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rancidtae · 9 months

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ARCADIA’S LULLABY | CHAPTER 5

Genre: Mafia AU. Vigilante AU. Sci-fi (AI). Warnings: ANGST. fluff. mentions of near-death experiences. mentions of drug use. emotional tension during breakfast. chanyeol crying. Pairing: exo & Original Female Character (Jung Jiah/Kang Rina) - Kim Minseok/Original Female Character - Zhang Yixing/Original Female Character Word count: 11k+ chapter summary: the one where shit gets real and sehun just wants everyone to talk about their feelings and let him have his breakfast in peace. a/n: WE'RE SO BACK. (we're so over) but make it old-friendship-turned-sour core.

guess what you need isn't always what you want from me

masterlist - meet the characters

082809 - 5:34 pm.

13 years ago

“Yo, open up.”

It was the third time he knocked.

Chanyeol pressed his ear against the wood and heard the muffled murmur of a news anchor.

“C'mon, I can hear the TV, I know you’re in there.”

Not one to be patient when people were purposefully being assholes, he fished the set of spare keys Mr. Kang gave his mom from the pocket of his ripped jeans and jingled them extra hard. Just to piss her off and warn her.

“Wow, this is depressing.” he blurted out, closing the door behind him.

His 15-year-old neighbor did not look surprised, nor tried to pretend that his presence wasn't unwanted. Chanyeol, however, had never worries about being on her good side. They'd been annoying each other all their lives.

Tall piles of books covered the living room, some even went over his head. They were playing videos of the memorial with the president giving a speech in the background on the TV. A steaming bowl of noodles and some side dishes waited on the small dining table.

It was the anniversary of the Seoul Metro bombings.

As always, every year the city shut down for the memorial. No one was allowed to forget such a dark stain on the country’s history. Over 900 casualties, even more injured.

Chanyeol remembered the day of the attack. His mom rushing to pick him, his sister Yoora and Rina from school, earlier than usual. She didn't answer their questions until they got home and she locked the door behind her. Mr. Kang didn't pick up Rina until the next afternoon, and he looked like a ghost.

That was the day he learned the meaning of the word terrorism.

He took a look at the family picture by the entrance and picked up the remote, turning the TV off.

“What is that?” Rina suddenly asked, making him jump on his feet.

She was curiously looking at the pale pink box under his arm, and it took him a second to remember he'd brought it with him. With every year that passed, Rina only looked more and more like her mother, the resemblance was scary sometimes.

He fixed his throat. “Pastries from Swimmy’s”

Of course, she knew that. It was her favorite bakery.

Rina, however, turned around with feigned disinterest.

“Ah. How’d you even get them? Aren’t they closed today?”

“I don’t know. Yoora’s boyfriend sent them, but she hates him right now so she gave them to me.”

“Cupcakes?” she asked over her shoulder, rattling things inside the fridge.

“Multiflavor.” he nodded, fighting back a cruel grin when she stills.

“You want some?” she asked, pointing at the bowl of steamy noodles.

Chanyeol couldn't remember her ever willingly offering him a bite of anything.

“Nope, I’m good.” he chirped.

Her face dropped. Suddenly deciding that there's nothing inside of her interest, she slammed the poor fridge door.

“Ok, let’s go,” he finally said, feeling like he annoyed her enough for the day. He did not lie when he called the scene depressing.

Her sitting down on the floor and eating overcooked noodles alone when there was a perfectly nice summer afternoon right outside kind of softened his heart.

“Where? Why?”

“Seriously? We’re not gonna sit here and eat them alone, that’s some loser shit. Plus, it’s way too much sugar.”

“It’s not” she protested, struggling to put on her worn-out white Converse.

“Maybe not for me, but it is when you spend your life slugging inside. When’s the last time you went for a run, huh?”

Naturally, they ended up making their way inside Arcadia, her father's arcade spot just a few blocks away. They entered through the backdoor, using Rina’s spare key that she religiously wore around her neck.

Baekhyun nearly landed on his ass when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, hand to his chest when he recognizes them and immediately lighting up at the prospect of eating pastries.

Rina found a seat on the countertop, while Chanyeol brought two chairs for himself and his legs from the backroom. Baekhyun picked up his copy of Rebirth and saved his strawberry-flavored gum for later, carefully wrapping it in a sticky note, much to Rina's disgust.

The three indulged in a cupcake each, humming in bliss.

“So," Baekhyun smacked "where you been?”

“Busy.” she said, legs swinging happily, licking buttercream off her pinky finger.

“Doing what?"

"Stuff."

"Like what, sleeping inside a coffin? You look like you haven’t seen the sun in months.”

Chanyeol agreed. “You’re gonna regret staying inside once we’re back to school.”

Rina was not about to tell them she'd been reading those books at home, one per day like an apple. Her father kept bringing new ones, leaving them stacked up on every surface he could find, building a labyrinth out of them.

The last was Fahrenheit 451. Baekhyun would've liked it if, but he was more of a manhwa guy.

She took a look around the room, all the machines were on. She remembered something. “Wait. Why are you working today?”

Baekhyun pointed one finger at the door. The open neon sign was off, and the door was locked. “I'm not. My aunt and my cousins are visiting and I needed some alone time. And they’re all on because–”

“He doesn’t like the silence.” Chanyeol said, mockingly, with his cap on sideways and clearly finding Baekhyun childish.

“Please don’t tell your dad.” he requested with his customer service voice. “That reminds me, you think he’ll give me a raise if I ask him?”

“Aren’t you only covering shifts for Yuan? I don’t think he even knows you work here.”

He did not take well to that. Sitting up straight and dropping what was left of his cupcake on the box, he put his hands on his waist.

“Only covering– what are you talking about? I know this place better than Yuan ever could. I’m more of an Arcadia member of staff than he is or could ever be” he started counting down with his fingers, Rina took a deep breath. “I’m the general manager, I’m HR, marketing, I’m the cleaning and security staff, I keep an eye on Mintchoco at the back and even–”

Thank god, a knock at the front door interrupted his rant. Jongdae was leaning over the glass, cupping his face and pointing at the lock on the door. Minseok stood just behind him on the sidewalk.

Standing up with a groan and still complaining about the disrespect under his breath, Baekhyun let them in.

Minseok was hugging a ball against his side, had dry blood on his left knee, and his usually squeaky clean soccer shoes and white socks all dirtied up. Jongdae was no better, face dripping in sweat, fanning his shirt, complaining about the heat.

“Swimmy’s?” Minseok asked, eyes wide.

“Like I said” Baekhyun continued. “Arcadia is me. I am Arcadia. I know the consoles. I love this place. This is like home to me. I absolutely, totally, most definitely deserve a raise.”

“If you love it so much shouldn’t your pay be enough?” Asked Jongdae, standing under the a/c vent.

“Right. He makes a good point. You should be doing it for free, even”

Baekhyun glared at Chanyeol. “So what are you suggesting? Unpaid labor? I have a family to feed.”

“Your parents do the feeding in your family” Laughed Minseok, asking Rina to pass him a strawberry cupcake. One of the same strawberry cupcakes Rina had threatened Baekhyun and Chanyeol not to touch.

Chanyeol gave her an odd look, she pretended not to notice it.

“Just say you’re saving up to buy yourself a laptop.”

“That I will get my hands on soon if our dear Rinrin here tells Mr. Kang how good of an employee, and friend I am.” he paused. “Maybe just mention the employee part, nepotism goes against my values.”

"Ok” she agreed. But then she crossed her arms and lifted her chin, and Baekhyun’s cheerful grin crumbled. “But you’ll owe me”

“Ah. What’s this?” he sucked on his teeth “I thought we were friends.”

"You said nepotism goes against your values.”

“So you’re blackmailing me.”

“We’re negotiating.”

“Woah. This is unbelievable. You're really growing into an evil little thing.”

"Speaking about evil little things, we saw your boyfriend on our way here. He was totally asking to get his ass kicked.” said Jongdae through a full mouth. “Ith wath him, right Mintheok?”

Minseok tried to telepathically get him to keep his mouth shut, but he kept going, clueless.

“Looked like he pissed Youngjae off again. You know how he hates being stared at”

By her boyfriend, they were talking about Kyungsoo, who was nothing of the sort. He was, though, known for being excellent at getting on the bad side of people. It wasn't his fault, some just read him wrong.

Kyungsoo was just misunderstood. Often. And Youngjae was a bully.

“And now she has been summoned. Our peace maker.” Chanyeol announced, watching her expression drop. She jumped from the counter and started putting her hair up on a ponytail.

Extra tight, extra high. She meant business.

“Wait. For real?”

“You know, just because you’re a girl and your dad’s a teacher it doesn’t mean Youngjae and his friends won’t beat you up one of these days” Jondgae called out, finally noticing his mistake.

“Hold on, wait wait wait! You’ll tell your dad, right?” Baekhyun asked, watching her walk behind the counter and get the pepper spray from its secret spot.

“You’ll owe me.” she said, and walked out of the door.

The guys saw her cross the street and disappear from view.

"What was that?" asked Jongdae.

"Pepper spray."

Chanyeol groaned. “Dude, why did you tell her? Mr. Kang’s gonna be upset if she’s home late.”

Jongdae did not take well to that, and quickly started firing back questions about how is it his fault that she likes to take on other people's problems.

Sighing, Minseok rubbed the crumbs off his hands and silently made his way to the door.

“Really, you too?”

Minseok shrugged. “She shouldn’t be going alone. And you shouldn't have let her take the pepper spray.”

Jongdae, not at all surprised, only shook his head and stuffed his mouth with another bite. The outcome came as no surprise, he was just glad that the possibility of Rina getting in trouble and Mr. Kang being upset about it had significantly decreased.

Minseok wasn't much of a fighter, but he knew how to make younger kids respect him.

“Are these fresh?” Jongdae was frowning at the cupcake. “How’d you even get them today?”

“Mr. Kang asked me to pick them up. I don't know how he did it, but he got them to bake these for him.” Chanyeol answered, pausing for a bit before adding. “He asked me to get her out of the apartment.”

Jongdae and Baekhyun nodded in understanding, no more questions on the subject were asked.

081322 - 05:12 pm

Consciousness comes in waves.

First, pain. Second, something warm and blinding.

Sunlight.

Third: white.

The room slowly comes into focus. White walls. Wood framing the window. Sheer curtains.

Fuck. It really fucking hurts.

She can deal with that. The disorientation? That’s different.

A burst of anxiety threatens to come to the surface at once.

Everyone has cycles waiting to be kickstarted at the beck and call of the smallest trigger. Good or bad, but most importantly, unavoidable.

Jiah spent a good chunk of her life testing out remedies for the bad ones. Prescriptions. Therapists. Thoughtfully curated lists of habits; healthy for the long term, destructive for a quick fix.

And even though nothing could have prepared her for this, time has worked on her.

So as the events from last night come back to her and the doorknob turns with a click, she stays calm and lets her eyes close again.

The person lingers for a moment, doing god knows what. His shadow flickers through her eyelids. Eventually, she’s alone again.

When she opens her eyes again the drowsiness has faded. There’s a classic mid-century flip clock on the nightstand. A piranha plant figure stares back at her with its teeth all bared out, and her transmitter’s politely placed next to it.

She knows right away whose bed this is.

Painfully, she props herself up to a seated position and inspects the sling and the dressed wound. No ethical doctor’s gonna give her the dose of painkillers she’ll need for that.

She’s wearing a thin, depressing hospital gown, and that will not do.

He's definitely loaded. The house is enormous, enough to get lost in and fit her apartment maybe five or six times. Several doors line down the hallway leading to a vast, asymmetrical set of stairs. Vaulted high ceilings top up a communal area, with a long skylight that washes everything in abundant natural light.

She pads down the stairs, following the sound of voices and laughter.

And there he is, stomping out of what looks like some kind of office made of glass walls.

“Hey, hey, wait. No. That is not fair, how was I supposed to–”

He locks eyes with her.

Bewildered. Like he forgot she was there and that just a few minutes ago he was in that room with her.

She looks back at him, like she didn’t know it was him the second her eyes landed on that piranha plant.

A tremor goes through his body before he starts coughing violently.

“Fuck— what the fuck?” more coughing, he plucks something from his mouth. A ridiculously chunky piece of pink gum covered in thick saliva.

Heads turn at the rough edge of her voice “That’s what happens when you try to chew a whole wheel of hubba bubba tape at once.”

Byun Baekhyun stares back at her like she just said the most offensive thing possible, gum still between his fingers.

“Well you can’t just stand there and– lurk looking like– like Shanks and not expect to scare the shit out of innocent people.”

Two figures by the kitchen entrance watch them. One looks kind of confused, the other one crosses his arms and holds back a smile.

“One Piece? Are you twelve?”

“Says the grown woman who can’t get her arm through an oversized sleeve.”

“I'm wearing a sling, you asshole.” she snaps. Baekhyun looks down at the fluttering sleeve, sucking in his lips between his teeth.

And then, like switch is flipped, their expressions shift. Her brows soften, and a wry grin tugs at the corner of her lips. A lighthearted smile spreads across his face.

Jongin gives the person next to him a bewildered glance.

“What’s up with the hair?”

Baekhyun runs his fingers through it. “You don’t like it?”

“Let me rephrase that, did you go to Lady’s Room and talk to the girls?”

Silence.

“I don’t know what–”

“You still touch your hair when you’re lying.”

“Ok. Yeah. No.” He points a finger at her “You’re not going Sherlock on us when you just woke up after a near-death experience.”

“Says who?”

“Says me," he snaps with an attitude, quickly adding “Doctor’s orders.”

“So first Yixing’s a cop and now you’re a doctor?” Startled, Baekhyun opens his mouth and closes it. “What’s next, Kyungsoo’s a wedding planner?”

“Youth pastor, actually. Very successful. The youths love him. And I could be a doctor if wanted, by the way.” he scoffs.

She cocks an eyebrow.

“Whatever. Ah, this won’t do. You suck at reunions. Go back upstairs, we’re doing this again.” he waves his arms at her, urging her back up the stairs. Surprised, she spurts out a laugh. The rebound pain from her shoulder makes her stop and hiss.

“Alright, leave her alone.”

That face she’d recognize anywhere. It’s unfair that they’ve all aged so nicely. Kim Jongdae looks like an upgraded version of himself, just with different hair and somehow, better skin.

“How are you feeling?”

“Lucid enough to steal my clothes, clearly.”

She realizes she's been staring at him like an owl and fixes her throat.

“Been better.” she nods, bowing quickly, awkwardly waving at the end. “Hi.”

Baekhyun snorts. "Did you just bow?"

Jongdae bows back and waves, amused but ignoring Baekhyun. “Wanna take a seat? I bet you're starving.”

She’s famished. The thought of food is enough motivation to postpone the thinking about everything that is happening right now. And since she's not escaping anytime soon, she might as well acknowledge the other person in the room.

“So, is Jongin your real name, or is this another Juyeon/Sehun thing?”

The kitchen is ridiculously huge, with another skylight at the top and an island at the very center. She sits down, leaving an empty stool between her and the impostor, who shares a look with the other two men.

“Yixing slipped up, wasn't hard to figure out.” she explains.

Jongin fixes his throat. “Jongin is my real name.”

“And how do you know Taemin?”

“We used to go to the same dance studio for a while.”

“And he just introduced us. By coincidence.”

Baekhyun steps in. “You had a horde of mercenaries on your track. We were trying to get them before they got you and Jongin was there to keep an eye on you. Him being Taemin’s friend was a happy coincidence.”

It's not convincing at all, and the thinking starts.

That’s for being so fucking stupid. Do you realize what you got yourself into?

Go ahead, big guy.

“Where’s Chanyeol?”

“What, are we not enough for the welcoming party?”

Jongin, however, knows what she's thinking. She doesn't like it.

"It wasn't him. The man in the bathroom came with backup. We thought we’d handled all of them, but a stray one took us by surprise and shot you.”

“I mean, we can show you the footage of him following the guy.” Baekhyun offers immediately. “But come on, you don’t think he–”

“No need.” patching her up defeats the purpose of taking her down, but that doesn't make up for several loose ends. “However, the manhandling was unnecessary.”

“You did kick Jongin in the balls.” Jongdae reminds her, putting a glass of cold water in front of her.

“If you guys knew I was being followed then why didn’t you just give me a heads up?”

How did they know?

And where’s the rest?

Baekhyun smiles. "You made it abundantly clear to Yixing that you didn't want us near."

"So why didn't he come?"

“He was out of town, but he asked you to be careful. Several times, he said.”

He did. And she rejected his attempts at helping her beyond getting Haneul protection. Several times indeed. He was very insistent. She brushed him off every time.

Disoriented, she sticks to nursing her glass of water in slow sips. Several details keep her alert.

One, eyebrows/Tuxedo Mask/Sehun had or has been protecting Lee Chungjae, despite Yixing’s insistence that they’re not involved with his people.

Two, Baekhyun definitely went sniffing around Lady’s Room, and if she knows anything about him, he didn't just stop at that.

Three, Junmyeon and Minseok are members of the syndicate.

The sound of a motorcycle roaring outside grows closer and gets her out of her head. The conversation has moved in a completely unexpected direction without her.

“This might be out of my expertise, but I don’t think you can compare periods to getting shot.” Jongdae says, unbothered by the noise.

“Why? Blood is blood, no matter where it comes from” Baekhyun argues. “And I’ve heard scary stories about cramps”

The steel door is slid open just enough for a tall man to come in, balancing piled up pizza boxes and complaining about someone needing to lube up the damn rail.

“This is the last time you use me as a delivery guy” he declares, dropping the boxes on the counter. He stops when he notices her. Stoic as ever, a face impossible to forget. “You look rough. Bet you wish you listened to my advice about not getting in the way of bullets.”

She frowns, but then another figure walks in. He's holding two helmets, sliding the door shut with a nudge of his shoulder. He takes a look at her, evidently unimpressed.

“I heard you were begging to see me. How you managed to live all these years without me, now that’s an unresolved mystery, one of many.”

“I don’t know how I held up, honestly” she replies, voice flat. “Every day I woke up feeling like my life was missing something.”

“Poor thing.” He tsks, mockingly pouting at her, hanging both helmets on the wall. “But I heard you’ve had some interesting characters keeping you company, so at least you weren't lonely, right?”

The bitter undertone is unexpected.

“Rin,” Baekhyun calls, a smile on his face, and a sideways less friendly glare at Chanyeol. “You still like orange soda, right?”

They move like protocol, opening the boxes and taking drinks out of the fridge, Jongin walks out of the kitchen after losing a match of rock paper scissors to Jongdae.

Chanyeol stares at her like she's about to stab someone. The pizza looks too good for her to care.

“So, up to anything exciting?”

“Not much. You?”

“Oh, come on. Half of the city’s freelancers are searching for you as we speak. Those were some expensive mercenaries following you around.”

“Makes you wonder how shitty the cheap ones must be.” she points out.

“You also looked too calm for someone who thought she had a gun pointed at her face.” he finishes, folding a piece of pizza in two and devouring half of it with one generous bite. "Definitely wasn't your first time."

“I didn’t think you had it in you.” she shrugs, taking a first bite. It's good. She has to close her eyes and sigh for a moment. “And it wasn’t my first time, he ruined my favorite jacket the other night, remember? Got my ear ringing for a few days.”

Sehun shrugs. "You got in the way."

“Right, how’d that happen anyway?” He points at his big ass ear. The left one. Eyeing hers like he didn’t get the point across. Her hair is covering the transmitter, but of course, they don't need to see it to know it's there.

She snorts, not amused at all. “Aren’t you too comfortable?”

Jongdae calls his name, something like a warning. Chanyeol drops the subject and focuses on getting his hands on a second slice, Sehun chuckles at the scene.

“You guys couldn’t wait for us?”

Jongin reappears, followed by a familiar face that feels like a punch to the chest.

His eyes scan the room, curious about the sudden silence. It ends when he notices her. There's a flicker there, but whatever he's really thinking is quickly guarded by a stoic expression.

“Why is she here?”

“She’s feeling fine,” Baekhyun shrugs. “I’d be dying to get out of bed after 15 hours of sleep too.”

Do Kyungsoo offers no answer, doesn’t even spare her or Baekhyun another glance. He washes his hands in silence, takes the spot next to Jongin, grabs a slice of pizza for himself and that's that. Her eyes stay on him, surprise slowly dissolving from her face.

And then Baekhyun claps, starling her.

“Shit, I almost forgot. Dessert first!”

It happens at once—a sloppy plan set in motion by Baekhyun’s insistence. Ignoring whatever he has in store, Jiah beats Chanyeol to the last slice of neapolitan while Jongdae helps Baekhyun look for something in their endless cabinets.

"The drawer by the coffee machine,” Kyungsoo mutters.

Someone must cover her eyes for this, Baekhyun insists. Jongin gives her a careful look waiting for her consent. She shrugs, pushing the last bit of crust past her greasy lips, and soon her eyes are engulfed in the warmth of his hands.

There’s the sound of hushing and Chanyeol’s poorly contained laugh, then a click.

“Ok, ready? Jongin, hands off. You can open them.”

She blinks away the flash of white and frowns at them before looking down.

Cake.

Pink frosting and strawberries. It’s decorated in terrible piping work, topped with those colorful sprinkles that taste like nothing and several thin and tall candles scattered around.

There’s a message in red jelly, off-centered.

“Sorry you got shot on your–”

Whoever wrote it miscalculated the space they had available, so the word birthday has all the letters stuck together and get increasingly smaller.

Baekhyun’s satisfied grin stays put even when he ducks as a strawberry flies over him. Jongdae yelps dramatically when another hits his shoulder, his hyena laugh is interrupted by a long string of complaints.

Jongin warns her not to eat the frosting, because Baekhyun got excited with the food coloring and it tastes like medicine.

“Did you bake this?” she bites down on a strawberry. It's just a hint of sweet but perfectly juicy, it bursts in her mouth “It’s looks like a 4 year old decorated it.”

“Ok, It’s her." Baekhyun says. "Good job, team."

“Do you think I’m some kind of impostor?”

“You have a whole new name, we had to make sure.”

“Wait, so that was your birthday?” Sehun asks, shaking his head when Jondgae offers him a paper plate with a slice of cake. Only Chanyeol seems to be interested in trying it, taking his sweet time getting rid of the frosting.

The cake itself isn’t that bad. Just the usual vanilla cake mix flavor, a little dry but easy to eat.

“No, today is her birthday.”

“Is it?” Jongin asks, scanning her face.

“Yeah. August 13th.” Baekhyun stops. “Wait, you didn’t–”

The question trails off when all she does is shove another piece of cake inside her mouth.

“I usually celebrate it in December.”

Several weirded-out looks come her way.

“Damn, that’s fucked up.” Sehun mumbles, and now he's getting looked at wrong. "What? I’m just saying, if I had two birthdays I’d celebrate both."

Jiah closes her eyes and blows on what's left of the candles. “That'd be hard to explain to other people, though. My friend Irene gets me flowers, but that’s about it."

Irene. Yeri. Taemin. How could she forget? They must be worried about her. Before she jumps down from the stool, once again Jongin answers a question before she gets to ask it.

"It's ok, I told Taemin we left together."

Jiah stares at him in disbelief. "No, it is not. He knows I don't leave parties with random dudes and--"

Jongdae makes a face. "Jongin's definitely not a random dude."

"He knows me too. He'll have fit, but he knows you're safe with me, trust me."

"But Yeri-"

"Fine. He dropped her off at her dorm."

"Where's my phone?" she asks Baekhyun.

"I'm afraid it didn't make it through the night, but--"

“Question,“ Chanyeol asks out of nowhere. "Why aren't you freaking out?"

"Excuse me?"

“Someone put a price on your head, and they’re being generous about it. But you're... worried that your friends won't believe you had a one night stand?”

“It's not my head they want.”

"Excuse me?"

Chanyeol’s lips part, a burst of surprised laughter escaping his mouth.

“Yeah. No, totally.” he frowns, nodding. “They put a hole through you just for funsies. They were just trying to start a tickle fight.”

“He could’ve easily taken me down in the bathroom, but he didn’t.” She gets different looks of disbelief.

Jongdae frowns. “You still got shot after that, and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t just a warning.”

“Those were expensive mercenaries, right? If they wanted me dead, I would be.”

“And this, everyone, is why they tell kids not to do drugs,” Chanyeol gives the room a look, pointing his hand at her “She wasn’t this delusional before.”

“Shut up and eat your pizza, Chanyeol” Kyungsoo says, much to her surprise.

Baekhyun agrees. “Yeah, don’t be a dick.”

Sehun sucks his lips inside his mouth, subtly eyeing everyone.

Jiah shakes her head. “That's fine, I’m not exactly worried about convincing you.”

“They want you dead.” Chanyeol enunciates slowly, like he’s talking to a foreigner “You were lucky we were there.”

“Probably, yeah.” She’s not gonna deny that. “I appreciate what you did."

He shakes his head at her like she’s fucking stupid.

“What? You want me to suck your dick or something?”

“Alright, this is fun.” Jongdae exhales loudly, moving away to get a glass of water, slapping Sehun’s back.

Chanyeol pushes his tongue against his cheek, nodding at her. “Right. What’s dying for you anyway, right? You’ll just pop right back up in another decade.”

Jongin doesn’t let Chanyeol’s jab sink, he turns to her in genuine curiosity. “Sorry, but can you explain where you're coming from?”

“You leaked those voicemails. Your name might not be on the story, but they know it was you.” Kyungsoo turns, stirring iced tea with a glass straw “You destroyed Lee Chungjae’s reputation right after his father announced his candidacy.”

“Im Nayeon leaked those voicemails.” she corrects him, and no one notices, but Baekhyun smiles, a spark set in his eyes. “I only did what was necessary to get them to the public. Therefore, I’m the only connection to her.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re some– kind of medium?”

“She’s saying Nayeon is alive,” Baekhyun says, leaning over the island and looking at her with excited eyes. “That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“Yes. How did you—?”

“A week after her death her name came up, just like yours.”

“Her name came up?”

Though Baekhyun’s smile stays intact, he visibly pales, and that’s when Jiah knows she just hit a spot.

The question has without a doubt and without her meaning to, landed somewhere. Jongdae and Chanyeol share a look. Only Sehun, Jongin, and Kyungsoo are doing a decent job of keeping their faces straight.

She just knows they’re gonna have a conversation about this later, once she’s gone.

“Why would someone put a mark on a girl who’s already dead?” They visibly relax at her answering her own question. Kyungsoo just barely squints at her. He knows better.

“Shouldn’t you know that? You’re the one claiming she somehow survived that fire” Chanyeol juts his chin at her.

If she had to put a name to the look on Baekhyun’s face, it’d be all work and no play.

“There’s something I think you’ll want to see”.

081422 - 02:58 am

“You know what’s weird?” Baekhyun mutters as she hands him a photograph.

Fresh out of the printer, the girl smiling in it is Yoo Jeongyeon. She was 23 the last time she was seen last year and attended the same university Nayeon did. The only string connecting the two is a few common friends on Facebook.

Baekhyun tapes her picture next to the other seven photographs on the board. Like the rest of the room, the board’s made of glass, worn out and opaque by the constant use of tape on the surface, unlike the transparent, clean walls around them.

The station is rather impressive, she had to just stand there when she first entered and stare at the computer station sprawled before her on the only brick wall at the back.

A cluster of screens stands tall, commanded by a main, curved, and wide monitor, flanked by a couple more of them on each side. And just in case that’s not enough, an extra trio of monitors hangs above, suspended from the ceiling by sleek metallic arms that sell the illusion that they’re floating. All of them on cast a gentle light on the surrounding consoles, keyboard, touchpad, and devices she does not recognize, each meticulously organized and aligned for optimal efficiency.

Her curious eyes took it all in while Baekhyun scratched the back of his head and acted like it was just some humble setup. Honest work, he called it, still in progress. She still can’t figure out what else he can add, or how he can rearrange what’s an already pristine network of wires hidden at the back, and she’s too afraid to ask.

“None of Nayeon’s friends have posted anything about the investigation or the voicemails. That’s weird, isn’t it? If there was a possibility that your friend was murdered, you’d be outspoken about it, right? You’d want answers.”

“They could’ve been threatened” Jiah reminds him, staring up at the eight pictures on the board.

A line of girls stares back at them, all of them undergrad students, just like Nayeon. There’s a pattern in there, difficult financial situations, complicated and sometimes no familial affiliations or support network, and they’re all seriously attractive under current beauty standards.

Two of them are orphans. Two are foreign. The last one, Jeongyeon, makes an exception by keeping in touch with her mother until the time of her disappearance. Baekhyun started working on the list and gathering info with Yixing last year, and so far, every single case has turned cold. Not for a lack of investigating, she has their files, courtesy of Yixing, splayed around her.

“Still…” he mumbles, leaning his head to the side and reaching for his glass of iced coffee, looking startled when nothing but ice cubes hit his upper lip “If one of the girls at the salon were in that situation, you’d ask for the truth, threatened or not.”

Her stomach twists at the thought. She would not stop at asking for it, she’s confident that she’d turn the city upside down until she found them, but who’s doing that for these girls?

“It’s different. It’s my job.”

“Pretty sure you’ve gone past the limits of journalism.” Baekhyun tuts. “But you see it, right? There’s something here. I’m not being a conspiracy junkie.”

“I see it, yeah.”

“Have you tried talking to Nayeon’s friends?”

“I don’t think we should be focusing on her friends like that, we might not even be focusing on these girls the way we should,” she says, rushing to explain when Baekhyun opens his mouth “Don’t get me wrong, there’s a pattern, but Nayeon was– she left a message and everything, and these girls are all…”

“Silent?” Baekhyun offers.

“Yes.” she sighs, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. “They’re all silent, it can’t be a good sign.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” Baekhyun says, breaking her out of her trance.

She frowns and snorts. “Did you just quote Wilde at me?”

“The Importance of Being Earnest” he smiles proudly. “Kind of out of context, but it’s true.”

She smiles at him, sighing and looking back at the board. “In my experience, most of the time the truth turns out to be boring and people end up disappointed. Everyone wants a conspiracy.”

“That’s true. But when it’s not boring–” He gives her a meaningful look, and she wonders if that’s what she looks like to other people.

“Yeah.” she agrees, he doesn’t need to finish that sentence for her to know what he means. “This doesn’t look boring at all”

“And it doesn’t look fun either, does it?” he sucks in a sharp breath. "Maybe they’re not silent, we’re just not listening the way we should.”

As it turns out, The station has no semblance of soundproofing. When someone comes in through the kitchen, they can hear the low hum of voices, the sound of keys being dropped and groans of relief as shoes are taken off at the entrance.

A few seconds later there’s a soft knock on the glass.

She doesn’t know what she expected, but it was certainly not Kim Junmyeon dressed in casual attire instead of a suit like the last time she saw him, fresh out of a syndicate debut. Now he looks more like an older brother checking on his little siblings. A dad even.

“Baekhyun, it’s 3 am. I know this is how you choose to live but she needs rest” his eyes look as tired as he sounds.

“Do you think she’s here against her will?” Baekhyun asks, offended.

He walks in, leaving the door open behind him. Jiah thinks she sees a shadow walk past through the living room, but it’s gone before she can notice anyone.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.”

He nods. “It’s what we do”

“And for the lawyer, the other day. Yixing told me” she adds. And maybe it’s the meds kicking in, or the emotional exertion of the day and having to see so many old new faces, but fatigue is beginning to weigh down on her.

“You did well,” Junmyeon says. “The girl needed help, he had it coming.”

He buries his hands inside the pockets of his jeans, pointing at the board with his chin. There’s a signature curious pout on his face. “What’s this about?”

“Don’t be nosy. We’ll explain in the morning” Baekhyun answers, fingers dancing all over his keyboard with speedy clicks. Junmyeon doesn’t look too convinced, letting out a loud sigh that makes her feel even more foreign in this place.

Do they all live here? Together? At their age? What about Minseok?

“Alright. There’ll be a lot of that in the morning.” he gives her a look she does not reciprocate. “I’m going to bed, you two should get some rest.”

He stops just as he’s about to walk out the door.

“We don’t have a guest room ready, since someone decided to use it as a storage room, so I hope you won’t mind taking Baekhyun’s bed”

“She’s getting the coziest room in this house, she doesn’t mind” Baekhyun speaks for her, standing up and leaning over her to start shutting down his monster of a station.

She catches a glimpse of Junmyeon's reflection on the dark screen that Baekhyun turns off first. He stands there for a moment, looking at them with a pensive expression before he turns around and closes the door behind him.

Some rest might be nice, she thinks, as Baekhyun starts talking her ear off again.

7:34 AM

A few hours later she’s closing his bedroom’s door behind her as quietly as she can.

The house is silent. No one can be bothered to be up so early on a Sunday, and she counts on that being the case until she figures out where her—

“Hey there. You looking for these?”

She can’t escape him, can she? A very sleepy and messy-haired Baekhyun has a hold of her boots and her bag, closing the door across from his room behind him. She gets a glimpse of someone’s sleeping form.

“I hid them, just in case you tried to sneak out,” he explains, rubbing his puffy eyes before stretching loudly. At this pace, he’s going to wake everyone.

“I need a shower” she winces at how loud her voice sounds “And I already stayed here for too long. Can I have them back?”

“Shower?“ he pretends to think over, nodding "We have plenty of those around here, I believe. Soap, towels, shampoo. You still take them at hell temperature?”

She blinks at him.

“Baekhyun.”

“Rina.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I! You can’t just leave on your own until we’re sure it’s safe for you out there, you’re not exactly in the condition to bite attackers either.”

“Am I a hostage?”

She doesn’t like the sweet little smile he gives her. “You’re a guest.”

“But you’re telling me I can’t leave.”

“We can negotiate after breakfast. Come on, I’m giving you a tour of my favorite spot.”

Thirty minutes later she’s waiting for him to pay for a ridiculous amount of overpriced breakfast sandwiches with different fillings. The cashier, a lanky guy with a bored expression on his face and ginormous red headphones swallowing up his ears puts everything inside a bag.

Baekhyun sends a cheeky smile in her direction, making sure she’s still standing by the end of the counter, shifting uncomfortably in a huge pair of slippers. The lack of socks makes the experience even worse.

“That’s a lot of food,” she points out.

“We’re feeding ten adults, I promise you it’s never too much of anything in our house” he answers, starting the engine.

“Ten adults?”

“I texted Yixing. It’s been a while since we all had a meal together. I don't remember the last time we used the dining table.”

She sighs, leaning her head against the passenger window and trying to find any familiar street.

“Slept well?”

“I’m very uncomfortable with this and I don’t appreciate you withholding my things”

“Oh-kay, someone’s grumpy in the morning.” he chuckles, leaning over the steering wheel as he takes a turn. “Consider this your punishment for trying to leave without saying goodbye. You got a deadbeat father complex or something?”

She glares at him, half-heartedly.

“Come on, it’s just breakfast with the boys. Best meal of the day, with the boys.”

“It’s not just breakfast, you know that” she mutters, closing her eyes to rest them for a second.

“Hey, it’s just us,” He surprises her by finding her wrist resting on the seat. His fingers curl around it, giving it a light tug, like a kid trying to get a grown-up’s attention “No one will jump you or anything. I know things are awkward, but they won’t have to be once we all talk and catch up, yeah?”

The red light goes green after what feels like an eternity. It takes him a second to notice, and he’s back to quietly driving them across the street, still not letting go of her wrist.

“You trust me, right?” he asks suddenly, giving her a glance.

“Seriously, out of nowhere?”

He doesn’t laugh, only turns to look at her with a serious look on his usually relaxed features. “Cause I trust you, Rin. I hope you know that.”

The fuck?

“Ok? Thanks–”

“I mean, I don’t know what you’ve been up to, obviously, or what– you know? Happened, but I know I trust you.” he nods firmly, fixing his throat and suddenly avoiding her eyes. "Whatever happened, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy to see you again."

She feels the sudden need to get out of the car, but her shoulder would probably combust, so she gives him the softest of nods. The feeling that it's a mediocre reply lingers.

Eventually, he lets go of her wrist.

About half an hour later, she's watching Jongdae fix a generous batch of coffee while singing his heart out to an OST only someone over 30 could recognize. He was the first to wake up, walked into the kitchen, took a look at her and immediately scolded Baekhyun for not getting her slippers closer to her size.

They belong to Chanyeol and he thinks it’s just hilarious that she walks like a duck in them.

They all come down one by one in different states of sleepiness. All Jiah can think is that life has taken a seriously strange turn, and there’s not much she can do about it other than hold on to a cup of coffee and watch in silence, hair still wet.

“How are you feeling?” Junmyeon asks once again, taking some multivitamins and eyeing a plate of fruit that Sehun tries to keep safe from Chanyeol’s prying hands, asking him for the third time if he washed his hands.

He looks like Jongdae had to drag him out of bed, bed sheet imprints leaving red lines on his left cheek, swollen eyes and messy hair. There’s even dry drool on his chin. She wants to point it out, but they're not comfortable like that with each other.

He eyes the third spoonful of sugar she drops on her coffee but keeps any comment to himself.

“We can ask Dr. Jangmi for something stronger if you need it, just let me know.”

“Alright, thanks. I appreciate that,” she says for what feels like the 20th time in the past 24 hours.

Thanks. I appreciate that. This is weird as fuck though, can we not do this?

“Huh? What's this? What’s going on here?”

There is a soft giggle at the end of Yixing’s question. He's taking his shoes off, stumbling a bit, not closing the door behind him, holding a coffee cup carrier.

“Breakfast.” Jondgae says, and Jiah suspects he made a face. Whatever that means.

“Hey,” he makes his around the island and engulfs her in a careful hug. He's warm to the touch from being outside. “How are you feeling?”

"I’m ok.” she smiles, not being able to help her lips from pouting. “My shoulder’s kind of fucked, though.”

He frowns, shakes his head slowly, hands moving up and down her good arm, leaning down to press his lips to her temple. "I know. I'm sorry. But the more rest you get, the faster you'll feel better again, so don't rush yourself."

She nods, letting her weight rest on him for just a bit, eyes fluttering open when white cotton and a head of thick black hair passes by, startling her.

Kim Minseok is putting two extra carriers next to the one Yixing left on the island top. The door is now closed, but she never heard him come in. And now he's handing people coffee.

Chanyeol thanks him a thousand times. It seems like Jongdae's coffee making skills are controversial, he nags at them about being ungrateful, but walks over to get his cup anyway.

"Oh, that's–"

Jongdae's extended hand stops abruptly at Yixing's interruption. The cup Minseok was just about to give him is now being held by both of them.

"Dirty chai. That's Rina's." he explains.

Jiah, unsure about how to proceed, stares at the cup in front of her face, neither releasing it. Jongdae drops his hand, eyes shifting between them.

Yixing blinks curiously at Minseok, whose face she's avoiding to turn to look at.

Sehun leans over and grabs a cup of his own with his ridiculously long arms.

"Are you guys gonna give it to her, or–"

HIs comment wraps it up. Yixing gives her the cup, smiling down at her and paying no mind to the tilt of Jongdae’s eyebrow or Junmyeon's side eye.

“Oh, before I forget. I told Haneul you're taking a break. He sounded worried, maybe you should give him a call?”

Right. Haneul. She’s been so distracted that she forgot about him as well. Yixing offers her his phone, but Baekhyun cuts him off and tells her to focus on breakfast while it's still warm.

Kyungsoo is the last one to take a seat at the table, lazily scrolling through his phone. There’s a pair of thick-framed glasses perched on top of his nose. He sighs at Baekhyun’s loud moan when he takes the first bite.

“Just as good as I remembered.”

The table is filled with the sound of eating and the low hum of someone's lofi playlist playing from the speakers. The moment lingers just long enough to become awkward.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I love uncomfortable silences during breakfast, I heard they’re good for digestion,”

Junmyeon stops mid-bite and gives Sehun a look.

“What? I mean she’s here now, can’t you just catch up? Ask her what happened on the third day?”

“Ok, Sehun. Just finish your sandwich.”

He rolls his eyes, pointedly taking a big bite.

“Didn’t you have something to show us?” Jongin asks helpfully. Jiah has noticed that him and Sehun stick to each other, despite being on opposite ends of several traits.

“Glad you asked,” Baekhyun claps his hands, standing up as he licks his fingers having successfully devoured his sandwich. He disappears for a bit and comes back wheeling the glass board behind him.

Yixing turns to the side in his seat, pointing at one of the pictures.

“There’s another girl?”

“Yep,” Baekhyun beams, the excited smile on his face melting immediately. He fixes his throat. “Long story short, these girls all are missing, they’re also all students, and they could be connected to Nayeon’s disappearance. We’re thinking they might help us find her.”

“Did you just say find her?”

“I did,” Baekhyun points his finger at Junmyeon, happy that he caught that “Nayeon is alive.”

Other than Sehun noisily blowing on his drink, the silence is heavy with skepticism.

“We’re keeping a positive mindset here. There is a big, big chance she didn’t die in that fire. The body they found at her apartment was declared burned beyond recognition, and Nayeon didn’t have recent dental work done on her, so they couldn't even look for a match. And before you accuse me of being delusional, Rina came to the same conclusion all on her own.”

“Is this true?”

Jiah nods at Junmyeon. “She sent her brother the recordings through a shipping company days before the fire and scheduled the delivery. He got the package in the mail exactly two weeks after the fire.”

“So she knew she was in danger.”

“Creative.” Chanyeol mutters, impressed “She found a way to let her brother know without putting him in direct danger.”

“And then he tried to end Lee Chungjae himself.” Sehun adds.

“If she went through that effort, she would’ve tried to hide, right? It was only a theory, but Lee Chungjae probably has a reason to believe this as well, and he doesn’t want any loose ends.”

Junmyeon’s face is unreadable.

“And well,” she points at her shoulder. “I think that night proved my theory.”

Yixing leans back on his chair, crossing his arms. It’s followed by a dry chuckle at the other side of the table.

“Can we just tell her?”

"Baekhyun tries to interrupt, but Chanyeol has a point to make.

"Nah, let her know, or she’ll go out there and successfully get herself killed this time just because she thinks she has backup.”

Jongdae tries as well, not without giving her a careful sideways glance that she doesn’t return, staring back at Chanyeol with just a slight narrowing of her eyes. Her lack of reaction so far has made his demeanor get a little more vicious.

“Let’s not–”

“How do you think they knew it was you, even with your editor protecting you?” Chanyeol finally asks “Your protector snitched on you, didn’t think twice before selling you out to Lee Chungjae’s team. He’s putting good money on his dad's campaign, did you not know?”

“Protector?” she blurts out, neither a question nor an affirmation. “Are you- wait, you mean Namjoon?”

She snorts.

“I mean, yes? He knew about the investigation. I let him know before it came out.”

“You’re full so of shit. It's just sad.” Chanyeol shakes his head slowly.

“Like I said before, I’m not worried about convincing you.”

“Why?” he dares.

She can't judge him for being so remarkably slow. He doesn’t trust her, he’s probably terrified of whatever he thinks she represents. Yixing didn't lie about people being wary of her.

It’s disappointing to see him handle what he thinks is a threat so poorly, but then again he always was a heart-on-his-sleeve kind of guy.

Others keep their silence and listen. Kyungsoo, even Junmyeon. Minseok's glare is impossible to ignore.

“Because sometimes being underestimated can work in your favor.” she speaks slowly like it’s a child across from her and not a man two years her senior.

The tension spikes. All these resources, a wide range of skills, a seat at the syndicate, and just a few harmless words make their mood drop.

Junmyeon leans in. “So what I'm hearing is that you put yourself at risk just to... prove a theory.”

“Of course not,” she wonders if he paid attention at all to what she said. “I hoped they’d come expecting to find Nayeon through me, so I set up a lead. It’s not about if they take it but who does. Chungjae's not doing this alone.”

“And did it work? The bait?“ Jongin sounds hopeful.

"I’m hoping it did.”

“You’re hoping it did?” Junmyeon repeats. “It’s been 48 hours, what if they realized you’re bluffing and decided you’re not useful anymore?”

“I’ve got it handled.”

“You never mentioned any of this” Baekhyun says, breaking his silence.

He has a look of disappointment on his face she wants to get rid of, and then she remembers that pale grin he gave her yesterday, like he was about to break into a cold sweat.

“I’ll let you know what I find.”

There's something happening right in front of her eyes. As much as she wishes she could trust Yixing, his explanation about them being wary about her association with Namjoon doesn't cut it.

Her eyes find Minseok's and she hopes he's better than Baekhyun at subtlety. If getting himself a seat at the table is any indication, chances are he is.

Something indeed, and she's nearly convinced that it goes against the deal he signed a few days ago.

But that's not it, isn't it? There's more to it.

He lifts his chin, just barely, it feels too much like a silent warning. It has the opposite effect he wants. The dirty chai kicks in at once.

“Frankly, I don’t think you’re in the state to be handling anything right now.” Junmyeon’s amused little chuckle kills her momentum.

“I agree,” Yixing says, much to her disappointment “Even if you’re right, it doesn’t mean you're in any less danger.”

“I know how to take care of myself."

“Do I need to remind you that just almost bled out on the way to the hospital? This is obviously getting out of your hands. I won’t have your picture next to those girls'.”

Junmyeon points at the board. He's wearing a ring on his index finger. She's surprised it fits. Maybe he had it resized.

“You can leave it to us this time, we’ll handle it.”

“I appreciate the concern, but it's not your decision to make.”

"Question," Baekhyun says, a surprisingly serious look on his face. "Would it be so bad to let us help?"

“That's not the point. I promised Im Haneul I’d see this through.”

“Wouldn't be the first time you let someone down. He'll survive.” Chanyeol coldly replies.

Her blood starts to boil. They're cornering her, and her patience has a limit.

“Alright, I don’t know what your problem is, but let’s get it over with."

A deep voice has heads turning to the right. “You know what his problem is. Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you.”

If Chanyeol’s voice was venomous, Kyungsoo’s tone feels like battery acid.

Chanyeol wastes no time. “Only a handful of people survived Hwacheon's fire, how did you make it out?”

“You shouldn’t believe official records, the prison system in this country is a joke.”

“So no complex escape plan? I was expecting some prison break shit from you.”

“Sorry to disappoint.”

He shakes a finger at her.

“I heard rumors, you know? About this girl that worked for Kim Namjoon. No one knew where she came from, not even back in their hometown. They said she was a witch, could sniff out a traitor from a mile away,”

Jiah has to give it to him, he sure knows how to set the mood with the storytelling.

“And then one day, she disappeared without a trace. People said he killed her after she tried to turn on them, others said someone in their circle knocked her up and he sent her away. Whatever happened, she vanished.”

“A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang." Sehun says, arm coming to rest around Jongin's shoulders. He pretends not to hear him.

“I don't know what you want me to say."

“Was it him, Hwacheon’s fire? Is that how you got out?”

To her utter disbelief, he's being serious. All she can do is open her mouth and close it, look around to see if anyone else understands how stupid that is.

Kyungsoo shrugs. “You’re not denying it.”

“No, Kyungsoo. Kim Namjoon didn’t blow up a federal facility to help me escape. I can’t believe I have to explain this to you. I didn’t even know them back then.”

“Hwacheon is just ten miles away from Songju, isn't it? Right where Namjoon’s operation started. That was you. November 10th, the prosecutor's kids, the clean up, the start of the syndicate. You were there.”

"I was." she says without hesitation, still not understanding what's the big deal.

"Why?"

"Because they helped me out. And I because wanted to."

“Well, since we all know he cashes in all his favors, I guess the big, scary question here is what did you have to do to pay off your debt after they helped you out? Was it witchery, or was it-”

“Ok,” Junmyeon interferes, putting one hand on the table. “You’re crossing the line.”

“Don’t worry, he’s not even close.” she says with a light tone, but the slight curl of her lips betrays the cutting edge behind her words.

"I just hope that if you got knocked up, you had the sense to get rid of it. Otherwise, you're an asshole for putting yourself in danger when you have a kid somewhere."

“Wow. When did he become this fucking pathetic?” she asks, genuinely curious, but they're all either too uncomfortable or embarrassed to grace her with an answer.

“Ok, I’ll translate for him.” Sehun chimes in, leaning forward with a serious expression on his face. Jongin closes his eyes and expects the worst. “What he's trying to ask is, did you engage in premarital sex with Kim Namjoon and/or any of his associates?”

Yixing drops his head. Jongin looks kind of mortified but kind of amused at Chanyeol's immediate response, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

“That is not what I’m asking.”

“No? So you’re worried about my hypothetical kid now?”

“Ok. Chanyeol, drop it. Let’s get back on track.”

But she likes this track. She doesn't see the point in dropping it yet.

"If you’re taking the misogynistic route, at least do it right. Don’t be a half-assed piece of shit, it’s pitiful.”

“Rina.”

“I’m not finished, Suho.”

A quick oop follows.

"I get it. I know what this is about. I see you. You're still dealing with your abandonment issues, but that’s not on me."

Chanyeol's face drops.

She carries on, no remorse. "What? You think you're special because your daddy wasn't around to play ball? Give me a break."

“Jesus. Ice fucking cold.”

A sharp grating sound. He forcefully shoves his chair back.

“Hey, hey–”

“Park Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol stands up at full height and others follow. Jongdae tries to talk some sense into him. Yixing doesn’t hesitate to do the same when she mirrors Chanyeol's stance, arm extended in front of her, shaking his head.

Sehun seems to be out of little quips. Like him, Minseok remains seated, looking at the scene from the end of the table.

Poor Jongdae, he's still trying. “Sit down, man. C'mon.”

But Chanyeol's not listening, his jaw is locked in, teeth gritted together. Finger pointed at her, spit spraying in the air.

”You let us all think you were dead.“

"I had my reasons.”

She’s trying her best to not lose it against his stupid loud voice that takes up the room. Her head, her shoulder, her back, they all hurt. She should’ve left the moment she woke up, barefoot.

Chanyeol throws his arms in the air, growling.

“Your reasons? To let everyone mourn you for what? A decade. What the fuck is that about? Who does that?”

“I'm sorry, what’s the acceptable protocol for you? Enlighten me.”

“Dude, you’re seriously not asking that.” he winces, like he'd rather not look at her. “Kim Namjoon, seriously? That was your only option? You. Everything you tried to preach to us. Looking down at us, talking about better ways and shit, like you were some kind of paragon of virtue."

“Ah, fuck off. Seriously, fuck off." she repeats with closed eyes, an exhausted mantra. "Don’t selectively bring shit from the past into this."

"Was that just to make yourself feel a little less bad about, huh? About getting Yuan killed because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut?”

It feels like the air was sucked out of the room. No one was ready for that, perhaps not even Chanyeol. For a fleeting second he looks like he caught himself off guard.

Jiah lets out a shaky, hoarse little laugh, mumbling to herself. "You don't know shit. Not even now."

"You know you can repeat that all you want but that's still the truth."

“You wanna talk about the truth? The only reason I was there that night was to warn you, but you treated me like I was out of my mind. Everything I tried to tell you would happen, happened. That's the truth,"

Silence, she's not done yet.

"And then you got in that stupid car and sped down the fucking street,"

Not even near.

"You didn’t look back. You had the chance to leave it all behind and move on with your life while mine wasted in jail. But now you wanna act like I owe you an explanation?”

There's no way they remember that night as vividly as she does. Every tiny detail, the smell of shitty sewage water against her face, the weight of some asshole’s knee on her back pinning her to the street, the overlapping of people yelling in panic. Red and blue lights blinding her. Blasting sirens.

“I don't blame you. I fucked up time and time again and it’s not like you could’ve done anything to get me out of it.” she admits.

“That’s right. You fucked up and we fucked up. So you decided that was it? You couldn't reach out for help or at least contact us? Did you not think of the consequences of letting people believe you were dead?”

She can’t help the bitter smile, half of her wanting to ask Chanyeol what he knows about consequences, but he’d mistake that for her wanting to hear an answer. Ten years later it’s not something that interests her.

"Pretty much, yeah,” she replies shamelessly, after a moment of consideration.

“That easy, huh?”

“Honestly, I was miserable back then. I was a kid, I only had you, I thought I could fix it, but everything kept getting worse.” she says, and the dam has not cracked yet, but it might. Any second now. “So yeah, after the fire, when I realized I had the choice to start over, I took it. That part? That was easy, yes.”

Chanyeol blinks at her, like he's not sure he's looking at someone.

“I was very careful. Don't think this situation here happened because of me being sloppy. I never planned to see any of you again, and I was at peace with that.”

She wants to carry on but her throat feels raw, and Chanyeol’s breathing through his mouth. A couple of fat, anime-like tears spill down his cheek.

The dust has settled and it's clear that the room has shifted. Yixing was just sitting right next and now there’s some distance between them, like she’s exuding toxic fumes. Baekhyun looks like a kid with glassy eyes and a red nose. It’s too late to take back, it’s all out of her chest, too heavy to cage it back up.

“I do have a question though, why are you wearing my rings?”

Kyungsoo stands up, walking past her and stopping just to throw something on the table. The metallic rattle is enough to let her know what it is.

“They meant something,” he replies, chillingly calm. “Back when we thought you were dead.”

“But now that I think about it, I don’t think you made it out of the fire.”

#exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #exo x reader #exo scenarios #baekhyun fanfiction #minseok fanfiction #chanyeol fanfiction #yixing fanfiction #exo angst #jongin fanfiction #jongdae fanfiction #junmyeon fanfiction #kyungsoo fanfiction #sehun fanfiction

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miraeluc · 3 years

Text

you have an anxiety attack

prompt: “after a long day you’re just trying to cook for you and your roommate, but when you accidentally switch salt and sugar the stress dawns upon you and you lose it.”

pairing: kaeya x gender-neutral reader

warnings: description of an anxiety attack, explicit language

word count: 1.6k

genre: fluff, angst

rough day?

roughest of the rough

it started in the morning - all was good until you were all dressed and ready to go

all you needed to do was brush your teeth

of course you dropped toothpaste on your new blouse and had to change because your boss would literally kill you if you strutted in there with toothpaste stains on your clothing

that didn’t upset you too much anyway,, yep, it kinda sucks but it is what it is

you went to work

that’s when it started to REALLY go downhill

first, you had to sit your ass in this tiny cubicle all day and it remained right on that chair every time you stood up

that’s what it felt like at least

then, you lost data that you’ve been working on for a MONTH

an entire month’s worth data!!!! LOST!!!!

curse you and your issue with forgetting where you put your folders

so you started over

was it worth it?

your boss hated it

you ended up dropping the project overall,, handed it over to a co-worker

your excuse was that you felt too ‘unfit’ for the whole project and he would totally be a better fit!

poor bennett

bennett is a nice guy, you always hang out with him during break

you usually talk shit about the other co-workers and he just listens and sits there like ◕ ◡ ◕

he’s just there for the food you bring him, really

he’s a little dumb so he took the project from you with no hesitation

“i’ll do it for you, dont even worry about it, y/n!”

you ended up working overtime

you had about 7 projects to finish until tomorrow morning and they were all only half-done

so you got your coffee, turned off your phone and got to work

you finished at 9pm

your work hours are 8am-5:30pm

nope, not having a great time

well, at least you can go home now!

you pack up your stuff and get up, leaving this hellhole of an office, stretching as you wait for the elevator before checking your phone to see 7 missed calls from your roommate

aka kaeya

aka boy that is most likely emotionally unavailable

aka boy that KEEPS TURNING OFF THE HEATERS TO LEAVE YOU TO FREEZE

his excuse is always that he can’t handle the warmth but you’re sure its so you whine about the cold so he can hug you to warm you up

maybe you have a teeny tiny crush on him???? BUT WHO CAN BLAME YOU

he’s a whole package - the only thing he’s lacking is emotional availability lmao

which is why you never mentioned the day by day blooming feelings you’ve been developing for him

there would be no positive outcome from you telling him. he would politely turn you down, having to explain yet again that he doesn’t see himself having actual romantic feelings to someone

you’re content with your current relationship with him

right?

kaeya is known as the fuckboy! of the city

neither of you mind, he’s having his fun

and you know that there’s much more to it

you’re very happy to have gained his trust enough for him to let his flirty side down when with you, at least

well, there’s no time to ponder over your relationship with him because you’re already sprinting to catch the last bus of the day

right as you got to the station it drove away

fuck

what now?

you have to walk home. alone. in the dark.

oh well.

usually bennett drives you home but obviously he left earlier

its only a 15 minute walk you can do it

it’s not that bad there’s street lamps hey!

not that bad until it starts to rain, apparently

by the time you get home there’s water in places rainwater shouldn’t be

kaeya is running by the time he hears the front door

“where were you??”

“why didn’t you reply to my calls??”

“do you have a slight idea about how worried i w-”

he stops when he sees your soaked figure and tired expression

“oh, y/n, what happened?”

he immediately helped you chuck off your wet coat and shoes

“i worked overtime and missed the last bus so i had to walk home”, you sighed

he nodded and hummed “Go ahead and take a shower then, wouldn’t want you to get sick now, would we?” he winked

you scoffed but nodded anyway

“yeah, especially in this coLD FUCKING APARTMENT BECAUSE YOU REFUSE TO LET THE HEATERS TURNED ON-”

you only heard him laugh before shutting the door in the bathroom and jumping into the shower, needing to warm up because you were sure your toes were about to fall off from the cold

at least the shower went well

:///

you got dressed in lounge attire when you got out of the shower, walking to the kitchen because you were very hungry

you gave bennett all your food today so you didnt have any left

he just looked so hungry

ANYWAYS

you’re in the kitchen, deciding on what to cook

if you ask kaeya he will tell you to just drink wine instead so, no

you kind of want something sweet so you decide to bake cupcakes

kaeya shows up too

“what’re you baking?”

he sat and watched as you gathered all the ingredients you need

“cupcakes. how was your day?”

you strike up a conversation - all you talked about today was work and you need some decent interaction, plus kaeya is a super nice talk partner

“good. i had a day-off today so i layed in bed all day”

you hummed, stirring the eggs and flour

“how come? you never get off”

“no reason, i was forcibly given a day off- well anyways, what i wanted to tell you about before you worried me because i thoght you were deAD when you didn’t respond, is that i need your help setting up a date for diluc-”

you stopped listening halfway

you were looking at the unopened sugar bag on the counter

you just stirred the sugar in, why is it unopened????

you look over at the open bag of salt

wait a second

you take out a little dough and taste it

FUCK

“hello??? earth to y/n?? are you even liste-”

he stops himself as soon as you look at him with your lower lip trembling

uhhhhh

he’s never been in this situation

“y/n?? why are you crying-”

he looks at the counter and the dough, then he sees the salt beside the bowl you were stirring in and leans over to try some

oh, that’s why

“oh come on, is that what you’re crying over?” he snorted

he could barely catch you when you collapsed and started sobbing

he immediately regreted what he said

“hey, y/n, it’s just a little dough! its okay-”

you just sobbed and he sat down with you, sighing and pulling you into a tight hug

you felt your lungs constricting and your hands started shaking

you didn’t even notice how antsy you felt all day until now

you gasped for air and he tightened his grip on you

“w-why am i so worthless?!”

you punched his chest

“i can’t do a single thi-ng with-out messing it up!”

punch

“i’m so us-useless”

punch

“i should just kill m-”

he immediately pulled away and cupped your face before you could finish what you were about to say

“y/n, look at me. you had a bad day - you’re not useless! you’re stressed out! you’re one of the most hardworking people that i know- and, and don’t you ever mention anything about killing yourself! i won’t let you go, not as long as im here”

you were too busy fighting against the constricting feeling in your lungs to notice the tear slipping down his cheek before he hugged you tightly again

your hands gripped at his tshirt

his hand rested over your shaky ones

it broke him

seeing you in such state hurt him so much, he felt his own heart breaking a little with every gasp you took

“come on, let’s breathe together”

his voice was soft when he spoke to you

he took a deep breath in, you following

you wrapped your arms around him and leaned your head against his chest when breathing out

hearing his heartbeat made you feel safe

he kept breathing with you until he was more than sure you could breathe comfortably again

why did he feel like this?

sure, flirting with girls is fun

and ghosting them is also fun

he usually doesn’t care about hurting them

but why does he feel the need to protect you from all bad things?

and why does your pain hurt him too?

he sighs and shakes his head as if that would clear his mind

(it doesn’t)

oh well.

taking care of your needs is more important right now

he picks you up and walks over to the couch, sitting down, placing you on his lap and hugging you

“you’re not cooking anything, we’ll order takeout.”

you sniffled and nodded

you did feel your heart flutter a little when he sat you down on him

he’s never done that

you ignore it and reside into the warmth he gives instead, nuzzling your face into his chest

he smiles softly and strokes your hair, using his free hand to type in what you were ordering

you both fell into a comfortable silence

at some point he thought you fell asleep lol

“kaeya?”

he rose his brows a little and looked down, humming

“thank you.”

additional notes: welp. this was my first drabble! it was very fun to write and i genuinely look forward to writing more! i’d appreciate it alot if you leave any feedback or even requests for drabbles :-)

#kaeya #kaeya x reader #anxiety #anxiety attack #angst #fluff #diluc #bennett #genshin impact #kaeya alberich #gender neutral s/o #genshin impact x reader #kaeya scenario #genshin impact scenarios #kaeya alberich x reader #kaeya fluff #kaeya angst #genshin impact angst #genshin impact fluff

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marsophilia · 3 years

Text

OF WAR AND FATE - an introduction

Chapter O.5

masterlist ->

pairing :: royalty!seonghwa x reader

word count :: 1.3k

warnings :: blood

The moon was shining brightly, no clouds in the sky visible. It was fairly quiet, even the birds were fast asleep instead of chirping away, disturbing the sleep of others. There was a single sound that broke the silence, barely audible yet still there.

Your pants echoed around the forest while your hair was wildly flapping behind you, a few unlucky strands sticking to your face. Your hands were tightly gripping onto your dress to make running easier. Although that wasn’t the problematic part - the lack of shoes was. Unfortunately, to not make a sound while climbing down a castle window, you had to be barefoot. Even horses were out of the question since it wasn’t your goal to wake half of the kingdom up.

Oh God, you weren't late, were you? No, you left early enough. Maybe you took a wrong turn? Impossible - you ran the same path as every other night, it was tattooed in your brain at this point. It was unfortunate how this was the only time possible for something like this but those were the times you were living in.

Just at the moment when your thoughts started to get overwhelming, you reached the well-known spot. Well, known to you. And it didn’t take even a second to spot the other person that was there, back facing you while fiddling with the sword in his lap.

A mischievous grin spread over your lips soon enough as you started tiptoeing on the forest ground towards the figure. Getting close enough you leaned down to let your lips ghost over his ear while whispering, “Your guard is down again.” The boy seemingly jumped out of his skin to turn and face you which only caused you to burst out laughing. You didn’t have to worry about someone hearing you here, you were deep enough in the forest. This was probably the only time where you didn’t feel suffocated, a place where you could finally breathe.

“God’s sake! Y/n! What are you trying to do? Speed up my death?!” Seonghwa's hand was firmly pressed over his chest, more specifically heart - which was beating out of his ribcage by the way. You managed to calm down your laughter sooner than later, still grinning his way. Never mind that he just got scared to death, if it meant he could hear your melodic laughter, that was enough of a reward to him.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting too reckless.” Your words were spoken in a teasing manner as you leaned down to pick up one of the two swords. Seonghwa's eyes were still glued on your figure, appreciating every moment he got to spend with you. Not like he would ever tell you that out loud.

You’d call him cheeky for that.

Finally pushing himself up to his feet, his hand also reached to grab the other sword, “Let’s go pretty boy, the night isn’t forever lasting.” You informed him, already getting into a position to attack. “Unfortunately you’re right.” He sighed out his words while bending his knees to get in position. “Care to dance?” “With you? Always.” You didn’t hesitate for a second after Seonghwa's answer, pouncing with the sound of swords clashing with each other.

And just like you asked, you both looked like you were moving in sync, dancing gracefully over the forest floor while the sound of metal clashing with each other followed and accompanied them. Unlike the situation, you both wore smiles on your faces. You were probably both holding back from giving it your all but God forbid you ended up accidentally hurting each other. At one point, you’ll probably be forced to do just that so for now… you're holding back as much as possible and simply enjoying the moments under the moon you get to spend together.

Getting carried away in his thoughts for a second too long, in the next one Seonghwa's back met the ground with a grunt, the sword flying out of his hand. Wide-eyed, he stared at you in bewilderment while you were now seated on his waist. Courtesy of taking him down in a moment of weakness.

“Can you at least, try to make the fight look believable? You’re not fooling anyone with that kind of acting.” Your comment finally snapped him from his thoughts, blinking at you confusedly at first before a smile broke away on his lips. Without a second thought, Seonghwa pushed his head upwards for his lips to meet yours in a second-long peck. That was apparently enough for your ears to turn red - this was too out of the blue for you. “That certainly won’t make it more believable Hwa…” You slightly grumbled while getting off of him.

“What can I say, sometimes I can’t control myself around you.” He cheekily replied while standing up himself. Never mind being shorter, you smacked him on the head, “Yeah, well one day it might cost you your life!” Out of the two of you, you were the one that took the whole situation far more seriously. And why wouldn’t you? It was your lives at stake! But neither one of you could say you were worried about your own life, more so the life of the person you learned to cherish and hold close to heart.

The person that became your biggest weakness and strength.

Your encounter was all in all a fun game of faith and a complete coincidence. You were both certain it wasn’t even meant to happen but yet here you were playing against destiny. Somehow, you both got fed up with everything on the same night, running to the forest that played as the border between your two kingdoms. Your first meeting is quite memorable too - the one where you both tried to kill each other. But what else was expected from children of royal blood from two kingdoms at war? All you ever learned was how you were good and the other one is bad. It was simply programmed in your minds.

You grew past that though - obviously. And that led to your secret encounters in the forest under the moonlight. From born enemies… To best friends… To people that you loved with their whole hearts. "Like you could get rid of me that easily." Seonghwa let out a small hum, running to you to pick you up. Sneaking his hands around your waist, he twirled you around. You let out a yelp before a melodic laugh filled his ears.

"Hwa! You're taking it for granted!" You let out a whine when he finally let you down, turning to face him only to smack his shoulder in warning.

And he was.

Because it took only a second for you to push away for a sound of a flying arrow to be heard. It took only a second until the arrow reached Seonghwa. And it took only a second for his mind to register what was happening.

Your eyes widened in shock and fear before you started wildly turning around trying to find the source of an arrow. It didn't take long until your eyes fell on a hooded figure that started running away. A glint caught your eye. It was your kingdom's crest.

You were followed.

"Shit!" You cried out before turning to run towards Seonghwa. Falling to your knees, your hands hovered over his arrow impaled wound. "Wh-what do I d-do?" Your voice shaking, eyes filling with tears as panic started settling inside of you. "Don't- don't take it out-" He warned, his eyebrows furrowed in pain before trying to push himself up.

"What are you doing, you can't move?!" Panic was certainly evident in your voice by now before he groaned, "Y/n… Help me up, I know where to go." His voice was strained but you didn't hesitate to pull him gently up this time. Seonghwa was quick to motion you in a certain direction and you immediately started helping him walk while leaning his weight on you, swords laying on the ground long forgotten.

What will you do now?

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kinghoranshit · 3 years

Text

Just Another Normal Story (HS) - PT 5 (Finale)

I pulled the trigger and knocked down another zombie. I laughed watching her just fall to the ground. It’d become way too easy.

“Harmony won’t go down,” Harry huffed.

I looked up at Harry from a kneeled down position on the porch. Harry, dad, and I each have patrols during the day to keep them somewhat under control; we let my mom watch Harmony, she had a gun if she needed to shoot any that happened to make it inside. Sometimes we didn’t have any at all. But we definitely never go out at night. It was hard to see them. I wouldn’t say my fear was completely gone. I still couldn't handle them in the dark.

“Okay, I’ll get her. Here, keep watch.” I handed him the crossbow.

“But I don’t like the crossbow,” Harry muttered.

I rolled my eyes. “Well it’s the only weapon out here. Use it if needed.” I ran out onto the lawn. I hadn’t been watching my back completely.

As I yanked the metal arrow out of some little girl’s head, I felt strong teeth bite into my shoulder. They did little damage because of the heavy army jacket. It still hurt though; it was like a large boulder crushing your bones.

“You bitch!” I turned around to punch the athletic looking girl. It was after I fought with her, snapping her neck, and then punctured her head with one of my arrows that I realized it was Ellise. Then I gasped, looking back at the little girl. Lela, Ellise and John’s daughter.

Fuck me. I had never killed any zombie that I knew. Let alone my own niece. I had been blinded. If I had known, I probably wouldn’t have pulled the trigger in the first place.

My heart thumped in my chest as I looked around. Oh God. No. Not John. Please no. The cat-like call sounded and I looked over to see John-- paled, eyes glossy grey, brown hair faded, and veins blue as the sea.

How’d they even get here? It was a far trek to make when human. I couldn’t imagine the painfully slow steps.

“Home,” I heard a voice rasp.

It wasn’t me. And I knew it wasn’t Harry. Wait.

“John?” I asked.

He advanced towards me but I couldn’t do anything. Not my own brother. I already felt sick to my stomach about Ellise and Lela.

An arrow shot into his arm and he looked at it, then pulled it out. Not fazed at all. He was different than the others; possibly in a good way. And man Harry was a terrible shot with the crossbow.

“Nik-...ki,” John rasped and reached out to touch my face.

“Get away from her!” Harry ordered, storming out onto the grass with a reloaded crossbow.

“Harry, no! He’s not going to hurt me. He’s talking… Well only two words, but I understood him. Something’s different.”

John grunted, looking down at Ellise and Lela. “S-Sorry… Lov-e you.”

“Whoa,” Harry breathed, halting a foot away. Yet, he still held up the crossbow.

“John?” I asked.

He grunted with a small nod.

“Why aren’t you attacking? Ellise sure did.”

“Tried… Tried to st-s-stop… her,” he replied. “K-killed… Le.”

This was so bizarre.

“Inside?” I pointed to the house. I noticed two other zombies across the street in the neighbor's yard. They were smelling the air. It would only be two seconds for them to come running over here. I took some of Ellise’s brain matter to put on my face, then wiped a little on Harry’s.

That felt wrong on so many levels. I couldn’t stop myself from hurling to the side despite the lack of food today. My stomach clenched while my head felt like it would explode; the burning tears built up to the point two streams ran down my cheeks. The smell wasn’t that bad, had the time been pre-apocalypose, I definitely would’ve been gagging at it.

“I’ll take care of them,” Harry informed, rubbing circles on my back with his free hand.

I wiped my mouth and cheeks as I straightened and made a small nod. The two of us stood there and watched Harry shoot them down, grab the arrows, and come back. Then I guided slightl wobbly John inside and locked the door behind us.

“Before you freak, he’s talking. Small phrases. He won’t attack,” I explained as I guided John into the living room. Even though I stated the last words, I rubbed some zombie blood on Harmony’s tiny forehead. It caused a small cry to leave her. I only picked her up and rocked her back and forth.

“Talking?” My dad walked up to John to assess. He held his shotgun close to his side, clearly ready to do what was needed; regardless if it was John.

“Dad,” John grunted, making a nod movement. An actual smirk crossed his face. “P-Packers… better-r.”

“How come he’s not attacking?” My mom furrowed her brows.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because we’re family?”

“Zombies don’t care about that. They only want to eat,” my dad remarked, still obviously suspicious.

John’s eyes went wide as he continued to look around. He looked a bit funny. Harry and I couldn’t stop the chuckles under our breaths.

I shrugged once again. “I really don’t know. It’s a bit strange. Never thought we’d have like a Warm Bodies thing come in.”

“You did with putting the zombie matter on yourself,” my mom corrected.

I lightly rolled my eyes. “Sure. The weird thing is... Ellise did attack me. And it might have been because I killed Lela. I didn’t know it was her. I was just doing patrol.”

“Fo-Forgive,” John breathed out, making us all gasp in surprise.

“What the fuck?” Harry asked, pointing to him.

“F-Fuck you man,” John retorted, which caused my mom to laugh hysterically.

As weird as this was, it was kind of nice to have John around. Sort of. We still didn’t know where Leo was or how anyone else in the extended family was doing. We assumed the worst, which wasn’t that far off with John.

I laid Harmony down for a nap. Her, more like Harry’s, green eyes looked up at me expectantly; that became apparent as she got older over the past months.

“C’mon, Harm. Sleep. You need to,” I caressed.

She still looked up at me as if I was an idiot. I sighed and began to think of a story I could tell to lull her asleep. I started it off with a girl in the land of happily ever after. Then she stumbled upon a cottage in the enchanted forest and found a magical rock that granted any wish desired. Eventually, she wished to marry a prince. At this point, a deep voice joined me and I looked back to smile at Harry. I happily let him finish the story with the girl marrying the dashing prince of her dreams; he was still a commoner of course.

Her eyes got heavy and eventually closed.

Harry wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my head. “I love you so much.”

The smile was unstoppable. “I love you so much.”

These were the moments to look out for at any time; apocalypse or not.

***

Zombies have been curing themselves… Finding loved ones… Small talk… and not attacking… Humans and cured zombies work together to kill those who cannot turn back.

I gasped at what I heard the man said on the radio. Slowly, all of our defenses were coming back. And our zombie patrolling had been cut down. It looked like a ghost town outside with random carcasses disintegrating into the ground though. It would take more than us under this roof to get them all removed. The smell seemed like it would be permanent.

“Hey John.” I looked over at a mostly human brother now. His skin and eyes reverted back to normal; other things like his hair or nails would take a lot more time, if they would regrow at all. His speech was still slow.

He grunted in place of asking ‘yeah?’

I rolled my eyes. “Did you ever see Leo?” I hoped every day since we came across John that Leo would somehow show up. If it happened to be the same way, we would make it work.

“No.” He shook his head. It made my heart drop.

“Okay.” I gave him a small smile.

A rapping noise filled my ears and everyone in the living room shot each other questioning looks. Harry stood, picking up his shotgun on his way to the front door. I stood up myself and went to go stand by the stairway. He peeked out the peephole, then he looked back at me in pure shock. “It’s Leo.”

My eyes went wide. I ran to jump onto Harry’s back so I could look out the peephole. There Leo was. He finally got to us. I slid down Harry’s back and unlocked the front door. As I finally got it open, I saw a zombie coming up behind Leo.

Harry was quick to fire, cutting it close; the bullet zipped past Leo’s ear and went into the zombie’s forehead. It was a one and two count fall.

“Holy shit!” Leo exclaimed.

I smirked. “Bye bye zombie.”

I pulled Leo into the house, then into a hug. I let Harry take care of the door as I ushered Leo into the living room.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” I announced.

Everyone erupted into cheers and Leo was greeted with hugs.

I looked back at Harry as he joined us. He walked over to me and encased me in his arms.

“Thanks.” I kissed his bicep. I watched as the other four caught up. Leo was making dramatic motions, which meant he was most likely telling his story of how he got here. I overheard the fact he’d traveled with a few other strangers and there was no way he would’ve made it without them. They didn’t have a lot of weapons at first so they had to risk raiding stores.

“Hey,” Harry whispered into my ear. “How about we go join them?”

A small smile crossed my face as I turned around to pull him into the living room.

Honestly, I was fairly content right now. As far as we knew, this whole zombie apocalypse could be over soon. And everything could go back to somewhat normal. Harry and I could change our full focus to Harmony. We would have to deal with Lela and Ellise’s rotting corpses on the front once offically safe though. It only felt morally right to give them a proper burial.

It would definitely be another new normal to get accustomed to.

That therapy was going to really come in handy. And as soon as possible.

[Masterlist]

[Other Masterlist]

#Harry Styles #Harry Styles fanfiction #Harry Styles fic #comedy #romance #drama #zombies #zombie apocalypse #supernatural #fanfiction #fic

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geekygoddesss · 5 years

Text

B.F.F (Part 2)

Summary: Journey through the life of a girl whose heart belongs to her best friend, but he doesn’t feel the same way.

Words: 9.2k

Taglist: @dreamer-loves-lyrics (if you wanna be added, let me know)

She did not sleep that night.

It was impossible for her to know why or how but she could not sleep one bit after last night’s events and it was the worst feeling in the whole world. At least that is what she thought at the moment, because the feeling of having him sleeping soundingly by her side, so close but so far away and then that strange feeling of not being able to make her mind shut up and overthink every little thing that crossed her mind, were the perfect recipe to have her fidgeting all night and not being able to rest how she initially intended to and it was driving her crazy.

The minutes became hours and the seconds were eternal as she tried her very best to shut her body down for at least one more hour, but it was only until she started hearing those familiar birds singing right outside her window when she knew she would not be able to rest for one more minute, whatever she had in mind was foolish because her previous sleeping schedule was just a joke compared to the current events and just the thought of taking a couple of hours for herself to rest were instantly cancelled. Her day was already sketched out, she had no time for any extra sleep.

She woke up at first light and let her friend sleep it off and hopefully drown his hangover in his sleep; She opted to have a small breakfast and a full cup of coffee that would keep her up and charged for the next couple of hours, she put on some decent clothing, made her usual pancake mix for hangover day, got those done before she was too lazy to do them and then laid on the sofa, hoping that maybe (just maybe) her body would shut up at any moment and let her mind rest.

Unfortunately, that was not going to happen and she knew that, especially after all of the things that went through her mind just a couple of hours ago, she was too awake and aware now. After last night events and a lot of thinking, it all has come down to this; she thought about it, had a good old pillow talk, analyzed it just like she has done before and know had a clear decision in her mind. She needed help because this was not normal.

It was not normal for her to get so nervous around him, it was not normal for her to be so jealous and it was not normal for her to keep having the same feeling about him after five years. It was time to move on. She really needed help and she was not going to get it just sitting down on her ass and waiting for something to happen, she needed to act rather sooner than later before her mind played her one bad trick and something disastrous happened.

That is just why she took again that last decision she made just a couple months ago over a mental breakdown. Right where she was she laid on her couch, waiting for her alarm to go off and just before it could strike, one minute before her selected time, she picked up her phone and she dialed that number written on that presentation card sitting on her coffee table, the one that she had pulled out with decision just when she woke up. She called and hope for the best, because only gosh knows how difficult it actually is to get professional help from the best of the best, or at least from the best recommendation she could find.

At least she tried, that’s what counted at the end of everything.

“Hello! Mrs. Davidson office, what can I help you with?” Said that sweet voice at the other side of the line after the fourth ring with a tired but still oddly polite and enthusiastic tone.

It was the only thing she wanted to hear in that particular moment and knowing someone answered at the other side of the line was just music to her ears.

Maybe it was a little extremist of her to be so rushed about such a thing that might or might not make some kind of difference in her, but before she could come down to any sort of conclusion, she needed to try and get professional help, just to see if her mind was in the right place, and it’s only fair to say she really wanted to try, because it has been a month worth of trying to get a hold of this and she was finally getting response from the only therapist worth paying to in the whole area.

and Oh lord she does need those sessions.

“Hi! Uh, I don’t know if you remember me, I’m (Y/n) Pritchett” She said nervously, already getting up and starting to pace around her living room in pure nervourness “I’ve been calling for a while now, I was wondering if you had any open places right now?” She asked, diving in directly to the point without any kind of filler, she needed it now. “Oh, honey, of course, I remember” She says sweetly after the mention on her name. She smiled a little in instinct, of course she remembered, this was not the first time she tried to reach them. “We just had a patient discharged from their sessions, you called just in time” She announced with some kind of happiness in her voice and made her heart beat faster.

She jumped in place in happiness, she felt like a winner, mainly because getting a spot in this place was so difficult this thing felt like winning the lottery, but also she saw some kind of hope in what her main goal was, she finally saw a solution to her problems and that was just what she needed right now.

It was an exciting moment, In fact, it was so exciting she didn’t think twice about it, she ran to the kitchen and picked up some pen and paper right where they always were, she didn’t want to lose any single detail, this was some important information.

“Yes yes yes” she said, her voice sounding like she was in a rush “Sign me in”

“Alright” the lady said, again, in that overly enthusiastic voice that seemed a bit odd to hear so early in the morning, “There are three sessions open at the moment if you want to take them, Are Thursday afternoons okay? At 5” She said, sounding like if she was moving stuff around and setting things down.

She moved quickly, grabbed her agenda and took the quickest look at it. She wanted to fricking yell in happiness right now, because that scheduling was just fitting so perfectly in her timing it was like destiny calling to her and she had no doubt to answer. “That’s perfect, thank you!” she cheered, writing down the day and time down as quickly as she could “Can I start this week?” she asked, hoping for a quick answer. “Of course” The lady answered right away “I’ll just need a phone number and....” that’s where she stopped listening, from now on it all seemed like just words floating in the air for her, because she was so excited she was just giving out every single piece of information they need, it was worth it.

She wrote down everything, from the timing she had to take to the place to all of the information she needed to bring with her, address, phone numbers, possible prices for extra timing, everything. She needed to be completely sure she would be ready for this new therapist because after getting a date with her there was no going back. It won’t happen twice.

“Thanks, thank you” She said, once she had all of the information down and could finally breathe properly “Thank you so much, I will be there” she assured, nodding various times as she heard the secretary say her greetings at the other side of the line and hung up the call.

Finally.

Her mind finally seemed to relax a little bit and some of that tension left her shoulders, finally, she would be able to talk about her situation openly to someone who will help her do something productive about it. It was all she wanted and needed.

It was needless to say that even when she still had two days left to that appointment, she was already feeling pretty excited to show up in that office, she has never been with a therapist, she was never tried to go to one (until now), so going for the first time seemed like a big deal and she was excited about it. She could not wait to know what the hell was happening to her, because at this point, she didn’t even know a fraction of it anymore. She needed to know more.

She took one minute to close her eyes and breathe properly, letting her muscles relax a little after she finally got what she wanted, because this is pretty much what’s been keeping her up all night, the thought of being so torn on the inside and the feeling of looking for help but not knowing where now she knew where to start and that was a good feeling inside of her.

Her thoughts were heavily interrupted by the series of grunts sounds and motion of things moving behind her back that scared the shit out of her. Those really came in as a surprise and she was seriously at the verge of having a heart attack once she heard those out of the blue. She turned around way too quickly, she had almost forgotten Luke was still there, sleeping his ass off back in her bedroom, which apparently was not a thing anymore, now that he was all awake and serving himself a pancake while eating another one with his hand. She bit out a curse, because that was what she felt like doing once she turned to see his tall figure in front of her, she had totally forgotten about his presence and now she was speechless, it was like she’s seen a ghost, it was weird of him to be up this early in the morning, especially in this state, so her being surprised could be easily justified.

“Good morning” He said in a mumble, glancing over at her and walking to the kitchen counter in a slow motion to take a sit, a clear sign that he was not in the mood and not on the right energy.

“Hello” she answered, putting her phone down and away, as she tried to calm her breathing down that perfectly matched her heavy beating heart. He had really scared the shit out of her, it was not even funny.

Although he was looking like a total mess, in her eyes he was still glowing like any other morning. His hair was a complete mess of curls and tangles, suited by the small peaks of sunlight that came from the window and made his hair look like gold strands on top of his head. His eyes were sleepy and still so bright, his body curved in one lazy posture that could never look attractive for any other person but not for her, this was his worst look and even on it, he was looking flawless on her eyes. The way he walked around her kitchen barefoot and shirtless, with that heavy look on his eyes after his sleep and not feeling even a bit annoyed for having to deal with her so early in the morning was something that seemed so small but very valuable, and silently, she wished for herself that this could be something she was able to see every morning, because it was one hell of a show she wanted to look at forever.

Shit happens though and now it was on her to move on from things like this and she will not get it distracting herself with things like this. This was one clear call that she needed to focus, he is just a friend, she needed to act like so. “Oh wow, you couldn’t wait for me to get in those pancakes” She sighed, trying to not look like she was just pushed at the verge of a heart attack and intending to act cool. “They are calling my name” He excused himself in one weak and raspy tone that made clear he was sleeping just a couple of seconds ago.

For some reason, his voice sounded so sweet for her, like music to her ears…

Focus. “Right” She nodded, pushing all of those things she had in hand aside and proceeding to grab some pancakes herself.

He did not look at her at any time since he sat on the table, he was just there, leaning both of elbows over the counter and resting his forehead on his hands. Some may say he is crying, but she knows him too well, the reason he is like this only means he is feeling too much to even be awake by this time and the whole world might seem to weight a heavy one on him after one crazy night. She understood that feeling so well and with him, she knew what it looked like.

“What time is it?” He groaned, pecking over to the side just to see her pour herself a cup of coffee and sprinkle a couple chocolate chips over her pancakes. “For you, It’s early, it’s 9” She chuckled, looking over at him for a small second just to see his reaction because he had clearly zero sense of what was happening around him at this time. “God dammit” He groaned hard, dramatically letting his fist fall on the table and shaking his head “this is not right” he stated, closing his eyes as an emphasis.

There was nothing she could do or say more than to laugh, because that was somehow true, this was not right; on a regular hungover morning she would usually expect him to get up around three in the afternoon, sometimes four if the night was too heavy on him, but today it was like he felt extra especial and decided to get up earlier than ever, maybe something was up, it was weird and yes, it was not right. He would have to get through that though. “How are you feeling?” she asked, walking over the counter to leave her plate over her assigned spot and taking advantage of this to take one good look at him.

He was still a beautiful mess. “My head is killing me” he admitted, still not daring to open his eyes and pressing them together tight with annoyance “It’s like a small ticking bomb is going on again and again-” “There’s an Advil there, take it” she interrupted before he kept going because they both knew he could go on with the whining for a while. She grabbed the box she laid there earlier and pushed it his way, along with the cup of water beside it. “You really went in last night, holy crap, you could have warned me about it before, I would have prepared myself mentally to babysit twice” she said, totally ruining his whining moment and turning it into one small pep talk, but he didn’t need it, at least not now, his whole self was feeling too crappy and unstable to give a damn.

However, she still had a point. Whenever this kind of days came and Luke would come to her for moral support on those drunk nights, it would usually be on the kind of nights were she had to charge batteries to take care of her little brother on the next day, which was certainly a job on her eyes, so having to take care of a baby and then one big baby earlier that day was for sure double the job, but she didn’t complain about it, she was fine with it. “Funny” he mumbled, opening his eyes just a tiny bit to have one look at her to then say “I’m sorry for not telling” She nodded “Apology, barely accepted” she teased, before grabbing the metal spatula sitting on the right side of the counter and pointed it at him “Next time you knock my door so late at least have someone call me” she warned in a not completely serious tone, but still somehow serious “Understood?” she asked, raising one eyebrow as he processed what the hell was going on and decided on what to do. He raised both hands off the counter and looked up at her straight “Put the spatula down” he said slowly and totally following her lead “I’m innocent”

She chuckled, nodding a little as she lowered the tool and rolled her eyes “Yeah, right” she mumbled, giving a step back “Coffee?” she asked, now in the mood to wake him up in a better way than this.

“Black” He said in answer, even though she only needed a yes or a no, she knew how he had his coffee in the mornings.

They would usually either have small talks or really in depth talks at this times in the morning, it was their thing whenever one of them stayed over, it was like their time for catching up and to build up whatever their mood was going to be for the day. On mornings like this, it was when he would think clearer, even when hangover, so she thought it would be a good time have a good check in him and see what’s been going on in his life, make sure he was okay, because after last night she didn’t exactly know what was going on in his head and she was fairly intrigued by that, she just wanted to make sure he was doing fine.

“Who was that on the phone?” He asked, swallowing down the pill with some water to them munch on a piece of pancake from his plate.

Her feeling sparked in one split of a second.

Has he been listening to her conversation? How long? and what part of it?. She had a million questions but she had to act natural.

“No one” she said, pouring out some of his coffee in a mug “Just, you know..” she continued, trying to find the right word and excuse to drown down any sort of questions. So she looked over her shoulder and meet his eyes “Dentist” she answered, hoping it would work.

“Ouch” he cringed, scrunching his nose at the mention of such a thing “is it that bad?” he asked.

It was no secret that Luke Hemmings was not the bravest person when it came to going to the dentist, so in his case, he would only show up at this kind of places either at the most painful times or when someone made him go, so hearing that his best friend would have to go there meant that she could possibly be in pain. She stayed still, shrugging a little bit “My tooth hurts” she simply said, turning to him and walking on his direction to hand him his cup of coffee. “Oh man” he said, grabbing the cup for himself “that could be your wisdom teeth you know? I heard this is the age when they start bugging around” he mentioned, cringing even more “When is your appointment due? Do you need company?”

Now, he was probably asking too many questions and she needed to drown them down as best as she possibly could, this lie didn’t need to be a bigger lie. “No thanks” she said, taking a seat on the table “I’m sure it’s just a small thing, doesn’t feel like wisdom tooth pain” she assured him with a very awkward chuckle “it’s whatever”

He looked at her with a weird gaze as she dug in her pancakes and instantly knew there was something up with her. How? she didn’t know, he just knew she was not being completely honest with him, maybe it was because of how awkward she was acting, or maybe because she was giving him too little information, he just knew something didn’t felt right; however, he just let it pass, it was too early to think, he would ask later. “You’re acting weird” he mentioned, grabbing the small syrup container on the table and fixing his pancakes up.

Her eyebrows raised up high, suddenly fake acting like she was upset. “Don’t talk to me about weird, you are the weird one here mister Rum Coke” she chuckled, pointed at him with her fork, which was a bit intimidating in a way if you asked him.

He closed his eyes and nodded. He knew this was coming in some way. He came here drunk in the middle of the night, gave her one accurate but still a bit distorsionated version of what went down that night and then slept it off, he couldn’t sit here and just pretend like nothing happened, he was almost in the obligation to explain himself, especially to her, he owed her a lot.

“How bad was it? Give it to me straight” he asked, knowing that she could possibly know more than himself about what his actions were in his drunk state.

Things were partly crazy and part underwhelming, but he still needed to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid, not only for his image but for his safety, her safety. All he needs is for her to fill up the empty spots of the story in his head if she even knew what happened around those times.

“Did I break something? Fucked something? Said something weird? I would like to know” he kept asking as she ate, slowly stopping to grab the next bite as she heard his questions loud and clear. “You don’t remember anything?” she asked in disbelief. “I remember most of it but I just want to make sure” he said, raising both of his eyebrows and shrugging.

They stared at each other deeply in the eyes, one of them waiting for the other to speak first, but they both knew he was the one who needed to start off with something because after last night, she only knew so little about what happened and she needed to know until what specific point he had memories of the night, she couldn’t just guess and tell him the full story, she wasn’t even there. She wasn’t invited.

“Okay, so, I went there and had a good meal and I promise I was completely sober by that point” He started telling the story, making his very best to narrow it down but at the same time not hide the important details “Mitchy got there with the rest of people at one, I think, and we went outside, lit up a blunt, that’s when things seem a little blurry and then... Tatiana” he said, closing his eyes at the awkward reminder of that weird moment. “Sweet Sweet Tatiana” She teased, grabbing a bite of her food.

He ignored that, he didn’t want to touch on the subject of how a stranger grabbed his ass on the first hook up. “I don’t know how I got here after” he admitted, moving on from his story, but he had a bad feeling about this one.

Her eyes sparked to the mention of this one because her posture changed into a straight one and the corners of her mouth went into a straight line. “I do, you drove” she said, almost containing herself into pouring out all of her feeling about that situation. “Are you still in the mood for a speech about personal and community safety?” She asked, leaving her food aside and totally getting serious about the matter. He closed his eyes “I’d rather not” “Good because it’s incredibly irresponsible” She started, knowing how annoying she was probably being at the moment, but she didn’t care, he needed to know. “You know who never gets drunk? Michael, you could have waited for Crystal to get drunk and ask for a lift like we all do” She went on, making sure he knows he definitely had other options than driving himself “you could have called me to pick you up, you brother is here too! You could have told him to take you home, you literally have no excuse, you could have run over someone, Luke, it’s a big deal!” her voice raised a little, and even herself found it to be annoying, but it was necessary, pep talks are never supposed to be nice. “Okay, in my defense, she was not drinking and I’m very sure Michael was tipsy and Jack didn’t even go, he had to work today or something” he said, munching on his food and still keeping a low attitude on this. “My point is still there, Michael and Crystal always desígnate a driver, you could have asked” she said, shrugging, she knew this by heart, she would always come back home with one of them whenever she went partying and this was pure proof that Luke had zero excuses for drunk driving. Hopefully, he learned something. “So, you had a date” he changed the topic, smiling cynically and hoping she would drop that last topic, because his head hurt and he was in no mood to talk about his responsibilities, he knew he was irresponsible. The way she stopped only to glance at him and then roll her eyes was powerful, she even let out the most bitter chuckle he has ever heard he do at this time in the morning, but she wasn’t mad or anything, she was just trying to make him see that what he did was wrong and she did that successfully, but maybe this was something it would be better to talk about when he was on his five senses, so she dropped it, just like he wanted to, it was no time to get in this kind of conversations.

“I thought you’d mention that, nice way to change the topic by the way” she chuckled, pointing at him with her fork for a couple of seconds before letting it go completely. she was shaking her head in agreement, she would touch on this particular topic later when he had full awareness that this was completely dangerous. “Tell me all about it” he nodded, leaning in on his seat and getting serious. She narrowed her eyes before saying “We’re not done” she said in a threatening tone. “Just tell me” he said, totally sounding like he was tired, but he really wasn’t. She got it, though, he was in no mood to talk about such thing and he didn’t blame her, because she wasn’t either, at all.

She took a small second to have a recap of what went down for her night and what kind of feeling it brought to her. It was not like she had much to say about it because it was seriously underwhelming, and if there was someone she didn’t want to be commenting this with, was him, because he is the one person that makes her feel real feelings and the guy who she tried something with was nowhere near what he could be. She didn’t need to be discussing that with him, and yet here she was. “It was okay” she simply said, nibbling on pieces of her food and not looking directly at him.

Again, she really didn’t have much to say about it since it was literally the most boring and simple date she’s ever had, she didn’t want to be talking about it, she told him last night anyways. If only he remembered the whole thing, if only he hasn’t been that drunk, if only he would leave this kind of topic for some other time like he did with him. “Just okay?” he asked, completely being uncomfortable and not conformed with her answer. “It was alright, I told you already” she said, shrugging, but that wasn’t enough, he was looking at her with this look that was so demanding she could feel the pressure on her. So she took a quick bite of her food and gave him whatever he wanted. “Right, Uh, we went to this Italian restaurant and had dinner, it was really nice” she said, starting up her story. “What did you had?” he interrupted her before she could even start up properly. “Pasta” “Okay, go on” he allowed, moving his hand in confirmation that she could keep going. She nodded, understanding what she said and taking one small sip of her coffee. “Then we went for some beer and he dropped me off here” she explained, pretty much closing up the story and going back to her number one priority, Food.

Luke stayed quite all of that time, waiting for more information, details, a story, but none of those things came in, because there was no story aside from that, there was nothing worth talking about, it was just a regular date with a regular guy that didn’t have anything exciting in his life. That was all. “That’s it?” he asked in a surprised tone, clearly waiting for something else to come up, but with that kind of date nothing more than that could ever come up. “That’s it” she shrugged at his reaction.

His face was really one beautiful poem, because as he tried to get through the horrible feeling of having a hangover he was also trying to get through the fact that his best friend had a date and it was the least interesting date in the history of date, he wished he could know more, but there was nothing more than that to know. “Didn’t he tried to stay in for a while longer, at least?” he asked, clearly being upset over this story more than she was. “Nope, he drove me here at midnight and that was it” she shook her head, not really helping on the situation of how boring this was.

He sighed, rolled his eyes and put the biggest piece of pancake in his mouth, already being over this story and not believing she has such back luck on this one. “Bummer” he groaned, sighing deeply. She didn’t know how else she could make him know that she didn’t care about it at all, so she just nodded and followed his lead. “He’s boring anyways, I don’t care, I was the only one talking the whole time, to the point my throats was just so tired of making sounds” she mentioned, chuckling at that but it was really not funny. One deep silence felt between them, that only lasted a couple seconds before she let out the most important detail. “he ordered for me” She said, in small tone, which didn’t make the situation any better.

His eyes went wide, he was left speechless and the most bitter laugh ever left his mouth in disbelief. “What?!” he exclaimed in surprise. She nodded “Was it good?” he asked. She pressed her lips together. Now that was a tricky question.

“Carbonara” she said, shrugging. It was not that bad, but not that good, pretty average. He blinked in pure surprise “Fuck” he let out without any second thoughts “and he made you pay for that? That sucks” he said, frowning even more as he spoke.

She sensed he was getting a bit upset about the situation and she guessed it would probably be better if tried to make the story a bit better. But that was not possible in any way. “I don’t care, I like carbonara” She excused in one blank tone, acting indifferent about the situation “pizza looked great though” she added, knowing by heart it would not make the situation any better, but she was speaking the truth after all. “He’s not right for you, you deserve a lot better” Luke said without any kind of hesitation, not even thinking about it twice. “Yeah” she chuckled, trying to agree with him but that would be a bit pathetic.

Instead, she looked down, not being able to hold any sort of eye contact anymore and trying to focus on something else, anything else, that could possibly go through her mind. This is why she didn’t like discussing her love life with him because it was just so pathetic it was kind of painful to be admitting such things out loud. The fact that he was playing a big part in that was also not helping in anyway, she just wanted to move on from this.

To her sudden silence, Luke takes it as a chance to give her some support, because he could see she was now feeling weird and as her best friend he wanted to do more, he felt like he had to do something, like it was a responsibility for him and he didn’t mind it at all, he would give her support at anytime. So he leaned over the table and placed his hand over hers. She froze, this was not something that she expected from him.

“Listen to me” he said, now in a serious tone “if he takes you on a date and doesn’t pay for your food, don’t makes the minimal effort to keep you with him a little longer, can’t grow balls to make up more conversation and keeps you talking the whole time, it’s a clear sign, he’s not right for you” he keeps going, growing more and more serious each time and totally making her nervous.

She didn’t know what to say, the fact that his hand was holding her like that made her a bit nervous and she couldn’t help but think, this could turn out differently if she wasn’t such a coward, she could grab his hand back, look at him in the eyes and just say it, speak her real feelings out loud and finish with all of this mental conflict inside of her head, but she wouldn’t do that. This was no moment for something like this and she new it, she had to keep going with her original plan. “Sometimes you win sometimes you lose” she simply said in one weak tone. He pressed his lips together, nodding in understanding as he said “You just have to look for someone you’re really in love with, not just any guy, someone who is really worth your love, you know?” he stated, giving her one small and supporting smile.

She appreciated the effort. She really did, but he had no idea... “I know” she softly, smiling back at him and nodding, already giving up with this whole situation and ready to move one.

The second she felt his hand squeeze hers, was the same second she decided to pull her hand away and put it right on her lap. It made her nervous, this kind of contact for them was usual, but sometimes, it was still weird for her to be this...intimate, especially giving her current situation, she needed to distract herself from this.

“Anyways” she nervously laughed, making more than clear that she didn’t wish to speak anything else about this matter.

He nodded, understanding her signal and moved on. “Are you doing something today? You’re already dressed” he asked, looking at her up and down and sipping on his own coffee.

She was so glad he asked such a thing. This was just the thing she wanted to talk about. “It’s my weekend with Joe” she said, growing one big smile on her face “Wanna come with me and see how far he can throw a baseball this time?” she said in an inviting tone, hoping she would make the situation seem more attractive than it was.

Her parents and her have had a deal ever since her little brother was old enough to count to ten and it was that every weekend, any of those two days, she would get the chance to bring him over to her apartment and have a sleepover, so they could have some time alone and she could have some quality time with her little brother. It was a deal that she couldn’t deny and for three years, this has become her weekly routine that she couldn’t seem to break, she liked it way too much.

However, as much as Luke loved that kid, he scrunched his nose at the sound of that plan; maybe he wasn’t in the mood or just didn’t feel to deal with a kid right now, but it was not looking like he was up to it, even when she seemed excited about it, like she was on any other weekend. “I think I’ll pass” he said, hissing a bit as he nibbled on his pancake “Why is that a big deal again?” he asked, apparently not understanding what was the big deal with baseballing now.

She was never the sportsy kind of girl and the fact that she was going baseballing with her brother was kind of odd to hear because she would usually be the one to pass on anything that would involve physical activities. He supposed Joe was the exception on it. “Because he’s the worst in his baseball team and on that last game he had his coach said he wasn’t bad” She said, raising both hands dramatically “big deal” she signaled to then nod in his direction “What about you? Any plans for today?” she asked, with a quirky smile on her face. He smiled just a bit, showed her a bit of a smile and gazed on her direction “How did you know?” he asked, somehow expecting her to not know he actually had plans. To that she just rolled her eyes “You put out a record two weeks ago, of course you got things to do today” she said, like it was totally obvious even when it wasn’t, it was just the kind of things she has come to figure out through years of watching do the same thing over and over again. “So?” she asked, with some sort of intrigued tone.

He chuckled, shaking his head and looking down as he dug deep in his pocket. “Ugh, I don’t even know” he admitted, pulling out his phone from his back pocket and handing it in her direction without saying much. “Alright” she nodded, taking the device and sliding it her way, he didn’t even need to tell her what to do, she already knew.

With certain expertise, she grabbed his phone and typed down the password, getting immediate access to his home screen. She swiped her finger here and there until she found his pre-made agenda and opened it up, it was shining with so many colors and words, that could only mean one thing, he was very busy and there was no getting out of this one, hungover or not.

“Uh, you have an interview at two” she pointed out reading the content of the agenda out loud “Actually three of them, there’s a note that says Ben isn’t picking you up” she mentioned, literally reading the words plastered in there. “What a prick” he said, talking about his manager, that sometimes could be some sort of a prick, but there was no much he could do about it. She didn’t say much, she just kept going “You have a studio session at night and after that... nothing else” she finished, leaving his phone down, after checking for a second time if there was something else, but there wasn’t, that was it.

He groaned at the reminder of his duty for the day, leaned his head back and let out one heavy sigh. “Is it wrong to say I don’t want to go?” he said lazily, closing his eyes in annoyance. “It’s kind of part of your job” she shrugged, leaning forward to nudge his shoulder with her fist. Hopefully, it would wake him up a little bit. “I know that, but I don’t feel like doing promo” he admitted, showing up his teeth in one dramatic expression and shrugging. “Wow, this is weird” she said sarcastically trying to be funny about it make him light up “a rockstar refusing to go in front of the camera” she gasped, not meaning any part of her words. “It’s not that” he stopped her right away “You know? I love meeting my fans but sometimes I just wanna say” he starts, stopping himself for a second before mouthing “Hi! I really appreciate your support, but please don’t ask for my number, or put your hands on my abs for no reason, don’t get overly handsy, don’t ask about Petunia, and yes, I know my accent it’s weird, it made a natural evolution, please don’t act like it’s gone because it isn’t!” he exclaimed for all sudden, making her jump back a little at that sudden sound.

She guessed this was his way of drowning how much he didn’t want to work on this particular day. “You are really kind of a prick in the mornings” she chuckled, rolling her eyes “You love your fans” she said, almost as a reminder.

There was no way he could fight this one, so he just sighed deeply and mumbled “I do, I really do” he nodded, turning on her direction to then look at her, his big blue eyes opening up and saying with a clear begging tone “Come with me, please”

It was certainly one difficult petition, especially now. “I can’t” she denied immediately, shaking her head. “Please?” he begged, going to grab her hand one more time, but this time, just as a begging method. “I have to be with Joe” she argued, not really giving an excuse but stating a fact.

“Bring him in” he argued back, squeezing her hand and being extra annoying this time. “They don’t let kids on sets” she sighed, now becoming a bit irritated. “They will if I ask” he argued, being too sure about something he didn’t even know “please?” he begged one last time, trying his very best to convince here. “I don’t know about that” she said in a dry voice, pulling her hand away from his and going back to her food “I mean, I can drive you there if you want, I don’t mind doing an extra stop” she shrugged trying to bring the best solution she could but she knew for him that wouldn’t be enough.

He didn't seem to love that one, but he managed to deal with it.

He leaned back on his sit and accepted that she will not be with him through this day, took one big breathe in and said. “You are one difficult girl” he said and that was a fact.

She could only laugh “Sue me” she said, rolling her eyes “I would go if I could, but I can't” she said, speaking all of the truth.

She was not about to give up an afternoon baseballing with her brother to bring him on an interview, only gosh knew how boring those were, she wouldn’t make Joe go through the pain of those. Luke could whine all he wanted but it was simply not going to happen, she was not going to take her little brother to a closed room where all he could possibly do was sit down and stay quiet, he was seven, he wouldn’t know how to do that and that would for sure get them in trouble, she was not about to make him go through that just to please Luke; on a regular situation she would go without a question, because she didn’t mind to go there herself, but with a kid, it was just mission impossible.

Luke was clearly not pleased with her answer, he leaned both of his elbows on the table and rested his face on his hands, giving his mind a short rest and processing pretty much everything, there was a lot happening around him, he probably was having a headache about every single one of those things. So she let him have his moment. She kept eating in silence, letting him go back to his ‘normal’ self and give her one coherent answer or just say something to make her know they were alright, she knew he was a bit upset for not having her company on today's duties, but she had responsibilities too and she was going to make those happen, she had to.

“If I say we could go baseballing after all this, will you go?” He tried just one more time, pecking in between his fingers to look at her.

She hissed and shook her head immediately “I’m sorry Luke” she said and she meant it, there was nothing she could do about that.

He seemed to understand, at least at first, when he started to nod his head at her final words, but she felt bad, she felt like she was being a little mean to him even when she didn’t mean to or acted like so, he wanted her company outside inside of his job and she was denying to go even when he really wanted to, she felt bad for letting him down in this one, but she guessed he understood the reason why.

“I could possibly stop at yours when you’re done if you want” she offered, breaking her last piece pancake and putting in her mouth.

That one offer almost seemed like the last solution she could give and he seemed to agree to it in some way because his eyes lit up just a little and he gave her a small nod in agreement. “Deal” he said, dragging both of his hands along the perimeter of his face with a very annoying groan and letting the slide to the table counter, making its way to her hand back again and grabbing it with both hands before she could get up to wash her now empty plate. “You’re the best, did you know that?” he let her know, kissing the back of her hand. This kind of gestures from him made her feel extra weird and stressed, so she said nothing, she continued munching on her pancaked and gave him a quited “Mmm” sound as she got up and got out of his hold, it was too much for her, she didn’t want to have to deal with it for another time today.

So she got up from her seat without saying much and got to do the dishes, even when there were only three things to wash, this was something that for some reason took her mind of things and she needed a little bit of that right now. They stayed really quiet for a long time. Him, finishing his food and answering to old messages that have remained unanswered until now; Her, washing everything up and trying to bring to herself happy thoughts to get her head out of how he held her and how much it made her freak out, she was trying to get herself out of the possibility of becoming a total psycho, because freaking out over such dumb things was totally a psycho thing.

She took her time washing her plate and whatever remained dirty on her sink and once she finished, the moment she turned around was like crashing into a wall while at the same time getting a heart attack, because there he was, blocking her way and looking down at her, clearly wanting something from her. He was really becoming a specialist on scaring the shit out of her.

“You alright?” he asked innocently, clearly sensing there was something wrong with his friend. It took her a brief second to answer, she needed to stop being so awkard “Yeah” she nodded, trying to act natural “just thinking, I don’t know...” she shrugged, totally running out of words “None sense” she shook her head, waving it all away like it was nothing. He frowned, totally knowing something wasn’t right. “Tell me, I won’t judge you, you can tell me anything” He said, looking down at her and laying both hands on her shoulders.

Why did he keep touching her? God dammit. Didn’t he see it was freaking her out? Didn’t he noticed he drove her head over heels? “I know that” she assured him, quickly nodding “it’s nothing, there’s too much in my head, that’s all, no biggie” she quickly said, trying to really make it seem like she was cool, but she wasn’t.

Something must have given it away, because once she felt herself fidgeting, like she did all of those times where she was just… nervous, was the moment his hold became a bit stronger and now he was not only touching her but caressing her shoulders in one comforting move, he knew her so well, he knew she had something in her head and she would let her tell him whenever she felt ready, there was no rush, for her, he had all the patience in the world.

Again, he had no idea…

“Hey” he said in one comforting tone, catching her attention and making her look up at him “Come here” he commanded, extending his arms to both sides in an inviting move.

She found funny how he didn’t hug her right away, it was clearly a pure invitation. “Why?” she chuckled, trying to bring out her sarcastic self.

He chuckled, keeping his arms up and looked down at her weirdly “Haven’t you heard I’m a hug machine? A hug from mine can fix anything” he assured her with a big of a bragging tone “I have extra hugs for you, anytime” he let her know, raising his hands even more and waiting for her to do something.

She just couldn’t say no to that. It only took her a full second to take a step forward and hug him tight and close. He was right, somehow a hug from him was really making her feel a lot better. The way he wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back were comforting and she was really feeling a lot more calm about…everything.

That was the power he had over her. It worked wonders, even in the most stressful moments.

“Don’t you worry bout a thing” he said to her in a mumble “Dates go bad and that’s okay, you’ll find another one, easily” he said in confort, even when that was not the thing that was bugging her head at the moment. “Right” she mumbled, pressing her forehead against his chest. “You’re the best of the best of the best” he continued, leaning down and kissing her head “and I love you” To that, she smiled. He was so sweet to her, that was one of her favorite things about this boy. Maybe she wasn’t his significant one, but sometimes, he would make her feel just as special as one.

“Thanks Luke” she smiled, looking up at him “I love you too” “and you make the best pancakes in the world” he kept going, clearly making this one set of compliments. “They’re not bad” she chuckled, shrugging a bit. “And I am sorry for showing up drunk so late, it won’t happen again and I’m sorry” he finally let out, after a long time in what he’s been awake this morning “and I am sorry for drunk driving” he apologized for a second time “it was irresponsible and you have full permission to slap me if I do it again”

She had to laugh at that, she would never slap him, but she could see he was genuinely sorry about it and that’s what it counts. She was happy to see him recognize his mistakes. “That’s just what I wanted to hear” she nodded, laying her hand on his chest and palming it a couple of times. “Now, What do you do next time?” she said, just checking. “Wait for Crystal to get drunk and ask Michael for a ride” he repeated her previous words in a very monotone tone. “Good boy! you learn fast” she cheered with a small chuckled and palmed his chest one more time, a signal for him to step back, and he did.

As a price for his good understanding of what he should not do on drunk nights, she pushed the plate of remaining pancakes his way, to what he smiled and took without a question. She would usually store those for later, but he earned them, he could do whatever he wanted with those.

“Eat, would you?” she said, stepping away from him and to the exit of the kitchen “I’ll go look for your nice outfits, I think I have them stored around” she announced, already assuming he was not going to drive himself back home so early to get ready for work, he would much rather do that where he already is.

“Thank you” he mumbled, grabbing the plate and walking around her “You are the best person that has ever landed on the planet earth and I would never ever-”

“Yeah yeah” she stopped him in track, stepping out of the kitchen not waiting to hear more, not because she didn’t like it, but because she didn’t need it, it was a bit overwhelming for her to be around him right now. He had too much weight on her, he made her feel too much, he made her want to speak up even when that would ruin everything, she needed a quick break.

She left him on the kitchen eating his food and walked up to her bedroom, looking for at least a bit of privacy. Her mind was just a pure mess and for at least a second she just needed to calm down and figure out how to act cool about all of this, because each time he touched her she lost a bit of her sanity; each time he told her he loved her, she wished he would mean on the way she does and each time he lets her take care of him… are just the times where she wished she could just spit it all out and hope for the best, but she couldn’t, she was too scared of it and the scariest part is that she was about to burst.

It was like a ticking bomb, she could either explode and ruin it or turn it down, it was all on her.

She didn’t want to ruin what they had, that is just why she needs to forget and she prays to god that therapy helps her forget, because it’s been five years of this and she still freaks out each time he gets too handsy or lovable, it’s not like she doesn’t like, it’s just that she feels more than she should and she can’t do nothing about it… but the worst part is, she can’t do anything but she also can’t risk losing him in any way, this is something she needs to handle and forget.

She still has three days left for her first appointment, she can handle herself until then. All of the questions that remained bottled up in her head will soon be answered and solved, but the only one that mattered the most will always be on her to answer and she didn’t even know where to start.

How did she even manage to fall in love with the one person she shouldn't have?

#luke hemmings imagines #luke hemmings x reader #michael clifford imagines #calum hood imagines #ashton irwin imagines #5sos fanfiction #5sos fanfic #5sos blurbs #5sos preferences #5sos fake text #luke 5sos #luke hemmings au #5sos smut #5 seconds of summer imagines #5 seconds of summer preferences #5 seconds of summer blurbs #5 second of summer imagines

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sixx6ixxsixx · 4 years

Text

Wave Goodbye Ch 5

Rating: M

Pairing: Vince/Nikki and Mick/Tommy

Summary: After falling into a sea cavern, Tommy and Nikki get changed forever

Warnings: Major...Character... Undeath? !!!Mentions of suicide attempts!!!

Authors Notes: It’s over

“I saw ya try and kill yourself... naughty.” That was the most irritating voice Vince had ever heard. As he opened his eyes, a green man with seaweed for hair and large facial features leered over him. He tried to move away but his whole body ached. “You were dying but I lifted you out of them there waters.”

“N-no I didn’t” Vince didn’t even believe himself, he was almost ashamed to admit it though. “Who are you?” He looked around panicked by the darkness and damp cold surrounding him.

“I’m Old Gregg.” He seemed to sing.

“You fucker! You’ve got Nikki!” Vince swung for the man fish creature but could barely lift his arm.

“You can have him back. I was hoping Tommy would win the game, he’s angry and mean and makes the cave look bad.”

“Game?! This was a game to you? I had to be almost dead to get here! How is that a game?” Vinces anger bubbled in every nerve.

“I’m Old Gregg. Crow man is in the room downstairs. You have to go get him though.” Gregg pranced away, into the shadows.

As he watched the freak leave, Vince spotted Tommy laying on the floor. He shuffled over to him and checked his pulse, he was alive... barely. Once he’d found Nikki, they’d get him out. He just had to find these stairs.

*******************

Tommy woke up with a sharp stinging in his chest, like his lungs had just been shaved from the inside. He would’ve screamed but no noise came out. He looked around took a moment to realise where he was and his heart sank when he saw the rocks and water. Had there been a time limit on getting them back? Had he failed? Were they going to be stuck here forever? Tommy began to cry... Wait, ghosts can’t cry. Tommy couldn’t see his body on the floor, he couldn’t see anyone.

“Nikki? G-Gregg?” He called out, his throat felt dry and it hurt to talk. He hadn’t heard his voice in days, there hadn’t been a point in talking when no one could hear him. There were footsteps over by the ledge and Tommy stumbled across the wet ground and looked over the edge. Vince was limping his way down a set of stone stairs.

“Vince...” How had he gotten here?

“I thought you were still dead. Gregg says Nikki is down here.” Vince was covered in blood and looked worse than his own dead body had after the cliff.

“Do you trust him?”

“I don’t have a choice.” Vince looked guilty. “You coming?” Tommy nodded and chased after him.

“Why didn’t Gregg just let him go like me?” Tommy asked. Vince didn’t reply, just shrugged. It probably hurt to talk, Tommy decided so they walked in silence. More than once, Vince almost fell in pain making the blood stains on his shirt paint themselves a fresh shade of red.

They reached a door and could hear angry mumbling from inside. Tommy helped Vince push open the heavy driftwood door. Nikki was sitting on a smooth stone and didn’t move for near enough a whole minute. The silence was deafening.

“Can we go please... Vince smells really bad.” Tommy had to speak or he’d choke on the atmosphere.

“Are you...?” Nikki paused, “Are you real?”

“I did not just go through all of that for you to stay here, Sixx. Come on!” Vince walked over to him, trying to pull him up, only to practically collapse in his lap. Nikki held him tight, tears falling onto the blondes head as he nuzzled into the hair.

“Vince... Where’s Mick?” Tommy asked quietly.

“He had more sense, he’ll be at home still.”

“More sense?” Nikki asked, pulling away and helping Vince stand. “We need to get you to a hospital.”

As they carried Vince out of the room, Nikki and Tommy stopped in their tracks when the wet figure loomed at the top of the stairs. Gregg shifted from side to side, almost nervously.

“I didn’t wanna get the angry crow man by myself.” Gregg said quietly.

“Wait, you’re scared of Nikki?” Tommy laughed.

“He fucking should be, I was stuck in that room all week. I almost went insane. If he comes near me, I’ll... I don’t know but he won’t like it.” Nikki looked at Vince. “Did you do this to him?”

Gregg spluttered, “N- no! Old Gregg ain’t never touched that one. He did that himself. I was only playing with you and the bouncy one.” Vince nodded and touched Nikki’s shoulder gently.

Gregg watched them carry Vince past him. Nikki cursed under his breath as he shuffled around the cave looking for an exit of some kind. As frustration grew, Nikki shot a glare at Gregg. “What was the point of any of this? Why couldn’t you just bring us back in the first place? What the fuck did they have to do to get me back?” He yelled.

A smile flourished across Gregg’s face, “You gotta jump in my waters to get out.”

Nikki lurched to attack the merman, stopping when Vince groaned in pain. He held Vince close, kissing him softly before jumping them both into the water, disappearing instantly.

Tommy looked over at Gregg. “Thanks man, I know we would’ve just died if you hadn’t have been here. Maybe next time, be a bit more chill about it though, yeah?”

“Old Gregg likes having people around. Will ya come visit?”

“Is there an easier way in?”

“There’s the front door.” Gregg pointed at the far wall.

“...The what?” Tommy looked at the large boulder in the wall. “I- I thought that was part of the wall... I... Gregg, where does that lead?”

“A manhole cover at the back of the Whiskey.” He said blandly before pushing Tommy in the water.

*********

When he surfaced, Nikki and Vince were looking for him. He swam to the rocks and pulled himself up. Nikki let Vince rest on the ground while he pulled Tommy into a hug. He wanted to know what the hell had happened while he was in that cell but he really just wanted to enjoy being alive again. No one spoke but everyone knew, they all felt the same. Vince, although being the only one who never lost his pulse, was the one most relieved to feel alive again.

************

The three soaked men had never struggled to hitch a ride so much in their lives, they ended up walking most of the way to the hospital. Nikki took Vince in while Tommy phoned Mick from outside. Vince was classed as a priority patient and was seen immediately by the surgeons.

There was a still silence between them as Nikki held Vince’s hand. Vince was asleep but Nikki couldn’t bring himself to speak yet, he was really struggling to understand what had just happened. He’d just spent a week, not only dead, but trapped alone with himself. The cell wasn’t nearly as bad as his mind had been. All he wanted was to see Vince again and when he had, he was in this state. He couldn’t let himself think about what had happened to him. What did Gregg mean it was his own fault?

He was interrupted by Mick and Tommy walking in. Mick quickly grabbed Nikki and hugged him close. “You stupid motherfucker! Don’t you ever pull that shit again.”

Nikki looked at Tommy, “Hey, I got the lecture too, man.” Tommy smiled. “How’s he doing?” He nodded at Vince.

“He’ll be ok but he needs rest. What happened to him?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t take you dying well at all.” Mick spoke quietly. “He was so different. I woke up and he was gone, the next thing I knew, Tommy was calling.”

Vince began to stir and they all sat around him. “Hey, dude.” Tommy spoke first. Turning to face him made Vince squint in pain and Nikki stroked his forehead.

“Missed you.” Nikki whispered.

“Missed you too... I love you.”

They hadn’t said that to each other yet and for a second, Nikki thought he was still dead. How could Vince go through all of that and still even wanna be with him never mind love him?

He didn’t realise how the silence was until Mick coughed. “I love you too.” He grinned and kissed Vince carefully, not disturbing the new stitches.

“Mick, I-”

“Yeah I know drummer.” Mick cut Tommy off. “I love you too, dumbass.”

“That’s nice but I was gonna say I was gonna get lunch and give them space, if you wanted to come.” Tommy smiled. None of them had seen Mick blush before that but they all decided it was adorable.

As Mick and Tommy left, Vince pulled Nikki’s hand to his face, nuzzling into it carefully. Nikki watched him for a few minutes before the curiosity was too much for him. “What happened to you? Why did Gregg say it was your fault? ...Why did the doctors find heroin in your system?” It all came out at once and he hadn’t meant for the last one to be out loud.

Vince went quiet, trying to come up with something less pathetic than the truth but there was nothing. “I couldn’t do it.” The tears stung more now with the cuts and bruises around his face. “I couldn’t find the cave, I couldn’t get you back... I wanted to give it all up. I’m sorry.”

“Give what up? What was this game he was on about? What did you do?”

“Gregg let Tommy come back as a ghost. He couldn’t leave the flat and that meant me and Mick had to find you, neither of you would come back properly unless we found the cave. I couldn’t and just wanted to give up. Everything hurt and nothing felt real. I found one of your dealers, then a fight, then I thought I was dying so-”

“You were dying! The doctors said you wouldn’t have made it if you’d left it any longer. You were bleeding internally.” Nikki squeezed his hand a little. “I’m glad you got me back but... if anything ever happens to me, I don’t want you to get yourself killed. I want you to be happy in the end.”

“It was worth it. If I hadn’t have found you...” He shook his head. “I didn’t wanna come back without you.”

Nikki had never had anyone feel that way about him before and didn’t know how to respond. Scooting the chair closer and holding Vince seemed to be good enough as the blonde fell asleep in his arms.

#wave goodbye #Motley Crue #fanfiction #ended up hating this fic #and myself #never again

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kapanbenernya · 4 years

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A Hat in Time -- Cute as Heck

Yeah, I don't know where to start on this one. I mean I did liked Spyro: Year of the Dragon and that similar muppet video game when I was a kid. But I was never really into the 3D collect-a-thon, because the PS1 was the only console I had at the time, and most of those games were on the Nintendo 64. Hell, I didn't even know there was a Nintendo 64.

I told you, I was a dumb fuck when I was a kid

I picked this up because a friend kinda recommended it to me. I asked him about this game, and he said "it's pretty good, but the light-hearted-fun kind of good". Well shit, that's something I haven't heard in a long time to describe a video game, what with everything gotta be "gritty" and "realistic" but they end up edgy and depressing. After all of those things considered, I thought to myself, why not?

Let's have some light-hearted fun!

The first thing I noticed when I googled it is that it was a kickstarter project. I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of pessimistic. What, with your Mighty No. 9 and Yooka-Laylee ending up being one of the most expensive disappointment in the history of kickstarted games. But between the two, Mighty No. 9 was the one that caught my attention the most. I mean Keiji Inafune was in the team behind it. And that guy was the father of Megaman. This is like if BombTag was made by the guys who made Bomberman but also being a lot more shit than the current version of BombTag. So you can clearly see why it was a cruel twist of fate that it turned out to be crap, it had all the pieces and all the money it needed to be the homecoming diva of the year that will receive all the scholarships, and look how it ended up: a 60-pound crack-whore that sucks dick by the nickel. Well I decided then that wallowing and speculating about how this game might be another pile of shit is just wasting my goddamn time, so I moved on to finally playing the game.

The first time I started it, I wasn’t impressed

I’m just gonna be honest and upfront about this, I think the graphics sucked. I understand that you’re angry, but this is my paragraph, so shut the fuck up. Ok, how do I explain this? I mean the graphics are cel-shaded, which actually compliments the theme this game was going for, I’ll give it that much. But it’s fucking bad, even for indie. There are clipping issues everywhere, shading that went crazy and mis-matched, and a few more minor issues. They didn’t disturb the game though, not at all. I just think that if you’re making a game that’s on kickstarter and a few projects like this one has failed miserably, maybe don’t make it look like Wind Waker went a few rounds with a semi truck. But again, as I have said, it does not affect the game in any way, just a minor complaint from me really. The graphics aren’t the strength of this game anyway.

To be fair, graphics wasn’t Wind Waker’s strong suit either

To me, the strength of the game lies in the gameplay

The story is that you are some alien kid in a spaceship fueled by thingies called Time Pieces. On your way home some mafia guy asked you to pay the toll, in a blue suit, in outer space, without rockets. You gotta admire his dedication. Anyway, he fucks up your ship and as a result all your time pieces got scattered across different themed worlds. And thus begins your journey of collecting all 40 macguffins so you can kickstart your magic spaceship-home-base-thingy! Now please relocate your eyes back to it’s original place after rolling it so far backwards from hearing the sub-par theming of the game. Don’t worry, I promise everything gets better, because I will finally talk about the gameplay in the next paragraph

The gameplay at it's core is a simple 3D platformer. You jump, you slide, and you attack enemies. Pretty basic shit on the surface level, if not deceptively so. Thing is, there are moves that you can get from a combination of jumps, slides, and wall hops that can get you further than your little minds can handle. And like it or not, this is a thing that you have to master becuase the platforming will only get more and more challenging as you progress throuh the levels, especially the secret levels that can be hard as balls. Thankfully, they usually teach you how to do things by introducing a mechanic in a story first, and only after then do they allow you to go wild.

The second part of the gameplay is the objective, which is to collect all the scattered time pieces thingy to re-fuel your spaceship. This is achieved through a set goal depending on the levels of the game. And since there are 5 unique worlds in total, each with levels of their own, you can bet your ass that there’s a lot of gameplay variety. This is in one hand, a good thing since a lot of variation can be a guarantee that you will not get bored by doing the same thing again and again. I guess this is a thing that comes from being a kickstarted game. This dev guy wants this, that dev person wants another thing, and the everybody just frankenstein’d all the different concepts into one big ball and hope for the best. Thankfully, it worked in favor of the game, since the interchanging themes and mechanics means that every level feels fresh and novel. Although I must say, this also results in one particular level that’s very different in tone from the rest of the levels. I mean for comparison, In one level I was in a town full of bald Mafia men, pushing them off cliffs and ledges for fun. Meanwhile, in the next level I was being chased by the lordly ghost woman in a haunted mansion. Now, since the other levels are anything BUT scary, I thought that this horror-themed level is just children level of scary. You know, like your talking bones or bed sheet ghosts. What I didn’t expect was a sincerely terrifying level that made me genuinely scared.

Wow, I never expected that my pants could be so brown.

I gotta tell you though, that level wasn’t some kind of genius design or some avant-garde breakthrough. It’s just your generic scary enemy chasey chasey sequence you’ve seen a million times. It’s just that you can really feel the horror because you didn't expect it to be there. It’s like walking into Disneyland to find everything has been replaced by spiders and mickey had hung himself on the main attraction.

One thing that I felt is that the game is very short. 25 levels in total (excluding the DLC) with bonus missions for extra time pieces that amounts to 40. That may seem to be a huge number, but trust me it isn’t. The reason why is because the game is a bit of a cakewalk. The bosses themselves aren’t hard, except for the purple ghost guy that can spam AoE attacks like it’s going out of style. After playing it fully, I get the feeling that I’m not quite the intended audience for this game. I feel like A Hat in Time is made to be played by children. It’s just a feeling I had though.

In Brief

You know what I felt when I played A Hat in Time? Joy. Pure innocent child-like joy that leaves a grin on your face. The kind of grin you used to get when you played in the yard with your friends or family. It’s a different kind of joy from the triumph when you defeat a hard boss in Dark Souls or when you get the top frag in shooter games. It’s warm and optimistic and leaves you content. If you’re a kid looking for a good kiddie game, this one’s for you. If you’re just looking for some good old fashioned nostalgic platformer game, this one’s also for you.

Hey we don't judge things over here my guy. A game's a game, and what matters is you enjoy what you're playin'.

#pc games #steam #a hat in time #ps4 #xbox 360 #switch

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jinterlude · 6 years

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Our Second Chance (Ch.2)

↳Story Header © @softjeon (do not steal this header!)

➳ Pairing: Kim Seokjin x Female OC

➳ Genre(s): Modern!AU, Royalty!AU, Modern Royal Family!AU , Enemies turned Lovers, Friendship, Humor, Romance, & Angst

➳ Words: 5.5K

➳ Summary: Have you ever gotten that familiar feeling when you first see someone? That strange connection between yourselves even though you have no clue where that came from. Yeah…that was the sensation that Sumin felt on a daily basis ever since she has come face-to-face with the one and only Kim Seokjin. Despite being named after their ancestors, two people who were madly in love with each other, these two cannot stand to be in each other’s presence. However, that must change or else history will repeat itself. Sounds like an adventure, right?

※ Previously: ch.1

※ Next time: ch.3 | ch.4 | ch.5 | ch.6 | ch.7 | coming soon!

Chapter 2 – You are so Infuriating!

Previously

Seokjin’s hostility towards Sumin were idiotic, and he needed a to see the real Sumin. Not some fake one concocted by the tabloids.

Before he could create some elaborate plan to get Seokjin to date Sumin, Namjoon felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and looked down, immediately meeting Sumin’s hopeful gaze.

Fuck his life.

“So, what did he say?” Sumin asked, trying to make the eagerness in her voice.

Namjoon exhaled deeply as his cheeks puffed.

“Yeah…he said no…” He answered awkwardly.

Sumin looked taken back. Why had he said no? Great. Here came a storm of questions, creating almost a hurricane within her mind. She had developed that reaction whenever she became anxious over something, especially when the nerves resulted from an important issue at hand.

“What? Why? He hasn’t even seen me yet…That makes little to no sense.”

“Oh…time to tell you a story, my dear Sumin…”

Her heart raced against her chest, pounding as if someone played with it like a drum. Soft tones of red painted her cheeks as her feet created carpet prints from all the pacing she had done. Her hands flew up in the air. Her voice, an octave higher.

Short growls managed to escape whenever Sumin took a breath or when she no longer found the right words to spew out.

Why had she allowed this man to rile her up to the point of venting to her dear female friend?

Better question was—why was Kim fucking Seokjin preoccupying her mind 24/7? If it had been any other person, Sumin would have ghosted him or her. She respected herself enough to never allow someone attack her the way Seokjin did. Nope. Never.

Yet…

Here she was. Walking back and forth, in a perfect straight line, as she poured her innermost feelings to Sowon, a newly appointed queen and dearest and truest friend. Well, aside from Namjoon.

These two ladies had met at Sumin’s engagement party. While Namjoon conversed with his buddies, Sumin wondered around the ballroom until she accidentally bumped into someone and caused the victim to spill the contents of their drink. Naturally, Sumin, who had been quite flustered, apologized like her life depended on it, and the person laughed and commented how cute she was being. The person then introduced herself as Sowon, princess and soon-to-be queen once she was of age. Sumin blushed from embarrassment, while stuttering over her own name—the downside of being incredibly shy.

“You know Sumin…I think you and I will get along just wonderfully.” Sowon commented with a friendly smile.

Sumin’s eyes widened, obviously shocked with the sudden new friend.

“Oh! Uh…okay!”

And, the rest was history…

“I still can’t believe that twat implied that I was some sort of heartbreaker! Like, did his brain even remotely think that, “Hmm…I think those rumors are indeed false, and Princess Sumin is this wonderful and down-to-earth girl.” UGH!” exclaimed Sumin before emitting a frustrated fueled groan.

Sowon chuckled softly, finding it rather amusing that her best friend was getting extremely worked up over someone. From all her years of being her friend, Sowon had never once seen Sumin get this worked up. Normally, Sumin would brush off those types of attacks.

Yet, here she was, pacing back and forth in the lounge of her bedroom, ranting as if her life depended on it.

This Kim Seokjin fella must be special to her.

“I know! Usually, the heartbreaker title belongs to me,” Sowon began, pushing herself off the wall she rested against, “Something must be wrong with this person. I think he’s confused in the head.” She finished, flinging her arm around Sumin’s shoulders.

A look of displeasure graced Sumin’s face. She was always one to rarely accept signs of affection—regardless if it was on a romantic or platonic level. She’d shy away from those types of actions.

Tiny groans soon followed the displeased expression. While with Sowon, the widest grin appeared on her conniving lips as she knew how uncomfortable Sumin was. Honestly, Sowon knew Sumin better than she knew herself. It was quite terrifying.

“Okay, can you let me go now? I think that’s enough affection for the day…” asked Sumin, feeling Sowon’s grip tighten. This woman…

Sowon patted the poor princess on the head, further annoying her, “Fine but just know that I love you, and we will get through this rough patch together.”

Sumin’s mouth nearly dropped to the floor as she questioned herself why she was still friends with this queen.

Oh—that was right—she was too shy for her own good, so any forms of camaraderie were rare.

Yeah…

She should go see a therapist or something…

Sumin then swatted Sowon’s hand away and smoothed out her hair.

“Wait, how on Earth did we get off track?” asked Sumin as she finally realized that they were no longer talking about Seokjin but instead acting as if they had a couple’s spat and now were patching things up.

Sowon simply shrugged, “I don’t know, but I got you to stop talking about Seokjin though.”

Then, as if she said the magic word, Sowon triggered Sumin yet again.

“Speaking of which, he’s not even that good looking I don’t understand why people say that he’s one of the, if not the handsomest gentleman to ever exist. If anything, his looks are about average. Shit…Namjoon is even handsomer than him!” proclaimed Sumin; her voice reached an octave higher than normal.

A long sigh escaped her lips as Sowon hung her head low. There she went on her famous and rather long rants. She had to put a stop to it, especially if she wanted to have time to prepare for her first of many dates with Prince Jungkook.

Sowon waved her arms frantically and shouted at Sumin, earning the princess’s undivided attention before she truly went off.

“How about this, since I am, after all, queen, I will propose a marriage alliance in which Seokjin will be engaged to my cousin. She has a thing for idiots, and you’ll be scotch free!” she proposed, stifling a laughter that slowly formed in her chest.

Sumin stopped in her tracks. Her breath hitched. Marriage? To another?

If this were any other guy, she’d be jumping at the chance to get rid of him. Yet…something stopped her. Something clicked in her mind. Like, someone held her shoulder, preventing her from moving towards Sowon.

Whatever this was—Sumin disliked it. She disliked it majorly.

“I’m one phone call away from offering my cousin up to Seokjin.” Sang Sowon, hovering her finger over the “call” button.

Sumin groaned, stomping her feet on the plush carpet.

“Don’t!” she shouted, turning to face Sowon, who was busy grinning and showing off her locked phone. “You weren’t going to call anyone, were you?” Sumin asked with a blank face.

Sowon shook her head as tiny chuckles managed to escape.

“Besides, I think it would be rather funny to have you two meet again! Especially, after what you told me when Namjoon explained to you why that pretty boy despised your guts.” She said.

“Don’t remind me…” Sumin mumbled.

Sumin gawked after hearing the words that came out Namjoon’s mouth. Was he being serious right now? The only freaking reason why Seokjin would not go on a date with her and at least try to form a relationship was that he believed those motherfucking tabloids. Instead of being painted as the people’s princess, Seokjin saw her as the kingdom’s stuck up heartbreaker. This little man eater that had different fellas in her bed every single night.

That had to be the farthest from her true self—her true persona. Why could he not see that?

“Are you okay, Sumin? You’re unnaturally quiet about this…” Namjoon asked, carefully picking his words.

Sumin clenched and unclenched her hands. This unspeakable anger bubbled within the pits of her stomach. Her breathing grew heavy. Her bottom lip practically disappeared.

Namjoon cautiously walked up to the trembling woman. He gently placed a warm hand on her shoulder, but the moment his hand touched her clothed skin, Sumin unleashed Hell.

“That. Spineless. Idiotic. Jellyfish!” She practically screamed, causing Namjoon to quickly cover his ears.

He slowly uncovered them, though ready to do it again just in case she wasn’t quite done. He waited ten more seconds before deeming it safe to keep his precious ears uncovered.

“Those are pretty colorful words, Sumin.” Teased Namjoon, earning himself an icy cold glare from the princess.

“Shut up, Namjoon. I can’t believe that he’s believing those tasteless rumors instead of giving me a chance!” Sumin complained; her voice raised in octave.

“Yeah. Well. For having earned his bachelor’s degree, Seokjin isn’t that smart.”

Namjoon’s sentence echoed throughout her mind—on repeat—like a broken record.

Sumin stared blankly at a random spot on the wall while with Sowon, she couldn’t help but feel helpless for her dear friend.

Wait.

That was it.

Sumin needed to stop being her dear friend and this charismatic princess. She needed to be this princess that radiated confidence.

Sowon developed a fool proof plan in her intelligent brain. Her level of intelligence was practically on par with Namjoon. Go her.

“Well, I have an idea, my soft and cuddly princess. You just need to channel… well channel your inner me.”

“I’m not going to like this, aren’t I?”

A few days later, Sumin stared deeply at her laptop screen. Her right index finger circled the rim of her wine glass as she muttered every other word on a document. A document that had been sent to her by her personal assistant and most-trustworthy confidant.

Her fingers lightly tapped the keys as the surge of creativity flowed through her veins. Tiny mumbles was only thing audible from the princess as she quickly read over her strongly worded letter to the royal families of both Thailand and Malaysia.

According to her resources, Seokjin had spent countless of years to seal the trading deal with those families but failed miserably. Both of the kings had flat out rejected him, citing that they would “only do deals with a member of a royal family”.

Ouch. That had to hurt his pride since, after all, Seokjin held the title of “Duke” in his kingdom.

“I swear…their mindsets remind me of King Ji Yong…” Sumin bitterly thought as her body tensed slightly but soon relaxed. Just the mere thought of that terrible king sent shivers down her spine.

She was so glad that her kingdom were on the right path to restoring their true family traditions. Not some bullshit that King Ji Yong created to make sure that their family remained pure.

News flash. No one had pure royal blood in her family.

Now reading over the last line, Sumin smiled proudly to herself before editing her letter. If she wanted Seokjin to even consider her deal, then the letter had to be flawless.

With a firm nod, Sumin clicked “save” and then “print”. She rolled over to her printer and picked up the important piece of document. Then, she rolled back to her desk, grabbed her favorite fountain pen, and signed it.

For added measure, she added her family’s royal symbol and then sealed it inside an envelope.

Then, something had dawned on her. While yes, she had managed to uncover Seokjin’s struggles with Thailand and Malaysia, she had failed to discover the location of his company.

“You jumped the gun, Sumin…” She muttered under her breath as she picked up her office’s phone and quickly dialed the number of the one person who held the missing puzzle piece.

Before it could reach the third ring, a familiar voice happily greeted Sumin.

“How’s it going with being a stalker, Sumin?” asked the person with a playful tone.

Sumin rolled her eyes, “Ha-ha. Very funny, Namjoon,” She said sarcastically, “Look, I need a favor.” She added.

“What kind of favor? Please tell me I don’t have to act like the dutiful fiancé. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I love being your friend but when your family asks us to kiss…yeah…no. Just no.” Namjoon stated, feeling the urge to gag.

Sumin nearly choked, “Yeah. No. The favor doesn’t involve you acting like my love-stricken fiancé. I actually need to know the location of Seokjin’s office.”

On Namjoon’s end, he couldn’t help but raise his brow. He found it rather odd that she was asking for the address of Seokjin’s business.

Wanting to be on the careful side of the spectrum, Namjoon asked her why, drawing out the last syllable.

Meanwhile, with Sumin, the temptation to punch him increased with each passing second.

“I’m waiting Princess Sumin…” she heard Namjoon taunt.

Before speaking, Sumin slowly inhaled then exhaled.

“I need to know where his company is because I decided to help him out and write a rather convincing letter to the royal families of Malaysia and Thailand, so that way he can finally seal the deal.” Sumin explained with gritted teeth.

Namjoon’s chuckles was heard through on her end followed by the address of Seokjin’s company. He then instructed her to behave herself while she was there.

“Try not to maim him, okay?” Namjoon quickly added before hanging up.

Sumin rolled her eyes yet again. She could swear that she had been doing that quite frequently whenever she talked with him.

One of the many privileges of being his friend, she assumed. She placed the phone back on its dock and turned off her desk lamp. She grabbed the envelope and walked towards the door.

Just as she turned off the main light, an amusing thought occurred in her mind,

“Prepare yourself, Lord Seokjin. I’m about to offer you a deal that you can’t possibly refuse.”

And as if someone pressed the fast-forward button, the crescent moon lowered itself behind the horizon and soon, the beautiful sun took its place high in the sky. Birds sang the song of romance while a few butterflies danced with each other.

The nice, calming breeze brushed through the green leaves as it made its way towards a window—a princess’s window to be exact.

The soft wind fanned her face, causing the tired princess to open her eyes. A faint groan escaped her precious lips as she tried her hardest to focus on the time on her clock.

Then, her eyes shot opened. She scrambled out of bed and ran towards the bathroom, shedding off her pajamas in the process.

Yeah.

It was safe to assume Sumin ran late for her “meeting” with Seokjin.

Today would either make or break her. Today would decide her fate. Her fate regarding her marriage to Namjoon.

No pressure…

With the lights shining brightly in her bathroom, Sumin had a better look at her appearance in the mirror. Before hopping in the shower, she did a quick glance over, concocting the perfect look to entice Seokjin—or at least earn her the right type of judgement from him.

“I think my usual natural, yet elegant look will do the trick. Both Sowon and Namjoon had said that my natural beauty was my number one feature.” She thought as she shrugged off her bathrobe and got inside the shower.

Thirty minutes later, she resurfaced, smelling like a sweet flower. She ran her towel all over body, hoping the fabric picked up all the droplets that lingered. Then, once all the droplets disappeared, she gently rubbed her towel on her scalp before wrapping it around her head.

Sumin exited the steamy bathroom and walked over to her rather large walk-in closet. She headed over to the section where her casual clothes hung around and picked out the perfect combination for the Spring day. She settled with a pastel green blouse and black skirt with white polka dots. She then chose her favorite pair of wedges before exiting.

Looking at the time, she quickly blew dry her hair and then curled it, creating nice loose ringlets. Once that was done, Sumin swiftly did her makeup before rushing out her bedroom. She hurried down the stairs and greeted everyone and anyone that came into her line of sight. After, she requested for the driver to take her somewhere, not caring if her tummy had been empty as she walked out to the garage.

Now mouthing the lyrics to the song that played over the radio, Sumin sat anxiously in her car. Nerves bested her as she had skipped breakfast. She didn’t even want her emergency mixed berry smoothie.

What on Earth had Seokjin done to her? Ever since she had seen his picture, that strange sensation in the back of her mind grew stronger each day. She would find herself in the family archives, staring at her ancestor’s portrait. If that wasn’t freaky enough, Sumin would talk to it, begging for advice or some sort of sign that Seokjin would be the one to get her out of the arranged marriage with Namjoon.

One could only hope…

After what seemed like an eternity of driving, Sumin snapped out of her thoughts once she heard the driver announce they had arrived at Seokjin’s company.

Sumin smiled politely at the driver and told him she would call him if she needed a ride back. The driver bowed in respect, smiling and acknowledging his new orders. He then exited the driver’s side and rushed over to Sumin’s door, though, he knew it would be pointless since his princess liked doing things herself. He would never understand the rumors that circled around. The rumors where it stated that she was this lazy, underappreciating person. Those slandering words had to be stopped. If only there was something he and the rest of the workers could do.

Snapping back into reality, the driver kindly bid Sumin farewell before returning to the driver’s seat and driving off.

Sumin stayed until the vehicle was no longer seen. She then turned her body towards the building; her eyes widened at the intimidating, skyscraper that Seokjin called a business.

Her heartbeat sped up. Her breathing grew sporadic. Here came the unwanted the nerves that she had spent a majority of the morning containing. Yeah. That was a waste of her efforts.

“You can do this, Sumin. This is just like any other meeting. You are fierce. You are confident. Do not let the haters get to you. You know your truth.” Sumin chanted repeatedly as she strode over to the double glass doors and grabbed the handle.

She pulled it slowly, earning an alarm expression from the receptionist.

The female receptionist, who appeared to be in her early to mid-thirties, looked at the princess; her expression visibly surprised. Why was another kingdom’s princess visiting? More importantly, why was she here visiting her workplace? Oh no… what had her boss done this time?

Seokjin’s infamous arrogance was almost always the reason why visiting members of a royal family appeared in front of her eyes.

Great. Just flipping great.

“Excuse me? Do you know where Seokjin’s office is located at?” The receptionist heard Sumin ask, “Um, Ms. Lee?”

Ms. Lee shook her heard briefly, snapping herself back into reality.

“Of course, your highness. He is located at the top floor. The fiftieth floor to be precise. I believe he is currently in there preparing for his 11 o’clock board meeting.” She answered with a polite smile.

Sumin smiled sweetly and bowed her head; a tiny gesture that said, “Thank you.”

Before Sumin could turn away and walk towards the elevator, she heard Ms. Lee say something. Sumin hummed in response, then asked if she could repeat what she had said.

“I know it is none of my business, your highness, but I just wanted to tell you that I had those vicious rumors about you—”

“Pardon my interruption but before you have an opinion about my so called “personality”, please get to know me first and then decide whether those stories are true or not.” Sumin chimed in, ready to defend herself.

Ms. Lee became alarmed—flustered even. She did not want this headstrong, yet lovable princess think the worse of her and lump her with those idiotic “news” reporters.

“Of course, not princess! I was about to tell you that I do not believe such trashy words that those people had written about you. Believe it or not, but my parents would tell me tales of your grandfather’s reign. If I recall correctly, he was extremely good friends with my king. People would go on to say that they had been the best of friends. Practically brothers, so I personally do not understand where those fake reporters are getting their information from.” Ms. Lee said with hints of frustration in her voice.

Sumin couldn’t help but smile after hearing Ms. Lee’s rant. It honestly made her feel a bit of joy to hear someone defend her honor. Now, Sumin only wished that Seokjin could see the light and do the same.

Only time would tell… Let’s just hope he’d see reason and give her a fair chance.

Sumin sighed softly with a small smile before thanking the receptionist for being both helpful and lifting her spirits. Ms. Lee happily told the princess that she did not have to thank her as she was only stating her feelings.

Sumin bid her a fond farewell before walking towards the elevator, where her journey to Seokjin continued…

After a few minutes in the elevator, the doors opened. Sumin’s body tensed at the sight of like a hundred office workers staring in awe at her. An awkward smile graced her lips as Sumin didn’t think of anything else to do except give them a shy wave.

That shy wave caused the poor princess to nervously chuckle. God, she wanted to bury herself in a hole and never come up. Sumin bitterly thought that the Gods made her a princess as a form of torture because she was born more on the introverted side of the spectrum. Funny, right?

Sumin anxiously stepped out of the elevator and politely asked where Seokjin’s office was at.

In an instant, every single finger on that floor all pointed at a certain direction. Sumin was unsure she should find that action funny or rather scary.

She quickly bowed deeply as she shouted a quick thanks before stepping forward towards the direction of Seokjin’s office.

Each time she had passed an office worker, she’d bowed her head politely, smiling softly to every one of them. After all, they were people too. Just like her.

With each step she took, the more she closed the gap between herself and Seokjin. As she passed each office worker, she wanted to stop in her tracks. Why? Well, that was I because she heard yet another office worker defending her so to speak.

“I told you those rumors were false! Princess Sumin is nothing like how the tabloids painted her out to be.”

Sumin sighed softly with a sincere smile as she finally closed the gap between her Seokjin’s office.

Let’s just hope that lady luck lingered around when she came face-to-face with Seokjin…

Lightly knocking on his door, Sumin opened slowly, peeking her head through. Her heart skipped beat at the sight of his back towards her. The lighting created this holy aura around him, making him appear to be “good to be true”.

She continued to stare at Seokjin’s backside; her mouth dropped just a smidge. Seriously—could you blame her?

Then, it had been cut short when she heard a rather angry voice.

“What are YOU doing here?!”

Sumin flinched from the harsh tone of voice. Okay, she took it back. Any tiny romantic that were in development had been squashed immediately. The only emotion she felt towards that thoughtless fool was pure annoyance and anger. Now, she rather marry Namjoon while Seokjin jumped off a bridge.

“Wow. Is that anyway you talk to someone who is of a higher title than you?” Sumin asked with narrowed eyes.

Seokjin rolled his eyes in response. He wasn’t about to play Sumin’s little game—or he wasn’t until Sumin added a little snide remark that easily riled him up.

“You know what? It probably is, especially after you said that you wouldn’t go on a date with some stuck-up princess who so happens to be a heartbreaker as well but as a matter of fact, I wouldn’t go out with some arrogant asshole who is pretty much too stupid to think for himself and has to rely what he reads in the magazines.” Sumin said as a devious smirk slowly appeared on her lips.

Yup.

That did it.

Seokjin threw his papers onto his desk and practically stomped over to the princess. His face red with anger as he closed the gap between their bodies fairly quickly.

Unknowingly, Sumin backed up; her back hitting the wall lightly. However, she wasn’t about to back down. She never backed down to anyone, especially a man.

“You don’t even know me, Princess Sumin.” Seokjin began but was soon interrupted.

“And you don’t even know me, Sir Seokjin.” Sumin matched his cold glare.

Seokjin growled in annoyance. This princess got his nerves.

“Well, sorry sweetheart, but I don’t want to even be in the same vicinity as you let alone actually talk to you.” He stated, smirking.

Sumin scoffed, “One, don’t call me sweetheart. Two, I was right to call you stupid since not only are we in the same vicinity, as you “kindly” mentioned, but you are also talking to me,” She paused, clicking her tongue, “Yeah, I don’t think I want my future offspring to inherit your stupidity,” She then mustered the sweetest smile ever, “So, thank you for turning me down. You saved me the effort of having to reject your sorry ass later on.” She finished her speech with a bang.

Unfortunately, that was only the beginning. The both of them refused to back down. Their voices raised in pitch every time a new argument came out of their respective mouths.

As they were spewing words after words, this foreign sensation filled their hearts. Their minds became a muddled mess yet Seokjin and Sumin still had a little bit of control over themselves. They knew what they were saying yet not really.

If anything, the way they were arguing almost seemed like if their ancestors were taking control over them…

“I’m telling you for the last time, you stupid knight-in-training, you cannot tell me what to do. You are not my father, the KING of this realm, nor are you my mother, the QUEEN. Now, kindly leave me alone or else I am going to force feed you some mud.” A fifteen-year-old Sumin said, threatening her annoying yet dearest friend. Her only friend.

A sixteen-year-old Seokjin rolled his eyes and stuck his sword into the ground.

“My job as your future personal knight is to keep you safe, so why not start now? I mean, I am around you almost all the time.” He argued with a knowing gleam in his eyes.

Sumin sighed loudly; the feeling of pure annoyance washed over face. She crossed her arms as she walked up to him.

Seokjin’s eyes widened; his lips parted just a smidge. Lately, he had noticed that his heart would skip a beat and/or speed up whenever Sumin was this close to him. His cheeks warmed up as a light reddish color appeared.

He glanced at her eyes before quickly averting them. He turned his body slightly, not wanting Sumin to see his blush.

It sucked falling in love with your best friend and feeling unsure if she’d return his feelings or not.

Yet… Little did he know. Little did he know…

Heavy pants filled the room. Their courageous stares never faltered. Their chests touched each other as Sumin and Seokjin couldn’t help but wonder…

What on Earth did they feel? What caused them to argue for an entire hour? It was if someone had possessed their bodies and unleased a month of pent up frustrations towards each other.

Feeling a bit unsure, Seokjin took a step back, creating some space between them, however, it involved a bit more mental strength on his end. For some reason, he didn’t want to be away from Sumin. He didn’t want that space between them.

Seokjin mentally slapped himself and quickly blamed on being sexually frustrated. It had been quite some time since he last had sex with a female, so it made sense. No way he felt any sort of attraction towards the princess. No way. Hell would have to freeze over in order for that to happen.

While with Sumin, on the outside, she was indifferent, but on the inside, she freaked the fuck out. Her eyes glanced at his plump lips for a millisecond before she averted them. She observed how prominent his jawline was, and how noticeable his Adam’s apple was.

Her heart pounded against her chest. If Seokjin had some sort of super hearing, she could’ve sworn that he’d hear it. Her cheeks were flushed as if she stood out in the blazing heat, and her lips were slightly agape. What was wrong with her? Any form of an infatuation had been longed gone the moment Seokjin said those hurtful, deceitful things about her. She had nothing but borderline hatred for him, yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.

Okay…she had to have a one-on-one session with her personal assistant at their favorite go-to coffee shop. This was not okay!

Before Sumin could fully dive into her mental rants, she stopped herself. Whenever she ranted about everything and anything, besides pacing back and forth, Sumin tend to look pretty much everywhere in the room she was in.

Lucky her, her brain finally registered a familiar painting that hung up in the corner of his office. She squinted her eyes, hoping to gain a better look of the face. Then, seconds later, her eyes widened.

A tiny gasp escaped her lips as she instantly recognized that Seokjin’s ancestor. She had noticed a familiar hilt that she only ever knew one person who that specific design. Kim Seokjin I.

She had seen detailed paintings and drawings that her ancestor, Sumin I, had done in her journals.

Oh, my goodness…

She had to have it now. Sumin knew of the demise of their romance because of what King Ji Yong had done, so she wanted Sumin I’s portrait to be next to Seokjin I’s at least. Even though they weren’t together when they were alive, their paintings would be.

With a firm nod, Sumin turned to face Seokjin, who in return raised his brow, finding her actions odd.

“Where did you get that painting?” asked Sumin, trying to keep her face neutral as possible.

Seokjin scoffed softly, “Why do you want to know?”

“Just answer me, you annoying prick.” Sumin replied with an annoyed expression.

“Wow. Who would of thought that the princess knew such foul language?” Seokjin faked a shocked expression, “But, if you must know, it’s a family tradition of mine that the men pass down the portrait of the man who ended that horrific war that took place during Princess Sumin I’s time. My grandpa passed it down to my father who then passed it down to me. I hope to pass it down to my son someday.” He explained; hints of admiration laced his words.

What his ancestor had done would forever be something he would strive for. Seokjin II would forever strive to do something that would leave a huge impact on his family.

Sumin nodded slowly before taking one final look at the portrait.

“Excuse me. I apologize for wasting your time. It was a mistake to come here, and I will take my leave now.” She suddenly announced, hurrying out of the office.

Seokjin watched her fleeing body with curiosity. He became incredibly confused as to why the stubborn princess suddenly ran away after he explained how he got the painting.

“What a strange woman…” He thought with an amused yet faint smile.

Minutes later, he snapped back to reality and walked back to his desk. As he picked up the documents, he carelessly tossed onto his desk, and tried to focus on preparing for his meeting. The meeting that he had been over a few hours late. Thankfully, his meetings would never officially commence until he instructed his receptionist an official notice.

His eyes scanned the same line over and over. Why was his mind in jumbles still?

More importantly…

Why did his heart suddenly feel off? Like it felt empty the moment Sumin rushed out. It was if his mind was longing for her presence again.

Seokjin shook that thought away instantly and went back to work.

Yet the image of her beautiful face would forever be etched in his mind.

“What an interesting day, Kim Seokjin…what an interesting day…”

A/N: I swear. . . I would slap Seokjin and drop him after the idiotic stunts he has pulled with Sumin. Though... I think they are making some progress! Also, do you love the little Fight for Me related flashback? I’m going to be doing those types of flashbacks here and there in this series! Think of them as never before seen scenes! They’ll give you a better historic insight on Seokjin’s and Sumin’s Fight for Me counterparts! What do you guys think? Let me know!

Don’t forget to leave a like/reblog/comment/ask in my inbox! I love hearing your thoughts! :)

- Kim

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green-eyeddragonfanfiction · 6 years

Text

A Night to Remember, Part 5: The Good, the Bad, and the Undead

Summary: It’s the spookiest time of the year, and you’ve been kidnapped by a psycho named Bucky Barnes who’s using as bait to lure your boyfriend, Steve Rogers, out into the open. You and Bucky have a plan, shitty as it may be. Pairing: Hunter!Bucky x Reader, Vampire!Steve x Reader.... Stucky? Maybe Stucky. Warnings: Language (as always), violence, blood... Stucky? I guess that should be a warning. Word Count: ~2,754 A/N: Campy Halloween title? Check. Not finishing this thing before Halloween? .... Check.

Masterlist // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Steve dropped this time, large body hitting the floor with a resounding thud. Dark blood leaked from the four holes in his chest, staining the wooden floor a macabre red.

You looked from Steve’s still body to Bucky, horror clear on your face. His chest was heaving, gun clutched tightly in his hand by his side.

“What… Bucky… Why did you do that?” you whispered incredulously, tears forming in your eyes. Steve- Steve was-

Bucky was staring, gaze hard, at Steve’s body. “I just gave him what he deserved.”

“Did- did you-”

“No, I didn’t ‘kill’ him, though he’s technically already dead. I’d have to chop his head off or put one of these bullets through his skull or heart. I got close a few times, but he’ll wake up... Eventually,” Bucky said as he shoved his pistol in his belt.

He walked over to Steve’s lifeless body and nudged it with his foot, scoffing. He turned his attention to you after a moment, eyeing you suspiciously.

“Well, you’re not his thrall. Vamps can’t control people when they’re unconscious,” Bucky said matter-of-factly. “But I’m still a little worried you’ll try to attack me if I untie you,” he said, crossing his arms against his chest as he stared down his nose at you.

You gave him a disbelieving look. “Well now I know you were telling the truth and, if Steve was also telling the truth just now, I don’t want to sit here and become a Vampire’s main course!” you spat, glaring up at him.

“So you’re not going to try and stab me? Or shoot me?” he asked as though he was inquiring after your favorite type of soft drink.

“No,” you said, drawing the word out slowly and deliberately while you stared at him, gaze unwavering.

He shrugged and seemed to accept your answer because a half second later he pulled a wicked-looking knife from his belt and cut the zip ties that were securing your wrists and ankles. He untied the rope that had been binding your torso to the chair a second later and you finally took a deep breath, rubbing your tender wrists.

“C’mon, we’ll take him back to your place,” Bucky said, hoisting Steve up on his broad shoulders. “Grab my stuff. Car keys are in the side pocket,” he said, nodding his head towards the army green duffel under the table.

You stared at him, dumbfounded. “Why on earth would we take him back to my place?” you asked incredulously.

“Because it isn’t this dump,” Bucky said dismissively, already heading towards the door.

You stared after him for a moment before you scrambled into action, throwing all of the odds and ends of Bucky’s equipment into his bag. You hoisted it over your shoulder, grunting at the weight of it, and hastily followed him out of the house.

By the time you caught up with him, he’d already thrown Steve unceremoniously into the trunk.

He pointed to the bag as he unlocked his car. “Throw that in the back seat. How far away is your place?” he asked casually, as though there wasn’t a bullet-ridden unconscious vampire in his trunk, and he hadn’t just kidnapped you an hour ago.

You sighed as you threw the duffel in the backseat. To your dismay, the car bounced a little under its weight.

“About twenty-five minutes from here,” you said as you closed the rear door and opened the front one. You hopped in the passenger seat, not bothering to close the rickety door gently.

“Hey, be careful. She’s delicate,” Bucky scolded, glaring at you from his spot in the driver’s seat.

“’She’?” you asked, raising a critical eyebrow at him.

“Yeah! Her name’s Baby!” he said defensively as he patted the hood affectionately.

You gave him a look that was a cross between utter confusion and condescending disbelief, but he didn’t seem to notice, as he was too busy coercing ‘Baby’ to start.

“Where to?” he asked, turning to look at you, steel blue eyes bright in the surrounding darkness.

You sighed, and began directing him towards your house.

Twenty-two-and-a-half minutes later, Bucky pulled into your driveway. You questioned if pulling directly up to your house was a good idea, but when he told you that you could carry Steve’s bloody unconscious body down the block instead, you quickly shut your mouth.

Just as Bucky opened the trunk and hefted Steve over his shoulder, a few kids came running down the street, decked out in costumes. You watched, petrified, as they spotted the three of you and made a beeline straight for you.

“Wow! That’s such a cool prop!” one said, reaching for Steve’s hand.

Bucky deftly maneuvered Steve out of the kid’s reach, making the act of tossing around a two hundred pound man look easy.

“Thanks, kid. I’m a special effects artist. Halloween’s kind of my thing,” he said, lying easily. He gave the kids a wink before he grabbed your hand and dragged you to your door before you could ruin his charade by looking every bit as guilty as you felt.

You fumbled for your keys, but the kids had luckily cleared out as soon as Bucky told them you’d be handing out sugar-free gum.

Once you got the door unlocked, Bucky brushed past you and threw Steve bodily onto the couch.

“You couldn’t let me put down towels first?” you asked haggardly, staring at your poor, now-bloodstained couch.

“Ah, my bad. I should have just kept carrying the two hundred pound man on my shoulder,” Bucky said snidely, plopping down on the loveseat across from your couch. “Nice place you got here,” he noted, glancing around the room with mock interest.

“Inherited it,” you said simply, taking a seat in the recliner.

“Parents?” he asked, looking back at you, interest sparking in his eyes.

“Yeah, they died a few years ago. Why?” you asked bluntly, not liking the way he was probing into your painful past.

“No friends?” he asked perceptively,

“No. Too busy. Does this insulting line of questioning have a point?” you asked, crossing your arms as you glared at him.

“Well you fit the MO for all the murdered women so far. Steve said it wasn’t him and if he’s telling the truth... there’s a good chance the real killer is out there waiting for a chance to get to you,” he reasoned as he leaned back in his seat.

You pulled your legs to your chest, glancing from Steve to Bucky and Back as you wrapped your arms around yourself. Bucky seemed content to let you think as he studied the first floor with a cautious eye.

“Is there more? What else is real?” you asked quietly.

His gaze snapped to you and his lips pressed together in a hard line as he thought about whether or not to answer your truthfully.

He let out a long sigh before he nodded. “Yeah, there’s more. Vampires, werewolves, genies, ghosts, all that freaky shit,” he said, watching you carefully for your reaction.

You were overloaded with the implications and simply nodded, too overwhelmed to feel anything yet.

“We need to get him restrained,” Bucky said, nodding his head towards Steve. “If I’m being honest, I want him to be telling the truth, but I know how Vamps work. I’m not taking any chances,” he said ominously, face shadowed.

“What do we need?” you asked, face set in determination.

By the time you got back from the nearby church, stolen holy water in hand, Bucky had tied Steve up and chained him to a support beam in your basement. Bucky hadn’t wanted you to go alone, but someone had to, and you had no idea how to hog tie a person.

He looked immensely relieved at your reappearance. You handed the bottle off to him and he set it on the table nearby, just within reach.

“Thanks, Doll,” he said quietly, eyes trained on Steve. “He should be wakin’ up soon. His wounds have all closed.”

“And then?” you asked, glancing worriedly between Bucky and Steve.

“He’s going to be hungry,” Bucky said darkly, scowling.

“Hungry...? You mean...?” you asked warily, already knowing the answer.

“Blood,” Bucky stated simply, turning his head to give you a long, hard look. “And here we are, fresh out of blood bags,” he joked.

“We could-”

“We’re not doin’ a grand hospital heist, Doll,” Bucky said, accurately guessing your train of thought. “Heads or tails?” he asked, pulling a quarter of his pocket.

“What do you mean, heads or tails? Don’t tell me-”

“It’s for who gets to be the snack bar for Stevie,” Bucky said, tilting his head to the vampire, who was just beginning to stir.

“You’re really going to let him suck me dry? Wasn’t the whole point of this to prevent that?” you asked incredulously.

“Well, it’s either you or me. I figured we might as well leave it to chance,” he said, shifting impatiently from foot to foot.

“What happened to chivalry?!” you asked frantically. Surely he couldn’t be seri-

“Feminism, Doll,” he said, raising his eyebrows challengingly.

You opened your mouth to object, but damn it he was right. You weren’t worth any more or less than him. At least if you were the snack bar he’d have a better chance at stopping Steve if he went too far.

You nodded, shoulders slumping in defeat.

“Call it,” he warned a half second before he flicked the quarter into the air.

“Heads!” you said quickly.

A second later Bucky caught it, and revealed it.

George Washington was gazing stoically back up at you and you jumped in relief. “Yes!” you said excitedly, throwing your arms in the air in celebration.

“Crap,” Bucky mumbled, glaring down at the quarter as though it had insulted him in every language known to man. “Alright, Doll. Listen closely, he’ll be awake soon. Take the bottle of Holy Water. If he goes too far or doesn’t let go, you empty that entire thing on his face, got it?” Bucky said as he shoved the quarter back into his pocket and rolled up one of his sleeves.

“Aye aye, Sergeant!” You said, giving him a cheesy salute as you grabbed the bottle of holy water and uncapped it.

“Please try to take this seriously. Vamps get real nasty if they’re-”

“Bucky,” came a weak voice from the other side of the room.

“-hungry,” Bucky finished, gaze slowly turning to Steve. You turned, too, and were shocked to Steve staring at the both of you with surprising intensity.

He was in full monster mode, eyes glowing and red, claws extended, fangs bared.

“(Y/N),” he whispered, gaze flicking to you. You felt the pull, then. You wanted to go to him, pull your collar down and let him-

“Focus, (Y/N),” Bucky said, pulling you from Steve’s mental grasp. “Don’t let him draw you in. I don’t think he has much control right now,” Bucky warned, turning back to Steve, whose attention had shifted back to him.

“Help me. Please, Buck,” Steve said quietly, voice smooth as silk. You weren’t sure if it was Bucky or Steve that made him move forward, but in the span a few breaths he was in front of Steve. You expected him to stop there and offer his wrist, but Bucky took another step closer. Close enough for-

Bucky tilted his neck to the side and in a flash Steve sunk his fangs into the side of Bucky’s neck, right above the junction of his shoulder. Bucky let out a pained gasp at the same moment Steve let out a moan of pure bliss.

You watched in rapt horror as Bucky’s hands fell onto Steve’s shoulders, holding onto him as though he was a drowning man at sea. Steve’s eyes had been closed at first, but they opened suddenly, locking directly onto you. You felt his pull again. It was telling you to come closer, too. Come closer and join in the pleasure... and the whimper that fell from Bucky’s lips almost convinced you; that definitely wasn’t a whine of pain; Bucky was enjoying himself.

All at once, your brain seemed to catch up with what was going on and you rushed forward in a panic. Bucky looked like he was about to pass out, and Steve showed no sign of stopping.

“Let him go, Steve!” you yelled, trying to tug Bucky from Steve... but Bucky was holding firmly to Steve’s shoulders. Hell, he’d even wrapped himself around Steve, pressing their bodies together.

“You’re killing him!” you warned, brandishing the bottle dangerously in his direction. A low, feral snarl ripped through Steve’s chest and fear coursed through your veins at the sound, but you stood your ground. “I’m sorry!” you yelled, dumping the entire bottle on his head.

Steve screeched and let go of Bucky both mentally and physically, skin hissing and smoking where the water touched it.

Bucky sagged to the ground and you quickly dragged him out of Steve’s reach, struggling because of how huge he was.

“Bucky? Bucky! Please tell me you’re awake!” you said frantically, shaking one of his shoulders as you held a hand over the two puncture wounds in his neck.

“’M fine,” Bucky mumbled, struggling to focus on your face.

“What- Did I-” Steve sputtered, apparently finally coming to his senses.

“Not right now Steve!” You said bitterly as you removed your shirt and shoved it against Bucky’s neck. It was a show of how out of it he was that he didn’t even mention the fact you were now in nothing but a bra.

“You. Hold this in place. I’ll be right back!” you said quickly, dashing upstairs for sugary food, water, and your med kit.

You ran back downstairs with your supplies and were relieved to see that Bucky was still conscious, clutching your shirt dutifully to his neck. It was already soaked with a worrying amount of blood, but you ignored the queasy feeling in your stomach. You needed to focus.

“You were supposed to offer him your wrist, idiot!” You hissed, giving him a swift slap on the chest.

“Ow. You’re hitting the half dead guy, but not the one who did the half-killing to him?” Bucky asked, words slurring together a bit.

“Shut up, sit up, eat this cookie, and drink some water,” you ordered as you began unpacking the med kit.

“Yes, ma’am,” Bucky said easily as he propped himself up against a box of your old things.

“Did I-”

“Shut up, Steve,” you hissed, throwing him a venomous glare.

Steve hung his head in shame; your answer had been enough. He’d hurt Bucky.

Bucky nibbled at his cookie slowly, keeping pressure to his wound with your shirt while he watched you work.

“You’re probably best off slappin’ some gauze over it once it stops bleedin’,” Bucky supplied, swapping the cookie for a sip of water.

“Thank you, Doctor Obvious,” you said scathingly.

You were in the middle of unwrapping a small mountain of gauze when his next words made you question your sanity. “I didn’t know it felt so good,” Bucky said offhandedly, the light pink blush on his cheeks especially pronounced because of how pale he was at the moment.

You stared at him, open-mouthed, in abject horror. “Dear lord, he’s gone insane,” you whispered.

“No, I just- Ugh, kill me. Just kill me,” Bucky groaned, covering his face with his hand in embarrassment.

“Buck, I’m sorr-”

Bucky held a finger out, cutting off Steve’s apology. “Nah! Nope! Shut up, punk! I don’t wanna hear it!” Bucky said crossly, refusing to look at Steve.

“Stop moving, or you’ll ruin all the progress you’ve made,” you said tersely as you eyed his neck.

Steve tried again. “I promise it won’t happ-”

“It better not,” you said dangerously, glancing at him malevolently.

“(Y/N), I-”

“You can apologize to me and Bucky once he’s not in danger of bleeding out in my basement,” you said angrily as you batted Bucky’s hand away from his neck, carefully peeling your shirt away so you could get a look at his wound. Seeing that it had stopped the worst of its bleeding, you quickly applied some gauze and taped the wound up, promising to disinfect it in a little while; you were sure you’d just set it bleeding again if you tried right then.

“Hey, Doll?” Bucky said weakly.

“What is it?” you asked worriedly.

“You’re still shirtless,” he said, grinning playfully at you.

Next Chapter

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all-sortsa-stuff · 7 years

Text

A new start, part 9

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Word Count: 3425

Warning: Language and some fluff

Part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7 part 8

It was inevitable that your family would love Chris. The rest of your time in Tennessee consisted of several more dinners with your parents. Jake and Chris had gone out one night for beers during the time as well. Jake said it was to save Chris from the whole family but you knew it was for Jake to grill him about his intentions towards you. While you thought the gesture was sweet, it was also somewhat annoying that your brother wanted to meddle in your relationship. They came home laughing, easing the dread you felt in your heart. Chris said they had a great time and how much alike Jake and you really were. You would never admit it to your brother but you loved it that he was getting along with Chris. Jake’s approval meant a great deal to you. It would hurt if he did not agree with your relationship. Now it did not matter, as he loved Chris almost as much as you did.

Oh, shit… Love Chris. You leaned against the fence of the front paddock as you watched your dad work with Apple. She was not rideable yet and needed a lot of work to get used to having a saddle on. Chris had taken a call from his agent, so here you stood coming to the realization that you were absolutely in love with him. It should not have been a new thought. You had been together now a month and a half and it should have been something you had been thinking about. But no, your addled mind and heart had just been enjoying every moment with him. Your heart started to beat quickly in your chest as you leaned your head against the board of the fence. Was it too soon? It had not been long since… No this was different, so much different. Chris is different. He is a great guy who cares about you.

Trying to calm the beating of your heart and your irregular breathing had distracted you enough that you did not hear your father put Apple back into her stall or walk up behind you. “You okay sugar? You are lookin’ like you seen a ghost.” His voice broke through the haze of your busy mind causing you to startle and your heart rate to speed further.

“Oh yeah Daddy, I’m fine. Just thinking.” He gave you that “daddy” look.

“Anything you wanna share?” Shaking your head, you leaned your head back down onto the fence.

“You know it’s okay to love him baby girl.” You did not look up at him. Actually, you started to laugh. It was not that full belly laughing from something funny. The ironic laugh bordered on a whimper. Of course, he knew what you were thinking.

“Dad how do you know me so well?” He pulled you into his arms and wrapped them around you.

“I’m your Daddy. I know the faces you make, I know when you worry. You are worrying about that boy. Which he is one thing in this world you don’t have to worry about. He isn’t like the last one. Jake and I already made sure of that. So when you give yourself that chance you can love him with all your heart.” He always had a way of easing your thoughts and fears.

“Dad you are the best, you know that?”

“Tell that to your Momma. Make sure she knows it too.” Both of you laughed as he gave you one more good squeeze. “Go spend some time with the boy. Enjoy this time before y’all have to head back to work.”

You found Chris getting a couple drinks out of the fridge when you went back inside. “Oh hey, you done out there? I was about to see if you were thirsty.”

Walking up to him you set the drinks on the counter before wrapping your arms around his neck and kissing him lovingly. It lingered few moments before he pulled back with a grin to look at you. “Wow, what was that for?”

“Just wanted to show you how happy I am to have you in my life.” He looked down at you, running his thumb lightly over your cheek.

“I am so glad I met you, that you let me be a part of your life. You all right?” Chris was perceptive just like your father. You nodded as you stole another light kiss.

“I’m fine. Just wanted to make sure you knew it.”

The rest of your afternoon consisted of packing and cuddling on the couch with a pizza. You refused one last family dinner before heading to Boston. Spending time, just the two of you was the only thing you wanted right now. Though it was difficult to not let those three little words slip out. You did not want to scare him so soon. It was a relaxing night watching your favorite movies, the original Star Wars trilogy. It made you smile that he enjoyed how much of a geek you truly were. You fell asleep twenty minutes into Return of the Jedi. When you woke up in the morning, you were very warm as there was a male body wrapped around you, radiating a whole lot of heat.

It was probably some of the best sleep you had in a very long time being all warm curled up next to this beautiful man. If you weren’t scared shitless at the moment you would probably would try to kiss him awake and drag him upstairs to your bed. However, your bladder had a different idea and you found it rather difficult to extricate yourself from Chris’s arms. As soon as you moved just a few inches, he stirred and pulled you closer. Damn man and that inhuman strength. You tried once again to no avail. Fine you would have to resort to drastic measures…

Using something he told you months ago against him, you started to tickle up his sides. His body stirred and jerked slightly. As you waited to see if he moved, you tried pulling back again. Nope… This time you tickled much longer than the first time causing him to wake and start to laugh. Chris pushed your hands away giving you the time to jump off the couch. “Oh thank God!”

“[Y/N] you suck! I didn’t tell you how ticklish I am for you to actually tickle me!” He yelled across the house laughing. You could actually hear him from the bathroom. He was all smiles by the time you returned.

“Sorry but I had to pee! You would not let me go. I was desperate.” Chris pulled you down onto his lap when you had come within distance.

“Just remember babe, revenge is a bitch.” He leaned in nipping your neck causing you to squeal loudly and try to pull away.

“Noooo. No no no. We have to get ready to leave for the airport. You can’t attack me now.”

He laughed with his face buried in your neck. Rolling your underneath him on the couch he continued as did the laughs and squeals from you. Someone knocked on the sliding glass door. Breaking the spell you were both under. Straightening your slept-in clothes, you went to find your brother standing there with both hands on his hips, shaking his head.

“I really did not need that sight stuck in my head. I will have to stick hot pokers in my eyes now.” Rolling your eyes you turned back into the house walking towards the kitchen. “Morning man.”

Jake nodded towards Chris as he stood up from the couch following behind you. “I was just checking if you needed anything before you leave.”

“Nope. As soon as we pack up the truck we are headed out.”

“Okay good. Just thought I’d ask before I head out to the back pasture. I got to fix a few of the posts so I will be out most of the day. Chris it was good to meet you, man. Don’t let my bossy sister push you ‘round.” Jake shook Chris’s hand as you rolled your eyes.

“Whatever Jake. I will see you in a few months.” Ignoring your foul expression, he moved over to hug you tight enough to make you gasp for breath.

“I will be watching you win from the comfort of my couch, Miss Fancy Pants. Try not to fall on your face. I won’t let you live it down for the rest of your life.” Your brother always knew the way to make you smile even when you did not want to. Chris shook his head laughing.

“You two are me and my siblings to a ‘T’.”

With a quick goodbye to your parents, you headed to the airport. There was a short delay for a storm before you were able to take off. Before you knew it, you were walking into Chris’s house with a dog jumping on you. His enthusiasm knocked you back into Chris. “Dodger, down. You can attack and kiss her once we are actually in the door.”

He was not listening; he was far too excited to meet the new person and then jump all over Chris who he missed. Chris’s parents had been watching Dodger this time while he had been filming. Most of the time he brought him with him on location. After you were both, able to unload the bags into the bedrooms Dodger got all the attention he wanted from you. He was now laying on your lap with his belly up as you rubbed it. Chris shook his head looking down at you and the dog. “Dodger you stole my girl. That’s my spot.” The dog turned his head to look at Chris before yawning wide then going back to having his belly rubbed. That was how the first week went. Dodger did not leave your side while you were there. You were happy to have the dog’s approval. Though it made sleeping a little difficult. He wanted to be up on the bed with you for a little while then would jump off and go to Chris’s room for a little while then come back again.

Meeting Chris’s family the third day for Sunday dinner had been an event. His parents, his sisters and brother were all there. The family was all very happy to meet the girl Chris had been talking about for months. It had been a wonderful meeting and you found that he joked and teased his siblings almost as much as Jake teased you. Chris’s mom, Lisa, had sat down beside you moving Chris out of the way to talk to you. She was so sweet asking about your family and your house in Tennessee. Her excitement for the upcoming awards for you made you feel so welcome. This was a family you could see yourself becoming a part of. At that thought, you almost slapped yourself. You could not get ahead of yourself and the relationship. He did not know how you felt about him and you had not made love yet. Therefore, the marriage idea probably should wait just a bit longer.

The second week of the Boston visit consisted of some sight-seeing, and a whole lot of reading scripts for both of you. The television show you were doing a story arc for, had four scripts you needed to memorize. While Chris had to make sure, he knew his lines for Captain America: Winter’s Soldier backwards and forwards. Both of you were laying across from each other on his couch while Dodger slept upside down on the floor just below you. Many pages and lots of food sat around the coffee table. It was almost as it was a typical day at home. Honestly, it felt right and it felt like you had been together for years. Spending everyday together for almost a month, neither one of you had become sick of the other. There had not been any fighting and all the families were happy. How often did that really ever happen? Maybe it was a sign that you were getting your new start.

The trip to Los Angeles was a breeze. Though it was also bittersweet. You only had three more days left with Chris before you both had to part for your new projects. He had barely let go of your hand the whole trip but you agreed that once you departed the plane that you would ride separately to the house. Due to the vast amount of celebrities that were coming into town for the awards, the paparazzi was everywhere. The flashes from the cameras were nearly blinding as you retrieved your luggage. Some were asking if you were bringing anyone to the awards, others were telling you to turn to look at them.

You tried to be as nice as you could, smiling and deflecting the questions as you could. Chris was somewhere in the airport. There was no way you would try to text him right now to find out where. Getting out of the airport unscathed was your primary target now. Chris met you at his house not too long after you arrived. He had given you his key and so you waited for him. When he arrived, he looked exhausted. “Those people at the airport are a bunch of vultures. I didn’t think I was going to make it out alive.”

Laughing you hugged him close. “Well we are here now. We can sleep before the whirlwind of tomorrow.”

“Hey it’s all about you tomorrow. I don’t have a worry in the world other than to make sure it’s a great day for you. Just tell me what I can do for you.”

“Show me where I can sleep and then I will worry about the rest tomorrow.” Throwing his arm over your shoulder, he showed you to the guest room. You shook your head at him. “No I want to sleep in your bed tonight. I want to curl up with you tonight.”

Chris looked down at you in surprise. “You sure? You don’t have to…”

“We aren’t doing anything more than sleeping tonight. Got it?” He laughed as he led you towards his room. Both of you fell asleep quickly from the sheer exhaustion of the day and slept better than you had in a while. It was late morning by the time you were awoken with the smell of fresh coffee. He had gotten up to make you a cup and was waving it under your nose to see if you would actually respond. It did not take long.

“You seriously are the best, you know that?”

“I know.” Chris kissed your forehead as you sat up, taking the cup from his hand. “You ready for tonight?”

“No. I am petrified of falling in front of millions of people.” The coffee was of course perfect. The warmth of it seeping through you and calming your nerves.

“Number one, I would never let you fall, ever. Two, you have nothing to be scared of. You are going to win and everyone is going to be cheering for you. We will have a great time. Okay?” You nodded like a good little child but those fears were still there in the forefront of your mind.

Your designer friend, Mijael, showed up an hour after you got a shower with his entourage of makeup, hair and his assistant. All prepared to ensure no one would ever forget your name. The living room was turned into your personal area as you were prepped for the night. Chris took pictures of you with your hair in curlers and one of the girls painting your toenails, sending it to your brother for him to show your parents. Chris and Jake had been texting back and forth since you left Tennessee. They had been joking about you and were fast becoming friends. That could be a dangerous thing.

You were sure that Chris had to be bored to tears but he sat watching you the entire time as you were brushed, buffed and polished. Thank God, he did because he kept you sane while Mijael worked his magic. Mijael sent Chris up to get dressed in his tuxedo as the girls brought you to the spare bedroom to get you into your dress. That was adventure in and of itself. After you slipped on the special new lingerie you bought to wear underneath they helped you slip into the mess of blue and black material. Once it was settled in place and zipped up, it was hard to believe you were looking at yourself.

Mijael wanted “dramatic” and boy did he deliver. Your lips were a blood red with a light tinge of color on your cheeks. The dramatic dark smoky color around your [Y/E/C] eyes, made them pop brightly. The style of your hair was pulled back in a twist on the back of your head with part left loose to wave on the right side. The dress made your jaw drop. It was midnight blue and black with one strap that wrapped around your right shoulder. The colors swirled around together and were almost iridescent. The skirt billowed out slightly and had a modest train behind you, with a sweetheart neckline and a low back. It was gorgeous and that wonderful man made it comfortable. You would be able to walk and sit in it without an issue. Everyone wanted to get the effect of you walking down the stairs to meet Chris at the bottom. Mijael was taking a video of it as you descended the stairs. Chris’s eyes went wide as you smiled down at him. The whole effect of the hair, makeup and dress stunned him into silence.

Once you met him at the bottom of the stairs, you slipped your hand into his. He looked sexy as hell in his tuxedo, but you knew he would. “You ready for this handsome?”

“[Y/N]… I don’t even know… just holy shit… I… fuck you look gorgeous.” Everyone laughed as he stumbled over the words. He was afraid to touch you and ruin something but you grabbed him and kissed him hard. The lipstick you wore was not coming off so you did not have to worry about it smearing all over him or wearing off throughout the night. Chris seemed to like that idea very much as he stole another kiss as he pulled you close. Mijael took several more pictures for you on both of your phones so you could send them to all the parents and siblings. Then he ushered you towards the awaiting limo. With your purse full of snacks and tickets, you were off to one of the biggest nights of your life.

There were hundreds of people line up along the roads and the red carpet into the building. The screams of all the fans could probably be heard blocks away. As the limo pulled up to the front of the theater and the red carpet, you had to take a few deep breaths to ease the butterflies. Your heart was racing with excitement and anxiety together. Chris squeezed your hand as he whispered in your ear. “You got this baby. Everyone is here to see you. Show them how you shine.”

With a gentle kiss, you nodded letting him know you were ready. The driver opened the door allowing Chris to step out first. The crowd screamed louder as the saw him. He held his hand out to you giving you a chance to take it so you could stand. As you stood and took a step into view the screams reached a new height. You were not sure if it was because of you or if it was that everyone saw you had come with Chris. If not both a little of both. So many flashes going off from the crowd and the media close by. People shouting your name to come talk to them. You felt another squeeze of your hand as Chris helped you step further onto the carpet. Everyone noticing you were holding hands only made it worse. Waving to the crowd with a grin, in your mind wondering how you were going to make it to the end of the night.

“Just breathe, just breathe.” You whispered to yourself. With that, you step towards the first reporter in the long gauntlet of the red carpet.

“[Y/N]! [Y/N]! You look amazing. Who is your designer?”

Part 10

tag: @feelmyroarrrr @bolontiku @aquabrie @malindacath @thegirlwithnodragontattoo @magellan-88 @jensenxnina @thedoctorsnerdgirl @waywardswain @tacohead13 @beckyboo1188 @pegasusdragontiger @our-chaoticwhispers @smoothdogsgirl @kitty112213 @sf0206 @debzybrazy @theresnotenoughwords @smurfielovesyouu @adeptkillsyasse @castallandiagelo

#chris evans #chris evans imagine #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fandom #chris evans fic #chris evans x reader #chris evans x you #you x chris evans #reader x chris evans #fanfic #fanfiction #chris evans story #chris evans series #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fluff #chris evans love

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serzhantkris · 7 years

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Something Worth Fighting For- 6

Summary: You’ve just begun to settle into life as an Avenger when a mission gone awry divides the team in half, and a familiar face shows up just in time to make you second guess your every choice. Third installment of the Worth Fighting For Series

Words: 1871

Warnings: Language, as always. Canon violence.

Masterlist Part 5

Even under the red, flashing glow of the alarms, the darkness filling where the glare could not reach, it was easy for you to make out Bucky’s face. Hard, stoic. Nothing like he had been before, sitting in the glass cage, head back against the seat, his jaw tight. All sense of remorse had been drained from his eyes, sucked from the very pit of his soul. This was not Bucky, who had could not remember his street address, but knew your favorite color. Not the man who screamed in his sleep and knew where you were ticklish; not the man who repeated his serial number under his breath or braided your hair by campfire.

This was the Winter Soldier, in all his controlled hate, power surging through the metal fist as it guided Sam through the air until his back slammed into the glass cage meant to contain him.

He spun on his heel the moment Sam’s chin left his grasp, before even the deafening thud of Sam’s back slamming into the metal. His gaze landed hard on Steve, eyes dark as Steve released the other man and he spun, defending himself from Bucky’s blows.

You were at Sam’s side in an instant, trying to pull him to his feet, to make sure he was alright. Sam shook it off, holding a hand against his head as he accepted your hand. The sound of metal whirring, the slams and yells of the other men fighting, had ceased; it was too silent. Both of you looked, toward the elevator, it’s door warped in and the man- this pseudo psychiatrist- standing at it, looking down.

“Hey!” Sam shouted, darting after him as he ran toward the stairwell. “I got him, help Steve!”

Sam’s voice carried down the hall as you skid to a halt, turning on your heel to head back toward the elevator. “Steve!” Your shouts echoed in the metal shaft. Steve was at the bottom, lying on his stomach, pushing himself up with pained grunts. “You alright? Which way he go?”

Steve pushed himself to his feet, peering up at you through the cloud of dust. “I dunno,” he admitted, grabbing the cables of the elevator and climbing toward you. “I was a bit incapacitated.’

“Need a lift?”

“That supposed to be a joke?” Steve’s quip fell flat as you lay on your stomach, reaching down, hands just out of his reach. He jumped, grasping your wrists, and planted his feet against the metal. Together the two of you yanked him back out, panting as you jumped to your feet and sped down the hall, splitting up as the hall opened into the building.

You were not the first to find Bucky. He was already downstairs, making his way out of the building, picking through anyone who tried to stop him. Tony was attempting to take him on, one of his weapons wrapped around his wrist as he sent a fist flying at Bucky’s face. It did little more than piss him off, his head snapping sideways but quickly recovering. One punch to Tony’s gut and he was down.

There weren’t many options. Swallowing any reservations you had about fighting him, you rushed forward, sliding down to knock his feet out from under him. He toppled, but rolled backwards and was on his feet just as fast as he went down. His metal hand wrapped around your wrist, yanking your arm behind your back, but not before you pulled up your feet and kicked, backwards, hitting him in the groin, and he let go.

“Shit, sorry,” you yelped, ducking when his fist flew at you. One after the other, the two of you danced around one another’s assaults. A well rehearsed dance; you knew his moves, and he’d come to know yours. He was wordless, each move calculated, and more than once he nearly caused you to slip.

Jumping on his back, you rolled over his shoulders, wrapping your legs around his neck and pummeling him with your elbows, trying to hit his pressure points. His hands gripped your waist, tight, and you hissed with pain as he marched forward, trying to throw you off.

He succeeded, slamming you down into a table. It cracked beneath your weight as his metal hand wrapped around your throat, your legs barely keeping him from pinning you between him and the surface. Your fingers slid under his hand, keeping just enough space to breathe.

“James,” you breathed, voice hoarse as you kept pushing against his chest, a stalemate between you. “This is not the place for this!”

A flicker of something in Bucky’s eyes made you start, confusion rattling your brain as you tried to pick out what was going through his head at that exact moment. Was it- amusement? You didn’t have anymore time to think on it, air rushing to your lungs as he flew back, his grip on you releasing. You gasped for air, nearly falling off the table, the pain of oxygen rushing into your lungs keeping you from sitting, from chasing after him and whoever had attacked him.

By the time you could move, senses returned, he was gone. The room was in shambles, people trying to pick up themselves and each other, nursing wounds. Sharon bent over, hands on her knees, gripping her side. Natasha was on her hands and knees, Tony still on the ground with broken glasses and a hard, cold expression.

Before any of them could say something, could try and stop you, you got to your feet, stumbling in the path of destruction to find where he’d gone.

Instead, you found T’Challa. He was standing, still, alone, in the middle of a room with his hands hanging at his sides. He turned as you entered the room, eyes dark as he frowned at you. “Your husband,” he said, holding his head high. “You have no idea what kind of monster he truly is.”

“Trust me, I really do,” you snorted back. Breathing was still hard, swallowing so much as your own spin causing a sharp pain in your throat. T’challa did not respond, but held up his hand against your shoulder when you tried to pass.

“Wherever you go,” he said, voice low, eyes narrowed. “I will find you.”

Smirking, you stepped aside so that his hand was no longer touching your shoulder. “I’m counting on it.”

Your cellphone, still somehow tucked in your pocket and unbroken, chimed. Tugging it out, you opened the message from Sam, gripping the device a bit too tightly.

“I am sorry,” T’challa called after you as you pushed through the glass door, his voice radiating in the otherwise empty room. “I wish I did not have to make a widow of you.”

“Why does everyone keep calling me that,” you grumbled to yourself, shoving your cell phone back into your pocket.

They were in a warehouse, waiting. Just a few blocks away, the warehouse was inconspicuous. Tucked between a series of other buildings, all of them slowly decaying. You glanced around as you approached, watching for anyone who might have followed you. Tugging your ballcap lower, you rapped gently against the door and waited. After a long moment, it slid open, Sam’s face appearing between the cracks.

“Didn’t think you’d come,” he said, looking over your head. “Anyone follow?”

“If they did, I’ve had dealt with it by now,” you said, slipping through the door as he moved back. The door closed heavily behind you and you pulled off the hat, looking around at the dingy warehouse. It was empty, for the most part, with light illuminating the dirty floors and rusted metal. An old garage, probably, a place they fixed cars or created machinery. Construction.

Steve was leaning against a wall nearby, staring down at his boots. His clothes were soaked, water rolling down his arms and dripping from his hair. He glanced up as you approached, a soft smile on his lips. “You’re here,” he said.

“You both seriously thought I was gonna sit by?” Looking back at Sam, he shrugged. Steve cleared his throat, standing up.

“No,” he answered honestly. “No, we didn’t.”

“Where is he?”

Steve tilted his head toward an adjoining room and you nodded, slipping into the other room wordlessly. The muffled voices of the two men followed soon after as you stood, staring at Bucky’s unconscious form. He was propped up, leaning against a vice that pinned down his arm.

He looked peaceful. His eyes closed, fluttering gently, chest rising and falling with deep breaths. Bucky was asleep, for the first time in a while, if you had to guess. Sighing, you sank down on your heels in front of him, sweeping a piece of hair away from his face. His nostrils flared as your fingertips ghosted over his skin, leaving streaks as they brushed away the dirt on his face. He was wet, too, water glistening on his nose and forehead.

Unable to stop yourself, your hand brushed his hair back, fingers tangled in the long strands. Your hand remained at the back of his head, holding onto him. Your thumb brushed his ear and he shifted, eyes starting to flutter. Footsteps behind you told you that you were no longer alone as Bucky’s eyes blinked open.

“Hey, Cap,” Sam’s voice behind you echoed off the warehouse walls. Confusion settled over Bucky’s features as his eyes wandered first over your face, then to his arm, clamped tightly in the vice. You sat back, giving him a bit of space as Sam and Steve came closer.

Bucky licked his lips, groaning in pain as his leg shifted, pulling himself upright. “Steve,” he said, looking past you. Your heart sank and you stood up, taking a step to distance yourself from him.

“Which Bucky am I talkin’ to?”

“Your mom’s name was Sarah,” he answered, brows tugged together in thought. He chuckled as the next words left his lips. “You used to wear newspapers in your shoes.”

You and Sam exchanged glances. “Can’t read that in a museum,” Steve said hopefully.

Sam snorted. “Just like that, we’re supposed to be cool?”

“What did I do?”

“Enough,” Steve said.

Bucky’s smile fell away, hair falling back in his eyes as he lowered his gaze. “I knew this would happen. Everything HYDRA put inside my is still there, all he had to do was say the goddamn words.”

“Who was he?”

“I don’t know.”

“People are dead. The bombing, the setup, the doctor did all that just to get ten minutes with you. I need you to do better than ‘I don’t know.’”

Bucky was quiet a moment, trying to remember what had happened less than an hour ago. Before the doctor took control. You swallowed, staring at him, silently wishing that he would just look at you. “He wanted to know about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where.”

“Why would he need to know that?”

Bucky hesitated, lifting his face. His eyes roamed over Steve, over you and Sam, before landing back on Steve. There was trepidation in his eyes, in the way his shoulders tightened, his right fist curling.

“Because I’m not the only Winter Soldier.”

#bucky barnes imagine #bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky #swff

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sugary-shot · 7 years

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Beautiful Liar, a Kuroko no Basuke fanfiction

Summary: What happens when the person you cherish so much leaves you in the darkness? You’re falling down, no one to catch you down there and no one to hold your hand to prevent you from falling down the endless dark pit. You’re sinking in quick sand, drowning in the darkest place in the sea. And that’s what happened to Kuroko Tetsuya.He loved each and every one of the Generation of Miracles, and yet they treated him like garbage- playing him for their own sick amusement. After realising that he wasn’t meant to be by their side anymore, he broke. He turned, walked away;And committed suicide.The Generation of Miracles knew they were wrong. Heck, they wanted to rewind time and slap their past selves for being so inconsiderate for their beloved phantom’s feelings. But no one can rewind time, no matter how many times you beg; the clock won’t tick backwards.Five years later, their former manager drags all of them to a boy band concert. As the concert starts, they all see their precious former teammate on stage, singing. Kuroko Tetsuya was still alive, but what happens when he doesn’t remember any of them?

Chapter 5: The Emperor’s Mistake

"Hey, don't go near that kid!"

"Why?"

"Don't you know? That kid; Kuroko Tetsuya, is just like a ghost! No one likes him. He's so weird!"

I was always alone. I didn't have any friends. Everyone distanced themselves away from me, saying that I was a ghost. Was I really that invisible? I'm human like them too..

So why?

Waking up from his slumber, he stared at the ceiling for two solid minutes before realising he was on his bed. After recollecting whatever memory he forgot, he almost immediately sat up; a loud groan escaped his lips as he did when a painful jolt went through his entire body. When did I.. He furrowed his brows, a hand making its way to rest on his forehead, rubbing it in a circular motion.

"Tsuya-chan!" Shiro's voice echoed in his ears, and the said teen visibly winced as his voice too loud. A pair of arms was suddenly wrapped around his neck; the youngest member in his group tightly embracing him. "Shiro..kun?" He called, narrowing his eyes at the silverette. "You-You're okay.." He hiccupped, his hug getting slightly tighter as he buried his face in his shoulder. "What do you mean I'm okay? What happened?" Everything felt so blurry to him- he didn't know, he couldn't remember. Shiro didn't answer and began to sob, apologising dozens of times when Kuroko didn't even know the reason why.

"Shiro," This time, it was Seiji. Tetsuya turned his head to the side and finally noticed that the whole group was in his room, all looking extremely worried. He frowned and looked at his twin who was still sitting on the couch with wide eyes. When he realised that the younger twin was looking at him, Takumi turned and looked away, his lips pressed in a thin line. Yuki, who noticed the two, decided to answer Tetsuya's unspoken question.

"You had another attack," the tealnette's eyes widened, "the doctor said that you shouldn't push yourself too hard. One more attack and you'll end up staying in the hospital again." He stressed the last word, his eyes narrowing at the teen. "You made us worried sick." Yuki walked towards him and placed his hand on the blue locks, ruffling them until it was a complete mess; not like it wasn't in the first place. "Don't scare us like that," he murmured, leaning down to place a kiss on his forehead; his way of telling it was going to be fine.

Kuroko exhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he took in the new information. "I'm so sorry," His words were barely a whisper, but it was loud enough for the four boys to hear as it resounded around the quiet room. Seiji got up and walked towards the bluenette, sitting on the bed and wrapping his arms around the other once Shiro let him go. "Don't worry about it," he reassured, "it's not your fault."

After getting a lecture from the two - three, if you include Haruko - mothers, and frequent visits to the doctor, Kuroko was - finally - able to go back to school. The male was now walking towards his middle school, a book in his hands. The book, in fact, contained the songs he planned to sing during his groups' debut concert. He was humming the melody softly, trying to remember the lyrics he had written himself.

" ♪ This person trapped forever seems to be more like me now ♪ " He sang in a soft voice, not noticing a certain redhead peeking at the book from his shoulder. "Kuroko, what's that?" He jumped and turned around, sighing when he noticed it was just his basketball captain. "Akashi-kun, that wasn't funny." He frowned, and the redhead let out a chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. But really, what was that?" He asked again, walking towards the shadow. He got a sigh as a response. "It was nothing." He replied, hastily stuffing the book back in his bag.

"You have a beautiful voice, Kuroko. I wouldn't be surprised if you suddenly become a singer." A blush crept to his cheeks, and his heart was beating a little too fast; both from embarrassment and the thought of Akashi actually finding out he is going to become a singer. "Stop talking nonsense, Akashi-kun." Kuroko argued, turning his head away. Akashi went near him with a sly smirk and whispered in his ear suddenly, "But what if I'm not?"

The tealnette turned to him with a questioning look. "I mean, you always surprise me; ever since we met during that autumn day. You were the first person who managed to surprise me again and again, Kuroko." With his oh-so-prince-charming smile, Seijuurou gave his comment. The tealnette narrowed his eyes at the other, just what was Akashi planning? They rarely interact with each other outside of basketball, so why now? "We're going to be late for school. Shall we go now?"

With another suspicious glance to the redhead, Kuroko followed him from behind; the questions still lingering at the back of his head.

Since then, the two slowly became the best of friends and the troubles Kuroko had was long forgotten. Surprisingly, Akashi had brought up the phantom's (past) relationships with the other Miracles one day but told him that he'd help him get over them. "We don't share the same feelings, we're not the same person; so I don't know how you actually feel at this moment. Heartbroken? Outraged? Cheated on? Hurt?

I don't know. Telling you to forget about them is wrong; I don't know what you've been through, nor do I know what memories you had with them. But I promise that everything you went through has built the you now." The redhead placed his hand over the other, intertwining their fingers together. Kuroko was silent the whole time, though a blush crept to his cheeks when Akashi suddenly held his hand. He instinctively pulled his hand away, surprising the other. Akashi closed his eyes, and continued his pep talk.

"Do you know why I told you to not practice shooting or dribbling?" The soon-to-be-idol shook his head. "You're not a light, Kuroko; You're a shadow. When the light is stronger, the shadow grows darker. Without a light, a shadow cannot be produced. However, when there is no light at all, when there is only darkness; the Moon becomes the one that shines.

I understand that losing Aomine hurt you, but remember that even when you lose your light, it only means that you're one with the darkness. And when that happens, a true light will come up and become the light that guides you." Akashi ended his speech after that and looked at the shadow who was looking back at him with a questioning look. He raised a hand and placed it on his head, patting and smiling at the tealnette. "It's okay if you don't understand it now. You'll understand it sooner or later. Now, break time is about to end. Shall we go?"

Practice was finally over and Kuroko was dead tired. However, he couldn't go back to his house yet; he needed to go to the private school where the other band members were supposed to wait for him because of some "idol business", as per Haruko. It was already late in the evening and he had school tomorrow. He need to shower fast and get ready; Takumi had messaged him that Seiji was the one who'll fetch him and he didn't want the high school student to wait any longer.

"So you're with Akashi now, huh?" Aomine came up to him after practice suddenly, taking Kuroko completely off guard. "You really are something, Tetsu." The way his nickname rolled off the other's tongue made him cringe in disgust. Of all times, why now? "I can say the same to you, too. Taking someone else's boyfriend; and you said you wouldn't stoop down to Haizaki's level." The way Kuroko retorted back obviously hurt Aomine's pride, but he wasn't going to let this guy get away with it.

"What about you? After we broke up, you suddenly hooked up with Kise. What, did you miss having a dick inside you?" This time, Kuroko turned to look at him. Yes, he was a virgin and the two never had sex, but if he was going that way.. "Maybe I did. But if I were to compare, Kise-kun gives better kisses than you, and was a thousand time better than you ever could. You should learn from him, Aomine-kun." The latter narrowed his eyes at the shadow and growled at the insult. "Why the fuck would I need to learn from a bastard like him who hogs chicks all the time?" Did the two break up? Though in all honestly, Tetsuya didn't want to deal with him nor did he give two shits about their current relationship. Not now, not ever. "First of all, you suck. Second of all, don't insult him like that; at least he gets girls, not like you."

And the next thing he knew he was slammed against the wall, the other gripping his school uniform collar. "You got really annoying in just three months, huh?" Daiki's voice resounded around the quiet locker room, his eyes narrowing at the tealnette. "As if you're any better," the latter countered, slapping the hand away and walking towards the door. "Running away?" The power forward growled. "No," Tetsuya responded, "just distancing myself from a disgusting being as yourself."

Kuroko exited the locker room and made his way to the school's back entrance, spotting a limousine and Seiji waiting for him there. "Geez, can't you use something less flashy?" The tealnette complained at the elder, frowning as he got inside the vehicle. "Sorry, your brother was complaining about you staying here so late in the evening and asked me to fetch you. Didn't have any other car available." Kuroko sighed, shaking his head as he did. "Rich people," he muttered. "Like you're the one to talk." Seiji chuckled.

Once they reached to Seirin Private High, the two got out of the limousine and went inside. "So this is the private school Haruko-san was talking about?" Seiji crossed his arms, looking around the place. Indeed, there were some seniors who the two recognised as the children who previously studied in the same music agency as them. "It has four gyms, one swimming pool and two tennis courts for sports and exercise, two dance studios and four music rooms for each year, and two libraries. I'll say, Seirin Private High is quite the school when it just opened this year." Kuroko commented, taking out his phone that vibrated, indicating he just received a message. "Ah, Takumi and the others are with the headmaster in Music Room 3. They're having a recording."

"Right now? The headmaster sure wants to know how talented his students are." Seiji shrugged. "Well, let's go then. On the way, you can tell me this friend of yours. Akashi Seijuurou, the heir to the Akashi Conglomerate, right?" Of course, Kuroko was surprised to hear it from Seiji; no one in the group - excluding Takumi - knows that he and Akashi were friends. "As usual, your mom instincts are terrifying."

When they reached the Music Room, Takumi was currently singing and was too into it that he didn't even realise the two had just entered the room. The music room was divided into two by a glass wall; one side for recording while the other side was for the technical things Kuroko didn't really know much about. "Ah, Sei-nii and Tsuya-chan, you're here." Shiro called them over to sit beside him. "Only Yukki and Taku-chan finished the recording. I'm up next, then you two can choose who goes first." The two teens nodded at the youngest words, and Kuroko asked where was Yuki. "Yukki went to the restroom after he finished."

At that time, Takumi finished and the headmaster clapped his hands, nodding. "Great, as expected from the leader. Which position are you in again?" Takumi gracefully accepted the bottle of water he was offered to and drank the water before replying, "I'm the rapper." The headmaster - whose name was Shin - nodded.

"Well, it's my turn." Shiro stood up and went to the other side of the room, while Takumi took his place and sat beside Tetsuya. "You okay?" Takumi slumped back and rested his head on his twin's shoulder. "I'm tired, Tetsuya. Our good-for-nothing father just sent me another pile of work and I need to finish it by the day after tomorrow. And on Saturday, I need to be his proxy for an event right after our dance lessons. I'm gonna die, Tetsuya."

"You're exaggerating, Takumi." He sighed, "He told me to follow you, and when you go to that event on Saturday, I have to be his proxy for a meeting." Takumi's eyes widened and he sat up, looking into his brother's eyes. "What?" Tetsuya was caught completely off guard; Takumi looked furious. "Didn't I tell him to back the fuck up?"

"Calm down, Takumi." Tetsuya scolded, hitting his head. "It's just a meeting, I can handle that much." Seiji stared at them from the corner of his eyes, sympathy evident in them. Being in the Kuroko family wasn't a blessing- it was a curse. Every single person in the entertainment industry knew that.

After a while, Shiro finished and Tetsuya decided to go next. "Great! I want to see how good you are compared to your brother." With a nod, Tetsuya went inside and took his place behind the mic, taking a few deep breaths. Then, he began to sing.

"Words you're saying, facial expressions; I can't understand. The hardest thing in the world for me is to try and gain your trust. If you teach me how to truly love you, Do you think that we will never be apart? Maybe we could even be more than just what we are?

Making a heart that's like the wind; stay with me forever, Difficult I know, still I'm holding on, I'll keep on waiting here just for you!"

"Tetsuya," Takumi stared at his brother, noticing the expression on his face; hurt. The younger Kuroko had been hurt again and again and even though he had promised that he'd protect him; he didn't. Tetsuya was never the one to voice out his feelings, after all. Maybe it was because of the harsh childhood the two experienced, Takumi wasn't sure. He glanced at the headmaster who seemed pleased when he heard the younger sing. Out of all the people in the room right there and then, he knew it like the back of his hand;

Tetsuya is talented.

[Time Skip]

From: Ogiwara-kun Subject: Winter Cup

Hey, Kuroko! So as you know, my team's going for Finals! Can't wait to fight against you! We're totally not gonna lose. We're going all out on you guys, so be prepared! >:D

Kuroko stared at the text message he received a few hours ago. Yes, Meiko Middle School is going to move to the Finals. Teiko was still in the semi-finals, but the win for them was absolutely obvious. Tetsuya turned his phone off before leaning against the lockers, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face between them.

"Ogiwara-kun is really anticipating our match, but.." He closed his eyes tightly, his shoulder shaking slightly. "Akashi-kun, why did you change? Why? You said we'd be together through thick and thin, so why did you go against your words? Why did you do this to me? Weren't we friends?" He muttered, the tight grip he had on his knees slowly weakening and he just leaned against the lockers, tears running down his face.

"Why did you turn to someone you promised you wouldn't?"

It all happened a few days ago; Murasakibara had stated during practice that he didn't want to attend practice anymore. Akashi had protested, and they ended up having a basketball match. Akashi was about to lose in an utterly humiliating defeat by 4-0 when the tables turned by the eleventh hour and he won. After the match, the heir suddenly announced that he didn't care if they attended practice or not as long as they didn't flub during matches.

Kuroko had voiced out his thoughts about how that wasn't a team, but Akashi had responded by saying that teamwork wasn't important as long as they bring back gold- after all, winning is everything. He suddenly went to first name basis and Kuroko swore he never felt so disgusted hearing his name rolled off the tip of Seijuurou's tongue.

You turned around to face me, To not say stupid lies, You smiled but I knew it was just a poor disguise.

Kuroko was honestly excited to fight against his childhood friend; that was all he asked for. The reason why he went to this school, the reason why he joined the basketball team, the reason why he went through all that suffering, the reason he did everything he could to stay. So the fact that he got hurt during the semi-finals and that meant him not being able to play with the other indeed hurt him- it felt like he was stabbed right in his heart. It hurt him so, so much.

"Akashi-kun, please play this game seriously; I beg of you!" He pleaded, bowing his head in front of the redhead. The redhead agreed, telling him that he'd show them the true Generation of Miracles. At that time, Tetsuya felt relieved.

Of course, he was too naïve.

The opponent's team was crushed to pieces, the Miracles barely breaking a sweat as they walked back to the locker rooms. The look on Kuroko's face was something someone could read like an open book; miserable, pathetic, heartbroken, despondent, betrayed. Of course, he had asked all of them why they did that. Their answer?

"Eh, Kurokocchi's friend was in the rivaling team?" Kise gasped.

"Well, they'd get crushed either way." Murasakibara yawned.

"It was naïve of you to think that we could go all out." Midorima commented.

"Even if we want to, we can't. They're too weak." Aomine stated.

"Why didn't you say about all the other games? Why did you voice out only in this match? Don't you think that was and is selfish of you?" Akashi questioned.

Tetsuya knew. He understood all that. He was selfish, he only thought about his childhood friend's happiness, while ignoring the other teams they went against. But wasn't it okay to be selfish at times?

No.

This wasn't the first time he was being selfish. The time when Aomine left him and how he desperately tried to reconcile their friendship, the time when he used Kise's naïveness for his own need, the time when he got mad with Midorima for forcibly trying to help him move on from his past, the time when he wanted Murasakibara to stay by his side and how he got upset at him when he didn't tell him about his plans of moving and the time when he actually hoped for Akashi to stay by his side. He was so selfish, he knew it like the back of his hand; and yet he put a blind eye to it. The miracles weren't the only one to blame; it was still partly his fault.

When he exited the suffocating room, the room that the people inside had pointed their fingers back at him, when he went to apologise to Ogiwara; there he was, standing just outside the room with a hurt expression. Kuroko was stunned, he didn't know how to react. Ogiwara suddenly just appeared before him and walked away with a disappointed look, leaving the tealnette who was still in his trance.

When he did realise Ogiwara had left, it was too late. Thinking that he couldn't catch up with the other, he took out his phone and shakily dialed his number, running out of the arena. Ogiwara answered after the second ring. "Kuroko, how could you?" Ogiwara's trembling voice asked over the phone, making the one on the other line shake slightly. He heard. Ogiwara had heard his conversation with Akashi. It was his fault it ended like this. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Ogiwara-kun, please forgive me!" The other begged in a pleading tone, looking around as he finally got out of the building; but the reply he got only made him stop, bursting into tears. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't do it anymore. You're just the same as the other miracles. Cruel and selfish, just like them." The call ended just like that, making the tealnette fall to his knees, hot tears streaming down his pale cheeks as he covered his mouth with his hand, trembling violently.

Why is it always my fault?

There he was now, standing at the school's rooftop; dangerously close to the ledge. His heart was beating so fast in his chest that it hurt; but he didn't care. Not anymore. His phone vibrated, indicating that someone was calling him; it was Takumi. He answered the call, lifting the phone and placing it just beside his ear. Takumi began scolding him about how late it was and how he still wasn't back yet. "Yuki even went to see the game! He said you were injured and that you disappeared as soon as the game ended! Where the fuck are you?"

Silence.

Now, Takumi was worried. His instincts told him something was wrong and he needed to see his younger brother now. "Tetsuya, you okay?" He asked gently. There was a slight pause until, "I don't know anymore, Takumi." Tetsuya breathed out. "Everyone left, even Ogiwara-kun; and you know what sucks? It's all my fault. It hurts so much. I keep ruining everything, I don't even have the courage to jump--!"

"DON'T JUMP!" Takumi shouted, startling the other. "Tetsuya, you know death more than I do. You're familiar with grief more than I am. Surely you wouldn't make a foolish decision like that?" Just when Tetsuya was about to reply, the door opened. "Hey kid! What the hell are you doing here?" A security guard came up to him, his face looking as furious as ever; after all, students weren't supposed to be at school at this time of day. Kuroko turned around and took a step back, and before he knew it he was falling. His chest beat wildly; he closed his eyes and before his back hit the hard concrete ground, he wanted to scream out;

I.. don't want to die yet!

Aomine was walking to school when his shoulders suddenly felt heavy and made him lean forward. "What the-- Kise!" He pushed the said male off his back, Kise grinning from ear to ear. "Morning, Aominecchi!" Kise greeted. "You're too fucking loud," the ganguro complained and began walking to school with Kise behind him. The two began talking as they made their way, though the conversation ended as soon as they reached the school.

"Why are the police here? Why is Satsuki and Coach Sanada with the headmaster? Why is Satsuki crying?" Aomine walked towards the school, pushing the other students away; until a police officer stopped him. "This place is off-limits today. All of you, go back home!" Some students cheered and the crowd soon dispatched; though the Miracles ended up staying there longer, demanding for answers.

Momoi suddenly went to them, her eyes were red and her face was stained with wet tears. She stood in front of Akashi and raised a hand, slapping him across his face. "Satsuki/Momocchi/Momoi/Sacchin!" The Miracles yelled at her, pulling her back only to get slapped as well. "Tetsu-kun always went to me after you broke up. He always seek comfort and I always had to face a crying Tetsu-kun at the end of the week." Momoi muttered. "I really hope you guys are happy that you broke him; because he's not coming back."

"What.. do you mean?" Kise decided to speak up, looking at the girl. Satsuki took a bag from Coach Sanada's hold and threw at their direction. "Those were Tetsu-kun's things; his wristband, his uniform, his medicine and his resignation letter. Why I'm giving to you this? Well, let me tell you something;

Kuroko Tetsuya is dead."

The weight I carry is now gone, So please don't worry anymore, Oh I'm, I'm a beautiful- no, a cowardly liar..

"An Akashi never makes a mistake, huh?" Seijuurou muttered to himself as he held onto an iPod that Kuroko also left with a note that said 'To: Akashi-kun'. He turned it on and found a message that was entitled as 'The Little Prince'. He played the message, his whole body froze when he did.

And at that time, he knew he let go of something that he held precious deep down in his heart. Akashi Seijuurou made a mistake.

For this fic, please listen to; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ArExeVXiHU

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#my fanfic #kuroko no basuke #knb #beautiful liar #song fic #kuroko tetsuya #akashi seijuurou

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