“I won’t say a word, I promise,” you said, looking him straight in the eyes.

“I know,” he said, a soft smile gracing his saddened features.

“If you follow the trail west you’ll end up on an old trading route road. It’ll take you to the next city. I don’t know how traveled it is anymore, but you might have some luck finding a merchant who can take you,” you said, pointing in the direction.

“Thank you,” he said, turning to walk away, when your hand snapped out fast and grabbed his wrist. Jungkook looked back at you for a moment before you tugged him closer.

Sighing deeply you stared him in the eyes.

“If I don’t do this now, I know I’ll regret it,” you whispered, bringing your lips to his firmly. Jungkook reacted almost immediately, wrapping his hands around your waist. You pulled him even closer, folding yourself around him. You wanted to be closer, closer, closer still.

Jungkook didn’t seem to understand this as he pulled away.

“Y/N,” he breathed against your lips.

“Yes?”

“What do you want from me?” he asked, echoing himself from last night.

Was it really just last night he’d cried into you and he’d kissed you with so much passion? Was it really that fast? But, after the entirety of events that had transpired between your two, you knew that there was more than just a cocky bastard inside of Jungkook.

There was a genuine person there. Someone you wanted to get to know, even if you couldn’t be with him forever.

This would be enough.

“You. I want this, right now. Just us two,” you said, pleading softly.

“If we do this-”

“I loved someone before you know...”

“Huh?” Jungkook quiets beside you.

“I loved a human man, I loved him so much that it hurt. And when I lost him I promised I’d never love again. I promised I’d never let another person touch me the way he did. When I kissed you last night it’s the first kiss I’ve had in about two hundred years. But I realized that, if I continue to keep myself from happiness, then I’ll never have it again, due to not wanting it taken away. But isn’t it better to know it again before you lose everything” you laughed lightly.

“Y/N, are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. I want you. If this is the last time I get to see you then I want to make it worth it,” you smirked. Jungkook bit his lip, as if he were really trying to make the right decision.

“As long as you’re sure,” he said, moving to capture your lips again.

You sighed into the contact, letting his lips engulf your own. Jungkook wrapped his arms around you once more, cradling your body close to his as if you were porcelain, like you would break if he moved you too fast. You didn’t mind it, honestly. To be treated with such care made your heart swell in your chest. You wanted to treat him gently too, make him feel just as good if not better.

Jungkook began to kiss your neck and shoulders, pecking the supple skin there, leaving marks of his own on your body. You felt his nips and careful bites, they made you shudder as your hands roamed his skin. He’d been through a lot today, so had you.

“J-Jungkook, are you sure about this? Are you going to be okay?” you asked, lifting his head from your neck so he’d look in your eyes.

“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life,” he beamed. “I want to please you, I want to feel you. Can I? Don’t think I’ve forgotten my genius plan of getting you half naked.”

“Shut up, before I make you,” you growled, shoving his shoulder.

Jungkook swallowed hard, bringing you into his arms. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, looking at you with poorly hidden desire. “Making me so hard, fuck...”

Slowly you started pushing Jungkook back towards a tree. His back met the bark with a gentle thud before his eyes locked onto yours. You gave him a gentle smile before pushing his shirt up and running your hands across his stomach. Jungkook let out a shaky breath, looking down as your nails ran down his sensitive flesh.

“You’re so handsome Jungkook, big eyes and pouty lips. Want to kiss you senseless,” you smirked. You heard a strangled whine come from him.

“I want that. I want your mouth on me, everywhere,” he hissed when your fingers made contact with his nipples. “Fucking shit!”

“Ooh, you’re so responsive when I do that... Like when I touch your chest Jungkook? Want me to play with them?” you asked, thumbing the hardened nubs tortuously slow.

“Y-Yeah, so good baby,” he groaned, head falling back to hit the tree with a solid ‘thud’.

“Mmm, they got so hard,” you murmured, pulling his shirt up to reveal his chest to you fully.

“Please Y/N, please do something,” he begged, attempting to grind against you, earning himself a sharp tug on the nipple.

“Don’t be greedy, I’ll do what I want when I want to, understand?” you said, eyes turning dark.

“Yes... I-I understand,” he said, voice soft and pleading.

“What a good boy,” you praised, latching your soft mouth onto the skin of his chest. He sucked in a harsh breath at the contact, tightening his grip on your hips as he tried to keep himself under control. You could tell that he wasn’t used to being the one listening to commands during sex. He kept trying to jolt himself against you or get some kind of friction somewhere. But you didn’t want to be too mean to him, especially if this was the only time you’d get to do this.

Sadness filled your heart at the thought of only getting to do this the one time...

Jungkook’s whines pulled you from your stupor, making you look up at his pretty face, flushed as he bit down on his lip. With a dark grin you brought your other hand to his nipple, toying with it briefly before pinching it between your fingers. Jungkook cried out, hips bucking forward to search for you. You bit your lip, trying to keep the teasing smirk from your face.

Was this really the man that had teased and manhandled you?

You gave his chest one last teasing tug and trailed your hands lower until they were at the fasteners for his pants. Jungkook’s chest was heaving, looking up at the sky. Almost as if he were afraid to look down and see your beautiful crimson orbs looking back up at him.

“Jungkook,” you whispered, breath tickling his neck as you leaned forward. You saw him swallow hard before turning his chin down to look at you. A soft smile graced your features, you reached up and cradled his cheek gently. He leaned into your touch, cheek smushing slightly against your palm.

“Please,” he breathed, eyes closed like he was anticipating something.

“What do you want?” You asked, running your thumb across his puffy lower lip.

“I want to taste you,” he whimpered out, taking your thumb in his mouth and sucking on it longingly. You caught your reflexive moan in your throat. Jesus this man was going to be the death of you.

“Yeah? Get on your knees then,” you said. Jungkook practically fell to the ground before you. You chuckled, watching as he eagerly shuffled forward on his knees, collecting the dirt beneath him but you were both far from caring about appearances.

“Oh fuck, I can smell you from here,” he whined, wiggling while he knelt before you. Gently you pulled at the bands of your underwear, pushing and pulling it around. Jungkook was good, he didn’t move forward or make demands. He just watched, entranced as you teased him.

“Wanna taste? Huh? You’re like a good little puppy waiting for the treat, so cute. What a good puppy,” you said, reaching forward and grasping his hair in your hands, tugging on it to lift his chin so you could see his throat. “You want it?”

“Yesss,” he cried. “Want it so bad. I-I’ll be good for you, I promise. Just let me taste, I’ll make you cum I promise please.”

“Tell me what you’d do, if I let you have it,” you beamed, pulling the band of your underwear in such a way it made your mound more pronounced. Jungkook could see the stain of your wetness coming through the fabric.

“I-I’d start slow. I want to savor it, every last drop. Then I’d give that pretty clit some well deserved attention. Suck, lick and figure out how you like it. Tease your little hole with my tongue, b-but,” he swallows thick, like he’s trying to keep himself from drooling. “But I wouldn’t use my hands unless you said I could.”

You hummed at his obedience. “Mmm, good puppy. Such a good boy, you can come closer, give me a kiss,” you said, pulling him forward by his neck. Jungkook gave a soft cry before landing face first into your pussy. He inhaled deeply, before groaning in wanton desire. You felt his lips pucker up and give your soaked underwear a kiss.

“Mmm, please. Please say I can have it,” he begged, palming himself through his pants.

“Don’t touch yourself,” you growled. Jungkook froze in place but moved his hand away from his throbbing cock. “Good baby. How about you touch me instead,” you beamed. “Go ahead puppy, you can have it.” Slowly you pulled your underwear down, face leveling with his for a second. His eyes were glassy, and you were surprised he was already this desperate, but you were going to enjoy this either way.

“Thank you,” he gasped before attaching his mouth to your bare pussy. A shiver ran down his spine as he made fat licks up your slit, gathering all your slick on his tongue. Jungkook looked like he wanted to cry, but not in a bad way. Like, in a relieved way.

“Oh fuck, so good puppy. Keep going like that,” you encouraged, locking your fingers in his damp locks. You pushed him a little closer, forcing his mouth to connect with you fully. He grunted at the rough motion, but quickly preened at the feeling of your digits playing with his hair. He gripped your ass and encouraged you to move your hips against his face.

“Grind on me, please. I want to feel it,” he cried. You did as he asked, moving your hips across his beautiful face, watching as more and more of your liquid gathered on his lips and chin.

“Making me feel so good, puppy. Look at the mess you’re making. Eat nicely,” you tutted.

“But you taste so good,” he whimpered, moving his mouth against you more feverishly. You were breathing harder now. His tongue was running against your clit so directly it felt like your lower stomach was burning with pleasure.

“Fuck puppy, yes. Right there, just like that, so good baby. L-Lick it,” you moaned, head falling back slightly. But you didn’t want to take your eyes off of the gorgeous man pleasuring you. Jungkook was getting desperate it would seem, because the more you pulled on his hair, the tighter his hands gripped your ass.

“C-Can I put a finger in? Do you want me to?” he asked, licking his lips to sweep your flavor off of him and onto his greedy tongue.

“Just be gentle,” you warned, giving him a stern stare. Jungkook’s eyes became even more glossed over as he nodded slowly, acknowledging your order.

“Gonna make you cum so hard,” he almost growled into your cunt. But, just as you asked, he was gentle. Petting his fingers over your center carefully Jungkook seemed to be hyper focused on his goal. You sighed when he pushed his digit inside of you, making your aching pussy clench around the intruder.

“Ooh, puppy. So tight, so tight in my pussy huh?” you teased.

“Y-Yeah, you’re so fucking tight,” he groaned, pumping his finger slowly, watching as your hungry core sucked him right back in desperately.

“Mmf! Fuck,” you snarled, pushing your hips down to get more of the delicious feeling of him filling you. If this is how you reacted to a finger, Jungkook couldn’t wait to see how you reacted to his cock stuffing you to the brim.

“Can you take another one?” he asked, eyes all big and sparkly as they gazed at you.

“Yes baby, put in another one,” you demanded. Jungkook quickly took his pointer and middle finger and put them in his mouth to get them wet before sinking them inside you. You gasped, the distinct pull in your stomach making you wince slightly but after a few seconds it was gone, making you worried for when he did finally get his dick inside you but, that wouldn’t be until later...

“H-Holy shit you’re so fucking hot, so wet-” he mewled before attaching his lips to your clit once more, sucking harshly. A sharp rush of pleasure swept over you, making your knees shake slightly. Jungkook pulled you closer, so that one of your legs was going behind his back and resting on his shoulder.

“Mmm what a good puppy, making sure I don’t fall over because you’re fingering my pussy so good. Shit baby, keep going. Don’t stop, I’m close,” you breathed, feeling your walls starting to clamp down on his long digits.

“Let me have it. Cum on my face, I want to taste it. I’ll clean you up so good, I promise,” he cried, tonguing your clit with an urgency that was throwing you into the arms of your orgasm harshly. You gripped his hair so tight you heard him hiss but you couldn’t focus on much else as your body jerked above his so violently he had to hang onto your hip to keep you from tipping over.

Jungkook held onto your thigh as he pumped his fingers languidly, nosing at your sensitive clit with hesitancy. He didn’t want to hurt you. But he also was sucking your cum off his lips with such an earnestness that your stomach clenched, making him look at you with wonder.

Apparently Jungkook made the right call by holding your thigh, because a few moments later your knees went wobbly. He smiled at you brightly, running his hand up to your hip and lower stomach. You smoothed your hand over his hair, watching as he leaned into your touch. A softness took over your features as you got on your knees with him, wrapping your arms around his neck and bringing his swollen lips to yours.

He curled his arms around your frame, hands settling on your waist. You kissed him like it was your only desire in this life, like if you broke apart for a second it would be too much to bear. He responded in kind, running his palms across your back and gripping your bare ass in his hands. You smiled against his mouth, giving a soft moan to egg him on. Jungkook connected your lips again, tracing his tongue along the seam of your mouth. You didn’t give him the access he asked for, making him whine against your lips and pull you further into his body.

However, this wasn’t enough. You wanted him closer, deeper and seeping into every ounce of you. It’s been so long since you’ve been touched like this, your chest was tight with emotion. You pulled back gently, watching as Jungkook tried to follow your lips. A soft giggle came from you as his bright eyes peaked open, looking at you with curiosity.

“Are you alright?” he breathed, slightly airy.

“I’m okay, just thinking,” you said, before tightening your grip on his and tipping backwards so you’d fall on your back. Jungkook gave a little cry, catching himself on his forearms so that he didn’t crush you when he hit the ground. You opened your thighs and let him settle between them. Jungkook readjusted himself so that you weren’t uncomfortable.

“Are you sure you want to do this here? I don’t want you getting hurt,” he fretted, pushing stray twigs and rocks away from you.

“I can’t feel any of it. All I can feel is you,” you said, brushing a strand of his longer hair behind his ear. His eyes glimmered then, and you felt the air leave your lungs. He was looking at you like you were precious, something to be adored. Overwhelmed you tried to swallow down your stinging tears. Jungkook seemed to notice your distress, because he was placing a soft kiss on your forehead.

“It’s okay, I’m right here,” he said.

“I know, I know you are. Because you’re my good puppy aren’t you? Want your treat? Come get it,” you said, spreading your lower lips with your fingers, flashing your soaked insides to him. Reaching down, Jungkook didn’t have the patience to take his pants all the way off, so he just pushed them to his mid thigh. His cock was just as pretty as the rest of him, flushed red tip that was leaking an absurd amount of pre-cum. You wet your lips with your tongue, longing to stuff his cock in your mouth. But, he was already lining himself up with your sopping core.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he asked, looking into your eyes.

“Yes, yes you can put it in Jungkook,” you said, using his name.

Jungkook nodded quickly before pushing in slowly. The stretch was hard, a strangled yelp left you as you tried to keep yourself from tensing up. Jungkook rubbed his thumbs into your hips, trying to ease the ache you were feeling. Carefully, Jungkook eased himself back out and pushed forward again, going a little deeper than before.

“S-Shit, you’re so fucking tight,” he groaned, head slumping forward and resting on your chest. You smirked slightly, but ran your fingers through his hair gingerly. Jungkook kept giving little thrusts into your wet heat, gauging how much you could handle before finally you felt your hips connect and he was bottomed out inside of you.

“Oh fuck, puppy you’re so big,” you hiccuped. Jungkook wasn’t in a much better situation. His shoulders were tense and his head was hanging low. Placing your hand on his cheek, you made him look at you. His face was scrunched up and he looked like he could be in pain. But you knew it was probably just overwhelming for him. You had done quite a bit of teasing. However, that route wasn’t exactly over.

“Do you need a second?” he asked, suddenly serious.

“No, you can move. I want you to, fuck me hard,” you encouraged, running your hands down his stiff back and gripping his plump ass in your hands. Jungkook took your invitation and started moving inside of you at a swift pace. Nothing too fast, but enough to get your head feeling spinny. You gripped his ass tightly, keeping your moans quiet and soft. Jungkook, however, was extremely vocal.

“Fuck! So tight, so wet, holy shit,” he moaned, high pitched whimpers falling from his lips every time he surged forward into your soaking cunt.

“It’s all for you puppy,” you whispered. “So hard inside my tight little pussy. Oh! So good, fucking me so good.”

Jungkook gave a harsh thrust, one that moved you across the ground with the force behind it. A warped shriek came from your mouth, making you grab Jungkook’s ear and tug mercilessly. He gave a half garbled groan, before locking eyes with you.

“Ow! S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’m so hard it hurts, I couldn't help myself when you feel so good,” he complained, reaching up to grab your wrist on the hand that was currently trying to remove his ear. You tugged again and felt a strong pulse in your core from Jungkook’s throbbing cock that was currently shoved inside of you.

“Ooh, does my puppy like a bit of pain with his pleasure? Want to play rough puppy?” you teased, letting his ear go while he continued to sink inside of you.

“Ssshit! Yes! I like it, I want more please!” he howled, hips stuttering in their rhythm slightly.

“More? Well, since you asked so nicely,” you said, reaching under his shirt and finding his sensitive nipples. You pinched one hard, causing him to sob out a moan. His hips got faster, almost plowing you into the dirt.

Jungkook’s eyes were on your face, watching as you felt the pleasure he was giving you. A devious grin took over your features.

“Wanna look puppy? Wanna see how my pussy is struggling to take your big dick? Look,” you said, pulling your lips apart. Jungkook’s eyes trailed down your body to look at your pussy swallowing his length with every push forward. He reached down and put his thumb right on your clit, swiveling his finger around the swollen bud, making you grip at his nipple harder than before. Jungkook keened into the air, wanting so desperately to keep watching the erotic scene before him but struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Holy fuck, I’m gonna cum, I’m gonna cum so hard,” he whimpered helplessly.

“No you’re not,” you warned, wrapping your legs around his ass and keeping him in place. Jungkook looked at you with confusion as you shoved your thumb inside his soft mouth. He suckled at your digit, wanton moans escaping as you clenched your walls around his sensitive member.

“Please let me cum,” he groaned around your finger.

“No, keep fucking me. Don’t you dare cum,” you said, a harsh tone leaking into your voice. Jungkook nodded before picking his pace back up. Truth be told, you had a devious plan that involved him cumming without permission. So, you started clenching again. Jungkook cried out again, trying to slow his thrusts down.

“D-Don’t do that, I’ll cum if you do that please,” he blubbered, already looking rather distraught.

“Feels so good when I do this, puppy. You don’t want me to feel good? Are you being a selfish little brat, huh puppy?” you asked, pinching his nipple ruthlessly.

“Want you to feel good too, I-I’m not selfish,” he defended, eyes swimming with unshed tears.

“Then you’ll keep fucking me until I cum,” you said, shifting your hips down to take him deeper. Jungkook swallowed hard as he kept going, his breath was hitting your face in sharp pants. You knew this was a little mean, but the fucked out look on his face was too good to deny.

Jungkook’s thrusts stayed even, but he kept up his pace. His face was pinched together, and you knew it was from both the pleasure and the pain of not cumming. You knew he wanted it.

“You know puppy, since you’re a vampire like me... If you came inside, you could get me pregnant. Did you know that? Even if you were turned, you can get a princess like me pregnant. Watch me walk around swollen with your babies, huh? Want to see me like that puppy? All because you were a naughty boy who couldn’t hold his load,” you teased, clamping down once more.

“Ah! S-Stop talking like that, I’ll really cum,” he warned, keeping his pace going.

“I don’t want you to pull out until I cum, such a big dick in my pussy. Are you gonna cum puppy? Even though I told you no? Even though you could get me pregnant? What a naughty puppy, bad boy Jungkookie,” you growled.

You could feel him throbbing inside of you, and you knew all he needed was a little push to cum. So you doubled down, pulling his nipple painfully and tightening your kegel muscles so hard you felt a strain in your side.

“No!” he yelped. But it was too late, Jungkook stiffened up and you felt the scalding heat of his release filling you up inside. His release triggered another orgasm to wash over you, it wasn’t nearly as intense as the last one he gave you, but it still made your mind go foggy. Watching him you decided to coax him through his intense orgasm, trying to be merciful at least in this instance. Jungkook was trembling in your hold, tears falling down his cheeks as he gasped trying to calm himself down.

“Shhh, Jungkook it’s okay,” you breathed, cradling him to your body. You placed gentle kisses on his face and neck, anywhere you could reach to reassure him it was okay. He was alright.

Finally Jungkook seemed to calm down enough to where you could talk to him.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cum without permission,” he said, teary eyes and flushed cheeks greeting you as you gazed at his face.

“Mm, it’s okay puppy. You did well, made me feel so good,” you said, giving him a tired smile. Jungkook hissed as he pulled himself out of your battered core. He watched in his lust addled mind as his cum started seeping out of you. He frowned as he started to push it back inside when you swatted his hand away in sensitivity.

He popped his fingers in his mouth, causing another shudder of desire to course through you before pulling his pants up and laying his head on your stomach. You slowly ran your fingers through his hair, in an action that almost seemed to be routine at this point with how frequently you’ve done it today.

It was silent for a little while before Jungkook spoke up.

“Never really been a sub before, how did I do?” he asked, rubbing his thumb into the soft skin of your hip.

“Perfect, Jungkook. Are you okay? I was a little mean,” you said, wiping at the drying tears on his cheeks.

“Are you kidding? I’ve never cum that hard in my life. For a second I thought I was gonna die, but this is nice,” he said, cuddling into your belly.

“You big baby,” you teased, resting your head back. You looked up at the sky, smiling in the blissful atmosphere that had surrounded the two of you.

When everything shattered.

“JUNGKOOK!” you heard a high pitched male voice call out.

Jungkook’s head lifted from your stomach, looking around in the section of forest the pair of you were in.

“Who is that?”

“J-Jimin?” he said it more like it was a question.

“You mean one of your council members?” you asked, panic rising in your voice.

“Shit,” he growled, wrapping one hand around your waist protectively.

“I’ve got to get out of here,” you whispered.

“If I can just talk to him maybe-”

“Jungkook? There you are,” a soft male voice entered your area. Jungkook visibly tensed up at the sound, licking his lips and closing his eyes.

“Yes, I’m here Jimin,” he answered.

“Who’s the lovely lady who looks thoroughly ravishing if I do say so myself,” he smirked, leaning forward.

This Jimin was rather beautiful in his own right. Silvery hair that was parted to show his forehead. A high collared shirt and waistcoat adorned his lithe yet toned body. He was shorter than Jungkook, but he seemed far more intimidating. You tried to shimmy behind Jungkook, to try and at least keep a shred of dignity to yourself.

“She’s just a villager Jimin, I-I was having some fun,” he winced, trying to keep up his crass exterior.

“I’m sure you two were, but I hate to tell you Jungkookie... She’s much more than your average villager. She’s the woman I’m to bring back to the capital and stand on trial in front of the King,” he explained, no sympathy in his tone.

“Y-You?” you squeaked, looking at Jungkook with confusion.

“Mhm, the King grew impatient with Jungkook’s absence and sent me to retrieve him and you if you were still in the premises,” Jimin stated.

“Does the King think so little of me that he had to send you to come collect me like a child?” he asked, frustration painting into his voice.

You placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him level before he burst off the handle. Although, something told you this was their usual dynamic. Pushing and pulling, like brothers.

“It’s not about that Jungkook. Your power is good for tracking, mine is good for subduing. I’m here to bring her back, you were meant to find her. The King didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to jump to the conclusions you are right now. You are good at what you do, so let me take over from here,” Jimin said, reaching out to grab you when Jungkook slapped his hand away, grabbing you and pulling you to his chest forcefully.

“No, you won’t touch her,” he snarled.

Jimin saw the intensity on the younger males face and sighed.

“Listen, I have to go and get vervain cuffs from the horses. It should take me ten minutes. And you both better be here when I get back,” Jimin warned, no malice in his voice. He stalked off, and you looked at Jungkook with fear written all over your features.

“You gotta go,” he said, helping you to your feet. You felt the stickiness on your thighs and cringed.

“I-I know but, I’m... Um,” you whispered. Jungkook nodded and leaned forward, pressing his forehead to yours.

“I wish that we didn’t have to say goodbye here. But, unfortunately that’s the case. I want to tell you I’ll come for you one day, but... We both know that can’t happen. We-We can’t happen,” he breathed regretfully. You nodded, feeling a heat rush up your cheeks. And you realized you were crying.

“I understand. I knew that,” you whispered, tears collecting on your cheeks.

“Please don’t cry,” he begged, wiping your tears with his thumbs desperately.

“I won’t be crying forever, just let me feel sad right now,” you pleaded, leaning forward and kissing him softly. Jungkook reciprocated lazily, moving his mouth against yours so tentatively that you could barely feel the pressure.

“Okay,” he breathed, pulling away. “Go.”

You nodded, heading towards the woods when Jungkook grabbed your waist and wrapped his jacket around your waist. “Get some clothes as soon as you can, I don’t want you getting cold.”

“Jungkook,” you said, looking into his eyes.

“Don’t come looking for me. If they find you, I-I don’t know what they’ll do to you,” he said, swallowing hard.

“I won’t forget you,” you sighed, gripping his wrist tightly.

“You should.”

You were so fucked...

Well, you had gotten fucked and that’s how you landed in the situation you were in now...

Pregnant.

The healer of the small village you had been hiding in for a few months confirmed it. Vampire pregnancies were a little longer than human ones, lasting around 14-15 months, so you were hardly showing at the mere 3 months you were.

What should you do? The village was already hesitant because you were a vampire. And now you were an unmarried pregnant vampire to top it all off. You couldn’t get rid of the child, that wasn’t an option in your mind. You were already so in love with the small being in your womb it was ridiculous.

But, a part of you had always wanted to be a mother...

To have a family of your own.

But what about Jungkook? Surely he’d want to know what was going on, didn’t he have the right to know? Even if it put you in danger?

You and your unborn child?

But, maybe there was a chance... A chance that the King would show you and Jungkook mercy. Even if you were the former heir to the kingdom... If there was a chance at a happy life, with you baby and Jungkook... Did you want that? Shouldn’t you try?

That’s how you wound up in the capital. The bustling city was so different from how you remember it centuries ago. Several new buildings, carriages and people moving around like fish in a pond. All working together but never touching. Never coinciding with one another. How strange to think that this could’ve been your life had you fought for your crown...

Shaking your head you started to walk, in search of the new palace.

Admittedly, it wasn’t too terribly hard to find.

Right in the center of the city it stood proud and tall, white and sandy marble sculpted together to make an ornate display of the architecture of the time. You watched as it was standing high above the city, causing a lump to swell in your throat.

How things had changed...

Approaching the palace was different than you had imagined. You had thought you could just go up and request a meeting with Jungkook. This theory had been proven wrong fairly quickly. The moment you got close to the gates, a guard looked at you like you were insane.

“Miss, please step away from the palace gates,” he commanded in a loud voice.

“I need to speak with, uh, Jeon Jungkook? I have something I need to tell him,” you swallowed hard, hand subconsciously going to your stomach.

The guard scoffed, rolling his eyes and straightening his back. “A man with such a high ranking on the council would not have any kind of talk to be had with you. Head home, you’re not welcome here,” he warned.

“But if I could just speak with him for a minute,” you started, trying to get them to understand it wouldn’t take long at all.

However, they weren’t having any of it.

“Miss, if you don’t leave the premises, I’m afraid I will have to remove you by force,” he said, hand resting on his sword. You sighed and nodded your head.

“I apologize for the disturbance, I’ll be on my way,” you said, turning your back. Not before you caught their feet in the solid stone underneath them and locked them in place.

“Hey!” they yelled in frustration as you walked past them and towards the palace.

“I’ll come and let you out when I’m done! It won’t be but a few minutes,” you said, making your way towards the entrance.

When you finally made it inside, you were astounded at the decor in the palace. It was all purple and silver, a gorgeous combination in your mind. But, now wasn’t the time to get hung up on interior design. You had a puppy to find.

You inhaled deeply, trying to find the scent that was inherently Jungkook.

However, just as you were turning the corner, you slammed head first into a firm chest. You fell backwards and landed on your ass, wincing as you tried to keep your head from going spinny. You looked up and almost screamed.

There.

Was King Kim Taehyung, and he looked like he’d found the catch of the day.

“My my my, Miss Y/N, what a pleasure to find you in my palace... What can I do for you?” he asked, leaning forward with a devious smirk on his face.

“I-I need, um... I was just, um-”

“Guards! Gather the rest of the council members, we’re having an immediate trial,” Taehyung’s voice carried through the halls. Faster than you could think, arms were on you. You were hauled to your feet, and starting to be dragged down the hallway.

“No! Please, just listen it’s really important that I talk to-”

“Save your pleading for the jury.”

Kneeling on the floor in front of the King was moderately humiliating for former royalty. But, such was life at this point. A door at the end of the room opened and shut, causing you to lift your head and look as two more lithe frames made their way up to the chairs at the back of the room.

“Your Majesty,” one said.

“Namjoon,” Taehyung acknowledged.

“Majesty,” the other said, bowing slightly.

“Yoongi,” Taehyung nodded. “Take your seats, both of you.”

A few moments later, three more men entered the space, making your chest feel tighter.

“Ah, Hoseok, Jimin, Jin, good to see you all made it so timely,” Taehyung grinned, crossing his legs and leaning back in his throne.

“Yes your majesty, we heard it was of the utmost importance,” the one named Hoseok said.

“Where is Jungkook?” Taehyung asked, looking at the group and noticing the unknown man of the hour was missing.

“He’ll be here shortly, there was a bit of a commotion outside that he’s trying to quell. No doubt it’s due to this one's appearance,” Jin said, gesturing in your direction. The vervain cuffs made your wrists ache. But you tried to stay as still as possible, wriggling only made it hurt worse.

The anxiety was biting up your throat as the men towards the front started conversing as if you weren’t even there. Like this was an average Thursday afternoon to them. But the panic in your veins was heavy as you waited to hear the door open once more.

And you didn’t have to stew much longer, because soon the cursed entrance opened, bringing Jungkook into the light of the room. His hair was longer, and you noticed he looked more tired. But, you tried not to get worried.

However, the sheer panic written on his face when he saw you kneeling on the floor was hard to ignore. It was so hard not to burst into tears when you saw him again for the first time in months. If only you could’ve gotten him alone, but of course you had to run head first into the fucking King.

But, as calmly as he could he sat down.

Taehyung nodded and stood up.

“Gentleman, I have gathered the jury today to bring to trial the former heir to our kingdom. Miss Y/N Y/L/N. She is a traitor to our parliament and has been purposefully avoiding us for years. The last in a poisoned line if you will. Now, we can do one of two things. Execute her, and end the Y/L/N line for good. Or, we can let her go... And perhaps let the people rip her to shreds for us,” Taehyung smirked.

Jungkook looked about ready to jump out of his skin and pummel the King.

“Kill her,” Jin said, sighing and looking at his nails with disinterest. “Honestly I don’t know why you called us here for this.”

“Because she is still a citizen of this kingdom so she gets due trial,” Taehyung shrugged.

“Execution,” Yoongi said.

“Execute her,” Namjoon announced.

“W-Wait! Please, at least let me speak for a second!” you begged. Taehyung sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Fine fine, what do you want to say?” he asked, lifting his eyes to yours. A sharp and overwhelming sense of pain came over you causing you to fall to your side, hands cramping to the point you thought the vervain cuffs would break. Jungkook apparently couldn’t take it anymore. Watching as you sobbed in agony, he flew from his seat and tried to move you out of Taehyung’s line of sight. The male was frantic, trying to quiet your sobs while stifling his own.

“P-Please stop!” Jungkook yelled, looking at his King with sheer desperation on his face. Taehyung seemed to hear him, because the relief you felt was instant. Chest heaving you were staring at the ceiling, watching as it all started to spiral. Jungkook collapsed to his knees and tried to control himself, but the sight of you cuffed and struggling on the floor was too painful for him. Carefully, he pulled you into his arms, brushing the hair out of your face. Wearily, you rested your head on his shoulder.

“Have to tell you something,” you whispered, lifting your head to look at Jungkook with an unwavering expression.

“What? What is it Y/N?”

Slowly, you looked down to your stomach. “I-I’m pregnant,” you breathed. Jungkook’s eyes widened.

“You’re certain?” he asked, leveling his gaze to yours.

“Yes, it was confirmed,” you said, biting your lip.

“Oh, Y/N, I’m so sorry,” he whispered,

“Don’t be, I’m not,” you said, giving a gentle smile. You heard someone clearing their throats behind you. The man named Yoongi stood up, looking at the pair of you with muted interest.

“Jungkook? What is the meaning of this?” he asked.

“S-She, we... Uh. Well,” he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

“I believe I heard the word pregnant,” Hoseok said, a smirk crossing his features.

“I am,” you said, trying to straighten yourself up but that round of pain really took a lot out of you. Damned king.

“And you claim the father to be Jungkook here?” Namjoon asked, raising a brow at his younger subordinate.

“Yes,” you answered.

“Yoongi, give her the test please,” Taehyung ordered.

Slowly, Yoongi walked down the steps and towards you and Jungkook. Your chest tightened as you tried to calm yourself down. Jungkook gripped you tighter, pushing himself towards his friend with a fearful but intense look on his face.

“Easy Jungkook, you know the test only makes them tell the truth,” Yoongi said.

“I’ll be okay,” you whispered to him, trying to comfort him without being able to use your hands. “Give me whatever test you want.”

Yoongi nodded before blinking and you watched as his eyes turned a bright white color. “From this moment on, you will tell the truth, and nothing but the truth,” his deep voice commanded. Limply, you nodded.

“Are you pregnant?”

“Yes,” you answered. You were shocked at how fast the answer came from your mouth. It’s like you weren’t in control of your words.

“How far along are you?”

“Three months,” you answered again, almost in an almost monotone voice.

“Is the father of your child Jeon Jungkook of this vampiric council?” he asked, never breaking his stare with you.

“Yes, he is,” you said. Jungkook placed his chin on your head, hands visibly shaking against your body.

“King Taehyung, are there any other questions you’d like to ask,” Yoongi said, keeping his eyes boring into yours.

“Ask her if she intentionally had sex with Jungkook to get pregnant,” Taehyung said flippantly. You could tell Jungkook wanted to argue, but kept himself quiet.

“Did you intentionally have sex with Jungkook in order to procure a child?” Yoongi questioned.

“No, I didn’t,” you said.

“Alright Yoongi, I’ve heard enough,” Taehyung says, rubbing the bridge of his nose in apparent frustration. Yoongi blinked a few times before his eyes returned to their normal crimson and you slumped against Jungkook again, mind swirling.

“At your will, your majesty,” Yoongi said, walking back towards his chair.

“So, miss Y/N, you just so happened to come to the capital. After knowing there was a man hunt for you. After knowing that you are a known traitor to this kingdom. What do you expect me to do? Hmm? What would you do if you were in my position? Why don’t you let all those years of diplomatic training aid you in your answer,” Taehyung said, resting his hand on his palm.

“Your majesty, please, this isn’t fair,” Jungkook said, looking physically upset.

“Fair has nothing to do with this Jungkook. Don’t put your nose where it doesn’t belong,” Taehyung warned sharply.

“She’s the mother of my child and I don’t belong in this conversation?!” Jungkook screeched.

“Jungkook, you will not speak out of turn again. Remember, you have committed treason by fraternizing with a fugitive of the kingdom,” Taehyung growled. “Her head isn’t the only one in danger right now. You’ll do well to remember that.”

Jungkook swallowed hard, nodding. “Yes, your majesty.”

“I believe this situation has called for another word from the jury. Do we kill the traitor, or set her free?” Taehyung asked.

Namjoon spoke first.

“Since she is pregnant, I think we should let her go. We’ll make her swear fealty to the crown and send her on her merry way. She cannot have contact with Jungkook or any of us and we’ll act like she doesn’t exist,” Namjoon reasoned.

“I say kill her,” Yoongi declared. “Especially since she’s pregnant. A new line of heirs from the former princess of the kingdom? That certainly doesn’t bode well for us,” Yoongi said, shrugging.

“I agree with Yoongi,” Hoseok said, looking at you and Jungkook on the floor.

“I second Namjoon’s idea, we aren’t ruthless killers. The child hasn’t committed any crime,” Jimin said.

“But if word gets out that Jungkook was fraternizing with a fugitive, and she got pregnant as a result and we let it go? What would that say about us? And how we control the masses, the riots could be uncontainable and far more than one pregnant woman would die,” Jin said.

“Please,” Jungkook cried. “Please don’t do this. I’m begging. I’ll do whatever you want just don’t kill her! Have mercy.”

You could feel the tears soaking into his shirt from your face. You knew this was a risk when you came here, but you hoped that they were blood thirsty killers desperate for power. You prayed that wasn't who was running your kingdom now. Your fears seemed to be recognized, however. As Taehyung sighed and stood up.

“It’s three to three right now and I have the deciding vote,” Taehyung said. Slowly, the monstrous man walked down the stairs to look at you. Jungkook was hiding his face in your hair and trembling. You wanted to comfort him, tell him it would be okay. But, there was little comfort you could bring him now.

You were going to die.

“Miss Y/N, I hope you know that this isn’t personal. I’m merely trying to find a means to an end. I don’t wish for you to suffer, this won’t be an agonizing process, I promise,” Jungkook sobbed at his words.

“You’re truly heartless, you know nothing of family. Of love. If you did you couldn’t do this to someone else,” you growled.

“You’re wrong. My wife has given me a family, she has shown me love. I am fortunate to have a woman like her, but this is something higher than both of us I’m afraid. Now, the jury has voted. Guards, please take her to the yard and execute her-”

“Tae!” A loud cry came from the other side of the room, the door flung open and a beautiful woman appeared on the other side.

You saw the sheer joy on Taehyung’s face as he walked towards her. Lucky bastard.

“My darling!” he cried, wrapping her up in his arms and kissing her head.

“I’ve come home early,” she announces, smiling at the council who all appeared to be in a stunned silence.

“Yes, I am just finishing up here,” he said. Quickly Taehyung’s face changed. “Um, why don’t you head upstairs I’ll be with you and the children momentarily-”

“Tae, who is that? And why is Jungkook crying?!” her voice carried, sounding moderately concerned.

“N-No one my love, it’s just uh... Um, well,” he squeaked.

“Jungkookie, sweetheart, what's wrong?” the queen asked, coming over and kneeling beside the two of you.

“S-She’s pregnant with my child and-and his majesty just ordered her execution,” Jungkook whimpered, cradling your head.

“Oh... Did he...?” the queen growled low. Taehyung visibly paled across the room.

“Taehyung, darling? Is this true?” she asked, not turning towards her husband but moving to uncuff your hands from behind your back.

“S-She’s the former princess of the kingdom. She’s a Y/L/N,” he said.

“And?” she questioned, like that was a trivial matter in her mind. Finally, your hands were unbound and you brought them to the front, rubbing them in relief.

“My dear, I know how this must look-”

“If I remember correctly, the Y/L/N’s were all murdered. By you. When you took power. The daughter escaped and hasn’t been an issue in the centuries you’ve been ruling. Why is it suddenly a problem now?” the queen asked.

“My love, if word gets out about the old regime having a prolific heir, there could be riots! Uprising and upheaval in the people. We’ve spent so long trying to culminate a culture of peace, but old enemies die hard,” he said.

“Taehyung, is she here asking for the kingdom? Is she here because she wants to be the ruler?” she asked, standing up.

“I-I don’t believe so,” he said.

“Then why would she come here? Did you even ask?” she questioned him.

“I-I was going to but the trial-”

“Wasn’t a fair one if you didn’t even ask her what she wanted. Miss Y/N, what is it that you came here for? What purpose?” the queen asked.

“I-I just wanted to tell Jungkook I was pregnant. I wanted him to know in case... In case he wanted to-to be with me and help raise the child. I don’t want the kingdom, I don’t want to rule. I haven’t for a long while,” you said, looking to Jungkook who was still severely emotional.

“Y/N,” he croaked, resting his forehead on yours.

“So, you simply wanted to tell Jungkook about his child? I don’t remember that being a crime Taehyung,” she said, raising a brow in his direction.

“Love, this isn’t as black and white as it seems, there’s several years of tension and underlying problems here. It’s not so easily forgiven,” Taehyung said.

“It is. You’re deciding that the past can’t stay there. You are the one opening up wounds that have long scarred over and healed. It’s like cutting yourself all over again. There is no reason behind this, no purpose. And I won’t stand for it. The man I love, the father of our children, wouldn't do this. You wouldn’t do this,” the queen said, looking at him with unwavering strength. “Would you take fatherhood away from your friend so easily? After you know how much joy it has brought you? Our little Hana and Yeonjun?”

Taehyung was conflicted, it appeared.

“You know, your majesty. We could solve this problem,” Jin spoke up, like he’d been thinking for a few moments.

“How, Jin?” Taehyung asked, thoroughly reprimanded.

“Have them get married. Show that she’s a member of our council and that she is supportive of you. Have her publicly renounce the throne,” Jin suggested, shrugging in his chair. “No one dies and we get a former diplomat as an ally.”

“Now that you mention it, she must be incredible at strategy,” Yoongi muttered. “Especially if she evaded us for so long.”

“And Hana and Yeonjun could have a friend once their child is born!” the queen yelled, excited.

“S-So Jungkook and I could be married and-and we can keep the baby?” you questioned, voice small.

“Of course! That’s exactly what we’re suggesting!” the queen agrees, spinning around.

“I never said-”

“Kim Taehyung, you will agree to these terms,” the queen growled. “Or you will be executing me as well.” The king gawked at his wife.

“I-I will see to it the arrangements are made,” he breathed, swallowing down a visible lump in his throat.

Jungkook’s tears started coming all over again, but this time not out of fear or sadness, but sure elation.

“Oh Y/N,” he weeped, bringing you into his lap fully.

“Jungkook it’s okay, we’re okay,” you breathed, kissing him gently.

Jungkook boldly wrapped his arms around you and kissed you harder. A surprised squeal came from you, but you didn’t care. You clung to him, a life line you didn't know you needed until everything was almost taken from you.

“I-I’m so happy,” he breathed.

“Oh yeah, almost dying and a pregnancy announcement has made for a rather fun day,” you teased. He scoffed and kissed you again.

“I’m serious. I’m so happy I could burst right now,” he said, resting his head in the hollow of your throat.

“Well, you bursting is kinda what got us in this position,” you giggled. Jungkook gave you a pout that had you placing another soft kiss on his lips. “I’m happy too.”

While the fellow members of the council walked over to you and Jungkook, moving to help the pair of you get up and introduce themselves.

The queen walked over to her husband, not making eye contact.

“I’m disappointed in you,” she breathed.

“I’m the king, sometimes I have to make decisions I don’t like,” he said, looking at the floor.

“No, you’re still a man. You chose to make the wrong decision because it was easier. You’re better than that, Taehyung. At least, I thought you were.”

“So did I.”

#ficswithluv #ksmutclub #Jeon Jungkook #JK #BTS #BTS fanfiction #BTS fanfic #Jungkook X Reader smut #Jungkook smut #BTS smut #Vampire BTS #Vampire Smut #Vampire BTS smut #King Taehyung #This was a wild ride my guys #Please enjoy!

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thesunicarusfellfor · 3 years

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Hey!! I love your writing. Can you do a Yandere! Ranboo, Tommy , and tubbo. where they are all in love with the reader and they kidnapped her to ‘keep her safe’ and the reader doesn’t know at first, then she slow realized they are obsessed with her. she like them back but she also want to live her life, so she tries to make agreement? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.

The Ranboo gif is just beautiful and I love it. Lemme see what I can do for ya! I wrote a bullet point Platonic fic if that's fine? I'm still worried about writing the minors in romantic relationships, even if it's the characters.

Sorry, it took so long... My burnout got really bad and I refused to even write basic stuff. But I'm back now! Well. Mostly.

Safe Behind Glass (Yandere!Plat!C!Bench Trio x GN!Reader)

You were a little groggier than normal when you awoke, but it was nothing to alarm you immediately.

Just simply brushing it off as you weren't feeling the best that day, you rolled over to fall back to sleep, but quickly noticed something wrong.

It didn't feel... Right?

The blankets... The mattress... The pillow... They weren't yours...

You peeled your eyes open and your expression went blank with fear.

The room was beautiful mind you.

But it wasn't yours either.

You were laying on a fluffy (f/c) canopy bed, surrounded by quartz walls that were dimly lit soul lanterns that prevented you from being completely swallowed by darkness.

Slowly dragging yourself off the bed, you heard a metal 'clunk' that hit the cold quartz flooring below you.

Turning your head to face downwards, you saw that a decently thick metal chain was cuffed to your ankle.

Somehow, your panic became worse as you immediately grabbed onto it and started to yank on the solid metal, but it refused to budge.

You had no idea how many minutes or hours you spent in that room. Reaching at the iron door desperately, yanking at the chain around your ankle that kept you from reaching the exit, searching the blue lanterns for anything...

But then, the white metallic door slowly swung open, revealing Ranboo, Tubbo and Tommy.

You weren't that close to them, save for a couple interactions here and there, but hey, they came to save you! That didn't matter in the slightest!

You almost cried upon seeing them and moved to walk over, but the chain stopped you from reaching them, and you noticed that they weren't moving to help you.

"You're awake!" Tubbo chirped softly, his tan goat ears wiggling with joy, "I'm glad the potion didn't stick for too long... You could've wound up starving if you stayed asleep."

Horror slowly began to set into your heart as Ranboo nodded and walked over to the dark oak table in the corner of the room and set down a basket of food.

"Ran...Boo...?" You whispered, watching as the monochrome male turned and curiously tilted his head in your direction, "Why... Am I here?"

Instead, Tommy stepped in front of you with a bright cheesy smile, the same one that resembled when he would find a new disc or start a new adventure, "For your safety, (N/n)!"

"Safety?" You choked out softly, Ranboo quickly guiding you to sit in the oak chair, "But... I'm one of the richest people on the server... I have god armour... Nothing could kill m-"

"Techno and Dream can." Tubbo interrupted sharply, halting you mid-sentence.

Right... That masked man... Or whatever he was... He was extremely dangerous, as well as Techno. They could likely pierce your netherite chest plate without even flinching at the number of thorns you had enchanted.

"We don't want anyone to bring you any harm... There's no problem with that, right, (Y/n)?" Ranboo smiled, flashing his sharpened teeth unthreateningly.

No... You wanted to say, but you wanted freedom! You wanted to expand your house to the size of a mansion! You wanted to bicker with Quackity about the stupidest of things! You wanted to get building advice from Phil!

Not be locked away because your safety was a tiny bit compromised!

"Tommy... Tubbo... Ranboo... Please, I'm not going to just stay locked away because I-"

"You'll see things our way soon... Eat up, get your rest." Tubbo smiled and gave you a hug, ignoring how you froze suddenly, before turning and skipping out of the room with the taller two following behind him.

Despite... How screwed up the three were with their methods of making you be their friend, it was working...

They were actually incredibly friendly and funny. It made life in capture bearable! Even though you were incredibly snappy and cruel to them in the beginning, they never held it against you.

Although... Despite their kindness and your quickly blooming friendship, you still had a craving to go outside. Even if what the three told you about everyone forgetting you existed was true.

"You look sad, (N/n)..." Tubbo murmured softly, watching you stare off into the blank quartz wall, "Are you okay?"

Tommy straightened up from his handmade scribble of a map, turning his head towards you in confusion. Ranboo stopped writing mid-word likely and looked in your direction as well.

They never liked it when you were upset.

You pursed your lips silently for a moment, clearly unsettling the males around you, "I just... Haven't been feeling too great... Both mentally and physically I mean... I need sunlight..."

"Yeah... I was reading about that earlier..." Ranboo hummed softly, adjusting his crown as he looked up at the ceiling, "But the issue is..."

"My safety... Yes, I know. What if, I wear my full netherite armour and keep a totem AND a Rapple on me? And also not leave your sides?" You bargained nervously.

That hadn't worked before. But then again, You weren't as close to them before...

The silence that fell upon the room was unsettling and caused your heart to race quickly. If they didn't like what you said, you would be alone for a few straight days... You didn't like it...

"Okay."

What.

That worked?

You just had to ask?!

You watched as Tubbo stood up and pulled the small ender chest from his pocket and set it on the ground, causing it to grow to normal size.

Standing aside, he made a gesture for you to open it and get your stuff.

Hesitantly, You walked over and kneeled down in front of the ender chest. Looking to Tubbo and the others for confirmation, you slowly opened it once they nodded.

Carefully, you began pulling out your armour but paused seeing the lack of golden apples and totems.

Right... Before you had gotten kidnapped by the group, you had used a totem when you fell into the L'Manhole where L'Manberg once was.

That what caused them to kidnap you...

"I-I used... My totem... And Fundy stole my Rapple..." You murmured hesitantly, feeling ready to cry.

Your only chance to escape and you couldn't grab it...

"Hey! Hey! Don't cry! Here!" Ranboo eagerly held the two golden items out towards you at the first sight of tears gathering under your eyes.

"What...?"

"(Y/n)! We want you to be happy! If being outside, even with god armour, rapples and totems, makes you happy, then damn well we're bringing you outside!" Tommy grinned.

After a few tears and lots of hugs, Tubbo helped you hop into your armour while Ranboo unlocked the chain cuff from around your ankle. Tommy had left, leaving the door open for once, going to scout the area for any dangerous mobs.

"Ready?" Ranboo smiled, linking one of his arms with yours, the one that you held the totem in to be more specific. Tubbo happily linked his arm with the other one.

You could only nod, your voice caught in your throat as they began to walk you out the door, Ranboo had to duck down a lot, before leading you to the quartz stairway.

Once up the stairs, Tubbo pressed in a code to the iron door and it slid open quickly, causing you to flinch and pinch your eyes shut at the bright painful light of the sun.

It took about twenty minutes of trying to adjust to the sunlight with the two males encouraging you before you were able to look around.

It was everything you had missed...

The sunlight...

The trees...

God, it was perfect...

Tommy eventually came out of the tree line and sat down beside you as you took it all in...

Months, you were down there. And sure, they gave you plenty of decorations to prevent you from experiencing sensory deprivation, nothing could ever compare to the beauty of the outside world.

A voice cut through the air -calling for someone or something named Fran?- and you almost didn't recognize it. But then the owner came out of the trees, almost a similar direction that Tommy came from earlier.

Sam? He looked so... Different now...

The creeper hybrid slowly lowered his gas mask to show his mouth dropped in shock, "(Y/n)...? You're alive...?"

Tommy, Tubbo and Ranboo were freaking out, trying to bring you back into the bunker, as they called it, but you weren't budging. You hadn't seen another being in ages... And while you did platonically love the three boys, you enjoyed hearing a new voice.

"You... Remember me? But... Tubbo you said-" You frowned at the goat hybrid as they stopped suddenly, realizing that you weren't moving.

"You three... Kept them locked away... For almost an entire year?" Sam's voice was getting a little bit scary now, but it wasn't directed at you, instead, at your best friends...

"Sam! It was to protect them! Please!" Ranboo tried, but he wasn't making it better.

"You made Quackity believe they ran away... Made Philza wake up every morning and walk through the SMP for any signs of them... Gave Puffy false information on where you have last seen them... lied to everyone... Only to be the reason that they were gone." Sam growled out, gripping his trident, "Then you proceeded to make them think we all forgot about them..."

"S-Sam... You've got this all wrong big man..." Tubbo tried next...

The warden wasn't listening as he pointed his trident at them, his communicator in his other hand next to his mouth, then he started speaking, causing his voice to come out of Ranboo's, Tubbo's and Tommy's pockets. He was speaking on the public channel.

"Tommy Innit, Tubbo Underscore, Ranboo Beloved... You are being placed in the prison, Pandora's Vault, for keeping (Y/n) (L/n) imprisoned in a bunker and lying about their whereabouts."

It felt like someone splashed you with cold water...

#tommyinnit x reader #dream smp x reader #yandere tommyinnit #yandere tommyinnit x reader #yandere tubbo x reader #yandere tubbo #dsmp #tommyinnit dreamsmp #tubbo dreamsmp #ranboo dream smp #tommyinnit dream smp #tubbo dream smp #c!tommyinnit #c!tommy #c!tubbo #yandere ranboo x reader #yandere ranboo #c!ranboo

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wangxianficrecs · 3 years

Photo

Follower Recs

Stories I haven’t read yet, but clearly need to put on my ever-expanding List.

~*~

Welcome back queen [Thank you, it’s so lovely to be back!] if ur still doing follower recs I gotta recommend I would wait for a thousand years by bleuett it’s soooooooo good

[This one was actually recced to me by two different people, the other of whom said, “ Maybe I'm crying a little so I feel like a should recommend ‘I would wait for a thousand years’ by bleuett on ao3.”]... it’s def. on my List!

I would wait for a thousand years

by bleuett (T, 10k, wangxian)

Summary: During the worst of winter, a traveler comes to stay at Lan Wangji's inn. He wears a red ribbon in his hair.

“Do you see the rabbit?” Wei Ying asks and points at the moon. “That’s the moon rabbit, he helps make Chang’e more immortality elixir. He keeps Chang’e company.”

“I do not wish the rabbit for company,” Lan Wangji says tightly. “You are the one I want by my side.”

“And I’m here, Lan Zhan. If you go to the moon, I’ll follow you, I’ll always be here now.”

~*~

I just read a great fic by aisthuu "every love story is a ghost story", didn't see it in your recs so wanted to recommend it! LWJ is a guqin composer and teacher, buys a cheap guqin off eBay which ends up being attached to WWX's spirit from canon era. It's bittersweet, LWJ deals with Lan's homophobia (implicit in a Lan way) and his feelings towards the ghost. This is author's only ao3 fic and honestly I don't remember how I stumbled upon it, but I'm happy I did and hope you will enjoy it too! [I’ve recently read this one, and loved it!]

every love story is a ghost story

by aisthuu (M, 59k, wangxian, my bookmark)

Summary: The man is in Lan Zhan’s bed. Did they—he begins to wonder, eyes trailing to where the man’s body lies under the blanket. Had Lan Zhan—?

Then the sleep-fog clears and Lan Zhan realizes that the young man isn’t quite opaque around the edges.

“You’re a spirit.”

The spirit narrows its eyes. “I’m so much more than that.”

(Lan Zhan buys a guqin off eBay for a suspiciously low price, only to find that it’s haunted. And now there’s a ghost in his bed.)

~*~

Ok so I absolutely have to rec "see you yesterday" by glyphic. It's a wip, but it's currently at 101k so there's a whole lot there, and it's terrible and wonderful and beautiful all at once. The way the backstory of canon events is adapted to the modern-with-cultivation setting is brilliant, and then there's the amnesia, and then there's the time loop. This fic lives permanently rent-free in my brain.

see you yesterday

by glyphic (M, 101k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary:

Wei Ying 21:09 hey lan zhan what’s the weirdest way youve died

Lan Zhan 21:11 Falling encyclopedias.

Wei Ying 21:12 omg no way that’s so rude turning books against you???

Lan Zhan 21:13 A betrayal I will never forget.

On Halloween night, an exiled demonic cultivator and a Lan disciple get stuck in a time-loop, find each other, and try to figure it all out.

~*~

If you are looking for recs for yourself I absolutely love (the complete!) story Just as the Snow Melts by draechali on AO3. It's a canon divergence where everyone lives, even WWX! ~ @airmidcelt

Just as the Snow Melts

by draechaeli (T, 67k, wangxian)

Summary: Like a snowy mountain top in spring the residents of the Burial Mounds trickled down the mountain and joined the flow of society.

“I went to the Burial Mounds,” Lan WangJi said.

“Ah, yeah… I’m sorry Lan Zhan,” replied Wei WuXian, “I hadn’t thought anyone would come to visit. I am still not sure how it happened; I brought A-Yuan to Yiling to play by the river and then ended up somehow teaching a bunch of children swimming and writing along with him.”

~*~

Hello! It's come to my attention that you have not as yet read Grandmaster of Meme-onic Cultivation! Please do! It's the only thing that gave me joy during 2020 😆 like proper belly laughs and disney villain style cackling. It is a wip, and it is long but so so worth it!! The author has reworked the entire canon through these message crystals and still conveys complex characters despite the tricky format. It's just so good!! Highly highly recommend it! ❤ ~ @theladypeartree [Oh! I’ve been subscribed to this one, and know that @swaglexander-the-great is a reliable provider of Hilarity, so I’m excited for it to be finished!]

Grandmaster of Meme-onic Cultivation

by Hades_the_Blingking (T, 49k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary: The Untamed universe is exactly the same, except everybody has magical crystals that have a suspiciously familiar messaging system. The story is pretty much the same as the show, except everyone lives!! (so minor changes).

or in which Wei WuXian tries his darndest to date Lan Zhan, Jiang Cheng possibly has a aneurysm, Jin ZiXuan is still the most awkward human alive, and Xue Yang makes me write some VERY cursed things. Written in chatfic format! :3

~*~

Chomrafy on AO3 deserves love and encouragement; she’s written a body of compact, poetic, and eloquent shortfics each of which can stand alone, but that comprise an intricately cross-referential and mostly internally-consistent universe. They’re grouped as chapters in works according to theme; for example, “in cupped hands” focuses upon Jin Ling and his second-generation baggage; “Departure in Autumn” portrays the last years of WWX’s first life. Follow the tag “Chomrafy’s MDZS shortfics.” [I don’t see this tag?]

in cupped hands

by chomrafy (G, 2k, wangxian)

Summary: Of secrets, of futures, of love. A Jin Ling-centric collection of 200-word fics.

Ch.1: Jin Ling repays a debt (JL, JC, & WWX). Ch.2: Jin Ling and a ghost in the mirror. (JL & JYL) Ch.3: A matter of friends (JL & the other kids) Ch.4: In this house we don't keep dogs (JC & WWX) Ch.5: In the end, he remains silent (JL & uncles) Ch.6: A first night hunt, of sorts (JL & the other kids) Ch.7: Jin Ling, forgiving, forgetting (JL & LXC & JGY) Ch.8: Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling argue (JL, JC, & WWX) Ch.9: Jin Ling and his father (JL & JC) Ch.10: Jin Ling speaks up (JL, JC, & WWX) Ch.11: Jin Ling and a piece of home (JL, JC, & WWX)

Departure in Autumn

by chomrafy (not rated, 6k)

Summary: Four perspectives. A steady march to the end.

Ch.1: Because if anything happens to them, Wen Qing would never be able to heal with these hands again. Ch.2: As long as this is still home, Jiang Yanli will wait as long as she needs to. Ch.3: Five times Jiang Cheng reaches for Wei Wuxian, one time he turns away. Ch.4: Whether the road is broad or narrow, bright or dark, they would have to keep walking. Wei Wuxian digs Wen Qing's grave.

~*~

Hello, hope all is going well. I don't have an ask, by I do have a recommendation. I read this fic a while ago and found it again. I just wanted to recommend this for everyone. Let me know what you think please. Thank you. [Oh! This one’s in my To Read list, but I’d forgotten about it. Mmmm, fox!wwx and dragon!lwj.]

Ten miles of Lotus Flowers

by Yukirin_Snow

M, 274k, wangxian

Summary: He was a mischievous fox spirit, wreaking havoc where he went, about to depart on a journey that would span centuries.

He was a heavenly prince, a proud dragon destined to ascend the throne to become emperor.

Neither expected their paths to collide over the span of three lives.

~*~

I forgot if it was your blog 😥 that recommended “Bestseller” (when Wei Wuxian writes the Xianxia cut-sleeve equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, based entirely on his experiences with Lan Wangji, he doesn’t expect it to become the next big hit) (https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528316/chapters/51318766)

But OMG IT WAS HILARIOUS!!! I LOVED IT!! And if it wasn’t your blog, I’m so sorry for how weird this sounds 😭😭😭😭 I just loved this fic so much that I have to tell it to someone 😢 [It’s on my List, but I haven’t read it yet!]

Bestseller

by pupeez4eva

M, 8k, wangxian

Summary: He had written the book to prove a point. It was never supposed to be a big thing, and he certainly never intended for everyone — Jiang Cheng, Zewu-Jun, the Juniors, literally everyone— to be reading about his sex life.

Oh God, he definitely needed to make sure Lan Zhan didn’t find out about this.

(Or, when Wei Wuxian writes the Xianxia cut-sleeve equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, based entirely on his experiences with Lan Wangji, he doesn’t expect it to become the next big hit).

~*~

I’d like to rec On Your Marks, Get Set, Bake! by @blackwiresgrowonherhead

It’s one of my absolute favorites and I laughed out loud so many times when reading it

on your marks, get set, bake!

by BlackWiresOnHerHead

G, 41k, wei wuxian & juniors

Summary: Jin Ling resumes thumping on the door to room 721, and the small collection of freshmen starts chanting “Senior Wei! Senior Wei! Senior Wei!” with increasing volume until finally Wei Wuxian opens the door.

“Yes?” he says with his widest, most innocent eyes.

“Senior Wei!” demands Lan Jingyi, shoving himself to the front of the group. “Why didn’t you tell us you’re a contestant on this year’s season of The Great Gusu Bake Off?!?”

Several months ago, college student Wei Wuxian secretly competed in the most popular reality show in the country. The show starts airing in the fall. The freshmen in his dorm collectively lose their minds.

~*~

If you're in the mood for v. short ridiculous fun fic, may I suggest My chain hits my chest/When I'm bangin' on the radio by x_los It's 2k modern cultivators AU, featuring WWX calling LWJ's sword Bitchin' [omg I’m laughing so hard] and I think it's more fun going in blind?

My chain hits my chest/When I'm bangin' on the radio

by x_los

T, 2k, wangxian

Summary: Lan Wangji finds he doesn't even need to call for help for Wei Wuxian to come running.

#follower rec #wangxian fic rec #I HAVEN'T READ THESE YET #wangxian #mdzs

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misqato · 4 years

Text

𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙠𝙚𝙞 || 𝙩𝙨𝙪𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙞 𝙭 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Summary: You and Tsukki are in a long distance relationship and today is Tsukki’s birthday. Days ago, both of you had planned to spend the day through a video call, but Tsukki gets upset and disappointed when you haven’t sent him a single message throughout the day. Will things get better sooner or later?

Genre: slight angst(?), fluff

Tags: slight angst, fluff, long-distance relationships, sad/lonely tsukki :(, college!tsukki and reader, angst at the start but the ending is okay, i don’t know what to put anymore so yeah that’s it :D

Word Count: 1.7K words

A/N: Hi! I’m sorry if it’s been a while since I’ve released a fic. School is really stressing me out and I can’t find the time to write anymore. I hope you guys enjoy this fic I wrote for Tsukki’s birthday. It’s kind of bad since it’s rushed but I tried my best. Also, I’m currently working on something big so stay tuned! And of course, I have to greet an advanced (i’m posting this the day before his birthday hehe) happy birthday to my love, Tsukishima Kei <3. Again, I hope you guys enjoy this fic! ‘Til next time, Claire <33

Beep, beep, beep, beep

The blaring of the alarm woke Tsukishima to a jolt. He turned off the alarm and rubbed his eyes. The sun was already shining through the blinds of his bedroom. He checked the time and date on his phone.

September 27, 9:00am. It was his birthday today.

He sighed, staring at his lockscreen wallpaper. It was a picture of him and you standing outside the Sendai City Gymnasium after one of his games. His arm was wrapped around your waist as you hugged him tightly against you while wearing a big smile.

He sighed, missing the feeling of your warm embrace. He really wanted to spend the day with you today, but as much as he wished for you to come over and be with him, you couldn’t.

A few months ago, you needed to travel long distance for your studies since you got a scholarship at your dream university. Kei was very happy for you, he really was, but at the same time, he didn’t want you to leave.

You both knew that this long distance relationship was going to be hard for the both of you. You thought of staying, of course, because you didn’t want to leave Kei behind as well, but he insisted that you follow your dreams and take this once in a lifetime opportunity. He cared about your career of course, and he didn’t want to get in the way of that. So you guys settled that you push through with the scholarship, and as for your relationship, you guys planned to call at least once a day, just to check on each other. Surprisingly, things are going well for the both of you. Even though your schedule was quite hectic, you still managed to find time to call or text.

He really missed you. He didn’t want to spend his birthday (and any other birthdays) without you, but he just had to deal with it.

You both had agreed that the plan for today was for the two of you to have a video call for the whole day since you wouldn’t be able to come over. He checked to see if you’ve sent him any messages today, but there was none. Oh well, she must be busy, he thought, setting his phone down to brush his teeth and prepare breakfast.

The birthday calls and greetings came in at around 9:40. While waiting for your text, he ate breakfast while answering all the birthday greetings that came in. An hour has passed, and yet no text.

A while later, his family called to greet him a happy birthday because they couldn’t come over since they were out visiting his grandparents’ place which was out of town. After which he checked to see if you’ve finally sent him a message.

Still no message.

Kei wondered why you haven’t messaged him yet. Both of you would usually have a short chat at this time before his training. He considered messaging first, but he decided to wait a little longer, but the longer he waited, the more impatient he gets.

It was starting to get lonely for Kei. He turned down all the offers of his friends who wanted to celebrate with him because he only wanted to spend the day with you, even if only in a video call.

It was already 5:30pm, and still no message.

Kei spent majority of his day sitting around and watching his favorite movies just so he could entertain himself somehow. He kept checking his phone to see if you’ve texted him, and every time he sees that you haven’t, his heart sinks a little. What if she forgot it was my birthday?, he thought. It was a possibility, but with all the birthday posts from his friends, you’d at least be able to see them somehow and remember it was his birthday, right? He felt disappointed and upset. The only reason why he liked birthdays was because he got to spend them with you, and right now, he hates that you couldn’t be around to spend it with him.

When the sun started to set a little, he decided to buy himself dinner. The walk to the restaurant was quite cold. He noticed that a lot of people seem to have birthdays during September. A lot of people were out celebrating with their families and loved ones, and seeing them, Kei honestly felt so lonely.

He really missed you. All he wanted to do was to see your face and hear your voice. He just wanted to talk to you for hours and hours because he missed being close to you but you couldn’t be there since you’re so far away.

As he took the takeout bag from the counter, he walked out of the store to head home and eat his dinner there. He didn’t want to eat at the restaurant because of the many loud people celebrating their birthdays there as well, and he didn’t want to feel any more lonely than he already is. And besides, you might call all of a sudden, and it’d be a really bad timing ‘cause the place was very loud and you’d hardly get to hear each other.

When he reached his doorstep, he noticed the door was unlocked as he was about to insert the key into the keyhole. Was there an intruder?, he thought. He grabbed his phone to be ready to call the cops and started to slowly walk inside. As he stepped in, he noticed a familiar pair of shoes set down in the shoe rack. Y/N? could she be here?, he asked himself with confusion. You couldn’t possibly be here right now, you were so far away and it took hours to get back to this town. Besides, you had school the following day.

Just as he was about to call out your name, there you were, walking out of the kitchen and now standing right in front of him. “Kei!”, you beamed at him, running towards him to pull him into your embrace. He couldn’t believe his eyes. You were here, right in front of him when he’d least expected you to.

“Y/N? Is that really you?”

“Of course, you dummy! I wouldn’t be missing your birthday now, wouldn’t I?”, you said as your ruffled his hair. “Oh, yes I almost forgot! The gifts are in the kitchen. Let me get them.”, you said, letting go of the hug and running back to the kitchen. He quickly removed his coat and followed suit. He’d never felt so happy and overwhelmed until now.

He set his takeout by the counter and had seen that you’ve brought two large brown paper bags with you today. “Alrighty, so here’s the cake. I stopped over by the cake shop to see if there were any left. Luckily, this was the last piece.” you took out a large strawberry shortcake out of one of the paper bags. It was his favorite cake, and he couldn’t help but smile at the thought that you remembered.

Next, you brought out a dinosaur gift wrapped box out of the other paper bag and handed it to him. “Open it!”, you excitedly said.

His heart fluttered at how cute you looked. He took the gift from your hands and carefully unwrapped them, and when he saw what it was, his jaw nearly dropped. It was the set of new headphones he’d been wanting to get for months. They were very pricey and he’s surprised that you’ve bought them for him.

“Y/N you didn’t really have to buy this. This is very expensive and I wouldn’t want you to waste your money for me-”

“Tsukki, it’s alright. I wanted to get this for you because I know you really wanted them. It’s not a waste of money for me because I know you’ll love it. I haven’t made enough efforts in our relationship and this is my way of making it up to you. And of course, I wanted to make you happy ‘cause it’s your birthday!”, you cut him off. “Well, unless you didn’t like the gift-”

“No! I really love it Y/N. Thank you. You work so hard in your studies and you even manage to find so much time for us. Don’t think that you’re not making enough efforts for us because for all I know, you’re the one who contributes the most to keeping this relationship alive and I know I should be putting more effort in it too, but I’m just so so grateful to have you. I’m not really good with words, but know that I love you so much.”, he says, kissing your forehead.

“Wow Tsukki, never knew you were this sappy.”, you shove him playfully.

“Tch. Shut up, idiot.”

“Your idiot.”

“Whatever.”

You both laugh until moving on to take out the rest of the items. “I also bought some ramen for the both of us, I hope it’s enough, though.”, you said as you brought out two ramen takeouts. “It’s fine, I actually bought some dinner since I thought you wouldn’t be coming over. Also, you should’ve texted me that you were coming over. I would’ve bought some more food then.”, Kei replied.

“Well, I wanted it to be a surprise, of course.”, you said, pulling him into another hug. “Yeah but, I just sort of got worried and sad because you didn’t even send me a good morning text or even any text at all.”, he said. You could hear a slight frustration in his voice. You realized that he must’ve felt lonely earlier today, and then a pang of guilt washed over you. Gosh, how stupid am I to not even send him a good morning text?, you thought to yourself. You hugged him tighter.

“I’m so sorry, Kei. I’m so stupid for not even remembering to at least check on you today. I was so busy trying to prepare for today that I even forgot about messaging you. I’m really sorry, Kei.”

“Ssshhh,” he hushed. “It’s okay, what matters is that you’re here with me now. You’re the biggest blessing I’ve ever had. I love you so much.”

“I love you too. Happy birthday, Kei.”

322 notes · View notes

secret-rendezvous1d · 3 years

Text

“don’t leave me”

hello, hi!

i definitely don’t think this is a one-off thing anymore and this blog may be on the way to merging into a harry styles + matthew gray gubler blog so i’d like to think that that is a new exciting venture people will . i’m really enjoying writing about a new scene, a new character and a new life to plan out and write about. the stories don’t essentially follow each other so they can be read anyhow and in any way but i’d like to think they all follow the same storyline/timeline so they link in that way.

like, reblog and give me some feedback. it’s greatly appreciated and it helps me work out what you want to see and what you are after.

thank you. enjoy.

“don’t leave me” spencer reid x female reader (reader insert imagine) word count; 2.1k.

* if you haven’t watched criminal minds then this does contain some spoilers to the show that you may want to dodge if you are thinking of starting the series up. *

summary; spencer struggles to come to terms with emily’s return and the betrayal of his friends.

“Spencer, look, we’ve got to talk about this.”

YN came to a stop with what she was doing when she saw her boyfriend and JJ starting a conversation in the station’s negotiation room, setting down the files she was sifting through so she could pay a little more attention to the conversation happening just a few feet away from the desk she was seated at, eyes still focused on the page with the bold name of a potential unsub printed at the top, accompanied by a picture of what they looked like. She tried to, at least, make herself seem busy without showing herself being nosey over a conversation that didn’t necessarily include her.

“What do you mean, talk about it?” Spencer questioned, looking at her in disbelief, “talk about what?”

YN hated how passive-aggressive he’d been, over the last two days, towards the two women who used to be considered a few of the only women close to him. He was never like that and, given what had happened, she understood his pain and his upset… she just hated how he wanted to push it, and them, away so he could carry on like an unexpected change hadn’t just sprung into his life.

“I get it, okay? You’re disappointed with the way we handled Emily,” JJ stated, hands on her hips as she stood around the opposite side of the table, watching intently at Spencer as he stood looking at the paper in his hands, eyes darting from the print to his scrawny handwriting on the board beside him, “I get that.”

The tension amongst the team was unbearable, to say the least.

As soon as Emily had entered the roundtable room a week prior to their case in Oklahoma, much to the surprise of everyone occupying the room who had stood waiting for the next plan of action to take down Ian Doyle and find his son, there was a sudden wave of uncertainty that seemed swallow the team whole and didn’t have plans on spitting them back out again anytime soon. No one could pick apart the emotions on one person’s face and state clearly how they were feeling. Confusion, shock, anger, happiness, joy, surprise… there were flecks of each emotion but never one clear facial expression that gave away how someone was truly feeling.

Now they were deep in Oklahoma, on a case and trying to find an unsub who had come to light in the recent murders of two young women prior to their touchdown, with Emily back in her regular place and trying her best to get back to normal as a BAU agent for the FBI. No longer under protection of the higher authority, no longer hiding behind an alias that took her identity away and stripped her of who she once was and she was finally able to go back to the Emily Prentiss whom she had been loved by many before life did a one-eighty flip. Almost as if nothing had changed, like the seven months she spent in witness protection hadn’t ever happened, like her death and her funeral and her burial were a fever dream that seemed to never leave the rest of them alone.

For most of the unit, having her back was something so wonderful and so great, to see her jumping back into a case with a mindset ready for justice and helping out with the mind she was graced with having, to have the same pair of eyes that were used to seeing case after case of young victims and unstable unsubs be considered a fresh pair of eyes now she was back. To work a case with someone you were comfortable with, that was what the most of them loved; the witty banter shared, the anger that bounced off from each sentence, the kind and caring charisma to get the best result of a case.

But for some, it was difficult to adjust to something they had only just overcome.The grief they felt towards the situation of losing a beloved member of the unit, someone so loving and kind, a huge part of their team, it was unbearable and tore them down soon after they presumed they laid her to rest. Going back, visiting her burial site, resting flowers and almost keeping her updated with how everyone had been. They refused to believe she was gone yet denied her when she was found out to be healthy and alive and ready to start back where she left off.

“Well, I have a lot going on, alright?”

A lie, to say the least, but she wasn’t to know that.

“You know what I think it is?”

That caught his attention. And YN’s.

The one question that many profilers, specifically Spencer, hated to be personally asked was that question. They didn’t need to know what others thought when they could have the same thought pattern as each other, they didn’t need someone else telling them what they think they should be thinking and Spencer didn’t need a pity chat from someone who wronged him to find out what he was thinking.

Deep down, YN knew what the problem was and she was handling the situation as best as she could when she was alone with him in their hotel room, but she didn’t think it was as clear cut as people assumed. So how had JJ worked it out? If she was correct in what she thought was wrong with him, that is. He was hurt and he was upset and he was confused; he showed his grief towards missing a friend and he showed how much they meant to him by showing so much emotion yet he just couldn’t come to terms with how none of that was needed anymore. How he didn’t need to build his walls any higher because there wasn’t going to be any more heartache to deal with..

“What?”

“You’re mad that Hotch and I controlled our micro-expressions at the hospital and you weren’t able to detect our deception,” JJ suggested, a little more vigour in her voice as she spoke to him, frustration dripping from her words because she was desperate to get through to him. Absolutely desperate to find some way to resolve an issue that others had forgiven almost instantly, “you’re mad because you couldn’t catch us out on our lies.”

“You think this is about my profiling skills?” He scoffed and shook his head, looking back to the paper in his hands, ”Jennifer, listen, the only reason you were able to manage my perceptions was because I trusted you. I came to your house for ten weeks in a row, crying over losing a friend, and not once did you have the decency to tell me the truth,” he continued, disappointment laced through his words. And he so badly wanted to look up and catch the eyes of his girlfriend, the only one he felt truly supported him and his decision to act out, but he knew he needed to fight a battle of his own. Especially one that he caused but especially one that he was actively dragging out.

“I couldn’t.”

“You couldn’t? Or you wouldn’t?”

It was the first time they made eye contact through the debacle. And, in that moment, JJ could see the pain behind his eyes. The deceit he felt. The grief that was nonsense because they were grieving over no one. The time wasted crying. The time wasted over nothing but false information and lies. She could see he looked vulnerable and naive and she felt guilty for even bringing her back to help on the mission they so direly needed her help with.

“No, I couldn’t.”

“What if I started taking Dilaudid again? Would you have let me?” YN’s eyes shot up at the question he bit towards his colleague; he never considered that, she was sure of it. YN would have known if he did. That time of his life was something she wished he would let go of, something she wished he forgot about so he could carry on with his life, something she wished he never considered again, “I thought about it.”

YN couldn’t only feel her heart ache but she could feel the eyes of Hotch and Morgan resting upon her figure as she tried to occupy herself.

“You didn’t-”

“I did,” he hissed, placing the paper down on the desk below him and striding towards the doors, passed JJ as she pressed an apology upon him, hoping to get him to stay behind so she could hash it out until he fully understood their reasoning why they chose the plan that they did, “I did.”

“Spencer, I’m sorry-”

“It’s too late, alright?” He mumbled.

His legs took him out of the room and down from the floor they were situated on, ignoring the calls from Hotch as he stood with his arms folded in the corner of the room, everyone watching him as he left to go outside so he could catch a breath of fresh air and clear his mind of all the things rattling around inside his head. An alarming look from Morgan and a squeeze to her shoulder had YN up from her seat, case files left behind as she followed her boyfriend out of the station’s vicinity, catching him on a bench just a short walk away from the entrance of the building.

“If you’re coming here to tell me I need to focus on work rather than what’s happening then don’t, Morgan. I’m not-”

“What on earth gives you the impression I’m the big dude with muscles and a charming voice?” YN teased, his upper body twisting so he could catch the sweet stature of his smiling girlfriend, the slightest hint of a smile twitching his lips before he turned back to face forward. Hands clasped together and resting on his legs, thumbs tapping and rubbing at his skin in circles, feeling the presence of his girlfriend behind him, “mind telling me what that was all about?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” He slipped to the other side of the bench so there was enough room for YN to sit down beside him, her hand reaching over to lace her fingers through his, squeezing his hand tightly as their conjoined palms rested upon his thigh, “I’m hurt and I’m angry, YN. I’m so angry. You saw how much I cried, how much I struggled, how much everyone had to adjust to life without Emily when she ‘died’. Yet they knew, they knew she was alive and they knew she was healthy and okay. They didn’t tell us and that’s- it’s sick,” he grappled, his voice full of passion; there was no way he was angry with them anymore and there was no way he would continue the trait up until someone said something to bring him back down to earth. He was glad she was home - he told her so many times in the last few days about just how great it was to have her home - but he never failed to drift back to the subject of how they dealt with the situation.

“They did it for her protection, Spence. They saved her and, essentially, saved us for truly having to say goodbye to her,” YN admitted, bringing their hands to her mouth so she could press a tacky kiss to the back of his hand, leaving a pink lipstick stain behind in her wake, “she’s safe now because of what they did. Doyle, he’s dead. Anyone who was after, they’re dead. She’s safer now than she was ever.”

“But they watched us grieve at a funeral. We buried something in that ground and were made to believe it was her,” Spencer sighed shakily, “they cried for her, too. They grieved. They said nothing was the same anymore. When they knew the truth all along. I cried with JJ, she helped me when you were working, she was denying it all but, in her head, she knew everything was a lie.”

“Emily left for a reason. To save everyone. She’s back now and you’ve got to remember how everything was before she left us,” YN’s hand gave his a gentle squeeze before she let go, bringing her hands to her lap and waiting for him to look up from the ground so she could see his eyes and so she could see his bright smile, “Spence, she’s not going anywhere.”

He nodded slowly and hesitantly lifted his head, his eyes a little raw around the rims and his lip a little chewed at, but the light in his face was still there. His body scooting closer to YN, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side for a little bit of romance before they were caught and checked on by another agent.

“You won’t leave me like that, will you?” He wondered, “don’t, okay? Don’t leave me.”

“If I’m going anywhere, you’re coming with me, mister,” YN grinned, leaning up to press a kiss to his pink lips, “we do it together or we don’t do it at all.”

#spencer reid #spencer reid imagines #spencer reid x yn imagines #spencer reid x reader insert imagines #spencer reid x reader insert fic #matthew gray gubler #matthew gray gubler imagines #matthew gray gubler x yn imagines #matthew gray gubler x reader insert imagines #matthew gray gubler x reader insert fic #criminal minds imagines

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fivehargreevesforthewin · 4 years

Text

Falling Walls

Pairing: Five Hargreeves x Reader

Total Word Count: 1,292

Warnings: Swearing, probably a bit OOC, fluff, minor angst, tua spoilers (probably season 1 and 2)

A/N: We’re back at it again! If you saw some of my posts before, I was posting little snippets of a writing piece. This is it!

~~~

Five Hargreeves had never been one to have an open heart. He kept it locked, secured behind miles and miles of walls. Sterling silver, the best the Umbrella Academy could get, locked each layer, securing the feelings he had long repressed away. Walls he had built for a reason, making sure no one from the Commission could ever get to him and break him. It was a way of keeping himself safe, making sure that after forty-five years alone, no one would break him like the loss of his family did. Then, he met you.

You, like him, could weave your way through time without a briefcase. Instead of being able to spacial jump though, you glitched in and out of time and places with precision. With Five, you joined the Commission, easily adapting to the circumstances and becoming top of the field with him. And Five, well he never forgot that.

When he looked at you, he felt some of his ever so guarded heart open to you without you even doing anything. Your smile, one that was almost always adorning your face, would almost bring him to his knees. Your laugh, which normally was caused by him (something he took major pride in) would make his heart beat faster, face flaring up with heat as a blush adorned his normally stoic face.

You, you couldn’t even say you didn’t fall for the ocean eyed boy. He was something you secretly enjoyed. A secret that no one but you could ever know. Five Hargreeves set your heart on fire, every part of him entrancing you. His skill was unmatched, even you knew that and you admired it to where his being was almost all you knew. His sarcasm was something you learned to love, eventually biting him back with your own remarks. You two were flawless together, and unfortunately, The Handler knew it too.

She made it her personal mission to keep you two separated, no matter how well you two worked together. What she wanted was not for Five to get involved with you, a girl who didn’t have a leading role in the story. So, she did what every antagonist does, and disposed of the side character who supposedly had nothing to do with the story.

News quickly spread of your disappearance in the Commission, The Handler giving a false speak of care and adoration for you. Five, in all his boarded up, stone heart glory, once again shut the rest of the world out of his life. Easily becoming the stone-cold assassin he was before you glitched your way into his arms during a mission.

Without you, he felt hollow. No- he didn’t feel anything. He was empty. Alone. Five retreated back to how he was when he started that forty-five-year hell with nothing but a mannequin to keep him company. For once in his life, he had found someone who he could tolerate, who could match him and gave him everything he wanted and now they were gone. You were gone. And Five had no idea that it was his own boss who had taken you away from him.

Eight months later

It had been eight months without you. Eight painful, dull, and dreadfully bland months of his life. Currently, he was in Dallas, Texas, 1963. His assignment was to kill President JFK but that wasn’t his plan in actuality. Since you weren’t there, since he had no real reason to care about staying he planned to go back to 2019 and help his siblings stop the apocalypse. Five’s biggest regret was that he didn’t have you with him.

So, when the moment came, Five opened what would take him home. His ocean blue eyes, ones that had been cold and uncaring since you left, scanned over his siblings. Number Four, commonly known as Klaus came out of the house and chucked a fire extinguisher at Five, him narrowly dodging the object.

He let out a sigh and looked around one last time, his heart heavy with mourning over someone he didn’t even know was dead or not. Nevertheless, Five looked at the portal and threw himself in, missing the familiar purple, blue, and red boxes that were signs of you.

You had narrowly escaped The Handler, glitching your way out before she could stop you. You stabilized, landing with shaky legs and tattered clothing only to be sucked into a blue light.

Both you and Five landed with a grunt on the ground, yours being more of a groan due to your condition. “Fuck.” You seethed, hand clutching your still bleeding abdomen in pain.

Klaus, Luther, Allison, and Diego all looked down at you in question, not even registering their lost brother in his thirteen-year-old body again. Five though, he noticed you right away.

Ocean blue eyes raked your blood worn form and launched himself over. With unsteady hands, ones he never had before you, turned you over into his arms. His eyes were met with your dazzling eyes and sun-rivaling smile. “Hi Five. Long time no see hm?” You joked, hands, and body covered in your own blood.

“(Y/n),” Five mumbled, “you- you’re- holy shit you’re bleeding.” A scowl plastered itself on his face but buried underneath all of his hidden emotions was concern for you. “Who the fuck did this to you?”

You rolled your eyes, sitting up against Five’s wishes. “It was The Handler.” You said lamely, using Five to stand up on shaky legs, inspecting your thirteen-year-old body. “Why do I look thirteen again?”

“That doesn’t matter now! You’re bleeding and I haven’t seen you for eight months. You’re coming with me.” Five commands, grabbing your arm and spacial jumping inside the house, ignoring his siblings easily.

You were forced to sit down on what you assumed was Fives bed. He scrambled around, instructing you to do things as he cleaned your wounds. After a few minutes, he finished and stood in front of you, caribbean eyes staring down at you. If you looked closely, you could see the concern dancing across his eyes.

A heartwarming smile graced your face as you grabbed his hands lightly and cautiously. “Can I hold your hands Five?” You asked, knowing how bad he was with physical touch and affection in general.

“Yes.” He answered breathlessly, carefully pulling you up into a hug, holding you tight but making sure to avoid what he bandaged. “I fucking missed you.” He mumbled quietly like it was a secret that only you were ever allowed to know.

You buried your head in the crevice of Fives neck, nuzzling into it gently. “I missed you too Five.” You mumbled, feeling tears pool in your eyes. “I thought of you every day. You’re the only reason I’m still alive.” You admitted, him rubbing your back soothingly as you sobbed.

“I’m so glad you’re still here. I couldn’t live without you and your stupid smiles and jokes.”

“You love my jokes, admit it.”

“Never.” He mumbled, kissing your head gently. “Let's lay down okay? We both need rest.”

You nodded numbly, Five picking you up and setting you in his bed. “I’m gonna be here for you. I’m never going to let you go again.” He whispered as you drifted off into his arms. Once again, you felt safe, content. It was always Five that made you feel like that, no one else ever could.

Five felt those walls, those same walls you brought down once fall again. This time crumbling to the ground ungracefully. Every part of him wanted you with him. In his arms, safe. Curellian eyes that had been watching you for minutes as Five lost himself in his thoughts slowly fluttered shut, him falling asleep next to you.

#five hargreeves #five hargreeves x reader #five hargreeves x you #five hargreeves writing #five x reader #tua five #tua #tua writing #tua fanfic #tua writers #the umbrella academy #umbrella acedmy #umbrella academy x you #umbrella academy x reader

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obsidianfr3sk · 3 years

Text

now

Summary: “Now— do you like it?” Simon asked (still making jazz hands).

Oh, no, he liked it. But Simon had made a tiny mistake. And it wasn’t like he wasn’t allowed to make mistakes. It was just that… if he had a coin for every time Simon had made that exact mistake, he would have two coins. Which wasn’t a lot of coins; but it was funny it happened twice.

And there it was. Again. The infamous latticework pie.

AO3

Hello, friends! Obsi here. I want to start this author note by saying this fic is a birthday gift for Rita (@the-wee-woo-rita), a fandom friend of mine that I hold dear to my heart since the day they started to constantly appear in my notes and hasn't stopped since <3 Forgive me if I spent the rest of my time covering the birthday kid with invisible virtual kisses:)

Aaaah, Rita:') Feliz cumpleaños, amigue✨ I hope you have an amazing day and that you're reading this while your family and friends are giving you tons of presents and kind words <3 I gotta confessed that I noticed you almost since you entered the fandom bc you were always on my notes, so every time I saw your icon, I was like "Oh, Wee Woo is here <3". oH AND WHEN YOU STARTED YOUR FIC DKJFHKJFKJDF I wanted to read it since you started posting it, and when I finally could, it left me 💖💖💖. Not only because it's a super fun story, (go read it if you haven't, people) but also because I can tell you're writing from the heart and you're as invested in Hugh and Simon's relationship as I am skjdhksd one time I even cried because I felt so proud of you for writing it lol

I guess that you already know what this fic is going to be about. When you told me this is your favorite scene of these pair of idiots and knew I had to write something for you about it sdkjfhjksdf it came out really fluffy and funny, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did <3

Never stop writing. You got this✨ Enjoy your gift!!

When Hugh first started dating Simon, he didn’t know if he wanted to marry him. If someone had asked him, he wouldn’t have known how to answer, and everyone would have thought he was a dick, when in reality, he just hadn’t thought about that. He hadn’t sorted out his life yet.

Not like other people.

She had her life sorted out. At least most of it. Hugh certainly wouldn’t have been able to take care of a child when he was that age, but from the moment Adrian was born, his mom was there for him. She told him she was able to know if he was asking for food, if he needed another diaper, or if he just wanted to see her.

“But how do you know that if he cannot even talk?” he asked her.

“One just knows,” she answered. “If you ever become a dad, you’ll understand.”

And it sounded like a threat. Because at that age, Hugh also didn’t know if he wanted to have kids or not.

Simon, on the other hand, did. He was a mess in almost every single area of his life (like him), but he did know he wanted to have kids and to get married to someone. And it wasn’t like he was trying to scare Hugh the first months they started dating. Simon didn’t talk to him about his plans for the future until they had been together for more than a year. The only reason he knew about them was that he overheard a conversation Simon was having with… with Georgie, on one of the few occasions she was able to take a break from her baby.

At first, Hugh didn’t feel something particularly strong about what he heard. He actually kind of forgot about it for a couple of hours, until he went to sleep.

In his dream— or nightmare, which was a more accurate term, he was in the kitchen trying to bathe baby Kasumi in the sink, but she kept playing with the water and wetting his clothes, even when he tried to tell her to stop. Then, he heard Tamaya screeching his name and when he turned around to see what was happening, Evander (who was the only one whose age didn’t change, so he was a teenager bullying a four-year-old girl) was trying to pluck off the feathers of her wings, with all the intention of hurting her. Kasumi threw more water at him, so he grabbed her, all wet and everything, to try to follow Tamaya and Evander to the living room and stop them from fighting, but then, Georgie, who was at least 9 years old in the dream, pulled his hoodie, and told him:

“This is for you—” and pointed at a newborn baby she had just left on the floor.

Adrian.

Her newborn baby.

“No, that’s not mine, that’s yours,” he said. “That’s yours, Georgie, pick him up.”

She crossed her arms. “You pick him up.”

Then, Tamaya started screaming again, and Evander was freaking laughing, but he couldn’t leave Adrian on the floor, so he handed a crying Kasumi to Georgie, asking himself why the fuck Simon wasn’t around the house to help him with the kids.

When he bent over to pick the baby up, Simon decided it was a good time to appear, spank him and ask him: “Where are my cigarettes, goldilocks?”

And that was enough to wake him up.

It took him a couple of seconds to process what he was seeing. Georgie was sitting on the basement stairs, feeding Adrian and singing a song to him. Evander and Kasumi were sleeping under the same colorful blanket, while Tamaya was sitting on the side of the bed, gazing at her friend and moving her head side to side, as if she were singing too.

“Hey,” Georgie called him. “Are you ok, darling?”

He opened his mouth slightly and when he was about to tell her he had a nightmare, Simon turned around and grabbed him by the arm, still asleep.

It was cute enough for him to stop being mad at him for something he did in a dream. “Yes, I’m okay. Everything’s okay.”

Maybe it had something to do with age, but the thing was that Hugh didn’t dream that often anymore. One time he told Simon that, despite that, he still had nightmares in which he couldn’t move his body but he was aware of his surroundings, just as if he were awake. Simon frowned and said that didn’t sound like a nightmare, but more like sleep paralysis. Hugh thought it sounded a little bit psychedelic and told him he didn’t believe in those things, to which Simon reacted as if he just confessed he was an Earth-flatter.

He couldn't quite understand why Simon acted as if he were some sort of dream expert. Simon told him it was because he was a dream expert, or at least he was more of an expert than Hugh was, since he got a lot more sleep than he did, and it was true. Hugh couldn’t remember the last night he slept without spending two hours staring at the dark and empty room, while he heard Simon’s body rubbing the blankets from time to time.

“You know, I don’t think that’s normal,” Simon told him when they were driving back home from the Headquarters. “I think you should see a therapist.”

Simon said that a lot, too. It wasn’t bad advice per se, but for some reason, it drove him crazy every time he said it, even if he didn’t show it (or at least he liked to believe he didn’t). He remembered that occasion, specifically, because he had had a particularly bad day at work when they had that conversation about sleep paralysis. Kasumi and Evander decided that was a wonderful day to act as if they were the main characters of their new show “Dumb and Dumber”, trying to convince him to get couches for their offices with a slide presentation and everything, and Tamaya was acting like a particularly angry pregnant woman that hated everything that moved, especially if that thing was Hugh. He hadn’t gone completely feral with Kasumi and Evander (even if they kind of deserved it) and just told them to stop trying to kill the last brain cell they shared, but even so, they reacted as if Hugh had done something super offensive and if he were the one who was wasting everyone’s time. He had been even kinder with Tamaya because, yeah, she was being irrational, but at the same time, she was pregnant, and being a dick to a pregnant woman wouldn’t have been very heroic of him. Still, Tamaya didn’t even try to get her hormones under control and was actually devastated when he brought her the wrong kind of gyro from the store. She even cried and took the rest of the day for herself, which was something she had the right to do, obviously.

But anger is a bitch and one of those emotions that takes the best of you, so a little voice inside his head that took control of his consciousness every time he got mad at someone, was telling him that he should ask Simon if his therapist had told him that it wasn’t normal to wake up in the middle of the night to see if your kid was still breathing.

Because it didn’t sound normal to him.

He didn’t do it though. Maybe he was too tired.

Being angry took a lof a lot of energy.

He was still curious about whether Simon had ever told his therapist about that or if he had normalized it so much, that he didn’t think it was important to mention it. He had been doing that since the first night he met him when they were still a pair of kids. The first night they slept together, in Simon's basement, he woke him up in the middle of the night and sighed with relief.

“Good, you’re alive,” he mumbled. And then went back to sleep, as nothing happened.

Hugh thought it was quirky and funny. Now he believed it may be a real psychological problem.

His suspicion was confirmed that same night after having that conversation when he woke up at 3AM to go get a glass of water and realized that Simon had left the bed. He assumed he was at Adrian’s room, so he didn’t think too much about it and went downstairs, without bothering to turn the lights on. After all, he couldn’t die if he tripped with his own feet because his powers would protect him (and if he did, it would be the stupidest of deaths and he deserved it.)

He took a glass cup (because plastic cups were only for kids), filled it with water, and when he turned around to go back to his room, Simon flickered, and he could see him right in front of him, with his dagger in hand, as if he were about to stab him.

“SIMON, WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Simon flickered again and let go of his dagger at the same time he started crying and hugged him while mumbling he thought he was a robber that wanted to “kill everyone in the house and then himself.”

Hugh could only hug him back.

Simon didn’t try to stab him again, but he still had a weird sleep schedule. Hugh, on the other hand, was sleeping a lot better now that his psychiatrist had shown him this amazing invention called citalopram.

A week before their tenth anniversary, he was about to fall asleep when Simon entered the room, got under the covers, and hugged him from behind, pressing his body against his.

“Si, it’s 2AM.”

“How do you want to celebrate our anniversary?”

He asked that question with the same tone he used when he asked Max and Adrian what they wanted to do during their birthdays. Or when he asked Nova if she wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving with them, or when he tried to convince Kasumi and Tamaya to do something fun for Christmas that year.

And Hugh answered him the same thing the others did:

“I don’t know.”

He knew being ten years married to the same person was something that should be celebrated. And he also knew Simon didn’t mean any harm by asking those things, even if they may have seemed a little bit oblivious to the fact that life as they knew it had almost ended during the supernova. Actually, he believed he asked them that because he was completely aware of what had happened and, for instance, he was trying to fix all the things the burning stardust had destroyed, covering the ears of the people he loved, hugging them, and telling them that things couldn’t be that bad if they still could have a little piece of cake to celebrate even the smallest of events.

That gave him an idea.

“I think I just want to eat cake with you,” he mumbled.

“Cake?”

“I like cake. Except when it’s wet.”

Simon snorted. “Do you remember when Oscar invited Adrian to his birthday party and he gave him a pound of cake for him to share it with us?” he asked.

Hugh remembered that. “I do.”

“And do you remember you hated it?”

“It was more milk than cake.”

“Pastel de tres leches,” Simon said, with almost no American accent.

In other circumstances, he would’ve found that voice really attractive, but now the memory of that stupid cake was too much for him. “You know, I think there is where the fucking problem begins,” he told him. “What’s the need of adding three leches? One leche is more than enough.”

Simon tried to contain his laugh and failed. “Why do you pronounce leche like that?”

“It’s not natural, Simon,” Hugh insisted. “Cake is cake. And cake is supposed to be dry.”

“Well, I loved it.”

“You love everything. Even those who are unlovable.”

“Oh, sweetie. You’re not unlovable.”

“I know. I’m talking about the fucking cake.”

Simon stayed silent and Hugh laughed to let him know it was okay.

“So you want to keep it simple this year?” Simon asked him.

“I think that would be the most… appropriate thing to do.”

“All right then—” he pretended to use his finger to write on his back “—No tres leches cake… And keep it simple. Something else, your Majesty?”

“No, I think that’s all.”

“What about gifts?”

“I’m a simple man. I like blue, I like silver things that look like chrome, and I like myself. Go crazy.”

Simon gasped. “Or I could bake something for you,” he said. “I could make a little dinner for us… with your favorite cake.”

He couldn’t tell if Simon was being serious, but he hoped he did because— that actually sounded really nice. “What about the kids though?”

“Pssh, let’s just put them to bed early,” Simon answered. “Max’s bedtime is 9:30 anyways.”

“Are you—”

“Let me do something nice for you,” he interrupted him. “Please.”

Hugh sighed

“I’m being serious. I’m going to make your favorite cake,” Simon assured him, holding him closer to him.

And then it hit him. “Do you know—”

“Of course I know your favorite cake, love,” he giggled. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Hugh wanted to keep talking to him, but he started to notice his eyes were getting tired and that he wasn’t going to be able to keep them open a lot longer.

Simon kissed his shoulder. “Are you going to sleep now?”

“Yeah. But turn around,” he added. “I want to be the big spoon.”

The next morning, while Simon was looking for his mask before heading to work, Hugh realized he never told him what he wanted for their anniversary, so he took that moment to ask him. Simon just said that he would love anything Hugh got for him, which was honestly the worst answer ever because Hugh was the worst person when it came to guessing that sort of stuff, and needed to know specifically what they wanted so he wouldn’t end up giving them a shitty gift.

But then, he realized that it was a gift for their tenth anniversary. And when he gazed at Simon again, he noticed he was already looking at him through the small mirror they had hanging on their closet door, with a small smile on his face, letting him know that he had noticed the moment Hugh remembered what they did each year during their anniversary.

There was a tradition Simon heard about when they were planning their wedding, that it was all about giving a gift made of certain material according to the marital year. He didn’t tell him about it until a year later when they were talking about what they were going to do to celebrate that year, and for some reason, they ended up talking about when they met.

Unfortunately, Hugh could no longer remember when was the first time he saw Simon. It was like one day, he just walked into his life, laid down on a twin-size mattress, and just started to exist there without asking for permission because he didn’t know where he was yet. And Hugh was staring at the kid with brown skin, brown hair, and brown eyes, while hiding behind a big closet he kept there, thinking about how to tell him “Hello. What’s your name? I’d really like to know about you.”

Too bad he always stopped at “Hello”. Too bad it all happened inside his head.

When he was a kid, not a lot of people talked about prodigies in a positive light, so he grew up thinking that his powers were something he needed to keep a secret for everyone and that he had to blend in with the other kids in order to survive, and there was no adult in his life that told him otherwise. But during the Age of Anarchy, the whole Council began to know more prodigies from all over the world, who had different beliefs about what it meant to be a prodigy. During patrol, Simon told him about this old European lady he talked to, who was also a prodigy, and assured him she would be able to recognize every single one of them even without their superhero costumes. When Hugh said that sounded a little bit dangerous, Simon laughed it off and added that what she meant to say was that all prodigies were made of the same stardust and that it was always trying to find a way back to the space where it belonged, that was the reason why many prodigies were drawn to each other even if they just crossed paths by mere chance.

If it was true, then it explained why Hugh could tell Simon was a prodigy from the first moment he looked him in the eye. And it explained why he wanted to be his friend so much, even before knowing that piece of information.

Simon did remember when was the first time he saw Hugh. Or at least one of the first times.

“You were sitting on the ground and staring at a bug. like a beetle or something...” he said. They were walking through the neighborhood, holding hands, and Adrian was in front of them, trying to get the hang of his new skate shoes with wheels. He had asked his dads to give him his space because he had seen another kid at Headquarters using them too and he was sure he could teach himself how to use them. “ And you were really concentrated, completely quiet when an adult came and killed it.”

“Fuck,” he whispered. “Like— on purpose?”

“I don’t know, they were just walking,” Simon shrugged. “But you didn’t even say anything, just… stayed there. And a raccoon walked in front of you, and you decided to follow it to the trash can he lived in, and when you tried to touch it, he and his whole extended family threw themselves at you.”

Hugh probably looked worried or something, because Simon tilted his head and asked him: “You remember that, do you?”

And he didn’t. “It sounds like me,” he said, “I liked beetles when I was a kid. Not sure about the raccoon attack though because I’ve always hated raccoons and getting too close to trash cans.”

“And have you ever stopped to think about why you hate that so much?”

“Because trash cans are a focus of infection. Same as raccoons. I would never follow one of those rats with masks.”

“Hugh, when you were a kid, I saw you eating cereal out of a bucket, I don’t know why you’re acting like you’re better than the rest of us for not following raccoons— which you did.”

“I did not.”

“And you know what I thought?” Simon asked as if he hadn’t heard Hugh. “I thought—”

“You thought I was a poor kid who needed your help.”

“No, I thought you were the weirdest fucking kid I had ever met. And I walked away.”

Then he winked at him, letting him know he was joking. But Hugh felt really offended on behalf of his younger self anyways. “And why do you remember that but I don’t?”

“I was invisible. And I wanted to see what you were up to.”

Then, Adrian fell to the ground and screamed “DADDY!”. Neither of them was really sure of who he was talking to, so they just helped him get on his feet again and told him he should be more careful, ending their conversation there.

That year, he gave Simon a card he bought at the supermarket that he decorated with raccoon stickers he found on Adrian’s backpack, and he even used all his artistic abilities to draw a speech bubble that said “I love you”. Simon also gave him a card, but instead, it was decorated with hearts and flowers and looked a lot more like what a card for an occasion like that was supposed to look like. They gave each other cards because the first-anniversary gift, according to tradition, was something made of paper. He could tell what Simon gave him every single year, but some of the honorable mentions were the leather jacket he never used because Kasumi told him that buying things made of leather was unethical and “not green”, a wooden figurine of the two of them he found at a local flea market, and a pottery coffee mug he did himself when he and Tamaya took pottery classes, which Evander broke one day he went to the house.

So, yes, Simon always gave him nice things. And he kept every single one of them. The card was between the album photos and newspaper cutouts. The leather jacket remained in the closet not to be seen ever again. The wood figurine was in the living room (and will stay there even after he was dead because if Adrian ever dared to take it somewhere else, like he had tried to do before, he was going to haunt him until he put it back where it belonged), and eventually, Evander glued together the pottery coffee mug and gave it back to him, probably trying to make clear he was really sorry about breaking it, without really saying it out loud.

It was a nice tradition. Especially because it was almost impossible to fuck up and Hugh could come up with nice gifts for Simon too.

And now it wasn’t going to be the exception.

That year’s traditional theme was aluminum. At first, he was a little bit confused because the only aluminum he knew about was the aluminum foil they had in the kitchen until he spoke with Tamaya over the phone, and she told him there were a lot more things that were made of aluminum other than foil. She had stayed at her house ever since what had happened in the Arena. Simon told him and Kasumi it would be nice if they took turns to call her one time a day to check on her, and that day, it was Hugh’s turn.

She wasn’t mad at him, which meant she was having a less shitty day than other times it had been his turn to call her. She even gave him the phone number of a place where he could buy something for Simon, that was not so far away from Headquarters. Before hanging up, she reminded him to make sure Kasumi was eating during lunch breaks and made him promise he was going to double-check, just because that's what she would do if she were there. After doing what Tamaya asked him to do (Kasumi started to eat her salad as soon as he walked into the room, and he stayed there until she finished the whole plate), he called the store and knew exactly what he wanted to ask for.

It had been a little difficult to pick it up from the store because Simon was always with him, but the anniversary was on Sunday, so he said that someone had called him to go to Headquarters and headed out before anyone could ask for more explanations. He arrived at the store a few minutes before they closed and the owner told him he wasn’t sure if he was going to arrive on time. Then, he proceeded to show him the final product, and Hugh thought it looked exactly as what he had in mind. The daughter of the owner put the gift inside a box and decorated it with purple wrapping paper and a silver bow, and it was ready to go.

When he arrived at the house, Simon was already preparing dinner and the kids were eating ramen in the living room while watching a movie. He put the gift on the coffee table and told them it was time to get ready for bed.

Simon and Hugh had always been good at assigning each of them chores to do around the house. When Max was living in his quarantine area, Hugh stayed with him after Simon and Adrian went home. He bathed him, helped him brush his teeth, and then put him to bed. Meanwhile, Simon cooked something for Adrian, helped him with his homework, played with him for a while, and when Hugh went home, he helped him with his night routine the same way he had helped Max, while Simon prepared tomorrow’s lunches.

Adrian was a pretty calm kid during bath time (at least most of the time). He would dare to say he liked it, probably a little too much because he didn’t bathe himself until he was almost ten years old. Max, on the other hand, was a completely different story. It was a lot easier to control him when he was a baby, but the older he got, the more difficult it became to get him inside the tub. He tried to distract him with other things, made a lot of excuses, and even hid under the bed so his dad couldn’t see him. Simon thought it wasn’t a normal reaction and that they needed to make sure Max was alright, but Hugh didn’t believe Max’s behavior was weird because when he was a kid he threw even bigger tantrums each time he was told it was bath time. He screamed while he had shampoo on his hair, bawled while he was putting on his pajamas, and sobbed for at least ten minutes after he was tucked into bed. At the ripe age of four years old, he went as far as running down the street completely naked because he was already in the tub, waiting for his aunt to find a clean towel between all the mess they had around the house when he decided that wasn’t going to work out and just walked outside the house, without wearing any clothes. A minute later, he heard his aunt screaming “HUGH, YOU LITTLE BITCH—” and knew he was in danger, so he began to run as fast as he could until he tripped and he was taken back to the bathroom (while he screamed and kicked, like the demon child he was.)

“Well, I guess it makes sense why you acted like that,” Simon answered, “but I want to make sure everything is fine with Max. For my own comfort.”

Simon talked with Max the next day, and apparently, he came to the conclusion he was just someone who thought that bathing was a waste of time, like Hugh did when he was his age. His kid just showed it in a less… explosive manner. Because yeah, Max had never thrown a tantrum because of that. Not at least until the other night, when Simon told him to go take a shower after he spent the whole day outside with Nova and got his clothes all dirty. For some reason, Max got super pissed at the idea of his own father giving him a reasonable order, and after going to the bathroom and taking off his clothes, he started to yell that he was already clean and that he didn’t need to take a shower. Hugh and Adrian were in the living room talking about some mundane topic when they saw a naked and almost maniac Max running around the house, and a screaming and desperate Simon with a white towel in his hands, trying to catch him before he headed out of the house and the neighbors saw him.

Simon almost had a panic attack after that, when Adrian finally was the one to catch Max and convince him to go take a shower, because in his own words, “you smell like a dead dog, my friend” (Adrian knew what he was dealing with because he had done the same thing when he was a kid). And Hugh didn’t want Simon to go through the same experience again, especially that night.

“I was a well-behaved kid,” Simon told him, while they cuddled under the covers. “I almost never cried. And I most certainly never complained about bath time.”

“Everyone has a childhood story that involves running around completely naked because you didn’t want to get on the tub.”

“I don’t… think so.” Hugh scoffed in response. “Actually, I was so well-behaved, one time my mom closed the car door and smashed my fingers, but I didn’t even complain about it—”

“You should have complained about it,” Hugh said.

Simon didn’t hear him. “I think maybe Max is just going through a phase.”

“Or maybe our son is a normal kid and you are the Antichrist for not crying when your mother smashed your fingers.”

And he whispered: “Well— maybe, I guess.”

Luckily, Max was feeling nice and he followed the night routine without causing any more problems, and just asked Adrian to read him a bedtime story. Forty minutes later, Adrian went back downstairs and told them he was going to sleep too (but Hugh knew he was going to stay up late talking with his team.)

Simon took a few minutes after that to finish the dinner because the dessert was still in the oven. Hugh waited for him, sitting on the couch, eating the leftovers of Adrian’s ramen and watching whatever thing was on TV, when suddenly had the feeling someone was staring at him. He turned around and even though he didn’t saw anyone, he still said:

“Simon, I know you’re there.”

And he got no answer.

Then, when he decided to let it go and continue watching TV, Simon was sitting on the coffee table, with the gift box on his lap.

“Can you stop doing that?” Hugh asked him.

“No, it’s part of my charm—” Simon shook the box a little, like a kid would do on Christmas morning “—Is this my gift?”

“No. I bought it for my other husband. But you can open it, I guess.”

Simon shrugged and opened it. He gasped and covered his mouth with his hand, but he still could tell he was smiling. “Love—”

“You like them?”

Hugh had bought a couple of aluminum wine cups, decorated with a blue and purple stripe on the top. He extended his hand to turn on the lamp next to him and then patted the space next to him. “You wanna see something really cool?” he asked him.

Simon sat down next to him, holding one of the cups. Then Hugh grabbed him gently by the wrists and put the cup under the light, allowing both of them to see the hidden message written on the aluminum.

He couldn’t exactly read it because he wasn’t wearing his glasses, but Simon could.

“I’ll forever choose you,” he read. “It’s what—”

“It’s what I said during my vows,” Hugh answered, “and I still mean it.”

Simon leaned against him and Hugh took it as a chance to kiss him on the corner of his lips. “I’m going to kill your other husband,” Simon whispered.

“I don’t think you got it— but actually you’re the other husband.”

“I’m allowing you to make those jokes because I’m too happy to pretend I’m mad at you for saying them, okay? Just wanted to make that clear, so you don’t go around trying to push your luck.” He continued looking at the cup and putting it under the light to read its message again and again. “Can we use these cups? You know— are they made for drinking or are they just decorative?”

“I guess we can,” Hugh answered. “I don’t see why not. Cups are made for drinking.”

“Then it’s a good thing I brought us wine—” he got up with difficulty and grabbed the other cup from inside the box “—Are you hungry?”

He really wasn’t. Adrian’s leftovers were enough for him. But he still had a little space for more, so he nodded and took Simon’s hand before he got on his tiptoes and put his hands over his eyes. “Follow my lead.”

Even after arriving at the kitchen, Simon asked him to keep his eyes closed. He obeyed, and a couple of seconds later, he finally gave him the sign to open them, appearing behind the kitchen bar and waving his empty hands with a silly smile on his face.

Hugh covered his whole face with his hand to hide the fact that he was laughing.

“Now— do you like it?” Simon asked (still making jazz hands).

Oh, no, he liked it.

But even if he did, he could hear his own voice saying inside his head to make sure to sugarcoat whatever he had to say about one small detail that, unfortunately, was the first thing he noticed because he was that mean.

It was an amazing dinner. The main dish was chicken alfredo, and there was a small basket with bread from the supermarket they went every week to buy groceries (the same one Hugh didn’t go to anymore because last time he had almost hate-crimed a cashier because… reasons, maybe). He had lighted up some candles they kept around the house in case the power went out during the night and there was a white tablecloth covering part of the kitchen bar. Simon also took the time to look through the garage for the chinaware they only used for very special occasions and that Hugh insisted on hiding it in the garage since he didn’t trust his kids and believed they would break it at the first chance they got. And he didn't lie when he said he had bought a bottle of wine. Actually, he knew it was an expensive wine because it was the same brand as the one they drank during their wedding. It must have been an absolute hell trying to find it, considering that ten years had gone by since then.

But Simon had made a tiny mistake.

And it wasn’t like he wasn’t allowed to make mistakes. It was just that… if he had a coin for every time Simon had made that exact mistake, he would have two coins.

Which wasn’t a lot of coins; but it was funny it happened twice.

During the Gala, there had been a silent auction to replace some of the stolen drugs. Hugh was going crazy, trying to make sure everything was going according to plan, but Simon insisted that, as members of the Council, they needed to support the fundraising.

At first, Hugh didn’t notice what Simon had done. He had a lot of things going through his mind, like what if someone put a bomb on the ceiling and blew the whole building, if Adrian had drawn a callalily for every single centerpiece, or if Max had asked him to buy him more markers and construction paper since last week or last month. He also was trying to ignore how uncomfortable the suit he was wearing felt, which felt kind of tight when he raised his arms a little bit. Plus, the lights were too bright, the music was too freaking loud for a formal Gala, and for some reason, he was sure he could hear every single conversation that was going on there, at the same time he didn’t understand a single word coming out of those people’s mouths.

But suddenly…

Suddenly Simon grabbed him by the arm and said:

“I got this for you.”

“Huh?”

“I got this for you—” and he pointed at something on the table.

For the split of a second, he thought that Simon was referring to the chocolate cake that was right in the middle of everything, that was decorated with small pearls of white chocolate and a cherry on top. Which would have been a really kind and romantic gesture because chocolate cake would always have a special place in his heart.

But then, he noticed that actually, he was talking about the latticework pie that was right next to it, inside a little transparent box with a golden ribbon around it.

It looked nice; but the chocolate cake looked a lot better from his point of view.

“Simon—”

“Yes, I know technically I haven’t gotten it yet,” Simon said while jotting down his bidding number on a sheet of paper, “but I’m gonna win this and we’re gonna eat pie, like the winners we are.”

“Simon—”

“Do you wanna be a winner or not?”

“Simon—”

Simon finally looked at him, still holding the pen he had used to write down the bidding number.

Hugh had reacted a little bit too late.

So he just sighed, rested his chin on Simon’s head for a couple of seconds, and then asked him if also thought the lights were too bright (“No, but you can talk to someone and see if there’s something they can do about it. Just don’t go all Captain Chromium on them.” “That’s not a phrase other people use.” “Kasumi does.”)

Now, the Gala wasn’t a memory he liked to replay inside his head constantly because while they were there, their kids were risking their lives fighting against people they shouldn’t even be worried about. He felt guilty when he remembered that he was dancing with Simon in a small corner of the room, where they were sure no one could see them (not because they were embarrassed or scared but because Simon didn’t like to be surrounded by a lot of people, and honestly, Hugh wasn’t in the mood for dealing with that either). He was starting to think “Hey, maybe I’m having fun” and Simon was this close to kissing him, but one second after that, they were notified about what had happened to Max and had to rush to the hospital.

It had been one of the worst nights of his life. The last time he thought about it, was while reading Max a book they had just bought for him (“Tough Guys (Have Feelings Too)”). Max mentioned something about Adrian taking him to eat pie that afternoon and “going all Captain Chromium” on him for something he didn’t understand but sounded like normal sibling stuff, and suddenly Hugh vividly remembered the latticework pie Simon had put a bid on.

They never got to eat it.

Which was good because he knew that if he had gotten to eat some, knowing there had been a chocolate cake right next to it that they could have gotten instead of that freaking pie, his night would have been even worse.

Not like your kid almost dying was bad enough though.

“Keep reading the book, Hugh,” Max told him, pretending to be disappointed after he told him that story about the Gala. “Let’s keep the trauma talk for Therapy Thursday.”

(That was how Simon called Thursdays now. It was the day the four of them went to family therapy. Everyone thought it was a stupid way to call it, even Hugh, but he always told his kids it was an incredible way to motivate them, that Simon was trying his best, and that next time he heard them make fun about “Therapy Thursdays”, calling it “$200 Nap Thursdays”, he was going to tell the fucking shrink and they were going to go to family therapy two times a week.)

And there it was.

Again.

The infamous latticework pie.

But when he saw it, he didn’t feel anything else but the impulse to laugh out loud.

“I like it a lot,” he answered.

“You’re putting on the sugar jacket!” Simon exclaimed.

“No, I’m not!” Hugh told him, still laughing.

“No, I can see it!” Simon insisted. “You’re doing it, you always laugh when you do it!”

“What are you talking about?” He cleared his throat. “I’m way too good at sugarcoating, no one notices when—”

“I’m going to keep calling it sugar jacket,” Simon interrupted him, crossing his arms and staring at him with narrowing eyes. “Don’t use that tone with me.”

“And I’m going to keep making fun of you for it. Imagine me putting on a sugar jacket, Simon. It would have to be a huge jacket. The house would be infested with ants.”

But Simon wasn’t interested in the logistics of keeping a sugar jacket inside the house. “It’s like what you did last week. Oh, yeah, Simon, that’s so good—” He scoffed “—I know you hated that souffle because I hated it too.”

“But I liked that souffle! It was pretty good, I don’t know why you hated it.”

“The more you insist on that, the less I’m going to believe you.”

Hugh sat down on one of the kitchen bar stools and hid his face with his hands until he stopped laughing. When he finally did, he saw Simon smiling, even if he was trying to hide it.

“Si—” Simon raised his eyebrows as if he were saying “Hey” with them “—Can I get some wine?”

He thought about it for a second.

“Just because I love you—” and he began to pour it into one of their wine cups. Then, he walked towards Hugh, and with one hand, he took his wine cup, and with the other, he pulled Simon closer to him.

“And I love this,” he whispered. “I loved what you did for me, it’s just what I asked for.”

Simon’s smile got even wider. “I know I said we were gonna have cake but— I know you like pie a little bit more.”

Hugh took a sip of wine.

“Because… you do, don’t you?”

So he left the wine cup on the kitchen bar, grabbed Simon by the waist— and he told him the truth.

“I do now.”

Before Simon could ask him what he meant with that extra “now”, he leaned over and kissed him.

Now it was not the time to talk about that.

#renegades #archenemies #supernova #renegades trilogy #hugh everhart #simon westwood #the warden and the captain are sitting in a tree #sorry but i had to complain about tres leches cake #i reflect all my hate for that thing in my problematic son lol #plus the chicken alfredo is a reference to royal jewels #and there's also a hcttr reference kjsdfhksdfj #and the story of the naked kid running down the street... yeah parcially based on real events <3 #one time i saw one of my neighboor's kid playing outside without any clothes on #it was so weird i had to ask my mom if she saw it too #and she told me a lot of kids do that so JSHDKJSJK #well now im going to stop talking-#tags are supposed to be used for useful things #dUDE I HAD TO LOOK FOR THE ENGLISH VERSION OF ARCHENEMIES BC A LOT OF SMALL DETAILS GOT LOST IN THE SPANISH VERSION #and i wanted to be as acurrate as posible x'd #ok im going to go now x'd #obsi's writs

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saint-gerard-of-arc · 3 years

Text

I'm a fucking wreck rn I haven't been sleeping for a week and I'm getting some rest from the bullshit factory that is my brain only now, but I just wanted to say that last year for me has been saved by tumblr and all the friends I made along the way.

Before you go below the cut, a special thanks goes to the Bee Movie Anon, who, rightfully, I can't tag so I have to say it here in the hope that they'll see it. Your hunger for chaos made me feel a lot of emotions, and I'd have never in any time or space thought that the Bee Movie would be such a prominent part of my life as it is now thanks (read it with a note of sarcasm) to you. Thank you for providing us an infinite amount of both entertainment and suffering, hell, some of the friends I made were because of YOU. I'm still not sure what was your drive to go and start this absurd crusade for the bee movie in the 80s metal fandom, but I don't know, I don't think bee so, I'm not gonna question your ways.

@arnold-layne being the first in line, you kept me sane somehow in the first phases of quarantine and dedicated a lot your time to talk with me and helped me enormously with creativity. If it wasn't for you, that Cyberpunk Comic That Is Kinda Inspired By The Crüe and Shout At The Devil would've been already down the drain. I would've given up probably, because I didn't know how to exted the concept and have an actual plot. A dream that I've been having for literal years wouldn't even have such cool characters with a rich storyline if it wasn't for you. I know I kinda left it after a month or so of intense brainstorming with you, I was literally drained at that point both physically and mentally, but oh boy I haven't forgot about the characters that WE created. How could I after all? Russ being the wreck of a tormented junkie protagonist that he is, Dylan the happy-go-lucky fuck up that seems to do nothing right but with the best intentions, Frankie the runaway sassy and wary androgynous teenager whose gender is a mystery even to themselves, and the epitome of the found family trope, ex gov agent part Japanese, part Russian, part cyborg Vik, whose story isn't still clear yet but we'll give him a very good one, eventually.

You gave me the curiosity to read fanfiction again after literally NINE YEARS of being distant from that part of the fandom and honestly I don't regret it one bit. In fact, I discovered literally my favorite writer in fanfiction. That is you, Arnold. I don't care how frequently you write, I don't care if sometimes you can't do your best. I'll always be there waiting for the next chapter and I'll always think that your art is sublime. I'll have to admit, I don't read your works as often as I should. But it's because I love them so much that I want to always save for later. It's like a drug, or a delicious cake that you want it to last as long as possible so you can enjoy it for much longer (I should be reading your fic more often either way tho like, at least so I can make more art for it. I'll make sure to change that this year and give you the recognition you deserve 🖤).

Everytime I make art, everytime I make a post, I always wait for your name to pop in my notifs. And fuck if I'm happy when I see it, and I rush to read your tags and it always makes my day. Like seriously, you mean so much to me and I admire how you can still be any amount of sane with all you're going through. You're strong as hell, keep going. 🖤

@i-dont-like-rice dude, how can I explain it. You're my best bud here. You're my chaotic sibling from another mother. The other braindead I share the single braincell I have with. The Nikki to my Tommy. Or the Tommy to my Nikki, I'm still not sure which of us is which (I guess I'm Nikki and you're Tommy? lmao it's ironic how even them are an italian and a balkanian) but you get the point. Every interaction we have, I laugh my ass off till my whole body hurts every time. I think I worried my mother and annoyed my sister at least a couple times for bursting out laughing for five minutes straight out of the blue, especially if it was late at night, and all the times, I swear it was because of you. You are as chaotic as you are kind, and it's always so disarming to see you worry or take care of others when you are definitely in a worse situation. Please, be more selfish, goddammit. For your own sake. And be more confident of your art. Draw shit and post it. Who cares if it's not perfect and you hate it and you don't want anybody to see it, it's tumblr, nobody will ever reblog it or give you the well deserved recognition anyway! So it's worth a try isn't it?

@no-stone-no-bone seriously, I'm so glad I met you. You're like the third element of chaos that holds me and Andi together. All three of us are literally unstoppable. You're extremely sweet too and I wish you the best, and DON'T HIDE SHIT IN THE TAGS GODDAMMIT 😂

@white-lightning-625 @viiinceneil I know we really haven't talked much, and we met through unfortunate times, but I'm so glad that something good came out of the chaos and drama, which is being able to talk to you and getting to know you both better. And the fics. My god, the fics. Frankie, I already told you this but MY GOD. I still find it incredible that I've read a fic about a band I didn't even know what they looked or sounded like and I was HOOKED from start to finish. And Katie, I should definitely read more of your works because I love what you've got going on. You're both very sweet and talented with a very distinct, beautiful way of writing and I can't wait to sink my teeth into the pulp of your work, because I know that by now I only scratched the surface.

@awrestlinggirlwholoves80sbands Bruh, conoscere una fan su tumblr the parla la MIA STESSA LINGUA (e che ha pure il mio stesso vero nome lmao cosa sta succedendo)??? Che concetto innovativo!!! Le nostre conversazioni sono sempre disgiunte, ma non importa, adoro ogni nostra interazione. Sei seriamente una delle persone più dolci e gentili che abbia mai conosciuto. La tua creatività stimola sempre la mia. Le tue moodboard sono sempre 👌👌👌 e ogni volta trovo sempre qualcosa che sì, ci avevo pensato, ma mai nel modo in cui lo poni tu, e di solito sono una persona che resta vicina alle proprie idee, ma tu riesci a farmi alterare prospettiva, e trovo questo meccanismo mentale molto affascinante. Ti ricordi lo swapped instruments AU, con Tommy come cantante, no? Giuro che è un concetto a cui penso ancora dopo mesi. Spero di avere la capacità mentale per tradurre quell'idea in arte il prima possibile, perché cazzo, lo adoro troppo

@tattooed-lies thank you for providing the fandom the best gifs in the fucking platform and thank you for giving us the vinikki content that everyone, even if they're not aware, deserves and needs. Thank you for being the only Vince stan that I know. Thank you for being the sweetest person alive 💖

@nbtommylee honestly, I wish I was cool like you. Your sense of humor is impeccable, much like your critical thinking. I have never read something from you that wasn't a valid point. You don't talk shit and that's extremely sexy of you, y'know? And having a "gender dysphoria buddy" to be jealous of our Rockstar Gender Of Choice with is always fun to have, so that's definitely a plus. Can't wait to see (and read!) more of your art, I just love your style so much and you deserve to be Known

@metalmelkor @emometalhead @polka-dot-duff I'm always so happy to see you in my notifs and y'all are oh so very sweet and cool, we haven't talked much but I love every interaction we have, sorry for having the social skills of a stale piece of white bread 🖤

A special thanks goes to @awesomgrlgr8job bc you're literally one of my very first mutuals since I made the decision to make this dumpster fire of a blog and holy shit it's crazy to think about that. I don't even know if we ever interacted that much but it's always such a joy to see you around, ily and I hope you're doing well and thanks for putting up with my clownery for so long 💖

Like seriously, thank you all. I don't even know where I would be without you. Here's to another year of chaos, but only of the good kind 💖

#witchy.txt #I didn't think I would've rambled so much ahshdhjfjf I'm so sorry you have to go through all that #there are a lot of people I could've mentioned but we never really talked so I wouldn't have much to say #but believe me when I tell you that I love seeing you on my dash and in my notifs #I really mean that #and I hope y'all are doing well bc ily 💖

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hologramband · 3 years

Text

Never The 1

(gif crds cryinghimbos)

Alive!Reggie x Fem!Reader

Word count: 4.5k

A/N: This is taking place after the boys cross over, I like the little theory where “crossing over” means just “crossing over” back to life or something, idk we gonna roll with it tho lol.

The song I use in this is “Never the 1” by ROSIE

The hallways were busy as you and Flynn walked side by side to your next class. This dreary Monday was almost over, just one class stood between you and hanging out with your friends.

You knew how to sing, but you never thought you were any good, so you tended to keep to writing lyrics here and there, but mostly helping with Flynns sides of things when it came to advertising the bands events and other things, helping the band in a few different ways.

“So, (Y/n), how have things been going with you and Dylan? Is he starting to be more okay with you spending more time with the band?” Flynn started a conversation while waiting for you to switch your books at your locker.

Dylan was your boyfriend of seven months, things had been good between the two of you until you started wanting to spend more of your time with Julie and the boys the last month or so. You had an image issue before you met Dylan, never really being confident in yourself, you liked hiding in the background. Julie and Flynn had always included you in everything they did, but something just finally clicked with Dylan, he made you feel special.

When the band took off you were ecstatic, growing close with each of the boys, especially Reggie, your personalities meshing really well, and Alex, him becoming like a brother to you.

You still made time for Dylan, hanging out with him when you weren’t helping the band, even invited him to practices when you went, but for some reason he wasn’t a fan of hanging out with your friends.

“Eh, he’ll come around eventually. He can’t expect me not to have any friends other than him.” You shrugged your shoulders and closed the locker door, the two of you changing topics and continuing to class.

When you get there a smile instantly grows on your face, this was your favorite class of the day since you shared it with both Flynn, Julie, and the boys.

“(Y/n)! Hi! Are you coming to practice today?” Reggie smiled as you sat in your seat across from him.

“Well duhh, wouldn't miss it.” You smiled back and looked around at the rest of the group, falling into a conversation with the rest of them.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, signaling you got a text from someone, looking down you saw it was Dylan.

-Hey babe, something came up so I, won’t be able to go to Julies with you after school, sry :/-

You frown at the message, he hasn’t been to a single practice yet, “something” always coming up, but send a short reply saying it was okay before the teacher, Ms. Adamson walked in and started her lesson.

“Alright class, for the next project I want to get your creative juices flowing,” She clasps her hands together and moved to the board, switching her powerpoint slide to the instructions to the new assignment, “by the end of the week I want you all to have an original piece prepared to present or preform for the class.”

You felt your eyes widen and your body stiffen, the main reason you haven’t ever let anyone hear you sing was due to your crippling stage fright.

You glance around and see the rest of your friends smiling and high fiving each other, seeing this as another opportunity to bring a light to the band.

“Is this a group project?” Luke raised his hand and asked, only to be met with a smirk and a shake of the teachers head.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Patterson, this is an individual project, consider it a time for everyone to showcase what talents they have and are keeping hidden,” Ms. Adamson laid her hand on your desk and sent a subtle wink your way.

She had walked in on you one day in the music room while you were messing around with some new lyrics for the song the band was working on.

You sunk in your seat a bit more and looked to see the rest of your friends looking your way, slight confusion on their faces, meaning they also saw the wink your teacher had sent your way.

The rest of the lesson was focused on the details of the project and her giving ideas on what could be done other than music, such as spoken word, a painting, etc. You spent the rest of class figuring out what you could do other than sing, but had a feeling Ms. Adamson would accept nothing else from you.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day and everyone stood from their chairs and collectively walked to their lockers, getting ready to walk to Julies for practice.

You made your way to your own locker, smiling when you saw Dylan standing to the side of it.

“Hey, Dyl.” You went to give him a kiss, but he moved his head so your lips landed on his cheek instead.

“Sorry I can’t come today, I bombed a test in math so Mr. Douglas is making me stay after with a tutor for the next week to fix my grade.” He shrugged his shoulders and his eyes were darting from place to place.

Deciding not to comment on his weird behavior, pushing it off as just embarrassment of failing the test.

“No worries, you’ll make it to one eventually,” You smiled at him and saw the crew walking towards you, everyone always walked to Julies together after school.

Dylan noticed your gaze shifting and stiffened at the sight of all of them.

“Hey,” You placed a hand on his arm, confusion growing, “everything okay?”

He simply shrugged your hand off.

“Yeah, yeah, just gotta get to the library, see ya.” He left a chaste kiss on the top of your head as he rushed in the opposite direction of your friends.

“What was all that about?” Alex commented as he swung an arm around your shoulders.

You were still in shock that he ran off like that, but again blamed it on the bad grade, as dumb as it was.

“Not sure,” you mumbled, quickly changing your attitude, “you guys ready to head out?”

With nods all around you all started the short walk to Julies.

Practice went great, the band trying out new songs that Luke and Julie had written, you fixing a few of the lines so the song flowed a bti better.

During one of the breaks, everyone decided to sit and talk about the upcoming project.

“What are you guys gonna do? Not being able to play as a band?” You wiggled your eyebrows at the group and they all kinda shrugged.

“Oh I know what i'm doing! “Home is Where My Horse Is” will finally get the recognition it deserves!” Reggie stretches his arms along the back of the couch that the two of you were sitting on, setting his feet on the table in front of him.

Laughter erupted from everyone, already knowing that was what Reggie would do.

“What about you,” Alex turned the attention to you, “Ms. Adamson sent a pretty pointed wink your way when explaining it was gonna be individual.”

You felt your cheeks burn a bit and you shrugged your shoulders.

“Eh, you know how she is, I’m sure I’ll come up with something.” You looked around and realized that your answer hadn’t satisfied the group.

Your phone again buzzed with a text from your mom saying you needed to get home.

“Oh, sorry guys, mom needs me for Dinner,” you stood quickly.

“Ah, saved by ‘mom’,” Julie winked.

You laughed as you gathered your things.

“I’ll walk you!” Reggies exclaimed as he jumped to his feet, meeting you by the garage doors.

This was a pretty normal experience for the two of you, Reggie and you always enjoying the walk together, being more open with just the two of you rather than the whole group.

“Lets go, partner,” you winked at the reference to his growing love for country music.

It wasn’t a terribly long walk, but after the sun went down it was always safer to have someone with you.

Another thing that happens when the sun goes down is the reminder that you forgot a jacket, a slight chill running down your spine. You had hoped that you covered it up with a couch, but within seconds an extra layer of warmth was thrown across your shoulders.

Reggie had taken his flannel from his waist and given it to you, you thanked him as you pushed your arms through the sleeves.

“So, how are things with you and Dylan? You seemed upset earlier when we got to your locker.” Reggies glanced at you.

“Oh, you know, it’s fine, he’s just been a bit distant lately, i’m not sure what’s going on but i'm sure we’ll get through it.” You shrugged and looked at your shoes, suddenly finding them very interesting.

“There’s something else, c’mon, (Y/n),” Reggie slightly bumped his shoulder into yours, causing you to look up at him, a slight smile from the action on your face, but falling instantly.

“Um,” you look back at your shoes, “it’s really nothing, silly really.” You shrugged your shoulder again, stopping as you got to your driveway.

The real reason you had been so shocked when Dylan walked away earlier was due to him not telling you he loved you, he had always said those three words before parting your side, no matter the circumstances, for the last four months of your relationship. When he didn’t say them this afternoon it took you by surprise.

“Well, you know i’m always here right?” Reggie moved a finger under your chin, forcing you to look up in his direction.

“No matter what it’s about, whether you need to rant, cry, or share something really cool, I’m always here to listen,” He smiles down at you, causing you to crinkle your nose and smile back, bringing him into a short hug.

“Thanks, Reg. It really means a lot.” You pull away and walk the last few steps to your house, hesitating at the doorway, turning back as Reggie spoke again.

“Have a good night, (Y/n),” Reggie smiled at your retreating figure, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“You too, see you tomorrow!” You waved and walked in the door to your house, pulling his flannel a little tighter once the door closed, then shaking the thoughts that were entering your head away.

Reggie was just a friend, plus you had a boyfriend, Dylan might be distant right now, but he was still there…

---

The next few days had gone by quicker than you anticipated, it now being Thursday and you still didn’t have a plan for what you were going to do in class the next day.

You had tried writing a few lyrics, but nothing felt right, you couldn’t find the right inspiration for what you wanted to do, you honestly didn’t even know what you wanted to do. At this point your game plan was to fake being sick so you wouldn’t have to stand up in front of the class, gasping like a goldfish out of water.

You sat in your last class of the day, all your friends talking about what they were doing tomorrow, Alex had a drum solo with a few lyrics he had come up with, Luke singing one of his songs he was able to whip up within an hour, Julie doing the same, Flynn had made a really cool beat she was going to freestyle to, and Reggie had Home is Where My Horse Is.

Ms. Adamson had given you the day to work and finalize your projects for tomorrow, and you were starting to feel overwhelmed.

The bell rang and snapped you out of the anxious trance you had been in.

You walked to your locker and tried to figure out what you were going to do, you had under 24 hours to figure something out now.

“Hey, (Y/n), you coming?” Reggie and the rest of the group were at your side, waiting to see if you were going to walk back with them.

“Um, I think I’m gonna stay back today, I really need to focus and figure out what I’m going to do for tomorrow,” You ran a hand through your hair and let out a breath, “Plus I think Dylan is tutoring in the library so I might see if he can help or something, I haven't really much from him lately.” You lightly laughed at how sad that sounded, and shook your head, waving to the group as you walked towards the library.

“Let me know if you need anything!” Reggie called out and you sent a grateful smile his way.

You didn’t see Dylan when you walked in, so you choose a secluded spot in the corner, trying to get some work done.

After 30 minutes of staring at the blank paper, you give up, deciding to call it a sick day tomorrow and pray that something comes to you this weekend.

As you pack up your things you scan the room again, curious if maybe Dylan had just come in without you noticing, but frown when you don’t see him.

You start drafting a text to him that you were looking for him, but stopped when you heard a book fall from the shelves a few rows away, and a moan that sounds quite familiar.

Slowly, you walked down the aisle paralleling where you heard the noises coming from, and froze by what you saw through a break in the books.

Dylan was here after all, but he had his hands all over someone else, lips on someone who wasn’t you.

A tear escaped from your eye as you turned away, deleting the text message you were going to send and starting a new one.

-Hey, I was looking for you in the Library. I found you… I left the bracelet you got me on the table by your aisle. -

You removed the small charm bracelet the boy had given you after your three month anniversary and placed it on the table, hit send, and blocked his number.

Tears were flowing freely now, as well as your thoughts.

Did he ever care?

Was I just a joke to him?

Did he ever love me?

Why wasn’t I enough?

You found yourself in the school's music room, taking a deep breath as you sat down, pulling out your song journal.

Inadvertently, Dylan had given you just the inspiration you needed for your song.

Your fingers flowed freely on the keys, finding the right melody for the emotions you were feeling. You played and wrote the notes down, some lyrics came now, but you were focused on the melody.

The janitor eventually came around and told you that you had to leave, and you rushed home, not wanting to forget the lyrics you had in your head.

You skipped dinner and ran straight to your room when you got home, the tears starting again as your phone flashed with a text, not due to the sender, but the picture on your lock screen.

Angrily you opened your phone and deleted all the pictures of the boy you had loved, not wanting the reminder that you had trusted him flashing in your face anymore.

While deleting the pictures you ran across one of you and Reggie messing around in the garage, the next one of Flynn and Julie with their arms wrapped around you.

You smiled and set your lock screen as the picture of the girls and you, your new background the picture of you and Reggie.

Feeling a bit better, you went back to work on writing the lyrics that you had been thinking of.

When you finally finished, you saw the clock flashing 4am at you.

Having all your emotions finally written out on paper made you feel worlds better, and you found sleep easy after, but just too easy at that.

When you woke up the next day you saw that you had already missed the first few classes of the day.

Reggie, Julie, and Flynn had all called and left text messages asking where you were.

Cursing, you got up and dressed, throwing the first things on that you could find, one item happened to be Reggies flannel he had lent you the other day, giving you a sense of ease when you breathed in his cologne.

When brushing your teeth you saw your reflection and gasped, no amount of makeup would cover up the red puffy eyes that blessed your face.

With a sigh you splashed some cold water on them, helping a little, only being able to tell now if someone was really looking.

Not having the time to focus on this you gathered your things and ran to school.

You walked through the doors and took note of the time, and made your way to the lunch room where you found your friends at their usual spot.

“Well, well, well, there she is,” Flynn called as she saw you approaching.

You smiled at the girl and sat down, trying to keep your head down, hoping they wouldn’t take notice of your appearance, but to no avail.

“Babe,” Julie turned your face towards her, “what happened to you?”

Before you could answer you felt a hand on your shoulder, turning to see Dylan standing there, anxiously rocking back and forth on his feet.

“Um, can we talk?” He scratches the back of his neck, looking from your friends to you.

“There’s nothing to be said,” you whisper and turn away from him, but he just sat in the empty seat in front of you.

“You haven’t been answering my texts, just let me explain, please.” He was getting stressed, you weren’t giving in like you typically did.

“They won't go through, I blocked you,” you shrug, “and there's not much to explain, you lost me the second you decided to make out with Sara in the library, sure was a pity you got caught, wasn’t it?” You shot daggers with your eyes as you spoke, a slight gasp from Flynn came from your side.

Dylan felt the hostility from the band and shifted in his seat, why he was still here was beyond you, but the bell quickly ended the conversation.

You stood and tried to walk away, just for Dylan to catch your wrist and turn you towards him. Before he could get a single word out you felt yourself word vomiting.

“Why wasn’t I enough for you?” the question that had been ringing in your head since you caught him finally came out, a single tear running down your cheek.

His mouth opened and closed a few times, and you just nodded and pulled your wrist away from him, only a few steps away before Reggie had you pulled into his arms in a tight hug, soon joined by Alex and Luke, then the girls.

They pulled away and you wiped your tears, smiling at them.

“C’mon, we gotta get to class.” You muttered, Reggie slinging his arm around your shoulders, not an abnormal thing, but it was just what you needed in this moment.

Class was going by quickly, the rest of the band performing their pieces, Reggie just sitting down from singing HIWMHI.

“Alrighty, last, but certainly not least we have (Y/n),” She smiled at you and you stood, making your way to the piano in the corner, the band questioning this since they only thought you knew how to play the guitar, just wait until they hear you sing.

You clear your throat and start on the keys, taking a breath and letting the music take over.

“Met you in October

You talked sweet and a little slow.

And I thought, mmm

I think I, mmm”

It was obvious to almost everyone in the room that this song was about Dylan, what most of the room wasn’t aware of was that this was a break up song.

“Warm eyes and your hands cold

You sang soft like a sore throat

And I thought mmm

I think I mmm

Cause I know you're dangerous

I saw through your games and played them

And I hate myself for letting you in”

You look at Ms. Adamson before continuing to the chorus, he eyes already gleaming with pride that you chose to sing. You tried to send a mini apology for the curse word that was coming in the next part.

“Now I could write 10 songs 'bout 9 ways you fucked me over

Only took you 8 second to forget 7 months together

We were up till 6 in the morning

5 ways a week

You said 4ever then left before I counted to 3

Loved you a little 2 much but I was never

I was never the 1”

You took a deep breath and played the keys a bit before moving onto the next part of the song.

“You mеt me on a Friday

I dressed up likе a first date

So you'd think, "mmm

I think I mmmm"

And I knew we loved when

You stayed past 2 am

And I thought mmm

Does he think mmm”

You looked up and opened your eyes, making eye contact with your friends, Julie and Flynn having small tears in their eyes, knowing this song was written with fresh heartbreak.

The boys all had looks of shock written on their faces, this being the first time hearing you sing, and the emotion ripe in your voice just making it that much better.

Reggie had a hint of a smile on his face, pride radiating from him watching you blossom in front of him.

“And I knew you were dangerous

I saw through your games and played them

And I hate myself for letting you in”

You closed your eyes and launched into the chorus again, really letting the emotion carry you through the rest of the song.

“Now I could write 10 songs 'bout 9 ways you fucked me over

Only took you 8 seconds to forget 7 months together

We were up till 6 in the morning

5 ways a week

You said 4ever and left before I counted to 3

Loved you little 2 much but I was never

I was never the 1”

You took your hands from the keys and repeated the last line again, just your voice filling the crowded classroom.

“Loved you a little 2 much, but I was never, I was never the 1”

You held out the final “1” and then stepped back from the piano, applause breaking from across the classroom.

You shyly courtesy and quick step it back to your seat, your stage fright quickly returning.

“I would like to thank you all for your participation today, and another thanks for being vulnerable with everyone in the room. Everyone was absolutely amazing, I'll have grades up by Monday, have a good weekend!” Ms. Adamson dismissed the class and all your friends' eyes turned to you.

“WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL US YOU COULD SING?” Luke exclaimed with wide eyes and flailing hands.

You giggled a bit and shrugged your shoulders.

“Girl, that was so good, did you write it all last night?” Julie shook her head in amazement.

“Uh yeah, inspiration hit and I just wrote until it was finished.” You shrugged and wring your hands together, not wanting to focus on the moment that inspired it all.

“Um, are we going to the garage to hang? I can go get my things,” You tried to change the subject by standing and starting towards your locker, Reggie hot on your heels.

“(Y/n)! Wait up!” You stopped and waited for the boy to catch up, continuing as soon as he was by your side.

“You really have a great voice,” Reggie gushed as he looked down at you.

A blush crept on your face as you shook your head.

Reggie leaned against the neighboring lockers to yours as you gathered your things, looking up at him when you saw his muscles tense.

You then followed his gaze to see him looking at Dylan walking on the opposite side of the hall, arm slung around Sara, like he used to with you.

You returned your gaze back to your locker, a new rush of emotions flowing through you.

Reggie lightly rested a hand on your arm and pulled you into his chest much like he had a few hours prior.

“He’s an idiot for letting you get away,” He mumbled in your hair.

“No,” you pulled back slightly, “I’m the idiot who thought someone like him actually loved me.” You wiped a stray tear, Reggie then grabbing each of your hands in his own.

“Don’t you ever think like that, he was rude, careless and just plain stupid for not seeing what he had right in front of him.”

You look up at the boy in front of you.

“(Y/n), you are the most beautiful girl I know, inside and out. Your thoughtfulness for everyone around you is absolutely amazing, you care for so many people, you do so much, and don’t ask for anything in return. You are a whole package, and anyone who doesn’t see that is blind.” Reggie finished and wiped the tears that fell while he was talking.

You leaned back into his chest and wrapped your arms around his torso, feeling grounded, safe, in a way you never did with Dylan.

“Thank you,” you muttered, leaning back and feeling butterflies in your stomach, “Um, Reggie, I don’t want to start anything right now, I need some time to figure me out-” you started, but were interrupted by Reggie shushing you.

“Hey, don't stress about this, you take all the time you need, I promise you I’m not going anywhere.” He smiles down at you, you return it tenfold.

“Hey! (Y/n)! What would you think about a feature on our next song?” Luke comes running up beside you and Reggie, ending the moment that was occurring.

“Um, i’ll have to think about that a bit,” You smirked, Reggie grabbing your bag and placing it on his shoulders, wrapping an arm around you as the group walked out of the school.

“By the way,” Reggie whispers in your ear, “I’m loving the way my flannel looks on you.”

#reggie julie and the phantoms #reggie #reggie jatp #reggie jatp x reader #reggie x reader #reader x reggie jatp #reader x jatp reggie #jatp reggie x reader #reggie jatp imagine #reggie jatp oneshot #reggie jatp fanfic #jatp #jatp imagine

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helaintoloki · 4 years

Note

Can you do a Ben x male/gender neutral ghost reader where the two snuck away from klaus and spent the day together but the moment gets ruined when someone walks through them the rest is up to you

a/n: the ending is kinda bleak idk why I always feel the need to write angst oh gosh but anyway hope you enjoy! // side note that reader is gender neutral

“You don’t like it, do you?” Ben ponders aloud while doing his best to mask his disappointment in his failure to please you.

“No, no, I love it, I really do,” you reassure him with tiny smile. “Picnics are great, I just... wish I could actually eat the food, you know? Haven’t quite figured out how to do that yet.”

“Oh, I forgot about that,” he admits with a weak chuckle. “I wish I could do more for you.”

“Hey,” you call gently, reaching over and clasping his hand between both of your own, “I was condemned to a life of solitude before I met you. If it weren’t for you I’d still be scared and alone, but I’m not anymore. I don’t care what we do as long as it’s together.”

Despite being a ghost and not having any real blood flow running through his body, Ben’s cheeks still manage to turn a light shade of red at your proclamation. It was really nice to finally have someone other than Klaus to talk to, someone who understood him and the life he lived, someone he could actually touch and feel and hold. Meeting you had been the best thing to ever happen to Ben since his demise, and every day he thanked whatever force was out there for bringing the two of you together. He could live a life of his own now separate from Klaus, could finally have something that was his, and it was really great.

You hadn’t been dead for long, what with your accident having happened only a month ago, so you were still getting used to the whole ghost thing. Something had held you back from crossing over to the other side, but you didn’t regret your decision in the slightest. After all, you never would have found the man of your dreams if not for your choosing to stay behind on earth. You weren’t as experienced as Ben, couldn’t levitate egg salad sandwiches or type threatening messages on typewriters or save anyone from falling debris, but with his help you had hope that one day you’d be able to take advantage of your spiritual state.

“I wish we could have met sooner,” Ben expresses with a sigh, fingertips lazily trailing up and down your arm. “Things could have been so much easier.”

“Well, better late than never,” you offer with a sheepish shrug. “How long do we have today before Klaus comes looking for you?”

“I’d say we have at least another hour or two before he realizes I’m not around,” he answers with a small smile. “What do you want to do until then?”

“Hmm... there’s a pond on the other side of the park. We can watch the ducks or something.”

“Sounds peaceful,” Ben notes with a smile. “Let’s do it.”

He rises from his spot on the picnic blanket before extending his hand to you and helping you up onto your feet. You send one last longing look at the pumpkin pie sitting at the very center of your little meal before intertwining your fingers with Ben’s and strolling towards the pond. If you don’t think about it too much, you can almost pretend you’re a real life couple enjoying a lovely walk through the park.

“We should go bird watching one day,” you suggest before pressing a quick kiss on Ben’s cheek. A sheepish smile graces his features at the act as he lets go of your hand to wrap his arm around your shoulders. “You don’t need to be alive to do that.”

“I’d like that,” he nods. “Maybe we can try going swimming back at the mansion too? Since it’s just Klaus there i don’t think anyone will mind.”

“God, I haven’t been swimming in so long,” you note. “Do you think-“

Ben doesn’t get to hear the rest of your sentence as an unsuspecting woman and her baby walk right through you. The woman halts her steps and shivers at the sudden coldness before continuing on her way, but the same spot you had once stopped is now empty as your apparition had faded away at the disturbance. A small sigh leaves Ben’s lips as he turns back around and returns to the picnic set up, and sure enough there you are trying your hardest to cut yourself a slice of pie only for your hands to phase through the utensils every time.

“Y/n?” He calls gently, gaining your attention and causing a gasp to fall past your lips.

“Y-You... you can see me?” You ask with teary eyes, and Ben’s heart seems to break in his chest as he realizes he’ll have to help you through your pain and trauma and fear all over again.

“I can, sweetheart,” he murmurs gently, opening his arms expectantly when you get up and throw yourself into his embrace for what’s probably the tenth time already.

“I thought I was alone,” you whisper faintly into his shoulder, tear drops sliding past your cheeks and dripping onto the fabric of his jacket.

“I’ve got you,” Ben comforts, squeezing you tight as tears of his own begin to form as a result of his feeling of utter helplessness.

Being a ghost is hard.

#ghost boyfriend #ben hargreeves #ben hargreeves x reader #ben hargreeves imagine #gender netural reader #number six #the horror #the umbrella academy #tua #tua x reader #request

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melchron · 3 years

Text

Nightmare Time Episode 3 Thoughts

I usually save this for the end of my thoughts but I have to say this now. OMG MATT DAHAN!!! I WILL NEVER NOT BE IMPRESSED BY HIM! Usually with the episodes I catch 1 or 2 motifs but I swear I caught everyone this time. And they all fit so well. My attention was evenly split between the music and the story this time. It was so freaking good. Matt deserves all the awards like omg.

I think this is the least laggy the theme has been. Good job going all out for the last one!

I said to my mom "Did Shashona record this video?" and she did!! Great cinematography Shashona!!

I also pointed out the Tim's daddy mask. I said "Aww he's wearing a mask for his son!". I guess my mom got confused and forgot Tim's name because she thought I was talking about Dylan's (nonexistent) son.

THE DRILL PRESSES!!

LEX AND ETHAN

I kind of already knew this but I love that Ethan knows cars. I just likes that he has a hobby.

Lex cares about Tom so much I love it.

WHY DID JANE TRY TO KILL ETHAN?!?!?!? TOM DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO HIM!!!! DID SHE HAVE SOME PERSONAL REASONS LIKE WHY!?!??!

That Lexthan interaction was so cute. I love how he saw she was super sorry and scared and he just stopped being mad and comforted her. They are so cute I can't handle it!!

KENDALL!!! Ok so through out this whole thing I know everyone was excited for their favorite character to come back but I really just wanted to see Kendall again. I guess after BF I assumed we would never see her again because I couldn't see them working with children becoming a normal thing. But when the original cast announcement came out I got so happy to see her name. So I was super excited to see her.

Her covering her hair with a beanie looks better than the wig

UNCLE PAUL I'M SOFT I CAN'T HANDLE THIS!!!!!

Cineplex Teen is like Larry from tawog. I guess we should start calling him Obnoxious Teen then. Until we get a name.

I love that Tim immediately likes Becky. Wish I could say the same for my stepparents.

Santa Claus Is Going To High School bb. Also I want to hear the rest of that song. Also also how many wigs does Lauren own?

TONY GREEN

Why must they make love to this movie everytime? Can't we simply just watch it and make fun of like normal people? That way Tim can enjoy it too.

Good for Jane for making sure her son doesn't have to eat disgusting school lunch. She gets good mom points.

Aww Becky reassuring him he's not a Dummy

Becky is like really horny this episode. Honestly Tom's into so go ahead girl

JAIME IS JANE

OK OK OK SO Jane said they were driving home from her parents house. Which means they were still alive when Jane died. That was only a year and a half ago so the Perkins parents might have died more recently than we thought. It's like Spring of 2019 right? So Jane died around Fall 2017. I don't remember if this was said in the show (it probably was and I'm saying nothing new) but I think Black Friday takes place about a year after her death. Tgwdlm took place October 2018. They have to have died only a few months before then. How long had Emma been in Hatchetfield before tgwdlm? Maybe there is a possibility we can see a flashback of an interaction with her parents depending on how long it's been. Also that means Emma lost her whole family in the span of a few months omg. And Tim lost his mom and his grandparents in that time. I want to see how they grieved with all of that. Also I know I'm crossing universes here but Emma also almost died the same day Jane did. Some strange force must really have it out for the Perkins family. Good on Emma for surviving like a champ.

Ok so I thought they went scouting for girls because Jane didn't want the man she loved to have to devote the rest of his life to a car. I thought she was trying to help him move on. She was getting good lover points but those have since been redacted.

Jane is definitely bi and I love that for her. I don't care if she tried to kill her new crush. It was new enough for it to mean nothing.

GREENPEACE GIRL

Tom does look like a creep ngl

Jane reminds us she's a car a lot. Like girl we get it.

No. No. No. NO NO NO NO NO NO NOPE! We're not talking about it. I don't want to. I stared at James the whole and honestly same dude. I saw Nick in my peripheral vision and loved/hated that he was laughing. RIP to me watching this with my mom. RIP to Kendall. Actually rip to everyone who had to sit through that. RIP to Jaime and Dylan for having to perform that. RIP to the cursed rehearsals. Matt and Nick seriously took the time to sit down and write that. What the heck you two?!? This made me more uncomfy than the entirety of mamd and Ted's character combined. I wish I was exaggerating. Maybe this was just me but it felt longer than it needed to. The relief and worry I felt when Tim walked in is a feeling I can not explain. Glad he was clueless.

Tim sweetie I love you but SHUT UP

Jane is crazy and Jaime is doing such an amazing job at portraying that.

Yes Tom. Because grave digging is way crazier than possessed cars.

I asked my mom why the didn't just go grave digging for Jane's body but my mom said the body is probably all rotted and gross so that explains that.

Why didn't Becky just go inside? If she went far enough I doubt Jane would have been able to hit her even if she managed to break into the house. Also let's assume Becky's house had an upstairs. There, perfect safety.

Did Becky seriously die in the same woods as Stanley?

Ok so I thought the tree thing was a reference to little Irish girl Becky from the Black Friday sk10 stream. But now it seems like something more serious and bad happened so I'm curious.

DID JANE GET TOM ARRESTED?!?!? It seemed like she could drive herself at that point. Why not let him get out and get Becky yourself? Is this that self confidence thing Tom talked about?

Is she really about to have her son be obsessed with Ms. Becky for the rest of their lives or is she gonna tell him?

This next episode made me physically jump twice. I say literally a lot but I promise you I'm using it correctly when I say I literally jumped.

KENDALL'S SINGING

I saw the thing about the ukelele being a bday gift from the cast so this was super sweet

Ok personal time. My grandmother's name is Pamela and my mom decided to permanently cut ties with her a few months ago due to her abusive behavior. Me and my sibling are still allowed to talk to her whenever we please but we haven't seen her as much as we used to. I got kind of scared watching this with my mom because I was scared this would trigger something. She didn't say anything and I didn't want to bother her about if she was fine so I didn't say anything. Anyway this just kind of hit different for me.

JAIME'S RANGE OMG

"I want to be alone with my man." Ms what are you about to do to your Tv?

DON'T GIVE HER BEER

Duke seems chill. I like him.

LEX AND ETHAN GOT ARRESTED!?!?!? FOR SELLING HER PILLS!?!??! THAT SHE TOLD THEM TO SELL!?!?!? I HATE HER!!!

Does Ms. Foster have a type or is being male good enough?

Hannah's 14? I thought she was the same age as Tim. I could have sworn in the BF commentary track they said she was 9 or 10. Did my brain make that up?

How does Kim change her hair so quickly? She did this in episode 2 too? I could never. I am very impressed.

Curt and Kim talking over the phone while standing shoulder to shoulder was funnier than it should have been

Ms. Holloway is cool. YAY MOSTLY GOOD WITCHES

How does Ms. Holloway know? I need a backstory please!!

Ok so I saw Jon in his cape and thought he might be the with. But then I saw James in his cape I y'know stopped thinking that. Anyway I'm obsessed with Jon and James in capes. Kind of wish Corey had one too.

OH I JUST THOUGHT THIS AS I'M TYPING NOW ok so that tree she was talking to at the beginning was one of the tree people. I'm embarrassed it took me this long to realise it.

Hannah is way too calm about these talking trees and sometimes spider ladies. I respect that.

There was a lot of black and white theming in this episode. More than normal. It makes me more curious about what exactly Hannah's connection to it is.

Hannah almost died in her own mind. I was kinda hating Ms. Holloway in this moment because she forced Hannah to go into her mind. But I know she had to so I'm cool with her again.

THE STARLIGHT THEATER

Did she really say just don't be scared next time? Like miss some actual advice would help.

CAN MS. HOLLOWAY'S MIND LEAVE HANNAH ALONE?? Like I know you didn't get the reaction you wanted out of her but you're seriously gonna give up and go for a little girl instead. Pathetic.

"What's shakin', Banana?" That was the first time I jumped.

WIGGLY

What exactly is that 6-legged girl? I wish we had a visual. Also how couldn't Ms. Holloway help her? What was her issue? Npmd you got anything for me?

Wiley. Just seeing him come up. That was the second time I jumped.

Also everyone already said this but props to Joey for his commitment. Shaving in between episodes like omg sir you didn't have to go all out for this. But you did and I appreciate you for it. Also HE KEPT THE JACKET?? WHAT!??! Just fully committed to this character go off Joey!!

Usually I would laugh at stuff phasing through the green screen but this just made it creepier.

HOLLOWAY AND WILEY/WILBUR BACKSTORY PLEASE

But also I love how the script had him listed at Wilbur above his lines. I remember Nick called him Wilbur once in the commentary track (possibly by accident) but it's nice to have it in cannon. I don't remember I any of the characters called him Wilbur because I'm so used to seeing Wilbur and Wiley used interchangeably but this was just nice to have canonized.

DUKE PAY ATTENTION!! FREAKING USELESS RIGHT NOW!!!

Dang Wiley she was already being choked in the physical world you didn't have to choke her in her mind too calm down

YAY MORE DOLLS

NICK I WAS KIDDING ABOUT AN APOTHEOSIS DOLL

Is the mouth one (I see we've named him Nibbly. Good because his full name is too long to type out) gonna be the npmd villain? The pick color theme seems cool.

ANGELA'S TRANSITION THOUGH!!! Omg she switched roles seamlessly. And her voice too!! Go off Angela.

MARIAH IS WEBBY

This is random and unrelated but I never noticed how big Mariah's eyes were before.

So Webby and the Doll Gang are all siblings? I find it interesting that the were described to all where black. And Webby's color theme is white. Like how the good and bad ukeleles were white and black. This might sound really dumb see as we don't have a 100% accurate visual of the black and white but I wonder if Webby ever left would it be 100% black? Like if Wiggly went through the portal would it become a little less black? Does this make sense? Also I'm starting to see the black and white as less of a bad place. Its starting to see more ominously neutral.

Hannah's favorite show is He-Man no I do accept criticism.

Ms. Holloway is a nerd. She saw Hannah make the reference and was like "Huh. I f she likes He-Man maybe making this hat a reference will make her like me." She would only know if she watched the show. But then again she seems to be stuck in the 80s so maybe she just thinks that's what's popular with the kids.

MS. HOLLOWAY PLEASE GET LEX AND ETHAN BACK

AND ANOTHER GREAT SONG TO END IT OFF

This episode was......a lot. So much happened. Loved all of it. I am scared of Nick and Matt's minds but also incredibly grateful for them. As usual everyone's acting was top notch.

I love this episode.

Also I'm just gonna say it. Jon ruined Nick's season one reveal.

#starkid #nightmare time #nightmare time spoilers #jane's a car #the witch in the web #Hatchetfield #mel thinks thoughts #melchron the good book

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angstew · 3 years

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Heart vs. Head vs. Me

I’m writing this because I feel like I am in one of the toughest spots of my life. As many decisions & choices as I’ve made in my life, none of them have ever weighed so heavily on my heart & on my mind. I had my son Oliver 13 months ago, with 2 months sober, living in a recovery house. We very quickly had to find an apartment, and learn how to be parents. Fortunately for us, we have been able to do that fairly well. I have 2 years sober, a beautiful son, a beautiful life. I knew after having my son, that I wanted to have more children, but hadn’t exactly planned it so soon. About a month ago, I found out I was pregnant again. I loved being pregnant, I loved growing a little person & feeling him moving around. The end of it & the birth was insane, but the rest of it was incredible. If I come back to reality though, we are in no way ready for another child. COVID is still alive & well, so we haven’t been back to work yet. We were incredibly fortunate to be getting unemployment, and managing to live off of it. However, that has now ended. My fiance is looking for work, but I have been struggling with severe separation anxiety so leaving my son doesn’t feel like an option yet. I also feel like it’s cheating on my son. If I have another baby he goes on the back burner. The new baby gets all the attention, all the new stuff. I have spent so much time reading about having 2 children under 2 & TONS of people say their kids are close, that it was the best thing that happened to them, but it’s different when it’s your family. I want to think that’s true, but what if it doesn’t go that way? What if my son doesn’t adapt? What if he doesn’t enjoy being a big brother already? Doesn’t he deserve to be the only one for a while? Get all mommy & daddy’s attention? Be the center of our universe? But am I keeping him from being close to a sibling? What if he loves it? They’d be close enough in age to virtually do everything together. My mind is always on a swivel, going from one side to the other. I put him to bed & look at him and think there is no way I can do this again right now...and then I feel the cramps & the nausea & think “How can I go through with termination?” I truly don’t know if I can physically, emotionally & mentally handle going through with an abortion. I have always been very pro-choice, but now that I have the choice it’s not an easy one to make. How do I look at my son, and then terminate this pregnancy. I knew when I was pregnant the first time, that I was having him, so why is it so much harder this time? Financially, we’re not any better or worse off than before. We’re actually probably BETTER equipped this time, having a house, and more time sober. I somewhat know how to take care of a baby at this point (I didn’t even know how to change a diaper or hold a baby before)

I have looked into medical abortions, read women’s experiences, and have tried to get as much information as I can. I read as much as I can about second pregnancies, raising 2 toddlers, giving birth again. None of it helps me make a clear decision. None of it helps my heart & my head match up. None of it makes me feel like I can either raise another baby or terminate one. I feel like I won’t be able to get over doing that. Mentally & emotionally, I worry it will push me over the edge. I read about women who KNEW it was the right choice, and I commend them on that. I want to reach that point, one way or the other. I struggle so much with this & I am both angry & ashamed that I put myself in this position. That I believed I wasn’t capable of getting pregnant again so quickly. I thought the first pregnancy was a fluke, early sobriety + sex = unplanned pregnancy. I sure as shit didn’t think it would happen twice in 2 years. Yet, here I am. I’ve even made the initial phone call at Planned Parenthood & then completely forgot to call in at the time. (where I live, before an abortion, you’re required to call a number & listen to a Dr. speak about the procedure & whatever else) Every time I think I’ve made up my mind, I get a sliver of doubt, a push in the other direction. I know I don’t have much longer to make a decision, which only makes it that much more difficult.

I know I have spent the entire time rambling, and if anyone’s read this far, I apologize for that. I’m not sure where to go from here, or how to even make a decision at this point. The love I feel for my fiance & my son is like nothing else in the world. It is truly indescribable. I know I want to expand our family & grow old together. But am I ready to do the expansion today? Or I guess 9 months from today...I don’t know. What do you do when your brain & your heart just won’t agree? When they both go back & forth constantly and won’t stop racing? This is truly one of the most difficult points I’ve ever been at in my life, and I spent a decade as a raging addict...I wish I had the answer, but I guess for now I’ll just write about my indecisiveness instead.

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ladylunasolis · 4 years

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Zutara Week 2020 - Day 1 “Reunion”

This is my first ever work for Zutara and ATLA - also my first work of any kind in years. Zutara has always been one of my OTPs and the re-watching the show reminded me how much I love the ship. We only had so many episodes to see them together...but this fandom keeps them alive. This is a more Zuko-centric piece, as I really like to wonder about his POV. Please enjoy “Reunion!”

Rating: G

It has been almost two years after the war had ended. There were some things Zuko had a more challenging time with as new Fire Lord. One was weeding out the Ozai loyalists in his councils. Second was smiling so much. He barely got used to that when he was with the rest of the gang. Of course, he didn’t necessarily need to smile but with the right people, it helped. He was initially a bit rusty with economics but with Iroh’s occasional visits and reading recommendations, Zuko made great progress.

Another area for growth was replying to the numerous gifts and letters he received from dignitaries throughout the world. After one round of answering letters took over an hour in a chair (he insisted he reply himself to make things more personal) he realized he was not quite there yet. Zuko tended to think better while pacing so he employed a transcriber.

As many things were challenging, there were many things Zuko did well. Some of these strengths include memorizing the names of his servants and being able to take into consideration the viewpoints of the needy/working class. He was for the people. He was open to hearing input, though did not hesitate to tell someone when their words were disrespectful. Although he was awkward, kids liked to talk to him. He was great at international relations.

And he always, always replied to Katara within 2 days - in his own writing.

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, daughter of Hakoda, waterbending master, ambassador. The girl who saved his life. Not too long after his coronation ceremony she had left to fix the rest of the world, alongside Avatar Aang. In the months that passed her departure, every time he closed his eyes he would see hers. He would see those deep blue eyes peering down at him, the first thing he would see after Azula’s attack. He remembered how they brimmed with tears. He remembered that not even the blue of Azula’s fire or hell, the blue of Azula’s lighting, could compare to the blue of Katara’s eyes.

He had wanted to say it, wanted to ask her if he was crazy to think there was something there because she felt it too right? A few days had passed after the pomp and circumstance of the coronation. She was checking to make sure he was healing well, her glowing hands running over his exposed stomach, making his abs contract.

“So...” Katara started off shyly. She had a blush on her cheeks and a small smile, but did not meet his eye. This was it, Zuko thought. This is the moment!

“I think me and Aang are going to give this a shot. I mean this, like, me and him. Together.” She became very flustered and brought the water back to the bowl, looking to see if any drops had fell though he damn well knew that wasn’t possible. Silence came over the two of them, except for the roaring of Zuko’s heartbeat in his ears.

He was unsure how much time has passed until Katara started to shift and stand up, brushing off invisible lint. “Okay well you’ve healed past anything serious, it’ll just be some pain—.”

“Thank you.” Zuko tied his shirt and stood up as well. He towered over Katara, who was looking down, playing with her hair. Zuko was definitely aware of the pain he would be feeling, now and for a long time coming. But it wasn’t from the agni kai. The next words kind of just came out on their own.

“Are you happy?”

Katara looked up at him with those beautiful blue eyes, with a small smile. She kept eye contact for a moment, which made Zuko wonder if she was searching for something in his own eyes. Then the moment passed. “I am! I really am.”

Zuko felt the urge to say more, but another thought crossed his mind. Who was he to get in the way of her happiness? He saved her life and almost sacrificed his own, sure, but Aang had done just the same. Aang was a good kid. Aang would protect her. Aang is in love with her... With Zuko, he wasn’t even completely sure yet how he felt - he just knew that he wanted her around. But that wasn’t enough to keep her from love. So Zuko cleared his throat and returned the soft smile, placing a hand on Katara’s shoulder.

“I’m really glad.” And he meant it.

He watched her leave a few days later, after hugging both her and Aang, wishing them both safe travels and letting them know they were welcome any time. Zuko could distinctly remember standing on the palace steps long after the air bison had disappeared into the horizon. To distract himself from regrets, he buried himself in work. It was effective about 90% of the time.

Zuko would also still see Mai, and though he felt a familiarity for her it wasn’t the same as what he felt for Katara - whatever that was. He would spend time with Mai when he could, try to get things back to where they were before he left to join the gang, but his mind would wander. To the argument they had on Ember Island “At least I feel something!” Or to brilliant blue. The kisses and touches he shared with Mai paled next to what stirred within him when Katara merely said his name.

Then the letters started arriving.

The letters started a little more than two months after Katara and Aang left. They would come once a month, or two if they were closer. They started off with many “we went to” “we met with” “we did.” After another seven or eight months it was mostly Katara writing about her day and asking about Zuko’s day.

The fruit in the Earth kingdom are great, but I still like the Fire Nation’s better. Especially that one that’s soft and yellow in the middle. I forgot the name. But nothing beats sea prunes! You have to try some next time you come here.

Despite Mai’s lack of expression, Zuko knew she was very perceptive. Try as hard as he could, he wasn’t able to ever give her all of his attention. If he was honest, he would say he was almost desperate to forget Katara but it wasn’t fair to Mai to use her for that. Zuko opened his mouth to say something one day and she put a hand up to stop him.

“I get it. I don’t want to fight about it, but I never want to speak to you again either.” That stung, because in a way she was pretty much his only friend in the nation, but he knew it must have hurt her worse. And so he buried himself completely in work and firebending training.

A year after the war ended and peace had begun, a conference was held at the Fire Nation palace. It was decided the leaders of each nation would come together to encourage international coordination and morale between the nations. Zuko had fought against those Ozai-loyalists daily to combat the ideals that the Fire Nation was the best of all. He had advocated diligently to open their eyes to how the other nations work, to be able to learn from them, and to share the Fire Nation’s ways without having to over their land.

Plus, it would be a good chance to see his friends again.

On the day of the Conference of Peace Zuko awoke even earlier than usual and went through some of his firebending forms. He felt jittery, shaky, alert. But he was excited. Him, Zuko, excited! He was sitting in the conference chamber an hour before the meeting started that day. It had been too long since he had seen Katara. Is she taller? Is her hair done in the same way? Will she still smile when she sees me?

Then the nerves set in. Am I taller? Am I fitting into my royal robes well enough? Wait, are the royal robes too much? I know Katara’s not the type to—. He had to shake his head quickly, before his thoughts ran away with him. “It doesn’t matter anyway, because she’s with Aang. So stupid.”

When Sokka came announced as Water Tribe Ambassador, Zuko had to grit his teeth to curb his initial reaction. Sokka was charming and cheerful as usual. “What’s up, Fire Lord? I’m here reppin’ the Water Tribe!” He wrapped an arm around Zuko’s shoulders and leaned into him.

“H-Hey, Sokka,” Zuko managed. He cleared his throat. “It’s great to see you. Uh where’s Katara?”

“Oh yeah, so right before she was gonna leave I guess almost all of the village got sick with something they haven’t seen before. Katara had been healing for days but it’s something that needs multiple treatments or something. Wait, you didn’t get a letter? Well I guess I got here before the letter since I’ve been traveling closer with Suki.”

At this point they heard the unmistakable groan of an air bison and Aang landed Appa in the square, and from far away they could see his arm up and waving. Everyone will remember that first conference as one where Fire Lord Zuko was informative, but his expression hardly changed the entire time. Some would say he was even a little surly.

Zuko caught up with Sokka and Aang and while it was truly great to see them, he couldn’t help but wonder where Katara’s letter was. As curious as he was about her, he wasn’t going to bombard her brother and her boyfriend for information. Sure enough, he had found her letter at the end of the second day.

I’m so sorry Zuko, my people need me. Even though people are recovering it’s taking multiple rounds of healing for each person and I’m the only one who can heal at this pace. By the time you read this Sokka will probably have told you already. But I just wanted you to know I really did want to see youand everyone.

The last words seemed to be scribbled together, like she had an afterthought to add “and everyone” over where she originally placed a period after “you.” I’m probably just imagining it - the thought flooded Zuko’s mind, but he was able to sit up late and respond.

You’re right, Sokka did get to me first. But don’t worry, your people come first and I’m wishing them all a quick recovery. They have a great healer there after all, Master Katara. Zuko paused, before continuing on. It would have been great to see you, too. Hopefully that will happen some time soon.

After the conference, there were no letters for a month or two. Needless to say, Zuko berated himself. “Scared her off,” he muttered to himself, throwing a towel into a soiled linen basket. He had just finished some training, taking his frustration out on himself. Zuko noted there was a mail delivery and his eyes lit up when he saw the blue water tribe symbol. He opened it eagerly and skimmed through the long letter.

. . . Anyways, I love being home. It’s nice to be with family and wear my furs, though I’ve been growing a bit so I may have to get new ones soon! I’ve been so busy ever since 2 of the kids found out they can waterbend. Being home does sometimes feel different though. I guess it just takes a little getting used to for me to be back here because this is the longest I’ve been home or even 1 place since me and Sokka found Aang. But since Aang and I broke up, I just decided to stay here for a bit. We’re still friends, probably better friends than girlfriend-boyfriend, but thought that the space would be good.

Zuko stopped. “Since Aang and I broke up…” A fire lit within him. He read it over again in disbelief. This was his chance! Finally! He was going to-! Zuko shook himself, and ran a hand over his face, eyes skimming the letter over. “No. Come on, Zuko, she probably doesn’t want to be jumped on after a break up. They were together a while. How long have they been broken up for anyway?”

After some thought, and calming exercises, he picked up a quill. Zuko wrote out the general greetings and response to the daily activities she had in her letter. He hesitated and continued on.

I’m sorry to hear about you and Aang but that’s great you two are still friends. As you know, it doesn’t always end up that way. I’m sure you two will continue working on making the world a better place.

Zuko grimaced as he read his letter over. Before he could change his mind, he rolled the scroll up and went to the aviary.

The letters were different from then on.

I was really missing the turtleducks today! I wonder if those babies are all grown up now! Remember when you first showed them to me? We had so much fun.

The sunsets here are great, but sometimes I think about the sunsets in the Fire Nation. They’re completely opposite but still just as beautiful.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing all that I can to help people, or if I should be doing more. I’m doing great work here I know but I’m thinking about traveling again, learning more and bringing that knowledge back home.

Zuko would reply. He started to confide in her his fears and insecurities, in response to her becoming vulnerable with him too.

Those turtleduck babies have gotten bigger, but there are always more born every year. It would be nice to have a picnic by the pond to introduce you to them.

Next time you’re here, you have to see a sunset from my favorite spot. I’ll take you. And you’re right, opposites can both be equally great. Before I got to know you, I never knew water could be so strong and beautiful.

I know how you feel. Even though I’m seeing changes it can feel like I’m still fighting a battle. Sometimes I just get tired, but I just have to keep going. Sometimes broadening our horizons are the best ways to help our people.

The second Conference of Peace was approaching in another two months’ time. Of course, Zuko had invited Katara to be Water Tribe Ambassador once more and he waited with bated breath for her answer.

Zuko, of course I’ll be there! I can’t miss it two years in a row. I actually wanted to let you know, I was thinking of spending time there before the conference. I’m in the Earth Kingdom right now. I traveled here since my last letter, thanks to your encouragement! Since we’ve been talking about the Fire Nation and things I haven’t seen yet, I thought it would be a good chance to do a little bit of that before we have to all talk business. But if it’s not a good idea, or if you’re too busy, I understand.

Zuko, who had been working on the speed of his replies, replied and sent right after he read her letter.

Of course you’re welcome to come. I would love to have you here.

Weeks later, Fire Lord Zuko stood on the docks, staring out to sea. Many citizens were quick to recognize him and Zuko gave each of them a nod of his head or a wave. He knew this was a little odd, but he didn’t care. He was finally going to see Katara again. They had so little time together in person before she had to depart so he didn’t really know what to call his feelings then. All he knew was he cared enough about her to give his life. That had not changed with Zuko, but he now knew what he feels for her now.

He saw Katara on deck, leaning on the railing, before she saw him. Her chestnut hair was partially up, hair loops still in tact. She was wearing a new blue outfit that matched the tan of her skin. And her smile when she saw him was brighter than the sun. He noticed the way she flicked her wrist, and the sudden wave that brought the ship closer even quicker.

She made her way down the dock and Zuko had to remind himself he is the damn Fire Lord, look noble! But he sure as hell still felt like a teenager despite his age making him an official adult now. He wanted to run and hug her but was able to control himself enough to take a few steps towards the smiling waterbender.

“Hi Zuko,” Katara said, and her voice was a song to his ears. Better than any song he ever heard on music night, by far. She smiled up at him, because even though she had grown a little he had grown a lot. “It’s been too long.”

And then he looked into those eyes, just as blue and expressive as he remembered them. They had haunted him in the most tormenting way but now that his eyes were meeting her’s again, all the pain was worth it.

“You’re right, Katara. It has been.” And Zuko smiled, the emotions reaching his golden eyes. His smile was a promise - a promise to show her everything she wanted to see, and that he wasn’t going to take this chance for granted. Not ever again.

Thank you for reading!

#zutara #zutara week #zutara week 2020 #atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #writing #reunion

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zims-left-shoe · 4 years

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My gay little heart thanks you for contributing to the Gaz community with your recent post, haha. May I please request a Gaz x reader where Gaz is gay panicking and the reader is confident and flirtatious? Some spice or implied would be neato but if not that’s totally cool too!

Of course you can!! I absolutely love writing for Gaz x female reader, I had something already planned before I got a couple asks for her. I hope you like it!

I sat at the table, lunch tray filled with barely edible garbage sitting in front of me, untouched. Scanning the room for my idiot brother, my eyes landed on him across the cafeteria, picking a fight with Zim...again. He was a senior in high school and yet he was acting like he was still twelve. Groaning, I pulled out my Game Slave from my bag to play away the rest of lunch. I don't remember how many minutes had passed by after I had booted up the game, but it couldn't have been many.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" It was a girl's voice, one I had never heard before. I looked up, meeting eyes with her. Her h/c hair framed her face, a slight smile tying her features together. Still, I said nothing. I had only sat with Dib at lunch ever since I could remember. Neither of us had many, if any, friends. We were just too weird. "It's just, I'm new here, and you're sitting alone. I thought we could both use a friend." I felt my eye twitch at her words. She really didn't care about the things she said, did she? She had confidence. I gave her that much.

"Tch." I said nothing, eyes returning to my game, fingers beginning to button mash once more. I expected her to walk away, find someone else to sit with. Probably the popular girls. She was pretty enough. Instead, she did something that surprised me. This girl was always full of surprises, it seemed to be. Setting down her tray, she took a seat right across from me. She took a single bite of the food and learned her lesson immediately. My eyes darting from my screen to this new girl, I watched her gag and push the tray away.

"Wow...that's bad. I mean, really bad." A chuckle spilled from her lips. "Note to self: bring your own lunch. No wonder no one else is eating." I let out a huff, hoping she would just go away. She was annoying, but annoying in a different way than my brother or Zim. She was just too...nice to me. We both sat in silence, the only sound coming from my Game Slave and the dull hum of the cafeteria. Finally, she spoke again. She just wouldn't quit, would she? "You got a name?" Clearly, she was talking to me.

"Gaz." I muttered, not looking up from my game. Sure, it was rude, but I didn't care. Despite my sour attitude, she perked right up, as if she was the happiest person alive to get my name.

"I'm Y/n."

. . .

"Hey, Gaz!" I was jolted awake by the slam of my bedroom door as it was thrown open, my stupid brother just barging in. If I was more with it, I would have beat his ass for not knocking, or even coming in at all. He ventured even farther into my room, not stopping until he was at the edge of my bed, where I was currently sitting. "I just came in to ask you if you could tape Mysterious Mysteries for me tonight, I have some serious-" He cut himself off, eyes seeming to catch something. "Oh, what're you drawing?"

"Huh?" My brain was still fuzzy, and before it even registered with me what he was talking about, he snatched a sketchbook from my lap, one that I forgot I had with me. I realized that I had fallen asleep while drawing, and it suddenly hit me what was in that book. Every nerve within my body awake and screaming with anger, I jumped up, trying to take it back. Unfortunately, he had several inches in height on me, and could efficiently hold it out of my grasp. "Give it back!" Despite my efforts, now that we had both grown up a bit, we weren't exactly on level playing fields anymore. He gazed at the page, an eyebrow quirking.

"Is this Y/n?" I felt heat rush to my face, wanting to both kick the shit out of him and disappear right on the spot. "Wow, I didn't know you drew people. You should show her-" In his admiration of my work, he had left himself vulnerable. I kicked him in the shins, hard, ripping the sketchbook from his hands. Once I had it secured, I shoved him out of my room.

"If I see you in my room again you're a dead man, Dib! Do you hear me?!" I screamed after him as I slammed the door in his face. Chest rising and falling rapidly, I flopped back onto my bed, glancing back to my sketchbook. I couldn't stop the sigh that had escaped.

This sucks... I thought, pulling my sketchbook in close to my chest and screwing my eyes shut. How did she manage to make every day hell for me? She had been that way since day one.

Yawning, you twisted the knob to your first period classroom door, opening it and walking in, eyes scanning the room for a certain purple-haired goth. You felt every part of you that had been previously exhausted fill with energy as you strode over to your table that you shared with her. Setting your things down, you greeted her with a smile.

"Morning, Gaz!"

"How are you always so damn cheery?" She groaned, fixing you with a glare. She was not a morning person. She was never pleasant with you until around lunch. And even then, she was still an asshole to everyone else.

"Because I get to see your gorgeous face every morning." You watched as her cheeks became dusted in a light pink. She continued to stare stupidly at you for a few seconds before her usual demeanor set back in.

"Whatever."

“Anyway. Maybe we could hang out after school today? I feel like I haven't gotten to see you in forever."

"You see me every day at school." She wasn't saying no. And after being her friend for months now, you knew her well enough to know that she wanted to. You just had to let the usual song and dance play out first.

"You know what I mean...please?~" You asked, despite knowing her answer always had been yes. You flashed her the doe eyes, laying your head on her shoulder and wrapping your arms around her.

"Okay! Yes! Just get off!" She pushed you out of her personal space, hard but not aggressive. You knew she actually enjoyed your behavior, or else you wouldn't do it. She liked to present herself as a tough lone wolf who can and will beat you into the ground, but you knew her to be a secret softie. She often showed a different side when it was just the two of you, although she would always bring her bitchiness back at school.

"Great!" Huffing, she pulled out her notebook, still pretending to be irritated with you. She thought her charade was convincing, but you could read her better than she would ever know. All it took was one look at the pink that stained her cheeks, the way she froze at your slightest touch or even the most subtle flirtatious phrase. You knew much more than you would let on. You wanted to hear it come from her, when she was ready. However, that didn't mean you wouldn't nudge her a bit. Sometimes, some people just need a good shove.

"You can come over to my place. My brother is going to be out hunting aliens or some shit, and my dad is working like always." Her tone was no longer sharp, in fact she seemed rather passive.

"Sure, that's fine by me!" You had never been to her place when it was empty. Usually Dib was around, or her father, or on the rare occasion, both. You felt butterflies fill your stomach, not from nerves, rather unadulterated excitement. Maybe this was it. Maybe she would let you in on what was supposed to be kept so secret. Would she finally show her hand? You hoped so. She always played everything so close to the vest. Although you were able to see what she held, you would never let her onto that. You had your own poker face.

The air was warm, gradually edging closer to unpleasantly so. It was the type of weather that meant summer was closing in, as if you couldn't already tell by that anxious buzz that was ever present in your classes and in the hallways, especially from the seniors. The absence of any breeze didn't help things, and you knew you would be sweating within a few minutes. Luckily, you knew the Membrane house to be not too much farther. Your backpack seemed to weigh more the longer you walked, so you decided to distract yourself.

"So, you excited to get the house to yourself when Dib graduates in a few weeks?" You asked, your question the Trojan horse for your actions. You brought your hand closer to hers, brushing your fingers against her own casually, something that could be disguised as accidental. Or, it would be, if you didn't proceed to do it again...and again...and again. She didn't address it, but you could tell by the way her gaze shifted that she was not ignorant to it.

"I wish. He's not going to college, at least right now. Taking a gap year, or something. He still wants to be a paranormal investigator, but dad wants him to get a degree in science. This gap year was their compromise." She fished her hand into her pocket, the clinking of metal reaching your ears as she searched for her keys.

"Each is hoping the other gives in over the next year, huh?"

"Exactly. But it ain't gonna happen. Both of them are too stubborn for that." More jingling noises sounded as Gaz put the keys into the door, twisting until the click of the lock was heard. She let you in first, calling over her shoulder to you as she closed the door after you. "We can just go to my room. Not much to do out here." You had been to her house enough times to know where it was without guidance, and even if you hadn't you were fairly sure you could find it first time without help. The door was decorated with a menacing 'Keep Out' sign, and many skulls, horror dolls, and band logos were painted onto the wood, most likely by Gaz herself. The inside, usually kept dark, was bright for once. It was a rare occasion where the shades were drawn, and light could be let in. The walls were still painted a deep, almost black red, but the sunlight really did make everything brighter. Band posters covered the walls hiding most of that previously mentioned paint. The sheets on her bed were black, she covered her carpet in a black fluffy rug, her desk was black, virtually everything was black besides the various disturbing stuffed animals and dolls that were strewn around her room. There were many who would feel uncomfortable in a room like hers, but you had adjusted and learned to love it, just as you had learned to love her.

"So, what do you want to do?" You turned to her, already feeling her lighten up now that you were both alone.

"I have an extra Game Slave. Think you can beat me in Bloaty Kart?" She smirked, pulling out her handheld consoles from her bag and a drawer in her desk, tossing one to you.

"Of course." You both knew you couldn't, but regardless, you would put up a fight. Hopping up on her bed, you booted up your games, ready to watch Gaz wipe the floor with you. Intensely staring at the screen, you held down the buttons you were supposed to, furiously dancing your thumb on the D pad. "Oh, come on! Not fair!" You cried as Gaz hit you with a flying pizza, preventing you from even getting close to her. "Why are you able to hit people behind you? That should be illegal." You pushed your bottom lip out, scooting closer to Gaz until your shoulders were touching. You leaned into her heavily, trying to shove her a bit to throw her off her rhythm. It didn't work, but it was worth a shot.

"You're not even trying!" Gaz's words were broken by pearls of laughter, a beautiful sound in your opinion. Things were ramping up in game as the final lap commenced. You had finally managed to catch up to Gaz, and the two of you were close to neck and neck as you both closed in on the finish line. Despite being close, you knew you couldn't beat her without illegal tactics.

"Oh, I'm not trying? Fine!" Just as the finish line was only a few kart lengths away, you turned your head towards Gaz, leaning in to plant a big kiss on her cheek. She seemed so stunned by your action that she dropped her Game Slave, her character stopping just before the line, letting you win. "Sorry, cutie. All's fair in love and war." You watched Gaz' expression morph from stunned to panicked. Her normally squinty eyes widened to the size of saucers, her jaw set, fingers curled in tight to her palms. You could see her nails digging in harshly, sure to leave deep crescents when released. Her appearance resembled a frightened animal, and she soon lashed out like one, too. She put her hand on your shoulder, shoving you away from her harshly. You almost tumbled off of her bed. This was the most aggressive you had seen her act towards you in your entire friendship, and although all you wanted was for things to work out, you wondered if you had overstepped boundaries. That maybe there was a line that shouldn't have been crossed.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Her voice was raised and shrill, yet she still refused to look at you.

"Gaz, I-" You attempted to apologize, beginning to doubt your impressions of her. Maybe you had everything all wrong. Maybe she didn't like you the way you liked her. If that was the case, she probably didn't want anything more to do with you, since you had been so persistent. That was the last thing you wanted. You were okay if she wanted to stay friends. But you didn't think you could handle losing her entirely.

"God, what's your problem?!" She spat, every word dripping venom. Her eyes were overly shiny, the sign of tears forming. You didn't want to push her. You let her get angry. If she wanted to scream at you, that was fine. You would wait. You sat away from her, keeping your distance, not afraid of her. Just afraid of hurting her. "I just...you're just so...do you even know what you're doing to me?" Her voice had quieted, her shoulders slouched. Those tears that had been threatening to fall finally spilled down her cheeks. She looked utterly helpless as she looked to you for the first time. You felt a pang in your heart for her. You had been there once. You had been where she was, scared out of your mind at your own feelings, those desires you could never escape from. Not wanting to lose those you cared about, terrified to admit everything to yourself. Despite how badly you wanted to reach out and hold her, to tell her everything was okay, you knew you had to wait. She still hadn't said all that she needed to. And so you sat still, not saying a word, hands folded neatly in your lap. Your eyes were trained on your chipping black nail polish, remnants of the last visit to Gaz's room. You couldn't bear to see her cry, but you knew it was necessary. So you kept looking down as you waited. After what felt like ages, she spoke again. "I like you...more than I ever wanted to." Those words were all that you needed to hear.

"Gaz..." The room still had energy, but it wasn't as suffocating. Everything felt lighter somehow now that all of her cards were on the table. Now, it was time for you to show yours. You crawled back over to her, movements slow, always watching her body language to make sure she wouldn't be uncomfortable. The second things got to be too much, you would put on the brakes. The final few tears slipped down her cheeks. You brought your hands to her face, wiping them away with your thumb. Nothing else needed to be said as you leaned in, gently placing your lips on her own. She seemed so fragile in that moment, you were afraid you would shatter her like glass. You pulled away, searching her face for any sign of discomfort. "I like you too. I thought that was obvious." Joy swelled in your chest as you felt Gaz's demeanor completely shift from underneath you. She no longer seemed petrified, rather, an air of confidence similar to your own radiated from her. Sometimes, you just needed a good breakdown to get back on track.

"I hoped that was the case." A slight smirk graced her face as she gripped the collar of your shirt in her hand, yanking you into another kiss. This one was much less delicate, her lips moving against yours in an almost hungry manner. Pulling back after a few moments, a shit-eating grin stretched across your lips.

"I see you like the way I taste." You teased, pressing your lips against hers once more. You decided to go a bit further, trusting that she would let you know if she didn't like something. Grabbing her bottom lip in your teeth, you waited until she opened her mouth to question you, taking the opportunity to slip your tongue inside. Despite probably never kissing anyone before in her life, she was keeping up with you as your tongue worked its magic. After exploring her mouth a bit more and seeing what reactions it earned you, you parted, letting her breathe. "You may kick my ass in video games...but just know when it comes to this...you're the one getting schooled." Your words came between large breaths for air.

"Oh yeah? Who decided that?" Her tone was full of mock defiance. She wanted to be a bit of a brat, but you knew that, deep down, she was just glad that everything was finally out in the open. She placed her hands on your thighs as you straddled her, tracing circles into them. You shook your head, grin still ever present. Bringing your lips to her face, you kissed just off the mark from her own, trailing kisses down her jaw.

"I did." You spoke as you were still peppering her with kisses, feeling her squirm underneath you. You guessed she was ticklish. You resumed pressing kisses to her skin until you had reached her neck. Her hands moved to lose themselves in your hair as you focused on one single spot, giving it an experimental nip to gauge her reaction. Her hands clenched your hair like it was a lifeline, her breaths irregular. One of your hands found the hem of her shirt, toying with it in your fingers as you continued to bite her neck, leaving softer kisses to replace your nips. All the while, the only thing to leave her mouth was your name, albeit very breathily. Pulling away from her neck, your lips crashed into hers once more, overjoyed just to be able to be there in that moment. You moved together, keeping time with one another. Everything in that minute felt like it was supposed to be that way. If asked, you would have both said that your lips were always meant to fit together. For Gaz, the world finally seemed to make sense. She finally understood why no one at school had caught her eye before you, why she was just so not into whoever Dib or her father tried to introduce her to during their brief stint at matchmaking. Everyone always thought Gaz was a cold, heartless psycho who just wanted to be left alone. You could be certain that was completely untrue.

You felt a hand snake underneath your shirt and up your side, Gaz's fingers dancing along your skin. You couldn't help but shiver, and Gaz smiled against your lips. You vowed that day to do anything for that smile.

Just as things were perfect, when it seemed that the stars were aligned and that nothing could ruin the moment, the universe just had to prove you wrong. The door to Gaz's room was thrown open, a familiar voice that you dreaded to hear reaching your ears.

"Gaz, you'll never guess what happe-" Dib stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes rested on a sight he never thought he would see. His sister underneath her friend, lips locked and hand up her shirt. His face was the color of his enemy's uniform, all the way to the tips of his ears. "M-My bad, I'll come-come back later." Despite saying he would leave, his feet felt as if they were planted to the floor, unable to stop staring, even after you had pulled away.

"GET OUT!!" Gaz shrieked at the top of her lungs, reaching out and grabbing hold of one of her stuffed animals, rocketing it towards Dib. That seemed to kick Dib's ass into gear as he zipped out of the room, the stuffed animal colliding with the closed door. Gaz's cheeks were stained in red, and you would admit your own felt quite hot as well. An awkward 'I-can't-believe-that-shit-just-happened' laugh tumbled from your lips as you crawled off of her, sitting down beside her. There was no recovering from that, the vibe had been officially killed. Not just killed. Publicly executed.

"Wow...how long do you think it'll take for him to look me in the eye again?" More laughter erupted from you, and this time Gaz joined in.

"Probably about six and a half years. And then eight more before he'll finally be able to talk to you." It was a joke, but you figured that, knowing Dib, it probably wasn't too far off the mark. "Jesus, I've told him a thousand times to knock first. Or to just stay out of my room entirely." She crossed her arms, blowing a strand of purple hair out of her eyes.

"Well, on the bright side, he'll probably obey that rule from now on." She nodded silently, a serious air settling around her.

"One could only hope." She ended her phrase with a sigh, head leaning back to rest against the headboard of her bed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. A quiet moved in right then. You understood why. There was a heavy question that needed to be addressed, although you thought you both already knew the answer. You contemplated on asking it, but figured you'd let Gaz. You were okay with everything, and you wanted her to be the one to bring things to the table. That would be your way of knowing what she was ready for. To your relief, she finally spoke up, her eyes drifting back to yours. "Maybe we could...ugh, you know..." She trailed off, refusing to say the words. You had always been able to tell from day one based on your interactions that she had low EQ, and that she would be a lot tougher and more reserved when it came to admitting feelings. That was fine by you. You were much more open, and were willing to guide her through the process of learning how to open up, at least to you for a start.

"Be girlfriends?" You finished for her, watching as she nodded, relieved she didn't have to be the one to say it. You pretended to contemplate it for a moment, over exaggerating the way you tapped your chin, pretending to be in deep thought. "Hmm, I dunno...that's kinda gay." You couldn't keep your straight face for long as you busted up laughing, clutching your stomach. Your laughs and giggles were smothered when Gaz reached for a pillow, shoving it into your face.

"You're stupid." You threw the pillow down, pulling her into a hug, loving the smile on her face that continued to grow.

"But you love me anyway." You sang into her ear as she stayed put in your arms, her own arms finding their place around you.

"Yeah, whatever." That was the first time you had heard a whatever that she had spoken ever be laced with nothing but love and affection. You were so undeniably happy in that moment that nothing could ruin it for you, or for her. Not even paranoid ghost hunting brothers who barged into rooms without knocking.

#invader zim oneshot #invader zim #invader zim x reader #gaz membrane #gaz x reader #invader zim one shot #invader zim fic #invader zim fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic

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apollo-writes-random-shit · 3 years

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Id love to see “Run Boy Run” with Race and Jack please!! I love your writing

Ahhh thanks! I’m really fucking sorry that this took so long! I kept losing motivation and stuff like that whoops. I hope you enjoy even though you can probably see the parts I gave up lol. Also, I don’t know why but for some reason, I decided to research about the real lodging house and included that in here because ???? Who the FUCK knows.

TWs: Mentioned abuse and one small scene (Snyder slaps Jack( and attempted drugging (Jack tries to slip Snyder a sleeping drug so he and Race could escape). Briefly mentioned homophobia.

Also, for most of the story, Jack and Race go by ‘Francis and Tony’. In this world, some people are born with powers and because I like to torture myself, I decided to go through about fifty different names to what to call people like that instead of just saying they’re magic????

Also, I threw in some ocs, so yeah.

Francis knew his very existence was hated by people in his town. Well, at least the ones who knew what he was. A small-town mindset like the one he lived in was horrible for someone...Different. For someone who was a Cosma. Someone with powers was an outcast in his town. A monster to some. One of the only people who knew was his step-father and he held his status above his head, always threatening to out him, but he could handle it.

However, he knew the new kid wouldn't be able to handle it. One look at he knew that the boy was like him. A Cosma but he hadn't shown many signs yet. Francis knew the second Snyder caught on to the fact that Tony was a shifter and communicator, the boy's life would become a hell of abuse and experiments. The things that had happened so far were easy to explain as a trick of the light. Different eyeshade? That was the light. Slightly sharper teeth? Nah, your eyes are playing tricks on you, Sir, there's no need to worry.

Francis couldn't help but wonder which of them was more powerful. His new brother with the ability to shapeshift and control horses with his voice, or himself with the power to bring drawings to life. He placed his bets on Tony. The boy was a double after all.

Francis knew they had to get out and after a month of searching, he finally found a way. Someone had agreed to help him travel to a safer place, one where he could be himself. Where others would help him and his brother no matter what

Run boy run! This world is not made for you.

The small town had him trapped. He and his brother didn't belong there, but his contact promised him freedom. Sure, there wasn't much fresh air there like there was here in Santa Fe but New York offered freedom...A place where Tony could grow up without having to hide a major part of himself.

He was scared though. He somehow needed to sneak not only himself but Tony out of the house in the middle of the night and get across town in the middle of the night so the two could cross the town borders and escape for a better life.

It would be worth it though. If it meant Tony was safe, it would all be worth it. He'd lay his life down for his little brother and he knew that his brother wouldn't like it if he found out but it was the truth. Tony meant everything to Francis and he'd give up anything for the younger boy.

But even planning to escape was hard. Francis wasn't a moron. He knew Snyder had placed trackers in all of his clothes, though, that wasn't the most obvious thing. The most obvious tracker was the dog tags each boy wore under strict orders not to take them off at any point.

Tony may find no issue in it but Francis did. He knew it wasn't for their 'safety'. No. It was for Snyder's. Snyder knew that Francis could out him at any time. Multiple bruises and scars weren't easy to explain away when at least one of them was a brand baring Snyder's name, set on the back of his shoulder.

There was no way he could hide the truth if anyone was to ever see that so it was vital he kept tabs on the boys at all times. After all, he didn't want his image of a respected man to be ruined.

But Francis' contact already had a plan for that. Spare clothes would be brought for the boys and their own would be thrown somewhere once they left town, along with the dog tags. He was also bringing a friend who could easily disable things in case Snyder had injected them with a tracker.

Run boy run! They're trying to catch you!

Tonight was the night. Francis had everything planned and all he could do was hope that it would work. It was dangerous, but any plan that had to do with running away was and if he could ruin the man's reputation at the same time, he'd gladly do so.

He knew that the second he stepped out of his 'house', Francis Sullivan and Tony Higgins would be dead and two boys without identities would be born but he was okay with that. The two could find themselves new names and Snyder would never be able to hurt them again. He'd be okay. They both would be okay. Even if Snyder moved to New York which he had mentioned a few times, he wouldn't be able to touch them. He wouldn't be able to know who they were. e

It was surprisingly easy to slip the drugs into Snyder's beer, something that he was terrified of doing. After all, he could be caught doing it but luckily, the man was already drunk and didn't seem to notice a difference. Idly, Francis tapped his fingers on his leg, knowing that the ten minutes would be the longest ten minutes of his life but he had been assured that the man would sleep for hours, giving him and his brother time to run.

Still, he couldn't help but question everything. What if he hadn't put enough in? What if someone walked in before he and Tony could escape and realized something was up? What if they got caught on the edge of town and returned to Snyder's house? What if they got locked up? His brother wouldn't survive in jail and he knew he wouldn't survive Snyder's torture if they were sent back. He wasn't sure if both of them would survive but he knew that Tony wouldn't. As much as he loved him, Francis knew the younger boy was weak and would make for easy prey for the sadistic man who took him in.

His heartbeat raced each time he saw the man shift until he was finally sure he was asleep. Swallowing, he took a few silent steps, only to have a hand roughly grasp his thin wrist. Shit. He forgot Snyder was a master at hiding things. The asshole had never even drunk the beer. He had just pretended to drink it when he wasn't looking.

"How stupid do you think I am boy? You think I haven't caught onto your little plan?" The man stared up at the frightened teen with a blank face. "I'm the reason you're still alive Francis and you're trying to throw it in my face like an ungrateful brat?"

"I.."

"I know what you're planning. You're trying to leave aren't you?"

"N-no Sir! It's just I know you haven't been sleeping well lately so I thought I c-could help!" Francis could fill the panic building up, wondering how long Snyder had known about his plan. He couldn't help but wonder if he knew all of the plan or only that he wanted to leave and take his brother with him.

Before he could open his mouth again, he found himself laying on the ground, cheek stinging. He hadn't even registered the loud crack that came with the slap. Taking a few seconds to collect himself, he looked up, staring at the man, eyes holding hatred disguised with fear. Snyder was right. If it weren't for him Francis would be dead and so would Tony, but he didn't care. The man may have kept him alive but that didn't mean he had to stay and be grateful. He always seemed five minutes away from killing Francis so there was no way he would be thankful for that.

He was drawn out of his thoughts at a thunk, watching as his so-called 'step-father' fell to the ground. His eyes drifted to the shaking boy standing above the fallen man, thick math book clutched in his small hands.

Quickly, he snatched the shaking boy up and ran, refusing to look back. He hadn't even told Tony what was happening. All the boy knew was that Francis had been thinking about something important. "W-What's going on?"

"Don't worry kid. We're gonna be safe soon." At least, that's what he hoped. They had already been caught once but they were close to the edge of their small town and he could just see a small group of people, each holding the reins to at least one horse. He couldn't but let out a sigh of relief, dodging around small holes in the road, feeling the boy's grip tighten. Tony didn't really like strangers but if Francis trusted them...He could try.

Run boy run! Running is a victory!

"Didn't realize how many people you were bringing Rags."

"Needed someone to help bring the horses 'nd stuff. Plus, they'se the best ta help out. Specs here can disable any trackers the Spider might a put in ya, Albert will help us light fires 'nd shit. Sniper 'nd Finch can keep an eye on the surrounding area. Patches and Bink will help wit' any disguises we need." The older teen gestured to each boy, each member of the ragtag crew ranging in age with Patches and Rags being the oldest though not by many years. "They'se all 'Hattan newsies like I am. Hotshot 'nd Rai are from Brooklyn though."

Tony honestly was surprised at how young Rai was. The boy didn't look a day over eight yet somehow had been brought along for the small mission.

"I didn't want ta bring him but the kid wouldn't stop botherin' me. I guess he could be useful." Despite the words, Hotshot's face held a faint fond smile, hand ruffling the boy's hair. "He's a communicator after all."

"You're all Cosmas?"

"Yeah. That's why they're helping us, Tony. They'll get us somewhere safe. Speaking of wish, we should leave right now. Dunno how long the Spider will be out. Tried drugging him but he caught me so Tony knocked his ugly fat ass out."

Rags nodded towards one of the horses with a grin. "Hope ya know how to ride cause that's how we'se headin' ta New York."

"Not really but we'll figure it out." Francis shrugged, carefully placing his brother in the saddle before pulling himself up, reaching around the boy to grab the reins. Surely it wouldn't be that hard to ride a horse. At least, it seemed calm and with Tony there, he felt that the horse would at least listen to them. That and they had everyone else to guide them.

The two blinked, feeling a small gentle tingle flow through their body. Specs smiled at the two. "It's all disabled but we'll still dump your stuff on the way. Otherwise, the change of clothes we carried here for you guys would be a waste."

Albert smirked, gently tapping his horse's sides with his heels. "Let's ride ya morons!" With that small whoop, the boy raced off, sparks flying from his red hair. Rolling his eyes, Rags chuckled, riding off after him to make sure the reckless boy wouldn't do something stupid.

Sniper looked over at the two boys they were bringing along with them. "Don't worry. She'll follow us so just focus on ya balance and try to relax. She'll be able ta tell if you're all tense 'nd shit. 'Sides, your ass will hurt if you're stiff. Especially considering ya've never ridden before." With a soft click, the boy started the journey home, causing the brothers' horse to follow them, Specs, Finch and Hotshot riding with the two, the Manhattan boys alongside them as Hotshot brought up the rear, watching as his own baby brother raced off.

At first, he never wanted to come and help 'rescue' the two because it meant losing money, but he owed Rags a favour and the older boy had decided to cash it in. Besides, Spot had been acting like an asshole lately and he could do with some time apart from him, even if they were best friends.

Shaking his head, he freed one hand from the reins, only moving it back after adjusting his bag. He couldn't help but wonder what the boys in front of him were like. Rags had given them a short briefing but seeing the angry red mark on the older one's cheek reminded him that there really were fucked up people in the world and by coming here, he was helping to do the right thing.

The fact Specs had confirmed that trackers had been placed in their bodies just worried him even more. At least they were free now. They were safe from the house that they had been trapped in.

Run boy run! Beauty lays behind the hills.

Sure New York wasn't the most glamorous of places but to Rags, it was home and now, Manhattan would house two more newsies. They'd get new names later but for now, they would be nameless. He smiled to himself, looking over his shoulder at the figures riding behind him. He could tell that they would fit in with the rest of his family.

The rest of the Manhattan kids knew that he was bringing home two more kids except for once, they weren't from New York.

Tony sighed, leaning into his brother as he closed his eyes. It felt weird running away and guilt was settling in his stomach from the memory of knocking out the man who took him in. He knew Snyder was cruel but he had never laid a hand on him...Only laying hands-on Francis who couldn't fight back. He had never actually seen it but he had heard it countless times. Had seen the way his brother stumbled into their small bedroom before collapsing on his bed, hiding his face in the pillow in an attempt to hide his tears from the boy who looked up to him so much. But Tony saw them each time. Saw the way his body had shuddered and heard the muffled noises that escaped him. He knew Francis couldn't be strong 24/7, no matter how hard he tried.

But now that they had gotten out of there, maybe Francis wouldn't have to take the hits for him. Maybe now he wouldn't have to curl up in bed, trying his best to hide his shaking. He couldn't help but smile slightly as he closed his eyes, resting a hand on the mare's wither, calmly letting himself connect with her. Sliding his hand up, he gently ran his fingers through her mane, relishing in the feeling of the silky strands running through them.

At least with her, he'd feel safe on the journey that he had never expected to take. He couldn't wait to see what would happen when they reached New York. Despite only being with them for a short time, he found the boys charming in their own way, from Albert's excitement at riding off into the distance to Hotshot's firm yet protective presence behind them. He felt safe with them and that's what mattered to him right now and by the way, his brother had slowly relaxed behind him, he knew he felt the same.

With a soft nudge from his horse, he opened his eyes, taking in the appearance of the land around the group. It was something he had never seen before. Something he never expected to see. He couldn't help but grin, looking down slightly so he could watch the land race beneath her hooves. It was beautiful honestly. Much more beautiful than where he had been trapped mere hours ago.

Run boy run! The sun will be guiding you.

Leaning back, he felt Francis' arms tighten around him for a few seconds. Without even looking, he could tell the older teen was smiling as he too took everything in, awe filling his body.

The two were brought out of their thoughts as the horses slowed down, gently lit by the setting sun. Without Rags opening his mouth, Albert jumped off his horse, quickly gathering up wood, surprisingly serious considering the way he had been so hyper and willing to lead the group before. Carefully flicking his fingers at the pile he had made, the ginger grinned as flames burst up from the middle, quickly engulfing each bit of wood. "Fire's done! Who brought the grub?"

"Al ya always hungry."

"Oh shut up Snipes, I know you'se hungry as well." He grinned, dodging as his friend through his cap at his face. "I'll burn this if ya test me!"

Hotshot rolled his eyes, silently helping Tony off of the horse, setting him down as he watched Francis dismount. Well more like stumble as he slid off, almost falling on his ass. The Brooklyn boy forced himself to hold back a laugh while Albert did no such thing. He was more than happy to laugh at the poor teen despite knowing that he'd never rode a horse, let alone for hours at a time while leaving an abusive house far behind them.

Specs just sighed, shaking his head as he grabbed his pack, having been the one trusted to carry the food for the three-day trip. "Alright alright. We can 'ave dinner now. Calm ya shit DaSilva."

The two brothers looked at each other in confusion before nervously moving towards the fire to sit down with the people who came to save them. The group might be helping them but the two still didn't know how much they could trust them. Francis had been desperate, grasping onto the first offer of salvation. The first offer to drag him out of the mental river he was drowning in, being dragged further under the surface with each hit, each insult, each threat both against him and his brother.

So when a cocky boy from Manhattan had shown up to deliver something to his neighbour and pulled him aside to tell him that he couldn't hide from him. That he knew what he was, Francis, had been terrified but the skinny boy had offered him a free trip to where he'd be welcome, a seed had been planted in his brain, but at the same time, he was full of doubt. Why would this stranger offer to take them to where he lived? How had he known what he was? He had been given two weeks to think about it and by the time Rags returned with his small group of friends, the seed had grown and he had agreed the day the group arrived.

Rags sighed as he sat down, watching as Finch scaled a tree, a bird soon swooping down to join him after the boy let out a soft whistle. "So, have you thought 'bout a name yet?"

Francis shook his head. "Not yet. It's not easy honestly to think of one."

"Eh take ya time. After all, you'll be stuck wit' it." Rai hummed, idly poking the fire with a stick, ignoring the warning look his older brother gave him. "You can keep the one you have now, shorten it, change it or just give yaself a nickname and run with it. If you don't think of one, 'Hattan might just give you one."

Tony looked up at his brother startled. "Names? Are we changing our names?" Finch just grinned from his perch. "I mean, as Rai said, you don't have to but sometimes it's easier to just change it...A lot of us are running from something and it's helpful to change our name. Finch ain't my real name 'nd Specs wasn't called Specs by his birth family. That came from us newsies cause o' his glasses."

Said boy chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "I should admit that it didn't appeal to me at first but it grew on me."

Albert grinned. "Don't bullshit us. The main reason you like it is that Romeo kept calling you it."

"And you take Albie cause that Jojo boy. You're both hopeless idiots." Rai shook his head with a grin. "Manhattan's weird like that. Rai is just short for my name and you're being all gay 'nd shit and that's why you accepted your newsie names."

Tony's eyes widened, surprised that they were speaking so openly about something that Snyder said was wrong. Well, 'said' was the wrong word. The man attempted to force his own ideal into his charges' minds, not wanting them to think for themselves. It's wrong. You'll go to hell for looking at a boy the way you should be looking at a girl Tony.

But these boys didn't seem to be 'cursed' as Snyder said gays were. They seemed...The way everyone else was, just more friendly but not in a strange way. No, they were just joking around like brothers. They were people who were comfortable in their own skin while Francis and Tony weren't. They both had confided in each other that they had each secretly looked at boys the way Snyder and others in their former home condemned people for. These boys may tease each other but it was friendly, it was in an attempt to make each other flustered. That meant they'd be even safer in the Manhattan lodging house.

After a few minutes, Specs handed around the cooked meat, warning the group that it was still hot. "You'll be safe in a few days. As for now, just relax though we need to burn your clothes soon just in case ya know?" He smiled over at the two nervous teens. "Don't worry, we brought you spare clothes. One of the boys back home made them fa ya. That's why Rags asked for ya size."

"Buttons is great...Gonna need him to fix my shirt though." Albert sighed, looking at a rip in his shirt. "Don't even know when I tore it. I swear it wasn't like this when we left!"

"It's called you're a fucking clumsy moron who fell in a river because you thought getting off your horse before walking over a fallen tree was smarter than the bridge."

Tony couldn't help but laugh, knowing he had done something similar before. Sure it got him into trouble because he made a mess when he got home but he had a good time so it didn't matter.

Run boy run! They're dying to stop you! Run boy run! This race is a prophecy! Run boy run! Break out from society!

Yelling brought the small group back into the world of the woken, Tony and Francis instantly freezing. Snyder and his friends had found them and the two knew they'd stop at nothing to get their hands on the two.

"Shit. Get back on the horses. We should have dumped your clothes earlier but I didn't want to stop for a while just in case." Rags quickly jumped back on his horse, watching as his newsies rushed around to pack up their small camp before jumping on their horses. Hotshot had already boosted Rai onto his horse before getting on his own, Albert helping Francis and Tony up onto theirs. The second the red-head was on his own horse, the ground raced off, the newsies pretending that they didn't hear Tony's soft and scared sobs mixed with Francis' soft words of comfort.

They hadn't been planning to move so fast but they had to otherwise they'd all be in trouble. "Finch! Sniper!"

"On it!" The two boys quickly pulled out their slingshots, each loading small sparklers into them, firing them off in different directions in hopes of distracting their pursuers. Despite not being given orders from his leader, Albert set off small flaming balls, sending them away from himself, making sure they were small enough to avoid setting the nearby trees on fire.

Hotshot sighed, raising his voice so the two scared kids in front of him could hear. "Don't worry. The 'Hattan boys know what they're doing, even if they don't seem like it most of the times. We'll keep you safe."

"See Tones? We'll be safe. Promise." Francis tightened his arm around his brother, wondering if his words would prove to be true or if they were would become false. He just hoped that they'd get away and find their way to New York as Rags had promised.

With a single whistle from Rai, animals seemed to flood from every corner of the forest before they rushed towards the sounds of the group chasing them down.

Each second seemed like an eternity to the two brothers, their hearts both frozen still and beating erratically at the same time. While the horses were speeding up by the second, they seemed to be forcing their way through snow with Tony and Francis feeling the chill while no one else did.

Their safety...No, their lives were on the line here and each member of the small party knew it. If one person were to get caught, it'd be over for everyone. They all knew the risks that came with this mission and had accepted the idea that they may be caught but that didn't mean they weren't scared shitless as the idea swirled inside their minds, taunting them with what their future could hold. It was clear that Cosmas' weren't welcome in the town they were fleeing from but right now, they had to shove that thought away, focusing instead of escaping.

The shouts faded behind them but that didn't slow down the group, if anything, it pushed them to go faster just in case the group had decided to fall silent in hopes of catching them off guard. Granted, Francis wasn't sure if Snyder and his pals were smart enough to do that but still, you never know.

They ate lunch on the run, Specs moving to each person to hand them small sandwiches before moving back to his own spot. Sure, the plan had been to eat warm meat with the sandwiches for a snack but plans sometimes change on the fly and newsies were masters at changing things instantly. After all, there were times they had to quickly run from where they were selling to escape the clutches of the police.

The group rode through the night, their way lit by Albert's flames, only pausing for an hour or so by a river to allow their horses a break to drink, each boy quickly shoving food into their mouths, too on edge to take their time.

Specs sighed, looking up at the stars, tracing each constellation with his eyes, remembering all the stories he had been told by an older newsie. "We'll be there in two days. We'll stop by Brooklyn ta return the horses and drop Hotshot and Rai off before headin' across the bridge."

Tony nodded, curling up next to Encore, the mare nuzzling her young rider. "Is New York really as big as they say? Fat-...Snyder always said that it's big." Despite correcting himself, the fact that he had almost called Snyder his 'Father' filled his stomach with guilt and anxiety.

Albert grinned and nodded. "There's a lot of us newsies from all over New York. We'se the Kings 'nd Queens of the damn place! Sure we ain't the richest but we'se the people who help spread the news. Without us, the damn city will shut down." He chuckled under his breath. "You'll be 'Hattan boys in a few days...We'se the second most important borough in my mind. I would say the most important but that's Brooklyn. They're the real rulers in the Newsie world. They've got the toughest folks there."

Rai snorted and nodded. "Damn right we do! We'se'll soak anyone we need ta. No one messes wit' us if they have a good mind. We'll kick their asses if needed. No one messes wit' us and it's great!"

Hotshot rolled his eyes, setting his small bowl of thin stew aside so he could gently slap his brother on the back of the head, gently chuckling at the boy's mock offended cry. "Don't go boasting 'bout it ya nerd. We're not that bad. We're just tougher than most of than the New York newsies." He looked over at the two new boys, picking up his stew again. "Simply put, don't mess wit' us and we don't mess wit' you...Though that's really any place I guess. We're just respected more than everyone else in our world."

Francis nodded, filing the information away. He knew what it was like to get on someone's bad side and the idea of a whole New York borough after him was frightening to him. The bullies he had faced were one thing but the idea of having stronger people after him was terrified. Hotshot already proved that all of Brooklyn was strong, just by his arms and Francis didn't feel like the idea of throwing hands with him or any of his friends. He was pretty sure Rai could easily break his arm despite being eight.

Blink groaned, speaking up for the first time. "We get it. Ya, all tough 'nd scary now shut up. I'se wanna sleep." He adjusted his eyepatch, not bothering to look over at the group. "You all take to much."

"Aww, ya just a spoilsport Blink. First thing ya say is to tell everyone to shut up?" Albert couldn't do anything but laugh as Blink flipped him off. "Someone's just grumpy he had to leave his boyfriend behind."

"Or maybe I'm sick o' your dumbass voice." Idly, the boy pulled his eyepatch to the side, glaring at his friend with a glazed over eye. "I can fucking destroy you Albert DaSilva. Remember that."

"I'm sooooo scared."

Patches sighed, knowing that it was time he should step in, his soft voice floating above the crackling of the fire. "Both of you stop being morons. We're heading out as soon as we can in the morning. Rags and I'll take the first watch, Blink and Specs will take next than it'll be Hotshot and Al. That's all we'll need really need because it'll be light enough by the time your shift is up and we'll be able to have a quick breakfast before going again. We'll be home very soon. Two days and we'll be done and we can relax and go back to selling and stuff. We'se'll get Tony 'nd Francis set up as soon as we can. We'll probably be back during the day." Noticing Tony's subtle glances towards Blink's eyepatch, he smiled. "Don't bother askin'. He tells a different story each time so no one knows what actually happened ta his eye."

"Oh...Okay. Sorry for staring."

Blink just grinned at him. "Don't worry 'bout it. You'se starin' without hate or disgust or whatever. Ya just interested is all. But yeah. I'm up for taking watch wit' Specs. Now, all o' you zip ya mouths so I can get some shut-eye." With that, he slipped his cap over his face after tucking his eyepatch into his pocket.

Albert chuckled softly but listened, pulling his blanket up over him after gently coaxing the fire to burn a little brighter before eventually falling asleep, his teasing turning into soft breaths that were soon joined by the breathing of others, knowing that his brothers and friends were safe under the watch of his leader and said leader's second.

It took Francis awhile to be comfortable enough to fall asleep, each small noise causing him to subtly flinch, scared that they had been tracked down yet again. It took the comforting presence of his brother who was silently breathing as he held onto his shirt mixing with the fires and the soft chatter of the two boys who were going to be watching over them for a few hours.

Despite his fear, he fell into a deep sleep, only woken by the feeling of Tony gently shaking him. The second the teen was sure the elder was awake, the blond moved to help clear up camp, silently watching slight awe as Albert easily put out the coals with a single wave of his hand, making sure they wouldn't light again.

Francis hummed, feeling his new shirt slip slightly as he stretched. Soon, he would be in a place that accepted who he was, among those who were like him and his brother.

Tomorrow is another day, and you won't have to hide away

It was a new day, one that was bringing the promise of freedom ever closer. Coming out of his thoughts at the feeling of bread being shoved into his hands, a familiar cheeky grin greeting him as he looked down, chuckling at his brother's puffy cheeks. The bread role was small yet for some reason, Tony had felt the need to shove most of it into his mouth at once. Though once he looked at Albert due to the sound of choking, he realized it was most likely a dare or a challenge designed to test the hubris of the two teens, clearly set by a smirking Rai.

He could already tell that moving into the Manhattan lodging house would just increase his brother's not so concealed chaotic tendencies. He sighed, a silent chuckle escaping him as he chewed on his own small role, awkwardly standing still when Rags assured him that he didn't need to do anything to help to pack up camp.

It didn't take them long to start up their journey again, with laughter and friendly taunts filling the air instead of the fear and silent tears that had been their unwelcome comrade the last ride.

Adjusting his cap, Finch grinned and carefully shuffled back slightly before carefully raising to his feet, having slipped off his shoes over an hour ago. Calmly, he pulled out a small stone, biting his lip as he aimed for a familiar head. He couldn't help but let out a whoop as Sniper's head whipped around, the other boy glaring at his fellow shooter. "Finch I swear ta fucking God!"

"Don't swear at me."

"Albert ya ain't God!"

Hotshot just sighed, ignoring the laughter of the other boys, speeding up so he could take matters into his own hands, knowing full well the arguing newsies probably wouldn't listen to their leaders in this situation. In his mind, the Manhattan boys tended to be more chaotic and at times disobedient than the boys who lived with him. Not that it was surprising. Other than being known for being tough, Brooklyn newsies were known to be well-disciplined despite the way a new ruler could come to power by fighting the current one and they listened to each other.

"Alright, you guys. Shut ya traps before I make you." Sure, that caused the two shooters to aim for him for a few seconds but it was easy for him to dodge considering the two were ever so slightly intimidated by him, despite knowing he wouldn't actually do anything to them.

"You're no fun." Despite his annoyed words, Finch carefully moved back to the saddle, sitting down again, not wanting to test the Brooklyn boy too much.

Rags just shook his head with a smile, looking at the sky, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to avoid the sun's rays as he judged the time. He knew by now that they most likely wouldn't be tracked down anymore considering how far away from the tiny town they had come from. His new brothers were safe and that's all that mattered right now. Soon, he'd be back with the rest of his family and he'd be bringing in two new members.

He could tell already that they'd fit in almost instantly though he knew that they'd naturally come to terms with what had happened and that they were safe...That they could grow up properly.

You'll be a man, boy! But for now, it's time to run, it's time to run!

However, they still had a while to go before they would be racing around the streets of Lower Manhattan, selling papers to random people to pay the six cents needed to pay for a bed and batch at the lodging house. His smile widened slightly as he thought of the meals that a few extra cents would get him. Pork and beans on Monday, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Roast beef on Sunday and beef stew on Tuesdays. Corned beef and cabbage came on Wednesday and fish balls were served on Fridays. If he focused hard enough, he could not only taste the meals he often paid for but also taste the tea and bread that each meal was accompanied with. The newsie could practically smell the soup that was often served with pork and beans. Just the thought of the meals made him feel full and he couldn't wait to return for dinner again.

Sure, breakfast was also served but why pay for it when you could get food off the nuns before rushing to the gates? Though he couldn't lie. There were times he spent money on some cents on some oatmeal in the morning, savouring the small burn that came as he quickly ate it. Some of the boys may tease him for buying both food and getting free coffee from the nuns but he didn't care.

Patches grinned, looking over at his brother who rode with closed eyes, able to picture what the other was thinking about. He too loved meal times at the lodging house, even if everything just repeated with not much change. It was nice to know what to expected and if he wanted a change, he could always save up a little extra and buy something at Jacobi’s or even just ask if he could take some leftovers with him.

He knew everyone, not just the newsies that stayed in the large building looked forward to the nightly meals, shared in a large room, surrounded by friends as they joked about what sort of customers they had dealt with that day, lowering their voices whenever they felt the need to swear, knowing full well it was against the rules.

He sighed softly, looking ahead, wishing he could see the familiar outline of New York on the horizon, yet he saw nothing but the landscape he had seen on the way to pick up the two boys.

Focusing on his companions, he swallowed back a laugh as he heard Rai explaining newsie rules to Francis and Tony while Hotshot corrected him when needed. After all, the life of a newsie was far more complex than the life they had just left behind. The life was full of tricky politics between boroughs where one wrong move could incite a war which would just bring every newsie across the whole damn city involved which was never a clean thing. No war was clean really but newsies were a group of kids who handled their wars with fists while the leaders scrambled to arrange a deal. Though, from the short time he's spent with these two kids, he could tell that they would be respectful, at least of the borders. Not that they would be going anywhere near them for a while. No new kid was ever allowed to sell near the borders for a few weeks just to make sure they learnt the ropes.

Run boy run! This ride is a journey to. Run boy run! The secret inside of you

Francis internally sighed, glad to see his little brother smiling and laughing along with those who had been strangers not too long ago. It was nice to see that the boy wasn't scared of them. He didn't know what he'd do if the boy would be scared of those who they were now living with. No longer would the two have to walk on eggshells to avoid letting anyone know who they really were...What they were. No longer did they have to deal with Snyder, who seemed to always be a hair's breadth away from snapping at them, whether it be just yelling at Tony or hitting Francis across the face, shouting insults down the fallen boy who knew better than to yell back.

Sure, he himself was still a bit hesitant about being with the group but knew that it would be easier to disappear in New York than disappearing from a small town with no aid from an outside force. The smile and laughter coming from his thin brother made his worry worth it though.

He could still faintly hear his mother's final words as she lay on her death bed, finally admitting the abuse she had watched. "You'll escape one day Francis. I know you will. You'll find a way out of this hell hole. I'm sorry I didn't protect you and Tony. I'm so sorry baby."

Forcing himself out of his thoughts, he kissed his brother's head. His mother had been right. He was getting both him and Tony out of an abusive household. He felt like he could finally breathe properly for the first time since his mother had married the cursed man.

Slowly, he allowed his thoughts to be drowned out by the gentle shuffling of the leaves that the wind danced through as they raced through the trees, closer to their new destiny.

Run boy run! This race is a prophecy! Run boy run! And disappear in the trees!

Night settled around them once more, the moon and stars smiling down gently on the group of laughing boys who surrounded a crackling fire. Seeing that the two brothers were still nervous, the group took turns telling stories, ranging from safer ones to ones that had Rags and Patches lecturing their younger brothers on safety, having never heard such things come from the young teens' mouths.

Eventually, the stories died down, though the silence didn't last long, replaced with giggling and annoyed swears as Rai and Sniper attempted to roast marshmallows over Albert's flaming hair, not caring when the melted treat dripped into the red locks of the struggling boy clamped tightly in Blink's arms.

Soon after, the three were stopped, Albert wrestling the two boys as soon as he was free, laughter filling the air yet again even when the three were pulled apart.

Tony smiled as he stared up at the stars, opening his mouth to break the silence that eventually fell over the group, happy to tell them stories of the sky and stars, ones that he had learnt years ago, back when he was still oblivious to the cruelty that his older brother faced daily.

Eventually, the group settled down, knowing that they'd be back home by tomorrow night, able to relax in a proper bed, surrounded by their family once again instead of resting on the hard ground.

Tomorrow is another day, and you won't have to hide away.

The small crew grinned as they once again got settled on their horses, excitement buzzing through their veins, knowing that in a few hours that they would be home. It was as the air could sense it as well, sending a gentle breath to soothe their excitement, helping the group speed through the landscape, the horses gladly pushing themselves even more, already able to taste the treats they would rightfully get for the hard and long journey they had untaken.

Francis and Tony could both feel a small part that would miss riding through the open land, feeling the ache that came with a living creature speeding under them, carrying them where they wished, letting them feel the wind in their faces as they rode closer and closer to safety and a new life.

The newsies happily spoke of what they planned to do when they got home once again, excited to not only see their family and partners again but to invite and accept the two brothers into Manhattan. Albert grinned, already thinking up plans to annoy the Delancey brothers and their uncle at the gates, wondering if how easy it would be to draw Tony into his schemes, already knowing that the other had the sense for mischief that he had in his own soul. Sure, it might get Francis annoyed but he didn't care. He had a new brother and had to bring him into the life of chaos, so it could wrap him in its embrace, filling his mind with plans to commit with the redhead.

You'll be a man, boy! But for now, it's time to run, it's time to run!

Hotshot was relieved to almost be back in Brooklyn where he could just relax with his friends. Maybe take a dip in the river. Hell, he might throw Rai or Spot off the pier for shits and giggles, not caring about their reactions. They both could swim after all and it was normal for the boys to throw each other around sometimes and well, he deserved to have a little fun with his family after such a harsh journey. Sure, he hadn't been too happy to join the 'mission' in the first place but he had found himself enjoying himself. Sure, he lost money doing this but it was nice to escape the chaotic life that happened when you lived in New York while being poor.

No matter how hard and chaotic his life was, he found himself enjoying it. After all, it was better than working in a factory or at the pier, hauling stuff around or sailing on a boat, unsure if he'd ever return.

Yes, he hadn't been happy to come on this trip, nor was he happy for his baby brother to join him but to hear Rai laughing along with Tony as animals joined the ride for a short time before they pulled away, it was worth it. If he could get the young boy out of Brooklyn for a few days so he could get some fresh air and a change of pace, well...He'd do it a million times over. He wished he could take all the littles out for journies like this but alas, he couldn't. He had no reason to leave New York, let alone had the money to do so. Still, being able to take one of them out was an amazing feeling, one he wouldn't forget. Rai had lost too much at a young age yet always kept a grin. He deserved to be able to spend time, free in the land with wild animals rushing by him.

It's what the small child deserved.

Tomorrow is another day, and when the night fades away

Breaking for lunch just made all of them antsy, wanting to hurry up and get back home. Even Specs, a normally calm boy was bouncing on his toes, not bothering to hide his excitement at the idea of seeing everyone he cared about. He quickly scoffed down his sandwich, not caring about taking his time. He was going to be home soon and could take his time savouring all the tastes that came with a homecooked meal while surrounded by those he missed.

While the break only lasted thirty minutes, it felt like a lifetime to the small group. Their hearts started to beat faster with each step their tired horses took towards home.

Time travelled slowly, the stars starting to peak out again when New York's outline started to rise in the distance, an excited whoop escaping Albert as he urged his horse to go even faster, unwilling to wait any longer. He wanted...No needed to be back in that city. He loved fresh air but still, he craved the smog of New York. Couldn't wait for it to fill his lungs as he walked around feeling like a king despite people viewing him as nothing more than a street rat.

With the city in the distance, it was as if someone had pressed fast forward, landing the group at Sheepshead racetrack before they knew it. Hotshot couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of a short boy waiting near the empty stables. "Why am I not surprised you showed up Spot?"

"Wanted ta see the new 'Hattan boys fa myself." In all honestly, Spot had just wanted to see his brothers' safe returns was he wasn't going to say that in public. Besides, he couldn't help but be somewhat curious about the two new boys who would be joining the team just across the bridge. To him, it was easy to get a glimpse of what the boys had lived through. He hadn't been told much about them but judging by the bruise on the older boy's cheek, it was clear that they hadn't come from a nice place. Not that many of the newsies had come from a good place that is.

Considering Hotshot had said they were going to a small town, he could tell that it was a small town that hated people being born with powers, whether that hatred was born from jealously and fear or just out of pure stupidity, the Brooklyn native didn't know and he wasn't sure if he even cared to know.

Right now, he did his best to ignore where they had come from, instead, turning to Rai to talk about his trip, already knowing that the rules and boundaries had been explained. Even if they hadn't, the two looked smart, especially the blond who had decided to ignore everyone so he could focus on thanking his horse. God, were all Manhattan boys dorks? Shaking his head with a sigh, he clapped his hands. "Right. Curfew's comin' up in a bit so you'se best start gettin' back over the bridge."

"Giving orders now are we Conlon?"

"Blue's handlin' stuff in Queens so it's my job ta kick your bum asses out of Brooklyn. Now fuck off."

Rags rolled his eyes but still spat in his hand and held it out to the younger boy, nodding as he returned the gesture. "We'se'll get outta ya hair Conlon. Gotta get these two set up and Al looks ready to die."

"Oh fuck off I do not!" Despite his words, Albert was rocking ever so slightly, having not slept much the night before due to excitement. "Let's just clear out already. I don't wanna miss out on the food!"

Shaking his head, Rags laughed watching as Blink started shoving Albert around. "Yeah yeah. Tell Blue I said hi." He smiled at the two Brooklyn boys who had come along with his small crew. "Thanks you two. We'll be off now." With a single wave, the lanky teen ushered the others out of the racetrack grounds, chuckling internally at the way the two new brothers stuck together, looking around in both awe and suspicious hesitation.

Idly, his eyes scanned the crowd, easily able to notice who was a normal person and who was a newsie who were lurking around after selling, watching them silently to make sure they didn't break any rules, wanting the small group out of their turf, yet also silently relieved that they had returned safely as that meant their own had been returned as well.

Feet gently joined the countless others walking on the bridge, their voices mingling with those of people hurrying to and from Brooklyn. Before they knew it, they were back on their own side. Sensing their neves, Specs smiled over at his new brothers. "Don't worry. You'll get used to this all before you know it. I will warn you though...The lodging house can be loud and a bit overwhelming at times. You'll fit right in though. I already know it."

Francis just nodded before turning back to Patches, mumbling something under his breath, relaxing as the other smiled and nodded, allowing the group to lead him and his younger brother around.

You'll be a man, boy!

It didn't take long for them to find themselves walking down Duane Street, watching a few kids eagerly look up, some running towards them as others rushed off towards a building, no doubt to let them know of the groups return. Subconsciously, Francis took a closer to Tony, watching as Specs, Blink and Albert were almost tackled, each by a different boy, all dressed in the same ratty attire as the group.

Shaking his head, Rags nodded for the two brothers to follow him, leaving the six boys to reunite with their boyfriends. "They'll come along eventually so don't worry about the nerds. Let's just get you set up for now. Everyone's been dyin' ta meet you two, not just us newsies."

Grinning, he threw open the door to the lodging house, chuckling as he was greeted by cheers from a wide variety of kids. Silencing them with a single hand in the air, he grinned at the two new boys, remembering the few words Francis had muttered to him.

"Everyone! I'd like ta introduce you to Jack Kelly 'nd his little brother, Racetrack Higgins!"

But for now, it's time to run, it's time to run!

#Newsies #Jack Kelly #Racetrack Higgins #Albert Dasilva #Finch (newsies)#Specs (newsies)#Kid Blink #Blink (newsies)#Anonymous

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