#towards the back of the bus so they can have priority seating

[piplupod]

of course the day i find a large yellow crate beside a dumpster that I decide to grab and bring home is the day the bus is full of ppl and i have to sit beside another person with my crate that comes up to my knees while on its short end fjdkdl

#i felt bad for the person sitting next to me but i was very good at squishing myself as small as possible fjdldl #also ppl in this town have TERRIBLE bus etiquette omfg #ppl refuse to move seats for ppl who need priority seating #and they never move their bags that they have on the seats next to them when theres no other seats available #so actually i dont feel all that bad for my seatmate bc they should've moved their bag without me asking them to fjfkdl #like. sorry but u are sitting at the front of the bus !! thats the easiest spot to sit down when u have another object to hold !! #whenever other ppl get on the bus that are carrying things or using a mobility aid I'll move seats #towards the back of the bus so they can have priority seating #and if someones getting on and theres no double seats available then i will move my bag onto my lap!!! #i feel like that's basic courtesy but fnfjsl idk maybe thats not a well known thing. or maybe ppl here are just rude as hell DBHDSKL #anyways i have obtained a large yellow crate and im amazed that nobody gave me a hard time for it #i got some weird looks as i walked thru the hospital w it but fjdkdl that was it #and im surprised the bus driver didnt say anything fjdksl i wasnt sure if it would be allowed on #and now i have a crate to store yarn in :] #and also a dumpster find which is ALWAYS a very good day bc it happens so rarely #i almost took a few bouquets home that were strewn across the sidewalk beside the dumpster but i thought that might be too weird #and also i was worried they'd be gross or dirty somehow so i had to leave those ;-; #but the crate at least can be cleaned and used !! #one hand is broken but that's okay bc i wont be using it for carrying! just prop it up sideways for stacking yarn inside! #pippen needs 2nd breakfast

[mandana-the-service-pup]

We made it :)

I was definitely asking a lot from Mandana with this spontaneous trip but she rose to the challenge and handled it with grace. She had her first bus ride. Her first plane ride. Her first long distance road trip and her first night away from home. I’m not sure she could have done it a year ago but she was ready and she was brilliant.

The bus ride was honestly the hardest part, but that wasn’t her fault. The driver was a bit zealous and it was the worst bus ride I’ve ever had. The handicap area was practically nonexistent so she had to sit in the middle of the isle. I had my arms wrapped around her while Hubbins held on to me to keep us all from falling every 5 seconds. She whined a little bit but not much and as soon as we stepped off the bus she was back to her happy self. As you can see in the video we took outside the airport. I’m not asking for a strict heel. I’m just letting her get comfortable before going in because I know we would be there for a while.

We were at the airport for about two hours. She was very attentive and made some great alerts including this 144 bpm while I was sitting down. I was able to recline for a bit to get my heart rate down before boarding and I’m really grateful for that.

We drew the SD short straw unfortunately. There was an older woman and her husband who had a little black dog. I never heard them claim she was a service dog. On the contrary, they were very open about her “attitude” and “growling” with us and the other passengers but instead of having the pet in a crate they went the service dog route which gave them priority. The woman was more aggressive than the dog tbh and was very loud about her needs to board first bc they’re disabled and her dog “has an attitude”. For some reason she acted surprised to find out I was also disabled and that Mandana is a legitimate service dog (she wasn’t blind so idk how she missed the SD gear) I probably could have asked to have them kicked off the flight before we boarded but I was having a medical episode and was more concerned about keeping the peace for Hubbins and Mandana. The airport personnel were very aware of the situation and did an amazing job observing both dogs behavior. They hovered over both of us for an hour and even introduced us to the flight crew as “the real service dog and the other thing” but the woman was very good about blocking her dog from us so no behaviors that would have prevented her flying were observed.

We were under the impression that there were two bulkhead areas. One in the front and one towards the back so we agreed to take the back one but the airport personnel were misinformed. The bulkheads were right next to each other. There wasn’t another area in the back but I wasn’t about to spend two hours next to this agitated woman. It was a tight squeeze but we’ve spent years preparing for this exact situation so I knew Mandana could handle it. The flight attendant understood our predicament and was very accommodating. We all agreed that Hubbins and I would get a row to ourselves. If there were too many people for that then we would move up to the front and the woman could deal with it or be kicked off. Mandana was a bit sketched out about the take off (I think she would have been fine if she had more space) but she was able to get through it with little to no whining and then settled down and slept for the two hour flight. She watched out the window for our landing without issue and then it was over. The pictures look spacious but when standing she is the length of two seats and takes up the entire area.

I knew the flight was asking a lot but we decided to do it anyways because we are actually picking up a second car and driving it back home. Our car is going to have to go into the shop for a bit and Mandana outgrew her Ruffland Kennel so we flew in to visit family, snag an XL Ruffland and take back a gifted car. Our circumstances have changed drastically over the last couple months and we became housebound despite my improving health. Now we’re able to go out on adventures again. It is such a privilege. My heart breaks for my fellow spoonies who are struggling with resources without this kind of aid and I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone involved.

Family picked us up and we had another two hours to get to our hometown. Mandana was very grateful for the mattress and pillows and promptly fell asleep. We decided to stay in an Airbnb instead of with family. It’s Mandanas first overnight trip and I wanted to make sure we were all well rested for the 9 hour drive home. We will visit with family for a day and then drive half way back on Friday, stop for a night and arrive home on Saturday so Hubbins has time to recover before going back to work on Monday.

I’m so proud of Mandana. We’ve had a lot holding us back over the past year. We never achieved the training sessions we wanted to that would have prepared us for this kind of travel. Even so she was able to take every thing in stride. Our success was half foundational skills and half trust in our relationship (and a sprinkle of the morbid curiosity that fuels her love for adventure despite uncertainty lol)

#belgian malinois #service dog in training #medical alert service dog #medical alert #heart rate alert #service dog travel #service dog milestone #service dogblr #dogblr

[mega-gogo-man]

Flooded Mementos

A short Persona 5 fan story I originally wrote a couple of years ago, inspired by some fan art.

The Phantom Thieves discover a part of Mementos that's flooded with water. Things seem fine until Makoto becomes trapped in an underwater maze by herself.

Warning: Contains themes of underwater peril and graphic descriptions of drowning.

In the middle of the hot summer season, the Phantom Thieves were far from the scorching rays of the sun and were deep in the depths of Mementos. They had received an online request on the ever-popular Phan-site from an anonymous poster;

"I'm part of the swim class at XXXXX High School. Our swim instructor, Hideki Harasaki, appears to be an upstanding teacher, but uses his position to harass the female students. None of the other teachers seem to believe us. Please put an end to his harassment before it gets worse."

“So, this Hideki guy, our target... Doesn���t he sound a lot like Kamoshida?” Ryuji asked, lounging in the backseat of the Morgana cat-bus as they rode along the eerie train tunnels of Mementos.

“Yeah, sounds like a total perv.” Ann replied in a disgusted tone, “He’s a teacher who thinks he’s so great just like Kamoshida was, and he’s treating his students like his property. Ugh, just thinking that there are more people out there like him winds me up.”

“I see, so that’s why you were so eager to take on this target as soon as possible.” Yusuke said as he observed Ann’s growing resentment, “I would have thought you were excited to prepare for our trip to the beach tomorrow, but I can see why this takes top priority for you.” Ryuji sat up from his laid-back position.

“Right, we can’t let an asshole like that off the hook like that. The more he gets away with things like this the more people he’ll hurt.” Ryuji cracked his knuckles. “Man, I’m pumped, I can’t wait to give kick his ass!” Futaba couldn’t help but be a little intimidated by Ryuji’s aggressive gesturing.

“Woah, Skull’s going into berserker mode...” she said.

“I’m glad you seem to be full of energy, Skull!” Haru chimed in with her usual, joyful tone. “Let’s make sure we can change this man’s heart!”

“Agreed, and let’s make sure we’re ready for whatever his Shadow might throw at us.” replied Makoto, who seemed to be trying to calm Ryuji down a little. 

“MEEEOOOWW WOAH! Wait up Joker!” Suddenly the Morgana cat-bus ground to a screeching halt, meowing all the way as all the passengers inside were flung forward off their seats! “You almost drove into that tunnel!” Makoto found herself upside down, with an indeterminate amount of people on top of her in the cramped space inside the bus. She slowly crawled her way out and reoriented herself through the pile of groaning people around her.

“Ugh... Joker... Why did you slam the brakes so hard?” she asked in a dazed tone. Joker turned back to the pile of passengers behind him.

“Uh... Sorry guys... But, somethings odd here...” He looked around outside the window. “Oracle, is this where the target is?” Futaba somehow emerged from the amorphous pile of groaning passengers who were still trying to recompose themselves.

“Uh... Yeah, it is. I can sense him nearby, definitely... Why?”

“This looks... a little different than our usual targets.” Joker responded. “You guys need to take a look at this.” Joker opened the door and exited the vehicle. The others eventually followed suit after they recovered from their ordeal, climbing out of the bus, before Morgana shape shifted back into his normal masked mascot form. The thieves stood in confusion at what was before them...

* * * * *

“W-what is this?” Ann exclaimed. In the path ahead of them the usual subway tunnel suddenly took a steep drop descending downwards. However just a little further down, it was clear that the tunnel was completely flooded with water. Morgana walked towards the entrance of the descending tunnel, just by the water’s edge...

“Hmmm, this feels like the usual distortions we see that are caused by our targets, but here the distortion is a lot stronger...” Morgana licked his paw and flicked his ears a little. “The desires of this target seem to be stronger than the other targets we find down here in Mementos, but still not distorted enough to form a palace of his own.” Joker put his hand on his chin as he examined the tunnel.

“If his desires got more distorted, though, then this might be the birth of a new palace, right?” Morgana’s ears pricked up. 

“Ho ho, brilliant deduction, Joker, just what I’d expect from you!” he said. Haru sighed a little in deep thought.

 “Oracle, is our target really here?” she asked. Futaba scanned the area with her persona.

“Yeah, definitely. He’s beyond the flooded tunnel.” Makoto nervously hesitated for a moment.

“So... We’ll have to swim through? How deep does this go?” she asked.

“Yeah, uh... If this tunnel goes deep there’s no way we’re gettin' through unless Mona can transform into a submarine or somethin’.” said Ryuji as he scratched his head, pondering their predicament.

“There’s no way I can turn into a submarine!” Morgana hissed.

“Oh, right. I forgot cats hate water...”

“I’m not a cat!!” Morgana hissed angrily again at Ryuji. Futaba scanned the tunnel some more.

“Well... I’ve mapped the area through here. It looks like it's a single, straight tunnel. It goes about 6 metres down, then goes straight for about 30 metres and goes up again. The target’s just a little beyond there.”

“Hm, that's about the length of a typical swimming pool. I suppose it would be quite feasible to do in a single breath.” said Yusuke as he looked upon the flooded tunnel before them. Futaba gulped.

“Uh... Y-yeah that’s not... I... Uh...”

“Heh, shouldn’t be a problem for me.” Ryuji chuffed, “I think I can handle a little swim like that.”

“Guys... I...” Futaba stammered.

“Hehe. I do love to swim!” Haru giggled. “Maybe I can race you, Skull!”

“I... uh... I can’t...”

“Hm?” Ann noticed Futaba trembling a little. “Are you ok?”

“I can’t...” Futaba murmured under her breath. “I can’t swim...” The rest of the Phantom Thieves paused in awkward silence for a while. Futaba noticed everyone’s eyes upon her. “W... what? It’s not that unusual, is it?” she huffed in embarrassment.

“No, not really... But that does make things a bit awkward.” Makoto replied. “It means you’d have to stay behind.”

“In that case,” Yusuke pondered, “we had better split into two teams. Some of us should traverse the flooded tunnel whilst the rest of us stay with Oracle, just in case any Shadows show up around here.” Morgana meowed in agreement. 

“Good idea, Fox. Joker, you can lead the team through the tunnel. Who else should go with him?”

“I’ll go!” Ryuji stepped forward, pumping his fist. “I still wanna kick this guy’s ass!”

“I’ll go too.” Haru raised her hand.

“I’ll also volunteer,” said Makoto, “I’m not a bad swimmer myself.”

“Ok then,” Joker affirmed, “Me, Skull, Noir and Queen will swim through the tunnel and take out the target. Mona, Fox and Panther will stay here to protect Oracle.” Futaba was already inside her persona, Navi, operating the controls and monitoring the screens as she scanned for distortions and any Shadows that might be around.

“Don’t worry, I’ll still be able to provide analysis from here.” Joker and his team walked forward towards the descending tunnel and began to wade into the water until it up to their waists.

“Well... At least the water’s a decent temperature.” Joker remarked.

“That’s nice, I suppose.” replied Makoto. She sniffed the air for a second. “Is it me or does this smell chlorinated? Like it’s pool water...”

“Hey, Noir, still up for that race?” Ryuji smirked. “I may be a runner, but I can swim pretty good too.” Haru chuckled.

“That may be true, Skull, but you shouldn’t underestimate me!”

“Alright, last one there’s a rotten egg!” Quickly both Haru and Ryuji dove beneath the surface and vanished from sight.

“H-Hey! You guys be careful!” Joker tried to tell them, but it was too late. They were already gone. 

“I guess they’re still looking forward to our trip to the beach tomorrow...” Makoto couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Heh... I guess you’re right.” Joker sighed, as he prepared to dive beneath the surface. “Alright, let’s go!” Makoto nodded as they both took a deep breath and slipped beneath the surface of the water and dove into the depths of the flooded tunnel.

* * * * *

Makoto swam just behind Joker, far ahead of him were Ryuji and Haru both swimming briskly. She watched as Joker swam, kicking his legs along as they made their way through the tunnel. The tunnel looked like every other tunnel in mementos, with train tracks running along the floor and the strange pulsating vessels along its walls, so it was curious as to why this area was completely flooded. Usually when a target has a shadow, a distorted wall lead to the area where they resided, but this seemed more elaborate.

Tiny bubbles trickled from Makoto’s nose as she swam along. As Futaba said, the tunnel wasn’t especially long. The light from the exit was visible clearly beyond. Watching ahead, Ryuji was swimming by using powerful frog kicks. Haru, meanwhile, was kicking her legs like a dolphin. Surprisingly, it seemed like she had an advantage in using the dolphin kicks for speed. The tails of Joker’s jacket flowed quite majestically behind him as he swam along. Thankfully Makoto’s own outfit was tight fitting around her slender body, not unlike a wetsuit of some kind, and made swimming quite easy. Before long Ryuji and Haru had vanished from view, having ascended up through the exit. With her and Joker coming up the rear, they were nearing the exit of the tunnel too.

Suddenly, Makoto felt a strange rumbling from the walls of the tunnel. She let out a small cloud of air bubbles, surprised by the sudden sounds. She stopped swimming and turned around to check on what the sounds were... Strangely, nothing seemed out of the ordinary from what she could see. The walls of the tunnel seemed to still be intact, so thankfully the tunnel wasn’t collapsing. Pausing for a moment to observe her sorroundings, she concluded nothing was wrong, but turned back to Joker to see if he had heard the strange sounds too...

Except Joker wasn’t there, and neither was the exit. In fact, the tunnel now lead to a dead end! She froze in disbelief at what she saw.

Joker? Where did he go? Where’s the exit? 

Swimming towards the concrete wall to make sure what she was seeing was real, she pushed against it with her hands and found it was completely solid.

What’s going on!?

* * * * *

Joker emerged from the tunnel as he gasped for air. He flicked his soaking, dripping hair back with his hands and waded his way out of the water towards Ryuji and Haru. Haru was wringing her large hat out, draining it of water.

“Hnng, I didn’t realise how much this outfit would get in the way of my swimming...” Haru sighed.

“Heh, doesn’t change the fact that I still won!” Ryuji chuckled. “Although you’re still pretty damn good, Noir!” Joker brushed off some of the water droplets from his jacket, and turned around awaiting Makoto to emerge...

“Yo, did you see how good we were, dude!” Ryuji shouted towards Joker, who was still watching the tunnel exit. Ryuji's tone turned more serious when Joker failed to ackowledge him. “Hey, uh... where’s Queen?” Joker’s eyes narrowed.

“She was just behind me a second ago...” he said.

“Guys! Somethings wrong! Are you still in the tunnel? Is Queen with you!?” A panicking Futaba chimed in, communicating with the team through her Persona.

“What is it, Oracle?”

“The distortion in the tunnel suddenly spiked! The layout... It’s changing constantly now! I can’t seem to get a good map data on it!”

“What the hell!?” Ryuji snapped.

“Huh!? What about Queen!? She was just behind us!” Haru cried.

“She was in the tunnel when the readings suddenly went weird. I can’t get a good bead on her location! That seems to be changing too, it doesn’t seem like she’s anywhere near any of the exits and... I think she’s still underwater!” Futaba said in a panicked tone. Joker cursed beneath his breath. 

“I’m going in after her!”

“I’m going too!” Ryuji yelled.

“Wait! Stop!” Futaba shouted. “Everything in there is still changing! If you go in, you’ll get lost too!”

“We can’t just leave her! She’ll drown!” Ryuji snapped.

“I... I know... Just...” Futaba stammered, trying to locate Makoto in the shifting tunnels and trying to figure out what to do.

“Wait... These distortions...” Morgana chimed in through the communications. “They’re caused by the cognition of our target, like a Palace. If we can get rid of his Shadow, then the distortions around here should disappear!” Ryuji slammed his foot on the ground in frustration.

“You mean we gotta take out the Shadow before we can save her!? She can’t wait that long!”

“I don’t think there’s any other option right now.” Morgana growled, “As Oracle says, there’s no way of knowing if the way you’ll go in there will still be there while these cognitive distortions are shifting. The shadow should be just further from where you are!”

“I’ll keep trying to locate her,” said Futaba, “hopefully I can guide her out of here somehow. In the mean time you need to take out the Shadow quickly!” Joker clenched his fist; as difficult as it was to leave Makoto in the tunnel, he knew he couldn’t do anything there.

“Alright... Skull, Noir, let’s go!” they both nodded at their leader and dashed towards their target with their leader.

* * * * *

Makoto tried to push against the wall but nothing seemed to give. The exit was right here, and Joker too. Now it was just a solid wall.

How? It doesn’t make sense...

Seeing no way forward, she turned around to swim back towards the entrance. As she swam back, however, her heart skipped a beat as she realised the light from the entrance she came from was gone too. Instead, the tunnel split into two paths. She froze again, confusion turned to anxiety; her heartbeat began to race as she realised she had no visible way out. Her chest began to tighten as the urge to breathe began to well from her lungs.

Where’s the exit!?

“Queen, can you hear me?” Futaba was communicating through her persona, though whilst underwater Makoto couldn’t exactly talk back. “Queen, if you can hear this, the distortions have grown stronger and the underwater tunnels have shifted. I think I’ve managed to track your location and map the area. Listen, there’s an air pocket somewhere but it’s a bit of a distance to swim. Take the path to the left, and then take the first right you find...”

Makoto pursed her lips, trying to keep the air in her lungs, as she began to swim as Futaba instructed. She took the left tunnel and swam along, kicking her legs. She tried to swim at a brisk pace, but not too fast as to overexert herself and burn through her air too quickly. The dimly lit tunnel seemed to go on forever and twisted and turned almost constantly. 

“Gbllggbbll....” Makoto covered her mouth with one hand, as bubbles began to leak through her fingers. Her chest began to convulse as she tried to fight the urge to breathe.

Where is the air pocket!? I need to breathe!!

“Keep going, Queen. I can see you’re moving in the right direction. Just remember on the next branch to turn right.” Futaba tried to sound calm, but the trembling in her voice was very apparent. “J-just hang in there!” Makoto tried to calm herself, too, but with each passing second the convulsions in her chest were growing stronger and faster, forcing more precious air from her lungs.

“Gbuuugbhllhh!!” She was fast approaching her limit...

* * * * *

“Huh? Who the hell are you kids?” The Shadow of Hideki Harasaki stood before Joker, Ryuji and Haru. A tall, slightly lanky man with a sinister smirk on his face.

“You’re the swim coach who’s been harassing your female students, huh?” Ryuji snapped in a threatening tone.

“How can you take advantage of your students like that!?” Haru decried. The sinister Shadow turned to Haru.

“Pah, girls like you aren’t good for anything except looking pretty in swimsuits.” the Shadow scoffed, “Those girls needed me, they desired my tutelage, what’s wrong with asking for a few... personal favours in return, eh?”

“This bastard really is just like that asshole Kamoshida...” Ryuji growled. “C’mon, Joker, let’s show him what we do to guys like him.”

“Right,” replied Joker. “And let’s make it quick.” the three thieves stood defiantly against their imposing target. They entered their battle stances, ready to confront the twisted Shadow.

“You damn kids just need to listen to my instructions, or else you won’t learn how to keep your head above water!” The shadow’s smirk transformed into an enraged scowl, as his human shaped form gave way to that of a large, tentacled beast, flinging its arms all over the place.

“Alright, let’s do this!” Joker and his team drew their weapons and leapt into action...

* * * * *

“GLUBGBLL!!” A huge cloud of bubbles exploded through Makoto’s lips, despite her efforts to keep the air in her lungs and seal her mouth with her hand. Her lungs were now almost entirely empty, and she was now fighting the urge to inhale. She grunted and groaned as she kicked her legs frantically.

I need air now! Where is it!? At this rate I’ll...

Suddenly she saw some light ahead, the unmistakable shimmering of light shining through the ripples of the surface of water.

Air!

She desperately clawed her way through the water towards the air and swam up towards her salvation. Finally, her head broke the surface and she took her gasp of fresh air she craved. She gasped and wheezed uncontrollably; her heart was racing as she tried to compose herself. The air pocket covered the upper section of the tunnel she was in; she could reach the roof at arm's length as she tread the water. Thankfully, there was plenty of air in here for her.

“Queen, can you hear me? Are you there?” Futaba buzzed in once again.

“Haaah... yeah... I can hear you.” Makoto panted, still catching her breath. She brushed her soaking wet hair aside. “I’ve found an air pocket.” Futaba breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank goodness! It took a while for me to be able to even locate you let alone map out the tunnels.” Futaba shifted to a more serious tone, “Listen. The distortions in these flooded tunnels are being caused by the twisted desires of our target, Joker and the others are engaging with him now. Once they defeat the Shadow the distortions should disappear, and these tunnels should stop shifting.”

“Haaahh... Ok... That’s good.” Makoto continued to pant. Though still exhausted from her ordeal, she was slowly catching her breath. “I have to say, though, that was... haaah... Way too close... haaah... I thought for a moment I wasn’t going to make it.”

“Hehe... Yeah, the tunnels were constantly changing but they seem to have stabilised for now. Give yourself some time to recover and hopefully they’ll defeat the shadow soon. In the meantime, it seems like the exit isn’t too- huh?” Futaba paused suddenly, her persona was picking up another distortion spike. Futaba looked at the computer-like monitors, examining the map. “Huh, the maps changing again, but hopefully it shouldn’t be-”

“What the...!? Oracle!! What’s happening!?” Futaba heard Makoto screaming through her comm.

“Queen!? What’s wrong!?”

“T-the air pocket! The water level is rising!” Makoto squealed as her head rose closer and closer to the ceiling of the tunnel. She could feel the rumbling through the walls and ceilings as the tunnels seemed to shift around her once again. As the water level rose the water became more turbulent. “Gugh-kgblk!!” Makoto was momentarily dragged underwater by the shifting currents, the water catching her by surprise as she couldn’t take a deep breath before submerging. As her head re-emerged through the surface, she tried to keep herself in place by gripping the ever-encroaching ceiling with her hands. She began to panic at the thought of being trapped underwater again. “No... not like this... Oracle!” she gasped, “Haah... What do I do!?”

“H-hold on! I’ll try and find the exit, or find another air pocket... or... something!” Makoto’s head was now pressed right up against the ceiling, her precious air vanishing by the second. The surface of the water was now lapping perilously close to her face. “Q-Queen? Can you hear me?” Futaba flustered, “I can’t get anything on the map at all, the distortions too strong! Gugh...” No matter how hard she tried, Futaba couldn’t seem to get any kind of reading on her monitors. “J... Just... swim somewh.... er.... there’s g.....t to be an air p....... or ex.......... ssshhhh....” Makoto’s eyes widened as Futaba’s communications seemed to lose signal, was it the result of the distortions?

“O-Oracle!? Futaba!? Can you hear me!?” Makoto’s heart sank at the silence that followed; she was on her own now... The air pocket was now almost a thin sheet along the ceiling above her body, she was having to tilt her head sharply upwards to keep her mouth and nose above the water. Without any time left to spare Makoto gulped, and took one, deep, final breath, packing as much air into her lungs as she could, and sank beneath the surface once again. She looked up and saw the air pocket had now completely vanished. She looked around at the tunnels; as expected, they looked completely different to how they looked before, the distortions clearly changing the layout once more. This time they seemed more uneven and twisted than they had been. Now she was alone and lost in an underwater ever-changing labyrinth.

I’ve got no choice. I have to just swim for it...

She began to swim through the tunnels again, fluttering her legs whilst rhythmically crawling with her arms in a breast stroke motion. The train tracks seemed misaligned and the surfaces seemed to be phasing before her eyes. As she swam through, the very shape of the tunnels seemed to be warping too, with some parts looking like larger rooms than others. Each tunnel she traversed seemed more distorted than the last. Still she pressed onwards, her cheeks slightly puffed out as she held her breath. The only sounds she could hear were the occasional trickling of air bubbles through her nostrils and her own pounding heartbeat. Again, she came across a branch in the tunnels. With no Futaba to help her she had no choice but to rely on her own guess.

Please... Let this be the right way...

As she made her choice, all too soon the urge to breathe creeped in again, she tried her best to ignore the vice-like sensation around her chest. She was already exhausted from her ordeal from earlier; air was once again leaking through her lips despite her best efforts.

“Gblllbll...” Makoto winced; her diaphragm twitched, but she continued to try to swim in a brisk but calm manner to keep her pace even. Another branch laid before her, again she had to swim in whichever direction and hope it would lead to air of some kind. Her cheeks puffed out more profusely as she tried to retain her air. She tried to focus her thoughts on keeping her swimming technique strong, with rhythmic timings for each of her breast strokes and frog kicks, counting each stroke in her head like a metronome. It was the only thing that could keep her mind off the now desperate urge to breathe.

There has to be the exit somewhere... There has to be!

Suddenly, her chest heaved, forcing a huge cloud of air from her mouth.

“GLUGLBLgg!!” Quickly Makoto clasped both hands around her nose and mouth, trying to stop more air from escaping. She began to kick her legs more frantically as her chest began to convulse, trying to force her to exhale the rest of her air. Her eyes shut tightly as she tried desperately to hold her breath.

No! I can’t hold on any longer! Please! I need air!!

As Makoto slowly opened her eyes again, she spotted something out of the corner of her vision. Before her was another branching path, however the path on the left seemed to have light shafts shimmering through its entrance. Could it be an air pocket? Maybe it was the way out? Whatever it was, Makoto knew that was where she had to go! With no time to lose, she gave a strong kick, propelling herself as fast as she could towards the light. As she got closer the light became clearer. No doubt about it, there was air here!

“MMbbmbllbll!!” Makoto grunted and gurgled, as more air escaped from her lungs. She gritted her teeth as she rushed towards her lifeline. Her heart was racing, her heartbeat pounding loudly in her chest. Her lungs were burning, now almost completely empty. Her limbs felt stiff and ached as the last of her energy faded. But she was almost there...

Just a little further! Air is just beyond the... What!?

She was now just before an air pocket; however, it wasn’t like the one from before. This time whatever world the Metaverse had conjured up here was particularly cruel to her fate. The light had been coming from large vent running above the tunnel which had some trapped air. However, to her horror, the entire vent was blocked by thick iron bars, the surface of the water lied just inches out of reach. She swam up and gripped the metal bars tightly, tugging at them frantically, but they were completely solid.

No... It’s not fair! No!!

“Noogblbloobllbgl!!” Makoto screamed the last of her air away as she could control herself no longer. She desperately thrashed against the bars, hoping they’d give way and let her through to the air she needed so badly. Her chest convulsed, her body arched back as she could no longer fight against her body’s natural instincts, forcing her to inhale. She wrapped her hands around her neck as she began to choke on the suffocating water surrounding her, trying in vain to stop the water entering her lungs. The pain was intense, she struggled and kicked her legs wildly as she let out desperate, gurgled cry for help.

Someone, help me! I don’t want to die!!

She couldn’t control her spasming body; her mouth opened widely trying to gasp for breath, only to be met with the oppressing water forcing its way down her throat. Before long, her limbs grew heavy and weak. As her trembling body began to slowly sink to the ground, she reached an arm out towards the light above her, watching it slowly fade from her vision. The intense pain she felt subsided; only a cold, numb sensation remained. Her eyes were half open, her mouth was partially agape as the last of her strength was sapped. It was a surreal sensation; the panic, the agony, the fear, it had all passed. It was strangely peaceful now...

Am I dying? Is this what it’s like?

Her limp body lied at the bottom of the tunnel, her arms were outstretched and gently swaying in the currents. A few tiny bubbles trickled through her lips, the last remnants of the air from her lungs. Now her lungs were flooded with water, giving her the feeling of an unfamiliar heaviness to her chest. The world around her grew dark, the heartbeat that was pounding so loudly in her chest was growing slower and weaker. As Makoto felt her grasp on the world fading, she tried valiantly to cling on to consciousness, only to feel it slowly slip through her fingers. Her thoughts turned to what she was looking forward to tomorrow; they had all planned to go to the beach together. She was really looking forward to swimming with all her friends. The realisation that she wouldn’t be able to do that anymore weighed heavily in her mind.

Everyone... I’m sorry...

As her consciousness finally faded, she thought she could hear the muffled voice of Futaba through the communicator...

* * * * *

Meanwhile back at the entrance of the tunnel, Futaba was still trying to use her Persona to find a way out for Makoto, but the constantly shifting maze was still impossible to map out. Ann was pacing back and forth, Morgana stood alongside Futaba whilst Yusuke stood in a quiet but tense contemplation. As Futaba continued her analysis, she suddenly became more flustered. She gasped as a cold sweat ran down her head.

“Oh no... G-Guys... I can’t find Queen’s signal anymore!”

“Is it the distortions!?” Morgana’s tail stood upright.

“M-Maybe. The distortions are getting more unstable, which was making it hard to pinpoint Makoto’s location, but now I can’t sense her at all...” Futaba began to tremble. “Unless s-she’s already...” Ann couldn’t contain herself any longer.

“Ggh! I’m going in after her!” Ann bolted towards the entrance of the flooded tunnel.

“Panther, no! You know there’s no way of knowing where she is or if you won’t get trapped yourself!” Morgana hissed. Ann stopped in her tracks.

"But I-" she blurted.

“I must concur.” Yusuke interupted, “I know how you feel, we all feel the same, but we just have to trust in Joker, Skull and Noir and hope they can defeat the Shadow in time.” Yusuke stood firm, but the tension of his voice was revealing of his own anxiety. Ann could only clench her fist, despairing at her helplessness.

“No... She can't be...” she weeped.

“M-Maybe she’s still OK.” Morgana responded, slumping down. “Queen won't give up that easily! Although we can’t locate her, there's a chance she might have found another air pocket on her own... I hope...” Yusuke returned to his contemplation, crossing his arms. He lowered his head and murmured under his breath.

“One can only hope...” Futaba continued her frantic efforts to scan the distortions within the flooded tunnel.

“Come on, Joker... Hurry!”

* * * * *

The Shadow of Hideki reeled back and screamed in pain from the onslaught of attacks from the Thieves.

“GRAAGGGHHHH!!” The hideous form fell over on its side, then its massive body phased and dissolved, until all that remained was his human form, huddled and cowering on the floor. “No, please! Don’t kill me!”

“Tch, you’re pathetic, you know that?” Ryuji advanced towards the Shadow, brandishing his heavy pipe in his hands.. Though a bit exhausted from the battle, he was still seething with anger towards the scumbag.

“I... I don’t want to be pathetic! I was tired of everyone looking down on me! I finally was in a position where people wouldn’t shit on me anymore...” The crumpled Shadow began to sob. “I shoulda known better than to take advantage of those girls... I wanted to help them at first, I really did, but once I had one girl, I just kept...”

“You don’t need to take advantage of women to avoid disrespect” Haru scowled. “Those girls relied on you.” Joker holstered his pistol and stepped forward.

“You should have used your position to help people, instead your desire to be respected was twisted, and you turned to abusing your students...”

“Y... Yes... you’re right. I was so, so wrong...” The Shadow's physical form began to shine and disintegrate. “I’ll make things right, I swear... I promise... I won’t ever do those horri-...” before the Shadow could finish articulating, it vanished, leaving behind the bud of the Treasure shining brilliantly before the thieves. Joker approached the glowing light and snatched the treasure. Their mission was a success, but Joker’s mind already was concerned with something else of grave importance.

“Oracle! What’s the situation with Queen!?”

“Joker!” Futaba stammered through the comms. “I... I can’t find Makoto’s signal! Did you take out the Shadow?”

“Yeah, we just took care of him, and I got the trea-” before Joker could finish his sentence, he felt the walls around him rumble for a brief moment. Ryuji and Haru stumbled a little from the shuddering tunnels.

“Woah... Joker! The distortions are gone! I think I can... Yes! The tunnels have reverted back to the way they were, and the water seems to be gone too. Makoto’s signal’s there... But... It’s weak.” Futaba gasped. “Joker! Hurry back!” Joker quickly turned towards the way they came.

“Gh! Makoto!” Joker had no time to lose; he sprinted towards the formerly flooded tunnel, Ryuji and Haru followed closely behind. They descended down the long, straight tunnel they had previously swam through. Strangely the tunnel was now completely dry, no trace of water remained and now it looked like any other of the eerie tunnels in Mementos. Ahead of them, close to the middle of the tunnel, Joker saw the lifeless body of Makoto. She was slumped over on the floor face down, motionless. His sprint gathered speed as he raced towards her. “Makoto, please be OK!” Ahead of them further, the rest of the thieves were running towards them from the other side of the tunnel.

“Makoto!!” Ann shouted as they gathered around Makoto’s body. Joker knelt down and turned her limp body around, lifting her head with his arms. Her eyes were closed, her skin was pale and her lips were a deep shade of blue. Her skin felt cold to the touch, yet strangely she was completely dry, there being no sign that she had been underwater.

“Damn it, she’s not breathing!” Joker exclaimed.

“Oh shit...” Ryuji turned frigid when he saw Makoto's pale face. “Are we too late!?” Haru began to tremble. Her hands covered her mouth, stifling her horrified gasp.

“Mako-chan... No!” she sobbed.

“G-guys, I detected her signal once the distortions ended.” said Futaba, who seemed to be sweating profusely and out of breath. “She’s still alive but... If she’s not breathing...”

“No! It’s not too late!” Joker steeled his resolve and quickly laid Makoto’s body flat on her back. With a desperate but composed demeanour he placed his hands on her chest, the base of his palms just between her breasts, and rhythmically began to give her chest compressions. “1... 2... 3... 4...” He counted each of the compressions quietly under his breath. “18... 19... 20...” He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers and exhaled. Her chest rose slowly as her lungs filled with his air. Their lips parted and he continued the chest compressions. “1... 2... 3... 4... 5...” The rest of the thieves crowded around, watching intently.

“C’mon, Makoto... C’mon...” Ryuji watched as Joker continued to try and revive Makoto. Minutes passed, but Makoto was still unresponsive. Tears began to well in Futaba’s eyes.

“Makoto... please...” she whimpered quietly... The team could only watch in crushing silence as Joker continued, undeterred. Morgana’s tail whipped back and forth restlessly as he watched.

“There’s no way it’s ending like this... It can’t...” he mewed. More minutes passed, it felt like an eternity...

Suddenly Makoto’s body twitched. The team collectively froze as they saw some kind of response. They leaned closer, holding their breaths in anticipation. Another spasm came from Makoto’s body, until finally she drew a sharp gasp, coughing and spluttering, as her eyes finally opened. Her mouth opened wide as she panted heavily, finally drawing breath by herself. Joker leaned back, giving her room to breathe. The rest of the thieves breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright! Yeah! You did it!!” Ryuji cheered. The team began to cheer alongside him.

“Yes! She’s ok!” Ann was weeping tears of joy.

“Mako-chan!” Haru was beaming in delight. Makoto was still slightly dazed as her breathing slowly returned to normal and colour returned to her face. She looked around to see the team smiling and cheering around her before her gaze met Joker, who was leaning over her with a warm smile. It almost seemed like tears were streaming from behind his mask.

“Nngh...” Makoto croaked. “What...? What are you all doing here?” Joker could barely contain his happiness and he embraced her tightly.

“We were so worried.” Joker said as he hugged her tightly. As the team cheered, Futaba began to sway back and forth.

“I’m... so glad you’re OK... Makoto...” Futaba swooned as she fell to her knees, barely able to stand upright. 

“O-Oracle, are you all right!?” Yusuke ran to her side “What’s wrong?”

“I’m ok... Just... Feeling a little woozy.” Futaba groaned, clutching her head. Morgana ran up beside them both.

“Poor thing... She must be exhausted...” he meowed, “She was using her power to scan the distortions, she must have been using all her strength to try and find Makoto and map out the paths for her...” Joker stood up, carrying Makoto by the shoulder.

“We’d better get out of here, before any shadows show up...” he said.

* * * * *

Back at the safe area, the team lounged beside the train station platform. Makoto and Futaba were sitting on the seating area recuperating as the rest of the thieves stood around them.

“It’s a good thing we took care of our target when we did.” Morgana meowed, “If we had left it any longer, his twisted desires would have created its own Palace.”

“Judging by the constant shifting we observed, it seems like a new Palace was forming before our very eyes.” Yusuke pondered.

“But why was the tunnel flooded with water?” asked Ann, “It’s not like there’s water anywhere else in Mementos.”

“It's all part of our target’s cognition.” Morgana replied, “He was a swim instructor, right? It probably had something to do with his affinity for water or the pool.”

“I shudder to think of the kind of Palace that would have materialised had we not taken out the target sooner.” Yusuke meditated, “No doubt it would have had yet more underwater tunnels and passages to navigate.”

“I totally don’t like the idea of having to fight shadows underwater.” Ann shuddered. Ryuji folded his arms.

“Yyyyeah, that woulda been a pain in the ass, unless Mona could transform into some kind of attack submarine already.” Ryuji huffed as Morgana hissed at his snide remark.

“We did good, guys.” Joker praised the team for their work. He turned his attention towards Makoto. “How’re you holding up, Queen? I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you in there...” he said as he knelt beside her. Makoto smiled gently.

“It... was pretty scary, honestly.” she sighed, “I really thought that was it for me. But I’m fine now, thank you. All of you. I owe you guys my life, really...” She paused as she brushed her hands through her hair. “But, it’s strange. My hair feels pretty dry, considering...”

“I noticed that too.” said Haru, “The tunnel was completely dry when the water was gone.” Morgana purred in thought for a moment.

“Well, if the water was part of our target’s cognition, like a palace, then I suppose all traces of the water would also vanish just like any other distortion.” he meowed. Joker thought to himself for a moment.

“I guess that explains why there wasn’t any water in your lungs when I was doing CPR...” he said. Makoto’s eyes perked.

“U-um... You did what?” Makoto flustered.

“Hm? I did CPR, why?”

“O-oh... No, it’s nothing...” Makoto’s gazed dropped to her feet as she blushed slightly, trying not to have indecent thoughts about the idea that their lips were in contact. Meanwhile, Ann had noticed that Futaba had been sitting in complete silence.

“Hey, Oracle. You feeling better now?” asked Ann in a soft tone. Futaba sniffled as she sulked on her seat.

“What’s wrong, Oracle?” Makoto asked. Futaba sniffled again, sobbing quietly. Without warning, the orange haired hacker turned and embraced Makoto tightly, crying uncontrollably. “W-wha!? Futaba!?”

“Uwaaaaaaaahhhh!” Futaba wailed, “I’m sorry, Makoto! I’m sorry I couldn’t help you!” Her face was buried just below Makoto’s breasts, with tears streaming from her bloodshot eyes. “I was so scared! -sniff- If my power was stronger, -sniff- I could have, -hic- I could have mapped out the area more... I... I... It’s my fault you...!” The thieves gathered around, watching Futaba pour her heart out. Makoto smiled gently and hugged Futaba in return, gently petting her head.

“Don’t be silly, Futaba... You saved my life.” said Makoto, who was beginning to tear up a little herself. “You helped me get to that air pocket, remember? If it wasn’t for that, I wouldn’t be here.”

“And don’t forget, if it wasn’t for you warning us not to go in after her, me and Joker would be goners too!” Ryuji chuckled.

“Indeed. Your actions were instrumental in today’s positive outcome.” Yusuke said reassuringly, kneeling beside Futaba, who seemed to be sobbing less profusely now. “You should be holding your head up high.” Eventually she released her embrace on Makoto and wiped her teary eyes with her hands.

“Sniff... you guys...” Futaba trembled. She seemed to be calming down as Makoto couldn’t help but let out a gentle giggle, still petting Futaba on the head.

“Well, everything’s worked out well for us!” Haru exclaimed with a wide smile radiating from her face. “I think we can look forward to the beach tomorrow more than ever!”

“Oh man, I totally forgot about that! I gotta pack my swim stuff, it's gonna be sweeet! The beach, the babes!” Ryuji was immediately hyped; it was still strange to Ann how his manner can change so quickly like that. “Since we’re gonna be there for a couple of days, I wanna check out this place I heard about! They let you hire stuff for scuba diving! Any of you guys wanna check that out, too?” Ryuji noticed a few awkward stares gazing towards him before he realised what he said in front of Makoto. “Oh... crap... I uh... I guess after what you’ve been through you’ve probably had enough swimming for now, huh, Queen...” Makoto laughed at Ryuji’s awkward banter.

“Actually, I’ll take you up on that.” she chuckled. “I’ve been looking forward to this trip too, so I wouldn’t mind trying scuba diving with everyone.” she paused for a second and gulped, averting her gaze. “J... Just so long as you don’t make me swim through any long underground tunnels...” The thieves laughed together at the bizarre exchange that was happening before them. Even Futaba had cheered up and was now beaming.

“All right, I think we’ve done all we needed here in Mementos.” Joker stood up, addressing the rest of his team. "Let’s move out and head home!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Morgana leapt into the air and transformed into the cat bus once more, as the phantom thieves made their way out of Mementos after a job well done.

#my art #my writing #short story #persona 5 #fan fiction #underwater #underwater peril #drowning #Resus

[muffindaddystyles]

KISMETS.

Harry Styles x fem!reader.

Slow burn, platonic love and jealousy clićhes.

Fluff! Fluff! Fluff!

Frenemies and dad!harry.

Author's Note: The concept's kinda weird but if you've watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S and Phoebe Buffay carrying child for someone. You've got it my pal!

MASTERLIST LETS TALK! PART 2 PART 3 PART 4

"Can ya stop breathing like, THAT!?" She whisper yells twisting to give him a sharp glare full of spleen elbow poking at his side abs, "Like what!?" He half squeaks peering down at her with doe eyes palms flat at sides to convey his surprise.

"Like a train engine whistling -- it's annoying." She mutters rolling her eyes and turning back to listen to instructor.

"Now, I can't even breath without ye' comin' fo' me throat?" He grits with a kink of brows and when she confirms with a no --- He gasps dramatically. It's gonna be a long journey of Hell for them. Harry hates her hormones. Little bitches.

Or

Y/N is carrying a baby for Harry and his girlfriend ---  but something went downhill.

//

Twinkling droplets of crystal rain pelts against the bricked road subsiding harsh noises of surrounding but a nettled groan caught everyone's attention ‐‐‐ stares turning in direction. Have you ever wanted to just disappear under a warm invisible cloak and enjoy the drollery aspects of life without worrying? Because this is what Y/N wants at the moment as she stands under the bus stop shelter with few people beside her and the british showers starts pouring mocking at her for not carrying an umbrella with her.

Everyone leaves when the bus didn't arrive — who remains behind's Y/N huffing and pouting wishing for rain to stop. When it didn't she muttered a 'fuck it' before risking catching a cold and stepping under the pitter patter with her books atop her head for less damage.

Trying to punch in the passcode of society's gate with shivery fingers perhaps it opens before that startling her wet-y self. Similar car drives near her and a head pops in from inside with his big goofy smile and crinkles by his charming eyes, "Ni!" She exclaims pushing away the drippy hair sticking to her lips with her pinky.

"Pet you're gonna catch a cold. Want me to drop ya?" Niall kinda yells over the rain's loudness. She sighs fog whirling infront of her. Shoves her hand in her trench coat's pocket to seek for heat instead it's all icky and drenching.

"No it's just a tiny walk away. I'll manage — call me will tell ya how my class went." She waves him looking at him from her shoulder while rushing away towards the most elegant house in the block. Niall gives her a thumbs up from before getting out of sight and she tries to hop over the puddles of water to make it to doorsteps.

The water she brings from outside pooling at the dark timber floor - it trails behind her past the pink door as she rushes jumpy-ly where the most hot's in the house and apparently it's more than she expected, "ouch. ouch my eyes!!" She screams covering them at the sight of Harry butt naked pinning his girlfriend against the wall near fire place. Her face turning into a tomato at the horrendous raid but she seems pissed and well . . displeased that Y/N ruined a mind boggling orgasm for her.

Before, they could disattach from eachother to unravel their humiliation Y/N jogged up to attic into the guest room slamming her forehead against the door to knock away the embarrassment. She always barges in Harry's house without announcing but sometimes she forgets he isn't alone everytime his girlfriend comes to live by every two weeks (it's his fault too that he never locks the main door as anytime anyone's coming at his place). Changes into clothes she forgets at her visits, tries to dry her hair with a towel that no-more smells like Harry but expensive fabric softeners and has a pep talk for a minute to show herself down infront of them.

Instinctive voices coming from the Kitchen and she pads towards it. They act like nothing happened. Like Harry wasn't dick deep into Chessie moments ago. Harry ushers her to barstool and hands her a cuppa tea moving on with a kiss to her head. It still gives her butterflies even though how many sense awakening scoldings she gave to herself at 3 ams.

"'M sorry." She squeaks with a wavering smile wrapping her palms around the mug. Harry cackles softly brushing the underbelly of his nose as Chessie cordinated the cutlery drawer, "'s okay moppet. we finished our business when ye' left." Y/N almost choked on her hot beverage gulping it down when Chessie shocked gasp throwing little socksies that were laying ontop of the counter at Harry. Are those of toddler? Adam's out of town so there's no way it could be his daughter's socks. Maybe Chessies's one of friend's?

"Should've called me t' pick y'up. Niall was loafin' around too —- wear it you're turnin' blue, pet." He comes back with a swarmy chunky knitted sweater Anne gifted him at his birthday handing it to Y/N and sitting opposite of her pulling Chessie with her wrist into his lap clearing his throat to bring Y/N's attention back from eyeing the socks on the floor. Her eyes flicker between them chest tightening at the love and glow that radiates from Harry when he looks at her.

No. She's not jealous. Mightyyyy bit yeah –- cause she could never be this lucky to have someone as Harry. He's the most caring towards her since ten years been her compass to the home she wanted, her anchor saving her from sinking and the sixth sense of a blind to her. In fact she thinks he's her soulmate and not every soulmates needs to be romantically involved some could watch them growing beautiful in love. Y/N's doing it. Admiring the maturity of his life with the person that truly makes him enough---or she thinks so.

"How was ye'r meditation class?" Harry asks (she took a semester off as she was unable to haul the burden'; Harry convinced her how her health should be her first priority) breaking a cookie in two giving half of it to Chessie who thanks him with a kiss in return, "Was good been feelin' great!" She chirps pulling the sleeves of the sweater that's drenched in cinnamon vanilla-y smell with lingers of what comes of as Chessie's scent. She assumes they cuddled shit loads.

To subside the gnaw in her brain down she finally asks the question pointing at the sock that nobody gave a heed to pick up, they stop chewing looking at eachother to come up with something. Chessie's face distressed knowing Harry wouldn't hide it from Y/N. He tells her everything and sometimes it could be too personal to share.

"Erm. . I bought 'em — 'cos. . " Harry stammers and Y/N smacks her hand atop her mouth avoiding from giving a shocked reaction, "Oh my goodness ye' guys are pregnant!?" It was enough to make Chessie flinch and hike down Harry's lap.

"No! 'S not what ye'r thinkin'." He shakes his head making Y/N confused. "Then you bought it fo' your fingers? Cause that's the only body part it could fit." She teases him to break through the insight tension around and he chuckles shaking his head grabbing Chessie's hand rubbing her knuckles how he used to when Y/N's anxious and over the edge.

"We want to have a family." His words low as he looks at Chessie but she shrugs in return as 'in it is what it is'. Y/N stomach twisted at that. The thought that one day He's gonna have a family of his own and the little bubble that Y/N would be privy to made her throat dry. Because she has no-one despite Harry and he deserves the whole world not just baby keeping Y/N everytime.

"So . .? What's the problem?" She raises her brows looking between them noticing Harry's fingers fiddle with the flower tea mats, "There are complications from Chessie's side." Chessie sighs in disappointment and Y/N ponders over the idea, clocks working and spindling wildly in her mind.

"I could do that for you guys — since I took a semester off --–" She puts the offer nervously and both of their jaws went slack Harry with an adoring grin while Chessie in hitting shock. "--Erm we could go through a traditional surrogacy."

"Are you sure?" Chessie asks squeezing her shoulder and Y/N nodded taking both of their hands, "Anything for ye' guys!" Harry's eyes glossing over and he leaves his spot sprawling his arms calling for her, "Gimme a hug pet. Life saver ye're - we're gonna take care of ye." They group hug tightly and excitedly.

Sometimes actions could speak much more than words because the lies that words hold could ruin the great bondages.

. . .

They went through the medical procedure two days after Her, Harry and Chessie being guided by their acquired doc. She was nervous and sweaty but Harry's presence beside her soothed out any negativity that was building inside her brain. By womb the babies would be Harry's and Y/N but legally Chessie's and Harry. She's just wishing that everything goes alright cause that happiness of them is million worthy to her.

People might call her stupid and brainless for going through sickness, crankiness, back pains and the pain during labour just to give those babies to someone else (she's too afraid to call them her's cause she knows her emotional attachments could be very destructive) but she loves Harry and love makes you do those thingies.

At the moment she's on the toilet seat eyes bolted shut counting threes with the pregnancy test in her wavering fingers. "Please it better work." A squeal of surprise leaves her lungs when her eyes fell over the two positive lines quickly dragging her panties over she tumbled outside where everyone's waiting for her.

"You guys are pregnant!!" Sounds dumb right? She announces loudly. Harry's and Chessie's heads perked up while everyone cheered beers spilling from the rims. She flashed grins to each one of them splitting her gaze away from Harry giving Chessie a celebratory kiss.

"Thank you. Oh my god, love! Can't belive it." Harry held her from shoulders giving her a toothy smile and it puts her off that Chessie didn't say anything just a nod along Harry. "Me too." She breathes out as he leads her to sofa sitting her cautiously. "We'll visit the doctor tommorrow." He reassures popping his head from Sarah's neck as she hugged him tight.

"We're gonna have a little Y/N and Harry running and pooping it's nappies soon." Everyone went silent. A grimace on Y/N and Chessie's face. Niall doesn't know when to shut up does he? Y/N's gonna strangle him alive. Harry laughed out aloud not caring about the thick tension in room, "I'll rip ye'r hair if you'll turn me baby into a golf freak Niall." His baby.

Niall raises his hands in defence, "No guarantees Harold."

. . .

They had a check-up and Y/N indeed's pregnant. Harry's over the moon. Kissing her forehead. Thanking her for millionth time – to the point she told him to let her watch telly in peace and shut up. Chessie bringing her organic vegan dishes that Y/N isn't a fan of but eats nevertheless under Harry's stern gaze. "'S not about them only I want ye' to be healthy too, pet. Can't be selfish now can I?" He'd insist.

When she'd be sick he'd be at her side giving her back rubs while Chessie stood at the doorframe of washroom. Y/N thinks since she's pregnant her womanly instincts has gotten more sharp as she sensed something's off between the pair.

He'd be at her flat early morning waking her up to have a morning walk with him not giving in her grunts and whines. Who'd want to leave their crispy warm bed to just be out in the cold? A fool like Harry only. Making her brekkie afterwards as a reward giggling and massaging her shoulders when she'd gobble down food like a greedy squirrel, "Easy there love. 'S all yours."

Chessie's back at LA. They had a small argument because Harry wants her to be participating in all of this as much as he's. But, her priorities are not set for this. They never were.

Y/N was at Harry's place nibbling onto chocolate cupcakes Anne sent specifically for her with a note ("my grandchild shouldn't be privy to their Nana's bakin' skills all my love to Y/N." along a winky smiley) when she spilled cold milk all over her nooked tee-shirt. Harry gave her his clothes to change into and baby wipes but she warded him with a scoff that water exists. She has become more feisty with each passing day.

Was discarding the tee when her gaze fell over the sveltest of bump in the mirror taking her breath away. It makes her realize it's all real. She never touches her belly in fear if she'd she will never stop. Now, when the pads of her fingers skim alongs the skin it strips shivers down her spine. She always wanted this. Not in this scenario though. Shaking her head of the thoughts she slips Harry's hoodie over it climbing down the stairs and it causes Harry to snap his head in alert. He stops chopping the carrots spinning to see Y/N standing feet away from him.

"My baby bump's showing." Her voice almost a whisper and it widens Harry's pupils as his hands fell in air midway between them hesitant to reach her, "Can I see?" She bobs her head shyly cheeks blazing red while revealing the bump for Harry to see. It's not like he hasn't seen her before. He has. But, this's more intimate than all of that. It made him fall on his knees. He's a sensitive person in general. Pure from heart but during this period it seems like he's pregnant not Y/N which's quite amusing too.

"She's beautiful." His gaze full of adoration. "She?" Y/N furrows her brow with a smile. He bobbed his head with a grin, "Think so our baby's gonna be she." Now that's the problem cause Y/N doesn't know which ours he's talking about.

"My pregnancy instincts says it's he." He scoffs, "Bet!?" She rolls her eyes forwarding her fist to do the hand shake they do while betting, "If you loose your pink macbook gonna be mine." They solid the deal with their traditional shake.

"Can I touch it?" Harry's asks politely. When she gives him permission he spreads his warm palms flat against her tummy tongue tied with the affection boozing in his veins for the baby that's not out in the world yet. Y/N eyes flutters and her fingers twitches by her sides from carding them into his hair. This's wrong she scolds herself. Her hormones all over the place.

"You wanna send a picture to Chessie?" At this his lips thinned and he gave her a curt nod standing up to fetch his phone, "Sure. But she might be busy..." on the verge of spitting his words in vile.

. . .

Y/N was reading a crime mystery book. Stroking the side of her baby bump carelessly. Cosy in her blanket hoodie telly murmuring in the distance. "Your dad's taste in books is shit, innit?" She peers down with a smile. It's the first time she's talking to them. "We'll read loads of good books together so that when you'll grow up – I could know what to gift you on Christmas." She tries to grab more popcorns from the bowl but it's empty. "Wanna be best aunt out there!!"

"Will you miss me? As much as I'll when we'll be separated?" Tears well up at her waterline. She huffs through her nose running her hand down her belly several times. It's coming; the breakdown she was toiling for days. "I know it sucks I cant be your mommy." Her cravings kicking in and all she want's a strawberry oreo icecream.

"Oh no. Seriously? I'm sad and ye' lil bean want an ice? Let's call your daddy and see what he got." She rings him and he picks up on the third one. Voice groggy from the sleep. She wants to feel bad but she isn't when all her taste buds could think of is strawberry flavour.

"'M cravin' strawberry ice-cream bad. . . Is it possible for ya to bring one?" He's already throwing duvets off his body reaching for his phone and wallet, "No worries pet I'll be there in tick."

"What the fuck Harry? It's three in the mornin'." Chessie groaned from beside him throwing pillow at her face. "We already stored her fridge with alot of food — " She squints about to change the side.

"She's carrying a baby for us Chess. Ye should know better since ya didn't wanted to." She sits up like bullet folding her arms against her chest.

"Thank you for throwing it at my face, H." He doesn't even spare her a glance walking outside and Chessie wants to scream at the top of her lungs. Why did she even agreed to this?

. . .

When he bought her ice-cream she throws herself in his arms kissing his cheek and he giggled in return feeling good when her bump pressed against him. They ate ice-cream with a bantering mess discussing names of the babies, the one that Chessie and Harry decided, him telling her about the little onesies they bought hearing that Y/N stood up taking out a little bag from the chests of drawers.

"I hope you wouldn't mind." She mutters showing him the lil knitted gloves and Harry slid his palm above her's wrapping them snugly, "I don't want ye' to think ya can't love on 'em 'cos after all it's ye'r womb they belong too." Her lip wobbles at his words and she stuffs her face against his chest fisting the hem. It fred away butterflies inside Harry. He sucka his lip. He shouldn't be acting like this. He has a girlfriend that he's gonna have a baby with. They're happy or atleast he thinks so.

They've been bestfriend for years and those feelings never drowned him. Is it because now she's having his babies? Maybe? Harry tries to convince himself.

When he looks down Y/N's drooling onto his shirt deep into slumber. He pecks her hair slipping his arms under her to hold her firmly against his chest. Laying her on the bed tucking her under blankets.

. . .

It sounds like multiple thuds as doctor hovered the ultrasound device over her gelled cover belly. Her belly growing way faster than it should. Her gaze glued at the ceiling fingers crossed. Harry and Chessie holding hands tight gazes fixed at the screen both of them confused at the disoriented image. They all were on the edge of their seats waiting for their turns. Y/N wished that someone could give her a huge warm hug to soothe her nerves down. But, in the first place she shouldn't be worried about the gender as it's none of concern but theirs. It's getting hard day by day.

"It's twins!" Doctor announces chirply getting a wave of silence in return. But, soon the room filled with happy giggles and gasps of Harry as he went to hug Chessie who's expressionless from shock. Y/N pouts wishing it was her. Smiling at doctor when she squeezed her hand in consolation. She's frightened though. How could she deliver two babies? To deal with the roughness that comes along them? Gonna be pretty hectic.

"We hit a jackpot, innit?" He grins down at her kissing Chessie's cheek last time before leaning down to hug her. "Gonna be super carin' with ye' now." Y/N gives a pat to his back in return awkwardly eyeing as Chessie left the room hastily.

. . .

It rakes against the wood harshly as Chessie glided keys of Harry's house towards him without a word. He puts the baby guide book aside arching his brow, "I can't do this anymore. I want an out." Dread. Seeping down Harry's bones.

Guarding himself down he grits, "What do ya mean you want an out? We agreed with full consent of yours Chessie." She shakes her head furiously.

"I didn't sign up for two of 'em Harry I could barely be there for one!!" He puts his elbows on his knees head lowering, "But you wanted to have a family with me didn't ye'?" His eyes tearing and she throws her head back in annoyance finding it difficult to make him understand.

"No. No – No. You wanted a family! Because of your continuous protests I gave in. Told you I wasn't ready for all of this bullshit now we are here." She emphasises. Harry stands up from his seat towering her pointing a finger at her.

He's rageous. Could burn this house down. How could she be so mean? Cowarding back at the last moment.

"Don't call it bullshit." He spits full of venom for the woman he mighty love and she snaps her head other way, "Congrats she finally ruined us and couldn't be more happy – now that she's having your mother fuckin' babies." He stumbles back knocking the coffee table lungs congesting.

"Don't drag her in all of this she's innocent." She laughs ironically looking him square in eyes yelling like a maniac, "Gave her your sperms now you can't hold back from fucking her. I knew it. You were fucking her behind my back weren't you?" She thinks of him like that? A cheater? He loved her and she always thought he was cheating her.

"Don't yell. I don't want to see ye'r cruel face when I come back home." He tries not to croak mustering strength to walk away from her. Exposing himslef to freezing weather locking himself in his car and crying his heart out. Sky crying along him. He punches the steering wheel brutally shouting "why's?" Head falling atlast as he thought of all his dreams shattering at his feet.

She caged him instead of giving him shelter. Replaced the butterflies he used to get from her with a burning hell in his pit, should've been mother of his children now she's just an ex.

The excruciating part is how he's gonna tell Y/N about this? She'll be crushed.

. . .

"Oh my god . . ." It was the roar of thunder that startled her but something else took her attention away. That tinsy kick protruding the taught skin of her belly, ". . . which one of you?" She was extra happy today. It's swimming in her head. It's just a thought but sharing it with Harry wouldn't kill someone. She wanna ask him if she could've one of the babies. It's just she's too much into the moment that she forgot she still have a degree to complete. A career to pursue and a life she always wanted.

When there's a knock at door she tries to stand up with the support of armrest a hand on her back. A gasp falling from her mouth at the sight of Harry's clothes soaked and another when he looks up with bloodshot eyes. Tears dried cheeks and heaving chest seeming utterly devastated.

"Pet what happened!?" She grabs him from elbow pulling him inside and he falls onto his knees smashing his cheeks against her showing tummy -- a sob recking through him, "Harry you're scarin' me. Tell me what happened is everything okay?"

"Chessie don't want these babies - sh-she didn't wanna ruin her career but atlast agreed . . . n-n now she doesn't want 'em 'n wants an out." He stutters. White noise deafening Y/N's ears and she steps back with expressions as if she's scared. Horrified of the future.

"It means she never had complications? She just didn't wanted her body to go through all of this." When Harry didn't fill in to her inquiry she flopped onto sofa from the shock shoving her face into her palms giving out a cry of hurt at her stupidity.

"God. I'm such an idiot!" He shakes his head crawling towards her with sad eyes and lil hiccups, "No please don'tcha say that. We'll figure it out yeah? Never wanted this t'happen." God. How bad he wants her to assure him that it'll be alright.

"You'll figure out what, huh!? Leaving them just like she did!?" Swear Harry felt a dagger jabbing it's way into his heart more upsetting tears spilling down his throat. "I hate you guys. They're none of your babies from now on. . ."

"Leave." She orders him wiping her tears roughly with the sleeve of her jumper. Running out of breath with each sniffle. Raises her hand stopping him to step forward and protest, "I said leave before I make you!!" He nods inhaling breath of remorse looking at the ceiling for a second then to her.

"Before, that want ya t'know. I still want 'em. They're mine. How could I not? love 'em. Hope ya'll forgive me." Then it's just sobs of Y/N taking over the buzz of telly as the door ticks. He didn't leave though. He's too afraid to. His back sliding against her door knees closing against his chest letting it all dawn upon him. His green luscious orbs hooding with sadness and the fluff of his curls.

Dunno if Y/N would be able to forgive him.

. . .

He woke up to a boot nudging to his thigh squinting up to find Niall stating down at him with consoling eyes. Poor Harry slept in the hallway. His neck sore and limbs stoned.

"Heard it 'lad. Was suspicious with Chessie long way." He helps Harry stand up patting his shoulders, "Y/N called ye'?" He grogs rubbing his eye with knuckles. When Niall confirms he quips with pleading eyes in a low whisper knowing he'll get his hair ripped if that furious little mama bunny will find him outside.

"Ye' think she'll forgive meh?" Niall chuckles to light up the situation, "'course H. Do ya think our pet's that ruthel—" He bites his tongue. Harry's gaze following the snap of his neck when the door opened revealing Y/N in a lilac chunky sweater. Puffy eyes and swollen lips. Harry feeling like a dickhead at her condition. It's all his fault. Then their eyes fall at the piping hot cuppa of tea in her hand.

With a stoic face she hands it to Harry and pulls Niall inside slamming the door at curly boy's face. So, she knew he was there sharing a door with her the whole night.

. . .

"Isn't it a good thing thou, love?" Niall smiles. He's chill in all of this. Watching it unwrap. They were meant for eachother Niall thinks so, "You wanted one of 'em and ended up havin' a whole bean can." She groans throwing her peach plushie at his chest. A smile swirming up her lips at his silly statement now that she's more stable less sad.

"You're the absolute worst, Ni!" He holds her cold hands tugging her close to make her look, "Want ya to forgive H. He did nothin' wrong, pet." When she pouts ruffling the silk strands of her rug with her feet he grabs her chin.

"Remember how happy he was? Don't go mad on him yeah?" She bobs her head not meeting his gaze. Meanwhile, there's knock at the door and Niall takes it laughing to himself softly at the box of doughnuts with a note.

"What is it?" He's already flopping beside her hooking his nimble finger around the white doughnut with rainbow sprinkles, "If I'd have known pregnant ladies gets treated this way. Would be havin' one baby every year." She smacks him in belly and unlatches the note reading it with a sucked lip.

Ye'r antenatal class's tommorrow. Don't forget to take ye vitamins :)

How gentle, calm and optimistic Harry could be needles her some.

. . .

Harry's waiting for her in the car fiddling with the radio. He isn't gonna lie. He's been going through a heartbreak. To cope with it he wants to accompany Y/N in her parent craft classes. When she waddles towards his car cosied up in a yellow baggy sweater and a cardigan Harry remembers she stole from him ages ago he mighty scrunched his nose in adoration at her cuteness.

Her nose pink and cheeks flushing as she slips into her seat, "Can you stop bringin' me stuff. I know how to take care of myself." She nips at him when he forwards her a kale smoothie. He doesn't seem to mind. Both, of them knows very well she's trying to avoid drinking it. She finds it yucky!

"Wanna take care of ya'll is all." He mumbles putting it in her side's cup holder. Ya'll .She regrets it instantly. Damn his puppy eyes!

. . .

"Mr. Styles and . . . Miss Y/N." The instructor calls them and they both raises their hand awkwardly as if in elementary school. "You're the parents of twin right?" She asks. Y/N wanted to say that their supposed to be parent ran off from the fear. But, she couldn't. Could never. It'll be like rubbing salt to his wounds. Bestfriends don't do that shit even in their most anger.

"Yes." She confirms. When Harry didn't. Scared if he might say something wrong. "Ok then! Lay your mats n' have a seat." Harry guides her with the little of his hand on her back. Her shoulder nudging his taut chest, and goosebumps pimples at her skin when his fingers brushes the side of her belly as he helps her sit down.

She takes an all rounder of the room and none of the parents looks like they're here to prepare for war unlike them. She shyly waves at the two mothers beside her and Harry twinges his lip equally flustered as her.

They start with relaxation and breathing exercises. Telling Y/N to let herself loose in Harry's arms. She fumbles with the hem of her sweater when his fingers gingerly winked at her sides and the lull of his breath hit her earlobe.

"Can ya stop breathing like, THAT!?" She whisper yells twisting to give him a sharp glare full of spleen elbow poking at his side abs, "Like what!?" He half squeaks peering down at her with doe eyes palms flat at sides to convey his surprise.

"Like a train engine whistling -- it's annoying." She mutters rolling her eyes and turning back to listen to instructor. "Now, I can't even breath without ye' comin' fo' me throat?" He grits with a kink of brows and when she confirms with a no --- He gasps dramatically. He hates her hormones little bitches.

It's gonna be a long journey of Hell for them.

. . .

"Are you hungry?" He asks turning the heat on knowing how cold her feet could get in the span of seconds. She huffs trying to buckle her belt and it squirms a fond smile out of him at her cute effort to be put in place due to her bump. If he'd coo. She'd rip him into tiny bits. It's better if he gazes away.

"Does it mean emptying your pocket?" She arches her brow sinking into her seat. "Bitso. . " He chuckles softly drumming at the steering wheel.

"Then I'd love to." She adds with a smirk. Clasping her hands atop her heart outta excitement. It makes him shake his poof of hickorey curls at her silliness.

They end up taking a takeout of onion loaded cheese burgers. Greasy fries. An iced-tea and a box of cookies from Babara's shop a block away from Harry's house.

"Wanna choose fo' ye'rself?" He asked her before going inside and she denied with a worried expression. Not knowing how she'll explain all of this to Babara who's her one of the good friends from UNI. Harry respects that. If she isn't ready to talk about it he isn't gonna pressurize her. They've been dodging the serious talk since she let him take to parental classes. Knows one day or another they've to decide how it's all gonna work.

. . .

Good food can make you more high than actual drugs. Licking their fingers off now they feel all sleepy and lazy sitting on the comfortable sofa watching telly with hooded eyes.

Harry's cheek smushed adorably against her baby bump ears tuned into what his babies are talking about.

"You know what? 'S not about winners or loosers. Bu' I won." She bubble hiccups slumping deeper with sugar rush hitting her. "Huh? Harry mumbles eyes drooping. The cotton balls of snowflakes glittering outside, collecting at the window and foging them up.

"I get to have babies of my bestfriend and this nice foodddd — 'n what did Chessie got? No babies and no happy feeling of being their mother." Harry shots up from his snooze blinking up at her and she quickly takes it back regret eating her alive, "'m sorry it slipped."

"No!!" He almost shouts cupping her cheeks making her look at him. His dimples deeps that someone could scoop them like an ice-cream. He gives her an eskimo kiss that makes her veins run with glittery blood.

"I wan' ye' to be the mother of me babies." No hesitation. No dithering. Just him asking for the tinsy bit of her heart. For her forgiveness. For the love they've kept blind eye for years. "We'll figure this out, yeah?" He murmurs their lips brushing and breaths kissing. Pulling back with a forehead kiss.

She lives for forehead kisses makes her shallow tin heart explode with glittery firecrackers.

She nods to give him the affirmation that she wants what he wants.

.

#Harry Styles Fanfiction #dad!harry #dadthon harry #cute harry #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles #harry styles blurb #hsh #fluff #harry smut #harry angst #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfiction #dom harry #naughty harry #solo harry #HET WRITING #BEEN IN MY DRAFTS FOR SO LONG GIVE IT SUM LOVE #NEXT CHAP WITH DADDY HARRY SMUTTTTT HMMMMM #I LIKE THE THOUGHT OF IT

[slafkovskys]

the way you do / t. emberson

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

my masterlist!

title from fireproof by one direction

warning(s): swear words, mentions of a concussion, jealousy, accusations of cheating, also written in a no covid world :)

word count: 5.8k

-

you cheer along with only a portion of the crowd as the goal horn sounds, signaling what you knew was the first and last point of the night for wisconsin. while david gets to work on updating the instagram account from his spot beside you, your fingers rapidly type out a tweet to send out that would update the people who were following along there.

badgers are on the board thanks to tyler inamoto! the score is 3-1 arizona state with 0:10 left in the third period

“what are you doing after this?” david asks, looking back out onto the ice while you start a new tweet, just in case something were to happen in the next ten seconds. “i’m sure we can find some bar to sneak into. are you up for it?”

“i don’t know,” you sigh, focusing on the opposing team’s player as he takes the puck and shoots down the ice, attempting to beat the buzzer. you frown when the horn sounds, signaling the end of the game and a win for arizona, which you quickly update on. “it’s my turn to do the interviews and i don’t know how long that’s gonna take. i always have to chase someone down and i also said that i would help cole with his biology, but i think that’s going to be a plane ride home priority.”

“well, at least they’re all going to be in the same place for at least the next twelve hours or so. it shouldn’t be that hard to find who you want,” david stands up and you follow suit, making sure that you have your phone in your back pocket before following him towards the locker room. “besides, they like you more than they like me. you’ve got that midwestern charm and i’ve got an annoying southern accent.”

“your accent is not annoying. tell me who told you that it was and i will gladly humble them,” you look at the younger boy who smiles.

it was no secret that the boys were more acquainted with you rather than david as you had two years on him. while you were a senior, david was only a sophomore starting out with the team. this was your third year with them and you had taken him under your wing because he was going to be taking over for you next year when you were gone.

you make your way through the arena, taking a route that was closed off to the general public to make it back to the locker room to catch the boys before they got caught up in granato’s post-game speech.

“who am i talking to tonight?” you mumble to yourself as you tug at your bottom lip. you look up at david who was leaning against the wall across from you, “do you remember who i talked to last week? don’t look at me like that. so much has happened between now and then…”

“trouble in paradise?” he’s quick to joke, but the look that you send him causes the smile to drop from his face. his eyes widen, “please tell me-”

“we haven’t broken up, if that’s what you were going to say,” you look back down at your computer screen and shrug, “it’s just- he’s been acting weird since we landed. he’s so touchy and, yeah, we’ve had our moments. hell, we were long distance for two years, but this is- it’s just weird.”

“i mean, i’ve never been in a serious relationship, but you definitely need to talk to him. you’ve been together too long to let it fizzle out. you’re the only couple that i can tolerate,” he rolls his eyes and you send him a grin. “it’s true. you and ty are, like, royalty at wisconsin. i’m pretty sure that you’re the couple that has been together the longest.”

“maybe second longest. i met a girl last year who had been with her boyfriend for six years and we’ve only been together for five, so they have us beat,” you leave out the fact that both of them graduated last summer.

the boys trickle back quietly. you give them a moment to get settled before taking a deep breath and walking towards the entrance. you peek your head in and granato spots you immediately, waving you inside. “you’ve been spared for two minutes, boys. listen to the lady and don’t give her a hard time.”

you send him a nod in thanks before looking out over the room. you had all of their attention except for one and it was the person who you cared the most for. you send a soft smile as your eyes scan the room, “i don’t love any of you any less. you played a great game boys and you’re going to kill it tomorrow.”

“did you get any more stickers?” owen asks and you turn to look at him.

“i did, actually, but you can blame your captain for stealing them all before i could distribute them,” you look back at ty who looks at you with a cold look. you swallow the lump in your throat and quickly look towards the other ty who speaks up.

“do you think you could find those dinosaur ones again? those were badass.”

“i still have mine on my water bottle!”

“i missed the dinosaur pack.”

“that’s why you have to score, mike.”

yes, you were aware of how childish the stickers were. you used them as an incentive so that when they came to talk to you, they got to pick a sticker. the boys enjoyed them and even stuck them on their equipment sometimes when they could get away with it.  

“okay, back on track,” you look down at your computer. you tap your nails on the keypad before clicking your tongue, “i need to see tyler, roman, and brock’s brother-”

“hey!” cole shouts from beside you while your joke provokes some of the boys to laugh.

“just keeping you humble, caufield,” you wink and he rolls his eyes, sinking back into his stall. you shake your head, “i’m not going to make you talk to me tonight because honestly, i’m drained and i know all of you are too. but please do come find me during breakfast tomorrow because i do have deadlines that i have to meet and that’s stretching it far enough. if you decide that you want to be mean and not come, i will be even meaner and snitch and you can find yourself being worked overtime in practice. are we clear, gentlemen?”

“yes ma’am!”

“thank you and good night,” you wave your hand around as you exit the room, shaking your head at the claps that followed you out. you and david gather your things and head toward the bus, knowing very well that it would be a while before the boys would begin to file out. you flop down in your seat and sigh, “one down, one to go.”

even though it wasn’t often, you loved when you got the opportunity to go on road trips. you usually got to go on the ones that were just bus trips, but it was a rare occasion when you got to go on trips that had to be made by plane. once or twice during the season, however, you got to pick a trip that you wanted to come on and this year you had picked arizona. before ty had gotten drafted, you had never been nor had you ever really wanted to go to the state. after coming to see ty during his first development camp, you had pretty much fallen in love with it and had taken every opportunity to come and visit since.

“your future home,” david chuckles and you roll your eyes. “what? do you know something that i don’t?”

“there’s a lot of things that i can’t talk about, david and those that pertain to my boyfriend’s future career are ones that are at the top of the list. you aren’t getting any insider news from me, buddy,” you point an accusatory finger and he holds his hands up in surrender.  

“you could be my anonymous source?” he suggests, smirking when you flip him off.

it’s relatively quiet for the next half hour until the doors of the bus open and the boys start stumbling on. you close your laptop and leave it on the empty seat that ty usually occupied and stand up, pushing your way to the front. brock pats your head as he passes and you shove an elbow into his side, “dick.”

“he’s in a mood, princess. tread lightly.”

his warning makes you raise an eyebrow. you don’t have time to ask what he meant before ty rounds the corner. shay moves to the side to let you step off of the bus and you send him a grin. you meet ty in the middle, wrapping your arms around his neck, “i‘m proud of you.”

“are you?” he spits. his hands stay glued to his sides and you pull away, dropping your own. “cole’s on his way. wouldn’t you rather see him instead?”

“what are you talking about?”

“you seem to be real fucking close these days. you’re with him more than you’re with me, so is it wrong for me to just assume that you’re fucking him too?” your mouth gapes at his words.

“are you accusing me of cheating on you?” you lower your voice, very aware of his teammates that could definitely hear your conversation. he shrugs his shoulders, crossing his arms over his chest. “i know how you get after losses, but for you to go as far as to accuse me of cheating on you with a member of your team-”

“it’s fucking obvious, y/n. you’re so flirty with each other, sitting next to each other on the plane, and that shit in the locker room. i’m not oblivious.”

“fuck you, dude. i have given up so much for you and the fact that you can stand there and accuse me of doing that to you after everything that we’ve been through over the last five years, makes me wonder if it was even worth it.” you turn on your heel and march towards the bus, leaving him standing there looking shocked. you make your way up the stairs and the bus goes quiet as they stare at you, obviously having heard what happened outside. you swallow, “i’m sorry about that.”

you make your way back to your seat and grab your computer, propping your feet on the empty seat and shrinking against the window. the tears threaten to spill out from your eyes, but you don’t let them. once everyone is accounted for, the bus pulls away from the arena and heads for the hotel.

you run your fingers against your temples, trying to soothe the headache that had developed in the last five minutes. you could feel eyes on you and you look up to find jack sitting in the row of seats beside you. he opens his mouth to speak, but you shake your head, “please don’t.”

you grab your phone and quickly go to your messages, finding david’s contact and shooting your fingers across the screen quickly:

do you still feel like going out??

we have curfew

and after what just happened it doesn’t seem like a good idea

curfew is midnight and it’s not even ten yet. we’ll have a couple hours and after what just happened, going out seems like a great idea

are you in or not? because i’m going even if i have to go alone

let me go to my room first and i’ll meet you in the lobby

-

when you woke up the next morning, you were still tired. you had barely slept and the last thing you remembered before you were able to slip into unconsciousness was the sun slowly starting to peek through the window of your hotel room.

it took a few seconds for it to register that someone was pounding on your door. with a grunt, you throw the sheets away from your body and stumble towards the door. you look out of the peephole and your stomach sinks at who is standing on the other side. you undo the deadbolt and pull it open, “you should not be here.”

“don’t worry, he’s the one who sent me here. he also sent this and,” he pulls out a bouquet from behind his back, “these.”

“that’s not going to make me forgive him,” you shake your head and accept the flowers and the coffee cup from cole anyway, gesturing for him to come inside.

“believe me, we all told him that,” cole takes a seat on the spare bed and you look at him with a confused gaze. he raises an eyebrow, “y/n, you have the entire hockey team behind you. we’ve been giving him hell all night. dom even bunked with brock and jack in protest. also, i’m pretty sure that coach found out and brought him back down to earth, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

“did he-” you can’t even say it.

“no, he didn’t lose the c, but coach was very adamant that what happened was not captain behavior and that he’s on very thin ice,” he pauses for a minute and then grins, “ha, thin ice.”

you shake your head and lean against the desk in the corner of the room, “that’s good then.”

“he accused you of cheating on him and you’re worried about his letter status?”

“you don’t understand, cole,” he looks at you in a way that says ‘well, help me understand.’ you sigh, “we’ve been together since we were sixteen and seventeen years old. we’ve known each other even longer. i’ve watched him work his ass off and sacrifice so much to get where he is. the thought of him losing that over him saying some dumbass thing because he was pissed off breaks my heart in more ways than one. do i think that he’s an absolute asshole right now? absolutely. do i want to look at him? not really. but i still love him, cole. and i always will.”

he looks at you for a second before he pretends to wipe a tear from his eye, “really tugged on the heartstrings there, y/n. love is a crazy thing.”

“indeed it is. now get out of my room. i need to get ready for the day and i’m slightly hungover and hotel breakfast food sounds amazing right now,” you follow him towards the door.

“oh and just so we’re clear,” he shoves his hands in the pockets of his jacket as he faces you, “i made it very clear that you are way too old for me.”

you shove his shoulder, “considering that he’s the only exception for dating someone younger than me, you are way too young for me, cole caufield.”

“glad that we have an understanding,” he holds up his hand and you smack yours against it. with a grin, he makes his way towards the elevator and you close the door behind him.

you take your time getting ready, trying to hide the fact that you were recovering from a little too much alcohol you had practically inhaled at some bar downtown the night before that you couldn’t even remember the name of. you make sure all of your things are gathered and together because you knew that you wouldn’t want to do it when you returned.

you grab the things that you would need for the game and head downstairs. you walk into the conference room that had been set aside for the team and immediately head to grab your food. once your plate was piled high, you turn to find an empty and immediately your eyes lock with his. just by looking at him, you can tell that he hadn’t slept and even if he did, it wasn’t much.

your attention is pulled away from him by a shout of your name. owen is waving you over and shay is pointing at an empty seat, “we called dibs on you this morning.”

“too soon, lindy,” robbie shakes his head as you take the seat between owen and dylan. he looks at you concerned, “you good?”

“don’t worry about me boys. you have a game to win today and that’s what you should be focused on,” you try and distract them but none of them are buying what you’re trying to sell. you twist the cap off your water and take a sip before grabbing your fork, “seriously boys, i appreciate your concern, but i’m okay. i promise.”

“if you want us to beat him up for you, just say the word,” dylan offers and the table agrees. you raise an eyebrow, “we discussed it last night and we also have first dibs on defending your honor if you asked us to.”

“his roommates are next in line,” ryder points his fork at you and you smile.

“i’m glad to know that you would beat up your captain for me, boys.”

“he may be captain, but no one disrespects our y/n and gets away with it. who would give us stickers then?”

“we can’t have anything because of you, shay. she’s more than just the damn stickers.”

three o’clock comes quick and before you know it, you’re making your way down the tunnel to cheer for them as they come out, just as you always did. you clap as they line up in front of you. you avoid looking at him until you feel a tap on your ankle. you look down just in time to see a hockey stick being pulled away. you look up to find its owner staring right back at you, apologetically.

he nods his head, “i love you.”

“i love you too, twenty-one. don’t do anything stupid,” you cross your arms over your chest and give him your best ‘i’m not joking look.’ it was part of the routine that you two had developed over the last couple of years, and even though there was still some obvious tension between the two of you that had yet to be resolved, he hadn’t missed his chance to continue it.

he chuckles right as the announcer booms to the crowd to welcome them to the ice, “no promises.”

you watch as they file out, the cheers for them were not as loud as they were when you were on home ice, but you made sure to scream as loud as always. you and david make quick work of getting to your seats and he wasted no time in sending you a look, “are you-”

“we haven’t talked yet, no. we probably won’t even have time until we’re back home, but just because he’s being an asshole doesn’t mean i love him any less,” you defend yourself and he hums, looking out onto the ice.

when they get in position for puck drop, an uneasy feeling develops in your stomach. you try not to think about it as the puck hits the ice and the game begins, but unfortunately, it didn’t last long.

it was some freshman lineman known for being a menace. he’d been practically on top of ty every time that he got on the ice, shoving him when he didn’t have the puck, almost tripping him once, and of course, the refs were in their own little worlds and hadn’t called a penalty for anything.

eight minutes into the game was when it happened and when it happened, it happened quickly. you barely had time to blink before their gloves were off and their hands were tangled in each other’s jerseys. you stand up, watching as your boyfriend loses the upper hand quickly. in a matter of seconds, his helmet is somehow knocked off and he’s hitting the ice and-

he’s not moving.

“get the fuck up ty,” your hand covers your mouth as the trainers rush out onto the ice after they pull the guy off of him. you can see on the screen that he’s smirking as he’s led off the ice and down their tunnel. david grabs onto your arm as you stumble, “please get up baby.”

“y/n,” he says, but you don’t respond.

you let out a breath that you didn’t know you were holding when ty moves, taking a minute before he gets up with a lot of help from the trainers. you watch as he’s led off the ice and you swallow at the blood on his jersey. you turn towards david, “i have to-”

“go, babe. i can cover this. go check on him,” that was all that you needed before you scoot out of your row and quickly make your way down the stairs.

you wind up outside the locker room where you're stopped by a security guard. you hold up your badge that showed that you had permission to be there, but he gave you a disapproving look as he shakes his head. you pull out your phone, but anna walks out just in time, “anna!”

“i was just coming to get you,” she sighs, glaring at the security guard as he finally lets you pass. she wraps a hand around your arm as she leads you back to the room, “we’re pretty sure he has a minor concussion at least. paul’s giving him a check-up now and he’s going to decide what to do from there.”

“has he said anything?” you ask, mind running wild as it thinks of the worst.

“the only thing he asked for, even when he came to, was he wanted to see his wife. i told him that you weren’t married, but he wouldn’t hear it. it was just ‘my wife, my wife, my wife’ and that’s why i was coming to get you. he said if he has to go to the hospital or anything, he’s not going if you’re not there with him,” she says and you take a deep breath. she squeezes your arm as you stop outside of the closed door, “just don’t be too loud. he’s very sensitive to light and noise right now.”

“of course,” you nod and she opens the door. the lights were dimmed just a little, but you still easily spot him in the middle of the bed. paul stands beside him, checking on him while he sits up. he pulls away from paul’s hands and moves to get up, but you quickly get to his side, placing your hand on his shoulder and grabbing his hand, “don’t move, ty. let him do what he needs to do.”

“baby,” he whimpers and you squeeze his hand, pulling it up to your mouth and pressing a kiss to the skin. throughout the entire process, he doesn’t let go. he answers what he’s asked and when paul moves away, he pulls you close, “baby.”

“i know. i’m sorry,” you wrap your arm around his neck and press a soft kiss to the side of his head when he tucks his face into your neck.

“the good news is that i don’t think that you need to go to the emergency room,” paul announces, leaning against a table backed against the wall. he looks at the two of you, “but i don’t feel comfortable sending you back out there. you’ve got a minor concussion and if they aren’t treated right, they can go bad quick.”

“i know,” he says, squeezing your hip.

“so, what do we need to do?” you ask.

“i’m gonna see if i can get the bus to drop you guys back off at the hotel. he needs rest right now and it’ll be hard to get that in this environment,” he shakes his head, “who are you rooming with, ty?”

he winces at the sound of a muffled goal horn and you answer for him, “mersch.”

“if i give you a list of what to do, do you think that you can watch over him?”

“of course,” you nod and ty shifts.

“great. i know that he’s not supposed to be in your room after certain hours, but i think that coach will agree with me that in these circumstances, it’s necessary,” he says and you hum.

after he tells you the basics and makes sure that you have his phone number if you need something, you pull away from ty, “i’m gonna go and grab you some clothes, okay? i know you don’t want to be in that on the bus.”

“please don’t go,” he pleads, holding onto your hand as you go to step away. “you’re gonna leave me because of what i said.”

you look at paul briefly who looks concerned. at least there was someone who was out of the loop.

you shake your head and rub at his cheek, “no, baby. i’m coming back i promise. i’m just gonna go get your clothes from the locker room that’s right across the hall.”

“i’ll come with you,” he insists, moving to stand up.

both you and paul are quick to push him back down as gently as possible. paul pats his chest, “you can stay here with me big guy. i still have a couple of questions for you.”

hesitantly, he lets your hand go as you promise him once more that you were coming back. you make your way across the hall and find his stall, digging through his things to find some clothes for him that were not his suit.

once you find some sweats and a hoodie, you turn on your heel just as the boys start to file in. jack is the first to speak up, “is he okay?”

“minor concussion and as of right now, he doesn’t need to go to the emergency room, but paul’s pulling him for the game. i think we’re getting sent to the hotel where he’s going to be on mandatory rest until he gets checked on again before we leave tomorrow. so, please, i love you all so much and he does too, but just let him sleep. we don’t want this to turn into something major,” you give them all pleading eyes and they all nod.

you walk back across the hall to find coach talking with paul and ty laying back on the bed. instantly, he reaches out for you. granato looks at you, “you’re going to make sure he’s okay?”

“i’m going to try my best,” you assure him and he nods.

“i trust you a hell of a lot more than i trust mersch when it comes to these types of things,” he looks over to ty and pats his leg, “the bus is taking you two back to the hotel where you’re going to rest, got it?”

“yes sir,” he mumbles, eyes closed.

granato and paul leave the room as ty gets dressed. he does need some assistance and when he’s finally out of his gear, he sighs, “i never realized how extensive all of that was.”

“tell me about it,” you mumble. you look at him, “are you ready? do you think that you can get to the bus?”

“if you’ll go slow. you always walk so fast,” he complains and you grin. he throws an arm over your shoulder and you wrap an arm around his waist. you walk out of the door and he pauses, looking into the locker room, “can i-”

“you’ve probably got a minute or two before they have to go back,” you say and he nods. with help from you, he limps over to the doorway and the room goes quiet.

“boys,” he says, standing in front of you, but reaching out behind him for your hand. you take it and squeeze, “what’s the score?”

“we’re leading with one,” the other ty says and he nods. “you good, cap?”

“minor concussion, nothing i can’t handle. plus, i’ve got a good babysitter for tonight,” he turns to look at you with a grin and you send a small smile back. “win it, boys. don’t worry about me, just win.”

“tough speech, eh?” dom calls and some of the boys chuckle.

“did you miss the part about the concussion?” ty asks and dom rolls his eyes. “love you boys.”

there’s an echo of his admission before you finally began the trek to the bus. you take up a row in the middle, ty taking the seat by the window and resting his head on your shoulder. you trace the veins on his hand as the bus takes you back to the hotel, the entire trip spent in silence.

once you get him inside your hotel room, he wastes no time crawling into bed. he looks at you hopefully, “will you lay with me?”

“let me get out of these jeans,” you find a pair of shorts and a too-big t-shirt that belonged to him at some point before you slip in beside him.

he presses himself to your chest and you card your fingers through his hair, “i’m sorry about what i said, y/n.”

“not now, ty. you need to rest.”

he sighs, but he doesn’t argue. it wasn’t long before his breathing evens out and he goes limp against you, leaving you to your thoughts.

-

“rise and shine,” you mumble, poking at his cheek. he groans, curling his fingers in the fabric of your t-shirt as he shakes his head. “baby, you have to get up every few hours. aren’t you hungry?”

“do you have food?” he asks, not opening his eyes.

“i can order some, but you have to tell me what you want. i can’t read your mind,” he rolls over then, stretching his arms out over his head. “how do you feel?”

“my head hurts and my body’s sore,” he says. “i didn’t break anything, did i?”

“do you think that you did?” you raise your eyebrows, ready to reach for your phone to call paul.

“no, no, i just- i remember hitting the ice and not much else after. i remember when i came to that anna was standing over me and i wanted you, but you weren’t there. i was looking for you in the stands, but i couldn’t find you. i- i thought that you were gone.”

“i was there ty. they just moved our seats tonight because someone had those already. i’m not leaving, i would never leave,” you assure him, running your hand along his cheek. “we don’t need to talk about this right now. you need to eat and rest-”

“i want to talk about it though. it’s been eating me up inside ever since i said it,” he looks at you pleadingly and you sigh. “i was an ass.”

“you were,” you agree and he chuckles. “the thing is, it’s not even really so much that you think that i would do that to you. yes, it obviously hurt, but it’s more so the fact that you would do it in public. the entire team heard you.”

“i know and believe me, i’ve already had my ass chewed out about it by everyone in that locker room, and i mean everyone. you have an entire hockey team behind your back on this one.”

“they told me. they’re also forming a line to beat you up if i needed them to which is nice,” you smile. it’s quiet for a moment before you speak again, “why did you do it? that’s what i want to know.”

“because i was angry. i was angry about the game last night and i saw you and cole. i know you’re just friends and that you’ve been helping him with his school stuff or whatever, but when you were on the plane, you were just so giggly or whatever. than that in the locker room-”

“we were just playing around, ty. he’s literally like my little brother.”

“and i know that. he made it very clear last night that you are too old for him.”

“we have an understanding,” ty presses his lips to your shoulder and you swallow. “i’m still mad at you. i forgive you, but i’m still mad.”

“you have every right to be. what i said was out of line and uncalled for, i’m surprised that you’re talking to me right now,” he chuckles, wincing as he presses his fingers to the side of his head. “oh yeah, that’s why.”

“i can’t give you anything for another couple of hours. ‘m sorry, love,” you push his hair away from his face.

“can i ask you something?” he asks and you hum. “last night, you said that you’ve given up so much to be with me and i don’t doubt that you have, i know that you have, but is there something that you’re not telling me.”

“it’s not important,” you shake your head.

he sits up then, staring down at you, “what is it, y/n?”

“do you- um, do you remember when i applied for that internship for digital marketing the summer after you graduated? after my freshman year?” you ask, pushing yourself up and scooting back against the headboard.

“yeah, you didn’t get it,” he looks at you confused. you look down at your hands and he takes a deep breath, “y/n, you didn’t-”

“they wanted me to fly to new york on draft weekend and i explained that i couldn’t then, but i could on monday. i wasn’t going to miss hearing your name being called or watching you put on that jersey, ty. they told me if i couldn’t be there on that saturday to just not bother,” you explain, “and instead of getting on a plane to new york, i got on one for dallas with you.”

“that would’ve given you so many opportunities, y/n. why would you do that?”

“because i love you and we’d been talking about it for years, you getting drafted. there was no way in hell i was going to miss it,” you shrug. “it’s fine though. i got the hockey gig and now we spend an almost unhealthy amount of time together so-”

“but that would’ve been so much better for you. you could’ve gone anywhere with that. europe, australia, anywhere. working for a college hockey team won’t look as good on job applications as that internship would have.”

“it’s in the past now. don’t worry about it. i’m happy where i am,” he reaches out for your hand and you curl your fingers around his. “wherever you are, that’s where i’m happy. fuck new york, europe, australia, or wherever. wisconsin is good for me right now. me and you, that’s all that matters.”

“it’s me and you, baby,” he mumbles and you smile, “me and you against the world, just like we’ve always said.”

#ty emberson #ty emberson imagine #nhl imagine #hockey imagine #college hockey imagine #wisconsin badgers #arizona coyotes #my work

[heyitsyn]

Manager!Seijoh Part 4

a/n: I LIVE FOR THESE MANAGER SEIJOH ASKS LIKE BLS TAKE OVER MY LIFE

(i originally planned to write the other schools for the manager scenario like theyre already in my drafts with plans and partly written out but like seijoh is my TOP PRIORITY (sorry pls dont hate me) BC THEY ARE MY BOIS)

also, most of my ask box is all for a kyoken ending and kyoken fluff and aoba johsai fluff and im quaking bc this is spurring me to create more aoba johsai imagines and my love for the other schools is just like being overshadowed by our little plant babies :’)

for more seijoh content, check this masterlist out!

anon request: Im the anon who mentioned the chaos about the dating and can I say I love it!!! 🙏🙏 i kinda have this hc for the boys that they fight whenever they go on bus rides, just because they want yn to sit next to them. But she usually sits next to the calmer members?? The reason the boys fight?? She may or may not have fallen asleep a few times, her head on kyo/iwa shoulder. 🥺🥺

LMAO THAT PART JUST REEKED CHAOTIC ENERGY AND SHE WOULD TOTALLY SIT NEXT TO THEM JUST TO SPITE THE OTHERS AND I LOVE THE IRONY LIKE THE MOST AGGRESSIVE LOOKING ARE THE SOFTEST AND CALMEST TOWARDS HER LIKE PLEASE KYOKEN AND IWA ARE JUST LITTLE SOFT BEANS AND DESERVE THE WORLD

(bruh im so soft for iwa and kyo like my best bois and i must write them out IMMEDIATELY bc theyre so uggghhhhhh!!!!!!!)

MY TWO MEN IN ONE GIF GOD HAS BLESSED ME-

oh dear

bus rides,,,,, yep here we go

the team is usually peaceful and civil w each other (minus iwa literally beating oiks up but thats irrelevant information)

like they dont really have fights or have any arguments bc they meet up every saturday to talk about the week and if anybody had any concerns or anything they were mad about since it was like a family meeting

but boy oh boy

when you entered this family,,, arguments and misunderstandings happened once a week

‘no! y/n-chan said she was going to go shopping with me!’

‘um, she already agreed to go to to the arcade w me’

‘wait, she told me we were going to go visit that cafe!’

yes you agreed to do those things w them but you never assigned a date

your attention was something that these boys were always wanting since they only see you during club hours and practices

their jealousy gets really ugly sometimes and the two first years actually get all smug about it 

‘hm, y/n, we still up for studying later?’

you ruffled his hair and smiled up at him

‘yep! we need to set an alarm though or else i’d end up staying after 1 in the morning again’

‘great. cant wait’

kunimi rarely shows any emotion towards his senpais but they couldnt miss the smug smirk that made oikawa grip the volleyball and mattsun holding him back

god hes such a little shite

everyone knows that the first years have a upperhand than them bc of your same grade so the upperclassmen were much more sensitive to spending time with you outside of practice

and they liked to spend that time wisely

when the time for away games come, you weren’t that worried about it

i mean,, why would you when boarding the bus is going to be so early in the morning at like 4 in the morning and theyd be sleeping the whole time so you get peace and quiet

in fact, you were looking forward!

but nope!

jesus took the wheel and said no

instead, you were watching the team members shouting and yelling at each other at the asscrack of dawn

say sike rn

the 2 coaches were actually not there yet so they werent able to help you and whip the boys to order so here you were, bleary eyed and clearly still tired, sighing and rolling your eyes at the fight

‘SHE SITS WITH ME! IM TEAM CAPTAIN! I GET DIBS!’

‘NO! YOU DROOL ON HER AND MESS UP HER CLOTHES! YOU LIKE MAKKI-SENPAI MORE, RIGHT, Y/N-CHAN?!’

now you might be asking me, ‘author-chan, why are they fighting so hard for something as simple as a bus ride?’

well, my young grasshoppers, this is not just a simple bus ride

you are infamous in the team to be a sleeper

no matter what form of transportation, bus, car, any surface, you found yourself in dream land

yall i wish i was like that

the sleep paralysis demon beside my bed says otherwise

they freak out and fight over even a simple touch of affection from you, do you really think they wouldnt fight tooth and nail to being your pillow and freely watching your adorable sleeping face?

these men are fighting as if they were fighting something serious like a world war

lmao with how intensely theyre fighting, it practically is

but there were two players who actually didnt care either way since they only wanted you to be the most comfortable and they werent exactly the most squishiest members

in fact, they were basically all muscle and probably not the most comfortable

NOPE I BELIEVE THAT IWA IS IN FACT ONE OF THE MOST COMFIEST AND BEST PILLOWS IN THE ENTIRE HAIKYUU UNIVERSE

totally not my bias talking or anything

so it was no surprise when they didnt get themselves involved

iwa was already done w them and goes in the bus because mom deserves a nap

naturally, kyo follows the leader and boards the bus after him, leaving the others to fight it out in the school parking lot

you were happy that they were too distracted that they wouldnt notice you sneaking away into the bus and you were slightly disappointed that out of all the seats, kyo had to sit in the one-seater by the front

so you immediately went over to the other person, who was iwa-san, and he was just settling in, pulling out his teal blanket

you blinked at him when he caught you stare but he gently smiled before opening the blanket

‘i was never a fan of window seats anyways’

you happily bounced over to him and you placed your bag at the overhead compartment bc seijoh is bougee and can afford everything before you climbed over him to the seat next to the window

iwaizumi tried to make you as comfortable as he can so he kept the seat divider thing yanno what im talking about? between you

but his eyes widened when you casually pulled it up and snuggled closer to him

youve done this before so he opened his right arm for you to cuddle closer but he was still surprised 

meanwhile,,,

you just closed your eyes with a smile as you pulled the blanket to your chin and practically glomped yourself to iwa

ugh im so jealous of you!!!!!!!!!!

‘hmmmm, youre so warm iwa-san. youre like,,,,, jacob from twilight’

his eyebrow quirked and he smiled, wrapping his arm around you and tightly holding you close

‘oh? the werewolf?’

he felt your head nod

‘mhm. so warm, and strong, yet so gentle and soft’

by now, both your legs were already swung over his lap and head on his chest as you sat sideways

his fingers traced circles around your middle as his other hand was fiddling with your fingers

‘didnt he like mark a little girl?’

‘iwa-san dont talk about that!’

his laugh grumbled his chest and you giggled, trying to become even closer towards his naturally warm chest and inhale his scent

lavender mixed with peppermint

it was such an odd combination from the people you knew and you were immediately drawn to it

thats why you usually wore his jacket rather than your own

he always gets confused as to where it is but you steal it and watch him look for it

you didnt hear that from me though

it didnt take a long time for you to fall asleep and by the time the 2 coaches finally arrived and yelled at the players, they were already late

‘oikawa, i thought youd handle this properly!’

oiks whimpered from the coach’s scolding but apologized then pushed everyone in

the sight in front of them made them both boil in jealousy and squeal in uwus

you, the softest and sweetest and kindest little flower human being, being cuddled up to iwaizumi, the brute and bara arms and the ultra macho strong man, who had his head on top of you

KYAAAAAAAA

even though they knew you were a heavy sleeper and iwa slept like a rock, they still quieted down and silently walked over to their seats, hissing and shushing at anyone who even made the slightest bit of noise

rustle of the bags?

SSSSHHHHHH

seat creaking as they sit down?

SSSHHHHHHHH

they only let this slide bc your sleeping face was just so cute and they didnt have the heart to wake you up

and also face the wrath of titan iwa and be thrown into the atlantic ocean like oikawa did one time

when you finally arrived at the stadium, they waited for a rough 10 minutes just to figure out how to wake you up

they didnt want to wake up iwa first and have him yell at them but they didnt want to wake you up first either

but kyo didnt understand the dilemma and instead just goes to the back where yall were at and he goes to the seat behind you so he could reach you easily and tickles your cheek

the team is just like 👁️👄👁️

your nose scrunches at this tingling sensation until it continues so you open your eyes and finds kyo just smiling down at you

oiks is literally shaking bc he could see the smallest smile on kyo’s face

‘wake up’

with his gruff voice, it sounded like he was ordering you around but you knew he couldnt help it and blinked tiredly at him, giving him a smile of your own

‘hm, hi kyo-san’

you winced at the sudden appearance of the sunlight and that made you fully wake up before flinched at the eyes of the other players

‘hello, everyone’

you said slowly and you sat up, noticing iwa still sleeping

oiks held his breath bc hes been friends w iwa since he was still a baby and he knows that its like waking up a sleeping dragon

‘wait y/n-chan-’

but you didnt listen and poked his nose

‘iwa-san? iwa-san, we’re here’

you cooed and the poking made his eyes flutter open and with his head still tilted to the side, he swore he saw an angel by the way the sunlight hit the back of your head giving you a smiling angel effect

hm, i could get used to seeing this when i wake up

you grinned and when he finally stretched, you sat up stright, waiting for iwa to get up so you could slide out

but kyo was an impatient little bean and just hoisted you out of there and towards him behind the seat

‘come on. i got your bag’

he mumbled and you nodded, letting him hold your hand

lmao wait i forgot the time this is set

this is set during the 2nd inter-high okay? okay

oiks was still complaining at kyo and iwa hogging you but you didnt listen and continued walking towards the entrance, glancing around at the other teams

as usual, oiks and iwa were walking to the front bc yanno, captain and vice-captain, while you and kyo walked at the back, mainly bc you didnt want any player to stray off like kindaichi did last time and look for him for hours

kyo gripped your hand and you turned your head to look at him to see his eyes glaring at anything

you chuckled which made him look down at you, the glare slowly disappearing

‘hm, kyo-san, you should really invest in contacts. it doesnt matter if wearing glasses makes you feel like a nerd bc you still need it to see’

he scrunched his nose when you scolded him and he was about to retort when him and the team caught the whisperings of the nearby teams

‘oh my god, seijoh and the beautiful manager’

‘how old is she? i hope shes at least a second year’

‘ngh id tap that’

IM BLEEHHHHH

‘is he her boyfriend? if so, the competition isnt that hard then’

kyo growled and was about to lunge at the yellow jacketed boy but you held him back, also worriedly looking at your boys

‘seijoh, down’

you ordered and they shrunk back, opting to just glaring heatedly at the other teams

you could still feel kyo shaking at rage to them sexualizing you but your hands squeezing him and the other hand rubbing his arm helped him control it

‘dont make a scene, kyo-san. its your first competition since your suspension, right? and you love volleyball so please keep it in. i can protect myself’

you whispered but he let go of your hand and wrapped his arm around your shoulder, pulling you close and continuing to glare at everyone as if he was asserting dominance

‘if they touch you-’

‘ill kick them between the legs, i know. you told me already’

you teased and he hummed in agreement

when they played, they were at ease bc the two coaches were there and they were also protective of you like their own so they wouldnt have to worry about someone to go after you

however,,

as they were warming up for the second game, you had to quickly fill up their water bottles bc they were already tired and dehydrated so you needed to fill them up

and they were all busy and you didnt want to bother them and you were going to be quick anyways so you just took the case of bottles and ran to the nearby water fountain

you were hurriedly filling them up and at your last bottle, you were about to cap it when you felt a presence behind you

he stood close and his arms snaked around your waist but you hurriedly tightened the lid and whacked him at the head with the heavy bottle

you continuously hit him and kicked him between the legs before hitting him again

‘DONT TOUCH ME AGAIN!’

you shouted and iwa and kyo were watching from the end of the hallway, panting from running so fast since they heard your shouts

okay a little flashback,

kyo was watching you from his perepharal vision and when he went up to spike, he took his eyes off of you for ONE DAMN SECOND and you nyoomed out of there

when he didnt see you anywhere, he wildly looked around and this caught the attention of the vice-captain

‘oi! kyotani! whats wrong?’

‘y/n. where is she?’

they took off running and the team was just like what

then they heard shouts and kyo knew it was you

his mad dog senses

hehe get it

he as about to tackle the guy but he saw you beat him with a water bottle and eventually taking another bottle and kicking him and hitting him with the two waters

the player cowered and scrambled to get away bc wow this girl was psycho

um no sir, she was protecting herself from hormonal testosterone filled children like you

‘YEA GO RUNNING! COME TO ME AGAIN AND ILL BEAT YOU UP HARDER! DISGUSTING! TRASH! GROSS! SCUM!’

maybe it was because the last time you were touched without consent was when you got bullied but you were definitely fighting harder and more aggressive at protecting yourself

you turned around and the rage from your eyes disappeared when you saw the two boys there

‘hey iwa-san! kyo-san! sorry, i needed to fill the water bottles!’

you grinned and placed the bottles back to the case before lugging it up

my god their eyes were shining

yep, thats my girl

when their games were over for the day, they made their way to the exit where the bus was at and you and kyo stayed behind again

you caught the eye of the guy and his team and you and kyo glared at him, both wearing a sadistic smile

UGH YALL ARE COUPLE GOALS I SWEAR

kyo even went up to him and the team shrunk leaving the guy standing there in fear at the look on his face

‘listen, i dont like it when my baby girl gets touched by filthy shite like you. so do it again, and ill chop those damn fingers of yours, got it?’

lmao he’ll come for your ankles

the guy just nodded in fear while his team were cowering at the back

you chuckled and pulled kyo to go bc as much as you liked watching this, you needed to go to the bus to go home

‘cmon, kyo, i want to go. im getting a headache from the smell of garbage’

he shifted his gaze to you and sent you a soft smile

‘okay. lets go’

hah you thought it ends there?

kyo is a dramatic little shite so he made a show of grabbing your waist and kissing your temple before flashing them a finger

oiks was tapping his foot impatiently at the bus and when you and kyo emerged from the entrace, he was about to snatch you up but kyo stood in front of you

‘EH?! KYOKEN-CHAN, I WANT TO SIT WITH Y/N-CHAN!’

‘no’

he said and didnt say anything else as he pulled you to the bus and into a two seater where you sat at the window again and he sat on the outside

‘hah? you want to sit next to me, kyo-san?’

you teased but he flushed red, hurriedly hiding in your neck

you laughed and brought a hand up to caress his nape

‘mhm’

he mumbled and you pursed your lips to hide the squeal

‘youre so cute, kyo-san’

‘not cute’

‘very cute’

‘no’

‘AM I CUTE Y/N-CHAN?’

‘SHUT UP SHITTYKAWA’

kyoken got away from your neck and went to hit the captain 

oikawa screamed

a/n: my first week of school was so weird bc we only have like 2 days and the other days are just free days bc we havent really done anything except talk about our classes but im just hating this system like ugh i actually want to go to school bc ya girl is going to a tech school and this 2-day a week is not the vibe

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu!! imagines #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu!! headcanons #aoba johsai #aoba johsai x reader #aoba josai x reader #aoba josai #seijoh #aoba johsai imagines #aoba josai imagines #seijoh imagines #seijoh manager #haikyuu manager #haikyuu!! manager #aoba johsai manager #aoba josai manager #seijoh x reader #aoba johsai headcanons #aoba josai headcanons #seijoh headcanons #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu!! fluff #aoba johsai fluff #aoba josai fluff #oikawa tooru

[yourstreetserenade]

Here's the Glee spin off that should've happened.

Post series, Brittany, Santana and Mercedes reunite to try to make their trio a thing. They were magic as the Troubletones and they want to recapture that. With an independent album in their back pocket they decide to take the show on the road, grassroots style.

With Sam on board as their driver/tour manager and Sugar along for the ride as their mascot who can conveniently throw money at problems and obstacles along the way, the gang travels the country in a rundown tour bus. Stopping in big cities and small towns, encountering all kinds of people with all kinds of perspectives, playing any and every venue that will have them in order to build an audience and maybe just maybe catch a lucky break.

It's called New Directions, because they're constantly on the road with the tour bus as the main set. The town and place change every episode, sometimes they book a mall gig, other times Sam books them at a tiny hole in the wall country bar (which isn't their style but they play it anyway and you bet your ass Santana gets thrown from a mechanical bull after betting Sugar she could handle it) or a small festival ("what the hell do you mean you booked us at a pig festival, Sam?!" --- "for your information,Santana, this is a big deal, this is the biggest competitive pig show competition in the state!" ...listen I just learned about the tv show Pig Royalty and I am obsessed okay) but like, imagine any ridiculous setting or event possible and plant your characters there. Comedy.

Brittany and Santana are happy and in love and would primarily work as the stable, solid couple within the group. They encounter minor speedbumps in their relationship but it's always solved with communication and compromise as they learn what it means to work together and live together as adults. They're crazy in love and deeply committed.

Meanwhile Mercedes and Sam would continue their will they-won't they relationship from the show. Sam is in love with her and Mercedes definitely has feelings for him but insists that for their careers sake they keep their relationship professional. She has big dreams and making them come true is her priority. Sam loves her in silence, and if he can't be with Mercedes then all he wants to do is help her dreams come true.

Of course every few episodes they share a moment or two where it's very clear they both love each other. Almost kisses, long intimate talks with Sam in the driver's seat and Mercedes in the passenger seat ("mind if I hang up here with you for a minute? Santana and Brittany are getting up to something in their bunk and I'm really not trying to hear those noises if you know what I mean").

As they work towards stardom they tour the nation, crossing off big cities and small towns, sometimes encountering bigotry or prejudice, sure, but also sometimes touching someone with their music and their message. Occasionally they even book a gig in a town where an old friend now resides, in one episode they meet up with Mike, in another episode they they reconnect with Quinn and so on. While the spin off would primarily be set on the road you'd have those brief guest spots for OG glee clubbers to make appearances.

Like, this world is so clear and crisp in my head. This would have been a totally feasible spin off imo.

#brittana #santana lopez #brittany pierce #mercedes jones #sam evans #samcedes #im just mad that this doesn't exist

[maplecornia]

chapter 18

𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱: 3.43K

𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔯𝔢: romance | slice of life | fluff | angst | bts x female!reader | ot7

𝔰𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: You watched them from the sidelines ever since you were a young teenage girl. Now you’re grown up, they’ve returned after 2 long years and everything has changed. What happens when you pull back the mask and find the darkness within? What happens when you see that they’re broken?

𝔞/𝔫: why does tae look so precious in the banner ;-; i cri

𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰: cliffhangers | angst | fluff | slight mentions of self hatred | depression | mental health illness | self harm | occurs in the year 2024 | set in a timeline where BTS went to the military together | slight language

tags: @kookaine | @fangirl125reader | @kookiebbyxx | @taradevonne | @rae-bear |@mangminnie | @pixiekooo

Looking over to your hands so close to the other, Taehyung smiles before wrapping his fingers tighter around yours, intertwining them in an unbreakable bond.

The action sends your heart flying and you snap your gaze to him. He notices your sudden change in demeanor and tries to cover it up by turning to the window.

"What?" he murmurs, his ears tinted pink. "You looked cold."

You can feel your face heating up and you refuse to let him see. You aren't some little fangirl fawning over her idol, not right now. At this moment, you are the lucky person who gets to be so close to someone she admires.

Right now, you want to be the random stranger who bumped into him.

Right now, you want him to see you for you, and you to see him for him.

“I’m sorry, but we’re nearing our destination, do you want to come in to get it or should I just go instead, sir?” Minhyuk asks, breaking the silence and Taehyung shakes his head slightly.

“What have I said about calling me, sir? It’s like having my father call me, mister or even worse, hyung. Please just call me Taehyung, Minhyuk.” He corrects him, and Minhyuk gives him a slightly condescending look in the rearview mirror.

“If you would just pull up in front, I’m sure they’ll give it to you so we should be fine,” Taehyung responds, and Minhyuk nods as he directs the car into much more steady traffic, nearing a market area. You don't recognize it, and as you stare out the window you don't think you’re anywhere near the apartment complex where you're staying. Biting your bottom lip a bit in anxiety, you look at Taehyung again.

He’s staring at the window, like you were, smiling faintly at the familiar sights and people roaming the streets beside you. Each one is busy, each one has their priorities, their life. Neither is the same, everyone is different from the rest. Much like the snowflakes which fall every winter. He enjoys the uniqueness of every single person, how they act, what they do. He finds it fascinating how some people can be so alike and yet so different.

Perhaps that's why he enjoys photographs so much. He’s able to capture those moments within a small photo. That, to him, is one of the most beautiful things in the world.

At your soft tap on his shoulder, he breaks his gaze away from the beauty of life before him and turns to you. He raises his eyebrows a bit in surprise, his mouth doing the slight downturn that it has always done whenever he is confused or curious.

“What is it?” he asks, tilting his head a bit as you look at him, pulling your hand off his shoulder. A bit nervous that Minhyuk would be offended at your question, you glance at him to make sure that he’s not paying attention. Once you’re sure, you beckon Taehyung to lean down a bit so that you can whisper in his ear. He does, but only a mere fraction of an inch.

You roll your eyes, beckoning with more ferocity, and he goes another inch to try and hear you. Letting out an exasperated sigh, you drop your hand and give him a look. He chuckles a bit before smiling and whispering sorry. Then he leans down….another fragment of an inch!

Tired of his shenanigans, you reach out and pull on the neck of his shirt fiercely, pressing your lips tightly together. He gags a bit but laughs once he’s in your safe space. At your look, however, he cuts himself off and coughs to chase his chuckles away.

“Okay, okay, okay I’m sorry. Now, what did you want to say?” he apologizes as though fearing for his life, and you have to hide your smirk before asking the question.

“Is Minhyuk going the right way?” you ask, softly. So softly that you’re not even sure if he heard you. He’s not sure of it either, and crinkles his brow a bit in amusement, not sure if he heard you right.

“I’m sorry, I didn't quite catch that last bit.” Your face falls at his comment and pouting a bit, you poke his cheek. He mouths an Ow and you roll your eyes before tugging on his ear a tiny bit. He dutifully leans his ear towards you, ignoring the slight shiver that runs down his spine as your breath tickles his eardrums, your lips mere inches away from it. You take a breath before continuing and repeating your question.

“Does Minhyuk know where to go? That is, is he going the right way?” as soon as you whisper the question, you pull back. He wears a pondering expression for a moment before registering your question and understanding what you were trying to ask. As he does, his eyes light up in a little aha moment and his mouth opens slightly. It quickly grows into a soft chuckle as he shakes his head and nods, grinning broadly.

“Yes, he does. I texted him on the bus to bring me some food, so he’s just going to pick up what I ordered. I mainly got it for Jimin, but now that I’m late….” He responds and you nod, realization sparking in your chest as you stare a bit embarrassed at the car seat in front of you.

“Now that I think about it, though, I’m going to need your address.” He says absentmindedly and you turn to him. At your look, he glances at you out of the corner of his eye and smirks a bit, amused. “I mean, I promised you I’d take you home, right? How can I do that if I don’t know where you live?”

You open your mouth, wanting to say that it’s not where you live, it’s not your home, it’s just a place where you're staying right now.

But then you remember.

It is your home now. It has to be your home now. This is where you live, this is where your life will be. This is where you have to stay from now on. You don’t know when you’re going to go back home. You don’t know if you can even call that place home anymore. All you know is that this, right here, right now. This is home. You live here, in Seoul. You aren't visiting, you aren't a tourist. You have a job, you have an apartment, you have your responsibilities.

Then again, If that’s all true…

Then why is it so hard to forget what you thought you could leave behind?

The car shakes a bit as Minhyuk pulls to a stop, having reached his first destination. As he pulls up in front of the restaurant, despite what Taehyung advised, he unbuckles and declares that he’ll be right back.

If he expects anyone to hear, he is out of luck.

At one glance between you staring off into space, your hands absentmindedly playing with your string, and Taehyung waiting expectantly for an answer; Minhyuk slowly pulls himself out of the car, closing the door securely behind him.

“I know when I'm being a third wheel…” He grumbles under his breath as he darts through the rain to receive the food order Taehyung gave.

Beside you, Taehyung, growing impatient, waves his hand in front of your blank expression, and you blink awake from your reverie.

“I’m sorry, what did you need again?” you ask him, your wandering mind forgetting just what it was you were talking about to get on the topic of your homesickness. He opens his mouth to answer you after he gives you a strange look, but you jolt sitting up straight in your seat as you remember on your own.

“Oh! You needed my address right?” Tae nods slowly, smiling a bit perplexedly as you turn to your bag and pull your phone out. You need to get working on learning your address now that you are the only one living there; you're lucky that in your rush this morning you didn't forget your key to the apartment, but what can you say? You haven't been in this city for more than 24 hours, it's ridiculous to imagine that you have it memorized by now.

Making a small note in the back of your mind to accomplish that tiny task, you pull up the address you saved in your Google Maps, and turn to Taehyung, holding out your phone to him. He drops his hand from his face and takes it out of your hand. Shaking the strange incomplete feeling that erupts in his chest as he reads your address, he starts a bit.

“I know this place.” He murmurs and you turn to him, an intrigued look on your face. You peer over his shoulder as best as you can, trying to make sure you didn't pull up the wrong address. Once you see the name of it, however, you know that there’s no mistake.

“You do?” you venture, tapping his arm a bit to see the screen better. At the tap, he pulls back and watches as you peer at the screen, your face one of peculiarity. “When did you visit Jaejin?”

At the words, Taehyung snaps his fingers and pulls the phone closer to him, you pulling back out of surprise. He zooms in a bit on the apartment and smiles proudly before looking at you fiercely. You flinch, a bit confused, but he doesn't seem to care. His broad smile is all that can be seen and the brightness in his eyes nearly blinds you from their light.

“That’s right! This is Jaejin’s apartment isn't it?” you nod mutely, looking at him as though he had a screw loose, but he doesn't notice. He turns back to the screen and sighs with nostalgia.

“I remember now, he hosted one of RM’s birthday parties there! Besides the one that we celebrate together with ARMY, Jaejin wanted to do something special for him. He talked with BTS and got together every one of Namjoon hyung’s friends to attend it. It was a huge surprise, and he even managed to get some GOT7 members to attend. TXT was there as well. Jackson liked it, I remember.” His eyes getting that distant look eyes to tend to get when you talk about good times from the past, he smiles faintly as he turns to you.

At that moment, it’s as though he’s sharing that memory with you. You can hear the music, you can feel the joy and laughter, it’s almost as though you were there yourself. A soft feeling of love, friendship, trust, and loyalty fills your heart, and you feel the lump in your throat turn.

Those are feelings that you left behind, feelings you miss even now.

“It seems so long ago now.” His voice is soft, and in the back of his throat, there is a guttural sound as though he is struggling to keep down a rise of emotion.

After a moment, Taehyung clears his throat and raises his head, turning to you and returning your small smile. Just as he does, Minhyuk opens the door, setting two brown paper bags filled with food and beverages on the seat next to him.

Taehyung lets out a loud but clear sigh shaking himself a bit as though that will erase the loneliest sorrows.

“Ahh….if I’m being honest, I’m still trying to get used to the fact that you are his replacement now.” He remarks before tapping Minhyuk on the shoulder. Startled, you blink in shock, staring at him as he shows Minhyuk the address, and Minhyuk proceeds to save it.

How did he know you were going to be Namjoon’s assistant? How did he even know you were working at BigHit? You certainly didn't tell him, and you know you didn't run into him when you were at the building. You would have remembered that, just as you remembered the bumpy encounters with Jungkook and Namjoon.

So how? How did he know that?

It takes a moment but once he has everything situated in the front of the car, and secure, Minhyuk pulls out of the restaurant area and back into traffic. Taehyung leans back in his chair and hands you your phone. Catching sight of your face, he raises an eyebrow.

“Are you okay--” he begins, but as soon as you hear his voice, you turn on him, startling him to silence.

“How did you know I was replacing Jaejin?” At your question, Taehyung’s smile fades as though he had said something wrong. Something he hadn't meant to say. He licks his lips nervously, turning away and clearing his throat.

“Jimin told me.” It’s a simple answer, but a careful one and you wonder just what exactly he’s trying to hide. You don't think the answer is a lie, but it seems to you that he’s tiptoeing around something, trying to be extra careful with his next words.

He doesn't want you to know, not just yet.

“How did Jimin know?” you ask him dubiously.

How do BTS know who you are even before you've had a chance to meet them yourself? You knew that Jaejin had a pretty important job in BigHit and was involved, but he never told you it would be like this.

“He got it from Namjoon.” He explains. When he notices your opening your mouth to ask another question, he cuts you off by pressing his finger against your lips to shut you up.

“Hyung was going crazy all morning because you didn't show up on time, it's like he was afraid you fell off the face of the earth or something.” At the mention, you grow a bit sad and resigned. You feel terrible for doing that to Namjoon. Taehyung reaches forward, at the sight of your sadness, wrapping his hand around yours as a sign of comfort.

“Don't worry, though. I'm sure Joonie is alright now, he was just being a bit paranoid.” He reassures you, smiling softly in your direction and you sigh before nodding, not quite believing him but doing the best you can. Once Tae is sure you won’t fade into yourself again, he continues, reaching into his back pocket to fish for his phone.

“Anyway, Namjoon was getting worried. He sent out a picture of you so that we would be on the lookout for you in case we saw you come in or whatever. That way he would know when you arrived and could see you as soon as possible.” Taehyung continues, pulling up his messages and scrolling through until he finds Jimin’s name.

“This was the picture he gave us, and that’s how I know.” He turns the phone around to you. After a moment's hesitation, you peer closely at the screen.

It takes you a moment to register just what exactly the picture is, but once you do, your eyes widen and you give a slight start of surprise. Your cheeks already rising with the feverish heat of embarrassment, you reach for the phone to steal it from Taehyung. He pulls it away from you just in time and holds it out of your arms reach. You let out a muffled aggravated growl as you reach for it, practically almost climbing over Tae until your seatbelt locks up and you are forced back.

“Taehyung!” you cry out fumbling over his body as he continues to dart the phone out of arm's reach.

Curse your tiny arms.

“Give it to me! Let me delete that!!” he laughs at your protest, and if you weren't so mad, perhaps that laugh would have made you laugh too.

Jaejin will die when you see him next.

“No! I like the chipmunk version of you better.” Taehyung snorts, staring at the photo with adoration.

“See? The little chippie thinks she can fit that huge bite in her mouth.” He remarks as you give him the death stare. He turns back to you, the widest smile on his face, but the glittering playful malice clear in his eyes.

“She couldn't do it.” He says, pouting in mock pity. Narrowing your eyes, you lunge forward once more and he laughs, dodging your attack for the second time.

“For your information, that was in the midst of me fitting it! I was able to do it in the end!” you grunt as you stretch as far as you can to reach the phone that he holds high above his head.

It’s not fair! How come his arms get to be so long?

“Now….let…..me….delete it!” you growl through gritted teeth.

Taehyung shakes his head as he scoots farther away from underneath your grasp, and lets you fall on the bench face first. You stay there for a moment, your chin resting on the leather padding. Smirking, he flicks your forehead, and that's when you get up, lunging for the phone.

After a few more moments of this, it somehow ends up with you stretched across the bench, on your back, your head on his lap. He dangles the device above your face, incessantly teasing you as though you were a child. Once, he even touches it to the point of your nose and when you swipe for it, he pulls it away.

“It’s not fair.” You murmur, pouting as you cross your hands over your chest. He looks down at you, fondly, dropping his hand and the phone with it on the bench next to him.

Biting his bottom lip, he opens his mouth to say something, but Minhyuk interrupts by stopping the car abruptly. Taehyung glances up, and you bolt out of his lap at the motion, looking around to try and identify where you are.

As you peer out of the tinted windows and Minhyuk turns around in his seat to look at the pair of you, you realize.

You're home.

Tae peers out the window to see if it's still raining, as you begin to pull apart the makeshift compress on your ankle. Without Taehyung's help, you're going to need your shoe.

Tae requests Minhyuk to hand him your coat just as you lay the last wrapping on the bench next to you and pull on your wedge. It doesn't hurt when it’s around your ankle. To make sure, you test your strength, leaning on your foot with as much weight as your able. The pressure you put on it is still painful, but bearable enough to walk to your apartment room. Zipping up your wedge, you turn to Taehyung and find him looking at you with concern.

“Does it hurt?” he asks, and you shake your head.

“No, you did a great job.” You reply, and he smiles to himself before situating your coat, opening it so you would be able to easily put it around your shoulders. Taking a deep unsteady breath and licking your lips a bit, you let out a small sigh.

“Thank you.” You say in hushed tones, and he pauses from what he’s doing to look at you in surprise. You hesitate before continuing, receiving the coat from his open arms and sliding it on around your shoulders. “I never thanked you for helping me before. So thank you, I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there to help me out.”

At his silence, you secure your coat around your body and pull your satchel off of the floor, hauling it on your shoulder before you leave. You wait a moment for him to say something if he will. When he doesn't, staring at you in a frozen shock, you chuckle to yourself before opening the door and letting in the once muffled noise of the storm.

“Goodbye, Kim Taehyung.” You say to him, smiling kindly over your shoulder, something to which he responds with a hard swallow as though preparing himself to speak, but you don't see that. You have already turned and have stepped your good foot out of the door before he stops you, calling you back.

“Wait!” he calls, and you turn around, leaving one foot outside, and angling yourself using your other foot as an axis. Slowly, he reaches out and takes your hand within his own, pulling it up to his lips and pressing a soft kiss along your knuckles. You suck in a sharp breath as he does, your heart aching.

“You’re welcome.” He whispers as he lowers your hand and pulls away. “I won't forget today.”

And neither will I.

𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔢: we coming to the end of the rainy day pretty soon

chapter 19 here

check the Infinite Stars masterlist for more chapters

check my BTS masterlist for other BTS content

check out my masterlist for other kpop fanfics

#{infinite stars} updated! #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts #fanfic #fanfiction #fanfiction series #bangtan #bangtan sonyeondan #kim taehyung #ot7 #ot7 fanfic #bts ot7 #bts ot7 fanfic #wattpad #wattpad writer #ao3 #ao3 writer #bts x reader #bts x female!reader #writer #bts fluff #bts angst #fluff #angst #series #kpop fanfic #kpop fanfiction #kpop

[kryptored]

Bahaghari (Rainbow)

A recommendation: listen to "1 Hour of Ethereal Remix by A.Krishna (Claire De Lune, Once Upon a Dream, Arabesque, Reverie....)" by crachead on Youtube. Specifically, a part of this fic was written side-by-side with one of the songs in the list. If you have the time, as soon as you get to "It sounds like…", switch to "Once Upon A December" from Anastasia, which starts at 9:07. This only lasts for the entire paragraph, but I hope I was able to write the mood well enough for you to enjoy.

Late happy birthday (chapter) fic for Fran.

AO3

Chapter 2: kahel (orange)

6:30pm and the sun is setting. The number of boarding passengers has slowly dwindled to a trickle, leaving buses partly full on a late Wednesday afternoon. Luka boards the bus just as the sun has painted itself with soft shades of oranges among the reds and yellows. And as a tinge of pink starts bleeding from the puffs of red, the sky starts reminding him of peaches that he now yearns to bite into. He enters the bus and sees passengers evenly spread out among the seats of the vehicle. He makes way to stand near a bus stanchion and grabs onto it, not too tired to stay up on his feet for the whole ride. The bus lifts itself up from the road and drives off to its next stop.

Luka’s eyes settle among the passengers, a habit that he has come to do to pass the time when left without a guitar to play with. He always has the option to use his phone hiding in his back pocket, but decides to rest his eyes from the device for at least the rest of the ride home.

On the other side of the bus, seated at one of the priority seats, is a mother in a créme-coloured hijab holding onto a baby stroller, a smile on her face as she coos at her sleeping baby. He makes eye contact with the mother, offers her a small smile, and receives one back from her. Just a row behind the seats across from him is an elderly couple sharing a bag of pretzels, and when they meet eyes with him, offer the bag towards him. He raises an open hand and shakes his head to turn down their generous offer, smiling again to make it seem that he appreciates it nonetheless. In the seat adjacent to them is a sleeping Filipino lady, her head leaning against the window, her hands hugging a backpack to her chest and still in her light pink scrub suit. At the very back, there sits a group of two black teenage girls and a boy, huddling around a magazine. When they look up and meet his eyes, the girls nervously giggle and the boy gives him an awkward smile (he suspects from embarrassment), before lowering their heads back down onto the magazine. He lets out a small chuckle at their antics, before turning to the lady sitting just a few seats in front of them, a bag seated right beside her.

She sits beside the window, where the orange hue passes through the glass and frames her face with the honeyed glaze of the late afternoon sun. Her head is turned and looking out the window, and wisps of her stray hair tenderly brush against the skin of her cheek, before she tucks them behind her ear. When she closes her eyes as the bus passes by where the sun is still too bright, she tilts her head just so, as if basking under the remaining warmth that the star has to offer before the moon takes its place with the evening chill. From Luka’s standpoint, her dark hair now also burns into something close to auburn.

Luka knows that staring might not be the best thing to do, especially when there are strangers around him to call him out, but it is almost impossible to look away when she pulls him in without doing much. And when she smiles at something outside, something switches in his head and he hears music start to play.

It sounds like distant piano keys echoing from wall to wall, ringing from one ear to another. It starts slow, before each note starts chasing one after the other. The view from the outside blurs, while the music in his head becomes clearer and a little louder. It continues to echo and echo the longer he watches her hair fight for its freedom behind her ear, and the spotlight on her cheek makes the piano a little louder in his head. It drops to a lower note when the sun disappears, but picks its pace up once again as her eyes remain elsewhere but his. The bus increases its pace on its side of the road, and as it slows down to a stop, the notes begin to hesitate. The keys are more drawn out and return to echoing, to ringing, to nothing but a tinkle in the distance. They return to their home, somewhere in the corner of his head, and he is left with silence as he stands dumbfounded by her.

As soon as he sees her head turning towards him, Luka looks away immediately, afraid to give her the wrong impression, and fumbles with one hand to take his phone out. He only gives her a few peeks every now and then, until he hears the sound of someone pulling or pressing on the stop button. The bus slows and switches to the right lane, and Luka sees her rise from her seat, grab hold of her bag, and get off at her stop. He looks from behind the bus windows, drinking in the sight of her and ingraining every detail he can see into his mind, and as she walks into the pavement where there is more light from the setting sun, he can’t help but think that orange might be his new favourite colour.

He thinks to himself that if he keeps looking, maybe she might notice and look at him. He wants her to see him. He wants to see more of her, in case he won’t be able to anymore.

The bus lifts and starts rolling forward, and he keeps staring.

He keeps starting hoping she looks back.

She never does.

He lets out a disappointed sigh and stares out of the window the entire time before getting off his stop.

But he sees her again and again and again for about a month. It takes him another to finally get her name.

Marinette.

Love my work and have some spare change? Here's my ko-fi :) .

#lukanette #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #pro lukamari #ml fanfic #buwan ng wika prompt series #tagalog words

[nachohypno]

Pine’s Football Jocks (Rewritten!) - Ch. 6

Our team won! I saw it all, I’ve never been really interested in football but it felt kind of amazing this time!

I was mostly focusing on Mike, to check out how he played. And if the practice I saw a few weeks ago worked as a comparison, the ‘get very focused’ order did a little bit of help. He seemed pretty excited once the time was over. I couldn’t stick around much there, though. I had to go to the locker room.

This part is kind of decisive. Coach Mark is going to make the whole team go to the locker room for a little pep talk. But in reality, I’m going to be here and try to enslave them all in one go, just like I did an hour ago with the rival team.

The rival team would be here in any second now, so I had to be quick.

Slowly, the local team started entering the locker room, and I was behind some of the middle lockers, to avoid being seen so easily.

After they were all in, the coach came in and stood by the exit. I came out of my hideout, trying to avoid freaking out. I did it great last time, now it had to be the same, right?

I mean, I already caught what seemed to be the hardest fish of the tank. The rest were mostly easy-going, I think.

“Very great work, guys. As a little reward, I asked a special guest of ours to come and say a few words. You may start now, kiddo.” The coach started, and all the faces turned to me. I looked at Mike on the back, and he seemed to be the most confused of them all. My three current slaves: Garrett, Brent and Mark, all seemed to have small smiles, like they knew what was coming.

“So… I think you guys know me already. Pine here, and…” I really didn’t want to enslave Mike. Should I tell him to ignore me until I leave?

That would be weird. Guess I can take him and have him, I dunno, play around the coach’s house. “Ehem, this may sound weird, but here it goes… You all want to do everything I tell you to do. That is because you realize I’m your master, and you have to do everything your master tells you to do”

‘Damn, I’m a kinky weirdo’ came to mind, as I watched the fruit of my work. Slowly, all the jocks in the room (Including my best friend) showed dumb smiles and glassy eyes.

“Yeees, master Pine…” They answered, like mindless drones. It felt good, like I finally achieved something really great. I mean, yeah! The whole team seemed to be under my control! That was big, right?

At that moment, Mark seemed to notice something and turned around. The other coach was behind him! The man, a guy around his late thirties, I would say around Mark’s size, but my guy is pretty much bigger. He still seemed fit though, wearing a simple t-shirt and some jeans, a cap on his head and a whistle around his neck.

“Yo, man. My guys wanted to pass by and congratulate your team on the victory.” Then he noticed me, still on top of the bench. “You guys were in the middle of something? We can leave and come back in a few minutes… We got a lot of time, honestly.”

“Actually, you should stay. Our guy here was giving out an amazing speech, you should stay and listen” Coach Mark pulled him in and made him face me, trying to seem as unsuspicious as possible.

“You’re the coach, right? May I ask your name?” I asked, as the last members from the rival team entered the room. They seemed to know what was going on too, and the little smiles returned to their faces too.

“Uh… Darren. Why do you ask?” The man asked, really confused at what the hell was going on.

“Well, Darren. You just gotta catch up with the rest, okay? Everyone around you just wants to give up control for tonight, and you really want to do the same. You really want to do what I tell you, isn’t that right?” I tried to ease him up for a bit. I mean, I already had all the pieces of the game in place, and he was just the only one left!

“Whut…? Uh…” Was the only answer I received from Darren. His eyes were glassy already, but he just didn’t answer. May be a good time to push my orders even further, I thought.

“Don’t worry, coach. Your team is quite happy tonight, my team is quite happy tonight. They just want to celebrate today’s game like good obedient boys for me. And you want to be a good obedient boy too, okay?”

A slow nod, as his mouth twisted into a dumb little smile.

“And for that, you have to realize that I am your master, and you are my good obedient slave. Isn’t that right, coach?” Honestly, I loved this. The sensation of being in control, of ‘nothing can possibly go wrong, I’m leading this!’ is addictive.

“Yeah, master… That’s right…” He sighed, like he felt pleasure by just letting those words out. And thus, my plan was almost complete.

I patted his head, like he was a dog. “Very good boy! And for the next part…” I walked back to the bench and stepped up.

“Okay! So… First things first, lift your hands up if you have to return home after the game. We’re going to throw a little party and it may take a good while…” No hands went up, surprisingly. That was better, it meant I could have the 24 guys at the last phase! “Awesome! Let’s head to the school guys these guys came on, shall we?”

A loud “Yeah, master!” resonated through the locker room, and the rival team left first.

There was actually a small plan to avoid drawing suspicion. First, the new guys would have to go to the bus, me going with them. And as soon as they were all in, the coach included…

I climbed the stairs and looked at the bus driver. “Hey there! My name’s Pine.” He looked at me from the corner of his eyes, while he read a book in silence. I would think that was rude, but the guy just wanted to read. It was understandable.

“Not going to bother you for a long bit, I just need you to zone out for now and do exactly as I tell you to do…”

After that, I ordered him to draw a few streets away, where the local football team would be waiting.

Some of the guys would have to stay standing, because there weren’t that many seats. But after a few minutes, the bus was filled and we settled our way to coach Mark’s house.

-----

I was excited. We arrived finally, and the jocks were already marching in towards the backyard. I still needed some time to get ready, but everything would come perfectly in time. My plan was going great!

I headed inside the house, Garrett following me closely. It was nice to have a sidekick when it comes to carrying out a plan and all, someone to talk to about all that’s going on.

“What’cha got in there?” Gary asked, after I took my bag off and started taking off stuff. A school tank top, the coach’s championship rings, sunglasses and the necklace I took from him.

“I was thinking I should wear the part; you know? Just hoping I don’t look ridiculous…” I mumbled, as I took my tee off and put on the tank top. It looked awful on me, no muscles to display nor anything. ‘Whatever,’ I thought ‘I’ll just roll with it’.

After dressing up like a mini-coach Mark, I went outside to the backyard and nervously walked up the deck. Making sure I could see everyone, I clapped my hands and the enslaved jocks turned to me.

“Alright, guys!” I started, trying to think ahead of something to say and reduce the ‘uh… ah…’ to the bare minimum, which was none. “You know who I am?”

“Master Pine!” They droned, sounding quite proud.

“Good boys! I want you to listen very carefully now. You will start recognizing me as your coach, besides being your master. As your coach, obeying and making me happy is one of your top priorities as my good slaves!” I stated, hoping that it would stick in their heads and that they wouldn’t start resisting now. Something can always go wrong, you know?

“You are all my loyal football players. Always ready to obey what I, your coach, orders you.”

“Yeah, master! Huzzah!” Huh, I like that little celebration. They were getting all excited, apparently!

“Great work! For the next part, I want you to strip while you listen to my words. You can get started now.” I resumed my speech, as I watched the twenty-two football players, and the two coaches, getting naked at my command. “A little rule though. You won’t tell anyone about this. Under any circumstance, you CAN’T talk about me being your master or coach and you being my obedient jocks. Is that clear?”

“Yeah, master coach!” They shouted back, their clothes already at the floor. It was amazing how in shape these guys were! Is football really that good? I don’t think so, they may hit the gym frequently or something like that because dear lord.

“Now guys, you can feel yourselves getting really horny. Just pair up in groups or couples and have fun! You won’t mind at all that you’re doing it with other guys, it’s just as good as doing it with a girl. Isn’t that right?” This is it. All the jocks were under my complete control, and they were walking around, pairing up to form a good orgy.

I managed to see the blond guy pulling this other teammate of his into a nice make out session, but they were quickly lost into the small crowd of guys trying to get in the action.

I was ultimately really proud. I had achieved it. Finally! Not only I had one, but two football teams under my control and they were all about to have a big nice orgy. I was so excited; I couldn’t think of where to start.

Should I search for a group of hot guys and honor them with their master’s attention? That sounded weird. I’ll delete it later.

So many options, twenty-four to be exact, and I couldn’t decide!

“Hey, master!” I heard a familiar voice over all the noise around me. Gary, in his naked glory, walked up to me. “Great job with the party! Lots of people here, though. Mind if we go somewhere more… special?” He winked at me, and I kind of didn’t want to seem like he had some kind of favoritism with me. But hey, I kinda appreciated being asked out. Saved me from having to search for a group myself.

It could also mean the jocks would probably freak out a bit if I disappeared out of nowhere and didn’t give them instructions of how to continue, so better not be gone for long.

I noticed Mike was looking around without a group, also naked, and I found myself taking a bit to examine him. I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t because he’s my friend. But… a little peek wouldn’t hurt.

“Mikey! Come here!” I called him, and he seemed startled to hear my voice. When he located me around the small groups, he jogged over to me and I must admit that his cock going ‘boing boing boing’ didn’t help with my ‘look away’ approach.

“Yo, master! Wanna make a group? My teammates seem to have one already and I’m afraid that the new guys may be mad after we kicked their butts” He chuckled at his little joke, and Gary behind me offered him a high five. The jocks slapped their hands, as I tried to think about something.

I didn’t want to have sex with Mike. I used to take baths with him as kids, it would be weird if now we started doing other stuff naked.

So, maybe I could put him in for a treat. I know he’s not gay, but I knew he would like this. “Go get the coaches and come back here. We’ll wait for you.” I ordered my childhood friend, and he gave me an exaggerated nod before jogging away.

Gary went behind me and started kissing my neck, which felt pretty awesome. I was the only one wearing clothes at the time, having the whole coach attire and all. It felt good, honestly. Made me feel powerful or fitting for the role of ‘coach master’.

Mikey returned, with coaches Mark and Darren behind him. I had almost forgotten how nice Mark’s naked body is and the reminder was greatly appreciated. After that, I told the four guys behind me to follow me and we made our way to the master bedroom.

Jumping on one side of the bed, Gary followed me and sat right beside me.

Mike and the coaches on the other hand, decided to stay by the bed and wait for more orders, apparently.

“Mikey, the coaches are yours. Feel free to do whatever you’d like with them. They’re yours to command and enjoy, got it?” Yuuuup. I wanted to make things right with him. I knew he wasn’t actually in his best mind right now, being my ‘slave’ and all, but I’m sure he would still enjoy this. I’ll see what I do with Mike later on.

“Yeah, master! Thanks a lot!” The big guy mumbled, and hugged the coaches beside him. The pair just had dumb small grins on their faces, as Mike led them to the other side of the bed I was laying on.

I looked at Gary, and patted the spot beside me on the bed, motioning him to lay down too. He did as I asked, and soon we were just five guys on the same bed. And I kind of wanted to die because four of them were huge and were about to crush me.

I got on top of Garrett, using his body as a mattress to leave more space for the other three guys. “You really got into this plan, huh?” He asked, a little smile on his face.

“Hey, it all worked out in the end and I’m quite pleased now. I think it’s safe to say that my plan is over” I hugged the muscular jock beneath me and he hugged me back, before pulling me in for a nice kiss.

Just like the guys beside us were doing. Mike made the coaches make out beside his cock, so they were in-between blowing him off or making out. It was actually quite pleasing to see.

I looked at Gary, before turning around and positioning myself to face his cock. “Sixty-nine with a guy? New stuff for me, bro. Sorry if I’m bad at it.” The jock said, before taking my cock in his mouth.

I did the same, and started sucking with a slow rhythm. Gary, on the other hand, started picking up the pace quite fast, while he wiggled his tongue around my head at any chance he would get.

It felt really good, not going to lie…

We kept going at it for a good while, not paying attention to the threesome right beside us. A few moments passed, before I let go of Gary’s cock and ordered him to get up from the bed.

He did so without a second thought, and I took the chance to lay down again, my ass in full display.

Nicely enough, Garrett knew exactly what I wanted to do and he climbed the bed again to lube me up with his saliva.

This was going to be quite awesome, I could tell.

------

After the sex was over, Gary and I just laid down for a while. Mike and the coaches seemed to last a bit longer, and I felt like telling them to move to another room for the time, but I could handle them having fun.

It had been an hour or so since the jock party started, so better try and finish it off so everyone returns to their proper home.

I got up from the bed, passing over Gary as the jock just stared at me, and started getting dressed up again. “C’mon guys, we gotta get going” I said, before leaving the room.

Heading out for the backyard, I noticed some of the guys were still going, while others just sat down and remained either making out or feeling their fellow jock’s muscular bodies. Their cocks seemed soft, so I guessed they may have cummed.

I guess that ‘Don’t cum until I say so’ order is actually really useful. I’ll have to implement it more for future parties, if I ever repeat this.

“Okay, guys! I want you to listen to me very closely…” I was ready to call this a night. I just had to go over the orders I gave them before to make sure they all got them right (You never know with twenty-four people, and I didn’t want to make any mistakes).

After that was done, we could all go home.

-----

[Epilogue]

It’s been a week or so since I finished my little rampage, and my life was nice.

I grabbed Mike’s arm, as we wandered around the school. I was trying to look for a private place, and he was just sticking along. “Where are we going, master?” He asked. I noticed the corridors were empty, so that must be why he referred to me like that.

I should take note of that, corridors get empty during lunch time, apparently. Not sure why would that be useful, but hey, maybe someday I want to summon all my obedient guys and it would be weird if they marched out of a class or something like that. (Not that I would do that, classes are important!)

First place that came to view: The janitor’s closet. I knocked on the door, no answer. ‘Nice’ I thought, as I pushed Mike inside and closed the door behind me.

“So… How are you doing today?” I asked him, trying to make room for myself, but the big guy occupied most of the available space. ‘Darn, these closets are small’.

“Oh, doing great, master!” The jock answered, cheerfully. In reality, he seemed to be the same old Mike he was before the outing, just a bit more open to do what I say and referring to me as ‘Master’ when alone, rather than ‘Piney’.

And the truth is, I didn’t want him as my slave. He’s nice and handsome, don’t get me wrong. But I already had a… it wasn’t really a revenge if it happened accidentally, right? Whatever, he got some consequences, and it almost went too far for him, and I’d like to keep him out of all of this.

He’s my best friend, after all. Even after being mad at him for a good while, I still feel like he’s the guy I want to have around for a good laugh and play videogames together until bedtime.

That, and I feel like having every guy in my life agreeing to whatever I say is going to drive me crazy. I can be throwing incorrect statements or fake information that these guys will just believe it and repeat it around like parrots. It’s awful.

One thing I managed to notice is that the guys I turn into my ‘slaves’ kind of become sociopathic when it comes to carrying out my orders, and that’s awful. I have to be really careful because I don’t want to make anyone do something they may regret. They just don’t care about the consequences; they want to get it done for their Master.

And I’d like my best friend to retain his normal self. I thought about this already, and I was sure about what I wanted. And I wanted Mike to be back to normal, no toying with his mind after this point.

“Well, you know how I had the whole team… both football teams, ‘realize’ that I’m their master and that they have to obey me?” I asked.

“Yeah, master! That was awesome! Really don’t know how I didn’t notice-“

“Okay, but in reality you weren’t supposed to realize anything,” I interrupted him, not really wanting to hear the usual worship scene. “because I’m not your master and you don’t really have to obey me. In fact, you realize that any order I gave you that night wasn’t actually an order, more like… nothing at all. It was supposed to be for the other guys.”

Mike’s eyes were glassy, and the smile he had on his face slowly vanished until his face was blankly staring at me. I was kind of erasing his whole ‘mind goal’ or whatever gets in their heads when I enslave these guys, so I gave him some time before actually speaking up again.

“So, you’re not really my slave and don’t have to call me master, nor do anything that I tell you to do unless you really want to do it.” I didn’t know if it was working, but his face seemed zonked out, so it had to be working. Just had to wait and see the results.

It took him a while. Like, around 5 minutes. Maybe it had been a bit less, but it seemed like forever for the big guy to become ‘alive’ again.

“I mean, I know you’re not my master, bro. That would be weird” He laughed. Then he looked around, probably noticing we are in a small space and he’s taking up almost the whole thing for himself. “Actually, I don’t even get why… a few nights ago… Oh god…” Mike started to mumble, his face going from really confused to almost terrified.

“Uh, I kind of wanted to tell you something else, actually…” I tried to make a direct move, the sooner I’d say it, the sooner it would all be over. And I hoped Mikey wouldn’t take it too bad, but that was probably impossible. “I may or may not have mind control powers… And I may have used them on the football team, you included…”

I looked at my shoes, as confused Mikey slowly shifted his gaze at me. I looked up at him again, and to my surprise, he didn’t look terrified anymore. In fact, he didn’t even look confused, but totally excited.

“YOU HAVE WHAT?!” He asked, raising his voice maybe a bit too much.

“Keep your voice down!” I whispered, tapping his arm.

“Sorry! But you have like… Real mind control powers? You’re not messing with me?” I was pretty surprised myself as he kept asking. He didn’t seem mad at all, nor scared. He seemed quite excited that I had told him about it. And Mikey isn’t a dumb guy, he would have called me out on my shit if he thought I was fooling him.

“Noooope. We can go outside and try them out, if you’d like? But wait, no. Someone may see us and it was already hard enough to wait for this conveniently neat situation to happen so I could get the football team under and the coach. Let’s better not.” I explained, hoping that he would still believe me after that excuse.

Mike shrugged. “Okay, you don’t have to prove it. I believe you, bro. Would love to see it someday, though!”

“Wait, you really do? Like, without any proof or so?”

“It actually answers a few questions I had, like why Garrett started being so nice to you all of a sudden, and how he started ordering the team to stop picking on you. Saw what you want, but I don’t think someone would do that for their tutor” He seemed quite proud of his realization, and I was happy for him.

“Did I really do… it… with the coach and so?” He seemed a bit embarrassed, like he really wasn’t supposed to talk about it or he didn’t want to remember it entirely.

“Yeah, you did. But I left you in charge of the pair, so you were the one in control of that whole thing, if that brings you some relief.”

“I mean… I can’t really get mad at you for that, since I’m the one who started this mess anyway…” He sighed “So, if I get this right… Not only one but two football teams, plus their coaches, are under your control and think you are their ‘master’?”

“Yuuup, that’s a nice way to summarize it all. I don’t know what I’m going to do with them, but I had a lot of fun after the game.” I tried to sound a bit smug and all, but it sounded pretty weird and Mike snorted at me.

“Okay, I’ve got the whole thing now, I think. We should head out before the janitor tries to enter this place.” I nodded to his request, and we left the janitor’s closet as discreetly as possible. Because two male best friends leaving a small closet together leaves a bad image, I think. “Can’t believe you made me do gay stuff. Gotta admit though, I remember it like an awesome time.”

Luckily, nobody was really near us to hear him talk. I couldn’t help but laugh though. “You really seemed to enjoy having coach Mark not yelling and being all lovey-dovey there. Want me to set up a playdate with him?” I mocked him, poking him in the ribs as the big guy smiled.

“Oh yeah, I could even invite him to prom afterwards! Wouldn’t be weird at all!” And now I had an image in my mind of the coach’s muscular body in a tuxedo, slow dancing with my best friend in the middle of the gym. This conversation just kept getting better and better!

“Actually, you reminded me!” Mikey started. His voice seemed to get deeper, like he was trying to make an impression. “About prom…” But he got cut off by a loud ‘Piney!’ over the corridor.

We turned around, and noticed Gary was jogging over to us, coming from the cafeteria. “What’s up?” I asked him once he arrived. He didn’t seem tired, but his cheeks seemed a bit red. I don’t know if it was from the jog or he was nervous.

“Nothing, just wanted to check in how my favorite nerd was doing, and… Uh, hey bro.” Garrett greeted Mikey, before shifting his gaze back to me quickly.

“Sup, bro?” Mike greeted him, but he didn’t seem too fond of Gary’s sudden appearance. Or Gary’s existence at all. I guess now that Mike isn’t dumbed down nor enslaved with the rest of the team, he doesn’t have to like Gary anymore, which is fine by me. Big guy can have his own opinions, he’s a free man again.

“Wanted to ask, do you have a prom date?” His cheeks turned a bit redder as he asked that, and I could feel my own face blushing at the sudden question.

“Not really? I wasn’t thinking about going, to be honest…”

“You should go! Maybe I could be your date, if you don’t have one already!” Garrett’s tone was commanding, but it kind of sounded like a plea. One thing’s for certain, Mike seemed weirded out of how my former bully was acting.

“You really got to him, huh?” He mocked me, before patting my shoulder a few times. “Gonna… give you guys some space… Hey, Esther!” Aaaand, he was gone. Mike headed towards one of the school’s cheerleaders, Esther. But as curious as I was about them, my attention went back to Gary.

“So… What do you say?” The jock was clearly excited, and I honestly didn’t know what to answer.

“Well… All right, I think. Gonna have to look for my suit and check if it still fits, but other than that I think there’s nothing holding me back.”

“Don’t worry about that, I can lend you one of mine. Actually no, I’ll get you a new suit. You’re a Small size, right? Anything for my date, bro. Gonna get you some flowers, too. Or do you prefer chocolates?”

Not going to lie, he was kind of cloying me. I found it really cute, but maybe a little too cute. I preferred this way over the old awful Garrett though, so I preferred to not change anything in his mind.

Everything seemed to be getting better and better, right?

--------

It was already the big night. And I was dying.

Not literally, of course. But as I buttoned up the white shirt, I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself down.

I looked at myself in the mirror, not entirely believing what was going on right now. Or more exactly, what was going to happen.

It’s been some really fun months, after the bullying part was over of course, and school was almost over. Yaaaay.

I finished buttoning up my shirt and grabbed the bowtie. I saw the same tutorial a hundred times on how to tie this thing and now it was time to put my skills to test!

Honestly going to college sounds both like a blessing and a nightmare. Because I like studying, but new places terrify me. At least now I have my mind control powers, right?

Luckily, those haven’t faded away with the months nor the use, so I’m mostly certain that they’ve come to stay, and I’m happy to think that.

“Pine! Your friend is here!” Mom called me from the front door. I figured I should speed up a little bit.

I grabbed the blue suit jacket and put it on, buttoning up a few of the lower buttons. After that, I was ready.

In the mirror, a nerdy looking guy with brown hair and glasses looked back at me. I looked good! I kind of felt bad, because Gary bought me this suit out of nowhere.

I mean, it’s nice, but I may have looked it up and the thing is really expensive. When I asked him about it, his answer was ‘Don’t worry, bro. Money’s not a problem when it comes to my master’, which wasn’t really what I was going for, but decided to drop the subject. I knew Gary’s family was loaded anyway.

I debated if I should tidy up my hair a bit, but only passed a hand through it and walked out of the bathroom. I was ready!

Walking to the front door, Garrett was already waiting for me. He was grabbing his forearm, looking a bit nervous. The bigger guy was wearing a similar suit to mine, but he was all black and had a tie instead of a bowtie. He knew how to wear it too, because suddenly I felt like I wasn’t as ready as I could have been.

“Hey,” He greeted me, as I stopped in front of him. “You look… really amazing.” I couldn’t help but blush, and I really hoped my parents didn’t hear that.

“Thanks.” I mumbled, looking up at him. Gary was smiling. Am I really going to have Garrett Basch as my date? I remember hating him a few months ago, not going to lie. Still a vivid memory. “You look… awesome, too.” I didn’t put much effort in the compliment.

Gary chuckled at my vague answer. “Thanks, bro. Wanna get going? I’d like to be fashionably late.”

Before we could leave though, mom prepared a whole photo session for Gary and I. Luckily, not literally, and after a while of her snapping pics of us smiling at the camera (I swear my face hurts now.) and Gary placing his arm around me, we finally managed to leave the house.

My jockboy drove us to school, and we just… entered together. It was a lot less dramatic than I expected. And that was perfect.

Honestly, I didn’t want to dance. Like, I didn’t want to say no to Gary because being able to go to prom was already out of my plans, but going to prom and having a very hot date would be a nice way of closing my time at this school? I don’t even know what I was thinking.

At one point, after I single handedly attacked the snack table, Garrett snuck up on me and kissed my cheek. “Wanna dance, my date?” He whispered. I felt like it was sort of an obligation, part of the ‘Go to prom together’ deal, even though I’m the one who gives the orders and he wouldn’t be mad if I told him no.

But yeah, better try and enjoy things for a while.

I saw what his deal was, actually. The music just went from loud rock to a way slower song. And it kind of felt good, because now I knew no-one would run over me while dancing or something.

As we swayed along with the music, his hands on my hips while mine were draped on his shoulders, I figured I could do some small chitchat, to lighten the mood a bit.

“So… How’s your night going?” I asked him, like we were in the corridor any other Friday.

“Amazing so far, and growing more amazing now that we’re together” He smiled at me, it was a weird cocky smile, but at the same time he was clearly nervous. “Thanks for coming as my date, bro.”

“No problem at all, wasn’t really going to come but I’m having fun. I think.” And then we were in silence again.

I opened my mouth, but closed it again. I had a question on the tip of my tongue, but couldn’t choose if it was good or bad to ask. After a bit of reformulation, I threw him a “Question. Are you doing all of this because I enslaved you or what? Like, I don’t remember telling you to be nicer, and yet here you are being an amazing date”

I felt like I was a bit blunt, and Gary bit his lip for a bit as he looked around. “I was an awful person before, Pine. Everything just seems so easier after you got to me. I like this new me, and people like me more, too!” He answered, excitedly.

I nodded. “Glad I could help.” It may have sounded like I didn’t care, but I was really glad. Not only did I get him off my back, but I potentially saved more people from the ‘king of the corridors’? Hell, give me a prize.

“I’m glad you could help too.” He pulled me in for a hug, as we continued to dance. Garrett whispered in my ear “I like you, Pine. Thanks again, for everything.”

I smiled, and rested my head on his shoulder. “You’re welcome, jockboy.”

------

Present Pine’s POV

So, I fell asleep after the story ended. Mike apparently was giving me his impressions when suddenly I started snoring, and he woke me up asap to get ready.

He was really, really excited to get the cast off his arm. If everything went right, he would be able to play football in a few weeks and then it would be all back to normal.

Nothing really interesting happened at the hospital. Mike got his cast off, and got told that he should wait a bit more before putting real effort into his arm. But that for now, he could participate in the less-effort practices (Like cardio and so).

It wasn’t a perfect plan for now, but at least he could now move his arm freely again. That was nice!

“Sorry for falling asleep, but I wanted to ask. How was the story? Was the ending good?” I ask the big guy, as we walk back to our place.

Coach Mark should still be up there and I wanted to ask him to prepare dinner. I was hungry!

“Yeah! Really liked it! You were really that nervous before?” Mikey answered, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me closer.

I shrugged. “I still am, but I manage that a bit better, I guess.” Honestly, I didn’t feel as nervous as once I started with my mind control powers, but it was still a bit weird when I had to use them and so.

Probably still not entirely used to the idea that people will just do whatever I tell them if I want to, but not really a big deal. I mean, I’m having a perfect time lately, checking on everything I achieved with my powers.

“Well, I still think that was a neat story, and I’m glad I could hear the whole version! Should I now start thinking of my boyfriend as a superhero with your own origin story and all, bruh?” He mocked me, tickling me a bit while still holding me close to make sure I wouldn’t escape.

“Nah, if I have to take in another thing to do, I’ll explode. Let’s leave the superhero thing for after I’m done with either college or the club.”

Mike shot a confused look at me. “Wait, you really wanna become a-“

“No, Mikey. I’m not going to become a superhero. If anything, a villain would sound funny with the whole mind control thing going on. Hehe.” It seemed like a dumb conversation to have. Obviously it was just imagination talk, but it gave me a throwback to those nice nights sleeping in my or Mike’s room, where we stayed late at night and just played games or talked about stuff like this.

‘Which power would you have if you were a superhero?’ was one of my favorite questions in the world.

“So... Speaking about villain stuff…” I started, breaking the small silence time we had going on.

“Huh?”

But I wasn’t going to wait for Mike’s question. “Took care of you for a few months. Now it’s payback time, big guy.” Were my last words before I flipped Mike’s mind switch.

I could feel how his thoughts drifted away as his eyes became glassy, a dreamy smile forming on his face as his mind became empty. Like a puppet, I could send him commands as if he were a videogame character.

‘Walk along with me while we head home’ Was the first command I had to send him to ensure he wouldn’t suddenly stop and look dumb in the middle of the sidewalk.

I would make him carry me for the rest of the way, and I was really tempted to do that. But he couldn’t do much effort on his arm, so better not push it. Just a few more weeks though, and the big guy would be at full power again.

For now, he had two hands available again…

We stopped in front of the building we lived at. I faced him, as he stood there, smiling like a dummy.

I tiptoed and leaned in for a kiss, while sending him another command. ‘Kiss me back’. Had to do it, he won’t even do simple actions if I don’t tell him to.

We engaged in a nice make out session, and he was as good as always (Even if a bit slow due to the trance). I really enjoyed this, and being outdoors actually gave it a bit more of hotness to the situation.

Once I pulled back, I mumbled a quick “Love you, Mikey”.

“Love you too, master…” I made him answer, but in some way it also felt quite honest.

Something was clear as we walked in, we would have a looooot of fun once we got back to our room, and Mikey would put his freed hand at use, to celebrate.

This was going to be an amazing night. I could maybe have him wear his football armor, so he can start getting used to that again!

-----

Author note:

Last chapter’s here!

Thank you all so much for reading this rewritten version, and I hope you enjoyed it very much.

I really didn’t know if I should have done it because who would like to read an old story with a few scenes added up? But I got really nice feedback and I’m glad you liked Pine’s new original story. I have a soft spot for this cast of characters <3

My next story is about superheroes. Or rather, supervillains...

Chapter 1 should go up during next week, but if you feel like it, consider supporting me on Patreon! You’ll get access to the published chapters earlier, before they go public in other platforms.

Again, thanks so much for reading, and I hope you catch your interest with some other work of mine again :3.

#PinesJocks #PinesFootballJocks #PinesCollegeJocks #mind control #straight to gay #gay hypnosis #hypnotized #hypnosis #brainwashing #brainwash #brainwashed

[threeletterslife]

01 | Ignis Fatuus

→ part 1 | part 2

→ summary: Who knew six grown men plus stupid Jeon Jungkook were so whiny? You're out here in a fucking zombie apocalypse for God's sake. They need to grow the fuck up. And while all of you are waiting for the zombies to eat your brains, why don't you play a nice game of rated-R never have I ever?

→ pairing/rating: jungkook x reader | NC-17

→ genre: 60% crack, 40% angst | apocalypse!au

→ warnings: profanity, depictions of blood, gore and death, sexual innuendos, crude humor

→ wordcount: 26k

cr.

Jeon Jungkook's taut thigh muscles are digging against your own, making you grit your teeth and glare at the rather annoying individual. The city bus bumps along with the dips on the street, pushing the man way too close to you. You can even smell his spearmint cologne.

"Jeon, I swear to fucking god if you scoot any closer to me, I'm going to swing your head off with my bat," you threaten menacingly, already tightening your grip on your beloved softball bat.

To your dismay, Jeon Jungkook gives you a cheeky grin before leaning his perfectly fit body on you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder with calculated subtlety. "Oh, Y/N," he chuckles under his breath, fingers dancing around the handle of his own baseball bat. "You forget that I also have a bat with me. Besides," he hums, squeezing your shoulder, "you and I both know your threats are always empty. I think you told me you were going to dislocate my neck at least a thousand times before. My neck's still fine, as you can clearly see."

You roll your eyes. "Whatever, Jeon," you mutter before leaning against his chest in defeat.

Your relationship with Jeon Jungkook is quite questionable. It would be weird to call him your friend, but even weirder to call him your enemy. Jungkook was... an acquaintance... who you merely got a bit touchy with at times. In a way, he was kinda like your fuck buddy, minus the fucking, of course. A friend with benefits minus the friend and benefits. None of that made any sense whatsoever. But that's just how fucking complicated your relationship with him is.

You'd first met the 19-year-old on the bus, catching him unabashedly eyeing you up and down. You boldly called him out for that. That bus ride was awkward because you'd spent the whole time tugging down your shorts and glaring at Jungkook, and he'd glared at you right back because apparently, he hadn't been checking you out that day. (He had been shamelessly ogling at the Victoria's Secret ad plastered on the wall behind the window of your seat.) But you didn't know that at the time, of course.

It was even worse when you got off at the same stop—at the practice field. But an unlikely 'friendship' had blossomed after that day. There was something about that Jeon Jungkook that was captivating to you, and there must be something about you that had captivated Jungkook. Ever since that incident, the two of you wordlessly saved each other seats on the local bus, and once at the field, he always walked you to your softball practice field before he sauntered off to play baseball.

Despite the constant bickering between the two of you, you swear leaning up against him, or having him wrap his arm around you feels natural.

You're just too damn stubborn to admit it out loud.

Looking up, you get an unobstructed view of Jungkook's sharp jawline, how his nose stands in all the right angles, and how his eyes sparkle when he—oh shit—your eyes meet his. Mission abort! Mission abort!

He caught you checking him out.

Oh god no. Your face flushes red, dreading what kind of saucy comment Jungkook would have for you.

But to your surprise, he squeezes you tighter, holding you close to him as his eyes are trained straight in front of him. "What in the world..." he breathes.

"What?" you mutter, confused. Your eyes trail up to follow his line of vision.

Oh, what the fuck.

"Isn't it too early for Halloween get up?" You frown, cocking your head at the mangled figure that's slowly limping its way towards the stopped bus. But one figure quickly becomes two, then, three, four, five, ten—twenty. All staggering towards the bus.

You can only seem to focus on the hoard of hobbling figures as your eyes follow their every jagged move. But one moment you're shaking your head in disdain at cheesy 'costumes,' the next you feel bile rushing up your throat.

One of the mangled figures hobbles up to an innocent pedestrian on the street and attacks them. And not like how a normal human being would do—not with fists, or some man-made weapon. But with decaying teeth. You see with your very own eyes a... a monster bite through the neck of a human—and although you are too far away, you swear you heard the crunch of bones. You most definitely see blood.

It's so horrific, the hairs on the back of your neck stand tall.

The innocent victim's screams are silent, mouth open, neck gashed apart by their attacker. Their blood is splattered everywhere and their eyes are glossed over. Lifeless. Dead. Soon to be undead.

Oh my god.

You jerk your head away, unable to look any further, placing your hand on your heart in an attempt to calm it down—no use. Your breaths become shallow and quicken as you grip your fists in order to keep yourself from vomiting and making the situation worse than it already is.

Oh god. Oh, fuck.

The images of blood and gore are sealed to your head. It's too real to be fake.

It pains you to realize that... that this is obviously not some Halloween get up.

"Fucking hell, Y/N... I don't think those are people," Jungkook says, holding you protectively in his arms. "They look a lot like—"

"ZOMBIES!" a man in a crisp, black suit shrieks, jumping up and running to the very back of the bus to where you and Jungkook are sitting.

"ZOMBIES!" the others on the bus scream in response.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Suit Man hollers, curling up in the back seat as he rocks back and forth. With his neat and tidy suit, he definitely looks like he doesn't belong in a public transportation vehicle. In fact, he looks like he's never even used any public service. The kind of person who probably owns a private jet or something. "GET ME MY SECRETARY!" he shrieks.

He is not helping.

Another man stands up, crossing his arms over his chest. His dyed dirt blond hair sweeps just above his eyes and you can see his dimples when he presses his lips into a thin line. "Hey, bus driver?" he calls.

The bus driver grunts. "What?" he yells. His hands are shaking, but he's doing a hell of a good job maintaining a steady hand on the wheel.

"Maybe we should turn on the radio?" Dimples Man suggests. "We need some sort of explanation for this!!"

"Um, maybe we should, I don't know, drive away first???" another man suggests. He's clutching a Gucci messenger bag and nervously twists an Apple Watch on his wrist. He seems a lot like the younger version of Suit Man—except he was just born rich with a silver spoon in his mouth.

"The zombies are coming towards us!" Jungkook shouts. "Of course we need to drive away!" He squeezes your arm. "We need to get home, now!"

"You and your girlfriend can wait!" Suit Man hollers. "I want to go to my penthouse suite, first!"

"Why are you a priority?!" a man with puffy cheeks and plump lips argues. "We all have equal rights in a crisis! Cop in training!" he huffs, holding out an official-looking badge. "Bus driver, step on the gas!"

The bus driver rolls his eyes. "I do whatever the fuck I want on my bus."

Contrary to his unyielding attitude, he clicks on the radio and simultaneously steps on the gas.

Everyone lurches backward and some of the men who were standing fall down. For a few seconds, it's all chaos—shouts and yells bounce off the walls of the bus. All until the fuzzy crackles of the radio emit from the speakers.

Then, everyone becomes dead silent, waiting to hear what the news had to say.

But the radio static is so serious, you're unable to make out a lot of the words.

"... Inside... Not... Anywhere... Stay Inside..."

"What the fuck is wrong with your radio??" Suit Man complains.

"It's not my radio, you idiotic swine. The problem's not from my end," the bus driver snaps.

"Idiotic swine?!?! How dare—"

"Oh shut up, will you??" a man who had been quietly sitting down this whole time laughs. He twiddles a frying pan in his hands before he says, "Stay inside?? Don't you think it's too late for us to do that?"

Suit Man scowls, slumping down in his seat and grumbling about how important he is and how much he needs his secretary—who's apparently not answering his frantic texts and calls.

Abruptly, the bus driver swerves to the right to avoid limping zombies, but he manages to run some of the monsters over anyway. The bus hovers over the air for a few seconds, then crashes down on the road, jerking everyone in their seats.

You and Jungkook say nothing, you holding onto Jungkook and Jungkook holding onto his seat. But the others are more vocal.

"Hey, who taught you how to drive, motherfucker?!" Gucci Man yells.

The cop holds up his hands. "Are you even going under the speed limit??"

Oh my god. These men are driving you insane.

And just when you thought it couldn't get worse:

"No... Origin... Rapidly... Increasing..." the radio suddenly buzzes.

"Well, great," Dimples Man sighs. "Seems like the cases are multiplying out of nowhere. Maybe it's some kind of new virus. An epidemic, if you please."

"Oh, sit down, doctor boy," Suit Man yells at the tops of his lungs. "No one cares about the how. Right now, we focus on getting away from these monsters!"

Jungkook slips his hands into yours. The two of you look out the window to see the zombies chasing after the bus from behind. They're thankfully too slow to catch up to the bus driver's 85 miles per hour reckless driving, but they're not as slow as some movies depict them.

You watch the turmoil unfold behind you, disgusted and terrified at the same time. There are zombies trying to knock their heads against the glass to get into stores where trembling families are waiting to fight. Zombies biting the necks of victims. Blood spurting everywhere and painting the streets in crimson red.

You have to look away after some time.

It's too much to process.

The bus driver continues to make random twists and turns, making the bus lurch every which way every few seconds. The six men continue to argue, raising their voices over each other until you can't even make out what they're saying.

They're acting like babies, you think. You admit, you're terrified, which is exactly why you haven't said one single word out loud yet. Jungkook taps your shoulder, leaning into you. You catch a whiff of his cologne and strangely, it relaxes you.

"Hey," he whispers. "You okay?"

You manage to nod.

"Think this has spread to other cities yet...? Other states?"

Oh god.

The thought of that is horrific.

"I... I hope not... My family's in a state across the country though..." you manage to say in a low voice.

"Same..."

This time, it's your turn to ask a question.

"Do you think we'll ever get to our homes?"

Jungkook snorts in response. "Well, maybe not. I have no idea where that crazy bus driver's taking us."

And it's true, five different men are yelling at the bus driver to tell them where the fuck he's going, but the bus driver remains completely silent. Instead, he flips everyone off with one hand, vigorously steering the wheel with the other.

Everyone goes absolutely bonkers after that.

You've heard blaring fire alarms that sound like music compared to this.

"You have earphones?" Jungkook asks.

"Well, yeah..." you trail off. "But maybe we shouldn't listen to music now. We should save our phone batteries."

"Oh yeah, duh," Jungkook grins in a silly way. "My bad."

This is kind of the first time that you and Jungkook have been civil and kind of nice to each other. I guess it takes a whole ass zombie epidemic for that to happen.

You just try to focus on clutching onto Jungkook, trying to drown out the incessant yelling of the man babies.

And finally, fucking finally, the bus skids to a stop. But not in front of a house, but in front of a familiar-looking red and beige building. Your mouth drops open.

"TARGET???" Cop Man shrieks. "You brought us to Target??"

"Genius, aren't I?" the bus driver grins, leaning back from the steering wheel as if to admire his handy work. "This is my new home. The rest of you can leave if you don't like it."

Nobody moves a muscle.

You desperately want to go back home, but you have to admit, living in Target sounds pretty smart. Endless supply of blankets and food. A ton of gadgets to build when you get bored. At least one of the men on the bus has a brain. Thank god.

"I can't drive you guys home," the bus driver says a little bit more apologetically. "But you saw what's out there. I'm not going to waste gas getting everyone to their homes. And I surely don't wanna risk my life just to get you home, okay? I'm not your chauffeur. So you can stay with me if you like. Or you can walk home yourself."

"I can pay you to be my chauffeur," Suit Man mumbles.

The bus driver's ears perk up. "How much?"

"One grand."

"Ha!" the bus driver snorts. "You think I need money in a supposed apocalypse?? No thanks."

"I'LL PAY YOU THREE GRAND!" Gucci Man shrieks. "I-I'll call my parents! They always have cash on them!"

Frying Pan Man rolls his eyes way up to the ceiling of the bus and waits three dramatic seconds until he stares straight at Suit Man and Gucci Man. "Shut up, ya spoiled brats," he says. "Stop trying to bribe the bus driver and take his fucking offer to stay with him."

The others nod, agreeing with the Frying Pan Man's wise but snippy words.

Suit Man and Gucci Man shut up when they realize their wealth can't get them out of the situation this time.

"Well then," Jungkook sighs. "We all agree to stick together now, right? Nice group of people, aren't we?"

The last part sounds a tad bit sarcastic, but the others seem to take it as a compliment.

"First thing's first," Jungkook announces, "you there!" He points at the Suit Man. "Use your jacket to cover up that window over there. You!" He continues to point at the men, ordering them to place their jackets and bags over the windows. The bus driver manages to cover up the glass doors with a spare blanket he found in the glove compartment.

You just stare at Jungkook in awe. You're even more in awe that everyone is following his orders.

"If the zombies can't see us, they won't get us," Jungkook says very knowledgeably. "At least I think so. Just in case, we should all crouch down though."

"Are you serious? I'm not sitting my ass down on the bus floor," Suit Man scoffs.

"I'm wearing Gucci," Gucci Man complains.

The bus driver grins. "They scraped twenty pieces of gum off the floor only a week ago."

"I think we can all agree that we could've totally done without that information," Cop Man sighs.

Jungkook shakes his head in disbelief. "My god, would you rather die than get your pants a little dirty? Come on, Y/N." He tugs you down on the floor and the two of you sit cross-legged. "It's not even that bad."

One by one, the men follow you and Jungkook, sitting down, if not crouching, on the floor. Even Suit Man and Gucci Man obey Jungkook, though they have disgruntled looks on their faces.

"Now what?" Frying Pan Man says. "We wait this whole thing out? Until it's safe to get into Target?"

"I suppose so," Dimples Man says. "A little waiting never hurt anyone."

Suit Man rolls his eyes. "You would be terrible in the business world."

"I'm a respected med school student, thank you very much," Dimples Man replies curtly. "I don't need business lessons from you."

"Okay, okay!" Jungkook raises his voice. "You know what? Let's just introduce ourselves to each other. You know, ages, hobbies, whatever, I don't care. Just something the others can use to get to know you. We might be stuck together for a while. I'll start," he says. "I'm Jungkook. 19. I play baseball in college, and I'm pretty fucking good. Okay, who's next?"

Cop Man raises his hand politely. "I'm Jimin," he giggles as if his name itself is the cutest thing in the world. "And I'm the top-ranking cop in training," he says. "Oh yeah, I'm 21 years old. And I just got wasted two days ago when I turned 21."

"Yoongi," the bus driver says. "I drive this bus. 25. Next."

Everyone frowns at his short introduction but Yoongi shrugs.

"Hello, everyone," Dimples man says. "I'm Namjoon. I studied biochemistry in college, but I'm currently aiming for my M.D. I'm 24 right now, but I'll be 25 in a couple of months. It's nice to meet you."

Everyone mumbles their greetings back, but no one is really in a jolly mood.

"Well, I'm Seokjin, a worldwide famous chef," Frying Pan Man says. That explains the frying pan a lot. "I—"

"If you're so worldwide famous, how come I've never heard of you before until now?" Gucci Man snickers.

"Shut the fuck up," Seokjin answers simply. "I will be a worldwide famous chef. I'm interning at the esteemed restaurant, the Summit House. And for my 25th birthday, I got this lovely, new frying pan. I bring it with me everywhere because it is my lifeline."

You raise your eyebrows and so does Jungkook but neither of you says anything.

"I'm Taehyung, then," Gucci Man says. "I'm 23, but I'm already a law school student. Work hard and play even harder is my life motto. Also, I like expensive stuff."

That explains the Gucci.

Suit Man scoffs. "I'm Hoseok, but all of you must call me Mr. Jung because I'm 27 and I'm the respectful CEO of a rapidly growing business right in this city. I've been on the cover of Vogue twice this year alone. Any questions?"

"None at all, Hoseok," Yoongi snorts.

Hoseok scowls. "I just said—"

"Oh, shut your trap and let the girl talk," Seokjin chastises the businessman. You're starting to think Seokjin has a talent for shutting people up.

Well, great. Now everyone's staring at you. And it's only then when it occurs to you that you are the only female in the group. Oh god.

"I'm uh, Y/N..." you say. "And I... I play softball," you say, gripping your bat in your hand. "I'm 19 and I play for my college team."

"She's really good," Jungkook says. "Got that nice swing." He nudges your shoulder assuringly. It almost makes you crack a small smile. "Anyways, now that we all know each other a little bit better, let's be... uh..."

"Civil," you finish for him. "Let's please be fucking civil." You stare at Hoseok and Taehyung specifically.

"Fine!" Hoseok says. "Fine, then. Let's be totally civil trying to fight off uncivil monsters. Makes sense to me."

"We need to stay civil to stay calm," Jimin says, putting a hand on his hip. "My special cop training taught me how to stay calm in dire situations! I'll teach you guys a thing or two sometime."

"Oh god," Yoongi mutters.

"More importantly," Namjoon sighs. "If this is a zombie breakout, we'll need to start strategizing on how to stay safe. We'll need to gather supplies, make a hideout and find some weapons." He looks over at Jungkook and your bats, nodding his head approvingly. "Those will do good," he mutters. "But I'm afraid hiding out in Target might be a bit difficult. The building is large. Way too large for it to be safe..."

"Do you have any better suggestions then?" Yoongi says.

"Not as of now..."

"I say we go full-out," Taehyung declares. "Like we get cool leather jackets and sunglasses and make spiked bats and get guns!!"

"You mean... like in the movies," Hoseok scoffs. "Kid, hate to break it to you, but this is real life."

"Okay, but Taehyung might have a point," Jungkook says.

"Thank you!!" the law student exclaims.

"Yeah, maybe we can use some elements of what characters did in the movies and you know, apply it to our situation now," you say thoughtfully. "So we're not going into this catastrophe completely blinded."

"You read my mind," Jungkook smiles. You manage to smile right back at him.

"Whatever," Hoseok sighs. "I'm gonna call my secretary again."

Everyone else ignores him, opting to do their own individual activities.

Namjoon pulls a giant binder out of nowhere and begins to actively highlight things. It looks a lot like he's studying. In a fucking crisis.

You shake your head in disbelief. Med school students, I swear.

Taehyung taps away on his phone. Either texting or playing Candy Crush. You can't tell. Seokjin's sanitizing his precious frying pan while Jimin's polishing his official badge over and over again. In the far corner of the bus, it looks like Yoongi's dozed off.

The silence is awkward but it's much better than the complete ruckus before, so you let it go. Meanwhile, you take out your earbuds. It won't hurt to let some music distract you and calm down your spiked nerves.

"Hey, what percent battery is your phone at?" you whisper to Jungkook.

"23%, you?"

"23%?!" you gasp. "Why is it so low??"

"Forgot to charge it last night," Jungkook answers, ducking his head down in embarrassment. "Could not have been a worse timing."

"Well, I'm at 97%, so I guess we can listen to music on my phone." You plug in the earphones and hand one bud to Jungkook.

He takes it gratefully. "Thanks."

You feel much more relaxed when the music floods through your ear. If Jungkook doesn't like Beethoven's Sonata, he doesn't complain. And everything, just for a few songs, seems all right.

Until:

"Dammit! Godammit!!" Hoseok yells, flinging his phone to the side of the bus seat. "My phone's dead!"

There are annoyed groans everywhere, and you can just tell Seokjin's about to tell the man to shut up again when there's a loud bang! at the side of the bus.

Everyone freezes.

"Did you lock the bus door??" Namjoon hisses quietly.

Yoongi nods, clearly terrorized. "Just... everybody... Stay... still," he says.

He doesn't need to say anything; everyone's already become a statue. Even more so when the aggressive banging continues. You bite your lip to suppress a whimper and Jungkook hugs you in his arms. His heartbeat's rapid but he manages not to tremble, unlike you.

But when the banging is ceaseless even after a couple of minutes, Taehyung sighs. "Should we check it out...?"

"Are you fucking crazy??" you blurt, quickly lowering your voice when you realize you'd been rather loud. "If the zombies see us, they get us. I thought you saw the movies."

That shuts everyone up. Sweat starts to collect on everybody's foreheads but no one dares to move to wipe it off when the banging's continuing.

It sounds like zombies are head-butting on the bus' walls. Maybe they can smell humans. The thought riles up your stomach so you force yourself to bury your nose into Jungkook's shirt to take your mind elsewhere. He pats your back comfortingly in response.

The Chopin blaring through your left ear doesn't sound so comforting anymore—the pace is too fast, too allegro to fit in a terrible circumstance such as this one. But you try to focus on each note, concentrating on the keys rather than the beat. It drives your focus elsewhere, thank god.

And finally, eventually, the banging slows to a stop.

"Well!" Taehyung yells.

"SHH!" Jungkook shushes him. "We don't know if they're gone yet," he whispers urgently.

"Oh, right."

So it's completely still for a few minutes before Taehyung decides that's enough silence for him.

"This is very, very bad news," he grumbles.

"Really?" Seokjin snickers. "I thought it was good news."

Taehyung rolls his eyes. "My Apple Watch's about to die. So yes, it is bad news. I won't be able to tell the time anymore."

"That's the least of our worries, dude," Jimin says, shaking his head in disbelief.

Before another large argument breaks out, you cut in. "I think we should try to get into Target before nightfall."

You thought everyone would agree immediately, but you're hit with Yoongi's laconic, "Why?"

"What do you mean why??" Taehyung laughs at the bus driver. "Haven't you watched the movies?? Zombies get crazier during the night."

"Um, in Train to Busan, they don't," Namjoon points out.

"Okay, but in Minecraft, they do," Taehyung argues.

"But Minecraft is a video game, not a movie."

"Oh, whatever."

You sigh. "I just thought it'd be better to go now than take chances later."

"But this is real life," the bus driver says. "Getting out of this bus is taking a chance at this point. We might not ever make it to Target."

"Fine. Then I'll go and check it out myself then," you scoff.

I'd rather get mauled by a zombie than have to listen to incessant bickering in a small-spaced bus for fuck's sake.

"You literally have a death wish don't you?" Jungkook says. "But I'm coming with you."

"BOTH of you have a death wish," Hoseok says.

"OR, Yoongi can drive the bus closer to the entrance...?" you suggest.

The bus driver grumbles but he complies, never taking off the clothes covering the windows but managing to peek out of a small corner to safely drive the bus straight to the exit.

"If one of you gets bitten, you're not allowed back in here," he says.

"How comforting," you mumble.

"I guess it's just the two of us, then," Jungkook shrugs when no one else volunteers to go on the trip.

"Well you two do have the best weapons," Namjoon says, nodding at the bats in your hands.

"That's true..." you murmur. "We'll try to find a good spot to stay in... Or maybe just get some supplies..."

Now that you think about it, your own idea might be the cause of your demise. God, you might die just because you opened your mouth.

It's okay, you tell yourself. It'll be fine. I have Jungkook. He's... not that scared... right?

Namjoon convinces everyone to memorize a morse code knock so that the others can let you and Jungkook in when the code is knocked on the bus door. There is no other preparation.

Other than the time you completely winged a final exam back in high school, this is the riskiest thing you've done in your life.

Side by side, you and Jungkook creep out of the bus; the doors shut behind you as quickly as they had opened and the blanket drapes over the windows once more.

The coast definitely looks clear... for now. Warily, you and Jungkook step closer to the entrance of Target. That's when it occurs to you that Target has automatic doors.

You and Jungkook look at each other. With your eyes, both of you communicate something on the lines of 'so much for living here.'

It's a universal fact that zombies are stupid and can't complete simple human tasks such as opening doors. But if Target's doors are automatic... Well, then anyone can come in. Human or zombie.

The two of you creep into the store with caution, scanning from left to right to see any source of movement. Luckily, so far, the building seems empty. It just must be your luck that today happens to be a weekday and the time is barely before noon. Plus, you're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and everyone was ordered to stay home. For the most part, it looks like this Target is abandoned. It helps calm down your rapidly beating heart just a little bit.

Still, the silence is eerie. Clutching your baseball bat, you try to make a mental list of the supplies you might need to take. From the checkout aisle, you and Jungkook each grab two plastic bags each.

"What are the top five things we need?" Jungkook whispers to you.

"Um, food, probably," you say. "Toiletries, for sure. Sleeping bags, maybe? Chargers... Portable chargers...?"

"What about water?" Jungkook says. "Maybe we should also get a first aid kit too..."

"There's so much we need!" you let out a frustrated sigh. "And I am not going back in here twice. Once is risky enough."

"Well, we definitely need food, water and a first aid kit. Why do we need toiletries?" Jungkook asks, cocking his head curiously.

"Oh, I don't know, because I bleed out of my vagina once every month??"

"Oh. Right. Forgot about that," Jungkook says awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "So, um... we need food, water, a first aid kit, toiletries and..."

"A backpack," you finish for him. "We'll carry the backpacks out on our backs, fill two of our four bags with food, then one bag we can use for water and water bottles. The last bag for the first aid kit and the toiletries."

"Look at you, all planned out," Jungkook grins. You wonder how he's managing to smile in a crisis.

"I'm usually very spontaneous," you mutter. "But I guess it takes a zombie apocalypse to get me to plan ahead."

Your life's on the line. Of course you're going to plan ahead to avoid death.

Jungkook laughs quietly. "Me too, honestly," he says. "I think I can stuff at least one sleeping bag in the backpack. And maybe we'll get some toilet paper."

You nod. "A flashlight might be good too. We don't really need to get weapons, right? We're only trying to survive, not fight."

"We'd be crazy to get a gun," Jungkook snorts. "Have you seen the grown men we got stuck with?? Giving them a gun might be the worst thing we can do."

"Especially that cop in training," you say. "Idiots. The whole lot of them."

Making the youngest ones do the dirty work.

Conversation is sparse for the rest of the supply gathering. You and Jungkook talk minimally, rather opting to point and mouth words just in case zombies were sound-sensitive as they were portrayed in most movies. (But you're honestly not sure how well their auditory skills work, especially when they're so lacking in motor skills.) Still, better safe than sorry.

Canned foods pile in two heavy bags that Jungkook offers to carry. He also volunteers to carry the bag with the heavy water jugs and water bottles, so you let him, glad that Jungkook is polite enough to keep his manners during an apocalypse. The two of you find large duffel bags in the sports corner, which you sling both over your shoulder. A couple of sleeping bags find their way into the duffel bags. By the time you arrive at the aisle with all the feminine hygiene products, your arms are starting to hurt, but you don't complain because Jungkook's carrying things twice the weight of your luggage.

In fact, you shouldn't complain about anything at all. For one, you're stuck in an apocalypse with someone you know at least. You have someone to lean on. Someone who constantly offers to protect you. Someone you can trust. And you haven't had any run-ins with zombies so far. So you've been blessed.

You clamp your mouth shut and pick out a generous amount of pads and pantyliners, quickly shoving them into the duffel bags. "Let's go," you tell Jungkook who nods. His arm muscles are straining against the heavy weight of the bags and his knuckles are white but he stays silent.

All those times you ever insulted Jungkook, you want to take them all back right now. It only takes a crisis to get to know someone.

The two of you nervously, steadily, begin to walk towards the entrance of the store. It's a pity you won't be able to pay for the hundreds of dollars worth of stuff you're shoplifting. But you don't think money holds enough value in a situation of life or death.

For a split second, you worry that the other men have left. But you don't think they would stoop that low... right?? The thought makes the hairs on the back of your neck bristle. If they did leave you and Jungkook stranded in this vast Target... it's game over.

You nearly cry from relief when you see the bus still waiting loyally at the front of the store. Maybe you've underestimated the others.

"Coast's clear," Jungkook whispers. "I'll go first." He begins to creep forward the automatic doors, lugging his bags when you let out a whisper-shriek:

"Wait, stop!"

Jungkook whirls around, eyes wide and lips parted.

"The alarm might ring if you take items you didn't pay for," you whisper urgently. "Leave the stuff here, wait for them to open the door, then help me carry these and make a run for it."

"Well, that was close," Jungkook nods. "Good idea." He sets down his bags and steps forward cautiously. The mechanical whirring of the sliding door opening sounds too loud in the silence. You hold your breath as Jungkook carefully steps closer to the bus, hoping and wishing and swearing. When he knocks at the glass door in the morse code that Namjoon had taught him, you feel ready to burst from the stress.

Constantly, you look behind yourself. If a zombie appears, you'll have to save your life first and lose the supplies. Or maybe, you can carry the food and water first and leave the rest. Or you can try to fight the zombie off with your bat?? But your arms shake from carrying heavy luggage around the whole Target. Your aim might be messed up; you can't risk that, can you?

While you're scheming in your head, Jungkook's managed to get the others to open the door of the bus. The coast is clear now. You gulp.

If the Target alarm sounds and it wakes up any zombies that are nearby, you're dead. You can see the scared faces of the other men peeking out from the door. Jungkook bravely steps back, waving his hands as if to tell them to keep the door open. Then, he rushes back inside the Target, hoisting up the bags.

On cue, you grip your bags too—so tightly that your hands feel numb.

"On a count of three, okay?" Jungkook says.

"No, let's go now!" you whisper as you begin to dash headfirst out the automatic doors. The moment the bags cross the invisible line, the alarm blares. Your heart nearly stops at the racket, but you don't dare to pause. You don't cease your running until you've zoomed right into the bus, collapsing on the floor and throwing the bags away from yourself. Jungkook's right behind you, gasping for breath from the short sprint before whirling on you with a look of frustration on his face.

"I wasn't fucking re—"

"Shh!!" Yoongi says, draping the locked glass door over with a blanket. "We're going to stay very, very still."

You can hear the alarm still blaring in the background, shaking on the floor of the bus and clutching your hands together. Jungkook gives you the side-eye but he crouches down with you and holds you in his arms.

You shouldn't have left earlier, but you couldn't risk waiting for a second more in the empty Target, anticipating for disaster to come. Jungkook must've panicked with you too. But he can't stay mad at you for long, not with another crisis on its way.

"Uh, I think we should go right now," Taehyung whispers.

"Shh!"

"No, seriously," Taehyung says, lifting up the cloth off the windows and pointing.

Oh no. Looks like this is where your luck runs outs. Zombies are slowly making their way towards the entrance of the Target where the stupid alarm still hasn't shut up. If you don't leave now, you might drown in a sea of those monsters. And one rule of thumb—you never let zombies begin to hoard.

"Dammit!" Yoongi curses. "Hold on!"

The zombies are still several yards away, but Yoongi slams on the gas, lurching the car forward. There's no time to think. No time to talk. Yoongi tears away the cloth in front of his window and begins to drive with sickening speed.

"Where are we going??" Hoseok yells over the screams of the engine.

"To my house!" Yoongi screams back.

"WHAT??" the businessman shrieks. "WHY AREN'T WE RUNNING AWAY?"

"Running away attracts more zombies!" Taehyung says. "That always happens in the movies!"

"Does your house have a good kitchen??" Seokjin yells.

"Does it matter???" Yoongi yells back.

"Why can't we go to my house??" Taehyung shrieks.

"Shut the fuck up!" Seokjin tells him.

Yoongi continues to bump over mystery speed bumps (no doubt, bitten people) as zombies slowly try to follow the vehicle. But they're way too slow for Yoongi's speedy driving. He manages to throw them all off track as he drives away from the city.

And when there are fewer buildings and more grassy fields, things almost look... normal. As if you hadn't just seen a zombie apocalypse unfold in the city. Until you notice the blood splattered on the windows and the survival luggage that you and Jungkook had hauled on the bus. That's when you realize this is still very, very real.

But now that you've escaped the city, the roads are ironically smoother without the undead scattered on the ground. As a result, Yoongi begins to drive comfortably, the bus no longer threatening to tip over at every turn. Finally, it seems like the chaos has calmed down.

You take the time to apologize to Jungkook. "Sorry I just left like that," you say.

He shrugs. "It was stupid for me to countdown anyways."

And that was that.

He sits down next to you at the back of the bus as the other men (except Yoongi) crowd around you to ask questions about the risky trip.

"Were there zombies inside the store?" Namjoon says.

"We didn't encounter any," you reply. "But we're not sure."

"Do you think we could go back in there when we need more supplies?" the med school student asks.

"I mean..." you trail off, looking at Jungkook.

Jungkook shrugs. "We'll have to see, I guess."

"Make do with what Yoongi has in his house?" Seokjin says. "Hey, Yoongi, you got a big house??"

Jimin gasps. "You can't just ask people that, Seokjin! Hey, Yoongi, do you have eight bedrooms?"

You feel like facepalming. And if your hands weren't so wet with sweat, you would've done it too.

"Do I look like I'm made of money??" Yoongi scoffs. "I live in a one-bedroom house."

"One bedroom?!?!? One bedroom?!" Taehyung shrieks.

"Would you like to live outside the one-bedroom house?" Yoongi shrieks back.

Taehyung shuts up.

Sure, Yoongi's being extremely generous right now. He could've dumped all of you out the moment the chaos hit. But he had chosen to bring everyone along with him. Still... eight people in a one-bedroom house? You're not so sure about that.

"We'll make it work," the bus driver grumbles.

"As long as there's a kitchen," Seokjin says, "I'm all right."

Ten minutes later, following Yoongi's lead, everyone quickly piles into the one-bedroom house.

It looks modest but poorly decorated. A shaggy rug with mysterious stains, zero decor but a single couch and a small television is set in the living room. The only bedroom in the house isn't very spacious either, with just enough room to fit one full-sized bed and a couple of other sleeping bags on the floor. Yoongi keeps his humble collection of clothes in his bathroom sink. The bathroom is standard and looks barely used. But the worst part of the house is the kitchen, much to Seokjin's despair. There's more dust than counter space.

"I don't cook," comes Yoongi's simple answer when Seokjin gives the man a bewildered look.

And just like that, the house tour is over in a couple of minutes.

"Do you have a car?" you ask cautiously.

Yoongi shakes his head. "Left my bike at the bus parking lot." He shrugs. "But we have the bus."

You bite your lip. Buses use way more gas than cars do—you don't even have to be a mechanic to know. It might've even been better to have a bike.

Everyone is silent for the most part, taking in their new surroundings and unsure what to make of it. Yoongi collapses on the couch. "I have beer somewhere in my fridge. Help yourselves."

Hoseok makes a face—as if he's never had a cheap beer in his life.

You and Jungkook make faces because neither of you is of legal age to drink yet. Yet another reminder that you're stuck with actual adults.

Once those who want a beer get a beer and all the canned foods and water are stashed in the fridge, everyone gathers around awkwardly in the living room. With so much afternoon chaos, the evening seems eerily quiet. It's like all of you are waiting for disaster to strike again.

You, yourself, begin to think about your safety. The thing about Yoongi's house (no matter how small and shabby it is) is that it's out in the open without any other houses nearby. For one, that's a good thing because there's less chance that zombies will make their way out here. But there's also no barrier either.

And suddenly acquiring seven male roommates out of nowhere? Seven men you barely even know? Sure, you've spoken to Jungkook a lot of times, but never outside of the bus or the practice field.

But you guess you have to sacrifice comfort and privacy to survive.

Finally, when the silence stretches on for nearly thirty minutes, Hoseok speaks. "We have to talk about the elephant in the room," he announces.

Everyone raises their eyebrows.

"What elephant??" Jimin says. "Where's the important question? Did I miss something?"

"No," Hoseok sighs. "What are we going to do about the sleep situation?"

"What do you mean?" Yoongi scoffs. "I get the bedroom, everyone else sleeps out here." He gestures at the living room.

"At least four people can fit in that bedroom," Namjoon says. "I suggest you can choose who gets to sleep there."

"You have to take in count that we have a lady present too," Seokjin says.

"Shouldn't she automatically get the bedroom then?" Jungkook says. "And she chooses who sleeps in the bedroom?"

"That's not fair!" Taehyung says. "Why does gender matter in this situation?"

"Yeah, and you're only saying that because you know she'll pick you!" Hoseok scoffs.

"Well, I'm sorry I want to make her feel comfortable in a male dominant household!" Jungkook shouts.

You feel awkward, biting your lip and looking back and forth between Jungkook and the two other men.

"Um, if you'd let me choose, I'd have to go with Yoongi, just because it's his house, Jungkook and Namjoon..." you say.

"Goddamn!" Jimin exclaims. "What did I ever do to you??"

"Nothing!" you protest. "I'm just—"

"My house, my rules!" Yoongi shouts over everyone. "I get to choose! And I pick Y/N, Namjoon and Jungkook. That's final!"

While Jimin, Hoseok and Taehyung are grumbling, Seokjin seems rather happy. "I'm closer to the kitchen in the living room," he grins. "And besides, it doesn't matter whether you sleep in the bedroom or in the living room. You get the same sleep." He pauses. "Unless you get the actual bed."

"We can take turns with the bed," you tell the three other men.

"Nah," Yoongi says. "Never liked that stupid thing."

"I also prefer sleeping on the ground. It's good for my back," Namjoon says.

Jungkook shrugs at you. "You can take the bed."

You're left gaping at them. "Are you sure...?"

"Just take the offer before they change their minds, honey," Seokjin laughs.

"O-Okay."

"Now what?" Taehyung says, exasperated. He seems let down that he doesn't get to sleep in the bedroom. Nor does he seem keen on the idea of sleeping in sleeping bags. Hoseok looks equally annoyed.

You suppose you can understand them in a way. You don't exactly have many things to lose. In fact, now, you probably don't have to pay off student debt. But Hoseok and Taehyung, well, they're not used to living in cramped up places. It's not really their fault that they're being so whiny. But at the same time, you wish they can shut the fuck up and stop complaining.

"What do you mean, now what?" Yoongi says. "We're gonna sleep. I think I have an extra blanket or something..."

"Sleep?" Hoseok says. "It's barely 6 o'clock."

"Well, what else do you suggest we do? Go outside and hunt the zombies??" Yoongi says. "Excuse me, I'm gonna go to bed."

"Wait!"

Yoongi turns around and glares daggers at the rich businessman. But Hoseok doesn't budge. "Do you have a phone charger?" He holds up his phone, the latest model of the iPhone—the one that costs more than some laptops.

The bus driver cocks an eyebrow. He holds up his own phone in the air.

Everyone else gasps when they realize Yoongi's phone is a battered, out-dated Nokia. The model that is so old that you swear you had that same phone when you were in sixth grade.

"A Nokia?!" Taehyung shrieks.

Everyone pulls out their own iPhones in rapid succession.

"Oh, god," Namjoon mutters.

"I guess it's goodbye to our phones," Seokjin says. "A pity..."

"We should've grabbed iPhone chargers at Target," you sigh, shoving your phone back in your back pocket. A forgotten necessity...

"Yeah, you should've," Hoseok agrees.

You give him the nasty side-eye when he turns his back to you.

"Well," Yoongi shrugs, "it's not the end of the world. Besides, I think I have an iPhone charger somewhere..."

"You used to have an iPhone?? Why the switch?" Jimin says, twiddling his one iPhone X in his hands.

"No, never had an iPhone. I hate Apple products," Yoongi scoffs. "I'm a die-hard Samsung fan, but I had to switch to Nokia to pay the bills. I just had an ex-girlfriend who left her iPhone chargers at my house. I might find more than one if I dig around, I guess."

Everyone whoops with joy.

After a hunt that lasts for an hour, two pathetic, dirty iPhone chargers sit in the middle of the shaggy carpet while everyone else crowds around them.

"I call it first!" Hoseok and Taehyung say at the same time.

No one dares to argue.

"Now can I sleep?" Yoongi sighs.

"You don't want dinner?" Seokjin says.

"You're going to cook?" Yoongi raises his eyebrows.

"Well, I'll make do with the canned foods," Seokjin says.

"We should also probably try to watch the news or something," Jungkook says. "To see if they're calling for any survivors..."

The mood suddenly becomes dim.

Right. The past hour had been so busy that everyone had somehow forgotten about the zombie apocalypse.

Jungkook senses the mood and quickly changes the topic. "Just kidding. Let's play a game."

"A game?" Jimin says. "I love games!"

"Depends on the game," Taehyung says. "I call beer pong."

"I'm nineteen," you say.

"So? I took shots when I was eight," Taehyung argues.

You roll your eyes.

Amongst the commotion, Seokjin manages to sneak his way into the kitchen. No one really cares.

"Okay, then does anyone have game suggestions?" Jungkook says. "Just so we can get to know each other better. We don't know how long this will last, right?"

"I think I'm too old for games," Hoseok grumbles.

"I don't think I've played a game in my whole life," Yoongi says.

"Can I study for my exams?" Namjoon pipes up.

Jungkook sighs. He looks at you for some help but you shrug. If they don't want to play games, then they won't play games. You don't want to force them into it and end up having no fun at all.

"Maybe we should just let them do what they want," you whisper to Jungkook.

He gives you a look of incredulity. "That's it!" he yells. "We're all in a shitty mood, but you know what? I don't give a flying fuck. We're going to play fuck, marry or kill!"

Seokjin groans from the kitchen. He pops his head around the corner while holding a big container full of food in his hands. "Will the game mess with everyone's appetite?"

"What even is that?" Jimin points at the bowl.

Seokjin shrugs. "A bit of beans. A bit of corn. A bit of sauce. I don't even know, but it tastes good." He grabs some spare plates and bowls and sets them down in the living room along with an array of plastic utensils.

"Where did you even get the sauce and utensils?" Yoongi scoffs. "I swear I don't own any of that."

Seokjin grins. "I carry a good sauce and extra utensils everywhere."

And you have to compliment Seokjin's cooking skills because the mystery mixture is actually delicious.

"Um, hello??" Jungkook says while everyone else is scarfing down food. "Fuck, marry or kill??"

Namjoon looks up from his bowl. "That game's hardly fair."

"And why is that?" Jungkook cocks his head to the side.

"Y/N's the only girl," Namjoon says.

"That's true," Jimin pipes up. "We can't really play unless... you know, you suggest we fuck each other. No homo though, bros."

You scrunch your nose. "Yeah, Jungkook, that's a bit—"

"You got a better idea?" Jungkook says. "C'mon."

Yoongi grumbles. "I thought this game was supposed to make us get to know each other better."

"It will!" Jungkook says.

"Yeah, it'll let everyone know our sexual preferences," Taehyung sniggers.

Everyone groans.

"I agree with baseball boy," Taehyung says. "I used to play this game all the time. I'm hella good."

Hoseok frowns. "How the fuck can you be good at this game??"

Taehyung completely ignores the businessman and whirls around at you. You nearly spit out your food in surprise. "Y/N! Yes, you. Fuck, marry or kill? Jungkook, Namjoon and me?"

Everyone groans again.

"He's just saying that so Y/N can pick him to fuck," Jimin giggles.

"You're way too obvious," Seokjin snorts.

You sigh, shaking your head. "Well, I guess I'm killing Taehyung off just for asking me the first question." At that, Seokjin leans across from you and gives you a triumphant high-five. "As for fuck..." you trail off, looking between Namjoon and Jungkook. "I'll fuck Jungkook and marry Namjoon."

Jungkook gasps. "You've known me for longer and you'd rather fuck me???"

"Yeah, what does that have to say about your personality?" you tease.

All the men—except Jungkook—erupt in laughter. In just one sentence, you become the most popular person in the room, everyone complimenting you for putting Jungkook in his place.

"Y/N, you've officially become my new favorite person," Seokjin declares.

"Really?" you laugh. "Okay, then Seokjin. Fuck, marry or kill: Hoseok, Taehyung, Jimin."

"Ouch," Yoongi mutters.

"Ouch??" Jimin huffs.

"Ouch," Seokjin repeats. "I can't choose whether I want to kill Hoseok or Taehyung."

"Hey!" Taehyung yells. "Don't kill me again! Y/N already did that!"

"All the more reason for me to kill Taehyung," Seokjin sings. "I'm fucking Hoseok so I can get a limo ride or something from him the morning after. And Jimin's cute. I can work with that. I'd marry him."

"Yes!" Jimin yells, pumping his fist up in the air. "I'm husband material!"

Taehyung groans. "I've been killed twice," he mopes.

"Okay, then you try," Jimin says. "Yoongi, Seokjin, Y/N."

"I'm killing Y/N for revenge!" Taehyung declares but when he looks between Yoongi and Seokjin, he changes his mind. "No... wait, uh... I'm killing Seokjin for revenge! I'd fuck Y/N and marry Yoongi but it would be a sexless marriage."

"You only chose to fuck Y/N because she's a girl," Hoseok snorts.

"What?? She's hot."

"I'm right here!"

The game goes around in circles for hours and by the end, everyone is engaged in it. You win for getting the most marries. You also tie with Jungkook for getting the most fucks. Hoseok and Taehyung tie for getting the most kills. And Namjoon gets an honorable mention for being neutral in everyone's minds.

By the end, it becomes very clear that you and Jungkook are the most likable people, followed up by Yoongi and Seokjin (for knowing how to cook). It feels good to be liked by complete strangers. Normally, you wouldn't give a shit whether strangers like you or not. But... you might be stuck with these seven men for a very long time.

They're not so bad once there is nothing threatening their lives.

You don't mind being here that much anymore. With just a little bit of time, this place could feel like home. And these strangers can be your friends.

But right now, your first priority is to survive.

Okay, so, fast forward four months, and now your priority isn't exactly to survive. Pretty strange, to be honest. In over 120 days, things have taken quite a worse turn—the city is becoming more dilapidated and there are more zombies roaming about, but truth be told, you and your seven friends are doing just fine. In fact, you are doing great. More than great.

Now, your priority is to live comfortably. Ironically in an environment that prioritizes survival.

It's genuinely because of the advanced system Hoseok bestowed upon the household one faithful day. (He wasn't the successful CEO of a rising company for nothing.)

The businessman gave everyone a designated job to work depending on their skills. You think he especially thought of this system when Taehyung and Namjoon somehow managed to set the kitchen on fire back when kitchen duty was rotational. Seokjin had grieved for days because the fire left ugly burn marks on Yoongi's counters. And now the intern chef's the only one allowed in the kitchen. Seokjin faithfully cooks three meals every day—enough for everyone to have seconds. Enough to even have leftovers.

In turn, Namjoon takes care of all the medical stuff. He claims that he can cure anything except a zombie bite. When Taehyung challenges him that he can't cure all cancer, Namjoon gets unreasonably pouty and the whole next day, he decides to study. But he comes up with nothing, to Taehyung's delight. But to Taehyung's distress, Hoseok assigns him as Namjoon's medical assistant (only because Taehyung had ditched nursing at one point to pursue law). Now Taehyung's right back where he started.

But the two of them manage to get along. Sometimes. And they are responsible with the medical supplies. Sometimes. And they remind everyone to take their vitamin supplements. Sometimes. Namjoon's also crazy good at taking splinters out. That's an always.

Jimin's assigned to keep a lookout on the news through the rather spotty radio. So far, there's been nothing. But the cop in training is persistent and hopeful. Well, everyone is. You all hope that someone announces the apocalypse is over and there's a safety station not too far away from here. But the announcement never comes. No problem. You're in a situation where you're not that desperate—you can wait it out.

Hoseok gets to order everyone around and makes sure all the household duties are fulfilled. Strangely, after you get to know him for a while, he's actually a pretty chill guy. Just a little uptight when it comes to serious business. He's a huge scaredy-cat with a big heart and only becomes irrational when he's in fear.

Arguably, you and Jungkook are in charge of the most dangerous job. You are what everyone else calls the 'suppliers.' At least once every two weeks, the two of you hop on the bus with Yoongi (who drives) and go to Target to pick up groceries or anything else the others needed. The job is dangerous all right, but you and Jungkook haven't come across a major zombie attack yet, so the bi-weekly outings are a bit of a joke. (The two of you fool around in Target and spend a bit too much extra time in there than necessary.) But what can you say? It serves as a little escape from the cramped house!

Yoongi doesn't really have a job except to drive you and Jungkook anywhere you need to go. Hoseok decided to let him slack off—only because he sacrificed his house for the crew.

In four months, you're able to get to know the men better. In normal circumstances, you doubt that you'd ever come near a rich businessman. But here you are, cracking jokes with Hoseok every night. You wouldn't even have gotten to know a cop in training either. Or a law student. Or a med student. Or an intern chef who's actually talented. Maybe you knew Jungkook from before the apocalypse. But you never really connected with him on another level. Now, you know a lot about the seven men you're forced to live with.

A bit more than you would like, too.

You know that Hoseok likes his soup cold, which convinces you that he's a total psychopath, but whatever. Seokjin secretly likes to bake more than he likes to cook. Namjoon still studies for his medical exams (that are very obviously never going to take place) because he can't stand having nothing to do. Jimin's actually really insecure about his physique (despite his sassy and confident nature) and constantly needs someone to tell him that yes, Jimin, your ass looks fan-fucking-tastic in those tight jeans. Taehyung—you think—watches porn when everyone's asleep. So he might kinda be a porn-addict but you're not really sure. You don't wanna find out. And Jungkook... You know that he likes to read romance novels. Which you found out when he dragged you down the literary romance aisle in Target and suggested you save space in your bags so he could take some back to home base.

But no one else in the house likes to read, so Jungkook doesn't get his books in the end.

It's hard to believe that you're in the midst of a zombie apocalypse—especially with the comfortable way you're living—but still, you and Jungkook only try to take home what's necessary. To save time and space, of course.

A couple of months into living together, all of you had even celebrated Namjoon's 25th birthday. He didn't get a cake, but Seokjin managed to make cookies in five minutes in Yoongi's old microwave. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in the tight living room, playing what Jungkook liked to call 'family games.' Games that you should probably not play with your actual family (because of the level of inappropriateness), but games that bring friends together to the point that they feel like family.

So, in conclusion, the seven men aren't as horrible as you thought in the beginning. Sure, they have their strange and eccentric quirks, but it's refreshing to see so many different personalities in one house. You can't imagine how shitty life would've been if you were stuck with seven men with the same character as a doorknob. It's nice to live with people with such... unique personalities.

And at this point, they're like your friends—if not—best friends.

And best friends are not afraid to call each other out.

"WAKE UP YOU FUCKING SLOTH!" Taehyung screams.

You can hear Yoongi let out a dead groan from the bedroom. But it doesn't look like he's going to be barging out anytime soon.

"WAKE UP!!!!" Jimin shrieks.

Everyone covers their ears. Jimin's voice is definitely loud and shrill enough to burst someone's eardrums. But none of you want to find out, of course.

"I didn't haul my ass out of bed early in the morning to break my back cooking for everyone for you to not fucking wake up!" Seokjin yells. "Wake the fuck up!!"

From inside the bedroom, Yoongi groans. And then: "SHUT UP OR I'M KICKING EVERYONE OUT!"

You snort. Everyone else rolls their eyes, picks up their utensils and begins to scarf down the scrambled eggs.

Yoongi tends to get very cranky when he's woken by the sound of yelling. When the man is cranky, he makes empty threats that he never really means. Of course he wouldn't kick everyone out of the house. Though he doesn't like to admit it, Yoongi loves the company of the others.

The bus driver stumbles into the kitchen with his hair up in the air and his eyes barely open. "I hate you all."

"Really?" Seokjin smiles, handing the cranky man a plate of still-warm breakfast. "Love your hair."

"Shut up." Yoongi ducks his head down and begins to eat with vigor.

"Hey, chef?" Taehyung sighs, pushing his half-eaten plate of eggs away from himself.

"What is it, lawyer boy?" Seokjin says, crossing his arms. "Do you want escargot to go along with that? Or caviar?"

Taehyung is the designated picky eater of the bunch. But no one blames him. If you grew up eating filets and caviar, you'd probably be picky too.

"The eggs aren't salty enough," Taehyung says. "Do we have salt?"

"Nope, we're out," Seokjin says.

"Ugh," Taehyung groans. "I can't eat this. It tastes too bland."

Seokjin frowns. "Just appreciate what I made for you, you ungrateful swine."

Of course, it isn't a normal breakfast in the group if there isn't an argument. In the beginning, it had been annoying, but now everyone is so used to it, they let it fly.

"Y/N and JK? Can we get some salt today?" Seokjin sighs as he turns to you and Jungkook. "Someone's being a picky bitch again."

"Hey!" Taehyung says.

Hoseok just talks over him. "Anyways," he says, "Jimin, any new reports?"

"Nothing," Jimin sighs. "Radio's basically dead. Honestly, we might be the only ones alive in the whole state at this point."

"That... is not exactly statistically possible," Namjoon points out. "If you really think about it, the probability that—"

"Shut up, please," the cop in training says, exasperated. "Let us go one day without your lectures. God."

You and Jungkook give each other a 'here they go again' look.

"Can we have at least one day where we don't bicker like big babies?" Yoongi scoffs, throwing down his fork. He still looks half dead, his voice gravelly and deep.

Taehyung raises an eyebrow at him. "No, bitch," he answers. "The bickering is what makes us such a great motherfucking team."

"Actually—" Namjoon starts.

"Everybody just shut the fuck up and eat!" Seokjin yells.

Just like always.

This is a very typical breakfast in the household. Where everyone yells at Yoongi to wake up. And then the arguing commences up to the point Seokjin can't take it anymore and screams at everyone to shut their traps. That's when everyone obeys him (because Seokjin can be quite scary when angry) and eats silently.

After breakfast, Hoseok calls a meeting in the bedroom. You and Jungkook sit on the bed as everyone else sits around the floor; Hoseok stays standing.

"Look, guys," he says, "it's been four fucking months. We're lost."

You cock your head. Lost was the last thought in your head right now.

"At least we're alive," Jungkook snorts. "At least none of us have been bitten. At least none of the zombies have turned up around this area yet. At least—"

"Okay, okay, we get it, Jungkook," Hoseok sighs. "It's just that we're in a tricky situation right now. It's been four months..."

"Yes, we know," you say. "But haven't things been going smoothly? I mean, look, we have enough food, we're safe here and we're happy. What more can we ask for?"

Seokjin hums thoughtfully. "Well, Hoseok might be right, Y/N," he says. "It's only been four months, right? So the utilities are still working. There's still gas in the gas stations, the fridges are working... You know?"

Namjoon nods. "Exactly. But when will that run out?"

"When will the food run out? When will we have to live off of rationed canned foods because the fridges in Target broke? What if our fridge breaks?" Seokjin says. "We're in a tough spot."

"But we're not lost... yet," Jimin says, "right??"

"But we don't know when the doomsday will come," Taehyung sighs. "That makes this whole situation shittier."

It's not very often that the group sits down to have a serious conversation—it's not often at all that everyone can be serious in one setting. And it's a bit unsettling.

Especially when you had thought you were doing fine. But what would you know? You're only nineteen; you've yet to experience hardships that the others have gone through. So you know what the others are worrying about is valid.

"So what do we need to prepare for?" Jungkook asks.

"That's what I wanted to talk about today," Hoseok says. "How are we going to prepare for a potential zombie attack if we had minimal contact with zombies so far?"

"That's true..." you murmur. "Kook and I are the only ones who've seen zombies without a barrier separating them and us... But even then, they were several yards away."

"We don't know their weaknesses at all," Namjoon says. "We just know that once you've been bitten, you'll die and then become undead after some time. But we don't even have a specific number on that either."

"I mean, do you really want to find out?" Taehyung snorts. "Why would any zombie come around here, anyway?"

"But this is all a 'just in case' situation," Hoseok says. "We just want to prepare for the worst possible scenario."

There the businessman goes again, thinking ten steps ahead of everyone.

"I feel like we'll have the best solutions when we actually face the problem," Jungkook says. "We definitely don't feel threatened right now. We're not gonna get an effective solution." He shrugs. "I say we go with the flow."

"And wait until it's too late and one of us gets bitten?" Namjoon says.

"Have you ever heard of procrastinating?" Jungkook says.

Namjoon and Hoseok gasp like they've seen the devil.

"If we wait until we're threatened, we'll do ten day's worth of work in ten minutes," Jungkook says.

"And if we try to force a solution now, we'll probably do ten minute's worth of work in ten days. Or worse," you add. "Trust me, as a procrastinator, I would know."

"They kind of have a point," Seokjin says. "I guess if we run out of food, we can always... grow it? I don't know, we can be self-sufficient. There's always a solution, no matter how late in the game we find it."

"Are you saying we should wait until we're actually in trouble before taking action...?" Jimin says slowly. "Because that sounds dangerous... I mean, I don't uh, work well under pressure."

"I think we should invest in a gun," Taehyung says. "'Cause in the movies, they totally gun the little shits down."

"None of us knows how to shoot a gun," Yoongi says. "And I don't trust any of you with one."

"Hey! I'm a cop—"

"Cop in training, I know, I know," Yoongi says. "But I don't care. You get scared easily. You're gonna accidentally shoot one of us while you're at it."

Jimin can't argue with that.

"We can't live like this forever," Hoseok says, shaking his head disdainfully.

"Who knows? Maybe this will lead to the extinction of the human race," Namjoon says. "We might have to live like this forever."

"See? If we go on forever, then we won't have to come up with solutions right away. We'll make them up as we go," you say.

"Procrastinating is a horrible—"

But before Hoseok can go on a lecture-rant for two hours straight, Yoongi stands up.

"Well, I'm done with this conversation," he says. The man gestures at you and Jungkook. "C'mon, you two. Let's get to Target."

You silently thank Yoongi for helping you escape Hoseok's long life lectures. Swiftly, you and Jungkook grab your weapons—your bats—before cautiously stepping out of the house and climbing into the bus.

The bus ride to Target is silent as usual. Yoongi likes to drive in complete silence, observing the city's hollowed-out, empty look. Sometimes, zombies lurk about in the shadows, but they're always too slow to catch up to the bus. And they rarely swarm around Target for reasons that are so lucky that you don't even question it.

Once Yoongi's bus pulls up to the Target parking lot, you and Jungkook cautiously tug back the curtains draped around the windows to check if the coast is clear. Usually, it is. Yoongi always murmurs some sort of subtle words of encouragement before the two of you leave. But you and Jungkook never need it.

Swinging your bats over your shoulders and walking side by side in Target, you feel like you're the Harley Quinn to Jungkook's Joker. Not that the two of you are romantically close. Ew.

It's just that you spend a lot of time with him. Going on supply missions, sleeping in the same bedroom, listening to music together during otherwise silent bus rides... Jungkook's a great shoulder to cry on when an existential crisis hits you at 4 a.m. in the morning. He's always able to wake up and calm you down before the others are awoken from the sounds of you sniffling under the covers.

Granted, the two of you still tease the living hell out of each other, you think you make a great team with Jeon Jungkook.

Sometimes, zombies will creep into Target and roam about with their limping legs and horrible posture. You and Jungkook aren't very scared of them because at most there are only two or three at a time and that's a number you and Jungkook can easily beat with your bats. Plus, the two of you have trained short-distance running for years. You're fast. If you ever get in a position where you have to run for your life, you think you'll survive.

Besides, the zombies are stupid. There are too many ways to outsmart them. I.e. throw a noisy kiddy toy in the opposite direction and have them hobble towards it while you can run away. Seriously, how dumb can you be to let a zombie best you???

Despite being overly confident about your survival skills, you and Jungkook still take safety precautions. (It's always better to stay safe than be sorry.) The rule of thumb is that you're only allowed to carry one shopping bag each, which leaves the other hand empty to handle the bat.

Today's Target trip is just like any other. You get some salt for Seokjin and manage to salvage the gummy bear vitamin supplements that everyone raves over.

You're just about to call it a day and suggest you go back to the bus when Jungkook tugs at your shirt and points at the sports section. Your eyes fall on the baseball bats and softballs in the corner. Nostalgia hits you hard.

"Oh..." you breathe.

"Yeah..." Jungkook sighs. "When's the last time you even had a game?"

"It feels like it's been years," you sigh. "But probably four months and a few weeks."

"We should really start working out again," Jungkook says. "I heard it's bad for athletes to suddenly stop."

You snort. "Working out's the last thing that should be on our minds in the midst of a zombie apocalypse though."

"True." Jungkook grips his baseball bat in his hand and stares forlornly at it. "I really can't imagine trying to hit something that's not a ball with this bat."

He makes a sad point. "Me too," you agree with him. "I'd never want gross zombie guts on it."

"You know, I wish I could swing my bat and hit a ball right now," Jungkook sighs. "That's literally my only wish at this point."

"It's a risky wish..."

"I know..."

The conversation is sad—too sad for you to handle. Too sad to be talking about with fun-loving Jeon Jungkook.

"Whatever, right?" you say, trying to lighten the mood. "When all of this ends..." Even you can't finish your sentence. You find yourself wondering, but when will it end??

Jungkook pats your back. "When all of this ends," he continues for you, "we should come to each other's games."

You smile at him. "Promise?"

"Promise."

It's silly to be so caught up in playing a goddamn sport in the midst of an apocalypse. But softball had been your life, and it had been stripped away from you. It's worse to have to carry around your bat all the time—not to hit a ball, but for protection. Protection against monsters.

"We should go," Jungkook whispers, nudging you. He points his head in the direction of some zombies who had caught sight of the two of you in the sports aisle. Neither of you panic, but Jungkook grabs your hand anyway. "Wanna make a run for it?" He grins as if nothing is wrong at all. "It'll be like a mini-workout."

You smile back. Four months ago, you would've been terrified if a zombie was within even a twenty feet radius around you. But you've grown now. You're used to a couple of zombies. And Jungkook's never terrified, so you have no reason to be terrified either.

"Let's go!" you say, returning Jungkook's smile.

The two of you begin to dash away, hearing the inhumane moans of the zombies echo in your ears as you run not from fear but to exercise. Maybe you are living in more comfort than you've bargained for.

Survival just isn't a priority anymore.

"What the fuck happened to your arm?" Taehyung shouts the moment you and Jungkook walk into the cramped house again with Yoongi trailing behind the two of you.

"Who, me?" Jungkook says, turning his head to inspect his arms.

"No, Y/N," Taehyung sighs, rolling his eyes. "You have blood running down your arm, dude. Does it not hurt?"

Now that Taehyung mentions it, your right arm begins to throb with sudden pain. When you turn, you see a small gash coated with blood; the droplets are rolling down your arm in a dramatic fashion, but the pain is tolerable.

"DID YOU GET BITTEN?!" Jimin screams.

Yoongi rolls his eyes. "If she was bitten, she would've dropped dead." He picks up the plastic bags and carries them over to the kitchen as everyone trails behind him. "As you can see," he gestures toward you, "Y/N is fucking fine."

"I must've cut my arm on some cardboard or something. I don't know," you say. "We were running away from some of those creeps, so..."

"Are you okay, at least?" Jungkook says. "It looks like it hurts."

You snort. "I mean, it's only a cut. Hey, Tae, a little help over here?"

"Only a cut? Dude, nothing's ever only a cut in a fucking apocalypse," Taehyung says. "I'll take a look." He disappears into the bathroom to wash his hands and comes out holding the first aid kit.

While Taehyung treats your little wound, Seokjin begins to serve lunch—grilled cheese that's crunchy and flavorful and definitely not bland. Taehyung gives his compliments to the chef, which almost makes Seokjin break down in blissful tears.

But then the bickering commences as usual.

"I'm not trying to point fingers here," Namjoon starts, but he very obviously stares Taehyung down. "But I haven't touched my phone since the apocalypse began. Yet it seems like Taehyung can't get enough of his phone the whole day."

Taehyung takes a ginormous bite of his grilled cheese sandwich and shrugs. "It's important stuff," he grumbles with his mouth full.

"How, though? We've already established that none of our relatives are answering our texts or calls ages ago," Hoseok says.

"What could possibly be so important on your phone, I wonder," Seokjin says. He raises his eyebrows, but everyone already knows that he's suspecting.

Taehyung rolls his eyes. "It's good leisure time."

You make a face. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I can confirm it," Jungkook says. "He watches porn."

Taehyung scoffs. "You don't??"

"Well, jacking off is the least of our worries," Jimin adds to the conversation. "Though I'm sure it feels good."

Everybody groans. You especially.

"I can do whatever I want with my fucking dick," Taehyung announces.

"Please," you say, "can I eat in peace without having to think about dicks?"

"Thank you!" Taehyung says. "Everyone please shut up and eat Jin's delicious grilled cheese."

Seokjin smiles proudly. It seems as though Taehyung's learning a thing or two from Seokjin.

"I really go through the mill every day to cook for you guys and Taehyung's the only one who's complimenting me?" the talented chef sighs, shaking his head. "Don't be surprised if I accidentally spill dirt in your dish the next meal. Seriously, guys. I think I deserve some standing ovation or something—"

But before Seokjin can go on one of his famous self-esteem raising rants, you excuse yourself and make a mad dash to the only bathroom in the whole house. Even the talkative chef stops his ranting when you disappear behind the locked door so quickly.

Jimin's the first to speak. He giggles, "I think she's getting diarrhea from your delicious meal, chef."

Jungkook rolls his eyes. "You're an idiot, Jimin. She's definitely not taking a shit."

"I am not an idiot!"

"What are you trying to say?" Yoongi says, feigning disinterest, but he's obviously curious about your sudden escape to the toilet.

"It's her time of month," Jungkook whispers to the men. Their eyes turn large at the relayed news. "You guys better not get on her bad side in the next few days. Or let her be in a bad mood. Run it with me, guys," he says quietly. "She gets cramps in the first three days. She gets bad cravings on the fourth. After that, we should be safe. Anyways, just be especially nice to her. She wasn't exactly having the best day today."

"How the fuck do you know her cycle?" Hoseok narrows his eyes.

"I accidentally might've... um, grazed my hand against her ass one time um, and... I heard a crunch... Turns out it was her pad," Jungkook sighs. "It was a total accident. But I almost lost my head. Ever since then, I've been keeping track in fear for my life."

"Must kinda suck being a woman in these times," Yoongi says.

"Yeah, respect for Y/N for sure," Taehyung says.

"She's a strong woman," Namjoon nods. "I agree. Imagine trying to live with seven males you barely know in a world where there are so many dangerous predators—cough, men."

"I know, I know," Jungkook sighs. "I feel bad because she totally switched from pads to tampons because of me..."

"Tampons are better for active girls, anyway," Namjoon says. "I think."

"I never really notice when Y/N's on her period though," Seokjin says. "I mean, she doesn't have mood swings at all!"

"That's 'cause she has mood swings all the time," Jungkook snickers, bending the truth to earn some laughs from the boys. But it doesn't become very funny when:

"I can fucking FEEL you guys talking about me!" you shriek from the bathroom, and though the door is closed, everyone else can hear you loud and clear.

It becomes completely silent; the men suddenly become very invested in eating.

A few seconds later, you walk out of the bathroom looking a little peeved already. You sigh as you pick up your leftover grilled cheese. "Hey, Jin, can I get something warm to drink?"

"Warm water?" Seokjin says. "Of course, honey."

You raise your eyebrows at Seokjin's sudden sweetness, but you don't question it.

Meanwhile, Jungkook looks at the other men and gives them the 'I told ya so' look. Cramps 101, warm water helps ease the pain and so do hot packs, which unfortunately aren't available at the moment. Jungkook's done some extra research himself. Maybe on your birthday or something, he can surprise you with one of those cute animal-shaped hot packs or an extra supply of painkillers. (You never waste a precious Advil on period cramps, no matter how bad they get.)

The rest of the day, the men surprisingly keep quiet. And it's doing wonders for that headache that's creeping in. Normally, you try not to make a big show that you're on your period, so everyone tends to treat you the same. But today... well, it's almost as if they know they're walking on thin ice. You can't say you don't like this special treatment. Especially when dinner is actually civil for once, with no one calling others out or displaying horrible table manners.

It's even hilarious how after dinner, Jungkook takes you aside and very, very cautiously asks, "Hey... I don't know if you're down or not for family time today... but—"

You cut him off, laughing, "I'm always down!!"

On your cue, the group gathers around in the living room and Yoongi even offers you the single couch that he always claims is his. You gratefully take his offer and hug your pillow in front of you to keep your stomach warm. Jungkook sits next to you (as usual) but perches upon the couch arm.

"Anybody have a nice, tame game for tonight?" he says.

"Tame??" you say, raising your eyebrows. "Why tame?"

"Er..."

Luckily, Taehyung comes to the rescue. "Never have I ever!" he shrieks. "But the nasty version, how about that?"

"Tae—" Seokjin starts, but you interject.

"Nasty never have I ever!" you say, gripping your pillow tightly against your stomach. "Sounds like a plan! The ten fingers version please." Jungkook notices you biting your lip in discomfort and offers you his hand to take. Though you raise your eyebrows at him, you take his offer. No one else notices.

"Okay, I'll start," Namjoon says, crisscrossing his legs and looking smugly at everyone—almost as if he knew he had a good question. "Never have I ever had a friends with benefits."

"Oh, come on!" nearly half of the group screams.

"You've really never had a friend with benefits??" Jungkook gawks at Namjoon. "Seriously dude. Harsh first question."

"Don't have time for friends with benefits," Namjoon answers, grinning.

You, Seokjin, Yoongi and Namjoon laugh triumphantly as the others lose their marbles over already having nine fingers left.

"I don't have friends to benefit from," Yoongi snorts, looking proudly at his ten still-standing fingers.

"I'd get attached to the 'friend,' which wouldn't be good for my mental health," you giggle. "So no. Never had or never will have friends with benefits."

Seokjin just shrugs, grinning rather innocently.

"Fine. I'll go next," Hoseok grumbles. "Counterclockwise, right? Hm..." he trails off, scrunching his eyebrows. "Ooh! Okay, never have I ever sexted the wrong person. Almost did, once."

"Dammit, Hoseok!" Jimin yells.

"You sexted the wrong person?!" Jungkook doubles over in laughter. "How???"

"My ex's contact was dangerously close to my mother's," Jimin grumbles. "I had to do a lot of explaining that day."

"Oh my god," you deadpan. "I'm so sorry, but that's just fucking hilarious."

Jimin huffs, puffing out his cheeks and angrily putting another finger down to have a total of eight fingers left. "I'm losing now."

"Relax, you haven't gotten to zero just yet," Taehyung teases.

"My turn!" Seokjin announces, "and I got a good one. I'm gonna get everyone out." He puffs out his chest and smiles a devilishly handsome smile.

"I doubt it," Yoongi says, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's hard to get everybody but yourself out," Namjoon says. "Especially with more people. You're looking at getting seven people out with one statement. Not impossible but very unlikely."

"Okay. Bet," Seokjin laughs. There is a dramatic pause (wherein it's so silent you could probably hear a pin drop) before he speaks: "Never have I ever had sex."

The whole group goes berserk.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE A VIRGIN?!" Hoseok yells.

"I HATE YOU!" Jimin screams, now at seven fingers.

"HE LITERALLY STILL HAS TEN FINGERS LEFT!"

"HE WASN'T FUCKING KIDDING!"

Seokjin just relaxes and enjoys the chaos unfolding before him.

But the next round, Yoongi says something on the lines of "Never have I not had sex before." So Seokjin loses a point because of that—but not until at least seven minutes of arguing back and forth.

Taehyung, though, comes up with an interesting question that's very obviously targeted at you.

"OOH!" he giggles, eyes turning wide. The law student grins at you specifically. "Never have I ever held hands with the opposite gender during a never have I ever game!"

"What?!" you and Jungkook shriek in unison, but keeping your hands intertwined. Instead, Jungkook squeezes your hand in response.

"That was so obviously aimed towards us!" you complain.

"Oh, then go on, aim something at me, then," Taehyung giggles. "We're tied in points anyway."

"Okay, fine," you sigh. "Never have I ever had a dick."

"You just did not—"

"That's not fair!"

"I can't fucking help what I was born with."

You shrug. "Let the aiming begin. Sorry boys, I wanna win this game."

Even Jungkook looks offended that you had attacked him.

"If you're playing dirty, I can play dirtier," he grins. "Never have I ever had a vagina."

"You stole mine!" you complain. Jungkook just laughs and pats your hand.

"Never have I ever slept with a guy," Jimin says.

"Never have I ever played softball," Namjoon says.

"Never have I ever been penetrated," Hoseok smiles at you angelically. You want to slap them.

"Never have I ever inserted a tampon," Seokjin sings.

"Never have I ever worn a bra," Yoongi says with a shrug.

"Never have I ever held Jungkook's hand," Taehyung laughs.

"That's double-dipping on the last one!" you argue.

"Too bad!"

Now it's your turn. And you only have one finger left. Well, this took the disastrous route.

"Never have I ever kissed a girl," you sigh defeatedly.

Though everyone else puts down a finger, you're still losing big time. One more blow would mean you've lost.

Jungkook smiles, turning to you. "Ready for the finale?"

You roll your eyes. "Whatever. Bring it on."

"Never have I ever had a period."

"I hate you guys," you grumble, sinking into the couch and letting go of Jungkook's arm. "You really ganged up on me."

Though you've lost the game, you're not that mad—not as mad as you thought you'd be. When you see your friends laughing their asses off and high-fiving each other to celebrate your defeat, it ironically makes you feel better. Good to see them get along.

Four months ago, they would've done anything to rip each other apart in shreds. Now, it looks like they've gotten close to the point they'll gang up to spite you.

While clutching your stomach to numb yourself from the pain, you can't help but smile. They've come a very long way. Now they don't really seem like the annoying man babies you knew. Granted, they're still man-babies, but less annoying and slightly more caring and thoughtful. But you'll take any kind of man-baby as long as he respects you and his friends.

Being on your damned period makes you want to sleep in the whole day. Except you're in a zombie apocalypse and sometimes, you have to sacrifice your wishes for the good of the group. Which means, getting up when Seokjin calls for breakfast.

But it's just so hard to get up... You end up ignoring Seokjin and everyone else yelling at you to come eat. Seokjin has to knock on the bedroom door, telling you that you can't skip breakfast or else it'll be bad for your uterus. You're not really sure that's how it works, but since he asked very nicely, you comply.

Groggily, you slide out of bed and make your way to the restroom. You feel heavy, bloated and just plain gross. You quickly change your tampon, scrubbing your hands with soap and water before finally walking out.

Whoever's the last one to wake up usually gets to walk the walk of shame with everyone else yelling at them. But it's silent today.

The moment you join the group and Seokjin hands you your breakfast, Namjoon's considerate enough to ask you if you had a good night's sleep.

"No," you answer, gesturing towards your whole face. "I'm bloated. I have dark circles under my eyes. And I feel ugly."

"N-No, you're beautiful!" Jungkook says quickly.

You give him a look. "Don't lie."

"Do you want me to tell you that you are ugly and bloated?" Jungkook asks in confusion. "I mean, I'll do it if you want, you know."

Oh god. His ignorance makes you want to strangle him.

When Jungkook notices that he's stepped into a dangerous zone, he backs away. "I-I mean, no, I wasn't lying! You're always beautiful, Y/N. I swear!"

You huff but don't respond.

It's obvious that you woke up on the wrong side of the bed. You don't even know why you're so cranky today, but you guess you have to blame it on the fact that you're bleeding out quite uncomfortably. Apparently, your uterus is extra mad this time around that you didn't try for a kid again. And it's getting its revenge by releasing its wrath on your body, which aches about everywhere.

"It must be inconvenient to change your uh, menstrual... products every day," Yoongi says, supposedly trying to cheer you up. "I would be too lazy to do that."

"Yeah. It fucking sucks," you sigh. "Part of me wishes I just had an IUD so my period would stop altogether for a while... or at least lighten it. But then we wouldn't have a doctor to get it out of me after a few years."

Namjoon clears his throat, "Excuse me, I'm a—"

"No, you're not," you cut him off. "You're a med school student. Huge fucking difference."

Namjoon looks a bit hurt, but he dares not to say anything else.

"Whatever," you say bitterly. "Since we're on the topic, I need to get more tampons."

"At least use pads, Y/N... Much safer..." Namjoon tries.

"Yeah, pads are rad," Taehyung snorts.

"Period," Seokjin adds on.

"Oh god. Did you just make a period joke?" Hoseok groans, shaking his head.

"Why, yes," Seokjin grins. "Why yes, I did. I'm just going with the flow."

"Please shut the fuck up," Jimin says for you.

"I second that," you say. "And I'm not switching. Pads annoy the shit out of me. I don't wanna be more annoyed than I already am."

Nobody bothers to argue with you.

The day flows on as usual—with barely anything to do inside the house. The summer heat washes over everyone; it's nearly impossible to go outside because of it. Oh, and also, zombies. No one dares to step foot outside unless you, Jungkook or Yoongi have to get on the bus to get supplies.

But it's days like this where there's not particularly anything to do that makes this whole thing so much harder. The zombie movies make it look so easy, Taehyung points out.

And he's right. There's always so much action going on in apocalypse movies. Guns, knives, cults, blood and gore... But in reality, an apocalypse is much more... boring. It's a waiting game, really.

The eight of you just lie around, counting the fibers of the rug or daydreaming about how the world used to be. Jungkook manages to convince you to work out with him, so the two of you work on your core muscles, which ache by the time you finish because of the lack of use. You finish the work out much earlier than expected. It pisses you off that your stamina has dwindled down to nonexistent in just a few months. If it weren't for the stupid apocalypse, you'd still be one of the star players on your team. Now you're not even sure everyone on your team is still alive.

You call it quits and take a refreshing shower.

With your hair still wet and your clothes clinging onto your body, you lie on the bed right next to Jungkook whose eyes flutter open. "Back from your shower?"

"Mhm..." Instinctively covering your stomach with your hands, you turn your head to look at Jungkook. "I barely got through that workout."

Your friend laughs, clearing his bangs from his eyes at the same time. "You'll get better once we start working out more regularly."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know, though..." you sigh. "What's the point anymore?"

"The point?" Jungkook asks. He shifts his body to look at you, but you don't meet his eyes. "The point is to... survive... Right?"

"...I guess." You wince when your stomach cramps get worse. For some reason, the shower had left you with depressing thoughts and being skeptical of survival. "I dunno. What's the point of living now? We're just stuck in this house. It's cramped. We can't go outside unless we really need to... And I feel like absolute shit about myself. There's just no... purpose."

"Yeah, it sucks," Jungkook agrees. "But hey, you made a purpose by doing something you wanted to do yesterday. Remember? You finally worked out! And even during your period. You should be proud of yourself."

His enthusiasm and kind words make you feel a bit better. "I guess I did accomplish something pretty worthy today."

"See?" Jungkook grins. He sits up on the bed and smiles at you. "You did good."

You laugh, sitting up with him. "You mean, I did well."

"Literally no one cares about grammar."

"Oh, really?" you giggle, nudging Jungkook so hard that he almost falls off the bed. He grabs onto the sheets in a frenzy, and the two of you begin to laugh uncontrollably.

When the laughter dies down, you can't help but keep smiling at Jungkook. He must be having a hard time himself. (Either that or he's just a rock with no feelings.) But it's nice that he actively tries to make you feel better. Even if he jokes about inappropriate things all the time. Thank god there's someone your age living in the household. You doubt that anyone else would understand your PMS-ing and arbitrary existential crises as well as Jungkook.

"I'm sorry I've been such a grouch," you tell Jungkook. "If you guys were meaner to me right now, I'd stop whining. Coddling does bad things to my attitude."

"Nah, if I was bleeding out of my nonexistent vagina, I'd be pissed too," Jungkook says. "C'mon, let's go grab some lunch. I smell Seokjin's cooking."

During the meal, Hoseok sets down his silverware and sighs very loudly. "Everyone," he announces authoritatively. "This place is a pigsty."

Yoongi looks up from his dish. "Excuse me, this is my house. You can't say that."

Hoseok just rolls his eyes. "I'm just saying if I had my secretary, this place would be spotless."

"Well, your secretary isn't here though," Jungkook snickers.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Hoseok glares. "We're still going to do some... summer cleaning."

Oh no. Everyone groans.

Once the dishes are washed and put away, Hoseok starts giving out the cleaning assignments. Seokjin is excited to get the kitchen. You get the bathroom (because your feminine hygiene products are there). Hoseok, Taehyung and Jimin get the living room area, while Yoongi, Namjoon and Jungkook get to clean the bedroom.

It's rather organized, but cleaning is not very fun. Back before the apocalypse, you'd probably clean your desk and room maybe once every six months. Or a year if you were particularly lazy.

Hoseok keeps yelling at everyone to "Put your backs into it!" Jungkook's ordered to scrub the floors and Taehyung gets to wash the rug. You just shut the bathroom door to drive a partition between the loud men.

But the repetitive scrubbing motions help soothe you. And you have to admit, it's a little bit satisfying to see all the muck wash down the drain when you scrub extra hard. However, after a while, it becomes a bit lonely to clean by yourself. Through the door, you can hear the others joke around and prank each other. Somehow, they're making cleaning sound fun.

You finish the last of your part in the bathroom and walk out with a PSA in mind. The men look up when you clear your throat. "Ahem, ahem. Please, for the love of god," you say, "put the fucking toilet seat down."

Jimin cocks his head at you. "But there are seven men and one of you."

"Oh, shut up!" Seokjin slaps Jimin. "Don't be a dick about using your dick."

"Uh, yeah, and it's just not fair that I have to clean up after your horrible aims," you say, shrugging.

"Oof," Jungkook whispers, nudging Taehyung and giggling.

"And I need to go to take out the trash..." you say. "...Anyone wanna come with?"

"Nah, Yoongi and I'll take care of it," Jungkook says. "You can stay and rest."

He doesn't need to say it twice. "Really? Thanks!"

While Jungkook and Yoongi go off to go to the local school to dump the trash, you decide to help Seokjin out in the kitchen. He normally doesn't let anyone around his precious workspace, but he found that you're significantly less clumsy than the other men.

The two of you end up making some soup from scraps and heating up bread. By the time everyone gathers around the living room with their bowls of piping hot soup, it's already dark out. Another day is nearly over.

And what better way to end the day than spend it with family time?

"I had so much time to think about this today," Jimin says. "What about twenty questions?"

"Oh, the thing where we ask twenty questions to come up with an object?" you say. "I'm down."

Everyone else mumbles their validations.

"I have a word," Jungkook snickers. "Shoot the questions." He downs his bowl of soup until there's nothing left.

"Okay, first thing's first," Namjoon says. "Is it alive?"

"No," Jungkook answers. "Is it not. The purpose of it is that it is not alive."

"Hmm..." Yoongi says. "Okay, then is it... um, a household object?"

"Well..." Jungkook pauses. "Yes?"

"Why'd you say that in a question?" you laugh. "Is it a weird household object?"

"Wait, that doesn't count as a question!" Hoseok says.

"Oh shit, sorry. I meant to say, have we ever used it in this house?"

"Um, I hope not," Jungkook snickers.

"Yes or no?!"

"No?? I think?"

"You don't know for sure??"

"I don't know if Yoongi has one of these! And if he uses it!" Jungkook says.

"Okay, fine. Then is it something essential to survival?" Yoongi asks.

"Oh, definitely not."

"Did you use it before the apocalypse?"

"Oh, hell no," Jungkook laughs. "But some of you might've."

"Some of us??" Seokjin says. "Wanna waste seven questions and find out who?"

"No!" everyone else choruses.

"So we know that it's kind of a household object, but we haven't exactly used it in this house... But some of us may have used it before we got stuck here..." Namjoon says. He hums thoughtfully. "Do you think it'd be smart to try to find out the general size of this object?"

Jungkook stifles a laugh.

"Why? Why was that funny?" Hoseok says. He narrows his eyes. "Hm, okay, is it larger than my hand?"

Jungkook laughs out loud. "I mean, it depends, really."

"You need to start giving better answers," Taehyung groans. "You're so fucking vague."

"So the size varies..." you say. "A shit ton of things have varying sizes!"

"I got a question!" Taehyung announces. "Would you typically let this object out in the open?"

"What kind of dumb question is that?" Yoongi rolls his eyes.

"What?? I'm sensing that this object is a weird one and I just wanna confirm it!!"

"No!" Jungkook exclaims. "Never. You would not wanna leave it out in the open."

"Money???" Namjoon guesses. "Do you guys think it's money?"

"How could some of us have used money before the apocalypse?" Hoseok laughs. "It's not money... We have to figure out which people would've used it before."

"Or we can ask where most people would keep the object," you say. "Here's my question, would it be in the kitchen?"

"Not typically, no. I also hope not," Jungkook says.

"Oh god, I can't help you guys now," Seokjin shrugs.

"Would it be in the bedroom, then?" Jimin asks.

"Oh, yes. Yes."

"What would you wanna keep hidden in the bedroom?" Namjoon scrunches his forehead.

Taehyung sniggers. "My mind is going places right now."

"Oh god," you groan. "Please don't—"

"Is it related to sex?" the law student blurts out before anyone can stop him.

There's a dramatic pause before Jungkook nods. "Yes."

"I KNEW IT!" Taehyung pumps his fist in the air victoriously. "It's a sex toy. I can feel it."

"Something that only a few of us would use..." Jimin trails off. "Is it for both sexes?"

"Um..." Jungkook says. "Yes? I mean, you would think it's for women... But I think some men would use it too... Aw man, I just gave you guys a huge hint."

All of the men turn to you. "What have you got for us?" Yoongi says.

You try to rack your brain. "Um... maybe a vibrator?"

"Is that your answer?" Jungkook says.

"Um, yes?"

"Nope!"

"How many questions do we have left?" Hoseok asks.

"Eight," Jungkook answers, grinning. "But I'm pretty sure you guys will get it right."

"Um... um..." you try to think, but nothing's coming up in your head. "I don't know! I don't really use toys in the bedroom!"

"I got it!" Namjoon shrieks. "I got it!"

"What is it??"

"Butt plugs!!"

Jungkook throws his head back to laugh. "N-No!!" he wheezes.

"Oh, wait," Seokjin says. "I think I know."

Everyone holds their breaths as he prepares to reveal the answer.

"A dilidio."

"A WHAT?" you nearly fall over laughing.

"NOOOO!" Taehyung screams, slapping his thighs and doubling over.

"Did you fucking mean dildo???" Hoseok yells, his face turning red as he laughs.

"Oh my god," Jimin giggles.

"I-I choked on my soup," Yoongi coughs, but he's laughing so hard it seems as if he doesn't mind.

"Oh no," Seokjin says. "I suppose I did mean dildo..."

Jungkook seems to be at a loss for words. He's laughing so hard that he's completely silent, his mouth open and his eyes squeezed shut as he gasps for air. "Y-YES!" he finally screams. "You guessed it!"

"Your word was dildo the whole time?!" you shriek. "And you thought some of us used it??"

"Wait, you never used one?" Jungkook gapes. "I thought all girls—"

"No! Not all—I am not talking about this in public!"

"I've considered it before," Taehyung giggles. "But I backed down before things got serious."

"Oh my god," Namjoon wheezes. "I almost lost my lungs thanks to Seokjin."

Seokjin just shrugs. "I'm just here for comedic relief."

"Did you really not know how to say dildo??" Taehyung says.

Seokjin laughs nervously. "I mean... it slipped from my mind for a second... C'mon I'm a straight male who's a virgin. Cut me some slack."

"Sure," Taehyung giggles. "...dilidio," he whispers.

That results in another loud friendly argument, and by the time things are settled and everyone's abs are hurting from laughing, Yoongi decides to call it a night.

You slip into bed after changing tampons and try to drift off the sleep. But the worst thing about being on your period is that sometimes, you get bad insomnia on top of cramps. Curling up into the mattress, you hold your stomach protectively as you try to count the sheep to bore yourself to sleep. However, in your visions, the sheep turn into mutated zombies, so you have to force yourself to open your eyes to get the hideous image out of your head.

Sighing, you turn over so you're on your side and facing the side that Jungkook's sleeping on.

"Still awake?" comes a hushed whisper from below the bed. You can recognize the silvery undertone of Jungkook's voice anywhere.

"Yeah, just some insomnia," you shrug. "And cramps."

"Sucks," Jungkook whispers.

"Yeah..."

"Want me to help?"

"What??"

Before you know it, you hear rustling and Jungkook slips under the covers with you. "Here, I'll big spoon you," he says. "Some extra heat might help, right?"

"O-Oh, y-yeah..." You're so caught off guard that you can't help but stutter. "Are you sure this isn't some plot to just sleep in the comfortable bed?"

Jungkook laughs quietly. "Something like that," he jokes. He puts a reassuring arm around you, and you can't help but flush when he whispers, "Comfortable?"

"Mhm... T-Thanks," is all you can manage. You're so caught up in the fact that you're spooning with Jungkook that you completely forget about your cramps. He smells like Yoongi's soap—clean and a bit minty—like his usual spearmint cologne. It brings back old memories of the Jungkook you barely knew but was still attracted to. The Jungkook you know now is infinitely better.

A part of you knows he actually, genuinely cares for you. But another part of you worries that he's just being nice to get into your pants. You're usually good at spotting the typical ding-dong-ditch boys, so you hope your good judgments about Jungkook are correct as well.

But what kind of bad man cuddles platonically with a girl to help her with her period cramps?? Exactly. Jeon Jungkook is a saint.

And that's the last thought you have before you drift asleep in his strong arms.

When you wake up, Jungkook's not in bed with you; nor is he in the bedroom. It seems as if it's just you and Yoongi left sleeping. The others must be awake.

Waking up without Jungkook next to you almost makes you feel like yesterday had just been a miraculous dream. But you know it had happened. Why else would Jungkook's sleeping bag be arranged so neatly? He'd definitely fallen asleep with you. The thought makes your cheeks blush and you try to shake the feeling away.

You rub your eyes, yawn and carefully maneuver out of the room, avoiding sleeping Yoongi. Making a quick stop to the restroom to change your tampon, you walk out, stretching your arms and yawning. The cramps seemed to have ceased early this time, so you're feeling much lighter and happier.

The others give you their salutations.

"Feeling better?" Jungkook says. He sits up from the single couch to let you sit down.

"Thanks," you say, smiling at him. "Yeah, the cramps are gone at least."

"Sounds good, Y/N!" Seokjin sings from the kitchen. "Can someone wake Yoongi up??"

"I'll go," Hoseok sighs. "I swear, that man could sleep through the world ending."

"He already is," Taehyung laughs.

You smile at Taehyung's joke, turning to Jungkook to see if he had found it funny too. To your shock, you see Jungkook already looking at you, smiling softly.

"The worst's already over, right?" he says. "Maybe we can snag some painkillers for you one day."

"Oh, we shouldn't bother—"

"Come on, lovebirds!" Namjoon says. "Breakfast's ready!"

"Lovebirds?!" you and Jungkook shout at the same time.

"As if you guys don't make it obvious enough," Yoongi grumbles, scratching his back and squinting at the bright lights. "Didn't you two play footsie last night in bed?"

"We did not!" Jungkook scoffs.

"Wait, does that mean I get to move into the bedroom?" Taehyung asks hopefully.

"Why would it be you? What about me?" Hoseok says.

"Yeah! And me??" Jimin argues.

"Whatever. Whatever!" you shout, effectively silencing everyone. "Let's just please eat breakfast."

After another meal consisting of everyone talking over each other and making hilarious jokes, Seokjin announces that he's in need of more eggs. More vegetables would be nice too.

You and Jungkook immediately stand up and Yoongi just groans. "Do we really have to go today?" he grumbles. "I just wanna stay home."

"You've been staying home for over a week," Taehyung says. "Hey, can I tag along this time? I'm not afraid of a couple of zombies."

"Why so suddenly?" Yoongi raises his eyebrows. "It's not a fairytale, you know. It's serious work."

"I mean, Y/N and Jungkook make it look so fun..."

"Yes, we're pretty cool, we know," Jungkook laughs, scrounging around for his baseball bat and picking it up. "We're every zombie movie director's dream."

"As long as you can run really fast, then sure," you say.

"Yes!!" Taehyung exclaims.

Jimin shudders. "I still don't understand why you would want to go outside into the zombie-infested world..."

"One wrong move could get you killed," Hoseok says. "It's dangerous."

You shrug. "We've survived every time. And besides, zombies are the lesser species. They're stupid. Slow. And incredibly weak."

"Careful. Don't get too cocky," Namjoon says. "You sure you need an extra pair of hands to carry everything?"

"The more people we have, the more supplies we can get at a time," Jungkook answers. "Tae can come and that's final."

Taehyung won't shut up about how cool it would be to have zombies chasing after him as he ducks heroically around obstacles and wacks a few of them with makeshift weapons. It's like his head's stuck in the movie world.

Yoongi ends up putting his earplugs in.

You and Jungkook patiently listen to Taehyung's fantastical visions, wondering if the two of you should break it to him that yes, being a supplier is cool, but no, it is not action zombie movie cool.

When Yoongi announces that you've arrived at the destination, Jungkook cautiously pulls back the curtains on the bus and then frowns.

"Yoongi, this is Costco, not Target."

"Yeah, I know," the stoic man answers. "Figured the eggs came in larger packs here. And they have a special section for their fruits and vegetables to keep them fresh."

"Fresh after four months?" you raise your eyebrows.

"You can see for yourselves," Yoongi answers. "If not, there's a shit ton of food there anyway. Thought we needed a little upgrade from Target."

"Right..." Jungkook says. "But we also don't know how many more zombies are roaming around here."

"Seems like none to me!" Taehyung exclaims as he scans the perimeter. "Uh, at least none on the outside."

"Well... we have each other's phone numbers just in case. Ringtones on silent, right?" you say. "We'll call you if we have any trouble. And you'll call us if you're in trouble too. Though I doubt it." You shrug. "The most zombies we might have to encounter might be ten. And we can take ten easily."

"Exactly," Jungkook says. "But we'll still exercise caution."

"Right," Taehyung says. "We must exercise caution."

"And try to talk in a low volume," you say.

"Then everything will be just fine," Jungkook says, puffing out his chest.

Five minutes later, things are looking out to be... quite... not fine. But it's also too late to back down. The three of you are already deep in the large Costco building, and though it looked like there were no zombies outside, there were a shit ton inside. All sleeping.

You try to signal Jungkook and Taehyung to go back to the bus just in case, but the other two are firm on going through with the mission. The three of you tiptoe carefully across the building, making sure to speak sparingly or stay silent altogether.

Unfortunately, Costco doesn't have plastic bags, so you end up having to carry the carton of eggs. The vegetable section stinks of rotten food, so you avoid it completely. There aren't that many fresh foods in Costco that you can hold without making a complete racket, so the three of you gravitate towards the canned foods sections once more. You admit, there are way more options in Costco than in Target, but you quickly find out that it's hard to carry multiple cans at once without a bag.

You ditch the canned foods and pick up boxes of waffle, pancake and cake mix. In the midst of choosing how many of these boxes you should bring with Jungkook, Taehyung interrupts the quiet conversation by whispering aggressively: "Look! Look at this!"

Jungkook puts his finger to his lips. "Not so aggressively," he whispers. He nods at the couple of zombies sleeping in the same aisle, just several feet away—the closest you've ever been to those limping monsters. And all of you know there might be tens and tens more scattered around the store. No one wants to find out what would happen if they all woke up.

Taehyung pouts and twirls around in—

"A leather jacket?" you say. "Where the fuck did you get that?"

"It was literally lying on the ground somewhere. Pretty neat, huh? Makes me feel like I'm the star of a zombie apocalypse movie!"

"That's half true," you say. "You're not a star in a movie... Also, that's a woman's jacket. See the details on the side?"

"I don't care! It's still fucking cool—"

"Shh!! Shut the fuck—FUCK!" Jungkook shrieks.

The zombies in the aisle have opened their eyes and have seen the three of you. They slowly get up from the ground and begin to limp toward you, but surely, gaining speed.

"Ohhh no, oh no, oh no," you panic, gripping Jungkook's arms and nearly dropping the eggs in your arms.

"S-Stay calm," Jungkook says, but his eyes are huge and he looks panicked. "Um... run!" he whispers.

Taehyung grabs an extra box of waffle mix before dashing away, catching up to you and Jungkook. The three of you dash for your lives. You take a look back to see if the zombies are still following you, but you wish you hadn't. There are way more than the two initial ones who had spotted you. Now there's a gigantic hoard of them limping after you.

And man, the movies got it all wrong! These motherfuckers are kinda fast.

Maybe they can't exactly run, but they can definitely speed walk. Your feet pound against Costco's floors and the impact vibrates from your foot to the top of your head. The bat wedged between your arms has never felt so useless. The eggs held tightly against your chest are threatening to crack under the pressure of your hold. But you don't care. You've never been more afraid in your life.

One or two zombies is a joke. But at least thirty?? Wanting to bite your neck off? No fucking thank you. You cannot possibly fight that.

The only solace you have is Jungkook, who constantly looks over to make sure you're next to him. Though you know he can run faster than this, he keeps his running at your pace, and Taehyung runs behind both of you because either he's willing to turn himself into a sacrifice or he's willing to prove he's not afraid of zombies.

It might be the latter.

There's no time to text Yoongi; you'll just have to pray that he'll be waiting on the bus, ready to zoom off the moment the three of you get on. But when you finally run out of Costco's confining walls, your heart sinks. Jungkook puts his arm out in front of you to stop you from running any closer to the hoard of zombies bumping their heads on the very walls of the bus.

But there's little to no time to think.

Taehyung gestures violently and leads you and Jungkook to hop into Costco's food court kitchen, where thankfully, the windows are open. Jungkook slides into the room first and double-checks that it's completely safe and empty before helping you in. Taehyung comes in last, just before the zombies spill out of the entrance of Costco. They look confused, wondering where their three meals have vanished off into nowhere. But they don't seem to mind, wandering off to the bus where the rest of their ugly monster friends are.

You're breathing hard, so hard that you can barely breathe. All you can do is clutch your carton of eggs and rock back and forth on the balls of your feet as you squat down on the ground. Even Jungkook, the brave, seems a little fazed as he tries to comfort your shaking body by patting your back.

Only Taehyung doesn't look affected at all. He shrugs, setting down the boxes of food and pats his newly acquired leather jacket. "Everything will be fine," he whispers so quietly you can hardly catch his words.

"I-It's not!" you manage to whisper. "Yoongi's on that bus! A-And... I—what if—"

Taehyung pats your leg, helping you put down the eggs. You just hold your bat—as if it'll save you from the at least fifty zombies waiting outside. "Yoongi will be fine..." he reassures you. "Things will work out."

Jungkook shows his phone to the two of you, and there are several texts from Yoongi that indicate not to go near the bus right now.

"Tell him that we're fine," Taehyung says quietly. "That we'll wait for the zombies to go away or something."

Thank god Taehyung's here. It always helps to have someone who is unafraid. Someone who is still able to think straight after being chased by a hoard of flesh-eating zombies.

You decide to check your suspicions and open the carton of eggs to find eight of them cracked and leaking. You don't know what washes over you, but you're suddenly crying silent tears. Something about being stuck in the Costco kitchen with zombies guarding the bus you're supposed to go into and not exactly knowing what the future holds for you is fucking terrifying. And even worse, you had one job. But you'd managed to crack the eggs.

Taehyung and Jungkook are surprised to see your tears—especially Taehyung because he had never seen your vulnerable side before. Jungkook just hugs you, and you try to focus on the scent of mint clinging to his hair, while Taehyung lets you hold his hand.

No one dares to speak after that.

The zombies are pretty far away, but you're not willing to take any chances when the kitchen is a closed space. There's nowhere to run. And you obviously don't want to stay here all night. Night is when the zombie numbers multiply—at least in the movies.

You try to take silent, deep breaths to calm your rapidly beating heart. Jungkook's chest rests against your back, and you can hear his thumping heart as well. You know that he's a lot more scared than he lets on. But he stays calm for your sake.

Meanwhile, Taehyung just looks bored.

He taps meme song rhythms against the back of your hand and frequently (but also carefully) looks out the window to check if the zombies are gone. But they are not. They continue to rack their heads against the walls of the bus, and there are so many of them that sometimes, with a particularly hard knock, the bus leans to the side.

Maybe they can smell humans...

You just hope if they can, they won't be able to smell you three. If worse comes to worst, you'll actually have to fight for your life.

It's been nearly five hours.

Your legs are sweaty and your thighs stick to the ground, and it's gotten so stuffy that you, Jungkook and Taehyung have all given each other some space. There's still not much to say and it's too risky to talk, though.

The silence is horrible.

You start to think about everything. All the people you've wronged. All the people who hated you and would probably kill to see you like this. All the people who love you and would be heartbroken over the deadly situation you've entangled yourself in. All the people who you loved and are dead now, after meeting a tragic, zombie-ridden death.

It's worse that you're still on your period, and you've still got the tampon in—for more than eight hours too. But you try to forget about it; it's the least of your worries now.

At this point, you're not sure if you should just accept your fate. It already feels like you've lost a big battle. Why not just give up? The five hours you've stayed cramped up in the small kitchen felt like five days.

The others must be worrying at home. And oh god, Yoongi... He must be even more terrified to be alone on the bus and surrounded by zombies.

"H-Hey..." Jungkook whispers, placing his hand on yours. "Maybe we should go now..."

"What??" you exclaim in a low voice. "What do you mean go now??"

"Jungkook's right. There're fewer zombies surrounding the bus," Taehyung says, he crouches down but levels his eyesight to the parked vehicle.

"If we can manage to push them away from the doors and get in..." Jungkook starts. "Um..."

"We'll be totally fine," Taehyung says. He's got a small smile on his face—not a hopeful smile but a confident smile. You wonder what it takes to be so unafraid and unbothered.

But they're right. What used to be about fifty zombies have dwindled down to a measly ten to fifteen. Possibly twenty-five since some of them might be out of your line of sight. But it's much better than fifty. Still...

This would totally be asking to get bitten.

"I've already texted Yoongi. He says he'll keep a close lookout for us, and when the coast's clear, he'll let us in," Jungkook says. "C'mon..." He squeezes your shoulder. "It's better to try now than later, right?"

"You two can swing your bats around like mad," Taehyung says. "And I'll just, you know, try to stay alive and hold the supplies."

You twirl on him, your mouth gaping. "You're not gonna fight??"

"Someone has to hold the groceries," Taehyung laughs. "It's better for me to hold everything so you two have more mobility."

"Oh god. Oh god," you mumble. "We're going to have to do it..."

"Duh," Taehyung snorts. "C'mon, it'll be fun. Like in the movies."

Fun?? You could think of a billion counterarguments, but you shut your mouth.

"Just pretend the zombies are that creepy sexist male baseball coach you had in high school," Jungkook says. "Does that help?"

"I'm not very imaginative—"

"Okay, the goal is not to beat them up, anyways," Jungkook says. "Just enough for us to get into that bus in one piece..."

"Right," you say with a curt nod. "Just enough to survive..."

"They're just a couple of idiots with mangled bodies," Taehyung grins. "We'll survive."

"Of course," Jungkook snorts. He looks over at you as if to check up on your mental state. Though you're screaming on the inside, you manage to put on a stoic look on your face.

"Okay, well I'm ready," you finally whisper, gritting your teeth. "We'll uh... yeah, survive..."

"Exactly," Taehyung says, he pats your back before beginning to pick up all of the supplies. "You guys got my back, right?"

"Sure," Jungkook grins. "We'll keep you covered."

You nod along, though biting your lip nervously. "So we're just going to... make a run for it?"

"We're not really in the position to make up a battle strategy," Jungkook shrugs. "I'll be in the front, you can be right behind me and Tae'll be right at the back."

"Sounds like a plan," Taehyung says.

It's a simple plan that seems to be effective, but there are still a million things that can go wrong. Jungkook grips his bat tightly in his hands before looking back at you. He looks a little apprehensive himself, but he offers a tight smile.

"On the count of three, right?" Jungkook says, he looks at you specifically. "And no running off before."

You manage to smile nervously. "Yeah..."

"One..."

You take in a deep breath.

"Two..."

You breathe out.

"Three!"

You hold your breath as you charge, right behind Jungkook. Your feet pad silently against the ground; your surroundings are blurred. You can only see straight ahead.

You raise your bat above your head, ready to strike. Your grip around it tightens.

The zombies are still oblivious, but there are so many of them. Your ears can't seem to comprehend sound anymore. Your eyes narrow in on the monsters, and you make a mental target of the ones you're going to go after first. It's almost in slow-mo. Right before two opposing sides meet in war and clash.

Jungkook lets out a muffled gasp when he hits the first zombie across the head.

It's enough force for the monster to stumble back and fall to the ground. The other zombies notice and begin to charge slowly. You hesitate for just a second, watching Jungkook lash out at the monsters to clear the way for you and Taehyung to get into the bus. Then with revitalized vigor, you move, swinging your bat with all of your strength at the nearest, blood-thirsty zombie.

It growls before flinging backwards. The impact of the hit has your arms shaking uncontrollably, but there's no time to pause and recuperate. In fact, there's no time for you to think. One wrong move can get you killed.

You swing your bat over and over again. Never hitting the same zombie twice. Knocking down as many as you can. Helping Jungkook protect Taehyung who has no weapons at all.

Blood splatters everywhere, but you don't dare close your eyes. And it's too much of a risk to scream. You pant quietly, sweating profusely but gritting your teeth and fighting for your life. Literally.

But the zombies won't die the second time around. They manage to stand straight again and hobble towards you and the two others.

"Y/N!" Jungkook hisses, hair wet with sweat and eyebrows furrowed. "Knock on the bus door!"

He swings his own baseball bat around, subsequently knocking down three monsters. He's offering you and Taehyung protection while your backs are turned.

Following his order, you frantically knock on the bus door covered by curtains. As soon as your knuckle hits the glass, Yoongi peels back the curtain, his eyes wide and lips parted.

You know he can see the hoard of zombies still trying to maul Jungkook. He gulps, his Adam's apple bobbing in the process. Nevertheless, in just a few seconds, the bus door opens.

"Hurry!"

Taehyung's the first one in, and you only stay to kick a zombie away from the entrance. Its hanging guts explode right on your shoe, making a disgusting mess.

"Jungkook!" you shriek.

He turns around, cursing as he knocks down more of the monsters.

You bite your lip hard enough to draw blood, looking between the safe insides of the bus and your friend struggling to fight the zombies. More of them are ganging up on him, definitely more angry that he'd tried to hurt them. There's no time to think at all. It's all instinct when you jump out, unexpectedly knocking one zombie over. But it creates a miracle domino effect.

Jungkook doesn't hesitate. He grabs your arm, turns around and runs toward the entrance of the bus. The moment your foot is in the door, Yoongi slams it shut.

Loud thumps can be heard from the glass as the zombies angrily protest against the loss of a meal.

Just when you worry that the glass might crack from their vicious head-butting, Yoongi gets in the driver seat and slams his foot down on the gas. The bus lurches forward, definitely crunching over some of the zombies and subsequently flinging you, Jungkook and Taehyung to the back of the vehicle. The gathered supplies fly every which way, but Yoongi continues on, jerking the steering wheel left and right to throw off the zombies.

Your heart is thumping so loud, you can't even hear the skids of the bus wheels against the concrete. Hell, you can barely even see straight.

Even after Yoongi pulls out of Costco's parking lot and continues to speed out of the city, you're unable to speak, completely frozen. And no one speaks another word until you can see Yoongi's modest home several yards away.

Safety is close.

The anxiousness is just about dissipating within you when—

"Oh, shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!" Yoongi curses, repeatedly slamming his foot on the gas pedal only for the bus to slow down, sputter and come to a complete stop. "Well, shit," he sighs, turning around to face you, Jungkook and Taehyung. "Bus broke down."

"Welp!" Taehyung sighs, standing up and brushing the dirt off of his clothes. He's got a few bloody smudges on his cheap Target t-shirt (he had to give up Gucci ever since the apocalypse), but he's in a much cleaner state than you and Jungkook. The law student shrugs, gathering up most of the supplies in his arms. "At least it didn't break down back at Costco."

"Do you think we can fix it?" you say, eyebrows furrowed. "And is it safe outside?"

"Zombies don't really come here... I think," Jungkook says, frowning. "Um, but I'm sure we won't be ambushed out there."

"We'll have to see if the bus is fixable," Yoongi says. "But I'm no mechanic." He looks more on the worried side, fidgeting with his hands. "Let's get out of here."

With your knees still shaking and head still light, you stand up, nearly wobbling over if Jungkook had not supported you. Yoongi carries the rest of the supplies, unveiling the bus door and busting it open. You and Jungkook carry your bloody bats, you especially distraught over the violent mess that had been made of your precious sports equipment.

Taehyung's the first one out, stretching his back leisurely before taking a look around the surroundings. "Zombie-free!" he exclaims. "Damn, look at the bus! Didn't know zombies could even bleed that much!"

You make a disgusted face at his comment. I definitely don't want to be reminded of fighting those monsters anytime soon.

Taehyung's right, though. The bus windows are splattered with now dried droplets of blood, and the sides are even worse, harboring the brunt of the zombies' remains. You have to look away.

Though there are seemingly no monsters roaming about in the vicinity, Jungkook ushers you towards the house as quickly as he can. It's not worth the risk. Not worth the extra trauma.

Before any of you can get to the front door though, it swings open with a very worried looking Jimin nearly in tears.

"I thought you guys were dead!" he screams, tugging everyone in the house before slamming the door shut. When he pulls back, Jimin's jaw drops open. "Blood?!"

"Oh god..." Namjoon gasps, quickly rushing over to check up on you and Jungkook. "Anyone bitten?"

"What the hell happened?" Hoseok cries. "We couldn't even call! Our phones died and you took the chargers!" He points at Taehyung.

"Oh, Y/N..." Seokjin gasps when he realizes you've started to cry. "Hey... hey..."

"We had a little bit of a problem," Yoongi says. "Went to Costco instead of Target. It's my fault... And they had to deal with it."

"It's cool, bro," Taehyung says. "Got this cool leather jacket out of it. But also almost died in the process."

Seokjin embraces you, making you cry even harder. The stoic façade that you had put up inside the bus and all throughout the afternoon had broken apart.

"I-It was," sniff, "n-not c-c...ool," you manage to get out against Seokjin's chest. "I... I've never b-been s-so... scared."

"You've made it out alive," Seokjin whispers, patting your head. "It's okay..." He pulls back and murmurs a quiet "Yikes," when he sees blood splatters across your face and even down to your neck.

"Y-Yikes?!" You cry even harder. Everything you'd been holding in for the last four months, all the times you missed everyone you'd known in your life, all the times you'd had a major existential crisis—it all comes crashing down on you. Leaving you broken.

Seokjin awkwardly holds you, not sure of what to say and do. The rest of the men seem at a loss for words as well.

Finally, Jungkook's the first to take action. He walks forward, wiping off the dried blood from your chin before sighing. "You're a professional zombie fighter," he says, crouching down to meet your eye level. "You were brave, calm and collected when you needed to be, and you survived. Plus, you saved me. You should be proud of yourself. You did good."

You manage to scoff amidst your tears. "Y-You mean," sniff, "that you did w-well."

"Yeah, whatever," Jungkook snorts. He just pats your back and helps you sit down on the couch in the living room.

"What's that about Y/N saving your life?" Jimin says.

"Um... well, how about we start from the very beginning?" Jungkook suggests, sitting on the couch ledge. "It's a long story."

"Man, it was bad fortune after bad fortune after bad fortune!" Taehyung exclaims. "Like literally, just when we thought we survived everything and could live to see another day, the bus fucking broke down!"

"Wait, the bus broke down??" Hoseok shrieks. "And eggs and what the fuck is that—cake mix—are the last things we got???"

When you look like you're going to start crying again, Namjoon cuts in. "Cake mix can last for months. And eggs are delicious!"

"We're doomed," Jimin groans. "How are we gonna get our supplies?"

"And the eggs are cracked," Seokjin says as he frowns at the opened carton of eggs. "Thirteen out of twenty-four."

You shake your head in disbelief, biting your lip to keep yourself from crying tears of frustration. Nothing had gone right today. Nothing at all.

"I'm so sorry," you mutter. "I was holding them so tight... I didn't think they'd..." You can't even continue on, losing your voice mid-sentence.

"Hey, no," Seokjin says. "I uh, didn't mean it like that. Um, I can still totally cook with what's left!"

He tries to lighten the downwards spiraling mood, but it's no use.

"You guys could've died," Jimin gasps, pressing a hand to his chest. "Like, Jungkook could've really been a goner."

"I can't even imagine myself being in a rocking bus," Hoseok shudders. "And zombies are the ones rocking it."

"I'm just glad no one got bitten," Namjoon says. "We were worried sick!"

"No, seriously," Jimin says, "we thought you guys died."

"Yeah, it felt like I was close to death," Yoongi snorts.

"Every day we're out here means we're closer to death," Namjoon sighs, shaking his head.

"Oh, man, I don't wanna die... and then become undead," Taehyung grumbles. "Then what's the point of dying??"

"Actually, though," Hoseok grumbles. "You're right. Would we still be conscious if we were bitten and turned into monsters? Or would we be stripped from our personalities and minds?"

"I'm not sure about you, but I personally don't think I have the 'I want to bite your head off' personality within me," Jungkook snickers.

"Ew, stop talking about death," Seokjin complains. "It's stinking up the whole place." He looks at you, Jungkook and Taehyung. "And you guys need a good shower," he says as-a-matter-of-factly. "I'll make some omelets for dinner. Jimin? Hoseok? Help me, please."

"Wait what about m—" Namjoon says.

"No," Seokjin says abruptly. "You're not allowed in the kitchen."

Namjoon pouts but he soon finds something to do in his study binder. Yoongi trudges into the bedroom saying he needs to sleep the terror off.

That leaves you, Jungkook and Taehyung amongst yourselves.

"You can go first, Y/N," Taehyung says, taking one look at the tears staining your cheeks and the state of your clothes. "You look like you really need that shower."

"Agreed," Jungkook says. "We might have to throw our clothes away too. The blood on it is disgusting considering that it's not even ours..."

"Wait... blood?" You freeze as horror dawns on you. "Oh no. Oh fuck."

Before either Jungkook or Taehyung can ask what's wrong, you dash into the bathroom and lock the door.

With all the stupid commotion, you had totally forgotten about your tampon. Cursing under your breath, you manage to get it out—though with a bit more struggle than usual. But no matter, right? It's out now. Albeit, it had been inside for way longer than eight hours.

But nothing feels wrong down there, so you shrug. You've lucked out; you just won't be as reckless again.

Hopping into the shower, you let the warm water caress your skin before scrubbing your body from head to toe. You leave the shower a bit early (so the others have warm water too), but you leave feeling more refreshed, alive and relaxed.

While Jungkook and Taehyung take their turns in the shower stall, you meander into the kitchen to help Seokjin. (Jimin and Hoseok had come up with elaborate excuses to not cook, leaving the intern chef to do everything.)

By the time everyone is gathered in the living room, dinner preparation is finished. Normally, there's a lot of chatter, but the mood is solemn today. Everyone eats in silence.

In the beginning, you're unable to conjure enough of an appetite to eat. But the omelet smells heavenly and watching the others scarf it down helps a lot. You're able to ignore all the horrible images of blood and gore and zombies from your mind, picking up your fork to finally dig into the food. The omelet is delicious, but you don't have the guts to compliment Seokjin's efforts. Even the normally talkative people are quiet, preferring to dine in silence to succumb to the somber mood.

You're not even sure family game time will progress like this. Everyone's too preoccupied with the fact that half of the group could've died today. From just a simple mistake. And the fact that you broke down crying multiple times has made everyone cautious of their word choice.

"...Maybe we shouldn't play a game today," Jungkook says, looking carefully at you to check your reaction.

You bite your lip. "I don't know... It's almost like tradition."

"I know..." Jungkook sighs. "But is everyone in the mood, though?"

There are quiet murmurs; no one's feeling like they have to outwardly voice their opinions, but everyone's nodding subtly. Even so, an awkward silence befalls upon the group. You fidget with your hands, unsure whether you should just go to bed or not. There's an unsettling feeling taking over your stomach, which you're pretty sure has something to do with the traumatic events that had unfolded earlier today.

Finally, Namjoon clears his throat.

"I never really told anyone this..." he starts, playing with his fork. "Um... but I guess I can say it now... Not that there's any way the secret'll get out..."

"Secret?" Hoseok raises his eyebrows. "Did you start the damned apocalypse?"

"Oh my god, movie plot twist!!" Taehyung gushes.

"What?? No!" Namjoon says. "It's just a small secret I've been carrying with me since I was six."

"Oh?"

"Yeah..." Namjoon sighs. "I know I'm supposed to be the face of intelligence, but I suppose I wasn't a bright child... Um, well... You see, when I was the ripe age of six, I genuinely thought the moon and the sun were the same thing..."

"No way," Taehyung gasps.

"Yes way," Namjoon shakes his head. There's a pink blush on his cheeks, signifying that he was already embarrassed. "I just thought people called the same circle in the sky different things depending on whether it was day or night! C'mon, I was six."

"Um, when I was six, I definitely knew the difference between the sun and moon," Jimin snickers. "That's like, common sense."

"Oh, I doubt you've never had a dumb moment in your life," Namjoon says sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I've had plenty, actually," Jimin says—almost as if he's bragging about it—"you see, there was this one time—"

"Wait, are we just going to share our funniest secrets?" Hoseok cuts in.

"Yes!" everyone except him choruses.

"Anyways," Jimin drags out, "okay, so starting with the bad news first. I think it was back in high school or something. Junior year, maybe? I totally forgot we had a test in the middle of the week so, of course, I didn't study. Bombed that test. Like to the point that I was the lowest score."

"How can you have any good news after this?" you gape.

"You would not believe it," Jimin cracks a smile. "I got my test back and sure enough, I got a 43%. But the best part!!" Jimin pauses dramatically. "My class grade went up!"

Namjoon's jaw drops open and you wonder if it could've unhinged if he had dropped it any faster.

"What do you mean your grade went up after scoring a 43%?!" the med school student roars. "How low was your grade?!"

Jimin just grins. "One secret at a time, my man. One secret at a time."

"You think that's bad?" Jungkook chimes in. "I used to hold my breath in front of the microwave so I wouldn't get hit by the fucking electromagnetic spectrum microwaves."

"I'm pretty sure that's not how that works," Yoongi snorts.

"I know," Jungkook sighs. "That's why it's so embarrassing."

"Oh, really? I broke up with the love of my life because she didn't know who Gordon Ramsay was," Seokjin admits. "And now she's with a better man."

"Sucks, dude," Taehyung shakes his head.

"I know, it was some rough times," Seokjin shakes his head. "I really clowned myself on that one."

"It's okay," Jimin says. "Single people are superior people."

"That's what single people say to make themselves feel better," Jungkook snickers.

"It doesn't make me feel better. It's a fact!" Jimin protests.

"Where's the evidence, though?" Namjoon says. "Facts need supporting evidence."

"Oh my god, can we please go back to the confessions?" you say.

"Oh! I have a funny one from law school!" Taehyung volunteers.

Everyone shuts up and becomes all-ears.

"Okay, so in law school, sometimes, the prof cold calls you. You know, where they basically call on you in front of the whole fucking class to brief a case. Which basically means you're supposed to summarize the details of a case, right?" Taehyung laughs at his own memories. "But guess who didn't read about the case at all?" He pauses just a bit before declaring the obvious answer: "Me! That's who! Too busy getting hammered the night before. And guess who the fucking prof cold called? Also me!"

"Oh no..." you groan. "What happened?"

"I had no idea what the case was even about," Taehyung snorts. "So I made one up on the spot. A criminal case—just because those usually get so much more exciting. Everyone around me was confused as fuck. So was the professor. But I briefed such a good imaginary case that the prof let it go. I would've been the best lawyer ever if it hadn't been for this stupid apocalypse."

"What the fuck? Your professor didn't even get mad?" Jimin says. "What was the case about?"

Taehyung grins. "Oh, I put in a little bit of this, a little bit of that. A hybrid of a Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper and Zodiac Killer did the trick. Also the story of a heroic woman who escaped the mad man and made it alive to press charges. It was insane. I loved every single second of it, and I was making it up as I went!"

"Sometimes, Tae, I think you're a different breed," Jungkook says.

"I think we all agree with that," Hoseok says. "I mean, imagine having the nerve to completely disregard important college assignments!"

"Everyone makes mistakes!" Taehyung argues. "You probably did a couple of stupid things in your life. Why don't you share some with us?"

"I don't think I've done anything stupid in my life," Hoseok says. But he freezes. "Well, I was only thirteen then... It shouldn't count."

"Thirteen-year-old boys are idiotic," you say. "That's tea. Continue."

"I-It's not uh, very dramatic at all," Hoseok says, suddenly turning a bright shade of red. "It was no big deal, actually..."

"Spill," Jimin threatens.

Hoseok sighs. "Fine. One faithful day in junior high, I got in a fight with my mother. I told her I never needed her help with anything ever again. So she told me she wouldn't drive me to school that morning. I said I didn't care and proceeded to put on my rollerblades and skated to school to show that I was an independent young man."

"Where's the catch?"

"Um... I forgot to bring an extra pair of shoes to change into at school," Hoseok says. "But I didn't want to call my mom because that would mean I would've lost. I voluntarily walked in my socks for the rest of the day."

"I mean, at least you went through with it," Seokjin laughs. "I kind of have respect for that."

"Well, thanks," Hoseok shrugs. "I thought I was an idiot. Looking back now, I guess we all made stupid mistakes."

"Not all of us. Y/N, do you have something to share?" Taehyung asks.

"Hm..." You try to wrack your brain to come up with something. "Oh yeah. Once, I got fired from my barista job because some dude tried to hit on me."

"Why would you get fired for being attractive?" Jimin squints his eyes.

"Uh... Well, he was rude when he tried to get me to go on a date with him. Think he was some fucking incel or something. Super sexist. Anyways... I might've lashed back and said something that really made him get mad."

"What did you say?" Jungkook says. "Did you put the pig in his place?"

"Well, kind of. I did get fired for it," you shrug. "After I refused his offer to go on a date, he scoffed and told me he was too good for me anyway. And that a woman's place was in the lowly kitchen, so I was just on the right track."

"Woah," Seokjin gasps. "That is not cool. That is disgusting."

"How did you react?" Yoongi says, raising his eyebrows. "It's not easy coming back from something so rude."

"I think I have a special talent for that," you smile. "I told him, 'you are absolutely right sir, lemme go grab a knife while I'm at it.' He got really pale and called the manager. I lost my job."

"That's unfair!" Namjoon shouts. "And he didn't get in trouble whatsoever?"

"Nope," you sigh. "I had to starve myself for a few days just to save up money after I lost that job. Tough times."

"Oh, wow... I'm sorry," Jungkook says. "Some men are just not... it."

"I figured," you snort. "But I know how to put bad men in their place."

"I think you also know how to put good men in their place," Jimin whispers under his breath.

Next to him, Namjoon laughs. "As she should."

"So? Yoongi? Have you got anything?" you say, turning to the sleepy man who was mid-yawn.

Yoongi shrugs with a blank face. He begins to stand up, stacking everyone's empty dishes and taking them to the kitchen sink. You think he has nothing to share and is done with the confessions, but you're proven wrong when he comes back to the living room. He only pauses for a second to think. "I don't regret bringing the seven of you here the day the zombie breakout hit our city."

And then without a second glance, he walks out of the living room and into the bedroom, mumbling that he was tired and needed some sleep.

The rest of you blink at each other, unable to believe your ears. Usually, Yoongi is quiet and when he does speak, it's often without much emotional input. But this...

"That was weird," Jimin says. "He dropped the bomb on us and then just... left."

"I think it was sweet," you say.

"I agree," Jungkook smiles. "It was a nice way to end the night, anyway. Yoongi must've been so tired... I know we were out there fighting off the zombies, but he was on the bus, waiting and waiting, barely sure if we could get out alive."

"The stress probably got to him," Hoseok says. "We should all go to bed early. After today, we all need a good night's sleep."

"Yeah..." Namjoon agrees.

"Can I sleep in the bedroom?" Taehyung asks hopefully. "It's the only way I can actually get to sleep tonight," he pleads, though everyone knows he's lying through his teeth.

You and Jungkook look at each other, wordlessly communicating that the two of you would share the bed again. Your cheeks warm even at the thought.

"Fine," Jungkook answers. "But the bedroom policy's strict. No talking after lights out."

Taehyung laughs. "Don't worry. I'm so tired, I'll fall asleep before my head even hits the pillow."

You'd gotten in bed with Jungkook, him holding you tight in his arms and playing with your hands until he'd heard your soft, even breaths. He helps you calm down. Helps you escape.

But in the middle of the night, you wake up shivering violently. Jungkook is still embracing you and there is a blanket encompassing your body, but you are uncannily chilled. Almost as if you can't breathe. You struggle against the blankets, kicking them away, much to Jungkook's sleepy groaning protest. And when Jungkook complains too much, you end up kicking him out of the bed. You just feel too suffocated.

And when you wake up in the morning, you dash to the bathroom and vomit last night's dinner in the toilet.

The moment Namjoon sees you looking barely alive, he declares you need to stay in bed. You comply, trying to fight off that stupid headache you have. Crawling back under the covers, you attempt to focus your mind elsewhere to ignore the pain burning throughout your whole body.

Even Namjoon and Taehyung are stumped.

"It can't really be something you ate..." Namjoon says. "Because we eat the same things. If you caught it, we all should've as well."

"And we've had literally zero contact with other people, right?" Taehyung says. "Where could she have gotten it?"

Nevertheless, Namjoon rules your illness as the stomach flu—especially when you'd started to get severe diarrhea. No one else is allowed around you, even though Jungkook tries to talk to you from the other side of the bedroom door.

And for two days, you're given the stomach flu treatment. Seokjin cooks up rice in the kitchen to feed you and Jungkook and Taehyung follow Yoongi on a walking trip to a small but local convenience store to get some Gatorade and frozen bananas. Namjoon even finds some antibiotics that might work.

Although you feel like shit, you know that with your friends nurturing you and making sure you eat all the right foods and get proper rest, you'll be up and at it in no time.

Except on the fourth day, you pop a 103-degree fever with symptoms that include but are definitely not limited to delusion, fatigue, redness and irritation.

Namjoon sighs, looking at Yoongi's old, outdated thermometer. "I really hope this is broken and the numbers are far off."

You're almost in no state to react.

"She's burning up, though," Taehyung says. "We've tried everything..."

They sound worried and unsure of what to do next. But you can barely comprehend their words, head lolling tiredly to the side as you try to shut out everything in the world and rest. It's a hard thing to do too—your body feels like it's burning in the pits of hell and your head spins even though you're lying completely still. Whatever cold you caught, it's the worst you've had in your whole life.

When Jungkook worriedly peeks his head through the bedroom door, Namjoon crossly waves him away. He lets out a frustrated grunt, looking between you and Taehyung with a frown stretched across his forehead. "Maybe it's not... stomach flu...?" He says it like a question rather than a sure statement.

"These are stomach flu symptoms, though," Taehyung sighs, pointing at you. "What else are we supposed to do?"

"I'm not sure..." Namjoon trails off. "Stomach flu symptoms usually call for a low-grade fever. 103 is something else. 103 is..." he trails off. "That's really dangerous..."

"Is she..." Taehyung bites back his words. "Is she going to be okay?"

Namjoon looks at you again. He reaches over with a moist rag and pats it across your forehead to clean up the perspiration. "Y-Yeah," he says in his shaky voice. "She'll be fine..."

The mood is quiet and solemn. It's hard for the two men to watch you suffer, but they're supposed to supervise you, so it's their job to stay put and tend to your every need. But Jungkook suddenly barges into the bedroom with wild hair and crazed eyes. He's panting, sweating even.

"I don't think that's stomach flu!" he yells.

"Shh!" Namjoon shushes Jungkook aggressively. "Keep it down!"

"Not stomach flu??" Taehyung gasps. "How do you know??"

Jungkook tosses Taehyung a blue box, which the law student catches with quick reflex. "Read the fucking box, guys. Read it."

"J-Jungkook?" you groan. Your eyes flutter as you try to get a clear vision of the man. "Kook?"

He just shakes his head repeatedly, unable to walk any closer to you. "Y/N..."

Taehyung holds up the blue tampon box, frowning. "So you're saying she has Toxic Shock Syndrome?"

Namjoon gasps. "Oh god."

"According to the internet, Y/N's showing the exact symptoms of it," Jungkook says. "We have to get her to the hospital."

"We can't be 100% about that, though," Namjoon says. "TSS requires a medical diagnosis... you know, with medical equipment."

"The hospital has medical equipment," Taehyung points out.

"We'll have to figure out a way to get there safely, though," Jungkook says. "Because the damn bus broke."

The others begin to pour into the bedroom, all looking extremely stressed and worried. "I told her tampons were dangerous," Seokjin says.

"Not really," Jungkook sighs. "Apparently, TSS is rare... but like... it kind of happens when you leave the tampon in for too long."

You deliriously shake your head. "A-Am I... Gonna d-die?"

"No," Namjoon says firmly. "We'll get you to the hospital."

"Yeah, and the nearest one's about a five hours walk from here," Yoongi says, crossing his arms. "And the box label right here says that TSS is a serious disease that may cause d—"

"Shut up," Seokjin scoffs, giving Yoongi a meaningful glare. "Serious or not, we'll cure it."

"We should leave right now, then," Taehyung suggests. "I mean, look, she's been like this for four days..."

"Right now??" Hoseok says, raising his voice. "We're not prepared! It's a five-hour walk. And we don't even have a bus!"

"Hoseok's right," Jimin butts in. "We need to prepare for this."

"So we prepare now, rest and go tomorrow morning," Hoseok says. "It's a plan, right?"

"We??" Namjoon counters.

You manage to turn your head to stare blankly at Jungkook. "Is... everyone gonna go...?"

Jungkook kneels down and grabs your hand. "We're all going to go. I promise."

"What??" Jimin hisses. "I thought when we were saying we, we meant—"

Namjoon shushes him.

"It's okay..." Jungkook whispers, resting his forehead against the back of your hand. "We'll get you treated," he says. "You'll be okay..."

It's the last thing you hear before you fall into a painful slumber.

—part 1 | part 2

—masterlist

#ficswithluv #bts #bts fanfiction #jungkook #ignis fatuus #igneous fatass lmfaoo (the alter ego of this short series) #THIS FIC TOOK /FOUR/ MONTHS TO WRITE #IT'S NOT EVEN THAT LONG COMPARED TO THE OTHER LONGASS FICS OUT THERE #BUT THIS ONE DRAINED ME :') #also every night after i'd write this fic #i'd get so scared #because i'm TERRIFIED of zombies #and i was CONVINCED there was one hiding under my bd #i swear i'm not ten years old #i'm a legal adult thank you very much #when will i start acting like one bye

[i-am-a-mes]

Blueberry Chapter 6

Summary: Y/N is fresh out of college with a small job at a newspaper, when she meets Chris Evans. They start a Sugar Daddy/Sugar baby relationship and try to navigate through their feelings, desires and personal obstacles.

Parring: AU Chris Evans x female plus size reader

Warning: Swearing, angst, shitty coworker, shitty boss, not confident reader

A/N: Hi there. So this is my first Chris Evans fic. It’s still a WIP and don’t really have that much of a plan with it. It will be a fluffy, angsty, smutty adventure spiced with some Sugar Daddy, Ddlg and D/s elements. But don’t expect that from the get go though. It’s a slow burn in some elements. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave a comment and share!

My masterlist

Series masterlist

Chapter 6

After a sunday with relaxing, reading and getting settled in a little bit more at Chris’ place, monday rolled around, and I slowly woke up and stretched out and felt ready for a new day with a big smile on my face, as my dreams had been filled with the memory of the kiss we had shared.

Thereafter I got dressed and went to the kitchen, in the belief that I would be up before Chris, since it was a rather ungodly hour. But low and behold, there in all his perfectly tailored suited handsome glory stood Chris drinking out of a coffee mug and reading on a tablet. 

“Uhm.. good morning” I treaded lightly towards the kitchen island where he stood. He looked up and a bright smile came on his lips as he saw me.

“Good morning sweetheart!” He placed the cup and tablet down and came up to me and placed a hand on my waist and a soft kiss on my cheek. It made me blush

Because that's apparently my only reaction to him and any form for affection! Goddammit!

He went towards the fridge and grabbed a plate from it, and a mug from the cabinet, and placed it in front of me. 

“Here, have some breakfast and coffee. I need to look over some papers before we need to get going.”

“Uhm.. okay. Oh wow this looks delicious! But I don’t think I can eat it all though.” The plate he placed in front of me, was filled with fresh cut fruit, a cup with yogurt topped with some granola and some scramble eggs on the side. 

“That’s okay, just eat what you can.” Chris smiled before making his way towards the stairs, but after a couple of steps he stopped

“Oh right. Before I forget. Here” He came back to me and out from his breast pocket he fished out a key with a note hanging on it. I looked questionably at it and then at him.

“I want you to have a key to my place. And before you say anything, it is just til we find you a new place. There is also the security code and address on the tag, you know in case I’m not home.”

He just glanced back down at the tablet before taking a sip of his coffee.

“Alright" I took the keys and turned them around in my hand to inspect them. True enough an address and a 5 digit number code was written on it. 

“Thanks” I just kept sipping at my coffee.

“By the way Chris, do you know where the nearest bus stop is? I need to figure out what bus to take to work…” I looked at my phone seing the time, and tried to calculate the time of travel from here to my work

“Don’t worry about the bus. I’m driving you. So please eat.”

“But Chris, I can’t ask that of you”

“You aren’t. I’m offering” He just gave me a cheeky smile and I opened my mouth to retort but ended up shaking my head with a subtle grin on my face. So I turned around and dug into the plate of food. 

“Enjoy your breakfast baby girl” He sent me a cheeky smile before heading up the spiral staircase to his office space.

I gulped at the nickname which made my...everything tingle

Why does he have to keep calling me that?

Succeeding in eating most of the fruit and the yogurt, I began collecting my things to get ready to leave. 

A few moments later Chris came down from his office space on the balcony, and threw on a charcoal jacket over his suit. 

“Are you ready?”

“Yes” I stood staring up at him with my worn sling bag across my chest, that barely held in my papers and laptop brick.

He looked me up and down

“Where’s your jacket?” 

“Uhm.. this is my jacket” I lifted the sleeve of my dark red thin jacket. It wasn’t really a warm jacket but we still weren't in the deep fall weather yet, so I could manage. Which was also the reason I had on a rather thick sweater underneath, and a button up under that.

“Hmm...Right.” He kept staring at me, before grabbing his keys. “Let’s get going”

Chris dropped me off at work, but before I could leave his sci-fi car, he turned to me

“What time do you get off work?”

“Uhm.. I don’t know actually. I usually get a lot of odd jobs throughout the day and don’t know how much time that will take, so I don’t really have an idea”

“How about you text me when you think you know? Okay?”

“Ooookay? Why though?”

“So I can pick you up of course.”

“Chris, really it’s fine. Now I got your address I can totally take the bus. You don’t need to pick me up. Besides it could be rather late.”

“And that’s exactly why I want to pick you up”

I let out a deep sigh while shaking my head “Really Chris. But I’ll text you okay?”

“Good. That’s all I’m asking” He flashed me a smile before I crawled out of the low car and hurried into the building.

As soon as I stepped into the office Jasper was all over me begging me for details about Chris and our new agreement, to which I just laughed and shook my head, and replied with a “we’ll talk later! 

My desk was filled with “Ask Helen” letters and it made my head hurt

Did I really get a degree in journalism for this?

I had slowly started to make my way through the pile, when it was announced that our boss had decided to hire a new guy to fill in the apparently open position in the investigation news department, a job I really wanted and Mr. Peterson knew that. We were all introduced to the new employee during the morning meeting. His name was Hugh Willington, who sported a fuckboy haircut and a cheesy smile, and apparently didn’t have a journalistic background or experience, but “he has a natural talent for journalism and passion like no other, so welcome to the team Hugh!” Mr. Peterson exclaimed.

What the actual fuck!

As I sent a couple of the latest edited letters of Ask Helen, my nose got a whiff of a very strong smelling cologne, you know the kind that almost burns away your nose hair. I scrunched up my nose at the scent and looked around for the source of the intruding aroma, and when I looked up I saw Hugh leaning over my cubicle sending me what I suppose was meant to be a charming smile, but came more across as a shark trying to charm his pray into his mouth. 

And it really felt like it too. Yikes!

“So… You’re Y/N? I heard you were my secretary?”

“Uhm.. hello.. What? No! I am absolutely not!”

“Well guess you got to hear it from me then little miss secretary. Listen, I got a lot on my plate, and the whole deadline thing is already making me barf. So just between you and me, how strict are they with the whole ‘must-be-on-the-deadline-thing’ around here?” 

He leaned even closer, making me almost gag with the stank that came from his nasty selected odor. 

“Well since this is a newspaper that goes out daily and people rely on it for their news, I would say pretty strict.” I glared at him as my voice was nothing but a flat line, with no sense of being nice in my tone. 

God damn this guy is the worst!

“Sure sure.. I got it. I got it…” He licked his lips and ran a hand through his hair before continuing 

“So I think you and I are gonna make a great team. You are feisty. I like that, for now” 

He winked and began laughing this obnoxious laugh I have ever heard. And just then Mr. Peterson came to see his new golden boy having a good time.

“Ah! You found Y/N! Good and she is welcoming you warmly I hope” 

“Yeah. Totally, we were just talking about how a great team we are gonna be” Hugh exclaimed before sending me another wink

“Yes yes! A good team. Y/N you are gonna be proofreading and aiding Hugh here in what he needs, so be on your toes, and make Hugh’s work top priority.”

“Well Mr.Peterson, I think Helen has seniority here…”

“Hush hush. That old lady can hardly write any more. We need new young blood like Hugh here. So make him top priority!” I could hear the firm tone in the end and knew not to argue.

Poor Helen… and poor me!

Mr. Peterson patted Hugh on the back and left us. 

“So what I was thinking sweetie, was that you could collect some articles for me about what is happening in the world right now, and then write a little.. You know.. Brief summary and get it to me by.. Let's see.” 

He looked at his ridiculous big shiny watch

“By an hour and meet me in my office. Good? Good!” 

“No not good! First of all, don’t call me sweetie! And second of all I’m not doing your research. I’m only doing your proofreading. Nothing more! Got it?!” 

I stared into his eyes with nothing but fury fuming of my body.

He shook his head and looked down before looking back up at me, with eyes as cold as a winter night and held his voice low enough so only I could hear.

“Listen here bitch! You will do as I say, or I will make sure Mr. Peterson will fire you, and make sure you wont get to work at another newspaper, magazine or website in this town! Got it!? Now get you fat ass of that seat and get to work” 

I just stared at him in shock not knowing how to process what vile things that just came out of his mouth. He straightened back up and cast me another chilling smile

“Good to hear we are on the same page Y/N. Looking forward to working with you” He turned and left.

What the actual fuck just happened here? Did he just threaten me? Practically harassed me? He can’t get away with that!

After a few minutes of collecting myself, I stood up with determination and went towards the HR office, but on my way there I saw Hugh and Mr.Peterson talking closely and laughing, before spotting me and then stopped

“Ahh Y/N, getting the research for Hugh I see?” Mr. Peterson asked

“Uhm.. no actually I was going to see Alexa. I..” Before I could say anything further Mr Peterson interrupted me

“Ah don’t bother her. I’m sure there is nothing to worry about. So get your little tushy in the archives and find the research Mr. Willington, alright?”

I was in shock. I wasn’t dumb, I knew Hugh had told him all about my disagreement with him and I knew my boss was completely on his side. I couldn’t do anything

“Hi Y/N, were you coming to see me?” Alexa came out of her office and saw me in front of her office apparently talking to the two men. 

“Oh.. hi Alexa…”I looked back at them and saw a warning glare from them both. “No.. I was just asking Hugh for some follow up questions” 

Alexa looked at me and Hugh and just smiled before leaving us.

“Glad to see we are on the same page Y/N” he said as he scowled at me before loosening up his expression to a lighter one. 

I sighed in defeat (for now) and went to work on Hugh’s assignment.

So went the rest of my day. I was buried in research, trying to keep up with the douchebag’s commands on what he wanted to know, which was everything and nothing at the same time. At the end I was only being held up by coffee and the dry crackers I found at the bottom of my drawer. 

Suddenly while I was typing away on the final summary for Hugh, the lights went out

“HEY!!” I yelled and got up “I’m still here!” I flailed my arms around trying to catch anybody's attention. The light remained off, and I dumped back into my seat. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath

What time is it anyways?

I looked at the little clock on my computer screen and let out a big gasp when I saw it read 8.30 pm. 

What the fuck? How can it be so late? SHIT!

I quickly finished up the summary and sent it to Hugh’s email, before closing down and packing up. When I went to put on my jacket, I heard a faint ringing sound. I spinned around looking frantically for my phone. Finding it buried deep in my bag, not being moved since this morning. I quickly swiped to answer the call before seeing the caller id. 

“Hello?” I said almost out of breath

“Hi sweetheart”

“Who’s this?” I was so caught up in trying to get my stuff together that I didn’t recognize the voice

“It’s Chris. Are you alright Y/N?”

“Oh Chris.. Hi.. yeah yeah I’m fine”

“Sooo.. you didn’t send me a text, and now you got me nervous. So what’s up? Found another sugar daddy?” 

His tone was light, but I could still hear edges of concern in his voice

“What no!? I can hardly keep up with having you as one! But yeah sorry, I’m just finishing up now. I’m just gonna take a bus back to my place. I don’t want to bother you tonight”

“You are just finishing up now? For real?...Just stay there for a couple of minutes and I’ll be there.”

“Well I gotta stay outside. They are closing up the building for the night.”

“Okay. Just wait outside for a few minutes and I’ll come get you”

“Really Chris, you don’t have to! I’ll just go back to my place…”

“Y/N! Stop! I said I don’t want you back there, and I meant it. Now go outside and wait for me. Okay baby girl?”

I wisably gulped at his tone and the nickname

“Uhm.. okay?”

“Good girl.”

Sporting another trademark blush on my face and feeling all tingly inside by his praise, I went outside and waited for Chris.

A while after Chris rolled up in front of me, getting out of the car to greet me with a kiss on my cheek. 

“Hi sweetheart. Let’s get you home”

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders after taking my bag and guided me to the passenger seat, where he buckled me in. Soon we were driving towards his place

“So that was a pretty late night? Does that uhm… happen often with your work?” 

“No.. well.. Sometimes, but mostly for the main writers or editors. It’s this new assignment…” I drifted on as a headache began making its way to the forefront of my head

“What does this assignment entail since it’s keeping you so late?” Chris questioned as he turned down the street of his apartment building.

“It’s just the first day of figuring everything out and the head journalist is new so we just had to learn to work together, you know?” 

I know it’s not the complete truth, but honestly I just can’t deal thinking about this day any more

Once we got inside of his apartment I immediately began walking towards my room

“Hey, where are you going sweety?”

“I’m just gonna go to bed. I’m really tired”

“Have you eaten dinner yet?” 

Just as he mentioned food, my stomach began grumbling making me place hands on it and looked back up at Chris with wide eyes

He just gave a little chuckle and made his way towards the kitchen

“Let me make you something. Why don’t you go have a seat on the sofa and find something on Netflix to watch.”

I just nodded and did as he said, and after a couple of minutes of browsing the streaming app, I landed on some random sitcom show. A little bit later Chris came over with a plate with some chicken and veggies and rice. 

“Here.. eat something, then you can go to bed” He smiled at me before sitting besides me. I began digging in the simple but yummy dinner. The more I ate the more I realised how hungry I really was, and within a few bites I had devoured the entire plate, almost licking it clean.

“Wow, that was delicious. Thank you” I smiled sheepishly at him. He just looked at me with a puzzled look

“What? I got something in my teeth?” My tongue went over my teeth

“Nothing. You were really hungry huh?”

“Oh.. yeah. Apparently” I shrugged and turned my attention to the tv

“Didn’t get a big lunch then?” He questioned further

“No.. actually I didn’t eat lunch today. Just some crackers I had at my desk.” I didn’t notice the furrowed brow Chris was sporting and just kept my eyes on the tv, not really seeing what the big deal was.

“Does that happen often?”

“What does?”

“You don’t eat during the day?” Chris had now turned his body so it was facing mine, and I could feel a change in the conversation, so I turned slightly to look at him. When I saw his serious face I gulped and drew my knees to my chest

“Well.. most days I eat a small lunch. Mainly fruit or some granola bars.” I began fiddling with the hem of my shirt.

“What about breakfast and dinner?” 

I felt I was being scolded under his intense gaze

“Breakfast is usually cereal and at dinner I try to make something, but sometimes...most times it’s just more cereal. Mainly because Allie often takes the food I buy.” My voice became smaller and smaller with each passing word. Chris clenched his jaw at the mention of my roommate.

“Listen I want you to remember to eat proper meals, okay? Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ideally also some in between snacks”

“Yeah that would be optimal, but Chris I don’t have money for “proper” meals. So I take what I can get.”

My shoulders slumped in defeat and I let out a big sigh

God this is so embarrassing! But at last with my barely there diet I get to lose some weight. He must find that a positive thing.

“You don’t have to worry about the money. Just promise you will take care of yourself and eat, okay? We don’t want you to lose those beautiful curves” 

I did a double look at him, wondering if I heard correctly, but he just smiled and placed his hand on the top of my knee. 

“Really.. You think they are beautiful?” 

“Of course. Every inch of you are”

I just looked at his hand and tried desperately to keep the pink colour on my cheeks at bay.

“Thank you...I guess.”

“You are really not used to somebody taking care of you or complimenting you, are you?” He said after studying me for a moment. I let out a exasperated sigh

“No. I really am not. I have always been the one taking care of others first and then myself. This thing between us is so out of my realm of possibilities that I couldn’t even fantasize about it. You are so handsome and could have any girl and I am just me.. Y/N. Just a girl trying her hardest to become a journalist reporter and do something with her life. Why you even bother with me is incomprehensible. But here we are. You want me to be your sugar baby and I have absolutely no clue how to be that, or deal with any of this” I gestured out indicating to his place and yeah..everything about his lifestyle, and then let my arms and demeanor fall in defeat.

He shook his head and squeezed my knee. 

“Come here” He pulled me tightly against his side and placed his arm around me making me feel his touch seeping through my skin spreading tiny tingles up my arm.

“I know this is very strange for you. And I understand it will take some time for you to get used to, but do you trust me?” His clear blue eyes caught mine and I fell into the deep waters of his irises. 

“Yes. Yes I do. I don’t know why, but I do”

“Then trust me on taking care of you. Please”

“Okay Chris”

He smiled and let his index finger caress my cheek while he looked over me before ending his stare on my lips. Under his gaze I couldn’t help the goosebumps spreading over my body and when I saw he was looking at my lips, I involuntarily wetted them with my tongue. The action caught his attention and soon he leaned forward and placed his plumb soft lips on mine. As soon as they landed, I melted into him. Our tongues quickly began a dance of passion and as my fingers found their way to his hair and began weaving their way through his locks, he pulled me up so I was sitting across his lap. His hands were around my waist and soon landed down on my hips, drawing me even closer. I felt like puddy in his hands and just let myself be pressed closer to him. When we finally stopped, desperately seeking air to our lungs, he just sported a small smile on his kiss swollen lips. I let my fingers trace soft patterns around his neck, up his jaw line, tangled softly in his trimmed beard and ending up on his cheek bones. 

“You have the bluest eyes in the world.”

“And you have the sweetest lips”

He pulled me in for another mind blowing, knock your socks off kiss, and after an intense make out session on his sofa, he led me to my room and said goodnight. 

“Aren't you coming in?” I questioned him with a tilt of my head

“Not tonight sweetheart. You need your sleep” He took a step forward and whispered in my ear

“And when we get to that part, I want you fully rested cause I’m not gonna go easy on you my baby girl”

I visibly gulped and he left with a kiss just below my ear making my knees buckle.

Let’s just say that my dreams were anything but sweet that night. 

Taglist:

@thejemersoninferno​ @lickmymelaninn​ @fanfictionaddiction99​ @sebbystanlover-vk​ @smoothdogsgirl​ - RPF fics @stankface​ @superanastasia1981 @anastasiasromanov​ - Everything but the kitchen sink @fiercedeception

#Chris Evans #daddy chris evans #chris evans smut #CEvans #chris evans au #chris evans x reader #chris evans x plus size reader #captain america #MCU #marvel #Avengers #blueberryfic #chris evans sugar daddy

[slashscowboyboots]

The Stars Are a Part of Us: Popcorn and Chamomile Tea (Part 6)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Tag list @izzysdenimjacket @warrendemachokeme @awrestlinggirlwholoves80sbands @smokeandmirrorz @sodalitefully @roger-taylors-car @lost-in-the-80s @whisperess33 @shawolat @80snikki @rumoured-whispers @i-wont-be-caged​

Warnings: Underage sex, drug use, drinking, implied violence.  18+ ONLY

Another woefully underrated band: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGkF5OYGynE 

Their album “Fruit of Life” is sooo killer

Steven had been distraught over Absinthe’s departure, a beaten sadness replacing his normal sunny radiance, and although Karen had reassured him her friend was never far from the nest, he’d latched onto Izzy, sleeping in the seat next to him and seldom leaving his side during the never-ending bus ride towards Calgary.

Steven pounded a tattoo on the seat in front of him with his hands.  “You remember that girl that blew us outside of Gardner studio, Izz?”

“Yeah.”

“I came all over her face.”

Izzy chuckled.  “Yeah, you did.”

“She knew her way around a cock.  Or two.”  He laughed, then said, “I miss you, dude.”

“Stevie, I’m right here.”

“I know.  But I miss partying with you.”

“You know I can’t party anymore.”

“Yeah.  But you’re like a ghost now.  You’re just, like, always moving away.  You can still have fun, can’t you?  That’s not illegal?”

“Well, no.”

“I mean,” Steven whispered, “you’re not married to that Donna chick, right?  I saw you leave with her last night.”

“Karen.  And no, I’m not.”

“See, there you go.  We’ll get a chick and hang out with her and it’ll be just like old times.”

Izzy smiled, leaning over and ruffling Steven’s blonde hair.  “Sure, Popcorn, that’ll be fun.”

Izzy knew Steven hadn’t imbibed any coke on the bus trip, he’d never left his sight, but he was still bouncing off the walls of the hotel even before Izzy had unlocked their room.

“This is so cool, Izz, us hanging out.  I think Slash and Duff are mad at me anyway.  Axl always is.”

“Why are Slash and Duff mad at you?”

Steven giggled.  “My chick was really loud.   Total screamer.  She’d go all night too, she was like a fucking beast.  Do you know why she left?   Did that Donna girl tell you?”

Izzy sighed, not wanting to tell Steven Absinthe chased greener pastures, where the hotels always had hot water and nobody ate off a cold cut platter backstage.  “Uh, she said Absinthe knew one of the girls traveling with The Cult and she wanted to hang out with her.  She’ll come back.”

“I hope so, she was fucking amazing.  Hey, Izz, you think there’s hookers in the phone book?”

“I don’t know, buddy.  I’m going to take a shower.  I realized today how fucking rank Duff smells and thought it was me at first.”

“Yeah, he promised Mandy he wouldn’t change his leather pants the entire tour.  And it smells like he’s keeping his word.” 

In the bathroom, Izzy stripped his own black leather pants off and pulled the lining out, then filled the sink up with water and a little soap.  Duff had taken his breath when he sat across from him at breakfast, and Izzy’d tucked his McMuffin in his coat to eat on the bus, away from the stench.  He shook the excess water out of the fabric, then laid his pants on the toilet and stepped into the shower.

The water pressure was laughable at best, but he even scrubbed and rinsed his hair.  Living in the Gardner place without running water had gotten him used to going without bathing for a week or more, but since he’d gotten sober, normal things like showering were becoming more of a priority, and Fran had announced at their first meeting that she considered cleanliness above godliness.  

“Not bathing is a sign of depression, Izzy, and if you’re depressed I’ll have the court psychiatrist assigned to you.  But your funky ass is not going to stink up my office, now or ever.”

He’d found a doctor’s office near the hotel, and he planned on visiting it first thing in the morning to get his first international piss test out of the way.  Dammit, he realized, he really did want to make Fran proud.  And he’d been able to turn down drugs, even after he’d had his dick sucked by a groupie.  This tour was going to be a piece of cake.

Izzy toweled off the mirror and shaved, then dug through his bag and found some clean clothes.  He hung his wet pants over the shower rod, then zipped his boots back on.  He could hear noise coming from the room and figured Steven had switched on the television, then he turned the door handle to find Steven naked and plowing into a dark-headed chick from behind on his bed, her huge tits bouncing as she moaned and cried, and a shapely blonde wearing a spandex minidress sitting on Izzy's bed.  She crooked a finger at him, and he huffed a quiet laugh as he sat down in front of her.

Steven crowed, “They were in the phone book!  I got one for each of us, dude!”

“Thanks, man,” Izzy muttered, watching as the blonde peeled down the top of her dress, setting two very perky and unnaturally round tits free.  

“Like what you see, honey?” she purred.

Izzy nodded, fleetingly wondering how they were going to pay for all this, then lost his train of thought as she pulled her dress over her head and reached for him.

He leaned forward and kissed one breast, then she pushed him back and reached for her bag on the nightstand.  “I’m going to blow your mind,” she cooed, and he closed his eyes and gasped as she worked his crotch with one hand, then she used the other to open a vial of cocaine and smear it on her other breast.  She grabbed the back of Izzy’s head, slamming his face in the coke and rubbing his nose in it.  With everything he had, he jerked out of her grasp with a bellow and leapt to the bathroom, holding his breath and frantically washing off every trace of powder he could see, scrubbing frantically until his face was red and his nostrils felt raw.  

He grabbed his bag and flew down the hall, racing down the stairs, and when he reached room 317, he pounded on the door.

“Karen, open up,” he demanded.

He heard the lock turn, then she opened the door.  “Izzy, what’s wrong?”

He pushed past her and shot into the bathroom, peering at himself in the mirror, then blowing his nose on a handful of toilet paper. 

She stood in the doorway, her hair wet, clad in an oversized jersey and short shorts with her hands on her hips and asked, “What the hell is going on?”

“A hooker shoved my face in some blow.  And I have to take a piss test tomorrow.”

“Oh, Izzy,” she said quietly.  “Here, here, sit,” putting down the lid on the toilet.

He sat down and she took his face in her hands, tilting it this way toward the overhead light, then that.  “I think you got it all.”

“Could you-maybe?” he blurted, and she nodded, running a washcloth under the faucet and gently wiping his nose, then his chin, and cheeks.  She stroked his forehead and eyebrows with it, and when she wiped under his chin and onto his neck, he began to relax.  

“Do you want to take a shower?” she asked gently, and he shook his head.  The skittery, jumping feeling he had inside was still there, but now he felt too exhausted to stand, and he was suddenly overcome by a desire to lay his head against her breasts and wrap his arms around her waist.

“Did you get your hands too?” she asked, then pulled them up in hers and rubbed the washrag against them.  Izzy watched her as she worked, carefully going over his fingertips, and her eyes met his and held them, her chest rising and falling.  

She was so close to him he could feel her body heat rising from her, and he smelled her comforting scent on his hands and in the still-humid bathroom.  He began to feel lightheaded and heavy at the same time, his wide eyes never leaving hers, his breathing becoming shallower as his neck grew hot, then she stepped back and softly said, “I-I think you’re good.”

She came back and ran water into a small pot, then went back into the other room.  “Um, I’m going to make you some tea,” she called, and he came out, smiling as he watched her fiddle with a mini Mr. Coffee machine.  “It’ll-it’ll calm your nerves.”

He sat down in a chair and smiled up at her.  “You travel with that?”

“Of course.  I can’t live without tea.”

“What kind settles my nerves?”

“Chamomile.  It probably wouldn’t hurt to pound liquids tonight, so you flush out your system.  I’m even not going to ask how this happened.”

“Steven’s been lonely since Absinthe left him, and he let his fingers do the walking.”

“Yeah, I heard him say he missed you.”

“You were eavesdropping.”

“Was not.  That bus is only so big.  Speaking of which, who’s going to tell Duff he smells like the ass end of a dead yak?”

“Not me.  This is some kind of engagement promise he made to not change his pants.”

“Hoss, y’all don’t want me to intervene.  I’ll strip him when he’s passed out drunk and he’ll be naked all the way to Saskatoon.”  She poured him a mug.  “Take sugar?”

“No.  You make it sweet with your love.”

“Oh, shit.  You can shove that right up your ass.”

He took a sip, then asked, “Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“Stevie Nicks can’t put coke up her nose, so she puts it in her ass.”

Her face turned white, then she grabbed the mug out of his hands.  “Get out,” she gritted.

“What-?”

“I SAID GET OUT!” she shouted.

“The fuck did I do?”

Karen was near tears.  “Izzy, GET OUT!”

“I don’t have anywhere to fucking go!” he yelled.

She grabbed her giant bag, throwing it over her shoulder, screaming, “Fine!  If you won’t leave, I will!” and slammed the door.

#izzy stradlin x ofc #izzy stradlin fanfiction #guns n roses x ofc #guns n roses fanfic

[puddingcatbeans]

10/?

[ return key; wangxian college au ]

Public transit isn’t Lan Zhan’s favourite thing. Back home, he was lucky enough to live within walking distance to the places he needed to go, or his uncle drops him off, or he calls a Didi. Wei Ying teases him about being a rich young master, but Lan Zhan has also heard him complain about this city’s transit system in the same breath.

Since moving here, Lan Zhan has had to learn the transit system out of necessity. His brother has a car, but his schedule clashes with Lan Zhan’s, and their apartment is located convenient enough that a bus stop is just around the corner. He only really needs to take one bus to campus, an optional transfer if he’s trying to avoid the morning traffic. The trains are easy enough to navigate, though he’s still not certain about the whole Compass card business. Wei Ying has an entire rant about that, too; Lan Zhan’s pretty sure he has it memorized.

They’re on the Skytrain, eastbound, accompanying some freshmen that have imprinted on Wei Ying, heading towards an event. Someone started off a round of cold jokes that quickly veered off into a pun-based series of riffs. Lan Zhan is content to listen, one earbud in and instrumental guqin soothing his nerves from being trapped in a crowd. Wei Ying’s laughter works just as well as his own carefully procured playlists.

He’s checking the time on his phone again when there’s a lull in their conversation, post-joke, and he distinctly hears someone mutter, “If you’re going to speak gibberish, you might as well go back where you came from.”

Their group falls silent. Next to him, Wei Ying’s hands has formed a fist. Lan Zhan’s own hands are clenched around his phone. He manages a glimpse at the white lady sitting in the priority seat across from them, before Wei Ying’s drawl filters through the white noise.

“Sorry, miss,” Wei Ying says in English, “we didn’t know you wanted to listen in so badly. Go on, Jingyi, tell her that penis joke again. Spare no details, we can’t have anyone here not understanding a single word.”

The woman’s face turns red. Jingyi and Zizhen muffle their giggles, but Wen Yuan has his head down. The other passengers avert their gazes awkwardly. Lan Zhan stares out the window until the next stop arrives, and then he stands, tugging Wei Ying until they shuffle everyone off the train.

“It’s fine, the next one comes in five minutes,” Wei Ying says. “We’re still early, right, A-Yuan?”

The freshmen huddle around themselves, Pokemon Go open on their phones, and Wei Ying blows out a breath. He turns to Lan Zhan. “Hey. You okay?”

“Mn. Are you?”

“Yeah, yeah. Probably a good idea you dragged me off, though, I was ready to throw hands. God, like. I grew up in this goddamn city, barely remember being born across the ocean, and usually it’s good, you know? Literally everyone is an immigrant here, one way or another, so you’d think we’d be past this kind of bullshit. But sometimes that happens and I just---” Wei Ying makes a frustrated noise. Lan Zhan hums in agreement, and Wei Ying sighs again. “You know, Jiang-shushu made me pick out an English name, too. I went by Peter until I was fifteen and decided I had enough of that. And my name isn’t even that hard to pronounce---I can’t imagine what it’s like being Wen Qing or, like, Mianmian, who then has to deal with people asking why their English name is so... not Chinese. God!”

Lan Zhan nods. He’s had his fair share of classmates asking if he had an English name just so they don’t butcher his Chinese one. The sentiment would be nicer if they had actually attempted to pronounce it right before asking. He says to Wei Ying, “Thank you for standing up for the juniors.”

Wei Ying waves a hand. “What else is my loud, shameless self useful for, if I can’t even get rid of stupid bullies, huh?” He smiles, letting Lan Zhan in on the joke. Wei Ying turns to the tracks again, where the next train is just pulling in. “If I have the power, I will protect people where I can. Live righteously, and without regrets.”

Lan Zhan looks at him, Saturday morning sunlight framing his determined face. He thinks, in that moment, if Wei Ying were to march forwards, there wouldn’t be anywhere Lan Zhan wouldn’t follow after him.

#wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #mdzs #mdzs fanfiction #beanfics #return key au

[periminkle]

Orphic | 01

After moving into your own place, it seems life is finally going your way; the path to independence leading you to a quaint suburban town where even the grass seems to grow a little greener. Although a shocking encounter leads you to believe that perhaps appearances can be quite deceiving.

pairing: hybrid!jk x reader (first person)

genre: hybrid au, angst, fluff

word count: 7.3k (includes slightly edited version of preview!)

rating: PG-15

warnings: mentions of blood, swearing, scuffle, not nice people >:(

author’s note: the first chap! thanks so much for all the love for the preview and pls let me know if you enjoyed it bc i have even more of a praise kink than our king jimin :) i don’t wanna know if u hated it lmao get outta herE

→ previous | next

“Almost there... And... Done!”

I heaved the last of the sturdy boxes into the narrow doorway, pride bubbling at my unexpected strength. Droplets of salty perspiration were beginning to form at my temples and became increasingly uncomfortable the longer I stood there. 

But, with a litter of obnoxiously brown boxes blocking the route into my recently purchased home, I had no way of setting foot past the minimal space by the doorway. “Shit.”

Spontaneously deciding that enough energy had been exerted for the day, evident by the shroud of darkness out the expansive windows, a few steps took me back out the front door. I followed the chipped white timber of the sides of my house, heading towards the back entrance.

Even though the plot was relatively large in size, the cottage built upon the land was minuscule; a single floor encompassing a kitchen, living room, hallway, bedroom and bathroom. 

With that being said, the rest of the expanse was mine to revel in and admire. Hence the lack of fence encompassing my area, seeing as the forest bled its way into my recently mowed lawn anyhow.

The bulk of the towering woodland was hidden in a blanket of obscurity, brought about by the later hours that subtly induced unease. Those late night horror movie marathons only worsened the unrest in my mind. 

I tried to dispel the disquietude with thoughts of the methodic chirping, courtesy of the tiny orchestra of crickets that seemed to be scattered in every which direction. The smell of the damp earth invaded my senses and relaxed my shoulders a fraction.

Albeit, the crunch of dead leaves being trampled under a heavy weight belonging to an unknown being unsettled me enough to break into a scurry along my wooden porch. 

With a slight shiver slipping down my spine, I shook any solicitude off and slid open the unlocked door. I was greeted by the cool air conditioning of the indoors, as well as a telltale grumble from my own drained form.

I preheated a batch of leftovers that I’d thankfully packed from my family’s house, foreseeing how debilitating the move would be. Without regard to the lamentable furniture surrounding me, I plonked down on a creaky seat and felt my depleted energy stored slowly being refilled with each bite.

Even though my furnishings and house were humble, regret had no place in my mind for the difficult decision I’d made to pack up and leave my childhood home. Over there, the lights never flickered and scuffled furniture simply didn’t exist, with even the moldings on the walls lacking even a speck of dust.

But I witnessed, lived, through the monstrosities that lay beyond all those superficial aspects. The suffocating nature, not in the air that circulated around the place, but in the individuals with no respect for one another. My tolerance thinned over the years and I’d left the second I could.

Living in a secluded area of my tiny town had its own perks for my antisocial self — one of which being an absurd amount of land for a relatively cheap price — but the appeal of living in a bustling city wasn’t lost on me. 

For reasons excluding my relatives, I was simply tired of having lived in a city my whole life and desired some form of change, meeting new mindsets and developing my own.

Before I’d even properly settled in, I’d been convinced that moving out here had been a brilliant decision. Saving up for a couple years to be able to rent out a cozy cottage with a stunning forest as my backyard was turning out to be my haven.

Albeit, the pesky bugs were certainly not a part of that bliss.

I detached myself from the distant thoughts about my life hundreds of miles away and focused on the scenery across from me, better able to observe the breathtaking quality of the tenebrous forest from the safety of my new home. The sylvan scent penetrated my home, having closed only the window screen behind me when I entered.

Hearing the weak mewl of some kind of feline peaked my curiosity, wondering if a neighbour’s cat had taken a long journey and gotten themselves lost. I picked up the slow movement slinking among the bramble that connected my backyard to the thick timberland. 

The light from my lamps only extended so far and unluckily, I was unable to properly identify the animal staggering towards my back porch. My heart ached, thinking that this poor animal must be starving and in need of help. 

An apparent limp in its movements tugged at the last of my heartstrings. My fridge was stocked full, being one of my top priorities when I moved in; so food wasn’t a problem right now. Deciding it would be nice to make a new friend, I gathered my own bowl and headed outside.

The sliding of the window screen startled the pitiful creature, making a hasty retreat in the form of a hobble to find refuge in the foliage, hiding and waiting for my next move. I let out a small smile, hoping to appear as friendly as possible as I slowly stepped out into the chilly night air once again. 

“Hey buddy, what’re you doing out here?” I crouched down and laid the bowl on the floor. “It’s kinda cold out, hm?”

Not even the twitch of a leaf.

“Are you hungry?” 

I was met once again with no reaction. Deflated yet understanding in the lack of trust, I pushed myself back up, grabbing the bowl. As I stepped towards the door though, I heard it again.

Mew.

With a quiet giggle, I turned back, winked at the still-hidden creature and stepped inside, sliding the door closed. The night was silent, save for the trill of the crickets reaching their own encore for the night when the door abruptly opened once again.

“You like tuna, bud?” A smaller plate with canned tuna, out of the can but still in its cylindrical shape was placed on the last step of the porch. “Thought you might like that more than leftovers, huh?”

Although the same lack of response took place, I wasn’t deterred this time, smiling one last time into the darkness. “Enjoy it, but not too much okay? Go back to your owner’s house after this.” I let a shiver run through my body from the cold nipping my bare skin before ambling back inside to finish off my own dinner.

Despite my words, I did hope the kitty would come visit again.

I felt yet another ache pulse through my stiff back. The absence of a proper bed to sleep in at night was duly noted and the task of assembling my bed frame was bumped up higher on my to-do list for the day. Another night of cuddling up on the freezing, rigid floor with only a flimsy sheet to cushion my restless body might strip a decade out of my life expectancy.

A feeble attempt to flatten out my wrinkled button up — that I painstakingly ironed the day before — proved as fruitless as the dozen other times I tried smoothing it out just this morning. I brushed the imaginary dust off my modest pencil skirt while I was at it, resigning to my rumpled fate.

Groaning, I swiftly nabbed a granola bar and a pre-made sandwich I’d filled with tuna, inspired by the incident with the hidden feline last night. Despite the gruelling urge within me to check for possible remainders on the porch step, the blinking light from the oven clock pushed me down the slender hall and back to my barricaded doorway,

I squawked in recollection, pushing at the hefty boxes in a flurry. Eventually, I created a tunnel which I crawled through, slipping some sneakers on before stumbling out to the bus stop. When I recalled that the closest stop was a five minute walk, time being a luxury I couldn’t afford right now, I broke into a sprint.

With heaving lungs, I reached the little blue shelter just as the bulky vehicle rounded the corner. A few steps, the tap of a card, the beep of the completed transaction, and a huff brought me on to an austere seat. 

The same shade of prosaic blue within the bus itself led my eyes to the view beyond the dirty windows, marvelling at the vibrant greens and bright earthy tones that blocked any view of the sky. 

Fifteen minutes condensed into seconds, my mind racing with the new possibilities and experiences this town would bring me. Even the prospect of the shy kitty returning again tonight prompted a brief smile.

Dismounting from the stifling vehicle, I took a moment to adjust to the blinding white shade of the laboratory; I pursed my lips in determination. Hoping to appear graceful with long strides, I made my way to the entrance, pulling open the heavy door with a click. A receptionist came into view. 

She could barely be seen over the lengthy, curved desk, only the top of her coiffed strands on the crown of her head peaking through. As I approached, I took in her excessively teased hair and big brown eyes, accented with thick, black liner. 

Clasping both hands together in a bundle of chilly nerves, I patiently waited for the tapping of the keyboard to cease before she turned one heavily shadowed lid towards me. “Hello, welcome to the Test Centre of Enriched Mutagens, how can I help you today?”

Only slightly intimidated, I fumbled with my fingers out of sight. “Uh, hi there. I recently got hired as a lab attendant here.” Cursing my distinctly timid tone I continued, “I was instructed to ask for a Kim Seokjin?”

A stiff nod and more typing was my only reply. Orbs remaining trained on the monitor in front of her as the lady picked up the receiver, punched some numbers in a rapid succession, then situated the phone between her right shoulder and ear. The fervent tapping continued.

I wondered what she was typing up that was so important.

“Yes, she’s here director,” she quipped. My gaze lodged itself onto her name tag, framed by her strawberry blonde locks. Bae Eunmi. “Of course, I’ll send her up.”

The receiver clicked in place as she nodded her head towards the left. After a couple seconds passed with no further acknowledgement, I became increasingly aware that the short interaction was all I was going to get out of the curt woman, trekking over to the elevator she had indicated earlier.

With only two floors to the laboratory, the trip wasn’t long enough to grant me time to compose myself from the abrupt conversation I experienced before I was met with a long hallway, ending with a sturdy door that had a slit above the bulky handle for a keycard.

Seeing as I had not received any sort of card, I peered around at the nameplates drilled beside the other wooden doors. This floor ominously had no windows, a dingy, low lamp the only source of light that allowed me to decipher the engravings.

I passed a few flashy titles before I reached Assistant Director Kim Seokjin.

With a deceivingly confident knock and a shaky inhale I picked up a faint, “come in.”

A rather spacious office was revealed as I pulled open the heavy wood — shelves filled with packed binders, loose papers scattered across the desk with a thin monitor practically concealed under neon coloured sticky notes. Even the two chairs tucked away in the corner had a teetering stack of paperwork on each seat.

I took a step inside the chaotic space and bowed to the man whose sunken eyes flickered to my own. “Hi, sorry to disturb you. My name is Y/N and we talked on the phone last week. I’m the new research attendant.”

He flashed me a kind smile through his exhaustion, his evidently dull features proof of a long night. Considering the sheer amount of paper work in his office, I wasn’t sure a good night’s rest was ever on this man’s schedule.

“Ah, yes, you came down from the city, correct?” I nodded in confirmation, glad he remembered our previous conversation. “My apologies that the director couldn’t meet you himself, but you’ll get to see my handsome face instead,” he chuckled, sounding faintly similar to a windshield wiper. “I’m Kim Seokjin, the assistant director, but you can just call me Jin, everyone here does.”

I felt my tense body slacken at his warmth and bright disposition despite his arduous workload. Unconsciously, I suspected the whole staff may be terse and unwelcoming, though I was thankful that I was pleasantly mistaken. In my comfort, a chortle escaped my lips. “Alright then, Jin, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Of course it is,” he exclaimed with a jesting harrumph. “So, how are you liking this lonely town so far?”

Taking a few steps closer I responded honestly. “Even though the loneliness hasn’t hit me yet, I feel like I can finally breathe here. The city was a bit much sometimes.”

Humming in an understanding tone, I watched him rise from his plush chair, plucking one of the many binders out of the shelf and placing it on top of the mountain of papers on his desk. “That’s a good mentality, you know? I hope you can always find the silver lining in any situation you’re thrown into.”

Jin grips one of the many contracts laid within and slides it over to me with a pen. “Sign each highlight please.”

As I read over all the nitty gritty details, the man across from me continued, “I really hope you can be as resilient as we need you to be, Y/N. I know it’s tough work, but I just have a good feeling about you.”

Not paying much mind to Jin’s ramblings I easily agreed and handed the completed contract back.

“Well, come on then, I’ll introduce you to the people you’ll be working with.”

I accompanied Jin back out his office and down the hall, past yet another sturdy wooden door. The strong, pungent scent of coffee assaulted my nose, confirming the new space I’d entered was the break room; two male employees lounging around and sipping on their steaming mugs. 

“You finally came out of that office Jin?” A tall man leaning against one of the tables called out first, grinning with his dimples on full display. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Yeah, well, it seems like I’m the only one doing work around here anymore.” He jested, a playful smirk attached to his handsome visage.

“You can’t blame us, you know Hyunho and Minzi would never let us breathe the same air as their ‘confidential project.’ Wouldn’t want our ‘inexperienced hands’ ruining the whole thing.” The other man in the room rolled his eyes, taking another sip of the bitter liquid in his cup. 

“We’re not getting into this again, you two.” Seokjin gave a stern look, any lighthearted air in the room dissipating along with his remark. He glanced back at me, nudging me forward with a tap to my shoulder. “This is the new lab attendant, Y/N.”

Although the sharp-eyed man spared a sympathetic glance my way he backfired with, “yeah, the third one this month.” 

“Yoongi, I said that’s enough.” Although Seokjin’s words were strict and clipped, the palm rubbing over his face displayed his fatigue.

“I just don’t understand why we can’t even have access to the files, I mean we are researchers too, this is complete bullshi—”

“Y/N, I’ll be heading back to my office to finish up some paperwork, alright? These two can show you ropes.” The assistant director turned in my direction, the corners of his lips twitching upwards ever so slightly before trudging back to his office.

The shorter man slammed his mug down on the shabby table with a low, “goddamnit.”

“Honestly, I think this little guy is the best part of the whole place.” The dimpled man who had introduced himself as Kim Namjoon flashed his dimples, attempting to overcompensate for his gloomy partner, Min Yoongi. 

The two had been working as lab assistants here for a few years now and despite the seniority, Namjoon insisted on maintaining a first name basis with both him and Yoongi. He also offered a tour, which I graciously accepted.

“A jaguar?”

“A baby jaguar.” The sprawled sleeping form of a pitch black feline met my eyes. “He was brought in about three months ago. His name is Taemin.” I carefully approached the cage, maintaining a safe distance as a general precaution despite his lack of consciousness. 

Rather than providing comfort, I found that the muzzle locked around his jaws unsettled me further, which I found oddly paradoxical. I guess my designated tour guide picked up on my discomfort when he voiced, “he’s docile enough to us, but if Hyunho or any of his lackeys come by, he can get real aggressive.”

This was the second time that name popped up into the conversation and I quelled my blazing curiosity, dispelling any urges to question Namjoon about the mysterious figure. With the negative context his name was brought up with and the dark, brooding look Yoongi wore, I decided it was best not to prod, for my own sake as well.

I was brought back to reality when the animal in front of me shifted slightly. Despite my reluctancy to become attached, I couldn’t help but coo when a stretch wracked his small form, turning over in his sleep. 

Although I had done my share of research into this laboratory before applying to the position and was cognizant that they didn’t harm any of their subjects — I knew Taemin’s life wasn’t in any danger, but he would be gone once all his testing was complete. I refused to get too emotionally attached in order to avoid future heartache.

 I noticed his head cuddling deeper into his plush bed and knew my plan was futile. “You think he would like me?”

Namjoon let out a hum in thought, “I’m not too sure. You can try petting him if you want, just make sure to let him sniff you first.”

Slowly unlocking the cage, I extended my hand towards the muzzle, waiting with bated breath. The still sleeping animal brought up its head and placed his cheek in my cupped hand, letting loose a faint purr that I felt traveling up my palm. I stroked the edge of his jaw that wasn’t covered by the muzzle.

Oh no.

It was too late, Taemin owned every inch of my heart.

Gently placing his head back down onto his fluffy bed, my hand made a swift retreat as I flicked the lock back in place. I hoped I would be able to see more of the baby in the future.

Standing back up to face Namjoon I reluctantly tore my gaze away from the angel behind bars. Pondering when we would head to the second floor after having examined every speck of dust in the first floor, I voiced my thoughts to the lanky man. “So, are we heading back up now?” 

A sigh met my ears and I turned to look at the brooding culprit who hadn’t opened his mouth since the tense interaction with Seokjin, simply tagging along the tour that Namjoon narrated. “We can’t introduce you to anything you haven’t already seen upstairs.” When he met my confused orbs he continued, “we can only enter the break room and Jin’s office up there, everything else is off limits.”

“Oh, um... I don’t mean to sound rude, especially since this is my first day and everything, but the equipment down here seem pretty... Insufficient for quality resear-” I stuttered out my concerns.

“Don’t you think we know that? Why do you think we go through lab attendants so quickly? Nobody wants to stay in a place that doesn’t have the proper equipment to perform any kind of substantial research. Not to mention neither of the head researchers trust us enough to even look at the stupid files.”

Namjoon piped in, probably sensing how heated the other man was getting. “We mainly just note the patterns in the bases of a variety of animals’ DNA that involve certain genes.”

“Not to say that’s not effective research, but scientists with your qualifications usually investigate more ground-breaking subjects.” I became a bit dejected at my own future here; I applied for a job here to further my ambitions, knowing this lab was well-known for its high quality studies.

Would I be forced to move back to the city? I couldn’t tuck tail and scutter home after all the effort and money I expended on this move, not to mention the disastrous situation I would be faced with if I returned now. No, I was desperate to find a reason to stick it out. “Why do you two stay here then? Why not just find another lab?”

“It wasn’t always like this, Y/N. It’s been over half a year now since the new management came in and basically brought in a whole new set of personnel with them. They took all the most expensive equipment upstairs and sealed it behind a locked door.”

“They even replaced the damned cleaning staff.” Yoongi scoffed out, painstakingly fed up with the circumstances.

Namjoon crossed his arms, giving a warning look over to man with bleached locks, probably in order to keep his anger from bleeding through for the second time today. “They were adamant about keeping Jin and he let us stick around, couldn’t leave this lab in the hands of complete strangers.”

“But why—”

My wrist was suddenly enclosed in Yoongi’s long, thin fingers, dragging me into the assistant researcher’s office they had familiarized me with half an hour ago. I saw Namjoon glance around before entering in after us and closing the door behind him.

Yoongi released his grip on me, leaning in close and hissing out, “it’s all some cryptic confidentiality bullshit. They’re doing something up there, something revolutionary, something dangerous, and they only trust their own people to keep quiet.” 

With a hum, slightly intimidated, I questioned, “okay, but why did they evacuate the whole place, why not just build another lab and—”

Namjoon leant against the door, lowering his voice as well. “This is a remote town, there won’t be many people to question and investigate what they’re studying all the way out here.” 

With many overwhelming thoughts raging, the locked door upstairs abruptly came to mind. “You don’t have the keycard either, I’m guessing.”

“You pick things up pretty quick, huh?”

After the draining events at work, I felt no motivation to peel off my thoroughly wrinkled items of clothing, having switched out of the lab clothes in the changing room back at work. 

Rather than a physical enervation, the realization that my expectations to further my own studies was not a reality here sapped me of any incentive to unpack or do anything of value.

The temptation of warm pyjamas encasing my shivering body as I slept another night on the hard surface of the floor was almost reason enough to conjure up some hidden energy from the deepest recesses of my body. 

I crawled my way though the makeshift hole I made earlier in the day through two of the boxes. Thankfully, no roommates meant that the house was absent of another being to pester me regarding the hassle I made at the entrance, though I thought it was quite clever considering my circumstances.

The sun had set many hours back, which I failed to detect as all my concentration was set on marking down the base sequence that brought about Taemin’s black fur colour. Jin was double-checking the state of each room before locking up for the night when he discovered my form, hunched over a microscope. 

Continuing to the kitchen on hands and knees out of my present shortage in strength, I nearly decided to call it a night right there in the middle of the hallway. Though, I settled with briskly whipping up an egg or two in hopes that it would replenish enough energy to tidy up a bit before retiring to bed. 

I left the eggs to cook as I departed, off to locate a plate, which I only had two of at the moment, courtesy of the unloading that needed to be completed at the doorway. A glimpse into the sink revealed the location of one suspect, dirty from yesterday’s dinner.

I tugged open the nearest cabinet to search for the other one because I sure as hell was not washing any dishes right now. But, instead of the ceramic I was expecting, the bare walls of the storage area stumped me.

The memory of the creature I’d met yesterday flashed through my mind, bringing about a sudden burst of excitement that had me shuffling my way to the backyard door, flicking the porch light on and staring at the wood that seemed to glare back at me. 

No sight of the tuna or the plate. 

Initially, I took extreme offence to the absurd situation. I graciously extended a helping hand to a vulnerable cat to enjoy some savoury tuna and the bugger decided to steal—

Wait.

How in the hell did the thumbless feline pick up the hefty plate in the first place?

After snooping around the surrounding area a bit, no sight of the pristine plate, I gave up. Maybe it held the ceramic in its mouth?

The mental image I’d conjured up brought a slight chuckle out of me, cutting short when catching sight of several crimson paw prints on the porch, accompanied by specks of the same hue. I pondered the unusually large size of the print, slightly larger than my palm. 

An alarmingly large quantity of blood appeared with each step, the pace of my heart quickening with worry both for myself and the creature. Who could harm a massive animal like this and for what purpose?

I also thought about if the splotches would wash out with the rain or if I had to slot in a time to come out and clean off the marks. Although, the cleaning supplies were also in those unpacked boxes, so any stain removal had to be put on hold.

The bloody prints extended into my lawn as well, blades of grass covered in a layer of red. From what I could make out, the trail was U-shaped, beginning from the forest, coming to where I stood at the porch, then heading back.

A spike of fear travelled through me when a thicket shook violently. Were these stains left by the kitty I encountered the day before? From my limited knowledge in zoology, I doubted that large cats could even produce such pathetic mewls with their vocal chords, which were better suited to growl or roar. 

But what was a creature of this size doing on the outskirts of civilization? I wasn’t too sure about how far the woodlands extended past my yard, but I was relatively certain that the bulkier predators had more than enough space to themselves without needing to expand their territory.

I was in the midst of this back-and-forth conflict with myself when I heard a familiar cry reaching my ears. Pushing back my raucous thoughts for a moment, I settled on responding to little thief.

“You’re back! Do you happen to have my plate by any chance?”

The lack of response confirmed my suspicions. I was now down to one, currently grubby plate in the house.

“Alright, fine, keep the damn thing.” The initial fear and suspicion I felt had simmered down quite bit, heavily due to the lack of aggression on the animal’s part and a distinct fondness I held for my first friend here that I wasn’t aware of yet. Though, I remained on guard, as there could always be another beast lurking.

In order to discover any of answers I was seeking, I knew that I had to take matters into my own hands and decipher whether my pitiful kitty was actually a large, ferocious feline— badly hurt, nonetheless. I took the portable first-aid kit out of my bag as well as the forgotten, squished tuna sandwich.

Removing the saran wrap and crumpling it into a ball, I placed the much-smaller-than-I-remember sandwich down on the wood as bait. “Guess we can’t be civil, huh bub? If you’re gonna steal my plate, have the courage to show yourself, you criminal," I teased and hoped to lure the cautious creature out. 

Nothing.

“Hey, you wanna come and let me get a look at you? I can see if I can patch you up, how about that?”

Nope.

“Come on, look! You’re favourite tuna, in a delicious sandwich now!”

Nada.

I pouted at the bundle of leaves I knew the feline was hiding under, hoping to elicit some kind of reaction. Albeit, any sliver of hope was crushed with the lack of movement. Worry grew at the back of my mind, desperately hoping that the creature could live through their seemingly dire injuries. I flashed a regretful smile and lowered the sandwich on the last step. 

At the very least, I wished that the snack would provide energy for its body to repair itself. With one last glance at the silent underbrush, I turned my back and lumbered into the confines of my cottage. Hopefully, I would get another chance to beckon the mammal out of its hiding place tomorrow.

The contrast of the dark droplets of blood against the light wood of my porch disturbed me more than I’d like to admit.

The daily routine of travelling to work, interacting with the few friends I made there and coming back home to attend late night meetings with my concealed kitty was growing on me. I was elated that I finally found a group of my own people, and not-quite-people, to converse and share thoughts with. 

However, this town also seemed to have its own fair share of rotten apples.

I finally met the rumoured Lee Hyunho, a bulky man who introduced himself as one of the two head researchers. He seemed polite enough at first, but I detected the same brusque characteristic I noticed in the receptionist from my first day. 

It appeared that all the staff brought in by the “new” management had this particular quality. 

My own frustrations began to grow alongside Namjoon and Yoongi, constantly repeating the same tasks over and over again, day after day. When I tried to confront the other head researcher, Joo Minzi, about granting us more access to the studies they were conducting, she made it very clear that my “inexperienced hands” were not permitted to touch any of their files, test subjects or even approach the lab upstairs.

Charming, really.

The interaction left me fuming, much to Namjoon’s amusement, claiming that he now had two fiery beasts to quell. My interactions with the arrogant staff members were limited though, and bouncing between Namjoon, Yoongi, Jin, and the surprisingly amicable janitor made the work days bearable. 

I also took immense pleasure in going against Minzi’s words by playing with Taemin every once in a while.

I was proud to announce my accomplishment in finally unloading all of the supplies within my many boxes to anyone that would listen, now able to revel in the tidiness of my living space. The guys were able to visit now too, previously refusing to crawl through my rather unique entryway.

Progress concerning my kitty was little to none, but I did discover that it was immensely therapeutic to relay my worries to the mammal, finding comfort in its presence.

I took the rustling of the leaves as acknowledgement for my exasperated tone. “I mean, I don’t even feel like a researcher there! It’s all ‘hey newbie, go get me a coffee,’ ‘this is classified, no touching,’ ‘you can’t participate, this isn’t a charity,’ blah, blah, blah...” I raised my tone and ended my rant with a pout, embodying the childish behaviour that encompassed how I felt I was being treated as of late.

“Remember the really cute janitor I was telling you about? Jung Hoseok? Well, he was telling me about some stuff he heard when he was cleaning the lab upstairs.” I heard a short swish of foliage being disrupted, which I assumed was a result of the creature tilting its head.

“Apparently, they’d made big advancements on whatever stupid ‘highly confidential’ project they’re working on. It definitely has something to do with the patterns in different animals’ DNA, but I can’t pinpoint exactly what they’re trying to accomplish...

“And guess what? Hoseok said he’d overheard that they’d lost a test subject a little over a week ago! There’s probably a mouse scurrying around somewhere, living his best, liberated life right now.” I shifted in place, adjusting my position to make myself more comfortable in the chilly night. “I just wish I knew what was going on, you know...”

“I wanted to prove them all wrong.” I sneaked a glimpse at the forest for any indication of a vocal response I knew the creature gave occasionally. In a small voice I added, “but maybe they were right.”

Another shuffle broke through my lengthy monologue and I facetiously grinned towards the camouflaged animal. “Y’know, I’m starting to really question whether you’re here for my company or for this,” I pointed to the tuna, disturbingly still in that short cylindrical shape. 

I stared past the obscure stalks of the trees, having found consolation and tranquility in the space a few days prior, even from beyond my glass door. My initial apprehension of unknown monsters subsided and it was reassuring to know that my kitty was somewhere in there as well.

Another shuffle revealed a pair of bright, beady eyes meeting my own enlarged ones. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest by the sudden appearance, although I tried not to alarm the creature back into hiding by revealing my own trepidation. 

Knowing the keen senses felines had, there was little doubt in my mind that the one across from me wouldn’t be able to pick up my instantaneous change in demeanour.

“You gonna come and get it or what?” With a slight nod towards the meal, I cursed the slight quiver in my voice and prayed that the creature felt comfortable enough to reveal more of itself to me. My curiosity was bubbling as I allowed my gaze to travel to the crown of its head. 

I concluded that the creature’s fur was either pure black or another dark tone, hard to decipher when I didn’t have the enhanced night vision of the mammal perched a few metres away. Said feline made no further movements, keeping his gaze trained on me. 

I analyzed the elongated slits that served as pupils, engraving the rich green shade of its irises into my mind, fearful that this sudden intimacy may scare the mammal off, never to be seen again. But, I found myself unable to divert my gaze, feeling as though I was staring at a physical manifestation of the pure soul of the forest.

It was utterly mesmerizing.

An impatient gruff left the creature’s mouth, snapping me out of my reverie and I resigned. “Alright, alright, don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m leaving alright?”

Maybe one day the mammal would feel comfortable enough to eat in front of me and I could migrate my dinners to the porch outside. Refusing to get too greedy, I reminded myself that the baby steps taken today were infinitely better than none at all.

With one foot in my house, I turned back to the tantalizing eyes, still focused on my pyjama-clad form as I beamed back gratefully. “’Night bud.”

The snapping of the lock clicking back into place alleviated some of the soreness of my overworked muscles as I took another step inside. My head fell back to sneak a glance at the ceiling, hoping to peek past the old plaster and stare into the eyes of any higher being out there.

I quickly considered whether to thank them for this opportunity of a lifetime or to curse them out for my seemingly limitless workload.

As my eyelids slid close in defeat, an exhausted sigh involuntarily slipped out into the silence. Kicking off my shoes into the pitiful pile by the doorway to join the rest of its brethren, I wandered deeper into my rather small abode in the darkness; only my padded footsteps and the zipper of my jacket being undone 

Hearing my stomach rumble with its complaints, I made the couple steps toward the kitchen’s light switch. But, an abrupt halt came with the memory of yesterday’s optimistic plan of embarking on a trip to the grocery store after a short work shift.

Evidently, I hadn’t predicted the gruelling day I would have nor the extra hours that would be requested of me. I found that I’d been frequenting the store quite often as of late, the demand of food increasing once another mouth to feed came into question.

In a reluctant fashion, I pulled my jacket back up to my shoulders, knowing that the fridge was just as empty as my stomach currently was. I pushed my aching limbs back towards the entrance, pondering over whether the grocery store was even open this late in the night.

However, I was forced to a grinding halt once again as I heard a booming thump from my backyard and my blood ran cold.

I waited with bated breath as my heart rate elevated, pounding in my ears. A minute of stillness passed before yet another sigh escaped my jittery body. Another disadvantage of a remote plot included being frightened by every snap of a twig.

As a scoff passed through my chapped lips at my own cowardly antics, I began to resume my trek to the front door when another thud reached my ears. The recognition of the sound coming from the backyard alerted me that this time may be different, with the presence of an actual threat.

Following a series of gut-wrenching cracking noises, hurried footsteps approaching the wooden porch in my backyard startled me to action.

Hastily, I dashed back to the kitchen to grab an unnecessarily large kitchen knife out of the drawer and flew to cover behind my minuscule island. A quick glimpse down towards my chest revealed my shaking hands. Well, this is certainly one way to spice up my night.

Listening to the intruder fumble with the lock for a little while before it was being smashed into, I knew I couldn’t just stay cowering behind my kitchen island, waiting for this murderer to come and end my night (and all my subsequent nights thereafter). The rage behind having to buy and reinstall a new lock also propelled my need for revenge.

I took in a deep breath and steeled myself as the footsteps wandered in, coming straight towards the kitchen. A loud growl reverberated throughout my house and befuddled me further. Was the intruder simply a feral animal? The lack of a problem with my lock dismissed that thought but I couldn’t shake the feeling of a predator having sneaked into my house.

The feeling of being stalked.

I rapidly shook off that irrational thought, doubtful the stranger even knew of another presence in the house. As the intruder turned the corner — coming straight towards my hiding spot — I reared back a little before launching myself with my dull knife leading the way.

A screech made its way out of my throat as the intruder’s reflexes were evidently a lot better than mine, catching my wrist before I could inflict any damage. But, I refused to give in just yet as I attempted to smash the hard edge of my palm straight into the stranger’s nose in order to buy myself some time to flee.

Unfortunately, for me, that attack never reached its target as the intruder caught my throat in his other hand much faster and used his larger frame to smash my body against the fridge.

The wind escaped me, though I kept squirming to try whip my knee straight to his crotch as a final ditch attempt. I lightly cursed as a glimpse informed me the intruder was a brawny man.

He noticed my struggle and easily flipped me around, one hand finding purchase in my hair, banging my head against the cool metal of the fridge and the other held both of my hands pinned to my back. The knife clattered to the ground in a dangerous arc.

In the middle of wondering how the hell he gathered my wrists and disabled me in a split second, I felt a heavy growl in the shell of my ear. A cold shiver slipped down my spine, adrenaline slowing leaving my body as we both puffed out breaths of exertion.

What the actual fu—

“No hurt, need bandage and go.”

His broken English came out with a slight accent and I found myself nodding instantaneously as I tried to work out what he needed. “Okay, okay,” I muttered as best as I could with half my face smushed, “I have bandages in the big drawer by the sink. You can take those.”

I only received a grunt in acknowledgement. He nudged me with his foot to shuffle backwards with his hand still wrapped around my wrists and led me to the sink. Half curious about his motives and half accepting that I could never overpower the stranger, I followed obediently. Though that didn’t stop me from deliberating over how to outsmart the man.

Deciding on waiting for an opening or a slack in the grip around my wrists, I nodded my head towards the drawer I was referring to earlier and finally peered up at my intruder’s shadowed face. He wore a black ball cap on, aiding in hiding his features which were mostly guarded by the lack of light anyway.

A glance at the lower half of his visage allowed me to witness his pale lips and the small mole directly underneath them, as well as a sharp jawline leading to his exposed neck. Inconspicuously bringing my gaze even lower, I took in his matching tattered black outfit, confirming his bulky build and scuffed sneakers.

Maybe I could run to the nearest police station — which admittedly, was rather far, and provide a detailed description of the criminal. Considering if I made it out alive, of course.

With his vacant hand he swiftly pulled the drawer open, taking handfuls of bandages, gloves, bandaids and other miscellaneous items I crammed in there. The stranger stuffed as much equipment as he could fit into the large pocket of his hooded sweatshirt.

I would have found his full little pouch endearing if I wasn’t preoccupied with worrying over my own well-being.

Another awkward wobble later, we were back at the fridge. At this point, I was gathering all the courage I had left to aim for a pressure point on the criminal’s thigh that I vaguely knew the location of. I should have paid more attention in those self-defence classes, damnit.

Just as I turned to act, he bent down to pick up the discarded knife off the floor, effectively deterring my attack and forcing me into submission. He then turned to me to flash a slight smirk.

“Cute.”

Releasing his death grip on my bound wrists, he sprinted back out my now broken back door, heading off.

After a couple minutes of stewing in my thoughts, back against the cool fridge, I  struggled to comprehend the brief interaction and the dark drops of crimson littered all over my white tiles.

I still have to go grocery shopping.

tags: @aurorakingsley​

#jungkook fanfic #jeongguk fanfic #bts fanfic #jungkook scenarios #bts scenarios #jeongguk scenarios #jungkook imagine #jeongguk imagine #jungkook x reader #jeongguk x reader #jungkook au #jeongguk au #jungkook hybrid au #jeongguk hybrid au #was it evil to end on preview #it felt right tho #you gotta know what happens before to find out what happens after #that's my excuse anyway

[ishkah]

On The Far-Left, Effective Activism & Violence

Introduction to what it means to be on the far-left

So first off, as socialists & anarchists, we know we are far outside the Overton window. We know even if left-wing policy positions are more popular than right-wing, most people are still going to be biased to what they’ve grown up with and what’s familiar to them.

But, we also know we can shift the Overton window from the radical fringe: [1]

The most important thing about the Overton window, however, is that it can be shifted to the left or the right, with the once merely “acceptable” becoming “popular” or even imminent policy, and formerly “unthinkable” positions becoming the open position of a partisan base. The challenge for activists and advocates is to move the window in the direction of their preferred outcomes, so their desired outcome moves closer and closer to “common sense.”

There are two ways to do this: the long, hard way and the short, easy way. The long, hard way is to continue making your actual case persistently and persuasively until your position becomes more politically mainstream, whether it be due to the strength of your rhetoric or a long-term shift in societal values. By contrast, the short, easy way is to amplify and echo the voices of those who take a position a few notches more radical than what you really want.

For example, if what you actually want is a public health care option in the United States, coordinate with and promote those pushing for single-payer, universal health care. If the single-payer approach constitutes the “acceptable left” flank of the discourse, then the public option looks, by comparison, like the conservative option it was once considered back when it was first proposed by Orrin Hatch in 1994.

This is Negotiating 101.

So our hope is that our ideals and passion can be admired by some, like risking prison to sabotage the draft for Vietnam, so some peoples sons aren't conscripted into fighting an evil war. [2] Then any moderate left policies might look reasonable in comparison which makes them the tried and tested policies of the future.

We should also openly acknowledge that the ideal future we would like to see is empirically extremely unlikely to come about in our own lifetimes in the west, as there are still so many hills to climb first in pressuring workplaces over to a more co-operative flattened hierarchy of workplace democracy.

To quickly summarise, the direction the far-left would like to head in, is going from; a two party system, to... a multi-party coalition through preferential voting, to... some local government positions being elected by sortition, to… the majority of society being so content with worker-co-ops and syndicalist unions that we transition from representative democracy to direct democracy. So, a chamber of ministers to federated spokes councils.

Now I might be the minority in the far-left on this, but I would want people to have the option of going back a step if people aren't ready for that level of direct democracy, where the choice is disorganization and suffering or slightly less suffering under a repressive system of governance again. You could relate this to the position Rosa Luxemburg was in in lending support and hoping some good would come of the Spartacist uprising, whilst also wishing they could have been convinced to hold off until they were more prepared.

This is why it’s so important to build the governance model slowly enough to match expertise, so as not to falter with people pushing for ideals before having adequately put them to the test. So as not to cause a whiplash effect, where people desire a reactionary politics of conformity, under more rigid hierarchy of just the few.

-

As anarchists & socialists who desire a more directly democratic society, what tactics should we use if we want to be effective at moving society in that direction?

Electoral politics - We need to get really well educated on how even the baby step policies toward the left would be an improvement on where we are now, we need to learn the internal politicking of government and get good at having friendly arguments with comedy to appeal to friends and acquaintances basic intuitions.

The goal being that we can talk the latest news and (1) Win over conservatives to obvious empirically better policies on the left, and (2) Win over liberals when centre-left parties are in power to feel dismayed at the slow pace of change, and so acknowlege how much better it would be if there was a market socialist in the position willing to rally people to demonstrate and strike to push through bills.

Mutual aid – We should put the time into helping our neighbours and volunteering, for example on a food not bombs stall, to get people to see the positive benefits of a communalist caring society.

Theory – We should be educating ourselves and helping others know what work and rent union to join, what to keep a record of at work, how to defend yourself from rapists and fascists, how to crack a squat and how to write a press release, etc.

Campaigning – We should look for the easiest squeeze points to rack up small wins, like the picketing of a cafe to reclaim lost wages, so that word spreads and it creates a domino effect.

-

What tactics should we or shouldn’t we generally avoid in our political campaigns?

Civility as an end in itself

They’re not lies, they’re “falsehoods”; it’s not racism, it’s “racially charged comments”; it’s not torture, it’s “enhanced interrogation.” For years, U.S. media has prioritized, above all else, norms and civility.

Mean words or questioning motives are signs of declining civility and the subject of much lament from our media class. However, op-eds explicitly advocating war, invasion, sanctions, sabotage, bombing and occupation or cutting vital programs and lifelines for the poor are just the cost of doing business. What’s rhetorically out of bounds - and what isn’t - is far more a product of power than any objective sense of "civility" or “decency.”

Where did these so-called norms come from, who do they benefit, and why is their maintenance–-even in the face of overt white nationalism––still the highest priority for many liberals and centrists in U.S. media? [3]

This is so important to challenge, and yet incredibly nuanced. So, it is obviously a great success that the rate at which people would go around hurling racist insults looks to have dropped in favour of more political correctness.

It is also true that in pursuit of political correctness and an ethic of care, we can look for simplistic niceness, to the detriment of being able to identify systems of oppression.  We need to be able to refuse the emotional labor of treating our bosses as friends when we have no desire to be friends with them. [4]

Similarly in our everyday interactions, we need to encourage our friends to accept us for who we are or not to accept us at all, so as to create deeper connections which builds stronger communities: [5]

It can be annoying or hurtful when others presume they know everything about you. But rather than assert their wrongness and make them defensive, you can acknowledge it as a common human failing and find creative ways to hold a mirror up to what life experiences they’ve had that lead them to jump to those conclusions.

One way is a kind of playful authenticity, telling a lie about a lie, to get back closer to the truth. So don’t outright challenge the idea, but don’t live up to it either, in fact live down to it. Playfully undermine the idea by failing to live up to the glamour of what it would mean to be that person, then find a way of revealing that it was a misunderstanding all along, so they needn’t worry about it applying to you.

Media Chasing – We shouldn’t chose our actions for the primary purpose of provoking conversations because it is insincere to ones own desires to materially affect change and it’s recognised as such by those who hear about it.

Transparency – We should be transparent with our supporters in all we hope to achieve and how successful we are being at achieving that task, so as not to attract funds for labor we haven’t and aren’t likely to be able to do.

Civil Disobedience – Whether it be breaking the law without causing any damage or economic sabotage and political violence which we’ll talk about later, anarchists hope to chose the right actions to provoke conversations and materially challenge unethical industries and actors, so as to push electoral politics towards direct democracy and eventually consolidate our gains in a revolution.

Fascists will also use tactics from civil disobedience to political violence, and tend toward violence against people for people holding ideas as the things they hate, rather than the lefts systemic critique of material conditions. All in the hopes of pushing society towards a more authoritarian constitutional republic, before seizing power in a palace coup and attempting to rule as a sequence of dictators for life.

It is up to the left to try and counter this violence by doxxing, making their rallies miserable, etc. And it is up to everyone to decide which government to vote in, to enact what degree of punishment to bring down on people breaking the law on either side.

Any direction the society goes in for either not controlling or bowing to which protesters demands is still the moral culpability of the government and those who participated in the party political process.

There simply is an obvious legal and moral difference between for example victimless civil disobedience on the left aimed at all people being treated equally in society like collecting salt from the sea or staying seated on the bus, to the type of violence you see on the right, like Israeli settlers throwing people off their land with arson attacks, stealing another country’s resources against international law.

But again, it is true that to whatever degree anarchists chose bad targets optically, we do to some degree bring the slow pace of change on ourselves by handing the right an advocacy win.

Graffiti & Culture Jamming – Whether it be an artistic masterpiece that no one asked for or altering a billboard to say something funny and political, instead of the advert that was there before pressuring you to consume more and more, most people can be won over by this as a good form of advocacy. Just don’t practice tagging your name a million times over every building in town.

Hacking – Obviously most people agree whistle-blowing war crimes is a yay. Selectively releasing documents to help conservatives win elections however, is a nay.

Sabotage – We should chose targets which have caused people the most amount of misery, for which people can sympathise most, like the sabotaging of draft cards I wrote about at the beginning. So causing economic damage to affect material conditions and make a statement.

We also need to carefully consider the difference between property which is personal, luxury, private, government owned and co-operatively worker owned.

So, it could be seen as ethical to chose material targets of evil actors in order to cause economic damage and make a statement, so long as in the case of personal property, the item has no sentimental value and can be replaced because the person is wealthy. Or is a luxury item that was paid for through the exploitation of others labor. Or is private property, meaning the means of production which should be owned collectively anyway.

It’s an expression of wanting to find an outlet for legitimate anger against that which causes us suffering. For example, if taking the risk to slash slaughterhouse trucks’ tires in the dead of night is how you develop stronger bonds with a group of people and gain the confidence to do amazing things like travel the world and learn from other liberation struggles.

Fighting – First off, I think propaganda by the deed, physically hurting people for the purpose of making a political statement is evil, as it runs counter to our philosophy on the left that material conditions create the person and so we should make every peaceful effort to rehabilitate people.

However, to the extent that some current institutions fail to rehabilitate people and the process of seeking justice through these institutions can cause more trauma, then personal violence to get to resolve feelings of helplessness in the face of evil acts can be an ethical act.

For example survivor-led vigilantism: [4]

“I wanted revenge. I wanted to make him feel as out of control, scared and vulnerable as he had made me feel. There is no safety really after a sexual assault, but there can be consequences.” -Angustia Celeste, “Safety is an Illusion: Reflections on Accountability”

Two situations in which prominent anarchist men were confronted and attacked by groups of women in New York and Santa Cruz made waves in anarchist circles in 2010. The debates that unfolded across our scenes in response to the actions revealed a widespread sense of frustration with existing methods of addressing sexual assault in anarchist scenes. Physical confrontation isn’t a new strategy; it was one of the ways survivors responded to their abusers before community accountability discourse became widespread in anarchist circles. As accountability strategies developed, many rejected physical confrontation because it hadn’t worked to stop rape or keep people safe. The trend of survivor-led vigilantism accompanied by communiqués critiquing accountability process models reflects the powerlessness and desperation felt by survivors, who are searching for alternatives in the face of the futility of the other available options.

However, survivor-led vigilantism can be a valid response to sexual assault regardless of the existence of alternatives. One doesn’t need to feel powerless or sense the futility of other options to take decisive physical action against one’s abuser. This approach offers several advantages. For one, in stark contrast to many accountability processes, it sets realistic goals and succeeds at them. It can feel more empowering and fulfilling than a long, frequently triggering, overly abstract process. Women can use confrontations to build collective power towards other concerted anti-patriarchal action. Physical confrontation sends an unambiguous message that sexual assault is unacceptable. If sexual violence imprints patriarchy on the bodies of women, taking revenge embodies female resistance.

Other examples we can think of are personally desiring to fight fascists in the street to block them from marching through immigrant communities. To pushing your way through huntsman to save a fox from getting mauled to death by dogs.

-

Political killing

I’ll work through hypotheticals from circumstances relevant to the past, present and future, then talk through the ethics of each.

-

Past possibilities

Most people agree anyone who took it upon themselves to assassinate Hitler a day before the break out of WW2 would be seen as committing an ethical act, no matter who follows, because throwing a wrench into the cult of personality spell built around Hitler would be a significant set back for the fascist state’s grip over the people. And given all the evidence pointing to the inevitability of war, such an act could easily be seen as a necessary pre-emptive act.

-

Present possibilities

Most can sympathise with quick revolutions against dictatorships where the result is a freer society, like the Kurdish uprising in Northern Syria which took power from a regime who had rolled tanks on demonstrators and outlawed teaching of their native language.

But, even there, there are key foundations you need to work from, like the probability you won’t just give an excuse for the oppressor committing even worse horrors as was the case with the Rohingya militants who ambushed a police checkpoint, resulting in army & citizen campaign to burn down many villages, plus murder and rape those that couldn’t get away.

As well as a responsibility to put down arms after winning political freedoms and a majority are in favour of diplomacy through electoral politics, like in Northern Ireland today.

Under representative parliamentary systems, the sentiment of most is that even if it could be argued that a war of terror against the ruling class was the easiest route to produce a better society, that it would still be ethically wrong to be the person who takes another’s life just because it’s the easiest way. Since regardless of manufactured consent or anything else you still could have worked to build a coalition to overcome those obstacles and change the system slowly from within.

And I agree, it would be an act of self-harm to treat life with such disregard when you could have been that same deluded person shrouded in the justificatory trappings of society treating your behaviour normally. I don’t think the way we win today is treating a cold bureaucratic system with equally cold disregard in whose life we had the resources to be able to intimidate this week. Time on earth is the greatest gift people have, to make mistakes and learn from them.

So then, an easy statement to make on life under representative parliamentary systems is; outside of absurdly unrealistic hypotheticals, I could never condone purposefully killing others when campaigning against such monoliths as state and corporate repression today.

Breaking that down though; what do I mean by an unrealistic hypothetical? For example the philosophical thought experiment called the trolley problem, where you have a runaway trolley hurtling towards 5 people tied to a track, and you can pull a leaver so the train changes tracks and only kills 1 person tied to a track. Or you can change it to 7 billion to 1 even. Or 7 billion of your average citizens vs. 1 million unethical politicians, police and bosses, to make it political.

Now what do I mean by purposeful, well we can think of for example the most extreme cases of post-partum psychosis which has mothers killing their babies. But more nuanced than that, the rape victim who gets worn down by their abuser for years until they have a psychological break and kill.

That does still leave a lot of lee way for people knowingly taking risks with others lives, not intending to kill, but who are reckless in their actions, such as with some forms of economic sabotage. And I agree such a reckless act would bring up feelings of revulsion for all kinds of reasons like questioning whether the person was really doing it to help people or for their own ego-aggrandizement. All that can be hoped is a person makes a careful accounting of their ability for human error and weighs it against the outcomes of doing nothing.

-

Future possibilities

We can hypothesise the unrealistic case of 99% of society desiring a referendum on a shift from parliamentary representative system to a federated spokes council system and the MPs dragging their feet, the same way both parties gerrymander the boundaries to make it easier to win despite it being the one issue most everyone agrees is bad, and people needing to storm the halls of power to force a vote to happen.

More likely though, an opportunity for revolution might arise from such a confluence of events as climate refugees and worker gains forcing the state and corporations into trying to crack down on freedoms in order to preserve their power and enough people resisting that move, who are then able take power and usher in radical policy change, with either the army deciding to stand down or splitting into factions.

-

References

1. Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution - Use your radical fringe to shift the Overton window P. 215.

2. The Camden 28 - The Camden 28 were a group of Catholic left anti-Vietnam War activists who in 1971 planned and executed a raid on a Camden, New Jersey draft board. The raid resulted in a high-profile criminal trial of the activists that was seen by many as a referendum on the Vietnam War and as an example of jury nullification.

3. Citations Needed Podcast - Civility Politics

4. Slavoj Žižek: Political Correctness is a More Dangerous Form of Totalitarianism | Big Think

5. A Love Letter To Failing Upward

6. Accounting for Ourselves - Breaking the Impasse Around Assault and Abuse in Anarchist Scenes.

-

#politics #far-left #advocacy #pragmatic #direct action #anarchism #anarchist #socialism #socialist #left communist #left communism #council communism #democratic confederalism #de leonism #rojava #crimethinc #antifa #antifascist #sabotage #animal liberation front #earth liberation front #veganarchist #veganarchism #revolution #reform