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#and ive deleted as much as i can and someone else who knows slightly more than i do also confirmed the laptop just has a shit amount of
in-my-feels-probably · 3 months
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Hi! It’s no worries I’ve been around this app long enough to know it’s kinda buggy lol. Anyways, I actually remembered just now I wrote out my request in a random google doc before I sent it and never deleted it so I have able to just copy/paste!
Congrats on 1.7k!! May I have a romantic hunger games (it can be either the original films or the newer one) option 2 match up please? I go by she/her and am bi with no preference, so any gender is fine.
I’m about 5’5, dark blue eyes, medium length hair thats kinda too dark to be dirty blonde but not so dark that its light brown with slightly lighter blonde highlights throughout. Ive been told I typically wear what would be considered 90s type of style but leaning away from more feminine things tho I’m not opposed to dresses and all.
I do get pretty anxious when thrown in certain situations rather that be talking to a group of people or just one person. But on occasion and definitely when I get to know someone I never stop talking. I am a ranter and rambler which means I could be ranting about something that happened and then start talking about something else that may or may not be related to the original subject. Basically I will always find something to talk about though I do enjoy listening to other people talk. I am considered the mom friend because I tend to be the most logical. Im also a very determined, stubborn person who usually is kinda pessimistic but still has a huge imagination. And despite all the anxiety I am usually a relatively confident person and am not afraid to take up for anyone I care about. Also I am pretty good in school despite having a kinda bad memory. Also an INTJ, Sagittarius, and Ravenclaw.
I absolutely love writing and have for the longest time rather that be random original stories I make up or the various fanfics I have(lol). I also love drawing and painting and recently realized I’m actually pretty good at making art related to animals and the occasional landscape. I’ve also been a big music fan since I was a kid, I honestly dont know what I would do without it. I also really enjoy reading when I get the chance, like I could spend hours getting consumed by whatever I’m reading. Which also travels into me when I’m watching things. As in I spend a good bit of time just binge watching new or old shows. I also really like walking around and enjoying nature. Theres a few nature trails I love going on and would go to the zoo every weekend if I had the chance. Which also goes along to my love for animals. Also I do like going to random places with my friends.
And thats about all I can think of to say, hope it wasnt too much lol. But anyways, thanks in advance :)
hi!
thanks for participating :)
since you have no gender preference, i’ll tell you who i ship you with out of both the boys and the girls, and then do the full thing for who i think you’re better suited for.
i ship you with katniss and peeta! i’m gonna go with katniss for this, hope that’s ok :)
katniss is absolutely not a people person. small talk makes her uncomfortable, and putting on a mask and playing a part doesn’t come easy to her. there’s a handful of people she’s comfortable talking to, and the rest don’t matter to her. she’d understand your apprehension getting to know people. but she’d feel pretty special when you opened up to her and started feeling comfortable venting and rambling. she may not be one for talking, but she does like listening. and you could listen to you talk for hours about whatever you wanted, happy to listen. you’re very alike as people. your values, your view on life, your temperament and your personality. you both being headstrong and stubborn could get in the way of your relationship sometimes, but you’d always manage to make her go soft around you. you’d be one of the few people that make her happy and help her feel relatively calm and safe, so she wouldn’t want to ruin that with petty arguments and bickering. you’d learn to work past it together quickly so you could get back to the simple things.
katniss doesn’t have much time for hobbies. plus, i don’t think she really allows herself the time to be idle. you’d have to constantly remind her to take a break and relax for a little while. she’d be too impatient for reading or art, but she’d enjoy hearing what you were reading about or working on. it would give her a sense of domesticity that she craved. and later on after the rebellion, she’d slowly start feeling more comfortable joining you with your hobbies and finding some of her own. i don’t think she considers herself to be a very talented person, but she would get a small sense of accomplishment and pride when she found a hobby she both enjoyed and was good at.
the place she’d most feel at peace would probably be the forest. walking along the streams, hunting for deer, just breathing in the fresh air. it would be a place she enjoyed going alone, but eventually, she’d start asking you to go with her. she’d show you all the best places she’d come to catch something or just clear her mind for a little while. it would be peaceful and quiet, which she’d love. one day, she’d ask you if you wanted to bring along something to draw with. she’d take you up to a ridge she liked to sit at, letting you sit down and draw the landscape while she hunted for a few minutes. eventually, she’d make her way back to you, sitting down next to you.
“no luck?” you’d ask when you noticed her coming back with a full quiver and no kill.
she’d shrug, setting down her bow. “found a few wild turkeys down by the river. some of the hens were nesting. i didn’t want to bother them yet.”
you’d nod, going back to your drawing. she hadn’t been gone that long, but you’d already made significant progress drawing the ridge and hillside that led down into the valley where the meadow was. you could feel her eyes on you as you worked, and you’d eventually feel her chin rest on your shoulder as you started drawing one of the trees, making you smile. you liked when she was soft like this.
“that’s pretty,” she’d murmur, fascinated by the way you worked. “peeta could’ve used you down at the bakery if he knew you could draw like this.”
“i wouldn’t want to upstage him,” you’d joke, knowing what peeta used to do took a lot of time and skill that only he could make look easy.
she’d chuckle, and you could feel her smile as she looked over your shoulder. “i don’t think he’d mind.”
you’d sit in silence another moment before deciding to take a break, setting your things down. you’d watch the ridge together, peering down through the valley where the spring flowers were just beginning to grow.
“you never told me we had flowers like this in the district.”
“they only grow in the spring,” she’d explain, resting her head against your shoulder. “my father told me the soot from the mines stifles them before they have a chance to grow. but out here in the meadow, they’re untouched. they can grow a few feet tall if they’re not harvested right away. you can use the roots for medicine…i used to bring prim some.”
you could hear the hurt in her voice at the mention of prim’s name. she’d grow quiet again, her eyes locked on the ridge. she was afraid if she looked over at you, she wouldn’t be able to keep it together. you figured it was best not to pry about it—not now, at least. instead, you’d pick up your drawing, handing her a few pencils.
“pick a few colors. i want to draw the flowers in too.”
she’d give you a small smile and nod, immediately reaching for the green pencil. you’d grin, setting the rest of the pencils down as you began working again.
“i should’ve known.”
thanks again for participating! i hope you liked this :)
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checkmains · 2 years
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Mnml sizing
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#MNML SIZING ZIP#
I know because I own a pair of mnml personally and the inseam was, by default, 32 in, which was way too long for me as someone who is a 36x30. As for the fit, I sized up for these to a 36 and they fit nicely, although below the knee can be a bit more slim but would appreciate feedback on that part. ago Idek which size is comfortable lmao 1 level 1 deleted 2 yr. The distressing is great on these pants and is exactly what ive been looking for. The quality of the pants is pretty good for what I paid, and actually surpassed my expectations, but I do not have much experience with higher end denim. Ordering size 36 pants, they came with a 34 inseam, which make the pants just a tad bit too long, but I would appreciate some feedback on the fit of these in the comments :) for some second opinions.Ĭonclusion These are my first pair of very distressed denim and overall I am happy with the purchase. The calves also fit nicely, as they aren’t too tight although I think they can fit a little more snug. I was surprised that the upper thigh fit pretty comfortably since I heard these pants have an aggressive taper and was expecting suffocation with 100% cotton pants. I followed the sizing guide on MNML’s website and ordered size 36 pants. MNML Men’s Athletic Workout Shorts size Medium Black Zipper Pockets. The thickest part of my upper thigh measures in at 25.5 inches while my calves are 15.5 inches. I am 5’11/190lbs with a slightly athletic build, especially in the legs where my upper thigh is larger and so are my calves. Normally I wear a size 34 in 511’s due to my legs being thicker than average. Everything else about the pants feels very solid.įit The most important part of any jeans is the fit. My favorite part of the pants is actually the extra patching it has on the inner thigh area, since for me that is the part of jeans that give out because of my T H I C C thighs. The M1 pants feature a button up waist and comes with extra buttons.
#MNML SIZING ZIP#
The zippers on the legs do not feel cheap and zip up and down without a problem. The cotton is comfortable to wear while still holding its shape.Ĭonstruction I love the construction of these pants with the minor details they have included. Personally for me I like the feel of these jeans compared to my other jeans, but I only have experience with Levi 511’s, which tend to feel a little too stretchy for me. Material M1 is 100% Cotton with little to no stretch.
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kawaiianimeredhead · 3 years
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Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Uuuuuuuuuuugggggggghhhhhhh
Ssssiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhhhh
#just me and the boys#aka the moods#i am so so tired of today abd its barely fucking started#i want to take every computer/laptop and printer around me and throw it against a fucking wall#the laptop at work's storage is full and it has been for over a year#but now some things need to update on it and its too full to do that#and ive deleted as much as i can and someone else who knows slightly more than i do also confirmed the laptop just has a shit amount of#storage and noe the fucking printer specifically scanner is fucking up then i get home and my laptop here is being slow as shit and thats#not realky new and i cant say ive actively tried to fix things but regardless its annoying its currently causing me issues and then my dads#printer whicb us the same kind of printer i have at work actually is now bot accepting the ink catridges for some reason snd insists#that it needs the set up catridges whatever that means#combined with i just hate being here and the puppy has peed twice inside when apparebtly yesterday besides at night when i was home watching#she disnt pee inside at all so now my parents are both especually annoyed about tjings#not me just they already got annoyed at the computer abd each other for differenr reasons and then i got semi pulled into#and just so many other things#and its all so so fucking annoying#nick called and sounded like he was in a good mood and im fucking annoyed that wad exactlt when i was getting pulled into things and when i#called him back a couple min layer his mood sounded a little less pleasent i think just cause it was enough time to get distracted or someth#idk but it annoys ne#i dobt even want to be at this house i want to be at that house#tag rambles#dont mind me#screams
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css1992 · 3 years
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Guilty Pleasure
[Porn AU]
Summary: Peter and Beck used to be a power couple in the porn industry, but after Beck dumps him, Peter is forced to start over. With no money, no family and nowhere to go, he doesn’t have much choice other than to keep doing porn, so he joins Just4Fans to get back on his feet and then one day he gets a very generous tip from someone under the username of YKWIM.
Warnings: 18+, explicit, references to past non-con/rape (not between main pairing, not explicit), daddy kink, Peter in lingerie, references to gaslighting and abusive relationship (not between main pairing, not explicit). The warnings are for the story as whole, not for this chapter specifically. I’ll add more in the future, if needed.
Read on AO3
Part I / Part II / Part III / Part IV / Part V / Part VI / Part VII / Part VIII / Part IX / Part X /  Part XI / Epilogue
-x-
“He can’t do this!” Ned slammed his hands down on the counter between them, as Peter took a swig of the cheap wine he bought with the last ten bucks he had in his wallet. “He isn’t even in all of the videos, at least half of the money is rightfully yours!” He kept going, stating the obvious, but Peter just sighed and shrugged.
“I’m not disagreeing with you, Ned, I’m just relaying what he told me: he’s not gonna give me anything. It’s his channel, his equipment, the money from the subscriptions goes straight to his bank account, so it’s his. It’s all his. His words, by the way.” He took another swig of wine straight from the bottle. He had been drinking from a small glass Ned offered him – he wasn’t a pirate – but it soon proved to be too small to quench his pain, so. Yeah. Pirate style it was.
“You have to sue his ass, Peter, he can’t get away with this,” MJ intervened. She was sitting next to him on a stool by the kitchen counter, so he turned to look at her with a deep frown on his face.
“Did you not hear me saying I just spent my last ten dollars on this bottle of wine? I have, like, twenty four cents left in my pocket. And that’s it. I can’t hire a lawyer, I can’t even feed myself right now!” He raised his voice a little, but quickly got himself back under control and apologized. His friends were not to blame for his predicament – they did try to warn him Beck was bad news, he didn’t want to listen. “And you know what? I don’t give a fuck. He can choke on all of it if he wants, the videos, the money, the subscribers, I don’t fucking care.” It wasn’t true, of course. Well, partially. He really didn’t care about the money, videos, subscribers, etc, but he cared about Beck. He would have given everything else up if it meant he could keep him.
Which was stupid of him, of course. But he certainly wasn’t winning any awards for being a great decision maker.
“It’s still not fair. I mean, I knew that guy was sleazy, but you’d think he’d have the decency to at least give you something, you know? You’ve been together for three years, he’s been making money off your ass for almost as long. How could he just fucking kick you out and not give you a single dime? After all the money you’ve made for him? It’s fucking sick, that guy is fucking psychopath if you ask me.” MJ’s face was turning red from anger, which made Peter smile a little. It felt good to know he was loved by someone, even if he hadn’t been the best friend to them for the past few years.
The thought made him close his eyes for a second, guilt creeping over him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d called either of them – maybe on Ned’s birthday, almost two months earlier. They used to be inseparable, the three of them; the three musketeers, as corny and lame as it sounded. For years, those two were the only family he knew, but when Beck came into his life, everything changed.
Stupid fucking Beck.
Peter used to think of him as his own personal super-hero – it did feel like he had come to save him, after all. They met when he was seventeen, he had been living in foster homes for almost seven years by then, after Ben and May passed away. At the time, he was with his fifth family, and there were so many children in that house, so many of them came and went, that their foster parents didn’t really keep tabs most of the time. It was easy to sneak out, and Peter did, often.
He met Beck on one of his night walks – and their first meeting should have raised all kinds of red flags, but for whatever reason, it didn’t. Beck slowed the car next to him, rolled down the window and asked how much Peter charged for a blowjob. Just like that. The teen gasped at first, but when he looked around for a moment, he realized he wasn’t in the most family friendly neighborhood. There were, in fact, some men and women around him who definitely looked like they were there for that, but Peter was in sweats, for crying out loud, and he definitely looked his age – or even younger than that.
His wide eyes must have given him away, because the older man quickly apologized and showed him a charming, white smile. He made up some excuse about mistaking him for someone else and the boy said it was ok. He was going to keep walking when Beck asked what his name was. Then how old he was. Then where he was going, where he ha come from.
Looking back, Peter knew he should have run. He should have left, because there was no excuse for an adult man like him to keep asking a teenager so many questions right after he basically offered him money to suck his dick. But that Peter, that 17-year-old boy, was still a bit too naive. To have such a handsome man showing interest in him – his kind, blue eyes smiling at him, warm and safe – was inebriating. He actually looked at him. And cared. At least Peter thought he did at the time. And he was so lonely back then, even that little bit of attention meant the world to him.
He should have run, but he stayed. Should have run, but got in his car. Should have run, but ended up giving him a clumsy hand job in the backseat, after just a few sweet promises whispered in his eager ears. Beck was so good with words, he could have convinced Peter to jump off a bridge that very same night if he wanted.  
They exchanged phone numbers. For weeks, they texted and called each other, until they could  meet again. By then, he was smitten. At twenty, he could see how innocent he had been, how trusting and open he was with a complete stranger. A 32 year-old stranger, at that. Ned and MJ, his only friends from school, warned him that it wasn’t okay. That it was weird for a man his age to be interested in a teenage boy, but Peter said they were wrong. He said he wasn’t just a regular kid, he had been through stuff they could only imagine. He was mature and experienced, and Beck could see that, which was why he liked him.
Looking back now, it was embarrassing how wrong he was. Beck was an illusionist. Sad thing was everyone could see the trapdoor but him.
“So what are you gonna do now?” MJ asked, fishing another bottle of wine from under the counter and placing it in front of Peter, who almost cried in gratitude.
“You mean besides crying myself to sleep for the next few months?” He wasn’t really joking. The only reason he wasn’t crying right at that moment was because he had spent almost three hours bawling his eyes out on a park bench close to their – well, Beck’s – apartment, hoping against hope that Beck would reconsider and come after him. When it became clear it wasn’t going to happen, he headed to the only place he knew he could find refuge – even if he didn’t deserve it.
“Yeah, besides that, obviously.” She opened the wine bottle and before he could take it and drink straight from it, she poured three glasses and Peter sighed, defeated.
“I have no idea.” He answered, only slightly surprised that he actually meant it. He had absolutely no clue what to do. For three years, he hadn’t had to worry about money – or anything, really. Beck took care of everything and he just assumed it would always be like that. That he would always have him by his side to take care of him.
He rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
“Are you going to keep doing porn?” Ned asked, a worried expression on his face. Peter remembered he hated the idea when Beck first suggested it, as soon as he turned eighteen.
People are gonna lose it, Beck said. A pretty little twink and a hot daddy? We’re going to be a hit.
And they were. Their first videos blew up quickly, people were either disgusted by the thought of them together – because of the age gap – or completely enthralled. The haters helped them get more views, and Peter soon learned that there really was no such thing as bad publicity. Beck promoted their videos on twitter, where they accumulated thousands of followers. Peter remembered that, back then, many people sent him worried messages, saying he was too young, that Beck was a predator, that he was taking advantage of him.
In retrospect, they might have been right, after all.
He wasn’t too sure about doing porn when they first started, he knew once they released the first video, there was no going back, there was no way they could ever take it down – the internet was forever. Nothing was ever truly deleted. He wanted to be a dad someday, what if his children ever saw those videos in the future? What would have Ben and May thought? What about his parents?
None of this matters, honey, Beck assured him. These kids don’t even exist yet, don’t worry about them. And your relatives, well… They’re gone, sweetie. You can’t really disappoint them anymore.
So Peter did it. And he was terrified at first, he felt so exposed, people all over the world could see him in his most vulnerable moments, all of him, in every position Beck managed to put him in, in any outfit he thought the public might like, in any setting he thought might bring in more viewers, more subscribers, more money.
Soon, just the two of them weren’t enough. Their viewers wanted to see Peter with other people – other daddies –  and Beck saw another opportunity to increase his profit. Peter was strongly against the idea at first, it felt too much like prostitution, which was where he wanted to draw the line, but, again, Beck sweet-talked him into it.
It’s nothing like prostitution, honey, he said. I’ll be there the whole time, I’ll be the one filming and directing, I’ll be the one paying the other actors, all the profits are ours. How is that anything like prostitution? It’s just like what we’ve been doing so far.
So not only there were a bunch of videos of him and Beck out there in the world, there were also lots of videos of him with other men, some of whom were old enough to be his actual dad. There was even one video in particular that he was specially embarrassed by – and sadly enough, that was the most viewed one so far. It was fucking humiliating.
At some point, Peter should have realized it became all about money for Beck – and maybe it had been like that all along, he just hadn’t noticed before. Over the last few months of their relationship, they never had sex just for fun, just for the hell of it. There were always cameras, and lights, and roles to play. Beck never said he loved him anymore. Barely touched him. Barely kissed him. He should have seen it coming. He had been too blind, or just… Didn’t want to see what was happening right before his eyes. He ignored all the signs. The voice in the back of his head telling him something was off.
But anyway, porn. Could he still do it?
“I don’t know,” he answered, finally. He looked at his best friends and sighed with a shrug. “To be honest, it was never something I enjoyed, and I don’t know if I could ever do it without him somehow involved, you know? I did it with him because I felt… Safe? I don’t want to get involved in the actual porn industry, I’ve heard some pretty fucked up stories.” Peter had heard horror stories about other boys in the industry, and even though his own story was no fairy tale, there was nothing so bad that it couldn’t get worse.
“How about Just4Fans?” MJ asked and both Peter and Ned turned to look at her in shock. “What? You guys were pretty popular, right? You won awards and shit, so there must be at least a few hundred people out there who would pay money to see some dirty pictures of you, maybe some short videos. That way you won’t need to go into professional porn and you wouldn’t need a partner, but you could still make decent money. And fast.”
Well, it actually made sense. It wasn’t like there weren’t hundreds of videos of him being fucked raw all over the internet, anyway. A few dirty pictures couldn’t hurt. And besides, it didn’t need to be forever, just until he figured something out.
“That’s… actually not a bad idea,” he conceded, drinking the last of the wine in his glass. MJ sympathetically filled it up again and he mumbled his thanks.
“What do you think he will do now?” Ned asked carefully, and Peter shrugged for what felt like the hundredth time. There was so much he didn’t know.
“Probably keep shooting videos with his new boy-toy.” He managed to say it with a steady voice, but his eyes burned. He still couldn’t believe how… replaceable Beck thought he was.
When he noticed them interacting online a few months earlier, before the boy was even eighteen, Peter was alarmed, but when he confronted the older man about it, he said he was crazy and seeing things, picking up fights for no reason. He always twisted things in a way that, somehow, Peter was the one apologizing to him in the end.
Months later, just weeks after the kid turned eighteen, there he was – homeless, penniless and lost – meanwhile the other guy was probably getting comfortable in his bed. If Peter didn’t hate the kid, he would pity him. In a few years, he would probably meet the same fate.
“Do you think he would take the videos down if you asked?” Ned asked, and Peter scoffed.
“Yeah, right, those videos will still make him a lot of money monthly, he’d never delete them.” And Peter would have to live with the fact that he would always be just one google search away from complete humiliation and exposure. If he ever tried to get a serious job, those videos would stand in the way. If he ever managed to meet somebody decent and good, those videos would be a testament to what sort of person he was in the past. Fuck, some of them were really fucked up.
“So… Should we create fake twitter accounts to trash talk his short dick or what?” MJ was already grabbing her phone and Peter laughed halfheartedly, shaking his head.
“He’s not worth it. Karma will take care of him, I’m sure.” He drank the last of his wine and whimpered sadly. “So… Can I crash with you guys for a few days? I promise I’m not gonna overstay my welcome! I’ll be out of your hair as soon as the Just4Fans thing works out.”
“Of course you can, nerd, stay as long as you need. We’ve got your back, c’mon.” MJ got up from her stool and gestured for him to do the same. “Do you mind taking the couch?” She asked as she headed to her bedroom in the tiny apartment.
“Not at all,” he answered with a sigh of relief, then went to grab his suitcase by the door. Three years together and that was all he had to show for it. A single suitcase with a few changes of clothes, after being kicked out of the house on a cold February night. His eyes burned but he took a deep breath, blinking them rapidly to avoid the tears.  
“Then make yourself at home. Our casa es su casa.” MJ placed a pillow on the couch and handed him a thick, warm blanket.
“We’ll figure something out, okay?” Ned clasped him on the shoulder with a gentle smile on his face.
“Okay.” He sighed, feeling like a weight had been lifted off his crushed chest.
He waited for his friends to go into their respective rooms, waited to hear their quiet snores, before he allowed the tears to run freely down his face, replaying everything Beck said to him when he kicked him out.
Before he knew it, he was a sobbing a little, so he buried his face in the pillow to muffle the noise, as he tried to convince himself that things were going to be okay, that he was going to be okay. But at that moment, that was hard to believe.
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nevertheless-moving · 3 years
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Suicidal Misunderstanding IX
Star Wars Time Travel AU #27
Part I - - - - - Part II - - - - - Part III - - - - - Part IV  - - - Part V - - - - - Part VI - - - - - Part VII - - - - - Part VIII
Content Warning: This chapter contains potentially triggering material, particularly aftermath of attempted suicide as well as discussions of bodily injury.
Cody woke up the morning after the...drunken keldabe still feeling uneasy. He spent half an hour attempting to read over reports in preparation for the Umbaran campaign before giving it up as a lost cause. He distracted himself for a little while by pouring over last night’s cantina surveillance, before giving up on that as well and sending a message to General Skywalker.
‘Any updates on General Kenobi’s status?’
He watched the comms as communications from everyone besides the General trickled in. He answered a few requests for requisitions, forwarded some medical reports, and ignored an irritating handful of overly-personal questions. 
Agonizing over it the whole time, he opened a comm-text link to Obi-Wan. It took nearly an hour, but he managed to send two sentences. ‘Hope you’re recovering well. Look forward to upcoming mission discussion.’
He immediately wanted to retroactively delete the message, mortified by every word and deeply concerned at every second that passed without a reply.
He spent the next 30 minutes hunched over, quickly closing every incoming CT and CC communication, justifying the time to himself as ‘technically on leave.’
He lurched forward when he finally received a General’s comm code, but slumped in disappointment when it was Skywalker, not Kenobi.
‘Not as drunk but still seems a little high. He says he wasn’t drugged. He’s taking the rest of the day off. I’m monitoring.’
Taking the rest of the day off. Did that mean he wasn’t carrying around his comm? Kriff. Should he more or less concerned that the general was actually taking a day off?
He decided to be more concerned.
‘Thank you for the update. Respectfully request information on any changes.’
Hopefully that would encourage Skywalker to keep him informed even if he stopped freaking out over his vod’s behavior.
Stowing the remote comm, he stood up and exited the temporary planet-side office, throwing himself into cleaning up the mess that was nearly 20,000 clone troopers simultaneously attempting to get the most out of a very brief R&R. 
Shortly before mid-day, he received another update from Skywalker.
‘Just managed to get him to medical. Healer cleared him of drug interactions but Obi-Wan’s still acting strange (not crying, but a lot of hugging).’
Cody stared at that for a long while.
‘Any other verbal indications of upcoming danger?’ he finally asked. Skywalker didn’t reply. 
Shortly after nightfall, his incident reports were interrupted by a call from an unknown temple number. He quickly opened it, and a holo of an unfamiliar Mon Calamari female healer appeared in miniature on the desk.
“Commander Cody. Thank you for answering so quickly. Are you somewhere private?” she asked, voice deliberately neutral.
The Commander tensed up. “Yes, sir. I’m in CC office space, alone. The room and the channel are both secure. Is this regarding General Kenobi?”
“Yes.” She replied. “My name is Master Bant Eerin; I’m a temple healer as well as a personal friend of Obi-Wan’s. He’s...he’s in the healing halls right now. We’re still trying to understand exactly what happened- I’ll tell you what I can but first we need to rule out any possible drugs he may have contact with. I need you to describe in detail anything he may have been exposed to that could have possibly had mind-altering effects.”
The Commander was a professional. He swallowed back his fear, his questions, and his demands to know what was going on.
“Of course. Everything on the Negotiator was GAR Standard, and I was with him when we left the ship. We went directly to the lower levels. The first time he was exposed to anyone outside the 212th was when we left our transport on level 3915. I...actually have footage of him the whole time night after that point. I’m sending it over right now, sir.”
“That would be extremely helpful, thank you.” He watched as she pulled it up on a second comm, sound barely audible. 
He continued with his report: “One of the boys took it without permission. He didn’t mean anything by it, he’s just an idiot; I’ve already issued a severe reprimand. In any case, he brought it to me after I issued surveillance on the cantina, it tracks everything the General did- as far as I can tell, he had a glass of house grub wine, two shots of rancor blood, and an unnamed mixed cocktail ‘on the house.’ You can see everything the bartender added- as far as I can tell nothing was slipped in. He just... blacked out suddenly after the fourth drink, and quickly startled awake, confused by his surroundings.”
“I see.” Her tone was still carefully neutral and Cody didn’t know how to read her expression. He waited, wishing he was wearing his bucket so he didn’t have to keep schooling his face into professional patience.
“You brought him back to the temple...correct?” 
“Yes, sir.”
She let out a deep breath, gills fluttering slightly. “We’ll probably have more questions later, but please understand our inquires are entirely based around determining how we can best help Obi-Wan. This call and any future ones are not intended, and should absolutely not be interpreted, as indications of blame. He’s actually spoken to me about you before, I know he has the deepest respect for you, personally and professionally. Someone will likely be assigned to talk to everyone whose spent time with him recently, including myself.”
The sick feeling in his gut from last night returned full force. “I...believe I understand sir. His condition is serious, then?”
Her gills fluttered again.
“Even now, I think we can safely anticipate a full physical recovery. He...there’s no easy way to say this...it appears he attempted to end his own life. Knight Skywalker got to him just in time, and he received bacta within minutes of the initial burn. I...like I said...we’ll began work to figure out why-”
Her voice broke and she stared up, large tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. She hastily wiped them away.
“Rest assured commander, he’s getting the best treatment possible. Thank you for your assistance. I’ll do my best to answer any questions you might have right now. This is my personal comm link- please feel free to reach out to me at any point for updates.”
“I-” Cody cleared his throat. “Can I come to the temple? To...” he trailed off, not sure how to finish.
“Not tonight, I’m sorry. The healers need to focus; he’s not allowed any visitors until he’s out of Bacta, I’m afraid.”
“Skywalker must be throwing a fit at that” Cody remarked numbly.
The healer winced. “Knight Skywalker is currently sedated. He was...injured in the struggle to keep Obi-Wan from further harm. Master Windu witnessed part of it, but we’ll have to wait until its safe to wake him to get the full story. I’ll be notifying Captain Rex of the situation after we finish speaking.”
“I’ll do it.” Cody offered immediately. “Tell me what happened.”
Eerin hesitated. 
“Please, Sir. It will be better coming from me and...if he’s the only other trooper who’s being informed at the moment...”
“Of course,” she said quietly. “We don’t know the full circumstances, but at some point in performing emergency care for Master Kenobi, Knight Skywalker was stabbed in the lower abdomen with a vibroblade. It pierced his large intestine. The blade was pulled out shortly before healers arrived, causing some further damage and blood loss. He’s already finished surgery, and should only need a few hours of Bacta at most. Considering his extraordinary past recovery rates, he’ll likely be out of bed tomorrow and fully healed by the end of the week.”
“General Kenobi wouldn’t...” Cody trailed off again. He was having a hard time putting coherent sentences together.
Bant looked at the ceiling for a moment, seeming to collect her thoughts.
“Psychosis can have many manifestations. Even with- with conventional injuries, people can mistake help for harm. There’s just too much we don’t understand, and only so much we can learn before they wake up. Are you certain you wish to be the one to inform Captain Rex?”
“Yes.” That was about the only thing the Commander was certain of right now. “Is there anyone else in the GAR I should inform of...anything?”
“The military aspect of this isn’t my area of expertise. If there’s someone you trust who can be a support for you, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to tell them in confidence. Some form of what happened is going to get out eventually.” she replied. “Please use your discretion, I suppose. It’s...not really my speciality but I imagine you’ll receive further orders on how much to release to the GAR once Obi-Wan’s stable.”
Right. Discretion. Because Obi-Wan wasn’t just Obi-Wan- he was a high general in charge of nearly 1/3 of the republic’s forces. If word of this got out to the wrong ears it would cause mass panic, maybe even an emboldened separatist advance. It was an insane amount of responsibility for one person, no wonder - he deliberately didn’t finish the thought.
“I’ll comm the Captain immediately. Thank you for the information, General.” he said out loud.
“Feel free to contact me for further updates, and tell Captain Rex he’s welcome to do the same. I’ll message you when its clear to visit the halls.”
“Yes, Sir.” Cody responded, saluting automatically. 
“Take care of yourself, Commander Cody”
The hologram blinked out. Cody sat motionless for several long moment before sweeping his desk off, sending the assorted flimsies and redundant comm-units of various designations to the ground.
He stared at the empty desk, then tapped a button on his wrist comm, opening a private audio channel. “CT-7567, please come in” he said calmly.
“Cody?” came the alarmed reply. “I’m here, what’s going on?” Why did he sound so panicked? He had deliberately used his calmest voice. Oh well.
“Please report immediately to CC Office 12 in Guard Headquarters”
“I’ll be there in 10″
Cody hung up. He stared at the blank wall. He knew something was wrong with how the General said goodbye.
He opened the single desk drawer and dumped the odd wires and coins inside to the floor. Eerin had said burn. That could mean a lot of things, but lightsaber was the most likely. 
Cody puked profusely into the empty drawer. He stared at the vomit for a moment before carefully closing the drawer. He still felt a little sick. He hadn’t even said anything back to the General, he just stood there, frozen. 
He stared vaguely at the wall across, wondering if he was going to puke again.
Rex burst into the room. “Cody! What’s going on?! You- kark, what is that smell?”
“I puked in the desk drawer” Cody explained.
Rex shut the door behind him and slowly walked over. He knelt down next to the desk, gently taking Cody’s hands in this own. “Cody. Vod. Talk to to me.” 
“Obi-Wan tried to kill himself.”
Rex’s hands tightened over Cody’s compulsively and Cody squeezed back harder. He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at Rex’s expression.
“Some of ghost company went out for drinks last night. Obi-Wan started acted oddly. We flew towards the temple. He started crying. We got to the temple. He Keldabe kissed me. He told me goodbye. I didn’t say anything back.”
“Oh, vod” Rex whispered. He gently pulled the slack Cody off the chair and onto his lap on the floor. Cody continued mechanically. “I did reports today. Skywalker said he was with him. I left Obi-Wan a message. I don’t think he saw it. He tried to kill himself. Skywalker must have left him alone. He saved him. Obi-Wan stabbed Skywalker.”
Rex froze, still holding on to Cody. 
“The healer called. Asked about drugs. They don’t think its drugs but they had to ask. She said they’re both going to heal completely fine. I have a link if you want to call the healer directly. That’s...it. I have reports to do now.”
Rex held Cody tighter. “Not right now”
“It’s war. People get hurt. People die. I have work to do”
“Not right now,” Rex repeated. “You have the right to be upset. You have the right to grieve. You’re a person, of course you have feelings.”
“Obi-Wan said that.” Cody whispered. Then he started crying. He continued to quietly sob for some time, hurt and bewildered and scared. They sat on the floor together; Rex barely moved, simply held on to his older brother as he fell apart.
Inevitably, Cody’s tears dried up and he pulled away. 
“I don’t know how to clean this,” he said gesturing at that closed drawer. 
“I’ll take care of it. Let’s just get you to bed. There’s CC bunks here, right? 
“Yes but...”
Cody didn’t really like sleeping so isolated, but he also couldn’t imagine facing the 212th right now. 
“I’ll stay here with you. We’ll go to the temple together in the morning.”
Rex shepherded Cody to the fresher. He stared at the mirror with a vague sense of recognition before automatically moving through a standard sanitation routine. By the time he finished, Rex had joined him in his room.
“What did you do with the vomit?” Cody asked, suddenly exhausted. They slipped into bed together.
“Swapped the whole desk with Pond’s. That bastard knows what he did.”
Cody let out a snort. Then, much to his surprise, he sank heavily into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Part X
232 notes · View notes
euphoriara · 4 years
Text
By Your Side
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you turned up with casual clothing the next day. and the first time he saw you with normal clothing, he could only stare with his mouth agape, like a fish out of water. you look smaller with the oversized sweatshirt, hair styled naturally instead of the usual professional look you go for. you're also slightly shorter since you forego the boots you usually wear for a pair of comfortable sneakers. the only thought that ran through his head at the time was "find you a woman who can do both." 
alternatively
you just want to get your job done, but it seems like jungkook is determined to get in your way (and steal a spot in your heart in the process).
pairing: jungkook x bodyguard!reader
genre: action, fluff, tiny pieces of angst sprinkled throughout, bodyguard!au
word count: 22k
warnings: swearing, violence, weapons, abduction, implied/reference to sleeping pills, politics. (it sounds like a lot but it's not too much, promise. they're mostly at the first half of the story)
a/n: ahahahaha hey, i deleted the first part and decided to re-upload it as one part bc posting the second part was giving me a headache so here it is as a one piece instead. apologies to the people who read it before, there was like 7, im sorry lol. hope you can find it again since the first part left at a cliffhanger im so sorry. i still suck at summary but like at this point who's surprised anymore. but here it is, the longest thing ive ever written probably. to the people reading, thank you for giving it a chance, i appreciate it a whole lot, have a good day!
the cold air causes jungkook to nuzzle deeper into his sweatshirt, pulling up the hood to maintain his body temperature. outside of the convenience store, the busy street has started to wind down, only a few stragglers walking home from a long day at work. he pulls up his mask to cover more of his face, gripping the bag of snacks tighter to his body before opening the door. 
when he steps outside, he's too busy ruffling through his snacks to realize there's someone sitting at the plastic chair in front of the store, who quickly stood up when they saw him making his way out. it isn't until he feels the slightest press of cold metal against his back that he realizes something is definitely wrong. 
"just pretend like nothing's going on, walk normally and i won't hurt you." the girl is just as tall as him, whispering the muffled threat right into his ear so nobody else can hear it. from outside perspective, it might look like just two friends catching up with each other, with the girl having an arm slung over his shoulder from behind while her other hand concealed a dagger behind his back.  
he quickly schools his expression into a mask of calm, though his mind is racing with how to escape this situation. he follows her instructions when she subtly shoves a knee to his thigh, signaling him to walk with her. "if you want money, i can give it to you right now. don't hurt me, i promise i won't tell anyone." 
the girl scoffs next to his ear, "be quiet, I'm not letting you go. just listen to me and you won't get hurt. i said that already." 
jungkook tries to hide the tremble in his hand by holding the bags tighter, nodding in response because he's too scared to talk. he's worried if he does try to talk, a sob might escape. 
the girl shifts so she's walking by his side, arm with the weapon now wrapped around his waist, playing into the illusion of a couple taking a walk together. 
unfortunately for jungkook, they didn't encounter anyone on their walk. nobody that he can signify to ask for help.
she leads him into an alleyway, and that's when jungkook's legs start to shake as well, causing him to lag behind. fear starts to course through his veins faster, heart beating a mile a minute.
he sees the girl raises one of her perfect eyebrow, eyes impassively staring at him. the rest of her face is concealed with a mask, just like him and she wears a baseball hat to hide the rest of her hair. "for fuck sake, i told you already I'm not gonna hurt you. you don't have to worry about your pretty little face, alright?" her tone is annoyed, patience clearly running out and jungkook just nods, afraid he might set her off if he doesn't. 
he will himself to walk normally again when he sees another person emerges from one of the dark corners of the alley. a male and he's holding a gun, he realizes right away. he can't help himself when he audibly gulps at the sight of the weapon, fear rooting him in his place, unable to move. 
"don't worry, he's just a precaution so you won't try to run away. we're not stupid." the girl tries to reassure him but all he could think about is the gun that the male has shoved into his jacket pocket. 
they walk by his side now, and with the assurance of a gun, the girl pulls back her knife and shoves it into her pants pocket. jungkook tries to will his mind into coming up with a plan, but he's too scared to try anything with a threat of a gun next to him. 
he scans his surrounding area, but couldn't find any loophole for him to make his escape. they eventually make it into the other side of the road where a black SUV is waiting. she opens the door of the car and gestures with her head, "get in." 
he hesitates in his steps, if he climbs inside, there might not be a chance to escape anymore. 
"i said get in, I'm not asking again." he feels the press of a gun on his lower back and decides to listen. he climbs into the car where somebody is already waiting at the driver seat. another person is sitting next to him, possibly to prevent him from jumping out of the car. 
the male from before hops in next to him, while the girl climbs into the passenger seat in front. 
he takes the down time to memorize details, not that there's many, since everyone in the car, including him are wearing a mask to cover their face and a hat, and have their hood up. each person only reveals a sliver of their eyes, hair hidden away by the hood of their jackets, and hands covered with leather gloves. their whole person is covered by clothing, making sure no skin is exposed.
when the car starts pulling out of the side of the road, the person next to him dangles a black cloth in front of his face. "now jeon jungkook, we need to cover your eyes and tied up your hands to make sure you don't become a loose ends." he faces the girl next to him, her voice is deceptively sweet and jungkook can't tell if she's faking it or not. despite not being able to see her face, he knows she's smiling from the way her eyes crinkle and the revelation brought a shiver up his spine. 
the driver chuckles, causing jungkook to whip his head to stare at them on the reflection of the mirror.
they made a brief eye contact when the person looks back, holding his gaze in curiosity before his vision becomes dark. 
he feels the male next to him shift, taking the bag from his trembling hands and tying his wrists with a cloth. he gives it a few tugs and when he's satisfied, he moves back to rest against the seat. "don't worry 'bout your snacks, pretty boy. I'll keep them safe." his voice is deep, raspy, amusement clear as day. 
he drawled out his words, a clear sign that he's relaxed. jungkook thinks it's unrelatable. 
the whole ride was silent, except for the music playing from the radio. jungkook tries his best to listen to his surroundings in hopes of being able to find clues of where they're taking him. but alas, the sound of the music is loud enough to drown out any other noises. he tries to focus on the direction of the car, tracing it inside his mind from the starting point when he got into the car. 
however, it seems like his captors knew this because jungkook can tell they've been driving aimlessly for the past 20 minutes or so. it's not until 10 minutes later jungkook hears the difference in the road they're driving. briefly, the car drove through gravels before smoothly going back to pavement. and then going back to driving through dirt road.
at this point, jungkook has lost any sense of direction and has no idea where he is and where they're taking him, so he slumps against the seat, trying to come up with something else. he doesn't know what they want with him.
well, he does have an inkling about what they want. 
another 10 minutes later, and the car finally stop. he hears the door being opened and closed, feels the people next to him climb out of the vehicle. except, he stays rooted to his spot, not knowing what to do since nobody instructed him to get out. 
then, a hand reaches out to him, causing him to flinch when he feels someone grabbing his arm. "chill, it's me, come on. get out." it's the guy from before, tugging him by his sweatshirt. 
he feels the gravel beneath his shoes which turn into soft grass after a few steps. when he steps inside the building, the first thing he notices is the smell. smell of old, rotting wood and dust. 
somebody yanks the black cloth off his head, revealing an old empty warehouse with a chair in the middle. that's where he'll be spending his time, he guesses. 
he hears the crinkling of his bag from the side, looking to see the guy from before dumping his snacks into the table next to the window. "minhee, tie him to the chair. I'm just gonna take a look at his taste in snacks." 
the girl who threatened him steps forward, shoving him in the direction of the chair. "sit here, pretty boy." 
the driver from before brushes past his side before he got the chance to move, murmuring, "please don't worry. we're not gonna hurt you. i promise." oddly enough, jungkook believes her. 
after the reassurance from someone he doesn't even know, he complies with the girl, that he now know as minhee. for the first time in the last hour, jungkook finally opens his mouth. "are you not worried about revealing your name like that?" 
minhee raises her eyebrow and scoffs, husky voice laced with amusement, "if it's not safe then do you think he'd have said it?" she yanks the rope around his wrist harshly, "i told you, we're not stupid." she doesn't elaborate, not like jungkook was expecting her to. 
"haeun, did you queue the message?" she turns to look at the girl who sat next to him, the one with the terrifyingly sweet voice. a cheery voice replies from somewhere in the warehouse, "yup! all set. he'll receive the message first thing in the morning!" 
"and did you take care of any possible recording or evidence?" he sees the guy opening one of his chips, turning away from him to pull down his mask to pop a few into his mouth. his voice sounds clearer without the barrier of the mask. 
the sweet one, haeun, scoffs, "what do you think of me, yoongi? an amateur?" he sees yoongi shrugs, "I'm just making sure. no need to be salty 'bout it." 
jungkook is thoroughly confused, why are they using their name so freely like that? are they not worried he'll tell authority about them? though judging from what minhee said, they have reasons to not be worried. he wonders what that means. 
a new voice pipes up from one of the doorways, the girl who drove the SUV. she's the one that hasn't had a name associated with her yet. "yoongi, don't forget to feed him and give him some water." 
yoongi turns around, mask now back in place, and frowns. he sighs loudly before grabbing a container and a water bottle from a bag he didn't notice before. "I don't understand why I'm stuck with the babysitting duty." 
"oh shut up, all you gotta do is feed the kid. it's not that hard of a job." minhee snarks from where she's sitting near the window, eyes glued at the phone in her hand. 
"the kid's hands are tied, how's he gonna eat and drink?" yoongi ignores her, making his way in front of jungkook. "i told you, you feed him." driver says, clearly amused at the way yoongi grumbles and complains. 
begrudgingly, yoongi opens the bottle and tilts it towards jungkook, telling him wordlessly to drink. obviously, jungkook hesitates. what if the drink is poisoned?
the driver answers his question without him having to voice it out loud, "it's not poisoned. we're just trying to keep you away from dehydration and starvation." 
he looks up at yoongi, who has one dark eyebrow raised in question, before deciding to trust her again. seeing how they have kept their promise of not hurting him, he doesn't see why he can't accept the food and water.
yoongi makes him finish the whole bottle of water before feeding him pieces of kimbap. offhandedly, he thinks the kimbap is delicious. so much so that he's tempted to ask his captors where they got them from before resisting the urge to open his mouth and make a fool out of himself.
when he's done eating, yoongi goes back to the table with his snacks, once again facing away from jungkook to probably finish the rest of the chips he opened. the driver speaks up again from where she's standing, now perched next to the snacks table with her hip resting against the side. "don't worry too much, you'll be home in no time and we really do have no intention to hurt you. you're just…" she trails off and stares outside the window. 
"a helping hand to get us what we need." 
and then it clicked in jungkook's mind. he was right, these people wanted money and holding him hostage is a quick and surefire way of getting it. clearing his throat, he decides to brave himself and ask for confirmation himself. "what do you want from me?" he holds the stare of the girl, curious and amused eyes staring back at him. 
it's minhee who answers his question, "it's not what we want from you. it's what we want from your father." she stands up from her seat and sends a cold glare his way. 
"money." 
---
"Good morning Governor Jeon! What a lovely day today, isn't it? What a shame your son isn't able to see the sun himself today! But, don't fret, we can surely change that.
Now, Governor Jeon, all we ask from you is your cooperation and we won't hurt your precious son. Cross our hearts! We know how much you love him, so please don't worry too much. You just have to listen and comply. 
Our only demand is, you guess it! Money! We want $5,000,000 in cash, delivered at an address we'll send to you after confirmation that you had prepared the money. After you give us what we want, we'll send you a location where you can find your lovely boy. He's quite a charmer, isn't he? And his taste in snacks is pretty good, if I say so myself. Sour cream and onion potato chip is delicious.
I must remind you however, do not try to get any authority involved or we can not promise your son will return unharmed. Do not try to trick or fool us, Governor Jeon, we have eyes on you and a gun in the same room as your son. 
We know you're fully capable of giving us what we want so no negotiations, I'm afraid. Once the money reaches the location, open the bag and show us that you're not fooling us and then leave the premises and do not return back. Do not send anyone either or you won't get your son's location.
Now, as I've made clear before, if you or anyone else for that matter, violates one of the rules I've set in this message, I'm afraid your son will have to pay for that Governor Jeon. We would hate for that to happen, wouldn't we?
Anyway, you have 24 hours, starting from the moment you close this message.
Say Governor Jeon, isn't it lucky that the people that got your son are kind people who won't hurt him? Well this time at least. You should up your security around him, don't you think? It was quite easy for our people to get to him. What if somebody else got him again, but they're not as nice as us? You and him would be in big trouble, huh? Consider this as a friendly reminder from friends to friends, yeah?
Lovely time talking to you Governor Jeon! Hopefully we'll see you soon! Here's to no one getting hurt! Wait for our information!
---
jungkook quickly fell asleep last night after finishing his kimbap. it's no brainer since by the time he got to the warehouse, it must have been along the time of 1 in the morning. 
he woke up uncomfortable, back and neck complaining at the awkward angle he had to sleep in. there's a shuffling sound close to him and when he turns his head around, he sees yoongi, with new clothes but still covered from head to toe, walking towards him with another container of food. 
wordlessly, he opens the box, revealing a stack of pancakes with a side of fruits and a bottle of orange juice. he muses that at least they give him good food and one that's appropriate with the time of day. silently, he starts eating the food offered to him, eyes occasionally scanning over the room. though there's really not much to see.
the warehouse is empty save from a few scattered chairs, and a table. he notices the window from last night had been covered this morning, no natural light coming through the gaps. the only source of lightning is the few lightbulbs scarcely hang around the room.
there's a few doors to his right, but he couldn't see what's beyond it. although he can faintly hear the sounds of keyboards clicking from one of the doors, so he guess that's their temporary workspace for now. 
"what time is it right now?" he asks after finishing the last of his orange juice. "almost 10 in the morning. here's to hoping your father fulfill his end of the deal, huh?" there's an underlying threat laced around his playful remarks and jungkook can only sigh at the statement. 
"hopefully, i have assignments to finish and essays to write." at this, yoongi laugh, low and deep. "you sound much more composed than last night." 
that's true, jungkook is a lot calmer now, talking about this whole situation like it's a minor convenience. but it's because he trusts that these people genuinely won't hurt him or they would have done so by now. also because he knows one way or another, his father will somehow get him out of here. 
yoongi seems like he's expecting an answer from him, so he truthfully tells him his reasons. despite not being able to see his lower face, jungkook can tell he's smirking after he finished relaying his thoughts. "yeah well, maybe you should worry. we can't promise we'll let you go unharmed if he doesn't comply." 
that brought his thoughts to a screeching halt, doubts and fears starting to plague his mind again. "we did promise not to hurt you, but only if you and your father listen to our demands. so your second statement is still up in the air. there's no 'one way or another" jeon, there's only one way if you want to get out safely." 
one statement and his facade of bravado crumbles. what if his father doesn't comply? what if he makes a mistakes? what will happen to him? what will they do? 
before he can scares himself further, minhee calls out for yoongi from the other room. 
"that's my cue, be patient, pretty boy. you'll be out of here soon." even in the haze of his anxiety, he can't help but frown at the nickname. "stop calling me that." 
"whatever you say, pretty boy." he hears yoongi's footsteps fade, and sighs to himself again. he cuss himself for forgetting his phone at his coffee table last night, and tries to move his wrists to see if he can loosen the tie. 
unfortunately for him, the knot is too strong. so strong that he thinks it might be the impossible knot. he scans the room for any sign of weapons, only to come up empty. which means two things. one, his captors have all the weapons. and two, he won't be able to defend himself even if he got loose. 
he hears a slight commotion from one of the rooms on his right. a second later, yoongi emerges, walking slowly towards him with his hands inside his pockets. "guess your father cares after all." before jungkook gets the chance to ask him what he means, he feels his eyes getting heavy, mind hazy, unable to fight it when his senses become dull.
"sorry 'bout that." and then everything becomes dark once again.
---
jungkook wakes up to a hand gently tapping his cheeks and a mean cramp in his neck. he slowly blinks his eyes open to see a stranger in a uniform crouching in front of him. when the stranger sees that he's awake, he's quick to gesture other people to start working on his bind, loosening the tight ropes around his wrists and legs. 
"Mr.Jeon? Can you hear me?" he blearily nods at the question, mind too hazy to start speaking just yet. he slowly looks around the room to see crowds of people searching the perimeter. he doesn't see any signs of his captors however, which probably meant that they got away after rendering him unconscious. 
he's lead to a Lexus RX that's parked outside of the warehouse, but not before being bombarded with questions from what he assumed are the paramedics. he tells them that he's fine and that they hadn't hurt him. they run a quick check on him and seem to be satisfied by his answer, letting him climb into the familiar leather of the car.
he tells the driver to drive him to his apartment, head heavily resting against the cushion of the car, "but Mr.Jeon, your father wanted to see you." 
"tell him I'll meet him when i can, right now i just want to go home and rest properly." he doesn't want to deal with his father just yet, not knowing how he's gonna react. would it be anger? concern? indifference? he tries not to think about it too much. 
thankfully his driver listened, sensing the exhaustion rolling off his being, and drove him straight to his apartment without any more questions. 
he slams the door and make sure to check that it's locked before going around his apartment to make sure it's safe. he double checks every window and room, a slight anxiety still lingering at the back of his mind. he makes his way towards the bathroom, planning on taking a shower to rid him of the heavy weight pulling his limbs down. 
on his way to the bathroom, he sees his phone lights up from where it's perched on the coffee table. curious, he snatches the phone to check the message. it's from an unknown number.
"Hey! What did we tell you, we won't hurt you right? We kept our promise! Just messaging you to tell you that Yoongi's sorry about the orange juice. We needed you to be unaware of what we were doing while we were preparing for your retrieval. Oh, and also tell your father to not investigate further too. Or something unpleasant might work it's way to your building. We wouldn't want that, do we? 
And don't even try to track this message, you won't find anything. I guarantee. I'm good at my job. Anyway, don't forget to close your windows and lock your doors, wouldn't want a repeat of last night huh? Alright have a good day now Jungkook!
-Haeun"
he doesn't realize he's trembling until the phone almost slips out of his grasp, the taunts only adding to the growing anxiety at the back of his mind. the fact that she's brave enough to send a message to his phone, with yoongi's and her name in it means she's confident that they can't and won't be tracked. imagining the sweet voiced girl brought another shiver up his spine. he doesn't know why but haeun terrifies him. 
he decides to delete the message and try to forget about the event from the last 24 hours, making a beeline towards the bathroom where he hopefully can wash off the reminder of the exhausting night. 
once he's refreshed from his shower, he flops onto his bed and stares at the ceiling on top of him. he tries to rearrange the chaotic thoughts inside his mind. 
concerningly, he thinks, he's not necessarily afraid of his captors from last night. maybe it's from the way they repeatedly assure him that they're not gonna hurt him. or from the way they fed him actual food, delicious one at that, and water. 
no, it's the thought that he's a pawn in this game that terrifies him. the fact that he's stuck in this game of politics, money and power all because his father is the governor. the thought of being taken by another group that won't be as merciful is scary. years have gone by with his father involved in the politic scene but his family had never been threatened before. should he start worrying now? 
before he can overthink like he usually does, the phone in his hand ping with another message. it's his father, asking for him to meet tomorrow to talk. closing his eyes, he sighs, shooting a quick agreement before trying to fall asleep to the sound of rain that starts pouring outside. 
---
the next day finds him sitting in front of his father, fidgeting hands placed on his lap. his father doesn't mention anything, doesn't ask about what had transpired that night. jungkook can't help but think that his father had changed. 
"i will be assigning you a bodyguard from now on, to ensure your safety." so there won't be a repeat of last time. "she will be with you at all times, except for when you're at home. and even then she will be staying at the apartment in front of yours so you can easily ask for her assistance. you are not permitted to leave and go anywhere without her. understand?" i will not let you cost me my reputation and money again.
his voice is cold, authoritative, daring jungkook to disagree with him. 
jungkook bows his head low, muttering, "i understand," without making eye contact with the man in front of him. one he's not sure he recognized anymore.
"call her in." 
jungkook hears the door open, two people coming in to stand next to his father. he sees you facing him and looks away before you can catch him staring at you. 
"her name is (y/n)." you bow your head in his direction, face carefully blank when you look up again. your hair is styled neatly, suits tailored to fit. "it's nice to meet you Mr.Jeon." he blinks at your voice, not expecting you to speak to him. "oh! uh, nice to meet you too." 
his father claps once to bring the attention back to him, "alright, you're dismissed, you can leave now." 
he quickly stands up, bowing at his father before making a quick exit. the room feels suffocating and cold. he hears you trailing behind him but doesn't turn around until he's in the elevator, going down. 
he debates on how to start a conversation with you, but you beat him to the punch. "no need to worry about making pleasantries with me Mr.Jeon. you can pretend that I'm just a shadow following you." he turns to see you with a slight smile on your face, before trailing his gaze to the holster strapped underneath your suit jacket. 
"right…" he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, "you can call me jungkook. no need to address me so formally like that." 
he sees you nod in confirmation before falling back into awkward silence. for him, at least, it's awkward. but you seem content with it. 
he walks toward the awaiting car in front of the building, his father had sent someone to drive him around in the meanwhile, not yet allowing him to leave on his own. "i heard you're moving to the apartment in front of mine?" he hesitantly asks when you settle into the seat next to him in the car. 
"yes i am. my belongings are being moved right now, actually. i will settle in tomorrow." he nods at your answer. "so, you'll be with me for," he frowns, "24 hours?" 
"not necessarily, i won't be intruding on your personal space that is your apartment, but i will be accompanying you whenever you go outside."
"including university?" he doesn't think he likes the sound of that.
you purse your lips sympathetically, "I'm afraid so." 
he stays quiet after that, looking out the window at the passing scenery to distract himself. he doesn't know what to think of this whole situation. in one hand, he's slightly relieved at the extra protection but on the other hand he's slightly uncomfortable at the thought of being followed everywhere he goes. at least, he thinks, he still has his home as his personal space.
a few minutes pass by in silence before jungkook feels you shifting next to him, body leaning forward to talk to the driver. "someone is tailing the car." 
he guesses you have intended to whisper as to not worry him, but he hears you anyway. body immediately going rigid, he moves to look at you anxiously. "what?"
you lean back after the driver nodded, sending a curt nod his way, "a car has been following us ever since we left your father's building. we will try to shake them off before reaching your apartment." jungkook feels the car turning into a busy highway, now surrounded by more cars than before.
he anxiously glances between you and the rearview mirror, trying to find the car you're talking about, but with various cars in the highway, he can't tell which one is following him. you seem to understand what he's trying to do, "black honda accord." 
he briefly sees the car you're talking about before it slips past him and speeds up, leaving him confused in his seat. when he turns to look at you, he realizes he's not the only one confused by the turn of events. you frown at the fading car, before blinking your expression back into a state of neutral. 
"why did they just, leave? what do they want?" he asks, breaking the tense silence between you. "I'm afraid i don't know either jungkook. don't worry, i have their plates memorized, I'll make sure to tell your father about it." 
the statement doesn't comfort him all that much, but he chooses to stay quiet. soon enough, he reaches his apartment building. he had always thought his apartment is safe, located in a building with strict security, but that doesn't make being followed home any less scary.
when you step out, you make sure to asses the surrounding area first, making sure nobody is following the two of you. once he reaches his apartment door, he asks you one last question. "do i have to call you when i want to go to the convenience store too?" 
he sees a slight amused smile pulling at the corner of your lips, "with all due respect jungkook, it was going into the convenience store by yourself that got you into trouble, so yes, i will be accompanying you to the convenience store too." 
embarrassed, he quickly nods and opens his door, bidding you a good night before disappearing into his apartment. he makes sure to check his whole space again, locking the doors and windows like haeun had reminded him yesterday. 
he falls into his couch, turning on the tv to some news about an anonymous donation to fall asleep to. he lets his eyes close and sleep to overtake him, trying to shake off any remaining anxiety weighing his limbs.
---
having you as his bodyguard is not that bad, jungkook thinks. on the first week, you had been quiet and serious, accompanying him whenever he went to school and hanging back whenever he went out with his friends. though he received some strange looks at school because of your presence, it also brought a sense of security and calm for him. 
after the first week of adjusting with having a bodyguard, he started breaking the ice between the two of you, occasionally striking conversation with you and asking about trivial matters. you were quiet, but you keep up with his conversation well, firing back questions after an answer to keep the conversation going. 
by week three, jungkook considers the two of you as friends. he even managed to convince you to wear normal clothes instead of the suit you always wear, when you're not going somewhere formal. a feat that he's proud of.
"it'll look weird if you wear suits when accompanying me to the convenience store." he had said one afternoon while at the library. he's procrastinating his essay, choosing to strike a conversation with you instead. "this is basically a uniform, jungkook. I can't not wear a uniform while on the job." you leaned back in your seat in front of him, arms crossed in front of your chest. he tries to not let his gaze lingered too much. 
coughing, he averted his attention to the highlighter next to his laptop, "but come on! wouldn't it look suspicious if you keep wearing that everywhere we go? why is it necessary for you to wear a uniform anyway? I'm sure they're not as practical. and they're probably not mandatory for your job." you had sighed but stayed quiet to let him speak.
"don't you need to be more subtle? and i bet it's a lot of work having to put on a suit every time i need to go out to get a cup ramen." he saw you mulling over the proposition before relenting. "fine, I'll start wearing more practical clothing but i still need to wear a suit when it's formal." jungkook nodded, "i understand, don't worry." 
you turned up with casual clothing the next day. and the first time he saw you with normal clothing, he could only stare with his mouth agape, like a fish out of water. you look smaller with the oversized sweatshirt, hair styled freely instead of the usual professional look you go for. you're also slightly shorter since you forego the boots you usually wear for a pair of comfortable sneakers. the only thought that ran through his head at the time was "find you a woman who can do both." 
by the second month of you being his bodyguard, he has started inviting you into his apartment to hang out with him. he often challenges you to play video games with him, competitive nature resurfacing everytime you win. though, he never asked to go to your place and you never offered. 
your presence lets him forget about the events that took place many months ago, providing a calm reassurance everytime he walks. now, he doesn't check his apartment obsessively anymore, merely making sure to lock the doors and the windows. it also lets him feel normal for once. 
despite being someone who works for him, you don't let that become a gap between the two of you, befriending him who sometimes finds it hard to make friends due to his status as the governor's son. 
all in all, jungkook thinks having you as a bodyguard isn't that bad.
---
walking at night doesn't feel as scary as before now, with your warm presence next to him, steps aligned with his. he chatters away about his upcoming project, asking for your opinion once in a while about a certain topic. it isn't until he feels your hand on his bicep that he realizes you had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, eyes cautiously trained in front of you. 
he frowns, turning to look at you, "what's wrong?" he follows your gaze to see two people standing at the other side of the road, appearance reminding him of those people that had captured him all those months ago. a hat, mask and a hood to conceal their identity. hands shoved into their pockets to conceal any weapon they have. 
he tenses when he feels you shift next to him, fight or flight instinct sounding in his head when he sees them slowly making their way over. he's too caught up in his mind to realize that you had drawn out your gun, shoving it into his trembling hands. "jungkook, take this. if any of them tries anything, aim and shoot." 
"wh- what? what about you?" he'd be embarrassed of the tremor in his voice if he weren't so scared. these people don't look nice. 
you throw a smirk his way, "don't worry about me." 
any reply dies on his tongue when he sees one of the people swings their fist towards you, one you quickly dodge by stepping to the side. he sees the other person charging towards him, moving away from the direction he pointed the gun at to tackle him down. 
they both fell to the ground, his back hitting the cold pavement with a loud thud. the male pins jungkook to the ground with his knees, gun having fallen away in the moment of scuffle. he draws back his fist to punch him but jungkook manage to throw him off balance by slamming his knee against his back. he pushes the male away from him, wrapping his arm tightly around their neck while searching for the gun with his other hand. 
he's momentarily distracted when he hears you yelp in pain, looking over to see you hunched over a few feet away from him. he sees the person you're fighting aiming a knife at your shoulder, sending him into panic. when he grabs ahold of the gun, he shots the person in the thigh. 
the knife clatter to the ground, a hiss sounding from the person standing in front of you. he sees you stand up to neutralize them, throwing a punch and stepping on the thigh jungkook had shot before. he then turns to the person in his arms, debating on what to do. the male senses his hesitation, using their strength to throw jungkook over their shoulder, causing jungkook to loses his grip on the gun once again. 
in the moment of weakness, the guy had managed to grab the gun from him, the barrel of a gun now pointing at his forehead. jungkook closes his eyes and brace himself, fear gripping every inch of his body, replacing the adrenaline. 
but the shot never rang. instead he hears a heavy thud, and when he opens his eyes again, you stand in front of him, gun pointed at the guy kneeling in front of you. 
"who sent you?" you ask, voice cold and emotionless, it reminded him of the first sentence you've spoken to him. the person doesn't answer, eyes trained on you while occasionally flickering to his friend still laying on the ground, obviously in pain. 
"you're not gonna answer?" your question sounds more like a statement, and a few seconds after you finished your sentence, jungkook hears the telltale sound of the police cars. you must have alerted the authority the moment you saw them. 
he sees the male nervously glancing around, fidgeting like he's trying to find a way to escape.
"go on, try to run, I'll make sure you end up like your friend over there." bleeding, unable to walk, let alone run. 
slowly, the male moves his hands out, holding it up in the air in surrender. your hold on the gun tightens momentarily before relaxing again when the police arrive to apprehend the two. 
he sees them being handcuffed and lead to the awaiting police car ready to take them to the station. you drop your hand to your side, still clutching the gun in precaution. 
an officer walks towards the two of you, placating hands in front of his body. "are you two okay? do you need medical assistance?" it's not until he mentions it that jungkook notices there's an ambulance parked next to the sidewalk, a few medics tending to the guy he had shot. 
you turn to look at him, scanning him head to toes for any injuries, "do you need medics? are you hurt?" he shakes his head, hands still shaking, "no i- I don't, i don't think so." you frown at his answer, taking a hold of his wrist gently, "still, you need to get yourself check out. let's go." 
jungkook is tempted to hold your hand but managed to refrain from it. he needs some comfort, but he's not sure if he can ask it from you. 
you lead him to the ambulance, the male from before had been taken away to the hospital, so there won't be any awkward encounter between the three of you. "he might have a bruise on his back, he was thrown to the ground twice." you tell the medics. 
he didn't realize he might've been injured too, but your words makes him realize there's a dull pulsing on his shoulder blade and his back. the medic nods, gesturing to his shirt, "may i check?" offhandedly, he nods, letting him lift his shirt to check his back, but moves to grab your hand when you turn to walk away.
"where are you going? you need to get checked out too, you probably sustain more injuries." 
"I'll get checked out later, I'm going to give you some privacy." you smile at him, hand gently prying his from your wrist. 
he furrows his eyebrows, "i don't mind, really. you should really get yourself checked." he eyes the cuts and bruises on your knuckles. "did you know your knuckles are bruised?" 
you look down at your hands, chuckling to yourself. "did you forget this is my job, jungkook? this is not a big deal." 
thankfully, the other medic is quick to agree with jungkook. "come here, let me tend to your wounds." she doesn't let you disagree, sitting you down and making quick work to clean the scrapes on your hands. 
he hisses when he feels someone poking the bruise on his shoulder blade, "just some minor bruising on your shoulder and your left lower back. when you get home, you should ice it and rest to let it heal by itself." he quietly nods and watches as his medics move to help tend to you. 
"and you, miss? any other injuries besides the knuckles?" he asks as he crouches behind you. 
you turn your head to the side, pondering the question. "probably just some bruising too since he managed to get a couple of punches." 
the medic nods, "is it okay if i check your torso?" you purse your lips, eyes flickering to jungkook at the back of the ambulance. "sure."
jungkook averts his eyes when the medics start to lift your shirt, only looking back when the male starts talking again. "there's a shallow laceration on your side, quite a few bruises too. do they hurt?" 
"not that much." 
he sees them nod, "alright we'll take care of the bleeding wounds and then you can go. don't forget to let the bruises heal." 
a few minutes later, you're walking home, side by side. he eyes the gauze around your knuckles, heart heavy with guilt.
"I'm sorry." he mutters. 
you stop to look at him, eyebrows raised in question. "for what?" "you got hurt protecting me." 
"it's my job, jungkook. you don't have to feel sorry." he sighs, kicking at nothing. "i know, but still." 
you place a comforting hand on his biceps, "and it's not your fault. don't beat yourself up." he can only nod at your statement, still uneasy at the thought of you getting hurt. the rest of the walk is blanketed with silence, millions of thoughts running through his head. he thinks about who those people were, about what they wanted. he shivers at a particular thought. what if you hadn't been there with him? what if he were alone, like that night at the convenience store? 
he doesn't want to think about it. 
when he arrives at his doorstep, you place a hand on his shoulder to stop him from entering his house. "don't forget to ice your back." jungkook blinks, he just remembered that. how is he gonna ice his own back?
he sees amusement dancing in your eyes, it's like you can read his mind. "do you need help?" 
embarrassed, he quietly nods, opening the door and inviting you in. 
"lay down on the couch, I'll get the ice." 
he complies wordlessly, laying on his stomach on the plush couch and closing his eyes. he hears you move around in the kitchen, and struggles to keep his eyes open. he hears you ask him if it's okay for you to lift his shirt, answering the question with a short grunt. 
you lift the shirt off his back, hissing when you see the bruise on his shoulder. "damn," is the only thing you say before placing the ice pack at the right spot. he tenses for a moment at the cold sensation, before melting back into the couch. "didn't they say there's another bruise, jungkook? where is it?" 
at the mention of his other bruise, his eyes pop open, realizing where it's located. "uh…" 
he waves his hand around, "don't worry about that one, i can take care of it." he can't see you but he's sure you're frowning in confusion. "i thought they said it's on your lower back?" 
"ye- yeah. yeah it is. it's um…" he's too embarrassed to tell you it's on his butt. "don't worry it's fine." 
it's silent for a few minutes, jungkook thinks you might let it go but then he hears you trying to stifle your laughter. he pouts, "don't laugh! i fell on my butt when he threw me off his shoulder!" 
you let out a single laughter before composing yourself, patting jungkook on the head. "it's okay. that's good actually, you didn't fall on your tailbone and risk injuring it." he hums at the compliment, good point, kudos to him for moving his body slightly to the side when he was up in the air.
"you sure you don't need my help compressing it?" you tease, moving off the couch back to the kitchen. "m'sure." 
"do you want warm milk, jungkook?" you call from the kitchen. "yes please!" milk sounds nice right now. 
when you come back, you place the warm cup of milk on the coffee table, "i put some honey in it, like in that movie you showed me last week." jungkook's heart clenches, you're so cute. he mutters a thanks to his folded arms, trying his best to keep his eyes open. "I'm gonna go home now, rest and take care not to aggravate your bruise too much, okay?" 
he moves his head to the side, "do you need help? with your own bruises?" you shake your head on your way to the door, "nah, it's fine. i can do it myself, i didn't get thrown to the pavement." he throws another pout your way. 
"good night, jungkook." the door closes before he can say it back.
---
a few weeks pass by without any more incidents, his body returning back to its normal condition in just a few days. for a couple of days, you diligently helped him iced his shoulder, not forgetting to tease him about the one on his butt each time. 
everytime he offered to help you with your own injuries, you always shot down the idea, telling him you can take care of yourself. so jungkook decided he'll help by going out less to let you rest a bit more, so your cuts and bruises can take their time to heal. 
he invited you over more often, offering to watch movies together with him or to play video games. sometimes you had to decline, telling him that you still have some things to do, but more often than not you'll sigh and roll your eyes fondly before agreeing. 
this week however, he hadn't seen you that much except for when you accompanied him to school. mostly because he had been cooped up in his own apartment, only leaving for his exams in the morning, studying and focusing on his big project for the rest of the day. 
he'd given you a heads up before the week started, as to not worry you when he doesn't knock on your door to ask to go the mall. 
"I'm gonna be pretty busy next week," he had said over a plate of fried rice, sitting on his dining table with you across from him. you raised one eyebrow in question. "finals week means i have to study everyday and i have to finish a project I've put off long enough."
he chewed the fried egg, gulping it down before continuing, "so i probably won't go anywhere except for school. think of it as like a vacation for you." you had nodded and smiled at him, but didn't say anything, scooping up more rice onto your spoon. jungkook didn't notice your smile didn't reach your eyes.
today is the last day kf exams for him, every finals done and project sent to his professor 15 minutes before the deadline. he flops down into the floor in a heap, exhaustion rolling off every inch of his body. he had only gotten a total of 25 hours of sleep this week, and had not been taking care of himself properly. 
he groans and stands up when he hears his stomach grumbles, making his way to the kitchen to look for some food. there's a slight headache at the back of his head, vision blurring for a moment before returning to normal. he shakes it off as exhaustion, opening the fridge only to see it empty. he tries the cupboard but comes up with the same thing. 
throwing his head back, he decides he'll have to go out to get some food, it's not too late at night yet, clock showing 8:15. walking to the door to get you, his vision blurs again when he reaches his door, hand gripping the doorknob to prevent him from falling. he definitely needs to get you now. 
when he opens the door, he finds you conversing with someone in the hallway, opening the door to let them in. he can't exactly hear what you're saying but the other voice causes a flicker of familiarity to light in the back of his mind. your eyes quickly snap to him when you realize he's standing behind the person, widening in surprise and… nervousness? fear?
he was about to ask you who it is when the person turns to look at what made you freeze, jungkook's body going rigid at the realization. the voice, the eyes, he remembers them, memories from the events all those months ago surges to the front of his mind. his vision blurs again, this time slowly going dark around the edges. only one name crosses his mind.
"minhee."
---
you watch as jungkook's body goes rigid when he sees minhee turning around, he had obviously recognized her. you hear him mutter her name before going limp and move to catch him before he collapses, supporting his weight so he won't fall to the ground and hurt himself. grunting, you adjust his body in your arms, "minhee, a little help?" 
she sighs loudly, moving to stand next to him and slinging his arms around her shoulder to help you carry him to your apartment. "the fuck are we supposed to do now?" she asks, kicking open the door and helping you move him to your couch. "i have no fucking idea." 
your mind races with all the possibilities, trying to come up with a solution to the new problem in your hand. you unceremoniously drop him to your couch, feeling his forehead to check his temperature. he doesn't have a fever, though he look pale and exhausted. you figure he hasn't been taking care of himself. 
haeun emerges from the kitchen, holding a bowl of seasoned popcorn. she munches and raises her eyebrow at the sight, "what's going on?" she looks at the boy on your couch, "why's he here?" 
you pinch the bridge of your nose, pacing in front of the door while minhee sits on the chair next to the tv. she answers haeun question for you, "pretty boy here, recognized me and then fainted." 
haeun chuckles, "he fainted because he saw you?" 
"no, i think he fainted from exhaustion and possibly dehydration, seeing minhee just add to the shock. how long do we got until he wakes?" minhee clicks her tongue, "few minutes? maybe? I don't know but you need to figure something out, quick."  
you talk out loud so minhee can hear you, maybe her opinion can help. "well, one thing for sure is we can't let him go and pretend nothing happened, can we?" she shakes her head no. 
"but, maybe we can? i can just say that he hallucinated because he was tired? do you think that would work?" she shrugs her shoulders. 
"do you think he'll believe me if i told him that?" she nods her head yes. 
you stop your pacing, "what? you think he'll believe me if i told him he hallucinated?" she plasters an innocent look on her face, blinking at you from where she sits. "i think so. pretty sure he'd believe you if you tell him the cashier at downtown McD is an alien." 
you tilt your head to the side, not understanding what she meant. "what?" before she can respond, haeun places a glass of water on the coffee table and you shoot her a grateful look. "okay you know what, you two go hide in my room. I'll try to see if i can get him to believe nothing happened." 
"no, he's not that stupid. you know that's not gonna work," a voice is heard from your doorway, and when you turn to look, it's yoongi with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
you groan in frustration, "then what am i supposed to do, yoongi?" 
sighing, he walks into your apartment, closing the door behind him. "I don't know yet but i think we should take him with us." he stares at the sleeping boy on your couch, using his shoes to nudge his knee. "it's too big of a risk if he knows and we let him go, you know that. we can't let him walk around with that knowledge, not yet. he now knows of your identity and hers. we'll figure out what to do after our main goal is done." 
minhee and haeun stay quiet, letting the two of you figure out what to do with the governor's son. "if we disappeared, they would no doubt be suspicious of me, and then my cover will be blown." yoongi sits at the table, legs crossed, "I'm sure you can figure out a reason, right?" 
you drop your head to your hands, racking your brain for any solutions. "whatever you come up with, you know I'll be able to help you with." haeun offers, watching your eyebrow furrows in deep thought. 
you look at jungkook, it's been a few minutes and he hasn't woken up yet, which probably means he won't wake up for a little while. 
hesitantly, you let them know of your plan, "i can tell his father he's going on a trip with some of his friends to celebrate and that I'll be accompanying him. I'll tell him he won't be able to reach us because we're going somewhere secluded but I'll keep him updated and that it's an impulse trip." 
you turn towards haeun, "can you deal with the logistics of all of that? tie up any loose ends and cover any tracks so he won't get suspicious. I'm going to message him right now and see what his response is and then we can go on from there." 
haeun nods, and you trust her. you trust that she'll be able to handle it, she's good at her job after all, and a genius on top of that. you quickly send the message, receiving a reply in less than 5 minutes. 
"Alright, keep him safe. I'll transfer the expense to you once you return. Tell him not to do anything stupid." 
you scoff at the response, you can't believe that would actually work. he doesn't question why jungkook didn't tell him himself? doesn't question jungkook going on an impulse trip with his friends? you wonder about his relationship with jungkook. 
but you guess right now, it's a good thing that he doesn't question you and he trusts you that much. 
"minhee, can you pack me my bags? in case anyone checks, we need to keep up the illusion of going on a trip. I'll go to his apartment to pack his." she nods and makes her way to your room, while you order yoongi to keep an eye out for him. 
you quickly walk to his apartment to pack his bag, grabbing only the necessity and some pieces of clothing, turning off all the lights and electronic appliances and taking his phone and laptop with you. once you're done, you walk back to your door, briefly musing about the security cameras. you'd need haeun's help to take care of that later. 
when you get back to your apartment, you see minhee holding two bags, standing next to yoongi while jungkook stays fast asleep on your couch. you shove the bags you're holding to haeun so you can lift jungkook with yoongi, making sure everyone have their mask on before leaving the apartment. you tell them not to wear their hood as to not rouse any more suspicions and make your way to the parking lot downstairs where you deposit him in the passenger seat of your car. 
fortunately, you didn't meet anyone on your way down or you'd have a hard time explaining the unconscious boy in your arms. climbing in to the driver seat, you pull out of the parking lot, driving to a place you know to be safe. 
"haeun, can you take care of the security footage?" she hums from the backseat, "don't worry I'm already working on it." you nod at her words, glancing at the boy next to you. 
"I'm sorry, Kook."
---
when you reach your house, you take jungkook to your bedroom to let him rest and ask minhee to get some water for when he wakes up. you need to assess the situation after he wakes up too, to determine if he remembers what happened or not, maybe you can still convince him that nothing had happened and take him back. 
10 minutes later, you see jungkook stir as yoongi and minhee steps outside your bedroom, so you gesture for them to hurry up. when jungkook fully wakes up, they're both hidden from sight, door closing quietly behind them. 
he groans from his position on your bed, hand coming up to rub his forehead. you sit next to him on the floor, tentatively touching his shoulder. "jungkook?" 
he jolts when he hears your voice, scrambling to put a gap between the two of you. "hey, hey it's okay. you're alright, you're safe." he keeps quiet, eyes wary, and you can't tell if he remembers seeing minhee or not. you keep talking in a soft voice to placate him, "you're okay. you fainted from exhaustion in front of my door. i heard a knock and when i opened the door, you collapsed before i could ask you what happened." 
you place your arms on the bed, showing him you're not gonna hurt him. "you look really pale when i opened the door, do you want some water?" you gesture to the glass on your nightstand. 
he furrows his eyebrows, glancing at his surrounding, confused eyes scanning the room. you think he might have forgotten until he opens his mouth, "are you gonna poison me?" 
you freeze, blinking at him. "what are you talking about? of course not, why would i?" 
he blinks back at you, face blank and void of emotion. "so you can use me as a "helping hand" to get what you need." he repeats the word you said to him that night, proving that he remembers. you try to play it off, "jungkook, i really don't understand what you're saying."
hesitation flicker in his eyes for a moment before disappearing again, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "minhee," is the only thing he says. 
you frown, "who?" "the tall girl in front of your door earlier." you purse your lips, he remembers. 
you sigh, dropping your shoulder and gesturing to the water, "at least drink some water first, i promise you it's not poisoned." you reassure him the same way you did that night. 
he doesn't move so you take the glass, taking a gulp of water to prove its harmless before offering it to him. he eyes the glass with distrust, gazing at you for a few moments before taking it from your hand. you notice he tries to not make any contact with the hand you have wrapped around the glass.
"jeon jungkook, if you don't forget and pretend nothing happened, i can't let you go." you sit at the couch on the left of the bed, putting more space between you so he'll be more comfortable. you put on your persona and offer him a chance to walk away.
he scoffs at your statement, "where am i? and what the fuck are you talking about? you want me to forget that you were with the person who captured me all those months ago? and goes on with you as my bodyguard? don't you think i need an explanation?" he slams the glass on the table, hand raking through his hair in frustration.
the way he phrases it captures your attention, does he not know that you were also there?
"you're in my room, and if i tell you, jeon jungkook, i can't let you leave this house. i don't want you to get more involved than you already are." 
"stop calling me that!" he nearly shouts. you widen your eyes in surprise at his volume. 
he lowers his voice, hands gripping the sheets underneath him, "don't call me jeon jungkook, don't put distance between us." 
softening your eyes, you cross your legs, softly calling his name, "i can't tell you, jungkook." he snaps his gaze towards you, recognition dawning on him.
he throws his arms up in the air, "even if you don't tell me, there's no way you can let me go anyway, right? i know about you and minhee, i know you were the one driving the car." 
there it is. confirmation. 
"but if i tell you, you'll get tangled in this mess." 
he scoffs, "like I'm not already?" 
"you might hate me if i tell you," you worry, biting your lips in an effort to not let it all spill out. the moonlight shines through the blind on your window, providing a dim light that illuminates the room. there it is, the reason you're so hesitant on telling him.
he purses his lips, "what makes you think i don't already?" 
your heart drops to your stomach at his words, tears unconsciously welling up at the corner of your eyes. 
it's a fear of yours that manifested the moment he invited you over to play games. a worry at the back of your mind when he convinced you to wear casual clothes. you know you shouldn't have let your guard down so easily, but he had been scared, lost, sad, lonely. so you give in, opening your heart for him to nestle himself in.
you close your eyes and will them back, fisting the blanket on your couch. eventually you nod, deciding you owe him an explanation at the very least. "okay."
"that night, we staged the capture. we were never planning to hurt you in any way, money also wasn't the reason." you see him starting to relax, hands fiddling with the string on his sweatpants. "we needed your father to hire someone to protect you, so i can infiltrate my way in to gather intels. we have someone on the inside, someone who will make sure I'll be the one he chooses. i also needed to keep an eye out on you to determine if you were involved." 
"the two people who attacked a few weeks ago wasn't us. they were people who wanted to get you because they realized your father will pay them if they managed to get their hands on you." 
he knows that, but keeps quiet, letting you continue with your explanation. 
you stay silent for a minute, before, "your father is involved in multiple cases of money embezzlement. he had been taking funds from a few public projects, and had also been receiving bribe money from certain companies." jungkook freezes at the reveal, mind going numb at the information.
"we are here to gather information, to reveal it to the public in due time. we are also working to expose the authority so that when we come out with the evidence, it won't be swept under the rug." you shift in your seat, wringing your hands in front of you. "i figured you weren't involved and had no idea about it." 
it's a question masks as a statement. dazed, he shakes his head. "he started doing it one year ago, and our mission had been on going for around half of that time. our information wasn't enough just yet, so we needed a way in. i had been collecting evidence, sending them to my team for them to process."
jungkook is still bewildered, mind starting to connect the dots. before he can spiral, however, you intervene his thoughts, "don't worry jungkook, the illegal money is all in an offshore account and had never been used until that night with the 5 million dollars and to pay people to keep quiet about his secret." 
he snaps his gaze towards you at the mention of the ransom money, "what did you do with those money?" 
you smile sympathetically at him, "we gave it back to the institution." his mind flashes back to the news of an anonymous donation the next day after the incident and a small weight lifted off his shoulder.
you sigh, leaning back on your seat. "I'm sorry to say but right now, you're in my room, in my house. not the apartment." 
he blankly stares at you, waiting for more explanation. "unfortunately we can't let you walk around with this knowledge, not now. but once we reach our main goal, I'll make sure you'll be able to leave safely. please believe me when i say we won't hurt you." your words are sincere, eyes gazing at his to convey your honesty.
he hears the door to your room open before he could open his mouth, two people walking in. the smooth voice of minhee cuts through the air, laced with amusement, "so I'm guessing your plan of lying to him didn't work?" 
you glare at her from your spot, "don't act like you didn't hear our conversation min." you lay down on the couch, eyes closing in exasperation. "so, what are we supposed to do now?" he recognizes the voice as haeun, a slight shiver running down his spine.
"I'm not gonna say anything." he hopes he sounds convincing enough. 
minhee scoffs, rounding the room to sit next to you, lifting your legs and placing them in her lap. "even so, we can't risk it. our identity is on the line, you have to stay here under surveillance until we can figure out what to do with you." 
"i don't see any reason why you need to keep me captive if i promise not to tell anyone. nobody will know and your identity will be safe if I'm the only one who know," he argues back, he knows it's probably pointless but it's worth a shot.
"he has a point," you mutter, haeun coming over to lay herself on top of you, crushing you with her weight. minhee swats at her but doesn't complain.
"absolutely not, we can't let him go." a new voice speaks out from the doorway. when jungkook turns his head to look, he found three males standing there, one he recognized as his driver. 
he suppresses his gasp at the fact. they walk into the room, closing the door behind them. 
"and why not?" you question from under haeun, who is squishing your cheeks with her palms, like you're too cute for her to handle. jungkook doesn't understand why she's doing that. 
"he knows too much, simple as that." it clicked in his mind when he hears the drawl of the voice. it's yoongi. 
you sound more muffled now, "but he's not gonna tell anyone, i believe him." his heart skips a beat at your declaration. yoongi raises his eyebrow at him, "yeah? but i don't." 
minhee is the one who speaks up next "so how long are we planning to keep him here?" 
yoongi shrugs and drops to the floor in a starfish position, "as long as it needs." 
his mind reels, for the topic of conversation right now, all of you seems to be very relaxed, not worried about jungkook running away and ratting you out to someone. you're basically in a cuddle pile for fuck sake. he confusedly look around, catching the eye of his driver who lift his hand to wave at him. 
"oh yeah, that's taehyung. he's also one of us. he's the one who's in charge of getting the information at first, but when we realized it won't be enough, we had to find another way." you had successfully pushed haeun away from you, rolling over so you're now lying face down on the carpet. you sigh loudly "yoongi, what are we supposed to do next?" 
the man in question snorts from his place, "i don't fucking know, isn't it your job to figure it out?" 
jungkook can stand up right now, he realizes. he can stand up and bolt out the door and away from whatever this is since all of you are distracted. oddly, he doesn't feel the need to. 
you roll over on your back, "oh! and that last guy is jimin." the guy in question lift his hand and wave, offering jungkook a friendly smile. 
"so you basically kidnapped me, again?" jungkook asks as he leans back on your bed, staring at the navy blue sheets. 
"uh… i guess? in a way?" you sound so confused, so unsure, it reminded him of the other version of you he thought he knew. he realizes the two of you would need to talk it out later. 
"you're not worried about my father?" 
"oh, well, you see, i told him that you impulsively decided to go on a trip with your friends to somewhere where we can't be reached, but i told him I'll keep him updated and he agreed." 
he nods, storing that information for pondering later when he can't sleep at night. 
the room is quiet after that, each person caught up in their own world. he sees haeun poking minhee in the face, while the girl type something in her phone. taehyung, his former driver is conversing quietly with jimin while you and yoongi appear to be asleep. 
he sighs loudly to announce that he is, in fact, still here, garnering your attention from the floor. "this is too much information for one night, can you all leave, i would like to be alone." 
they all wordlessly stand up from their spot, yoongi had to be pulled up by both minhee and taehyung, and steps outside your bedroom.
except for you. 
you scooch so you're sitting next to the bed, staring up at him, "please don't try to run away or you might get hurt in the process. we have plenty of surveillance and guards that will prevent you from leaving and i can't promise they won't hurt you while doing so." 
he holds your gaze, reading the emotion behind it before closing his eyes. "fine but we need to talk." 
nodding, you gently take his hand in yours. "i know, we'll talk tomorrow okay? you should get some rest, you did faint after all."
you stand up, letting go of his hand and walking out the door, "finish the water, I'm going to get you some food and then you can go to sleep." 
the door shuts behind you, leaving jungkook alone with his thoughts. he wanted badly to stay awake and process all the information but after finishing his meal, his eyes can't help but droop and he decides this time to let sleep overtake the chaos in his mind.
---
when he wakes up the next morning, the curtains are drawn, letting him sleep undisturbed by the blazing sun outside. he rolls over and groans, trying not to think about his situation too much or else his head will explode. 
for now, he's just gonna go out on a limb and give you a little bit of his trust, you said you trusted him last night with the identity of you and your whole team, despite how dangerous it is if people found out so he thinks he'll give you back that trust, even just a little bit. 
he was about to fall asleep again, the plush bedding and warm blanket lulling him back before the door cracks open and someone walk in. he pretends to be asleep, not knowing who it is. 
he feels the bed dip at his side, a hand caressing his head gently. he will his body to relax so the person won't realize he's awake.
"Kook, I'm sorry." it's you, whispering because you think he's still asleep. "i didn't want you to get involved in this mess but I guess… i guess I'd gotten you involved the moment i became your guard, huh?" you're rambling to yourself, hand still gently stroking his hair. "Or maybe the moment i decided to staged that incident." 
he hears you sigh, low enough that he thinks you still don't know he's awake but loud enough that he can feel your frustration through it. "i really am sorry, Kook." you whisper one last time, before standing up and tucking the blanket around his shoulder. he hears the door close, and opens his eyes, staring at the wall in front of him. 
it's the first time you call him by his nickname.
///
you watched as his friends drove away, waving from inside the car and shouting at the top of their lungs despite only being a few steps away. "bye, kook! We'll see you later! Don't forget to send us your part of the project or I'll hunt you down!" he laughed at the threat, shouting back his confirmation before turning back to you. "come on, let's get inside before we freeze out here." he ushered you inside, bright smile still plastered on his face. 
when the both of you were standing in the elevator, you turned to face him to see a thoughtful look on his face. "hey, (y/n)." you hummed in answer. "we're friends, right?" 
you blinked at his question, honestly not knowing the answer yourself but he had continued, not waiting for you to answer. "you know, i was thinking, since we're friends, why don't you just call me by my nickname? it's probably a hassle to call me by jungkook all the time, right?" 
you hesitated in answering him, because you don't know if you can. it's a warning that minhee gives you everytime she comes over, "don't get too comfortable." it floats around in your mind, plastering itself at the front of your head everytime you give in to his request in trying to befriend you. 
he silently stared at you, waiting for your answer. you pursed your lips, trying to lightly brushed it to the side without hurting his feelings too much. "hm, i don't know jungkook. i think I'll stick to calling you by that name, i need to maintain an air of professionalism, right?" 
his shoulder dropped at your answer, turning his body to stare at the elevator door in front of him. he sounded dejected when he replied, "yeah… i guess you're right." 
not wanting for him to be upset, you quickly reassured him, "but i am your friend, jungkook. just because I'm not calling you by your nickname doesn't mean I'm not." he's still tensed at your response, nodding to signified he doesn't want to talk about it anymore. 
you wordlessly complied with his request and he eventually let it go, never bringing it up again in conversation.
///
he ignores the loud chatter inside his mind, all the confusion and doubts cruising through his head. he'll make sure to talk to you later to quiet them. for now, he's going to get some breakfast. looking at the clock which read 8:43, he stands up from your bed, making his way to the door. 
only to realize he's completely unfamiliar with the house and won't know where the kitchen is. he debates on waiting for someone to get him, but his grumbling stomach protests his decision, causing him to try to brave through the house by himself. 
opening the door to your room, he's greeted by an empty house. he takes his time admiring the place, it doesn't look too big, but it does look luxurious. with marble flooring and ivory walls, the house looks like it's sparkling. he turns right to make his way down the stairs, observing the left of your room has another set of stairs that go up. 
he finds himself in what he assumed to be the living room, a place that looks more cozy down here than when he's looking at it from above. he sees a door at the side of the room, walking towards it when he hears people talking. 
he walks into the space to see haeun placing two slices of bread at the side of taehyung's face while jimin sits at the counter, giggling. "what are you?" haeun screams. taehyung answers with a deadpan and blank face, "I'm an idiot sandwich." causing jimin to laugh harder, folding in on himself, jungkook fears he might tumble off his chair. 
"okay, I'm not eating that bread, it touched tae's face. haeun! stop wasting our bread!" he doesn't realize that minhee is standing by the fridge with a bowl of cereal in her hands. "it's fine, this is tae's bread." the male sighs, taking the bread from haeun and walking over to the toaster. he pops the bread into the toaster before turning around, catching sight of a confused jungkook standing at the doorway.
"oh hey, you're awake. help yourself to some breakfast. we've got plenty." he gestures to the array of food on the table, ranging from fried rice to waffles. "why is there so much food?" is the first question that comes out of his mouth. 
"soomin stress cook." minhee answer simply, grabbing a piece of bacon and french toast and plopping them into her empty bowl. jungkook shrugs when nobody else bothered to elaborate, grabbing a plate and scooping a plate of fried rice and some noodles on the side. "dining room that way." taehyung points to the hallway that leads to the side, "(y/n) is there, i think." 
he nods at taehyung in thanks, making his way to the dining room after grabbing a glass of milk for himself. he sees you sitting at the table in the middle of the room, laptop and documents splayed out in front of you while you mindlessly munch through your plate of waffles and fruits. two other people sit at the table with you, yoongi on one side and another girl he doesn't recognize on the other. 
yoongi notices his presence first, gesturing for him to sit down at the table in front of him. jungkook frowns, is he allowed to be here right now? it seems like you're working. "yes you're allowed, we're not working on anything confidential right now." yoongi answers, apparently he had voiced his question out loud. 
nodding, he sits on the table, occasionally glancing at you from the corner of his eyes. you smile at him when he catches your eyes, mouthing "we'll talk later, i promise" before going back to your laptop. 
"hello, my name is soomin. i don't believe we've met yet." he snaps his gaze to the girl who just spoke, offering an awkward smile her way. "oh, uh. I'm. I'm jungkook." 
she smiles warmly at him, "i know, I've heard about the situation, don't worry. i believe (y/n) told you everything already, right?" he shyly nods. 
"then please don't worry, we won't hurt you as long as you don't try anything." his body goes rigid at the thinly veiled threat, hand freezing with the spoon tightly grasped between his fingers. "soo, don't scare him like that, i already talked to him." you step forward when you see him react, trying to quell the tension that suddenly fills the room. 
soomin smiles at him before looking back at you, "i know. I'm just making sure. this is our whole team we're talking about here so i just want to make it clear." 
you close your eyes and sigh, "i… i know. i just." he turns his gaze to see you biting your lips, eyes staring at the dark wood in front of you. 
"I'm so sorry." your apology sounds so small that he's sure he wouldn't have heard it if it weren't for the stillness of the room. soomin's gaze softens, hand moving to squeeze yours that lay on top of the documents, "no, hey. it's okay. it's not your fault."
there's an odd feeling sitting on his chest. a stuffiness that he can't explain everytime he hears you apologize. he decides he doesn't like it. doesn't like it when you blame yourself, doesn't like it when you sound so small like that, doesn't like it when you keep things from him. 
yoongi purses his lips at the exchange, "soo, let's go to the kitchen to get some more coffee?" he stands up with his plate and mug, (y/n)? you can take a break and enjoy your breakfast." soomin nods, leaving the two of you alone in the big dining room. 
you close the laptop in front of you, gathering the papers into one neat pile before storing them in a briefcase he didn't notice were there. the two of you stay quiet for a while, each enjoying your own breakfast at your own pace. 
eventually it's you who break the silence, "any questions you wanted answer to, jungkook?" 
he ponders it for a while, starting with "was the you i knew then was real?" 
you frown into your plate, lips forming an adorable pout that had jungkook almost cooing at the sight. "well, yeah. why wouldn't she be real?" 
he purses his lips, "did you befriend me because you have to?" this time you shake your head, "no. in fact, i wasn't supposed to. i was actually told time and time again to keep my distance." 
he gulps at your confession. 
"but i chose to be your friend anyway, because…" "because?" 
you look up to meet his gaze, honesty coloring your eyes, "because i wanted to. and because i saw that you needed, no, wanted a friend too." his gaze softens at that. 
you continue, "everything between us was real, it wasn't because it was my job to be your friend, gain your trust and betray you in the end. i-" stuttering, you bring up your hand to wipe a stray tear. "i didn't want to hurt you, even though i guess in the end, i would have regardless." 
because in the end, your goal is to take down his father, essentially betraying him in a sense. befriending jungkook wasn't part of the plan, it was something you didn't see happening while you were mulling over the plan to take down the governor. 
jungkook stays quiet, processing the information you just laid out for him. you stand up with your plate, sensing the conversation is over for now. when you pass by him, you place a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it once to provide reassurance. just before you walk out of the dining room, you ask "and jungkook, you know that I have to reveal it to the public, right?" i have to take down your father, is left unsaid.
he nods because he knows. no matter what, the people need to know about the corruption, the authorities need to do something about it, and his father needs to own up to his actions. 
you nod at him, sending a quick smile before leaving him by himself so he can think.
---
a few hours later, he finds you crouching in the garden next to the house, watering and tending to a variety of vegetables. he hesitates on how to strike up a conversation. 
"so, uh, the bedroom I'm staying in is yours?" you flinch when you hear his voice, not expecting someone else to be in the garden with you. you look up at him from your position, hands midway to picking a tomato off its vines, "oh! uh yeah." he nods awkwardly, eyes scanning the content of the garden. "where are you staying then?" 
you pick the remaining ripe tomatoes off, placing it in the basket next to you, soomin is going to be overjoyed that they've grown so well after that disastrous harvest. "in the guest bedroom next to the dining room. it's usually unoccupied so i can stay there as long as i need." 
he crouches down next to you, grabbing a tiny shears to help. you watch curiously from the side, wondering if he knows which one to pluck off and which one to leave behind. you pull out the pesky weeds next to your precious cucumbers, keeping an eye on jungkook to make sure he's not going to accidentally ruin your crops. soomin will murder both of you. 
curiouslyly, he knows exactly what to do with his tiny shears, removing the excess branches and cutting off any dead leaves and buds. "can you show me around later? around the house? it's… uh… a pretty large house." 
you eye the patch of leafy greens at the side, debating if you should pick them today or leave it another week. "yeah okay, sure." 
the air is tensed between the two of you, but you can't exactly pinpoint the reason. is it you? did the talk affect you more than you thought? or maybe jungkook just doesn't trust you anymore, given the circumstances. maybe he decided that you're-
you feel him grabbing your wrist before you can finish your thoughts, staring at his wide eyes in front of you. "you were spacing out while holding a scissors." frowning, you look down to see that you are indeed holding a scissor that look too close to your other hand for comfort. you mumble, "sorry." 
jungkook huffs at that, gentle but stern when he talks, "why do you say sorry so much? i don't think you have anything you need to apologize for." widening your eyes, you stare back at him, not understanding what he's saying. he sighs at your expression, shaking his head at you before continuing with his task. 
you decide to let it go for now when you see his annoyed expression, watching as he cuts dead leaves off your cucumbers plants. curious, you ask, "how do you know about pruning?" 
he huffs a laugh this time, "i think even without gardening knowledge, anybody will know that you need to cut off these stems and leaves." 
"yeah, but you pruned the branches of the tomatoes, the new ones." he hums at your question, "i used to help my mom when she worked in her garden." you blink at the unexpected answer, you don't think you've ever heard him talk about her in all the months you've worked alongside him. 
a small "oh" leaves your lips, not wanting to pry any further. it garners an amused smile from him. "currently, she's in another country, had been for the last two years. but we keep in contact quite often." 
you purse your lips from trying to ask a question but it seems like he reads it on your face anyway, "they both have a pretty good relationship, he's pretty supportive of her pursuing her interest." and he leaves it at that. 
the two of you work in silence for the next few minutes, making sure there's no pests or weeds left that risk ruining your, well soomin's, perfect garden. 
you stand up once you're done, almost falling over when you realize your legs fell asleep while you were working. thankfully, you caught yourself, wrapping your palms around jungkook's biceps to prevent yourself from face planting into a patch of cabbage. 
again, soomin will murder you if you damage her precious veggies. you don't know why she's so protective over her cabbage in particular. 
jungkook snickers at your blunder, placing the shears on a toolbox next to his feet. you immediately let go of him when you feel the muscles shift underneath your hands, resisting the urge to slap yourself out of it. he moves to grab the basket full of vegetables, placing a hand between your shoulder blade to help you walk. 
you turn your face away, hoping he didn't see your flaming cheeks. absentmindedly, you think, the two of you are okay.
---
you stand in front of the door with jungkook next to you, hands on your hips, "this is the front door." he blinks at you, "yeah i know?" 
you point at the room behind it, "that's the living room." "I'm perfectly aware." 
you throw your hands up, "you said you wanted me to show you around!" he laughs loudly at that, "i already know about the first floor. beside! we're standing outside the house right now! I'm 100% we look ridiculous. you're pretty bad at being a guide huh" 
you pout, "fine," and walk inside the house, flopping down onto the couch in the middle of the living room. "I'll explain it verbally instead. first floor is the living room, the kitchen, dining room, a bathroom and my bedroom." 
he maps it in his mind, your bedroom must be at the back of the dining room. "second floor is the rest of the bedroom and a family room, next to the bedroom you're staying in right now. that's just where we hangout usually." 
he looks up at the second floor at that, counting the doors, "how many people are there?" 
"10 including you." 
"there are only 7 rooms on the second floor." 
you nod, grabbing the remote at the coffee table in front of you. "jimin and tae share a room, mirae and narae also share a room." 
you turn on the television, stopping at a documentary channel, "there's also two more bedrooms on the third floor, along with a gym room, an office, and a game room." 
"big house, huh." he mutters. 
"it does have 9 people living in it so yes, it needs to be large to be comfortable, don't you think?" a voice speaks from upstairs. when he looks up, it's soomin. "i- yeah. i guess so." 
he watches as she walks down the stairs, and freezes in alarm when she stops in front of him. "I'm sorry about this morning, by the way, i was just protective of my team." 
her gaze flicks to you when she says, "surely you understand, right?" 
he purses his lips together, brows furrowing. "yeah." his gaze moves to you for a second before going back to her, "i understand." 
she nods in satisfaction, hiking her backpack higher before addressing you, "well i gotta go now. I'll be back in a few days, don't cause any trouble while I'm away, okay? please keep haeun away from my garden." 
you nod distractedly, eyes still glued on the tv in front of you, "bye! stay safe!" 
she fondly rolls her eyes before sending a quick smile his way in curtesy. she closes the front door behind her and a few seconds later jungkook hears the sound of a car driving away. 
"by the way, do i get any access to internet? phone? computer?" he knows the answer but no harm in asking. he sits at one of the comfortable armchairs next to the couch.
you hum from your seat, "I'll see what i can do but I'm afraid I can't give you your own phone or computer. haeun will probably do something about the phone situation and if you want, you can go to our game room to use the computers. everything's been secured there." 
you side eye him, "we can't really risk you making contact with anyone outside. just, you know. a lot of, uh" you stutter, obviously trying your best to not insult or hurt his feelings. he had to bite his lips to keep from laughing at your endearing reaction. 
"it's okay, i get it, really." you sigh in relief at his reassurance, nodding at him before going back to focus on the tv. 
he hears a door open somewhere, haeun emerging from the kitchen with a bag of chips in one hand. jungkook averts his stare, she still scares him a little bit, not a lot, just a little. on her way to the stairs, she tosses a box in his lap and when jungkook looks down, it's a brand new phone. 
"it's been secured, no way you can contact anyone without me finding out so don't even try." and then she disappears into one of the rooms upstairs just like that. he notices her room is the one to the left of yours.
you smile at him, "sorry, you're gonna be off the grid for a while." he shrugs at that, he thinks he doesn't mind it too much now.
---
he's only been here three days, but he already finds himself getting comfortable around your friends. once the wariness had wore off and they're sure he could be trusted, they had started warming up to him. 
jimin had been one of the first one to approach him, asking him if he wanted to work out with him in the gym room. jungkook had accepted the invitation and now jimin had dubbed him as his workout buddy since yoongi and taehyung won't budge when he asked them. 
they usually spend a few hours in the gym, exercising together and making light conversations. he finds jimin to be very friendly, sometimes a little too friendly for someone he literally just met a few days ago. 
taehyung had been the second person he befriended. apparently, walking into the game room had been enough to get taehyung to open up to you. now, taehyung pesters him to game with him anytime he has time to play, complaining that no one else in the house is interested in playing with him except for haeun who's busy most of the time and jungkook is happy to entertain him.
on the other hand, he doesn't see the trio all that much around the house, and the time he does, the interaction is usually short lived and curt. but he does feel that they're trying to be nicer to him. it's just that, with the history of their past interaction, it gets kinda awkward sometimes. 
he also doesn't see you as much as he would like now, only seeing you in the morning for breakfast and at night for dinner in the dining room, each time always checking up on how he's doing. he doesn't know where you go for the rest of the day. 
truth be told, he misses hanging out with you. 
he rolls over in bed, standing up to close the curtains when he hears a knock on his door. tilting his head to the side, he wonders who it is and opens the door to you standing in front of him, hair wet like you just took a shower, flustered. 
"uh hey." 
"hey."
"so- sorry. I'm just here to grab some stuffs?" he remembers that this is, in fact, your room. "Oh! Of course," and steps to the side, allowing you to come in. 
you make a bee line to your wardrobe, throwing the door open to grab your clothes. he hesitantly sits on his, well, your bed, hand awkwardly placed in his lap while he watches you sort your clothes into a bag you have with you. 
he coughs to get your attention, "um, you know. you can just stay in this room?" 
you freeze in your place when you hear him, "wha- what. what do you mean?" 
he notices how he phrases his question, quickly backtracking to avoid embarrassing himself, "i mean! maybe you can just stay here and i can stay at the guest bedroom you're staying in right now? this is your room after all and all of your things are probably here while i have my things in a bag and can easily relocate to the other bedroom, i also don't want to intrude on your private space." 
you turn around to sit next to him on the bed, "are you sure?" "yeah, it's fine." 
you mull over his question for a while, "no, it's okay. this room is closer to the other's rooms." 
he deflates at that, he thought you trusted him? "so it doesn't feel as stifling as that one since it's so far away." you shift your body towards him, "this room feels a lot more comfortable, so i would like for you to stay here instead so your stay here would be more comfortable too." he perks back up at that, heart skipping a beat at your thoughtfulness. "this room is also bigger." 
"you're really cute." oh shit, he said that out loud. your expression doesn't change, most likely because you're so surprised but he does see pink tinging your cheeks. 
"tha- right. oh! i mean, thanks. i- i guess?" you're really cute, he thinks. you quickly stand up, going back to your wardrobe with impressive speed, "right i need to, uh i need to pack some more clothes." 
you start shoving clothes into your bag, and jungkook worries he made you uncomfortable. 
"sorry, i didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." he apologizes, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. 
you stop packing, a black garment in your hands when you turn back around to look at him. "no! it's not- I'm not- don't apologise- it's-" 
he raises his eyebrows at you, 
"I'm, I'm just embarrassed, sorry." 
"you don't have to apologize." 
"right! right, sorry." 
he chuckles at that, redirecting the conversation to another topic to avoid prolonging the awkwardness, "so, um." he doesn't really know how to bring it up but he decides to just go for it. "where have you been lately? i haven't seen you around that much." 
you continue packing some clothes and move to the desk to grab some more things. "oh, I've been kinda busy lately, with some-" you cough, "with some work. it's just some documents and things and yeah." 
he senses that you're trying to not to reveal too much which probably means it has something to do with why he's here. he decides to let it slide, not wanting to pry too much into it. "i see."
you zip up your bag once you're done, turning around to sit back beside him on the bed, "why? is something the matter?" 
"oh, no. it's just." he hesitates for a brief moment. "i just miss you, it's all." he grumbles underneath his breath, kind of embarrassed.
you take his hands in your and squeeze, "I'm sorry. i know it must be hard to adapt to a new environment without someone you're familiar with, right? I'll try to make more time, okay?" he wants to tell you he's perfectly adapted to his new environment and that he just misses spending time with you but he keeps his mouth shut, running his thumb across your knuckles. 
he nods but stays quiet, staring at your hands between his. "how about we go watch some movies? I'm free right now," you offer after hearing his prolonged silence.
his shoulders perk up at that, "really?"
smiling, you nod enthusiastically. "yeah! you can go pick a movie and I'll get some snacks downstairs." you stand up, pulling him with you out the door and guiding him to the room next door. 
he's never been to this room before. "I'll go get the snacks!" you shout as you quickly run downstairs, to the direction of the kitchen. 
the room is large, being one of the master bedroom, and cozy. half of the floor is covered with comfortable rug, soft enough to lay on with a large tv pressed against one of the walls. a shelf sat underneath it with a coffee table in front of it, surrounded by large sofas and multiple bean bags covered with blankets. 
he makes his way towards the shelf under the tv after turning on the light, browsing through the movie selection of the house. you come back a few minutes later with three large bags of potato chips and two bottles of water, dumping them on the coffee table before joining him in browsing for the perfect movie. 
he settles on the floor after picking the movie, leaning against the couch behind him so he can be closer to the chips. you lay down on the couch behind him, hand dangling over his shoulder to steal some of his chips instead. "you haven't seen this one yet, right?" he asks around a mouthful of chips. 
"no." you mumble into the couch, one hand unconsciously massaging the knots on his shoulder. he shivers at the sensation, willing himself to stay put. "do you know what kinda movie this is?"
"no." 
"it's a horror movie." 
"oh." 
he twists his body to look at you, "are you okay with that?" you blink sleepily at him, lips curving down into a confused pout, "yeah I'm fine with that." he nods at that and focuses back on the screen. 
he's pretty embarrassed to admit that he flinches more than you despite being the one who picked the movie but the feeling is overshadowed by his feelings of contentment to be able to spend some more time with you.
one movie turns into a marathon and before he realizes it, the both of you had fallen asleep, comfortable in each other's presence.
---
contrary to what you said, for the next couple of days, he actually sees less of you than before, only seeing you in the morning for breakfast. in fact, he had seen less of the others in the house too. it's like he's back in his apartment again, alone, just in a bigger space. 
today is the first time jimin had asked him to go to the gym again, citing that he was busy the last few days and unable to work out. he walks into the gym expecting to find jimin already on weights but is surprised when he sees you and yoongi at the corner of the room, sparring. 
"hope you don't mind." jimin says from next to him, wiping the sweat on his forehead with the towel around his neck. he jumps in surprise when he hears him, quickly shaking his head to bring his thoughts back, "no i don't mind it's okay." 
he steals a quick glance at you, eyes scanning over your practice clothes. flustered, he coughs when he sees you throw a punch to yoongi's rib, and averts his eyes somewhere else, feeling his cheeks heat up. 
not looking back at where you are, he makes his way to the treadmill at the other side of the room, putting his headphones on so he won't be tempted to look back. 
it's not like it's the first time he's seen you in a more casual, more revealing clothing. it's just that the sight amplifies the odd butterflies he feels on his stomach. 
he feels his heart beat a little quicker but he doesn't think it's the treadmill. for now, he'll shove it all into a box labeled "later" for him to address another time.
these past few days, he can feel the tension in the house rising without a single word being exchanged, and seeing you practice with yoongi confirms his thoughts. all of you were planning on something, he just doesn't know what. 
when he's done with his run, he takes off his headphones and moves to the weights. focusing  himself on his exercise instead of you, snapping his gaze up when he hears the door to the gym open. "(y/n), yoongi, come with me. we need to talk." soomin says, turning around to leave before receiving a confirmation. 
he sees you and yoongi stand up, gulping down water before walking out the door without so much of a nod of acknowledgement. before you close the door, you send an apologetic smile his way. 
he hopes everything's alright.
---
that night, he couldn't quell his curiosity and finds himself walking to your door after dinner. you didn't come down from the office for dinner, only appearing for a short while to grab a cup of coffee before disappearing back into your room. he knocks on the wood and waits, shifting his weight around when he doesn't hear any movement. 
he was about to turn around to leave when the door swung open, revealing you on the other side. if jungkook pays close enough attention, he can see the faint dark circles underneath your eyes. "hey jungkook. what's up?" 
"can i… can i talk to you?" he toys with the zipper on his jacket, gaze bouncing around to avoid looking at you. 
you step to the side to let him in, "sure. what do you want to ask?" 
"it's just, I'm just wondering." he sits on the chair next to the door while you take a seat on your desk where he can see piles of papers scattered on top of it. you tilt your head to the side in question, urging him to continue his question.
"why is everyone so busy lately? it seems like everyone's a little tense?"
you freeze at his question, eyes going wide for a split second before you sigh, slumping into the leather chair. "i guess i should tell you." 
he frowns, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his lap. "tell me what?" 
"we're publicizing the information tomorrow. regarding your father." 
he tries to process the words, he really did. tries to find a place in his mind where he can store the sentence, but he just couldn't. he doesn't know what to think. should he be upset? angry? terrified? sad? relieved? he doesn't know. 
he just feels numb.
you continue when you don't hear him speak, "he will be arrested and the money will be seized by the government. I'll try to damage control as much as i can so your family doesn't get the brunt of it." 
he didn't realize that you had moved to crouch down in front of him, placing a reassuring hand on top of his to bring him back from his mind. "we'll be returning from said vacation in about two days in pretense that we heard the news, and then I'll either get fired or resigned so my cover won't be blown. and i," you trail off, gripping his hand just a little tighter. 
"i really hope that you don't betray my trust. i know that, that it's risky. it's so, so risky to let you go with the amount of information you have on us. especially now that you know significantly more than anyone else ever involved with us. but i just, i can't let you get tangled in this mess much more. so i really hope that once all of this is over, i can let you go and you can move on with your life, try to forget about us. put all of this behind you and live happily.
"i hope that me trusting you with all of this won't be my downfall. because i know how easy it is for you to just walk to the authority and reveal everything you know about us. but i really really hope that my choice to believe in you won't hurt my team because i really don't want you to get hurt anymore either." 
his mind runs through every concerns you just revealed to him. pulling you onto his lap, he wraps his arms around your waist, face dangerously close to yours. "i don't want to forget about you." his voice is so faint that you doubt you'll be able to hear it if not for the proximity of your face. 
he closes his eyes and sighs, resting his forehead against yours. you place your hand on his shoulder, eyes softening at the emotions coloring his face. "it's my turn to talk now, okay?" he opens his eyes to stare at you, gaze more intense than that time he lost to mario kart. you nod mutely at his request. 
"i know you're scared of me holding this knowledge with me because you're scared that i might be angry at you and your team for what you're doing but it's not true." his gaze softens when he looks at you, soft lights framing your worried face. "I'm not angry at you, what you're doing is necessary, I'm more angry at him, angry at myself for not knowing but mostly angry at him for letting greed overcome him. so don't worry about me going to the authority, i won't."
he rubs comforting circles at the small of your back, watching as your posture relax slightly in his hold. "i also don't want to move on and forget about you. i don't want to lose you, don't want to put you and everything else behind me." it's obvious you want to interject, but you kept your promise of letting him talk. 
"despite it all, your team had become my friends too so i don't want to forget about them either. i hope that once this is all over, you'll let me stay by your side and be around you. i feel safer with you, I'm happier with you." he'll keep the rest of his confession to himself for now, deeming it not the right time just yet. 
you rest your head on his shoulder, hands unconsciously playing with their hair on his nape. "but i can't let you stay, it's dangerous and complicated." 
you sound so confused, so lost, unsure and uncertain, that all jungkook wanted to do is hold you tight to him and assure you it'll be alright. 
he rests his head against yours, "we'll figure it out. I'll be by your side, i promise." 
---
"Governer Jeon revealed to be involved in embezzlement."
"An anonymous tip was received last night, revealing that the well respected governor had been embezzling money from multiple public projects and storing them in an offshore account. Other than taking money from the goverment, it's known that he had also been receiving bribe money from multiple companies for various reasons for the past year. Many questions how he had been able to avoid detection for quite some time.
Since the information had been revealed, Governor Jeon had been arrested this morning and taken into custody to await for trials. All of the money will be seized by the goverment and will be redistributed back to the projects with lacking funds. 
It's revealed that all the money has never been used before other than paying other involved parties, except for a withdrawal of 5 million dollars a few months ago, apparently after the kidnapping of his son. Some posit a theory that the 5 million donations the next day have been from the people who took his son, determined to get the money the former governor had stolen back to it's rightful owner. 
Staffs and family members will be questioned by the police, but it is believed that none of his family members had been aware of his secret, being that he had never withdrawn the money for anything else, suggesting he was hoarding the money for himself for when his reign as the governor end next year.
Read more to find out about the full evidence submitted last night and other parties involved in the scandal."
---
jungkook busies himself by staying at the game room today, not in the mood to talk to anyone or accidentally listening to the news. it's not that he's angry at you and your team, he just doesn't want to know what kind of look they will give him. remorse? pity? disdain? 
he knows that they know he's not involved and that he's against it as much as them but he can't help but fear how the reveal might change their perspective on him. thankfully, they didn't bother him, letting him have his time alone to process everything. that, or maybe they're busy. he'd like to believe it's the former.
he also needs to brace himself for the hectic days that's to come when he gets back, no doubts he will be questioned by the police and quite possibly run into some news reporters, eager to write the story. 
he's glad that it's his break or he might lose his mind if he has to go to school on top of everything. he's restarting another game when the door opens, internally groaning to himself, he really doesn't want to be bothered today. 
he feels someone placing something on the desk next to him, it's a plate of noodles and a glass of milk. he turns his head to find you standing next to him, sending a quick smile before turning around to leave. 
he reaches for your wrist before you can take a step, patting the chair next to him when you pivot to look at him in question. you wordlessly comply, sitting down and scooting the chair closer to him. 
he's the first one to break the silence, "what am i supposed to do with the police and reporters?" 
"answer the police truthfully, they already know you're not involved, it's all just for show and protocol. same with the reporters, they just want confirmation for what they already know. I'll still be your bodyguard for the next few days, so I'll help you deal with them." 
" and if it makes you feel any better, your mom has arranged you another bodyguard for the time being."
he straightens at that, turning his chair to face you. "really? how did you know?" 
"she contacted me, said she'll assign another person to help because one probably won't be enough for now. at least until everything has settled." 
nodding, he grabs the glass and chugs the drink inside. you'd think he's taking a shot if it doesn't look like a glass of milk. 
you place a hand on his back, and he muses he likes it when you touch him. "it's gonna be okay jungkook. I'll be by your side, okay?" 
"i know." 
you spend the rest of the day in the game room with him, watching him play games by himself and occasionally making snarky comments from the side. nobody else came to bother him that day, a fact that he's grateful for. 
---
the morning came too soon for his liking, the day he has to go back and deal with everything causing his heart to beat loudly in nervousness. he hikes up the bag on his shoulder, waiting in the living room for you to come out of your room. 
haeun tosses his phone back to him and when he checks, he has hundreds of unread messages. some from his mom, a few from unknown numbers, and a lot from his friends. true to your words, it seems like everybody believes that his family and himself is in no way involved with the incident. most texts are asking if he's heard the news, if he's okay and to contact them back when he can. 
everyone seems to be aware that he's on a supposed vacation where he can't be reached and he's sure it's haeun's doing. 
he's still scrolling through his message when you come to stand next to him, with your own bags to make it look believable. "ready?" you ask.
shrugging in response, he shoves his phone into his pockets, deciding he'll deal with them later. "i guess." 
"alright, there's a car that'll come pick you up in a minute and it'll drive you back straight to your apartment." haeun tells him, walking up the stairs with a loaf of bread in her hands to get back to her room. 
a second later he sees a car pulling up to the front of the house, a sleek black SUV waiting for him. you settle yourself on the back seat, but he hesitates briefly before climbing into the car, this time without a threat of a gun pressed against his back. 
the drive is silent for the rest of the way and he's ought to thank you for that. he doesn't really want to think, let alone speak. instead, he spends his time going through his messages, replying to every message and deleting the unnecessary one, namely from press. he should probably change his number after this. 
soon enough, he arrives at his apartment building where a few reporters are waiting outside. it's not as crowded as he thought it'll be and he's glad for that. you slide out of the car before him, putting on your bodyguard persona once again before opening his door for him when you deem it safe.
they immediately rush to him, throwing questions after questions without listening for an answer first. thankfully, with your presence next to him, they don't crowd around him, standing far enough that he can still move around. he listens to what you told him last night, answering the necessary questions truthfully and that seems enough to placate them into letting him walk inside his building and away from them.
before he gets the chance to get inside the elevator however, he's stopped by your hand gently clasping around his wrist. "your mom's bodyguard is here." 
he looks to see a tall man walking his way, with a suit similar to yours and sleek back dark hair. "hello. I'm kim seokjin, your temporary bodyguard." 
he curtly nods in greeting, he just wants to get back to his apartment, not feeling like exchanging pleasantries with anyone. without saying another word, he speed walks to the elevator, pushing the buttons in agitation. 
in record speed, he reaches his door and before entering, addresses the both of you, "i want to be alone for the rest of the day, please. I'll come get you if i need to go outside." 
you nod in understanding, sending a glance to seokjin who also nods before walking to the end of the hallway. "are you gonna be okay?" you ask once seokjin is far enough. he purses his lips, "eventually," and close the door behind him. 
---
for the next few days, jungkook is preoccupied with the police and press, and when he's not going out to attend the meetings with the authorities, he stays inside and shuts himself out. you're starting to worry about him, but you know he really does need the time to himself. 
in the meanwhile, you familiarize seokjin with everything he needs to know, telling him that your contract is about to end and there's a possibility you're not going to be jungkook's bodyguard anymore. he had nod in understanding and promise to you that he'll do his best to protect him. 
you knock on the door to his apartment, nervously shifting in your place. when he opens his door, he looks exhausted, prominent dark circles decorating his face. worried, you frown, stepping inside his apartment and placing your hands on his face to examine him. 
"are you okay? you look like you haven't been sleeping." 
he closes his eyes at your touch, "yeah, yeah everything's fine, i don't know I'm just." he wraps his arms around your waist to pull you closer, resting his head in the crook of your neck. "there was just some things i needed to take care of. everything's fine now." 
you nod, bringing a hand up to rub his back. "i came here because i needed to tell you something." 
he hums, arms slightly tightening their hold on you. "i know, your contract ends tomorrow, right?" 
you hum in answer, pulling away from him to guide him to the couch. he sits close to you, resting his head on your shoulder and holding your hand between his. "so after tomorrow, you're not someone who works for me anymore." 
"uh huh." 
"so should i tell you i love you after your contract ends or can i tell you now?" 
you freeze in his hold, not expecting him to bring this topic up right now. both of you had been skirting around the conversation long enough. your heart skips a beat at his statement, and you try to supress the smile playing on your lips.  
"well, do you want me to tell you i love you too after or before my contract ends?" you don't know when you realize you were in love with him, but you have a feeling it's before he even fainted into your arms and had to be taken to your house. 
the realization wasn't a loud declaration, but more of a soft whisper at the back of your mind. when you told minhee about it, she had barked out a laughter and said "took you long enough to realize." 
he squeezes your hand, turning his head to place a tiny kiss on your jaw. "tomorrow then." 
laying on his bed that night, jungkook thinks tomorrow can't come soon enough.
---
the next day, you walk out of the office with lighter steps, your mission is done, your undercover role is thoroughly finished and you can finally go back to your house again. 
while packing your bags in your former apartment, you can't help but think about how jungkook will fit into the puzzle. he had stated that he wanted to stay, and had been pretty determined in his stance. you entertain the thought of him joining your team for a whole second before throwing it out the window. 
you don't want him to get hurt, you don't want him to be involved in something so complicated and confusing. you want him to be able to live normally and happily.
a knock on your door startles you out of your thoughts, you zip up your bag before placing it on the ground, opening the front door to find jungkook standing there with a big smile on his face. 
"can i come in?" 
you smile back at him, stepping to the side to let him in before closing the door behind you. 
you turn around to see him standing behind you, hands reaching out to pull you close to him. "I love you. I'm so in love with you." 
you wrap your arms around his shoulder, burying your face in the crook of his neck. you mutter loud enough for him to hear, "I'm in love with you too." 
the confession fills you with warmth and makes you feel lighter at the same time.
he moves the two of you back until he can sit down on the couch with you on his lap. "can't you just move into my apartment or something." he grumbles to your hair, hands splayed on your shoulder blade. 
you chuckle at his tone, peppering light kisses to the side of his neck that cause him to squirm. "no, i can't. I'm sorry." 
he sighs, "i guess it's fine." hesitantly, he asks, "i can still meet you and go to your place, right?" 
you pull back to look at him, pursing your lips in thought, mulling over the situation, "not yet." 
he frowns at that, "what do you mean?" 
"seokjin is your bodyguard now, you can't go anywhere without him and we can't have someone knowing about where we live or who we are, even though he has no idea about it." 
biting his lips, he closes his eyes in frustration. "so? am i supposed to wait until he's gone to see you?" 
you take his face between your hands, smoothing his eyebrows with your thumbs, "hey, i can still come over and meet you. you just can't go to our house. it'll be fine." 
his frown turns into a pout, one you want to kiss until it turns into a smile. so you gently place your lips on top of his, feeling as the corner of his lips turns upwards. he reciprocates the gestures, capturing your lips between his and pulling you impossibly closer to him. you pull back when you need air, jungkook chasing your lips before opening his eyes. you muse on how beautiful he look. 
"how about you come over to my apartment right now?" he playfully smirks at you, hands moving slowly down your back. you bit back a smile at his offer, "yeah? what for? i should be heading home right now, you know." 
he moves closer to your face, "just, you know. to play games." you try to contain your laughter, "no can do. gotta get going, have some errands to run." 
he pouts at your answer, moving to steal another kiss before relenting, "fine." 
standing up from your seat, you grin at him, slinging on the backpack and grabbing the bag you have with you, "maybe next time, kook." 
his face breaks out into a large smile at the mention of his nickname, eyes scrunching cutely. he stands to accompany you, reaching for your hand to intertwine with his. you meet seokjin on your way down, nodding at him in goodbye and gratitude. jungkook orders him to not follow him, garnering a protest from seokjin that results in a back and forth bicker between the two. you watch with amusement as seokjin lectures him, jungkook shooting back rebuttal in a playful manner.
eventually jungkook wins, letting the two of you have more time alone before having to depart. once you reach your car, you squeeze his hand one more time, reaching to plant a kiss on his cheek. he seems unsatisfied with it, moving to capture your lips between his once again.
you giggle into the kiss, feeling him smile underneath your lips. reluctantly, he parts way from you when minhee taps on the window impatiently. 
"I'll call you, okay?" 
"okay. I love you." 
you softly smile at him, eyes crinkling in endearment, "I love you too," and climb into the car. as the car drives away, you think, the two of you will be alright.
---
the sun shines brightly through the windows, causing you to groan and roll over to avoid accidentally blinding yourself when you open your eyes. the person next to you stirs, grip around your waist tightening momentarily before relaxing again. hoarsely, you cough out a question, "babe, did you forget to close the curtains last night?" 
jungkook mumbles in his sleep, something that sounds like "what are you talking about? what's a curtain?" you're not quite sure but it sure doesn't sound like "i didn't close it, I'm sorry." so you roll over again until you fall to the carpet, sitting up and dragging yourself to the window to pull the curtains close so you can go back to sleep. 
when you flop back onto the bed, you mumble sleepily into his ear, "kook, it's already 20 minutes past 8, you should probably hurry to your meeting with mirae and narae." at your words, he bolts up from his position, looking more awake like he had chugged 3 cups of coffee in one sitting. that's the effect the twins have on people, they truly hate it when people are late. 
he scrambles to change his clothes, not even bothering to go to the bathroom to freshen up, muttering a chant of "fuck shit they're going to be so fucking pissed. fucking damnit." 
he doesn't forget to kiss you before bolting out the door, slamming the door shut behind him as you hear his footsteps echoes through the house. if the twins don't get to him first, yoongi will, since you're sure he just woke him up. 
2 months ago you completed your mission and moved away from your apartment. 2 weeks later, you find jungkook at your doorstep with a proposition in his mind and no seokjin behind him. a week later, you watch as jungkook chugged a glass of beer mixed with hot sauce, something taehyung and haeun dubbed as "initiation" but jimin preferred to call it a "celebratory" drink as jungkook officially joined your team. 
it's been a little over a month since he settled into everything, and it seems like he adapted well enough into his new life. you smile to yourself at that. sure, you'd been apprehensive at first at the prospect but when you see how determined he is, you decided to relent and follow along. 
unsurprisingly, he's good at whatever task soomin threw his way, easily completing it in record speed and usually leaving her speechless when he goes to report to her. he also learned martial arts pretty quickly, something you know yoongi is pleased at because of how he call him his "best student" and "(y/n) it took you 5 months to learn this move and this guy got it in 2 days." which cause your eye to twitch in annoyance that you have to supress the urge to throttle yoongi. 
he hadn't been assigned any significant mission just yet, only helping others with theirs for now, but by the look of it, yoongi and soomin might let him lead his own mission soon, impressed by his capabilities. 
you look over to the clock at your bedside table, groaning to yourself when you see the 8:58 blinking back at you. deciding you won't be able to fall back asleep, you drag yourself downstairs to get some breakfast, remembering that yoongi is cooking today since soomin is out of town. the thought of yoongi cooking relieves you since the last time both of them were out of the house, haeun had managed to burnt 3 pots and broke two cups while taehyung stands to the side with a bucket of water in case something caught on fire. 
when you reach the kitchen, you find it to be empty, plates of waffles neatly stacked on the counter with some foil over it to keep it warm. you fix a plate for yourself and jungkook, sitting at the counter with a glass of orange juice next to you. 
before you finish your plate, you feel someone wrapping their arms around your waist from behind, jungkook's head resting against your shoulder. "i narrowly escaped their wrath." 
"yeah? how angry were they though?" 
"angry enough to keep me on garden duty while soomin is out of town." 
"huh, not too bad. once, taehyung was late for literally 47 seconds and they had his games restricted for a week." he hisses in sympathy, "yikes." 
"uhuh, they're going easy on you. i fixed you a plate of waffles already, and there's a new carton of milk for you in the fridge." you detach yourself from him, putting your dishes on the sink before turning to look at him. "i have some documents i had to send, so I'll be at the office, alright?" 
he kisses you deeply before you leave, one hand resting on the small of your back while the other holds the side of your face. 
"bro! this is a kitchen! take that shit somewhere else, some of us are single!" haeun screams from the doorway.
you part way from his lips, laughing loudly on your way out. "I love you babe." 
he shouts back from the kitchen, "I love you too!" 
yoongi shouts from his room. "shut the fuck up!" 
the house breaks into a laughter at that, and you reckon, the house feels warmer now.
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archester-creations · 2 years
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@omegaverse-sfw-week​  day three part two of two: modern (this is still a long one, lads)
June 21st
He was going to die and it was the fault of some idiot he'd never talked to face to face . Some idiot he’d only even seen through glances and this singular picture. It's not the first time he's ever seen someone in a dress. Sky wore dresses. Velvet wore dresses sometimes. His ma wore dresses occasionally. Russel’s mamma wore dresses. Even Russel had worn a dress once or twice. But he'd never realized a dress could look this good on somebody. Even though it looked a bit wonky. There seemed to possibly be a seam out near his thigh. And one of the sleeves was a little rough. But.
Jaune looked handsome . And it was doing things to him. Like he’d done days ago, Cardin lifted a hand to his cheek. It felt feverish. Then he noticed his shoulder was actually red. Another full body blush. A dress had pulled a full body blush from him. He’d never reacted this way to something like that before. The worst thing (best thing?) was, he knew why. It was Jaune. He-
He really liked Jaune. Badly, it seemed. Definitely worse than he’d thought.
You might want some water with this |
[image sent] |
How do i look? |
| It’s good.
| You look handsome.
Thats it? |
Just handsome? |
Didnt make you blush all over or something? |
| Uh. Well.
Cardin did something impulsive. Which was not the first time. At least not where it concerned Jaune. There just seemed to be something about him that drew it out of him. He took a picture of his face and sent it before he could really get a look at it. But boy did he look once it sent.
Once again, Cardin found himself wishing he could just… delete messages as he waited for Jaune’s reply. The camera had gotten his face as well as the top half of his t-shirt and everything in between. And every single inch of skin that showed was bright red. Probably the deepest blush ever caught on camera. Stoplights could be made with his skin right now. It was like his hair colour slid down his hairline, covered his ears, and traveled into the collar of his shirt. The freckles on his shoulders stood out against the red as if to draw attention to it. As if the shade of pure red on his pale skin wasn’t eye catching enough.To make it even worse, he wasn’t quite looking at the camera. No, he’d been looking away slightly. With everything else it made him look shy . Which he kinda was, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that it’d been caught on camera. He’d caught it on camera. And sent it to Jaune. Jaune who still hadn’t replied and at this point Cardin not only didn’t know how long it’d been but also didn’t really want to know how long because he was kinda terrified. Being terrified didn’t stop his phone from pinging, though. Jaune’s name made the screen light back up. Because it’d at least been long enough for it to time out.
 That |
That much |
Huh? |
Um thats |
Im glad you liked it |
Maybe ill |
Let saph use me as a model sometimes |
So i can send you pictures |
If itll let me see you embarrassed like that |
Did Cardin…
Did he embarrass Jaune back? An incredulous laugh feel from his mouth, because he definitely did. That was embarrassment.
 | So you do get embarrassed.
CAN YOU BLAME ME?! |
I MADE A HOT GUY TURN INTO A FIRE ENGINE |
YOU LITERALLY FULL BODY BLUSHED |
I DIDNT EVEN KNOW THAT COULD HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE |
| It’s your fault!
| You asked!
| I hope you’re happy.
FUCK yeah i am |
Youre so fucking cute |
Ruby has a red cape and i wanna compare colours |
Just to see which is more red |
Youre fucking adorable |
| Absolutely not.
| No one else can see that.
You mean its alllll just for me?? |
Cardin dear you shouldnt have |
This is the nicest present ive ever recieved and its not even my birthday yet |
Thank you |
| Mn
| I’m going to go to work now.
Hahah alright |
<3 |
  June 24th
So despite my rousing success |
Im switching to childcare |
Dont worry i have asked saph and she will let me model for her again |
Buuuuuut |
I dont think fashion is really cutting it and nora suggested doing childcare with her |
Since shes already majoring in it |
| The friend you said once shoved thirty marshmellows in her mouth?
| The one who’d get along with Russel and Sky and would probably cause a small nation to fall?
Yep! |
| That’s good.
| You’ve mentioned before she likes kids.
| I’m glad she’s getting to do this.
Me too!! |
We have our first class in two days!! |
I’m excited!! |
| I see that.
| I’m happy you’re excited too.
Aw thanks <3 |
I am too |
  June 26th
Theyre starting us with med stuff!! |
Im actually learning hands on how to do cpr!! |
| You’re having fun?
I am!! |
Im glad they started with this |
They said it was important to know first |
Just encase an emergency happens |
| That seems smart
Yeah |
  July 6th
They make this |
So much harder |
Than it REALLY has any right to be |
| Childcare?
Yes!! |
Im convinced half this stuff is unneccessary |
Like |
I dont know im not a professional |
Or a teacher |
But ive watched my nephew before |
And i swear its never been this complicated |
| Maybe because it’s more kids?
Probably |
And they wanna be sure we dont fuck it up |
Cause that could be |
Like |
Immensiley fucking bad |
But brothers fuck |
Its so much |
I dont know how noras keeping up with it all |
She is though |
| Proud of her?
Yeah |
Shes really enjoying it |
Its nice to see even if im not sure about sticking around |
   August 15th
| Did you check out the entire cookbook section?
I switched majors |
To uh |
Cooking |
My oldest sister is helping me |
Though right now were baking |
Apparently cooking-cooking will come later? |
I dont know |
If i manage a good batch of cookies im gonna drop them in the bookdrop |
Only for you though |
No sharing |
| No sharing at all?
| My brother won't like that.
I guess you can share them with him |
| Oh? What made you change your mind?
 Why did Cardin suddenly feel like he dug his own grave?
 Have to get in good with your family |
If I want to get in your pants |
 That's why. He rolled his eyes, willing away the sudden heat and double rhythm his heart decided to pick up. No, bad body.
 | If they're good enough you might just get in his.
I guess i gotta make sure theyre not too good then |
Because youre the only one i want |
;) |
  August 27th
| How is cooking going?
Haha not great |
I left actually |
Though i do think i got better at cooking |
Im in theater now |
| Do you like it better?
Yeah |
Its pretty good |
 Cardin didn't really believe that, but he couldn't pinpoint a reason why. Not that Jaune didn't like it better. But he didn't… seem that excited? Though Cardin knew from Sky that sometimes college included a lot of major shuffling.
 | Are you practicing for a play yet?
Not yet |
Right now its mostly technical stuff |
Voice work and body language |
My one sister is helping me with it |
She says im doing good but im not sure i believe her |
  You're pretty enough to be on stage . Cardin quickly backspaced. Definitely not. They'd only been texting… He thumbed up to the top of their conversation, where he found the word ‘May’. He blinked. It was August. They'd been talking for… four months? That didn't feel right. Quickly he checked his calendar, only to confirm that he was right. Four months had passed since Jaune left the first note. It simultaneously felt like a lot and nothing at all.
Four months and Jaune had changed his major sixteen times. Not even Sky had done it that much. Even with the changing majors, Cardin still checked in medical books from him. But he never talked about going into the field, though he had to be passionate about it in at least some way. You don't check in that many books about something you don't like.
Finally, it clicked. Why this change sounded so odd. It was because it sounded like Jaune was hiding something. Not that he had to tell Cardin everything, but. There was something else Jaune wanted to say. And he wasn't. So, Cardin decided he'd try to… get him to talk about it. He knows it's what Velvet would do. That, and… Cardin found himself genuinely wanting to know. It actually bothered him that Jaune was hiding something from him when it really seemed to bother him.
 | You switch majors a lot.
I dont |
| You’ve switched sixteen times in the five months we've been talking.
You counted? |
And im still |
Figuring it out |
| Jaune. You can… talk to me, you know. Whatever it is I won't judge. I'm not really in a place to, you know I skipped the whole college thing to work here.
| I can just. Listen. Whatever it is, whenever you want. You know when I wake up.
I |
Thank you |
Its just |
Hard |
I have all these people |
Just |
/pushing/ me and /pulling/ me in so many directions |
‘You should do theater, its fun and youll make great friends!’ |
‘Id love it if my baby brother could cook with me. we could get a job together!’ |
‘Psychology is cool. maybe you could consider that. im emo about it.’ |
 That one had him snort. It wasn't the first time he'd talked about that friend. Normally he was nicer about her. He recognized this style of texting, though. Jaune was upset and it brought out a more sarcastic side of him, one that sometimes had an edge. And it looked like this was one of those ‘sometimes’. It also meant it was something Jaune really had to get out. From what Cardin had learned, Jaune tended to internalize a lot of his more negative feelings until they sort of… burst. Which was something he could relate with. Though, Jaune’s bursts seemed to be sharp words while his translated to time with a punching bag.
 ‘Kids are really cool!!! You should do childcare!!! And then we can open a daycare together!!! And we'd watch over hundreds of kids for hours and hours!!!’ |
‘You were always such a good dancer as a kid, you should go into that like denise’ |
‘Have you thought about black smithing its sO COOL LOOK AT THIS AWESOME FUCKING SWORD I MADE FOR NO OUM DAMN REASON’ |
‘GEE JAUNE I REALLY THINK YOU SHOULD DO THIS INSTEAD OF WHATEVER IT IS YOUNWANNA DO BECAUSE WHO GIBES A FUCJ ABOUT THAY YOUR MEDICAL SHITNIS WEIRD ANYONE NOBODY FUCKING CARES THAG YOU WANT TO HEAL PEOPLE AND MAYBE BECOME A PAREMEDIC OR SOME SHIT FUCK THAY YOU TRY ONE OF THESE HUNDREDS KF LTHER MAJORS THAY YOU REALLY COULDNT GIBE A SHIT ABOUT AND MAKE YOU TIEED OR YOU HATE BECAUSE WE THINK THEYRE A THOUSAND TIMES COOLER AND WE KNOW YOURE A FUCKING PUSHOBER WHO WONT FUCKING JUST DUCKING SAY NO LIKE A FUCKING NORMAL OUM DAMN PERSON |
I JUST WANNA FUCKING |
DO MY OWN SHIT |
I HAVE PLANS |
I HAVE PASSIONS |
I AM NOT JUST SOME BARBIE DOLL CAREER COLLECTING BITCH |
IM A PERSON |
FUCK |
 Cardin blinked. That. Was a lot.
 Oum |
Fuck |
Im sorry |
I guess i had |
More pent up than i thought |
| It's okay. I told you you could rant.
What youre saying is i had consent |
 Cardin rolled his eyes.
 | Yes, Arc, you had consent.
| So you want to be a paramedic?
I |
Yeah |
I really think id like to be |
But i dont want to disappoint everybody else you know? |
My mom wanted me to do music because i like to play the guitar and my oldest sister wanted me to do culinary because thats what she did and my dad wanted me to do dance because all us kids did dance and only del stuck with it and blake wanted me to do psychology for reasons i don't even think i want to know and ruby wanted me to do blacksmithing so i could make shit with her and yang agreed and its all just so much but i dont want to disappoint any of them because if i did |
If i did |
| If you did?
What if they |
Hated me |
For it |
Or stopped being my friend because i just |
Didnt want to do their favourite thing |
| Not everybody can devote their life to the same thing. And if they leave you for that, they weren't really worth you.
That seems harsh |
| It's true.
| They shouldn't be so hung up on what makes them happy that they'd hate you for not getting the same joy. If you're friends with them, I think they'd agree.
… |
And if they are? |
| Then they're wrong.
You sound like marion and i think i hate it |
Ill… talk to marion about it |
| I believe in you.
Atleast one of us does |
 For a while after that there were no texts. No notes in books. As far as Cardin knew, there weren’t even returns to the library. If there were, they happened after his morning shift ended at one. It… worried Cardin. He'd been getting along well with Jaune. Or at least, he thought he was. The other boy joked with him. Sent him stuff about his day. Even flirted with him sometimes. (Cardin never really knew how to respond to those past turning red and hiding his phone to give himself a moment to calm.) They talked all the time . Not even a day went by where they didn’t anymore. The radio silence was really getting to him.
There wasn't anything in their last texts that Cardin thought he did to make Jaune apparently avoid him. Unless he been that embarrassed about ranting.
Or….
Or something happened to Jaune.
If something did, nobody would know to text him. He wouldn't find out for months or ever , depending on how bad it was. Instead he'd always live in this nebulous space of hoping Jaune would text. A Shrodnyrs box that doesn't even have the option to be opened. Maybe it wasn't too late to text him. His parents or Marion might still have his phone and might be kind enough to at least let him know Jaune was… gone. Unless he was ignoring him and had blocked his number. Or both happened. He'd been ignoring him, had blocked his number, and something terrible happened to him sometime after. And he’d never know.
Cardin put his phone down so he'd stop fiddling with it and messed with his sleeve instead. He didn't try texting Jaune.
  September 8th
His phone pinged and he scrambled for it the same way he had every other time despite expecting it to be Velvet or Jaune or someone. Except it wasn't. ‘Green hoodie’ was on his screen for a moment before it timed out and Cardin pressed the power button to get it to show again so he'd know he wasn't just seeing things. Seeing it show a second time was like a breath of fresh air. A weight he hadn't really felt lifted from his chest. Now he could actually breathe clearly. Jaune hadn’t been hurt nor had he been avoiding him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly before he unlocked his phone to respond.
 Sorry ive been gone!!! |
I've wanted to text you so fucking badly but ive been so busy |
There was so much to do |
But im in med school now!! |
Im gonna do it!!! |
Im actually gonna be a paramedic!!! |
| I'm proud of you
:D !!!! |
Thank you!!! |
So so so fucking much!!! |
| Why?
I wouldnt have talked with marion without you and then i never wouldve done this |
I wouldve just continued jumping majors until i could force myself to be happy with what someone else wanted me to do |
| Oh.
| You're welcome, then.
| I'm glad you didn't do that. It's nicer seeing you happy like this over a major, instead of mopey.
I wasnt mopey!! |
>:( |
| You were.
>>>>>:( |
If im mopey youre a bitch |
| Woof.
Ajskdjsks |
Seriously thank you cardin |
I wouldnt be doing this if you hadnt noticed something was wrong |
And let me rant |
 Heat rose to his cheeks and down under his collar. Despite being alone, Cardin looked around the room just to make sure. The relief he'd felt when Jaune's contact name was still palpable and he let himself relax. The heat settled on his cheeks and his ears and the back of his neck and he let it. Jaune was fine. He hadn't died, hadn't been hurt (probably), hadn't been purposely ignoring him. And he'd sincerely thanked him.
 | You're welcome.
 He popped his knuckles, staring at his phone. He really wanted to say something. Mention about being worried. Hating the radio silence. Back when he was young, Russel had told him it was better to get that stuff out. Especially when it was someone you cared about. And. He really cared about Jaune. Taking a deep breath, he typed another message.
 | You were gone for a real long time.
| I didn't like not knowing what was going on.
| Or if you were okay.
| I'm glad you are.
| Okay.
| I’m really glad you’re okay.
You were worried about me? |
| I missed you.
I missed you too cardin |
It was quiet without you |
| You don't hear my voice.
No but i hear your text tone |
And ive heard you speak to yourself at the library before |
| I don't do that.
And it doesnt really have to do with the amount of sound |
Knowing youre there and talking to me willingly is its own form of noise |
I missed it when it was gone |
I missed /you/ when it was gone |
| You could've texted me.
There was so much to do i only had the time early mornings and even then i was either half asleep or fully asleep |
| I wouldn't mind your half asleep early morning texts
I wouldnt mind yours either |
| Now you're just repeating me.
Its true! |
You couldve texted me too |
| I was worried you'd blocked me. Or something… bad happened. I'd rather I didn't find out either way.
Im fine |
Not even scratched |
Just a little more tired than usual |
And id never block you |
I like you too much |
| It was quiet without you too.
What? |
| Without you. It was quiet. Moreso than it usually is, even with Velv and Russ and Sky.
Oh |
Now whos repeating? |
| Shut up Arc.
Im glad you missed me |
And im happy to be back |
| Yeah.
| I'm happy you're back, too.
 And he really was. Especially if the way he felt the earlier blush tingling down to his fingertips and toes meant anything. It was a lighter feeling than he’d felt before. Happy and fond and content. It was a feeling he wanted to relish in. Like a giant blanket. Like the one Sky had made so he could curl up with Russel and Dove, all three under the same blanket. He smiled, feeling warm.
  September 9th
‘ Will you go out with me? ’ The sentence he found on a bookmark in a juvenile nonfic book on astronomy made his throat turn dry. Heat invaded his face. He could feel it blossom along his ears and melt all down his chest like candle wax. If he was the candle, Jaune's messy scrawl was the flame. Less conspicuously than he'd liked, he looked through the opaque plastic to be sure Jaune had left. Only when he discovered he had did it feel like he breathed. At least the other boy hadn't seen his physical reaction. He opened the page drawer to get his water bottle and fumbled his way to Jaune’s contact, double checking no one was in the lobby or the backroom with him as he went.
 | You have my phone number. You know where I work
I know |
But this seemed more romantic |
Since this is what led to me knowing you |
 And Cardin had to actually pause to consider that. Because Jaune was right. Because Jaune had done more than just return a book with one of the bookmarker notes in it. He'd returned an astronomy book with one of the bookmarker notes in it. A book just like the ones that initially caught his eye a month ago.
 You… havent responded |
| Yes
Yes? |
| Yes, Arc. I'll go on a date with you
WOO |
Saturday? We can do lunch and a movie |
My place |
If youre cool with that |
If not we can do something else |
Im down to do anything tbh |
As long as its with you |
| I can go to your place.
| Uh, depending on where it is?
| I can’t actually drive.
You cant drive?? |
| Never felt the need to.
| I live within walking or biking distance of everything and anything that’s not I only go to because Velv or Russ drag me there.
Fair |
My place is close to the library |
I can pick you up there? |
After your shift? |
| Yeah.
Is it weird to be,,, really giddy? For a date |
| I wouldn’t know.
| I’ve never actually been on a date before.
| Not one like this.
| Russel has dragged me into third wheeling before.
| And Velvet has set me up with a guy once.
| But I’ve never.
| Went out with a guy I really liked before.
| Definitely never to his house.
Ha-HA ive tricked you into going to a secondary location |
| Pffft
| Oh no.
| I guess I’ll have to sick Velvet on you then, if your plan has been to kidnap me all along.
Its too late |
Theyll never get you back |
| I haven’t followed you yet.
But you will? |
Like |
No jokes |
Youre actually going on a date with me |
Movie and pizza? |
My house? |
For the night? |
| Yes, Arc.
| No jokes, I swear.
| I really.
| Honestly.
| Want to go out with you.
| Oum knows why.
This is gonna be great |
I have both mummy movies |
I can fond over evie and rick and ardeth and you can fond over rick and ardeth |
And we can eat popcorn |
| Sounds like a good plan.
| I like cheese pizza.
Aye aye captain |
I can do that |
The date was… so good. It was the first time he’d been in Jaune’s presence like this. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming at first. If Jaune shone under the artificial light, he glowed under the sun. His eyes danced, blue swirling and swirling and swirling in a never ending sky. The constellations there seemed to be in full force as he smiled and somehow seemed to light up even more when he saw him. When he saw Cardin . Only family had ever seemed that happy to see him. Well, family and Sky and Dove (in his own way). But Jaune did. His smile was sunny and his eyes twinkled and Cardin knew he was gone before but it was like Jaune created a whole, different, second meaning to the word. One that ran deeper and held you tighter. And Cardin didn’t actually mind that. He squeezed Jaune’s hand and Jaune squeezed back.
They curled up on the small couch in Jaune’s apartment, pizza and popcorn in front of them as promised and the first Mummy movie already in the tv. Something about it felt calm. Homey in a way he hadn’t expected as he watched the clock all day with sweaty palms despite how busy the library had gotten. Their knees knocked together. Their shoulders touched. Their fingers intertwined. And before he knew it, it was late and they were almost done with the second movie. Tiredness pulled at him. One scene jumped to the next as his eyes closed.
His eyes opened briefly at the feeling of a nose against his cheek. It rubbed till it became a cheek, making him vaguely aware his glasses were gone. The feeling persisted for a few seconds and he recognized it, it was something his family had done to him before, but it escaped him. A word on the tip of his tongue. Fuzzy at the edge of consciousness. Then it was gone and the word filtered in as the new scent flowed clumsily through his mind, stronger than before. Scented . He’d been scented by Jaune. Cardin had never been scented before. Not by someone he liked romantically. Not by someone who had eyes like the sea after a storm and made his heart stop in his chest.
He turned his head and kissed him, slow and soft with sleep still crowding at the edge of his mind. Jaune kissed him back just as softly. It felt like hours and seconds went by. The feeling of slowly losing oxygen, of Jaune’s lips on his and Jaune’s scent on his skin wrapped around the sleep haze and pulled him closer like a rope. Cardin rubbed his own scent along Jaune’s cheek. Rubbed his wrist against Jaune’s wrist to get it there, too. His lips trailed to Jaune’s jaw, down his neck. And suddenly Cardin’s teeth dug into the scent gland at Jaune’s neck, too dazed by kisses and sleep and fire and ozone to register the sudden tang of blood on his tongue and the influx of alpha scent- of Jaune’s scent- in his senses. Too dazed to feel the responding bite.
3 notes · View notes
lenniewip · 4 years
Text
Unknown (A Sterek Wrong Number/Celebrity AU)
11.09 PM Unknown Number
>I’m writing songs about you again.
11.20 PM Unknown Number
>its stiles btw.
>in case you deleted my number
>I did.
>I mean I deleted yours.
>but I still remember it apparently
11:41 PM Unknown Number
>I only have 2 lines so far
11:57 PM Unknown Number
>I bleed you from my veins.
>I grieve you like I love you.
>alone.
>its better with the chords.
>u were always better at writing lyrics than me
12:34 AM Unknown Number
>u were better everything than me
2:00 AM Unknown Number
>I hate that I miss you
2:07 AM Unknown Number
>do u want to hook up?
>I promise not to propose again
2:15 AM Unknown Number
>im sorry.
>ignore me.
>im drinking
Derek blinked bleary eyes. His phone screen was the only source of light in his room, as he read through the flurry text messages.
What the hell is a Stiles?
2:17 AM Unknown Number
<I think you have the wrong number
>Lydia?
<no
>oh thank fuck
>I mean
>I’m sorry
>for disturbing ur sleep
>but im just glad I didn’t drunk text my ex all of this
>bullet dodged right?
>is this what near death experiences feel like?
<I wouldn’t know.
>of course
>hey
>seeming as I have you here can I ask you a quick q?
>all my friends are asleep
<probably because its 3am
<everyone’s asleep
>2.39
>and ur not
>asleep that is
>so?
>I’ll take your silence as a go ahead
>what do you think?
>of the lyrics
<im the wrong person to ask
>never experienced heartbreak?
<no
<all song lyrics just look like bad poetry to me
>oh
>yeah I guess it does
>not everyone can be Rupi Kaur tho right?
<do you want to be rupi kaur?
>sure
>not to be dramatic or anything
>but
>I want to be anyone but me
>think id rather be someone like regina spektor tho
<regina spektor?
>singer/song writer
>shes my fucking inspiration
>her lyrics are like poetry to me
>you should listen to her music
<I dont really listen to music
>what the fuck?
>are you an alien?
<no?
>nice fucking try ET
>thats exactly what an alien would say
<…you got me there
>akdjfen
>is this you admitting I was right?
<no
<but this is me going to bed
<because its now 4AM
>already?
>fuck
>ive got an early start tomorrow
>good night random stranger
>and thanks
>for listening
>or reading ig
<good night
//
“You’re late.” Laura frowned, arms crossed.
“Are you going to let me in?” Derek grumbled, still feeling the affects of having stayed up until 4AM the previous night.
Laura didn’t argue she just stepped aside to let him through into her flat. “You’re grumpier than usual.” She noted.
“Didn’t sleep well.”
Derek hated the look she gave him then.
The look that said he was broken. The look that said she wanted to fix him.
“Is…Is it the nightmares again?” Laura’s voice dipped to a whisper, like the question alone would be enough to send him over the edge.
“No.”
An awkward silence defended over the two of them, neither knowing what to say.
Derek clung to the silence like a blanket, wishing things could go back to how they used to be. Back to when they knew how to speak to one another.
But this was enough.
It was enough to know that they were both trying. Failing. But trying.
//
2:40 PM Laura
>I’m here if you need to talk.
//
Derek isn’t good at art, but sometimes it’s the only way he can express himself. Words had never been his forte.
So instead he doodles.
Shitty toddler level doodles that he never shows anyone.
Sometimes he thinks if he could bring himself to show Laura she would like it. Maybe she would even understand it.
But there was a bigger chance that she wouldn’t, and he would feel even more like a stranger to his own sister than he already was.
//
10:18 PM Unknown Number
>I don’t remember it anymore
<You have the wrong number again
>No
>This is ‘not Lydia’ right?
<right
>So here’s the thing.
>I always thought if I needed to text her I could
>And I thought maybe I got her number wrong because I was drunk
>But I can’t remember it anymore
<Oh.
>I have some of her things still
>I don’t think I’ll ever get to return it now
>Unless she messages me first
<When did you two break up?
>Last year
>and I know what you’re thinking
>’it’s October’
>and I should be over her by now
>Trust me I know
>So you don’t need to lecture me
<I wasn’t going to
>Oh
<Stiles?
>That’s weird
<what is?
>I forgot I told you my name
<You should throw away the stuff she left behind.
>you’re right
>I don’t like it.
>but you’re right
>…thanks
<What for?
>for listening
>reading**
>my friends are pretty sick of hearing me complain
>so this is nice
<sure
<anytime
>dope
>no take backsies
<am I going to regret this?
>for definite
>you’re stuck with me now
//
That night Derek saves Stiles’ number as ‘Bad Poet’.
//
Stiles keeps messaging after that.
Stiles messages like they’ve been friends for years, and Derek very determinedly does not analyse why it is he always responds.
Even when there are messages dated from Laura from three days ago that he hasn’t even been able to bring himself to open yet.
He also ignores how when he’s messaging Stiles the gaping pit that had made residence in his chest feels just a little less inescapable.
//
Derek can’t bring himself to tell Stiles his name. He can’t bring himself open up, even though there’s a large part of him that wants to.
He’s not above admitting he’s scared.
//
Derek draws Stiles sometimes.
More accurately he draws a vague pair hands texting on a phone, because he has no idea what Stiles actually looks like.
Derek refuses to let himself dwell on that though, because they are happy drawings.
The pictures of Stiles are pretty much his only happy drawings right now.
//
They don’t always talk about Lydia.
Sometimes Stiles messages Derek song lyrics he’s working on.
Other times it’s memes, or just a bunch of emojis.
Once Stiles had just messaged him what Derek could only assume was a list of everything he had eaten that day.
Sometimes Stiles messages in rambles - and Derek can’t always keep up with the boy’s run away thoughts, but even then he never feels lost the way he does when he’s trying to interact with literally anyone else.
And sometimes it’s 2AM. Those are simultaneously Derek’s favourite and least favourite texts.
//
2:02 AM Bad Poet
>sometimes I feel like too much
>and too little
>at the same time
>u ever feel like that ET?
<not really
>its like I’m infinite, and meaningless
>like a never ending echo
>or a recurring decimal
>I just stretch on and on forever but theres no point to it
>I have no depth
<youre not meaningless
<you’re a rhythm.
<like breathing
>…
>was that a regina spektor reference?
<it might have been
>I thought you didn’t listen to music?
<well someone said her lyrics were like poetry
<so I thought I would check out a few songs
>well fuck
>what did you think?
<she’s good
>you spelt ‘amazing’ wrong
<I still prefer poetry
>of course you do
Derek stared at the texts an ache filling his chest.
Derek was the opposite of infinite. Everything he touched turned to flames.
//
10:30AM Bad Poet
<my sister bought me flower seeds
>I didn’t know you had a sister?
<she’s everything I have
>oh
<and I think she’s trying to trick me into therapy somehow
>…with flower seeds?
<yes
>you sound extremely paranoid
>maybe therapy wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for you?
<shut up
>noted.
>keep me posted on how your gardening goes
>also
>as a side note
>you know you have me too right?
>if you ever need to talk or anything, I’m right here for you
<thanks
>anytime
//
On Derek’s birthday Laura insists the two of them spend the day together, and Derek knows better than to argue.
She buys him a cake and they spend hours sat next to one another silently. Two strangers desperately trying to keep hold of one another but with an ocean dividing them.
Once their family had been so alive.
And it was all Derek’s fault that was gone.
They both knew it.
Sometimes Derek wondered if Laura hated him as much as he did.
He was too scared to ask.
//
That night Derek chased the ache in his chest away with a drink.
And then several more followed.
//
1:14 AM Bad Poet
<seh haars me
>sorry bud, you’re going to have to try again
>try spell checking before hitting send
<she.hates mee
>who?
<larn
>are you drunk?
<yeh
<tyongs ndrf
*Out Going Call: Bad Poet*
The phone rings twice before being picked up. “Sorry. Stupid keyboard is so small. Impossible to type.” Derek mumbled, his words slightly muffled by his cheek being pressed into the sofa cushion.
“Wow. You’re really sloshed huh?”
“No.” Derek denied. “Just tipsy.”
“Right. So what was it you were trying to tell me? Someone hates you?”
“Laura.”
“Who’s Laura?”
“My sister.”
“Oh.”
“She looks at me like she wishes she could fix me.”
“That doesn’t sound like she hates you, bud.”
“She should. I can’t be fixed.”
“You’re right, because you’re not broken.”
Hearing Stiles say that Derek could almost believe it to be true.
“I mean it. You’re not broken. You’re just a different shape than you used to be. But the shape you are now is beautiful.”
Derek closes his eyes and lets the words wash over him. “Do you sing?” He finds himself asking.
“What?”
“I know you write songs, but do you ever sing?”
“Oh…” Stiles sounds uncomfortable. “I guess… Yeah. I do.”
Derek hummed in the back of his throat. “I bet you have a nice voice.”
“Th-thanks.”
Derek tried to say something else, but all that comes out is a yawn, which makes Stiles let out a jittery laugh.
Derek tries to memorise the sound of It, but it’s so fleeting, it’s already slipping away from him.
“I think you need to go sleep, ET.”
“Yeah.” Derek agrees.
“Goodnight bud.”
“Wait.”
“Yeah?”
“Could you stay on the phone? Just for a bit longer.” Derek clutched on to the phone like if he could grip tightly enough it would make Stiles stay.
I don’t want to be alone. The words die on Derek’s tongue.
“Sure.” Stiles didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”
“Thank you.”
Sleep pulled at Derek’s consciousness, unravelling his grip on reality.
“Stiles?”
Stiles hummed in answer.
“Your shape is beautiful too.”
A small whimper came from the other end of the phone. “Thanks.”
//
7:50 AM Bad Poet
>how are you feeling today?
<better
>good <3
Derek holds his phone tightly and wishes that he had more to say. Just to keep the conversation going.
He also wishes (not for the first time) that Stiles was more than a faceless entity on the other end of the phone.
But it’s the first time he feels the want like a physical ache in his chest.
Derek had never been good with words, but if Stiles was here in front of him Derek would probably give him a hug.
But everything Derek touches eventually dies, and a larger part of him is relieved for the distance.
//
Derek plants the seeds his sister got him that day.
//
9:48 PM Bad Poet
>would it totally weird you out if I wanted to do another phone call?
>don’t feel like you need to say yes
>I just enjoyed talking to you
>and hearing your voice
>ugh.
>why are words so hard?
<I wouldn’t be opposed to a phone call
*Incoming Call: Bad Poet*
“Hey.” Derek feels breathless as he answers the phone, anxious excitement clawing it’s way up his throat.
“Hey.” Stiles sounds equally out of breath, and that helps.
Derek chews on his lip, scrambling for something to say. “What did you want to talk about?”
“I don’t know.” Stiles admitted. “Anything.”
“Helpful.” Derek said sarcastically.
“I mean. There’s one thing. I didn’t want to ask when you were drunk because it felt a little like taking advantage. And I don’t want you to think you have to answer-”
“Stiles.” Derek interrupts before Stiles could break into a full blown ramble.
“Tell me your name.” Stiles breaks. “Please.”
Anxiety grips his heart. But… he couldn’t stay scared forever.
“It’s Derek.”
“Derek.” Stiles repeats his name in a reverent whisper, as if committing it to memory.
And hearing Stiles say his name makes everything worth it.
//
Phone calls become a regular thing between the two of them over the next month. Always between late in the evening and the early hours of the day.
//
The next time Derek spirals he doesn’t drink before he calls Stiles, but he does cry on the phone.
The next morning he wakes up to a text from Stiles.
6:42 AM Bad Poet
>you need to talk to your sister
And Derek knows he’s right.
//
It’s not easy confronting Laura. He has two separate anxiety attacks on the walk to her apartment alone.
But he forces himself to take the dive.
“It’s okay if you hate me.” He tells her, even though it’s not okay. Laura’s hate might be the only thing in the world that could break him beyond repair.
Laura looks horrified as she stares at him. “I don’t- Obviously I don’t hate you Derek.”
“It’s my fault that they’re gone.” Derek addresses the elephant in the room.
If he hadn’t fallen in love with Kate.
If he hadn’t broken up with her, just to try and prove a point when she refused to say ‘I love you’ back…
There never would have been a fire.
Their family would still be here if it wasn’t for him.
“Fuck that!” Laura let out a harsh noise. “Derek, none of this was ever your fault. You were a kid, and even if you weren’t… You never set the fire.”
“I might as well have.”
“No. If anyone… I was your big sister- am your big sister. But I was so fucking wrapped up in myself. I didn’t even know about Kate.”
The last time Derek had seen Laura cry it had been at the funeral, so it took a second to fully sink in what he was seeing.
He found himself crying to.
“I’m so sorry, Der.”
Derek stumbled forwards pulling Laura into a crushing hug. Laura hugs him back just as tight.
They spend hours refusing to let go of one another.
//
He realises he fell asleep on Laura’s sofa when he woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. But he had no idea where it was, and he was too tired to move.
He feels Laura moving and the sound of the phone ringing gets louder before cutting off abruptly.
“Hello?”
“No - Derek’s asleep.”
“Maybe call at a more reasonable time?”
“Who is this?”
“Your voice sounds familiar.”
“Right.”
“Okay. Bye.”
Derek let sleep over take him once more.
//
2:29 AM Bad Poet
>sorry for calling so late
>you’re asleep so I’ll just take to you tomorrow
//
9:07 AM Bad Poet
<sorry, I was really tried
>no worries man
>you’re allowed to have a life outside of me
<was something wrong?
>no I was just bored, and didn’t realise how late it had gotten
>im fine
>how are you?
<im good actually
<I spoke to Laura
>yeah?
>I’m proud of you
>how’d that go?
<we both cried
<a lot
<and I ended up falling asleep on her couch
>look at you, opening up and shit.
>think I might cry now
<shut up
>literally never
>better men have tried and failed to silence me
//
2:40 PM Laura
>Want to see a movie on Friday?
<sure
//
One night Stiles calls Derek just to say his name in stupid ways, and laugh himself stupid after each one.
“Duhreek.”
“Doreck.”
“Fuck. I’m getting a stitch from laughing.”
“You’re so fucking dumb.” Derek is smiling as he said it.
“Deeruk.” Stiles wheezes out.
Derek just closes hie eyes and listens.
“I’m so fucking glad I know you, Stiles.” The words fall out of Derek’s mouth without much thought.
He only realises the weight of his words when Stile’s laughter pulls to a stop.
“I uh-” Stiles stammered. “Me too. Fuck. You’re the best thing to happen to me in…so fucking long. I’m glad I know you too Derek.”
//
Derek finally admits to himself that night that he’d fallen at least a little in love with the stranger from the unknown number.
//
He keeps trying to draw Stiles, but he can’t. Vague shapes just don’t cut it anymore.
He wants to map Stiles out with his eyes and translate it onto the page.
He wants to be able to see the smile behind the laughter.
He wants.
//
1:58 AM Bad Poet
>do you think you day we’ll actually meet?
>maybe not intentionally
>maybe one day we’d pass each other in the streets and not even know
>maybe we already have
Derek couldn’t imagine a scenario where he wouldn’t notice Stiles.
<is there ever a moment when you’re not talking?
<I think id recognise your voice and know it was you
>maybe your face would make me speechless ;)
<I think id still know
<but if you want to be sure… I could send you a picture?
<of me
>dkfajd
>for reals?
>you would do that?
>you?
<well…not for free
>there’s always a catch
>what do you want?
>my soul?
>a blood debt?
>you can have whatever it is
<I meant you’d have to send me a picture too
<geez stiles
The next text takes an unnervingly long time to come through.
>I could do that
>a photo for a photo
>I kind of look like shit rn
>so no judging me
Derek spends the next two minutes fussing and fidgeting to take a good photo. No matter what angle he took it from the bags under his eyes were noticeable, and so was the week’s worth of stubble he had yet to shave off.
And maybe this was a terrible, awful, idea.
But Derek would send one hundred bad pictures if it meant getting to see one of Stiles.
He forced himself to press send on the last picture he took.
As he pressed send another photo came in.
Derek’s fingers shook as he hit the button to download the image.
His heart stopped.
Stiles was beautiful in every sense of the word, and Derek found himself unable to look away. Even when he heard the small dings of incoming messages.
But he couldn’t ignore them for long, because it was Stiles. And when ever Stiles messaged Derek had to answer.
>Fucking hell
>are you for real?
>you gave me a heart attack
>am I being catfished right now?
>when do you think you were going to tell me you’re the most fucking beautiful man to exist ever?
>how the hell to you look like that as 2AM!?
>Derek
>oh my god
>you gotta respond my dude because I’m freaking out a little bit
>still there?
>did my selfie scare you away?
>I would have tried harder for a nice photo if I knew I was talking to an adonis
>Derek?
<still here
>of thank fuck
>so…
<so?
>come on
>your going to give me a complex
>the selfie…was it okay?
>I know it’s not much
>but we can’t all be greek gods
<its beautiful
<you’re beautiful, stiles
>oh
>thanks
//
Derek is so far gone that he makes the picture of Stiles the home screen on his phone.
//
9:49 AM Bad Poet
<Laura wants me to meet her boyfriend
<this is all your fault
>how is this my fault?
<because she never wanted to introduce us before
<and then you got me to talk to my sister
<and now she wants me to meet him
>…and this is a bad thing?
<yes
>because?
<I don’t make good first impressions
<it’s going to be awkward
>yeah probably
<you’re not helpful
>I wasn’t trying to be ;)
>have fun, Derek!
//
Meeting Laura’s boyfriend wasn’t as awkward as Derek thought it was going to be. But it was strange.
Derek hadn’t been expecting to meet someone so soft and kind. He was nothing like any one that Laura had dated before.
But he also wasn’t used to seeing Laura smile as much as she did around him.
Maybe not all change was bad.
//
Derek tells Laura about Stiles by accident. Or more accurately he mentions Stiles once by accident (not even by name) and Laura had badgered him until he admitted that he had made a friend through a wrong number.
“There’s a lot of weirdos out there.”
“I know.”
God did Derek ever know.
But Stiles is different.
“Just…be careful.”
“I am being. I promise.”
Laura reluctantly lets it go after that. “So…what’s he like?”
“He’s…he’s like bad poetry.”
“Oh god. You’re in love with him aren’t you?”
Derek can’t bring himself to deny it, but he does tell Laura to shut up.
//
Derek fully embraces being in love with Stiles on the day he tells Stiles about his drawings. He’d never told anyone about them before - not even Laura. But telling Stiles had been easy.
‘It reminds me of line art’ Stiles had said when Derek had sent him a photo of the doodle he had been working on. “I love it’.
A warmth flutters through Derek’s veins.
//
It all goes sideways on the day Laura goes on Derek’s phone to check the time.
She’d raised one eyebrow at him looking amused.
“I thought you didn’t listen to music?” She said, a teasing note to her voice.
“I don’t.” Derek shrugged.
“A huh. So why do you have a picture of Stiles Stilinski as your wallpaper?” She asks.
It’s so startling to hear Stiles name coming out of Laura’s mouth that Derek’s brain refuses to function properly. “How do you know Stiles?” He asks weakly.
Laura laughs. “He’s not exactly a niche celebrity Der. He was a really famous YouTuber before he started selling albums.”
Derek doesn’t know what to say to that. He blinks as his world slowly unravels before him.
No.
She had to be wrong, because Derek couldn’t be in love with a celebrity. Stiles couldn’t be…
“Hey are you okay? You look really sick?”
“He’s famous?” His throat is dry.
“Yes? Are you okay? What’s wrong? You’ve got to speak to me Der. Use your words.”
Derek just shakes his head because he can’t.
“It’s him.” He manages to get out.
“What are you talking about?”
“Laura. It’s him.”
It takes a moment to click but Derek knows when it does because a look of thunderous wrath takes over Laura’s face.
“I’ll kill him.” She seethes, shaking with anger. “What kind of fucking punk thinks that this is a good prank to play?”
“What?”
“No one is getting away with catfishing you, Der. I’m going to hunt this fucker down, and then I’ll rip him so many new ones that he going to look like SpongeBob when I’m done with him.”
And god, Derek hadn’t even considered the thought that Stiles might not even be Stiles. The thought of Stiles being a liar…
The gape in his heart grows a little bit bigger.
And it all falls apart.
//
It takes hours before Derek can convince himself to confront Stiles.
11:08 PM Bad Poet
<you’re stiles stilinki
>fuck
(And yeah, it was really him).
>how did you find out?
<Laura
>I was going to tell you
<Were you?
>Yes
>I’ve wanted to for ages
>It just never felt like the right time to bring it up
<I wish you had decided on the right time was sooner
>Me too
>I’m sorry
>Please don’t hate me
Derek did not think it was possible for him to hate any part of Stiles.
<I don’t
>Thank fuck
>seriously
>can I call you?
<sure
Derek closed his eyes after sending the text and waited for Stiles to ring. A heartbeat later his ringtone sounded off.
“Hey.”
“You believe me right?” And Stiles sounds more frantic than Derek had ever heard him before.
“I believe you, Stiles.”
“Are you sure, because I can prove it if you want? I can do a video call? Or I can tweet literally anythi-”
“Stiles.”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t have to prove anything to me.”
Stiles lets out a small whine, that reaches through the phone line and yanks at Derek’s already tattered heart, unraveling him just a little more.
“Meet me.” Stiles said, taking Derek by surprise.
“What?”
“Please. I meant to throw a please in there, I’m just really fucking nervous right now. Meet me please. In real life. I uh- I was going to ask when I finally told you about the whole being a celebrity thing. It’s still weird to say that out loud. That’s part of why it was so hard to tell you. But the point was you beat me to the punch with the whole reveal thing, but I still wanted to ask.”
“Stiles…”
“And it’s not that I was trying to use my influence or fame to pressure you into meeting me. I just wanted to be in a space where we were one hundred per cent honest with one another before I asked you. You can still say no. Of course you can, I don’t know why I’m- my point is I hope you don’t say no.”
Derek feels his heart break in two.
“Stiles…I can’t.”
“Oh.”
He hadn’t fully realised just how many worlds apart the two of them were when he had fallen in love with Stiles. It felt even more impossible than it had before.
“I’m sorry.” The words leave him feeling hollow.
“No. Don’t apologise. This is just me getting carried away. It’s okay.”
I love you. The words never leave Derek. They can’t leave him.
There was no way this could work, and he was far too scared of breaking the tentative connection they had with his useless words.
It was better for him to just… fall out of love.
//
6:17AM Laura
<it’s really him
>are you sure
<I’m sure
>what are you going to do?
<nothing
>Derek you’re in love with him
<I’m aware
<it doesn’t matter
<it wouldn’t ever work
>I’m sorry
<don’t be
<I’m going to be fine
>Im coming over with wine
//
That night Derek fills pages and pages of his notebook with drawings of Stiles.
When he gets a message from Stiles at 11PM- for the first time since they started messaging- Derek leaves it unopened.
//
He never ignores a message again after that, and life moves on. Stiles still messages him all the time, but he never asks to call anymore.
Derek misses his voice so much that he goes onto youtube and listens to his music.
He buys all three albums Stiles released and it still doesn’t feel like enough.
//
He fills an entire notebook with doodles of Stiles.
It’s still not enough.
//
1:11 PM Bad Poet
>I wrote you a song
>I know you don’t listen to music
>but it felt weird to not a least send you a link
>bad poetry at 2:00am
The link leads Derek to a youtube video of Stiles holding a ukulele and staring with a soft smile at the camera.
“Hey guys. It’s been a while, huh? But I guess I finally found inspiration. So here we go.”
The song is beautiful, but even more beautiful than that was Stiles.
When the song reached the end Derek doesn’t hesitate to hit replay.
He listens to the song ten times before he realises he’s crying - and he knows that he’s never going to ‘get over’ Stiles because he doesn’t want to.
//
3:00 PM Laura
>have you seen the video?
<he sent me a link
<he wrote a song for me Laura
<I love him so fucking much and he wrote a song for me
>fuck
<what do I do?
>what do you want to do?
<I don’t know
>I think you should look at his twitter
<?
>I wasn’t going to say anything because you said you wanted to get over him
>but I think you need to see it
>@stilesstilinki
//
@stilesstilinski
I want to hug him
@stilesstilinski
Get you a guy that will stay up with you until 4AM talking about literally anything
@stilesstilinski
Why do I alway fall for people so far out of my league? rip me I guess.
@stilesstilinski
He makes me want to write poetry
Derek spends hours scrolling through Stiles’ twitter.
He scrolls far enough back that he gets to the part of his timeline where his twitter is littered with pictures of Lydia, which causes the ache in Derek’s chest to grow. But he can’t stop looking because Stiles looks so happy.
And Derek falls impossibly more in love.
He lets himself acknowledge for the first time that Stiles might love him back.
And everything else?
It’s worth it.
Because Stiles is worth everything to Derek.
//
2:00 AM Bad Poet
<so I looked at your twitter
>fuck.
>how much did you see?
<all of it
>tight
>please excuse me while I go die now
>bye
<don’t leave yet
<I had something I wanted to ask you
>did you want me to delete the tweets?
>I can do that
>I’ll just delete the whole account
>I am my own worst enemy so this won’t be a problem
>actually Jackson Whittemore is my worst enemy
>but I’m a close second
<stiles?
>yup?
<Will you go on a date with me?
>alkdjf
>yes?
>Ofc yes?
>are you being serious?
>because this would be a cruel prank if you’re not serious
<I’m serious
>yes.
>yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes.
>holy shit
>theres no fucking universe where I say ‘no’ to that question from you
>im so fucking in love with you
>is it too soon to say that?
>I don’t even care
>I’m speaking my truth
>you obviously don’t have to say it back
>im going to woo you so hard Derek
>you’ll have to love me back eventually
>I’m going to write you poetry
>hell I’ll even read poetry for you
>ill give the whole fucking moon to you
<why would I want the moon?
<im not gru?
>despicable me
>that was a despicable me reference.
>you don’t listen to music, but you watch despicable me?
>you’re such an enigma to me Derek
>god I love you so much
<stiles?
>too much?
<no
<I don’t think I could ever have too much of you
<I love you too stiles
<so much
<I just don’t want you to get your hopes up
<I might not be able to live up to it in real life
>impossible
<seriously stiles
>I am being serious
>I’m already in love with you Der
>you don’t have to do anything more than you’ve already done
>you could wear a potato sack, and spend the whole night not saying anything at all
>and I would still be in love with you
>all you have to do now is show up
<…I can do that
>perfect
//
TWO YEARS LATER
@stilesstilinski
Hey @JacksonWhittemore, remember when you told me I would die alone? Well I just got engaged to the love of my life. So checkmate fucker.
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modern-mecha · 3 years
Text
Hey really dumb question to the trans community
(Hey read the tags real quick i talk ab some slightly triggering things in this)
Is it logical to take t at 16? I know everything that could happen and ive been thinking about this for like 2 years, im on hrt as well so i think im ok? The only trans person in my family says i should wait till im 18 for my brain to develop and i was like huh?? I havnt heard anyone bring this up before so i dont know if its a big deal or not so.... is it? Do i need to worry about my brain development or can i just go with it?
Like i would just go with it if it didnt effect me physically but it does, i do take meds but ik this doesnt 100% cure my dysphoria but it really concerns me because its getting worse and worse and i dont wanna like kill myself lmao (i also have a hard time showering which puts me in even more danger)
My therapist thinks its a good idea but everyone else thinks it isnt so i want to get an answer from someone who has taken t at 16 before im like "EVERYONE IS WRONG AND IM RIGHT"
( Ps Also im not that comfortable ab putting this much information ab myself on the internet so THIS BETTER BE WORTH IT)
((Psps felt insecure might delete later))
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alistircrat · 4 years
Text
Hetalila Fanfiction Recs
Here’s a list of some of my favorite Hetalia fanfictions. Most have pairings, which I’ll specify. I put this up because I know I’m always on the lookout for good fanfiction and I wanted to help out anyone else who’s in the same boat :D Feel free to add onto this or rec me some too ;) Also a good master list of the ones I like LMAO. I’ve noticed I either like tragic, angsty fanfiction or really fluffy ones. A lot are rated M. And a LOT of USUK and Spamano #srynotsry Disclaimer: I did not write any of these; they all belong to their respective authors.
Update: Ive had this sitting in my drafts for like over 4 years and i began it when i was super into hetalia n fanfiction LMAO, what better time to post this when i should be studying lmao its nearly 4 am halp
UsUK
The Secret : Rated T, 32k words, 5 chapters, Drama/Romance, Complete Arthur's sister, engaged to prince Alfred, is killed before she even meets him. Arthur's parents do not want to shame themselves by ending the engagement and force Arthur to dress like his sister and marry Alfred instead. But can this secret be kept? (note: very interesting!! I loved every second of it)
The Courting of Alfred Jones : Rated M, 26k words, 13 chapters, Romance/Hurt/Comfort, Incomplete Alfred Jones is the most popular guy in school and also extremely homophobic. This is why Arthur is his new favourite 'victim', but Arthur has no intentions of grovelling in the dust for him. Punk!ArthurxJock!Alfred (note: Rated M, so there IS some explicit material and I advise viewer discretion. Another highschool AU. Sad that it’s probably not going to finish but it’s worth the read)
When I Only Wanted to Save the World : Rated M, 29k words, 11 chapter, Romance, Complete Alfred is a firefighter in New York City. When he gets badly injured, he takes a trip to London to recover. There he meets a man named Arthur, who ends up helping him recover from wounds he didn't even know he had. (note: warmed my weeb heart)
United Again : Rated T, 31k words, 7 chapters, Humor/Romance, Complete Arthur gets a letter in the mail informing him of his school's ten year reunion.
Unexpected : Rated T, 5.7k words, One-shot, Humor/Drama, Complete World Academy. When Arthur was asked to tutor the star of the American Football team, he expected several things. Sitting in an apartment full of Asian children was not one of them. (cute!)
The Invitational Year : Rated M, 208k words, 41 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Alfred is an awkward dork, despite the fact his dad is President. Arthur is a member of British royalty, and he's a perfectionist loner. Both boys are given an invitation to attend the prestigious World Academy and, naturally, they're roomies. (note: A favorite of mine! Quite long but very much worth it. Highschool AU. Can be silly yet dramatic. Anyways, you should read it! Viewer discretion due to sexual themes)
The Sophomore Year : Rated M, 173k words, 34 chapter, Romance/Drama, Complete After meeting at boarding school, Alfred and Arthur became unlikely friends and then lovers. Now, they'll face their sophomore year in America and all the challenges that come with being young, famous, and madly in love. (note: sequal to The Invitational Year)
And All That Jazz : Rated M, 98k words, 22 chapters, Romance, Complete Alfred is approached by the Student Body President, Arthur, for help on his math exam. They hate each other, but maybe opposites can attract with the help of something unexpected. (note: I love this fic. Highschool AU. Also involves music...cuz liek yknow the title)
1912 : Rated T, 52k words, 9 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Cynical, overweight and bored in the dull twilight of his empire, Arthur finds distraction in the form of rekindling his relationship with Alfred on board the RMS Titanic during her doomed maiden voyage.
The Arrow was Shot : Rated K+, 5.8k words, One-shot, Romance, Complete In order to win his family's respect, Arthur enters a tournament to win the Princess of America's hand in marriage. At the tournament, he befriends the mysterious Alfred- a fellow competitor who is equally determined to win. As he and Alfred grow closer, he begins to question what is more important to him: his family's respect... or Alfred.
Flirting with Failure : Rated T, 2k words, One-shot, Romance/Humor, Complete Alfred just wanted to get one date with Arthur Kirkland before the semester ended. To do that he had to speak with him. Thus, he was set up for failure.
Hero Frequency : Rated T, 12k words, 3 chapters, Romance/Humor, Incomplete America's got the coolest and most awesome band in school, and he's totally going to win the Battle of the Bands contest. Or at least he might, if he can get England to put aside their past issues long enough to play guitar...
The Gentleman and the Hero : Rated T, 57k words, 21 chapters, Romance, Complete World Academy students have been paired up for an anonymous email exchange program, so they can talk to someone about school and personal problems in private. These are the emails of two students nicknamed 'The Gentleman' and 'The Hero'. (note: I also love this. I find it very cute and also very in character. I want an email buddy lol. Highschool AU)
Breathless : Rated T, 35k words, 4 chapters, Angst/Hurt/Comfort, Complete Arthur Kirkland never thought that golden boy Alfred Jones would ever have a reason to attempt suicide. Then again, how much did he really know about the oh so popular blonde? The rumor mill would surely chew him up and spit him out. (note: p sure this is another favorite of mine. Though angsty, I really enjoyed the development between the two. Highschool AU. Really great read!!)
Static : Rated T, 45k words, 9 chapters, Drama/Romance, Incomplete Sequel to Breathless. Arthur always thought that the incident with Alfred's arms would forever be the biggest hurdle their friendship would face. But as the looks change and the touches linger, it becomes frightfully clear that he was dead wrong about that. (note: continues after Breathless, but not finished ): worth the read anyway)
Ask Me Anything : Rated T, 7k words, One-shot, Romance/Humor, Complete Alfred starts to follow Arthur on tumblr. It's not long until they become friends... and possibly more.
The Cost of Affection : Rated M, 61k words, 32 chapters, Angst/Romance, Incomplete Being a whore is easy: all Arthur has to do is spread his legs and take the money. He doesn't have to face his past; nor does he have to deal with love. And for good reason - because when he does fall head-over-heels for someone, he's forced to realize that his sins go beyond prostitution, and that even as he rediscovers himself, his past is coming back to haunt him after all.
You Can’t Take the Sky Away From Me : Rated T, 113k words, 32 chapters, Adventure/Romance, Incomplete Ace pilot America is on a mission for the World Military when a chance encounter with a group of sky-pirates leads him to team up with their captain, England, against a malevolent group that wants to fill the sky with zeppelins. (note: Steampunk AU. This is a really cool fic!)
We’ll Meet Again : Rated M, 43k words, 13 chapters, Romance/Angst, Complete WW2 AU. London pub owner Arthur Kirkland is driven to distraction by loud, brash American fighter pilot Alfred Jones. Unable to stop it, Arthur finds himself falling for Alfred's charms... just as the pilot is preparing to leave for war. (note: a hetalia fandom clASSIC. MUST READ. unfortunately the OG fics were deleted so someone reposted it, giving credit to the OG author George deValier. this will rip ur heart out n tape it poorly back together)
Franada
La Patisserie de La Rose : Rated M, 35k words, 6 chapters, Romance, Complete Accountant Matthew Williams is used to being unnoticed, ignored, and forgotten. That is until pastry chef Francis Bonnefoy appears like a burst of colour in his dull, grey life. 
AmeViet (yes, Vietnam!)
Hard to Get : Rated T, 57k words, 20 chapters, Adventure/Romance, Complete During World War Two, serious, limited Vietnam meets the boisterous America. Amid fighting, friendship, and stress, America tries to get Vietnam to like him, but she won't let that happen. Or will she? (note: One of my all-time favorites, unforgettable. I can never find fics of this pairing, it’s so hard! But this is a really great fic, highly recommend. also after learning more about Vietnam history, i might give this yet ANOTHER re-read with my new perspectives)
Of Broken Promises and the Taste of Freedom : Rated T, 1.4k words, One-shot, Hurt/Comfort/Romance, Complete Vaguely, Vietnam wondered if this was what freedom tasted like. If perhaps, the hot waves that crashed through her body and set her skin on fire was what it was like to know that you are truly free.
GerIta (apologies, I don’t read too much GerIta LOL)
Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart : Rated M, 104k words, 18 chapters, Romance/Angst, Complete WW2 AU. Feliciano Vargas is a passionate, if slightly scared, Italian resistance member. Falling in love with a German fighter pilot was the last thing he expected... and it will test his national loyalty, and his heart, to their limits. (note: another VeraVerse, so well written! you will not ragret. also a repost since Og was deleted, all credit to George deValier)
RusAme
Dear Diary : Rated T, 55k words, 17 chapters, Humor/Romance, Complete Alfred F. Jones isn't gay. Just read his diary; you'll see. (note: I absolutely love high school or college AUs, omg. Also this is hilarious. I can really relate to how Alfred's rambling)
PruHun
The Most Awesome Date Plan Ever : Rated T, 7.5k words, 6 chapters, Romance/Humor, Complete It was foolproof. He had worked out every plan, every detail and each possible outcome almost guaranteed him Elizaveta's love. Until it was ruined by Gilbert's two cockblocking best friends. (note: funny and cute)
Táncol? : Rated K+, 24k words, 6 chapters, Humor/Romance, Complete Elizaveta is determined to find out who Gilbert wants to ask out for the school dance. If that means bullying his friends, being hired by Gilbert to slave over a cake, and invading his diaries, so be it. (note: Another favorite! Very cute)
Hello Hurricane : Rated T, 61k words, 18 chapters, Hurt/Comfort/Tragedy, Complete Sequel to "Táncol?" Elizaveta, Ludwig, Francis, and Antonio are forced to watch Gilbert slowly fade away every day. (note: It might seem like I have lots of favorites, cuz I do and this is one of them. Warning, I cried a lot towards the end. Highly recommend)
PruCan
That Song Called Love : Rated T, 62k words, 25 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Matthew had always resigned himself to a fate of musical obscurity on a supporting instrument, but after meeting an ex-delinquent named Gilbert, he just might learn to take the lead. (note: contains other minor pairings. Although she doesn’t play a huge role I’m so happy Vietnam is in it Dx)
Operation Not to Hot : Rated T, 10k words, 2 chapters, Romance/Humor, Complete Gilbert Beilschmidt is dorky, nerdy, and has serious confidence issues. He doesn't really care about himself until he sees Matthew Williams, AKA super-hot-hockey-jock. With Matthew's heart in mind, Gilbert undergoes a complete transformation. (note: funny story. Prussia being Prussia)
Overdue : Rated T, 12k words, 8 chapters, Romance/Supernatural, Complete "Well, Gott, Mattie, at least look someone in the eye when you tell them you're a ghost. Make a good impression!" (note: cute lil one-shot series)
I Have all Summer to Fall For You : Rated T, 162k words, 38 chapters, Incomplete At school, Gilbert makes fun of Matthew, and Matthew just wants to be left alone. But then when the hot days of summer roll around, and they have nothing but free time, things happen that NO ONE could have planned for! (note: MY ALL-TIME FAV PRUCAN FiC Ever. Probably will never finish but the length and quality make up for it)
PruAus
Please Don’t Read the Verdict : Rated M, 57k words, 11 chapters, Romance/Crime, Incomplete District Attorney Roderich Edelstein is faced with a gruesome, controversial murder. He has three months to build a case against the accused, but more than his will to prosecute may be destroyed in the process. (note: sadly not done, but highly interesting!)
Lily of the Lamplight : Rated M, 27k words, 4 chapters, Romance/Angst, Incomplete WW2 AU. Austrian musician Roderich and German soldier Gilbert are forced into an army prison unit and a fight for survival on the Russian Front. But in the midst of blood and death and hell on earth, how long can they fight their desire for each other?  (note: MY 👏 FAV 👏 VERAVERSE 👏 I loveeee this fic, I’m so SAD it’s nEvEr going to be completed. Savor those 4 chapters. Luckily theyre long *cries* Also love the set of main characters, including Prussia, Austria, Berwald, and Poland. Also listen to the song the title is based off of, i luv it too)
SuFin
Cheers to a New Life : Rated M, 94k words, 47 chapters, Romance/Family, Complete Sweden could only find a job as a Kindergarten teacher and the famous Kirkland's little Peter happens to be enrolled into his class. But it is not Mr. Arthur Kirkland who is picking Peter up, it's this angel with the greatest ass Berwald's ever seen. (note: viewer discretion, mostly on later chapters. also has cute lil Peter/Sealand)
My Heart, In Segments : Rated T, 14k words, 10 chapters, Family/Hurt/Comfort, Complete Berwald is a man left alone, and Peter was a kid left behind. Berwald's not really the perfect dad, Peter's not really innocent anymore, and Tino's not really sure he's ready for something so real. But, maybe... Maybe it's time.
In Want of a Wife : Rated T, 41k words, 18 chapters, Romance/Humor, Incomplete Berwald's life is turned upside down when he is accepted into Hetalia International University, and everything changes for the better when he catches a glimpse of his future wife who lives down the hall. Who cares if Tino doesn't accept it yet? (note: Human AU; Lietpol is a bonus in all this hehe)
Treatment : Rated T, 55k words, 12 chapters, Romance/Humor, Incomplete Tino is a young psychology major, well known for being kind and eager to help others with their issues, but less so for his habit of profiling "patients" on campus. His therapist's eye has fixed on Berwald, but will he be the one who ends up on the couch? (note: Though not fully done, it’s one of my favorite sufin fics. Also hilarious bahah)
Catch Perfect : Rated T, 35k words, 8 chapters, Romance/Friendship, Incomplete When Berwald loses everything he is forced to move into a share house with an insane Dane, a sociopathic Norwegian, an unfathomable Icelander and a perfect Finn who makes it all worth putting up with. (note: can be crazy and random, which is probs why I liked it so much. also by George deValier I believe, reposted onto wattpad after it got deleted)
DenNor
Hummingbird : Rated T, 61k words, 12 chapters, Tragedy/Hurt/Comfort, Complete Lukas' only goal in life was to take care of his younger brother, until he was diagnosed with an irregular heart rhythm. His originally peaceful stay in hospital was interrupted when the loud, cheerful Mathias was moved into the bed beside him and refused to leave him alone; yet as his health began to deteriorate, the Dane decided to fall in love with him. (note: I love this fic so much, it’s also another favorite of mine. Very cute but with lots of angst, ahhh just what I ordered)
Secret Crowds : Rated M, 3.4k words, One-shot, Hurt/Comfort/Romance, Complete An explosion leaves Denmark with a permanent brain injury and Norway struggles to find his role in their relationship as the line between lover and caregiver begins to blur. (sad and touching)
I also read a lot of DenNor so im like ?? where the fics at LOL. but i think i read more DenNor doujinshis, so that’s def something yall should look into
Spamano
A Beautiful Story : Rated T, 16k words, 10 chapters, Tragedy/Romance, Complete Lovino Romano Vargas is a suicidal designer who is unhappy with his fate. One day, he chances to meet Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, who turns his life upside down.
Flashlight : Rated T, 38k words, 11 chapters, Parody/Romance, Complete "If I throw a tomato at you, vampire bastard, will you still sparkle under the sauce?" (note: OKAY SO This is actually a Twilight parody w Romano as Bella and Spain as Edward. I don’t really like Twilight but I really like this version of it lmao. Funny and a good read. Mostly Romano’s POV, cRACK )
New Batteries : Rated T, 41k words, 10 chapters, Humor/Romance, Complete Sequel to Flashlight. "WELL, I NEVER LIKED YOU, EITHER. WHAT NOW, YOU STUPID SPARKLY EXCUSE OF A VAMPIRE?" (note: also a parody, just the sequel to the previous one listed. I understand the Twilight plot through these better than the original)
Kismet : Rated M, 174k words, 52 chapters, Romance/Fantasy, Complete Lovino learns the hard way that things change and that they can change quickly. The necklace fell and now he's in a strange land far from home. Will he ever see his brother again? Will he find his way home? Or will he discover home is where the heart is? Fate is a strange woman and can work in mysterious ways. (note: RATED M, viewer discretion. the author has a list of warnings on the first chapter you can look at so you know what you’re reading. Fantasy AU)
Catch You, Catch Me : Rated M, (basically)37k words, 7 chapters, Drama/Romance, Complete Clumsy, clueless detective Romano is on the trail of the infamous handsome and charming thief El Apasionado Caballero. But there's more to this, what seems like a simple game of cat and mouse, than meets the eye.
The Bet : Rated T, 20k words, 9 chapters, Romance/Humor, Complete When someone kisses you, and then moves away you'd think that would be it. But when Antonio comes back from Spain he wants Lovino to be his again. Except Lovino now hates Antonio...which sucks for Lovino because Antonio isn't going to let go that easily.
Zero Tolerance : Rated M, 55k words, 24 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Lovino lives a perfect life. Or atleast thats how he is suppose to appear. Antonio lives a life as a dangerous gangbanger. North Side meets South Side as these two are partnered in their Chemistry class. But there is one chemical reaction these 2 arent prepared for- Love. (highschool AU)
Breathless in the Atmosphere : Rated T, 31k words, 3 chapters, Hurt/Comfort/Romance, Complete Antonio only needed money for marble. He needed to make his art. And a chance encounter on the subway offers him a job as a male escort. It was just for the money. He could stop anytime he wanted to. Really. (note: viewer discretion advised. contains prostitution and suicidal ideation)
Before the Snow Falls : Rated T, 19k words, 2 chapters, Romance/Drama, Complete Lovino, jersey number nine, right winger. He was ready to pass the ball, ready to set up the win, but Antonio, opposite team, center fielder, was ready too. Someone thought, and someone didn't, and they crashed. Hard. A few months later, Lovino's on crutches, Antonio has scholarships, and they have to deal with the aftermath of what happened.
Door to Door : Rated T, 3.5k words, One-shot, Humor/Romance, Complete Do not open the door. It could be a zombie, an unwanted boyfriend of your brother's, or a persistant salesman by the name Antonio Carriedo.
Numbered Lithograph : Rated M, 133k words, 29 chapters, Drama/Romance, Complete When Lovino starts attending art school with his brother he finds his most important lesson doesn't come from his professors, but from a culinary student at a sister school: sometimes the flaws hold the beauty. (note: Probably my favorite spamano fic. Very touching. Has fluff and angst)
Bésame Mucho : Rated M, 48k words, 6 chapter, Angst/Romance, Incomplete WW2 AU. Lovino Vargas only ever wanted something exciting to happen in his boring, everyday Italian village existence. He never expected war, Resistance, love, passion, treason, or a cheerful, confusing, irritatingly attractive Spanish freedom fighter. (note: ANOTHER 👏 ONE 👏OF👏MY👏FAVS👏 BUT SAD BC ITLL NEVER FINISH HDUEOFREGH. Also by George DeValier and reuploaded onto wattpad (originally on ff.net)! I’m in love with the writing. Incomplete but sooo worth the read.)
Bad Touch Trio (may or may not contain pairings/slight pairings)
Oh No, We’re Hot : Rated T, 1.4k words, One-shot, Friendship/Humor, Complete In which, after a summer apart, the Bad Touch Trio realizes that they have become really attractive. Really slight hinted Spamano. (note: I absolutely love the BTT, this is a cute short fic about them)
The Trap : Rated T, 4.7k words, One-shot, Friendship/Humor, Complete The prompt was Prussia and Spain meeting France for the first time, thinking he's a girl, kiddy-courting him, then finding out he's a boy, but still kiddy-courting him. Exactly as wacky as it sounds. (note: another cute story about the BTT and their rad friendship! I need this in my life)
Multiple Pairings
Playing Cupid : Rated T, 24k words, 15 chapters, Romance/Humor, Complete In Everett High School there is a secret club called the yaoi club. It is their job, during Sadies, to set up couples. This year Elizabeta has an ambitious plan. She is going to find a date for the infamous Lovino Vargas. Her choice is Antonio, unfortunately half the girls want to ask him too. Will she and her friends succeed? Spamano, UsUk, Prucan, GerIta, others (note: very cute highschool AU! highly recommend! also contains many of the hetalia girls, which is amazing~)
No Pairings
Bad Pasta : Rated T, 13k words, 6 chapter, Mystery/Tragedy, Complete Kiku and Arthur trade rooms. (note: Author also made a game based on this posted on deviantart: Bad Pasta game. I really liked it, especially since I’m into hetalia fangames and whatnot. warning, contains death of characters)
Fun with Former Vikings : Rated K+, 63k words, 17 chapters, Friendship/Family, Complete Brothers that are too awkward to even stand next to each other, husband and 'wife,' and that one guy that drinks a lot. The Nordics couldn't be any more different. And neither could the situations they get themselves into. (note: I love love love the Nordics. This is also probably one of my all-time favs. I love them as bros Dx)
God Only Threw the Humans out of Paradise : Rated K+, 4.5k words, One-shot, Friendship, Complete 12 years is nothing in the life of a Nation. But to a puppy, it's a lifetime. This is a look at 12 years of England's life through the eyes of man's best friend.
Gutters : Rated M, 98k words, 20 chapters, Adventure/Drama, Complete 'The Calamity' has left the world stripped and dying. Alone in a civilian bunker in Munich, Sealand will be reunited with the last known living member of his surrogate family and together, they will set out across Europe to find those they have lost. (note: It’s an adventure story starring Sealand and Denmark. Can be really intense and eMOTIONAL i cried like a bitch, highly recommend. Probably one of my 👏 favorite👏  fics of all time)
Ditches : Rated M, 2.4k words, 2 chapters, Drama/Family, Incomplete Prequel to Gutters. In the days leading up to The Calamity, the world braces and families struggle not to be torn apart.
Breathe Me : Rated T, 66k words, 21 chapters, Angst/Hurt/Comfort, Complete "God I'm so fat." "No, Alfred. You're not. You're –" "Stop it! I am and you know it! The whole world knows! Just stop okay?" Trigger Warning, Human AU, and F.A.C.E. Family. (note: very important TRIGGER WARNING due to mention of eating disorders, verbal abuse, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts.)
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Text
December Dates
Seventeen Summary: In the spirit of Christmas, boyfriend!svt is here to take you on a date. Word Count: 3k+ Warnings: Fluff, crackkkkkk, v many typos,etc.
R E Q U E S T
my friend: seventeen + cute
A/N: HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU HOS (jk) HAHAHAHAHAHHA. Also ashdiepl because im writing on a tab, i couldnt add any gifs so aksjemksksmsksksmskskdk alsO im so sorry i dont remember if the request is platonic or nah but kaksksksk this is what u get soz
-----
Alright
So no gifs
Imma just do a header real quick so u know wassap
S. Coups
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Das better
hi header
I might delete u later if i get on a pc
But firsT seuNgcheEolL
*deep breath*
Ho u lucky enough to breath the same air he does
N now u are on aa date with him
WoWw
So bf!seungcheol is a cute lil snowflake
Which means he'll buy u an ugly ass Christmas sweater and matching gloves
THAT MATCHES THE ONES HE BOUGHT FOR HIMSELF OFC
then yall go out and play in the powdery snow outside
ImGine seungcheol grabbing yOuR hand 
cebAuse u a dumb loser that slips on nothing
Also warmth
pulling your scarf up a bit because he can tell you're getting cold
Then like a gentleman
will pUSH U INTO THE SNOW
AND START A FRICKIN SNOW WAR
HE'll hit ur dumb face he dont care
He'll maKe u wish u Stayed damn home
Rapid fire frikin snow granades man
Course iz all a bita fun
Then he'll let u win
Cause he does care Bout ur dumb Fce
Also he soft for u gross
Then once that's done he'll start laughing
Not because of post-snow ball fight adrenaline
But because he thinks himself so funny
When he busts a lung screaming "dO Ya wana biLd aSNOEMAN!!!!!"
AND THEN U decline and leave him in the snow
"YAAAAA WE HAVE TO BUILD A SNOWMAN THOUGH!" he'll laugh
U literally wana leave him and his annoying ass
U stomp away
He laughs and goes after u
His hot breath is visible 
and hits your ear when he comes up and wraps his arms around you from behind
U be like, "listen stupid, u corny af, lets break up"
Seungcheol would pout and kiss ur cheek, "nah, u still owe me hot choco. Break up with me after paying me back."
"Ew, why would i pay u back tho"
"Uh cause if you don't imma do thisss," then he proceeds to shove u into the snow again
"CHOI. SEUNG. CHEEOOOLLLLLLLLLLALAKAKAOKS!"
Ok well i have to cut this here first cos there are 12 boys left
Oh Hi hello u here back to ur regular programme
Jeonghan
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Yiz
Unlike cheol
Dis ho not about to get cold 4 u uhm
Leave the cold for someone else
But get warm together
I mean
Wink wINKkkkk
Jk gtfo
This is a wholesome headcanon
Git warm he would gladly
So u know what dat means
CUddlEs
Imagine cuddling jeonghan
BoIii
It's da holidays
Which mean he bout to get dat $$$leep
Of course u dont mind that ur just sleeping in
Gurl if ya do
Let me stress out
If you mind sleeping in and cuddling with yoon jeong han
GUrL
Wathu doin????
AnYWAY
ITz u and him right
Ur in bed reading the novel he got u beforehand right
Look at u looking cute in knit sweater and glasses
EVEN IF U DONT NEED THEM THERE ARE GLZSSES
IM TRYING TO MAKE A SCENE HERE WORK WITH ME
it could be jeonghan's ur using it as a headband shhhh
So like ur sitting down
N beside u its jeonhan v slightly snoring
Right right right
Then ur like "man i want something to eat cause i've been sitting here reading all day"
But also ur always hungry
Cause who isnt tho lol
ANYWAY UR ABOUT TO STZND UP
but jeonghan like a needy ho is like noooooooooooodontgo
N ur like
aww wat a needy ho
"Jeonghan im just gonna get something to eat"
"Eat laterrr, i need u now"
He'll keep his eyes shut and shimmy over
Securing an arm on your  hip so u wont go
U roll ur eyes and put your book away on the cabinet next u
"Jeonghan ive literally been next to u since last night. I'm just gonna get something to eat, and 4 u 2!"
He'll flutter his eyes open only to close them and move even closer to place his head on ur lap
"I dont want toooooo"
U roll ur eyes again and shimmy out of his grip
But only to get into his arms and hide your face in his chest
"You're so needy," u note
"Says you who's tangling themselves on me"
"Touché"
Joshua
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Okay
Get this
Joshua and gingerbread houses
He probably used to build one growing up
And he has just the person in mind he wants to rekindle the tradition with
Congrats u filthy animal
So he took the liberty of getting allll u and he would need
And so much more
Im talking chocolate bars
Shipped cream
Candy canes
Busicuits
Edible glitter
Gum drops
Shrek 1 2 3 4
Is there a four
Im too lazy to google it
And omg u so special to him he loves u so much
Screw u
He wants to share the love with the carats
So he vlives it all
And at first ur shy
Like what if the joshua stans come 4 u
Ok but in this story yall had already annouce ur relationship
AND EVERYONE HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO BE COOL WITH IT FFS LET UR FAVES DATE WHOEVER THEY WANT ISTG
so
Joshua is like "noo don be shy they'll all love u"
(':
N ur like ok cos i love u sm
But not like the company sm tho *barfing noises*
So yall build a gingerbread house and do a whole ass tutorial about it
Except u dont
Cause yal are morons and could stop messing up or earing the ingredients along the way
Sorry honey ur morons i dont make the rules
"Stop eating the marshmallows!"
"U literally finished the bowl of mnms tho Joshua!"
"Uh no that was the gingerbread man,"
ANd then u all bicker like children because u are omfl
And it excalates
fooD FIGHT
U smear cream on joshuas face
He sprinkles sprinkles on ur head
U press graham crackers against either of his cheeks and ask him what he is
"A sexy graham sandwich"
"Ew no wrong answer," u reply
Can i just point out that that chocolate syrup stain is never coming off
*cough cough cough moron cough cough*
Jun
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Imma bout to yeet
Junhui is also feeling nostalic
super soft super baby
And since he's probably feeling bit homesick somewhere in there
he thinks he can remedy it with a bit of chinese home cooking!!!
And whiney needy cuddles also yay
Moving on so
Will it be good?
Damn straight
itll be fikin delish
Will you try to to help him
Of course u gotta help ur man
But like duh
u have eyes
And seeing him all focus and busy and hot
Is really distracting
So like ur as useful as a broken button to him
He doesnt mind tho
He thinks ur cute
Also lovng the attnstion
But the thing about not helping
Not really
And being distracted by a cutie pie
Is that it's basicaly a disaster ending to happen so like
he's efficiently stirring up so hot stuff right
And ur like "man jun's some hot stuff"
And then BaaaaM
U knock over the damn chopping board with the knife and everything on it
Thank goodness the thing didn't chop through your foot of anything
And jun is like "oHMYGOSH DA HELL R U OK"
"... i- im sorry i knocked over ur potatoes"
"My poTaToeS! Listen rn im glad u didnt chop ur foot off"
Jun sighs and looks at the cubes of taters scattered on the floor
You frown, feeling useless
Both of u pick up ur mess
Jun puts down the kitchen utensils in hand
u picked up the last of the potatoes
"Hey we could always wash those, it's not like the floor is mud or anything, even then , potates came from mud"
"Yeah but im sorry, i wanst really helping in the first place"
Jun smirks, "nonsense! U were feeding my ego! That's enough for me!"
You snort and jun comforts u with a tight embrace
Hoshi
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AlrighT fam
I thought of something pretty cute but pretty dumb for hoshi
He's like "imma do something super romantic for Christmas"
So he's like "wear something cute we gon do smth fun" @ u
So u do
U get a cute little red dress just for the occasion
And soonyoung his like "BRO MY GIRL SO SUPER CUTE"
And ur like a blushing mess cause he looks super excited with his big smile and cresent eyss
ahhh Hhh myHOSishiii fealzssmsmmsms
Anyway u think ur gonna go to some cute restaurant right
But hoshi brings u to the mall
To instead join the couples dancing contest
Soonyoung gets super nervouse at ur surprised reaction
He's like, "omg is this a super bad idea i thought it would be cute but like i guess not we dont have to go we could always just drop out"
You laugh and shake ur head, "no it's all good, but i mean like, we don't have a choregraphy, and im not like you who can just break it down."
Soonyoung lets out a breath and chuckles, "nah don't worry. It's not really a compation-competion, and regardless, they're going to show ius a choreo and the couple that best interprets wins a a romantic date for two, fit for a dancing king and queen"
And then u break into a big uwu
"Omg u are super romantic soonyoung"
He struts a pose and chuckles, "i mean, i try"
So you both participate in the contenst
Kinda zumba it out by folling the instructors
Soonyoung is helping you out with your form and explaining to you the steps
He gets a little competative so he doesn't really want to mess us
Up hearing you giggle when you do a s pin breaks his competative spirit
And all he really cares about is having a good time with you
Aleight
But admitedly
He was pretty annoyed when they annouced the winner
Were not the two off you
i mean you lot were the cutest it can gt
Who else could trump that
But then you both saw that the winners were 80 something yesr olds holding hand and looking at each other like the other was their world
and then soonyoung was like "okay valid"
You pout, "aww i hope we end up like that"
Soonyound and you turn to each other
He grins for ear to ear, "then lets go on a romantic date as well"
"I thought you'd never ask"
Wonwoo
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LiNda
I hope you're ready for wonwoo 
Because i sure as hell am not 
So in case youre wondering 
Youre crazy I mean youre reading this arent you 
Prolly at midnight hi fam 
Again i dont make the rules 
Well just a btw Almost every 
Christmas tradition is pagan 
Like the tree 
The wreath 
And SANTA IS SO CREEPY YALL NEED TO GET UR CHILDREN AWAY FROM HIM 
SO MAYbe ur not all that crazy 
For not wanting to continue them on 
i mean sure u can give new meaning to things 
But you wanted none of that
 Which was whyyyy you decided to DIY the decorations to your entire house 
Nnd who else are you going to do that with other than your loving bb boyfriend wonwoo 
Wonwoo doesn't mind 
He thinks its cute 
Because it is a cute date idea 
Youtube tutorials 
Pinterest ideas and paper snowflakes and all 
Yeah 
so wonwoo is there cutting up some of the paper you folded 
You're glueing some popsicle sticks 
He's water coloring some designs in 
Youre pulling on the tape dispenser 
It's all going great 
"Jagiya... i don't want to sound mean but-"
 "They're all ugly as hell. I know Wonwoo." 
Wonwoo gives an apologetic look. 
For a moment u two dont speak 
And then you both brust into laughter 
"Aww whatever, lez stick em on!" 
And do you get your badly painted slowflakes 
Your wolf drawing 
"That's a wolf?" 
"Duh what else would it be wonwoo?" 
The letters that spelled merry chrsitmas 
And the doodle cutouts of the seventeen members 
in personalized ugly sweaters 
And placed them all over the place 
You look around basking in the glory of ur craft 
Its all very colorful 
And crafty 
And looking like a child made it 
Then like an imbecile 
U break into laughter 
"It looks like a kindergartener's classroom" 
U end up roasting yourself 
Making fun of your sloppy handwork 
And wonwoo watches u 
with adoring eyes
 "I almost forgot," wonwoo speaks up and pulls out a piece of paper 
You recive it from him and break into a smile 
"Is this us?" 
Wonwoo snorts, "no its jeonghan hyung in a dress holding my hand sweetheart"
For a moment u believe him
But then he breaks out into laughter
Woozi
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Boi imma fite u
Christmas carols
Okay idek why i ended up so serious with wonwoo
But listennup
Im not about to maypke it crackier
so back to christmas carols
Dis boi is about to serande you with a christmas themed love song
So its around 8pm at night
Jihoon has is guitar
and ur just chilling right
and ur on ur phone letting him do his thing
but then from the floor he was sat on
he turns to you on the couch
And pats ur leg
"Yo i just finished my song u wann hesr"
You squeak and jump of the couch next to him
"Duh dummy!"
And he starts singing
He's talking about stars and warmth
He's spittin fire about the smell of hot choco
The  he's talking sbout how lame joshua's gingerbread house was
Next thing you know ur  crying
because omg that ginger bread houseWAS UGLY
also jihoooooooooooooon just serenaded you
Dont u just
Then jihoon catches you and panicks
"You okay? Why are you cryin?!"
"HowDARS YOU ASK ME THAT LISTEN UP U JUST SAID SOME SWEET WORDS TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!!!"
JIHOON CALms down
But u crybaby cant stop crying
and of course jihoon panicks again
So he starts singing some other Christmas song
And then u start crying about poor rudolf
And remember regina george
But then eventually you calm down
And decide to nuzzle up against jihoon who replaced his guitar with you in his arms
Then us fall asleep with him sweetly singing about the spirit of Christmas
DK
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 Liz gittit
Of course this ray of light just wants to give off energy to the world 
And since he 
And u u forgetful ass 
Forgot to go shopping for presents 
You decided to go on a dec 24th shopping trip! 
Hurrah! 
But it was too eady for u two 
Like wtf 
Gift giving Is suuch and easy task 
And shoping a day before Christmas 
pshhhhhhh 
Its a heartbeat
 "Whoever gets the best gifts gets for the best price gets to boss the other around until new year," seokmin grins 
You knit your brows deeply at his words 
And wonder what the hell he has in plan for him to think of doing something so ensnaring 
So being the smarter one in the relationship 
"Uh no??" 
Seokmin was like "ok then the other has to do whatever the other says for the entirety of Christmas" 
"???? Whyyyyy?" 
"Because its not challengeing or fun if there isn't any condition" "Ugh fine" 
So the two of you zip around looking for the best gifts you could get 
You try to stay away from the people doing their last minute shopping 
Seokmin doesnt dare go in between an old lady mouthing of another customer 
Tbh its super stressful 
wtf 
what kind of date is this 
Only morons would do this wtf 
Both of you got shoved constantly 
There wasnt really much space to move around 
And there wasnt really anything to choose from 
But hey guess what 
Seokmin found some really cool gifts 
"Daheck did u get that shirt?" 
"Isle five. There were a bunch of people grabbing some stuff and this fell to the ground and so i picked it up and thought it was pretty cool"
You on the other hand got like ok gifts 
I mean theyre not bad
 But da hell did dk get a frikin eeyore onesie idek 
It was no contest.  
Seokmin defo won 
"Yisss so i win therefor u have to make me some Christmas cookies tomorrow" 
"U ho did u really just make me suffer through that so you could ask me to make cookies 4 u???" 
"Yes but we really didn have gifts tho." 
U roll ur eyes 
Seokmin's face falls, "r... r u like mad @ me?" 
"Uhhhhhhhhhh" 
You knit your brows at him but release a smile when u see his nervous look 
"No babo. Im jusy tired, lezgo back home" 
He sighs and nods, kissing your cheeks 
"Dont worry baby, ill carry all of this back home" 
Which he does 
And when u get back 
He says he forgot something in the car
then comes bzck 
And then forcefully turns u around 
Ur about to protest
But the you realize he's putting on a silver necklace on u 
"Yahhhh seokminie, u shouldnt have. Where you even get this"
"I bought it a while back, duh" he chuckles then kisses you on the cheek 
"Merry christmas jagi" 
Mingyu  
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You are a genius for getting boyfriend like mingyu 
uh and super lucky like fu-- 
BUT TODAY 
Ur extra glad that mingyu is 10ft tall 
Because ur going to be decorating your very own tree 
Wow 
You bought he prettiest glass ornamnets
 and the sparkliest streamers 
"I have a vision," u explain 
Mingyu nods in understanding 
U and him lift the tree into the living room 
And then u start decorating the tree from the bottom up 
Its all rly chill
 You lot are chatting about whatever 
He's tellling you about ur tour n stuff 
U put on some Christmas tunes for flare 
And then u stand up from the floor and boogey with each other 
Yall shake ur butts 
and go around the tree wrapping it in tinself 
Mingyu steals one of the ornaments from u
 and u try to take it back from him like the genius u are 
Except hes holding it over his head 
N u cant for the life of u reach his hand up there 
So u step on his foot 
And punch his stomach 
And he bends down in reaction 
In pain
Soz
He was asking for it
U steal the decor back 
Then he proceeds to chase u around because aparently ur the bully 
*instert pikachu meme here* 
N then u get back towork 
Or i mean take a break 
And u eat a bunch of holiday special junk 
And then u get back to work 
"ok nows for the star" 
U hand him the star because its the entire point of his existance
getting that star up ther 
with his longass arms 
He turns to u "u dont wanna put it" 
BOI 
u suck in a breath 
"I cant frIKICN REACH IT U LIL" 
He give a face, "there are ways" 
"My go-- just put the AHHHHHHH"
AND THEN THE NEXT THING U KNOW
 Hes crouching down pulling ur legs on his shoulders 
"MINGYU PUT ME DOWN" you say, about to rip of his face 
Mostly because u have nothi to hold onto
but he stands 
with u on his shoulders
and walks to the tree 
"Put the damn thing on before u fall!!" 
Wow its ur fault again
And screaming u put the star on 
And mingyu putz u down 
"Okay that was stressful" 
U punch him in the gut again 
The8  
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Minghao is super tired 
But super looking forward to spending time with u 
So u defintely go on a date 
But its of the lazy movie watch variety
Im talking all the chesey romance movies 
Set in december 
that has like mistletoe kisses 
And snow scenes 
And also those holiday specials
 For catroons 
And non cartoons 
Even the one with arnold swartzimacallit 
You pull out the laptop 
And get on netflix 
There's popcorn on 
And hot tea 
Or whatever the hell 
Its all just very warm 
and u and minghao are wrapped together in a warm blanket 
Ur nestled in between is legs and ur super warm and cozy and im so soft bleh 
"Oh oh, u should see this part, its my fav--" 
But u stop uourself when u turn and see minghao fell asleep
 U coo and let him obvi 
taking unflattering pictures duh 
But also cute ones because 
#couplegoals 
He doesn't sleep through all the movies though 
You end up watching non christmas themed films too 
Like toy story4 
OKAY I CRIED AT THE ENDING 
PIXAR IS REALLY COMING FOR MY WIG 
"You look really cute cuddled up against me" he'll randomly blurt 
U feel ur cheeks brun at that 
but no he cant have that 
"I thought i was always cute" 
He chuckles and groans as he hugs u tightly 
U laugh at his reaction 
"Of course you're always cute" 
"Ok but the teddy bear u got me is actually cuter" 
"Nononono, the teddy is cute but uuu are cuter" 
"Were u always this gross?" 
Seungkwan 
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Okay 
before u tell me these are getting worse and worse every passing member 
i would first like to say i know 
and  that seungkwan bought u a cute dress for Christmas 
and took u to a fancy restaurant 
Ok ur welcome 
But like even if it werent fancy 
U'd still like it 
cause holy guacamole 
imagine holding seungkwans hand as u walk around
Jsut being so head over heels
and super in love with the cutie
Groooossss 
LinDA 
The feeling is mutual for him when he's around u 
so he stops mid conversations 
just to take ur pic 
Its kinda annoyig 
but kinda cute 
"Hey unknow hansol told me about-- what are u doing"
 "No go on, im just talking ur picture"
 Literally the bst hype man alive 
Will make take dozen upon dozen photos of u 
And will make u pose for aethetics 
He will go on making sure everyone knows u da hottest ho in the place 
n ur like "seungkwan stfu u embarrassssing meee" 
And then oml  
Some moron tries to hit on u 
and seungkwan sqwares up ready to hit a fool 
would he actually do it i mean 
Like 
prolly Not 
but then again he looked really mad 
So u calm him down 
and u go bzck home 
And the cuddles 
"Baby girl im sorry if i embarrassed u"
 "Nah itz chill i mean i know u have good intentions"
U smile and he takes another candid phto of u
"Broooooo!!"
 "Im donnnr. Now hows about we get rid of that dress" 
Vernon  
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okay im willing to guess hansol loves drinking hot chocolate in the winter
So he's like 
"Lets do a hot choco review" 
And buys 897 types of hot choco 
Or like ten 
wtf eight hundres pluss is too much 
So ur like okay i like hot choco 
and then he pulls out his phone and does a vlive 
"No i am not jealous of joshua hyungs vlive with his gf" 
Yall make like ten cups of hot choco 
and is chaotic 
Idek how u could get injured 
But hey 
It wasnt even the hot water invovled 
but the wrapping of the choco powder 
"Technical difficulties hansol is a big moron" 
U get him a bandaid
"Ya! I am not" 
Yall start reviewing anyway 
*insert try guys eugenes voice* 
Im rihght
 Ur wong 
Shut up 
After trying the first onw 
Ur like wow dis is good 
the second was even better 
The third one u hold
then u realized there were eight more cups 
And that u made so
much 
so u were like "omf there is too much "
then u debated whether or not calling seventeen to drink the rest 
But then hansol was like "ther isnt enough for themm"
Then ur like 
"okay whatabout making a super hotchoco" 
n vernon was like 
???? 
"THATS THE BEST IDEA UVE EVVER HAD" 
SO YALL GET A BIGASS POT 
MIX THE REST IN 
REALIZE U HAVENT RATED THE other cups
 Shrug it off 
and get a cup of the hot choco mix 
"Tastes like corn" 
"Bish dafaq" 
Dino 
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Yikes 
so 
Chan is a dumb ho 
and got himself sick at Christmas so 
nononoono thats a no to any cute date ideas 
and its just you and him staying at home 
U personally dont mind 
but hes like "awww but i had so many ideas"
 but obvi U cant risk him getting any sicker than he already is 
So you stay home and take care of him 
and all he can do is complain about everything 
about the cold 
his runny nose 
The lack of taste of the food
 His head ache 
The fact his bed is hot 
And that fact that u have to take care of him 
And treat him like a baby 
"I am not a baby" 
"Listen up, u are always gonna be my baby" 
"Not u toooooo najsjsjjs" 
You make him some hot cocoa 
And hes like "im not drinking that if u call me baby again" 
"Babybabybabybabybaby" 
Ugghgg "If you keep doing that im not going to give u the gift i gotchu" 
"Well das on u" 
And then u end up going ona glaring contest 
Chan ends up giving it to u anyway 
"i hope u choke on it" he grumbles with insencerity 
U coo when u see that its a handwritten letter 
And then u end up crying because hes super soft
N ur super soft
And gahhh u love him so much
 Chan pats ur back because he doesnt want to get u sick if he hugs u  
U sniffle and wipe ur eyes 
"Who's the baby now, cry baby" 
You snarl and pinch his side 
And now i say
This was probably hecking bzd but i hope u enjoyed 
merry CHRISTMAS 
ITS MY FABORITE HOLiDAY 
TAKE CARE Of urselves mwaah
Support me on ko-fi
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intricate-oeuvre · 5 years
Text
say it before you run out of time || B. Hardy || part VIII
Word count: 1.9k+
Summary: Ben and the reader have been friends since childhood. And along the way reader falls in love with him. But it might be too late when another girl shows up claiming that she’s his girlfriend.
Warnings: someone is talking about dick a lot - dick jokes, hints at adult content; genuinely horrible writing-what can you expect from a person who isn't English native speaker 
A/n: hmu if you want to be tagged in future chapters. u bet your sweet ass that I am listening to Mary Shelly’s soundtrack (and crying)
part I  part II  part III  part IV  part V  part VI  part VII   part VIII  part IX  part X  part XI  part XII part XIII
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***gif- courtesy of google // if it’s yours hit me up so I can credit you
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That night it was meant for you to share the guest bedroom with Rose and Maddie. The bed big enough to fit all three of you.
“We’ll take the floor.” Maddie smirked.
“Why?” you said, confused as to why you couldn’t share the bed.
“Because you are going to sleep late.” Maddie explained.
“Till the last second.” Rose said, grabbing the pillow out of the bed.
There was a slight knock on the door.
“Come in?” Maddie said as you all turned to the door. Rose standing near the bed with pillows in her hands and Maddie spinning on the chair while you were sitting on the bed, hoarding all the blankets.
“Share, please.” Rose had hissed at you playfully.
“You got everything?” came Ben’s voice from other side of the door.
“Couple more pillows maybe?” Maddie called out.
“You got it.” Ben was gone for couple minutes and with a knock opened the doors, this time having three more pillows under his arms.
“Here.” He said giving two pillows to Maddie and throwing the third at you.
“Thank you.” Rose thanked him and then looked between Ben and you.
“So…” She trailed off.
“So what?” You narrowed your eyes at Rose.
“You know… earlier and stuff…” Rose said with a shrug.
“I am not talking about that with you. Definitely not with you.” Ben pointed at Rose.
“Why? Because I saw your boner?” Rose furrowed her brows.
“Rose!” you chided at her.
“What? Was it any good?” Rose looked at you. You looked back at her with delirious look.
“I think I’m going now.” Ben said taking a step back, light blush creeping up his cheeks.
“Good night, Ben.” You said softly.
“Good night. Except you, Rose.” Ben narrowed his eyes at her.
“What did you want me to say if you walked around with a raging boner?” Rose shrugged.
“Bloody hell, fuck off, Rose, will you?!” Ben rolled his eyes at her, giving her a middle finger.
“Stick it somewhere else.” Rose looked at you.
“Rose, you are drunk, stop please.” Maddie cried, trying not to laugh too hard.
“At least I don’t have a boner.” Rose shook her head.
“Are we going to discuss his dick any longer?” Maddie shielded her ears.
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Ben looked at Rose, trying to understand why she hadn’t shut up already.
“Yeah, Ben, what’s up. I’m sure, y/n would love to know.” Rose said putting pillows down.
“Okay, that’s enough of that.” You stood up from bed and went to push Ben out of the room.
“Hey, I was just getting started!” Rose whined.
“And now you just finished. Shut it!” you pointed at her and then continued to push Ben out of the room.
“I don’t like her when she’s drunk, she talks too much.” Ben narrowed his eyes staring at the doors behind you.
“She talks all the time. This time she has something interesting to talk about.” You rolled your eyes playfully.
“Interesting, yeah, sure.” Ben looked around to make sure no one was listening.
“Did you?” he asked after a moment.
“Did I what?” you furrowed your brows at him. Not saying a word, Ben only tilted his head at you waiting for the thought in your head to click.
“Oh, oh, OH. Shit….” You gasped, your eyes growing big.
“Yeah…” Ben smirked, biting his lip.
“Maybe…” you grinned up at him, taking a daring step closer to him, your chest brushing against his.
“Naughty girl…” Ben chucked, wrapping his left hand around your waist.
“Did you think of me?” he asked, searching your face.
“Yeah… and a lot of other things too….” You answered innocently, looking him up and down.
“You are killing me; do you know that?” Ben grabbed your face, so you would look at him.
“Nooo… I need you alive…” you whined playfully. With light chuckle Ben leaned down to softly peck your lips.
“Not here.” You pulled away from him, fearing that someone might walk on two of you.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Ben asked.
“It’s already tomorrow, Ben.” You giggled looking at the time in your phone.
“Alright, smartass. Stay, we are having a pool day.” He explained.
“We? Did Nina plan this?” you dared to mention her name.
“Yes, but only because everyone will have major hangover in the morning.” Ben tried to reason with you.
“I really shouldn’t. I have school on Monday.”
“Your houses won’t go anywhere, trust me.” Ben said, holding your shoulders and peering into your eyes.
“I’ll stay if- If there will be pancakes in the morning.” You pointed at him.
“Whatever you want, princess.” He said.
“Princess?” you tilted your head at him.
“Who am I kidding, you are a queen.” Ben sighed happily and with a glance to the side, leaned to connect his lips to yours.
“Dream of me…” you mumbled softly, giving one last peck to his lips.
“Of course...” Ben whispered and gently run his knuckle against your cheek.
Ben turned around to retire for the night, but you yanked on the back of his t-shirt.
“What?” He turned around.
“Give me your shirt. I need to sleep in something.” You whispered and slightly pulled on the hem of the sweater you were still wearing.
“Undressing me? Here in hallway?” he smirked and reached back to pull the shirt over his head. It was like unwrapping a birthday gift. He extended his hand to give the shirt, now standing only in his jeans. For a second you were debating if you should put a show for him by changing in front of him. Ok, you needed to be quick.
With sly smirk you turned towards the shut bedroom door, you crossed your hands and pulled the sweater off of your naked chest. Sending a quick wink towards Ben over your shoulder, you quickly pulled on his shirt.
“That should do.” You mumbled turning to face him again. Ben just stood there and looked at you with this adoring look in his eyes. It looked as if he wanted to tell you something but thought better of it and with light chuckle and kiss to your forehead, bid you goodnight.
After that, even thought, Maddie and Rose were already asleep on the floor, you couldn’t stop your thoughts from racing. And the fact that Ben had actually given you one of his personal pillows didn’t help much either. All you could smell was him. Grabbing you phone from underneath the pillow, you unlocked it and stared at it. What if you wake up in the morning and he will be back with Nina, you’ll be you-the uni student who has impossible crush on her best friend and can do absolutely nothing about it.
y/n: it’s 3:35 and the thought of you doesn’t let me sleep – you typed and let your finger hover above delete button. Biting you lower lip you hit send instead of delete like all those times before. You have to do something while there is still a chance. You putted the phone back under the pillow. And you wouldn’t read the message that adored your screen until you wake up in the morning.
bEnJaMiN: then don’t think of me but think of us
 ****Next morning.
Somehow you had slept so deeply that you didn’t notice that Maddie and Rose had exited the guest bedroom.
“Can we finally eat the breakfast already?” Nina whined sitting down at the table.
“Ben is not here, nor is y/n.” Maddie yawned and poured herself a glass of water.
“Ben is up, he’s going to be here in the sec, but I can start with out that girl.” Nina said reaching for a pancake.
“You finally thought to show up, boo?” Nina raised her eyes up as she saw Ben making his way to table.
Sending a wicked smile to Maddie, Rose cleared her throat and turned around in her chair to face Ben before he sat down:
“’Morning, Ben.” Rose started with fake happiness in her voice that Ben had come to learn was not real.
“Good morning, Rose.” Ben said suspiciously.
“Could you go and wake y/n up? She sleeps like a bear.” Rose said, that fake tone still apparent, but not to Maddie and Ben. Ben wanted to say something, but Rose continued:
“I would do so myself, but you are already standing, so I figured…”
“Alright, but if she’s angry it’s your fault.” Ben mumbled and pointed a finger at Rose.
“You’re welcome?” Rose grinned at him. To everyone else at the table it seemed that Rose was saying ‘you’re welcome’ just because he will have someone angry at him, but between Rose and Ben it meant that she was saying ‘you’re welcome’ because she had just given him an opportunity to spend time with you. At this moment Ben was glad that you had a friend like Rose or Maddie who so genuinely cared about your happiness.
With slight nod towards Rose, Ben looked at Nina. Girl seemed more interested in her phone that to be bothered if Ben was at the table next to her or not.
 You didn’t hear the knock on the doors, so Ben quietly let himself in the bedroom. Closing the doors behind himself, he looked at your sleeping form. The blanket was around your waist as you were sleeping on your tummy, hands tucked underneath the pillows that Ben had given you last night. And the shirt that you had stolen from him had ridden up while you were sleeping, so that your back was exposed to the daylight that was seeping in the room through the curtains.
Not saying a word, Ben sat at the side of the bed and gently let his hand slide down your spine. You didn’t move, but just let out a low hum.
“’Morning, love.” Ben said quietly, leaning down to place a gentle kiss on your back.
With furrowed brows you slowly opened your eyes. Then sat up and looked around, finally letting your eyes focus on Ben.
“What... what are you doing in here?” you rubbed your eyes, felling Ben’s hand on your waist.
“Not even a good morning?” Ben pouted. You blushed and pecked his pouted lips.
“Good morning, Ben…” you whispered against his lips.
“Why are you here?” you let your hand rest delicately against his cheek.
“Rose is helping me steal some time with you.” Ben whispered, small smile gracing his lips.
“I could get used to waking up like this.” You smiled, looking around the bed.
“Definitely.” Ben grinned and stole another kiss from you. This time not thinking about stopping. His hands wrapped around your back as you fell backwards, pulling him with you.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have done that…” he smirked at you and pinned you down to bed, gently dragging his lips up your neck till your jawline. With his teeth he sent chills down your spine.
“Ben…” you sang out, letting your legs wrap around him. He looked deeply in your eyes and pressed that cunning smile of his against your wanting lips. Next second you were pushing up his shirt, suddenly hating how it felt against your hands. Ben didn’t protest, silently pulled off his shirt and just got faster back to your lips. You were finally able to touch his chest, running your hands along his muscles. It felt as if you couldn’t get him close enough. Pulling, grabbing at each other, moaning into each other’s mouths.
“Still got them on, don’t you?” Ben mumbled against your neck as his hand slid down your waist and side of the leg.
“Why don’t you see for yourself…?” you grabbed his hand and along your own dragged it down the front of your body till you stopped at the hem of your lace panties.
~~~~~~~~~~
and I oop...
tags: @brianandthemays @sara-1705 @queen-turtle-boiii @rogahloveshiscarr @radiob-l-a-hblah @scarsout @babydazz @mercurycrowley @drowse13 @ironicallyrog @moe-jazzello  @forbbidensunlust @virtualsheepeat @vanitysfairr @luvborhap @loveandbeloved29 @destiel-stucky4ever-loki-queen @blind-melon-taylor @jazzman-19 @happyvoidhumanhands
138 notes · View notes
deathboundinautumn · 4 years
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THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE;  Meme.
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Mun & Muse
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fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.
tagged by:   @foxcharmed​ (ily) tagging:    oof this is a longer one so ima tag only a few people @rock-you-like-a-hurricxne​, @niflheimqueen​, @tacitusauxilium​, @finalhxaven​, @dxfiedfxte​, and anyone who wants to do it, steal it from me (I wont tell if you dont ;) )
MY MUSE IS:   canon / oc / au / slightly canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated.
IS YOUR CHARACTER POPULAR IN THE FANDOM?   YES? / NO. (I’m not entirely sure? I know he’s generally well-liked in the fandom)
IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED HOT™ IN THE FANDOM?   YES / NO / IDK. (I’m pretty sure people think he is)
IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED STRONG IN THE FANDOM?   YES / NO / IDK. (Yeah he's pretty fucking strong, just most people dont use him because you only have him for like a month :/ )
ARE THEY UNDERRATED?   YES / NO / IDK. (I wouldn’t say they are.  I mean the persona 3 fandom is already small as it is and everyone seems to like him so)
WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN STORY?   YES / NO 
WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN CHARACTER?   YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. (In vanilla game not as much but in other mediums that tell the story (which are also canon) yes they are)
ARE THEY WIDELY KNOWN IN THEIR WORLD?   YES / NO. (just a homeless orphan) 
HOW’S THEIR REPUTATION?   GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. (Depends on who you ask.  The other members of the Senpai squad would say he’s the goodest boy.  But others call him a criminal/vagrant/troublemaker and all sorts of things.  Shinji prefers his reputation to be leaning towards the bad side as he’s more likely to be left alone that way)
HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON?   —   I have a very very hard time breaking canon.  The big thing being his fate on Oct 4th, its very hard for me to not honor that.  I like that his story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.  I like how his sacrifice impacts the rest of the group.  I try to honor that this is what the character wanted and by not letting him have it that im cheapening his sacrifice.  That being said I do have my own headcanons about things but I would say theyre hardly canon divergent.
SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.   —   -pulls out homeless son from the dumpster- look at him, look at this burnt cinnamon roll.  He may be just a grumpy ol sour-puss but deep down there’s a heart of gold that can’t help but shine through.  Despite his reputation, my boy is wholesome and caring who will always go out of his way to help those in need even if he’ll deny it every time.  Just because he’s crunchy on the outside doesnt mean he aint soft on the inside. -tosses him back in the dumpster-
Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).   —  Boy I sure hope you like building character relationships at a snails pace because hoo boy is it gonna take a long ass time for you to get anywhere with this boy.  Opening up? What’s that?  How to do?  He doesn’t want to get to know you or your muse.  He just wants to be left alone so he can die in peace.  Don’t bother him.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   —   I dunno.  I replayed Persona 3 and just really really liked him.  Been in the RP game for a few years at that point and decided, meh fuck it.  If I don’t like it, I’ll just delete.  
WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?   —   His struggle is something I hold very near to me and really cut me deep and still does.  Also all of you who think of me and wanna do things with me and my interpretation of Shinjiro <3
Some more personal questions for the mun.
Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.
DO YOU THINK YOU GIVE YOUR CHARACTER JUSTICE?   YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? (I believe that I do/am very confident in my portrayal)
DO YOU FREQUENTLY WRITE HEADCANONS?   YES / NO / SORT OF? (I think about them alot but seldom write them down.  Maybe I’ll start since Im actually starting to use tags to organize stuff)
DO YOU SOMETIMES WRITE DRABBLES?   YES / NO (Yep yep yep.  Somethings start as drabbles that make it into the thread (-cough the flashback of Mitsuru leaving the dorms in a thread I have going with @niflheimqueen​-))
DO YOU THINK A LOT ABOUT YOUR MUSE DURING THE DAY?   YES / NO
ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR PORTRAYAL?   YES / NO / SORT OF? (tons of praise throughout the year from the community has made me confident that my portrayal is well-liked)
ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR WRITING?   YES / NO / A LITTLE BIT. (sometimes when I’m on, I’m on.  Other times I look at my writing and am just like ‘dude find a different hobby’ but I keep on keeping on and the highs have been way better than any low ive gone through.
ARE YOU A SENSITIVE PERSON?   YES / NO. / SORTA.
DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   —   Aye if its constructive hit me.  But if you’re just hating then that’s not much use to me.
DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU TO EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   — Fuck me up with this shit
IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?  — Sure, though I haven’t really had that happen before
IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   —  Live and let live.  Throughout the years there have been other Shinji’s out there who’s interpretation I’ve looked at and been like ‘nah this aint it chief’ but hey you know what’s real easy to do?  Not give a shit, live and let live.  So if someone didn’t agree with it, I wowuldn’t much care if they liked it or didn’t  its my interpretation and if they have a problem with it and make a point to come at me about it in a way that isn’t constructive then I’d say they have the bigger problem.
IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?  — I’d be sad because he’s a good boy.  But again, if you really dont like him that much you don’t have to interact :’)
ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   —   Ye, I make em a lot sometimes (especially if Im tired or something else).
DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?  —  I think so?   I haven’t been told that I’m not easy going and I’ve always felt very approachable.  I don’t always respond to dm’s but that’s because sometimes I’m busy but im always down to talk ooc.  It’s fun :’)
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ghostlywritten · 6 years
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Uncertainty IV.
Sorry, it took so long. I was actually done with the chapter and just editing when it got deleted from my drafts and I had to start again. I made it longer to make up for it. Enjoy!
I also realised that Jeff Atkins must have known about the Clubhouse since he was on the baseball team, so I’m questioning whether there is actually any decent human being in this world. 
Words: 6k+
I II III
Warning: Language. Mentions of abuse, nothing graphic, just mentions.
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Warning: Language. Mentions of abuse, nothing graphic, just mentions.
“So, Bryce is testifying today?” you spoke up as you sat down at the kitchen table with Clay and Justin, the former having decided to drop by today for breakfast.
“Yep,” Justin simply replied, munching on his pancakes, “What about it?”
You and Clay exchanged a glance before you continued, “Well, you sure you wanna come? He’s probably going to sprout a bunch of lies and they might make you lose your temper-”
“Really? You are talking to me about temper?” Your ‘best friend’ raised his eyebrows, pointing at his phone, “After that voicemail you left?”
Clay chuckled, “Justin Folfuck. I remember that.”
You grinned, “Come on. That was a good one.”
Justin snorted. “It was bullshit.”
“It was possibly the best nickname ever for you,” Clay objected, making the other boy glare at him.
“I think we can come up with even better ones,” you mused as you placed your chin on your hands, “Justin Fuckley maybe?”
“Or Justin FolofFuck,” Clay suggested.
“Or Justin Fo-”
“Ok enough abusing my last name for today!” Justin cut you off and you all laughed a little, your hearts the slightest bit lighter than before.
“We gonna meet up with Jessica first to show her the polaroids,” Clay said after a minute of silence and the semi-peacefulness that had settled on your mind disappeared. Right, they still had stuff to do. “And then we’re going to talk to Chloe about them.”
You furrowed your eyebrows in thought, “I dunno. I don’t think she would feel quite comfortable if you approached her with this.” You picked this up, taking a deep breath upon looking at the picture. It had lain there on the kitchen table since you guys woke up, haunting you and making sure you never forgot how fucked up this school was.
“Why?”
“Because you are boys,” you said slowly, raising your eyebrows.
“Right. I don’t get it, but right,” Clay nodded with a look that clearly showed he didn’t.
“I mean, you tried convincing Jessica to testify before and how did that end?”
“...So you and Jessica will go to her?”
“Best be that way,” Justin said and you nodded in agreement. You weren’t sure how exactly to approach Chloe with this, but Jessica and you would have to find a way.
-
One hour later you were sat at Monet’s next to a horrified Jessica staring at the pictures as you failed to find the appetite to sip on your hot chocolate.
“If she doesn’t know this happened to her, she’s going to be destroyed,” Jessica whispered, choking up and you rubbed her back in an attempt to soothe her. She didn’t show any signs that it was working. “You can’t expect her to be alright with letting the whole world know about this. They need to take Bryce down without her.”
“I don’t think they can,” you said softly, “Bryce is just going to lie and there is no proof against him. Except for this...and you.”
Clay took out another picture of a girl sitting on the sofa of the infamous Clubhouse. “Nina is part of it, too.”
“Oh my god.”
“This is proof, Jessica. Proof, who Bryce is. Who they all are.” You winced slightly but tried to pretend you didn’t care about who else he was accusing in his implication. Justin’s hand grasping yours around your cup told you that you weren’t really successful. “It’s proof that you are not alone.”
“And that makes it easier?!” Jessica stood up, enraged. “Like we’re a fucking club?” She swiped up the pictures in her hand, leaving. “Jesus, you guys!”
“Wait! That might be evidence,” Clay protested, meekly.
“Well, it doesn’t belong to you,” Jessica said, glaring at you three and walking out. You sighed. ‘Now that went well,’ you thought, looking up the two in front you. 
They were staring at you, expectantly. “Wh-what?”
“You said you would go talk to Chloe with Jessica,” Clay reminded you.
“Yeah, well. That plan is over, Jessica clearly doesn’t want to talk about it with her.”
“Then, convince her! You’re a girl!”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t raped,” you said, shutting them up. “I can’t talk to Chloe alone and I can’t try to persuade Jessica, either because I don’t know what they’re going through. I can only help when Jessica wants to.”
“Please, Y/N. Try to convince her somehow,” Clay almost begged and you wondered why he was so much more invested in this than anyone else, even Justin, whose ex-girlfriend got raped, “You know this is the only way to take down Bryce. If you don’t, this shit will continue at school even after we graduate and who knows how many other girls will get rape-”
“Alright. Alright,” you stopped his rant and stood up, taking your hand out of Justin’s grip. “I will try, okay?” They sighed in relief. “But I can’t guarantee anything.”
“That’s okay. Meet you at the courthouse?” Justin suggested and you nodded, quickly running after Jessica.
“Jessica!” you knocked at the window of the passenger seat and she jumped in fright.
“Jesus, Y/N,” she said as soon as she rolled down the window.
“Sorry,” you smiled sheepishly, “I was...wondering if you could give me a ride to school. The guys want to go see the trial and I’m not really in the mood to see that fucker’s face.”
“Yeah, sure. Get in.” You thanked her quietly, opening the door and sitting down. She turned up the engine and BTS’ Blood, Sweat & Tears started blasting from her aux.
“No...freaking...way. You’re a Kpop fan?!” you exclaimed as Jessica turned it down, sheepishly.
“Yeah, it’s weird. I know.”
“What’s weird about it? I love Kpop!”
“You do? I thought I would never find someone who does,” Jessica laughed, turning the volume back up. The rest of the ride to school was spent yelling out the lyrics off-key, which you probably pronounced completely wrong but you didn’t give a shit.
“Wow, it’s so fun if someone else actually sings along with you,” Jessica breathed, still shaking slightly with laughter as she parked her car in front of the school.
“Right? I never managed to get Scott into this-” you cut yourself off, your smile dying.
“I’m sorry. I heard you guys broke up,” Jessica said, gently.
“Yeah. It just- I couldn’t handle it anymore with all the shit about Bryce.”
“I get that...but what exactly does your ex have to do with it? If I can ask?” Already the second person, who had asked you this. “I mean...did he ever...do what- Is that why you’re with Clay and-”
“God, no!” you immediately said. The amount of implications of rape was getting way too much around this school. “He never ever touched me against my will. That’s not it.”
“What if you don’t remember...” she almost whispered and you stared at her, wide-eyed. “What if he- or someone else of those bastards - drugged you. Like they did with the other girls.” You hadn’t noticed she was clutching the pictures of Nina and Chloe in her hand until she looked down at them, sheer pain contorting her expressions.
“I-I,” I never really thought about that. “As far as I know, nothing happened. No. As much as I detest Scott being friends with that dick, I don’t think he would ever do something- or let someone do this-,” you swallowed, thickly. Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath and bit your lip.
“No, the reason I’m with Clay and Justin all the time is that I think you should-”
“Go against Bryce in court?” she cut you off, chuckling bitterly. “You don’t get it. You don’t know how it feels to be up there, getting your words completely twisted and make you out to be your own villain. It- I...I don’t want to go through that again. They won’t believe me. A drunk slut,” she bit her lip, slumping against her seat, defeated. Silence, and then-
“...I believe you,” you said, softly. She wiped her tears away and you scrambled to get a tissue out for her. “And Clay believes you. And your parents believe you. And I think Alex too, though I don’t really know him. And Chloe will believe you...when she sees the pictures. Jessica,” you called out her name as she started shaking her head, “You need justice. You need to make him pay for what he did to you. I know it’s not my place to say anything because I can’t imagine how hard it is for you, but...if I were you, I wouldn’t want him to just walk the halls of this school without any consequences when he continues being a rapist.”
She sniffed, taking the tissue from you. “I...I’m sorry, I can’t. I- it just hurts too much, I-”
“...It’s okay,” you said, slightly disappointed but you couldn’t blame her, “You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want-”
“We should talk to Chloe and Nina about this,” Jessica said, holding up the polaroids.
“Are you sure?” you asked, surprised. She nodded, drying her tears determinedly. “I’m not strong enough, but maybe they are.”
You took her hand, squeezing it slightly. “Let’s go.”
-
Approaching a girl with the devastating news wasn’t exactly your special field so you were glad that Jessica took the lead and talked to Chloe. At the beginning, you guys couldn’t find her during first and second period until you figured she would be at court for Bryce along with the rest of the jocks. Excluding Zach Dempsey, including Scott.
But you got a text from Justin during third, stating that Chloe had walked out of court, surprising you and Jessica. After that it was easy to find her in one of the lounges, skimming through a magazine.
As heartbroken as she was about the news she was willing to do something about it and Jessica was quick to tell Hannah Baker’s mother as Chloe called her own.
“This went...pretty well,” you commented as you guys parted from Chloe and walked down the hall slowly, “You did really good. I didn’t have to say anything, basically.” Jessica smiled, weakly. “I guess it’s easier to hear it from someone, who went through the same shit. Even if she didn’t believe me at first.”
You nodded in understanding before pointing at the cafeteria. “Should we grab something to eat before you talk to Nina with me sitting for silent, moral support?” You chuckled and Jessica looked at you uneasily, “Look. I know, Nina is very private about this. She would probably flip if she knew someone else knows about what happened to her-”
“You gonna go alone?”
“I think, it’s best if I talk to her alone, yeah.”
“Okay. Text me if you need help or something,” you said, quickly exchanging phone numbers before you went your separate ways. There wasn’t much of lunchtime left but you figured you would still try to get something when someone got in your way.
“Hey tutor, who got me an A in English,” Cyrus greeted you with a wide smirk, holding up the essay he had worked on with you.
“Cyrus, that’s amazing!” you gasped with a smile, high-fiving him. “Well done!”
“Nah, I won’t take all the credit. It happened because of your massive help.”
“I didn’t really do m-”
“Shut up and accept my gratitude,” he snapped, flicking your forehead.
“Oookay and ouch,” you mumbled, rubbing the sore spot and he grinned.
“Atta girl. Now, listen,” he said, clapping his hands as you looked through his essay. “If you need any help with anything, I’m your man.” You chuckled. “Like maybe beating a certain ex of yours, you know...” Your laughter died down quickly.
“So, you’ve heard,” you remarked, your smile turning sad.
“I don’t think there is anyone, who hasn’t heard,” he replied, shrugging.
“Yeah...no beating him up though, thank you,” you said sternly and he pouted slightly. “Maan, I was looking forward to having a valid reason to mess with some varsity jackets.”
You laughed, “Since when do you need a valid reason for that?”
“...Good point. But my boys and I are not enough in numbers to really beat the shit outta them.”
“I guess not...”
“But we are enough to beat the shit out of one of them...”
“I’ll repeat myself. No.beating.him.up.”
“Alright, alright,” he clapped your shoulder with seriousness, “Just know, my biceps are ready whenever.” You laughed and nodded, bidding him goodbye as the bell rang for the next period.
-
“Hey, you said you would meet us at court,” Justin’s voice rang through your ear as you held your phone up against your ear with your shoulder.
“Yeah, I planned to. But Jessica is taking ages talking to Nina and I have no ride since you guys have my car,” you explained whilst putting your books in your bag.
“Right, shit. I’ll pick you up,” Justin said and you could hear the engine starting in the background.
“Where are you guys now?”
“Still parked at the courthouse, it just finished for today.”
“Do I wanna know how it went?”
“Not really,” Justin mumbled, “Bryce was full of shit like we expected and the jury fed off of it.”
“Damn,” you cursed under your breath, “I need a drink.” Justin chuckled, “I think we all do.”
“Unfortunately my mom only possesses red wine at home and really nothing else.”
“That’s fine.”
“Is Clay coming, too?”
“Eh, no. I don’t think he’s really in the mood. Clay?”
“What did Chloe say?” Clay demanded to know abruptly in the background. He probably took the phone from Justin because next, you could hear him clearly, “Did you get through her?”
“Yeah. She’s going to meet with the Baker’s lawyer. I think she will testify,” you informed him, closing your locker.
“Good. Good,” Clay muttered, more to himself than to you.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. All good. I’ll give you Justin,” with that you were unceremoniously handed back to your ‘best friend’.
“See? Told you he’s not in the mood.”
“Fine. Take him home and then pick me up?”
“Yeah. See you in twenty-something.”
You ended the call and proceeded to walk down the hallway towards the exit when a voice called out to you. “Y/N!”
Turning around you saw Mr. Porter halfway out of the school’s office.
“Yes?”
“Do you have time for a little chat?” he asked and you grew nervous. Did you do something?
“E-ehm, sure. What is it?” you replied, shifting.
“Nothing bad. I just wanna check up on you.” Confused, you passed him and went into his little office, seating yourself in front of his desk. He placed himself across from you with the attempt of a welcoming smile. “How are you doing?”
You raised your eyebrows. “Fine?”
“That sounds more like a question than an answer.”
“I mean, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“I told you. I wished to check up on you.”
“Are you checking up on everyone in this school? I imagine you would be busy,” you remarked and he chuckled lightly.
“No. I do wish I could talk to every single one to the extent they deserve but I don’t have much time. So I’m singling out the ones I feel need my attention the most.”
“And...why do you think I need your attention? I’m fine,” you protested slightly, “There are others you should be paying attention to. With the trial and everything.”
“I am. You are not who I have flagged as the most worrisome. I have talked to the others, also Justin whom you’ve kindly sent to me the other day.” You smiled, pumping the air mentally in success.
“How did that go?”
“Now, I’m not allowed to talk about other students. And Y/N, this is about you,” he said, turning the topic back on you lightly. “Unless you want me to refer you to a female counselor if you’re uncomfortable talking to me.”
“Why would I be uncomfortable?”
He sighed quietly. “Y/N, I know about your relationship with one of the baseball team.” You sucked in a breath, getting a hunch on what this was about.
“I was...we broke up,” you said and he nodded.
“Can I ask about the reason?” You stared in utmost surprise at his blunt question. “Can you? Like are you even allowed to ask this?”
“Personal relationships between students are usually not my field, I admit that. But if I have the feeling that a certain relationship could be of some kind of danger for one of them, I need to be made aware of it.”
“...What exactly do you want to say?”
“Y/N, I...have failed once in providing the help a girl needed when she came to me.” You swallowed. He was talking about Hannah. “And I know I’ve lost the trust of all the students here, but...,” he paused, trying to compose himself as he cleared his throat. You could tell Hannah’s death was burdening him. “But I don’t wish to do the same mistake, again. And I know, the students won’t approach me so I have to approach them.” You stayed quiet.
“Now, Y/N. You’ve been in a relationship with someone, who is a close friend of a certain Bryce Walker.” You stared up at him, wide-eyed. “I’m assuming because of their relationship you were close to him as well. Or at least, often in his vicinity.”
“I- Yes.”
“Is there a possibility that you and Bryce have been...intimate against your will?”
“What?!”
“Or with anyone else of his friends. Or maybe your boyfri-”
“No. Nothing of that sort happened!” you quickly responded and he stopped, nodding slightly.
“And you are certain of this?”
“Yes!”
“Alright. Have you ever been in a situation where you could have been heavily intoxicated...or even drugged?” he continued to prod gently.
“What? Like a party?”
“For example.”
“Yes. But I- I never drank too much to pass out or anything. Scott made sure of that.”
“Scott. Scott Reed from the baseball team,” Mr. Porter noted, “Your boyfriend.”
“Ex-boyfriend.”
“Right. And you trust him? Or trusted him?”
“Yes. I do trust him.” You failed to notice that you weren’t talking in the past tense. “He would never let something like this happen. Or do it himself.”
Mr. Porter looked at you, analysing your determined expression. “You seem pretty sure about this? Can I ask why?”
“Look,” you leaned forward, “Scott is not like the others. He just wants to play baseball and that’s it. It’s not...it’s not his fault he’s surrounded by dicks,” you said, slowly coming to the realisation as you spoke it out. It wasn’t his fault. He could have done something, but he was one against the rest of the jocks. And maybe Jeff Atkins. Who never did anything about it, either. You didn’t know what to feel anymore. Should you blame him for sitting back and watch girls get raped or should you not? Could you even ask of him to go against a whole team? You didn’t know.
“If you are sure about this,” Mr. Porter said, interrupting your thoughts, “Then I believe you. But if there’s ever anything that happened or happens to you, please - I’m pleading with you - come to me or a female counselor or any other authority you can trust. Don’t keep it in. Whoever you go to will hopefully not do the same mistake that I did,” he ended. You saw the sincerity glistening in his eyes or maybe they were glistening from unshed tears.
You gulped and nodded. “I will.”
“Okay,” he whispered.
“Okay,” you echoed as quietly before you gathered your things quickly and stood up. “Thanks, Mr. Porter. For reaching out.” He smiled slightly, nodding.
Walking out you barely noticed your feet heading towards the exit of the school as your thoughts ran through your mind in full speed. You took deep breaths to calm yourself as you pushed the double doors open, hoping Justin had already arrived so you could get your drink sooner than later.
As you surveyed the parking lot in search of your ‘best friend’ you noticed a black Range Rover rolling in with more jocks in it than the car could possibly fit. And they were hollering as if they had won a game. You looked on with a frown when the car halted not far away from you and the passenger door opened. Scott got out, clapping a few waiting hands as half-hearted high-fives.
“See you tomorrow, Scotty!” Bryce hollered. He was in an awfully good mood. You hated him.
“Yeah, bye,” Scott said, waving them off and taking out his car keys as he walked to his own machine. Which was parked across from you.
It was too late for you to pretend you hadn’t watched him because as soon as the Range Rover backed away he looked up and made eye contact. He halted in his tracks, almost dropping his keys. You bit your lip, which had turned too dry for your liking as you took in his features. He was still the same beautiful, tanned boy you knew as Scott Reed, yet his skin seemed almost gray and his striking bright eyes were dull as they scanned your face like you did his.
“Y/N,” he muttered, unsure of whether he should take a step closer or not.
“Scott.” You wished you could have sounded stronger but your voice was as weak as his. He briefly closed his eyes as if he was savouring the sound of his name coming from you.
“Are you...are you okay?” he asked, hesitatingly. He dared to step a little closer.
“I’m fine...you?” you asked back. He looked relieved when you didn’t move back and took it as a sign to try and get closer.
“I’m-I’m...my body’s healthy,” he said clumsily and you resisted the urge to smile when you raised your eyebrows. “Okay?”
“I mean, I’m functioning, but...” He looked down, gulping and the ghost of your smile vanished. “I miss you, Y/N,” he said, glancing at you longingly. Your eyes shifted from his, not being able to handle the strong emotions in them. “Y/N, I can’t- I...can we please get back together?”
“Scott, I-”
“Or at least let me see you. Let me talk to you,” he continued desperately and you suddenly realised how close he had gotten. You could feel the warmth emitting from him, smell his comforting scent. You also noticed he wasn’t wearing his varsity jacket like he did every day at school. “I can’t stand the silence. Yell at me, be mad at me, anything. But not this...emptiness,” his voice broke off at the end and you had to physically restrain yourself from wrapping your arms around his neck and never let him go. Was it really his fault?
“Y/N,” he softly grazed your cheek with his fingertips and you closed your eyes, relishing in his touch, “Please say something. Anything.”
You pulled my underwear down and used your body to trap me there. You gripped my wrists and pushed yourself inside of me. It felt like a knife cutting me open.
A car came to a screeching halt right in front of you. You snapped out of your trance-like state. “Y/N,” Justin called out, eyeing you two and especially glaring at the boy next to you. He looked ready to jump out of the car and beat him up. Scott tensed, glaring right back at him. “Come on. Get in,” your ‘best friend’ simply demanded and you could only nod.
“Y/N, baby.” Your steps towards your car faltered at his pained voice.
“I’m sorry, Scott.”
-
“Any news from Jessica about Chloe?” Clay asked as soon as you stepped out of the car with Justin the next day.
“Not yet,” you replied, closing the door and swinging your bag over shoulder, “They’re still in the meeting, I guess.” Clay nodded, breathing deeply.
“Good morning, by the way,” he said in the aftermath, remembering his manners. You chuckled and greeted him back before turning to the latino next to him.
“Hey Tony,” you greeted him lightly, knowing him from a few classes. He nodded with a smile.
“Ready for Math?” he asked to make a conversation.
“Oh hell no,” you groaned as you remembered it was your first class. Well, you guessed it was one of your least worries right now.
“It’s not that bad,” Clay threw in albeit absent-mindedly and you knew his head was filled with the trial and one Hannah Baker.
“Of course you would say that. You’re the best in that class,” Justin snorted as you guys stepped in.
“And we’re the worst,” you said, gesturing towards Justin and yourself. “My locker is the other way. I will see you guys in class?”
They nodded and went down the hallway as you took a left to go to your locker.  And you wished you hadn’t. Before you even reached your first period you got hit with the news of the fight that had broken out.
“What the hell is wrong with them?” you whisper-shouted to Sheri, who told you. She shrugged with a sigh. “Apparently Justin saw Bryce and flipped his shit.”
“I knew he would lose his temper.” You pinched the bridge of your nose when your phone dinged at the same time Sheri’s did. You took out your device, noticing an update on the trial’s blog.
“Oh my god,” Sheri whispered just as you read it, “Chloe is testifying against Bryce Walker?”
“Yeah, Jessica managed to convince her,” you said more to yourself than her, feeling the slightest spark of hope ignite inside you, “This could be a huge benefit for the Baker’s.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“You know where the boys are now?” you asked her, pocketing your phone. “We should go be at the trial.”
“I think they are in detention with Coach Patricks,” she responded and you left to get them. Though their detention might stand in the way of getting to court in time.
On your way to the class, you got a message from Jessica asking when you would come to court and you texted her back quickly. Pacing in front of the door, you wondered whether Coach was asleep already or not. You didn’t have to make a decision as the secretary of the school came waltzing down the now empty hallways with some guy. She gave you a look. “I believe you have classes now,” she stated and you nodded, pretending to walk away before you took a u-turn as soon as they walked into the class.
“Mr. Walker, please come with us,” you heard her say.
Risking a peek inside you saw more guys than you had expected to be involved in the fight, even Cyrus and his men. You chuckled quietly to yourself, ‘Finally got to beat up some varsity jackets.’ Your mirth died down soon though when you noticed your ex-boyfriend in the middle of the crowd already looking straight at you. His clothes looked disheveled and he had yet again left his varsity jacket behind, leaving him only in a white, tight-fitting shirt. His eyes looked empty.
To your relief, he didn’t seem hurt at all so you quickly stopped scanning his features and glanced at Clay and Justin instead. They gave you a questioning look and you waved your phone at them, indicating them to check their own. Clay frowned, pointing at Coach. You noticed they had to hand off their devices when Bryce picked off his own.
He walked towards the door, which is exactly where you were and you narrowed your eyes at him as he assessed you with a calculating look.
“Mr. L/N, off to class,” the secretary ordered again and you nodded at her absently before you turned back to Clay.
“Chloe is testifying,” you tried to whisper as you could and his eyes widened along with a few others, who had heard in the silent room.
-
You sat in the courtroom with Justin and the others next to you. Chloe was up on the stand, fidgeting nervously as she was sworn to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. She was looking at Jessica for reassurance, who smiled at her albeit falsely. You couldn’t blame her; not having the polaroid box anymore was a huge loss and you had no further proof except the ones with Chloe and Nina.
“Wonder how Bryce feels with his own girlfriend testifying against him,” Justin mumbled, looking past you towards the other aisle. You glanced that way too, immediately spotting Scott in the crowd of jocks, the only one staring blankly ahead between them. You noticed he had shown very little emotion here and in school lately.
“Hopefully feels like karma biting his ass,” you mumbled back, “What’s his deal with the glasses anyway?”
“He had them on yesterday too at his turn,” Justin replied, “Alex says it’s a trick to make him look more empathetic.”
“Try more ugly,” you scoffed and you both chuckled until Clay shot you glare, causing you to quiet down.
“It’s in the woods,” Chloe informed, “behind the fields. It’s this secret place that you have to be invited to...unless you are on the baseball team.” You looked at Scott with a pained expression. So he knew ever since he started playing years ago.
“And who invited you?” Dennis interrogated with Chloe answering accordingly, “Bryce.” She described what happened in the Clubhouse and what they were doing when she was asked about the photos.
“So you don’t remember having sex with Bryce Walker?” the lawyer asked straight on. This was the key part. The part to take down Bryce and the school. You held your breath in anticipation as you were sure everyone else did when...
“No, I do.”
...
What?
“I remember.”
You shot a look at Justin, who looked as confused before turning to Bryce. He was fucking smirking. Leaning back against the seat, your shoulders slumped in defeat. Chloe lied. And the polaroids were gone. You practically lost.
-
“Jessica said yes to me testifying,” Justin informed you as soon as you pulled up at Monet’s to pick him up.
“Really? How did you manage that?” you gasped in surprise and he shrugged, buckling himself. “I can be super persuasive, what can I say?”
You raised an eyebrow at him before laughing, “Don’t get cocky now. Though this is great!”
“Right? We might still win...against Bryce,” he said slowly, listening to something on his phone as you pulled out.
“What is it?”
“It’s...Clay. He’s asking me to meet him at the bottom of Vaughan’s Hill. With his car.”
You frowned. “Why there? Isn’t that where Bryce lives around?”
“Yeah. What the fuck is he doing?”
“Let’s find out.” You made a turn to the right, changing directions.
“Wait, he was asking for his own car.”
“Well, he’s getting mine. It’s better than his Prius anyway,” you chuckled, Justin joining you. Upon arriving at Vaughan’s Hill you spotted Clay just right outside, seemingly having a breakdown.
“What the fuck?” Justin mumbled and you stopped the car right in front of Bryce’s porch, making yourself known to Clay.
“Clay, what are you doing?” Justin asked as soon as he got out with you tagging along. Before you could say anything yourself, you were suddenly grabbed by your ‘best friend’ and pulled behind him when he yelled out, “Where the hell did you get that?”
“Get out of my way, Justin,” Clay said, looking like he was losing his mind and your heart stopped when you noticed the gun in his hand.
“Clay,” you gasped out but he didn’t seem to have heard you, instead he tried to get closer to Bryce’s house, not looking at any of you.
“Come on, Clay, this is fucking crazy,” Justin tried to stop him, making sure to keep you behind his back at the same time.
“No one’s going to get justice for her. Move!” Clay yelled. Your hand clutched at Justin’s shirt when he suddenly pointed the gun at him.
“Clay, stop it!” you yelled out, stepping out from behind Justin to block his way as well. You couldn’t let him ruin his life nor could you let him shoot your best friend.
“I can’t count on anyone else anymore. I have to do this myself,” Clay tried to explain, struggling with something in his mind.
“You don’t have to. Jessica wants me to testify,” Justin said, trying to appease him, “We can get him tomorrow.”
“I have to do this now...for Hannah.”
“Clay, I know you loved her, but she’s gone. And taking out Bryce won’t bring her back.”
“How do I make her stop? She won’t stop,” Clay said desperately, not looking at Justin or even at you but some spot beside you. The same spot he had been glancing at continuously when he wasn’t talking to you.
“Stop who?”
“He’s seeing her,” you breathed out and Justin looked at you confused, “He’s seeing Hannah.”
“What are you talking about?” Justin said, trying to pull you back behind him but you resisted, going to the spot where you noticed Clay staring. You tried to catch his eye but it was like he was looking right through you, suddenly pointing the gun at himself.
“Clay, don’t do this,” you pleaded, slowly walking closer to him. Your heart raced and your palms started sweating when you saw his finger on the trigger. You didn’t know what you would do if he pulled it. “Give me the gun,” you said with an unsteady voice.
“She won’t stop,” Clay whispered again and again like a mantra when you heard a door opening behind you.
“What the fuck?” Bryce’s voice reached your ears.
-
You silently drove your car through the streets, your unsteady breathing the only noise in the little space. Stopping in front of Clay’s house, you mulled over what to say to the two quiet boys, who were with you. Quite frankly you were happy they were both alive. And that you didn’t have to see someone die right in front you even if it was someone like Bryce Walker.
“Well, here we are,” you mumbled numbly. Justin nodded, glancing at the boy in the backseat.
“You really gonna testify tomorrow?” CLay suddenly asked, turning his stare from his hands to your best friend. Justin nodded again silently. Clay looked back down, wetting his lips before he suddenly got out, not being able to handle the tension in the car anymore.
You breathed out as quietly as you could but Justin still noticed. He placed a hand on yours, making you look at him. “You okay?”
“I guess. You?”
“I guess,” he repeated and you were almost too tried to roll your eyes at him. Almost. He laughed a bit and you squeezed his hand. He looked down at your joined hands, intertwining them. “We do get through a lot of shit, don’t we?” he mumbled. You thought about the times he came over when Seth was being a dick or the time he was there for you when your dad was killed by some mobster that was never found.
“Yeah, we do,” you muttered back before taking your hand out from his to pull your car out, “Let’s get home.”
“You know, maybe I should stay with Clay,” Justin suggested, looking at the house his friend had disappeared in, “He’s freaking unstable right now. I should...watch over him or something.”
“You’re right,” you agreed, stopping the car. You resisted the urge to tell him that you needed someone too right now. “Take care of him.” He nodded, getting out.
“Justin,” you called him back and he turned to you, questioningly, “Where is the gun?” He looked down at his pants before back at you and you threw him a disgusted look. “I have to hide it somewhere, don’t I? Can’t waltz in there with a gun in hand.”
“Yeah, maybe you should leave it here. I could put it along with my mom’s collection,” you suggested, “No one will question it.” He nodded, pulling the gun out from his pants and handing it to you. You pulled a face and motioned towards the glove locker, “Put it there. I ain’t touching it.” He laughed before following suit.
Waving a last goodbye you drove out of sight, the tears immediately flowing out. Could you blame yourself? Tonight was too intense and you didn’t think you could handle any more of this. At this time, you needed Scott more than ever. You wiped your tears away to get rid of your blurred sight. ‘Tomorrow is the last day of court,’ you thought to yourself, ‘And then it will be over.’ Hopefully.
Pulling up at your driveway, you shut down your car. The light of the porch immediately went on by your movement and you noticed a figure sitting on the stairs that led up to your house, sitting there as if he knew you needed him. Your breath got caught in your throat as his features got illuminated by the light, making him look out of this world. At that moment, you wanted nothing more than to jump out of the car and run into his arms and you could almost picture yourself doing it. But society was standing in your way like tall, unmoving brick wall.
So instead you got out of your car slowly, aware of his gaze following your every movement as he sat there with his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped tightly together.
“What are you doing here?” you asked tiredly, taking out your keys as you walked up to him.
“I came to see you,” he said softly and you briefly closed your eyes to savour the feeling of hearing his voice.
You pulled yourself together quickly, looking him dead in the eye. “Well, you saw me. Now, leave.”
“You’ve been crying,” he suddenly said, standing up as his forehead creased in worry, “What happened?”
“N-Nothing.” You hated how your voice wavered, “Nothing happened.”
“Bullshit. Did someone do something to you?” he asked, taking a step forward.
“No. I’m just sick of humans, of rapists, of this school, of everything,” you almost shouted and his eyes softened, “And there is nothing you can do about it.”
“Baby-”
“Don’t call me that,” you interrupted him, slapping his hands away that tried to reach for you, “We are not together anymore, why don’t you get it?” His lower lip quivered as he tried to come up with a sentence, but you brushed past him, walking up the stairs to your house, “Now, please leave me alone.”
It was quiet as you tried to get your key into the lock with your shaking hands until-
“Do you want me to testify?” You stopped dead in your tracks. Turning to look at him, shocked.
“What?”
“Do you want me to testify?” he repeated, his green eyes staring straight into yours. “For the Bakers.”
V.
Help me Get Coffee Support?
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shidiand · 5 years
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How do you imagine Tenco's Story ending in your head?
that is a GREAT but UNEXPECTED QUESTION freshlybaked "spider" bread and i'm really happy to have the opportunity to try and answer this ageless question that has burned within all of us in the tenco's story iv waiting room community since 2013. it is an incredible coincidence (or is it? 👀) that i was just talking to Risa about tenco's this (edit: yesterday) morning so i am extra double super in the mood to talk about Tenco's Story today. so excellent of a coincidence is this that i am tempted to refer you to them in case you wanted to hear their thoughts on the matter that would probably turn out super cool, but that is neither here nor there; let us talk Tenco's Story.
i of course must mention my unadvertised and modestly detailed commentary on tenco's i-iii at https://shidiand.tumblr.com/tencos, presenting slightly interesting facts in an unwieldy and difficult-to-use format, but as it dates back to june 2017, i want to take some time to understand my feelings about the series once more.
tenco's story is a series that has a lot of meaning to me.
i took on my current name of shidiand in november of 2013. i was still in 11th grade at the time, 4th year of high school, and a very socially isolated person. i should say i was introduced to touhou in 7th grade, 2010, so i was still working through a 3 years-strong phase of trying to simultaneously both find an outlet for and bottle up an endless wellspring of awkward weeaboo-gamer nerd energy at the time.
i had my first real foray onto the internet in 2010, tried out twitter, followed some RPers and other people who had Cool Touhou Usernames. didn't really go anywhere. i had maybe 50 followers, i dont really know the count but it was definitely a) double digits and b) pretty low. didn't know what to tweet about. didn't know how to hit it off with others. i think there was basically maybe only 3 other people i ever properly interacted with. oh shit i was playing league of legends at the time. oh my god. i really did play league of .. oh my god. let's move on.
aw shit im super digressing amn't i. well.
this is just how it goes when i write essays on tumblr.com.
i'm afraid you're just along for the ride at this point so please do your best to enjoy it.
i got kind of tired of twitter at the time because i didnt know what to do with it. didnt know how to interact with people and didnt find the people i was following interesting, so i ghosted on out of there by the end of 2012. didnt deactivate it until like 2015 but at that point that was just burning away my dark history. anyways. november 2013.
--im taking a lot of time here trawling through old files on my computer, my tumblr blog, notification emails still lying around in my gmail inbox from twitter, the dropbox i didn't actually use but it had several tenco's story pictures on it but i deleted them so this was useless, ... to trace the timeline of this story and im really seeing a lot of remnants of dark history here you know? did you know i wrote a letter to a girl i had a crush on valentine's day 2014, slipped it into her locker, and anxiously hung around nearby at lunchtime to see how she reacted at lunchtime? i certainly didn't, or at least i made darn ass sure to forget about this incredible virgin incident and not remember it, ever, until i came across the records of it that i thoughtfully preserved for the me of 5 years later today. ok well now i have to read the letter to see if it was as bad as it just sounded there brb
ok so the good news is that it was actually very focused on being positive and full of admiration for the cool things she did instead of being a confession letter so i am very glad i was able to be a respectful chad 5 years ago, but the bad news is that the jokes, the actual sentences i put together. oh my god. but i mean. well. at least i got the spirit. its certainly a step up from this other person in my grade, WEEABOO ANDREW, YOU MAY RECALL THIS STORY AND HIS NAME FROM PREVIOUS STORYTIMES, THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND who came to school on halloween once cosplaying kirito from sword art online and got very possessive about people asking if they could hold his black replica plastic sword, and probably worse, dropped a "will you be my girlfriend" letter into the locker of my homie and fellow trombonist samantha, who was a little bit nerdy, hung out with the anime-likers who were actually sociable and fun to be around so you can imagine why weeaboo andrew was into her, which had i) a direct quotation from SAO chapter 16.5 (origin of the famous "glopping noise" line), and ii) a condom. jesus christ. i dont want to talk about this any more. next topic.
i also put this drawing of iku nagae and her skarmory (actually an albinoss from 18 DRAGONS) on the other side of the letter because it was the coolest thing i could think of drawing at the time. and i completely agree with 2014 me because it IS super fucking cool. hell fuckin yeah
https://shidiand.tumblr.com/post/76301993387/iku-nagae-ft-that-thing-that-supposedly-is-a
alright that was a fun little trip down memory lane but lets get back on track. november 2013. i started anew as shidiand. still awkward, still learning how to express myself and looking for my place among others. i followed some touhou bloggers, hung around r/touhou a lot as well. in december i got my first tablet for christmas, a wacom bamboo splash. i still use this thing! the usb cable disconnects if you bump it so i have to find just the perfect position to sit in whenever i want to draw, but its served me well. anyways. i was just starting to play around with digital art but i remember, probably just before new years, for some reason i wanted to find out more about tenshi hinanawi (i don't remember why. tenshi wasn't even one of my favourite characters at the time) so i went googling and right there on zerochan i found this:
https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=23525572
this was during my dark souls phase so i just went BANANAS at the sight of this. this was literally the coolest image i had ever seen in my internet life. That image alone made me want to draw in hopes that I could make something as cool as that someday.
it wasn't immediately after but i soon discovered tenco's story, and it was love. kannnu was my very first artistic inspiration, and for a long time, my only one. i absolutely idolized them at the time. since then, ive found other artists to look up to, in a more healthy manner, but to this day i still look up to kannnu, still admire their work a lot.
i played around with drawing, followed the lives of people on tumblr, started reading touhou fanfiction, made a new twitter. i met a lot of new people along the way. some people i havent stuck with, some i cut ties with, and some people i still keep in contact with today. over those long 5 years of being shidiand, i found a name (i used to use shidian and then shid, but someone called me shidi once and i realized that was a lot better), how to reach out to others, how to express myself, places that i could feel included in. this is why i owe a blood debt to evelyn, who permitted me to kneel at her throne and was like "yea ok you can join my discord server u seem cool". evelyn, if you were confused by me ominously mentioning this blood debt/blood oath in a tumblr reply 1-2 years ago, this is the context. those 5 years were like a coming of age of sorts, that i never had when i was in high school.
and my love for tenco's story, that inspired me to draw that day, has been with me since almost the very beginning of my time as shidiand. from the beginning, i have always encouraged people to READ TENCO'S STORY, like the kin of those who cry PLAY MELTY or WATCH SYMPHOGEAR. i think my very first sidebar description was something akin to a prayer, written in very choral language, hoping for the day tenco's story iv was completed, ..., "meanwhile, furious shitposting". kannnu's work, finding delight in whatever they chose to draw, has been at my side, all along. my true mentor, my guiding moonlight...
so that's why i still to this day love tenco's story so much.
let's talk about tenco's story.
tenco's story is a story told through single pictures. the plot is vague, and details are sparse. dialogue is rare. we only know what has happened; we seldom know why. furthermore, there are many gaps between scenes that the reader is left to fill in for themselves; we see only snapshots that form an hazy outline of the events that occurred, and must imagine the rest. motivations and explanations fail me. but even with a barebones plot, tenco's story has themes, and if nothing else, those have to be carried through.
the main theme, of course, is journey and travel, but there are also other ideas, too. i actually think they start to change as the series goes on:
book i, where tenshi runs away from home, is about striking out on your own. it's a very fun and unpredictable journey, together with a friend.
book ii, where tenshi and iku are separated, forces tenshi to find and rely on companions of her own even more. but they do so, and they are able overcome hardships, and there is food and festival.
book iii marks a climax, reasserting tenshi's goal of finding the sword of hisou. i feel like the journey shifts from a travel (visiting) to a path forwards (making your way through). perhaps this is just something i get from knowing the locations from dark souls (Anor Londo, New Londo Ruins, the Great Hollow), but the locations start to give more of a sense of verticality, like they're emphasizing tenshi's climb to the summit. the hardships and enemies are the greatest they've been yet, and right when they near the top, tenshi and iku start to bleed. the book ends on an uncertain note.
if i had to describe the type of journey and travel that tenshi and iku undertake, there's this sense of wonder at discovering new places, wandering from vista to vista in delight, but also a sense of conquering, making it through a difficult patch. the sequence from pages 2-44 to 2-51, taken together, convey this sense of overcoming the best. it's one of my favourite parts. again, although the tone definitely starts to lean towards struggle in book iii, i think tenco's sense of wonder really is the heart of the series. there's no map of the world, no predicting where tenshi and iku will end up next. and through their travels, though they come across many enemies, they also find friends -- places of refuge, places full of life, people who will look after them for a few days, companions who will stay with them for the rest of the journey. at the end of book iii, we see a long haired tenshi with purple hair being impaled by the sword of hisou (3-33, see also this extra illustration that risa pointed out to me http://sinnnkai.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-195.html), and regular short haired tenshi continuing on her journey (3-42). if we ignore the out-of-story images where tenshi has the sword of hisou, tenshi has actually only ever used her sunlight blade (2-24, 3-26, etc), so i think that the long haired tenshi on 3-33 is a different person altogether. (if i had to guess, she might be the purple haired woman in the top left of https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=35443328 as we have never seen that woman appear anywhere.) she probably has something to do with the flashbacks at the end of book ii and she might somehow be short-haired tenshi at the same time, but this is just speculation.
however, in 3-43, tenshi's hair is rather blue, so i don't know if this is the purple haired woman or not. if it is, tenshi is probably still fine and closing in on the summit, but if it isn't, then it's very worrying to see a picture of tenshi without any of her companions. it's very ominous.
meanwhile, iku, while climbing the red carpeted corridor, is stabbed, and disappears for a few pages. there's a black page, a shot of a shrine that strongly resembles the hakurei shrine, and a picture of iku standing behind someone in a tux, with the line "In the past, I was saved by the lady I was serving, you see?". and then iku wakes up in a field of flowers.
i think what this scene makes clear is a theme that has continued to appear and reappear throughout every book of "being saved, being aided by someone's kindness".
i think another theme that is implied and has to be addressed by this story of running away from home is "return". something im imagining is that the reason tenshi makes finding the sword of hisou her goal is because she wants to have something to prove herself with, to vindicate her when she comes home. but i don't think she needs to prove anything, and i ultimately think that she would be happier spending the rest of her life exploring.
so i think this should be what happens in the ending.
open on iku's journey, and give her a long sequence of travel without seeing tenshi. underline her newfound resolve. she climbs to the summit with albinoss, and finds the rest of tenshi's companions fallen. and in the last room is sword of hisou tenshi, who has lost herself, and it comes down to iku to bring her back. after a difficult battle, when both of them are on their last legs, iku is unable to stand any longer. but at this moment tenshi sees her companions struggling to get back up and reach her, and that's what brings her to her senses. and iku gets to see how many friends tenshi's been able to make on her own, and they finally and properly reunite. together, tenshi and iku carry each other out of the last room.
i don't think it's necessary to return to heaven. as a conclusion, dedicate some time to tenshi and iku travelling together. they're on their way back, revisiting old friends who helped them along the way, enjoying the journey. their last stop is the house of the elderly nawis (1-42). tenshi shows off the sword of hisou; she decided to keep it not as a trophy to show her family but as proof of the bonds of her companions. surrounded by friends, tenshi and iku decide to part ways with each other, knowing that the other will be alright. iku drifts among the clouds once more, and tenshi sets off for the horizon.
that's the plot that i'd write/just wrote. i don't really expect tenco's story iv to ever come out, though. i mentioned my first sidebar description earlier in this essay, but of course, you can see that it's been changed. 2 years ago, i read my hopeful prayer once more and was struck with a terrible melancholy, so now it reads this: "having come to terms with the fact that tenco's story iv will never be released, i can still live, knowing that the spirit of the journey will live on through kannnu's original works [...] meanwhile, furious shitposting".
on one level, tenco's story is a story, but in the process of following it, i came to think of the work itself as a journey too. you can constantly see kannnu's improvement between and even within each book. they have always drawn whatever they liked; what plot matters in the face of "I wanted to draw a beautiful sky." "I wanted to draw a fantastic battle." "I wanted to draw Dark Souls and Monster Hunter and Pokemon and Brave Fencer Musashi and Bokura no Taiyou and Touhou."
its not really kannnu's style to go back and tie up old ends. they just draw whatever makes them happy. so as i watch them continue to draw beautiful places and fantastic creatures, new characters heading out on journeys of their own or just enjoying their everyday lives, it's as if tenco's story never ended. the limits and consistency of that world ignored, and a new one springs up; in a way, the world of tenco's, which had such thin boundaries, just gets bigger.
but even so, having said all that, i still see them draw that short-haired tenshi from time to time. it makes me happy to see them remember tenco's story with such fondness. often crossing over with orion or roar or elweiss, you can see tenshi on another journey.
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