#but yeah speaking of stream. hopefully things go well again i look forward to talking to everyone again (❁´◡`❁) ! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

katyasrussianaccent · 3 years

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you’re so golden (corpse x reader)

Summary: You’re a faceless youtuber that sings cover songs. What happens when a certain faceless streamer slides into your DMs after you cover one of his songs?

Authors note: Part 3 whoop! I havent written fic in 3 years so Im hoping this is okay. Its about 4000 words, super long, sorry. I also dont play Among Us, but hopefully its not too obvious. Lemme know what you think!

You're nervous, though you aren’t quite sure why. The kind of nervousness that spreads to your feet, causing you to tap your toes against the side of your sofa.

Call you in 15.

You look at the message again, staring at it till the screen goes blurry. Rubbing your eyes you exhale into the emptiness of your apartment; a feeble attempt at calming yourself down.

Logically it’s stupid to be nervous over a phone call. Logically you know that in the grand scheme of the universe, there are bigger things at hand. But you’re not a logical person, never have been. You’re all heart and emotion, both a blessing and a curse. There’s something intimate about a phone call, to have nothing but someone’s voice on the other end of the phone, talking to you and only you. It was a little scary; to think your purely online friendship with Corpse was going to be taken to a different level. You’re excited to think what that could mean.

“Fucking get it together,” you mutter to no-one as you exhale again, because there’s nothing else to do other than to wait and try to breath. There’s this frantic energy about you; like when you eat fizzy sweets, the flavour buzzing on your tongue. Your ancestors used to hunt wolves and here you were nervous over a single phone call.

The silence in your apartment’s too much now; too noisy. You grab your TV remote, clicking onto Spotify to find something. You’re scrolling so much, none of the artists feeling quite right for the moment before settling on Sufjan Stevens.

The dulcet tones fill the space, and for a brief second, you feel fine. You’re feeling relaxed and then your phone lights up.

Incoming Facetime Audio

“Fuckfuckfuckfuck” you say. Your face feels warm, your heart quickens in your chest. You could just ignore it, say you’re not feeling too good and that would be that, you wouldn’t have to do this. But it’s Corpse, you like Corpse and you’re kind of friends.

You swipe to accept the call, and press the button for speaker.

“Hey,” you say, cringing at the meek tone your voice has taken on.

“Hey,” Corpse’s deep voice rumbles through your tiny speaker, distorting slightly and you press the volume button to turn it down a little.

There’s a beat of silence, a beat too long, and you already hate how awkward this is. You’re not great at social stuff, the concept of being a social butterfly is almost foreign to you. And it’s not because you dislike people, it’s just you hate this; the small talk, the awkwardness before you get comfortable and can hold an actual conversation.

You suddenly remember a tip from your customer service days. “How are you?” you ask, plastering on a grin so wide that it must look borderline demented. Thank god you’re single.

“I’m okay thanks, how are you?” he asks.

You lounge back against the soft cushions of the sofa, lifting the phone up to your mouth as you do so. “I’m good, excited to be taught by the Among Us master.”

He snorts in disdain. “Hardly a master.”

You chew your lip before you speak again, “I dunno, people on the internet think you’re pretty good.”

He snorts again, and you smile at the sound. It’s not something you’ve heard from him before, through your hours of watching his streams, you’ve become accustomed to his voice and the noises he makes. But this one seems to be new. And maybe it’s the weird, selfish part of you that likes to think he’s only ever made that sound for you. You shake the thought out of your head, because really? Getting happy over a snort is really such a ridiculous thing to do.

“People on the internet say a lot of things.”

“True, but sometimes they speak the truth,” you reply, moving to get more comfortable; tucking your feet under your thighs. You wonder what he’s doing right now as he talks to you, is he sitting down? Or is he lying on his bed; his head propped up with pillows? There’s a brief flash of yearning, of wanting to be there in the same room as him, but it disappears as quickly as it appeared so you ignore it.

“Hm. We’ll agree to disagree.”

“Okay, you’re the boss Mr Husband.”

He chuckles softly, and again, you smile. You can feel yourself getting annoyed with yourself; you’re acting like a child with a crush; smiling at the phone. All you needed now was a notebook that had Mrs YN Husband written all over it.

“You know if you keep calling me that, we’re gonna have to get married,” he says, his voice a little lower than it was before. You blink and cock your head to the side, looking at an imaginary camera like you’re in The Office. Did you say that out loud? Is he...flirting with you? Sure, you’re flirty over Twitter, but it’s Twitter, Twitter isn’t real. There’s a fluttery feeling in your stomach at the mere prospect that he might actually be flirting with you.

“I’d be the best wife you could ever get,” you shoot back. There’s a brief second of silence before he answers, and you can hear shuffling on the other end. You want to ask what he’s doing, but you know it would break the conversation, and you’re curious to see where this goes.

“Oh really? And why’s that?” he asks, and you can picture the smirk in his voice. You have no idea what he looks like, no real care about it either, but you bet he’s got a beautiful smile. You bite your tongue before it tells him this, for once your brain actually works and stops you from making a fool out of yourself. It’s incredibly strange, how quickly he puts you at ease without a try, he’s just so naturally comforting. He’s not this flashy persona, he’s just a guy who likes to play video games and happens to be kinda good at them. And also has a voice that is literally like chocolate. Not just chocolate; dark chocolate. If dark chocolate could talk, it would sound like Corpse.

“Cos your girl can cook,” you say proudly, puffing out your chest a little. And that’s not a lie, you can cook. Okay, you’re not a Michelin starred chef, but you feel quite confident in the fact that Gordon Ramsey could eat your food, and probably (hopefully) wouldn’t scream that it was “fucking raw”.

“And what would you cook for me?” he asks.

You hum in thought for a second. “You’ll have to marry me first to find that out.”

He laughs, a proper laugh that settles in your stomach, spreading warmth through your chest. “I’ll think about it. I can hear music, what are you listening to?”

You straighten up a little, the question catching you off guard. You bite the inside of your cheek as you look at the song that’s playing. It’s not his type of music, you’re almost positive about that. You almost don’t want to tell him out of embarrassment. You’re not sure why you feel embarrassed; you know Corpse isn’t an asshole, he wouldn’t make fun of you. But music is so personal to you, so personal, it’s like baring a piece of your soul; which sounds so fucking cliche, but it’s true.

“Uhhh...It’s called Make out in My Car by Sufjan Stevens,” you reply.

He hums in affirmation. “It sounds nice; from what I can hear.”

“I can turn it up?” you ask, leaning forward to grab the remote off the coffee table.

“You could always sing some for me,” he offers.

You laugh a little, scrunching up your nose. “And why would I do that?”

“I thought you wanted to get married. You have to woo me,” he replies.

“Woo you?” you ask, your tone incredulous. This isn’t how you pictured the conversation going.

“Yeah. Woo me, yn.” he says, dragging out the “o” causing you to laugh again.

You sigh dramatically. “I haven’t warmed up or anything, it’s gonna sound so bad” you warn as you put the song to the beginning.

“I’m sure you sound great. Go ahead, woo me.”

You shake your head as you softly sing. “I'm not trying to go to bed with you, I just wanna make out in my car. And though I'm dying to fall in love with you, I just wanna make out in my car”. You stop and you’re suddenly very aware that you have essentially just serenaded him. Good going, brain.

It’s silent for a beat too long, and the smile that graced your lips starts to fade as the embarrassment starts to set in.

“Well now we definitely have to get married,” he affirms. And there’s that fluttery feeling again.

You swallow, moving the conversation swiftly onto Among Us. You grab your laptop that was next to you, humming in acknowledgement as he walks you through downloading it.

“So there’s a few of us joining us tonight, it should be really fun.”

“Oh. It’s not just us two?” you ask. You focus on the download, watching the number increase. You’re nervous at the prospect of playing with other people, strangers, for the first time.

“No, it’s a 4 player minimum. We’re going to stream as well.”

“Corpse…” you start. You begin to pick at the skin around your nails, a habit you do whenever you get really anxious. This was meant to just be a cute moment where you learnt how to play a game, not a big event where people would be actually watching you, judging your every move.

“We’re going to do a few games off stream with you, you don’t need to be there for the stream after if you don’t want to,” he interrupts.

“Okay,” you trail off, your teeth biting down on your bottom lip. You feel a little better, but not by much. You didn’t know who the other people were, what if they hated you? You ask this out loud.

“I’ll be there. You know Rae and Sykkuno. Felix, Sean and Toast will be there but they’re super nice, I promise.” His voice is sincere, and it soothes you. You don’t know him, not really know him, but you trust Corpse. You know he has his own struggles, and you believe his promise; he wouldn’t screw you over or put you in a situation you were uncomfortable with.

The rest of the call is him taking you through how to play and how to set up something called Proximity Chat so everyone can talk to each other in the game. He says it’s easier once you actually play, and it doesn’t sound particularly hard quite honestly, you just hope you don’t get imposter on the first try because you’re not the greatest liar.

The game screen pops up, and you type in the code that Corpse gives you. You say goodbye to Corpse, who tells you to text him if you need any help. You drop into the game lobby, and you look at the little astronaut. There’s no time to dwell as a cacophony of voices hits you.

“YN!” Rae screeches and you chuckle at her enthusiasm. You’ve known Rae for a few years now, you met at college and had become fast friends. Though you had many different interests - gaming for one, you considered her your best friend. Rae was the type of friend where you didn’t need to talk every single day, you could message her a week later and it would be like no time had passed at all. And you loved that, sometimes you just didn’t want to talk to anyone. Sometimes your mood wasn’t the best, and you needed a little time to recharge. And she understood that, something that you were eternally grateful for.

“Raebies!” you screech back, using your “pet” name for her.

“I’ve been trying to get you to play forever. But Mr Smooth Operator over there slides into your DMs and suddenly you’re a gamer now?”

“It sounds so sordid when you say it like that,” you reply.

“Hi yn! Glad to see you playing with us,” Sykkuno says. You greet him and the others, making sure to say hi to everyone in the game. You didn’t want to start off by being accidentally rude. You listen as everyone talks amongst each other, and you talk when spoken to, but you aren’t interjecting. It wasn’t anything against the other players, it was just a little overwhelming, and you were figuring out what everyone was like.

“Hello,” Corpse’s voice interrupts your train of thought and you greet him along with everyone else.

“Aw, I wanted purple,” you say, frowning at Corpse’s name above the astronaut.

“We can switch,” he replies.

“No it’s o -” you start to speak before you realise he’s already switched to white. “Thank you, you didn’t have to.” You smile as you switch to purple, and you decide to add a flower for a little pizzazz.

“It’s your first game, I’ll kill you if I get imposter so it’ll even out,” he jokes and everyone laughs. The countdown begins and you puff your cheeks out, exhaling as it gets to 1. You’re nervous again, a seemingly common theme of the night. Your shoulders relax as the word CREWMATE flashes across the screen.

You watch as everyone but Corpse disperses from the cafeteria with haste, and you look at the keyboard to press the buttons to move.

“You ever see an old person text? That’s how I’m picturing you right now,” Corpse says as you walk together to Weapons.

“Shut up Sonny,” you reply in your best old woman voice, getting a laugh. You open up the task, shooting the Asteroids with ease. “Yay, I completed a task!”

“Good job,” Corpse replies, and you beam at the praise. You move down to o2, doing your task while Corpse does his.

“Wait, you could be imposter right? How would I know?” you ask as you walk together to Navigation.

“You wouldn’t, you just have to trust me,” he says, his voice full of charm.

You scowl. “Well that just makes me not want to trust you.”

Before he replies, there’s a blaring alarm. DEAD BODY REPORTED. You blink at the suddenness; you were really enjoying the relaxing pace of the game. You look at the screen; Felix has been killed.

“Who found the body?” Corpse asks.

“I did,” Rae answers. “I was in admin, and was going to lower engine and it was there in storage.”

“If you were in admin, why didn’t you go up through Cafeteria?” Toast asks.

“Because it’s quicker to go through storage,” Rae replies. They argue between themselves, and you listen intently and silently. It’s a lot of information, you can’t tell whose lying, but you guess that’s what makes a good player.

“Where were you yn?” Sean quizzes, and it takes you a second to realise you’re being spoken to.

“Oh. I was in um o2?”

“You don’t sound too sure there, pretty sus,” he says. Your face heats up a little, you’re not the imposter, but it feels like you are.

“She was in o2 and then we went to Navigation,” Corpse answers, and you breathe out as he takes on the interrogation.

“Oh you were together?” Rae asks, and you know that tone she’s got. It’s the tone that says she’ll be messaging you right away.

“Well yeah, it’s her first game, I’m not gonna leave her alone,” he says and you smile at that.

“Yeah we’ve been together the whole time,” you add and it’s left at that. No-one votes anyone out, since no-ones really too suspicious. You carry on the game, and you find yourself really enjoying it, though the questioning part is kind of stressful. You can see why Corpse likes it so much, it’s really fun. You’re in electrical, humming as you do your task when Rae comes next to you.

“Hey,” you greet her.

“I’m sorry, nothing personal,” she replies. Before you have a chance to say a word, she kills you and you look on in shock as your ghost floats above your body. You listen into the meeting as Rae continues to lie and plead her case. She’s good, but Corpse knows better.

“Wait, you said you found her in electrical and you were where?”

“I was in Upper Engine, and then I went to electrical to do my task,” Rae answers, her voice even and calm.

“I was in Lower Engine, and I didn’t see you,” Corpse says, and you grin at the fact Rae’s been found out. That’s what she gets for killing you.

“You were doing your task, I passed right by you,” Rae starts. She pleads her case, but it’s too late and she’s voted out.

“That was so much fun!” you declare. “I can see why you guys play it all the time.”

“Yes! We have converted another!” Felix shouts in victory.

“And all it took was Corpse,” Rae mutters sarcastically.

“Don’t get bitter Rachel, just get better,” you reply, causing the group to laugh.

You get the hang of it after a few games, and find yourself agreeing to stay while the others stream, though you decide against it yourself. You’ve only streamed once by yourself, and it was a very casual affair and you don’t want to feel too much pressure while you enjoy yourself. You know that Corpse gets nervous when he streams and he’s been doing it for so much longer, so you can only imagine how nervous you would be.

You tap your fingernails against the keyboard as the lobby counts down, any previous nerves have been replaced with excitement.

IMPOSTER flashes across. You’re the only one, your astronaut looks lonely on the screen by itself, and the red letters almost taunt you.

“Shit,” you mutter as your brain goes into overdrive. What was it Corpse had said before? Not to be too obvious. You don’t kill immediately, instead going at your previous pace to not look too suspicious. You were still fairly new to the game, and you were going to use that to your advantage.

You fake your task in Cafeteria before venting over to Navigation where Toast was.

“Hi Toast!” you greet, coming to stand next to him as you pretend you’re doing the task.

“Oh hey yn,” he says. It doesn’t seem like he suspects you, and you’re not quite sure when to click the Kill button. You do it anyway before running out and going down and into shields. There’s adrenaline running through you as the dead body’s reported and you crack your knuckles before putting on your game face. You were going to play dumb, play the confused newbie - because to them, that’s what you were.

“YN, where were you?” Corpse asks. Fuck. Maybe you weren’t going to get away with this.

You twiddle your hair as you draw out your words, playing the role perfectly. “Uhm I was in...shields? I think that’s what it’s called. I was in the cafeteria before that though.”

“Wait, you couldn’t have, I was in weapons. I would have seen you,” Sykkuno says.

You open your mouth to talk. “She could have vented,” Felix comments, and the rest of the group starts to agree.

“Guys, I don’t even know what venting is. I literally just started playing,” you point out, giggling.

“That’s true,” Rae agrees and you knew there was a reason you loved her.

“Bullshit! She’s playing you with her “oh I don’t know how to play” schtick,” Felix proclaims.

“Aw, that’s kind of rude, Felix. I’m just enjoying the game, doing the tasks,” you say, pouting a little. He’s the next on your list.

Everyone skips the vote and you lean over your laptop, ready for the next round. You were going to win this. You kill Rae and Toast next, and yet again, manage to worm your way out of any suspicion. You can sense that Corpse and Felix are starting to get suspicious of you, and you know you need to bring out the big guns to throw them off.

You catch Sykkuno in Med Bay after checking the cams in Security.

“Hi yn!” he greets, and you almost feel guilty as you kill him. He’s so sweet and innocent, but unfortunately, casualties are a given. You pass Felix as he comes out of reactor and it’s only a matter of time before you’ll have to talk your way out of this one again.

“I passed yn as I came out of reactor,” Felix shouts with a hint of glee.

You roll your eyes; this is going to be tough. “Yeah I came from Upper Engine, I was finishing part 2 of a task.”

“I was in Electrical, where was the body?” Corpse asks.

“Med Bay. And the only one that could’ve been there was yn,” Felix starts.

“Well no, you could have passed me and killed Sykkuno then self reported,” you reply. “I think you can do that right?”

Corpse hums in agreement. “Oh come on! She’s being really sus,” Felix argues.

“You are being a little sus yn,” Corpse comments.

“Corpse. You don’t really think it’s me do you?” You decide to lower your voice a little, your tone sweet but sultry. “You only taught me like an hour ago, there’s no way I’d be able to fool everybody so quickly.” You get close to the mic so it’s like you’re speaking only to Corpse. “Remember what I said? You’re a master at this.” You’re laying it on thick, and for a brief second you think you’ve been too over the top.

“This is difficult,” Corpse says, and you see the seconds count down, your heartbeat starts to quicken.

“Corpse, stop being a fucking simp and vote her out!” Felix demands.

“Corpsie baby,” you drawl out and you smile in success as you hear him sigh, almost shakily. You’ve got this in the bag. The victory screen flashes up and you cheer.

“Fuck yeah!” you shout, patting yourself on the back. You laugh as you exhale the breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“Good game yn!” Sykkuno comments, the others agreeing.

“Not fair, you used your womanly wiles against Corpse,” Felix says.

“Gotta use them for something. Not my fault Corpse knows where his allegiance lies,” you reply laughing a little.

You stretch, your back crying out in pain from being hunched over so long. You let out a long, loud moan of relief as you straighten your spine, your shoulders relaxing as you move from side to side.

“Your mic’s not muted” Corpse points out, clearing his throat. You feel your stomach drop and your face instantly becomes hot. Shit.

“Oh. Uh. I totally forgot about that,” you say, forcing out a chuckle. You screw your eyes shut, any happiness has been now replaced by red hot shame. “So this was fun, uh, really fun, but um, I’m gonna, I’m gonna go. So...yeah. Bye guys, have fun!”

You click to exit without giving anyone a chance to say a word, and drop your head into your hands.

“Can’t wait to see what they say on Twitter about this,” you mutter into your hands.

TAGLIST (if youre bold, it wont let me tag): @teenageguitarist @fanworrior @cherry-piee @mirahg @clara-bee @cookinglovingalien @vir-tual @clubfairy @youretheonlyonewhomakesme @more-like-reyna @boiled-onionrings @moneybagmgk @brendalopez99 @delicateavenuenacho @dreamsofficialwife @hydrate-tion @little-red02

#my fic #corpse husband x reader #corpse #corpse husband #corpse husband/reader #corpse husband fic #corpse husband x yn #corpse x you #corpse husband x you #corpse x fem reader #corpse x reader #corpse fic #corpse smau #corpse imagine

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dreamerstreamer · 3 years

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Speak Your Mind

Pairing: GeorgeNotFound / George x f!reader

Summary: Usually, you left George feeling tongue-tied, but apparently not today.

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: requested by an anon who wanted a cute, clumsy george story! another anon wanted something similar, so i hope you both and all enjoy <3 this was inspired by this quote by lemony snicket :)

George slipped into his chair with a slight groan, nudging his mouse with his elbow as he took a sip of water. He watched as his screen came to life, glancing over at the time. It was still kind of early, and he had a few hours to himself before his scheduled stream.

I could probably just play by myself for a while, he thought to himself, setting his glass down to his left as he opened up Minecraft. He reached across his desk, grabbing his headphones and settling them over his head. It’s been a while since I’ve played in a hardcore survival world.

But then his gaze flickered down to a particular server, and he found his cursor automatically clicking on it, almost like clockwork. In an instant, his avatar was standing on the Prime Path, the blocky world rendering into view around him. Shifting his mouse a few times, George smiled and opened up his inventory.

He spent a few moments sorting everything out, quietly humming to himself. A few seconds later, something popped up on the bottom left of his screen, his gaze darting over to catch it.

[y/n]: hi george!

[y/n]: how are you doing?

George’s heart almost immediately stuttered in his chest, and he spent a moment or two simply staring at the two lines of text.

He couldn’t believe just how much power you had over him.

The two of you had been friends for a long time now—nearly as long as he had been friends with Dream, even. The two of you had met almost entirely by accident, having simply been jokingly trapped together on a random server by one of the admins for a few hours. Under any other circumstances, George probably would have felt awkward to hell and back, but the two of you had just instantly hit it off together.

You were kind and cheerful, while he was practical and goofy. He loved your optimistic innocence, and you lived for his sarcastic quips. While the two of you had never met in person, both of you had most definitely seen each other’s faces before, and George would never forget the first thing he said when he saw your face.

“Woah. You’re really pretty.”

He had blurted it without warning, surprising even himself at his own words. Your face had flushed while you immediately turned off your face cam, letting out a quiet whine. “George, you can’t just say that!”

He remembered sputtering in his chair, then sending an earnest smile at his monitor. “But it’s true!”

“George!”

The image of your cheeks plastered with an embarrassed, sheepish grin and your wide, shining eyes would forever be ingrained in his mind.

Years later, that picture hadn’t changed a bit, still as clear as ever in his head, but the feelings he held for you had transformed. It didn’t happen quickly, nor did he ever want to admit it, but he was incredibly aware of it—almost too aware of it.

You made his cheeks hurt from how much he smiled around him. You filled his stomach with butterflies just with a single giggle. You made his ears turn bright red whenever you made a sly joke.

The three little words sat at the back of his head at nearly every hour of the day, and he just knew that one of these days, he was going to tell you what they were.

Hopefully.

With a smile on his face and a million thoughts swirling around his head, all of them beginning and ending with you, he closed his inventory and began to type back a response.

GeorgeNotFound: i’m doing good haha

[y/n]: i’m happy to hear that! <3

His breath caught in his throat. A heart—you had sent back a heart. He could feel his own heart seize in his chest at the sight of two simple symbols on his monitor screen.

Oh god, he was so screwed.

He walked forward a bit, his head still spinning with thoughts of you and that stupid heart as he contemplated what he should do next. An idea popped up just then, a small wave of anxiety creating over his head. With shaky hands, he began to type.

GeorgeNotFound: wanna join vc 2?

A moment ticked by, and George chewed on the side of his cheek. Then, your username appeared in the corner of his screen.

[y/n]: okay! i’ll be there in a sec :)

A smiley face. His own lips curled upwards to match the smile emoticon as he entered the voice channel, patiently waiting. A few moments later, something caught his attention from the corner of his monitor. Turning, he flinched as your avatar jumped down and landed in front of him, briefly turning red from the fall damage. A split second later, he heard a familiar ping.

“Boo!” you chirped, your voice echoing in his ear as bright as day. He felt warmth blossom in his chest just at the sound of a single syllable spoken in your voice.

“What a grand entrance,” he said teasingly, unable to hide the fact that he was grinning while he spoke.

“You know me,” you said, giggling, “I always have to make a big show of things.”

“I sure do,” he said, secretly thinking to himself.

But I wish I knew you better.

“Woah,” you suddenly breathed, something like awe seeping in your voice as your character stepped forward. “I feel like we haven’t talked in, like... forever.”

He blinked, shifting his mouse slightly toward you. “We talked yesterday.”

“No,” you said quickly, your pitch raising, “I mean like, talk talked. You know, over call or something?” Your voice grew quiet. “I missed hearing your voice.”

George wanted to throw a pillow across his room. Cute. “Well, I’m here now,” he said softly, chuckling, “so you get to hear it all you want.”

He heard you cough, but it was slightly muffled. He wondered what you looked like right now, and he half-wished that you two had your face-cams on. “Now that you’re on the sever,” you prompted a second later, suddenly sounding normal again. “what do you wanna do?”

He thought for a moment, the wheels in his head turning. “Well, I kind of wanted to work a bit more on my house.”

“Oh, you mean your new house? The one you were building during the, uh—” You paused, searching for the right words. “—big battle?”

He could imagine you making fake air quotes with your fingers, and he laughed, thinking of your scrunched up face. “Pfft, yeah. That’s the one.”

“I haven’t seen it yet,” you admitted, some rustling coming through his headphones. “Do... do you mind showing me it?”

He smiled sheepishly. “No, not at all. But I’m not a very good builder, I hope you know.”

You let out a brief shout, and he jumped in his chair. “Nope! Illegal!”

His eyebrows knit together. “‘Illegal’?” he parroted.

“Illegal,” you said in an affirmative tone. “It’s illegal to be mean to GeorgeNotFound. Even by GeorgeNotFound himself. Sorry I don’t make the rules.” Before he could even think of a response, your character began jumping up and down on his screen. “Now, show me the goods! I’m sure it looks great.”

He was pretty sure he was just a puddle in his chair, now. You were just far too much for his poor heart. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could take of this before he lost his mind.

Shaking his head free of thoughts of you, he pressed the W key and watched as he moved forward down the Prime Path and over a hill. “Here, follow me. It’s a bit far from the rest of the server’s homes, but I kind of like it.”

You hummed, thoughtful and soft as the two of you jumped your way over a few hills. “I get you. I mean, we all need our space. I think having your home being more far away is just cozy. Quaint. Probably not going to get robbed by Tommy. It’s a win-win situation!”

He snorted at your words. Probably not going to get robbed by Tommy was a positive he would never pass up. “I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks that.”

It was then that a splash of red among a horizon full of browns and greens came into view. You let out a soft gasp as his hobbit-hole house came into view. “Sooo,” he began, clicking his mouse, “ta-da! Here it is! I know it’s not much, but it’s pretty okay, I think?”

A cry of awe flew from your lips. “Are you kidding me? Your house is so pretty!” You ran forward, your eyes wide as you gazed at the hobbit-style home. “It’s so round and cozy and—oh, the mushrooms!” Your avatar jumped up and down, punching at the air towards his house. “You even added a little moat with a bridge!”

A certain sincerity flooded your voice as you added, “George, don’t lie to me and tell me you suck at building. I love your house.”

He felt his heart melt at your eager tone. Just how endearing could one person be?

“Can we go inside, can we go inside?” you asked, your voice growing bolder as you turned to look at him expectantly.

A bashful smile shot across his face, even though he knew you couldn’t see him. “I—ah, I haven’t actually built the inside yet,” he admitted shyly.

You let out a soft squeal, your avatar running around the screen with a hop. “If you want, we can build it together!” you offered. “I know you’re not super confident in your building skills, but I’m more than happy to help out!”

His heart melted. You were so kind. Too kind, really. How could he say no?

“I would love that,” he said. He moved inside the house, revealing the hollowed out, blank space that would serve as the interior of his house. “So, as you can see, it’s still a work in progress.” He glanced back at you. “Where should we start?

There was a slight pause. “Hmmm.” He could imagine the way you scrunched your nose as you thought, your fingers tapping against the nearest flat surface as you did so. “We could make most of the inside out of birch planks,” you began, “and have some dark oak details. You know, so there’s some really neat contrast between the light and dark parts of your house.”

He could hear you growing giddier and giddier with each passing second. “And we can also add some red and white carpet to match the mushroom aesthetic! Oh, that would look so good! “Your character turned to look at him, a block of birch wood already in hand. “What do you think?”

His heart beat a little faster. I like you, he thought, clear as a bell. I really, really like you, that’s what I think.

“You what?”

He froze.

Oh my god. Did I just say that out loud?

Your voice filled his ears, quiet and shaky. “Um. Yeah.”

A second passed in awkward silence. Then another.

If a Minecraft skin could blush, George’s face would be a tomato.

“I, um,” he stammered, his eyes darting every which way in search of an excuse to leave the call. Just then, his gaze caught on the glass of water he had set to his left. He barely gave himself even a second to think about what to say before he started rambling, speaking in a single, blurted breath.

“I just um spilled water all over myself and wow it’s about to get all over my set-up and that would be really bad so I’m just uh gonna go now okay great bye—”

Before he could embarrass himself anymore, he found himself pressing the ‘end call’ button and closing the window, hanging his head in his hands as he let out a long groan of despair.

Why did he do that? How did he do that?

Groaning again, he slammed his head into his desk, turning to press his cheek into the wood as he stared at his keyboard.

He was an idiot—a big, fat idiot.

In the corner of his eye, he watched as his phone screen lit up. It‘s probably a message from [Y/N], his brain helpfully supplied. She’s probably confused as hell.

“Not helping,” he muttered to himself, sitting up once more.

Well, there was really only one thing he could do now, and that was to get help. Fortunately for him, he knew two people he could definitely ask for advice. Unfortunately, he had a feeling he knew how this conversation was going to go.

Sighing, he opened up Discord again on his monitor.

He was sure things could only go downhill from here.

“You what?!”

George grimaced. He was right. This was a terrible idea. “You don’t have to rub it in my face,” he grumbled.

“I’m—” Wheeze. “I’m not rubbing it in,” Dream explained between gasps for air, “it’s... it’s just that it’s funny.”

George pursed his lips. “I don’t know about you, but that sounds like you’re rubbing it in.”

Sapnap’s voice cut through Dream’s laughter. “Okay, okay, Dream, you’re not helping. Gogy here is having, as Tommy would put it, ‘women problems’, and he needs some help.”

All of a sudden, Dream’s laughter stopped. “If I’m being totally honest,” he said, “I’m not really seeing the problem here.”

There was a beat of silence. “How are you not seeing the problem?” Sapnap said. You could hear the frown in his voice. “George just prematurely confessed his feelings to [Y/N].”

“Yeah, and?”

Another beat of silence.

“What the heck do you mean, ‘and’? That’s the problem!”

George sighed, sinking down in his desk chair. “Dream,” he muttered into his headset, rubbing at his temples, “just spit it out.”

“Look,” he began, “I’m just saying that here’s no advice we could possibly give you, because there’s only one solution.”

“Which is?” Sapnap prompted.

“You just have to tell her outright how you feel.”

George’s jaw dropped and he scrambled to sit up. “No way I’m doing that. Nuh-uh, no thanks.”

Sapnap made a noise of approval. “No, wait—Dream does have a point.”

George felt a stone of uneasiness drop into his stomach. “You’re just saying that because you want to see me make a fool of myself.”

“No, no, nonono, I’m telling the truth!” Dream cried. “Seriously, what other options do you really have? Pretend that you never said anything and just act like nothing happened to confuse her and hope that she forgets?”

“Pretty sure that’s called gaslighting,” Sapnap mumbled.

George glared at his monitor, knowing full well no one could see him. “Not helping.”

“Ignore her for the rest of eternity?” Dream continued. “You’ve already declined six of her calls!” There was a pause, then he carried on. “George, seriously. I want the best for you, and I’m not kidding when I say this is the only viable option, really.”

He stared down at his lap, his hands shaking where they lay. “What if,” he began, “she doesn’t feel the same?”

“Well, tough luck then, Gogy,” Sapnap said bluntly, “You’re just gonna have to suck it up and move on like the rest of us.”

George pressed his lips into a thin line. While it wasn’t exactly the nicest way to put it, he supposed Sapnap was right. “What if...” He swallowed. “What if I’m not ready?”

A soft sigh came from the other end. “George,” Dream said, his voice sincere, “believe it or not, but no one’s ever ready, really. But if we all waited until we were ready, then we’d be waiting for the rest of our lives.”

George fell quiet. A strange sense of comfort fell over him as he let Dream’s words soak in. Mustering up a deep breath, he smiled.

“Okay. I’ll call her back tonight, alright?”

Sapnap let out a hoot, the sound of clapping filling his headphones. “Let’s go! Get ‘em, Gogy!”

“You really need to stop calling me that.”

“Nah. It’s funny.”

Before George could retort, Dream stepped in. “Remember buddy, no matter what happens, we’ll be here for you, okay? Don’t let your fear hold you back. Hell, you know what? Don’t let your—” Dream suddenly cackled, his voice wheezing into his mic as he sputtered, “Don’t let your dreams be dreams, George!”

George let out a groan, barely able to hear himself over the deafening sound of Dream’s wheezing. “Oh my god, I’m hanging up.”

“Good luck, Gog—”

It was at that moment that he clicked the ‘end call’ button, the sweet sound of silence washing over him. Leaning back in his chair, he stared up at the ceiling, the tiniest of smiles gracing his lips.

Maybe calling his friends wasn’t such a bad idea, after all.

George stared at his monitor, the dark screen reflecting a mirrored image of himself. His hand opened and closed on his lap, itching to hold onto the mouse.

It had been two days since he’d blurted the words he’d been procrastinating saying for the last god knows how long.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could only see fluttering shots of you. You, with your mouth agape, staring at your screen with your headphones sliding down your neck. You, frantically texting on your phone about everything that had just slipped out of his mouth. You, with your face inevitably twisting in disgust at the thought of someone like him liking someone like you.

I’m not ready, he thought, his reflection blinking back at him.

That’s exactly why you’re going to do this, his reflection said back as his hand moved to his mouse, hovering over it.

You suck, he thought.

The monitor smiled back at him as he moved his cursor. I know.

His screen burst to life, Discord already open and waiting for him. George moved his cursor to hover over your username, his palm starting to sweat. Clicking, he reached over to his keyboard and began to type.

GeorgeNotFound: hey! did you wanna video call?

The moment he hit enter, he ripped his hands away from the keyboard like it was made of hot coals, wiping his hands on his pants. With bated breath, he waited, staring at the green circle accompanying your profile picture. Suddenly, his screen moved.

[y/n] is typing...

His heart leapt into his throat.

[y/n]: okay!

He exhaled a sigh of relief through his nose, his mouse moving to press the hit ‘video call’ button. A few seconds passed with the ringtone echoing through his headphones. A moment later, the ringing stopped and your face filled his screen, the familiar set-up of your room fading in at the corners. His heart swelled at the sight—both with affection and anxiety.

“Um, hi!” you said with a shy smile, your gaze darting away from the screen as you waved at the camera. Despite your bright demeanour and cheery tone, he could practically feel the tension in your shoulders the moment he laid eyes on you.

“H-Hi,” he said back, swallowing as he mustered up a shaky smile. Your gaze flickered to his for a brief second, and in that moment, it almost felt like you two were actually looking at each other in real life. Then you looked away again and something in his chest cracked.

“How are you doing?” he asked slowly, trying to prompt a conversation. “It feels like we haven’t talked in forever.”

Your lips quirked as you tilted your head at him. “We talked, um, two days ago.”

He ignored the embarrassment flaring up on his cheeks. “I mean like, see-each-other-talk talked.” He paused, then adding in a near-whisper. “I missed seeing your face.”

Your rosy lips parted in awe, and he was almost certain that he was never, ever going to forget that expression of yours.

“And, um, h-how—how are you, George?” you stammered out with a shaky voice, curling up a little in your chair. “Are you doing okay?”

George opened his mouth, then shut it. Whenever people asked him if he was okay, his mouth always defaulted to “fine” or “good” or “okay”. Rarely did he ever find himself telling the truth. But now, as he looked at your shy, bashful face, he knew what he had to do. Straightening up, he looked his webcam dead in the eyes.

“I,” he said, “am really, really nervous right now. Like, nervous out of my mind.”

You blinked, finally turning to face him directly at last. “Really?”

He nodded, his anxiety slowly falling away. “Yeah. Do you know why?”

Recognition flickered through your eyes, and your cheeks grew hot once more. “Why, George?”

He took a deep breath, steeling himself, and smiled.

It’s now or never.

“I like you, [Y/N]. A lot. What I said earlier was true. It wasn’t some bit, and it wasn’t just some spur of the moment thing. I really do like you a lot, and I would like it if you would be my g—”

He almost choked on his own words, oh-so very aware of just how hot his face was. “And I,” he began again, squeezing his eyes shut, “would love it if you would be my girlfriend.”

He couldn’t look—he couldn’t. He missed seeing your face, he really did, but he knew that if he looked now, he would only be met with disappointment. You, with a frown on your face, only deepening with each passing second. You, with guilt in your eyes for not reciprocating his feelings. You, with your soft lips mouthing four words he wish he didn’t have to hear.

I’m so sorry, George. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so—

“I like you, too.”

His eyes flew open, his mouth agape.

Those were not the four words he was expecting to hear.

He lifted his head, his gaze taking in every inch of his screen. A bright, glowing smile was plastered across your face, your eyes crinkling at the corners.

“For real?” he breathed, disbelief wracking every inch of his being.

You nodded, a laugh tumbling from your lips and lighting up his insides. “Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes.”

George felt a smile of his own creep across his face as he ran a hand through his hand, something happier than joy rushing through his veins.

Oh god, he thought, wanting to scream it from the top of the nearest building. I like you, I like you, I like you. I like you a lot lot.

“I like you a lot lot, too.”

He froze. Did I say that out loud, again?

Your grin widened. “Yes.”

For a second, he almost shriveled up in shame. But then he shook his head and laughed, basking in the warmth of your smile.

A few days ago, he might have been embarrassed. But now?

Well, if it was with you, he supposed he wouldn’t mind speaking his mind more often.

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kandyrezi · 3 years

Note

Offers you some pocket lint and also a bag of chocolate buttons and an actual button or two

Can I get some uhhhhhh Yandere Ziki stuff?

—esurient;

pairing: yandere!ziki x reader

warnings: dismemberment, amputation, blood & gore

(a/n: I have no idea what on earth I’m supposed to do with those assortment of items you just electronically gifted me, but thank you anyway -

- yeah, not me thinking to myself upon seeing this ask ‘who tf is ziki?’ ……. OH, THE MOUTH WITCH. moment of enlightenment after that. (there are some bonus headcanons as well at the bottom of this fic! <3))

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

SHE DIPS HER FINGERS into the crimson stain, placing the blood-stained digits on her tongue, identifying the one it belongs to. Unmistakable, no doubt. Her lover's blood isn't as tasty as some of the others' she's consumed – but it's inconsequential. The taste bears no meaning in comparison to the adoration she feels for the one who brightened up her world like no one else ever has.

(she remembers the look in your eyes – lost and confused – the very look you gazed at her with the first time when she spotted you.)

The blood splatters leave her darling's scent lingering, yet they themselves are nowhere to be found – most likely having somehow wandered off to somewhere. You must have hurt yourself, as she doesn't remember you bleeding when she'd left you on your lonesome.

(she fell in love with you the day she'd met you.)

It's too bad no one in this world will come to your aid, not like she did when she first met you. The other witches are all selfish and only acting in their own self-interest.

(not wanting to lose someone so precious and wanting to consummate your love, she took you back to her little place of residence hidden away in the witch world.)

Finding you is laughably easy when you didn't even make it very far in the first place; you're awfully noisy and the tongues on her body have excellent taste receptors. One of the mouths on her braided hair maims you in the thigh, hardly a challenge at all as you're still drowsy from your escape— rather, your impolite, unannounced departure. As you look up at your pursuer hovering on her broom with your one still-intact eye, instead of ghostly white, her eyes shine a captivating yellow much like the mysterious sphere resting in the skies.

You must have seen her then for who she really was.

A witch of hunger and rage.

She didn't want to inject you with her venom. Weaker creatures such as yourself were easily susceptible to it and would likely die from it ("cardiac arrest" Ptomain had described it as) as opposed to becoming immobilised.

You are not the human who had the prettiest lilac eyes who escaped from the mansion of a vampire lord. You are not the leopard seal girl with broken fangs she came across beached on an island.

But you're you, and that's all she cares about.

. . .

The source of light provided by a stream of orange glow from the skies reflected off of the leaves from the trees yet the bright hues do nothing in ways of giving comfort. It could be pitch black and your heart would threaten to beat out of your chest from terror in equal measure.

You're partially blind due to your missing left eye and your surroundings are alien to you. Never would you have willingly entered a maze of unknown woods, yet at this moment you're desperate. You wish some ghastly beast would emerge from from the underground to devour you right then and there to simply end it so you wouldn't have to endure it – anything at all to avoid the deadly clutches of Ziki.

The soles of your feet no doubt have developed callouses and your toes burn from how long you've been running while avoiding getting your ankle stuck in vines or treading on one of the many-eyed endemic snakes. You momentarily lean your weight onto a (hopefully) harmless tree trunk with your dismembered, two-fingered hand.

The wind blows, howling right next to your ear, causing a tremor of shivers to trail down your spine. You feel like you're being taunted, watched with a calculating gaze – you push yourself upright and are ready to sprint (to your death if you have to), but it only takes you less than a second—

The jolt of sharp pain in your thigh forces you to freeze up like an icicle as the painful sensation rapidly spreads through your body. You fall into the dirt with no way to brace yourself with painful collision. something (but you know it's in fact, a someone) has bitten you in the leg and the juncture above your ankle is maimed next.

Ziki might not be hunting you for the purpose of killing you (—or so she's claimed) yet obviously natural predator-prey instincts kick in when the one being hunted down isn't so keen on allowing the one doing the hunting to sink their sharp, sawtooth-like tusk into your thigh so she can't let you get away. Especially now when one of her twin-tail mouths latch on to and break through muscle and tissue, the stream of red running down your leg creating another warm shade of color to paint the woods with. You're too weak to struggle much due to injuries you've sustained back at the witch's residence and on the run, and the fight ends before it can even begin.

You slip in and out of consciousness many times – the words shifts and moves around you, but you aren't sure where you ended up, not until after you wake up again.

The braided witch is saying something but you can't make out all the words.

"Neither your eye... your fingers... enough."

Were you really taken back...?

"It seems... you still don't... the conjoin of our love, so..."

What is this lunatic saying?!

"...Zi-Ziki..."

Your head barely becomes clearer yet it still hurts, you realize it when you feel the tight hold of belts strapping you to a familiar chair by your ankles and shoulders. It must be her kitchen. Where she keeps her jars and other glass containers full of substances you don't want to know about. The herbs and flowers hanging from the walls can't block out the stench you feel oozing from them. You can't really see her, but a smile on her face was normally her default expression, so it's far from a stretch to assume so.

"But I'm not complaining," Ziki keeps on talking, "Not when the meat from your flesh is so... tender. I've been keeping you well-fed and nourished, you can thank Ptomain for giving me some tips. Not sure how she knows so much about the health of your kind, but..."

She leans forward to hold your hand with farce tenderness, her other fingers stroking the outlines of the veins on your wrist below.

"...it's good that you're here now! After this, you'll tell me how much you feel the same way that I do for you~! Don't worry, I won't let you die. A witch's promise."

All the mouths on her body open to showcase their sharp teeth right in front of you. you vaguely register her biting your arm off from the elbow with the mouth on her face while the rest hold your body still to keep you from struggling. It's not a clean bite – she twists and yanks as your bones crack and shatter while tissues come apart under her immense strength. It all happens in less than a few seconds yet your nerves are on fire and you can't remember screaming or crying or pleading – nothing – as your body forces itself into unconsciousness from shock and agony.

You pray you won't wake up again after this time.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ✯ ⋅.} ────── ⊰

• Ziki has a desire to consume a part of her lover so they're with her always - probably a body part like fingers, an entire limb, earlobe, or an eye (rarely) - possibly keeps some in a jar as well. She "falls in love" easily but is unable to "keep them"for long because she becomes too overzealous in her treatment of them.

• She hates it when her darling runs away from her. It's enough to make her lose her composure and almost kill them when she finds them again - it's mainly a stroke of luck when she doesn't violently lash out at the moment of seeing them.

• Despite how much of a whacko she is, she is actually strategic when it comes to anatomy and knows best places to injure to keep a darling immobile or crippled.

• Ziki doesn't have any healing abilities like some of the other witches. If her darling were a human, they would most likely end up dying from the injuries which she inflicted.

• She is kept under careful watch of the Great Witch to make sure she doesn't go overboard but will sometimes turn a blind eye if it's some stray, weak human (since they don't usually survive under the harsh conditions of PBW anyway).

• While she will otherwise go for anyone, she has a bit of a fetish for humans in particular because she likes how frail and docile they are.

• Feels lonely since the death of her familiar (not caused by her). This might correlate with her desire to keep a plaything to fill in that void (...or it might not).

• The mouths on her body can open and eat things, but can speak with only the one on her face.

• Ziki is friends with Ptomain and Kagimori. Since they can do types of witchcraft that fundamentally differ from one another, Ptomain has given her tips on medical care and health without the need for magic usage. Kagimori sometimes complains about the mess from blood stains on the hardwood floors of Ziki's cottage when she goes in for a visit.

• Her eyes change color depending on her mood; her pupils are pure white when she's feeling more docile, but they turn yellow when her emotions become intense and she feels them strongly.

• Aside from her appetite for flesh, she also likes mandarin oranges.

- - -

(a/n: ziki is literally a blank slate with just a visual appearance, so I got a little creative with her in ways you normally can't with established characters. I wrote the headcanons while i was trying to figure out her personality for just myself initially, but then decided to share them anyway.)

#yandere x reader #funamusea #mogeko #okegom #yandere #deep-sea prisoner #dsp #female yandere #ziki (mogeko)#yanderecore #ficlets

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laurafett · 3 years

Text

Unfamiliar Fruit

PART ONE

Friends to lovers, sex pollen Boba Fett x f reader

Words: 10k

- You and Boba are guests in a palace on a different planet. The King serves you some strange food, with the intetion of doing both of you a favour -

No mentions of pronouns, hair or skin color, sexuality. Also, let’s pretend that there is underwear in space. Minors, do NOT interact!!

Warnings: smut, fluff, age gap (reader is 18+), mentions of food and eating, masturbation (m and f), comlink sex, pain due to sex pollen, slight voice kink

______________________________________________________________

Why did you always let yourself get dragged into some bantha shit like this? You were dirty, sweaty and smelled like the inside of a Tauntaun. Boba told you this was going to be a short hunt for which he needed your help. Just one bounty he would have to hunt and collect. He said it would take about two or three days. Yeah, no shit. You were sitting on this Marker forsaken planet for almost two weeks now because Boba found some new connections for his business on Tatooine.

He didn't want you to get into trouble so you had to stay in Slave I almost every day. You had no clean clothes, the water tank for the shower was already empty and soon you would be out of food too.

You sat in this tiny, dirty ship while the bounty hunter probably was living in a big, glamorous palace at the other side of the town. You crossed your arms in front of your chest, letting out a sight as you tried to find a comfortable position in the pilots seat. This was where you spent most of your days, sitting in the cockpit while looking out of the big window in front of you.

It was a green planet, with lots of trees and fields of grasses. It was a welcome sight after spending so much time on Tatooine. The air here was cool and fresh, but it was not exactly cold. The small forests shielded the ship from the sun, so that it always had a comfortable temperature in the ship. At least that was something nice about your current location.

Another nice thing was there was a river which’s stream led behind the big city walls. On some particular hot days, you used the water there to cool down your body. You watched how the water disappeared as soon as it reached the high built bricks that were put there to shield the town and the people there from any kind of intruders.

You couldn't see much of the city because the ship was stationed some miles away from it. You guessed it was old, from the way the walls looked. In all your days here you never saw a person leaving or entering through the massive wooden doors. It made you wonder if the town was really so big to have everything they needed, so no one ever had to leave this place.

Tearing your eyes away from the mysterious town in front of you, you looked into the sky. Only a few more hours before the sun would start to set and you would have another silent night all by yourself.

If you were on Tatooine you would have spent time with Fennec during your sleepless nights, her never seeming to sleep much as well. But no, you were here. And you were bored to death. There wasn't even anything to read on Boba’s ship, so you had no other option other than to sit around and keep staring holes into the air.

Right when you were about to get lost in some thoughts again, your datapad received a message from your absent partner. Your back straightened and you leaned forward to read it.

“We will leave soon, only one or two more days.

They invited you for dinner tonight as well,

you also get a proper quarter to sleep in.

Be here before the sun sets.

Take the ship with you, there is a place near the palace

where you can land it. Be careful.”

You almost started crying at the thought of a real bed and real food waiting for you. “Thank the Maker.”, you mumbled to yourself before you checked that everything on the ship was secured so nothing would break during your flight. It didn't take long for you to start the ship and fly directly in the direction of the big castle-like building.

Only five minutes later you landed the ship near the palace and some people were already coming out of the ancient building. You grabbed your blaster before leaving the ship and walked towards the other people. They greeted you by bowing in front of you. Eyebrows lifted in surprise, you looked back down at them.

There was an older man with brown skin and dark hair, some strands already whitening. His mouth was almost hidden by a big, long beard that went down to his throat, but you were able to make out a small smile on his lips. He wore a purple robe, so long that the end of it was covering the ground behind him. Some golden chains covered his chest and he wore rings on almost every finger.

He was in the company of four young women, covered in light yellow cloaks. You were able to see their faces, all of them smiling at you. Each one seemingly more beautiful than the others. Now you could understand why Boba spent so much time here.

“You must be the partner of the great Boba Fett.” The man in front of you began speaking, “We are glad to have you here. All our guests get only the best. We’ve prepared your quarters for the night and one of my maids will show you the way so you can refresh yourself before dinner.”

The old man pointed at a young woman with curly hair, who was smiling at you.

“Thank you, that's really nice.” was all you could say in your current state of surprise.

“Nothing to thank us for. We made a really good deal with your partner so it is a pleasure for us to have you here.” The man nodded slowly and you gave him a weak smile. These people were way too friendly to make a deal with Boba. You hoped he would explain this to you when you see him.

“Follow me, I will show you your room.” The young woman said and waved her hand for you to follow her.

The palace was gigantic. Many statues and old art were all over the place. The statues were made out of white stone, portraying people you didn't know, probably warriors. Strong bodies, perfectly chiseled into different kinds of material, telling a story you've never heard before. Paintings covered the high walls, showing many faces. Some of them looked like normal citizens like farmers, children, or the whole families portraits. Others picturing royals, queens and kings, princes and princesses.

The two of you walked through an uncountable amount of rooms and corridors. And after almost ten minutes of walking the woman turned around, looking at you. She opened the doors on your left and your eyes widened in shock. The room they prepared for you was bigger than any house you had ever lived in. It was filled with old furniture, a gigantic bed, a big balcony and a probably enormous bathroom behind a closed door. The maid walked into the room with you being directly behind her. She went over to a large closet and opened it to reveal that it was full of beautiful clothes made out of the best material in the galaxy. One of your hands rose to touch the silky fabric of one of the dresses.

“These are for you to wear. We asked your partner for your size and I hope there is something that fits in here. If not, feel free to tell me and we will get you something else.” You slowly nodded while looking through the amount of different clothes. “The King wants you to wear anything you feel comfortable in but would be happy if you would wear something more festive for dinner.” You looked over to her and she smiled at you again.

“Dinner will be ready in about two hours. Feel free to use the bathroom and clean yourself up.” She slowly made her way to the door, “And if you need anything, please let me know and we will be happy to help you.”

“Thank you.” was all you could say before she left the room.

Now being on your own, you slowly walked through the chambers, trying to take in every detail. The walls were a light rosé and sky blue curtains hung beside the windows. All the furniture was made out of dark wood. A small glass table stood in the corner of the room with some books on top. The bed was covered in white sheets and pillows and was large enough to allow 4 people, maybe even more, to sleep comfortably.

You walked out onto the balcony and gasped. You had a great view over the whole city. It wasn't the biggest you have ever seen, but definitely one of the most beautiful ones. Everything looked more like a big garden than a place where people lived. Old, small houses were blooming like mushrooms between a field of grass. Many fields covered the space underneath the palace.

People stood in front of their houses, talking to each other. Children were playing hide and seek, laughing so loud even you could hear it. The lights were turned on in almost every house and you could see some farmers bringing the harvest they collected over the day into the warmth of their homes. This place was really beautiful.

And now, as the sun slowly started to set, it looked even more aesthetically pleasing. You looked down into the court of the palace and saw Boba. He was taking a walk with the man you talked to when you arrived. Hopefully he would tell you what this was all about as soon as you had some alone time with him.

After standing and watching the city for some more moments, you went back inside and into the bathroom. Just as you thought it was just as big as everything else. Covered in white tiles, a marble bathtub, a shower beside and a big sink with a mirror and any kind of makeup you could think of. You never really used something like this, but maybe tonight was a good night to try it.

You stripped out of your dirty clothes and quickly got into the shower. The warm water ran down your body and you couldn't help yourself but moan at the relaxing feeling. After cleaning yourself completely, you just had to stay under the warm water for just a bit longer.When you finally had enough, you turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. With one hand you grabbed one of the soft towels, wrapping it around your body.

Entering the bedroom once more you walked over to the big closet and searched through it. You opened one of the drawers, instantly moving back in surprise. It was full of some of the most expensive and beautiful lingerie you have ever seen. Did Boba tell them to get those for you? Curiously you looked through them, soon realizing that all of them were exactly your size. How could he know what size you wore? But before you were able to think much further, your eyes caught a glimpse of a beautiful, dark green lace set.

You pulled it out of the drawer, taking the time to really look over it. It was gorgeous. Without thinking too much, you dried your body and tried on the underwear. You weren't insecure about your body or anything, but you were still afraid that it might not look as good as you imagined. With small steps you walked in front of the big mirror beside the closet and looked at your figure. Holy shit. You looked fucking hot. The bra fitted perfectly around your breasts and you were able to see through it a little bit. The panties wrapped themselves around your ass without covering too much. You were speechless. How could've Boba guessed your size so perfectly?

Before putting on more clothes you went back into the bathroom to do your hair and make up. And while doing that your thoughts started to wander.

You always had a thing for Boba. From the day you agreed to work with him to this current moment. The both of you met while searching for a bounty. He got attacked by several men at the same time and you hopped in to help him. He was impressed, to say at least. You joked about saving his life and how he would owe you something.

The bounty hunter was almost speechless at that moment. You weren't afraid of him. You knew who he was, but you weren't afraid, not in the slightest. He was almost sure he could like you until it turned out that both of you were going after the same bounty. Boba tried to tell you that you had no right to go after this man and that he would kill you if you still tried to, but the only thing you said was:”Are you afraid of losing, old man?”

And that is how it started. You were able to catch the first bounty. Boba was angry about it, but he would never tell that he was almost as much impressed by your fighting and hunting skills. Those games continued for weeks. Every time you met each other on a planet, searching for a bounty, you made a contest out of it.

He would never admit it, but he loved it. He loved to see you getting lost in your hunting instincts and trying to get whoever you were looking for. He loved seeing you fight, you were much stronger than you looked. But mostly he loved to see your euphoric smile when you showed him the bounty you just caught. Of course he would never admit that to you, but he loved spending this time with you.

But things got more stressful on Tatooine and he had to stay there for a certain amount of time, dealing with his business. You two didn't see each other anymore and it drove both of you crazy. You listened to every conversation about Boba to find out where he was right now, secretly hoping to see him again as soon as possible.

Until one day, you received a message from the King of the Underworld himself. He said that he would need more good bounty hunters in his palace and offered you a job at his side. Obviously, you couldn't say no, so the next day you made your way to the palace to start working with him and his right hand Fennec.

The three of you got along pretty well and work seemed to be as easy as never before. The only thing disturbing the good climate you had in the palace was the never ending tension between you and Boba. You didn't know what exactly the reason was for this undeniable tension, but it drove you mad. You were attracted to him, there was no point in denying that. But you also knew that he saw you as a coworker, maybe a friend. There were other things going through his head than what was going on between the two of you. You were also sure that you just imagined all the small hints which could possibly be a sign for him returning your feelings.

Until Fennec decided to confront you. She asked you why you didn't already tell him, that it was already really obvious. You didn't know what to say and tried to deny your feelings. The only reaction she showed to your very bad lie was a dramatic roll of her eyes. “I can't wait until you both realize that each of you returns the feelings for the other one.” was the last thing she said before she walked away and it still haunted you to this day.

Your eyes were glued to the mirror in front of you while you were trying to do your eyeliner. Finally finished, you looked at yourself. Even though you didn't use makeup on a regular basis, it looked really good. Happy with your hair and makeup, you went back to the closet.

Your eyes scanned every single piece of clothing in there. What would be something acceptable to wear while having dinner with a King? One of the dresses caught your eye, but before you were able to pull it out of the closet the door to your room got opened.

Eyes widened in shock, you looked at Boba who stood in the doorway. You couldn't see it but his eyes scanned your almost naked body. He didn't even realize it but his breathing stopped as soon as he saw you. You looked absolutely stunning. Only when his eyes met yours through his visor, he realized that he was staring at you. He snapped out of his thoughts and turned around, trying to get his breathing under control.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I just wanted to see if everything is alright and tell you that dinner is ready in about half an hour.” he spoke with a raspy voice.

“Okay, alright. I will be there.” You looked at his back while speaking.

Without another word Boba went out of the room and closed the door behind him. He walked down the corridor with large steps. The picture of you, just standing there in the probably hottest set of lingerie he ever saw, was burned into his mind. They asked him for your size, yes, but he never thought they would pick out something like this for you. Maker, he needed to cool down.

Entering his room, he sat down on the white sheets of his bed. Seeing you like this was completely new for him and he couldn't deny the fact that his trousers got tighter when he had scanned the length of your body. He knew you for a good amount of time now, but most of the time he had enough self-control to not imagine you in this certain kind of way. But this time, he couldn't help himself.

Pictures of your body laying underneath him flooded his mind. He wondered if the sounds you made were just as beautiful as you? Would your lips feel as soft as they look? Would you taste like- Kriff. His eyes snapped open and he let out a deep sigh. At this point, he was rock hard just by thinking of you. He needed to stop.

He knew that someone as beautiful as you and also younger than him would never share the same feelings as him. You were able to have any person you wanted, why would you choose him? He thought back when you first arrived at his palace.

The way the people eyed you. Hundreds of hungry eyes stared at you. He still remembered how glad he was that he wore his helmet, so no one could see his jealous expression. Only when you walked up to him and started talking to him, the people stopped staring at you. The only thing he wanted to do in that moment was to pull you onto his lap and show everyone that you belonged to him and if anyone dared to lay a hand on you, they would have to deal with Boba himself.

But you weren't his. You belonged to no one, you told him more than once. And he understood what you meant by saying this and he respected you, more than anyone else. But he still found himself alone at night, wishing you were by his side.

A knock on the door ripped him out of his daydreams.

“I just wanted to tell you that food is ready in five minutes.” A voice said through the door. After that it got silent again. Trying to get you out of his head he stood up and made his way into the dining hall. This is going to be a long night.

You stood in silence for a minute after Boba left your room. You noticed his staring, but you weren't sure if it was just because you were in your underwear or if he really thought you were attractive.

Thinking about it for a second, you decided to try your luck today. If it turned out that he wasn't interested, you could finally live in peace again. But if he was, then you were going to have a very good night.

The bounty hunter was already sitting at the table when you entered the large dinner room. You saw how his helmet turned in your direction but you couldn't see any reaction from his side. And again, Boba was very happy to wear that stupid helmet. You looked stunning. Your body was covered by a silky black dress with thin straps. It went down to your legs and hugged all your curves perfectly. He swallowed hard, almost sure everyone could hear it.

With a nervous look, you settled down in the seat beside him. You looked at his black visor and he nodded slightly. Before you could say anything the King, as you learned for the maid, stood up and began to speak.

“Tonight we want to honor our guests, the great Boba Fett and his beautiful partner. Our kingdom was able to make a deal from which we all are going to profit from and which will keep us all safe.” He raised his glass in your direction. “We hope you enjoy your meal and now, let the festivities begin.”

He brought his glass to his lips and drank one sip, before everyone else joined in.

Two big doors swung open and the staff brought in the food. You almost couldn't believe your eyes. So many different kinds of food, mostly things you didn't even know. Your stomach started rumbling at the sight of all the different courses. With wide eyes, you looked at Boba once more. He didn't notice because he was in the middle of taking off his helmet. You were about to stop him, but it was already too late. He never let his enemies or business partners see his face, but by the reaction of the other people in this room it wasn't the first time they saw him. He turned his face to you and mustered you with a confused look.

“What's the matter?” His eyes fixed on yours while he was trying to figure out what was going on in your head.

“Nothing. Don’t worry.” You shook your head slightly.

Bringing your eyes back to the food in front of you, you couldn't stop yourself from starting to eat. So many different vegetables and fruits. All the different variations and sauces. You moaned when the first piece of food found its way into your mouth. This was the best feeling you've ever experienced.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Boba watched you and a small smile tugged at his lips as he saw your satisfied expression when you finally started eating.

Without even trying to hold back you ate as much food as you could. Each dish was better than the other and you were almost overwhelmed at all the different choices.

You were still eating even after all the others finished their meal, but you didn't care. You had no good food in weeks and to be completely honest, the food on Tatooine wasn't the best either.

Shoving the last piece of food into your mouth you fell back into your seat, holding your tummy. You were stuffed, to say the least.

“Finished already? Don't you want to lick the plates of all the others clean too?” Boba smirked at your exhausted figure, bringing his glass to his lips.

You gave him a playful annoyed look, but couldn't hold back your laugh. The corners of his mouth raised around the glass.

Before you were able to reply something the other man beside you started talking to you. You were so caught up in getting food inside your stomach that you didn't even talk to anyone in here. So you gladly interacted in the conversation the other man tried to build up.

Turns out this planet was one of the only ones which stayed completely out of the war that happened some years ago; which was impressive because almost no planet was able to stay out of those kinds of politics. But this was the reason why everything here was so old. They never had to rebuild anything because nothing ever got destroyed. Maybe by accident on occasion but never due to war. The people who lived here had one of the oldest environmental systems in the galaxy, which is the reason why you didn't recognize most of the food. It's local and you are not able to get it on any different planets. You wondered if Boba made a deal about some kind of spices, but he was more than a spice smuggler. That would make no sense.

Suddenly, in the middle of the conversation, someone came up behind you and sat a new plate in front of you. On it was a fruit, you also didn't recognize. It had thick skin and was bright yellow. You looked around and saw that Boba and you were the only one with this kind of food on their plates. With a confused look you turned your head to him but he just shrugged his shoulders, signaling you that he also had no idea what kind of fruit that was.

“We decided to give you some of our rarest food on the planet. It is hard to grow and actually is the only fruit we sometimes sell to other planets. But after everything you will be doing for us, I think you deserve to get a taste.”, the King spoke and looked at the two of you. You weren't sure if it was just your imagination but all the other people in the room looked at you with a smirk on their face. As if they knew something you didn't.

There was no room left in your stomach, you were full. But after everything the man said, you didn't want to be rude, so you took your fork and tried a small piece of the yellow food in front of you.

Before you even started chewing it, you tasted how sweet it was. Too sweet. You grimaced at the overwhelming taste. It was like nothing you ever tasted before. It gave your tongue a tingling sensation but also made it numb at the same time. The juice that squished out of it when you bit it, immediately ran down your throat. You desperately tried to hold back a cough. With one big gulp, you swallowed the piece of fruit and laid your fork back down.

Side-eyeing Boba, you saw that he wasn't impressed by the taste either. Just now you realized that all eyes in the room were laid on the two of you, waiting for your reaction.

“It-” You began, clearing your raspy voice before continuing, “It tastes delicious, really. Amazing, different taste.” It was a lie and anyone smart enough would have realized but it seemed like the people didn't notice. They started smiling, bringing their attention to their own desserts.

Boba looked at you in a way that said 'You are a terrible liar.', but you didn't care as long as everyone was happy.

“I'm very glad to hear that and now eat up. We wouldn't want to waste anything of this delicate fruit.” You sent a death look into the direction of the king, but your partner nudged your side with his elbow.

“Eat up. You don't want to be rude, do you?” Your death glare wandered directly to Boba and he smirked at you. Cocky bastard.

With a disgusted look on your face you took the fork again and started eating the fruit.

Soon it was much later in the evening but you didn't notice the passage of time because you were actually having some nice conversations with the people from the city. You talked about the wars, the way this planet stayed out of them, the story of how you became a bounty hunter and joined Boba.

Your eyes wandered into the direction of said bounty hunter more than once that night. Sure, he wasn't someone to talk much, especially about his feelings, but you couldn't deny the feeling of disappointment that he didn't even acknowledge the way you looked tonight. The small amount of hope in you wasn't strong, but it was surely gone by now. Forcing your eyes away from him, you started listening to the story one of the women in front of you was currently telling.

Boba didn't feel well. It wasn't the amount of strangers around him or the fact that he probably ate too much, no. It was the fact that you turned heads in this room. From more than just one or two people.

But well, he couldn't blame them. Your body looked like art in the dress you were wearing. He asked himself what the reason was, for your choice of looks tonight. Did you want to impress someone? Boba knew you had your fair amount of affairs. It had been revealed after you two along with Fennec drank too much spotchka one night and talked about your sex lives. He still didn't know how that happened.

Anyway, even though he knew you weren't his, he tried to keep everyone away from you that showed just the slightest bit of interest in you. He knew it wasn't fair, but he couldn't stand the thought of someone else touching you. Was this the reason you were dressed like this? Did you want to hook up with someone from the palace?

He shook his head. He had no reason to think about your intimate relationships with others; he had no right to judge or decide over your choices. But the more he let his mind wander, more thoughts of you popped up in his head. And one of the thoughts was the picture of you in your underwear. Again.

Suddenly, he felt hot. Not in the way he felt when he was angry or embarrassed, but actually hot. So hot that he started sweating. He looked around to find a reason why the temperature suddenly had changed in here but it seemed like no one else noticed. He tried to adjust himself in the chair. It felt like his armor got two sizes smaller and he wasn't able to breathe. Different parts of his body began to tingle and he was sure he would pass out. His body quickly raised from his seat, to get out of the room but the second he stood, he couldn’t move due to the feeling of dizziness that held him. Boba stood there for a second before he made his way out of the dinner hall.

Your eyes fell on his quickly moving body and the way the look on his face seemed alarmed. Something told you to follow him. Without excusing yourself, you left your seat and made your way up to him. Before he was able to leave the room, you reached for his arm and stopped him. He turned to you, his eyes wide in shock.

“Boba, are you alright? You look terrible.” The look on your face was concerned and you glanced at him through your lashes. He stared at you, not without noticing how his eyes started to wander over your body.

“I- umm...” He stopped his rambling when he felt a painful sting in his lower belly, his erection forming in his pants. What was wrong with him?

“Kriff.” was all he said, looking around to see if anyone was staring at the two of you. Luckily no one seemed to care about the fact that the two of you were standing away from the table.

Without thinking, Boba grabbed your waist and pulled you a little closer to him. You were so surprised. You couldn't think of anything to say. He lowered his head so his mouth was directly at your ear.

“We are leaving tomorrow morning, be ready. I'm going to bed now and you should too, Princess.” Not a second later, he released his grip on you and was gone.

Princess. The word rang through your ears. It was almost as if you could still feel his hands on you. A shiver ran down your shine when you thought about his breath hitting your sweaty neck. Lost in your thoughts you still looked at the door he left through.

A sharp pain in your stomach shook you out of your trance. You flinched at the feeling, wondering what that was. But a moment later, you felt a burning heat in your core and the feeling spread through your whole body. You grew even hotter than before. Maybe Boba was right. You should go to bed.

It was harder than you thought to find your way back to your quarters. The fact that your legs got weaker with every step and the slightly dizzy feeling in your head wasn't helping either. You stumbled through the corridors, hoping to soon find your stupid room. Who needs a palace that big anyway?

After some more minutes, you were sure you finally arrived. About to open the door to your room, you heard a strange sound coming from a chamber down the hall. You stayed still, to see if it wasn't just your head trying to trick you.

“Dank Farrik!”

Even though your whole body was aching at this point, you followed the sound. A loud groan came out of one room and you realized it was Boba. A little bit faster than before, or at least as fast as you were able to go, you went to the door the sound was coming from. Your mind clouded from the heat and pain taking over your body as you knocked.

“Boba?” Your voice was weak and raspy as if you had been screaming for hours straight. Nothing happened, so you tried again. “Are you alright? I heard some noise-”, a sore, deep voice cut you of.

“I'm... I'm alright.” A sore, deep voice cut you off. On the other side of the door, the man struggled to speak. His throat felt so dry as if he had wandered through the dunes of Tatooine for days without a single drop of water. Every part of his body arched and he panted, not being able to breath properly.

When he entered his room some moments ago, he got rid of his armor, tossing it carelessly onto the floor and falling down onto the bed. He didn't feel dizzy anymore but there was pain, almost as bad as in the sarlacc, flowing through his body and especially into his abandonment. He was hard, harder than ever before and it hurt. Scared of touching himself, of making the pain even worse, he just kept laying there, hoping that the pain would go away. No luck yet.

There was a white noise in your ears and you almost didn't hear what he said. His voice sounded so breathy; you were afraid he was hurt. You tried to steady yourself by holding on to the doorknob. You felt like you were about to pass out, but you still wanted to make sure that everything was alright.

“Are you s... sure? It doesn't sound like it.” It almost hurt to speak.

You heard a terrifying growl from the other side of the door.

“Fucking hell. I'm doing fine and now go to bed.” Boba shouted.

Too dizzy to be shocked or to show any reaction towards his tone you slowly made your way back to your quarters. Barely able to find the strength to push the door open, you almost fell into the room. The pain got even worse and couldn't hold your body up any longer. You felt your legs carry you across the room so you could collapse on the bed, groaning loudly as your body landed on the mattress. Your mind wasn’t able to form any kind of rational thought. The only thing you were aware of was the pain in your body and the growing wetness between your legs.

You had no idea what was going on, only realizing that you started to become incredibly needy. With all the force you could muster in the moment, you rubbed your thighs together to create even the smallest amount of friction. You almost started cringing when you felt how just wet you were. Maker, what was wrong with you?

The pressure from your thighs wasn't enough. Your panties were already soaked, even without anyone touching you. Slowly, you let one of your hands go between your legs. Your body jumped at the first light touch and an obscene moan left your mouth. Holding your other hand over your mouth, you carefully started to touch yourself.

You closed your eyes, trying to focus on giving yourself some kind of pressure pleasure, but it didn't work. The pain was still there and it seemed like it wasn't about to leave any time soon. Starting to move your hand faster, to find your way to the desperately needed climax, you heard the sound of your wet cunt.

You’ve never been this wet. Especially without anyone touching you. Your thoughts drifted to Boba. Him calling you princess surely couldn't be the reason for the mess between your legs. You wanted to fuck him, but you weren't that affection starved. Or were you?

Thinking about your partner brought you closer to your own orgasm. Two of your fingers circled around your clit and started to become sloppy as you grew closer to your release. Your eyes stayed shut, trying to imagine something that would help you. You thought of Boba, sitting on his throne, legs wide and taking every inch of space in the big seat. The way he looked so dangerous, just by doing nothing then looking around the room. How often you thought about riding him in that position. You on top of him, his large hands on your hips. You would be completely naked for him while he still wore his armor, feeling the cold beskar against your heated skin. His body would tense underneath yours while he pounded into you, calling you his good girl.

You were so close, you could feel the familiar heat rising. Just one or two more seconds.

“Hey. Are you here? Can you hear me?” Your hand moved from your core as fast as possible. Shooting your eyes into the direction of the door, but it was still closed. A groan left your mouth. You were so close and the pain was still so present in your body, you were probably imagining things.

Just as you were about to continue, the voice rang through the room again. You tried to sit up, looking around, searching for the reason you were able to hear him.

“Are you mad at me? Dank- I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you.” Boba sounded like he was out of breath. Your eyes landed on the pile of clothes on the floor. Sure, your comlink. On shaky legs, you walked to your old clothes and took the small speaker from your belt.

You were afraid to say something. Did he hear you? You were embarrassed. He was your coworker and you just almost had an orgasm while thinking about him.

“Boba.” The only thing leaving your mouth, in a breathless voice, was his name. You weren't able to say more, afraid that he might sense what you just did.

The man in the other room was still laying on his bed. He didn't trust himself to stand up. His heavy breathing was the only sound around him. His fist clenched around the comlink, after he heard you speaking. Your voice sounded just as weak as his, you must feel the same reaction as he did.

Boba has been to a lot of planets and different cities, but this feeling was new to him. He knew what the cause for this was, probably. The fruit contained a certain type of pollen. He heard about them, about the stuff they do to the ones eating it. It was almost like an aphrodisiac, people would get desperate for any kind of sexual interaction, just to make the pain go away. And he also knew that the pain would fade much faster, if you would do something about it and even better, not by yourself.

The sound of you whispering his name through the speaker made his hips twitch. He would never act on the feelings he had right now, especially not with you. You were too important to him and he would never forgive himself if he lost you due to his needy brain and body. But he couldn't stop thinking about you. The fact that you felt the same exact pain he did in this moment, made it even worse.

“Are you... are you alright?” Your quiet voice cut through his thoughts. Maker, why did your voice have to sound so fucking desperate? He shuts his eyes close, trying to stay focused.

“Yes, I think so. What about you?”

“No. No, I think something is wrong with me.” Boba's eyes snapped open again when he heard you were crying. “I- I don't know why, but everything hurts. Kriff, it hurts so bad Boba. I don't know what to do.” By now your voice was almost unrecognizable, it was shaky and blurred from your crying.

The heart of the bounty hunter sank deep in his chest. He didn't want you to go through this. “Okay, try to calm down. You got this, try to ignore it.” He almost laughed at himself. There was no way to ignore it and he knew that.

“Are you kidding me? Try to ignore it? Boba, it feels like my whole body is on fire, I can't just pretend I don't feel that shit.” There was a hint of annoyance in your voice and he couldn't blame you. He was better at controlling his body in general and it was still hell for him. He couldn't even imagine how you felt. “You know what, I'm coming over, right now.”

“No!” He screamed the word into the communicator in his hand. With all his strength, he sat up and rubbed a hand over his face. There was no way he would spend this time with you. He knew he wouldn't be able to control himself if you were with him.

“Boba, what the he-”

“I know what might help you.” His tone was low and calm, trying not to cross a line with what he was about to say. “You need to touch yourself.”

Your mouth fell open. Did... did he really just say that? You stayed silent, not knowing what to say. That was what you were already doing, touching yourself, but hearing him saying those words sent goosebumps all over your body.

“Before you start to protest, yes I know it sounds strange, but believe me, it will help you.” A moment of silence fell above you before he started to speak again. “Please. I don't want you to be in this terrible pain. Do... do it for me, please.”

You weren't able to stop the whine that left you after hearing his words. It was too much; this whole situation was too much for you. Your body was aching and you knew that your hands would never be able to sooth the pain and growing heat between your legs.

“Boba, I-” He cuts you off once again.

“S- stop saying my name like that, please. I will not be able to control myself if you keep doing that.” You felt even more heat rising in your body at his words. “Just... just try to do what I just told you.”

Without letting go of the comlink, you sneaked your hand under your dress once again and into your wet folds. You moaned at the feeling. There was a hiss, coming out of the speaker and you heard the man on the other end swearing.

“That's it. Just keep doing that.” Boba wasn't able to hold it back anymore, freeing his painful hard cock from his pants. It snapped up against his tummy and he threw his head back when the cold air hit his aching member.

“Boba.” This time you moaned his name on purpose and he really had to hold himself back from cumming right there and then, “I- I can't do this on my own, please.”

At this point you didn't care how desperate you sounded or if he could hear the sounds you were making. You needed something. You needed him.

The man heard you, very well, and it drove him crazy. He put his hand around his cock, slowly starting to pump it. It didn't feel good. He didn't like to masturbate in general, but with this burning need inside him and hearing you, touching yourself, it felt even worse. The urge to touch you has never been this strong, but he needed to keep it together. You only did that because you felt the pain this fruit caused, not because you were genuinely attracted to him.

Your fingers circled your clit, but it didn't feel like it was enough. Silent tears were still streaming down your face because you couldn't build up the friction you really needed. You whined in frustration.

Boba was sure he wouldn't last long if you kept making those sounds. Maker, what would he give to see you right now. Disheveled hair, your makeup probably all over your face, your hand between your legs and eyes closed. He was sure you looked like a goddess.

“Please, Boba. I need-” He had to stop you. He couldn't listen to you with that sweet, sweet voice of yours any longer.

“Alright, okay. Just do what I tell you.” The bounty hunter didn't believe what he was about to do. He has wanted you for so long and even though you weren't with him right now, he would savor every second of this.

“Just... umm...” He stopped himself and rasped his voice. He never had a problem with being talkative during sex. He actually really liked it but with you and especially in this situation, it felt different. “Bring your middle finger and your pointing finger to your clit and start rubbing it in circles. Not too fast, to build up some good pressure.” His grip around his cock tightened at the picture of you in his head.

You did as he told you and moaned, more at the words he spoke than to the actual feeling of pleasure. Never in your life have you been this turned on, not only because of the strange feeling in your body but also by the way Boba guided you through this. You could already feel the familiar heat growing in your lower stomach again. It wouldn't take long for you to finish.

He needed a moment to breath before he continued. Your moaning and whining made his dick twitch in his hand. His thumb collected the precum that already leaked and used it to start stroking himself again.

“Now use those two fingers, slide them inside of you and start fucking yourself.” His mind was clouded with pictures of you. The sounds you made rang in his ears and he wasn't able to hold his grunting back anymore.

The two of you listened to each other, touching yourselves. Both of you would lie if they said that this wasn't the hottest thing you’ve ever done. Feelings aside, the urge to feel one another and touch each other was so present and burning as never before, it was almost worse than the actual pain in your bodies.

Your back arched as you felt yourself getting close again, but you needed to hear his voice one more time. “Boba, I'm- I'm so close... I-” He was too and your words almost sent him over the edge, but he wanted to help you reach your climax first.

“It's alright, Princess. Just l- let go.” The hand around his cock sped up. His rapid pace was almost hurtful. “Imagine it’s someone else doing that to you. Imagine your fingers are someone else's, someone you wish was touching you right now.”

An incredibly loud sound left your mouth and you began to see stars. Your legs started to twitch and shake, while a loud white noise flooded your ears. Without thinking you started to scream. “You. Fuck, I wish it was you who was touching me right now, Boba.” You cummed hard. Your toes curled, your head pressing into the mattress underneath you. The hand inside of you stopped moving and started shaking, like every other part of your body.

As you laid there panting, you slowly came back to your senses. It was silent, but the pain in your body was still as present as before your orgasm. You groaned in frustration.

“It didn't help. Fuck, Boba. The pain is still there.” You whined but there was no reaction. The other side of the comlink was completely silent. Tears build themselves up and were about to escape your already burning eyes. You fucked up. You just told him you wished he would touch you.

“Shit!” You screamed and pressed your hands flat over your face. The tears started to stream down your face faster now as you started crying again. The pain and the embarrassment took over your brain, you never wanted to see him again. He would fire you, bring you back to the planet you came from and leave you there. You started sobbing and removed the hands from your face to place one of them over your mouth to muffle your pitiful cries.

You hated yourself right now. So much so that you would rather stay in this room forever than ever have to see his face again. The moment repeated itself in your head over and over again. You didn't notice when he broke the connection, but you knew that he probably did it after the last sentence you said.

New tears formed in the corner of your eyes, but before they were able to make their way down your face the door to your room got pushed open. Your head turned to the person standing in the doorway. It was Boba, wearing nothing but his black flight suit he always wore underneath his armor. You brought up your head and steadied yourself on your elbows.

“What are you-” The man was in front of you in a matter of seconds, looking down at your weak form. You slowly sat up and stared into his dark eyes.

“Was that what you said the truth?” His voice was even deeper in person. He looked exhausted, breathing unsteadily and sweating all over his face.

“Boba, I... I don't know-” One of his hands grabbed your chin roughly and tilted your head in his direction. Your heartbeat was going faster than before. It was hammering hard against your chest. You could feel it in every part of your body.

“Just tell me if you meant what you just said, or not. Because if you did, I will help you. I- I will touch you, just the way you need it, little one.” His eyes pierced into yours. His voice sounded calm but you could see that he was just as worked up as you. “And if not, I will leave you alone. I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything you don't want to do.”

It was almost as if you forgot how to breath. His words rang through your ears and for a second you believed you passed out and all of this was a dream. But the grip around your chin proved you wrong.

“I asked you a question.” He said in a more aggressive tone. The hand on your face tugged you slightly forward and only now you became aware of his hard erection, pressing against his pants. You swallowed loudly, looking back up into his eyes. A small smirk played around his lips.

“Like what you see?” The smirk on his face grew even wider when he saw your head nodding.

“Now tell me,” He brought his body down to yours to look directly into your face, “Do you want me to touch you? Do you want me to help you get rid of the pain?”

He paused for a second and brought his face closer to yours so both of your noses were touching.

“Do you want me to make you feel good?”

Your breathing hitched in your lungs and you felt a hot sting going through your body, going straight to your cunt. Boba drew his face away from you, just a little bit, but you already wanted to protest. Your hands rose up and grabbed his broad shoulders.

“Yes.” It was nothing more than a silent breath but the words rang in his ears as if you screamed them. “Yes, I want you to touch me and make me feel good, I- Fuck, Boba. I want you so bad.”

Without wasting another second he crushed his lips onto yours and started kissing you. The kiss was heated, fast and passionate. Teeth clenched against teeth and tongues tried their best to taste the other person. His lips were softer than you expected, they were warm and inviting. A tingling feeling made its way to your chest and you realized you never wanted this to stop.

You felt like you were in heaven and even forgot about the pain for a second, but not for long. Boba's hands were holding your face, brought it even closer to his while you did the same with your hands around his neck.

His mouth pulled away from yours as he began to wander and kiss his way down your throat. He let both of his hands slide down your body, over your breasts until he rested them at your waist. Your body arched into his touch and a whimper escaped you. The man's lips twitched into a smile, feeling proud about the reaction of your body against his touches.

With one hand on your back, he slowly started to lay you down on the bed. His body was now hovering over you and you could feel the strong heat radiating from him. Every kiss he left on your bare skin was like a small flame burning its way into your mind.

When his lips reached your cleavage he stopped and looked up to you. You looked so beautiful, a sweating, panting mess underneath him. That's everything he ever dreamed of, maybe even more.

Both of his hands ran patiently down your sides until he got to your thighs. He reached for the hem of your dress and pulled it up a little bit. His hot mouth went down your clothed body, not once breaking the eye contact.

You shivered at the sight in front of you. Every part of you felt like it was electrified and you were sure you would explode if he wouldn't start properly touching you soon.

Boba went onto his knees in front of the bed, now pulling up your dress so that the hem of it lay just above your panties. His eyes fell to the soaked green material that still covered your heat.

“Look at you. If it wasn't for the fucking fruit, I would say that you are pretty desperate for me, little one.” A wide smirk covered his face and even more heat rose into yours.

“What has the fruit to do with-” But you were cut off by the feeling of one of his thick fingers sliding in between your wet folds. Your mouth fell open in a breathless moan and your head pushed back into the white covers. Only when you heard the man in front of you humming your head came back up only to see that the finger, which was between your legs just seconds ago, was now in his mouth. His eyes found yours while he licked his finger clean, pulling it back out with a small popping sound.

“You taste fucking delicious. Better than any food anyone’s ever served me.” He smiled at you. “Even better than I've imagined.”

Your eyes widened at his words. He imagined the way you tasted? The man in front of you was about to pull down your panties, but you stopped him. He looked at you with a confused expression.

“What do you mean with 'you imagined'? Have you thought about this before? About us?” The pain was buzzing through your body, but you needed to know.

His expression softened and a small smile appeared on his face. He planted a soft kiss on your knee before talking.

“Princess, are you serious? I've dreamed about this for so long, to finally have you. To feel, taste and hear you, everything. But right now,” His lips made their way up on your inner thigh, “is not the time to talk about this. Let me soothe your pain and afterwards, we can talk about everything. I promise. Right now, I just want to taste you.”

He reached your clothed cunt and pressed a kiss on to it. His fingers reached up to the waistband of your panties. Your legs were already shaking from watching him move. You were about to tell him not to tease you when a knock on the door cut through the thick tension hanging between the both of you.

A sigh left your lungs and you fell back into the sheets underneath you. This couldn't be real. You whined, tears swelling up in your eyes again.

Boba noticed and started rubbing his hands up and down your legs. “Hey, hey. Calm down. We don't have to answer.”

It stayed silent for a while, a relieved feeling washed over your body. Boba started kissing your inner thighs again and just before he reached the spot where you needed him the most, the knock disturbed you once again.

“Kriffing hell.” The bounty hunter muttered to himself and got up. With large steps he went to the door and opened it just enough so the other person could see his face.

It was one of the maids. She looked at Boba with an apologizing look.

“I'm sorry to disturb you but our communication system received a call from your palace on Tatooine. There is a woman, called Fennec Shand and she wants to talk to you. She didn't say what it was about but she said it is urgent.”

He wanted to scream, wanted to tear down the whole palace. No, not now. His head turned into your direction. You looked at him with dove eyes, still shimmering from your previous tears. He couldn't do that now, both of you still in the middle of the reaction from this fruit. He was in pain too, but he knew it was worse for you. Turning his head he looked back at the maid.

“The woman is waiting for you.” Boba sighed. He knew it was wrong but he needed to know what Fennec thought was so urgent.

“Give me a second, I will be right there.”, he said before closing the door.

The man turned around and looked at you once more. He didn't want to go. His deepest desire, finally so close to him and his duty as the King of the Underworld keeping him away from reaching it.

“I have to go.”

“What?” Your body shot up from it's laying spot in the bed. A hand reached out to him and clutched at his sleeve. “No. No, please. You can't leave me now.”

“I have to, but it won't take long, I promise.” Boba gabbed the back of your head and pressed a kiss to your forehead. He was about to turn around, but you still didn't let go of him.

“Boba, stop. Please I- it still hurts. I can't take this anymore.” He looked at you, bringing his hand to your cheek.

“You can do it and while I'm gone you’re going to touch yourself again, you hear me? Prepare your pretty, little cunt for me and when I come back, I will give you everything you need.” Not waiting for another response from you, he freed his arm from your grip and walked out of the room.

#boba fett x reader #boba fett x you #boba fett #smut #sex pollen #the mandolorian #the book of boba fett

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my-emotional-self · 3 years

Text

Toxic Love Chapter 3

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader, Bucky Barnes x Reader, Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes

Summary: Finding out your soulmates were Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes was one thing. But when someone from your past comes back to haunt you, you have to figure out if a relationship with two super soldiers is something you really want to pursue or if you’d rather go back to your comfortable single life.

Series Warnings: 18+, Swearing, Angst, Fluff, past mentions of rape, self-harm, attempted rape, domestic violence, stalking, death threats, possible Dark!Steve?, Steve will be an asshole a LOT in this series but I don’t know how dark it will get, explicit sexual content, mental health issues, kind of A/B/O dynamics but not really (no they are not actual wolves, more like the hierarchy)

A/N: There will be no taglist for this story! I apologize in advance!

Two days later you found yourself back in the same elevator at the Avengers Tower, only this time with Bucky. It was a surprise when you opened up your apartment door to see Bucky standing there, ready to escort you to the tower as you planned on walking there yourself. But you didn’t mind one bit. In fact, you found Bucky Barnes to be rather charming and quite adorable with half of his hair in a little bun in the back of his head.

The elevator doors opened on the same floor as last time. Bucky walked in front of you as you followed closely behind him and that was when you spotted Steve. He was dressed much more casually this time in a pair of black sweats and a gray t-shirt that looked about two sizes too small. His arm muscles practically ripping the seams of his shirt. It was definitely a sight to see.

Steve was leaned over the island counter looking at some paperwork and turned when he heard the two of you enter. This time, a small smile graced his lips. He walked right up to you and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry for the way I acted the other day. I’ve been under a lot of stress and while I couldn’t be more happy to have finally met you, the timing is just not that great. I truly am sorry and I hope you can forgive me.”

Looking up into those baby blue eyes of his, your body melts. You hadn’t noticed the first time you saw him just how bright his eyes were. Could you forgive him? Sure, you could only imaging how stressful of a job this must be for him and the rest of the Avengers.

“Yeah, I forgive you Steve,” you replied with a close lipped smile.

“Great, why don’t we head into the living room and we can talk,” he said as he held his arm out towards the living room.

You sat on the large couch, right in the middle while both Steve and Bucky sat on the chairs on either side of the couch. Both men had their hands clasped together with their elbows on their knees, leaning forward. They were watching you intently, waiting for your decision.

“Umm, alright I can start,” you began to say, giving your lips a lick as your mouth felt parched. “After two days of thinking it over, I have decided to move in here…if that’s ok with you both.” Why were you so nervous this time around? Was it because Steve was actually being nicer and taking his time to talk to you rather than talk down to you? Was it because both men were intently staring at you? Whatever it was, you hadn’t felt quite this nervous in some time.

“Of course it would be alright with us if you moved in. Isn’t that right Buck?”

“Absolutely,” Bucky replied, a bright smile on his face.

Giving both men a shaky nod, you chewed on your lower lip nervously, knowing what was coming next and you just hoped they weren’t going to be too terrible. And if they were, hopefully they would be willing to compromise on a few.

Steve cleared his throat as he stood up from his chair; Bucky following his lead as they both stood in front of you. “Should we go over the rules then?” Steve asked with authority in his tone, but you knew that was just part of him being the ‘alpha’ of this relationship. Giving him a subtle nod, Steve began with the rules.

“Rule number one. You are not to leave the tower by yourself. You either have one of us go with you or at least get someone else living in the tower to go with you. We would prefer one of us, but if we are on a mission, then that’s understandable. We don’t want you getting hurt and we only want to protect you,” he stated.

Ok, this wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be. While you were more of a hermit anyways, not really going out much even during the day, this rule seemed pretty easy to follow. “I can agree to that rule,” came your reply.

“Good, rule number two. No lying. We want an open and honest relationship and if you lie to us, we can’t help you and it will certainly not help with trusting you. Same goes for us. We won’t lie to you either. Deal?”

“Deal.” Wow, this was much easier than you thought.

“Rule number three. No touching yourself without one of us.” And there it goes, all out the window. You could feel the embarrassment creep up on your neck and cheeks. “I know this rule can be a little out there. But Bucky and I want to be the ones that give you pleasure.”

You weren’t innocent, of course you got yourself off. Hell, you had a whole drawer full of toys. But this seemed a little excessive. You didn’t plan on jumping into the sack with either of them for a while, not until you got to know them and bringing pleasure to yourself was one of your biggest stress relievers.

“Ok, but what if you two are on a mission for weeks, if not months?”

Bucky and Steve gave each other a look. It seemed as if they were speaking to each other telepathically, knowing what the other was thinking just by that one look.

“How about this,” Bucky began to say, his shoulders relaxing. “If we are gone on a mission that is more than two weeks, we can try phone sex perhaps. That way one of us is still technically bringing you pleasure with at least our voice.”

Letting out a breath, you thought about it for a minute. It’s not like you were a sex crazed maniac; you didn’t need to get off five times a day. It would be difficult though, especially in the beginning of the relationship, but it was possible. “Ok. I’ll agree to that.”

“Good,” Steve stated, giving you little smile. “Rule four. You don’t need any money or income. Bucky and I have more than enough for us to live very comfortably and we can provide for you. We would like you to not work if you do have a job right now.”

“Nope. Hard no,” you exclaimed. You loved your job, it was your passion, your hobby. When you were dating John, he made you give it up. When you told him no, well, that was the first time he hit you. He had backhanded you across your face, leaving you bruised for weeks. When you finally got out of that relationship and he was thrown in jail, your job was the only thing to keep you from falling over the edge. “Look, I don’t need my job either. It pays well and I’m good at saving. I have plenty of money in the bank for a rainy day. But I can’t not do my job. It is my passion and my one true hobby. I am begging you, please don’t make me quit,” you spoke with a trembling lip and damp eyes.

In the blink of an eye, Steve was sitting down to your right, Bucky to your left. They each placed a hand on your knee in comfort. “Maybe we can compromise on this then. What is it that you do for a living?” Bucky questioned.

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and willed the tears away. “I’m a gamer.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t really know what that means,” Steve said.

“A gamer. I go online and play games on a site called Twitch. I live stream as I play games and people watch me.”

“People watch you to play games online and you get paid to do that?” Bucky asked with confusion.

A chuckle left your lips. “I know. It sounds silly. But I love it. I really do. I work from home. I make my own hours. I can work ten days in a row if I want and I can take a month off if I want.”

“So how often do you work?” came Steve’s question.

You shrugged your shoulders. “It depends. Lately I’ve been working about four to five nights a week on average. But if we compromise, I can easily go down to two nights a week and I’d still be ok with that.”

There it was again, Steve and Bucky looking at each other. You swore they were talking with their minds, but then again, they have known each other for what, over 100 years now?

“Alright. Two nights a week we will start out with.” You squealed in excitement as your arms wrapped around Steve’s neck in a tight hug before doing the same to Bucky.

“Thank you for compromising with me,” you sputtered in excitement. “Are there any other rules?”

“Just one more for the time being. If we need to come up with more rules along the way we will. But for the last rule, we want you to be healthy. That means eating three meals a day and getting a good night’s rest. We don’t want you up at all hours of the night and sleeping during the day. We try to eat as many meals as possible together. Mainly breakfast and lunch during the weekends and dinner every night if possible.”

Well, that one will be really difficult for you to deal with. You never ate breakfast. Hell, you barely ate lunch. You really only ate on average one meal a day and then snacks here and there. “I can definitely try with the eating three meals a day. I normally only eat one meal a day and then have snacks but I promise to try. But when I do my job, it is done at night and sometimes I am up a little later than normal.”

Steve nodded and you watched as his jaw clenched. “Just try to get to bed at a reasonable hour on those few nights a week that you work alright?”

There was this deep feeling inside of you that made you not want to upset your soulmate so you quickly nodded your head in agreement.

“I do have one question,” you asked quietly.

“Go ahead,” Steve responded, eyes on you.

“What if I do break a rule? What happens then?”

Steve cocked his head to the side, thinking about it. “Well, I guess it depends on what rule you break and how severely you break it. It could be something as simple as not being able to go to your hobby room on the communal floor, or having you spend time in your room alone. This is new territory for us to so we might have to make the punishments up as we go.”

“Ok, that sounds doable,” you agreed.

Bucky touched the small of your back and you turned to face him. “Is there anything in particular on your end you wanted to say? Any kind of rules for us you wanted to discuss?”

You thought about it for a minute, but only one came to mind. “Yeah,” you began to speak quietly as you looked down at your hands in your lap. “You can call me doll and sweetheart and any other terms of endearment like that. But please don’t call me ‘babe’.” Memories of John growling out that word to you as he punched and kicked you until your ribs broke came flooding back to you. You never wanted to be called that word again.

“I think we can manage that,” Bucky agreed.

“That won’t be a problem on our end at all,” Steve quipped. “Now how about we order some pizza and we can get to know you a little better?”

Just then, your stomach grumbled at the thought of pizza. You were starving. “Pizza sounds amazing right now.”

#steve rogers fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfiction #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #steve rogers smut #bucky barnes smut #dark!steve rogers #dark! steve rogers

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rafecameron · 3 years

Text

as long as you want

summary: Luke x reader - 5 times they almost touched each other and the one time they actually do.

pairing: ghost!luke patterson x reader

word count: 2.5K

a/n: another 5+1! i haven’t written ghost luke before, hopefully it’s okay! also i swear i don’t usually post this much i just have a lot ready! sorry if i’m being annoying

Y/N made her way towards Julie's garage, the new flyer Flynn had made for their upcoming show clutched in her hand ready to show off.

She throws open the garage doors, ready to exclaim about the gig the next night but is met with an almost empty practice area. She frowns, eyes scanning the room until they land on the boy hunched up on the couch.

Luke is sat in an oversized jacket, black beanie pulled over his messy hair as he fiddles with the acoustic guitar sat in his lap.

“Hey, where is everyone!” She asks, letting her hand and the flyer drop to her side.

Luke simply shrugs in reply, eyes intent on staying on the six string in front of him, the chords he picked sounding defeated to match his spirits.

“What’s wrong?” She asks, crossing the room quickly she perched on the couch beside him, hands on her knees as she bows her head to try and get him to look at her, “Luke?”

The boy sighs, finally looking up to meet her eyes with a look of annoyance, “Somethings wrong with me.” He states and Y/N lets out a light laugh.

“Other than the fact you’re dead?” Her attempt at lightening the mood fails when Luke’s frown deepens, “What’s wrong?” She asks again.

“I can’t play,” Luke complains, “everything I play sounds wrong. We have a massive gig tomorrow and I can’t play the simplest tune.”

She shoots him a sympathetic smile, “Maybe you just need to take a break. Reset yourself ready for practice tonight. You’re probably just overthinking things and can’t concentrate properly.”

His eyes meet hers again and she leans forward, her hand falling through his knee instead of resting on it as she had intended. He lets out a short laugh, a look of silent defeat on his features, “Still not used to that.” He mumbles.

“Can you just imagine me giving you a massive hug right now?” She sighs, resting her hand above his knee instead of trying to touch it again.

“I appreciate the thought,” he chuckles, “Maybe you’re right, maybe I do just need to take a break.”

She nods her head in agreement, grinning as she reaches for the flyer in her lap, “Flynn designed it! Do you like it?”

Luke leans forward, smiling as his eyes take in the paper in her hands, “Yeah, it looks rad.” He beams.

She watches him take in the flyer for a moment before the rest of the band stream in through the doors, she jumps up, bouncing over to them to show off the paper. Leaving Luke to sit on the couch and smile at her back.

———

As usual before every gig the band plays, the friends all meet up backstage. Flynn helps Julie warm up her vocals and Y/N attempts to give the guys a pep talk, not that they are ever in need of one.

“Okay, you got this guys!” She cheers them on and the boys just laugh at her.

“You always give the best pep talks.” Alexs teases her fondly.

“Shut up, I’m trying here. You don’t need a pep talk anyway! You do amazing every show, I’m just trying to be helpful.” She sighs and runs a hand through her hair, “Warm up vocals?” she offers.

Luke chuckles and comes to stand beside her, “Just you being here to watch is helpful, we need our number one fans in the audience to hype us up.”

She rolls her eyes at him, “Well at least that I can do.” She agrees.

“There are a lot of people out there.” Julie chews her lower lip as she joins them after having a peek into the venue.

“You got this!” The girl cheers and the boys all let out a groan, “But really, you’ve played big shows before, you’ll be fine.”

Julie nods her head, “I know, just a little pre gig nerves I guess.”

Flynn places a hand on her shoulder and rubs it lightly, “Get it together girl, you’re on in five.” She says and Julie pulls a face as Flynn gives her a single pat on the back.

“Hug it out?” Julie asks, Flynns arm flies around her shoulders and Y/N does the same to Flynn.

The girl lets out a shiver at a sudden coldness, Luke’s arm appearing in front of her face out of nowhere.

“I keep forgetting about that.” He chuckles looking a little sheepish at the fact his arm had just passed through her head.

She blushes slightly and looks back to the girls as Luke hovers his arm over her shoulders in a mock group up, Alex doing the same to Julie.

“Legends on three?” Luke starts the countdown and they all cheer Legends together before breaking up the hug.

“Break a leg guys!” She cheers as Flynn pulls her out into the venue and through the crowd.

———

The gig was amazing as always despite Luke’s worries and little hiccup the day before. After his little break he was back to his usual brilliant self and absolutely rocked the gig. They all met up backstage after the show, everyone talking excitedly over each other and jumping about.

“You guys never fail to amaze me!” She grins as she approaches the guys who were all patting each other’s backs and shoving each other around.

They stopped as they noticed her, all sharing the same wide smile as her, “Thanks! I think we get better every time.” Luke comments.

“You’re definitely going to be going places.” She agrees, bouncing on her heels as she stands between the boys.

“Speaking of going places.” Reggie taps Alex’s chest and nods towards the rest of their friends.

A woman looking very out of place at a rock gig had stepped up to Julie, the group was too far away for her and the boys to overhear anything but by the grin on Flynn’s face and the look of shock on Julies she imagined it was good news.

The woman finishes her speech, handing a card to Julie and shooting her one last smile before she turns around and walks back into the main venue. Julie and Flynn squeal and jump up and down before rushing over to you and the guys.

“That was a talent scout from a recording studio!” Julie squeaks out waving the card around, “She wants us to give her a call to discuss recording some stuff!”

“No way!” Luke beams, grabbing onto the bassist beside him in excitement.

“That’s amazing! I’m so excited for you guys!” She pulls Julie into a tight hug, bouncing excitedly with the girl before spinning back around to the guys.

She leans forward, ready to pull Luke into a hug just as tight but her arm slides straight through him and she quickly steps back with a nervous laugh.

“Sorry!” She chuckles.

Luke shrugs, “It’s cool, I’ll hug Reggie and pretend it’s you.” He laughs pulling the boy into a side hug.

The girl laughs, scolding herself on the inside for constantly forgetting she can’t touch any of them.

———

The next night Julie plans a movie night at her house, setting the garage up with the help of Y/N and Flynn for a movie marathon and sleepover. They throw pillows and blankets across the couch and floor, setting up a projector and screen to play the movie on.

The girl loves movie nights at Julies because she loves seeing the guys reaction to the movies they pick. They are always amazed by the quality and the CGI compared to when they were watching movies.

Tonight the girls had picked a selection for them to choose from including fast and furious, zombieland and the princess diaries. A nice mix for the boys to argue over while the girls watched in amusement, already digging into the snacks they had brought along with them.

The boys finally settle on zombieland, getting comfy on the pillows and blankets while Julie begins the movie. Luke plops down next to her, shooting her a smile as she fills her mouth with popcorn.

“How’s it taste?” He asks.

“Uh...Like popcorn?” She offers with a laugh, “Sweet, I guess.”

Luke nods, staring at the food in her lap for a second longer before turning back to the screen to watch the movie.

About halfway through Luke begins to get fidgety as usual, moving around on the couch and letting out dramatic sighs as he tries to get comfy. He lifts his leg up, throwing it over Y/N’s and sinking straight through them. Both of them looking at her legs which his had just disappeared into.

“That’s just weird.” Luke comments before she lets out a shiver.

“Please remove your leg from inside mine.” She begs, letting out a sigh of relief when he moves it again, “I will never get used to that feeling.”

“What’s it feel like?” He asks, a look of amusement plastered on his face.

“You remember when we watched the third Harry Potter? And the dementors came and everyone said everything went cold like they’d never be happy again?” She asks and Luke nods, “Like that.”

“So...You’re comparing me to a soul sucking dementor?” he frowns.

She lets out a laugh, digging her hand into her popcorn bowl, “That’s exactly what I’m comparing you too.”

------

The next morning the girls are sitting around the island in Julie’s kitchen, chatting about the night before as they tuck into their bowls of cereal. They’re deep in conversation about who would survive if there was a zombie apocalypse when the boys walk through the wall and into the kitchen, grins plastered on their faces like there always was when they did that.

“You know how to use doors now guys, can’t you do that? It kind of creeps me out.” Julie shoots them a glare before shoving her spoon into her mouth.

“That creeps you out? Not the fact that there’s three ghosts living in your garage who you’re in a band with, but the fact that they can walk through walls? Like most ghosts can?” Flynn raises her brows.

“Like most ghosts can?” Reggie asks, coming to lean on the counter beside her, “You mean you know ghosts that can’t do that?” he looks over at his friends in shock but the girls just laugh at him.

“That’s not what she meant Reggie.” Julie smiles at him and stacks the bowls together, moving to place them in the sink.

Y/N gets up from her stool, walking over to the cupboards and pulling one open to retrieve a glass. She sighs when she notices they’re on the top shelf again, “Julie I thought you told your dad to stop putting everything so high up.” She huffs.

“I did!” Julie defends herself, “It’s not my fault he forgets.”

“I’ll help!” Luke jumps behind her and makes a grab for her waist to hoist her up but as usual his hands sink straight through her.

“Wow, great help there Luke, now I’m thirsty and cold.” She laughs, looking over her shoulder at the boy behind her.

“Sorry.” He bites his lower lip.

“Seriously, when are you two going to remember that you can’t touch each other?” Alex asks as he watches the scene, “I’m sure you do this at least twice a day.” He adds and Reggie nods in agreement.

“It’s new okay!” Luke complains, “I’m a touchy person this is hard for me.” he pouts.

She lifts her hand to pat him on the back but clenches it into a fist before she even tries, scrunching up her nose as she looks at him, “We’ll remember one day.” she laughs.

------

Y/N sits cross legged on her bed, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she tries her best to focus on the textbook in front of her, which was hard to do with her eyes full of water. She rubs at her face with the back of her hand, brushing the tears away as she reads the same sentence for a fifth time.

“Hey Y/N!” Luke pops up at the end of her bed making her jump in surprise, “Sorry.”

“Luke!” She shouts in annoyance, “How many times do I have to tell you not to do that? And not to come into my room without asking! Get out!”

“Hey, I just wanted to-” she cuts him off by jumping up from the bed.

“Just get out!” She shouts pointing at her door.

Luke looks shocked for a moment, she had never shouted at him before, then he slowly makes his way towards the door, “Sorry.” He mumbles on his way past.

He reaches the door, looking back over to her with a soft expression, “Are you crying?” He asks, hand hovering over the door handle.

“Luke just get out.” She repeats, turning away from him and crawling back onto her bed.

“Look, I’m sorry for just appearing, I know you asked me not to do that. But I’m not leaving if you’re upset, no matter how much I hate crying girls.” He laughs softly, frowning when she doesn’t return it. “What’s wrong?”

She rubs at her eyes again, balling the blanket into her fists, “I’ve just had a really bad day, okay? Nothing you can do about it.”

She feels her bed dip as he sits beside her, his fingers settling on top of her knee as she turns to meet his gaze, “I can try and help you forget about it.” He offers, “I don’t like seeing you upset.”

She turns away, ready to tell him she’s fine and he can just go, but her eyes lock onto his hand on her knee, “Luke. You’re touching me.”

He quickly lifts his hand away, “Sorry I...Wait, I was touching you?” He asks, a grin appearing on his face as he looks from her knee back to her, “For real? You could feel it?”

She wipes the last of her tears away, a genuine smile appearing on her face as she nods, “Yeah.”

“Can I try that again?” He asks and she nods her head.

He inches his hand forward, fingers stroking across her knee lightly before he rests his hand on top of it, his smile widening as it made solid contact. He wastes no time in tackling her into a hug, throwing them both down onto her bed as he squeezes her against him, giggles erupting from her as he does.

“Luke! Oh my god.” She laughs as he rolls around on top of her, “You’re squishing me!”

“I’ve waited so long to be able to hug you! I’m never letting go!” He buries his face into her neck as he speaks.

“Well if you don’t ease up a little you’ll be able to hug me whenever you want because I’ll be dead like you.” She comments and he finally peeks his head up and loosens his grip.

“Better?” He asks and she nods, “Can we just stay like this for a while?” Luke asks, overwhelmed with the fact that he was touching someone other than Alex and Reggie.

She nods again, “We can stay like this as long as you want.” She smiles.

Luke grins, burying his face back into her and holding her tight against his chest, determined not to let go until he was no longer able to hold her like this.

@lovesanimals @makebank @chrlsgillespie @crybabyddl @marinettepotterandplagg @caitsymichelle13 @kcd15 @kinda-really-lost @alexpjoyner @meangirlsx

#luke patterson x reader #luke patterson fic #luke patterson imagine #jatp fic #my writing

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1ddiscourseoftheday · 3 years

Text

Wed 17 March ‘21

Did we really get a SHOW from Niall AND a new song with Zayn on it AND a Zayn interview and photoshoot? I guess it is a lucky day, Happy St Patrick’s Day to us!

“Happy Paddy’s day to my fellow Irish and anyone who celebrates our great country today,” said our resident leprechaun Niall, and “love how I’ve got more texts today than I got on my birthday,” haha well glad he’s getting the Irish love- and he played a show!! He streamed from the Toucan pub in London- it’s short, not even 15 minutes and only four songs (you can watch the part of the stream right before it where they… make a sandwich?? though if you’re wanting to stretch it out), but damn so good! He opened with two old favorites from Flicker, aw nice to hear you, somehow makes the fun poppy Black and White sound like it was always meant to be a tearjerker slow song, and then worked everyone into a frenzy by covering U2’s With or Without you and rightly so, that’s an awesome cover! No complaints about that set at all, heck yeah!

Zayn’s new song came out today, not last night; I thought I just got confused by timezone stuff but actually it wasn’t me! Something weird happened and they delayed it and it was super confusing (the term ‘technical difficulties’ was used so that clears up nothing) but anyway it’s out now! Technically it’s not Zayn’s new song but Ingrid Michaelson’s with a Z feature but anyway it’s so pretty, worth the wait. Ingrid said she wrote the song the night Biden won the election, about the intense relief she felt, that she hopes it can be a song of hope as we come out of COVID, and that Zayn reached out to her to let her know he was a fan and he’d like to work together. Merch for the song is available in Ingrid’s shop, and that’s really pretty too!

And NOT ONLY THAT, Zayn’s INTERVIEW is out as well plus PICTURES and wow they are, yes you guessed it, also extremely pretty! He’s always a model but we see him so infrequently that it’s always shocking all over again to be confronted with just how damn perfect his face is, and they show him off very well indeed. And he SPEAKS; it’s very brief but the few glimpses inside he allows us are always a gift. He says, "I feel like, in general, no one is listening at the moment. With everything going on, and in a world of unnecessarily overexposed opinions, with people yelling at each other to see who makes the most noise, I feel like no one is being heard. People love to talk, but nobody likes to listen," "I think the quarantine has affected me in the same way as everyone else. I am not a person that spends too much time outside home or outdoors and I like to have my own space, so that is the only advantage, other than that now it is also driving me crazy," and less thoughtful but my personal favorite, I love salty Zayn telling haters what’s what, “if I haven’t worked with them, it’s because I don’t want to work with them yet.” Plus: "It really is not easy to have some form of creative freedom or control. The truth is that I have to continually go against the grain when people tell me to do things a certain way, but my stubbornness and my willingness to want to do things differently help me get through it.”

An article about Harry talks to Kid Harpoon, who Harry continues to outsource that part of Fine Line promo to-- as Harry’s stand in he talks about songs they wrote together in Japan that didn’t make it on FL including one that “nearly made it to the record” that “he and Styles are still obsessed with,” saying “it’s the same as the Watermelon thing with this song, it’s got… there’s a certain feeling in it, we’re just going to have to chip away at it and hopefully get it.” Fans-- HS3 is coming? Lol WHAT?? Like someday yeah but as usual I do NOT know how you got from that point A to that point B kids, it is not coming anytime soon. We also saw a video of Harry (via a dad!) saying “hi I’m Harry” for a fan, we KNOW Harry, and looking super cute, we also know that already, truly nothing new there, but news to me was that after Harry’s performance there was a spike of interest in leather pants and boas, I look forward to the fashion I see at the grocery store getting wild in the coming months; nothing about interest in Clueless jackets though, sorry Harry. Mitch posts to say, “as the grammy hangover wanes, just want to say how proud I am of my friend Harry,” and the Daily Mail included Harry in a layout of “pop princesses” at the grammys, nice to see the tabloids printing some TRUTH for once!

#Niall Horan #Zayn #Harry Styles #17 mar 21 #ingrid michaelson

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nctsjiho · 3 years

Text

🥐 Guess Who’s Back?

warnings: none

❀ JiHo is joined by some of the members for her first V LIVE back from her “hiatus”

“Which cup did you use before?” JiHo’s voice sounds from somewhere off screen. “I don’t remember, just get me a new one.” Yuta says while a smirk creeps on his face. “Yah! Are you going to do the dishes?” The girl questions, slightly annoyed, yet her hand enters the frame with a clean glass for the older boy.

Yuta takes it and then points towards the camera in front of him. “I started the live already.” It’s silent for a few seconds before Yuta pulls JiHo to sit down next to him and forces her to wave to the camera. “Look who’s here!” He yells excitedly, causing JiHo to break out in a huge grin. “Czennie! I’m back!”

The two spend a few minutes just talking to each other and explaining the change of scenery. The fans notice that they don’t recognise the background to which JiHo explains that she is now living with her manager from Esteem in a separate building from that of the boys.

“Don’t worry, I spent a lot of time at the WayV and Dream dorms,” JiHo takes a sip of her drink, “or the boys just come and visit me.”

As if on cue, a door audibly opens and the sound of a few new guests fill the room. “You already started?” It’s Haechan, and he sounds a bit offended, but Yuta and JiHo can’t help but laugh before motioning him to join.

Not only Haechan, but Chenle, Jungwoo and Sungchan join the duo on the couch. “Taeyong oppa is cooking for us right now, but he’ll join us later as well.” JiHo tells the fans.

“How is it like not living with the boys?” Jungwoo asks looking up from his phone of where he read the fan’s question. “It’s a lot quieter, that’s for sure.” JiHo snickers when Haechan lightly slaps her arm. “But I’m pretty much always with them during the day, and sometimes I sleep over so it’s really not that different.”

Yuta pulls one of her legs over his own and slips his arms around JiHo’s waist, now being close enough to rest his head on her shoulder. “She only likes hanging out with WayV and Dream though, she never visits 127.” The Japanese boy whines which causes JiHo to roll her eyes and Jungwoo and Haechan to agree. “First of all, that’s not true. I literally hung out with Doyoung oppa at the dorms yesterday-” “You were there?” Jungwoo’s eyes widen almost comically. “I sent a message in the group chat through oppa’s phone, but you all ignored it so, your loss.” JiHo then turns to Haechan and points an accusing finger to him. “And you aren’t allowed to complain, since I’ve been with you at Dream’s dorm almost daily.” “Ah~ I guess your right.” Haechan bashfully says and sinks back in his spot on the couch.

The members then go on to talk about random things while looking at the comments of the fans. “What have you been up to in the past 2 months, JiHo.” JiHo reads which causes all the boys to warily look at her but she shrugs it off as excitement starts to bubble inside of her. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you guys for so long now!” Yuta can’t help but smile as the girl continues to bounce around in his arms. “I went-” “Skydiving!” Chenle finishes for her, to which JiHo drops her arms and she pouts in his direction. “I wanted to say it.” She whines and the boys coo at how cute she looks - as do the fans in the live chat.

“You went skydiving?!” Taeyong yells while hurrying from, what fans guess is, the kitchen. JiHo nods, seeming proud of herself. “But that’s so dangerous! Why didn’t you tell me? Did you guys know?” Taeyong points towards the other members who all but Chenle and Haechan shake their heads. “She told us during one of our practises.” Haechan explains. “I’m still disappointed that you didn’t take me with you. You know I wanted to try it.” Chenle groans. “I’m sorry Chenle, we’ll go together next time.” “You’re going again?!” Taeyong yells, obviously not okay with JiHo’s decision.

“Who’s your current favourite member in NCT?” Haechan reads and soon, hopeful and confident gazes are set on JiHo. “Of course it’s me.” He lets out a cocky chuckle to which JiHo scoffs. “Oh please, I’m not choosing you after you Jisung and Mark made a mess off my kitchen last time you were here.” Haechan looks as if the live was sucked out of him as everyone laughs at him. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that.”

“Well, I think right now, it’s Chenle.” Chenle let’s out a victorious scream when he gets picked and JiHo smiles. “Second would be Taeyong who’s cooking for us right now.” She quickly adds. “Why him?” Yuta asks offended while pointing towards Chenle. “Because he’s the only one who agreed to play Valorant with me, while the rest are still playing Overwatch or Battleground.” JiHo explains as if it’s the most logical thing and the best reason for picking him as first. “JiHo’s actually really good and she makes it really fun.” “It’s that all I have to do? Play Valorant with you?” Haechan questions dumbfounded. “Nah~ I don’t want to play with you anymore.” A big pout forms on Haechan’s lips and Chenle laughs at him. JiHo quickly apologises though, and ruffles the boy’s hair.

About 30 minutes into the live, Taeyong joins the group and sits down next to Yuta. In turn, JiHo excuses herself to go to the bathroom and the boys “take over” the live stream.

“JiHo seems more confident. I think so as well. She’s become very good at speaking as well. I saw Dream’s comeback show. JiHo did great, don’t you think?” Taeyong replies to a fan’s comment and then looks at the other boys. “Right. I’ve never seen noona like that. She did a good job.” Sungchan smiles.

Sungchan then finds a comment he wants to read. “Is JiHo close to everyone in NCT?” Jungwoo looks at him confused and Sungchan clears up that he was reading a comment. “Ah~ Yeah! I think everyone is comfortable around JiHo.” Jungwoo explains and everyone agrees. “A while back during ‘It’s Awkward But It’s Okay’ JiHo was only a bit awkward with Hendery.” Haechan recalls to which Chenle responds, “But noona hangs out with Yangyang and Hendery a lot now, they seem to be much closer now.”

Chenle’s eyes suddenly dart up when he sees JiHo approach them. “The fans wonder if you are close to everyone in NCT. You’re comfortable around Hendery now, right?” JiHo chuckles as she sits back down in her spot between Yuta and Haechan. “I’m a lot closer to Hendery oppa now, but it’s still a bit awkward to hang out alone with him.” Most boys nod understandingly while Haechan just chuckles and Taeyong smiles at her with the fondest look on his face.

The live stream continues on for another 20 minutes before JiHo calls it a night, saying that they would go an enjoy the food Taeyong prepared for them.

“It was nice to talk to you again.” The girl smiles sweetly, her voice laced with tiredness. “JiHo has prepared a lot of things for you guys so look forward to it.” Jungwoo smiles mischievously and JiHo’s eyes widen. “You’re not supposed to say that.” She says through gritted teeth, but Jungwoo just smiles. “I like being able to talk to you, Czennie, and hang out with the boys like this.” She throws her arms around Haechan and Yuta’s shoulders. “I’ll see you soon! Bye bye!” She greets and the boys follow before the V LIVE comes to an end.

---

Side Note: The croissant 🥐 is one of the emojis that’s “assigned” to JiHo by her fans, since she’s from France and because she loves croissants. The title of this post is the title of the V LIVE.

FYI I’m nearing the end of my semester and the end of a big project I’m working on so hopefully I’ll have more time soon to write more. <3

#jiho.video #nct 24th member #nct addition #nct imagines #nct female member #nct extra member #nct additional member #kpop!addition #kpop!oc

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teshamerkel · 3 years

Photo

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

Chapter 13 (23 Pages)

<< First | < Previous | Next >

Nia and Tobias travel to Afon’s Cap in search of the former human, Hazel.

For the first time in two weeks, Nia wakes up before Tobias does.

She’s confused when she realizes it, blinking bleary eyes at Tobias’ tail flame, his curled form fast asleep. She assumes that it must be the middle of the night, but when she rolls over and tries to go back to sleep, she finds that she can’t. She’s meeting Hazel today, after all! Excited nerves thrum under her skin like first-day-of-school jitters. How can she go back to sleep when she’s meeting another human who was turned into a Pokemon? Someone who understands exactly what she’s going through, who can tell her about how she adapted to the strangeness of the Pokemon world.

Giving up on sleep, Nia sits up. She considers reading one of the books she has checked out, but is stopped by a quiet rustling coming from the main room where Maggie sleeps. Nia frowns and pokes her head out of their little alcove, surprised to see Maggie’s out of her nest, stretching. The meganium stops as soon as she sees Nia.

“Oh! Sorry dear, I assumed you two would be gone by now.”

Nia’s heart drops as she glances at one of the small openings in the wall, noting the pale gray light of early morning. It’s past dawn? But Tobias is still asleep! Since the day Nia arrived in the Pokémon world, the charmander had woken up at the crack of dawn almost without fail. Maybe it had something to do with him being a fire type, but his internal clock seemed stubbornly tuned in to go off when the sun rose. And yet today of all days, when she’s planning to go to Afon’s Cap, he’s miraculously asleep later than usual?

Funny how that works.

An unfamiliar wave of anger rises up in the riolu’s chest, hot and choking, and she turns to glare at the still-sleeping Pokemon. He could just be exhausted, sure, but after how many times he’s made it clear he doesn’t care about finding Hazel? She doesn’t trust it. But Nia needs him to lead her to Afon’s Cap, so she kneels at Tobias’ side and roughly shakes his arm. He grumbles and bats her hand away.

“If you don’t get up, I’m leaving for Afon’s Cap without you,” she says, only half-bluffing. She still doesn’t know exactly why he’d decided to come along in the first place, but hopes that whatever reasoning he has is strong enough to get him moving. She doesn’t think she’ll be able to follow a map well enough on her own—and honestly, she just doesn’t wants to make the journey alone. Tobias is poor company, but at least he is company.

Seeing no response from the charmander, Nia shakes her head, grabs their satchel, and moves into the main area to make sure everything is packed. Maggie is busy removing the leaf shades from the crystals to brighten the room, but shoots her a questioning look.

Nia doesn’t think she has the willpower to avoid snapping her explanation (which is the last thing she’d want to do to poor Maggie), so she just huffs and continues organizing their supplies. They aren’t going into a dungeon or anything, but Xander and Andyn had said to be well-stocked for long trips, just in case. So she counts their seeds and berries and apples, carefully tucks away their badges, and looks into the little sack of coins she earned from missions. It’s not a lot according to Tobias, but it’s something. She carefully folds up the map of the area loaned to her by Xander’s team (more specifically Felix, who’d offered it up with an easy smile and another wink).

Nia reaches a soft piece of cloth last: her scarlet attack scarf. For a moment, she considers finally putting it on. Then she thinks of Tobias, sleeping away the one time she really asks something of him, and she’s overcome by anger all over again. Growling under her breath, Nia stuffs it back into the bag.

“Guess I’m going on my own, Maggie,” Nia sighs, standing and slinging the pack over her shoulder. She turns around to see Maggie’s back to her, long neck ducking into the alcove.

Tobias’ voice speaks up, sleepy and muffled. “Maggie? What’re you—hey!”

Maggie backs up, Tobias held in one of her vines like a flailing kitten. She drops him to the ground.

“You said you would take Nia to Afon’s Cap,” Maggie reminds him, hard tone stopping Tobias’ ranting. The charmander, still blinking sleep from his eyes, frowns up at her, then looks over at Nia.

For a moment, Nia wonders if maybe he really did just oversleep, but there’s no dawning recognition on his face. He just snorts and looks away. “I know that. You didn’t have to wake me up so early for it.”

“You’re always up early! Why should today be any different?” Nia snaps.

Tobias actually jumps, head swinging around to stare at her as if she’s grown a second head. Nia immediately feels guilty for her outburst and softens her tone. “You said it was a long walk, right? We need to leave early then.”

Tobias still seems thrown off—whether from being literally picked up out of his bed or from being snapped at by Nia—because he just looks away and mumbles, “Yeah, I guess.”

“Well, I’m ready to go, so...”

Tobias shrugs. “So ‘m I.”

“Right.” Nia nods, trying to sound confident and failing miserably. Her gaze flicks to Maggie.

The meganium simply smiles, all encouragement and warmth, and nudges Tobias forward with a vine. “Go on, then. You two have a long trip ahead of you. You have snacks packed, right?”

Nia nods, smiling gratefully. She meets Tobias’ grumpy gaze before turning and marching out of the room. It feels...weird. Usually Tobias leads them on all of their missions, but he clearly wants no part of this trip, so instead Nia sets a brisk pace through the medical ward, ears picking up the dragging footsteps of the half-asleep charmander behind her. She only hesitates once on directions, and they make it down to the bottom floor without taking a wrong turn, thank God.

If only it wasn’t so uncomfortably silent between them.

Nia hesitates at the many tunnel openings, and Tobias grunts before setting off down one. Hopefully the one that leads them most quickly to Afon’s Cap. In the muted quiet of the tunnels, their footsteps seem unnaturally loud. Nia fidgets with the satchel strap, eyeing Tobias’ back.

She has long since given up on friendly conversation with him, reaching the end of her patience after days of being snubbed and snapped at every time she opened her mouth. Instead of making Tobias happier, though, her silence almost seemed to put the charmander more on edge than ever. If that was even possible. Their last few missions have been filled with suffocating silence, only interrupted by the occasional tense comment.

Maybe the two of them just aren’t meant to work out as a Seeker team. He’s just so...bitter. And she doesn’t know how to fix that.

“You brought my money, right?” Tobias asks. Nia jumps.

“Y-Yeah.”

And back to silence. They reach the end of the tunnel and find an unfamiliar Pokémon waiting there to take them to the surface. Nia was kind of hoping it would be the hippo they’d met on her first trip into the guild.

Instead, the Pokémon that nods at them seems to be some type of...mole? He’s twice as big as her and Tobias, dark brown with red stripes and what look like sharp, drill-like bits as his claws, as well as one “drill” sitting on his head like a helmet. Nia will never get used to Pokemon biology.

“Going up?” The Pokemon rasps, voice deep. Tobias nods, and the mole gestures for them to step closer to his side. When they do, he slams his claws down into the dirt, and the slab of ground beneath them shoots up. Nia tries to keep her eyes squinted open this time, curious even as her stomach flips. It’s dark, but she thinks the earth seems to cave and mold around their group as if they were surrounded by a bubble, moving up to the surface. It’s incredible.

They emerge into chilly dawn air, and Nia immediately relaxes, taking a deep breath. Looks like they’re under the same overhang they’d met the hippo in. Tobias hops out into the forest, and Nia gives the mole a smile and a quiet word of thanks before following. Tobias doesn’t wait for her, immediately setting a course through ferns and dewy undergrowth. Nia follows, pushing aside leaves and shivering as the drops soak into her fur. Tobias’ skin is steaming ever so slightly.

The forest is relatively calm this early in the morning, but the world slowly wakes up around them. As the sun starts to climb into the sky, Pokémon around them begin their days. The riolu catches sight of a particularly beautiful butterfly Pokémon that she notes to find the name of later.

The sounds of Pokémon talking and moving about the forest becomes a comforting background noise. The blatant silence between Nia and Tobias suddenly doesn’t seem as noticeable, and the riolu finds herself relaxing as they continue their walk. Maybe today won’t be so bad after all.

__________________________________________________

The two of them walk for hours through dense forest, occasionally crossing open fields and rocky gullies. At one point they have to cross a low stream, and Tobias cautiously jumps from rock to rock to avoid touching the water. Nia stifles a laugh and, after a moment of consideration, decides to wade through the cool water. Tobias carefully keeps his distance from her, making Nia roll her eyes. She’d read about how dangerous water could be to fire types, especially those with open flames on their bodies. Of course she wasn’t going to try and get him wet.

When she emerges on the other side, fur heavy with water, her body seems to react before her mind. She manages to check that Tobias is out of the splash zone, and then she shakes like a dog, water flying everywhere. It makes her a bit dizzy, and she blinks, surprised by her own action.

Tobias doesn’t seem to think anything of it, just visibly relaxing when his feet touch the grass again. Nia supposes she shouldn’t be too surprised—her body has its own instincts now. Her ears and tail broadcast her emotions, and she periodically finds herself smoothing the fur on her arms or legs absentmindedly. That should probably bother her more than it does.

They stop shortly after that to eat lunch. The sun is high overhead and it’s incredibly warm, so it’s probably around noon. They pick a small clearing in the woods with some boulders to settle down on, pulling out the snacks she’d packed the night before. A few berries, something baked that tastes a lot like a veggie pizza, and a mash of oats and nuts. Pretty tasty spread from the cafeteria.

“So how long until we reach Afon’s Cap?” Nia asks through a mouthful of oran berry. She’s busy spreading out the map of the area, tracing her claw from the center mark of the guild to the east, where Afon’s Cap is visible on the map. The title is written above what looks to be a large lake with a river running east, towards an ocean. She definitely wants to see that someday. She doesn’t thinks she’s ever been to the sea.

Tobias leans over and frowns at the map, finishing his mash. He points at an area just west of Afon’s Cap. “We should be here. Maybe an hour’s walk yet.”

Nia grins. “We’re so close!”

Tobias doesn’t answer, going back to his food, clearly not sharing her enthusiasm.

“So Maggie said there are shops and stuff there, right? That it’s primarily a merchant area and travelers’ crossroads?”

“Mhm.”

“What’s it like?” Nia asks. He seems too familiar with the area to have not been there before. “Pretty busy, I’m guessing?”

“You’ll see it yourself soon,” Tobias growls.

“Well...Yeah, I know, but...”

Tobias doesn’t answer, so Nia just sighs, going back to her meal and their usual silence with a heavy heart. It’d been such a nice day in the woods that she’d almost forgotten who she was traveling with.

Tobias finishes his meal first, and stretches out on the sunbaked stone to enjoy its warmth while Nia eats her berries. She’s excited to meet Hadley’s old friend, for sure, but anxiety blooms in her belly as they get closer. What should she even ask the other human-turned-Pokemon? How does she even bring up that she’s in the same boat? The riolu wishes she could talk with Tobias about it, but she knows better by now.

When Nia’s finished, they head off again without a word between them.

__________________________________________________

It’s maybe another hour of walking when Nia registers the landscape changing around them. It’s not too drastic, but the dry, yellowed forest becomes slightly more...lush. Even a bit swampy, in spots. They are closer to the sea, and they’ve passed more tiny creeks than Nia’s seen in the forest closer to the guild....so they must be getting close to the port. The nervous butterflies in her stomach act up again at the thought.

Sure enough, only a short bit later Nia can see open sky through the thinning trees, can hear something...roaring. A steady rumble of noise. And under that, the distant chatter of voices and movement. The two of them emerge from the treeline, and Nia’s breath catches at the sight of Afon’s Cap below them.

The ground at their feet drops off steeply into the valley before them, and there’s a lake so wide Nia can barely see the edges of it. It’s large enough for it to have waves, clear water rippling and flashing in the sun between a dappling coat of lush green lily pads. It trails off into the horizon, where it likely drains into the river and onward into the sea. To their left, the source of the roaring becomes clear. From the rocky cliffside of the valley walls, a giant, powerful waterfall flows from an underground channel.

But even the beauty of the waterways, framed by expansive woodland and open blue sky, is nothing compared to the life brought to the area by the little town itself. It’s clearly a port, with docking areas and small boats bobbing peacefully where they’re anchored. A scaffolding-like structure of wooden walkways, stairs and tall, stilt-like supports create a boardwalk of small, bright buildings flush against the rocky sides of the valley itself.

And there are Pokémon everywhere! Sure, the guild has a huge number of Pokémon moving throughout it every day, but something about this area is noticeably different, even from a distance. Unlike the organized groupings at the guild, centered around business and exploration, these Pokémon seem like, well...normal people. A crowd.

Merchants travel by one another, pausing to exchange goods from their giant packs, travelers and civilians alike buy and sell, and children chase each other through the walkways, laughing and playing games. Nia catches sight of two bright yellow mouse Pokémon shrieking happily as they weave through the crowd with practiced ease.

Linens hang on clotheslines to dry, small herb and flower baskets sit outside of the tiny wooden huts, shops are labeled by wooden signs detailing their wares, and the scent of heavenly baked goods reaches Nia’s nose. And is that the distant lilt of...music she hears somewhere?

“This is incredible!” Nia breathes, sure that she’s slack-jawed right now and that Tobias is judging her. She doesn’t even care.

Tobias grunts and moves to take the wooden stairs down the side of the valley wall so they can reach one of the bridges leading to the town. Nia hurries to follow him, almost slipping when she’s unable to take her eyes off the lively port. They make it to the bottom after a minute or two, stepping onto the wooden bridgework. It’s warm and sturdy under Nia’s feet.

“So are there like...Pokémon carpenters? Construction workers who build places like these?” She asks. A gorgeous white and red goldfish Pokémon is swimming under the surface of the water nearby, flickering into view between patches of huge lily pads, and it glides under their bridge to follow a blue Pokemon moving too fast for Nia to properly see. Makes sense that lots of water types would flock to this town.

“Duh,” Tobias mumbles, eyeing the water Pokémon as well with a cagey look. “How else would we build things?”

Well, true. The Lexym Guild’s tree is a bit of a different matter, but she’s seen Hadley’s hut and a few other locals homes, all built with a sturdy wooden construction. Still, Nia can’t even find it in herself to be irritated by Tobias’ condescending tone. This place is just so beautiful! It’s breezy and the air smells so nice. She watches as a water type Pokemon slips into the lake from one of the docks, swimming towards the cliffside where a shallow cave is carved into the surface before diving deeper and out of sight. For the first time, Nia notices a couple of small wooden signs jutting up from the water.

Nia gasps and darts to the edge of the bridge, tip-toeing at the railing to stare at the sign. She tries to peer between the lily pads, but can’t really see much from her perspective. “Oh my gosh, no! Are there underwater shops?! That’s so cool! Look at this!”

“I’m good back here,” Tobias grumbles. Nia glances at him over her shoulder but gets distracted by the fact that her own tail is, uh...wagging? Whoa. It slows to a stop with her confusion, but before she can think about it too deeply Tobias speaks up.

“C’mon already. The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get some food and find a place to stay.”

Nia perks up despite the charmander’s lack of enthusiasm, bouncing back over to him. As they move along the bridge, Nia trails her paw along the wooden railing, happily peering down into the waves and watching the lily pads rock like flat green boats. Something flickers in the water—or in the reflection of it? It’s just a quick flash, huge and dark and almost snake-like, but when Nia blinks it’s gone again. She peers up into the open sky, squinting when she only sees bird Pokémon flying around. Huh.

They continue to the nearest stairway leading up to the open upper level, passing a few groups of Pokémon on the way. Nia’s quick, excited steps pass by Tobias, and she takes the lead as they climb.

“So how’re you gonna find this Pokemon anyways?”

Nia hums, looking around excitedly. “I was thinking we could probably just ask around, right? If she lives here, then surely some of the other residents know her! Being a former human seems to garner a lot of attention.”

“August told you to be careful about broadcasting that you’re a human,” Tobias objects.

Nia falters. “O-Oh. Right. Well...he did say that the area around the Haven is usually pretty safe, right? And I don’t have to tell anyone that I’m a human. Just that I’m looking for one named Hazel.”

Tobias grumbles, but doesn’t argue her plan anymore. “That could still take forever.”

Okay, that comment finally gets under her skin. Can’t he just let her enjoy this?

“Won’t take long if we stop talking and start looking,” She chirps, sickly sweet. The charmander huffs in response.

Then they’re on the main level of the wooden boardwalk. The crowd around them is almost daunting, with so many Pokémon laughing and talking and haggling with one another. Plus, so many of them are huge compared to her and Tobias! A giant fuschia centipede Pokemon walks by them and she swears she can feel their short footsteps shaking the wood under her feet.

Nia frowns, perking her ears and looking one way and then the other. Where to even start?

“We’ll cover more ground if we split up,” Tobias points out.

“Oh.” Nia blinks at him. He’s technically right, and she knows he didn’t really want to come along in the first place, but...it’d still be nice to have a familiar face around in such a new area.

Relenting, Nia nods. “Wanna take left or right?”

Tobias glances both ways before choosing to go left, towards the distant sound of music. “I’ll start on this side. Toss me my money.”

Nia does, but then stops him as he starts to walk off. “Wait! How’re we gonna find each other later?”

Tobias shrugs. “I’m sure we’ll run into each other if we just look.”

Nia doesn’t really have a better solution, so she hesitantly nods. Tobias turns and vanishes into the crowd. Well. Looks like she’s going this alone. Something in her chest sinks, but she tells herself she should really be used to this by now.

Nia takes a deep breath, looking around. It’s hard to see anything with the crowd of Pokémon towering over her, so her best bet would probably be to just skirt the inside of the walkway curving around the valley, near the shops and houses. That’s where she needs to be asking around, anyways. Even if a very large part of her wants to go over to the nearby crowd and watch what looks like a small roadside magic show.

Nia steels her resolve and lets the lively atmosphere of the town wash over her as she weaves between Pokémon and over to the shops and houses lining the cliff face. They’re impressively built, if a bit rustic. Colorful and wooden, with impressively stable architecture. Carved signs hang from hooks in doorways, and most of the front doors sit wide open to invite visitors and customers inside.

Nia spots a shop bursting at the seams with flowers, and peeks into the open front door to find what looks to be, unsurprisingly, a flower shop. Some are live and arranged in beautiful bouquets, some are dried and coated in a sort of plaster to preserve them, and some are pressed between books or decorating other trinkets. Nia resists the urge to run a gentle finger over the petals and wanders through the shop, wide-eyed.

“Can I help you, Riolu?”

Nia jumps, turning to find a round yellow duck Pokemon approaching her with a polite demeanor. She’s small, not too much taller than Nia herself, with a wide beak and a small tuft of hair atop her head.

“U-Um, yes. I actually had a question about this town. I’m trying to find a Pokémon named Hazel? Former human? She lives here.”

Nia is relieved when the duck Pokémon doesn’t react negatively, just humming a thoughtful noise as her gaze trails up to the ceiling. “I don’t know of any Hazels living in Afon’s Cap. And certainly none who claim to be a former human.”

The shopkeeper must see the way Nia slumps at the news, because she offers a sympathetic smile and adds, “Why don’t you ask around the other shops? Maybe it’s just slipping my mind.”

Nia nods, trying to look grateful and not massively disappointed, and thanks the duck before heading out the door. A flash of yellow slips under her feet, and Nia trips forward with a yelp.

“Oh! Sorry!” A high, childish voice says.

“You okay?” A second chimes.

Nia rolls over, surprised to see the two tiny yellow rodent Pokémon that had caught her eye earlier. They both look more curious than concerned, peering at her with wide blue eyes and twitching angular ears tipped in black. They have rosy pink circles on their cheeks, like blush marks. They’re so cute Nia thinks she might explode on the spot. They kind of remind her of the shinx kids, except younger.

The children exchange a look, and Nia hurries to sit up. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine! Sorry for tripping over you. Are you two okay?”

The kids nod enthusiastically, suddenly all smiles again.

“We were playing chase, but we forgot to stay away from the doorways.”

“Nana always tells us to stay outta Pokemons’ way so we don’t get stepped on.”

Nia nods understandingly. “Having a little too much fun, huh?”

One of them giggles, cheeks sparking. “Yeah!”

“You’re nice,” the other one notes, staring up at her. “Sometimes the grown-ups don’t want to talk to us or, or they get mad when we play near them.”

Nia smiles, feeling her chest ache with longing and fill with warmth all at once. She really likes kids. Was she close to some in her human life? “Nah, I get it. You two seem pretty cool to me.”

At that, they both grin. One of them spins, taps the other, and then takes off into the crowd. “Tag! You’re it, Theo!”

“Hey!” Theo bolts after his friend (brother, maybe?), and Nia watches them go, wincing with concern as they scamper under more gigantic, heavy Pokémon. She wishes they’d be more careful.

Shaking her head and noting her uplifted mood, Nia straightens her satchel. Right! She can’t give up after checking just one shop. This place is huge! Surely someone knows who Hazel is, right? There can’t be that many former humans floating around!

__________________________________________________

There isn’t a single Pokémon named Hazel living in Afon’s Cap. The sun is wheeling much lower in the sky than when Nia had first started searching, and she’s just about ready to give up. Sitting under a tented area for customers, she picks at the chesto pie she’d ordered from a cute little local shop, sniffling back tears.

She’d searched for hours through the small port town, wandering through the crowds, investigating shops, and even politely knocking at a few homes’ open doorways to ask about Hazel. If Nia were here just to sightsee, she’s sure she would be having the time of her life. There are stores and merchants for everything—books, food, toys, accessories and cloaks, items that supposedly help with battling, dungeon items—literally anything she could ask for! She’d thought with so many Pokemon around, surely finding someone who knows Hazel couldn’t be that difficult.

And yet, nothing. She really wishes she’d thought to ask Hadley what species Hazel was, but she’d assumed it would be easy enough to ask about a former human. Maybe Tobias was right. Hadley’s nice enough, but he said himself that his memory is going nowadays. Maybe he was wrong about Hazel living here. Maybe she doesn’t even exist at all.

Speaking of Tobias—the charmander is also nowhere to be found. Nia had kept an eye out for his distinct orange coloring and bright red scarf, and hadn’t caught a single glimpse of him. She wants to think that means he’s just hard at work trying to help her, but Nia’s an optimist, not an idiot. She has a feeling that Tobias is likely avoiding her, probably just whiling away his time until they can leave again.

Nia wants to think better of him, but she can’t keep pushing away the truth. Tears finally fall from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as she swallows back a whimper. There are still Pokémon around. She doesn’t want to have a complete meltdown here. But bottling up her sadness and her disappointment, with both Tobias and Hazel...it’s gotta come out somehow.

She wipes at her eyes and her nose, sniffing wetly and taking deep, shaky breaths. She’s a mess, but she’d had such high hopes about Hazel. She just...she just wants someone who understands what she’s going through. Who can relate to the aching, tearing pain in her chest and the gaping hole in her memory.

“Mama! That’s the nice lady we told you about!”

“Why’s she cryin’? Is she okay?”

Nia lifts her head, blinking away her tears. She knows those voices.

It’s the two yellow mouse children from earlier in the day, tugging at a larger yellow rodent’s paws. The riolu just stares at them, uncomprehending as the children drag the older Pokémon over with them. She’s very pretty, cheeks a darker shade of red and eyes a honey-brown, ears longer and slimmer, and tail in a distinct lightning bolt shape. She looks familiar, actually.

One of the kids hops up on the bench beside Nia, leaning in close and frowning up at her face. “Why’re you crying?”

“Yeah! You seemed happy earlier!” The other chirps, appearing on Nia’s other side.

“W-Well, I, uh—“ Nia stops, casting a nervous glance at the kids’ mother. She looks uncomfortable. Good first impression, Nia. “I was sort of looking for someone, but I couldn’t find them. I-It’s fine, I’ll be okay.”

The little Pokémon perk up.

“Well, we know everyone here! We can help! Who are you looking for?”

“And if we don’t know, Mama does!”

Nia looks back and forth between the two, knowing what answer she’ll get to her question but having a feeling that they won’t let her wallow alone until she satisfies their curiosity.

“I’m, uh...looking for someone named Hazel. But she must not live here anymore.”

The kids slump, ears flattening into a pitiful look.

“Oh.”

“We don’t know any Hazels.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I appreciate you asking. You did your best,” Nia soothes, offering a watery smile.

“Excuse me, but did you say Hazel?”

Nia jumps, suddenly remembering the other adult in the situation. Shoot. She turns back to the kids’ mother, but instead of discomfort, now her soft features are...intense. Focused.

The riolu blinks at the change in demeanor. “U-Um. Yes?”

The rodent stares her down, and Nia swallows, shrinking away ever-so-slightly.

“Theo, Tommy, go back to Nana Alice’s house.”

“What?” One of the kids chirps, sounding indignant. “Why? We wanna stay here!”

“Yeah!”

Their mom turns a familiar look on the two, face stern and eyebrows lifting ever so slightly, as if to ask, Do you really want to test me?

Immediately, the kids quiet down. “Yes, Mama,” they both mumble, hopping back to the ground. They exchange a look, give Nia a tiny wave, then scamper away.

The riolu turns back to the kids’ mom, eyes wide and stomach churning. Did she do something wrong?

“Why are you looking for a Hazel?” The Pokémon asks, voice hard.

Nia flinches, looking down at her paws. “I-I’m, um—“

“Look at me.”

Nia slowly obeys, making eye contact with the rodent and feeling incredibly small despite their similar sizes. “I...I wanted to talk to h-her.”

“About?”

“I...heard that there was a Pokémon who lived here named Hazel, who used to be a, um...” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “A human.”

The rodent continues to stare Nia down, and the riolu’s mind races as she tries to figure out why this Pokémon would have such a reaction to the name when no one else did, even before she mentioned Hazel being human.

Wait.

Nia straightens in her seat. “D-Do you know her? Please, you have to help me find her!”

The rodent’s expression edges towards something defensive. Angry? “Tell me why you want to speak to her.”

So she does know something! Nia stands, desperately clasping her hands in front of her. “Please! I need to talk with her. I’m a human too and—I mean, I was a human—and she’s the only one I know of around here who’s the same!”

Immediately, the Pokémon’s aggressive demeanor falls away, her expression smoothing out to something surprised. There’s a beat of silence, and then, almost suspiciously, she asks, “What’s your favorite movie?”

Nia blinks. “Uh...”

“Favorite movie,” the rodent prompts again.

Nia swallows hard. “I-I’m not sure? Um, I think I liked Disney movies? It’s hard to remember, so—wait, do you even know what a movie is?”

To Nia’s surprise, the rodent’s hard expression breaks as she laughs. When she’s done she meets Nia’s baffled gaze with a warm smile, the expression lighting up her already pretty features. “No, not really. But I do recognize that name. Follow me, I’ll take you to Hazel.”

The Pokémon turns and walks away, and Nia hurriedly gathers her things, stuffing them into her satchel and running to catch up to the rodent.

“W-What—how do you—who—?”

The rodent quirks a smile Nia’s way. “Sorry for the cold welcome. I’m Margot. You are?”

“N-Nia.”

“Mm. Was that your human name?”

Nia casts a quick glance around to make sure no one is listening in before answering. “N-No. Um. Actually, maybe? I-I’m not sure. I lost my memory when I came here. Woke up here?”

The rodent gives her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. That must be hard.”

Nia isn’t sure whether to laugh or be embarrassed, suddenly recalling that Margot’s first impression of her was while she was in the middle of an emotional meltdown. “Kind of, yeah. Don’t get me wrong, this world is beautiful, and most people are really nice! But it’s, um...”

“Different.”

Nia nods, eyeing Margot. She has such an easy understanding of Nia’s experience. Like she’s heard all of this before.

“So, um...how do you know Hazel? I tried asking around town but no one else seems to recognize the name.”

Margot hums a contemplative noise. “Hazel...lays low. She doesn’t like to be bothered about where she came from or have to deal with accusations that she’s lying, so the town doesn’t know she used to be human. Where did you hear about her?”

“F-From a, uh, Pokémon named Hadley. Lives near the guild. Giant bug?”

Margot sighs. “Somehow I knew that’s what you’d say. Hadley doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.”

The two of them come upon a homey-looking hut that Nia had passed earlier in the day. It’s a shop, but Nia had assumed it to be closed, since its door had been shut tight. But now it’s cracked open and warm golden light spills out to touch the dusk. Margot swings opens the door and motions for Nia to go inside. She does, stopping and looking around in awe.

It’s a...woodwork shop? There are wooden sculptures and figures littered about the room, lining shelves and tables, larger pieces sitting in corners and wherever space allows. There’s a particularly impressive sculpture in the corner that’s twice as tall as Nia herself, with a beautifully carved scene of flowing water and whiskered, crowned fish Pokémon jumping upstream. Many of the smaller pieces look to be elegant carvings and sculptures of Pokémon, too. They’re amazing. Did Margot make these?

The entire front of the shop is crowded, packed to the brim with artwork and warmth, the smell of wood and lacquer filling the air. Nia only takes a few steps inside, trailing behind Margot, before an older, feminine voice calls out from the back room.

“Mar? Why did you send the boys back on their own?”

A moment later, a new Pokémon enters the doorway leading to the back of the hut. She’s clearly related to Margot and her sons, with yellow cheeks and ocean-blue eyes. Her fur is a rich, dark gold hue, her ears a soft fluffy yellow, paws tipped in cream. She’s beautiful, but her fur is streaked with white, her short pelt beginning to hang off her frame with age. Most incredibly, she’s levitating. She’s sat comfortably on the flat of her own wide yellow tail, floating into the room. Is this Nana Alice?

Nia stops, and the older Pokémon does as well, clearly surprised. Margot moves forward to place a gentle hand on the new Pokemon’s arm.

“Mama, this is Nia,” she explains, voice soft. “Former human. Hadley told her to look for Hazel.”

Nia isn’t sure how to read the flash of emotions that pass over the older Pokémon’s face at that news. After a moment, they settle into something solemn and soft, almost sad.

“So you’re a human? My name is Alice. Why don’t you come on back and have a cup of tea with me?”

Nia nods shyly, following the two rodents into the back area and murmuring a quiet, “Thank you.”

Nia’s mind is racing, trying to figure out how these women know Hazel, if maybe she lives nearby. But she doesn’t want to be rude, so she bites her tongue and looks around instead. There’s a tiny cooking setup on one side of the room, with a table and an area to light a fire beneath a makeshift tea kettle. Other pots and bowls sit neatly stacked nearby. On the other side of the room, a simple but startlingly human-like bedframe sits, with woven blankets and a bed of hay laid on top.

“Mama!”

“You brought the crying lady home?”

Nia looks up, startled. Theo and Tommy are peering over the edge of a loft-like structure overhead. They wave at Nia, and she cracks a smile, waving back.

“It’s past your bedtime, boys!” Margot calls up, somewhere between amused and authoritative. She turns a wry smile towards Nia and her mother. “Let me know if you two need anything.” With that, Margot scampers up the ladder to the loft, and the boys shriek with laughter, ducking out of sight.

The older rodent Pokémon, Alice, smiles fondly, turning to the makeshift stove. “Please, have a seat, Nia. Do you like tea? I have Sitrus and Pecha leaf.”

“O-Oh. Um. I think I like tea, but I’ve never had those kinds before.”

Alice hums. “I bet you’d like Pecha. Give me a few minutes.”

Nia takes a seat on one of the cushions, peering curiously at the decorative wooden figures sitting in a group at the center of the table. One of them looks exactly like Margot, a small bundle with distinct angular ears cradled in her arms. One of the others has an impressive likeness to the older Pokemon currently making her tea. The other two Pokémon, however, are unfamiliar to Nia. One of them is a taller weasel-like Pokemon, with two tails at its back and fins on its arms. Elegant age lines are lightly carved into its face. The second is a round rabbit-like Pokemon with a ball-like tail and a bubble pattern on its belly. Another identical bundle with pointed ears is gathered in its arms. They’re all incredibly lifelike, and Nia leans in, turning this way and that to try and see them better without disturbing the arrangement.

“Do you like them?”

Nia jumps back, but Alice is smiling, gaze fond. “Y-Yes! Did Margot make them?”

The older Pokémon laughs, softly. “No, those are my carvings. The shop products are made by the both of us.”

“Wow,” Nia breathes. “They’re beautiful!”

Alice hums again, eyeing the figurines. “I created those when my grandsons were born. The floatzel is my husband. The azumarill is my daughter’s wife.”

Maybe she sees the lost look on Nia’s face, because she adds, “Oh, I apologize. Sometimes I forget what it was like to be here so suddenly. The floatzel is the weasel. The azumarill is the rabbit.”

Wait—weasel? Rabbit? No regular Pokemon would know those terms. Nia’s head snaps up, the puzzle pieces in her mind clicking together. Of course. This is why no one knew who ‘Hazel’ was. This explains Margot’s odd behavior and her knowledge of Nia’s situation, and ‘Alice’s’ reaction to her identity as a human.

Nia stares at the old woman, hardly able to breathe. “You’re Hazel.”

#pokemon mystery dungeon #pmd #pokemon #riolu #pmd seekers of soul #tesha draws #tesha writes

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unsaid-stardust · 3 years

Text

“Julie and The Phantoms” No Longer Phantoms as They Debut at #1

Only a year ago today, internet band “Julie and The Phantoms” took the world by storm when they posted a cover of Taylor Swift’s “You Need To Calm Down”. From there, the band, which consists of lead singer Julie Molina (16), guitarist Luke Patterson (17), bassist Reggie Peters (17), and drummer Alex Mercer (17), continued to post weekly covers which garnered an average of 3 million hits per video. Sure enough, the band got picked up by Hollywood Ghost Club Records and signed on to record a total of 3 albums.

It would be easy to see that such rise to greatness could cause some trouble in paradise, but the band told a different story when I sat down with them at a local diner.

I was quick to notice that Julie had looked to her bandmates, careful not to overstep anyone wanting to answer, but the 3 boys had all eyes on her. Luke had nodded and teased “all you boss”, seemingly some sort of inside joke, which prompted Julie to take the lead just as she does on stage.

J: Ah well, we’re not really allowed to give any details quite yet, but we can say that there’s definitely some discussion happening behind the scenes!

I: of course! That all must be very exciting considering only a year ago today you guys were posting covers on YouTube!

L: Yeah, yeah it’s all super exciting. The boys and I had talked about it long before we even knew Julie, so it’s just crazy to see it all happening and now with a wicked beauty of a singer to light up the stage every night? What more could we have asked for?

Luke winked and clicked his tongue towards Julie who’s smile got brighter than before. The shooed her hand at the compliment though, a teasing “oh, stop it” sounding from her.

I: You mentioned that you knew Alex and Reggie before meeting Julie. Can either of you tell us how you guys all met?

A: Well Reggie, Luke, and I actually all knew each other since the 2nd grade. We met in the music room and the rest was history. With Julie though, Luke actually had seen one of her original songs--which was “Wake Up” I know that for a fact because you can’t forget the first time you heard a voice like that--floating around on YouTube at the time. Reggie and I had just been chilling in our studio and Luke came running in with his laptop and said-

R: Wait-wait! I Wanna take this one I do a great Luke impersonation

A chuckle escaped from Julie’s lips and the two boys in question had shook their heads.

A: Do you...? Okay.

Reggie then began to pretend that he was preparing for an acting gig, his thumb pressed to his two fingers as he brought them in front of his face, releasing a breath of focused air.

R: guys guys you have to check out this insanely talented wicked beauty. Her pipes are just insane

L: I did not say that

R and A: Yeah you did.

Julie took the reins then just as natural as she were taking the reins on stage.

J: Well, even if you did or didn’t say that, that is how you guys found me. They emailed me after that and they invited me over to their studio where we had a impromptu jam-sesh. We didn’t even have a song planned to practice which is how “Bright” was actually born. So, after copious amounts of begging and begging and begging-

Luke playfully punched the lead singer in the arm and as Alex and Reggie threw out objections.

J: ok ok, I said yes to joining the band right away and as Alex said earlier, the rest is history

I: Oh, you guys for sure were meant to make this history together. You just have this natural chemistry with one another. I mean just from hearing how you guys met and then from seeing you guys today--you guys have been so in sync this whole time. I mean Reggie, you and Alex answer the same. And Luke and Julie, you two have moved the same the entire time. It’s just amazing watching you all here and on stage. But speaking of Luke and Julie, I have to ask...are you two dating?

The two shifted in their seats, but they never took their eyes off of the other, which is not the only time that Patterson had been the culprit of doing so. Both took the time to answer giving Reggie the leeway.

R: They’re not, but they should be

It’s hard to tell if the sun had just hit Julie and Luke at the wrong time or if the L.A temperature had suddenly gotten to them, but Julie was quick to respond to the bassist.

J: A-ha you’re so funny Reggie. No, no we um....we aren’t dating. I love all the guys right here next to me and I feel like I’ve bonded with them so much over the past year; they're pretty much my family. Alex and I have dance parties in my room and paint each others nails and Reggie and I gush over Taylor Swift’s newest albums and Luke and I...we just have a different bond from songwriting, you know? So I really just take that speculation as having great chemistry with my band which is definitely needed when you spend hours locked in a studio trying to get an album done.

I: Speaking of the album, can we talk about the album cover for a minute? It’s just so unique and eye-catching! Can you tell us what inspired you to choose this for your debut album cover?

Alex: Our really good friend and PR assistant Flynn actually designed it. She said that she took into consideration all of our personalities and what made us “Julie and The Phantoms” and went into photoshop and designed this masterpiece. The colors behind us our each of our favorite colors and the space background kinda comes from the idea that all of us feel like something fated us together. The universe maybe, but whatever it was we were meant to play together. And the font is a homage to Star Wars for Reggie!

I: that’s amazing! So what you’re saying is, I need to contact Flynn for all my graphic designing needs?

The band immediately nod their heads in agreement.

J: yeah she’s amazing. She’s actually my best friend too and she was the one who really got us going. We wouldn’t be here without her!

I: Sounds like a true friend! Alright, well, thank you guys for letting me sit down with you guys. It was a pleasure, one more thing to ask though--if you could have written any existing song, what would it be?

R: ooooo definitely ‘home is where my horse is’ that one is a masterpiece

The band, excluding Julie, groaned at the title.

L: Reggie stop trying to go country it’s not gonna happen

A: and that isn’t answering the question since it doesn’t exist!

J: hey, hey, it exists in Reggie and Me’s heart ok.

The bassist reached over to high five the lead singer.

A: I wish I would’ve written “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by the icon that is Whitney Houston.

J: ooo that’s a good one. Anything by Alicia Keys for me. Or Aretha Franklin. Those two were definitely my idols growing up

L: oh “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day for sure. The lyrics in that one hit hard man I'd love to just write a song that does that to people one day.

I: Well, looking at the charts, it appears like you might have already! Thank you so much again for sitting down with me today. Hopefully we’ll get to talk sometime soon and I look forward to seeing what you guys get up to in the future!

You can now stream “Bright Forever” on Apple Music and Spotify!

#Julie and The Phantoms #Jatp #julie molina #Luke patterson #Alex Mercer #reggie peters #jatp au #jatp edit #this is sort of an au I guess #literally dont know how this happened lmao #sakljdfh #bree edits jatp

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kyber-crystal · 4 years

Text

here again || s.r

words: ~2k

summary: you & steve reunite in wakanda after two long years apart

warning: literally none, just fluff. also bad writing bc this is an old ass oneshot

a/n: so uh,,,this was apparently the result of me falling in love with nomad steve rogers all over again. IW was actually the first avengers film i saw and let me just say, hot damn...also i’m horrible w/titles i’m so sorry. if you’d like to be added to my taglist to be the first to know when i publish something new loml!

tags: to @wxstedhexrt ! THANK YOU FOR BEING SO SWEET AND SUPPORTIVE AND ALWAYS TAGGING ME IN STUFF ILY

Time flies, people told you. Make the most of every moment. Take nothing for granted. Appreciate those you have around you while they’re still here, because you never know when they’ll leave you.

What they didn’t mention was what happened between those long hours, the immense pain that came along with missing someone you loved and held near and dear to your heart. The countless sleepless nights awake, wondering if they’d be alright, wondering if they were safe and not in danger. The countless nights hoping and praying they’d come back to you and crying yourself to sleep.

They didn’t tell you that sometimes, you never knew what you were missing until it was gone.

In your case, your ‘what’ was Steve Rogers.

Initially, you’d started off on Tony’s side. Not because you agreed with his argument - that wasn’t the case at all - but because you couldn’t stand the idea of turning your back against the man that had sacrificed so much for your sake. But as soon as you saw Steve on the other side of the battlefield, eyes soft and pleading, you couldn’t take it anymore. You caved.

Being in love made people do strange things, you thought.

You were lucky enough to have found refuge in Wakanda. T’Challa was more than happy to let you stay, knowing you had nowhere else to go and wanting to make sure you were looked after at all times. The others - Sam and the rest of Team Cap, had been sent to the Raft - they weren’t as lucky.

You felt awful. Here you were, living out a peaceful life (well, as peaceful of a fugitive’s life could be), while the rest of your teammates were trapped within the iron fists of the government.

Two years passed, and you still hadn’t gotten a message, any sort of sign, from any of them. You began losing hope. Maybe they weren’t coming back...

“Miss Y/N?” a calm voice suddenly jarred you from your thoughts.

You turned around to see T’Challa standing there with his hands behind his back. “How many times have i told you to just address me as Y/N?”

“My apologies, Y/N,” he nodded curtly, correcting himself. “Are you alright?”

“Just...thinking,” you hummed.

“It seems as if you have a lot on your mind,” he guessed. “Is there something that’s bothering you?”

“No, no...”

“Miss- Y/N, you’ve been here for two years, and you think by now, I wouldn’t know when something’s up?” The Wakandan king raised an eyebrow.

“T’challa-”

“Hopefully, some good news will lift your spirits?” he offered. “I have received a call, they’re on their way.”

Your brows furrowed in confusion. “Who?”

“Captain Rogers and the others are due to arrive soon. War is coming, and we need to prepare.”

You froze. “D..did I just hear you correctly?”

“Indeed. Okoye will meet you outside your chambers in half an hour, so take some time to wash up and rest, will you? You seem exhausted.”

“You know me so well,” you yawned and stretched your arms in the air. “See you in a bit.”

After you finished washing up and drying your hair, you changed into a comfortable cable-knit sweater and dark jeans before opening the door to see Okoye and Shuri standing there. “Hi.”

Shuri came forward and squeezed you into a tight hug. “Hey!”

You chuckled lightly and ruffled her hair. “So, what’re we doing?”

“T’Challa’s already there, we’re going to see Barnes,” she explained.

“Bucky?”

“The one and only.”

Okoye offered you one of her rare smiles. You’d formed an unexpected close friendship with the fierce warrior during your time here - she made an excellent sparring partner, and even taught you how to work her weapons.

You headed outside to meet T’Challa, and made your way towards the fields together.

...

“Drop to 2600, heading 0-3-0,” Steve stated as he walked up to the pilot’s seat. Despite the calm tone of voice he had, everyone could tell he was on the verge of losing it.

“I hope you’re right about this, Cap,” Sam said, “or we’re gonna land a lot faster than you want to.”

“Nervous, Rogers?” Natasha nudged him gently in the side.

“No.” But the look in his eyes gave it all away.

“It’s been a wild two years, huh,” she exhaled as she stared out ahead, the Quinjet passing through a camouflage forcefield into the Golden City’s valley, landing at the airfield outside the palace.

“Yeah...it has.”

“So when are you gonna tell her?”

“Tell her what?”

“That you’re hopelessly in love with her.”

“Natasha-”

“Don’t bullshit me, Rogers, I know you are,” she gave the super-soldier an accusatory look. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have woken up in the middle of the night because you had a nightmare that she died, and it was only after talking with Sam for an hour that you fell back asleep. Which has happened multiple times before.”

“But, Natasha-”

“Come on..why can’t you just admit it? Are you afraid she’s gonna reject you? Because that should be the least of your worries. She’s head over heels for you.”

“What makes you think that?” he tilted his head to the side slightly.

“Intuition. And the way she looked at you.”

“When you said we were going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world...this is not what I imagined,” Okoye commented as she and T’Challa walked side-by-side.

“And what did you imagine?”

“The Olympics. Maybe even a Starbucks.”

The Quinjet’s back gate dropped open and its occupants disembarked. Steve and Natasha stepped down the ramp first, followed by Bruce and Rhodey, with Vision and Wanda in the back.

“Should we bow?” Bruce whispered into Rhodey’s ear.

“Yeah,” he replied, dead serious. “He’s a king.”

“Seems like I’m always thanking you for something,” Steve said as he and T’Challa shook hands.

Bruce awkwardly bowed. Rhodey pretended to look shocked, but there was a hint of an smile on his face. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, we don’t do that here,” T’Challa motioned with his hand. Bruce shot Rhodey a look, and was just answered with an amused grin. “So how big of an assault can we expect?”

“Uh, sir, I think you can expect quite a big assault,” Bruce replied as they began walking back into the administrative building.

“How we looking?” Natasha questioned.

“You will have my Kingsguard, the Border Tribe, the Dora Milaje, and...”

“A semi-stable, 100-year-old man,” Bucky finished with a wide grin as he walked towards his best friend. The two men exchanged a tight hug.

“How you been, Buck?”

“Uh, not bad, for the end of the world.” He paused for a moment before speaking again. “But I think I’ve been holding up better than she has.”

“Who?”

“Everyone’s favorite retired Olympian, ex-nurse, and fugitive electrokinetic hero.”

“What-”

Before he had the chance to answer, your familiar figure stepped out from the shadows.

“Y/N?”

“Steve?”

You felt your breath catch in your throat and froze on the spot. He still had that same lean, muscular figure that any girl would swoon over, but his hair had grown out from years on the run and a rugged beard now covered his sharp jaw. His suit was darkened from dirt and grime and the star in its centre was torn out. But he was still absolutely breathtaking - bright blue eyes shining through the coverage.

His expression immediately softened upon seeing you. After many nights praying to see your face again his vision had finally become reality - and he had to keep pinching the inside of his palm to remind himself that this in fact, wasn’t a dream at all. He wasn’t dreaming. You were real, and you were standing just a couple yards away.

You felt your chest ache at the sight of him - it had been two years since you heard him speak. And it didn’t seem to matter how long you were apart for, because his voice would always make you weak at the knees. You hated him for making you react the way you did - or was it yourself that your hatred was directed at more?

But then all feelings of resentment and frustration starting to bubble up to the surface suddenly evaporated. You snapped out of your temporary trance and broke into a sprint, running as fast as your legs would carry you and launching yourself towards him, flinging your arms around his neck. “Steve-”

You slumped against him and broke down, your body trembling from your sobs. He pulled you closer against him and circled his arms around your waist. You didn’t know whether you were crying out of frustration or relief - but the feeling that was brought upon you by being held by him was unlike any other - you’d never get tired of it. You felt so safe, so protected in his tight embrace that you didn’t want to think about anything else. You didn’t want to think about the inevitable war on your way, you didn’t want to think about the past nor the future, you just wanted to live in the moment - with your head on his chest, his chin on top of your head. That was it.

Steve felt his heart shatter into a million tiny pieces. You were crying. You never cried. You never cried and now you were breaking down - because of him.

“I missed you,” he mumbled, voice muffled by your hair. “God, I missed you so much. I’m so sorry I left you-”

“It’s okay-” you choked out, “I’m just glad you’re alive-”

You lifted your chin up slightly and he rested his forehead against yours, so close that there were only a few millimeters that kept your lips from touching. That’s when you realized he, too, was crying - tears streaming down his face and you swear there’s literally nothing that could make him look any less handsome. You felt your heart stop momentarily. A strange feeling settled in the pit of your stomach. If it weren’t for his steady gaze, you’re almost 100% sure you would’ve forgotten how to breathe.

Steve let out a shaky sigh of relief, inhaling the fresh scent of roses in your hair. It’s been two years since he was last able to hold you like this - and two years later, he still believes you fit perfectly together and that you were made to be held by him, and him alone.

Then you were overcome with a sudden surge of confidence and quickly cupped his face in your hands and pressed your lips to his, closing the gap.

It was like fireworks were shooting through your veins as he deepened the kiss and pulled you closer - if that was even possible, given that you were practically pressed against one another - your heart racing at what felt like a million miles per hour at the feeling of his warm lips on yours and his hand between your shoulder blades and on the small of your back. He tasted like everything between euphoria and heartbreak, salty tears and berries and warm coffee, and his touch was electrifying.

You probably could’ve gone on like that for hours on end. It was only when you heard someone cough awkwardly that you broke apart, eyes still glassy with tears, your faces flushed, and lips swollen.

“Are you and lover boy gonna keep up the baby-making or are you gonna say hi to the rest of us?” Sam interjected. “Just a friendly reminder that you aren’t the only two people here.”

“You’re gross,” you muttered as Steve released you to go greet the others. “Hey, Sam. It’s been a while, huh.”

“Long time no see,” he agreed.

“Well, well, well, I see you’ve finally worked up the courage to make a move, both of you,” Natasha smirked as she brought you in for a quick hug. “I’m proud of you both.”

“Nat! I missed you.”

“I missed you too. You know, Cap wouldn’t stop rambling about you the entire way here-”

“Shut up, Nat,” Steve cut her off. “I wasn’t rambling.”

“Not rambling my ass,” Bucky muttered, “you were talking my ear off that day we took the Quinjet. Wouldn’t stop worrying about her when she insisted she’d be okay.”

“If there was an Olympic sport of being passionately in love with your best friend and mutually pining over one another for years before finally breaking the through-the-roof tension, I assure you you’d win, Captain,” Shuri grinned mischievously.

“Oh, my God.”

#avengers imagines #steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #avengers x reader #captain america imagine #captain america x reader #marvel fic #avengers fanfiction #captain america one shot #steve rogers fanfiction #captain america fanfiction #steve rogers fic #captain america fic #mcu #chris evans x reader

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bimswritings · 3 years

Text

This Is Our Way-Ch.2

Summary: What happens when you make the mistake of thinking you can steel from a Mandalorian? You land yourself and job and a plethora of adventures and emotion you could never even dream of. The question is; where will those emotions lead.

Warnings: Typical canon violence, NSFW implications and scenes later on

Ch.1

Read on Ao3

Normal Blog Request: Open

“What do you want.” The stranger's voice comes out muffled through the modulator of his helmet. It's deep and raspy, cutting through the air cleanly even though he speaks in little more than a mumble. The voice of a man who’s been hardened by the galaxy, ready to face anything in his way, and it sent shivers down your spine.

“You certainly don’t waste time now, do ya? Well, I can respect that , as I to, am a very busy man.” He smiles, lifting his hand to point directly at him.

“Your armor. Take it off.”

The air itself changes, shifting without anyone even moving. Even from your perch so far above you can feel it, becoming charged to the point it was almost suffocating, sending every nerve on edge.

You always knew Leon was a few brain cells shorter than average, but this? This was beyond stupid! Trying to take away a Mandalorian’s armor was as sure of a death sentence as stealing from the emperor himself.

“I’m going back to my ship. Move, or I’ll make you.”

You perked at his words. He wasn’t looking for you? It was really just by chance that he had wandered through here? If that were the case, then the universe really was against you. Not that you had any doubt about that in the first place.

Leon laughed. “Good one. But seriously. Hand it over.” The other three had been moving while he talked, slowly stalking towards the armor clad man until he was surrounded. If he noticed them he didn’t show any outwards signs of it, remaining still as he stared at the man in front of him.

A moment of silence. Then two.

“Alright then. Your funeral.” He nodded to the others.

All at once they were on him. It was a mess or limbs, arms and legs flying as each man fought for the advantage. It seemed that, by all means, the Mandalorian had it. Within seconds they were all relieved of their weapons, blades and blasters skittering across the alley as the fight continued.

It almost frightened you, the speed and efficiency with which he worked. Anything that happened to get past his defenses simply bounced off his armor.

‘I need to leave.’ You realized with a chill as he landed a particularly hard hit on Corin, a crack coming from his face as he fell to the ground, yet he still got back up, blood now streaming down his chin.

Slowly, you began to edge back. If you were lucky they would all kill each other and you’d have nothing to worry about. With Leon gone there would be no gangs after you, and apparently the Mandalorian had no interest in you. It was a win-win situation. For you at least.

Then, just as you were at the edge to freedom, a cry stopped you in your tracks. It wasn’t the sound of grunts and squeals of pain from fighting. No. This was higher, more surprised than anything. The voice of a child.

Despite your better judgment, you turned back, unable to walk away if there was a chance there was some kid hiding in the shadows who got mixed up in this. That would have been more normal then what you actually saw.

The pod the Mandalorian had been traveling with earlier was now open. Inside of which rested not supplies like you had thought, but a small creature of some sort. Unlike anything you had ever seen, green skin and drooping ears poking out from a small head. Leon stood above it, the fighting taking a momentary pause with his discovery.

Producing his blade, he brought it closer to the small bundle as your heart jumped to your throat.

“No! Don’t hurt him!” The Mandalorian grunted, fighting forward against the grip his current opponents had on him.

Leon only pressed the blade closer, making it cry out more. “Not so fast there. Unless you want to find out what color its blood is, I suggest you cooperate.” The armored man froze, body tense as he raised his hands in surrender. Leon nodded to the others, who produced a pair of magnet cuffs. Kicking him down, they forced arms hands behind his back and restrained him into submission. All the while Leon watched with a sick sense of glee.

It surprised you. Mandalorians were supposed to be ruthless killers who fought simply for the joy of fighting. Yet here he was giving himself over for a child. One that didn’t appear to have any relations to him unless he was hiding quite the set of ears under that helmet.

Once he was sure the Mandalorian was restrained, Leon turned his attention back to the pod.

“I didn’t know you guys liked to keep pets. Thought you liked to do the whole ‘lone wolf’ thing.” He leaned in, examining the creature before picking it up to look closer. The Mandalorian jerked, earning a warning glance.

“Though I have to say, I’ve never seen a creature quite like this one before.” Smirking, he turned back, knife raised. “He’ll make a fine addition to my collection.”

You were never one to get involved, put yourself in danger for someone else's sake, but if there was one thing that threw your carefully honed self preservation skills out the window it was kids. They were innocent. Something to be protected and nurtured. They didn’t deserve any kind of pain, no matter who they were traveling with. Besides, you owed the man one. He had bought you dinner after all.

Hopefully this wasn’t going to hurt as much as you thought it would.

One step forward and gravity took effect, hurtling you towards the ground with more speed than anyone was comfortable with. It did the job though. Everett’s body crumpled beneath you, taking the brunt of the impact as your weight crashed down on top of him. It was still a rough landing, and the air was almost completely knocked from your lungs, making it that much harder to struggle to your feet. The cushion of a man however, did not make a single movement, let alone sound. While he wouldn’t remember what happened, the others sure would, their heads whipping around to face you, a mix of surprise and anger.

Leon was the first to speak up.

“What the fuck was that! You think you can just attack my guys!”

Pushing yourself up, you tried to ignore the throbbing pain as you mustered the best smile you could, sauntering your way over to where he stood. As you passed, you could feel the gaze of the others following you, keenly aware of one specifically as you wondered if he recognized you.

“I was just out, seeing if there were any tipsy troopers I might be able to snag.”

“Never a day of rest for you.” He tilted his chin. “So what warranted this ‘drop in’.”

“Oh, you know. Just saw you from above and thought I might say hello. Though I am surprised.” Finally approaching him, you added a little extra sway to your hips, feeling utterly ridiculous as you did so. Balancing on a crate, you rest your chin on your palm and leaned in just a bit too much. “I never thought you would nab yourself a Mandalorian. I must say, I’m impressed. Maybe I misjudged you.”

It made you almost sick, speaking in such a lustfully sweet tone, but it worked wonders on Leon. His chest expanded like a puffer pig, cocky as he proceeded to brag. The entire time you had to resist rolling your eyes.

He went on talking about nothing but how strong and influential he was, all the things that came with leadership and so on, until you cut him off. Eyes moving towards the creature in his hands. Your true target.

“It would be a real shame to kill that thing. Girls love moving in with guys who have pets.” Batting your eyes, you added a bit of extra charm and stuck your lower lip out in a pout. You had seen some of the escorts in the cantina doing it, and hopefully you were doing it right or you would look like a real idiot.

“Mind if I look at it. It’s pretty cute.”

His eyes widened a fraction at your words, before narrowing back down into little more than slits as a hungry look took over his face. Wordlessly he tossed it over to you, eliciting yet another cry from the bundle while you fumbled to catch it. Seeing it closer now, it was even funnier to look at. Wide eyes stared back, big and watering. It was cute, in an almost ugly way.

‘Asshole.’ You seethed, watching Leon move around you, now fully focused on the man being beaten to the ground by the others. Trying not to winch with each hit, you hoped his armor was as strong as rumored.

“I knew you’d come to your senses soon enough. Just playing a bit hard to get. I can respect the chase though.” He spoke, unaware as you slowly lowered the child back into the pod it had previously resided in. The small creature made a sound of confusion, cocking its head to the side as you fiddled with the buttons on the side, finally finding the right one to close it. One less thing you would have to worry about.

Making sure it was closed, you began moving once again, balancing on the balls of your feet as you approached.

“But now you’ve finally picked the right team.” Leon leveled his blade at the now laying Mandalorians neck, pushing just enough to force his head back.

“Yeah. Unfortunately, I’m not much of a team player.”

Your leg comes up in a swift kick, nailing him between the legs and dropping him to the ground as his mouth opened in a soundless scream. Your other leg rose in quick succession, catching him in the side of the head and knocking him to the ground.

Panting, you turned back towards the remaining two just in time to dodge a jab from Sho. Jumping back you were forced onto the offensive as he followed, swinging his blade in wide arcs. Further and further you were driven, and you could feel yourself quickly losing stamina as your breathing came in short gasp. You were a pickpocket after all. Not being seen was the basis of your skills, and while you knew how to fight it was never your strong suit. Brute force was out of your range.

Regardless, you fought on. Step after step, swing after swing, you evaded. If Sho hadn’t been so young and unseasoned he would have had you already. Unfortunately, he had help. A familiar cry reached your ears, piercing through the adrenaline and drawing your attention.

The child.

Looking past Sho, you could see Corin trying to break into the pod. Its doors were already open slightly, and the metal rod he had wedged between the plates only continued to widen the space.

‘Shit.’

Taking a deep breath, on the next arc of his swipe you pushed forward. Managing to grab a stray pipe as you passed, you grabbed Sho’s arm by the wrist, twisting the knife from it and shoving away. Pivoting around as soon as you were past, you brought the improvised weapon in a wide arc to make contact with a painfully sounding thud.

Not pausing in your momentum you turn to Corin, still occupied with the pod, leaving his back wide open. Two small leaps and you’re there, giving him the same treatment you had Sho, his body falling in a heap.

Panting, you peeked inside to find the creature unharmed, if not a bit scared. Though to be honest you yourself were shaken, the pipe falling from your hands with a clatter. As soon as you got the Mandalorian from his binds you could consider yourself even and leave. You would never have to worry about this again, apart from being extra careful around Leon from now on. He wasn't the type to take too kindly when his pride was hurt.

“Don’t worry bud. Stay there. I’ll go check on-”

A hit from the left, catching you in the temple and blindsiding you. Clenching at the injury, a boot found itself onto your back, forcing you to the ground before toeing you over.

“You. Little. Bitch!” Leon seethed from above. Spinning his blade around, he buried it into your leg, ignoring your cry of pain as you struggled. He repeated the process, striking the flesh again and again until it was little more than a bloody mess. All the while you prayed to the Maker he didn't an artery.

If Leon didn’t kill you now, surely you would die soon. A wound like this on the streets was a death sentence, especially without any medical equipment. If infection didn’t get you then lack of work would.

“Thought you could get the drop on me? Now, instead of sleeping with me, you can sleep in the ground.” His bloodied boot met your torso, earning a small crack and wheeze for his efforts. Trying to crawl away was no use, his other foot pining your wrist to the ground as he leaned over your body. Hand moving lower, your confusion turns to anguish as fingers jab into your body, entering from a wound you must have received in your skirmish with Sho. The adrenaline had kept you from feeling it before, but now? Now you wished you had remained unaware.

“You know,” Leon grunted, his fingers twisting inside and making you gasp as you felt something pull. “I knew I’d be in your guts one day, but I figured it would be a little more enjoyable for both of us.”

You hardly hear him, pain consuming every crevice of your body and invading your mind. It's like everything was burning with an invisible flame and nothing could put it out. Now matter how hard you struggled, how much you cried out for the maker to just end it, to let you die, it continued. It felt as if it was coming from everywhere, replacing the blood in your veins if only to spread more.

Only once in your life had you experienced anything even close to this, and you had barely walked away with your life then. But now…

You were drained. The last of your fight leaving with the blood as you grew colder, movements stilling. It's like you were surrounded in a cloud of cotton, everything muffled and blurry as your senses faded in and out.

Leon must think you dead, as his weight is removed, allowing your struggling lungs to greedily gulp in air. It did nothing to help, only making the burning in your chest worse.

Through hazed vision, you observe the world as it moved in slow motion. Shadows shift and flicker along the edges of your vision, before detaching to loom over you. There’s words being spoken, sounding all the same as they’re repeated again and again. It’s only when a hand ghost your wounds do you react.

A small whimper leaves your lips, begging whoever it is to leave you alone and let you die in peace. To die alone in the middle of an alley, stabbed and left to rot. As is the fate of so many who live here.

Then, in the middle of your suffering, comes warmth.

It starts small, a pebble of comfort really, growing more every second. You briefly wonder if this is what death feels like. If so, then maybe it's not so bad. It reminds you of the warm drinks your mother would bring home after work, warming you from the inside out like liquid sunshine.

It dulled your senses bringing a blissful wave of numbness as hands continued to move across your body.

Then, nothing. ________________

It seemed as if you were bathed in darkness for eternity, endlessly floundering in its inky depth. Like someone's holding your head underwater, keeping you under the surface with ease as you claw back to the surface of consciousness, inch by inch until you can slowly start to feel your body once again.

You're confused and bleary as you wake, body feeling like lead as your greeted with the humming of engines and creaking of metal. As far as you could remember, you hadn’t fallen asleep near the landing base, and ships never landed this close to your crate.

Thinking hurt too much now to worry though, head pounding in protest. It’ll be a problem for you in the future you decide. Right now, you just wanted to sleep off the massive headache. Turning over, a jolt of pain rewards your efforts and your eyes shoot open.

The sight of metal greeted you, though not the type you were used to. This was less rusted, better welded than anything in the area you lived. The blanket currently clutched in your hands was softer than anything you owned as well, and you never had an actual pillow before.

Another shock of pain coursed through you, prompting you to lift your coverings. The sight of stark white bandages greeted you, peeking up from the holes in your shirt and around your bare leg. There was no fabric left on the injured appendage, looking to have been ripped off if the jagged edges were anything to go by. The sight was heartbreaking, being the only pair of pants you owned, now left in less than good condition.

The sight of the bandages does stir something in the back of your mind, fighting the fog in your mind and settling right on the tip of your tongue. Its hazy, a patchwork of events and words. If you could just-

Another jolt shoots through you, bringing back memories alongside the pain. The walk home, seeing the Mandalorian with Leon, trying to help and getting fucked in return. It all comes back in sharp flashes.

That’s right. You were injured. You should have died. Yet here you are, alive.

The question is; where is ‘here’?

You’re resting in a small enclosed space, the only exit being at your feet, which protrude almost comically from the edge. There’s a large number of blankets and a few stuffed animals lying around, working to soften the metal crypt.

There’s no sounds apart from what you heard earlier, though if you listen closely enough you can hear the occasional beeping of machinery and internal components. The silence is of little comfort only making you on edge. If there’s no sound, then someone is purposely trying not to be heard.

Getting out of the small space is more of a challenge than you would think. The wounds make it nearly impossible to move and you have to bite your tongue to keep from crying out as you shift, slowly pulling yourself to the edge and allowing your legs to hang over the side. You nearly collapse when you jump down the remaining three inches to the floor, forcing you to lean on the cold steel of the wall. Air comes in short gasps with your hand clenched over your mouth to muffle any sound. When the pain fades enough to move again you make your way further through the ship, inspecting everything with wide eyes as you go.

You’re definitely on a ship. If the rumbling of the engine earlier hadn’t been enough, the floor under your feet sways and dips every so often, forcing you to use the wall to keep from falling. There’s tools and other miscellaneous items scattered about. Crates with varying degrees of fullness and contents are pushed into corners away from an incredible large amount of storage spaces, and the air reeks of blaster residue, rust, and fuel. There’s something that looks suspiciously like a carbonite chamber on the far wall, making your nerves increase ten fold.

It all had an organized chaos to it, making it near impossible for anyone but the ship's owner to navigate the clusters of items.

As you inspect a panel on the wall more closely, hoping you might gather some information, a small clatter makes you jump. Spinning around, you come face to face with the little monster that got you into this situation.

The green creature coos, speaking a jumble of sounds like he expects you to understand. It steps forward, waddling over in small steps to your frozen form until he’s at your feet. He doesn’t even come up to your knee, though that doesn't make him any less hesitant to latch onto your leg, tugging at the fabric with a surprisingly strong grip.

For once you’re unsure what to do. While you liked children, your experience was limited to those on the streets, giving the occasional tip to avoid them from causing any trouble and attracting attention from the enforcers. They seemed to like you though, and sometimes you swore it was like you had a retractor beam calibrated specifically for them. You tried your best to get them in with one of the better groups around, but that was all you could do for them. You were far from the best example, and there was no way you could look after them yourself.

But wait, he had been traveling with the Mandalorian. So if he was on this ship with you now then that meant…

A thud, louder than all the others. It comes from above. Your eyes drift to the ladder, leading up to the only place on the ship you haven't searched yet.

The cockpit.

You push the kid aside gently before moving closer, ears straining for any more noises. At the bottom you struggle to lift your arm to the bottom rung. Any movement sends a fresh wave of pain from your side, and when you lift your leg to push yourself up it only worsens. You're forced to use the uninjured leg, going up with only one of each limb. It’s slow and painful, only made that much more difficult by the fact you had to remain silent.

It was a slow go, but eventually you made it to the top, head poking above the lip of the entrance to reveal a spacious cockpit. There were three seats arranged in an arrow, but only one was currently occupied with the man you were looking for. His shoulders jutting out from the sides, too wide for the seat to act as a proper back. Light from the passing stars bounced off his helmet almost blindingly in flashes. The rifle strapped to his back was gone, but that didn’t mean he was unarmed. There could be any number of blades and blasters hidden on his person. Though even without weapons he was dangerous.

Imminent death wasn’t what concerned you. After all, you assumed he was the ones who had patched you up and brought you aboard.

As you made your way closer to his turned back, your eyes roamed the area. Being around ships as much as you had, even if they were mainly imperial, there were a couple things you noticed.

Judging from the setup, it must be pre-empire, though it clearly had some modifications added to keep it on par with other ships. Reinforced walls in the upper parts, clearly welded by someone other than a professional, with a narrowed viewing port to give blaster less of a chance to blow out the glass. A sliding door with airlock components lies at the entrance. Not something you would find on a normal transport ship like this, which the large hull told you it was. Squares weren't the most dynamic shape for space travel after all.

Through the narrowed view you can see you’re in hyperspace and it takes you aback for a moment. You had never been beyond the atmosphere of Corellia, even when in the hold of transports. Countless nights you had spent gazing at the sky, trying to see past the clouds to the stars beyond, wishing you could be up there with them, exploring the galaxy and away from this hell hole. Now, it was like your dreams had come true in their own twisted way.

So distracted by the sight, you missed the stray plasma cutter lying on the ground. Your heel caught the edge, making you stumble as it skidded across the floor, the noise early defining after the previous silence. You paused, only a few feet from the Mandalorian now. There was a beat of silence, and you wondered if you had caught him sleeping. Somehow that was almost as terrifying as finding him awake. The fact that he found you so little of a threat that he could sleep without fear of you trying something.

Then, without turning, he spoke, voice sending every fiber of your being on high alert.

“I thought you would have slept longer.”

#the mandalorian #din di #din dijarin #din dijarin x reader #x reader #star wars #star wars x reader #mandalorian x reader #the mandolorian #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #baby yoda #grogu #mando #star wars fanfiction #fanfiction #mandalorian #din x reader

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fabricated-misslieness · 3 years

Text

Peter Parker x gender neutral hero reader

Had the idea out of nowhere, thought it’d be fun

Reader has the ability to resurrect, but have they told anybody? Guess what, no. This technically means that they’d be invulnerable to eternal death by old age, except they’d live dying from old age over and over until the end of time.

Requested: No

Word Count: 1842

Warnings: Major character death, swearing, angst to fluff, sad Peter, promise rings, car crash, atheist Peter and atheist reader, swearing

He thought the 5 stages of grief were false, just a meme to laugh at on the internet. Boy, was he wrong. It was real, all too real.

You'd proven him wrong.

He wished all the ceremonies would be done.

They were overwhelming. He barely had any time to grief before all the events had begun. As a result, he had to bottle up all his feelings. All those speeches he gave in frustration, all those fake smiles he had to give, and all those condolences he had to receive, he wanted it all to be over. When he had the time and everything was over, he finally realized that you were truly gone.

He wished he could have warned you sooner.

“Look out!” His spider-sense had told him before he could warn you. Those were his last words to you. All the pleading, shouting, sobbing.. that’d been done when you were long gone. It was his fault and he would never stop blaming himself for it.

He wished that by some miracle, you’d be with him again.

You didn’t have powers like him, you didn’t have powers, tenacity or years of training like most of the Avengers. You were just you, a teen without a family, with bare strength, flexibility, and the biggest heart he knew. Perhaps in another timeline, you’d never become a hero. You’d just be his lover, supportive and loving and caring and all that. He would do anything, kill, betray, massacre, if it meant having you back. Maybe it was selfish, maybe it was irrational, but he wanted you to be here, with him.

He wished you’d never left him.

But Peter can’t control life and death, the same way he couldn’t control your actions. You were gone. Nobody could change that and nobody would. He should stop visiting that sapling.. or maybe he should go more frequently. It made him cry more but… maybe that was the way to let you go.

He wished to live forever.

To visit that tree every single day until he died, to see it grow the size of a Coast Redwood, because he knew you were strong enough for that. To live for you, to continue going for you. You’d want that. You’d wanted kids, you’d wanted marriage, you wanted to die of old age with him, you wanted to do so much with him. If he couldn’t do most of those things, at least he could do one. At least he could live like you wanted him to.

Ned, Tony, the Avengers, they were like family to him. They, along with aunt May, had helped Peter come to terms with you. They'd been with him through and through, just like you had once.

Which is why he started all over again when he saw you.

“Hey Peter.” Soft-spoken words in the same gentle voice he’d learned to love. Yet, why was he hearing this again? For a second, he contemplated this, thinking about all the possibilities. This could be a new person with the same voice, he could be hallucinating, which makes ‘I can still hear their voice’ true; this could be some sort of recording… this could be you.

He whips around, almost too fast, to see you, in the flesh. This couldn’t be. You’d died, for god’s sake, you’d died! He saw your lifeless corpse. He was there at your funeral, he looked into your casket at the reception, you were there. So why the fuck are you here now?

“Who-” Peter chokes back a sob. He can feel the tears prick his eyes; he thought he’d ran out of shit to cry out, yet his body finds a way to defy him. “Who the fuck are you?” He has a right to be confused, and to feel threatened. He’s a teenager with superpowers who’d witnessed his partner’s death, and then suddenly he’s back in front of him as if nothing had happened. For all he knew, this could be a new supervillain with transformation powers. Loki and other mutants proved that anything could be possible.

"I know you're confused, and probably scared, but…" You step forward slowly, arms cautiously reaching out to your love. Peter slaps your hand away, but you understand why.

"No shit!" Peter shouts, backing away from you and towards his web shooters. Whoever you were, supervillain or not, you definitely knew about his powers. He could climb up the wall and get to safety. Though everything in him was fighting against his logic and longing to hear you speak and explain.

"I'm not here to hurt you," You step back, remembering just how shitty that phrase is. It's also a phrase a villain would use, and Peter knows that perfectly well. "I'm sorry about that. I don't mean it like a supervillain." It really felt like that was you, but he couldn't trust you until he was sure. "Peter, I'm your lover. I'm (y/n)."

Peter almost runs into your arms but he fights to stop himself. "How do I know that's you?" He shouts. The thin walls would alert neighbors, but he didn't care.

At one point, he'd begged and pleaded for you to come back. Now you were in front of him, and he hadn't done anything for this to happen; he was sure it wasn't those gods he prayed to, as an atheist.

"You can't." You mutter under your breath, hoping he doesn't catch it. You hadn't thought this through enough. You fiddled with your hands, pacing back and forth. Unbeknownst to you, you were scaring Peter. The pacing had made you look insane. Then, you got a thought. The promise rings you'd gotten each other like the cheesy naive teens you were. They were unique, custom-made, courtesy of Tony, and you were buried with yours. "Peter."

"I was buried with this. There's no other like it." You hold up your hand, showing him the ring. "Hell, I was buried in these!" You gesture towards yourself.

Tears stream down Peter's face as he scrambles for his ring. He'd left his in his nightstand drawer while he cried all those nights. The engravings had scratched against his skin as he wiped his cheeks. He grabs it out of the mess of the drawer, the sight of it causing the tears to start rolling in bigger, hotter droplets.

"(y/n)!" Peter cried out. The promise ring was enough to prove you were… you. Plus, you looked sincere.

"Sweetheart." You sigh out of relief. Peter rushes over to you, wrapping his arms around you in a concerningly weak hug. He buries his head into your chest. You kiss him his hair multiple times to reassure him. "I love you, I'd never leave you."

"But you did!" Peter sobs, further staining your burial clothes. You didn't particularly like them or anything. Peter knew that, but your family was in charge of it.

"I know I did, I'm sorry." You cup Peter's cheeks and pull him to look up at you. The sight of his face, puffy and teary-eyed, it made you feel bad because you were the cause of it. "How about we sit down and I explain?"

He nods, pulling you over to the bed.

"You need anything? Water or..?" He shakes his head.

You sit on the bed, but Peter pushes you to lay down. He snuggles into your side, still sniffling but doing better. "Well, where do I start?"

You run a hand through Peter's hair as you think. "For starters, I can resurrect."

"What the fuck."

"I know, totally weird. I figured out when I got into a car crash. I was pronounced dead on the hospital bed, but when they came back to move the body, I was suddenly alive again. Nobody had an explanation, since they tried with a defibrillator earlier and it hadn't worked." Peter reaches for your hand. "They called it a miracle, some work of god. It sounded like bullshit so I never believed it. There was never really a second time until now, which proved my ongoing theory."

"That's… rough." He really didn’t have anything to say.

"That's rough, buddy." You quoted, to which Peter laughed.

For a moment, you sit in silence. Neither of you know what to say or even if you shouldn't talk. Maybe you should get up or maybe you should stay. Peter speaks up, ending both of your insecurities.

“So.. you’re alive. Does that mean we’ll get our happy ending? Get married… maybe have kids?” He looks up at you with pleading eyes, even if he knows you agree. You got these promise rings and you’d talked about your happy ending a whole lot. Should you be thinking that far ahead? Whenever you thought about the future, all you saw was Peter as your husband.

“Everything we’ve talked about. Yes.” You sit up a bit, which confuses Peter for a second until you pull him onto your lap and pepper kisses all over his face. It’s something you commonly do when talking about stuff like that.

“I missed this.” Peter mumbled. “But I do have one question, well, maybe a couple.”

“Ask away.”

“You were buried with the ring, so what happened with the grave?” You grimace, which makes Peter giggle in anticipation for the obviously chaotic story you’re about to tell.

“I dunno what happened, but it exploded. When I woke up the casket was broken and the dirt above it was scattered everywhere. Might have messed up other graves, hopefully the dead don’t come after me.” Speaking of which, you rub a little dirt smudge off your ring.

“Did it happen at the hospital, too?”

“No.” You shake your head, gazing off as you think about it. “Maybe it’s my powers looking after me. After all, I wouldn’t love being buried alive.”

Peter winces at the thought. “Right. Wouldn’t your powers mean that you’re immortal?”

“Yeah…” You frown, pressing a kiss on Peter’s nose to reassure the both of you, maybe more for yourself. “I would be, and I’d be very lonely too. Damn, never thought about that.”

Peter pulls your hand up to his lips to kiss your ring. “Then live for me, just as I did for like a week.”

“A week? It’s been that long?” You scratch your head. “It was a few hours at the hospital. Maybe it’s cause of how brutal that dude beat me.” You shiver, remembering the pain you’d felt right before your death. “Has it made the news?”

“Yea. It’s like a movie now.” Peter laughs. “Fighting crime while the criminals think you’re a ghost. Wait.. wouldn’t that mean you’d have to hide your identity? I’d be alone with school, nobody to defend me from flash? Man, that’d suck.”

“Unfortunately. Although the crime fighting part is fun, the rest would be awful. Well, I could get a new identity. That cool haircut I’ve always wanted, a new cool name like… I don’t know, Remy?”

Peter laughs loudly, “Remy is not a cool name!”

“Hey, don’t hate on the Ratatouille rat.”

#swearshirt #peter parker x reader #spider-man x reader #mcu x reader #marvel x reader #angst #angst fic

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hanniiesuckle17 · 4 years

Text

Pros and Cons

A/n: im sorry it took so long for me to do this bb! This is for @poeticallyspaghetti you've done so much for me lately. you were there for me when no one else was. I love you and I hope you like this! I also can’t wait for our collab together

Look out for Checkmate on both of our accounts!

(not thoroughly edited)

Member: Bangchan ft. 3RACHA, Jae & Dowoon of Day6

Word Count: 20.2k

Warnings: POV switching, censored cursing, mentions of theft, slight violence, mentions of the mob, sensual themes?

Summary: Y/n L/n has lived her whole life locked up in a fancy penthouse. Chan has spent his whole life living one adventure from the next. When fate brings them together by accident Chan takes on the task of whisking her away from her seemingly perfect life, but little do the both of them know bigger problems arise forcing them on the run.

Genre: Con-artist au!, romance, scammer!au, Non-idol!au, comedy, a little bit of angst?

♛

Y/n’s POV

The sound of violins floated across the grand foyer of my parents' penthouse. Well...my penthouse. Really, the presidential suite of the nicest hotel in Seoul. The older I got the more the luxurious mansion in the sky seemed like a prison instead of a palace. Once again my mother was throwing one of her high society parties. The parties were one of the few chances I got to actually interact with the outside world. My parents were convinced that I was some delicate flower that needed protection and isolation.

The closest I got to the outside world was the balcony in my room.

A man over half my age was talking to me about the stocks my father held in one of the many corporate companies in Seoul. “So, it would mean a great deal to our organization if you could pass the word along to your father.” I nodded and downed the rest of my champagne. Now would have been a great time for friends to come in handy. But, there was no one but myself to save me from this dreadfully boring situation.

“Excuse me, sir,”

The man nodded graciously and let me walk away, my heels clicking across the polished wood floors. A hand grabbed my elbow, yanking me in the opposite direction my feet were moving. “Y/n would you be a dear and go talk to the Minister of Education’s daughter.” My mother’s voice nagged in my ear. Her smile was basically permanently plastered on her painted face. “The two of you would be terrific friends. Also, your father needs more pull in the Cabinet.”

My eyebrow rose as I looked across the room to the Minister’s daughter. “Mother she is eight.”

“Yes and?”

“Can’t I have friends my own age?”

“Yes. When both your father and I are dead. We can’t have you hanging around boys and other bad influences. You could ruin your father’s reputation.” She then took my wrist and spun me around taking in every single inch and fiber of my being. “Darling, who dressed you? You look thoroughly underwhelming.” I rolled my eyes as she started unlatching the heavy and bling filled diamond necklace from her neck.

“Mom-”

“Don’t fuss. Photographers are here tonight.”

My chest instantly gained a little under a pound as the close to twenty-thousand dollar necklace was clasped onto my neck by my controlling mother. After it was safely secured on my neck, my mother pushed me in the direction of the little eight-year-old girl snacking on hour devours. “Hi, you’re Jisoo- right?”

I sighed and prepared to sit next to this tiny little girl for the rest of the evening.

♛

Bang Chan’s POV

Several shouts could be heard behind me as I raced down the hall of the hotel. I can’t believe some people live here permanently. My fingers hurriedly started unbuttoning the black button-down I used to pass off as a waiter. The staff's hall was practically empty as I walked through and tossed the button down onto a laundry cart. I shivered feeling the cold air on my arms.

My hands latched onto the black backpack I stashed behind a potted plant. I pulled out my flannel and threw it on over my tank top. “There he is!” A quick glance behind me showed three overly buff goons chasing after me. Maybe swiping that dude’s watch was not the best idea. But this was easily like $3,000. He didn’t need it given what I heard the waiter saying his meal cost. “You won’t get away with this!”

“Yeah, that’s what you think,” I whispered, shoving the watch in my pocket. Maybe I should stick to cons and leave the pickpocketing to Jisung. The one time I try and pickpocket I get caught. My pace quickly turned into a run and burst through the nearest door.

Smells of gourmet food flooded my senses as I weaved through the kitchen. “Where is he?” I pushed passed another waiter, shoving the backpack over my shoulder. Please tell me there is a back door somewhere. My eyes frantically searched for an escape.

“Ha! Score!”

An old dumbwaiter came into my sights. Most hotels had them but didn’t use the mechanisms anymore. I opened the door and climbed in slamming the up button before closing myself inside. It was close to one a.m so hopefully, the guest in whatever room I ended up in was asleep.

♛

Y/n’s POV

The party was wrapping up as I trudged down the hall. I had spent the past several hours talking about cartoons and other childlike things with Jisoo. The sound of mt parents talking with some final guests could be heard behind me. A random staff from the hotel walked passed me as my feet carried me down the hall. The hotel usually lent staff to help with our parties.

My tired body pushed the door to my room open to be greeted by the dark and looming space. Moonlight streamed through the patio door that led to my balcony. I kicked off the painful heels my mother forced me into and took out the tight pins and tie in my hair, walking over to the mirror. My hands shook out the tightness and threaded through my H/c strands.

A large thump had me turning to the far wall. My eyes searched the dark in panic. Blindly, my hands grabbed for an object behind me on my bureau. I looked to see a lamp in my grasp. Well, better than nothing.

“Hello.....who’s there?”

My eyes picked up on a dark shadow standing up from the floor. My heart pounded against my chest. the shadowy figure hulked on the other side of my room, clearly looking around. “The f***?”

“Who are you? Stay where you are.” The head turned at my words. I tried to steady my hands and voice; both were shaking. The figure inched closer and I raised the lamp over my head.

“Oh sh**!”

The figure made a break for the window and I tossed the lamp. The sound of it crashing against the wall filled the room. I grabbed a heavy candle on my dresser. My eyes searched the dark for his movement but the string of panicked curse words gave away the intruder.

“SUCK ON A EUCALYPTUS MINT CANDLE, YOU THIEF!!”

I heard a loud thud and the room was quiet. There was no movement. Inching forward I saw the body of a boy about my age slumped on the floor. The candle lay about a foot away from his head, the glass cracked. Cautiously, I nudged his shoulder with my foot. When he didn’t stir I started to panic.

“Oh crap. I killed a guy. Now, mom’s never gonna let me leave the penthouse.”

A knock on my door sent me jumping out of my skin. “Y/n? Y/n. Open this door. We heard a crash. Is everything okay? Y/n, open this door.” Smoothing down my hair, I rushed to the door and opened it enough to stick my face out. She studied my face and tried to look passed me. “Y/n, what the hell is going on? You should be going to sleep soon.”

“I’m fine, mom. I just tripped and knocked over a lamp.”

She rose a brow and folded her arms. “Really? It sounded like more than that.”

I kept my grip firm on the door, knowing she might try to push through. “Yeah. I’ll leave it for Soonyoung to clean up in the morning. I’m gonna shower and go to bed. Night Mother.” Before she could say anything else I slammed the door and locked it.

Okay. Dead body. In my room. What the heck do I do? Who do I call? I pulled out my phone and opened my contact list. Empty. Okay, so I’m on my own. I paced the floor, staring at the boys with shaggy brown hair. On instinct, I lightly kicked his stomach and he let out a groan.

Okay, not dead. Good. Not dead. Bad for me. I dragged the chair from my vanity to the middle of the room and grabbed some pantyhose and scarves from my closet. It took all of my might to lift up the heavy boy into the chair. “Good grief. How much does this guy weigh?”

With a final grunt, I threw him into the chair and started tying him up with the sheer tights. When I was finished I stuffed a scarf in his mouth and looked at my work. “Who is the fragile one now, huh Dad?” I said, hands on my hips. Another soft groan had me jumping across the room and grabbing the heaviest book near me.

There was no way I could just leave him here. There was also no way I was sleeping in this room tonight. So instead I grabbed a fluffy bean bag and dragged it in front of the chair. I was going to sit and watch this dummy intruder all night. Or....until he woke up.

♛

The sound of a muffled grunt sent me shooting out of the chair. I had fallen asleep while watching the thief. I readied my weapon: The Complete and Full Works of William Shakespeare. I had hurt many a toe dropping this thing.

The boy was looking around wildly before his dark eyes focused on me. “Who are you?” I asked, the heavy book ready to swing. He sighed and nodded his head before I realized what he was referring to. “Oh...sorry.” He sighed when I took the scarf out of his mouth and stretched his neck.

“I’m Chris.” He replied in English. “Do you speak English?” He asked adjusting in his bonds. I scoffed and kept my Shakespeare weapon at the ready.

“Yes, I do. But, you speak Korean. I heard you last night. Don’t play with me.”

He sighed and hung his head. When he looked up I saw his stare flash to my neck. His eyes turned to saucers before coming back to my face. “Alright, alright. What do you want to know?” The boy, Chris, answered back in Korean. Slowly, I lowered the book and sat down on the bean bag.

“How did you get into my room?”

“I climbed in the dumbwaiter and got off on a random floor.”

“Why were you in the dumbwaiter?”

Chris looked around my room before turning back to me. “Would you believe me if I told you I had a crazy ex-girlfriend. I’m sure you’ve got a crazy ex or two. I’d do anything to get away from her.” He shrugged his shoulders and plastered on a smile. The kind I had seen all the boys wear in movies. The kind that made your knees go weak.

“Really? An ex?”

“Yeah.” I watched him gulp and look down at my necklace.

“Is there something wrong?” He shook his head and looked away, squinting.

“No. It’s just the sun is bouncing off the rocks on your neck. You trying to blind me or something?” I glanced down at the necklace my mom gave me last night. Then I turned to find the sun rising up above the Seoul skyline.

“Yeah well....deal with it. You broke into my room.”

“By accident! Look, I’ll be happily on my way if you would let me go. What is this- underwear?” He said struggling against his DIY restraints.

“Pantyhose.”

My parents would be up soon. My father would be going into the office and my mother would be attending numerous social events to further my father’s reach in the political parties. Or shopping it was a 50/50. “What are you? Sixty?” I scoffed and shoved the scarf back in his mouth. “MMmrrpphphh.”

“Yeah, no wisecracks now, huh?”

“NRRgghhrrgggg!”

“You gonna behave, pretty boy?”

“.....Mmpph.”

Smirking I grabbed the scarf from his mouth and tossed it onto the bean bag. Chris shot me an annoyed glare. “So, let’s say I believe this whole ex-girlfriend thing. There’s no way I can sneak you passed my parents. Even if they both left early the staff is coming up to clean. We had a sort of gala in honor of my father last night.” I started pacing the floor, the sunrise leaking into my room.

“Oh, a ‘sort of gala’. Unlike a full f***ing gala. Those are for royalty.” Chris mocked in a British accent.

“Shut up.”

He watched me pace the room and nervously tug at my messy hair. He sighed and hung his head, his chest resting against the tight make-shift bonds. “Look. As long as your parents leave, I’m sure I can make something up with the staff. Then we can go our separate ways and you can go back to shopping in Gangnam or whatever it is girls like you do.”

“I’ve never really been out of the penthouse...so I wouldn’t know what girls like me do.” He blinked at my response.

“You’ve never left? That’s insane.”

“You haven’t met my parents.”

“I don’t think I want to.” I saw his eyes flick back to the necklace and an idea popped in my head. My fingers dragged across the diamonds and I tried not to break a smile when his eyes widened ever so slightly.

“You like this don’t you?”

“I mean,” He shrugged, pursing his lips and looking out the huge door that led to my balcony. “It’s not bad. I’ve seen better.” I smirked and gently played with the necklace causing him to glance between me and the window.

“Oh...I would agree. $20,000 is basically trash. Chump change really. They could have ripped me off for fake diamonds.” Chris’s eyes bugged out of his head.

“$20,000?!”

I rushed to cover his mouth, looking to the door. “Shhh! My mother is a light sleeper.” After waiting a few moments I brought my hand away from his mouth. His eyes couldn’t help but bulge out at the payday sitting inches away from him around my neck. And I knew it.

My fingers undid the clasp behind my neck and I dangled the necklace in front of his face. It was like dangling a carrot in front of a mule. The diamonds swung back and forth slightly, his eyes tracking every move.

“You want it?”

All he did was gulp and look back up at me. He let out a heavy breath when I backed away still holding up the necklace. “What’s the catch?” He asked, still eyeing the diamonds.

“Take me with you. Get me out of here.”

“Won’t your parents notice your gone.”

“My mother will miss these diamonds before she’ll miss me. And she won’t even notice they’re gone until tomorrow. She’s got tons of these.”

Chris seemed to be thinking about the deal. I was finally getting my hopes up. I could maybe start a new life. Earn my own way. Have friends. Have freedom. “Okay, are we talking like get you out for the day...or...’get you out’?”

“I can’t stand being here anymore. Get me out. I can always come back if I want to.”

Chan’s eyes followed the bling as I swung it back and forth. “Deal. Untie me.” I dropped the necklace on my dresser and untied Chris from the chair. I saw him make a break for the dresser, but I beat him there, grabbing the necklace. “Hey! Deal is a deal!”

“You haven’t gotten me out of here yet. You aren’t getting this necklace until you completely finish the job. If you know what I mean. And I think you do.” Chan sighed and crossed his arms.

“So you didn’t believe the girlfriend story?”

“Not for one second.”

“Da**.”

“Sorry, pretty boy.”

He backed away from me and shrugged. “Okay, princess. Change out of that freakshow dress and get ready to leave. I’m gonna show you what the world really looks like.” A huge grin overtook my face.

♛

A few hours later I slipped out of my room and stuffed a backpack behind a plant near the door. First I had to sneak Chris passed the staff, then I was one step closer to freedom. Quietly, I snuck back into the room where Chris was lounging on my bed.

“I still don’t know why you want to leave. This thing is the softest blanket I’ve ever felt.”

I scoffed and started grabbing a pair of jeans from my dresser. “Yeah. I would trade freedom for those blankets and everything else in a heartbeat.” Chris sighed and started rummaging through my drawers. Probably looking for more stuff to steal or at least clues about my personality.

“Is it really that bad?” I nodded and grabbed my favorite shirt and a jacket from my closet. After closing the bathroom door I started to change. “They don’t let you have any friends?”Chris called through the door.

“I mean, Dowoon and Jae. But, they work for my father. Jae has always been...nice to me. But, my father hardly ever leaves them alone with me.”

A smile twitched on my lips thinking about Jae. He had been working for my father as a PA for almost five years. I had always had a big crush on him, but I could never know if he liked me back. He was always a stickler for my dad’s rules.

“You ready?” Chris asked as I exited the bathroom fully changed. With a nod, the two of us headed towards my bedroom door. Cracking it open I verified that the hallway was clear. “Okay let’s blow this popsicle stand,” Chris said as I motioned for him to follow.

The staff seemed to be minding their own business in other rooms of the penthouse. Chris carefully followed me into the living room, quietly marveling at the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. My ears picked up on the front door opening. “Get down!” I whispered.

“Where am I supposed to hide? Everything is out in the open?”

“I don’t know just get down!”

Finally, I shoved him behind a white couch and sat on the arm just as a pair of leather shoes rounded the corner. A nervous smile graced my lips seeing who it was. “Y/n? What are you doing out here?” Jae asked. He looked insanely good standing in the pressed black Italian suit. It hugged his lean figure in all the right ways.

“Uhhhh, Jae? I..uuh-..wanted some air?” I said the first thing that came to mind, instantly regretting it. I heard a groan come from Chris so I carefully kicked my leg behind me to keep him quiet.

“Miss, you have a balcony...”

“Yeah well, the air in here is better than in my room?” Come on Jae, just buy it.

“Miss, the hallway air is exactly the same as the purified ultraviolet filtered air in your suite. Is the filter broken? Should I check on it?”

He started advancing towards me but I pressed my hands against his chest stopping him from moving past the couch. My eye darted over to Chan who was quietly watching the whole scene from his hiding spot. “Uh..no! Umm....I just...heard you come in and....wanted to see you...”

My voice trailed off at the last part and I looked up to see a light dust on Jae’s cheeks. “You wanted to see...me?” Jae’s voice was soft and he chuckled before looking around the room. I saw a thought flash through his mind before he backed away running a hand through his blonde hair. “Well- uh...your father forgot some papers for a deal with China and asked me to come get them.”

I nodded and shoved my hands in my pockets. This was usually how most encounters with Jae went. Hopefully, he didn’t suspect anything. “Oh...okay. Do you know if he’s gonna be home for dinner.”

Jae shrugged and gave me a smile that screamed pity. “Sorry, I don’t know.” Jae turned around and headed for my father’s office. A few minutes later he came back out a file in hand as well as a briefcase. Jae gave me another smile sending heat to my cheeks and butterflies to my stomach as he existed the penthouse.

The second the front door closed, Chris shot up from his hiding place. “So....you like that guy or something?” He said dusting himself off. I shrugged and stood back up. A hand to my cheek told me my skin was still hot.

“Oh...that was just Jae. I told you about him earlier.”

“Jae......?”

“Yes, Jae.” I couldn’t help the smile on my face when I said his name. Chris scoffed behind me as I grabbed the backpack I stashed. I glanced back as the two of us walked out the front door and into the hall. “What’s with the attitude?”

“Nothing. It’s just I thought you would have better taste.”

“What?”

“Please. He’s just some pretty boy with skinny chicken legs in a nice suit,” Chris took the lead, as we approached the elevator. He pressed the button for the basement and turned back to me with a smirk. “No muscle on him at all.”

“Okay, pretty boy. Whatever you say.” Before Chris could make a retort the elevator doors opened and we entered, leaving him fuming. We rode the first two floors in silence. Then Chris opened his mouth.

“You know your little boyfriend was packin’ right?” My eyes went wide and I felt another blush rise to my cheeks. I tried to keep my stare forward. Chris chuckled at my expression.

“He’s not my.....-what do you mean- HOW WOULD YOU KNOW, YOU PERVERT?”

Chan smirked and rolled his eyes. “No. I mean, your little chicken boy- he had a gun on him. I don’t know any personal assistant who carries that’s all.” Jae had a gun? He was with my father twenty-four seven. Maybe Dad wanted extra protection?

“So, why are we going to the basement?” I asked changing the subject.

Chris handed me a black cap from his bag. “We can’t just go out the lobby doors. Your a chaebol’s daughter. We’re gonna go out the loading dock. I’ve got some friends Itaewon that can maybe help you out.” Nodding, I put the hat on and sighed when I had to tighten it. Before the door opened Chris shoved the brim down over my face and threw an arm over my shoulder. “Pretend to talk about something that pissed you off.”

The doors opened and a couple of busboys stood in front of us. They looked the both of us up and down and then up to me when I started to speak to Chris. “So, this random girl jumps in front of me and steals my cab. Like who the hell does that? I was already late for work and I literally heard her tell the guy to take her uptown. No one works uptown!” Chris smirked and pulled me closer as we walked past the busboys.

“That sucks, babe.”

“I know! I was fired for being late. That freaking hag in 705 reported me for being late to clean!” Chris glanced back and then dropped his arm from my shoulder. “Good job, princess. Let’s bounce. The train for Itaewon leaves in fifteen minutes.”

“Isn’t Itaewon....”

“Yeah. Don’t worry you’ll love it. Jisung does anyway.”

♛

Bang Chan’s POV

Y/n sat next to me, backpack in her lap. The boys were probably chilling at my place waiting for me so I knew where I could find them. The train doors opened and I motioned for Y/n to get off. She followed me out into the streets of Itaewon. A couple girls at the station called out to me and even to Y/n. She smiled at them, but I pulled her to my side.

“Don’t talk to them.”

“What, why? I was just being nice.”

“Just keep walking and stay close to me. You’re practically a walking dollar sign.” She shrugged and walked closer to me. No way was I gonna let someone else scam my prize. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Y/n pull out her phone. She called out when I grabbed it.

“Hey, give that back!”

“We’ve gotta scrap it. Parents like yours are bound to have put a tracker on this.” She quieted and let me search through her phone. Sure enough, a quick search through it showed a program embedded into the software. It would take way too long to remove it. My eyes scanned the street we were on and landed on a pair of girls on the street corner.

Y/n followed me as I walked towards them. “Hey!” Their heads turned and they stood up a little straighter. Their painted lips turned upwards into a smile. “You girls work for Yeji?” One girl nodded and crossed her arms. “Tell her I said hi. Also, here take this. Give it to one of her rookies.”

“And who should I say sent the message,” the girl with pink hair inquired, twirling a strand around her finger. The other pocketed the phone.

“Tell her Bangchan sent it.” The girl nodded and motioned the girl in the opposite direction. “Okay, princess let’s go.” Taking her arm I led her towards the burrows of Itaewon.

“Who were those girls?” Y/n asked. I ran a hand through my hair as we walked through the streets. I was hoping Y/n didn’t look too out of place. Hopefully, Changbin would have some clothes that might fit her. He was small enough.

“Well let’s just say Yeji provides girls to people seeking private entertainment.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. That’ll be fun for your mom to find.” I heard Y/n laugh behind me. “You think that’s funny?” I asked confused. She shrugged and looked around her. She seemed fascinated by everything around her. It was almost endearing.

“I think anyone would think that’s funny.”

“Jisung is gonna looooove you.”

A few blocks later we stood in front of a two-story brick building with trees that hid most of the house, and what wasn’t hidden was fenced in by a wall. “You’re a pretty private person, aren’t you.”

“Yeah. Congratulations you are officially the fourth person to know this location.”

I opened the gate door and closed it behind us before walking up to my front door. My fingers quickly entered the key code and the security system beeped letting me know the door unlocked. “DADDY’S HOOOMMMEEE!” Someone screamed inside.

“Who the heck is that?”

“That’s Jisung. Try not to touch him. He may or may not have fleas.”

She chuckled and walked through the door. Jisung lounged across my couch and raised his arms when he saw me. “Chan! Channie! What’s up, dude? Where have you been?” I threw my backpack on the couch and motioned to Y/n behind me.

“Got a little held up.” Jisung’s eyes went wide as Y/n rounded the corner. He stood up and brushed off what seemed to be Cheeto dust from his jeans.

“Hyung, who’s the chick with the great ass?”

Jisung started walking towards her but I grabbed the back of his collar pulling him back in front of me. “She’s a payday.” His eyes widened and that mischievous grin lit up his eyes.

“SHE’S GOT CAKE AND CASH!”

“Shhhhh!”

“My type of woman.”

I rolled my eyes as Jisung continued to ogle Y/n’s backside as she looked around. “Where’s Bin?” Jisung shrugged, his focus still on Y/n. “Hey! Can you not? Look she’s got a huge payday and I might split it with you.” That perked his attention.

“50/50?”

“Try 90/10.”

“60/40?”

“80/20.”

“85/15!”

I paused. “Yeah sure. I’ll split it 85/15. You drive a hard bargain.” Jisung laughed and shook my hand. His blonde hair bounced as he went over to Y/n. I climbed the stairs in search of Changbin. “Yo, Bin! You up here? I’ve got a favor I need.”

Changbin was indeed upstairs. He was hidden behind multiple computers, typing away at lightspeed. The office door was open allowing me to see him. At my voice, he peeked out from behind the monitors and then returned behind his technological shields. “Chan I’ve done enough favors for you. Remember Gangnam?”

“Yes. I do. And that was very generous of you to help.

“No ‘ands’. No more favors.”

“1,000 bucks?”

“Sold. What am I doing?”

I laughed and sat at the edge of the desk. “YO, JISUNG! GET UP HERE!” Changbin shook his head and continued working on his previous project while Jisung took his sweet time climbing the stairs.”Can you find someone just off a first name?” I asked Bin, as Jisung walked in.

“I can find someone off the first letter of a nickname.”

“Search for ‘Y/n’.” I turned to Jisung. “So, what did she tell you?” He shrugged and picked up a random half made device on the desk.

“Put it back,” Changbin said without looking away from the screen.

“Not much. She just told me you were helping her get away from her parents.” Jisung drummed his fingers on his thigh. The boy had enough energy to power half of Seoul. “So how big are we talking about?” Jisung questioned, his tongue swiping over his bottom lip.

“Found her,” Changbin said, leaning back in his chair. “This better not be your favor.”

“Already?”

“Her name popped up in a google search along with a picture.” Jisung and I both moved to peer over Changbin’s shoulder. He was right. The screen showed a picture of Y/n in a very nice dress standing next to a very powerful looking man. A man I recognized. My eyes widened as I saw her full name listed under the photo. Y/n L/n.

“Oh, f***...”

“What? She's loaded.” Jisung said next to me. He took the mouse and clicked on images. He scrolled through all the photos of her at high society parties. “Da**. She is one hot chick.”

“No, idiot. Look at her dad.” Turning I saw Jisung’s face pale.

“Dude, we are so f***ing dead.”

♛

*Later That Same Night*

Jae’s POV

I stood hands clasped in front of me as I stood off to the side in the L/n dining room. Dowoon stood next to me. We listened to the soft clink of silverware against china as Mr. L/n and Mrs. L/n ate their dinner. “Have you seen Y/n today, honey?” Mr. L/n asked his wife.

She shrugged and continued to daintily eat her food. If I knew anything about her she would be throwing it back up within the next two hours. She was obsessed with image. It made me sick how she always had to control everything. Even Y/n.

“No. I haven’t. I was out all day. She’s probably still sulking in her room like always.” I tried to hide the frown on my face, but Mr. L/n saw it.

“Jae. Have you seen my daughter?”

I cleared my throat and glanced at Dowoon. “Yes sir. I saw Y/n-Miss Y/n earlier this morning. She seemed a little off-put.” Mr. L/n sighed and rubbed his temples.

“Dowoon, please go check on my daughter. I’d like to speak to her.”

Dowoon nodded and bowed to both the lady and the boss. Without a word he left the dining room and headed down the hall to Y/n’s room. I drummed my fingers against my hand. I hoped Y/n was feeling better. She was acting a little weird this morning. I blushed thinking about what she said to me.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder I turned to see a nervous Dowoon. He leaned in to whisper to me. “Uh, hyung...she didn’t answer the door. I knocked like four times. What do I do?”

“She must still be upset or something. I’ll check on her.”

Dowoon nodded and went back to his place watching over Mr. and Mrs. L/n. I walked across the penthouse to Y/n’s room and sighed when I saw the lights off from under the door. Gently, I wrapped my knuckles on the door and waited to hear her voice. When I didn’t, I called out for her.

“Y/n?”

No response.

“Hey, Y/n? It’s Jae. You wanna talk?”

Nothing. Again I knocked.

“Y/n? You okay, beautiful?”

There was no response. Something was wrong. “Hey, Y/n, I’m coming in.” My hand found the doorknob and turned. I was surprised to find it unlocked. My eyes quickly adjusted to the low light in the room.

“Oh sh**.”

The room was empty. She was gone. “Y/n? Please tell me your hiding somewhere, beautiful.” I started searching the room. Under the bed. In the closet (Some of her clothes were missing, but the staff did laundry today). In the bathroom. On the balcony. Then I saw it. The dumbwaiter. It was open. My heart started racing, panic starting to set in.

“Jae is everything okay-”

I turned to find Dowoon standing slack-jawed in the doorway. “She’s gone.” I rubbed the back of my neck. Mr. L/n was gonna kill me. Literally. It wasn’t official, but not only was I in charge of his safety and affairs but also Y/n’s. I can’t believe I didn’t check on her when we got back to the penthouse. This was all my fault.

“What’s that?” Dowoon pointed to the center of the room. I walked over and picked up a cheap pair of headphones from the floor. These weren’t Y/n’s. “Those aren’t hers, right? We’ve gotta tell the boss.”

I nodded, pocketing the headphones and leading my partner back into the dining room. Nervously, I walked up to Mr. L/n and whispered in his ear. “Sir.....we...can’t find her. She’s missing.” I winced, waiting for the storm.

His face reddened and he slammed down his silverware and stood up abruptly, startling the whole room. “Jae. Dowoon. My office. NOW!” Mr. L/n stormed into his study, not waiting for us to follow, which we did. Quickly.

I closed the door after us, knowing exactly what was to be discussed. As I turned around a large hand flew across my cheek, causing me to stumble into a bookcase. I touched my cheek, feeling blood. Mr. L/n adjusted his cuffs, a furious expression on his face. His ring had sliced my cheek.

He came back with a second blow. Dowoon watched, hiding his fear. I would rather take it than him. “MY DAUGHTER WAS IN YOUR SAFETY.” He screamed, backing away from me. Mr. L/n started pacing, his hand twitching with agitation. “SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY ANOTHER KINGPIN!”

Dowoon and I flinched at his words. “We apologize, sir.” We both bowed low.

“Jae,” I looked up, hesitantly. “While I am furious...I trust you more than anyone else in the syndicate. If you can find her and bring her back unharmed...I will give her to you. It was in discussion already.” My eyes went wide. I knew there were plans to marry off Y/n. Mr. L/n wanted for her to marry within the syndicate so she could be protected.

“Sir, you mean-”

“Only...if you bring her back to me. I’m hoping your infatuation with my daughter drives you even more to find her. And you WILL find her.”

“Yes sir.” The blood slowly trickled down my cheek. I fought the urge to wipe it away. His eyes bore into me. Mr. L/n was one of the most dangerous men in Seoul and he loved his daughter very much. He had many enemies that wished to harm him and his family, so this job might have been near impossible. But, it was Y/n.

“I will find her.”

♛

Y/n’s POV

Jisung raced out of the room closest to the stairs and leaned over the balcony.

“YOUR DAD IS A F***ING MOB BOSS?!?!?!”

“My dad is a what?” I asked as I watched the wide-eyed blonde boy on the staircase. Chris followed him out and started pushing him down the stairs. Another boy with dark hair, much shorter than the other two, appeared on the landing. He was seemingly unfazed by this shocking news. “What do you mean my dad is a mob boss? He’s a cabinet secretary. He works for the president.”

“I hate to break it to you princess, but that’s not all he does,” Chris said sitting down on the plush sofa in his living room. Jisung stood near me, a tentative and slightly wandering hand on my waist. I slapped it away making the silent boy chuckle. “Your dad runs one of the largest and most dangerous mob syndicates in Seoul.”

“And he doesn’t like Chan too much either.” The silent one said while scrolling through his phone.

“Changbin, shut up will you?” Chris said throwing a pillow at him.

“I’m sorry, who is Chan?”

The other two boys looked at Chris. Jisung backed away from me and rubbed the back of his neck. Chris hung his head low and half-heartedly rose his hand. “That would be me.” I was very confused.

“But you told me your name was Chris?”

“Yeah, that’s one of the many names I go by.” I looked to Jisung who just shrugged and gave me a nervous smile. Tension hung in the air. “I’m what some people call a hustler.”

“He’s a con artist. Quit beating around the bush.” The shorter boy, Changbin said.

Chris, or Chan, sighed. “Your dad hired me to scam a couple candidates into giving me their campaign plans. It worked. Piece of cake. But, your dad refused to pay me the agreed amount,”

“Yeah...he can be a little cheap,” I said rubbing my arm and sitting down across from him. Jisung followed like a loyal puppy, listening intently with me, even though he had probably heard this story many times before.

“Anyway, I made the not so great decision and I sort of...swindled $10k from him.”

“That’s nothing to him-”

“And a Porsche.”

“Oh......” My dad was really serious about his cars. I did remember him telling me about someone stealing one of his sports cars about two years ago. “That was you? Jae told me someone swiped it while it was in the shop.”

Chris laughed and Changbin high fived him without looking up from his phone. “Here’s the thing,” Changbin said still laser focused on his screen. “With your dad being who he is, it will be harder to get you under the radar. Your dad has eyes and ears everywhere. I’ve got to completely erase you from the system.”

I felt a touch on my shoulder and I turned to see Jisung pulling away from me. “Were you smelling my hair?” I asked crossing my arms.

“......No...”

“Jisung can you not be a thirteen year old for a second?” Chris said rolling his eyes. Jisung scoffed and spread out on the couch, purposefully pushing his thigh against mine. He yelped when I slapped it away. “So, Changbin, how long before we can set her up with her new life?”

The boy sighed when Chan pulled away his phone, trying to see for himself what the boy was working on. “I should be able to get off the grid within the next 32 hours. Getting her new ids shouldn’t be a problem. Jisung can swipe me some templates from that guy...what’s his name?”

“Minho?”

“Yeah, him.”

“Minho is not gonna like me ‘borrowing’ his things again,” Jisung awkwardly shifted on the couch next to me. “Last time I barely made it out with my head. He threw a f***ing toaster at me.” I had to stifle my laughter with my hand.

“Y/n, you can stay here until we get you new ids. I’ve got a house in Jeju we can set you up in after that.” Chan said pushing himself off the sofa. I watched him walk around the back of the couch before he turned back to me again. “Jisung, sleep on the couch tonight. Y/n, you’ll sleep in his room.”

“What! That’s not fair! She should sleep in your room. You’re the one who brought her here!” Jisung stood up from the couch to continue whining but Chan stopped him.

“Who’s the one who accidentally burst all the pipes in their apartment with a boomerang?”

Jisung shuffled back and forth on his heels. “....Me..”

“And who’s the one who has been letting you stay here for the past six months rent-free?” The blonde boy quieted and looked at the ceiling. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” While the conversation seemed light hearted, I knew Chris meant business.

Changbin grabbed back his phone. “You all should sleep. Chan you’ve got that deal tomorrow and Jisung you’ll have to give Toaster Man a visit.” Jisung groaned, stuffing his face in a couch pillow. “I’ll stick around and start working on her stuff.”

Soon everyone dispersed. Jisung showed me to his room like a gentleman. Unfortunately, I had to physically push him out like a four year old. I put my backpack at the foot of the bed. I slipped under the covers and tucked my hand under the pillow only to be met with a couple crumpled up candy wrappers. I laughed and tossed them into the trash can before returning to the bed. Soon, I fell into a deep sleep.

♛

Jae’s POV

Eighteen hours had passed already. It took me eighteen hours to remember that her mother put a tracker in her d*** phone. Dowoon sat in the passenger seat of my car, a computer in his lap.

“Turn left up here.”

“What the hell is she doing in Itaewon?”

“They have good fishcakes.” Turning I saw Dowoon’s innocent smile. It fell when he saw my serious expression. We drove in silence for the next few seconds. “Dang it. Now I want fishcakes.”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I hadn’t slept since yesterday morning. In the rearview mirror, I could see the beginnings of dark circles forming under my eyes. I wouldn’t rest until I found Y/n.

“Okay, the tracker says she’s in that building over there.” I sighed and pulled the car over onto the side of the street. Dowoon and I got out and I squinted in the afternoon sun. The building ahead of us was unmarked but several women, wearing revealing clothes stood out front talking amongst each other.

“Hey, cutie,” A girl with long red claws said, gently grabbing Dowoon’s arm as we walked past. “You got time to talk?” She twirled a strand of hair around her finger while looking at him with big doe eyes.

“Actually I-”

“Sorry, we’re working,” I said dragging him away and through the door.

“What’s wrong? She was being nice? We could have asked her about Y/n.”

“She was gonna give you more than that.” My eyes scanned the large room we entered. Dowoon stood next to me trying to decipher what I just said. Several girls, scantily clad, milled about. Some had men on their arm.

“I don’t get it. What else was she gonna give us?” Dowoon asked confused. I sighed and pressed forward. A girl with blonde hair walked up to me, pressing her hands against my chest.

“Looking for some fun, hot stuff?” I opened my jacket and the girl backed away seeing the gun I had stashed there. “Sh**, a simple ‘no’ would suffice.” The girl walked away and I checked my phone. The tracking program said Y/n was upstairs.

“What is Y/n doing in a place like this?” The thought sickened me. I knew for a fact she wouldn’t be here voluntarily.

“I don’t know but these all seem like nice girls. Maybe a little cold not wearing a sweater in here. But, they seem friendly.” Dowoon was a great shot. He could shoot an apple off someone's head from an entire building away, but somehow be completely innocent in the weirdest ways.

I checked my phone seeing that the tracker led behind a closed door at the end of the hall. I pulled out my gun and motioned for Dowoon to follow me. Pressing my ear against the door, I listened for voices in the room. I picked up the muffled sound of a female voice that sort of resembled Y/n. Nodding to Dowoon we burst through the door, guns aimed.

The girl screamed and rolled off the bed, scrambling to find a sheet or a shirt. “Oh My- Dowoon, cover your eyes.” I blindly grasped his face trying to hide his view. I looked away giving the half naked girl who was not in fact Y/n some privacy.

“What the f*** is going on here?” The man the girl was with asked.

“Sir, I need to talk to this woman. Please get out before I decide to make you.” The man’s eyes widened and he quickly ran out of the room. My eyes landed on a phone on the bedside table. I picked it up and saw the case was Y/n’s.

“Hey! That’s mine!”

I looked up to see a girl with pale pink hair. She had managed to slip on her shirt and now stood furious on the other side of the bed. “This?” I asked holding up the phone, gun still trained on her. “No, this- this is not yours.” Her body obviously tensed up under the barrel of a gun. “What’s your name?”

“Jae, can I look now or?”

I turned to see Dowoon still with his eyes closed pointing his gun in the opposite direction. I pointed his gun in the correct direction and elbowed him. His eyes opened and he let out a nervous chuckle before he focused on the girl.

“My name is Irene. Look, that’s my phone. It's used though. I don’t know anything about the previous owner.” I lowered the gun and put it back in its place.

“Who gave it to you? When?”

“Yesterday. Some guy came up to me and a co-worker. Said he knew our boss, Yeji, and that the phone was a gift.” Dowoon lowered his gun and got out his phone. We would have to report back to the boss soon.

“What did he look like?”

“What are you cops or something?” Irene said sitting on the edge of the bed.

“No. We aren’t cops. But, we do have quite a few of the police on our payroll.” She visibly gulped, shifting uncomfortably under my stare. I was so close to finding Y/n, I could feel it. “Now tell me everything you remember about this guy.”

“I don’t know. He had brown hair. He looked like a foreigner, but he didn’t have an accent. I don’t remember his name. He was really cool looking, to be honest. Had that whole boy next door look, but you knew he was a bad guy. In a good way. Oh! He had a girl with him. I remember because she didn’t look like she was from around here and she was way out of his league.”

I listened carefully, a scowl forming on my face. Dowoon noticed my change in demeanor immediately. “You know who he is?” I nodded, turning towards the door. I was furious. Dowoon followed me out the door, eager to hear my answer.

“It’s Chan. Bang Chan. He’s got Y/n. And I’m gonna kill him.”

♛

Y/n’s POV

This morning I woke up early. I wanted to thank the boys for helping me finally leave that hell hole. Their kitchen was useless. Chan had practically nothing stocked and what little food there was Jisung devoured. So, instead in ordered them takeout..

Chan was set to come back around the time it got dark. Changbin was still holed up in the Pit, that’s what Jisung called his computer room. Jisung and I had taken over Chan’s living room, takeout, and soda bottles on the coffee table as we screamed at the drama playing on the huge TV.

“NO, YOU LOVE HER DON’T PUSH HER AWAY!” Jisung said as he grabbed onto my arm. Through tears, he reached for another slice of pizza.

“JISUNG WHY ARE WE WATCHING THIS? IT’S SO SAD!”

He shook his head next to me and wiped his tears. “Because your teenagedom was deprived of sleepovers. And I am dubbing myself your official best friend.” I cried harder not only because Jisung was my new best friend but because the lead actress was chasing her lover through the rain. Jisung and I clung onto each other and continued our rant at the screen.

“Um.....what pre-teen girl tornado blew up in my house?” Turning we saw Chan walking through the front door, a confused look on his face.

“DADDY’S HOME!”

“Jisung stop screaming in my ear!” I yelled as he jumped over the couch. I then took in Chris’s attire. He wore a white coat and he had a stethoscope draped around his neck. His dark brown hair was pushed back and parted, exposing his (as I was just noticing now) handsome features.

“Someone answer my question.”

“I was showing Y/n what it’s like to actually have fun with people her own age.”

“Since when were you or Y/n thirteen year old girls? What’s that I smell?” Jisung slowly moved his hands behind his back. “Holy sh**. Jisung you let her paint your nails?”

“What are you talking about? Jisung painted mine than practically forced me to do his.” Jisung’s eyes went wide and he turned around and made the shushing motion towards me. “What’s with the getup?” I asked Chris, changing the subject. “You look like a doctor.”

“Oh- it’s just uh....some business I had planned before this stuff happened.” I crossed my arms coming to stand next to my new BFF. Jisung glanced at me before crossing his arms like me and listing his head and pursing his lips.

“You know you can be honest and say you were working a con.”

“Fine, princess. I was working a con. Happy?” I shrugged and patted his shoulder.

Jisung chuckled and gave Chris a thumbs up before throwing an arm around my shoulder. “I think we should all call it a night. I’m starting a new life tomorrow after all!” With that, we left Chris standing in his fake doctor's coat in the living room.

“Are you guys gonna clean up?”

“Nope!”

♛

A crash sent me shooting up from the bed. “What the hell?” I drowsily asked myself. Another one sent my eyes flying open like saucers. The bed shook and I practically screamed. Jisung shot up from the bed, drool on his mouth and blonde hair sticking up in all directions.

“Jisung! What the hell? What are you doing in here?”

“The couch was lumpy. What’s going on?”

The third crash sent me rocketing out of bed. Suddenly the door burst open. I grabbed the closest thing which was the lamp on the bedside table. Chan burst through the door in sweatpants but lacking a shirt.

“Oh- Sh**! WHAT IS WITH YOU AND LAMPS?”

“WHAT IS WITH YOU AND NOT WEARING A SHIRT?”

“I’M SORRY IF I DIDN’T BOTHER TO PUT ON A SHIRT WHEN YOUR CHICKEN LEG BOYFRIEND IS ATTACKING MY HOUSE!”

“What? Jae is here?” I asked putting the lamp back The sound of gunshots confirmed Jae’s presence. “What is he shooting at?” I asked as I grabbed my shoes and started slipping them on.

“Wait, Jisung what are you doing here? You know what- nevermind. UH- Changbin. He’s throwing plates at your boyfriend and his monkey friend.” Chan started rummaging through the closet and throwing a bag and clothes at Jisung. “Get your stuff, princess. We’re about to make a getaway. Jisung meet us at the hideout in Gwanak. Get Bin out of here after we leave.”

“After? What about us?”

“You are gonna give us a head start,” Chan said pulling me out the door.

“SO I’M BAIT?”

“Chan, are you gonna leave like this?” I asked, shouldering my bag. A peek over the railing revealed several men in black suits brandishing guns. Except they were clearly thugs and not agents looking for aliens.

“I’ve got a getaway bag in the car.” He kept a strong grip on my hand and looked around him. He looked up and grabbed a metal pieced of artwork before adjusting our hands. “When I tell you to run, run. Got it? You run for the garage and don’t look back.” I nodded and he held the metal sheet in front of both of us.

Chan pulled me down the stairs. “Hey! There he is! He’s got the girl!” The pounding sounds of gunshots rang against the metal sheet less than a foot away from my face.

“Chan! I’m gonna kill you!” I heard the familiar voice of Jae scream. “Y/n! Come on let me take you back to your dad! Come back with me, beautiful.” If Jae really wanted me to come back with him sincerely he would tell Dad’s goons to stop SHOOTING AT CHRIS AND ME.

“RUN, Y/N! NOW!” Chris yelled just as Jae charged him ripping away the metal sheet he was using as a shield. Following his instruction, I bolted for the garage. When I looked back I turned to see Jae land a pretty hard blow just above Chris’s eye.

“Chris!”

“Y/n, GO!” I sighed and burst through the garage door. That little-....There in pristine condition sat my father’s favorite lightning blue Porsche. I tossed my bag in the car and jumped in. My hands frantically searched for the keys. The sound of gunshots had my heart pounding against my chest. I found them in the glove compartment just as Chan burst through the door.

“START THE CAR!”

“I’m going! I’m going.”

The car started and Chan dove into the car. I opened the garage door, but it was only halfway up when the garage door opened again. I turned to see Jae and Dowoon in the doorway. Jae was bleeding from the nose and Dowoon hand a pieced of a plate in his cheek. “Y/n-GO!”

“I can’t! The door!”

“Just GO!”

Screaming, I slammed my foot on the accelerator and the sports car shot forward, erupting through the garage door. “GET IN THE SUVs!” I heard Jae yell back into the house.

“How are Jisung and Bin gonna get out?” I asked keeping my eyes on the road, frantically looking behind me.

“Don’t worry about them. They’ll meet us in Gwanak.” Chan reached behind him and pulled out a bag from behind the driver's seat. He slipped on a shirt he pulled out from the bag. “Woah! Wrong side of the road! Move over!” Chan screamed grabbing the wheel and steering the car onto the right side of the road. “What’s wrong with you? Do you not know how to drive?”

“NO I DON’T!”

“YOU’RE DRIVING WITHOUT A LICENSE?”

“YOU SCAM PEOPLE FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND YOU CARE ABOUT THIS!?” I said frantically and sporadically looking from the rearview mirror to the road ahead of me as we drove at top speed in the middle of the night. My skin went cold as I saw tow black SUVs appear behind us. “Chan...what do I do? They’re right behind us!”

He turned around and muttered a string of curse words. “Okay...um...We are gonna switch places.” Chris said turning back to me.

“Chan we are going ninety-three miles an hour!”

“Do you trust me?”

“.....Yes.”

“Okay, princess. On the count of three, I want you to let go of the wheel and take your foot off the pedal okay?” I nodded and got ready to do as he asked. In my peripherals, I saw Chan reach near my seat and I nervously looked behind me. “Ready, princess?” I nodded and gripped the steering wheel. “One...two...three!”

I let go of the pedal and steering wheel and Chris jerked my seat back and climbed over me. “Great job, love! You can move over to the other seat!” My heart was pounding against my chest. I was sure any second now I would fall into a panic attack. When I was safely in the passenger seat Chris pulled his seat forward and shifted the gear of the car.

Chan did his best to shake the two tails we had on us. “Your boyfriend is seriously crazy,” Chan said shaking his head, turning down a narrow alley still going at top speeds. I gripped the door handle in fear. “He is seriously determined.”

“Again, not my boyfriend!” I said turning around to check how far away the sedans were.

“Hold on tight, love,” Chan said, throwing his arm in front of me as we drifted into another tight alley. This time, Chris slid the car to a stop and shut off the lights and engine. “Get down, baby girl.” He said pushing my head down below the windshield. After a few seconds, we heard the SUVs race by us. Chan and I stayed down, his hand on the back of my neck and our heads inches away from each other.

“Well.....that was fun?”

♛

Ten minutes later Chan was pulling into another dark alley. We had finally made it to Gwanak without anyone following us. “Is this the safe house? Where are Changbin and Jisung?” Chris shook his head and shut off the Porsche.

“No. We’ve got to make a stop first. We’ve gotta go deep undercover. Your face and mine are about to be plastered everywhere.” Chan got out of the car and before I could reach for the handle he was running around the front to open the door for me. “Come on, let’s hope he’s home,” Chris said quickly ushering me to a dimly lit back door.

“Who are we talking about?”

“An old friend,” Chan said pounding on the door. He kept his hand firmly on my waist. Every few seconds he scanned the alley, making sure we were still not followed. “Hey, it’s Chan! Open up!”

“Chris, we should keep moving. I know Jae. He’s gonna figure out where we are soon enough.”

“All the more reason to be here.” He pounded on the door again. “Dude! Come on! You owe me! Open up!” While Chan continued to yell at the door I watched the ends of the alley, hoping not to see Jae or Dowoon rounding the corner.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. F***...” A muffled voice said from behind the door. Chan stepped back from the door and took my hand, dragging me further into his side. “F***ing sh**. Chan, d*** it. It’s two a.m!” An angry voice said as it approached the door. I flinched as it flew open. A giant of a man with bright red hair and dressed in a fancy robe appeared. “What, pipsqueak?”

“BamBam. Long time no see.”

“What do you want, Chan? I was asleep-.....who’s this hottie?” The cherry headed man, BamBam, said leaning on the doorway looking me up and down.

“This is Y/n L/n,” Chan said his hand gripping onto my hip. BamBam’s eyes went wide and he slammed the door in our faces.

“NO! NO! I AM NOT DEALING WITH L/N’S SYNDICATE. NO. CHAN YOU CAN’T MAKE ME. A FAVOR IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE BORROWING SUGAR. NOT BRINGING THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN SEOUL’S DAUGHTER TO MY DOOR!”

“BamBam you barely eat carbs let alone processed sugar.” The door opened and he stuck his head out. “Come on, Bam. We need your help. Or at least your bathroom.”

“Bathroom?” Both BamBam and I both questioned.

♛

“What is this place?” I asked as BamBam lead us through the first floor of the building. It was covered head to toe with clothes and hats and crazy objects.

“It’s my personal treasure trove. Everything your man Chan uses for his little schemes most likely came from here.” BamBam said picking up a policeman’s uniform and throwing it behind another rack of clothes. The giraffe with red hair rummaged through the piles of clothes and costumes. “Here, Chan. You need this.....and Y/n.....look through these.” BamBam tossed Chan a brown bottle and handed me a container with a bunch of hair in it.

“Wigs?”

“Don’t worry. They’re all the finest synthetic hair. Bathroom is back there, you two.” He said pointing a long finger in the correct direction. I smiled and tightened my hold on the box Chris’s weird friend gave me. “Stay as long as you need. I’m going back to bed.” BamBam dragged his feet up some stairs that probably led to where he was previously sleeping.

“You wanna help me with this, princess?” Chan said holding up the brown bottle in his hand. I shrugged and followed him to the back of the building. My eyes trailed down Chan’s shoulders as we looked for BamBam’s restroom. “Ah, here we go.” Chan opened the door and let me enter first. I dropped the big box on the toilet seat and started searching through them.

I heard Chan pull a chair into the bathroom from the hall. “Why does BamBam have all these? Chan shrugged and searched something up on his phone. “There are some weird colors in here.” He laughed as I threw a neon green wig at him.

“Oh yeah. That’s perfect for you, princess.” He laughed and tossed it back. “Have you ever bleached hair before?” Chris said looking at the bottle. I laughed seeing the familiar brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide. The bottle was a familiar sight from my mother’s bathroom counter.

“Not personally.”

“Do I just like...pour it on?”

“If you want to permanently fry your hair! We can’t damage those cute curls you’ve got.”

Without thinking I ran my fingers through Chris’s dark brown and tangled mop. His eyes looked me up and down, a small smirk. “Cute?” He asked, poking my side. He laughed when a rosy dust fell on my cheeks. “You want to help, princess?”

Chan sat down in the chair and handed me the brown bottle which I immediately put down. I looked around and grabbed two bottles from the shower. Chan watched me struggle to get the cap open like an idiot. “You good there?”

“This plastic bottle of.....designer conditioner....is smarter than me.” Chris laughed and reached for the bottle. In less than a second, the bottle popped open for him. He laughed when I sent him a glare. “I loosened it for you.”

“Sure, baby girl. Whatever.” He leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling, a genuine smile on his face. Heat flushed to my face at the new pet name. Chan seemed unfazed by it. Nervously, I turned on the sink and began washing his hair. “What’s your favorite candy?” Chan asked as I was rinsing the conditioner out of his hair.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I’m bored. Entertain me, princess.”

“Okay...um...I like Milkyways.”

“Milkyways? Really?”

“You bash my candy choice, pretty boy, and I’ll make sure your hair turns orange.” He laughed, his eyes turning into crescents. Chan continued to ask me random questions while I bleached his hair. It was fun getting to know Chris...well the real Chris. “You must really be dedicated if your bleaching your hair.”

“Bleaching my hair....or dying at the hands of your boyfriend. I choose the former.”

“Again. Jae is not my boyfriend.” I said squeezing hydroperoxide into his hair. Thank goodness BamBam had gloves in a cabinet otherwise my hands would be messed up. “Jae is just Jae.” I was surprised when I didn’t feel myself smile as I said his name.

I took off the gloves as Chan sat forward, waiting for his hair to dry. “What’s the deal with you two anyway.” He asked poking my arm. “You two were totally into each other back at the penthouse.”

“Well...I think my feelings have changed after he shot at us.”

“Well, he was mostly shooting at me.”

“Yeah...guess he was, pretty boy.” I smiled looking down at Chan. He grabbed my hand and swung it back and forth. I glanced down and then back up at him.

“Hey...it’s gonna be okay, Y/n. I’ll take care of it.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes. He tugged on my wrist. My feet shuffled forward making me stand between his legs. Chris brushed his thumb over my hand.

“Take care of what?”

“Of you. I’ll make sure you get what you want.” Chan stared up at me with a look I had never seen before. It was hard to tear my eyes away from him. Like he had this hold on me. But, I felt safe with him. I felt fully myself. “We’ve got twenty minutes. Why don’t you try on some of those wigs? Put on a little fashion show for me, baby girl?” He said with a smile, leaning back in the chair, his hand still attached to my wrist.

Chan laughed as I tried on all the crazy wigs BamBam had in the box. After his phone timer went off, I helped Chan wash his hair again. Then he let me towel dry his hair. “Woah,” I said, pulling the towel away.

“Is it that bad?” He asked standing up and rushing to the mirror. He ran his fingers through his new blonde hair and he stared into the mirror at his locks.

“No...you look really good.”

He smirked and messed with the new blonde strands before turning to me with a bright smile. “You think so?” His hands rested on my waist, his thumbs grazing over the fabric of my t-shirt. There was a tension in the air. One that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Yeah, I do...”

Hesitantly, I let my palms press against his chest. Was he going to kiss me? I could feel my stomach start to do somersaults. Chris leaned down, only barely enough for me to notice. He was. Chan was going to kiss me.

“HEY LOVEBIRDS! I NEED TO PEE!” BamBam said pounding on the door.

The two of us burst apart, Chan scratching the back of his neck. “We should probably....- Bin and Sung are probably waiting for us.” Chris nervously grabbed my backpack and I grabbed the closest wig to me, stuffing my hair inside it.

“Yeah totally.”

Chan opened the door for us to find a pissed off BamBam. “Can I pee now?” Chan laughed and took my hand, pulling me out into the hall.

“Thanks for letting us hideout and stuff!” Chan called back to his friend who was already in the bathroom. Chris pulled me back out the Porsche, which was still sitting safely in the alley. Like a gentleman, Chan opened my door before sliding across the hood and getting in the driver seat.

He spared me a glance and cast a smile my way. “Short and Dark is a good look on you.” I brushed the wig’s bangs out of my eyes and blushed, turning away from Chan as he started the car and drove off into the early morning.

♛

Jae’s POV

“F***!” I exclaimed slamming my hand on a nearby table. Stressfully, I ran a hand through my hair. Dowoon just stood off to the side, awkwardly watching our guys rummage through the house.

“That did not go the way I expected.”

Daggers flew from my eyes. He instantly shut his mouth. “Dowoon...she was right here. I missed her. She just...slipped through my fingers.” Dowoon waved off a man who was trying to ask him a question before turning back to me.

“You know she more ran...than slipped.”

“You’re right. She did run away.” I said standing up straight once again. “She practically flew when Chan told her to run.” My eyes returned to the door I watched Y/n run out of.

“Why do you think she ran?”

“Chan’s probably got her brainwashed or something. I wouldn’t put it passed him.” I reached for the mail that was left on the kitchen counter. “Remember I want this entire place searched!” I called out to the men. “Man, she knew I was here for her. Why didn’t she come to me?” I said tossing it onto the marble island.

“Maybe she’s just not into you dude.”

“No. That’s not it. It’s got to be Chan. He must have told her everything about her dad and then freaked her out. It’s all his fault.” Dowoon, sifted through the week-old envelops I had tossed.

“What’s this? Does this Chan guy go to university?”

“What- no?” I scoffed and leaned against the counter. “He barely has his highschool diploma.” I watched Dowoon pick up a magazine and flip it over.

“Maybe one of the guys that were here. The blonde one looked kind of young...and dumb.” Dowoon flipped through the magazine smiling at some of the pictures.

“Why do you ask?”

He shrugged and tossed it to me. I flipped through the magazine and saw it was a college-based magazine. Student made. “Well...that magazine is only sold in Gwanak. Near Seoul University.” My eyes went wide and I looked at the cover of the magazine.

“I’ve got a call to make. We need another pair of eyes.”

“More than the thirteen guys we have now.”

“I just want her back Dowoon...” I said pulling out my phone. I scrolled through my contacts until I found the one I needed. Pressing the name, I brought the device to my ear and waited for the dial tone to end.

“Hey. It’s me. Look, I need you to find someone. This asshat took her...She’s somewhere in Gwanak, we know that.” I listened to him speak while drumming my fingers on the counter.

“Yeah. You’ll get the money when you get her and bring her safely back to me.” I pursed my lips, feeling myself getting angry as he asked his next question.

“I don’t care what happens to the guy she’s with. Just get her back.” With that, I hung up the phone.

♛

Chan’s POV

Jogging around the blue car, I opened Y/n’s door and helped her out. She grabbed her bag and started walking towards the dark apartment building. The sun would be rising in a couple of hours. I reached for her hand and led her up the stairs to the top level.

She laughed when we came to the door. “Another passcode? Mr. Privacy?” I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, taking her backpack for her.

“The code is #0325.” She turned to me and smiled.

“You trust me with the code to your safehouse?” I shrugged and tried to hide the smile on my face. I watched as her fingers touched each number gingerly on the keypad. She smiled when the bright tone notified her that the door was unlocked.

“Y/N’S HOMMMMMEE!” Jisung yelled. I heard his feet thundering down the small hall. I rolled my eyes when Jisung tackled Y/n out of my grasp, hugging her tightly. With serious eyes, he turned to me, still holding onto Y/n. “From now on, Y/n and I are inseparable! You will not drag her into messes and get her killed! She is my best friend!”

I sent Jisung a hard glare and took one step towards him making the blonde squeal, hiding behind Y/n. “Sorry, Chan. Nevermind take her she’s yours. I can see now that I clearly overstepped my boundaries.” Jisung said, words flying out of his mouth faster than I could comprehend.

“What’s going on?” Y/n asked. I saw Changbin saunter into the hall and join us. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and face stoic.

“Don’t worry. Chan just wants you all to himself.” The short boy said smirking at me.

“WHAT?!” Both Y/n and I exclaimed looking from each other to Changbin. Y/n turned to me, a curious look on her face. The same one from when we first met, except this time my head didn’t hurt.

“Well...this isn’t awkward at all,” Jisung said, coming out from behind Y/n. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and puffed out his cheeks, looking around the four of us. “Hey, Y/n, lemme show you something!” He practically dragged her out from the hall and towards the bedroom. Fearing for what he did to my apartment, I followed.

“So, what is it you're showing me, Sung?” Y/n asked and Jisung guided her into my room. Wait. Sh**. My room.

“This was originally Chan hyung’s room, but I figured with a few touches you would like it better! I figured since he loves you and all he can sleep on the sofa.” They entered the room a few feet ahead of me. “It’s his turn to have back problems. Y/n gasped. I rounded the corner and my jaw dropped.

“JISUNG, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM? HOW DID YOU EVEN GET ALL THIS?”

My room was plastered with posters and pictures of unicorns and rom-com movie posters. It looked like a fourteen year old girl from a Disney channel sitcom threw up their essence all over my bedroom. There were boyband posters and albums everywhere and heart shaped hangers in the closet. My clothes were in a huge black pile in the corner marked ‘Chan’s Sh**’. One wall on the far side was spray-painted pink and stuffed animals were all around the room.

“When did you have time to do all of this? We got here two hours after you! Where did this all come from?” I said picking up a Super Junior album that was sitting on what used to be my dresser.

“You’d be surprised,” Changbin said standing in the doorway.

I sighed and turned to Jisung. He turned to me with an innocent smile as I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out into the hall while Y/n continued to marvel at the room. “Sung...you do understand she’s not staying right? We are just helping her get to Jeju so she can start a new life.” He stared down at the ground, fiddling with the rings on his fingers. His light blonde fell in front of his eyes as he looked back up at me.

“You don’t really want that...do you?”

I looked into his eyes. My friend looked genuinely sad. No, that wasn’t what I wanted. Not now at least. Maybe before, but it wasn’t what I wanted now. “What I want doesn’t matter. It’s what she wants.” I said patting his shoulder. “Do you understand?”

“Yeah...of course...”

Jisung sulked back into my room, which I would be burning after Y/n went to Jeju. “Jisung! Thank you so much! I love it!” Y/n said hugging a huge stuffed toy.

“Sung, how did you even pickpocket a three foot tall stuffed rabbit and four B.A.P posters?” I asked looking at the toy Y/n was holding in her arms. I tried to suppress the thumping against my chest at the sight.

“Chan I don’t remember asking for your opinion, but it’s called talent, okay?”

Y/n laughed and set the bunny down next to my bed. She gasped and picked up a heavy purple candle on the bedside table. “Oh, a candle! I love these! I always had candles and stuff like that in my room at home!” I saw Jisung’s face turn soft and he ran out of the room.

“HOLD ON ONE SECOND!” He screamed through the less than small apartment. He returned with a hand full of candles.

“Oh no no no no no,” I said pushing him back out of the room.

“What? Y/n says she loves candles.’ Jisung said shrugging and trying to push past me and back into the bedroom, where we heard Changbin and Y/n talking.

“Jisung I will not have candles in my house after she attacked me with one!”

“What about incense?”

“NO SMELLY THINGS!” I shivered at the thought of what Y/n could accidentally do to me with burning incense. My eyes found Y/n walking out of the room holding the lit candle, her eyes happy.

“Chan, thank you so much for helping me and for all of this! And Jisung, I really love the candle.” With that, she went back into the room and jumped onto the bed.

Jisung turned back to me with his eyebrows raised. I crossed my arms and then looked back to Y/n sitting happily on my bed watching the candle flicker happily. I felt Jisung nudge me bringing my attention back to him. “Okay...one candle.”

“Bro, you are so whipped.”

“Shut up before I throw you off the roof with all those candles strapped to your head.”

“You wouldn’t...”

♛

Y/n’s POV

Chan slept in his room that night. Well, he rested. He said it would be hard to sleep with all those pop stars and animals staring at him. I had told him I wasn't tired, so I scrolled through the phone Jisung had pocketed for me.

When the boys awoke a few hours later, I had prepared breakfast for them. This place was actually stocked with food. I gasped seeing Jisung emerge from the guest room. He had bruises on his shoulder and the strong scent of candles came from him.

“Sung, what happened to you?” I said taking his face in my hands. He glared at Chan as he exited his bedroom and sat down at the kitchen table.

“Ask your newly blonde boyfriend.” He said sitting in the farthest seat from Chris.

When I turned to Chan he just gave me a sweet smile and turned back to the breakfast I had made. “This is good, princess.” He said slipping a strawberry into his mouth. I blushed and sipped on the mug of tea I had made earlier.

“So, what’s the plan today?” I asked, setting the cup down.

Chan took a sip of the orange juice in the glass near him and looked to me. “Changbin still needs templates to get you IDs. Jisung knows where to get some, but I’m not gonna leave you here so you’ll come with us to the meeting.” I nodded and took another sip of tea.

“Sounds good.”

“We’ll leave in like...an hour?” Chan said.

Jisung turned to me, mouth full of toast and berries. His eyes turned down and his cheeks were full, but somehow he still managed to frown with toast sticking out of his mouth. “I’m gonna need more than an hour. It’s just too good.” Jisung muttered with his mouth full.

“Fine. Y/n just go get ready, princess. Don’t forget the wig.”

♛

The black bangs of the wig kept blowing in my face. It was about noon when we finally left Chris’s apartment. “Stay right here, princess. Jisung and I are gonna go pick up the templates.” Chan said stopping in front of one of the many stalls around us. He had taken us to a local thrifting fair. A bunch of college students milled about, helping us blend in.

“Okay, what should I do while I wait.”

“I know the shop owner, so they’ll let you stay at the booth.” His hand rested gently on my arm as he spoke to me over the noise of the crowd. “Just pretend you are looking for a gift.” He motioned to the wares the vendor was selling. “I’ll be back soon. If someone asks, just say you’re waiting for your boyfriend or something.”

Chan and Jisung left and I watched them disappear into the crowd. Running my fingers through the short locks of the wig I waved to the vendor who sent me a polite smile. There was plenty to look at from the booth. The woman was selling very pretty handmade silver jewelry.

I picked up a very simple chain necklace with a small silver ring on it. I thought about how nice it would look on Chan. Maybe I had enough cash with me to get it for him?

“That’s very pretty.” A voice said behind me.

A man came to stand beside me. He had shaggy black hair and a boxy smile. His long fingers picked up the necklace and held it up to the light before gently giving it back to me. “Thank you,” I said, keeping my answer short.

“Is it for you or is it a gift?” The boy asked again.

I sighed and avoided looking at him. “Um...a gift.” He nodded and began looking at other necklaces. Every so often he would cast a look my way.

“I’m Wonpil, by the way.” I nodded and gave him a tight-lipped smile. Why would he not go away? I put the necklace down and moved further down the table, pretending to look at other things. “What’s your name?”

“Uh...Jessica...”

I said turning back to the table. He nodded and moved down the row as well. He moved o the other side of the table to look there. However, he was clearly intent on talking to me. “So, Jessica...are you here by yourself, or are you with friends?” I nervously laughed and looked in the direction Chris left.

“I’m here with my boyfriend. I’m waiting for him to come back.”

Wonpil gave me a kind smile and went back to looking at jewelry. I glanced up at the boy. There was something off about him. He was just barely too old to be a university student. Maybe he just lived near here?

“So, is it a gift for him?” I nodded, then turned my attention to the box of rings near the middle of the table. “What’s his name?” Should I give Chris’s name? No. That would be a bad idea. I don’t want him to get hurt.

“His name is Chanyoung.”

Wonpil nodded and continued pursuing the wares and jewelry. Come one, Chris. Where are you? “Has he been gone long? You seem nervous.” I laughed and shook my head.

“He and our friend just went to go pick up something. He’ll be back...any minute now.”

“I’ll wait with you if you’d like?” Wonpil suggested, that kind smile on his face. He came around my side of the table and placed a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head and backed away.

“I’m fine, really-”

“Hey, baby girl! Sorry to keep you waiting.” I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist and lips press against my cheek. I turned to see Chan with a cool and composed smile on his face. “We didn’t mean to be gone for so long.” His hand came up to my cheek and he pressed his lips against mine like he had done it thousands of times before.

Not wanting to break the charade I closed my eyes and let him kiss me. Chan pulled away and pecked my lips once more before Jisung coughed and gently kicked him. “Oh- sorry. I’m her boyfriend. Who are you?” Chan said holding out his hand to shake.

“Oh, you're Chanyoung. I’m Wonpil.” They shook hands and I could see Chan’s face sour for just a second. His eyes glanced at me and then doubled back.

“Oh, baby, you’ve got a bug on you!”

“I’ll get it!” Jisung shouted, eyeing my shoulder. He swatted the bug away, grabbing it in his fist. I looked at the two boys wondering what was going on. “Hey, we’ve got lunch plans so we should go soon,” Jisung said, sticking his hands in his pockets.

“Did you get what you needed to get, baby?” I asked, palms pressing against Chan’s chest. His grip was still firm around my waist, keeping me as close as possible.

“Yeah! Let’s go get lunch, baby girl.” Chan said kissing me again. “It was nice to meet you Wonpil,” Chris said waving goodbye before steering me in the opposite direction of the booth. Jisung followed us and sped up to keep our pace. “Y/n, who was that guy?”

I shrugged and looked back. Wonpil was no longer at the booth. “I have no clue.” Chan shook his head and gripped my side tighter.

“He’s gotta know who you are.” The three of us walked through the streets of the thrift fair quickly hoping to evade whoever it was Wonpil actually turned out to be. “He actually planted a bug on you. That’s why Jisung and I freaked out.” I shivered. My feeling about Wonpil had been right. We walked a little further before Jisung spoke up again.

“So...like, can we actually get lunch though?”

♛

The little bell rang as the three of us entered a little sushi shop Jisung knew about. “Jisung didn’t you have sushi like four days ago?” He shrugged and led us to a secluded booth in the back. A few waitresses waved at him as we passed by.

“Chan, you can never have too much sushi. Plus I get discounts here.”

“How do you get discounts?” I asked.

“Used to date the owner’s daughter. She dumped me. He still liked me so... free sushi.”

I nodded, still not quite understanding as I slid into the booth. Chan scooted in next to me, his leg just barely touching mine. My hands reached for the menu, but Jisung quickly whisked them away. “Nope. I’m ordering for us.” Chan laughed and pressed his hands to his temples. The waitress came by and Jisung ordered practically everything on the menu and sake.

“Jisung that is a lot of food.”

“I’m a lot of hungry.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Chan said throwing his arm over the back of the booth. Jisung shrugged and started blowing bubbles in his water with the straw. “You are such a child,” Chris said laughing.

“Speaking of, I need to pee,” Jisung announced. I grounded and shoved my face into my hands. Jisung hopped out of the booth and shuffled to the restroom. That left me and Chris...alone.

“So...”

We looked at each other and burst out laughing. “You kissed me,” Chan nodded and looked away. I was surprised to see a dark blush on Chan’s ears. “Thank you. For saving me from whoever that guy was.” Chan shrugged, a shy smile lighting up his face. His fingers tapped against the booth.

“My pleasure.”

“Your pleasure saving me, or your pleasure kissing me.”

“Would you be mad if I said both?”

It was my turn to blush and look away. My fingers locked onto the cold glass filled with water and I took a heavy sip, before turning back to Chris. “Not...entirely,” I said unable to keep the smile from leaking onto my lips. Chris looked around the restaurant before looking back at me.

“Would you be mad if I did it again?”

“Not entirely,” I said, a smirk flirting its way onto the corner of my mouth.

I felt Chan’s other hand reach for min under the table, making me smile. “If I kiss you, you promise you won’t whack me with like a lamp or something right?” I laughed and rubbed my thumb across his hand. He smiled when I shook my head ‘yes’. Slowly he leaned closer until he was only a breath away.

“You gonna make me wait for it, pretty boy, or what?”

He let out a soft breathy laugh before connecting his lips to mine. He tasted like the strawberries from this morning; sweet and decadent. Chris deepened the kiss and laced his fingers with mine. My heart pounded against my chest as his lips ghosted over mine. He pulled away just long enough to smile before coming back for more. It felt like Chan and I were the only two people in the world.

“WHY THE F*** ARE YOU KISSING MY BESTFRIEND?!”

I heard a loud clang and several shouts and pulled away to see Chris grasping the back of his head and Jisung standing there holding a waitress’s tray. “What the hell man?” Chan exclaimed.

“STOP! KISSING! Y/N!” Jisung said, whacking Chris each time.

“Jisung! Chill out! I wanted him to!” I said to the tray maniac in front of me. “It’s okay! I wanted him to kiss me.” Jisung slowly lowered the tray, giving Chris a wary eye. Chan rubbed the back of his head and I cupped his face checking to see if anything was bleeding.

“Okay...fine. Sorry. I got a tad bit overprotective.” Jisung said completely lowering the tray and sitting back down. “Oh- here this is yours.” He said handing the metal tray to the confused waitress. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave a big tip!” Jisung said with an innocent smile as if nothing ever happened.

Nervously, the waitress walked away to get our food. Now, safe from Jisung’s wrath, Chris gently reached for my hand under the table. I smiled feeling his thumb gently rub circles on my skin.

“Jisung, don’t you think that was a little overkill?” Chan asked as the waitresses set down mountains of sushi in front of us. He shook his head and dived into the flavorful bites.

“Not at all. A psychic once told me my spirit animal was a vicious chihuahua.”

“I can attest to that,” Chris said before placing a roll onto my plate. I smiled at him and ate the piece. “Okay, let’s eat and get out of here.” We all nodded and ate quickly, enjoying every bite.

“I don’t know if they’ll let me back in here,” Jisung said after we paid the bill.

♛

The three of us rode back to the safe house in the Porsche, Jisung sat with his legs squished to his chest in the back. When we got out Chan punched in the code and we all spilled across the living room in food comas.

“What happened to you guys?” Changbin said wandering into the living room.

“Sushi coma,” I said laying across Chan’s lap. Changbin nodded as if completely understanding. I looked over to see Jisung lying face down on the sofa, his butt sticking up in the air.

“Did you guys get the templates?”

Without speaking Jisung started rummaging around his pocket until he pulled out what looked like a blank passport and ID card and raised it in the air. His head was still thoroughly buried in the cushions.

“Great. I should have these done in like...four hours. Then you can start your new life.” Bin said checking the templates. I watched him leave the room before staring back up at the ceiling. My fingers tucked under the hairline of the wig and I pulled it and the wig cap off my head.

“I like your natural hair better than that old thing,” Chan stated, pulling the hair tie from my updo. He ran his fingers through my hair, shaking it loose as I stared up at him. “You better not change it too much once you get to Jeju.” I laughed and tossed the wig onto the coffee table.

“Y/n, do you really have to go?” Jisung whined. He had turned his face just enough so he could speak without sounding like he had cotton balls in his mouth. “I’m going to miss my new best friend so much!”

“I don’t think it’s safe for you all here. The longer I’m with you the more Jae is going to come after me.”

Jisung sighed and put his butt down, fully laying on the couch. Chan and Jisung eventually fell asleep in their places, but I stayed awake thinking about what was to come. I was less excited about leaving Seoul than I was before. Jisung was in Seoul. Changbin was in Seoul. Chan was in Seoul. I would be in Jeju. All by myself.

I felt like they were my family now. Chan stirred in his sleep, his fingers twitching on top of my stomach. Gently, I traced light patterns on the back of his hand. “Did you not sleep?” He asked drowsily, lifting his head.

“No.”

“Thinking about Jeju?” I nodded and played with his fingers. It was easy to tell I was nervous. “You know, Yn,” He whispered, wrapping his hand around mine. “I could always stay with you the first couple of days. Just to make sure everything is alright of course.” Chan shrugged, but couldn’t stop the little smile edging itself onto the corner of his mouth.

“Oh, of course. Just to make sure everything is alright.”

“Yeah, just for that.”

I laughed, keeping it quiet hoping not to wake Jisung. “Oh, I have something to give you. Actually two things.” I said, getting up from the couch. Chan watched me bring my backpack from his bedroom and sit back down next to him. He waited patiently as I dug through the bag. “Here is the first,” I said. Chan’s eyes widened when I pulled out the diamond necklace.

“But, I haven’t gotten you to Jeju yet?” I shrugged, placing it in his hands.

“You’ve already been through so much for me.” He looked from me to the jewels in his hands. He gently placed it on the coffee table, before pulling me close and kissing my cheek. “And... the second thing. Hold on.” I tried to hold back my grin as I pulled the silver chain out of my pocket.

“Where in the world did you get this?” Chan said, as I delicately placed the necklace in his hand.

“Jisung may have taught me a few things. It’s from the booth you left me at.” He laughed and looked at the simple piece of jewelry. “It’s nothing much. I just saw it and thought of you. It can be something to remember me by.”

“Baby girl it will be near impossible to forget you.” I smiled as he traced his finger along my jaw, bringing me closer. His lips brushed over mine, sending butterflies into wild flight patterns in my stomach.

Chan pulled away, a soft smile lighting up his eyes. I watched as he draped the necklace over his neck. “Would you really come with me to Jeju?” He nodded, his grin growing as I cupped his cheek.

“Guys get a room. Some of us are trying to take a nap!” Jisung said throwing a cushion at us.

♛

I looked at the passport and ID in my lap. Changbin had done an incredible job. These looked immaculate. My fingers brushed over my imprinted picture. “You take a pretty good photo,” Chan said, glancing over at me with a smile.

He sat beside me in the driver’s seat of the Porsche, watching the road. “I’m sure you do too.” Chan shook his head, checking the rearview mirror.

“Nah. No pictures. Part of my job description.”

“You don’t have any pictures of yourself?” I laughed bewildered, as he shook his head. Chan shrugged, pulling into the line for cars to board the ferry. “How far away are we?” Chris let out a hefty sigh, dropping his hands from the steering wheel as we inched forward closer to the boat. His fingers reached over and held onto mine.

“Um...I’d say about forty-five minutes on the boat and another twenty to get to the house.” Chan leaned his head against the seat, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand. “You’re almost there, Y/n.” I turned in my seat, leaning against the headrest.

“Thank you, Chris. For everything.” The blonde shrugged it off, a shy smile spreading to his cheeks. Soon we made it onto the boat. Chan parked the Porsche near the bow of the ferry. With both our stomachs rumbling, Chan went up to the top deck before bringing us back down cheap slices of pizza.

The radio played softly while Chan and I laughed and ate the subpar pizza in his car. I giggled when Chris took one of the crusts from my plate and stuffed it in his mouth. “Don’t steal my food!”

“Can I steal something else then?” Chris said turning to the setting sun.

“If you’re gonna say something cheesy like my heart, I’ll toss you over the railing.”

He laughed, taking my hand again. “Fine, I won’t.” I played with the silver bands and rings around his fingers. It felt so normal to be with Chris. Everything about him felt...good. Wonderful. “Please let me finish! Y/n I haven’t been cheesy in so long.” He almost whined, bringing our hands up to his forehead.

“Fine...” I groaned though a smile was still creeping its way onto my face. “What are you going to steal then?” I said cringing and closing my eyes. They opened when I felt his hand on my jaw.

“First I was thinking, a kiss...” His lips ghosted over mine, leaving a lasting sensation when he pulled away. “Then maybe another...” His lips pressed against mine again, his thumb running over the back of my hand. His forehead rested against mine. “Why don’t you just give me your heart?” He whispered,

“Why should I do that, pretty boy?”

He smiled, glancing at the sunset before his eyes looked back into my own. “Because you already have mine.” My teeth dragged across my bottom lip, desperately trying to hide the grin I was threatening to give him. Tilting my head, I pressed a kiss to his cheek and then again on his jaw.

“Do I really now?” Chan nodded his head softly. His eyes twinkling in the setting sun. “Well, that was fast,” I whispered before leaning forward and kissing him.

♛

The sun was almost gone from the sky when we pulled up to the house in Jeju. I was surprised to find it right on the beach. The house was lined with huge windows on every side facing the ocean. “Chan, you can’t be serious right? This is yours?”

I watched him come around to my side of the Porsche. “Nope. It’s not mine.” He said wrapping his arms around me from behind. He smelled like cinnamon. His long fingers wrapped around mine before pressing something into my palm. “It’s yours, baby girl.”

Opening my hand, I saw a set of keys. “Chan this house...it must have cost a small fortune. I can’t take this from you.” He shrugged, kissing my shoulder.

“I’ve got the one in Itaewon. The apartment in Gwanak. And maybe...a small place in Bora Bora.”

“Excuse me?”

“Come on! Let’s go inside and see your new house!” Chan said dragging me inside. I laughed and let him pull me inside. He showed me every inch of the house. It was bright and open and gorgeous. I covered my mouth as Chan led me out into the sunroom. The walls were entirely windows and stairs to the right led down to the waterfront. “You like it?” Chan asked.

I turned to see him standing in the doorway holding a bottle and two glasses. “What is this?” I asked with a laugh. He smiled and sat on the day bed on the porch.

“This,” He said popping the bottle open. “This is your housewarming party.” I watched with a smile as he poured me a glass of champagne. His fingers brushed against mine as I took the flute. “I know it’s not the parties you’re used to.”

I took a small sip of the bubbly drink and smiled. “Are you kidding?” I said, standing between Chan’s legs and looking down at him as he poured his own glass and took a drink. “This is the best party I’ve ever been to.”

The waves crashed on the beach behind us. A cool breeze blew through some of the opened windows, but I felt warm near Chan, his hands around my waist. “You’re just saying that cause I’m here,” Chan whispered.

“So what if I am. It’s the truth.” I said running a hand through his hair.

“Come here, baby.” He whispered, pulling me down onto his lap. I took another sip from the champagne, before reaching across Chan and setting it on a table. “F***, you’re beautiful.” He whispered, pushing a piece of hair away from my face. I smiled, draping my arms around his neck.

“You keep saying things like that and I’m going to have to keep you here with me.”

“Do you see me leaving?”

He smiled when my fingers carded through his blonde locks. His arms wrapped tightly around me, pulling him closer to me than I thought possible. My lips reached down for his desperate for even more of his touch.

I felt a cool breeze on my back as Chan’s hands pushed up the hem of my shirt. I shivered feeling his hands on my bare skin. His lips attacked mine as if I was the only thing in this world keeping him alive. I let my fingers drag down his chest. He smiled against me, feeling me play with the hem of his shirt.

His teeth dragged over my bottom lip giving me goosebumps. My hands traveled under his shirt. I was surprised to feel so much muscle under my hands as they rested on his stomach. Chan smirked before he turned his attention to my neck.

Having had enough of the barrier between myself and Chan I tugged his shirt off, holding onto him tightly as he marked my neck. “Chan...” I whispered, bringing my lips back to his.

“Sh**,”

Chan let out a content sigh and pushed me down onto the cushion of the day bed. “How about...we move this somewhere...you know....not outside?” I said between heated kisses from the man above me. He nodded before kissing down my jaw. “Chan, did you hear me?” I asked the breath leaving my chest feeling his teeth graze my skin.

“Sorry...I got a little distracted,” Chan admitted with a smile. I laughed feeling Chan pick me up. “Into your house, we go!” I laughed as he carried me in his arms through the dark living room and down the hall. The master bedroom was full of moonlight from the huge windows on the far wall. I screeched as Chris tossed me onto the big bed.

“CHAN!”

He laughed and jumped onto the bed. I smiled as his lips rejoined with mine. His body fit perfectly into all the curves of my own. I sighed against his lips feeling his hips press down against mine. I tangled my fingers in his hair pulling on the blonde locks.

I watched the moon glisten over the ocean before my eyes closed, the only thing on my lips the name of the man with me.

♛

Jae’s POV

My fingers drummed against the wood of the desk. Not my desk. No. I didn’t get a desk. This was the desk of an old friend. A friend who was late to meet with Dowoon and me. “Wasn’t he supposed to be here an hour ago?” Dowoon said, messing with some of the books on a shelf.

I kept my feet propped up on the desk and my stare focused on the door. To keep myself busy I had been disassembling and reassembling my firearm and timing myself. “Don’t worry. He owes me more than one favor.” I said slamming the gun down on the desk.

The door creaked open and both our eyes shot to the door. “Woah! You guys scared me. Jae, you look like the f***ing Grim Reaper himself.”

“I will be if I don’t find her. Then, believe me, Wonpil, if I don’t find her and kill that bastard; then there will be too many souls for the gates of heaven to hold.” In the corner of my eye, I saw Dowoon shiver.

“Dude.....that’s creepy,” Wonpil said, tossing a folder onto his desk.

“Jae just really loves Y/n,” Dowoon said with a dopey smile.

I rolled my eyes and picked the gun up off the desk. “What did you find?” Wonpil stat on the edge of the table, casting me a side glance. Dowoon picked up the file my friend entered with.

“I planted a bug on her, but one of the dudes with her snagged it.” Wonpil got up and shooed me from his chair. Reluctantly I complied. He stuck a flash drive from his pocket into his computer.

“The guy who took the bug- dark hair, foreign-looking?” I asked.

“No.” He said opening up a program. “Both of the guys with her were blonde. She also went by a different name. She called herself Jessica.” I sighed, rubbing my temples. Chan had definitely gotten in her head.

“Sh**.”

“You’re really not gonna like this. One of the guys she was with- she called him her boyfriend. Not gonna lie, she looked happy.” Everyone jumped when my fist slammed into the nearest wall.

Taking a few deep breaths, I calmed myself down and waited for Wonpil to access whatever file he wanted to show me. “The bug should still be going, though.” With a few clicks, Wonpil started playing a live feed.

The sound of two male voices filled the office. “Dude...I’m gonna miss Y/n so much!!” One yelled. Wonpil sighed.

“That’s one of the guys she was with. Not her boyfriend, the other one.” Wonpil stated.

“Don’t worry, Sung. Chan will be back from Jeju any day now. He just went with her to make sure she settled in alright.” I pushed myself off the wall I was leaning in. She was in Jeju. With Chan. I was fuming.

“Are you sure she was taken?” Wonpil asked. “Because it sounds to me like she was paying these guys to take her.” Dowoon laughed and poked Wonpil’s shoulder.

“No way. Y/n loved her life in the penthouse.”

Wonpil shrugged and continued to listen to the live feed. “Do you even know where is place is in Jeju?” The rougher voice asked. The one called ‘Sung’ laughed.

“Of course not. That was Chan’s special place. He never took anyone there.”

“And he’s just giving it to her?”

I sighed rubbing my eyes. “Okay, can you track this thing?” I asked looking over Wonpil’s shoulder. He nodded and tapped away on the keyboard. Impatiently I waited to see where these little sh**s were hiding.

“Looks like the bug is in an apartment complex near Seoul University,” Wonpil said pointing at the screen. I nodded to Dowoon, who took the file from earlier and stuffed it in his jacket.

“Thanks, Wonpil. We’ve got some business to take care of.”

♛

Y/n’s POV

Three days had passed. Three incredible, wonderful, magical days. All spent with Chan. Spent drinking wine on the beach, spent making homemade dinners in the amazing kitchen, spent in bed where Chris whispered sweet nothings into my ear as I fell asleep.

I opened my eyes to be greeted with the morning light seeping in through the large windows of my bedroom. I sat up in bed watching the waves crash against the sand. This was my life now, I thought a sleepy smile spreading across my face.

I looked beside me to see Chan missing from his side of the bed. “Chan?” I called out. Maybe he was in the kitchen. “Babe?” My bare feet pressed against the cool wood floor and I grabbed Chan’s black shirt from off the floor. The fabric brushed against my thighs as I walked into the kitchen.

“Chris?”

“Out here, baby girl,” I followed Chan’s voice out into the sunroom. He sat on the day bed most of the windows cracked open and the doors were propped letting the warm morning breeze flow through the room. His blonde hair blew slightly in the wind. “Hi, baby.” He said setting down a coffee mug.

“What are you drinking?” I said crawling over him and nuzzling into his side.

“Tea. You want some?”

I shrugged feeling his arm wrap around me. “I’ll get some later.” I closed my eyes and enjoyed being next to him. He sighed as I ran my fingers up and down his chest softly.

“Is that my shirt?”

“Maybe...”

“It looks good on you.” He whispered, placing a kiss on the top of my head. I draped my leg over his and rested my head on his chest. “Did you sleep well?” His arm wrapped tightly around my back, rubbing my side. I nodded and looked up at him.

“What were you doing out here?”

“I was trying to get in touch with the boys,” Chan said pulling out his phone. “Jisung isn’t answering my calls, which isn’t far from normal.” He sighed and scrolled through various text messages. “But, neither is Changbin.” His brows furrowed and he placed his phone next to the mug.

“Do you need to leave early? To check on them.”

“You couldn’t rid of me if you tried.”

I laughed looking up at him. “You keep saying things like that, but how do I know you’ll actually do it?” He scoffed and sat up. I scooched upward so I could still lay on his chest.

“You see that out there,” Chan said pointing out into the ocean. “That whatever is out there.” He smiled, looking down at me before he turned back to the sea. “Japan, the Philipines, whatever is in that direction. I would swim there and back if you asked me to, without hesitation.”

“You don’t know what’s in that direction?” I said with a laugh.

“Y/n you are missing my point!” Chan said chuckling.

“No, I get it. I was just teasing you, Chris.” Leaning up I pressed my lips to his. Chan smiled and pulled me fully on top of him. His fingers tangled themselves in my hair. I felt his heartbeat going crazy against my hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than I am now,” I whispered against his lips.

“You make me happy,” Chan whispered, looking up at me. “I swear if you tell the boys I ever said something like that I’ll be so embarrassed.” I giggled watching him cover his face, hiding the blush growing on his cheeks.

“Don’t worry, I wo-”

I was cut off by a crash coming from inside the house. Both our heads shot towards the sound. “Did you leave something on the edge of the counter?” Chan asked staring at the door leading back into the house. His grip on my waist tightened when I shook my head.

“No...Chan, what’s going on?”

The door burst open and I screamed seeing Dowoon aiming his gun at the both of us. “Jae they are out here!” He called back into the house.

“Dowoon!” I screeched, pulling down Chan’s shirt further over my legs. Before I could say anything else, Dowoon grabbed Chan roughly by the arm and pulled him away and into the house. “Let him go! Dowoon!” I screamed and pounded on the man’s back.

My eyes widened as he threw Chan down onto the floor in the living room. Right at the feet of Park Jae. The man who used to make my heart skip a beat. Now I was furious. “Chan!” I screamed, holding onto him.

“I’m fine, just stay behind me.” He whispered to me, getting up. Chan stood tall, though his height was no match for the whopping half a foot Jae had on him. I did as Chan told me, sending a glare at Jae from behind Chris, my fingers holding tightly onto his arm.

“Really, Y/n. You’re with this guy!?” Jae screamed pointing his gun at Chan. “What about us?” Jae said quieting down. He looked genuinely hurt.

“Jae it wouldn’t have worked...” Chan laced his fingers with mine, still keeping his eyes on Jae and Dowoon.

“Look, Jae...I remember you from a couple years ago. This isn’t you. Let’s put the gun down and handle this like men.” Chan said with a calm tone. Jae scoffed.

“Fine.” Jae tossed his gun to Dowoon and nodded to him. “Let’s settle this like men.” I heard the sound of his fist making contact with Chan’s face before I saw it. Chan reacted immediately pushing Jae off him before landing a punch of his own.

My eyes widened when I heard the front door opened. During the scuffle, Dowoon had exited and was now dragging in two men. “HEY MAN WATCH IT! I bruise easily.” I would know that voice anywhere.

“Jisung?” His blonde head turned to me eyes wide.

“Y/n! Y/n, save me from this Mad Monkey Man!”

“CHAN STOP! They have Ji and Bin!” Chan’s eyes widened and he looked up to see his friends being held by Dowoon. I pulled him off of Jae, who stood up and dusted off his suit. He smirked seeing our reaction to the boys. Jae shrugged off his jacket and turned to our friends. Even Bin looked a little scared. “Jae, leave them out of this.”

“I can’t do that Y/n. I know for a fact...this one,” He said grabbing the back of Jisung’s hair and lifting up his head. “Was seen helping you make a getaway in Gwanak and he was at the house in Itaewon.” Jisung struggled against Jae’s grip. “Gave Dowoon quite the scar on his cheek.” I turned to see in fact Dowoon had a fresh scar on his left cheek.

I let out a short scream as Jae’s fist flew across Jisung’s face. My friend glared up at him and spat on the floor, a dark red substance falling from his lips. “don’t hurt him.” Jae’s eyes widened and a surprised smile spread over his face.

“Well, seems both men have got you wrapped around their finger, Y/n.” He said taking Jisung’s face in his hand. “The question is,” He said turned to me and reaching behind him. “Which one matters more to you?” Jae pulled out another gun and aimed it at Chan. Dowoon pulled his out as well and pressed it against Ji’s temple.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Chan’s hand move behind him and reach into the lampshade. When his hand reappeared he was grasping a gun. I held onto his arm and shook my head ‘no’. Chan watched as I stepped between him and the barrel of the gun.

Jae scoffed. “You’ve got her brainwashed pretty well, don’t you?” I scowled and stood still staring down the barrel of the gun. I knew he wouldn’t fire if I was standing between him and his target. “You probably tried to take advantage of her. Luckily she’s not dumb enough to fall for that sort of f***ing scam.”

I heard Chan scoff behind me and I shot him a look. He ignored it, however, stepping forward. “Really?” He asked with a smile, listing his head. “From what I remember...she came on to me.” I could see Jae getting angrier and angrier. “Man, you should have been here the past few days. Things were pretty crazy,” Chan said with a smirk.

“D**MMMMMM BRO! THAT’S COLD!” Jisung laughed. Another punch from Jae silenced him.

“You’ve got a right to be jealous,” Chan said, grasping my hand. That was the last straw. Jae launched at Chan, taking him to the flower. Dowoon, thoroughly confused as to what was going on, dropped Changbin and Jisung. Bin ran over near me, wanting to be as far away from Dowoon as possible. Jisung on the other hand stayed over there, enthralled by the fight.

“YES. STEAL HIS GIRL CHAN! SHOW HIM WHO’S BOSS!”

“Jisung, dude, she wasn’t his in the first place,” Bin said narrowing his eyes at our friend. Jisung looked from me and then back to the fight.

“.......KICK HIS ASS, HYUNG!”

Both boys rolled around on the floor throwing punches and wrestling for dominance. “Stop it!” I screamed pulling on Jae’s shirt. “Stop!” They kept on fighting, not hearing me over Jisung’s trash talk to Jae and his cheers fro Chan. “That’s it.”

My eyes scanned the room for something relatively heavy. I raced over to the end table and grabbed the purple object before slamming it against the back of Jae’s head. “ENOUGH!” I screamed. All the boys stopped what they were doing and stared at me, eyes wide with fear.

“Chan you were right....what is with your girlfriend and candles...” Jisung whispered to his friend who lay at his feet. Chan looked up and then let his head drop to the floor. I looked to see a Black Cherry Merlot candle in my hand, the lavender tinted glass cracked from the impact of Jae’s cranium.

Jae rolled off of Chan and held the back of his head. “Enough. Stop this madness. I have had it up to here with you all.” Dowoon flinched at my yelling and I almost felt bad. Jisung helped Chan up from the floor and I dragged Jae by his ear to the kitchen.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow...” He whined all the way.

“Shut up and listen okay?” Jae nodded and silently watched me grab a bag of frozen peas from the freezer. “I’m not going back with you,” His eyes saddened and he opened his mouth to say something but I stopped him. “I left on purpose. I hated it there. I wasn’t living my own life. I felt like I was locked up in a prison.”

Jae nodded and pressed the vegetable bag to the back of his head. “So, you really love him?” He looked broken. I still loved Jae, very much. But, not in the way that I used to. His head fell when I nodded. “Your dad is going to kill me, you do know that right?” There was a tiny laugh in his voice, but the words were more true than I would have liked to believe.

“Give me your phone.”

He passed me his phone and I scrolled through the contacts until I found my father. I waited, arms crossed for him to pick up. “Jae! Have you found my baby girl?” My father’s voice exclaimed through the phone.

“Hi, daddy!” I said, looking around the mess of my new house. Changbin was helping Chan and Jisung was having a sort of staring contest with Dowoon. He flinched away when Dowoon uncrossed his arms. I tried not to laugh.

“Y/n! My darling! Please tell me you are coming home.”

“Daddy, I love you,” I started. He went quiet hearing those words.

“You aren’t coming home are you?” I shook my head before telling him what he didn’t want to hear. I told him all about my deal with Chan and how he kept me safe until he got me to Jeju. I told him about how I never expected to fall in love with someone like him, but it happened.

“I’m happy, Dad.” I heard a slow sigh on the other end of the call. I could just picture my father rubbing his temples in his study.

“If you are happy and you are safe... then I trust you.” I smiled hearing those words. I wanted to jump and scream and sing all around the house. I wanted to run into the ocean and bask in the sunlight. “Please promise me, that you will come visit us.”

I agreed and told him I loved him before hanging up the phone and giving it back to Jae. “Would you and Dowoon like to stay for lunch? Chan and I were going to grill some shrimp and other stuff.” Jae seemed shocked by the offer.

“That would be nice.” I smiled and patted his shoulder.

“The bathroom is just down the hall, but I’m sure Jisung would also like to clean up his face...so I would run.” He gave me a confused look. “He is a strong supporter of ‘dibs’. So, I would run before he calls it.” Jae nodded and turned to leave.

My hand on his wrist stopped him. “Jae, I’m really sorry. About us. About everything.” He gave me a tight-lipped smile and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“It’s okay. As long as you're happy with...Chan...then I am happy for you.”

I smiled and reached up to give him a hug. “Now go before Jisung calls dibs.” He smiled and walked down the hall, breaking into a sprint when he saw Jisung was doing the same.

♛

Chan and I watched from the sunroom as Jisung and Changbin pushed each other around on the beach. Jae and Dowoon had left after lunch. Now the sun was setting and Chan was grilling up some more food while I sat and talked to him. I laughed watching Changbin throttle Jisung into the ocean.

“How into this are you?” Chan asked flipping some vegetables over on the grill. I gave him a lopsided grin and stood from the daybed. I wrapped my arms around his waist feeling the muscles beneath his tank top.

“Into what? This? Us?” He nodded. I pretended to think about it, making him smile. I let my lips trail down his shoulder. “Very.”

“You’re saying that you want to be my partner in crime?” I rose a brow and he gave me a nervous laugh. “Okay, semi-legal partner in crime.” I laughed and kissed his shoulder again.

“Let’s start with ‘girlfriend’ before I break the law with you.” He smiled and closed the grill.

A scream called our attention back to the beach. I was relieved to just see Jisung running away from Changbin. Unfortunately, Jisung wasn’t fast enough and Changbin had his hands around his shoulders, shoving Ji down under the waves.

“I’m friends with literal children.”

“Yes, yes you are.” He leaned down and pressed a heated kiss onto my lips. I was seriously falling in love with this man. “What do you want to do now, handsome?” I smirked seeing him roll his eyes, but a rosy blush tinted his ears.

“I don’t know,” He shrugged.

“Something good? Something bad?” I played with the ends of his hair before kissing the corner of his lips. “Bit of both? Whatever you want, pretty boy.” Chan sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist. His eyes turned to the sunset, twinkling in the light.

“Bit of both then.” He said with a smirk, leaning in for another kiss.

♛

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