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icosmohunters · 4 years

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chapter three : crimson red

chapter three of cosmo hunters!

word count : 6.6k words

synopsis : an agreement has been met and now hope has agreed to take these pirates under her wing. literally. now, she continues to be on the hunt for the criminal on top of her bounty list. and she intends to make it work. but something in her bones tells her that perhaps it won’t work as smoothly as she’d planned.

“ would you mind warning us when you’re taking off? ”.

“ my ship, my rules. i don’t owe you the comfort of a warning, pirate. ”

was she being mean? it didn’t particularly matter if she was because she had fallen asleep, and like a protagonist out of a shounen anime, she was rushing to get herself away from her current location and to where she had to be. j-colony was waiting for her! and a dozen bounty points waited in reward.

hope hadn’t expected anyone to wake her up, so she mainly at fault for letting the ball drop and taking too long to wake up. but the warmth in the cabin and the full stomach she had after a proper meal sent her into dreamland shortly after she sat on her navigation chair.

and upon waking up, hope had gasped herself out of her daze and launched her right arm forced, sending the engine lever forward and the engine roaring with life. she could hear all of the extra bits of the ship, like the iron legs folding into the bottom of the ship when it began to rise off the ground.

nebula was hovering for a moment until a button lit up on the left side of the control panel, a green light giving her clearance to blast off. wrapping her trembling fingers on the orientation stick, she moved it forward and the nebula followed, moving forward just an inch before hope let out a laugh and threw the stick forward.

and with that, nebula blasted off.

of course, anyone on board the ship could tell that nebula had taken herself out of europa’s atmosphere and freed herself from its pull and its ice. the engine was heating up, and so was the ship, so much so that outer layers of frost had melted within seconds. the ship shifted a couple of times, rocking to the side before it found its balance point and took off into outer space, heading straight for jupiter.

of course, someone had come into her cabin, probably awoken by the small earthquake that had just taken place within the spaceship.

it was enzo. hope kept her gaze fixed in front of her as she saw the dense gas giant who rotated rapidly, the winds there were said to be enough to rip the very skin off your body. good thing that the j-colony was designed to withstand those strong winds.

“ i get that but you could’ve woken us up. we shouldn’t have slept for that long either so, yeah. maybe have your a.i set up an alarm clock? ”.

“ mhm, yup. ”

hope wasn’t listening at all. she was listening but she wasn’t taking any of it in, mostly because she was brain-storming. it had been said that crimson would be in a plaza or some sort, a shopping center set up in the middle of the colony. and to be fair, j-colony was perhaps the largest one in the solar system, around five times the size of the biggest capital city on earth, beijing.

so if this prick took off running when he spotted her, he would travel a lot. it was why she needed to organize maybe a hoverbike to hunt him down in case he took off. because as fit as she was, hope didn’t like running. she hated it.

so, a hoverbike along with some new weapons, perhaps a new collection of tracking devices . . . she was counting it on her fingers now that she had put nebula on auto-pilot.

oh, and enzo was still talking.

“ and might i say, i am quite good at navigating so maybe if you were, uh, feeling sick, you could always let me take over ”, he spoke.

“ if i could choose between you and my pet dog navigating the nebula, i choose my pet dog. and he passed away last year. that’s how much i won’t trust you, or anyone, with my ship ”, hope snapped back quickly, swerving her chair around to face the pirate captain. he had changed into some new clothes, he looked less dead than a couple of hours ago but the bruise on his cheek still remained.

enzo seemed at a loss for words for a moment, until he seemed to gather some. “ i was just offering, jeez. but uhm, quinn told me you were hunting someone down. why do we have to stay on the ship?”, he questioned.

“ because i said so. ”

watching his reactions was rather amusing, he exuded such confidence but would then become flustered when the trail of the conversation didn’t seem like it was going his way. if anything, it was funny. “ how about an actual reason, captain? ”, he asked.

“ i just gave you one. ”

“ no, i mean like a proper answer. we could help you, you know. we’re capable fighters. i mean, minus little dawn but still! we can help, all you can do is give us a plan and we’ll follow it, simple and clean, no worries about it! ”, enzo sounded so optimistic that hope almost didn’t want to reply.

“ pirates don’t do simple and clean, i swear ”, hope commented, tilting her head and seeing the energy draining from enzo’s face, his hands dropping to his side whilst his eyes simply rolled. “ i can’t understand why you came here expecting to mingle with my issues like we’re a team or something. i’m a solo bounty hunter, i don’t need help. let alone help from pirates who all have bounties. but if you want to step outside and get caught, be my guest. but i’m still taking you darlings to pluto and i’d recommend not dying on the way there. ”

enzo grunted, “ okay. but if you end up getting hurt, we won’t have anyone to take us to where we have to be. ”

hope blinked slowly. “ you can take the space bus. teleporter. gate-ways. fuck’s sake, man, it’s not rocket science. but if you’re so fond of my ship, keep out of trouble whilst you’re on it! ”, she argued back quickly. he made an injury to hope sound like the end of the world.

“ yeah, but . . . ”.

“ whatever your concern is, it’s irrelevant to me for the time being. so, before i lose it, i suggest getting out of the cabin. do what you want but just don’t go into my room or the basement ”, she explained firmly, and then waved him off in a dismissive manner. “ go, shoo. ”

he looked like he had more to say, but whatever those words were, they were left unspoken as he turned and walked towards the elevator and soon disappeared from the room. sighing into her hands, hope began to massage her temples.

she wasn’t used to having people around, so she found herself snapping rather frequently. she didn’t realize how much she disliked it until now, but in a single second, she found herself giving less of a fuck. because she didn’t have to be friends with them, and she didn’t have to treat them like there could be any bond between any of them.

so the guilt which she felt vanished within a second.

realizing that she would have to get changed into her gear, hope continued to leave nebula on auto-pilot and programmed a speed boost in around thirty minutes. a speed boost would surpass the speed of light and bring those millions of miles between nebula and jupiter’s surface down to a couple of seconds of traveling. and not to mention the fact that the gas giant’s gravitational pull was tyrant-like, it would be like teleporting to the surface.

after leaving the navigation cabin, hope descended down to her room, the iron doors sliding open upon detecting her presence and she looked at her vacant bed and then towards her closet. snapping her fingers, the closet door swung open and a holographic screen followed.

“ what kind of clothes are you looking for today, hope? ”, a.j’s voice boomed through as the doors slid closed behind her and as she moved towards the wardrobe.

“ usual hunting clothes. depending on the weather, i might bring a jacket just in case. but i doubt it’ll be cold at j-colony ”, hope spoke. from the holographic screen, she went through her clothes and picked everything, from black crop top down to the baggy, military jackets in black and grey. even the boots with jets on the soles. “ my jacket’s been washed, right? ”.

“ yes, all of your clothes were washed and dried during your small nap. your shoes have also been polished and the jet on the boots you’ve chosen has been fixed. ”

“ wonderful ”.

after her clothes were delivered to her, she reached for the bottom of her top and slowly slipped it off, figuring that it was safe to do it but that’s when she heard the door open and her eyes flickered over to the door. dom had walked in without even announcing he was there.

when their eyes met, hope just saw his eyes flicker down and a slight redness that reached his cheeks. she was only in her sports bra but somehow it invoked a reaction of embarrassment from dom’s face.

“ uhm. ”

“ do you practice the art of walking in on people whilst they’re changing? ”, hope asked rhetorically, averting her gaze back to her clothes as she put her vest to the side and then put on the comfortable crop top that had a very nice turtleneck detail to it.

“ n-not exactly, but, uhm, dawn is asking where you keep all of your medical kits and if she can have a look. she has no resources and enzo’s bruise is still purple ”, he actually turned away, so hope continued to change comfortably. she lacked that self-awareness and sense of embarrassment. quite frankly, she didn’t have to hide when he had been the one who waltzed in like he owned the place.

hope rose a brow whilst attaching her straps around her trousers and then her belt and pouches. “ the bunks have storages on the side. i don’t go in there so the medical kits in the cupboards and shelves are still there ”, she explained. then came her jacket, navy blue in color which somewhat matched the navy blue of the voyage badge pinned to it.

“ not to be rude but your ship seemingly hides everything, that room is bare except for the bunks and the huge ass window looking out into space ”, dom continued. hope turned and walked to him whilst adjusting her belt. he seemingly took notice of her and jumped slightly. “ so if you could give better directions, we might be able to find it. ”

“ on the board of every bed, there’s storage space. if you tap against the board, it’ll open up and you’ll see all the medical kits and spare clothes and whatnot. maybe even the blankets that i keep stored just in case ”, the bounty hunter told him, exiting her room along with him and nodding towards where the rooms were. “ shouldn’t be too hard now, right? ”.

“ could have said it the first time ”, dom muttered under his breath. but hope chose to ignore it. seeing that he was walking away, she decided to say something before letting him go.

“ next time you decide you want to walk on me shirtless, knock. and pay me, i’m not a free sculpture at the museum ”, she called over to him and saw him throw a glare over his shoulder. hope chuckled amusingly, watching him disappear down the hall. “ asshole. ”

after that encounter, hope decided that it would be best to have a look around the ship to make sure all was working properly. checking the lounge, she found the t.v turned on and quinn listening to the news broadcast. the vending machines were on, many of the game tables were idle and ready to be used and mostly everything looked in place. deciding not to disturb quinn, hope left the lounge quickly.

then she checked the kitchen. all seemed to be in place, the dishwasher could be heard briefly but all was well. nothing out of place. and then after checking the basement and the storage space, hope decided to return to her navigation cabin. she recalled that the speed boost was happening in a couple of minutes, and the way enzo complained a while back that she should’ve told them when she was going to take off.

it would be best to warn them about the speed boost, just case they got a slight shock from it. and besides, as far as she was aware, they weren’t expecting it. so she tapped the intercom mic present on the side of her chair and pressed the announcement button.

“ listen up, everyone. in two minutes, nebula will use a speed boost. that inherently means that she’ll zoom in the direction of our friendly gas giant and when she does, you might feel a slight shake. and in case we suffer some wind turbulence, i suggest hanging onto something ”, hope told them. “ i will announce it just ten seconds before the real thing. i suggest preparing yourselves now. ”

perhaps they were aware of what a speed boost was, after all, they were pirates. but nebula’s engine had restored and she was faster than ever, especially with a speed boost. anyone with travel sickness may find themselves in a lot of trouble. it was why hope slipped on her seat-belt when the countdown came to fifty seconds.

and when the ten-second countdown came, she turned the intercom on once more with a smirk grazing her lips. her adrenaline rush always came from moments like these, where she truly felt like she was in control of something. even if it was a spaceship somewhere in the milkyway galaxy, it was still something she could control.

“ strap in, ladies and gentlemen. we’re now descending into jupiter. ”

time skip ﹏

every time hope enters the atmosphere of another planet, she always goes through a series of chills and goosebumps all over her body. it’s a thrilling experience to be stepping into territory they didn’t think they were able to reach a hundred years ago. but mankind had taken more than a step now, it had taken a leap. and now, humans had invaded other planets, setting up a dozen colonies and extracting resources and truly beginning to learn about the universe. the planets we used to see only through telescopes, now before our very eyes.

jupiter, unlike many planets in the solar system, did not have a solid ground like their home on earth. it was a gas giant, composed predominantly of hydrogen and helium in its atmosphere. so you may ask, how did mankind touch base here?

that’s simple; they didn’t touch anything.

through a lot of hard work, they had managed to set up the floating colony, held up by energy that can easily be generated from the very winds of the planet. and considering there was no oxygen, the colony was covered by a dome-like cover providing visitors with the oxygen they required. it was truly something out of a sci-fi movie.

but it was reality, humanity had really taken huge leaps into improving living standards around the galaxy. whole apartments and forms of accommodation were made and built to fit the humans born when the earth couldn’t take anymore. that’s why humans left in the first place. resources began to lack and human populations would not stop growing.

and that’s why huge colonies like j-colony take her breath away every time hope sees it. as nebula breached through the reds and oranges of jupiter, she thought the clouds were never going to clear. it was always storming season on this gas giant, but it never rained water like it did on earth. in actuality, it rained diamonds, so hope held her breath when small bits of crystals began to fall against the window she looked out of. of course, nebula could take practically anything. so it didn’t worry her too much, even though she would die if there were scratches on the window.

after shaking a bit, hope reeled the orientation stick back and forced nebula to lift up slightly instead of driving herself straight down. and soon enough, after about another minute of the diamond rain, her eyes brightened at the way the clouds cleared and there it stood, well, floated, j-colony.

it’s difficult to describe the appearance of j-colony without comparing it to the castle aincrad as it is depicted in that one anime you either love or hate. it was a floating metal structure that seemed completely resistant to the thundering winds trying to push it from its secured position. a floating city with many branches and other floating islands of metal scattered around. it was huge. it’s impossible to measure its size in numbers, it was simply enormous in every sense of the word.

“ nbla-43, do you have clearance to access the docks of j-colony? ”.

hope’s heart jumped in her chest as she respired out a sigh of relief, realizing that it was only the control and flight officers who were able to detect the arrival of every ship, even in ghastly weather conditions like these. they truly didn’t miss a thing, this stupid corporation.

“ yes. sending voyage inc identification details over ”, the bounty hunter exclaimed nervously, and then pressed a button. there were many buttons on the control panel, but she specifically chose a transmission option, sending the same details on the chip on her badge over through encrypted signals. usually, pirates wait around for someone to do something like hope is doing in order to reach out and swiftly snatch the details of a pilot. and upon acquiring these details, god knows what they’re capable of.

identity theft, to put it simply.

hope waited patiently for a reply and soon received one. “ thank you, hope. welcome to j-colony. please proceed to dock e, eastbound of the city ”, the voice seeped through and then disconnected, just like that. they were busy people, after all, accepting a dozen ships hourly.

just like that, hope sped nebula up and weaved in between many ships and other iron structures like communication towers and satellites, doing a fair lot of work to avoid damaging them. soon, she had reached the east docks. getting closer will startle you as you realize the city you were looking at was larger than you’d expected. hope felt like an ant even in the nebula in comparison to the size of this monolith. behemoth as it was, it was impossible not to feel intimidated by it all.

approaching the docks, hope saw many ships, of all editions and brands, parked, restoring their fuel or merely parked with pilots happily stepping out with relief on their expressions. the docks alone were immense and seemed to go on forever, but then she found a vacant space.

quickly, she parked nebula, allowing the folded iron legs to touch the ground and for the engine to relax.

“ hope, would you like to have my battery restored? ”, a.j’s voice swept through smoothly as the bounty hunter took off her belt and then rose from her chair. “ i’ll be idle but you have everything planned out, correct? ”.

“ ‘course. don’t worry, you can be idle for as long as it takes you to be fully recharged. see you later, sultry man ”, hope teased and chuckled when the idle jingle played, meaning that a.j would be inactive for a couple of hours. this usually causes her to panic because she doesn’t have the compass to guide her. but she had it all planned out. she had around an hour to be where she had to be, and she had paged for a hoverbike and from the movement that she heard outside, it was being brought to her.

so upon collecting all the required tools and her preferred weapon, she took the elevator down to the exit. she didn’t really care to tell the pirates that she was leaving, they already knew what they had to do and what the right thing to do was. if they went against it, it wouldn’t really be her fault. but she prayed that perhaps they would. that they would stay out of trouble.

the exit and entrance hatchet opened and nebula’s flight of stairs touched the ground. so hope descended the said staircase, taking a small inhale and exhale as she reminded her that all would be well. she’s been doing this for years. nothing could go wrong.

“ good evening, hope. we have your hoverbike here with us ”, a young fellow said as she approached. he wore the voyage uniform, a navy blue semi-formal jacket, and some decent black trousers. “ you said you’d need it for how long? ”.

“ for however long it takes me to catch a wanted criminal ”, hope replied simply, and then looked at the hoverbike. it was perhaps even sexier than her own spaceship, no offense to nebula. it’s difficult to describe the complex shape of the vehicle, but the lack of wheels and the smooth metal and details that it contained was something worth staring at. “ aww, you even chose the model i requested for. ”

“ we tend to show special treatment for prolific bounty hunters here. j-colony is huge, so hunting criminals here is perhaps the hardest thing we have to deal with. just know that we’re very pleased you decided to take up the bounty for crimson. he’s been running around causing mayhem for ages. we need him to go, immediately ”, the young man explained with a meager shrug.

“ uh-huh. right, well i won’t be gone for long. i’ve been hunting this guy done for ages. now, if you’ll excuse me ”, hope began and then found a helmet being handed to her. the lack of metal on it was concerning but the design was lovely, especially after realizing it contained a gps and map feature that would make things a whole lot better. “ oh, thanks. ”

“ take care, hope. ”

nodding, hope watched the young man walk away to make another delivery. she slipped on her fingerless gloves and pressed a sensor on her wrist, it would connect her with nebula and her status, making sure nothing has been damaged and that most importantly, that no one in there would leave. putting the helmet on, her vision wasn’t at all affected by the holographic map and compass that came up against the glass. it made everything feel proximate and precise, just what she wanted.

hope hummed and rose an eyebrow, impressed. it was clear that she was. in fact, she made a mental note to get her hands on a hoverbike herself. and a helmet exactly like this one.

“ well, let’s go, shall we? ”.

it didn’t take exactly too long for hope to get the hang of the controls on the hoverbike. as soon as her hands touched the handgrips, the engine seemed to roar to life and the rear end of the vehicle rose. hope gulped at the uncomfortable height in which it rose, but knew comfort was the last of her worries. she had fifty minutes to get where she had to be.

of course, being in a tense situation, hope needed to unwind. it was why before she even began to drive, she pulled up a song-player and typed in her needed track. especially in a situation like this. it’s not every day she can explore the j-colony. so might as well do it in style!

blinding lights by the weeknd, if that’s not a more appropriate track, she doesn’t know what is.

soon after starting the song, the hoverbike was moving. hope wrapped her fingers tightly around the handgrips as it moved. first, it moved from the docks, following blaring signs telling her of the directions she needed. the docks were enormous, but that’s when she spotted something which seemed like a high road in the distance, with vehicles passing frequently. approaching the said road, she looked towards both sides. one side led to the residence quarters, and the other towards the inner city.

and the inner city was where she had to be. so she dipped as soon as there was space to fit into the road. and gradually gaining speed, hope took a right and soon found herself flying through a clear, straight road that led directly under a bridge of some sort, it drove into the huge structure and hope wondered just how long it would take for her to exit these docks.

but it didn’t matter too much. she had time. and she was in a particularly good mood now. as worried as she was about those pirates, she needed to sort her priorities. the hoverbike was picking up speed as it now headed into a tunnel, the ceiling and walls decorated with white, neon lines which were probably there more for decoration rather than for avoiding accidents. it was like entering a dream sequence as her eyes followed the lengthy lights, she blinked maybe once or twice upon tearing up.

so she stared ahead instead, choosing not to stare for too long in case it damaged her eyes. her eyes flickered to the map. she had typed in the coordinates for the wanted location and it was a good ten minute ride from her. so she sped up, wanting to get there just in case crimson chose to come early.

the tunnel soon came to an end, and hope audibly gasped when light broke through and she found that the road cleared . . . no roof, no walls, but that’s when she saw the glass and realized the road had been enclosed by a tube of some sort. but it did a good job of making her believe that she was standing freely in jupiter’s atmosphere.

the orange and red clouds, the falling diamonds, it was a mixture of different elements that made for a lush painting of some sort. her eyes widened as they continued to gawk at the view, she saw lightning in the distance and her adrenaline bolted through her veins in an instant. oh, the idea of taking nebula on a ride near the great red spot . . . it was a suicide mission but it would satisfy her daredevil antics.

now picking up speed, hope weaved in between vehicles; buses, cars, more hoverbikes. her eyes flickered over a plastered ad on the side of a bus, a festival that would be taking place in j-colony. she wondered whether she would be able to come, it might be fun . . . but the world was calling and she couldn’t ignore it.

the road carried on for miles and miles, her eyes were aching from the many tunnels she continued to travel through until the exit of the last tunnel gave birth to perhaps the most beautiful sight hope has ever seen.

j-colony was the definition of metropolis heaven. the skyscrapers were too tall for her to observe with her eyes alone, a crane of the head was required to see every light from every skyscraper scattered among this landscape painting of dreams. enormous billboards were planted on the side of buildings, advertising all sorts of things. from food to the newest model of honda’s jet shoes, it was endless.

hope saw purples and reds and yellows and blues, even some colors which she can’t even name. but she knew one thing, they were beautiful. that’s when she noticed people. they walked on side-walks, on the bridges hung over this insane road, normal people accustomed to a world of dazzling lights.

it was so vibrant and colorful that hope didn’t even realize she had to take a sharp turn to the left until the map’s red dot began to beep. “ oh, shit! ”, she cursed and swiftly indicated before cutting left, hearing various beeps behind her but she didn’t think to apologize. she sighed, that’s what happens when you get caught up in the beauty of cities like these.

cutting left, she took another main road but that’s when she began to see things that were expected. shops, dozens of shops with neon lights inviting guests in with obscure shop names. hope saw shopping malls, cinemas, game centers, arcades, it seemed to go on forever and ever. and to be fair, she never wanted it to stop.

hope looked to the top corner to her helmet and saw that she was getting closer to her red spot, her required location. so she sped up, not wanting to waste any time. humming along to the song that would soon be coming to an end, she cut a right and then another right and soon, she had reached what seemed to be a shopping district, with a towering fountain in the middle of it. of course, she couldn’t take the bike there so she had to find a parking spot. and it didn’t take too long for that to happen.

upon parking, she turned the engine off and craned her head up for a hot second, just to view the nearby skyscraper whose billboard was playing an a.i advertisement, one recommending owners to give a.i’s appearances, but upon seeing the price of the installments, hope chose to go without.

so, now she had arrived at her target location. seeing around, she realized that it wouldn’t be too easy to spot crimson even if he was wearing the most camp outfit imaginable.

except, upon checking her notes, she had spotted that crimson tended to wear obscure hair colors, ranging from bright reds to blues and greens. but looking around, most people tended to do that as well. so she hoped that perhaps she would be able to recognize a suspicious figure with some bizarre hair color and assume it’s the guy she’s looking for.

and without a.j’s company, she was forced to wait patiently. her thoughts drifted to the pirates for a moment, wondering just what they were doing and imagining them doing anything else but going against her orders. they weren’t stupid, so perhaps they would be smart enough to dodge trouble.

but what if they went directly against her orders? what then? something in her bones told that it was too ambitious to trust those pirates. that she was being too optimistic and that she had more reasons to get rid of them than to keep them around. for years, she’s been riding solo and has prevented catastrophic, career-ending events because she never allowed herself to trust anyone or work alongside anyone.

she was throwing her trust on the table, but now she wished to withdraw it.

hope suddenly felt something against her wrist vibrate. her tracker had scanned the area and found someone fitting crimson’s profile, something she had set it to do automatically in case she got distracted by something else. and by the looks of things, that just happened. she got distracted by her worries over the pirates.

looking at her helmet map, she spotted a blue dot. and it was moving, closer to her and the fountain that she was looking directly. her stomach dropped when she spotted a male, she couldn’t exactly tell how old but he was young, his way of walking was with plenty of confidence, something she found odd. but that’s when she spotted the bubblegum blue hair and the mouth-mask he’d chosen to wear. a red mask.

and as they say, everyone criminal is vain enough to have an item of identification. her blood was suddenly boiling as she lifted herself from the hoverbike and looked at this walking figure, he threw a glance over his shoulder and upon reeling his head back, he seemed to have locked eyes with the bounty hunter.

hope didn’t look away.

and neither did he.

except for when he took off running. and hope bolted, jumping to her feet and beginning to chase after the fleeing criminal. her feet were aching to get some exercise, and quite frankly, as much as she hated running, she felt like she was going to like it as soon as she gets her hands on this fool.

he was weaving in between the crowd, but her tracker remained on him, so she didn’t think to remove her helmet anytime soon. and in case she needed to, she could summon the hoverbike quickly to speed up the chase.

at some point during the chase, hope was right on his ass. and she didn’t know why she didn’t grab him or just shoot him, it was probably because she didn’t want to assassinate this guy in the middle of the public eye. she wasn’t the type to disrupt established ways of living. and life in the j-colony had a happy buzz, one which she didn’t wish to spoil.

but she still needed this fool dead.

she didn’t recall how long it took but soon, they were out of the public eye as he dipped into an alleyway and hope continued to give chase after him, mostly because she was so close to getting what she finally wanted and needed it to be a clean kill. otherwise, it wouldn’t be over. of course, the alleyway a dead end.

and crimson turned, his eyes wide and angry. “ you’re fitter than the last one who chased me. which was around . . . a day ago ”, his voice was deep, harnessing power and heart but there was a sense of sarcasm to it that she couldn’t help but like. “ uh, you’re here to arrest me, right? ”.

“ being arrested stopped being an option the last time, in which, i believe, you broke out of police custody and managed to hide in the city and hold out until the storm passed. impressive, but i’m not here to arrest you ”, with that, hope pulled out her pistol and with a click, held it towards the criminal. “ i am here to claim the reward for your bounty. ”

and his face went pale. why he wasn’t fighting back was unbeknownst to her. and so she was careful because it was suspicious. “ o-oh. well, uh, i hadn’t planned my death until a couple of years time but i suppose . . . i should give in ”, he spoke and hope decided that this guy was way too stupid to be a criminal.

but then she heard something behind her. a beeping of some sort. and her eyes widened. going into an alleyway with a dead-end, the fact that he wasn’t fighting back, the beeping of what seemed to be an explosive device.

her heart dropped. it was a trap.

hope gasped and ducked for cover and the spark lit and before she knew it, boom! right behind her. she felt the heat against her back and saw the smoke rise but even through it, she could spot crimson breaching for an escape using jet boots. but he wasn’t getting away, not like that!

she aimed up and fired a ray, one which just barely hit his left shoe and even through ringing ears, she could hear him scream. and it was a loud one. she watched him begin to descend and eventually meet the ground again, but then she heard chatter through the smoke and bit her lip. if it was the authorities, she was in for a good scolding. and she hadn’t even killed her target yet!

hope groaned and slowly picked herself up, her skin was scorching from the heat and she could barely breathe through the smoke. but then it began to clear, slowly. and then she saw figures emerging, the owners of the chatter.

oh, how her blood began to boil when the pirates showed up.

she couldn’t believe it! she didn’t even have to be told what had happened because she could almost just assume. they had set up explosives, explosives when she was still in the alleyway. and it didn’t even kill her target because even he saw the explosive. and he dodged it and tried to flee! ugh!

“ i know, i know, thank me later. you got him, right? ”, enzo spoke first, arms wide with an overbearing amount of confidence. but when he spotted her barely able to pick herself off the ground, his face fell. “ uhm. ”

“ you didn’t ”, the criminal himself voiced, grunting and picking himself up. “ i mean, bounty hunter girl, if these guys are your teammates, i suggest getting better ones, the explosive was so obvious, seriously. it doesn’t take a second pair of eyes to even see it! ”.

“ they’re not my teammates ”, hope growled, head hanging low as she tried to stand up, her muscles were aching for rest but she refrained from caving into the pain.

“ ah, that explains it. well, uh, if they’re not your teammates, you won’t mind if they’re gone, right? ”. she barely had time to furrow her brows in a frown when crimson pulled out a gun and suddenly fired a bullet up, hope yelped and covered her ears when she realized that he hadn’t fired mistakenly. he had fired at something.

another explosive.

hearing the pirates react and take cover, she caught sight of crimson before he started to run. and she threw herself at his feet, latching her arms around his legs and sending him plummeting down to the bare, concrete ground. she held him down as best as she could, searching for her gun but it didn’t come to hand.

oh god, her gun!

she grunted when he started to get up again, his feet fighting and kicking and she craned her head back to avoid receiving a boot to the face. she managed to hold him down long enough to reach for the knife attached to a harness around her leg, letting it out of its sheath.

except before she even dared to deliver a mighty blow, she felt an elbow meet the side of her head and her vision went for a moment, blurred and confused, her sense of orientation haywire. but hope fought to remain conscious, she couldn’t let a criminal escape!

yelling, she grasped her knife, propelled and stabbed downward. all she heard was a fatal roar of anguish from the crook beneath her, and even with a stab wound, he persevered. but then she delivered a stab near the chest and another cry rung out. and upon stabbing a final time, a wavering howl was heard.

and beneath her, crimson went limp.

hope let out a loud breath and dropped the bloodied knife, and then realized the warm substance that covered her hands. blood. crimson red, covering each finger without failure. her stomach churned, her squeamish antics ticking and her vision continuing to blur with each passing second.

she was going to faint, she thought, but something in her kept on fighting, mostly the growing feeling of success after she realized this crook was finally dead and that she could alert the authorities. but she couldn’t do it now.

her eyes, hooded and seething with rage, rose to meet that of the figures who came out from behind the hiding spots. her blood was beginning to boil all over again, adrenaline pumping and her murderous ego willing to take hold again.

but she kept herself from lashing out. for now.

“ you. you, you, you and you. back to the ship. right. fucking. now. ”

#chapter 3 #space pirates au #writing #original writing

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sehun-smut-blog · 5 years

Text

Deceitful - Chanyeol

some people bring out the worst in you, others bring out the best. Then there are those remarkably rare, addictive ones who just bring out the most. They make you feel so alive that you’d follow them straight into hell, just to get your fix

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | +

This post contains intense and possibly triggering themes. Viewer discretion is advised. Rated [M] for mature.

Seven

“Yeah, I’ll be ready.” You huffed to Baekhyun, before hanging up and tossing your phone on the opposite side of the ed. Because if it was in your hand, you knew you would try to call him again.

They must have scared Chanyeol really bad. That, or the whole scenario - that he may have felt the same about you that you did towards him - was completely a fantasy. Honestly, you wouldn't be surprised at this point.

You seemed desperate, but honestly? You were. Every time you came home to an empty apartment without Yeol’s presence making your heart race was like a bullet in your chest, tearing you up from the inside out. It was achingly painful each time your call got sent straight to voicemail, how you couldn’t even ask anyone at the company about him without the fear of being fired dripping down your neck like ice water. It was drowning you, deflating your lungs how each second without him seemed to be more painful than the last.

But tonight, Tayeong had called you. Your own phone, making your chest clench when you kicked up the call, having his voice slip trough the receiver.

“I want you to come to headquarters tonight, come see me. You’ll do that, won’t you baby?”

The words had made your head rush, fingers tremble, even though your voice sounded confident. But now that you had confirmed pickup with Baekhyun and were left to get ready, you were gut splittingly nervous. Usually, Chanyeol would be able to talk you down.

But now, you were alone. Too proud to call Kyungsoo, instead you just sat on your couch, waiting for the silence to console your quaking limbs.

When that did nothing, you showered. The warm water was supposed to help your freezing anxiety, warm you up from the outside in. You knew exactly what tonight would entail, shaving your legs and armpits to prepare. Then you moisturized, but the massaging did nothing for your trembling.

The next resort was dong your hair and makeup. Tonight, you decided o be more daring, highlighting your shoulders and chest until you shone under the lights, smoked out your eyes until they popped through the smoky black shadow. A nude gloss made your lips look delectable, mint gum freshening your breath as you curled your hair loosely across your shoulders. Even then, you kept fighting to keep your breathing steady.

You didn’t want to sleep with Tayeong. You didn’t want to see any more of him than you already had, see the dark underbelly of his naked form. You had already seen enough glimpses into his head, you didn’t need to see him fully undressed before you - literally. It was terrifying enough knowing he lacked a conscience, you didn't want to know if he lacked anything else beyond that. Somehow, stepping over the sexual threshold felt like you would suddenly see him - all of him, with his second face he usually wore stripped away too.

Finally, you slipped into fishnets and combat boots, a black turtleneck tucked into your plaid skirt. It was sexy enough when you slipped a chain onto the skirt’s belt loops, but hopefully not enough to have him desperate for you. You needed at least a second when you saw him, just a moment to collect yourself before he tried to push it further.

Because you didn’t want Tayeong. You wanted Exodus to succeed. You wanted to survive the raid with your newfound family intact. You wanted to see a tomorrow where you could operate and make money with your friends, enjoy your success without the constant fear of death breathing down your neck.

That was a reality you weren’t sure was too ludicrous, considering the situation.

Eventually, you got a text from Baekhyun, saying he was around the block. At this stage in the game, it was too risky for you to be picked up at your front door, juts in case they happened to be tracking Baekhyun’s car. That was the sole reason you were hustling into the freezing air, breath reduced to nothing but puffs of steam as you skittered towards the familiar car around the corner.

“Ah, turn up the heat!” You whined once you got inside, immediately trying to fiddle with the knobs and get the vents blasting heat.

“Hello to you too.” Baekhyun hummed, rolling his eyes at you playfully, but when you caught his glance, your own eyes immediately went wide.

His jaw was swollen and bruised, swaths of purple and red tracing the contours of his skin like paint. His lip was still slightly puffy, just enough to make you notice, but it was the shocking colour that really packed it’s punch.

“Oh God, Baek, are you okay?” You asked, shifting to get a better look at his injured skin with wide eyes.

He batted you off with an eye roll and a wry grin. “Yeah yeah, I’m fine. Your boyfriend packs a good punch though.” He grumbled, shifting the car into drive and peeling away from the curb.

“Chanyeol is definitely not my boyfriend.” You sighed, turning to click your seatbelt into place quickly. “That’s against company policy, or do you not remember him yelling that at us?”

Baekhyun clicked his tongue slightly with a shake of his head. “Yeah, I got the message loud and clear.”

You scoffed at his attitude, giving his arm a light shove. “It’s not like we were breaking the policy anyway, Chanyeol’s just an idiot.”

“Not that I hadn’t thought about it, breaking policy.” Baekhyun hummed, his words making you freeze up slightly.

“What?”

“I thought about asking you out. You’re hot, and nice. Seemed like we could have been a good couple.” He responded, giving you a half-grin. You weren’t sure wether to believe him or not, wether he was pulling your leg or actually being serious. It was impossible to tell with Baekhyun.

He spoke up again before you even had the chance. “At least I didn’t try it, Chanyeol probably would have snapped my neck and spat on my grave.”

“Oh, you’re ridiculous.” You sighed, rolling your eyes slightly at his words. He seemed to think he had it all figured out, as though that altercation between him and Yeol the day before actually revealed anything deeper. It didn’t. Chanyeol was just being headstrong, as always.

“I’m being ridiculous?! As soon as he saw I was within ten feet of you, he damn near blew an aneurism.” Baekhyun scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Plus, he wasn’t exactly sneaky when he pulled you out of my interrogation early.”

You furrowed your brow, stammering. “W-what are you on about now?”

“Oh, come on! Wasn’t it him that pulled you out of the room, I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Why do you think he would have gotten you out right as we were getting started?” Baekhyun questioned, giving you a glance out of the corner of his eye.

You remembered it like it was yesterday, the memory so vivid in your mind you could almost feel it. Sitting on Baekhyun’s lap, teasing smirks and tight grip on his wrists. Inching closer and closer until enough was enough, Chanyeol demanding the interrogation was over. Returning to the surveillance room to tense Kyungsoo and Yeol alike, staring each other down like they had been arguing just a second before.

Baekhyun couldn’t be right... could he?

“So I’m right then. Honestly, I don’t know how you wouldn’t have noticed him pining after you earlier.” Baekhyun hummed, injured jaw twisting into a grin that looked painful. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Ignoring the twisting of your gut, you just socked his arm harshly. “Oh, shut up.”

Baekhyun was just trying to rile you up. Surely, he could see in the flush of your cheeks the way you felt about Chanyeol, and was using it to egg you on. It was childish, really, but of course, it had your mind racing.

Racing almost faster then the car, until suddenly, the looming building on the dirty street made your head stop dead still in it’s tracks.

“Here we are.” Baekhyun hummed, throwing the car into park next to the sidewalk. “I’ll probably head in too and do some training, keep making appearances, you know?”

You nodded with a slight hum. “Yeah, for sure. That’s smart.”

Baekhyun smirked slightly. “Do you have the earpiece in?”

Your hand fluttered to your ear quickly, the one usually occupied by the small bluetooth. “No.”

“Good. Wouldn’t want Chan - I mean, Kyungsoo, listening in.”

You just humphed, waiting for your legs to take you outside. Somehow though, they just... didn’t. They refused to move, your hands clamped together firmly your lap, lip being nibbled harshly between your teeth. You were frozen in the car, and from more than the cold.

God, you didn’t want to do this.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a few times and then you’re all done!” Baekhyun hummed, giving your knee a slight pat with an open palm. “Only a couple lays, then home free. This is the worst part - it’s like ripping off a band-aid!” “And what about after this, Baek?” You said softly, eyes still busy tracing the exterior of the building carefully. “What about the next gang? Or the one after that? This is my job now, and I love it, but this? Sleeping around? I just...” You sighed, turning to shoot him a glance. “I wish I could just be an assassin or something, you know? Something easy.”

Baekhyun hummed, his mouth twisting into a painful looking, sad smirk. “Nothing about this job is easy.” He scoffed, shaking his head slightly. “I can promise you that.”

You sighed, your gaze falling back down onto your lap. He was right, after all. The killing, the violence, head and heart at a constant battle between what felt so right, but you were told was so wrong. Black and white. Fire and ice. Why couldn’t anything you did ever e straightforward, simple? That would be a relaxing vacation right about now.

But you never wanted easy, did you?

You didn’t. So, to his surprise and your own, you popped open the door before you could second guess yourself, hopping out and turning to give him one last, forlorn smirk. “Well, good thing I never wanted easy then. I’ll text you whenever I’m done, if you can give me a lift home?” You asked, cocking your had at him quickly.

“Y-Yeah, sure, just let me know.” Baekhyun stammered, watching you closely even after you had shut the door.

The heel of your boots clacked harshly against the concrete as you scampered up the sidewalk towards the front door, trying to slow your breathing with each step. Left foot, in. Right foot, out. In, out, in time with your feet. It was all you could focus on, all you would let yourself focus on until you tugged open the heavy door with a slight grunt.

And as soon as you saw him leaning on the empty reception desk, your lungs froze. At this point, you were sure the desk was there strictly for show. He was typing away furiously on his phone, notched brows knitted in concentration.

If Tayeong was an element, he would certainly be ice. Cold, cunning, like water he had the ability to give life, yet also take it away. It was scary how even standing there, his frosty aura was enough to send a chill down your spine.

You had to fight to not dart in the opposite direction, towards warmth and light, wherever that may be.

But you didn’t even get the chance.

“Ah, there you are, darling.” Tayeong purred, giving you a serpent-like smile once he looked up from his phone. “Looking ravishing, as always.”

Painting on a faux smile, you stepped closer towards him, and into his open arms for a hug in greeting. “Thank you, Tayeong.” You hummed right back, your lips brushing his ear softly. He smelled like nickel, and sage - if you had to name it, like a cold knife. Fitting.

“I’m happy you were able to make it, my love. Although, I wouldn’t expect anything less.” He hummed into your ear. Ah, there it was. The thinly-veiled threat, as though if you had been late, he would have no choice but to punish you accordingly. At least, that’s what you took from it.

“I’d never be late for you, sir.” You giggled back, letting the rush of adrenaline in your system scatter your cheeks in a flush. His eyes drank it in like a fine wine, memorizing the image of you blushing in his head, every move of his gaze calculated by you. God, it made you want to retch.

“I like your promise, but alas, never say never, pet. Now come, I have something for you.” Tayeong smirked, winding an arm around your hip and waltzing you further into the building.

The echoing of your footsteps served only as a reminder of just how empty this building was. Each balcony was still blissfully empty, apart from the potted plants, but still - you felt like this lace was just begging for someone like you, an enemy to breach it’s doors. Then they could simply pick each and every one of you off from above - like shooting fish in a barrel.

continuing to the elevator, Tayeong was quick to press the call button and send it grinding down to the first floor. “So, you and Baekhyun drove together again, hm?’ he asked nonchalantly.

Glancing up at him however, you watched as his narrowed gaze followed to where you could just barley see Baekhyun himself, entering the front door. His look was not friendly, nor even civil. Instead, it was filled with... disdain, almost. Like Baekhyun was so far below Tayeong that he shouldn’t even be worthy of a glance.

“Y-Yes, I don’t have my own car so I texted to see if he as planning on coming here today. Luckily, he was.” You laughed slightly, laying your hand on his chest softly, praying to God it would make his muderous glare fall off Baek.

Thankfully, your tactic worked, when his gaze fell back down to you, twinkling mischievously. He gave you a slight laugh, but his words when he stepped ahead of you made you roll your eyes behind his back.

“I’ll give you money for a cab from now on, don’t bother with that idiot.”

But still, once he turned you returned to your swooning smile, as though you were trying to conceal it. “Ah, thank you, that’s definitely be a weight off my shoulders.” You hummed playfully, even though poking fun at Baekhyun like that made your stomach twist in guilt.

“I can only imagine.” Tayeong hummed, pressing the button to the fifth floor and sending the elevator upwards. It was a perfect time for you t fall into silence, instead glancing casually out the glass walls of the elevator was you climbed stories.

One. The first floor was familiar, the worn couches and short tables trying to fill the emptiness failing miserably. behind those couches, a tiny person under the coffee table. Hardly a spot to breathe without being seen, let alone hide.

Two. The second floor was essentially just balconies overlooking the main floor, glass banisters offering o shield of protection. At least the doorways jutted into the walls, offering a foot - actually, about a foot and a half - where someone could duck for cover.

Three. Your glances were bordering on obvious now, so you only allowed yourself a quick peek. The doorways weren’t jutting inside the wall, so that motion was out. Instead, each corner had a large, obnoxious fern, as far as you could see.

The fourth floor came and passed without a glance, because suddenly you were preoccupied by a tug at your belt.

“Is this a chain?” Tayeong scoffed slightly, giving it just enough of a tug to make you tumble into his side slightly.

“I-Uh, yes. I thought it looked... cool.” You said, blushing harshly. Against your better judgment, you snatched it out of his grasp, placing and smoothing it back against your hip softly.

“Cool?” Tayeong hummed, stepping forward when the elevator halted and doors slid open. “You know, chains have better uses than some stupid accessory.”

Your throat burned at his flippant reply, the metal now burning into your hip. No fun accessories. Noted.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You hummed sweetly, following his footsteps and imagining kicking out his knees every step of the way.

Finally (or, judging by the sick swimming of your gut, regretfully), he reached the door to his office, tugging the ring of keys out of his pocket quickly. Flicking aside the first four, he settled on the fifth et again, only confirming your key theory. Hell, at least the pride of being right about that could somewhat mask what you were about to do.

“After you, pet.” Tayeong said with a cheshire grin, gesturing for you to lead the way into his dark lair. It was like a den - a cold, damp, slimy den you would only crawl into to die.

But still, you nodded with a slight smile, following his extended hand and heading into the darkness. He was quick to flip the switch, shrouding the room in dim, yellow light. The smell of must and mildew still clung to the place like a vice, but at least this time it was less dusty.

You noticed how his desk had been cleared of paper, making your stomach drop like a rock. He had prepared for something - or someone - to be put on top of that desk.

“I have a gift for you, darling. I never back down on my promises.” Tayeong hummed, giving you a meek smile as he waltzed around you, his thick silver watch shining under the dim light.

“A gift? God, I couldn’t possibly...” You started, but your throat stopped working when you saw what he pulled out of his top desk drawer. It sealed off completely, if you were honest.

The velvet box oozed expensive, emblazoned with a golden label of some jewelry manufacturer you couldn’t even place. The language was unfamiliar to you, cursive swirls and enticing calligraphy, making you step closer out of curiosity. It was like the box was the only intriguing object in the room.

“It’s a Juste Un Clou.” Tayeong hummed, grin growing when he saw your intrigued gaze. “Something as beautiful as you deserves necklaces equally as exquisite, don’t you think?”

Slowly, his nimble fingers pried the lid of the velvet box open, revealing a simple, but ludicrously ornate necklace. The silver chain dipped down to support a simple nail, curved into a semi-circle, encrusted with diamonds. They flashed and shone in the light, projecting rainbows over the box. this necklace as made for royalty, for the pompadour and elegant. Not for you, who's hands were trained to be stained with blood, and could barely remember to shower every other day.

“God, Tayeong...” You said, your voice a hushed whisper. Slowly, your fingers traced along the box. It should have been nice. Score, you just finessed a luxury necklace! Somehow, though, it just made you want to quiver, run away and hide. Now, this was all so real, you being branded with something he bought for you like you were his property.

“Get up and come around here, I want to see it on.” Tayeong said quickly, cocking his head as a gesture for you to head around the desk quickly.

Your legs were weak. Weak and unfeeling, but numbly you followed his direction until his hand forced you onto his lap, your thighs on either side of his.

“Here you are, precious.” He hummed, clasping it around your neck slowly, your eyes trained on his face. There was no softness there, no warmth. He was carved from stone, you were slowly realizing, and like he was Medusa, you were turning to stone under him, too.

Fear and guilt plagued your insides, rendering you a shell as he finished attaching the necklace to your throat. Your hands rested on his chest carefully, lightly, like you were scared touching him would cause his shards to pierce your palms. Maybe you were convinced they would.

“Do you like it?” Tayeong asked, leaning back to give you a sinister smirk, like he was just begging you to say no, reap the consequences. You couldn't have done that even if it wasn't your job to please him. Something about his gaze made you want to crack underneath him instead.

“O-Of course, I love it, Tayeong.” You said, a weak smile taking over your lips as they fight to not spew a choked gasp. Instead, your hands touched the diamond accessory carefully, like if you brushed it too harshly it would shatter.

“Good. You know what this present means now, right?” He hummed, brushing a strand of hair out of your face slowly, carefully, like you were an aged painting. The way he handled you suggested you were some historical piece, something to be appreciated, but ultimately left to rot. An object for his pleasure.

“No.” You hummed carefully, hand falling slack back onto his chest. You didn’t want to know the answer.

But you didn’t have a choice but to hear it.

It’s like you were watching a movie, and suddenly, the sound shut off. Suddenly, Tayeong’s hand was around a throat that was not yours, even though you could feel his digits winding into the column of your neck. His breath was cold as it scraped your skin, but you couldn’t really feel it. You couldn’t feel anything anymore.

“You’re mine. Only mine, got it?” Tayeong hissed in your ear. Maybe in his twisted head, he thought it was attractive, to stake claim over you like that. “You belong to me.”

Words failed you as his hand tightened it’s hold on your neck, making you see stars. Where were you looking? Your vision was unfocused, blurry until you blinked a few times, and... God, when did Tayeong grasp hold of your jaw?

He was saying something, you could tell that much from the movement of his lips. It took a second though, for his words to register in your head.

“Say it.”

“I-I’m yours, Tayeong.” You finally managed to force out, and luckily, it sounded convincing, even to you.

Grinning maniacally, he gave your jaw a firm shake, his eyes lit up in fierce pride. “Good girl. Now lean over my lap, quickly.”

Fuck. Fuck, you didn’t want to lean over his lap like some common whore! You didn’t want this at all, any of this. You wanted to go home, curl up under your covers. You wanted someone to hold you and comfort you because lately, you had been more alone than you had felt since you had since you’d slipped into the night, and away form everything you knew all those years ago.

But you followed his direction, standing and shuffling until you could drape yourself over his smooth knees, their slim bones pushing harshly into your stomach. This certainly didn’t help the vomity-feeling in the back of your throat.

From here with your gaze only on the floor, you allowed your eyes to slip closed. For a second, just a second, you let yourself slip out of this situation. It was the only way you could keep yourself from passing out. Instead, you pretended you were on a beach, all white sand and blue-ass water. God, how is the water so blue?

Until Tayeong began fiddling with your hip, the clanking of metal making your eyes flash open.

“Chains have better uses than accessories, doll. Such as sex toys, for instance.” Tayeong said carefully, and sure enough, alongside the feeling of his hand slowly ghosting over your ass underneath this skirt, you could feel the cool metal chain links also brushing along your curves.

He wouldn’t spank you with a chain. He isn’t that sadistic - is he?

“Hmm, such a delectable ass like this should be painted pink, don’t you think?” Tayeong hummed, his voice making your fantasy of white beaches slip away entirely. “This chain would do a fantastic job at that, wouldn’t it?”

A whimper escaped your throat, fingers tracing the wooden floor beginning to quake. “P-Please don’t.”

“Oh, I love your voice when you whimper like that, darling.”

The drag of the chain links on your ass rose higher and higher alongside is hand, until you could feel your skirt being pulled over the bare of your ass. Thankfully, your fishnets were still on. It made you feel just slightly less naked against him.

“Such stockings are only worn by prostitutes, doll. Would you like me to take them off for you?”

God, you could hear the growl in his tone, the sick tones mixing with the sound of the chain which he was twisting in his hand, you could only assume. No, don’t take them off. Leave them on, get your hands off of me, and go fuck yourself.

“P-Please.”

Gritting your teeth, you fight to not scramble away when you felt his hands linking through the linked holes of your tights, pulling them slowly down your body. The scrape of the material was enough to make your hands fall limp out of their fists, physically, emotionally and spiritually giving up this fight. There was nothing you could do. You were powerless against him.

You could feel the material bunching around your knees, but he didn’t bother pulling them off completely. Good, he must want this to be fast.

“God, you’re sucking sexy.” He growled, and his hand was quick to smack your ass harshly. It stung, the spank echoing through his dingy office and ricocheting back into your own ears at what seemed double the volume, making you wince even more.

Tayeong seemed to take that as a sign to continue, when he delivered a bruise-inducing slap to your bare flesh. This time, it made a broken cry fall from your lips, eyes screwing shut to prevent the tears from falling out of them.

The assault continued, a flurry of smattering whacks and spanks that were enough to make a few stray drops leak around your eyes, biting your lip raw and red to stop from screaming. Over and over until you lost count, dizzyingly fast and rough, until you were sure your ass was glowing red and hot as a coal.

“Fuck, okay, get off me and lean over the desk.” Tayeong grunted, giving you a slight shove as a sign that it was time to move. You felt like a fucking play thing, a sex doll come to life, the way he was whipping and moulding you to his own desires.

But still, sniffling slightly, you allowed yourself to slip off his knees and sway onto your feet. Laying on him like you had for so long caused a dizzying rush to your head, specks flooding your vision.

“Go, I don’t have all day.” Tayeong grunted, working on his belt and giving you a slight kick towards his desk with his foot.

When his foot connected with your leg, you allowed yourself to step away just before it would have made contact, the stockings around your knees limiting your motion slightly. With the motion, the back of your thigh brushed the wood of his desk.

His cleared desk.

Turning to glance at it, you gulped to stop yourself from screaming. Stop yourself from punching something, stomping your feet and bolting in the opposite direction. Even if you had tried, Tayeong would probably kill you for it.

So, slowly, you laid down until your chest was flush with the wood, until your eyes could see every nick and scrape on it’s surface. You just settled your cheek on it, staring into the abyss blankly, not focused on anything, yet somehow hyperfocoused on everything. The chills running rough your body, how your lungs were tremoring like you were sobbing when you couldn’t even muster that. The feeling of something brushing your thigh, and you shouldn't be surprised that it was barely lukewarm.

“Ready, darling? Can you handle this?” Tayeong grunted, rubbing his head against the outside of your panties which were certainly on display through this position.

Breathing was hard now. In, out. In, out.

“Yes.”

At your word, broken as it may be, Tayeong didn’t hesitate. Instead, he used the opportunity to push your panties aside, and thrust inside you harshly.

Something was roaring inside your ear, a tiny roaring, and at this point, you’re so sick with fear that you can do nothing but listen to it. It distracted you, at least, from the feeling on him thrusting inside you. The desktop was clammy and very cold beneath your cheek but you’re too weak to lift your head. Even if you had tried, you’re sure you would have failed anyway. You imagined beginning to scream like you wanted to, into the roaring. To cry out, cry for help or some escape, such a sick fantasy now. Too soon, your breath started jerking back and forth in your lungs as if it were something Tayeong was stabbing you with, again and again with no tenderness. A noisy, gravelly moan rose from Tayeong’s throat, but you wanted to block it out. Locked it inside a box and throw it away, like it would somehow get rid of Tayeong, too. It wouldn’t.

Now, you were thinking maybe nothing would.

You played the part well. Panted moans and whimpers, eyes screwed shut. To him, it probably looked like you were trying hard to contain yourself, but in reality you were trying not to burst at the seams.

You couldn’t pretend any more, however, when you felt something cool and smooth slip around your neck alongside Tayeong’s necklace.

“Ah, Tay-” You began, eyes flying wide, but your chain tightened around your neck, cutting off your next words harshly.

“I told you this chain had better uses.” Tayeong hissed in your ear, pulling it hard enough hat your back arched to meet him. From here, you could barely breathe at all, the chain so tight you were sure it was going to leave a mark.

“Ah, ugh!” You managed to cough out when he slammed into you again, your vision slowly tainting black around the edges. It was painful, like your chest was burning heat and about to burst, but you couldn’t do anything. Your hands scrambled to find purchase of your neck, but once they did, the metal was so tight you couldn’t even slip your fingers underneath to tear it off.

“Close, so close...” Tayeong mumbled behind you, his thrusts growing sloppy and weaker by the second, but you were starting to lose sensations completely. In fact, it felt like you were losing your grip of reality overall, your vision going darker and darker by the second. Even the feeling of the desk below you was slowly slipping from your senses, like you were floating away. God, how nice would that be right now?

But you felt just enough to register Tayeong pulling out of you, and the slick sound of him jerking himself to completion onto the back of your thighs. You could feel it land on you, but didn’t even mind because that feeling finally, finally signalled the release of the chain around your neck.

As soon as his grip loosened, you collapsed onto the desktop with a harsh thud, lungs and throat expanding to take in as much sweet, sweet oxygen as possible. It was cold and crisp, making your head swim with it’s taste, which you had all but forgotten in the seeming hours it had felt like you were without it.

You leant your head into the wooden desk harshly, panting roughly, as though Tayeong would begin suffocating you again in just a moment. It felt like he would, because you had seen him snap and become a killer in just an instant before. Who’s to say he was feeling any different now?

But, his voice cut off your thoughts before they could run away.

“Clean yourself and find a cab to take you home. I’ll call next time I’m in need of you.” He huffed, and you could hear him tucking himself back into his pants, the jostling of his belt as he latched it back up.

You never thought the sound of a belt being done up would give you so much joy.

Eyes fluttering shut, you just managed a weak not, still puffing slightly as you listened to his footsteps. Too slow for your liking but still at a stiff pace, you could hear him, going, going... and with the slam of his door, gone.

And only after you cracked your eyes to ensure you were alone, did you let out a shuddering sob.

What the hell had just happened? You thought as you managed to weakly push yourself up until you were just leaning on his desk, stockings slipping slightly further down your legs.

That was it. The hurdle you had been so afraid to jump, the mountain you weren’t sure you could climb. You had done it. But now, you felt like he had taken a piece of your sanity, like this was a story you would have to suffer in silence, all wrapped up in a bow within your memory box. Only for your nightmares and deepest, sleepless nights. Like this was something you would never be able to discuss, and would take to your grave.

The thought of that, stewing on the past hour of your life for the rest of your existence, made your stomach give a churn that was just slightly too harsh.

Clapping a hand over your mouth, your eyes widened, feeling the familiar rush of bile of the back of your throat. Oh no. Too much thinking.

Scrambling, you threw open Tayeong’s desk drawers harshly, looking for something to wipe his cum off the back of your thighs. First one, dead end. Second one was nearly bare apart from a couple boxes of bullets and a small bag of white powder, which didn’t surprise you. The bottom drawer, however, you got lucky. Tossed inside seemed to be his set of backup items - a small jar of what you assumes was hair gel, a few half-chewed packs of gum, and a small square of tissues that had already been opened.

Movements shaky as you tried your best to repress the vomit from climbing your throat, you snatched the pack and shook out a single tissue, wiping yourself clean haphazardly. You were trembling harshly, the bitter, vile sting burning higher and higher until finally, tossing the napkin aside and tugging up your tights haphazardly, you scrambled to a small trash can beside his desk and coughed out the contents of your stomach.

Why was it after visits with Tayeong, you were always left retching? You thought as another shuddering wave overtook you, spluttering into the trash, which was full enough as it is. You’d have to take it out anyway, to cover your tracks. Guess you were going to be doing him a favour.

Finally, the rumbling of your gut quelled, until you felt good enough to wipe your teary eyes slightly. The force of your gagging was enough to make a few tears slip across your cheeks, certainly smudging your makeup, but you didn’t care. There was no one left to impress here.

Slowly, you straightened, running a hand through your hair to keep it out of your face. With one final spat, you called it. It was fucking time to get the hell out of here.

Grabbing the trash bag carefully and avoiding any stray splats of puke that had almost missed, you heaved it out of the bin and tied it off quickly. Your throat was sore - it was definitely going to brush, you thought as you tugged your turtleneck up higher to conceal any marks. Giving your stockings one final shimmy upwards, reminding yourself to destroy them somehow once you got home, you made your way to the door and twisted it open.

Making your way down the hallway, it was a relief to find the rest of the building blissfully empty. The dragging sound of the trash bag was your only company as you punched the call button for the elevator, struggling to blink any residual redness from your eyes. It still felt like you were about to collapse. Maybe on some subconscious level, you were. Your sanity certainly had. Your support system had too, leaving you crashing completely alone.

But, maybe not.

So when you went into the elevator, you fished your phone out of where you had hidden it in the cup of your bra. You would call him, but you had enough. He clearly was too busy, or perhaps too scared to answer your call. Maybe he was happy the two of you had been forcefully disassociated from each other. Either way, no use embarrassing yourself any more.

Instead, swiping it open, within a few punches you could hear the other end ringing. It only took a few shrill cycles before Baekhyun answered.

“It’s Baek.” He hummed quickly, shuffling slightly on the other end. Before you could even get in another word, you heard a dull thump, followed by the hissing of death between teeth. “Ah, fuck off Mark!”

“Figured your stomach could match your face.” You heard Mark snark, making you scoff as you punched the ground floor.

“I-I’m done, can you take me home?” You hummed slightly, lurching when the elevator began creaking downwards.

“I - ah! Fuck off!” He spat, and you could hear Mark’s laugh rattle through the receiver. “I-I can’t but just go outside, someone will be waiting for you.” Baekhyun grumbled, making you furrow your brow.

“What do you mean? I’m not getting in the car with some stranger, come on Baek, I want to go home.” You allowed yourself to whine, slipping your eyes shut. You deserved to whine a bit, after the day you’d had.

“It’s not a fucking stranger, just - fuck sakes - just go outside. Trust me on this one. I have to go. Mark, I swear to God - ”

The call disconnected with a dull dead tone, making you scoff as you looked down at the contact. Call disconnected. Fucking awesome. That’s the cherry on top of the fucking day you’d had.

“Fuck you, Byun Baek.” You spat into the empty elevator, scuffing the heel of your boot against the floor roughly. Fuck sakes. If there was someone to get you, it was almost definitely someone who wanted you back at headquarters, for whatever reason. That’s probably the last place you wanted to be right now. Now, unless you were in the range with Sehun or training with Yixing, it just felt bitterly alone.

Eventually, the elevator ground to a halt, the bell letting out a shrill ding before the doors slid open slowly, squeaking the whole way. For as sophisticated as Tayeong likes to appear in front of others, this place sure was falling apart.

Blowing a stray strand of hair from your face, you picked up the trash bag, knowing the dragging sound would certainly ricochet around the whole building from the main floor. Instead, your forearms burned as you carefully and soundlessly slipped around the corner, balancing the trash bag in your grip until you finally burst out the front door.

Thank God nobody saw you taking the trash out, as it definitely would have raised a few questions. Now that you were back out on the street, still stained with it’s signature odour and lined with litter, you allowed yourself to simply toss it against the side of the building roughly. Trash collectors would find it... eventually.

With the dead weight off you, you shook out your arms, huffing harshly. God, you could use a bath. A toothbrush would be nice too, you thought as you licked your teeth slightly. The taste of vomit had faded away by now, but just knowing you had puked at all made you want to rinse your mouth with drain cleaner.

But you didn’t even get the chance to dream about getting scrubbed clean before a horn honking made you jolt.

Whipping around, your eyes searched the sidewalk, suddenly remembering the secretive ride Baekhyun had promised you. Who the hell could it be, anyway?

But before you could think of an answer, your eyes zeroed in on a familiar beat up Camaro parked across the street.

You huffed a sigh of relief, your feet immediately carrying you over to the car, heart thundering. Darting across the street, you didn't hesitate before tossing the passenger side door open.

“God, Jongdae, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.” You sighed, slipping onto the worn seat and resting your head against the headrest. “This is Neoculture territory, should you even be here?”

Jongdae scoffed from beside you, and you felt him lurch the car into drive. “Yeah, it’s been a while, eh? And someone called in a favour. A few favours, actually.”

The squeal of tires was enough signalled that you were finally driving away - or flying away, to be more precise. The acceleration had you pressing into the seat, your eyes flying open on instinct as the car quickly climbed in speed. Sixty, seventy, eighty kilometres per hour and still somehow climbing, until Jongdae slammed on the brakes at the next set of lights.

Your hand flew to the handle above the door on instinct, eyes wide. It must have looked ridiculous, prompting Jongdae to laugh, shaking his head at you. “What are you, some kind of pussy?”

Scoffing, you rolled your eyes. “Come on, you know you drive like a maniac.” You hummed, making him give a cat like, curled smile.

“Well true, but come on, you don’t need to hold the holy shit handle! Now I’m just insulted.”

Rolling your eyes but still smirking slightly, you dropped the handle and instead crossed your arm. “Fine, fine. What the hell did Baekhyun do for you anyway to call in a favour like this?”

Jongdae just hummed, glancing in his rearview periodically and flicking his hair out of his eyes. “Baekhyun didn’t call in the favour, but I would have done it for him, too. Nice guy, that one. Smart.”

Glossing over his praise of Baekhyun, you instead furrowed your brow. If Baekhyun hadn’t asked him to bring you back to headquarters, then who had? Jesus, maybe you were in trouble, again. If you got fired after the torture you had just endured, you would probably kick every male at Exodus in the balls. Twice.

“Well then who was it?” You asked, watching him rapidly approach the red light where a left turn would take you straight to Exodus. This route was familiar to you by now, but instead, your confusion only grew when he maneuvered the Camaro into the right-turn lane.

“I’m taking you to him now, don’t worry.” Jongdae hummed, looking in his side mirror at the car that pulled up behind him. “Won’t be long.”

“What the fuck, Jongdae, who is it?” You contend pushing, holding on tight as he sent the car into a peeling right turn as soon as the light changed hue.

Sending the speedometer soaring once again, he just turned to give you a slight look. From the way his hands were tight on the wheel, the rigidness in his posture, you knew it couldn't be good. Fuck. Now, your stomach began twisting again.

“Fuck off Jongdae, I’ve had a long enough day as is, if I’m going to get fucking fired -”

“You’re not getting fired.” Jongdae shut you up with a shake of his head. Well, thank God. At least that released the iron clamp on your lungs, making you sigh in relief.

Until he added, “I hope.”

Eyes widening, you whipped your head to face him again, hoping to find some sort of smirk of a hint of a laugh, something to make what he said turn into a joke. But there was none.

Fuck. Now that you paid attention, this was the higher class area of the city, the cars growing more sleek and buildings taller, new glass and clean sidewalks. To live here, someone must make a lot of money.

Someone like a leader of a prolific mafia gang, perhaps?

If he was taking you Junmeyon, outside the office, you just might collapse. This job was not only what you thought you were made for, but it was now all you had left. If you were fired, especially after you had already given up so much for it, you just might die. Combust. Tear apart at the seams. Just how many bad things could happen in one day?

“Fuck sakes, Jongdae.” You muttered under your breath, shaking your head and chewing on your lips harshly. Now, you took the opportunity to flip down the overhead mirror above you, glancing quickly at your reflection. Fuck, you looked like a mess, concealer creased with tears and small tendrils of mascara creeping across your skin. Wiping it haphazardly, you scoffed at your own reflection. Well, if there was any way you would go, of course with your luck, you’d look like a mess while it happened.

Eventually, after another ten or so minutes of driving, Jongdae pulled to the curb wordlessly, slipping his precious car into park.

“Thanks.” You said deadpan, because you were sure as hell in about fifteen minutes you’d most certainly not be thankful.

Popping the door open, you were ready to slip outside and back into the brisk, freezing air, but Jongdae’s voice stopped you before you could.

“Hold on, you’ll need this.” He hummed, quickly reaching to dig into his pocket. Scrummaging around slightly, eventually, he pulled out a small, silver key.

Smirking, he held it out to you. “You’ll need it for the elevator. Twenty-first floor, twist the key then press the button, you can’t take it out until you’re on the floor.” He hummed, pressing it into your palm. Giving you another half-smile, he cocked his head. “And by the way, you won’t get fired. As long as this doesn’t slip, but I won’t tell anyone.”

Huffing at his cryptic words, you accepted the key with a nod. “Alright, thanks.” You offered again, before finally slipping out the door. Who even cared anymore. You were numb, like a roaring fire inside you had been doused in water.

Junmeyon would only call you here to let you down easy. Looking up at his sleek building, it was clear to see why. In luxury like this, it would be hard to be that upset here, with it’s sparkling glass windows and doorman waiting to graciously open the door for you. Jongdae was sweet, trying to ease your pain, but by now, you had no pain left to ease. You were about to lose anything. You weren’t sure if you would be able feel anything again, really.

Today had drained your soul like a leaky faucet.

The inside was just as slick as the outside, with it’s marble floors and spacious seating area. Jesus, for an apartment complex, this was still really impressive. Especially for someone as young as Junmeyon, to be able to afford this was a small miracle, although you supposed being CEO had it’s perks.

Pressing the call button for the elevator, you only waited a second before it arrived on your floor with a soft ding! The doors slid open soundlessly, the walls inside lined with mirrors and the floor also immaculate white marble. It put the elevator at Neoculture to shame.

Carefully, palming the key in your hand, you followed Jongdae’s instructions. Key in, twist. Once you did, the previously dim lights at the top of the motherboard lit up - the highest floors were only accessible by key. So, you quickly pressed the twenty first. Not the top floor, but beggars can’t be choosers, especially when you were about to be fired. But would it bee too much to be fired in a penthouse?

Swiftly, the elevator began rapidly flying up the stories, but so smooth you could barley tell you were in motion. The only indication was the LED numbers displaying the floor numbers - seven, eight, nine ten eleven twelve in rapid succession. Fuck. The least you could have hoped for would be a nice, lazy elevator ride to calm your nerves. On the other hand, that would also mean staring at your mussed reflection in these mirrors longer. Hmm. Maybe the fast elevator was a good option after all.

Eventually, the elevator began slowing down, until it stopped completely. The glowing numbers confirmed it - twenty-first floor. The doors, however, refused to slide open until you removed the key from the motherboard, almost like you were unlocking a front door.

Although, technically, that is what you were doing.

Where you had expected a hallway, the doors instead slid open into an entranceway, with a coatrack and various shoes tossed lazily onto the floor. There was a mussed entrance mat, sitting haphazardly, but that was it in terms of decoration - for this area at least.

But you could see a doorway to the right, leading to the rest of Junmeyon’s apartment, surely. Cautiously, you stepped out, the carpet dulling the sound from the heels of your boots until you slipped them off completely.

Following into the doorway, you carefully took in the room you had entered - the kitchen, by the looks of it. It was immaculate, however, looking like it had barley even been touched - except for the fact that the fridge was ajar. Light spilled from it, revealing the contents to you - multiple boxes of take-out. You crinkled your nose. Huh, you didn’t peg Junmeyon to like Italian food.

Other than the open fridge, however, there was only one thing that tipped you off that this was someone home and not an open-house. A small fishbowl, jar of what you could only assume was fish food beside it. You could just see the glints of the overhead light reflecting off the fish itself, swimming lazy circles around and around the bowl.

And somehow, you didn’t need to think before you knew it’s name; Seju.

His voice caught you before you had a chance to even look for him, as you caught a glimpse of him stumbling around the corner.

“Fuck Jongdae, what took so long? Did you get more - ” He grumbled, before he finally looked up, locking eyes with you.

How did Chanyeol manage to look so good even in a mussed, oversized tee shirt and sweats? How was he so fucking endearing even when he was staring at you, dumbfounded by your presence just as much as you were for him. How was even the sight of him making your heart jump into your throat like a fucking frog?

The feeling hit you like a bullet, so violent but somehow the exact opposite. Like wrapping yourself in a blanket so intensely that the comfort consumes you, the most satisfying and gratifying thing you’ve ever experienced. When his jaw fell slack slightly, eyes turning wide, it pulled the feeling out of you like the remains of a gunshot. It wasn't a choice or a decision; it was a fact. He gave you some sort of comfort you had never felt like this before, so thick and so much you couldn't help but choke slightly on it.

It was all consuming and powerful, so much so you didn’t even hear yourself drop his key to the floor before you were running into his arms, which he opened to you readily.

Clutching you tight, one hand on the small of your back and the other tangling in your hair, he hugged you so tightly you couldn’t help but sigh into it, eyes fluttering shut.

“Chanyeol.” You breathed, taking in the feeling of him, his cologne, everything.

He hummed against the crown of your head, straightening until you were strained onto your tiptoes to still be wrapped in his arms. It reverberated into your chest, your soul, making you fight to hold back a broken sigh. Who knew the smell of cedar could make you relax so much?

Finally, he spoke. “What are you doing here?” He hummed, pulling off to look you in the eye. His hands came up to cup your jaw, looking at your tear stains and surely mussed hair. His gaze traced you like you were going to disappear before his very eyes, some fever dream he couldn’t control. Like he was memorizing your features carefully, so he could run over them in his head even when you were gone.

“I-I don’t know, Jongdae brought me here.” You huffed, shaking your head slightly in his large grasp. “He picked me up, said he was calling in a favour.”

Scoffing, Chanyeol rolled his eyes, breaking off his study of your features to instead roll his eyes at the ceiling. “Jongdae...” He growled, surely thinking of the repercussions this could have as his hands slipped down and onto your hips. Hell, a threat from Kyungsoo was no empty one. “God, the one time I ask him to get more beer...”

Furrowing your brow, your hands released his hips to instead cup his own hold on your waist. “More beer? What?”

Chanyeol let out a hiss once your fingers scraped his knuckle, lurching slightly n your grasp. “Fuck, careful.” He whimpered, tugging his right hand from your grasp gingerly. “It’s still sore.”

You glanced down at it, eyes widening it’s it’s blackened knuckles and swollen surface. Hell, it almost looked worse off than Baekhyun. Which suddenly reminded you...

“Yeah, Baekhyun’s face doesn’t look much better, you fucking idiot!” You quipped, giving his shoulder a firm thwack. “What were you thinking?!”

Chanyeol batted your hand away with a grunt, rolling his eyes at you slightly. “I wasn’t! I just saw him, and you and I just... snapped!” He hummed, shaking his head slightly at the mention of you. It just made a small smile slip onto your lips tough, the way his oversized ears are slightly red, and God, how the hell did you forget just how big his ears were?

Fuck, it had only been a few days but already you had forgotten just how broad his shoulders were, how he loomed over you, the way his tattoo wrapped around his forearm. His scent, his image, the rumble of his voice, him. It was like having him back was making everything you had missed come back at hyper speed, and suddenly every feeling you had towards him was amplified even more than when you realized you liked him in the first place.

So you took him back into your arms, leaning onto your tiptoes and burying your face so far in his neck you could almost forget everything that had lead up to this moment. You felt him tuck his own head into the crook of your shoulder, feel the brush of his stubble against your skin, making you sigh slightly.

“I missed you, Yeol.”

He hummed at that, and you could feel his cheek tilt into a slight smile against your skin. Finally, he whispered into your neck.

“I missed you too. A lot, actually.”

You smiled slightly, flushing. “You did?”

Chanyeol scoffed against you. “Of course I did.”

You hummed into his admittance, heart fluttering slightly in your chest, any shards or spines you had evolved melting away with him. Something about him calmed your storm, quelled your typical fiery attacks, made your hurricane the exact opposite. He could take your usual steely exterior and toss it aside somehow, just by existing. He didn’t bring out your worst or your best (something you weren’t sure even existed). Instead, he just brought out the most, the raw, unfiltered taps of you you hadn’t shown anyone before, but he cradled it in the palm of his hands. Remarkably rare, addictive. He make you feel so alive that you think you’d probably follow him straight into Hell, just to get your fix on his drug.

Slowly though, he pulled himself from your grasp. You were going to whine, pry to keep him close for as long as possible, but once he kissed you, somehow you realized that this was an impossibly better alternative.

God, if you missed one thing more than the rest, it was the feeling of him as he gingerly pressed against you, opening his mouth to swipe his tongue against your lips. Flutteringly light, but there enough that you accepted, opening your mouth to him and letting the taste of him flood your senses. It was slow and sweet, impossibly soft and careful, just cradling each other in one another’s grasp. Hs hand slowly wound in your hair, beginning to press more insistently against you, and you could taste the stout sweetness of beer on his tongue.

Carefully, you broke it off, leaning your forehead against his as he whined. “Have you been drinking?” You asked, sighing sweetly through your nose.

Chanyeol grumbled, fighting to press his lips against you again, whines growing on volume when you pulled away yet again. “Hmph. Might be a little tipsy, yeah.”

Tutting, you rolled your eyes. “And you sent poor Jongdae to get more beer? There’s better forms of pain management than alcohol, dumbass.” You teased, smiling slightly when you allowed yourself the pleasure of sneaking another chaste kiss against his lips.

He hummed into it, grinning slightly, until you felt it slip off of his lips. “Wait, you said Jongdae dropped you off? Where did he get you from in the first place?”

Oh. That. Suddenly, everything from this afternoon crashed back onto you, making your eyes screw shut and lips twist to prevent yourself from whimpering. Now that you were reminded, it all came back in flashes; fishnet stockings, gasping for air. This necklace, still draped around your neck. Chains around belt loops, around necks. Bruises, spanks and biting your lip to keep from screaming.

You’re mine. Say it.

You shook your head, breathing turning shaky. Just the memory of his piercing gaze made you shudder, hands beginning to tremble against Chanyeol’s chest.

Chanyeol. Chanyeol was here. That’s what mattered.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Chanyeol offered, his hands slowly coming up to rub your arms in an attempt to comfort you. He was here, that’s what mattered. You wouldn’t need to suffer alone anymore, you wouldn’t need to hide this away and take it to your grave.

At least you have me you can talk to. You have me, okay? Chanyeol’s previous words echoed in your head, making you stammer, trying to force them out. That you’d done it. Your job was a success, you slept with him, he trusted you enough to buy you elaborate gifts and take you to bed - or, rather, desk.

But they just... wouldn’t. Not until you were trying so hard, reliving the memory so intensely that instead, a sob escaped you.

“I-I...” You began, whimpering into the words, eyes opening wide to take in Chanyeol’s, watching you equally as wide.

But you didn’t have to say anything before his expression changed.

You weren’t sure what to expect. Anger, disappointment? Like Tayeong had taken something he wanted, like he had lost in some weird, twisted game? As though the stupid desperation games was between him and Tayeong rather the two of you. What you didn’t expect, though, was for him to wipe your tear with the pad of his thumb softly, eyes turning equally as soft.

“Shh, okay. I understand.” He hummed, sighing slightly as the tears kept coming and coming, too quick for his fingers to even wipe away. “I know, but you’re here now, okay? I’ll take care of you, baby.”

Sniffling at his words, you managed a weak nod. Hell, didn’t he realize that just by existing, he helped you more than you thought possible? “O-Okay.”

“Okay.” He sighed, brushing your hair out of your face slowly. “Do you want to shower, or bath?”

Shower. Warm steam, enveloping you, racing down your back and warming your limbs. Bath. Silky water soaking your body, sweet smelling and relaxing your tense muscles. Slick and deep, covering you so completely if you closed your eyes, it could feel like you were swimming away from everything.

That decided it. “Bath, please.” You hummed, finally opening your eyes again to take in Chanyeol’s sad half-smirk.

Flicking his mop of dark hair quickly out of his eyes, he nodded. “Okay. Come on.”

Slowly, he lead the way with a loose hold on your hand, past the kitchen and Seju, still swimming around in his bowl. Now you took a second realize off the living room was the kitchen, coffee talbe littered with beer cans that made your head hurt at even the thought of drinking.

Eventually, he lead you to a closed door, which he twisted open with his good hand. Dark tile and white porcelain utilities, it too was also relatively empty, apart from the bottles you could see in his shower and overflowing trash can. You didn’t mind though, when you saw the large tub in the corner. It was big enough you probably could swim around in it if you wanted, but also probably wouldn’t. Instead you fancied the idea of just floating around, floating away.

Releasing your hand, he bent down to twist on the taps, giving you deja-vu to the last time he had run you a bath like this, last time you had broken in front of him. Just like last time, he was proving he was even more caring than he appeared - which, to be fair, wasn’t much. But still. It was fitting, though, how he was able to make even the little things like running a bath seem big. Such a big man should have an equally big heart.

Grabbing a spare bottle from the edge of the tub, he glanced at the label before turning and giving you a sheepish smile. “It’s body wash, but it’ll have to do.” He said, before flipping it upside down and letting the cedar-scented suds begin spinning in the water, growing by the second.

He went to fiddle with the knobs again, turning his back to you slowly. “Go ahead and get undressed, I won’t peek.”

You scoffed at his words, shaking your head with a weak grin. “It’s nothing you haven’t seen before. If I recall, first time we slept together you made a point to watch me strip.”

Chanyeol scoffed at that, and you watched as the tips of his ears flushed a bright red. Spluttering, he said, “Well, yeah! But that’s cause I was being an asshole then.”

“Uh-huh.” You hummed, rolling your eyes as you began slipping off your skirt. It feel to the floor with a soft flop around your ankles, which you kicked away quickly. Next, you shimmied down your panties and stockings in one go, making sure to kick both of those extra far away. You had to put them through a wood chipper or something. Make sure they would be nothing but a memory, because even looking at them was making you feel sick all over again.

You unclasped the stupid necklace weakly, casting it onto the countertop to your right. It bounced slightly diamonds reflecting the light in rainbow prisms. You would have thought it was pretty before. Now, it could be the most gaudy thing you’ve ever seen.

Finally, you slipped off your turtleneck, and you felt it before you had the courage to look. Even the loss of pressure from your shirt against it made a difference, the cool air soothing the welt you were sure was there. There was a mirror behind you, you knew there was. You just didn’t want to see the damage... not yet.

So instead, you sighed weakly, unclasping your bra and slipping it off your shoulders. Casting it aside as well, you were finally bare, ready to slip into the tub, which was almost full enough, but not quite.

Still though, Chanyeol turned it off just slightly too soon, the water level slightly lower than you would have liked. What, was he expecting you to drown yourself?

Slowly he straightened, but didn’t turn to face you. “C-Can I turn around now?”

Rolling your eyes, you scoffed. “God, yes, Yeol, it’s nothing new.”

He chuckled slightly but turns nonetheless, his eyes settling on your feet before they trailed upwards. Every motion, every flush in his cheeks electrified you, your arms crossing slightly over your chest as a blush viciously rose in your own cheeks, still watching him carefully.

But once his eyes reached your neck, his brows furrowed. Slowly, you watched as his jaw began ticking lowly, gaze growing more and more sour, refusing to part from the area on your neck that you could feel throbbing under his gaze.

It was almost scary, how his chest began to rise and fall more rapidly and his good hand twitched into a soft fist, his jaw clenching. So, you asked, “How bad is it?”

Chanyeol didn’t say anything for a beat, making you even more scared at just what he would say. But he didn’t leave you waiting for long, instead stepping closer to you, his hand softening until he just barely brushed it against the skin of your throat, sending dull pain shooting across it.

“Get in, I’ll join you.” He hummed instead, leaning down to press a soft kiss against your forehead.

Was that worse than if he had said it was bad? Was he trying to comfort you before you even looked, by assuring you that he would join you in the tub, wouldn’t leave your side? Somehow, it made you more nervous now, prompting you to turn and glance at yourself in the mirror.

And what you saw made you gasp weakly, eyes going wide. Because if you had thought Baekhyun’s face was bad, his was pussy shit compared to your neck. Each link of the damn chain, each fierce tug against you was mapped in a ring of dark blueish black bruising around your neck, tendrils of red around the edges. It was like a galaxy of agony against your skin, harsh and stamped there for the whole world to see, impossible to hide. It was terrifying, to have the traumatizing memory stamped on your skin alongside in your head.

It was only the sound of Chanyeol gathering more bottles from the shower and tossing them onto the ledge of the tub that made you tear your eyes from the mirror.

Turning to give you a look, his eyes flickered between your neck and your face quickly. Fast, but still enough that you noticed it. Cocking his head towards the tub, he hummed. “Aren’t you going to get in?”

Weakly, you countered. “Aren’t you?”

Chanyeol managed a weak chuckle at that. “After you do, come on.” He hummed, waving you towards the water before he grabbed a bar of soap from the shower ledge.

Huffing, you stepped towards the tub. Hell, there was no use staring in the mirror any longer. It would just work you up again, make you hyperventilate. At least this time, you knew Chanyeol could talk you down if needed be.

Carefully you slipped your foot into the water, the warm soapiness of it already perfuming the air in the scent of Chanyeol, a scent you had always associated with his cologne, but maybe it was his body wash instead. Second foot in, you lowered yourself lower and lower, until up to your ribs was submerged.

Leaning back, it was clear that yes, this scent was the one Chanyeol had trademarked in your head. It was nice to be completely surrounded by him, especially when the man himself was currently stripping off to join you in the water. You could hear a soft thud on the floor, followed by a second, which you could only assume was his shirt and sweats, back to back. You didn’t look, as badly as you wanted to. He hadn’t for you, you were going to give him the same courtesy. Instead, you let your eyes rest shut, instead honing in on the feeling the water flowing around your limbs.

That is, until you felt Chanyeol brush against your shoulders.

“Scoot up, I’ll sit behind you.” He hummed lowly, making you smile slightly with a nod.

“Okay.” You said, slipping further up in the tub until he had enough room to step in behind you. One foot, second foot, and then you felt him lowering himself down, until his legs slipped alongside yours and your backside was pressed to his chest.

It was so easy with him, to do stuff like this and feel so at ease. Like sleeping with him in your bed, waking the next morning without even a twinge of awkwardness. As is arms gently wrapped around your waist, rubbing your skin softly as his lips started pressing slight, almost nonexistent fluttering kisses against your shoulder. You sighed into it, relishing in the feeling. Chanyeol’s arms finally felt like you were home again.

It was like the both of you knew what the other was thinking, what each wanted and how to fulfill that for them. It was nice, to coexist without much thought, but still somehow he made you feel a thousand times better than anyone else could. It was addictive.

Slowly, your fingers traced along his calves in the water, making him hum slightly from behind you. Without even looking, you could tell he would be smirking, not cockily, but cutely. How he managed to do it, you had no idea, but it worked.

“I’m turning on the handheld, I’ll get your hair wet.” Chaneyol grunted, reaching for a small, handheld nozzle he could use to get your hair soaked. Flicking a switch on the base, it quickly began spewing water, which you could hear as well as feel against your back.

Once it started soaking your hair, you let your eyes drift back shut, letting Chanyeol’s fingers detangle the knots that had worked their way into your strands through the day. Only seconds later, you head him pop a bottle, followed by a squirt of something onto the top of your head.

“What’re you doing?” You hummed, grinning slightly and cracking your eyes open as though it would help you see him. If only you had eyes on the back of your head.

“I’m washing your hair, shut up.” Chanyeol grumbled, embarrassed. It just made you laugh slightly, shaking your head.

“Cute.”

“I said shut up about it.” Chanyeol growled into your ear playfully, making you shrink away, still giggling to yourself.

He lathered it up and worked it into a large mass of bubbles, getting every inch of your hair captured before he rinsed it out with the handheld again. Another bottle was quickly squeezed onto the top of your head, of what you could only assume was conditioner, before he ran his fingers through your hair once again, coating every strand in the substance.

All the while, your fingers kept tracing imaginary patterns across his calves, his knees. You pretended not to notice, how you could feel him slowly bulging up against you, slowing your motions so he wouldn’t end up embarrassing himself with a hard-on.

But now that you had noticed it, it was impossible to ignore. Now you could only remember the last time the two of you had slept together what felt like so long ago, in the basement of Exodus, on those shabby beds. That night was worlds away from now, and you couldn't stop yourself from imagining if the sex would be different, too.

You felt like you shouldn't be imagining this, after the hell you had been through today. Shouldn’t you be avoiding sex at all costs? Your neck had just finished bruising up from earlier, but really, this afternoon was not sex to you. It was work, an absolutely horrible part of your job you prayed you would never have to repeat.

On the opposite, sex with Chanyeol was always pleasurable, like he was lighting every fuse and nerve in your body. That was before the two of you had even become close like this, too. Was would it be like now, you thought as your fingers began tracing over his knee under the water again, now that you had realized and accepted the fact that you really, really liked him?

The turning on of the handheld again made your train of thought halt, but certainly not die completely, as he began rinsing the conditioner from your hair. “Feel good?” He asked lowly, his fingers delicately shaking the remaining product loose until it flowed into the bathwater.

You hummed, tilting your head back to catch the spray around the edges of your forehead, neck aching with the motion. “Yeah, thank you.” You said softly, feeling the water flowing down your spine.

“You’re welcome.” Chanyeol hummed, ducking down to give your shoulder another quick, fleeting kiss quickly and making your skin erupt in fireworks. That was it, those little things that made you ignite and flush, your mind go blissfully blank yet somehow alight all at once.

So, you turned to glance at him over your shoulder. “Want me to return the favour?” You hummed innocently, even though you could feel the semi that was pressed against the base of your spine.

Chanyeol’s eyes widened slightly, but he was quick to nod. “Y-Yeah, sure.”

You grinned slightly as you slipped around in the water, using the edge of the tub to hoist yourself up until you slipped his legs between your own, straddling his thighs under the water. With his hands now free, he gripped your hips softly, cocking his head as he watched you sit atop him.

But you were quick to grab the handheld, flicking the switch until a spray of warm water came gushing out. Smirking softly down at him, you quickly and playfully sprayed him in the face, making him splutter.

“Whoops, my bad!” You feigned an apology, instead twisting the faucet until it was soaking the crown of his head instead of his face.

Using his good hand to wipe the water from his eyes, he was quick to give you a mocking, angry look. “And to think, I was such a good hairdresser.” Chanyeol scoffed, shaking his now wet hair just fast enough that the splatters hit your chest.

“Hey - ah!” You whined when Chanyeol snagged the handheld out of your grip, plugging it back into where it was supposed to sit on the ledge of the tub. “No fair, I was just getting started.”

Chanyeol rolled his eyes, using his good hand to brush a wet strand of hair from your face slowly. “What’s not fair is you spraying me when I was a model hairdresser. Seriously, I deserve a raise, and I’m not even being paid!” He hummed, smirking up at you slightly as his good hand settled on your jaw.

“If you think I’m going to pay you, you’re sorely mistaken.” You scoffed, hands coming to settle where the water met Chanyeol’s chest.

His eyes glimmered mischievously when he cocked his head, eyes studying yours. “I know a way you can repay me.” He hummed nonchalantly, as though you couldn’t feel the way his dick twitched with the words.

You just grinned right back, mimicking his motion. “Oh, really? And what would that be then?”

Instead of answering, instead he just raised his injured hand to cup your jaw on the opposite side as his good one, gaze flickering from your eyes to your lips slowly. “I think you know.” He hummed lowly, his gaze meeting yours once again and growing darker by the second.

You used a hand to grasp his wist lightly, smiling slightly. “Yeah, I think I might have an idea.”

Slowly, like you didn’t want to scare him off, you ducked down until you were just an inch away from his lips, giving yourself a second to study his features again from up close, memorizing him the way he had you. You wanted to memorize his features, see him fully, because Chanyeol was the boy that brought the sun to it’s knees every night. You were sure of it.

Finally, with a slight growl, he leaned up impatiently, capturing your lips in his own. You hadn't even realized how much you could miss his lips, but you did, missed how soft they felt when he moved them against you. Missed how they fit so perfectly between yours, how they would open and close lazily but somehow made all the thoughts in your mind wash away. Everything about Chanyeol made you hazy, made the rest of the world just slip through your fingers like grains of sand.

“Are you sure you... you know...” Chanyeol hummed against your lips, panting for breath slightly when the two of you separated.

Your eyes flickering open, you glanced down at him, where his gaze was trailed your neck. On your bruise from only earlier today. You didn’t want that, didn't want him to stare at your cracks and bumps like a broken china doll. Instead, your hands slipped up to his, still cupping your jaw softly, as you sighed.

“I’m sure. I want to. After today, seeing you again is...” You scoffed, shaking your head slightly as you could already feel your throat closing off. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Chanyeol watched you with a half smile, leaning up to give you another quick kiss before his eyes flickered to where his injured hand was brushing your neck. The smile transformed to one of sadness, when he muttered, “We match.”

Looking down at his hand, you scoffed. Sure enough, the black bruising, purplish stains and red swatches were almost identical to what you had witnessed in the mirror. “Must have been a hard punch.” You hummed, shaking your head at him slightly.

It just made him grimace though, as he leaned up to rest his forehead against your own. “I don’t even want to think about what he did to you.” He grumbled, shaking his head slightly.

God, even just him saying that made you grimace too, the memories already trickling into your head and making you wince. God, it was enough to make you damn near scream. At least this time you would be able to, rather than resorting biting your lip to prevent it.

“Neither do I. Just... let’s not talk about it. Let’s make better memories, yeah?” You offered, sighing in relief when Chanyeol nodded.

“Yeah.” He hummed, cocking his head at you slowly before the two of you met in the middle, for another sweet kiss.

It started slow, lazy and uncalculated as instead you focused on the feel of his slick chest beneath your palms, him cupping your jaw, fingers slipping across your shoulders. Between the water surrounding the two of you and his body, it was dizzyingly warm, the steam enveloping your bodies in the fresh, clean scent of his body wash. It was easy to forget, like this. Forget your job, the fact that the two of you weren’t allowed contact. Well, you supposed the joke’s on them, cause this absence certainly made the heart grow way fonder.

Slowly, Chanyeol’s hands travelled until he was holding your ribs, pads of his thumbs slightly digging into the flesh of your breast. Breaking off the kiss, he indulged in a glance when his large palms brushed over your nipples, making them perk up stiff.

“God, you’re so beautiful.” He growled under his breath, more to himself than anything, but you caught it. It made you stifle a giggle.

His hands slowly began squeezing your breasts more and more, never enough to be painful but still enough to make you whine, your forehead ducking to rest on his own. Your thighs burned as you arched slightly, trying to get some sort of friction on your core from beneath the depths of the water.

Chanyeol was quick to comply, his left hand releasing your breast and instead slipping beneath the soapy surface. It only took a second for his fingertip to find your inner thigh, tracing up higher until they pressed against your clit.

“Ah, Yeol...” You whimpered softly at the gentleness of it, the soft careful nature of his actions.

He leaned up to press a kiss on the corner of your mouth, smirking slightly. “I fucking love when you call me that.” He said. Now that was a stark contrast from his initial reaction to it, making you laugh slightly.

“I knew it.”

Chanyeol chuckled slightly at that, his motions beneath the surface increasing pressure and making your jaw fall open weakly. It send sparks up your spine as you arched into his form, whimpering under your breath. Circling your sensitive clit slowly, then faster and faster before winding back down was making you ache, straining for him, all of him.

So, your hand slipped under the water too, gripping hold of his now fully erect cock.

You heard his breathing catch when your thumb swiped over the sensitive head quickly, before pulling up and down his shaft slowly. You could feel him, twisting and growing impossibly stiffer under your grasp. It was even more impressive under your touch than you remembered, and between your touches on him and his on you, you were whimpering.

“Yeol...” You whined, wanting more than his fingers on your core.

He seemed to have the same idea, voice gravelly when he answered. “Yeah, okay. Come on, scoot up.”

Releasing him from your grasp, you instead put your hands on his shoulders for balance as you pulled your legs up towards his hips, slipping across the porcelain with ease. He helped you, hands on your hips to guide you, water flowing out of where your bodies pressed closer and closer.

“Ready baby?” He hummed, glancing up at you quickly when he released a hold on your hip. Soon enough, you could feel him pressing his head at your entrance, waiting for your word even though he was chewing his lip harshly, probably trying to prevent bucking up into you.

You just wiggled your hips carefully, not giving words but instead actions as you sank down, down, until your full weight was settled onto his hips with a breathy sigh.

The concoction of your soaring body heat in combination with the warm water was making you heady, but you didn’t mind as you carefully raised yourself back up and down, still holding Chanyeol for balance by the shoulders.

He didn’t seem any more put together than you, as his head tossed backwards to lean on the ledge of the tub. “God, you’re so good at this.” He growled, eyes screwing shut as he succumbed to the feeling of you around him.

You just continued your motions carefully, up and down over and over until it felt like reflex, focusing on the feeling of Chanyeol stretching you. He was the perfect length to hit just right, each motion making you whimper more and more until you were fully moaning, nails digging into his skin.

“Fuck...” Chanyeol continued to growl, hands on your hips as he supported your motions. The water around the two of you was beginning to splash as the tempo of your bodies grew faster, making even more soapy bubbles reappear, the scent of sex masked by the perfume of the suds.

One of his hands released you to instead return to your clit, circling it quickly. He was trying to make you finish, and it was working as you felt yourself tightening around him.

“Ah, Chanyeol...” You moaned, your head shuddering to collapse alongside your hand on his shoulder, lips brushing against his water-slicked neck with every thrust. Your thighs were burning now, about to start quaking from exhaustion, but luckily Chanyeol was quick to meet you with thrusts of his own.

His fingers continued to grow pressure against your clit, until eventually, the feeling in your gut burst with a broken shout from your chest. It was dizzyingly powerful combined with the heat from the water, sending you to a breathless, twitching mess, grip tightening on his shoulders until you thought it just might bruise.

With your tightening walls, it didn’t take Chanyeol long before he spilled too, thrusting deep and hard inside you one last time with a low, throaty groan. “Fuck, fuck yes.” He growled, his hand finally stilling on your over sensitive clit. One, two more half hearted bucks, and he too was spent, collapsing onto the back of the tub breathlessly.

Your face was still buried in his neck, vision rosy from the aftermath of your orgasms as the two of you caught your breaths. His chest was warm and solid beneath you, like it was carved from stone for you to lay. You belonged here, your heart and head screamed in unison. One of the only times they agreed, you were sure it must e significant.

So, nuzzling yourself further into his grasp, you felt it would be fine to whisper, “I like you, Yeol. So much.”

And after you said it, there was no hesitation, no pause to even think before he responded. “I like you too. So much being without you basically turned me to a drunk.” He panted, his arms slippery as they tightened around your waist, cradling you closer to him.

Eventually though, once the two of you had caught your breaths and felt comfortable enough to slip apart, you had to get out of the serenity that was the bathtub. Nice part about tub sex was that there was no cleanup necessary, as you instead were able to slip into a fluffy towel hanging on the back of his door, watching as Chanyeol drained the tub carefully. Next, he started grabbing all your clothes from off the floor, still padding around bare as the day he was born.

“I’ll throw these into the laundry.” He hummed, turning to give you a half smile as he snatched your bra within his fingertips, wiggling his eyebrows.

You just scoffed. “You’d take any reason to get your hands on my bra, wouldn’t you?”

“Maybe.” He hummed, grabbing your skirt and adding it to the growing pile in his arms and making you scoff with an eye roll. Really, he was a typical teenager sometimes.

“Can you not dry off first, at least?” You hummed, turning to grab a towel and toss it in his direction quickly, but stopped when you saw where he was reaching next.

You had to stop him, though, when he extended a hand to snatch up your stockings. “Wait.” You cut, making him freeze in his tracks.

“What?” He hummed, turning to glance at you, then back to the fishnets on the floor, suddenly half expecting them to pull a gun on him.

You scoffed at his wide eyes, tossing him the towel still in your grasp. “Jesus Christ, I don’t want to stare at your bare ass, put this on.” You hummed, before stepping forward and grabbing the fishnets yourself. You didn’t want him to wash them and fold them like you would keep them. They didn’t deserve that courtesy.

“I thought you liked my bare ass.” Chanyeol pouted, but slipped the towel and tucked it until it was slung around his hips loosely. Straightening to his fill height, with specks of water still reflecting off his bonze chest was distracting enough, you didn’t need to see his dick alongside that.

“I do, but not hanging in my face while you do my laundry.” You scoffed, wringing the fishnets in your hands slightly, absent-mindedly.

Chanyeol hummed his chest puffing it pride as he cocked his head at you, eyes dropping to watch you twist with the article in your hands. “What’s the deal with those, then?”

You sighed, glancing down at them, their black strings and thick cotton waistband. “It’s stupid. I’m just going to throw them out.” You hummed, glancing back up at him with a lopsided, half-hearted smile. “Bad memories.”

“So you’re going to throw them out?” Chanyeol asked, mimicking your motion and cocking his head too, although his smile was more genuine. “What if I told you I’ll do you one better?”

You wrung the fishnets in your hands one last time, watching Chanyeol coaxing the coals in his fireplace until it was roaring alight.

“And you’re sure this is okay?” You asked, watching the dancing flames grow larger with Chanyeol’s prodding.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” He hummed, turning to glance at you with a grin. Wearing his boxers and some oversized sweater, hood tugged up around your damp hair, you had no clue why the image made him grin so much.

But you ignored it, because you liked his grin anyway.

“I don’t know, what if it smells like burnt plastic or something?” You hummed, grimacing even imagining that odour coating his apartment.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” He countered, straightening and flicking the hair out of his eyes. In a fresh pair of sweatpants and a worn, oversized band tee, somehow he looked like he was glowing softly. It suited him though. Maybe he was always glowing, and you just hadn’t noticed until now.

Stepping behind you to wrap his arms around your middle tightly, he hummed into your ear, your eyes trained on the flickering flames. “Ready?”

Breathing in deep, you knew you were. You had been ready to get rid of these things for hours. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Toss ‘em.” Chanyeol mumbled against the material of the hood covering your jaw, like he was trying to feel you through it. You almost wished he could, wished you could feel him through it too.

So, grappling with the stockings in your hand, you gave a deep breath. In, out. Most of your breeding today had been to calm yourself down, to repress the twisting of your gut, to make what was happening to you fir into a little, bite sized box you would be able to handle on your own.

Now though, with Chanyeol’s arms around you, you were no longer alone. You had him, and he had you. This breath relit your flames, stoked the fury towards your enemy, made your jaw clinch at all the memories of today. This one built you back up, because with help, you knew you could do this. With Chanyeol, you could do this.

That’s all you needed.

Without another second to hesitate, you balled the pantyhose into a little ball, and threw it into the flickering flames, watching the sparks fly off the smouldering logs with the motion. The strings were quick to ignite, burning up, alive and thriving, much like you would be, too.

You hoped.

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