#slightly further back but I get nostalgic for when I was like 20 and would stay up until like 3am playing Fallout 4 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

daegall · 3 years

Text

Coming home

pairing: long distance boyfriend! Donghyuck x reader

genre: fluff

warnings: uuuuuhhhh swearing?

word count: 1.6 k words

a/n: YOOOO A CONVENIENCE STORE JUST OPENED UP NEXT TO MY GRANDPAS PLACE NO LITERALLY ITS RIGHT NEXT DOOR WATCH ME COME BACK HOME WITH A TON OF ICE CREAM 😎😎 also tell me what you think of this, it's a bit different from my usual writing :) (Sungchan blurb coming out tomorrow for knet-bakery’s nostalgic melodies event!! Please look forward to it <33)

AAANNNNNNDDD HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BEST LEADER TY TRACK!!!!!!!!!!!! KING DESERVES THE WHOLE WORLDDDD <3333

networks: @neoturtles @knet-bakery @kokonomi

🎶: coming home - nct u

5 months. 5 months without Donghyuck. 5 months without his touch, his warm embraces, his soft voice, his teasing remarks. 5 months of yearning for his featherlight touch, boyish grin, spontaneity, his reassurance and sincerity.

5 days until he arrives. 5 more days until you will be with him, 5 more days until you can love him.

Your eyes stay on the calendar for much longer than intended, calculating every single moment until the date hits Friday, waiting for the hour hands to move in the clock. For once in your life, you wish time would go faster.

The movie in front of you is basically useless, it’s his favorite Christmas movie. You can’t stand a second watching it without waiting for time to tick by or constantly thinking of him.

Your foot taps rapidly on the ground, teeth finding themselves chewing and gnawing at your lower lip yet once again. Friday, when will you come?

It’s felt too long without him, his arms wrapping around your body, his lips pressing softly against your burning skin, his hair softly tickling your nose, you’re becoming anxious.

5 days, just 5 days.

——————🌻——————

5 hours. Just 5 more hours.

5 hours until you can whisper how much you missed him, 5 hours until you can finally get shitty convenience store noodles with him, until you can freeze the shit out of your brains with the cold slushies.

You slip on your sweater quickly, bouncing out of bed after the sudden spontaneous decision to get to the airport early. It’s only 3 in the afternoon, the flight lands at 8, and not to mention the baggage pick up and all that other things, that's bound to be another 40 minutes.

You stop yourself before you could lock the door to your apartment, cursing and taking the key out from the keyhole. It’s too early. You don’t want to wait too desperately for him 2 hours before he even arrives.

‘2 hours.’ You tell yourself, ‘you can go in 2 hours.’

5 hours of impatience and anticipation is a lot harder to handle that 5 hours of a normal day.

What can you do in 5 hours? Surely, you could call Donghyuck, text him, send him a video or photo, anything.

Your head swarms more and more with thoughts of your distant significant other, the image of him printed permanently in your mind for you to cherish and enjoy while he’s gone.

5 months, he didn’t change that much, right? He never fell for someone else, right? There’s no way.

There’s a sudden swing in your mood, from frantic and yearning, to worried and doubtful, 5 months could really affect one.

——————🌻——————

5 minutes, god you’re literally shaking in anticipation. 5 minutes until you know you cry, 5 minutes until you’re in his embrace, 5 minutes until you can kiss his most likely chapped lips.

You decided to stay home, after you promised Donghyuck you would wait at home for him after he quickly texted you before the flight landed.

You’re unaware that in 5 minutes, the person you’ve longed most is coming through the front door, in 5 minutes you’ll be able to hold him and kiss him and finally be with him.

Maybe you should take a nap? Eat a snack? Clean the house?

4 minutes.

You slump into the couch, scrunching your face up in frustration. It’s been too long since you’ve been with Donghyuck. Without a fucking screen separating you apart.

There’s a hole in your chest, you can feel it, its dark and empty and swirling with eagerness. It’s eager for something, you know exactly what.

It’s waiting for Donghyuck’s love to come and fill up that void, to complete yourself.

Waiting for your better half.

3 minutes.

You can’t pay attention to the movie. What’s the point of watching a Christmas movie when it’s by yourself? Your eyes trail to the window next to the couch, where the snow falls ever so gracefully, covering the ground in a beautiful white.

Usually, you would always wish to go outside and play in the snow, but you have nothing but impatience in your body as you wait for your lover to come through the doors and welcome you in a hug.

2 minutes.

Is he stuck in traffic? Was there no taxi left?

1 minute.

You’re sure there were many taxis left, didn’t you book one for him? Did you forget? Oh no, did you?

50 seconds.

You curse at yourself and stand up abruptly, reaching over to the lamp table next to the couch to grasp at the keys.

45 seconds.

Dashing to the door, you are unaware of the figure behind it, hauling his heavy luggage up the stairs with such speed as well.

30 seconds.

You’re grabbing your puffy coat from the coat hanger, your heart clenching at the empty spot next to it, where Donghyuck’s coat will be hung.

It only urges you further to quicken up and get to the airport on time.

25 seconds.

But that’s nearly impossible, will all the snow and traffic, halfway there and he could already be waiting for you at home.

20 seconds.

It doesn’t stop you, you still have the large urge to see him come out the gate yourself, be reassured that he is here, he’s going to stay.

15 seconds.

Donghyuck huffs and wipes at the cold sweat on the back of his neck, when did the stairs suddenly become longer? Was it always that hard to get up?

10.

Your long distance boyfriend faces the door, the familiar wooden, authentic door he hasn’t seen in too long for his liking. This is it.

You’re right behind that door, stopping in your tracks to question if your actions are worth it.

Just wait, you tell yourself. He will come.

But greed takes over. It’s taking over your hand that is reaching for the door knob and twisting the cold metal to open the door.

Strangely, there is a weight causing the knob to twist easier, which is weird, the knob has always been a bit rusty and hard to twist open.

Donghyuck thinks the same thing, wondering if you finally fixed it with some oil or changed it.

Even at the smallest opening of the door, the cold gush of wind pushes in and blows against your warm skin, goosebumps being the result of such action.

As the door opens wider, you spot a familiar black luggage, the brown coat you bought as a birthday present for your boyfriend, and what’s best, is your boyfriend himself, whose expressions change as well as yours when he sees you as well.

In the span of a single second, Donghyuck is barging in and swooping you up in his arms, the snow from his coat falling between your own jacket and slipping into your neck and shoulders.

The cold is nothing compared to the nostalgic warmth of Donghyuck’s arms you missed oh so much, his skin burning against yours as you bury your face in the side of his neck.

You’ve grown a few inches, Donghyuck notices, because you only have to tiptoe to reach his shoulder. He can’t help but notice the smallest, most simplest things. Like how the living room has changed a little bit, just a few more pots of plants here and there, the tv playing his favorite Christmas movie, his hoodie he left for you sitting on the couch, he notices every little thing, and instantly adores all of them.

You also notice everything too, the way his shoulders have grown broader, the hairs on the back of his neck that grew longer, heck, even his new shoes he was sure you wouldn’t notice.

One thing that doesn’t change, you notice as you pull away slightly to look into Donghyuck’s eyes, is the love in them. The warmness and adoration pooling in them. The sparkle that they hold.

What also is pooling in his eyes are tears, happy tears, at the sight of you smiling oh so brightly just for him, all for him to cherish.

“Fuck, you don’t even know how much I missed you,” he breathes out, sighing at the feeling of your fingers softly carding through his snowy hair.

A soft smile adorns your lips, your lips Donghyuck has longed for so long, your lips he still longs to kiss.

And so he does. He plunges forward to take your lips passionately between his, the feeling of them crashing together sending his heart into a frenzy. Donghyuck’s mind is blank, only you in it, your hands lightly tugging at his hair, the smooth skin of your neck as he pulls you closer, your heart beating against his. He’s finally home.

Donghyuck attempts to dive back in and chase your lips when you pull away, but is stopped by your fingers pressing against his lips and your soft laughter filling the air.

A pout creases his lips, as you pat his cheek and kiss chastely on his red nose, “Go take a shower, you’re gonna catch a cold.”

He indeed catches a small cold that evening, dramatizing the fact that he’s cold, begging for cuddles and for you to feed him, but you’ve simply missed him too much to complain.

What would you even complain about? It’s almost Christmas, he’s home, and he’s going to stay. He will be the one helping you decorate the tree, he’s the one throwing snow at you, he’s the one setting the mistletoe up just as an excuse to kiss you.

He is everything you’ve ever wanted, he is your home.

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yunhoez · 3 years

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Swell

♄ pairings: suna x reader (in their 20s)

♄ genre: romance, angst, bestfriends to lovers (if u keep one eye open)

♄ warnings: cussing, smoking, suna & atsumu aren't volleyball players okay (don't yell at me), sfw for now

♄ wc: 2.4k

♄ a/n: okay so this is based on a script I wrote (it’s gonna be a film soon hehe), but considering I have to keep it short I wanted to continue it on as a fic! thank you to @chifuyuzu, @arumiee, @psmugglerr, and Mal♡ for encouraging me to do this and reading it <3 I hope y’all enjoy!

♄ songs - Swell by Lunar Vacation, I Don't Know You by The Marias

_______________________________________________

The low humming of the car and soft music coming from the radio sends you into a trance as you look out at the familiar streets of your hometown. Your head pressed against the seat feels heavy with the thought of being back in the place you ran away from. Your gaze trails to the two in the front seat, the streetlights hitting them enough for you to make out their features you’ve seemed to forget. Ava hums to the song on the radio lightly, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. Atsumu’s eyes are fixed on the road before he turns toward Ava and rubs her back slightly. She shoots him a small smile before returning her gaze to the road. The aching feeling in your heart swells, making your stomach churn.

“It’s weird.” You say, breaking the peaceful silence that once graced the car.

“Hm?” Ava hums, looking at you through the rearview mirror.

“Nothing ever seems to change here.” You state, staring back out at the window with a blank expression, catching a glimpse of the houses you’d pass on the way to school.

Ava shakes her head, although you tried to mask your emotions, she could tell that you were irritated. Atsumu laughs looking out of the passenger seat window, noticing the park he used to practice volleyball at.

“It really hasn’t been that long since we’ve been here, Y/N.”

“I know, but you’d think things would at least feel different.” You throw your head back in frustration, letting out a loud sigh. Ava laughs, turning her blinker on before she begins to turn into yet another familiar street.

“I don’t know, I like that things are the same here. It feels like home, ya know? Knowing that there will always be a place that feels familiar is kinda comforting.”

Your gaze settles onto Ava with a mischievous grin. You scoot into the middle seat, leaning in between your two friends. Atsumu looks over at you and giggles, looking up at Ava to stare at her with you. Ava takes her eyes off the road for a second to see you two, she rolls her eyes.

“What?” She deadpans.

“That was the cheesiest shit I’ve ever heard you say.” Your laugh fills the car, making Atsumu join in and eliciting a small huff from Ava.

“Shut up! Is it so bad I actually like my hometown?”

“Yes.” Both you and Atsumu state at the same time, further irritating Ava as she swerves slightly making the both of you slide in your seats.

“Crazy how I can just drop you two off on the side of the road and leave.”

“Not like we don’t know the way around here.” Atsumu says, poking at Ava’s cheek.

“Looks like you’re walking to the studio then.” Ava stops the car in the middle of the road, Atsumu looks at her with a puzzled look. She leans over to open his car door, you stare at the two in amusement waiting to see what happens.

“Babe, it’s another 10 miles!” Atsumu exclaims, shutting the door.

“Atsumu, just shut up or walk before these cars come.” You state, looking behind you and see the car lights coming from a small distance.

“Why do I have to shut up when this one started it?”

“Huh?! What did I do?”

Ava rolls her eyes, picking at her nail polish as the two of you bicker over nothing. She puts the car in drive and slams on the breaks causing the two of you to fall over.

“What the hell, Ava?” You ask from the middle of the driver and passenger seat. “I could’ve died?” Ava stifles a laugh before putting the car in park. She looks at Atsumu pouting in his seat, rubbing his forehead and refusing to make eye contact with her. Ava lets out a loud laugh, wiping at the corner of her eyes. You giggle to yourself as you lift yourself up, moving towards the right side of the car to take your seat. You notice Ava placing a kiss on Atsumu’s forehead and the fond touches the two share. A small smile appears on your face seeing them interact, their love radiating off of them like the sun on a hot day. It felt so nice to be around them, but the heat in your heart was beginning to sting. Was it jealousy? No. Anger? No. Longing… Maybe.

“Geez, ya nearly gave me a concussion!”

“Serves you right.”

Ava puts the car in drive, cruising along the dimly lighted streets. Atsumu continues to mutter to himself about how his head hurts.

“I felt my brain rattle.”

“Crazy because there’s nothing in there.”

They continue talking as you look out the window, blocking out their conversation with your own thoughts. Why did I come back here? Surely, I could’ve made up some excuse and made it up to them another time. I don’t think I’m ready to see-

“Anyways, Y/N, do ya really hate it here that much?” Atsumu breaks your train of thought.

“S’not that I hate it.” You mutter, head resting on your hand. “It’s just a weird feeling coming back to a place that doesn’t change. Like everything’s frozen in time… it freaks me out.” Scarlett peaks at you through the rearview mirror, once again, observing your facial expression. Always the mysterious one, aren’t ya? She thought.

“If you ask me, I think it’s nice having a place that doesn’t change. Somewhere you know you can be comfortable and find some sort of peace.” You stare at her for a second, before returning your gaze to the window.

“I guess you’re right.”

“Wow, you’re actually agreeing with me for once?”

“I mean I’m not opposed to the idea of it, I just don’t like getting too comfortable…”

“Fair enough.” Ava sighs, glancing over at Atsumu who nods knowingly at her as he puts his window down. Your window begins to roll down causing you to look at Ava in confusion. “Fresh air will do ya good.”

You rest your arms on the car window, slightly leaning your head onto them as you peek out of the window. The cool autumn breeze tickles your face, as you soak in the darkness of the night. It was a new moon, the only light coming from the sky was the twinkling stars and planets. You look up to the sky and catch a glimpse of a shooting star. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those. You thought. I wonder if he still does this.

“Nice being able to see the stars, ain’t it?” Atsumu says, half way out of the car window.

“Yeah…” You smile, a giggle leaving your mouth as he sways in the wind dramatically. “One break from Ava and you’ll fly out!”

“Oi, don’t give her any ideas!”

Ava laughs, turning into the corner store you all used to visit everyday. Atsumu sits back into his seat, handing Ava a wad of cash from his wallet.

“Any requests?”

“Starbursts, make sure ya get the one with all the reds!”

“Alright, Y/N?”

“Oh! And one of those fancy lookin’ waters! Ya know, with the cool designs and shit?” Atsumu interrupts. Ava sends him a teasing glare and he smirks. She turns towards you, your attention fixed on the store that seemed to remain the same. The beige building had the same lettering and advertisements as it did when you were in high school. The railings had a fresh coat of paint on them, but still looked scuffed from all the times you and your friends would sit on them. It was just how you left it. How annoying.

“Oi, Y/N! Getcha’ head out of the clouds, Ava’s askin’ ya something”

“Sorry, what’s up?”

“You want anything?”

“I’m okay, thanks.”

“Twizzlers? Got it.”

Ava exits the car and runs into the shop. Atsumu lifts off his seat slightly, digging into his pockets and pulling out a pack of Seven Stars cigarettes. He plucks one out and lights it, puffing the smoke out of the window. The scent envelops her, giving her a sense of both warmth and pain from the memories it holds.

“Thought you quit.”

“I did. This is for nostalgic reasons.” He smiles, inhaling the smoke and releasing it out of the window in a swift movement.

“Right, you and Rin…” You trail off mid sentence. Atsumu looks up at you through the rearview mirror, just as Ava did, and takes another drag.

“Mhm, this was our go to place for a while.” His eyes flicker from you to the inside of the store. He relaxes back into his seat, looking over at Ava with the biggest grin on his face. She’s looking intensely at two bottles of water and making small talk with the cashier. You smile to yourself, pulling your knees to your chest as you remember the times you all used to meet up here and spend hours talking about nothing.

“When was the last time you two spoke?”

“I can’t remember.”

Atsumu nods, knowing the answer. He flicks the bud of the cigarette out of the window, turning slightly to see you staring at the ground. He flicks your forehead softly, earning a yelp from you. He laughs.

“He’s still here, ya know?”

You look up from the ground, but stay silent for a few moments before he speaks up again.

“He never wanted to leave.”

“Sounds like him.” You let go of your legs, opening the car door and stepping out. You stretch a bit before shutting the door behind you. “You think he’ll be at the show?”

“I don’t think he’d miss getting the chance to see you again.”

You let out an annoyed sigh, walking up to the door and exchanging a couple words with Ava before she exits. The cashier greets you just how he did when you were sixteen and the layout of the store is the same as it was 4 years ago. Nothing’s changed here… so why do I feel so out of place?

“What did you do?” Ava sighs, rummaging through the bag of snacks she just bought.

“Huh? I didn’t do anything!” Atsumu exclaims, hands held up in surrender as if he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t have.

“Sure, you didn’t. I’m assuming you mentioned Rintarou.”

“Hm? Rintarou? I don’t even know who that is.”

Ava scoffs, throwing the bag of Starbursts at him. He turns to her in shock, dramatically falling into his seat and gripping at the spot the candy hit him. She giggles, taking a bite out of a twizzler and lifting her leg onto her seat.

“What is she getting anyways?” Atsumu mutters, obnoxiously chewing on his candy.

“Lollipops.” Ava shrugs.

_____________________________________________

The smell of cinnamon and the bright lights of the studio overwhelm your senses in the most pleasant way possible. People you’ve never seen before walk past you, admiring the works of art your best friend, Rei, has displayed. Quiet chatter is heard over the music playing from a record player in the corner, occasionally Atsumu’s loud voice is heard saying “Yeah! Rei’s my best friend, she did all of this, ya know? I was her inspiration for most.” You giggle to yourself, hearing a small “Ow” when Ava elbows him in the rib. You observe the people around you, keeping an eye out for a certain brown haired boy. He’s not here. Your thought is interrupted by Rei’s sweet voice and a small shot glass held in front of your face.

“You look like you need this.” Rei giggles. You laugh lightly, grabbing the glass and clinking it with Rei’s before downing it with her.

“Strawberry?”

“Just like old times.” She smiles. You give her an annoyed look, causing her to roll her eyes and sling her arm over your shoulders. “Shut up, you know it’s our tradition.”

They part for a second then hook their arms together as they walk around the studio, Rei pointing out her favorite pieces and explaining them to you as you admire how ecstatic she is. The two of you stop at the last few pieces of her exhibit, the wall filled with pictures she’s taken over the years.

“I’m so proud of you.” You state, leaning your head onto her shoulder.

“Being vulnerable counts for something, doesn’t it?” She smiles, patting your head lightly.

Rei looks over at the entrance of the studio and waves to a couple people. You lift your head up and let go of her arm, as she smiles at you.

“I’ll be back!” She exclaims, running over and greeting them as she takes them on a tour of her art studio.

You debate whether to roam around the studio or stick to this exhibit, when something catches your eye. You stand closer to the photos, noticing how they date back to 2015. A couple photos in the timeline up to the present catch your eye. Ava, Atsumu, Rei, You, and Suna were in nearly every single one of them. You feel tears prick your eyes at how simple those times were, annoyed at the feeling of nostalgia seeping into your mind.

“Well this fucking sucks.” You whisper to yourself.

“I know, I look terrible in that picture.” A familiar voice states. A tall, lanky man stands beside you. His messy brown hair framing his face perfectly, as he gazes at the photos. You glance at him slightly, realizing who it is and avert your gaze back to the photos. “Seriously, who let me wear that?” He asks, looking over towards you and stifling a laugh at your reaction.

You turn your face to the other side, hoping he hasn’t recognized you. How could he? It’s been what? 3 years? I’ve changed my hair since then, there’s no possible way he’ll know it’s me. Suna lets out a laugh, making your heart ache. You turn to where he was standing and he wasn’t there. You furrow your brows and sigh with relief, but a hint of disappointment. You return your attention to the photos, only to be met with Suna’s chest. You hold your breath and remain still, as he bends down to meet your gaze. His golden eyes peering at you with a mischievous grin on his face, one that you remember all too well.

“Long time no see, angel.”

#suna rintarou #suna fluff #suna x reader #suna x y/n #suna fic #suna rintarou fic #atsumu fluff #haikyuu fic #haikyu x reader #UM HI I HAVENT WRITTEN A FIC SINCE I WAS LIKE 15 AND THEY WERE ABOUT HARRY STYLES #PLS BARE W ME AND BE NICE TO ME #IM A TRIPLE WATER SIGN

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star-lemonade · 3 years

Text

School reunion (2/3)

A.C.E Junhee x Reader

Cw: kinda angsty?, fluff

Rating: R

Word count: 2.5 k

Summary: You hire someone to accompany you to your school reunion.

He had cut his hair but it was definitely him. Junhee said hi and your colleague greeted him back. You did not know how you should react so you just nodded in his direction.

“This is our newest addition. Fresh from university…”

You were not listening to John anymore because you watched Junhee. He was standing the farthest away from you, several people stood between you and him. He was listening intently and did not look at you. Junhee wore silver earrings that gave him a more soft look.

“... know each other.”

Everyone was suddenly looking at you. John smiled and gestured at you while your colleagues' eyes were on you. Your glance met Junhee who smiled softly.

“..uhm.”

The elevator chime saved you from answering. The door opened and everyone spilled into the lobby.

You sat as far away from John as possible today. What would he think if you said how you had met Junhee? No. It was not a good idea to tell the truth. But what should you say? What had Junhee said about how you knew each other? You stayed quiet and let others speak, trying to not draw attention to yourself.

After lunch you usually got a coffee from the shop next door and went to the roof of the company building to relax for a few minutes in peace. So after you had finished your plate in record time, you stood up and left. You had to sort your thoughts and come up with some story to tell people if the topic of Junhee came up again. If he really stayed with John’s company it was bound to happen.

You got in line at the coffee shop. It was a cozy place where you also liked to go in the morning before work. There was not much sitting space because the shop seemed to have been built in the gap between two buildings. When it was your turn you ordered your usual.

The barista told you the price and as you were about to pull out your card a shadow appeared in your peripheral vision.

“I will pay for that and can I get an iced americano?”

You looked up to see Junhee give the barista his best smile. The woman looked at you for guidance. Her cheeks were a bit flushed.

“Junhee…”

It felt odd to say his name. The day you had spent with him all that time ago felt like a dream. Not a good dream but also not a nightmare. More like a dream that left you confused when you woke up.

“Please, let me buy you a coffee.”

He smiled. It was not the same one he had given the barista. This was more subtle and more familiar somehow. You nodded, still stunned.

“So you got the job with John. Congrats.”

It felt awkward to talk to him again. He reminded you of a bad time without any fault of his own. Junhee had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Yes, thanks again for the number.”

He sipped his coffee as you walked back to the office building.

“How have you been?”

Well, how had you been? Your steps bounced off the wall of the building. The glass facade like a mirror showed you and him walking.

“I have been okay.”

It was true. After the school reunion you had not felt very good for some time, but the further it was away from you, the better you felt. You had distracted yourself with work and let other things fill your life. It was not like you did not care about what the bullies thought anymore, just that it was not as important as before. What is done is done. You could not take that day back, so you had to live with it. The automatic door opened and you entered the lobby.

It was time to say goodbye to Junhee.

“See you around.”

Over the next few weeks Junhee insisted on buying you your post lunch coffee and people started to notice.

“Maybe he has a crush on you,” one of your colleagues speculated.

You shot them down. That was absurd. Why would he be interested in you? No, it was just gratitude, you said. You had brought him and John together. In fact Junhee and John seemed to be a dream team.

When you went out for dinner with John and some others, he could not stress enough how much he valued Junhee’s work. You found yourself talking to Junhee a lot more as time went by. You talked about your favourite artists and ended up texting each other until late into the night. More than anyone else's, the chat with Junhee was on top in your messaging service when you opened the app. But of course this did not mean anything. He was not interested and neither were you.

It was Friday night and you were hungry. It was past your usual time for dinner, but eating before the company dinner seemed inappropriate. ”Company dinner” was not the right phrase. It was more like a gettogether of colleagues. You had these from time to time. On this day John and his employees would be there too.

The restaurant had a more nostalgic feel to it. There were no chairs, just benches on either side of the worn tables. The ceiling was naked concrete and pipes ran from one to the other.

You sat down in the middle of the bench and greeted the two guys from John’s company. The others trickled in over the next 20 minutes.

“Hi.”

A familiar voice came from behind you. When you looked up, you were greeted by Junhee’s bright smile. He sat down next to you. Your colleague gave him a dirty look, when he squeezed himself between her and you. A warmth speared in your face. He looked gorgeous as always. The pullover he was wearing was just the right mix of casual and business for this event. You would have a hard time not staring at him. Maybe it was good that he sat next to you and not across. Although you had not minded looking at him all evening.

“I’m telling you I can do it!”

Minsu slurred his words a bit and some of his colleagues smiled. It was always amusing to see the innocent hubris of drunk people. He really thought he could beat anyone at arm wrestling.

“So who wants to try against me?”

He flexed his thin arms for show and now some people giggled. No one volunteered so he looked up and down the table. He pointed.

“Hey you, new guy! Will you wrestle me?”

Junhee smiled shyly at him. The pullover he had worn earlier was gone and he only wore a t-shirt now. A thin necklace disappeared under the collar. Only now you noticed how big his arms were.

“Sure.”

Junhee changed seats so he and the guy sat opposite each other. His arms looked even larger now that you had a comparison. They got into position. Elbows on the table and hands locked. One of their colleagues held their hand in the middle and counted down.

“Three, two, one!”

They began. Junhee strained against Minsu’s arm and bared his teeth, but it was no use. Minsu pushed his hand to the table and stood on the bench a moment later to let himself be showered in shouts. Junhee smiled slightly embarrassed.

When someone asked how he could have lost with his big arms, he laughed, “The muscles are just for show. Fashion muscle.”

He sat back down next to you and showed you a shy smile.

“Are you ready? Rock, paper, scissors!”

Rock was a mistake. The others left you standing in front of the restaurant with a very tipsy Minsu. You waved for a taxi and thankfully there was one just down the street that drove towards you. The old man stopped in front of you and rolled down the window. You could have just dumped Minsu in the taxi but you felt bad for him and got in the back seat next to him. Minsu looked like he was about to fall asleep and you were okay with that until you arrived at his apartment complex. You heaved him out of the taxi and dragged him to the door.

“Thanks. Your so nice”

He smiled in the “head empty” sort of way that only drunk people had. You still appreciated his thanks. Minsu was one of the only people who were still nice even while being this drunk. The door frame was his support.

“Sure. No problem.”

He leaned forward and you got a face full of his alcohol breath.

“I will tell you a secret.”

You raised an eyebrow and waited. He gave you a conspiratory look and said: “Newbie, let me win.”

Minsu giggled and started to fumble for his keys. You trusted that he would find the way to his apartment and made your way home.

A heat wave brought sunny blue skies. Maybe for the last time that year. You stood in front of your closet and made a decision. Today you wanted to wear a dress. This was not something that happened often but today felt like wearing one.

You did not like it, when people at work commented on this. Sadly, it happened every time you wore a dress. It felt like they were looking down on your usual clothes, because they were not feminine enough. You tried to ignore the feeling the comments induced and concentrated on your work.

Lunch came and went. You got in line for coffee as always.

“Hi.”

Junhee had appeared next to you. He wore his nerdy glasses and a bright smile. You were not sure, if he needed the glasses or not. Sometimes he wore glasses, but not always, and often they were just frames. He smiled the soft smile that he always had for you. The barista had seen you next in line and asked:

“The usual?”

“Yes!”

You and Junhee answered in unison. You giggled at this spontaneous synchronization. Junhee paid and you waited for your drinks. The barista set two cups down and put lids on.

“The dress suits you.”

She smiled at you and handed Junhee his coffee with a “there you go”.

“And the one for the girlfriend.”

She offered you the second cup while beaming like a neon sign in the darkness.

“Ehm..”

Junhee wrapped an arm around your shoulders and thanked the barista. You were a bit confused as he led you out. It felt kind of nice to be this close to him. The thought of how it had felt to hold his hand popped into your mind. You had not paid much attention to it at the time. Now you wished you could remember it better.

“Why didn’t you correct her?”

His arm loosened but he did not let go. You stared at him as you slowly walked towards the company building. A blush creeped up his cheeks.

“Would you like to go on a date with me?”

Lighting had struck out of a blue sky. You sank down on your chair, still trying to process. Junhee had asked you out. Kind, funny, lovable, gorgeous Junhee. And you had said yes. What had you been thinking? You were going on a date with him.

The water glittered in the evening sun as you walked along the river bank. Junhee had suggested meeting here for dinner. You thought it was a bit unusual, but seeing all the people sitting on benches made you rethink. There were a lot of couples here. Couple. Like me and … You licked you lips and shook your head as if you could simply shake off the thought. This is just a date, don’t get ahead of yourself.

You went to the cafe which Junhee had sent you. It was on the river bank with a bunch of tables outside. You were a bit early but when you came closer you saw Junhee sitting at one of the tables already.

“Hi.”

He dropped his phone and shot up from his chair, eyes wide open in shock. You waved and suppressed a laugh.

“It’s just me.”

Junhee calmed down and soon his smile returned. A waiter came over and both ordered something to drink. The evening sun warmed you and you were glad to have opted for a dress.

“That dress looks good on you.”

You looked up at Junhee whose cheeks had a light blush. He had cut his hair and it made him look even more handsome than before. Around his neck hung a delicate necklace, but the pendant was hidden under his shirt.

“Thanks.”

You felt very shy today, much more than at any point before. Now it actually mattered what Junhee thought about you. The way he smiled made your heart flutter. The waiter came with your drinks and you took a sip. Junhee had gone for a tea.

“No coffee today?”

Usually he ordered coffee so you had to ask. There was nothing else you could talk about right now.

“No. If i drink one now, I will not be able to sleep tonight.”

He took out the tea bag, even though it was probably too early and added: “Unless you want me to have a sleepless night.”

He looked up sheepishly.

“Why..? OH.”

Your face burned. Instead of an answer you sipped your drink.

“Oh! No! I mean, we could go to karaoke or party all night.”

Junhee’s attempt at saving the situation did not go down as he had planned, but you smiled at the prospect of him singing. There was no way he could sing. You did not want to leaving him hanging so you suggested:

“Or we could go to the cinema.”

His nervous laugh was adorable. You felt bold and took his hand to reassure him. Junhee froze and stared at your linked hands on the table. You hoped he would not pull back immediately, because the warm touch of his hand was so comforting. When he had got over his initial shock, his thumb began to rub over the back of your hands. The gesture made you warm from inside out and the fears you had had earlier melted away.

You spend the evening talking and walking around town, hand in hand. When the sun had set, Junhee accompanied you to the subway station.

“I guess this is it. Text me, when you get home.”

Junhee raised his hand as if to touch you but did not. The subway would come soon, you could feel the wind coming from the tunnel.

“I will.”

You were a bit embarrassed and looked at the band on the necklace around Junhee‘s neck as you added: “It was a nice evening.”

“Yes, it was.”

The subway arrived and the doors opened. You and Junhee shared a short hug before you sprinted for the door. As the platform disappeared out of view you regretted not having given Junhee a kiss on the cheek. You should have asked.

#wkcnet #noonasinnetwork #Junhee x reader #Junhee smut #A.C.E smut #a.c.e x reader #kpop x reader #a.c.e fanfic #A.C.E fics #kpop fanfic #non idol au #star writing #queue for the lemonade stand

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milktyama · 3 years

Text

— ☕︎ CALL CALL CALL

synopsis: sometimes a call can make miles seem like meters

a/n: omg why did this take me so long to finish i literally had 20% of the fic left and i left it in my drafts for a little over 3 months now 💀💀 anyways it's here now !!

pairing: iwaizumi hajime x reader

genre: ldr, fluffyyy, very little angst if you squint hard enough

wc: 1.5k

❥︎ mild manga spoilers but nothing too big, slight swearing

The nights in California are much more suffocating than you would think. The air is stuffy while angry neighbours bicker loudly at well past hours. Do they even know the meaning of manners? Iwaizumi Hajime, currently studying abroad from Japan to pursue his passion in sports medicine. The education system in America was vastly different from the one in Japan, though studying here is a much better option for getting connections in the industry.

His major is not a particularly easy one. It is part of the medical field after all. Though in times of stress, he missed everything he had back in his home country. All the friends he had, his family, and most certainly you, his beloved partner. You and Iwaizumi have been dating at the start of your third year together. After parting ways in high school to pursue different careers, you two have decided to take the challenge of a long distance relationship, your feelings for each other being as strong as ever.

However, he never considered how hard it really was. With a shockingly 17 hour time zone difference, when one was awake the other was usually asleep. The two of you tried very hard two fit in at least one call a week and constantly text the other with room of expectation that the other would reply in a couple of hours. It was very rough at first but together you both have found a pace that worked and kept your relationship intact.

The biggest obstacle for Iwaizumi was definitely during exam season, when all his focus has been shifted into studying and reviewing all the heavy content he’s been looking at for the past semester. As much as he hated this time of the year due to multiple reasons, he had just come to accept it. Unfortunately, your daily texts have stretched into weeks and your weekly calls have stretched into months. With minimal communication, Iwaizumi was bound to feel the stress power down on him. His worries for his studies combined with the ones about your relationship has certainly shoved him into a corner of burn out.

Furious at himself for his limited mental capacity, Iwaizumi threw his notebook to the desk in front of him and sighed in annoyance, running his hands through his face and his hair. Tilting his head upwards, he stared at the ceiling blankly. His gaze automatically drifted to his phone that was placed facing down across this room to avoid any distractions. He made his way towards his phone and picked it up. He immediately opened your contact and stared at the picture in your profile. It was a picture that was taken a few weeks before he left Japan when the two of you went on a picnic date and as predicted, his best friends crashed into it, their fleeting figures visible in the background of the picture.

He chuckled at the memory. How he missed all of them. Clicking on the messaging icon, he had an internal debate if he should text you. Glancing at the clock, it read 4:48pm meaning for you it must be morning. Hesitantly, he started typing out a message that was out of character even for him, but what can he do, he really craved your presence.

Iwaizumi: I miss you. I really wish you could hold me in your arms and kiss away all of my stress.

Hitting send, his eyes widen at the small letters at the bottom that indicate that you have read his message. A few seconds later, there was a reply. His heart started to beat faster as his eyes scanned the digital letters displayed on his screen.

Y/n: Hi Hajime! I miss you lots too baby. I will be sending you virtual hugs if that helps?

He couldn’t hide his smile anymore. His lips pulled up on his face as his eyes lit up at your very sweet message. He immediately replied to your message, trying to elongate this moment as much as he can due to its rarity that the both of you were up at the same time.

Iwaizumi: You’re up earlier than usual today

Y/n: Yeah I recently switched one of the electives and they only had a morning slot available. Late morning but still, morning lectures suck :(

Iwaizumi: Don’t push yourself too hard. Make sure to sleep earlier now and eat a full breakfast ok?

Y/n: Iwa-chan are you my mom?

A small vein popped on Iwaizumi’s forehead, the nostalgic yet annoying memory of Oikawa using that exact phrase on him.

Iwaizumi: Ha ha very funny honey.

Y/n: I’m kidding~! Thank you for worrying about me. I love you ok? *sends a heart reaction meme*

Iwaizumi: Yeah yeah I love you too.

Iwaizumi could feel the conversion coming to an end. He really didn’t want that. Although he had to get back to do some studying soon, and he knew that you had to get to class. But he tried to push his luck a little further, praying to the universe to not be against him today.

Iwaizumi: Hey, are you free to call for a bit?

Y/n: Hmm yeah I should be able to, I still have time for my class and I don’t live too far from my campus.

And with that, Iwaizumi felt that the universe had finally blessed him for the first time since he had come to America. Clicking on the phone icon, he brought his phone up to ear and waited on the rings until you picked up.

“Hi Hajime~” you cooed at your boyfriend. Oh how he missed that phrase coming from your lips. Your conversation flowed like always, however this time you could tell that both of your words were laced with longing for the other.

The seconds stretched to minutes, a small giggle here and there, and suddenly time had lost its meaning. Both yours and his love were timeless. Unconditional love. The type of love that you two don’t expect anything in return from the other. Yet both of you continue to care for the other as if you were to let go, it would be gone forever.

After a small joke being cracked from your side of the line, there was a small pause, slight tension building, unclear if that tension was positive or not. Maybe it was slightly suffocating, but with the other on the line, everything felt ok.

“Hey… I love you, you know that right?” Iwaizumi mumbled. Being in a long distance relationship really affected him. You let out a small sigh, imagining the small pout on his face when he gets a little antsy from the lack of your presence.

“Mhm, I sure do know baby. I love you too,” you hummed to him. The two of you sat in silence once again. But this time, the silence was comfortable, almost as if the two of you were in the same room together. Warmth radiating onto each other as your fingertips made contact with his. Coming back to reality, you looked at the clocks and sadly, your short time with him has ended for now.

“Fine… Don’t forget to eat properly and sleep well. Text me when you’re done with your lectures, I’ll respond to them as fast as I can.”

“I have to go now Hajime, or I’ll be late for class. You need to get back into studying too.” You could hear the small grunts of disappointment from the other end of the line. He was just too cute for you. A side of the Iwaizumi Hajime that only you got to see and no one else.

“Will do!! Call again when exams are over?”

“Mhm. I love you.”

“Pft, you said that so much today, is this really my boyfriend I’m talking to?”

“Hey don’t be rude. I just really miss you and I really can’t wait for the break after exams. I’ll be coming back to Japan this time.”

“Yup! And we’ll reunite with the rest of the Seijoh alumni!”

“Ehh, I'd rather just spend my time with you.”

“I don’t think Tooru would like that Haji.”

“Let him. I just want to be with you.”

“You are such a romantic.”

“Only for you.”

You giggled.

“I love you~”

“And I will love you more, forever and always.”

“Babe it’s too early to be this cheesy for me.”

“It’s literally almost 11am there.”

“OH SHIT. I GOTTA GO. I LOVE YOU AGAIN BABY MWAH TEXT YA LATER!”

And then you abruptly hung up. Sliding his phone off from his ear, Iwaizumi scrolled at your pictures and your messages for a few minutes, thinking to himself how lucky he is to have you in his life.

Who would have known that one call, from 17 hours into the “future” would have such an effect on a man like Iwaizumi Hajime. Well there is only one type of call that can do that. And that is yours.

And he knows that even in the toughest times of long distance, you are just one call away. And that one call, can make miles upon miles, feel like meters.

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nakedmossy · 4 years

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Depth Over Distance - Part One [Rudy x Reader]

[A/N: I haven’t found a hometown Rudy fic yet soooo I wrote one. I have no idea where this story is going to go and I’m honestly finding it hard to get out of writing JJ and get into writing Rudy, but here we go anyways. I wanted to write something where the reader and Rudy were hometown friends before he moved to LA, and to explore the idea of how that would change/what it would look like when he comes back. Get ready for a S L O W. B U R N. my dudes. Peace and love, Mossy x]

The sky was grey and the air was wet - it had been raining for 4 days straight. You sat in your car with the heat cranked, your window down slightly so that the humidity didn’t fog up your mirrors. Living on the Alaskan coast was beautiful most of the time but horrible some of the time, especially when you had to waste gas just keeping warm and dry at 6pm in the beginning of ‘Summer’.

You had never lived anywhere else aside from the summer you spent in Vancouver with your cousin when you were 19. Now, at 23, you were working full time at the local bookshop that was an 8 minute drive from your house in the winter and a 20 minute walk/skate in the summer. Your car was parked street side, waiting for your friend Lizzy to finish her shift at the cafe. The smell of the rain and the Ben Howard song on the radio made you nostalgic about the times you and your friends from high school had spent hours skating down these streets, beers in your backpacks, no helmets, dirty shoes and clothes, no pressure, no responsibilities, no cell service...no worries.

Since graduation a lot of your friends had moved out of town, either to Anchorage or down to Washington, or further south. Your best friend Lizzy had stayed close to home, helping run her families business and working part time at the cafe. You had stayed local too...your dad owned a fishing guide business and your mom was an admin assistant for the MD in town, but neither made enough to cover all the medical bills you had racked up over the last few years. You figured once the debt was paid off you might leave...but you had no idea where you would go.

You missed all of your friends, but you missed the boys the most, aside from Lizzy you didn't have a lot of female friends, and your boys had been like brothers to you. You spoke to most of them every few weeks on FaceTime, except Rudy. He had gone to LA for awhile and had kept in touch loosely, but after the first few months he started to drift.

You felt the loss the hardest for Rudy. He had been your closest friend the longest, you had spent nearly every day of every summer together since you were 9, and every school year you worked the same part time job at the seafood restaurant on the water. Now, the last you heard, he was coming back for the summer to ‘reconnect’. You had low expectations and tried not to let yourself get excited, but truthfully, you wanted him to spend some time at home and be around his own kind again - he had always been a homebody and you were worried that being gone for 4 years would go to his head or change him.

Lizzy tapped on the glass, causing you to blink out of your reverie and smile at her. You rolled the window down and let her reach in and open the door from the inside (the handle had been broken since high school). She threw her backpack and skateboard in the back seat, climbing in and closing her door.

“Ugh.” She grunted as her teeth chattered and she rubbed her bare legs.

“You know its only May, you shouldn’t even be wearing shorts yet. The snow just melted.”

Lizzy glared at you playfully and put her hand out to do your handshake. You did it, then put the car in drive and started slowly down the street, windshield wipers moving rhythmically.

“How was the shift?” You asked as you checked your mirrors and wiped some humidity off the rear view.

“Same old” Lizzy leaned back in her seat and pulled the visor mirror down to fix her hair. “That old man Collins from the cannery keeps coming in and harassing me.”

“Jack? The one with the eye patch?”

Lizzy nodded dramatically as she held the bobby pins in her mouth and started to twist her straight black hair off her face.

“That guy-“ She finished placing the final pin and slammed the visor closed “-Is an absolute creep.”

You snorted a sarcastic laugh and rolled your eyes.

“He’s like...70. And widowed. Don’t be rude.”

“I’m not being rude. Im just...asserting my boundaries.”

“You literally have a 3 foot counter between you at minimum, at all times.” You looked over at her and raised your eyebrows.

“Whatever. All I’m saying is we need hotter men in this town. Like...soon.”

You nodded in agreement and felt your eyes wander all over the road, remembering the time you and Rudy had taken your longboards down it after a torrential downpour and you had crashed and gotten such bad road burn that he had to call his dad to come pick you both up because you couldn’t walk.

“Hey, Y/N, are you listening?” Lizzy cut back in, staring at you.

“No, what?”

“I said, speaking of hot guys, I heard Rudy is coming back for a few months.”

You pinched your face and looked at her then at the road, then back at her.

“Rudy is not hot. Rudy is....Rudy. What are you talking about?”

Lizzy looked at you disbelieving and closed her mouth, trying not to smile.

“What!” You repeated, smacking her arm.

“Hey!” She laughed, then shook her head and looked out the window. “Whatever you say man, I just think....” She grabbed her water bottle and began to screw off the lid “I just think...he’s not gonna be the same Rudy that left 4 years ago. He’s like...a movie star now.”

You couldn’t even begin to touch that one. You knew what she was doing...she was always harping on you about going on dates or taking trips with her to the mainland to hook up with the pilots during their layovers. You never went, and always insisted that you were just fine and were not interested. She never listened. Part of that was true...you were fine, and usually not interested. But sometimes, when the water was calm and the sunset was colourful and the fish were jumping and your beer was cold...you wished you had someone to share it with.

“I’m going up to Skagway this weekend with my dad” You said, changing subjects. “He’s short a guide and needs someone to drive the boat.”

“Lucky you” She said sarcastically, screwing the lid back on her bottle. “Another weekend spent with men twice your age who have zero ability to catch a fish and even less ability to smell nice.”

“It’s good money.” You said flatly, annoyed that everything seemed to revolve around men with her. “And in case you forgot I’m kinda in need of that at the moment.”

Lizzy licked her lips and put her hands up, dipping her head.

“Alright...noted. Chill out Kemosabe.” She giggled under her breath and looked out her window, drawing a small penis in the moisture on the window.

“Babe, seriously. You need to get laid.” You said, shaking your head.

“I know” She replied, working on the veins. “Trust me. Im in a state of national emergency by this time of year.”

Lizzy was absolutely one of the girliest girls (and most beautiful girls) in the south of Alaska, which was ironic considering the house she grew up in. Her dad was an overweight German restaurant entrepreneur who had opened a world class seafood restaurant in Juneau back in the 90s and had shacked up with her mother who was this drop dead gorgeous Haida warrior woman who you had literally seen kill and skin a bear with her own hands.

They had forged this chain of restaurants local to Alaska that people flew hundreds of miles to eat at, but still lived in an off-grid cabin that hadn’t been insulated since 1960 and used wood heating. Not really the type of family that screamed southern belle femininity - yet somehow Lizzy came out of that union with a pink bed set, refusing to ever wear camo or sweatpants, and still had never shot a gun - which her mother reminded her of weekly.

Lizzy had hit puberty at 10 and had used her breast advantage over every girl in your class for the next 3 years like some sort of distinction of better genetics, as if she needed boobs to prove that. Unlike you, she was naturally thin and tall (6ft to be precise), had long, thick straight black hair and olive skin, and perfect hips. You felt like a prepubescent boy standing next to her, with your uneven complexion and your frizz and your awkward thigh fat distribution. You were envious of her genetics - her mother graced her with the body of an athlete and the thick black hair, and her father had given her height and cheekbones that could slice through glass. You looked down at your arms, covered in freckles, pasty white from lack of sun, and cringed, looking back at the road.

You turned the corner leaving the main road and starting on the dirt road that led to your favourite part of beach access. Lizzy pulled her hoodie out of her backpack and took off her seatbelt, leaning forward to pull it down over her head. You leaned forward and looked up, this was your favourite part of the drive. The dirt road which was lined with moss and ferns and other foliage wound along the base of the snow capped mountain that was at least 1000ft in elevation. The mist and fog from the coast was thick and creeped through the tall cedar trees, black ravens and falcons flying overhead stark against the white mist. This was the most idyllic picture of northwest coastal living you could find.

When you parked at the trail head Lizzy slipped off her work flats and into her Teva’s, you grabbed your yellow Vans out of your trunk and slipped them on. You usually drove bare foot, a habit you had started in high school after Rudy had thrown your shoes off the dock at the restaurant and you had to drive home without any. You grabbed your sweater and your backpack which had the beer in it. As you were both gathering the rest of your things...beach blanket, hats, and rain cover, you heard a car pull up behind you. You stood up out of the trunk and squinted to see the car through the fog. It was a black ford pickup you had never seen before.

“Who’s that?” Lizzy chimed in from behind you.

“No clue” You said as you lifted your hand to wave once.

The truck had tinted windows and looked brand new. When it pulled up beside you, the drivers side window began to unroll, revealing Junior - your high school (ex) sweetheart.

“Holy” You said, eyebrows up, nodding. “Nice truck - where’d you steal it from?” He rolled his eyes at you dramatically.

“Whatever kid - its a rental. Got it to drive to the airport in.” His chest puffed out and his expression read so proud.

“Airport?” You said inquisitively. “Since when does Alan pay you to drive new trucks to the airport?”

“Since Rudy hired him for the pick up service and apparently is incapable of driving his own ass around anymore” Junior snorted and waved at Lizzy.

“Or he doesn’t have a car here anymore” You noted, rolling your eyes at him.

“Either way, I get this bad boy for the next 24 hours and I intend to give her the royal grand tour of our humble town.” He ran his hand up and down the steering wheel, stroking the new leather. “Wanna go for a rip?” He said, winking. You shook your head and crossed your arms over your chest.

“Well I do” Lizzy piped up from beside you, walking closer to the window. She smiled at Junior and began to put her hair in a pony tail. She nudged your arm as she began to walk to the passenger side door. “Come on, granny. Let’s go!”

She laughed as she climbed up into the truck, but you shook your head again.

“I’m good...you kids have fun. Say hi to Rudy for me” You said to Junior, who shrugged his head and muttered ‘definitely wont do that’ under his breath.

Lizzy blew a kiss at you and waved once before Junior put it in drive and started to go up the dirt road north of you.

Junior and you had ended on okay terms, but he had concocted a theory that you had broken up with him because of another guy, and the unspoken suggestion was that that guy had been Rudy. Small town guys had a heck of a time with the idea of girls and guys just being friends.

You sighed and watched as the truck disappeared around the corner, and turned back to your own car. You grabbed your backpack and slammed the trunk closed, walking down the path alone. You weren’t mad at Lizzy for going with him - she was flighty and bailed on you at the bar all the time - but you were mad the beer was going to go warm before you could drink it all. Not that you should even be drinking 6 beers alone by the water when you had to drive yourself home. Doubtful the 2 cops in this town would even be awake to see you though. Whatever.

You reached the end of the path and rounded the corner, revealing the coast line and the rocky beach. It was your favourite place to sit and think, sit and smoke, sit and be yourself. The beach curled in a U shape, giving you a private spot where the rest of the shoreline was blocked from view and all you could see was the ominous cedar forest that stretched up the mountain, the snow caps at the top, and the horizon over the cold pacific.

You had intended to share the joint you had in your pocket with Lizzie, but...well, her loss. You spread the blanket out on the softest patch of sand and rocks you could find (which still meant you were guaranteed to get at least 2 rocks in the ass) and placed your bag down, kicking off your sneakers. You took a deep breath for the first time in a few days and lit the joint, taking one long, deep inhale. You felt it tingle through your chest and your arms and legs almost immediately, relaxing you. Being here alone always sent you into a spiral of memories and thoughts that you worked hard during the day to suppress. Most insistent lately had been thoughts about your health problems. You called them ‘health problems’ but in reality it was just an eating disorder. You could go 2, sometimes 3 days without eating anything, and never felt hungry. It started after graduation.

You had lost weight, dramatically, going from a stable 120-125 to 95 at most and 90 at worst, in the span of a month. And for the next three years you had never gained it back, you had stayed at a relatively stable 95, which still left you looking sickly and too thin at 5’3”. Your frame wasn’t built for that kind of weight drop, you were Scottish and Cree, sprinkled with a little bit of German and Irish. A classic northwest cracker mix. You weren’t naturally small, you always had a bit of something to grab onto, but it was normal to your body, healthy.

Some part of your brain knew that it had something to do with leaving school...and the pretence that came with that. The expectation...the responsibility. You were never that kind of person, and it never really bothered you, but suddenly it had. You never planned to go to University right away, but you had no back up plan. It wasn't something you and your friends really talked about. But suddenly Jacob had gotten into U of Washington, Dan had left to backpack Europe, and Rudy had not so graciously announced he was deferring his acceptance and scholarship to culinary school because he wanted to be an actor, and flew to LA the next month. You had been left behind, with Lizzy of all people, and it had hit you hard.

You looked around the beach, dragging on your joint quicker than normal, trying to knock the thoughts out of your head. An Eagle screeched above - scaring you - and you laid back on the blanket, closing your eyes. You needed to chill the hell out. This was the first time in a few weeks that you had gotten a night off from helping your dad with his guide business and you didn’t plan on wasting it riddling your brain with anxiety and worrying about your body.

You looked up at the sky and watched the mist and fog kiss the clouds, the sunset colours dancing across them. As it usually did, the rain had stopped just as the sun was going down, the clouds parting briefly and letting the smallest sliver of sunlight through, just enough to burn the grey light out of the sky and allow the pink and orange hues to fade along the horizon. You sat up and cracked a beer, enjoying the fresh smelling air and the rhythmic sound of the waves licking the shore line.

Two beers in you had put on your jacket and placed your Bluetooth speaker next to you on the blanket, blasting a playlist that Rudy had made you for your graduation party.

Three beers in you took the jacket off, standing up and dancing by yourself on the beach to the music.

Four beers in you laid down on the blanket, balled your jacket up and used it as a pillow, and started looking for shapes in the stars.

Five beers in you fell sleep.

———

Many hours later, as the sun rose and was bright on the water and the early morning bird feed was in full swing overhead, you were drifting in and out of sleep to the squawking when a shadow came across your face, alerting you to groggily open your eyes.

“What’s up, Little Fern?” His voice had gotten deeper. Wait, what?

You opened your eyes and blinked, raising a hand to block the sun. There, in your very awake and very not dreaming state, was the unmistakable silhouette that you had spent the last 18 years dreaming about and 18 years being a friend to.

Rudy.

#rudy pankow #reader x rudy #depth over distance #nakedmossywrites #jj maybank #outer banks #obx

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skyholders · 4 years

Text

Lucien: Curtain of Rain [Translation]

[A/N] This is my first time translating a full date, so pardon me if it's gone OOC, I will try my best the next time I do these date translations again. (Which will be a while because well, it's kinda tiring haha.) Also, if any grammatic mistakes are found, please notify me! Thank you for reading :)

A shout-out to @cheri-translates for the few tips she'd given me along the way! If you'd like to see Victor, Gavin, Kiro or Shaw's season two ER dates, visit their blog!

[BEFORE WE BEGIN] This date is based in season two, two years before MC's father died (Meaning MC is 20, and Lucien is 24 in this date.) If you don't know what happens in season two, please do some research here:

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Lucien: “Curtain of Rain”

Accidental Date

Date summary: After accidentally hearing the news of Lucien’s return to China, I decided to sneak into the newly built research centre, but to my surprise, I’ve encountered Lucien there once more..

•

The moment I pulled the curtains open, the sun unabashedly seeped into my bedroom, and onto the picture on the table. I softly removed the thin layer of dust on the frame, and carefully adjusted it.

“..Seriously, he’ll only promise that he’ll take care of himself with that mouth of his..”

I couldn’t help but sigh. Pulling up my sleeves, I tidied up the fallen, scrambled books and folders on my father’s study desk.

The world silently goes forward, and I follow its trace, welcoming every familiar yet foreign day. Like how it was in the past, I’ve successfully been accepted into XinYi University. I’ve temporarily moved out of Loveland, and moved away from my father.

But then, in a blink of an eye came/comes the year I look forward to the least.

Using homesickness as my excuse, I’ve started visiting my father more often, and at the same time, I’ve also started to pick up all sorts of tasks and responsibilities from the company.

“Don’t know if he’ll be able to leave work early either, I guess I’ll ask him what he wants to eat.”

I dialed his number as I said my thoughts aloud, but his ringtone rang from under my feet. Bending down to pick up his phone on the floor, an unknown contact number's text appeared without warning-

“There are news of Ares' return to the country. The research centre's constructions were completed yesterday. I’ve sent someone to monitor him.”

=MC's shocked to see the message=

The familiar name claimed my entire field of vision. And for a moment, my mind went blank, as I stared at the name over and over again, as if looking for a confirmation of what I’ve just seen.

=Door opening=

“MC?”

“..Dad, are you looking for this? I was just cleaning the study, and found it on the floor.”

I said as I casually waved the phone in my hand, trying my best to calm down, and pretended that I’ve saw nothing.

A wave of complexity flashed across his eyes, but then, it disappeared just as quickly as it came. He smiled and took the phone, gently rubbing my head,

“What a joy it is to have a daughter around.”

“Of course. Oh, dad, what would you like for dinner?”

“Hm.. tomato and eggs stir fry again?”

“I know other recipes too! You’re underestimating me!”

=Dad laughed=

“I think that everything you make tastes nice.”

I proudly nodded, and just like that, we’re walking down the staircase together, chatting and laughing along.

“-Then you’ll have to leave work on time today, alright?”

“Okay.”

=Dad headed off to work=

Watching my dad’s fading silhouette, I turned around and walked on along the opposite direction.

Two years ago, before the sudden, dramatic shift with BS, I’ve never once went up to my father and ask of BS; haven’t been to any facilities related to it. Since what’s happened in the orphanage, any topics relevant to BS are as if known secrets kept between my father and I. Even with the knowledge that Lucien was Ares, I’ve never had any encounters with him, nor have I any reasons for an encounter.

And two years ago, the sudden shift has caused BS to have an internal change of members, and because of that, Lucien left BS. The organisation’s always been interested in his whereabouts, so the “monitoring” didn’t surprise me one bit.

It’s just that..

=MC breathes in deeply, thinking back to the text message=

He’s coming back, huh?

I’ve only realise where I’ve unconsciously been heading after I’ve taken my mind off of the gutter of thoughts-

Lucien's Bioscience Research Centre

[Section One]

A few separation tapes were draped and hung onto the door frame, a handful of construction workers were still adjusting the main entrance's signboard's angle. Just like how the text’s mentioned, the building itself looks to be complete.

I’ve seen how it looked like, flooded with people going in and out of the entrance. I’ve seen how it looked like at dawn, and at night. And yet, that was the first time I’ve seen it brand new, and quiet. I took a step forward, but then the “warning” slipped into my mind unknowingly, and so I stopped for a moment.

“Your unconscious actions may perhaps lead to irreversible outcomes.”

=MC mumbled to herself:

"I think it’ll be fine if I’m only going in for a peek; I’ll be heading out very quickly anyways."

I quickly snuck through the opened door when no one’s looking. The lab was burdened with the pungent smell of formaldehyde, I couldn’t help but try and wave it away.

Perhaps it’s because nobody else’s there, my footsteps quickened, and my feet easily walked along the all too familiar path to Lucien’s office.

His office was deprived of any sort of greenery, nor was there any liveliness-only the sunlight shining through the blinds, forming intriguing shadows all over. I could almost see him taking notes off of a folder, turning to the blackboard to note down anything more; sitting by the desk and sipping on a cup of coffee from time to time, and pushing the frame of his glasses; then, by the next second, his gaze shifting away from the papers, and onto me, with the corners of his lips curving up to an attractive look. These scenes revived themselves right in front of me, as if it’s always been there; as if it’s never left.

"Lucien.."

“I miss you so much.”

My eyes suddenly felt teary. I quickly breathed in and turned around, opening the door as I left the office. The empty space of the corridor echoed the sound of my footsteps. Upon passing by the laboratory, I couldn’t help but think of the first time I met Lucien here.

“Ah, it was here, I think,”

“If everything goes according to how it’s supposed to go, then I’ll have to wait for two more years to meet you once more.”

I sighed, looking at the closed doors in front of me, rewinding back to when I judged his character based off of his looks, the awkward scene I’ve dug myself into then.

“Can’t be as foolish this time, the least I could’ve done was to be friendly..”

“But what am I supposed to say to him? Introduce myself? No, I think he knows who I am..”

As I was mumbling to myself, there’s the sudden sound of footsteps echoing from the floor below, then, the beam of light from a torch.

Oh no!

Without room to think, I quickly pushed open the doors to the laboratory, and at the same time, I felt a pull of the door from the inside.

=MC was confused=

My head bumped into the solid chest in front of me, my eyes closing due to the pain. But a sudden realisation dawned onto me and I quickly looked up.. My eyes widened, and my hands tremored slightly.

Lucien looked at me, a wave of surprise flashing through his eyes. But he quickly kept his composure, and smiled at me politely. His scent had spread to each and every corner of the room, familiar and nostalgic. Everything that’s been prepared so far immediately disassembled upon that unexpected moment; the pair of once diverged lines finally merging into one after countless moments of time.

My heartbeat raced towards my ears, leaving its vibrations as if a drum upon impact. I felt as if something had fallen into place in this moment.

Then, realising that would probably not leave a good first impression, I rushed to stand up on my own, grinning apologetically. Lucien didn’t mutter a word, instead, he observed me with an almost unnoticeable smile.

With too much of emotions urging to flood and drown my heart, I opened my mouth, and words slipped-

“Hello, I’m looking for Professor Lucien.”

He smiled a little wider.

“Is there a reason as to why you’re looking for him?”

[Section Two]

“I..”

Lucien looked at me wordlessly, calm and composed. Then suddenly, his lips morphed into a frown, as he reached out to my lips with his finger.

“Shh, someone’s here,”

He said as he inched closer, his breaths landing upon the tips of my ears. It felt a little ticklish.

“I believe you’d not like to be noticed?”

“If that’s so, I’ll have to inconvenience you for a moment. Is that alright?”

My heart skipped a couple of beats as I nodded. Lucien smiled, seemingly happy, and backed a couple of steps away. He opened the cover of the laboratory bench, revealing a small storage space.

“You’re not telling me to hide in there, are you?”

“Not if you have a better idea.”

“But unfortunately, you don’t have much time for thinking,”

Lucien tilted his chin towards the door, pointing out the increasingly close pace of the footsteps.

I bit my lips before heading in. The space was never bright to begin with, but with the sound of its door shutting, I sank further into the darkness.

A second later, an eye-piercing beam of light broke into a small opening, followed by a voice of a stranger.

“Oi, who are you? How did you get in here?”

“I’m Lucien. There weren’t any security guards on shift when I arrived today, so I came in myself. Pardon me for making you worry.”

“Wait, what’s your name again? Lucien? The Lucien of this Lucien Bioscience Research Centre?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

The man repeated Lucien’s words with exaggeration, chuckling unconvincingly,

“Buddy, lying requires a plan. Professor Lucien hasn’t even came back to China yet, which Lucien are you?”

“Seems like the message hasn’t reached you just yet.”

=Lucien took out his ID card=

“This is my identification information, I believe there won’t be anymore misunderstandings?”

Lucien looked unbothered by the misunderstanding, but his tone seemed so distant. What’s supposed to be a simple explanation felt more like a method of unconsciously pushing people a thousand miles away from him.

There’s the sound of the final bits of construction outside. Then, the man spoke, rather conflicted,

“My, I can’t believe you’re really Professor Lucien! Please excuse my impolite(ness) then. I never thought that you’re this young,”

The guard chuckled to himself.

“It’s alright.”

“There are still certain things I’ll have to check on, so if there isn’t anything else..”

“Oh, please, carry on. I’m sorry for the intrusion.”

The door closed, and silence filled the room once more. The cover above me lifted open, Lucien reached his hand towards me.

I couldn’t see him well as he’s facing back against the lights, but his hair's moving gently as he moved,

“Sorry for the wait.”

“..It’s nothing.”

I held his hand and got myself out of the laboratory bench, as soon as I’ve balanced myself, the warmth of his palm left mine.

My heart instinctively sank with a moment of disappointment.

“You haven’t told me the reason you’re looking for me.”

I stared at him like bewildered, thinking of an excuse while my mind remained blank.

“There’s no need to force yourself if you’ve not like to tell me.”

“No-hold on! It’s not that I’d not like to say it.. It’s just that I can’t say it.. just yet.”

“I can’t give you a reason at the moment. Can I tell you next time?”

Lucien looked at me curiously, his pupils shifting just for a second or so,

“Of course.”

“Actually, I’m just surprised to see you here. At this time, too.”

“Are you trying to say that.. you’re not supposed to meet me now?”

“No! Not that!”

Lucien smiled softly,

“Sorry, I was just joking.”

“But in my opinion, this may not be an accidental encounter.”

His eyes held a foreign weight with them, letting others feel that they can’t reach him. His words had a feeling of nostalgia to them, and yet I still couldn’t understand a word he’s trying to say.

“Still, I am very curious as to why you’ll intentionally come and look for me here.”

“Though one thing I can say for certain.. this time, you didn’t get lost on the way here either, did you?”

“Lost..?”

I froze, before a realisation suddenly came onto me,

The young boy sitting under the camphor tree, along with all of his relating memories, they seemed to have leapt over the rivers of time, and have merged into the Lucien in front of me.

I look at Lucien’s eyes, filled with a certain joy in them. At that moment, I couldn’t tell what I was truly feeling.

“You.. remember me?”

“Did that surprise you?”

I nodded.

“It seems like every time we meet one another, there’ll always seem to be something unexpected happening with every encounter. It’s quite intriguing.”

He lifted his hand, pausing for a second or so before placing it on my head gently.

“Actually, I’ve already recognised you the moment you bumped into me.”

“Because.. you’re very special in my eyes.”

“It’s been a while, MC.”

“I..”

I stopped myself from saying anything else, fearing that I might change certain things in the future from just a single sentence.

But there he was, standing in right in front of me, his hands a reach away from mine. If our first encounter is bound to be two years earlier than the one we had, then I couldn’t just stand still and do nothing about it.

At least this time, I can be by his side a little earlier, I can learn to observe and learn of the world around us, with him.

“Lucien, there is an actual reason why I’m here to see you.”

“I’d like to invite you to be a special guest in my company’s show, “Miracle Finder.”

“Yes, I do know of this show, but why did you choose me as the special guest?”

“Because, next time, I’ll be the lead producer of this filming company, and I’ll be responsible for this show. And I’d like to work with you. So I wonder if you’ll accept this request of mine, Professor Lucien?”

“I accept.”

“This sounds like an early invitation, but it’s the most unique one that I’ve received nonetheless. For that, I’m looking forward to it. Best of luck, MC.”

Lucien smiled, his eyes curving up as he does so.

[Section Three]

For a moment or so, neither of us talked. Instead, we basked in the silence of the room, the mild smell of sawdust stinging into our noses. I rubbed my nose and sneezed. Lucien noticed, and so he walked towards the windows, pushing them open.

The winds blew gently, and the air around us lightened up drastically.

“It’s getting late, let’s go.”

He walked towards the doors, holding them open and faced me. I nodded, and walked towards him. I followed Lucien down the empty corridors. The sun shone upon the side of his face, to the corners of his coat, moving along as he did.

I couldn’t help but to sneak glances at him, studying and memorising each fleeting second of this accidental encounter.

=Lucien notices=

“Is everything alright? You seem to have stared at me for quite a few times.”

He suddenly stopped, and looked at me, intrigued.

Without time to look away, I could only continue to look towards him. The remaining light has now landed upon the office on his side, and suddenly, an idea sunk into me.

“Because you’ve walked past your office!”

I said as I skipped a few steps, pushing the door to his office and pointing towards the little signboard on the door. Lucien looked a little shocked, as if he didn’t expect me to do something like that.

“I’m guessing you haven’t looked into your office yet?”

“Since we’re here, do you want to go in and take a look?”

I tugged at one of the sleeves of his coat, and we walked into the office. I rushed towards the windows just to pull the blinds open, letting the sunlight pour in.

“Look, isn’t it much brighter now? This room has the best lighting at around the afternoon, so we must open the blinds so that.. uh-”

Suddenly realising what I’ve just said, I quickly switched to another topic.

“Hm? What happens if we open the blinds?”

Lucien seemed to not mind about my “rambling”. Instead, he smiled and raised an eyebrow curiously.

“What I meant was that.. it’ll let the greeneries in this room photosynthesise much better.. If.. you’re planning on placing a few plants here, that is.”

“Plants, huh?”

He lifted his hand towards his chin, pondering deeply for a few seconds.

“I’ll consider it. This place does require a bit of decorations, after all. Thank you for the suggestion.”

“Though, it seems like this room is currently not suitable for the guests.”

“If that’s so, I’ll definitely visit the day this research centre opens.”

Without waiting for his response, I accompanied him towards the door.

“Are we going?”

Lucien's face was blocked by the light, which was shining onto his back.

All a sudden, a flash of white light darted across the sky, and what was once a sunny day soon became dull and gloomy.

When we’re near the staircase's exit, we’ve already lost any source of light from the outside, and are surrounded by complete darkness. There was the sound of hurried, messy footsteps on the other side of the corridor.

“Why- why’s there another person coming over?”

I looked at Lucien nervously, but was not able to decipher his expressions in the darkness. He seemed to have walked closer to me, and calmly said,

“Looks like the electricity has been cut off due to the abnormal change in weather conditions. If I remember correctly, there circuits here are still not able support normal usage.”

“Then we’ll have to walk in the dark, just in case we bump into one of the guards.”

“Can we do it?”

“I think so! It’s not as dark anyways.”

I looked around at the sea of darkness among us, and slightly grabbed onto the corners of my shirt.

Lucien took a step down the staircase, and reached out his hand.

“If you don’t mind, I can guide you.”

“..Okay.”

As the warmth of his hands reached mind, I felt a certain otherworldly longing from him.

I fidgeted the joints of my fingers around, wanting to hold him tighter, and yet waves of complicated doubts sprouted in my mind, and I unconsciously loosened my grip.

“Are you afraid?”

“Ah? Me? No..”

“If you’re scared, you can hold onto me a little tighter. I won’t mind.”

In the darkness, I could’ve sworn I’ve heard the light chuckle from Lucien, so light that is was as if non existent. Wanting to test my observations, I purposefully slowed down my pace, carelessly tightening my grip on his hand.

In that moment, I was greedily hoping that time will go a little slower, and slower than that.

“Lucien,”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing. I was just confirming whether you’re here with me.”

“...”

Lucien's body seemed to have halted for a while, he didn’t said a thing, only holding my hand and walking forward. My heart stung, but at the same time, it all felt calm and steady.

“Lucien, thanks for today. I can only thank you with my words for now, I still owe you some other forms of gratitude. I’ll give it to you the next time we meet.”

“You seem to love saying ‘Next time’.”

“Do I?”

“Looks like I’ve noticed an unconscious habit of yours.”

“See you next time, Miss. MC”

He leaned down slightly, gazing into my eyes, grinning playfully. He’d intentionally emphasised on those two words, as if he was teasing and replicating my tone of speech. I felt my cheeks warming up.

We’ve quickly reached the entrance. I slowly loosened my hold on Lucien’s hand, and looked at him,

“I’ll see you next time.”

Watching as his silhouette slowly fade into the darkness of the streets, I finally turned and left as well.

When she’d finally disappeared from his vision, his world’s only left with black and white.

=Lucien=

Feeling the gaze behind him leaving, Lucien stopped, and looked back. The path the girl had taken was temporarily brushed with striking colours, disappearing quickly as she’d left.

The sky had seemingly sunken in, the dark patches of clouds swallowing the skyscrapers of the city, making everyone feel a little breathless. Lucien walked a few streets away, stopping by a florist shop.

The car finally stopped at the suburban area of Loveland city, the metal gates of the cemetery rusted, the words on the metal sign barely visible after years of withstanding the snow, wind and rain.

It was already close to evening, so most of the cemetery’s workers have already left their shifts. There were only a few wistful silhouettes, masking in the painful silence of the deads’ graves.

The ones alive and walking in these places are often either silent or weeping loudly along the paths.

Thin splatters of rain began to fall, along the tips of his hair to the top of his shoulders. Everything was gentle, soft, as if it may disrupt something if it was just a little louder.

Lucien walked along the gravel underneath him, finally stopping in front of a gravestone.

Lucien looked at the two familiar names and years of birth and death along the gravestone, a wave of melancholy and longing rushing into his heart. He paused, before saying,

“I’m back.”

“I haven’t once visited in the past fifteen years.. I hope you don’t mind.”

He walked a few steps forward, bowed down, and placed the white bouquet in front of the grave gently.

With eyes flooded with countless of complex emotions, he reached out to rub away the layer of dirt and dust on the grave slowly.

“I think I might be able to find what I’ve been looking for soon.”

“Perhaps, it’s going even smoother than I’ve imagined,”

Lucien said lightly, his low, raspy voice washed away by the rain. His pupils dilated slightly, as if he’d thought of something.

“Never in my wildest dreams, did I think that I’d meet her again.”

“The special girl..”

Maybe he’d never once thought of the source of this peculiar feeling in his heart thoroughly. It’s the sudden bursts of colours into his world years ago under that camphor tree, it’s how he thought that he’d never see the colours once more, yet it’d reappeared into it, even if he’s already so used to the habitual, monochromatic world.

He reached into the pocket of his coat, reaching to take out a little peace knot from the inside.

Time has made the girl’s once bright red string faded a bit, yet in Lucien’s eyes, it looked exactly as it was years ago.

All these years, and he’s still keeping the important blessing close to him.

The corner of Lucien's lips lifted up briefly, but the smile soon disappeared.

A long while later, he finally stood up, silently wiping away the raindrops on his body.

“Don’t worry about me.”

His warm, gentle tone swiftly swept by the rain, he turned and walked into the curtain of rain.

[END]

•

[NOTE] Nineteen white chrysanthemums and two white lilies (Lucien's bouquet), symbolises a deep longing and missing for somebody in Chinese.

Thanks for reading! Stay safe :)

#mlqc #mr love queens choice #mr love #mlqc lucien #mlqc spoilers #mlqc dates #mlqc xumo #love and producer xumo #恋与制作人

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ao3theskyisblue · 3 years

Text

(Seeing You) For All That You Are

Summary:

"How is it that whenever we meet, it's when at least one article of clothing is missing?"

"Disappointed?"

"Of course not."

*An alternate first meeting (and meetings after that) where TK and Carlos can't seem to meet up without being at least partially naked beforehand.*

Read on ao3

Wow, it’s been a while. Gotta love online school and the faulty concept of time right now 🙃

I may or may not have gotten this idea over the exam season, and literally right after I sat my ass down to work through this fic.

I hope you enjoy! 😊

~~~~~~~~~~

TK wasn’t quite sure how he found himself in his current predicament.

It might have been his rebellious side resurfacing from his teenage years, because when he saw that the hotel pool was open 24/7, safety at your own discretion, he thought it would be a brilliant idea to go at 3:07am, thinking he’d have the pool all to himself. It was an awkward time of the year to take a vacation after all, most office workers would be working in the middle of September, and school had just started.

He had coincidently just graduated from his undergrad at NYU, deciding to apply to become a firefighter at the last second. Since he was a little late in his application, he had a bit of free time before getting serious about his future career. His father had suggested they take a small vacation away from the hustle and bustle of the city to explore the wild – namely, hiking near the Five Finger Lakes.

He had overheard the receptionists mentioning how it had been a slow week, with tourists generally dissipating after the end of August to go back to their busy lives. So, what better time than to experience an empty pool in the early hours of the morning to wind down?

After hiking for the entire day to enjoy what nature had to offer, Owen had collapsed on one of the beds and slipped right into a deep slumber, leaving TK still high from the adrenaline rush of the hike. It was then that he remembered the pool the receptionist had kindly mentioned when they first checked in, and plus, showering in the communal showers there will prevent him from accidentally waking up his dad, who clearly needed the rest.

And lo and behold, he was correct. Other than his own quiet footsteps and the low buzzing of the diminished ceiling lights, the pool was completely empty.

Doing a few laps at his own pace, he ignored how his mind persistently nudged at him to go over every single detail of his firefighter application he had handed in earlier that day, hoping to find some flaw in the stack of documents he couldn’t fix for the 20th time anymore.

Maybe music will help.

It was easy to let his guard down when he knew he was alone – no one to judge him on his music genre, or his singing abilities. Which is how he found himself singing at the top of his lungs to Cody Simpson’s Pretty Brown Eyes, rocking his hips to the beat in what he knew was a very exaggerated manner.

The hotel lobby had been playing the song on loop for some odd reason, and the nostalgic throwback had the song quickly stuck in his head as he hummed along to the lyrics.

What was that saying, dance like no one is watching?

And that was how he found himself slamming his back against the wall of the shower stall, gesturing wildly as he half-laughed, half-sang the lines ‘hey there pretty brown eyes, whatcha’ doing later tonight?”

Everything was going splendidly. He was about to sing the next line, leaning down to pick up his bottle of body wash when it happened.

They say fate greets you in mysterious ways. It either sledgehammers you to the brutal truths of reality, or-

“Would you mind if I spent a minute with you?”

Or it greets you with a voice singing the next part of the song that wasn’t his own.

An ice-cold sensation of wakefulness hit him all at once, when he realized that that wasn’t his voice. TK froze, the next lyrics falling short as he stopped mid-dance move to look around wildly. And he made two observations.

There was someone in the shower.

He was going to fall.

He barely had time to be embarrassed by the sound of surprise he made at both realizations as he frantically moved to grab something – anything, to help with the very unfriendly meeting he was going to have with the concrete soon. Unfortunately, the only thing within his reach was the shower curtain, which did nothing to break his inevitable plummet to the very hard floor.

Dammit-

“Are you alright?”

TK groaned as he pressed the heel of his hands to his forehead, mentally assessing if there were unusual onsets of pain anywhere before deciding he was fine. Looking up, his eyes widened at the ethereal sight that greeted him.

There was a very noticeable part.

But apart from…that, standing in front of him, all towering and absolutely gorgeous, was a man. At least, TK thinks it was a man and not some god the universe decided to send down to torment his existence.

‘All animals were created equal’ his ass. Orwell was right, some were definitely more equal than others.

The man was sporting abs that would make even the best washboards jealous, water droplets dripping down the column of his neck and reaching his chest, seeming to be in a race to see which one would reach his –

TK quickly averted his gaze, his mind screaming at him to do the exact opposite, but he had manners he liked to uphold. And the residual level of self-control.

The mysterious man made a sound of realization before there was a quick shuffling, and a quiet “you can look now” in a very amused tone, and TK slowly turned to look at the man again, who was now extending a hand to him. The water droplets had now successfully made it well past the half-way point, and TK was definitely not silently cheering for the left one as the race continued towards the low-strung towel the man had haphazardly wrapped around his waist.

“Hi.” He blurted out, unconsciously letting the beautifully crafted hand pull him upright.

“Hi.” The man mused, their hands slowly releasing from each other’s grip. TK noticed the man’s eyes drifting down quickly and was that appreciation in his gaze? He couldn’t tell and decided not to dwell on it as he quickly grabbed his towel to wrap around his own lower half, cheeks now a brilliant colour of all the shades of red.

“It’s nice to…be acquainted. With all of you. Not that I was looking.” Foot insert into mouth, now.

“Mmh, right.” Or better yet, maybe praying for the ground to swallow him whole would be better.

“This is turning into one of the most awkward first meetings I’ve ever had.” TK cleared his throat in what he hoped was a casual manner, but that was definitely pushing it as this was anything but casual. “And I’ve met some people running on two hours of sleep and six cups of coffee.”

The man laughed, the deep undertone resonating within the walls of the shower room, and TK felt his own lips tipping up into a large grin at succeeding in making light of the situation.

“If it’s any solace, this is one of the best first meetings I’ve had.” The man chuckled, moving to cross his arms over his chest, sadly obscuring TK’s view of the water droplets and the resulting winner of the race.

Shame.

Though, he couldn’t really complain as the movement further accentuated the man’s biceps, and wow, how does he even fit into his clothes?

Shaking his head, TK’s grin turned into a smirk when he remembered how he had found himself in this position in the first place.

“So, I see you’re a man of culture as well.” TK raised an eyebrow, opting to shift his weight to the side in a flirty stance, further showcasing the curves of his body. The man furrowed his eyebrows slightly in confusion. “Cody Simpson fan?”

TK watched as the man snorted, shaking his head. He tried very hard to pretend that he was not very obviously staring at the wet curls coming loose at the movement.

“Not really. I’ve just heard that song in particular more times than I can keep count. Especially from my siblings.” The man rolled his eyes in exasperation, and TK grinned.

“They all have good taste then. The song suits you very well.” TK wanted very badly to wink at the end, but decided to hold himself back. This was only their first meeting after all, he didn’t want to scare him off that quickly.

“You too. The first word of the song at least.” TK blinked, bewildered, because he didn’t have brown eyes –

Oh.

He distantly wondered if his cheeks could successfully cook a rotisserie chicken at the temperature they were currently at right now.

“Did you need to finish your shower? I’m sorry for interrupting.” TK quickly changed the subject, opting to ignore how the man’s eyes glinted knowingly.

“I was about to get dressed, actually. But now I’m kind of glad I didn’t.” The man smirked. TK rolled his eyes good-naturedly, reaching out to swat at the bulky shoulder. He was about to retort something smart back when they were interrupted by the loud ringing of a phone, and TK smiled in understanding when the man shot him an apologetic look.

“That would be my sister wondering where the hell I am. I’m – I’m sorry to cut this short.” The man gestured toward the general locker area, and TK waved his hand reassuringly.

“No worries. Go ahead.” TK tilted his head towards the locker rooms and took a moment to appreciate the retreating back of the man before heading into the shower stall to finish off what he had barely started.

He hadn’t expected the man to wait for him, but TK couldn’t help but feel a small sliver of disappointment when it was completely quiet when he made his way to the lockers.

He hadn’t even asked the man for his name.

The disappointment quickly dissipated when he saw a small sliver of – was that a paper towel? stuck between the crevices of his locker with messy writing on one side that looked like someone had been in a rush while writing it.

Hey! I’m so sorry but something came up and I have to go, but it was nice meeting you! Let’s do this again someday!

TK didn’t need a mirror to know he was sporting a silly grin, eyes immediately drifting down to the number written hastily on the bottom, wasting no time in taking out his phone to input his new contact.

Looks like he had a chance to ask the man for a name after all.

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

He did not, in fact, ask the man for his name.

It’s been nearly four months, and the nameless man was still saved in his phone as ‘Left Droplet’ because for one, the left droplet would have definitely won, and two, because he didn’t want his dad to accidentally see him receiving text messages from a ‘hot shower man.’ He debated over that or ‘pretty brown eyes,’ and, embarrassingly, he had spent the first couple of days switching between the two.

They had texted non-stop since then, and as they moved from one random topic to the next, names were the absolute last things on their minds. Left Droplet was slowly but surely becoming one of TK’s best friends, and they didn’t need to be on a ‘know your name’ basis for him to know that they shared something special.

What he’s learned so far in their texting spree was that the man was from Austin, Texas (1743 miles, 6 states, not that he was counting), an aspiring police officer who had just started in the police academy, the youngest of five, and too good to be true.

TK was still in honest disbelief sometimes that a man in his caliber could even exist, and to top it all off, he even chose to work in a similar field.

Currently, he was standing on the sidelines at the annual fire academy retreat for lessons on team bonding, occasionally glancing up from his phone at the uninteresting beach volleyball game going on between four of the more enthusiastic students.

Left Droplet: The person who came up with a beach retreat of all things to relax should be arrested

TK snickered at the most recent message, thumbs moving quickly to type out his own response.

TK: I thought you would enjoy activities that involved fewer articles of clothing

Left Droplet: Depends on the person I’m with

He really should have realized the uncanny coincidence before he spotted a familiar figure off in the distance. He thought he recognized the way the muscles rippled across the man’s back when he moved, the familiar strands of curls shifting slightly when he moved.

Wearing nothing but swim shorts.

When he managed to convince himself that no, his eyes were definitely not playing games with him, that it wasn’t a mirage, that the man standing a little further away was indeed the man he had been furiously texting with, TK finally made his move.

Carefully closing the distance between them, making sure not to make any sudden movements to deter from his surprise attack, TK grinned as he covered his target’s eyes with the palms of his hands. He could feel him tensing slightly, probably thinking that it was some random stranger.

Ironic, considering.

“We have got to stop meeting up like this.” TK murmured close to the man’s ear, and they grinned in tune with each other. They both laughed and TK’s grin widened when warm hands lifted to cover his own, thumbs gently caressing the inside of his wrists.

“You’ve got to admit there is a certain charm to it.” The man chuckled, and TK slowly released his hold, green eyes meeting warm brown ones once again. He briefly noted that those eyes drifted down quickly at his own lack of clothes save his summer shorts.

“What is the future Austin PD doing all the way out here?” TK asked, intrigued, as there had to be plenty of beaches in Austin, and while this beach was a good five-hour drive from New York City, it had to be a nearly two-day road trip from Austin. He was given an exasperated sigh as an answer.

“Apparently team bonding for us meant extended road trip, and this was just one of the stops.” TK took a chance to look behind the aspiring police officer to the others also a part of the trip, and interestingly enough, they were all caught up in their own game of frisbee. Or, what looked like a frisbee.

“You know what amazes me?”

TK turned back to the person standing in front of him, an unconscious smile tugging up the corners of his lips.

“What’s that?”

He watched, fascinated, as the man extended his hand once again, his eyes shining with laughter.

“I’m Carlos, it’s nice to see you again.” The man, Carlos, says, and TK has to bite his bottom lip to hold back a laugh. “I was hoping to finally have a name to go with your number when we met again, and not just ‘pretty boy I met in the shower.’”

“TK.” Accepting the extended hand, he couldn’t help but notice how their hands lingered in each other’s hold before finally separating. “It’s nice to see you again too. And to have a name to put with the face.”

“So, I’m guessing you’re also here for ‘team bonding?’” Carlos rolled his eyes at the last part, and TK nodded, tipping his head back towards where the other members of the fire academy graduating in a few weeks were.

“Yeah. Which mostly just consists of the more enthusiastic extroverts making merry while the rest of us stare at our phones.” TK deadpanned, a warmth spreading through his chest at Carlos’ responding grin. In a leap of confidence, he reached out to take Carlos’ hand in his, making sure to put on his most charming smile.

“Since you seem to be also standing on the sidelines, want to accompany me to some ice cream?” TK made sure to widen his eyes a little, dipping his head down and looking up in a way he’s practiced since he was ten when he wanted ice cream cake for dinner. Even his father, who tried his hardest not to dote too much could never resist.

He hid a smirk when he saw Carlos visibly startle, before shaking his head and smiling brightly.

“Lead the way.”

Works like a charm every time.

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

They weren’t dating.

Not really, anyway.

There was the constant texting, the occasional facetime, and the fact that TK probably knew more about Carlos than the man himself.

There was the one memorable moment when Carlos had texted him, absolutely frantic, about what the hell he was supposed to wear to a wedding when he forgot all about it in the whirlwind of other life events and found the invite underneath some papers on his desk. They had facetimed then, and TK had to hold back his laughter at the sight of Carlos’ closet almost completely empty, piles of potential outfit options messily strewn all over his bed.

“You know, there’s always the option to just not wear anything.” TK snickered, and couldn’t hold back his laugh at Carlos’ deadpan stare into the camera like he was in The Office.

“Not sure the bride and groom are going to appreciate a police officer showing up naked to a wedding reception.” Carlos drawled, narrowing his eyes as TK snorted.

“They obviously have poor taste then.” TK grinned, eyes scanning lazily over the outfits on Carlos’ bed, trying not to linger on the latter and instead focus on the clothes. “The navy one. The second one on the left? Go with that one.”

TK found himself tilting his phone to try and peek at the skin that Carlos wasn’t showing, before mentally groaning when he remembered the view was given from Carlos’ end, and he couldn’t exactly reach through his own phone to shift Carlos’ a little lower.

A true shame, really.

“I have to get going in…5 minutes. Wow am I glad I’m not a girl at times like this.” Carlos muttered, and TK could hear rustling in the background as Carlos practically snatched the outfit and was most likely putting it on.

“If you were a girl, maybe you would have actually remembered days before instead of hours.” TK smirked, watching in amusement as Carlos tapped the speakers on his phone in an attempt to showcase his annoyance.

It was rather counterproductive judging by the unabashed grin on his lips every time TK could catch a glimpse of it through the hurried movement.

“Remember to send pics!” TK practically sing-songed, before bidding a quick ‘good-bye,’ leaving himself staring at the facetime screen of his phone for a while, a giddy smile on his lips.

Even with facetime, he hadn’t quite seen the entire picture Carlos painted, and appreciating him through a screen was never enough. He wanted to see for himself how the material folded around his body, feel the warmth through the soft fabric, smell the –

And that’s enough of a digress.

TK was also pretty sure Owen knew about the mysterious texts even though he never asked him outright. He knew his father was waiting for him to say it himself, but it was all so new (on a technicality basis), and TK didn’t want to accidentally break the glass before even lifting it off the shelf first.

Okay, so the ice cream date-not-date was fun, and the late afternoon shoreline walk after that was honestly very romantic. TK had boldly kissed Carlos on the cheek in parting before the two left in their own separate directions as they headed back to their homes.

They lived in two different worlds, and practically on opposite sides of the country (that may be an exaggeration, but still). The only way they met was by coincidence, both of them very obviously avoiding the subject of planned meetups.

It had been another two months before it happened again.

“How is it that whenever we meet, it’s when at least one article of clothing is missing?”

TK should honestly be surprised at hearing the voice from the person he yearned for every time over the phone so close in his vicinity, but didn’t even turn around before quipping back, “disappointed?” Smiling when he felt a hand slip around his waist, he willingly let himself be pulled in for a side hug.

It was only their third time meeting like this, in a gym shower of all places, but Carlos’ voice has since been ingrained in his memory. He leaned into the hold naturally, putting down the shirt he was seconds away from pulling over his head to wrap his arms around Carlos instead.

“Of course not.” Carlos murmured, and TK reveled in the feeling of warmth that wasn’t just from the skin-to-skin contact, looking up to see Carlos already looking down at him, eyes crinkling fondly.

“Are you going to tell me we’re sharing the same gym now?” TK mused, squirming slightly when Carlos pinched the skin above his hip in admonishment.

“The officer I’m shadowing got called out here to help with a case. This gym happened to be close to where I’m staying, so I thought I would try it out.” Carlos tilted his head, and TK immediately knew what he was going to ask.

“There was a little accident at the station and the equipment room is out of order for the meantime, and coincidentally, this gym is also close to where I live.” TK explained, groaning when Carlos’ eyes glinted knowingly.

“You mean, when you thought it would be a great idea to microwave the eggs that you forgot to cook thinking it would be faster, only to cause an explosion?” Carlos asked innocently, and TK huffed, stepping out of Carlos’ embrace to glare at the audacity.

“I did not tell you that so you could make fun of me.” TK knew he was pouting slightly, but was a little too peeved to care. It didn’t seem like Carlos got the memo, because the smile on his face only grew wider, morphing into an unabashed grin.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Just like when you told me how you thought microwaving frozen meat will make it defrost faster. What did the microwave ever do to you? The poor thing.” Carlos teased, laughing as TK didn’t even hesitate to shove his shoulder in reprimand, his own lips twitching upwards.

“You know, I’m only taking you for your word when you say you’re actually a good cook. I have yet to see for myself.” TK scowled, crossing his arms over his chest and definitely did not feel gleefully accomplished at how Carlos’ eyes seemed to linger on his arms.

“Let me show you.”

TK paused, looking up to see Carlos watching him with an unreadable look in his eyes, though he sounded determined. “I’m off until tomorrow morning, so if you’re free, would you like to have dinner with me?” Carlos continued, and TK noticed how he seemed to shift his weight slightly, fingers twitching at his sides as if – as if he was nervous.

And there it was.

The dancing around each other, the avoidance of the elephant in the room. Carlos had just offered him a steppingstone to cross the distance between their chasm of a raging river, and TK –

TK had a shift.

He didn’t, but he couldn’t – not like this.

They were simply two halves who happened to meet at the wrong time, placed into each other’s lives at the wrong moment, and…they needed time. Time to nurture whatever it was between them, time to just��be with each other.

TK wanted so badly to take Carlos’ offer, but after tonight…what then? They would still be 1743 miles apart, in two different worlds, living completely different lives.

A long-distance relationship between two first responders in two different states was bound for disaster, and TK would rather drown in his sea of emotions than mess up what he had with Carlos right now.

Swallowing back the overwhelming onslaught of emotions, TK looked down at his bare feet against the cold rubber floor sheets. He didn’t know they could actually feel cold, but right now, in this moment, it was like walking on ice.

“Carlos, I– I’m sorry. I can’t.” TK wasn’t sure if the other people in the room felt the temperature drop a couple of degrees. “I have a shift.” He winced at the blatant lie at the end, and if he could hear the lie plain as day, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Carlos had heard considering he was a police officer in training now.

The silence after that was deafening.

They’ve had their share of silence, but those were usually filled with warmth and comfort as they simply let themselves enjoy being in each other’s presence. Like that time when they sat next to each other, sharing bites of the other’s ice cream. Or that time when their hands grazed lightly against each other as they walked along the beach in the golden light of early sunset.

This kind of silence shattered the glass TK had sworn not to break.

“Okay.”

TK knew he shouldn’t have looked up.

Carlos had one hell of a poker face, but his eyes…

His eyes told him everything that was left unsaid.

The hurt. The reluctant acceptance. The frustrating trace of understanding.

TK hated the last one the most.

TK knew Carlos somewhat understood their predicament, but he had chosen to take the leap anyway- and TK had taken that bout of confidence away from him.

Sometimes life just outright sucks.

He wanted, so much, to explore whatever it was that was between them. He wanted to experience what it was like to see Carlos’ bed hair in the morning, witness his morning routine, know his quirks and find out his pet peeves. Most importantly, he wanted to get to know Carlos, heart and soul, through real-life conversation rather than some electronic device that could only do so much.

He wanted so many things, and yet, all that he could get out was,

“I need to go.”

And that was the last thing he said before they entered an entire month of silence.

The first time TK heard Taylor Swift’s song The Story of Us, he hadn’t quite understood the line ‘I never heard silence quite this loud.’

He hadn’t even noticed his phone being awfully quiet since Carlos had come into his life until the texts stopped.

One month.

One month of their not-relationship-but-also-kind-of-relationship hit a pause button.

An entire month of TK drafting out messages, checking the punctuation, saying them out loud to test the authenticity, before deleting the entire thing only to start again moments later.

He wasn’t even sure Carlos wanted to hear from him again, so his thumb always hovered over the ‘send’ button, overwhelming doubt surfacing at the last second to have him tossing his phone aside and giving up altogether.

Rinse and repeat.

So, when Carlos’ signature text tone finally sounded 32 days, 8 hours, 4 minutes, and 21 seconds after that fiasco of a conversation, he had practically leaped over the entire dining room table to get to his phone on the kitchen counter.

Carlos: Do you think fate could ever be kind to us?

TK felt the wetness slipping down his cheeks before realizing he was even crying at the simple question that had broken their wall of silence. Alone, he was free to laugh wetly as he pressed the heel of his hands to his eyes, wiping away the residual tears hastily. The hand that held his phone clenched it tighter, as if afraid the message would suddenly disappear, and he shakily tapped on the screen to open his keyboard.

TK: I don’t know about fate,

TK hesitated in typing out the next part, wanting to make sure that Carlos would understand, beyond all doubt, that he truly did believe in a someday.

They would have their time.

TK: but I think we make a pretty great team.

The next message that greeted TK through the screen had his lips stretch in a watery smile.

I believe in us.

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

It was a Wednesday.

A hot, humid, and sweat-inducing Wednesday.

TK didn’t know why he was at a waterpark of all places, but his father had decided it was about time to have some ‘father and son bonding time’ and since it was one of the hottest months of the year, a waterpark it was.

He hadn’t even bothered to check where the waterpark was even located, instead trusting Owen to get them there and back.

He probably should have checked the brochure.

“You know, I’m starting to think the universe just doesn’t want me to get to know you with clothes on.”

TK startled at the voice that has seamlessly established a home within his heart so close to him, and felt the familiar flutter in his chest when he was greeted with the face of the man he was irrevocably in love with.

The revelation should have honestly been staggering; the seemingly simple four-letter word always guarded close in lock and key. But it was Carlos, and TK wasn’t sure he knew how not to love him.

Was that even a possibility?

“Must be absolute torture.” TK tried for a teasing tone, but the amount of emotion that those words held weren’t missed by Carlos’ astute nature, and he graciously sank into the offered hug. This was their first meeting after their sort-of-fight, and no amount of HD phone screens could beat the 3-D figure of the police officer in his arms.

“On the contrary,” TK rolled his eyes, laughing all the same as Carlos’ eyebrows wiggled playfully. “I’m quite enjoying it.” Carlos reached up to gently grasp one of TK’s hands that had been wrapped around his shoulders, bringing it up to his lips to delicately kiss the back of it.

“Okay, you need to stop trying to make me swoon.” TK groaned, though the bright grin on his lips told the exact opposite, and Carlos knew it.

“It’s been sixty-seven days since our last meet. Leave me alone.” TK couldn’t help an endeared tilt of his head at the low whine in Carlos’ voice, leaning forward to press a quick but meaningful kiss to the corner of Carlos’ lips. He hid his smile at the slightly stunned look, squeezing the hand that was tightly held in his.

“If you’re going to be this sappy after not even a month of us being apart, maybe we should meet in a year and see how things go.” TK teased. He watched, pleased, as Carlos immediately looked like he had bitten into something sour.

“I don’t think I can handle that.” Carlos said seriously, and once again, TK was taken aback at the raw sincerity in the man standing with barely any breathing distance before him.

“I feel the same.” TK murmured, knowing that Carlos had heard the other meaning behind his words by the way he brushed his thumb over his hip slowly.

“So, what on earth are you doing at a water park a million miles away from New York?” Carlos asked, a welcome subject change, and TK snorted.

“One, we really need to work on your geography because I’m pretty sure that’s not a thing. Two, would you like the sappy answer, the creepy answer, or the complete boring truth?” TK stepped out of their hold slowly, though still keeping their hands intertwined. Carlos chuckled, gesturing for him to continue as he knew TK was going to tell him both anyway.

This man knew him too well, and it was a wonderous feeling.

“My heart felt yours beat in the rhythm of Venture River Water Park and knew our bond couldn’t survive if I didn’t answer in tune.” TK scrunched up his nose at how cheesy that sounded, but continued anyway. “My dad wanted some family bonding time and decided to drive to the furthest waterpark he could get away with without pissing me off. I minored in Hacking 101 and tried to find your Myspace from 2003 for your darkest secrets but instead found your Instagram through your LinkedIn and saw your story so I came here so I could see you.” Carlos’ eyebrows seemed to climb higher and higher at each answer, eyes widening comically at the last part.

“Do I even want to know which one is which?” Carlos asked slowly, expression switching rapidly from terrified to bewildered.

“They’re in no particular order. Nor are they discordant.” TK grinned, this time not even holding back his laugh at Carlos’ unimpressed stare.

“You know, you do have my number. You could have just asked me for my Instagram instead of going through that loophole.” TK rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“What fun would that be?”

“Are you deliberately seeing how many rules you can break in front of a cop? As a flirting tactic?” Carlos asked incredulously, and TK could see him looking just a touch impressed, if not a little disgruntled.

“I don’t know, is it working?” TK grinned, eyes shifting slightly to see his dad still surrounded by the same women five minutes ago, looking a little out of place but still smiling politely into whatever conversation they were having.

“Always.” His eyes drifted back to Carlos, feeling his heart thudding pleasantly in his chest at the fond look that hadn’t left his gaze. He was sure his own eyes were betraying every single emotion he was feeling but couldn’t say, so he opted to lean in closer to touch their foreheads together gently.

“I really am happy to see you again.” TK said quietly, not wanting to disrupt their bubble of intimacy.

“Me too, Terence Khalifa, me too.” TK immediately reared back at that, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the self-satisfied grin on Carlos’ face.

“Did you just call me Terence? Khalifa?” TK scowled as Carlos snickered, clearly enjoying his reaction.

“It’s been what, more than half a year? I thought I would try my chances.” Carlos laughed, and TK rolled his eyes, his lips twitching up helplessly into a smile.

“I’ll give you three chances.”

“Thor Klausen.”

“My dad may be an avid fan, but no, try again.”

“Tiger Kage. With a K, of course.”

“Are you kidding – “

“Not really, Tyler Kennedy.”

TK blinked, the rejection on the tip of his tongue before he realized that he couldn’t exactly reject that, since it was exactly what the letters stood for.

What –

“How did you – “ TK studied Carlos’ innocent expression intently for a moment, before huffing. “You knew.”

“When we went for ice cream the second time we met,” Carlos’ tone seemed to soften at the memory, and TK couldn’t help mirroring the warm smile. “you dropped your wallet. When I leaned down to pick it up for you, your driver's license slipped out slightly.”

TK furrowed his eyebrows, replaying that scene from a couple of months ago again mentally. Because what he remembered was –

“I asked you to hold my stuff when I had to go to the restroom. I never dropped anything…” TK’s eyes widened in realization, reaching forward to swat Carlos’ arm in reprimand.

“You sneaky SOAB!” Carlos raised an eyebrow at that, a questioning look in his eyes.

“SOAB?”

“Son of a bi-“

“TK!” Carlos quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes darting quickly to the group of kids making their way towards them, eyes narrowing as TK’s laughs were muffled in the palm of his hands.

“-businessman.” TK grinned cheekily when Carlos let go, nudging him lightly. When he lifted his gaze again, he noticed his father now alone, the women gone somewhere else and staring at him with a puzzled expression, eyes squinting in the sunlight to try and make out who he was with.

“You should probably get back.” Carlos said, following his line of sight, and TK swallowed past the pit growing in his stomach.

“Carlos, I–“

“I know.” Carlos murmured, reaching to squeeze his arm gently. “I know. I’ll see you soon.”

TK hadn’t realized he was wringing his hands together restlessly until a familiar warmth covered them, carefully stopping his movements.

“Hopefully, the next time we meet will be with all our clothes on.” TK joked weakly, but Carlos took it in stride as always.

“By now, I’m not sure I’ll even be able to recognize you with actual clothes on.” Carlos mused, eyes shining impishly, and TK shrugged, unperturbed.

“I’ll be sure to walk in my birthday suit more often down the street to minimize that problem.”

“Please don’t. I don’t want to have to arrest you for public indecency.” Carlos groaned, though TK knew he would do no such thing.

“All worth it if it means I’ll get to see you again.” TK whispered softly.

There was a moment where they both stared at each other, each wearing delicate smiles, before TK gave Carlos’ hands one last squeeze. Turning around, he didn’t look back as he headed back to where Owen was still standing, watching him with an unreadable expression.

He knew that all his resolve would crumble the second he turned around.

And so, he marched forward.

The news caught him off guard on a mildly chilly afternoon in August.

“Austin…as in Austin, Texas?” TK blinked at his father, who was standing a little way away from him, seeming almost nervous.

“Do you know of another Austin?”

“No dad, I was just…” TK trailed off, a whirlwind of thoughts swimming through his head.

Austin.

Texas.

Carlos.

“They asked for my assistance in re-building one of the firehouses there, Station 126, and I thought it would be a great opportunity,” Owen explained, running a hand through his well-kept hair anxiously, before holding up his hands.

“-Look, if it’s too sudden, we don’t have to-“

“When do we leave?” TK couldn’t help the excitement creeping up in his tone, and he knew his father was probably thinking he was crazy, agreeing to move halfway across the country so suddenly without even needing to process it a little bit.

“Are you sure? Austin isn’t a simple few hours drive from New York, son, if you need to think about it more – “

“Dad.” TK sighed in fond exasperation, walking closer to pull his father into a tight hug. “I’m sure. Very sure. I promise; besides, it might be good for us.” TK murmured, and felt his father squeeze him a little tighter, his originally tense muscles relaxing.

“Alright.”

TK was practically vibrating the entire week before the move, and although he was a little sad leaving his old team, they all understood and wished them the best. He knew Owen knew there was definitely something else he wasn’t telling him, but took his enthusiasm in stride.

In the end, he opted to keep the move a secret from Carlos for now, wondering if it would be a nice surprise when they finally did meet.

Officially.

Austin was…different.

For one thing, the service seemed to be a little better. TK could remember the numerous occasions where his phone had cut off randomly from the plethora of skyscrapers blocking signals.

So far, everyone had been very welcoming, and he was already getting along with the new crew that they were slowly putting together. They were in the middle of playing 10 questions, and Paul had been amidst his explanation of why he had the entire collection of the Sherlock Holmes series when there was a sound of wheels against gravel in the entrance bay.

“That must be Austin PD checking up on us.” Owen hummed offhandedly, and TK immediately felt his heart leap to his throat.

“Looks like your explanation will have to wait for later, Strickland.” Judd patted Paul’s shoulder in passing, and TK followed quietly after his crewmates as they headed down the stairs. He knew he shouldn’t have his hopes up, because Austin PD wasn’t just consisted of Carlos alone, and it could literally be anyone.

“Captain Strand? I’m officer Reyes, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Okay no, that voice was definitely –

The world seemed to sharpen in the display of wondrous colours as he laid his eyes on Carlos, standing in his police uniform in front of his father, who was currently shaking his hand.

To think he actually thought Carlos couldn’t look even better, he just had to show up in full uniform.

TK hid a small smile when he saw Carlos looking a little confused, obviously recognizing Owen from somewhere but couldn’t place where quite yet.

“Likewise.” Owen smiled politely, and TK had to hold back a laugh when his dad’s eyes widened slightly in recognition, obviously putting together whatever was about to happen in his head as the pieces all came into place. “These are some of the members of my team. Marjan, Judd, Paul, Mateo,” everyone lifted a hand or offered the officer a kind smile at the introduction, with Judd giving Carlos a fist bump.

“-and TK.”

And that was when surprised brown eyes clashed with brilliant green.

TK stepped forward slowly, chuckling softly at how wide Carlos’ eyes were, multiple emotions surfacing one after the other as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, officer. Fully-clothed this time.” TK teased, and that was what finally brought Carlos out of his stupor.

“So, TK Strand, huh?”

Right, practically a year of knowing each other, and they forgot to somehow throw their respective last names in the list. Carlos’ voice sounded a little emotional, and honestly, TK could relate, from the way his own body wanted to be as close to Carlos as physically possible, but they had time for all that later.

Right now…

“That should be my line, Carlos Reyes.”

They stepped forward at the same time, engulfed in each other's arms as reality finally dawned on them.

The distance between them was 0 miles, 0 states, and an abundant amount of time.

They finally got their chance.

#Tarlos #Tarlos fic #tk x carlos #Just a little something

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whitesparrows97 · 4 years

Text

A Thousand Springs – Part 20

Pairing: BTS x Reader/OT7 x Reader

Warnings: Heavy, heavy angst (seriously, the ending is not for the faint-hearted), mentions of blood, violence and suicide

Word Count: 5.5K

Previous / Next

(picture credit: photograph by Mok Jung Wook for TIME Magazine)

Warm. That was the first thing you noticed the next morning. You felt incredibly warm. You blinked as bright rays of sunlight hit your face and sprinkled the room with light. Your gaze slid down your body and immediately you saw an arm wrapped tightly around the middle of your body. You turned your head and saw that Taehyung lay snugly nestled beside you. You raised one hand and brushed the hairs from his face, which were standing out in all directions due to sleep.

It took a moment before you stopped in your movement. Wait, Taehyung? Your gaze fell to your other side where Jimin lay, his head at the spot where your shoulders and neck met. His warm breath met your skin at regular intervals. When you saw them sleeping so peacefully beside you, your heart leapt with joy. You remembered the previous evening and the words you had exchanged with Jimin. You couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across your face.

You closed your eyes again and enjoyed the moment of feeling the warmth of the two men beside you. Their regular breaths calmed you down and you felt yourself drifting back to sleep.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep again,” you suddenly heard a voice and immediately you opened your eyes again. Confused and still sleepy, you looked at Namjoon, who sat on the edge of the bed watching you with a warm smile.

“How long have you been sitting there?” you asked in a hoarse voice, not yet fully functional from the deep sleep.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe five minutes. You’re hard to wake up,” he said laughing, “almost as difficult as those two.” He made a chin movement towards the two men next to you.

It was quiet for a moment and you hardly dared to ask, so much you enjoyed the closeness of the two. But you knew that time did not stand still. “Do we have to go?”

Namjoon nodded and gave you a wistful look. “You get ready, I’ll take care of these two sleepyheads.”

You laughed and tried to carefully free yourself from Taehyung’s clasp. In vain. The moment you tried to release Taehyung’s hand from your hip, his grip immediately strengthened. He muttered something before pressing his face into your neck. “Tae,” you said softly and tried to shake him awake. That too, in vain.

“You won’t get far with that volume,” Namjoon explained to you, whom you looked at seeking help. He sighed before he got up from the bed and tore the blanket off you. Both men next to you muttered something incomprehensible and Taehyung wrapped his leg around yours.

“Well done, Namjoon,” you said laughing when you couldn’t move at all anymore.

“We’ll have that fixed in a moment,” Namjoon assured you, but he was interrupted by Jungkook who came through the door just then.

He took a quick look at the three of you in bed before a grin spread across his face. A moment later he lay across you three, and you definitively had the feeling of being crushed and the fear of never being able to leave the bed again.

“Jungkook,” Namjoon groaned and pulled the youngest back to his feet. Taehyung and Jimin next to you stirred again and it seemed as if the hubbub had finally woken them both up. You seized the opportunity and released yourself from Taehyung’s grip. With a laugh you noticed the two men complaining about your sudden disappearance before you went out the door.

∞ ∞ ∞

A little later you all sat spread out on two cars and made your way to the shopping center. You remembered going there a few times. Especially at the beginning of college you liked to study in one of the cafés there, before you eventually withdrew into your own four walls. That’s why you felt a little nostalgic when Hoseok drove into the mall’s parking garage.

“I have the perfect store in mind where we can look for dresses,” Taehyung said, intertwining your hand with his and almost dragging you to the elevators. The store he meant looked more than fancy from the outside and you knew you would never have gone in there alone. You had always avoided such high-priced stores. So you were surprised when a lady, around her early sixties, came up to you and welcomed you.

“What may I help you with?” she asked and smiled at you. “I assume you are looking for a dress for the young lady here?”

You returned her smile and nodded, immediately a touch more relaxed as her warm and open nature swept over you. “Do you have anything special in mind?”

“Surprise us,” Namjoon said, winking at the lady. She giggled and made a waving hand movement in his direction before turning around and walking to the rows of dresses.

“Have you never been to balls before, Noona?” Jungkook asked, who brushed his hand over one of the dresses. He looked up when you didn’t respond straight away.

“Not really,” you dodged the subject and turned your gaze to the many different fabrics and styles as well. “Somehow it was never really my thing…”

“You’ll like this, trust us,” Jin joined in and gave you an encouraging smile. Before you could respond, the elderly lady came up to you, a dress in her arms that made her whole dainty figure sink under it.

“Here is the first dress, would you like to try it on?”

You took the dress from her with a smile and gently stroked over the soft fabric. It almost felt like water gliding through your fingers, so soft it was.

“The dressing rooms are over there,” the lady pointed out. As you stood in the spacious, separated rectangle, your heart was pounding up to your neck. You didn’t really know why, the nervousness of the evening ahead caught up with you. Your trying on dresses made the whole situation all too real.

You took one deep breath before you changed. You had to suppress a sigh when the soft fabric enveloped you and sat on you like a second skin. The dress was floor-length and had long sleeves, which were made of lace. When you straightened your shoulders, the only thing missing was to close the corset. A bit sceptical you examined yourself in the mirror. The dress looked noble in its pleasant dark blue and you were surprised how well it underlined your skin tone. Yet you could not shake the feeling that this was not the right dress for you.

You flinched when you were suddenly brought back by the lady’s voice. “Shall I help you tie up the dress?”

“Yes, please,” you said, quieter than you had planned, but she had heard you and drew the curtain aside and entered the dressing room quickly. She inspected how the dress fit you and a smile spread across her face.

“It fits very well,” she praised and tugged at the fabric here and there to check her statement once more. “The clasp is a bit tricky, especially on your own. But you have some lovely men to help you,” she laughed at you in the mirror. You gave a little laugh from yourself as you shyly lowered your gaze.

You felt her fingers on the back of the dress and you drew in the air in surprise as she pulled on the laces and you felt as if she was squeezing your chest a few inches tighter. She laughed at your stunned reaction. “I’m sorry, but this has to be tightened,” she apologized when she started tying the back of the dress. With every centimeter that she tightened the dress further, you felt your lung capacity drop.

“But breathing would still be nice,” you said breathlessly, pressing your hand to your hips to check how tight the corset of the dress was.

“But it’s worth it,” she said finally when she was finished and took a few steps backwards. “Turn once.” You complied with her request and she examined you thoroughly from head to toe. “Shall we see what the others say?”

She pushed the curtain to one side and you were surprised to see the men in front of you spread out on the sofas and armchairs. Their eyes were on you when they heard the sound of the curtain. For a moment no one said anything and you stepped nervously from one leg to the other. “So?” you asked, nervously chewing on your lower lip. To your surprise, it was Yoongi who stood up and came towards you. He put one hand on your waist and pulled you closer so he could whisper in your ear.

“As excellent as that dress looks, I’d much rather see you without it,” he breathed and you felt your heart accelerate. You felt the blood rush to your cheeks and stared at the blond man. He grinned at you and you smiled back embarrassed. Your heart was beating as the others joined in to see the dress up close.

Jimin looked at you with narrowed eyes and mumbled something about that he would be right back. Confused, you looked after him and a few seconds later he came back to you with a dress in his arms. Wordlessly he held the dress out to you. “Thank you,” you said softly, still surprised by Yoongi’s statement and went back to the dressing room.

The lady helped you with the corset and took the dress back before leaving you alone again. With some restraint, your eyes fell on the flashy red fabric before you started to put it on. If you wouldn’t feel it yourself, you would find it impossible that the fabric was even softer and more comfortable on your skin than the dress before. This dress was also long, probably a bit too long, and lay close to your body. It did not feel uncomfortable at all. It was as if the cut supported and emphasized all your curves and concealed parts that you always looked at in the mirror with a slightly too stern look.

Your fingers stroked over the high slit on the side of the dress, which even reached all the way up your thigh. You bit your lower lip, unsure, as you looked at yourself in the mirror; you looked sexy. You felt sexy, too. But was the dress really appropriate for a ball with the work colleagues of the seven men?

One big plus, though, was that you could breathe. You never thought that was a criteria. Naive as you were, you’d assumed it was a given.

“What kind of suits do you wear?”, you heard the lady ask the seven men. “They have to match with the dress,” she added with a little laugh.

“Probably simple black,” explained Namjoon. “The focus is on her,” he added so quietly that you almost didn’t hear it.

You could feel the blush rise to your cheeks with Namjoon’s comment. The seven always made you feel like you were their center. And they never hesitated to let others know as well.

“Can I come in?” you heard the woman behind the curtain ask.

You answered yes to her question and she helped you fasten the clasp of the dress again. With her trained fingers, she straightened the sleeves of the dress so that your shoulders were exposed.

“Well, if the others don’t like that,” she said smiling, “then I don’t know.”

With your heart pounding, you stepped out of the dressing room. You had to refrain from laughing when you saw out of the corner of your eye how Jungkook’s jaw dropped. The other men also seemed speechless. Only Jimin had a grin on his lips and seemed more than satisfied with himself.

“Do you like it?” you still asked, though the men’s reaction gave enough answer.

“It’s perfect,” it came from several mouths at once and you had to laugh.

∞ ∞ ∞

Your feet ached after all that walking back and forth and exhausted you let yourself fall onto one of the benches. You were glad that the others took care of the bags and that you could at least still feel your arms. Jin had left to get food in one of the many restaurants of the mall a few minutes ago. The rest of you were sitting on two benches with a small plastic table between you. A bit restlessly you distributed your weight from one thigh to the other before you looked up.

“I have to go to the toilet, I’ll be right back,” you excused yourself and stood up. You were a bit confused when immediately Hoseok and Jimin jumped up with you and joined you. “The toilets are just over there,” you explained to them and pointed in the direction. “You don’t have to come with me.”

Hoseok shook his head disapprovingly. “We’re coming anyway.” His tone did not allow any further objections and you sighed. You were just hoping that they didn’t insist on going in the restroom with you. So you exhaled with relief when they assured you to wait right outside the door. If you needed anything, you should just call. For whatever reason you would need help in the bathroom.

The relatively large restroom was empty except for one woman who was standing in front of the mirror washing her hands. No David waiting for you in the ladies’ room. For a short moment the horrifying image came to your mind of David looking down at you from over one of the toilet cabins. You shivered and reached for the toilet paper. In the middle of the movement you paused as you listened to the sounds outside the cubicle.

You didn’t hear anything and that’s what made you wonder for a moment. Had you perhaps simply not heard it when the woman had left the restroom? You strained your ears further, but apart from your quiet breathing and the muffled noises in the mall, you could not hear anything. As quietly as possible, you put your clothes back on and flushed the toilet. The loud noise made you flinch.

You took a deep breath and opened the door. Immediately you looked at the row of sinks directly opposite the toilet cubicles. Your heart was beating faster when you saw the woman who hadn’t moved in those few minutes. You tried not to let it show when you walked carefully to the sinks as well. You made sure to leave a few sinks free between you and the strange woman so that you were not standing right next to her.

When the cold water hit your hands you tried to watch the woman from the corners of your eyes. It was strange. It seemed as if she was just standing there. You didn’t want to stare and that she might even notice. But you were sure she wasn’t moving. Not at all.

You felt your own heartbeat in your throat as you turned off the water and reached for the paper for your hands when the woman suddenly started to speak.

“Are you Y/N?”

You stopped moving; you were completely frozen, your one hand still on the way to the paper dispenser. You took one deep breath before drying your hands as relaxed as possible. “Sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else,” you stammered. You were glad that you had turned your back on her and she could not see how your eyes had widened in horror.

“Are you sure? You fit the description perfectly,” said the woman and you had to suppress the need to turn 180 degrees immediately when you heard how close she suddenly was to you. She had come at least a few meters towards you.

Slowly you turned around and flinched imperceptibly when she stood not even one meter away from you.

“What description?” you said. Even though you didn’t touch the wall behind you, you could almost feel it in your back. It was like a barrier that trapped you and prevented you from escaping.

“David’s,” she said, making it sound as if it was the most normal thing in the world. And actually it should have been. You should have realised that David knew where you were at all times. That you were nowhere safe from him and that every moment, no matter how small, without the seven men, he took advantage of it.

You didn’t know what to say. All the words that formed in your head couldn’t get out of your mouth. Your tongue stuck to your palate and you were afraid to swallow it. Was such a thing even possible? To swallow your own tongue while being conscious? In any case, you felt as if the muscle would slip down your throat at any time and you would die miserably on the dirty floor tiles of a mall. But probably better than continuing to talk to the woman David sent.

“What do you want?” you managed to say. Your hands trembled and you clenched them into fists, hoping the woman wouldn’t notice.

The woman in front of you began to smile and a shiver ran down your back at the sight. The smile was crooked and… somehow not right. Something about her expression worried you and made your blood freeze in your veins. When you looked into her eyes, two lifeless eyes stared back at you.

“It’s best if you come with me,” she said and reached for your wrist. You could react just in time and turned to the side so that her hand reached for nothing.

“No,” you said and tried to push yourself past her, but her reaction speed was unbelievably fast. You felt a strong pressure on your shoulders when you were suddenly pushed backwards against the wall. All of your breath escaped on impact and your eyes closed for a moment with the pain that shot through your body.

“You stay right here,” growled the woman through clenched teeth. “Or do you want something to happen to her?”

This comment made your eyes flutter open. Speechless you looked at the woman and suddenly you were not so sure anymore whether you really had the woman in front of you or someone else. Someone you never wanted to see again.

“David?” you asked, and your voice was nothing more than a whisper. But the woman did not answer your question and grabbed your upper arms, hard. She squeezed the flesh between her firm grip and you wanted to scream. Your scream got stuck in your throat when the woman pushed you hard against the wall again.

“Hoseok, Ji-“ you wanted to shout but your cry for help was interrupted by something hard that hit your face. Your arm shot up and you grabbed your face and you were glad when you didn’t have blood on your fingers. Had that woman just elbowed you in the face?

With your eyes wide open, you stared at her.

“Call for help again and I’ll smash your face on the sinks over there so that you’ll never be able to call for help again,” she warned you with a growl.

You still held your cheek protectively, fearing the woman would strike again. “What did David mean when he said that something would happen to you?”

For a brief moment another emotion seemed to replace the distorted masquerade on her face. Fear. Pure panic was visible one moment and gone the next. Oh, God, the woman still seemed to be there, in her mind. She seemed to hear everything and could not fight back.

“Who knows, there are enough possibilities,” the woman explained to you in a monotone voice. “Maybe I’ll throw myself in front of a car right right outside the mall,” she started and looked almost thoughtfully to the side.

“I don’t care,” you whispered, even though the opposite was true. You didn’t know this woman, but you didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Especially not because of you.

The woman looked back at you and for a moment she looked at you blankly. Then she closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them again, tears welled up inside. “Please,” she suddenly begged and was shaken by sobs, “please, follow his instructions! I have a little daughter at home! I cannot die!” She pressed her hands to her mouth to muffle her sobs.

You felt your own tears burning in the corner of your eyes. You stood helplessly watching that woman. Hesitantly you raised one hand and wanted to calm her down. “Okay, I’m coming with you,” you admitted defeat. “There are two men at the door, we have to take another way.”

The sobbing stopped immediately. And so did the tears. The distorted grin reappeared as quickly as it had disappeared a few moments earlier. “There you go,” she said and her voice sounded anything but weepy and desperate.

Your heart stopped for a moment when you understood that it was all just an act. Acting or one of David’s techniques. You didn’t know which was worse. You didn’t even want to think about how much power David must have to control a person this much.

The woman grabbed your wrist and this time you were too stunned by the sudden change of emotion that you couldn’t react and avoid her. She clasped it tightly and pulled you towards a door that was next to the cubicles, probably leading to a staircase only used by employees. You struggled and braced yourself against her pull.

“Don’t make it harder than it is,” the woman commanded and pulled you closer to her with a jerk. You didn’t dare to call for help one more time. Her warning had burned itself into your head.

“Let me go,” you said just as forcefully, but you knew that the woman before you was much stronger than you.

“Stop it,” cried the woman as you grasped her hand with your free hand and tried to release her fingers from your wrist. She cried out as you pulled one of her fingers painfully upwards and you heard it crack loudly in the room. “You little bitch,” she screamed and released her grip around you.

You spun around and had your eyes firmly fixed on the exit door. But you didn’t get two feet before you felt two strong hands on your back pushing you forward. With a scream, you were hurled towards the sinks. You closed your eyes and all you heard was glass shattering and falling to the floor. You felt a stabbing pain in your forehead and palms, but you didn’t dare to open your eyes.

“Hey!”, a voice echoed loudly across the room and you flinched. “Not one step closer.” Hoseok. You wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but the pain that ran through your body was too strong and paralyzed everything else.

“Baby,” you heard a voice close to you and suddenly a hand was on your cheek. Your eyes flew open and only now did you feel the tears running down your cheeks. “Let me see,” Jimin said softly and you concentrated on his dark hair that fell lightly into his eyes. His lips were pressed into a thin line as his gaze brushed across your face.

“Hobi-Hyung!” he yelled and a second later the brown-haired man knelt beside Jimin, his worried look lying on you. “She’s bleeding,” he said and you knew he must be right. One side of your face felt hot and wet and out of the corner of your eye you saw the blood dripping onto the floor tiles beneath to you.

“Tell the others, I’ll take care of her,” Hoseok said without taking his eyes off you.

You shook your head and immediately regretted it. A stabbing pain flashed through you and you squinted your eyes. “Don’t,” you spoke and Jimin paused in his movement as he stood up. “The woman, she was manipulated by David.”

“I knew it,” said Jimin, and Hoseok looked away in anger as well.

“No, wait,” you said, frustrated that they didn’t let you finish. Every minute counted if David would keep his warning. “He said he was going to hurt her.”

“What?” they both asked at the same time and you flinched as the loud voices echoed across the room and your head seemed to explode.

“Okay, Jimin,” said Hoseok as his gaze went from angry back to worried at your miserable sight. “Bring Yoongi here, tell the others to look for that woman.”

“But…,” Jimin tried to contradict him but Hoseok brusquely interrupted him.

“Go now!” The younger flinched at Hoseok’s stern tone of voice but followed the order and ran out of the restroom.

Hoseok jumped up and was back at your side a few seconds later, several layers of paper towels in his hand. You painfully grimaced as he began to dab the blood from your face. “Sorry,” he apologized and threw the red-soaked cloth aside. “Fuck, you’re bleeding so much,” he murmured before he dropped the paper from his hand and grasped your face with both hands. “This will hurt a little more at first than it does now, but this will help you. Do you trust me?” His thumbs gently brushed your cheeks. You could barely concentrate on his words as you felt the blood dripping again from the wound on your forehead.

You tried to nod, hoping that Hoseok would recognize it as such. He took a deep breath before closing his eyes. His one hand came away from your cheek and before you knew what he was about to do, he pressed his palm to the wound. You gritted your teeth but a painful sound still came out. However, the sharp pain was replaced a second later by a pleasant warmth. Your muscles relaxed and you felt your eyelids getting heavy so that you could hardly keep them open.

“It’ll be okay, princess,” you heard Yoongi’s voice next to you. “What happened, Hoseok?“ Your gaze fell briefly on Jimin, who stood awkwardly behind the other two men, his worried look directed at you.

The brown-haired man remained silent for a moment before he removed his palm from your forehead. The two men began to clean your blood-crusted face while Hoseok quickly told what had happened in the last few minutes.

“And the woman was definitely sent by David?” Yoongi asked as he picked up the remaining shards of glass so you wouldn’t get hurt. Hoseok examined your palms which were also bleeding.

“I’m sure I saw… him for a moment,” you said and flinched as Hoseok pulled a piece of broken glass from one of your hands. Immediately, a small pool of blood gathered in the palm of your hand. Hoseok stroked his thumb over it and you could see firsthand how the wound under his finger closed up. With your mouth slightly open, you watched the procedure in amazement.

“David certainly manipulated her, I could see it in her eyes, Yoongi,” Hoseok said and helped you up when all your wounds had healed. The only thing that remained was the slight pounding in your temples and your bones, which hurt.

“We have to find her,” you said and your voice sounded worried. “I can’t bear to think of David hurting her because of me.”

Yoongi and Hoseok exchanged a look and you knew that they were not thrilled with the idea that you would remain in danger. “Please,” you added and the men sighed.

“Okay, come on, let’s go,” Yoongi said and together, you left the restroom. Immediately, the noise of the mall surrounded you and you tried to block out everything else around you and remember the face of the woman.

“There’s Namjoon and Jin,” said Hoseok and took you by the hand before you ran more than you walked and joined them.

When Namjoon saw you, he couldn’t take his eyes off you. There was concern in his eyes, but most of all, you could see the blazing flames of rage behind his pupils.

“Where are the others?” Jimin asked, looking around.

“We split up,” Jin replied to Jimin’s question. Namjoon was still frozen and carefully raised one hand before he let his fingers brush over your hair.

“Are you in pain,” he asked.

You shook your head and Namjoon exhaled in relief. It seemed as if that was his biggest worry. He lowered his hand again and looked at you for a moment before he averted his gaze and scanned his surroundings.

Your eyes also searched through the hundreds of faces of people who were in the mall that Saturday. Always in fear of seeing David’s face in the crowd at any moment. You began to walk together in one direction and look for the woman. But it was like a needle in a haystack.

“She was talking about letting herself be run over by a car,” you noted as you recalled the scene in the bathroom and the men stopped. “Maybe we should look outside?”

You had just expressed your suspicion when your gaze fell on a figure a few stories up, going up one of the escalators. You immediately recognized her as the woman “There!” you shouted, pointing to the woman who had just arrived on the top floor at that moment.

“I’ll call Jungkook,” said Jimin, and a second later held the phone to his ear. As you sprinted to the elevator, Jimin explained to Jungkook where the woman was. You could hardly stand still while you waited for the elevator. Nervously, you bit your lower lip as you watched the orange light above the elevator doors and breathed a sigh of relief when the doors finally opened.

The ride up went much too slowly in your opinion, but you knew that the dozens of different escalators up would take longer. Still, it was worse for you to just wait without moving.

You were the first to push your way through the opening elevator doors and stormed towards the railing where you saw the woman. You breathed a sigh of relief when you saw how Jungkook was already there and you watched him calmly stretch his arms towards the woman and apparently talk to her.

His eyes fell to the side and he saw you. “Thank God you are here,” he sighed in relief and quickly turned his gaze back to the woman.

You felt a sickness in your stomach when you noticed how the woman pressed her back against the railing and clasped it firmly with one hand. Even from a distance, you could see her knuckles turning white with effort.

“Don’t come any closer,” she warned you when she noticed your arrival. Her eyes fell again on Jungkook who was still trying to calm her down. “And especially not you.”

Yoongi next to you frowned. “What happened?” He had addressed the question to Jungkook, but it was the woman who answered hysterically.

“Whatever is wrong with him, don’t let him come any closer. He just appeared suddenly, as if out of nowhere,” she explained and stretched a shaky index finger in the direction of the youngest.

“Yoongi,” Namjoon asked and he didn’t have to elaborate further on what his request to the blond one was.

But Yoongi frowned and strained his eyebrows while he focused his gaze on the woman. Astonished, he took a step forward and immediately the woman screamed out.

“Stay away, I said!” To your horror you watched the woman support herself with both hands on the railing and lifted herself up on it.

“Yoongi!” Namjoon exclaimed, but the man shook his head in frustration.

“David’s manipulation is too strong,” Yoongi explained and turned his gaze towards Namjoon.

“Hey,” whispered Taehyung, who had also appeared next to you. He protectively put a hand on your hip and pulled you tight against him. But even that didn’t bring you any relaxation when you cast your gaze firmly on the desperate woman a few meters away from you. Tears ran down her cheeks and had already soaked her top, which left dark spots on the fabric.

You released yourself from Taehyung’s grip and took a cautious step forward. When the woman didn’t yell at you, you became more courageous and took another step forward so that you stood right next to Jungkook.

“We only want to help you,” you tried to calm the woman, but she looked at you with a mixture of hatred and despair.

“If you had wanted to help me, you would have come with me,” hissed the woman, “now it’s too late.”

“It’s not too late for anything,” said Namjoon softly, who had also stepped to your side. His posture was similar to Jungkook’s, his palms stretched forward as well. “We can help you.”

Suddenly, it became very quiet. Her sobs fell silent and tears stopped flowing. Her eyes fell on you and for a moment she looked at you silently before a little smile spread across her face. “Best regards from David,” she said before she let herself fall backwards into the deep. Your shrill scream echoed through the whole mall.

Written 2019-2021. Do not copy, translate or repost without permission.

I’m so sorry you had to wait so long for this (and about this cliffhanger)! I’m in my last semester in college right now so I have to concentrate on graduating (and I’m kinda terrified). The next few weeks will be quite stressful but I have another fuckboy!Yoongi (soulmate au) story planned and will post the first chapter in a few days! As always, I hope you liked this chapter and every feedback is greatly appreciated! I hope you have an amazing start into this week! 💜

Tag list: (if you want to be tagged in the next chapters, just let me know ♥️ )

@oddly-drawn-muse @yoongiismytruelove @btsmysteriestolove @unicorntrooper @crazy-fangirl-10@namjoonsslutakakoreanmanswhore @lyricstae @aretha170 @yoongisdumplingcheeks@bangtxnbxunch @brokencrownqueen@dont-hyuck @xanny91 @peaches-422@kimmie113080@madisonred88 @peachy-bhun @y-0-u-n-g-b-l-0-0-d @squeakermarie @lauren2408 @kalkeegan @unatempesta-dipensieri @dapppphhhhh @just-a-little-teapot13 @rosexbangtan @fawnzilla @pieislife

#bts x reader #bts x you #bts smut #bts angst #bts fic #poly!bts x reader #bts imagine #bts #athousandsprings

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20thcentury-kylo · 3 years

Text

Tides Of Memory Chapter 2

Surprise!! Wanted to have this up yesterday but things sorta got out of hand, and tbh after this I'll be kind of busy so I atleast wanted to finish this one- anywho Enjoy

A wild flower hill overlooks the calm sea at dusk. The sky’s color fades into a midnight blue as the moon and stars peak from the clouds. Ebisu sits among the wild life- Guitar in hand as he hums a simple tune.

“Just breathe… just breathe- it’ll all be fine~” Soft strums from the instrument follow in simplistic patterns. As he gazes up to the stars above he feels no words could better fit the moment. Amongst the chaos of interstellar wars and the literal end of the world- a scene like this- it’s peace.. He could believe that it would all be fine. Kiome had already gone back- most likely to keep Ebisu from seeing him break down completely, but Ebisu knew.. He could feel it in his soul- the scared tremors, the subtle shaking in his hands. The rose haired musician swore he’d be strong for the both of them, he wouldn't make Kiome face this alone, he didn't have to be alone, not anymore.

“Maybe it's the question.. Maybe it's the answer~”

The quaking roars were gone, but Kiome was nowhere to be found. He promised to stay away but as Ebisu runs through the ravaged battlefield the only thought coursing through his mind is finding the chubby swordsman.

“Kiome!!” He pleads out their name gaining no response. With every step he takes, dread seems to fill him more and more.

“Just breathe.. It'll all be fine~”

The blood won't stop pooling between his hands, the tears in his eyes won't either. In the midst of it all he somehow finds the strength to laugh.. How unfair it all was. His beloved laid there dying in his arms and yet here Kiome was… singing to him. How unfair the world could be. The last thing he sees before the light envelopes them is the pained smile on his face, as he whispers it one last time

“Darling… i love you~”

Ebisu is a 17 year old boy living in the Nakano ward in Tokyo with his adoptive guardian. He loves tales of the sea, of lost treasure and one day hopes to venture out there on his own, to maybe find his own lost fortune. Ebisu has the strangest dreams filled with even stranger people, and fleeting whispers of feelings that leave dull aches in his heart.. The words always echo in his mind and he can't seem to explain the tears in his eyes as he wakes. It was all so… confusing, and yet when their eyes met… when their eyes met suddenly the distant haze seemed to be clearing.

They're such a soft shade of amber- so warm so… familiar. The feeling that follows is so intense that he can't stop the stream of tears that follow soon after. The boy in front of him winces- bringing a hand to graze his forehead, yet never breaks eye contact.

“I-i’m sorry, are ya okay?” Ebisu tries his best to compose himself- stifling the tears long enough to pick himself up off the ground.

“Dont worry ive been through worse.” whatever was ailing him seems to have subsided and yet- they stay there, gazing at one another in a tense silence. The boy eventually begins to speak when he’s caught off by a shout from the distance.

“Hey! That creep snatched My wallet!” The cries of a knocked down pedestrian follow as the therian sprints away. Instinctively Ebisu checks his pockets to find his own wallet missing.

“That little sneak-” The fisherman prepares to apprehend the transient- brandishing his signature fishing rod and hook. Yet before he can even start the backswing- the stranger he’d just met is already dashing towards the thief.

“Oh no ya dont!!” Before Ebisu can blink the apparent swordsman is already flying at the transient- his still sheathed sword arced forwards. The encounter is over in seconds with the captured therian pleading apologies as he scurried off. He’d been so stunned at the boy's ability that he hadn’t noticed the small faded blue wallet being shoved in this direction.

“You dropped this..” Their hands brush slightly as he takes the wallet- and Ebisu’s mind fixates on the fleeting warmth. He wants to thank him sincerely, yet the blush flooding his cheeks keeps his eyes averted choosing instead to focus on his newly re-acquired wallet.

“I um- I never got your name~” Ebisu manages to stutter out- still refusing to meet eyes with the mysterious swordsman.

“HEY!!” The recognized shouts of none other than Nankano’s resident viral sensation, Benten. She practically flies at them, her phone camera trained on the chubby swordsman.

“Kiome! Didn’t expect to see you ‘round here, especially pulling off moves like that~” In the midst of her excited rambling he hears the name…

“Kiome…” It’s almost scary how naturally the name rolls off his tongue. Ebisu finds himself unable to control the smile that sneaks its way onto his face.

“Ebisu- you manage to find anyone for your little adventure, I’m still rarin to go of course~” The sudden reminder of his previous endeavor has him more embarrassed than he honestly should be.

“Ebisu huh.. Well If it's adventurers you need- you’ve just found the right guy.” Kiome expresses with a subtle wink. The nervous giggle that erupts from the rose haired boy resembles more of a shy highschool girl rather than a trained fisherman. Ebisu escorts the 3 of them back to the restaurant he helps run. For once he was thankful for Benten’s presence, having her between them with her excited chatter was perfect for keeping him distracted. Even so he couldn't help but sneak a passing glance at the chubby swordsman when he got the chance.

They sit down discussing the plans over some tea, and while Ebisu, and Benten fall into their usual banter- Kiome is reminded of the warnings his friends gave earlier

“Yeah, I've been hearing a lot of those recently as well, though in the end- it doesn’t change what we hafta do.” Benten’s proud declaration earning a chuckle.

“Actually, I looked into those before- judging from the location of where these pirate ships were being sunk, it’s most likely they were confronted with mermaids; the Daughters of The Waves-” Ebisu informs them. From what he’d gathered- the mermaids were likely guarding the treasure. As he keeps explaining- Kiome gets that same unsettling feeling from before- this wouldn’t be some light adventure… This was serious. By the time they’d finished the three of them settled on a plan; Benten was in charge of finding a crew- people strong enough to stand against the apparent threat that awaited them, a crew that now included Kiome, and Ebisu would handle getting the ship, supplies, and salvage equipment ready which from the sounds of it- he was already on top of. Benten had parted ways at the shop's entrance, eager to begin her search- leaving the two boys alone, Ebisu having offered to walk Kiome back to the station. So as they strolled side by side- Ebisu decides to break the silence.

“Y’know this may sound weird but- I have the strangest feeling… that we’ve met before, somewhere.” His words cause Kiome to turn with a pondering expression, he had no memories of a past life, but somehow he held the same feeling.

“It’s weird but… I know what you mean~” From there they fall into light conversation, a simple game of 20 questions passes between them yet both still held the strange possibility in the back of their minds. Before they knew it the train's electronic whistle was heard from afar.

“Guess the fun's over for now huh~” Kiome’s words followed by a breathless sigh.

“Yeah heheh , i guess so..” The pearl eyed boy parrots back. Kiome turns to him, suddenly unsure of what to do. A hug?, just a handshake? To keep himself from dallying he settled on the latter, extending a hand out to his escort.

“Nice meetin’ ya-' ' Ebisu stares a bit in awe at his hand for a moment before slowly reaching back with a hand of his own. Their hands meet in a subtle shake, it's the first real contact they've had, and Kiome can't help but notice how soft Ebisu's hand is. There’s a whisper of a feeling, warm, and nostalgic- the two seemingly lose themselves in it for the moment. It lingers even as they let go, and with sheepish smiles and stuttered goodbyes the two part ways.

In the clear star filled night- the haze further clears on their memories. Ebisu finds himself unable to find easy rest, finding comfort among the midnight sky. As he sits illuminated by the moon- lost in thought, something long forgotten seems to return to him. He has no idea what it means but the prospect has him anxious and excited to find out

‘I wonder what it looks like’ He muses in his thoughts. Gazing up at the moon's glow.

“San Diego~”

#Housamo #tokyo afterschool summoners #Tides Of Memory #mc5 x ebisu #kiome #fanfiction #my art #clip studio paint #i have an 8 work day stretch coming #so i wont rlly be active :p

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awhilde · 4 years

Text

stupid

pairings: kaeya (genshin impact) x reader

genre(s): just pure fluff!

warnings: swearing and minor (tiny) mentions of death. also, it would be advised to play the game ‘genshin impact’ up past adventure rank 10 because there are a few spoilers (?) and mentions of specific scenes.

word count: 2.6k words

synopsis: in which you can’t stand the stupid ice man that seems to trail after your every move, infuriating with every word that falls from his lips, every curve of his mouth and every tilt of his head. the pure annoyance he gifts you makes your chest ache in exhaustion. i mean, that is the sole reason why your heart is pumping overdrive, right?

author’s note: this is just a really quick, cheesy and plotless oneshot that i decided to write in under an hour, i think? if i’m being honest, i just wanted to see what my page would look like with something published, but please enjoy regardless! god i’m simping for kaeya even though genshin is literally not an otome game what ?? gave them the right to make him look so good??

a harmless tune twinkles in the city’s atmosphere, sorrowful tales hidden behind the cheer of a folk song and the strum of a harp

you listen, leaning against an open window, letting the gentle breeze tousle your hair behind your ears, drinking in the refreshing sensation of the wind kissing your closed eyes and exposed face. the suffocating atmosphere of the library leaves you as you daydream with the hum of the melody and lose yourself in its rhythm

the scent of the storm last night taunts your mind of a nostalgic memory, easing the growing beast of worry in your heart

the thought reminds you of the cause of such worry and you sigh reluctantly, knowing the pile of research notes by your desk wouldn’t sign themselves as you wasted time by this pocket of air, but your limbs are frozen, leisurely leaning against the frame of the window. you allow for time to flow unrestricted past your consciousness for there might not be another opportunity in the near future when you could relax as you did now

life couldn’t possibly be contained within stress and work. you’d combust if this was the prevailing knowledge, collapsing from overworking your body or perhaps even dying from high blood pressure in your late 20’s which crept closer as time went by

where had your teenage years gone? the thrill of adventure and death?

“something on your mind, name?”

your eyes snap open, body whisking around to face the man that had managed to sneak up to your side without your notice. you recognise the presence beside you long before your eyes had laid upon their figure for they had been your partner in crime for far too long for you not to adapt to his chilly atmosphere

at least he was nice to be around in summer

kaeya, that infuriating ice man that had insisted on growing closer towards you despite the only connection you two shared being the fact that jean enjoyed tormenting you and placing the two of you together in missions

he had made his way to your right, contrasting your position as he leaned his back against the wall whilst you leaned your front torso out the window. suddenly the wind was nothing compared to him. with his arms crossed at his front, he gives you a side-long glance and smirks at your expression

huffing you turn away. “what do you want now, kaeya?” you ask

“what is with this hostility?” he shoots back. “don’t tell me i actually surprised you by being here.”

your silence was enough of an answer for him to brighten. “wait, for real?”

you groan, cheek in your palm as you continue to close your eyes. “go away, kaeya, if you’re just here to make fun of me. go bother someone else, hasn’t there been a traveller of sorts that’s appeared recently?”

kaeya hums. “yeah, what about them?”

“go send them on a wild goose chase or something. didn’t you do that to the other one that passed by?” this time, you steal a peak at him through one eye. despite this being a small movement, kaeya’s immediately chases your eye.

ah, there’s that stupid sneer of his that you couldn’t stand. the sight was as familiar as the sun’s touch having seen it everywhere; after freezing jean’s feet to the ground when she got “too boring”, when he’d freeze the walls of your office in order to chase you out of the room and when he’d won that stupid game in that one stupid festival when they’d finished a mission early, turning with that exact sneer, his eyes steady and wild on yours as he handed you the first prize gift, not failing to bow as he presented the toy to you. that stupid pink bunny still sat somewhere in your room, not treasured but simply looked after. it wasn’t a significant item to be cherished after all

“i already did.” he had been saying when you zoned out. “i told them there was a mysterious treasure and sent them off. that little thing they had with them was especially keen on getting her small hands on whatever it was. shame there was nothing there to begin with, just another plan to draw out the futoi rats but i would have liked to see what that little thing could do with immense power. eat exotic foods, maybe?”

his eyes dart back to yours when he didn’t receive the response he expected; silence, and turns to face you. your eyes had gone glassy whilst in the process of reminiscing and he knew you were no longer in the present time. he sighs and stands

you catch the movement and snap back to reality, blinking before narrowing your eyes at his stupid face. “you have a look in your eyes.” you observe hesitantly

“and you weren’t paying attention to anything i said.” he retorts. he leans forward with his arms still crossed as if attempting to examine you further. the proximity startles you and you take a step back on instinct

the action makes him raise an eyebrow. “you’re also surprisingly quiet and grumpy today.”

wow you both are so good at stating the very obvious

it was true, despite hating his guts you couldn’t deny the spark of chemistry between the both of him whether it be dancing on the battlefield or even the snarky banter that he oddly seemed to enjoy. in an attempt to cover up where you had lacked, you face the window again. for some reason, it was easier to talk to him when you weren’t confronted with his stupid face. “oh? aren’t you glad i haven’t remarked on that stupid eyepatch you wear yet? unless, of course, you agree completely with what i say about it which, y’know, is the objective truth. it couldn’t possibly have been inherited. and its ugly.”

“nope! just as the title of being a pirate has been passed down in my family generation, so has the need to wear an eyepatch.” he cheerfully responds. “nice try, name, but i can still tell that you’re feeling down. you gonna tell me what it is or are we gonna continue this act until you grow bore of it?”

you sigh, caught in your façade that you had sub-consciously put up as a defense mechanism. not that he had no know what it was. something stupid in your stomach explodes with warmth at his prying, but you can’t hate it. that same stupid thing brings you to face him again and you regret it as soon as your eyes meet

he had stepped closer, close enough for you to feel his chill through the fabric of your clothes, close enough to see the fur on his attire rustle from the breeze by the window, his hair tousling also, close enough for your eyes to become captivated from his

well, his one eye

singular

eye

you chuckle slightly, the sound bubbling from the back of your throat until its pouring out without limit. you bend over, still giggling and the force makes you stumble. but its hilarious, does he wink or blink? omg imagine if he seductively winks but it just looks like he’s well, blinking

kaeya is taken back by your giggles but his incredulous stare doesn’t manage to stop the endless wave of laughter that causes tears to form at your eye, and your cheeks to begin to ache. it would hurt his reputation severely if he’d attempt to cheekily wink only to have the receiver no clue on what he was doing

god, you can’t believe you love this stupid boy

your laughter halts almost immediately

…

love?

you don’t love him

why would you even consider that you liked him? he was a major pain in the ass, always bothering you when you worked, always messing around, always teasing you

right, you had just been so caught up in your laughter that it convinced your mind that the endorphins that had been released was due to kaeya, but it wasn’t. you don’t feel that way about him, you had just found his appearance hilarious

right

kaeya raises another eyebrow at you. “right, are you feeling okay? maybe we should ask jean for you to take a break.” he mumbles the last part as if it was an after thought but you hear it anyways

you turn away from him and begin walking back to your office. you knew he would follow after you and he does, his footsteps echoing your own until he is walking beside you, synced in your movements. “i’m not even that busy, stop exaggerating.” you step is bouncier, your fit of laughter at fault for your raised mood

“maybe not but you’re certainly boring.”

“your idea of fun is literally drinking with dilluc and making jean mad. maybe you shouldn’t be the one telling me if i’m boring?”

“so you’re not gonna deny it?’

“i like to think i take every one of my flaws into my stride. it would be even more embarrassing if someone didn’t know how much they sucked. like say, didn’t know how stupid they looked with an eyepatch?” you stick out your tongue at him and pulled down your eye. “pirate headass.”

he laughs as if you said something funny, but along the way you laugh with him

the sound of your laughs merging together, fuelling each other on, sound like music to your ears, a clearer tune than the only floating around the city, prettier than the twinkle of bells and bird song. it sounded familiar, like home, like watching rain dance on a windowpane, like heating your hands on a warm drink

“good to know your only insult of me is my eyepatch.” he says after your chuckles die

“and how is that a good thing?”

he sneaks a glance at you before looking start forward

“it means i must look practically perfect in your eyes, save for my apparently odd fashion sense. careful, name, or you’ll somehow manage to confess to me without your own knowledge.”

you splutter as he finishes, for some reason feeling defensive. “what the fuck do you mean by that?”

“well, you’re complimenting me, no? every other aspect of me are too good to insult?” the pair of you approach the doors to your office and his face lights up, mind clearly departing his last thought. “ah! we’re here. wait, why are we here again?” despite his words, he steps forward to enter your room, neither stopping to check if he had your permission nor to see if you were going insideyou narrowly miss the door as you unfreeze and dash in after him

he had already made his way to the back corner of the room, observing the shelf you had placed beside your desk. the shelves contained items that you held dear to you, the pair of earrings your aunt had gifted you before her demise, a book that you particularly enjoyed when you were younger, a stick figure of an old cartoon mascot back when you were only a child and so much more. it aided in providing you a relief of stress in your times of need. they were delicate and of upmost importance, items you placed dangerously close to your heart. but for some reason, you didn’t mind that kaeya were looking at them now

you knew he wouldn’t break them, he wouldn’t be in such a high position of the knights if he was clumsy

instead, your mind travels back in time to what he had said so carelessly before he had entered the room

complimenting him? how absolutely ridiculous. saying his eyepatch made him look uglier was by no means a compliment, not even a twisted one. sure, it may infer that without it he would look much better, but this didn’t mean you would find him attractive without it, what a delusion. and in truth, kaeya treated it as if you were being serious which you weren’t, really. it wasn’t as ugly as you made it sound, you actually thought he suited it quite well.

wait a minute, what were you saying? perhaps kaeya had simply wanted to use reverse psychology on you and twist your very thoughts

well, he almost succeeded, you’ll give him that

“oh? what is this?”

his voice brings you back to reality and you realise with a start that you recognised the thing he was holding in his hand, the source of his question and the reason why the room appeared so much hotter than it had been before

in his hand, he held that stupid pink bunny

his eyes search yours in question, that stupid, stupid sneer on his face once more. it was clear he expected an answer, but you gave him none, instead staring him down with your eyes, feeling hot on your cheeks

“i think i remember this plushy, wasn’t it-“

your limbs move before your mind registers them, arm reaching out and activating your element, anemo, and calling upon the power to have your treasure returned to you

the green appears circling green whisps around the pink fur, growing clearer in appearance every passing millisecond before the entire toy is succumbed with the air

a small explosion follows after the orb, zapping kaeya’s hand, causing him to lose his gentle hold

the bunny falls to the ground, millimetres away from the carpet when you pull it towards you with your anemo

when it finally enters your grasp, you wrap both arms around the bunny and draw it towards your heart, angling your body defensively, hiding it from his stare. “don’t say a single thing.” you warn him, but you know he wouldn’t ever leave you alone now

his eyes stare down at the palm that had been holding the toy before looking back up at you. “you just… used your anemo on me.”

“i did.”

his shell-shocked expression withdraws on his face, a small smile on his lips that was neither the shit-eating grin that he usually wore nor the stupid sneer. it looked sincere. and like he came to a sudden realisation. like something was confirmed

you open your mouth to say more, deny more perhaps yet you wouldn’t know what would come out of your mouth at that moment for your door bursts open, you and kaeya reacting immediately with your respective elements in hands, you only using one as you continue to hug the stuffed toy. an oddly familiar figure appears at the door, clad in white and with bright blonde hair. after the unknown individual, a small human floats after them. at the sight of the two, kaeya relaxes which prompts you to do so as well. ah, now you realised where you had seen them before, they were the iconic traveller

“what are you doing here?” kaeya asks for you. something in his tone is guarded

the small creature, paimon as you remember, speaks first. “we’ve come to ask for a hint! you said you’d help us solve riddles, remember? for the super cool, super wicked sword?” her small head turns to you as if acknowledging you for the first time. “oh, were we interrupting something?”

you raise an eyebrow. “nice to meet you too, i’m name. how did you find this place?”

paimon shrugs. “a knight told us that if we couldn’t find kaeya, we should check in this room.”

those words made the warm icky feeling in your chest expand. you clear your throat as you sense both kaeya’s and paimon’s eyes on you, the traveller oddly not saying a word and staring off into the distance. as subtly as you could, you place the toy behind your back and down on another shelf, reminding yourself to relocate it once whatever kaeya was planning at had finished

“well, show us the riddle then.” you say, ignoring the fuzzy feeling in your chest when kaeya joins the circle the five of you made, surrounding the item in the traveller’s hand and, you cursed, far too close to your right

your arm grazes one another as you shift closer for a better look

but you swallow the feeling deep down and look up to meet the traveller’s eyes. “well, i have a clue what this could mean.” you say, contrasting all the pacing thoughts in your head, casting aside the want to kick the two intruders from your room, to confront kaeya with the emotions you’ve been feeling around him, to possibly cry at the overwhelming truth of it all, that you did love him

but they became only thoughts, visible only in your mind

this world wasn’t suit for romance, not when there was a dragon terrorising the city, not when the gods were angry, not when you hadn’t confirmed if kaeya feels the same way

so you bury your newfound feelings, smiling gently at the traveller as you share what you knew with them, ignoring the present sensation of kaeya by your side, hoping that by the time you had collected yourself, you would be able to hide these foreign feelings

from his stupid face

#kaeya x reader #kaeya #genshin kaeya #kaeyagenshinimpact #is this how to tag idk #we really simping for one (1) man #msg me if ur in asia server!!#let's co-op #i rlly want keqing sob #kaeya fluff #genshin impact

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revalise · 4 years

Text

Afterdate | UshiOi

Pairing: Ushijima Wakatoshi x Oikawa Tooru

Genre: Fluff, first date

Rating: SFW

Words: 6900+

A/N: This was for UshiOi Week (@ushioiweek2020) but I wasn't able to make the deadline. I wrote Ushijima and Tendou scenes on a writer's block, phew. Thank you to Risa for beta reading this! I owe it all to you!I have quite a number of Haikyuu one-shot ideas, including thrillers and angst, I still need to write. But uni is taking a lot of my time and I haven't fully surpassed my writer's block yet (hence, why I've been posting less and less). If you enjoyed it, don't hesitate to comment. See you on the next! Nevertheless, I hope you love the story as much as I loved writing it!

Masterlist

Ushijima stared at the slightly breathless wonder in front of him as he skidded to a halt. His eyes twinkled, just a bit—in a way they usually did when he was amused but tried hard not to be. Oikawa looked spectacular. Utterly and completely spectacular. A little stiff on the edges, but spectacular

It was a terrible date. Until it wasn’t.

The usually loud metropolis was quiet as a wraith as Tendou and Ushijima waited for the bus home. The kiss of smooth, cold breeze enveloped them both, making Tendou shiver.

Tendou rubbed his hands on his arms as the condensation of his breath blew against the low temperature before whipping his head to the side, only to see Ushijima dart his gaze to the road, patiently waiting. He didn’t care at all about the freezing temperature, standing still as the bus finally arrived, making Tendou frown at their differences.

He would always find himself beside Ushijima as it seemed they always came in a pair. And he knew how different they were. Tendou was the lively one, while Ushijima remained as composed as ever. For a moment, he thought he’d never outdo the captain of the team, but Tendou had a girlfriend waiting for him, waiting for a message regarding his whereabouts.

That alone was enough to make him think he was ahead of the stoic captain. And as a serial dater, Tendou knows how girls turn into something else when their boyfriends don't text back in two minutes.

But when he took out his phone, it was dead.

So the horror that produced sweat on his forehead cascaded down from his neck, even in the temperature, was accompanied by a hammering chest. He knew he needed to shoot his girlfriend a message.

He was left with no choice but to ask Ushijima to borrow his phone. As he fumbled through his friend’s phone after he had no choice, something piqued his interest.

Tendou paid a short glance beside him and his mouth formed a sly smile. The shock mixed with amusement on his face was inexplicable when he saw the Tinder app on his best friend's phone. He covered his mouth to stifle a snort, careful not to wake passengers in their slumber in the back row, late at night from volleyball practice.

Ushijima directed his attention at Tendou, who was looking at him maliciously. The moment his eyes landed on the phone, he understood why.

He tried to hide his surprise, but failed miserably as he quickly tried to retrieve his phone back from Tendou.

Thanks to all the blocking techniques Tendou learned from the team, he held the phone as high as he could out of Ushijima's reach. There was no way Ushijima could retrieve his phone without pushing Tendou over and making a scene since he sat on the window side.

"Hm," Tendou teased. "Since when did you have this?"

"I don't know why it's in there. Give it back," Ushijima argued with a straight face, but the falter in his voice was enough to prove that he was lying. And he wasn't a good liar.

Tendou wiggled his brows, tilting his head. From Tendou's above peripheral, the app successfully loads, and he immediately turns his attention to it, raising it further from Ushijima's grasp.

He pressed on Ushijima's profile. Gods above, did it make him cringe, not to mention the photo Ushijima used for his profile taken about four years ago.

Ushijima, 20

Miyagi Region

"Ugh," Tendou released a sigh. "Have you ever dated anyone from here?"

Ushijima sighed, sitting straight as he set his head down, "No, I don't understand it. I only swiped, and then nothing."

So nobody swiped for him, Tendou thought, feeling both sorry and amused for his friend at the same time. He should change his picture on the app. He looks like an annoying know-it-all, 15 year old. Nobody would go for him.

"Well, that's why you have me," Tendou grinned and head-locked Ushijima. "I'm going to help you get a date!"

The volleyball captain slowly looked up at his friend, "How?"

Tendou only smiled, "Leave it to me."

All Ushijima could ever do was sigh and look over the window as the bus moved further away. He kept his eyes on the bright and warm lights of establishments outside that elongated from the bus’s movement.

He knew that fighting Tendou was futile. In all these years, he had known how the redhead always did whatever he wanted, and how he was good at getting all that. Besides, Ushijima felt too tired to argue anyway.

The continuous clicks of the camera brought his conscience back from almost spacing out. Immediately, he turned his head over to the source beside him to see a smiling Tendou holding his phone as if he’d just come up with something interesting of some sort.

“Did you know it's rude to take photos of somebody without their knowledge?”

The redhead only rolled his eyes with a grin, turning the phone over to Ushijima to show the new profile he’d arranged. "And did you know I only did that as a favor?"

His new bio now read:

Ushijima, 20

Miyagi Region

I must be in a museum because you are a work of art

The four year old photo he once had as his profile picture was now replaced with the one Tendou took.

It was Ushijima's side profile looking outside over the window. The lights of the establishments they passed through created a nostalgic aesthetic along with the slight blurriness of the photo, but never missing his straight, high nose and the sharpness of his jaw. Oh, and that aura of both seriousness and mysteriousness that Tendou knew would catch the attention of anyone who’d look at it.

Ushijima stared at the phone closely, reading the new bio Tendou wrote for him, "That doesn't feel like me at all."

Tendou ignored his friend's remark, giving the phone back to him. "Now try swiping again."

Ushijima took his phone back, observing what buttons to press as he had forgotten how to use the app between the long months since he used it. Finally, the profiles load and he's greeted with a certain boy with light brown hair looking rather cheerful in his picture.

Oikawa, 20

Miyagi Region

If nothing lasts forever, can you be my nothing? ;)

Ushijima scrunched his nose, making Tendou roll his eyes as he grabbed the phone back from him.

“You don’t just stare at it, okay?” He swipes right and a match appears, “See? You swipe and then that will appear if they like you too.”

“Why would they like me if they don’t even know me yet?” the captain asked, tilting his head to the side.

Tendou grimaced, looking a little funny at the innocent question asked of him. “They like your face, okay?” he replied. “Okay?”

Oikawa couldn’t remember how long he’d been talking to the brunette he met on Tinder. Yes, Ushijima was a dry texter, but for some reason, for some reason, he couldn’t stop himself from talking to him. Not even when every topic shifted to thinking if they’d ever had milk from the same cow. Because Ushijima took him to a place where he only knew two things: that he couldn’t stop smiling and couldn’t stop looking forward to all his replies.

The smell of sweat and the sounds of bouncing balls and shoes scraping against the gym floor sang around Oikawa as he made himself comfortably seated all alone on the bench, taking advantage of the fifteen-minute break the coach lent the team.

He laced his phone around his nimble fingers while the other danced around the clean, white towel he used to wipe his forehead before setting it down beside him, placing it along various colored tumblers that belonged to his teammates.

Iwaizumi watched Oikawa from a distance, gulping down on his tumbler, rivulets of water running down from his lips to his Adam's apple, all the way down to his chest. He narrowed his eyes at the flamboyant big shot as he lowered his drink.

He didn’t know why exactly, but there was something different about Oikawa today.

One could say that there was something quite off about the confident captain of the team. Usually, he’d be socializing with the team, or annoying Iwaizumi during breaks, but today he chose to confine himself in the corner, craving what little quiet the noisy gym could offer. Of course, underneath the winks, smiles, exaggerated swagger, and childish antics lies a much more serious persona for when a situation demands it, channeling all that bravado in his pursuit.

But what was so important that could possibly bring Oikawa’s tenacity and attention completely locked on his phone, which he hasn’t put down since the first minute? What could possibly have Oikawa on edge that he couldn’t keep his right heel from lifting and dropping over and over, restlessly?

Oikawa couldn’t stress how long he’d been waiting for Ushijima to ask him out. He wished to have Ushijima beside him, wished he could inhale his scent—and how he probably smelled of dark wood with a hint of vanilla, wished Ushijima’s fingers threaded his hair, and how he wished they were something more.

Truthfully, he couldn’t explain why he’s so intoxicated with the man. He couldn’t determine or distinguish the weight of various reasons why, as if translating them into words would be translating symbols into letters.

Perhaps, the first time Oikawa let himself be swayed by the awkward and dry texter was after he had only slipped into his blanket. Ready to go into a deep slumber after reviewing tapes of his enemy team a day before the match to chalk out strategies, when his phone lit up, the light coming from the screen illuminating a halo around the corner.

From: Ushijima (sent at 9:43pm)

No. You’re the only one I talk to.

His breathing hitched, and he rose as quickly as he laid on the bed. In the small light, his bronze eyes glittered. A corner of his mouth twitched upwards and he wondered, Only me?

Oikawa had teased Ushijima about staying up late to reply to others. Vague, but just the right words to get the exact answer he wanted from the male: if he’d been talking to anyone else other than him. But he found himself kept up by the lingering messages from Ushijima.

A few weeks after that conversation, and at the mention that Ushijima also played volleyball, here he sat anxiously alone on the gym bench, trying the same scheme yet again.

Another word, another hint that he was interested in meeting Ushijima.

To: Ushijima (sent at 4:30pm)

Yeah, volleyball is good! But I miss hanging out sometimes >_<

Oikawa bit his bottom lip, anxiously staring at his phone that had just shifted to a black screen as he waited for a reply. He sighed, dropping his eyelids as he slumped his shoulders back from all the tension he didn’t know had been building up.

His phone pinged, almost sending his body into a full gallop, immediately raising his gaze to the screen. His heart jumped at the sight of the text preview, Do you want to…

This is the moment. He’s finally going to ask me out. Oikawa smiled to himself, regaining his composure as he sat upright. He inhaled slowly, swiping his fingers to unlock the message. Nevermind the smell of sweat. This is the moment.

From: Ushijima (sent at 4:32pm)

Do you want to play volleyball?

Oh. The corners of his mouth dropped just as soon as they pulled upward at the reply. His shoulders sagged, setting his head down in disappointment. Oikawa couldn’t quite make it up, but sometimes, Ushijima seemed to be out of place.

Sometimes, he’d read signals as fast as he misinterpreted others.

This is hopeless, Oikawa laughed to himself. The array of possibilities he set for himself and Ushijima smeared like oil in the air, drowning out his suave as he tried to shut them all down. Then he tipped his head back, breathing in deep. Breathing in the disappointment, taking it into his head that Ushijima was most likely not at all interested in that way. Anxiety and embarrassment mingled into his chest.

But his phone pinged another time, and it sent his body into another jolt.

From: Ushijima (sent at 4:33pm)

I mean, do you want to go on a date?

And for a moment, he couldn’t breathe under the crushing weight that pushed in on him.

“Are you going on a date or to a Sunday morning service?” Tendou cackled as he watched Ushijima put on his necktie over his deep violet long sleeves he paired with black slacks, sitting comfortably on the bed.

Ushijima reciprocated Tendou's gaze through the full body mirror, his eyes squinted, fingers securing the knot of his tie, “What's wrong? Isn't this presentable?”

“Formal. Too formal!” he said as he raised his hands up to stress his remark, barely unable to stop the wide, malicious smile.

“Then tell me,” Ushijima sighed in defeat, realizing that his friend might be right. “What should I wear?”

He was so hopeless that Tendou wondered, What would he do without me? What would have become of him if it weren’t for me guiding him in the big world out there?

Tendou could go on and on about teasing Ushijima with the kind of clothing he chose to wear. Who goes to a date wearing a church outfit? But he saw how Ushijima needed genuine help and pushed his remarks to the side, lending his friend a helping hand on his first Tinder date.

Actually, his first date in general.

“You sound like that time when you finally asked your match out on a date,” Tendou chuckled. “Oh, it was thanks to me.”

Ushijima turned to face Tendou, “I thought it was obvious.”

“Obvious?” Tendou’s hand reached for his stomach as he laughed at his best friend’s words. “How is asking someone to play volleyball flirting? How is that considered flirting?”

Thanks to Tendou, Ushijima was able to make a correction. He was fast to take the latter’s phone in his hand and send another reply. The shock that reverberated into Tendou’s body only dispersed once they received an enthusiastic reply. A feeling that Ushijima would never have felt because of his inexperience.

“But I don’t just ask anyone to play volleyball,” Ushijima replied, tone low and neutral, completely clueless. If he was embarrassed, it didn’t show. Rather, his face remained distant as usual.

The red-haired cleared his throat. It was one of those rare moments when he thought he should be honest with Ushijima before he ventured into a world he hadn't stepped into: dating.

“You’re hopeless. But there’s one thing I can tell you,” Tendou clicked his tongue, eyes shifting left and right trying to search for the perfect words.

He weighed in the list of possibilities that could happen to Ushijima and his date. Of course, there was already a high probability that both of them would be as awkward as ever. But Tendou took notice of the amount of emojis Ushijima’s date uses, so he couldn’t be that boring.

Sometimes, there are just people who could make everything boring. Unfortunately, Ushijima was part of that.

Tendou chuckled inwardly at his thoughts.

Ushijima was intimidating, and he doesn’t speak much. But when he does, he can come off as blunt. He was the kind of man who spoke no lies. He didn’t hesitate to speak what’s on his mind. He didn’t have any concerns. Only that he disliked things he didn’t understand.

He had the oozing air of confidence and reliability about him. He was a fantastic player on the court, but he was just a regular person outside of that. And sometimes, Tendou wondered if Ushijima had any fun at all.

His scrutinizing gaze brought Ushijima’s eyes to meet his through the mirror as the lad unbuttoned his shirt to change. “Have fun.”

Oikawa’s blood pumped through him in a strange rhythm. With every step he took, his feet felt heavy, lightweight, soft, and hard all at once, dragging them to move. He was tizzy as he approached the cinema—where he and Ushijima agreed to meet, biting down on his bottom lip.

The man walking in front of him paid him a short glower as if he’d been suspecting Oikawa for his stalking gait. Oikawa reciprocated the man’s hostility with an apologetic smile, halting his steps and embracing the frigid weather around him.

He took in a few deep breaths as he closed his eyes. Then he opened them, and the big ‘CINEMA’ sign glowed red in the light of the dark and the busy streets and youth passing by.

The first snow still hasn’t touched the ground, but it was felt in the frigid cold. He posted himself beside the entrance. He could feel the warm temperature coming from inside the hall whenever the doors opened. There was that burning need to invite himself in, but he stood outside, patiently waiting in the cold.

All around him, there were laughs and smiles from people around his age. Mostly couples, but he spotted friends who came in groups. Some were buying tickets from the booth manned by a straight-faced fellow, who impassively bid goodbye by saying, “Enjoy your movie.”

Some, he guessed, were waiting for someone. The restless tapping of their foot against the ground, the constant checking of time, and the biting of their lips. All of which Oikawa recognized. Because he was doing the same thing.

He raised his left hand, pushing aside his long, blue sweater sleeves to reveal his leather watch, “6:47…” he whispered.

There were still thirteen minutes left to see Ushijima for the first time. Thirteen minutes to hold on to his dear sanity.

He tapped his foot restlessly against the pavement once more, releasing another breath that condensed in the air, making him push his khaki scarf upwards to cover his mouth.

As soon as he raised his gaze towards what’s in front of him, he saw the man he’d been yearning to see. Behind the screen. Behind all those words. Behind all the smiles. And on that cold night, he saw him for the first time.

Oikawa’s eyes widened as he watched Ushijima from only eight feet away.

Ushijima’s body was turned to the side, giving Oikawa only the picture of his long coat, cropped light-colored trousers, and loafers. His side profile boasted that high nose and that brown hair—and Oikawa wondered if it was as smooth as it looked.

It’s literally unfair how attractive he is, Oikawa groaned in his thoughts. He knew how strange it was to look at Ushijima. But he found difficulty in not staring at him. He couldn’t find the courage to tear his gaze away from him. Not when Ushijima had that mesmerizing aura about him.

He was all too aware of how cliche he sounded, and he smiled like a fool when he realized that, maybe, he liked it. And he was still smiling like a fool when Ushijma whipped his head in his direction, locking their gazes.

Ushijima narrowed his eyes, making Oikawa’s smile drop as soon as he realized. But Ushijima was already walking toward him, and Oikawa couldn’t breathe.

“Good evening,” Ushijima greeted as soon as he was in front of Oikawa. If he was nervous, if he was shy, it didn’t show.

Oikawa noted the aura Ushijima emitted. He was, perhaps, more than what he had expected. A little too unreal, maybe. He swallowed, but his throat was too dry. “Hello…”

Ushijima’s lips twitched a little upwards. Even as he smiled, there was still something serious left in the air. “Have you been waiting long?” he checked his watch then returned to the speechless Oikawa.

He’s so pretty. I think I’m gonna faint, Oikawa thought before he realized he was asked a question. He shook his head to disperse himself of unwanted thoughts, creasing his brows as he leaned a little forward. Ushijima’s scented soap caressed his nose, a touch of wood… and is that baby powder? “I’m sorry. What was that?”

“Have you been waiting long?” Ushijima repeated.

“Oh. No,” Oikawa retreated. “No, I haven’t. I just got here,” he chuckled, trying to conceal the awkwardness in his tone. Feeling a little anxious, he asked, “And you?”

“I also just got here,” Ushijima answered dryly. Then his eyes went past Oikawa, and both felt the warm temperature from inside the hall, the noises sounding louder as the door swung open before it shut on its own and the noises died down with it.

Ushijima brought his gaze back to Oikawa, “Would you like to go inside? I’ve got the tickets.”

“Sure…” Oikawa smiled awkwardly.

Ushijima pushed the door open for Oikawa, to which he thanked him for. As soon as Ushijima couldn’t see his face, he closed his eyes in frustration. Say something!

Oikawa found himself speechless around Ushijima. It seemed like all of his confidence had died at the very sight of him. There was something intimidating about Ushijima that he couldn’t quite explain.

Yes, he’d been waiting for this moment for so long. And he hated himself for feeling as if he wasn’t even trying hard to connect with him.

The thundering drum in his heart pulsed through his ears, drowning out the sound of talks and the smell of popcorn invading his nose. He was shifting his weight from one foot to another as they waited in line for the cinema room, pocketing his trembling hands as he started at his feet.

He squeezed the bridge of his nose with two fingers, then lifted his head as he smiled at the staff that manned the entrance to the cinema room before following Ushijima ahead. His throat was tight in nervousness—a feeling he wasn’t very much familiar with—even as they sat in their seats.

Oikawa shifted his gaze over to Ushijima, and found he kept his eyes on the big screen, the flickering light from the changing scenes illuminated the planes of his face. He could watch Ushijima the entire time. Nevermind that Romeo and Juliet movie using the original dialogue. He couldn’t even understand it.

Then his eyes shifted towards his hand that rested on the recliner, making him frown. Since the movie started, he already placed his hand where Ushijima could hold it. But the movie was probably half over already, and nothing.

A child’s cry drowned the actors’ voices and shook the whole cinema, turning everyone’s attention to the source in the row behind them. Only Ushijima did not bother to pay a glance towards the disturbance.

Oikawa thought, Why make a child watch Romeo and Juliet?

He stifled a laugh and his hand flew to cover the corners of his mouth from twitching upwards as cheese popcorn fell from right above Ushijima’s head.

That was all it took to have Ushijima turn his attention to the annoying child. The audience expressed annoyance through angry muffles, but Ushijima remained calm and collected, politely accepting apologies from the man, whom Oikawa guessed as the father, as he tried to soothe the crying child.

Ushijima caught Oikawa’s attention, but it was too late for him to hide his smile. Oikawa laughed awkwardly, then hoisted his drink he hadn’t touched from the recliner to hand over to Ushijima.

“Drink water,” he said even as he himself was dehydrated.

Musicians took up spots inside the restaurant that Ushijima booked for the date. The room was filled with a blend of soft conversations, the clang of plates, and violins. Such a beautiful sound, if only that one musician knew how to carry a tune.

Oikawa and Ushijima kept straight faces, looking at each other as if they could tell what the other was thinking.

It was grand, but terrible. The dishes were too small. Certainly not enough to satiate their hunger. And that music? Gods above.

He registered the change in Ushijima’s face as he watched him intently across the table that separated them both. His ears were turning a little red, his forearms braced on the table. While Oikawa, on the other hand, leaned on the back of his chair, sitting like a king.

“How do you do it?” Ushijima asked quietly, his eyes almost pleading.

“Do what?” Oikawa grinned, raising his head high, teasing.

Ushijima gave him a slow smile and a flicker of light moved across his eyes, “How do you ignore that irritating sound?”

“My teammates are louder, and much more annoying than that,” Oikawa laughed, stealing another glance at the stressed-out musicians who wasted no time in poking at the one who couldn’t play the right strings. He would’ve felt sorry for him, really, had it not sparked an interesting conversation between him and Ushijima.

Ushijima traced the rim of his glass, “Louder and annoying?” his brows narrowed slightly.

“So,” Oikawa tilted his head, keeping a smile on his face as he recalled moments he spent with the team. “There was this one time when we went to a training camp. And I couldn’t sleep on the bus because they were all so obnoxiously loud and kept singing.”

Oikawa was the leader of that fiasco, but he would never admit to it.

“I had to snap their foreheads one by one to make them stop,” he shrugged. “It was fun though.”

“You have a very different definition of fun,” Ushijima chuckled, so soft and so mellow. The sound was better than the horrible quartet playing in the background, and Oikawa wanted to hear it again.

“Well,” Ushijima started, “do you want to get out of here?”

Somehow, it didn’t seem like goodbye.

“Wait!” Oikawa laughed when the tail of the scarf around his neck got caught in between the restaurant door they walked through.

Ushijima took a step closer, opening the door for Oikawa to pull out his scarf. A slash of a grin spread across his face, “What are you doing?”

Oikawa could only laugh as Ushijima stared at him with the same intensity. They stood in front of each other. No words, just stillness. But they were sure something changed. Even when they’ve only had a short time to get to know each other.

From the short distance that separated them, Oikawa watched as Ushijima’s brown eyes turned molten from the warm lights all around them. He couldn’t brush off the rush of having Ushijima look only at him, trying not to get lost in those strange, enticing eyes.

Oikawa winced as a gust of icy wind blew the tail of his scarf and froze his ears. He took that sign as an opportunity to pull it tightly around him.

“Walk with me?” he asked gently.

“I would love to,” Ushijima nodded. “But I’m afraid you would have to lead me instead. I’m not quite familiar with the road down there.”

Oikawa smiled even as he rolled his eyes, “Don’t tell me you’re the kind who gets picked up?”

Ushijima tucked his hand behind his back as they strode forward through the cobbled streets. He fumbled for words, but he did not drop his grin as the golden lights twinkled across the city, “Not really.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“Do you have a reason not to?”

“Okay, you’re good,” Oikawa complimented when he couldn’t counter his quick remark.

“Thank you,” Ushijima chuckled, deep and slow.

Oikawa frowned, “You actually look more handsome with honesty on your face.”

“I do?” Ushijima grinned, boasting those white teeth, brows knotting.

“Yeah, yeah,” Oikawa waved him off. “You’re cute. Stop smiling at me like that,” he added, averting his gaze from Ushijima. “Your lack of self-awareness is deeply troubling.”

Ushijima pocketed his hands, “And you? Are you honest?”

“Yeah, I mean,” Oikawa shrugged and smiled roguishly, keeping his gaze on the lights ahead. From a distance, he could see the head of the illuminated fountain by the park they were nearing. “Maybe I’ll just be straightforward about taking advantage of you.”

Ushijima laughed but said nothing. No one spoke as they realized that the space between them felt strangely intimate.

“What about the violin in the restaurant earlier, huh?” Oikawa followed with a tease.

“What on earth,” Ushijima drawled, sounding exasperated, “is all I have to say to that.”

With a turn around the hedge, the gush of water from the fountain park enticed them both. A strong gust of wind made them feel that the air had turned colder with the time, ripping through them as they observed the golden lit decorations surrounding the park.

“Do you want to..?” Ushijima didn’t finish the words, extending his arm and pointing his index towards the brightly lit fountain.

Their date should have ended the moment they stepped out of the restaurant. But the beautiful fountain in the center illuminating their faces signaled that it had only just begun.

Before Oikawa could sit on an empty bench—only a few feet away from the fountain, Ushijima dusted it with his hand, making his date smile appreciatively at the effort. In the touch of freezing cold, it became their spot to just sit and watch the fountain as a silent acknowledgement that neither were ready to part ways just yet.

“So,” Oikawa said as he crossed his legs, turning to Ushijima as the latter sat down. “Tell me more about you.”

“About me?” Ushijima’s brows creased, setting his eyes on his hands that rested in his lap. Oikawa realized how there was no progress in terms of skinship between them, but he wasn’t complaining. “There’s nothing much about me, really.”

“Impossible,” Oikawa shook his head. “There’s never nothing about anything or anyone.”

Oikawa’s eyes glittered as he stared at Ushijima’s hand, and his heartbeat quickened when his gaze rose to his face.

“How about us?” Ushijima asked.

A flush of pink bloomed on his cheeks as his heart hammered against his ribcage. He hadn’t been expecting such an honest question, such a question that flushed all the bravado he tried so hard to muster.

“Is there a reason you’re blushing like that?” Ushijima tilted his head.

Oikawa kept his gaze averted, biting his full bottom lip. Because of you!

“Oikawa?” Ushijima called.

He tried not to let it show what it did to him to have Ushijima remember his name. Or to hear him say it. To have him let out the words from his lips.

“Are you okay?” Ushijima asked, but made no move to touch him.

Good. Because Oikawa wasn’t entirely certain he could handle his heat hovering against him. He took a breath, and that same impish grin swiped back. “You should know by now,” he teased.

The silence that followed after didn’t lay as heavy as it used to be. Instead, Oikawa straightened himself, resting a hand on the bench in the short distance separating both, gazing at the fountain that kept them company.

“I like mushroom risotto,” he said out of the blue.

“Mushroom risotto?”

“Mushroom risotto,” he repeated, still keeping his eyes averted.

There was a short pause before Ushijima spoke, “Did you know that mushrooms are made up of 90% water?”

Do you want to go try mushroom risotto next time? Do you want me to bring that for you one day? Do you want me to cook that for you? Such questions were what he thought would’ve followed next. Questions that would make them meet each other again. Never a random fact he didn’t expect.

Oikawa turned his head towards his date. “What?” He choked on a laugh as he asked it.

“Yeah,” Ushijima gruffed, completely unaware of what left Oikawa in disbelief. “They’re also a fungus. Did you know?”

“No,” Oikawa shook his head. “I didn’t.”

“We should forage for mushrooms next time.”

Next time, the words rang in Oikawa’s head. Next time.

“And you?” Oikawa followed. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Curry,” his date answered plainly, his free hand discreetly traveling towards Oikawa’s hand on the bench.

A faint warmth bloomed in his chest. The brief touch of Ushijima’s fingers through Oikawa sent a pang of desire through him so strong he wanted to pull him in closer. It had taken all of him, all his self control to keep his breathing steady as he gazed back at the fountain.

That was all it took to have Oikawa’s gaze back at the fountain again, “These lights are familiar,” he started. “From my recitals from those years ago. It’s kinda nostalgic.”

When Ushijima didn’t say anything, he took it upon himself to turn his head back towards him. With the look written across Ushijima’s face and those eyes, he understood.

“I will pretend I haven’t heard the question in your eyes,” he groaned.

“No, tell me,” Ushijima leaned a little forward.

“It’s nothing, really. I just took up dancing a while back. Then I shifted to volleyball,” he eyed him, searching for any sign of mockery.

“Dancing?” Ushijima pondered, running a finger along his lips—the sight making Oikawa swallow—before returning his gaze to the other, “Could you, perhaps, show me?”

“What?” Oikawa asked in disbelief, turning left and right. “Here?”

Ushijima nodded.

“What?” he shook his head. “No!”

But Ushijima stood up and offered his hand. Oikawa stared at it for a moment, creasing his brows, but a ghost of a smile remained plastered across his lips. He looked around, searching for prying heads.

“There are people,” he argued in a whisper.

Ushijima shrugged, “People are too busy to care about anyone other than themselves.”

Oikawa let out a long sigh before he took Ushijima’s hand. Narrowing his eyes, he said, “Fine.”

He cleared his throat and lumbered, positioning himself in the center from where they stood. Ushijima could never tell him, but he looked like a perfect decoration in front of the fountain behind him.

Oikawa gazed across the stone pavement. Sliding his foot back and the other forward, he extended his arms in front in a smooth motion that truly suggested he had some background in the art. He was dancing, then his arms were flailing in the sky with feline grace. His scarf spun around him as he whirled, and he was thankful for the cold that he wouldn’t sweat. He felt like flying, until the ground was beneath his feet again.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done this. And why did he stop?

Ushijima stared at the slightly breathless wonder in front of him as he skidded to a halt. His eyes twinkled, just a bit—in a way they usually did when he was amused but tried hard not to be.

Oikawa looked spectacular. Utterly and completely spectacular. A little stiff on the edges, but spectacular.

Oikawa picked up his scarf that fell on the ground. Then his eyes rested on Ushijima, whose hands were pocketed in his coat. A tug on the corner of his lips issued the bravado he’d been keeping.

“What? Amused?” he teased with a conspirator’s grin when he closed the final distance between them.

Ushijima just stared at him, taking in the warm gleam in his eyes. He said nothing, but his hand flew to Oikawa’s scarf. Both said nothing as Ushijima wrapped the it around him, “It always becomes loose when you’re the one putting it on.”

A delicious heat kissed its way down Oikawa’s neck to his spine as if there was some warmth left despite the winter.

“Perhaps I will take up dancing again,” he said in a little more than a whisper, his throat constricting at the moment.

A hush had fallen between them, but Oikawa felt as if there was something inside him that found it to be a perfect piece in their merriment. It went beyond his expectations. He enjoyed his time with Ushijima.

“Let’s take you home,” Ushijima said and Oikawa only nodded.

The streets were too quiet this time of the night—so quiet that only their footsteps and chuckles and moments of conversation lingered in the sleeping city. They were still talking and laughing, and it had been that way since they left the park, stepping forward with the wings of conversation.

“What was your favorite part?” Ushijima asked, his eyes not on the streets before him but on Oikawa. Such wild ecstasy, he noted.

Oikawa paused, his brows creasing as Ushijima waited for his answer, thinking. Then his eyes widened and met Ushijima’s, “Oh, you mean the movie?”

Ushijima only chuckled, “Yes, the movie.”

“Not the baby?”

“Yeah, and maybe that too,” a faint smile stretched Ushijima’s lips.

“Hmm, let’s see,” Oikawa looked forward, brows knotting yet again as he acted. His finger tapped on his lip in a way that forced Ushijima to remind himself to keep his focus on Oikawa’s eyes, “I like the part where the dad,” he stared back at Ushijima, “picked up the baby and they went outside. That scene was amazing!”

Ushijima chuckled, looking away from him and Oikawa realized how manly Ushijima’s voice was. Then Oikawa’s eyes scanned the street before him, how the establishments and the crooked, dark streets were becoming more and more familiar to him.

“You laughed at me earlier,” there was a hint of a smile on Ushijima’s lips.

Oikawa felt a little embarrassed, but he laughed, “You’ve gotta admit. It was kind of funny.”

“It was fine,” Oikawa answered seriously.

“Same here.”

“No way. I thought you liked Shakespeare,” he said in disbelief.

“I thought you liked Shakespeare,” Ushijima countered.

He assumed that Oikawa was interested in Shakespeare because, sometimes, he would post quotes from Romeo and Juliet. What Ushijima didn’t know was that: it was Oikawa’s literature teacher who originally posted those, and he only wanted to get on their good side.

“It took me some time to understand the words,” Oikawa admitted.

Ushijima’s smile widened, revealing his white teeth, “For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.”

Oikawa’s hand flew to his mouth that went agape, “How did you memorize that?” he asked with amusement in his eyes.

“Say your lines,” Ushijima urged him.

“You are reciting Juliet’s lines,” Oikawa narrowed his eyes in thought, but the grin didn’t disappear from his lips.

“Say your lines,” Ushijima repeated, ignoring his remark.

Oikawa rolled his eyes, his brows knotting trying to remember the right words, “Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?”

“Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.”

“You’re annoying. Mine is long,” he frowned at how fast Ushijima replied and how long he remembered the next line was. But it took only one grin from Ushijima and he started speaking.

“Something. Something,” his eyes almost bawled upwards trying to remember the words. “Let lips do what hands do. Uh. They pray grant thou, lest faith turn to despair..?” he finished with uncertainty. “Wait. How do you even memorize these?”

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayer's sake,” Ushijima continued.

“Then move not, while my prayers’ effect I take,” Oikawa grinned with how fast he recited the lines as he halted in front of his house and Ushijima did the same.

“Thus, from my lips,” Ushijima said hoarsely. Oikawa didn’t mean to, but his eyes went down to Ushijima’s lips, “by thine, my sin is purged.”

His heartbeat quickened when his gaze rose to Ushijima’s eyes, “Then have my lips the sin that they have took,” he said in a little more than a whisper.

The night was honest and his eyes whispered of how they met, how there was an unspoken understanding between them. And being with Ushijma was like staying in the rain, he still wanted to be in it one more time.

Through a clearing in the skies, clusters of stars could be seen and the sliver of the crescent moon shone above them as they stepped into the pool of moonlight.

“Good night,” Ushijima said. “You’re probably tired.”

But he was not tired, he was not done. There was still greed and want inside of him that made him want to pull Ushijima closer. The longing for a wave of touch and friction of joy that only grew bigger and bigger by the minute.

“Good night,” was all he replied, his voice so soft and mellow.

Oikawa turned his back on Ushijima, his steps feeling heavier by the minute as he trudged away from him. But he looked back, and the greed must have shown because Ushijima stood there, watching him, thinking.

He grinned and crossed his arms, “You do realize what time it is, right?”

Ushijima shrugged and pocketed his hands, “I just want to see you walk in.”

That was all it took for Oikawa to do the opposite. He went closer to Ushijima, closing the gap between them. There was only the absence of conversation and how much he wanted to touch Ushijima.

“It was enchanting to meet you,” Ushijima said quietly before his ears filled with the softness of Oikawa’s laughter.

“Do you know how cliche you sound, Romeo?” he teased.

Oikawa watched the way Ushijima’s lips widened in a smile and died down slowly.

“I think,” Ushijima started, the words were barely more than a strangled whisper, “I like you a lot.”

The longing blinded him, and he flung himself on Ushijima, breathing in his scent and the slight trace of cheese in him. He memorized the feel of him and the heat of Ushijima’s body hovering over him.

“We probably should just go to McDonald’s next time,” he teased.

“As long as I’m with you,” Ushijima chuckled against Oikawa’s lips. “I would like that very much.”

It was only that, and their lips touched.

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saltandburnsis · 4 years

Text

dead in the water, pt. 2

Characters: Reader, Dean, Sam

Age: 20

Warnings: Drowning mention

Word Count: 2,993

Summary: The investigation brings on new connections, revelations and deaths around every corner as you and your brothers get closer to finding the real monster of Lake Manitoc.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who sent messages while I was away. I appreciate every one of you so, so much. Thankfully (and miraculously) both of my grandparents have made full recoveries. (Still positive for COVID but symptom-free.) As usual, all dialogue taken directly from the episode will be in italics.

~ ~ ~ ~

“So, there’s the three drowning victims from this year,” Sam said, his eyes never leaving the computer screen in front of him. You were going through the clothes with Dean, silently planning a trip to the local laundromat as the “too used to wear again” pile grew larger and larger by the second.

“And before that?” Dean asked, lifting a shirt to his nose before setting it down on the bed beside him—the first of few wearable clothes.

“Uh, yeah. Six more, spread out over the past 35 years. Those bodies were never recovered, either. If there is something out there, it’s picking up its pace,” Sam replied.

“So, what? We got a lake monster on a binge?” Dean threw a pair of jeans to the large pile behind you.

“This whole lake monster theory—it just bugs me,” you cut in, mimicking your eldest brother’s actions. At this rate, you’d spend more time at the laundromat than working on the case.

“Why?” Dean asked. Sam continued to click through the articles on his screen.

“Loch Ness, Lake Champlain—there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, there’s almost nothing. Whatever is out there, no one’s living to talk about it,” you explained. Dean walked over to Sam, standing behind him and reading over his shoulder. He pointed at one of the articles.

“Bar. Christopher Bar. Where have I heard that name before?” he asked.

“Christopher Bar, the victim in May,” Sam mused, clicking around a bit to find the article he was looking for.

“Isn’t that Andrea’s last name?” you asked as he searched, making your way over to the table and leaning over Sam’s right shoulder. He pulled up the article he was looking for, and the three of you were met with a picture of Lucas. He was wrapped in a towel, and you could only assume it was his grandfather standing beside him.

“Huh. Christopher Bar was Andrea’s husband. Lucas’s father. Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued,” Sam summarized. He clicked on the picture so it filled the screen, Lucas’s terrified face staring back at you.

“Maybe we have an eyewitness after all,” you said, moving away from the table and looking anywhere but the picture. Dean did the same, though his eyes were locked on the computer screen.

“No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn’t something you just get over.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Dean pulled up to the playground, and parked. He didn’t shut the car off, however, until he’d surveyed the area and spotted Andrea.

“Let’s go” was all he said before getting out of the car. He waited for you and Sam to get out before starting the walk over to where Andrea sat.

“Can we join you?” Sam asked once the three of you were in close proximity to her. Andrea looked up at the three of you and smiled.

“I’m here with my son,” she replied, glancing over at Lucas before turning back to you.

“Oh. Mind if I say ‘hi’?” Dean asked. Without waiting for a response, he turned away and walked towards Lucas. Andrea scoffed, smiling, and looked back at you and Sam.

“Tell your friend this whole “Jerry McGuire” thing’s not going to work on me,” she said.

“I don’t think that’s what this is about,” you answered, giving her a small, reassuring smile before looking back at Dean. Andrea mimicked your smile before turning her attention to Dean and her son. She rose from her seat and stood beside you on your left, Sam to your right. The three of you watched in an awkward silence for a moment, like parents only congregated to ensure their children’s safety. You decided to break the tense stillness.

“So, has Lucas always been so…reserved?” You asked, watching as Lucas almost refused to acknowledge Dean’s presence. A humorless laugh escaped Andrea’s lips, and she turned to face you.

“No, no. He used to be so talkative when he was younger. He shut down when his dad passed.”

“We’re sorry to hear that,” Sam interjected when Andrea paused. She sighed, crossing her arms. “I’ve taken him to therapists…done everything under the sun that I could, but still, Lucas hasn’t said a word. Not even to me. Not since his dad’s accident.”

“Yeah, we heard. Sorry,” said Dean as he went to stand beside her.

“What are the doctors saying?” Sam asked. Andrea sighed again, a sort of exasperated sigh that usually accompanied information relayed countless times.

“Oh, that it’s a kind of post-traumatic stress,” she replied. Something about her tone led you to believe she didn’t believe that herself.

“That can’t be easy for either of you,” you sympathized.

“We moved in with my dad. That helps a lot. It’s just…when I think about what Lucas went through—what he saw…” Andrea trailed off, focusing her gaze back on her son.

“Kids are strong. You’d be surprised what they can deal with,” Dean assured her.

“You know, he used to have such life. He was so hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth.” Her nostalgic smile was short-lived as her thoughts settled back in the present. “Now, he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish—” She cut herself off when Lucas approached, bending slightly to greet the boy. “Hey, sweetie.” Lucas kept his eyes on the ground in front of him, but went to Dean’s side and held out a picture.

“Thanks.” Dean took the picture and looked down at it. “Thanks, Lucas.” He turned his head to look back at the younger boy, but he’d already set back toward the bench. Andrea watched him for a moment then looked back at Dean, mouth slightly agape.

~ ~ ~ ~

The door of your motel room swung open and Sam walked in, letting it shut itself.

“So, I think it’s safe to say we can rule out Nessie,” he announced. He looked to Dean, who sat at the end of the bed currently covered in clothes—clean clothes you’d just brought back from the laundromat.

“What do you mean?” Dean asked as Sam sat at the edge of the second bed.

“I just drove by the Carlton’s house,” he explained. “There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead.”

“He drowned?” Dean asked in disbelief.

“Yep, in the sink.”

“What the hell? So, Y/N is right; this isn’t a creature. We’re dealing with something else,” said Dean.

“Yeah, but what?” you asked, dropping the shirt in your hands. Sam shook his head.

“I don’t know. A water wraith maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water…” Dean trailed off, and the three of you looked at each other, eyes widening with the revelation you seemed to come to simultaneously. “Water that comes from the same source.”

“The lake,” you continued your brother’s thoughts. “Which would explain why it’s upping the body count. The lake is draining. It’ll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it’s running out of time.”

“And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone almost anywhere,” Sam added.

“This is going to happen again soon.” Dean moved to sit at the table and began putting his shoes back on, ready to go after this thing. You grabbed your boots from their spot beside the bed.

“And we do know one other thing for sure,” Sam continued. “We know that this has got something to do with Bill Carlton.”

“Yeah. It took both his kids,” you said, pointing out the obvious in Sam’s statement as you tied your laces.

“And I’ve been asking around. Lucas’s dad, Chris—Bill Carlton’s godson,” Sam revealed.

“Let’s go pay Mr. Carlton a visit,” Dean decided, rising from his seat.

~ ~ ~ ~

As if he’d never moved from the last time the three of you visited his home, Bill Carlton sat on his dock, looking out at the water. His back was to the house, and he made no move to acknowledge your arrival at any point as the three of you walked over. His grief was obvious in his movements—or lack of, that is—but it was a whole other thing to see the despair on his face, the sorrow in his eyes when you approached the man.

“Mr. Carlton?” Sam asked. “We’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

“We’re from the Department of-”

“I don’t care who you’re with,” Bill cut Dean off. “I’ve answered enough questions today.” His voice quivered as he spoke, always on the verge of tears. You stepped forward to speak with him.

“Your son said he saw something in that lake. What about you? You ever see anything out there?” Your voice was empathetic, but professional—you’d found it was enough to give you an air of authority, but comforting enough to allow you to gain the trust of your witness. Bill, however, remained silent, refusing to meet your gaze. “Mr. Carlton, Sophie’s drowning and Will’s death—we think there might be a connection. To you or your family.”

“My children are gone. It’s…it’s worse than dying.” Bill blinked away tears and finally turned to look up at you. The air fell still for a moment, punctuating his words. He turned away before he spoke again. “Go away…please.” Dean nudged you before nodding his head in the direction of the car. You wouldn’t get anywhere badgering him any further. Sam and Dean left the dock, but you stayed planted in your spot, pursing your lips.

“I’m sorry,” you said softly. Bill only looked down at the ground and shut his eyes. With that, you finally turned and followed your brothers back to the car.

“What do you think?” Sam asked once you were back at the car and out of Bill’s earshot.

“I think the poor guy’s been through hell. I also think he’s not telling us something.” Dean answered.

“So now what?” Sam asked, resting his arms on the hood of the car. You went to stand beside him, ready to get in, but Dean had stopped and was now looking up at the house.

“What is it?” you asked.

“Huh. Maybe Bill’s not the only one who knows something.” He pulled Lucas’s picture out of his jacket pocket and held it out in front of him. The drawing was identical to the house standing before you.

~ ~ ~ ~

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Andrea said, putting her hands on her hips.

“I just need to talk to him, just for a few minutes,” Dean pleaded.

“He won’t say anything. What good’s it gonna do?” Andrea asked him. Sam was the one to answer her.

“Andrea, we think more people might get hurt. We think something’s happening out there.”

“My husband, the others—they just drowned. That’s all.” Andrea shook her head, adamant in her beliefs. You sighed.

“If that’s what you really believe, then we’ll go,” you said. “But if you think there’s even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let Dean talk to your son.” Andrea didn’t reply, and she cast her gaze downward. You could practically see the gears turning as she weighed the pros and cons of letting the three of you upstairs. Moments later, she looked back at the three of you and nodded.

“Alright.” She moved past you and walked up the stairs, motioning for the three of you to follow. You stood against the wall once you’d all reached Lucas’s room, standing close enough to see what was going on, but far enough back to give Dean space to do his thing without an audience. He stepped into the room and knelt down on the floor beside Lucas.

“Hey, Lucas. Remember me?” It was silent for a moment as he looked down at two of Lucas’s pictures. “You know, I, uh…I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the thing is, I need your help again.” Dean pulled the picture of the Carlton house out of his pocket and set it down in front of Lucas. “How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen? Maybe you could nod yes or no for me. You’re scared.” Dean nodded. “It’s okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn’t feel like talking, just like you. But, see, my mom, I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that everyday. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe your dad wants you to be brave, too.” You quickly wiped a tear from your eye. The three of you had always had a bond, having lost your mothers to demons at such young ages, but Dean was the only one with real, concrete memories of Mary. Having been two when your own mother passed, you had a vague recollection of her, but nothing as real as what Dean had.

Suddenly, Angela’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open again. You looked back into the room to see what you had missed. Lucas was looking up at Dean, meeting his eyes. He grabbed another picture and held it out to your brother. Dean looked down at it then smiled at the boy. “Thanks, Lucas.”

~ ~ ~ ~

You sat in the back of the car, leaning forward and looking over Sam’s shoulder at the picture he held in his hands. Dean sped down the street, headed back towards the motel.

“Andrea said the kid never drew like that ’til his dad died,” Dean said.

“There are cases. Going through a traumatic experience could make certain people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies—” Sam relayed some Supernatural Psychology 101, but was cut off by Dean.

“Whatever’s out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?” He asked. Sam started to respond, but Dean continued his thought. “I mean, it’s only a matter of time before somebody else drowns. So if you got a better lead, please.”

“Alright,” Sam relented. “We got another house to find.”

“The only problem is, there’s about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone,” Dean complained. You reached forward and took the picture from Sam, moving it so Dean could better see it.

“See this church?” You asked, pointing to the building in the foreground. “Bet there’s less than a thousand of those around here.”

“Oh, kid thinks she’s so smart,” Dean mocked. You smirked.

“Only ‘cause I am,” you responded triumphantly, sitting back in your seat and setting the picture down next to you. Sam chuckled at the two of you before looking at Dean, shifting the mood of the car when he began to speak.

“You know, uh, what you said about mom—you never told me that before.” Dean kept his eyes on the road ahead.

“It’s no big deal,” he replied, voice monotone. He looked over at Sam when the younger brother refused to look away and grimaced. “Oh, god, we’re not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?” Sam smiled but shook his head, finally turning away from Dean. The two of them remained silent, though, and you decided to break the tension.

“Aw, look at college boy, all in touch with his feelings,” you teased, reaching forward to push on Sam’s shoulder. “You’re turning it into a real chick-flick in here.” You sat back and smiled when your brothers started laughing; your job was done.

~ ~ ~ ~

It had taken a little over half an hour to find the location from Lucas’s drawing, but your assertion had been correct and the three of you had found the white church and, subsequently, the yellow house with relative ease. You had opted to stay in the car this time, letting Sam and Dean go investigate this part of the puzzle. You didn’t have a good feeling about what they were going to find, and after your encounter with Bill, you thought it best to stay back, lest you start getting emotional. Sam and Dean were back in the car within twenty minutes and as always, were quick to fill you in on their discoveries.

“Okay, this little boy, Peter Sweeney, vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow,” you summarized, looking between the two of them.

“Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?” Dean nodded, eyes on the road in front of him as he drove down the street, on his way back to the Carlton house.

“And Bill—the people he loves—they’re all getting punished,” Sam continued.

“So what if Bill did something to Peter?” Dean asked, connecting the dots in front of you.

“What if Bill killed him?” Sam specified.

“Peter’s spirit would be furious,” you said. “It’d want revenge. I mean, it’s possible.”

You were back at Bill’s house minutes later. The three of you got out and looked to the dock, only to find it empty.

“Mr. Carlton!” Sam called, looking around. Dean looked back to the water and spotted Bill in the boat, going out into the water.

“Hey, check it out,” he said, getting you and Sam to follow his gaze. The three of you ran down the beach and onto the dock, calling after Bill.

“Turn the boat around! Come back here!” you yelled, your brothers calling out similarly. Bill only looked back at you before turning his head and speeding up. Seconds later the boat shot out of the water, flying back towards the dock. You jumped back at the sudden explosion of water. The boat landed upside down on top of Bill and, almost instantly, both disappeared under the water.

~ ~ ~ ~

SPN rewrite taglist: @mrsfortune1306 @marvelous-glims @headsup-i-am-very-bad-at-writing

forever taglist: @griff1ndor @gothsatanicrapunzel @choosemyname @mersuperwholocked-lowlife @not-astounding @vicmc624 @idksupernatural

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justatiredghost · 3 years

Text

Living for the Moment Ch16 A series of glimpses at Klaus’ life if he’d met Dave in his mid 20s. His life isn’t magically transformed, love can’t fix either of them when they’re both homeless and in a bad place. They’re not even really ready for a relationship yet. But maybe a supportive friendship can set them on a better path, the two of them inspiring each other to take care of themselves. It’s going to be a long and bumpy ride, and the question is, when will they actually admit to themselves that they have feelings for each other? Read More AO3

Klaus stumbled down the alley, chuckling quietly to himself. He couldn’t really remember what was so funny, but that was fine. He was incredibly high and, over all, in an amazing mood. He’d had several lucky scores, so he had more cash on hand than he had in a long while, which was why he was headed to a dealer’s. He probably should have accepted one of the offers he’d gotten to stay over, it was winter after all, with an icy bite in the air, but he was on pretty friendly terms with this particular dealer, so he’d probably let him crash there for the night.

He wasn’t exactly steady on his feet, and he giggled when he tripped, laughing even harder as it sent him tumbling into some trash cans. They were louder than he had expected as they clattered to the ground, ringing out through the darkened street. Klaus thought he’d been alone out here, but movement caught his eye and he turned to see a figure curled up against the wall withdrawing further under a coat

It wasn’t exactly an unusual sight, he’d seen plenty of weirder places people chose to sleep out here. He himself has woken up in many of them as well. He only took a second look because the coat caught his eye. It was one he recognized.

“Dave?” he said, not sure if it was actually going to be him.

He wouldn’t put it past the guy to give away his only coat, after all. And usually he was more careful about where he settled down for the night, so it would be stranger if it actually was him. This wasn’t a particularly dangerous part of town, all things considered, but it still wasn’t a great idea to be so out in the open. When the figure didn’t stir, he called out again, a little louder this time. He should probably have just left, but somehow curiosity got the better of him.

“Yoohoo, you alive in there?” He called, nudging the bundle. In retrospect, that probably wasn’t the smartest move. Thankfully he wasn’t greeted by a fist.

“Hmm?” came the sleepy reply as a head poked out from under the jacket, and when it turned out to be Dave after all, Klaus had to laugh at the coincidence.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said

“Klaus, hey,” Dave said with a smile, but he still looked out of it. There were dark circles under his eyes and he was much paler than the last time he’d seen him.

“You doing okay?” Klaus asked.

“Yeah, sure, fine,” Dave said, and it would have been more convincing if it didn’t look like he was about ready to collapse. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I didn’t want to be rude, but you look like shit,” Klaus said with a laugh, because it was easier than actually being concerned. “You’re not dying, are you?”

“Boy, I sure hope not,” Dave said with a little laugh of his own, but it ended in an ugly cough.

“What is it, a cold?” Klaus asked accusingly. “How long have you been sick?”

“I don’t know, a few days maybe. But I’m fine, really,” Dave said, waving him off dismissively. “I’m just still not used to the cold.”

“You don’t look fine. Come on, let’s go find somewhere you can warm up,” Klaus said with an exaggerated sigh.

“No,” Dave whined pathetically, slumping back against the wall when Klaus reached down for his arm. “I just need a bit more sleep is all, I’m fine.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Klaus rolled his eyes. “Come on, just give me your hand before you freeze to death, or something. You can sleep when we get where we’re going.”

“I don’t know if I can stand,” Dave finally admitted, not quite meeting his gaze.

“Hey, I will carry you if I have to, don’t test me,” Klaus said and he finally gave in.

They must have looked quite the pair, barely able to stay upright as they leaned against each other, stumbling along both unsteady for very different reasons. Thankfully, they managed to make it to one of the cheaper motels nearby with minimal injury. Dave seemed to be on autopilot, swaying slightly on the spot whenever Klaus released him, and following along obliviously wherever he was led. When they were finally in their room and Klaus left him briefly to close the door behind them, he almost climbed into bed fully clothed.

“Woah, hang on,” Klaus said, grabbing Dave’s arm again and steering him towards the bathroom. “How about a shower first? You’re not gonna drown if I leave you in here, are you?”

“Hmm?” Dave mumbled in response.

“Come on, let’s at least strip you down to your boxers,” Klaus said with a heavy sigh, turning on the water on to warm up.

Dave did as instructed and climbed in at Klaus’ urging to sit at the bottom of the tub, letting the water wash over him.

“Feel good?” Klaus asked, dropping to sit on the floor, leaning back against the tub.

“Mmm,” Dave nodded sleepily, slowly looking a bit more alert. “Sorry about all this.”

“All what? Being sick?” Klaus asked. “Just don’t die on me and we’ll call it even, okay?”

Dave nodded absently instead of joking back. After a moment, he slowly reached for the soap, like his limbs weighed too much, and started to clean up. Once he was done, or at least run out of energy and stopped, Klaus helped him climb out and into bed, convincing him to strip out of the boxers as well. At least Dave had the presence of mind now to blush as he did so, even though the blankets obscured the view. Adorable, that this was all it took.

“You get some rest,” Klaus said. “And when I get back, you’ll have fresh clean clothes ready for you.”

“You’re not staying?” Dave asked.

“I’ll only be a little while,” Klaus assured him.

He wasn’t sure he actually would be back, though. Sure, he’d drop off the clothes after visiting the laundromat, he wasn’t that mean, but after? Just being here was probably a pretty big trigger for Dave and he definitely didn’t want to be the cause of him falling off the wagon. He probably reeked of weed and alcohol too.

Maybe he needed to wash his own clothes as well. And shower. Then, as long as he didn’t actually take anything in front of Dave, it should be fine, right? He wasn’t sure, he’d never seriously tried to get sober, so he didn’t know what it was like to try to fight the urge.

He would have liked to take a long bath, but laundry took forever and he wanted to be back as soon as possible in case Dave woke up. Since his own clothes needed a wash, after he was all clean, Klaus just wrapped a towel around his chest before heading out. Sure, he got a few odd looks, but there weren’t many people out this late, so he just winked back and continued on. It was boring waiting for the washer and drier to do their thing, but he was still riding the tail end of a high and the hypnotic spinning certainly helped.

By the time he got back, Dave was sitting up, blinking around the room owlishly, like he was trying to remember what was going on.

“Oh,” Dave said when he saw him. “So it wasn’t a dream.”

“Do you dream about me coming to your rescue often, then?” Klaus joked, surprised when Dave turned crimson. That wasn’t exactly what he was expecting. He cleared his throat and continued quickly. “I’ve got your clothes for you. And snacks from the vending machine that I definitely paid for and didn’t almost get my arm stuck stealing. Think you can stomach some food?”

Dave grimaced and shook his head. “Think I’ll just sleep.”

Klaus shrugged, put on his own clothes with no regard for his own modestly, and sat on the edge of the bed to pull his boots on, granola bar held between his teeth. And no, he definitely wasn’t disappointed when Dave didn’t try to take a peak, seemingly asleep with his face buried in a pillow.

“Thanks,” Dave said suddenly, breaking the silence. Not asleep after all, apparently.

“Hey, I was gonna stay here anyway; had a really great score and the cash was burning a hole in my pocket, so I thought I’d treat myself. You just get to benefit from my good luck.”

He didn’t mention the fact that he was running low on drugs and that was what the money was actually for. He didn’t need to know that. Not that he was completely sure Dave bought his lie. Regardless, he needed to figure out what to do next. Most bars were closed by now, but maybe he could walk the streets a bit. Not the safest way to earn a bit of cash, but there wasn’t exactly anyone around to con, pickpocket, or seduce, unless he wanted to do a little breaking and entering to steal. That could be fun, but he hadn’t cased anywhere.

He’d barely finished a bag of chips and was getting ready to come up with an excuse to leave when Dave spoke.

“I called my family,” he said, still not looking at him.

“Oh yeah?” Klaus said. Family wasn’t really a topic they discussed often. Klaus’ was too fucked up, but Dave’s didn’t seem too bad. They just didn’t know where he was or what he was doing, which in retrospect probably meant there was something going on there.

“Purim always makes me nostalgic. I found an alcohol-free celebration and it left me missing my sisters. I thought it would be nice, but my uncle was there too.”

“Yeah?” Klaus prompted when he fell silent.

“I used to look up to him, you know,” Dave continued. “My uncle. I forgot how easy it is for him to make me feel like shit. Part of the reason I left to begin with.”

“Sounds like an asshole,” Klaus said. He never had been great at saying the right thing.

“Yeah. Yeah, he is.”

“Well, we’re half way across the country and also hot, so who's the real winner here?”

Dave smiled weakly, but at least it was a smile.

“You should get some sleep,” Klaus said, patting where he thought Dave’s ankle was under the blanket. “There’s still some food, so help yourself whenever you wake up.”

“Can you stay?” Dave asked, and how was he supposed to say no to that face?

“Okay, fine, you win,” Klaus threw his hands up. “Scoot over, we can both get some shuteye, then.”

But as he lay there, he couldn’t help but think about how long it had taken him to slip back into his old life, his old vices. He’d done a good job letting the numbness take hold as he sunk back into oblivion, but already, being back here with Dave, listening to his quiet snoring; it caused an ache in his chest. Or maybe the high was just finally wearing off. That was an excuse that was getting harder and harder to believe.

He hadn’t realized just how miserable he’d been since they parted ways.

That thought startled him. No, he couldn’t go through this again. He couldn’t fall back into having a real connection with another person, to finding himself actually caring about someone else, and letting someone else know and care about him. He couldn’t go back to that only to lose it all over again once the sun came up, because that wasn’t a life he could have. He was too fucked up, and the best he could hope for was the numbness. It had to be enough.

He got up and headed for the door, only hesitating briefly in the doorway, but he didn’t look back. This wasn’t his life. This wasn’t where he belonged. The chill in the air was a welcome relief as he trudged outside and down the sidewalk with no real destination. At least it kept his mind from wandering or thinking about what-ifs.

#klaus hargreeves #dave katz #klave #klaus x dave #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #fanfic #living for the moment #here i am continuing the trend #of posting things too late when i'm probably too tired to edit properly #i really hope this is okay!#my fic

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kumeko · 3 years

Photo

A/N: For Nameless, the loveless zine! I haven’t thought of this series for years and I feel very nostalgic just writing this.

…

It was instinctive, the way Soubi’s hand reached into his pocket, his fingers curling over the cool plastic. Entirely habitual and he almost pulled it out before remembering that he was sitting on a bench in the middle of a children’s park. There was a time when that wouldn’t have been a problem, when he would have lit his cigarette and felt the bitter sting of nicotine. That time wasn’t now. Soubi wasn’t sure what had changed, just as it did, and he eyed the lone straggler on the swings balefully. In the late evening, most of the kids had left for dinner, leaving behind the odd loner, and destroying any chance of a smoke break.

Oh well, Yuiko would be here any moment anyways. Pulling out his phone, Soubi checked the time. 7:20. She should be here in another five minutes. What for, he wasn’t sure. All of her texts asking him to meet her were surprisingly evasive, only confirming the time, the place, and that he couldn’t forget to come. Maybe that was why she hadn’t called him to arrange this; Yuiko was a terrible liar and the second she’d opened her mouth, he would have known what this was all about.

Still, for the life of him, Soubi couldn’t figure out what Yuiko wanted. Even more so than most children her age, she was extremely up front about her emotions. It was oddly refreshing, compared to the Zeros or even Ritsuka; Soubi couldn’t remember the last time he’d met someone so guileless. Her teacher, perhaps, but he made it a point to avoid her.

“Soubi!” A breathless, high-pitched voice cut through his thoughts and Soubi looked up in time to catch Yuiko as she dashed through the park toward him. Her comfy t-shirt and cotton shorts were grass stained and small twigs and leaves tangled in her long hair. Even her backpack looked dirty and he wondered idly if she’d ran through a forest to get here. “I’m sorry, I’m late—”

“You’re not,” he interrupted, motioning to her to take a breath before continuing. There were already tears in her eyes and he didn’t want to start the conversation with her bawling.

“I’m not?” Surprised, Yuiko pulled out her phone and gasped. “I’m not!”

Soubi resisted the urge to smile. Maybe it was the naivete. He wasn’t used to interacting with someone like her. Patiently, he waited for her to calm down before asking, “What do you need?”

“Need?” Yuiko fidgeted in front of him, her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. She scuffed a shoe along the ground. “It’s not…I don’t…um…”

“You?” he prodded, watching as her ears flattened slightly as she grew more and more nervous. Ritsuka’s ears and tail were like that too, displaying his feelings clearly for all to see. It was cute. Had he ever been this cute as a child? He couldn’t remember, but he doubted it.

“I…” Yuiko paused again, her tail twitching anxiously as her eyes flickered from the ground to him and the back again. Unslinging her backpack, she held it tightly before taking a deep breath. “You…” She breathed in once more, long and slow, before hurriedly shoving her backpack at him. “This is for you!”

What was? Soubi wondered, his blank expression stiffening as he studied the offering. Was it the bag or something in the bag? Both questions lay heavy on his tongue, unable to decide which one to utter.

Before he uttered a word, Yuiko realized what she was doing and blushed an even brighter shade of red. “O-one second!” She quickly unzipped the bag and rummaged inside. Finding her prize, she yanked it out and pressed it into his hands. “For you,” she mumbled, looking away, tears glistening once more in her eyes.

Soubi looked down at the springing object in his hands. It was an oddly-small flower wreath, a clumsy looking thing with stems sticking out together here and there. Despite that, it still held together surprisingly well. It wasn’t something he needed, but he nodded his thanks all the same. “A wreath.”

“A flower crown,” Yuiko corrected, rubbing her eyes and looking at him once more. She pointed to her head. “You put it on.”

“I see.” Soubi rotated the wreath in his hands, feeling utterly bemused. He was getting used to the antics of children now, with days spent with the Zeros or Ritsuka teaching him more than he’d ever expected. Somehow, the utter randomness of children surprised him. “That makes more sense.”

“Yeah.” Yuiko glanced around before clearing her throat. Before Soubi could react, she shouted, “Happy Birthday!”

The one kid in the playground perked his ears, glancing curiously at them. Soubi was only half-conscious of that. Instead, he stared blankly at Yuiko. “Birthday,” he repeated softly, not sure which was more surprising—someone remembering it or him uttering the word.

Yuiko nodded, pushing her two index fingers against one another as she looked away. “I know it’s not a good gift, but I only found out today and it was the best thing I could make.”

Well, that explained the grass stains. Soubi glanced at her hands, at the dirt on her nails and the roughness of her palms. She must have started immediately after class to get it done on time. Plopping the crown on his head, he nodded approvingly. “A little small but it fits.”

“You look pretty,” Yuiko gushed, immediately cheering up. “You like it?”

This time, he couldn’t stop his smile. “Yeah.”

-x-

ii.

Love was hard. Yayoi had read every romance book in the library and then stolen one or two from his mother’s secret stash, and this was the one lesson he’d learned from them all. Love was hard. Usually, there was an evil sheriff or hitman or villainous ex that appeared, coming between two star-crossed lovers.

Yayoi would argue that sitting on a bench with his rival while waiting for his crush to arrive was equally as hard. He glanced to his right. As usual, Ritsuka looked entirely unperturbed, as though they weren’t sitting on a bench on opposite sides, the space between them too big for Yuiko to fit entirely. When she came back from the cafeteria, several bags of bread in hand, and sat down, she would force them to come closer. And they would, but not until she came back.

It was a dance they went through every lunch. While Yayoi could say that Ritsuka wasn’t only a rival, they weren’t exactly friends either. He was Yuiko’s friend more than he was Yayoi’s, and that was something he was entirely fine with. There wasn’t a single romance story for the rival and the hero became friends. Still. Yayoi glanced again at Ritsuka. Would it kill the other boy to look at least uncomfortable? Then again, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen Ritsuka as anything other than collected. The boy had swept in like a fierce gale, throwing Yayoi’s life into disarray, and never looked the worse for wear for it.

“Are you fine with this?” Yayoi asked, unable to stop the words spilling out of his mouth.

Surprised, Ritsuka turned to him. “Fine with what?”

Yayoi tensed, his neck warm as he realized he didn’t know where he planned to take this conversation. Hell, he didn’t even know what he meant by the question. Fine with the triangle, fine with the strange number of transfer students, fine with his mother—there were so many ways to take a single question. His ears flattened as he thought about it before finally gesturing at the space between them. “With all of this?”

“You don’t like me, right?” Ritsuka shrugged, leaning back into the bench and staring at the sky. “It’s cool.”

“That’s not true,” Yayoi blurted, his mouth moving before his mind could catch up. His hands itched to cover his mouth, to stop these treacherous words from escaping his throat. In romance, the hero defeated the rivals, winning the heroine’s hand. They didn’t start to like their rivals, didn’t start to think of them as friends.

Yayoi wondered, not for the first time, if he wasn’t the hero and was just another doomed suitor.

“It’s not?” Ritsuka looked at him, really looked at him, his eyes wide and mouth agape. “Really?”

It was too late to shove the words back now and whether he liked it or not, Yayoi had meant them. Begrudgingly as it was, he did consider Ritsuka to be his friend. “Yeah.” He paused, steeling himself before pulling out a slightly crumpled envelope from his pocket. “Here.”

Ritsuka glanced at the envelope before gingerly picking it up. “What’s it for?”

“My birthday party.” Yayoi coughed, looking away. “You can come if you want.”

If he had turned around, he would have seen a pleased smile and red cheeks, a boy beside himself with joy. But he didn’t, so Yayoi could only hope that Ritsuka’s ‘Yes’ was an honest one.

-x-

iii.

Kio was drunk. He knew that, from the way his fingertips buzzed to the tingle up his spine. His mouth was dry, his head pounded, and tomorrow morning he would be a mess of regrets. He was so drunk, he had gone from knowing he was drunk to denying it to knowing it once more.

Needless to say, climbing the last set of stairs to his apartment was perhaps the hardest thing he’d ever had to do in his life. And that included getting kidnapped and beaten by a strange pair of Soubi’s ex-classmates. At least, he thought they were—Soubi had refused to explain the matter further and Kio was too afraid to ask. Their friendship had always felt delicate and while Soubi was opening up more now, he wasn’t sure what boundaries were still standing and which he could dance right past.

That was perhaps the only reason he had accepted Soubi’s utter rejection of joining in for some birthday drinks. Well, that and the fact that Kio had asked at least ten times to no avail. If Soubi didn’t want to celebrate Kio getting one year closer to death, well, that was on him. It wasn’t like he had good taste in the first place, as evidenced by Seimei’s entire existence.

“Woah!” Kio mumbled as he almost tripped over a step. Clutching the guard rail, he panted heavily and tried to regain his bearings. Were stairs supposed to be this hard? Was he out of shape? Next time, he was getting a ground-floor apartment. There would be none of this exercise nonsense.

Glancing behind him, he realized he was halfway there. Just a little more, and he could dive into his futon and pass out. Future him would probably wish he’d changed first, but that was future, sober him’s problem. Drunk Kio only had one mission, and that was to get to bed. Finally reaching his door, he leaned against it and sighed. Almost there.

His keys jangled as he tried to find the right one. As usual, it was the last one he tried. While the door swung open silently, Kio heard a thud. Looking down, he stared at a square package at his feet. Had that always been there? God, he was so drunk. He hadn’t even noticed that there had been something at his door. Crouching, he stared at it. It looked like a canvas. His fingers brushed against the slim sides. No, it had to be a canvas; he worked with them day in and day out and his body had memorized the weight and shape of the various sizes they came in.

Mystified, he clumsily picked it up and stumbled into his apartment. Was it a delayed assignment? No, it was wrapped in the plainest wrapping paper that existed. A gift then, but there was no note, no card, no nothing. It could be for his neighbour, for all he knew. Eagerly, he tore through the flimsy wrapping. Black paint slowly appeared, followed by splashes of blue and yellow, before he finally revealed a butterfly painting.

No, not just any butterfly painting—it was a remake of the one Soubi had made when they’d first met. Kio covered his mouth, giddy. The bastard cared. He had always known that, but it was one thing to believe it, another to find proof. Soubi cared.

Suddenly, sleep was the last thing on his mind. Pulling out his phone, he drunk-dialed his friend. Future him would probably regret this too, but that was for future him to care about.

Current him had to make sure Soubi knew exactly how happy he was.

-x-

iv.

“Here.”

Surprised by the unexpected hand thrust in her face, Yuiko looked down from Youji’s smug expression, following his arm until she was staring cross-eyed at the small, rectangular paper in his hand. Scrawled messily on the white page was Badminton tournament. She squinted, not sure if she was reading it right, before looking back at him. “Thanks?’

Next to Youji, Natuso sighed, looking utterly unimpressed. There was no one else in the classroom, but she knew that even if there were, his next words would have remained the same. The twins never changed what they said no matter who was around, and Yuiko envied that. “I know, I know, this is a five-year-old’s idea of a gift.”

“Hey!” Ears flattened, brow furrowed, Youji glared at his twin and growled, “This is a good gift.”

“Is it?” Natsuo snorted in disbelief. He ran a hand through his hair and scornfully added, “You just want to beat her at badminton. That has nothing to do with her at all. You’re supposed to think of the other person, stupid.”

“Gift?” Yuiko interrupted, cutting through the brewing argument. She gently pried the voucher from Youji’s hand, staring at it curiously. It was ridiculously plain, without even an attempt at a border or sparkles or any decoration of any sort. He must have spent five minutes on it, max, before giving it to her.

“For your birthday, duh,” Youji grumbled, but despite his tone, he was looking away. His ears twitched slightly, an embarrassed expression on his face. “You’re not getting anything better, no matter how you cry.”

Yuiko didn’t listen, instead looking at the paper once more. A birthday gift. Certainly not one she wanted—she liked playing badminton, sure, but gifts were supposed to be special things. Things you can’t get otherwise, and they would always be able to play badminton.

Yet it was a gift from Youji. She hadn’t expected this, not in the least. If anything, she’d thought the twins hadn’t liked her that much.

A gift. For her.

Smiling broadly, she hugged Youji tightly. “Thanks!”

Natsuo’s jaw dropped. “Seriously?”

-x-

“Let’s hang out at my house,” Yuiko demanded, standing in front of Ritsuka’s desk. Well, it was as close to a demand as she could get, her cheeks dusted red and her voice rising an octave with each word. “Please?”

Ritsuka was used to the beeline she made as soon as the bell rang to his desk, as though if she didn’t catch him immediately he’d slip away with the breeze. To be honest, with all that was happening around him, sometimes that was the case—between Soubi, the fights, and hunting for clues, it was sometimes hard for him to find time for his friends.

Still, this was more direct than Yuiko usually was. He stared at her for a moment, watching as her face turned redder and redder as he kept silent. Well, it wasn’t a bad thing if she was getting more confident. Maybe one day she’d be able to fight those bullies away herself.

Flustered, Yuiko pressed, “I really want—”

“Sure,” he agreed, getting up.

“—you to come…” Yuiko trailed off, a blank expression on her face before she realized what was happening. Surprised, she watched as he headed to the door. “Really?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Ritsuka grinned as she scrambled to grab her bag and coat. “What, you weren’t ready?”

“Don’t tease me!” she wailed, almost tripping over a chair in her haste to get out. Stray hairs escaped her usually neat pigtails and she looked like she’d run a marathon and not just left a classroom.

“Don’t make it so easy,” he countered, laughing as they slipped into an easy banter on their way home. It was strange. Truly strange. A year ago, even a few months ago, he could never have imagined this. Friends? Laughing? Smiling? A place that he could call his? All of them had been so far beyond his imagination that he couldn’t even picture it.

Yet, here he was, walking home with someone as thought it was the norm. His mother and brother were the furthest thoughts from his mind, his focus instead entirely on the all-too red girl next to him. His best friend, possibly, but Ritsuka hadn’t yet mustered the courage to ask. Yuiko’s ears twitched nervously, her fingers pressing against one another, and her words ran into one another as though she was desperately trying to say something, anything. Clearly, she was up to something.

“What’re you hiding?” he asked and that too was new. Knowing someone well enough to tell when they were lying. It was a permanence he hadn’t expected.

“Whaat?” Yuiko yelped, her complexion turning even redder, if possible. Ritsuka imagined he could find every shade of red if he hung around her long enough. It was a pleasing thought. Shaking her head rapidly, she stuttered, “N-nothing, I’m just…Why do you think that?”

“Hmmm?” It was tempting to push her even further. Yuiko was a terrible liar, which was a relief when compared to the Soubi’s and Seimei’s in his life. Everyone else was too good at hiding and he liked this feeling of having an upper hand for once. Still, whatever she was planning couldn’t be terrible, and it wouldn’t be bad to have a nice surprise for once. “Fine, keep your secrets.”

“There aren’t any!” she shouted, her voice giving her away yet again.

Ritsuka laughed. His tail swayed lazily as he wondered just what he should expect. Knowing Yuiko, it had to be something simple. Maybe a movie or a game. They could get Soubi to come over after and cook something too. Or invite Yayoi to play with them, or the Zero’s—and Ritsuka had a lot of people in his life these days. A lot of friends.

“OK! WE’RE HOME!” Yuiko announced loudly as she stood in front of her door, shaking her keys slightly before slipping them in.

Perplexed, Ritsuka followed her in through the door. Were her parents home? Was that why she was talking like—

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

The loud shout jolted him out of his thoughts and Ritsuka’s jaw dropped as confetti rained through the hair. Standing in Yuiko’s living room were all of the people he’d been thinking of, and then some—Osamu and his teacher stood amongst the crowd.

“Happy birthday!” Yuiko chimed in, looking at him eagerly.

A surprise party. He would never have imagined that either, not even a few hours ago, but Ritsuka was finding that wasn’t a bad thing.

The future, oddly enough, was something to look forward to.

#loveles #agatsuma soubi #aoyagi ritsuka #hawatari yuiko #Kaidou kio #Shiori yayoi #sagan youji #fanfic

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emerald-amidst-gold · 3 years

Note

3, 6, 20 for the writing meta asks!

Why hello there! I won’t lie, I was, of course, extremely happy to see another ask in my ask box! Perfect thing to wake up to, and get the brain juices flowing! So, let’s do some answering! >:D

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3. What is that one scene that you’ve always wanted to write but can’t be arsed to write all of the set-up and context it would need? (consider this permission to write it and/or share it anyway)

There’s one particular scene that’s actually been in my head for days, but of course, when I try to actually write it, my brain just fizzles out into the unknown. However, the scene I want to write and will have to write is Fane and Solas ‘reuniting’. More or less, when Solas finally realizes what and who Fane is and vice versa. It involves a lot of build up from previous chapters and scenes, and since those aren’t written yet I’m a little stuck on how to get it off the ground. I can share a few little concepts though that I did manage to write up!

“May I?”, Solas asked quietly and softly, carefully lifting a hand to hover near the aggravated gash. He would not touch it unless Fane explicitly stated that it was amenable. He would do no more harm than he had already.

There was a long pause, the two of them sitting practical inches from each other until Solas heard a sound between a growl and huff exit past sealed lips. That had a small smile working its way onto his face. How painfully nostalgic that sound was to him, like rolling thunder during a downpour..

“Hmph.”, Fane huffed out again before jerking his head lightly to indicate that it was fine, but he could see how a serpentine jaw locked up instinctively.

Solas frowned slightly at that before shifting a bit closer, not ignoring how the other tensed up even more as he let his palm rest against the seeping wound.

To have such adverse reactions.. How much have you had to suffer due to my rashness? A heavy, crushing feeling bore down on Solas’s heart--it was like a spiked cage was closing in around it, threatening to puncture and leave him to bleed out. He did not know all of what happened surrounding the Herald’s early life, but he had witnessed the man’s sensitivity to magic, watched as a normally proud and dominating form crumbled into no more than weak shivers and suffocating retching. He had also, during a moment of childish weakness, caught glimpses of magically burnt, jagged patchwork scars along an uncommonly naked arm--the skin, for once, having been freed to breathe and scream. Solas had not been close enough to see more, at the time, but the severity, the deepness of those torn segments he had seen, and the fact that Fane’s body was covered neck to waist in leather wraps told him then that strong arms were not the only place such...familiar, but gruesome scars existed.

The scars upon his arms, and most likely his entire body… They are indicative of what his kin had endured, but how…? Solas felt his frown deepen further upon that thought before refocusing on the wound marring a porcelain visage, which was as hard as stone as it peered into his own. He would have to think on those aspects later. He would get no answers while Fane refused to speak to him, and it would do neither of them favors to speculate.

Solas gingerly swiped a thumb along the crimson gash on Fane’s cheek, involuntarily hushing the man softly when a light hiss escaped tight lips. The wound would scar, no matter how much healing Fane would allow. It was deep, nearly piercing through the thin skin of a cheek, and Solas had done that. In self defense, yes, but he had still caused damage.

He had caused harm due to an inability to stay. away.

He must suffer another scar because I was blind. He cannot not wrap this one. He cannot hide it from sight to make its deepness feel more shallow. I have marked him, in two ways, and neither are kind.. The weighty thought flitted through his mind before Solas blinked as he felt and watched Fane lightly lean into his touch, gold glittering in emerald despite the dimness of the cave as those eyes narrowed a bit from both stinging pain of a wet wound and, dare he say, contentment from a century absent gesture.

That had Solas’s smile turning sad as he absently stroked under a brilliant golden emerald eye, unphased by the two toned hue that encompassed a blackened pupil as it met his gaze unflinchingly. How had he not seen it before? The truth was always staring at him--figuratively and physically. Why had he averted his own gaze? To hide? To run? Or was it to protect? He knew not. However, he did know, from the way a warm, but crushing feeling wrapped around his entire soul was a truth that could never be denied for fear of justifiable rage--for fear of punishment for mistakes so grave as to render a vow completely moot.

“...I missed you.”, Solas whispered against his better judgement and earlier thoughts, watching as Fane’s pupil widened a bit before it trembled slightly with emotion, the emerald within the iris deepening to drown out brilliant gold. He had to close his eyes at that, a feeling of weightlessness and oncoming longing threatening to have him, too, drowning within emerald. “What am I saying? I have no right to have missed you, but I can’t.. No. I do not have the right..”, he murmured in the next moment before lightly shaking his head, absently cupping Fane’s warm cheek more fully.

There was no use dwelling upon his lack of foresight, for it was his own blindness that had shaded him from the truth--his own pride and fear. He had not wanted to believe there was hope, and he did not deserve to have such lofty ideas after what he had done. He deserved to wander about in darkness, happiers visions obscured while only ghostly apparitions haunted him beyond the Veil, clambering, clawing for a way out of the prison he had locked them in. This was nothing but a hopeful dream--one of many that constantly plagued him with falsities and--

“I missed you, too..”, a hoarse, exhausted, but distinct voice sounded, completely cutting off the wave of his thoughts to shove Solas’s mind back into reality before it came once again, quietly. “I’m sorry..”

Solas’s eyes shot open upon those words, ignoring the way he could feel the hand that rested upon Fane’s cheek trembling slightly to gaze into deep, deep emerald as it shook just as much with concealed emotion. No--no, this could not be real. He did not deserve for this to be real!

“Sorry? For what? I am the one that should be sorry..”, Solas stated with a deep frown, gaze flitting down to the hand that bore the Anchor--his magic. “I have shackled you without even rattling the chains before you myself. It is a sound you should never have known..”

Fane let out a tired sigh, shaking his head slowly with a tiny grimace. “You have never held them, Solas.”, he said before sighing again. “The chains were always there, and you weren’t the one to make me aware of their sound.”

“But the orb--the mark, it is..”

“Yours, I know, but it’s not the same. I remember the difference. Trust me.”, Fane said before leaning into his hand more. “I remember...everything. Well, mostly everything. Some parts are still fuzzy, but I know you, I know who or...what I am, I know the bond we held, and I know how I died..”

Solas couldn’t help but flinch at that last statement, almost retracting his hand until Fane reached up weakly to keep it in place. “Herald, I--”

The corner of Fane’s mouth twisted into a tired sneer. “Don’t recede into formality. I hate when you do that.”, he said before letting his hand fall back to the ground with a light thump. “Responding as if I’m a stranger to you is pointless.”

“How would you have me respond after all that has happened? Should I feel jubilant from the pain I have inflicted upon the world, upon my people--upon you? Should I ignore that all that has transpired and will transpire is my doing--my mistake?”, Solas questioned, a niggling of irritability born of mental exhaustion working its way into his voice. He was exceedingly growing weary due to not resting for more than several hours at a time, the two of them having to swap routinely for watch.

He watched Fane’s chest rise and fall heavily with another sigh before glittering eyes shut with equal weariness. Solas frowned at that. What had gotten into him? He was tired, yes, but so was Fane, and he had not just had his identity sundered like a torn blanket, only to be stitched back together again with completely different patchwork. He had also not just suffered having his mind nearly broken from magic so potent and so sickeningly familiar as to cause an age old frenzy to take hold without an ounce of hesitation. This whole ordeal was simply exhausting and unbelievable, even as proof practically...leaned against him?

Solas blinked, thoughts once again veering off a depressive trail as he felt a heavy, but warm weight resting itself on his shoulder. He turned his head a bit to see that Fane’s head had lulled forward to find a place to rest--eyes shut and snowy brows furrowed as if in some kind of discomfort.

“Fane..?”, he called out softly, tentatively reaching up to card a few fingers through snowy hair--the strands coated in a grey hue due to residual ash and dirt.

Emerald made a reappearance as Fane cracked his eyes open, glancing up at him drearily before starting to shift as if to move away. “Sorry.. I was--”

Solas quickly, perhaps too quickly, shook his head, weaving his fingers into dirty hair to gently guide the other to stay put. He should not do this, but...he couldn’t help it. Against his better judgement, Solas let his own head come to carefully rest upon the side of Fane’s before he shut his eyes--an instant wave of contentment filling in the void of his soul.

“Rest. We will speak more of this at a better time.”, he commanded quietly, smiling a bit as he felt the other relax his tensed up form. “I can tell you are exhausted still.”

“So are you..”, Fane muttered, his voice rumbling pleasantly which had Solas letting out a quiet hum. How he had missed that sound, even when it had had no voice to go along with it..

“I will wake you in a few hours. I can manage until then.”, he said softly before absently stroking through silky strands of white. He couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at the texture. How was it, that despite the grime and despairing ash, there was still a softened quality to the dragon’s hair? Perhaps that said something about Fane himself..

“Mm..”, a content hum reached Solas’s ears, the small smile upon his face growing by a fraction before he felt warmth and strength wrap around the rest of his body in the form of two tired arms. He tensed a bit before he realized what was happening; Fane was hugging him--holding him as if Solas would suddenly disappear..

He shifted his head a bit to gaze down at where Fane was resting against him, his heart growing tight upon a matching frown etched into a pale face. Oh, my dragon. I only cause you harm, so why do you continue to tempt more? And why can I not dissuade it? His mind questioned before his own arms came up to wrap around Fane’s shoulders, tangling a hand into snowy, short locks.

He should not do this. He should not give false hope and promises to someone who deserved better, but it was like a tidal wave of longing, of yearning, and of grief had suddenly come crashing into him--slamming him against the rocks, wet and spent from fighting the tide. He wanted to drown in a sea of emerald and gold…

“Ma’isenatha..”, Solas whispered out the Elvhen without a shred of hesitation, even as his mind practically screamed for him not to. “Ma’isenatha..”, he said once more as he buried his face into Fane’s neck, the man’s own arms tightening around him to pull closer.

Obviously, there will have to be one hundred percent more context and soul searching, but I’m mainly just playing around with ideas of how both Solas and Fane will handle the situation. Like I’ve said before, I don’t see them avoiding each other, even with Solas constantly stating he’ll only cause Fane harm. Fane isn’t made of glass and Solas knows that, and he also knows that Fane has a place upon this particular chess board, but not as a pawn, but more along the lines of a rook or a knight. Fane’s involvement is essential to Solas, even if he’s not happy about it since it could end the same way it did before. It also helps that Fane is stubborn and as his abilities reawaken, he can back Solas into a corner to make the man face what he’s fearful of. That was Fane’s role as a dragon, after all. To guide emotion and unclog the dams of them so they could flow freely in a realm where emotion and imagination were the world’s very foundation. But again, this is just a concept of what could potentially happen after Haven, so it may change later on when I finally get there!

6. What character do you have the most fun writing?

In terms of my OCs, it’s obviously Fane since I can still find ways to evolve his character and add on to what I already have established. In terms of those not of my own creation, I would say Solas. He’s easy for me to write, to formulate thoughts about. I think it all boils down to the fact that, in a certain way, he and Fane are parallels. There’s evidence in canon, of course, to support the Inquisitor is a mirror for Solas, but I took that a bit further. I also wanted to explore the emotions, that I believe, Solas would showcase with someone he not only knew before the Veil was erected, but loved in a forbidden way. I will never tire of making Solas melt over Fane and vice versa. There’s not enough softness in the world, so I seek to rectify that! >:3

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

I’m a slut for symbolism. Yes, I said it, I’m a slut for it. The whole reason I have focused so heavily on eyes in my fics is because eyes are the gate way to the soul. Fane can see into that window with his abilities and even without them depending on how open a person is, and it allows him to properly communicate without offending. It’s more or less a way of saying, ‘If you just look at someone, truly look at them, then you don’t need words to understand them. You can see the pain, the happiness, the sorrow, the whispered love without ever uttering a single word.’ That’s the whole basis of Solas and Fane’s relationship, and how it even formed in the first place. I mean, how else do you think a Elvhen god and a dragon became friends, and then lovers? It took a lot, I’m not gonna lie, but Fane is Solas’s heart and Solas is Fane’s sky. A heart and sky don’t need words; they only need someone to listen to the beat or gaze upwards to the clouds. Fane and Solas from the start, as two elves, synchronize with each other as if their souls are greeting each other without their physical forms knowing. You might say, ‘Well, wouldn’t Solas clue in after watching Fane? Or wouldn’t he know from his eyes?”

Yes and no. The eyes throw Solas off, but he doesn’t focus on them because the memory of them belonging to another is too painful. This is another way of me saying, ‘If you don’t face the truth, it will remain hidden to you, but the pain it harbors in its very shadows will not. It will stalk you, it will taunt you, and it will tear you apart from the inside until you look.’ Solas denies his heart, even as it beats before him, from a fear of foolish hopes being mere dreams, and a grief that is so aged from hands died with draconic blood and magical chains. Fane turns his potent gaze from the sky, even as blue eternity stretches before him with love and understanding, for fear of turning it grey as he is and trying to convince himself that he doesn’t care even though he cares so much. It’s tragic in its own way, but I visualize a happy ending or at least bittersweet one.

There’s also a very heavy focus on color, primarily grey. This is physical in some way to Fane, things look muted to him or take on a greyish hue, but overall, its how he views the world at present. It’s grey, not black and white. Same things happen for different reasons and sometimes neither of them are good and neither of them are bad. Fane views the world in grey because that’s how he feels on a daily basis. He’s grey because he doesn’t know who he is or what race he should answer to. His existence is not black and white and sometimes, he wishes it were because it would be easier to accept. Those feelings lessen over time as Fane reconciles with the fact that he’s a dual creature with experiences spanning two lifetimes and two races, but the world’s greyness doesn’t lessen for him because between all the political intrigue, war, corruption, and ignorance, there’s red, crimson. As much as grey can make Fane feel hollow and out of place, red is another ball game--a terrifying one that houses inevitability and every time a noble topples peasant and opponent alike for personal gain, every time a plain of nature is destroyed for expansion, every time magic is used as a dominating influence rather than a ritualistic one, every. time. a dragon is erased permanently from a world that sorely needs them, that angry hue paints Fane’s vision and hands where there was otherwise indifference. And once again, it is inevitable, those happenings simply spur it to climb faster and faster. What is it, you ask? Well, I think we all have an idea.

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Thank you for the ask and apologies for it being so loooong! You chose the question for me to ramble and I ramble ramble ramble! >:3

#ask #asks #writing asks #dragon age #solas #oc: fane lavellan #solavellan #my writing #there is great potential for tragedy for fane #greeeeat potential due to my headcanons #but we'll find a way to make it right #ehehe~

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