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undercovergamer · 3 months

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✨Double Trouble✨

(Requested by an anonymous user)

⚠️This fic focuses mainly on tickling. Please do not read it if that upsets you.⚠️

Hi omg I’m so sorry for the wait 😭😭😭 I got writer’s block like nobody’s business but I’m back on track! … sort of! 💀

Anyway…

Alhaitham convinces Kaveh to “fight back” for once so he can get revenge on Itto. But his sneak attack fails, so the two resort to plan B. As a wise boy once said, teamwork is dreamwork (he’s not in the fic). Why is Itto in Sumeru? Because ✨lazy writing✨ of course :D

Word Count: 3415

“You can’t keep letting him win like that, Kaveh. Fight back for once.”

“I- I’m not letting him win! It is SO unfair! He’s so much stronger than I am, I barely have a chance!”

Kaveh was venting his frustrations to Alhaitham, who had just asked about his so-called “revenge plan.” Basically, Kaveh was embarrassed that Itto kept defeating him in tickle wars, and none of his counter attacks ever worked. Itto was too strong and Kaveh was too ticklish. Surprisingly, Alhaitham had offered to help him win this time, giving him some useful tips and tricks.

“It’s not about strength, it’s about skill.” he said.

“Huh?”

“You’re too predictable. Your intentions are written clearly all over you, so Itto obviously knows what to expect.”

“Oh come on! That’s not fair, I can’t control my mood! If I try that, I’ll look even more suspicious!”

“The trick is to catch him off-guard. If you can do that, he’ll be too confused to fight back.”

“It can’t be that easy…”

“It is when you’re not Captain Obvious.” Alhaitham couldn’t help but smirk a little bit at that jab.

“Ugh… you..!” The audacity!

“Aim for his armpits.”

“How am I supposed to do that?!”

“Well, if he’s already tickling you, he’ll be too distracted to defend himself.”

“But- I-”

“Take it from the expert. I’ve tested it myself. It works every time.”

“Tsk. Easy for you to say, mister ‘feeble scholar.’”

“Tch. Try a sneak attack. If it goes south, get his armpits. But do be careful not to overwhelm him too much.”

“Oh, alright, fine. I’ll try your idea.”

“Good luck. Close the door on your way out.”

Kaveh huffed and left Alhaitham’s room, closing the door as instructed. He didn’t need to search for long before he found Itto in the living room, with his back turned to Kaveh. He seemed distracted by something shiny, humming a little tune to himself.

This is the perfect time to strike, he thought, carefully sneaking up behind the oni. But, right as he was preparing to make his move, he felt something bonk into his leg.

Confused, Kaveh looked down and was surprised to see Ushi staring up at him. Kaveh quietly hushed him, but the little bull had other plans.

“Moo!” He alerted his master, blowing Kaveh’s cover with a smug expression.

“Hm?” Itto turned around to check on him, with a surprised smile on his face upon seeing Kaveh. “Hey, Kaveh! What are you doing?” Itto asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.

“I- uh- hi, Itto! I was just- um… I was just playing with Ushi! Yeah, haha!” He said, crouching down to the little bull to pet him.

“Really? Hmm.” Itto wasn’t buying it. That nervous attitude said it all.

“Moo.” The little bull was looking directly at Itto.

“Hush, Ushi.” Kaveh whispered.

“Moo!” Ushi was totally telling on him.

“Kaveh, you weren’t trying to scare me or something, right?” Itto asked, looking suspicious.

“What? Pfft, no! Of course not!”

“Really? Cus Ushi here says you were!” Oh, of course he did…

“Oh, d-did he now?” That little tattle-tail… no way out of this now.

“Yeeaah, he did, hahaha!” Itto laughed, much to Kaveh’s dismay.

“M-Maybe he’s lying..?” Kaveh had to think of a plan B, quick!

“Pfft, nah. He would never! Ushi is an honest bull. Ain’t that right, Beefcake?” Itto crouched down to pet Ushi. “Yeaa you never lie, do ya’? Aww, such a good boi! Yes you are! Yes you are!” He said playfully, giggling to himself while gently squishing the bull’s little face.

“Moo…” Ushi seemed content.

“Aha, s-sorry, heh… m-my prank went south, huh? G-Guess I’d better head back to my room then!” Kaveh said. Gosh, if only he didn’t sound so nervous…

“Aw, what? Leaving already? I thought you wanted to play with Ushi!”

Kaveh stood up. “O-Oh..! Yeah, heh.. well, uh, y-you seem to be doing that just fine, s-so I’ll-… I’ll just go.” Goodness, if being suspicious was a contest, then…

“Not so fast.”

“W-Whuh?” … Kaveh would win first prize.

“Heh, you sure seem nervous. You weren’t… planning something else, were you?” Itto said, now stood up as well. Oh dear. He’s onto him for sure.

“W-What? O-Of course not! It’s like what Ushi said, I w-was just-”

“Moooo…”

“Planning a sneak attack?” Ushi knew what he was up to, apparently.

“N-No! Of course not!”

“Then why are you so nervous? Heh, you worried about… consequences or somethin’?” Itto teased him with his signature Grin of Mischief™️.

“Uh- I- I think I h-heard Alhaitham calling m-my name! I- I should-” Kaveh backed away before he suddenly tried to make a run for it. But he wasn’t fast enough!

“Haha! Gotcha!” Itto quickly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Kaveh’s middle, pulling him back to trap him in place.

“ACK- W-Wait no!! Lehet me go!!” Kaveh squirmed, already getting giggly. How could his plan have backfired already?

“Sorry, pal. There’s no escaping the tickle monster! Heheheh…” Itto replied, letting the anticipation set in as he wiggled his fingers, using one arm to prevent Kaveh’s escape.

“W-Wahahait!! I-Itto, plehehehease! Dohohon’t!” The architect was too flustered to remember what Alhaitham told him. Oh gosh, what should he do now?

“Hehehe, imma getcha!” Itto teased, playfully tickling Kaveh’s ribs and sides. “Tickle tickle tickle!”

“AAH NOHOHOHOHOHO!! EEHEHEhehehahahahahaha!!” Kaveh squealed and burst into laughter, squirming a lot while trying to push Itto’s arms off of himself.

“What’s wrong? Can’t handle a little tickle?” Itto teased, switching between rapid squeezing and playful skittering for the funny, driving Kaveh up the wall.

“GWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! NAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

“Tickle tickle~”

“Lehehet mehehe gohohohoho!!”

“Nuh uh~”

“AAAHAHA NAHAHAT THEHEHEHERE!!”

His laughter eventually got so loud it caught Alhaitham’s attention. He wasn’t surprised that Kaveh’s plan had failed once again, but he decided to go help him for a change. By the time he’d reached the living room, the poor architect had been tickled to the floor, still at the mercy of the mighty tickle monster.

“Fight back, Kaveh! Come on.” Alhaitham called out, trying to make sure Kaveh heard him.

“AHAAHAhahahahahahaha!! Ihihihi cahahahahan’t!!” Kaveh squealed, wiggling his legs and trying to grab Itto’s wrists.

“Hehehe, he’s so ticklish! Kitchy kitchy kitchy koo~!” Itto teased, playfully tickling his waist, making him arch his back and shriek.

“EEEK!! NAHAHAT THEHEHEHERE!! HEHEHEHELP!!” poor Kaveh screeched, laughing hysterically.

Alhaitham sighed and put his hand in his face for a moment, shaking his head before initiating a plan of his own instead. “Hey, Itto! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” he said, creating a distraction by challenging the oni.

“Ohoho, you wanna go too, huh?” Itto replied, stepping up to face the scribe, leaving the giggling architect on the floor with Ushi nuzzling his face.

“Bring it on!”

The plan sprung into action right when Itto attempted a playful pounce. Alhaitham was fully prepared and easily spun him around and sort of hooked his arms under Itto’s to keep him in place.

“H-Hey! Lemme go!” The oni’s struggles weren’t quite enough to break free, mainly because of the situation’s playful nature.

“No.” Alhaitham replied bluntly, checking to see if Kaveh was still on the floor. He was, but he’d sat up this time, petting Ushi.

“Let go! Cheater!” Itto protested, trying to pull himself away, but the scribe was too stubborn to fall to it.

“No. Kaveh? Are y-” Alhaitham couldn’t finish his sentence because Itto suddenly started struggling more than before, making another attempt at breaking free. “No. Hey! Stay. Still!”

“Nuh uh! Pfft- unhand me!” Itto started giggling because he thought their little battle was funny. Alhaitham was almost struggling to hold the man in place.

“Haitham, did you say something?” Kaveh asked, raising an eyebrow. He’d stood up by now after Ushi’s snuggle attack ended.

Itto was getting tired from struggling, so he decided to take a break to catch his breath, giving Alhaitham enough room to talk. “So. Kaveh, about your revenge plan…”

“Huh..? Oh! You caught him! Heh, how convenient…” he replied with a devious grin, cracking his fingers in preparation. Finally, he could get his long awaited vengance!

“W-Wait! Wait! C-C’mon, guys! Th-This isn’t fair!” The oni struggled to move when the scribe’s hold suddenly tightened, rendering him defenseless.

“Heheheh, you’re not exactly fair either! Just hold still~” Kaveh teased, wiggling his fingers with a playful look on his face.

“W-Wahahahait!! I-It’s two on ohohone!! Th-That’s not fahahair!!” Itto squirmed to no avail, already laughing from the anticipation.

“Pfft, I’m allowed to get some extra help. You’re like twice as strong as me, you know.”

“As I, Kaveh.” Alhaitham corrected.

“Oh shut up.” Kaveh rolled his eyes and started tickling Itto’s sides. “Are you ticklish here?” he asked.

“Ack-! Pfft- n-nohoho..!” Itto tried to contain his laughter to deter his actions.

“Really? How about… here?” Kaveh poked and tickled his abs and tum instead, even giving his belly button a poke, which made him jolt.

“EEP! Hahahahahahahahahaha!!” It worked like a charm, making him laugh and squirm against Alhaitham’s grip.

“Lying is wrong, you know. Tsk tsk tsk.” Alhaitham said, smirking a little while keeping the giggling oni in place.

“Shuhuhut ihihit!! Aahahahahaha!! NohoHOHOHOHO!!” Uh-oh…

“What about your ribs?” Kaveh poked and scribbled all over Itto’s ribs this time, which increased his squirms and laughter quite a lot.

“NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Dohohohohon’t!!” he squealed, squirmimg more and nearly making Alhaitham lose balance.

“Tickle tickle~” Finally, he could get some proper revenge, he thought, getting greedy and digging into Itto’s ribcage. However, Itto’s wild laughter and struggles eventually caused Alhaitham to lose his grip, leading to a very short chase as the oni tripped himself and got pushed onto one of the couches.

“Oof-!” he didn’t have enough time to register where he ended up due to the adrenaline rush.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Alhaitham said, quickly tickling Itto’s sides and ribs so he wouldn’t try to stand up again.

“AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! WAHAHAHAHAIT!!” Itto squealed, laughing out loud and playfully kicking his legs against the couch. The scribe truly showed no mercy!

“Don’t let him escape!” Kaveh called out, going behind the couch and reaching over it to tickle Itto’s tum. Not the most convenient angle, but it made him throw his head back and screech with wild laughter. His kicking and stimming increased as well while he squirmed. “HYAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!”

“This should at least pause his mischief for a while!” Alhaitham said, trying to speak louder so Kaveh would hear him. Itto was certainly loud…

“Yeah! We should probably stop for a sec so we don’t kill him though!” Kaveh replied, giggling at how ticklish this man was.

The scribe agreed with that suggestion, and the two briefly stopped their attacks to let Itto catch his breath. He’d barely had room to breathe after his failed escape from earlier.

“Are you alright?” Alhaitham asked, chuckling to himself. It’s been quite a while since he felt this playful.

“Ahahehehe… huff… y-you guys.. are… hehe..! ..soho mean...!” Itto giggled, panting and trying to cover his ticklish spots, but alas he didn’t have enough arms for that. Darn it…

“This is revenge for you tickling me all the time!” Kaveh said, being sassy for the funnies.

“All the time?” Alhaitham questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“W-Well, not literally all the time, but it’s basically a daily occurrance at this point!”

“Hm, I doubt that. I would’ve known otherwise.”

“Oh yeah? How?” Ugh, Alhaitham and his logic…

“You’re incredibly loud whenever you get tickled, you know.”

“Oh? I thought your headphones would block his squeals.” Itto chimed in, having sat up and caught his breath to join the conversation. Kaveh glared at him.

“No. Surprisingly, they’re not quite soundproof enough to block all noise.” Alhaitham replied, smirking slightly at Kaveh who looked very embarrassed.

“Hey! I-I’m not THAT loud, right?!” He couldn’t believe his ears!

“You are.” The other two replied at the same time, making Itto laugh.

“S-Stop laughing! It’s not funny!” Kaveh said angrily, blushing with embarrassment at this realization. He couldn’t believe it’d taken him this long to know!

“Hehehe! It’s true though!”

“Oh, shut up! I’ll show you!”

“Hehe wahahait!! AAH!! I’M SOHOHORREHEHEHEHEE!!” Itto suddenly burst into laughter again as Kaveh got angry and started tickling mercilessly right below his ribs.

“See? You caught him off-guard, and now you’re winning for once. I must say, I’m impressed. You even got a weak spot without my help.” Alhaitham said over Itto’s laughter, preventing Itto from rolling off the couch.

“Not now, Haitham. You’re distracting me.” Kaveh replied, promptly getting his wrists grabbed and pushed away by the giggling oni. “Agh- hey! Let go!”

“Ahahehehe! G-Gehet awahahay!” Itto said, giggling quite a lot. Kaveh struggled to pull his hands free due to Itto’s tight grip.

“Ugh… a little help?” he asked in mild frustration, looking over at Alhaitham.

“Hmm… okay.”

Itto felt more and more nervous hearing those two plan their next attack. But then, he suddenly remembered…

“Uh- um-! Ushi!! Help me!!” Itto tried calling for help, hoping his companion was nearby to rescue him.

“It’s too late for that now, I’m afraid.” Alhaitham said, switching his headphones on with a menacing look. His sudden grin sent shivers down Itto’s spine.

“W-Wait!! Dohohon’t!!” Itto’s pleas fell on deaf ears as Alhaitham started rapidly poking at his ribs and abs to make him let go of Kaveh’s wrists. It worked just as planned, making him squirmy and distracted enough for Kaveh to pull away.

“Thank you! Now, where was I…” Kaveh teased, before both humans unleashed yet another tickle attack upon the oni.

“BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!”

Alhaitham was rapidly squeezing his sides while Kaveh scribbled his abs, making the oni throw his head back and laugh hysterically. His two arms were no match against four tickling hands, so he had no choice but to kick and squeal. Kaveh almost wished he had soundproof headphones too…

“Not so fun when you’re on the receiving end, huh?” He said, but he started feeling a twinge of guilt seeing how merciless his roommate was being. Surely Itto didn’t deserve a death sentence…?

“STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!! STAAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!! I’M SOHOHORREEHEHEHEHEE!!” Itto squealed, laughing his ass off and trying his hardest to push Alhaitham away.

Kaveh was about to say something else, but suddenly felt himself lose balance as something rammed into his leg. “What the-?!” He stopped tickling to catch himself on the couch. He looked down at his feet, only to find Ushi tryina fight.

“Mooo!” Awe, the little bull was trying to rescue his master!

“Hey, what are you doing?” Kaveh crouched down to his level, gently patting his head to calm him while his roommate continued to wreck Itto, whose boisterous laughter continued to fill the room, now sounding less frantic than before.

“Moo!” Ushi seemed angry, pushing quite hard one more time, which made the architect fall on his butt.

“Ow! Hey, be careful…” He could tell all the commotion had made the little bull feel stressed.

Then, Itto’s laughter suddenly died down and Alhaitham’s voice was heard from above. “Kaveh? What are you doing on the floor?” he asked.

“Um, well… I think Ushi wants us to stop now.” Kaveh replied, looking at the angry little bull.

“Really..?” Ushi glared up at him before walking past Kaveh to get around the couch, making his way over to Itto, who was now panting for survival.

“Hm. Well in that case, I suppose we’d better listen, ‘lest we face Ushi’s wrath.” Alhaitham said, reaching down to help Kaveh stand up.

“Yeah. You’re right.” he said, accepting the help and brushing himself off. “My revenge was gotten anyway, I guess.”

“Man… I haven’t laughed that hard in ages..! Haha…” Itto sat up, still giggling a bit from the leftover tingles. “You guys are mean…” he added, failing to glare properly with that smile on his face.

“Moo!” Ushi stared at him with big eyes, sort of trying to get up to his level. But alas, his legs were too short to let him jump.

“Haha, I’m alright, Beefcake! Don’t you worry, lil’ guy.” Itto said to him, lifting the little bull onto his lap. “Aww, did you come to rescue me? Such a good boi! Yes you are~!” he said, pampering his beloved companion.

“Well, you certainly recovered quickly. I’ll go fetch some water for you.” Alhaitham said, baffled at how Itto barely seemed affected all of a sudden.

“Ahah.. I am exhausted…” Itto said, chuckling as he felt Ushi nuzzle him. He was quite comfortable in his master’s lap, after all.

“Aw, he’s so cute! Bet you’re glad your little knight came to your rescue, huh?” Kaveh teased, sitting down next to Itto and gently petting the little bull.

“Hahahaha! Yeah, I nearly thought I’d pass out!” Itto replied jokingly. “You my little hero~? Aww…” he said, giving Ushi some gentle chin scratches.

“Moo…” He seemed very happy now.

“Tch, bet that taught you a lesson. Now you know what revenge feels like! I’d think twice if I were you.” Kaveh said with a confident look.

“Pfft, at least I don’t need backup to carry it out!” Itto replied, sticking his tongue out in a playful manner.

Tch, how immature, Kaveh thought. “What?? You’re so much stronger than I am! It’s an unfair match-up! AND you had Ushi helping you!” he argued.

“Nah, Ushi was just playing. Besides, you need more exercise!” Itto teased.

How dare he?! “A-And you need LESS exercise!” Kaveh fired back “angrily.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Yuh-huh!”

“Nuh-uh!!”

“Yuh-huh!!”

Their playful bickering ended with laughter as they couldn’t take themselves nor each other seriously anymore.

“What are you two yapping about..?” Alhaitham came back with a glass of water, giving it to Itto.

“Pfft- nothing, don’t worry about it…” Kaveh replied, chuckling to himself.

“Heheh..! Yeah… thanks!” Itto said, accepting the glass and drinking from it.

“You’re welcome. Are you alright?” Alhaitham gave him a headpat for the funny.

“Yup! Heh, I didn’t expect you guys to just murder me like that. Awfully rude, by the way. How dare you.” He said jokingly, sipping his water.

“Ha! You and your mischief had it coming.” Kaveh teased, ruffling his hair.

“Hahaha! Hey, c’mon! Just you wait…” Itto threatened playfully, fixing his hair.

“Well, in any case, it’s a good thing you had fun. I was almost worried about you for a moment there.” Alhaitham said.

“Almost..? You showed no mercy.” Kaveh questioned, crossing his arms.

“… I did let him live though.” Alhaitham replied with a shrug. Kaveh scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Heh! It’ll take a lot more than that to bring ME down!” Itto boasted proudly, drinking the water like a champ.

“Uh-huh.” Alhaitham raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, please…” Kaveh rolled his eyes again.

Itto didn’t seem to care, handing the empty glass back to the scribe, who went to put it away. “What, don’t believe me?” he asked, gently helping Ushi back down to the floor since he had things to do suddenly.

“Not at all, actually.” Kaveh said, looking amused.

“Pfft, it’s not like I surrendered! You just gave up, I call that a win!” Itto argued, grinning confidently.

“You did though!” Kaveh protested.

“Nah-uh! You did!”

However, his grin quickly turned nervous when Alhaitham came closer all of a sudden.

“Is someone asking for a round two?” He asked menacingly. Oh dear…

“W-Whuh… I- I never said-”

“Ooh! Why that sounds delightful!” Kaveh said playfully, standing up next to Alhaitham and smiling at the nervous look on Itto’s face.

“Wait- g-guys, c’mon! Th-This isn’t-…!” He couldn’t finish his sentence before he got too nervous.

“Oh don’t worry, this’ll be quick.” Alhaitham said, before he swiftly pushed Itto back onto the couch, wrestling him to the same spot as before. Itto struggled playfully but was eventually pinned down and unable to move.

“Get him, Kaveh!”

“Ah! R-Right!”

“NohohohOHOHOHO!!”

And so began yet another tickle-attack. But this time, Alhaitham decided to leave while he let Kaveh have the fun. His ears were getting overstimulated by Itto’s loud laughter, so he and Ushi went elsewhere, away from the chaos. He kept the music in his headphones relatively low so he could keep better track of the other two.

At some point, a high pitched squeal was heard, which meant Kaveh had the tables turned on him.

Hmph. They’re so noisy, Alhaitham thought to himself, gladly hanging out with Ushi for the time being.

Surely that tickle war would end soon… right?

#my private twashcan #genshin impact tickle #genshin tickle #genshin impact tickling #genshin tickling #genshin tickles #ler!itto #lee!itto #ler!kaveh #lee!kaveh #ler!alhaitham #ticklish!kaveh #ticklish!itto #tickle fluff #tickle fic

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starg1rlie · 2 years

Text

𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 !!

pairing: scaramouche x gn! reader

genre: angst because i feel like it 💀

xtra !! notes: (UNDER CONSTRUCTION) lowkey wanted to write it for xiao but i can't tell which is more popular, xiao or scaramouche, and then i realized that they're both pretty popular so i opted to go for scaracoochie because i love me some angst with the purple-haired shortie bitch . reader is gender-neutral (they/them pronouns), characters are in middle school (around 13-14) . ps, inspiration is from a whisker away, i just re-watched it and I CRY EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE THIS SCENE WAHHH ＞︿＜ | (part 2) & (part 3; finale)

IT WAS ALWAYS HIM. HIM AND THAT cold snappy attitude. he was always on your mind. would he like you? would he accept your confession? all these thoughts swam in your head as you tapped the tip of your mechanical pencil against the clean sheet of paper. finally, you twirled your pencil upright in your hand and started scribbling furiously.

by the time you were done, you checked your alarm clock to find that it was almost midnight. crap, you thought. hope i don't wake up late tomorrow.

licking the edge of your envelope, you sealed it and placed it into your mathmatics book and tucked it away into your backpack for tomorrow morning.

⋆★⋆

"gooooood morning, scara!"

scaramouche braced himself, pausing in his tracks as he waited for your attack. it didn't come. he blinked, taken aback as to why today you hadn't decided to tackle him in your (very-much) public display of affection.

"you seriously need to give up on him. he's made it very clear he's not into you," lumine said as the two of you passed by him, bonking you on the head with her bag.

"ow! okay but seriously-" your voice trailed off as you caught him staring. with a huff, he quickly turned his head away from her and waited for the sound of your voice to move farther away from him.

"they really are ultra gaga and eccentric," ajax said, hefting his school bag over his shoulder as he bumped sides with the shorter male."

"just shut up," scaramouche muttered, pushing past him to go up the stairs to their classroom.

by the time he'd got to his seat, he saw you from the corner of his eye, standing at the side, a few desks away from him, clutching onto a pink envelope.

before you or he could say anything, a blue-haired boy came up from behind you and snatched up the envelope from your grasp.

"well, well, well, what do we have here?"

"give it back, kaeya!" you yelled, lunging for it, but missing by an inch and landing on your stomach onto the surface of a desk. lumine also tried to make a grab for it, but he quickly doged it.

"is this a love letter? for scaramouche?" he sighed dramatically, putting a hand over his face. "god, you really don't know when to quit, do you? it's honestly getting real pathetic watching you try and get close to him, when we both, when we all, know he isn't into you."

those words brought out tears in your ears as you tried another feeble attempt at grabbing the letter from his hands. he simply side-stepped and went towards the teacher's desk, waving around the letter.

"i say i read it out-loud for everyone to hear so we can finally be done and over with this!" kaeya declared, smirking triumphantly when several other people cheered him on. you could only watch, eyes glaring hole into his petty gaze. scaramouche could see your shoulders shaking, either with anger or something else, he couldn't tell.

"give it back, you moron! it's not for you!" you said, standing up and going over to the desk. "you have absolutely no right to make fun of my feelings! just who do you think you are?"

kaeya blinked at you, as if taken aback by what you'd said, but nonetheless, he still tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter.

"let's see what we have here, shall we?" you reached for it again but he raised it up high as he skimmed through the letter with his eyes. he laughed when he was finished, staring at you with those annoying blue eyes of his. "oh my, you seriously put your whole heart into this, didn't you? that'll just make it even more pathetic when he rejects you."

"hey, dude, stop, this isn't cool," ajax interrupted from his desk, standing up. kaeya merely ignored him, flattening out the creases in the paper before reading aloud.

"dear scaramouche. you see, all these attacks that i've done on you is to just show how much that i care about you!" kaeya put his hand on his chest for emphasis, batting his eyeslashes at scaramouche, who glared at him before trying to grab the letter from him as well. kaeya dodged, going down the row of desks as he continued reading.

"you think that nobody cares about you, not even your own friends, but i care about you. so, so much." lumine lunged forward, hands outstretched to rip the paper from the boy's hands. he side-stepped again and lumine landed in a pile on the floor.

"i wrote this letter because i wanted to tell you just how much i love you. you and me, we're practically the same! i'm sure we were meant to be."

finally, scaramouche stomped over and tore the letter out of kaeya's hands, shoving past him, his shoulder bumping against the taller male's.

"rejection time! rejection time! rejection ti-!!" kaeya yelped as you shoved the desk he was kneeling in front of, watching it topple over on its side and crush him down to the ground. "ow- ow- help-" he reached a hand up shakily.

"scaramouche, i-" you turned to face him, but this wasn't scaramouche. this wasn't the normal guy you'd seen him as out of everyone' gaze. his back to you, his hands clenched around the letter slightly, the paper crinkling softly as he did so.

"do you have any idea how much you've embarrassed me just now?" he said quietly, eyebrows furrowing in anger. "you didn't even bother considering my feelings, did you? of course not." his fist closed tighter and tighter around the paper.

"i-i'm sorry, i just- you and me, we're a lot alike than you think and- i understand your problems-"

"shut up. shut up, shut up, shut up!" he turned around, his violet eyes now filled with anger and bitterness when they used to be full of serenity and peace. "you will never understand me! you don't even know me!" scaramouche crunched your letter into a ball, squeezing it tigher and tighter in his fist. "everyone just heard that. everyone. i can't believe you did that to me. i really hate pushy people like you." as he said that he uncrinkled the letter and ripped it in half, letting go of the two halves and watching the pieces of paper flutter to the ground. "i hate you. so, so, much."

"w-wha-?"

"didn't you just hear me? i said i hate you!"

a few moments of silence passed, and scaramouche's shoulders, which were shaking with anger, finally relaxed a bit.

"oh. i see then." he turned around to face you, mouth open, most likely ready to yell at you again, but he faltered, eyes widening slightly. you smiled at him, lips quivering as you did so, tears pooling in your eyes. "you hate me that much, huh?"

"y/n, i-" he seemed at a loss of words, which was pretty ironic since he was literally just telling you off a few minutes ago.

"w-well, that's just too bad, isn't it?" you mumbled, mostly to yourself. turning on your heel you slowly staggered down the rows of desks before breaking out the door and running, your shoes slapping loudly against the tile floors.

"y/n! wait up!" lumine ran after you, but not before stomping on kaeya's hand in the process. "die, you idiot!"

scaramouche stared at the doorway of the classroom where you once were standing and then down to the pieces of your letter. from the two halves, he made out three words: i love you!

← taglist form | recommended! ↺ | next part! →

a / n !! - well how bad was that? i legit didn't know how to end this so i just ended it right here before i made this into some television drama 💀 like i said, it was heavily inspried by a whisker away (2020), which i recently re-watched on netflix because i was going through a phase ♪(^∇^*) anyways, it sounds a lot like that scene from the movie, and apologies if it seems like i copied way too much, but i tried...

#scaramouche #scaramouche genshin impact #scaramouche x reader #gn! reader #gender-neutral #genshin impact #genshin #ajax #tartaglia #childe genshin impact #childe #lumine #lumine genshin impact #kaeya alberich #kaeya genshin impact #angst #no comfort #( ﾉﾟｰﾟ)ﾉ leeo writes!

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starry-blue-echoes · 1 month

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Okay, I just got here. Sorry for intruding and I'm kind of freaking out about part 4 of Star Swap.

Because there are two Jotaros. Why is nobody talking about the fact that there are two Jotaros? Am I missing something???

Unless I am completely failing in Star Swap lore, in order to not become super convoluted and insane, a universe is localized to a Swap… probably? Anyway from what I understand three universes have an event happening in them and Star Swap is a series… except there's also an OLDER Jotaro here in Part 4! which would be the same Jotaro that experienced part 4 as Josuke! Which is causing problems in my brain.

… I was thinking it's either Joseph and Giono is the exception -Thanks to Hermit Purple Rrequiem- and swaps actually jumps across universes making Older Part 4 Jotaro have that Canon backstory.

…Or… hear me out..

JoJo

Specifically, Jotaro gets some of that Time Jumpy Amnesia and has not a single fucking clue what happened to himself.

JUST HIM

No one else

He is the sole one that gets bonk with a forgot stick

For all Jotaro knows: he blacked out, got possessed, and went to Egypt. Everything went well. His mom got cured and people survived, but STILL. said person that possessed him made a bunch of friends and now Jotaro has to deal with them. HE has to rely on other people's information to figure out what the hell HAPPENED.

Jotaro still gets that Battle Experience in and gets those cryptic forgotten fog of memories from the trip But Yeah

Jotaro has no idea what happened to him when that guy was possessing him. Jotaro doesn't know! he doesn't remember shit!!! All people got is theories.

I have a lot of thoughts and this is probably not even an issue.ARGGGG

.. I'm here thinking that for The Star Swap parts 3 and 4 to connect in an interesting way is Memory Blockage or else Part 4 Older Jotaro would have to walk on fucking eggshells if something wasn't blocking his memories because if he talks or says anything that doesn't link up then he breaks time. Jotaro's fault for actively getting involved!

Probably. I don't know!!! I'm just thinking!!!

you're correct, Parts 3 and 4 have been criminally neglected amongst all this chaos, so this is p e r f e c t

to clarify the universe shenanigans of everything: I've always been thinking that each "set" exists in its own universe. 1 and 6, 2 and 5, and then 3 and 4 all exist in their own sort of "pocket universe" just so we don't need to keep track of of all the inevitable changes and how they influence each other

that being said, funnily enough what you've brought up with Jotaro is REALLY close to what I've been imagining too!

Jotaro is So Fucking Lost when he wakes up back home. He feels like complete and utter shit and is covered in more bandages than he's ever had before. The last thing he remembers is his mom leaving after visiting him in the prison cell after he tried to shoot himself with Star Platinum

only...... when did Star Platinum have a name? When had it stopped being an evil spirit?

when had he stopped being scared of it?

Kakyoin and Joseph are of course INCREDIBLY worried by Jotaro's apparent and very sudden shift in personality. And of course, this panic only multiplies when they find they think Jotaro's stand has been changed as well. They immediately think it's a Stand attack......

but then Holly steps forward and denies this. That this is how Jotaro normally acts and more importantly, that she remembers seeing Star in the jail

now, technically this might be bending the rules a little bit, but I think it would be interesting to give Holly some..... memory weirdness. Maybe we can tie it into her Stand somehow, or maybe it's just For The Plot, but Holly has two distinct sets of memories before she collapsed from her illness

One where Jotaro comes home with her, quiet and awkward and open in a way he hadn't been since he was a child. And another where he refused to leave and shot himself in an attempt to goad a spirit hovering over his shoulder

this then raises the incredibly uncomfortable idea that the Jotaro they'd gone to Egypt with was the imposter. That there had been a fake in their midst the entire time and they never knew. Was he working with Dio? Another group? What was his goal? Why had he done it? And of course, the biggest question of all, where was Jotaro the entire time and why doesn't he remember?

because it's obvious Jotaro was somewhere. He has skills and knowledge he hadn't before. He's different, he's grown in some ways, but has receded in others

Electricity and loud sounds terrify him in a way that can't be described as simple fear

they do what they can to help and figure things out, but they can never find any leads. It actually during these investigations that Jotaro decides to start working with the Speedwagon Foundation on the side and "rekindles" his friendships with the Crusaders

(he finds himself drawn to Kakyoin at times. Or to be more specific, he's drawn to his Stand. The colors and shapes and eyes all feel so tantalizingly familiar, and sometimes he finds himself talking to the being as if expecting a response)

years go by, and the fog around his memories stays. It bothers him less as more time passes and he makes new memories with people who had a headstart on their relationship, but there's always a quiet niggling in the back of his mind about what could've happened

and then a decade later he finds a boy with a different face but identical Stand and temperament to match

#star swap #jjba #jojo’s bizarre adventure #stardust crusaders #jjba part 3 #jjba jotaro #jotaro kujo #star platinum #jjba kakyoin #noriaki kakyoin #jjba holly #holly kujo #sb answers #angstaceanon

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bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky · 2 years

Text

A Piece of Cake | Bucky Barnes x Reader

Hi, friends! Things in the world have been bleak lately, and I've been writing a lot of angst. I figured I'd give y'all something fluffy and sweet to balance out the storm clouds :)

If you like my writing, throw me a reblog so that others can find my stuff 🥰

Warning: you may get cavities from the sweetness 💕🍰

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

"Hey, babe?" Bucky's voice echoed through the apartment, "is baking powder the same thing as baking soda?"

"No!" You stifled a laugh, picturing your sweet super soldier struggling in the kitchen. "Are you sure you don't need help?" Without waiting for an answer, you pushed yourself up off the couch cushions- but you only made it one step in the direction of the kitchen. Bucky careened around the corner and stopped you in your tracks. He slid into the living room, his socks carrying him swiftly across the hardwood floor.

"I don't want you to lift a finger, okay? You're just supposed to sit and relax. I've got everything in the kitchen totally handled". He swiped at the flour that had accumulated on his black t-shirt and jeans, sending it flurrying into the air. You narrowed your eyes at him, and he did the same in return, “don’t gimme that look, doll. I can read a recipe- I know what I’m doing!”

He did not know what he was doing.

His large hands found your hips and gently guided you back to the couch, handing you your book in the process- but it wasn’t enough. His eyes scanned the room for a moment until he finally found the perfect way to ensure that you’d stay put. He gently lifted Alpine from her spot near the window and placed her in your lap, "See? Now you can't get up- otherwise, you'd risk disturbing the baby. And we can't have that". His flour covered fingers scratched under Alpine's chin, "you gotta be my enforcer, okay? Keep your mom occupied".

He shot you a wink and left a kiss to on your forehead before dashing back to the kitchen.

He didn't have much experience with cooking, and definitely did not have a handle on baking, but he'd be damned if he didn't try. He wanted to celebrate you and commemorate your huge promotion with your favorite dessert: funfetti cake. It was what your mom made you every year on your birthday and the flavor you swore you’d have as your wedding cake one day. But he'd had to google the word "funfetti".

And when he told you he planned to make it from scratch, you almost laughed. “But, Buck- the mix comes in a box…” you’d told him, “it’s so easy. All you need is water, oil, and eggs”. But there was no way he was going to make you cake out of a box. He knew your mom made it from scratch, and wanted to replicate the special treat as best he could. He even reached out to your mom and asked for her recipe, which she’d granted him immediately.

Bucky clanged around in the kitchen, diligently measuring ingredients and googling the difference between cake flour and all-purpose. After a particularly jarring crash echoed through the apartment, he called out a quick “I’m okay!”, preventing you from leaving your seat. He wanted to do this all for you, all on his own. You were always doing things for him, and he wanted to return the favor, only wishing that his baking skills had been improved with the serum.

Alpine, however, excelled at her task. She got right to work on her assignment from Bucky, stretching out in your lap and bonking her head against your thighs. She pawed at your book and chirped up at you every time you took a brief pause from petting her. “Such a diva”, you teased as you scratched behind her ears.

“Hey, doll…” Bucky called once again, “where do we keep the whisk?” But he knew you too well. He quickly tacked a “just tell me- don’t get up!” onto the end, once again foiling your plan.

“Drawer next to the stove!”

Alpine started making biscuits on your lap, almost like she could feel your urge to get up. She eyed you with a knowing stare, clearly siding with Bucky. “I know I’m supposed to relax, but…” another crash boomed from the kitchen, “your dad is fighting for his life in there”.

No one, aside from your mom, had ever made you a cake from scratch before. And no one had ever been as supportive of you as Bucky. He celebrated your wins and helped you stomach your losses, always providing you with the love and encouragement you needed. He was your hype-man, your biggest cheerleader, your number one fan. So it didn’t matter if his cake was a burnt, salty disgusting excuse for funfetti- you were going to eat it with a smile. He was trying so hard, doing his very best to make something special- all for you. To some, it may have seemed like a small gesture- it was just cake, after all. But for you, it meant the world.

“Umm…sweetheart?” Bucky made a hesitant entrance into living room, dejection evident on his face. “This is embarrassing- I used YouTube to look it up like you taught me but I keep messing it up… would you help me separate the eggs?”

He didn’t expect the shrug you threw his way, but laughed when you paired it with a dramatic sigh. “Gee, I don’t know, Buck. You’re gonna have to ask her…” Your eyes flicked down to Alpine, her little face buried in your lap. “She was given strict instructions to keep me here, and she’s very good at her job.”

Bucky reached for Alpine and scratched behind her ears, waking her from her nap. “I’m gonna need to borrow your mom for a while, so… at ease, soldier. Thank you for your service”. He scooped Alpine up into his arms and freed you from her stronghold, laughing at the way she ‘mrowwed’ in protest. He apologized for disturbing her and promised he’d make it up to her later - only to receive a head bonk to his chin.

“I think she forgives you, Barnes”.

The two of you walked hand in hand to the kitchen, your mouth falling agape when you witnessed the mess. It appeared that a tornado had come through the kitchen, sending every spoon you owned into the kitchen sink and placing a light dusting of flour on almost every surface. Paper towels- some used, some clean- sat perched in various spots. Random ingredients lay amongst the supplies needed for the recipe.

“Okay, first things first- we need to dress the part”, you opened the pantry and grabbed two aprons from the very bottom shelf, “do you want ‘kiss the cook’ or ‘you’re baking me crazy’?” With both aprons proudly displayed for Bucky to see, you waited for his selection. But all he could do was laugh.

“Baby… are you sure that says ‘cook’?” he rasped through his laughter, “it looks like it says ‘kiss the cock’”.

“Well then I guess it’s perfect for you!” you threw him the inappropriate apron, winking at him as he donned it. “That was one of the first things my sister made when she learned to embroider- she and I both agreed that it absolutely looks like it says ‘kiss the cock’, but it was too funny not to keep”.

With your apron on, you were ready to assess the situation and save bucky from his sinking ship. You reached for the eggs and intended to begin your lesson on the art of separation, until something caught your eye. The sprinkles that were supposed to put the “fun” in your “funfetti” were almost gone.

“Where did- why are the sprinkles almost empty?” you searched the floor and checked the trash, “did you spill them or something?”

Bucky simply gave you a shameful shake of his head. He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, showing you the rainbow marbling that stained his mouth. “I’ve been stress-eating them… sorry, sweetheart”

The laugh that attacked you in that instant didn’t relent for what felt like twenty minutes. Seeing your ultra-strong, bad ass super soldier with a colorful tongue from eating too many sprinkles left you absolutely tickled. Sometimes, Bucky was just so cute. So pure. “No worries, Barnes”, you pressed a kiss to his slightly dyed lips, “I actually have more in the cabinet. I always have emergency sprinkles”.

Bucky gave you a dramatic eye roll and an “of course you do” before giving you the eggs you asked for. He watched closely as you demonstrated for him, noting how gently your dainty hands worked. And after looking down at his own large, overly strong hands, he decided it was best that he never separate an egg ever again.

“Sorry I kinda ruined your day off…” Bucky gestured to the eggs you’d separated and the tiny quarter teaspoon of baking powder you’d measured for him, “This was supposed to be something that I did for you, and now you’re the one doing the work”.

With expert strokes, you mixed the final few ingredients into the batter without overmixing- something Bucky had never heard of. “It doesn’t matter if you ask me for help or do the whole thing by yourself”, you leaned into him, “it’s about the gesture”. Bucky gave you a shrug and a quiet “I guess”, but you knew he wasn’t convinced.

“Hey-” you wiped your hands on your apron and took his chin between your fingers, “I’m serious! You have no idea how much this means to me- it’s so sweet… so thoughtful. You’re putting in all this time and effort to make something special for me. Plus, I’d much rather be in here with you than spend my day off sitting alone in the living room- I just wanna be with you.” Extending up on your tip toes, you pressed a deep kiss to Bucky’s lips. “And I love cake… so if this helps me get cake sooner, why wouldn’t I want to help?”

Bucky rolled his eyes at you and swiped a finger through the batter, popping it into his mouth. “Oh, wow- this is a lot better than I thought-” he went in for a second taste, “yeah, you saved this cake’s life”. He insisted that you give it a try, and couldn’t help but smile when your eyes lit up.

“Oh, fuck me, that’s good. God, I love cake”. Just like Bucky before you, you fell victim to the urge for another taste. “And hey, you had most of this done before I came in- I didn’t do much. I was just your Susan chef on this one”.

Bucky cocked his head to the side, “my what? Who’s Susan?”

“Oh my god- I meant ‘sous chef’,” your palm hit your forehead with a satisfying smack, embarrassment flooding your senses. “‘Susan chef’ is a dumb joke my sister and I make- we joke that ‘sous chef’ is short for ‘Susan chef’… She and I laugh at the dumbest stuff”.

Bucky grabbed you by the waist and pulled you in for a funfetti-flavored kiss. “Maybe she should make you an apron that says ‘Susan Chef’,” he teased, wiping a tiny speck of cake batter from your lip. “And then Susan can ‘kiss the cock.’”

“Oh my god!” You landed a playful punch to Bucky’s shoulder, “Barnes!”

“What?! You’re the one with the sexual apron!”

With a quick roll of your eyes, you nudged your shoulder into Bucky’s. He tried to make grabby hands for your ass, which you expertly dodged, “Hey! Focus, Buck!”

He ducked, narrowly avoiding the dish towel you threw his way. His hands snaked in your direction once again, but you were too fast for the former Winter Soldier- or maybe he was taking it easy on you.

“We still have frosting to make!” With the kitchen island standing between you, a stare down commenced. “You promised me cake, Buck. And I don’t know if you forgot, but I’m a very food driven individual.”

Bucky let his head fall backward dramatically, “okay, okay- my bad. I forgot who I’m dealing with here. How about this?” He slowly made his way around the island, closing the distance between you. “Let’s do this: we eat cake, and then I eat that pussy. Deal?”

“Deal.”

———————

Tag list: @beefybuckrrito @shadytalementality @everything-burns-down @rainbow-unicorn-pony @mandersshow @breakablebarnes @psychoticmason @glxwingrxse @deepsketchsupernaturalcowboy @mrsdrysdale18 @lonewolf471 @dreamerglassesgirl @the-gods-gloted-but-they-burned @cwbucky @duchessoftheheart @seitmai @itvy5601 @hisxsoulmate @dailyreverie @navs-bhat @eviesaurusrex @themorningsunshine @masteroflightningz @evangeliamerryll @god-ofthunder @broadwaybabe18 💜

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cryslut · 8 months

Text

BSD Men - Soulmate

「 Fyodor ~ Chuuya ~ Dazai ~ Tetchou ~ Jouno ~ Nikolai 」 - Where the BSD men cast find out that you two are soulmates. Finding out you were destined to be together after being told by some gifted person with the ability to read peoples lives. - Gender neutral reader, there may be spelling errors this is not fully proofread. I'm not sure where this idea came from and I'm not sure what this is suppose to be but nonetheless I hope you enjoy this (Some of this feels out of character but I hope it's still okay) (The picture above of all characters was edited by me - if you use, give credit)

↳ Fyodor Dostoevsky

As a terrorist and someone who is cruel and manipulative, he is also calm in dire situations. So finding out that you two were meant to be together, he didn't mind it. After all, you two knew each other for a while.

You two met when you were on the verge of your very untimely tragic death. He saw potential in you, manipulating his way to convincing you to join him otherwise if you didn't, he would let you die on the ground. You of course accepted the offer.

You two were roaming around the city of Yokohama. Coming across a man that stopped you both, talking about how your lives were going to go, and then letting you both know that you were indeed meant to be together.

"You two are also meant to be together, you're soulmates I suppose," The man in front of you both says calmly. Fyodor keeping his composure, "We're not even together but we're meant to be you say?" The man looks at him nodding his head, "That is how it is."

After the very random encounter, you two kept walking around making way to where you two wanted to head to. As you both reach an alleyway, Fyodor stops walking in his tracks and turns to look at you, "If that man is true to his word.. do you want to see if it's really spot on or not?" His eyes go back and forth looking at yours.

Nodding your head accepting his offer, "Sure," You smile softly at him, "Good, then we're official, let's keep going."

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

↳ Chuuya Nakahara

You and Chuuya were already in a relationship. One thing lead to another with you both and here you were with him. When he found out you two were meant to be together, he was completely more than fine with it. He didn't want to lose you as he already lost enough as it is. So this made him really happy deep down but he didn't want to admit it too much.

You were both just finishing a meeting in the port mafia and you two are about to head out, exiting the building. Some guy walks up to you, the man is caught by the both of you and drawn to you as if he needs to tell you something.

He explains how his gift works and briefly explains how your two lives will unfold for a while but leaving out too many details otherwise he's just messing with the future. He lets you both in on one secret though and that would be that you two are destined.

"The both of you are soulmates," He whispers loud enough while leaned towards the both of you then taking a step back. Chuuya nods his head as if he wasn't too affected by it. This made you upset so after the man was done speaking to you both. You gave him a little talk. Let's just say he ended up confessing how he felt and that he truly does love you

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

↳ Dazai Osamu

Dazai is a very flirty man, and he was always like that with you enough as it is. You two have had sexual relations with each other. So when he found out you two were destined to be together, it was quite interesting to say the least.

You two were in the cafe that was right below the armed detective agency, with the rest of the group chatting and as usual Dazai makes dumb flirty comments to you, getting a reaction out of Kunikida to make him stop completely bonking the man on the head as usual.

You brushed it off and didn't really care. Once they gather away, a man walked into the cafe ordering something and then while he was waiting he made his way over to your table, the same one where you and Dazai were alone together at.

He can already tell some things about you two. He starts a conversation then telling you both a little bit about himself and about his gift. Then he goes on to inform you both about your lives and what will happen. But leaving anything too crazy and major out, after all he doesn't want to mess with fate. He does let you both in one secret though.

"Not suppose to tell you this, but the both of you are meant to be together, you two are soulmates, basically destined, it was fate you met," The man says softly and quietly not trying to draw attention from anyone else. Dazai looks surprised and then looks over at you and smirks, "Well I guess all those times I've 'helped' you really did pay off in more ways than just one, huh?" He nudges you. Your face heats up, followed by a pink tint on it that can be seen.

Of course Dazai would find a way to make you feel flustered or even embarrassed. He always did with his flirtatious comments. That's what you loved about him though. After the man left and you two were alone at the table again, before anyone could come back to interrupt, Dazai lifts his head up and averts his gaze onto you, "So, you want to see if this man's words are really accurate? If you're mine after all, I could help you more," He smirks at you and you blush once more nodding your head, "Sure, I'd love to."

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

↳ Tetchou Suehiro

Tetchou is a very serious well organized person, he hates sadistic beings so he's a very soft individual especially when it comes to you. He can be even seen as over protective over you. You two are already dating, you two started talking and really getting along when you joined the hunting dogs.

So learning about the two of you and your destiny together was quite interesting. He was quite entertained by the idea of it and really wanted to move forward with you.

You two were hunting a criminal that not even the armed detective agency could track down. When you two stumbled upon a man, questioning him if he saw the perpetrator anywhere, a small conversation started and then he broke out saying how you two are destined to be together.

Tetchou looked a bit serious at this moment in time but he was quite surprised, hearing the words 'destined to be together' and 'soulmate' all in one sentence threw him off for a moment but he kept his composure, "We're already together. But you have this gift and you're able to tell us that we are.. soulmates?" He questions as the man nods at him, "Interesting."

So you two have a conversation about it while looking for the gifted perpetrator that no one can really seem to track down. He seemed quite happy knowing that you two got together and he was excited deep down inside that you two were going to spend the rest of your lives together.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

↳ Jouno Saigiku

As some who seems very happy and cheerful a lot of the time even in situations with people he cannot tolerate at all, he seems like he'd be the soft type. He really isn't, maybe for you. But he abhors intense emotions from those around him, so you would think he'd hate the concept of love. He doesn't when it comes down to you though, he doesn't quite show it a lot though. So finding out that you two are soulmates.

You two were off doing your own thing on some break away from all the others, a man randomly approached you both starting a conversation and then explaining his gift and how it works and then asks to try it out on you two. You both let him with Jouno completely on guard in case something would happen but smiling while doing so to throw the man off if he tried anything at all.

He then proceeds to tell you two little small details about what's to come in the future and then loops you two in to a secret about how you two were meant to meet each other and meant to find each other is leading to the both of you ending up together and being happy together. Jouno was already looking very happy but he didn't try showing any emotion about the whole situation at hand.

"We are meant to end up together, you say?" His tone is still as cheerful as ever, "Indeed," The man says as you look over at Jouno. Although you both were not together you were upset because it was clear to you that you had feelings for him.

So once the conversation was over you decided to have a little talk with him, "So about what that man said," Jouno draws his attention to you, "He said we were meant to be together, do you wanna.." You stop as you felt yourself growing nervous.

"Yes, we can give dating a shot," He takes your pause as a hint as to what you were going to ask, you smile and felt relieved and happy about what he said, you two continue doing what you were before and went on with your day after talking about that one situation for a while.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

↳ Nikolai Gogol

This man is very sadistic in nature. But deep down he has a soft spot for you. He may not admit it and may be even distant from time to time but he does treat you with the upmost respect and love with all the compassion he can when he does show anything at all. So finding out that you two are soulmates was something he found interesting, not really understanding it.

You two were doing your own thing. You tend to follow Nikolai around because the things he does never makes sense to you so you just tag along and don't question it. A man by himself piqued your interest and you decided to go up to him. A conversation had started and one thing leading to another, the man going into small details about your life along with Nikolai's.

The man seemed to know enough about who Nikolai was to be a bit distant from him so he made it up to him and you by telling you both a secret, which was that it was fate you two met.

"You guys.. are soulmates," He starts off softly, trying to remain calm while Nikolai was around, "You two are meant to be together as in.. dating," You look over at Nikolai who was just smiling and kinda surprised, but also quite confused not really understanding it, "So we're meant to be together?" He says, he keeps his very cheerful attitude but you can hear the cluelessness in his tone, "Yes, correct."

After some time of a conversation with the man, Nikolai is confused by the term soulmate so you briefly explain it the best way you can, "Ohh okay! So this means, me and you can finally date?" He yells out with joy as it makes you jump back and laugh, "Yes, we can."

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twstbookclub · 1 year

Text

Spins of Silver

Summary: Ballroom dancing with silver POV: 2nd person Pronouns: Gender Neutral Admin/Writer: Kai⚔️ Tags: Fluff, Romance, Silver

Word count: 1,471

The almost white, shiny hair covered your view as the male stood in front of you. One hand in his, interlocked fingers, and the other holding you close by the waist as your hand was on his shoulder. You assumed right that he knew how to ballroom dance, as he was a guardian in Briar Valley, but he was always struck as the quiet and shy type. There was a gala around the corner and he had been your teacher to show you how to ballroom dance, in the style that they did in Twisted Wonderland, so you wouldn't feel left out.

Your outfit was put together to match his white suit, yet you both wore the same flower crown. Looking at it reminded you of how he placed it on you when you were in doubt before the event started. "Darling, everything will be perfectly fine. Believe in me." His words struck your mind again and it made your heart flutter. “Did you… call me ‘darling’?” You asked and his lips curled into a soft, loving smile. “I did. Is that wrong, love?” He spoke confidently and that made you laugh.

You could only smile as you slipped your hand into his. Silver checked the time and gently started pulling you towards a spot that had room, both of you slightly bowing to Malleus as he stood with others of high status. You smiled nervously as your head spiraled into a daze, but his hand gently placed on your waist as he pulled you closer than needed. It definitely surprised you, but you couldn't complain as it helped you get back into the right headspace.

“Is something wrong?” Silver spoke but all you could do was nod in reassurance, of course, you couldn’t trick him and his keen observation. Shortly after, a whisper was heard as he lifted your hand up into the starting position, "trust me, we'll do amazing. we are in front of malleus after all." his words could only make you laugh as he bonked his forehead against yours, laughing with you as the music shortly began.

From the first beat, his foot moved back as yours followed his direction and you were immediately spun on the other foot and it caught you off guard. His sudden catch of your body and back to the rhythm made you blank out, but your body simply stayed on track with him. He had a smile that wanted to turn so big but he hid it well. You gasp as these moves weren’t used much during practice.

The spins were to perfection and you both laughed when Silver would make a sudden move that you didn't know, like a lift or another spin that you didn't see any other pair doing. Your eyes had locked into his as the peak of the music piece was approaching. Silver nodded once at you before quickly spinning you into his arms, following with dancing with his arms around your waist and your back against his chest.

The warm embrace made your heart flutter and once he let go, he continued on the routine you both had practiced since the beginning. The feeling in his eyes was pure, and it made your heart jump. faster than you thought, the music ended as he ended it with your body against his, leaning back as he stared into your eyes.

“You did amazing, love.” You were enchanted with the purplish silver eyes in front of you. His usual black eyeliner and eyeshadow always brought out some charm that only you could see. you were lucky to be his at that moment, for a while even if it was in secret.

yes, secret. When this event came up, it kept you both busy so revealing it to all of your friends wasn't the right timing. you started dating a month prior, and planned to reveal it as the only times you could meet were when silver was on night patrol for students, but that also meant you risked yourself to meet him. curfew was strict, and studying was necessary, but you both made it work.

he helped you back to balance and let go, but keeping your hand held tightly. "Let's tell them." his words were so sudden that you suddenly felt it was only you and him in the area from that point. "Are you sure??" you asked and he nodded, hugging you as the crowd disappeared. you felt relief, melting into his arms as you sighed into a joyful smile, and your arms wrapped around him tightly.

you could hear gasps around the room but they didn't make you panic, opposite actually. they made you happy as you realized that the person to protect you was in front of you, you were in his warm embrace. liked each other for months but both believed it wasn't the right time, pushing obstacles out of the way to get to this moment. He pulled back from the hug and hesitantly leaned his head closer to you, placing a gentle kiss on the corner of your lips.

it stunned you but you couldn't react as soon enough his lips were on yours, and you could hear cheers from all over, even a Malleus laughing in joy. you were shocked but you simply kissed him back. "I see how the cards have flipped!!” from ace, "What happened to you that didn't have a crush?!?!" from lilia. "I don't see a rule on public displays of affection, silver you sly one." You could hear faintly from the riddle as Trey laughed and Cater took photos. "what is he doing??? is that allowed??? Malleus?!" Sebek panicked as the future king of briar valley gave an applause.

Silver chuckled from embarrassment before breaking the kiss and stepping back, just holding your hand by then as the two of you looked at everyone. His usually calm demeanor was full of small smiles and even a blush he couldn't hide. You laughed from how flustered you were and everyone you were close with started to pile on to you in congrats.

Music began to play shortly after and everyone enjoyed the rest of the night with each other. The members of Heartslabyul danced as Cater posted so many videos to magicam. Savanaclaw ate to their hearts desire. The Octavinelle trio was trying to make business but got pulled in to have fun by the end. Scarabia was getting along with everyone as Kalim tried to become friends with anyone he could. Pomefiore couldn't catch a break as Vil was catching the eyes of everyone, yet rook and Epel saw it as normal. Idia was dragged but did enjoy himself as long as orthoro had fun, and that he did.

Lilia watched as his son was enjoying himself and his relationship with you, seeing a look in his eyes he'd never seen before. "Is seeing Silver branch out making your heart full of sorrow?" Crowley asked as he and Malleus stood by him. "Just weird seeing how it all turned out, even I thought I would've known but here I am amazed." They all laughed and kept the night in check, trying to make the best of the night.

As the night died down, you and Silver headed to the fountain that was quite a bit away from the venue, a way to be alone for a moment. He finally felt some peace, but more joy as he didn't have to keep you hidden, and you felt the same. You held his hand and sat at a bench nearby, resting your head on his shoulder when he leaned back. "I can't believe you really decided to reveal it that way..." you said as he let out a laugh. "I’m sorry, I couldn't resist it anymore."

You couldn't blame him. The way he confessed was in a similar way. He simply kissed you after leaving you at your dorm that night after coming from after school activities. Having a close talk about feelings made him reveal this when getting closer, and by the end of the night, your first kiss was given to him. you never complained, but after that you never kissed that way again, that is until tonight. The thought made you laugh as you looked up at the night sky, feeling his body also relax against you.

"Thank you. tonight was fun, memorable." you spoke and closed your eyes, feeling tired. "thank you for letting me show everyone. I'll never forget tonight.'' After he spoke, you felt a kiss on your forehead as you drifted off, his head leaning onto yours and doing the same. your feelings for silver were grand, and you couldn't ask for anything more now, other than a way to stay in this Twisted Wonderland.

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vander-affectionate · 1 year

Note

Oh god you scared me.

How was your week? I'm guessing it's stressful, i hope you get better soon. I'm always here if you need to talk to someone about anything. Don't go hard on yourself! If you feel like you can't write or things like that you can obviously take a break. If you don't, maybe you can write something about taking care of a stressed Vander? Idk if that would help tho😞

this ask (T-T) thank you so much for sending this sal, i appreciate it. it's been a teeny, inchie little bit stressful, but getting an ask like this in the middle of it is as a good as a glass of water. don't worry, i'll be staying hydrated and i hope you will too, thank you so much for the request because you hit the nail right on the head so without further ado...

vander gets overwhelmed and has lowkey himbo vibes because he thinks a bonk on the head might solve his overthinking, but reader is stressed too. i had complete sensory overload while writing this so i have not edited this yet. reblog, reblog, reblog, and again, thank you so much for requesting this.

Vander huffs, leaning on the bar with a tankard in hand. The bar is closing up for the night, but he's not there to do it - no, actually, you sent him in the back for the remainder of the night after things got out of hand in the Drop's busiest hour.

The tankard slams hard on the coffee table and draws his hands up his face, into his hair, and then back down so the sharp cuts of his scruff stab his fingers when he breathes too hard. He wonders how sweet words and kisses over his forehead from a refreshing morning with you had turned to a sour, bristled night ending with none other than Vander himself initiating a bar fight that you had to break up. He grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut because it's embarrassing just to think about. It's not the fact that you had to bash him across the head with a tankard to get his attention.

"Hey."

There you are, opening the door with an elbow while simultaneously attempting to wipe your hands with a counter top rag, not the ones he tells you to use. He can't even scold you when there's some weak version of a flame in his chest fueling his embarrassment. He opts for staring at the fraying couch arm instead of words.

"Bar's empty, Benzo came 'round asking if you wanted to have drinks" you sit yourself on the opposite end of the couch on the arm, leaning on the thick cushions. "Told him you were mine for tonight, that okay?"

He huffs a sound, something dryly amused because where else would he rather be than swallowed up by the comfort of his own. He wants to rot in the embarrassment he's caused himself and he cannot be more thankful for you telling Benzo he was in for the night.

Vander's half paying attention. He doesn't see the way you frown at him or the way you ease off the couch and move around it to come near until you're sitting on the coffee table with a hand on his knee. He jumps and you withdraw your touch. He's surprised by your wide eyes directed at him, rather than the unamused glare he was expecting.

That's all you do for a second, both of you stare at each other until your hand stills in the air, halfway between you two, "is it okay for me to touch you?"

Vander chews the inside of his cheek, glaring at the couch and it pains him to shake his head. He's not sure how much he can take of you tonight, you're wonderful - beyond that actually, but everything is too much and you're- he's... words are a little hard for him.

But you can see it in the way he's stiff against the couch.

"That's okay," you stand up from the coffee table and move around it.

His eyes widen and you're stopped in your tracks by his hand curled around your wrist. His brows are knitted together and his lips pressed into a thin line, his words are clipped, "Don't leave." muttering a please that breaks in his throat.

Your fingers press and brush the inside of his wrist before you lean down to kiss his arm, keeping his gaze all the while, "I'm right here, Vander. I'm sitting over there, is that okay?"

His eyes flickers to the chair you've gestured to and you see his nose wrinkle. His features soften when he sees the upturn of your lips and he releases your hand, relaxing back into the couch cushions and watching you curl into a ball in the arm chair on his right that's too big for you. You're a vision of comfort and he leans his head back into the cushions while you both stare.

"Sorry about hitting you over the head," you prod the area on your head in the spot you clocked him earlier.

He shrugs, "Nothin' I didn't deserve."

Vander watches you curl your legs underneath yourself as you lean on the arm, closer to him. He turns his gaze because he doesn't want you seeing these feelings rearing their ugly heads. He needed that hit, he's convinced himself it helped calm him down and squints as he considers a second might be the hearty cool down he's missing.

"They really got to you tonight," your voice is still soft and he wants it to grate a nerve in him. He wants you to give him a reason to be angry at himself for his outburst tonight, but when he glances over at you he can't be.

Your cheek is squished against the frayed armchair upholstery and your eyes seem more like doe eyes than they ever have when you're staring up at him like he's hung the moon. He glances away and sees your mouth curl up and he wonders if you're deliriously believing he's hung the stars. Your eyes crinkle when your lips push into your cheeks and he swallows, maybe you're playing tricks on his heart.

"Why're y'stressed?" your nonchalance grates something in him and he throws his arms into the air and kicks the coffee table with the toe of his boot.

"Cause!" he snips, "It's pilin' up, shits been falling apart, the tankards need replacing, and I threw a couple of folks half way up the piltover bridge-" he rounds on you with fire in his eyes and he's standing to his full height across the room, kicking the fallen tankard and turning his back to you so he can run his hands through his hair. He swears up and down at everything including the fallen tankard to the accident he had when he cut his jaw shaving this morning.

"I'm exhausted and, I..."

He leans his head against the wall, away from you, and you sigh. He bites his lip and quietly scolds himself because he's being selfish, you're tired too and here he is complaining about all of this. He turns around, an apology on his tongue, but he doesn't get to face you because there's a cheek on his back.

He tenses and lifts a leg to see your socked feet behind his boots. You hadn't made a sound nor do you when you meet his eyes when he raises his arm and awkwardly bends his head to catch your gaze.

"Thank you for telling me." you offer yet another smile and it's only now that he can spot the droop to your eyes.

His lips part and that heated frustration in his chest, releases and unfurls seeing your kind smiles, "I've been stressed too. Thought I was the only one."

Vander turns around and cups your face in his hands, he rubs his fingers beneath your eyes that are only slightly sunken in because he forgets that keeping the bar open for an hour later doesn't only take its toll on him. You lean into the warm palms that cup your face and sigh, nuzzling your nose into their center and he draws you close, if only to let you curl against his chest and he watches you fully melt into him. Your shoulders sink and your fists curl into the fabric of his shirt. You shiver when his palm draws down the length of your back and he finds himself wrapping himself in you when he dips his head to bury his face in your neck. He pulls you off of your feet if only to keep you pressed to him and inhale your scent.

"I'm stressed too," he reiterates. Fingers press into your back, massaging and rolling the muscles there until you're moulding against him and nothing but an extension of himself when he moves the two of you to lie down on the couch, you ontop of him.

"You're not alone, Vander." you tilt your head up and stroke across his jaw, if only to get his attention and he melts into you, sighing and rolling you on your side so you're pressed to the cushions and his chest.

He presses his lips to your temple and rests there, sighing and curling his arms around your waist while you kiss whatever you can reach, his shoulder, his collar, and his neck. He nuzzles further into you and squeezes you in his ars.

"I know."

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momobani · 1 year

Text

ABOUT TIME

If Your Winter Is Hard - Chapter 8 - 9.6k

medium!minghao x exorcist!reader

SERIES MASTERLIST

Warnings: exorcism(duh!); discussion of ghosts + death, reference to death of family members, light violence/ fighting, mention of guns, discussion of grief, A N G S T, depiction of murder!! [not very explicit], mention of illness

Sum: it’s true when they say that if you love someone, you should let them go.

Song rec: Letting Go - Vancouver Sleep Clinic

TAGLIST: @sleeplessdawn @aceofvernons @lilactangerine @kyeomsworld

A/N: Guess who’s crying in the club again? You and me, babey! Sorry for the long wait again, I had a lot on with uni, but for the moment I have a little time here and there for now. We’re back to YN’s point of view after the last chapter, so yeah, enjoy <333 Happy holidays y’all!!!

“Hao, do you know where I left the incense?” You call over your shoulder as you grapple with preparing your exorcism bag.

“Well, I don’t think it sprouted legs and ran away from where you left it five minutes ago.” He replies sarcastically, walking past the desk in your office, plucking up the item, and holding it out to you. You purse your lips at how silly you seemed; it was two feet away from you the whole time.

“Thanks.” You say sheepishly and pack the box into your bag. It was half past two in the afternoon and you were running a little late since you’d had lunch with Jeonghan after he begged you to try this restaurant that almost closed a few years ago. You told him you were busy and so was he, but eventually you caved not long after because truthfully, you wanted to try it too.

It had been worth the drive across town and back, seeing how happy Jeonghan was picking out and grilling the meat, even though it put you a few minutes behind schedule for your next exorcism.

“You know, I don’t know why you couldn’t just pass this case on to someone else, maybe even Seungkwan and Vernon, it’s not like we have time for it.” Minghao grumbles as he puts on his long coat and wraps his thick scarf around his neck.

“Will you stop complaining? We had this case on backlog for ages, we need to get it done anyway.” You reply, shoving the salt dispenser into the front pocket harder than you meant to.

You were getting really annoyed for some reason, getting lip service and from Minghao of all people. You weren’t used to it. He’d been grouchy all morning too, clearly something was bothering him but he wouldn’t tell you.

This was possibly the first real disagreement or conflict the two of you had had, the acknowledgement of that fact taking you by surprise. Usually you just focused on the task at hand and got it done quickly and smoothly. Well, relatively of course; there was the time you bonked heads at the museum, the time you almost got caught at the apartment block and oh, how could you forget that time you almost died on the train tracks.

Fine, you got things done more quickly than smoothly but whatever. The point was that you and Minghao worked in harmony.

“I wasn’t complaining, YN, I’m just saying, there was probably an alternative here, so we could focus on the paperwork for the cemetery spirits. That basement ghost can wait.” He continues. You zip the bag and drop your hands on top of it with a thud. You turn your head and zero in on Minghao, who notices the change in air.

“Do you just not want to do the exorcism or something?” You demand, trying not to raise your voice. “Are you overworked or too tired, because if you are, then just say so. That’s fine, I can finish it without you.” You say heatedly. You hadn’t used that tone with him before but it came spilling out from you before you could stop it. Minghao looks back at you just as intensely and you see the hardness in his eyes.

Just as he’s about to say something, Hoshi walks in with a pile of folders, clearly making a trip from the conference room to the storage area in your office. He, Jeonghan, and Seokmin were taking the first shift of the day on analysing the files and trying to narrow down the search for identifying the spirits.

“Hey, gu-”

“See! I can just take Hoshi instead.” You don’t let him finish. Hoshi shudders, eyes wide and startled by the exclamation. Minghao frowns but doesn’t say anything. “Do you want to come do the exorcism, Hosh? It’s been a while.”

For a moment, Hoshi is stuck looking between the two of you, feeling out the tension and trying to gauge what it’s about, a little like kid looking at its parents arguing.

“Um…” He hesitates. “Sure.” He perks up, deciding it would be more dangerous if he refuses.

“Great! Any objections, Hao?” You raise your eyebrows at him, daring him to protest. You think it’s best that you split up for a while before you say anything you don’t mean and later regret.

“None, you guys have fun in that old lady’s basement.” Minghao doesn’t even grace you with another look before unwrapping the scarf and leaving for the conference room.

“Hosh, get your coat, we’re leaving.” You say as you stare at Minghao’s back as he walks away. Was that your first fight? You knew it was normal for friends to fight but could you even call it a fight? For the most part, you felt that you needed to cool down because your frustration was mounting; he didn’t have to take out his grouchiness on you but he’d been annoying all morning, giving you sarcastic reply after sarcastic reply. Most of all you were frustrated that he wouldn’t tell you what was bothering him.

You decided to put your situation with Minghao on the back burner and focus on what you were doing. You’re exiting the office and Hoshi runs ahead of you.

“I call shotgun!” He shouted as he zoomed towards the passenger side of your car. You got in the car, your eyebrows knitted in dubiety.

“Hoshi, there’s no one else in the car.” You pointed out the obvious. He nodded dismissively as he slung on his seatbelt.

“Yeah, but you’ve only been letting Minghao ride shotgun lately so I wanted to stake my claim. I used to ride up front all the time before.” He explains and you almost miss the tiny pout that appears on his lips. “Like I get it if you like him, it’s just that I like sitting in the front too.”

You almost reverse into your trash cans at Hoshi’s words.

“What the hell are you talking about? Don’t be ridiculous, I don’t like Minghao like that, he’s just a friend and co-worker.” You rattle off, unamused by the mere suggestion that you would be unprofessional and spend your time crushing on a colleague than do your job. Hoshi smiles in the periphery of your vision as you drive out on to the main road.

“Hm, alright.” He chimes. You feel the lighthearted teasing in his tone but you clench your jaw; if you get emotional, you lose.

You don’t bother trying to prove your point and drive in silence. You needed to think about what you were going to do for the exorcism since this was one highly likely to be a difficult ghost; you were dealing with a murder victim that hadn’t left the house in at least fifty years. A young woman, who had been the previous tenant in the house before the old lady and her family moved in all those years ago, had been killed by a boyfriend and hidden in the basement. The body hadn’t been discovered for weeks since her housemates were away.

You’d dealt with several murder cases in the past, as well as studied them when your sister was working, but it had been a while since you’d done one. The closest you came to it was the vengeful spirit at the train station and you knew what a disaster that had almost become. To say the least, you felt a little nervous.

The scenery around you changed to the suburbs in no time and you found yourselves just outside of town, barely even on the outskirts of the metropolitan area. It wasn’t a long drive to your client’s house as the afternoon sky started to darken.

The old lady’s house was situated in the middle of a hill, the rising mass of houses looming ahead as you left the car at the bottom of the street and started to hike up the footpath. There was no road leading to it from either side since the residential area was built on a slope over a hundred years ago when parking space wasn’t a concern.

Initially the climb up the hill isn’t so bad, however an unexpected gust of wind sends you reeling backwards, its sheer force knocking you off kilter. You practically have to start running to resist the wind, exerting more energy than you wished to admit so that you don’t get swept away.

When you finally make it to the house’s outside gate, it’s a relief to enter and be sheltered from the wind by the giant oak tree growing in the garden, its browning leaves still intact and rustling above you. You knock on the door and your client, a sweet, demure elderly lady, ushers you in.

“Do you kids want some tea?” She asks immediately, fussing over how cold you and Hoshi both look. “It’s quite horrible outside, we should warm you up.”

“That would be great, thank you.” You tell her, not because you actually feel the need to defrost yourselves, but because she looks like she won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Besides, during the exorcism, your body temperature especially will, as usual, drop significantly.

You sit on the fluffy carpet around the coffee table, a low wooden square that exhibited the tribulations of time - scratches, discolouring, and chips evident when you looked closer. The rest of the living room reminded you of your own house, the ancient furniture resembling your living room as per your grandparents’ vision when they first bought the house almost sixty years ago. You felt right at home.

Hoshi drinks his tea in two gulps, licking his lips with a satisfying smack and grinning widely. Your client smiles back in delight, clearly enamoured by Hoshi’s cuteness and you have a feeling that she’s adopt him as her grandson in a few minutes if you didn’t get moving on the exorcism.

You thank the lady and excuse yourselves to get to work, yanking Hoshi up subtly by the collar, telling her it might be best to go to her neighbour’s house while you worked for her own safety. You had briefly mentioned it to her before but you suspected she might have forgotten about it. She surprises you by telling you that she’d specifically made plans to watch tonight’s drama episode there just to give you guys space.

You smile gratefully and send Hoshi to walk her down the hill while you set up downstairs.

It’s hard to tell whether it’s because you’re alone, but as soon as you open the door to the basement, your skin erupts in goosebumps and a chill runs through your body, pitting conclusively deep in your belly. The cold hits you immediately, whether it’s the lack of insulation on the single window or just how the cold seeps into the room from the outside.

You snap on the light switch to your left and a single tiny bulb in the middle of the staircase turns on, but barely. It’s enough for now, you decide. You descend the wooden steps carefully, watching your feet and keeping an eye out at the shadows cast across the room. The creak of the steps underfoot makes a sound that fills the basement obnoxiously loudly and you scurry down the last few stairs.

In the basement there is a film of dust covering everything; even in the relative darkness you can see the grey covering over each surface as your eyes adjust. There’s a wooden table, the type that’s a slab hanging off the wall with chains, lined with a few abandoned items; a pair of gardening gloves, some plant cutting shears, a wrench or two, which you discern must have come from the toolbox that lays just underneath the table next to a thick pile of old newspapers.

There are a few more tools but hanging up on some hooks stuck to the wall above the table. As far as anything else goes, there’s hardly anything else in the basement except for a small ladder, folded up neatly and laying on its side out of the way. You could imagine that most of these items had been lying there for a long time because the woman living here didn’t seem like the type to do much gardening.

You try not to breathe too much because of the dust, and get to work.

From your backpack, you take out the salt dispenser, the incense pot and strap your gun to one leg and your exorcist blade to the other. Next, you start to draw the salt cage. You were going to keep it as wide as possible and try to seal the whole basement if possible, just so that the spirit would be contained.

You hear the wind howling outside, whistling at you as the last shred of sun dissipates from the sky, the darkness flooding the basement through the window and casting more eerie shadows. You hear a creak of the steps and put an instinctive hand on your gun as you snap towards the noise. Of course, you know it’s Hoshi making his way down the stairs.

“Took you long enough.” You mutter in his general direction. You were almost finished with the salt cage.

“Sorry, Boss. That hill is gnarly.” He explains and shrugs. You nod dismissively from your position hunching over the salt dispenser as the thick streak of powder spills out from the opening.

“We should get started with the incense. Set it up, will you.” You instruct as you seal off the cage, the both of you standing within its parameters.

“Yessir.” Hoshi says with a salute and walks jauntily over to where you’d left the pot. You can’t hold the scoff at ridiculousness that bubbles up in your throat. Hoshi’s inescapable charm was energising whatever he was doing and whoever he was with, and you realised that you’d definitely missed having his silly butt along on exorcisms. Maybe now that he’d recovered, you could really give Minghao some time off and balance the work between your two mediums.

You felt yourself frown at the thought of Minghao. You were still a little mad at how snippy he’d been, yet you were already starting to cool off and question what even that whole thing was about. Had you done something wrong? Sure you’d been snippy back to him before you left, but that was the only thing, right?

You shook your head, trying not to get bogged down in distractions because you were about to get to the really delicate part of today’s job.

Hoshi lit the incense then handed your lighter back as the frail wisp of smoke started to rise from the pot. Almost immediately did you feel the sudden drop in temperature, the small exhale leaving your mouth, frosting in front of your face. Your skin started to prickle at the deep sensation of dread that spread through your core, its grip unbearably strong from the get go.

This felt like a vengeful spirit.

And yet, you looked around for any other tell-tale signs of a vengeful spirit but you spotted none - there was no fog signalling the presence of a ghost, only an increased tension in the air, its energy diffusing throughout the space of the basement.

You grabbed your gun, shooting two consecutive shots to seal off the door and far wall around the staircase. Then you waited because you couldn’t actually see the ghost yet. This was pretty rare. If the spirit was this elusive from the start then you might be in trouble.

An invisible enemy is considerably harder to defeat.

“Should I take my talisman off?” Hoshi whispers from a few feet away.

“Not yet,” You whisper back to him. “I have a bad feeling-” You barely finish your sentence when you hear the rattle of a chain echo across the room. Your eyes land on the slab of wood against the wall and you see the chains in question had moved gently. It must be the work of the spirit.

You watch carefully, not only the table but scanning the room for any other signs of movement, the silence stifling. You see the chain move before you hear it clink again, this time followed by the shake of the tools hanging above the table. You zero in on the movement, straining your eyes in the semi-darkness, trying to spot if the ghost is anywhere nearby.

Instead what you notice is how the tools start to vibrate and you think you’re going crazy until a wrench snaps off and flies off in your direction. You have a split second to react and you do-

“Duck!” You yell and dive toward Hoshi in an attempt to do just that in case his reflexes are slow. He does hear you but it’s a good thing you manage to affectively bring him down with you; down to the dusty and dirt littered floor. Your fall makes a loud thump and causes a tornado of dust to fly up and swirl around you, falling back down like snow.

The wrench had flown across the room and smacked heavily against the nearest wall, sailing through the air at probably several miles an hour. Or at least enough that if it had hit you, you’d have been injured. The two of you inevitable start coughing up a lung as several more instrumentals fly off and follow the first.

“Shit, what was that?” Hoshi splutters, the fear in his voice evident.

“A vengeful spirit.” You reply, sure now that the powerful energies of your current target were within the spectrum of vengeful ghosts; souls of those wronged lingering with exceptionally strong presence. You knew that not all vengeful spirits were accompanied by things like the thick grey fog - there was too much variation in the sorts of signs that counted as evidence of that type of ghost.

“Oh man, I shouldn’t have come with.” Hoshi whines. You’re already up on your feet and you offer him a hand and pull him up off the ground.

“Too late for regret, tiger.” You say. You take a good look around and spot a shadow in one corner of the room, its figure just out of the path of light coming from the window and away from the lightbulb. There’s your ghost.

You were going to have to do this the quickest way possible.

“Take it off, now.” You say, reaching for your blade. You were calculating the possible time it might take for the ghost to possess Hoshi, mind running a million miles per hour, but just as you blinked the shadow disappeared.

Shit.

Unfortunately Hoshi had already processed what you’d asked and his fingers were pulling on the bracelet, tugging it down his wrist and onto the ground. In a moment, you whipped around, looking for the ghost, but it was too late-

You didn’t see it, but you felt the wave of polar energy zip through your body and you gasped out loud at the sensation, your breath coming out like smoke; it was like being thrown into Antarctic waters, the ice flowing into your bloodstream suddenly. The ghost passed through you and slammed into Hoshi’s body, knocking him back down to the ground. You dropped to your knees, the breath literally knocked out of you too.

White noise filled your head, vision blurring for a split second. You felt like you might seize up.

Your brain was still functioning however, even if your body was struggling to move. You knew you had to stab the blade down before the ghost started to move. The time it took to possess a medium was usually around two seconds, so in those two seconds, you willed yourself to move forward, your body falling heavily on the ground next to Hoshi. You threw a leg over him with all your might, your body shivering with stinging cold and looked at his eyes, looking for the silver light that indicated the spiritual presence.

It appeared, its glow unmistakeable in the dark and you dragged the hand holding the blade to Hoshi’s chest and barely stabbed down, your body slack.

“Go peacefully.” You mumbled, voice frail and cracking. Your eyes were too heavy but you fought to keep them at least half-opened as you watched the blade start to incinerate itself. The world was fading away from you fast, but even so, the ghost’s memory ran into you, its force numbing you as you half-rolled, half-fell on your back on the musty floor of the basement.

You were hyperaware of your own body suddenly, aware of how you lay on your back, rigid, but in your mind’s eye, you weren’t in the cold, dark basement, you were upstairs, the smooth wooden floor under you, in the exact same position. There was a warm glow of light above you, its source hidden by the figure that sat on your chest, immobilising you. You knew it wasn’t you, of course not, it was the spirit’s memory you were living through, yet it felt paralysingly real. Every fibre of your body was on high alert but you couldn’t move. The person on top of you moved into your line of sight and you saw his face, a stranger whose hand moved to curl around your neck and hold in place while the glint of a knife shone in his other.

You hear a distant blood curdling screech, its piercing decibels probably coming from your own mouth in the basement but in the vision, it sounded so far away.

You blacked out before you saw what happened next, but you knew deep down what had transpired. You were catapulted back into reality and found yourself still in the basement, frost permeating every part of your being, your throat feelings particularly raw.

Hoshi was coming to, his movements sluggish. He saw you in an instant.

“YN! What happened? Are you okay?” He squeaked in panic. You didn’t have the energy to say anything but you attempted to move your lips.

“Cold…” you mumbled, but your mouth was almost sealed shut so it just sounded like ‘co…’.

And then your eye lids became too heavy to keep open and the world disappeared.

Your consciousness breaks through your sleep and you feel yourself start to wake up.

The first thing you feel is that you’re smothered by something; a warm weight on top of you and you sense there are about ten blankets that are cocooning you into your bed, wound so tightly around you that you feel yourself unable to move.

With all the little energy remaining in your limbs, you struggle to wriggle around and make some room for yourself inside your fluffy prison. There’s a dead weight to every part of your body and you feel like you’ve been hit by a bus or something. You open your eyes and find yourself in semi-darkness in your own room at home. Your head starts to pound immediately in response.

How did you get there?

The shuffling seems to alert of your stirring awake and you see a dark mess of hair bob to your left.

Minghao startles and whips around, searching for movement. From what you saw, he’d been sitting on the floor beside your bed and leaning back on the frame with a book that clutters to the floor.

“YN?” He rasps, his eyes wide, weary, and worried. He appears to be a little wild to you, like he hasn’t slept for a long time and you wonder how long you must have been out.

“I’m okay.” You manage, your voice raw. It feels like the sound get stuck in your throat, where there’s an unexplained ache. Your words seem to reassure Minghao at least a bit and he nods before getting up.

“I’ll get Jeonghan.” He says quietly and strides across the room. You wriggle some more and manage to break one arm out of your cocoon but instead of feeling like a beautiful butterfly, you feel more like a fluffy moth. It takes a lot of effort but you finally get into a semi sitting position and notice the army of heaters that is assembled around your bed like a moat, the only empty spot where Minghao was leaning against the side.

You were lucky you were in this condition. You knew that.

It was kind of rare for ghosts to pass through exorcists but when it happened, it was pretty severe for them. The only time you’d ever seen it happen was to your aunt years ago when you were a kid. You barely remembered the ordeal, having been far too young, but you knew that she’d been quite sick.

“Occupational hazard, huh.” You sigh to yourself. “Could be worse.”

You hear footsteps approaching your room and then Jeonghan marches through the door, Minghao trailing on his tail. Jeonghan practically runs to you, speed walking and dropping down on the outer side of the bed to fuss over you.

“Yah, are you okay? How do you feel?” He asks, his hands smooshing your cheeks as he inspects your face for any signs of illness. You want to reply but it’s kind of difficult with the death grip he has on you.

“Jeonghan?” You quack, the shape of your lips caricatured by his hands. He hums in response. “Need to breath, please.” You finish, words coming out a little strangled. He lets you go immediately with a quiet ‘sorry’. You take a deep, appreciative breath. “I think I’m okay. How long was I unconscious?” You ask tentatively.

Jeonghan thinks for a minute, tilting his head. “Two days?” He says.

“What?” You croak, body bouncing up and down with the exclamation. “No way! Just from the ghost passing through me?” You say.

“You remember that?” Minghao asks. He’d been standing inconspicuously behind Jeonghan, observing the two of you with careful eyes.

“Obviously.” You shrug. It’d be very hard to forget. “It’s the last thing that I do remember though. Fill me in on what’s going with the group exorcism.”

“Oh my god.” Minghao swivels away. He seems ready to pace around, looking up and around the room in disbelief. “You’re really something, YN.” He mutters to himself.

“What was that?” You call over, addressing him. You think he might ignore you and pretend you didn’t ask. Instead, he turns back to you and you find the exasperation on his face.

“You just wake up from a two day coma and two seconds later you’re asking about work?” His eyebrows are raised as close to his hairline as physically possible and you’d find it funny if he wasn’t almost raising his voice at you.

“Yes, Hao. Because that’s my job!” You declare. “In case you forgot.” You add, starting to remember that the two of you had had a bit of a squabble before you and Hoshi had gone to the site of the exorcism.

“Um, I’m going to get you some tea and meds, kiddo. Wait here.” Jeonghan’s eyes travel from you to Minghao and back. You forget that Jeonghan doesn’t like to be in the midst of chaos, unless of course he’s the one who created it.

“Not like I’m going anywhere.” You mutter with a nod to the blanket prison you sit in. Jeonghan weasels out of the room noiselessly, leaving you with a stroppy Minghao. “So it’s been two days; are you ready to tell me who spat in your cereal?” You inquire.

“No one.” He huffs but it’s obvious that the answer should have been a clear and resounding ‘you’.

“Y’know, whatever it is, if you don’t tell me, we can’t resolve it.” You counter immediately. You hated confrontations like this, especially with someone that you always managed to get along with. You supposed there was a silver lining to this because you felt your blood pressure raise and body get heated, which was good if you were going to combat the remaining frost in your system, so there’s that.

“Do you think I haven’t thought about resolving it?” Minghao asks. You’re surprised by the response, suddenly more alert than before. It’s your turn to look at him inquisitively.

“What’s that supposed to mean? If you have a problem with me, just say it.” You challenge. You feel all clammy inside and you’re not sure it’s just the blanket sweat finally getting to you.

“I don’t have a problem with you.” Minghao says. You sigh, frustrated with his stubbornness.

“Then what do you have a problem with?” You snap. Minghao pauses to look at you, assessing just how far you want to take this.

“What do I have a problem with?” He echos. “You’re working so fucking much that you collapsed into a coma! Is that not a problem?” He blurts out. You scoff at the ridiculousness of the statement. Did you hear him correctly? What was he talking about?

“That happened because of a ghost, you drama queen!” You retort.

“Oh, did it?” He quips back sarcastically. He doesn’t let you reply. “Jeonghan said that when that happens, you’ll get a cold or hypothermia worst case scenario. But you were so weak from overworking that you almost died!”

You’re struck silent, processing the sound waves that travelled through the air and to your ears. But he’s not done yet.

“We literally had to keep you on an IV drip for two days. We had to call Jihoon and ask for a doctor to check you up and he even estimated your chances of survival.” He lists desperately. And this time you see just how shaken Minghao really is; there are dark circles under his eyes, he’s extremely pale and his mouth looks too dry.

You feel a wave of guilt breaking over you. Clearly, he’d been incredibly stressed and tired over the last couple of days and you wake up and start berating him. You shrink back a little, recognising how serious the situation must have been. You don’t say anything for a moment.

Minghao sighs and his shoulders slump visibly. He takes a few cautious steps and perches on the edge of the bed, looking down at the wall of heaters around you. Most of them were actually turned off at the moment, you notice.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get so grouchy with you.” He says, softening his voice. “It’s just- ugh - did you never hear me when I say take a break? Or leave it to someone else because you haven’t slept?” He asks.

And the thing is that you know what he’s talking about.

You’d become immune to comments like that over the past few weeks, knowing that you had a burning project to get done and no time to waste. You’d been getting a little control freaky about working on your case but against your better judgment, you’d ignored the way you were treating yourself, like those crazy workaholics that you thought only existed on TV.

“Does that just go in one ear and out the other?” He pauses to search your face. You don’t know what the look on your face must be, but it must be telling. “It seems it does. It’s just so frustrating to see you work yourself like a dog.”

“Do you know how much more frustrating it is to feel like you’re arguing with someone when you’re trying to do that work?” You finally reply.

“We’re not arguing.” He says firmly. As if he believed that.

“You’re right, we’re bickering like children.” You point out.

“I won’t bicker if you just agree to take breaks.”

“Hao, you know how difficult this is.” You meet his eyes and hold them.

“Then ask for help, YN.” He pleads gently. “You have so many people around you, you don’t have to do every single thing. Just promise me you’ll give yourself time to rest.” You don’t know if what he’s saying is taking effect or if it’s just the way he’s looking at you right now, but you don’t even think about fighting back this time. He disarms you completely with the look in his eyes and it strikes you somewhere deep inside. Suddenly you hate yourself for making him worry like that.

“Okay, fine.” You promise. “I’ll be careful, stop nagging, jeez.” You add playfully, the corners of your mouth turning up. It’s contagious and Minghao does the same, succumbing to your tone.

“Alright, but I better see you doing it.” Minghao says, matching your sentiment.

“Pfft, who made you the boss? As far as I know, I’m in charge.” You’d cross your arms, but you were still cocooned in the blanket for the most part.

“Never said you weren’t.” He shrugs.

“Hmm, good. Now get this off me, I gotta go to the bathroom.” You start to struggle against the fluffy fabric of the blankets again and Minghao hurries to help you out.

When you see yourself in the mirror, you almost jump back in horror. You didn’t realise that if you spent so much time with ghosts, you’d start looking like one too. You were so disheveled and your mouth felt awfully stale and your hair was a rat’s nest. (You didn’t know rats could have nests, but if they did, it would definitely be the state of your hair specifically).

Speaking of your hair, the more you tried to brush it out and give it some kind of order, you noticed something strange. There was a number of strands of grey hair that shone in the light of your bathroom. You fought the urge to scream. Those most certainly hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t an alarming amount since you could probably count them on your hands, but it was still startling. It was possible it was your condition after the ghost pass through that had caused it. You just hoped that you wouldn’t get any more of whatever this was.

Maybe Minghao was right; you needed to take it easier and redistribute your work load. You absolutely did not want to see another grey hair, not for at least another ten years.

You have to fight yourself a little bit the next few days because you want to do work but you feel like you need to take several naps a day to feel human. All you end up doing is trying to sneak into the office and Minghao creeps up behind you with a timer and tells you that that’s all you’re allowed to do for now, urging you to take the documents and read them in bed.

The guys make plenty of progress in the mean time, somehow managing to narrow down the number of records significantly and matching five out of the thirteen ghosts to their identities. To the outsider, it might seem like a massive game of Cluedo or something, but the reality was that exorcists very often had to do some detective work in order to be able to do their actual job, which was tending to the dead.

By the end of the next week, after 3 all nighters (though you were forced into a Minghao-mandated 8 hours of sleep unlike everyone else), 20 take-outs, and 50 cups of coffee, you have ten out of thirteen ghosts and over a week until the winter solstice. So you tell everyone to go and take a couple days off. You lose track of time for the most part but you can’t escape the date today.

It’s the third anniversary of your sister’s death.

You wake up and lie in your bed, staring at the ceiling. How did three years go by so quickly and yet it felt like a whole life time ago? You had no idea.

You take your time getting ready today, moving slowly and sluggishly, getting breakfast (more like lunch at this time) and then putting on your coat. You weren’t leaving yet but you still felt waves of cold every once in a while and if you put on your fluffy bathrobe, then you’d never feel like leaving the house. You didn’t have a bathrobe before, but one had mysteriously appeared in your bedroom after you gained consciousness last week and you didn’t have to be a genius to be able to work out that Minghao had got it for you.

You dig out your grandmother’s hairpin and add it to your hair. You wear your earrings and your sister’s ring, and the set would be completed by your aunt’s necklace. Like the rest of your protective talismans, it has a carnelian crystal as the main part of the piece, as all the women in your family wore carnelian and the men wore onyx, which is why your grandfather’s ring was made of that. Minghao wore it now and it occurred to you that you never ended up getting him another talisman. Maybe you should get him something obsidian like Jeonghan wore.

You pack a few things to take with you and call out to see if Minghao is ready. Yesterday you’d told him where you were going to go and he’d insisted he’d come with you so wouldn’t have to worry about driving. You knew he was just saying that and the real reason was so that you wouldn’t be alone. You and Jeonghan had agreed to go separately, mostly because you weren’t sure you could handle being there together, although you suspected he just didn’t want you to see him like that.

Like what? Like you? Distraught and crazy, crying and shaking? Perhaps.

Even though the two of you had made up now and were bonding a little here and there, you still felt like you weren’t back to how you were years ago - that would take time. And grief was an extremely personal thing, and you knew that Jeonghan needed his own time so you didn’t press the matter at all.

Minghao comes out of his room, matching your all black attire, a turtle neck peaking out of his long coat. He walks up to you and pulls a scarf around you wordlessly, adjusting it around your own turtle neck. You hadn’t seen he was carrying one so it surprises you for a split second. You look at him up close, your eyes wandering over his face. You can smell the freshness of his aftershave vaguely, but he steps away just as quickly as he stepped closely.

“Thanks.” You say. He’s not listening though, already walking toward the front door of the basement. You follow him to the car and he’s already in the driver’s seat. For a few weeks now, you’d started keeping the car keys in the living room since you weren’t the only one using it any more. It was too cold for Minghao to ride his motorcycle these days and dangerous with all the frost on the roads.

“Do you know the way?” You ask, after pulling on your seatbelt and clicking it into place.

“Yes.” He says curtly.

“Okay.” You purse your lips, eyes travelling over to the mirrors to watch as Minghao turns your car around, looking carefully behind. He manoeuvres the vehicle smoothly, one hand on the back of your seat’s headrest and the other draped over the wheel. Your eyes land on the black band over his middle finger, its surface smooth despite the years of use.

It fit perfectly against his skin and you’d feel it a shame if you got him a talisman that wasn’t comfortable or as suitable for him as that one. It was then that you officially decided to let Minghao keep it; it was something you’d already thought about doing before but hadn’t voiced to yourself, so now it was settled in your mind.

The car ride was silent and somber and you realised that maybe it was out of politeness that Minghao wasn’t saying anything and giving you space to think to yourself. You appreciated it even though your brain was relatively empty for the moment. Empty may not be the right word; numb might be a better way to describe it.

You arrive at the cemetery after a long drive out of the city and to the outskirts of town. It had stopped raining for now but the sky didn’t look too promising and according to the forecast from yesterday, it’ll probably start up again so you better hurry.

Minghao parks in the lot near the entrance and where there were a few tiny flower shops. You open the glove box in front of you in search of something and Minghao notices.

“We used it up.” He says.

“Huh?” You’re not sure what he’s talking about. You were in search of a tiny flask containing some alcohol (not a safe item to have in your car) however it was an essential in an exorcist’s inventory because it could serve as a heater if what happened to you happens- “Oh, right.”

“Jeonghan told Hoshi what to do over the phone and he knew you had that in your car.” He explains.

“Right, remind me to refill it just in case. Let’s go.” You say. You hop out of the car and shiver from the cold air that hits you right in the face, your cheeks starting to rosey up immediately. “I’ll buy some flowers.” You tell Minghao and he nods.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you over there.” He says. You’d pointed out the path you had to take to your family’s grave as you’d come in, driving past the row, so you knew he’d find it.

Inside the shop it’s warm and lovely and you almost start sweating as you pay for a modest bunch of white chrysanthemums. The lady of the shop smiles softly at you and you return it as you thank her before leaving.

You trudge up the gentle slope leading towards the million rows of graves, all different shapes and sizes. And you spot Minghao from a long distance away. But he’s not at your sister’s grave, he’s further away. You stop. The image somehow burns itself into your eyelids.

You wonder who it is that he’s visiting. He didn’t tell you anything so you guessed he didn’t want to. Maybe he’d thought you’d take longer picking out flowers, which in his defence you had taken like a minute to buy them. You find yourself wanting to wait just a few more moments. Minghao doesn’t seem to see you since he’s so far away but after a minute he turns and walks toward where you’d told him he’d find the grave. You follow suit.

“You got them?” He asks when he hears you approaching, your footsteps moderately quiet.

“Yeah, did you find it easily?” You reply. “The grave I mean. I was pretty vague.”

“Yes, no problem at all.” He says. You watch him, almost wanting him to elaborate and tell you what he’d seen but you feel that he won’t. Minghao was a pretty private person and you don’t want to pry, but it occurs to you that Minghao never mentioned any relatives to you before or anything about his family. You decide not to push it today; he’ll tell you when he’s ready if there’s anything to tell.

You place the flowers on top of the grey marble where a bunch of white lilies lay and you figure that Jeonghan must have stopped by already. You pull a key out of your pocket. The family grave is something like shelves with a closed door and a plaque on top with the names of all the people buried there. You unlock the cabinet and inside there are several white urns, each of them with neat black writing, carrying the ashes of those gone.

You’d packed a few candles and you pull them out of your bag, setting them next to the flowers. You light them and leave the lighter lying beside them. You just wanted to light them as a sign of mourning and respect because you had no intention of attempting to exorcise your sister’s spirit anymore; you’d given up after everything.

The blade with her name on it was inside the cabinet, placed beside her urn and you decided to just keep it there for now. Who knew what her ghost would do today? She probably wouldn’t even show up-

“Um, YN?” You hear Minghao say as you’re busy untying the string around the bunch of flowers.

“Yeah?” You reply, not taking your eyes off the task in your hands.

“Over there.” He nods his head to the right. It’s a minuscule gesture in your periphery but you look up. Your eyes widen at the sight.

She did come.

“That was quick.” You mumble. Minghao clears his throat, pausing.

“YN.” He gets your attention. You turn to face him, thinking he’s about to say something. “Maybe we should try to set her free.” You see he’s trying to be gentle but he’s still very serious.

“There’s no point, Hao. She won’t go.” You shrug, going back to what you were doing. “She’s never possessed anyone.”

Minghao’s hands come to rest on your shoulders before you can turn and he holds you in place. “Let me do this for you.” He pleads. “It won’t hurt to try one more time.”

Deep down, you know he’s right. But you’d been trying for years, since the first time you’d found her as a ghost. You thought you had to let her move on as quickly as possible but she never made the same attempt as you. The seasons changed and you lost hope that she would ever leave and all you could do was wonder why.

You sigh, knowing that if you didn’t try now, you’d regret it. “Fine, let’s do that.”

“Okay.” Minghao takes a good look around but there’s no one within eyesight, just masses of graves. You worry that there might be a stray ghost that would attempt to possess Minghao, which would lead to a disaster but you know that you had your gun in the bottom of your bag; you’d be able to scare it off with salt. You were too cautious to go to a cemetery without any protection.

Your sister’s spirit still hovers a few feet away, just watching you.

Minghao carefully takes the ring off and sets it down next to the candles. You’re holding your breath but for a moment nothing happens. You’re ready to be disappointed again however you see the slow movement of her ghost inching forward and toward Minghao.

You stare in awe, unsure what would happen, the blade in your hand.

The spirit gradually fades, becoming more transparent the closer she got. You can’t see her very well any more and you just have to wait a few seconds. Minghao gasps suddenly, sucking in a great big breath. You turn your head with lightning speed, completely incredulous, as you search for the sign of possession.

Right on cue, his eyes start to shine with the silver light and you take an involuntary step back, hitting the cabinet door.

“Hi.” Minghao says quietly, but his voice doesn’t sound like him. That’s not how he talks.

No way. No freaking way.

Not only had she voluntarily possessed Minghao but somehow mustered enough energy to speak through him.

“Oh my god.” You have no words suddenly, your eyes filling with tears.

Minghao, well, your sister through him, stretches for a second, tilting her head side to side, flexing Minghao’s long neck.

“Gah, why is he so stiff?” She complains. That was definitely the sort of thing your sister would do, you think immediately. She sighs and looks around, eyes landing on the grave. “These are nice, kiddo.” She comments, lifting one hand and undoing the rest of the string holding the stalks together. Before she pulls her hand away she seems to notice the lighter and picks it up. “Give this back to Hannie. It’s his.”

“Huh?” You feel like you’re floating, not really understanding what you’re looking at. You snap back to reality. And in reality your sister was possessing Minghao and talking to you so you’d better pay attention. You were trying to but you were just in too much shock.

“Right, yeah.” You say. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re sure Jeonghan had asked you about the lighter but you couldn’t find the memory. You find the words, finally. “How are you doing this?”

Minghao gives you a half smile. “Hannie came earlier. I thought I was losing energy but I ended up gaining some because of it. But it won’t be for long.”

And it hits you; this is the last time you’ll ever see her and talk to her. Actually the last. For three years you lived with no closure, mourning her in whatever way you could, but saying goodbye had never been an option.

Your throat closes up and you know you’re about to burst into tears.

“I have to go, my dear.” Minghao says sadly, his own eyes welling up. “I wanted to say goodbye if I could.”

You sniffle as a single tear escapes your eye, rolling down your cold cheek. “I know.” You close your eyes, willing yourself to stop crying. You didn’t want that to be the last image your sister saw.

“I wanted to tell you I’m sorry. I really am. I wasn’t careful enough and now you have to struggle because of what I did.” You feel a warm thumb on your cheek, Minghao’s hand cradling your face and wiping it away.

Your own hands tighten into fists, words bubbling up in your throat. The words you’d carried inside for three years but couldn’t say.

“Why did you do this?” You ask, opening your eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

Minghao’s hand drops from your cheek to your shoulder. “I thought I was protecting you if you didn’t get involved with demons the way that Jeonghan and I were. I didn’t want you to be in danger because you wanted to help out.” She explains.

“I wish you hadn’t done that.” You whisper. “I wish I’d known, that way I wouldn’t have blamed Jeonghan so much.” You say, breathing out shakily.

“I realised it too late. It’s why I didn’t want to leave - I wanted you to know the truth and for you and Jeonghan to be friends again.”

“So that’s why you didn’t leave?” It suddenly makes sense. You’d thought maybe you were holding on to her too much, holding on to the loss of her and trapping her spirit here, but it turns out it was her will keeping her here.

“Yes, but now I can be free. I know you’ll be okay. I need you to know that too. Alright, kiddo?” She asks pointedly. “You will be okay and Jeonghan too. I feel free knowing that. You can let me go too now.”

Your vision is blurring through the tears. “But I can’t let you go. I miss you too much.” You let out a quiet sob, giving into the way your body needs to release the tension in your throat.

“I know, honey, me too. But you have to go on. I told Hannie too, you have to go live and carry on like you’ve been doing.” Minghao’s other hand swipes away another tear and then tucks a loose piece of hair behind your ear. Despite the winter cold, his hand is warm. “Promise me you’ll try.”

“I-I promise.” You manage, struggling to keep it together. You knew you didn’t have a lot of time anyway. “I love you.”

Your sister smiled through Minghao. “I love you too, kiddo.” She paused. “I have to go now, I have no energy left to be in this body. One last thing: go visit Mom and Dad, okay? Take Jeonghan and Minghao too, they’ll like him for sure.” You nod, unblinking. “Goodbye, my dear.”

Minghao takes your hand, the one clutching the blade and helps you stab down to his chest. You feel a soft kiss placed on your forehead.

“Go peacefully.” You whisper, then you let the floodgates open. You were the type of person who would cry a lot if at all, which is why you tried not to but you couldn’t stop it.

The blade started to burn up in your hand, Minghao’s on top of yours but going slack until you were just holding it to his chest. You waited for a memory to light up in your mind but found yourself waiting in vain as it never came. You didn’t think about it too much while you cried.

You felt like you lost her all over again for the first time, every fibre of your being shaking with the grief that you thought you buried those years ago, yet it all comes spilling out, like fresh blood erupting from a raw wound. The world around you fades until it’s just the lack of air in your lungs, the hot salty tears running over your cool skin, the wind blowing loudly in your ears as you shook like a leaf, shivering with renewed loss.

Minghao eventually comes back to himself and tucks your head into the crook of his neck, trying his best to keep you steady and warm as you cried your lungs out. There’s a lot of tears streaming down your face but you start to feel drops on top of your head too and you step back and look up.

You expect to see rain, but instead you’re met with snow.

It’s the first snow of this winter.

Precious, tiny snowflakes fall gently from the sky and you hold you hand facing up, trying to catch some. You didn’t know it would snow today, but as it does, you take comfort in the way the each piece of fluff cascades down to the ground. You look at Minghao, a series of snowflakes caught in his hair already, melting slowly.

“Let’s go home.” You say, eyes softening.

You lie on the couch under a blanket, no particular thoughts in your head. It’s getting late but you’re not sure you can sleep what with everything that happened today. Minghao is tinkering away in the kitchen to make you some tea, the possibly tenth cup since you came back from the cemetery. He maintains that you have to keep warm, especially since you were out in the cold for a while today.

You let him convince you to bundle up in warm clothes, big, cozy jumpers and fluffy socks and the blanket on top. Your heating is turned up on high and you were actually warming up for the first time in a couple of weeks.

“Here we go.” Minghao says as he places two cups of tea on the coffee table. You raise your head slightly, enough so that he can slot himself onto the couch too, so you rest your head on his lap and his hand naturally rests on your head, stroking your hair softly. You were grateful that you had Minghao around. He was being a good friend, just staying by your side quietly and patiently as you processed everything. You felt as if you were swaying like a willow in the wind and aimlessly floating down a river.

“Thanks.” You mumble, not reaching for it. You were too comfortable to shift. There’s a sudden thought in your head. “Do we have any ice cream?” You ask without hesitation. Minghao’s fingers pause in your hair.

“Ice cream?” He repeats. “Why?”

“I haven’t had any in a long time.” You sigh. “I haven’t had any since that summer. It was one of me and my sister’s favourites and I didn’t feel like eating any without her.” You explain. You liked it more in all honesty but she ate it with you for your sake and gradually liked it too.

“Ah, I see.” He says. “We don’t have any, but I’ll buy you some tomorrow. Okay?” He pats your head gently and you nod. The gesture is small but it’s kind and it moves you for some reason and you feel tears prickling in your eyes again. You close them, thinking you don’t want to shed any more tears for today but it’s worse when you close your eyes.

Minghao notices your scrunched up face and seems to worry. “Yah, what is it?” He asks quietly. “Does something hurt?”

You sniffle, then exhale. You pause. The image behind your eyes is too vivid. “I see her face when I close my eyes sometimes, Hao.” You sigh; admitting it out loud took some weight off your chest. “I thought I could do this, y’know?” You say. “But I’m not so sure.” Your throat is closing up again.

“Hey, you can do this, okay? I know you can. The pain will lessen with time.” Minghao says, thumb stroking your arm. “You can’t forget her and you won’t, but you’ll learn to live with the memory of her. That’s all you can do. You’re only human after all. Be kind to yourself because it will take time.”

He spoke as if he knew what he was talking about, but it never occurred to you in that moment to wonder or to ask. “Until then, lean on me. Don’t keep that pain to yourself.” He said gently. You felt yourself relax a little under his warm touch, a wave of fatigue washing over you suddenly.

“Okay…” You mumbled as you felt yourself drift off, finally warm enough.

A/N: thanks for reading!! feedback is always appreciated <3 I’m kind of excited to be in the really last home stretch of the fic, it’s been a long time since i started it, i’m just happy with how far it’s come. stay tuned for the last 3 chapters. there’s a chapter 8a that won’t be relevant to the plot but the 9 and 10 will wrap everything up yayyy!! see you later <3

#seventeen #xu minghao #the8 #minghao #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #seventeen x reader #minghao x reader #the8 x reader #the8 imagines #the8 scenarios #seventeen fics #momobani.writes

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