#hi the zoo stopped offering housing for interns | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whump-town · 3 years

Text

Stubborn

Everybody taking care of old Hotch because... I don't like it when old Hotch gets left to just die on his own :( don't ask why that's where I draw the line

No pairings

No warnings

In Jack’s second semester of his junior year, Hotch collapses again. He’s home this time, out in his garden under the glaring sun. The day had begun no different than any other. The birds on the powerline chirping and causing their disturbances, as eager for the day to begin as the school-aged children shouting in the street. He’d watched them from the sliding glass door facing the street, his tea warm in his hands. He’d waved at a few, the older ones who recognize him as a mystifying adult with stories to be unlocked. The younger children give him a face akin to a monster’s, his mystery horrifying in their already confusing enough lives.

It’s an hour before lunch. Two hours before Spencer shows up because it’s Thursday and he teaches a class on this side of town every Tuesday and Thursday at 2. One that he occasionally asks Hotch to attend -- as a guest lecturer, as a treat to his students, or just for the company.

He could call just about anyone.

Emily’s downtown, on her way back from a meeting with the Department of Justice. She’d be thrilled for an excuse to not go back to the office and spend an hour or two in his kitchen telling him about those pretentious assholes.

Garcia’s about ten minutes away, working at a nonprofit teaching “at-risk” kids how to code. Being the guiding hand she’d needed as a teenager so that they might not repeat the same mistakes she made. She was lucky, Hotch saved her but he’s not around to catch any more kids like her.

Morgan got hired by a family two streets over to fix up their house before they move in. He’s there now, tearing out rotting beams.

This collapse is not of the life-threatening kind. Not to Hotch at least. There’s no internal bleeding, no emergency surgeries. He doesn’t even need stitches but he’s on so many medications that thin his blood that it’s just on the safer side. From the hospital, he calls who he needs to. Reid first, he’ll worry when he gets to Hotch’s house and sees his truck gone. Then, Jack, it’s better to hear this sort of thing from him and not Emily in half an hour when she needs to yell at someone and who better than the son of the idiot she hates right now? Dave and Emily follow and he trusts them to carry the news the rest of the way. Rather, he simply doesn’t want to talk about it anymore and he’d rather Garcia and JJ and Morgan and everyone else just be mad at him than go on to have another conversation about how he’s feeling.

Fine. He just got light-headed. It was the heat and his perpetually low iron and probably his thin blood (the killer had been his blood pressure but they’re working on that). He just needs to get better about remembering to eat breakfast -- a larger breakfast than just tea and toast. Fainting, he assures Dave, happens. Jack’s seen it happen. The heat makes it worse, the summertime drains him. He’s come in from the garden and gotten weak in the knees plenty of times. He actually moved some chairs around the sliding glass door to the yard, prepared for this exact problem.

This over clarification does not help.

Made only the more complicated when he explains his head is fine. The fainting thing really isn’t a big deal, he just needs a ride home. He’d landed weirdly and pulled his back. He left with a new problem entirely, a torn ligament in his shoulder. That is a problem for a different day.

The surgery is set for the week just before Jack’s finals. Armed with a suitcase full of textbooks, his laptop, notes from this semester (and a few from last), and just enough clothes to recycle a few and still be fine, Jack shows up on his father’s doorstep. “I mean, the hospital isn’t exactly the library… but it’s not the worst place I’ve studied.” It’s far too late to send Jack back but Hotch is reluctant to let him stay. Even if he does prefer Jack be his ride rather than the likes of Penelope and that tiny green eye-sore of a car she drives or leave him to Reid and his defensive, jerky driving.

To the sound of “Aaron Hotchner November 2, 1971”, Jack settles down with his books. He tries to put himself in the right headspace for studying but it’s harder than he anticipated. The constant motion of the room unsettles him and he looks up several times to see his father’s reaction. To gauge the anxiety in his face, in the deep breathes that he pulls in through his nose. In how tight his fists are holding the sheets underneath him. It’s a simple surgery and they’ll be out of here in no time.

“Young” his heart had not handled the heavy sedatives and morphine well. Then again, those incidents are always hard to measure against a thing like this. Rushed into the ER with nine chest wounds and having nearly bled to death, it’s natural to conclude the stress of his depleted blood supply and his very recent trauma had caused his heart to stop on the table. That said trauma was the reason his heart had maintained to be a steady problem up until they released him. Again, when he was brought in with some of the worst internal bleedings the staff had ever seen. His heart had given them trouble too.

Jack is staring blankly at his flashcards when the doctor comes out.

Hotch had gone to Georgetown to be a lawyer like his father and his grandfather. Jack went to Georgetown to get an Art History degree. He was lead by something else. Not chasing some shadow, clutching at a lie he spoonfed himself. Jack didn’t live in anyone’s shadow, never felt the pressure to look and act a certain way. Was never beaten into submission or told to hold his tongue. Jack went to museums every Saturday with his father, preferred them to the aquariums and the zoo. Hotch held him close to the artwork, pushed his dense schedule around to go to new shows, and learned the names of pieces just to recite the knowledge back to Jack.

In his lap, Jack is memorizing pieces of art like his father had years ago for him. He’s stuck on The Anatomy Lesson, eyes glued to the details. The way colorless skin is held in forceps, peeled back to reveal angry red. He can feel the pinching teeth on his own skin, feels the heavy flow of hot blood spilling down over his arm.

“Hotchner?”

Jack flinches, caught completely off guard. He stands, flushing as he tucks his notecards into his textbook, and stands. “Ugh, yeah. That’s me.” He wipes his hands off on his pants, rubbing away the nervous sweat he’s built up.

The doctor recognizes him from earlier. He’d watched Jack and Hotch get out one last goodbye. Jack pulling up a nervous smile, dirty-blonde hair, and light eyes a complete contrast to Hotch’s ever-darkening features. Somehow more solemn, voice taken by the sedatives already working through his body. He hadn’t said a word, eyes vacantly following Jack’s movements but unaware.

Jack expects the same monologue he hears every time. The one that comes out so dry and perfect that they must practice it in front of the mirror, say it softly to themselves as they as they get ready each morning. He’s got it memorized himself -- the bits about recovering in post-op, make a full recovery, and whatever on the fly timeline they give for access back to the room.

“But he’s-- He’s okay? He’s--”

Jack feels impossibly childish. Five years old and Emily’s chilled fingers brushing his tears away, “baby, I know you miss your mommy. But you’re being so terribly mean to your daddy.” He had been, a terrible little monster squirming away from his father and refusing to eat anything. Throwing tantrums about nothing and everything. Screaming and crawling under his bed every chance he got. Pushing himself to the wall knowing he couldn’t be reached.

Now he can remember Hotch just sitting at the edge of the bed. There on the floor for hours. Sometimes he read, would pick up a book, and just start from wherever just to make it so his voice was reaching where he couldn’t. He slept there too, on the hard ground just to make sure Jack knew he was there. Slipped strawberry pop tarts on crazily designed animal plated under there, offered bites of his own food to the darkness under the bed. Sippy cups full of chocolate milk and juice.

He feels like a little boy again, getting news that he has no idea how to handle.

“He’s okay?” Jack stammers. “He’s going to be okay? I can see him?”

Hotch remembers those days under the bed too. Waking up in the middle of the night as Jack groggily curled close to him, still under the bed but crawling under his blanket. The ends of those awful sobs, Jack’s little chest jerking as he hiccuped. The force of his sorrow was too much for his little body. And Jack would fall into his lap, exhausted and needing comfort. His little fingers tracing the scars on Hotch’s face. How he whispered “thank you” and “please” from underneath the bed and how he’d pop his head out to say, “Daddy, I’m going to potty. I’ll be right back.”

Jack’s legally old enough to drink now and Hotch still sees that little boy. The three-year-old wiping his snot on Hotch’s dress shirt. The six-year-old holding his hand and reminding him to look both ways twice before crossing the street. The eight-year-old he left the hallway light on for, old enough now to think he needed to brave the night without a nightlight. So Hotch would offer to keep the hallway light on, not for Jack but for him because he doesn’t like the dark. The ten-year-old sheepishly offering him a father’s day gift he bought with saved allowance, a t-shirt he’s now worn the words off of. The fifteen-year-old curling up beside him on the couch, seeking his comfort but not sure how to ask anymore. The eighteen-year-old as tall as him talking his ear off while he tries to get dinner ready, sticking his fingers in the pan and sitting on the counter.

How did he grow up so fast?

He’s not a little boy anymore. Hasn’t been for a long time.

The creaking of a chair moves Hotch’s attention and he looks away from Jack. Away from the sight of his little boy curled up on a cot, drooling onto a pillow and notebook still open, a pen dangling from his fingers. He looks over and Emily’s sitting up, her reading glasses precariously sat on the tip of her nose. “Oh look,” she mumbles. She stretches out, groaning as her joints complain from being held in this miserable hospital chair for hours. “You’ve decided to join the land of the living.”

Hotch watches her fold the thin black frames of her glasses up, gently sits them down by his hand as she stands up. Jack had called her, even though he promised he wouldn’t worry anyone. Hotch didn’t want anyone else coming to the hospital over something so small and though Jack protested that their concern wouldn’t be because he was bothering them but because they love him. The very same reason he’d come home is that people gather after these sorts of things. They need reassurance that he’s alive and he’s just going to have to accept that. They compromised in the end, everyone could come to smother him in worry after he got home from the surgery.

But Jack was scared. He called the only person he could think to, the woman whose role in his life that was never really clear. She’d gotten on him about his grades, smacked the back of his head when he said something stupid, and always let him taste-test her wine at Thanksgiving dinner. Emily knew things that not even Jessica knew and she could be sterner than both Hotch and Jessica and also more relaxed, more understanding. She was always there for both of them, in the same capacity as Jessica and yet her own unique one. A friend Hotch trusted and loved and Jack could understand that. His friends always wanted to know if they were dating and he knew intuitively that the answer was no but he would hesitate to try and explain. But he didn’t understand the gravity that pulled them together, adults and their relationships far too complex to fit it into his simple understanding of love.

He did understand she was the only person to call.

“What’d he do this time?” she asked and knew she was playing the wrong role for the wrong Hotchner because no sooner than she could ask she had an armful of Jack. She sat with Jack for hours, let him get his fear out. Held him while he sobbed, felt pulled to the past. When it was Aaron on her shoulder, terrified he’d lose his son. Life has this very odd way of bringing everything full circle.

“I bet you’re hurting.” Emily moves to the table and pours water into the little paper Dixie cup left by the nurses. “Been right dramatic this afternoon,” she informs him, a dissatisfied matter-of-fact tone in play. “I know you find that to be particularly taxing.” She holds the cup for him, gentle despite her annoyance. She’s close enough to see the iodine on his skin. Dark orange swipes across his pale skin, the smell burns with its strength.

He pulls greedily from the cup, mouth impossibly dry. Stopped only by how little she poured, he sinks back heavily into the pillows behind him. His shoulder hot and angry from forcing himself upright.

“They’re going to let you go in the morning,” she says, sitting back down. He won’t remember this in the morning. Emily holding his hand, whispering thickly how angry she is with him as tears fall down her face. How scared she was getting that phone call from Jack, racing down here to be a composed person to comfort his son thinking her best friend was in the morgue.

He’ll wake up with a pit in his stomach, residual feelings from the night before he can’t tie down to memories. Emily shows no inclination to repeat herself, just coldly informs him that she’ll have Penelope make him a cardiologist appointment (it’s unspoken that no one trusts him to do this himself). Jack walks on glass, close by but terrified of being pushed away. Hotch is too out of it to put up much of a fight, by the time the morning shift has their hands on him he’s silent. Properly dosed up for a ride home and out of his mind.

He’s groggily propped up on pillows, watching Jack and Emily fight over if he has the right to wear shoes or not. Emily wants to hold them captive, he won’t run off or refuse the wheelchair without them and Jack shakes his head, “he’s not our P.O.W, Emily. He’s even going to get that far if he does try to run.” He’s given his shoes but Emily makes a point to collect his cane, holds it while the nurse helps him into the wheelchair. He’s a flight-risk and she’s not going to trust him, he’s run off on her too many times for that.

At the house the other’s have gathered up, having nothing better to do evidently on a Wednesday at ten in the morning. Penelope’s frying eggs and bacon, the carnage it takes to feed their brood spread out on his kitchen counter. Reid sitting on the counter, Hank in his lap, and the two of them watching Penelope. Derek’s on the sofa, feet kicked up on the coffee table, and Savannah learning on his shoulder. Dave’s getting orange juice from the store declared them all lawless, and didn’t trust them to get the right kind.

Hotch is granted his cane to get back inside the house but Emily threatens to kick it out from underneath if he tries anything fast. He smacks her ankle and Jack has to actually step between them to keep them apart. It’s in times like these where Jack finds himself wondering how these two ever had any role in raising him at all.

“Don’t you have jobs?” Hotch asks, hooking his cane over the coat rack and toeing his shoes off. He ignores the hand Emily places on his arm, afraid he’ll knock himself over. He manages just fine, has the whole house set up so that every other step is within arms distance of something to lean on. Fingers trailing the back of the couch he limps past Derek, smiling when Savannah offers a soft “glad you’re okay”. She pats his hand and he nods back.

“Up for some food, sir?” Penelope asks and she’s not taking no for an answer. They might be having heaping servings of eggs and bacon and gravy and orange juice but she’s made two small bowls of oatmeal. She takes the medicine Jack tosses up on the counter, puts it at the end where the rest of his medication sits. “I cut up apples,” she tells Hotch with a wide grin, sliding the bowl in front of him. “Dashed a little cinnamon and sugar in there, it’ll stick to your bones. Keep you healthy.”

He’s at a healthy weight at the moment, not as thin as he leans to when he’s sick but with Hotch, it’s always a good thing to have some collateral weight for the “in case”. Lifting the spoon in his left hand he scoops some of the oatmeal up, doing his best to hide his annoyance at how weak his extremities still are. How his hand shakes under the light strain of the oatmeal. He looks up, watches Spencer carry Hank over to the highchair sitting at the table beside him. He’s distracted so Emily swoops in, takes his spoon from his hand, and tries his oatmeal. He lets her do it. He raises an eyebrow and she shrugs. She likes it. He nods, it’s pretty good.

Hank immediately knocks his spoon on the ground and makes a low whining sound in the back of his throat. “Hop help,” he whines, pointing down at his spoon. His speech is still developing so he pronounces help and hop nearly identically but Hotch understands the difference. He just can’t bend over like that. His right arm is still pinned to his chest in an intricate web of gauze and this sling.

“Reid,” Hotch calls. His voice is deep, strained from intubation and anesthesia. It makes him sound sick. “He’s dropped his spoon.”

Reid nods, he already knows.

Hank points to his shoulder and frowns, “Hop fall down?”

Hotch nods, that is pretty much what happened and at the same time, Emily sweeps in and tickles Hank. She presses kisses to his face and making him laugh loudly. “That’s what happens,” she says. “Hops is just old.” Hank is too distracted by the ongoing attack to defend Hotch not that a toddler rising to his defense is very helpful.

Hotch sighs as Jack comes up behind him, stealing his spoon too. He takes a bite of the oatmeal and deems it nearly as good as the kind that Jessica makes. Hotch wants to be annoyed by it and yet all he does is nod and finds himself smirking just a little.

Penelope calls everyone in for breakfast and Hotch ignores the kisses pressed to his cheek as people drag chairs to the table around him. To the hands that slide over his back, assurance of life he remembers Jack calling it.

Derek slides him a mug of tea, made exactly how he likes it. He sits across from Hotch, close to Hank in case either needs assistance. Emily sits to his left, slides her coffee up beside his tea so he can have some if he’s quick about it. Jack sits beside her and the rest is a blur, too much motion at once for him to take in without his contacts or glasses. Penelope slides a tea plate to him, his medicine on it, and kisses his head while he’s still scowling at the plate.

They don’t leave him alone all day.

He ends up taking a nap with Hank, the toddler’s sticky little fingers holding onto his shirt as he finds himself unable to fight off the effects of the medicine and his full stomach.

He’s squished on the couch between Derek and Dave, forced to watch baseball because he can’t worm his way upright again just yet.

They change the dressings on his shoulder, his teeth clenched tightly so that he doesn’t let anything slip.

At midnight he wakes up on the couch. Jack’s bedroom door is shut, he’s sleeping peacefully inside. His heating blanket is pulled up to his chin, the heat turned up all the way. He can’t remember getting into this state himself but he has a fate memory of JJ helping him move his hand to his mouth, encouraging him to take the pain killers before bed. Of Derek making sure he didn’t just fall straight over onto his side. He manages to find Dave stretched out on the Lazyboy -- the chair he got Hotch for his fifty-something birthday. He’ll wake up in the morning to more food being made in his lonely kitchen, JJ this time. She’ll make blueberry waffles.

If he’d wanted attention, Emily will tease the next morning, he could have just asked. And he didn’t even know he wanted this. He never finds the words to ask for it to continue but every Saturday morning it happens anyway -- his kitchen and living room full of pajamas and suits in varying degrees depending on who has what to do that morning. The fainting thing is not cool but he considers this to be a good trade.

#criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds #aaron hotchner #derek morgan #savannah hayes #hank morgan #jack hotchner #emily prentiss #david rossi #penelope garcia #spencer reid #jennifer jareau

63 notes · View notes

ptrckjcne · 2 years

Text

SLIPPING THROUGH MY FINGERS

“I try to capture every minute, the feeling in it.” –– In which Aaron Hotchner takes a moment to tell Haley about how their life is going in the time after her death.

Wordcount: 1.4k

[ Part 4 of the ABBA Chronicles ]

Read on Archive of Our Own – or below the cut!

Jack had been good at taking time to speak with Haley. He did it before he went to sleep at night, sometimes with his father by the side of his bed, sometimes he would do it when the light was switched off and Aaron had closed the bedroom door. Whenever Aaron was away, working on cases, Jack would spend the evening snuggled up under the covers of his bed at Jessica’s apartment, keeping an internal conversation with his mother going. Aaron, on the other hand, was not as good. Being a single–father to Jack, as well as a self–titled father–like figure for his team, time slipped through his fingers, and it wasn’t until they reached the day that hung over him like a gloomy shadow that he remembered. The day George Foyet had ripped Jack’s mother away from them.

He didn’t know what was different this year, but something in him told him he needed to be better. Something told him he needed to make up for all the occasions he had missed out on. Jack had been buzzing, excited about his day – JJ had planned a day at the zoo with Henry, and offered to bring Jack with, something Aaron had been grateful for. He had dropped his son off at JJ’s, quietly thanking her for taking Jack off his hands for the day, making a quick stop to the nearby flower shop, before finding his way to the graveyard. The walk from his car to her headstone seemed to take forever, and he felt as if he was dragging his entire body on his way there – not because he didn’t want to pay a visit to her grave, but because he still felt guilty. If it hadn’t been for him, she wouldn’t have been there.

The weather was nice; the sun was out, the temperature warm without being uncomfortable. He was sure he would find more people around, honoring their lost loved ones, but he couldn’t see anyone. No one that stood out, at least. Aaron let out a shaky breath as he reached her grave, the sun reflecting in the shiny headstone. It still tore his heart to pieces to visit, even after all this time. He wasn’t done grieving the loss of Haley, he never would be. Sure, life had moved on, things seemed easier – but he would always blame himself. It didn’t matter how many times his team would sit him down, tell him it wasn’t your fault, because it was his fault. Hadn’t it been for him, Foyet would never have targeted his family.

Haley would never have been dead.

“Hi Haley.” He cleared his throat, feeling the emotion rise in his throat as he tried to swallow it down, bury it deep within the pit of his stomach. “It’s – it’s been a while since I visited last, I hope you don’t hold a grudge against me or anything. Not that I’d blame you for it, I have given you plenty of reasons for it.”

Aaron crouched, placing the small, potted zinnia in front of the stone; he wasn’t much of an expert on flowers, but he remembered the zinnia as the flower Jack had picked out for their first ever visit to Haley’s grave, the young boy having mumbled something about the flower reminding him of the flowers they had planted together in the garden of their old house. He didn’t get up again, though, instead sitting down on the soft grass, a sigh escaping his lips.

“I don’t know how I’m doing, honestly. I guess I’m coping, trying to live life as normally as possible. Your sister is a great support, I don’t think things would work as well without Jessica around.” Aaron swallowed nervously, lowering his head to look at his hands; he hadn’t noticed it until now, how he was shaking, curling his fists up to compose himself, though it wasn’t working very well. “Work is … Well, you know how life in the BAU is. It is why we never worked in the long run, isn’t it?”

He let a dry chuckle escape his lips, trying to humor away the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. Aaron Hotchner didn’t cry, he wasn’t supposed to cry. He was supposed to be the calm and collected unit chief, the father who was always there when his son needed it, the husband keeping his family safe – and he had failed. He had failed at being the husband, remembering how his heart felt as if it left his body when he received the divorce papers. He had failed at being the calm and collected unit chief, letting Foyet get to his head. He had failed at being there when his son needed him, having sent Haley and Jack into witness protection. Yes, it was to keep them safe – but what was it worth it, when the result was Haley dying at the hands of Foyet as the endgame?

The leaves of the tree rustled above his head, causing Aaron to flinch; years of working in situations where he would face some of the worst criminals of the United States had caused him to always be alert, though his senses had almost gone overboard since Foyet. He managed to control it while at work, and he managed to control it around Jack – but within the comfort of his own bedroom, his own company, or his office behind closed blinds, he was a nervous wreck, and it sucked. It sucked that George Foyet had been able to do just the one thing he always aimed for – tearing Aaron Hotchner apart, little by little.

“Jack is doing well. He’s playing soccer, and Dave has made it his mission to make him–,” Aaron paused, furrowing his brows a little; he could have sworn David had mentioned the name of some Italian soccer–hero, but he couldn’t remember it just now. “I can’t quite remember, but he’s got a lot of knowledge from hours watching the Serie A – or whatever he called it. He appointed himself as my assistant coach for Jack’s team, but we all know that means he trains them and I just cheer them on.”

Glancing around, he could see he was still relatively alone. A few rows further down, he could see an elderly man tending to a grave, quite possibly the grave of his passed wife, and it caused that familiar twinge of guilt in Aaron’s gut. That could have been him and Haley, had it not been for him. Had it not been for his line of work, for the fact that he got himself an enemy as powerful as George Foyet.

“Reid helps me out with his math homework. I swear, our son is a little genius – his math is way above my head already, I can only imagine how it will be in the future.” Aaron chuckled, lowering his head a little. His shaking had calmed, though the lump was still in his throat, tears still welling his eyes – though he wasn’t even sure if they were tears of sadness, or if they were something as stupid at tears of his own stupidity. “I’ve come to the realization that I need to keep the kid safe in the field, all the time, because there’s no way I’ll be able to help Jack with his homework in the future, and Reid? Well, he’ll be able to help Jack take on anything related to math and science.”

He remembered how they had struggled finding a name for Jack, having visited suggestions along the likes of Sergio, Andrew, and even Gideon, though they had ended up on Jack. It had been a bit ironic, as Aaron didn’t want to name his son after a killer – although the idea of Jack the Ripper seemed to completely slip his mind. Or maybe it was because he noticed how satisfied Haley seemed with the idea of having a son named Jack Hotchner. He lowered his head a little as a slight chuckle escaped his lips, the memory flashing before his eyes as if someone had pressed play on a home–movie inside his brain.

“He’s a good boy, Haley. He is a happy, healthy, and good boy.” Aaron paused, lifting his gaze as he placed a hand on her headstone, biting hard on his lip as a single tear fell from his eye. “I’m sorry you never got the chance to see him grow up, but I assure you, I will do everything in my power to keep him happy. Whatever it takes.”

#ssahotchfics #marie writes #aaron hotchner #haley brooks #jack hotchner #hotchley #criminal minds fanfiction

11 notes · View notes

chromium7sky · 3 years

Text

The Devil wears Armani | chapter 12

A/n: I'm really sorry for the long hiatus of this au 😭. Finally got some spark about this update and I hope you guys enjoy it. Btw, guess who finally meet Raven? 😆😆

Raven finally reached her home after outing and small reunion with Karen. She remove her heels awkwardly as she yawned. It was a long night.

She tell Karen everything about what happen between her and Damian and of course minus the intimacy in his office.

-flash back-

Karen land her chin on her palm propped on the table as she listen to Raven's story. "You know, this is an interesting story though but did he knew about Melchior?"

Raven narrowed her eyes. " Why would I mention that jerk? Besides me and Damian still haven't declare about our relationship, I mean, he does flirt me back. Not to mention we did kiss..." Raven stop at the kissing part.

"Men can be complicated sometimes." She sighed as she take a bite from the cake she ordered.

"Couldn't agree more since I'm about to marry one." Karen wiggle her fingers that had betrothed ring on it.

Both designer and ex model giggled.

"I...I just hope Damian is serious about it. I'm quite invested my feeling for him." Raven chewed her lips.

"I hope so, Rachel. I hope he does." Karen smiled.

- end flashback-

Raven sighed on her bed after she change her clothes into night gown. "Gotta get some sleep because I'm going to meet him tomorrow. Should I ask again about us?"

Raven's mind wander about the golden question, her eyes start to droop as the cold night beckons her to the land of morpheus.

--------

Damian watched the E! Entertainment as he tidy up his studio to catch up any news on fashion industry then the anchorman, Josh Dirkmann said about a known designer from Europe came to town known as Melchior Draco.

"Melchior?" Damian arched his brows. Another designer in town? Maybe there's an event? And as soon as the reporter had some short interview with the silver hair gentlemen with black suit.

"So what makes you come to Gotham?" The reporter pointed the mic towards the designer.

"Well, a big company invited me to launched both of our collaboration and they said Gotham fit the aesthetic." He answered as he tug his silver hair behind his ears which earn a sneer from Damian as he watch the interview.

"Do you know Raven the designer?"

" Oh, yes. We did compete each other in Paris Fashion Show. She won first while I won second. It was a tough decision for the judges. Just so you know, between you and me, we kinda close during that time." Melchior slip out some interesting info towards the reporter.

The reporter almost gasped and demand for more answer but Melchior quickly waved away and walked towards the hotel lobby.

Damian quickly grab the remote control and closed the show.

" What do you mean close each other?" Both of his eyebrows knitted together. He closed his eyes and throw the remote at the couch. "It doesn't matter."

-------

Raven now in mess. The phone call came in nonstop just because of a statement when Melchior mention that both of them were close and the paparazzi possible sniffing out a scandal.

She sighed and landed her head on her desk. A hard knocking landed on her door makes her jolted. " Come in." As she turn her head towards the door.

Mona came in a hurry with an apologetic face. " Miss Rachel, I forgot to inform you that there will be a journalist came for your gala interview today. I'm really really sorry." Mona bow her head.

Raven stare blankly at Mona while her internal having conflict. 'First it's was Melchior statement and now interview? What...what should I do?'

Her palm start to sweat but quickly she fist up her hand. " When will be the journalist comes?"

The assistant girl check through her tablet. " In two hours."

"Who from where?"

"Jonathan Kent from Daily Planet, ma'am."

"Oh?" The same journalist who interview her winning success in fashion show. " Well, make sure escort him to my office and prepare our boarding room. Easier to execute it in there." Raven gives a stern order.

Mona nodded her head vigorously then quickly exit her room.

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

She straighten her back as she heard a knock. She breath in. "Come in."

"Ms. Rachel!"

"Mona."

"A journalist came to meet you for Wayne's Gala interview." She gesture her hands towards a young man with curly hair and those prominent square glasses. "Mr. Jonathan Kent."

"Ah, Jonathan. Hi! It's been a while." Raven stretch her hand towards him.

Jon adjust his specs then handshake with her. "Thank you for letting me interview again , Ms. Roth." His face display his friendliness towards her.

Mona bowed her heads and quickly went out of her office. "How about we bring this interview to boarding room? More comfy?" Raven suggest about changing place.

"Yeah, you're right." Jon nodded.

Raven stood up and escort Jon to the meeting room for more proper place to interview.

She open the light switch and pull out a chair. " You can sit here."

"Ah, right, thank you." Jon smiled sheepishly as he pull the leather chair and sit, opposite with the owner of AMZ company.

" So, how long does this interview lasting?" Raven asked him as soon as she's in her seat and lean on the table with both of her hands propped on her chin.

"Well, not long, more or less 10 minutes." The journalist smile sheepishly. "Anyway..." He pull out his notebook, voice recording and a pen."Let us start with, how long you know Damian Wayne?"

"Well...since I was freshly involved in this industry, Mr Wayne offered me to promote myself at Gala." Raven calmly answer as she tried to cover Damian from being involve with fashion drawing class back in those days.

Jon then stopped the voice recording which made her jolted then adjust his specs. "You are the one who have the same class with him right?"

Raven almost gasped but she quickly act nonchalant as she tried to deny it . "Are you try to dig something from me, Mr Kent?"

"Ah, yes. Such as wanted to know more about Dami's secret girl." He smiled.

Dami? Her eyebrow arched as she heard the name. Why in the world he would address Damian that way? "You must be mistaking. We were only in term of business."

"Seriously? I thought you guys were serious." He's moping. "He did ask me about how to flirt a girl too. Man, he's really an emotional constipated." He laughed. "Besides, Dami said he haven't meet her in 3 years after he's graduated."

Raven with her eyes wide as she heard it from him. "HOW DID YOU KNOW ALL THAT?!" She quickly rised from the desk.

Jon jolted as he seen her reaction. " Ah, I guess that's why he keep a secret about his girl." Sweat drop start to rolled down on his forehead. "I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable. Let me introduce myself again."

Jon straighten his back and stretch his hand. "Hi, I'm Jonathan Kent. Dami' s childhood friend and school mate, same goes with roommate at uni and currently, a journalist." He smiled.

Raven tried to process all the information at once and it takes a few moment. "So, you are Damian's close friend?" She point out with as she narrowed her eyes.

"That's right!" Jon's smile getting wider.

"Ah, hello." She slowly put her hands on him which Jon grab it and makes a several shake as he excited to met her.

"It's really pleasure to meet you by the way! For sure if Maya and Colin knew about you they will be screaming or teasing him saying Dami has finally grown up!" He laughed.

Raven sit on her chair with unsure feeling. First the confession, then his childhood friend meet her, and then what? A wedding? She press her lips into a thin line.

"You know, Dami is not that kind of guy when it comes to women. He always thought they were hyenas." Jon chuckled.

"Hyenas?" Raven puzzled. "What's with hyenas?"

"Ever since he lives in Gotham, he always seen his father been in and out with other women who prey for money. Still, poor him having lack of parent's love." Jon sighed.

That explain why he's being hard on anyone. Raven attentively listen to Jon's story. "You know, he has pets like a zoo at his house. From cow to snakes. I remember when I came, This Alfred the cat always sulking and threaten to scratch me."

"An animal lover? That much?" Both of Raven's eyebrow jumpy as she heard it. She could imagine if Damian standing on the field, as birds will land on him, it either makes him look like Disney princess or a scarecrow.

"Most of them are animal rescue." Jon nodded.

"I see..." Then Raven suddenly remember something. "How did Damian took fashion drawing class by the way?"

"Actually we suggested to him. I mean seriously, you haven't seen his potrait and figure drawing, Those are amazing! He most likely to observe the surrounding and draw on his sketch book while on his free time."

Wait. Does that means Damian has a secret sketch book like her? Raven unconsciously put her hands on her lips.

"Still, what makes you suspect it was me? I mean we haven't contact it for a while."

"Other than he told me that he haven't met her in three years, I've seen a drawing that looks just like you at his studio." Jon smiled.

There it is.

Raven sighed and there's a slightly red tint on her ears.

"Why you haven't contact him when he's in middle east?" Jon asked curious question.

"It was because when I know that he's Damian Wayne, I..I was screwed. I mean, Wayne as in Wayne Enterprise. The biggest contributor on east side. Me? I'm just, just an orphan girl who try to rise my own feet."

"Oh?"

"My mother died when I was 14. I still don't know who were my father is and all I got is this necklace from my mother." She showed the necklace to Jon.

The young journalist seems to be fasinating with it's design. "I wonder where did your mother got this?"

Raven sighed as she try to remember. " I'm not sure. All I remember that it's been in heritage for years."

"I see." Jon rubbed his chin. "Well, Maybe you should hang up with us sometimes. I'm sure Colin and Maya would love to see you." He smiled.

"The thing is, Jon. I'm still unclear about between us." Raven chewed her lips.

"Ah nonsense, he really likes you. I can see from the way he look at you."

"Is it? Wait, where did you saw him see me?"

"I think it was two day before?"

Raven slap both of her cheeks. OH MY GOD, HE SAW BOTH OF US KISSING.

"And don't worry. I won't tell a soul, though, I've been warn by him and probably will be dig out by Colin and Maya." Jon widen his smile as sweat start to rolled down on his cheek."Dami has been my friend of more than a decade. I understand the way he express himself."

Raven nodded slowly. " Jon, a question."

"Yeah?"

"Since you are a journalist, do you know anything about Melchior?" Raven voice change to serious tone.

"That Silver Blond guy?"

"Yeah."

" I heard he's having collaboration with a big company. However, another speculation I heard that he choose Gotham because of its mysterious aesthetic."

"Well, uh, there's something I heard during interview. He claimed that we were close during the fashion show competition."

Raven as stared at the desk.

"Been wondering myself too. Are you close to him?" Jon's curious eyes start to lit.

"We do only for a while but the thing is he stole my design during that time which I never forgive myself for letting me get fooled by him." Raven sighed then she looked at Jon. "Wait. Don't tell me you're going to put this on paper?"

"Wait, I get it." Jon again propped his hand on his chin. "No wonder I've seen familiarity design between both of you. Plus you're having a hard time too."

"Uh, Jon?"

"I think I found something to investigate." Jon's mischievous smiles start to paint on his face.

"Now you act like Damian."

"Damian is more hardcore. I'm still on the average level." Jon beamed his happy face on her.

"Well, I think our interview stopped here. Besides, I need to cover some story from Me Wayne itself about the gala."

"Dami?"

"Yep."

"So, nice to meet you, Ms. Rachel Roth. It's been a pleasure talking to you."

"It's been a pleasure to spill tea with you." Raven smug.

Jon blinked then put on his mischievous smile.

-------

Somewhere in his office, Damian sneezed for no reason. " Is it me or is this office are getting colder?" He looked at the air ventilation.

115 notes · View notes

cloudshapedpatch · 3 years

Text

Bells and Whistles

Happy Holidays @ghostlyhamburger, I’m your Lovesquare Obsessed Secret Santa! I hope you enjoy this very indulgent soulmate au 💚🌸

* * * *

Music. It’s all around, and yet, it never gets old. How? How does an arrangement of notes and sounds create wonderful music capable of bringing deep joy and sadness?

Everyone knows people love music. Archeologists always seem to be finding older and simpler instruments used by early humankind. People just love to create their own sounds, if not for their own enjoyment, or perhaps to attempt to share the songs in their heads with others.

For Marinette, it was no different than everyone else. Her song. The leitmotif that seemed to always play in her head. And she could not get it to be quiet. Just once, she wished to take a school test and be able to focus on her paper, and not the wispy bells meant only for her own ears.

It was a nice melody, and the universe had made it just for her (and for her soulmate, but she wasn’t too concerned with this fact at the moment). She never grew tired of it, thank kwami, but it also meant she could never go very long without hearing it. And how the universe loved to play the tune in the least convenient times.

30 chimes of bells.

What is the circumference of a circle that has a diameter of 8 inches?

30 chimes of bells.

What’s 8 times pi?

30 damned chimes of bells.

Marinette let her head drop onto her desk, letting the lone bells play out a couple more times. She only resumed her math test once it seemed it was done.

Thus was a normal occurrence for most people. It still annoyed her.

Her teacher gave Marinette a sympathetic look as she handed in her completed test, bells still ringing in her head.

“Why don’t you just go look for your soulmate?” Alya had suggested one night as they watched a movie.

“I don’t wanna rush it.” Marinette had lied a little too easily for her liking.

“You know if you do, your tune will get beautifuller and—”

“And I’ll get to control when I hear it, yeah yeah.” Marinette tossed a few unpopped popcorn kernels at Alya, a wide smile on her face. “And beautifuller isn’t a word.”

“Whatever!” Alya had laughed then, a really joyous, belly-shaking laugh. As they continued to watch their movie, Marinette could tell Alya was playing her own symphony in her head (she always smiled like the biggest love-sick goofball).

Alya was among the lucky few who found her soulmate quite young. It always brought a smile to Marinette’s face when the young couple spoke of the day they realized. Although, Marinette always had to swallow her pride because she couldn’t let anyone know she was the one who had locked them in that fateful zoo cage.

Speaking of, Alya was leading Marinette out of the classroom, saying something about the test, but Marinette didn’t hear her. She was too busy with her own thoughts about songs and soulmates.

Surprisingly, Nino was the first to notice Marinette’s dazed state. His ‘You good?’ was accompanied with a familiar smile; the one that told her she had missed everything he had said.

Marinette blinked her thoughts away. “Yeah! Yeah, just thinking. What’s up?”

“Alya and I were saying we were gonna play UMS 3 at my house, wanna come make it a tournament?”

Marinette’s sudden perfect posture didn’t go unnoticed by either of the other teens. “Sorry, I have some family things tonight. You know how Thursdays are…”

“Right!” Alya punctuated the word with a snap. “Thursdays are family nights. Funny, Adrien said the same thing.”

Nino got an elbow to his side for snickering at Marinette’s blush, but it couldn’t be helped. They bade goodbye and went their separate ways.

The chilly December air stung her heated cheeks, eliciting a breath of thanks that she lived close to the school. In truth, Marinette’s family didn’t have family nights. Thursdays were allotted for Chat Noir’s visits.

He came every Thursday, without fail, at 9pm sharp. Why? No one had any clue. Her parents always cooked for four those nights to be sure he had food (They learned early on he didn’t get much to eat. This concerned Marinette deeply, not only as his partner but also as his soulmate). She supposed the saying was true, ‘feed a cat once and they will return’. He hadn’t stopped visiting ever since she offered him a cookie one otherwise-normal Thursday night about 4 months ago.

Tonight was no different. He knocked on her balcony window at 9 o’clock on the dot, he came down and ate his plate of food, and Marinette beat him at video games with her parents.

It was only when they had gone back up to her attic room that the night turned south.

Chat was hovering over her shoulder as she sketched a dress, excitedly giving her suggestions. Sometimes they were good, other times… not (memories of the awful purple and orange clown jumper threatened to surface).

Marinette had started to hum whilst she drew. Chat was playing with her hair and whispering encouragement, and all was well.

“Whatcha humming?” He murmured, barely audible above the sound of pencil on paper.

“Hm?” His hands had frozen in her hair, the lack of movement causing a lull in her train of thought. She blinked hard as if to will her thoughts back. “Oh, just a little tune. Should I put a flower or a bow here?”

“A bow, for sure.”

As she sketched the bow on the dress’ bodice, she hummed a little louder for Chat to hear.

And he hummed the last few notes with her.

Before she could comprehend how he knew the tune, she could hear a piano in her head, playing a sweet little harmony with jazzy drums. The familiar sound of ethereal bells played the melody she knew too well. It felt as if she were surrounded by a thousand magical whistles, carrying her up and away to the clouds. And based on the look in Chat’s eyes as he spun her chair to look at her, he was hearing it too.

Damn it.

She would have gotten emotional if she wasn’t filled with terror. Finding your soulmate was supposed to be an important event in one’s life. For Marinette, now it was another secret under her hat.

He was whispering her name, eyes sparkling and the most endearing smile on his face and why is he looking at me like that? say something, anything! to get him to stop!

“Wow it’s late, time flies, you know?” She cringed at her abnormally high voice, playing off the flinch as a yawn. “I should go to bed, haha.”

Her cheeks twitched with the effort to keep the fake smile as he just stood there, staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

And then she was in his arms as he carried her up to bed, eyes large and kind. He set her down gently before giving a two-finger salute and jumping through her balcony window. She felt the mattress bounce slightly from his weight. Too late, she registered his parting words to her, goodnight princess.

With a pillow secured to her face, she screamed.

“Marinette! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Tikki. Just overwhelmed.” She threw the pillow down onto her knees.

“You don’t look fine.”

Neither did Tikki, if Marinette was being honest. She looked just as worried as she felt.

“I just… the ladybug and black cat miraculous are always soulmates, so I wanted Chat’s soulmate to be Ladybug, not Marinette. That makes sense, right?”

“Yes! And it was a great idea, but the universe has its own plans, and you can’t override them.”

“I know! It’s just that— I was planning— I didn’t want Marinette to be associated with Chat Noir. It’s too risky! What if people connect the dots? What if— oh no, Tikki! What if Plagg told Chat Noir about the soulmates? What if Chat Noir knows I’m Ladybug?!”

“Deep breaths, Marinette. It’s gonna be okay! I really don’t think Plagg would have told him, he’s really not fond of romance, he thinks it’s mushy.”

Marinette took a few moments to focus on her breathing, but Tikki’s unsure face didn’t calm her nerves any.

“I can go talk to Plagg if you want. And if Chat Noir really does know who you are, then we can work it all out! You make the rules now Marinette, you don’t have to choose a new partner unless you want to.”

The thought of her identity being known made her sick, but she tried to sleep anyway. A night of good rest would help her think more clearly, right?

She couldn’t help but let the song play out a few times more before she finally dozed off, only for it to echo in her sleep.

* * * *

If Marinette had been paying attention, she would have seen Adrien hovering nearby like the confused, enamoured puppy that he was. She would have noticed his lingering gaze, his soft smile. She would have noticed his internal debate over whether to say hello.

(Everyone else noticed; everyone except the object of his affections.)

Alas, she was too preoccupied with her increasing anxiety. She wasn’t sure when Tikki had left her purse, but she had checked ten minutes ago only to find she was missing. Her foot tapped at the floor at irregular intervals, matching the beat of the song in her heart (Jazz was the worst possible genre to pace her life, but then again, when was she ever regularly spaced?).

She played the whistling song in her head once more, too tired to fight her smile. She could have a much worse soulmate, that was for sure. Who wouldn’t want a sweet, considerate, objectively handsome if she really let herself think about it—

A nudge against her side let her know Tikki had phased into her purse. Almost too hastily, she excused herself to the washroom.

“So? What’s the verdict? I haven’t been able to focus all day!” She whispered, having been too anxious to wait for the door to close behind her.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette.”

Another wave of anxiety. Marinette took a shaky breath in. “What do you mean?”

Tikki’s little hands wrung each other dry as she spoke. “There was a miscommunication between Plagg and Chat Noir, and he knows you’re Ladybug now.”

Her charge slid to the floor by the sinks before her feet could give out completely. He knew? How could this have happened?

She fought the urge to cover her face and cringe. What now?

The door pushed in, Alya successfully interrupting her thoughts.

“Marinette! You okay?”

“Yeah!” Faster than a zip of her yo-yo, her hands flew to the hem of her pink jeans. “Just re-cuffing my jeans. What’s up?”

Alya gave Marinette a quirky sort-of look before shaking her head in amusement. “Miss Bustier wanted me to come get you. We’re starting the holiday party!”

“Let’s get going then!” Marinette locked arms with Alya as they walked out. If neither girl talked about the odd scene, perhaps they would both forget.

The party went well, the shiny menorah and shamash reflecting the small tree’s lights in dazzling patterns on the walls. The atmosphere was pleasant, the treats shared were delicious, and their White Elephant gift exchange went very well. The stuffed dinosaur she made ended up with Rose, and Marinette gratefully accepted a new oversized hat from Nino.

Adrien had caught her eyes a few times too many for her own comfort. It felt almost wrong to be thinking only of her partner while searching Adrien’s eyes for hidden meaning. She took his warm gaze and soft smile with a grain of salt, then turned her mind away to think of Chat Noir’s soft, affectionate gaze and his broad, warm smile that never failed to make her grin in return. For some reason, Adrien’s smile made Marinette want to listen to Chat’s song.

All too soon, the party came to a close. She bade her goodbyes, wished her friends a happy holiday break, and started to walk home in the early minutes of dusk. A fun day of sweet treats and party games left her heart warm and content. The soft tinkling of street lamps illuminating all around her brought a small spread of euphoria in her chest. Shadows danced in the corners of her eyes, drawing her gaze up to the rooftops, where her favorite pair of inhuman green eyes peered back at her. Chat leapt across the buildings in front of her, just enough to stop and look back for a moment as she walked.

Her stomach churned as they locked eyes. Feet glued to the pavement, she stared up at him, waiting for him to… well, she wasn't sure what she was waiting for. He was just looking at her, perched up four stories above her, head tilted.

Oh, she thought belatedly, he wants to talk.

With a small burst of resolution, she gave him a smile before willing her feet to move towards her house. By now the sun had set and the sky was gradually turning dark, a deep ocean encouraging her escape. As much as she longed to fall into the stars and float away, she also found herself giddy with excitement.

Their shared symphony played in her head as she opened the door to her home and excused herself upstairs, the melody almost unbidden, but she knew in her heart she had been longing to allow herself to enjoy it again.

Although, feeling ready for the next chapter of life was different than turning the page itself. There was sure to be shaky hands and stuttered words, confusion and maybe a little more bittersweet than she’d like, but, little did she know, there was going to be acceptance, overpowering emotions, tears, and many long hugs (and perhaps a few kisses), but that was life.

Besides, with her soulmate and partner by her side, she could do anything.

* * * *

Also! I may have gotten a little carried away and composed the leitmotif and the soulmate song as well~! You can listen to it here :)

56 notes · View notes

ddixons-angel · 4 years

Text

Fated: Season 5

Summary: Gloria Rhee narrowly escapes Atlanta with her brother as the outbreak reaches the city. Luckily, they find a camp outside the city and together, they fend through encounters with the living and undead.

Starts a little before Season 1 and then follows the main storyline of the show.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Glenn Sister!OC

Warnings: major TWD spoilers, language, violence (the typical TWD stuff)

A/N: Can you guys believe we’re in the middle of Season 5 already? I mean where did the time go?? Our group is finally at Alexandria, and a long awaited character is gonna finally be introduced so let’s get straight into it!

Chapter 8

At sunrise, Rick and the others had set out to Alexandria as they did not want to waste any time. With Rick in the car with Michonne, Carl and Judith, and Abraham in the RV with everyone else, they were well on their way to the community. They get there with little to no complications, the only one being the RV’s battery dying. Glenn was the one who solved that though as he had remembered Dale teaching him that there was always a spare battery in one of the RV’s compartments.

Now, the group stands outside the gates of the camp while Aaron helps Eric walk towards the gates. The gate begins to slide open and they’re greeted with a rather scared looking man. He only looked even more scared when Daryl shot a possum that had knocked into a few of the garbage cans, collecting his catch and calling it dinner. Aaron reassures the man that they are good people and he allows the group into Alexandria with all of their weapons. Another person from their community had come out to bring Eric to their infirmary as Aaron brought the group deeper into Alexandria.

As Aaron had described, this place definitely was a community. There were solar panels, large houses built side by side, a lake in the middle of everything, and even a gazebo to overlook the lake. Everything looked completely untouched, as if walkers didn’t exist and the end of the modern world didn’t happen.

“Are you guys seeing all of this?” Gloria asks, not believing her eyes as she looks around.

“I didn’t think this kind of place would still be around,” Maggie says, also looking around.

“This can work,” Glenn says with a smile, “we can make this work.”

“Seems a bit too good to be true though...” Gloria says, looking over at Daryl, “doesn’t it?”

He looks back at her and purses his lips but doesn’t say anything. Instead, he reaches out to her and grabs her hand in reassurance. Gloria glances down at their now intertwined hands and then back at him, smiling softly. The group stops walking as Aaron brings them to the front of a large house.

“Wait here for a bit, I’ll go and let Deanna know that you’re here. I think she’s going to want to speak to each and every one of you individually,” Aaron explains then with Rick’s nod of approval, he goes into the house.

Gloria furrows her brows at this, remembering that this is also what happened at Terminus, “I don’t like this...”

Glenn puts his hand on her shoulder and smiles at her reassuringly, “I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t get that vibe here. It might actually go okay for once.”

“I hope so...” she sighs, although she didn’t get a bad feeling from the place, she still didn’t like that the people in the community were ogling at them as if they were zoo animals.

Rick was the first to go into the house after Aaron came back out and let them all know that Deanna, the community’s apparent leader, was ready to see them. They were all relieved to see Rick come out of the house unharmed and then Daryl was next to go in. It wasn’t until he came back out of the house that Gloria’s nerves went down slightly. She didn’t know what it was about it, she didn’t see the people as threatening or dangerous. They were just going about their day while sneaking looks at their group but nothing menacing. Gloria was next to go in after Daryl as per Glenn’s instruction and he would follow suit.

“Deanna is a very kind and reasonable woman,” Aaron says as he walks Gloria to the living room of the house, he seems to have noticed how nervous she was and chuckles, “you can relax, you know.”

“I know... it’s just for some reason, I can’t shake the feeling of this being like going in for a job interview,” Gloria chuckles nervously and shrugs.

“Well, you’re not too far off.” Aaron smiles at her.

Before Gloria could ask him what he meant, Aaron had already knocked on the open door to the living room and directed her inside before taking his leave. She takes a few steps into the room and is greeted by an older woman with a smile.

“Hi, I’m Deanna. Pleased to meet you.” she says, extending her hand out for a polite shake.

Gloria takes her hand and shakes it firmly but before she’s able to introduce herself, a person sitting at the dining table catches her eye. She lets out a small gasp and her eyes widen at the sight. Deanna furrows her brows in her change of expression and follows her line of vision.

“Gena....” Gloria calls out.

The woman at the table looks up at the sound of her name and a look of shock overcomes her, “Gloria...”

Gena gets up from her seat and quickly makes her way over to Gloria, stopping in her tracks only a few steps away from her.

“I take it you two know each other?” Deanna says, a thoughtful smile on her face.

Gena nods without looking at Deanna, “she’s my little sister.”

Gloria smiles tearfully at her, relieved that she was alive and well. The sisters were never too close, even if their five year difference wasn’t a large age gap. Gloria couldn’t even remember how long it’s been since she hugged Gena, they’d spent most of their time arguing with each other. Glenn would always be the middleman and break up their fights, knowing that both sisters would listen to him rather than each other. Regardless of their strained relationship though, Gloria was happy that Gena was safe and alive.

“Glenn’s outside waiting if you want to see him,” Gloria says, gesturing outside knowing that Gena would want to see their brother.

“I’ll see him after,” Gena says, a stern smile on her face, “I still need to help Deanna with the interviews.”

“I won’t hold you up for too long so you can catch up with your family,” Deanna says with a chuckle, then she looks to Gloria and gestures to the single seater chair in front of a coffee table, “please, take a seat and we’ll get started.”

Gloria nods and goes to sit down on the chair Deanna had pointed to while the older woman goes to toggle a camcorder on a tripod.

“You don’t mind if our conversation is recorded, do you?” she asks, then she presses the button to record when Gloria shakes her head, “excellent, now... according to Rick and Daryl, you’ve all been out there since the beginning?”

Gloria nods in thought, “for the most part, yeah... we’ve moved around camps when places got overrun.”

“Where did you stay?” Deanna asks.

“At first a quarry camp, then a farm...” Gloria says then glances at Gena sheepishly, “then a prison...”

“A prison?” Gena questions, judgement in her voice.

“It was secure, we had fences, walls-” Gloria was cut short of her defense.

“Still! A prison?!” Gena repeats, disgust now evident in her voice.

“That’s enough, Gena. I’m sure they didn’t have much choice,” Deanna says in Gloria’s defense, “and who were you before all of this started?”

“I...” Gloria hesitates as she glances at Gena then at the ground, “I was a student...”

“What did you study?” Deanna presses.

“Health Sciences.” Gloria says, still not looking up at the two.

“She was studying to become a doctor.” Gena reveals.

“A doctor?” Deanna says, her voice sounding pleasantly surprised, “do you have any field experience?”

“I... I interned as a nurse, if that counts...” Gloria shrugs.

“What Deanna wants to know is if you’ve ever saved anyone.” Gena says, matter-of-factly, crossing her arms.

Gloria finally looks up at them and fidgets with her fingers, “I helped stop someone’s bleeding once.”

“Tell me what happened,” Deanna says, a warm smile on her face.

Gloria takes a deep breath before continuing, “when we got to the prison, we had to clear it out so that we could make it into a home or something like that, but things happened and... one of our people got bit, I’m guessing near his ankle, I didn’t see it really...”

“Bit? By a roamer?” Gena frowns at this, doubt in her voice.

“Yeah, by a roamer... we call them walkers, anyway... Rick took the initiative and cut off his leg just below the knee and brought him back to the cell blocks and that’s where I stopped his bleeding.” Gloria explains, her eyes kept glancing back down at the ground.

“And he lived?” Deanna asks.

“He did... for another few months...” Gloria sighs softly, “he didn’t make it out of the prison...”

Gena lets out a sigh and shakes her head, “what did I always teach you about wasting time? Why would you tell us a story about saving someone who’s already dead? If he’s dead, it doesn’t matter if you saved him or not.”

“It did matter!” Gloria says back, raising her voice.

“He’s dead.” Gena points out, glaring at her younger sister, “how does it matter if someone you once saved is dead?”

“Because he saved Glenn,” Gloria retorts, getting worked up and taking Gena aback, “his name was Hershel and he was a doctor. A flu pandemic hit the prison and we didn’t have enough antibiotics to go around, if you got it, you had to just go through with it... and that meant possibly dying, choking on your own blood. Me and Glenn got it... and it progressed faster with him... if I didn’t save Hershel and stop his bleeding, he wouldn’t have been able to save Glenn. So don’t you dare tell me that saving him didn’t matter!”

Deanna nods at her words as she stands in the tense silence between the sisters. Gena didn’t know what to say to that, and Gloria was visibly angered by her sister’s words about her fallen friend.

“I’m sorry about your loss, Gloria,” Deanna starts, “I feel that you are a person who does whatever you can to help a person, am I right?”

“I try...” Gloria says.

“I’d like to offer you a position as a medic in our infirmary. With your medical background and willingness to help people, I think you’ll work wonderfully with our head doctor, Pete.” Deanna smiles, “what do you say?”

Gloria stares at the woman, searching for any ill-intent but finds none. She figures that this was their way of paying admission into the community, giving back by working for her. Gloria thinks back to what she saw on the streets; peace and quiet, children playing innocently, a community protected by walls, and not a walker in sight. Having been on the road for weeks on end, this was the type of place her family needed, Carl and Judith can have an actual proper childhood. Glenn and Maggie could start their own family without needing to worry about whether or not they were safe. Even if Gloria didn’t like it here because of the people staring them down, she had to try for them, they deserved it.

“If my group decides to stay, I’ll accept,” Gloria smiles at Deanna, ignoring Gena’s grumbling of where else are they going to go.

“Bring Glenn in here,” Gena calls out as Gloria walks out of the room and towards the main door of the house.

Gloria rolls her eyes at Gena making Aaron, who was already waiting for her outside the room, laugh. Gena really didn’t care about being subtle that she cared more about Glenn than her. Not that Gloria cared at all since it was also obvious that Gloria cared more for Glenn than she did about Gena.

“Glenn,” Gloria calls as she steps out of the house, “you’ll never believe who’s in there.”

He furrows his brows at her, “what?”

She claps a hand on his shoulder to gently push him towards Aaron who was waiting for him at the door with a smile, “you’ll see.”

---

After Deanna had finished with all of the interviews from Rick’s group, they were taken to the building that housed the community’s armory. They’d agreed after meeting Deanna that they would give up their firearms temporarily; Deanna allowed them all to keep their bladed weapons, including Daryl’s crossbow. They were always allowed to reclaim them when they left the walls, but inside the walls their weapons would be kept, safe and secure in the armory. Then, Aaron had led them all to two large houses down the street. He’d surprised them all by telling them that these houses were now theirs, should they decide to stay. Rick ultimately decided to take the chance but kept a very wary eye out in case anything went wrong. One by one, they all got themselves cleaned up and situated in the living room where they had all decided to sleep tonight.

“I seriously can’t believe Gena’s here.” Glenn chuckles as he leans on the back of the couch.

“Neither can I...” Gloria sighs then she nudges Glenn, “so how hard did she hug you when she saw you?”

“She nearly burst into tears and bear hugged me,” he laughs softly, “what about you?”

Gloria eyes him playfully, “you’re kidding right?”

“I know you two barely ever hugged, but I just thought this would be a moment,” Glenn shrugs.

“C’mon, it’s me and Gena, we aren’t ever sharing any moments.” Gloria rolls her eyes at her brother’s optimism.

“One can hope,” Glenn chuckles.

“Glenn, Gloria,” Maggie calls as she walks down the hallway, her hair looking freshly washed, “washroom’s free now for whoever wants to go first.”

Glenn gestures for Gloria to go first but she just pushes him towards the hallway, “you’re the one Maggie wants to cuddle, and I ain’t letting her snuggle you when you stink.”

He rolls his eyes but then laughs in defeat, nodding as he goes down the hall. Maggie chuckles at the two and shakes her head.

“Hey, I love you too,” Maggie says to Gloria with a smile.

“I know you do, you just love him more,” Gloria jokes, she then looks out the front door and sees Daryl seated on the porch, gutting the possum right on the front steps.

From his body language, Gloria could tell that he wasn’t comfortable being within these walls. He knew as well as her that the people around them were watching their every move, but more so focused on him. She knew that making a mess of the front porch was Daryl’s way of saying ‘I don’t give a shit what any of you think’. With a soft sigh, Gloria makes her way outside to the porch and leans on the railings, watching him work on his catch.

“Wha’?” Daryl asks, glancing up at her when he feels her eyes on him.

“Nothing, just wondering what you can do with a possum,” Gloria says, wanting to joke around with him to help him feel more at ease, she then turns to find Carol standing on the side of the porch, “Carol, what can you do with a possum?”

A knowing smile spreads on Carol’s face as she glances from Gloria to Daryl, “well, there’s stew, possum roast, maybe even barbeque. It all depends on how Daryl prepares it.”

“Barbeque... hey, you think we can do possum kebabs?” Gloria asks, looking at Carol but she knew that Daryl was listening.

“Kebabs? But we’d need sticks,” Carol says, an amused smile on her face.

Gloria bites her lip to keep from laughing and glances at Daryl, “we could use Daryl’s bolts.”

Her words cause a snort of laughter from Daryl as he shakes his head, “ya’ll ‘re weird.”

“Hey, it would work,” Gloria laughs, a grin on her face.

“It would! I’ll need to think of a nice marinade.” Carol continues to play along.

Gloria absolutely loved the sound of Daryl’s laugh, even if it was just for a short moment. Daryl wasn’t unaware of her intentions, it warmed his heart knowing just what she meant to do. He appreciated her and loved her with everything he had. This is why he hadn’t voiced out his discomfort in staying in a place that judged every single molecule of his being. He had told Deanna that this is what Judith and Carl deserved, but that was only part of what he felt. Daryl wanted Gloria to be safe and happy, he wanted to provide her with a place to call home. They had that once back at the prison, and he needed to give her that safety again. He felt that she deserved a place like this.

“Hey Gloria, I’m done,” Glenn calls from inside the house.

Gloria glances behind and nods then looks at Carol, “you cleaned up already, right?”

“I did,” Carol smiles, “go on, I’ll watch him.”

“I don’ need to be watched...” Daryl grumbles, making Carol and Gloria chuckle.

Gloria crouches down and kisses his cheek, “sure, you don’t.”

A small smile ghosts Daryl’s lips at her affection but it’s gone in a flash, “I ain’ no kid.”

“Oh really?” Gloria raises an eyebrow then continues when he hums a yes, “you’re getting cleaned up after I’m done, okay?”

“Nah,” Daryl says, “don’ wanna.”

Gloria laughs as she gets up and begins to walk to the door, “that’s what a kid would say.” she teases in a sing-song tone.

Daryl eyes her retreating backside then Carol as she tries to stifle her laughter, “it’s ‘cause o’ ya that she teases me like tha’.”

“Oh please, Daryl,” Carol rolls her eyes, “she’s your girlfriend, she’s gonna tease you no matter what.”

Daryl felt his heart jump when Carol used the word ‘girlfriend’ to refer to Gloria. Yes, she is his girlfriend, he’d just never heard it being said aloud before. He never even thought about it that way; she is so much more than just his girlfriend. He lowers his head to hide his now blushing face.

“Daryl, are you blushing?” Carol coos on.

“Shaddup!”

---

The flow of hot water from the shower head stops when Gloria turns off the tap. She squeezes the excess water from her hair and wraps a towel around her body as she steps out of the shower. Gloria begins to pat dry her body with the towel when her eye catches her reflection in the mirror. She does a double take when she registers the marks on her body. Cuts and scars tainted her skin, each one a grotesque flaw that had its own story. Gloria hated them. She hated how they looked, how they felt, how they made her feel. She knew that she should be thinking of them as a reminder that she’s a survivor and that she’s strong, but she couldn’t think of them that way. All she saw in each scar was how stupid she was and how she had failed.

“Fuck....” Gloria curses under her breath, trying to control the tears in her eyes as she stares at her scars.

Not wanting to see them anymore, she quickly gets dressed into a set of clean clothes, throwing her dirty clothes in the hamper. Gloria begins to towel dry her hair, giving herself time to breathe and calm down before stepping outside. The last thing she wanted was for the others to find out that she was on the verge of tears for what she thought was such a stupid reason.

“Hey,” Gloria says as she smiles at a freshly shaven Rick in the hallway, she gestures to him, “you... have a face.”

Rick chuckles at her words and nods, defeated, as if he’d been getting comments about his new appearance from everybody. Gloria laughs and pats his shoulder as the two walk by each other.

When she reaches the living room, she sees the others in her group setting up their spot for the night. Gloria spots Daryl sitting by a window and makes her way to him, knowing that she had left her things with his earlier. She proceeds to take out a clean bandage to wrap up her gash on her forearm that was still healing. As Daryl sees this, he takes her hand in his and helps her patch up her wound, not letting her refuse. Once he finishes with it, his arm snakes around her waist pulling her close to him and she leans into him, giggling when she feels him sniff her hair.

“Smell clean?” Gloria says with a smile, making him hum a yes, “you gonna clean up?”

Daryl purses his lips and shakes his head, looking down to avoid her eyes. He feels her sigh softly but doesn’t push him on the matter. Instead, she moves to rest her head on his chest, her arm draped around his torso. Daryl plants a kiss on the top of her head as she snuggles him, his fingers playing with her shirt when he notices something.

“Ya always gonna be wearin’ my clothes now?” Daryl says soft into her ear with a smirk on his lips.

Gloria blushes at the realization that she was in another one of Daryl’s shirts, “stop putting your shirts in my bag...”

“I didn’ put nothin’ in yer bag,” Daryl chuckles, “ya were wearin’ my shirt when we found each other back at Terminus.”

“I was...” Gloria admits.

“And ya ripped the sleeves right off.” Daryl teases, knowing she had a thing for his arms.

“Stop,” Gloria blushes more and playfully hits his chest.

He chuckles at her reaction but their playfulness is gone once there is a knock on the front door. Everyone in the room is on high alert as Rick goes to open the door. Deanna stands in the doorway and smiles at him, not letting Rick off without complimenting his fresh appearance. Deanna had come to them to check up on how the group was adjusting, only to find that they were all sticking together. Apparently, she had given everyone a job except for Daryl, and Sasha; she hadn’t offered Rick and Michonne theirs yet but would in due time. The next day was when the group would get to explore and know the town, and the day after, for those with jobs, that’s when their work would begin.

---

Next Chapter

So a bunch of stuff happened here, we’re finally introduced to Gena, Glenn and Gloria’s older sister! I have a feeling she’s not gonna be well liked at first haha we also had some cute fluffy moments, and a bit of a angsty moment with Gloria with her scars... a lot happens in Season 5 so I think most of the chapters are going to be this long, more or less hehe please let me know your thoughts on it! I’d love to hear from you all!

And as always, I would really appreciate any comments left for me! I’ll be replying to any comments in a new post because this is a sideblog!

Taglist (please let me know if you’d like to be added/removed!):

96 notes · View notes

victoria-daydreams · 4 years

Text

Till Kingdom Come

Chapter One: My Story Is Much Too Sad to be Told

AN: I’m fairly shocked at the reception this story got, I didn’t expect to gain immediate attraction because I posted it at like 3am lol. Nonetheless, I am grateful to all the people who read this story. Once again, this chapter is dark as well. I promise this whole story is not going to be doom and gloom, but it feels inappropriate to even try to glaze over the cruel treatment of slaves in America and to be honest, this chapter is probably just a glimpse of what real life slaves were put through.

Word Count: 3.1k

Trigger Warnings: slavery, violence, physical/mental abuse, racism, racial slurs

Chapter Two: Life Being What It Is

That was seventeen years ago.

Sabine's life had changed for the "better", at least that's what Mistress Genevieve would try to convince her as such. Sabine certainly didn't see it that way, she was still a slave, after all. Not to mention, that the Martin family has for all intents and purposes, mentally and physically scarred her for the rest of her life.

Sabine was fucking miserable on the Martin Plantation.

From the moment Sabine arrived on the plantation as a child, she became something of a pet project to Genevieve. She taught Sabine arithmancy, how to read, write, and to speak proper English and French. This was not out of kindness though, no, this was a source of derision. Whenever Genevieve would host any type of social gathering, Sabine would find herself being paraded around by her Mistress to her guests.

She despised the gatherings with every fiber of her being, she was subjected to the most degrading comments by the party goers.

"Dear me, I didn't know negros had the capacity to learn how to read,"

"Genevieve, you must have the patience of a saint to be willing to teach a member of an illiterate species,"

"You taught the monkey to read and write? What's next Genevieve, music?"

This is what Sabine had been put through for as long as she could remember. Every time she learned and mastered something new, Sabine knew what was to come. She hated the fact that accomplishing something a white person could do was met with oohs and awws in the most mocking fashion from Genevieve's friends. Sabine remembered one night that word had spread at a party that she was fluent in French and for the rest of night she was bombarded with requests of ‘saying something in French’. She felt like an animal in a zoo and she knew that's how most people viewed her in the first place.

"Teach anymore parlor tricks to your pet Genevieve?"

Sabine would internally scowl every time she witnessed Genevieve be lavished in praise by her friends for her work. Isn't it sweet? The benevolent mistress bestowing an education to a lowly slave like herself. The Southern Belle, extending her graciousness to one of her lowliest effects.

Oh, but Sabine would find little ways to carry out her revenge especially as she grew older and was given tasks that held more responsibility. Her favorite way, "accidentally" pulling her mistress' corset too tight or "accidentally" stabbing her in the scalp with hairpins. Her yelps of pain would bring a ghost of smile to Sabine's lips which would instantly vanish if Genevieve turned around to scold her for her carelessness. And of course Sabine would offer a quick apology, telling her mistress that she didn't mean to and will be more mindful in the future. But the second Genevieve left the room, Sabine would let out a snicker only to be popped in the back of the head by Alice, the woman, who's in charge in keeping the rest of the slaves in order.

The blow was not out of malice, further from that really, it was out of love and concern. Alice had been like a mother figure to Sabine since the day she arrived on the plantation.

"One day the Mistress is not going to put up with your 'mistakes'," Alice warned, worry was evident in her eyes.

It wasn't until Sabine would turn sixteen the following year that Alice's warning would finally sink in for her. The most ironic thing about it was the fact that it didn't happen because of one of Sabine's mischievous acts, it happened because of the wandering eyes of Genevieve's husband, Aaron Martin. What's even more ironic, is that Master Martin didn't even want Sabine in the house at first, he wanted to make her a field hand. Genevieve convinced him otherwise, saying that she would be malleable and make the perfect, obedient slave since she had no attachments on their plantation.

She was wrong.

The decision to keep Sabine as a house slave would be one that Genevieve would come to regret, but only out of wounded pride. Sabine, on the other hand, longed for freedom and was desperate to escape the growing tension between Genevieve and Master Martin. She doubted that they knew how many times she fantasized about running away from the plantation. It was more than once as each day passed.

She had good reason to as well, Sabine had noticed that the mistress had been short-tempered with her as of late. And that was never more evident on one fateful day, where everything in Sabine's life seemed to further spiral out of what little control she had.

Sabine wiped down the top of the fireplace on the far wall of the parlor room, humming to herself.

"What's that song?"

Sabine stumbled in surprise of hearing Master Martin's voice, his French accent only slightly there. Pushing away from the fireplace, she tightened her grip around the rag in her hands as she stood at attention. His thin lips were curled up into a smile, a smile that Sabine was sure he thought would put her at ease, it didn't. Matter of fact, the expression had the exact opposite effect, Sabine thought his smile looked like a wound opening. Everything about the forty-five year old man unnerved her, Master Martin had a complexion that teetered between being pale and matte, short, dark brown hair sat on top of his oblong head. His long face made his humped nose prominent, but the most terrifying feature on his face was those piercing gray orbs.

It was the eyes of a predator stalking its prey.

Bowing her head in apology, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you, Master," Sabine apologized, vowing not to hum again.

"You didn't disturb me. What is that song?"

It's something that her mother would sing to her when she was younger. Sabine couldn't remember the words to the song, but she knew how the tune went, it was the only piece of her mother that she had left of her.

Shaking her head, "I don't know," Sabine lied remorselessly.

Instead of letting her get back to her work, Master Martin just continued staring at Sabine, it made her flesh crawl. His eyes traveled from her face before letting them roam down to her neck and then onto her chest. This had become increasingly normal behavior for Master Martin, each week it seemed like he managed to find her alone and just study her figure. His eyes would always linger on her breasts, and that was what made Sabine most uncomfortable in his presence.

Master Martin leaned against the door frame, "You've been filling out your dress quite nicely as of late Cecile," he commented, now looking at slim waist and then her hips as his tongue darted out to wet his lips.

Sabine had to swallow down the bile she felt that might escape her mouth.

"Cecile!" Genevieve's shrill voice called from down the hall. "Cecile! Where are you, you daft girl?!" she yelled, as she stopped right beside her husband. "Aaron, dear, what are you looking-" she began, but cut herself off when she followed her husband's leering gaze. Genevieve's expression hardened and she narrowed her eyes at Sabine, pressing her lips together into a thin line. She stormed over to Sabine and came to a stop in front of her.

"Mistress I-" Sabine started, but Genevieve's hand whipped out and struck her hard across the face. Sabine's head snapped to the side and she lowered her stare to the floor, her breath uneven as she rubbed her cheek.

It was the hardest slap she had ever received.

"You stupid girl! Why are you distracting the Master?" she demanded, glowering at Sabine. "Get out of here and get back to work!" she ordered, her rising temper reflected in her face.

"Yes Mistress," Sabine replied, quickly bowing her head as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"And didn't I tell you to cover that horrid hair of yours? The sight of it is revolting!"

Genevieve had never once demanded Sabine to cover her hair, not until that day. But from that day on, Sabine wore a headscarf religiously to cover her head. Sabine figured that Genevieve's thought process probably fell along the lines of, if Sabine's hair wasn't visible then she'd become less attractive. It was a flawed logic that did nothing of the sort, much to Genevieve's and Sabine's dismay. So, for Sabine, the physical and mental abuse she received from Genevieve increased on a scale that she never experienced before.

The days of Sabine just being a pet to show off to Genevieve's friends to poke fun at her, were long gone.

Genevieve now saw Sabine as competition for Master Martin's attention. Attention that Sabine never wanted in the first place, Genevieve could keep her disgusting husband all to herself for all she cared. But of course, Genevieve would never see it Sabine's way, no, somehow Sabine's at fault for Master Martin's lustful stares.

Things only seemed to get progressively worse for Sabine as the years passed and her body continued to mature. Not only did she draw the unwanted attention from her perverted master, but she unfortunately also captured the eldest son's attention, Marc. He was almost a spitting image of his father, but was by far, worse than him. He's actually touched her in inappropriate ways, too many times for Sabine to recall. At least Master Martin just stared at her, although Sabine was sure that one day he might begin touching her as well, her worst fear was that he would flat out rape her.

Lord knows, Marc had been working his way up to it.

Sabine noticed that he had become increasingly aggressive as of late. And that frightened her to no end. She remembered one time after a dinner party she had to serve in the parlor room where the male guests were playing cards. She had just finished serving a round of drinks to Marc's table and the way he decided to thank her was to roughly squeeze her ass with a disingenuous smile. This action made the men at the table roar with laughter, but all Sabine could feel was mortification.

She wanted to curl up into a ball and cry in the corner of the small shack that she called home.

Sabine wanted to believe that the abuse she was suffering could not get any worse, she thought wrong. For, not only was she terrorized by the Martin's, but Marc's arrogant, smug college friends who often visited the plantation, partook in her torment as well. They would whisper things in her ears that no upstanding, God-fearing gentlemen would ever say to a white woman.

And for having such a supposed repulsion and violent reaction to someone of her complexion, white men sure seem to fancy negro flesh. It was confusing, yet terrifying realization. How could you hate and treat someone with so much scorn, but at the same time want to sleep with them?

Sabine's worst experience with one of Marc's friends was that he managed to corner her and forceful stick his hand up her dress, grabbing her thigh, luckily his hand wasn't able to go any higher thanks to one Alain Martin.

The only kind-hearted Martin in the family.

Alain, the curly headed and bright blue-eyed boy who always had a boyish grin on his face. He actually treated Sabine and the other slaves on the plantation like actual human beings, showing them dignity and respect, something that was completely foreign to them. Sabine wondered how the cruelty that Alain's family gleefully inflicted on the slaves didn't corrupt him and make him turn out like them. Maybe it was because Alain had actually questioned his surroundings as a child and didn't simply just accept what his mother and father told him as fact. She could recall many times Alain saying, ‘that doesn't seem right’ as a child.

And as Alain grew older, he continued to challenge his parents on the practice of slavery, prompting several arguments and debates, especially when it was dinnertime. Sabine had been a witness to quite a few of the shouting matches that would erupt at the table between Alain and Master Martin, Alain would also go at it with his older brother. Marc claimed, 'that because of the negro skull size all they were capable of was menial work and that white people were justified for enslaving them. With no one to oversee the negroes, they would hurt themselves'. This claim only enraged Alain further and Sabine as well.

Sabine had more knowledge in her pinky, than Marc's thick skull.

She pitied Alain, he had become the black sheep of the family. He attended college in the North and his views against slavery had only become stronger. He was an unapologetic abolitionist, which of course was completely the opposite of what his family believed. There would be many times that Sabine found herself listening to Alain as he vented out his frustrations about his family. She didn't mind, because that's what friends do, you let them vent.

However, it was not always like this, the bond they shared now as young adults would seem unimaginable to Sabine when she was younger.

Sabine and Alain had spent a lot of time together as children, but not because she wanted to, at first. The only reason she and Alain were in close proximity all the time, was the fact that she was tasked with fanning him while he had lessons with his tutor. Sabine resented him, they were only two years apart and yet here she was fanning him like he was some type of king. She was cold towards him (as respectfully as possible) and it went on like that for a couple of months, until Alain decided to speak to her when his tutor went inside the house.

"Pssst, Cecile, do you know how to say this word?" he asked, pointing to a word in his book.

Internally, Sabine arched a brow, she didn't know if he was asking out of genuine curiosity or to mock her.

"No sir," she answered, her grip tightening on the fan at the fact that she had to address a fellow child as 'sir'.

"You didn't even look," he argued softly, looking up at her. "Come on, I know you're smart, probably smarter than me," he added, moving the book closer to her eyes.

"Don't let the master and mistress hear that," Sabine remarked mindlessly, before freezing at what she let slip from her mouth.

Sabine expected to hear Alain run from his seat and tell his parents what she said, instead she heard giggles.

"You're funny Cecile," he commented, shaking his head.

A breath of relief left Sabine and she craned her neck, "What's the word, sir?" she asked, her eyes scanning the ink on the page.

"This one," he replied, pointing to the third word on the page.

Sabine nodded her head, "It's glaciers, sir," she said, before looking at Alain.

"Thank you Cecile," he smiled, bringing the book closer to him again.

"Your welcome sir,"

"Alain," he corrected.

"What, sir?" Sabine asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Call me Alain,"

And from that day forward, to some extent a friendship was born. The breaks in between Alain's lessons where his tutor wasn't present, were the only time that the two of them could really speak to each other. Alain did most of the talking, he told Sabine things he probably wasn't supposed to and if his mother ever found what Alain told her, Sabine was sure that Genevieve would just about faint. Sabine on the other hand, was much more reserved on what she was willing to tell Alain. She never told him anything personal, just mainly what she did each day. Sabine was afraid of telling Alain something that could somehow finds its way back to Genevieve. But, as years passed and they slowly matured, Sabine finally felt that she trusted Alain enough to tell him her real name when they were fourteen.

She hadn't heard the name Cecile since.

It was a friendship of secrecy, but that didn't mean Alain wouldn't try to protect Sabine as best he could. Alain could do it overtly, like he done with Marc's friend by yanking him away from Sabine and punching him square in the jaw. Other times, he would opt for more subtle ways that were just as effective. Remember the assault that Sabine suffered in the parlor room? Well, Alain was a witness to his older brother's molesting of her.

Alain strode over to Marc, appearing as though he was going to tell him off, which for Sabine's sake, she hoped he wasn't. It would only lead to further humiliation of her in some sort of fashion and probably Alain as well. Alain approached the table where his brother was playing cards when he suddenly tripped over his feet. Sabine watched in almost awe as the champagne flew in the air before raining down all over Marc, soaking his hair and a part of his evening jacket and dress shirt.

Marc's face turned beet red.

Sabine had to force herself to keep a neutral face, for a grin was threatening to form on her lips followed by uncontrollable laughter.

"You clumsy idiot!" Marc exclaimed, venom laced in his insult.

Alain didn't seem affected by the remark, "I'm so sorry brother," he apologized, without the faintest hint of sincerity in his eyes. "I'll go get some towels for you," he offered, before turning to look at Sabine. "Will you escort me? I would hate for my clumsiness to resort in another mess," he explained, and Sabine nodded.

"Of course sir," she stated, and led Alain out the parlor room.

Once they were in the hallway and out of view from everyone, Alain grabbed Sabine's wrist and pulled her along to the bustling sounds of the kitchen. Entering the room, Alain let go of her wrist and the two of them stared at each other before bursting out in laughter. Sabine felt tears forming in her eyes and used the back of her finger to wipe it away.

"You're going to get an earful from your mother Alain," Sabine warned, with a breathless laugh.

"I don't give a damn," Alain declared, a proud grin on his lips. "Marc deserved it," he added, nodding his head.

Sabine leaned back against the counter, "You didn't have to do that for me," she said, looking over to her friend.

"No," Alain disagreed, vigorously shaking his head. "I had to, Sabine," he corrected, his expression turning serious. "Marc assaulted you. He humiliated you," he continued, his hands bawling up into fists. "Humiliation in return, it was the least I could do," Alain explained, and Sabine ran her hand up and down his arm soothingly. "I know it won't erase what was done to you Sabine, but I had to do something," he finished, his gaze soft as he looked at her.

"It is a small victory I shall revel in for a long time," Sabine said, placing her hand on top of his shoulder. "Thank you, Alain,"

Chapter Three: Steal Away

30 notes · View notes

larryfanficwriter98 · 4 years

Text

Chapter Eight

Harry woke up the next morning drowsy and exhausted, but he grinned when he saw Louis still fast asleep beside him. Yesterday Louis and his friends had been in the pit at the show and after the show, they had hung out in the park then went back to Harry's and hung out. They got to know each other in person without a phone screen in the way. Around 10 they had all retired and not wanting to get made fun of or teased he took up big spoon rope since he was bigger than Louis. He was broader and taller so it meant Harry was the big spoon. Just like he had been with his ex a few years back. Harry looked at Louis, studied his sleeping features, and couldn't believe someone so cute and small had such a big personality. He also could remember his softer more childish features from years ago when they were teenagers.

He could still remember the way his whole body stopped working when he saw Louis. He had been 14, almost 15, and had just come out to his family a few days prior. Then there he was kissing and snogging for the first time with Louis in a closed-off hall after obviously flirting and staring on both sides. It was a perfect kiss too just like yesterday’s, well except it was a lot more awkward since Harry was 14 and never kissed anyone. No wonder Harry felt an instant connection to Louis, they felt an instant connection to each other. They had met so many times prior that Harry would believe in soulmates at this point.

Harry climbed out of bed after kissing Louis' cheek then walked into his closet. He grabbed some clothes for the day then headed to the bathroom to start his morning routine. Afterward, he headed downstairs and started on breakfast hoping he had his heart-shaped waffle iron here and didn't take it somewhere else. Finding it under his many many skillets he plugged it in then got to work on the waffle mix. Minutes later he was flipping the waffle iron to start the cooking when he felt arms wrap around his waist from behind and he grinned.

"Good morning Lou." Louis hummed as Harry turned in his arms and wrapped his arm around Louis' shoulders.

"I feel exhausted even though we slept for like...10 hours."

"That's the jet leg hitting you. You just need a bit of breakfast, some fresh air, and something to do to distract yourself from it. It'll go away in a few hours. Probably around 12."

"Damn and here I thought we missed the jet leg when we took a flight that would let us sleep to get adjusted to the time zone change."

"You beat the worst of it. That's always the best way to travel so you're able to sleep and wake up to the city's morning. I'm surprised you guys thought of it."

"Liam, Niall, and Zayn planned it." Louis told him as he sat on the countertop as Harry went to go get the bacon from the fridge.

"So what do you want to do today? There's Universal, Disney, a zoo, an aquarium, museums, there are a few beaches not far from Orlando. Or we can just stay here, I have an indoor and outdoor pool, a game room, tons of movies with a movie room in the basement. Tampa is only an hour and a half drive as well. How do you want to spend our first Valentine's day together?"

"How about we just explore the town and see what we find to do. You can take me to the places you go to when you're here."

"I actually don't stay in Orlando that much unless I have shows here. I bought the house when I was 19 and was dating my ex. We went to Universal a lot together so much so that he convinced me it was a good idea to buy a house here. Of course, now I know it was because he needed somewhere to cheat on me that wasn't my LA home. For obvious reasons. If I wasn't in Manchester then I was in LA and he lived in LA so I stayed there a lot. Whenever he came to visit family or cheat I went home to visit my family."

"He made you buy a home in Orlando so he could cheat on you?" Louis asked

"Well, his reasoning was because we went to Universal so much because he liked it but yeah it was also to cheat."

"Did he tell you he cheated when you broke up?"

"No, actually I found out when I came to Orlando and walked inside my room to see him fucking a girl in my bed. I knew he was bisexual, but his reasoning was because I wasn't having sex with him even though we had been together for quite a long time actually. Also since it wasn't a guy he wasn't technically cheating."

"Please tell me you dumped him after that."

"Actually no. I stayed with him for another six months and in those six months I had been guilt tripped each time he was hard into giving him a hand or blow job. I broke up with him when he tried to talk me into having sex with him before I was ready. He had been pushing it for a month and this particular time he just wasn't taking no for an answer. I realized what he was doing. I told him to grab his stuff and leave." Harry told Louis who stared at him

"Who stayed with someone who cheated on you then was manipulated and talked into performing sexual acts because he didn't want to wank in a shower? What a dick head. I am- if someone has ever done that to one of my sisters I'd have murdered him. If he still alive because your sister is scary."

"She doesn't know what happened. Well, she knows it was because I wouldn't have sex with him, but not everything." Louis wrapped his arms and legs around Harry and pulled him in close to his body, Harry's hands falling to his hips smiling at him.

"Well just know that he was an asshole and a selfish prick and I never want you to feel obligated to do anything you don't want to. Because trust me I get hard pretty easily, but that doesn't mean I am going to pressure you in any way. I forced myself my first time, I wanted to get over with and I regretted it minutes later. I wasn't ready but I was 18 and I had convinced myself and forced myself to go through with it when I was drunk at the pub. It was in a dirty dingy bathroom with spit, water, and precum as lube, and never again will I trust a guy who said 'Relax I got this' with his hands down my pants. My dick and ass were sore for days because of the dryness. So trust me when I say if you ever feel ready with me I will be sure to make it very very special and memorable and you will be the most comfortable person ever. No matter what position we take."

"First..ew...that just sounds gross and horrible. If you ever spit on me I will sue you. I don't care what the reason is if you dare spit on me I will sue you. Do you understand." Louis laughed as he nodded, "Good. Secondly, I trust you and am comfortable with you more than I have been with anyone. I, unfortunately, came into fame as a virgin, and also my first boyfriend was a manipulative verbally abusive ass. So it's harder to trust anyone, believe me, there have been times when I've wanted to just get it over with too, but you don't know who to trust anymore. The media offers people money for a story, even if it's not true. I trust you though. I've always felt you to be trustworthy and honest. I'm not worried about you going off to any media outlet that offers you money, which is why I refused to make you sign an NDA when my lawyer and label wanted you to when we started face timing."

"I can sign an NDA-"

"No. I trust you. Besides if you were going to say anything you'd have done it by now. You have enough information to make a few million."

"Really? I don't have that much that isn't exactly common knowledge." Louis said

"You have enough." Harry said with a shrug as he moved to out a skillet on the stove to start the bacon as the waffle maker timer went off.

"Want my help?"

"Please tell him no. We would like it to be edible." Liam said as he and Zayn walked into the room with Niall following only moments later

"I got it. Go sit with your friends then after breakfast we'll leave for town. We'll explore together."

"Sounds good." Louis said, leaning over to press a kiss to Harry's cheek before jumping down and sitting on a stool, "So what are you lads doing today?" Louis asked his mates

"Us three have a taxi coming in an hour so it can take us to a car rental since it was closed yesterday when we landed." Zayn said

"I have three cars in the garage you can drive. A 2013 Audi S8, a 2011 Mercedes SLK, and a 2011 range rover. Then my car that I'll be taking today is a 2015 Audi A5. My newer car that I bought for my 21st birthday."

"Are you sure you want them to drive? They're not the best-"

"Excuse you. Who has an accident here and who doesn't?" Liam said looking st Louis

"An accident that wasn't my fault. He hit me when I was parked."

"Still an accident." Liam said

"I'll put you guys on my insurance for the week, it's not that big of a deal. If anything happens it's not like I can't afford it. I hardly drive them anyway. I drive my new Audi and my new Range Rover all the time. I've sold most of my other ones and I've been meaning to sell these three. I just keep forgetting about them. The keys are up on the key hanger in the front entrance." Harry said with a shrug

"Are you sure?" Niall asked

"I'm positive. Rental cars are a pain in the ass don't even bother. They require so much and for international travelers like you guys it could take hours before you're approved. So just take one of mine."

~~~

After a wonderful breakfast of heart-shaped waffles and bacon for everyone Louis took a shower and got dressed in black skinnies and one of his graphic tees the boys gave him over the years. It has a graphic of a vanilla cone and on the shirt, it read "vanilla is for ice cream". Louis loved this shirt and didn't think much of it as he pulled it on then headed downstairs. The front door was opened and when Louis stepped outside he saw the garage was opened. He headed inside and saw all four shiny cars well taken care of and all of his mates in one of the three cars mentioned while Harry leaned against an Audi.

"Niall is going out on his own so he isn't third-wheeling anyone so I'm letting him pick the car first much to Zayn's disappointment."

"Niall can come with us."

"I offered, but I think he just wants to explore on his own. Is he ever away from you three?"

"Not really. Zayn and Liam have monthly date nights and they've been busy planning their wedding. So it's been very coupley at the house."

"The wedding is what..three months away now?"

"Yeah. May 14 to be exact. You're invited by the way, as my plus one if you want to come."

"They told me I was invited, they actually asked if I would sing their first dance song for them then I told them I can ask Ed himself to do it and they got excited. So remind me to call Ed in a few hours, I want to get him before he goes to sleep as it's only 5 in London."

"Sure so about 3?"

"Yeah, about 3 or 4. Around the time we end our exploration and go to the shops to get groceries for our romantic dinner tonight."

"Sounds good."

"Well, are we ready to go? The lad knows to lock up before they leave, they have the codes for the security box outside, and they have a house key. Also, they each have mine and my security team's number should they need anything. As well as copies of insurance cards."

"Already?"

"Paper temporary ones. You have one too in my glove box but figured since I'll be driving for now you won't need it right away."

"Then yeah I'm if you're ready." Harry pushed off from the car and opened the passenger side door letting Louis into the car before closing it once Louis was settled in the seat.

#Larry Stylinson #larry fanfiction #larry fic #work in progress #New Chapter #archive of our own #Wattpad

8 notes · View notes

sanders-sanctuary-au · 5 years

Text

Sanders Sanctuary for Borrowers/Tinies

Hello! Welcome to this AU! Have an info dump post to get yourself acclimated to the universe! And read the first fic installment if you haven’t here!

Content Warnings: Mentions of abuse (of both humans and borrowers), lots of talk about treating people as pets, starvation, mentions of intelligent people being used as science experiments, minor character death, please let me know if I should add anything!

Premise

The Sanders Sanctuary for Borrowers (or as it’s publicly known, the Sanders Sanctuary for Tinies) is located in and around the farmhouse of one Thomas Sanders.

Officially to the public, the sanctuary is a place where tinies who were in bad situations, such as an abusive owner, an illegal zoo, or underground fight club, can be taken to recover. Unofficially, the mission of the sanctuary is to rescue any borrower it can, from any situation where they’re being exploited by humans, whether the rest of society deems it “abusive” or not.

The Sanctuary currently has two human “employees,” Thomas Sanders, the founder, and Deacon Jacobs, Thomas’s best friend. Thomas would love to one day bring in more humans to help, but for now, Dee is the only one he trusts to keep the secret of the sanctuary’s true purpose.

The eventual goal is to turn the sanctuary into a force for change; through education and rescue work, Thomas hopes to change the public’s perception of borrowers and stop their mistreatment at the hands of society.

The sanctuary is designed to allow the borrowers to live as independently as possible, if they so wish, and the eventual goal is to have it be completely borrower run and serviced, though there simply isn’t enough manpower yet for this to happen.

Humans

Thomas Sanders

Thomas is a 30 year old actor and singer who moved to the country when he inherited a big farmhouse and a little chunk of land from his Aunt Patty.

He mostly does stage acting, which is where he met Deacon, and it’s his biggest passion besides helping borrowers.

He doesn’t have very many human friends in the area, and everyone in the small town that’s near his house thinks he’s a bit weird: a city boy who moved out to the country and started a sanctuary for tinies? But he’s super friendly and polite to everyone, so there’s no ill will. More like animosity, which for the kind of operation he runs, suits Thomas just fine.

Thomas is very active online, where there are a smattering of other Tiny Rights groups. The groups are mostly advocating for safer care of pet tinies and against using tinies as lab subjects or who are fighting and spreading awareness about the illegal zoos or fight clubs, very few of them view tinies as people (think groups in our world that are against animal cruelty), but there are a few who do see that truth, and Thomas has been working to grow that community as best he can.

Janus Deacon Jacobs

Deacon (he’s gone by his middle name since middle school due to teasing surround the name “Janus”) is a 28 year set designer and builder, and worked in the same theater as Thomas for about five years or so. He’s snarky and a bit abrasive at times, so he didn’t have many friends, but Thomas reached out to him and the two just clicked instantly.

Deacon (or Dee, for short) was the first person who Thomas confided in about the tinies that he found, and surprised Thomas with the knowledge that he already knew that the creatures were intelligent and that they called themselves borrowers.

When Dee was a child, he was in a pretty abusive household, and he used to hide in the attic when his parents got into one of their many screaming matches. There was a borrower living in that attic, and they became Dee’s only friend. For a long time, that borrower was Dee’s refuge from his parents, but his mom found out about the “pest” in the house and had animal control come to catch it and take it away one day while Dee was at school. He never even got to say goodbye.��

When Thomas expressed interest in Dee about the sanctuary, Dee immediately offered his services. He knows its unlikely, but a tiny part of him hopes that one day he’ll find that borrower again.

Deacon is the one who designed and built most of the more elaborate structures at the sanctuary, and once they started having borrowers actually living there, he helps them with the upkeep of the facilities and follows their lead on what needs to happen for things to run more smoothly.

Borrowers (in the order that they arrived at the Sanctuary)

Joan and Talyn

Joan and Talyn are wild borrowers who lived by borrowing from Thomas’s Aunt Patty for years. When Thomas moved into the house, their borrowing woke him up in the middle of the night (Patty was a much heavier sleeper than Thomas is) and they were discovered.

They were initially very wary of Thomas, but when he realized how scared they were, he backed off. They were prepared to leave, but then they realized Thomas was leaving food out for them and that he hadn’t called animal control, so they decided to stay and give the guy a chance.

Joan and Talyn are the only borrowers at the sanctuary who have been free their entire lives. They helped Thomas design his facility so that it would be a borrower’s idea of a sanctuary, not a human’s idea of one, and they help to find and bring other borrowers to the sanctuary.

Roman

The first borrower besides Joan and Talyn to arrive at the sanctuary, Roman was born in captivity and raised for the pet trade. His owners were a rich couple who had expensive and exotic tastes.

He was kept in a gilded cage in their sitting room during the day, and was expected to pose elegantly when people were in the room.

One day the lady of the house overheard him singing to himself to pass the time, and after that, he was also made to sing for guests.

He ended up at the sanctuary after the mansion burnt down in a fire; his owners only evacuated the “essentials,” so he was left in his cage as the house burnt around him. A support beam ended up falling in just the right way, knocking his cage down and damaging the door enough for him to crawl out and escape the house.

For a few days, he was alone, wandering the city streets in search of food and shelter. He’d been dependant on humans his entire life and had no idea how to survive, so when Deacon found him and asked if he needed help, Roman was all too eager to accept.

Logan

Logan was bred in captivity and was used as a lab-tiny. He was used for product testing (cosmetics, mostly), and still considers himself very fortunate, as he only encountered severe side effects two or three times over the course of his life in the lab.

He never thought he’d know a life outside of the lab, but one night, an intern didn’t close his cage door properly and he took a chance on escape. He knew he might get himself killed if he tried, but he didn’t care, he’d take the chance on freedom.

He succeeded, and managed to survive on his own for a couple months before Joan and Talyn found him on one of their scouting missions. He accepted their invitation to come back with them, and has lived at the sanctuary ever since.

Logan hates how borrowers are assumed to be inferior simply because of their size with a burning passion. He’s determined to prove that borrowers are just as intelligent as humans.

He taught himself how to read in the lab, and when he arrived at the sanctuary, attended online schooling (because online, everyone assumes you’re a human). He got a high school diploma in less than two years, and is working on his college degree now.

Emile

Emile was born into the pet trade like Roman. He was bought for a little girl’s birthday present, and genuinely loved his human.

He was by her side as she grew up, she told him about her day every single day when she got home from school, he met her best friends, he cried with her the first time she got her heart broken, and she let him roam free around her bedroom (though her parents wouldn’t allow him to roam the rest of the house.)

They both thought that they’d be together forever, but then her dad got a job in a new city, and their new apartment didn’t allow pets.

Emile had to be given away, and the home that he ended up in was not a nice one. He was no longer allowed to walk about as he pleased, he wasn’t fed very much, and he was basically neglected. The worst thing for him though, was watching his old human’s friend be neglected alongside him. Their parents were drug users, and didn’t care about much else, and it broke Emile’s heart to see such a sweet kid wilting away.

When the parents were both arrested for drug use, the teen was put into foster care, and the police were planning on just dumping Emile at a shelter, but Thomas had caught wind of the case and offered to take him in, which no one else had a problem with.

Emile wants to train to be a therapist to help both humans and borrowers alike work through their pain and trauma.

Remy

Remy was born free, but was captured as a young teen by a group of humans that use tinies in underground fighting tournaments.

Definitely had the worst of things physically. Was covered in cuts and bruises when he was rescued, not to mention dozens of old injuries that had never really healed properly.

He fought just well enough to make it worth his handler’s while to keep him after losses. Was found when the police raided the operation. Unfortunately, while they did make a few arrests, most of the participants got away, along with all the other tinies. Remy was left behind because he’d just been knocked out losing a fight, so when the police get there they’re met with a few spectators who were too drunk to run away and one unconscious tiny in the middle of the ring.

After being made to fight at night and sleep during the day, his sleep schedule is all out of whack, and he basically sleeps whenever his boyd gives out and he crashes. He doesn’t like bright lights or loud noises very much, and he wears dark glasses to keep everything a little dimmer.

Patton and Virgil

Patton and Virgil are brothers who were born free. They were captured when Patton was 19 and Virgil 16 and sold to a pet store.

Patton was sold right away, and spent just over a year living with a kind old man who needed a companion. But then, the old man passed away in his sleep, and Patton nearly starved to death with no one to take care of him. He was eventually found and taken to a shelter, who then called the Sanders Sanctuary. (more on this)

Patton was half dead when he was brought to the sanctuary, but when he started to recover physically, his mental state stayed very poor. Eventually, Emile was able to coax his story out of him, and Thomas and Deacon decided that their next mission was to track Virgil down and reunite the two brothers.

Virgil spent two years wasting away unwanted in the pet store, until after nine months of looking, Deacon finally tracked him down and brought him to the Sanders Sanctuary to be with Patton again.

Patton and Virgil join Joan and Talyn in helping borrowers who were born in captivity learn more about borrower culture and what it means to be self-sufficient. The two are still pretty shaken after everything they’ve been through, but with the help of everyone at the sanctuary, they’re beginning to heal.

Follow this blog for more content in the Sanders Sanctuary verse, and asks are open!

732 notes · View notes

aworldoffandoms · 5 years

Text

In The Land Down Under

Author's Note: Okay, so I got an ask from @ritachacha asking me to write a short fic about what would happen if Liam and Riley went on a diplomatic trip to Australia. Considering she and I are Australian -- I jumped at the chance to write a fic about our country. It’s fun lol. Thank you so much, Rita for all your help! It means a lot. Hope you and the rest enjoy it!

Tagging some fellow aussies who might enjoy this: @cynicalworlds @pb-boeboe @the-everlasting-dream @topsyturvy-dream @shreyamistrys

I’m also using my tag list I use for my story ‘Runaway’ so I hope that you guys like this but please let me know if you’d like to just be notified about ‘Runaway’ or if you’d like to be tagged in any other fics I might post :)

Pairing: Liam x MC [Riley]

Word Count: 3, 779 (oops)

Rating: T

Warnings: Nothing -- just some (hopefully funny) Aussie jokes

Summary: Liam and Riley enjoy their time while on a trip to Australia. What will they get up to?

Tag list: @hopefulmoonobject @annekebbphotography @am-i-invisible777 @blznbaby @khakie4 @lauradowning29 @blackcoffee85 @captain-kingliamsqueen @moneyfordiamonds @super-secret-fandom-blog @jovialyouthmusic @zaffrenotes @ao719 @umccall71 @carabeth @furiousherringoperatortoad @pixieferry @pixelpenny @rainbowsinthestorm @dcbbw @thecordoniandiaries

The clouds parted and the royal jet descended towards its destination. A jolt of excitement raced through Riley as she caught a glance of the Sydney skyline: the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House standing tall against the glittering blue of the ocean.

Riley clapped her hands in overzealous joy. "I can't believe we’re here, Liam! I've wanted to visit Australia for so long! I can't wait to see everything - climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge, see the Opera House, go on a ferry ride...oh! We have to go to Taronga Zoo!"

Liam couldn't help but smile at his wife's childlike glee and her plans for the next two weeks while on their diplomatic trip to Australia. Riley liked to believe it was a holiday, but it was also a chance to talk trade and other endeavours with the governing power of the country.

The Prime Minister of Australia officially invited them at the start of the year and the King and Queen of Cordonia finally had a break in their busy schedules to allow an overseas trip.

Liam rested a calming hand on Riley's arm and she eagerly looked out the window as the plane dipped further towards solid ground.

"Sweetheart, while I admire your enthusiasm for this trip, I must remind you of our original goal in being here. It's important that we cinch deals with this country. It'll be in our best interest."

Realisation poured over Riley like a bucket of cold water. Mirth slowly slipped from her face and in its place was a barely controlled disgusted grimace. The anticipation of coming here was almost snuffed out because of her husband's words. Great. Forgot about that.

The only word that escaped to convey her feelings was an, "Oh."

Liam chuckled at the despondent note in that syllable. "We'll have plenty of time to explore Sydney, my love, but for the next few days, it's official business with Prime Minister Morrison and a few royal engagements. You know as well as I do that Cordonia needs to branch out and connect with other foreign counterparts and Australia is a strong ally to have."

Riley was still glancing out of the window as she nodded, a sigh escaping her. "I know. I was just so excited. It's hard to differentiate between queen and excited wanderlust tourist in times like these."

Twenty-four hours on a plane and I still have to shake hands with random men when I could be enjoying my time on Bondi Beach and ‘chilling’ with the locals.

In anticipation of this trip, Riley had the time to research the country and their customs and memorise some key facts, mind you, most of these facts consisted of things she had learned from movies. She was fascinated with Mick in Crocodile Dundee and couldn’t help but swoon at Hugh Jackman as The Drover in Australia. Damn, that man almost rivalled Liam in looks. Maybe she should get Liam to grow some scruff, although, being a King, a beard would likely raise some eyebrows.

By the time they were ready to leave for the Cordonian International Airport, Riley had compiled a list that ended at three pages long. Maxwell was rightfully impressed when she showed him and he expressed his desire to feed, as he said, a ‘fluffy koala who would be a perfect addition to the menagerie’ at her estate in Valtoria. Riley had laughed but her stomach twisted when she read up and realised that they were a vulnerable species and it was illegal to own one anywhere. That made Maxwell deflate although within minutes he had emailed her a follow-up list requesting emus, dingoes, wombats and kangaroos.

Riley scanned her own list. Some facts surprised her while others she thought were a no-brainer. For instance, Australians used slang for nearly everything so a simple word like 'afternoon' was more accepted as 'arvo' and it was definitely not a shrimp but a prawn and they did not put them on a barbie for those wrongly informed individuals. And contrary to popular belief, animals in this country would not kill you. Although, Riley had made a note to steer clear of forests. Drop bears seemed to be plausible.

Liam laughed as he leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek. "I know, Riley. We'll have all of next week to explore."

The royal jet finally landed as the plane whurred to a stop and the engines disengaged. The door separating the back of the plane to the royal couple's seats slid open and Bastien stepped through.

Bastien bowed once he reached them. "Good morning, Your Majesties. I have received word from the Cordonian ambassador that you'll be escorted to the Cordonian embassy as soon as possible. However, before that, you'll be having a photocall with the Prime Minister and Mayor of Sydney."

Liam nodded at Bastien, heaving a quiet sigh. Royal duties never stopped for the lives of monarchs. Liam had half a mind to damn trade talks and alliances to hell and join Riley in her obvious zest to see Sydney's wonders, yet, he knew, that could not come to pass. Cordonia needed all the allies it could gather and Australia could be beneficial for Cordonia's growth and strength as a nation.

Liam glanced over to Riley and found her gnawing at her bottom lip, her fingers drumming against the armrest of her seat.

He reached over and gathered her hand, twining his fingers with hers as she glanced up at the contact. He pressed his lips to her knuckles and gave her a wink.

“You’ll be fine, Riley,” Liam said, naturally understanding her nerves. They’d been married a year and it still surprised her how easily he read her. All those years of body language lessons had paid off.

She gave her husband a nod as she tightened her hold on his arm and followed him out of the plane and into the awaiting fanfare.

****

“Oh my gooosh...look! Look it’s a kangaroo! And a dingo! Is that an emu over there? If Maxwell was here, he’d be freaking!”

The week of trade deals and diplomacy were over for the royals and they now had the all-clear to travel and explore one of Australia’s most famous cities. Currently, they were at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo and being guided through a section of the park that housed Australia’s more famous land creatures.

Liam’s heart swelled as he stared at his wife, his grin spreading when he saw her bouncing on the tips of her toes like an over-excited school girl, her finger pointing to the kangaroo hopping over to them and a dingo perched on a rock face watching them with curious eyes.

“Would you like to feed him, ma’am?” A zookeeper handed over some fresh carrot for the king and queen to take.

Riley squealed at the suggestion. “Would I ever!”

The Zookeeper smiled at her obvious delight and lead her over to a fairly placid looking kangaroo, his kaki fur soft to the touch. It surprised Liam how friendly some of these animals were. It was almost as if this was a daily occurrence for them and considering how popular this zoo was, he thought he was right in his assumption.

“Love, don’t be so loud. You don’t want to scare the poor creature away.”

Riley rolled her eyes at her husband but her smile was still blinding as she turned back to the keeper. In her enthusiasm, she almost snatched the carrots from her fingers.

As she approached the kangaroo, the large mammal quirked its head to the side as if contemplating if it should approach the beaming human nearly skipping over to it.

“Now, Your Majesty, you want to approach the roo as calmly as possible. Although they are friendly, any sudden movements can frighten them and you don’t want one of their claws to snatch 'ya. They'd tear you to shreds.”

Riley faltered at those words, a flash of worry marring her face. The zookeeper saw her hesitance and chucked good-naturedly.

"Not to worry, Your Majesty. These roo’s are more likely to engage in a harmless game of tag with the food than they are to attack. They've had a lot of experience with people."

A barely heard sigh of relief escaped the Queen as she approached the kangaroo. She held out her hand, palm flat, and guided the vegetable to the kangaroo. Riley's eyes widened in joy as she watched the native Australian mammal sniff her hand and gently grab the offering with its claws and nibble it.

Riley stood there, staring, long after the kangaroo has finished, her eyes darting to the enclosure around her.

“This is so cool. Why haven’t we visited sooner?”

Liam chuckled and wrapped an arm around Riley’s waist, pressing a kiss against her temple. “I don’t know, my love. But if seeing all this makes you happy then I must make this venture to Australia more often.”

Riley gave her husband a smirk. “Don’t you mean, ‘The Land Down Under?’”

The last syllable was exaggerated to the point of it being comical as Riley attempted the Australian accent, emphasising the last syllable of ‘under’ so it ended more in as ‘unduh’, yet she failed spectacularly. Liam laughed at her attempt. It was endearing.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say the Australian lifestyle is catching up with you.”

Riley shrugged. “What can I say. This country is fascinating. Their accents too. Whew,” Riley paused to fan herself, pretending to swoon. “Have you heard their accents yet? Hot.”

Liam frowned. “I thought you liked mine?”

Riley laughed, stepping away from him and following in the footsteps of the zookeeper who was taking them to the koala enclosure. “Oh, maybe so, but have you heard the way they say, ‘G-day'? That’s my kind of greeting.”

Liam gave Riley a half-mocking serious look and then his mouth lifted, his eyes glinting in mischief, "If it'd suit you...I can greet you in a way that has proven very popular in the past."

Riley had the good sense to stop and stare at Liam for a minute before giving him a mischievous smirk of her own, ending with a wink for good measure. “Nope. I think I’d rather leave Hugh Jackman to do that for me.”

***

"Can we please go to Bondi now?"

Liam nodded at his wife while trying to finish up his conversation with Olivia who had decided to call while they both were enjoying their morning tangled together between the sheets of their beachfront hotel suite.

Apparently, decisions on the Cordonian Golf Tournament couldn’t wait until next week when both the King and Queen would arrive back, yet Olivia felt it necessary because ‘Neville would surely make it a point to prattle on about how important it was because of its location on Cormery Isle’ and Olivia couldn't stand his voice as she was threatening to stab him in the leg.

Liam advised her that would not be wise and to go ahead with the finishing touches of the marketing and contracts for vendors and finalise the competitors who were scheduled to play.

“Liam! Come on! Bondi can’t wait any longer!” Riley’s voice was loud in his ear as he said his final goodbyes to Olivia and told her to he’d see her next week.

He hung up and glanced over to where his wife was standing and his jaw nearly dropped at what he was seeing.

The swimsuit she had on hugged her curves and revealed her cleavage in a tasteful yet sexy way and the elegant cut-outs at the side of the material made her become exceptionally beautiful than she already was. She was one voluptuous woman and Liam could not take his eyes off her.

Riley glanced up and found Liam’s gaze a little bit south of where it was meant to be. “Hey. Liam. My face is here. You’ve seen these,” she waved to her chest area for emphasis, “...far more times than I can count so I’d get that look off your face. No surprises here.”

At her words, Liam’s jaw snapped shut and he shook his head, grinning at Riley’s words. She was right, of course. Some days he had free reign to worship every spectacular inch of her body and he could spend hours upon hours doing it and she’d gladly let him, yet, now was not the time.

Riley wanted to go to Bondi and so they would go to the beach she so desperately wanted to visit. He could fantasise later.

“Okay. I suppose I can wait till later to appreciate the gift of your body but I suppose we should go to this so-called ‘Bondi’ you are so fond of. I wouldn’t want to make you unhappy.”

Riley jumped up and down, clapping her hands in excitement. “Yay! Hurry! I want to see the lifeguards!”

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek as she went to the balcony of their suite and looked over to the not too distant horizon to see the white sandy beach that was a notorious spot for people of all ages and ethnicity.

Riley couldn’t help the spring in her step as she stared at the beach that she would soon be visiting, plucking the list of the activities she wanted to do while here and ticked Bondi Beach off her list. The edges of the paper were tattered now from the constant opening and closing of the parchment yet it was still stable enough for her to still be able to cart it around with her.

Riley smiled as she ticked it off and glanced up finding the temperate at a hot 28 degrees already and it was just before 11:30 in the morning.

Jeez. New York can get hot but the Australian sun is murder.

She felt a bead of sweat already gathering at the nape of her neck. As she gathered her stuff that was needed for the beach she called over her shoulder to her husband in the bathroom.

“Don’t forget your thongs, Liam!”

Riley couldn’t help but jump at the voice that bellowed through the door. “Don’t forget what?!”

Liam opened the door and gave his wife an incredulous stare, shocked at hearing the words that came out of her mouth. Surely, she wouldn’t subject him to that kind of humiliation. Yes, he was all for a bit of roleplay now and then but...in public? He was a king. He could not and will not subject himself to that.

“My love, you know that I adore your quirks and your enthusiasm in certain aspects of our travels. And it surprises me even now that some of the words you say still perplex me, after all this time together, but if you subject me to wearing a thong -- I will call Bastien and arrange for the royal jet to take us home to Cordonia immediately.”

Riley stared at her husband in muted silence, her lips quirking up into a smile hearing the words coming out of his mouth. The laugh that had started to bubble up in her throat burst forth after Liam lapsed into silence.

Riley was laughing so hard that she had doubled over, her arms clutching her chest in silent laughter, tears in her eyes. “Oh my...gosh! Liam!” Another burst of rambunctious laughter escaped her and reverberated throughout the suite. Any other time Liam would find her laughter endearing for it was one of his most favourite sounds in the world yet this time he found himself quite irritated at the fact that she was laughing at him. Yes...he was very well aware that she was laughing at him.

Annoyance stirred in his chest and he could not help it seeping into his tone as he said, “Well...by all means laugh at me but I stand by my words, Riley. I will not engage in this sort of behaviour.”

Riley was still laughing as she stood upright, bursts of laughing still spilling out as she made a solid effort to control herself. “Behaviour? What kind of behaviour? Liam--”

She cut herself off and stood up straight, shaking away her mirth as she walked up to Liam and grabbed the swimming trunks that were grasped tightly in his hand at his vexation. She stared up at him with a neutral mask but Liam could see the unsaturated glee behind her eyes. “Honey. I never said anything about a thong. I said, thongs. Plural. These.”

She points to her feet and Liam follows her finger and his eyes widen at seeing what she had on and then his brow furrowed in confusion. “But these are called flip-flops.”

Riley chuckled. “You’d think, right? No. Here they are called thongs. Different use and a very different context here.”

Liam’s eyebrows knitted together as he ran his hand along his jaw, an obvious sign of confused contemplation. “How strange…”

Riley nodded. “Strange indeed but I’ve learned to embrace the strange. I’ve noticed that in the Australian people. They’re more laid back than even I thought I was. It feels freeing to be here than in Cordonia with all those uptight, stuffy nobles.”

Liam lips quirked in a smile. “Yes. Well. I have come to understand why you love seeing new places and I can’t say that I haven’t enjoyed my time here.”

Riley raised her eyebrows at him as she got a pair of thongs for Liam and placed it alongside the beach bag. “Oh, and who was griping at me a week ago at all the trade deals and enquiring about alliances to this country with disdain?”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Yes, but I was simply saying that after a long day of meetings. In the end, Morrison granted us that alliance...did he not?”

He did. Though it was not for a lack of trying for some constituents and other specific requirements for Cordonia to meet with Australia's standards. The Prime Minister asked for a fair amount and Liam, at the end of a very long day and at the end of a very long week decided to grant Morrison his stipulations because not only would it be good for Australia but the added revenue it would bring to Cordonia and its tourism will increase ten-fold. Australia had three times as many citizens as Cordonia and this was an opportunity not to be passed up.

Riley sighed. “Yes, he did but made every opportunity to persuade you to give in at every roadblock that he made. Gosh... that man irked me.”

Liam raised his eyebrows. “And here I thought you said you thought he was a nice ‘bloke’”

Riley grumbled. “Well...I’d rather him be forthcoming and be a little more flexible with his demands rather than railroad my husband into an alliance where we are giving more to them than they are to us.”

Liam’s heart warmed at her care for him and the care that she had for Cordonia, yet, despite her words being right, Liam knew that this was the right thing to do for Cordonia. His country needed all the friends and strength it could get from outside of the realm. Australia was an undeniable force and Liam would be damned if he didn’t take it.

“Morrison might be a bit...direct...but he did make some good points. And we came to an agreement. Now…”

Liam goes over to his wife and wraps his arms around her, pressing a kiss to her neck. “I believe we have someplace to be right now?”

Riley leaned into Liam’s touch and squeezed his forearms that were cinched around her waist. “I believe we do, my king. Get ready to soak up the sun and enjoy all that these Aussies have to offer!”

Liam chuckled and rolled his eyes as his wife left his embrace and grabbed the few last things and waited by the door, bouncing on her toes in her overzealous excitement

“Okay, my love. Let’s see these Aussie locals and the lifeguards you are so desperate to meet.”

“They are called sheila’s and blokes here, Liam. Get it right.”

Liam just chuckled as he followed his wife down the corridor to the elevators to begin their day with sun and sand.

***

“Oh! Can we get this for Hana? She’ll love this! Maybe we could get this for Chance?”

Riley traipsed around an Australian souvenir shop, a spring in her step, as she plucked item after item in their waiting trolley. The knick-knacks she had gathered for their friends included a small plush kangaroo for Hana to add to her collection, a few fridge magnets to adorn their kitchen once they return to the palace, a life-sized koala plush doll for Maxwell, and a few t-shirts for them all. Riley also had a few bottles of Australian whiskey for Drake and a boomerang for Olivia. Riley was sure that a boomerang would come in handy. It wasn’t sharp but it could do some damage to those who wielded it properly. If anything, Riley thought, Olivia would appreciate it. She liked weapons of variety.

Liam watched in admiration at his wife’s constant energy during this whole trip. They were set to leave for Cordonia tomorrow and Riley had suggested a shopping trip. And how could Liam refuse anything his wife desired?

Liam stopped when Riley came to a hat stand, jumping on her feet in excitement as she pulled off an Akubra with strange string hanging from the brim and at the end of said string were corks you’d find in a champagne bottle and it followed around the circumference of the wide-brimmed hat. What in the world…?

A small exclamation of delight escaped her mouth as she admired herself in the mirror. “Liam! Don’t you think this would look good in my hat collection? It’s so unique!”

Liam chuckled as Riley moved her head from side to side, the dangling corks at the end of the string swishing in front of her face. “It certainly looks charming.”

Riley grimaced at his words, turning so that she had her full glower on him, the hat sat firmly on her head, not budging from the quick pivot of her steps to face him. “Charming? You think I just look charming?”

Liam raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms along his chest. “What other words should I have chosen, my love?”

Riley’s grimace transformed into a light-hearted care-free smile. She tipped the hat towards Liam, just like the Drover in Australia as a show of acknowledgement.

“Why, mate! I’m a true-blue Aussie, of course!”

#the royal romance #the royal romance fanfiction #trr fanfic #trr fanfiction #liam x mc #liam x riley #trr #choices #choices fandom #choices stories you play #playchoices #aworldoffandoms

73 notes · View notes

skzzthingss · 5 years

Text

Stray Kids Reaction to You Being Afraid of Birds (Requested)

Warnings: none

Request here

Bang Chan

You were both walking near the river, hand in hand when a bird swooped too close for comfort making you shout out in shock and duck in fear.

"Woah! Are you alright? Did it hurt you or something?" Chan immediately asked, crouching beside you and wrapping his arms around you. You were shaken, but overall okay.

"Yea, I'm fine, just not a big fan of birds," you admitted, feeling a little embarrassed.

"You're going to be fine, I'll make sure the birds won't hurt you!" Chan said, raising his fist in the air, "I'll knock 'em out of the sky if i have to!" He said with a loud superhero voice.

"Channie, please, that's not necessary," you say trying to lower his arm, and his voice, noticing the other passersby who were beginning to look at the two of you in both confusion and amusement.

"If it means protecting the love of my life, then yes, Y/N, it's necessary!" He continued in his loud voice, making you grab him by the sleeve and pull him away from the park, deciding an indoor date would be more enjoyable and less embarrassing.

Woojin

Woojin thought a good date idea was to go to the zoo. He didn't know about your fear of birds as it was never something that came up. You didn't think too much about it as you loved animal, and you didn't birds as long as they were behind some sort of barrier.

He brought you to the aviary of the zoo, and much to your dismay, it was an open exhibition. You two walked in hand in hand, and Woojin noticed you squeezed his hand a little tighter.

"What's wrong?" He turned to you to ask quietly.

"Birds, i don't like them that much, can we go to a different area?" You asked, holding his hand with both of yours.

"You could have just said," Woojiin pecked your forehead, "Let's go look at the other animals."

Minho

You always assumed that Minho would make fun of you for being afraid of birds, so you never brought it up, for fear he might do nothing but tease you. But today, he planned a picnic on the beach for a date. You figured, if you just stayed away from and area with too many seagulls, it would be fine. Safe to say, that didn’t happen.

You two set up your picnic near the water, the birds flying overhead. You were doing a good job of hiding it, until a seagull swooped in front of you to grab at some of the food that was laid out. You shouted out along with Minho, who also got startled, but then you started to cry a little. You Still tried to hid it, trying to quickly wipe away any tears before Minho saw, but he did.

“You’re crying? What happened?” He was quick to your side, wrapping his arms around you and wiping your tears.

“I’m scared of birds,” you finally admitted. Minho held you until you were done crying, not saying anything.

“Let’s go somewhere else then, okay?” He said, taking your hand and helping you off the blanket before packing up the picnic stuff. From that day on, he did tease you, but made extra care not to put you in any situations you might not like, even if it meant less dates outdoors.

Changbin

You and Changbin had been daiting for only a month, and he wants to know as much as he could about you. He observes you in almost every setting but not in a creepy way. He wants to know what makes you smile, laugh, angry, sad, happy, and excited. So when you were at the park together, he noticed everytime you flinched when a bird came too close for comfort.

He took you home, standing on the door step, "just tell me next time, we won't go to the park."

"What do you mean?" You asked, genuinely confused.

"I saw you're afraid of birds," he smiled, "I won't put you in that much stress again."

You giggled, "wow, thanks, I guess."

"No problem," he pecked your lips, "I'll plan an indoor date next time."

Hyunjin

Hyunjin was a dramatic scaredy-cat, everyone knew that. You prided yourself on being the opposite. You were rarely startled, and it was hard to shake you. So when you and Hyunjin were ambushed by a flock of birds in the park and you screamed and fell over, Hyunjin took it upon himself to poke a little fun at you.

“So you’re not at tough as you say you are,” he teased, helping you off the ground.

“Shut up, I-I just didn’t see it coming,” you tried to defend yourself.

“Oh, sure,” Hyunjin chuckled, “so birds?”

“No, shut up!” You walked faster. Hyunjin followed you laughing, and still making fun of you a little, saying things like, “hey, watch out, birds might be behind that.”

Once home, he was usually the one to have the cute and cliche end to a date, where the two of you stand on your door step under the light and he kisses you before leaving. This time, the leaned forward, but instead of kissing you, he leaned into your ear and whispered, “caw, caw.”

You slapped him playfully, “just go.”

“Sorry, i didn’t mean to scare you,” he said laughing and pecking your lips for real before walking away.

Jisung

Jisung has expressed to you before that he would sometimes get insecure about the fact that he was startled easily. He complained that he felt like it took away from his ability to properly protect you. Often it was you who sheilded him, making him feel less manly (not that it mattered), but for him, he felt like he failed you.

Then one day on a walk a bird swooped too close to the two of you, making the two of you scream and try to dodge the bird that was no where near you two. Jisung was used to you not being startled and throwing an arm around him, but when you cowered in fear, he took action. Instead of falling backwards, he leapt to you, shielding you with his body from the bird that was now simply minding its own business on the pavement. As dramatic as it was, Jisung felt quite proud of himself.

“You’re okay, you’re safe with me,” he said as he helped you up, quoting what you would often say to him.

“Birds, I hate them,” you commented, flinching slightly when the bird flew off.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!” Jisung said proudly. You smiled, glad that he had something to boost his self-confidence.

Felix

You and Felix were enjoying a little picnic by a lake. You two had made ramen (Felix’s request) and brought various other foods with you. The two of you ate in a peaceful silence when a bird swooped in, trying to snag of the food you had laid out. In a panic, you leapt off the blanket, bringing your bowl of ramen with you and ran behind Felix. Felix stayed seated and was laughing at you.

“It just wanted some chips, don’t worry, your ramen is safe!” Felix said, laughing. You sheepishly returned to your spot.

“I wasn’t worried about it eating my food,” you quietly admitted.

“What then?” Felix asked, calming his laughter a bit.

“I’m just afraid of birds.”

“Oh, sorry,” Felix tried to stop his giggles, “your reaction was just too funny!” He continued laughing. You smiled, allowing yourself to laugh along with him.

Seungmin

You brought Seungmin to meet you family for the first time, and, honestly, you were more nervous than him. Your mom had a habit of opening up old scrapbooks and photo albums every time you brought someone to your house. It didn’t matter who, you’r mom took full advantage of it and showed them pictures.

One day you brought and acquaintance from school home because you had a project to do, and right when your mother saw a new face, she had the albums out and open before you even entered the house.

You hid in the living room with your dad when dinner was over. Seungmin was trying to make a good impression on your parents, so he stayed behind to help with dishes, which meant your mom was going to want to bond with him. The dishes didn’t take long, and soon your heard your mom talking and laughing with Seungmin as she told him various storied from your childhood, accompanying them with a picture from an album.

On your way home, Seungmin turned to you, “you never told me you had a phobia of birds.”

“I knew my mom was going to tell that story,” you already cringed internally at the memory.

“The picture of you was adorable,” Seungmin giggle. He was talking a bout a picture of you when you were around 12 or 13 years old. Your family had gone to a zoo. They had trainers with birds and one of them let you hold a bird. The picture was of you bawling your eyes out, like face red, eyes puffy, while the bird sat calmly on your arm, you dad holing you still.

Jeongin

Jeongin took you to a beach he loved growing up, wanting to share the memories with you. You two were having fun, splashing each other in the water, and just enjoying the day. On the shore, a vendor had begun to sell ice cream.

“Let’s get some!” You told Jeongin, grabbing his hand and leading him out. You both got cones and sat on the towel that you had laid out earlier.

You and Jeongin were talking when a seagull swooped in and basically took your whole cone. Not only were you shaken beyond repair, but the damn thing too your ice cream. You weren’t able to control yourself and a few tears left your eyes, not sobbing, but enough to signal Jeongin that you were in distress. Jeongin thought you just loved the ice cream and offered you his.

“You can have mine, please don’t be sad,” he insisted, holding his cone out for you.

“I don’t want it,” you declined, wiping your tears from your eyes.

“What happened, did it hurt you?” Jeongin was trying to examine you for any injuries.

“I’m really scared of birds, that’s all, it just scared me,” you informed him, reassuring him.

“So you’re not sad because it took your ice cream?”

“Ice cream is ice cream, of course I’m sad, but I’ll be fine.”

“Let’s share mine then,” Jeongin smiled, giving you his cone.

#Stray kids #stray kids reaction #stray kids fluff

56 notes · View notes

ciaoalex · 4 years

Text

Weeks 4 & 5 (oops!) - Milan and Naples

Time goes by crazy fast here, and I accidentally skipped a week of blogging! So here are two weeks compiled into one post.

Last weekend, I went to Milan with Lina. I absolutely loved the city; it was a combination of Rome and New York, so I felt at home with the hint of modern, American culture, but still felt like I was in Italy! Of course, I adored the fashion capital and loved strolling past countless designer stores (not going in them of course, since I have the budget of a college student :( maybe next time..). Our first stop in Milan was the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology. It turns out that I really had no idea who Leonardo da Vinci was (oops), but it was an absolutely fascinating museum! It was so interactive, and Lina and I ran around like children trying out all the different games and simulations in each exhibit. Afterwards, we settled into our AirBnb, did some sightseeing, and some shopping, of course. That night was Valentine’s, so we went out for a romantic dinner by the canal and got drinks. The next day, we went to the Duomo, which was absolutely breathtaking. Hands-down one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life; I could’ve stared at it for hours.

While at the Duomo, we experienced our first scam. The piazza was filled with hundreds of pigeons, and a man offered to take our picture with some of the pigeons. Knowing that many people here try to trick you into paying for things, we politely declined. Then, he said it would just be 3 euro for a photo, so Lina convinced me to do it (please note that it was not my idea!). He ended up turning it into a photoshoot, telling us to do different poses, and taking 26 photos. Afterwards, he just walked up to us and said “81 euros please!” Turns out, it was 3 euro PER photo, but we only asked for one! We fought with him for a good fifteen minutes. I thought about running, but there was a pretty big group of his scammer friends surrounding us. Once he started to get angry and a little aggressive, we gave him a final offer of 30 euro total. We handed him the money and ran away ashamed and embarrassed since the whole fiasco happened in front of thousands of people. Check out the photos that we got, which I posted on the blog and Facebook (as you can see, I was petrified and very grossed out by the pigeons). We decided to save the Duomo for another day (bad memories, ya know?), and explore other parts of Milan. We took a bus tour and spent the afternoon looking at different parts of the city.

The next day, we tried the Duomo again, with no scams this time! We entered the cathedral first, which was incredibly moving. I was almost brought to tears as soon as I got inside. I can’t explain what exactly connected with me so much, but I definitely felt God in that church. I lit a candle for my late Grandpa Joe, honoring a beautiful person inside the most beautiful church I have ever entered. We climbed to the top of the Duomo, which was a dream. I felt like I was in a castle! Afterwards, we went to a cocktail bar overlooking the Duomo, and got drinks made by a robot. Then, we headed home on our overnight bus and got ready for another week of class!

This week, I discovered the beauty of alone time. Although I usually love being around others 24/7, this experience has been a lot to process and appreciate without a quiet moment to sit and think (also why I’m always so bad at keeping up with my blog!). I pushed myself to take a few afternoons to myself and sat by the Colosseum and journaled. Taking time to come back to myself made a huge difference in my whole perspective and attitude for the rest of the week!

On Friday, we embarked on a class excursion (basically a weekend field trip!) to Naples. I went with my International Finance class, and we were paired with the Food Studies class. The professors that took us are childhood best friends and grew up in Naples, so they were super knowledgeable and enthusiastic about everything there. Also, since we went with a food class, we got to eat awesome food all weekend! We stayed in a hostel, which turned out to be like a 5-star hotel. There was even a jacuzzi! I befriended a few Italian girls in my class a few weeks ago, so Lina and I stayed in a room with them. I love hanging out with them and getting to talk about our different cultures. First, we went to a castle, which had amazing views of Naples. We took a very long walk throughout the neighborhoods to get a feel for the area. Then, we had a dinner in a traditional Napolean house, where street performers came and taught us some traditional songs and dances. It was odd at first, but once everyone dug into the bottomless wine, we really enjoyed ourselves! Then, we got free time, which we spent getting to know the Italian girls and some other people in our program. Afterwards, we went to a really nice dinner, where we had delicious Naploean pizza! We explored the nightlife and had lots of fun dancing the night away with our friends!

The next morning, we visited two farms. The first one was pretty boring (it was a social cooperative), but the second one was AMAZING. We were greeted by a huge lunch that was sooo delicious. This farm was a buffalo farm, so we got to walk around, learn about Bufala Mozzarella (a very famous cheese in Italy), and feed the buffaloes!! I had the time of my life bonding with the buffaloes. After they saw me kissing and hugging the buffaloes, everyone in the program told me AGAIN that I should be a farm girl! Little do they know, I am far from that! Lastly, we stopped at a winery, got to learn about the winemaking process, and got to sample some of the wine. We headed home and I jumped right in bed for an early night. The weekend was SO fun, but it was exhausting!

On Sunday, I went to the zoo in Rome with Lina and Sam, another one of my roommates. If you know me, you know that I absolutely love zoos, so this was a great day for me. We spent probably an hour just watching monkeys and got to see some turtles “making love” in front of an audience of children, which was hilarious.

The past two weeks here have been amazing. I definitely feel at home in Rome now, but have been SO busy! Schoolwork has been the last thing on my mind, which is also unnatural for me, so I need to go catch up on the past three weeks of work that I haven’t started! Oops.. Thanks for reading about my travels if you are still reading all of this! See you next week!

1 note · View note

darkmindsthinktwistedthoughts · 5 years

Text

Hush

This short has been brought to you thanks to a convo @xathia-89 who was talking about tales that had been bugging them in their mind recently. Mitsuhide and Masamune in the library with the reader (female) trying not to be overheard my Ieyasu. I cannot / have not attempted to write NSFW stuff since my first poor attempt at it but once again I find myself trying. I hope you all enjoy it.

Warning: NSFW... Heavy petting, smuttish behaviour. A fox and a dragon playing games. Cameo form a porcupine... (this is starting to sound like a zoo)

Masterlist

---

Hush

The castle library was always an interesting room. Row upon row of shelves housing books meticulously organised into different topics. Whilst it was a fantastic room it was also a pain in the backside when it came to cleaning. Every book had to be removed and wiped before you wiped the shelves then everything had to be replaced again. If you were extremely unlucky you were given the task of cleaning after Mitsunari had returned his borrowed reading material and you found yourself playing the role of frustrated librarian as you reorganised the books back into their right locations as you went.

You made your way along the castle halls until you reached the room you wanted. Sliding the door open with your foot as you carefully balanced your cleaning supplies in your arms. It was not the best lit room in the castle but you could still clearly make out the figure of one curious person sitting silently in the room. His head rose from what he was reading and a thin smile graced his lips as he noticed you.

“Well if it isn’t the little Seamstress.” That disarming baritone voice almost seemed to drift in the air to you as you entered the room.

“Mitsuhide. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you.” You offered a meek apology as you set your small bucket and rags down near the first row of shelves.

“Disturb? However, would a little thing like you possibly disturb me?” Mitsuhide chuckled as he continued to watch you from his corner in the room. His citrine eyes almost seemed to flicker in the lamplight.

“What are you reading?” You attempted to make for polite small talk as it seemed he had no intention of returning to reading at that moment and his gaze was starting to make you a little too aware of his presence. Of all the people to find yourself in a room with it had to be him.

“Curious? I was just reading up on a couple of things that interested me.” Mitsuhide indicated the small stack next to his side. You had no idea what they all were about but something about Mitsuhide’s smile always had you on your guard with the slightest things.

“Well don’t let me stop you.” You ignored your curiosity and decided ignorance was sometimes bliss. Especially when it came to the castle’s number one tease of a warlord. You had just cleared a shelf of books, stacking them in order nearby.

With a damp rag in hand, you had started to lead into the shelving to wipe it down when a slender arm and long alabaster fingers brushed past you. There was a very slight soft pressure behind you as another body drew close enough to your own that you felt a slight warmth from them. “Er… Mitsuhide?” Your voice came out a little startled and you turned your head without realising that his face was so close your noses were practically touching.

You weren’t sure you had ever been this close to him before. You could feel his chest rise and fall on your back and his breath ghosting over your exposed neck. Even in the dimly lit space, you knew it not possible to hide the fact you were more than likely blushing as red as a peony.

“Mm? Oh, my apologies I was just looking for a new book.” He spoke completely indifferently making you feel like you were the one with a dirty mind. He glanced closer at you, putting a more meaningful smirk on his face. “Are you feeling quite alright you seem to have a fever?”

“No, no I’m fine just getting a bit warm from cleaning I guess.” You gave a feeble excuse and attempted to move but you realised you were actually blocked in. The door to the room slid open abruptly and while your eyes widened in surprise Mitsuhide gave what felt to be a small sigh next to you.

“What are you two doing?” The abrasive voice of Ieyasu effectively killed the mood dead. It was something you were both a little happy about but also sad at the same time. Mitsuhide slowly removed his arm from around you, a small book now in his hand.

“Looks like fun to me.” Masa laughed happily. He had his usual playful twinkle in his eye as he looked in your direction.

“Everything looks like fun to you.” Ieyasu rolled his eyes and came further into the room. Quickly replacing the rag into your bucket your decided it was probably a little safer at the moment to take the dry rag and dust off the books rather than remain close to Mitsuhide.

“No point in life if you don’t enjoy it.” Masa shrugged.

“Ieyasu. Masa. What are you…?” You looked between the two men as you brushed the dust from the leather covers and bindings of the books.

“It’s a library clearly I am here looking for a book. I have no idea what he is here for though.” Ieyasu sounded irritated, although it was difficult to tell if it was more or less irritated than usual.

“I was just following you.” Masa said as he put his hand on Ieyasu’s shoulder.

“What are you a puppy?” Ieyasu scowled as he brushed the hand off him.

“Me? Nah… I’m more of a Tiger. Right Kitten?” Masa sent a feral piercing look at you. That singular blue eye was no less powerful for having lost its partner.

“I think I’m getting a headache. Mc?” Ieyasu turned to you now as if attempting to ignore the very existence of Masa.

“Y-yes?”

“Give me that you look like you’re about to drop it in your daydream and if you get hurt it's going to be more of a pain for me later.” Ieyasu effortlessly scooped up the now cleaned books from you.

“Huh?... Oh! Thank you, Ieyasu.”

“Don’t bother I did nothing important.” Ieyasu quickly averted the thanks as he always did and began looking at the titles of the books in his hand.

“Aww that’s so sweet isn’t it Masa? Seeing out little contrarian being so helpful and friendly.” Mitsuhide moved next to the one-eyed dragon his cheerful teasing tone made Ieyasu visibly tense.

“Yeah, you’re nearly acting like a real guy there lad.” Masa nodded in agreement with the Kitsune.

“A real guy? I am a Man you know?” Ieyasu almost appeared to puff up as he spoke.

“Says the prickly thistle.” Mitsuhide muttered just loud enough for it to be audible to everyone.

“What was that?” Ieyasu glared at the white-haired trickster.

“Mm? Oh, nothing I was reading out loud from this book. Thistles are a prickly plant… see?” Mitsuhide turned the small book he held in his hand and showed a pretty ink drawing of a plant.

“I am aware of the plant thank you.” Ieyasu didn’t exactly back down but he did at least seem a little less like he was wanting to draw his sword.

“As to be expected of the resident specialist healer.” Mitsuhide smiled amiably.

“Can you eat it?” Masa enquired as he looked at the illustration.

“I wouldn’t recommend…” You answered for Mitsuhide who was no doubt about to make a dangerous suggestion as to the plants potential applications.

“I would suggest you try but I fear I will only end up having to care for your reckless self afterwards.” Ieyasu huffed. “Mc I’ll deal with these you get back to whatever it was you were doing.”

“Oh… yes. Thank…”

“Stop thanking me and just get that airhead of yours focused again on your job.” After tossing out his rejection of your appreciation Ieyasu took the books in his arms and moved further into the shelving and vanished out of sight.

“Don’t mind him, Lass, he’s just in a mood.” Masa pointed out his one as friendly as ever.

“How can you tell?”

A peaceful silence spread through the room after that. You had returned to your task of cleaning and Mitsuhide had returned to his corner. Ieyasu had not returned from the depths of the room and you actually suspected that he was sitting in his own corner somewhere ignoring everyone as best he could. Masa also decided to remain in the room, he had picked up a book and was reclining next to Mitsuhide flicking the pages over in it lazily.

You noticed it a couple of times out of the corner of your eye. First, it had been Mitsuhide. He had shifted in his position to lean towards Masa and whisper something. Then Masa had done the same thing minutes later to Mitsuhide. They could have been comparing information from the books together but there was something about these two warlords that just made the hairs on the back of your neck bristle. Alone they were both teases but together they were worse. You tried to ignore the internal alarm bell you heard and focus on your cleaning.

It was a faint throaty chuckle that sounded almost like a low purr that alerted you to the fact that someone was now right behind you. You had not heard him more or even seen it, honestly, if a warlord wished to move with stealth, they could give ninja’s a run for their money.

“You’re looking a little tired there Lass why don’t you take a break?”

“I’m fine, thank you. Why don’t you go back to reading your book?” You try to casually brush off Masa and continue your task. It would be nice to finish it today rather than have it take up most of tomorrow morning as well.

“Rejected already there Masamune? I thought you were better at the pursuit than that.” You practically jump as you hear Mitsuhide on the other side of you.

“I haven’t given up yet Mitsuhide. Besides this little Kitten didn’t exactly reject me.” Masa edged closer to you. Bringing his hand up to rest on your hip causing you to freeze at the sudden contact. Mitsuhide’s smile widened at the sight of your reaction to Masa and he too closed the gap from the other side causing you to be the filling in this rather attractive beef sandwich.

“What are you two doing?”

“Why whatever do you mean my dear? I am looking for another book obviously.” Mitsuhide brought his face closer to your neck as he bent down to speak to you more closely. “I have to say this one looks rather interesting…” He put his hand over yours and began stroking his fingers gently over your it, relishing the shudder of your body at the slightest of touches.

“Hey, no fair. I was looking at that one too.” Masa faked being upset as he stroked your cheek with the back of his hand before pushing some of your fallen hair gently over your ear. His fingertips grazing your sensitive skin just enough to send your already racing heart to rattle in its cage harder.

“I have no issue with sharing. You’ll just have to match my pace I won’t be waiting to turn the pages.” At this Mitsuhide moved his other hand to trace the neckline of your kimono. It was taking everything in you to just stay still at this point. Knowing that if you moved you had not just one but to warlords in hot pursuit.

“Wha- hey wait a minute I’m not a book!” You gave out a less than convincing protest.

“Such a noisy book. Hush my dear or would you prefer to gain an audience?” Mitsuhide’s reminder had you remember the fluffy haired porcupine nested somewhere in the library. You clamped your mouth shut, allowing that gently rising heat to spread through you as both men continued lavishing their attention on you. Their calloused fingers that wielded weapons focused on tracing every part of exposed flesh they could see.

“I don’t mind either way.” Masa purred a little louder in your ear as he took it upon himself to drag his tongue along the edge of it.

“Ever the showman. Well now…” Mitsuhide was now playing his fingers in ever increasingly tempting patterns up your arm as he slid his hand up the inside of your sleeve. You felt a faint tug at your waist and realised your obi had been slackened causing the layers of your kimono to shift and expose more of your neckline.

“!!”

“How intriguing this book is… these pages just abundant with information at my fingertips.” Mitsuhide brought his hand out of your sleeve and was now tracing those patterns of his down the side of your neck. His long fingers slipping further and further down past your collar bone and along the edge of the loose silk, his feather-light touches setting your skin alive with prickling heat.

“Mm…” A small moan escapes you in a voice you hardly recognise as your own, before you manage to catch yourself.

“I have to say you have no taste when it comes to food but I can’t complain about your choice of literature.” Masa pulled the silk draped on your shoulder sinking his teeth into your tender shoulder. The short stab of pain followed but the wet relief of his tongue as he licked the small bruise now blooming on your skin. “Delicious…”

“!” You nearly cried out and would have had it not been for the set of lips that locked onto your own swallowing your voice.

“Hush now little mouse.” Mitsuhide whispered as he drew his face back from your own his lips hovering over yours still as his beautiful bewitching face filled your vision. “If you are a very good girl we can give you everything you desire.” He forcibly stole another kiss. His tongue tracing your mouth as if looking for a hidden secret.

“Mhm?”

“Of course, if you are a very bad girl you can get more than ever dreamed off Lass.” Masa plunged his hand inside your now completely dishevelled clothing. You knew how you must look right now but that budding feeling of embarrassment and shame was obliterated as Masa began to rub at the space between your thighs.

“Ah…”

“There’s a good kitten. Purr for me.” He growled soft and low into your ear as he bit down on your lobe. His hand continuing to move as your body reacted with a mind of its own chasing his actions with ones of its own.

“…Masa.” His name came out as a breathless whisper.

“Such wonderfully honest reactions. I never get bored of watching you, my dear. However…” Mitsuhide too sunk his hand in joining Masa’s as if to not be outdone by the other man. He traced your slit, you could feel how your desire had coated his fingers allowing them to slip as smooth as the silk of your kimono over your skin. “I do believe taking action can sometimes be just as rewarding.” At this, he sunk his fingers into you. Your back arched at the sudden new sensation and as you bucked your hips you felt the undeniable pressure of both men next to you their arousals pressed into your back causing your mind to slip as you wondered exactly how much more of this you could actually take.

“Mitsu-hide…” His name slipped out of your mouth a little louder than you wanted it too given the situation. You certainly didn’t mind this but you didn’t want an interruption at this point.

“I don’t think she can keep quiet.” Masa spoke up as he raised his head from the crook of your neck to address Mitsuhide. He felt so hot it was like you were being held by a burning flame. That blue eye you loved seemed deeper drawing you into it more than usual.

“Mm… you could be right. I think a punishment might be in order.” Mitsuhide chuckled as he looked in Masa’s direction. His own eye’s hooded and nearly black with desire as he made his suggestion.

“Punish-?” Masa dragged his nail over your clit in perfect unison with Mitsuhide who had taken this time to silence you by curling his elegant fingers inside you placing the perfect amount of pressure expertly on your weak spot. Your voice cracked as your words died in your throat.

“Oh, I like the way you think. How about it Lass? Shall we take this somewhere else?” Masa asked already aware of how you would answer. He was enjoying this just as much as the other man who was also showing no sign of stilling his hand in its pursuit to cause you to become undone.

“How cute. Your silence won’t be helping you now though my dear. Punishment has been decided and punishment is what you shall receive.” Mitsuhide chuckled as he watched you writhing. Your skin flushed and beginning to glisten with sweat as you remained trapped between the two men.

“What are you going to do to me?” You somehow managed to get a full question out suppressing your desire to squeal between words.

“If you must ask that my dear then you are far too innocent to really be told the answers.” Mitsuhide moved the fabric closest to him away with his teeth exposing the edge of your collar bone to him. He traced delicate kisses along it, making you feel like you were melting.

“Don’t worry Kitten. We won’t hurt you.” Masa chuckled as he reassured you.

“He’s right. But by the time we’re through with you, your innocence will be a thing of the past.” At this Mitsuhide and Masa seemed to exchange something between them in complete silence. Both men stopped in their movements and your body was suddenly floating up in the air after being picked up by Masa.

“Eep!”

“It’s ok Lass I won’t drop you.”

“Be sure you don’t. We don’t want her getting hurt before we’ve finished what we started.”

You nestled into the broad chest of Masa partly seeking his heat but also in an effort to hide your shameless form as he carried you swiftly from the library int to castle proper and along the hallways to your room. Mitsuhide keeping pace easily as your side. You had no idea exactly what “punishment” they had in mind but you instinctively knew you weren’t going to complain.

---

86 notes · View notes

heartslogos · 4 years

Text

newfragile yellows [704]

There’s never been a guardian angel as good as Max.

Max will go before every single guardian angel that’s come before him, and every guardian angel that will come after him, and every guardian angel currently serving their tour of duty with him and say it to their faces.

Hand to whatever higher power is the flavor of the decade, there has never been a guardian angel as dedicated, as dutiful, as mindful, as thoroughly put to the test as Maxwell.

To date, since his ward’s conception in the womb to now, he has stopped no less than thirty near accidental deaths, blocked at least two hundred and fourteen incidents of grievous or permanent body harm, negated seventy seven misfortunes of life altering proportion, deflected thirty two counts of emotional trauma, erased twelve incidents of dire consequence from existence in this reality, and prevented one thousand three hundred and twenty eight tearful episodes.

This is well beyond the average considering his ward is only thirty two this year. If Maxwell’s doing his job right she’s got at least sixty more years to go, based on her family’s current health history and Ellana’s current physical wellbeing. Which he’s kept in tip top shape.

It seems like the universe is out to get him, via her, because it has tried to throw every single conceivable negativity towards her ranging from splinter between the fingernail to airplane crash right above her car. It’s sent poisonous spiders to her shoes during summer camp, escaped deadly zoo snakes to her cradle as a babe, rabies infested rodents to her path walking home from school, distracted drivers at crosswalks, all manner of vehicular destruction, not to mention the other people it’s directed at her with less than neutral intentions.

Whenever he looks at Evelyn he wants to shake her and demand how her ward got the good of it.

Mahanon and Ellana are twins for fucks sake. How come Mahanon has an average amount of bad things happening to him? Evelyn only has to intercede on his behalf maybe ten times a day, not a hundred.

It probably doesn’t help that Ellana is the sort that goes looking for trouble, what with her bleeding heart and all. Not that it isn’t a good thing. It’s a very good and noble thing for her to volunteer at animal shelters, work in outreach centers, spend time with her community. These are wonderful things. These are also the things that might get her killed because someone once brought in a coyote to an animal shelter and the coyote was very, very mad and Ellana was the only volunteer available to assist.

He’s heard that the thirties are the roughest part of duty, because the ward is old enough to make decisions and generally be self aware. But it’s also the time of life when they have some of the most responsibilities and burdens, going into forty and then fifty. Things somewhat taper off at eighty, he’s been told. He’s got fifty years of nail-biting, hair raising, feather-molting inducing stress to trudge through before he’s home free and can maybe just look forward to shepherding her soul to the afterlife as she slips away in peace.

He’s just got to get her to make it that far.

Maxwell’s hurrying back after making sure that the train that lost control of its brakes is settled — it was going to smack straight into Ellana’s bus — dread already building up when he finds his ward sprawled out on the ground, clutching her head — how did she get into trouble so fast?

And then he sees it. Them.

He sees a Qunari man helping her up. Their hands touch. She raises her face to meet his. Their eyes meet.

Dear gods above and devils below. Maxwell feels it in his internal cosmos.

Maxwell’s eyes meet the guardian floating just above the Qunari. She’s a stern looking woman, angular face, short hair, steady shoulders, slight twist of tired resignation to her thin mouth. She’s absolutely beautiful and Maxwell senses, immediately, that she’s probably been thrown through the wringer like he has been with his ward. She’s a kindred spirit.

And based on the feeling he’s got in his stomach, so are their wards.

These two are going to hit it off instantly. They’re going to become each other’s top complications in the best of ways.

Maxwell makes his way over, nodding at the woman, extending his hand.

“Maxwell, first time guardian angel,” he introduces himself.

She takes his hand, grip firm and confident, “Cassandra. This is my seventh charge.” She pauses, looking down at the man. “He is the most — the most.”

Maxwell releases her hand, watching their charges staring at each other like lightning-struck idiots.

“Same for mine.”

“Hi,” Ellana breathes out, looking quite silly.

“Hello,” the man replies. “Sorry about that. The perils of walking and talking on your phone while trying to look at your watch.”

“No, it’s okay. I wasn’t looking where I was going either,” Ellana says. It definitely is not okay, but sure. “Are you alright? Did I hurt you?”

Of all the ludicrous questions to ask. The man’s built like a brick house. The train Maxwell stopped would probably be hurt hitting this guy. Did Ellana hurt him by running into him. She was the one on the ground.

“I should be asking you that. I think you bounced. Let me see your head.”

Cassandra groans, putting her head in her hands. “Introduce yourself first,” she hisses.

“Don’t let strangers put their hands on you,” Maxwell sighs as Ellana obediently turns around and offers the man the back of her head.

“I’m retired army,” the man says, “I work in private security now. I’ve seen and dealt with my fair share of head injuries. I also have a doctor on my team. I was on my way to meet him at the coffee shop on the north side of Slawson, if you were okay with going with me.”

“I think I’ll be okay,” Ellana says.

“Oh thank you,” Maxwell sighs in relief, shooting a quick glance at Cassandra. “No offense.”

Cassandra waves him off, head still in her hand. “He needs to introduce himself properly.”

“But,” Ellana adds on, causing Maxwell to mirror Cassandra’s pose, “I’d love to go with you. I wasn’t really in a rush to get anywhere. I’m new to the area and I was just exploring the bus lines.”

“I can show you around if you want,” the man says, “I feel bad about maybe giving you a head injury when you just moved here.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer, head injury or no.”

“Give her your name,” Cassandra begs.

“How many times are you going to make me watch you live through a stranger danger special?” Maxwell whispers. “Please.”

“I’m Ellana,” Ellana says, smiling up at the man.

“Sweet god in heaven,” Maxwell cries, “Please. I’m begging you.”

“I’m the Iron Bull,” the man replies, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Finally,” Cassandra moans. “He’s not normally like this.” She pauses. “No, that’s untrue. He is normally like this, sometimes worse. I’m sorry.”

“I’m also sorry, because you might be seeing a lot of me if this pans out,” Maxwell replies. “And I’m also sorry for whatever she does, because this one draws trouble like it’s her job.”

#heartsfic #gather your party and venture forth

1 note · View note

pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles · 5 years

Text

Colour Me In (Part 5)

Eliza gasped as a blue butterfly landed on her nose and giggled when she looked over at Calum. He had a yellow butterfly in his dark curls and his mouth was hanging open, eyes wide as he fed several others from his hand. He'd brought her to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

They'd started in the butterfly jungle and Eliza swooned at Calum trying to be extra careful with the tiny delicate creatures.

Next was the aviary where Eliza stared at the birds the zoo keeper brought out one by one following along with the script on Calum's phone. He seemed a little more skittish around the birds as they were brought up close, but he tried to play it off. She marveled at the colors, and judging by the way Calum flinched when it opened its beak she guessed it was very loud.

Calum bought behind the scenes tickets so they learned about kangaroos for about an hour, even holding and feeding a baby roo. The park employees teased Calum about being a natural, being from Australia and all. Eliza noticed the side glances cast her way, some girls nodding at her and smiling in appreciation of the man she was on a date with. Other females shot her looks of pure envy and venom, but Eliza ignored them, she was too happy to care what anyone thought.

They grabbed a quick snack before Calum took her on a caravan safari through the Asian and African savannah. Calum had preloaded the guides script into his phone so Eliza could read along, but he kept poking her and pointing, signing “What's that?”

She'd sign back “lion, rhino, antelope,” and so on and the tour continued. A couple of kids sitting in front of them turned around to watch the impromptu lesson and were soon asking their own questions.

Calum grinned watching Eliza answer every one while still paying close attention to the animals they were there to see. He brushed a curl off her cheek tucking it behind her ear earning him a smile that made his heart catch in his throat. He took a video of her teaching the kids to sign “giraffe” and he couldn't help but think she'd be such a good mom someday. The thought unnerved him for a second, but he squeezed her knee and smiled back. The kids got distracted by their parents who felt bad intruding on what was obviously a date, and Eliza snuck in a quick kiss, pressing her lips to his briefly, just long enough to let Calum know he was already in too deep.

The safari was about two hours long with Eliza alternating between signing for Calum and the kids and holding his hand enjoying the scenery. Every now and then resting her head on his shoulder so her hair tickled his face, and he noticed it smelled like honeysuckle flowers and coconut. Cal couldn't remember the last time he'd taken a girl out on a date and he'd never done anything like this before.

By the time the tour was over they were both hungry and the parents of the two kids offered to treat them to lunch at the restaurant on that side of the park. They wandered back through the park deciding to try the zipline even though Eliza objected not wanting Calum to spend any more money. He overruled her objections and flying above the animals she was glad he'd insisted. He'd gone first so he was waiting when she landed. Eliza was so overwhelmed at the days experience, and this gorgeous man grinning at her with his arms out, she couldn't help but throw her arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. His hands tangled in her hair and his tongue parted her lips when they were asked to move along. Calum frowned as he pulled back, leading Eliza back down the trail.

They held hands as they made their way out of the park, stopping occasionally to look at an exhibit and even popping in to feed some colourful lorikeets. Eliza laughed when Calum seemed to finally be warming up to birds until one pooped right in his hand. He looked so embarrassed and grossed out, she felt bad for him but laughed harder as she handed him a wet wipe. They stopped at the petting kraal so Calum could brush a goat which Eliza just had to get video of.

They made their way to Calum's car, and he acted like he was gonna reach around to open the passenger door for her. Instead his hands found her waist backing her against the car. Eliza stood on her toes tilting her head up as his mouth came crashing down on hers continuing where they'd been rudely interrupted. The kiss was deep and passionate, his hands running down her sides gripping her hips, her fingers pulling his curls as her teeth grazed his bottom lip. He started to dip down to kiss her neck and Eliza pushed him away, suddenly.

“I'm sorry I'm sorry” she signed, wide eyed and shaking her head. She grabbed her phone.

I can't have marks on my neck. Where my mom and boss could see them.

Calum backed up and nodded before leaning in and kissing her lips again.

If I ever leave marks, they'll be where no one can see them.

Eliza's jaw dropped and Calum burst out laughing. He opened the door for her, before walking around and getting in himself.

I'm still hungry, let me buy you dinner

That's not how this is supposed to work ya know

Calum was using voice to text so he could talk to her while driving.

Don't care, you just dropped several hundred dollars taking me out today, I can buy you a pizza.

Okay fine, but let's go back to the hotel and let me get a quick shower before we get dinner.

Shower? Where?

I got a room this morning because I figured I'd be too tired to drive back tonight after getting up that early to drive down

How much is this costing you?

Don't worry about it, I can afford it and it was worth it to come see you.

Eliza got freshened up in her room and changed into a yellow sundress with sneakers and a white denim jacket over the dress. Calum was at her door looking handsome as always in a black tank top with an unbuttoned red shirt over it. Ripped black jeans and boots with his hair still wet from his shower, Eliza had to fight the urge to forget about dinner.

The desk clerk was a fan and insisted they try her favorite restaurant about twenty minutes away. The menu was California cuisine with a Greek twist. Eliza skipped it and went straight for the kebab, the smell of the lamb meat already had her mouth watering. Calum followed her lead and it was a slow night so the owner was also running food. He stopped to chat them up and they had a laugh how international the table was, a Maori-Scottish man on a date with an Portuguese-Iranian woman at a Greek restaurant in a Mexican named city eating Turkish food.

He insisted they take a shot of Ouzo on the house, only relenting when Eliza explained she was Muslim, insisting Calum take two in her place.

Calum texted her can you drive a stick? Eliza nodded with a wink and he took the shots. He nursed a beer for the rest of the night not wanting to get silly around Eliza. The liquor got him feeling a bit loose and he couldn't stop touching her. He kept playing with her fingers, rubbing her shoulder, bumping her knee with his, Eliza wasn't drunk but felt intoxicated by the attention.

The food was amazing finally breaking the spell as they concentrated on their meal.

Afterwards they were absolutely stuffed but the owner insisted they take some of his wife's famous kourabiedes, Greek walnut sugar cookies, with them to go.

They got back and Calum walked her to her room. Eliza stopped and pulled out her phone

I want you to come in and hang out, but I don't want you to think this is an invitation to fool around

Okay but you're looking really pretty tonight so I can't promise I won't try and kiss you

I'll consider myself warned

They ended up sitting on the bed holding their phones to chat. Calum was sitting up with a pillow behind him with Eliza sitting between his legs, her back resting against his chest. They were both fully clothed although she'd changed into yoga pants and an oversized t shirt with a sports bra underneath and Rocket and Groot knee socks.

If you're trying to look unappealing, it's not working, but what's with the socks

Maggie is Rocket and I am Groot

He giggled and she looked back at him receiving a kiss before settling back against him.

They stayed that way until after 2am. Cuddling and texting eventually putting one phone one the charger while they passed the other back and forth. Calum talked about his two girlfriends in high school and how awful he'd been to them. He'd had sex for the first time at 15 and he was embarrassed to admit he honestly couldn't tell her how many girls he'd slept with. After that he told her about the girl who'd convinced him he was finally in love. She'd been a drummer and a tattoo artist about a year older than him. He'd become jaded when that fell apart piece by piece until they hated each other. He never missed them as a couple, but sometimes he still missed her.

Eliza nodded she told him about her first boyfriend, Miguel who'd been deaf like her. They'd met at school, as there was only two high schools in the district that had ASL interpreter. They'd dated from sophomore to senior year, and he'd been the one to take her virginity, convincing her they would marry after college and live happily ever after. She found out he was cheating a week before graduation. Her second serious boyfriend was Patrick who she met in literature class her first week of college. They'd been together a little over a year despite Maggie and Kevin never being fully happy with the relationship.

As far as sex was concerned she and Miguel had been kids, sneaking around, figuring things out together, and it had been enjoyable. Patrick had been boring in bed, she knew enough to know that. When she'd gotten the courage to suggest trying something different he'd turned it around on. Patrick had blamed her extra weight and her lack of experience for his poor performance. Their relationship crumbled quickly after that.

Eliza felt suddenly bashful explaining her limited sexual experience and prowess.

I hope if something ever happens you won't be disappointed

Eliza felt Calum's whole body tense up as he read that.

You could never disappoint me, don't ever think that.

He turned her head so she was looking at him and mouthed “Never” before pulling her into a kiss.

Soon they were tangled together in a flush of heavy breathing, roaming hands and passionate kisses. Calum stopped and pulled away watching her face. Eliza was still unsure if she was ready for this and Calum understood that. He got up of the bed and helped her up.

“Not yet” she signed.

“I understand” he signed back before kissing her forehead. “I should go get sleep.”

He kissed her goodnight and went to the desk to see if he could keep his room until Monday.

The next day Calum slept till 10 but Eliza was already up and ready with a bagel sandwich and a coffee for him. She'd decided that since Calum had planned yesterday, and it had been expensive, that today would be the opposite.

They went to Balboa Park to explore the gardens. She only expected to be there a couple hours but the place was huge and breathtakingly beautiful. They marveled at the stunning Spanish-Moorish fountains in Alcazar Park, took pictures at the lily pond in front of the Botanical Building and delighting at the rare orchids inside. They grabbed a light lunch before heading to the carousel.

It was a gorgeous historic menagerie carousel with many animals to choose from. Calum picked a horse but Eliza wanted the dragon. She smiled the entire ride her eyes kept wandering around taking it all in. Calum's heart was in his throat, and he couldn't stop staring. Reputation be damned, he liked this girl, and he had to make sure she knew.

The rest of the short day was spent wandering hand in hand through the Memorial Rose Garden, Calum memorizing which flowers were her favorites. Then the Japanese Friendship garden where they enjoyed strolling through authentic buildings and reading the exhibits. He stole kisses walking down the paths before standing behind her holding her and resting his chin on top of her head while they silently watched the koi ponds.

Calum stepped back and turned her around to face him and raised his eyebrows carefully signing “want girlfriend my will.”

It took Eliza half a second to realize what Calum just asked her.

“Of course” she signed back at him beaming before raising up on her toes to kiss him.\

@wildhearthood @kiiiimberlyriiiicker1995 @cal-puddies @biba3434 @babygirlcashton @angelbabylu @itstheholls @5sos-ficssmut @cal-pal-cuddles @calumh-excess @1dthewantedlove

#calum hood #calum hood fanfiction #deaf #eliza #colour me in #asl #sign language #calum 5sos #calum imagine #calum hood imagine #calum hood fanfic #calum hood blurb #calum hood smut #5sos #5sos calum

30 notes · View notes

thighhighsanti · 5 years

Text

sweet but psycho XIX

< previous chapter masterlist >

summary: Another meeting is being held to discuss the arrangements for you to spend a few days with NCT. Taeyong sees the album with pictures of your shared childhood and will he say yes to Junmyeon’s proposal?

word count: 5.9k

pairing: multiple members of EXO x fem!reader & NCT x fem!reader

tags/warnings: Mafia AU, any kind of weapon tbh, character death, mention of blood, angst, mention of loss, descriptive death and fighting, smut, kidnapping, stealing, hacking, Stockholm syndrome. mention of BTS , NCT and GOT7

read on archive

Your name: submit What is this?

It had been a good two days since my talk with Junmyeon, and everything was going like he had said. There was another gang meeting, and again it was being held at EXO’s house.

The previous two days had been quiet, I’ve been having my nightly drinks with Kyungsoo, trying my best to ignore Chanyeol’s consistent stares and surprisingly spending more time with Baekhyun, Sehun and Jongdae. The last couple of days had also included me doing practically nothing, besides catching up on all my episodes of Supernatural.

The last couple of days had also included me wondering as to why Taeyong wouldn’t tell me who he was, would he think I’d hate him? – I didn’t. Maybe he thought I would be mad? – I mean let’s face it, I was mad but I was more sad that I was only finding out who he was now. We had been friends for years, I’d forgive him eventually anyway.. Just like I had done with Junmyeon, who I had also been spending more time with.

I hadn’t told him I knew who Taeyong was, and I doubted he knew. He probably didn’t even remember him, because if he knew who he was he probably wouldn’t let me go meet him.

Minseok and I had also talked, if wasn’t anything serious. He just told me that he was tired of “fighting” all the time. He wanted for us to get along, and it didn’t necessarily have to be as a couple. He told me to think about it and take my time, and later on would we start figuring things out.

Kyungsoo was getting more and more loose with each and every drink we shared at night, and I was surprised to say – he was actually pretty nice, once you got to know him at least. He didn’t have much of a sad backstory, like I had thought he would, he was just at the wrong place at the right time. He had met Junmyeon when he was at a shooting range, Junmyeon asked if he was looking for a job and surprisingly they went for there. At least that was what Kyungsoo had told me.

Currently most people were waiting for the groups to arrive, as the meeting would start in about an hour. Most groups would always arrive early, ready to just get everything started so they could leave again. Although today would be a bit different, as BTS had said they were being held up by something.

I sat in my room, waiting for the sound of a doorbell. My plan for today was to show Taeyong my photo album, hoping it would bring out a reaction. At first I thought about walking straight up to him and confronting him about it, but if I were to do that Junmyeon would never let me go with them anymore. So I decided to go for a subtle approach anyway, and try to play dumb.

As I went to sit down on my bed and grab my phone I heard the doorbell ring. Now was the time. I snatched the album from my bed and ran out of my room, ‘I got it!’ I exclaimed, practically shoving Tao aside as he walked over to the door. I heard him mumble something under his breath before his footsteps walked the other way. I opened the door, and my smile fell. It wasn’t NCT, it was GOT7.

‘I’ve never seen a smile fade so quickly, were you hoping to see someone else princess?’ Jinyoung asked as I stepped aside and let them in. ‘Perhaps Jackson?’ Yugmyeon smirked as he walked past me. ‘He threw me aside remember,’ I snapped, reminding him of what had happened. ‘And actually I was hoping to see Jimin, I missed his cute pink hair’ I shrugged, turning around and walking off.

Kris, who had heard and seen the interaction, walked over to them. The men greeted each other before Kris led them to the office. The other boys spared me almost none of their attention as they followed along, leaving me alone in the living room – besides the few others of EXO that had gathered in the kitchen.

I sat down on the couch and opened the album. The first few pictures were baby pictures of Junmyeon, from when before we had met obviously. The pictures were extremely fun to look at, his little chubby face and sweet smile were something that never failed to make me laugh.

After passing multiple pages I finally reached our “early years”, from when we were in kinder garden. My eyes fell on a picture of me and Junmyeon, it was a picture of us at a zoo. The both of us stood in front of the glass as we watched a bunch of lions walk around, when finally one came closer to have a look. In the picture you could clearly see the shock on our faces when the lion stopped in front of the glass and jumped up, scaring everyone near it.

In the second picture you could see me crying and Junmyeon on the floor, laughing. I could almost perfectly remember how scared I was at that moment, thinking the lion could get me. A small smile formed on my lips as I looked at the third picture, a familiar figure in the back of the picture, running over to us. Even though the figure was blurry, due to the camera being focused on me and Junmyeon, I could clearly make out Taeyong’s younger face.

This was when we had only just become friends, a trip to the zoo being a school trip to get to know each other. In the fourth picture you could see Junmyeon getting off the floor, and Taeyong pulling me in his arms after helping me up.

‘What are you smiling at?’ a voice suddenly spoke from behind me, making me jump and turn around – my smile now long gone. ‘God, stop that’ I snapped, moving to slap the person that had scared me. Ten stood behind me, now pretending to clutch his arm in pain. ‘Ouch, rude, and no it’s not him.. Just me, your favourite member of course’ he sassed as he moved to sit down next to me.

The sounds of footsteps behind me made me look over my shoulder. ‘Hey sweetheart’ Lucas smirked, walking over to sit down on a single seat. I internally gagged at his use of words as I watched Mark sit down on the seat’s armrest. Two I recognized as Taeil and Kun also joined us, Kun taking the seat next to Lucas as Taeil simply stood behind him.

‘But what were you looking at?’ Ten asked again, turning my attention back to him. ‘Just some old pictures’ I shrugged as I turned back to my album. Ten looked along with me, his eyes quickly scanning over the pictures.

‘Oh is this you?’ he cooed pointing at the second picture. As I nodded I felt someone lean over from behind me, their breath hitting the back of my neck. Jaehyun smiled at me as I turned around, ‘how the hell did you guys even get in?’.

‘The door was open’ Mark shrugged, letting me turn back to my album. ‘You were so cute here-’ Ten smiled, his eyes not leaving the picture. ‘-Not that you aren’t cute now’ he smirked as he looked up from the album. I simply rolled my eyes before turning to the next page.

I was looking over the pictures of me and my friends in the zoo when I heard Ten say something to Kun, but because he was talking in Chinese I couldn’t quite understand. But I didn’t have to speak the language to understand that they were clearing talking about Taeyong in the pictures, probably wondering if I maybe already knew.

‘Who are they?’ Jaehyun suddenly piped in from behind me, his hand moving past me to point at a picture. It was a picture of Junmyeon, Taeyong and I in front of the panda’s. ‘This is me, this is Suho and this is Tae’ I explained, making sure to refer to Junmyeon by his nickname.

‘Wait you’re telling me that this,’ Jaehyun started, pointing at Junmyeon, ‘is currently EXO’s leader?��. As I nodded Jaehyun let out a laugh, ‘who would’ve thought he was so cute back then’.

‘But who’s this?’ the man next to me asked, pointing at the younger version of Taeyong. ‘That?’ I asked, pretending to think about it. ‘Oh, that’s my friend Tae’ I suddenly spoke and from the corner of my eye I could see Mark and Taeil give each other a look.

‘He was my friend from kinder garden to high school’ I explained, Lucas now also looking over at us. ‘What happened?’ he asked and I could tell they were all curious to know what my answer would be. Had Taeyong not told them that we used to be friends? ‘I don’t know to be honest, we just.. grew apart I suppose’ as I remembered the past I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. We used to be so close.

Jaehyun placed his hand on my shoulder, hoping to provide a bit of comfort, when I heard another pair of footsteps walk up to us. As I turned the page, the person sat down on the couch next to me. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, Taeyong sat down next to me on the couch, two drinks in his hands.

‘Thirsty?’ I laughed as I watched him get comfortable. ‘Not really, you?’ Taeyong smiled at me as he offered me the second drink, which I gladly accepted. ‘Thanks’ I returned his smile before taking a sip of the drink, it was just simple juice.

‘I could use a drink as well’ Lucas suddenly spoke up as he grabbed a flask from his jacket and took a sip. ‘Really Yukhei, now?’ Kun scolded him before slapping him shoulder, making Lucas almost drop the flask before quickly putting it back in his jacket. ‘What, you know these meetings make me thirsty’ he exclaimed, causing a soft laugh to escape my lips and it didn’t take long before I noticed Taeyong snickering next to me.

‘Ah, you’re cute when you laugh’ Ten suddenly spoke up, making Taeyong stop laughing as we both turned to look at him. As I thanked him Jaehyun let out a sigh behind me, ‘why can’t you say that when I compliment you?’. ‘Because when you do it it’s obnoxious’ I shrugged, noticing that Taeyong was still looking at Ten. Only when I leaned forward to place my drink on the table was when he stopped his glaring.

When I flipped to the next page I noticed Taeyong look along with me. When he noticed just what pictures I was looking at his breath caught in his throat. I didn’t want to show my smile, but on the inside I was grinning. As I looked over I pretended to look worried, ‘what’s wrong?’ I asked, now also getting the attention from his other group members. ‘Oh, u-uh, nothing’ he stuttered before quickly regaining his senses. I simply nodded and turned back to my book, folding over to the next page.

On the next page there were some pictures of the three of us hanging out at my home, we were building a pillow fort. Or well, they were building a pillow fort and I was doing absolutely nothing in the back of the picture. They worked so well back then, it used to be the three of us, and not me and my two male friends.

It became different around the time of college, and I now knew Junmyeon changed so much because he wanted to make a move on me. Perhaps back then Taeyong felt the same. I could tell he was looking along with me as I moved through the pages. Because I had seen these pages before I knew what we were getting to in the book, that one game of truth or dare, which is where I was dared to kiss Taeyong.

When the first pictures of that night started showing up I leaned forward to grab my drink. Kun, Taeil and Mark were softly chatting with each other, but looked over when I put the glass to my lips. They didn’t say anything but simply watched me drink before continuing their conversation. After putting the glass back I flipped to the next page.

And there it was, the picture of me kissing Taeyong. Well, I was only kissing his cheek but apparently that was a big deal, as you could see other kids laughing and clapping in the pictures. I heard Jaehyun let out a soft laugh behind me, his hand still on my shoulder.

From the corner of my eyes I could tell that Taeyong was smiling, as he probably remembered the moment. It wasn’t much, but I couldn’t help but let out a small snicker. ‘Is that your album?’ Lucas suddenly asked. ‘It is now, but it was made by someone else’ I responded, unsure if it was a good idea to say that it was made by Junmyeon’s mom.

I saw Taeyong move, as if he were to say something, but was cut off when the doorbell rang again. Jumping up, I handed the album to Taeyong and walked over to the door. As I opened the door I was greeted by Jackson’s smile. ‘Princess’ he exclaimed as I stepped aside to let him in. I could feel multiple eyes on me as Jackson pulled me in for a hug.

‘Ohh, someone’s jealous’ he whispered softly into my ear before breaking the hug. Just as I was about to turn around to see who was looking at us I felt a hand on my upper back. ‘Jackson Wang, I can’t believe people still invite you’ I heard Jaehyun say, his hand moving and now loosely resting against the small of my back.

‘I suppose people still want information’ Jackson shrugged, unbothered by the comment. ‘And we all pay him for it anyway’ another voice spoke, turning my attention back to the door. Yoongi walked over to stand next to Jackson, Jimin and Taehyung following behind.

‘But all for different reasons’ Jimin cut in, and I could feel Jaehyun ball his hand into a fist on my back. ‘Our reasons not being weaponry or cocaine’ Mark spoke, now joining the little huddle. ‘Ok, and that’s about enough for today-’ I started, turning around to face Jaehyun and Mark. ‘-Why don’t all of you go meet the others inside’, I spoke – referring to the office.

Before Mark was able to speak up and say anything Ten walked up to us and wrapped his arms around their shoulders, instantly pulling them close. ‘That sounds like a great idea Y/N, let’s go little babies’ he smiled before pulling both boys along with him.

As I turned back around Jackson was grinning at me, ‘aww princess, you didn’t have to stand up for me like that’. He pressed a hand to his heart, causing me to shake my head and laugh. ‘Again,’ I retorted, ‘and I didn’t do it for you, I just need some peace and quiet’.

‘Tell me about it’ Yoongi let out a sigh and turned to look at the two men next to him, who just smiled and shrugged. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about’ Taehyung shrugged as Jimin let out a laugh. ‘I like your new hair by the way’ I admitted, turning to the younger member. ‘Oh thank you!’ Jimin smiled sweetly tilting his head in content.

We stood and chatted with each other for a little before Namjoon walked through the door, closing it behind him. So only four members of Bangtan were attending today. The moment Namjoon noticed us he walked over, his eyes on me. ‘Why don’t you guys head on inside, so I can have a moment with Y/N’ he spoke as soon as he reached us, and I noticed Jackson look up in surprise.

Yoongi, Taehyung and Jimin all turned to look at Jackson, who remained in his spot. ‘Oh, you’re ordering me to leave to’ Jackson spoke, as soon as he realized they wanted him to leave too. ‘You’re not even my boss, why am I listening to you’ he said more to himself as he turned around and walked away with the others three, leaving me alone with Namjoon.

‘I wanted to thank you-’ he started, my attention turning back to him. ‘Thanks to your info we were able to clear out our warehouse before anyone showed up’.

‘So hereby we are.. even’ as the words reached my ears a small smile formed. ‘No problem, and thank you too’. Our conversation ended here, as he nodded and excused himself.

I walked back to the table to grab my drink when I saw Kyungsoo walk towards the stairs before stopping midway. He turned to me, and simply waited, figuring I would follow him upstairs. ‘So no more debts?’ he asked as I walked over and nodded at him, ‘no more debts’.

As I was the doors to the office close, Kyungsoo and I walked up the stairs. Even though there was a comfortable silence I couldn’t help but want to ask something. ‘How do you feel about the plan?’ I asked, breaking the silence. Kyungsoo looked over in surprise before shrugging, ‘I’m not sure, I think they can’t be trusted and I doubt we will be able to ever do business with them’.

‘But I do hope that you’ll be safe, and are careful around them’, I could hear the worry in his voice – he didn’t trust them. ‘Don’t worry, I will’ I assured him and I saw his shoulders loose a bit of stiffness. ‘I know, but maybe we should train a bit before you leave’ he offered and I almost jumped in excitement before nodding.

I had been meaning to ask for training sessions with the boys, and this was the perfect opportunity to start. Due to my fighting lessons as a child I already knew most stuff, but I was very excited to see just how good some of these guys were, especially Kyungsoo or Kris.

‘Don’t laugh to soon, because I won’t go easy on you’ Kyungsoo smirked, causing me to purposely bump into him as we walked up the stairs. ‘Don’t you worry honey, I’m sure I can take it’ I sassed back, a laugh leaving his lips.

As we got closer and closer to Sehun’s room, the sounds of people walking around became clear, and the moment we got close the door opened and Jongin stepped outside. ‘Oh thank god you’re here, Sehun is having a panic attack and Yixing is downstairs’ he practically called out to us the moment he saw us.

Kyungsoo and I picked up our walking speed, he stopped in front of Jongin as I entered the room. Baekhyun sat in front of Sehun as he tried to calm him down, but failed miserably. ‘Do you want me to get Yixing?’ Kyungsoo asked. Sehun almost cried in despair and sunk further into his seat. It pained me to see him like this, so I did was I had to do and walked over.

‘Wait, give me a minute’ I called over, causing Baekhyun to look over his shoulder. As he saw me walk over he took a step aside, letting me move in front of Sehun. I kneeled down in front of him before placing one hand on his shoulder and the other on his chin, making him look at me. ‘Hey, it’s alright, I’m here. Sehun I need you to concentrate on your breathing, I’ll walk you through it’ I assured him before taking in a deep and loud breath.

‘Follow my breathing ok-’ I spoke, pushing the breath out. ‘Take a deep breath in’, I noticed Sehun try and follow. ‘And breathe out’, he pushed the breath out before letting out a small cough. ‘And again’ I continued, before following a steady rhythm with him.

‘You’re doing great Sehun, keep going’ I spoke in between breaths when I noticed his breathing almost following the pace.

‘I know that what you are feeling is scary, but you can do this. Let’s keep going, just a few more’ as I encouraged Sehun to keep going I heard Jongin and Kyungsoo walk in the room before closing the door. ‘Just a few more baby’ I spoke, forgotten about the others in the room.

Sehun closed his eyes as we took in another deep breath, before releasing it and grabbing my hand from his chin. ‘T- thank y-you’ he still stuttered, his breath not completely back to normal yet. ‘It’s alright, is there anything you need?’ I asked as he nodded and took another deep breath. ‘Water please’ he muttered followed by the release of the breath.

Before I could ask one of the boys to go get something I saw a glass appear from next to me. I grabbed the glass from whoever was holding it and handed it to Sehun. The glass was quickly taken from me as Sehun took a big gulp from it.

‘What happened?’ I heard Kyungsoo ask as I saw Baekhyun get up from next to me. ‘I accidentally broke one of his screens’ the man spoke and as I looked over my shoulder I indeed saw a big crack in one of the many screens.

‘For fucks sake, how did this happen?’ Kyungsoo continued and I could practically see Baekhyun shuffle from side to side while avoiding eye contact. ‘Jongin and I were just toying around, and I tripped..’ he explained, a deep sigh leaving both Kyungsoo’s and my lips.

As I felt Sehun squeeze my fingers I looked back at him, his eyes already open. I lifted my other hand from his shoulder before running my fingers through his hair, causing him to lean into the touch. ‘Thank you’ he spoke again.

‘It’s alright baby, are you feeling any better?’ I asked, making sure to lower my voice a bit. Sehun nodded before speaking up, ‘yes, I just freaked out when I saw the broken screen’.

‘That’s totally fine, but there’s nothing to worry about. We’ll get you a new screen ok?’ I asked, making Sehun think about it before simply nodding. I whipped away a few almost dry tears before pulling Sehun’s chair to the side, so the other boys could sit down and focus on the meeting.

Due to my movement Sehun must have thought I was getting up, so he quickly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into him. ‘Please don’t go’ he whispered into my neck, his hand moving to the back of my neck.

‘I’m not going anywhere baby’ I confirmed from him and wrapped my arms around him. I propped myself up to sit more comfortably on my knees, all the while making sure not to pull away from Sehun. His warm, and sometimes so rapid breath, felt warm against my neck but as I continued moving my fingers through his hair I felt him calm down further.

The other boys had already gotten back to the meeting, but I could tell they still turned to watch us every now and then – just in case. The longer I stayed in this position, the more my knees started to hurt and now they were starting to ache. ‘Baby go lay down on your couch or bed for a moment ok? Mommy’s knees are starting to hurt’ I whispered into his neck, the words leaving my mouth before I could really realize what I just said.

Sehun nodded in my neck before slowly letting go of me, my hand falling out of his hair. I saw a small tint of red on his cheeks as he stood up and walked over to the couch. As he sat down I took his place in the chair, rolling over to him. ‘If you need anything just give a shout’ I smiled and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his forward.

As I turned around to roll back I saw Jongin looking at us, a small smirk on his face. I was sure he hadn’t heard me call myself mommy, but he had obviously seen me kiss Sehun. ‘What?’ I said, faking a threatening tone. ‘Nothing’ he shrugged, a small smile leaving his lips.

Dear god, what was happening to me?

《▪︎》

The room we were sitting in was quiet. Sehun still laid on the couch while the rest of us sat on the chairs to look at the screens. The meeting was taking longer than expected, but luckily it was finally coming to an end.

The few members of BTS had already started gathering the few papers they had before getting up and wishing the others a good day. ‘There is still something I’d like to discuss with you’ Junmyeon said while turning to Taeyong, who was also starting to pack his things. ‘What for?’ he asked, the surprise evident in his voice.

‘Is it something interesting?’ Youngjae of GOT7 asked, leaning forward in his chair. ‘Well it’s none of your business, that’s for one’ Minseok returned annoyed, crossing his arms over his chest. ‘Because it’s about your girl?’ Bambam continued, making Minseok snap his head towards him.

‘Getting tired of her already?’Jinyoung smirked, now also cutting in. I could see and almost hear Junmyeon sigh before rubbing his forehead, his eyes once again meeting Taeyong, who simply nodded. ‘Don’t you have better things to do?’ Taeyong asked the other group and Jaebum nodded.

‘We do actually, so shut it-’ as their leader spoke to them they immediately grew quiet, ‘-and let’s give these men their privacy’. As the entire group grabbed their things and got up to leave only Jackson and the few members of NCT remained.

‘You too Mr. Wang’ Jaebum called out as he reached the door, looking back over his shoulder at the younger man. ‘Oh.. sure’ Jackson simply mumbled before getting up and walking after them. The room grew quiet, all eyes now on Junmyeon as he got up from his chair and moved to sit on the desk. ‘In a few days me and a few of the boys will be leaving to handle business elsewhere.. but unfortunately we can’t take Y/N with us-’, he started explaining but was quickly cut off.

‘Why not?’ Taeil asked, earning a look from Taeyong for interrupting the other. ‘Because it’s too dangerous, we don’t know what we’ll walk in to over there’ Kris spoke and Taeil simply nodded in understanding.

‘But due to certain things in the past we can’t afford to leave her here. So I’d like to ask you for a favour of sorts, if you’d take Y/N in for a few days’ Junmyeon finished and Mark’s eyes visibly grew wide. ‘Why us?’ Taeyong asked, leaning back in his chair. I could tell he was suspicious of the situation, and of course he had every right to be.

‘You weren’t our first choice, but Namjoon is too busy and we aren’t even going to bother with Jaebum. Jackson, well.. he’d probably like it too much. And besides, she seems to trust you’ Jun explained and even from this distance I saw Jaehyun smile. ‘What makes you think that?’ Ten cut in, luckily believing everything that was being said.

‘She showed you that album earlier right?’ Minseok asked, making him nod. ‘Inside are pictures of her childhood, which is something that’s she’s very secretive about, and let’s just say we haven’t even seen the pictures yet’.

‘Well excuse me, now he’s making me look like the bad guy! I haven’t shown anyone the pictures because nobody asked!’ I exclaimed turning to the three boys beside me. ‘He’s just saying that to grab their attention’ Jongin shrugged. ‘And I have shown it to Junmyeon’ I mumbled, getting up from my chair.

‘Where are you going?’ Kyungsoo asked, grabbing my hand. ‘Downstairs’, I replied and turned to Sehun, ‘is there anything you need?’. Sehun shook his head before I turned back to Kyungsoo. ‘Don’t worry I’m not leaving yet’ I smiled, as he nodded and let go of my hand.

Before leaving the room I looked back at the screen, to see the boys still discussing details. I walked out of the room, letting the door fall shut. But the shutting noise delayed a bit, before footsteps followed mine. Baekhyun hopped over next to me before throwing his arm over my shoulder. As I looked at him his lips formed into a big smile.

‘So.. Sehun is your baby now huh?’ he asked, a small groan leaving my lips as I pushed his stomach. ‘Aren’t you all my baby’s?’ As I returned his smile his eyes grew wide. ‘Don’t you wanna be my baby Baekhyunnie?’ I cooed, a short cough leaving his lips. ‘O-oh, no’ he stuttered in surprise before awkwardly lowering his gaze to the floor.

I decided to drop the topic, unsure if he was uncomfortable or not, as we now walked down the stairs in silence. His arm was still around my shoulder, making it a bit difficult to walk down the stairs. But when we reached the bottom he let go of me.

‘Hey, do you trust me?’ he asked as he reached the corner to walk into the living room. You could still hear Jackson’s voice as he spoke to whoever. ‘Sure’, as the words left my mouth Baekhyun moved to stand in front of me, causing me to stop before lowering through his knees a bit. ‘Hop on’ he simply said, and I decided to not question him and hop on his back. He walked the both of us to the corner before speaking up, ‘laugh’.

I tried to make the laugh sound as accurate as possible as we rounded the corner and passed the meeting room. Because the windows in the door were covered with a certain shielding you weren’t able to look inside, but they were able to see our silhouettes. So they would clearly be able to see me sitting on someone’s back and laughing.

We had only just passed the doors when I heard them open behind us. Baekhyun walked us to the table in the living room before setting me down. My album laid on the table, still open on one of the pages but not one I had showed the boys earlier. I walked over to grab it from the table when I heard my name being called. My eyes quickly scanned over the page as I lifted the album up.

It was a picture of me and Taeyong. We posed for the picture being taken, my arms were wrapped around his waist as he pulled me into his side. The both of us smiled for the picture, and we actually looked happy. Was this the last picture Taeyong had looked at?

‘Y/N’, someone called again and this time I actually looked up, closing the album. ‘Did you hear the good news?’ Lucas grinned as he walked over. I simply shook my head, holding the album close to my chest – because apparently I was very fond of it.

‘We’re going to have a sleepover at our place!’ he exclaimed and I almost jumped back in surprise, due to his excitement. ‘What? When?’ I pretended to be surprised, now noticing the other members also walk up to us, along with Junmyeon and Minseok. ‘When the boys and I leave for our trip, we arranged for you to stay with them’ Junmyeon explained, moving over to stand next to me as he placed his hand on my upper back.

‘Oh, ok’ I muttered, giving Taeyong a faint smile. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they are on their best behaviour’ Taeyong spoke, nodding his head at Lucas and Jaehyun.

‘Aren’t I always?’ Jaehyun asked, causing Ten to shake his head. ‘No’.

‘And we’ll make sure you have a great time’ Mark smiled, just as excited as Lucas. I hadn’t expected all of them to be this excited for this. Some of them yes, but not all of them.

‘When will you be leaving?’ Kun asked, turning to Junmyeon. ‘The day after tomorrow’ was his answer, surprising even me. I didn’t know they would be leaving so soon, I only had a day left to pack some stuff before I was being sent off.

I nodded at their words before looking over at Jackson, who did definitely not seem happy about hearing the news. He wasn’t able to say anything about it though, because he was quickly ushered out by Kris.

‘We should get going’ Taeil started as he looked down at his watch, ‘we still have other things to do’. As Taeyong nodded at this the other boys said their goodbye’s. ‘See you soon!’ Ten smiled and waved at me. I returned his gesture as I watched all the boys walk to the door, leaving me with Junmyeon and Minseok.

As I turned to look at them a small yawn left my lips, before remembering my earlier conversation with Kyungsoo. ‘Oh hey, I was talking with Soo earlier and we thought it was a good idea for me to take a few fighting lessons with him’, I started and quickly saw Junmyeon’s face contort into a grimace. ‘Just so I’ll be able to defend myself if needed’ I quickly added, making him turn to look at Minseok, who just shrugged and nodded. ‘Sounds like a good idea to me, to be honest’.

‘Ok, but I’ll talk to Kyungsoo about it first’ Junmyeon said, making me nod. I was already happy to be getting lessons to begin with, so this was a good start.

‘You should start packing a suitcase too, it’ll look weird if they pick you up without one’ Minseok started and I practically immediately started walking to the stairs to go to my room. ‘I’ll start right now!’ I called back to them, not bothering to wait for an answer as I walked into the hallway.

After walking into my room I grabbed the first bag I could find before placing it on the bed, putting the album down next to it. As I started looking through my closet for some clothing I let my mind wander for a bit.

So tomorrow I had fighting classes with Kyungsoo, and the day after I would be leaving to spend a few days with NCT. Everything went exactly according to plan..

Right?

#nct smut #nct imagine #exo smut #exo imagine #exo mafia au #nct mafia au #mafia au #au #mafia #sweet but psycho

4 notes · View notes