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htchnr · 5 months

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03 ★ heartless love crime ❥ ch: no one else will do but you.

➻❥ masterlist. ➻❥ buy me a coffee!

CW ➻ aaron being a jerk again ⋆ mention of sex ⋆ piv ⋆ unprotected sex ⋆ creampie ⋆ name calling (slut) ⋆ if i missed anything, lmk!

SUMMARY ➻ Hotchner laughed on the other side of the line. "You sound sad. He turned out to not be the man of your dreams?" No. He was better. Bryan was the perfect gentleman, which was why you couldn't pursue anything with him. He wasn't Hotchner. WC ➻ 2,7k.

AUTHORS NOTE ➻ hi 😁 this is not a nice series! i want to make that clear!! Hotch is toxic, rude and awful in this. (yet so hot at the same time uhg)

★ - © 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐇𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐍𝐑. 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲, 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫! - ★

➻❥ 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫. ➻❥ 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫.

Your foot tapped restlessly in the taxi cab. You dropped your head into your hands, cursing yourself over and over. Currently, you were supposed to be ten minutes into the date.

Unfortunately, you were ten minutes late.

Last night, you stayed slumped over the counter for another minute before you cleaned the mess. It was a feat wherein you wet one of your washcloths and attempted to crouch to the floor to clean, but you could already feel a soreness settling in and opted to lay on your side like Rose from Titanic and clean your floor that way. It was about as seductive as you felt, not at all.

Getting back up had been an even greater feat, your groans filled the apartment as you used all your core strength to lift yourself by gripping the counter. It was a sad sight to see. You managed to wipe down the countertop and nearly did your thighs, before deciding the rag was too dirty and tossed it in your laundry. Then, you showered and went to bed. Though, the clock was well past 3 by the time you fell asleep.

You wanted to be up by 9 am to get ready for your 11 am brunch. Instead, you slept through your alarm and woke at 10:30 and the fastest route to the cafe was 20 minutes away. Fine, right? No. You rushed to get ready and were still out the door by 10:50.

The cab slowed to a stop. You leaned forward and paid the fare, before stepping out of the taxi. You brushed your hair down, smoothed down your outfit, did any other last-minute fixes. It wouldn't help, you figured, being that you were late. The best you could do was dress colorful as well as warm, wearing your favorite sweater for this date. You made your way to the building, taking a deep breath to stave off the butterflies that threatened your stomach.

You placed a hand on your stomach the second you entered, only for your eyes to rake over all the heads. It was then you realized you didn't know which of these people was your date. God, it'd be ten times more embarrassing if your date left.

Thankfully, someone called your name from a table in the middle of the cafe. You made your way around the scattered placement of tables and chairs, to come face to face with a handsome man. The one way you would describe his attire was dapper. He wore a sweater vest and that was enough to hold your attention.

He stood from the chair to greet you, the both of you awkwardly standing, unsure of what to do, before he gestured for you to "please, sit" and you shook off your coat. You set it on the back of your chair, sliding in the chair with a polite smile. He returned it with one of his own.

"So," you started, "you're Susan's friend."

"Yeah, I'm Bryan." He nodded, opening his hand for emphasis. "Yeah, Susan got tired of hearing about my single life and she decided to play cupid."

You laughed. "She does that." You cleared your throat. "Uh, I'm sorry about being late. It was-"

"Oh, you don't need to explain yourself." He held up a hand. "Please, I got here a minute ago myself. I almost thought you left already and was about to get up to go until I saw you come in the door."

"That's reassuring." You didn't know what else to talk about, turning to take in the interior of the cafe. "This place feels so cozy."

"Doesn't it? It's on my way to work, so I stop by when I can."

You looked back at him, taking in his features. Dark hair, green eyes, thick, rectangular glasses that framed his round face. You didn't think you could guess his job based on appearance. He didn't carry the air of the people you usually were around. "Where do you work?"

"I'm a pharmacist."

"Oh," you nodded. Not a bad profession to be in, not at all. "And you stop here-oh, should we order drinks?"

"I already ordered."

"You did?"

"Yeah. When I was still holding out that you hadn't arrived yet. I hope you don't mind that I picked a drink for you."

"Not at all." You shook your head, a small laugh slipping past you. "I'm curious now. I like a little surprise once in a while."

"Glad to hear." His eyes flicked to the counter hearing his order. Standing from his seat, he dipped his head to you. "I'll be right back."

You placed your head in your hand, glancing around the establishment. In the pocket of your coat, your phone vibrated. You brought it out, seeing a message from Susan. She asked how the date was going. You sent her a reply that Bryan seemed nice, but your screen transitioned to an icon of a phone with rings rippling behind it. It buzzed in your hand, the name Hotchner flashed in bright, white font.

Your mouth fell open in your hand, but you quickly shut it. He knew you were on your date. You just stared at the screen, mind racing with too many thoughts. The frontmost thought among the rest was to answer the call, but you just set your phone on the table and muted it. The screen darkened but lit up again shortly after. You just held your mouth in your hand, elbow on the table, watching the screen.

"Do you need to take that?"

You looked up at Bryan, slipping back into his seat. In his hand, a drink carrier with two coffees on opposite sides, the other parts of the carrier with two wrapped donuts. He took the items out, sliding your coffee and donut to you, before taking his own. He glanced curiously at your phone.

You shook your head, covering the screen. "It's just a scammer, I think."

He hummed as you stuck your phone in your coat pocket. "Those can be annoying."

"So," you reached for the coffee, reading the label, "chocolate raspberry? That sounds good."

"I hope so. It's my usual." He beamed, watching you raise the hot cup to your lips. You took a small sip, mindful of the heat. His face glowed from your pleased hum. "Good, right?"

"It's more bitter than I would have thought, but still has a sweetness to it." You nodded. "I like it."

The rest of the date ran smoothly. You two opened the packaging for your donuts, iced chocolate with sprinkles over them. It was a nice change of pace from eating alone in your apartment, to have someone to share a laugh with from the frosting that coats your upper lips. All in all, you felt good.

As you both put on your coats and tossed your trash, he held the door open for you to leave first. You smiled from the gesture, unused to this kindness from a man trying to court you. He followed you to the edge of the sidewalk, waving down a taxi. Again, he held the door for you before getting in himself.

"Where to next?" You asked.

"The aquarium, actually." He gave the address to the cabbie, then turned back to you. "Is that alright with you?"

"It's perfect," you said. "It's been so long since I've been to an aquarium."

"Well, you're in luck. They've added new features to this one that I think you'll enjoy."

You took his word for it, engaging in small talk with him about your favorite films. He shyly admitted he enjoyed Star Wars the most, having seen the last movie in theaters as a kid. You waved off his worry and told him it was a classic. He knew how to hold a conversation and had you laughing lightly behind your hand the whole ride. You weren't even mindful of the traffic with him to distract you.

The aquarium was lovely. You took your time through each exhibit, admiring the seahorse exhibit most. In front of the large tank, a floor-to-ceiling glass window provided a view of all the larger aquatic life that swam on the other side. The blue waters reflected over your figures in soft light, waving over your clothes like you were underwater as well.

At one point, you two stopped at the baby ray tank, where you could pet them. You insisted Bryan did it first, a bit scared, but he only shivered when a ray swam under his hand. You laughed at his minute disgust.

"It's not as smooth as I thought," he said.

It was enough to convince you to feel for yourself, standing so close to him. Your eyes were wide once the baby ray swam under you, lowering your fingertips for a good feel, and shivering just as he did. You hadn't expected the texture to be so rough, like sandpaper.

At one end of the room, you both got hand sanitizer and paper towels to dry your hands. You glanced over as a few people yelped in surprise while others laughed. A number of them had wet spots on their shirts as a little ray swam away. You giggled with Bryan when he mentioned that could've been you two.

At one point, in a dark room, surrounded by moon jellyfish, you were next to him. He said something you didn't quite hear but still laughed at, then he turned to you. You turned to him. Both of you were smiling. The smile dropped as he leaned his head in.

Your heart fluttered, eyes half-lidded. You started to lean in too, closing your eyes fully. This would have been perfect.

Except, you imagined another man in his place.

Your eyes shot open, seeing the slicked back brown hair, rather than the dirty blonde hair of Bryan. You shook your head, leaning away and a small sound bubbled up to your throat. This was wrong. You couldn't kiss one man and fantasize about another.

Bryan opened his eyes, picking up on your discomfort.

It was a nice distraction from reality while it lasted. Grounded in reality, you backed away from him, shaking your head. His eyebrows knitted together, confused by your action. Your shoulders hunched, sinking into yourself as your lips pulled down the slightest.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do this."

He nodded in understanding. "It's okay. We don't have to kiss. If you want, we can take it slow."

"No, I-" You wrapped your arms around your middle, looking down. You couldn't face this kind man. He didn't deserve you. He deserved someone better, someone, who wasn't preoccupied with another man.

The date ended shortly after. Exiting the building, he followed you down the sidewalk, waving a cab down and opening the door for you. He said he'd take a different cab. You bit your lip, feeling bad. "You seem like a great guy, Bryan, really, but I'm sorry. I don't think I'm ready to date."

He bit his cheek looking properly dejected. "I understand." In an attempt to lighten the mood, he forced a smile for you. "I enjoyed the date, nonetheless."

You returned his smile, just as bittersweet. "Me too."

You slipped into the cab and he closed the door for you. As you gave the cabbie your address, you pulled out your phone, seeing the screen light up. You clicked the call button and brought the device to your ear.

"Your date over?"

"Yes."

Hotchner laughed on the other side of the line. "You sound sad. He turned out to not be the man of your dreams?"

No. He was better. Bryan was the perfect gentleman, which was why you couldn't pursue anything with him. He wasn't Hotchner.

"Did you need something?"

"Yeah. Come to the video store."

He gave you an address that you iterated to the cabbie without a second thought. It didn't occur to you until you finished talking and he hung up that you were about to spend time with another man, right after your date finished. You couldn't allow yourself peace of mind for at least an hour before jumping back to Aaron.

He stood next to the entrance, leaned against the wall as your cab pulled up. You approached him, to which he rolled around a sucker in his mouth.

"Took you long enough."

"It's-" you glanced at your phone, well past one, "-the afternoon. You know traffic gets heavy around this time."

"Uh-huh."

You nodded to the sucker in his mouth. "You have another one?"

He sucked on it before he loudly popped it out of his mouth. "As a matter of fact, you can have mine." You didn't have enough time to process what he meant before he grabbed your chin and parted your lips enough to stick it in. A shiver rolled down your spine at the thought of his saliva in your mouth. "I didn't want it anymore, anyways."

You closed your mouth, sucker rested atop your tongue. Tentatively, you rolled it to the side of your mouth, holding the stick between pinched fingers to help move it. He pushed off the wall and entered the automated doors with you on his heels.

To your utter horror, you realized as you delved deeper into the store, Aaron made a beeline for the adult film section. You stopped several feet away, mouth shut tight and eyes wide.

He glanced over at you. "What are you standing there for?"

"I, uh..." You glanced from him to the label above the shelves. "What do you need from here?"

"Figured that'd be obvious."

You still had yet to move. "Um."

"Don't be a baby." Hotchner frowned just the tiniest bit, hardly bothered by your shyness, but wanting to make a show of how childish you were acting. He made a 'come' gesture with his hand, placing it on his hip. "Nobody's even paying attention."

"Yeah, but-"

"You'll make it weird by standing over there. Come here."

You sucked on your teeth, tongue flat on the roof of your mouth. You crossed your arms but made your way over to him, gaze locked on the carpet floor under your shoes to not make any eye contact with the other customers.

"There, was that so hard?" He said as you joined his side. Your gaze flickered up at the covers, scantily clad people in suggestive poses. Heat pooled in your belly and rushed to your cheeks, body aflame with embarrassment.

"I don't want to hear it." You pouted.

He scoffed, scanning the rows from top to bottom, taking a step back the lower he got. He hummed to himself at the selection. "You ever watched one before?"

You kept your gaze on the side of his face, to his sunglasses, not comfortable looking at the covers in a space where others could judge you for standing there. "No."

He tapped his fingers on his hip, turned to you, and cocked his head at them. "You pick."

"What? No. You pick it."

"I want to see what you'd be interested in." He smirked.

You let your eyes slide over to the shelves. You couldn't deny you were curious, just a bit, but you didn't want to be the one to decide. That'd only cement this all for you.

"What makes this any different from doing it yourself?"

You pouted at him. "I don't want to watch someone else."

He gave you a long stare, the corners of his mouth twitching. It was a short minute of his staring, before he broke into a smile, snickering to himself. "I'm just fucking with you."

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over you, body alert and rushing with blood. All you could manage out was a shocked, "what?"

He walked to the other end of the video store to the counter. The teen behind the counter looked up from their magazine as he gave his name. He reached under the counter and pulled out a movie cover for some martial arts movie. Hotchner nodded to the kid and promptly left with you in tow like some kicked puppy.

"That wasn't funny," you said outside of the store.

He shrugged. "It was a little funny."

You only shook your head and pushed the sucker to the other side of your mouth.

Aaron went home with you. No surprise there. It should've been expected that, as the door closed behind him, he was glued to you and whispering dirty things in your ear. He said something about the adult films, something you didn't catch but was sure that anything spilled out of his mouth would be pure filth.

He didn't say anything about your date as he set his movie on your kitchen counter. You didn't think of your date as he undressed you in your bedroom. The day's events spilled to the back of your mind as you both fell naked onto the sheets.

The only thing that filled both your mind and body was Aaron. His muscles, his dick, his breathy moans that fanned your face. He kept his gaze locked on you while he fucked you. The headboard banged hard into the wall, but it was background noise to the sounds of your skin slapping at your pelvis.

You arched your back, gripping the sheets tightly. He had one hand on the headboard, his other arm wrapped around your thigh. You had one leg over his shoulder for better access, for him to hit you deeper.

He called you his slut, you said you were his slut. He called you filthy things, things that only spurred you on. Your body burned in a lustful shame, but you could only moan and cry and let him say those things. It didn't matter if they were true or not, it came from his mouth and that was all that mattered.

You managed five orgasms, probably a new record, before he came inside you. Breathless, slumped on the bed, your leg slid off his shoulder as he crawled off of the bed. He took out a cigarette and sat on the edge of the bed to smoke. Your head lolled to the side and you thought about opening the window after he left.

It was still light out, but you were overcome with fatigue. Sweaty, filled with cum, you had barely rolled over, bringing the comforter over you from the side and closing your eyes. You were asleep before you could hear Hotchner leave.

You dreamt of a man kissing you.

#⋆୨🩷©2024 htchnr #⋆୨⭐️aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner #aaron hotch hotchner #aaron hotch hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner smut #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner series #aaron hotch smut

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avoxrising · 6 months

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The Feral One • Ch 20

Finnick x Y/N

Series Masterlist Link

I promise we will get into the timer stuff soon but I have to build up the plot first…

Content Warnings - None!

You wake up to Finnick gone, a note left on his pillow.

Got called into training early. Didn’t want to disturb you. I’ll see you at lunch.

Love,

Your fake husband

Why was he in training so early? He said yesterday that his training wouldn’t start till after breakfast.

Maybe he was upset by what happened last night. Maybe he didn’t enjoy it.

You let your thoughts consume you as you lay in bed, completely skipping breakfast and most of your morning schedule.

A knock on your door pulls you from your thoughts.

“Come in,” you sigh to whoever was waiting. You’re surprised to see Boggs enter.

“Miss Y/L/N, do I need to remind you that you have a schedule to follow?” he asks.

“No,” you yawn. “I’m sorry I lost track of time. What time is it anyways?”

“10:34 AM,” Boggs states. “I’ve been instructed to escort you to your doctor’s checkup, which you are very late to.”

Boggs gives you a minute to dress before he’s escorting you to the hospital. He says Coin isn’t happy that you are already disregarding your schedule and is rethinking your living arrangement.

Prim performs your checkup that morning. She clears you for the day and you make your way to the cafeteria to help with lunch prep.

11:30 rolls around and you finally have a chance to see Finnick. Twelve hours felt too long and you were anxious to face him again. He was sometimes hard to read.

“Hey love,” he says as you sit down next to him with your tray. “How was your morning?”

“Meh,” you shrug. “I got reprimanded by Boggs for not following my schedule. I guess that was a serious rule.”

“Sorry about this morning,” Finnick states. “I would have woken you up when they buzzed for me but you look like you needed the sleep.”

“That’s ok,” you sigh, thinking about how sad you were that he wasn’t there when you woke. “Why did they increase your training?”

“Katniss snuck onto a transport that left late last night for District 2,” he explains. “They’re moving up our deployment timeline.”

“Deployment?” you ask, setting your fork down. “You didn’t tell me they were sending you anywhere.”

“Can we talk about this tonight?” he replies.

“I’m not hungry,” you state, abruptly standing with your tray. Finnick calls out for you as you walk away, needing to escape for a bit.

You end up back at the hospital to talk to Prim.

“Could I get an excuse for the rest of the day?” you ask her. “I’m not feeling well.”

“Oh no! Do you need medicine? What’s not feeling well?” she asks.

“I’ve just had a bad day that’s all,” you shake your head. “I can’t mentally handle a schedule today.”

“Why don’t you go chat with Dr. Aurelius for a bit,” Prim suggests. “He’s available now if you want to see him.”

You had never been in therapy before. Dr. Aurelius seemed nice but you didn’t know if you could trust him. What do therapists even do?

“Nice to meet you Miss Y/L/N,” the man states as he enter the room. “I’m Dr. Aurelius. Why don’t we start with how you’re feeling today?”

“Sad,” you reply, unsure of how to properly convey your emotions.

“Do you know why you feel sad?” he asks. “Or what made you feel this way?”

“District 13 makes me sad,” you state as the man writes something down in his notebook. “I have no autonomy here.”

“They allowed you to get married,” he remarks. “Are you happy about that?”

“Meh,” you shrug. “I mean I love Finnick but it was a fake wedding for a propo that we agreed to do so we could be roommates here in 13. He’s lived with me for 5 years now. I skipped my schedule this morning and Coin is already threatening to make us live separately again.”

“I see,” the man comments. “Do you find schedules restricting?”

“I guess I do,” you respond. “I mean I’ve spent my whole adult life on house arrest so I’ve never really been able to make decisions for myself. Having a schedule feels like someone is telling me what to do all the time.”

“That’s understandable,” he comments. “I can excuse you from your schedule for today but you will need to find a compromise with President Coin. I will provide you with a list of options for your schedule so you can maybe pick out what you want to do. I apologize that the list is limited but it’s the best I can do.”

You take the list and agree to meet with him and Coin in the morning to discuss your schedule. In the mean time he gives you a “mentally unstable” bracelet to excuse you for the rest of the day.

The list seems meh. You had no interest in learning about nuclear weapons or the history of Panem, and cafeteria duty wasn’t necessarily your favorite.

Reflection time rolled around and Finnick enters your shared cabin.

“You skipped dinner,” he comments as he throws you an apple. You reluctantly take it and eat a bit to ease his worry.

“You skipped out on telling me about deployment,” you mutter.

“I’m sorry,” he sighs as he moves to sit next to you. “I just didn’t feel like there was a good time to tell you. I was going to tell you before the wedding but you had your breakdown and I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Where are they sending you?” you ask.

“The capital,” he responds. At this answer you burst into tears.

“You can’t leave me,” you sob. Finnick wishes he could pull you into a hug but he knows better than to touch you when you’re upset.

“It will only be for two weeks,” he states. “Three at most.”

“What if you don’t come back?” you hiccup.

“I’ll always come back for you,” he replies.

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#hunger games #finnick odair #hunger games fic #the hunger games #finnick odair x reader #finnick x reader #finnick angst #finnick #finnick odair angst #hunger games x reader #hunger games fanfiction #hunger games angst #mockingjay #the feral one

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armpirate · 2 months

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Soundleasure | Choi San || CH. 14

Pairings: Soft!San x fem!reader || Strangers to lovers, fake dating

Genre: smut, angst, fluff, online sex, ghosting

Warnings: inexperienced!San, fem!reader, masturbation, online sex, camboy, first times.

Summary: You can do whatever you please and be whoever you want on the Internet. And San knew that a little bit too well.

After finally following all the signs the universe was throwing at him, he started living a double life that no one was aware of. Everyone in his daily life knew him as Choi San, the reserved and quiet boy who wouldn't raise his voice, and would barely communicate with anyone outside of his comfort group. But only a few knew him as Soundleasure, the man with a sexy voice and a filthy mind that had their toes curling just with his narrations.

He never thought of the possibility of those two lives ever meeting, he had always tried for them to follow a parallel route and had always played safe to keep his friends from ever suspecting that side even existed. But his plans will start to crumble when he gets a little too close with one of his subscribers and she invades his real-self and altergo's universes without being able to stop it.

Y/n will not only help him to keep his secret from his circle, but will also show him there's more of Soundleasure in him than he'd like to admit.

Previous || Next

MASTERLIST

Aprox. time of reading: 20 minutes

Y/n: I already arrived!

San: Nice

San: By the way, sorry for the way Mingi showed up

San: He sometimes doesn't know how to read the room.

San: He doesn't know when he's interrupting others

Y/n: What did he interrupt tho?

She clearly knew what he meant. The environment in her car was too heavy not to know, and she was sure she'd have given in if Mingi hadn't reached her car to greet them. She liked his friends, but at that moment she was hating him with a passion.

It was funny messing with San, waiting for him to come up with an answer as he typed, and stopped, a few times before actually sending anything.

Y/n: Were you planning on doing anything?

San: Huh? No, of cuorse not.

San: Nevrmind

San: Have a good night!

He typed so fast, that he didn't even stop to double check whether there were any typos or not. He was so desperate to find an escape, that he didn't care about anything else.

Wooyoung huffed at the way San was hysterically shaking his leg at the corner of his eye, making his whole body squirm as he tried to hold back from calling him out for the constant move.

He was getting on his nerves.

—Can you stay still? You're making me want to rip that leg out of you —Mingi finally interrupted, huffing as he leaned to look straight at San.

—Gosh, you already met her father. You already went through the worst part. What's the big deal? —Wooyoung rolled his eyes.

The big deal was that it wasn't going to be a two against one like the last time, it'd be them two against absolutely everyone who attended the barbeque. One wrong word, one weird move, and they both would be done.

He couldn't disappoint Y/n that way.

—Just stay glued to Y/n if the problem is meeting new people —Mingi suggested, shrugging his shoulders—. I doubt she'll be annoyed with that.

—What if I'm left alone?

He didn't think about it when he agreed to show up at her father's house; that thought didn't cross his mind until Y/n mentioned it a few days back.

—Act like you're in a job interview —Wooyoung shrugged.

—But he's never been in a job interview —Mingi answered for him, confused at that advice.

—I know, I was going to explain myself before you interrupted —momentarily, he turned to Mingi, who instantly sat back in his seat, before he continued—. Keep a neutral face, don't talk. Just wait for the questions, and answer what they ask.

—You do that in job interviews? —Mingi interrupted again— Isn't that the opposite of what you should do? I've always been told you should speak and keep it as dynamic as possib...

—Who has a stable job, and who's an intern? —Wooyoung asked to get back at him, getting complete silence on his side— That's what I thought.

With that advice in his mind, San hopped in Y/n's car as soon as she sent a text to let him know she was there. On their way to her parents' house, his head was a bundle of different thoughts and tips, confused at how he should be behaving, except for the main information Y/n asked him to remember in case he was asked.

It'd be just that day. She only needed him to make as much as possible that afternoon, and then they'd break up.

He was definitely able to do that for her.

Y/n looked at him as she drove, hearing him answer back to all of her questions that were testing him. She was calm, it was only another day in her office personality, with all those same people she faked it for, but she was worried that it'd be a bit harder for San.

—I like your jacket —her comment worked to make some of that pressure vanish, making him raise his eyebrows surprised as he touched the zip of his black bomber—. Not the t-shirt though, I bet the whole outfit would look better without it.

It took her a second to realize what she said, suddenly stopping to press her lips together and try to correct herself. She wanted to say she hated that blue navy Patriots shirt with her whole soul, and it ended up sounding like she was hoping to see him shirtless. Although, after seeing him in that dressing room, she wouldn't really mind it.

His cheeks started burning after that comment, which he knew wasn't with that double intention he thought of almost instantly. It wasn't the idea of being shirtless in front of her, but that sweet and casual compliment coming from her.

—It's right, though? —he tried to know, looking down at himself.

Since it was a barbeque, he chose to keep it his style, mixing his style with that mature vibe she wanted from him. He wasn't quite sure the mix of jeans, team t-shirt and black bomber were a good mix.

—Hmm yeah —she quickly nodded—. What would you wear for a barbeque if it isn't that?

Just like him, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt with a black leather jacket. They'd be completely twinning if it wasn't for the horrendous Patriots shirt she thought he was wearing. It almost seemed like they did it on purpose.

San just looked around after silence slowly invaded the small space of her car, appreciating how beautiful the brown leaves looked on the trees that surrounded the road. He loved that kind of chilly weather, it always helped him to zone out as he went back to visit his parents at the outskirts of Boston.

Y/n turn right, getting inside one thinner road that allowed him to see the big house after she drove for a few meters past the tall trees that kept it hidden. He wasn't expecting the cozy familiar house that his parents had, but he also wasn't expecting that big palace, with a Victorian style.

Her car surrounded the small garden right at the entrance, managing to park her car in front of the few steps that led to the entrance of the place.

—Hey —she called him, aware of the small details that gave out how panicked he suddenly was feeling—. Just be yourself, and say what we talked about —her hand found a spot right at his knee—. They won't mess with you as long as I'm there.

Her joke seemed tougher for him, as she gave him one last skin over his jeans, making his skirt jump so high that he thought it'd escape his throat at any time, feeling relieved when she moved it away.

Before they started their way to the house, Y/n stopped next to him, offering her hand to him, opening and closing her fingers so he'd understand what she wanted. It was a tiny smile, almost imperceptible, but his eyes slightly squinted with that small curve, encouraging her to move her hand to his and intertwine their fingers together.

—We can do this —she assured him.

—We can do this.

His hand felt so warm as it covered hers, that it gave her that little push she needed to start walking. Unlike what he first thought, Y/n surrounded the house, following the stone trail on the side that led to the backyard.

His stomach squeezed at the sound of several masculine and deep laughs from afar, and the smell of braised meat.

It was real. They were actually doing that.

Her hand squeezed his the same way he tried to give support to her, trying to let him know that she was there whatever he needed -and whatever bothered him-, before they turned the corner and met with the big group of people reunited around the table.

—Here they are! —her father mentioned, excitedly.

They only let go of each other's grip when she moved to greet her father and mother, giving them a warm hug before she went back to standing next to San. Her father looked more relaxed and approachable, and it probably was because he wasn't wearing that three piece suit. Instead, his outfit was similar to the one San was wearing, with the only exception being the jacket that Harry wasn't wearing. Her mother looked elegant, but not because of her clothes. Her aura. As she approached him after her father shook his hand, her mother gave him a welcoming hug.

—I'd love to say my daughter was the one I heard about you from, but it was actually my husband the one who talked non-stop about you.

—Mom —Y/n scolded her.

—Come here, I'll introduce you to everyone.

It was incredible what football could do in the way people behaved around each other. From being skeptical of her relationship, to totally being all over San after they found out they both supported the Patriots to death.

It was better for her though. That should make things easier.

San scanned the table, trying to get familiar with all of the faces that were there. They all seemed to have that fake nice facade on their faces as they greeted him, and Y/n knew what those poisoned tongues were planning to say as soon as they got the chance. Although there was a particular person that wasn't hiding his intentions.

Tim looked at San from head to toe, examining his clothes, his body language, his gestures, even the way his bangs covered his forehead in a careless style. He looked even more mediocre in person.

—So this is the secret boy, Y/n? —one of the ladies, sitting at the other side of the table with the rest of the wives, asked.

—He's here. And considering you all knew about it, I don't think calling him a secret is accurate.

Her father turned to her, giving her a soft scolding look before she faked a smile right after. Time to start the act.

Her arm suddenly linked to San's, gluing their bodies together as her head rested on his shoulder.

—How could I even think of hiding him?

San smiled at that sudden cute act, looking down at her. Her head slowly turned in the opposite direction, hiding her face from the people sitting on the table.

—Hold my hand or something —she asked him.

When she turned back to the initial position, San's hand moved hesitantly over her, brushing her hair away and tucking it behind her ear. His fingers felt soft and delicate on her skin.

—Well, you didn't have a problem hiding other boyfriends before —Tim attacked as soon as they both joined them on the table.

—I wasn't serious about them, I think that's quite simple to understand —she answered.

Before the conversation could scalate, her father interrupted to let everyone know that some of the meat was ready for them to eat. San got up with the two plates, letting her get engaged in the conversation they were having across the table about the last product they were planning to launch. Although her father's attention was on the young man, and the way he asked for a knife to take the muscle fiber away from one of the filets. At first, he thought he just had that same hangup as his daughter had, only to realize he was cutting them for her daughter, handing her the plate of the cut meat before he sat next to her again.

—I think it'd be quite interesting to know how you two met —Lina, one of the supplier's wife suggested as they kept eating.

—I love those stories —Mark, her husband, seconded.

—We met through a blind date that a common friend organized —Y/n answered—. The moment I saw him, I knew it —her hand reached to his under the table, moving her arm exaggeratedly so everyone would guess—. We went to that restaurant on the bay, right? It was really romantic. He showed up with a big bucket of flowers... I'm not a big fan of those things, but I could tell he was genuine about it.

—How long have you been dating? —Miranda asked.

—A month —Y/n turned to her—. We hit it off since we met, and we haven't been able to move away from each other ever since.

—That's so sweet —Miranda fawned—. Are you also working in this industry?

—N... no —San finally answered—. I'm an engineer. Since I was younger I was always drawn to that —he laughed nervously—. I spent most of the time on the computer, so why not use it to earn money?

Y/n squeezed his hand tighter, trying to let him know that he was doing fine.

—That sounds like a tough job though —Tim scoffed—. I doubt it's way more than just sitting in front of a computer. Harry told me you've worked in Vancouver for a year, and I've always been curious about what engineers do. Can you tell us a bit of your daily work there?

—I don't think it's necessary to talk about work now —Y/n tried to get in between.

—And I don't think you're San, let the boy speak if he wants —Tim clapped back.

Right what they thought they wouldn't be asked about, came up on the conversation and on the hand of the man Y/n tried to warn him about. His brain was working hard to get through the sudden block he was going through out of nervousness.

—I worked as a web developer with .Net Core and Webix framework at two projects at the same time, I created a solution for multi-class text classification problem using SVM and Random Forest, Implemented Speech to text, optical character recognition, and face detection on the app of the company, used NLP for recommendation system, implemented full-text search with Apache Lucene... —he gave a quick stop— It's alright if you don't understand half of what I'm saying, and I hope you understand I can't explain any easily what they all are. I think you'll understand I can't give much more details because it's all confidential.

Y/n looked at him with wide eyes, getting lost in what he was saying after the second sentence, surprised by how convincing and serious he looked about it. Too surprised by his speech to even notice the way her father proudly smiled.

—Y/n is right —he turned to her—. It isn't time to talk about work now —after smiling at her, he turned to her father—. Sir, the meat was great, so delicious and tender.

He was in such a hectic and motivated mode, that he thought he'd explode.

After the lunch had gone by and they were finally alone at the other side of the yard, with the excuse that they wanted to be alone, Y/n finally took the chance to congratulate him for the good work he did during lunch, hitting his upper arm.

—I didn't understand a single thing you said, but it was amazing —she excitedly mentioned—. Did you see Tim's face? —she cackled— God, where did all that come from?

He didn't know himself.

He just didn't like the way he was feeling judged, and the way Y/n was almost being judged as a consequence. He was aware of that man's intentions with his question, and couldn't come up with any other way of shutting him up that wasn't that.

—I just used some things I've heard in class —he shyly answered.

—It was great —she answered back, trying to recognize his merit—. I didn't think they'd be so low to dig into your job like that, but you saved it so well, and you came up with something so fast... You left the standard so high.

More than proud of himself, he was smiling at how excited and fulfilled Y/n looked as she bounced on the spot. While, from afar, the same men that tried to interrogate him about his job were looking at them.

—I still think there's something off about him —Tim clicked his tongue—. They don't look like a couple that are crazy in love and haven't been moving away from each other for a month.

—Don't tell me you're still butthurt over Y/n dumping your son —Josh mocked him.

—What do you want them to do? Make out in front of me? —Harry joined them— I really think he's a good guy, and I'm really happy about my daughter settling down with someone like him.

His daughter seemed happy, San seemed to take good care of her... why would anyone, especially his own father, think ill of their relationship?

After watching the match at her parents' living room, basically pushed to be sitting apart when her father hooked his arm around his shoulders so he'd sit next to him, Y/n got ready to drive him home.

It had been a long day, and it was about time to get all that to an end.

They both were in silence all the way back to his place, with Y/n too deep in her thoughts. She didn't want to drop him off, she wanted to spend more time with him despite spending almost all day together. But she was unsure of whether he also wanted to be around her more than needed.

—You were great today —she commented, quickly shifting her eyes to him before moving them back to the road.

—Was I? —he sighed— I don't really know. But it does seem like everyone ate it up, right?

—Yeah. Linda was so into our date. I don't know what more details she wanted me to tell her. Maybe what color my panties were, or I don't know —she rolled her eyes—. But it turned out better than I expected.

San nodded with a smile, allowing silence to slowly kick back inside her car.

—Hmm, do you have something to do? —her question took him by surprise— I mean, it isn't that late. And since it turned out well, I thought we could celebrate we won't have to do this again.

But would it genuinely be a celebration?

—Yeah, sure —he nodded—. Why not?

It took her less than a minute to come up with somewhere where they'd be comfortable and calm. She had been there before a few times, with one of the several failed dates. She loved the place, to the point where it made up for the awful company she chose to have.

Except for that day.

The other times, there weren't that many people. And maybe it was because it was during weekdays. She should've guessed that showing up there on a weekend, right after a football match, wasn't the best choice. But they both still went inside, walking among the crowd until they found a free small tall table.

San went for the drinks and some chips before she could even think of standing up from the stool, thanking him after the hard time she had to manage to sit up there. Despite being noisy and crowded, it all turned calm and silent around them when he came back with the two bottles and the small plate, joining her back at their table.

—So, any feedback about today? —Y/n asked first.

—It was nice —he simply answered—. Everyone was quite... normal —he shrugged—. Except for that bald man that kept interrogating us.

—Ah, Tim —she nodded—. He's always been an asshole, don't worry. I bet he's still bitter after his son broke up with me, and I didn't want to take him back when he regretted it —she rolled her eyes.

—You were dating his son? —His eyebrows raised in amusement.

—For three years —she answered, eating one of the chips—. He is an unfaithful asshole addicted to crack, and Tim just tries to hide it by burying the others' achievements. That's why he picked it up against us two. I guess he was still hopeful that I'd take his son back one day. And I guess my father was also expecting that, at some point.

—That's why you did this whole thing?

—Well, it's a bit complicated —she tried to explain—. Tom is an asshole, but his family has stability and power. And I guess that my father wants to be sure I have that stability and power for the moment he retires —her lips grimaced—. In part, he does it because his partners will give him a hard time in regards to what I choose to do before he passes the torch to me, and I also think it's just a basic worry of a normal parent. But my dad seemed to miss the point that power and stability aren't just money and a name —she shrugged, moving her eyes up to him.

—If it makes you feel better, I think you'll be a great director one day —he assured her.

—Uh-hum, that's right —she agreed, smiling at his comment—. What about you?

San frowned at her question, not understanding where she was coming from with it.

—I opened up about why I do this, now you need to open up, too.

—Well, I lied and told my friends you were my girlfriend.

—I know that —she interrupted him—. But there has to be something deeper than that.

—None of my friends know about Soundleasure —he admitted—. I was sure they'd have searched up for you online or something, and I guess I was scared you'd tell them how we met.

—Tss, do I look like I'd tell strangers that I used to pay to listen to dirty audios?—she clicked her tongue— I rather keep that perverted side hidden as well —she softly added—. Do you enjoy doing those videos?

—I guess? —he shrugged— It's good to know I can do and say anything behind that name, because no one will judge me or look at me differently. It's like a shield. I manage to dig in on what I like or not, I do things that I wouldn't dare to do in my regular life, and behave in ways that would never cross my mind.

—But you're Soundleasure —she puckered her lips—. You're stopping yourself from doing that. I mean, it's not that your alter ego is a serial killer or a psycho. He's just more confident and eager to do things. You clearly find yourself comfortable in that position, but at the same time you stop yourself because you're scared of that change —her head tilted to the side—. You need to stop yourself from avoiding risks. You think too much about what others might think.

Before he could even answer, an elbow hit the back of his head, making it bang forward before he rubbed his hand against the spot that was hit.

Y/n had seen that group of men being overly loud and annoying, getting way too close to their table without being aware of it, because they were the type to think they owned the place and the people next to them only had to deal with it.

—Hey! I know it's weird for a gorilla like you to be around people, but you need to watch out —Y/n called him out.

—Excuse me? —the man was shocked at her comment, turning to their table again after hearing her voice over the chants.

—You heard me —she snapped back, annoyed—. You hit him, apologize.

—Doesn't he have a mouth to speak? —he turned to San— Does your girlfriend have to speak for you? —the man tilted his head— Why don't you just do what you're supposed to? Sit back on your seat, and keep your pretty mouth shut —he looked back at Y/n.

Something didn't sit right with him with the way that man was speaking to her. He could deal with someone being rude to him, and disrespecting him. But his blood boiled when he dared to look down at Y/n as if she was worth nothing.

—And why don't you take that big fat ass out of this place and do all of us a favor? —San suddenly spoke.

—Big fat ass?

—Yeah. You and your big foot complex are ruining the fun for all of us here. So get the fuck out —and suddenly, he was aware of who he was speaking to, and where—, please.

—The little princess knows how to speak —the man mocked him—. Let's see how you speak without teeth.

But before that man could approach him any closer, San's leg moved faster, hitting the heel of his white sneakers against the chin of the tall man before he could even take a step in his direction. Y/n was so impressed by the sudden move that she didn't realize the moment San rushed towards her, gripping her wrist and dragging her out of the bar as soon as all that confidence disappeared and he was aware that it was an eight against one kind of situation.

Y/n didn't doubt, she didn't stop to think anything, she just ran behind him, while he pulled her tight while those men chased them down the street.

—Where the hell did you learn to do that? —she suddenly asked.

—I did taekwondo when I was younger, I didn't even remember I could do that.

The smile on her face quickly dropped when she looked back and was aware of the men getting closer to them, momentarily losing them as San turned left at one of the streets, before he pulled her body abruptly to one of the nearest dark alleys.

Their breaths were shaky as they both hid in the darkness, with his body completely covering hers while the wall worked as a support for her back. It was all so rushed, it all happened so fast, that neither of them seemed to realize how close they were until the eight men ran past the same alley they were hiding at.

It was only then that he looked down at her to make sure she was okay.

Her parted lips were the most dangerous invitation, and their warm breaths mixing in the small space between them worked like the tightest pull between them. Once their eyes were linked among the heavy air, it was over for the two of them.

—You told me to take some risks —he whispered—. Let me take another risk tonight.

His lips felt soft against hers, even more than she imagined after seeing his pictures. They were definitely better than she could've imagined.

His pull was addictive, dangerous... to the point that it had her hooking her fingers around his neck, as she stood on her tiptoes, to make the kiss deeper. It went from a soft peck to a lip sucking experience that had her head running in circles due to the intensity. His mouth was clumsy, barely managing to keep up with how she was moving, despite him pinning her against the wall to glue their bodies even closer together.

He was inexperienced, the kiss was messy, but it was the most electrifying kiss she had ever had. They didn't even need to dig their tongues on the other's mouth to have her toes curling and her mouth gasping for air due to the intensity of her heartbeat.

It was the best kiss she had ever had in such a long time.

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michelle-is-writing · 1 year

Text

Left Behind ch.2, Nikki Sixx

Word Count: 1.3k~

Read Chapter 1 here!

TW!: mention of prior drug and alcohol use, rehab, slight angst

Five months of being back in Los Angeles had proven to be just the same as when Nikki and I lived in Los Angeles all that time ago. The only difference was the new apartment I lived in and, of course, Nikki. I hadn’t spoken to him since the night we broke up, and it’s been slowly weighing on me as time goes on. Now six months pregnant, I try to find things that once made me happy like before, but it hasn’t been easy.

I don’t know how Nikki’s doing right now; I don’t even know where he is. The guys called me a lot when I first left, but I never answered their calls, and eventually, they slowly stopped. The only time I answered was when Mick tried calling me, and I explained where I had moved to and why; I didn’t tell him that I was pregnant, however. I hardly even turned on the TV anymore, too afraid to see a news report concerning his death from an overdose, only to be revived in an ambulance afterward.

Hearing what happened made me want to go to him and just make sure he was okay, but I felt like I couldn’t. I knew I was probably the last person he wanted to see, and sadly, I didn’t want to see Nikki the way I saw him before I left, strung out and barely holding onto himself as the heroin constantly coursed through his body. I don’t want memories like that coming to mind when my little girl eventually asks about her father. I want to be able to talk about the good moments we had before everything came crashing down, and I ended up where I am now.

Getting home from my shift as a hospital receptionist, I sit down on my couch and rest as my back relaxes from the reduced straining caused by my large bump. I didn’t think I’d be this big until maybe the last couple of months, but that’s not too far away. I just wish the swollen feet would go away. Out of everything, that has to be the worst part of my pregnancy.

Hearing a knock at my front door, I lift my head from the back of the couch and look toward it. In the time I have rented this place, no one ever comes to my door, not even solicitors.

Standing up from my couch, I walk over to the door before looking out the peephole, only to see an all too familiar figure. However, there are a few differences between him now and the last time I saw him. A small noticeable difference is the small strip of hair growing down his chin. On the other hand, the major difference is the healthy look he has, all while being nervous as he stands in front of my door. I’ve never seen Nikki insecure about anything, always finding confidence from somewhere.

Unlatching my door, I open it, Nikki’s eyes instantly catching mine as he comes into my full view. He doesn’t look sick like he used to, with the skin around his eyes no longer holding a purple hue to it and his cheeks appearing a tad fuller. By the looks of it, Nikki might even pass as clean to someone, but for me, I find myself in disbelief at the thought. I can’t assume anything and make myself hopeful like so many times before.

“Hi,” I murmur, completely lost as I stare at the man in front of me. He shyly smiles back, also appearing lost for words. Mick must’ve told him where I was since I haven’t told anyone else.

“Hi, baby,” he responds, his eyes flickering down to my noticeable bump before flashing back to mine, now wet with tears. “I’ve missed you, a lot… You have no idea.”

“Where have you been, Nikki?” I can’t help but ask, taking a step outside my door to fully face him. His arms awkwardly linger by his sides, not quite knowing what to do with them. A long time ago, Nikki would have instantly taken the chance to pull me close, but now, his actions are halted by uncertainty.

“In all honesty, I’ve been in rehab for the past several months,” he confesses, my eyebrows jolting in slight shock at his revelation. “Me and the guys, we all checked ourselves in. And now, we’re finally clean,” Nikki adds, his smile shining with a bit of pride now. At the same time, I also feel myself proud of him despite everything else.

“That’s great, Nikki,” I tell him, watching a tear slip from his eye. My instincts tell me to wipe it away from his cheek, but the hurt that remains holds me back from doing so.

“I-I know what I said when you left was horrible, and I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am,” Nikki tells me, causing the harsh memories to flow back into my mind. “I’m so sorry, baby. I never wanted to hurt you, and I’m sorry I did,” he continues, making me tear up as he steps forward to cup my cheek in his hand. “My memories of us were the only thing getting me through withdrawals, and every time I thought about the night you left, I broke down. I never wanted to lose you, and I never wanted you to go through anything alone.”

My eyes squeezed close at his last comment, the reminder of what he used to say to me, making my heart clench in my chest. “Two against the world,” I can hear his voice from long ago say. The words were a reminder that I wasn’t alone in anything I did; I had someone there to catch me if I fell. But I’ve been alone for a while now, and it’s not that easy for me to just open myself up to him all at once like before, unfortunately.

Seeing his eyes linger on my belly, I find the courage to take his hand in mine and rest it against my bump. “Why don’t you come inside, and we can talk some more,” I suggest, his hand ever so gentle as he runs it against my sweater. “I can show you pictures of our baby girl too, if you’d like,” My voice ends up in a whisper as I say the words I’ve wanted to tell Nikki ever since I discovered our baby’s sex.

At my comment, Nikki looks back at my face with even more tears clouding his eyes before pressing his lips to mine in the softest kiss Nikki has ever given me. His hand still remains on my belly, albeit his fingers are now intertwined with mine. I didn’t think I’d get to do this with Nikki again; I didn’t even know if I’d ever get to see him again.

Pulling away from the kiss, Nikki’s smiling face lingers in front of mine as he rubs his thumb against my cheek. His touch still remains gentle, careful with every move he makes. “I’d love to, baby,” he answers me, his voice choked up a bit. “I’d love to more than anything.”

Smiling back, I can’t help but feel more tears begin falling from my eyes. This feels almost unreal to me, and I can’t help but feel an overwhelming amount of emotions hit me all at once. Nikki holding me just like he used to is one of the best things I’ve ever experienced, and as he wipes away my incessant tears, I realize just how amazing this moment is. Nikki is clean, he knows about his little girl, and he’s finally back. The Nikki I once loved is back.

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doubledyke · 7 months

Text

dissociatED ch. 2

the girls (edd and eddy) are no longer fighting

“Greetings! You’ve reached Eddward. Unfortunately, I’m unable to take your call at the moment. If you will, please leave a brief message with your name, and telephone number, and I’ll return your call as soon at my earliest convenience. Thank you!”

Eddy mocked the nasally voice under his breath after hanging up and tossing the phone onto the foot of his bed. It was bad enough that he would yet again be the one admitting defeat in another of their standoffs. Now he had to wait for a call back just to apologize? Restless with frustration, he hopped off his bed and paced around his bedroom as if to follow his train of thought.

He’s ignoring me. He’s gotta be! His phone’s literally attached to his hip with that tacky ass belt holster. He shuddered to think of the gauche accessory.

Maybe Ed’s sixth sense was wrong and he’d finally fucked it up for real this time. The only logical explanation was that Double Dee had reached his threshold for Eddy’s bullshit once and for all and would never forgive him. One dickish remark too many. And the last one was a doozy.

“So you’re not coming?” The breath hitched in Eddy’s throat released as a scoff.

“Eddy, if you'd-”

“Y'know, I only agreed to go cuz you looked like you were gonna fucking cry when I said I didn’t want to. Here I was, willing to embarrass myself for you and you’re gonna flake?” He scowled at the shiny plastic garment bag hanging from the frame of his closet.

Edd rolled his eyes at the guilt trip. He looked down at his notepad where ‘sorry’ was scrawled several times in a hodgepodge of print and cursive.

"Due to a… discrepancy in scheduling, I've had to make a few discommodious adjustments to a-accommodate an important - mandatory, in fact - meeting of the associated student body… Believe you me, if there was a way I could be there, I would.” Edd should have left his sputtering at that, but felt compelled to inject additional awkwardness. “Yessiree. Front row." His teeth scraped his lip while he hoped against hope that his lousy excuse would be accepted with minimal scrutiny.

"You lie like a cheap rug! If you cared so much, you'd find a way to be here."

Edd’s cheeks were burning. Though he considered himself to be fairly skilled in the art of prevarication, he should have known better than to think he’d get one over on Eddy “Spinner of Yarns” McGee.

"Y-You don't understand," he choked. Citing the enervating anxiety he felt about venturing back to Peach Creek sounded like even more of a cop out in his head than the nonexistent meeting. In all truth, the mere thought of taking in its familiar sights, sounds and smells for an entire day worsened his chronic shortness of breath. Not to mention the hours-long trip just to get there. Before he could find the words, a gruff voice interjected.

"Forget it, you're doin' me a favor. Just wish you'd told me before I rented the fuckin' robe." he bluffed, knowing full well his parents weren't going to let him skip commencement after they paid for his cap and gown. "And I don't get why you feel the need to lie. You know you suck at it.”

"Yes well," Edd cleared his throat before making another attempt to explain. "Your and Ed’s educational milestone is important to me, Eddy. Unfortunately, I have other obligations." His unintentionally stony tone prompted a softening of his next words. "I do hope you'll still attend. Earning a high school diploma is quite an achievement for you."

"For me? What the hell’s that s'posed to mean?!"

"I meant nothing by it! Though I'm sure you'd agree, things were a bit touch and go for a while there." Eddy remained silent during his friend's dramatic pause.

His trudge to the educational finish line had indeed been a struggle, which was why he was so hurt by Edd ditching. Their off and on tutoring sessions over the years were the only reason he maintained a solid 2.3 GPA. Apparently that all meant nothing now.

"I’m very proud of you, Eddy."

"Uh-huh. Not proud enough, apparently." The cantankerous little cad couldn't help it. If there was a snide remark to be made, his soul wouldn’t rest until he was the one to make it. "All that belly achin’ you do about your parents - now look at you! You’re acting just like ‘em."

Edd's wide eyes blinked incredulously at such an emotional sucker punch. They’d exchanged their fair share of injurious insults across years of tumultuous friendship, but their tacit agreement not to exploit certain vulnerabilities had never been breached. During even their worst tiffs, he wouldn’t have dreamed of such a low blow from someone who claimed to be his best friend.

Eddy's knee bounced furiously while he waited for a response to his odious words that hung like Ed’s B.O.. It was a shitty thing to say, sure, but what kind of jerk misses their buddy’s graduation? As far as he was concerned, he was the real victim here. So he doubled down.

“You can tell Ed too, cuz I’m not in the mood for the waterworks.”

Rustling was heard on the other line before the call disconnected.

Edd froze with his hand gripping the front door knob of his shared apartment. The deadbolt clicked with the turning key, then the door gave way to his weary shoulder. He was still adjusting to the culture shock of seeing how people lived when they didn’t have a pathological need for order. Living with strangers - living with anyone was taking Edd much longer to get used to than expected.

Indignation boiled his insides while he stood eyeing the open floor plan from the doormat. As he stepped inside, he kicked the folded corner of an area rug back, and picked up a couple of throw pillows from the middle of the floor. Loose filler paper spilled from the open pocket of a backpack tossed on the couch. He brought his hands up to his temples to serve as blinders to the squalor as he continued toward the hall.

Being the friendly folks they were, his roommates frequently reminded him that he was in fact allowed to come out of his room. Edd always politely declined, confounded by the concept of relaxing in a room that hadn’t been dusted in recent memory. At this point, it was clear that his colleagues were less than receptive to his sermons on the advantages of sanitization, organization and minimalism. Now he just did his best to ignore the unvacuumed floors, the sinkful of dishes and clutter collecting dust on every flat surface. It was just his luck to be housed with two people whose filth gave Ed a run for his money. A lineup of empty soda cans was swiped off the kitchen table by the messenger bag jutting from Edd’s hip as he zipped by. He startled at the noise, but stuck to his resolution to no longer clean up after capable adults.

The door of his austere refuge opened to cool, purified air, subtly scented with lavender from a reed diffuser. He entered just far enough to close the door and hang his bag and windbreaker from the hook on the back. The mattress protector and sheets crinkled as he plopped onto the twin bed and plucked his hat off for a vigorous massage of his tender scalp. As he folded over and tugged at his double knotted shoelaces, he glanced up and saw the phone he’d left on his desk all day.

He first realized it was missing during mid-morning breakfast with his ESL conversation partner. Mostly unbothered, since incoming phone calls were a rarity these days, it slipped his mind before he even finished his crepes. It wasn’t until early evening that he was reminded of its absence when his steel guitar tutee was ten, then twenty minutes late for their lesson. He attributed the absence to end-of-summer blues, but just in case, he tucked his shoes off to the side and grabbed the little nylon pouch. His heart sank when he flipped the screen up and saw that he’d missed six calls from one of the few numbers he had saved.

"Hello?"

"Eddy? I-I'm so sorry, I… I was in a rush as usual and forgot my cell phone at home this morning. Is everything okay?" While waiting for an answer, he’d been recounting a list of worst case scenarios and going over the most logical reaction for each.

"Aye, Sockhead! Long time no talk?" He cringed at the poor attempt at sounding more composed than he felt. "Uh, how are ya?"

"I’m returning your call. Well, calls.” Edd’s concern quickly gave way to snark once he caught his friend's signature cheeky tone. "How are you?"

"Can't complain. Well I could, but who wants to hear it, amirite?"

Several seconds passed before Edd responded to the hackneyed quip.

"Seems I'm not the only one with a tendency to mirror their parents."

For once, didn't take long for Edd to get to the point. Eddy deflated like a balloon. At least with the elephant acknowledged he could cut the crap.

"Look, I didn't mean what I said, okay?" His voice was a low mumble. "I was just frustrated with the whole… thing. If it's any constellation, my folks made me go anyway."

"Oh yes, I feel quite consoled, Eddy." The corners of his mouth tightened. "I do appreciate the effort it must have taken you to form something adjacent to an apology.”

"Right…" Eddy responded, then waited for the "but".

"After some reflection, however, I realized that there may have been some merit to your callous comment." Edd recrossed his legs and leaned back in his ergonomic office chair. "I told you I'd be there cheering you on when you advanced this next phase of life. And I wasn't.” His ears tingled with imminent lacrimation. “For that, I sincerely apologize."

Eddy was used to his friend's frequent blubbering by now, but his chest still tightened when Edd’s voice cracked. Luckily, befriending a crybaby was great practice for offering comfort in moments like these.

"Hey, c'mon. You're nothin' like those tight asses. Not with the, like, important stuff." He still wasn’t very good at it. “'Sides, I still had Ed! Oh man, you shoulda seen it! He tripped over his own dumb feet twice on his way up to the stage." A hearty laugh cut through the tension. “I hope someone was recording! Fuckin’ idiot.”

"Yes, he told me as much.” Edd sniffled and let out a weak laugh. “In fact, he gave me quite the rundown for most of your past academic year. Including the so-called senior prank you hoped to pull." A sneaking smile accentuated his playful scorn.

"Me? A prank?" Eddy gasped and clutched his proverbial pearls. "It was a good one, huh?"

"Mmm, from what I could gather during his breathless retelling, you hoped to replace each student's photo in the yearbook with your own portrait?" Edd's smirk grew. "Sounds less like a prank and more a manifestation of unchecked narcissism."

"I thought it was funny. If that girlfriend of yours would’ve played along it would've been a scream." Eddy replied flatly. "I swear she used her piddly authority as head of the yearbook club to unfairly target me. What’d I ever do to her?” He gestured wildly alone in his room. “She wouldn't even approve my quote! Instead, she put some mealy-mouthed bullshit about the value of education. You need to get a handle on her.”

Edd momentarily ignored the bulk of the erroneous ravings and gave in to curiosity about what kind of trouble Eddy had been causing in his absence.

"Dare I ask just what vile excerpt you insisted be printed below your definitive school photo? The photo, mind you, that generations of our fellow alumni will undoubtedly come across?" Edd closed his eyes as innumerable offensive possibilities raced through his mind.

"It was gonna be that old Sinatra quote. Y’know, 'The best revenge is massive success.’ But oh no, little miss Steinem said it'd be a cold day in hell before a misogynist was commemorated in her precious book. Hell, I don't even care for the guy, but it's a good quote."

"That's it? Funny, I imagined something far more…blue. Although, she does have a point about the normalization of mid-century machismo. I'd think you of all people would be sympathetic to her cause."

Eddy paused to figure out what Edd meant.

"By the way, Nazz and I separated shortly before your class graduation. I was going to tell you when we last spoke but-"

"Woah, woah, woah, hang on! What’d she write ya a Dear John letter?"

A crackling laugh sent Edd recoiling from the phone’s speaker. Eddy made no effort to downplay his glee at the news he'd been waiting to hear for nearly a year.

"What happened, didja sprout a few chest hairs and scare her off?"

Edd held his matter-of-fact reply until the snickering ceased.

"The hardships of maintaining a long distance relationship proved too much to abide, I'm afraid. I think we had an inkling that our dalliance was doomed to dereliction, but it certainly was fun while it lasted."

"The fuck does that mean? You dumped her?"

"I like to think of it as mutual, Eddy. We came to realize that we were simply two ships passing in the night. Alas, separated by the briny tides of the vast ocean of inconstancy we call life."

"Yeah, she dumped ya. And now I see why, ew!"

"Oh, and I suppose women are just lining up to jump into that unmade bed of yours?" Edd snorted.

"Uh, duh! They’re linin’ the block just for the chance. Had to install a turnstile for chrissake!" He smiled when Edd's scoff morphed into a genuine laugh.

"Why, it’s a wonder you found the time to call me. I’m flattered.”

“Yeah well, even Lothario needs a breather from time to time.” Eddy flipped over on the bed to lay on his stomach. “What about you? How's the single life treatin' ya? You must be bumpin' uglies with a different chick every night, huh?"

Edd rolled his eyes at the notably accusatory tone and accompanying vulgar image.

"Please. If I didn't know any better, I’d think I had unwittingly signed a vow of celibacy along with the lease for my off-campus apartment." Edd stood from his chair and stretched with a drawn out groan, then took the three short steps back to his outgrown bed. "Not that I've had the time, nor energy for such extracurricular activities, given my shortsightedness in arranging my summer schedule."

Relief washed over Eddy.

"What, you mean to tell me you ain't goin' to the keggers at Alpha Beta Soup every weekend?" They both chuckled at the absurd idea.

"Tempting as it may be to attend a gathering of belligerent, red-faced bloviators, where the guest of honor is a barrel of Bud Light - I think I'll pass."

"You gotta make time for yourself or you'll go nuts, Dee. What've you been doing all break then?"

"Well, I just finished my final class of the summer… Oh, and I’ve started tutoring again.” Exhaustion stopped him from elaborating. “Now, I’m waffling.”

"About what?"

"Well, I'd really like to see you and Ed before classes commence in a few weeks. I'm just not sure…"

"Not sure?" Eddy's forehead scrunched. "I'm- er, Ed's practically dysfunctional without ya. More than usual, that is."

"Oh good lord, please tell me he's still employed?" Edd's subconscious foot shaking paused while awaiting an answer.

"Yeah, yeah he's still at the plant." Eddy heard a faint exclamation of relief from his friend. "Him and May are still mushy as ever, yadda yadda yadda. I can tell he's missin’ ya though."

"It's not that I don't want to see you! I'm just once again letting worry cloud my better judgment." Edd looked down at the throbbing, red thumb he'd been mindlessly picking at since before their call started. "I'm not even sure where I'd stay if I did come to visit."

There was a brief silence while Eddy's brain caught up to his friend's words. He'd been stuck on the irony of Edd worrying about Ed's job, when in reality he was the one who'd recently nearly wrecked his car looking for "Help Wanted" signs.

"Well, depending on when you wanna come, my folks are takin' their uh… 'couples' cruise' in like, a week. You could stay at my place."

Edd's face lit up at his friend's offer.

"Oh, Eddy, that would be fantastic! And what convenient timing… How long will they be away?"

"Mom said they're leaving for the airport Tuesday morning, but I'll have to find out when they're comin' back. It's usually like a week."

"Excellent!" Edd squeaked excitedly. "As soon as you find out I'll buy my bus ticket, and-"

"Bus?!" Eddy sat up. "You really think you'd survive a ride on the Freakshow Express? Get real! I'll drive it. Just gimme the address."

"Honestly, Eddy, the bus isn't that bad. I'm of the opinion that having to endure a few eccentrics is a small price to pay for ecologically sustainable transportation."

"I want to come get you." He was a little embarrassed by how intense he suddenly sounded. His heart rate picked up. An eyebrow arched beneath Edd's hat.

"Have you been adhering to your vehicle's maintenance schedule?"

"You can't help yourself, can you?" Eddy laughed and shook his head. "My car's fine. I just got the brake pads replaced, and I think they changed the oil. Might've been the wiper fluid... I dunno. How bout I bring ya the receipt and you can write your analysis on the way back?"

"Oh, I'm sorry that I'm not jumping at the opportunity to be stranded on some rural back road with no phone service, and none of the tools required to correct whatever mechanical misfortune undoubtedly befalls us given our seemingly supernatural bad luck. Do you even have a roadside emergency kit? Preferably including road flares?"

"I still have the one you gave me! You act like we're goin' to Canada or something. It's a few hundred miles. I got cables, a spare, a jack, and I'll wear my cut offs in case we need to flag down some meathead to do the grunt work."

Edd's giggling tapered with a sigh.

"In that case, I look forward to seeing you, Eddy."

"I bet you do." He teased, making Edd redden. "Nah, I'm excited to see you too. Maybe we could, uh... get some lunch or somethin' while we're out there." It was a benign suggestion, but heightened excitement made it seem risky.

"I'd like that." Edd's calm voice masked the fact that he was screaming internally. No, he wouldn't read to much into his friend's words. He'd only end up hurt again. Instead, he read his watch. "I hate to cut our conversation short, Eddy, but I've got to start my nighttime routine."

As kids, they'd yap on the phone for hours with no lull until one or both of them fell asleep clutching the receiver. Eddy found himself grinning like an idiot at the not-so-distant memories. After such a long stretch of not speaking, it was difficult to say goodbye.

"Alright, have fun scrubbing your elbows or whatever it is you do."

"You know I will!"

"I'll let you know what my mom says. I'll text you!"

"Sounds great. Good-"

"Don't forget your phone!"

"I'll clip it to my belt tonight."

"'You better."

"Good night, Eddy."

"Night, Dee."

#fic

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runawrites-blog · 6 months

Text

Until The Break Of Dawn Ch. 2 (Josh Washington x Reader)

Summary: You arrive at Blackwood Mountain but you quickly realise tensions are running high. Josh tries to reassure you. (Female Reader) Warnings: Fighting, Innuendos to Smut, Discussions of the disappearance of the Washington twins and Reader's father, Specific warnings will be posted in the notes of each chapter, No Y/N, Petnames (Honey) Author's Note: You can find the previous chapter here Crossposted on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49644949/chapters/125303164#workskin

Snow was still falling when you sat down next to Jessica on the bench outside the cable car station. A year after the disappearance of Hannah and Beth you were back at the lodge. It was strange to be up there without the two of them or without being there as part of the search parties. This time you were there to have fun, mostly at the request of your boyfriend Josh. Though it worried you that after everything he still insisted on celebrating up on the mountain again you wanted to support him and if he was sure this getaway in honor of his sisters would help him, you would join.

As a matter of fact, you hadn’t left his side a lot during the past year. The disappearance and presumed death of his sisters had been understandably detrimental to his mental health and you wanted to be there for him. You knew better than any of his other friends how losing a loved one and never finding closure could devastate someone, so you made sure to support him throughout everything. By now, you had practically moved in with Josh.

“Your boyfriend isn’t coming to pick you up at the cable car?” Jess asked, leaning forward to smirk at you and snapping you out of your thoughts. “I thought Josh was way more romantic than that.”

“Why would he come pick me up?” You asked with an amused chuckle. “I know the lodge and the mountain like the back of my hand. I can get there by myself.”

“I just thought Josh would come and get you.” Jess said, grinning at you a little. “After all, he’s so cute with you and you two always hang around each other.”

“It’s fine. He said he has some things left to set up and prepare.” You explained and looked at the cable car that was approaching. “And besides, Mike will take us up the mountain, right?”

“Right.” Jess smiled before she turned to you in question. “So have you thought of my request? I need to go on this dumb camping trip for my college class and I really want you to come with me. You love camping! You barely went on any trips last year.”

“I haven’t thought of it, actually. I know I used to love camping and the outdoors.”

“But?”

“But I had a lot of work to do and you know that it just always reminds me of my father and-- well, after what happened last year I spent a lot of time helping Josh, so I didn’t have much time to think of your requests anyway.“

Jess leaned in closer to you, resting her head against your shoulder and pouting up at you. “That’s a bummer. Remember our camping trips in Highschool? We used to snatch the van from Josh’s parents and head to the mountains or the lake. And you made that impressive fire from scratch. I think that got Josh all hot and bothered. He never helped around the campsite because he was too busy watching you.”

You snorted at that, smiling to yourself as you remembered that camping trip. “Yeah, I remember. Chris and Mike were so mean, teasing him about it all the time.”

“He was so into you.”

“I know that.” You couldn’t help but laugh at Jessica’s words. “That’s kind of the reason he asked me out back in Junior Year.”

Jess made a face as she remembered that day. “His promposal was weird, though.”

A smile tore your face as you remembered how he had asked you to prom by playing a small SAW inspired game with you that ended in you having to place your hand in a suspicious-looking box to retrieve a letter with the question on it.

“Well, SAW was the movie we watched together when I came over to his place for the first time after we met each other in Middleschool.” You explained and looked back at Jess, chuckling to yourself. “I thought it was amazing, even though that box at the end actually weirded me out at first. But Josh would never hurt me.”

“No, he wouldn’t.”

That’s when someone called out your and Jessica’s name, making both of you look up and turn in the direction of the noise to find Mike approaching. Jess got up quickly and embraced Mike, kissing him passionately for a few seconds. When they had parted, Mike gave you a little wave and chuckled.

“Hey, long time no see.”

“It’s great to see you again, Mike.” You said in earnest, approaching him and Jess. “Was your drive here alright with all the snow?”

Mike nodded before looking around. “Did you not come here with Josh?”

“Josh wanted to come here early to get the cabin ready for us and I had to drop something off at a friend’s place before getting here.” You explained before clapping your hand once to get everyone’s attention. “I suggest we get going, alright?”

“Excited to see your boyfriend?”

“Of course.” You smiled brightly at the prospect of getting to see Josh again. “I haven’t seen him in over a week and I definitely missed him.”

Jess smiled at you before her smile morphed into a smirk. “You will have ample opportunity to cozy up with him in front of the fireplace, don’t worry.”

“I know that but I’m also looking forward to seeing my friends again. I have seen neither Ash nor Emily in months. And I haven’t seen Sam in even longer, let alone Chris and Matt!”

Mike chuckled at your words. “And I thought you and Sam go camping together a lot.”

“We used to but I was rather preoccupied after what happened last year. I was with Josh a lot so I could try to help him and his family. The last time I saw Sam was when we helped the search party in February but then her mother got into that car accident and she had to help her out. But you already know about that.” You sighed as you remembered all that had happened in the past year before looking up at your two friends again. “Let’s get up the hill and find everyone else, alright?”

“What are we waiting for?” Jess grinned, making a show of rubbing her arms and inching close to Mike. “It’s freezing out here and I want to get into a warm cabin where I can curl up with Mike.”

With that, the three of you set out and made your way up the mountain, trying to ignore the biting winds and freezing temperatures. Mike kept Jess close as you led the way, knowing the mountain inside out after spending so much time on it during the last year. Twenty minutes and a small snowball fight later you finally arrived at the top of the mountain, on the path that led to the lodge where Sam, Chris, and Josh were already waiting.

When your eyes locked with Josh’s a smile tore your face and he reciprocated it before beckoning you over with a wave of his hand. You didn’t have to be asked twice because you made a dash for his arms, falling into them and wrapping yours around his neck.

“I haven’t seen you in days, Sweetheart!” You smiled brightly, leaning up to press a few kisses to his cheeks before eventually pecking him on the lips. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” Josh said softly, his hand finding the small of your back to pull you close. “Did you have a safe trip up? Weather services predicted a storm.”

Your soft smile only grew at him inquiring about your well-being and you pressed yet another kiss to his cheek. “I got here safely. I just hope my car doesn’t completely freeze over during our getaway.”

“I gave you the keys to the parking garage at the base of the mountain for that exact reason. It should be fine in there.”

“Josh, do you know how cold it is in that garage?” You snorted, leaning your head against his shoulder. “My feet nearly froze to the floor when I had to stop walking for two seconds to make sure my car was locked.”

Josh laughed at your joke and raised an eyebrow at you. “Honey, I think that was just a sign for you to hurry up and get up here so I could finally see you again.”

“Speaking of which, how many days did you spend here all alone while getting the cabin ready?”

“Two.”

“Weren’t you lonely up here? Or scared?” You asked softly before drawing back so you could eye your boyfriend for a few seconds. “Josh, Sweetheart, did you remember to take your meds while you were here on your own? I know that you sometimes get a bit caught up in what you’re doing and forget things like that.”

“Of course I remembered, Honey. Now let’s get to the lodge.”

“Good idea!” Jess exclaimed as she approached you two. “It’s already so dark outside.”

“And cold.”

Josh chuckled at your addition about the temperatures and rubbed your arm a bit to warm you up, leaning down to press a kiss to your temple. “Don’t worry, Honey, we’ll be warm and cosy inside in no time!”

“Do we still get the guest cabin?” Mike inquired and Josh nodded at him.

“As promised, you and Jess get the guest cabin but the key is inside the lodge so we’ll have to get there first.”

“Then let’s hurry. I want to take Jess to the cabin.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Josh smirked and pulled you a little closer as you all began to walk. “I want to take my wonderful girlfriend to the master’s bedroom as much as you want to take Jess to the cabin.”

You looked up at that, chuckling at Josh’s words and pressing close to his side as you walked by his side. “I’d be up for sharing some body heat for sure.”

“I can provide that!”

“Guys, can you not?” Chris groaned, glaring jokingly at you and Josh. “You are the fucking worst!”

“Sorry.” You giggled before looking back at Josh. “Anyways, have you prepared everything? Have you turned up the heat and hot water? Please, tell me you have.”

“I think so.” Josh mused. “If not, we’ll just do it later. It doesn’t take too long.”

Sam turned, now walking backward so she could talk to you and Josh. “I am just looking forward to that awesome bathtub you have, Josh.”

You chuckled at that, nodding along. “It’s so huge and comfortable. You never have to feel cramped when you take a bath there.”

“Exactly!” Sam agreed enthusiastically before looking up at Josh with a genuine smile. “It’s great to see you again.”

“Likewise.” Josh reciprocated her smile before frowning a little. “How is your mother?”

“She’s doing a lot better. Her leg has healed up nicely but she has to do physical therapy now.” Sam then sighed and averted her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t join any more of the search parties after her accident.”

Josh quickly shook his head and waved her off. “Come on, Sammy, you know I wouldn’t blame you for that. Your mother needed you. Besides that, my girlfriend and Chris helped, so it’s not like I was on my own. I don’t blame you.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t find anything.” Chris said suddenly, voice full of guilt. “I really am.”

You nodded at his words, guilt washing over you. “I still cannot believe we didn’t find a thing -- no footsteps, no phones, no clothes, nothing. Josh, I’m so sorry that we didn’t manage to find anything.”

“Can we please talk about something else?” Josh asked and the pain seeping into his voice almost made you tear up. “Please, Honey?”

“Of course. Whatever you need, Sweetheart.” You agreed quickly and thought of what else to talk about for a few seconds. “You said there’s a storm coming in. I hope we don’t get snowed in and if we do, I hope you got enough food up here to tide us over until we get rescued.”

Chris nodded along to your words, joining in on your quest to distract his friend. “If we get cabin fever, who do you think we should eat first, Josh?”

“You.”

“Rude!”

Josh laughed at Chris’ answer, letting go of you so he could fish out his keys from his pockets. But he had no luck at unlocking the door and after a few seconds of fiddling with the lock, he dropped his hands to the side and swore quietly.

“What?” Chris leaned closer so he could look over his shoulder at the lock. “You good? What’s up?”

Josh shook his head in agitation and looked back at his friend. “I can’t get the door open. The lock is iced over.”

You quickly pressed past him to examine the lock, finding it indeed frozen over. “Damn it, what do we do now? It’s freezing out here!”

“I second that statement! And speaking of how cold it is, how are you not freezing in a flannel and a vest, Josh?” Sam joked and eyed the older man. “Seriously, I’m freezing just looking at you.”

“And your skirt is any better?” Josh snorted, waving her off. “I’m wearing a long-sleeved shirt underneath the flannel. And besides that, I tend to run hot.”

“You do. And I would really love to cozy up with you by the fire.” You began, crossing your arms to get warmer. “Josh, what do we do now?”

“Don’t worry, Honey. We’ll find a way inside.” Josh said, giving you a reassuring smile before making a face. “The problem is, I don’t have the keys to any of the other doors.”

“But there are windows we could get in through, right?” Chris threw in and Josh chuckled at the suggestion.

“Are you saying we should break in?”

“I don’t think it’s technically breaking in if you own the place.”

“Not if I don’t report you.” Josh joked, making you laugh a little. “Alright, Chris and l will go around the back and find another way inside. Lead the way, Cochise.”

Sam nodded at their explanation. “Be careful, guys.”

“There’s got to be ice everywhere on the ground.” You warned them. “Don’t fall.”

“Relax, we’ll be careful.” Chris promised with a confident grin. “I’ll watch my step.”

“Promise to watch out.” You insisted, earning yourself an affectionate eye-roll from your boyfriend before he leaned down to press a small kiss to your lips, making you frown. “I’m serious, Josh.”

“I promise.”

The two of them left. You stayed back with everyone else. While Mike and Jess planned out their route to the guest cabin you and Sam made conversation about camping trips, planning the next trip you could go on together. The two of you had just started thinking of dates when Josh came back, proclaiming that Chris had managed to get inside and was now working on opening the door. Within the next ten minutes, Chris had opened the door, allowing you all to get inside and a wolverine to jump out. Much to his dismay no one else was as startled about the animal as he was.

Sam was the first to reach the living room and she immediately began to look for firewood. Josh followed close behind her and quickly got to work starting a fire while you watched from next to him. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Chris approaching while Mike and Jess flopped down on one of the couches.

“Hey, Chris, where’s the lighter?”

“Here you go!” The other man answered Josh’s question and chucked a lighter at him, chuckling as his friend fumbled to catch it. “Hurry up with the fire, please.”

Josh did quick work lightening the fire before standing back up, proudly examining his work. As soon as he was standing, you draped yourself over his back, making your boyfriend chuckle and turn to embrace you.

“Let’s sit down and wait for Matt, Ashley, and Emily to arrive, okay?”

“Good idea!” Jessica exclaimed and snuggled closer to Mike. “We can go to the guest cabin once we’ve warmed up a bit.”

Mike nodded in agreement, pulling Jess closer. “Great plan there, Babe.”

Everyone else soon followed Mike and Jessica’s example of reclining on the couches. Sam sat down on the other couch, pulling her legs up to her body as she waited for the fire to heat up the room. Chris sat down next to her, striking up a quiet conversation and Josh pulled you into his lap. While everyone made small talk, you felt Josh slowly putting his head down on your shoulder, nuzzling your neck. You turned your head to look at him.

“You okay there, Sweetheart?”

“Of course.” Josh nodded absentmindedly. “Just a bit cold.”

“Told you that you’d get cold in that vest.” Sam snorted from her spot.

Josh rolled his eyes jokingly and cuddled closer to you. “Honey, did you drop your book off at your friend’s place or did you not have the time?”

“Yes, I did. Eve said she’d read the draft as soon as she’s got time.”

“Wait, you wrote a damn book?” Jess looked up, laughing a little in surprise. “Way to tell me about it!”

“Would you even want to read a horror novel?”

“No way!” Jess chuckled but leaned in closer nonetheless. “What is it about, though?”

“It’s about a group of friends who go on a hiking trip but they end up lost in a forest that is much more alive than they think it is.” You explained, starting to run your fingers up and down Josh’s arm. “Basically the forest is a giant life form that messes with them and feeds on them. It has some Cosmic Horror elements but it also has a lot of focus on their interpersonal relationships. I’m just conflicted on how to end it.”

“How so?” Mike asked before grinning. “Just have them be absorbed by the life form!”

“I was thinking of whether or not they should get a happy ending. I really want them to have a happy ending but I feel like after everything they go through during the course of the story it will be hard for them to have one.”

Sam eyed you in interest, frowning at your words. “Why? I personally believe that almost everyone can overcome their trauma and issues with enough help and support. Why not the characters?”

“I mean, they already bring a lot of baggage with them going into the story. One of the guys has recently escaped an abusive relationship which is actually why he and his friends decide to get away for a few days. Then there’s this one girl whose mother died on a camping trip a few years prior to the main plot, leaving that girl contemplating on whether or not she even wants to join her friends.”

Jess swallowed at that, looking back at Mike for a few seconds before speaking up. “That is eerily similar to what happened to your father.”

“Jess.” Mike chided quietly. “Don’t talk to her about that right now.”

Josh sighed and pressed a few kisses to the back of your neck, tightening his hold on you. “Honey, that does sound eerily similar to what happened to your father. Are you sure you’re fine?”

“I’ll be fine.” You dismissed his worries quickly, wanting to be there for him now rather than forcing him to support you. “Don’t worry about me.”

Josh nodded slowly, pressing another kiss to your neck. “But besides the character in your book having a similar backstory to what happened to your father, you’ve seemed a bit stressed and down lately. You know I’m always there for you and if you want to talk to me in private, we can leave for a few minutes.”

“Josh, I’m fine. I’ve just been a bit stressed lately and with everything going on, I haven’t been able to see my mother a lot which she went off on me for. But we talked it all out and we’ll be fine.”

“I’m sorry you had to spend so much time with me.”

“None of that. I’ll always gladly spend time with you and of course, I also joined the search parties.” You carefully turned around in his lap so you were facing him. “Apart from the fact that I want to help you and your family, your sisters were my friends, as well. I wanted to help.”

“But your mother--”

“Just felt neglected. The anniversary of my father’s disappearance was two weeks ago and around that time she felt neglected and alone, so she went off on me for spending a lot of time with you.” You explained, not wanting Josh to feel guilty. “That wasn’t your fault and we talked to out.”

“That’s good.”

“I love you, Josh.”

“And I love you, Honey.”

“Gross!”

Everyone quieted their small conversations to look up at the door where you found Emily, giving you and Josh a little grin as she walked in with Matt behind her and Ashley trailed after them. When Emily spotted Jess, her face fell.

“Jess is here already, I see.”

You turned back around in Josh’s lap, watching as Emily and Jess started to bicker almost immediately. Looking around the room, you could see that Chris was uncomfortable, Mike seemed at a loss of what to do and Sam was annoyed. She proclaimed that she was going to take a bath and quickly left just as Matt tried to defuse the situation. While the fight only continued despite the man’s best efforts, Chris quickly got up and greeted Ashley before grabbing her by the hand and dragging her after him.

“We’re looking for an Ouija board! See you later!”

They were gone just as quickly as Sam had been and the fight just seemed to get worse with Emily and Jess throwing insult after insult at each other. Mike was quiet, almost seeming interested in the fight rather than in breaking it up. The arms around your waist tightened a little and you could tell Josh was uncomfortable with this situation, as well. Before you could say anything, Matt managed to diffuse the situation enough for the two women to stop going off at each other. Josh used that moment of silence to gently move you off his lap and stand up.

“How about we break this whole situation up a bit? We can spend more time together during the rest of the weekend. But for now, I think we all need to settle in. Mike, why don’t you take the guest cabin I told you about?”

“Sure.” Mike nodded and quickly got up. “Come on, Jess. I’ll show you how far it is from here on the balcony while Josh gets the keys.”

The two of them left and Emily suddenly looked up at Matt in shock, making you frown and wonder what was going on. Matt seemed just as confused as he raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his girlfriend.

“Matt, where’s my bag?”

“What bag?”

“The smaller one I brought!”

Emily went on about where she had bought it, trying to get Matt to go back to the cable car with her to get it, and eventually, the man relented. They excused themselves and left. And with Josh gone to get the key, you were alone in the living room. You took the opportunity to look outside, moving toward the window to take in the beautiful scenery.

Snow was still falling and in the pale moonlight, the hills twinkled beautifully. A small smile made its way to your face as you spotted a bird, sitting on a nearby railing and grooming itself. As you watched the bird, you spotted something moving in the woods out of the corner of your eyes. Your head snapped in the direction of the figure and you strained your eyes to see what it was but all you could make out was a large shape making its way through the treeline. It couldn’t be any of your friends because none of them had left for that area of the mountain and it didn’t look like an animal. Josh had told you you’d all be alone on the mountain that weekend so you worried whether or not it was a person sneaking around the woods.

You were ripped from your thoughts by arms wrapping around your waist from behind, making you wince and almost jump in surprise. Josh chuckled behind you and buried his face at your neck. You could feel his smirk but you couldn’t help but relax in his arms.

“Did I scare you there, Honey?”

“Don’t sneak up on me!” You chastised him, turning in his arms to look at him. “Are you alright? I’m sorry this weekend started with everyone fighting.”

“I’m fine.” Josh said, drawing you closer to him. “Are you alright? I mean, they all talked about your father.”

You quickly waved him off, cuddling closer to him. “I’m fine, don’t worry. This weekend is about you, Josh.”

“I was just a bit worried because I know you and your mother have been fighting a lot lately, you had to help me and I didn’t want to be a burden so--”

“Josh, you are never a burden, you hear me? I love you and I helped you because I care about you. I was there for you because you’re the love of my life.” You promised before leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. “Whatever you need, I’m here for you.”

“Thank you, Honey.”

“Did you give Mike the key?”

“They’re on their way to the guest cabin. Sam is taking a bath, Chris and Ashley are exploring the house and Emily is dragging Matt to the cable car. I can finally make good on my promise to cozy up with you.” Josh purred, leaning closer to you and pressing a kiss to your jawline. “And I can make up for scaring you.”

You chuckled at that, wrapping your arms around Josh’s neck. “I’d love nothing more than for you to take me to your bedroom but I have to ask a question first: Are we alone this weekend?”

“Yes, no one else is on the mountain.” Josh said, leaning his head down onto your shoulder, pressing small kisses to your neck. “Why?”

“I was just looking outside and I saw someone moving around the woods. It didn’t look like an animal and more like a person, so I’m getting a little worried now that you’ve said we are supposed to be alone.” You mumbled, feeling fear overtake you as you inched closer to Josh. “What if it’s someone dangerous?”

Josh shook his head at your worries, pulling you a little closer. “I don’t want to dismiss your fears, but I’m sure it was nothing dangerous. It’s really dark outside, so maybe you mistook an animal for a person.”

You mulled his words over in your head, trying to remember if the figure you had seen could have been an animal. It hadn’t moved much and it had been big, so perhaps it had been an animal, obscured by the darkness outside. Besides that, you trusted Josh and you knew he wouldn’t put you in danger, so his assurance that it had been nothing dangerous calmed you down. He wasn’t dismissing your fears but calming them. Josh thought it was nothing to worry about and you trusted him.

“You’re right. Maybe I just mistook a deer for something else. There are dozens of them all over the mountain.” You nodded, leaning up to give Josh a kiss. “But just so I can feel a bit safer, we have to remember to lock the doors once we all go to bed tonight, alright?”

“Of course, Honey.” Josh promised before letting his hand slide underneath the knitted sweater you were wearing before groaning playfully. “It’s so hard to undress you when you wear so many layers! A knitted sweater and a long-sleeved shirt?”

“I get cold easily.” You shrugged and ran your hands down his biceps. “Come on, let’s take this to your room before everyone else gets back and demands your attention.”

Josh nodded and let go of you, taking you by the hand. “Now you’re the one demanding my attention and I love it. Don’t worry, I’ll gladly take you to the bone zone.”

“Ever the romantic.”

“Sorry, Honey. If you want more romance I can hunt down some candles. We have more than enough around here.” Josh said, nodding toward the kitchen. “But I don’t know if we have matches here.”

“I can help with that.” You grinned and pulled out a lighter from your pocket, holding the little silver object up to his eye level. “Always prepared.”

Josh couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “And you think using the lighter your father gifted you for family camping trips to light candles so we can sleep with one another is a good way to honor his memory?”

“I was joking about you not being romantic and wanting candles, you know that, right?” You chuckled and stashed the lighter away. “I don’t even know why I brought the lighter in the first place, really.”

“Because it was a gift from your father and he gave it to you for trips you two used to go on together before he passed away.” Josh finished, pulling you closer but being much gentler this time, reaching up to stroke your cheek. “I get it. I can’t part from anything Hannah and Beth gifted me over the years. If it’s one of the last things you have from a person, it’s hard to even leave it at home.”

You gave him a sad smile, leaning your head against his shoulder. “You’re so understanding. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Josh responded, pressing a kiss to your head. “Listen, I know I kept being touchy with you and talking about taking you to the bone zone but if you’re not in the mood, especially after this conversation, I totally get it.”

“I’m alright, don’t worry. I missed you, Josh. I still want this if you still want this.”

“I do.”

“Then take me to your room.”

#fanfiction #textpost #writing #until dawn x reader #until dawn imagine #until dawn #josh until dawn #until dawn josh #josh washington x reader #josh washington imagine #josh washington

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tanjir0se · 2 months

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The Ghost of You, Ch. 5

Giyuu tends to Sanemi's wounds and Sanemi demands answers, but once he gets the answers he's looking for, he's only left with more questions.

READ THE FULL CHAPTER HERE !

The last time he’d done this, the roles had been reversed. Both exhausted from training, both pretending not to be (though Sabito managed a much more convincing portrayal than he), Sabito had carried him piggyback through the woods all the way back to Urokodaki’s cabin after he’d sprained his ankle on one of the mountain obstacle course’s many traps.

“You owe me big for this,” Sabito had said. Giyuu nodded against his shoulder.

“You can have the bamboo shoots from all my udon for two weeks.”

“A month! Minimum! And really that’s the least you can do.” Sabito proclaimed with a laugh. “You’re lucky I haven’t sprained my own ankle carrying your big butt around like this.” Giyuu grinned a little at that, leaning heavy against Sabito’s back.

Now, Giyuu let Sanemi lean heavily against him while they trudged through the snow. He wasn’t going to demand Sanemi’s bamboo shoots, though.

The wisteria house was fairly small and unassuming; the wisteria crest on the door was faded from years of apparent disuse. Giyuu stopped on the porch and ensured Sanemi was mostly steady before releasing his hand to knock three times.

For a long time they waited, Giyuu becoming more and more concerned by the second that he’d dragged an injured Sanemi a kilometer through the snow to a wisteria house that was abandoned. Sanemi, for once, didn’t seem to care, and was staring at the wooden deck, watching his own blood drip down and collect in red wells on the fresh snow.

Finally the door slid open. A woman in a dressing gown answered, bleary-eyed, having clearly been awoken from sleep. Neither man had the chance to speak before she did, apparently realizing all at once who they were.

“Demon slayers!” She exclaimed, then practically tripped over herself to slide the door open wider and usher them in. “Please, please, come inside, get out of this weather!” Giyuu did not argue and ducked into the house, still supporting Sanemi.

The woman rushed to heat up a kettle and insisted upon making them a meal, and finally Sanemi looked up at her. Giyuu slowly unwound Sanemi’s arm from across his shoulders but kept his arm around Sanemi’s waist. The woman’s dark hair shimmered with silver in streaks at her temples and sprinkled throughout. Her eyes, equally dark, were framed in laugh lines.

Giyuu lowered himself to the floor at her insistent beckoning, and in doing so lowered Sanemi, too. The warmth of the house was the best medicine he could have asked for, and actually began to struggle keeping his eyes open as his exhaustion threatened to overtake him.

The woman busied herself making them tea and bringing them blankets and sets of dry clothes and generally ensuring neither could get a word in edgewise or so much as lift a finger.

“I painted that crest almost fifteen years ago, when slayers like you saved me and my little boy from a monster,” she explained quickly as she poured them each two cups of tea. “I haven’t had a slayer here since! We don’t get much traffic out here I suppose. My little boy is all grown up into a man now, just had a little boy of his own! Oh, but listen to me go on and on, I never did learn to keep things to myself!”

Giyuu looked around the small room while she poured Sanemi’s tea and found the walls were covered in framed photographs that created a timeline of the boy’s life. Many were of the woman and the boy together when he was young, several of the boy as a teenager, now with a large scar on his jawline, and one in the center of the room in a fine gold frame depicted the boy, now a man, beside a young woman in a pretty wedding kimono.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Sanemi murmured as she finished pouring his tea. Giyuu moved his eyes from the photographs to him in surprise that he’d spoken; the woman smoothed down her robe nervously.

“Um, pardon me for asking, sir, but are you quite alright?”

Sanemi shakily reached for the cup and swallowed hard. Breathing too deeply or speaking too much only aggravated his likely broken ribs, but he knew better than to expect any help from Giyuu. To hell with him then, he can just keep up his mysterious pretty-boy act—

“Thank you for your concern,” Giyuu said, speaking on Sanemi’s behalf with surprising ease. He’d have to be blind not to notice Sanemi’s effort to hide his pain, and judging by the bruising peeking out from his open uniform, speaking would probably only make it worse. Sanemi didn’t look at him while he spoke. “We were hoping to trouble you for a warm place to rest for the night. We’ll be gone at first light—”

“Oh! It’s no trouble, no trouble at all! Please, stay as long as you need!” The woman said sincerely. Her face fell shortly after and she nervously ran the hem of her robe sleeves through her fingers. “Though, I live quite modestly, and only have one spare room…will that be alright?”

“More than sufficient, thank you.” Giyuu responded.

Sanemi watched the woman’s expression soften into a sincere, if nervous, smile. She took one of the blankets she’d brought them and drew it gently around Sanemi’s shoulders. He closed his eyes.

It took a fair amount of persistence from Giyuu to convince their host not to put herself out for them, eventually compromising by accepting a dozen of her freshly made onigiri, but eventually the woman showed them to their room for the night and left them.

Giyuu helped Sanemi into the spare room and lowered the both of them down near a window. Though the woman’s hospitality had restored a bit of his strength, Sanemi grunted and shrugged off his uniform shirt and prepared to just sleep his injuries off. Evidently Giyuu had other plans.

“Shinazugawa,” He began slowly. “You’re still bleeding.”

“What’s it to you?” Sanemi responded hotly, if tiredly. Now between Giyuu helping him walk and speaking for him, Sanemi was quickly racking up his list of favors he now owed him. Giyuu sighed softly but was not deterred, producing a first aid kit from among the bedrolls and blankets their host had given them. “Did nobody ever teach you to mind your own business?”

“Whether or not you bleed to death on our mission is my business.” Giyuu argued.

Sanemi groaned dramatically but pushed himself up anyway and sat cross-legged in front of Giyuu, now fully bare-chested. “I’m not going to bleed to death, you drama queen.” He complained all the same.

Giyuu tried not to roll his eyes and obtained a rag and a pail of water to set about scrubbing the blood from Sanemi’s wounds so he could see them properly. Sanemi allowed it but Giyuu could see his jaw clenching and hands curling into fists. Giyuu put one hand on Sanemi’s chest, the other moving quickly but gently, lest Sanemi haul off and punch him for his troubles.

Sanemi wasn’t going to punch him. In fact, Giyuu’s almost unnaturally cool hands soothed his hot, aching skin, which only managed somehow to piss him off more. He watched Giyuu work, the pink, frost-nipped tips of his ears and slender nose, the raven dark hair that fell in front of his face and dripped with snow, and felt his face burn in anger.

“What’s with the nice guy act, huh?” He muttered. Giyuu paused and glanced up at him; Sanemi was briefly silenced by the strange, heavy look in Giyuu’s deep indigo eyes.

“Act?” Giyuu repeated. His brows pulled up slightly when he noticed Sanemi’s red-flushed face.

“Ugh.” Sanemi groaned. “One minute you think you’re better than everyone, now you’re playing nurse—”

“I don’t think that.”

“You act like it.”

“I don’t—” Giyuu lowered the rag and looked at Sanemi’s wound, the wound he sustained trying to protect him, the deep jagged lines at the margins, the deep jagged scars that surrounded them. The wound would scar, join the others, a constant reminder of Sanemi’s choice. Giyuu swallowed. “I don’t mean to.” He finally said.

That surprised Sanemi into silence, if only briefly. He exhaled as forcefully as his shattered ribs could manage and looked away. Giyuu continued his work but traded the rag for a roll of bandages to wrap Sanemi’s ribs. He glanced up at Sanemi’s face again while he worked, actually grateful that Sanemi had petulantly averted his eyes. He fixed his eyes on the scar that spanned across his cheek and over his nose and wondered what it looked like when it first happened. If, perhaps, it had been covered by a bandage and tended to by someone as it steadily faded from scab and torn flesh to scar. He fought the urge to reach out for it, to run his scarred fingertips over it. Again, he did not.

Sanemi could feel Giyuu’s eyes on him but refused to make eye contact. Instead he watched Giyuu’s slender-fingered hands as he wound the bandages tight across his torso. The compression was a little tender, but eased the sharp stabs of pain that had come with each deep breath or wrong movement. Giyuu kept working in silence even while Sanemi sat there, fuming, refusing to meet his eyes. Damn, this guy just doesn’t quit, he thought.

“I can do this myself.” Sanemi huffed. Giyuu did not stop. “I don’t need your help!” He tried again. Giyuu glanced up at him briefly, but continued. “Is this your freak way of apologizing or something?”

“Apologizing for what?” Giyuu’s voice was flat, as if disinterested, but Sanemi caught the way he tensed against him while wrapping the bandages.

“I dunno, pick something? For giving me the silent treatment all the time? For insulting me and then pretending you didn’t?”

Giyuu stopped wrapping and met his eyes. “When did I insult you?” His brows began to pull down over his eyes. Now I’m getting somewhere , Sanemi thought. Surely if he just kept poking, eventually Giyuu would drop the act.

“I’m not stupid, I’m sure that name you called me was your little way of—”

“That is not an insult.” Giyuu interrupted suddenly, his quiet voice suddenly sharp and cold as ice. Sanemi snapped his mouth shut out of pure shock that Giyuu had interrupted him. He recovered quickly, though, and straightened despite the pain in his ribs, encouraged by Giyuu’s sudden anger.

“Then why won’t you tell me who it is?”

“Has it ever crossed your mind that I may not want to talk about it? Or do you think you’re the only person to have ever lost someone?” It was a low blow and Giyuu knew it, but did not back down. Sanemi didn’t either.

“Well maybe if you weren’t so preoccupied with yourself, people wouldn’t assume you’re trying to insult them when you call them by some random name—”

“He was my brother, alright?!” Giyuu was as close to raising his voice as he ever came. “Are you happy now?”

Sanemi blinked in surprise and immediately softened. “You had a brother?” Giyuu didn’t answer. His jaw was tight as he retrieved the wrapping he’d abandoned and resumed working. “I didn’t know that.” Sanemi tried again. Guilt sank into his gut and immediately he thought of his own siblings, the faces he hadn’t seen except in nightmares for years. He thought of his mother, the sick puppet created by the demon…the puppet created for Giyuu, the haori that matched his.

“The demon’s vision. That was Sabito, wasn’t it?” Giyuu nodded, face hard.

Sanemi pictured the boy created by the demon. His hair wild and peach colored, his skin tanned, face round. He didn’t look anything like Giyuu, but Sanemi now hesitated to point that out. Now that Giyuu had finally spoken, really spoken, only now did Sanemi rethink his strategy of attempting to break down Giyuu’s silences by force. So he waited.

“We weren’t related by blood.” Giyuu finally said, as if reading his mind. “Urokodaki took us both in after my sister, and his family, were killed.”

They sat in front of one another in silence for a long while. Giyuu finished wrapping Sanemi’s ribs and chest, then let his arms fall to his sides, leaving Sanemi to ponder the new information and feel the hot burn of shame rising in his throat.

…CONTINUED ON AO3 >>>

#sanegiyuu #my stuff #SANEGIYUU SATURDAYYYY #please go read the full chapter im very proud of it!!!#and a little nervous #but I love them so so so so so so much #demon slayer #kny #sanemi

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jadedrrose · 10 months

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The Silent Reaver - ch. six

You and Law speak again, discovering each other for the second time in your lives. Things get revealed, and suddenly, your life changes.

other chapters

Warnings: don’t wanna spoil anything but!!! This chapter is very cute imo. Also this isn’t proofread, so there may be mistakes.

Sleeping had been rather difficult last night.

It was hard to explain why, but you felt such terrible heartache over the fact that Law had seemed so uncomfortable with you, after the little incident, at least. He hadn’t even said good-bye, and deep down you knew he did hear you. You would’ve heard him teleport away if the lie you told yourself had happened; that he could’ve left before hearing you.

Your feelings were unwarranted, really. You barely even knew the man. The person you did know was from thirteen entire years ago, when Law was still a broken, traumatized little boy. Now? It was hard to say who he really was. A pirate, warlord, your target? And those were simply titles, they had nothing to do with him personally.

And yet your heart broke at his silence.

You’d cried last night, trying to bury yourself under the sheets and forget it all.You were foolish to feel such hope that a person you hardly knew would return your feelings. Why would he? Law was a stoic man, hardened by everything he’d been through. Romance was probably the last thing on his mind.

When you woke up today, an overwhelming feeling of regret and nervousness washed over you. Maybe you were being dramatic? To think that Law was uncomfortable with you, when he’d spent so much time talking with you, being kind to you, including you in his plans? But soon you’d have to converse with him again, and you prayed that his unspoken question wouldn’t be brought back up, as you had a feeling he wouldn’t accept your answer. At least, if the question he was going to ask was the one you thought he’d ask.

Still, it was a bit strange of you to wish he’d like you. He didn’t owe it to you, so really it was rude of you to hold that against him.

You decided a shower would help clear your thoughts. Rising from bed, you stretched your limbs with an audible yawn, before making your way to the bathroom.

–

You didn’t feel exactly hungry this morning. You chalked it up to your uneasiness, deciding to just skip breakfast and tidy up your room in the meantime. Though, it seemed like somebody had other ideas for you. It was right after folding your clothes that a strange feeling washed over your body, and all of a sudden, you were in a different room.

Looking around, you took in the new surroundings and came to the realization that you now stood in the office you’d been talking to Law in the previous day. Your eyes quickly landed on him, and your lips fell open to form an ‘o’, putting the puzzle pieces together; Law had used his devil fruit to transport you up here.

“You should be glad you did that now and not fifteen minutes ago,” you snapped, a playful undertone in your voice as you spoke, “I was in the damn shower.”

“I’d apologize, but I didn’t do that, so…” Law trailed off, his eyes unable to meet yours now. It seemed like his face was partially hidden in the fluffy collar of his coat.

You bit your lip, wondering if your words had embarrassed him. He… wasn’t imagining if that had actually happened, was he?! You hoped not, but then again, you’d planted the idea in his head.

“So… why’d you bring me here?” You asked, sitting down on the desk behind you.

“To continue our conversation from yesterday,” Law replied, finally looking at you again. “We really only discussed our plans, not about ourselves.”

“I guess you’re right,” you pursed your lips, thinking about what to say next. “Um… what else do you wanna know, then?”

“Just about you,” Law said, cooly. “I want to know who Y/n is. Not Reaver.”

You could feel your cheeks burning at Law’s words, body flushing as your feelings were brought back to the front of your mind again. “Well… I’m not even sure myself sometimes,” you answered, honestly. “I like to pretend I’m a calm, intimidating woman, but that’s who Reaver is, I guess.”

Law simply watched you, waiting for you to continue. His gray eyes seemed to convey that he was intrigued.

“Really, I’m only myself around the girls,” you frowned, realizing you didn’t even feel comfortable with your own ‘family’. “Most of the guys creep me out too much. And I prefer not to get bold with them, kinda like how Baby 5 does.

“She and I act more like sisters now,” you continued, “we bicker sometimes, but most days we spend our free time together, gossiping and just being girls, you know?”

Law shrugged at this. Did he not know any women? You really had no idea about who was in his crew, other than some Mink polar bear. But that was the extent of your knowledge. Perhaps he’d never witnessed a friendship between two women.

“You don’t know, I take it?”

“There’s only one woman on my crew,” Law replied. “So I wouldn’t know.”

A spark ignited in you. Jealousy. Only one woman? Why would there only be one? Running a hand through your hair, you tried calming your feelings down. Even if this one woman had… relations with Law, you had no right to be jealous.

“She’s just another crewmate, if that helps you feel better,” Law rolled his eyes, a little smirk playing on his lips.

Your eyes widened, and you could feel your face burning up again. How could he tell? “Wh-what? Feel better how?” You tried playing dumb, but your flushed face gave it all away.

“You act like I have no clue about your mannerisms, Y/n. I know when you’re feeling certain ways. Just like how I knew you’d lied to me yesterday.”

“Th-thats- I’m not jealous, or anything. So what if there’s only one girl on your crew?”

Law simply laughed, a full one at that. The sound played at your heartstrings, making it pound within your chest. Oh, how you’d long to hear it again. “You’re a terrible liar.”

“Whatever,” you huffed, crossing your arms in front of your chest. “L-lets talk about something else. Um…”

“What are your hobbies?” Law then asked, but you could still see a look of teasing in his eyes. He wasn’t going to let you forget about your little lie.

“U-uhm. Other than practicing with my weapons, I uh… like to draw. That’s a secret, though. Otherwise I’d be forced to spend every non-working hour of my day with Giolla.”

Law chuckled. “Okay… what else?”

“Um… I read stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” He pried.

“It’s… nerd stuff. You’d think I’m weird-”

“Just tell me, promise I won’t judge.”

With a huff, you gave in. “Fine. Comic books and r-romance novels.”

“Comics? Which ones?”

He’d ignored the second part of your answer, and for that, you were glad. “I like all different kinds. Sora’s a good one, though.”

Law’s eyes widened, and you couldn’t help but notice the way his body leaned forward, like he was incredibly intrigued. “You… read Sora: Warrior Of The Sea, too?”

“You like it?” You raised your eyebrows, genuinely surprised Law would be into something like that.

“W-well. Everybody from the North Blue likes it,” Law rolled his eyes.

A giggle left your lips, “I didn’t get into it until I was… mm, I dunno, sixteen? We were already living on Dressrosa by then.”

“You’re still from the North Blue, though,” Law argued. “It’s… my favorite comic.”

“Really? That’s cute.”

“C-cute?!” Law snapped, eyebrows furrowing with anger.

You laughed as you observed the man in front of you. “Sorry. That’s cool,” you corrected.

Law rolled his eyes, copying your earlier movements in crossing your arms. “You’re teasing me.”

“As if you weren’t teasing me five minutes ago, hypocrite!”

Both you and Law laughed in unison at the banter, any awkward, unknowing tension between you guys entirely gone now. It was starting to feel the same way it did back thirteen years ago, when you were kids. Like no time had passed at all, and you were close again.

As your laughter died down, fading away into the cold eerie air, Law cleared his throat. “This… reminds me,” he began to say. “I um, was going to ask you something last night, but then…”

“The prisoners came in,” you finished for him. “And then we… yeah.”

“Right.” Law awkwardly coughed, despite not needing to. “Do you feel the same as back then?”

“How so? I do feel like we’re best friends again, even if we only re-met two days ago.”

“W-well. I just… there was a… connection between us, and even though we were kids… we…”

You weren’t sure what happened just then, but your body surged with confidence, deciding to make a bold statement. “We were… kinda like… um, I guess not fully so since we were kids, but… in love?”

You could see Law’s breath leave his mouth through the cold air as he let it hang open, and you could hear it hitching as you spoke. His face seemed a bit more red than normal, and with amusement, you watched as he tried lowering his hat to hide his face. “Y-yeah. That.”

Looking to your feet, you licked your lips before biting them, a cold numb feeling washing over them as they were now wet, clashing with the cool air of the room. You’d have to answer, but… would it be so hard to be truthful? Every sign Law gave you showed that he possibly felt similarly. Like he was simply too shy to say the words himself, possibly due to sharing your feelings. Suddenly, admitting your feelings didn’t seem so frightening.

“Law, I… I do feel, um, the same.”

He didn’t smile or frown, and you weren’t sure what he was feeling now. Was he relieved? Upset? Was he just dense and didn’t realize he was acting as if he liked you?

“That’s… I’m glad,” he whispered, voice nearly trembling.

Your eyes lit up at his words, heart feeling like it was going to explode at any moment now. Law did love you, then?

He approached you, suddenly, and you had to crane your head up to make eye-contact, as he was taller than you. “I… shit, I wasn’t sure if I was making a good choice asking, but… It’s good that I did. Y/n, all this time… all these years, I couldn’t forget you. I was afraid you’d become another puppet to Doflamingo, that there was no possible way you’d forgive me for running away with Corazon.

“And yet, even though I didn’t really know what you looked like anymore, my heart couldn’t forget the way that I… liked you. And now I think… I think, fuck-”

You placed a hand onto Law’s cheek, feeling how warm his skin felt. Your fingers brushed along his sideburns, thumb gently rubbing against his tan skin. Your faces were so close now, close enough that you could see every speck of slight gold and blue in his gray eyes. That you could feel his warm breath falling from his lips and landing on yours. One of his cold, tattooed hands gently grabbed your waist, holding you even closer together.

“I love you,” Law admitted, gazing into your eyes with a longing, but also with a look of sadness, like he’d been tortured by not seeing you for so many years. But most of all, the warlord looked scared.

Closing your eyes for a moment, you opened them to see Law’s gray ones searching yours, looking for your answer.

“...Law,” you breathed out his name, allowing your free hand to move upward, wrapping it around him to feel for his raven hair poking out from underneath his spotted hat.

Not wasting another moment, you inched your lips closer and closer with his, before finally connecting them. You let your eyes close again, allowing yourself to melt into the kiss, to become one with Law.

Though awkward and afraid, Law returned your movements, letting his lips form against yours, finding the way that felt just right. His lips were smooth and soft, clearly from the doctor taking care of them. He fit right against you, and it made you wonder if his lips were carved to fit with yours, like the two of you were made for each other. His arms wrapped around your waist fully, pulling you closer and further in to deepen the kiss.

Time seemingly stood still, this fragile moment between you and Law being so ethereal and loving that you wanted it to last forever. You couldn’t tell seconds from minutes anymore, as you held each other, bathed in each other’s essence within this cold, dark room.

Soon, you felt Law pushing against you, his body forcing you to take a couple steps backward until you collided with the desk, falling onto it. Though his lips never left yours for a second, and he lowered himself to keep the contact between you both going.

He was so, so warm, filling your entire body up with a heat that was nothing short of love. You wished he’d kiss you forever and ever. Damn it all, the mission, your life as a high-ranking, well respected assassin; you wanted to stay with Law and only with Law. Nothing mattered anymore, and it almost hurt when he finally pulled away, leaving you both gasping for air.

Law licked his lips, and the sight had your heart trembling as you watched in awe.

You practically leaped to connect with him again, but Law stopped you, placing one finger between his lips and yours. “Y/n… wait.”

“For what? Please Law, let me kiss you more,” you pleaded, head dizzy with love for the man in front of you.

“Not yet,” he stammered, your words having a strange effect on him. “I… just want to make sure… this means you’re mine now, right?”

You giggled, finding Law’s question endearing and quite cute. “Of course it does. I don’t want to be anybody’s but yours, Law.”

“Good,” he hummed, before kissing you for the second time, making your heart pound within you, butterflies swarming in your stomach all over again.

#trafalgar law x reader #trafalgar law x you #trafalgar law x y/n #trafalgar law x female reader #law x reader #law x female reader #law x y/n #law x you #trafalgar d water law x reader #trafalgar d water law x you #trafalgar d water law x y/n #law one piece x reader #trafalgar law #trafalgar d law x reader #trafalgar d water law #one piece x reader

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darsynia · 1 year

Text

Just Right | Ch 7

(Steve Rogers x F!Reader, post-Ultron Multichapter)

Summary:

You’ve been in love with Steve Rogers for at least a year, but he treats you the same way he treats every other member of the team– with respect, but nothing more. It takes an inter-dimensional mistake and a whole second, more assertive, actually interested Steve for you to realize that you don’t want just any version of Steve Rogers– you want the one you’ve been pining for all this time.

Length: 3,512

FIC MASTERLIST | LAST CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER

Tags: @ronearoundblindly @munstysmind @tiny-anne @themaradaniels @starryeyes2000 @chickensarentcheap @isasalom @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @deepbatched @qvnthesia

Excerpt:

You catch up with Gold Steve right as he’s headed back into Bumble. You get it-- it’s the least-used of the sparring rooms. The unenhanced humans leave it for the enhanced ones, and the enhanced humans all have their own routines, most of which don’t feature the unique landscape.

It’s a perfect place for Gold Steve to isolate himself, basically. You wonder how many hours he’s spent in there.

Pushing the door open feels like an imposition, but if your plan doesn’t work, this man will never see his version of you again (the possibility that you might never know hasn’t hit till right now. There are a million alternate possibilities, and the three of you are basing your contingency plan on an offhand comment about a fall). Not only that, but his last few encounters with you will have been negative.

You’re standing in the entryway gathering up your courage when he speaks.

“He told you, didn’t he? You’d have just left me alone to cool off, otherwise.”

Wincing, you nod.

Chapter Seven

All right, it seems someone has decided to spoil our fun. It was bound to happen, but you all know I neither forgive nor do I forget. If you don’t want to be accused of breaking up the best 1v1 since Thor and I threw down in the forest that one time, get out of the hallways for the next thirty minutes! All surveillance will be OFF to hide the evidence of my righteous acts of anger.

“Tony, you magnificent genius!” you giggle. Both Steves look confused, so you explain your theory. “This has to be Stark-style cover. He’s clearing the hallway so no one figures out it was me, since if they do, I’ll be persona non grata here for weeks.” A thought occurs to you, and you frown. “Actually, for him to meddle like that probably means something’s up. I’d better…” You trail off.

The end of that sentence was meant to be ‘head over to Tony’s lab to figure it out,’ but even after kissing Steve, even after being some sort of focal point for both versions of him, that feels presumptuous.

“I’ll go with you,” Steve says, as if it’s natural for you to see yourself that way.

Gold Steve holds up a roll of athletic tape. “There are some things I still want to take care of. Keep me updated?” The two Steves go through an exchange of looks that you can’t decipher, before Gold Steve offers Steve a little smile. “If Tony wants to tell me something, he will. It’s fine, go on ahead.”

“All right.”

The two of you watch Gold Steve head for an alcove with punching bags, and he turns to you. “I can stay back for a few minutes if you don’t want to be seen in the halls with me.”

You know walking with Steve would be seen as an admission of culpability for your role in breaking up their sparring match, but you shake your head. “Steve, I’d go with you on a walk to certain death. I can handle a bit of disapproval from my coworkers.” It’s flippant, but you mean it. Most of the support staff does-- you’ve talked about it. That’s why you’d trained with Nat a couple of times, because sure, none of you are super powered, you don’t make the tech for yourselves, but you sure as hell would help when it counted, if you had to. If it would make a difference.

“If I let myself take you on a walk like that, I wouldn’t deserve you,” he says, holding the door open for you. The look on his face is serious, and you stop beside him and just… let how you feel show on your face. You remember how that felt from Gold Steve, and you want that for Steve.

He blinks a couple of times and looks down, possibly shy despite being everything you’ve ever wanted, and yep, there it is, you love him even more than you did a few minutes ago. It’s like clockwork.

You get to Tony’s lab without hallway incident, and his reaction tells you he’d been hoping you’d both drop by. Tony has clearly either gotten some sleep, or Pepper’s managed to haul him in for a shower, shave, and a change of clothes.

“Okay, who’s handing out dire expressions? You get a two-for-one deal?” he asks, leading you into his spacious adjoining office.

Steve says, “I had a conversation with Rogers--”

“I was hoping to ask you about that. Must have been some talk if it got you wanting to punch yourself in the face. Then again, I want to punch you in the face too, some days.”

“The sparring was unrelated,” Steve says, ignoring Tony’s attempt at riling him up. You notice that he settles into the plush leather couch only once you’ve chosen a seat. “He was already working out in there, doing some moves I didn’t recognize. We figured it was a good chance to talk technique.”

“Two identical heads are better than one? I get it. I think Pepper would appreciate that opportunity too.” The look Tony shoots at you after saying this makes your entire body catch fire.

“Tony!”

“He told me more about why he’s here,” Steve says, clearing his throat. “His timeline is years into our future, but Tony, things are bad over there. I understand his contingency plan, maybe even respect it, but it’s extreme. I don’t mind saying I’m conflicted.”

“I’m dead over there. He confirmed it,” you admit. Steve’s leg starts bouncing, and you wish you had the courage to reach over and rest a hand on it, but you two aren’t there yet. “He also said if we knew what the plan was, we wouldn’t let him go back.”

Steve stands, obviously too upset to sit still. “He’s right.”

“Hit us with it, Cap,” Tony says-- and that’s exactly what he does. Steve explains that his counterpart refused to detail exactly what happened, just stating that something powerful had been misused, and as a result, an unimaginable number of people died. To unravel it, Gold Steve and his version of the Avengers plan to use technology not unlike the device that brought him to your universe, but it isn’t that simple. At least one of the items they need carries a cost.

A cost that Gold Steve plans on paying with his life.

Even after seeing the way Gold Steve had acted in the surveillance video, the way he’d seemed to be mourning something, this news hits you very hard.

Tony’s already pages ahead. “Okay, so we figure out how to save him before we send his ass back. He’s you, so the idea of not going back at all won’t fly. Guy will commandeer this whole place single handedly if he thinks he has to.”

Steve’s tense body language relaxes on hearing that. “Thank you. I agree.”

“Did he… tell you anything about the how?” you ask.

Steve’s jaw clenches. “At one point he hinted at a fatal fall, but I don’t think he meant to. My guess is that it’s weighing on him.” He looks at Tony, lifting his eyebrows to emphasize his next words. “It was clear he thinks his death is some kind of catalyst. A necessity.”

“Score one for tortured nobility?” Tony sighs. “Geez, Steve, even your sacrificial moments are more poetic than mine. It’s enough to give a man a complex.”

A thought’s been forming in your mind, and you can tell that Tony’s about to devolve, so you go ahead and say it. “Steve, has anyone ever tested your healing factor? Like really pushed it?”

“You’ve jumped out of airplanes and stuff before, right?” Tony adds before Steve can respond. “Was it always into water?”

Steve’s brows furrow. “Not always.”

“Without your shield, how far do you think you’d have to fall to die?” Tony presses.

“Pretty far.”

Tony nods at you. “You get an idea?”

“I wondered what counts as ‘dead,’” you say hesitantly. “Whatever we give Rogers would have to be something he’d be willing to use, even though he thinks he has to die to win, right? We’re… we’re probably going to have to trick him. So I was thinking about medical ways to cheat death, and what ‘rules’ your healing follows. I mean, it’s not magic, and dying isn’t a precise process.”

Both men are watching you intently, and you can’t tell by their expressions whether they’re following what you’re saying. If this wasn’t so important, you’d back off. You’d listen carefully to what Steve and Tony suggested and then go back to your desk so you could put it all together without all this pressure. But this-- this is heroism, to you. This is your way of fighting. With your mind, and your designs.

“Go on, ‘Dine. I can tell you have something,” Steve encourages.

You dig your hands together on your lap and try to take courage from the hidden pride you can see in his eyes. “Okay, so the question is, which thing do we think drives that healing factor? Is it brain waves? Is it tied to your heart beating? Because CPR can bring people back, if it’s done soon enough. Brain waves take a long time to fade, depending on the manner of death. If Gold Steve--” You break off, embarrassed. You hadn’t meant to reveal that you have a special nickname for him.

“Shelving that, keep going, I think I see what you’re getting at,” Tony says, which is empowering, because Tony Stark never passes up an opportunity to tease.

“Okay. Tony, your armor just has to come into contact with the arc reactor to work, right? FRIDAY monitors your vitals, though, I’ve heard her on the comms. So that means you’ve figured out how to set it up so that skin contact is enough for her to sense them, right?”

“Yes, sensors in certain places. Wrist, over my heart, at my neck.”

“Okay,” you say, getting up, excited. “I have that suit, the one with the rip. We could fit it with a defibrillator, a really subtle one, maybe? I mean, if he looked dead, if his heart stopped for a while, maybe that would be enough to trigger the healing again? How long could we wait before triggering the shock to restart his heart? After that, the healing takes over, and he’ll be alive.”

“He did say he wished his universe had someone to make them gear like ours,” Steve says. “That might be enough for him to accept the suit if you offered it to him.”

“You remember that?” you ask. You do, but the whole thing was memorable, given the location of that rip.

“I thought he was hitting on you.”

“Oh god. Do you have game in any universe?” Tony groans.

“Do I need to?”

“Please stop?” you ask plaintively.

When the three of you adjourn, it’s so you can retrieve the suit for Tony to fit with a subtle defibrillator. This time, you ask Steve to avoid walking over with you, certain that if Gold Steve sees the two of you spending time, he’ll worry that his secret is out and change something.

Sam is in the room when you get there, testing commands for Redwing.

“Hey, ‘Dine. I hate to admit it, but the swap you did with those buttons really helped. I haven’t hit the wrong one after ten launches.”

You grin. “Great! You know you don’t have to say that, though, right? If you don’t like it, I’ll swap it back.”

“No worries. Just because I haven’t bitched at you about anything yet doesn’t mean I wouldn’t,” he says, favoring you with that gorgeous smile of his.

Behind you, Steve's voice says, “You want to try one more time?”

You turn around, startled. You hadn’t seen him when you walked in, but Gold Steve is standing there in regular clothes. He’s got the shield. You must look disapproving, because Sam steps over right away.

“He said he was going to stop by before dinner, show me one of the moves he and his Sam use.”

Deep down you know that Steve would never have balked at letting another version of himself use the shield, but there’s something about it that feels too much like sharing. There’s no way in hell you want to examine that, though, so you nod your approval as best you can.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but is it something that needs both of you? Can I work whatever it is into the armor, somehow?”

“Nah, needs the shield, otherwise I wouldn’t have touched it. Watch--” Gold Steve says, and Sam’s already releasing Redwing. The drone flies in a wide arc up by the ceiling, then dive-bombs over to Gold Steve, who expertly hides it behind the vibranium shield. “Redwing got clipped during a mission, once, and we came up with this.”

“Doesn’t that mean you’re changing history?” you tease, but immediately regret it. Gold Steve’s expression hardens, and he can’t get the shield off fast enough. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean--”

“No, you’re right. I’m… I’m too comfortable here, I think,” he says, and without another word, Gold Steve is out the door, the shield still rocking on the floor from the vehemence he’d shed it with.

“Man can’t help himself, I think,” Sam says, but you feel completely awful. Awful enough that when Sam says, “Go on, I know you want to,” you don’t even argue with him.

Instead, you go straight over to the locker where you’d stashed the ripped uniform in its bag. “Sam, could you take this to Tony? He’s got a theory I’d like to test.”

It’s the truth, but your conscience pricks you a little.

“You’ve got it,” Sam says, and as soon as you hand it over, you run out the door.

Gold Steve is not in sight, so you do what you should have done the last time you were looking for someone, and ask FRIDAY.

It’s a perfect place for Gold Steve to isolate himself, basically. You wonder how many hours he’s spent in there.

You’re standing in the entryway gathering up your courage when he speaks.

“He told you, didn’t he? You’d have just left me alone to cool off, otherwise.”

Wincing, you nod.

“Don’t worry. It’s good that you struggle with lying. It’s part of what I--” Gold Steve stops, smiles wryly, and continues. “It’s a good thing.”

His innate sense of decency won’t even let him admit how he feels. Had he talked about that with your Steve? There’s a lump in your throat, but you push past it. You feel like you’re taking on the mantle of that other self, the one he’ll never see again if he does what he’s planning to do.

“I don’t want you to die.”

Gold Steve has the wrapping tape again. “I didn’t want you to die either,” he says. “I did everything I could to stop it, and now I’m going to do everything I can to take it back.”

He pulls out a long strip of the tape, and the sound it makes as it rips away from the rest of the roll is loud, even in that large space. You imagine it as the sound of a heart breaking, but you genuinely can’t tell which out of the two of you that heart belongs to. Maybe that’s why you can’t help but say what’s on your mind.

“Doesn’t that mean she’ll come back and you’ll be gone? It’s going to break her heart, Steve. It’s already breaking mine!”

Oddly, that seems to calm him. “You don’t have to worry about that,” he says confidently, starting the process of wrapping his hands. “It’s part of the plan. When I go back, it will be before I left. Another Steve will already be there. She won’t have to do without me, she’ll just have to do without this me.”

Horrified, all you can do is stand there and stare at him. It’s as though the love you have for Steve Rogers has solidified in the spaces he inhabits-- your heart feels like it’s stopped, your lungs are clogged with fear and dismay.

“‘Dine,” Gold Steve whispers, coming over. “I shouldn’t have-- that was wrong of me to say.”

“But it’s the truth," you manage. Inside, you’re screaming. You want to reassure him. You want to tell him your secret, that it doesn’t have to be this way. But deep down you know that if you tell this version of Steve Rogers what you and Tony plan to do for him, he’ll reject it, and that’s a path to certain death.

So you’ll stay silent.

Even if it destroys you.

Steve finds you desperately nursing a cup of coffee the next morning.

“That bad a night?” he asks, sitting across from you.

“Oh my god, Tony’s right,” you groan. “Steve. Steve. You can’t say that to a woman you like. You shouldn’t even say that to a woman you don’t like!”

He looks completely baffled, and more than a little chagrined. You take pity on him.

“Okay, look at it this way. When you said that, my first thought was, ‘he sees how ugly you are when you haven’t slept well, and it’s so bad he couldn’t help but say something.’”

Immediately, Steve reaches across the table toward you, palm up, insistent. You reluctantly pull one hand from its position cradling your precious, and as soon as you touch his hand, Steve’s thumb brushes across the back of yours in an obvious caress.

He directs an intense look at you and says, “The first thing that went through my head was, ‘Wow, it looks like that cup of coffee is the most important thing in her life, this morning.’ You look as beautiful as ever, I promise.”

It’s the first time in your life that you doubt Steve Rogers is telling the whole truth, but given the motivators involved, you forgive him.

“I take back what I said about Tony,” you blurt out, wide-eyed. “Damn.”

The bashful look is back, and both of you realize you’re not alone in the room at roughly the same time. Steve gives your hand one last squeeze before grabbing his fork and starting on the scrambled eggs on offer this morning.

“Since you say you didn’t sleep well,” Steve says, enunciating with special care, “--did you want to talk about it?”

You look around to see if Gold Steve is in attendance, but he isn’t-- and it occurs to you that you haven’t seen him around the dining area for quite a while now. What you want to say is close enough to gossip that you lower your voice to just above a whisper.

“He’s deliberately isolating himself. I don’t know how much time he’ll have when he goes back, but-- we can’t let him do this. It feels wrong. No matter what happens, we should send him back feeling appreciated by this version of his family.”

“If we tell him we want to give him a sendoff, that might give Tony enough time to finish up,” Steve says, equally quietly. “We just can’t give the rest of the team the impression it’s a wake.”

“You’re right. I can’t imagine Natasha taking his plan lying down.”

A pair of support staff members sit at the other end of your six person table, and with a look, the two of you decide to change the subject.

At least, you thought that’s what that shared look was about.

“So, ‘Gold Steve?’”

You become laser-focused on your half-full coffee cup.

“Do you have a nickname for me, too?”

You do. You call him ‘your’ Steve-- but wild horses couldn’t drag that from you today, not after getting so little sleep. Your mind is… not sharp.

“I reserve the right to answer that on a day I get a full night’s sleep,” you tell Steve. “As for the ‘gold’ thing, he’s from an alternate universe, right? AU. The periodic symbol for gold.”

Steve looks intrigued and no small amount relieved. You decide you won’t tell him you spoke with Gold Steve about the other you unless he asks. There’s no need to worry him-- you’re completely invested in your Steve, despite how much you wish you could save his counterpart.

The subject shifts again, and after a persuasive argument on Steve’s part, you go grab a small plate of food. He’s glued to his phone when you get back, which is unusual enough that you assume it’s something pretty important. Two more people join the table, and soon you’re happily listening to a discussion about classic baseball and pushing the last bites of food around on your plate. Steve asks to borrow someone’s pen, and when he gets up to leave, he hands you a folded square of paper.

Everyone left at the table wants to know what it is, but you tuck it into your pocket and gather up your things to leave.

You don’t unfold it until you get to your desk, and when you figure out what it says, you can’t stop grinning.

Looks like you’re the Boron Radium Iodine Nitrogen Sulfur of this operation. Will you have Cobalt Fluorine Iron Einsteinium and dinner with me tomorrow night?

Next chapter (the conclusion!)

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x f!reader #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers fic #captain america x f!reader #captain america x reader #captain america #steve rogers #mcu #mcu fanfiction #marvel #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers x you #captain america x you #romance #pining

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duhragonball · 1 year

Text

Dragon Ball Super Manga ch. 21-26

Phew! We’re almost done with the Zamasu Saga.

Last time, we left off with Trunks holding off Goku Black and Zamasu so that Goku and Vegeta could escape in the Time Machine. This is somewhat similar to what Trunks did to save them in Episode 62 of the DBS anime. Except they never bothered to explain how Trunks survived against such hopeless odds. Instead, in Episode 63, he just wakes up in a Resistance Bunker. No one explains how he got away from Black and Zamasu. It’s bullshit.

In the manga version, he gets rescued by the Shin and Gowasu of the “main” timeline. In Trunks’ timeline, all of the Supreme Kais are dead, but the “main” timeline versions can still travel to this world using their Time Rings. They can also teleport to any planet they wish, including this reality’s version of the Sacred World of the Kais in Universe 7. It’s deserted now, but they still know where it is, and it provides refuge for the good guys while they wait for Goku and Vegeta to return.

But why do they even need to wait for Goku and Vegeta? They used the Time Machine, so why don’t they just set the return coordinates for a few seconds after they left? Goku asks this very question, and Bulma tells him that it can’t work that way. I won’t get into the details because later it turns out Bulma was mistaken about this, but in this scene, she tells them that they have to “sync up” with the other timeline. Spending one day here means that they have to return one day later in the other timeline as well.

Tell you what, let’s just jump ahead to the ending, where Emperor Pilaf of all people figures out Bulma’s error. Presumably Future Bulma, the one who actually invented the time machine, understood this, but Present Bulma is still learning as she goes.

Oh, before I get too far ahead of myself, check out this goofy rendition of Trunks’ sword. It looks too wide in a lot of scenes, but in this one it’s like Toyotaro is trying to make it looks stupid on purpose. Aren’t swords easy to draw? Also, why is Mai wrapping her fingers around the blade like that?

One more thing, I appreciate Goku Black in this scene declaring that he doesn’t want to destroy the entire planet. He could wipe out all mortals very efficiently if he just blew up the planets they were standing on, but he wants to keep all the planets in tact. This was heavily implied in the anime, but they never came out and said so, which always frustrated me.

Here’s a scene of Black and Zamasu’s hideout, and it works a lot better than it did in the anime, because this scene shows them discussing their plans instead of just sipping tea and congratulating themselves. Because of Gowasu and Shin’s little rescue earlier, they’re concerned that their plans have been exposed to the gods of the other timelines. They’re worried that Grand Zeno might even catch wind of this, so their best bet is to leave this Earth and move on to a new base of operations. But they still want to finish off the remaining Earthlings before they leave.

See, this is excellent storytelling. The way the information is presented, we learn additional things about their plan. They could have wiped out the Earthlings some time ago. It’s not even hard for them, which is why they’re gonna knock it out in one afternoon before they leave. But like I mentioned in the last post, they’ve been using this Earth as a training ground to get Goku Black powered up and to practice for the more difficult work of invading the other timelines.

It’s also important to show that they’re actually concerned about something going wrong. Their Zero Mortals Plan isn’t foolproof. The only reason they were able to kill all the gods in this reality is because they had the element of surprise on their side, and because of that business where killing a Supreme Kai kills the Destroyer God and deactivates his Angel for free. But now that Gowasu and Shin are onto them, it’ll be a lot harder to get the drop on the other gods from here on out. Black and Zamasu are still confident about their plan, but they’re clearly troubled by this development.

This was something that was sorely lacking in the anime version, where Black and Zamasu were constantly making those smug little grins the entire time. They never worried about anything until Zamasu nearly got trapped by the Mafuba near the end of the arc. And if the villain is never inconvenienced, it makes the story kind of dull. Think about how troubled King Piccolo was when his children were killed, or how frightened he got when he thought Goku’s Kamehameha stance might be a Mafuba. Or how annoyed Frieza would get when he lost the Dragon Balls. Anime Zamasu never gives you any of that.

Anyway, their final push to kill the remaining Earthlings forces Trunks’ group to take action. Gowasu refuses to stand by and wait for Goku and Vegeta. Instead, he goes alone to appeal to Goku Black’s better nature, except Black has already murdered two other versions of Gowasu, so he has no problem doing it again. And there’s a scene like this in the anime, but this time Black actually gets to stab him, and Gowasu falls off a building. It’s pretty cool because:

1) It actually looks like he’s dead, because Black’s attack seriously hurt him, unlike all the times he stabs people in the anime and they’re fine.

2) It gives some karmic payback to Gowasu for failing to recognize the problem with Zamasu before it got this bad.

Gowasu isn’t a bad person, but he made a very grave mistake, and it’s unsatisfying how he never suffers any direct consquences for it. I mean, two other versions of Gowasu get murdered, but that’s a little too clean for my tastes. Those dead Gowasu’s don’t have to live with it. This Gowasu, who gets stabbed but survives, has something painful to remember this by. It’s much more satisfying this way.

So when Gowasu gets hurt, Trunks, Shin, and Mai return to Earth to save him, and not long after that, Goku and Vegeta return to pick up where they left off. This time, Goku has learned the Mafuba Technique to deal with Zamasu, while Vegeta trained in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to counter Goku Black.

Vegeta’s strategy this time is to fight in the Super Saiyan God form, which is weaker than Blue, so Goku Black doesn’t understand the point. But as Goku explains, Vegeta has learned to control his powers more precisely, switching from SSG to Blue at the very instant he attacks. This way he gets the best of both worlds. Super Saiyan God is easier to maintain and a little more agile, so Vegeta can defend himself in that form, and then he only uses Blue in very small doses, getting all the raw power while minimizing the strain on his body.

This is similar to something Goku did against Hit in the previous arc, but he only managed to do it once, at the very end of their fight. Vegeta’s mastered the trick to the point where he can do it repeatedly. Again, this is way better than the anime, where Vegeta didn’t do anything differently after training in the Chamber. It was understood that he would be stronger than before, but there was nothing more to it than that. One fight he lost to Black, and now he’s winning. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the manga is just styling all over the anime here.

I’m not even saying this “Switching Between God and Blue” trick is a cool idea. I seem to remember fans disliking this when these chapters were published. But the point here is that it is an idea. It’s something new Vegeta does that he couldn’t do before, and that’s the in-story reason why he’s winning this time. He doesn’t have to invent a new transformation every time he trains, but he has to come up with something to explain his improvement, and this works.

Meanwhile, Goku actually gets to do the Mafuba, so that’s another win for the manga. Also, the gag with the talisman works a lot better in this version. In the anime, Goku forgot the talisman altogether. Here, he remembered to bring it, but he picked up the wrong piece of paper. The joke is less about Goku screwing up and more about him looking at the talisman and seeing a coupon for “Club Tight & Scanty”.

So this leads up to the Zamasu/Goku Black fusion, which works a lot better here, because Vegeta is handily kicking Black’s ass. Goku may not be able to seal Zamasu away like he planned, but he can definitely keep Zamasu contained long enough for Vegeta to kill Goku Black, and Zamasu won’t be able to carry out his plan alone. The anime borked that up by having Goku Black still have the upper hand, so they really only fused because Zamasu was rattled about the Mafuba.

So Goku and Vegeta fuse, right? Well, not right away. They have the Potara at their disposal, but they don’t want to go through with it. Goku asks Vegeta, but as soon as Vegeta refuses, Goku’s more relieved than anything else. Then while Goku fights alone, Vegeta hears Gowasu explain that Merged Zamasu should unfuse within an hour. See, in the anime he said Potara fusion is permanent only when a Kai is involved. But in the manga, it’s only permanent when a Supreme Kai is involved, and Zamasu never officially achieved that rank. He’s just a usurper, so his fusion has a time limit too. That gets Vegeta’s attention, and so does Trunks when he says he wants to join in the fight because he doesn’t want Vegeta getting hurt over this, because his mom really wanted to go back in time and see him again before she died.

So all of that changes Vegeta’s mind about the fusion, and that’s how we get Vegito in this version. I like that, because Goku and Vegeta have shown a reluctance to fuse in the past, and it’s a lot cooler to have Vegeta motivated by sentimental reasons than just “The bad guy is really strong, so we just gotta.” I like fusion, don’t get me wrong, but they need to sell me on it a little first.

So Vegito starts off by blowing off Zamasu’s right arm, which sets up a nice little homage to Cell getting Final Flashed. I think this is one of those scenes where fans whine about Toyotaro “tracing”, which is dumb as hell, because it’s clearly a callback. Of course he’s gonna do stuff like this. He’s a Dragon Ball fan working on a Dragon Ball comic. Comic book artists do this all the time. There’s probably a few thousand different tributes to the cover of Action Comics #1.

Vegito comes apart pretty quickly, and Zamasu works the boys over with Kachin metal blocks and that portals trick Janemba does. I get the Katchin thing, because Toyotaro probably played Budokai 2 where the Supreme Kai would throw blocks at people, and he wanted to use that move here. The portals thing... I don’t know. He definitely needed to do a new power just to show off Merged Zamasu’s on a different level, and this works for that, but it feels a little out of left field. I’m not sure what he should have used instead though, so I won’t complain too much.

So from the sidelines, Gowasu and Shin watch Goku and Vegeta getting clobbered, and they wish that they could help. Once, when they were apprentice Supreme Kais like Zamasu, they had healing powers of their own, but they had to give that ability up once they assumed the role of Supreme Kai. Then Trunks remembers that he was an Assistant Supreme Kai in a manner of speaking. Back when his own Supreme Kai was training him to fight Babidi and Dabura, there was a ritual Shin did for him, one that he didn’t understand at the time. As it turns out, that ritual was to give him the powers of an Assistant Kai, which included healing powers. Trunks just didn’t know about it until now, which is... kind of goofy, but okay.

So he can heal the others, but it turns out he only has enough power to heal one or the other, so he’ll have to choose. At first, Trunks goes with Vegeta, but Vegeta refuses. While he was fused with Goku, he realized that Goku has the power to win this fight, so that’s who he wants Trunks to heal up.

This part isn’t exactly brilliant, but it sure beats what they did in the anime after Vegito came apart, which was just having Trunks chop Zamasu in half using ki from a handful of ordinary civilians. I mean, if we’re choosing between two different asspulls, I’ll take the asspull that makes a little more sense.

So Goku gets healed and fights alone, and Vegeta explains how Goku managed to perfect the Super Saiyan Blue form, allowing himself to use Blue for sustained periods of time. And that works because this is the first time we’ve really gotten to see Goku fight at this level, but if he had this mastered already, why was he so impressed with Vegeta’s deal where he switched between God and Blue? Because that sounds like a workaround that Goku had already made obsolete.

Goku even manages to use Hakai against Zamasu, but he pulls Mai in the path of the attack so Goku has to back off. Again, a little goofy, but I can like with it.

The main thing here is that Goku didn’t get to do much in the first two-thirds of the arc, and that’s by design. You bring him out at the end so he can show off all his cool powers and everyone talks about how strong he is. Which means you have to do a lot of scenes where Goku is on the sidelines, or absent altogether. And this is nothing new. We’ve seen it in a lot of classic Dragon Ball arcs in the past, but Toei wants to go against that idea and put Goku all over the place. Well, they got their way in GT and they got their way in the anime version of the Zamasu arc, and both of those things sucked. This manga Zamasu arc has some problems, but it’s a lot more sound from a structural standpoint.

Does it make sense for Goku to be able to fight Merged Zamasu alone? Not really, but he doesn’t have to beat him, he just has to hold out long enough for the fusion to wear off, and it does. But it’s all weird because it was two Zamasus.

And that’s when Trunks chops them in half. See, this works so much better because Merged Zamasu was already starting to come apart anyway, so this is just Trunks delivering a final blow instead of inventing some new power from nothing.

But it’s not the end just yet, because each half grows back, and then the Goku Black half gets up from being impaled. How did he become immortal?

Then both of them regenerate into their Merged Zamasu forms, so now we have two Merged Zamasus. Vegeta does a Final Flash variation called “Gamma Burst Flash”, and that rips them both apart, but then the pieces grow into even more Zamasus, so we have this Sorcerer’s Apprentice thing going on.

Retreat isn’t an option either, because the Zamasus reveal that they have their own time machine. Remember that ancient civilization in Universe 12 who invented a time machine? Well, the Destroyer God from U12 kept it, and Zamasu found it . So he can use that device to invade the other timelines. Wait, how would Zamasu know how to operate an alien time machine? I mean, he’s not stupid, but still. For all he knows, it’s not even functional anymore, and there’s no tech support in Universe 12 because he killed everyone in it.

So Goku and Vegeta try to hold off this Zamasu army while the others escape. They have no idea what good it’ll do, but it’s better than nothing. I like Vegeta’s like here when Goku asks him if he has a plan. “Go wild until you die. That’s all.”

I also like how Goku’s only regret is that if he has to go out in a hopeless battle like this, he’d rather do it in Super Saiyan mode. Luffa would be touched.

But then he remembers his button that he got from Grand Zeno, and things pretty much play out like they did in Episode 67 of the anime. The entire timeline is erased, and in the manga, we see the Time Ring that represents this timeline vanish along with it. That kind of bugged me in the anime version, where Gowasu looks at his box of rings one last time at the end of the arc and all the rings are still there.

On the other hand, should the Time Ring vanish? Zeno didn’t erase the timeline, just the multiverse it contained. Is that the same thing? The history of that reality still exists, right? Then again, maybe it doesn’t matter, since the Time Rings can’t go back to the past, and now this timeline only has a past. So even if the history of that timeline remains, the Time Ring that goes with it is useless, so it might as well self-destruct.

Except Whis still has that plan to go back to the timeline before Grand Zeno destroyed everything in it, nip Zamasu in the bud, and drop off Trunks and Mai to live out their lives. This will create a new alternate timeline, but the fact that Whis can do this at all suggests that the Time Ring for that reality still needed to exist. Ah well, this whole business is pretty dumb anyway.

My head canon for all of this is that Whis dropped off this version of Trunks and Mai in the timeline where Xeno Trunks lives, and sometimes he’ll come home from Time Patrol duty and say hello to his blue-haired duplicate, an older, more traumatized version of himself who lives with his wife in some cabin out in the middle of nowhere. Blunks sees his mom now and again, but he and Mai keep to themselves for the most part, as they can’t quite feel like they truly belong in this world. But they have each other, and that’s enough.

But I can never figure out the timeline logistics to make that provable. It probably isn’t worth the trouble.

Anyway, Pilaf keeps asking Future Mai what happened to the Pilaf and Shu of that timeline, and she seems to know the answer, but she can’t bring herself to tell him the truth. I was sort of hoping Future Mai wouldn’t even know who Pilaf was, since the anime never bothered to establish this, but the manga makes it clear that this is the same Mai who we saw in the first DB arc in 1984. So whatever.

The thing is, Pilaf’s all worried because he doesn’t know what unspeakable fate awaits him, but for all we know, Mai just doesn’t want to tell him he died. I mean, everyone died in that timeline. It’s just a question of who killed Pilaf and when it happened. Maybe something else happened to him before he got killed, and that’s what Mai doesn’t want to talk about, but even if he lived right up to the end, he still would have died in that one shed Goku Black blew up.

Like I said, this arc is pretty damn morbid, and it bothers me how casually Toriyama brought back this alternate timeline just to eradicate it completely. He could have just... not brought it back, and that would have been the same as destroying it, but instead it’s like he went out of his way to do this arc just to burn the whole thing to the ground and piss on the ashes.

And we never really know for sure that Whis succeeds in his plan to relocate Trunks and Mai. This feels very much like when someone says they took your pet dog to a farm where they can run and play all day long. Maybe Whis just killed them in secret to wrap up the last loose ends. Or maybe he made a good faith effort and it just didnt’t work the way he expected. Or maybe it worked just fine, but Trunks couldn’t handle it and flipped out. It’s not fun to think about.

But it’s over now, and I’m pleased to say the manga version is a lot better than the anime, although I guess that’s not saying a whole lot. Good night, and fuck the Zamasu Saga forever.

#dragon ball #dragon ball super manga #2023dbapocryphaliveblog #goku #vegeta #trunks #mai #emperor pilaf #shu #gowasu #zamasu #goku black #beerus #whis #supreme kai #kibito #master roshi #fuck the zamasu saga forever

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weixuldo · 2 years

Text

Never Forgotten// ch 4

Vader x F!Reader

(A/N: omgggg idk how to feel hddjdj this chapter is the longest one so far, so i hope that’s ok :/ but i’m pretty happy w this one and i’m even more excited abt the next one!! thanks for reading <3)

You begin Lord Vader’s treatment.

F/N- First name

Warnings: detailed injuries, mentions of abuse, mention of slavery, bad grammar & punctuation lol

Wc: 2167

__________________________________________

You woke up early to finish the final details of the health plan you created for Lord Vader. You would tend to his most recent wounds from his last mission, from there apply salves to his body (well what was left of it) to subdue inflammation. The scar tissue over his burns healed by itself, but it could have healed better with medical intervention. So you would work to alleviate the aching and inflammation, especially where they rubbed on his suit. You knew he often visited his bacta tank, so he was already familiar with that treatment. Once you got further along you wanted to observe his lungs and hopefully increase the time he could breathe without his helmet.

Ready for the day, you gathered your things and put them in your bag. You opened the door. Much to your surprise, you were met with the unmistakable form of your new patient. You covered your mouth to stop yourself from squealing. He turned to face you, tilting his mask to observe your frightened state.

“Am I that intimidating? You seemed just fine the other night.” He quipped.

“No, no sir. I was just not expecting anyone to be on the other side of my door. Especially not… you?”

“I have upset you with my presence then.” He said as he placed his large hands onto his belt.

“Of course not sir. I am actually looking forward to getting more acquainted with you” you smiled wistfully.

“I would be careful what you wish for.”

Your eyes widened as you tried to think of something to say. After a moment he spoke, “you won't be needing that ''. He made a gesture towards your bag.

“Oh, I bring it everywhere with me. It has-“

“You won't be needing that.”

You begrudgingly sat your bag back onto your cot.

He began to walk.

“The emperor wishes for you to begin treatment at once. Today you will only have one hour. I have many obligations to attend. Now that I am showing you the way to my medical wing, I expect you to be on time from now on. Should you fail, I may have to reconsider this arrangement with my Master. If I tell you we are done for the day, we are done for the day. No questions. Do I make myself clear?”

Struggling to keep up with his long and powerful strides you nodded your head for him.

“Good.” Was all he replied back.

He led you to a secluded wing in the fortress, there were stormtroopers guarding the entrance. Lord Vader walked through as you nervously followed. You reached another door and for this one he typed in a pin. It opened and revealed a large room with all types of materials and even some droids. There was a sort of docking pad in the middle with robotic pieces surrounding it.

You were so caught up in examining the machinery that Vader’s voice made you jump.

“You should enjoy this” he said as he pressed a button that opened a Panel in the wall. Inside was a walk-in room filled with shelves of different plant species. Your breath hitched.

Everything you have ever used was in this small room. Shelves of plants, warmed by heat lamps, or cooled in a freezer, even some deep water plants were in pressurized tanks. Some plants you had to travel months for, right in front of you. This was a dream.

“I-I’m allowed to use these?” You asked, gaping at the sight in front of you.

Vader nodded, “as long as you are employed as my physician, you may do with these as you please.”

You wanted to hug him. He technically wasn’t the one who gave these to you, but he was the reason the emperor sought you out. The reason you had access to…this.

“Ok! Would you like me to explain the course of recovery I have designed?” You asked, still beaming.

“Yes.”

__________________________________________

After explaining your plans you began to check his vitals through the suit. He was seated upon a chair on the right side of the room as you hovered over him with your equipment. The beeping of the heart monitor and the steady paced breaths of your patient filling the room. His oxygen levels were low, not surprising. You looked at the box upon his chest, you weren’t much of a mechanic, but you did know what healthy vitals looked like. You were briefed on the inner workings of his suit in the file too, so you did know the box controlled the life support system.

“May I?” You gestured at his chest.

“Go ahead.”

You gently fiddled with a knob on the box and then flipped one of the switches. Almost immediately his oxygen intake went from 67% to 85%. He gasped at the sudden change of oxygen.

“Does that feel better?” You asked, your hand still on the box.

It took a minute for the Sith Lord to get adjusted, but once he did he confirmed.

“Great!” You smiled. Sadly it seemed that even on full power his oxygen wouldn’t go higher than around 88%, his suit looked to be outdated. But getting his levels up to the 80’s was enough for now. You continued to check his blood pressure and heart rate.

__________________________________________

Your hand was on his chest box.

You were the closest thing he got to physical touch in years. He felt his hardened heart begin to race. You were such an interesting woman, getting excited over plants. Ha. He began to study your face as you concentrated on his vitals.

Your brows knitted together, a few strands of loose hair falling in front of your face, your lips drawn thin, your pretty lips. Oh so prett-

“Are you ok?! Your heart rate is unnaturally high! Here let me help you” you exclaimed reaching for him.

He put up a gloved hand. “No! I am perfectly fine.” Did you really have that effect on him? Slightly embarrassed, Vader focused on slowing his heart rate. Ah, back to normal now.

“Ok, you scared me, Vader. May I continue?”

Not even realizing you skipped his title, he agreed.

__________________________________________

Breaking the silence as you finished up what you could do with him in the suit, you asked where in Tatooine he had visited.

“Many places. A notable one being Mos Espa.” He responded

You stopped what you were doing, “Really? That’s where I’m from!”.

Is it possible? He wondered.

“They had a large slave quarter last time I was there.”

“Yes, they did. I lived there as a child. It was hard, but I had people who made it bearable”, Fondness washed over you as you thought of the Skywalkers, especially Anakin.

He had to know.

“Have you heard of a junk dealer named Watto?”

“Hah, know him? He basically owned me. So yes to your question.”

He felt as if his heart would give out. He was conflicted. He was glad you were alive, and here, of all places. You followed your dreams. You came back to him. But he also thought of himself. He changed so much, did he even have the capability of sustaining friendships? Or even love? Also he no longer looked like the Anakin you once knew. What if you found him disgusting? Would you judge his actions? What if knowing his identity changed your view of him?

What if you left?

“Yeah, it was rough there, but I had a great community. And my best friend Anakin got me through the worst.” You continued on.

“He was a respectable boy, and I just know he was an amazing man. But I don’t think he’s around anymore.”

F/N

If only you knew.

Your voice was so pained when you spoke of him. You truly did mourn him. He wanted nothing more than to embrace you and tell you everything’s alright. He could imagine himself calling your name, you in his arms, you finally his. You could be his empress.

His fantasy was cut short by you loudly rolling a cart up to the side of his chair. “Ok, so I’ve done all I can with you in the suit. But now I’m going to need to see your face for the next part.”

Could he face you?

You grabbed a salve you mixed up, it was to reduce the irritation of the burns.

“May I?” You said gesturing to his helmet.

Reluctantly, he nodded.

Your hands reached for his dark mask. He could feel them on the sides of his head. You began to gently remove the covering, curiosity bubbling inside. You were probably one of the only people allowed to see Vader’s face. You couldn’t imagine others seeing him and him allowing them to live.

You were lifting it slowly so as not to catch him on it. You could almost start to see his skin as he grabbed your wrists. You gasped.

“We are done for today.”

You were just about to start actual treatment, “But I-“

“We are done.” He stated.

He adjusted his mask and rose from the seat. Now towering over you he could clearly see the worry and shock in your eyes. He felt a little bad for startling you so suddenly, but he could not do this today. Hell, he didn’t know if he would ever be able to.

“This has nothing to do with you, I sense my presence is being requested elsewhere.” He tried to reassure you.

“Oh, ok. T-that’s no problem my lord.”

You looked so scared. He sighed, you used to make that same face when Watto would get violent with you.

“Um… may I stay here? I would like to make some medicines with the plants.”

Of course you could.

“That is acceptable” he wanted to sound more comforting, but he just couldn’t.

You thanked him and he went on his way.

__________________________________________

You were in the botanical room mixing up calendula, turmeric, and lavender oil to make an ointment that would repair connective tissues and prevent future scarring.

You hoped you didn’t hurt Vader. Everything seemed to be alright. You talked about your home, asked for his consent before proceeding, what did you do?

He fled to his meditation chamber after he left the med bay. He needed to think. Once inside the ovoidal chamber he allowed himself to be unmasked. Breathing in the highly pressurized air he processed what just happened.

You were here. You were really here. He had left his past years ago. Everything in that life resulted in pain or heartbreak. Though you never contributed to those feelings…

But he loved Padme.

He loved her so much, even though she could not accept him as he was.

How could you accept him if his own wife couldn’t?

You seemed fond of your past with him and his mother. He didn’t want to mess up those good memories for you. He thought of all of your interactions from today and the other.

He tried to kill you.

He tried to kill

…you.

How could he expect you to stay?

__________________________________________

You and Vader’s visits ended the same way as your first, him leaving before you could lift his helmet. This went on for days. You knew you were in no place to tell him what to do, but if he wanted a quick recovery he was going to have to work with you. You sighed as you mustered all the courage you could.

“Look, we both know you were injured recently and for me to help you heal, we’re going to have to get past the mask.”

He closed his eyes.

“If you’re worried about something you can tell me. This is my life, I live to help others. I am here for you, and you only. I am your physician, It would be against my morals to bring harm to you. I’ve read your file so nothing about you would surprise me.”

He wanted you to be there for him regardless of your profession. He longed to hear those words from you,

not the botanist,

F/N.

“You do not understand.” He said

Your features softened, almost pleading you said, “I want to understand Vader. I hate to see you in pain, I want to help you. So please. Let me.”

Let you.

That’s all he had to do. Just let you in.

In the span of a few minutes he felt his life flash before his eyes. He didn't know if he could take another loss. He had you here with him, but he wanted all of you with all of him. But if he told you who he truly was, would you leave him behind?

He couldn’t let you believe he was dead. He felt the emotion in your voice when you talked about him, “Anakin”. You had been so patient with him, asking permission, allowing for him to adjust.

Was he ready for all of that to change?

***

(a/n: eeekk!! i hope u enjoyed!! this is turning into more of a slow burn than i expected! whoops. anyways little sneak peak for the next chapter….. f/n reunites with anakin)

taglist: @dokoni-mo, @the-official-memester, @wizardofrozz, @guinea-pig16, @jar-of-moondust , @stxrrielle, @astra-1780, @katsukiswrld, @bisexual-snake, @hyojin-2579

#sw darth vader #darth vader #darth vader x y/n #darth vader fic #darth vader x you #darth vader x reader #vader #lord vader #star wars fanfiction #star wars x reader #anakin x reader #anakin x you #sith anakin #anakin skywalker #never forgotten #darth vader fanfic #vader x reader

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songmingisthighs · 2 years

Text

Algedonic

introduction pt. i | pt. ii | pt. iii

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ch. xlix - let them know

soulmate!yunho × reader

fated and marked, soulmates are supposed to be your destiny. you are connected to him by his heart and him to yours. but despite the cosmic or even divine intervention, you felt that he is not wholly yours. why is destiny so cruel to you?

When you first came to your senses, you were confused at the smell of your surroundings. The last thing you remembered was the horrendous pain in the left side your chest before you blacked out. You remembered your dream too, it was weird and it made you question reality.

Then the smell of hospital grade disinfectant entered your nose, allowing you to get a bit more clue on where you might be. For a second, the thought of you being in a coma passed your head. It was possible that you had been in a coma since your first cardiac accident after yunho dragged you to attend to somi passing out or something before proceeding to hurt you with his words. Maybe that was it, you never reconciled with your soulmate.

But when you opened your eyes and look around, it was obvious that you hadn't been in a coma and it wasn't the psst. Your surrounding was very unfamiliar and even the view from the window is one you've never seen before.

"You're up," a voice called from your side.

As best as you could, you turn to the source to see a red-eyed, red-faced Wooyoung. There were obvious tear stains on his cheeks and the wrinkles in his shirt and bomber jacket suggested that he had been by your side the whole time.

You wanted to feel disappointed that Yunho wasn't there, but seeing Wooyoung's face only made you crack a smile, "hey," you called out, voice hoarse which made you cough at the feeling of scratchiness in your throat. Wooyoung immediately shot up to pour you a glass of water from the table across your bed before returning to your side to help you adjust your bed to help you drink better. You were thankful for his help as you felt quite weak.

Before you could ask what happened, Wooyoung had already beat you to it. "The doctors had to do emergency surgery on you last night. The surgery was around six hours but nothing major happened there. You were stable during the surgery but they had to assess your heart extensively. The doctors told me that your heart was weakening but other than that, they wouldn't tell me anything as I'm not your family or emergency contact," he said as he put down the glass on your bedside table and sat back down. "And speaking of emergency contact, the people from administration tried to get to your parents but they weren't answering," his words made you scoff which prompted you to start coughing again, "Figures, they decided I wasn't worth keeping around then so why would they decide they wanna be involved now?" you blurted after your coughing fit ended. The whole time Wooyoung was wincing each time you coughed and scrunched your face from the chest pain.

"That being said," Wooyoung started again, reaching to hold your hand, "We need to call someone," he said sternly. You furrowed your eyebrows and immediately shook your head, "Absolutely not, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," you protested.

Deep down, Wooyoung had a feeling that you'd be against the idea of roping people into your situation. From the relatively short time of him knowing you, he found out that from people dropping you left and right, you had become independent which is not independence whatsoever, it's trust issues that are masked in your reluctance to depend on people. Still, not only does he not want you to be all alone during your recovery, but the hospital wouldn't discharge you if you don't have a support system.

"Come on (y/n)," Wooyoung pled, inching closer to grab both of your hands in his, "You shouldn't have to go through this alone. Your recovery will be much quicker if there's someone to help you around. If not, the hospital will never leave you out," he explained. Your frown deepened, not liking the idea of having to rely on someone for anything.

"Should we at least call... Yunho?"

You shot up with eyes blown as wide as they could go, "Are you crazy!?" and immediately after that, a sharp feeling shot to your chest and it felt as if you froze in shock, accompanied by unbearable pain in the area surrounding your chest and the area around it. Wooyoung immediately shot up to support your back, preventing it from simply falling backwards and hitting the bed. "Okay, no sudden movements from you," he lightly scolded after tucking you in as he adjusted your IV, making sure the drip was working properly to help ease your pain.

Seeing him looking so serious made your heart slightly flutter. Usually, he'd mess around and joke during your video call, showing a more playful side of him. But at that moment, he was in his element and he looked... hot.

"With the pain I get from my daily life, is it possible for me to bring that IV?" you joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. Wooyoung rolled his eyes but the corner of his lips pulled away into a smile, "If you want me to get fired," he joked back.

Suddenly, after your pain subsided, you were pulled back to reality. Thinking about how hot Wooyoung looked while being serious, considering calling someone to help you, and not to mention what happened to you last night. What could have caused the heart issue?

The change in your expression, the dropping of the lines of your face, was very much noticeable. Wooyoung's eyebrows furrowed at you, not liking the way you seemed burdened with some thoughts. Honestly, he would never consider contacting Yunho, but the circumstances forced him to think rationally. Though he regretted bringing him up to you.

"How about your friends? I can text San, Yeosang, or Beomgyu for you," he offered, tilting his head while cracking a smile. He wanted to convince you but also to ease you up even if it's only slightly.

Despite being the better choice, you really didn't want to bother your friends. Of course, you knew that they'd do anything for you, you were well aware of the crazy loyalty you all shared with each other. But that's just what made things worse for you, even more reason you didn't want to bother them.

So you sighed dejectedly as you leaned back to the bed with closed eyes, "Please Wooyoung, I just wanna handle this shit myself and... I don't know, just not burden anyone," you then turn to look at him as you opened your eyes, "And that includes you, Wooyoung."

You had hoped Wooyoung would let the issue go and just let you be. But at the same time, you had hoped he'd fight for you. The long and tiring road of being no one's priority had made you too used to giving up and basically sacrificing yourself. It isn't wrong to hope that someone would go the extra mile for you, is it?

Surprisingly, Wooyoung scoffed from your side, "Unfortunately, I don't care about your opinion because a. it's stupid, and b. I'm the medical expert here, so YOU have to do what I told you," he said, leaning back into his chair while arrogantly crossing his arms in front of his chest. You raised an eyebrow at him, quite unfamiliar with interacting with a guy who's not San, Yeosang, or Beomgyu who are more aggressively caring with you. "Are you supposed to talk to your patients like that?" you asked. Wooyoung smirked, "Well you're technically not my patient, work-wise, but until you contact one of those dumbasses or your friend Liz or even your sorry ass excuse of a soulmate, I'll be the one taking care of you whether you like it or not," he then fished out your phone from the pocket of his jacket and waved it around, "So either you tell your friends what happened and get them here ASAP, or I will. Whichever your choice, they will be notified because imagine how hurt they'd be if they found out that you were suffering alone in a town you're not even familiar with when they could've been there for you, making sure you're okay."

You hadn't thought of the situation that way. What you thought was an act of sparing your friends the burden and complication of having to travel to help you was actually a quite selfish act on your side. Sure, it was YOUR issue, but your friends love you more than enough to make it THEIR issue as well.

Realizing he was right, you could only sigh and reached a hand over to Wooyoung.

"Fine, can you please hand me my phone?"

And Wooyoung smiled proudly at you as he handed you your phone.

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myveryownfanfiction · 5 months

Text

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

chapter 27

tags: @illiana-mystery, @cassieuncaged, @eroticaplush, @onedirectionlovers2014

warnings: swearing

the next morning, I woke up laying on dans chest. He had his arms wrapped tightly around me, face pressed against the top of my head. I breathed out slowly and started to come to terms with the fact that the night before had not been a dream.

“trying to convince yourself that this is reality?” Dan asked softly. I smiled to myself, pressing a kiss to his heart.

“Maybe.” I responded. Dan chuckled and kissed my head. “It just doesn’t seem real. Like I know it is. I can feel the ring on my finger. See it. I’m laying on you again.” Dan laughed and I smiled as I buried my head in his neck. “We had sex last night. I know it’s real. But my brain just can’t fully comprehend this.”

“I know.” Dan whispered. “I didn’t think…” he broke off with a sigh. “I’m sorry I jumped to it. I’m sorry I left. I wanted so much better for you and i just…I ruined it.” I sat up and looked down at Dan.

“you didn’t ruin it. Never say that.” I shook my head. “It’s perfectly us and you know it.” Dan stared back at me. “You thinking of my best interests. Giving me the choice of choosing you or the life I had in New York. Leaving me the ring.” Dan chuckled and grabbed my hand, rubbing the band of the engagement ring. “Getting me out of jail and then technically breaking your friend out just so we could legally get married. Getting married the minute we’re reunited! Dan, that’s us. We’ve never been any good at confrontation of our problems or waiting for something. And we always think of each other before we jump into something. You didn’t ruin anything. If anything, you made it better.” Dan blushed before bringing my hand up to his lips and kissing my knuckles.

“thank you.” He whispered, breath fanning over my hand. I smiled at him and leaned down to kiss him. Pulling away, Dan cupped my cheek. “I do believe I promised you a ring.” I moved to let him get up and watched as he started to get dressed. Dan was just putting on his belt when he turned to me. “What?”

“nothing. Just watching my husband getting ready.” Dan blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Feels nice to call you that.” Dan smiled and grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head.

“I bet.” He muttered. I laughed and walked over to where Dan was standing.

“you alright?” I asked softly, wrapping my arms around his neck. Dan hesitated but put his hands on my waist.

“yeah. Just…been a while. Different emotions and all that.” Dan told me, waving his hand. I nodded.

“I shouldn’t have said it…” Dan kissed me.

“you should. And I want you to.” He assured me. “I might stop for a moment but I do want you to call me your husband. I want to be your husband. I just need to get used to it again.” I nodded slowly. “I’m serious (Y/N). I am your husband. And I love hearing you say that. Just give me time to get used to it again.”

“alright.” I leaned up to kiss him before breaking away to get dressed. Dan went to get us something to eat and I checked my phone. I sat on the bed and opened my messaging app, hovering over my parents number.

“everything ok?” Dan asked, making me start and turn to look at him. I nodded.

“yeah. I’m just trying to decide how to tell my parents we essentially eloped.” I said. Dan nodded and sat down next to me. “It’s not that I’m scared to tell them I just…” Dan kissed my head and pulled me to him.

“you’re nervous.” He finished. Dan rubbed my arm and leaned his cheek against my head. “Call them. We’ll do this together. I’ll explain my side of it and all you have to do is explain why you said yes.”

“that’s easy.” I laughed as I leaned into him. “Because I love you.” Dan smiled as he gently took the phone from me.

“and I love you.” He whispered back as he called my parents and put it on speaker. “It’ll be alright.” I nodded as my parents picked up.

“hello?”

“Hi mom!” I chirped as Dan squeezed my shoulder. “Dad there too?” I chewed on my bottom lip as I buried my head in dans shoulder.

“hold on.” My mom said and we heard shuffling around while she went to go find him. “He’s here.”

“hi!” I said. “Uh so Dan and I…he…uh…”

“what (Y/N) is trying to say is…” Dan took a deep breath. “We got married.” There was a long silence on the other end. “I can fully explain. I may have screwed things up by taking a job in New Orleans and I couldn’t ask (Y/N) to give up their life in New York for me so I just left. And I had already planned on proposing but it didn’t feel right or fair to them to do it before I left so I left them the ring.” Dan started to ramble. “And (Y/N) saw it and came to find me. When they did well…”

“he asked me properly and I said yes.” I jumped in. “We just…”

“It just…” Dan tried. We looked are each other and smiled.

“It just seemed right.” We both said. The silence continued on the other end and I checked to make sure the call was still active.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered. Dan furrowed his eyebrows as he watched me. I shook my head at him and rolled my eyes.

“don’t be sorry for marrying the man you love.” My mom finally spoke up. “It’s just a lot to process at once.”

“you’re in New Orleans?” My dad asked. I laughed.

“yeah. Flew out yesterday with Abbie. Got arrested and ended up in dans court.” I explained. Dan chuckled.

“arrested?” My mom exclaimed. “For what?”

“that’s the part you’re surprised by?” Dan laughed. “They got out of a cab with the intent to walk to the courthouse. There was so much traffic that they got impatient. The driver wanted them to pay even though Abbie was going to complete the ride and pay. So (Y/N) got arrested. I dismissed the charges.” My dad laughed and I could hear my mom mumbling something in the background.

“of course you did.” My mom sighed. “There’s never a dull moment with you two.” I smiled at Dan.

“no there isn’t.” I agreed. “So you’re not mad we basically eloped?”

“mad? No! Of course not!” My mom said. “We just hoped we’d get to be there to see it.”

“There are worse ways to get married. And worse reasons.” My dad agreed. “At least you got married because you love each other.”

“that is very true.” Dan said, kissing my forehead.

“and Dan, there are very few people in the world who would get on a plane and fly from New York to New Orleans out just to be with the one they love.” My dad said. Dan blushed slightly.

“That I know.” Dan said. “Makes me incredibly happy to have married one of the people that would.”

“I’m sure there’s a lot to discuss after all that.” My mom said. “Well let you two go. Love you (Y/N). And Dan,” my mom paused. Dan made a noise and tensed up slightly. “Welcome to the family.” He breathed a sigh of relief and I smiled at him.

“bye!” We both said as we hung up.

“that wasn’t so bad.” Dan whispered. I nodded and closed my eyes as I leaned into his chest.

“no. But it still wasn’t fun.” I admitted. Dan kissed my head.

“now let’s go. Time to get rings.” Dan said. “If it’s alright with you, I’m going to take this off…” he reached for his old ring and I nodded as he replaced it around his neck. “I’m going to get a box for this.” He said. “It’s not fair to you that I keep wearing this and…” I kissed him.

“if you want to, keep it.” I said. “I’m not offended by it. I understand what it means to you. What she means to you. Dan, I could care less. My only request is you let me pick you out a ring.” Dan smiled softly at me and pulled me in for a kiss.

“God damn do I love you.” Dan breathed out as he tangled his fingers in my hair.

“I love you too.” I giggled as he kissed me again. “Dan. The rings.” Dan leaned his head against mine and closed his eyes.

“I know. I know.” He whispered. “I’m just enjoying this moment.” I brushed his hair off his face and brushed away a few stray tears. “I’m sorry.” Cupping his cheeks, I leaned up and kissed his nose.

“nothing to be sorry for.” I said softly. “It’s a lot.” Dan nodded. After a moment, he stood up and offered me his hand. Dan tucked my hand into his elbow and led me down into the street.

“stay close.” He whispered as he set off down the street. I gazed in awe at everything around me, so different from what I had seen last night. Dan gently tugged me along, occasionally smiling and shaking his head at me. With a small laugh Dan pulled me into a jewelry shop. “And that’s why I told you to stay close.” He teased as the door closed behind me.

“yeah. Yeah. Yeah.” I joked as I waved him off. Dan leaned down to kiss my cheek before leading me to the counter. “Remember I want simple. Plain. Nothing terribly fancy.” Dan nodded. He bent over the glass case and frowned. I bent down next to him and looked at the rings on display.

“I got my class ring here.” Dan whispered. “Looked exactly like that.” He pointed to a medium sized ring with a large purple stone. I smiled at him. “I wanted to have your engagement ring made here and shipped. But I saw the one you have…” Dan shrugged. “I had to get that one. It was perfect for you.” I squeezed his arm and looked at the case again.

“what do you think of this one?” I pointed to the plain band next to the class ring. “The little design on the side…isn’t that important to New Orleans?” Dan smiled at me.

“The fleur de lis?” He asked. “France but it would be a nice reminder of how we got married. I like it.” I smiled at Dan and went to grab the jeweler. Dan watched me as he got sized and the jeweler went off to get the size that was needed. I followed him and pulled him aside for a second.

“How much extra would it be to add an engraving?” I asked. The jeweler looked at me.

“depending on the engraving, about $50 a word.” He said. I nodded.

“can you put a shape? Like a heart?” The jeweler nodded. “Can you do a heart and his name?” The jeweler nodded again.

“what’s the name?” He asked.

“reinhold.” I said. The jeweler nodded and headed off to take care of the ring. I headed back over by Dan and smiled. “Find anything yet?” Dan nodded.

“but you’ll say no. Too fancy.” He gently bumped my shoulder with a smile. “How much extra is it going to cost?” I blushed, realizing he knew me too well.

“$100.” I admitted. Dan nodded.

“ok.” I smiled softly at him before turning back to the case. “Like I said you probably won’t like it but that the one.” Dan pointed to a ring with three small stones in it. I looked at it for a second before turning back to him. “What do you think?”

“is that the one you see me wearing?” I asked. Dan paused, eyes still trained on the ring. He finally turned towards me.

“yeah. I do. It’s the same feeling I had when I saw the engagement ring.” He admitted. I nodded.

“then get it.” Dan smiled at me and kissed me.

“alright.” He said. “How much for engravings?”

“$50 a word. Or shape.” I said. Dan nodded. He went off with the jeweler to get my ring done. Walking back over to me with the receipt, Dan smiled at me.

“a few more minutes.” He said before wrapping his arm around me. “We’re officially official now.” I nodded with a small laugh.

“yeah. We are.” I agreed. The jeweler came out and handed us our rings. I waited for Dan to look at his, holding onto my ring tightly so I didn’t drop it. Dan laughed and shook his head. “What?”

“look at yours.” He said, eyes shining. I looked at the engraving on my ring and started laughing.

“a heart and my name.” I smiled up at him. “Of course.” Dan held his hand out for my ring and I traded him. Taking a deep breath, we put the rings on each other.

“perfect.” He whispered before kissing me.

“absolutely perfect.” I agreed.

#john larroquette #john larroquette fanfic #john larroquette fanfiction #john larroquette imagine #john larroquette x reader #dan fielding #dan fielding x reader #dan fielding fanfic #dan fielding fanfiction #dan fielding imagine #Old enough #old enough series

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perhaps-in-anotherdream · 1 year

Text

[CN] Victor x MC – S2 CH 39 (Eng Translation)

“If the person speaking is you, I don’t need any other explanation.”

“Stop time for me, Victor.”

Do remember to read S2 CH 38 prior to this: Here!

⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for a chapter that is yet to be released in the global server. ⌚

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

✧ [Context before the split routes] ✧

With the help of a little girl, MC is currently in a time-loop, allowing her to use the extra time the loop grants to her advantage -- i.e., trying to break the rules of the world using the power of the QUEEN, Evol energy, and the dark matter of the universe.

Each spilt route allows MC to obtain the information she needs to do her final showdown.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

✧ [Victor Split CH 39 - 1.1] ✧

Regarding the current situation, “time” is a factor of vital importance that must be identified.

According to the clues at hand right now, at the moment when the countdown ends, the two space-times should completely overlap, thus reaching the so-called “point of destruction.”

Even if I have sufficient energy, I still need to correspond to that particular time––

That critical point in time is clearly the key. Perhaps, I can begin with that.

Immersed in thoughts, I breathe out heavily. Looking at the high-rise buildings in the distance as they gradually bathe in the twilight, I suddenly think about Victor.

He pulled a gun on me before on the skywalk, transferring me to the BS Hall;

And then he gave me the black box through Zehn, handing me the prerequisite to enter the Black Cabin according to my will.

Although he hasn’t explained to me the motives for all these arrangements, through an ineffable feeling, I firmly believe that Victor is changing something in his own way.

If our purposes coincide, then Victor must need the information I know. Likewise, his power will help me as well.

With this thought in mind, I subconsciously take out my phone and dial Victor’s number.

But after a long time, there’s still no answer on the other end of the phone.

MC: Where could he be…?

As I mutter to myself in distress, I suddenly think of something and lift my feet in the direction of the BS Headquarters.

The last time we parted on the rooftop, Victor was carrying out an operation with the people of BS.

Right now, the BS Headquarters is most likely where I’ll be able to find him.

As I think about this, I can’t help accelerating my pace. Very soon, the towering BS Building enters my line of sight.

Preparing myself to face several cross-examinations, I draw a deep breath and lift my feet onto the steps.

But unexpectedly, the building, which has always been heavily guarded, is now empty, and no one is in sight. The only sound in the huge space is the echo of my disarrayed footsteps.

MC: What’s going on here…

Somewhat at a loss, I scan the surrounding. At this moment, I hear what seems to be voices coming from the depths of the hall.

My heart shudders. I cautiously forge ahead following the voices, faintly hearing a few vague words, “...still not connected yet…,” reaching my ears.

The light is obscure, and the corridor is a bit gloomy. As I prudently walk forward, I suddenly see a beam of light reflecting at the end of the hallway.

I advance cautiously, and through the daylight cast by the dome, I can see the dark red curtains hanging down and the seat in the center of the hall.

–– Once again, I’ve returned to the place where I had once been crowned as QUEEN.

It’s only that compared to when I left not long ago, there are a lot more figures in the hall right now. Although the sound of conversations can be heard from time to time, the atmosphere is somewhat solemn.

And those gloomy eyes land on me instantaneously the moment I show up. The immense sense of coercion causes me to hold my breath subconsciously.

I can already spot a few unfamiliar faces in the crowd.

Thinking back to the last time we met and how Victor said he would weed out the rotten parts of BLACK SWAN, a vague conjecture emerges in my heart as I look at those figures in the shadows.

It seems that he has indeed made BS go through rebirth, forming it into a new force in his hands.

Amidst the stares, I calmly straighten my shoulders and surpassing through the cracks between the shadows, I find Victor’s figure.

His head is slightly lifted, and he seems to be gazing over the hall.

Following his gaze, I find a faint golden arc floating in mid-air underneath the dome.

…isn’t that arc of light from the gate of the Black Cabin? How did it suddenly appear here?

Seemingly having already made a judgment in his mind, Victor slowly, very slowly glances in my direction, his gaze revealing a faint sense of oppression.

The instant he sees that it’s me, a trace of surprise plays across his slender eyebrows, and then it’s cast off by a moment of realization.

He doesn’t seem surprised that I’m here.

Taking a deep breath, I lift my foot and walk towards Victor under the attentive gazes of everyone.

As I draw closer to him, his stern eyebrows become increasingly clear on my horizon. In those serene eyes, which are as deep as a pool, I seem to detect a hint of deeply hidden exhaustion.

My heart tightens involuntarily. I suddenly can’t resist the urge to step forward, stroke away that tired complexion, and ask him about what on earth has happened.

But the constantly dwindling countdown above my head is reminiscent of a hanging sword that will fall at any moment, silently alerting me.

I clench my fists, trying hard to calm my emotions.

…Victor led these people to gather here, so that means he must be working out a strategy. In any case, now is not the time to pour out my heart.

I exhale softly, meet Victor’s indifferent gaze, and open my mouth in a steady tone.

MC: Knowing how precious everyone’s time is right now, I’ll get straight to the point.

MC: BOSS, I came looking for you to do a negotiation.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly becomes heavy. Out of the corner of my eyes, I even see someone’s Evol brewing white light.

It seems that so long as Victor gives the order, they will launch attacks on me at any time.

The arc of light from the door of Black Cabin hovers silently in the middle of the hall, and I can almost hear the sound of restrained breathing.

A while later, Victor taps his fingertips on the armrest, not gently but not heavily either.

Victor: Go on.

I tighten my fists a little, speaking every word after measuring them.

MC: I have some information about the overlapping worlds which I can share with all of you.

MC: In all likelihood, this will be a great help to what BS is planning now.

MC: Of course, if we reach a partnership, you guys can also use the power of CORE within me.

Several people next to Victor lift their eyes imperceptibly. Evidently, these words have hit right on the sore point.

A little more confidence suddenly brews in my heart, and then, I hear Victor speak.

Victor: In the situation at present, even if I refuse to do the so-called negotiation, you won’t be able to retreat from BS in one piece.

Victor: I don’t seem to have the need to do things that are unnecessary.

MC: Since I dared to come, I naturally have the means to escape.

MC: You and I are both very pressed for time. So, we don’t need to waste our breaths on this, am I right?

I look at Victor in neither servile nor overbearing manner, my tone not wavering in the slightest.

Victor raises his eyebrows, the corners of his lips faintly arching up into a curve. Then, he opens his mouth unhurriedly.

Victor: What’s your condition?

MC: I don’t have any conditions. BOSS can give me whatever he wants.

MC: After all, I also need as much information as possible to find the answers I want.

Victor gazes at me with an expression that’s hard to decipher, his tone carrying with it a vague sense of oppression.

Victor: The power of BS is not to be used so easily by outsiders.

Victor: The clues you have are not sufficient to be treated as a bargaining chip with BS.

This rejection seems to appear out of the blue. I open my lips, speaking subconsciously.

MC: I still––

Victor: I don’t need the power of CORE either.

Victor: I made that point very clear on the skywalk.

MC: …

Along with these words, Victor’s eyes look away from me coldly and seem to inadvertently and rather suggestively skim over the hall.

I subconsciously follow his line of sight. The moment I see the arc of light, my heart suddenly stirs.

MC: Even if BOSS doesn’t need CORE, I have the power to help you guys.

MC: There are some things that only I can do, isn’t that right?

I straighten up slightly and lock eyes with Victor meaningfully.

Although he still doesn’t say anything, the light in those eyes seems to be a little more affirmative.

The air lapses into a stalemate. I hold my breath, waiting with clenched palms. Victor shoots me a glance and finally nods.

Victor: In that case, tell us. What’s the information you’ve got?

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

✧ [Victor Split CH 39 - 1.2] ✧

MC: The sky over this world is now covered with a massive string of countdowns.

MC: As all of you can see, there is now a static “special Loveland City” that is overlapping with ours.

MC: Even though the world is now static in a relative sense, just like the overlapping zones at the beginning, the time hasn’t stopped.

MC: Right now, it’s like we are all sitting on a fast-moving train.

MC: Though entirely unaware of it, it’s incessantly running toward the abyss. The train will collapse at the boundary point, and time––

MC: The moment when the countdown ends, the entire world will be completely overwritten, and the static space-time will start afresh.

MC: The hovering comet in the sky will then resume its motion, falling downwards.

The air of oppression is a little suffocating. I pause before continuing to speak.

MC: According to the stimulation-based calculation, this is how the world is originally set to end.

MC: Everything will come to an end at 19:17.

The room lapses into silence, and one can almost hear the sound of restrained breathing. After a while, Victor speaks.

Victor: And how long do we have before the countdown ends.

I speedily look up at the sky overhead. Against the obscure light and shadow backdrop of the hall, the digits are beating coldly and in a regular pattern.

MC: ...it’s now -43:13:10.

Victor’s figure freezes slightly, but his expression doesn’t give away any surprise.

While I’m a little puzzled, a rustling noise suddenly comes from before me.

A tall, short-haired youth stares into the for a moment with a tight frown on their face before stepping forward and opening their mouth.

??: It seems that the situation is indeed about the same as what we deduced.

From the side, another woman wearing glasses also turns around soon after and walks over to the door in a swift and decisive manner.

??: That being the case, there’s no point in wasting time.

??: We’ll leave first.

As soon as her voice falls, several figures of different sizes start walking out of the hall in tacit agreement. The short-haired youth also nods to Victor and leaves at a brisk pace.

Startled, I watch as less than half of the figures in the hall disappear in an instant. Victor doesn’t intend to stop them and indifferently turns his gaze to me.

Victor: Go on. What’s the solution you have in mind?

I hesitate to withdraw my gaze and open my mouth in a measured tone.

MC: …I have obtained some information.

MC: At the moment of overlap, I will need to use power far beyond the ordinary to change the already fixed course of the world.

MC: Only CORE won’t do. I will need to draw support from a lot of other forces as well.

MC: I will need to make them act simultaneously at that point in time to enable the world to break away from its original trajectory.

MC: Although it may necessarily not be successful, it’s a gamble I must take.

My restless trailing note disappears quietly into the air. Victor’s eyes flicker slightly, and after a while, he suddenly speaks.

Victor: All right. BS has received your message.

Victor: The door of the Black Cabin will be opened now.

With these words, Victor unhurriedly walks beneath the arc of light. Then, he turns sideways and looks at me.

Stunned, I sweep my gaze across the crowd standing in the hall and speak with some uncertainty.

MC: Right now?

Victor: What else? Or do you need me to give you time to mentally prepare yourself?

MC: …

I draw a deep breath and catch up with his footsteps despite so.

Although I’m not clear on what Victor’s intention is for asking me to do this, after all, he is the one who gave me the key to Black Cabin.

And since the negotiation has been reached, my next call is to use the power of BS.

With this thought in mind, I carefully take out the black box and grasp it in my palm with rapt attention, holding my breath.

With previous experience, the process of mobilizing the power is much smoother. Soon, a familiar warm current circulates around my body, and a vague feeling of strength leaps into my chest.

The field of view in front of me suddenly brightens a little, as if there are specs of light constantly converging.

I lift my eyes and see the faint arc of light gradually magnifying into a bright radiance, and the outline of a door of light slowly emerges in the air.

Victor raises his head, gazes quietly at the door of light for a moment, and then turns to look at me.

Victor: BS will honor its commitment, as promised.

MC: …I’ve got the words of BOSS. I’m relieved.

Victor seems to chuckle softly, his gaze sweeping over the fluorescent colors surging behind the door of light. I hastily open my mouth.

MC: So, BOSS, tell me what you think about this information.

Victor releases a “Mm,” lifting his chin lightly in the direction of the corridor.

Victor: [voice finally drops to the “Victor-softness”] Let’s go for a walk outside.

I freeze for a moment, realizing the next second that he seems to want to speak to me alone.

I shoot a glance across the entire hall and nod, taking the lead in walking toward the corridor and organizing the words in my mind.

But what I haven’t noticed is that Victor seemed to slow down his pace inadvertently.

The sound of footsteps in the corridor gradually fades away. Only at this moment does Victor lifts his eyes and catches up with the girl’s pace.

The moment before leaving the corridor, he glances behind him and opens his mouth in a quiet voice.

Victor: [even softer] You can continue.

—

They are walking on the street. Seeing people stopping to take photos of the static comet and resuming their strides, MC is musing about how people naturally start to accept the anomalies after a certain period.

At this moment––

??: Mom–– this is delicious. It’s so delicious!

A young and tender voice suddenly drifts from behind me. I turn my head and see a mother with her young daughter in her arms, coming towards us.

She strokes her daughter’s head tenderly, seemingly not noticing us. The child smiles and tries to lift the cake to her mouth, and as she is brushing past us, the kid’s hand suddenly tilts.

The identical scene took place in Souvenir before the comet descended, and I can’t help but be shaken to my soul.

–

[Tidbits]: MC is referring to S1 CH 37 Victor’s route btw~

–

Just as it appears that I’m about to be rubbed by the cake, my arm is suddenly pulled, and I’m brought to the side by Victor.

MC: …!

The young mother pauses in her footsteps uneasily, asking apologetically how I’m doing. I hurriedly wave my hand.

MC: It’s all right. I’m fine.

Victor sweeps his eyes over me up and down, speaking lightly.

Victor: [to the mother] Watch the road.

The young mother nods her head, apologizes, and leaves with her child in her arms.

Looking at their carefree and untroubled figures from behind, I sigh unconsciously, only to hear Victor suddenly speak.

Victor: [more like a whisper] I seem to have seen this scene before.

I freeze for a moment, turning my head around vigorously to look at Victor.

Shifting from the figures of the mother and child, he is gazing thoughtfully at the stars in the sky, but his expression shows a trace of certainty.

…could it be that the overlapping phenomenon, which exacerbates fluctuations, also has an impact on memories?

Or is he simply stating a point of view on the overlapping of worlds?

However, at this moment, I’m still incapable of saying anything. After a moment’s hesitation, I only purse my lips.

The noise of traffic drifts faintly from a distance. Feeling how silent I am, Victor glances at me.

Victor: If you can’t destroy the box, there will be nothing else left to be done.

Victor: Regardless of what form the cat in the box takes, it won’t matter at that point.

–

[Tidbits]: To clarify, Victor’s whisper earlier was about his memories, which he states later too. And here, he is talking about Schrödinger’s cat theory.

–

He makes this statement speciously, and I purse my lips in bewilderment.

MC: …box? Cat? What does it mean? Is it related to the plan you’re working on now?

Victor doesn’t answer my question.

He turns his head and simply looks at the comet in the sky again, changing the thread of discussion.

Victor: According to your reasoning, to prevent the overlap between the two worlds, it would take an extreme amount of energy.

Victor: This is something even beyond the scope of the Space-Time Bureau to resolve.

Victor: So, whatever you plan to do, there is one thing I can tell you with certainty.

The giant comet hangs in the sky as if it’s ready to come down at any moment. But the reflection it casts on Victor’s back is unable to cut down his drive for even a little bit.

Victor: The moment the countdown ends, that one instant is not enough for you to solve the problem.

My heart can’t help but sink a few notches along with these words.

MC: It means there is no possibility of solving this…

The air seems to sink into silence. Following this, Victor gazes at me for a long, long time, and then he smiles abruptly.

This smile is wrapped in an explicable depth of meaning, as if it depicts the faith and pride of simply putting one’s all into a fight when faced with desperate straits.

Victor: But I can elongate that instant.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

✧ [Victor Split CH 39 - 1.4] ✧

MC: …!

My eyes widen slightly, and I’m just about to speak. But Victor reduces his pace and stops in front of a building.

I subconsciously follow his gaze. A gray, towering church stands against the backdrop of the night, as though overlooking the turmoil of everything.

Victor stares at it quietly for a moment. Soon after, he lifts his feet to mount the steps.

Victor: Let’s go inside and have a look.

Victor raises his hand as he speaks, pushing open the closed door.

–

I follow his steps. As we draw nearer, we find that the solemn church is now completely empty.

There are only a few black crows perched on the dust-covered benches, combing their feathers peacefully. I glance around and sigh softly.

MC: …it seems that everyone is a bit apathetic to the crisis. No one is coming to pray.

MC: If people learn that the world is about to perish, I’m afraid they won’t have the heart to come here even more.

Victor shakes his head. By the time he opens his mouth, his voice has regained his characteristic forever calmness.

Victor: On the contrary, this place will be packed with people at the time.

Victor: When despair reaches the pinnacle, and powerlessness becomes apparent, one can only hope and pray.

Victor: Churches, temples… they will desperately long for a pair of hands that can pull them out of the abyss.

Victor: Whether it comes from the gods, or some other unknown forces.

The intense colors of the night filter in through the glass windows, silently projecting into this spacious and empty space. The fine specks of dust quietly float in the air.

I close my eyes, and I can almost see the scene of this place being flooded with prayers and the sound of cries. My heart suddenly indescribably feels a little sour.

If there really is a god in this world who can save all this, perhaps I will also fall to my knees in despair, praying for a stable tomorrow for myself and my loved ones;

But the unceasingly approaching countdown above my head doesn’t allow me to immerse myself in this delusion.

There is nowhere else to place my hopes but in myself. The only thing I can do right now is to grab hold of the only opportunity I have.

I breathe out softly, and after a moment, I incline my head to look at Victor’s side profile.

MC: The thing you said just earlier… what did you mean?

Victor gazes fixedly into my eyes and speaks in a profound tone.

Victor: I meant it literally.

Victor: At the moment when the countdown ends, you need to use the power to change the ending of the world’s destruction. But a split second of time may not be sufficient to sustain you to get it done.

Victor: I don’t precisely know the basis of your action, but I trust your judgment.

Victor: I can pause that instant for you and elongate your time.

Victor: Make good use of it and strive for more possibilities.

MC: …!

My eyes widen slightly. Just as I’m about to speak, I’m interrupted.

Victor: I know you’re looking for the power to change the course of the world.

Victor: But that’s the extent of what I can do for you now.

Victor’s voice seems a little softer than in the past. Realizing something, I shake my head.

MC: That’s enough. After all, the responsibility of finding that power falls upon the CORE.

I pause as I speak, looking into the deep colors of his eyes, and speak one word at a time.

MC: Victor, actually… I’ve already begun my actions to this end. We’re in a time loop right now.

MC: I used someone else’s Evol to extend 48 hours before the countdown ends.

MC: This will buy me as much time as I need to prepare for the requirements.

Victor listens to me quietly, and after a while, he perks up the corners of his lips.

Victor: Reasonable and good response.

Blinking, I gaze at him with a bit of playfulness.

MC: That’s all? And here I was, hoping you could give me some guidance.

Victor: [even softer than before] Dummy.

Along with this word, a large, warm, and powerful hand gently lands on my head.

Victor: [sighs helplessly] You’re already doing very well.

Victor: I have a far less clear grasp of the truth than you do, and I will not be able to respond to it any better than you.

Victor: Over the years, I have heard my own voices in my head, but I don’t have any memories related to them.

Victor: I have also faced many situations that cannot be explained by common sense.

Victor: I had already put together the approximate picture in my mind. And now, as the overlap constantly intensifies, the complete image is gradually becoming clear.

MC: …!

I can’t help but freeze for a moment, suddenly thinking of something.

Regardless of whether it was the first time I met Victor in this restarted world or the time I ran into danger in the hospital, I indeed heard Victor’s voice in my mind.

–

[Tidbits]: Refreshing the callbacks – Victor is referring to his flashbacks throughout S2 (both in the story and R&S), and specifically S2 CH 4, CH 25, CH 31~ And MC here is specifically referring to their reunion 4 years ahead of time– “Meeting in the past date” and S2 CH 4.

–

It turns out he has detected something is amiss with this world since such a long time ago?

I purse my lips, but feel Victor running his fingers through my hair, as though giving me a kind of reassurance.

Victor: All the existence that worries you now, I will make it end with that ending.

Victor: Don’t worry about it. Just go do what you want to do.

Victor: You can do it.

Victor’s tone is calm, and it reveals a certainty.

Beginning from the moment we met, even though he’s been vaguely aware that I’m shouldering some secrets, he still chose to trust me.

He chose to be part of my strength and my confidence.

A slight sourness surges into the rims of my eyes. I look into his eyes and nod slowly.

MC: [tears in eyes] …Mm, I will do it.

–

[Anika’s Notes]: dropping it bc why not–– the music for this part is his 5th birthday BGM, so you can imagine how deeply this hits~ ;-;

–

As if in response to my words, the church bells ring out suddenly, reverberating loudly in the spacious and empty hall.

Given a scare, the crows resting on the benches suddenly fly up, their pitch-black feathers slowly floating down along with the long, coarse cry.

The crisscrossing light and shadow of the glass windows shine on Victor’s body, and the tender colors also reflect in that pair of serene eyes, reminiscent of a beautiful dream.

Although this moment is brief, it’s enough to give me the encouragement to move forward.

I look up at the time above my head–– it’s already time for this cycle to end.

I withdraw my gaze and speak softly to Victor.

MC: Victor, I’m going to restart this period of time.

MC: There are still some things waiting for me to figure out.

Victor doesn’t say anything more. Like the countless goodbyes before, he only looks at me gently and nods.

Victor: [gentlest of the voices to exist] Go.

I answer a soft “Mm.” But suddenly thinking of something, I open my mouth with hesitation.

MC: But when time reinstates, you won’t remember anything that happened now.

MC: [pouty] The promise you made to elongate time for me, will it still be valid at that time?

Victor seems to curl the corners of his lips into a smile. He takes a step closer in my direction and lifts his hands, bringing me into his arms.

Victor: [gentlest of the voices to exist] On this matter, you don’t ever need to harbor doubts.

Victor: [gentlest of the voices to exist x2] As long as you find me before that moment arrives, I will honor my promise.

His reassuring scent seeps into every breath I take. I hug the person in front of me back and speak in a muffled voice.

MC: [still pouty] So when that moment comes, do I have to explain the situation to you from scratch again?

A very soft chuckle drifts to my ears.

Victor: [gentlest of the voices to exist x3] No need.

Victor: [gentlest of the voices to exist x10] If the person speaking is you, I don’t need any other explanation.

Apprehension, hesitation, restlessness…

All the haze lingering in my heart dissipates at this moment in the ringing of the church bells, and in the warmth of this man’s arms.

I take a deep breath, look up into his eyes, and make my promise as I utter it word by word.

MC: Victor, the answer you want to know will surely drop at that end.

MC: Even if I’m unable to achieve it this time, I will keep striving until the moment it happens.

Victor: Mm, I believe that.

I lift the corners of my lips and gently let go of my grip on his coat.

MC: Victor, see you later.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

✧ [CH 39-3] ✧

[Note]: Players have to complete all 5 split routes to reach this stage.

MC thanks the little girl for her help. Then, she contacts the other boys via phone call (Lucien, Helios, Gavin) to let them know about the information she ultimately has, so that they can continue as planned.

Then—

MC runs for the BS Headquarters—

—

The door of light of the Black Cabin still stations there quietly in the center of the hall. Probably Victor is still carrying out his plan.

Time ticks by second by second. There is very little time left in the countdown, but my heart is exceptionally tranquil.

If hard work is said to be the backbone behind any success, then what I’m carrying now on my back is in no way simply my solo effort.

The countless figures who have advanced on different paths, sparing no effort, are what have given me the unbounded motivation to have the courage to face the future.

The next second, Victor walks out of the shadows along with the twelve main gods.

He stands at the head of the crowd with a fully concentrated gaze, the light descending from the dome outlining his solemn and proud expression.

He stares at me. The moment our eyes interlock, I see a trace of pacifying reassurance streaming through his eyes.

I steel my mind and stand on the high platform of the throne, looking at everyone with a calm expression.

MC: I am BLACK SWAN QUEEN.

MC: Stop time for me, Victor.

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

⏳ Victor’s Split Route (CH 40): Here!

[Heads-up from Anika]: will highly recommend reading / revisiting Victor’s S1 CH 37 split route, and “Meeting in the Past Date” as preparation for the split route ahah—— ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

—

#HEAVENS!!! the way that final part gave me shivers LOL *bows to Her Majesty and His Majesty* 👑#the irony of MC’s last line though�� one of Victor’s character tagline is — “I want your time to stop only for me.”#AND THE WAY SHE GOES AND SAYS– “DO IT”🤣🫠anyway jokes aside— she says later how her time does only stop for him “in the literal sense” ;-;#Another thing: the way the writers highlighted Victor’s “Christ Figure” themes – was MORE STRIKING THAN EVER——#also the tacit understanding. chemistry. silent communication. unconditional trust– EVERYTHING Victor x MC ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ #mlqc victor #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc #mr love victor #mr love queen's choice #恋与制作人 #李泽言 #love and producer #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc translations

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