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lupsss1412 · 3 years

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The Liar’s Sin Chap. 7

I am sorry for posting this so late!! Please forgibe me but college and personal life got in the way. I am still recuperating from the coronavirus sos my updates might be slow but I will give you a special for new year or christmas or if I manage it, both!!!

Without further notices this is the next capter!!

Remember it was inspired by @sayuricorner‘s promt HERE

Chap.1 Chap.2 Chap.3 Chap.4 Chap.5 Chap.6 Chap.8

Specials

HALLOWEEN

MASTERLIST

Link to Ao3

I hope you all enjoy this chapter!! It’s almost 5 AM here so...I gotta sleep guys...

Breath in, breath out

It was a beautiful morning in the city of love.

Birds were chirping and soaring through the blue sky, white fluffy looking clouds traveling slowly and providing spots of shadows for the people on the streets. Leaves falling from the trees filling the streets with their red, orange, and yellow colors. The soft breeze leaving a rosy tint on the Parisians cheeks as the temperatures kept lowering due to the change of seasons.

However, it was a strange occurrence for the people in Paris.

The last few days had been normal for them. Not a single thing seemed out of place.

It was…

Peaceful.

That was how the people around Paris felt. Everyone had been enjoying the time off that Hawkmoth decided to take. No alerts were made, no one had seen a glimpse of an Akuma for days and it certainly was a much-needed breather.

People were walking down the street, children were playing in the park, teens were walking down, a skip on their step that was way too obvious.

Gabriel Agreste observed their goings from his window, it was something refreshing as he was making preparations for his new Akuma the worst nightmare for Ladybug. With help from Nathalie, he didn’t have any doubts about how destructive and horrible his creation could be.

His piece of resistance, all he had to do was be patient for everyone to let down their guards and believe in the false sense of security their absence could cause. He smiled thinking about what he could do, the last time he almost akumatized the girl it had proven to be something quite difficult.

But this time he was sure, he wasn’t just going to attack her using Lila Rossi, he would do anything to make her righteous fury come out along with the rest of her friends at her school.

“You called for me sir?” Nathalie asked, streaming through her tablet into Monsieur Agreste’s own

“I believe it is indeed time for us to try and Akumatize again mademoiselle Marinette Dupain-Cheng” Gabriel Agreste spoke, his voice deep and eager “make sure the plan is going accordingly Nathalie”

“As you wish sir” Nathalie answered, for the first time since the girl won the competition of Mr. Agreste she dabbed into her profile and found out as much as she could about Marinette. Noticing that the record of Lila Rossi accusing her of theft and serious bodily harm was gone from the archive.

Nathalie frowned reading the rest of the archive.

It seemed that Lila Rossi had not heeded the warning of monsieur Agreste and went to attack the poor girl again.

That in itself could be a problem, or maybe they could just wait and let the little Liar do all of the dirty work for them if they just sat and observed. She had to report this to Gabriel and hope that he would see the opportunity that Lila had left them.

With that in mind, she smiled and starting organizing the files.

Ignoring the new alert that concerned Paris’ police force.

The disappearance of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and the alert that the police had placed for Gabriel Agreste’s son, as he was declared as one of the last people she had been seen with.

_______________________________________________________________

Marinette sighed for the hundredth time, before letting her head fall with a painful thud on her notebook.

“Are you alright?” Tikki asked, concerned for her holder, and received a huff in response “you should take a break”

Marinette groaned in protest; she had been trying to draw but her nerves were getting ahead of her. She usually tended to overcome her artist’s block doing other things, like walking around Pari’s streets to find inspiration for her designs. But now, she was blank.

Zilch.

Zero.

Nien.

Nothing.

Nada.

She had drawn some basic sketches as guides. Each one acting as a reference to each habitant of the Hotel. So far, she had managed to list out things she thought they probably would like and how their personalities could blend in with the styles she had listed. It all depended on how people were the most comfortable, she had found out that special tip when designing her clothes.

If you like what you’re wearing, and feel confident in it, the style can work and you can make it your own. But you also have to selective of the clothes you decide to wear, they must favor your figure so you can stand out in every single way.

So far, her thoughts had been filled with memories, of when she had been with all of her classmates and how it all had improved for her at the start of the year. She had felt so confident, so amazing and so strong. It was hard to believe she was again feeling so down and like a nobody.

Like as if she was nothing.

“I think it’s time for a break” Tikki interrupted her thoughts, making her glance at the small goddess “You need it, and a change of scenery could probably help you”

Marinette glanced at the notes and pieces of fabric she had on the board.

The studio was big, and there were so many high-quality fabrics she felt in heaven when coming inside. Charlie had argued that it was all for her, as her mother Lilith had claimed to no longer need those fabrics and that they were for Marinette’s private use.

At first, she had thrown herself and drew out as many ideas as she could. But after the first hour, she had stopped altogether.

All inspiration had left her and her enthusiasm had died. Her traitorous mind making her remember how she was in another plane of existence.

Away from the people she loved.

Away from the city, she had vowed to protect.

All of them being left behind because of Lila’s schemes.

She growled, her fists clenching and her lips formed a thin line.

Oh, how much she wanted to just be able to do something to take off that anger and frustration out. She had tried for hours to take those feelings into a design, any drawing but she just, couldn’t. It wasn’t enough and the stress was starting to get to her. Especially since she didn’t know how to change her situation and was told just to stay put in the hotel.

She couldn’t do anything and she was getting tired of it.

So, instead, she had decided to get to work immediately, trying to find a way to show her appreciation in the form of clothing for all of them. It would help her focus on the brighter side of things.

The people that were now caring for her, even if they were not friends, she had seen how they worried about her. Which she wanted to thank in any way she could.

Still, when looking again at her designs she was disappointed, it was something blocking her creativity as she often wore her heart on her sleeve.

“I guess you’re right” Marinette conceded, before getting up and closing her notebook, “I think it could help”

She smiled sweetly at the small goddess who returned the smile.

With that exchange, the small goddess smiled and hugged her holder’s cheek offering her support. Marinette walked out of the studio, a key in her hand. She took one last glance at it and felt the need to go and thank the crew of the hotel for all they had done for her, especially the princess. It was almost too good to be true for them to let her have a personal studio for her own.

With that in mind, she sighed. As much as she would love to stay there all day, it wasn’t healthy, Tikki was right. Maybe she needed fresh air. She closed the door behind her and locked it.

A growl coming from her stomach made her think about grabbing a snack if possible, as she knew it was almost time for lunch.

________________________________________________________________

“Hold up, just…hold up” Adrien muttered while pinching the bridge of his nose, Plagg still trying to get to his camembert “What did you just say? Because I must have heard wrong…”

Plagg groaned and turned to see the haunted look on Adrien’s face.

He looked lost, his pupils were dilatated and he was starting to take shorter breaths. His shoulders were shaking as he processed what Plagg had just said. His smile was tight and almost looked like one of the few he used near the little liar.

“What you heard kid” Plagg explained, trying to look as normal as he could “Ladybug isn’t going to be able to help, not after…she heard what happened to pigtails”

Adrien blinked in the direction of Plagg, his face devoid of any emotion. His body shaking as he started to laugh, covering with one of his hands his eyes, the other covering his stomach as if he had just heard the funniest joke on the planet.

He rationalized, with a part of his mind, that the small god was joking. That he was just trying to make him react. Just one of his silly jokes. Even if in the back of his mind a little voice reminded him that it wasn’t true. That Plagg would never joke about something so serious.

But it had to be, because if Plagg was telling the truth…

It would mean he was alone.

Alone, protecting Paris.

Alone, to fight against Hawkmoth.

With thousands, no, MILLIONS of people depending on him.

No Ladybug to clean up the mess.

No Ladybug to call in for help.

“It’s a joke, right?” Adrien laughed, falling into his sofa, his haunted gaze on Plagg “Please…please Plagg tell me you’re joking”

Plagg shook his head, unable to vocalize his answer. The desperation in the voice of his holder making his heart ache and his stomach twisting painfully. He knew Adrien wasn’t going to like the answer, but it seemed that he was just a ticking bomb.

“I’m sorry kid,” Plagg said, his head low and floating just in front of his holder “but ladybug had no other choice…”

Adrien growled, his hands becoming fists and running to grab the first thing he could reach before throwing it as hard as he could.

“So, she just left!?” Adrien screamed, his voice full of rage and fear “Left me alone because she just could, and left me behind to deal with this mess? What? Got a case of cold feet and left because she was scared?!”

Plagg was now getting mad, Adrien was doing what usually humans and most teenagers do. Blame others for their circumstances. He wasn’t stopping once to listen, it all seemed too much for him and he was searching for something or someone to blame just to make him feel better.

“She didn’t have an option!” Plagg screamed, finally growing frustrated by the little pity fest “When your friend was thrown to hell, she had to do something! The balance has to be maintained!”

Plagg groaned, knowing he had said too much in his haste for Adrien to stop talking.

“What are you talking about?” Adrien whispered “the…balance?”

Plagg sighed and motioned for Adrien to sit down on the couch, floating he turned to his holder.

“the miraculous not only are magical jewels” Plagg explained, Adrien nodded as he barely had this information because he was not the new guardian “we are the balance, but I am also a physical form of the aspects I represent as well as Tikki. We, in essence, are magic and as such we are tied to the balance of the world”

Adrien blinked once, taking all the information in.

“I am destruction and bad luck,” Plagg said, “and Tikki is my counterpart in every sense of the word as you have witnessed when the whole Refleckta rematch happened. What you must understand is that there has to be a balance to maintain. No matter what, when one of the miraculous is wielded, the other must be too…and never used for evil”

Adrien opened his mouth to speak and Plagg shook his head.

“You all are creatures of limited time, you follow a path,” Plagg explained “you grow, you live, you dream. Everything that makes humans unique is also what makes them vulnerable. But you have the option to choose who and what you want to be”

Adrien nodded, for once remembering the words of his father in his mind. For his actions had consequences, in more ways than one.

“As you are, every single one of you manages to keep the balance, even if it is never perfect” Plagg explained “Now you humans are moved using a form of energy, and a soul that gives you life. As you know energy nor matter can’t be destroyed…”

“Only transformed…” Adrien spoke, his voice a bit more than a whisper.

Plagg nodded, trying to think of a way to explain the absence of Marinette without giving away that she was also Ladybug.

“Now, when you die, your soul …” Plagg explained “Imagine it as a trip, one where you end somewhere to pay for your sins or to receive your rewards. That also marks the end of a phase and the beginning of another, further than that it could be reincarnation or obliteration. A cycle that shouldn’t be broken…but it was broken by someone alive being sent to hell”

Adrien widened his eyes, looking at Plagg as realization slowly caved in.

“Everyone has a time, some earlier than others” Plagg explained, shrugging a bit like in a form to say that you can’t really stop it “But Marinette was ripped from her plane of existence and dragged into another. It’s like the butterfly effect. One small thing tips another, then another, until you have a freaking tsunami at your doorstep…”

Adrien’s eyes were wide as the reality of the problem hit him in the face.

“Tikki and Ladybug are in charge of the good luck” Plagg explains, “they are the most powerful ones besides us, but this time Marinette was abducted using “dark” magic so we need to use “white” magic to bring her back. They have to be the ones that will bring Marinette back, but that also entails the balance is already tipped, and with Hawkmoth creating havoc …it will make it worse”

“What…will happen?” Adrien asked “Like, Marinette leaving tipped off the balance, right? Then that means Ladybug has to correct it since it was created by malice and with something evil…”

Plagg looked at his holder, trying to deliver the news as softly as he could.

“It will get worse” Plagg explained, “the more time Marinette spends there, the worse the consequences will be…as it is, bad luck is already knocking at your door…”

Adrien nodded; his head filled with this new information as he tried to start his early routine for the morning. Plagg didn’t make any other comments until Adrien once again talked to him. It was a lot to take in after all.

“What could happen if…Marinette doesn’t return? “Adrien asked, his head filled with worry and voice breaking “Will Ladybug be able to help her?

Plagg smiled and floated in front of Adrien.

“Kid, we’re talking about your lady” Plagg reassured him “I am sure they all will find a way to fix this. Meanwhile, we gotta make sure nothing happens to Paris, Ladybug trusts you. I know you can do this…”

Adrien smiled and raised his fist towards Plagg who bumped it softly.

“Thanks, Plagg” Adrien smiled, before grabbing his things and letting the small god hide in his clothes.

_______________________________________________________________

“Hey!” Blitzo groaned as Moxxie took away his piece of the sandwich “I was eating that!”

Moxxie shook his head and shoved the sandwich back into the basket Charlie gave them. He turned to his boss once again seeing how he just was looking all around without much care in the world.

“Sir!” Moxxie exclaimed as he watched Blitzo examine his nails “We are supposed to be in the watch. You know, doing our job!”

Blitzo reacted by sending a raspberry in Moxxie’s direction as he raised his middle fingers. Which Moxxie shrieked in offense before he started going after their boss, who just went around the corner laughing at him.

“Come on Moxxie!” Millie pulled her husband to her side “It’s not that bad, besides the enchantments are way too powerful to be so easily broken. We just gotta make sure no one else can even try to get close to the Hotel!”

Moxxie groaned and looked at his boss who was, once again munching on a sandwich.

“Yeah, Moxxie” Blitzo complained, his mouth full of food barely chewed before he swallowed it “relax, this is a job we can do with our eyes closed!”

Moxxie groaned and Millie giggled as she listened to her husband started arguing with their boss. Loona was sleeping as she didn’t really like to sleep at night, much less busy with her phone. This meant that while Loona was making watch they all would be eating and resting a bit. The princess and her girlfriend had arranged a schedule and managed to find a middle ground.

As safe as it was with the shields around the hotel, it was never too much to have an extra pair of eyes to watch over the human.

She started scouting the corners, they were almost in the outskirts of the city so there weren’t many places someone could hide. Still, they wanted for Marinette to be her most comfortable, and since this was hell, we’re talking about…

Paparazzi, Reporters, investigators, and demons who didn’t really care about the safety of others if it sells, they would do anything to get the story.

After all, this is hell.

This meant that they had to make sure to scare off anyone inside the hotel, near the hotel, or even in the grounds surrounding the hotel.

She shrugged hearing her husband and boss argue about when the refreshments should be eaten and hearing the pop of a can opening, and her boss’ slurping. It all seemed pretty normal.

She turned around, hoping to get closer so she could when a light caught her eye. She stayed still, her tail swishing back and forth, focused on any movement or shift.

Her concentration was broken by a crash and Blitzo’s screams of rage.

She quickly ran to where the noise was coming from, forgetting to check for that small glint she had caught a glimpse of.

Not aware of a paparazzo hiding on the roof of the building near the hotel.

“This is going straight to the news!” the small demon cheered “I’ll be rich!”

The small demon laughed as he looked at the photos he had taken, one of them being of the whole IMP gang, on the stairs of the hotel, talking to the princess.

________________________________________________________________

“GIVE ME BACK THAT YOU MOTHERFUCKER!”

That was not what Marinette had been expecting to hear when coming down to the lobby, nor hear as she walked downstairs.

A crash soon followed and she ran the last steps to see what was causing such a commotion.

What she found, almost made her believe she was trapped in a TV show, or maybe a cartoon. One with a lot of swearing, maybe another version of Deadpool’s movie would be more accurate. Only that without all of that blood splashing around and the insinuations and adult jokes…well she wasn’t so sure about that.

Charlie was trying to calm everyone down, Husk, especially since Blitzo had just stolen his bottle of cheap booze and was currently drinking it without a care in the world. Niffty was cleaning as she complained about the mess they had created while on the other side of the room Vaggie was being held by Millie and Moxxie the spear in her hand.

Alastor however seemed too far entertained and delighted by the chaos around the hotel. She could notice it by how his smile seemed to be a little bit sharper but not with any malicious glint. From the corner of her eyes, she could see a pinkish blur moving.

Just to turn and see Angel Dust walking up to her.

“Quite the spectacle, aren’t they?” Angel asked coming beside the staircase where Marinette had barely stopped, extending one of his secondary hands towards her “Not what you were expecting?”

Marinette nodded and took Angel’s hand, slowly descending the stairs until she reached the floor. Her gaze was on the spider noticing how he seemed to be comfortable using a different outfit from his usual one, the high waist shorts and white shirt with puffed sleeves making his fur glow and his figure stand out. She could appreciate now his long legs on those boots he never took off, his appearance sexy but still stylish.

“Not really” she spoke, Tikki floating on her left “but it’s quite the sight”

Angel chuckled and smiled, turning again to where the demons were. Both of them chucking seeing the group of demons bickering and shouting at each other. The situation getting out of control quickly but nothing dangerous just like watching a bunch of children wine and scream.

“At least you won’t get bored” Angel spoke, amusement evident in his voice “not for a long while I believe”

Marinette nodded and then a growl interrupted their conversation, Angel smiled looking at her all smug. She knew she was blushing as she had recognized the sound coming from her stomach. Sheepishly she tried to cover it by glancing another way.

“Hungry already toots?” he teased her “it’s barely noon sweetie, you should really take into account what you eat, wouldn’t want our dear ladybug getting chubby”

Marinette gasped and shoved him laughing, she stuck her tongue out and pouted. Making Angel laugh louder, as they both walked side by side to the kitchen.

“I’m at least doing something; designing is hard work I’ll have you know” she countered back “what have you been doing all day?”

Angel smiled and made a pose as if he was modeling before pirouetting, and fluttering his eyelashes. He turned to see Marinette who was biting her lip in an attempt not to burst out laughing and making all the attention turn to them. In the back of her mind alerts were already ringing as she felt someone’s gaze on her back.

“Darling looking like me is a full-time job” he exclaimed in an obnoxious voice sugar coating the words “my beauty sleep is crucial for maintaining me looking flawless!”

“That’s a job?” Marinette taunted “I thought it was just something you were good at naturally, like that attitude of yours”

That small compliment and jive made Angel do a double-take. Marinette was smiling at the tall spider who was making a perfect personification of a fish out of water. A giggle escaped Marinette, and she had to cover her mouth.

Both of them burst into laughter as they entered the kitchen. Angel holding his stomach with his lower hands as his right hand held out open the door for the kitchen and his left one was over his eyes.

“Holy shit” Angel smiled at Marinette “you’re too much Mari, way too much piccola coccinella”

Marinette did some finger guns at Angel as she winked, getting into the kitchen.

“Right back at ya” Marinette smiled, a taunting tone on her voice “araignée rose”

With a gasp, Angel faked an offended motion and looked straight at the small teenager. Tikki appearing from behind Marinette her small paws covering her mouth and her small shoulders shaking with laughter.

“How dare you…” Angel said, his voice offended but betrayed by the slight curve of his lips “I must inform you I am mostly white, not pink! Buguinette….”

Marinette when hearing the last nickname groaned and Tikki laughed while Angel closed the door behind himself.

The three of them hadn’t noticed their commotion had attracted the attention of the rest of the demons there.

They had stopped doing everything when the sound of laughter the trio had shared reached their ears.

Everyone watched their interaction, barely believing what they were witnessing.

Charlie was beaming, she knew Angel was something more and had more in him, but for him to instantly take a liking to Marinette was something new. She just hoped it would mean he would open himself and they would be able to help with his rehabilitation. That made a soft smile appear on her face.

Vaggie was speechless and with her mouth wide open. Her only eye still on her door of the kitchen, her eyebrows almost where her hair started. She had seen Angel had his often and strange soft moment but they were usually covered when he made an insult or a sexual jive.

Moxxie and Millie were just, surprised. Both of them had known about the spider and his reputation but they, certainly haven’t expected to see such an interaction to take place. For the spider demon known by half of hell because of his works to be just, so friendly and nice.

Niffty was now excited, she loved Angel Dust and they had become rather close. The spider demon is one of the few that knew what it meant to keep their rooms clean, and he knew how to cook amazing dishes, even if he had asked for her to keep it secret.

Husk was surprised but tried to conceal it. Even if his eyes were so wide, they almost looked like pool balls. He had seen the spider drunk, high out of his mind, but never acting so open. His gaze moved towards the radio demon who seemed to be too quiet, not even the soft hum of static was present.

Alastor’s smile was tight, but his eyes were not on the pair, they lingered where Angel had stood. He had been taken back by the genuine look of happiness and the boisterous laughter Angel had. He just, couldn’t help but remember his life, when he had his partner. The spider had revived those memories. Something he hadn’t expected, as well, was the teasing taunts that they had exchanged. A small memory nudging the back of his mind, his heart constricting in his chest. It was something he had never felt before, he grasped his microphone so tight he could almost feel his nails piercing his palm.

“What the fuck” Blitzo managed to choke out before taking another big gulp of the bottle of cheap booze.

That brought everyone back from their state, making them turn towards Blitzo.

“Shut the fuck up!” Loona screamed, half of her body inside the hotel before slamming the door with enough force to make everyone wince.

________________________________________________________________

Another day, another class and more boring subjects that he didn’t have any interest in.

The class was starting and Adrien could only sigh. He was nervous, he wanted nothing more than to scape. The words of Plagg’s warning still fresh on his mind.

He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. After the news of Ladybug being away and him the only one protecting Paris. Let’s just say he for once understood why Ladybug was always on edge. He promised himself he would do everything in his power to be the best partner she could have.

His thoughts traveling to his schedule. He had a lot to do and Hawkmoth had been dormant so he wished and prayed that he wouldn’t be planning something. At least that is until the annoying voice of Lila interrupted his thoughts.

All of the class was already around her, Nino barely glancing in his direction as they paid close attention to the Italian girl.

Lila, once again, was lying as if it was the air she breathed.

All of the class were taken with her grand tale of how she had managed to convince the rising star MDC to meet Jagged Stone. Which Adrien knew was false, after all, it had been thanks to Chloe that Marinette met Jagged and started designing for him as per the rock star’s request.

Everyone awed at the “revelation”. Alya excitedly was posting the story on the Ladyblog, not even bothering to verify the story. Many of them asking question after question

“Well thank you for that informative tale Lila but I believe it is time to start the lesson” Bustier claimed and Adrien couldn't be happier, at least Lila would behave during class “Now, as for today we have a lot of material to go through, so I will start by taking attendance…”

At that everyone tensed slightly, most of them glancing at the place Marinette usually took. He could recognize some of them looking at it still weary but switched their attention to the teacher who had started calling their names.

“Okay, then we will start with some mathema…” Miss Bustier was interrupted as someone knocked on the door, the principal entering after that cheerful knocking “Monsieur Damocles…to what do I owe the surprise visit?”

Everyone looked at each other, questions in their gazes as two other men came inside the classroom following their Principal.

Adrien tried not to feel intimidated but it was useless.

The moment he looked at the two men at the front and their gazes met Adrien could say it was all over for him. It was intimidating and facing Hawkmoth would never compare. A small pat on his leg made him turn, Plagg was just there and for a second Adrien didn’t feel alone. He knew why those officers were there, he just prayed they would believe him instead of Lila’s lies.

“I’m sorry Caline, but these gentlemen want to talk to your students” Mr. Damocles explained his voice a bit shaky, letting two gentlemen wearing suits enter the classroom “It is a delicate matter”

The teacher nodded, fearful for her students as she looked at the two men in front of her. Both of them looked quite stoic and were regarding the class with cold eyes and calm that no one expected.

“As your boss said we are in because of an ongoing investigation regarding the disappearance of Marinette Dupain-Cheng” he then turned to regard the students and Adrien could swear his heart stopped beating when he felt their gazes on him “and we expect your full cooperation, as sources have claimed she was last seen with these group of students”

The class didn’t move, didn’t breathe and Lila could only seethe.

She thought that her problems cause by that goodie two shoes were over, but it seemed the universe had other ideas.

Still, no one that heard the real story would believe them. They would think they are loonies and maybe throw them into the bin.

Not even Adrien nor Chloe could ever make them change their opinion. At most, the one who could break under their pressure would be crossed out as crazy if they didn’t possess any proof, and if it came to that she only would have to play the victim and blame the class.

“As if someone would believe them if some kid says Marinette fell through a magic portal to hell” Lila smirked looking with the corner of her eye at Adrien who seemed a little too tense “I’m still winning Mari-brat!”

Still, she was already forming a plan on her head.

Smiling she glanced at her bestie, the person who she could place as the prime subject.

“Bring it on” Lila sneered while leaning back on her seat “I’ll make sure she never returns”

________________________________________________________________

Lucifer was done.

Done with everything and everyone.

He was two seconds away from going on a murdering spree and torturing as many souls as he pleased.

He laughed, the shadows becoming larger in his surroundings, his eyes glowing. He could feel his smile sharpening, his nails becoming claws, his tongue separating and becoming forked.

Taking a deep breath, he counted to ten, then to one hundred, then he tried to think of how nice it felt to hold Lilith last night and finally released his breath. He thought that the human landing on hell had been difficult, but this was so much worse.

They had nothing, absolutely nothing.

They had finished looking over the Library, now what was left was Stolas library. But the more time it passed the worse the feeling in his gut was getting.

So long his servants had not reported everything and he had gone out of his way to check over some ancient scrolls filled with hidden knowledge. Some

He was pacing through his office, sipping on his favorite wine to calm his nerves. Silently hoping and almost praying to his Father that it wouldn't end in an awkward call.

Although if that happened, he guessed he might as well die.

Groaning he let himself fall on his favorite chair. Hands on his face trying to not drag them down and scratch his face. It would be the third time that day and he knew Lilith would be crossed with him.

“My love you need to calm down,” Lilith said entering the office with a tray of Lucifer’s favorite desserts and coffee in her hands “it will all be alright, you will find a solution od that I am sure”

Lucifer sighed, letting himself spread out on the couch. His frown became deeper as he watched his beautiful wife arrange the desserts and put a cup of coffee on his hand.

“I do wish for that to be true my dear” Lucifer spoke, his voice strained but grateful at his wife “and what can I do except make sure every single record is cleared and reviewed before making a decision that could impact all of hell, nothing to worry about”

Lilith raised her eyebrow; Lucifer usually was calm and collected. This was something he needed to solve as he often saw it as his duty to preserve the life of hell-born.

But at the peace this was going, she assumed that they didn’t find anything worthy in their extensive search.

“you will find the answer” Lilith tried to reassure her husband “I know it”

Both rulers smiled at each other and Lucifer took Lilith's hand in his stroking the fore palm with his thumb.

“Thank you” Lucifer smiled at his wife “for believing in me”

Lilith smiled and leaned in, her eyes half-closed and glowing, Lucifer’s smile widened before he too raised himself to meet Lilith. His free hand now on her face lovingly stroking her cheek.

Both of them, about to get lost in a sea of passion and love.

When a knock interrupted them.

“Excuse me, your majesty” a demon knocked on his door, his voice traveling until it reached the ears of the rulers of hell “You asked for any news of the human to be brought to you immediately”

Lucifer groaned and Lilith giggled, covering her mouth with a hand. She gracefully tried to slip away from her husband when a pair of hands held her in place.

“I believe we aren’t quite finished my dear,” Lucifer said, his voice deep and laced with a promise of lust “but I will let it slide…until tonight”

Lilith smiled, leaning in to give Lucifer one more kiss before turning to the door and taking her exit.

Closing the doors, she let the servant pass and the imp closed the door behind the queen.

She sighed, guessing she had to go and entertain herself once again. Thinking about it, she had to go and take care of more of her coming shows. For that, she had already arranged the best stylists of Hell to come and show her about their creations.

She wanted the best of the best; a small spring was on her step as she thought about the new collection of dresses she was going to get. Her only regret was that she wouldn’t have the time to design them herself.

She was barely two meters away from her husband’s office when the palace shook and his voice exploded.

“THEY WHAT!?!?!”

And with that, Lilith knew without a doubt that her afternoon was going to be full of surprises.

She motioned for an imp passing by to come closer raising one of her hands.

“please tell my guest I’ll see them as soon as I can,” Lilith asked sweetly “and if they do not want to wait, they can be sure that I will never request their work again”

Lilith turned on her heel without giving any other explanation, hoping that whatever that had caused her husband to scream.

_______________________________________________________________

“Charlie, hun” Vaggie walked behind her excited girlfriend “you can’t tell me you don’t find it even a little bit strange”

Charlie sighed, Vaggie was right. Angel had been acting around them as he would usually do, but when Marinette was in the room it was…as if he showed another side of him. Charlie had seen Angel laughing without the strain of his shoulders around Marinette. Which she believed no one had taken notice, that is because until you had seen him completely relaxed you would never see any difference.

“I mean…yes, it’s strange” Charlie conceded “but I mean it’s good isn’t it? It means he’s doing better. You saw it for yourself! Angel seems to really like her and even Alastor said he would never think of harming Marinette and made some breakfast for her!”

Vaggie shrugged, honestly Angel was more complicated than what at first, she thought. But whenever he was getting better or they thought he had made any progress, he relapsed. After those incidents, Vaggie still couldn’t help but doubt Angel’s intentions.

“It is…” Vaggie said, while putting a hand on Charlie’s shoulders “but, Charlie …Angel isn’t a role model, nor someone we can really trust with Marinette…”

Charlie tried to refute, but with how many times Angel had broken their simple rules she knew Vaggie had a point. Besides, knowing Angel’s profession, it was harder for him to reach redemption or even get better. But he was trying and Charlie believed in him, there was just something about Angel that made her believe in him. She couldn’t explain, but she knew

“I don’t even trust the radio demon near her” Vaggie claimed, her eye frowning as she looked to her hands “I just, Charlie he doesn’t even believe in the cause. He’s just here for entertainment and…there are many ways to hurt or manipulate someone without being physical. Husk has been trying to be the best but so far we should limit her interactions with them…She’s too young and is easy for people to get into your head…”

Charlie nodded, her shoulders sagging as she tried her best to refute Vaggie’s claims. She did love Vaggie, and her girlfriend was making some valid points across. However, Alastor and Angel were now part of the Hotel as well as Husk and Niffty. Even the IMPs were now residing there, even if their function was of some bodyguards.

“I know it isn’t the ideal …circumstances” Charlie answered, “but please Vaggie, we can’t just force Marinette to spend her days trapped inside her room. I don’t want her to feel trapped…”

Vaggie rubbed her right arm, a bit of guilt pooling in her stomach. She knew Charlie often talked about how trapped she felt in the palace and even when having almost one-fourth of the palace for herself and servants she had always felt alone.

“She has already passed through a lot Vaggie” Charlie took one of her girlfriend’s hands on her own “But still she worries about us, she tries to ask if she can help and she has only been trying her hardest to remain in the Hotel grounds. I don’t want to turn this into a kind of prison for her…”

Vaggie nodded, knowing that Marinette deserved to be treated with the best they could offer. After all, she was alone and relying on people she couldn’t trust completely.

“I know we can’t let our guard down…” Charlie spoke as if she could read Vaggie’s mind “but we can still make this the best for Marinette. You heard the story, the people who she believed were her friends betrayed her…we can at least show her she can trust us too…even if it is only for a while”

Vaggie let out some of her breath and smiled at Charlie. The princess was right, and well, if anything happened, she doubted Lucifer would be as understanding as Charlie.

“Okay” She leaned towards her girlfriend, Charlie meeting her halfway both of them with their eyes closed and their foreheads touching “Thank you, hon”

“Thank you for always supporting me Vaggie” Charlie answered “I love you”

“I love you more” Vaggie answered before kissing Charlie’s cheek “ok then, so we should continue with the shopping list?”

Charlie smiled and nodded, talking about how many things she could probably buy now that they had a little bit more freedom, and a bigger budget thanks to Marinette and the IMPs. Vaggie laughed, both of them returning to the papers on the table.

_______________________________________________________________

All that she could see was darkness. Everything was pitch black.

It was all around her, but it made her feel safe. Strangely enough.

Even when a voice in the back of her mind was screaming that nothing was alright. She decided to ignore it

Marinette opened her eyes lazily as her phone vibrated beside her, it startled her awake.

She quickly sat on her bed, her arms supporting her and pink all around the room. Everything seemed normal. She was in her bed, her designs were all over the place, along with her discarded homework on her desk. Her last message was of Alya encouraging her on their last exam, nothing out of the ordinary.

It all was perfect.

She laid back on her bed, snuggling into her pink and white covers, the smooth fabric against her skin, and the sweet smell engulfing her. Her eyes started to drop, slowly, as she succumbed to Morpheus's arms.

Every second she felt like drowning in comfortable darkness.

For once ever since the arrival of Hawkmoth, she felt safe and in peace.

Until it wasn’t.

It started with her phone, vibrating so much that Marinette thought it was her usual wake up alarm.

She decided to ignore it, as she usually did, to get more sleep. Rolling to her side so she could ignore it better. A few seconds later it stopped.

Marinette sighed, once again letting all go and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere once again.

That is until the sound of thousands of people screaming reached her ears.

Her eyes shot wide open.

Marinette didn’t remember exactly what she was doing, everything felt as if it was a movie. She watched as her arms threw away the covers on top of her, getting up as fast as she could, not bothering her when she heard her parent’s voices screaming her name reached her ears.

Desperately she ran to her balcony, climbing the stairs as fast as her now trembling hands let her.

Opening the trap door, she wasn’t hit with the usual cold night air and the usual sound of cars moving in the streets.

Heat and ash hitting her face like a slap.

Her eyes became blurry and the smell of smoke filling her lungs.

She coughed, her eyes stinging but she willed herself to go to the railing of her balcony, the heat on her face making her skin burn as well as her lungs. Raising one of her arms she takes one deep breath and pushes herself forward, her eyes closed and moving just by memory. The light of the flames on her eyelids and she hopes it’s just her imagination.

Screams of terror ringing in her ears, her name being called by her parents were ignored for her to reach the railing of her balcony. Marinette grasps it and once again she tries to take a breath, more smoke filling her lungs.

She opens her eyes and looks at the distance.

Her eyes widened and she could swear her heart stopped beating.

What she was seeing, had to be a dream.

A nightmare.

The city of Paris was bathed in flames, dark smoke filling the air as well as screams.

The people were screaming because they were being burned alive, the stench of burned flesh reaching her nose, making her want to throw up. In the distance, she could see the Eiffel tower, the fire around it, the oranges and reds dancing making it look as if hell was being raised on earth.

Sirens all over the city and people trying to run away from the fire that seemed to be endless and growing with every minute that passed.

Marinette was shocked, taking steps back as she took the sight in.

A voice she knew very well, suddenly boomed, it was all over the city and making her body tremble with fear.

“Where is your precious Ladybug!?” The voice said, taunting them, coming from nowhere and everywhere “Where are your precious heroes now!?”

Glancing to the distance Marinette could see many figures, red energy in the form of butterflies acting as a mask, jumping through the roofs, in her direction.

Instinctively she searched for Tikki, looking to her sides when she noticed that the small goddess was missing. Her hands flew to her ears, her earrings missing.

She turned, trying to get into her room, the trap door closed and not budging under her more than insistent tries and pulls. Her parent’s call becoming more desperate with each passing second.

Until they stopped, the fire alarms went silent, the people stopped screaming.

The only thing left was the sound of buildings collapsing, wood cracking because of the heat, and the flames growing. Bathing everything in orange light.

“There’s no scape, Maribrat” Lila’s voice making her freeze on the spot “but I guess you already knew that”

Marinette turned, coughing as more smoke filled her lungs.

There they were.

All of them.

Luka, Alya, Nino, Kagami, Max, Kim, and Chloe. Every single one of them posing on the rail, burning her flowerpots with a single touch. Smiled sharp, eyes cold and unforgiving. All of them were wearing different suits, with matching scheme colors.

Luka was wearing ripped blood-red to black gradient jeans, with golden embroidery that traveled up the side of his legs, black combat boots on his feet. His shirt was black, with a red and orange gradient up to his waist where he had a golden belt with a butterfly insignia. The tips of his hair were changed to vibrant red color, a black mask was covering half of his face the trims golden, his eyes closed as he seemed to enjoy the chaos around him.

Chloe was wearing tight red jeans with black embroidery, high heeled boots of golden color on her feet. Her shirt was golden with black gradient sleeves that reached her forearms, it showed off her figure, on her waist red chains uniting to her right side where a red butterfly was resting. Her hair was loose up to her waist, red and black strands striking against her natural blonde color. Her eyes had a smoky style, golden eyeliner making her now red eyes stand out, red blood lips twisted in an arrogant smirk. Her hands were covered in ashes, but her nails still glowing a bright red. She lazily leaned on the railing examining the flower that was burning just with her touch.

Alya was sitting on the railing, a black top under a semi-transparent reddish loose shirt, on her waist she had a golden stash with black embroidery of butterflies. Her jeans were black to a blood-red gradient, her golden ankle boots covered in ash. Her hair was in a high ponytail with some loose strands framing her face, the usual red tips were now pitch black a golden butterfly emblem adorning the hairdo. Her makeup was simple, smoky eyes making her stand out more, black lipstick making her recall the incident with black cupid and red eye-liner. Her eyes a darker red than Chloe’s. She was staring at Marinette with such hatred she could feel her knees shaking, her mouth frown with disgust in her direction.

Kagami was there too, standing just beside Alya a sword in her hand. Her hair hadn’t changed, except for the black and red accessories that made it look as if she had horns. The red kimono was stained with ashes all over it, a black obi holding it all together like a belt, under that she only wore golden tights, but her red-blood high boots cut the pattern. Her hands were covered by bandages, crimson red and covered with ashes too, her nails glowing just like Chloe’s. Chains of gold wrapped around her sword’s handle and into her wrist. She could faintly see the bow of the obi being in the form of a butterfly with golden touches. Her lips were painted in different colors. The top a deep red color, the bottom was completely black, her eyes didn’t have any makeup but an intricated golden eyeliner, her eyes a deep dark red and her gaze was cold and unforgiving.

Nino was there too, wearing long black pants with a red gradient at the bottom, his sneakers a dark red tainted with ashes and golden trims. His red loose shirt with black stains was decorated with the emblem of the butterfly from Hawkmoth. His cap was black except with some reddish stains. His earphones were gone and, in their place, a golden chain hanging over his chest his glasses in a matching color. His hands were on his pockets, making them melt as he smiled evilly at her, the cap covering her eyes but she could see them, glowing red and filled with hatred directed at her.

“They look amazing don’t you think?” Lila laughed, coming forward, her hair loose and floating around her the tips a golden color “Courtesy of Hawkmoth”

She walked towards Marinette, a tight black short dress was the main piece, it reached her knees and it seemed so tight she even had difficulties to walk or move, it was meant to be sexy but Marinette could only wince at how off it looked on Lila. On top of the skirt of the dress, she had a golden semi-translucent fabric that swished with the air, her arms were covered with golden jewelry and ruby stones, a necklace made of gold shaped into spikes, a big red ruby on the middle. Her make up stayed the same color scheme, except for the golden touches on her eyelids and the butterflies of gold on her skin as if they were tattoos. A small golden crown on her had, with the biggest ruby Marinette had ever seen in her life.

“Did you truly believe you could win?” Lila spoke, slowly advancing towards Marinette “you lost Marinette, in more ways than one”

With that being said, Lila stepped aside. Her skirt flowing behind her as another figure advanced to her side. Lila raised her hand, offering it to the figure as it stepped closer.

“No…” Marinette spoke, more smoke filling her lungs and making her eyes sting, tears rolling down her cheeks “please…”

Adrien stood there, in all of his glory. Akumatized.

His outfit was a simple black tux, golden embroidery on his cuffs and trims. His shirt a deep red that contrasted against his pale skin. His shoes complimented his outfit, high-end and of course perfectly polished black dressing shoes. Cufflinks glinted when he raised his hand to take the one her rival was offering, as well as a crown resting on top of his head that matched Lila’s. His eyes now a glowing red and a smirk on his face.

“Doesn’t he look dashing?” Lila smiled as Adrien kissed her hand “the perfect king, for the perfect queen”

Adrien pulled Lila to her side, hands around her waist, and the long-haired girl rested her head against his chest. Both of them smiling with so much evil towards Marinette that she couldn’t help but let more tears fall. Lila raised one of her hands to stroke Adrien’s face, leaning in as their lips almost touched.

“You lost” Lila whispered before an explosion sounded in the distance.

Marinette wanted nothing more than to run, to scape. She would do anything to get away from them, she just wanted to run.

That is until a hand landed on her shoulder, scaring her and making her turn.

But nothing could’ve prepared her for the sight that was in front of her.

She could feel her blood run cold, and her heart breaking in two.

Chat Noir was on the floor, his hand stretched towards her. His gaze was unfocused, probably had a concussion but he still fought to stay awake and reach her.

“M-My lady” Chat spoke before he crumbled to the ground, with no strength left “I’m…sorry”

Marinette rushed to Chat’s side, the sound of Lila’s laughter all around her. She cradled Chat’s head into her legs, trying to shield him from the rest of the world. Slowly stroking his hair as slowly as she could.

The laughter of Hawkmoth could be heard through all Paris, proclaiming his victory. All of the akumatized people on the balcony started laughing too, the sound of their voices combined almost leaving her deaf.

Closing her eyes, she could hear the buildings crumbling, the laugher, her parent’s screams as they were also burned alive. Her lungs were filled with smoke, she could barely take another breath but she refused to leave Chat alone. Her eyes completely shut so she couldn’t see what was going on. Her anger, impotence, and fear making her blood boil.

With one final breath, Marinette screamed.

And woke up.

She almost fell from her chair but regained her balance rather fast.

“I…wha….where…” Marinette tried to focus on her surroundings, letting out a breath “oh…”

She was in the studio; the layout of the pentagram could be seen through the window. The sky looked a bit darker than before.

Her designs were all over the place, small notes here and there. A few samples of fabrics also in a pile and Tikki was taking her nap on top of a small cushion Charlie had left for her.

“It…was a nightmare” Marinette tried to reassure herself “breathe, Marinette, just breathe”

With that, she hugged herself. The images not leaving her mind, making her whole body shake with fear.

She reached once again to check the Akuma alert, see if anything was happening. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Letting out a breath Marinette smiled, at least that was something she didn’t have to get worried about. She walked up to Tikki who barely registered her holder until Marinette poked her softly.

“Hey, um” Marinette spoke slowly letting Tikki yawn and stretch herself “Mind coming with me for a bite?”

Tikki shook her head, floating beside Marinette as they walked downstairs. Marinette was still a bit shook up but knowing that a stroll would help her nerves.

_______________________________________________________________

On the grounds surrounding the Hotel, we can see another figure. Lurking and hiding from view.

Moving too fast and precise for her to be some amateur. Her high ponytail letting her hair flow freely.

Somehow, she knew where and when the IMPs would be patrolling, so she knew how to hide from them, as well as the bombs.

“Angie owes me” Cherri mumbled to herself as she placed another hidden bomb “cover most of the hotel grounds with a system like these costs a fortune!”

She guessed she didn’t have any other option; Angel was her best friend and he had been desperate for her help. She had met the human and she didn’t seem like the people that usually ended down here, so Cherri was grateful to be able to help them both.

“Still” She mumbled as she placed another bomb strategically “Angel didn’t tell me why he’s so insistent on keeping that human so protected…”

With that in mind, she kept up with her work, barely noticing the two small eggs in the distance looking at her.

“I’m missing my fun!” Cherri groaned as she started messing with a small detonator on her hand, which didn’t want to cooperate with her “FUCK THIS SHIT!”

_______________________________________________________________

“Oh, gee” one of the egg boys nudges the other “We should tell the boss that the girl is here!”

The other egg boy nods. Smiling and clapping as the both of them run into the distance. Their only thoughts now on how happy the boss will be when they tell him their discovery.

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excelsi-or · 3 years

Text

your type (pt. 6)

Hiiii friends, it’s only been like two weeks! Pretty good in terms of posting for me lol. I don’t know what it is about this story in particular, but I feel so self-conscious about posting new parts. But I’m also not someone who likes to leave things half finished.

I hope you’re all doing well :)

BIPOC recs: I actually have a few! Two books: Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 - Cho Namjoo (basically follows a woman’s life in South Korea and all the micro-oppressive things that women face in their personal and career lives); Winners Take All - Anand Giridharadas (a non-fiction about how billionaires create such a disproportionate world for us all; I love listening to Anand’s talks about this subject. I find it fascinating). Music: Cross Country - Breland (excellent country song); Boyz II Men - Kirby (I love this woman’s energy)

w.c. 2.6k

pairing: jihoon x OC/reader

pt. 1; pt. 2; pt. 3; pt. 4; pt. 5

The summer semester has her in the research lab 8 hours a day. Luckily, Jihoon is also on campus for just as long. His professor got him a gig working on music for a few groups in various companies. It helps get his foot in the door, and while the deadlines are tight, he genuinely enjoys working.

They take their lunch breaks together, wandering the green or just wandering hallways if it’s too warm outside. But since he doesn’t have other classes, Jihoon’s been chatting with a few girls he’s met.

And he’s told her all about them, so she isn’t blindsided if someone else decides to share it with her.

“How was your date last night?” she asks at lunch.

Jihoon shrugs. The girl had come over since Seungcheol was at Jihyo’s. “She was whatever.”

She lifts an eyebrow, eating the sandwich that Seungkwan made for her lunch. She’s now taken to spending the night at Seungkwan and Hansol’s when Seungcheol visits.

Jihoon sighs. “Jiwoo was uninteresting.” When she has no response to this, he pouts. “She didn’t really have any opinions on anything, so we couldn’t find anything to talk about.”

“But you didn’t just go for dinner.”

“She was fine in bed.” Jihoon shrugs. “Didn’t really tell me what she liked, so hard to say how she felt about it.”

“Ahh.”

“What does that mean?”

She pops the rest of her sandwich in her mouth. “I don’t really know how to continue from that.”

Jihoon snorts. “Well, you’re the one who asked.”

She thinks for a minute. “Are you just saying she was uninteresting?” She kicks him lightly under the table. “Did you listen to her?”

“Of course I did!” Jihoon sips his coffee. “You said that I need to look at people more,” he makes a point of staring at her, “and to be aware of my body language because it comes off as standoffish.”

“And still?”

“All she talked about was her dog. I love talking about people’s dogs, but not for two hours.”

“Dinner was two hours?”

Jihoon shakes his head in frustration. “The kitchen kept getting the order wrong. Anyway, enough about my failed date, how’s your research going?” He pushes a napkin towards her.

She pulls out the pencil she was using to hold her hair up. Her hair cascades around her and she begins sketching out her reaction. While Jihoon hasn’t quite learned all the chemistry terminology, he recognizes various things, specifically the compounds she’s working on. She’d taught him some basics about catalytic testing, using drawings to help him follow along.

Multiple times she’s insisted that her research is really boring, especially for people who aren’t in science. But Jihoon likes listening to her talk, and her research lets her dominate the conversation. He asks questions and clarification, and she’s always great at simplifying things.

Jihoon has learned that her amazing attention to detail translates well to analyzing his songs. And she’s always very honest about the parts she likes and doesn’t like.

“I have some finished works I want your opinion on.” They start to clean up their table.

She glances up at him. “You don’t have a date tonight?”

Jihoon waits for her to fall into step with him. “I do, but I also have deadlines. So, if you’re not tired later, meet me in the studio?”

She waves goodbye to him. “I’ll let you know where I’m at.” She waits for him to exit the building before going to put her earphones in. As she’s heading to the stairs, she sees Seulgi heading towards her. They cross paths in the chemistry labs, but have never been on real speaking terms.

She smiles at Seulgi, about to go around her like normal, when the woman asks, “Are you and Jihoon dating?”

Despite her earphones in, she does hear the question. She turns. “Uhm, no.” She pauses and Seulgi says nothing. “Why?”

“I just…” Seulgi gives her a once over. “You seem too nice to be dating Jihoon.”

She’s taken aback by that observation. While Jihoon has given off the hot-cold vibe, player energy, and a slight lack of communication skills, she can’t say Jihoon’s ever warranted a comment like that. “We’re just…” She tries to come up with a word. “We’re just friends.”

“You’re smart.” Seulgi seems to mull something over. “But smart girls like you have fallen for his charm.”

“Like… you?”

“Once, but I’m not talking about me here. I’m talking about my friend.”

This piques her interest more than she wishes it did. Jihyo has warned her against listening to all these testimonials of women dating Jihoon.

“Maybe you just need to give the man a solid chance. If you’re gonna spend all your time with him anyway.”

Against Jihyo’s advice, she asks, “What happened to your friend?”

“Jihoon broke her heart. He doted on her and from the sounds of it, worshipped her, but then all of a sudden, he went cold. Stopped answering messages, stopped picking up the phone, avoiding her in the hallways. Then he said—”

“‘I’m ignoring you now, please leave me alone?’”

Seulgi tips her head. “Have you talked to Wendy?”

She runs her tongue along her bottom teeth. “No. I haven’t.”

“So how did you—?”

“I met another girl he’s dated. And… he’s a creature of habit, so… figured he’d say something similar.”

Seulgi hums. “Well, Wendy refuses to see any other man now. But she’s fine, mostly. We just can’t mention Jihoon around her. So, just…”

“Be careful?”

Seulgi chuckles. “So you’ve heard the warnings before?”

“A couple times.” Under her breath, she mutters, “Maybe I should heed them more.” She gives Seulgi a friendly nudge as she walks away. “Thanks for the warning.”

“Is everything okay?”

Jihoon received her text around 4:30, saying that she wasn’t feeling well and would go straight home after she was done in lab.

“Yeah, I’m just… I think I’m getting sick.”

She had seemed fine when he saw her.

“Okay, I’ll walk you home then.”

There’s a long pause. “I actually caught up with Taehyung, Jungkook’s boyfriend? He said he would walk me home.”

Jihoon turns in his chair at this odd development. “Oh. Okay. Well, I’ll… see you tomorrow then.”

“Bye.” Almost like an afterthought, she adds, “Sorry.”

Jihoon turns back to stare at the pieces of work he has open in the task bar that he wanted to show her. Instead, he closes them and goes back to work.

Time passes without him realizing. Before he knows it, it’s time for him to meet up with Ara. He glances at the clock, thinking.

Jihoon (19:14)

Meet me at the gym?

Jihoon (19:14)

Hey, don’t think I’ll be able to make it tonight. Caught a cold.

Soonyoung (19:15)

Sure. See you in 10.

Mingyu (19:15)

I’m in.

Ara (19:15)

If I didn’t know better, I’d assume you have another woman in mind.

But okay.

Get well soon, babe.

True to their word, Mingyu and Soonyoung meet him at the gym near their homes. Soonyoung leads the way inside and they go stretch while Jihoon disappears to change.

When he reemerges, Mingyu asks him what’s wrong.

“She cancelled on me.”

“Who?” Soonyoung is stretching on his right.

Jihoon crosses his right arm across his body, feels the stretch in his upper delt and across his arm. He updates them on what’s happened in the last 7 hours, from lunch, to her saying she’s sick, to Ara.

Mingyu frowns. “I didn’t realize you two were still going on dates. I thought you’d already gotten to the… dating part of dating.”

“Wait,” Soonyoung seems to realize something, “are you seeing other women right now? We cannot win this bet unless you commit!”

Mingyu observes Jihoon in the mirror. He has a dazed look in his eye, as if he’s thinking hard about something. “You actually like her.” He turns to Jihoon. “You’re genuinely upset that she didn’t come to the studio.”

Jihoon wasn’t really frowning before, but he is now. “No. I’m not.”

“Wonwoo hyung said that he thought you were seeing other women again.” Mingyu turns back to the mirror. “I said that couldn’t be possible, because you don’t like to lose.”

“Can we just work out?” His tone is harsh, but his friends hear a small plea in there too. They exchange looks over Jihoon’s head and shrug.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Soonyoung nudges him towards the free weights.

It isn’t until after their gym session on their way home that Soonyoung and Mingyu begin grilling him.

“Are you seeing other women right now?” Mingyu asks.

“Well…” Jihoon adjusts his bag on his shoulder. “Yeah.”

Soonyoung and Mingyu’s jaws drop.

“Dude. The bet.” Soonyoung gives him a push. “What if she finds out?”

Jihoon watches his feet move beneath him. “She already knows.”

“She knows? And she still goes out with you?” Mingyu demands. “Are you guys just friends?”

Soonyoung groans in frustration. “Seriously, Jihoon, bets are serious business. We went all in on this bet. You can’t just let Seokmin win a bet like this.”

“What happened, hyung?”

The question seems to release something in Jihoon. He throws his hands up in frustration. “I don’t know. I really don’t. She just… holds herself at a distance from me. I can’t seem to…” He makes grabbing motions in the air. “Get anything out of her.” He shakes his head. “Maybe we should just give up here. I don’t know if I can win this bet.”

“Yah!” Soonyoung throws an arm around his shoulders. He squeezes his arm. “I am not losing to Seokmin and Seungkwan on a bet that I know that we can win. You are the best at this.”

“She’s just as good at keeping me at a distance. And apparently she’s also had men castrated before.”

Mingyu and Soonyoung blink in surprise at the sudden information.

“Okay, well, we’re not going to let that happen to you,” Mingyu states.

Soonyoung agrees. “But you’re going to have to start pulling out al your moves. You—”

Jihoon shakes his head. “Listen to me. I have been at this since February. The girl won’t even let me kiss her.”

Mingyu scoffs. “You haven’t even kissed her yet? You guys are just friends.”

Soonyoung holds a hand up in Mingyu’s face. “You are not being encouraging.” He readjusts his grip around Jihoon. “Look. We’ll help you then. Lee Jihoon doesn’t tap out like this.”

“You said she canceled on you.” Mingyu tips his chin in Jihoon’s direction. “Why?”

“She said she was sick and found someone else to walk her home.”

Soonyoung’s eyes widen. He releases his grip on Jihoon to get a better look at his face. “That’s it?”

Jihoon scowls. “Did I not tell you that I haven’t even kissed her yet? I eat lunch with her every day and then I walk her home.”

“Are we in the 1700s? What the fuck?” Mingyu demands.

“I can’t work out what makes her tick. She tells me stuff about herself, but nothing I can use. All I’ve learned is that she’s one of the smartest people I know, reads a lot, paints, and can give me actual feedback on my music.”

“Oh, come on, that can’t be all you’ve learned.”

Jihoon sighs, racking his brain for more information. There are obviously little things he’s noticed, like that she drinks a shit ton of water; that when she thinks something’s amusing, she lets out a little breath of laughter; or that she presses down on her fingers with her thumbs when she’s nervous. But he can’t share these things. They aren’t useful.

“I’ve learned she hasn’t really dated anyone since Byunggu. That she doesn’t even count that guy as a boyfriend so Jungkook is the last man she dated.”

“Byunggu… why do I know that name?” Soonyoung looks to Mingyu.

“Because he’s the guy who’s either been threatened, murdered or castrated,” Jihoon grumbles.

Soonyoung waves him off. “No.” He reaches behind Jihoon to hit Mingyu’s arm. “Isn’t he that guy who debuted last year?”

Mingyu’s brow furrows.

“He stopped coming to parties because he was filming some show or something, remember?” He pushes Mingyu, as if that will jog his memory. “He was one of your girls’ friends. Remember? She wouldn’t stop talking about him? That’s why you dumped her?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Mingyu pulls his phone out and looks something up. When he turns the phone to Jihoon, Jihoon squints at an article about this man who is currently doing small roles in various dramas. He doesn’t recognize the face. But until this point, he’d never seen any photos of this elusive ex. A debut would explain why he disappeared into thin air.

“What am I supposed to do with this information?” Jihoon pushes the phone away. “She clams up as soon as he comes up.”

“Okay, okay. Forget trying to replicate the men of the past.” Soonyoung says. “Just… be you.”

Jihoon stares at him in disbelief. “She doesn’t like me.”

“She must, because she’s spent a lot of time with you, hyung.” Mingyu sips from his water bottle. “Noona only gives certain people her time, if you haven’t noticed. Her girls, Hansol, Seungkwan, Wonwoo hyung these days.” He shrugs. “If you’re spending so much time with her, she likes you at least a little bit.”

Jihoon bites his tongue, annoyed that they’re right. “I’m only going to give this another month. If I can’t get this girl into my bed, then there’s no way she’s going to say ‘I love you’ first.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?” Jihyo asks.

The two roommates are having a night in, watching a movie but talking the entire time with take out on the table.

She came home looking preoccupied, so Jihyo forced her to put on her pajamas, pick what sort of take out they would eat, and to bundle up on the couch. Then she forced her roommate to tell her what was wrong.

“I don’t know. Do you think it’s a sign that two different women have told me I should be careful?” She pouts. “I don’t want to feel like I need to tread carefully.”

“I don’t know what Jihoon was like with those other girls, but he likes you. I know what a guy looks like when all he wants is to get you into his bed. That look on Jihoon’s face when he sees you is pure adoration.”

She carefully breaks apart a cookie before popping a piece into her mouth. “If anything, Jihoon’s just a friend.”

“A friend who adores you. Who you also seem to like.” Jihyo nudges her with the back of her hand. “You can’t go around thinking every boy is going to hurt you like Byunggu.”

“I don’t think that. Why would I think that if I don’t even give them a chance to try?”

Jihyo snorts, both amused and frustrated. “Jihoon is putting in the effort with you. You didn’t even give him your number for like a month and a half. And he still made it work.”

“I did that to keep him away from me.” She rolls her eyes, a slight smile on her face. “So, thanks for helping him out with that.”

“You still hang out with him.”

“You know, he’s seeing other girls now.”

Jihyo pauses. “Really?”

“He tells me about them. He had a date yesterday. He has one tonight.” She shakes her head. “I think it’s just better for me if we stay friends.” She notices Jihyo on her phone. “What are you doing now?”

“Asking Cheollie if Jihoon’s home.” Jihyo turns her phone her way, grinning. Seungcheol had sent a picture of Jihoon next to him on the couch. The two seem to be playing video games. “Give the man a chance. You don’t know what kind of boyfriend he can be if you don’t.”

#woozi #woozi imagines #woozi scenarios #Lee Jihoon #lee jihoon scenarios #Seventeen #seventeen scenarios #seventeen imagines #svt

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ayellowcurtain · 3 years

Text

I can be your lover

Part 5

6 months later

Robbe bites the corner of his bottom lip while staring down, pulling the skin of his thumb until it hurts, ripping it off, brushing the dead skin to the ground carelessly. He grew used to just sitting here and being watched, it doesn’t bother him anymore, not too much at least.

He doesn’t know what to say. He’s been coming to therapy every week in hopes it would help him figure himself out but he feels the worst he’s ever felt.

“I feel useless.” Robbe answers the question that he didn’t get today yet. It’s always the first one so he decided to spare them the trouble. He looks through his eyelashes, finding his therapist staring at him in disapproval of using words such as useless to describe himself.

“I feel like everything is out of my control so there’s no point in trying, really.”

There’s a long silence, a slow breath out and Robbe sighs, relaxing on his chair, meeting his doctor’s eyes, finally even if he doesn’t feel completely comfortable doing so. He feels uneasy, exposed and it bothers him to have to deal with it.

“What happened?” Robbe looks at the notepad on her lap, all his stupid insecurities and mental problems probably written down for anyone to read if given the chance.

“Me and Sander had a fight.” It was the worst fight ever, with them talking over each other and loudly. Robbe loves Sander the same but it feels like it’s really the end this time. They can’t go on like this anymore, Robbe is really at the edge. “I don’t want to do this anymore but I still love him so it’s just...fucked up.”

He does some of the breathing exercises he grew used to doing in the past few months like she suggests he to do often when he’s feeling like this but he knows it won’t help this time, he’s too deep inside his head to let the anger and frustration go every time he breathes out, pretending he’s also letting go of the negative thoughts about himself. He should have cancelled this session because it’s not working, not even talking about it makes him change his mind, see things differently.

He should have stayed home and studied for his finals, it would be a better use of his time. She gives him a notepad and a pencil to do whatever he wants with it: write, draw, scribble. She doesn’t say that but it’s obviously her way to keep him from pulling more skin off his fingers. It’s already a little too late, most of his fingers are burning already but he tries to keep his hands busy anyway, drawing random shapes and lines.

Robbe puts his pencil down when there’s no more room in the page to draw.

“I need to walk away. It’s for the best for both of us. I’ll block him everywhere so I can’t see things and I’ll just let him be while he’s away. And if he ever comes back, maybe we’ll talk if he also feels like it.”

“I think you should calm down, think about it for a few days and not make a one way decision when there are two people involved.” Robbe looks at her and gives back the notepad, “I think he would like you to hear what he has to say about your decision. You two have been in an intimate relationship for a while. Not just romantically but as very close friends.”

Robbe shakes his head, putting his hands inside his pockets, closing his fingers around his thumb until it hurts, “I can’t talk to him or I’ll change my mind.”

12 months later

Robbe drops his keys on the little bench he bought to put right next to his door, the exact same layout as it was when he lived with Zoe and Milan (and then Senne. And Sander.). It was another long day of college and work, the last one of an endless week. He turns the lights on and takes his shoes off, kicking them under the bench. Tomorrow he will clean and organize properly. For now, he’ll leave everything as it is. The good side of living alone. The rest sucks but Robbe will never tell anyone about feeling like that. He never thought he was the type to need people around him every day, all day until he had to come home to an empty apartment every night.

It doesn’t happen that often, especially on the weekends, considering his friends are all over the city these days but it happens too often for Robbe’s liking. Zoe and Milan are out of town together, Senne offered to keep him company but they would be two grumpy and tired men so it would be useless. Jens is out of town too, Aaron and Amber are not an option - Robbe can’t have a disgustingly in love couple around anymore - and Moyo is with Britt and Noor. It’s good to be alone sometimes, he tries to convince himself as he reaches the kitchen, opening the fridge. Nothing other than the beers at the bottom excites him so ordering something for dinner it is. Robbe is starving so he makes a very quick search of his phone and decides for the italian restaurant that promises to deliver his food in less than half an hour.

Robbe opens his first beer of the night and throws himself on his couch, looking around, feeling like it’s a new place all of a sudden. Sometimes it hits him that he has his own place now. And that he’s alone. Therapy has been helpful and he can tell the difference when he’s about to have some pretty bad days in the worst possible mood and when his reality is just underwhelming in his eyes and he’ll get over it soon enough. He never thought this would be his life. It’s not a bad one but it’s not what he had planned.

He forces himself to get up once he manages to change his mindset and he takes his clothes off, leaving it on the living room so it’s closer to the laundry machine once he’s clean. He turns some music on and puts it to play all over the apartment, putting his phone down, singing along to Bowie as he shaves the scruff that was starting to get out of hand on his face, he takes a quick shower and while he’s putting his clothes to wash, his food gets home.

Robbe rushes down to grab it and thanks the delivery boy, rushing back inside, lighting some candles just because they’re there, getting dusty and old. He never bothered to buy a dinning table because there’s a small island right there. He sits on the stool and eats, staring at his food and the candle in front of them. His instagram isn’t as updated as it used to.

A long time ago Robbe decided to give himself more time offline, focusing on college and his internship and he’s been good at keeping that mindset most of the time, afraid to spend too many hours per day online, looking for what he’s still having to choose, day in and day out, to keep his distance from so he doesn’t hurt Sander even more.

But he doesn’t care as much tonight, so he takes a picture of his dinner for one and the sad candle in front of him and posts it to his stories, locking his phone instantly, putting it down to eat in peace.

He keeps glancing at it, careful like it could burn if he dared to grab his phone and check. It would be a lie if he said he doesn’t miss Sander but he has learned to live with it. Long distance wasn’t going to work. Robbe is happy for the ones that can jump out of their comfort zone but he can’t and he’s okay with it by now, after months and months of therapy. The only thing he can do is not drag other people into living life this way too if they don’t feel like it.

Sander is happy somewhere else and Robbe is happy that he’s happy. Easy as that.

He eats his food and washes the dishes he left this morning right after or else he would get too tired to do it before going to bed and he doesn’t feel like waking up to a sink full of dirty dishes. He washes his clothes and folds them once they’re dry and warm out of the drier. Plays some video games, and finally crashes into his bed, searching for some comfort movie to watch as he falls asleep. He doesn’t last half an hour watching it, he’ll have to start again if he really wants to watch this movie some other time, but thankfully he had already scheduled his tv to turn off after one hour and a half.

He miraculously wakes up only once in the middle of the night and almost as an afterthought, like he would do so often when he was younger, Robbe grabs his phone to check for any new notifications. Robbe read a lot about algorithms when he had nothing better to do one day because it felt like it’s a theme lately so he knows it doesn’t mean shit but he can’t help but stare at the first name on the list of people who watched his sad dinner stories.

earthlinggoddity

There’s the red-ish circle around his name but Robbe puts his phone down, the screen still bright staring at his mattress as he rolls to the other side, pulling the heavy comforter to wrap around him like a tight burrito, and he closes his eyes again. If he’s still thinking about it tomorrow, with an awake and fully functioning brain, he’ll watch whatever Sander posted if it’s still there. He shouldn’t do it now, half asleep or Robbe won’t be able to go back to sleep thinking about how badly he misses Sander.

He can’t remember his dreams when he wakes up, it’s like he blinked and it was morning already. He feels rested but still mentally tired or empty, one of the two.

His phone is still right next to him, under the pillow he never uses and so he grabs it, checking the notification that just popped on his screen a few minutes ago from Moyo.

What are you doing today, my friend? Felt like we could go skate, smoke a little bit, for old time’s sake.

Robbe sighs, clicking on it, opening his conversation with Moyo.

That sounds like a perfect Saturday to me, my friend. Meet in one hour? I’m still in bed…

While he waits for the answer, the three dots already dancing on his screen, Robbe shakes his head. It’s still somewhat early, just now past eleven so he wonders if Moyo had any sleep. He does sound in a great mood though, Robbe is happy for him but also envying his enthusiasm about life, so early on a Saturday morning.

Jesus Christ, bro. You used to be an early bird. Working your ass off isn’t paying off, huh? One hour and don’t be fucking LATE!

Robbe knows what changed that he’s not an early, happy-chappy human anymore but he won’t bother anyone else with that conversation again. He pushes himself up to put some clothes on and go meet Moyo, making a pitstop for a quick breakfast on his way there.

#wtfock #robbe ijzermans #sander driesen #sobbe #robbe x sander #sobbe fic #a little shorter and a little sadder

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visionsofus · 3 years

Text

Wanda and Vision's Mixtape Masterlist (updating now)

cover by the wonderful @jjlover01

Note: my inbox is currently open for prompt/ song submissions 🥰 (1-2wk turn around)

AoU to CW

#10 Death Stranding by CHVRCHES

what will become of us if we dare to dream? Wanda and Vision spend the night at a glitzy party for a mission and get jealous when they see each other with other people. read on AO3

# 11 Happy Together by the Turtles

the only one for me is you. In which Wanda and Vision try to deliver on a promise to cook breakfast for the rest of the team but end up goofing off together instead. read on Tumblr // AO3

#12 Where the Shadow Ends by BANNERS

put your trust in the light you cannot see. Wanda falls ill at the compound and Vision panics. Surprisingly, her illness gives them an opportunity to talk about their feelings. Wanda comes to terms with putting faith in her feelings and in Vision. read on AO3

#15 Flares by The Script

did you see the sparks filled with hope? Mere days after the battle in Sokovia Wanda is still coming to terms with Pietro's absence and the new life she is faced with in upstate New York. Waking from a nightmare she leaves sleep behind and takes solace in Vision as an unexpected comfort. Read on Tumblr // AO3

#19 Feel Something by Jaymes Young

you could be the one to make me feel. Movie night at the compound isn’t going well for Vision, and that’s even before he decides to try and be a bit more human and eat food. He manages to drunkenly confess his deepest insecurities about his own existence before the night is out. Ft. angsty Vision, jealous Vision, pining Vision and basically Vision feeling a whole array of emotions he doesn’t know how to deal with. read on Tumblr // AO3

#21 Start a Riot by BANNERS

I will tear down every wall just to bring you home. Wanda has a breakdown shortly into arriving at the compound and Vision is the only one who can get through to her. read on Tumblr // AO3

#25 Remedy by Adele

I will be your remedy. Wanda comes back injured from a mission and Vision has to come to terms with her mortality, and the limits of their relationship. Tender touching and the intimacy of tending to wounds. AO3

CW to IW

#3 Rescue my Heart by Liz Longley

Rescue my heart (I'll drown without you). In which Vision arrives to help break the Cap’s team out of Raft prison post-Civil War. Wanda recalls fond memories of the compound and comes to terms with the idea of living on the run. read on Tumblr // AO3

#5 The Best by Tina Turner

a lifetime of promises, a world of dreams. In which Wanda searches Edinburgh for Vision after she arrives late at their safehouse. When she discovers his energy signature floating around the city, she decides to follow the threads to their source. Along the journey she recalls the complications of their long-distance, secretive relationship but by the end recalls exactly why they sacrifice so much to be together. read on AO3

#6 Somewhere only we know

In which nobody died in Endgame and Vision gets the opportunity to pick up where he and Wanda left off before they were interrupted in Edinburgh. read on AO3

#7 Clarity by Foxes

don't speak as I try to leave (I'll fall right back to you). A distressed Vision shows up at Wanda’s door after a particularly bad situation goes down at the compound. She comforts him as they both try to reconcile with the very different lives they are now living. read on AO3.

#8 Our Corner of the Universe by K.S. Rhoads

Our little corner of the universe. In which Wanda and Vision are coming to the end of a few weeks together in Paris pre-IW and Wanda dreams a life for them where they no longer have to run and hide. Unknowingly, she draws Vision into her dream and they both must contend with the idea that this reality isn't something that will be easy for them. read on Tumblr // AO3

#9 If You Ever Come Back by The Script

just like you were never gone. Wanda and Vision recall an argument that forced them to go their separate ways in the early days of their relationship post-CW. Upon finding out Wanda is near the Compound Vision can't help himself and seeks her out to apologise. Read on Tumblr // AO3

#13 I Know Places by Taylor Swift

just grab my hand and don't ever drop it. Wanda and Vision try to spend a peaceful evening out for dinner in Paris when they are suddenly attacked. To keep each other safe they split up, forced to make the harrowing journey to the next safe house separately. Vision is faced with Wanda's mortality. read on AO3

#14 Me and My Husband by Mitski

when he walks in, I am loved. Vision is reminded that it is Valentine's Day and decides to show up at Wanda's safehouse to surprise her. Fluff ensues and Wanda's fugitive teammates realise exactly how close the pair have become. read on AO3

#17 Can You Feel My Heart by Bring Me the Horizon

can you feel my heart. One year into being a fugitive Wanda gets cornered, Vision sees the news in real time and runs to her aid. Aka Vision going apeshit when he thinks Wanda is dead. read on Tumblr // AO3

#18 That's All by Michael Bublé

All I have are these arms to enfold you and a love time can never destroy. Wanda and Vision share a perfect morning in Paris, snuggled up together watching the rain stream past the windows. aka 1000 words of fluff. Read on Tumblr // AO3

#20 The Scientist by Coldplay

you don't know how lovely you are. Wanda surprises Vision by breaking into the compound shortly after the fight in Germany. read on Tumblr // AO3

#23 Bury This by RVRB

I should bury this. Immediately after Wanda leaves in Civil War, Vision reflects on his feelings surrounding her departure. AO3

Post-IW

#16 Through the Fire by Jake Etheridge

I was lost (now I'm found again). The Battle of Wakanda is over. Vision knows he's gone and that there is no coming back. Taking pity on Vision, the mind stone lets him see some of his most treasured memories once more, to ease his passing. read on Tumblr // AO3

Canon Divergence

#1 Last Dance by Camera Can't Lie

If this was our last chance (I'd ask you to say). In which Civil War never happened and they all lived happily ever after. Wanda and Vision dance at one of Tony’s fancy galas and are forced to address the feelings that have become apparent to themselves, and the rest of the team. Yearning included with a happy resolution after a lil bit of angsty longing. read on Tumblr // AO3

#2 Infinity by Jaymes Young

Darling my soul, it aches for yours. In which Wanda and Vision sneak out of the compound and go on a date and just revel in the act of being together in public. The rest of the team doesn't know yet so they're working had on keeping everything a secret. When they arrive back Vision is so enamoured with Wanda that he trips the Compound alarms, waking everyone up with the fear of a break in at the front of their mind only to find the pair in a compromised position. Read on AO3

#4 Light Me Up by Ingrid Michaelson

we are tonight, we are forever. Wanda and Vision spend a domestic evening together free from the rest of the team. read on Tumblr // AO3

#22 Only Us by Ben Platt

it can be us, and only us. The Sokovia Accords are renegotiated so that the team are never divided. Following the successful signing of the document a press event is held at the compound. Wanda and Vision take a moment to breath away from the crowds, both have been holding back from each other for months, worried about risking their friendship. A simple miscommunication leads to a brief moment of angst as they realise their months of pining over each other has been mutual. read on Tumblr // AO3

#24 I Wanna Be Yours by Arctic Monkeys

I wanna be yours. Things get racy between Wanda and Vision in the compound kitchen. Vision tries to come to terms with the intensity of his feelings for Wanda. AO3

#Wandavision #scarletvision #wanda x vision #wanda maximoff #the vision #scarlet vision fanfiction #visionsofusfics #fic masterlist #my writing

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seokmingiggles · 3 years

Text

rainbow.

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x female reader

Genre: angst, some scattered fluff, established relationship, soulmate!au (where you can see colour from the moment you meet your soulmate).

5.96k words

Warnings: brief mention of alcohol consumption, [spoilers: unmentioned illness (however, I allude to Lymphoma [a type of cancer] that has spread to other areas), major character death.]

There are countless tales of the lengths people go to when finding their soulmate, yet significantly fewer of the aftermath. You thought your life began when fate led you to your soulmate, but why does it feel like it’s ending all of a sudden?

Alternatively, not all wishes come true. Even when Jungkook tries to convince you otherwise.

A/N: This piece is likely going to be my last longer one for a while as I’m returning back to school for my winter semester. Expect my updates to be significantly more sparse than they have been for the past few weeks. Other than that, I’m so glad I began to post my writings online. It’s still bizarre to me that actual people are reading them?? If you enjoy (or have constructive criticism for) any of my pieces, please, never be shy to let me know!! I absolutely adore hearing your opinion on what I’ve created. With that said, gosh, I cried while doing my research to write this one.

If you are looking for a cute, fluffy soulmate!au, this may not be a suitable fic for you. Yes, there are some fluffy moments, but it overall contains heavy themes that may be triggering to some. If you’re looking for a fluffy soulmate!Jungkook drabble, the first portion of 1k words contains no angst, along with the three italicized sections.

•• Your soulmate. Soulmate. Even the word sounded magical; a mate bound to your soul.

Growing up, you were the cliché little girl who would endlessly dream about seeing colour for the first time at the instant your eyes locked with a certain someone across the room. Just imagining some above force drawing you to them sounded magical.

And, to a certain extent, it did happen that way when you met yours.

Not-exactly in the storybook-way you pictured, but you felt strangely drawn to a particular boy back in your second year of university. Your childhood friend, Chaeyoung, had convinced you to attend some end-of-semester party on campus. To be fair, that's where you met your other closest friend to this day.

The boy was sat on a couch, looking uninterested and unimpressed by the events happening around him. Chaeyoung, as much as you love her, had run off with another one of her classmates, leaving you floundering in the pool of sweaty bodies and loud music. So, you made your way to the sofa and sat next to the expressionless boy, who you came to know as Yeosang.

You didn't expect him to begin talking to you with the blank gaze he was displaying prior to you taking a seat, but you're happy it turned out that way. After that party, Yeosang joined your duo with Chaeyoung; the three of you would come to have plenty of fun together.

Though, it was at that same party where you also met Jungkook.

After chatting with Yeosang for who knows how long, your small bladder eventually needed relief from the few drinks you had. You excused yourself and wandered around the unfamiliar house in search of a bathroom. It was a large space with multiple floors, perhaps belonging to one of your campus fraternities, but you found yourself walking like you knew exactly where to go.

You ended up upstairs, where it was significantly more quiet than the bustling main floor. Only a few scattered couples kissing in the hallways or leading another to someone's bedroom crossed your path.

You managed to find a vacant washroom, much to your delight. But upon opening the bathroom door after you had finished, you were met with a handsome—albeit unfamiliar—face.

And also with a flood of colour for the first time in your life.

You and the stranger were both dumbfounded for a moment. It was only until he broke the silence and said, "Look, you don't know how happy I am to have found you, but I really, really, need to pee. So, if you don't mind–"

Those were the first words that Jungkook had spoken to you.

And in that instant, despite the slightly awkward, non-picture-perfect meeting, you were nothing less than smitten from that day forth.

Things between you and Jungkook went swimmingly after your first introductions. You two were soulmates; after all, it was only natural to get along. You had more in common with the boy than you would have guessed.

Your first couple of dates were much better than anything you had imagined them to be. Despite the cheesiness of a dinner and a movie for your first date or the loudness of your second arcade date, you were already looking forward to spending a future with Jungkook.

The first time he kissed you was like nothing else you've ever felt. Fireworks were an understatement. It was like all the stars in the universe had aligned perfectly, and all you could see were each and every constellation in Jungkook's eyes the moment he pulled away.

You were far beyond smitten at that point.

But what you didn't expect upon meeting Jungkook was how your vision would be impacted so greatly. Yes, you had heard about how wonderful a world of colour was, and yes, that was one of the things you had been looking forward to upon finding your soulmate; however, you could never have imagined just how vibrant the world really was.

You knew you were lucky to find your soulmate in your twenties. There were too many people who went countless years or even their whole lives without finding theirs, and you happened to meet yours only after a couple of decades into your life. It made you excited to spend the rest of your time by Jungkook's side. It would be a future where both of you would admire the process of the sky: shifting its palette in the evening to paint the clouds in an awe-inspiring gradient. Or seeing the luscious ruby-red strawberries adorning his favourite cake on each of his birthdays as the years passed together. Seeing the swirling brown of his irises, too, was one of your favourite sights after being able to see colour.

Your life became nothing short of a rainbow. Every day felt magical being with Jungkook; being with your soulmate.

Before you knew it, you celebrated your first year together. Then two. Then a few more until you both graduated from university. You eventually found a little apartment to call home at around the same time; it made sense to move in together. Previously, both of you had roommates during your schooling years. Although now, living together only seemed natural when you knew you'd eventually get married one day.

And living with Jungkook was nothing but natural.

Waking up next to your boyfriend was better than you could have imagined. Seeing his cute, groggy face puffy with sleep was the most endearing thing to you, and he thought the exact same way when he'd wake before you on the rare occasion.

It was like a little insight into how the rest of your life would be.

Your heart would uncontrollably flutter every time Jungkook would approach you from behind and gently wrap his arms around your torso as you worked at the stove. Or the way he'd sometimes comb your damp hair after a shower, making sure to pepper little kisses to your neck or cheek in the process. Your heart had never felt so full until Jungkook had unexpectedly made his way into your life.

And you're forever elated that he did.

•

"Which one do you think looks better on me?" Chaeyoung held up two shirts to her torso.

You examined both pieces and felt the fabric before saying, "I think I prefer the red one," referring to the shirt on the left.

You and your two best friends were spending a sunny day off just wandering around the streets downtown. It was your chance to explore the little cafes you would keep driving by or window-shopping at the cute boutiques you'd see. Chaeyoung had dragged you and Yeosang into one of the stores when a mannequin's outfit in the display case caught her eye.

"No, I think the blue one is nicer," Yeosang interjected as he pointed to the second option.

You hummed, reconsidering your answer, "Actually, yeah, you're right. I think you should get the blue one."

Chaeyoung inspected both tops once more, "Okay, blue it is."

The three of you walked to the cashier for the girl to make her purchase, leaving the store shortly after to continue on your way.

"You're both so lucky to have found your soulmates already," she beamed at the two of you as you passed by another shop.

"You'll find yours eventually, Chae," Yeosang added. "Seeing colour for the first time will blow your mind."

You only nodded in agreement and returned their smiles.

Your stomach had been feeling slightly off since this morning, but you ignored the feeling in pursuit of seeing your friends for the first time in a while. Yet now, the unsettling feeling seemed to be growing stronger.

"Hey, guys," you rubbed the back of your neck, "I'm not feeling too well all of a sudden. I think I might be coming down with something. I'm sorry to ditch you so early, but I should head home."

"Do you want a ride back?" Yeosang offered, being the only of the three of you to have a car.

"No, it's okay. The bus runs pretty frequently. I don't want to bother you."

You waved goodbye before either of them had a chance to protest and began walking to the nearest bus stop.

You weren't necessarily feeling sick; that was a lie. Or, rather, you suddenly felt like you had been struck by a tsunami. An overwhelming sensation of swirling nauseousness and anxiety began brewing beneath your skin. You clasped your hands together to prevent them from visibly shaking once you'd taken a seat on the bus.

You were uncertain of what was happening to you so suddenly.

However, you did know that that shirt looked awfully grey, not blue.

Now that you think of it, the sky above you appeared duller too.

•

"Hey, Guk, come look at this!"

Jungkook followed the sound of your voice and turned down the neighbouring aisle, only to see you holding up a folded square of checkered material.

"It's on clearance, too!" you said with excitement.

Your boyfriend stepped closer to you and took the blanket into his hands. "What is it?"

"What do you mean, 'What is it?' It's a picnic blanket, you goof," you took the square and flipped it over to see the image on the cardboard package of how it would look unfolded. "I've always thought the idea of those picnic dates is adorable. Cheesy, but adorable."

Jungkook admired your smile as you continued to read the supposed 'features' of the blanket.

"It's got a water-resistant bottom all while the top is a thick and soft flannel. It's also apparently easily foldable with a carrying strap." You continued to scan the list of details, "And look, it's machine washable! I think it's a good one." You turned your attention to the boy stood next to you, "What do you think?"

Jungkook wouldn't have been able to wipe the adoring smile off his face no matter how hard he tried.

"You're so cute," he mumbled and pulled you into a hug in the middle of the store.

"That's nice," your voice was muffled against Jungkook's chest, "but what do you think of the blanket?" You wiggled your arm free from his hold to display the picnic blanket once more, examining his face for his reaction.

Jungkook felt the fabric before saying, “It's soft. Yeah, I think it's a good one.”

“'It's soft,'” you repeated his statement. "That's all you have to say about it?"

"I can't say I'm a connoisseur of picnic blankets or anything, my love."

"Well, neither am I, but I'm sure I can think of more adjectives to describe it other than 'it's soft.'"

The boy encouraged you to come up with some.

"For starters, look how colourful it is! It's like a plaid rainbow in a fun little bundle."

Your words made Jungkook laugh, causing you to giggle too.

"Okay," you admitted, "maybe I'm no picnic blanket connoisseur either."

Jungkook admired your rosy cheeks from laughing. "Let's buy it," he said. "Going on picnics with you sounds like fun." He pulled you close once more, "Actually, anything as long as I'm with you sounds like fun."

“Does that mean you’ll sleepover tonight?”

The boy pretended like it was some philosophical question before breaking out into a smile, “Yeah, I’ll sleepover tonight.”

•

You did your best to keep that instance of a colourless sky and grey shirt to yourself for days. When Yeosang and Chaeyoung texted you later that day to check on you, you told them you felt better after having a nap.

And it was true, but not the full truth.

You blamed what you saw on a lack of sleep. It was just your tired eyes playing tricks on you; it had to have been. That previous night, you and Jungkook had gotten distracted by watching a few episodes of a show together, not realizing how late it had become.

So, when you went to lie down upon returning to your apartment that afternoon, you silently prayed that when you'd wake, you'd be able to see a complete colour spectrum once more.

It only broke your heart when that wasn't the case.

You crumpled onto the floor after staring up at the monochromatic sky extending above you; not an ounce of blue could be found between the clouds, nor all the way to the horizon.

You were dreading talking with Jungkook about it.

The day you first were able to see in colour when you met him, never did you anticipate that one day they would begin to fade.

Could you have rushed into things too quickly? Did you love him more than he loves you?

Has he fallen out of love with you?

Regardless of the possibility, seeing the colours begin to disappear couldn't have meant anything good.

That's when you'd decided to hide it from anyone, especially from the boy you loved with nothing less than your full heart and entire being.

Perhaps feigning ignorance could make the hue return. At the least, it was wishful thinking.

When Jungkook returned home that evening, you pretended like nothing was wrong. When he'd asked about your outings with your best friends, you'd said how nice it was to see them again.

You even showed him the nail polish you bought for him when the other week he said how he was interested in trying some for himself; after seeing your nails decorated so prettily.

Despite the name of the bottle's shade reading Ebony Midnight, you found yourself doubting the colour. You second-guessed if it actually was black like you intended or some confusing and ambiguous tint of navy blue.

Jungkook kissed your cheek and told you how excited he was for the upcoming weekend when you'd have the time to paint his nails for him.

Yet, a few days later—on both of your days off—when your boyfriend came up to you with the nail polish bottle in hand, you found yourself brimming with tears uncontrollably.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong, love?"

You stepped back from Jungkook's advancement towards you.

"(Y/N)?"

His eyes held nothing but concern for you, and yet you still doubted his authenticity.

"Jungkook," you whispered, "what colour is that nail polish?"

The boy examined the small glass bottle. "It's black," he said like it was an obvious fact. He looked at it closer. "Wait, no, it almost looks dark blue in certain lighting."

All of the oxygen depleted from your lungs. You clasped your hand around your mouth as you wept, your eyes clamping shut both in frustration and in fear.

You felt Jungkook's arms wrap around you, pulling you into his chest and gently rubbing your back.

"Please," his voice was small, "can you tell me what's wrong? If it's because you got blue when I asked for black, that's not a big deal, love. I'm so happy you remembered when I told you about it. And I still want to use it! I could barely tell when I looked at it–"

"I can't see blue anymore."

Jungkook halted his ministrations on your back, tensing at your words.

"And I'm afraid to know what it means," you continued, struggling to find your words. "Do you not love me anymore? Am I not really your soulmate?"

Your boyfriend pulled away slightly so he could look at your face properly; tear-stained and all. "(Y/N), please. I love you more than anything in this world. Never forget that." He brushed away a stray tear falling down your cheek.

"Then why are my colours fading? I've never heard of that happening before..." You furrowed your eyebrows in thought. Another reason suddenly popped into your head. "Unless–"

You didn't let yourself finish that sentence. Your eyes met Jungkook's only to find his expression had become more solemn.

"No," you whispered. "Please, no. Don't tell me– I-It can't be–"

Jungkook said nothing and pulled you back closer to him. You squeezed the boy so tightly, sobs shaking your body. He hugged you back as he silently began to cry.

"Could we not talk about it right now?" his voice was quiet. "We're still doing some tests to rule out what it could be, so I don't have much information for you."

You nodded your head.

The two of you stayed in each other's embrace. Jungkook swayed your bodies slightly: a gentle rocking motion to help calm you down.

"Can you still paint my nails today?"

You forced a smile on your face over the tears that had spilled and were threatening to continue. "Of course."

You took Jungkook's hand and made your way to the couch, swallowing nausea from the information with which you'd just been burdened. While it was vague, it was heavy, nonetheless.

That night, you were having difficulties falling asleep. Jungkook kept tossing and turning by your side; he'd kick and move the blanket around too.

"Hey," you whispered, finding his shoulder in the darkness. "Are you okay?"

Jungkook sighed and brought his hand on top of yours, "I'm really warm. Too warm."

You could feel the clamminess of his hand.

"And I keep feeling itchy," he added. "The blanket isn't helping—it's making me warm and itchy and–"

"Okay, okay," you soothed him before he'd become too frustrated. You sat up and removed the duvet from his body. "Do you think a cool shower would help?"

There was silence while Jungkook thought. He rubbed his tired eyes and replied, "I can try," before standing from the bed.

"Hey," you grabbed his hand before he could walk away, "I love you."

"I love you too."

You heard the smile in his voice.

"Now, get some sleep, beautiful," Jungkook leant down to place one kiss on your forehead, then one to your lips.

You listened to the sound of your boyfriend's footsteps receding from your bedroom. Shortly after, the faucet came to life, and finally, the sound of the shower curtain dragged closed.

What you didn't hear was Jungkook allowing himself to cry in the shower.

•

The weather had been stormier lately.

Jungkook was waiting to surprise you with an adorable, little picnic to celebrate your university graduation; however, the weather had other plans.

There were some days where he'd check the weather forecast multiple times to see if there would be an upcoming opportunity to see clear skies and sunshine.

But every time, he was met with that dull, grey rain symbol on his phone.

Jungkook had had enough. Screw the weather, he thought, we'll have this goddamn picnic if it's the last thing I do; indoors if we must.

You were sleeping in on the day after your last exam. It gave your boyfriend the optimal chance to set up your living room with the checkered blanket and wicker basket after running out quickly to get some flowers. The boy had an artistic eye. After pushing aside some of the remaining cardboard boxes from the move, he was proud of the final arrangement of breakfast foods and the occasional tasteful scattered petal on the blanket. He even took advantage of some of the smaller pillows from the couch to make the set-up even cozier.

Jungkook began to anticipate your reaction, growing gradually more excited. He carefully made his way to your shared bedroom to wake you from your peaceful slumber.

"(Y/N)," he cooed, brushing away some stray hairs that fell onto your face while you slept.

You hummed at the feeling of his touch, slowly adjusting to the light seeping through the curtains. Once your eyes finally opened, you were met with Jungkook's affectionate gaze at you.

"Good morning, my beautiful love," he leant down to peck you.

"Gross!" you pushed him away, jokingly. "You're not allowed to kiss me until I've brushed my teeth." You sat up with a playful grin on your face. You lifted your arms, "Carry me?"

Jungkook chuckled as he stood from the bed, "Oh, so you call me gross, but now you want me to carry you to the bathroom?"

Despite his words, the boy moved in to wrap his arms around your torso, effectively picking you up.

"No, I wasn't calling you gross," you said as he brought you to the washroom, "it was the act of kissing me with my yucky morning breath. That was gross."

Jungkook placed you down once you were in the room. His arms never left your sides.

"I don't suppose you're going to ask if I can brush your teeth for you too, are you?"

You picked up your toothbrush, wetting the bristles and adding some toothpaste, "So sassy today, Guk," and began brushing your teeth.

The boy only smiled, wrapping his arms around you once again and squeezing your smaller frame in his strong embrace.

Once you finished washing up, Jungkook told you to close your eyes as he pulled you into the living room, bursting with excitement.

"Promise me you won't make me run into the couch or a wall or box or something," you mumbled as he pulled on your free hand; your other one was covering your eyes.

Jungkook giggled but complied with your promise.

Eventually, you felt him stop in front of you, making sure you wouldn't crash into his back. Beneath your feet, you felt the cold wooden floor of your living room.

"You can open them now," he muttered into your ear along with a gentle kiss.

And when you did, you saw the beautiful arrangement of treats and flowers all sat upon the old picnic blanket, surrounded by the final few boxes you'd yet to unpack. It was the same blanket you bought before you moved in together when you claimed that you'd love to go on a picnic date with him one day.

When you made that purchase, never would you have guessed that its first use would be in your newly-shared apartment inside on a rainy day.

"What's all this for?" you felt strangely emotional at the sentiment.

"It's for you, (Y/N)," he pulled you into his arms once more. "Happy graduation. I'm so proud of you."

Jungkook leaned down to kiss you properly for the first time that morning. His thumb traced the shell of your ear as he smiled into the kiss, feeling the way one of your hands clasped the back of his shirt while your other one threaded through his hair.

"You're incredible, Jungkook," you whispered as you broke from the kiss. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," he returned the sentiment and gave you another quick kiss. He took your hand and led you onto the blanket where you sat side-by-side.

"You know," you began as he mixed around the assorted fruits he chopped up earlier, "if we had a dog like you said you wanted, all this food wouldn't have been able to be left out on the floor."

Jungkook stopped fiddling with the fruit salad as he processed your words. "I still want a dog," he said simply and continued to stir. "But you're right. It would be a lot more challenging," he fed you a strawberry, "like having a baby."

"Dogs are like big babies," you chimed-in with a smile.

The two of you continued to snack while sat on the blanket. Small conversations and giggles were all that could be heard within the walls of your apartment. The atmosphere was significantly brighter than the downpour that continued outside.

"Do you think we'll see a rainbow today?" Jungkook asked as you both were now leaning against the base of the couch.

You were still clad in your pyjamas and him in his leisurewear.

"Maybe, if this rain ever stops," you replied. "Maybe if the sun shows itself."

"Maybe."

Jungkook brought the back of your hand to his lips, then laced his fingers between yours while the two of you continued to watch the rain.

•

"Do you have any nail polish remover?"

You heard Jungkook's footsteps approaching you in your bedroom, looking up to see his figure appearing in the doorway.

"Are you tired of how it looks already?" you smiled gently at him.

The boy shook his head. "Actually, I'm not allowed to have painted nails for tomorrow when I go to the hospital."

Your smile faded. "Oh, right. T-that's right. Um..." you got off the bed and trekked to the bathroom with Jungkook in tow. You opened the cabinet beneath the sink to find the little bottle. "Here you go. I have some cotton balls too to use with it. Do you need help with this too?"

"No, I should be able to do it myself."

"Okay," your hand found its way onto Jungkook's back, your thumb rubbed his shoulder. "Make sure you do it in a well-ventilated area."

"Thank you," he smiled.

Yet, you could tell his expression was only fleeting.

You were afraid. No, you were petrified of what tomorrow would bring.

Jungkook had been going through more testing lately, although you were still in the dark from it all. He kept giving you the same statements: "We're still figuring out what it could be," or "We're still not sure yet."

They were all just different versions of "I don't want to tell you because I don't want to worry you."

You still worried regardless.

You and Jungkook stood by the front door where you hugged him before he left for his recurrent hospital visit.

"Maybe you could paint my nails again when I come home tonight," he suggested, inhaling the scent of your shampoo for his memory as he held you in his embrace.

"Maybe," you replied, trying to keep your voice steady.

Before you knew it, Jungkook was once again out the door.

It was only when you were alone that you'd let yourself cry. You knew you needed to stay strong for his sake. Being on the receiving end of a life-threatening disease was hard enough; you didn't want to make his experience any more challenging. Although, you still didn't know for sure if that's what it was.

Jungkook exited his car once he arrived at the familiar tall building. He stepped into the elevator and pressed the familiar button, and eventually turned left down the familiar hallway to the waiting room.

He was shortly after ushered into his doctor's office, taking a seat in the squeaky and uncomfortable and all-too-familiar grey chair.

His doctor soon after entered the room.

"How are you feeling today, Jungkook?" she greeted him with a gentle voice, taking a seat in front of her desk in the corner of the room.

"My headaches are becoming more frequent," he began. "I also haven't had much of an appetite either, and sometimes, it's difficult to breathe," he stated with furrowed eyebrows. "I've overall felt more tired lately. That might be the biggest thing—my lack of energy."

Dr. Kim hummed and jotted down some notes. "Have you told your soulmate anything yet?"

Jungkook shook his head, "No, I try not to. I don't want to stress her."

The doctor sat upright once again, finishing her writings. "You may want to reconsider that choice," she cleared her throat. "Your cells haven't been responding to the antibiotics as we'd like them to. Perhaps, if we had caught it sooner–"

"But we didn't." Jungkook's voice was firm. "We didn't, and this is my life now. We try, and we fail, and we repeat the cycle over and over." He took a deep breath. "As soon as you told me the diagnosis, I suspected I wouldn't make it for much longer. I suspected that I wouldn't get to live the future that I've dreamt of." His features softened as you entered his mind. "The future that I've wished for." Jungkook paused, then considered, "Can I spend my final days—however long I have—with my soulmate?"

Dr. Kim's eyes remained on Jungkook's. "Are you certain? Because there's another procedure we could try. It would require you to stay here in the hospital, and there would be risks associated with it due to the stage you're in, but it's the last one we can offer you."

"I'm sure." The boy didn't hesitate. "I'm positive. I just want to be with her," he felt himself tearing up. "She already knows that something is wrong. I don't want to tell her that my MRI is practically all made up of black-voids." Jungkook bitterly wiped away the tear that fell, "She's losing her colours. She knows I'm dying."

"So you'd like to spend the rest of your time at home with her?" Dr. Kim clarified.

"More than anything."

•

"Surprise!"

Jungkook's hands lifted from your eyes.

"What's all of this?" you asked with a smile.

"For you, silly."

You giggled, looking between the array of treats displayed on the picnic blanket and your beautiful boyfriend. "I kind of figured that, Guk. But why?"

"Do I need a reason to treat you, my love?" Jungkook pulled you close to him, "I felt bad about the last time when we were stuck inside from the rain. I wanted to try again, properly, this time."

"But do you see all of this?" You gestured to the container next to you, "We couldn't finish everything you prepared last time, but you still got a cake for today! Do you expect the two of us to eat an entire cake along with everything else you've packed?"

The boy chuckled, "Come on, (Y/N), it's not that big of a cake. I'm sure we can finish it all no problem." He popped open the plastic container, eager to taste it. "And if not, then we'll have some to eat for tomorrow."

His logic was reasonable, you considered.

Jungkook picked up a fork and dug it into the side of the strawberry cake, only to bring the utensil up to your lips to give you the first bite.

"How is it?" your boyfriend asked, trying to gauge your expression as you chewed.

"Absolutely delicious," was your muffled response.

Jungkook reached up to wipe off the speck of whipped cream from the corner of your mouth before feeding himself a forkful.

"It is delicious!" he said with delight as the strawberry flavour danced across his tastebuds. "I may not know how to make a cake, but I sure know how to pick a good one."

"Ah, yes, picking good cakes is a valuable life skill to have," you playfully teased, admiring the way Jungkook continued to inhale more of the dessert.

The two of you laid back on the blanket after working your way through some of the treats (and about half of the cake; it was more than you anticipated you two would be able to finish in one sitting). Your head was resting on Jungkook's chest while he played with the ends of your hair as the two of you admired the heavens.

The sky was immaculately blue with picture-perfect white fluffy clouds decorating it. Jungkook was getting nervous when he woke up to rain that morning, knowing he had all of the preparations ready for the picnic. But now, the post-rain summer afternoon left a comfortable temperature with the sun high in the sky, warming the grass and gradually working its way to kiss the horizon.

"Hey, (Y/N)?"

You glanced upwards from your position on Jungkook's upper body.

His eyes remained fixated on the sky as he asked softly, "Would you like to get married?"

The grin on your face was immediate at hearing his question. "Without a doubt, yes."

Jungkook beamed back at you and hugged you tightly, kissing the top of your head.

"This isn't a proposal because I don't have the ring yet," he muttered into your hair, "but you already make me the happiest man alive. I can only imagine how incredible our future will be, (Y/N)." You felt him squeeze you slightly tighter. "There's nothing more that I want than to grow old with you by my side."

You felt yourself getting emotional at his words. "When the time comes that you do propose, know that it's already a yes." You propped yourself up so you could move to meet Jungkook's mouth with your own, caressing the side of his face while his hand continued to fiddle with your hair.

Jungkook grinned into the kiss. In all the years he's spent kissing you, the act never failed to pull butterflies from his chest.

You eventually pulled away only to see the light pink dusting across your boyfriend's cheeks with matching rosy lips. You could spend all day admiring him, and he, likewise, could do the same with watching you.

You once again nuzzled into his side with an arm around his torso, returning your gaze to the sky. It was beginning to shift into a radiant, golden-colour the lower the sun fell; the clouds reflected the light, displaying a gentle wash of coral-pink.

You're forever grateful for all of the dazzling colours which Jungkook brought into your life.

Goosebumps tingled throughout your body at the way the boy so gently grazed his fingers along your arm. The outside air was growing chillier with the depleting sunlight, yet being pressed against Jungkook supplied you with enough warmth to stay comfortable.

"Hey, look over there," your boyfriend indicated to your left. "Do you see that?"

You lifted your gaze to above where he was pointing.

•

There was a rainbow in the sky on the day that Jungkook died.

You received the dreadful phone call from the hospital early that afternoon. You thought he'd only stepped out for his usual testing. You had been admiring the way the sun finally broke through the dense rain clouds as you were waiting for his return home.

However, minutes before your phone rang, your whole world drained of colour. It was the difference between one blink. One split-second; one moment. You could see the golden sunbeams as they danced down to the concrete below, and then, suddenly, you couldn't. Everything became a varying shade of the asphalt; every hue vanished in that instant.

It was only a few weeks after you painted his nails for the first and last time. Of course, there was no way you'd have known it was the last time then.

Your heart tore into two at thinking how much pain Jungkook must have experienced near the end. He never once complained to you about any of it; he never told you what was wrong. You only found out afterwards from his doctor over the phone.

You nearly missed the sight of the rainbow after you set your phone down: the arc extended above the city in its monochromatic glory in the equally colourless sky.

You could recall the different hues that would make up the once pretty sight.

"You should make a wish, (Y/N)!"

"Make a wish on a rainbow?"

"You've never heard of that before?"

You pulled your eyes from the sight in the sky to your boyfriend's face, "No, never."

"Then today shall be your first."

"Hm, well, alright, Guk."

You sat up on the picnic blanket and clasped your hands together, pressing your eyes shut as you reiterated your wish in your head. Upon opening your eyes once you finished, you were blessed with Jungkook's delicate features gazing at you.

You brushed away some of his hair that fell into his eyes.

"What did you wish for, my love?" Jungkook whispered, leaning into your touch.

You exchanged his glance, admiring his beautiful brown eyes smiling at you, and inched closer so you could kiss him.

But now, you kind of hated rainbows.

"I wished to spend a lifetime with you."

They reminded you of your wishes that would, now, never come true.

"I wished for the exact same thing."

••

82 notes · View notes

tunedtostatic · 3 years

Text

truths and dares

After the Iris 2 crew spends a wild night celebrating together, Sana is wishing through a pounding headache that certain crewmates hadn’t dared her to drink straight from the bottle. Meanwhile, Park seems more concerned with the truth part of the night.

2.5k, Sana/Park (and Iris 2 crew)

Also posted at archiveofourown dot org, /works/33560497 (I’ll put a real link in a reblog)

CW: Drunken shenanigans, excessive alcohol consumption, mostly played for laughs but not totally. Suggestive language, though nothing beyond T-rated if that.

The hangover/coffee storyline is a retread of the premise of @iffeelscouldkill’s wonderful Sana/Campbell fic “Strong Coffee and Sourdough,” because my brain went “What if THAT but with PARK?”

Sana opens her eyes and immediately wishes she hadn’t. The sunlights in her cabin on the Iris 2 have come up, and Sana decides she wants to go back in time and kidnap whichever IGR engineer decided, doubtless to optimize personnel efficiency, that cabins should default to scheduled natural lighting. Anything to stop the photons now stabbing into her very soul.

Memories come back hazily: The first batch of moonshine on the new ship. A patch of the Deep familiar to the former Rumor crew, but days away from the more populated routes. Things feeling steady for the first time in a while. A crew dinner and a night of drinking to celebrate.

A lot of drinking. Sana groans, trying to put images together as her head pounds. She remembers sitting at the mess hall table with the others, singing. She remembers racing up and down a hallway with Krejjh and…McCabe?...with some kind of objective in mind, passing a ball back and forth, as the rest of the crew cheered. She remembers sitting in a circle on the floor of the darkened mess, Krejjh dramatically taking shelter in Brian’s arms as someone…Violet?...told a spooky story.

After that, she draws a blank, though she does have an odd sleepy memory of waking up, in this bed, to the sound of…Arkady giggling?

With a frown of confusion, Sana groans again, then sighs. She normally tries to watch her limits a little better than this. Oh well. Deep or no Deep, as Captain, she should probably go check on her ship.

Rubbing her eyes, she steps out of bed, and immediately has to pinwheel her arms to avoid tripping over the sleeping form of Violet, who is stretched out on the floor of Sana’s cabin. Arkady is twined around her, an arm slung around Violet’s chest and her face in the crook of Violet’s neck.

It’s extremely cute, though Sana can’t for the life of her guess why it’s happening on the floor of her cabin. She frowns, noticing that both of their eyes look puffy from lack of sleep. Well, Arkady and Violet awake in here at what Arkady would call “shit o’clock in the morning” would at least explain that last memory. Kind of.

As soon as she steps into the dimlylit hallway, she is hit by the welcome aroma of coffee. Feeling like a bloodhound on a scent trail, Sana heads toward the mess hall.

As she passes the bathroom, she sees what looks like an empty mug on the floor next to the doorway, along with someone’s—Brian’s—glasses. Sana picks up the glasses and polishes them absentmindedly on her shirt, tucking them into a pocket.

There’s also a bedraggled feather boa hanging off the sign on the supply closet door, and Sana squints groggily at it. Since when did the Iris 2 even have a feather boa?

As she comes up on the mess hall, Sana can see that its sunlights are up as well, but at least the mess hall makes up for them with a noticeable increase in coffee aroma. Rubbing her eyes again, Sana gingerly makes her way through the doorway, but before she can step around the corner to the kitchen half of the space, she is stopped by a sight not unlike the one in her cabin.

The hammock Sana rigged up—this one not from safety harnesses—is empty in the bright sunlight, but under it, three of her crewmates are sprawled in a sleeping pile. Krejjh is lying on their back, snoring loudly. Brian seems to have taken it upon himself to act as a human pillow for their injured knee, lying with their leg draped over his shoulder. And, a foot above him, the person who inflicted that injury is lying with their head pillowed on Krejjh’s stomach and Krejjh’s arm around their waist. McCabe is snoring almost as loudly as Krejjh is, their cheek squished against Krejjh’s sweater.

Sana stares in bemusement for another second before shaking her head fondly and inching around the tableau, making her way around the corner into the kitchen.

Park is standing at the counter, fully dressed and pouring himself a cup of coffee. Sana blinks at him for a second before the rest of her brain kicks in. “Park! Good morning.”

Though Sana is sure she made plenty of noise rounding the corner, Park looks oddly startled to see her, keeping his eyes directed at the mug and coffeepot in his hands for a long second before turning to meet her gaze. “Captain. Good morning.” His eyes drop momentarily away and he clears his throat awkwardly. Meeting her eyes again, he asks, “Would you like some coffee?”

“I would love some coffee.” Sana stares greedily at the steaming hot liquid in the mug in Park’s hands. Park has very nice hands, strong and sure as they set the coffeepot on the counter and pass the mug…to her?

Sana stares at the mug for a second before her brain kicks in again and she stretches out a hand to take it. “Park, being the captain doesn’t give me coffee priority,” she tells him, amused.

“It will be a hardship to take another thirty seconds to pour my own,” Park intones, deadpan, as he takes another mug down from the cabinet, “but no sacrifice for my commanding officer is too great.”

“Point taken.” Sana chuckles as she raises the mug to her nose, sniffing it blissfully before taking a sip. Oh, that’s good. “Thank you, Park.”

“You’re welcome, Captain.” Park replaces the coffeepot in the coffeemaker, raising his own mug to his lips. “You look like you need it.”

Sana eyes him suspiciously. Was that a drag? His voice is as bland as ever, but of course with Park that doesn’t mean anything.

Setting the mug down on the counter, she raises a pessimistic hand to her hair. Sure enough, she can feel it escaping its former ponytail to form a chaotic frame around her face. Glancing down, she can see that her shirt, which was already stained with engine oil, is crooked, Brian’s glasses still poking out of her pocket. At least she wasn’t wearing any makeup last night. “I must look a disaster.”

Park snorts into his coffee. “Don’t worry, Captain, you always look—” He blinks, as if his own brain is suddenly catching up with his mouth. “Like a captain,” he finishes lamely.

Sana smirks, wondering what he was going to say. “Like the undisciplined captain of a scrappy smuggling ship, you mean?” She eyes Park’s tidy button-down shirt, pilfered from one of the storage lockers onboard. “I guess to your discerning eye, a hungover smuggler captain with hair from here to Neptune isn’t that different from a smuggler captain at her glossiest.”

“Something like that,” Park says drily, taking another sip of coffee, and Sana laughs.

“Thanks for the coffee, Park. I definitely needed it.” She winces. “It seems like last night got a little…wild.”

“I think certain members of the crew, including you, may have…imbibed a little more than originally planned.”

“Yes, I’ve been getting that picture,” Sana says drily, wincing again. “Park, I…do usually try to watch my limits a little better than this. I’m not sure exactly…” She trails off.

“Well, you can lay part of the blame for that on that final, uh, drinking game.”

Park’s voice has turned suspiciously sheepish on the last words. “Drinking game?” Sana prompts.

“Truth or dare.” Park’s voice is mild again. “Specifically, the part when your pilot said, ‘Time to get Cap’n Tripathi wasteeedddd—’ Park’s Krejjh impression is eerily on point. “To which you said, ‘Someone needs to be able to keep an eye on the emergency alarms,’ to which Patel said, ‘Violet and I already agreed to stop for the night, Sana can get fucked up if she wants to.’” He sets his empty mug on the counter, reaching for the coffeepot. “At which point Liu said something to the effect of, ‘Go, Captain, go! Woooooohoo!’”

Sana groans.

Park looks amused, though this fades a little as he adds, “Uh, I think the thinking was that those who were a little more sober would keep an eye on the rest of us, but after McCabe dared you to drink straight from the bottle, things got a little…out of hand? If, uhm, memory serves—” He winces, the first visual indicator Sana has seen underlining his self-categorization in ‘the rest of us.’ “If memory serves, that was when Liu did think to spirit the booze elsewhere. She and Patel went to keep an eye on you to make sure you didn’t, um, stop breathing, and things here—” He nods toward the pile of crew under the hammock, “wound down to their natural conclusion.”

Krejjh, Arkady, Violet, RJ, I am going to kill all four of you, Sana thinks, though she has to concede that the person she’s actually mad at, or maybe rattled by, is herself. Getting drunk is one thing; passing out too drunk to be left alone is a different story.

For right now, she just sighs. “Sounds like we need to revisit our protocols for how much booze gets brought out in one night.”

Park has raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth at ‘protocols,’ but Sana premeditates him. “Informal protocols. The word ‘protocol’ was probably never spoken.”

Park snorts again, taking another sip of coffee.

“Anyway, thank you for the update, Park.” Sana leans against the counter. “At least no harm was done.” She thinks back to Arkady giggling in the early hours of the morning, and the puffiness of her and Violet’s eyes. They must have stayed awake until morning keeping an eye on her. Well, at least they seem to have kept each other entertained.

“Yes. Um.” Park sounds uncharacteristically uncertain. “About that. I’m…uh, I’m glad I happened to catch you this morning before the others…Well. Alone.”

Sana frowns curiously at him.

When he begins again, his voice is professional. Too professional.

“Captain. I’d like to apologize for what I said last night.” He winces. “Uh. Even if you don’t remember what I’m apologizing for, which it seems you don’t. But if you happen to, or someone mentions it…I thought I should apologize.” He squares his shoulders. “It was a tactless thing to say and I give you my assurance that it will not impact our working relationship going forward.”

Sana eyes him, deciding on a gentle, “It sounds like we were all pretty drunk, Park. Whatever you said, unless it was a confession of…I don’t know…” She tries to think of a crime that would actually set him apart from the rest of her crew. “Killing…a planet…for fun, I think we can overlook some less than tactful words.”

“It wasn’t,” Park mumbles into his coffee. “That kind of confession.”

Sana frowns again, confused.

“During the ‘Truth or Dare’ game.” Park’s voice is a careful monotone. “Krejjh asked me, ‘Former Agent Park, if you were to smooch anyone on this ship, who would it be?’ and I said, well, you.”

“Oh.” Sana takes a moment to gather her thoughts. She can see why Park is freaked out, but, she tells herself, it all sounds fairly standard for a drunken crew escapade. It didn’t—doesn’t—mean anything more than that. “Well, it sounds like they didn’t give you the option of saying ‘Absolutely no one aboard, thank you,’ so picking the first crewmember you could think of who wasn’t in a committed monogamous relationship sounds like a very reasonable…”

“I also said,” Park continues miserably, “that you were not only the smartest criminal I’d ever tracked but also the sexiest captain I’d ever met, that Roderick Quincy Cresswin Junior didn’t know what he was giving up when he betrayed you and left you and everyone you cared about to die horribly on Cresswin Landing, that if Ignatius Campbell loves you as much as it sounds like he does then he was an idiot not to kiss your beautiful face last time you were on Telemachus, and that anyone lucky enough to love you should strew nuts and bolts and rivets and flowers in your wake wherever you walked. Or flew.”

Upon finishing this recounting, Park stares into the middle distance, and Sana leans against the counter, staring at him.

“Park,” she says feebly, “You know I’m not technically a captain, right? I don’t have any accredited training—”

Park, who still looks like he wants the kitchen floor to swallow him up, gives this the non-answer it deserves, and Sana takes another few seconds to compose a less inane response.

“Well,” she says, in her best captaining voice, “Sometimes when a group of humans drink together, some, uh, horny language happens. People find other peoples’ bodies attractive; booze removes some verbal filters around that. You were too far gone to have the filters you would have wanted to have; you clearly didn’t mean it in a creepy way, and it doesn’t have to affect anything in our working relationship.”

Park relaxes. “Thank you, Captain.”

He hesitates, still looking a little uncomfortable. “While we’re discussing this, I should add for the sake of completeness that I feel a certain attraction to you all the time. It wasn’t just finding you, uhm, ‘sexy’ while I was inebriated. But I assure you I won’t let it affect our working rel—”

“You do?” Sana interrupts. She can feel herself staring at him as several weeks’ worth of pieces finally fall into place.

She’s definitely blushing.

“I do.”

“Park,” Sana says gently. “For the sake of…completeness…I’ll add that I feel a certain attraction to you. All the time. As well. But—”

Sana looks at him, really looks athim: this attractive man who three weeks ago was an IGR agent representing everything Sana is against, who calls her Captain and still flinches at sudden movements in his peripheral vision.

“But,” Park finishes for her, “there are a lot of ‘buts.’”

“Yes.”

“Whatimesit?” Across the room, Brian is blinking in the faux morning light, looking bemused to see his fiancé’s leg draped over his shoulder. “Wheresmglasses?”

At his motion, Krejjh starts to stir. RJ blinks and makes a face at the sunlights, squeezing their eyes shut and trying to bury their face in Krejjh’s sweater.

Sana smiles at Park. He gives her a small smile back, and Sana feels as though they have settled themselves onto the same team, two people facing a universe of strangeness both external and internal.

“We’ll talk about this more. Sometime.”

Park nods, his usual taciturn motion.

“Good morning, crew,” Sana calls as she makes her way toward the pile of hungover crewmates under the hammock. “Good news! Park made coffee!”

#tscosi #the strange case of starship iris #alcohol #sana tripathi #jin-seon park #park/sana #my writing #fic

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the-girl-in-the-box · 3 years

Text

Not Today XXII

A/N: So, this chapter will Definitely be getting a post, because I have a lot I really want to talk about with what happens at the end. I really REALLY enjoyed writing it, and also I have stuff I want to talk about with how I opened this chapter. However, so I don't spoil it, that will be its own post on my tumblr, and I will likely link it in the next update's A/N! Until then, I hope you enjoy reading tonight's update as much as I enjoyed writing it! Skål!

Summary: When Ivar takes the throne of Kattegat, Lagertha flees to Wessex along with Björn, Ubbe, Torvi, and the Bishop Heahmund. There, they seek the aid of King Alfred. This aid comes in the form of his sister, Aethelind, who agrees to travel to Kattegat and try to reason Ivar, who she spent some time with during their youth, when her grandfather King Ecbert hosted Ragnar Lothbrok in their castle. Now, she is the only hope for Lagertha and her supporters to retake Kattegat from Ivar the Boneless.

Masterlist

Something was coming. Something massive, something nervewracking, something dangerous. It rumbled in the ground, woke the camp, including Ivar and the Shieldmaiden who laid at his side. They sat up, looked around with concern in their eyes, and when Ivar’s eyes met hers, he nodded. Trouble was coming.

She hopped up and grabbed her sword from where it laid beside her, attached it to her hip, and then quickly got Ivar up and into his cart, drawing the curtains. If they were to be under attack, she didn’t want him being found and hurt. Though, as was expected of him, he tried to insist he could fight.

“We can handle this,” she argued. “Sit tight, stay quiet. We won’t let them hurt you.”

Ivar eventually nodded, and she let out a deep breath.

Once he was hidden, she turned and pulled her sword, a prayer for safety and survival, for herself and her companion, on her lips.

None of the mercenaries expected an army of men on horseback to come cantering down the path, and neither did she or Ivar. It wasn’t an overly long battle, with a majority of the mercenaries falling as soon as the army approached. Only one of the mercenaries, an old man with only one eye, survived, along with the Shieldmaiden herself. Or, the Prophet, as the mercenaries had taken to calling her.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes when she saw the way the man gave up fighting easily, clearly offering his help to the leader of this army. The fighting had stopped now, but she refused to let up the soldier she had on his knees, her sword at his neck.

The army’s leader noticed the seat Ivar was in, the way the curtains were drawn, and gestured for one of his men to check it out. Her heart pounding, the Shieldmaiden moved to intercept him, but this proved to be a mistake. The officer she’d taken down snatched his sword out of the snow and jumped up just as a knife came flying from between the curtains, landing in the approaching soldier’s eye, and he ran it through her shoulder.

She cried out in pain, catching Ivar’s attention long enough to distract him. This gave the nearest soldier time to pull him from his seat, and throw him to the ground. Seeing him lying there like that, at the mercy of these men, sent a shock of panic through the wounded woman’s heart, and against all better judgement, she tried to fight to get to him.

But, she was weakened from the injury she had sustained, and it didn’t take much for a soldier to hit her in the head with the end of his sword and disorient her, disarming her and throwing her down at Ivar’s side.

He turned and tried to stabilize her, not relenting until her eyes focused on his face. “Are you with me?” he questioned, and though she nodded, he didn’t accept that answer. “Speak,” he said. “Are you with me?”

“I’m with you,” she managed, and groaned in pain as she tried to situate herself better.

Neither of them had been paying attention to the One-Eyed Man speaking to the leader of the attackers in some language neither could understand, not until one word stood out they did know. Or, rather, one name: Ivar.

The Shieldmaiden was the first to look, hearing her King’s name mentioned, but she could make nothing else out, nothing else which might have helped. The leader soon began to laugh as he looked back to Ivar, and her eyes narrowed. He turned and said something to the One-Eyed Man, and Ivar hauled himself up into a sitting position, moving to ensure his Prophet rested back against him, to take some pressure from her wounded shoulder.

“What is he saying?” he asked the One-Eyed Man then. The man didn’t answer, only conversing briefly more before the leader threw a coin to him, having mounted onto a horse. “Who are these people?” Ivar tried again.

“Rus,” the One-Eyed Man now said, and grumbled, “Cheap bastards.

“It seems they don’t pay very well,” Ivar commented. “Where are they taking us?”

“To their capital,” the One-Eyed Man replied. “A place called Kiev.”

“Who is their ruler?”

“Prince Oleg, the Prophet.”

Ivar frowned sharply. Another prophet? He had given the wounded Shieldmaiden in his arms that title before they left Kattegat, and she had travelled under that epithet all the way along the Silk Road. Now, they found some Prince in Rus had claimed the title for himself as well? Ivar didn’t think this Prince would be half the prophet his was.

“The Prophet?” he questioned anyway. “Why the Prophet?” After all, he figured the more information they knew going into this place, the better.

The Rus commander, for they now knew him to be that, interrupted them by calling out to the pair, and both looked up at him from their place on the ground. One of the soldiers came and collected the Shieldmaiden, pulling her away from Ivar. She could only grunt as she was forced to her feet, and then a small cry left her. The soldier wasn’t being particularly gentle with her, which caused more blood than was needed to leak from the wound.

Ivar grimaced as the blood left a small trail through the pure white snow. The Rus commander spoke again to the One-Eyed Man, asked him a question, and the Commander laughed. A barked command to another soldier, and Ivar was carried off just as the Shieldmaiden was, tossed up unto a horse near her like a potato sack, and the soldier on that horse rode away. She was placed in front of a Rus soldier, who rode behind the one who carried Ivar. The two wished for nothing more than the chance to speak.

Fortunately, the journey to Kiev wasn’t an overly long one. The pair of Vikings- for truthfully, she had become one now- were dragged into the palace at the center of the city, led to its interior, and pushed into a room which seemed to be the throne room. A servant was currently hauling a body from the room, and the two were shoved to the ground, falling right into the puddle of blood there.

Ivar winced at the cry that left the injured woman at his side, and once he pushed himself up, managed to turn to check on her. Her face was pale, likely from the pain of the fall, and his eyes narrowed slightly. She needed medical attention.

It didn’t seem that was likely to come soon, as the Commander and the man who stood by the throne, who Ivar could only assume was Prince Oleg himself, were busy communicating in their own tongue. Ivar had to bite his to keep himself from demanding help for his Shieldmaiden.

The man finally turned, looked down at the two on the ground before him, and he smirked a little. Apparently, the Commander had given him some important information, because he spoke in Ivar’s language when he finally addressed them.

“You cannot walk,” he said. “Are you both wounded?” He could see from the way the woman held her hand to her shoulder, the way the blood seeped through it, that she was, but the way the man laughed so bitterly at his question, he assumed that was not the case.

“No,” Ivar answered. “I’m a cripple. From birth. But she needs assistance.”

The Rus man nodded and spoke again to the Commander, who ducked out of the room. “She will have it,” he told Ivar.

Satisfied, Ivar nodded, and commented, “You speak our language.”

“It was once the language of my people, too,” the man replied. “We are Rus Vikings.” He was silent for a moment, before asking, “What do they call you two?”

“My name is Ivar,” he said, taking off his hat now they were inside. “They call me Ivar the Boneless. And she is-”

“Asta.”

Ivar’s eyes widened as he heard the name he called her just the night before be claimed, and he looked to her with that shock registered on his face.

“I am Asta the Prophet.”

He’d never imagined that she had heard him, and he realized with a sickening sort of dread that she must have heard all of what he said before then. His mind was taken from that by a medic entering the room, beginning to work on her shoulder, and the look of hostility in her eyes when the man carelessly pulled the sleeve of her shirt down, exposing her shoulder and much of the surrounding skin to everyone in the room.

“I’ve heard of you,” the man Ivar assumed was Oleg said. “Ivar… the Boneless.” He pointed the axe in his hand at Ivar, then swung it toward the newly named Asta. “And his Prophet.” He chuckled, lowering the axe and moving to sit down. “Your fame has travelled along the Silk Road. Like honey, beeswax, furs, and slaves… But why do you travel along it now? Without announcing yourselves, like thieves… Hm?”

“I lost my kingdom,” Ivar said. “To my brothers. I am nothing, and I have nothing to offer you, Prince Oleg.” The lack of correction confirmed the man’s identity for them both. “It was not my intention to trouble you with our presence.”

“Then where were you going?” Oleg asked.

“Nowhere,” Ivar replied plainly. “We have no plans. We are simply fleeing the retribution of my brothers.”

“Well,” Oleg began after a few moments of silence. “You are here, now. Who knows if your presence will trouble me?” Ivar looked up at him slowly as he came down from the dais. “Let us see.”

When the medic was done with her, Ivar and the Shieldmaiden were both hauled out of the room, taken up further into the castle, and shoved into one of the bedchambers there. They remained in silence once Ivar situated himself at a window, and she began to pace. Clearly, the medic had helped her quite a bit.

After a while, Ivar found it eating at him just a bit too much, and so he looked up at her, watched her pace for a moment, and then asked, “Asta?”

She paused in her pacing and turned to look at him, just as if he had called the name he’d called so many times before that day. “Hm?” she prompted.

“Where did you hear that name?” he questioned.

“From you,” she said with a small chuckle. “Don’t know if you meant me to or not, but… I needed something that wasn’t my given name. I don’t know if my brother knows yet I’ve left Kattegat, but if that news has travelled the Silk Road, and they learned who I really was…? I can’t imagine the ransom letter would find Alfred very pleased.” Ivar gave a hum of satisfaction, seemingly agreeing with what she said. Until, that was, she added, “That, and I sort of like it, actually. Feels… right.”

“Feels right?” he repeated. “Do you mean to keep it, then?”

She clearly weighed something in her mind, almost seeming to be tossing something around, before she looked back to him with a small smile, and nodded. “Think I will,” she said. “At least for now, unless I decide it doesn’t fit me any longer.”

Ivar nodded, and tested the name out again now he knew it was going to be hers for the considerable future, and she smiled at hearing him say it.

“Sounds just as good as when I heard it last night,” she teased.

Asta walked over to the window he was sitting in, not quite noticing the way he watched her move across the room, certainly not noticing the slight darkening in his cheeks at her quip, and she sat across from him, settling in and getting comfortable as she watched the people move around Kiev’s markets.

“It suits you,” Ivar confessed, and she turned to him curiously.

“Does it?” she questioned. “What’s it mean, anyway?”

Ivar shrugged, looking back out the window. “Just an old Viking name,” he lied.

How could he tell her what it meant, that the name had slipped out as he realized just what she meant to him? The word ást, from which the name was derived, was used to describe love as a thing, as something real, as a place, or perhaps a person. It was used to describe the thing one saw love reflected in, and so for him to have used that name in speaking to her…

The Bishop Heahmund had once mentioned the different forms of love, and the one called agape. He had described it as something unconditional, the sort of love that apparently, the Christian God felt for humanity. Ivar, of course, had his own thoughts about what sort of gods looked over this world, but that term had come to his mind just before he had uttered the name Asta. If anyone deserved the name, he figured now, it was someone who had proven to him the existence of such love.

But Ivar was, if nothing else, a very stubborn man, and so he kept those thoughts locked tightly within himself, drawn only from them when he heard Asta sigh quietly. He turned his eyes to look at her once more.

“If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine it’s Kattegat,” she confessed softly. He gave a quiet hum in response.

“We should speak your language here, when we can.” Asta looked at him confusedly, wondering what exactly had brought this on. “They can speak mine,” he clarified. “Wessex is over halfway across the world from here. I doubt they understand the Saxon language. We don’t need them to understand every word we say.”

She nodded then. “Right,” she agreed. “We mean to escape, then?”

“Unless Oleg has anything to offer us, yes,” he answered. It felt strange to her, to hear him speak in the Saxon tongue again after so many months- almost a year, now- of having heard him speak in his own. It made her giggle a little.

“Yours is a little… unused,” she said, and he gave a good-natured roll of his eyes, before rolling his body over to crawl to the ground. “Where are you going?”

“To see how free we are around here,” he answered her. He crawled over to the door, and threw it open, only to be met by a Rus guard standing on the other side. Asta smirked amusedly at the way Ivar grinned at him, and then jumped back as the door was slammed shut in his face. “Prisoners, then,” he surmised, and nodded. “That is most unfortunate.”

Asta gave a soft laugh, and he crawled back over to her. “I could think of worse people to be imprisoned here with,” she quipped. He cracked a small grin at her.

“As could I,” he agreed. As he pulled himself back up to sit across from her, he teased, “Tell me, great Prophet Asta, what do you see for us here, hm?”

Asta couldn’t help but giggle at his question, and she angled her body more toward him. “We’re entering a time of healing,” she joked, gesturing toward her shoulder. “This is our time to take life a little slower, to experience new things, to…” She looked out the window once again, and grew thoughtful. “Perhaps to build a new life.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Ivar tilt his head a little, not quite understanding her meaning, so she explained. “We have a chance to just… live here,” she said. “If we earn Oleg’s trust, we could have a life here, you know? Once he releases us.” Her eyes turned back to Ivar now, a small smile on her lips. “Wouldn’t be so bad, would it? Maybe the rest of the world would miss us, if we just settled down here, but I’d be alright with that if it meant we could be happy. You know what I mean?”

Ivar couldn’t help the small smile that played at the corners of his lips as he watched the sort of far off look in her eye. He could guess that she was imagining a simpler life, one where maybe they were just… normal people, whatever that meant. “I’m starting to,” he confessed. “My father always said there was no purpose in trying to be happy. Life wasn’t about that.” She looked at him a little sadly, though the smile didn’t leave her lips. “But we have both suffered enough, I think, to let us consider a way we could be happy here.”

The sadness left her then, and she looked down into the market. “We’d have to make money, somehow,” she said. “Not sure what I could do to earn a living. Don’t see many shieldmaiden types down there.” Ivar hummed his agreement. “My mother taught me to paint. I could paint portraits, perhaps, sell those?”

“You know how to paint?” Ivar asked, now looking at her curiously. “I thought that tended to be left to your priests.”

Asta laughed and nodded. “It usually is,” she confirmed. “Illumination, that is. But my mother wanted to learn, just before Alfred took his pilgrimage to Rome. My grandfather had a monk brought from Paris, if you can believe it, to teach her. He was the only one who would.” Ivar chuckled a little as she did, watching how she shook her head in disbelief. “Rather than going through that struggle for me again, when I decided I wanted to learn, as Father Prudentius was the one who took Alfred and my father to Rome, she taught me.”

She decided to take a risk, then, knowing there was a solid chance this wouldn’t go over well with Ivar. But, there was a chance they could have a new life there in Rus, if they decided to work toward the little fantasy they were indulging in. If this was going to happen, she wanted Ivar to know the truth.

“She used to tell me about my father, then,” she said softly. Ivar felt the shift in her voice, the way it just barely shook with a quiet anxiety. He sensed a confession coming, and he was right. “Aethelwulf wasn’t my birth father. He was a father in all other meaning to me, just not by blood.” She took a deep breath, but before he could ask, she said, “My birth father was Athelstan, the monk your father took from Lindisfarne.”

His eyes widened at the revelation. Even if he hadn’t ever known the man that well, he knew the story, knew everything Floki had told him about the Christian Priest. “I think I must find myself in the same place he once did,” she continued, before Ivar had much time to question what he was learning. And truthfully, it was good that it happened this way. The more he learned at once, the less he would have time to second guess.

“I hold to my Christian convictions,” she said. “The things I was taught as I grew up, the things I came to understand through the many discussions I had with the Bishop Heahmund, who I know you once knew as well. But just as that is true, it is just as true that I feel most at home with your people, that my home is no longer in England. I can no longer offer my loyalty to a Saxon king, as I find I have become fiercely loyal to a Viking one instead.”

Every promise she had ever made to him went through his mind in that moment as she smiled at him again, if it were possible, and he found himself almost unable to make the Athelstan she spoke of, and the one Floki had spoken of, the same man in his mind, though he knew they must have been. “My mother told me my father loved your father more than anyone. Each time the choice was given to him, he chose your father, and your people, over his ancestral home. He even left her to return to Kattegat, and so… I never met him.”

“Do you think things would be very different, had you known him? That… perhaps you would not have come with me?” Ivar asked her. From the look on his face, it might have been obvious to some who knew him well that he was almost worried. It also might have been obvious he was trying to hide this. So, she gave a small shrug.

“I’ll never know,” she said. “Life didn’t work out in the right way for me to know. And truthfully?”

They locked eyes again as she said, “I’ve finally come to make peace with that, I think. I’ll never know him, not until I have also passed from this world, and I’m in no rush to do so. Before, when I was dissatisfied with my life, I used to wish with all I had that he’d not left for Kattegat so soon, that I could have known him before he returned to your father’s side there. I used to wonder if I could have convinced him to let me join him there. But now?”

Ivar found himself shocked again when she leaned forward and reached for his hand, letting her fingers wrap gently around his. It pulled him from all the thoughts and concerns the revelation about her lineage had brought, and made him focus on her. “I’m too happy with where I am to wish things were different in my past. Perhaps I would have met you sooner,” she said. “I would have still come with you. In fact, as many times as my father left to be with yours, it would have only encouraged me in the decision I made.” She chuckled a little, biting her lip as she looked up at him. “Of course, there is also the possibility that if I had grown up with my father in Kattegat, you may have hated me as the daughter of the Christian priest, and only because of how we met and how we have come to know each other, is there no hatred between us.”

Ást. That word entered his mind again as he saw her smiling at him, felt her hand in his. He knew she was joking, but yet, something made him bring her hand up to his lips and kiss the back of it. “Hatred can never take the place of love,” he said sincerely, and the way she lit up...

He would have conquered the Nine Realms if it meant seeing her smile so brightly again.

Taglist: @youbloodymadgenius, @wilhelmyna, @katfett, @fangirl-nonsense, @zuzus-sun, @heavenly1927, @pomegranates-and-blood

If you want to be added to the taglist, feel free to reach out either by commenting, reblogging, DMing me, or sending an ask, and I’ll be more than happy to add you!

#ivar the boneless #ivar x oc #vikings #vikings history #history channel vikings #not today #chapter twenty-two #ivar's heathen army #ivar ragnarsson #alex hogh andersen #ivar x ofc #ivar x original female character #ivar x christian!oc

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azurite-writes · 3 years

Text

Problem One: The Screen(s) and Digital Workspace

Part one of my multi-part doc about what I learned from doing online college at a non-online institution. This chapter: my Desktop as a Desk

Highlighted points: learning styles, work type/function in relation to the computer

My biggest problem with being pushed online after being at an in-person institution was, and still is, my forced reliance on the computer. I have to sit in front of it for hours: attending classes on Zoom; checking email every three hours; accessing Moodle pages for class and out-of-class work (Moodle is what my institution uses, other web management/e-learning software platforms include PowerLearning, Blackboard, and OU Campus, among others). And the work itself can be watching documentaries, watching seminars, accessing ebook/PDF documents, annotating documents in online portals… it's a lot. People have talked at length about "zoom fatigue," as well as the eyestrain headaches that can come with staring at said screens for hours at a time. I'll talk about my own lessons learned about that later.

The assumption among the administrators and (some) people of older generations than those currently in school seems to be that working online with computers and smartphones is more efficient. That isn't necessarily true; it all depends on the type of task and the person being expected to complete it. In my case, I cannot, for the life of me, focus on dense sections of text presented on a backlit screen. Thus, reading and answering emails is okay, but downloading scanned textbook pages to be read on a laptop screen (along with trying to highlight and annotate them) is hell on earth.

Why is this? Different reasons for different people, but in my case it's because reading/"writing" on a screen interferes with my learning style(s), which are visual/spatial, audio, and kinetic. Audio doesn't come into play for reading on a screen, but seeing words physically in a certain location relative to other words on a page is very important to my memory of the material. Computer screens can display pretty much anything at any given time; book pages can only display whatever was permanently printed onto them. That is, the content of a book page in physical space will always be the same unless you, the reader, manipulate it; a computer screen can have any type of content displayed as long as its pixels can light up and process the information. And for me, that's a problem because I don't have any physical space to relate the information to, plus I don't get a sense of how long the document is. Recalling a passage in a printout, for me, goes like this: "I remember it was on the top-left of a page towards the beginning, the shape of the paragraph was funny too… ah, there it is." Recalling a passage on a digital scan of the same document is much harder for me by contrast: literally any of the paragraphs could have made its way to the top-left of my computer screen, if I moved the window around or zoomed in to better read the text; documents are an endless scroll upward or downwards, with (maybe) a sidebar to tell me what page I've landed on. All of my "landmarks" are functions of the program I am using to access the document. They're static and contained to a window... that can show up anywhere on my computer screen. Not conducive to the way I learn at all.

My kinetic learning style comes into play with the computer, too. Annotating a document? In the physical world, a pen on the document itself does the trick; going through the physical movement of circling a word or making a note are things that solidify the information in my mind. Annotating a PDF document? First of all, it's difficult to do with a mouse (and God help you if you have a trackpad), and it's highly dependent on the program that the user selects to open the PDF. I could connect a drawing tablet, if I have one, but they're very expensive and their use is, again, dependent on the compatibility with whatever reader program the user selects. All this to say: annotating on the computer doesn't work for me, either. My kinetic and visual learning styles come together with note-taking. My memory is highly dependent on seeing words as they are formed by my own hand, processing them, and connecting meaning to them as they sit in a specific place on the page (am I over-explaining this? Basically, writing notes by hand and seeing where those notes are on a piece of paper help me remember them). Typing notes isn't a replacement for hand-writing notes for me; while I'm busy fixing my typos (on words I would never misspell on paper, usually, since my fingers are just moving weirdly over the keys), the professor moves on, and I'm not listening well enough to catch the fact that I've missed new information.

The takeaway here is figure out your individual types of work relate to being on the computer. As I said, the computer hinders many aspects of my learning when it comes to memory and efficiency. As a creative tool, however, it has almost the opposite effect; writing assignments for fiction, poetry, and screenwriting classes are much more efficient on the computer. From creative thought to keystroke, I have less time to second-guess or forget my ideas, and both the immediacy and changeability of word processing programs actually works in my favor for those sorts of things.

What I did differently from first online semester to second:

1) I figured out which materials helped me remember my notes the best. Honestly, I wasn't even doing this when I was at in-person college, and to my detriment, but I couldn't get away with it at all once I went fully remote. Think back to when you were in lower levels of school: were there certain types of materials you gravitated towards in the classroom? Did you like basic composition notebooks with faint blue lines? Wide-ruled or college-ruled paper? Did you discover that graph paper just worked really nicely with all notes besides math, or that blank pages were less busy for your eyes? When you used pens, did you prefer blue or black ink, or did colored ink help certain things stick? If you can control what materials you use to take notes with, consider using ones akin to those from a class you either a) remembered the most fondly or b) remembered the most information from. Scour your memories of class experiences for anything, no matter how small, that may have made your life easier. Equally, take note of what tasks actually worked well digitally. Adjust accordingly.

(Personally, I found my magic formula was a 1-subject memorandum notebook — marginless, with very narrow line rulings; while I hesitate to direct you to Amazon, they are hard to find at a decent price otherwise, and you can get a 12 pack for just over $40 from them — with black ink from a 0.38-size gel pen (I used a basic Pilot G2 pen until it ran out, then bought ink refills in the smaller size). To "highlight" my notes, I circled or underlined information with a blue gel pen of the same variety. Keep in mind again that I'm learning to be a translator; this is just what works for me.)

2) If I needed to print something out, I printed it out. Environmental guilt is something I struggled with a lot, and there was always something about staying on the computer that convinced me I was being "less wasteful" by staying digital. But with how much time and energy I ultimately saved reading a printed document that can be recycled vs the electricity I ate up spinning my wheels in front of the ebook… to me, it was worth it. If you find that helps you, too, don't be ashamed to print certain things out.

(If conserving ink and paper is a concern to you, it is possible in some viewing/editing apps to remove or cover images, either with white squares or by taking the images out completely. I have an old MacBook Pro and on current versions of Preview, one can draw shapes and fill them in white to cover parts of the scan that would eat up ink, such as blurred black borders and scanned images. For documents in a word processing program like Microsoft Word or Pages, it may also be possible to print the documents out at a smaller size, allowing more text or even multiple pages to show up on a single sheet of paper.)

| In the coming days/weeks I hope to be posting more content about how I tried to adapt to fully remote learning and the things I’ve learned along the way! Follow for updates ♥︎ |

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starrynite7114 · 4 years

Text

Confessions

A/N: Good morning all! Hope you’re having a good week thus far. Another update for you lovely people! The Angel jealous headcanon was definitely fun to write! Jealous Angel is always a win.

Things you never knew and Everything is you will be update next along with two more requests that I’ll be posting.

Hope you all are staying safe during these times! Love you all!

Whoever requested this piece, hope you enjoy! <3

92: “ Are you drunk? ” 93: “ Are you high? ” with angel - anon

Word count: 4265

Masterlist

tagged list: @justahopelessssromantic : @ifoundmyhappythought : @carlaangel86 : @marvelmaree : @woahitslucyylu : @encounterthepast : @enamoured-x : @whyisgmora : @briana-mishell24 : @bribri-82 : @briannab1234 : @chibsytelford : @agirllovespasta : @twistnet : @everyhowlmarksthedead : @trulysuccubus : @jadert15 : @sammskellington : @cind-in-real-life : @mheart27 : @claytoncardenasbabymama : @sadeyesgf : @thickemadame : @summertimesadnesswithadashofsass : @gemini0410 : @elcococruz : @samcrobae : @sesamepancakes : @iambabyharry : @blackmissfrizzle : @soamayansfangirl : @1-800-imagines : @phoenixhalliwell : @lady-pswrld : @dazzledamazon : @getyourcrayoncas : @fvckthisbxtchup : @lukealvxz : @scuzmunkie : @nakusaych9 : @danie1432 : @cocotheclown : @soaronmywings : @my-rosegold-soul : @buttercup812 : @itskiranbitch : @angelreyesgirl : @sheeshgivemeabreak : @vicmackeybullshxt : @bigcreatorwombatdreamer : @khyharah : @strawberrywritings : @cherry-icetea : @fuzzy-jellyfish : @losolvidad0s : @brownsugarcoffy : @courtrae89 : @enamouravecleslivresetlechocolat : @aquamento : @prdsdjarin

If you would like to be added to the tag list, please leave a comment below or message me! <3

CREDIT TO THE ORIGINAL GIF MAKER!

People always thought that you were an odd person due to the people you choose to surround yourself with. You were new in town a few years back and somehow, someway, you were adopted by the Mayans.

But you knew it wasn’t an accident.

You had served in the Marines with Coco and throughout your service, you two had one another’s backs. You were the little sister he never had so when you finally decided to move away from San Diego, he suggested for you to move to Santo Padre.

A low key town, with hardly any trouble.

But it was Coco, why did you even believe him? He always stretched the truth.

You couldn’t really be mad at Coco since you were able to meet Angel through him. A ridiculous crush you couldn’t believe you had that developed into something more. Angel wasn’t even your type, which was what Coco always reminded you.

‘He’s too tall for you.’

‘He has too many tattoos.’

‘He’s a player.’

Coco was looking out for you, you knew that, but you could make your own mistakes. You were a grown woman. And maybe Angel wasn’t your type, but people always said the people you fell for was hardly your quintessential type. Angel just had this certain charm and aura. He was a flirt, had a cocky smirk, and he was so fucking tall. Height has always been a big thing for you, but tattoos on a man was not something you were into either. Angel Reyes? He wore his tattoos well and you honestly couldn’t look away.

You two first met when Coco went to visit you when you were finally discharged from the Marines. He brought Gilly along as well, but it was difficult for you to focus on anyone else besides Angel. The way he looked at you had you blushing, but you brushed it off as being in service for so long that any little glances from good looking men as himself would make you blush. Sure, you served with men in the Marines, but half of them were married, some were douches and some were nice. You just wanted to do your job and get back home safely. Interpersonal relationships always complicated things and in a battlefield it was needed, you learned the hard way.

You’ve been in Santo Padre for five years, and you didn’t imagine enjoying living in this ridiculously hot city, but you always found family in Coco, so you weren’t exactly surprised you chose to live in Santo Padre. Instead of moving up to Seattle where your blood relatives currently lived, you stayed in Santo Padre and set up a branch of your cousin’s tattoo shop there. Your cousin helped you set up four years ago and you’ve built up a clientele over the years.

And for your Mayans, you made house calls or went to the clubhouse to do their tattoos. If you weren’t their chosen artist, you would send whoever their preferred artist was.

Your clients were mostly Angel, Coco, Gilly and Bishop. The other Mayans had their preferences and you took no offense. They always took care of you, so you took care of them. You didn’t give a fuck what the assumption in town was.

Sometimes, the prim and proper citizens were the worst.

You knew they were no angels, but you didn’t judge either. You’ve done your fair share of unforgivable sins, it was just part of the dog eat dog world you all lived in.

Currently, you were at your office, watching Letty as she worked on some Algebra II homework. As a favor to your hermano, you took care of Letty till he could pick her up and if he couldn’t, she would stay with you. Celia has been gone for a few months now and you definitely saw the change in Letty. She was such a little shit when you first met her, but she was a good kid.

“Good job, look at you, you are teachable.” You teased Letty, ruffling her hair.

Letty laughed, flipping you off. “Your support means the world to me.” Letty wiped faked tears, making you laugh.

“God, you’re such a pain in the ass.” You chuckled as you shook your head.

“But you love me.”

“I do, for some odd reason, I do.” You watched as she continued to do homework. Going back to your sketchbook, you were sketching a piece for Angel that you were going to place on yourself. You two had been dating for almost two years now. No matter how many times Coco warned you off, you two ended up dating. Coco didn’t even mind, when you told him you two were dating, Coco had only one thing to say.

‘No fucking at our house cause that’s just fucking weird.’

You currently lived with Coco and Letty since you never really saw a reason to move out and Coco didn’t want you to move out. So now, you have been living with Coco for five years and quite frankly, you wouldn’t want to change your living situation.

It was having your own little family. Your older brother and niece, you smiled at the idea before focusing on your drawing again.

Christmas was a month away and you wanted to surprise Angel for Christmas. It wasn’t much, but you knew he would appreciate it.

“So, have you told him?” Letty broke you away from your sketch.

“Told who, what?” You looked up at Letty who was smirking as she continued to do her math problems.

“Angel, have you told him you love him?”

You rolled your eyes, releasing a sigh. You weren’t going to discuss your love life with a fucking teenager. But it was difficult, Letty was technically one of the few females you had around you. And to be quite honest, for a brat, she was wise, which she most likely obtained from her father.

“I’m not going to discuss this with a teenager.” You threw a crumpled sketch paper at her, making Letty laugh.

“Come on, you don’t want to discuss it with your sobrina(niece)?” Letty’s smirk grew and you just laughed at her ridiculousness.

“There’s nothing to discuss. Angel is,” you sighed. “It’s complicated, half the time, I feel like Angel and I just have a casual relationship.” Which was the truth. Angel and you slept together often, much more often than you would like to admit, but it was hard to resist Angel.

But you two never did anything together. Sure, you two hung around the clubhouse, your shop, but otherwise, he never took you out on a date or anything. You tried not to take offense since you knew how busy he was and the club had him doing odd hours.

But at times, you just felt like you were a warm body he liked coming home to, or asking to come over when he was home.

He did ask you to be his girlfriend, and you two went on a few dates prior to you dating, but maybe once Angel landed you, he didn’t see why he should put forth effort. At the same time, whenever you two were together, you couldn’t even describe how much love you had for this guy. He always made you smile, he made your day better with his mere presence.

God, you were more into him than he was into you.

You were a part of a romantic comedy and Angel was the guy you dated before you met the one.

This was comical.

Cause you were really hoping Angel was the one.

“Why won’t you just talk to him?” Letty felt the answer was quite simple. Communication was key, which was something she was learning, no more running away. “Or you can dump him, you’re way out of Angel’s league anyway.”

“Stop, I’m not, I thought you like Angel.”

“I do, but you know,” Letty shrugged. “You’re kind of the older sister I’ve always wanted and if he’s making you feel that way, he’s not worth it.”

“I’ll talk to him later and I’ll decide from there.” You smiled. “Aww, you’re so protective of me Leticia, I feel special.”

“Shut up.” Letty grumbled, but she smiled as well. “How hard is it to say I love you?”

“Can you say I love you?” You quirk an eyebrow at Letty, slightly challenging her.

“Of course I can, I say it to you all the time.” Letty scoffed. “I love you. See was that so hard? Pretend I’m Angel.”

“No, absolutely not.” You laughed, shaking your head.

“Come on, I know I’m not as tall and I don’t have that awful beard, but you can still pretend.” Letty offered.

“Leticia, I’m not going to pretend you’re my boyfriend.” You went back to sketching, feeling Letty’s eyes on you for a moment before she went back to her homework.

After a few minutes of silence, you broke it.

“Okay, but you are absolutely not allowed to use this against me.”

“Come on, of all the people here, you’re the one person I don’t collect blackmail material on.”

You laughed at Letty’s comment reminding you of Coco. He always teased you, but when push comes to shove, he was your go to, until Angel at least.

“I love you, Angel. If you don’t feel the same way, I get it. If you’re bored cause you already got me, I get it. But just let me know so I don’t fall for you any further.” You let out a sigh of relief, feeling good to say those words out loud. You heard sniffling and you placed your sketchbook down, making your way to Letty. “You okay?”

“Why would you make yourself so vulnerable like that?” Letty wiped her tears.

“Letty, why are you crying?”

“I don’t know, this is your fault.”

You both laugh, hugging one another.

Unbeknownst to you, Angel was outside your door, hearing the whole exchange. He arrived when Letty first asked if you had told him that you loved him. He wasn’t going to lie, hearing that made him smile like a fool. But hearing you say that confession about him being bored with you? That hurt him.

How could you think that?

With everything going down with the club, he hasn’t been able to spend as much time as he wanted with you. Whenever he was done with whatever he was doing, he always called you up to make sure he could at least be with you when he had some free time even if it’s just to sleep with one another and occasionally fuck.

Alright, almost always fucked.

But he figured it was a good stress reliever for you both.

What he neglected to realize was that your mind could wander especially with previous relationships. He was such an idiot.

He loves you too, more than he could express.

Angel was going to do better. The last thing he wanted was for you to feel like you didn’t matter to him. You were the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. There was no other person he saw himself with. Maybe it was too early, but he didn’t care. He never comforted with social norms and he wasn’t going to start now.

Feelings were feelings and his feelings for you were intense.

He was going to talk to you tonight, then he’ll worship you as he always did.

“Did you order food? I’m starving.” He heard Letty question.

“You’re so demanding, brat.” He smiled at that comment.

Angel figured he should make his presence known now. He knocked on your opened door. You and Letty looked up at the door and found Angel holding two bags from your favorite sandwich place a few shops away from your shop.

“Angel!” You really hoped Angel didn’t hear anything you had said. “Did you just get here?”

“Yeah baby, I just walked in. What’s up junior?” It was a nickname he fondly called Letty and she honestly didn’t mind. Making his way over to you, he dropped a quick kiss on your lips before placing the bags on your desk.

You were thankful your sketchbook was closed since you didn’t want Angel to see your present, if you two were still together then.

“Nothing, is EZ here? I need help with Algebra.” Letty looked around, obviously EZ was not here.

“You’re not gonna ask me? How do you know I’m not good at algebra?” Angel challenged.

“Are you?” Letty countered

“I actually am, junior.”

You watched as Angel pulled up a chair right beside Letty and helped her with class. You hated how everyone assumed that Angel did not know anything simply due to the fact that EZ was the golden boy. But Angel was intelligent in his own right.

Angel looked up at you, smiling as you ate your Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Realizing he loves you was definitely interesting, but was quite simple.

You had slept over his place for a whole week and he just did a relief run with the rebels. He came home and he found you on the couch sleeping with Tiger King playing in the background. He laughed as he turned off the television, squatting beside you as you slept. Taking you into his arms, he carried you into his room, placing you on the bed. He took a quick shower and joined you in bed once he was dressed. Having you in his home, waiting for him almost every night that week, he realized that this was what he wanted for the rest of his life. Coming home to you, being able to unwind and just spend his free time with you, that’s all he wanted.

Have kids, late night adventures which you two did every once in a while, and just having you.

All he wanted was you.

It hit him then he loves you. And it just continued to grow from then.

“You want to go to the movies?” Angel asked you unexpectedly.

Letty looked at you, shooting you a quick smirk before focusing back on her homework.

“Sure, what time did you want to go?”

“We can catch a late showing, I’ll buy the tickets.”

=============

You yawned, getting ready for bed. You were going to the movies with Angel, but they ended up having a late night run which you understood. Just as you were about to sleep, there was a knock on your door.

“Baby!” You heard Angel call out.

Looking at the time, it was two in the morning. How did Angel even get in here? It was most likely Coco.

You opened your door and Angel almost fell on you, but he caught himself.

“There’s my baby girl!” He planted a kiss on your lips, wrapping his arms around you. He was so warm and he smelled and tasted like alcohol.

“Are you drunk?” You sniffed him once more. “Are you high?”

“Sorry, he insisted I brought him here.” EZ’s voice surprised you especially since Angel and EZ haven’t been talking for months.

“He talked to you?” You questioned.

“Yeah, believe me, I was surprised myself.” EZ was nursing a beer at the picnic table when Angel approached him, inebriated and talking about how much he fucking loved you.

EZ hated this rift between him and Angel. He understood why his older brother was pissed, but he just wished Angel would give him a chance to speak to him, so he could speak to him about what's been plaguing his mind regarding his discovery of their mother’s killer.

He was definitely surprised when Angel plopped down next to him, patting his brother’s thigh.

“You like Y/N?”

It took some time for EZ to reply, surprised that his brother was speaking to him.

“Yeah, of course I do.” EZ looked at his brother as he leaned against the table top of the picnic table, his elbows resting on the table.

“I love her man, I’m gonna marry her.” Angel proudly informed his brother, taking another swig of his beer.

That much EZ knew. Angel looked at you like you held the world. If you told Angel that the sky was green, Angel would believe you no questions asked. Angel was very confident in your relationship and EZ could tell. While Angel still became jealous, it was more at the fact your attention was away from him, then he became upset. And there were times when newbies who didn’t know any better or some of your customers that push Angel that made the green-eyed monster come out.

He chuckled.

“Yeah?” The lightness of the conversation made it feel like things were back to normal and EZ knew it was far from that, but he would take this.

“I do. And you’re gonna be my best man.” Angel took another drink of his beer. “I’m still angry, but you’re my brother. She would want you there.”

EZ and Angel sat in silence then before Angel asked him to drop him off at your place that you shared with Coco. A few months ago, Coco had given him a spare key so that he could come to the house in case there was an emergency.

This wasn’t exactly an emergency, but he fucking needed to see you.

So here he was now. He was holding you from behind, nipping on your ear, his hand moving under your shirt. You pulled your shirt down, trying to get Angel’s hand away from you.

“Thanks for the ride little brother, I gotta go fuck my girl now.” He chuckled right beside your ear making chills run up and down your spine.

“Angel!” You and EZ both yell out.

You shook your head. “Thanks for giving him a ride.”

“Not a problem, I’ll see you later.” You followed EZ to the door after helping Angel to your bed.

After locking the door, you made your way back in your room, locking your bedroom door behind you.

Angel was already down to his boxers, laying in your bed. His eyes were closed so you figured he was asleep. As soon as the bed dipped, Angel sat up. He smirked at you, offering his hand, which you took.

“You love me?” Angel questioned you as he sat you on his lap.

Drunk Angel was the best. He was so much needier than usual and he was so cuddly then.

“What?” You didn’t want to tell him the L-word like this. But you weren’t going to say no either.

“You love me?” Angel nuzzled his face at the crook of your neck.

“I don’t know, you ditched me today.” You teased him, running your nails up and down his chest.

“You love me?” Angel repeated again running his hands up and down your thighs. “You love me.” He nuzzled his face on your chest now, practically motorboating you. It wasn’t a question this time, it was a statement. “Te amo mucho, mi vida. You love me?”

The drunken slur made you giggle as he talked into your chest.

But then his words sunk in.

“You love me?” You felt your heart swell, the butterflies in your stomach going insane.

“I fucking love you, you’re my world.” Angel sat up and pulled you down towards him, capturing your lips, sighing against your lips. “You love me? I heard you earlier. I love you.”

“I love you,” you saw how Angel’s eyes softened, kissing you once again. You didn’t think hearing those words could make your heart flutter just like how the movies described it, but fuck, this killed you. You felt your eyes welling up causing Angel to frown.

“Baby, why are you crying?” He wiped your tears as they fell. “I’m sorry you feel like I put you on the back burner or I’m tired of you, but I’m crazy about you.”

You wrapped your arms around him, Angel did the same thing. You two sat in silence, enjoying the silence and the confession you two just had.

“You gonna let me eat that pussy?”

You laughed at his words. Pulling away, you shook your head. “Let’s sleep, once you wake up, then you can do that.”

Angel obliged. You both laid down, your head on his chest. You listened to his heartbeat lulling you to sleep.

You woke up the next morning with Angel’s head in between your thighs. He brought you to a high twice. You were a wet, quivering mess as Angel kissed his way up your body.

“Morning mi dulce,” he kissed you, your taste on his lips.

You felt his erection against your thigh, he was already bare. Slipping inside you, he kissed you as he buried himself to a hilt.

This was different. This wasn’t your usual sexual encounter where Angel couldn’t wait to be inside you, fucking you to oblivion, he was usually rough.

This was much sweeter, slow and sensual.

“I can do this every morning.” Angel said against your lips, his body moving against yours. Angel wrapped your legs around his waist, stretching you further. His pace was slow, which you were usually not a fan of, but this was something else right now. The room was still slightly dark, but you could tell it was at least near six in the morning with the little bit of the outside you saw through your blinds.

You realized then that Angel woke you up by eating you out, wondering if he remembered his drunken confession.

Angel placed his forehead against yours, placing a kiss on your lips every once in a while as he moved in and out of you. Your back arched, scratching his shoulders, meeting his thrust with the movement of your hips.

“I love you, I love you so fucking much.”

Your heart swelled at his repeat confession. Fuck did that feel good to hear.

“You love me corazon? Huh?” He held himself with one arm and cupped your cheek, running his thumb against your bottom lip. “You love me?” The phrase was different when compared to last night. He has a playful undertone, his intoxication with alcohol obviously making Angel speak with repetitive playfulness regarding you loving him.

It was a more weighted question today.

“Yes, I love you.” You breathed out, eyes locked on his.

He groaned, hearing you say it while he was sober hit differently. Angel could take his alcohol and remembered most of last night's events. Even his conversation with his baby brother.

“You’re the only one for me,” you tightened up around Angel, his words just turning you on even more. You were never into possessive wording when it came to yourself prior to Angel, but just to know he loves and cherish you as much as you did him, fuck it made you wet. “You like hearing that mami? That you’re the only one for me? I’m gonna put a ring on your finger one day, you want that?”

You couldn’t even process what the hell was going on. Angel was hitting you so deep, his words just making you inch closer to your climax. You could tell he was almost there as well, he sped up his pace, but his thrusts were not as rhythmic as before. You reached down and rubbed your clit, Angel’s eyes darkening as he watched you.

“Yeah querida, play with that clit, get yourself off.”

You both reached your climax, each other’s names rolling off your tongues. Angel collapsed on top of you, your arms wrapping around him. Running your fingers through his hair, he sighed happily.

“I don’t want you ever thinking that I’ve had enough of you. You’re my world. Shit has just been,” he paused, finding the right words to say. He hasn’t disclosed much with you, but he would soon. After all, he had no plans of letting you go. “It’s just been crazy.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me.” You quickly respond.

“But I do, I,” he sighed. “I overheard you yesterday when you were talking to Letty.”

“Fuck,” you slightly laughed hoping it made you less embarrassed. “Angel, I don’t want you thinking that I’m clingy or something, it’s just if you’re bored, I get it.”

“How can you even think that, I could never get bored of you.” Angel slipped out of you then, a tiny moan escaping your lips. He sat up, his knees bent, his arms resting on his knees. “I’m not used to it, being in a relationship is new for me. I’ve been in relationships before, but it hasn’t been as intense as this. I may not be handling it as well as I want, but I do fucking love you and I want all of you, all the time.”

You sat up, wrapping an arm around his middle. You kissed the back of his shoulder and leaned your head against it.

“I’m sorry, past relationships just fucked me up.” You both chuckled at your statement, as if it was some sort of agreement. “I love you Angel, the past two years has been the happiest I’ve been. With everything I’ve been through, I’m glad it led me to you.”

Angel has never had someone love him as much as you have that at times, it was a bit daunting for him. But he was done sabotaging relationships due to his insecurities and fears. He wasn’t willing to let you go and he was certain you weren’t going to let him go either.

For once, he felt secured.

He found his person.

And it was you.

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